#zhask x yve

[angela-android]

[goldemas1244]

Some screenshots from one of my favourite character summary videos. Well I think it was this one anyway. It could've been the Zhask one.

I live for Yve kicking Zhask. He deserves a kick in the noodles for being an ass to play AGAINST. ALSO notice how, when he attacks, he charges in horns-first, fists later.

(Also hehe hubby wifey bonding moments)

Yve's legs are like those strong spring-loaded herbivore legs y'know. Zhask just got gutted by the strength of ten gazelle kicks.

This one interests me because when he's readying to attack he makes himself look bigger with his... uhh... back-thingies. Antennae. Can I call them that? They also rattle like a rattlesnake's tail. Kinda like how birds fluff themselves up to look bigger than their predators. It's cute.

Weird poly ass. Yeah I get it it's perspective but like damn man this was an accidental screenshot I am scarred for life. His character model has a better ass though. Literal curves.

Also in this one scene Zhask breaks the sound barrier. In space. A vacuum. So maybe it's not a sound barrier. Maybe it's a gravity thing? I sucked at Physics Chapter: Gravity man leave me alone.

He does a little kick when he does a magic attack with Domorey. So I guess there's some physical energy involved in magic too. Like a spring-loaded trigger or a slingshot kind of thing. Momentum. I don't really know man I got a B in Physics.

He also sorta does this in his character introduction animation. It's like he's sharing his magic with Domorey to make the attack stronger. It's cool that he needs to do movements for stronger attacks rather than just letting Domorey do all the hard work. It's a team effort.

@astrowarden I remembered you said Zhask likes jellyfish. So here's two occurences I could find that radiated Jellyfish Energy.

I guess that's why he's so waisted huh? Because that's the centre of where the energy comes out. Space insect biology is weird enough as it is. In the meantime his active attacks require him to exert effort which is how he's so buff-

Hold on, make that three.

The first one is when Yve clashes with Zhask. The second one is Zhask releasing his explosive swarm. The third one is when Yve detonates them.

They remind me of moon jellyfish. And they're pretty cute. The second image has more of a starfish vibe to it lmao.

ZHASK RUNS LIKE A TRACK STAR and honestly that's actually a recommended way to run. He's hunched over and his sleek design makes for a reduced air resistance. Hands sharp. The only thing that's slowing him down is Domorey.

His FEET. Oh my God he's got the feet of those runner birds like ostriches and secretary birds. He HEADBUTTS like a cassowary.

His reaction time is ungodly fast. Even before we get to see it he's already braking so as to not be hit by Yve's wall.

And last but not least

weeeeeee~

[goldemas1244]

Alright, LET'S DO THIS!

3 ships:

Yve x Zhask (MLBB). Mortal enemies to lovers trope. Turns out they were correct when they said that their last battle would be on this planet.

Zhask x Belerick (MLBB). Invasive pest and the plant guardian guardian of the plants. The potential for a Zhask redemption arc AND hurt/comfort, not to mention relaxing nature walks.

Zhask x Argus. Power-hungry couple. I think they'd both be reluctant at first but then catch feelings for each other really REALLY quickly.

Last song

Last movie: I... don't watch movies anymore.

Currently reading: The WIP I'm writing (Yvask).

Currently consuming: Nothing. I'm on the toilet.

Craving: Love, warmth, affection, soft kisses, a long hug, whispers telling me nice things, soft bread, a day out with my best friends, free diamonds from Mr Moonton.

TAGS BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO:

@arc-doesnt-exist @astrowarden @bandaidbeetles @madangel19 @thebeepboops @star-studded-zweilous @smolbluebeansstuff @uwu-scraptrappy @goldemas1244 (I ran out of ideas ok)

(starting a new thread 'cause the other one got really long)

Tag 9 people you want to get to know better

Thanks for the tag, @juniperjellyfish!!

Three ships: Pixane, Ralbert, Orphydice

Last song: Phenomena - Douran

Last movie: Hmm, I really can't remember

Currently reading: RED (As in Russia and Measles and Love) by Linda Jane Niedfeldt

Currently watching: Ninjago!

Currently consuming: Strawberry-orange gum and grape soda (I know, I'm sooooo healthy)

Currently craving: Nothing. I just woke up, and I'm never hungry after I wake up (even though I fell asleep starving)

Nine tags: @beetr0t @roguendeavor @giddlygoat @lennon-cuddlywump @dapper-nahrwhale @not-quite-my-tempo @kentucky-fried-thea @orcaofmyheart99 @frau-wilhelm-klink

[goldemas1244]

Zhask and Yve headcanoons time!

