#It's beyond me how she managed to rebuild herself after this and mostly on her own

[onaperduamedee]

Heartbroken reminder that Egwene is 17 when she gets taken by the Seanchan, spends two months in captivity being tortured, used as a weapon and dehumanized. When she gets back to the Tower, she immediately passes a test that's not at all traumatic, nearly gets killed by a Grey Man and is sent on a secret mission to hunt murderers completely unsupervised. During this period of wandering, lacking direction, she naturally gets angrier and erratic, but Nyn and Elayne mostly treat it as childish rebellion against Nyn's authority, with Elayne slapping Egwene because she was mean to Nyn. When the girls eventually get captured because they are not equipped at all to hunt the Black Ajah, Egwene becomes so terrified of being taken again that she keeps on resisting the sisters long past it is sensible, earning a brutal beating from the sisters who throw her back into a cell, beaten to a pulp, with no hope for help this time.

Clearly, Egwene has no PTSD whatsoever.

[stylesann]

Rebuilding

Steve Rogers x fem!reader

Summary: Steve decides to go back to the 40’s and you hurt.

Warnings: idk? Angst but happy ending

A/N: I have no idea what this is but aaa I feel like it’s bad lol, I just always get in a very angsty and dramatic mood every time that I read a story about Steve leaving so I wanted to do my own twist? Idk, and it’s been yeaaaars since I don’t write anything and also I’m not a native English speaker so I apologise any mistakes. Comments are always welcome 💕 -> written in around 15/04/2021; ->posted 28/05/2021

Masterlist

You stare at the ocean and release all the air you were holding on your lungs. You still felt your body heavy but at least your tears had stoped. You’re fighting hard to keep your thoughts out of your head, to keep your mind calm like the scenario in front of you, an empty beach with the ocean waves rhythmically hitting the shore. The sky had a lot of clouds and it would probably rain soon, but you didn’t mind, it matched you mood.

You could say you were surprised but all you felt was disappointment, sadness and if you were being honest, you felt anger and jealousy. What Peggy had that you didn’t? I mean, you didn’t know the answer and you were sure if you had asked Steve he wouldn’t be able to give you one cause he had spent such a short amount of time with her that he couldn’t be able to actually know all of her. All her flaws, all the quirks. In the past you had thought he didn’t even loved her anymore and was just in love with an image, an illusion he had from his past. But for him to had left you for her you weren’t even sure of that anymore.

You also felt used, replaceable, like you were just kept there cause he couldn’t do better, cause he couldn’t be with her. And now that he could he just tossed you away. You knew Steve wasn’t that kind of guy, but thats how you felt. And no one could tell you how you should feel or deal with it.

So that’s what lead you here. It had all happened hours ago. You saw his old self in that bench and you just felt numb. Bucky tried to hold you, he said that Steve wanted to talk to you but you just left. You had that right didn’t you? You didn’t care about what he had to say, it was all bullshit. You didn’t care about his guilt, or how sorry he was. You didn’t even care to go back to the apartment you shared with him, because you knew if you had gone there you would be stared by a hundred pictures you had with him.

You just wanted to get away. So here you came. You look down to the wedding band on you finger and the engagement ring. You wore both together but it didn’t make sense to have them anymore. You didn’t want any memories from Steve on you so you take them out and feel their light weight on you palm. You knew this was it, it was your way of closure, of ending that part of you life. You take a deep breath and throw them at the sea. There’s no way of seeing them drown but just the thought that you didn’t have them anymore made you lighter.

You turn around, ready to go back to the car that brought you here but you see a familiar figure blocking the way. Bucky.

“How are you feeling, doll?” he says approaching you. You didn’t know how long he was standing there or what he had seen. You wonder if he could see how empty and drained you really were.

“In the moment I’m not feeling anything. I think I’m still mostly numb. But that’s probably for the best, right?” You try to give him a light answer knowing that he lost his best friend too. How could Steve have left him after fighting so long to have him back was beyond you. “Did you know? Did you know what he was gonna do?”

“I did” that was all it took for the tears to start falling from your eyes. Why had Steve told him and not you? You were his wife for gods sake didn’t you deserve at least this? Bucky reaches for you but you push him away.

“Why didn’t h-he tell me? Why did he d-do this?” you hiccup between the words, the tears falling harder than before.

“I think he just didn’t have the guts to. You know he loves you, Y/N-“

“Screw him! If he did, he wouldn’t have done this!” All the feelings you were trying to push down seem to come to surface and tighten their grip on your chest. “I can’t understand why you aren’t angry? Why aren’t you feeling betrayed?”

“He didn’t leave me alone Y/N, he asked us to take care of each other” he has a pleading look on his face while he says that, and you see that the difference between you and him is that he had some time to come to terms with his friends decision, he’s sad but keeping it to himself. He’s trying to be strong for everyone one else who didn’t know, for you mostly.

“I don’t care about what he asked. I’m not staying and I’m not doing what he would want me too. I’m always gonna be there for you Buck, not because he’s wants that but because I care about you. Whatever you need you can call, even if it’s just for a chat, but I’m not staying, i can’t. I am getting into that car and I’m gonna drive away as much as i can, and I’m only stopping when I feel like I’ve put miles between me and this” you say more calm than you were minutes before. You had a plan, it may not be the best one but that’s what you had for now. You didn’t want to be in the same place you lived with Steve, you didn’t want to see the same scenarios you saw with him, you wanted nothing from him. Maybe it was bitter of you, or maybe you didn’t have the best coping mechanism but you needed the distance.

Bucky’s expression seemed to sadden a bit but he understood, he knew this wasn’t easy for you. “I don’t want to change your mind about leaving, so I say the same, if you need anything you call Y/N, got it?” He says as he hugs you firmly.

“Got it” you say in whisper against his shoulder, his arms still around you delaying the last moments he’s gonna have with another friend. You hate to be doing this, he didn’t deserve it you knew it, but you also knew that he wouldn’t be willing to accompany you on your trip, and it was something that you needed to do alone. You were alone.

“You know he wouldn’t have done this if he didn’t know you you be able to rebuild your life, right? You’re a strong person” He uses the same tone of voice you had, he probably just didn’t want to trigger you into making your feelings rise again.

“Everyone has the ability to rebuild themselves, Buck. The fact that I’m strong shouldn’t make what he did alright. And I don’t feel much strong now... I just feel like I’m a shell. And even if I do find someone else, how am I going to let them in? How am I supposed to trust anyone with my heart, when the guy I gave all my heart before completely destroyed me?” A single tear fall from your eye, but you hold the rest back. “I’m going to be fine but I don’t even know what that mean anymore.” He just nods to this, and I know there’s nothing left to be said so I head to the car and take a deep breath holding the wheel. This is it.

I look at Bucky while I drive away, he’s still standing where I left him and I hope with everything on me that he will be fine too. Whatever that means.

****************************

The sun is harsh on your eyes slipping through the curtains open frames. You turn your head to the other side and you feel a heavy weight on your waist stopping you from moving further than that. You slowly open your eyes to see Franks figure with his arm on you and his head drowned on the pillow.

You turn again to look at the clock to see it marking 8:47 am. Mary would be up soon, so you slip from Frank taking extra care not to wake him up and head to the kitchen to make a quick breakfast.

“Y/N! Y/N! Can we have pancakes today?!” Mary breaks into the small kitchen excitedly jumping around. Today you and Frank would be taking her to her new math club and she couldn’t be more anxious about it.

“What is going on here” Franks rough morning voice appears on the room. He’s rubbing his eyes and seems to be sleeping still.

“We are making Mary her favourite pancakes for breakfast” you answer them as you get the ingredients on the counter. Mary hugs you and sits straight on the table waiting for you to prepare them.

It had been 6 years since the day you left New York and ended up traveling for a long time through the country only to end up here. Florida. It was hot all the time, you always felt warm but it was distant enough from your past and you felt better about it. You decided that you wanted to rent a small place near the beach and so you found a woman named Roberta, that rented a few houses that fulfilled your wish. You didn’t think twice before accepting her deal.

You weren’t carrying anything on you except for the few clothes that you had bought on your journey so the move was quite simple. And you weren’t expecting to fit in so well here but the fact that as soon as you were settled a little girl, who was maybe 7 at the time, had come to you with a lot of questions that honestly you couldn’t answer warmed you up to the place real fast.

The fact that Mary had managed to always meet up with you but you still had to meet Frank was beyond you. She talked a lot about him “Frank did this today”, “oh did you know Frank let me adopt another cat”, “the first cat Frank got us was Fred, he has only one eye”, and so on. You knew more about him that you probably would by talking to him in person, according to Mary herself. She said he was very closed but had a great heart, she even told you the story about him fighting in justice for her guard. It only made you think he was a great guy who would do anything to protect his niece, and you were sincerely excited to meet him, give the person a face.

However, as it appears that his schedule was always all over the place and you always waking around town and spending many hours on the beach didn’t help with your meeting. You didn’t understand at first too how Mary always found you around, but she explained that whenever she wasn’t studying and Frank was going out with his girlfriend Boni, she stayed with her friend Roberta, who quickly became a good acquaintance of yours.

Either way, Mary had been talking to you for weeks when you finally met Frank. You couldn’t believe your eyes and genuinely thought you were delusional. He looked just like Steve, but the moment he started speaking you could see the differences between the two and the helped you find your foot again.

In the beginning you were hesitant about spending time with Mary and Frank, who surprised Mary with the news that he had gotten a more stable job. According to him, he still fixed boats but for a company that payed well. You were happy for him but the memories his face brought still made you want distance.

During the four years you traveled around you had let him go, all of him. You had been trough all the grief stages and learnt how to do well with your own company, you didn’t need anyone else. But looking at his face had the effect of hitting you with a sad resigned feeling and you didn’t like it. But Mary always spoke so highly of her uncle that you knew keeping your distance from both because of memories wasn’t fair.

Frank, of course notice that you never iniciantes any conversation with him and he wondered if Mary had introduced the same woman she said was talkative and affectionated. He asked you about it and it wasn’t until you answered with sincerity that he understood. Since then he was more careful in your presence which you appreciated.

With time though, you warmed up to him, he was a good guy you never doubted that. You became close friends and when him and Boni broke up you helped him. It was a mutual break up but it’s never easy.

You friendship was going great until you notice him treating you differently than he would before and you realised he was slowly catching feelings for you. Obviously being romantically involved with him was the last thing you wanted but you couldn’t bring yourself to change the way things were going between you two and that’s what led you to this moment.

In a car, dropping Mary off to her math club, with Frank by your side and the promise that it would be okay. It had to. You took so long to let him in that now you didn’t want to let go, and you doubt Frank wanted anything but stay. Bucky said the same when he came to visit you and Frank. You look at him and you see him smile at you.

“You think he’s gonna be a mini genius?” He asks looking at the small bump on your belly.

“If he gets MY genes, obviously” I sass laughing.

“Ha, you know the genius genes it’s on my side of the family Mrs. Adler” he chuckles.

“On your dreams” you smile. It you be okay.

[catrasredemption-moved]

I'm really struggling and hurting with what's going on in the fandom right now as im losing the only comfort i had in quarantine. could you please write something happy post-s5 catradora based on noelle's statement that once Adora realises she's in love with Catra she'd be SO into the reslationship?

((I get you, Nonners <3 *hugs* Again, white af, so I’m going to limit my comments, but - it isn’t all downhill from here. Try not to give up)) (((Disclaimer it’s almost 4am and my sleeping meds are kicking in, so I’m sorry if this isn’t completely coherent)))

Adora had never half-assed anything in her life.

And she’d be damned if she was going to start now, at a time when being fully on her game was more important than ever.

“I just want to do something for her!”

Bow practically had hearts in his eyes. Glimmer was a little less impressed. “I’m pretty sure if you just stayed in bed and napped together all day, she’d be happy.”

“I know, I know.” Adora sighed. “But that’s not - I want to do something good. Like, really show her that I love her.”

“Take a vacation.”

“Glimmer!”

“What? I’m serious,” Glimmer insisted. “If you just like... took an entire week off to do nothing but spend time with her, she’d probably be speechless. Which I would pay to see, by the way.”

Adora frowned, thinking it over. It was true that Catra would probably be floored by Adora taking a week off, no need for She-Ra or anything, just for her.

“I don’t know. Do you think it’s enough? What should we do? What do people do on vacation?”

“You could just travel?” Bow suggested. “You know, get as far from Bright Moon as you can then call Glimmer for a ride back or something when you’re done.”

It was... actually a good idea, Adora thought. They’d spent their whole lives in the Fright Zone wondering what was beyond the Whispering Woods. They could actually see things now. They could see a world full of magic!

The happy thoughts died almost as quickly as they had started. “I... I dunno. I mean, it sounds great, but that would take more than a week, and-”

“Take a month,” Glimmer encouraged. “Take six months, honestly. You guys saved the universe. If anyone’s earned time off, it’s you.”

“That’s a lot of time.”

“And you’ve earned it,” Bow assured her. “Maybe not six months - I mean, you should take six months but I know that would drive you nuts. But take a month. Go places. Spend time together. I think it’d be good for you guys.”

Adora chewed on her thumbnail for a moment before slowly nodding and smiling. “Yeah. Okay.”

This whole thing had started with Catra not feeling like a priority in Adora’s life, after all. A month together would be the perfect way to show Adora she was invested and she cared. Perfect. * * * * * * * * * * * * Catra didn’t get back to Bright Moon that night. “Your cat passed out on my couch,” Mermista informed Adora flatly, turning the screen so Adora could see Catra curled up in a tight ball, sleeping.

“Is she... okay?”

“She’s dumb. Sea Hawk found her almost sick with heat stroke and had to drag her away from the house she was working on.”

Adora’s heart jumped to her throat. “She’s... She’s really trying hard to help with Salineas.”

“And I appreciate it,” Mermista admitted in a rare moment of genuine honesty. “But I’ll appreciate it less if she kills herself in the process. If she’s going to die, I should at least get the first shot.”

“Glimmer can come get her, if you want.”

“Nah, she already feels like hell. She can sleep it off on the couch.”

Adora scrubbed her eyes, smiling weakly. “Thanks, Mermista. Sorry, I guess I should’ve warned you, she gets really intense when she actually puts effort into things.”

“She’s not someone I would’ve pegged for a workaholic. Want me to wake her up to say... I dunno, good night or whatever you guys say to each other?”

“Nah, let her sleep.” Adora wanted Catra home, wanted to talk to her about a vacation, but she was sleeping, and that was more important than anything. She’d been exhausting herself for nearly a month working on Salineas. And while it was earning her some begrudging tolerant will with Mermista (who firmly believed actions were better than any apology Catra could ever say), Adora was worried. A vacation would really do her some good. * * * * * * * * * * * * Glimmer and Adora went to Salineas the next morning to get Catra. They thought it was reasonable to assume she was still sleeping off the heat stroke at the palace.

“Nope, she took off before I woke up,” Mermista said flatly when they found her. “Sea Hawk tried to find her, but he’s not exactly subtle about it, so she probably had plenty of time to hide.”

“Great.” Adora sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I’ll... track her down.”

“Tell her if she’s going to keel over to get out of my kingdom. She can die on Bright Moon’s turf.”

“Tell her not to die,” Glimmer added.

“Yes, and yes.”

Mermista pointed Adora in the direction of where they’d found Catra yesterday. She approached a half built house, quietly climbing up the ladder at the side and finding Catra working on the roofing.

“Seriously?” she asked, resting her arms on the edge of the roof. Catra looked up, surprised.

“What?”

She looked exhausted, her face flushed red. Adora sighed. “Are you coming home any time soon?”

“Yeah, yeah.” She went back to work, distracted. “Sorry, I dunno what happened yesterday.”

“You made yourself sick working in the sun all day.”

“Sea Hawk overreacted.” Catra waved Adora off. “He’s just scared you’d kill him if you found he let me overwork myself.”

“Sooooo you’re admitting it?”

“No, that’s just his logic.”

Adora shook her head. “Come on, take the day off and come home. I wanna talk to you about something.”

“I really need to finish this.”

There was a weird moment where Adora thought she understood how Catra had felt for years. Catra had been working nonstop on Salineas for a month, and Adora was starting to feel a little ignored.

But she also understood Catra’s side. She took a deep breath, hauling herself up onto the roof and crawling over to Catra, gently putting her hand on Catra’s and stopping the hammer. “Hey. I get it, okay? But you’re not responsible for fixing all of Salineas.”

“Actually, I kind of am,” Catra replied bitterly. She was far too warm for it to be comfortable.

“I’m pretty sure Hordak could stand to take a little more responsibility than he has.” Adora couldn’t help but be a bit bitter about that. He had mostly stayed in Dryl, working with Entrapta on tech that would help with the rebuilding process. And that was great and all, but it wasn’t much compared to Catra being out here every day working herself half to death.

Catra let out a long sigh, finally relaxing her hand. “I just... need to do this, Adora. Okay?”

“I get that, but you don’t need to do it at the expense of your own health. And yes, I know I’m a hypocrite. But I’m worried about you.”

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not.” Adora squeezed her hand. “And that’s okay. Have you eaten anything?”

“No.” The honesty was nice.

“Did you skip eating because you felt sick?” Catra nodded. “Okay. So... you can leave with me, or Mermista can wash you out to sea so you don’t die in her kingdom.”

Catra looked around, and sighed, finally nodding. “Okay. Let’s go.”

Getting her back to solid ground was a bit dicey, but she held herself up and managed to walk back to the palace without much help.

“She lives,” Mermista said dryly when they arrived back at the palace. Glimmer smiled, although she couldn’t hide her worry.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, I’m fine.” Catra smothered a yawn, scrubbing her eyes.

“Picture of health all right,” Mermista deadpanned. “Look, you built like, an entire neighborhood on your own. Come back when you’re not burning up.”

Glimmer rested a hand on Catra’s shoulder, wincing when she felt the heat radiating off of her. Adora took a moment to whisper, “Thank you for taking care of her,” to Mermista. The princess shrugged.

“Yeah, you know. Whatever.”

Catra was not happy with the teleport back to Bright Moon. Glimmer put them close enough to the bed so she could drop straight onto it, groaning. Good luck, the queen mouthed before disappearing. Adora went to the bathroom, wet a washcloth with cold water, and returned to the bed, resting the cloth on the back of Catra’s neck. She shivered.

“Cold.”

“Yes, because you’re burning hot.” Adora settled in next to her. “So, I had an idea, and I already know you’re going to argue with it, but hear me out.” Catra hummed in affirmation. “I was thinking we should take some time off. You and me. I was thinking traveling, but now I’m thinking maybe go visit Frosta and spend a week in the snow.”

“Oh hell no,” Catra muttered. “I am not going anywhere with snow. That’s where I draw the line.”

“But you’re agreeing to the vacation?”

“I dunno.” Catra raised her head. “When? Can it wait until Salineas is-”

“No.” Adora gently clasped Catra’s face in her hands. “I know this is hard for you, but you can’t hurt yourself trying to fix things. That won’t accomplish anything, and nobody wants to see you hurting, not even Mermista.”

Catra looked ready to argue, but something in her expression flickered. “You’re willing to take time off just to do nothing?”

“Not nothing. To spend time with you. We can hold each other accountable. You keep me strapped down, and I’ll lie on top of you to make sure you don’t run off to Salineas.”

Tears slowly filled Catra’s eyes, and Adora panicked for a moment before Catra spoke. “You’d... really take time off to spend time with me?”

“Of course.” Adora kissed her gently. “I love you, Catra. And I know we’ve been through a lot and done a lot that doesn’t really... support that, and I want to prove it now. And I want to take care of you.”

The moment of silence between them was comfortable. The same silence they could have spent hours in at one point in their lives. “I love you too,” Catra finally murmured. “Maybe taking some off to spend together wouldn’t be so bad. If only to see you try and relax.”

“Ha. Ha.” Adora grabbed the washcloth and began gently wiping Catra’s face. “Glimmer gave us a month, but I’m pretty sure she’ll be happy if we want to take more. Let’s start with getting you better, then we can figure out what we want to do from there. Okay?”

“Yeah.” Catra snuggled into Adora’s chest, taking a deep breath. “That sounds good.”

It had worked. Adora couldn’t believe it. “So uh... I’m doing this relationship thing pretty good, huh?”

Catra snorted, reaching up to push her face away. “Get over yourself.”

[arkt-nehrim-archive]

                         A Story in Spring : Renewal {1/3} 

"I have a proposition for you."

The walls of the fallen seraph's humble hut had so far been something of a passive comfort, yet Lithirill found no sense of ease.  Her host, and fellow Tel'lmaltath could certainly tell, eyeing her with some hint of concern, slowly rising to his full height, turning to face her once the fire had suitably caught. "Go on."

The encouraging mannerism was commonplace in their interactions thus far, but it didn't do much to make her desirous of speaking her mind, as images played in her head of all she had been plotting in secret, only thinking to bring the matter to him when she -knew- beyond a doubt she could -achieve- her goals. "It is a...personal matter, to you specifically.  I hesitate to even ask, truthfully." At that notion, her company raised  a sculpted brow. How he might've read her words differed from what she seemed to mean by her body language; a normally stood straight, confident woman now half hunched and barely maintaining eye contact.  He simply watched, resting a hand along his hip. It was the only prompt to continue she was going to get. "...Right.  -Arkt-.  I will speak plainly." even then she hesitated, a sigh accompanying an expression of complete honesty, "...I want to reconstruct your wings. I would see you fly again."  

There weren't many things reality could offer him that still surprised, but that had done it, the gentle carefulness in her tone most of all. It wasn't just an offer, but a plea. Arkt's gaze fell to his floorboards, called back to the moment she had seen the tattered remnants, and the conversation that followed where he learned much and more about the individual he chose to champion. Her perseverance in the face of impossible odds had ensured his second chance at freedom from past mistakes, yet here she was still giving. It was not debt fueling her either, but desire, leading him to a thought forgotten sensation; confoundment.

