#who do you think helped her realize her new life goal of being a healer

[jq37]

Twice Upon a Time - Neverafter Ep 3

No Place for a Prince or Princess

Welcome to another entirely unhinged episode of D20 Neverafter and the first battle ep of the season. A battle episode with no dedicated healer with the whole party at level one? What could possibly go wrong? Well, let me tell you exactly what.

When I first started doing this commentary recap/posts, I did them in stream of consciousness bullet points and I'm going to do something similar for this recap since a battle ep means more nitty gritty that can be skipped over and also because I'm pressed for time due to being home for the holidays. Worry not though! I still have compiled all the most important juicy story bits for y'all. So let's get started. 

When we last left off, the group lost the element of surprise as they readied to attack the Fairy Godmother and her army of half human/half furniture goons.  Their goal in the fight is to steal the glass shard stuck into the Fairy Godmother that Cinderella stabbed her with and is greatly weakening her.

Puss right away Taun-Taun style dives into a dea cow while Roz distracts the Fairy Godmother by loudly declaring her princess status. As the mice told her, she can't resist a princess. 

Meanwhile, Red draws a ton of enemies into a corridor which they nickname "Ylfa's Bottleneck" as if it's a hit nightclub and it comes up so many times you just KNOW it's gonna be a shirt or a poster at some point.

Pinocchio offhandedly mentions that he's been a puppet for about a year which helps us with the timeline a bit. Also, he's apparently using his broken off nose as a weapon which is...not amazing.

Roz gets hit by a spell and she sees a vision of zombie looking versions of the fairies from her christening looking at her in her crib and the blue fairy asking what she thinks her gift would have been if she hadn't had to soften the evil fairy's curse. [Note: Hmm, wonder if that Blue Fairy is Pinocchio's Blue Fairy]

Oh, also the Fairy Godmother says to Roz that curses are also gifts in their own way and idk if that's annoying fae-speak or an actual valid thing to say.

Roz and Red both have to make Cha saves and when Roz fails, Brennan gives her a red token which he tells her to hold onto without explaining at all. Siobhan is trepid, as am I, despite Brenna's claims that it's nothing to worry about. 

Tim doesn't end up doing this because he wants to save his spell slots for healing (smart man) but his Vicious Mockery is a paternal "I'm very disappointed in you."

Puss tries to hide in another animal carcass, this time a mule (which Emily hilariously thinks might be Donkey from Shrek) but finds out that it's the mule of the 2nd brother in his fairy tale and also that he's just faking dead and is alive. 

Brennan introduces a new game mechanic: If someone deals more than half of your remaining HP in damage in one blow, you have to make a Con save or take a level of exhaustion. This counts for enemies and PCs. Yikes! This doesn't appear to have anything to do w/ the red token.

The Fairy Godmother says to Roz, "Don't you want the kind of life I can provide? [...] They're taken your true love from you." When Roz insists that he's coming, the Fairy says, "Then why did his face change?" Siobhan is like, "How did she know that?" and I'm like, "Girl, same."

Pinocchio casts Hex on the Fairy which takes the form of spectral strings appearing on his body and his Stepmom's voice pouring out of him to berate the Fairy. The Fairy, of course, recognizes the voice as they're from the same story. Pinocchio gets the sense that more is happening than his mom told him.

Ger realizes that this Fairy is the fairy who cursed him to be a frog for being rude to her as a kid! [Note: I knew we'd end up doubling up on fairies at some point!] He is, if you'd pardon the pun, hopping mad at the realization. 

Puss successfully lies to the Fairy that Cinderella sent him to help her get the shard out of her chest but that success will be fleeting. 

The fairy says, "Magic was never yours. Magic is ours!" to Pinocchio (and really, I assume to his mom) and drops him. [Note: Hmm, magic hoarding? Is this like a Fae and Flowers deal? This feels like a line that we might be coming back to.]

Ger drops to an attack soon after.

Puss on an investigation check realizes that they've royally botched this and all that's left are bad and risky options. He tries to get the Fairy to give him her wand but that's a DC 20 check with disadvantage that he fails. Roz does 12 damage on her and it does enough damage that the group realizes that she's a total glass cannon that they should be attacking.

[Note: Y'all, I'm not the type to backseat D&D--and I wasn't yelling at my screen or anything while I was watching this--but you always take out the monster that is creating the other monsters! That's battle strats 101! Of course--spoiler--they didn't despawn when she died at the end but still! Taking her out and grabbing the shard would have been my plan for sure.]

Oh, also, Brennan introduced yet another mechanic. Because battles in the NEverafter are super risky, on a crit there is a save and if your fail the save, you're insta-dead. Great if you're giving the crit, bad if you're getting it. 

At this point, it feels like I'm just reciting obits. Roz drops. Tim brings Ger back up. Puss goes down. Everyone is failing death saves--often with a fairy tale appropriate 3 on the die. 

Ger yells at the Fairy, "Are you happy? I'm supposed to be a handsome prince!" The Fairy, surprisingly, agrees. She says, "We're trying to set the Neverafter to rights!"

Lou points out they're flaming out in the EXACT same way they did in the first fight of the first season--Fantasy High. He is hilariously correct. 

Tim goes down. Ylfa goes down. The energy at the table is palpable as the inevitability of a TPK sets in.

Pinocchio fails his last save and black smoke sweeps through the dome. With his dying thoughts, he thinks about him and his father riding home to his village having escaped the belly of the terrible dogfish. He hears a voice--I think his father's--saying, "My little Pinocchio. She has lied to you." Then he fades. As his last action, he has to make a Cha save which he can choose to fail on purpose. He tries but fails and gets a red token.

Ger thinks about how the last time he needed to be brave--when his castle was being attacked--he hid with the children then ran. He sees Red and Pinocchio down and steels himself. There's no running or hiding today. He tries to get the glass shard and Brennan allows him to do it without a penalty IF he agrees to potentially get hurt in the process. He agrees and just meets the Fairy Godmother's roll, pulling it out. HOWEVER, as he pulls it out, the momentum sends it squelching into his own body, and he drops. The Fairy Godmother, as she dies, says, "Gerrard, we're here to help you! It's not what you--!" But of course, she's cut off. 

As I said before, when she dies, the soldiers don't de-animate. And they WILL kill anyone who stabilizes. So everyone has to roll a Nat 20 or die. It's a weird situation where sometimes you have to roll a failure to keep doing with saves. 

I'm going to tell you right now, no one saves. It's a true TPK. I'll run you through everyone's last thoughts. 

Puss: Puss dies with a Nat 1 on the die (a cat butt that they briefly think is the image for a Nat 20) and he sees himself in Tomas' castle, resting in a shaft of light. Brennan says he sees the king and queen. Then the castle on fire. Then he's gone. He fails his Cha save and gets a red token.

Roz: Roz also dies with a Nat 1. She sees herself on her wedding day, going to meet her true love. Brennan says she sees two beautiful princesses turn to look at her. Then she's gone. She fails her Cha save so she's now up to 2 red tokens. [Note: Princesses. Her sisters?]

 Red: Red gets the most intense vision. She sees herself with her grandma who then turns into a wolf and starts dragging her into hell. When she turns to face the wolf at his request he says, "Will you remember?" Then he says, "There are things trying to stop the turning of the pages," and asks her the 4 most important words. "Once Upon a Time?" she says. "I knew it was you," the wolf replies before she realizes he's falling into not hell or a boiling sea but a cauldron. She's blown out of a brick chimney and hears a voice from below say, "Got you now," with a suspiciously piggish snort. She seems to make her save and does not get a token. 

Ger: Ger actually stabilizes but that just means she's going to die via furniture. He cries and says that he and Elody should never have gotten mixed up in this. He sees his wife in front of him who says that it's not too late and throws a golden ball in the air. As he watches it, he experiences drowning for the first time and then is gone. He is the only one who elects to fail his save on purpose. He gets a red token.

Tim: Tim thinks about the last fight he had with his husband who wanted him to just get rid of the book and stay home while Tim really thought what he was doing could help save everyone. And he still thinks that despite everything. He sees the Gander who mocks him. He sticks up his middle finger and says, "I got your third with right here." "Granted," says the gander, biting his finger off as he vanishes. He fails his Char save. That's a token.

Brennan asks Red again what her last thought was. She says she thinks she realizes what's going on. They've been thinking about things wrong. A book is about new memories, not just nostalgia. They have to be creating new stories and all they have to say is "Once upon a time." And that's where we end: with a TPK and those immortal words. 

This new ep drops in less than 3 hours so I'm not gonna do a ton of speculation. I'm just gonna say that I haven't been this hyped for a new ep in AGES. Are we doing a time loop? Further fractured tales? How meta are we going? I can't wait to find out. Also, I'm glad we got such a mixed data set with regard to these tokens. Roz has two. Ger failed on purpose. And Red didn't get one. So we're gonna get a lot of data when this new ep airs tonight! Can't wait to see what Brennan has in store!

#dimension 20 #dimension 20 spoilers #never after #never after spoilers #d20 #twice upon a time #sorry this is so late #but that will prob be the case while I'm home #a part of the reason I do this is posterity and late season reffing though #so I'm playing the long game here

[rohirric-hunter]

You know I’m here for fanfics that have Aragorn and Faramir becoming very good friends but the thing is that early on, given the circumstances of their first meeting and also the way that Faramir was about everything Aragorn represented, things would be sort of weird between them.

Éowyn, on the other hand, looks Aragorn in the eye during a diplomatic dinner, just after he’s casually remarked that Gimli has agreed to bring architects from Erebor to rebuild the gates and rework some of the stonework around the city, and says, “Have you decided what to do when he turns your refugee boltholes into museums?” to his face.

(She’s definitely listened to Éomer drunkenly rant about the logistics “discussions” he’s had with Gimli about the fact that Helm’s Deep is still a military fortress and yes, the rocks are beautiful but we need somewhere to store emergency medical supplies.)

(Éomer starts crying as he recounts how Gimli, offended, said something in Khudzul and a previously invisible door appeared and opened to reveal medical supplies, food stores, weapons stores, a source of clean fresh water, etc. etc. etc...)

Anyway Faramir is more than a little intimidated by this figure who came striding out of legend and ushered in a new era of prosperity and peace, but he’s made more comfortable by the fact that his fiancé, who he’s somewhat more comfortable with, is apparently on “casual roasting” terms with Aragorn. This is definitely how that friendship got off the ground.

(Later, when Legolas moves some of his people into Ithilien and Éowyn and Faramir have to smooth over a diplomatic incident when the elves didn’t realize that putting up magical defenses around their feasting grounds and then running away when they were triggered was a bit of a social faux pas in Gondor, Aragorn gets perhaps a bit too much enjoyment out of asking how that whole wood-elf thing is going.)

#lotr #yes im sure they talked about boromir a lot #and would have regardless #but eowyn absolutely broke the ice between them #also i wish there were more fics playing with the friendship that definitely developed between eowyn and aragorn #who do you think helped her realize her new life goal of being a healer #it wasnt mr oh hey that stinky old people weed has a use houses of healing i can tell you that

[chosonore]

part two | yearning

yearning [noun. a strong feeling of wishing for something, especially something that you cannot have or get easily]

pairing: kamo noritoshi/f!reader

summary: your relationship with noritoshi was like a game of cat and mouse; no matter how hard you tried to escape from him, he would always find his way back to you.

wordcount: 8.2k

content/warnings: friends to enemies to lovers, language, somewhat suggestive, noritoshi is kind of a dick but i promise it gets better so please don’t lose faith in him, we’re somewhat following the timeline of the anime/manga so spoilers ahead!! but what follows afterwards is purely pulled out of my ass lol, lowercase intended [UNEDITED]

a/n: hello, here i am again with a super long chapter ( ˙꒳​˙ ) it is so incredibly messy and i’m so sorry if it gets confusing for you; this just really shows how sporadic my writing process is, i have some guidelines that i follow but sometimes venture off my path when i suddenly get a new idea. nevertheless, i hope you can somewhat enjoy this chapter. feedback or just your thoughts are much appreciated! for those that are waiting for the ~steamy~ content, it is coming next chapter hehe. as always, stay safe everyone (´｡• ᵕ •｡`)

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"noritoshi, could you just stay quiet today? i'm really not in the mood," you sighed as you entered the training grounds. the exhaustion from the mission the day before was clinging onto your bones, heavy and admonishingly. the normally exciting sparring lessons seemed dreadful, knowing that all students were to practice today. to practice the balance within the team, utahime had claimed the week prior as she was reprimanding your lack of discipline when it came to noritoshi. stubbornness ran in the family; you refused to back down when someone was hurting your pride. said stubbornness came back to bite you - instead of taking a break to fully recover, you claimed that you would be fine with the help of your reverse curse techniques.

as the days came and went, the yearly tournament slowly approached. after the devastating defeat last year, everyone was on edge and determined to beat tokyo tech. well, that excluded todo, he was just looking for stronger opponents it seemed. noritoshi, on other hand, appeared to be more agitated than usual - if he wasn't barking orders at the other students, he would criticize their fighting styles. you knew he wanted to win the tournament at all costs, to prove himself worthy of the position as the kamo clan head. but he was too rigid about it, rarely accepting help and haughty when questioned. you've been avoiding him as best as you could and of all days, today had to be one where you could not. opponents would be swapped every ten minutes so everyone could practice with another student - facing noritoshi for ten minutes was easy. so you thought. 

"can't promise anything, princess," noritoshi retorted smugly and pat your head like he usually did when he was trying to get a reaction out of you. life always found a way to prove you wrong. for some reason, noritoshi had made it his goal to get under your skin as much as possible on this particular day and it worked. it was childish to engage in this banter but you couldn’t help it. the feeling of not being taken serious by noritoshi had always bothered you. it almost seemed like he wasn’t considering you equal to him, always looking down on you. being stressed wasn’t good, your mother had always reminded you, so it was best to remain calm and collected.

stay calm and collected, calm and collected, you repeated in your head. gritting your teeth, you slapped his hand away and jogged away from him towards todo. at least he'd leave you alone while you were near todo - probably to avoid todo getting mad at him and not wanting to hear about takada-chan again. he was the ultimate and fool-proof shield. the taller male was walking at a leisurely pace in front of you, leading the group as per usual. you caught up to him, slowing down so it didn't look like you just jogged all the way here. away from the menace that was noritoshi. todo glanced at you suspiciously before subtly turning around. a guilty groan left your lips. of course he knew, he always knew. as the unlikely friendship was blossoming between the two of you, you rapidly realized that todo was far more perceptive than he would ever let on. even though he took lighthearted jabs at you, he didn't care enough to intervene; it was a mutual understanding. in a way, you appreciated that he treated you like everyone else, not once had he tried to approach you about your deteriorating relationship with noritoshi.

upon seeing the unlikely pair, miwa speed up as well to join them. even though todo scared her to no end, your presence eased her nerves a little. after all, you weren’t scared to put him back in his place when he was being dramatic. she nudged you gently in greeting, nervously clasping her sword in front of her. "do you think we'll win this year's competition? we've been training a lot, so i hope i can show off some of my skills."

"never say never? even if we lose, it's a good experience to learn from," you replied wryly. while the students of the kyoto tech were strong and coordinated well with each other, noritoshi and you could easily destroy the balance. he didn't know when to stop, persistently pushing your boundaries and you fell for his tricks every time. as long as you could work out a strategy that involved working alone or with a partner that was not him, you'd be fine. your safest bet was to work with miwa since you were both sword users and have practiced together extensively. if noritoshi and you exhibited enough chaos to tear the world apart, miwa and you represented the perfect balance when fighting.

"you're our secret weapon though!" miwa exclaimed excitedly, elbowing you gently. "no one knows you can heal, so we'll use that to our advantage."

"uh…"

"what? don't tell me you-"

"i've asked yuta about advice before," you interrupted her, scratching your head sheepishly. "he's one of the very few people who can use reverse cursed techniques, so i asked him to give me some pointers and how to use it more to my advantage."

when yuta participated in the competition the year before, you were absolutely mesmerized by his level of skills and how he had supposedly mastered them in such a short amount of time. of course you hadn't told anyone that you were talking to him - everyone was still salty about the defeat and would, undoubtedly, have crucified you on sight. truthfully, you didn't understand why everyone was so hellbent about hating the students of your sister school. weren't you all colleagues in a sense? yuta was nice and respectful towards you, always trying his best to explain you how to implement his tips. along the way, you might have developed a tiny, fleeting crush on him but never acted on it. it was only a crush after all and you didn’t feel certain about it not being a mere distraction from your feelings for noritoshi. perhaps it was the way he made you feel, the way he treated you like noritoshi used to before. you couldn't even deny it, you missed your old 'toshi. when you looked at him now, it hurt you, seeing all the traces of gentleness having left him.

"really? you never told me! what is he like? he looked like he was really nice but there were moments where i was really scared of him. well maybe not him but rather… that curse."

"uh, yuta is actually not that scary. he's really helpful and always there for you when you need advice. i think i've improved a lot since we've started talking." you made a mental note to thank yuta again if you got to see each other anytime soon. apparently, gojo had sent him on a mission overseas a few months back and ever since, your exchanged messages grew to be rather sporadic. still, you appreciated that he made an effort to text you every now and then to let you know how he was doing and in turn, also asked about your wellbeing.

"fraternizing with the enemy, i see," noritoshi's voice rang out beside you, dangerously close to your ear. it made you jump in surprise, not having sensed him earlier - your hand automatically shot out to hit him, only for him to catch it in time. you shot him an annoyed glare. beside you, miwa and todo glanced at each other, silently agreeing to ignore the squarreling pair.

"i don't see how that's any of your business."

"it is if it jeopardizes our chance at winning," noritoshi narrowed eyes at you in suspicion. of course he didn't trust you, you were nothing but a mild inconvenience to him. you didn't owe him an explanation, not today and not in the future. any friendship or friendliness between you was long gone. refusing to look into his eyes, you attempted to tug your hand away from him but instead accomplished the exact opposite as noritosh tightened his grip. "what did you tell him?"

"he only helped me with training, that's all! it doesn't concern you anyways so-"

noritoshi was irritated, you could tell. the anger was rolling off him in waves, intimidating even you. why was he so annoyed by the fact that you asked yuta for advice? it wasn't even farfetched - the only other alternatives were gojo and ieiri, both of which you hadn't mustered up the courage to ask yet. wasn't it in everyone's best interest for you to become a great healer? noritoshi would know best - he was the driving force behind your ambition, the sole reason why you worked to the brink of exhaustion just to show him that you didn’t need his help, that you were worthy of a higher rank.

"i don't want you to hang out with the tokyo tech kids, especially not with him."

"wait, what?" you gaped at him in disbelief. "is this just because you have personal beef with some of them? leave me out of this, i just want to improve and you don't get to tell me what to do." with that you shoved the taller male, stomping past the other students towards utahime who was looking at you in disapproval. you missed the upset frown on noritoshi's face as he followed you, wanting to reach out but stopping midway. it wasn't the right time or place to let you know why he didn't want you around them, not yet. seeing you hang out and being relaxed with everyone else but him hurt him, oh how it hurt him. he wanted you close to him, only see him, talk about him excitedly and with stars in your eyes like you did when you talked about yuta. and yet, he couldn't let you know. the only way to keep you orbiting around him was to play these silly games, rile you up and drawing a reaction out of you. it was the only way to make you pay attention to him. and so he did.

calm and collected, my ass, you thought two hours later. of course todo and noritoshi had completely eviscerated the rest of the students with no mercy, leaving everyone in a sour mood. whatever strategy your team would have for the tournament was probably thrown out the window, the two of them would take care of it anyways. not that they would stand a chance against yuta.

“yuta isn’t here?” the disappointment in your voice was palpable. you did look forward to meeting yuta again, thinking that he might have come home from his overseas trip for the tournament. but you supposed getting to know the other students wasn’t too bad, you were interested in the first years and their skills. they certainly looked more approachable than your classmates. miwa told you how todo and mai had met two of them a few weeks prior and promptly started a senseless fight that was then stopped by the second years. it landed them in the water as utahime gave them a lecture - while she didn't tolerate the childish behaviour, everyone else seemed to turn a blind eye to it. noritoshi had scoffed in disapproval upon hearing the news, uttering something about not wanting to associate with dimwits like them. 

"nope, he's still overseas. it doesn't matter anyways, we'll still beat you without him," maki replied with a confident grin, arms crossed as she took in the kyoto tech group of students. regardless, you broke out in a sprint and jumped, engulfing her in a warm hug. while you two didn't talk as much as yuta and you did, you were still friends. she was a source of inspiration to you, a master of all kinds of weapons whom you deeply admired. maki gave you some awkward pats before pulling away to introduce you to the first years - megumi, yuji and nobara. the younger students were wary of you, most likely because of their encounter with todo and mai. you couldn't hold it against them, their intensity and stubbornness was something you had to deal with daily after all. you silently cursed the two brash students before taking a deep breath and extending your hand to the ones in front of you.