Okay so we all have seen this

ZHASK X YVE MOONTON CANON

So, with inspo from @astrowarden I'm making a headcanons and ideas list to jot some stuff down because I need to infodump. Hey, Yve mutual, (I can call you that, yes? Because you're the astrowarden?) you can reblog and add more below (or argue against mine). We can infodump a lot here. Let us build this Zhask X Yve ship together!!

Man I just need to infodump-

-- Headcanons under the :readmore: --

Equilibrium (Placeholder ship name)

Zhask and Yve got together after many forced team-ups against the ever-present problems threatening to destroy the Land of Dawn. Because if the planet gets destroyed then Zhask, now comfy with the place, will find more planets and that'd suck for Yve.

Just imagine Zhask shielding Yve from an attack... and the other way around... ehehehehe

There were lots of witty banter between them and many more insults but they gradually softened and became cool beans with each other.

"You want some pizza?" "No thanks, it's got meat on it."

*Yve eats the pepperonis for him.*

*He finally eats the pizza and asks for more.*

Zhask got really injured during a fight once AND IT WAS YVE WHO CALLED FOR HELP AND HELPED SAVE HIM

He was grabbing on to her arm for dear life at this point (which is when she realised 'Oh God he needs me').

They can both breathe, talk to each other, and hear each other in space. Which is weird because space is a vacuum.

Zhask is the idiot. Yve is the only one who can accept that.

Zhask lets Yve control Domorey (his staff) sometimes. He will NOT admit she's better than him.

Since Zhask is the only one of them with a canonical place to stay, Yve bunks with him. She has a set of pyjamas and everything.

Pillowfights (GAH)

Zhask's love language is acts of service. Yve's is listening. They're both secretly touch starved.

This planet was meant to be his Kastiya II, like an extension of the place. Yve doesn't have the heart to tell him what happened to Kastiya I.

They both love the wildlife. But Yve is usually the one to drag him out of his trance when he sees bugs. He gets an identity crisis.

Yve is Zhask's personal leash. She usually stops him from violently dropping his head into a nearby bush and eating it.

They both have eating problems. Zhask overeats. Yve doesn't eat enough. They criticise each other until their diets eventually cool up.

Imagine again, Yve comforting Zhask through his nightmares-

Zhask

Zhask likes coconut milk. He steals snow from the Northern Vale to build himself a mini fridge for his coconut shakes.

Kastiya II has a bunch of coconut trees. It's mentioned that he's building a swarm army there but it's mostly just a pet-type thing now because they KEEP. EATING. THE COCONUT TREES.

People mistake Zhask's forest of coconut trees for the actual Swarm.

He makes a living somehow by... selling the freshest coconuts known to the world???

Of course it isn't just the swarm who keep eating the trees. Zhask takes a bite out of every single type of plant he finds and if he likes them he'll suck out their juices. Like a beetle.

He sometimes does this to his own coconut trees when he's sleepwalking. He has no recollection of this and starts blaming his spawn beans again.

Yve recorded it and is now saving it as blackmail.

He's a traditional medicine kind of guy. Feed him a ginger root and he'll be all good in three hours.

The Land of Dawn uses his services to clear land and stuff. It's disturbing to see the usually composed and upright king going full-on feral when he's specifically requested for though.

A swarm can clear the intended land in minutes. But if he's hungry he'll take seconds (lol it's a pun).

We all know he can hear people's thoughts. Oho, he has the juiciest gossip if you can crack him open.

'Anything is edible if you're brave enough.'

He's not brave enough.

He's homesick.

He has a good relationship with Badang because Badang makes the best rice (he's Malay of course he does).

Yve

Unlike Zhask she is omnivorous which means she's the one who usually eats the shrimp in his mac and cheese.

She cheats at tag.

Zhask is her FIRST friend.

She likes fish. She can swim for hours. Which terrifies Zhask because he's seen one of his spawn young get eaten by a creature in the water and he's NOT taking risks.

She's actually very good at videogames.

She's not very social. But she DOES get invited by Aurora for tea every two weeks.

She still thinks Aurora should beat up Zhask and then some. As a treat and revenge.

Of course, coming from Mithlora, she is a great hunter. She and Helcurt have hunting battles occasionally when they cross paths.