Lithirill only fidgeted in the quiet, narrowing her eyes in passive calculation, half braced for some kind of impact. It took him some several moments to recover, clearing his throat. The ever-present ache at his back he'd still struggled with flared up. Even to this day, the injury pained him, centuries "dead" had been his only reprieve.

"You are firmly familiar with the reasons I lost them in the first place..." he began, watching his company instinctively tense, ready for rejection; instead he would give her a question, "Knowing that, I must ask -why-? To what end would you go to such efforts?" Asked with genuine curiosity, over any manner of accusation; he suspected her of nothing.

Lithirill nodded, crossing her arms and easing her weight onto one leg. "History was one among a few reasons I have debated asking. As for why, well. I feel there are certain wrongs afflicted to those I’ve come to care for, and it is within my power to unravel those wrongs.”

Arkt watched her carefully crafted mask slipping, the woman ever at odds with herself. He wondered if there would ever be a time where she did not engage in the practice, and simply felt at home in his company.

"As you did with Arantheal?"  he questioned, curious to see if he could keep her at that boundary.

Lithirill puzzled over the question for a moment, pondering if it was harmless comparison or an accusation. Foolish to think it the latter, knowing Arkt had no history of resisting her intent.

"...Yes. As I did -for- Narathzul." She corrected, offering a sideways nod and a shrug, "Know I don't need an answer -today-. I only wanted you to know that the idea lingered in mind long enough to...plan for.”

Ultimately, Arkt was touched. Shock still kept a whirlwind of emotions at bay at the mere hint of taking to the skies again, permitting the warmth of the smile behind his veil to only grow as he watched her. She was not having so easy a time, clearly having wrestled with herself on the matter for awhile.

"Is this what has kept you from your usual visits of late?" he wondered, gesturing with a hand in a motion pushing down from his midsection;  'Relax.' he said silently.

Her eyes followed his hand, flicking up to his face like the lash of a serpent's tongue before she took in a breath and let it out, chuckling to herself.  

"In part. Alongside the politicking and the visits somewhere warmer. Thoughts?"

He sighed through his nose as he partly answered with the considering tilt of his head and a prolonged shutting of his eyes, continuing to chew on the notion.

"Too many to rightly voice in a manner composed or remotely understandable. Would you mind returning to Castle Darlan for the moment? I'll have an answer for you come the evening."

"Of course.~"

The professional manner in which she pulled herself together and turned from him showed a wall climbing between them that he had no patience for, the old seraph chuckling when she moved to open the door.

"Lithirill."  

She twitched, shoulders bunching as her fingers fumbled at the doorknob, before she straightened again and smiled a familiar, shy curve over her shoulder. Her eyes lit up a touch when she saw he’d pulled down his veil.

"Yes?"  

"...Thank you."  he spoke, genuine appreciation clear in his expression.

A hint of color, and the wall scattered; his only goal in the moment. She departed with an amused, "See you soon.", quickly on her way.

                                                   ~~~ As promised, Arkt had arrived that evening, uncharacteristically anxious, but Lithirill could hardly blame him. She could not imagine the weight of what her offer truly meant to him.

In times long gone, the loss of his wings, however deeply traumatic, had served a purpose; symbols had power, as much in their creation as their destruction and his fall signaled the end of an era where the Lightborn could rule without fear of repercussion. Yet now that all his battles were over, and this new life lay before him...

It was not long before the old seraph was waxing poetic, teetering back and forth in his words, as was his way. He all but danced between every sentence- whilst Lithirill only offered more wine when his glass neared empty. She refused to rush him in coming to a decision, simply enjoying his company, equal parts devilishly curious and genuinely empathetic.

Such camaraderie came to it's end at the dawn of the following day, Arkt admitting in the quiet of the morning fog that he accepted her offer; even with her many warnings of risk and pain, he had seen firsthand what she was capable of; he knew he was in good hands, even if a fair few of her achievements were with his shadowed aid.

Two weeks had passed since he agreed to her offer, wasting no time in getting started. The first bout had been the hardest thus far- having not yet known just how -much- it took to render a seraph numb, and having the unfortunate task of plucking the feathers he still had. A meticulous, painful, unexpectedly bloody process...but it was safer to start with a clean slate than try to rebuild all that was under them when half the limb had been shorn down to bare bone.

Trippling the dosages from there made things much easier, at least for Arkt. His struggle was not with pain in the familiar sense now, it came instead from a nameless sensation;  the agonizingly slow return of what should never be, able to sense every -tiny- thread of what was lost reconnect. It was as torturous as it was euphoric, and it could only be overcome by sheer force of will.

Tonight would be no different. Lithirill had learned his tells after a few sessions. When in the throes of her spell work, she could spare little attention for observance, but awareness returned as she dialed back, murmuring gentle nothings mostly for her own comfort; though it signaled to Arkt he could stop taking such measured breaths.

The touch of the Sea crept away like the retreating tide, Arkt opening hazy eyes, idly stretching his fingers.  He knew well enough not to move until his companion told him to do so, watching her over his shoulder. There was a slight notion of fear that kept him from immediately looking upon his wings, naked and ghastly as they were. He only had eyes for Lithirill's face, noting the knitted brow and how she clicked her tongue when observing progress, pondering how to proceed.

"I'd hoped to have had bone completely covered by now..." she lamented, drawing again the magicked circles that held his wings in subtle regeneration between sessions, "I've underestimated how deeply the burns go. I should’ve-”

"You need not fret, Lithirill."  Arkt spoke up, a look of assurance crossing fair features, "This shall take as long as it will take, and you have plenty to grapple with without adding the unnecessary elements of haste and worry.~"

"...Perhaps. Still, I don't savor putting you through further pain I could have avoided." she spoke idly, glad he could not feel it as she undid the slings above, gently moving the humble beginnings to rest on cushions whilst she worked tension from developing musculature.

"We went into this knowing it would be difficult. We will endure." he replied, his tone as much an attempt to comfort as it was a statement of fact; she was far too deep in it now to safely -stop-.  "Which for you to manage, requires heady use of those flasks behind you, as I recall."

It was a gentle, but earnest jab to not neglect her own health whilst taking care of him. She might have been Tel'lmaltath, but healing at -this- level for such prolonged bouts tested the limits of even legendary resolves, and Arkt did not fancy the idea of a Shadow God turned Oorbaya.

Satisfied with her ministrations, she sighed and nodded, letting her hand trail down his back as she turned and gingerly stepped away to pluck a flask of Ambrosia from a stockpile. The edges of a smirk tugged at his lips as she made a show of drinking half the vial like it didn't taste awful, raising both brows at him in a silent 'satisfied?'.

"...-Thank- you." he muttered, humming a chuckle, "Do not lose sight of your own well being in concern for me. I must stress, we have nothing but time."

Lithirill tilted her head at him as her eyelids drooped, well accustomed now to the odd heated popping in her ears as the Ambrosia did its work, blanketing the red pressure in her head and quieting the skittering under her skin.

"-Now- whose fretting?" she teased, setting down the flask so she could help him to stand, not letting his wings droop as she supported them from the base, "I don't intend to go hurrying into the arms of the Blue Death, I promise. Come now.~"

Twas a short jaunt to the spare bedroom within her personal quarters, Arkt leading the way and Lithirill matching his steps. The seraph counted his blessings that his pride could not be so easily wounded as she settled his wings into yet another set of slings, these ones arranged to allow them to safely hang whilst he rested. He knew -she- worried about such mental troubles, but he was far too old and that much more taken by fascination in all she insisted upon doing for him to care for foolish things like shame.

"Tell me something, Lithirill." he said, eyes on her as she arranged the vials that would help him sleep, and come the morn, ease his pain,  "What do you suppose I'm meant to do in return for all of this?"  

The question was laced with an undertone of playfulness that reminded her of when the seraph had taken an almost catty tone in Arktwend, all but making -gossip- of the infatuation between those who'd brought Narathzul into the world. She could only raise a brow at him in plain curiosity, willfully stepping into whatever trap this might have been.

"That is hardly a matter to burden the likely recipient, don't you think?  Or am I -supposed- to be reading between some manner of line here?" The teasingly scrutinizing gaze she leveled upon him was nothing to the coy look he gave her beneath the messy strands of his hair, the two locked in a quiet contest before she relented; as she always did where he was concerned. "...ponder and plot all you like, my friend. But hold to that patience you've assured me with. I would say it is early yet to be planning anything more than recovery."  she offered.

Arkt sighed through his nose at that, uncapping the cork to her sleeping drought and drinking it down with a quick chaser of water. Her answer was as good as any. Ponder and plot indeed then.

"Fair enough. Rest well, when you find it."  he bid gently, offering only a smile. For a would be God according to most's definition, who had seen millennia pass and returned even from -death-, he seemed to be handling the life of a crippled patient quite well.

Lithirill could only take that profound patience and trust in her ability to heart; ensure no matter her doubts that she'd finish the job.

She returned the evening farewell and meandered to her own bed, falling upon it like a stone. All too swiftly would the sun rise, and the pair would be again until their great task of renewal was complete.   Lithirill could only hope she'd be done by Spring.

                                                   ~Fin~

[riversofmars]

The Doctor and her friends try to escape a deadly trap as Dorium’s bar and the planet burn up. Meanwhile, River is continuing her research into the Timeless Child...

Chapter 5: The Pieces Are Moving

The Maldovarium, 52nd Century

The sun was blazing down and Dorium’s bar, built mostly from metal, was heating up even faster than the surface of the planet. The sun was growing bigger in the sky, it was getting closer.

“The Master must have found so much more in the Matrix than he led on.“ The Doctor pressed through gritted teeth as she considered how this was possible. “This is like the Time Lords of old, able to wheeled so much power… what they became in the Time War… he wasn’t there in the final days to know the horror…“ She mumbled, trying her best to prioritise her thoughts. Time was changing around them. They were in grave danger. There was no time to wonder how the Master had accomplished this, there was any number of ways he could have done it and finding out which it was would not help save them. She looked around back to her friends who awaited an explanation.

“You shouldn’t have come. This is far too dangerous for you.“ The Doctor realised, slowly shaking her head. “He knew I’d come here. Perhaps a Matrix prediction… it’s a game and he’s one step ahead of us at every turn.“ Her mind was reeling but they had more immediate concerns. The sun above the planet was growing closer, they appeared to be heading towards it and the temperature kept rising. “Dorium, do you have a way off this planet?“ She asked and stepped into his line of vision.

“I’m nothing if not well prepared, Doctor, there is a shuttle for emergencies outside, but we can’t just abandon my bar, this is my life’s work!“ Dorium protested. “What is happening out there?“

“If you don’t get out of here right now, you won’t have a life.“ The Doctor interrupted him. “One of you will have to carry him. Get to his ship.“ The Doctor gestured towards the box and Yaz complied while Jenny rushed to support her wife who looked as though she was about to faint. Vastra’s body couldn’t regulate its temperature at all. Yaz and Jenny seemed to have trouble breathing the hot air and even Strax was beginning to show signs of struggling as beads of sweat formed on his head.

“But Doctor…“ Yaz wanted to protest, trying her best to hold Dorium’s head level.

“This planet is being dragged into that sun, get off world and quickly.“ The Doctor shut down any protest and glanced out of the window again. The sun continued to grow bigger and the temperature inside the bar was becoming unbearable. They didn’t have time to argue. She could sense that this was only the beginning.

“But we have the TARDIS, can’t we just…“ Jenny jumped in but the Doctor interrupted her:

“No you don’t. I need to find the Master and I’m doing it by myself, it’s far too dangerous.“ She looked around, assessing what she had to work with. “Get off this planet, I’ll be in touch and pick you up to take you home but right now, I need to find him. He is messing with the fabric of time itself and while you’re close to me, you will be in danger!“ She explained hastily and rushed to a computer terminal in the corner.

“Doctor, you can’t.“ Vastra protested weakly.

“A Sontaran does not run away!“ Strax exclaimed, outraged.

“Whatever we’re doing, can we do it now? It is really very stuffy in this box!“ Dorium called from his box.

“We’re coming with you.“ Yaz insisted but the Doctor shook her head.

“No, you’re not.“ She stated and sonic-ed the computer terminal. A teleport beam engulfed her friends.

——

Shuttle outside the Madovarium, 52nd Century

“Ugh! That insufferable man! Woman!“ Vastra collapsed onto the floor as they found themselves in a shuttle. The temperature was bearable, the insulation for space travel was far superior to the bar, but temperatures were rising even in here.

“I hate to be the bringer of bad news but unless we leave this planet right now, we will be fried, and I’m lacking hands to operate the controls.“ Dorium realised the Doctor had managed to engaged his emergency evacuation teleport. He was glad to have spent the money. It wasn’t like he could have walked anywhere in the event of a disaster and it had proven a sound investment already. “So if you wouldn’t mind.“ He glanced to controls, having no better means of pointing.

“How do we fly it?“ Yaz sat his box down by the controls hoping for instructions. She pushed her anger at the Doctor’s actions aside in favour of getting off the planet in one piece first.

“Step aside. A Sontaran can operate any kind of combat vehicle. Strap in. Someone secure the head.“ Strax instructed pushing her aside.

“We can’t just go without her.“ Jenny launched a weak protest as Strax started the engines. He engaged the shields and the temperature dropped significantly, allowing them all to breath more easily.

“It seems we have very little choice, my dear.“ Vastra replied weakly, as her wife helped her to her to a seat. “She will come to her senses.“ She had been the Doctor’s friend long enough to know that they couldn’t change their mind by force.

“Unless she gets herself killed first.“ Yaz huffed as they launched and shot off into the atmosphere, away from the planet that was hurling towards its doom. Below, the Maldovarium caught fire.

——

The Maldovarium, 52nd Century

The Doctor checked the computer console. Her friends had reached the shuttle and set off. Good. Step one. She looked around herself, the building had just caught fire. The temperature was still rising. Judging by its speed, she calculated she probably had about seven minutes: three minutes until the air would be too hot to breath and she would have to use her respiratory bypass, five until her skin would start to blister and seven until her core temperature would rise so high that the proteins in her body would break up and she would die. She’d have to work quickly.

Her fingers flew over the keyboard on the computer terminal as she pulled up the security camera footage of the last five minutes. Good old Dorium, of course he wanted his establishment well protected. She fast forwarded through it and there it was: one moment, everyone was having a lovely time, the next blazing sunlight streamed into the bar and the customers disappeared into thin air. Some screamed, some just looked confused, but they all vanished. Time was being rewritten. They had never come here because the planet was not where it had been. So the planet had moved, not the star.

She wondered how far back the footage would go. Would it go back far enough to show who brought Dorium back here? Unlikely. He’d probably had to rebuild and set up everything anew upon his return. She had about a minute of breathable air left and she was struggling already. She looked around, the TARDIS was in the other room, she would need a minute to get there at least and above her, thick smoke started gathering. She would have to feel her way forward at this stage. Her mind was racing. Any clues she would find here, she’d have to find now or they would be lost forever. She couldn’t think. The moment had passed and the air had become too hot to breathe.

“Think, Doctor, think!“ She snapped with her last proper breath, she ground her teeth. When I arrange for your death, I expect you to stay dead. The Master’s words echoed through her head. Nothing was gained if she she risked her life chasing after clues that probably weren’t there. The Master was too clever to leave traces; which begged several questions: why would he reveal himself to Dorium; why allow him to see his face, knowing a description would point her straight towards him? Arrogance? Was he trying to taunt her? Or did he just not care? Did he think he was so far ahead of her, that it wouldn’t matter? Something about this didn’t feel right. She had to get back to her TARDIS before the fire bared her way. The skin in her hands was starting to go red and raw.

——

Space, 52nd Century

“That was a close call…“ Jenny breathed a sigh of relief when they cleared the gravitational pull of the planetoid and the sun alike. It wasn’t a moment too soon, the planet was beginning to burn as it hurdled closer and closer to the sun.

“How was that even possible? You can’t just move a planet…“ Yaz shook her head in disbelief as she watched the destruction on the monitors.

“You and I might not be able to… but anything is possible, given time…“ Dorium mused.

“The Master is a dangerous foe but this does appear beyond the capabilities they have displayed so far.“ Vastra sat in the copilot’s seat as she recovered, her body temperature normalising.

“Maybe he’s not working by himself…“ Yaz mused. “Last time we saw him, he’d allied himself with the Cybermen… maybe he realises he can’t do it by himself… Maybe he’s found new friends.“

“A sound stratagem.“ Strax commented.

“What do we do now?“ Jenny asked. They had retreated to a safe distance nearing the outskirts the solar system but they had yet to determine a new destination.

“Wait for her to come and pick us up?“ Yaz suggested half-heartedly, she didn’t believe the Doctor actually would be back so soon but she decided to try and be optimistic.

“We have no way of knowing when that would be. Besides, we don’t know if she will even be successful in her endeavour.“ Vastra retorted matter-of-factly.

“Then what do we do?“ Jenny asked, feeling at a loss. They all so desperately wanted to help but the Doctor had cut them off.

“We have hyper speed travel, yes?“ Vastra turned to Dorium who was watching the screens, looking melancholy at the loss of his life’s work.

“State of the art systems, I only purchased it last week, what a shame, the hull is all blackened…“ He sighed, pulled out of his thoughts.

“We made a promise to the Professor to look after her child and so far, we’ve failed. We will carry on, even without the Doctor.“ Vastra decided, pulling herself up. “Perhaps we will find whoever is responsible faster than the Doctor weighed down by her hunger for revenge…“

“Excellent. It would be most disappointing if we were to miss out on the fight and the opportunity for a glorious death.“ Strax announced with glee.

“Where do we start?“ Yaz asked, nonplussed. She couldn’t help but feel abandoned by the Doctor, and so soon after her previous disappearance. She was, however, glad for the company she found herself in. If she was going to be stranded in the far future without means of time travel, an ancient lizard woman, a potato-headed warrior, a Victorian maid and a blue head in a box seemed like appropriate company. “Where could the Master possibly be? Would he have taken the child with him or maybe he’s got a base and people who work for him? Or maybe, this is the Master earlier in his time stream? Maybe to him, the destruction of Gallifrey hasn’t happened yet…“ All the questions were becoming overwhelming. It seemed like an insurmountable task, particularly without the Doctor at hand.

“We can’t discount any possibilities.“ Vastra agreed. “We are rather more limited with our means of travel but there is one point of interest in this time period. Somewhere where the Doctor is stubbornly refusing to look.“ She had given it some thought and a plan was forming in her head.

“Where?“ Jenny asked and her wife smiled:

“The Library, of course. Professor Song might be able to tell us where to start looking.“ She nodded decisively and turned to Strax to provide coordinates for their destination. “And if nothing else, she deserves to know the truth.“

——

The TARDIS

The Doctor slammed shut the doors to her TARDIS. She took a deep breath, fresh oxygen reawakening her senses. She rushed to the console. As sturdy as the TARDIS was protected by it’s shields, she didn’t want to tests its limits by staying on this doomed planetoid any longer than she needed to. She ran a final scan, searching for the shuttle her friends had escaped in, and noticed with relief that it was just clearing the solar system. They were safe. Safer than they would be had they stayed with her. Content - if not happy - with her decision, as she launched the TARDIS into the time vortex.

The Doctor gave a sigh of relief once she had left the Maldovarium behind. She stepped away from the console but didn’t get very far. As her adrenaline levels normalised, she felt weak and became aware of how close she had come to reaching her physical limits. She struggled out of her coat that was singed in places and sank to the floor, trying to catch her breath. Her hearts hammered in her chest, her hair was sticking to her head with sweat, her hands and face were red and raw. She had to pause for a moment, gather herself, before she could carry on. The TARDIS circled around the vortex waiting for coordinates, buying her time by staying where time didn't pass.

“Perhaps I just need a moment… maybe some after-sun…“ The Doctor mumbled to the TARDIS that hummed and wheezed in response, almost scolding her for having been reckless.

The Doctor didn’t like stopping, even for a moment. Those where the times when she had time to think and those things that she had been trying to avoid, those feelings she had been pushing down, had an opportunity to catch up with her. She was in no way closer to finding her son. In the absence of her friends she allowed herself a moment of weakness. The tears stung on her burnt skin of her cheeks. What would the Master want with her son, apart from torture and hurt her? He was being used as a pawn against her. She would make the Master pay for this.

Slowly, she got to her feat. Unsteadily, she staggered back to the console, deciding on her course of action. She wouldn’t be able to properly rest until she had found her child so she had to keep going. For now, the Master was her best lead. It was time to see the destruction she had left behind as she had fled Gallifrey. If the Master had found a way to escape death, she would find answers there.

——

The Library, 52nd Century

“Someone is having you on. Whatever it’s meant to be, the Timeless Child, it doesn’t exist.“ Anita closed the book she’d been reading and pinched the bridge of her nose. She couldn’t focus anymore. “There is no reference to it. Anywhere. Are you sure that’s the phrase we’re looking for?“

“I’m certain of it.“ River confirmed but couldn’t deny she was getting frustrated as well. They had been at it for days now. Or was it weeks? River was starting to lose track of time. And they had nothing to show for it. Initially, River had enjoyed finding stories about the Doctor’s past; adventures she didn’t know about that she hadn’t been part of. It had been entertaining for a while, as were the essays written about her and the Doctor. Who would have thought they would become such a popular subject matter for students at River’s alma mater?

“Well, it’s not mentioned anywhere.“ Anita sighed, leaning back into the cushions of the sofa. “How did you learn about al this anyway?“ She hadn’t pressed River for information so far but it seemed about time.

“Those words, those exact words, the Timeless Child… Dorium was so sure that’s what it was.“ River closed the book she was reading as well. It was time to stop.

“Well, maybe he got it wrong.“ Anita shrugged.

“Maybe…“ River couldn’t deny that it was possible. In her head she recounted the message Dorium had sent her. He had mentioned a Time Lord giving him the information, as if it would give weight to it. Since he hadn’t given a name, part of River had believed that it might have been the Doctor himself. Perhaps he was keeping his identity hidden for any number of reasons; most likely not to interfere with his own timeline… But now she wasn’t so sure.