“hi, i’m y/n, nice to meet you,” you introduced yourself with a friendly smile, visibly relieved when they shook your hand and introduced themselves. especially nobara seemed to be eager to get to know you, fussing over your uniform and inquiring about your skills. you were glad they welcomed you, not wanting to cause any more trouble than would undoubtedly arise for the duration of the tournament. while megumi seemed to be cautious and more reserved around you, yuuji and nobara already treated you like their friend. subconsciously, you envied them for the wholesome friendship dynamic as it reminded you of what you used to have with noritoshi. the fleeting thoughts left as soon as they made an appearance in your head, disappearing when nobara grasped your hand and pulled you towards the buildings to show you around. unbothered by the reactions of your fellow kyoto tech classmates, you followed her - their energy was stifling and the tournament didn't start until later in the day anyways. it was useless to stay with your group and practice, you'd only overexert yourself.

“y/n.” noritoshi called after you sternly, glaring at you when you turned to look at him - ever since stepping foot into the estate, he was moody and more serious than usual.  it was probably him being tense about the tournament, the spirit to win deeply ingrained in his bones. none of the other students seemed to be bothered by the presence of the tokyo tech students, so why should he? ignoring him, you continued your journey until you felt a force harshly pulling you back by the fabric of your hoodie. intuitively, you could tell it was noritoshi. 

"noritoshi, let me go," you snapped at him irritated, struggling to free yourself from his grasp.

"we have things to discuss, did you forget that?"

"i don't want to," like a petulant child, you gave him an angry look as you stood your ground. tension filled the space between you, tethering on the edge of anger. why was a normal conversation never possible with him? and why did he treat you like a child? you let up when megumi appeared to your side, shooting noritoshi a warning glance as he attempted to remove his hand from yours. even though he didn't know what your relationship was like, he stepped in regardless - you were impressed by him. even if noritoshi remained calm, he was a menace to deal with afterwards.

"she said no, didn't you hear-"

"get your hands off of her." noritoshi growled at megumi, the sudden influx of cursed energy that was surrounding him made all students in close proximity freeze. you couldn't hide you shock either, he had never been this threatening towards someone else. he might push boundaries to the extreme, knowing that he could away with it due to his bloodline and family name but he had never outright threatened anyone that didn't do his bidding. with those words he pulled you towards him, wrapping his arm around your waist protectively. paralyzed, you blankly stared at him. his cursed energy was suffocating you, never had you experienced this amount of pressure. not only that, the unusual closeness set your heart ablaze, burning down the walls that you'd carefully constructed around it.

"you're being ridiculous," megumi challenged the older male, unbothered by the strong pressure. he didn't understand why noritoshi was making a big deal out of this. surely he didn't consider megumi a threat? noritoshi's hold on you strengthened and with panic you realized the blood-red markings appearing on his face, he was being serious, oh god he was going to rip megumi apart-

"hey hey, stop it you two," panda's voice snapped you out of your trance and seemingly noritoshi's as well as he wacked his arm. "you just got here and you're already stirring up trouble, are you not ashamed?"

noritoshi simply scoffed and let you go, his cursed energy dissipating with the movement. the rest of the students were as stunned as you were, no one daring to make another move until the tension evaporated. todo was the only one who looked rather annoyed, smacking the back of noritoshi’s head as he started to tell him off - noritoshi, however, kept walking past him towards the dorms that they were staying at for the week. it was almost like there was steam coming off his head as a result of holding his anger in. nobara gaped at you in surprise, pointing at you accusingly. “i didn’t know that was your boyfriend!”

you spluttered in horror, quickly reaching out to her to try and cover her mouth so she wouldn’t say anything incriminating. “n- no you got it wrong! we’re not together, not at all! i hate noritoshi,” you floundered, hastily trying to set the record straight. nobara didn’t look like she believed you, pushing your hands away while giggling. she wiggled her eyebrows at you, whispering at you about how lucky you were to snag such a handsome guy although she thought that he really didn’t have to overreact like that because megumi was harmless. covering your face in embarrassment, you turned away from her and caught a glimpse of an amused todo winking at you.

“i’m serious, nobara!" whatever whining you did, the two of them didn’t let up, making you wonder what you ever did wrong to deserve this scrutiny. as your last resort you grabbed nobara's hand, dragging her along towards a secluded area in the estate. being the subject of the earlier conflict was already troubling enough, you didn't want the other students to get the wrong idea by her wild speculations. nobara was still giggling when you arrived, pinching your arm playfully.

“c’mon, it’s impossible that there is not something between you! did you see the look on his face? i don’t think he would have cared had it been any other person,” she gushed excitedly, her face lighting up in glee. with no doubt, nobara enjoyed poking her nose in other people's business, seemingly having a knack for sniffing out the hidden. a dejected sigh left your lip. a younger you would have jumped in happiness after finally receiving noritoshi's attention but the present you knew better. there wasn't more to it, you told yourself and yet, a tiny sliver of doubt made its way into your mind. could he really have been so bothered by another male being so close to you? todo didn't count, obviously.

"no, there's nothing to it, i promise. we don't have the best relationship anymore and mostly fight. i mean yeah his reaction was really uncharacteristic but…"

"anymore?"

"noritoshi and me grew up together and were childhood friends. i- i didn't agree with his antics as we grew up and we drifted apart after that and now… hate each other? he’s just unbearable and we don’t get along. everyone at kyoto tech knows that so they’re mostly ignoring our fights. and it’s childish, i know, i know..." 

“are you sure? like super duper sure? because it didn’t look like it to me,” nobara contemplatively rubbed her chin. the wheels were turning in her head, something didn’t quite add up. even at first glance, whatever you said made her feel doubtful.

“trust me, i wish it was different too. i mean i used to like him a lot and it makes me sad and i wish we could at least be civil around each other. but he just makes me so angry,” your ramblings stopped nobara’s thinking - so that’s what it was. normally, nobara really didn’t care about other people’s business but this was too juicy to pass up. how far could she push it to make you realize?

why was the layout of all these buildings so confusing? and why were there so many buildings to begin with? you’ve been wandering around for at least five minutes now and you still couldn’t figure out where the hell yuji’s and megumi’s rooms were supposed to be. they didn’t even have any signs around. at this point, it didn’t matter if it took longer than anticipated - the others could wait. nobara had insisted on having a small get together the night before, to get to know each other and play some card games. you couldn’t refuse, it’s been a while since you just hung out with friends without any quarreling. there was no harm in getting to know you future colleagues, even though your classmates were treating them like criminals. so instead of going herself and much to your dismay, nobara had sent you to fetch the other two students, claiming that you would be fine if you just stuck to the measly sketch she’d made for you. most of the rooms you’ve already knocked at remained empty so you couldn’t be far from their rooms, you concluded.

stopping in front of the last remaining door of the corridor, you took a deep breath. this had to be one of their rooms. slowly, you raised your hand to knock at the door when it was suddenly yanked open, startling you in the process and making you drop the piece of paper you were holding. what you weren’t expecting was coming face to face with noritoshi who looked at you as equally confused. he was the last person you wanted to see today, not wanting to confront him about his actions earlier. you couldn’t wrap your head around it; why had he overreacted in such a way? it wasn’t like you were in danger or in need of protection. for a brief moment, you thought that there was a sliver of strange possessiveness. you couldn’t quite place the emotions in his eyes, it made you shudder.

“oh uh, sorry. i was looking for yuji and megumi and this is very obviously not one of their rooms. sorry again. i’ll take my leave,” you awkwardly stammered, taking a step back. noritoshi’s figure was towering over you and in a rare moment, you felt intimidated by him. perhaps it was the dark look in his eyes that told you that he was not thrilled by what you just told him. before you could react, he swiftly grabbed your arm and pulled you inside his room, trapping you against the door.

“w- wait!” you protested weakly, pushing at his chest until his face slowly came into your vision. you couldn’t help but stare at his lips, watching them move as he was talking to you. your ears were ringing, you couldn’t tell what he was saying. the close proximity was suffocating and yet you craved more, not wanting to let him go.

“y/n? did you hear me?” 

“huh?” snapping out of your trance, you looked at him dumbfounded. noritoshi was frowning at you, slightly concerned about your state as you didn’t answer him. just then you finally got a proper look at him. it was a rare sight; noritoshi wearing casual clothes, a simple oversized shirt and shorts, and his hair down without the bindings. feeling nostalgic, your heart clenched. he looked like his old self, the ‘toshi that you loved dearly.

“i said, i don’t want you around them. i don’t- i don’t like seeing you with them,” noritoshi repeated with a strained voice. he placed his hands beside your head, inching closer to you.

“what- noritoshi, you don’t get to tell me who i can hang out with! last time i checked, we’re not even friends anymore so where do you get the idea that you can do this? what’s the big deal ab-” you didn’t get to finish your sentence when he pressed his lips against yours clumsily. you seized up in shock, not returning the kiss as a whirlwind of thoughts entered your mind. holy shit, he was really kissing you. but you hated each other, so why? why, why, why. when you didn’t respond, noritoshi pulled away in panic, spluttering apologies as he moved away from you. your emotional world was in chaos, all the buried and forgotten feelings for him breaking the dams and flooding your senses until the yearning became too much. you were reminded of the conversation you had with your mother years ago - you still wanted him, missed him. you wanted him by your side. desperately, you reached out, fisting the fabric of his shirt as you leaned up to kiss him. noritoshi caught you in his arms, wrapping them around you as he fervently returned the kiss. he was holding you like he was afraid you would dissipate into thin air, frantically pulling you in. his hands were roaming, discovering the expanse of your body.

his touches left you feeling delirious, high on pleasure. a mewl left your lips, pleading him for something, for more. your hands moved higher, feeling his chest and broad shoulders before you wrapped your arms around his neck. his name left your lips in breathy sighs as he peppered kisses down your jaw, pulling the collar of your shirt to the side to gain more access to the expanse of your neck. suddenly, you were hoisted up and pressed against the door as noritoshi held you by your thighs. you struggled to wrap your legs around his waist, to distracted by his relentless ministrations. by the time he's left multiple hickeys on your neck, you were whimpering mess. noritoshi's breath was taken away at the sight of you in his arms, lips swollen from the kisses, the glossy eyes, dishevelled hair and the hickeys that were slowly becoming more visible. he couldn't understand how carelessly you were letting him proceed when you supposedly harboured a strong dislike for him. nevertheless, he enjoyed it and wanted to savour the moment, ingrain it into his memory so he'd never forget why he was treating you like a nuisance.

a loud knock resounded from the door, followed by someone shouting: "noritoshi? has y/n been here?"

out of sheer shock, you shoved noritoshi away from you and nearly fell as you attempted to detangle yourself from him. he caught you in time, signalling you to stay quiet as the person outside was still shuffling around nervously. you slumped against him limply, letting your head rest against his chest. his heart was beating erratically. it made yours fill with pride as you could tell that you had the same effect on him as he did on you. still, the precarious situation suddenly dawned on you - you'd just made out with your sworn enemy and, yes you used to have a crush on him, enjoyed it very much. and by the looks of it, he would have continued if you hadn't pushed him away. the entire ordeal greatly confused you; was noritoshi just playing around with you? it couldn't be, he had initiated it after all. the cold treatment he usually gave you didn't match with his actions just now. you couldn't get close to him, not when he gave you mixed signals. you wanted someone who cherished you and was always sincere so you wouldn't have to second guess their actions.

"huh, i guess noritoshi's already sleeping. we'll have to check somewhere else, i hope she didn't get lost," the person outside mumbled as you stayed silent. the sound of shuffling was heard, then steps away from the room. you stayed put until you were sure they were gone and gently removed yourself from noritoshi's grip, not looking him in the eyes. he didn’t move, letting you go willingly.

“i’m sorry, i don’t know what came over me,” you apologized with a pained voice. “please forget that it ever happened and uhm, please don’t tell anyone.”

noritoshi’s eyes widened at your pleas, moving to stop you from leaving so he could explain himself to you. “y/n, wait, i can ex-”

hastily, you stumbled to open the door, dashing away from him until the building was out of your sight. you poorly hid behind a tree, sinking to your knees as you buried your face in your hands. what the hell. you just made out with your childhood friend turned enemy. your buried feelings were all over the place and your mind just couldn’t stay still. it messed with your outlook as well as your image of noritoshi, distorting and twisting it until you had to rethink your relationship. maybe all this time, you subconsciously hoped that he would return back to his old self and somehow give you an explanation. never having received closure on the end of your friendship, you would even forgive him for the sake of your relationship. were you this shallow? no, you simply harboured a lot of feelings for him. you weren’t able to tell what his thought process was - was he even interested in you? did he see you like that?

“there you are,” you lifted your head to see gojo walking towards you with his hands stuffed inside the pockets of his pants. you almost didn’t recognize him as he simply wore a pair of sunglasses and let his hair down. “the others are looking for you. what are you doing out here? trouble in paradise?”

“n-no! i just needed some time away from everyone to- to catch my breath,” you exclaimed indignantly and perhaps too hastily you realized when gojo smirked at you knowingly. why did everyone assume that there was anything between noritoshi and you? was it that obvious?

“uh huh. that’s not what your neck says,” gojo pointed out while wiggling his eyebrows and offered you a hand to stand up. “he really doesn’t like any competition.”

“fuck,” you cursed quietly, covering the hickeys with one hand while taking gojo’s with your other and pulling yourself up. it was embarrassing enough to meet one of the teachers like this but it was even more embarrassing to know that your teacher had seen the aftermath of your makeout session. 

“i’m not gonna tell anyone, if that’s what you’re concerned about. although it would certainly be funny to tease little noritoshi,” gojo was giggling and you knew he was greatly amused by the entire situation. it almost reminded you of nobara. you groaned in frustration as you trailed behind him towards the girls’ dorms. you needed to hide your neck so no one would question it or grill you until you confessed; the potential embarrassment was mortifying.

your group strategy was already falling apart when todo suddenly disappeared in the depths of the forest, not caring about your teamwork in the slightest. normally, it would frustrate you a lot more if you weren’t already preoccupied with your own troubles. todo would be fine anyways, the remaining group members could work on a strategy on their own. as mechamaru and mai were discussing, you shot a glance at noritoshi. he looked as deadpan as usual, probably not listening to the discussion as he worked better on his own and it was more or less decided that mechamaru and him would be moving on their own while the others would team up. otherwise, you couldn’t tell whether he was bothered by what had transpired between you the night before. on the contrary, he looked calm and composed, probably more focused on his goal than anything else. and for some reason it bothered you.

when you’d returned to nobara’s room last night, gojo had helped you make up an excuse. while dramatically gesturing around, he’d told them that he intercepted her journey towards the boys’ dorms to recruit you for training, claiming that he wanted to teach you more about reverse cursed techniques. although he saved you from scrutiny and embarrassment, you couldn’t help but feel like he might use it as leverage in the future. it was gojo after all, he was unpredictable. absentmindedly, you agreed to whatever plan the others had schemed and grabbed your sword, getting ready to move to your assigned position with miwa. while you had heard of the other students’ skills, you weren’t sure where to place their levels as there was always room for surprises. underestimating opponents was a beginner's mistake. the bell rang out, signaling the start of the tournament; with swift movements, the group members dispersed and slowly moved towards the "enemy".

in the distance, you could already hear loud explosions - it was probably mechamaru happily blasting away his opponents. you gritted your teeth in annoyance, the blasts were too loud for you to make out anyone approaching you. and as you predicted, someone was taking advantage of the noise to stalk up on you. barely being able to block the blow with your sword, you found yourself opposite of maki who was grinning at you. the challenging glint in her eyes told you that she wasn't going to go easy on you but you welcomed it. it was a good opportunity for you to grow and hone your sword wielding skills.

however, it proved to be more difficult to defeat maki than you'd originally anticipated. in mere minutes, maki had already disarmed miwa, leaving her defenseless and you were hanging on a bare thread. your grip on the sword was weakening, laboured breath making your ears ring. it was frustrating, knowing that after all those months of rigorous practice, you still couldn't win a fight. giving up wasn't an option, at the very least you had to give it your all.

"c'mon, you can do better than this!" maki teased you as you ducked away from the swipe of her spear. it missed you by a hair's width and left you scrambling to create more distance between you so you could heal yourself. maki's relentless hits didn't give you any rooms for it - you really had to learn how to constantly apply it to yourself without losing time. from the corner of your eyes, you could see that miwa had picked up the phone. she was probably calling for help, you thought and dished out another hit towards maki which she skillfully dodged. instead, she delivered another blow to your legs, making your knees buckle from the force. you used your sword to support you and took another breath before you tried to lunge at her. in the distance, miwa suddenly collapsed, making you stop mid-move and took another hit from maki that took all the air in your lungs.

"eyes on your opponent, y/n. you know better than to get distracted in a fight, you could've been killed in a real fight," maki reprimanded you as you coughed heavily, gasping for air as you slowly got back up. you were unsteady on your feet, not having enough energy to even heal yourself. conflicted by whether you should face maki again or help miwa, your eyes were flitting between them. maki took advantage of your uncertainty, dealing another blow to you that knocked the sword out of your hand. as your last resort, you kicked at her feet, trying to get her to fall, only to have her pin you to the ground.

"you're going to have to practice a lot more to beat me in the future," she sighed, picking up your sword. panic welled up in your chest - the sword was the only way you could possibly somewhat win this fight but even subconsciously you knew that it was over. reaching out for the sword in desperation, your vision was clouded with tears. it was frustrating, so so frustrating. why couldn't you be as talented as her? or have fast reflexes like noritoshi? why were you ordinary, not being able to make any progress no matter how hard you try?

"i know but i can't give up now!" you defiantly retorted, pushing at her with all might. "i have to win, i just have to show my skills for once and prove myself, i- i-"

even maki softened up at your heart wrenching sobs, easing up on her grip. you both knew it was over. you were probably already eliminated from the tournament, with no other possibility to redeem yourself. she knew that you tried your best and never once underestimated her but something irked her. it was your motivation, your driving force.

"y/n, there's no shame in losing. that's how you grow, make mistakes and learn from them. you tried your best, it's not easy to stand against me for so long."

"i know but there's- i'm still not where i need to be! look at how much progress the others are making in comparison to me! i've been practicing day and night and still, no one is noticing me. i'm just a measly healer and i-"

"y/n." maki cut you off sternly. "is this your motivation? proving yourself to others? you'll not be able to improve if you keep fighting for others. you need to start working on yourself, for yourself. you don't owe anyone anything. but you have to realize that trying to satisfy other people's needs will only make you unhappy and hinder your growth."

"i'm unhappy with my skills! i keep telling myself that it's okay, that i have a rare cursed technique but sometimes i just wish i had a flashy technique or be as strong as you. i don't want to be looked at as if i need protection, i don't want it! i just-" you hiccuped, sniffling again as you wiped your tears with the sleeves of your uniform. "i just want someone to acknowledge me, want him to accept me as an equal…"

"who?" maki's cold look made you freeze in your movements. you didn't mean to let that slip. no one needed to know that the entire time, you were vying for noritoshi's attention. but she was right; there was no point in giving it your all if it wasn't for yourself. it was a silly, childish dream of yours to be equal with him again. he was far out of reach and you couldn't catch up to him.

"n- noritoshi," you admitted in defeat. maki saw right through you, there was no point in lying. she raised her eyebrows at you but didn't question it further. after all, you hadn't told her about the background story. unless nobara had done so, you wouldn't doubt it.

"i'm not gonna ask you why. but this is my advice, do not fight for somebody else. if you relentlessly work on yourself for your own benefit, you'll see progress a lot faster. your technique might not be flashy but it is powerful, remember that. you're a valuable asset to every team," she concluded and pulled you up, awkwardly patting your back as you still sniffled. maki opened her mouth to tell you some comforting words but froze when another extremely loud boom resounded near the entrance of the estate. your eyes widened at the sudden influx of cursed energy - there was no doubt that a high-level curse had just entered the school grounds. you turned to maki to tell her the news but she'd already moved, pointing to miwa.

"take her to a safe place, you can't stay here! in your state, you wouldn't last against such a strong curse," maki yelled at you as she disappeared in the woods. you scrambled frantically, not wanting to be left behind. while you were useless for the tournament, you could at least still be of assistance against a curse. miwa was still laying on the ground, unmoving. you shook her gently, scared that she was seriously hurt. it seemed like she was just sleeping instead; you were relieved. throwing her across your shoulder, you winced in pain but persisted nonetheless. you had to get her away from here, who knows what curses were roaming around. your senses were flooded with the stench of blood and debris, the pressure of cursed energy, the loud rumbles. you couldn't tell where the others were but you hoped they were safe.

a loud thud startled you and you stopped, ready to draw your sword until realization hit you that it was utahime that was inspecting you. determined, you thrusted miwa's limp body towards utahime. 

"miwa will be okay, she's just sleeping! i'm okay too, don't worry, please just take care of her and i'll check on the others!"

"y/n, don't be stupid! you're injured and in no state to help others." utahime attempted to convince you; you shook her off stubbornly, insisting that you were fine.

"what if the others get hurt? i have to help them or at least warn them!" your resolve was firm and unwavering that even utahime couldn't convince you otherwise. slipping out of her grasp, you sprinted towards the source of the cursed energy. from far away you could already see the damage that the curse had caused. multiple buildings were torn apart, trees dislodged and- were those branches rapidly growing out of the ground? you watched in horror as the branches whipped around, following running figures on the rooftop of one of the buildings. upping your speed, you jumped towards the group to aid them. as you neared them, you could make out inumaki, noritoshi, and megumi fighting against the curse, maki trailing close behind. 

they barely stood a chance against the curse, every hit that they dealt, the curse would come out unscathed. "what's the deal with that curse?" you asked, panting as you joined them, coming to a halt behind inumaki. megumi was yelling something but you couldn't hear him as noritoshi turned to you and shoved you out of the way.

