#am relatively new to hk fandom

[arcane-map]

List of Fanfic and Fanart that inspired me to write rpieav (Part 1)

I tried to list every possible influence on rpeiav that I could remember (but honestly I’ve read so many fanfics and fanart I think I forget what parts are fanon. Feel free to remind me)

(Also functions as a general fic rec/fanart rec list for similar themes or styles)

Major Inspiration/Influences

Fic: Butterfly Effect by Ashyr.

The four vessels and the Collector. Especially Swallowtail. I love their take on the vessels. (Before this fic, I didn’t give a second thought to the other vessels.) Also their Collector. I’m borrowing them for my au.

Fic: Hidden in Plain Sight by RedDitchWitch.

The Pale King training two vessels instead of one

Fic: The Shenanigans of a Blind Vessel by KC_R.

The light-hearted tone and baby vessel shenanigans. 

The Pale King and the White Lady

Art: Little God AU and My Husband AU by hawaiianbabidoll

For happy PK and a loving wyrmroot relationship

Art: catarium’s entire hollow knight tag

Wyrmroot and cute vessels

Family Dynamics

Fic: Purity is Fake by hydrangeamaiden

The Hollow Knight’s childhood and many family feels

Fic: Off Balance by MrsLittletall

The Pale King discovers the Hollow Knight is not hollow.

(Royal Tutor Quirrel in my AU is from this I think)

Art: Pale Court AU by pickles4nickles

Happy family and the four vessels are knights!

Sibling Dynamics

Fic: Wintertime Woes by DoobleBugs, Pinkrhin0

Big Sister Hornet!

(Anything by DoobleBugs and Pinkrhin0 really)

Art: Vessel duo au by scribbleshanks

Ghost and Hollow on an adventure in Hallownest!

Art: Idiot siblings au by thecornermushroom

Hollow, Hornet, and adult!Ghost and adult!Grimmchild being silly siblings

Fic: A Watcher's Duty by Nym_P_Seudo

Small Hornet and Hollow and Lurien

(Not strictly sibling dynamics, I just enjoy child Hornet more than baby Hornet. And I like Lurien in this)

Nailmasters (I have a special love for the nailmasters. I mean, they have grudges, relationships, and lives that aren’t directly related to the fall of Hallownest! It adds to the charm of the game (Also they’re friend-shaped))

Art: rondoel

Nailmasters!Nailmasters!Nailmasters!

Fic: These Are the Days That Bind Us by TheRechercheRambler

(There’s also a list of ‘inspired by’ in the first chapter for more Nailmasters & Vessels)

Fic: Lil' Nailmasters series by Pollyannam3

Dadsage Sly and little nailmasters! 

Fic: Tales of a Nailsage by an_awful_disaster

Dadsage Sly

Also, lots of baby Hornet (even though I prefer child Hornet over baby Hornet), and wyrmroot fanart (because they’re an odd couple and very difficult to write). 

[mossy-paws]

✨Introduction✨

Deciding to add some information as well as update this a bit as it’s a tad outdated! (Part 5 holy shit!)

💜 Some starter info!

• I go by (in order of preference): Cro/Mossy.Paws (or just Mossy)/Marine/Ocean; and if I know you in real life, you can call me Sea!

• I am an Aceflux lesbian! I also use She/he/they Pronouns! (I guess she/they preferred! But honestly I don’t care otherwise! :3!)

Current Fandoms: Phighting!, regretevator, lethal company, little nightmares, Hollow knight, rainworld, Spider-Man, Warrior cats, etc.

Young minor (13-16 age range)

Comms: Open for discord nitro and robux! (DM me at ^-Mossy.Paws-^ on discord for extra information!)

Asks: Open (read below for permissions)

Instagram: The_OceanCat

Artfight link: https://artfight.net/~Mossy-Paw

Feel free to use my art for profiles and or banners! It’s a little preferred that you ask first via dm’s/comments/reblog’s but honestly I don’t mind :DD! Just make sure to credit me if you do! It’ll make my day for sure ^^!