There were other Time Lords out there. The Master. The Corsair… From what the Doctor had told her in their time on Darillium, Gallifrey was still out there. Not just the Gallifrey of the past, before the Time War that River had visited not so long ago. Gallifrey had never been destroyed in the final days of the War, just hidden away in a bubble universe at the end of time. Maybe they were starting to emerge again, taking a few tentative steps back into the universe but why now? Why this? Were they maybe just trying to mess with her? Or the Doctor? Had all this just been a pointless goose chase and she had walked right to her death on a fool’s errand? She shook her head to herself. No. There was something else, something she couldn’t quite remember. It was right there at the edge of her mind.

“How long have you been at this?“ Anita asked, breaking the silence.

“I don’t know, you tell me, I’m starting to lose track.“ River chuckled half heartedly. She had always had a very special relationship with time, being the child of the TARDIS, but inside the Library computer, cut off from reality and actual time, it didn’t seem to matter anymore.

“No, I mean before this, before you came to the Library. You said you’d been researching this before and couldn't find anything and you hoped there would be answers here…“ Anita prompted.

“There clearly aren’t…“ River stated in frustration.

“How long, River?“ Anita frowned, noticing her deliberately evading the question.

“Well, let’s just say it wasn’t obvious I was… expecting when I left the Doctor and started researching.“ River answered at last, her bitterness evident in her voice. Anita remained quiet for a moment. They had hardly spoken about River’s pregnancy and son, bringing it up seemed to make it all the more painful.

“Did you find anything at all? What were you doing?“ Anita tried to steer the conversation back to the subject matter.

“All sorts… I knew it had something to do with the Time Lords so… that’s where I went looking first and of course I got myself involved in yet another of the Doctor’s adventures… younger Doctor that time, very young, couldn’t tell him who I was of course… I went to Gallifrey but I had no time to look around really, not with a fight for the very fate of the universe going on…“ She gave a half smile. When wasn’t the Doctor fighting to save the universe? As much fun as it had been, it had distracted her rather… As she recounted her adventures in her head something occurred to her. She blinked, confused. How had she forgotten about it? How had she failed to make the connection? “But there was something…“ Maybe the trip hadn't been entirely wasted.

“What?“ Anita frowned, confused by her sudden wistfulness.

“As I… things went a bit pear shaped. I was pulled inside the Matrix.“ River revealed which suddenly seemed a whole lot more significant than it had at the time. She considered how furious the Doctor would be if he ever found out what she had put herself through whilst being pregnant. She couldn’t deny that she herself had been incredibly relieved to find her son completely healthy at birth. She hadn’t exactly been taking it easy. There had been a few close calls in the early stages which was why she settled for desk research when she’d become less agile on her feet.

“What’s that?“ Anita asked. “The Matrix?“ She’d felt like she should know what she was talking about but she didn’t.

“The Matrix… it’s like a super computer, not unlike this one. Time Lord minds get uploaded as they die so it’s the sum knowledge of their race, so to speak… Algorithms generate prophecies, predictions, extrapolations, possible futures. In the golden days of the Gallifreyan Empire, they would base their interference around time on them and heed their warnings.“ River tried to explain the best she could. “I used my… affinity for all things Time to help the Doctor: bring him back to where he needed to be. Only barely got out of there myself in the end… but while I was in there… I can’t quite remember but there were flashes of something… I was very preoccupied, mind, but I think subconsciously they did register… maybe the Matrix sensed that I was looking for answers…“ She hadn’t thought it significant at the time, she had had bigger things to worry about but the more she thought it about, the more she believed it couldn’t have been coincidence. The images were beginning to take shape in her mind, as if she was only now able to remember.

“And you saw the Timeless Child?“ Anita asked perplexed, wondering why she hadn’t mentioned it before.

“I don’t know… maybe…“ River tried to focus, struggling to reproduce the images in her mind. “It was a little girl, standing in front of a gateway…“ River closed her eyes as the image became more clear. Why hadn’t thought about it until now?

“A girl though? Didn’t you say you had a son? Then it’s probably not related to you?“ Anita mused disheartened as it seemed like just another dead end.

“Time Lords don’t take the whole gender thing very seriously…“ River couldn’t help but chuckle as she continued watching in her mind’s eye. Someone was approaching the girl.

“River…“ Anita reached out for River’s arm, trying to get her attention.

“Just hang on…“ River was doing her best to remember. She didn’t recall seeing any of this before. Apparently her subconscious had picked up much more in the Matrix than she had realised.

“River!“ Anita insisted, her voice urgent and River opened her eyes, ripped from the otherworldly portal she had been watching but she didn’t find herself in the cosy living room the Library computer had generated for her. Instead she found herself in a laboratory. She jumps to her feet in shock and not a moment too soon, as the sofa also disappeared from under her. Anita looked around utterly confused. Was this a computer glitch? There were other people too: the woman who River had seen approaching the child and the child herself, sitting in a chair being examined.

A/N: You may have picked up on my using the events of Doom Coalition here which canonically are set between Darillium and the Library, if you happen to have been following those Big finish audios. I thought it could work really well with the whole being pulled into the Matrix thing. I know a lot of people don't know the audios though so I'm trying to write it in a way that you don't have to know them and anything significant will be explained. I hope that works for everyone. Please let me know if you find things confusing at any point <3

[just-the-mage]

Review-Love Death + Robots (Pt 1. Episodes 1-4)

So here we are again.  You, dear readers, and I, a mostly defunct tumblr page.  I was thinking...I’ve written a few reviews on here before, and I’ve rather enjoyed myself to be honest.  So until RP starts up again for me, I’m going to grab some popcorn and start reviewing some of the media I’ve been indulging in during this exceptionally fun pandemic we’ve all been saddled with (and are becoming increasingly more and more used to as time goes on).  Here we go! 

Spoilers incoming! I don’t like to discuss a show without going through it entirely-no stone unturned.  You have been warned! 

Love Death + Robots is a compilation series-each episode is self-contained content, based on what I have experienced thus far.  The content varies wildly from cute and sweet to surreal, to horrific.  For right now I’m going to stick with the first four episodes since they are fresh in my mind.  

Episode 1: Three Robots

Three robots shows a short adventure shared by, you guessed it-Three robots exploring the crumbling remains of human society.  It comes across as three tourists making their way through an area that they are completely unfamiliar with, attempting to define and understand elements of the environment as humans once did.  Their analysis and attempts to understand not only human culture, but also basic human biology, were entertaining to say the least.  Each robot has flair, character, and a their own take on humans and humanity.  Over the course of the episode, the fall of mankind is referenced a few times, being initially explained as a mass extinction due to environmental disasters (global warming is probably a factor-one of the buildings has an entire ship sticking out of it).  However, the twist ending throws that whole theory into question once the cat that has been accompanying the robots for the last leg of their journey reveals itself as capable of speech.  And, interestingly enough...being in possession of opposable thumbs.  It was certainly unexpected, and a bit odd-the cat (and its many, many brethren) manage to finish out the episode by convincing the robots that if the robots do not pet them, the cats may explode.  I will say that the ending, though it was rather silly and fitting with the tone, felt like an out of place twist intended mostly to give a bit of closure to a story that had no real need to have an ending.  It felt a little out-of-left field, at least to me.

This first episode, I think, is one that I could recommend to a much more general audience than almost all of the other content of the show.  It’s whimsical and cute, despite inhabiting such a grim setting (and grim it is-post apocalyptic is not taken lightly here.  There are plenty of corpses, some skeletal and some not quite so much.  At least one of them appears to have died by suicide).  I found it to be a nice addition and a good introduction to ease people into the tone of the show.  Definitely give this one a watch, even if the ending sort of comes from nowhere. 

Episode 2: Beyond the Aquila Rift

This episode was definitely a change of pace from the first.  It begins as a high science fiction story starring a hunky, middle aged man and his two crewmates, making some sort of cargo run (?) through a wormhole of some kind, but promptly finding themselves in a completely different place from what they expected.  Hunky space captain wakes up first, finding that he is greeted by an old friend (read: lover) of his, who explains that there was a navigation error that led them off course-way off course.  They’re in a completely different area than they expected.  The ship’s navigator wakes as well, swearing that there couldn’t have been an error in her calculations, but seems ill and is placed back in her future tech cryopod to rest.  Space captain man then bangs it out with his ex-lover (Greta) in a scene that was almost definitely written by a man, and she reveals to him that she lied, and that him and his crew are actually hundreds of light-years further off course than they had thought they were, basically dashing any hopes that he could have of returning to his old life.  The two then wake the navigator again, who immediately starts ranting that ‘Greta’ isn’t who she says she is.  At this point, enough clues have been given that the captain catches up with the audience (it was all a simulation the whole time), and he confronts Greta, demanding that she reveal herself as she truly is.  She does, after some prodding-and the captain finds himself in an infested husk of a ship, aged and haggard, obviously dying of starvation.  Greta reveals herself as a lovely spider-beast, and the captain wakes up from his pod again-back in his comfortable illusion once more.  

I love the premise of this one.  Crazy aliens and shit like this is a huge draw for me-sci-fi horror is probably my favorite subgenre of horror when it’s done well.  I would count this episode as doing it pretty well.  They don’t go into much techno-babble, which I think is a pitfall for some sci-fi stories.  The writers are well aware that we aren’t spending too long in this world, so we don’t need to know much about the rules under which it operates outside of ‘computer mistake your ship fly here.’  The twist ending didn’t end up being too much of a twist-in my opinion there were too many clues given throughout the episode to make it that much of a surprise that things weren’t as they seemed.  The odds of this man meeting his ex-lover in the infinitesimal reaches of space just by chance were a bit too impossible to make it believable-and the navigator was far too convinced that her work couldn’t be incorrect.  In the end, it was an expected twist, but still pretty jarring.  Execution is pretty good overall though-and the sex scene is pretty decent as well, even if its strictly a dude-fantasy thing.  Also, call me a sucker for cool looking beasties, but I adore the design on spider-Greta.  That’s a lady right there for you.  

Episode 3: Ice Age

The only live action episode I’ve seen so far-this one gives an *entirely* different tone than the majority of the other episodes in the series.  Topher Grace and Mary Elizabeth Winstead happen upon a lost civilization that exists entirely within their refrigerator.  They watch in awe as it develops incredibly quickly-hundreds of years passing within the civilization in roughly an hour or so of real time.  What starts in the morning as a town in the viking ages eventually develops into a modern society, almost destroys itself with nukes, and then rebuilds from the ashes into a fully futuristic society that quickly ascends beyond physical form, appearing to disperse itself into the cosmos, no longer bound by such petty rules as the laws of physics.  A disappointed Topher asks if they’ll return-to which he receives a sad ‘no’ from his partner.  It seems all is lost, and the couple go to bed for the night-only to find that the cycle has restarted overnight, and they probably won’t be able to keep any frozen chicken in the freezer for quite some time.

This one is probably one of my favorites of the series so far.  It’s fairly well acted, but the real beauty of the episode is getting to watch the mini-civilization develop itself in a glorious time lapse-the work that must’ve gone into it must have been monumental, to be honest.  The final product certainly felt that way, in any case.  What I also found fascinating was a specific scene in which the protagonists were abandoned in place of some of the tiny denizens of the lost civilization-which made me realize exactly how slow the ‘normal sized people’s’ actions must have looked to the diminutive people of this rapidly developing society.  Reminiscent of the earth’s motion in relation to our own perception-and reinforcing the concept that to an individual, perception is everything. 

Episode 4:  Sonnie’s Edge 

This episode opens with three people transporting mysterious cargo into a heavily guarded complex, quickly encountering and interacting with a ‘bigwig’ of sorts with a beautiful woman on his arm.  Through context clues the audience is easily able to discover that the three (pictured above) are here for a fight-and that their cargo is their fighter, a living creature of obviously immense proportion.  The bigwig asks the team to throw the fight, and they refuse, even after he offers a large amount of money.  (It’s worth mentioning that during this scene, ‘Sonnie’, the leader and controller of the beast fighter, shares an EXTREMELY homosexual gaze with the bigwig’s beautiful lady friend.  Don’t think I didn’t notice the setup, because I definitely noticed the payoff, even though it was rudely interrupted).  Sonnie and her teammates enter the ring, setting up as it appears that she will be piloting her fighter in some way.  Her opponent is also introduced, though he is hardly important in the story-imagine a cake of beef with a big sticker on him that says ‘mysogyny’ in bold print.  What follows is one of the most brutal fight scenes I’ve seen in animation (this is just my personal opinion though).  These creatures fucking tear each other to shreds, with Sonnie’s beast only just barely emerging as the victor, tearing the opposing fighter’s head clean from its body.  The bigwig is obviously angry, as is Sonnie’s opponent, and Sonnie and her team retires to a hotel room of sorts, with the exception of Sonnie-who slips away into the room that houses her fighter, promptly encountering the beauty from earlier! (Payoff time)..and it gets gay.  Fast.  I love me some wlw content, and there’s some nice tension here, right up until the beauty stabs Sonnie through the head.  Rude.  The bigwig reveals himself, which was a bit of a surprise-the part of me that hadn’t seen much of this show yet was hoping for a fluffy little happy ending.  It wasn’t to be though..after the beauty crushes Sonnie’s skull, the two promptly realize that ‘Sonnie’ wasn’t Sonnie at all-just some biotech.  The *real* Sonnie...was the fighter, the whole time.  Who promptly makes short work of both the beauty and the bigwig, (implied), in what I can only describe as the most satisfying moment in the series that I’ve seen thus far.  

This was easily my favorite episode of the show, and has continued to be, and I assume will continue to be my favorite through the rest of the series.  It’s not just because of the lesbian rep (my people!), or the misogynists getting fucking destroyed, but the strength of the reveal, the choreography of the fight scene, and the *power* of the protagonist.  I love her.  I love her sooo much.  We are seamlessly introduced into the world, shown a woman who has been beaten, scarred, faced sexual abuse, and she remade herself into a being of pure power.  She fought back, and *look how she fights back*.  I cannot describe just how much of a cheer-worthy moment it was to watch the smug smile be summarily wiped from the face of the bigwig.  I *love* seeing a villain who has full confidence in their victory suddenly realize that they don’t have the upper hand anymore...and that they are, in fact, absolutely screwed.  This was one of those wonderful, wonderful moments, and I can think of nobody more deserving than this villain of being torn to shreds.  This was an A+ episode for sure-100% recommend this one for anyone who can handle a bit of gore.  

Thank you so much for reading!  This is only part 1...more to come!        

[crqstalite]

You've been visited by the random writing prompts goblin!! - Write about your character just... talking. Are they talking to themselves, or with someone else? What kind of slang or phrases do they use often? Do they have an accent?

I really should quit writing these one-on-one scenes with Kodelyn and Lali (and maybe y’know, with their actual partners) but I couldn’t get the prompt out of my head! I love them too much and Citlali’s POV is one of my favorites to write -- she goes off on a lot of tangents and I find it more funny and entertaining that anything. Way different than I write Kodelyn’s. Probably should do more shippy writing at some point, but some point is not now.

Post-war. Word count: 2,008. no warnings.

-

“Y’know, she even said she might even put a good word in for me,” Citlali leans back in her chair, grinning around her straw, “Might be a real flight lieutenant, give or take like a decade. No more stowaway-ing for me.”

“Sounds nice.”

“Yeah. Dealing with ships is more my speed than people. Biotic regiment sounds too...I don’t know, challenging? Out there? For little old me.” The younger woman sighs, throwing a hand over her forehead dramatically, “Plus I’d have to work with our dear Major Alenko of all people. As if I don’t see enough of him now, he’d be my actual CO this time around.”

“Yep.”

“Still, that’s years out when the galaxy gets it’s head back on straight. Think they’re just absurdly shortstaffed right now. Not even sure whether this is a good idea or not, I mean, I spent half my life afraid of what I could do and now? Supernova. Might as well make good use of this.” She snaps her fingers, “Like lighting...something on fire. Damn it, lost the analogy that quickly.”

“That’s great.”

Citlali straightens in her chair again, looking around the atrium and shaking her cup, ice rattling inside of the plastic. The Citadel was rebuilding, after nearly a year and a half after the war had ended, and a few wards were getting back to the idea of normal. If one went wandering, one could probably still see the scars and missing shops, homes and even nearly half a ward on the other side. Yet, here they were, at a little fast food place, still very much alive and thriving.

Suck on that, Reapers. Shepard 3, Reapers 0.

The energy in the food court is different from where it had been before the Citadel had been moved to Sol. Less nervous energy to burn, less fatalistic views being preached from every corner of the Presidium. Life was getting back to good. Summer was right around the corner on Earth at least. Less death and mass murder at the hands of the Reaper putting a dampener on dinner.

She squints at her sister. Kodelyn Shepard, entirely off duty, was still in something that made Citlali think she was going to spar with James. Offhandedly she wonders if she would ever take her up on that offer to get a full wardrobe beyond the one or two shirts, jeans and boots she owned. Considering she rarely saw Kaidan out of anything similar, she’d have to do something about that soon.

She’d always looked nice in yellow.

However, said Shepard has a smile just gently tugging at the corners of her mouth while one hand flies over her omni-tool’s keyboard, not a glance up to where Citlali is.

She’s not paying attention. Probably hasn’t been since she started talking nearly five minutes ago. Her offhanded responses have gotten better though, Kodelyn almost had her fooled that she was carrying on a two-way conversation. Probably should’ve gotten suspicious when she didn’t actually offer anything to the conversation. Or when she opened the omni-tool to begin with. Multi-tasking had always been a skill that she had, not so much one that Citlali did.

“Anything good?” Citlali reaches over the table to gently (alright, she’ll admit it wasn’t all that gentle) pull at her sister’s wrist. A quick glance at the ID tells her all she needed to as she slumps back in the chair, “Damn, speak of the devil! You haven’t been listening to a single thing I’ve said have you?”

“Hey!” Kodelyn yanks her hand back, swiping at the screen a few times, “I have been listening.” She retorts indignantly.

“Have you?” Citlali raises an eyebrow. She hasn’t been, but knowing her sister, she’s good enough at halfway paying attention to reconstruct what she’s said well enough that she wouldn’t be able to accuse her otherwise.

Damn her. Sound doesn’t turn to soup whenever multiple conversations are going on around her. Lucky.

“Yes! I have.”

“Uh huh,” Citlali gnaws at the straw, wickedly grinning when she returns to typing, “Anything dirty?”

“No!” Kodelyn yelps, closing the UI, and dropping her face into her hands as Citlali cackles at her own jab, “Would you give it a rest?”

“I would, if he didn’t take over every waking thought of yours.” Citlali playfully presses a finger into her vulnerable forehead, “Fi-an-ce, brother-in-law-to-be or otherwise, you could at least spare your maid of honor and baby sister twenty minutes of your undivided attention.”

Kodelyn softly smiles. She’s at least genuinely apologetic, leaning back into her own chair with her hands out in front of her, “I know. And I’m sorry, just...”

“I know. He’s important. This whole shing-ding you have planned for the dead of summer is important. Actually, why the middle of July? Do you know how sticky July is? How humid it is to my poor hair? And yours?” Citlali gets a bit carried away (well that was on Kodelyn, July was the month of the devil. But then again she’d never been to Vancouver in July...and she was getting carried away again), “But have you spent a single second today not on that thing?”

“You know, I don’t just use it to talk to Kaidan. There is spectre business to attend to as well. Just because the war ended didn’t mean that work did.”

“Really? You had me fooled, thought he was the only contact in there,” Citlali snickers as Kodelyn rolls her eyes, “I get it, you’re still important and you’re still really busy. I respect that. Just sometimes I just want to know what’s going on with you without having to hear it secondhand, or on my ‘tool.”

“As if you haven’t been equally quiet the last few months.”

“I haven’t! I even sent the RSVP note back. In pen. That’s how much it meant to me.”

“That was your writing? Thought Mason got ahold of it. Kaidan and I could barely tell who it was from.”

“Ok, glad we can agree our baby brother writes like a chicken, but my handwriting is not that bad!” Kodelyn snickers as Citlali pops the cap off her cup, rattling around the ice at the bottom of the cup. Pink liquid still hangs onto the cubes, which meant the last of the juice was still hiding from her. She sucks on the straw anyway, “We have all the time in the galaxy now and we still just keep missing each other. Twice you were presumed or actually dead -- three if you want to count the original battle of the Citadel, and sometimes it still doesn’t feel real that you’re sitting across from me, very much alive and kicking. Three times I had to come to terms with the fact you might actually be gone.”

Kodelyn’s expression softens at her admission, “Is that why you keep trying to invite me out to ‘girl’s nights?’ Because you just want to make sure I’m still here?”

“No that’s mostly mom, you really have to start answering those. Occasionally Tali whenever she’s here, she’s asks after you, y’know. Liara and I hang out sometimes. Not as much fun, she’s as quiet as you sometimes and I’m not an archeologist. Or information broker. Or Asari. Not much we can talk about that isn’t confidential or something way out of my realm of understanding -- not like she wants to talk about the newest extranet series either.” Citlali remarks. She did genuinely like Liara, even if their interests were on opposite sides of the galaxy. Maybe she should bother the Asari a bit more before she took off again into the unknown, wherever said unknown was. What did a Shadow Broker do all day?

Beyond the point though, “Look, I won’t get sappy, but the piece of your pie chart that’s dedicated to me means a lot. It’s good when I don’t nearly get a heart attack every time you’re on the news.”

“If it was that serious-”

“-And it’s not.”

“If it is,” Kodelyn continues, “I’ll always be here. Just a call away.”

“I had to schedule this a week in advance, Dee.” Citlali gestures with her pretty much empty cup, though backs down a moment later, “Maybe I’m being a bit ridiculous, but I can count on one hand how many just...days like this we’ve spent together since the war ended. I mean, you could probably count everyday I was in your hospital room, but those are technically invalid since you weren’t conscious for most of them.”