"y/n, what are you doing here?" 

"helping you guys? what the fuck does it look like?" you yelled back exasperated. why was he mad at you in such a situation? they needed any helping hand they could get to defeat the curse. while you weren't useful in fights, you could at least provide continuous healing. noritoshi didn't have any time to reply as the curse lashed out again, dodging it by jumping to the side. you stayed close to inumaki, swiftly healing him when he collapsed from the rebound of his cursed speech. you clenched your jaw, not wanting the others to see that you were slowly running out of energy and strength. next thing you know, a body was hurled through the air, landing near you with a thud. your heart filled with dread when your eyes fell onto the figure, recognizing noritoshi.

"y/n, heal them as best as you can and get out of here! take them to the teachers!" maki yelled out and this time you obeyed, too panicked about noritoshi's state. you were thankful that inumaki had enough energy to run after you'd healed him - hauling noritoshi's tall frame around was already difficult enough but even more so when you were exhausted. as you neared the gates, utahime was already running towards you with a concerned look on her face. you were glad that she was nearby, it meant that gojo and the other teachers were close and could defend you.

"what happened?" utahime worried but you couldn't reply. falling to your knees, you gently laid noritoshi on the ground. the injuries looked bad, there was blood everywhere. you had to stop the wound on his head from bleeding but your trembling hands were preventing you from doing so.

"i- i don't know, i just- i think the curse hit him and now he's unconscious and he's losing so much blood and-"

utahime pinched you firmly, snapping you out of your panic. she was already holding a cloth to noritoshi's temple to stop the bleeding. patting your hand, she told you in a gentle voice: "heal him if you still have enough strength but don't overexert yourself. ieiri will be here soon." 

nodding frantically, you placed your trembling hands on his abdomen and let your cursed energy flow. the strength was slowly leaving your body but you had to save him. you had to make sure he was okay, he couldn't die, not like this. regret was bubbling up inside you; what if this was the last time you would ever get to see him?just as you felt his energy responding to yours and saw his hand moving slightly, you couldn't hold yourself upright anymore. the last thing you saw was utahime reaching out to catch you as you collapsed.

you woke up with a startle, gasping for air as you sat up abruptly. sunlight was flooding the room and it felt uncomfortably hot on your skin. you pushed the blanket back but stopped halfway in your movement. your entire body hurt, muscles burning and screaming for more rest. and yet you couldn’t stay still as you remembered the previous events. how long were you out for? was everyone okay? gritting your teeth, you slowly moved out of the room. again, you were faced with the endless maze that was the tokyo tech buildings and stopped in your tracks, not sure which direction to go. you let out a sigh of relief when you spotted yuji in the distance, waving at him to get his attention.

“y/n!” yuji ran towards you, frantically gesturing towards your room. “you’re supposed to be resting! what are you doing here?”

“is everyone okay?” you croaked, now realizing how dry your throat was.

“yeah, ieiri did a good job of healing everyone! some of us are still resting though and so should you.”

“no, i… is noritoshi okay?”

“noritoshi? oh, you mean the guy with the long hair?” yuji nodded, curiously eyeing you as your shoulders dropped, the stress rolling of them. “yeah, he’s still recovering though. ieiri said that his injuries were probably the worst so he’s not allowed to leave the bed.”

“can you take me to him?” you asked with a small voice, doing your best to muster up a puppy face. yuji sighed, scratching his head sheepishly. you could see the conflict in his eyes, that he was thinking about rejecting your request. in the end, he shook his head in defeat and motioned for you to follow him. a small grin found its way onto your lips - yuji was just too nice, he couldn’t say no when people ask him for favours. the walk to noritoshi’s room was silent, neither of you knowing what to say. you knew it was selfish of you not to ask him about his wellbeing more or visit the others but you just had to see for yourself that noritoshi was okay. yuji stopped in front of a door, pointing at it.

“this is his room. he might be sleeping though… my room is down the hall so if you need me to accompany you back to your room, just call me.”

you thanked him quietly and watched as he retreated. taking a deep breath, you knocked at the door and waited for a reply. a few moments passed before noritoshi’s voice rang out, giving you the okay to enter. gingerly, you opened the door and entered the room. noritoshi was sitting on his bed, reading a book as if nothing had happened. you looked at him bewildered. he didn’t look like his injuries fazed him at all. despite the bandages around his head and arms, he remained calm as if nothing hurt. 

“noritoshi,” you breathed out, taking a seat on the chair near the bed. he didn’t spare you a look, keeping his eyes on the book. “i uhm. i’m glad you’re okay! when i saw you in that state, i was so so scared that i could lose you… i did my best to heal you, i know i didn’t do much but-”

“i didn’t need your help,” noritoshi snapped at you, placing the book on his lap. “i would’ve been fine without it.”

you were stunned. why was he so agitated? after you initial shock, you huffed in frustration. “what the hell, you could’ve died! i was trying so hard to keep you alive and you react like this? i know you don’t like me but even this is a low blow for you!”

“it wouldn’t have been a problem if you hadn’t inserted yourself into everything! you’re not helping anyone, just dragging us down; everything could’ve gone well if it wasn’t for you standing in the way,” noritoshi countered as frustrated, this time actually looking at you. you stared back at him in disbelief. you saved his life and he had the nerve to shot you down like this.

“does it really hurt your ego to admit that i was actually helpful? we were friends at some point so why do you insist on being such a dick? and here i was, finally thinking that we were getting somewhere- for fuck’s sake, we kissed and-”

“leave.”

you stopped rambling. the tired tone in his voice, the deadpan look on his face; he was serious. you couldn’t believe him. tears welled up in your eyes as you leaped from the chair and hastily exited the room, slamming the door in anger. 

you never wanted to see him again.

p.s: yes nobara gave you a wrong sketch of the buildings what about it hehe

taglist: @milkteeboba​

#jujutsu kaisen #noritoshi kamo #kamo noritoshi #noritoshi #noritoshi x reader #noritoshi kamo x reader #kamo noritoshi x reader #noritoshi kamo x you #noritoshi x you #kamo noritoshi x you #noritoshi kamo imagines #kamo noritoshi imagines #noritoshi imagines #jujutsu kaisen imagines #fic: sanguine #writing #i am so sorry for the garbage that you just read

[whats-my-question]

Art and Love

Pairings: George Weasley x gn!reader

Warnings: implied depression, a few curse words, and not a warnings but fred’s alive

Summary: (Y/n) is unhappy without art and everyone can see that. George (& Fred) help them remember their passion.

Word count:  1894

A/N: hey everyone!! its been such a long time since i’ve written and posted and this one felt right to be the first to hopefully get me back into it. this story is very dear to my heart bc george is a huge comfort character for me. Also bc i know what it feels like to love something and question if 1. im good enough and 2. its worth doing. please let me know what you all think! THANK YOUUU :)

Fred and George Weasley have been your best friends ever since childhood. You three have been inseparable. For as long as you can remember you have always encouraged and supported their dream of opening a joke shop. Especially when others told them it was a silly dream; one that would never happen because the boys came from a family who had nothing. That never stopped them and after years of trial and error - as well as many detentions while attending Hogwarts - their dream became reality and soon the joke shop was the busiest and most popular store in all of Diagon Alley.

For all the support you provided, they always returned it. The boys knew how much art meant to you and how much joy it brought into your life. For them it was jokes, for you it was art. Your loved ones enjoyed getting gifts from you as they knew it was always handmade without the use of magic (well… most of the time). Like one year for Christmas you made Mrs. Weasley Molly a charmed ceramic teapot with all her children’s names, in their own handwriting and a cup for each one. It’s been years now and she still thanks you every time she uses it. She even had you add Harry, Hermione, Fleur, and yourself to it as she saw you four as her own.

Pottery, painting, sculpting, jewelry making, you were into it all. Of course you had your favorites and the ones you excelled at but just being able to try all the different means of art brought you immense joy. The boys were the only ones to know about your wish to open your own shop and gallery. They never let your dream die while you were kids and now as adults they try every means necessary to coax you into opening one up but you always hit them with the same response: ‘I don’t have time and if I did, no one would be interested and it would fail.’

So that wish of yours soon faded to the background as you were hit with the harsh reality of life while attending Hogwarts. You decided to buckle down and switched your focus towards herbology and potions. It was two subjects you were thankfully good at and after leaving school you could put it to use by being a healer as well as helping the guys with products.

Your goals weren’t the only things that changed during your time at Hogwarts. The way you carried yourself around each of the twins shifted drastically. With Fred you were more talkative and open because you loved him as nothing more than a brother. On the other hand, you grew shy and insecure around George because you realized one day as he talked to you before class started you not only liked him, you loved him. In fact you had loved him for many years prior but you buried those feelings deep because you could never admit to him or Fred in the chance of changing the dynamic of you three. Or far worse, lose them altogether. 

It was like that for months until Fred noticed how lovestruck you always looked especially around George and finally put two and two together. With that new piece of information and the knowledge he had of George liking you, he set his plan into motion with the help of the golden trio and Ginny.

You lot had plans to go to Hogsmeade and spend the day together but slowly they started to drop like flies. Ginny wasn’t feeling well so Harry took her back to her room; Ron somehow injured himself and begged Hermione to go with him to see Madam Pomfrey. Once they said their goodbyes it was just you and George, you six had lost Fred earlier on when Angelina and Katie passed by. 

Although there was a comfortable silence between yourselves, your thoughts were far from silent. You kept trying to think of something to say but nothing seemed good enough. When you finally decided you were just gonna bring up some homework you were supposed to help him with, George broke the silence.

“Do you ever think about our lives after Hogwarts?” He questioned barely glancing over

“I do, quite a lot actually. What about you?”

“What do you thi-

“(Y/N)!” turning around to find a tall, blonde Ravenclaw boy with a brown wrapped package under his arm jogging up to you and George, “(Y/N) I’m so glad I spotted you!” Ignoring the redhead at your side, “I wanted to give you this as a thank you for helping me with that essay for Sprout’s class. It’s not much but I hope you like it.”

You opened it to find a beautiful leaf embossed leather bound notebook.

“It’s gorgeous Will but there’s no way I can accept this!”

“No, please take it. That was the best paper I’ve ever written AND the best grade I’ve received in her class. You definitely deserve it. I was actually wondering if… umm… you wanted to go out with me sometime?” The boy scratched the back of his head while you heard George scoff just loud enough so only you could hear

Will was a nice guy and good looking too but he wasn’t who you wanted. Looking at the ground and then back at the blonde boy, you took a deep breath and intertwined your fingers with George’s, “I’m very sorry but I’m with George..”

“Oh Merlin, I had no idea! I’m the one who should be sorry! Don't even worry about it. It’s all good. ” Will laughed trying to break the tension that was suddenly suffocating, “Well uh thank you again for your help and I hope you enjoy the notebook! See ya around. Bye guys.” He walked away quickly leaving you and George behind

You two remained standing in silence with your fingers laced until the realization struck you that your hands were still connected.

“Oh gosh George I’m sor-

You were cut off by his lips on yours and they were gone as quickly as they were on. 

“Never be sorry for holding your boyfriend's hand.” his smirk dripping off his words

You looked at him with wide eyes just to be met with that famous George Weasley smile, the one that captured your heart years ago, “W-What?”

“I love you (y/n). I have for a while and I guess having someone ask you out right in front of me was the kick in the arse I needed.”

“I love you too George.” Placing your free hand on his cheek

Now here you two were, a few years later and the love you have for George seems to grow each day. Your life was everything you hoped it would be except one huge thing. You hated work. Straight from Hogwarts you were excited to see what the day may bring and welcomed each day with a smile. Anymore, you were bitter and groaned when you had to leave for work.

George saw first hand how your light was slowly fading, he knew of your problems at work and not to mention the fact that you didn’t have any motivation to do art. Which caused him to worry and not before long all his thoughts were on figuring out a way to help you. This change in attitude did not go unnoticed by Fred as he had stopped him on several occasions from eating some of their… deliciously, gross sweets. Today being one of those occasions; George was preparing the cash wrap before opening the shop and almost ate a couple of puking pastilles until Fred noticed and whacked his hand.

“What is going on with you mate? That’s like the hundredth time I’ve stopped you in the past week.”

“I know, I know. It’s just…” rubbing his hand on his freckled face, “It’s (y/n). They’re not doing well. I wish they would find another job or at least pick up art again.”

“I kn- Wait, they don’t do art anymore?!” Fred questioned

“No, for one they never have time with work and secondly they’re convinced they’re not good so why bother. I also know for a fact they gave up on owning their own shop years ago too.”

“That’s bloody insane.”

“Right?! They’re amazing at what they do and…” George trailed off as he was glancing around the shop until his eyes landed on a few empty shelves, “You know Fred, what if we let (y/n) hav-

“Yes, of course!”

“Really? You don’t even know what I was going to ask. What if I was going to suggest something ridiculous?”

“You want to give them those shelves over there to sell some of their work, right?” Fred didn’t wait for an answer before going on, “Literally anything for (y/n). Like you said they’re damn talented. Plus they’ve put up with all our bullshit for years, they deserve something for that!”

“Seriously? You’re cool with that?”

“Of course. Like I said they deserve it for putting up with us and it will finally get you to stop worrying all the time. Actually, why don’t you offer them a job here? That way they can focus on art again and they won’t be so…”

“Unhappy.” 

“(Y/N)?!” The pair said in unison

“Hey…” Waving awkwardly coming around the corner

“How much of that did you hear?” George’s face grew red as he questioned

“Since Fred agreed to your suggestion. I really don’t deserve you George Weasley. Thank you.” Kissing his cheek then looking over at Fred calling him over for a hug, “Both of you.” 

Not even three months later, you could hardly keep your shelves stocked and when you did; there wasn’t enough room. It was finally time you looked into your own shop which led you to today. George was by your side while looking at several spaces for you to call your own; little did he know you had already found it. It was the empty shop right next to Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes. You had signed the lease and been working on making it look more like you for a couple of weeks unbeknownst to George.

“Hey Georgie, I have a surprise. Will you put this on?” You asked while handing him a blindfold as you two walk back to the joke shop

“Mhm… Okay… Anything for you, love.” He kisses you before putting the blindfold on

“You can’t see anything right?”

“Right. What i-”

“Promise?”

“Promise (y/n/n).”

You lead him in front of your shop where your family and friends stand in anticipation. You quickly leave his side to stand in the middle of everyone, “Okay, you can look!”

You all scream surprise and in that moment you are hit with a sea of emotions as you see the look on the love of your life’s face.

“When? How? (Y/n)!” George runs and engulfs you in his arms, “It looks amazing and right next to us even better! I’m so proud of you darling, more than you know!”

“Oh Georgie, I don’t know where I’d be without you, thank you. For everything.” 

This store, your store, not only reflects your love for what you do but the love you have for everyone who supports you and especially for George Weasley.

#george weasley #george weasley x reader #george weasley x hufflepuff!reader #george weasley x slytherin!reader #george weasley fluff #george weasley angst #george weasley imagine #george weasley fic #george weasley x gn!reader #george weasley x gryffindor!reader #george weasley x ravenclaw!reader

[trashmenofmarvel]

Branded - Chapter 45

Pairing: Demon!Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: Bucky will do whatever it takes to get her back.

(This is a fan AU of Falling’s Just Another Way to Fly by araniaart​ . Please check out this incredible series for all of your demon Bucky needs.)

Chapter Warnings: Anger, grief, thoughts of violence, angst

AO3

Bucky paced like a wild animal, back and forth, tail lashing with each circuit he made. He hadn’t slept. He hadn’t eaten. He hadn’t functioned much at all in the past few days, and he was always a heartbeat away from snapping like a wire pulled too taut.

He couldn’t go through the door he was pacing in front of, the demonic wards holding him at bay. It was just as well. Without them, he would have marched straight inside and ripped Helmut Zemo’s spine out his throat.

It wouldn’t have solved any of Bucky’s currents problems, but it would have improved his mood. And it might have distracted him for a few moments from the black hole currently residing within him. A negative space where the bond had been. Every moment that void was there, he wanted to tear out his own heart.

Maybe he’d still get the opportunity if they couldn’t find a way to bring her back. He’d end his own life for a fast one-way ticket to the demon realm if he had to, and there Bucky would stay until he found her.

And then… what? They’d be trapped there forever? Why didn’t that scare Bucky as much as the thought of being separated, with her being all alone in that place? He knew she was resourceful. She’d proven it by the fact they’d captured Zemo at all.

When the gun had gone off, Bucky had felt like he’d been the one shot, only it hurt so much worse because he actually knew what a bullet to the gut felt like. He’d barely made it in time to catch her as she fell, and he’d been in no state of mind to deal with Zemo after that. Steve had barely been conscious by the time Strange and the others had found them, so it wasn’t him who had caught the bastard.

No, it had been the Alp itself that had stopped Zemo. Before the man had even gotten a chance to order his demon to teleport him away, it had used its paralysis aerosol on Zemo and knocked him into a peaceful sleep. And then it had vanished in a puff of sulfurous smoke, leaving its master there to be collected by the sorcerers.

The thought made Bucky shake his head. Somehow, Bucky’s girl had managed to make a demon turn on its own master. Not once, but twice, if Bucky was including himself.

Leave it to her to befriend a demon and turn it to her side.

Leave it to her to give everything for Bucky, including her own life. And what had he done in the time since then except vacillate between rage and grief? Between shouting at Strange and standing by Steve’s healing bed like a mourner at a funeral, waiting for them to come up with a rescue mission.

The sorcerers had made little progress, and Bucky feared their only hope lie in the man that had murdered her.

Bucky would have gotten the answers out of Zemo himself, if only for the fact he couldn’t get his hands on him. The demons wards weren’t to keep Bucky out, they were to keep Zemo from calling his demon slave to teleport him away. No matter how had they’d tried, the sorcerers couldn’t break the demon bond. And no matter how much the Alp might not want to, it wouldn’t be able to resist the call of its master, no matter how far away it was. Bucky had learned that lesson the hard way with his own escape attempts from HYDRA.

So now they were at an impasse. Zemo imprisoned but refusing to cooperate, and the sorcerers unable to get anything useful out of him but having no choice but to keep him locked up. Bucky hadn’t be surprised the sorcerers had failed to take away Zemo’s last Hail Mary. If they were capable of breaking demons bonds, they wouldn’t be in this situation to begin with.

The door opened, and Strange had to wave him off before Bucky accosted him with questions.

“Well?” Bucky asked, impatient. “What did he say?”

“Still nothing helpful.” Strange glanced at Wong as he too strode toward the door. It shut with a heavy thud behind them, no doubt locked by all sorts of arcane spells. “It’s clear that Zemo doesn’t know how to work the demon gate with any expert knowledge and relied solely on the red book to achieve his goals.”

The circular stone archway they’d found in the basement of the Siberian compound, which Strange had named the “demon gate,” had remained inert no matter how the sorcerers tried to manipulate and power it. How Zemo had managed to summon the Alp through it, but it wouldn’t respond to the sorcerers, left Bucky short-tempered and frustrated.

It was nothing compared to the guilt. The shame at being controlled, manipulated into almost killing Steve. He was still being tended to by the healers, and the only reason he wasn’t in a hospital was because Strange had insisted they take him to the Sanctum.

And as if that wasn’t bad enough, then Bucky’d nearly killed her. His worst nightmare being played out before his eyes, or it almost had. Through their tenuous bond she’d somehow broken through to him, and Bucky had managed to stay his hand when he’d never been able to do so before.

It had been… freeing. Liberating to disobey a direct command. To be ordered to hurt someone he loved and having the strength to resist.

And then Bucky had failed to save her anyway. She’d died, right there in his arms, her heart going silent the loudest thing he’d ever heard. As if that hadn’t shattered his world enough, she’d turned to ashes in his hands, the stink of sulfur and brimstone stinging his eyes as she slipped through his fingers.

In that moment, Bucky’s bond to Zemo had been severed. One of the apparent benefits of a demon having a human slave. She’d gone to Hell so Bucky could be free.

And all he’d managed to do with that freedom was absolutely fuck-all.

Bucky’s fist flew, the jagged knuckles of his armored hand knocking a sizable chunk out of the stone wall.

Strange merely lifted his eyebrows. Wong frowned in disapproval. Bucky didn’t give a shit. They should have woken him as soon as she’d gone missing, but instead, he’d woken on his own, bursting through the cryo-chamber and shattering its door to pieces. He’d been so confused and enraged that the sorcerers had had to bind him with glowing ropes and wards until Bucky calmed down enough to explain she was being tortured, and he could lead them to exactly where.

So, yes. As far as Bucky was concerned, this was as much Strange’s fault as it was his, and the only reason he was even still tolerating the sorcerers is because they were her only chance of rescue.

If they could get the fucking gate to work, anyway. A big fucking if. Apparently, sorcerers could make portals on Earth without a problem, but crossing into other dimensions was even beyond Strange’s capability.