I have tags I use now! :DD! Here they are:

#Cro chatter (used mainly for when I’m just chatting/reblogging stuff/etc)

#Friend art (used when reblogging stuff by close friends)

Any art tags or fandom related tags explain themself ! I also use #Not my art a lot as well!

• If you know me irl,, pretend you don’t unless your a close friend of mine (if so, then love you besties 🔥🔥🔥)

• An important note: I do not have a reblog only account, this is my only account, and its used for pretty much everything (My art, reblog’s, talking, etc)

‼️Commission Info:‼️

✨ My commission’s are OPEN!

• I take payment in form of Discord Nitro (NOT BASIC), and Robux!

• If interested, please dm me for prices, questions, and more! I’ll be sure to give you a full rundown of what I can draw, my rules, etc!

• I currently do not have a Carrd dedicated to commissions, so please be sure to private message me for the sheet! Even if it’s a tad out-dated when it comes to examples! (I can provide new examples, I’m also always willing to haggle on prices!)

‼️Important note, i have lost the file to my robux sheet, so i have to remake it, ill probably be making a carrd eventually so once i do ill link it here‼️

✨ My Askbox (OPEN)

✅Open ❌Closed ❎Tentative

✅Requests (HK, RW, Phighting, Spidersona stuff, etc)

❎/✅Talk to me

✅✅Ask about my OCs (always yes with this one!)

✅Ask about my HCs

❌OC Requests (Usually no)

❄️ Read Before Asking

I'll delete asks I'm uncomfortable with

NO nsfw or suggestive, you’ll be blocked and reported as I am a young minor

Requests will open and close as needed, and I will let you know when they open again!

I will try to get to every request, but it may take it a bit since I’m a full time student n such!

Some asks I may take longer to respond to than others

‼️Disclaimers

Do not steal, trace, copy, or claim my art to be yours, certain things like designs for canon characters and stuff I’m fine with you taking inspiration from (!!ASK FIRST!!), or using with credit (a small note, I am completely fine with you using my designs as long as you credit me! If anything, I appreciate it very much that people like them enough to do so :3!)

Proshippers, homo/transphobes, mean or gross people DNI‼️ it’s also preferred that if you have NSFW/highly suggestive stuff/or fetish content on your account that you don’t follow me, as I tend to check the profiles of people who follow me and I don’t want to see that (I would also prefer my parents do not see that if they were to ever check my account LOL)

Please don't make highly suggestive or NSFW comments towards me, my oc’s, or characters, you’ll be blocked if you do so; I am relatively alright with very minor and safe suggestive stuff, but even then if it’s art related, please confirm if it’s alright with me. Very close friends get a slight pass with this as long as it’s in good fun and safe, but if pushed I will not tolerate it and will give you a warning.

I’m still learning how to use this website so please be polite and patient with me :’>

If you draw fanart of my OCs, AUs, or Headcanons, please tag me!! I absolutely love to see fanart and it makes my day! :DD!

‼️Important note: my blog will sometimes contain art that has blood, gore, violence, bright colors, etc. Most of these WILL be put under spoiler tags though, but a lot of the older ones are not, so please be careful! (A note, I don’t tend to draw stuff like that too often, so no need to worry about it too much!)‼️

⭐️ Extra information about me

• I am a young minor with diagnosed autism, adhd, and ocd, I also have slight social anxiety, so please, PLEASE be patient with me, as I can have trouble communicating, understanding things, or coming up with responses

• Never be afraid to approach me about anything, although I’m a bit nervous talking to new people, I adore making new friends, just please don’t be weird, if you make me outright uncomfortable I will most likely block you.

• For fanart and such, feel free to contact me about it if you need ideas, permissions, reference images, or need to know anything important!

• I’m a full time school student and can be relatively busy, I also have notifications off on all platforms, so I may be slow to respond if you dm me or try to contact me.

• I’m a huge nerd and absolutely love talking about my interests, but if I ever get too excited or overbearing, never be afraid to just tell me to take a chill pill or calm down, I can promise you I will not be angry! Communication is key with me since I can have issues understanding others, if I’m ever too much to handle, just say it! I’ll greatly appreciate it as it helps me to grow and be a better person ^^!