“You know better than anyone that I’ve been pulled in thirteen different directions at once, not all of them as fun as you make them out to be. And yeah, you’re right, maybe I haven’t been making as much of an effort as I could be to spend some 1-on-1 time with you.” Kodelyn taps her nails on the table, thinking while the conversation lulls, “You still mean everything to me Lali. I’ll be better, just give me some time to figure all of this out, okay?”

Time, all they had was time these days. And yet it felt like she’d blinked, the war happened, and she was sitting in a hospital waiting room for hours on end. Blinked again, and she found herself back in her own apartment, her own bed, her semi-old life. Startling, almost like none had passed at all between when she’d picked up that call from Miranda to now. And yet, now it didn’t feel like she was wasting any of it by pulling her sister away to do something silly or inane. Death was no longer rapping at their door with increasing ferocity, almost like a much too determined salesman. Felt like they’d managed to crucible it across the front lawn and send it scrambling.

“Yeah, of course. Just...for the record.” She shrugs. The cup is finally empty, making an ugly noise when she sucks on the straw, instead still gnawing on it, “All we have is time these days. And I’m not being sarcastic, we honestly do. We’ll see the passing of another century given something else doesn’t try to annihilate the galaxy.”

“Yeah, if they could wait until after the next Council summit as well as after the wedding, that’d be great.” Her sister says, flickering open her UI again, “I spent way too much time helping planning both of those to have them ransacked by the next Harbinger.”

“Oh yes!” Citlali grins, “Councilor Shepard-Alenko, that’ll be the day. Yes ‘Reapers’, we have dismissed that claim already.”

“I still haven’t accepted,” Kodelyn laughs, turning her wrist to show Citlali something, “And I might not, I’ll recommend Petrakis but that’s as far as I’m going to help them find a proper representative. I’m not really Councilor material, and Kaidan’s had to remind me I can’t exactly hang up on them if they’re standing right next to me.”

“Really? Finally time to kick back and settle down with you, huh? Nice little place in Vancouver? Here? Part of me is going to be surprised if I see you in anything other than a t-shirt and jeans.”

“Probably not forever, but there is a piece of my pie chart dedicated to not driving myself up the wall anymore,” She gently presses her finger into Citlali’s forehead, making her chuckle, “Not such a bad thing. And I wore that spring dress you bought for me last month.”

“The day you step back from all this,” Citlali waves her arms around them, “Is the day I eat my hat.”

“I’m capable of more than just all this.” Kodelyn gestures similarly, “It’ll be nice to step back and enjoy what we saved. Preferably not from a war room anymore.”

“Never thought I’d peel you out of one,” Citlali says, “Mrs. Kaidan Alenko.”

“You have to get tired of saying that at some point.” Kodelyn’s partially right, though it amuses her. Sort of sweet at times.

“Will I? I don’t think so.”

“Really?” Kodelyn raises an eyebrow, “So how soon can I call you Mrs. Jeff Moreau?”

“New topic!”

[cinaja]

Before the Wall part 19

Masterlist

Summary: Five hundred years before Feyre Archeron is born, the world is much different from the one she lives in. Humans are slaves, seen as little more than animals by the Fae who rule. But things are beginning to change. Talks of rebellion is spreading and on the Continent, some Fae territories begin to consider the potential gain of War. All it takes is one spark and everything will explode.

----

It has been more than a week since the battle. The camp is mostly rebuild, the only sign of the destruction are scorch marks on some tents and a few soldiers who are still limping. The Seraphim army has set up camp right next to the human one and so far, both sides seem to be getting along fairly well.

Jurian has praised the Seraphim army thrice already to Miryam – his not-so-subtle attempts, she is sure, to get her to let them keep their new allies around. After all, he has always been fascinated with aerial legions and the prospect of having one that actually lets itself be commanded has him beyond excited. In the end, the Alliance council beat Miryam to it in making the decision. Apparently, they went right over her head and decided it would be best to keep half of the Seraphim legion with Jurian`s camp as reinforcements, while sending the rest of them to take over Pelior`s camp.

Miryam finds the Prince outside with his soldiers, overseeing a training sequence and chatting with a few of them.

“I hope you`re just watching”, Miryam says lightly and nods towards the training ring, “And not thinking of participating.”

His wound has been healing nicely, but that doesn`t mean he should be running around wielding swords again this soon. However, soldiers have a tendency to be remarkably idiotic when it concerns their health.

“Wouldn`t dream of it”, Drakon replies, “After all that trouble you went through to pierce me back together.”

Miryam smiles slightly, then takes out the letter. “We have something to discuss. Camp commander stuff. Would you walk a few steps with me?”

“Sure.”

Drakon holds out his arm to her. The gesture is so… princely and completely unfitting for this camp or her that Miryam has to bite back a laugh. Drakon seems to quickly think the better of it for whatever reason. He pulls his arm back and instead runs his hand through his hair in an entirely futile attempt at appearing casual.

Miryam does him a favour and pretends not to notice. “I assume you got a letter as well”, she says.

Drakon nods. “I`ve been meaning to talk to Jurian and you about it today. I`ve thought about putting Sinna in charge of the soldiers who will remain here, but since it`s your camp, I thought I`d discuss it with you in advance.”

“So you aren`t staying.” Miryam feels a pang of disappointment she can`t quite explain.

“I don`t think it would be wise.”

“Why not?”

Drakon is suddenly very interested in his weapons belt. “I know my presence here puts you in a… difficult situation.”

Miryam blinks. “Excuse me?”

Drakon sighs and turns around to look at her. “No matter how much I may want to, there is no getting around the fact that I´ve been engaged to that… monster. I agreed to marry her.” He shakes his head. “I don`t know how you can even bear to look at me after everything she has done to you. You`ve been very kind, but it`s not a situation I wish to put you in.” He gives her a small smile. “Leaving is the only decent thing I can do, really.”

Miryam stops walking to stare at him. It`s very considerate, she supposes. But what is she supposed to reply?

“Why did you do it?”, she finally asks, “Agree to marry her, I mean. I never understood.”

Nothing she has seen of Drakon so far explains why he`d get engaged to Queen Ravenia of all people. He seems kind, with much regard for all lives. Not at all ambitious and most certainly not the type to value power more than his morals.

Drakon runs a hand through his hair, his wings tremble slightly. “I wasn`t really… needed as a prince”, he says, “It was clear pretty early on that I was horrible at Continental politics and I had two older sisters who were far more suited to the position than I was. But since I was good with the theoretical side – laws, societies, such things - my father considered giving me a seat on his council once I was done serving in the military for a few years.” He sighs. “Only then, Ravenia offered him an alliance. One that included a marriage. And my father… he wasn`t a bad male, but he was ambitious. The offer was too good to refuse.”

“He made you agree?”, Miryam asks softly.

“No”, Drakon says, “I sometimes wish I could claim that, but he didn`t force me. He told me about the offer and I obviously didn`t like it, but I felt it was my duty to my people to agree. Besides…” He trails off and refuses to looks at Miryam.

“Besides?”, she prompts gently.

“I thought…” Drakon begins fiddling around with his belt again. “Cauldron, I feel stupid saying this. But I thought she couldn`t be so bad.”

Miryam can`t help it, she snorts.

“I know, I know”, Drakon says, “But I just couldn`t imagine it! I had spent most of my life studying at university or at the palace, I never even visited a country that allows slavery. But I had studied it and I had all these arguments about how slavery was horrible. I thought that if I just talked to her about it, she would have to see the error in what she was doing. It was so reasonable, I thought anyone would have to see it.” He shakes his head. “I couldn´t imagine a person just being… bad. I was so horribly stupid.”

Miryam hesitates. She has a hard time imagining the life he describes. Living to adulthood without having seen so much death and suffering that you can`t even count it anymore. Being able to look at people and believe that they are all good by default, because you have never met anyone who was truly bad. A life without fear, without scars. Absentmindedly, she rubs the brand on her arm.

Drakon is looking at her, now. With a start, she realizes that he expects some kind of response from her. That somehow, he deems it her place to judge his actions.

“You are right”, she says carefully, “It was stupid. But one stupid choice does not define you, especially when you made it without ill intent.” Now, it is her who looks away as she continues, “And I know that you`re a good person. You were the first Fae to ever treat me like a person, not a… thing. You helped me escape without a second thought, even though it made breaking off the engagement into a bigger insult. You allied yourself with the humans even though you didn`t have to. All this weighs far heavier than that engagement.”

“I…”, Drakon begins hoarsely, but he trails off, looking over Miryam`s shoulder.

She turns around to find Jurian walking towards them. It takes Miryam exactly one look at him to see that something is wrong.

Jurian nods at Drakon before turning to Miryam. “Can I talk you you?”, he says.

Drakon looks between them. “I´ll get going, then”, he says and gives Miryam a tight smile. “Thank you for… everything.”

“You`re welcome.” Miryam smiles back. “I truly wouldn`t mind you staying.” To her surprise, she finds it is actually the truth.

Jurian frowns after Drakon as he walks off. “What is it between the two of you?”

“What do you mean?”

“There are… rumours.”

“Please tell me this isn`t what you came to talk to me about”, Miryam says. When Jurian doesn`t reply, she rolls her eyes. “The answer is no, I didn`t sleep with him, if that`s what you were wondering about. I`m surprised you even have to ask.”

Jurian eyes his boots. “Well, I didn`t think you`d sleep with him willingly. But… well…”

Miryam goes still. “It wasn`t him”, she manages to say, “I wouldn`t be talking to him if it was.”

“I`m sorry”, Jurian says, “I shouldn`t have brought it up.”

“No, it`s alright”, Miryam says, even though she is shaking slightly, “But really, it was nothing like that. He never even touched me.”

“That`s good to hear”, Jurian says, “He seems like a nice enough male. I would have hated having to kill him.”

Miryam laughs, even though Jurian`s expression says he isn`t joking. She stops, though, when Jurian takes a letter out of his pocket. He looks at it like it`s burning his fingers.

“Clythia replied”, he says, “She wants to meet me in three days.”

Miryam`s breath catches in her throat. “Oh”, is all the reply she can manage.

For a while, they just stand around awkwardly, not really looking at each other. Miryam doesn`t know what to do with her hands, her body. Don`t go, she thinks, but she doesn`t say it. Whatever it takes, she repeats to herself. This is bigger than her, bigger than either of them.

“That`s… great”, she manages.

“Yes”, Jurian replies bitterly, “really great.”

----

Mor has chosen her most scandalous dress. It is bright red and only barely covers the intimate areas of her body. When she steps out of the tent, she is pleased to have several soldiers stop dead in their tracks to stare at her. Head held high, Mor struts through the camp, aware of every person who stares after her.

It is a good kind of attention – the one she chooses for herself.

Jurian barely gives her more than a brief glance when she stops in front of him. She supposes she could turn up naked in front of him and he wouldn`t care, simply because she isn`t Miryam.

“You`re leaving?”, he asks.

Mor nods. “I think I`ll be back by evening, but I`m not sure. It depends on what my uncle wants this time.”

“Well, kick the bastard`s ass for me, will you?”

Mor huffs a laugh, but the comment doesn`t quite manage to ease her tension. The problem isn`t meeting the High Lord – that, she has done plenty – but the fact that he asked her to come meet him in the Hewn City. She isn`t even sure if the High Lord chose the meeting place to unnerve her. Far more likely that he simply doesn`t understand what this place means for her.

She manages a small smile towards Jurian, then she starts walking towards the edge of the camp, where the wards end. She is almost there when she hears a voice calling after her.

“Mor! Wait!”

She turns around to find Miryam running after her. Panting, the female stops.

“Can you drop me off at Telique?”, she asks, naming the capital of the human kingdom and the place where most Alliance meetings are being held.

“Sure”, Mor says. It`s on the way, after all. “You got a meeting?”

Miryam is wearing a dress (long and modest, covering her entire body – the opposite of the dress Mor choose) and she only does that when she has to go to an official meeting.

She shakes her head. “I`m being sent to another diplomatic trip.”

Side by side, they continue walking towards the edge of the camp. A diplomatic meeting is not unusual, but somehow, this one feels off. The decision must have made at a short notice, too, if Mor doesn`t know yet. After all, she spent most of the night in Miryam`s tent, while the other female tried to reassure her that her visit to the Hewn City would be fine.

“Where to?”, Mor asks.

Miryam hesitates for half a heartbeat. “The Autumn Court”, she says.

“What?!” Mor stops dead. “No. They can`t send you there.”

“I can handle myself.”

But Mor is barely listening. “They have to send someone else. Not you.”

“It is very nice of you to worry, Mor”, Miryam says softly, “But I`ll be there to represent half the Continent. And I`ll be a guest. There are rules, they wouldn`t dare to touch me. It isn`t the same.”

She doesn`t specify what she is talking about – Mor told her months ago about what happened to her.

“Tell me you won`t be alone”, Mor says softly, “Please, at least tell me that someone will be with you.”

Miryam sighs through her nose. “Thank you for the vote of confidence”, she mutters, “But yes, Helion will be with me.”

Mor has to keep her relief from showing. She doesn`t want Miryam to think she doesn`t trust her abilities. But sending Miryam – half-human, beautiful, female Miryam – to the Autumn Court is like sending a doe to negotiate with a bunch of wolves.

Before Mor can say anything else, they reach the edge of the camp. Hesitantly, she takes Miryam by the arm and winnows them both to the human capital.

“Thank you”, Miryam says as they reappear, “And good luck with your meeting.” She gives her hand a squeeze, then steps away.

Mor is confused for a split second – over her worry about Miryam`s new mission, she almost forgot her own issues. But now, she remembers.

“Be careful”, she whispers – and winnows before she loses her courage.

She reappears just outside the mountain under which the Hewn City is built. The guards waiting outside have the nerve to stop her, but one cold look from Mor – one she learned from Jurian – has them stepping aside. Mor takes a deep breath and enters the mountain.

Lucky for her, it is still day and most of the members of her father`s court are still asleep. Still, some are up and staring at her. Mor imagines their whispers. Whore. Disgrace. She walks past the corridor that leads down to the chambers where her father brought her after he found out about Cassian. Where they spiked the nails through her.

The High Lord is waiting in his study. He smiles at Mor when she enters. Sometimes, she forgets that he actually does like her – maybe because his actions so rarely reflect it.

“Sit down, Morrigan”, he says and motions to a chair, “How are you? Well?”

“Yes, My Lord.” Lie, lie, lie. Sometimes, it feels like her entire life is one giant lie, only waiting to come crashing down around her.

He nods distractedly. “And your work?”

“I like it.” She forces a smile. “I have the opportunity to meet many interesting people.”

The High Lord shoots her a look. “And you`re good at it, too. I have to say, I`m surprised. You know I only appointed you because that… girl demanded it. Yet, your results are satisfying.”

“Thank you.”

“There`s just one thing”, the High Lord says softly, “Why aren`t you staying in Telique?”

“I`m not needed there most days”, Mor says carefully.

A look of annoyance passes over her uncle`s face. “That does not explain why you are staying in Commander Jurian`s camp.”

Mor hesitates. She does not think her uncle would approve of her fighting in battles – or of her friendship to both of the camp`s leaders. “I like it there.”

“Well”, the High Lord drawls, “You are my emissary to both the humans and the entire Alliance.” His voice becomes sharp as a knife as he continues, “And that… arrogant, half-breed bitch is not the head of the Alliance, no matter how she may act.”

Mor has to bite her tongue to keep from saying something to defend her friend. She curls her hands to fists, but disagreeing would only make it worse.

The High Lord jumps to his feet and starts pacing. “What I`d like to know”, he hisses, “is how that female keeps rising in power. Even when she messes up – completely blows the most important meeting of the decade – it somehow turns into a victory for her. The whole Cauldron-damned council follows her lead without so much as a question.”

Mor doesn`t know what to say.

“But not me”, the High Lord hisses, “And not you, either. So you won`t be staying in her camp anymore. You`ll move to Telique right away.”

It is all Mor can do not to gasp. He might as well have punched her. That camp is her home, these people are her friends – and he`s just going to make her leave. But with the way the High Lord is acting, it`s pretty likely that he will kick her out as emissary if she objects.

So she forces herself to nod. “As you wish, My Lord.”

----

Jurian is stalling – he knows it pretty damn well. He was supposed to leave the camp roughly fifteen minutes ago, but he keeps finding excuses not to. Talk to one of his captains, organise the patrols, give advice to some newbies in the sparring ring. All to push back the moment of departure a bit further.

It will be fine, he tells himself for the millionths time, It`s just a stupid meeting with one female. I`ve faced worse.

Still, the thought of what he`s about to do makes his stomach roll. He tries to push away the image of Clythia during the meeting, touching his arm. Whispering into his ear. The idea of allowing her to touch him (and do more than that) is almost too much to bear.

He clenches his hands to fists. For his people, for their freedom, he can do this.

He finds Prince Drakon far more quickly than he would have liked. The male is standing with his general, overseeing half of his army packing up. When Jurian walks up to them, Drakon looks up and smiles at him.

“Already heard the news?”, he asks, “Looks like we`re going to be around for a while longer.

“Yep”, Jurian says, trying not to smile.

After his experiences with the Illyrians, he was pleasantly surprised by the Seraphim army. They don`t start fights, they don`t insult his soldiers. Add to that that they fight pretty damn well and Jurian is very much for having them remain at his camp. He had already worked out a strategy to get Miryam to do it, but it seems the Alliance council got the idea without him having to beg. All the better.

“Well”, Jurian drawls, “since you`ll be staying here for the while being, you might as well make yourself useful.”

General Sinna arches an eyebrow at him. “Need us to save your asses again?”

Jurian rolls his eyes. At first, he was offended by her brisk style, but ever since he found out that she treats everyone (with the exception of her lover, perhaps) that way, it stopped bothering him.

“I have to leave the camp for a few hours”, he tells Drakon, “Can you take over command for the time being?”

“Sure. Where are you going?”

“On a patrol”, Jurian lies.

He takes his favourite horse – a midnight-black stallion who runs as fast as the wind – from the stables and mounts the saddle. The guards at the camp`s borders salute as he rides past, Jurian nods in return. Then, he snaps with his reins and the horse breaks into a sprint.

He passes two patrols on his way, but soon, he is out of the guarded area. Still, Jurian keeps riding.

The place he told Clythia to meet him is almost an hour away from the camp. It`s not exactly practical (quite the opposite, actually), but the last thing Jurian needs is for one of his soldiers to run into him while he is having a private meeting with one of Hybern`s crueller generals. That is a scandal he`d rather avoid.

Finally, he nears the small waterfall Clythia is waiting by and flicks his reins to get the horse to stop. He dismounts and carefully approaches, hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

Clythia is sitting on a small rock, already waiting for him. She looks like she picked the position in advance so that her slender body is illuminated before the splashing water. Like him, she is wearing a light armour and weapons, but her deep red hair is untied and flowing over her back in a cascade.

She looks beautiful.

It is all Jurian can do not to spin around and run – or draw his sword.

Instead, he gives her a lazy smile. “Good evening, beautiful lady.”

----

A/N: This is a semi-cliffhanger, I know. But i already have the next chapter mostly ready, so it should take less than a week for the update to come ;) Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter. As always, I`d love to hear what you think - your comments always make me so happy.

Tags: @sjm-things @herpowerisdeath @clolikescloquetas

[365daysofsasuhina]

[ @sasuhinabigflash2020​​ || Day Six: A Grey Coat ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata ] [ SasuHina ] [ Verse: A Light Amongst Shadows ] [ AO3 Link ]

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This has quickly become one of his favorite places to be.

While the wall around Konoha represents a lot of things he’d rather not think about, it provides a rather unparalleled view of the village as a whole. The Hokage monument may show more at once, but at that height people are little more than specks, and there’s something about watching them at a better distance that Sasuke’s come to enjoy.

Feelings are still mixed about the place he was born. Sasuke knows, now that his anger has cooled and his rationality given time to smother the coals, that there’s still much about Konoha that is innocent of the crimes committed against him and others. Civilians have no part in the politics. Your average shinobi is just trying to get by and protect their home. It’s the roots of the village - literally and figuratively - that contribute most to its rotten core. Those in power that abuse it, and do ugly things to keep their hold on said power.

...but he has a plan for that. It will just take time, and organization. For now, he’s working first on himself before he can confront all that made him the way he is.

It’s been weeks since the war’s end. Much is still in flux. Even reparations from Pein’s attack are still being worked on, supplies still scarce at times as the complete rebuilding of Konoha continues. Ironically, the wall - so useless in keeping out the most potent threat - was one of few things left intact.

It’s here Sasuke sits, and thinks, and watches. While it’s patrolled by Konoha nin and they gave him suspicious looks at first, most have grown accustomed to his harmless perch, and even give him space as he lingers. If anything, they know he’s more than capable of defending it if anything were to happen. Personal opinions aside, he’s still unquestionably strong.

Today, the weather is a bit overcast, threatening rain as thunder rumbles miles in the distance. Even now, the sound brings a strange, tight melancholy to his chest. Flickering pieces of his final battle against his brother are always brought to mind whenever he hears a storm. But as time passes, it fades ever so slightly. He’ll always mourn Itachi, and he still serves as one of the younger brother’s fiercest drives to changing Konoha into something worthy of Itachi’s sacrifice. But Sasuke makes no attempt to find cover as the sky darkens and the winds subtly pick up.

Someone else, however, takes that upon themselves.

With a muffled thwump, something drops across his shoulders, and Sasuke blinks in surprise, caught off-guard enough he doesn’t react violently, instead left a bit stupefied as the figure behind him comes around to a side.

Once he sees them, he manages to relax a hair.

“You’re going to get drenched here in a m-minute,” Hinata offers, lowering herself to sit along the edge with him. Sandaled feet dangle over the several-storey fall to the ground beneath them.

