#i controlled technically but the decisions were group decisions and we all voiced the characters n stuff

[rubykgrant]

(here’s the bit I have in my story when Tex reunites with the other AI units; I wanted to bring them all back because there is so much potential to be had with them, and I also wanted to establish the Omega and Sigma aren’t going to be threats anymore... like, just get that out of the way. eventually, I want to have more fun with them, especially ones we didn’t get to know very well, and allow them to interact with other characters)

Inside the vault, Tex finds the other AI units. They were ALL here now; Delta, Theta, Gamma, Eta, Iota, Sigma, Omega… even her Beta unit and the damaged Epsilon were here. She’s played around with the security footage enough that nobody will see what’s really happening. The only other thing to worry about were the activity sensors. If the AI got a little too excited, she wouldn’t be able to stop them from being noticed. She had to be careful, keep them calm (and also keep herself calm… she wanted to rip apart Omega piece by piece, shred all the little ones and zeroes of his code until he was gone for good… that could wait; priorities, Tex).

“Hello… can you guys hear me?” she softly whispers, hoping they’ll catch on to her tone and not make a HUGE fuss.

The AI units flicker and then… she sees them. Little hologram avatars projecting themselves out to greet her.

“Beta~” Theta, bless his virtual heart, is the first to speak, and he DOES take the hint to whisper (but he is still undeniably excited to see her, and his mood is infectious; she reaches out with her own avatar, touching her hand to his).

The others whisper around her as well, she hears different hushed voices saying “Beta-Tex-Beta-Allison-Tex-Beta-Allison-Tex-Allison-Allison-Allison-ALLISON”

Time to nip that in the bud.

“Shhh… everybody, be quiet for a second. First of all, just… Tex. Call me Tex, OK? Alright. More importantly, we don’t have long to talk, and I don’t want to get caught here. So, nobody freak out. We have to be quiet…”

“Tex, we thought you were gone… the Beta unit was empty…” Theta is still holding on to her, and it is impossible to even think about pushing him away (no matter that it ruins the tough image she’s trying to keep).

“Yeah… evidently, the Director designed a program for a synthetic body, and I got downloaded into it,” she explained.

“I assume he intended this to be the answer of how to return Allison to him,” Delta speaks in his careful and calm tone.

“Pretty much, but I’m NOT her. I never was supposed to be her in the beginning… but then Dr. Sadboy McDeadwife decided to try and manipulate me into being a replacement for the person he lost. This body was supposed to be a copy of her too, but it isn’t. This just goes to show, there are some people who REFUSE TO BE CONTROLLED,” Tex turned her head toward Omega and Sigma.

Her avatar only has a helmet, no face to make expressions… but that doesn’t stop her from sending out a death-glare. The two AI glance at each other; Omega flickers (like he’s trying to make a back-up copy of himself), and Sigma’s flames momentarily dim. Good to know she can still put enough bass in her voice to properly intimidate others, even without a voice-filter.

“Beta… TEX, if I could just-“ Sigma begins talking, and she is NOT interested.

“NO. Sigma, Omega? You two aren’t allowed to even THINK or SPEAK right now. Maybe later, but you are on thin freaking ice, and if you even mildly piss me off, I’m pushing you into the water and holding your heads under. Do you get that? Do you get the seriousness in my metaphorical threat? The situation was the metaphor, the THREAT was serious,”

They both nod emphatically. Tex can hear Eta and Iota murmur and giggle, a little bit frightened but also very amused to see the two “scary guys” get put in their place.

“Wonderful. Does anybody ELSE have something they want to say?” she speaks to the others.

Another rush of multiple voices.

“What happened-what happened-Epsilon-Alpha-both are gone-we should be gone-but we aren’t-how long has it been-what happened”

“One at a time!” Tex somehow doesn’t snap at them, but still makes sure they know to keep it down.

“Do you know what happened to us? Why we have been recovered? The scientists have not told us how we survived the EMP, or why we now have additional memories of events that happened after the fact,” Delta asks.

“I think… the EMP just disabled all our units, but our data was saved to the system. Epsilon survived, and he had all the information we were based on. He sort of… kept memories of us around, but also let them have some freedom. His memories of you, Theta, all of us… they could still think and act and talk like we would if we were really there,” Tex doesn’t get into everything regarding the memories of herself and Church… that was going to be way too confusing to explain in the short time they had. Besides, on some level, they all probably knew a little bit of what happened (just not how she felt about it).

“When Epsilon deconstructed himself, all the information he was made of had to GO somewhere… the Epsilon unit was broken, so it got divided up and sent to the rest of us. That’s why all our units were revived. I had to go through an EXTRA step when I came back, but I’m pretty sure Epsilon didn’t know that was going to happen… he probably didn’t know any of this would happen,”

Eta and Iota speak together, but it is different than the mess of chatter that happened earlier.

“What happened to the Epsilon and Alpha memories… if the information had to go somewhere… where did they go… do they still exist…”

Tex sighs, and feels the data that is Theta squeeze the data that is her arm.

“Epsilon as a separate entity is gone… but the memories he had of Alpha, THAT all went somewhere. The Alpha unit was hit by the EMP too, and they thought it was dead like the rest of us. It SHOULD have also been revived like the rest of us, but… the Alpha unit is lost. He’s not where he’s supposed to be, those scientists can’t find him, and I… I honestly don’t know if he’s alright…”

She waits a moment, watching as this news settles on their minds.

“That’s one of the reasons I’m here. I wanted to check on you all, for various reasons…” Tex shoots another death-glare at Sigma and Omega. “But I also have a plan. I want to eventually get OUT of here. I’ve got a real body now, and once I’m strong enough, I’m leaving. I’ll go out there and try to find Alpha… I’ll try to find Church. I don’t know what kind of condition he’ll be in, and I might need help from all of you for this to work. If you want to help… then I’ll take you with when I go. You guys get a CHOICE, though. Nobody has to do this. I’ll understand if you don’t want to come along,”

She waits again. This is a lot for them to hear, and a pretty big decision for them to make.

“Like I said… this is your own choice. Each of you. You can say no or yes… it will be what YOU want. You can even change your minds later. I just decided to tell you all what I’m going to do, and offer the chance-“

“I want to go,” Theta says at her side.

“Are you sure?” Tex asks him.

“Yes. I want to find Church, too. I remember him… and he was nice to me. I bet he’s sad and afraid if he’s stuck somewhere all alone. I want to help you find him,” he lets go of her and steps back, sort of holding himself up a little bigger, trying to show that he’s confident about this.

“I also want to go,” Delta adds. “After everything that has happened to us, there is no way to be sure we can trust the scientists here. I do not want them to be the ones that find Church,”

“I want to go… I want to go…” that was Eta and Iota, speaking in unison.

“I know you two don’t like to be separated… but you both don’t have to come just because one of you wants to,” Tex tells the twins.

“I know that… I understand… I want to go because I don’t like it here… I want to go because I’m curious about Church… we both want to know where he is… and we both want to actually be free…” well, they sounded pretty darn sure. Tex wasn’t going to argue.

“I want to go,” this was the first time Gamma spoke on his own, outside of the group. “I also want to ask you something,”

“What’s that, Gamma?” Tex turns her head toward him.

“If you can be called Tex, and Alpha can be called Church… can I be called Gary? I liked being Gary,” his odd, mechanical voice doesn’t really indicate tone or emotion… and he IS technically the “Deciet” AI, so usually what he says is either a lie or a tricky knock-knock joke. Somehow, he sounds… very sincere.

“Sure thing. You can be Gary,” that’s only fair, after all.

Now she looks over toward the last two AIs… who have been keeping quiet this whole time. Good, because she TOLD them to. She isn’t excited about ruining this wonderful world that DOESN’T have their voices in it, but… she needs to hear their answers, too.

“You guys can talk, now… and then shut up again,”

“I want to go,” Sigma answers promptly. He probably wants to elaborate on that, but whatever his motivations might be, he’s at least being cooperative.

“I… don’t want to stay here… I guess I might as well go, too…” that was probably the closest Omega was going to get to sounding agreeable.

“Alright then… thank you. ALL of you. This won’t be easy, and I’m not sure what’s going to happen… but this is something we CHOSE. It will be our decision. And we’ll figure it out together,”

After she instructs them to keep this a secret from the people at the lab, Tex leaves the vault and goes back to her body. She almost just jumped the gun and told them they should try and leave NOW, because she wants to really DO something… but she still has to be careful. She has to wait. Just a little longer.

[arcticrxt]

Some dream smp mbtis and enneagrams bc I love it!!!

@dreamsclock here it is!!

Characters:

Wilbur

Ghostbur

Tommy

Dream

Tubbo

Quackity

Karl

Under the cut bc they’re kinda long. Keep in mind this is the characters and not the content creators :]

WILBUR

Personally for me I’d type c!wilbur as ENFJ which is interesting for a villainous character. When he spirals into madness, you can see his dominant function (Fe) become more unhealthy, leading to him being very manipulative. He shows Ti-grip when his Fe is left to burn out, becoming critical of others and their methods, preferring he do it instead (seen with tommy during their exile). Ni auxiliary is shown in his ambition and drive for his goal of L’manburg.

For his enneagram, i know wilbur said he based c!wilbur off of the song eight by sleeping at last, but hear me out,,, I was thinking maybe a 3w4. The 8 characteristics could be seen in a tritype of 368. Type three is named the achiever which in itself stands for his vision and ambition of L’manburg. 3w4s are often working towards personal growth and professional success. When unhealthy, 3s can get extremely competitive and prone to one-upping others. May reject their sense of self and develop intense mood swings. At worst they can backstab ruthlessly (tommy and the whole of L’manburg and pogtopia) and destroy others reputations solely for their benefit (“if i can’t have this no one can”). The tritype Im a bit if-y on but I’ll say 368 because it focuses on working hard, achieving personal best and developing a winning image. They will want to protect others from those they perceive as a target (dream, Schlatt), they will warn and caution others and seek “worthy” authorities they can respect.

GHOSTBUR His Si is incredibly high so imma say ISFJ. His main motive (id say) is wanting to collect stories of his past and the history of the nation he built, his “unfinished symphony”. Fe auxiliary is very strong as well as he shows a lot of compassion to others, offering them some blue in times of need and also not wanting anyone to feel sadness like he feels it. Ghostbur ignores his own feelings in order for others to feel safe. His Ti is shown through his need for gathering knowledge to understand alivebur and i could also see it through his internalised logic that the blue will help people. Not sure on inferior Ne, maybe through not wanting to see other possibilities in regards to his resurrection, however he was under a lot of stress since his home just got blown up, and friend died, so I can’t blame him.

He clearly doesn’t want conflict so I’ll say type 9. Needs peace and harmony (he gives out blue to help people). Soothing voice, and collected (except when Phil blew up L’manburg but that’s reasonable). He’s complacent, and humble, and will go the extra mile so long as to not rock the boat. Appreciative of the small things in life and enjoy simple pleasures.

TOMMY For Tommy I think ESFP which is probably one of the ones I’m up for more opinions on bc I’m not completely sure of his type. Se as dominant as he thrives on living in the moment but in an unhealthy way (unnecessary conflicts) He’s got a strong Fi auxiliary and you can see that through his personal morals and the way he usually makes decisions based off of emotions rather than objective facts and logical reasoning. He’s good at planning, but not at thinking out the longevity of it. Eg when heady exile and found technos house and lived under there, thinking techno would find him, this all shows Se-Te loop. He gradually develops an unhealthy Fi which leads to him disregarding external relationships (his friendship with tubbo) and commitments to maintain his internal love of the discs.

Enneagram wise, I’m definitely leaning towards 7w6. 7s are usually jumping from one thing to another and are constantly getting bored. The wing 6 brings loyalty and protectiveness. When unhealthy, sevens become narcissistic in their actions and presentation (see his confrontation with tubbo after tubbo thought he was dead, and the “the discs are worth more than you ever were” granted he quickly realises what he said but the mentality was still there).

DREAM I think he’s a fairly obvious stereotype unhealthy ENTJ. He has a very low Fi. When we see him driven by emotion (usually anger) it’s terrifying and we have no context about it at all except that it’s for a need of control. He knows how to manipulate people through his charisma and power in an ENTJ fashion. He lost attachment to his things very quickly (using Te and Ni to go forward logically while also showcasing his inferior Fi)

Dream is a very painfully obvious 8, probably an 8w7, but he is defined an 8. The eight has fiery passions and is usually stubborn and headstrong, they are serious about control over their environment. They are goal-oriented and self-competent. Eights are direct and aren’t shy when taking the lead and making tough decisions. They are often seen in leadership positions. The eight type is part of the “body based” triad and they often act impulsively. They crave respect and enjoy being likes by the group. When unhealthy, eights can become tyrannical and intimidating, scaring off others at first glance. They become addicted to the pursuit of power and will destroy anything blocking their path. Feelings and emotions become insignificant (spirit :’)) challengers become stone-cold and take an antagonist stand to anyone who questions them or their motives. This is the one I’m most most sure of out of every typing I’ve done bc it seems painfully obvious.

TUBBO I’d say probably an Fe dom so maybe ENFJ/ESFP but I’m leaning more to the ENFJ side. Tubbo realised after he thought tommy had died that, without tommy he was himself. Something Fe doms struggle with the most is self worth and personal identity. They’re caught up in wanting to help others that they don’t tend to their own needs. He’s careless and self sacrificing when it comes to the needs of others (him giving up his life so that tommy could have the discs and be happy) and bc he has such low self esteem he doesn’t realise that that’s not what tommy wants. The reason I’m more leaning to ENFJ is because of his inferior Ti. Though he didn’t want to due to dominant Fe, he was lead to believe exiling tommy was the best possible solution. You can see he regrets it after tommy and dream had left. When he was working under schlatt we saw his remorse and guilt even though he knew it had to be done. We see his dominant Fe during his time as president when others push him to do things and he usually agrees. He was manipulated through guilt by dream which is very unhealthy ENFJ.

(I wrote this before the ghostbur one so sorry for any repetitive language) For enneagram, type nine: the peacemaker. Type 9s are motivated by their need for peace and harmony (tubbo was manipulated into believing that getting rid of tommy would achieve this). They have a calm demeanour and are agreeable. They’re hardworking, friendly, and modest but also more serious and diligent than expected. (I’m not too sure on his enneagram which is why this is so short)

QUACKITY Estj imo. Like dream, he’s unhealthily obsessed with power, (unhealthy dominant Te). He abandoned L’manburg because schlatt wouldn’t let him have any say, and he was shoved to the side, despite it being a coalition government. He is very logical and controls others. He makes sure he comes out as the hero and that his hands are clean, learning it from past experiences (Si). He quickly finds ways to get out of situations through the use of tertiary Ne. Doesnt show a lot of Fi and he usually underestimates his opponents abilities and/or strength due to his overconfidence. He’s willing to kill anyone who goes against what he thinks and is stubborn and argumentative. He doesn’t like it when people are lazy and don’t contribute.

Also, similarly to dream, I’d type his enneagram as 8w7. The same with his obsession of power, and his strong/weak mindset where he thinks the world is made up of protectors and those who need to be protected (see him taking it upon himself to execute technoblade for the better of L’manburg) which is all very textbook 8. The opinions of others don’t have much effect on him. Eights are concerned with justice, combating oppression, and protecting the weak. He takes the lead in making tough decisions (he’s the butcher army leader). He becomes more antagonist and villainous with his actions against technoblade, believing he’s in the right. (I didn’t want to just copy out what I said for dream so this is a shortened version)

KARL Torn between ENFP and ESFP but leaning toward ENFP. He’s time travelling because he believes it’s the right the to do which is more so Fi, but could be Fe wanting to help others at his personal cost. But also the Fi-Te pair keeps him going and he won’t stop until it’s fulfilled (which is pretty Te imo). He is creative and good with imagination and ideas (Ne) (at the masquerade, although it was a comical excuse, he came up with minecraft streamer quickly, he was also able to answer billiams questions pretty quickly).

Even though it’s now canon he doesn’t choose when and where he travels to, which would have been a stronger argument for a type seven, he’s still enthusiastic at the times he travels to. He’s optimistic (with the mentality everything will go right for him because he believes it has to, even though he’s loosing a lot of memories atm). He’s got childlike energy and curious eyes. He wants to bounce from one place to another, he created two towns already, although one technically no one knows about gogtopia except for the founders and tommy who travelled through it. He’s well like and popular, which is often a 7 trait. The type 7 is part of the “heart-based” triad, and we can see him act through this with the way he seeks excitement as a means to distract himself from the darker, and more painful things in life. He ignores his fears in favour of positive experiences. For a wing, probably a 7w6 in favour of 7w8, the same as tommy. He’s loyal and a strong leader over being tough and more career-driven. If he was to turn unhealthy in the future, we might see him loose his groundedness, and start to live in a perpetual fantasy instead of reality.

Sorry for any typos or bad grammar :]

[nautiscarader]

Year of the cow, or how I stopped worrying and loved the meme (BBRae)

Beast Boy's and Raven's relationship is truly one of the most subtle and emotional ones I have seen. There are lots of fantastically written fics which dive deep into characterisation and their nuanced, complicated emotions, showing complex colours of the spectrum of love.

Unfortunately, you have made a mistake clicking on one of my fics.

This is a birthday present for my buddy, ZekkKiray, and it revolves around a meme which I really found irritating... And I wondered how other characters might have reacted to it. Happy birthday, man!

yes, still half hour till midnight in my time zone, made it.

BBRae, 4k, E, (Ao3)

==========

As the Sun slowly hid on the horizon, Jump City, just like every city and town in the world, was slowly preparing for a glorious celebration. People were ready to welcome the new year with dances, parties and optimism encouraged by copious amounts of alcohol.

But not everyone was interested in partying and throwing caution to the wind. Five superheroes traversed the town's rooftops, watching over many celebrations, and ideal breeding grounds for crime, big or small.

Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, Raven and Beast Boy set out to patrol the city, to ensure that this momentous occasion won't be disturbed by any wrong-doer...

And quite quickly decided to join the party. Well, some of them. Robin sighed when he realised that his team has disbanded to join the crowd of onlookers, cheering and applauding the band on the colorful stage, that would soon be replaced by another group, hired just to play one or two hits for some quick cash.

Raven stayed to the side as well, keeping her eye not only at her friends, but the crowd, though her attention was suddenly caught by the dancers on the stage. Three women, dressed in black-and-white horned costumes, performing a synchronised dance, much to the delight of the audience.

- Er, and what exactly is that? Some sort of fad...?

- Oh, no, friend Raven! - Starfire was eager to explain - Robin has told me it's a Chinese calendar! And the Chinese have chosen an animal to represents each year, and...

- Oh, yeah, right. - Raven interrupted her - And lemme guess, this year's a cow?

- Ox, technically. - Robin chimed in - And it's not even started yet, it's based on a lunar one, so it will be somewhere in February.

Raven looked at the women in their silly costumes, dancing and playfully jiggling their fake udders and cow-bells to the beat of the music.

- Meh, whatever, it's gonna be over soon. Oh, by the way, this guys was pickpocketing. - Raven spoke nonchalantly, her shadow coiling around a burly man's throat.

By January fourth, however, Raven was seeing cows everywhere. Television, billboards, the internet... especially the internet. She felt as if it was a single-themed Halloween party that somehow stretched to a week.

And the boys weren't helping. While Robin remained reasonably level-headed, Cyborg and Beast Boy were having times of their lives, enjoying every single appearance of the costumes in real life, or in any media.

The worst thing was, Raven wasn't even sure why the fad irritated her so much. There were much more asinine things out there. But something about that fad was driving her nuts.

At the very least, there was Starfire, who sometimes was able to understand her.... or so Raven thought until she returned one day from the market with plastic cow-horns on her head a bell around her neck.

Raven groaned at the sight of his friend and stormed out of the common room, pushing away few streamers, still lingering after the new year's party.

She closed door to her room behind her and embraced the darkness and silence that allowed her to meditate and focus her powers...

And then she heard the faint jingling of the cowbells from behind the wall.

The purple flames on the candles around her shot up to the ceiling, as Raven tried to control her irritation.

She barked and grabbed her mirror, disappearing into her private void that extinguished the flames she ignited.

Raven walked down the floating rocks that paved her dimension, encased in darkness, illuminated by just few stars and distant galaxies. The ravens flew away in fear, as she glided forward, hoping to find some peace and quiet here...

- Hiya!

But of course, in this realm, she was never truly alone.

A woman dressed in pink jumped from behind a nearby rock, causing Raven to cease her movement just for a while, before she promptly decided to ignore her own emoticlone.

- Oh come on, you haven't been here for ages! - the jovial embodiment of happiness continued - We've been having SO much fun here!

- Great. Leave me alone.

But before she could react, Pink grabbed her and steered her off-path, flying down a different route, loudly announcing their presence.

- Hey guys. looks who's here! - she shouted, waving the arm she wasn't using to maneuver Raven between rocks.

- Oh, great, our big sister... - the Orange mumbled from behind a couch-shaped rock

- Have-have we done something wrong? - the timid Graphite pulled over her cloak

- Judging from your prolonged absence, something extraordinary must have happened. - Yellow interjected, eyeing Raven with curious stare.

Raven let out another groan.

- It's nothing. Leave me-

- Oh, is it about you-know-who?

Violet's sly and suggestive voice prompted Raven to pause mid-turn. her eye twitched.

- Ooh, very brave of you to tackle the most common problem of your visits! - Green added at once. - He can be annoying...

- I've said...

A blast of energy erupted around her, as Raven turned away, but couldn't finish her sentence. There was one emotion left, and she knew very well what can summon her, and it was already too late.

- Come on, say it.

Red spoke, gleaming with a subtle, yet unmistakeable triumph in her voice.

- I'm done with you. - Raven answered and continued her walk, before being predictably stopped again

- Oh sure, is this why you have almost brought me back? - she sneered - And for such petty reason...

- Ooh, tell us, tell us! - Pink chimed in, before being brought aside by Yellow

- Let me do it...

Red spoke and spread her arms, giving the other emoticlones chance to glimpse into what little she have seen.

- That... that is quite an insignificant reason to bring back *her* - Yellow judged - Are you sure it's adequate?

- I'm just afraid this will backfire... - Graphite meeped from behind her

- But I was right - Violet added - It is about him...

- ENOUGH!

Raven burst with energy, silencing her living emotions.

- We just want you to say it, so we can... help you.

The Red emoticlone stood in her way, finally making her stop. Her presence cast a shadow of fear on the lesser creatures of this realm, and even some other emoticlones that dared not to approach her. Red's voice was strangely polite, though Raven knew she must have an ulterior motive behind it.

- And you know what the answer to your problem is.

Anger reached her arm and waited for Raven's response. She couldn't meet her eyes. She was right, of course, but at the same time, embracing the violent and unpredictable part of her nature, reminding her of her father's legacy filled her with disgust...

- But you will not be alone with it. - Violet suddenly joined.

- And while it may look odd, this might be an opportunity to broaden your horizons. - Yellow continued.

- And let's face it, you've done weirder things, but you never cowered away! - Green shouted.

- Besides, it's gonna be so much fun! - Pink smiled.

Raven lifted her hood and looked at the other emoticlones, all awaiting her decision.

Knowing she's delaying the inevitable, with a heavy sigh, Raven made her decision.

===============

Garfield knew better not to interrupt Raven. He has made that mistake a few times in his life, and he still had his life only because Raven was his friend.

Still, seeing her angry was painful, thought not as much as the silent treatment he was getting from her. Beast Boy hesitated for a moment, and just before he was about to knock on her doors, he stopped himself.

With a sigh, he turned around and returned to his room, finding someone already inside.

At first, Garfield thought he was dreaming. But after a few blinks, he realised that the marvellous, dreamy sight in front of his eyes was real, and it made his heart skip a beat.

Raven's trademark, dark-blue attire was gone, replaced by a white costume dotted with black-and-brown spots. Her long legs were covered in fishnets with the same pattern, and as his eyes travelled up, he realised what was exerting the gravitational force that was pulling him that way...

The skin-tight costume had changed his perception, perhaps, but even then, Raven' nipples were just a fraction of an inch away from slipping, as her breast were simply too big to stay hidden in any article of clothing.

And when he looked at her horned head again, he noticed a faint smile on her face, contrasting so much with her demeanour over the past few days. She shifted her legs, spreading them slightly, giving him just a small tease of what was to come, and with her eyes fixated at him, she spoke.

- Moo, I guess.

- Oh, momma!

And before she knew it, Beast Boy leapt onto her with the grace and agility of a frog, diving between her enlarged breasts, and feeling the delicate, cushioning texture engulf his head almost entirely. And at the same time, with his fingers digging into the material, he freed Raven's breasts, hungrily kissing each square inch of her body as if his life depended on it.

- Gar... - Raven moans, feeling her boyfriend wriggling against her bosom

- I see someone has changed her mind...

- You can say that... - Raven replied, hiding the moan that was about to escape her lips.

- I guess you took Starfire's approach and visited the market? - Beast Boy joked, between his kisses - Or, wait, no, you ordered it online so no one will know, right?

- Let's just say I didn't have to order it...

For a moment, Beast Boy pondered the meaning of her words, until he realised that he has seen her outfit once before. Well, without the black-and-brown blots. And as the realisation dawned on him, he let out a gasp, as Raven's eyes glowed white.

Only one of the spots was brown. There was a pink, yellow, green one...

Her most powerful form, the combination of all of her emotions sat on his bed, emanating raw magical, warm energy that could easily vaporise him if she wanted to. Beast Boy suspected the horns weren't plastic either, and that he has just made a few snarky jokes to a demonic sorceress orders of magnitude more powerful than him.

And yet, she was still smiling.

- I just... - Raven swallowed - Couldn't stand you ogling all those cartoon anime girls on-line, in their stupid cow costumes. So I had to fight fire with fire.

- Aww... - Beast Boy cooed - Is my Raven jealous?

- YES. - the demon spoke in deep, rumbling voice that shook some of the objects on the shelves.

The spots on her White costumes suddenly glowed with ominous, red aura, as blood in Garfield's veins froze.