One of Mithlora's veteran hunters keeps watch on Martis. So she still has family to communicate with in close quarters.

She likes sour cherry sweets.

She has a favourite of Zhask's spawn. Its name is Edem. Zhask's favourite is Meric.

She can light up like a glowstick. Just without the cracking and shaking (but you can do it to her; only once).

Her bestie is Pharsa.

[goldemas1244]

The many squeakies of Zhask and Yve

Zhask

Laughing Squeaky

Crying Squeaky

Alert Squeaky

Chirping Spawns

Nightmaric Spawn Chirpy

Yve

Massagey noises

Trying not to laugh (and failing miserably)

Ticklish Cuddles

[goldemas1244]

Changed my wallpaper and themes. I wanted something purple.

[goldemas1244]

When the 2-hour ranked losestreak hits...

[goldemas1244]

"SOMEBODY HELP "

@kikiwooo @humanthatlikestuff @agremlinchildthatneedscontent

This is why they're divorced

[goldemas1244]

Guys...

The exes are coming back...

(Copied from my Insta, goldemas1244 if you wanna check it out. I post less there.)

So it seems that, in a sense, Zhask X Yve is canon! It's obvious she DOES care for him and he's very playful with her. It seems they usually get into this situation. AND Jawhead automatically brings him to Yve when all's said and done! Given how she phrases it, we can tell that it was BY REQUEST which means Zhask finds SAFETY and STABILITY with Yve.

Finally, after all those light-years of chasing and trying to kill each other, they're doing good together! You'd think she'd have killed him by now like she's always wanted to but no! Despite how close she is to ending it all right there (this has probably happened multiple times), she hasn't killed him!

I guess since he's fixiated on living in the Land of Dawn, he's no longer a threat to the universe. Essentially, the equilibrium is maintained and her job is done. Of course this could also be a cop-prisoner buddy system. She watches over him (and gains feelings), he proves beneficial to her. But then again, isn't that just marriage in general?

I bet she stays over at Kastiya II doesn't she? Out of the both of them it's clear he's the only one with a canon home. She's probably in love with the little spawn isn't she? GAH MOONTON I LOVE YOU SO MUCH FOR GIVING US THIS INTERACTION YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND

[goldemas1244]

@kikiwooo I saw your tags and I am obliged to reply. Don't worry! None of this is canon to their lore anywhere! The actual canon is Dylan and KM live happily ever after, this is just a what-if scenario that doesn't have a backstory that makes sense, I judt thought a little AMV would be kewl.

Well here's a little bonus feature for you, honey!

The involvement in the battle was all on KM. Zhask did try to actively dissuade him from service, but there was vengeance in KM's poor little heart. So he went on a rampage instead, teaming up with X. Borg and demolishing the Eruditio along with the Rangers. Not entirely though, but we get to see how powerful of a sharpshooter KM is.

As he walks out of the flames he meets Zhask who is awestruck and is willing to let their firepower combine. With some Eruditian science they've created monstrous spawns.

They do a bit of conquering and demolishing and dominating until they've overrun almost the entirety of two-thirds of the Land of Dawn. Some areas such as the capital cities of Moniya and Eruditio have negotiated, while others like the forest and desert areas are fully conquered, with Belerick and many others struggling to rebuild or regroup. The Abyss itself is untouched, mainly because they want to see their foes wiped out before they make a backstab move. The watery areas are also kept from harm, thanks to KM's relationship with Dylan.

Eventually they decide to reinvade the Northern Vale, and they succeed against most of Aurora's attacks. It's here that Yve is awaiting Zhask with Aurora, and a lengthy battle begins, which ends with heavy injuries on Zhask and KM due to their biology and KM's inability to regulate his temperature. Aurora and Yve are injured as well, though not as much, although we do see her taking a heavy hit from KM's arrow.

So there they stand amongst the ruins. And we all know what happens from then on.

KM will not back down. He's lost everything as a small child to the Astrowardens and he's not about to lose his father. Zhask will settle the debt between him and Aurora.

But as we both know, they die in the end. The empires and everything else slowly rebuild as the Abyss threat enlarges. They're all holding out, albeit with much difficulty.

Aurora initially kept the ice statue of Zhask and KM in her palace before Dylan bought it and brought it to the oaks to be burnt down and their bodies properly laid to rest.

...

But maybe, just maybe, there's still hope.