“A little rain never hurt anyone.”

“You still might catch a cold.”

That flattens his expression a few degrees. “I’m not scared of a cold.”

Pale pink lips curl in a smile. “No, but you should fear someone’s reaction if she finds out, right…?”

At that, Sasuke scoffs, a hand pulling at the fabric he’s been cloaked in. A grey coat, seemingly waterproof if the texture tells him anything. Considering it a moment, he then pulls it on completely. “Thanks.”

She doesn’t reply beyond a nod. Her hands grip the edge of the wall, staring out over the village. “...I’ve never actually been up here.”

“Really?”

“No reason to be,” Hinata replies blithely. “But I saw you and thought I’d come up.”

“And bring me a coat?”

That earns a glance, tinged a bit worried. “Well...Naruto-kun let it slip you’re still a bit, um...lacking in supplies.”

“I’m not a charity case,” is his terse counter.

“I know that. It’s called being nice,” is her own rebuke, managing a hint of a smile. “Besides...it’s g-going to be getting cold, soon. They’ll be hard to find.”

He just gives a small sound of indifference, pulling at a cuff. It’s actually pretty nice. “...thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

The pair then fall into companionable silence, which is soon accented with the soft patter of rain upon the stone of the wall. Against his hood, they seem to whisper in his ear.

Hinata draws her own, leaning back slightly on her palms. “At least it’s not cold enough to snow yet…”

“Not a fan?”

“Mm...yes and no.” She goes quiet for a long moment. “...I guess it’s just an odd sign that time is still passing. It’s felt both slow and yet...really fast since the war. I’m not ready for Winter, but...that’s not going to stop it from coming.”

He glances at her, but offers no reply. In a way, he knows what she means. So many things are broken, disjointed, unsettled. The fact that the world itself is offering them no reprieve seems unfair, but that’s an entirely human notion.

“...is it true you might leave?”

The sudden change in conversation pulls his gaze completely. “Who told you that?”

“It’s just the word going around,” Hinata replies softly. “I think...some people are worried about it.”

By ‘some people’, he knows she mostly means his teammates. It’s true, he tossed around the idea of taking time to travel, observe the world, sort out his thoughts. Even now, it feels tempting. “...I don’t think I will.”

“Oh?”

“There’s too much to do here,” he replies, knowing it’s vague. “I don’t want to lose any time.”

It’s then she looks back at him, and Sasuke can’t help but feel ever so slightly unnerved. Even now, Hyūga eyes make him feel looked through rather than looked at. Especially Hinata.

“...I see. Is it...anything to do with the council?”

A slight tick of irritation twinges in his chest. Seems the idea isn’t being made as confidential as he’d have liked. “What makes you think that?”

“Well...given everything that’s come to light -?”

“I don’t know yet. That’s...not exactly a simple situation,” he cuts in, not exactly eager to talk about it...let alone out in the open. “I’ve still got a lot to think about.”

Sensing his spark of temper, Hinata quiets, looking to her lap. “...sorry, I...shouldn’t have assumed.”

“Hn.”

“...but...I-I hope you know that...if you need any help, I’d be happy to give it.”

He gives her a dubious glance. “...why?”

“...a lot of reasons,” she offers, taking her turn to be vague. “Is it n-not enough to want justice to be done?”

“...I’m not exactly someone everyone else is eager to rally around,” he counters. “Just seems odd for anyone to want to do so of their own volition.”

“What Konoha did was a g-gross overstep.” To his surprise, her expression hardens. “Regardless of the politics...killing every single member of a clan - or...nearly - is a horrible way to handle dissatisfaction, and an imbalance of power a-and rights. It just...makes me wonder if something like that could have happened to any of the rest of us. I...I know I don’t have a grasp on the entire history, but...from what I’ve heard, it still seems like the village made the wrong decisions, and for the wrong reasons. I just...want to make sure nothing like it happens again. And that...the ones who did orchestrate it are made to face justice for what they did to you, and...your family.” She turns to him, face still set in stone. “You deserve at least that much.”

For a moment, her vehemence takes him by surprise. “...how much do you know…?”

At that, she hesitates. “...just...bits and pieces, really. I’ve heard some from Naruto-kun, and...others.”

Ah, right...apparently they have their share of overlapped acquaintances. He knows who’s really behind this, now. “...getting involved might get you in serious trouble.”

“Sometimes you need a little trouble to make things right.”

After a short pause, he snorts softly. “...can’t argue that,” he agrees, lips curling just a hair.

By now, the rain is pouring, and despite his coat, the rest of him is quickly growing soaked. And a glance shows her much in the same boat.

“...we should probably get inside. Can’t be catching those colds.”

Hinata lets slip a small laugh. “True...and I should head home.”

To his surprise, Sasuke finds himself disappointed at that. “Yeah, me too. Thanks for the coat.”

“You’re welcome. At least we know it works, ne?” She smiles at him. “Well...for part of you, anyway.”

The pair of them then slip from the wall, each landing safely on the ground below and parting ways. Hinata takes the streets as Sasuke decides to hop to the rooftops, mindful of his chakra to cling to the slick tiles. Once home, he shrugs out of his coat, pleased to find his head and torso completely dry.

Mulling that over, he hangs it outside to finish dripping before deciding to scavenge for some lunch.

     Gonna be brief cuz it’s late, and I have another piece to post right after this :’D As for why I’m late, been having major toothache problems that knocked me on my butt and delayed me, but I managed to grind out two days’ prompts today! Tho as a warning, neither are proofread because I’m in a hurry xD      Anywho, this piece! Mostly just a bit of scene-setting and dialogue between Sasuke and Hinata early on after the war in ALAS. Which, as a matter of fact, is being majorly replotted...not that I’ll ever write it, BUT...yeah. Hence the mention of Itachi still being dead, because in any possible rewrite, he would be.      But yeah! This is mostly just a bit of angst, a bit of fluff, a bit of slice of life. I really love just...writing little moments between them, honestly.      On that note though, I need to work on getting the next part up, so I’ll go for now! Thanks for reading~ (Also, going to get to comments tomorrow, I hope. I'm just too tired atm, apologies for the delays :'D)

[reaganjenelle]

Louder Than Words

An Anders x OC soulmate AU nobody asked for, but didn't know they needed.

Hi there, possible reader! I'm reaganjenelle. I can tell you're on the fence about reading this Fan fiction. Don't worry, you're not alone. I promise that if you try it, there's a strong possibility that you'll enjoy what you find. So, why don't you kick back, relax, and try something new? Enjoy.

Word Count: 2,284

Chapter 1. Kirkwall

Kirkwall, quite frankly, smelled like piss. Julia had half a mind to simply get back on the ship a return to Fereldan, blight be damned. But she wouldn't. Elric was here and now so was she. Julia took a moment to stretch her cramped muscles before slipping off the cargo ship unnoticed. The journey across the sea had been spent hiding amongst the crates and dodging the crew. It wasn't that she wasn't willing to pay for safe passage. She had, in fact, approached the captain about paying to be smuggled into the city. He was just too far up the Maker's arse to agree. Hadn't thought her coin was worth the risk of being caught. Little did he know Julia had hitched a ride anyway, and he was short the gold he would have had. Not to mention the captain was now convinced one of his crew members had been sneaking extra rations. 

The docks were crowded with sweaty workers shoving past each other. It took little effort for the rouge to blend in. Everyone was too busy minding the cargo to pay a lone woman any mind. The first thing Julia decided she needed was to find a hot meal and a stiff drink. A surly looking man grunted directions to her for a tavern in Lowtown only after she had begrudgingly handed over a few coins in return. It was hard to see the appeal of Kirkwall for Julia. As previously stated, it smelled something awful, the buildings had seen better days, and the people seemed just as run down. It wasn't just that they all sorely needed to bathe, it was the way they carried themselves. As if they were caught between looking out for pickpockets and trying to find any easy target for themselves. A woman leaned against the door of an extremely run down house, leering at those who passed by and promised a good time for very little coin. A scabbed sore warned on her mouth. Julia wrinkled her nose and passed by more quickly. But not before her deft fingers found coin in a distracted man's pocket. Alleys broke off in several directions. Some were empty, some held people engaged in shady dealings, and still others worked as homes. 

A child huddled by himself in ally opening, clothes threadbare and eyes downcast. He took shelter beneath a soiled sheet stuffed between cracks to hold it up. Behind him was a crust of moldy bread with small bites taken in it. It appeared the boy was trying to ration it. A tin can sat empty between his dirty feet; it was most likely used to catch rain water so he could drink. No one paid him any mind. Julia felt a twinge of guilt as she went to pass by, feet hesitating. It was like looking into a mirror. 

"Hey, kid." The child flinched before looking up. His dark eyes were slightly glazed and he had trouble focusing on anything. His pale lips were chapped from dehydration and his cheeks were sunken in from lack of nutrition.Julia squatted in front of him before she could really understand how she managed to find herself there. "Got a name?"

He nodded mutely. 

She raised an eyebrow. "Wanna tell me what it is?"

His face flushed and he croaked, "Daniel, serah."

Julia 'hmmed'. "Where are your parents?"

Daniel looked down at his boney hands. "Gone."

"Are you hungry?"

His head snapped up, eyes wide. "W-what?"

Julia ran her fingers through her hair. "Are you hungry? I've always hated eating alone."

A spark of hope ignited in his eyes. "Me, too."

"Well then." Julia stood and gestured for him to do the same. "Why don't we find something to eat together?"

He got shakily to his feet. The rouge winced at his boney frame, but said nothing. Instead, she held out her hand for him to take and led the way to Lowtown. Why she had decided to take him with her was beyond her. She couldn't waste time trying to play the good guy. Not with Elric so close. The kid was a liability and expense she didn't need. 

One meal, that's all I can do for him. 

The tavern was easy enough to find, what with the sign being a hanged man and all. Julia wrinkled her nose when she stepped inside. The aroma of stale beer and vomit sucker punched her senses as soon as she crossed the threshold. It was mostly empty, save for the few drunkards passed out randomly throughout the establishment. All things considered, it wasn't the worst pub she had been to. Who knows? Maybe they had great mead and even better stew. Julia sat the kid down at a relatively clean table before making her way to the bar. 

The bartender was wiping down a dirty mug with an equally dirty rag. "Wha' can I get for ya, love?"

"Food for two, a stiff drink, and two glasses of water." Julia said, sliding a few coins across the grimy surface to him. 

Cups in hand, she sat down at the table and slid the water over to Daniel. He hesitated before taking a large drink draining it dry. Julia hid her smile by taking a swig of her own drink and pushing the second cup of water toward him. She grimaced at the burn followed by a bitter after taste. Maybe she should have gotten a water, too. The pair sat in silence until a stern looking barmaid practically slammed down two bowls of mutton and a stale loaf of bread on the table before walking away. 

"Well," Julia slid a bowl over to herself. "Dig in, kid." He needed no further invitation. "Whoah, slow down!" Julia laughed. Daniel looked up at her, cheeks stuffed full of anything he could get his hands on. "There's no rush. You'll make yourself sick at the rate you're going." He swallowed thickly and did his best to slow his pace. Satisfied, Julia began to eat as well. 

The mutton wasn't bad. It wasn't good, but it wasn't terrible either. It was far better than the scraps of food she had managed to scrounge up on the ship, and far more satisfying. Daniel finished before her, and fan his dirty fingers along the bottom of the dish. Which an internal sigh, she pushed her half eaten food across the wooden table. 

"Here. Not as hungry as I thought I was."

He looked from her to the mutton and back in disbelief. "But…"

"Don't get you smalls in a twist. I had plenty." Julia said, taking a large gulp of her mead. 

When Daniel finished off the last of the food, he looked up at her and offered a small smile. "Thank you."

Julia shoved down the warm feeling his simple statement had given her. "Yes, well. I wanted the company and you had nothing better to do. Win, win."

Except it wasn't. She had spent more than she should have. It was hard enough taking care of herself. Time was wasting. She had enough on her plate without him to worry about. 

Clearing her throat, she stood. "I should get going. See you around, kid."

He continued to sit there even after Julia paid for a room and left the tavern behind. She put him out of her mind. He had food in his belly, now. He would be fine. Probably. Or not. Whatever, it wasn't her problem. 

Julia wandered around Kirkwall aimlessly, carefully swiping coin from several pockets on her way. The higher she went into the city, the cleaner it became, and the more snobbish people became. They made for the easiest targets. Coins jingled happily in her purse, steadily growing in number. While raising funds (read: stealing), Julia also made inquiries about the Circle. A particularly chatting vendor explained they kept mages in the Gallows. It was a small island like structure in the bay that had once held the Tevinter slaves. A fortress that now housed mages. A large host of templars guarded them, the biggest in the Free Marches, she was assured. When asked about how to get there, the man simply blinked at her. 

"Why would you want to go there?"

Why, indeed. "My brother is Templar. I traveled here to visit him." I lied. 

With an understanding smile, he explained about the boats reserved for visiting the prison, and gave her an apple for free. "My thanks to your brother. For keeping us safe. 

Shadows grew longer as the sun began its slow descent behind the tops of buildings. Leaning against a stone banister, Julia mulled over what she had learned. The templars were the biggest problem she faced. With so many, it would make her goal harder to achieve. Not only that, but the Gallows being an island would make a clean getaway difficult. She also had to account for securing passage to and from the fortress, then out of Kirkwall. Frustrated, Julia pushed off the railing. Stupid blight. If it had waited just a few more weeks to reach them… but it hadn't. Now here she was, having to rebuild her plans. It was terribly annoying. 

Finding the red lantern district in the middle of the richest part of town gave Julia a small sense of amusement. She would have thought it would be in Lowtown if only to keep the undesirables separated. She supposed it would too unbearable for rich folk to have to sully themselves by being seen with the rabel. 

The Blooming Rose was filled with people looking for comfort in others. While Julia had never paid for company, she could certainly see the appeal when she saw a muscular young man lead a customer into another room with a seductive grin. Shaking her head wistfully, she made her way to the counter. 

"What's your poison, darling?" The woman behind the counter was beautiful. Her long hair curled loosely around her bare shoulders. It was a wonder her sleeveless dress was able to keep her ample bosom from spilling out of top. 

"How much for a hot bath?" Julia asked, appreciating the view she was given when the woman leaned forward. 

"Looking for someone to wash your back?" 

A wide smirk appeared on Julia's lips. "Not tonight, just a private bath."

"Shame." The woman said, a pout on her pretty face. She gave the price and Julia handed over the money. 

The bathing room was steamy, and a large bath was built into the floor. The rouge folded her clothes neatly before sinking into its warm depths. Weeks of dirt melted off her skin. It was refreshing to scrub her skin until it was pink. Julia let her mind wander and found herself thinking of Elric. It had been years since she had seen him. Nine years, in fact. He wouldn't be the little boy she remembered, no, her little brother was a man now. She wondered if he thought of her. Of what she had done. Julia sighed as she massaged scented oils into her hair. There was no use dwelling on it. Once she freed him they would talk. She would explain why she had done it, how she had been weak. But she wasn't weak anymore. Now she could take care of him, of both of them. He would see. 

Julia left the brothel feeling refreshed. Her hair was left down to dry as she made the trek back to Lowtown. Perhaps she would grow it out again. It currently rested just below her chin due to an unfortunate accident involving a nug and a horde of dark spawn. The mousey colored locks hung limply, and would continue to do so even after it was completely dry. At least when it was long she could braid it back. At the moment it was too short to do much of anything with. 

The streets were empty aside from the occasional thug looking for easy victims. It was simple enough to avoid them buy sticking to the shadows. All Julia wanted when the Hanged Man rose to greet her was an ale and sleep. Food be damned. The bath had her too relaxed to care for much else, and that apple had been far better than anything the tavern had. That is, until she was him. Daniel sat exactly where she had left him, surrounded by rowdy drunks ignoring him. When he spotted Julia, a relieved smile lit up his face. 

He's like a stray dog. Julia though as she waded through the crowd towards him. Feed them once and they never leave. 

"I wasn't sure if you were coming back." He said when she had reached him. 

Julia forced the smile that threatened to appear away. This was a problem. The kid now thought she was some kind of good person who had taken him in off the streets. She wasn't. He wasn't her responsibility, and her act of kindness had already been fulfilled for the week, thank you. She needed to tell him to scam, to find someone else to leech off of. 

"So, you waited here all day?" She asked instead. 

He looked down at the table top and mumbled, "Was that bad?"

Yes. The last thing she needed was someone who needed her. Julia sighed and asked instead, "Hungry?"

His face lit up and he nodded quickly. 

Later that night, she looked down at the boy who slept soundly in her bed. One night, then he was gone. She would give him some coin in the morning and send him on his way. Mind made up, Julia settled deeper into the rickety chair and tried to get some sleep. 

[empanator]

Together

For all the time they’d known one another, they’d felt a romantic connection, only confessing to such feelings mere moments before setting off to lead independent adventures. Now, with the promise of yet another adventure to pursue—together—they only can wait.

Technically takes place after Julian’s upright end, but you don’t need to have played his route to be able to follow along with this fic. It’s pretty self explanatory, and I think I wrote with enough detail that it stands alone without needing to know Julian’s route at all. Just a soft Nadia/Portia fic! Hope you all enjoy :] 

Nadia x Portia; 1,831 words (3 1/3 pages) 

Months had gone by since the day that they last saw each other. Months of longing as Nadia stayed behind to tend to her duties as countess. Months of distance while Portia sailed off to her homeland and beyond with Julian and the others. They’d written letters as often as they could, sharing stories of their day-to-day lives, expressing their desire and excitement to reunite someday soon. Though they yearned for that day, they both held onto the promise they made before the ship’s departure: when Portia gets back, they would go on a date.

For all the time they’d known one another, they’d felt a romantic connection, only confessing to such feelings mere moments before setting off to lead independent adventures. Now, with the promise of yet another adventure to pursue—together—they only can wait.

One afternoon, things were quiet in Vesuvia. The air was warm, the people were content. Nadia looked over the calm of night that slowly approached her city-state as her gaze drifted towards the sea. The sun, as it moved lower towards the horizon, almost seemed to form a halo over a massive shape in the water. Could it be? The last letter she received from Portia instructed her not to write back as she’d be making her return journey, and any correspondence would fall upon an empty home. So, could this be? Stepping out to gain a better view from a balcony, she saw it. The sight she had long awaited: a ship. Mazelinka’s ship. Immediately upon recognizing the incoming vessel, Nadia knew she had to be there for its arrival. She knew she had to be there, waiting for Portia. She ordered carriages to be at the ready and headed to the port.

In the golden light of sunset, Nadia stood by her carriages on the road. The wooden dock creaked as smaller boats and merchants made their way in and out. Mazelinka hopped off her ship to tie the ropes and prepare to unload some cargo, at first not noticing the countess beyond the bustling crowd.

“Welcome back, Mazelinka,” Nadia smiled as she approached. “I’m glad to see you’re doing well.”

“The same to you, Countess.” Mazelinka looked back at her ship. “I’ll tell the girl to hurry up.”  

“There is no rush, I assure y—“

“Pasha!” the old woman shouted, knocking on the boards. “Your girlfriend’s here.”

Nadia blushed, knowing that title—girlfriends—was what she and Portia were, but she was not yet used to the sound of the term.

A moment later, Portia’s head popped up over the side of the ship followed by Pepi’s tiny, whiskered face, and Nadia laughed with a dramatic wave. With an expression of shock and delight, Portia waved back, genuinely surprised by the woman and carriages waiting for her. Pepi looked on with contentment as she watched her owner hop down onto the dock.

The pair stood before one another in silence, the commotion of travelers fading behind the pounding of their hearts. Painted upon their faces were sweet smiles, the setting sun and sparkling sea reflecting softly in their eyes. Portia wrung her hands for a second; Nadia cleared her throat—neither of them quite sure what would be an appropriate greeting for this reunion since their romantic relationship had developed strictly over letters for several months.

Nadia’s voice was the first thing to dissolve the silence. “I believe we have much to catch up on.” She moved a step closer and took Portia’s clasped hands gently into her own.

“Yeah…” Portia beamed, swinging their hands back and forth. “That date, huh?”

“Oh, I have some ideas, perhaps some things already planned,” Nadia affirmed. “First, let me send you and your things to your cottage where you can get a night of restful sleep. If I may, I would love to meet you there tomorrow afternoon. I shall bring everything we need for a simple, outdoor meal.”

The drivers were already lugging bags and boxes toward the road, loading them into a carriage. They were tasked with helping Mazelinka as well, but they quickly learned that she was more than capable of handling and transporting her own belongings as she shooed them away.

“A picnic! That sounds perfect. And I do need the rest,” she yawned. “It’s been a long day at sea.”

“And an even longer time away from home.” Nadia smiled down at her. “Come now.” She held open the carriage door and guided Portia inside with a hand on her back. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Rest well.” With that, she pressed her lips to the back of Portia’s hand.

“I can’t wait,” Portia blushed. “Good night.”

As Portia’s carriage pulled away, Nadia returned to her own and set off back to the palace.

Later the next morning, Nadia checked in on Hestion as he prepared a diverse assortment of foods and treats for her date with Portia.

“How are things coming along, dearest chef?”

“Just fine, Milady! Everything is just about finished.” His multitasking in the kitchen was impressive, and the fact that he could hold a conversation through it all made it more so. “You know, I’m happy for Portia—she loved her work in the palace, but I could tell she was ready for more. It’s been a little bittersweet for us in the kitchen without her as head servant. We miss her popping her cheerful face in all the time!”

“Don’t worry, Hestion; she’ll be around plenty,” Nadia winked. “I’ll be back shortly to gather the baskets.”

Sunshine and birdsong filled the air that afternoon. Nadia arrived at Portia’s cottage with a large blanket and two baskets—one for lunch and snacks, the other for sweets and treats.

“Ooh, I see we’re taking the traditional approach,” Portia rubbed her hands together excitedly. “Here! There’s just enough room to spread that out between my flower patches.”