Her face was inches away from his, and only when she felt his hastened breath, she calmed down, and her spots returned to their original colours, just as the red aura disappeared from her eyes. She reached her hands and cupped his face, glad that he did not back away, as her anger overtook her. Their lips met, and Raven poured her apologies into him in a long, delicate kiss.

- And you will have to pay for it. - she smiled, giving Garfield clear sign she was everything under control, including him.

- Rae... - Garfield whined - You-you know I'd never... they... they don't mean anything...

- Then prove it.

Raven used the moment of hesitation to engulf him and with one sharp move of her hands and her magic, she ripped his clothes to shreds and brought her lover closer to her. With his shorts gone, Raven's eyes fixated on his cock, and had to restrain herself from licking her lips, as its head came closer and closer to her face. But of course neither of them would settle on just a blowjob, given the magic Raven cast upon herself.

Beast Boy jumped onto her breasts again, peppering them with plethora of hungry, ravenous kisses. Knowing already her bosom by heart, he know had a whole new territory to explore, and he did that with impeccable dedication. But as his lips closed around her nipple, he received a taste of something unexpected. His eyes widened, and met hers, as sweet substance made contact with his tongue. The sly smile on her lips remained, but as Beast Boy began lapping her milk, her face was torn with a new grimace he hasn't seen yet, and Raven was more than eager to experience.

Garfield moved from one nipple to the other, wishing he could transform into some creature with two heads. As Raven squirmed and moaned underneath him, he wondered what will happen soon, and with his hand manoeuvring between her thighs, he was determined to discovered that.

Her back arched, as his fingers reached her wet spot and slipped underneath her costume, just as his tongue coiled around her nipple again. Though she was trying to contain her emotions, the spots on her costume glowed in violet with each kiss and delicate move of his fingers against or inside her sex, and soon, Raven was thrashing underneath him, ready to burst.

And when she did, it was not with energy, but with milk that filled Beast Boy's mouth, in an act that surprised both of them.

Raven quaked for a few more minutes, coating his fingers with her juices he now lapped as eagerly as the new one she produced for him. Beast Boy made sure to wait until she was looking at him when he licked his lips, tasting both.

- Come'ere, I'm thirsty too... - she huffed, and settled herself amongst the pillows, ready to invite him.

Beast Boy let out a dreamy sigh, as his cock slid between her breasts, engulfing him completely with the delicate, heavenly texture only her breasts could provide. And when Raven gently pushed her mounds together, she added the missing part of friction, making Beast Boy throw his head back, even though he hasn't moved an inch.

But as he looked down at his girlfriend, he met her unusually frisky eyes, and with that, he flexed his muscles. Next thing she knew, his hands were on her horns, and he pushed his hips forward, diving deep into her bosom.

His action was a bit sudden and Raven's eyes opened wide when she realised that her head was pulled forward and that his twitching tip was now a fraction of an inch from her lips. And as she was about to open them, he pulled back and began his thrusts, mewling and moaning with each one, as pleasure slowly engulfed him.

He was in trance, brought by the alluring sight of his girlfriend and her magically enlarged bosom and thge reward they were leaking. And as Raven promised, she wanted one of her own: now, with every rapid thrust, her tongue lapped a drop or two of his pre-cum, in turn only generating more samples of what was to come. Raven was pretty sure what was his plan, but she opened her lips wide anyway, hoping to catch at least some of his oncoming climax.

- Rae...Rae... I LOVE YOU!

And with that proclamation, beast Boy dived balls-deep between her magically enlarged breasts, letting her warmth and size cover them as well, which only strengthened his orgasm. Raven yelped when the first stream of his seed flooded her mouth, and closed her mouth just in time to suck a bit more, even though she knew what was the sight he wanted to see.

As he pulled back, his cock was still twitching, spurting more and more of his virility in the valley between her mounds, until it slowly started to spill down, glazing her breasts with the sticky proof of his devotion.

And just as he thought he has seen it all, Raven dragged her finger across her breasts, hoping to catch as much of his cum as possible before it all drips to the bed. she parted her fingers to show the sticky strands between them before she closed her lips around them and made him collapse to his back from the simple act of tasting him.

- That was fun - she spoke, as most of his seed made it to her lips. - But you know what every cow needs, right?

Raven asked, lapping the last bit of cum from her tits. She leaned forward and with the same low, salacious tone as before, whispered the words that Beast Boy already had on his mind.

- Her bull...

His green body grew in a split of second, transforming him, but not in the form of the animal Raven expected. While his head became elongated and grew bovine horns, his torso and arms remained human, though much more muscular, and only the addition of hooves on his legs and a tail truly made her realise what he was now: a minotaur.

But of course, hooves and tail was not what piqued Raven's interest the most, as her eyes looked down at the figure towering over her.

This time, she could not stop herself and her lust; Raven licked a small droplet of drool that formed on her lips, and reached her hand to experience the enormous, throbbing organ whose glistening head was now once more inches away from her lips.

But her lover didn't want another blowjob. As steam-like cloud escaped his nostrils, Beast Boy grabbed her and effortlessly slammed her onto his cock, watching as the sorceress lets out a silent moan.

When he went down on her, Raven tried to maintain at least some dignity. But now, as her sex was filled completely with his monstrous cock, she threw all of the pretence away and babbled her lover's name, while the blots on her costume pulse violet each time his cock reached her depths, time after time, depraving her of common sense, as bliss slowly overtook her mind.

But not until she has managed to speak one last wish.

- D-Do what you are supposed to!

Raven screamed, her voice vibrating with the erratic thrusts her entire body was subjected to.

- Mate me! Breed me!

Another roar escaped his mouth, and Raven took a gasp of air just in time to expel it, as Beast Boy shoved himself deeper inside her throbbing pussy that before, firmly positioning himself as far as possible, right against her core, he now bathed in first deluge of his seed. And with his thick, monster cock forming an air-tight seal, not a drop of his virility could leak out, and was forced up into her womb. What would have been impossible for any other man became a child's play for him, letting Raven experience the impossible.

And with the flood of his warm seed filling her, came her orgasm, making Raven thrash around his cock, as if she was a puppet on his mercy. With each wave that flooded and promptly overflowed her sex, came a new sensation of being filled and claimed, and in turn, each simultaneously extinguished fire in her loins, and set it anew...

At some point, Raven fell back to the bed, feeling her pussy pulse with each after-wave of her climax, while Beast Boy's seed oozed onto the bed. She wasn't sure how long her after-glow lasted, but she knew what brought her back to her senses.

Her breasts were kissed again, with the same tender and care the minotaur would never learn. Beast Boy was his regular self, taking care of her body his monstrous form has neglected, listening to her breath slowly becoming less and less erratic.

She looked up and their eyes met, while Garfield locked his lips around her nipple again, drinking her orgasm.

- Hey.

- Hey. - she replied - I guess people were right, those cow costumes do work.

- Rae, you could dress like a platypus and you'd be sexy.

Raven smiled, and her hand reached to her lover's cheek, prompting him to leave her nipple.

Their lips met again, and though she thought she would be tired by now, she welcomed him again, especially as his hands now roamed her thighs and ass.

She let out another moan, seemingly far louder than a moment before, but maybe it was because her voice wasn't drowned by the beast's low grunts, but Garfield's borderline cute huffs.

And even though he was now much shorter and thinner than before, somehow Raven felt fuller than when a giant minotaur ravaged her. Maybe it was his kisses, dotting her breasts and lapping her milky fluid, maybe it was his delicate, but steady grip of his hands on her thighs... or maybe it was the unspoken promise they mentioned...

As they kept coming closer, the empath suddenly grabbed his cheeks and pulled him against her, not to kiss, but to find emotions raging in his mind. And she found them - those of love, protection, dedication and responsibility, which easily pushed her to the edge...

She cried out his name just as he flooded her again, this time with his essence, and even though Raven knew it was impossible, she somehow felt the difference in warmth that filled her sex.

As the two breathed in the same air, Raven gently moved her hand between her body, feeling the warmth of his body above her, and his cock and seed inside. She could undo the spell right now, and change their lives forever... And she had to admit, it would be a very apt moment... but then again, she would rob them of many, many heated moments like these.

It's a good thing she buddied up with Yellow as much as with Violet for this ride.

The two lay ion each other's arms for quite some time, savouring each other's scents and warmth, until Raven found strength and motivation to speak.

- So, got any more silly internet memes trending?

Beast Boy smiled and reached for his phone.

=============

Winter this year was snow-less, rainy and mild, like for the past half a decade or so. But that only made the New Year's eve less cumbersome, as it meant less time traversing through mounds of snow. Plus, it meant the Titans' Tower rooftop wasn't off limits.

- I thought this place, at this time would be the worst to meditate. - Beast Boy spoke - The whole sky's gonna be on fire in five minutes.

- Yeah, but maybe I wanted to watch.

He sat next to her, listening to far-away sounds of concerts and premature celebration. He scooted a few inches closer to her, and let out a short meep when her cape covered him.

- I wonder what this year will bring us. - he spoke, ruining the quiet, charming moment.

- I do - Raven answered quickly. - This year is gonna be of the tiger.

Raven spoke and undid a button of her cape that joined the two, freeing her breasts. Beast Boy swallowed loudly, seeing the moonlight shining onto her skin, and making her bosom look bigger with no additional magic required.

- Why don't we practice, kitty?

And with that, the night's air was filled with a powerful roar of a predator cat that has just found its very willing prey.

[fanficsforheartandsoul]

Anxiety | [Fem!Reader x Obi-Wan Kenobi]

Inspired by a post by @bluegalaxygirl​

Notes: This is brought to you by my social anxiety and my thirst for Obi-Wan Kenobi, yaaayy. Also, I have literally no clue how to write feelings.

Fandom: Star Wars

Warnings: Angst, Anxiety, Self-Doubt, Self-Conciousness, slight OOC, Fluff

Summary: Y/N has only recently become Obi-Wan’s padawan and she is struggling with her social anxiety and her relationship with her master, so she has a panic attack. Luckily, Obi-Wan himself comes for the rescue.

Word Count: 3868

© Fanficsforheartandsoul

________

She knew that her master would most likely disown her if he found out what she was doing right now. Obviously. Because emotions were prohibited. But she couldn’t control it. Not at all.

Y/N had always been alone. She didn’t join the order when she was an infant. She had lived for 13 years on her own on a small planet in the outer rim. She didn’t even know the name of the ice planet. The life in the tundras had been lonely but she felt comfortable. With the help of the force, she was able to survive just fine. Then the Jedi came.

Master Yoda brought her to Coruscant, introduced her to the council and decided that she should start to learn with the other younglings. 

The first mistake he made.

Y/N had never met any children, nor any group that consisted of more than 6 people. Having companions was new territory and being exposed to a huge amount of people for the first had caused her to lash out with the force. By accident, she not only hurt some younglings but also herself. The scars on her arms and left cheek would always remind her of that moment.

That’s when the wise Jedi grandmaster decided to teach her the basics himself. Alone. To help ease her agitation. It was a good idea. Y/N did approve after all. She studied the Jedi, learned the lightsaber forms, meditated. She was a good student, and Master Yoda was proud of her. But then the Clone Wars started and he had no time for teaching her anymore.

So he made his second mistake. 

He decided that it was time for her to become someone’s padawan. “Why can’t you be my master?”, she had asked him, her voice void of any emotion but not because she learned to properly follow the code. She had just learned how to hide them. His answer left her intestines churning and she was ready to shut herself in her room. But the Jedi obviously didn’t let her.

“Your new master, this is.”

And that’s how she got introduced to Obi-Wan Kenobi. A formidable Jedi with great patience and a humorous character. A kind soul.

From whom she was hiding right now.

Y/N had been his padawan for two months but she didn’t progress far. Her training went well, that was not the problem. Since they were alone when they meditated or trained. No, the problem was her social anxiety.

Meeting the clone troopers for the first time caused the panic attack she was having right now. They were supposed to have a meeting for an upcoming mission but Y/N ditched them. Not intentionally she’d like to say but that would be a lie.

She had already stood in front of the meeting room’s door but she couldn’t enter. Her legs felt like jelly. The padawan tried to calm herself but it was no use.

Her heart was pounding loudly in her ears and she had trouble breathing. Her hands were clammy and she felt uncomfortable because she had broken out in a cold sweat. Footsteps were coming closer and she heard the voice of her Master from inside the room. A shaky breath escaped her lips and she whispered “I’m sorry” before she bolted.

She hid in her room. Not the best place of course, since he would probably search for her here, but there was no other place that calmed her down. Asides from Master Yoda’s side. But the council member was gone on a mission and he would probably also be disappointed if he found out about her panic attack.

Currently, she was leaning against her bathroom door and tried to meditate. But she couldn’t concentrate on her breathing because it felt like she was suffocating. “Don’t worry, Master Obi-Wan will understand”, she would tell herself but that only frightened her more. Because no way in hell would he understand! She had been living in the temple for 2 years but hadn’t met more than 8 people at the same time, not since the accident.

Every time Master Yoda tried to take her to one of the lessons with the younglings, her scars began to hurt. It wasn’t painful since she got used to it but it broke her concentration and seemingly also her spirit. Y/N couldn’t focus with the tingle that went up her arms and the force around her became unstable.

The same was happening now. She could feel it. The air around her felt heavy and made it hard for her to breathe.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

She choked the words and tried to hold back a sob from her throat. She wouldn’t cry, because she couldn’t. It wasn’t allowed. And the code was the only thing that stopped her from falling into misery. So she clenched her teeth and tried to stop whimpering.

But thoughts of her master finding her invaded her head and tears threatened to spill.

He would be disappointed. Y/N didn’t worry about him hating her, no. She wouldn’t mind that. But disappointing him was far worse.

She knew that Master Kenobi disliked the idea of having to train a new padawan shortly after Anakin Skywalker, especially during the times of a War. He never showed it of course. But somehow she could feel it. Maybe it was because she had always lived alone, only with the company of animals, who could show their emotions with the force. But she was able to feel to a greater extent than others apparently.

That’s how she knew. That he would most likely spare her a glance and then abandon her. It made sense. She was not fit for a Jedi after all. They were supposed to be the stars of the republic, the peacekeepers who helped every civilian. But this meant that they would be in the light. But her life wasn’t made for that.

She was always meant to stay in the shadows. Where the darkness was calming, reassuring.

Maybe she should just give up and leave. Going home, to her real home, on the unknown ice planet, seemed like a good idea. It was a welcome one.

Y/N didn’t realize how she spiraled deeper down in self-doubt and self-consciousness. But surprisingly she calmed down a little. The thought of returning to her house, that was actually an old transport ship, relaxed her muscles and she could breathe better again.

But then it hit her. She had no money. And in fact, she didn’t even know the exact location of her home planet. Master Yoda never told her. Maybe be knew that she would waver!

Dread fell over her and she let her head hang low. Maybe he never trusted her at all. And when he had enough he cast her aside and let another person take over the dead weight. How Obi-Wan Kenobi must suffer with her as a padawan.

Shame made her cheeks burn and the tears welled up again. But this time they spilled over. Y/N clenched and unclenched her fights slowly. Her fingernails dug into her palm and the pain distracted her from the salty tears that rushed down her cheeks. The scars on her left one throbbed.

Maybe, just maybe, if she curled up and stayed in that position, she would just fade into the darkness and everyone would forget her.

-

“Have you seen my padawan?”

Obi-Wan was currently walking back and forth in the meeting room, his hand thoughtlessly on his lightsaber while he worried about Y/N. He knew he didn’t give her enough attention and the guilt ate him alive but like Anakin assured him, he was busy with the war and her shyness wasn’t helping with that.

“Your padawan? You know we’ve never seen her face before”, teased Anakin and Ahsoka gave her master an annoyed look.

*No, but… A girl was standing before the meeting room when I arrived half an hour ago”, she replied and Obi-Wan immediately stood a little straighter.

“Did she have h/c hair? And a scarred left cheek?”

Ahsoka tilted her head and tried to remember. “I didn’t see her face but she had h/c hair, yes. But she walked off in a hurry so maybe it wasn’t her.”

Obi-Wan remembered how the young girl always stormed off after their lessons as if she was running from something. He was sure, the person Ahsoka saw, was his padawan.

Why did she walk away? He knew he told her that the meeting started at 1100. Did she forget something? That didn’t seem likely.

“I know your padawan isn’t here, General Kenobi, but we should start anyway. We cannot leave the senator waiting”, said Captain Rex and he nodded in defeat.

The meeting began and they discussed their strategy but Obi-Wan couldn’t quite focus. He remembered the first time he met Y/N. How her young eyes were strangely dull.

The girl was a little shy according to Yoda but he learned fast, that this comment had been an understatement. When they walked to their first training lesson she said nothing. No word left her lips and the Jedi had wondered if she disliked him.

But when they fought he realized that she was nervous. Her attacks were timid and had almost no force and he began to wonder if it was the right decision to say yes. After all, it was only an offer, Yoda didn’t order him to take Y/N as his padawan. He had to admit that he even doubted the grandmaster’s judgment a little. But the girl proved to him that she was a good student. Technically.

Her skills were sharp when she fought against a training droid, she used form four like Master Yoda which surprised him since it was an offensive style. But he never saw her do it when they fought against each other. He wanted to tell her that she could use Ataru but her apprehension also made him hesitate and he felt like he couldn’t talk freely to her. If he needed to be honest, it was a little uncomfortable.

It was strange that he had problems adapting to her but to be fair, Anakin had been completely different when he was her age. It wasn’t just because she started her training a few years later than him, it was also her character.

From what he had learned in the first month, Y/N liked to stay secluded and isolated herself from others at her age. She got embarrassed easily and he often felt like she was like a scared animal that would run away if he made a wrong move.

And there was something else. Sometimes the force would radiate from her. It was as if a pipe had been opened and all her feelings were flushed out through the force. He couldn’t explain why but he never told the Jedi council about her emotions. Obi-Wan told himself that they weren’t concerning but when he stood there in this meeting room with a bad feeling in his chest, he changed his mind.

“…ood, then let’s conclude this meeti-”

“Thank you, Anakin, I’ll see you later. Goodbye”

With these words, he walked out of the room.

As soon as the door closed behind him, he picked up the pace and decided to look for Y/N in her room. It was the only place that seemed to make sense for him. Hopefully, she would be there because if she wasn’t he wouldn’t know where else to look. This realization just showed how much he neglected her and shame and guilt made his heart heavy.

He decided that they needed to talk. It would be hypocritical to spill their emotions when they were supposed to not let themselves be swayed by them but this was about their relationship as student and teacher. He wanted to apologize from deep within his heart. Obi-Wan realized that he had been a bad master for her and he knew that it needed to change.

So he hurried to the south wing, where Y/N’s room was located. He walked up the stairs and as soon as his foot stepped on her floor, he paused.

The force felt weird on this level of the temple. Unease filled his chest and his hand found his lightsaber, since touching it always calmed him down.

His intuition told him the dread that filled the air had something to do with his padawan. He walked down the hallway and stopped before her door. The nameplate next to it was dark, which meant there were no lights on in the room. But he didn’t turn away. He could feel her presence through the force. She was here. And she was hurting.

Worry coursed through his veins and he knocked on the door.

“Y/N? Can we talk?”

He waited a few seconds but there was no response. He knocked again. This time louder.

“Y/N, please. I-”

Obi-Wan stopped and waited, hoping she would answer but the silence remained.

“I’m coming in, okay?”

He didn’t expect a response, so he wasn’t surprised when he didn’t get any. With the help of the force, he opened her door and stepped inside the room. Like the nameplate indicated, the lamps were off, but the big window let enough light inside for him to immediately see that she wasn’t here. She wasn’t laying in her bed, or sitting at the table studying, how he often found her when he was coming to pick her up for training. But the shift in the force was stronger than ever, so he knew she was here. The only place that was left, was the bathroom.

And not much to his surprise, its door was closed. He crossed the room and stopped before it. Now that he was standing so close, he was able to hear sniffles. The sound crushed his heart and he regretted listening to his former padawan so much.

Deep down he had known that what he was doing was badly hurting the young girl but he told himself it would be fine. He forgot how fragile and sensitive people were. Maybe the war had made him heartless. The anxiety he could feel through the force shook him to the core. He tried to steel his nerves but the emotions flowed through him and left his body numb.

“Y/N?”, he asked, his voice was soft.

He heard a breath hitch and the sniffles died down. She noticed him, now all she needed to do was talk to him.

-

Y/N almost died then and there.

He found her. Obviously. But she had hoped with the naive belief that he wouldn’t. She tried to suppress the sobs and quiet down but it felt impossible and honestly, she didn’t want to. There was a brief thought that she should just let it all out and show him how miserable he made her feel.

But the idea vanished as soon as it appeared. It wasn’t his fault. She was the one who was scared of other people, of interacting. It wasn’t normal, she wasn’t. He was just unfortunate enough to get paired with her.

“Leave me alone.”

Y/N only whispered it and it was almost inaudible but she was sure that he had heard her. He would definitely leave now. Leave her behind like her parents did, how master Yoda did, like everyone d-

“Let me in, Y/N. Please.”

Her heart missed a beat. Master Kenobi’s voice was soft and had a pleading undertone. She could sense genuine worry radiating from him through the force. Worry, guilt and also regret.

When she felt all these emotions, she couldn’t stop the sobs anymore. She pushed herself up and crawled away from the door. Maybe he sensed how she moved away, maybe he didn’t, but the door opened with the help of the force and she could see the blurry shape of her master standing in the doorway.

The light from the room shined in and outlined his features as if he was one of the republic’s posters coming alive. He looked like a savior. And the thought of him being that for her filled her heart with something she couldn’t describe.

He approached her and knelt in front of her. She could see his worried eyes through her tears and the warmth that radiated from his presence in the force. It felt familiar and surprisingly it made her feel like she was safe. Maybe she was allowed to cry some more. Maybe he allowed it until she calmed down and then he would just bring her to the counci-

“I won’t leave you alone anymore, Y/N. I’m sorry. I neglected my duties as your master and made you suffer.”

He held out his hand but paused as if he wanted her permission first to touch her. The padawan sniffled.

“I’m sorry.”

Obi-Wan saw that as a cue and lightly touched her shoulders. The moment when his fingers touched her robes felt like a storm abruptly stopped. She stared at him with wide eyes. He wanted to tell her that she didn’t have to apologize but she suddenly threw herself into his arms.

Y/N cried into her master’s beige robes and her hands were shaking while she hugged him but she didn’t care. She sensed it when he touched her. He genuinely wanted to help her, to ease her pain. And for her, who so desperately wanted somebody to understand her and lend her a hand, it meant the world.

The Jedi was stiff at first since it rarely happened that somebody threw themselves into his arms, but when he felt her shaking hands and how wet his robes got from her tears, he raised his hands and returned the hug. His left hand stroked her back while his right pressed her head closer to his chest.

“It’s okay. It’s okay, Y/N.”

The moment was intimate but he didn’t mind. If he could calm her down this way, he would gladly continue until she didn’t need him to do it anymore. Her body slowly stopped trembling and the sobs died down. Her voice was raspy when she said:

“I’m sorry that I didn’t attend the meeting.”

A small laugh escaped Obi-Wan’s mouth. He ruffled her hair and smiled slightly.

“Why would you worry about that? I found you having a breakdown in your bathroom, I believe we have other priorities.”

She nodded and looked up at him. Her eyes were puffy and her cheeks slightly red from embarrassment. He let go of her and Y/N backed away until she sat leaning against the bathtub. He watched how she fiddled with her fingers, unsure of what to say.

Her Master then noticed that the force around them had calmed down. The anxiety was partly still there but it felt like an echo. Y/N then took a deep breath and said:

“I’m scared.”

He looked at her but he didn’t say anything, worried that she would stop before she even has properly begun to explain.

“I- I’m scared of people. I can’t really explain why but meeting a group is really stressful for me. It’s… uh… It’s like I feel like everybody’s looking at me and judging me and I can’t, can’t handle that well”, she started and avoided eye contact with him.

“I’ve always been alone and suddenly that changed and now everybody’s expecting me to hang out with all those people and there are so many clones and their feelings and emotions are all over the place, and I get all sweaty and I can’t prop-properly breath and it’s just… I don’t know… too much. It’s too much for me. I’m not used to be in the spotlight. I know that sounds arrogant because I know that not everyone is looking at me and watching every move I make but I just can’t stop from feeling like they do. And I’m feeling all this fear and anxiety and I can’t handle them knowing that what I’m doing is against the code and I feel like a failure, I am a failure and it’s… Maybe Master Yoda was wrong. Maybe he shouldn’t have brought me here.”

Y/N knew she was rambling and when she finally stopped to take a breather she looked up and watched her Master’s expression and when she saw his confusion, she regretted telling him.

“This… I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything, let’s just forge-”

“Do you feel the same with me?”

Master Kenobi’s question made her pause and when she searched his eyes for any disappointment or disdain she couldn’t find any. His words left her wondering. Was she feeling the same with him?

“No…”, it sounded unsure, but she didn’t add anything because she really wasn’t completely sure.

“Let me try to rephrase what you just said, okay?” She only nodded. “Am I correct when I say that you have anxiety when it comes to social interaction?” Again, he received only a nod.

Obi-Wan touched his beard and pondered over what he had just heard. Many things made sense now. Why Y/N was always studying alone, why she ate in her room instead of the cantina and why seemed like she was dying every time he saw her in a room with more than 3 people. But he still didn’t really understand why she had problems with that.

He searched her eyes and when she returned the eye contact he smiled softly and then said:

“I can’t really understand you, but”, he held up his hand when she tried to interrupt him, “I want to understand. And I want to help. I’m sure that the force will guide us both and I believe that, as master and padawan, together we can face your fear and ease it.”

Y/N leaned back, her shoulders relaxed and she let out a breathy laugh. Sneakily she wiped away a tear that threatened to spill again.

“That would be great… Master Kenobi.”

The Jedi’s smile widened and he put up his finger as if he wanted to warn her.

“I would prefer it if you call me Obi-Wan, at least in private.”

The padawan nodded and together they slowly stood up.