I WROTE THIS IN AN HOUR

OKAY INTRODUCTION

I was listening to Karma (VocaCircus) and I was thinking about a sort of animatic type-thing. But not the meme part, just the rest of the song. And so this was born! I'm just so excited about this I just threw out a playlist for it! I've never been able to properly turn an animatic into writing let alone a storyboard so this is a major achievement for me!

TW: character death

---

The air, as always, was cold. Far too cold. Four figures stood amongst opposite ruins of the battlefield, a lost fisherman's village which once held life by the dozens and a frozen peak of ice eroded by time.

Two on one end, two on the other. It would be a fair fight.

"Kaloshta, I can't-" the young beetle shook out. His breath was ragged from the blizzard and his haemolymph frozen as a glacier. A spark of flame amongst the blues and whites of the icy tundra.

"We can, just hold on!" hissed the elder, clutching his staff like a lifeline. He couldn't see anymore, blindly following his other senses despite barely any of them functioning. He picked up his only remaining child's bow, edging it over to the dying youth.

A fair fight but they were quickly losing. Or perhaps, they've already lost.

"Now you've used up all your luck," a voice rang out through the icy plain, like shooting stars in an endless void. The bearer, well-fought yet barely touched, raised her glowing purple hand, aiming it at Zhask. A glow of energy coursed through her palm, forming a cube of explosive power.

"It's time you get what you deserve," came a steady voice accompanying her. A body of ice and snow, so was her voice, sharp as the sword she held tight to her bosom. Her eyes, fixiated on the blue beetle before her with a vengeful fury, hell hath no other.

The elder looked towards his son with shaken eyes, with grief and remorse and worry. All intuitions which had come far too late. What he had provided, what he had sworn to provide, all gone in the blink of an eye. All his fault.

But the younger still stood. "I'm holding out for karma," said he, pointing an accusatory finger at the Astrowarden he so dreaded. A little boy facing the monster under his bed for the first and what may be the last time.

His mandibles clicked. The icicles spread through his body were like lead in his veins and he knew he couldn't get far. But he possessed the heart of his father, a warrior who laughs in the face of death, a conqueror who brought home all his love to be shared. To be kept for safekeeping as odd little trinkets and soft bedtime kisses.

And he stood.

Haemolymph dripped onto the snow.

A bitter taste flooded Zhask's mouth as he looked upon his son's condition. Unsalvageable. Unsaveable. But if this is how they'll go down...

"I'm holding out to watch you burn."

Zhask handed his son the bow and the young Kastiyan notched an arrow. They'll go down together. As father and son. The last remaining Kastiyans forevermore.

It was the Astrowarden who struck first. Her barrier could only last so long, but they struck the space between the two hearts, shattering all bond and chain between them. Zhask was swept aside, as Kastiya deftly dodged and loosened his arrow.

It hit Aurora square on the shoulder, a chilling scream erupting from her lips as the venom took its hold. She fell, clutching her shoulder as Yve came to her aid. It wasn't potent, but it was a terrible pain to endure for a long while yet.

A sharp icicle shot out of her palm. It bounced off cliff and crag, but it wasn't half noticed before it met its mark.

It was intended for only one, the forlorn beast. But it missed, shattering the void wall carved by Yve and plunging itself deep into the wrong Kastiyan. And before the smooth shiny purple shards, before the cold of the Northern Vale, before the mercy of fate, was the poor young boy who'd lost his dear father at such a young age.

A faint whistle and a fulfilling life flashed before Kastiya's eyes.

He couldn't hear, couldn't see or feel. All he could was taste, and he tasted the fresh flowers of spring. He tasted the geraniums in his garden, the smooth black pebbles of the nearby beach. He tasted blood, his blood, and the snow he drifted into.

For illusory hours he must have watched the visions play out through his taste and taste alone. The soft woodwork of Rista's travelling coach, the tender kisses from Dylan every night, the night markets and sunrises. One by one playing, reminding him of things he wouldn't remember in eternity.

As he dreamt, the walls around him shattered. Footfalls treaded through the snow in a desperate attempt to reach the only thing they'll ever care for. Sharp broken claws grasp the back of the young beetle's head, lifting it up from the cold into a much warmer touch.

Knees crashed onto the snow, bloodied and cold. Disbelieving breaths choked the fire out of its bearer, as he gazed upon the one thing he swore to protect forever, now immortalised in eternal sleep. The cold numbed all emotion but desperation, desperation to keep this final fledgeling of love aflight.