And yet, she had been able to do it as a ten year old child. Bucky had hoped, maybe, somehow, she would be able to summon that power within her once again and come back to him, but there had been no sign of any mysterious blue portals popping up on Earth.

So as pissed as he was, Bucky had to remain patient, and right now, he had to pay attention.

“I have an idea on how to power the gate,” Strange said, wearily eyeing the damaged wall before turning to Bucky. “We have more of HYDRA’s research that Zemo ever did, and I have no doubt we will be able to create a stable connection soon.”

“Soon isn’t good enough,” Bucky snapped, struggling not to snarl at the sorcerer. “Every minute here is hours over there. Each day wasted is weeks she has to endure, alone, in a place humans were never meant to survive. We can’t—“

The lump in his throat forced him to silence. Bucky couldn’t say what he’d been thinking, and from Strange’s sympathetic expression, it didn’t need to be said.

They might already be too late.

Bucky still wanted to punch Strange in the face. If he cared so damned much, why hadn’t he kept a closer eye on her? Zemo may have been smart, hell, he was probably a genius to figure out how demon magic worked, but how had he managed to outsmart a whole sect of sorcerers?

“We will move as quickly as we can,” Strange said, indicating Bucky should follow him. “I don’t wish to waste any more time than you do.”

Bucky somehow doubted that, but he still followed after the head sorcerer. His tail twitched as they made their way deeper into the Sanctum, to the place Bucky had spent every waking moment when he hadn’t been by Steve’s side.

“I am aware of the time dilation in the demon realm,” Strange said as they walked down a spiraling set of stone steps, “but it might not be uniform or even linear. Your experience may differ from hers.”

If Strange thought that would be comforting news, he was wrong. Bucky didn’t need an overactive imagination to come up with whatever horrors she might be facing now. He certainly didn’t want to dwell on the possibility of… of finally making it to the demon realm and realizing hundreds of years had passed.

Bucky couldn’t… he couldn’t think about it. He would lose his mind. Bucky would only let despair swallow him after he was a hundred percent sure that… that there was nothing left to hope for. That she was truly gone and wouldn’t be coming back.

That he would never get to see her again. To watch as her eyes brightened and that familiar mischievous grin tugged at her lips. To hold her in his arms while he buried his nose in her hair, filling his nostrils with her scent and—

Bucky shook his head and grit his teeth. He couldn’t afford to get distracted, not when they were closer to their goal, so he forced himself to focus on Strange’s words. Something about a power source needed to fuel the thing, and that Zemo must have hidden it away from the base because the sorcerers couldn’t sense it. Bucky honestly didn’t understand most of it, only that it would take an unnatural power source to get the gate running.

The underground lair, as he called it, left Bucky as awed as the first time he’d stepped food inside. The room was essentially a giant dome constructed of very large stones, but the most interesting aspect of the room was the glowing glyphs carved into the stones. The power thrummed under his skin and set his arm plates rigid as his tail flickered.

And there, in the middle of the room, lay the instrument that had been the focus of his frustration and anger over the past few days. A stone gateway, teleported here by great effort from the sorcerers. It was ancient, possibly constructed during the days of the Holy Roman Empire, or so Strange had rambled. Bucky was too fucking stressed to appreciate the mythical history lesson.

When the sorcerers working on the gateway turned to Strange and confirmed it couldn’t be powered by anything in their vaults, Bucky turned away, fists tightening, mentally preparing himself for what he had to do. But before he could take even a single step, Strange laid his hand on his shoulder.

“Just a moment, Sergeant.” Strange’s voice was gentle, and it was the only reason Bucky didn’t grab the hand on his shoulder and break it. “There’s one thing left to try. It’s not without danger and risk, but—“

“I’ll do it,” Bucky said immediately. “Whatever it is, I’ll do it.”

“I suspected you might say that.”

Strange’s smile was sad but accepting as he patted Bucky, and then let his hand drop. Bucky’s desire to strangle the man went down a few notches, and if this worked and he got her back, Bucky might even forgive him.

Might.

Strange straightened his posture and faced the stone archway, held his hands in front of his chest in a manner that meant he was about to cast a spell, and he said, “Though I must warn you, tapping into the power of the Infinity Stones can be quite dangerous.”

With an intricate pull of his fingers, glowing patterns in the air emerged, and that’s when Bucky finally noticed the green light shining from Strange’s amulet. He’d vaguely wondered around the thing always around the sorcerer’s neck, and now Bucky had an answer as to what it was. Something otherworldly, deadly, and strong enough to compare with the power of the blue cube HYDRA had once wielded.

A deep thrumming filled the room, vibrating through the air and up the stones, the potential of something building made Bucky’s wings flair behind his back.

Then the glyphs along the demon gate began to glow, first green like the stone and then to a bright blue that made Bucky’s heart clench with fear. Strange blue lights often accompanied the demonic rituals HYDRA had conducted on him, but he swallowed down the panic and didn’t blink.

The charge in the air built higher and higher, until with a crackle of electricity, the empty space between the archway suddenly filled with light. It pulled outward to the edges, a border of blue around a watery image that sharpened into something Bucky recognized.

The demon realm.

“I can’t hold it forever!” Strange yelled, his hands still in the same position as he somehow, impossibly, held the gateway open using the green stone around his neck. “Get moving, Sergeant!”

Bucky didn’t have to be told twice.

With none of the hesitancy he’d shown the first time being confronted by a blue portal, Bucky flared his wings as he raced forward and gave one hard flap, lifting off and darting through the gateway like a missile launched from its tube.

The dry wind buffeted him from the other side and Bucky nearly nosedived into the red sand, but he managed to right himself and soar up into the air. The human side of him balked at the alien surroundings, but it was the demon part of him that Bucky needed now.

Orienting himself to the familiar magnetic fields of the planet, because in a sick way he’d been alive longer here than on Earth, and he knew this place as intimately as his home.

Turning in the direction of his territory, Bucky pushed his body as far as it would take him and flew faster than he ever had before.

Hold on, sweetheart, he prayed to her, hoping he was heard. I’m coming.

Next Chapter

#branded #demon!bucky barnes #demon!bucky x reader #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #my writing #my fanfiction

[clonemando]

Star Wars Fun in the Sun Submission

This fic was written for @starwarsfandomfests “Summer Fun in the Sun” event. This event was really fun to participate in and I’m glad I joined in. I was given @anaisonfire to write for and chose to write some fluffy Jangobi for you with some bonding between Jango and the clones and Obi-Wan and young Boba. I hope you enjoy!

Find it on AO3 Here

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The sound of the waves lapping at the sand of the beach and the feeling of warm sunlight against his bare skin had Obi-Wan almost dozing in his chair. It had been so long since he could just relax like this and soak in the beauty and sensations of a place instead of worrying about an attack but the war was finally over. A lucky break had come from Fox who had nearly faceplanted onto the council room floor in a combination of his haste to speak with them and complete exhaustion. He had overheard a conversation between Dooku and Palpatine revealing his plans and had recorded it on his helmet cam, giving the Jedi evidence against the now exposed Sith Lord. Dechipping started as soon as they located what it was Palpatine was talking about and within the month, the head had been cut off the snake. Without Palpatine’s funding, a lot of previously Separatist worlds returned to the Republic begging for another chance. Dooku was backed into a corner and he knew it, so he had willingly turned himself into the Jedi council, giving up information on Grievous that led to his capture and the droid army’s shutdown. Things still weren’t perfect. The flaws of the Republic were more obvious than ever. The corruption ran deeper than before. The Clones still didn’t have the rights they deserved.

“What has you frowning like that, cyare? We’re supposed to be on vacation.” Jango’s voice interrupted the downward turn his thoughts had taken and his lips turned up in a warm smile.

“Just thinking about the mess we are not supposed to be thinking about while here. The usual.” He said and Jango snorted when Obi-Wan looked over to soak in the sight of him. Despite seeing his face repeated a million times in the war, none looked quite as handsome as Jango’s own scarred appearance to him.

“That’s fair enough. I keep worrying about Boba.” Jango admitted looking out over where the 212th and 501st were all playing volleyball or splashing in the water or laying in chairs like Jango and Obi-Wan just soaking in the sun. Obi-Wan sighed. Boba was another issue they would have to figure out a solution to. Well, not Boba himself, but how to integrate him into the rest of the family.

“Where is he now?” Obi-Wan asked when he didn’t see the boy in question.

“Inside the hotel room moping. I left him some books to read that I thought he might like so hopefully he’s curled up with one of those at least. I wish I knew how to make it better. I suppose just time with the mind healers for all of us. Watching who he thought was me get their head cut off is not the sort of trauma that goes away in a few months.” Jango murmured rubbing his face and Obi-Wan reached out to squeeze his hand.

“I have to admit it was a big shock to all of us when Dooku revealed you were alive and that the person Mace killed had been one of the clones he had kept personally for purposes such as that. I’m just glad that you survived and that Boba had been able to be located and reunited with you.” He said seriously. Jango nodded.

“If Aurra weren’t already dead I’d kill her again for poisoning him to think I’d want him risking his life that way. I just want him happy and healthy.” He said, squeezing Obi-Wan’s hand back. The relationship that had somehow started between them, since Jango was recovered from where he had been imprisoned and had started helping fight for the clones and clean up the mess that he helped make, was the biggest surprise of all. Obi-Wan had always assumed that Jango was a cold heartless person to have made all the clones and treated them so indifferently, however he had realized that the opposite was in fact true. Jango cared greatly for the clones but he had been just as much a prisoner in Palpatine and Dooku’s schemes as they had and he had distanced himself to protect them from being targeted due to Dooku thinking he might use them against him. Finding out Jango had also been implanted with a rudimentary version of the chip also explained a few things and allowed him to be pardoned for the attempted hit on Padme. Of course, a lot of it was still on Jango’s shoulders and he was doing all he could to rectify his actions. Somehow in all the working together to help the clones, Obi-Wan and Jango had become close enough to the point that even Boba and Anakin had been calling them a couple behind their backs. Now they really were.

“Vacations don’t work well when we just lay around and let ourselves worry about things. How about we go join in on the death ball game the boys are playing instead?” He offered and Jango chuckled, kissing his cheek.

“That sounds like a great idea. Just don’t complain when my team crushes you.” He said getting up and waving over at Cody.

“Wait a minute! Cody is my commander! He’s going to be on my team!” Obi-Wan quickly hopped up to follow and get integrated into the teams. Obi-Wan ended up on Rex’s team while Jango had cockily gained Cody’s choice, Cody giving Obi-Wan a fake-apologetic smirk.

“You can’t even hold onto your lightsaber and you expect me to think you can keep a ball?” He teased with a lot of clones’ ‘ooo’s surrounding them.

“Oh it’s on now, my dear, you’ve made a grave mistake.” Obi-Wan had said, moving to huddle with his team. In the end, due to a non-Force use rule, the teams were evenly matched and the game never really got far in either team’s favor. They were all just having fun wrestling a ball from each other and trying to get it to the opposite team’s goal. Eventually, they all decided to split the difference and go change in Anakin’s room so he had to deal with all the sand instead of the losing team’s when they broke for lunch.

Jango managed to convince Boba to come out and join them for the meal and Obi-Wan smiled as the boy enthusiastically told his father about something he had been reading about snails. Seeing the difference in the way he acted when he had thought he lost his father compared to now was a shock. With Jango’s love and support, it was like looking at two different people. Although, the older bitter Boba was still in there and came out around the clones as shown when Cody sat beside Obi-Wan and started to chat causing Boba to quiet and withdraw.

“Can I go to the tide pools and look for the snails once we’re finished here, buir?” Boba asked and Jango nodded.

“Of course. Just be careful.” He agreed and Obi-Wan perked up at the perfect opportunity to try to bond a little with the boy.

“If you don’t mind, I’d love to come with you Boba. There are lots of little creatures there I’d like to see. Plus those bioluminescent snails sound really fascinating.” He said making sure to show he was listening to what Boba was saying by repeating some back.

“I guess it wouldn’t be bad to have you along. You can probably use your Force thingy to find them more easily.” Boba agreed after a moment of thought and Obi didn’t bother correcting him that the Force didn’t work that way. They quickly finished up the last of their meal and Boba led Obi-Wan towards the rocky area where the tide pools resided. Jango had declined in joining them with a knowing look at his Jedi and made an excuse of needing to call and check in on some work.

“Do you like ocean animals a lot, Boba?” He asked, trying to start a conversation to which the boy shrugged.

“I like all animals. There are so many planets with so many different ways for them to evolve and so many little differences even in species that are mostly the same. It’s cool to see what new things I can find out on each planet my buir and I visit. He used to make it a game we’d play together.” He admitted kicking a rock to splash into one of the little pools of water.

“Jango loves you a lot. You know that him helping the other clones doesn’t change his feelings about you, right?” Obi-Wan asked him and Boba grunted.

“I didn’t invite you to have you try to pick around in my brain. Now get to using your Jetii magics to find me some glowing snails or go back to making dopey looks at my dad and let me do my thing.” He grumbled and Obi-Wan rolled his eyes but did his best to feel around them to try to see if he could connect to any of the animals and figure out where the snails could be if they were even there at all.

While sensing the creature’s minds he felt them all diving deeper from what he figured was fear of the two humans encroaching on their homes however suddenly there was a faint rumbling and he gasped when Boba went barreling right into his stomach knocking him back into one of the ponds just in time to keep him from falling into a hole that opened up under where his feet had been.

Boba groaned as they both picked themselves up, equally soaked. “Dang it. Buir specifically told me not to fall in, now he’s going to laugh at me,” he whined.

“Thank you. I’m not even sure what just happened.” Obi-Wan confessed glad he had been in beachwear already, unlike Boba who was trying to wring out his t-shirt without removing it now.

“The rocks here aren’t round and solid like on most beaches. They’re flat and shift around with the tides as well like plates. It was in the book. The change in temperature at different points in the day causes the water currents to shift and then they move. I saw the fish diving and the rock around it start to move. I might not fully like you but my dad does, so letting you get trapped in a hole and drown seemed like the wrong move.” Boba said, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his shorts awkwardly.

“Well, I appreciate it nonetheless. It seems your extra reading saved my life.” He said with a chuckle, stroking his beard out of habit. “It would have been a shame to live through a whole war only to die to a little water and rock.” He said and Boba snorted but relaxed.

“The great Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi done-in by a change in tide while on vacation does sound like a great holonet headline.” He teased and they both continued their search for sea snails a little more carefully, eventually catching a few in a bucket to bring back and show Jango and the clones. Things weren’t perfect, but as Obi-Wan curled close to Jango’s warm chest that night, he found he was okay with that.

#Star wars summer fun in the sun #Star Wars #Jangobi #Jango Fett #Obi-Wan #Young Boba Fett #Marshal Commander Cody #The Clone Wars #Fandom Event #Fanfic #Fluff #my writing

[fyregrayfong]

Do you have any theories/headcanons as to why Lin is so reserved with her emotions?

And do you have any theories/headcanons for the Kya's want to travel the world rather than settling somewhere?

-Y❤️❤️

I mean Lin is reserved with her emotions because everyone in her life has hurt her in some way shape or form. 

-/-

Kya is half air nomad. It’s in her blood. 

Toph:

Toph has never given her positive affirmation. Lin has been trying so hard to get some sort of praise from her and nothing. Toph never gave her attention and when it came time to have her back (when Suyin caused the scars) Toph basically betrayed her and covered for Suyin and made it all go away. Everything except the scars that will be permanently displayed on her cheeks. 

I want to head canon that maybe...just maybe Toph didn’t realize the extent of the damage Suyin had caused to Lin. Toph could have thought that Lin was over-exaggerating on the markings. Also think for that reason she didn’t let Lin get immediate treatment from a healer which was crucial for healing time and less scaring to occur. Only giving Lin time to just “slap a bandage on and toughen up.”

Suyin:

Suyin was a brat as a kid. She valued her freedom and because of that she legit thought she was invincible and could get away with anything because her mom practically owns the city. 

Suyin is the baby which frankly only further pushes the whole. Baby gets what she wants. Doesn’t apologize for any of her actions or thinks that a simple “sorry” erases everything. Lives in a “Me” world. 

Suyin get’s in trouble for driving as an accomplice. Suyin gets send to go live with her rich grandparents who will spoil her with immense gifts. While Lin just stays in the city and continues to groveling work. Forced to get used to the markings Suyin left which she never apologized to Lin for. 

Tenzin:

Tenzin left her. That’s the short version. 

Tenzin was her best friend turned romantic life partner. Lin knew Tenzin since she could sustain memories. Every life moment it was always her and Tenzin, they were only a year apart so they grew up together. Later started to date and they grew up being each other’s support systems. 

Although yes they did have love for each other, I feel like that love was always platonic. They confused that love for romance because everyone around them basically teased them of their hidden crushes. Once that idea gets put into your head it’s kind of hard to not think about it and your brain starts to be like “okay yeah maybe they are on to something”. I feel like it was more on Lin’s side than Tenzin. I think Tenzin for sure had a massive crush on Lin. 

back to the reason... Tenzin and Lin are both so career driven that they worked tirelessly to become someone their respectful parents would be proud of. Lin as a police officer and eventual Chief of Police and Tenzin being a councilman and representative for the Air Nation. 

Once Aang’s passing Tenzin got more pressed by himself (I’m sure from the rest of the world too) to start producing the next generation of air benders. Although I would like to believe that Tenzin respected and supported Lin’s wishes on her career goal. I feel like he wanted Lin to put a pause to help him carry his goal first. Which Lin was adamant on not doing. She never wanted kids and was never going to change. Tenzin probably hoped that after time Lin might change and in turn caused many fights and arguments. Tenzin hope he could have the best of both worlds, Lin and kids. unfortunately that wasn’t the case so after two decades of being with Lin he had to break up with her. 

Tenzin is such an awkward bean so when he broke up with Lin he definitely broke up. Like cut off all communication with Lin, because he probably thought that would be best for Lin. The only time they would talk would be professional meetings when they had to see each other for council meetings. Security and protection details for the Air Nation. They went from best friends and each others support systems to practical strangers. Which was honestly worse, imo. Lin didn’t just lose a boyfriend. She lost her person. The one person she could rely on for anything. The person who knew her likes and dislikes. The one person she wasn’t afraid to let down her walls, let down her hair and let it flow. The one person who wouldn’t judge her when she cried or laughed. So when Tenzin left, it broke Lin. More than anyone could it was Tenzin that really caused Lin to close up and say no more. 

-/-

Kya

Kya is half air nomad. 

Kya is a spiritual being and likes to live in harmony with nature. She's fun-loving and had a strong sense of humor. 

I feel like Kya often liked the idea of traveling the world to interact with other peoples and getting to know other cultures. Without the attachment of being the “Avatar’s daughter”. She wanted to be known as Kya and just Kya. 

Which she did accomplish as she became a renowned healer in her own right. All of her years of traveling I’m sure spent learning on different healing techniques and properties to improve on. Kya is easily the best healer in Legend of Korra, which I’m sure her mother is beyond proud. She managed to keep Jinora alive for weeks despite her spirit no longer being tethered to her body and was capable of treating Bumi's head wound without water ever touching him. She even managed to heal Korra, Bolin, and Mako simultaneously with her spirit water. Three people at. the. same. time!!! The only thing that ever posed too big an issue was the metallic poison in Korra in season 3. 

Kya is a person who would rather experience it rather than read about it or listen someone else share their life. She is open to listen to the stories but she wants to go out there and experience it herself. 

Kya doesn’t have a problem with settling. She can stay at a place for a couple months at a time. The most maybe a year because she gets the itch to go set off to a new adventure. 

#kyalin #kya ii #linbeifong #lin beifong #fyreanon #askfyre

[secret-engima]

....I lied. If you’re still doing the title thing - if I go down gonna burn with the sun

I thought there was a few more title asks still lurking in here for me to answer. *cracks knuckles* RAMBLE TIME.

-Star Wars AU. Star Wars FFXV sorta-x-over AU where the Astrals decide that Aera and Ardyn deserve a chance at happiness, just not on Eos, and therefore go YEET. The Force, finding these two wayward and powerful souls is like- Sure okay and boom. Ardyn and Aera are reborn in a galaxy far, far away.

-Purely not coincidentally, far away, on different worlds and in different star systems, one Satine Kryze and one Obi-Wan Kenobi take their first breaths.

-Yes I’m serious.

-This would be- SUCH a chaotic fixit AU, both because Aera loves peace but she is NO pacifist and not about to let an entire Culture DIE just because some so called New Mandalorians cannot see the dangers of burying their own past. Two because- well.

-Ardyn has already BEEN a Chosen One and an Accursed, a Hero and a Villain. He has walked the path to salvation and damnation both and seen the worst sides of himself and humanity, and for all they look different, every species in the galaxy isn’t far different from humanity in those regards.

-Obi-Wan Kenobi grows up in the Jedi Temple and he is a Troublesome Child. Too quiet and too reckless by turns, a smile that could melt butter and a tongue that can strip flesh from the backs of whatever bully goes after him this time. The Jedi ... worry. He is Dark, they whisper, was born with shreds of Darkness in his soul. He is manipulative, they worry, he has a temper, they gossip.