• I am currently obsessed with Phighting!, regretevator, lethal company, little nightmares, rainworld, and spiderman, but I also am super big into hollow knight, pokemon, Minecraft, Sky: COTL, and sort of warrior cats ig..?

Here’s the link to my Carrd!

(it also includes commission rules and such!)

[grollow]

Uh hi, hello there! Sorry to bother but you're the only person I can ask this since your username is named after the ship (that and I've seen your works around and seen you mentioned by countless artists/writers so to me, you're like a higher being in HK Community so by default, you have most answers)

So why's Grollow such a popular ship? I've seen like 10 fanarts of it passed by my dashboard every time I'm here. Can you tell me what's going on rn? Is an event going on with this ship? Was there a confirmation from Team Cherry these two had a thing? Is this HK people's way of coping while they wait for Silksong? All fanfic/arts of it is amazing, don't get me wrong but I've recently got into HK so I'm not sure if I like it yet nor even any ships at all in general besides canon plus that hc of Grimm and Radi being twins makes me confused on why Hollow would be with somebody who's sister tormented them for so long. Makes it so overwhelming, you know?

Sorry if this offends you in any way. I don't mean to do that. I just want to know what's been going on and why's it so popular is all. Again apologies for being rude if I am

Hi Anon!

Gotta admit, this is the first time someone’s ever called me a Higher Being in anything, hahaha. Especially since I’m not only not the origin of this ship (I got the username from my sweet friend @sundimus who let me have it) and I’m also relatively new to the fandom. I think I’m just very loudly outspoken. I don’t usually get into ship discourse, but this sounds like it’s coming from a place with good intentions, so I’ll reply to you with my genuine opinions!

So before I go into explaining why I like Grollow, I will preface with this answer: shipping is a highly subjective topic. In any fandom, bluntly. Sometimes people pick “I like these two because they have similar names” and sometimes people go “I like them because I think they’d be pretty together” etc. Shipping in every single fandom will always be based in large on people’s own personal headcanons and aesthetics. And for everyone who picks a ship not explicitly confirmed in canon, it’s for whatever reason they want, and for the most part I am very ‘ship and let ship’ while avoiding whatever I personally am not interested in.

(FTR, I also think this is an attitude most people should adopt. You don’t have to like what I like. I don’t have to like what you like. What you write or draw is absolutely none of my business. You like sparkle? Draw sparkle.)

Toward that end, I am not here to convince you to like Grollow, nor am I here to imply that disliking it is wrong. It is not a canon ship. There is nothing in canon to indicate that Grimm and Hollow have ever met. It’s not confirmed by Team Cherry, and I don’t think shipping is a ‘coping’ mechanism for waiting for Silksong. I think why people ship things vary anywhere from ‘they’d be cute’ to ‘I saw artwork I liked of them’ to ‘this particular fanfic’s dynamics made me love them.’ And that’s true for ANY non canon pairing! And all of them are valid reasons. Hell “I ship this because my friend does” is even valid. Shipping is such a subjective thing that people can and should do what makes them happy and stay in their own lane, really.

I’m a big fan of the old fandom term ‘YMMV’ (Your mileage may vary). There are some ships I really don’t like. There are some I straight up do not understand. And there are others, like Grollow, that I stand in the corner yelling from the rooftop about. As long as ship is tagged correctly, I am very “if you see something you don’t like but it was tagged, that’s on you. The blacklist exists for a reason.”

Sorry if this kinda sounds a little mean, I don’t intend it to. I just see a lot of people being shamed for liking pairings (And I have personally been shamed for liking Grollow – not by you, but there’s been a few anons I’ve ignored) and I don’t agree with, or support that. I want to make that clear.