A glittering flash caught his eye and his mandibles clicked. No. Not his son. Not the little boy he raised a prince of gold and glory. Not the little boy of arrows of flame. Not his little boy, no.

Not his little boy, no.

Please, not his little boy, his only boy, please no.

Instinct took over and his shoulder covered to block the oncoming ice spike.

The projectile makes contact. Ice seeps quickly through both their bodies, freezing the duo in an eternal embrace of protection and love. The ice covers spiracles and antennae alike, breath was nonexistent.

But if the last thing he sees is the only love his life will permit him, then it's a worthy death.

---

A father and son, immortalised in an eternal sculpture of ice and crystal. A memoriam of the horrors of war. Two tombstones, carved of obsidian and sapphire.

All this bought by a wealthy male of antiquities from a royal kingdom beneath the waves, grieving a lost love. Perhaps this is a way for him to cope, to grieve. Perhaps this is obsession. Perhaps this is respect. Aurora had no use for them, thus he took them to the only place they'd ever called home.

His hand grasps the eternally cold claws of the only true love he's ever had in the shadow of the dark oak clearing. He tries not to weep, for this was long foreseen. Zhask would lose, and he'd take down everything with him.

He just wishes it wasn't his Kastiya too.

He lights a simple match. The glow reminds him of the bright orange his love used to flaunt. The red reminds him of the father figure he saw in the king. The matchstick, the dark oak.

With a short breath, he recites the last of his cremation rites.

He tosses the match into the trees, the dry grass quickly set ablaze by the mere kindle. The bark and leaves set alight as the ice sculpture melts. Little by little their bodies are uncovered, colour faded from the sun and the shine. But to Dylan, all is perfect.

Within the burning embers, he picks the bodies from the ice and carefully lays them in their joined grave. But not before he gives one final kiss to his long-dead love. He swears those cold lips never have changed, but deep down he knows they have.

Eyes brimming with tears, mainly from grief and partly from smoke, he buries the duo side by side. Simple tombstones were set up as he sits down amongst the dried grass.

He'll leave in a moment.

Just another moment.

[goldemas1244]

Happy Birthday

- A MLBB fanfic (Ship: Zhask X Yve) -

Based on (but not entirely accurately) a prompt posted on Instagram by writing.prompt.s:

Sidenote: @sentinelpri you are my favourite fic writer (despite my inactivity with your works for a while now) and I respect you. You have become the basis of one part of my writing style. So here, if I may, I'd like to request that you read and review this fic. I know you don't know who these guys are but I hope the writing's good enough that it covers that aspect even minutely. Thank you!

---.---.---.---.---

Her lithe fingers grazed the edge of the forlorn portal as she gazed out into outer space. It didn't belong to her, yet she recognised its signature, begging her to pass through. But for whatever reason, she could only guess.

Perhaps Zhask had decided to finally give up the chase and end it all. That would be morally convenient for her. One small step for peace, one giant leap for the reparation of the equilibrium.

Still, she couldn't help but feel a melancholic undertone stifling itself through the vacuum of space and time. Unlike the smooth and polished portals her archnemesis frequently built, this one had a sort of rag to it. Perhaps it wasn't his? Oh no, it definitely was his, there was no denying the signature circadian hum-buzz.

Her gut twinged with all the experience of a hunter, telling her that she should come prepared. Prepared for what, she couldn't say, so she went with an ambush. After all, Zhask was as well-maintained in his conquests as he was in his retreats, was he not?

Checking herself to make sure she was at least presentable enough for the capture of the King of the Swarm, Yve stepped through the portal as it closed behind her.

The empty void of space was cold, colder than the freezing tundra she came from. Yet it was a familiar cold, a cold she embraced with pleasure, for it was her one true home aside from Mithlora.

Attentively, she studied her surroundings. She was in quite a faraway galaxy from Bima Sakti, with floating geological masses of history astray all around her. As the faraway stars littered her vision with light, she noticed familiar inscriptions in the masses, and recognised that these were the ruins of Kastiya.

Kastiya. She remembered how and why that planet was destroyed. Zhask had been a large-scale criminal then, but the explosion of his planet's core had brought him to an all-time dead-or-alive status. Sometimes she regretted coming up with the idea.

One other thing she took note of was that, to her surprise, she was alone. No stray nightmaric spawn come to devour her, no Kastiyan King to give her cranial damage via Domorey, no colour, no life. Everything was a drab, burnt out sight save for the starry skyline.