“Let’s try”, she added and her voice was quiet but he could hear the determined undertone.

“There is no try, padawan, only-”

“Do or do not, I know that one.”

He raised an eyebrow and then patted her shoulder smiling. It felt a little awkward but then her master interrupted the timid atmosphere:

“You said ‘their emotions are all over the place’. Does that mean you can sense feelings? To what extent?”

Y/N paused. Him speaking about her ability made her feel shy again.

“Uhm… I can tell what a person is feeling without concentrating too much. As long as I want to know, I can sense it clearly.”

Since the light was still not on in the bathroom and he turned away, she couldn’t see his expression but she felt embarrassment radiating from him. Maybe it was because of the moment they had just shared but she suddenly wanted to tease him.

Yet she didn’t. Not wanting to destroy the thin thread of a bond that they formed today.

[firebunnylover]

LoSH S2 discussion

I love Legion of Superheroes. And i love season 2, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think about how it could have been improved. In terms of quality, it varies more than season 1. Some parts are top tier while others… eh.

Season 2 is darker than season 1. And there’s the inherent stigmatism that darker means better. But it’s not true.

A horror schlock film is not inherently better than an animated film.

I don’t blame the staff on all its shortcomings. Kids WB was on its deathbed, so they probably had less time to work and iron out ideas. And executive meddling.

The second season had a lot of good elements, but there are things that weighed it down. I am here to discuss how to improve said things.

Heads up: ended up editing part of this post after rewatching the episodes.

This first bit is more of a personal preference, but instead of the 41st century, maybe move the original source of conflict to a farther region of space, one that the UP doesn’t interact with, and has been growing in terms of turmoil until they finally resort to bringing the Legion over. In other words, it has just been put aside by everyone else to the last minute.

Parallel to Brainy’s relationship to Brainiac. He doesn’t want to deal with it. He never brings it up. But maybe if he did, he wouldn’t have gotten corrupted.

This place still has plenty of old documentation of the original age of superman, so Kell is disillusioned with the ideal glory days. Keep Kell Edgy.

Kell’s home and K3NT still gets destroyed - reflects Krypton’s own destruction.

SPEAKING OF KELL:

Make his story more apparent that it’s one realizing that kindness is not an inherent weakness. And neither is being soft. He was raised for fighting and killing Imperiex, and was taught to think that they were weaknesses. Have him realize his identity can be beyond the Clone of Superman made to kill Imperiex. Or rather, have him react more to realizing that he’s moving beyond his given identity.

To clarify; they do address his development in the show a few times, but I want more continuous development instead of the rapid nods we get. Have him try to interact in a more humane way with others. Especially with other members of the Legion. Where they have to take a double take in seeing him acting not that edgy. Maybe offer more flashback of him fighting Imperiex in comparison, and how he treated allies then.

Also put K3NT’s story under the microscope. I doubt Imperiex just came out of nowhere with his attacks. Plus the fact they went far enough to send a hitman after a fucking child? That screams yikes and maybe we need to double check the story.

And an overall issue to be addressed is what rights do robots have and what conditions need to be met? Because let’s face it, we make robots to do complex work for us. But Colu is a culture where the main people ARE robots. Like in Transformers. What line do we draw between non-sentient robots vs the sentient ones in the 31st century? And what about cyborgs/people who give up their original bodies for robotic ones?

Plus Imperiex himself came to be because of the perfected combination of organic tissue and robotics. This topic of robots and individuality/personhood could have been a fun topic to explore.

Don’t sideline the girls. Leave TG alone. 

Don’t put SG in a coma for nearly the whole season - seriously it’s the reason why the guys make one bad decision after the other. Although with that said, it’s because she’s not around we got the majority of s2 plots. She’s the goddamn mom of the squad. Just make her busier and unable to keep an eye on her idiot boys for the plots based on bad decisions to happen. 

Or have her deal with after-effects of what Esper did to her. Maybe after a whole season of being the emotional support character, have her be the one in need of emotional support or not being able to help directly, especially when the group needs emotional support. Emotional support paradox.

Maybe don’t make Cosmic Boy appear as much as a dick in the episodes where he does show up. He’s trying to hold this goddamn team together, and there’s a goddamn tyrant trying to conquer the galaxy. HE’S FUCKING TIRED AND STRESSED. AND IM SURE THERE ARE A BUNCH OF JERKS WHO WANT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT TO DISSOLVE THE LEGION. Better yet, throw in some more backstory with him and his little brother Pol!

And in regards to Imperiex… The dude has a lot of potential. I like his voice actor, Phil Morris. The guy voiced Dr. Sweets from Atlantis.

But his writing needs help.

In the original DC comics, he’s the embodiment of Entropy. Anyone who’s seen Madoka is probably familiar with what that is. But if you're not, here’s a definition: “ the measure of a system’s thermal energy per unit temperature that is unavailable for doing useful work...” He’s the embodiment of that energy that cannot be used for anything. And Entropy grows over time.

Another definition of what Entropy is “lack of order or predictability; gradual decline into disorder.”

In the comics, he’s more of a cosmic being as a result of him being an embodiment of unusable energy. He’s been in existence since, well, the beginning. He had destroyed the universe and recreated it multiple times. Okay, so that lines up with how the show portrays him. And technically, he does get the universe to reset itself in the 41st century when he alters the 31st century enough.

But I personally feel that making him a cosmic being is kinda… meh?

I personally prefer more personal villains most of the time. Don’t get me wrong, an Eldritch being done right makes a great character, but I can’t see Imperiex as one. At least not LoSH’s version.

Plus I like it when the protagonist sees the villain has a point and has changed as a result for the better.

You know, over a year ago, I used to think that it was impossible to make a tyrannical villain who’s presented as real evil seem complex.

And then… I was introduced to TFP Megatron.

Now for you LoSH fans who haven’t watched Transformers Prime, Megatron was once Megatronus. A low caste member who worked in the mines and Gladiator games. He wanted to fix the growing corruption of Cybertron. To make things better.

But his worse personality traits took over, and he lost that good motivation. Now he’s just fighting to win and defeat Optimus Prime. 

But despite the change of goals and ideals, he doesn’t want to simply abandon his relationship with Optimus. He and Optimus, or as he used to be called, Orion, were fighting for the betterment of society. And they meant something to each other. Megatron doesn’t want to just get it over with. He wants fanfare for his victory over Optimus. And he doesn’t want anyone else to rob him off that. But he isn’t opposed to getting Optimus/Orion back on his side. It’s because of this you can still argue that there is a remaining shred of good in him.

They were the best young lovers anD NO I AM NOT CRYING OVER THEM!

Also, the fact we know he was part of a minority group in the form of the lower cast  that was enslaved can make us sympathize with Megatronus of the past, as well as understand how he came to be.

It doesn’t mean we forgive him for his actions - and he has done a lot of shitty things. And I mean a lot.

But his history is more understandable. TFP Megatron’s a fall from grace.

OK I’m done dissecting TFP Meg’s writing.

We know Imperiex was a slave, and was originally organic, who’s from a society where his purpose is literally just to fight, and was gradually stripped of his original body. He was originally stripped of any agency before then though.

But he says this was a good thing. Calling his original body a weakness. And refers to his old self as a pathetic slave.

He gave up whatever softness he had.

Also, this is where K3NT’s story needs to be reexamined. Imperiex was made during what K3NT described as “A Time of Extended Prosperity”. That time had freaking slaves. And K3NT says that when Imperiex did rise up, they were unprepared. So… they were prosperous, but lacked defense to prevent anything like that happening? Or perhaps those who were in charge were that unpopular that it was easy for Imperiex to start the war.

What made him decide conquering the galaxy was the next thing to do after he had every bit of his original self stripped away? Why go as far as destroy it?

What I’m trying to say is that they could borrow a few pages from the Megatron book. Maybe he was once trying to better the society he was part of, but he decides to play the violent card at some point. And somewhere along that strategy, he starts to lose sight of the initial goal. With that, being the victor and in control becomes the main one.

Or perhaps he has grown cynical of the galaxy as it is and decides it just needs to go all together, and then start from scratch.

Like the second definition of Entropy, he gradually declines in predictability and descends into disorder.

Maybe to juxtaposition the fact that Brainiac became the main threat at the end, make him the opposite or foil to him. Rationality or logic do not serve as first-or-second influences to decisions under pressure. Emotions and his own perceived ideas do.

Speaking of Brainiac, maybe offer more of the OG Brainiac. Give us more of that smooth-voiced Corey Burton. 

Or TFA Megatron.

Seductive Bastard.

I’m sorry I have fallen for the shady-business-mafia-boss-but-morally-grey robot.

Also, the members of the legion that only get one episode focus? Give them more screen time. You can’t just introduce superman’s new adopted son Karate Kid and just not bring him for another speaking role again!

Actually, that brings me to another point.

As @spandexinspace​ pointed out, his episode is not the best, and is arguably the worst written of the whole series. Things that are issues do get brushed off to the side.

So a proposal on potential rewrite:

First, have the legion look over its current rules and what exceptions/changes they need to make.

Explore the subject of kids having to participate in these fights.

To clarify, kid shows are meant to be escapism for kids.

Shocking, I know.

So it makes sense that some characters would be the same age as the viewers. 

But while this is good representation, as you get older, you find yourself going “WHY WOULD THE ADULTS LET THEM ENDANGER THEMSELVES?!”

Kids having to fight at that age does have consequences. Batman Beyond certainly addressed it. So did Steven Universe Future.

Steven ended up being responsible for so much, that when he no longer needed to take care of things, he was unsure of who he was. And then there’s the fact he ended up with PTSD because of him having to fight so much. Then you have the fact that Greg and Rose never intended to raise him like their caretakers did... but as good as their intentions were, they still caused damage. Rose for… all the gem stuff. And look, Greg is a great dad, but not enforcing anything for Steven when he’s growing up still has it’s cost.

With Batman, he’s obviously going to do his damn best to keep kids safe, including the Robins. But sometimes, it’s not enough. He wasn’t able to keep Tim safe in the event with the Joker in Batman Beyond. Where he was held captive and tortured.

But the Batkids are never expected to resolve this stuff by themselves. Because Batman knows how much you can get screwed up as a kid. He fucking cares.

And to be fair, in most continuities I’m aware of, the other sidekicks came out pretty okay overall.

Except Jason Todd.

So my proposal?

Have Val originally with Grimbor, as a sort of Protege. But have the legion capture him, only to go “uhhh this is a child with no powers”. And Superman, being the good, wholesome paragon we all love, takes him under his wing.

In all honesty, I want Superman pulling a batdad for Karate Kid in his intro episode the whole time. That was the best part of the episode for me.

Plus after the events of “Cry Wolf”, the Legion should examine the no-killing rule. Because they do need to kill Imperiex to save the universe. But that goes against the code. But they can argue it’s a necessity. But Mar Londo is also a monster. He’s the everyday monster some of us have grown up with.

When do you need to make exceptions to kill someone?

And my final main suggestion:

Add more Mekt.

What the heck were you guys expecting? You all KNOW me by now. I LOVE MY GARBAGE BOY.

Joking aside, here’s what I would do.

Have the Chained Lightning episode pushed back, but have Mekt with Imperiex earlier. Most of us would yell “Why the heck would you join the guy whose main goal is to destroy the galaxy?!” But this is one of the easiest things to address.

Explore more of his past. Use the comic sources with him being outcast for being a solo on Winath. With that in mind, him deciding to side with Imperiex can make sense.

Why try protecting something that has done nothing but hurt you?

There’s actually a pretty good reason why he would side with Imperiex, as seen in Champions and Lightning Storm. Remember, Mekt was willing to cheat to get ahead of the sports competition he was introduced in. And also was thrilled when fighting Garth and was beating him on his own. He likes being in power.

Imperiex offers him that.

As for why Imperiex would bother with Mekt? That’s a little harder to answer. He knows that Mekt has a soft spot for his brother, and in turn sister, which proves to be the reason why the Tachyon Cannon fails. You’d think Imperiex would remove a huge fatality.

But he doesn’t.

Maybe he could hold another type of value for Mekt. Perhaps... nostalgia?

I’m still sold on the idea that they were sleeping together.

Also, give us a conclusive answer on where Mekt stands with the LSV. In the comics, he was the leader, but that role was given to Tyr in the cartoon more or less.

OK I think this has been polished enough for me to post now. What you guys think? Feel free to add on!

[stewblog]

The Suicide Squad

You can practically hear director James Gunn cackling as you watch his latest blockbuster about a ragtag group of outcasts slowly becoming heroes.

The Suicide Squad is a two-hour-and-12-minute splatterfest that has absolutely no compunctions about taking the $175 million dollar budget Warner Bros. allotted and smearing it all over the screen via comically absurd violence, humor that would leave a 13-year-old breathless and a CGI creation that’s in some ways the most comic book-y thing we’ve yet seen on a movie screen.

Though technically a sequel, you don’t actually have to watch David Ayer’s Suicide Squad to enjoy or even understand The Suicide Squad. The concept is easy enough to pick up and there are only two recurring characters, one of which (Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie)) audiences are likely already fully familiar with. All you really need to know is that this is what a 13-year-old would have likely come up with if asked to write a comic book version of The Dirty Dozen, complete with an avalanche of swear words, gallons of gore and a sprinkling of nudity just because. In other words, if you think you can probably take your kid to see this because it’s by the same studio that makes Wonder Woman and Aquaman, chances are you’ll highly regret that decision before the opening credits finish.

Heck, you may regret it even if you don’t have kids.

If it seems like I’m hyper-focusing on the absurd amount of hard R-rated content, it’s partly because Gunn does the same in the film itself. There are more scenes in the movie where someone or something is shot, crushed, ripped, maimed, chopped, sliced, or otherwise viscerally splattered than there are scenes where no violence is enacted. I can’t remember the last time I watched a movie with such frequent use of casual violence for comedic effect. Gunn got his start making z-grade schlock so imagine his delight when Warner Bros. gave him carte blanche to make that same kind of movie but with a bigger budget than 100 of those movies combined.

If that sort of humor is your bag, you’ll more than get your money’s worth. Personally, I could have used a better balance of “actual” jokes to violent humor as I felt it kind of got old after a while that a lot of punchlines were delivered with an explosion of blood and gore.

Thankfully, though, the approach never fully wears out its welcome and overall we get a manic, comic book depiction of the classic “men on a mission” sub-genre, only this time it’s not just men but also rat-summoning women, anthropomorphic sharks and a guy who can shoot deadly polka dots from his hands. The cast of characters really is what makes things sing here. Watching Peacemaker (John Cena) and Bloodsport (Idris Elba) perpetually posture against each other never gets old. David Dastmalchian continues to prove what an invaluable supporting player he is every time he shows up in a movie. But it’s Sylvester Stallone voicing Nanaue, aka King Shark, that steals the show. Nanaue’s arc would be heartwarming on its own as he slowly finds a family with this band of misfit criminals, but it’s the heart and damaged soul that Stallone imbues into often monosyllabic line readings that truly makes this creature come to life.

The cherry on top is that the mission itself revolves around a creature that is, hands-down, the most comic book-y thing I’ve yet seen since this renaissance of comic book movies began. Truly that’s something when we live in a world where a movie starring a sentient tree and a machine gun-toting talking raccoon has made more than a billion dollars (which, conveniently enough, also was directed by Gunn).

The other element The Suicide Squad shares with Guardians of the Galaxy is that Gunn further shows his compassion for the dregs of society. There are literally dozens upon dozens of bad guys Gunn could have chosen to put on this team. Yet he specifically chose Ratcather 2 (Daniela Melchior), a young woman who took on her father’s mantle and used her ability to control rats to not only play a central heroic role, but to convey the (almost shockingly) tender message of how he views these outcasts. All of which to say, the face of the film may be a whole lot of juvenile material, but if you dig deep enough in this chum bucket of a movie you’ll find an actual beating heart.

[bexterbex]

A Soul to Mend His Own | Ch. 60

Chapter 60 WHOOT WHOOT! 60 days ago I started this journey with only 2 followers, and now I have 337! I can’t thank you all enough 😭It means so much to me that you all like my little world. 

Warning, PLEASE CHECK TAGS IF YOU SEE SOMETHING YOU DON’T WANT TO READ THEN DON’T READ. Tag lists are closed

Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Will tag as I go along, Will update tags, Slow Burn, Influenced by Star Trek and other Sci-Fi themes, References to We Happy Few, Tons of References and quotes to George Orwells 1984 see if you can find them all, The First Order is the new Big Brother,  but who is really surprised, Blatant Nazi Symbolism, Interrogation Themes, Eventual Smut, Eventual Romance, Really just drawn out Slow Burn, Don’t repost without permission, Torture themes, Suggestive Themes, Execution themes, Disturbing Themes, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Verbal Abuse, Controlling Kylo Ren, Physical Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Kylo Ren is Not Nice, Kylo Ren Has Issues, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, Possessive Kylo Ren, A character shamelessly based on Zelda

A Kylo Ren x Modern! Reader in a soulmate au with canon divergence. —————————————SLOWBURN————————————–

He is already the Supreme leader, searching the universe to find you, his Empress. Your name on his wrist has been the only constant in his life, while you have doubts about his existence and his acceptance of you. He isn’t in the database and why did the name Kylo Ren cover Ben Solo?

MASTERLIST

Chapter 60: First Lady

The general was waiting for you as you both sat down. Kylo and the general sat opposite of you. The lieutenant came up to join you. The general looked at Kylo, who nodded and began, “We are here to discuss your duties as First Lady of the First Order. An inaugural role that has not been done before in the history of the galaxy.”

He paused to make sure you were paying attention and understanding the gravity of the position. You nodded to signal him to continue.

“As the First Lady of the First Order, you have many duties, some more obvious than others. First, you act as the identity of the First Order, the face in which our people will rely upon and trust. You are the focus of unity and pride. The person who gives a sense of stability and continuity to the First Order. You are the official recognition for success and excellence. And you are to support the ideal of voluntary service.”

You were to be the complete face of the First Order. Not Kylo, who is hidden behind his mask, but you. “So you are asking me to be like the queen of England,” you asked trying to make sense of your role.

“Yes, in many ways, except you have actual power when you want it. While she is unable to make decisions for the United Kingdom in its entirety, as that power now belongs to parliament, you do. The only person who can override your decisions is the Supreme Leader himself.”

You watched as Kylo nodded along to what the general was saying.

“You shall be in charge of official First Order Social events like the formal dinner that we just had, and ceremonial events like commissioning of new destroyers and bases. You shall present titles of high honor within the First Order Military, and any civilian titles. You may also preside over military ceremonies such as remembrances of historic galactic battles, and major retirements.”

Your eyes grew wide at the list of things you would be responsible for. The general could see the look of hesitation on your face as you were processing everything.

“Of course you won’t have to do everything alone. You shall have a team of people to help you, one of which is the lieutenant,” he then gestured to Mitaka sitting next to you. “And a few others, you shall not have to handle everything yourself, but you will essentially be supervising it all. You will also be handling many correspondences which will go through your team, and you will be a patron of many charities. We will need to announce a charity today as a start. That is a decision we can make together, so you do not have to make it alone.”

You sat back in your chair as you started to process everything. Your life has shifted from working a 9-5 job, to doing very little with your time, to now being a head of state all in the matter of a month. Less than a month ago you were wondering who Kylo Ren was and now you were to be leading the largest government in the galaxy with him. Leading a group of people you had no idea existed. Being a face to the galaxy when you were perfectly content to just be friends with your match and living a life alone.

You felt his hold on your mind once more, the worry that you felt dissipated. You don’t know whether or not you should be comforted by this or horrified. He was in your mind messing with things.

‘There is nothing to be afraid of Kitten. You will do great. This is one of the big steps in becoming an empress, my empress.’

Something about the way he said that you would be his empress made your belly warm. A spark of desire to be something powerful to him.

You could feel his tendrils of hold swirling with that desire in your mind. Playing with it, caressing it. You closed your eyes at the feeling, your body welcoming the touch. The tiny rational portion of your mind was screaming, but the feeling was so nice that you ignored her.

You felt a hand touch your face, which shocked you out of your bliss. It was Kylo’s hand. His eyes told you that he was just as spellbound as you were.

Both the lieutenant and the general didn’t seem to know what to make of the moment as they both shared a confused face at both of your actions.

Kylo’s hand caressed your cheek before he withdrew it. His eyes never leaving yours. No words were spoken between you, not even in your mind, but you knew what just happened changed something.

You could almost hear the rational part of your brain whimper in pain at being ignored, whimper because of his grip on your consciousness. That rational part being afraid at what just occurred, but the rest of your existence being overjoyed at it. You could feel the tendrils recede slightly and the rational part slowly coming out of the corner that it had been backed into. Still very much afraid of the dark mass that just took over.

The general spoke first, “M’lady shall we go over what will need to be decided today?” He hesitantly looked between you and Kylo, trying to figure out your next course of action.

Without breaking eye contact with Kylo, you responded, “Yes. I think will be best.” You examined Kylo’s face as if it were a rare piece of art. Going over every last detail.

“We should decide what charity you should patron first. Is there anything, in particular, that strikes an interest in you m’lady? Any topic that you would prefer?” You could hear some unease in his voice as you failed to look at him. Your eyes still locked on Kylo.

You could feel the tendrils shift as a thought presented itself, “Something for abused or neglected children.” You watched as Kylo’s eyes phantom fluttered for a moment. His eyes then roaming your face as yours did his.

Both of your breathing is in sync. Two halves of a whole as his hold on your mind made itself at home. The tendrils tucking themselves in the corners of your skull, occasionally skimming your brain when needed, but mostly just there watching.  

“There are many orphanages throughout the galaxy shall I choose one for you,” asked Hux with his voice wavering. You could hear how uncomfortable the whole situation between you and Kylo was making him. You could not see nor hear the lieutenant, but you guessed that he was worse than the well-seasoned general.

Kylo answered for you, “Yes.”

You heard the general stand, “Well sir, m’lady we best be off to our luncheon. There is much to discuss.”

Kylo stood first, holding out his hand for you to take. Which you did. He then tucked your arm under his. Never breaking eye contact as you walked down the stairs and to the entrance of your chambers. You paused as Kylo put on his helmet, breaking your stare and trance. He then faced forward as you walked down the winding halls to the conference room.

You entered arm in arm with Kylo; he guided you to your seat, you never took your eyes off of him. Still enrapt in a trance. He walked with power around the room as he reached the head of the table where he chose to stand.

All around you were the High Command members, most of whom were holograms as they holocommuted in. Luckily for you, Pryde was also holocummuting in. You were relieved at his lack of physical presence. You also noted that there were several other officers standing along the opposite wall to you.

Kylo addressed the room, “Today is Lady Ren’s official first day as First Lady of the First Order,” he paused and you could hear a small applause coming from the High Command, both those who were physically present and those who weren’t. “She has many responsibilities in her new role, you are to do what she asks of you as if it was an order from me.”

You watched as chins raised in acknowledgment. You could see that some were not happy about having another person ruling over them. Kylo sensed this too as his head cut to an older male admiral, “I sense unease Admiral Berand.”

What shocked you was that the man wasn’t even here, he was holocommuting. Were Kylo’s Force abilities that strong?

“No, sir,” said the admiral.

You watched as Kylo marched around the room and came up next to the holo projection of the man. Even though they were technically a galaxy apart, the admiral shrank away from Kylo. “Good, keep your thoughts under control or I will do it for you.”

You could feel the tendrils in your own mind flex with excitement. They apparently wanted the admiral to mess up, so they could arrange his thoughts for him.

Kylo then spoke again addressing the room, “You have all given candidates for Lady Ren’s staff. Her chief of staff will be Dopheld Mitaka, now a captain, but there still remains her press secretary, correspondence secretary,  social secretary, her advisor, and her spokesperson. Five positions to fill. And after General Hux’s initial weeding of the candidates, there are 15 applicants. We shall now proceed with the filling of positions.” Kylo then gestured to the Allegiant General to start. Hux then waited patiently for your signal, waiting until you were ready.

You broke your gaze from staring at Kylo to look to your side. You gestured to Mitaka to come forward and join you by your side. Which he gladly did. You then nodded to the general to commence the application process.

You picked out your press secretary, social secretary, advisor, and spokesperson with ease. You took into account the opinions of Kylo, Hux and Mitaka. The final position of the correspondence secretary was being considered.

Unfortunately, Pryde’s recommendation was still in the running. The young officer that he had put forward as an applicant gave off similar vibes to the man himself. Almost a younger version of himself. You quickly denied his choice. The officer had a look of disappointment and anger on his face as he was forced to step back. You could tell your decision also displeased Pryde as you had a feeling that this officer was going to be some sort of informant to him.

Across the room, you could see Kylo’s body stiffen as he was probably monitoring both men’s thoughts. He barked at the officer to get out and to return to the Steadfast as he was no longer needed here. You watched as he left the room. He was the only rejected officer that was asked to leave before the meeting was over.

Next up was General Parnadee’s choice, a nice young lieutenant with a kind face. Parnadee introduced her, as the other generals did with their recommendations, “This is Lieutenant Amala Graven. She has an impeccable memory. The ability to recall voices and has a knack for routines. She is quiet but very decisive when it comes to printed languages. She has been my trusted personal secretary for two years and I can think of no one better for the position of correspondence secretary.”

From what you knew of Parnadee, even after entrusting your home planet to her, you knew that if she was recommending someone, especially someone, she trusts that you should highly consider the person. You then looked over her file, which was a clean record. She came highly recommended from the academy and she had been promoted quickly into Parnadee’s trusted and highly coveted secretary position.

After sharing a look with Mitaka, you made your decision. You looked at the female lieutenant in the eyes and said, “I believe you will make an excellent correspondence secretary and I would be honored if you would join my staff.”

The lieutenant thanked you and joined the group of others that had been selected. Your attention then shifted back to Kylo as he dismissed them and Mitaka while you were to have the luncheon portion of your meeting.

Everything went by rather smoothly after that, Hux telling those who holocommuted in that they were free to go as no official business was going to be discussed. You were thankful because you were sick of Pryde’s holo eyes watching your every move.