So with all that out of the way, time to talk about my * favorites * ~

There are a LOT of reasons that I think Grimm and Hollow work. To start with the most superficial one: they are palette matches. Grimm’s color schemes are red and black, Hollow’s are pale blue and white. They complement each other very well. They also have similar movesets canonically. Ever seen the video from Fireb0rn of the mod where they’re fighting together in the Colosseum? Where their AI practically works together? It’s delightful. It’s undoubtedly unintentional by the developers, but it’s absolutely wonderful and gives me life.

From a lore reason, I will say that I have not, and will never, headcanoned Hollow as the type to blame Grimm for something that his sister (Bc I also subscribe to “they’re siblings your honor”) did. My personal headcanons aside for Hollow, blaming Grimm for the Radiance is something that seems wildly unfair – and since Hollow is a blorbo that is mostly a blank slate in canon, I say they’d never do that.

(I’d like to point out though – so many people ship them with moth OCs. The same argument could be made there. If they’d blame Grimm for Radi, why not her moths who are indirectly responsible for her never dying properly? The answer is because none of us want to believe Hollow is the type to hold a grudge over that against uninvolved people.)

Grimm is literally the antithesis to both the Radiance and to the Pale King in terms of what he stands for. They run from and fear death to varying degrees. Grimm embraces it. He welcomes it. From death he is reborn, and so instead of running from it, he runs towards it. He’s a Higher Being who directly involves himself with mortals instead of staying aloof. He uses a mortal vessel (just like the vessels were created to hold Radi, his own are created to hold him) but everything in canon suggests that, at the very least, this is an agreement, not forced. You CAN argue that he’s forcing Grimmchild into this ritual and that it’s bad – Brumm/the Banishment ending certainly implies that – but I’ve never subscribed to it because every other character’s dialogue disagrees with that. I’ve personally always took it to be ‘Grimmchild and Grimm 100% agree to this.’

In this regard: They are cinematic foils. Grimm, who dies to be reborn, a willing vessel for the Nightmare flame, who chooses this existence. Hollow, who cannot die despite trying, a ‘willing’ (if very heavily forced into it) vessel for the Radiance, who clearly does not want this existence and is doing it out of a sense of duty—to their father, to Hallownest, to whatever motivation you decide to chose for Hollow here.

Canon is very loosey-goosey in personalities. The beauty of environmental storytelling is that we can fill in a lot. And as the above: I’ve filled in that they are foils. That’s where my mind took it.

So how do these people who are veritable opposites meet, how can they become romantically attached?

I took one look at the Radiance and went ‘abusive.’ I have my own interpretations of her, but the easiest explanation without this becoming entirely about her is one of Grimm’s lines from my own fanfic: “Those with similar scars recognize them in others.” [1]

Abusers are people first and foremost. The Radiance, in my headcanons, is very abusive to everyone in her life. That includes Grimm. I do not see them as loving siblings, because her nature is very self-absorbed; she clearly, canonically, does not see other peoples emotions. Do I think she intended to hurt Grimm? Probably not. But I do believe that she was abusive, because someone who was willing to wipe out Hallownest to try and maintain control would not simply be that way overnight, and only at one specific enemy. People like that… they’re like that to everyone. It’s not an if they abuse you. It’s a when they do it.  

Starting to see where I’m going with this? I believe that the Radiance was cruel to Grimm – and that he’d see very similar traits to himself in Hollow.

I also believe that if you headcanon that Hollow can dream – before, after, during the imprisonment – there’s no way in hell they did not have Nightmares. The most common interpretation in fandom is after imprisonment with the belief that the seals would’ve kept Grimm out (a theory I subscribe to) but it’s clear that Hollow could dream when Radi was sealed within them. For this ship to work, most people say that they can continue to dream after. And nightmares would naturally bring them to Grimm’s realm. I personally subscribe to the belief that he would absolutely interfere to help them, because as I said: I believe he has similar scars, and he’d want to help.