Attuning her other senses, she studied the pitiless wrecks until at last she sensed a vibration in the space-time continuum. Melancholic in tone, it had a desperation to it. Quite unlike Zhask but still....

Ever alert, the Astrowarden inched closer to the source of the vibration. It wasn't long before she came upon a sight most... intimate?

There was Zhask, sans staff and consecutively Domorey, sitting on a chunk of space rock, stroking one of his little swarm-children lovingly. His eyes seemed glazed in thought. His voice could be heard, albeit in the faintest of tones, softly whispering out what she could only assume to be a Kastiyan folk song of some sort. It rhymed and it had a melody to it, which, much to her chagrin, she fell in love with.

The King of the Swarm. The Planes Dominator. The Ruthless Invader. Alone.

Yve knew it wasn't a smart decision but she drew closer towards the hulking mass of blue and red as if magnetised by a seventh sense. Now out in the very open, she was vulnerable, but aside from what she had heard and seen prior, Zhask didn't even acknowledge her. Her shoulders relaxed. If this was a trigger for a space-beartrap, it was at least a beginner's machination.

She was only but a few feet away from her archenemy when he ended his reverie, tilting his head upwards to look at her. Unwavering in his eye contact, he patted a soft patch of dried grassland beside him, a sort of motioning for Yve to come and sit. Unfamiliar with this custom of friendship, she hesitated, but penultimately cast her resistance aside and sat next to him.

His breathing was shallowed and, as Yve, ever perceiving, took a closer look at him, she could tell that he'd been here a while. At this point, his affection towards his little spawn had ceased, leaving it bewildered and looking back up at its master in expectation of more. In exchange, he cupped the little thing in his hands and brought it closer to his thorax in an embrace.

"So, Yve?" he began, tilting his head to the side as if to warrant curiosity. "What brings a Mithlorian like you here to Kastiya? Or, well, what remains of it."

Yve was taken aback by the question. Small talk? This was very unlike the enemy she had grown to hate with all her heart. Still, she wasn't in want of generous courtesy and replied in a monotonous tone, "I saw your unclosed portal."

Zhask chuckled, a slight baritone fondness in its echolocation. "Correction: 'your' unclosed portal." Then, after a moment's silence, "It was meant for you, Yve."

"But why exactly did you waste your 'precious' energy on such an unnecessary thing?" Yve questioned, unwavering. "You know you could've just told me to meet you up here and I would fly off to catch you and turn you in. How did you even create a portal under our ever watchful gaze?"

"Well for starters," Zhask began, raising up a finger, "I didn't want to burden you with using up yours. And second of all, every portal a Kastiyan has ever made contains a riskier sub-portal space they can use instead. This one is untraceable, even by the most skilful of hunters. It's how I managed to escape you on Utapau that time."

Yve gently smiled under her mask, remembering how she had absolutely demolished that bastard that time. And she would've killed him too had it not been for a random laser bolt distracting her. Damned battle droids. He'd escaped without the slightest effort, and she had sulked through three galaxies because of it.

Silence passed between the two and for a moment it seemed as if the equilibrium of the universe was in peace.

Eventually, Zhask broke the silence.

"It's my birthday today."

Yve's eyes widened underneath her mask. Zhask's birthday was something she had never considered in all their years of chasing and escaping.

"I'd invited all my friends and family," he continued, hand outstretched as he gestured towards the rubble that lay before them. "But they... haven't arrived as of yet." His head lowered as if in a sort of defeat. "I'll still be waiting though. Sure, they haven't shown up in years now but I'll wait."

The little spawn he was holding began to chirrup as if it could sense the pain in its master's heart. Yve could too; it tremored like an earthquake in her ears. For once in her life she felt sorry for Zhask.

She looked towards the unsightly masses of matter and rock attempting to picture how Kastiya once looked, how things were before it all. She understood once that Zhask was a criminal to be destroyed for the sake of the equilibrium, but now, ever so suddenly, she had a sense that perhaps it didn't have to be that way. An equilibrium could be fixed, she logically reckoned, and with the power of such a being as Zhask on its reparation it would make things much smoother.

But his aura was unfavourable for such commentary so she turned to ask him how things were before the conquests, in hopes that he could spill a thing or two to satiate her innate curiosity and, perhaps also, to cheer himself up.

"Before?" Zhask perked up a little at the mere mention of the word. "Well, before, we were prosperous. We had technology unmatched by any being, power unimaginable by mere mortals, intellect and strength that would put a god to shame."