“Indeed we are. I’ve brought a simple picnic feast fresh from the palace kitchen.” Nadia smoothed out the blanket as Portia peeked through each basket.

“Nadia, there are at least three courses in here!” She laughed heartily.

“And!?” Nadia’s surprise at Portia’s response was all the evidence Portia needed to know that Nadia had no idea what a regular picnic was like.

“When I think of a ‘simple picnic,’ I imagine peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. They’re a classic!”

“Oh, never! I would not dare to present you with anything less than what I have brought today. Unless that is what you would have preferred…” A flash of worry on Nadia’s face is interrupted by Portia’s reassurance.

“No, no, Nadia,” she continued laughing. “This is perfect, really. Thanks for bringing everything all this way for me.”

“That is certainly a relief. I will keep that in mind, though, for our next date.” Nadia batted her eyes coyly at Portia.

“All right, all right,” her laughter wound down. “Let’s dig in!”

While sat across from one another, Nadia and Portia sorted through the food. The food was delicious, as expected. Portia shared bites of her fruits, Nadia fed her spoonfuls of pies, and they each took turns laughing and patting each other with handkerchiefs anytime one of them managed to get food on their face.

Through it all, they ended up talking for hours. Portia caught Nadia up on all the details of her trip that she didn’t mention in her letters and updated her on what Julian and the apprentice were up to. While Portia talked, Nadia would occasionally slide her hand over Portia’s. She couldn’t contain the laughter and adoration in her eyes as she watched and listened to her lively, dramatic storytelling. She also couldn’t help but steal long gazes at how much more vibrant Portia’s freckles had become after her time on the sunny, high seas.

Nadia described how she had been rebuilding Vesuvia’s infrastructure after most of the courtiers had been replaced and how the area’s markets and tourism had been growing and thriving. Portia, endlessly proud and supportive, congratulated Nadia for every accomplishment. She hung onto every word that Nadia spoke, enthralled by her victories and sympathetic to her trials. She noticed that Nadia seemed much more at ease, no longer needing to massage her temple when revisiting old struggles. Nadia told of the mostly positive shift in the citizens’ perspectives towards her rule, but also expressed uncertainty of whether she had done enough to prove herself a good leader for everyone.

“Nadia. You’ve done an incredible job.” Portia’s voice was inspiriting. “You put your heart and soul into the work you do.” She scooted a bit closer to her, adopting a softer tone as she searched Nadia’s eyes for the fleeting confidence. “You do everything in your power and then some. If there’s anybody left who has their doubts about you, I’ll throw the first punch!”

“Now, that might hurt your cause rather than help, no?” Nadia smirked.

“Hmph…  Yeah, you’re right.” She put on a playful pout. “What I mean is this: I am so proud of you. I see all that you’ve done, and if anyone has anything to say about it, maybe they just need more time to see it too. I am so excited to continue standing by your side. I—” She cut herself off before she could finish.

“Yes? What is it?”

“The people love you, Nadia.” The pure sincerity in Portia’s voice, the pleading look in her eyes—it all gave her message a more personal affect, as if her words ran deeper than what she said on the surface. She meant what she said, but she meant so, so much more than that. Although she exhibited restraint, “I love you, Nadia” was what she yearned to say in that very moment.

Nadia, as if able to peer into Portia’s mind, grew a soft curve upon her lips and crept closer, painfully slow, before kissing Portia on the cheek just as she had done the day they’d said farewell all those months ago. “I know you do.”

Embarrassed and blushing furiously, Portia found it hard to look into Nadia’s half-lidded eyes as their lips were mere inches apart. “It’s that obvious, huh…”

“Mhhhhmmmm,” Nadia dragged out, almost teasing, brushing her nose against Portia’s with a feather-like touch. She lingered there, determining whether Portia was okay with her moving any further.

Portia shot one hand up to cradle Nadia’s face. Clutching the picnic blanket tightly with the other, she hoped to relieve the nervous energy built up inside her until Nadia’s slender fingers wrapped around her fist to sooth her. Finding her courage, she traced her hand past Nadia’s cheek and passed her fingers through her purple hair where they found a home, nestled at the back of her head. She drew herself in, closing the distance between them in a kiss as sweet as the taste of dessert still on their lips.

They’d had a lovely date, and an even lovelier future to look forward to.

Together.

[laulink]

hello again! i sent that last ask, and i think you just wrote a story! i liked how everything worked out and the roles that the characters continue to play in each other's lives. it got me thinking of more questions that mainly involve the romance itself. when did they start dating, who made the first move, who proposed, how did Ghira and Kali react to meeting Weiss, how many kids do they have, and anything else you can think of. i hope this isn't too much trouble!

Not at all ! Honestly, I’ve been spending waaayyyyy too much time thinking about all this so it’s nice to see that someone is interested in hearing more x)

(putting my answer under a read more though because it’s HUGE)

For when they start dating, it kinda depends if I want to stay really canon compliant or if I want to have Weiss and Blake start dating earlier. I can stay canon compliant by having Blake and Yang grow apart at the end of the war, each pursuing different goals while Blake and Weiss start spending more and more time together because of the SDC and the WF. Blake and Yang would end up agreeing that the war changed them, a lot, but now that it’s over and they’re healing, they realise that they’re better off as friends rather than lovers and have an amicable break up. Pretty soon after, Blake starts to notice more things about Weiss, like how she plays with her hair when she’s thinking, how she bites her lower lip when something is bothering her, how her eyes sparkle when she sees or hears something funny, etc... and slowly she falls in love. Weiss has had a crush on Blake for years now, since their time in Beacon, but she never told anyone because she knew Blake had feelings for Yang and she just wanted her to be happy, even if it hurt her to see her with someone else. But now that Blake and Yang have broken up and Blake spends so much time with Weiss, our dear heiress’ feelings come back full force and she can’t help but hope that her feelings might be reciprocated...

One evening after a party in Vacuo both of them attended for political reasons, Blake accompanies Weiss back to her hotel room. They both had a couple drinks during the evening and are under a slight buzz, laughing more easily than usual. When they finally arrive at Weiss’ room, they stand in front of the door a moment too long, not wanting to part just yet. No one knows who leaned in first, but they soon found themselves kissing, softly at first, then more and more passionnately. They decided to stop, however, aware that it wouldn’t do them any good to go too fast, and agreed to meet in the morning for breakfast, then parted ways with one last kiss. Both of them had very pleasant dreams that night~

After that, they decided to start dating and see where it would lead them.

If I decide to be less canon compliant, I think I’d have Blake and Weiss start dating during V6 or 7, support each other through Adam’s death and all the Atlas and Schnee family bullshit going on right now. It wouldn’t change a lot of things for the story and, at the end of the war, they’d start working on rebuilding their world together, with the SDC and the WF.

Whatever the way and moment they get together though doesn’t have much influence on the rest of their story together. For example, in both cases, Kali and Ghira were delighted to know that Blake had started dating Weiss. They met her briefly at Haven and considered her a delight to talk to, very kind, respectful and polite, but with a sharp tongue when needed. Ghira is particularly fond of her since Weiss is hard to intimidate, knows what she wants and can be very determined, but also open to discussion and adjusting her stance on a multitude of matters. Kali likes to act like a mom around her (though she’s the same with Ruby and Yang too, so nothing really special there).

Winter, if Weiss and Blake started dating in Atlas, would be a bit suspicious of Blake at first. She respects her sister’s decisions and wouldn’t dare interfere in her love life, but she still has a bit of a tendency to see Weiss as her baby sister, so she’d give Blake a bit of a hard time at first, using every opportunity she gets to interrogate her on her intentions toward Weiss, why she wanted to date Weiss and all that stuff. Yang finds it hilarious but can also relate and supports Winter as a protective big sister x) If Weiss and Blake start dating after the war though, it would be a context where Winter had had time to get to learn to know Blake and saw Blake’s and Weiss’ growing feelings for each other, so she’d be a lot more supportive of the new relationship and only threaten Blake’s life if she broke Weiss’ heart as a joke (or is it ? =P).

At whatever time the girls start dating, Willow and Whitley would be rather supportive. If it’s in V7 already, they wouldn’t know right away and would only learn about the relationship after they started fixing their relationships with Weiss, so they’d be surprised, but would see how happy Blake makes Weiss, so they’d wish them the best. If it’s after the war, it would be at a point in time where Willow and Whitley are rather close to Weiss and have good relationships with her, so they’d be even more supportive and encourage her to pursue Blake in their own ways (Whitley may or may not try to play matchmaker =3)

The proposal would occur a few years after the end of the war, probably around 3 years after Weiss and Blake started dating. Remnant is getting back on its feet, the SDC is getting ever closer to the point of equality between human and Faunus Weiss wants it to reach and the Kingdoms are more and more open to listening to the White Fang and giving Faunus citizens more rights. Blake and Weiss both figure it would be the best time to get married. They had already talked about it a year or so earlier, but both agreed it would be best to wait until things settled down a bit more for both of them before they decided to throw themselves into organising a wedding. So when the time finally seems to be right, it is all a matter of who will propose first. They are both sort of expecting the other to propose sooner or later, but Weiss is still enchanted and overwhelmed by emotion when Blake goes down on one knee after a romantic date in a quiet park in Vale, near New Beacon. The wedding is held in Atlas because most of their friends and family live their or near the Kingdom and it’s easier to reach than Menagerie, but the girls make sure to incorporate elements of both traditional Atlesian and Mistralian weddings (since I headcanon that Blake, with the name Belladonna and her Japanese aesthetics, is of Mistralian descent and would follow their traditions for ceremonies like weddings). It is not a quiet or private affair since Weiss and Blake are such important public figures and their wedding is one more ray of hope toward the end of the centuries old war between humans and Faunus, but they still manage to have their dream day without having to mix too much politics into it (Ghira, Kali, Willow, Winter and Whitley make sure of that).

Their first child is born about a year after the wedding and is named Winry Belladonna-Schnee. Weiss liked the idea of continuing the tradition of names starting with a W, at least for her first child, and Blake had no objection, especially after Weiss told her that Winry was the name of her grandmother, Willow’s mother and the reason the tradition even existed. Winry is a very smart child, well-behaved when she has to be, but also mischievous at times, especially when she is with her cousin Yue or her younger sister Keyla. She looks like a carbon copy of Blake, but with Weiss’ white, straight hair and blue eyes. She has a patch of black hair cutting through the white and falling over her forehead as well as two cat ears like Blake. She’s always preferred to sport chin-length hair and mostly white clothing.

Yue, born two months before Winry, is Winter and Yang’s daughter. She looks like Yang, but with white hair and blue eyes. Most of her personality comes from Yang, though her expressions are very reminiscent of Winter’s. She grows up alongside Winry, more like sisters than cousins since they live together and are so close in age, which makes them very close friends.

Both Yue and Winry want to become Huntresses, but while Yue wants to be free and travel through the world like Yang, therefore deciding to attend New Beacon, Winry prefers to enter Atlas Academy and aim to become the next General after her Aunt Winter retires.

Keyla, born three years after Winry, has long and slightly curly black hair like Blake with two black cat ears atop her head, but her eyes are heterochromatic : right eye a warm amber and left eye a soft blue. If she wears a colored lens over her left eye, one could believe she is a younger version of Blake. She is calm and quiet most of the time, but can also be quite passionnate and eloquent when defending something that matters to her. She has always been interested in politics and hesitates between joining the White Fang or trying to become part of the Atlesian politic circle. She knows how to fight and built herself a weapon in case she ever needs to defend herself, but she doesn’t want to become a Huntress (a shame, according to all the Huntsmen and Huntresses who saw her fight). Since she was a child, she has always been close to Summer, Ruby and Penny’s daughter, but only after her twelth birthday did she realise that her feelings might go beyond friendship. Summer and her start dating around the age of 15, to the delight of everyone around them who were growing tired of their obliviousness and awkwardness.

Finally, Tanya, Weiss and Blake’s third and last child, was born four years after Keyla. She is a bright and energetic girl with long, white, slightly curly hair and blue eyes with a set of white cat ears atop her head. Much like Summer, she is sort of a “mad scientist”, a genius in her own right, though her calling rests with Dust rather than machines and programs like for Summer. When she first discovers, at age 10, the wonders of the researches on Dust, Tanya becomes passionnate and studies everything she can on the matter. She dreams of joining the BSDC’s reasearch and development team thanks to her own merit rather than her family name. 

Nuts and Dolts bonus (because I mentioned their kid in all this and I think she deserves some more details) : Summer Rose, daughter of Ruby Rose and Penny Polendina, born six months after Keyla. She has long, dark-red hair, nearly black near the roots and a lighter shade of red at the tips. She wears a black bow behind her head, like her Ma (Penny) and adopted her Mom’s belief that combat skirts are the best (though she is not a fighter herself and only wears one for the style). She is a little genius when it comes to everything mechanic and is quite good at programming as well. At age 10, she is her grandfather’s best ever apprentice and at 15 years old, she starts her formal studies at Atlas Tech and Mech Academy (name is totally made up, but that’s basically where Atlas teaches all of its future scientists, no matter the discipline). At the same time, she starts dating her friend Keyla who she has always been close to, more so than to anyone else her age. Summer is a very lively girl, so much so that she’s often hard to keep up with, especially when she is very excited and uses her semblance, Teleportation, while she talks or works. It is basically in-between Ruby’s and Raven’s own semblances : Summer can’t teleport as far as Raven can, but she isn’t bound to one or multiple people, instead being able to teleport anywhere in a 2km radius. On the downside, she can’t take a lot of people with her, the best she has ever managed being five, and anything or anyone that touches her and is not the thing she is standing on will be teleported with her. Summer loves her semblance and often uses it more or less unconsciously when she’s excited, teleporting a couple of meters away when she’s switching ideas or emphasizing a point, etc. She has a lot of energy, but usually manages it quite well when she is not working, in which case she can easily get caught up in her own head and become hyper-focused on the task at hand and/or her theories and experiments. Keyla and her make for a sweet pair and get along well, even when Summer gets engrossed in her work. Keyla is usually the only one who can get Summer to rest or eat something when she’s working on something.

Elderburn bonus : I already stated that Winter and Yang had a daughter named Yue, around the same age as Winry, but they also have a son, Tai, who is also very close in age to one of his cousins, Tanya. He’s a very sweet boy, has blond hair, blue eyes and the most beautiful smile you will ever see~ He chose his name at 7 years old when he told his mothers he felt like being a boy. Both Yang and Winter were very supportive of him and offered to help him decide on a name, but he didn’t need their help to choose Tai, saying that it only makes sense for him to be called that since his grandfather was Taiyang and his mother is Yang : someone had the pick the “Tai” part of the name. (Yang laughed a lot at the way he said that, but agreed it was a good name and Tai never regretted his choice) He takes some time to figure out what he wants to do with his life because he isn’t interested in being a Huntsman, but also doesn’t have a passion like Summer or Tanya, nor an innate talent like Keyla. After he helped tutor one of his classmates in high school though, he realises he loves teaching and since he already knew he loved biology, he decided he would become a biology teacher. His students love him because his classes are lively and easy to follow and understand and he’s always really sweet.

Weapons bonus : none of the canon cast’s weapons change, but I had some ideas for the children’s weapons. Winry fights with a chokuto or a katana and her fighting style is very similar to Adam’s and Raven’s. Raven is actually the one to teach her how to best fight with her weapon, since Blake, Weiss and Winter could only teach her the basics on that matter. Yue usually fights with two gauntlets similar to Ember Celica, but she also has two sabers at her sides and is a terribly dangerous opponent when she takes them out. They are not her favoured weapon though because she prefers fighting with her fists and appreaciates that there’s less of a risk of accidentally cutting someone’s limb off with her fists rather than a blade. For those of you who played FE3H, Keyla’s weapon is very similar to the sword of the Creator : it is a sword divided in a lot of small segments that can separate themselves from each other to extend and bend the weapon, turning it into a sort of sharp, thick whip. Keyla can wrap it around limbs or pieces of furnitures and such or just extend it to hit opponents while staying out of their range. Summer fights with a halberd and, although she’s not interested in being a Huntress, she’s terribly good with it. Unlike her two sisters and eldest cousin, Tanya has no interest in fighting, therefore she only learns the basics of sword fight, adopting a rapier much like her Mother’s own weapon, with a Dust filled barrel. She also had her Mother unlock her aura and teach her how to use her Glyphs in case she needed to protect herself, but she’s not a particularly good fighter, especially compared to her sisters. Tanya doesn’t care though, seeing as she doesn’t think she’ll ever need to fight in her line of work and she’s happy with studying her Dust even if she’s not the best at using it in battle. Finally, Tai is a similar case as Tanya : he doesn’t care about fighting, actually dislikes the idea of hurting others, but learned to defend himself from Grimm and potential human attackers. Yang taught him martial arts and Tai always carries a pair of bracelets Summer designed for him that can turn into gauntlets. They don’t fire bullets like Ember Celica, but they make his hits hurt that much more and blades can sprout from between his fingers if he wants to.

In terms of Semblances, all of the kids (except Summer, of course) have the Schnee family semblance. All of them unlocked their aura and learned to use their Glyphs, including the Summoning. Winry and Yue, thanks to their training, are the best Glyph users when it comes to “basic” Glyphs and how to use them in battle, but Keyla also has a very creative way of using her wind Glyphs to direct her sword once it’s in “whip mode” and is the best at Summoning.

...

Wow, that was a lot. Huuummm... Hope you liked the read ? ^^’

[faejilly]

Malec, 10

10. Anniversary Celebration [X] I am uh, really sorry about this very loose interpretation of ‘celebration’. aka the exact opposite of one. 

#MCD warning (before the fic starts, but also the only thing this is about) 

I’m mostly ignoring the whole Inquisitor/Alicante thing from the finale because… well, because I can? They lived in NYC.

Except for the first one, still busy putting out metaphorical fires as the Shadow World adjusted after Valentine and Lilith and Jonathan, helping the Clave rebuild into something at least a bit better than the last few times, they’d always taken time off for their anniversary, always celebrated it in New York, always made sure to be home. 

This was the first anniversary, after, and Alec couldn’t bear the thought of it, of NYC’s bright lights and loud voices surrounding him now that he was alone.

He’d always known he might lose Magnus because he couldn’t keep the balance of their private lives steady against the pressure of their public ones, always knew he might fall down and fail Magnus one too many times… he’d never once let himself consider simply out-surviving him. 

Warlocks didn’t age, could barely get sick, and Magnus was too bright and powerful to be easy to kill by violence or accident.

But no one was invulnerable.

Not even Magnus Lightwood-Bane. 

It hadn’t even been a Greater Demon or anything, just bad luck and bad timing and a scuffle between a panicked Warlock and a young Nephilim and one too many uridezus in the shadows.

Alec moved to Alicante after the funeral, somewhere as different as possible, somewhere close to what family he had left; Izzy was head of the Clave’s R&D departments, and Clary was still arguing with every single Clave policy that she hadn’t yet managed to drag into the 21st Century.

(Clary reminded him a bit of Imogen at her best, right before she’d died, steel and spark and a well-hidden heart; he was never going to tell anyone that thought. He might not even have told Magnus, if he could…)

Clary and Izzy had both been worried, when he said he’d be going ‘out’ for the day, but they hadn’t said anything.

Izzy especially hadn’t needed to, he could see it in her eyes, the fear that he wouldn’t come back, now that he didn’t have an anchor anymore, didn’t have Jace or Magnus; she still didn’t realize that she had always been just as important to him, so important he hadn’t needed any extra ties to bind them together, to make it some sort of “official” for other people.

He didn’t know of any other way to tell her that she’d believe, anything beyond the way they’d lived their lives, so he just kissed the top of her head, her hair catching against his lips. She was dyeing it a lovely purple-blue this month, but for all she could stop the natural grey from showing, it felt different, thicker, coarser, in contrast to the way the skin around her eyes was softer, thinner and fragile.

Magnus’ hair and skin had never changed, not in almost forty years.

Nothing about him had changed, except his smile, which only got warmer and softer, except his eyes, which got darker as he watched Alec age, as he knew their time was growing shorter.

Neither of them had ever planned for this.

Well. Magnus had planned, they’d both planned, they had updated wills and everything, but neither of them had ever really believed… 

Alec sighed, and let himself relax into his chair, his toes digging into the sand as he stared up at the stars scattered through the sky above him, listened to the sound of the ocean rolling in and out only a few yards past his feet. 

They’d always loved this beach, for whenever they got a few days free. Some tiny little island off most of the shipping routes in Indonesia. Not near where Magnus had grown up, but still almost home, or what home could have been in a better world.

Clary had taught Alec the portal rune, after Magnus…

She taught him bits at a time, spread it out over about a week, so she never actually drew the whole rune herself. It was a method she’d mastered over the years, until almost every Nephilim who’d come through the New York Institute knew the half of the Alliance Rune that they’d need to draw on themselves.

(She’d taught the other half to the Downworlders directly, so it would always be their choice, never up to only a Shadowhunter.)

She never shared the Portal rune though, said she wanted to keep the Clave at least a little humble, make them pay the Warlocks for their trouble.

Magnus had laughed, and kissed her cheek… and talked most of the Warlocks around the world into adding a commission charge to their Portals, and giving the total to Clary each year on her birthday. 

(The first year her eyes had widened and she’d missed the chair trying to sit down, landing on the floor with her hand over her mouth. Alec was pretty sure it was the only time he’d ever seen her speechless.)

She’d used it to set up a referral network, safe houses and foster parents, counselors and doctors and cops who knew about the Shadow World. She spent most of her time on it now, (in-between her daily arguments with the current Counsel and Inquisitor), now that she’d retired from field work.

Alec huffed out a breath, and closed his eyes. He couldn’t focus. Didn’t really want to, didn’t want to… 

He opened them up again, rather than let himself remember Magnus again, how he’d looked when…

It was better to remember him from before.