A very common fandom interpretation is ‘Hollow is afraid of Grimm’ and I think that’s very valid. They probably would be at first. He’s a dream god. That’s frightening to them after what they’ve been through. For this ship to work, both of them have to be willing to work through that. Which circles to my next point of: this ship only ever works if its written with them becoming friends first. Friendship based on patience, understanding, and respect, as well as healing. Hollow straight out of the egg, in my opinion, ain’t crawlin’ into anyone’s bed. You’d be lucky if they even wanted to crawl into their own. Pretty sure they just want to sit and remain still until a new order comes. Poor traumatized thing. In every interpretation of this pairing that I’ve liked, Grimm has been working with Hollow to work through their pain, from a place of genuine understanding and empathy from what they’ve experienced. [2]

As for how this friendship becomes ship? The Author Is Demi, my friend, and I headcanon both of them to be as well. Any good romantic relationship should, in my opinion, have a very strong foundation based in friendship, in genuine fondness for one another. And it is COMPLETELY OKAY to leave their relationship here, if you’re ‘hey I support aroace’ or even just think that’s all that it needs to be. But me? I’ve always looked at Hollow as someone who loves too much, loves too deeply, pours their whole heart into something. It’s a hard heart, riddled with scars, from people who have mistreated it throughout their life, but their base nature is someone who does nothing halfway. You get everything or you get nothing.

So of course I headcanon them as a romantic, who wants someone to love and accept them unconditionally, who wants someone who sees their scars and rather than wanting to fix them, wants to complement them. Of course I headcanon them as someone who, below their façade of feeling nothing, wants to be complete, wants to belong, and wants to be good enough when all their life, they’ve been told that what they are is wrong, isn’t okay, isn’t right. And Grimm, who is old enough to understand that and may even have similar history depending on how he’s written, is perfectly suited to do all of those things. To be that person. Because, personally? I believe he wants all the same things. Someone to accept him as he is. Someone who is not afraid of death. Someone who isn’t intimidated by the Ritual. Someone who will stay.

In short: They’re cute, your honor.

At the end of the day, it’s all about what you think fits with the characters. Some people write them as never getting along. Some people write them as just friends. Some people write them as straight enemies. Since they never meet in canon, it’s an open sandbox. This is the castle I’m choosing to build. You can, and should, build whatever one you like.

Obligatory: queer platonic relationships are ALSO valid, if you wanna take that spin on it. My q key is being a jerk to me so I was avoiding that word in this massive reply dskdksgj but it's still very valid

But if my soap box has brought you onto team Grollow, or at least opened your mind to the possibility, I’d be happy to recommend some of my favorite fics. If it hasn’t, I hope I’ve at least clarified things for you, anon. Thanks for your question!

[1] White and Gray, chapter 33: The Last Laugh is Mine

[2] Yes, I know, my most popular Grollow fic doesn’t wildly play with this. Shades of Black does. Living Dead was more ‘for fun,’ less ‘I feel the need to explain this ship.’

[edwardslostalchemy]

My Hero Academia. Shinkami(if you ship it). Dabi. (For the ask meme. You don't have to so all three if you don't want to).

(I want to do all three, though, so thank you!!)

001 | BNHA

Favorite character: Shouto Todoroki!!! But he is tied with Izuku Midoriya!!!

Least Favorite character: Oof um, a tie between endeav*r, m*neta, that yoshi guy, the one with the wind and is obnoxious and loud and made my baby fail his test, fuck that guy. 

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): TodoDeku, KiriBaku, Iichako, Toshinko, EraserMic

Character I find most attractive: OOF Hawks. He has no business being that handsome. 

Character I would marry: Eraserhead!!! I already married him!!! He’s my husband!!!!

Character I would be best friends with: Izuku or Ochako, probably. We have the same bubbly, cheery energy.

a random thought: I always think about how All Might eats and how he is STILL ALIVE after having his respiratory system destroyed and losing his whole stomach. Does he have an oxygen mask? A ventilator? Does he do tube feeding??? total parenteral/IV?? How is this man still alive?? Does OFA keep him alive? If so, when he loses OFA, does he gradually start to waste away?? What is the logic behind this?? Please someone answer me, I am losing my MIND.

An unpopular opinion: Hero society is pretty fucked up and the government should get new laws to protect the quirkless and punish people for quirkless discrimination (I’m looking at you, Katsuki, you fucking gremlin).