-Ardyn hears them all and inside a part of him screams. Because of course he is Dark, they did not have their souls swallowed by a plague for others’ sake, were not consumed with madness until dying (being freed) at the hands of a nephew two thousand years removed. As for manipulation ... he doesn’t mean to. It’s just ... he’s so much OLDER than the other children mentally, older even than any Jedi there (even YODA), he can’t help it that he thinks rings around people sometimes, or that he is so in tune with the Force (with a galaxy-spanning magic that burns beneath his skin like a hundred newborn suns that he keeps buried so the Jedi will not sense it so clearly, will not know how strong and old he really is inside) that he can practically read minds and knows what to say to get the best outcome. He has a temper. Who doesn’t? You try being reborn after a lifetime of AGONY and see how patient you are with petty morons and small minded bullies.

-He says none of those things, and when his time grows near to be sent away without a Master, he does not fight it.

-He looks at the shadow of Qui Gon Jinn in the doorway and something in the Force ... sings. Sad and soft. It speaks of heartache and betrayal and a fear of being hurt again. Ardyn can almost FEEL the two paths branching away under his feet, one with Qui Gon in it, and one without, and he does not know which one will bring him less pain.

-Ardyn does not try to impress anyone in the sparring ring, but after he is done, he slips away. He finds Jinn in the garden, trying to meditate, and settles down across from him without invitation.

-Qui Gon opens his eyes in annoyance. He knows that the Council wants him to take a Padawan, and that this one is almost at the age of being moved to the Corps. He expects the boy to beg to become a Padawan, or to try to impress him somehow.

-Instead the boy just smiles, thin and sharp and knowing in a way that makes Qui Gon feel ... exposed. Like every thought and wound in his heart is on display for this child, “The Council wants you to take a Padawan. That’s why they keep making you watch us.” It’s a statement, not a question.

-Qui Gon raises an eyebrow, “And you think I should take you?”

-The boy shrugs, but his blue eyes are still sharp as knives behind his friendly mien and Qui Gon doesn’t like the feeling crawling up his spine, “That’s your choice to make and yours alone. There’s nothing I can say to change your mind one way or the other.”

-“Then why are you here?” He asks suspiciously.

-“Because you’re lonely, and it makes the Force feel sad.” The answer is so blunt, so sure of itself. Qui Gon feels his stomach twist, and old anger makes him snappish without meaning to be (he’s heard of this boy as well, he’s heard that he’s got a manipulative streak and a tendency to twist his Force empathy to his own ends, he’s heard many things).

-(Qui Gon forgets that it is not a good idea, to base judgement on rumors) “I am not, and if I was, I would not need your company to ease it.”

-Obi-Wan Kenobi, Initiate of the Jedi Temple Ardyn Lucis Caelum, Sage and Healer King and Accursed, tilts his head thoughtfully, then nods and stands up, “Then I will take my leave. Take care of yourself, Master Jinn.”

-Initiate Kenobi Ardyn the Accursed and Healer King walks away, and a breath later the Living Force twists, like the snapping of cables, and Qui Gon gets the fleeting, distinct impression that he has failed some kind of very important test.

-Ardyn is assigned to the AgraCorps. A life as a farmer for others awaits him.

-The day before he’s to be shipped off, he walks out one of the Temple’s side-entrances and into the underbelly of Coruscant with only the clothes on his back. He doesn’t look back even once. It takes until the next day for anyone (for his friends, if he can call them friends when they are so much YOUNGER and painfully more innocent than him) to miss him. It takes another day for the Jedi to realize Obi-Wan Kenobi is well and truly missing.

-Deep in Coruscant’s seedy side, at the dockyards manned by those who are less than concerned with legality, a boy in ratty (stolen) clothes asks to be taken aboard as a maintenance worker. He calls himself Ardyn Izunia, and there are no Force Sensitives close enough to feel the sunlike fire burning in his blood as he smiles.

-Skip forward several years and Satine Kryze (Aera) is on the run from Death Watch, civil war is on the horizon and her father asks for Jedi protection to keep her safe.

-The bounty hunter who calls himself Adagium finds her first.

-A sword that glitters like blood and cuts through metal like a lightsaber (that hums-hums-hums with magic none but a Force sensitive can see blazing like bloody fire down the ancient blade) finishes off the Death Watch assassin that Satine hadn’t had the chance to shoot yet, and under his hood, Adagium smiles. Satine stills, head tilted as if listening, then she collapses into the teenage bounty hunter’s arms in joyous tears. Adagium- Ardyn- holds her close and cries with her.

- “I finally found you, My Aera,” he breathes and for a moment he lets his magic loose and it burns like the sun through the Force, lancing through the growing shadows in the Force like they’re fragile paper and somewhere far away Sidious feels Doom™ crawl violently up his spine.

-Aka that Fixit AU where Aera is a Mand’alor that DOES want peace for her people but NOT at the cost of burning history to the ground (or being defenseless, she has died to the sword once already she will not go quietly into the night a second time, not if she has to paint the walls in blood to protect her life and the lives of her people), the Jedi are Confused™, and Ardyn is incredibly content to be Aera’s former bounty hunter trophy husband with a tendency to adopt strays (read: Anakin and Shmi who he frees as well as Anakin kthanks, and quite possibly Savage and Feral too tho no one is quite sure how) until the Clone Wars start and Ardyn takes one (1) look at the war and goes: ah. I know this plan. This is a stupid plan. And all of Sidious’s plans go fwoosh.

-Because I’m sorry but there is no way you can convince me that Ardyn wouldn’t EAT SIDIOUS ALIVE in any kind of fight, mental, physical, Force, or tactical. This man is 2k years old. It took Sidious until he was an old sack of bones to get his Empire and that was with GENERATIONS of Sith serving as his foundation, and then he got yote down a reactor shaft by his minion 19-25 years later. Ardyn was able to manipulate an entire Empire into engineering its destruction and fulfill ALL HIS REVENGE GOALS (giving Bahamut a headache, driving the world to darkness and ruin, and ending the line of Lucis Caelum INCLUDING HIMSELF) in like- 30-40 years. While MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY ILL thanks to the Scourge. Fully healthy and in control of himself and with people (Aera) to protect? Sidious would just be fresh meat.

-Also Ardyn adopts a bunch of the clones, possibly all the clones, on the excuse that since they were raised by Mandalorian trainers they count as Mandalorians and as genetic sons of Jango Fett that makes the Mandalorian CITIZENS by BIRTHRIGHT and the Republic can only watch in confusion as their army gets mass adopted by the Mand’alor’s trophy husband who also exposed their new Chancellor as a Sith. Bail Organa, the new Chancellor, may or may not be sweating quietly at the thought of accidentally gaining the ire of the so called Trophy Husband because he’s smarter than most and knows that Ardyn is Very Very Dangerous.

-Also also Qui Gon doesn’t die somehow because I do really like him and I think he’s a good Jedi, just not a good fit for Ardyn as a master.

#Secret Engima Rambles #Burn With the Sun verse #Ardyn Izunia #obi wan kenobi #obi wan x satine #ardyn x aera #oh no new au

[cinnella]

Name: Libelle Abrams (chosen name); Varda Lesedi (birth name)

Age: 22 years old

Sex: Female

Sexuality: Demi-homosexual

Zodiac sign: Libra

Birthday: October 7th

Patron Arcana: Justice (Major); Queen of Swords (Minor)

Occupation: Magician, healer, painter and gardener

Height: 5'9" (1.76 m)

Weight: 194 lbs (88 kg)

Relatives:

Briella Lesedi - mother (deceased)

Abanus Lesedi - father (deceased)

Gushvin Basu - distant family friend

Origin: Born in the Catclaw Desert, grew up in Vesuvia

Race: African-American

Powers: White (purification) and healing magic, as well as telekinesis and precognitive dreaming

Intelligence Level: On a scale from 1 to 10, she's a strong 8.5

Backstory:

During the beautiful sunset of the Catclaw Desert, little Varda was born not far off from their home, where her parents had built their sculpture selling stand.

About 7 months later, while they were enjoying their time at home, their friend, Gushvin, hurried to tell them that an unexpected aggressive sand storm started heading their way.

They made sure to give Varda to him as he was faster and went ahead of them. They tragically got swept away by the storm and inhaled too much sand. They were found without breath or pulse hours later.

As selfish as it was of him, Gushvin didn't want to take care of a child, so he made sure to find someone willing enough to do that, soon running into a person who said they specifically searched for orphaned children that needed care.

After a couple of days of traveling, they arrived in sunny Vesuvia, where Varda was brought to the orphanage in the South End. There she was cared for and raised like promised.

She grew up to be one of the sweetest but most naive kids there. One day during lunch, she noticed a kid was sitting alone at his table, sulking and not eating. She approached him and offered to eat with him.

He had silverish eyes and ash-blond hair and the kindest smile she'd ever seen. She'd heard the adults call him Lucas and she knew he was kind of a troublemaker, but he seemed so lonely. They became best friends almost instantly, and always spent time together.

Some years later, when both of them were around 5 years old, they befriended three other kids, all significantly older than them. She learned that their names were Eris, Syro and Morana, and immediately became worried.

They were the biggest scoundrels in the entire orphanage, and quite honestly, all of South End. But Lucas insisted that they join their group. And she trusted him.

She didn't think that these four kids would become so important to her, that they'd become her family. But they did, and she couldn't be more thankful.

When it became clear enough to the adults that they couldn't raise nameless kids, the more capable ones took to teaching them the importance of knowing how to read and write and then they could choose a name for themselves, on their 7th birthday.

Soon enough, her sweet 7th rolled around and after months of searching, she found a name that would complete her.

And so, Varda Lesedi became Libelle Abrams.

Lucas, not much later, also changed his name, to Calyx. Libelle thought it was such a beautiful name for him.

Many years passed by with the four causing as much trouble as possible, to her unfortunate luck. But once she approached her preteens, devastating news came with them. When they'd reach the age of 17, they would need to leave, one by one, and search for a different home.

They discussed about it, made plans and set goals to find their homelands, their roots and possibly their families.

Obviously, Eris was first in line to leave as the eldest between them. Then Morana with Syro. It was only her and Calyx left. She made the promise to not abandon him there and take him with her when the time would come.

And she did. After celebrating her 17th birthday and talking with the one that had found her so many years ago, they set out to travel towards the Catclaw Desert. The journey was a couple of days long and it took them almost as much to find the one who knew about her parents.

Gushvin was sat on the bench in front of his home when they approached, and when Libelle called out to him, he recognized her immediately. There was some confusion with her name at first, but they quickly caught onto everything.

He told her everything that had happened the day she became an orphan and although he was hesitant, he confessed how selfish he'd been back then, something he regretted deeply and hadn't let him sleep properly since then.

All of the discoveries shocked her beyond belief, so much so that she wanted to go back to Vesuvia right away. After a while of mulling over everything she found out, she decided to focus on helping her best friend.

Luck had seemed to smile upon them, because Eris insisted on tagging along with them. After all, they had to travel across the sea all the way to the Macawi Port.

After even more shocking reveals about Calyx' parents, none of them wanted to know anything more, so at dawn they started back home.

Now, Libelle could focus on the things that she wanted to do most. She learned how to become a professional healer and magician, so she would help people in need. Around that time, her secret powers slowly surfaced as well.

She realized she could move objects with the will of her mind and at night, she would have visions and dreams of the future. After consulting with an expert in healing magic, she discovered that most people have these gifts and adviced her to learn to control them.

Everything was fine in her life until the Red Plague rained upon them and they each made the decision to leave Vesuvia. Well, all except for Eris. She wanted to help the doctors with the dead, confided to Libelle that she'd taught herself necromancy and wanted to reverse their deaths.

Eris had been too stubborn to listen to reason, so they had no choice but to leave her behind. Syro and Morana left for the Southern Spines, while Eris specifically told Libelle and Calyx to go to Venterre and find her brother, Sethos. He would shelter them until the nightmare would be over.

So they did, they took the first boat straight to the west coast of Venterre, where they ran into the young man in question.

When they finished explaining everything to him, he insisted they go back and get her too, but there would have been no use in doing so. His sister would have been way too stubborn to listen to anyone.

Days later, a letter arrived in their mailbox and all three were devastated to find out Eris died from the plague. Libelle and Calyx were sobbing messes and Sethos almost thrashed the room before collapsing too.

They informed the other two through a letter as well, but they figured there would be massive delays because of the distance, so they didn't expect an answer right away.

Suddenly, about 6 days later, Libelle had a dream, of Eris being alive. It had felt so real she woke up in a cold sweat and with tears in her eyes, she went to wake up the other two, shaking them hard.

She couldn't form clear words but Calyx caught onto it right away, and while with shaky hands, Libelle explained that she could sense Eris' aura and presence in the real world.

Although Sethos was very skeptical about it, he would have rather held onto the tiniest string of hope that she was indeed alive than live with the thought of losing his sister a second time.

So they wrote another letter to Syro and Morana and immediately packed their things and headed back to Vesuvia in plain midnight.

True to everything Libelle said and sensed, Eris was alive. How, they didn't know, until they spoke to Asra, one of her older friends and apparently, the one who brought her back. She was shocked to find it involved a deal with the Devil. She'd heard of the sacrifices needed to make such deals.

After about 3 years of total absence, Syro and Morana also arrived in Vesuvia and the shock cycle began again.

Not much later, when Eris got assigned to solve the mystery of Count Lucio's murder and catch his fugitive murderer, everyone offered to do something to help her out.

Though she was shy about it, she could sense that the Countess, Nadia, needed help as well. So Libelle suggested assisting her in whatever Nadia would need.

She didn't expect to catch feelings, but she didn't complain either.

Personality: shy, sensitive, kind-hearted, gentle, imaginitive, creative, generous, loyal, honest, trustworthy, observant, reliable, cheerful, too forgiving and sometimes naive

Interesting facts:

Although it isn't very noticeable, she does have a white lotus tattoo on her left middle finger.

Her wrists are littered with past self-harm scars, which the others love to kiss just to make her feel better about them.

She is very insecure about her body, but she has the others to lift her moods up when she's down.

Has an entire collection of earrings, but her favorites are the peacock feathers.

Even though she wakes up early in the morning, she usually takes a nap in the afternoon.

Her thighs and hips are full of stretch marks.

Has the biggest sweet tooth in the world.

Can play the clarinet, but you would have to really indulge her to get her to sing on it for you.

Appearance: Dark espresso skin tone, neck-length curly chestnut brown hair, dyed periwinkle blue halfway down, jade green eyes, chubby slight hourglass body shape, D cup breasts

Familiar: Lumi, a cute and sweet stoat but a sneaky little thief all the same

Voice claim: Dana Gourrier

Full sprite:

WOOOHOOOO I FINISHED ALL MY MCS' BIOS AND I'M SO HAPPY!!

My girl turned out so damn beautiful too and I'm just hhnnnnn- 😖💜

PLEASE SHOW HER SOME LOVE AS WELL!!! ✨

#the arcana #the arcana mc #the arcana apprentice #libelle abrams

[modern-inheritance]

Modern Inheritance: The Medic

(A/N: Takes place somewhere around ten years after Arya leaves Ellesméra and joins the Varden. I’ll probably do another fic going into the injury that sent her back to Ellesméra for further healing {something that occurs probably every other year or so, as she’s not a skilled healer and none of the medics in the Varden know elf biology} at a later date. Cheers! Oh, and a reminder, 20 years old is around 10 in human years apparently, or at least how we’re going for MIC. Cheers again!)

Arya leaned back in her chair, eyeing the elf across the small camp table as he scribbled out another note in the Varden medical file spread before him.

Glenwing was the first and only person on Arya’s personal, official squad. He had trotted up to her a day before she was to leave Ellesméra and handed off orders straight from the Queen that he was to become her medic in the field. Even after multiple readings and consultations with Oromis, the orders were clear and gave no leeway or loophole through which Arya could escape. Despite her obviously annoyed acceptance at his sudden addition, Glenwing seemed unfazed and calm throughout the entire process, and set out with his new commanding officer the following morning.

They had reached the edge of the forest now, camped upriver from Ceris at Arya’s request. Three weeks in Ellesméra had left her antsy and entirely fed up with the prim and proper etiquette that made open speech so damned difficult in the pines, something she had not missed in her years with the Varden. Glenwing hadn’t protested in the least, and had spent a majority of the time setting up camp asking her questions about her previous injuries, examining scars, and doing his best to ease into the more personal questions of mental health that he hadn’t had time to ask before they left Ellesméra.

The silver haired elf signed a stop glyph at the end of his most recent note in the margins of Arya’s file before tapping his pen against his lip. “Any trouble sleeping in the past six months? Falling asleep, staying asl–”

“Are you going to report all this to the Queen?” Glenwing looked up, somewhat startled by the sudden interjection. Arya had her arms folded now, regarding him with that solid stare that expected answers and would take no deflection or lie that he could give. “I’m assuming that’s why she assigned you to me. People weren’t exactly lining up behind me to join the Varden, so I doubt you volunteered. Plus, after this long she’s probably realized that I need to return to Du Weldenvarden to be fully healed after larger injuries so she’s probably not keen on giving me more time away from her influence and reach. So there has to be another reason that supersedes that. A way for her to influence and keep tabs on me while I’m away as well as while I’m in the pines.”

Glenwing straightened from where he had been leaning on the table and carefully placed his pen parallel to the top of the file before meeting Arya’s hardened gaze with his steady one. “Do you want me to?” There was a soft curiosity behind his golden eyes.

The question seemed to catch the other elf off guard. Arya blinked, lips parted to snap a retort that now didn’t seem necessary.

“I won’t lie to you.” Glenwing continued. “The Queen has asked– or rather, she has ordered– that I report back on your status and any developments in your mental and physical health.” Anger flashed through Arya’s countentance, but before she could spit out a string of swears the elf across from her held up a finger. “However. You’re wrong about me volunteering. I’m here because I want to be, not just because the Queen accepted my offer. That means that I have willingly taken you on as a patient, and while I am a subject of our Queen’s rule, I am also your medic and doctor.”

“Look, I don’t care if you’re a ‘subject of the Queen’ first.” Arya snapped. The phrase seemed to have set her off enough to break through the final barrier of elvish manners that remained as she cut him off. “If you’re going to be telling the Queen every little thing about me, I’m just not going to accept your help. You might as well go back home, alright?”

“That’s not what I’m saying at all.” Glenwing replied, voice calm yet lacking the patronizing edge that Arya had expected. “I’m saying that as my patient, you have complete control over your care, including who, and when, I give information to regarding it and your status in the past, present and future.

“If you don’t want me to inform the Queen as she ordered, I won’t, and I’ll tell her as much. I’m one of the Queen subjects, yes, but now that you are my patient my purpose here is to keep you alive, and I can’t exactly do that if you refuse care or don’t trust me.”

Arya was silent for a long moment, the silver haired elf’s words sinking in. The elven nation was a monarchy, yes, but there was always an understanding that any elf could act independently unless called to war in defense. Even then there was a choice of remaining behind to tend to the forest and those who returned. Orders given in common elvish, even from the Queen, were considered the rule of law, but in actuality could be challenged or even ignored if the individual thought the orders would cause more harm than good. It could incur the wrath of the Queen, yes, but there was no formal system of punishment beyond the decision of the council. Or, in personal cases such as Arya’s own, the decision of the Queen herself.  

That being said, most people followed their orders when they were given, and as such things were rare it was unusual to find an elf that was quite as willing as Arya to bend or break the rules so to speak. Yet here one was, practically raising his eyebrows in quiet eagerness to open loopholes and ignore centuries of custom all for a chance to…

…to what?

Arya chose her words carefully. “Glenwing…why are you doing this?” She gestured to the square photographs that were scattered on one side of the medical file, images detailing the numerous wounds of note, most in their unhealed state, that the young elf had incurred over the course of just a little over a decade of service in the Varden. “You’ve seen what it does physically. Magic can heal but I think we both know that the scars of the mind do not close so easily. I’ve almost died more times than I can count and watched countless others who were not so lucky lose their lives on and off the battlefield.”

“I’ve seen war, Arya. I’ve not participated in one, but I’ve seen the damage it does.”

“Then why join me?” Arya leaned her elbows on the table, shoulders hunched as her brows furrowed. “Why? I have my reasons, some of them more morally sound and others more or less reprehensible, and the things I’ve already done to further the goal of toppling Galbatorix… I’ve done some terrible shit. I’m not going to skirt around that. You know that you’ll probably have to do similar things, get blood other than that of your patients on your hands. So why? Why risk everything like this?”

Glenwing held her gaze for a time before lowering his eyes to the table. With a fingertip he rearranged the pictures, aligning the edges so that they fanned out and displayed a gruesome line of war wounds over the years. “…I’m not much older than you are, you know.”

“…Pardon?”    

His lips twisted up slightly in sad eyed grin. “I was eighteen when the Fall began. My father was a healer, my mother a warrior.” Gently, with the back of a fingernail, he dragged out one of the pictures, the one of the ragged stab wound to the abdomen that sent Arya back to Ellesméra most recently. “She died of an injury similar to this one. That’s what they told me at least.” Glenwing raised his eyes to meet Arya’s, gauging her reaction to his next words. “She was in the final group that the King led. My father died beside her as he tried to heal her. They were bathed in dragonfire. Nothing to bury.