“I miss you.” Alec blinked until the stars came back into focus. “I don’t know how to do this. Don’t know how to be, anything, without you here.”

Especially today. 

He reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out the small box that had been poking into his side. He traced the edges, but didn’t open it. He couldn’t decide if it was a comfort or not, that the present he’d ordered for their anniversary had arrived right on time, as if he still had someone to give it to, still had…

As if he still had Magnus.

He’d always still have Magnus in his heart, but on days like today that didn’t help. He put the box back in his pocket. It was just a charm for Magnus’ collection, a silver and gold lucky cat waving its paw. Their anniversary had always been more about spending time together than presents.

“How terrible of me is it that for all I’d never wanted to leave you, to make you feel like this, I was glad I wouldn’t have to do the very thing I kept asking you to do, would never have to learn how to live on without you?” Alec watched the sky blur as tears welled up, didn’t even bother to try and wipe them away. “I wanted you to learn how to be happy again, but I can’t… I can’t imagine ever doing that myself.” It had been a bit of a guilty comfort over the years, in fact, knowing that he wouldn’t have to try.

Showed what he’d known. 

At least I won’t have to try for as long as you would have, Magnus. 

He snorted. That was awful, and the only person who would have laughed at the desperate dark humor of it all with him was dead. 

He swallowed, closed his eyes and leaned forward, trying to keep the ache in his chest from spreading so far he’d break apart from it. 

He’d promised, and he was trying, he was, but he didn’t know how. 

‘You don’t have to know, darling.’ He could still hear Magnus’ voice every time he closed his eyes, knew what his hand would feel like as he rubbed Alec’s spine to try and soothe him, still almost felt the weight of him on the other side of the bed when he tried to sleep. ‘You just have to keep trying. You’re better at that than anyone I’ve ever known.’ 

“Only when I had you to help,” Alec whispered. It was probably a bad sign he kept having one-sided conversations with his dead husband, but at least he’d managed to only have them in private. 

At least he knew they weren’t real.

“I’m a mess, but not that much of a disaster.”

Yet.

“I’m afraid, Magnus.” He didn’t want to let anyone down, the people who were still around, or the ones that were already gone, but. “There’s only so many times I’ll be able to pick myself back up again on my own.”

‘That’s fine. As many as you can is good enough.’ 

Alec smiled. He sighed, and leaned back again. He let his hand fall, swiped down the leg of the chair until he found his bottle of beer. He lifted it up, a toast to the sky, to everything beyond it. 

To everyone he missed. 

“As long as I can.” He took a sip. “You always were nicer to me than I ever managed to be to myself. Nicer than I deserved.”

His lips twitched as he pictured Magnus rolling his eyes. ‘No such thing, Alexander.’

“To another year of your memory, of my life.” He sighed. “I’ve got a few more tries in me, I guess. For Izzy, for you. Even for Clary.”

‘Not for yourself?’ 

Alec didn’t bother to answer that one, not even in his own head. “I love you.”

‘I love you, too.’

He lifted the bottle and tilted his head all the way back, finished the last of his drink. Until next year. 

[coasterchild]

once again, twitter got me all riled up thinking about Star Wars, so for mostly my own peace of mind here are:

The character arcs we DESERVED in TRoS

-Rey 

Learning to shoulder the burden, like Luke before her, of being the One True Savior of the Galaxy. People depend on her, they expect her to be a Hero and a Jedi and beyond failure. Leia tries to keep her grounded, but she pushes herself too hard. (this is where I'd throw Ahsoka in to help her achieve balance) (maybe a cameo from luke force ghost later on. "How did you do this, Luke. How did you do this alone?" "I was never alone. And neither are you.") She has a breakthrough when she's fighting something herself, a big monster or too many first order troops or a handful of tie fighters or whatever. She tells everyone to go, get to safety, she'll hold them off. 

Poe, Rose, and some assortment of droids do as they're told, disappearing around a corner. 

Rey is repelling blaster bolts or slicing tentacles (of course it has tentacles) or whatever, and she's nearly overwhelmed when she feels a hand on her shoulder. It's Finn, he looks terrified, and just as another attack approaches, a shockwave of a Force push emanates in a radius around them. Rey: "How did you do that?!" Finn: "I don't know!!" and they both take off running. Finn (there's some indication that he's a natural at sensing things in the Force) can detect where attacks will be coming, and uses it to make their escape clean. Poe, Rose & co swoop in just in time with a stolen imperial shuttle. (they had no intention of leaving her behind either)

There’s perhaps a poignant scene with Kylo where he makes some comment about her facing him alone. And she’s like “I’m not alone, and you don’t have to be either.”

With new found confidence, she faces off with the big bad. (I'm assuming still Palpatine here, but I'm VERY open to other options.) Redeemed Ben is there, fights happen, it basically goes down as it does in the movie (minus the Rey Palpatine nonsense), but now “I am every Jedi” is about the fact that she’s not alone, not ever. She has the power to defeat ol’ sheev because of those who came before her, the people who fight with her now, and her own strength of will to see it through. 

(also Finn’s voice is in the every Jedi thing, because he can feel her reaching out, asking for help without realizing it)

-Finn

Having committed himself to the Resistance after the events of TLJ, Finn is finally starting to feel comfortable in his role. His cause is just, there are people here who love him (rey and poe and rose!!), and he’s GOOD at what he does. 

Some plot device or another takes their merry band to a planet that has just managed to fight off the First Order presence plaguing them. They learn it was when the inhabitants were informed there would be another “Harvest”, which we eventually learn means officers backed by troopers with, just, so many blasters, go into homes and take children, usually infants and toddlers, as recruits. This planet has been a target before, and this time, they refused. At great cost. 

Anyway, yadda yadda yadda: WE MEET FINN’S PARENTS. Maybe he has a little sister?? Maybe she shows signs of having……… THE FORCE.. (Finn: when was the last Harvest? Mysterious parental figure: oh I’d say around [exactly when Finn was taken]) (Maybe he’s a SECRET PRINCE???) Anyway…

It’s a lot to take in, he has some heart-to-hearts with people, eventually they have to move on for plot reasons, but Finn has a home to go back to now. He never thought he’d have that.

And Finn is going through all kinds of emotional growth because GUESS WHAT in the final battle (don’t worry Jannah’s still there and they ride in on space horsies because that was great.), Finn (with Rose’s help!!) gains access to the Final Order inter-ship communication system and broadcasts a message offering amnesty and safe harbor for any trooper who stands down. Who stops taking life in defense of control and fear and starts living for the sake of Hope.

 Then, when Poe and the other pilots think they're beat, one of the star destroyers turns on the others. And then another. And it's not the whole fleet, but a few mutinied ships just might be enough to buy them the time they need…

Maybe there’s a dramatic pause where Poe is like “we’re outgunned. We can’t do anything all alone out here.” And Finn, noticing a SD turning its cannon at another, “Poe… I don’t think we’re alone.” Explosion! Cheers!! This is the legacy of FN-2187

-Poe

Poe!!! So he’s been given more authority in the Resistance, and he’s learned from TLJ. He’s still daring and wisecracking and undeniably poe, but with Leia’s guidance and Holdo’s example he’s become more measured, more thoughtful in planning his missions. And the success rate of the Resistance has improved because of it.

But now that he gives himself time to breathe, time to THINK, Poe finds dealing with the losses they do suffer harder and harder to bear. We get some juicy background stuff about his mom, about how his father took the news of her death, and how he wanted, more than anything, to live up to her. (none of the spice running backstory happens. If Zorri exists she’s actually given some kriffing THOUGHT as a character and not just a prop to affirm Poe’s alleged heterosexuality)

I’m not 100% sure how this one plays out. There’s definitely a Leia pep talk in there somewhere. She tells him that Shara would be so proud of him. EMOTIONS.

Ooh, there could be some good Lando moments too (especially to pick up the slack regarding obvious limitations with Carrie’s part). He knows what it’s like to make impossible decisions because you’re responsible for people. 

“Responsibility is heavy, and it might always feel like someone else is more qualified or more capable or more prepared to face it, but remember: One of the most capable people I’ve ever met tells me you’re the right one for the job. The only one she trusts to get it done. And when Leia Organa says she needs you, you do what you can, son. You do what you can, and when you make a mistake, you go back and you fix it. Getting hung up on anything else will drag you down, and I have it on good authority that you were meant to be in the sky, General Dameron.” 

-Rose is kind of our audience surrogate for Finn’s journey. She has to grapple with the fact that most if not all of the stormtroopers they face are never actually given a choice in what they fight for, and what that might mean for their tactics. She helps him realize that learning where he comes from doesn’t replace who he’s made himself into, it only adds to it. 

After the war, she oversees efforts to rebuild planets like Finn’s, to help them recover from the effects of First order occupation. Maybe Chewie goes with her!!

Finn Rey and Poe live happily ever after in Finn’s palace home, and maybe every so often people--sometimes parents with a young child exhibiting certain gifts, sometimes a teenager who can’t explain why rocks tend to float when they get excited about something, and all kinds of other folks, young and old--come knocking, saying they want to learn the ways of the Skywalker. 

[askweisswolf]

AO3 link FF.net link

@glimadora-week for day 4, pet names. Because I will finish this story, I swear to God. That said, a bit of a note...

Yeah, I know. I said I'd have this story done by season 2, and I swear I did mean it, but real life gets funny like that. To make a really long, personal story short my cousin died suddenly while I was working on this chapter, and it threw a lot of things off for me and my whole family. A part of me is still worried this might be all over the place because I came back to it after so long away, but... honestly I'm sick of looking at it, and I want to put it up for his sake and move on to finish this story.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy.

They couldn’t put it off forever, of course.

They’d both known that from the start, and Glimmer wanted to be completely fair to the both of them on this subject: they’d planned to talk about it! They’d planned to talk about it soon, even! It wasn’t something they had been purposely trying to ignore or avoid. Whatever was happening between them, whatever they were becoming together, they knew it couldn’t continue until they talked. That they were both still so eager to talk about it, well—the princess took that as a good sign, especially considering she’d never actually thought at any point Adora would return her feelings.

(Had she actually talked to Bow about any of this instead of simply venting about him to a situation that she was certain was doomed, he could have told her beforehand that Adora had shown several signs of returning her interest and mostly just didn’t seem to realize it. But all of her talks with Bow on the subject had been purely vent sessions, and so he’d never had the chance to tell her this.)

But life had continued on without caring about what either of them had wanted, and there had been strategies to discuss and rebuilding to do, and so they had both been busy for days as everyone tried to make the most of this tentative, uncertain quiet from the Horde. Another attack would come soon, they all knew that, but there was no shame in recovering while they had the time.

The thing was now, that had stopped for the time being. The planning had died down for the most part—or at least they had agreed to take a break from the sessions so that everyone could keep their sanity—and the majority of the rebuilding that required time and physical effort had been finished. There was a strange sort of quiet, as everyone began to realize that they had a moment to slow down and relax. Most people admittedly didn’t know what to do with that time.

Glimmer knew what she wanted to do with it. And of course, because she knew what she wanted to do with it, she couldn’t find Adora anywhere. How she managed to completely disappear was still a mystery to the princess; she was tall! And loud! Tall, loud people didn’t usually vanish so easily! And Glimmer would know personally on the loud part: she’d tried for years to disappear whenever she and her mother had gotten into one of their arguments, and it had never worked. Inevitably, Angella had always used the noise to find her.

So how Adora managed to disappear constantly when she was both loud and tall wasn’t fair. Clearly she was somehow cheating. Glimmer would have to ask her about it when she managed to find her.

She’d already checked Adora’s room, the dining hall, the main meeting room, her own room just to be on the safe side, and the stable on the off chance that maybe they were supposed to repeat their earlier talk in the rain. All of those places had turned up empty, and she was starting to become a little stumped. She’d even checked the training area on the off chance that Adora was there working on her swordplay—maybe secretly hoping that she’d be dressed down in the process, they’d already kissed twice and they’d said they liked each other SHE WAS ALLOWED TO HOPE FOR THIS—but that place had also been lacking in tall, loud, blonde swordswomen named Adora.

(There had been people dressed down during their training, but Glimmer hadn’t noticed them. They weren’t Adora, and therefore she wasn’t interested in lingering to check them out.)

So now it was a little into noon, and they had the time to talk, but there was no Adora for Glimmer to talk to about it.

Well. That all just confirmed it, then. The world had it out for Glimmer.

Glimmer, specifically.

It was the only logical conclusion.

Had she had the moment to follow this particular train of thought to the end of its tracks, she would have eventually let out a scream of frustration at the general situation until teleporting all over the castle to find Bow so that she could vent at him about everything. But apparently before she got to that point, her train of thought was derailed off its tracks by fate’s decision to give her a rare break for once. She heard a whinny overhead and the flare of wings, and she looked up.

Then blinked, and stared a little dumbly, as Swift Wind landed a few feet away from her and Adora slid easily off his back. Or maybe, at least, she thought it was easily, but—mostly she stumbled a few steps and clung to him a little bit to steady herself as she adjusted to being back on the ground again.

“No,” she rasped. “Never again.”

Swift Wind rolled his eyes. “How was this different from when I flew you back to Bright Moon?”

“That was in a straight line! And—and I don’t know, not as fast!”

“Hey, you were the one who came to me this morning and asked that we start practicing for a battle scenario. What I did up there is totally valid in a fight.”

“Yeah, sure, totally valid and terrifying. We are never doing that again.”

“Okay, first of all, that isn’t really our choice. Second of all,” he nudged her shoulder gently with his wing. “Are you afraid of heights? Because this is like, way beyond the average fear I’ve seen most humans express.”

“I don’t know! Maybe! I’ve never been that high up before!” Adora said. Or shrieked. It was probably shrieked, considering her voice had gone up a few octaves during this exchange. “And I’ve definitely never been up that high before while going that fast, a-and—and moving like that!”

Swift Wind gave her a long, slow look. Glimmer was tempted to speak, but something told her to keep her mouth shut, and instead she watched as he brushed a wing along the blonde’s back.

“You’re going to need to take a deep breath,” he said. “Because we are absolutely doing that again at some point in the future. We both know it.” He peered over her head, and smirked. Glimmer immediately didn’t like that smirk. “And look, your princess is here waiting for you.”

“My what--” Adora whirled around and froze, as she realized the other girl was standing there. For a few seconds they just stared at each other as Swift Wind snorted in some mixture of amusement and annoyance. “Oh. Um. H-Hey, Glimmer.”

Glimmer felt like she wasn’t supposed to be smiling, but her lips were curving upwards anyway. “Hi, Adora.”

“You, uh. You heard all of that, huh.”

She briefly considered lying for the sake of her friend’s dignity, and figured that there was no point in trying to do so. “Heard all of it and saw all of it.”

“Good. Great. Just what I wanted to hear.” The taller girl finally sighed, shoulders slumping a little, before she turned to face Swift Wind. “You’re right. We need to do this again. Sooner than I thought, considering my reaction.”

“Yeah, sure, no problem. Not a big deal, no rush.” He shoved his wing into Adora, pushing her away from him and closer to Glimmer. “Now go. She was clearly looking for you.”

He didn’t give the blonde a moment to even think of a reply; the moment there was enough distance between them he flared his wings and flew away. Quite suddenly, Adora and Glimmer were left alone in the small clearing.

“Swift Wind’s kind of a jerk, huh,” Glimmer said.

“Yeah,” Adora sighed. “That’s something I’ve realized recently, too.” She coughed into her hand, smiling sheepishly. “Were you really looking for me, or was that just more of him being kind of a jerk? At this point I honestly can’t tell with him anymore.”

“I was really looking for you. We finally have some time to ourselves, and I’m pretty sure we don’t have any new disaster brewing in the next few minutes and, um.” Glimmer played with her hands, trying her best to ignore her nerves. There was nothing to be nervous about! They had to talk about this! They both knew that!

And yet, she was still nervous. Of course.

“And well, you know, we still need to—talk,” she plunged on, deciding the best way to handle her nervousness was to talk until it went away, “about… you know, everything.”

“… Yeah. I-I meant to find you about that since today’s going to be pretty quiet for me, but I found Swift Wind first and started thinking about preparing for when I had to fly him into battle and… well. Here we are now. And here I am now.”

“So...” Nope, not going to give herself time to think about it. She wasn’t going to give either of them time to think about this, because that path only led to ruin. “Do you want to talk about it now? Or we could wait, it—it sounded like that bit of flying with Swift Wind really got to you.”

Hadn’t she just decided she wasn’t going to give either of them time to think about it?! This was Adora’s fault, clearly. She was just so pretty and nice and perfect in every way possible that she ruined Glimmer’s thought processes.

Then Adora smiled shyly, and suddenly Glimmer believed that nothing had ever been her fault ever, at any point in time.

“No,” she said, and she was still smiling shyly and that wasn’t fair, but the princess couldn’t even be upset about it. “No, I’m okay with talking about it now. It’s something we need to talk about, especially if we want to keep this thing going.”

Glimmer snorted. “Our thing, huh?”

“I don’t know what else to call it! It’s a thing that we have, I thought it was pretty fitting until we decided to call it something else.”

“Well, hopefully this talk will help us figure that part out too.” Glimmer put her hands back behind her back, to try her best to keep them still. “Do you want to talk about it right now here, or...”

Adora rubbed the back of her neck, tilting her head back to look up at the sky as she thought about it for a moment before she shook her head. “Here is fine,” she said, plopping down into the grass and looking up at her smaller friend. “Unless you want to go somewhere else?”

“No! No, here is totally fine.” It was private at least, and the weather was clear and warm. There were certainly worse ways to have this talk.

“Great! That’s great, really. So, um… where do you want to start?”

It really should have been easy, Glimmer mused as she sat down next to the blonde. She was a princess and Adora was a former Horde soldier, just to start with. Even compared to that, Glimmer was a normal person—relatively speaking, in Etheria terms, her immortal queen mother aside—and Adora was the newest host for an immortal spirit that legends said was dedicated to protecting the land. They had no shortage of things to talk about, and all of them were surprisingly simple topics, really; most of it was simply just navigating how this fledgling relationship would grow with those particular truths.

There was one topic that they needed to talk about along with all of that, though. It was by far the most complicated topic of them all (ironically), and that simply had to do with the impact it had on Adora’s emotions leading up to this point. Logic would dictate that they should leave this topic for last, and tackle all of the other ones first. A way to sort of ease into it.

Glimmer cheerfully admitted, usually at the top of her lungs, that she wasn’t the most logical person even under the best circumstances. And she certainly didn’t believe in easing into anything. For her, it was all or nothing.

“So,” she said quietly, glancing at Adora. “Do you want to talk about Catra?”

It was almost interesting to watch the taller girl’s reaction, honestly. The princess had never associated her with ‘subtle’, exactly; it wasn’t an insult, Adora just wasn’t a particularly subtle person even at the best of times. It became even more obvious the more she tried to be subtle about something, to the point that for the most part she didn’t even bother with it anymore.

But her reaction when Glimmer said Catra’s name—that was surprisingly subtle. A bit of tension easing into her shoulders, a slight stiffening of her spine and the smallest grinding of teeth. There was a lot of emotion there, and almost immediately the pink-haired girl regretted that she’d decided to not be logical about this. She knew something had happened between them to cause the venom she’d briefly glimpsed during the Battle of Bright Moon, but Adora had been rather quiet about it.

“Or,” she said hesitantly, “we can talk about something else instead. I mean, you’re a former Horde soldier and I’m a princess, and a lot of people still really hate the Horde. We’ll have to figure out how to handle that. And then there’s the whole She-ra thing, that’s a pretty big deal.”

“… No,” Adora sighed, and just like that it all drained out of her. Her shoulders relaxed and her spine slumped, and suddenly she looked small and tired. “No, we should—we need to talk about Catra. I—I need to talk about Catra. I haven’t talked about her to you or to Bow, and I… I really probably should, at this point.”

Glimmer hesitated again for another moment, then quietly inched closer and rested her hand on the blonde’s back. When Adora didn’t pull away from the touch, she began to rub it in what she hoped was a comforting manner. Her mother had done it for her sometimes, when she’d been upset or sad, and it had usually worked for her. “Okay,” she murmured. “Let’s talk about Catra. Take your time, yeah? There’s no rush. We have all day.”

Adora peeked at her and smiled weakly. “Do I look that bad?”

“… Do you want me to be honest, or do you want me to be nice?”

“You can be honest. I like that about you.”

“Then, reminding you that you gave me permission to say this—you look bad, yeah.”

That made Adora snort and chuckle, something shaky and watery as she looked away from Glimmer’s gaze. “I did give you permission. And I know it’s true. I feel pretty bad.” She sighed, looking down at her hands. “I’m trying to think of where to start.”

“The beginning is usually a good place for that.”

“I mean—I don’t remember much of the beginning, is the problem. I don’t even know where I came from. I used to ask Shadow Weaver to tell me, and she always refused. I’m pretty sure it only bothered me. Catra never seemed to care about it the way I did.”

“So you met her young?” It was an obvious thread, and the princess grabbed onto it tightly with both hands. If Adora needed a little help to keep her going on this subject, Glimmer would happily give it to her.

“Pretty young, yeah. I don’t remember a time she wasn’t around. I don’t know where we came from or how we got into the Horde, but we always had each other. I’m not even sure how we ended up together. I don’t think it was Shadow Weaver’s idea, she… she never really liked Catra.”

Glimmer swallowed, keeping her hand on the blonde’s back; something steady and stable to brace her. “Shadow Weaver raised you both, right?” Adora didn’t talk about her either, but there didn’t seem to be a point in bringing it up now when the discussion was leaning that way.

Adora chuckled again, but now it was tired and bitter. “She did. I have no idea how she got us or why she was raising us, maybe we were orders from Hordak. Looking back on it now, comparing it all to what I’ve seen in the Rebellion, I don’t even think I’d say that she raised us, really. We were just tools she was given, and she used us the way that she saw fit.”

“It sounds like she used you both differently,” the shorter girl said, a little cautiously.