Yve took note of how his eyes lit up.

"But we were animals as well. Of course, we ARE insects, and you've seen how their natural world is. Indeed, some of our tribes were peaceful and lived with kindred spirits. But mine own was a dominator's kind, with souls as hardened as rocks. It was the natural order. Especially during the mating season."

Zhask let loose a chuckle, and for a moment Yve felt butterflies fluttering in her cheeks.

"Unfortunately, I wasn't as hard as the rest of my kind." Zhask's eyes dropped to his spawn, beginning to stroke it again as if it was an idle animation of his. "I was softer, much more... caring, dependant even, towards my environment. I never much fit in. I could only count one or two friends I'd ever had. Nobody really wanted anything to do with a soft Beetle."

Yve shifted her focus some; this was getting into personal territory.

"I had different hobbies and interests compared to the other members of my tribe. This ensured that I had a bit more of a strict upbringing compared to the others. In a while, all I was was gone, and the monster you see before you now was born."

Yve remained silent, listening to this recollection with the utmost patience. Nevermore had she been as patient as this. It was almost cathartic.

"I... never really wanted to hurt anybody. But I had to maintain an image somehow. Kindness was never our forte. But strength was and so I did what my parents before me, and so theirs before, did."

"You conquered planets," Yve piped in at last. Her inquiry sparked a withered sigh from her companion and a pang of guilt surged through her veins.

"Yes, I did. As the Earth's practice of hunting for sport 'til extinction, so did we with planets. We took on their survivors as slaves. My upbringing ensured I was a selfish, cruel, and uncaring sadist.... If younger me had seen it with my own two eyes, he would've shuddered in fear and disgust at what he'd become."

He stared at the chittering spawn in his hands and brought it up to his face, nuzzling it with affection. Yve didn't want to believe it, but perhaps it was true that this insect could tear up. Moreso proven as he hitched.

She didn't know what else to do. Her mind had gone blank and all thoughts of violence had faded as the dying of a star. What was she to say? To do?

"And now I have to do it," Zhask stammered, tightening his grip on the now silent chitterer. "I have to do it. What's been done to the others has now been done to mine. I have to ensure...." He dared not finish his sentence.

He feared he'd say the wrong things and get himself offed.

Luckily, Yve had begun to understand. "You have to ensure your people survive," she continued. "You're the king, and per your growth, it was the only proper way you knew how. And you can't think of any other way."

She inched closer to him. Her ears were bursting with the rapid rhythms of his heartbeat, her senses filled with an equilibrium she herself had never even experienced prior. Then she took the little spawn in her hands and softly stroked it as Zhask did.

To feel the coldness of his little pet pulled from him yet the warmth emanating from his adversary pulling him in was familiar. But not this way. It made him feel colder than he already was and he shifted in his seat.

But the little thing chirruped with a new kind of fondness Zhask hadn't heard from any one of them in a long while. Turning his head to look at it, his eyes met with those of Yve.

And for the first time in a long, long time, he began to cry.

Yve shook to her very core. She'd never had to comfort someone, especially since part of their grief was her own causing. But she had to do something, so she did what anybody did best.

She held him the best she could. One arm slung over his shoulder, the other still holding the spawn close between them. It was an awkward hug, but it was one of her very few and she knew Zhask shared that sentiment as well.

Upheavals of inexistent air escaped his lungs with every whimpering breath he took. His head lowered to rest on one of Yve's shoulders. His hands gripped her arms tightly, begging her never to let go of him, never to leave.

Yve felt his claws dig into her flesh but she didn't mind. For a moment they shared their pain, even if she'd never told him any of hers. But she knew he felt it too, and he did.

It wasn't after a long while that they released their hold on each other. Zhask pulled his knees up to his thorax whilst Yve knelt on hers. She put a hand on his shoulder, still cradling the little chitterer.

"Zhask," she began, eyes steady on him, voice as crystal as ever. "I'm sorry for what's happened to you. But that doesn't mean you're entirely forgiven for what you've done. You understand that don't you?"

Zhask lowered his head.

"But that doesn't mean you're broken forever, for I'll fix a deal with you." Yve took her hand off his shoulder and reached into one of her pockets, a resolve quickly forming in her mind. "You'll still have to fix the equilibrium you've damaged... and if you do then I promise, in the name of the Mithlorians, we'll help you in turn."