“I watched my father treat wounds like all of these as the injured returned. He never stopped trying to help, down to the last second of his life, and mother never stopped fighting for our people.” He spread his hands out. “I cannot sit by knowing that I could do the same.”

The he paused. “And there is another thing.”

Arya swallowed. The mention of her father and the battle that had felled not only him but Glenwing’s parents as well made her mouth go dry. The final moments of the conflict before Galbatorix hunted Vrael always did. “Oh?”

“You said that I should go home if I was to report on your condition to the Queen. I cannot return home, which only leaves obeying your orders and remaining as your medic my only option.”  

Glenwing’s feral, bared tooth smile shocked a flash of familiarity and kinship through Arya’s mind. She had seen that smile on her own face before, that wild unrestrained drive to right the wrongs of the world, to take on war and violence so that others could be at peace, tenuous as it was.  

“You see, Arya…I was born in Ilirea. With Galbatorix on the throne, I have no home to return to.”

~~~

To Queen Islanzadí, Your Majesty.

After a lengthy consult with the combat liaison I have been assigned, it has come to my attention that the mentioned patient, Arya, house of none, is against the sharing of medical information beyond a set of predetermined ailments and injuries. As I am bound first to act in the best interest of my patient, I must oblige by her requests. Arya has also indicated that any sharing of information without her consent would result in her refusing any treatment or healing by my hand, which has further forced this issue as she has displayed sufficient aptitude for wards that would block any of my attempts to heal her if the conditions presented were broken in any way.

However, Arya has agreed to allow the sharing of some small yet vital pieces of information concerning her health as seen fit. Thus, any injury resulting in amputation, permanent blindness or hearing loss, traumatic brain damage, complete mind breaking or death will be reported. Arya has impressed on me that she will continue to aid the Varden in the event of non-lethal injuries, and any report of the previous wounds will also include an evaluation on how she can continue to aid the Varden in her current state.

I apologize that I cannot carry out the full extent of your orders. Unfortunately, it is clear that any deviation from the agreed upon conditions that Arya has set would likely result in severe injury to Arya’s person and would constitute reckless and wanton disregard for my patient’s safety and health on mine. I cannot in good conscience go against her wishes, nor can I do so if my conscience were to tolerate it. Arya has forced me to agree to these conditions in the Ancient Language, and I cannot break my oath.

I continue to serve to the best of my ability, and will do my utmost to ensure Arya’s health is taken care of.

May the stars watch over you.

Yours in service,  

Glenwing of House Svanran.

Islanzadí folded the letter again, put her elbows on her desk, and allowed herself a long, frustrated sigh.

Leave it to Arya to ferret out her reasoning for accepting Glenwing’s offer and so quickly appeal to the young elf’s sense of ethical duty. A political force the Queen’s daughter was not, but she still had a knack for picking up on a person’s true motives and finding ways to fit them around her own.

However, this was faster than anticipated. Maybe this Glenwing’s true motives weren’t what he presented to Islanzadí at all. There had been something about his energy that seemed familiar. The Queen now recognized it as a glimmering thread of that determination and wild resolve that Arya so openly displayed.

But what to do now? Islanzadí rubbed her temples, a headache coming on. She knew that there was little she could threaten them with if she ordered Glenwing to return to Ellesméra. The young elf had volunteered after all, and even under duress Islanzadí doubted she could convince any other elf as skilled as he was to abandon their calm life in Du Weldenvarden for years of conflict and uncertainty outside the forest’s protective stands. And she couldn’t just call him back and not send a replacement, not with the state Arya had been in when she finally made it back to Ellesméra. What little Oromis had told the Queen of her wayward daughter’s injuries past and present clearly indicated that an attached medic was a necessity if there was any hope of Arya making it through the war alive.

So what to do….

The clatter of talons on well-polished wood sent a cascade of jolts through Islanzadí’s burgeoning headache, the pops and clicks that followed doing nothing to help the pain.

“The latch is open, Blagden.” The Queen leaned back in her chair and massaged her forehead as the white raven swooped in. Blagden alighted on the desk with a gentle flap of his wings to slow his speed and cocked his head at her, looking smug as he always did. He parted his beak slightly. “Don’t you say i–”

“Wyrda!”

Even as the Queen winced at the cried word the raven flipped a small, densely folded paper onto the desk with a flourish of his leg. He pecked at it twice before fluttering to his carved stand on the back of the chair, settling in before starting his usual fastidious preening.

Confused, Islanzadí picked up the folded note. It hadn’t been but an hour since Glenwing’s letter had arrived, but the glyph that graced the fold of this paper was the one Arya always used. Blagden must have dropped it while flying and went back to retrieve it. The Queen unfolded it with a hint of trepidation in her heart, as always accompanied any correspondence with her banished child.

The young elf’s handwriting had started to take on a sharper shape, but was no less bold in its strokes. It still held the same familiar base that reminded Islanzadí so much of those days that Arya would scamper into her mother’s study and throw notes of love for her mother and records of her daily adventures onto the desk before scampering out, giggling as she departed for her next escapade. All those notes still sat in the drawer to Islanzadí’s left, bittersweet.

The headache throbbed, chasing away the memories. The Queen focused in again, and was somewhat surprised to find only a few short sentences.

Stars watch over you.

Good medic. Intelligent, can toe lines if needed. Fixed a scar issue in short order. I like this one. Requesting permanent assignment.

~ Arya of Du Weldenvarden, combat liaison officer  

Islanzadí frowned slightly as she caught sight of a different handwriting in the bottom corner. It was Glenwing’s, and she couldn’t help but chuckle as she read it aloud. “Please?”

Maybe this Glenwing would be a good influence after all. With that in mind, and the comfort of Arya now less likely to return maimed (or not at all), Islanzadí picked up her pen.

Granted.  May the stars watch over you. Queen Islanzadí.

#Modern Inheritance #inheritance cycle #eragon #modern inheritance stories #the cyclists #Ket's Modern Inheritance Cycle #arya #glenwing #arya drottningu #islanzadi #world building #building glen's character pre-eragon #he's the 'adult' of the elf squad #Elf Squad Goals

[solatude]

Aang Being a Bad Father is Not Realistic

I don't care what ANYBODY says, Aang being a bad father is NOT realistic! You don't go through what he went through and end up showing favoritism to one of your kids! THIS is the same monk who was taught to treat all people equally? Why would that teaching NOT extend EVEN MORE to his and Katara's own children? He witnessed how Sokka and Katara felt whenever they talked about their mother and father. He witnessed how restricting Toph's parents were. He witnessed how The Mechanist helped his son thrive with his disability. He helped Katara reunite Haru with his father, guided the couple in the Serpent's Pass, and all of a sudden he just grows up to be detached from his two other kids? He even fought Ozai, arguably the worst father in the entire series; the same one who scarred his children physically, mentally, and emotionally. If your child has grown up to become an adult and is still resentful about how they were treated, you can't just brush that off and make it seem like everything was okay otherwise. Kya and Bumi are middle-aged and are still living with the reality of how neglectful their father was.

What makes ME angry is how people try to justify it because they claim it's "realistic". Realism isn't something that is always negative or something that always has to have a negative outcome. It's ALSO realistic to be a good parent, to become a better person, to continue to do good. Why does realism always have to be portrayed as something that taints a character rather than something that improves a character? I think it's poor writing to just throw that in when Aang isn't like that at all. Through his friends he was able to learn intimacy and attachment. Before meeting them he was constantly avoiding his responsibilities and still dealt with unhealthy detachment when confronted about fighting Ozai. It's something that Aang had to learn to overcome. It's not fair to leave out his other children from activities just because they're not airbenders. Are people forgetting that all of his kids are mixed race and have both air nomad and water tribe genes? If Kya and Bumi ever decided to have children, there COULD be a possibility that they could be airbenders, in addition to waterbenders and nonbenders. Is it not important for them to know BOTH of their cultures? Kya is characterized as a spiritual person, can she not learn techniques from airbending that can improve her own waterbending? Isn't she a healer? She would benefit GREATLY from airbending lessons considering they are so spiritually attached. Bumi was a commander in the United Armed Forces. Couldn't he also benefit from learning leadership skills from these missions? Couldn't he learn evasive techniques from the fighting methods of the air nomads? I feel like making Aang neglectful to Kya and Bumi made for an unnecessary conflict and I wish they found a different type of conflict to attach to these characters. When Bumi became an airbender and he was talking to Aang's statue, it made me sad that he felt he was worthless without his powers before. Aang would NEVER look down on someone for not being a bender, because he didn't prioritize his abilities over his relationships with others.

I would also like to point out that restoring the Air Nation was NOT Aang's biggest dream. I thought it was established in the show that he had to learn to not overcome, but come to terms with his feelings of the Air nomad genocide. When did he ever mention this was a goal at any point in the show? In the comics? It also kind of sounds gross based on the implications of Katara's role in their marriage, as if she's there JUST to produce airbenders. It's okay to introduce new motivations, but this one seemed unrealistic based on the events of the last series and how Aang learned to adapt to a new world.

So many other plotlines could have humanized Aang more without neglecting his major character traits and motives:

🌪 With the advancement of technology, he could have struggled to fight off new villains, and he would have to theorize new ways of fighting or strategizing in order to do so.

🌪 Bumi could have trouble paying attention and may have a weak spiritual connection. He realized that Bumi lacks direction and doesn't know what to make of his life. He notices that this is a trait he once shared and decides to take Bumi on a trip to various locations to meet nonbenders with different skill sets. Bumi gets to meet Uncle Sokka and Aunt Suki, The Mechanist, Mai, Ty Lee, the Freedom Fighters and others who are talented at different things to inspire him to carve out his own path. He learns to view his lack of bending as a gift, as he becomes in charge of his own destiny.

🌪 Kya could have trouble with her spiritual connection, and feels like she would never be able to waterbend or heal properly like Katara. Being the only girl in her sibling group, Aang encourages her by taking her to the Eastern and Western Air Temples, which only housed female air nomads. Kya is educated on airbender culture and the process of earning one's tattoos. Aang draws similarities between airbending and waterbending to help visualize the connections they share. Kya then realizes that healing isn't something to be rushed because every expert was once a beginner. I envision her and Aang riding back home on Appa, with Kya looking back at Avatar Yangchen's statue, feeling proud and inspired to be related to such a powerful bender while also gaining confidence in herself and abilities.

Those are just a few examples out of many that could work to make Aang bond with his kids. Was Aang a bad father? It's canon, so unfortunately yes, but is it realistic? Based on his character arc and his friend's character arcs? Based on the lessons he has been taught and how much he upheld air nomad teachings? Based on his playfulness and optimistic attitude? Based on his need to include everyone and make them feel happy? No, it is not "realistic" for him to be a bad father. At least not to me.

#atla #avatar the last airbender #aang #legend of korra #kya #bumi #katara #mai #ty lee atla #sokka #suki #avatar yangchen

[archaneanscribe]

Eight Days

I tried my hand at expanding on and reimagining the detail's of Julian and Lena's first meeting. Part of the Archanea Chronicles.

The heavy iron door of the cell slammed shut with a dreadful clatter, but Julian could barely hear it over the ringing in his ears.

Hissing in pain, he rolled over onto his back on the cold, hard floor, the relief he felt at no longer lying down on his broken arm negligible at best. This is what happens when you betrayed the Soothsires, after all. You get beaten until you're black and blue, and are thrown away to rot.

"Bastards..." he growled under his breath once he had heard his former-allies-turned-captor's footsteps retreat a good distance, "I knew they were a bunch of animals, but they didn't even have the decency to kill me..."

"Are you in need of healing?"

If he were in better shape, Julian might have jumped out of skin at the sudden realization he wasn't alone. Seeing that he wasn't, he just twitched at the voice coming from his right, lolling his head in that direction with considerable effort. He couldn't get a great look at his cellmate due to the sideways angle and probable concussion he had, but he could make out a staff in their hand.

"Yeah, but why bother?" he replied, letting out a huff of air that was supposed to be a sigh, but was more of a pitiful shudder, "They'll just beat me again tomorrow."

"And I will heal you again tomorrow."

He diverted all his energy to focusing his vision in order to really see his companion. Red hair, white clothes, a staff... it was that girl! The girl who was the reason he was here in the first place.

She seemed tired of waiting for an answer, because a flash of light illuminated the grimy cell as a warm feeling washed over him. As a bandit, he was rarely on the receiving end of healing magic, so he silently marveled at the feeling of bone reconnecting and flesh pulling back together. It wasn't painful, but it was definitely... odd.

As quick as it began, it was over, and he was good as new.

Well, he felt more gently used instead of on the verge of death, which was good enough. He still ached, but he was able to sit up now. After doing that, he scooted backwards until his back rested against the wall. Feeling more human, he was finally able to see her properly. Despite having been in here for a week longer than him, the only things that seemed to be wrong with her were impressively dirty robes, and tired, tired eyes.

At the same time, she was appraising him as well, but with medical curiosity, "Are you feeling better?"

"Much," a beat, "Aren't you worried about what they'll do to you? They might be idiots, but it'd take more than an idiot to not figure out what happened here."

She shook her head, brushing some hair aside to reveal a small cut, "When this happened, your leader was quite angry with the man who did it. I am more..." her expression, which had previously been impassive, grew bitter, "...valuable, if I am undamaged."

Yeah. He knew exactly what she meant there.

"That's probably true. Never scuff up the merchandise," he said the last word with venom, "That used to just mean jewels and trinkets, not people."

Setting her staff aside, she cautiously moved closer to him, stopping an arm's length away, "Kidnapping women is not something you did before?"

"No!" he shouted defensively, forcefully snapping his jaw shut to regulate his volume, "No. We did plenty of unsavory things- we stole and we killed, sure, but we had our limits. But then Hyman took over. Bastard has been pushing those boundaries day by day. But he finally crossed the line when he," he gestured towards her, "You know."

She nodded, "Is that why you are here? You objected to your leaders actions?"

"I just couldn't let it continue. It'd have been bad enough as it is, but you're not just any woman," he pointed to her staff, "You're a cleric! A holy woman! A healer!"

Her face softened into a smile, and it softened his heart, to see something so beautiful in this setting. She closed that final distance between them, laying a hand on his forearm- her hands were small, but the skin was rougher than he expected, "You have a good heart."

While she had been on the money before, now she was as wrong as could be.

His shoulder was still tender, but he shrugged her off, "You don't know what I've done. Not being alright with selling people isn't anything special."

"You chose to stand up for what you believe in. Most sit back and watch, no matter how much they object."

"Look, lady-"

"Lena."

He looked at her like she had grown an extra arm, but her smile only grew, like a flower emerging from a crack in the cobblestone, "My name is Lena. What is your name?"

More than a little lost at the direction this interaction was headed, all he could do was blink numbly as he replied, "Uh, Julian. I'm Julian."

"Well, Julian, there is something you need to know. The other staff I have is Warp. It is very rare and valuable, worth much more than my life."

"Why-"

"If you are truly so blackhearted, you will call for one of your associates and tell them this. I'm sure they would let you go free if you did."

His eyes drifted over to where she had been sitting before, and true enough, he saw a staff that was much more ornate than what she had used on him. From there, his gaze moved back to her, a serene smile still gracing her face (which he was increasingly noticing was quite lovely).

"Why are you telling me this?"

"You stood against your comrades for my sake. I believe I owe you the honesty."

What a strange woman.

Seeming content that she had accomplished whatever her goals were, Lena moved back to the side of the cell she was originally in, sitting all too calmly for someone in her situation.

If she noticed him staring at her in bewilderment, she said nothing.

---

When their guard arrived later that night, he beat Julian within an inch of his life once more. True to her word, Lena healed him again.

He didn't utter a peep about her staff.

---

Julian really couldn't tell you why Hyman didn't decide enough was enough and just kill him properly, even as the days ticked by. Maybe he just lost interest. Maybe he thought that being in a cell next to a beautiful woman, unable to do anything with her was punishment enough (he would think that, the pig).

Or maybe, just maybe, he was smarter than Julian gave him credit for, and knew that his former subordinate was growing more attached to the cleric the longer they were imprisoned together, which would make her eventual fate hurt him worse than any torture.

It would be tough not to notice.

They never brought any food or water just for him, but Lena always offered him some of hers. He had turned her down.

On day three, his stomach had triumphed over his mind.

After that, he let the arrangement slide, so long as she agreed to eat more of it than she gave him. He was used to being hungry, after all.

On day five, they started to talk. The time before hadn't been entirely silent, but that had been most out of necessity, like asking for privacy when relieving themselves. It was the fifth day that she, almost speaking more to herself than him, began to recount her life story. The granddaughter of a nobleman who gave away all his time and money to help those who needed it, she chose to follow in his footsteps, renouncing her title and leading the life of your average cleric.

That was selling her short, actually. She walked paths hardened warriors refused to tread, such as traversing the Ghoul's Teeth to treat those who lived in the border villages, those who everyone else had abandoned as fools or unable to be saved.

"I am simply doing what I must as a cleric. I am no better than any of my sisters of the cloth."

He couldn't help but see her as much, much more than that.

So moved he was, that when she asked about him, he was more honest than he ever was to himself. He told her about his father, who on his deathbed had tried to impart good values on his boy. Telling him to protect those who need it, to be kind and fair to everyone around him.

He also told her how he, an angry sixteen year old boy at the time, had disregarded those teachings when a tough looking older man had taught him how to pick locks. There was no remorse in his voice when it came to him stealing to survive, nor was there any judgement in her eyes.

The regret came later.

It came in the times when he had stolen from those who had less than he had. When he has participated in raiding the nearby villages. The nights when he heard young boys cry out for their fathers amidst the flame and he didn't sleep.

On day five, he cried. As the tears came, she placed a soothing hand on his shoulder and let it linger.

---

On day six, he asked her if she could absolve him, as a holy woman.

"You can only find absolution through your own actions, Julian. Your soul is in your own hands."

---

On day seven, he asked how exactly the Warp staff worked. She said it couldn't take the wielder with it.

Later that night, they overheard their guard mention to another brigand that they finally found a buyer for their "prized merchandise".

---

On day eight, he leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "We're getting out of here, together."

On day eight, she smiled.•

#fire emblem #fe #fe1 #fe3 #fe11 #fe12 #julian x lena #lena x julian #lena fire emblem #lena (fire emblem) #julian fire emblem #julian (fire emblem) #archanea #fe archanea #archanea saga #fe julian #fe lena #this isnt totally canon complaint i change a few behaviors around and obviously the whole #'julian objects to her capture before even meeting her' is added bc it was a little hhhhhh originally #fanfic #fanfiction #fic on tumblr #1k+ words #suu's scribbles

[somegirlsnerdywords2]

Anime i’ve Watched

That begin with a N (Part 2)!

Yep this is how i’m going to bring over all the anime and manga i’ve watched and posted about on the old blog. It’s not so detailed but it will have to do. Anything new I watch or read from this point on will have their own posts.

Net-juu no Susume  (Recovery of an MMO Junkie):

Genres: Game, Comedy, Romance, ONA 

Synopsis:  For the first time since graduating high school, 30-year-old Moriko Morioka is unemployed—and she couldn't be happier. Having quit her long-standing job of over 11 years, Moriko quickly turns to online games to pass her now-plentiful free time, reinventing herself as the handsome and dashing male hero "Hayashi" in the MMO Fruits de Mer. With the pesky societal obligations of the real world out of the way, she blissfully dives headfirst into the realm of the game, where she promptly meets the kind and adorable healer Lily. Befriending each other almost instantly, the two become inseparable just as Moriko herself becomes more and more engrossed in her new "life" as Hayashi. Eventually, Moriko adopts the reclusive lifestyle in its entirety, venturing out from the safety of her apartment only when absolutely necessary. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Moriko, a timid 28-year-old corporate worker named Yuuta Sakurai has also logged onto Fruits de Mer from the other side of town. Coincidentally bumping into each other at the convenience store one night, both write off their meeting as no more than just another awkward encounter with a stranger—however, fate has more in store for them than they think. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

My Rating: 8/10

Finished airing in 2017 with a total of 10 episodes

My Thoughts: The male lead wears glasses! In case that’s something anyone but me cares about... Aside from that I can’t remember much about this one which is never a sign of an amazing anime so it’s up to you friends! Will you watch it or leave it?! 

Nijiiro Days:

Genres: Comedy, Romance, School, TV Short, Shoujo, Slice of Life

Synopsis:  Nijiiro Days follows the colorful lives and romantic relationships of four high school boys—Natsuki Hashiba, a dreamer with delusions of love; Tomoya Matsunaga, a narcissistic playboy who has multiple girlfriends; Keiichi Katakura, a kinky sadist who always carries a whip; and Tsuyoshi Naoe, an otaku who has a cosplaying girlfriend. When his girlfriend unceremoniously dumps him on Christmas Eve, Natsuki breaks down in tears in the middle of the street and is offered tissues by a girl in a Santa Claus suit. He instantly falls in love with this girl, Anna Kobayakawa, who fortunately attends the same school as him. Natsuki's pursuit of Anna should have been simple and uneventful; however, much to his dismay, his nosy friends constantly meddle in his relationship, as they strive to succeed in their own endeavors of love. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