“She did. Like I said, she never liked Catra, and she really liked me. I don’t know why. I just remember...” Adora trailed off for a moment, exhaled shakily. “I just remember when we were little, she was awful to Catra, and she told me---s-she told me it was my responsibility to look after her, or something really bad would happen to her.”

It was as if a hand had reached up from the ground through Glimmer’s body and clutched at her heart, crushing it painfully in her chest. It took everything in her to not see red, and even then there was flashes of it along the edges of her vision. Suddenly, the fact that she had managed to punch Shadow Weaver once in the face hard enough to knock her over didn’t seem like enough punishment. “How old were you?” she asked, shocked by how even her voice was.

Adora rubbed at her eyes. “I-I don’t remember, gods. My memory gets really foggy when I start thinking back that far. I just know we were both young, and really small. She liked to tower over both of us when she was upset or disappointed.”

“But you do remember her saying that to you.”

“She said it to both of us, Catra—Catra was right there. I think maybe she was trapped? Somehow? She looked really scared and kind of like she was in pain. But we were both there when she said that. We both knew it.”

“And you listened to her.”

“Well, I mean—yeah, of course I did. She was threatening my friend.”

It was easy for Glimmer to remember what things had been like when she was little. Her friendship with Bow wasn’t exactly like the relationship between Adora and Catra, from what she had glimpsed of the two of them interacting in battle, but she could still imagine what it was like to be that small and have one person that you liked and trusted above everyone else. She couldn’t even imagine what she would have done if Angella had ever made a threat like that, but knowing Adora the way she did and knowing how much she had cared about Catra, she could imagine the end result.

“Not that it mattered in the end,” the blonde muttered, and the darkness in her voice jolted the princess out of her thoughts. “Because even after listening to Shadow Weaver for years, I didn’t protect Catra from anything. She still got hurt, still got punished. It just happened when I wasn’t around to see any of it, so I wouldn’t be able to—to do anything.”She exhaled, something shaky, and before Glimmer could think to say anything she was speaking again, an emotional rush of words that she’d clearly been holding in for some time. “And even if I’d known, even if I’d done something about it, Catra—Catra just thought I was doing it to be a hero, to show much I owned her, because that was the seed Shadow Weaver put in us both. She… she thought in the end I only did those things to look good, to prove that I could handle her.”

“… But you didn’t,” Glimmer murmured, after a few minutes had passed from that outburst and Adora still hadn’t spoken.

Adora laughed, and the sound of it nearly collapsed into a sob. “I didn’t think I did, but you know what? I’m not, I’m not even sure anymore, because she wasn’t wrong. I was on her all the time, because Shadow Weaver put it in my head that I had to be. I just—I-I thought she didn’t understand, didn’t realize what was at stake. And all this time she did, probably even better than I did in some respects, and there I was acting like an idiot.”

She’d meant to just listen as the taller girl vented, she really had. A former Horde soldier, the host of She-ra, Shadow Weaver’s chosen heir apparent, the young woman that had gone out and won battles and rallied the princesses and the Rebellion in a way neither of them had ever been rallied before. In so many ways Adora was strong, had been stronger than any of them had expected her to be, and a part of Glimmer had figured—hoped, maybe, optimistically, idealistically—that this discussion would be much the same way. But all of that was striped away now, and all she saw was an exhausted girl with shoulders slumped under the weight of it all on her, and staying silent was becoming almost impossible to consider.

And truth be told, Glimmer had never really been a quiet kind of girl anyway even ah the best of times.

“Hey. Adora, look at me.” When that didn’t happen, she gently urged her friend to face her and took both her hands, squeezing gently. “Adora? Sweetie? Please look at me.”

Adora didn’t look at her right away, and for a moment Glimmer felt her heart plummet into her stomach. She wasn’t intending to force her friend to look at her, despite her request—hence why it had been a request and not an order, though the princess had the awful suspicion that if it had been an order the taller girl would have immediately obeyed it regardless of how she felt—but she didn’t know how else to proceed if Adora didn’t look at her.

She only had a moment of concern about it, though, because after the moment ended those blue-gray eyes she liked so much met hers. The grip on her hands tightened at the same time, almost to the point of pain, but she didn’t care. She didn’t care because Adora was looking at her like she had asked, and she hadn’t let go of her hands the whole time, hadn’t pulled away from her, and there were actual tears in her eyes.

Gods, if she started crying now, Glimmer knew her heart would break. It was already starting to crack.

“Thank you,” she said, and could have kicked herself immediately for saying it, but her mouth had apparently decided to keep moving without any input from her brain. “For looking at me, I mean.”

Adora laughed, startled and a little thick. “You’re, uh, you’re welcome, I guess.”

The grip on her hands had slowly relaxed into something less painful, and Glimmer leaned forward to gently brush away the tears that were still in the other girl’s eyes. She took it as a good sign when she didn’t pull away from her touch. When she eased back, she managed a weak smile of her own. She still didn’t know what to say, but she knew how she felt, and, well….

Glimmer had always prided herself on her ability to improvise.

“You weren’t acting like an idiot,” she said, and took it as a good sign when she didn’t want to immediately kick herself again.

Adora frowned. “But I--”

“Ah ah ah!” Glimmer rested her finger on Adora’s lips to quiet her, doing her absolute best to ignore the small shiver that ran down her spine as her eyes immediately sharpened and focused on her finger. She pulled away to take her hands again. “I’m arguing a point here, sweetie. You can talk to me about it once I’ve finished my point, okay? Because you aren’t an idiot. You’ve never been an idiot. You aren’t an idiot now, and you weren’t an idiot when you were a child.”

The taller girl’s lips twitched. “So you think I’m smart, then?”

“You are smart. You’ve always been smart. And you—gods, Adora, you were a child. You were child who was raised a certain way because your...” What should she even call Shadow Weaver? She had clearly been the only parental figure Adora and Catra had known their whole lives, but it felt like an insult to call her their mother with what she knew about her, with what her friend had just told her. When Glimmer imagined a mother, she thought of Angella; she thought of someone who loved her and looked after her and wanted her to succeed in life, even if they didn’t always agree on how to succeed.

She swallowed, and made up her mind.

“… Shadow Weaver raised you, but she—she did a bad job of it, okay? She was a bad mom. Moms aren’t supposed to be like that. They aren’t supposed to take your best friends and hurt them and use that against you to make you do what they want. They’re supposed to love you, and protect you, and support you, and she… she didn’t do any of that, and that isn’t your fault, okay?”

Adora was still looking at her. Glimmer took that as a good sign, because now that she was talking she didn’t think she could stop. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to stop, either. Maybe this was something she needed to say, because it was something that the other girl needed to hear. Maybe it would help.

She hoped it would help.

“You were a child,” she said at last. “It shouldn’t have been your job to look after yourself or Catra the way you had to. What happened in the Horde, your relationship with Catra, it… it’s not your fault, do you understand? The base of it all, it’s not your fault. If you want to try and fix things with her, that’s your call and Bow and I will totally support you. But don’t blame yourself when all of this started because Shadow Weaver failed.”

Adora was still looking at her, but Glimmer couldn’t read her eyes, couldn’t take anything from the expression on her face. A moment of silence passed between them, and then another, and that was the moment when the princess began to worry and wonder if maybe she’d messed up and said the wrong thing. Maybe in trying to help, she had gone and made things worse.

Okay Glimmer. Okay, you got this. It’s just damage control. Stay calm, you know how to handle this! Mom talked about it all the time! Sure, you didn’t listen, but that never stopped you before!

Glimmer clamped down hard on her worry—or she tried, at least, it felt like she wasn’t succeeding at it as much as she would have liked—and took a deep breath as she opened her mouth. She could do this. She could stay calm. She could…

She couldn’t do anything, because before she said anything or even thought of anything to say—one of the flaws of improvising—she found that she lost all of the air that she had drawn in to try and speak, because she was suddenly being crushed as Adora lunged forward and hugged her, something tight and desperate and just a little painful. Glimmer hissed out a breath and wrapped an arm around the blonde’s back, and felt the way she was shaking. She could have tried to say something, or patted her to get her attention, but she kept still. She slowly relaxed, and nuzzled her face into the blonde’s shoulder as she shuddered.

She didn’t know how long they stayed like that, Adora holding her and Glimmer letting her hold her. Eventually the former Horde soldier’s grip on her relaxed, and the shaking gradually faded back into stillness. The princess felt dampness along her shoulder, but she didn’t say anything about it and simply waited.

It was Adora who spoke first, in the end. “Thank you,” she whispered, the two words shaking and thick with tears, and she finally pulled back a little bit so that their eyes met again. “I—I don’t know why that got to me the way it did, but… thank you, Glimmer, for saying it.”

“Hey, of course.” She reached out carefully, wiping at the tears that still fell. “I admit I kinda winged it, but… I’m glad that it helped, at least a little bit. Do you feel better?”

“A little bit, yeah.” Adora sniffled and Glimmer pulled her hand away so that she could wipe at her eyes herself. “Thank you again, I guess… I don’t know, no one’s ever said that to me before. I guess I needed to hear it.”

The princess personally thought she needed to hear way more than that, but that wasn’t a discussion she wanted to have so soon after her friend seemed to have had a breakthrough. She leaned back and let Adora compose herself, and this time when things were quiet between them, it was a comfortable sort of silence.

“You gave me a lot to think about,” the blonde said at last. “I know we… you know, need to keep talking, we have more to talk about, but… can we stop here for today and pick it up later? I-I mean, you know me and my thoughts.”

Glimmer smiled, struck suddenly and deeply with affection for the other girl. “Of course. There’s no rush on this, okay? We can do it at your pace. I’m a very patient person.”

There was a pause as Adora looked at her, lifting a brow.

“… I’m a mostly patient person,” Glimmer amended.

Adora’s brow only climbed higher, practically becoming one with her hairline.

“… Okay fine, I’m not a patient person at all,” she finally admitted. “But I can try to be, for you. Since that’s what you need.”

That got a soft laugh from her friend, and this time when Adora leaned in for another hug, it was gentler, with a squeeze that Glimmer liked way more than she would ever admit to anyone who wasn’t Bow. And if it lingered a little longer than a normal friendly hug, well, she wasn’t going to say anything about it.

When they pulled apart, Adora smiled sheepishly. “Um, before we go back to Bright Moon, I do have one more question.”

“Yeah?”

“We don’t have to talk about this now, I know we kind of dove right into this and did a lot, but, um...” She swallowed now. “When you were talking, you… called me something. I don’t know what it means.”

Glimmer blinked, thinking over all of what she had said to Adora in the last few minutes. She blinked again, processing all of those words and turning them over in her head, then blinked a third and final time when nothing clicked into place. “… I did?” she asked.

“Um, yeah. You did. It must be pretty normal for you, if you don’t even remember it, but...” Adora rubbed the back of her neck, eyes flicking about nervously before she met Glimmer’s gaze. “That word you used, sweetie. You said it to me a few times. What does it mean?”

She blinked a fourth time, as the clicking happened. “Oh! Oh, that, um… yeah, I did call you that a time or two, didn’t I? I… huh, I wasn’t really thinking about it.”

“Yeah, you did. So… what does it mean, exactly? I’m just wondering, you don’t—you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to right now. I know we already talked about a lot of things.”

“Oh! No, no, it’s okay, we can talk about it if you want. It’s not, like… a super heavy thing. I mean, I guess it is for some people? But it’s not for me, so...”

“I think that’s the first time I’ve heard you use that word, actually, so… it’s at least kind of important, I assume.”

Darn, Adora had caught that. Glimmer had really been hoping she wouldn’t, because she hadn’t even realized she’d let the pet name slip out until the other girl brought it up. And once she’d been reminded of that fact, she’d really really hoped that she wouldn’t have to try and explain it. Curse the Horde and their general lack of basic affection!

But it was fine. This was fine. They were already so open to start with about being interested in each other, and using a pet name for someone wasn’t an inherently romantic thing. She could totally explain this and she wouldn’t be nervous at all while she was doing. It was going to be fine. She was only a little nervous anyway!

“Right, so, um, what I called you? It’s a pet name, basically. It’s something you can call another person when you’re, you know, really attached to them instead of their name. It’s a way of showing that you care about them.”

Adora tilted her head to the side as she thought about that. “We didn’t have that kind of thing in the Horde,” she said.

Glimmer swallowed. “You uh, you didn’t like it then?”

“No! No, I did like it—I mean, I do like it, a lot, actually, now that I know what it means.” Adora looked at her now, and when she smiled it was small and shy as her cheeks went a little pink. “And I liked hearing you say it.”

Well. Now Glimmer was a lot nervous, and she was definitely blushing way deeper than Adora’s cute pink. She was pretty sure all of the blood in her body had managed to flood into her face, from how warm it felt. She wasn’t sure how the other girl was still able to have this effect on her when they had talked and kissed—more than once, even!--but apparently that was something that wasn’t going to stop any time soon, even at this stage.

She wondered, vaguely, if it had been like this for her parents. She’d have to ask Angella about it sometime, preferably without letting slip who she was talking about.

“Good!” she said. She most definitely did not shriek it a little, and it definitely wasn’t something that made Adora muffle a giggle behind her hand. “I mean, you know, good. Because I liked saying it. I liked calling you that, because I like you a lot.”

“I like you a lot too,” Adora said, and now she wasn’t trying to hide her giggles anymore.

“And I’m glad you’re feeling better, and I’m glad we talked about this at least a little, and we can totally keep talking about this whenever you want! Because I like you a lot and I want you to feel better. It’s also why I called you sweetie. Because I like you a lot, and you’re really sweet. Like, so sweet. It’s almost unfair how sweet you are, except it’s part of what I like so much about you.”

“Uh, Glimmer?”

“What?!” she definitely shrieked, and it was enough to push the blonde over the edge into outright laughing. Maybe it was just the build up from her emotions thus far, maybe it was something like a release after getting too deep into her own head about her time in the Horde, but once she started laughing she couldn’t stop. So she didn’t. She just leaned into Glimmer, and she laughed until her stomach hurt and she finally managed to stop and calm herself down, wiping at her eyes as she caught her breath.

Glimmer had the feeling that she should have been annoyed, but she couldn’t work it up when Adora’s laugh was so pretty and she was leaning on her like this, totally relaxed. And as her laughter died down, it seemed like she had really needed to laugh. So the princess sighed, recognizing that she had done this to herself, and said again, “What?”

“I was just going to say,” Adora managed, “that if you wanted to call me that again you can.”

“… Oh. Um. I can?”

“Yeah, you can. I was going to try and say it earlier, but you kept talking and, you know… you listen to me all the time when I ramble, and you really listen to me this time, so I didn’t want to interrupt you.”

“You know you could have and I wouldn’t have minded.”

“Well, yeah, but...” Adora shrugged, and she didn’t pull away from Glimmer as she glanced at her. “I also like it when you ramble.”

“Okay, see, this is why I called you that in the first place,” the princess sighed, absently lifting a hand to gently play with Adora’s ponytail. “But I’m glad you like it when I ramble, sweetie.”

Adora grinned. “Like that, yes.”

It wasn’t perfect, Glimmer mused to herself as they fell into comfortable silence. This—discussion, if it could even be called that much, was only scratching the surface. But they had at least started it, and it seemed to have helped her friend start to come to terms with some things she had been raised with in the Horde. That was better than nothing, by far.

“Hey, Glimmer?” Adora’s voice was soft.

“Yeah?”

“Are you in any rush to get back to Bright Moon?”

“… Nah. I like being like this.”

“Yeah, me too.”

So they stayed like that for awhile, together. And if it was something like a start, well, that suited them both just fine.

[blueangelicrose]

A New Beginning: Chapter 13 (part 4): Just Dance!!!

As Joan was making her way to the restrooms, she suddenly sensed a very malicious but familiar aura. She started to worry. She turned around. Nothing and no one was there. She decided to shrug it off. She figured it was just her nerves getting to her. She later found the restrooms and took care of what she had to do. As she washed her hands, she looked up at the mirror and thought to herself, "Does this makeup really make me look more pretty and feminine?" Throughout her childhood, she had always been told that she was more of a tomboy for the way that she acted with her mannerisms and for her boyish personality. Her family tried their best to teach her proper manners of a young lady, and it somewhat worked. As Joan grew older and wiser, she knew what she had to do in certain situations where she had to apply these manners and when she can go off on certain pricks that tried to take advantage of her or her loved ones. Mostly involving her younger twin sister. Josephine was the more feminine and girly one out of the two of them. But when it came to certain emergencies, she would do the most drastic things for Joan. Going to the battlefield, hardcore undercover missions, and yes, even biting a werewolve's neck. She would do it all for her sister. These two sisters stuck to each other like glue and was loyal to each other like they were the only ones that they could rely upon. And soon this sisterly love would be tested.

Joan sighed, dried her hands, and as she exited the bathroom, a hand suddenly lunged at the wall only to miss her face by only by a mere inch. She froze as she stared dead in the eyes of older but all to familiar furry face of a werewolf. "Who-who are y---" before she finished her question he replied, "How DARE you!!!" "P-pardon me?" "How dare you brats come back to the isle after all these years and then take the one thing that gave me joy!" "S-sir, I have no idea what you're saying. Are you perhaps intoxicated?" "I ain't drunk if that's what you're asking me. I'll make this quick, so listen up! After your little clone bit me on the neck on that day, I swore to find you two pricks and repay you double of the pain that you cost me!" "Listen, I'm sorry that my sister bit you. But you were either too hot tempered or you were so drunk that you were beyond to be reasoned with! I'm sorry that put a bruise to your ego!" "Oh, it wasn't just pride that you brats shattered." Joan was confused at what he meant by this. What did he mean? What else did they mess up in his life? Besides pride and possibly the back of his neck being broken? "I'll tell you what happened after that "incident". You see, back then, I was the leader of a gang. My subordinates looked up to me and my enemies feared me for being the toughest guy on the streets. But ever since that day that I was put in the hospital for a child's bite, all that respect and fear vanished in the blink of an eye! It took me over a decade to rebuild all that back up again! Fortunately, me and my son were able to rebuild a stronger gang that it turned into a mafia! Soon, I was going places all over the world. But I never forgot that day. So I did my research on you gals. And I was only able to gather information about where you lived on the isle and who was related to ya. But after a year, it seemed as though you girls vanished off the face of the Earth! I thought that was it. That I would never get my sweet revenge. That was until I got word that my son was caught by YOUR boss and is probably in a whole world of pain right now!" So that was it. Revenge. But for it to go this far......? " When I heard that representatives of that same casino was going to be at the party, I used every trick in the book in order to get in this fancy party. I was originally going to just kidnap and possibly kill one of these representatives. But imagine my surprise when I saw the two of you pain in the neck sisters come in through those doors, arms linked with the casino's reps. And what's even more amusing is that one of them turns out to be one of the other brats that you lived with!" Joan's face grew pale and started to sweat. "I always wondered what would happen to an object for head's face would look like if there was some cracks down the middle." Joan's fear then grew into anger. She furrowed her brows and made two of her fangs grow. "Don't you dare do anything to my Cuphead!!!"

As the reporter wandered the hallways, looking for even a sign of life, she suddenly heard a noise. "People! Finally!" She ran towards where the noise was, and as she drew closer, the noise seemed to escalate in volume. As she almost turned the corner of the hallway, she stopped in her tracks. "An argument? Maybe I should turn back and see if there's another way." But then her ear caught wind of interesting tibbits of information that seemed to peek her interest. "Maybe just a little while longer." As she thought this, she took out one of her recorders and started to record the WHOLE conversation.

"I'd like to see you try and do something little missy!" As he said this he started to show his fangs and his claws. Joan saw this and she was indeed scared, but she couldn't show it to this prick no matter what. It was in her nature never to show fear in front of her enemies. If she did, she would've lost the battle. And she definitely wasn't going to loose it to this jerk. Especially since Cuphead's safety was on the line. "What do you want?! Me too die just so that you can get your petty revenge?" "Hah! No. I'm going to have my fun with you first and then torture you slowly till you wish that you were dead! And you should feel honored. I only do this to very IMPORTANT people." "Important people?" "Oh you know, just a senator there and a CEO here. But now it's your turn." He used his other hand to pick Joan up by the neck and squeezed her tightly but not so much as to suffocate her. Joan thought of using her powers on him, but she knew the golden rule of the Heavens. To not use your powers on a mere mortal unless you are given permission too. So she had no choice but to send a distress telepathic signal to her sister. It barely got through when....... "Hey you! Let go of her!" As this was said, a woman's flat toed shoe came flying at the werewolf's head. He looked over to where it was thrown with fury.

The reporter was terrified out of her mind. She had no idea what she was doing. All that she knew was that when she saw Joan being picked up, that she had to do something! Unfortunately it was the wrong move, because now she was a target. "What are you gonna do about, huh, lil' chipmunk?" "Chipmunk?!" All that fear had turned to rage. "How dare you?! I'm no chipmunk! I'm a normal human being!" "A normal human being would've backed out and wouldn't be shaking like a leaf." "Just let let her go! Or else I'll report you and all that you said here to the police!" Now she had his full attention. He saw the running recorder in her hand and he narrowed his eyes. "Girl, you're in a WHOLE lot of TROUBLE!!!" As he let go of Joan's neck he was about to lunge at her, until......."Oh you're in trouble all right. Just not her." Then out of nowhere sharp looking cards came flying right at him and had managed to nail him to the nearest wall. It was King Dice with Cuphead in tow! "Joan! Are you alright?!" What the Hell happened?!" Cuphead was right at her side trying to help ease her gagging from being held by the neck for so long. As Dice approached the werewolf he said, "Now, now, now, what should we do with this thug? Any suggestions my dear Josephine?" And right on cue, Josephine appeared right behind Dice and said, "Oh, I know just what to do." As she said this, her fury and wrath was about to come pouring down on this old fiend.

End of chapter 13 (part 4)

To be continued in chapter 13 (part 5)