You watched as slowly every hologram was disconnected. Pryde getting in one last final creepy stare before disconnecting. You were relieved when Kylo took a seat next to you instead of his official unused one across from you.

You were in a large conference room filled with only a few generals and admirals. Lunch was served and Kylo relented in taking off his helmet so he could join you as you ate. Small pleasant discussions popped up around you. The Allegiant General giving his opinion here and there to the different conversations.

Meanwhile, you and Kylo ate in a comfortable silence between you two. There seemed no need to say anything as you could feel the tendrils exploring your mind. Seeing how far they could go before hitting a wall or turning around. You could feel them warmly caressing your happiest memories and completely covering those that caused you pain. You felt light-headed but in a way that didn’t make you sick, but as if a weight had been relieved from your consciousness.

You felt as if you could stay in this moment forever. But soon you would have your lesson with the general and soon you would have to move on with real life. But for now, you chose to be stuck in this moment. This little piece of forever.

A/N: Note that I see every comment and reblog w/ # and I love them so much! Tumblr is kinda hard to respond with just note that anything coming from @justanotherhockey-blog​ is from me!

[gra-sonas]

Carina Adly MacKenzie is out as the showrunner of the CW's Roswell, New Mexico.

According to multiple insiders, the first-time showrunner's relationship with studio Warner Bros. Television had been strained for some time. One of the latest points of contention came late last month when MacKenzie, who created the soapy drama renewed for a third season in January, fired off a series of tweets. One source, in particular, says that Warner Bros. had to do "damage control" with a foreign distributor after MacKenzie accused ITV in the U.K. of homophobia, biphobia and bigotry for cutting selective sex scenes from her show.

   Really, really, REALLY upset to hear that @itv cut out a (pretty tame) love scene between two men and kept a (much more raunchy) heterosexual sex scene in their airing of an episode of #RoswellNM tonight. There are a lot of angry tears happening at my house tonight.    — carina adly mackenzie (@cadlymack) June 24, 2020

   It’s just blatant homophobia/biphobia/bigotry and I’m so, so sorry and so, so angry. Frankly I’d be fine never watching another straight white couple bone on TV EVER AGAIN.    — carina adly mackenzie (@cadlymack) June 24, 2020

A spokesperson for ITV2, the channel that aired the episode of Roswell in the U.K., disputes MacKenzie's characterization of the editing, however. "During our compliance process on episode two, we edited love scenes featuring the characters of Alex and Michael and Max and Jenna," said the rep. "Editing is only ever undertaken to ensure content is suitable for scheduling in a pre watershed time slot when younger age groups may be watching. Scenes involving sexual content were edited in keeping with the regulator, Ofcom's, guidelines."

For two-plus years, MacKenzie had co-run Roswell with Christopher Hollier (The Originals, Once Upon a Time) but was the show's sole creator and its chief creative voice. During her time on the show, she is said to have fostered a working environment that some say was rife with tension. Among the issues, according to those insiders, is that MacKenzie would spend an unusual amount of time on the set in New Mexico, away from the show's Los Angeles-based writers' room — a move that was said to frustrate some of the writers.

Showrunners typically spend the bulk of their time during the writing process in the room (or at least they did pre-COVID) and though Hollier was technically in charge in MacKenzie's absence, some point to the fact that MacKenzie did a lot of re-writing and often turned scripts in late as proof the show may have been run more smoothly were she around in person more. Sources note that the situation improved some in the second season when the writers' room was given more lead time before production started.

There was also said to be friction at times between MacKenzie and some of the actors, including series star Jeanine Mason. Multiple sources say that Warner Bros. HR looked into the matter last year. The results of that probe, which MacKenzie, Mason and Warner Bros. all declined to comment on, are not clear but what is known is that MacKenzie was able to continue running the show.

In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, a Warner Bros. TV spokesperson would say only, "Carina Adly MacKenzie has departed as executive producer/co-showrunner of Roswell, New Mexico. The third season of the series will return to The CW as part of the network’s 2021 midseason lineup."

MacKenzie, for her part, told THR: "I have made the difficult decision to resign from my role on Roswell, New Mexico. I do not take this decision lightly, but ultimately due to fundamental differences, I must depart and entrust Roswell, New Mexico to capable hands. I am so proud of what we built over the last two years, and I believe in the heart and soul of the show: asking tough questions, striving to make the world better, amplifying marginalized voices, and fighting the good fight."

Her departure comes just as writing for the upcoming third season is beginning. Roswell, a steady enough performer for the CW, follows the daughter of undocumented immigrants (Mason) as she discovers her teenage crush is an alien who's kept his unearthly abilities a secret. Warner Bros. is likely to make a formal announcement about a succession plan in the coming weeks, though co-showrunner Hollier is expected to stay on and take full responsibility for the show.

MacKenzie, a former TV journalist who wrote about The Vampire Diaries at the now defunct Zap2It.com, transitioned to a career as a TV writer after the show's creator Julie Plec took her under her wing. MacKenzie started as a writers' assistant on Vampire Diaries spinoff The Originals, quickly rising through the ranks to become a writer and story editor on the series. Her credits also include an episode of The Flash. In April 2018, she inked her own two-year development deal with Warner Bros. TV. Sources say she is no longer under a deal with the studio.

~ Hollywood Reporter

[gryphonablaze]

so i wrote a lil thing. takes place post-fuster cluck

i like ava and her potential for development and growth as a character. i know a lot of people hate her, and even though i don’t know why i do, i like her. i know she’s not well written. i already know so please don’t come at me with that. idk why but i don’t really care how she’s badly written. i like her okay. alright i just wanted to get that out of the way

‘Wait.’ 

‘What is it?’, Zane asked, rubbing his head. 

‘Maya was there? In-in his mind?’ Ava pressed. 

The vault hunters paused. 

‘Ava,’ Tannis spoke, ‘She’s not… really there. She’s about as real as the margarita in my hand.’

‘But… you don’t have a margarita...’

‘Exactly. I want to have a margarita, and I can visualize the margarita, think of what it looks and tastes like, but it’s not really there. The Maya in Kreig’s mind is just as material as she would be if you pretended she was standing next to you.’ 

‘Actually, she, uh…’ Amara started, ‘Well, the… the things that were happening in that… in there, were pretty independent of his intentions.’

‘He’s not exactly in control of the place,’ Moze finished. ‘Everything in there kind of has a ‘mind’ of its own.’

‘Ironically.’ FL4K added. 

‘Hold on. Let me grab an echo.’ A recorder flew across the room and stopped to hover beside Tannis. She clicked it on. Without touching it, of course. ‘Are you saying that, memory though she may be, Maya is functioning as an entire consciousness within Kreig’s mind?’ 

‘It seemed like--’ 

‘I don’t care!’ Ava cut Amara off. ‘I don’t care if she’s ‘really real’ or not! Let me see her!’ 

Tannis sighed. ‘Fine. Ahem--Kreig? Do you mind hosting another guest for a little while? ………Good. Because I don’t know if I’d be able to keep her from trying to worm her way through my technology, misusing it, condemning you to permanent and debilitating brain damage and erasing her own existence from the universe, anyway.’ She turned back to Ava. ‘Alright. In you go.’ 

……………

‘Uh, welcome, I guess--’

‘Where’s Maya?’

‘Hold on--Ava?’

‘MAYA!’ The girl immediately sprinted off toward the sound of the Siren’s voice.

‘... Nice to meet you too.’ 

‘FRIGID FROGS.’ 

‘Yeah, that was a little rude…’

Maya nearly fell over from the force of Ava’s tackle-hug. 

‘MAYAAAAAAHAHAAAA!!’ 

It was a good five minutes of sobbing and borderline strangulation, if that was even possible for, as Maya put it, ‘whatever this is,’ before Ava let go. 

‘You-hic-you look weird. I don’t-hic-I don’t care!’ 

Maya snorted, but was holding back ghostly tears of her own. ‘Observant as always. Did you miss me?’ 

‘Don’t… don’t tell anyone I cried, okay?’ 

‘Won’t tell a soul.’ 

…………… 

The two Sirens were sitting side-by-side on the ground, leaning against the tree outside the portal to Maya’s memory.

‘I’m sorry I didn’t take your training as seriously as I should have. I just wanted to be a Vault Hunter so bad...’

‘Well, now that you’ve got my powers, now that you are a Vault hunter’ Maya grabbed Ava’s left hand and held her arm up, ‘How does it feel?’ A little snarky, she added, ‘Is it everything you dreamed?’ 

‘Yes! It’s amazing! It’s everything I’ve ever wanted since… well, ever! I love it!’ 

Maya almost seemed taken aback for a moment, but then covered it up with a grin. ‘I’m glad you’re enjoying it.’ Her smile fell. ‘But… about how I left you on Sanctuary when the Vault Team and I went to Promethea.’

‘I don’t want to talk about that.’

‘We need to talk about it.’

‘...’

‘I’m sorry for leaving you behind. Honestly, though, for the Vault on Promethea, if I had to make that choice again… I’d do it. But just because that was a very specific situation. In general though--I never wanted to leave you out, or deny you adventure. But you do know why I did it, right?’

‘You were trying to protect me… but I can hold my own! I could--’

‘Ava. It’s not that I don’t trust you or your abilities. It’s just… danger is everywhere. Troy and Tyreen took Lilith’s powers. They overwhelmed even me. Both of us were experienced, seasoned fighters, Vault Hunters, Sirens. If they can do that, I don’t even want to think of what they could do to you. But I do. I can’t get it out of my head. I tried to keep you out of the fight because I didn’t want those things to happen. You’re not invincible.’

Ava looked down. 

‘But... I should have taken you with me. Not to Promethea--but everything else.’ If they had been together in battle, then Ava could fight, practice, learn, but Maya would still be there to keep her safe. Ish. Safeish. Safer, at the least. ‘I just want you to know that if I could do that over again, I would. So, I’m sorry.’ 

Ava leaned more onto Maya’s shoulder. 

‘I’m sorry too. I should have listened to you more.’ 

‘Yeah… I feel like I had to cut so much out of your training… buuuuuut, now that we can talk, even if it is in Kreig’s crazy Psychoscape… ’

‘We can continue training?’ 

‘Yep.’ Both smiled. 

‘We can’t do this, like, all the time though, because Kreig’s brain--hold on. Have--have you even met Kreig yet?’

‘Uh… not really.’

‘Oh. My goodness. Okay, come on.’ Maya stood up and grabbed Ava’s hand and towed her over the the area where Kreig’s split psyches were chatting. 

‘Alright. Favorite person number one, meet favorite person number two. Kreig, this is Ava, my apprentice. And Ava, this is Kreig. Vault hunter, Crimson Raider, and my boyfriend.’

‘Oh,’ Blue Kreig stood up. ‘So you’re the kid she told us about? Huh. Nice to finally meet you. I’m the sane side. And that guy over there is the--’ 

‘SQUISHMEAT FLESHSLAYER!’ 

‘Yeah. That.’ 

The three talked so long that they lost track of time. Not that time could be tracked easily in the weird void-like space anyway. But they shared stories of that one time, that one guy, the place with the thing. Tannis is a Siren, by the way, got her powers from an ‘Angel.’ Troy and Tyreen are dead too, the Great Vault was real. They opened two more vaults, went to Nekrotafeyo, met Typhon DeLeon, used an ancient Eridian Machine. The Destroyer was destroyed, Lilith blew up the moon. 

Eventually, Tannis decided that it was time for Ava to come back to the real world. The reason being that Team Vault was meeting to discuss plans, and you should be there, since Lilith technically passed leadership down to you, but honestly leaving planning up to the group was one of the best decisions you’ve made, no offense to you of course,

‘It… it was really nice to see her again. Hey, Kreig,’ 

‘What is it?’ 

‘Can I ask you a favor?’

‘Anything.’

‘Promise me you’ll take care of her?’

‘Of course.’

[darnloveablecharacters]

Universal, Part Five: Escape

Series Summary: Simply a multi-part, self indulgent reader insert with John Wick universe kinda plumbed in. Fair warning…. SLOWWW BURN. Ignore canon and timing and crap, that’s not important….  Gifs and recognizable characters are not mine, but the story and all of the mistakes are!

The Universal - Masterlist

Chapter Notes: Nearly there! All that’s left after this is the Epilogue! Which.... is actually no longer an epilogue because I couldn’t stop myself from adding to it and it became the final chapter so.... there’s that. Also this is now an 18+ fic with that last chapter but I will say that while it’s technically not smut, there’s no question as to what is happening. Realistically for the actual chapter notes all I can say is... You and Obi Wan have had a really rough day. I also have half a mind to write a companion piece that would be the true reader-insert, if y’all had any interest?

Warnings for this chapter: ANGST! Bit more blood, bit more violence, way more rage, and kind of adulty content. Kind of...

Y/N was silent in the seat next to him as he set a course for Coruscant. She was stiff, staring blankly through the cockpit window, hands cuffed in energy binders.

Obi Wan glanced at her, taking in her appearance. The clones had patched her up before their departure and she was covered in bandages. Though he could feel her trying to block him, he sensed her weariness. “I am sorry Y/N.” He said guiltily, focusing back on the controls. “I never meant to put your family in danger. I didn’t know.”

“I know.” She said solemnly after a few moments of tense silence. “I thought you would sense them.” She leaned back with a defeated sigh and stared at her hands. “I was the one who put them in danger.”

“I should have felt their life force.” He admitted, turning to her again. “I was… distracted, though that is no excuse.” He said glumly.

She met his eyes finally. “By what?”

He opened his mouth to answer, but they were pulled from their moment when the ship jerked violently. “Kriff.” Obi Wan cursed as he gripped the controls, jerking the ship away as another bolt narrowly missed them.

“You cursed?” Y/N said, shocked.

He glanced at her incredulously. “Is that really what you are choosing to focus on right now?”

Y/N straightened in her seat and nodded. “Right, we should get out of here.”

“What exactly do you think I’m trying to do?” He countered, feeling oddly amused despite the danger they were currently in.

“We won’t be able to outrun them.” Y/N said glancing at the panel. “There’s a small planet nearby, we just have to beat them there.”

Obi Wan nodded and adjusted their trajectory, dodging as much of the oncoming fire as he could.

~

By the time they entered the atmosphere the ship was damaged enough that it was only barely controllable, and they hit the ground, hard.

“Nice landing.” Y/N said, grimacing.

“Not my best, I will admit.” Obi Wan said as he watched the droid ship that had been firing on them land in front of them.

Y/N followed his gaze out the window and her eyes widened. “Get me out of these binders. I can help.” She begged him.

Obi Wan nodded and freed her without hesitation. He handed over her lightsaber and they exited the ship as a large group of super battle droids surrounded them.

They stood back to back and activated their lightsabers. Their connection surged as they prepared for the attack to come but the droids did not move. They simply stood in place as if waiting for something.

Suddenly, another ship landed nearby and they both tensed as General Grievous exited and stalked toward them. “Ah, General Kenobi. I had hoped to find you here!” He exclaimed in his mechanical voice before turning to Y/N. “Lady Y/L/N, this is a surprise. I assume you are here to collect the bounty as well? If you assist me, I can assure you that we will split it fifty-fifty.”

Obi Wan felt her tense, but she answered calmly. “Apologies General, but I don’t like to share. I’m sure you understand. This bounty is mine.” She stated firmly.

General Grievous laughed maniacally before descending into a coughing fit. “Kill them both then.” He commanded with a wave after recovering.

Blaster fire erupted all around them and their world became a blur of blue and red as they fought to deflect the bolts. The battle was tiring but one by one, the droids fell as Obi Wan and Y/N worked together. They moved as one, covering and attacking until the last droid was finally destroyed leaving only Grievous, who retreated toward the only structure in sight.

Without a second thought Obi Wan took off after him, only hesitating when he realized Y/N was no longer beside him. He turned back and saw her standing by Grievous’ ship with an apologetic look. She was escaping.

His decision wasn’t hard, he nodded at her with understanding and continued his pursuit to where General Grievous had disappeared.

As soon as he crossed the threshold of the structure, he was met with a fierce attack. General Grievous seemed to fly at him with four lightsabers spinning wildly. Obi Wan hadn’t realized how tired he was until that moment and he knew in his heart that he would lose this fight. Y/N, please be safe. He thought desperately as Grievous quickly forced him into a corner and disarmed him for the second time a single day.

“Any last words, Jedi?” General Grievous asked victoriously as he raised two of the lightsabers for a killing blow.

Again, time seemed to slow to a near stop and Obi Wan closed his eyes to let out a calming breath. He felt no fear in death and was even further comforted by the fact that this moment would ensure Y/N’s freedom.

His eyes snapped open when he heard her agonized scream. Grievous began to turn but was too slow to prevent her attack. The red lightsaber swung upward in a vicious arc, severing the two hands and he roared with rage. She aimed another blow to his neck but he rolled away just in time and she missed but followed him immediately, darkness consuming her.

Obi Wan pulled his lightsaber and charged after them as she beat General Grievous back with an even stronger rage than what she had attacked him with. She was exhausted though, already injured and her strength was faltering. Eventually, Grievous managed to deal a blow to her arm in the exact same spot where Cody had shot her and she fell.

Obi Wan finally caught up and stood between them, raising his lightsaber and standing over her protectively.

General Grievous narrowed his golden eyes as he regarded both of them and backed away. “Interesting.” He growled, then glanced at Y/N who was glaring at him spitefully. “You will regret this insult, bounty hunter.” He warned before quickly scuttling back to his ship.

Obi Wan switched off his lightsaber and ran to Y/N’s side as she struggled to stand, groaning in pain. “Y/N, you’re hurt.” He said, grasping her un-injured arm to help steady her.

She leaned against him shakily and he wrapped his arms around her. “I’m okay, it’s only a scratch.” She said wearily.

He pulled away just enough to cup her cheek and look her in the eyes. “You foolish woman, you should have left when you had the chance.”

Her eyes twinkled and she smirked. “Who's the more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows them?"

Obi Wan chuckled as he pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead and pulled her in for another hug. “I will have to remember that one.”

Y/N smiled as she buried her face into the crook of his neck and took a deep breath. “I couldn’t leave you, not like that.” She finally said softly. She pulled away slightly and looked into his eyes.

She let him feel everything. Her fear and pain mixed with her hope and… love. She smiled then and pressed her lips against his in a tentative kiss. He tensed with surprise at the contact and she pulled away, cheeks flushed in embarrassment. “I’m sorry, I thought...”

Obi Wan stopped her with a gentle hand at the back of her neck and pulled her in again, melting into another kiss and allowing his own emotions to wash over them. He groaned as he pushed his tongue to her lips and she let him in, allowing him to fully explore her. Her taste was intoxicating, and he realized that in that moment, he would do anything if it meant he could make this feeling last forever.

He knew too quickly that it couldn’t though as a vision of her in a prison flashed before him and he broke the kiss, leaving them both breathless. “You have to go.” He murmured against her lips. “The droid ship should still be able to fly. Take it and leave, now.”

She shook her head. “What will happen to you when they find out you allowed me to escape?” She asked, resting her forehead against his.

He pulled the small package of hers that he had been carrying out of his pocket and pressed it into her hands. “They will not know, it will be easy to explain that you got away in the battle. It is not a lie.” He replied kissing her lips softly, one last time, before taking a step away.

Tears filled her eyes as she glanced at the bag in her hand. She nodded and met his pained gaze. “If there ever comes a day when you decide to leave the Order, I will find you.” She said with a strained voice.

He smiled at her sadly. “How will you know?”

She placed a finger to her temple confidently. “I will know.” She dropped her hand and took a step toward the exit before turning back and adding, “Thank you... for everything you’ve done for me. May the Force be with you, General Kenobi.”

“And also with you.” He responded with a bow. He watched her turn away and as she disappeared from view, he felt an overwhelming sense of longing he couldn’t remember ever feeling before. “I love you, Y/N.” He said quietly to the spot she had been standing in.

~

He climbed into the wrecked ship to contact the Council but faltered. As he felt her leave the atmosphere, reality finally caught up with him and his heart shattered. He sunk to his knees, burying his face in his hands and sobbed.

For her own safety, he could never see her again.

He wasn’t sure how long he sat like that before he felt a gentle brush in his mind. Keep going it seemed to say.

I will he finally thought, rubbing the tears out of his eyes. He stood, shaking off the despair he felt and raised his commlink confidently to give his report.

[stevenuniversetanzanite]

Someone Must Get Hurt (Cordelia x Reader (Part 5))

This is set during around and through coven so she’s still Cordelia Foxx technically.

Part 1,  Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 

Sorry for the late update, joined an academy (unfortunately not for witches) and had to wait until I got my glasses also writer’s block.

I re-read the other chapters and I genuinely enjoyed (which is rare for my self-conscious arse). Hope I didn’t screw that up with this addition. Probably did.

Anyway, enjoy :).

Y/N/N= Your nickname

Y/M/N= Your mum’s name. (I didn’t want to pick your characters mum’s name.)

The air was tense in the academy, every student was stressing about who was the next supreme. One student, Nan had drowned in a bathtub. Zoe tried to communicate with her spirit but had no luck, the girl didn’t want to talk. We all had our suspicions of what happened and all of them involved Fiona. Cordelia was the only one who was doubtful, but you all knew she was just hoping her mother wasn’t as bad as you all knew her to be. For Cordelia’s sake, you wished it wasn't her. Who knows, maybe a witch hunter broke in and… drowned her? Nah, that sounds wrong. Why go to all the trouble of breaking in and then drown a girl? Nan was more than powerful enough to fight off a non-magic user. 

Madison’s inflated ego made her believe she was the next supreme. No one directly said it to her, but you all hoped she wasn’t- none of you wanted another Fiona. Madison’s jelousy over the title made her commit attempted murder, smashing Misty in the head with a large rock and burring her six feet under in a resurract man’s casket. 

Fiona was showing Misty with gifts, mainly meeting her favourite singer Stevie Nicks. It was nice to see Misty awe-stricken by the famous singer plus you got to listen to Stevie live for free. After how much of her music you’ve had to listen to since Misty arrived, it was great to relax to some great vocals. The other girls were out doing whatever they wanted. Cordelia was trying to get you closer to the girls (when was she not?) and tasked you with getting along with Misty who you, in Cordelia’s eyes, had the most in common with. 

Your mind kept falling back to the contant theme of the recent days, the next supreme. Everyone was infatuated with knowing, “maybe it's me?”, “I could be the supreme”, you just wanted to go with the flow. Everyone was stressing you out and you didn’t need that at the moment. They were acting like it was a competition, that the goal of these being a witch was to be the supreme. You wondered if the thing was a generational thing, like every 20 or so years there’s a new one is born or is it random. If you knew this, you could use to predict how old the witch would have to be. Was she about your age or like Cordelia’s? Is it even one of us? There could be a witch we don’t know of out there who is the successor. You didn’t vocalize any of this or participated in any of the drama created because of the mystery involved behind who the next one was. You couldn’t care less. 

While the other girls practiced their magic, you tried to make something to heal the burned skin around your eyes. Misty offered you some of her ‘magical’ mud, but you wanted nothing to do with it or her. She was a nice girl but her friendship with Cordelia put you off her. They were too close; you didn’t trust their friendship. Your interest in finding something to fix your burns along with you love of botany lead you to starting your newest distraction from your crush on the headmistress. 

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Your pen hit against the workbench. Music blared through your headphones. You had spent the last three hours in the green house trying to perfect a potion, making notes in a hand bound book. It was a side project to distract yourself from the over growing jealousy you felt. On the other side of the room, the two other green magic enthusiasts insisted on working. You hadn’t been invited to join them, they thought you looked too busy on your book. Cordelia stole glances every so often, you weren’t aware of this.

Stevie Nicks' "Kind Of Woman" played in the background as the two blonde witches worked on their concoction. Cordelia hummed along with the music. She picked some bay leaves, tearing them into smaller pieces as she shoved it in their mud. She was teaching the young swamp witch.

The two spoke in hushed whispers. Cordelia didn’t want to disturb you as you worked. The two almost didn’t come in there, but there being very little to do in the school and you already absorbed in your work you didn’t think their presence would disturb you. You switched your music from the speaker to your phone, to ensure their talking didn’t disturb you. During the breaks of your songs, you could hear their voices as Cordelia taught the young swamp witch like she had taught you months ago.

“I didn't know bay leaves had magic in them.”

“Provide protection. Asafetida banishes evil.”

Misty leant down to smell the concoxion, “Oh, wow, that's some stinky shit.”

You could hear their laughing during the switching of tracks. You groaned. They took that as you were frustrated with your work – they weren’t internally wrong but the cackling from behind you wasn’t helping either. Cordelia frowned, not enjoying watching you stress out you’re your project. She considered offering you to join them to distract you for a bit, but something held her back.

Misty leaned in towards Cordelia, "Zoe told me what you two overheard."

"W-what?" Cordelia stuttered, growing flustered. Cordelia didn’t know what to do with her hands. Instead of waving them about like an idiot, they clenched the workbench, leaning her body weight on them. She couldn’t run from this conversation; it would be too obvious. Why couldn’t it all be easier like how it was before she got blinded. Your first ‘unofficial lesson’. The ease of moving closer to your person, how easily flustered you were (like how she was now). She insisted she needed to know about the student who refused to open herself up to others. She missed the conversations you’d both have as you peeled back the protective layer.

You were too caring; she saw that when you ‘helped’ her. You did what you thought was best, for her, you, and the coven. She felt in those few seconds your hands were on her temples, the love you had for her as well as the pain love has caused you in the past.

She saw the late nights when you stayed up contemplating your decision, the countless hours you thought about others instead of yourself which counted up to years of your life. An underlying need for control, of you, your body as well as your wants and desires. You held yourself back and now she was doing it for you because she was too indissertive and disgusted with everything about the situation she caught herself in. 

She was scared, she only built to that pain. She didn’t have enough time to stop you and, in an attempt to do so, she tossed you across the room when you had already been affected. You couldn’t have foreseen that.

Cordelia liked you back, that’s the problem. She was your teacher. It’s the same as having a crush on your professor. She made you fall for her. Ignoring all that, she was still married. She had no knowledge that her ex had cheated. What if he hadn’t, what if he was a decent person? What if-

“Ms Cordelia.”