My Rating: 8/10

Finished airing in 2016 with a total of 24 episodes. Each episode running about 13 minutes in length. 

My Thoughts: Love the manga, which I keep meaning to finish because it is a completed title... and I should probably finish it before manga gets even harder to find online with the way things are currently going... 

Anywho, the anime! Pretty good. The episodes are about half that of a normal anime but you have a 24 episode count so it’s basically the same as having a 12 episodes run with the usual running time!  I’d watch it is you want more content after the manga, but keep in mind that the anime does not cover the entirety of the manga! 

No Game No Life:

Genres: Game, Adventure, Comedy, Supernatural, Ecchi, Fantasy

Synopsis:  No Game No Life is a surreal comedy that follows Sora and Shiro, shut-in NEET siblings and the online gamer duo behind the legendary username "Blank." They view the real world as just another lousy game; however, a strange e-mail challenging them to a chess match changes everything—the brother and sister are plunged into an otherworldly realm where they meet Tet, the God of Games. The mysterious god welcomes Sora and Shiro to Disboard, a world where all forms of conflict—from petty squabbles to the fate of whole countries—are settled not through war, but by way of high-stake games. This system works thanks to a fundamental rule wherein each party must wager something they deem to be of equal value to the other party's wager. In this strange land where the very idea of humanity is reduced to child's play, the indifferent genius gamer duo of Sora and Shiro have finally found a real reason to keep playing games: to unite the sixteen races of Disboard, defeat Tet, and become the gods of this new, gaming-is-everything world. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

My Rating: 7/10

Finished airing in 2014 with a total of 12 episodes. 

My Thoughts: I have a laundry list of things i’m meaning to watch, read or do. Watching the No Game No Life movie on Netflix is one of those things. Anyways! I recall this one being alright, nice art/ animation/ character design and an interesting premise but too short and underdeveloped. One of those animes that may have benefited greatly from a longer run or second season. 

No.6:

Genres: Action, Sci-fi, Mystery, Drama

Synopsis:  Many years ago, after the end of a bloody world war, mankind took shelter in six city-states that were peaceful and perfect... at least on the surface. However, Shion—an elite resident of the city-state No. 6—gained a new perspective on the world he lives in, thanks to a chance encounter with a mysterious boy, Nezumi. Nezumi turned out to be just one of many who lived in the desolate wasteland beyond the walls of the supposed utopia. But despite knowing that the other boy was a fugitive, Shion decided to take him in for the night and protect him, which resulted in drastic consequences: because of his actions, Shion and his mother lost their status as elites and were relocated elsewhere, and the darker side of the city began to make itself known. Now, a long time after their life-altering first meeting, Shion and Nezumi are finally brought together once again—the former elite and the boy on the run are about to embark on an adventure that will, in time, reveal the shattering secrets of No. 6. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

My Rating: 8/10

Finished airing in 2011 with a total of 11 episodes. 

My Thoughts: Just read the manga and watch this as extra, I can’t remember if the anime covered the entirety of the manga’s story but either way check out that source material first! The manga series is also completed which is a huge bonus. High point: The relationship between the two leads. 

Noragami:

Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Supernatural, Shounen

Synopsis: In times of need, if you look in the right place, you just may see a strange telephone number scrawled in red. If you call this number, you will hear a young man introduce himself as the Yato God. Yato is a minor deity and a self-proclaimed "Delivery God," who dreams of having millions of worshippers. Without a single shrine dedicated to his name, however, his goals are far from being realized. He spends his days doing odd jobs for five yen apiece, until his weapon partner becomes fed up with her useless master and deserts him. Just as things seem to be looking grim for the god, his fortune changes when a middle school girl, Hiyori Iki, supposedly saves Yato from a car accident, taking the hit for him. Remarkably, she survives, but the event has caused her soul to become loose and hence able to leave her body. Hiyori demands that Yato return her to normal, but upon learning that he needs a new partner to do so, reluctantly agrees to help him find one. And with Hiyori's help, Yato's luck may finally be turning around.

My Rating: 8/10

Finished airing in 2014 with a total of 12 episodes. 

My Thoughts: Yes! Watch it! Love it! And also read it. Big downside: The updates for this manga are slow and the story is unfinished obviously. Upside: Two whole seasons of anime goodness, and if we’re really lucky we’ll eventually get another? Ok maybe not... but a girl can dream! Also this anime has one of my all time favourite opening themes! Amazing! 

Noragami Aragoto:

Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Supernatural, Shounen

Synopsis:  Yato and Yukine have finally mended their relationship as god and Regalia, and everyone has returned to their daily life. Yato remains a minor and unknown deity who continues taking odd jobs for five yen apiece in the hopes of one day having millions of worshippers and his own grand shrine. Hiyori Iki has yet to have her loose soul fixed by Yato, but she enjoys life and prepares to attend high school nonetheless. Taking place immediately after the first season, Noragami Aragoto delves into the complicated past between Yato and the god of war Bishamon. The female god holds a mysterious grudge against Yato, which often results in violent clashes between them. It doesn't help that Bishamon's most trusted and beloved Regalia, Kazuma, appears to be indebted to Yato. When lives are on the line, unraveling these mysteries and others may be the only way to correct past mistakes. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

My Rating: 9/10

Finished airing in 2015 with a total of 13 episodes. 

My Thoughts: Another amazing opening theme! Seriously this series really knew how to pick them! Also have crushes on a solid chunk of the cast... so there’s that. 

#Ona #anime #net-juu no susume #recovery of an mmo junkie #nijiiro days #tv short #no game no life #no.6 #noragami #noragami aragoto

[septic-skele]

UT - In All But Name

Summary: Papyrus has grown up believing that he's never had or even needed parents. When the other children explain what a dad is, however, he comes to the conclusion that Sans has been his dad all along.

Sans and Papyrus, last surviving skeleton monsters of Snowdin Town, were sons of mystery.

No one was sure of where they were originally from, the exact time they snuck into Snowdin or how long they had been there before they were noticed. It was to Sans’ credit that some of the shopkeepers to this day were unaware that he had snatched their foodstuff to line his pockets. Grillby, however, was more observant than most, clearing away the trash behind his bar to uncover the sneak thief and the hungry, fussy bundle he protected with his life.

No matter how the nosy yet well-meaning townsfolk poked and prodded, they could never pry anything out of Sans about their parents. Whenever the topic came around, it seemed to trigger all of his trap doors; in the span of a soul beat, he would close off with a tense shrug and a grin.

“Dunno, it doesn’t really matter. Hey, I actually gotta get goin’, okay? Y’know. Papyrus.” That was all he would say, as if Papyrus’ existence explained nothing and everything at once. Baffling, the townsfolk thought, but they wouldn’t stand between Sans and supervision of his charge for an answer.

Why not ask Papyrus then? the bold ones pointed out, only to be reminded that Papyrus had just recently grown into striped shirts. If he was an infant when they arrived in town, he would have little to no memory of his parentage unless his brother opted to inform him. Sans’ obvious caginess about it made that unlikely and it would be unfair to upset Papyrus by pointing out that something was missing from his life. It wasn’t their place to drop such a realization on him.

If there was ever a scenario where the notion of a parent was strictly necessary, such as school registries or field trips, Sans handled it with the teachers behind closed doors. He was Papyrus’ guardian, a single parent in all but name—though whispered rumors of that sort weren’t unheard of either.

“Are we certain they’re brothers? If Sans is older than he looks, he could be…”

“No, no. Skeleton genes ran strong, back in the day. Papyrus would be his spitting image if it was like that.”

“What if he takes his looks after the mother?”

“Grillby said that Sans was barely out of striped shirts himself when he found them! He couldn’t have, not at that age—certainly not with a gimp soul.”

Those conversations were always smothered before either of the skeletons got close enough to overhear; no one wanted to risk offending Sans any further with the suggestion.

With all of the secrecy surrounding the subject, a short attention span and the wide-eyed obliviousness of a carefree child, Papyrus remained largely unaware. He had his brother, his teachers, the various children he (hoped to) call his friends. What more could a baby bones ask for? What more could he want?

One afternoon, after what might have been four rounds of the game Humans and Monsters, Papyrus finally felt the surrounding enthusiasm waning. He was always cast as the scary human, chasing down the other children with the goal of snatching and eating them. They had proved to be expert runners and hiders, scrambling away from him at every turn with very convincing shouts of disgust. Nevertheless, Papyrus was relentless in his attempt to play the game properly. At long last he caught up with them to find that they collapsed into the snow, worn down and breathless.

“Wowie! That was a lot of fun, right?” he burst out eagerly, undeterred when they groaned at his presence. “Oh, don’t worry! The game’s on pause; I won’t try to eat you now!” With no further ado he scooted himself into their circle and crossed his legs nicely. A couple of them glared at him. They must be sore losers of the game.

“We didn’t really wanna play Humans and Monsters, Papyrus,” a rabbit monster by the name of Hedda told him flatly. “’Least ways, not with you.”

“Oh!” How was he supposed to respond to that? “I’m sorry. But thank you for playing anyway; it was fun! We can play something else now if you want! What do you like to do? Do you like puzzles?”

“No,” Hedda huffed, ears flattening in annoyance.

“I don’t think I have time for another game. My dad’s coming to get me soon,” a boy named Chiff sighed.

“You got lots of homework?” Capra, a teacher’s daughter, guessed sympathetically.

“Nope. Dinner’s been cold two times this week ’cause Dad’s late picking me up, so Mama’s mad at him about it. She wants him to come get me a whole half hour early!”

A half hour was an eternity of playtime stolen from him. Scandalized gasps of dismay went around the cluster at this dreadful news.

“That’s awful! Instead of taking you earlier, your dad should just walk you home faster. You should tell him that,” Capra advised firmly, backed up by noises of approval.

Papyrus, for his part, concurred with the others, though his brow was furrowed with curiosity. When something he didn’t know was brought up in conversation, he would often nod and smile anyway, happy to pretend he was in on the secret, but the question had been on his mind for some time.

“What is a dad?” he asked. He had heard them speak of their dads before, always referring to a specific adult in their lives, but he was never certain of what singled that one out as a “dad”. It was only now that he was in the right mood to ask and the others seemed in the right mood to answer him.

“Don’t be stupid!” Hedda snickered, shoving at him. “Everybody knows what a dad is! Don’t you have one?”

“Well, tell me what it is,” he urged, bouncing back upright just as hurriedly, “so I can know if I do or not! Why’s it so important to have? What is a dad?”

Hedda drew herself up confidently, as though an entire dissertation on the matter had already been prepared, only to falter as she gave it a second thought. Until now she had never needed to explain something she believed to be common knowledge. “A dad…Well, a dad’s someone older who’s in charge of you,” she announced at last, folding her arms authoritatively. “He makes up the rules.”

If that was the only condition, Papyrus had quite a number of dads! His teachers had pasted colorful “Class Rules” posters on the walls. The King made rules for the entire Underground and Sans had created plenty of annoying house rules: finish homework before playing, clean your whole plate, don’t try to build snowmen in the house, close the door after coming inside but don’t slam it. That had to count for something.

“That’s not all a dad does,” Chiff protested before Papyrus could comment on this.

“Oh, then you tell him what it does, if you’re so smart!”

“My dad takes me all sorts of places, like I said. And he shows me how to do stuff, like reading and numbers and magic and…lots of things! And he scolds me when I get in trouble.”

Gnawing pensively on one of his knuckles, Papyrus mulled over this information. Briefly he considered the river person, who had taken him and Sans in a boat on their special outings to Waterfall, but there wasn’t much else to say about them. They didn’t fit the rest of the criteria.

Because he had never met the King, he couldn’t be sure of his opinion on getting in trouble. At school he often heard of things that the King had said or done, but did that count as Asgore showing him things? Probably not, which meant that he was out of the running too.

Still, that hardly created a shortage. His teachers spent all day explaining sums and magic and Sans helped him read a picture book every evening. None of them were happy with him when he misbehaved; that he had learned the hard way, many times over. Sometimes he would walk from a teacher’s scolding with a note in his hand, right home to Sans’ reproach for making them scold him in the first place. Oftentimes it felt like they were ganging up on him.

He frowned. “Is that all they do?”

“Not just that! When you’re not being naughty, dads are really nice to you. They give extra big hugs; sometimes they’re so big, they take you right off the floor!” Capra asserted. “And they play games with you and cheer you up when you’re sad and take care of you when you’re sick or hurt. They buy you sweets and clothes and tuck you in at night and tell you that they love you very much.”

At that Papyrus perked up. The teachers played games with him and his classmates sometimes at recess and if he got scraped up they would take him to the school healer, but comfort, big hugs and tucking in? All of those things were Sans’ job.

Just a few weeks ago, when they were playing chase, Papyrus had slipped on an icy patch and smacked his head too hard. As soon as Sans reached him, he had gathered him up in a hug, patting his back and hushing him while he cried. Later that night, when the headache became truly awful, Sans perched on his bedside and pet his skull until he fell asleep. The next day, he had chocolate syrup in Papyrus’ oatmeal as a surprise treat.

“Nyeheheh! I do have a dad!” Papyrus exclaimed. “Sans is my dad!”

“Sans is your brother,” Hedda snorted. “Brothers can’t be dads.”

“Why not?” Chest puffing out in defense of his new conclusion—and Sans’ honor—Papyrus remained triumphant. “If those are all of the things only a dad does and Sans does them all, that means I’ve got a brother who’s cool enough to be both! Can your brothers do all that your dad does too?”

Hedda’s nose twitched. “Well—” Before she could muster an answer, an older monster calling interrupted the conversation. Chiff pushed himself upright.

“There he is,” he informed them before raising his voice. “Coming, Dad! I gotta go. Bye, Hedda. Bye, Capra. See you tomorrow, maybe.”

“I hope so!” Papyrus chirped. He was eager to play another game with him sometime, as thanks for being part of the group to offer him all of this newfound knowledge. Next time he could catch all three of them at once, he would have to ask what the difference was between a mom and a dad.

Once Chiff left, the girls rose to make their exit too. Papyrus trailed after them at a distance, hoping not to seem overeager or clingy for companionship, but he wasn’t too far to see when their parents came to fetch them. He couldn’t help but feel pleased on their behalf at the hugs and kisses they received.

It was curious, though, that Sans had never asked Papyrus to call him by the well-deserved title. Papyrus had only ever called him “brother” and Sans called him “bro” in response.

Oh, stars! Did Sans think Papyrus didn’t want to call him Dad? Was he hurt about it? Papyrus had learned quickly over his short lifetime that even when Sans was hurt, he would pretend he was fine for some stupid adult reason. Was he secretly disappointed that Papyrus only thought of him as a brother all this time?

How could he not have noticed? If no one had told him the secrets of dad-ness, how was Papyrus supposed to know? With this new wisdom, he couldn’t let that stand any longer. He had to set it all right!

“Hey, Pap!” Sans hailed as he waded through the snow, his grin weary but no less genuine. “Did you have fun?”

Lighting up, Papyrus whirled around to face him and, now ready to demonstrate his new regard for Sans’ feelings, charged and flung himself at him for a hug. “Dad!”

With his arms tight around his brother’s neck and his face tucked into his shoulder, he didn’t see the way Sans’ smile froze or the startled looks Hedda and Capra’s parents cast their way. As he gingerly returned the embrace, Sans forced an uncertain laugh.

“…Bro? You ready to go home?”

“Yes! Ooh, can we have oatmeal tonight? Can we? May we?”

Maybe Papyrus hadn’t realized what he said. Maybe it was a fleeting, random aberration, Sans decided, like calling a tutor “Mom” by mistake. Shouldn’t he have corrected himself already, though?

“I guess breakfast for dinner couldn’t hurt,” he answered, rolling with the changed subject. He wouldn’t comment.

“With chocolate syrup?”

“Heh, sure thing, buddy. We can’t miss oat on that!”

Papyrus groaned, shoving into his side in annoyance, though he didn’t resist when Sans promptly slung an arm around his shoulders to give him another affectionate squeeze.

That would have been the end of it, Sans thought, if it hadn’t been for Papyrus’ call at dinner:

“Dad, we’re almost out of milk!”

And after dinner:

“Dad, look at the puzzle I drew in school!”

And at bedtime:

“Da-a-ad! Dad!” he appealed to Sans down the hall, following it with a small, self-satisfied giggle as if he had just done something particularly clever. “I’m ready for my story and tucking in!”

Was this…some attempt at a joke? If so, Sans wasn’t sure of the punchline. Eye sockets narrowed in bewilderment, he slowly eased into his usual perch on the edge of the bed. Snuggled into his blankets, Papyrus beamed at him in anticipation as he picked up the book.

Sans opened it, read the first two lines aloud—and then promptly gave up. With a shake of his head, he propped the book face down against his leg. “Papyrus, what’s gotten into you?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve been talkin’ to me weird all night. Why aren’t you just using my name?”

Judging by the expression that came over Papyrus’ face, this was clearly not the reaction he was expecting or hoping for. Confidence faltering, he scrambled upright in bed, displacing the carefully arranged blankets. “I—No, but I am! That’s what I’m supposed to call you!”

“‘Dad’? Why would you think you gotta call me that?” Fingers subtly tightening on the book, he lowered his head. “Was someone teasing you for not having one?” That would be some well calculated cruelty.

“No, no, see, that’s just it, I do have one! I do ’cause I’ve got you!” Papyrus protested. “Hedda asked me if I didn’t have a dad so I asked her, ‘What’s a dad?’ and everyone said it’s a monster who teaches you things and scolds you for trouble and makes you happy when you’re not and takes good care of you, with lots of hugs and niceness! So I said I do too have a dad, and it’s my brother, so I can call you both, can’t I? ’Cause I thought you might be sad about me not calling you that, ’cause that’s what you are, so I thought I ought to call you that so it’ll make you happy!”

Blinking through this slew of information—rather impressively fit into one breath—Sans reeled back slightly, stammering. “Papyrus, I…I’m not your dad.”

“But you are,” he insisted. “I know you are. There are rules and everything and I checked them for you. You act just like a dad’s supposed to!”

“Okay, well—thank you, but acting like a dad isn’t the same as being a dad.” Sliding the book off to the side, Sans weighed his words. “Listen, Pap. I really love you; I love you with my whole soul.”

The doubt on Papyrus’ face was swept away with delight at the familiar words. He loved this guessing game. “More than ketchup?”

“More than that.”

“More than space books?”

“More than that too.” Twisting, he scratched his free hand gently over the crown of his brother’s skull. “More than gold—”

“And your trombone? And your best jacket?”

“And my slippers, and even more than sleeping—though I love those a whole lot too. But you had a dad once and it wasn’t me.” He smiled, though it didn’t quite reach his eye sockets. “He was our dad, for us to share.”

Eyes round, Papyrus peeked past Sans’ outstretched hand. “But I don’t remember him.”

“I know. It was a long time ago…I don’t really remember much either, but I know someone was there in our lives back then. Who else would it be?”

“Oh.” Picking at a loose thread on his blanket, Papyrus considered. “Did he love me as much as you do?”

“Heh, I’m sure he did. Who wouldn’t love a cool guy like you?”

“So where is he then? Why doesn’t he live with us? The other dads live with Hedda and Chiff and Capra!”

Sans wavered, digging his toes into Papyrus’ worn carpet. How could he explain it in a way Pap would understand when most of his own ideas were fog, faint hopes and guesswork? His next word was more of a sigh. “Well…he probably thought it would be better for us to strike out on our own. Prove how strong and independent we can be without his help.”

“Oh! We’ve done that right, haven’t we? I’m super-duper cool and you take care of me just as good as a dad could!”

He was a sorry substitute, nothing more, but Sans was already aware that putting himself down in front of Papyrus would only upset him. He wouldn’t mention it. “Yeah. So all we would have to do to make Dad proud is keep going on the way we are now. We’re…doing alright without him, aren’t we?” The last thing he wanted was to create a new sense of loss for something that was little more than a whisper.

“We’re more than alright, Sans!” Papyrus reassured him, a balm on Sans’ soul as he reached to squeeze his hand. “We’re great! If he comes to visit someday, so he can know how good we’re doing, everybody in Snowdin will be able to tell him so! Wait and see!”

“We may be waiting a long time for that, Paps…years, probably.” His voice fell a shade softer. “Or forever. I dunno.”

“Well, we can still be great in the meantime! I can be patient and be happy at the same time, as long as you’re with me!”

“Heh…you really are the coolest.”

“I know! And whenever Dad comes, if he comes, he’ll see that.”

“Maybe. Maybe.”

#undertale #fanfiction #sans #sans undertale #papyrus #papyrus undertale #babybones #big brother sans #surrogate sans #sans raised papyrus #confusion #misunderstandings #explanations #fluff #brotherly love

[brindlestorm]

I Stand Alone

So while there isn’t much about this song to change into a parody, it did inspire me to come up with an AU for it!

Heads up, this gets pretty long

Basically, when Squirrelflight left with Leafpool when it was time for Leaf’s kits to be born, the ran into the Sister’s because they were on their birthing grounds.

Moonlight, for whatever reason, sees the little gray tabby and asks if they would leave him behind with them, despite him being a tom. She recognized his power and assumed he was meant to stay with them.

At first, Leafpool is against it because why would she leave any of her kits with these strangers, even if they helped her through the birthing process. But when they realize he’s blind, they agree because they can’t see him having a life in any of the clans. 

Note: I hate the able-ism in warriors so much, and as much as I love the Jay-becomes-a-warrior AU’s and Bright/Jay interactions, this is the excuse I’m going with because in canon, it was discussed that Jay may as well be shoved into the elders den, plus the stupid medicine cat destiny.

So Leafpool goes ahead and gives him a full name before they leave with Holly and Lion because even if he would never be with the clans, he deserved a proper name to be welcomed to starclan with when he dies. I propose the name Jayflight, Jay after a bird because Crowfeather, and -flight after Squirrelflight, and also because his destiny would take him far away from the clans.