My Canon OTP: TodoDeku is canon to me bc I have control of the series, I nerfed Horikoshi in the face and yeeted him out the window son now I call the Shots. 

My Non-canon OTP: ToshInko!!!!! They!!!! Are married!!!!

Most Badass Character: Gotta give it to Eraserhead. That guy took on like 100 villains at a time. His entire character screams cat person who doesn’t want to be here, but he is probably the embodiment of what it means to be a hero besides All Might and Izuku. Selfless, doesn’t need to announce what he’s gonna do and doesn’t seek attention. He just does the right thing because it’s what he believes. 

Most Epic Villain: OOF I love Hero Killer: Stain. I know we’ve gotten our segment of villains and hooray Shiggy got his backstory, and yeah we have AFO, but AFO is a bitch who can kiss my ass. I love HKS. He’s twisted, but wants to correct society. I gotta respect his ideals. 

Pairing I am not a fan of: todo//–//momo, get that away from me. I’m also losing interest in izu//–//ocha. 

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): Um, just the creation of M*neta is screw up enough, please delete him from existence. 

Favourite Friendship: DekuSquad!!!! Izuku, Tenya, Ochako, Shouto, and Tsu

Character I most identify with: Shouto!!! [Warning: I’m going to talk about my experience and trauma!!!] I don’t know how this happened…my parents aren’t abusive, but I’ve gone through a lot of shit like sexual assault (which I’ve been told can be labeled as abuse), but not from my parents. Also sexual harassment. So I have a lot of trauma and flashbacks. And I can relate to Shouto’s resentment to his abuser. Even after years of therapy and even confronting the person that hurt me, I still resent him and have murder fantasies. This whole thing about Endeav*r getting a redemption arc sounds nice and all and whatever, but even if he does get to change, he’s still going to be the same person or it’s going to be a part of his character. I’ve been away from the person that hurt me and he’s apologized and said he’d make it up to me and support me, but he’s still an ass and has had similar behaviors…just not what he did to me with others. It’s complicated to explain, but I just really relate to Shouto a lot. 

Character I wish I could be: Momo. She’s perfect. 

002 | ShinKami

When I started shipping them: After reading the chapter where they team up for the joint training!!!

My thoughts: I think it’s a very cute ship and can balance each other out. Sunshine character x Stoiic/grouchy character is my weakness.

What makes me happy about them: Denki is adorable and I think he’d just be that ray of sunshine for Hitoshi. They’ve very different characters, but that’s not a bad thing at all. They really balance each other out. 

What makes me sad about them: I can’t think of anything sad about them?? I guess just wanting more interactions between them would be great!!!

Things done in fanfic that annoys me: I haven’t read fanfics for them, sorry hhhhh

Things I look for in fanfic: Denki getting to be himself and not feel self-conscious or anything while Hitoshi is also himself and they get to bond over things like their quirks being unconventional even though they’re powerful.

My wishlist: MORE INTERACTIONS, @HORIKOSHI RELEASE THE BEES

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Ummm, I like Denki with Mina and also Jirou and Sero. Hitoshi, I like him with Mei, too. 

My happily ever after for them: A badass crime fighting hero duo that fight villains. Hitoshi punches a villain in the face, Denki shocks them. Hitoshi carries Denki. The sunset is beautiful. They get married. 

003 | Dabi

How I feel about this character: I really like him!!!! He’s probably my favorite villain besides Stain. 

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: Hawks…that’s it. 

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: I like his interactions with Toga, Twice, and Shigaraki. Also!!! Give us that backstory, @Horikoshi!!!! REL EASE THE BE E S. 

My unpopular opinion about this character: I don’t have one right now hhh

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: Horikoshi confirming he’s Touya. 

Favorite friendship for this character: Dabi and Twice, but he doesn’t really stick around with people enough to make friends with them so uhhhh. 

My crossover ship: Crossover ship as in fandom crossover? Umm, Dabi and Tikki Mik from D.Gray-Man would be interesting. He and Tikki feel like the same character to me, though lmfao. 