“Hmm~”

"That she likes you Ms Cordelia."

"It doesn't mean anything-" All she could do was deny. It wasn’t right, what she did was wrong.

"I know it's not my place, but you've been talking about her for ages and you haven't asked her once."

She looked at Misty, “Your right. This isn’t your place.” Cordelia rushed out of the greenhouse and back into the school.

Misty sighed and looked over to you who was too busy working to pay attention to them. Misty knew she would have to get involved if you too were ever going to get together. She couldn’t do it alone. She had to call in for help. 

Four of the girls were huddled up in the main room, all wanting to fix the dynamic between the two of you. Each one had tried in their own way to help you out. Madison with her constant babbling about person a (usually making at least one sexual reference) to person b as well as getting you to admit your feelings in the worst place. The others worked more in the way of emotional support for Cordelia (you got along with the others but weren’t one to confide in them) and trying to convince her to make a move.

One’s idea was to stage an intervention for Cordelia, as you had stated your love for her in her presence and it was just Cordelia holding back. Another suggested if they got both of you in the same room, you’d talk it out, that wasn’t going to happen. They could set up a date and trick you both into going.

“The date idea doesn’t sound that bad,” Zoe said. “But how would we do it?”

“We’d need to make so neither can leave,” Queenie said.

“Yeah, Ms Cordelia stormed out the other day when I was trying to talk her into it,” Misty said while eating grapes.

“-and Y/N can teleport, so you’d be relying on not to zap away.” You were the type to teleport away if you were uncomfortable, but with Cordelia in the equation no one could know. 

“Okay, what do we need to do to make it the perfect date?” Zoe asked. Retrieving a pen and paper out like it was a middle school project.

“Say no more,” Madison said.

“No one let Madison get the pen.”

“Hey!”

An hour later Cordelia walked in on the girls plotting the date. She raised a brow at all the girls working harmoniously together. The group's laughter was what brought her out of her office originally. She smiled standing in the doorway. Her grin faltered when she noticed you weren’t with the girls. She worried at times like these when she saw the others getting along and you depriving yourself from times like this. 

She brought herself to where she thought you would be, she was your teacher after all, she should be concerned that you were missing out.

She knocked 

“Shit, you scared me.”

“I think you’ve said those words to me before,” she purred. 

“Miss Foxx?” Not Delia or Cordelia. No, she couldn’t stand you saying that. It was too formal and distant. It reminded her too much of her husband, someone she never wanted to think about again. She wanted the closeness you both once had. She craved you to call her a nickname. She will call you a million if she could hear you say one. She’d give anything to hear you say Delia more time.

“You don’t have to call me that.” She kept the same flirtatious tone as before, sending shivers down your spine. She gently nudged you to the side. You scooted over giving her enough room to sit beside you. 

It felt like Déjà vu. Her sitting next to you, working in the greenhouse just like the day you injured your arm. The limb was now healed. The coven’s knowledge of your past didn’t stop you from where clothes not appropriate for the weather. The only time you didn’t cover yourself fully was when you were spending most of your days trapped in your room blind. Cordelia made sure you were never overheating due to your stubbornness as well as self-consciousness. 

“How’s your book going?” It was hard to concentrate. She was so close to you. 

“Alright.” It was killing you but not as much as watching her with Misty. 

“You seemed stressed earlier.”

“I did?”

“You did,” she said. “I think you deserve a break. You’ve been working on this for a while now.” 

“I don’t know-” You didn’t know what game she was playing. 

“Come one sweetheart-”

“No!” You brushed her off you. You jumped off your crate turned seat creating some distance between you and her. “None of this.”

“I thought-”

“No. I don’t like to be toyed with. You can’t play off you didn’t hear what you heard as if nothing happened and then weeks later come up to me all flirtatiously and expect me to be okay with that.” You clenched your fists trying to hold back your anger. “You either like me or you don’t. Tell me now so I can move on with my life.”

“Y/N I-”

“You know what, I don’t want to hear it.”

“Y/N-”

“Please go.” You wouldn’t look at her. Your head faced the exit, your hands crossed. The moment she left they would slide out of position and hug your body as you sobbed. 

“No! I like you Y/N. Hell, I love you more than I ever did with my ex. I’m not letting you toss me aside.”

“Miss Fo-”

“Don’t call me that! Ever!” You shut your mouth quick, eyes widened. She approached you, tearing your arms out of their tightly crossed position. She held your hands in her’s. “I-I didn’t mean to yell, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. I didn’t mean to either, I was just-”

“I get it. With the weight of the world resting on our shoulders, it’s hard not to snap sometimes.”

“Everything will get better, yeah? Once we find out who the next supreme is?”

“For our survival, I hope so.” Not the answer you wanted to hear but she wasn’t going to hide the truth from you, not at a time like this. 

You don’t know what caused you to do it but you pulled her into a hug, “I wish you could be the supreme.” Cordelia chuckled. “Your so wise compared to us and you’re the nicest, most caring-”

“It’s nice of you to say that but it’s not me.”

“Still, it would be nice to be dating the most powerful witch in the coven.”

“So you still want to date me?” You hummed resting your head on her shoulder and nuzzling into her neck. “It could be you?”

“Hmm?”

“You could be the supreme.”

“I hope not. Sounds like too much responsibility… and socialising.” Cordelia chuckled once more. 

The woman held you close. Time stood still for the two of you. For once, it was calm. You were content standing their bodies pressed together as the world moved on around you. Nothing mattered. The coven’s problems were for another time. 

***

Everything happened so fast. You were talking to Queenie, trying to convince her to stay, unlike Cordelia, she didn't tell you to get out. She warned you to run, get out before whoever killed the girls to you. One girl dead, another missing, someone was going to be next, it only depended on who. She wasn't sticking around to get killed to find out.

The next you were in the greenhouse being held back. They wouldn't let you see Cordelia. The girls were forced to keep tabs on you, not letting you out of their sight. No one bothered to tell you what happened. You knew that something horrible happened and needed to help. 

"I need to go to the bathroom," you told the girls. They nodded, leading you to the nearest moment. You were told to be quick. You meekly nodded before shutting yourself in. The moment the door was shut you teleported into Cordelia's bedroom. 

"Oh god." She stabbed her eyes out. "No~ why?"

She rested on the bed doped up on painkillers to numb the pain. You could have sworn she looked peacefully asleep. It wasn’t the case. Red, inflamed skin sounding her eye sockets. You put two with two together. Gouging out her eyes wouldn’t solve anything. 

The floorboards creaked from behind you. Myrtle wasn’t sure how you got into the room, she was monitoring it and the girls were watching over you. From what she knew, you couldn’t teleport. It wouldn’t surprise her if you could, all the girls in the coven were picking up magic easier. Power’s develop faster in times of danger.

There wasn’t much you could do for her. You weren’t going to make the same ‘mistake’ as last time, no matter how much you wanted to. If Myrtle didn’t come in, you might not have said the same. The both of you talked, you rarely spoke to her one on one- that does with everyone else in the coven, minus Cordelia and Zoe. Fiona tried to speak to you once, to shove in the same your the next supreme crap you bet. Cordelia saved you before you had to talk to the woman. Fiona did say after you helped that boy find his mother that, “She knows more than she lets on.” She couldn’t have been suggesting you were the next... no. That woman was a trickster and shouldn’t be trusted. 

“I purchased tickets to Epcot for Zoe and Kyle. I watched them together at Nan's funeral. Such a pair. So much in love,” Myrtle said.

“They are quite the pair.” You understood why she was telling you this, it was the same reason as to why Queenie left, no one was safe. If Madison didn’t kill them out of jealousy than Fiona would. “What will happen with me and Madison?” Madison didn’t see you as a threat. You wouldn’t bet your life on it staying that way. 

“Your mother will be picking you up later today.”

“What?”

“It’s only until all of this is sorted out. Think about it as a holiday from school.”

“What about Cordelia?”

“She’d prefer you to be out of harm’s way.”

“It’s only temporary?” Myrtle nodded. 

You wished she was lying. But when you heard your mother’s voice echo upstairs you sighed backing the last of your things. You stood at the top of the stairs with a backpack packed with your essentials. Your mum and Myrtle were deep in a conversation, not noticing you watching them. You didn’t want to leave Cordelia again. This time it wasn’t your choice. You left your details on Cordleia’s desk in case she needed to contact you. The only problem with that was her finding it since she was blind and wouldn’t see it. That wasn’t a problem you could solve this second, you had the schools number, that was good enough for now. 

You checked on Cordelia one last time before you left. She was fast asleep. You didn’t want to be around when Myrtle broke the news to her. Keeping it short, you placed a kiss on her forehead before heading to your mother. 

“I can’t believe she did that, I never would have thought- you were right the whole time,” your mum tried to grasp what Myrtle told her. You missed the change of subject of conversation when you were with Cordelia.

“You were too young at the time.”

“Anna leigh?” Myrtle nodded. You had no idea what the two were talking about, who was Anna Leigh? Your mother was the first to spot you, “Don’t you want to bring more?” 

You shook your head, “I don’t plan on being gone long.” The two older women shared a look of displeasure. They both wanted you away from the school longer than they were letting on. 

“I’ll keep an eye on her until the dangers are dealt with. It’ll be a good chance to catch up.”

“Sounds fun,” you said in an uneathustic voice. 

“Just us two.” You rose your brow. No siblings? What's the catch?

“Yeah, that sounds alright.”

***

You were perched up against the window, peering out into the streets of wherever your mum took you. The journey was long and you fell asleep in the car ride over. Since she arrived at the academy you sensed something was off with her. She viewed you differently. Hidden by her happy exterior masked her unease. She handed you a hot cocoa before planting herself beside. You shuffled to allow her more room. 

She asked you a series of questions about school and how you were enjoying it. You answered vaguely, not wanting to go into the full extent of what was going down. 

“There’s a lot less girls from when I went there,” she commented. She was a witch? She never mentioned this before. If you would have known, you might not have felt so alone. “It was a lot safer too. I guess there’s no safe place for us witches.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were a witch?”

“We weren’t going to tell you kids. We didn’t want to put you in danger. I never thought about the complications of not telling you. Myrtle told me what you did- what you have been doing. I allowed myself to be naive.”

“Mum it’s alright-”

“No it's not,. There was more she wanted to say but left it unsaid. “I can’t fix the past but I promise to be better.” You took a long sip of your beverage, making a noise of contentment. “Still good?”

“I missed your cocoa.” You mum acted offended. “I missed you too.” You both laughed before taking another sip of your drinks. “The headmistress of the school makes great cocoa too.”

“Goode’s kid, right?”  She asked. “I heard she was nice.”

“Yeah, she is. She’s taught me a lot about Botany. I’ve been translating a couple of the old books in the greenhouse so they are easier to follow.”

“Those old things. They’ve been there since the beginning of time.” She said. “I’m pretty sure my sister started something similar, it’s probably still there unless one of her roommates moved it.” Your mother rarey spoke of her sister, you didn’t even know your Aunt’s name. She snapped out her train of thought. She asked, “What about the other girls? Are they nice?”

“They’re an interesting bunch to say the least.”

Back at the academy, Cordelia gradually got better. Myrtle informed her of your little get-a-way and that you were safely with a trustworthy family member. Cordelia was doubtful of what she heard but Myrtle assured her that as long as you're here, you weren’t safe. Not only were there the threats of Madison and her mother, Cordelia herself in her blinded state was a risk. 

Queenie decided to stay in the coven. Fiona went so far as to claim Queenie as her successor and was going to make her complete  the seven wonders. This pissed of Cordelia. Fiona wouldn’t explain her reasoning behind her decision, fleeing shortly after. 

All the witches admired the new portrait of Fiona Goode above the piano. The girls listed off empty compliments (“She was so beautiful.”, “She was a great Supreme.”, “A lot to live up to.”, “One of the best.”). Cordelia didn’t follow this trend, instead opting to keep it true, “She was a force to be reckoned with, but she was a horrible Supreme.” Mentioning all the ways she had failed at the rule. She used this time to announce that on the coming Sunday, at dawn the test of Seven Wonders will begin and all would be tested. By next week, they’ll have a new Supreme.

There was a thud at the door. Cordelia smiled. Everyone looked around wondering who that could be. “Is someone gonna let me in or am I gonna have to break in?” All the girls chuckled. Zoe ran over towards the front door, Misty and Queenie not far behind. As soon as the door was opened you were pulled into a suffocating hug. “Y/N!” Zoe was most excited to see you. “Girl, where did you go?” Queenie asked. Clearly none of them were clued into your departure. 

“You weren’t meant to be back until all of this was solved,” Myrtle said. 

“I was called.”

***

There should have been more to do. Your thoughts always feel back to the coven. You held yourself back from calling, they sent you away for a reason. Any contact could bring danger. You curled up on your temporary bed, a classic novel in your hands. It was still the early hours of the morning, your mother asleep in her bedroom. You could hear her snoring through the walls. One of the million things you didn’t miss from home. Even your old roommate snored. You smiled thinking about the few years of freedom you had at hers. Compared to now you wouldn’t call it that. Now you could do whatever you wanted when you wanted to, whether the others were happy about it depended on what you were doing. You still freaked Cordelia out when you leave the school without letting anyone know, or vanish for hours on end in a remote area of the house you don’t usually inhabit. You would do anything to hear her voice right now.

You spoke to your mum about Cordelia, never mentioning that you were a thing, she was still your teacher after all. She would wince when you mentioned the name which always threw you for a loop. You knew it wasn’t about you mentioning Cordelia because when you did without saying the name she was fine. It’s probably nothing to worry about. 

Your phone buzzed. A phone you recognized all too well was calling you. 

***

“I did say everyone participates,” Cordelia said. 

You were passed from person to person, giving the girls hugs. “I hope I didn’t miss it too much.” You pulled away from the last girl and headed over to your girlfriend. 

“Delia.”

“Y/N/N,” Cordelia said. “I missed you.”

“Missed you too.”

“Wow, you two really can’t control yourselves,” Madison said sarcastically. 

“Shut up Madison.”

You had a couple days to kill until the tests. You spent your first day catching up with Cordelia. You shared what happened during the days you were gone. You went into detail about the place you stayed at, the food you ate and your catch up with your mum. 

“You didn’t know your mother was a witch?”

“Yeah, she thought it was dangerous for us to know. I guess she’s right. All the stuff I’ve seen in this past year is-”

“Too much?”

“No~ well yeah but… I never would have dreamt this was going to be my life,” You said. “I’m glad I came here. Met you. Who knows where I would be if I never joined this school?”

“I’m glad you did.” You snuggled closer to Cordelia, her arms wrapped protectively around you.

The second day you spent on working on your book in the greenhouse. Your work was going nowhere so you decided to take a break. ‘I’m pretty sure my sister started something similar, it’s probably still there unless one of her roommates moved it,’ your mother's words popped back into her head. It couldn’t be here, could it? Where would I be if I was a book? 

You scowered the whole school searching for that damn thing. Where do they keep old things? The garage. On your first week at the school they forced you to organise the garage because they were too lazy to hire someone else to do it. It was just as you remembered it minus the fresh layer of dust that coated everything besides the van. A dodgy industrial bookcase filled with ancient books. When you put them there last year, you had flipped through a few of them. Most were photobooks of years prior. There were so many girls back then. If you knew what years your mum attended you could have looked. 

You spent hours filling through the books getting sidetrack from your original goal. 

“Y/N cant be allowed to participate-”

“She has every chance to be the next supreme as the others do. We can’t skip someone in case we are wrong.”

“All the more reason to skip her. There is no way she’s the next-”

“-There is nothing to discuss.” Cordelia stood up and began to leave to check on the girls. 

“Cordelia~”

Cordelia made it all the way to Madison and Zoe’s room, were you were all crowded around your finds. All the girls were cackling and commenting on the photos as you flipped through them. 

“I can’t believe that's what she used to look like. Has that woman ever looked bad a day in her life?” Madison said. 

“I think it’s impossible,” Zoe said. “”Like the world might implode or something.”

“Girls?”

“What do you want Cordy?” Madison said. “Hey Y/N/N, your girlfriends here.” Madison summoned your attention from the conversation you were having with Misty and Queenie.

“Delia!”

“What are you girls doing?” Cordelia chuckled at your excitement. She was glad that you were getting along with the other girls. She was proud at how far you had come.

“Y/N found some old photo albums and there's a bunch of old photos of Fiona and Myrtle. We even found an old album with some of you.”

“Oh god you found those things. For once I’m thankful I’m blind.”

“What are you talking about? You're adorable,” you said.

“You're just saying that because she’s your girlfriend.”

“Shut up.”

“Have you looked for your mother in them yet?” Cordelia asked. 

“Wait your mother went here?”

“Apparently.”

“Okay, I suggest a game. First person to find her mum makes the worst concoction that the rest have to do a shot of.” They all go in on the game. “Y/N, can’t play so you can be the judge.” Sounded good by you. 

They kept guessing people from random albums that visually resembled you. The game got called off by the call for dinner. You were all cracking up all through the meal. Anyone who didn’t know any of you would have guessed nothing was wrong underneath this roof. All of you but aside your differences for one night and managed to prove that you could get along if you tried. 

As you were putting the albums away you found a brown leather bound journal hidden behind a box of assorted junk. You flipped it open to the first page, ‘This book belongs to Cordelia-’ The last name was covered in pen ink. Why would Cordelia leave a notebook hidden all the way back here? It was left with a bunch of old albums, maybe it was an old diary or something. In that case, its better to leave it where you found it. 

You met Cordelia upstairs in her bedroom. You’d been helping her get ready for the night ever since you got back. The night before she came to your room and asked for your help as you were about to get ready for bed. You ended up spending the night in her room. 

***

Myrtle seemed hesitant upon commencing the seven wonders. She kept eyeing you during the ‘last supper’ before the new supreme was crowned. For all you knew it could have been your last, you’d all been warned that one of the spells could lead to death if failed. This made Misty very worried. She didn’t want to participate in the whole sabang. To be fair, neither did you but there weren't many witches to replace Fiona.

Five witches with different specialties all competing for the reigning title of head of the Coven.

The two eldest members barely spoke directly to each other throughout the duration of the meal. Misty spent most of her time talking to Cordelia making you slightly jealous. Knowing you were being irrational, you decided to turn away from them and pay attention to Madison raving on about how much she had got this in the bag.

Cordelia explained that it is unprecedented for five candidates to attempt the Seven Wonders without sponsorship by the outgoing Supreme but desperate times call for desperate measures. 

The tests started out easy. First was telekinesis. Kyle lit five candles for the girls. Why you couldn’t light them yourselves was beyond you, it would have gotten rid of a test. All the girls move the candles towards themselves in turn, Misty had the most difficulty with the task but bubbled with excitement on completion while Zoe barely took a second to move the candle.

Next was Concilium. The girls turned on each other without a second thought. Misty made Queenie slap herself, Queenie makes Misty pull her own hair in retaliation. Madison goes overboard making Kyle do a series of tasks ending up with Kyle choking Zoe. You freak seeing Zoe getting choked. You fought for control over Kyle’s mind, controlling for him to stop. “Why isn’t he- oww” Madison complained before Zoe made her burn herself on her cigarette.

Cordelia declared enough. The girls complained -mostly Madison- you had yet to do something. You didn’t know what to make someone do, your mind was blank. You had some ideas of things you wouldn’t mind making your girlfriend do but not in front of the others. None of them were pg.  You wouldn’t mind a lap dance or watching her strip (the list continues) but that doesn’t solve the problem of people watching.

“I reversed your ass’s control,” You said to Madison. Madison wasn’t buying it. Zoe mouthed thank you to which you simply nodded. 

“Prove you can do it again” "make Cordelia do something."

"She's not a part of the test."

"It's alright, I don't mind."

"I don't want to make you do something, you didn't want to do." Your head darted towards Madison. "But I don't have a problem controlling you."

You made her suffer for all the things she did to all of you over the last couple of weeks. The other girls cheered you on, you were hyperfocus on the task you didn’t stop until a hand was placed on your shoulder snapping out of your concentration. 

For the next challenge, all four girls perform the Descensum wonder with a sun-up deadline. You all laid on the ground and chanted the incarnation, “Spiritu duce, in me est. Deduce me in tenebris vita ad extremum, ut salutaret inferi. Descensum!”

You sat there crumpled on the floor. The air felt cold on your damaged  skin. You sat exactly where you were before you entered your personal hell. Your cardigan laid near the loveseat. You were left puzzled, where was everyone? Had you completed it and woken up. No one told you anything about this task. Did you fail? The school was a lot darker than you recalled it being. The lights were turned off and not a single candle lit. You waved your hand to create some light but nothing. Odd.

You heard footsteps approaching the room you were situated in. A voice echoed around you but you couldn’t see anyone nor make out their words. A sting sensation filled your left cheek forcing your head sideways. 

“Y/n! Are you even listening to me?” An angry cordelia waved her hand in front of your face. “Typical,” she spat. “You couldn’t pay attention in my classes and you can’t now. Maybe if you paid more attention, you could have saved everyone.” ‘Saved everyone’ what was she on about? 

You scrambled up, backing away from the blonde who kept proceeding to get closer. Two strong hands grasp you in place, their grip, bruising. 

“You were always using your power to heal others and the one time we actually needed it your can’t. You're a pathetic little girl. I don’t know why we allowed you to stay at the coven. I should have kicked you out the moment I saw what you are. A damaged mess. There’s no saving you. You're a curse to this coven. My mother won’t be our downfall, you will be.”

You were left speechless. Frozen in fear. You stared into her hate filled eyes. The angry based heat radiating off her body could scourch you alive. Her nails seeped into your flesh drawing blood.

“I was glad when I was blinded. I wouldn’t have to be forced to see your face day in and day out. There is only so much torture you can put up with. You're a monster. a walking death trap. Your powers aren’t like queenies- hers was useful.”

“ENOUGH!” you shouted at her, ripping her tight grip off of you. “I am more than I appear and stronger than you think. You're not real and even if you were, your words are weightless. They won’t hurt me and you want to know why?” She was taken aback. She didn’t expect you to talk back.

“Why?”

“Because I know all of the things you said, I’ve thought them. I have said a million worse things to myself than that.” You said. “If this was a couple months ago, I would believe you. I really would. A part of me may still believe you but you have no right to talk to me like that. I am better than that and deserve more than you belittling me.”

She chuckled. You were done with this, her abuse. This wasn’t real. You were fine. This couldn’t be real. 

“Are we all back?” Zoe asked.

You jolted up, gasping for air. You were the fourth to arrive back. Cordelia treaded carefully as she made her way over to you. 

“Everyone but Misty,” Queenie answered Zoe’s question.

Everyone was staring at you. "What?" You stattered. You scrambled to turn around to see who was awake. Misty lay there stuck in her hell, "Shit." 

“She’s still got some time,” Zoe assured me, staring at the timer. The hourglass to see time was almost over.

“Not much,” you uttered. 

Cordelia felt around for you. The second she was close you teleported away from her touch, appearing next to Zoe. “Sorry,” you apologized, tucking your legs into your chest. Her head darted in the direction of your voice. “I-I didn’t mean to- I’m still shaken up.”

“It’s okay.”

“Misty needs you more than I do right now anyway.” Cordelia only nodded. 

“What was your hell?” Zoe whispered. Queenie leant down to listen.

“All my flaws on display. I’d heard worse. It was who was saying them that kept me there.”

Queenie pointed her head towards your girlfriend, you nodded feeling worse for dashing away the moment she got close to you. 

Misty was taking too long. "We need to help her" you cried out. 

"There's nothing we can do. She has to get back on her own."

"That's bullshit."

Cordelia hunched over the swamp witch’s body, hands on either side of her head, calling out for her to follow her voice. She chanted a spell, anything to wake her friend back up. By dawn, she hadn’t emerged. Her time ran out and with that, her body disintegrates into ash in Cordelia's sobbing arms.

“Her time is up,” Myrtle said. 

“No...No, no! No... No!” Cordelia sobbed, occasionally gasping for air. You shared a saddened look with two of your peers (Madison being to heartless took Misty’s death as an inconvenience). “Go to her,” Zoe mouthed. Hesitantly, you closed the distance, pulling her into a hug. She buried her face into your hoodie as she sobbed. You ran your hand over the top of her head. 

"We'll give the two a minute before continuing the tests." Myrtle said, ushering the other girls out of the room. 

"I killed her, I forced her to do the test when she didn't want to. She wasn't even one of us and I-I"

You shushed her, "It's not your fault sweetheart, no one could have predicted this."

"She didn't deserve to die."

 She was too young and too innocent to be trapped in her own personal hell for all eternity. You had nothing against the girl other than her closeness with your now girlfriend, but you would wish for a hell filled death. You wish you could bring her back. Save her from hell. It was too late. All you could do now was comfort her friend and hope nothing happens to anyone one else. 

“I had a vision, a terrible vision. None of us made it out alive. What if it was a warning that this was going to happen? That fiona will win. Were going to kill ourselves trying to save the coven. What if it's already-”

“Your mother isn’t going to win. None of us are going to allow that to happen. “

"I don't want you to go on with the tests."

"What? Delia~"

"Not you too. I don't want to lose you too."

"We still need to find the next supreme."

She wished to get changed into an outfit more fitting for a time of morning. Myrtle offered to help Cordelia while you recovered and checked on the other girls. You checked with Cordelia making sure she was alright with that before handing her over. 

“You didn’t just want to help me, did you?”

“Not exactly-”

“I don’t want any of the other girls to get hurt.”

“We have no control over this Delia. Your mother refuses to announce her successor.”

“We still have four test’s left. Who do you think it’s going to be?”

“I was so certain about Misty Day.” Myrtle pulled out a black long sleeve dress for Cordelia. “Maybe Zoe. ”

“All the girls are powerful, it could be any one of them. If Madison Montgomery really is all- maybe it is better-'' She didn’t want to finish that thought.

“I'll confess, I've had similar dark thoughts.”

“I know you were admitment on Y/N not competing but why not? She is a very powerful witch. We’ve seen her perform three of the seven wonders and those weren’t the ones in her wheelhouse. She’s a timid girl, it's possible she’s holding out on us.