Zhask couldn't believe his ears. Was he... pardoned? In a sense it seemed he was.

He lifted his head in disbelief. Just what Yve wanted.

As such, she pulled out a small purple crystal from her pocket. "This is a Mithlorian heirloom," she stated. "A gift one should forever cherish. It is made of one of the innermost crystals of our realm. It is a sign of an unbreakable alliance, loyalty to the furthest extent. To receive it, is to receive our protection, in return of yourself."

She motioned for Zhask to hold out his hand, which he shakily did. "Today, on the day of your birth, you are reborn. Forevermore, you are now no longer the King of the Swarm, nor will you be the Planes Dominator."

And she placed the precious gemstone in his hand. "From now on, if you accept," she continued shakily, "you shall be Zhask, the embodiment of endurance, Herald of Redemption. You shall bring balance to the equilibrium once more and prevent it from ever falling to the wrong hands."

Yve began to stand and Zhask himself to kneel.

"If you would accept, Zhask."

The critter in her arm now jumped down onto the rock, an excited glimmer in its optic as Yve placed both her hands on his.

"To be... a Mithlorian."

Zhask could only choke out a strangled mewl. To receive such an honour, such a fresh start, it seemed all too good to be true.

And yet, a realisation popped into his head.

"Are you... proposing to me?"

"It is an uncommon Mithlorian tradition to betroth ourselves to our foes worthy of change, but a tradition nonetheless," Yve explained. "Two generations back, and many more farther, I have seen examples and they're still with us, guardians of the cosmos. Never have they brought upon failure, and always they have brought balance. Thus I may ask you, Zhask, on this well-fated day, to be one with me. To be one with us."

Zhask's eyes lit up unlike ever before. "Yve," he started, "ever since you first determined to hunt me down, ever since you first dared to attack me, I knew that one day I'd be caught. And on that day I swore that when such a day happened, I should confess no matter the peril."

He gripped Yve's hands tighter as he continued, slowly coming to his feet. "And today you have ensnared me. Thus, as Zhask, King of the Kastiyans, or what's left of them, I accept your proposal, and I hope that this pact we seal transcends farther than the reaches of the universe."

"Then arise, my champion, my honour, my king, for we both, in essence, were of the same wish at one point. Arise, and be one with mine, and with the equilibrium, in permanance."

And he arose to his full height. His chest puffed out with pride, he was a figurehead of confidence. His eyes once soaked with tears now beamed with love and adoration.

Repositioning his hands so their fingers were now interlocked, he began to pull his bride-to-be closer into an embrace.

And the crystal she had given him began to emanate a shimmer of light.

They both took notice of this and watched as it gleamed a bright and serene blue, seeping into both their very veins, straight to their hearts. And all at once, they both had been altered.

Where once was a mask now revealed a beauteous face, bright twilight eyes accentuated by violet lips. And where once was a beast of blue and red now stood a figura of blue and white, formed of the constellation of Cancer. In shock and awe, they both pulled apart from each other, eyes transfixed on what changes, mostly on Zhask, were produced.

And they both fell deeper in love with one another, as if their rivalry had never existed.

"Yve..."

"Zhask..."

Lest we forget about the little bug on the ground, indeed I do have to mention that it had stayed silent the entire time, its one optic too excited to process what had occured. Too in awe, it just sat there, watching the scene unfold as you and I.

Zhask held out his hand to Yve. As she held it, he knelt and kissed it with a tenderness he had never exhibited before. It was a fresh start, a new life, a partner for the first time in his life.

"This was the best birthday I'd ever had," he quipped, amused. "The best gift as well." He stood and held her in his arms; she chuckled and rested her head on his thorax.

All of a sudden, the little spawn chirped out a rhythmic beat and they pulled their eyes away from each other.

Before them came a rift in space-time. And from this rift, came a blinding flash of bright white light.

"Zhask," said Yve with a large smile on her face, "I think it's time we meet your in-laws."

And as the portal beckoned, so too did they follow, with the little spawn trailing behind.

-FIN-

[a-regular-ol-pill]

different than the one who sent the ask buuut

it's me. im the one that's requesting the yve x reader x zhask rhreesome

If I could answer two Asks at once. I would, because I have the threesome request right here from a different person and I don't know how to add you to the ask. 🥲

[a-regular-ol-pill]

not necessarily a request but an yve x reader x zhask rivalry? damn that's hot lmao

It's hot because they're both hot... Too bad you aren't here to request it for me to do though. 😕