[vespertine-legacy]

Fictober 2019 Day 17 (a day late)

Prompt #30. “I’m with you, you know that.”

Fandom: Star Wars Legends: Knights of the Old Republic (Video Game)

Rating: General

Warnings: none?

Characters: Female (Cognizant) Revan, Bastila Shan

Tags: angst and fluff (what else do you expect from me with these two?)

Neither Bastila nor Revan wants to participate in any of the pomp or ceremony the Jedi Order arranges days after the battle is over, after troops have been gathered and accounted for on the surface of Lehon. Revan doesn’t want to be the Order’s new “prodigal knight” poster child, and Bastila doesn’t want her Battle Meditation lauded when it was used for both sides. None of the Ebon Hawk’s crew likes the spotlight and the attention, except maybe HK-47. They go where they are told, stand, wave, smile, shake hands. But Revan stays close to Bastila, keeps a hand at the small of her back or an arm draped over her shoulders if she feels Bastila’s anxiety creeping up - which is often. Revan is not afraid to say We only completed our mission because we had each other when a young soldier asks how things really went down on the Star Forge - and inwardly she enjoys watching the veins pulsing out on the foreheads of the Masters who overhear. 

When Revan feels Bastila’s anxiety through their bond closing light a fist tight around her heart, she steers conversation with Master Vandar toward Juhani, who has been standing awkwardly on the edge of the small group of soldiers and Jedi. With the group sufficiently distracted, Revan wrapped Bastila’s hand in her own and led her away from the clearing at the base of the temple where the Republic had set up the festivities. They weave past Republic tents and ships, avoiding as many of the soldiers as possible, and through a winding rocky path. It isn’t until their feet hit the wet sand of the beach that Revan feels Bastila’s panic start to reside.

 In the moonlight, Bastila’s skin has a silvery glow and Revan watches as she sits in the sand with a huff. The Bastila Revan met so long ago would never have willingly sat in damp sand, especially in dress robes the Council had forced her to wear. Revan eases down beside Bastila and gently rests her wrist on her knee with her hand extended, palm up, between them, open but without expectation. She smiles when Bastila’s hand slides back into her own.

 After a few moments of sitting in relative silence, surrounded by the sound of waves rolling lazily against the beach and nighttime wildlife moving in the distance, Revan speaks. “What do you need, Bas? How can I help you?”

 Bastila stares out over the water before answering, her eyes losing their color in the moonlight. “Just this. Mission actually gave me some really good advice. She told me that I can’t give you any more than myself, but I ought to give you at least that.”

 Revan wants to ask about Bastila having talked with Mission before her, but she bites her tongue and waits for Bastila to continue.

 “I’m not ready for you to hear it all. I don’t know when I will be. But I am ashamed of how easy it was for him to break me. I need you to know that I love you, but I willingly picked him over you, over the Jedi, over the Republic. He… unlocked something in me. I don’t know how you can trust me anymore.”

 Revan gives Bastila’s hand a soft squeeze. “Bastila, you have darkness in you. You embraced it. So what? You walked back from it. I was Darth Revan, Lord of the Sith. I walked away from that.”

 “Because Malak destroyed your ship and I ran you through with a lightsaber.” Bastila sneered.

 Revan rolled her eyes. “Both true. But I kept walking away from it, and from the Jedi every day since then. I”ve just been walking after you, Bastila. I’m with you, you have to know that by now.”

 “Revan, I just told you that I betrayed you.” When Bastila turns to look at Revan, she is blinking back both confusion and tears.

 “I know that, Bastila. I told you already that I forgive you. It’s never going to be easy, and we’re going to have to actually talk about things, but Bastila, I’m with you.”

(Characters belong to EA/BioWare/the Star Wars folks and all that jazz, though this is one of my many personal Revans. Wasn’t sure if I should say this was day 17 or 18 for me, since I missed posting yesterday. I started writing this yesterday but it wasn’t going the way I wanted it to; did some editing today and then said fuck it whatever and decided to go ahead and post it today.)