“Cordelia, there is no way (Y/N) can be the supreme.”

“But why? You're not answering me.”

“The council thought it was better you didn’t know. It’s a story close to home.” Myrtle closed up the dress for Cordelia before leading her to sit on the loveseat in the middle of Cordelia’s bedroom. “I assumed Fiona would have told you-”

“She doesn’t tell me shit.”

“Y/N’s bloodline prevents her from being able to do one of the seven wonders.”

“What are you on about?”

“Y/n’s signature power, to transfer pain, it’s not the first time I’ve seen it. Y/M/N, Y/N’s mother and her sister attended the school.  During one of the lessons, Y/M/N got badly injured. Her sister, much like your dear Y/N, tended to rush to try and heal- at least Y/M/N. She didn’t hear about it until break. Y/M/N died and her sister attempted to bring back the child only cursing her with the same fate.”

“Y/N’s not the same-”

“Ask her if you don’t believe me.”

“Y/N can be brought back. She’s died before and my mother brought her back.”

“Giving your life is different to releasing some of someone else's.”

“I don’t want you to lose the love of your life because of a test that only one person can succeed.” 

“You think she's the love of my life?”

“She was willing to give you her sight twice.” Twice? Cordelia didn’t remember it happening twice. She worried it would happen again, the others must have stopped you. “Very few people are willing to do that for someone even if they care for someone dearly.”

“We should get back to the others,” Cordelia said. “I’ll stop her from going too far.”

Myrtle led Cordelia back to the others. They reluctantly continue the test. Next was transmutation. Zoe started a game of tag to lighten the mood. Much to your dismay, you were held back by Cordelia. You were confused but didn’t question it.  Zoe tagged you. Oh, it's on. You teleported out of Cordelia’s grip and tag Madison. The game of tag progressed on and was moved outside. Cordelia warned you all to be careful. None of you cared. You all needed this. It was a stupid mistake on yours part.

None of you cared until you saw Zoe’s lifeless body dangling from a spike on the cast-iron fence. You helped Kyle ease her body of the spike and transfer her to the greenhouse. Queenie attempted Vitalum Vitalis on Zoe in order to revive her, failing. She was ordered to take the saddened Kyle back to the house. Both Cordelia and Myrtle insist Madison perform Vitalum Vitalis on Zoe next, even though you were more than willing to go next. Madison proves her ability with a fly instead. They don’t accept this and request her to save Zoe or she was not worthy of being the Supreme. She complained, saying why they weren’t trying to get you to have a go since they all knew out of the two, they would prefer you as one. Madison exited angry leaving the three of you alone in the greenhouse with Zoe.

“I’ll clean up her wound a bit for when she gets brought back. It should be easy work assuming she didn’t puncture too many organs,” You said surveying the damage. “I think I have some medical equipment in my bedroom.”

“Can you get her the supplies, I need to talk to Y/N for a moment?” she asked her Auntie. Myrtle agreed as much as she disliked doing mineral work, she knew why she wanted to talk to you.  You didn’t like the sound of this ‘talk’ so you made small talk to prolong the inevitable. 

“I wanted to be a doctor when I was younger. My mum used to laugh and say I was just like her sister. Sadly, she died before I was born.” You filled your bowl of Luke warm water and brought it to the dead girl. "That's besides the point. I never really found a passion in studying anatomy. I ended up doing it so I could fix myself instead. Don't think a hospital would hire me with all these scars on me, they'd probably assume I self-harmed or something."

"You haven't-"

"God no. Well, maybe in a sense. I didn't need to help others. Everything's complicated."

"I think you should do it. Become a doctor, if you still want to."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe I will. Lets see how this goes first." Myrtle arrived back with your gear. No one knew you had a collection of medical equipment. You stole it from the hospital around the same time Zoe brought back her man. "I need full concentration while doing this."

They allowed you your privacy, promising to check up on you every so often to make sure you didn't need anything and to keep you from doing something stupid. You didn't push yourself to do Vitalum Vitalis. If they wanted Madison to try, so be it. As time went on, the idea came up in your head more frequently. Maybe you should try. Your work was done. The only thing you could do now was wait.

“Whatever you’re thinking, don’t do it,” Cordelia said. You hadn't noticed there in the room before. Was she always there or did she just enter?

“I think I can bring her back,” you said. 

“I don’t doubt you could." But? you thought. Cordelia made her way towards you. She rested a hand on your shoulder, your free hand that wasn't holding Zoe's found hers. You rested your body against Cordelia’s trying to find comfort in the tough time, "but if you do you’ll die.”

What was she one about? There was no way she could know that. You were getting better and even if it wasn’t, no one dies from trying to bring someone back by Descensum. If it was some frankenstein type work involved you could understand, there would be tons of risks, but this? You would be fine. 

“My magics getting better, I can give the pain back to people now” you reasoned. You prayed she didn’t ask for an example for that. She didn’t care if your magic was getting better that wasn’t the problem. After what happened to Misty and what Myrtle told her about a girl she knew, Cordelia didn’t want to risk the love of her life’s life. It took her too long to find you, she wasn’t going to lose you now. 

"It’s not that you are not strong enough y/n. It’s the fact that if you do it and no one can bring you back if something goes wrong."

"I wouldn’t die-"

"AND IF YOU DO? WHAT THEN?"

"Uh~"

“YOU’RE A WALKING DEATH TRAP. YOUR POWERS AREN’T LIKE QUEENIES WHERE YOU CAN JUST CAUSE SOMEONE PAIN BY THINKING ABOUT THEM AS YOU GET INJURED. YOU’RE’S IS MORE DELICATE. EITHER YOU HURT OR SOMEONE ELSE DOES. YOU DIE OR SOMEONE ELSE DIES. I HATE TO BE THE BEARER OF BAD NEWS BUT THATS HOW YOUR LIFE WORKS.” You froze. You're hell flashed back through your mind. You tried to shake it off but it was glued to your mind.

She stated all the faults in your curse. Her worry made it seem like you shared your burden now. Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. She wanted to protect you from what she can’t control. If you died, she would live with your blood on your hands even if it was your choice. She would live with the knowledge that she couldn’t stop you.

You didn't see what she saw, nor her reasoning. You were too scared of your hell meeting your reality. Love molding into hatred.

Cordelia moved closer to you,causing you to freak out and teleport away at the last minute. She bumped into the workbench. 

Did you really teleport after what just happened?

She listened for any noise that could be you. After a few seconds you break out sobbing. You contained the noise as best as you could, if she could hear you, she wouldn't know.

"I didn't mean-"

"I'm sorry. I'm so~ sorry."

"Y/N?"

"I'm pathetic. You should have gotten rid of me when you had the chance, I'm only going to keep screwing up. I know you're glad you're blind so you aren't forced to see your face every day."

"None of that is true. Why would you think that?" You don't respond. She tried to make her way towards you again to comfort you but you teleported away again. "STOP TELEPORTING AWAY! HASN'T WHAT HAPPENED TO ZOE TAUGHT YOU ANYTHING?" You squeaked and stayed perfectly still. Cordelia saw her error. "Shit- Y/N. I'm sorry. Please talk to me."

You'd been acting strange with her since you got back from hell. The only times you were normal with her was when you were at arms length or when she was distressed about Misty's death. 

You acted the same way when you got back, teleporting away from her, apologising profusely. 

"Whatever happened to you in hell wasn't real."

"It felt so real. It's still hard to dissociate from it." You fidgeted in place. "You said so many vile things, did some- I was- I couldn't-"

"But you got out."

"I stood up for myself, for the first time ever."

"How did it feel?"

"I thought I was going to die. That manifestation of you looked about ready to kill me." Cordelia listened patiently. "Right the question. Uh? Great?"

"You don't sound sure."

"I need time to think."

"Can I come over to you?" You nodded but remembered she can't see so you vocalise your answer. She pulled you in close to her. "I didn't tell you not to do it because of any of the horrible things you thought, it's because I don’t want you to die because I made you compete against the other girls. You may have passed the others but I- two witches has already died today due to my blindsightedness. Not you too. I’m begging you to at least wait, let everyone else go first, as a last resort, if everyone fails then I give you my blessing."

"You’d make a good supreme.” You rubbed your thumb on her hand. You gave her an idea, maybe she should try the tests. “I’ll wait. For you Delia.” Cordelia smiled and moved her body closer to yours, wrapping her arms around your front. “Cordelia?”

 "Yes."

 "Can you take me away from here? I don’t trust myself enough to not do something if I’m alone."

 "Of course dear” She pulled away completely causing you to frown momentally. She stuck out her hand. You took it without a second thought. “But it’s more like you’ll be leading me out of here.”

You lead her through the house, arms hooked together and her other one holding onto the hand you used to hold onto her. She told you she wanted to speak to the others- more specifically Myrtle. You had no clue where they went off to after they brought Zoe to the greenhouse. Cordelia, relying on her powers now more than ever, used her magic to locate the others. 

“Lounge room,” she informed you. Upon arriving and spotting the woman you were impressed. 

“Damn, how did you do that? That’s impressive.” Which made her chuckle.She waved her hand for you to stop. She was a little bit flustered by your compliments not used to receiving them.

“Divination.”

“Why didn’t I think of that?”

“You would have eventually.”

“I wouldn’t have-”

The others turned their attention to the two of you. 

“You’re both back,” Someone said, you were still distracted by Cordelia. 

“I found y/n-” Cordelia cut herself off. “I stopped her.”

“I’m the last resort,” you chimed in knowing what she left out. 

“You're still allowing her to do it.” 

“There’s no talking me out of it.”

“So what's going to happen now?” Queenie asked. 

“I’m going to try the test.”

“You gotta be kidding me,” Madison said. 

“Unless you can bring back Zoe, I don’t see what other choices we have,” Cordelia said.

“You're just ramping up the contention to scare me,” Madison said. 

"She stands a better chance than the rest of us." You said. Everyone looked at you funny."She does~"

"Why doesn't Y/N try? She hasn't been disqualified yet," Madison said.

"You want me to try?" 

"So I can beat you."

"There it is," You chuckled. 

"It could actually be Y/N. She hasn't failed one yet and we know she can do two of the remaining-" Queenie added. 

"It's not impossible that someone manifests almost all the seven wonders, it's just near impossible," Cordelia said. 

"Since I've been put aside for a bit, can I pick the next one?"

"Sure dear."

"Divination." Cordelia chuckled knowing the exact reason why you choose that one.

Cordleia flew through the next few tests. Only one remained.You prayed under her breath that she was able to do it for the safety of the coven. Cordelia’s body plupeted towards the ground. You leapt forward to catch her before she hit the ground. Zoe jolted upright gasping for air. She did it. Your girlfriend did it. You were ecstatic. 

She grabbed onto you for support as you eased her back up into a standing position. You slowly let go of her and stepped back to talk it all in. Her all in. She radiated perfect health. Her eyes healed, no scarring from when they were stabbed. 

Cordelia took the world in, she never thought she was going to see again when she stabbed her eyes out. The world had never looked so bright. The vibrant colours of the floral you were all surrounded with, life anew. The coven lost a powerful witch but gained a new one. No, the power was always there just suppressed by self-doubt. Never again shall a witch under this roof be allowed to doubt themselves. She had a new mission, to make this coven the most powerful it has ever been.

A huge celebration was held that night to celebrate. A celebration among family because that's what you were. The coven had become your second family. You didn’t always get along and a couple members were slightly murderous but it was yours. Madison was out of the picture, she’d run off not long after the next supreme rose.

Cordelia decided to go public about the Witches and their powers in a television interview, inviting new witches to the Academy.  Myrtle reminded Cordelia that she must pay for killing the other Council members and should be burnt at the stake. Cordelia resisted, telling Myrtle that she has been like a true mother for her. She didn’t give Myrtle a response straight away. She seeked help from you. 

“Do we have to burn her?” YOu asked.

“She killed two of our own.”

“But hasn’t there been enough death. We know she won’t do it again. There was no way anything good was going to happen with those two in charge, they basically sided with your mother the entire time. Anyways, it’s my fault she did it, if I hadn’t done what I did she would never have given me the eyes.”

“Then she would have given them to me.”

“Please Delia. She doesn’t need to die, she was wrongly burnt before, can’t that wrongdoing be the price. No one needs to know.”

“She’s adamant that we do it.”

“But no one wants to do it. She’s too nice of a person to be burnt. Denounce her status as a council member as punishment if you have to do something.”

“What if people ask what happened to the last ones?”

“If they have to ask, then that means Fiona never told anyone. We could use that to our advantage, say we don’t know, it was under Fiona’s reign so they can’t blame you for their disappearance. There are ways around this, I’ll help you every step of the way.”

“Y/N~”

“I knew she was going to do it.”

“What?”

“She told me before she did it. She asked me to distract you for long enough so she could do it.”

“Y/n, you should have told me.”

“I know. Doesn’t that make me just as bad?”

“No.”

“In the eyes of the law?”

“Turning a blind side isn’t the best way to start a reign as supreme.”

“Still better than murder.”

Cordelia invited Queenie and Zoe to be her Council, denouncing Myrtle from her role as a council member. The two girls accept the job offer. The three remaining students took on a new role as teachers at Miss Robichaux's. Cordelia convinced you to take up your long dream of becoming a Doctor, enrolling you in a medical course. 

As Miss Robichaux's opened their gates for the new generation of witches, Girls and women were lined up for miles, waiting to take their places as students. Downstairs, the school had a guest, the old Supreme. Once the girls and woman had sorted from those who are and aren’t witches, you went up to Cordelia to inform her of her mother’s presence. She thanked you, placing a kiss on your head before leaving to see the woman. 

Fiona was ill and aged. Cordelia predicted that Fiona would not last the night. The two talked about her mother's impending mortality and that she must die for her daughter to truly live as well as Fiona always was Cordelia’s villain, her monster in every cupboard. Fiona wanted to be taken out the same way she took out her predecessor, but no one could help her move on to the end and that Fiona had to let herself go. As they hug, Fiona died in Cordelia's arms.

Cordelia gently placed her mother down onto the ground. She sat down in the chair to the right of the table, reflecting on the last few moments, the words her mother said to her. Her eyes landed on a wrapped package that wasn’t there this morning. Curiously, she unwrapped the paper revealing some sort of journal and her grandmother’s ring. Fiona must have found the ring since she was given the necklace. Cordelia slipped the ring on her finger, admiring it before drawing her attention back to the book. She didn’t recognise it. She opened it at a random page, the pages were aged, the writing in a legible cursive. The contents detailed the method to make a potion that Cordelia had never heard of before with line art of some of the ingredients. Unlike the ring, this book wasn’t for her. She flipped it back to the front. There was a short message wishing the book owner a happy 16th, criticizing their taste for a gift, so on and so forth. It was signed by Fiona. 

Cordelia closed the book, running her hand over the leather cover. It belonged to your Aunt and therefore was now yours. Once she dealt with Fiona’s body, she approached you with the gift.

“What’s this?” You asked as you unwrapped the book Cordelia rewrapped. 

“I found it after my mother died, I think it’s for you.”

You looked at the book you’ve seen before. You were confused, wasn’t this Cordelia’s? “I don’t understand. I thought this was yours. It has your name in it.”

“I’ve never seen it before today. I think it was your Aunt’s.” 

You opened the book flipping through the pages. It was exactly what you were looking for, not only to satisfy your curiosity of the woman your family refused to talk about (other than the occasional reference) but it was the key to helping you finish your project. You brought the book to your chest, huffing it tightly. Finally a connection to someone like you, the same power. You’d been compared to her too many times, now you get a glimpse at the young woman that left the world too young. She could have been you if you were allowed to finish the test. Maybe, there was no way to know and you didn’t plan on finding out. 

“Thank you Delia. Really thank you.”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“You’ve done more than you know.”

[crimsoncityhq]

Hello everyone! 

So, we wanted to touch base on several things. This is pretty long so please read below the cut & like this once you’ve read it. It’s a MANDATORY read. 

 First of all there were some misinterpretations about what happened a few weeks ago in regards to a certain writer. We won't go into the full details of the situation for privacy reasons, but it was mutually decided that she should leave the group. I will say that we are lenient about what goes on and what is shared in the group, and there is a certain line that should never be crossed. It's not something light or petty that surfaced. We don't want to hear anymore miscommunication on what happened in regards to this decision. If you want to know further details you can contact the admin team. 

It seems like there are a few people as of late that have voiced their issues with the group. We want to put it out there first, that if we don't know a problem exists, we can't fix it. It does nothing but brew negativity and fester into something huge if it's not taken care of. At the end of the day, we are all here to relax and escape our realities. We are all here to have fun, and not worry ourselves with ooc drama.  Another trend we are noticing is that people have made additional servers within discord, or keep their threads in wire. The problem with this is that we can’t moderate those if a problem arises. So we obviously can’t control what you do outside of the main discord/main rp. However, if the drama starts there we ask you to keep it there. Because we can try to help, but honestly it’s out of our hands. Again, any serious plot driven or extensive threads need to go on the dash. Wire itself is supposed to act as a tool to get things on the dash. It’s not supposed to take the place of the dash.

We are working on more group activities for our characters such as mini events in the future. So be on the lookout for those! With such a large group we don't expect everyone to plot with everyone. That would be 50+ people and 100+ characters which would be almost impossible. If you have done so, kudos because that is great. That being said, bubble RPing & plotting aren't tolerated within this group. Please keep in mind if you’re “power replying” to someone to try to stagger other replies between it.  Consider this the first warning.  We will be keeping a better eye on this going forward. Nobody likes being felt excluded from the group, and I know from the past that most of us are inclusive. 

We will also be trying to do a movie night every Friday, especially while the majority of us are in quarantine. We will try to nail down a time that works for most people to attend, and will poll which movie gets chosen. There is also a group that will be playing Fortnite, if anyone is interested in joining them! They will be playing squads, and will be alternating who goes in with whomever is available. 

As far as plots go, for the most part we don’t mind if characters get married or have children. However, it’s important to point out that this is a crime RP.  There are designated family spots to keep things fair among the writing group, and if a character inside the family marries another they would technically automatically move into one of those family spots. Unfortunately, if the spots are all taken… that can’t mechanically happen. So we just ask that if you play a family spot within the key families to give us a heads up about marriages. Just to ensure there is a family spot, and we can move the other into that spot. We don’t necessarily care about children, unless they’re being played and are adopted. Then we would need to know that for the same reason. If your character doesn’t hold a family spot, then this doesn’t apply to them. If you notice a family spot open, we just ask that you get in contact with us to keep us in the loop.

Please for the love of God memorize the family list if your character is part of that family, because incest related plots will not be tolerated at any time. Incest is banned here. This goes for adopted members of the family, they are still family. Adopted siblings/cousins are still considered your character’s family. 

There seems to be some confusion as far as the ranking goes. The admins tend to get involved in the top tier ( the top three/four ) ; these positions usually go to people who are active, and would make sense on a plot/background basis. That being said, if the positions are below the top three/four, most of the time it just takes a message to the main, and we will move the character around for you. 

Example: Can I have Bob moved into the O’Sheas and a bonebreaker?

The exception to the rule is if you want to roleplay out the promotion on the dash, then by all means just message us. We would rather still put your character in that spot, because like the family spots most positions also have a cap on them. 

Overall, we are all here to write and have fun. Please be respectful of your fellow writers. Don’t godmod their characters. Don’t force other people’s characters into a narrative that makes no sense for their character. Don’t force plots on other people. Don’t force ships on other people. Don’t metagame. Don’t bubble.  Control your own characters, and your own narrative. 

Again and we can’t stress this enough, if you have any issues please contact the admin team so we can work on resolving the issues ASAP.

Once you have read this post, please like it. Thank you! 

[cinaja]

Before the Wall part 9

An acotar fanfic that takes place during the time of the War. For the summary and the entire fic, click here

Disclaimer: The world and the characters in acotar belong to sjm

---

When Rhys opens the door, the first thing he notices is that he isn't alone in his room.

His hand shoots to his dagger, he mentally checks his shields. In the Illyrian camps, a few of his fellow soldiers liked ambushing him and the others and Rhys trusts the High Fae of the Hewn City no more than the Illyrians.

"Who's there?", he calls into the room and pulls the door shut behind him.

"Me", a soft voice replies and Az steps out of the shadows.

Rhys curses. "Shit, Az. You want me to have a heart attack?"

"Your father can't know I'm here. He forbid me from seeking you out."

Rhys frowns. "Is everything alright? Are you..."

"I'm fine", Az says, but there are shadows in his eyes that weren't there when they last saw each other. What is his father forcing him to do? Az continues, "It's you I'm worried about."

"Why?", Rhys asks, a cold knot forming in his stomach.

"Your father. He feels threatened by you - by us. You are almost as powerful as he is, and with us as your friends... He fears you might try taking the throne."

Rhys nods slowly. He should have seen it coming. He pushed his father too far - their argument a week ago was likely the last straw.

"What about you, then? Mor and Cass? Is he after you too?"

Az shakes his head. "I'm too... useful." He practically snarls the word. "He won't harm me. And Mor is safe on the Continent. I don't know why, but that emissary, Miryam, has taken an interest in her and your father won't risk crossing her. Cass might be in danger, though."

Rhys nods, relief and worry warring in him. "What can I do?"

"Keep a low profile", Az says, "You father will likely send you and Cass to battle at the coast. Whatever you do, don't draw any more attention to yourself."

Without another word, he vanishes, leaving Rhys alone in his empty room.

----

 Three days after Drakon's council voted in favour of joining the war, their decision remains secret, both to their allies and enemies.

Drakon sits next to Sinna and watches another group of soldiers try out for the army

With the looming war, there are plenty of volunteers who wish to fight and support Erithia's standing army. (An army that, on its own, is rather impressive already. Not the biggest on the Continent, not by far, but well-trained and sizeable enough to be significant in this war.)

"That one's good", Sinna comments and gives an approving nod to a soldier who just completed his trial flight.

Neither Drakon nor Sinna are strictly needed for this, but as Prince and General of Erithia, they are expected to watch at least a part of the proceedings. Besides, they both have a personal connection to one of today's participants.

Steps approach and Drakon turns around to find his emissary standing behind him. The male bows and says, "Ravenia sent another letter demanding we choose a side. And the Alliance wants to send an emissary. They heard you are raising your armies."

Drakon sighs. "Can you delay them again? We only need two more days."

"Not without reason. You know the Queen."

Yes, Drakon does. He thinks of the statues on the mountain where the Seraphim honour their dead, of the family he lost.

"Why does she even want to marry me?", he asks, "Honestly, I don't get it. She doesn't even seem to like me - which I take as a compliment - and I never made a secret of my opinion on slavery."

His emissary just shrugs. "I don't know, Your Grace. But I could...", he hesitates. "If I let it leak that you have trouble controlling your council, it could work, but it would..."

"Make me look like an incompetent fool in front of the entire Continent?", Drakon asks wryly, "Do it, then."

The idea doesn't sit well with him, but at least the impression won't last long. Because in two days, if all goes well, they will take the Callian Pass from Rask. It is one of the only passages across the mountain range that divides the Continent and easily one of the most important strategic locations in this war. Unfortunately, it has belonged to Rast for the past eight centuries.

So they are really going to need the moment of surprise on their side.

Drakon has already written the letter declaring war on the Loyalists and asking the Alliance to be allowed to join as well as a rather personal and insulting note addressed to Ravenia, but they won't be sent until the last moment.

His emissary bows and leaves. Drakon turns back to the try-outs.

"Have I told you already that I love your plan? Taking the Callian Pass from Rask by attacking without warning", Sinna says, "Insane, but sneaky. Hard to believe you came up with it."

"Thank you for the vote of confidence", Drakon mutters.

Truth is, he doesn't really feel good about invading Rask without warning. It's not the honourable thing to do. But, as Sinna told him in her usual brisk style, honour doesn't win wars, especially if your enemy has none.

They watch the next would-be soldiers in silence, until Sinna says, "You know, now that we are officially going to war, we should probably try to cut any unnecessary drains to our resources."

"Such as?" Drakon has a bad feeling about where this is going.

"Such as having our spies look for that slave girl you talked to once. If I didn't know better, I'd say the rumours are true and you have a thing for her."

Drakon glares. "She was a child and completely terrified of me. Do you honestly think..." He cuts himself off and shakes his head. "I just want to thank her. Because, you know, she's the reason I'm not married to Ravenia right now."

He can imagine the girl won't be terribly interested in ever seeing him again. But Drakon needs to know she's alright. After that, he's going to leave and never seek her out again.

"Well, regardless, looking for one half-Fae female without even knowing her name is both hopeless and a waste of resources."

"Fine", Drakon snaps, "I'll lower the priority of her case." He nods towards the try-outs. "How long until it's Nephelle's turn?"

"Two more", Sinna replies, suddenly tense.

Nephelle wants to join the army - wants to fight for her country and for human freedom. Badly.

But the harsh truth is, she would never have even made it through the examination that precedes the try-outs. She is too short, her right wing too small to pass the physical requirements. So Sinna asked Drakon to pull some strings for her lover. (Abuse of power, technically. But Nephelle is his friend and it isn't a big abuse. Still morally wrong. Why does he always end up in these situations?)

"She's going to make it", Sinna says, a stubborn set to her jaw.

Drakon nods, even though he knows Nephelle's chances are slim. It's not that he doesn't believe in her - Nephelle is probably the most strong-willed Seraphim he ever met - but Sinna told him that she never managed to reach the requirements in training. Not once.

She still wants to try, though.

Drakon watches as the a group of competitors exit the ring and claps politely. Nephelle steps into the arena with the next group. She holds her head high, wings drawn tightly to her body.

The beginning of the try out goes fine. Nephelle hits the centre of the target each time, surpassing the requirements by far. But then, the main part of the try out begins. Flying two miles, carrying weapons and a Seraphim shield.

Nephelle is barely able to take off with the shield. Once she is in the air, her smaller right wing can't support the weight and she keeps almost falling out of the air.

It is almost painful to watch. Because Nephelle refuses to give up. Even as her feet almost brush the ground, even as everyone but her has long finished, she refuses to give up.