So Jayflight grows up with the Sisters, never feeling ostracized due to his blindness because none of them care. Maybe he takes a mate when he’s old enough like the other toms do, and eventually, he’s sent away just like the other toms, maybe he even grows up with Tree.

When Jayflight leaves, he goes to explore the lands he was told not to go near, because what else would a newly independent cat do? His first stop is the mountains, he felt a calling there. 

He joins them briefly when he tells them he wants to learn all there is to learn about the world. They give him a new name (because he never told them his), and among the tribe, he becomes Jay that Flies High In the Sky. He’s given the honor of learning from the Stoneteller (When the Tribe of Endless Hunting tells Stoneteller that he must). They also tell him stories about the mass exodus of another group of cats who traveled through the mountains some time ago.

Jay leaves when the Tribe of Endless Hunting tries to convince him of his destiny. He tells them this.

“I am the Jay that Flies High In the Sky, and I go where the wind guides me, not where the stars tell me.”

And with that, he leaves with no set direction in mind, though he ends up heading towards the old forest.

He does run into a badger who spoke in riddles, she also tried to convince him of some destiny foretold long ago, but he ignores her continues on his journey, noting that she called him Jay.

A note about Jayflight’s personality. In the clans, Jayfeather always felt he had to fight against his clanmates because of his blindness, even when they already had faith in him (mostly). His entire life felt like a battle. But by being raised by the Sister’s as a free spirit, he’s a lot more easy-going, still headstrong, and snarky when cats start doubting him when they find out he’s blind (It took four moons for the Tribe to notice). 

In this AU, it took Greystripe and Millie a bit longer to find the lake, and Jayflight runs into them at Barley’s barn.

For about a week, he goes nameless until Greystripe shows up with Millie. When Greystripe asks for his name, Jay asks Greystripe how he got his name, and Greystripe explains the Clan’s naming system. Quick to pick things up, Jay asks Ravenpaw if he used to be part of a clan, but never completed his training.

Surprised, Ravenpaw affirms this, and so conversation leads into explaining everything that happened with the forest clans. The story takes a few days to tell, but the other cats have been distracted once again and forget about Jay not having a name for a while.

Before Greystripe and Millie continue on their journey to find the clans, this conversation happens.

Jay: So Greystripe, you said you were a deputy once? Which meant you could have been a leader?

Greystripe: Yes, though I doubt I would have made a very good one, why do you ask?

Jay: You asked me what my name was, tell me. What name would you have given me if you were a leader?

Greystripe: ..... Are you older than twelve moons?

Jay: Yes, I am.

Greystripe: Then you could have been a warrior by this age, I think I would have called you Silverwind. Silver for your pelt, and wind because you’re quick on your feet. A free spirit too.

Silverwind: I thank you for this name, from now until I move on, I shall be called Silverwind.

Greystripe offers to take Silverwind, Ravenpaw, and Barley with him on the journey, the latter(s) turn him down because their home is the barn, whereas Silverwind says that he’s still traveling the world. But who knows, maybe their paths will cross again.

Silverwind finds the moonstone and sleeps next to it and speaks with the Starclan cats who stayed behind. These cats know nothing of the prophecy and instead share more stories about the land’s history, dating all the way back to the stories they know about Thunder, Wind, River, and Shadow.

From there, Silverwind winds up in twoleg place and stumbles across Princess and Smudge who share their own stories about their lives living with humans. They too, tell him about Firestar just as Ravenpaw and Greystripe had. Silverwind, in turn, shares his own personal stories of his travels, adventures, or jokes he’s heard in passing. They ask for his name, and he asks them to give him one. They think long and hard about it before Princess suggests Falcon, after the story of how he got a scar on his flank.

And so Falcon leaves, to explore what’s left of the torn-up territories. He finds bones in the forest, too big to be prey, so he buries them and wishes the spirit peace, whomever it once was. After that, he travels along the river and eventually finds Skyclan.

They take him in, and he chooses to study under Echosong about herbs and healing. He goes by Eaglepaw for a while, as he is an apprentice under the Medicine cat, eventually, he earns the name Eaglewhisper for the stories he tells in the dead of night to any cat who finds themselves without sleep. How Eaglewhisper manages to find time to sleep, no cat knew.

Names are sacred among clan cats, as Eaglewhisper had already learned, but he explained to Leafstar that names are sacred to him too, but in a different way. For him, a name is something he earns when he has learned as much as he can about the cats he comes to live with for a time. And every name is a gift he holds to remember them by.

So with his new name, Eaglewhisper bids them farewell, now with a goal in mind. Somehow, in every land he managed to travel to, the same name appeared in one story or another, and it was in Skyclan that Eaglewhisper learned about the Prophecy of Three.

Somehow, he was connected to this “Firestar” and had some duty to save the clans.

Whatever the case was, Eaglewhisper was going to get to the bottom of it. 

Eaglewhisper travels for a long time, not backtracking because he never moves backward, he thinks that retracing his steps is like trying to step back into the past which is pointless because you can’t go to the past, all there is the now. He finds his way to the moonpool, and not far from there he ends up in the tunnels.

By this point, The PoT arc is over, Lionblaze is Lionflower, a medicine cat who feared his own strength so much he chose to become a healer instead. Hollyleaf finds out about the Crow/Leaf thing and still does her Gathering reveal before fleeing into the tunnels. Lionflower refuses to speak with Squirrel or Leaf not because of their lies, but because of the brother that they gave away. Liobnflower laments not having his other sibling, having always felt there was a piece of him ripped away too soon.

Eaglewhisper finds the stick and goes back in time (despite thinking it impossible) and gets his name among the Ancients, Jay’s Wing. He guides them up to the mountain and explains the role of Stoneteller to Half Moon, and then wakes up to Hollyleaf snarling at him.

He had fallen asleep in her nest.

He calms her down, explaining that he’s a loner who got lost, and she offers to guide him back to the surface where it would be easier to see. He declines the offer and asks if she could show him around the tunnels instead.

Eventually, Hollyleaf loosens up enough to talk about her past, and in turn, he tells her about his travels to the faraway places. She asks him what his name is, and he explains how he’s a ‘collector’ of names, so to speak. Hollyleaf leaves it at that for a while, thinking about everything she’s learned about him, and approaches him days later with a name to call him by.

Hollyleaf: I had a brother who I left behind, and another who I never met. A long time ago, my mother gave him to some loners because he was born blind. I feel some sort of kinship with you, though I don’t understand it. May I name you after them?

Him: Of course, it would be an honor.

Hollyleaf: Then I shall call you Jayflower. Jay for my forgotten brother, and Flower for the brother who should forget me.

Jayflower: You would be a hard cat to forget, but I accept this name with respect and honor. From now until the day I must move on, I shall be Jayflower.

Jayflower tells Hollyleaf more about his travels, specifically about the name that always appeared in the stories he was told by others and how he wants to find this mysterious “Firestar” who is known throughout the lands.

To his surprise, Hollyleaf tells him that she is Firestar’s granddaughter and that they hunt and sleep beneath his territory.

Eager to finally get answers, Jayflower asks Hollyleaf if she will go with him to speak with Firestar, Hollyleaf is scared at first, not wanting to see her old clanmates after what she did, considering that she murdered a clanmate, but Jayflower convinces her that its time to put the past behind her.

Before they leave the tunnels, Jayflower thanks her again for the name but warns her that he may shed it in Thunderclan should they accept him. Having heard all of his stories and the names to go with them, Hollyleaf understands and tells him that that would be fine. Joining Thunderclan would simply be another part of his journey to be marked with a new name, and it was her honor to be able to give him a name herself.

It just so happened to be a full moon that night, there was no guard for the Hollow and everyone was fast asleep. Hollyleaaf tried to convince Jayflower that they should come back in the daylight, but he insists that now was as good a time as ever.

Note: Its around Night Whispers by now and Hollyleaf still doesn’t know that Jayflower is blind. That tidbit wasn’t important to his stories so it was never mentioned to her.

When the clan finally returns from the gathering, they’re met with quite the surprise.

Lionflower recognizes Hollyleaf and is overjoyed that he is no longer without either of his littermates, and the clan swarms around her, happy to have her back. Jayflower sits off to the side, occasionally using his powers to look through a random cat’s eyes to better understand what was going on.

Firestar approaches him quietly, not wanting to alarm the clan about the intruder in their midst.

Firestar: And who might you be? Did you come with Hollyleaf?

Jayflower: I did, yes. She and I became quite good friends in the past few moons.

Firestar: And where are you from? You carry strange scents on your pelt.

Jayflower: I am a wandering loner, I have been to many places and somehow, I always heard your name from quite a few cats in each place, Firestar.

Firestar: And how did you know that I was Firestar? I could have been any cat

Jayflower: You were the first cat to notice me, only a leader would be that aware of their surroundings during a happy occasion such as this. Leaders must be on their guard at all times, wouldn’t you agree?

Firestar: ..... You never answered my question, who are you?

Jayflower: What name would you give me?

By now, the clan has noticed Jayflower and are back on their guard, untrusting of the stranger until Hollyleaf stands resolutely beside him. The pair are welcomed to the clan by Firestar and are given nests in the medicine den to rest in, giving Lionflower time to check them for any injuries before letting them eat poppy seeds for a full night’s sleep.

The next day, Jayflower offers a deal to Firestar, he will share his stories with the clan until he has no more stories left, and after that Firestar can grant him a name should he decide to allow him to stay. Firestar agrees, but before he can start, he gets interrupted by Greystripe and Millie, calling out to Silverwind in shock.

Amused, Jayflower decides to start there, explaining how he knew Greystripe and his mate, as well as Ravenpaw and Barley (who he later ran into again while staying with Skyclan).

His stories are never in order unless the kits and apprentices ask him “What happened next?” after hearing a particularly interesting tale, but eventually, he works through them all, ending with his stories about the Sisters.

Jayflower: You see, each name I receive tells a different story. The Tribe calls me Jay, Greystripe called me Silverwind. Skyclan named me Eaglewhisper and the kittypets of the old twoleg place you knew gave me the name Falcon, in honor of one of my own stories. Hollyleaf chose to name me after her brothers, but my mothers.....

Jayflower: My mothers tell me that my birth mother named me Jayflight before I was given away. Apparently, she didn’t believe that a blind kit could survive in her world, sometimes I wish I could find her, just to prove her wrong.

The clan is in shock, not only because they never realized he was blind, but because this was Leafpool’s lost kit. The reason Leafpool was almost exiled from the clan, for abandoning a kit before to strangers outside of any of the clans.

No one in the clan wants to be the one who says it, that his mother is there, sitting three fox-lengths away from him. But he’ll learn on his own, its hard to ignore the turmoil in their thoughts.

I’m not sure what would happen after this, it’s late and I haven’t thought that far ahead. But please feel free to add on to this! I’m actually kind of proud of this

@warriorsfireandwater tagging you because I thought you might be interested in this as well as my parodies. Hope I haven’t been a bother!

#I stand alone AU #Loner Jayfeather #warriors #jayfeather #Jayfeather AU

[polandspringz]

Can you tell us something about the villain turned side character and your protagonist:0

First, thank you for sending an ask! I've been wanting to share stuff from my original work for so long, but there's a lot of context since the story is so big so for context to these characters I'll give a very brief overview. (If someone wants a more detailed version I'll give it!)

It's a fantasy story set mainly in the kingdom/country of Ruyzex that was founded only within the last thirty years or so, and the stories those who witnessed it's liberation say that it was led by one man who lead the "war campaign" but negotiated without anyone having to fight a single battle. This man was supposedly blessed with magical abilities and many of the people who knew he view him as God, but one day he became a nomad and abandoned everyone, including his son, who always resented him. As such, people believe a fight between the son is to blame for their "God's" departure.

The story ACTUALLY follows three women who are "amnesiac heroes", who wake up with no memory beyond the horrible conditions they are found in as victims of trafficking, before they are rescued. Each of these women have magical powers like the God who left, and while they do not know how to use them, many people believe that they are their God returned or at least can be turned into him or replace him... or be brainwashed into replacing someone else who was lost.

My protagonist is a young woman named Dreil Ruyzex, who not knowing her own name took the name of her "home" (the town and country she was rescued in). She wakes up with her first memory being bloodshed, finding her kidnappers murdered beyond recognition around her and is terrified. She is rescued by a mysterious man who brings her to someone named Seio, who is the son of the governor of the southern most city, and lives in a house for people who were rescued and displaced and brought to Ruyzex through trafficking. While gaining her bearings there and becoming close with the other victims, Dreil awakens her powers due to several stressful events, and she is terrified, because she realizes that she had been the one to transform into a blind rage and eviscerate her captors, but she also has the power to heal people. Dreil doesn't particularly want to use her powers because she's scared of losing it and hurting everyone she loves, and Seio tells her to keep it a secret anyway, lest the people who come and visit the town discover her powers and suspect she is "like Ruy". However, Dreil ends up having to use them and learn how to use them when the city gets raided by people who kill two of the children she was living with and kidnap one of her new friends, Mierre. Seio and the other characters want to get Mierre back, and while they've traced the possible route she was taken, they also decide it's time to confront the Queen on this matter to crackdown on the traffickers who should have been outlawed back when the kingdom was established. Dreil forces them to bring her along, insisting she would be useful as a healer, and as they journey from the south to the northern point of the country, she has to battle bandits, cults, actual demons, and eventually soldiers from the castle as she learns the history of the land she has found herself in and joins resistance efforts to uncover the corruption within the mysterious capital.

Again, I'm being VERY VERY brief and vague because there's so much so apologies if it sounds cliche/not super interesting right now. Dreil as a protagonist starts off as an amnesiac but very quickly she does remember things, like her homeland, but the place she is from is actually such a mysterious region itself. Because of her appearance, she has similar features to the God who left, Ruy, which adds to the fanatic people in the city wanting to try and "shape" her into a new Ruy, or viewing her as a gift sent by him to them. One of the original ideas that shaped this story was when I was in middle school I was reading a lot of dystopian fiction (although this isn't a dystopian society really, although we are fighting the government at one point it's not how you think, they're not the "evil" in the story), and I thought about what if there was a story where the main girl didn't really want to go on the journey that she was being called to, since normally in dystopian works something big happens or is lost and the protagonist is all "I must instantly seek my revenge." This idea has been changed quite a bit in my work, but when Dreil lives peacefully in the city for a complete year before the raid happens, and during that time she helps rescue two children from traffickers in a neighboring town- waking up one day and sensing the gaze of someone staring at her from miles away. Although they're not much younger than her (Dreil is around 19-20, the "children" are actually teenagers) they help each other heal and develop a life together.

This goes into how characters changed and have been shaped across many years of working on this story actually. Many of my characters started off as villains or had more secretive goals and beyond Dreil originally were more gray than pure good. Seio is the deuteragonist and his goal is to rescue Mierre, but Dreil doesn't have a goal. The people she would rescue are dead, so what should she do? And now everyone she knows in the house she has lived in are leaving on a journey, and leaving her behind. In early versions of the story, the children did live and were captured, and Seio wanted Dreil to come along on the journey by telling her things like "maybe we can find them!" and not really tricking her but he was sort of working with the main enemy in needing her to come with him to the capital, therefore he tried to use the children as persuasion. In the more recent drafts of the story, Seio leaves Dreil behind, and due to him being distracted and angry at what has happened to his home he does not help much when Dreil is grieving. However, a conversation with someone else convinces Dreil to run after them and force them to take her along on the journey, citing she wants not necessarily revenge on those who took from her, but wants to help end the pain the traffickers have caused once and for all (and she doesn't want to be alone).

Now if I'm going to talk about my "villain turned side character" I have to get into the whole angels and demons thing I brushed over earlier, HAHA.

It does seem very "edgy middle school OC" to have angels and demons in a story, but I grew up reading a lot of Christian fantasy stories so this is where my writing stems from. Although I don't view my story as falling into this category, I've taken a lot of influence from them and the things I wish they did in those stories. For example, one of the things that always annoyed me was the Jesus-figure in those stories was always the obvious "King" who was a mysterious man who appeared like right before the big battle where you knew he was gonna die in the fight and then come back to life because he's the Jesus metaphor and that's it. He's never a main character or one with any real depth or character, so I wanted to change that. Hence, there's a WHOLE CAN OF WORMS surrounding what I can get into about my decisions when creating Ruy, but we're not here to talk about him right now, were here to talk about one of his friends, an angel named Orielle.

In original versions of the story, Dreil and Seio and her friends had to journey to the capital of the country and rescue their friend who had been taken and battle their way through several people at the ruins of the castle. Orielle was this figure who appeared every time there was a turn in their journey, taunting them, leaving them clues to get to the castle. He appeared in the fires of the raid, he appeared in the woods and challenged Dreil to a fight where she would have to use her murderous, uncontrollable power, he stood at the top of the castle before the final battle and revealed three "weapons" he had been making, several characters who were like Dreil in that they were blessed with powers but had been kidnapped and shaped into fighting for the wrong side. Orielle existed because I needed a villain and was still working things out. He was older originally, more middle aged and spoke in a booming deep voice and always looked down with his eyes narrowed as if passing judgement. But then as time went on I created more characters and the plot points filled themselves out (there was more than just the ending battle thought up) Orielle wasn't really needed anymore because a new villain had replaced him, but to be honest I still liked his name, so I just changed who he was.

Besides Ruy, who is the "God" figure in the story and his powers are for certain established to be from some higher power that he might well be (he's also an amnesiac hero as well, when you learn about him), and Dreil and the other two protagonists, whose powers are also from the same "good" source as Ruy (but for all intents and purposes we won't say it's "heavenly" or "celestial" in it's source), there are angels and demons. Angels are different than Ruy and Dreil, and Ruy and Dreil were people who when they were created their bodies always had power within them. They have one soul, and it is the one that is able to wield their power. Angels however are created more like vessels. There were certain people in the world who were made so their bodies could withstand the use of power beyond human means, so when on one fateful chaotic day (around 14 years before the start of the story, called "the Fall of Smokeflake") the souls or spirits of the angels descended and joined with the souls of their vessels, thus now these people had angelic power they could wield, and knowledge of the mission they must do, and knowledge of the past, present, and future. They do not have access to ALL of this information, as the souls are not fully one but they act as one when talking, although sometimes in the story there are points where a character must note that the "human" or the "angel" is speaking to them more and that might be unreliable. The angels know that if their vessels knew too much it would break them, especially if the future involves a massive battle where everyone is slaughtered at the end of the journey.

So, BACK TO ORIELLE. He has become an angel, really an archangel, and appears in the story mainly through the journals left behind by Ruy, which contain the history of Ruyzex and Dreil reads along her journey to understand her own power and the mysterious man that is like her. Orielle is Ruy's guidance, as he descends early in his true spiritual form to save his God from a landslide, but Ruy rejects him and sends him away because he doesn't understand what is going on. Orielle later becomes Ruy's only ally when Ruy is locked underground for three years and Orielle stays there, still not connected with his human vessel (because his vessel was not born yet), keeping Ruy alive and sane by putting him in a stasis-like sleep and giving him dreams and memories of the war that angels and demons fought, helping to clear up his confusion and his purpose in the human world, and who Ruy is going to meet. Years later, during the main story, Orielle is in the body of his vessel, a prince born to the kingdom to the north, Meltiux, who is campaigning for his right to the throne as it is a country of matriarchs, and for some reason the two princesses of Meltiux have been missing/no one remembers them...? Orielle is met at various points throughout the main story as he is visiting in Ruyzex and the Empire of Ker, Ruyzex's neighbor to the west, not only trying to build up his diplomatic relations and make himself "worthy" of the throne but also trying to meet up with the heroes and help them along the way. Of the seven angels, he is one of three who have actually met Ruy personally, which makes him very high ranking amongst the other angels hidden throughout the world, and because he was beside Ruy for every step of the journey and the war campaign, he is the leader in the absence of their real leader.

So, that's all I'll say for now! I apologize for the length, it was kind of impossible to explain my protagonist without going into the story somewhat. And I didn't want to just be like "she's nice, she's courageous" because I don't really view my characters in traits like that? I've just been so focused on their place in the plot that their characterization is so synonymous with the story for me that I can't really separate them, lol. Thank you for the ask! I'm willing to go into more detail in follow up posts about anything since there are WAY WAY more characters than even mentioned here.

#my ocs #bgwr #ask poland #writing #my writing