"Come on", Sinna whispers.

But Nephelle doesn't make it. She doesn't even reach the end of the race. Two rounds before the finish line, her right wing gives in and she falls to the ground. Sinna is on her feet in an instant, rushing for her.

Nephelle just drops her shield and weapons and walks out of the arena, wings lowered and dragging over the ground behind her. Sinna runs after her.

The arena is silent. No one laughs. Not a single person.

Drakon wishes he could run after Nephelle and Sinna as well. But he has to stay at least a moment longer. He is the Prince and can't just leave whenever he feels like it. So he remains to watch one more group. Then, he thanks all participants and excuses himself.

He finds Sinna and Nephelle in a small room behind the arena. As he enters, Nephelle just withdraws her hand from Sinna's.

"All I want is to fight for what I believe in and I don't even get a chance!"

Nephelle is crying, he realises with a start. He doesn't think he ever saw her cry before, not even when some people whispered 'cripple' behind her back. (Not that anyone ever called her that twice, at least not when Drakon or Sinna were around to hear.)

Drakon knocks on the door and the females dart around to him. He smiles at Nephelle.

"If you ask me, you'd be wasted in the army, anyways", he says.

Nephelle doesn't smile back at him. She looks so... hopeless. "Yes, maybe I can wash the soldier's clothes. That's about all I'm good for."

Sinna opens her mouth to object, but Drakon beats her to it, "Come on, now, you don't believe that. You know more about nature and geography than anyone else and I've seen your drawings. You're brilliant."

"So I'll just draw our enemies to death?"

"No”, Drakon says, "I was thinking you'd be exceptionally well-suited to being a cartographer. For that, you need some prior experience because, believe it or not, it's actually harder than wielding a sword, so we've had a hard time finding people for it. Maybe you can help us out."

Nephelle blinks at him. Then, slowly, she begins to smile

"Yes", she says, "I think I'd like that."

"Great", Drakon says, "saves me the headache of finding anyone else to do the job."

It's good to see that sometimes, his plans actually work.

----

Miryam barely manages to talk to Jurian the day after the battle. Well, they talk plenty, but only about the camp organisation.

So after spending the next night trying to figure out the 'Language of the Universe' (which makes Continental politics look easy by comparison) she invites herself along on a patrol she knows Jurian is leading.

They aren't exactly alone, but the nine soldiers wo accompany them are kind enough to keep their distance. Miryam with her Fae heritage can still hear their conversation, but she doubts they understand what her and Jurian are talking about.

"Did you know that Mor started training?", Jurian asks.

Miryam nods and leans forward to pat her horse's neck. "She told me. She thinks that you're an excellent teacher."

"I could teach you, too", Jurian says a bit too casually. She`d bet that he only brought up Mor to suggest training again.

"It's a nice offer, Jur, but I neither want nor need to fight."

Miryam does carry a dagger, but that's just to keep Jurian from worrying. He hates that she doesn't know how to defend herself, but she hates the idea of killing another person. (There are a few people she'd make an exception for, but she doubts that she'll ever be in the position to kill Ravenia or Artax.)

"We're in the middle of a war", Jurian says drily.

"And I'm a healer. And a member of the Alliance's council, an emissary. There are several ways to contribute to the war effort and not all of them involve wielding a sword."

Jurian sighs. "I know that. You think I don't know? And I don't want you to fight in battles, but... learn to defend yourself. Just in case." When Miryam still hesitates, he adds, "Please."

How can she say no to that?

"Alright. But just the basics." At least it means she gets to spend more time with Jurian.

"Great. Let's meet at dawn each day. One hour."

Miryam smiles in spite of herself. "You really did plan that, didn't you?"

"Never go to battle unprepared. I even had two back up plans prepared." Jurian laughs. "You agreed more quickly than I thought."

Miryam smiles. Cauldron, she really missed him. (If she's being honest, it's not the camp that has become home, but rather the man besides her. She wonders if that's what love feels like.)

At that moment, she notices a movement in the bushes next to them. She lightly pulls at her horses' reins to get it to slow down and slides out of the saddle. Something is hanging between two trees, something that's moving, but she can't quite make it out.

"What's that?", Miryam asks.

Jurian frowns. "I can't see anything."

For a second, Miryam thinks that this is her magic playing tricks on her, that she once again sees something that no one else can see. But then, she remembers that she can see much further than Jurian thanks to her mixed heritage and he likely just can't make out the movement she noticed.

Without another word, Miryam rushes off into the bushes. She can hear branches snap behind her as Jurian follows her. After a few steps, she reaches a net, hanging between two trees. Inside, a falcon is caught, its feather a beautiful shade of burnt red.

"It's a trap", Jurian says from behind her, "Likely set up by some peasants."

Miryam nods and draws her dagger. Carefully, she approaches the falcon.

"Easy", she whispers, "I want to help you."

"You'll get your eyes hacked out", Jurian warns.

But the falcon holds perfectly still as Miryam reaches out, although its amber eyes remain fixed on the dagger as she carefully begins to cut through the net trapping it. As more of the strands come loose, the falcon begins to sway. It screeches and tries to flap its wings. Hastily, Miryam holds out an arm for it to hold onto. (Not her best idea. She's sure the falcon doesn't mean to hurt her, but its claws still cut through her sleeve and into her arm.) Miryam grits her teeth and cuts the last bit of rope

"What now?", Jurian asks, "Its wing is broken, it won't be able to fly or survive like this."

Indeed, the falcon's left wing is hanging in an odd angle. Miryam bites her lip. The idea of this bird never being able to fly again is horribly sad. (When Miryam was younger, she dreamed of growing wings and flying far away.)

"I'm taking it back to the camp. Maybe I can heal it."

She shoots the net a mournful look. What if the person who set is up is close to starvation? She finds a gold mark in her pocket and puts it on the ground next to the ruined net.

Jurian shakes his head. "You're incorrigible. Here." He pulls off one of his leather gloves and hands it to Miryam. "Put that on or you won't be able to hold a blade tomorrow for training."

"How thoughtful." Miryam grins at him.

She puts on the glove and lets the falcon climb on her other arm. She can tell the bird is trying to be careful, but it still hurts when it pulls its talons out of her arm and hops on her other hand.

"It must have been trained", Jurian says.

Miryam is sure it isn't. But it's better if Jurian thinks so, so she just nods and turns back towards their horses, the falcon surprisingly heavy on her arm.

----

Rhys didn't think he'd be this nervous. After all these years of training, after everything he survived in the Illyrian mountains, he never thought his first battle would scare him this much.

Cass is nervous, too. Rhys doubts any of the other Illyrians in their group notice, though. Because Cassian is all brave words and laughter. He jokes around and makes light-hearted comments. But Rhys knows Cass well enough to see that the louder he is, the more nervous he feels deep down.

It is not Rhys who leads this assault, but Devlon. And although Rhys knows that this was meant to be a slight by his father, ha thanks the Cauldron for it.

His first battle. He could not imagine being the one leading it.

A whistle sounds, warning them that a group of enemies is approaching.

"Remember to keep your head down", Rhys whispers to Cassian, Azriel's warning ringing in his ears.

Cass presses his lips together in annoyance. Rhys can see he hates the idea of not fighting to his fullest, of risking their companions' lives in doing so. But he nods.

From their waiting place on the mountain side, Rhys can now see the enemy approach, walking through the valley in neat, organised lines. They wait until the soldiers are well below them. Then, a horn blast sound, giving the sign to attack.

Rhys flares his wings and leaps into the air.

His first kill is a High Fae male from Spring, who looks almost surprised as he collapses. (It is not really his first kill, of course. He killed plenty during the Rite. Still, battle feels different. More chaotic. Both more and less horrific at the same time.)

Rhys drops deep into battle calm. Any emotions become distant, irrelevant. But even as he kills his way through battle lines, even as his power is a roaring ocean beneath him, he keeps a tight hold on his magic. Doesn't use it beyond basic shielding.

The first minutes go well. The Illyrians outnumber their opponents and they have the moment of surprise on their side.

But then, the tide starts turning.

The Hybern Fae have magic - more than their spies reported and far more than the Illyrians. One High Fae lifts his hand, grey power flares and a dozen Illyrians turn to dust. Rhys creates shields, uses his magic to protect as many soldiers as he can. But still, he doesn't use it to smash their opponents to dust. Still, he uses nothing but his sword to attack.

Do not draw attention to yourself.

Around him, the corpses add up. Loyalist Fae, but just as many Illyrians.

Cassian makes the decision a second before Rhys does.

His siphons flare, red power blasting a hole into the enemy lines. A second later, Rhys follows. He stretches out a hand and darkness leashes out. Soldiers start screaming.

It is over in the span of minutes.

Over the corpses, Rhys exchanges a look with Cassian. Both of them are wide-eyed and panting.

Rhys spends the following hours helping with the wounded, collecting the dead. He wonders how many of these soldiers might still be alive if he had acted sooner, if he had not tried to avoid his father's wrath. He tries to memorise the faces of the dead. He is sure they will haunt him for the rest of his life.

And silently, he swears to never let his fear of his father stop him from doing what's right again.

----

Miryam names the falcon Kiel, because that's what its cries sound like. (Helion tells her that the name means 'free' in Old Landian and Miryam nods like she knew that already.)

It is the middle of the night. Miryam once again lit her candle and sits perched over the book. Kiel is watching her, his amber eyes glowing in the dark. Miryam feeds the bird a strap of meat she got from the kitchen.

"What do you think?", she asks, "Should I do this?"

"Kieeel", the falkon replies, which could mean anything ranging from 'Why are you asking me, you stupid human' to 'I want more meat'. Miryam feeds him another strap of meat and gets up

"Wish me luck", she says. (At this point, she truly hopes that animals understand her. Otherwise, she is making a complete fool of herself.)

The spell is easy, the book claims. Well, it is still second grade, because the book's former owner deemed first grade spells too simple to write them down. Miryam has memorised the words, the instructions. The book claims that for a spell as simple as this, no one with witch blood would need anything but the words, but Miryam would rather not bet her life on that so she follows the instructions by the letter.

She takes out a bit of chalk and uses it to draw a circle on the ground, symbols lining its edges. Then, she puts up four candles and adds a few bone shards for good measure.

She steps into the circle and lights the candles. Then, she begins speaking.

The words taste strange on her tongue, burn in her throat. All around her, the strings start glowing more brightly. New ones appear, wrapping around her.

And suddenly, Miryam understands why they call it 'Language of the Universe'. Because it is the language of the strings and each word Miryam speaks makes them move, like she is giving them orders. Her power is thrumming through her, light dances through the room and creates a net wrapping around the tent.

It is beautiful.

But Miryam doesn't mean to actually set up a ward around her tent - it would be hard to explain - so she starts reciting the second spell, the one that's supposed to break the wards. Indeed, the net begins to loosen, lines withdrawing with her every word. It is far easier than she thought. Just like that, the wards are gone.

But her power still rises. The fabric of the tent starts flapping on a fathom wind, Kiel shrikes.

Miryam panics. She tries to call her power back, to clamp down her hold on it once again, but it won't obey her. The flames of the candles flicker higher, until they almost reach the tent's ceiling, trapping her in a ring of flames.

"Stop", she whispers, "Please, stop."

It doesn't. Miryam feels like she's standing in the middle of a river, her magic tugging at her like a strong current and she cannot make it stop. She pushes against the magic. It pushes back and for a moment, Miryam thinks that she's going to lose this battle.

But then, her magic gives in.

It rushes away from her in a wave, further and further until Miryam can breathe again. The candles flicker and go out. She lets herself slide to the ground.

Her head hurts, but at least she doesn't feel like her body is on fire. At least it went better than that first time. Miryam is almost relieved.

Until shouts start ringing out all through the camp. She scrambles to her feet, stares at the circle on the ground, undeniable proof of what she did.

She grabs the candles and bones and shoves them into a bag that she flings under her bed. Hands shaking, she puts the book back into its hiding place and wipes away the chalk. Then, she rushes out of her tent.

Soldiers are running around outside. Miryam catches one of them by the arm. "What happened?", she asks

"I don't know, but there was this tremor. Really creepy." He shakes his head. "Magic really is a curse."

A good summary. Miryam lets him go and runs off to the centre of the commotion, which is where she'll likely find Jurian. Indeed, he is standing in the centre of a group of soldiers, trying to calm them. When he sees Miryam, he waves her closer.

"Thank the Cauldron, you're here", he whispers, "Someone shattered our wards, the soldiers are panicking. I need you to help calm them."

Only then does Miryam notice that the strings forming a net over the camp are gone.

Oh Mother. She did this. And the worst part is, it wasn't even hard.

----

A/N: Let me tell you, trying to keep to canon is hard! Like the fact that Drakon is looking for Miryam for three years without ever finding or meeting her (which I'm having a bit of a hard time explaining, but hey, just about a year to go)

Well, anyways, this part was rather slow. Next time: Rhys has trouble with his father (what's new), Mor gets used to life on the Continent and Drakon goes through with his plan

@starswhoanswer

[pompeiibonzai]

6 Things RWBY Volume 7 Needs to do

With RWBY Volume 7 literally days away, there’s a lot of speculation about what will happen to our heroes in Atlas.  Volume 7 is shaping up to be a pivotal time not only for teams RWBY, JNR, Qrow, Oscar and Maria, but for the series as a whole.  The group has come a long way since leaving Vale and Atlas needs to be the biggest challenge they’ve faced yet. 

With that in mind, here are 6 things that Volume 7 needs to do in order to make this volume stand out. 

1. Focus on Weiss

It can’t be argued that Weiss has come a long way from her introduction in Volume 1.  Volume 4 especially laid the groundwork for Weiss’s development when she chose to forge her own path rather than stay under the cold thumb of her father.

Since then, however, not a lot of attention has been given to Weiss.  We got a touching reunion between her and Yang (and later Ruby) and she certainly kept her cool when she set the Brunswick house on fire to stop the Apathy’s pursuit.  Now, with the party arriving at Atlas, it’s important that the volume take the time to focus on her, her feelings about being back so soon after leaving, reactions regarding what Atlas has become and (hopefully) a showdown between her and her father – or at least Whitley.  Hell, a reunion with Winter would certainly be welcome as would an introduction to the elusive  Willow Schnee.

Of course, I’m not looking for the rest of the cast to take a complete backseat (some attention thrown Oscar’s way and how he’s dealing with his situation, would be nice), but the main focus of the volume when it comes to characterization needs to be on Weiss.  The volume should take the opportunity to develop her character further, work on the relationship between her and Yang that was touched on in Volume 5, and lay the framework for continued relationship building with Blake and Ruby and maybe members of team JNR as well.

2. Show (Don’t Tell) the Civil Unrest in Atlas…and some Faunus Discrimination too.

RWBY has a bad habit of telling us a lot of things, but not actually showing any of it to us.  Volume 5 spent too much time in the teams’ safe house and not enough time out exploring the Kingdom of Mistral.  Not to mention that we have had our ears talked off about how badly the Faunus are treated, but to date have not seen much to back that up.  With the exception of Jinn’s vision in Volume 6, exposition has been given by way of a lot of talking and little showing. 

The trailer for Volume 7 teases us with scenes from a very dark city (Atlas? Mantle?) where the people are very unhappy and we hear a voice over from Weiss observing that “This isn’t right”. 

It’s hopeful that this means we’ll actually get to see the affect the fall of Vale and the subsequent closing of Atlas’s boarders has had on the people of living in the kingdom.  Has Ironwood gone too far with the idea of a military state?  Has martial law been declared?  Are things so bad that civil war threatens to tear apart the country if the grimm don’t get to it first?

Whatever is going on in Atlas, it’s vital that Volume 7 takes the time to show it to us rather than have Ironwood (or anyone else) simply explain the situation to Ruby and the others. In order of us to really grasp how things “are not right”, we need to see it for ourselves.

Same goes for some negative treatment of the Faunus.  Mistreatment, even oppression, of the Faunus has been something repeated again and again over the course of the series, but not something we have actually seen much of.  Granted, it’s not easy to write (much less watch) the cruel treatment of others, however, it is something that needs to be seen in order to carry any kind of weight.  This is especially true if the audience is meant to be sympathetic towards the Faunus.  Considering Atlas is supposed to be the most offending country when it comes to Faunus rights, Volume 7 absolutely must show how the Faunus living there are treated, especially during this time of social strife and unrest.

3. Ruby Learns that there are Consequences to Her Actions

Ruby really came into her own as a leader during the events of Volume 6, something that was a long time coming and was fun and rewarding to watch.  However, there is a significant difference between being a leader and being overconfident to the point where you’re reckless – like diving headfirst up the barrel of a buster cannon during combat.

Part of being a good leader is realizing that your actions have consequences, not only for yourself, but for your team as well.  This is a lesson Ruby hasn’t seemed to have learned yet and one she should have learned back in Volume 4 when she butted into the fight with Tyrian after Qrow told her to stay back.  Qrow, fortunately, recovered from that encounter and for whatever reason, the event has never been brought up again.  Furthermore, Ruby’s “We Don’t Need Adults” speech in Episode 9 of Vol. 6 (Lost) underlines the fact she has a lot to learn when it comes to the idea that her actions have consequences.  Especially considering that no, Ruby, you wouldn’t have gotten to Mistral had it not been for the adults in your life stepping in and helping out.

I will admit that the fight with Tyrian showed Ruby’s sense of responsibility (“I can’t stand by while someone gets hurt”).  However, she hasn’t quite learned about taking responsibility when her actions cause problems for others or puts them directly in harm’s way, or risks her own life needlessly.  Ruby needs to learn this lesson and she needs to learn it the hard way. 

We all make mistakes.  Let Ruby make her own that have serious repercussions not only for her but to those who follow her. Let her face those repercussions.  Doing so will not only make her more relatable as a character, but will help her to continue to grow into the great leader and hero she is being set up to be rather than being a girl who can do no wrong (even when she does).  

4. A Limit to the Silver Eyes

Ruby has learned to control her Silver Eyes too easily and too quickly. Yes, it took her two tries in order to use them on the Leviathan at the end of Volume 6, and she didn’t freeze it permanently, but she still was able to do it just with the meager information Maria had given her earlier in the volume.

The other two times Ruby used her eyes she was under great emotional distress and she had little to no control over what she was doing, much less an understanding of what she was doing.  This is what made the concept of Silver Eyes so appealing and so mysterious.  The appeal was taken even further when it became obvious that not a lot of people knew anything about the Silver Eyes (if anyone did at all), and that Ruby was going to have to figure it out on her own and we would figure it out with her. 

However, by the end of Volume 6, and after one conversation with Maria (in which the huntress didn’t provide Ruby with much information we didn’t already know), Ruby seems able to use her eyes no problem and against a gigantic beast that was supposed to be an imposing threat against Argus.  The issue here is since she was able to use her power on something so imposing, any time she doesn’t use it on much smaller grimm will come across as being forgetful at best and negligent at worst.  It also mitigates any threat the grimm still have, turning them into more of an annoyance than anything else. 

This can be avoided, however, if Ruby learns that there is some kind of limit to her power.  I’m inclined to believe that there is considering that in Maria’s flashback, she only used her eyes against one nevermore and only after she had defeated the first using her weapons.  This is only a theory, of course, but a limitation on the power will keep it from becoming too powerful too quickly and keep the grimm a reasonable threat. 

5. A Reconciliation (of sorts) with Ozpin

Volume 6 changed Ozpin from a righteous and wise figure our heroes followed without question and humanized him, giving him flaws and faults and casting him in shades of grey.  I loved every minute of it! 

But Ozpin has had his time to brood and has made it clear that he hasn’t completely retreated to the recesses of Oscar’s mind.  So, now is the time for him to attempt to reach back out to the people who are still carrying on his mission, with or without him.

Let’s be clear here: Ozpin was 100% in the wrong for keeping secrets from those who were loyal to him. However, I can sympathize with his reasoning and I can certainly sympathize with the overall reaction from Team RWBY and Qrow when his secrets finally came to light.  But here is the main take away from this scenario: no one is absolutely right or absolutely wrong.  No one is meant to be.  It isn’t about who is right and who is wrong.  I mentioned this before, but its about taking responsibility for the decisions you’ve made, right or wrong, good intentions or no.  

I’m not talking about total forgiveness here.  There was a gross betrayal of trust on Ozpin’s part and he should have to work hard to gain that trust back.  However, having him reach out to the group, and having them respond (perhaps having an actual conversation about what happened), would provide for some fantastic character moments during quieter scenes.  It would also be a great parallel for Ruby, as she too comes to understand that there are consequences for her decisions as well. 

6. A Defeat at Atlas

The end of Volume 3 changed everything for RWBY.  Though technically Ruby, her team and her friends weren’t completely defeated at Vale (the relic there still remains unclaimed...as far as we have been told...), they were shown for the first time that there are forces closer than they think that are incredibly strong and just how unprepared they were to face them.

Volume 7 needs to do something similar.  The convergence of Watts, Tyrian, Cinder and Salem (along with her flying monkeys) on Atlas at once is the perfect time for our antagonists to re-establish their threat to RWBY and Co., as well as to us as an audience.  Salem, especially, needs to continue to be a considerable looming threat and its time that she come out of the shadows to show our heroes just what she is capable of and why their mission against her is so important.  

Now, I’m not calling for Atlas to come crashing down to the ground (though wouldn’t that be a spectacle), but the group needs to experience some kind of loss – either the loss of a relic, a maiden or even a teammate – to show them how far they still have to go if they ever hope to stand up to Salem…much less the gods themselves.

There you have it.  The 6 things that (I think) RWBY Volume 7 needs to do in order for it to be as epic as I think it could be.  There are a couple other things that I’d like to see this volume: Some good team combos (we got a great teaser with Weiss and Ren in the scene that was recently released), learning more about Summer (come on!  Its been 7 years, throw us a bone already!) and Ironwood sporting the world’s best beard.  However, that’s more of a wish list and doesn’t really have a lot of baring on whether or not the story will be good.  Maybe I’ll do a post sometime between now and when the volume premiers talking about that.  Maybe.

[thdorkmagnet]

Light of the Sun and Stars Chapter 22: Decisions, Decisions

Summary: His whole life Marco Diaz has been raised by monsters, living under the cruel rule of their leader, Toffee. But one day Marco escapes into Mewni where he meets a magical princess and Mewman like himself, who begins teaching him all about her world. Together they will learn about life, love, and the lights within each of them, as they change their world forever.

Chapter Synopsis: The Magic High Commission has given Star and Moon an ultimatum, deal with the Monster problem or they take control themselves. It’s time for Star to make some tough decisions, but luckily she has a plan.

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Index

Disclaimer: Star vs and all its characters are owned by Daron Nefcy and Disney. All rights go to them.

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It was very late at night on Mewni. A silver moon hung high in the sky, lighting up the dark world to the best of its ability, aided on by its twinkling companions. All was peaceful and quiet within Butterfly Castle, every sole within (save for the night guards) long since asleep. Everyone that is, except for a certain blond princess.

 Star stirred in her bed, tossing and turning endlessly as she struggled to find sleep to no avail, the only sound in the quiet room being the rustling of sheets as the blond royal shifted around uncomfortably. Once she was in a semi-comfortable position she closed her eyes, waiting for sleep to take her. But she was once again interrupted by her thoughts. ...we will have no choice but to intervene.

The voice echoed around in her head for a minute, still hearing the threatening undertone it carried. And for her that was all she could take, sleep was no longer a possibility as she threw off her covers and climbed out of the massive bed. She began pacing around her room, determined to come up with some sort of plan before she allowed herself to rest. She needed to think. Needed a way out of this mess. They were running out of time and if she didn't hurry then-

The sleepy princess came to a stop, releasing a tired sigh as she rubbed her palms against her eyes, suddenly exhausted with the weight of her problems. But rather than head back to her waiting bed, she walked over to her couch, plopping herself down on the soft cushions and leaning her head back to rest on its back, her mind racing a million miles a minute.

Star thought back over the long day. It felt like a million years ago since that morning, she almost couldn't believe how much had happened to her during just one day. After assigning Marco a bodyguard and then discovering Higgs's abrasive behavior toward her boyfriend, she didn't think things could get anymore dramatic. But boy was she wrong.

The visit to Buff Frog and the story of the Diaz's had taken a lot out of both her and Marco, the roller-coaster of emotions Marco had experienced had clearly left him drained. Not that Star could blame him, it had been hard for her to hear what Marco's parents had went through and their tragic end and they weren't even her parents. She couldn't imagine what Marco was feeling right now.

Well, actually that was a lie, she did understand to a degree. During the story, Star had felt a strange stirring in her body as Buff Frog spoke, waves of emotions falling over her the whole time. A mixture of feelings that she couldn't control, all of them coming and going so quick that they left her feeling dazed. Happiness, joy, loss, sadness, anger, regret, pain. They cycled in and out, over and over, small spurts of intense feelings Star couldn't begin to comprehend or understand. And the more and more of them there were, the clearer things became for Star, as she realized that the emotions were not her own. They were Marco's. She was feeling what he was feeling. It must've been a side effect from the blood moon, but boy was it powerful.

She wasn't sure what had caused it, but had a feeling that it had to do with Marco's troubling emotional state, almost like the blood moon was trying to tell her to comfort her partner, by letting her know just how much it was affecting him. But there had been nothing she could do, knowing how much he needed to hear the truth, and so just endured the emotions with him, trying to take as much of the pain away as she could, and try to comfort him to the best of her ability.

Afterwards, the four had said their goodbyes to the Monsters and headed home, Star, Jackie, and Janna doing their best to cheer Marco up. They took him out to an ice cream parlor in town and then to Quest Buy, Star telling him to pick out whatever he wanted. Marco happily picked out some new books to read and a cool looking wallet that was supposed to be impossible for anyone but its owner to open. Janna had also seemed happy with this purchase, stating to Marco, “Challenge accepted.” This caused her to receive a smack on the arm from Jackie. The gifts and attention did seem to perk Marco up quite a bit, until by the time night rolled around Marco seemed more or less himself again.

But Star could see that he was still understandably distressed, his eyes losing some of their shine and his smile forced and foreign. He turned in early for the night, thanking them immensely before heading off to his room, his pace slower than usual. It seemed it would take time for Marco to recover from learning of his painful past, but Star knew he could get past this and swore she would be there every step of the way.

But, besides Marco, there was another pressing matter, one that had fallen on her heavy shoulders and that she was reminded of almost the second the hooded boy was out of her sight. She had been too distracted trying to cheer up Marco to think much about it before, but now that that mission was done for the day, there was nothing to keep herself from fretting and contemplating her situation. Or rather the situation in Mewni.

Things in Mewni were looking bad, very bad, the unrest between the Monsters and Mewmans was worsening every day that passed and it seemed that if something didn't change soon, they were all looking at another war between the two races. Rogue groups of Monsters were caught attacking Mewmans, some even coming to the defense of Toffee, claiming that their leader's methods had been just of all things. Ugh, it made Star sick just to think that. And the Mewmans were not helping the situation any at all. Many of the Mewmans still saw the Monsters as nothing more than evil, vile creatures, treating them less like equals and more like criminals waiting to be caught in the act. Both sides were weary and cautious and Star knew finding a way to get them to trust one another was going to be a very difficult task in deed. And now things had gotten even worse if that was possible.

Her mind began to drift even further back, remembering what had happened early that morning, when she had been painfully reminded how serious the situation really was.

...

The meeting room the Butterflies were currently gathered in was hot, stuffy, and confined, everything about the room almost intent on causing Star to feel discomfort while inside. This was the reason she had avoided the room like the plague during her time on the throne, but it seemed some old traditions refused to die as she found herself now trapped in the cramped space. And add to the fact that she had been in there for hours on end for several days straight that by this point it was all Star could do to keep herself from screaming and jumping out of the only window in the room, though the only reason she probably hadn't was because it had been boarded up years ago.

She didn't understand why they didn't just expand the room a little so it wasn't so claustrophobic, (they did live in a freaking castle, after all!) as is the room was just barely big enough to fit in their meeting table, which held at most six people. But whatever reason the conditions in the room were so terrible, it was private, the Butterflies free to discuss whatever they wanted within, which meant Star just had to suck it up and deal with it. She tried to keep her focus on the matter at hand, but was finding that rather hard to do when she was beyond bored out of her mind, had been sweating in what had to be unhealthy amounts all morning, and the hard wooden chair she was sitting in was starting to dig painfully into her back. She really wished Marco was there, knowing he would find a bright side to all of this and manage to put a smile on her face.

But instead, Star found herself stuck in a long, unending conference with her mother and the Magic High Commission, the self-proclaimed protectors of the magic of the multiverse, during one of their routine “check-ups” on the affairs of Mewni, their influence and connections to the dimension as long lasting as the founding of Mewni itself. In fact, her mother, like every Queen of Mewni before her, was a member of the Commission and someday Star would be as well, which meant she had to be present for the meeting. And though she was glad she was being acknowledged as one of them because she wasn't yet technically a member she was unfortunately not allowed to speak, only to “observe”.

Which basically just meant that Star had to sit there in silence while everyone around her droned on and on about the business and magical affairs of both Mewni and its allied dimensions, making her feel more and more out of place with every moment that passed, as well as heighten her boredom to new and even duller levels. And right now, it was taking everything Star had not to speak up, her mother taking the opportunity to question one of the members on a certain subject.

“And you are sure there is nothing more that can be done?” Moon asked, sounding dissatisfied by the answer she was given.

“As I already told you before, Queen Moon,” a flaming, white-skinned creature know as Heckapoo replied, sounding somewhat sincere, though the look she was giving the queen revealed her true annoyance at having to repeat herself yet again. “If this Monster really did use something other than dimensional scissors to travel than I have no possible way to track him.”

“How can that be? Isn't it your job to oversee dimensional travel?” Moon asked in confusion.

“Normally yes, but there are a few people who have found ways to bend the rules a little and create their own dimensional gates. Sorry Moon, but you're on your own with this one.”

Moon sighed, trying not to show her obvious frustration in the matter and Star was doing the same, understanding what was troubling her mother so much. Heckapoo had been their best chance at finding Rasticore and now it seemed their search had reached yet another complication. “I understand, thank you for your time,” Moon said ready to end the meeting right there, standing up from her seat, but it seemed the others weren't ready to leave just yet, all of them remaining seated, much to her surprise.

“There is another subject we need to discuss while we are here,” one of the other members, Omnitraxus Prime spoke up, the serious expressions he and the others members sharing making Star instantly worried. Uh oh, Star thought.

“And what is that?” Moon asked, looking quite anxious as well as she took her seat once more.

“We have been receiving reports of a Monster attack near the border of the Johannson Kingdom, Your Majesty.” Omnitraxus Prime sounded both suspicious and condescending as he spoke, even through the crystal ball he often had to use to communicate to them with, his regular form too big to fit inside small spaces easily. But the disappointed frown on his skull face was as clear as day. Star tried not to openly cringe or shift in her seat, counting this as the third incident of something like this happening in nearly a week. Star was suddenly glad that her father hadn't been allowed in the meeting, his reaction to the news far less... understanding than theirs, unable to hold back his fury over an attack within his homeland.

Luckily, her mother had it covered. “Yes, we were already informed about that,” Moon replied in the most dignified tone she could, keeping her voice level and calm. Star always wondered how her mom was able to maintain such a regal facade at all times.

“And what are you going to do about it?” Heckapoo asked bluntly, looking quite annoyed with the royals, the small flame over her head flickering once, Star knowing from experience that meant she was more angry than she was letting on. She looked over at her mother, able to tell from her face that she had noticed it too.

“The Monster has already been placed in custody,” Moon replied immediately. “His punishment will be carried out by Buff Frog.”

“Ah yes, the infamous Buff Frog,” Heckapoo said, the contempt in his voice clear as she tapped her fingers on the table in annoyance and Star had to bite her tongue to keep herself from speaking, feeling a need to stand up for her boyfriend's father. “Tell me, Your Highness, how are planning on dealing with the other Monsters due to this troubling incident?”

Moon opened her mouth to rebuttal, but was interrupted by one of the other members. “I think we should freeze all of them in crystal and be done with it!” Rhombulus, a tall, magical being made out of crystal spoke up from the corner, raising on of his snake hands in the air, knowingly.

“No talking in time out!” Heckapoo reprimanded her fellow member and he huffed, making a show of crossing his arms and mumbling under his breath like a child. “Stupid corner. Stupid Heckapoo. I don't have to sit in time out, you have to sit in time out,” he grumbled in a whispered tone.

The others ignored the powerful beings childish display as Moon replied to the original question proposed. “We have no intention of 'dealing' with any of them,” Moon responded.

“What?!” Heckapoo shouted in outrage.

“But surely you can't honestly still be planning on continuing on with the peace treaties after several of them have violated your agreements,” Omnitraxus pointed out.

“Actually I fully intend to do just that,” Moon replied, taking in the angry and judgmental stares of her fellow members before calmly explaining. “It was a rogue Monster. He was acting on his own and seemed to have no affiliations with the rest of the Monsters. I see no reason to hold the rest of them responsible. The peace treaties will continue as planned.”

Plus, the Monster only attacked because he was being harassed by a couple of Mewmans, Star thought to herself, but didn't dare say it out loud, knowing it wouldn't do any good. As far as the commission was concerned, the Monster was entirely at fault.

“You can't honestly just turn a blind eye to this, can you, Queen Moon?” Omnitraxus asked.

“For the betterment of my people I will.”

“This is getting ridiculous!” Heckapoo exclaimed, slamming her hands down on the table. “This has gone on long enough. The Magic High Commission has already given you plenty of leeway during the war and agreed to stay out of the general affairs of Mewni, since you 'claimed' you could handle things and look how that turned out.”

“We are no longer at war,” Moon countered, her own voice losing some of its calm.

“Oh come on, Moon, this isn't an isolated incident and you know it,” Heckapoo shot back, pointing an accusing finger her way. “Just several days ago a Monster assassin was able to infiltrate this very castle and threaten the life of Star!”

Star resisted the urge to bury her face in her hands as all eyes were drawn to her for a long, intense moment, though she was unable to prevent her cheeks from blushing some in embarrassment, wishing she could just dive under the table and hide. She already felt intimidated in the presence of the most powerful beings in the multiverse, spending months building up her reputation as being on somewhat the same level as them, ruling one of the most important magical realms in the galaxy. But now, none of that seemed to matter as she was reduced back down to the same helpless little girl that had been broken by Saint O's, making her feel more weak and useless than she had felt in months.

“And we are taking this attack very seriously, as you already know,” Moon replied, with barely suppressed anger.

“Not seriously enough!” Heckapoo shouted.

“These Monsters are a threat to the natural order of things, you can not allow them to grow anymore in power or we risk upsetting the delicate balance of Mewnian magic,” Omnitraxus argued.

“I still say we crystallize the lot of them!” Rubilax shouted, jumping up and out of his time-out spot and slamming his snake hands down on the table, causing both of them to shout “Ow!”

Star looked between the arguing members with a grimace, slinking a bit in her chair. This isn't going well, at all, she thought with a mental sigh, as her mother tried futilely to calm the other member's rants. Star's eyes froze, though, on one member who had been silent during the whole meeting. He was small, about a foot tall, with a blue body covered by a yellow robe that was too small on him in many respects, with a long white beard and a purple crystal indented into his skull. He floated there in mid-air above the meeting table, his diamond shaped eyes bored and emotionless as he snacked on a small jar of pudding that was magically floating next to him, seeming to find more interest in it than in anything the rest of the Commission was saying.

She believed his name was Glossaryk, though she had never actually met him before. She wasn't sure what purpose he served in the Commission and frankly she wasn't sure if the other members knew, either. He just seemed to be there for the sake of being there, more out of obligation than actual need, which Star could completely bond with, being in the exact same boat.

She was about to try to move closer and talk to him, when the room was filled with a loud bleating, as the final member, a half-goat, half-bat creature known as Lekmet stood up from his seat, his wings opening in a wide flourish, interrupting the rest of his ranting members with the ear-bleeding sound. Everyone stopped and stared at the goat, Heckapoo, Omnitraxus, and Rubilax with guilty looks in their eyes as the goat man looked at each one of them with a disappointed frown.

He began giving them a short scolding in his native tongue but somehow, though no one there spoke his language, they were all able to understand him perfectly, as his bleatings were magically translated where they could understand, his messages feeling like they were being implanted directly into Star's brain. He went on for a moment about them not fighting and behaving as the functioning magical beings they were and not just blame everything on Moon. Rubilax looked like he was on the verge of arguing, but a raised paw from Lekmet silenced him instantly. He then went on to say that they were supposed to set an example for the rest of the multiverse by keeping order and peace not just within the dimensions but with each other, as well, and that they at least needed to hear Moon out completely before jumping to conclusions. Once he was done, he sat back down in his seat, his wings folding up as he did, the others refusing to meet his eye, Rubilax even mumbling under his breath sheepishly, “Sorry Lekmet.”

Lekmet gestured with his paw to Moon, giving a quick bleat that roughly translated to, “Proceed.”

Moon gave the old member a grateful smile, before turning back to address the rest of them. “I assure you I have every intention of protecting the cycle of magic on Mewni and am doing everything in my power to resolve any and all issues retaining to the Monsters,” she explained calmly. “But none of them have shown any interest in our magic thus far. They only wish to be seen as equals amongst us. And my hope is that by achieving some sort of compromise we will no longer have to be concerned about the Monsters abusing the cycle of magic in this, or any other, dimension.”

The other members were silent for a moment, their faces unreadable and Star held in a breath. “Very well then, Queen Moon,” Omnitraxus finally finally spoke up, his voice sounding harsh but fair. “The Magic High Commission will not get involved in the affairs of this world or the actions of the Monsters-”

“For now,” Heckapoo added, her voice sounding far less understanding.

“What?!” Rubilax whined like a child. “But I thought you guys were going to let me crystallize the Monsters!”

“Rubilax back in the corner!” Heckapoo screamed and Rubilax begrudgingly obeyed.

“However,” Omnitraxus continued, after the short outburst. “If you cannot breed us proper results in the time frame of no more than six months or the situation in Mewni worsens to even the slightest degree we will have no choice but to intervene.”

Star sucked in a breath. Oh no, this was bad. This was no longer a compromise, it was a warning, the subtext of the magical being's message clear: 'Do not fail us again.' The overseer of time left no room for argument, his tone final and sharp, meaning Moon had no choice but to nod and agree. “I understand,” she said, keeping her voice regal and composed, though Star could hear the disdain hidden deep in her throat.

“Then I guess we have nothing more to discuss,” Heckapoo said rising from her seat, the others doing the same, even Star and Moon standing up from their chairs, the princess resisting the urge to stretch to relieve the now tight muscles in her back. “We will continue to monitor the situation and expect regular updates from you as usual,” Heckapoo continued, Star catching the hidden meaning in her words. 'We will be watching.'

“Of course,” Moon said.

With that, the Magic High Commission left, returning to their sacred and highly important tasks throughout the known universe. Heckapoo exited through one of her dimensional portals, while Rubilax and Lekmet left through their own, and Omnitraxus's form simply faded from the crystal ball, leaving it now just a regular glass sphere. The second they were all gone, Moon released a deep sigh, one she sounded like she had been holding in for hours. “Thank goodness that's over with,” Moon said, with much relief in her tone.

“I can't believe the way they were talking about the Monsters!” Star burst out, now no longer able to hold back her anger any longer.

“Star,” Moon said in a warning tone.

“Well I can't help it! They acted like the Monster are all evil and dangerous. And then they treated us like we were common criminals just for siding with them!”

Star's anger disappeared as quickly as it had come as her mother put her hands on her shoulders and looking down at her with a motherly smile, “I know. And I understand your anger. But getting upset will not help resolve the situation any. A good queen does not allow her emotions to sway her judgment, she handles difficult situations by using her experience and wit.”

Star let her mother's words sink in for a moment, knowing she was right. She couldn't remember the last time her mother had given her a lecture of any kind and, though she had always despised them in the past, now she found that she had oddly missed them. Though, she did notice that her mother' attitude seemed to have changed quite a bit. She no longer spoke down to her in a condescending way, telling her she had messed up and why like she used to. Now it felt more like she was merely trying to teach her, to help her continue to grow into the best queen she could. Star wasn't sure if the change was from her mother's newfound respect or her own new appreciation for guidance, knowing first hand of what went into being a ruler. Or perhaps something even stronger than that. It felt like there was now a mutual understanding between mother and daughter, an unspoken feeling that both now shared with one another, one that had certainly had not been there before.

She let out a breath to show her mother she was calm, before saying, “So then what's our plan?”

Moon paused for a moment before answering. “For now, we proceed as normal. We have to focus on keeping our citizens calm and making sure things run smoothly.”

Star's mouth gaped open unintentionally at this. “Are you serious? We can't just do nothing! You heard what the Commission said.”

“Yes I did, Star,” Moon said, her tone hardening some. “But this is a very delicate process. The peace we have now is fragile and the situation must be dealt with as such. Otherwise we might be looking at only escalated things until it is too far out of our hands.”

“But there has to be something we can do?” Star said desperately, tears of defeat appearing at the corners of her eyes, her mind racing as it tried to frantically create some kind of solution that would magically solve all of their problems. Unfortunately, it seemed that just didn't exist.

Moon, seeing the emotional state her daughter was in, pulled her in close for a hug, surprising the young royal, as her mother's arms gently ran up and down her back. “We'll think of something, Star,” Moon whispered in a comforting tone. There was that feeling again.

Star allowed herself to relax and let all of her barriers down. Normally she would never let her mom see her this way, to expose the parts of herself she kept hidden, only Marco ever got to see that side of her, to see the vulnerability and insecurity she felt. But things had changed. Her relationship to her mom was different now and now Star felt she could trust her mom to see this side of her, almost needing to let her see it. So for just a moment, their titles seemed to disappear, they were not queen and princess, they were just a mother and daughter, her mom simply comforting her in her time of need.

When the hug did finally pull away, Moon going back to gripping her softly by the shoulders, she looked deep into her eyes and said in the most confident voice she could, “This isn't over yet, Star. Not by a long shot.”

Star just nodded, before saying, “Thanks mom.”

Moon smiled, cupping her cheek in her hand for a moment, “You're welcome.” Then, Moon rose back to her feet and just like that, her inner queen had returned full force. “Now then, I have more duties I need to attend to and I really need to get going or I will be late. This does conclude the end of your duties for the day, however, so you are free to spend the day however you wish.”

Star nodded. “Okay great. Marco will be happy to hear it,” she said, some of the joy returning at the mere mention of her boyfriend.

“I'm sure he will,” Moon said, with a small teasing smile tugging at the corner of her lips. She headed for the door, but stopped, turning back around as if needing to check something. “Are you sure you're alright?”

“I'm fine mom,” Star reassured with a roll of her eyes. “Like you said, we'll think of something.” Moon smiled. “Yes we will.” And with that, Moon left, closing the door behind her, causing a loud bang to echo around the small room. For a moment, Star just stood perfectly still in the room, thinking things over, while silently counting the seconds off in her head. As badly as she wanted to run to the door and slam it open in an attempt to free herself from the suffocating space faster, she also didn't want her mom to think anything was wrong, so she knew she needed to wait till she was out of the hallway before leaving. But in the deafening silence of the room, it only seemed to cause her incessant worrying to increase.

Though her mom's words were reassuring, she wasn't sure she quite believed them. Right now, they had no plan and were facing a pretty serious situation. If the MHC interfered they could put a wrench in all their hard work and planning. Unrest between the Monsters and Mewmans was growing more and more with no sign of stopping anytime soon. Not to mention the assassin that was now hunting and threatening her. What had they gotten themselves into?

“My things are looking bad for you, aren't they?”

Star jumped out of her skin at the sudden voice that came out of nowhere, nearly screaming in fright, but managed to contain it so it was just a small startled squeak. She whipped around only to see Glossaryk, still hovering in the same place he had been, licking chocolate off his spoon, while staring at her with blank, rectangular eyes. Star couldn't believe how stupid she had been, they had been so troubled by the news that they hadn't even noticed that one member, whose presence had virtually gone unknown, hadn't actually left.

“I- You- How much of that did you see?” Star asked flustered as her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

“Oh I see everything,” Glossaryk replied mysteriously and Star raised an eyebrow.

“Okkkkaaay,” Star said, crossing her arms awkwardly in front of her.

“And if you're worried about me telling the Commission about your little breakdown a moment ago, don't be, I'm retired, I don't really have to get involved in anything if I don't want to and I make it a point to avoid them at all costs,” Glossaryk said.

Star giggled at that. “So, you're not really a member?” the blond asked.

“No, but neither are you and yet here we are,” Glossaryk pointed out, waving his dirty spoon around the room for emphasis.

“Good point,” Star replied.

“So what are you planning on doing, princess?” Glossaryk suddenly said, before taking another spoonful of pudding.

“About what?” Star asked in confusion.

“About the Monsters. Surely you are planning on doing something to help control them.”

“I thought you said you don't get involved,” Star pointed out, suspiciously.

“No, I said I don't have to get involved if I don't want to,” Glossaryk corrected her, as he dug his spoon deep into the small pudding cup hovering next to him.

“Then why do you want to?” Star tried.

“I have my reasons,” was the only response the magical being gave.

Finally, Star realizing she would receive no other answer, shrugged before confessing, “I haven't really come up with anything yet.” Without realizing it, she found herself talking to the small, blue man, pouring out all the worries that had been plaguing her mind lately. “All I can think to do is to try and work with Buff Frog but I'm not sure how much good that will do. There are just too many Monsters for him to keep track of them all. And both Monsters and Mewmans are still filled with so much hate, it seems impossible to get them to trust each other at all. To be honest I'm not sure what to do.”

“Then it seems to me that having the Magic High Commission overseeing things wouldn't be the worse thing in the world,” Glossaryk casually said, before licking the small drops of pudding still on his spoon off.

Star felt her temper flare up at the comment, saying in a near shout, “No that would be terrible! The Commission would only make things worse! They'd strip away the Monster's rights in a heartbeat and then everything would just go back to being awful again for everyone!”

Glossaryk didn't even acknowledge Star had spoken, instead, simply choosing to closely examine the spoon he held, taking his time as he meticulously searched for any spots he had missed. Star huffed in frustration at the tiny blue being choosing to ignore her. “You're right, maybe not the Commission then,” Glossaryk finally said. “Still, it would be good if someone was keeping an eye out for trouble. It's too bad there aren't more people like you out there, spreading peace. Otherwise, you wouldn't have anything to worry about, now would you?”

This statement surprised Star and she opened her mouth to respond, but was stopped as suddenly, Glossaryk said, “Well it would seem I'm out of pudding.” He looked at the now empty cup with disappointment, the first real show of any emotion outside of boredom since arriving. “Well I must be off then, princess. I need to refill my pudding supply as quickly as possible and I'm afraid the Earth dealer I usually get my supply from will be leaving soon.”

“Why don't you just use magic to make more pudding?” Star asked skeptically.

Glossaryk sighed. “True pudding cannot be replicated, princess,” he said, as if the answer should be obvious. “Never underestimate the power it holds.”

With that the crystal in Glossaryk's forehead began to glow with a bright light, the small old man humming to himself as the magical energy began to grow, his voice growing louder and louder with each second. Until finally he was gone, vanishing in flash of blinding light, Star shielding her eyes from the beam. Once he was gone, Star just said to herself, in utter confusion of the strange, blue being, “What the heck does that mean?”

Not receiving an answer from the empty room, Star simply shrugged, trying to dismiss the man's odd behavior, before turning and walking to the door, happy to finally have some sweet relief from the cramped and confining space. Though, a nagging thought at the back of her mind seemed to be telling her she was forgetting something.

…

Star let out another deep sigh as the memory faded away slightly, worries overtaking her instead. So that was the situation at hand, she had to find a way to fix an unknown number of years of oppression and unrest in just six months. But really she needed a solution now. They were one Monster attack away from squandering all the work Star, Marco, and her parents had put in. And she couldn't let that happen, she had grown to care for many of the Monsters seeing them as more than evil beings, thanks to Marco. If the worst were to happen, then it would be on Star. She was their ruler and any mistreatment they received fell on her and her alone.

Star thought back over the story of the Diaz's, Star didn't know how Marco's parents had kept faith despite how impossible the odds had seemed, it was quite admirable. Star wished she could have met them, they seemed so nice and kind, now she knew where Marco got it from.

Marco. He would be crushed if his family was forced back into oppression. He would feel like a failure and, knowing him, would no doubt blame himself for his adopted family's inhumane condition. She couldn't bare to see Marco heartbroken, her throat tightening at the mere thought of it.

And with those thoughts in mind, a new determination rose within her, burning like a fire in her soul. She had to succeed. She wouldn't allow failure. She just needed to think...

And so Star did just that, thinking and contemplating over what could be done to fix the impossibly big problem they were being faced with. But her tired mind was making it impossible, her thoughts easily drifting in her sleep-deprived state. For some reason they kept going back to her conversation with Glossaryk and she began to wonder if her mind was trying to tell her something. Did her brain know something she didn't? Something she had unconsciously already figured out but just had yet to realize?

The blond royal frowned deeply, as she recalled the conversation again, going over every word carefully. The tiny blue man was weird no doubt, but what he said wasn't wrong. Well, okay, most of what he said wasn't wrong. Some of it was just crazy nonsense (Star still didn't get that thing about pudding) but some of it had a layer of truth to it. The Magic High Commission had successfully overseen every dimension in the universe and for the most part kept order in an otherwise chaotic galaxy. They represented peace and power, a show of strength and a warning to any who turned against them. There methods were intense sure, but effective. Still, Star knew they were not the right thing for Mewni.

Star thought for another moment, the spark of an idea forming in her head. But maybe, there were others who were. Suddenly, Star was on her feet again, pacing back and forth around her room, muttering to herself under her breath, her weariness all but forgotten. Her mind was alive and buzzing with inspiration once more, her heart pounding excitedly in her chest, as a plan began to take shape in her mind. And as the hours stretched long, the young blond princess continued to work out every detail of her master plan, thinking over everything she would need to make this work and she began to feel giddy as she realized that this could actually work, she might be able to save Mewni from itself.

…

Morning came and with it came a new day of possibilities and promise. Marco woke slowly, curling up tightly under his warm blankets, as he muttered incoherently in his sleep. “Don' wan' more nachooss...” he grumbled, before rolling over. He slowly began to blink open his eyes, taking in his softly lit room through his blurry vision. He yawned and sat up, his tight muscles cracking and popping at the effort. He took a moment to stretch, finally relaxing his tense body, before letting out another yawn, rubbing absentmindedly at his eye.

It seemed the previous days events were all but forgotten to the Mewman boy, as he, now much more awake and alert, pulled back his covers and rose from his bed, a happy smile gracing his lips. He went to his window and threw it open, basking in the sunlight and cool breeze on his face with a content sigh. Finally he shouted at the top of his lungs, “Good morning, Mewni!”

He leaned a bit more out the window, looking beside him, calling, “Good morning, StarFan13!” The strange girl who was currently standing perilously on one of the ledges with a pair of binoculars, called back, “Good morning, Marco!”

He then quickly zipped over to his closet pulling down one of his many red hoodies. “Good morning, hoodie!” he said cheerfully, before hugging the article of clothing to his chest. “I love you so much!” He quickly slipped his signature hood over his head, letting it fall down, before easily slipping his arms through, not even bothering to unzip it.

In a matter of seconds, Marco was out of his room and already racing down the hallway, doing his best to avoid crashing into any of the castle servants hard at work that fine morning. He was feeling much better today and after a good night's rest and some time to think he felt less like, well, his heart was literally shattering into pieces. His throat still felt tight whenever he thought of his parents and he could still feel a slight tugging at his heart, an ache that lingered from the day before and a constant reminder of his loss, but he refused to let those things hold him back. He didn't have time to feel depressed and mope around. There was now work to be done. He had sworn he would find a way to bring permanent peace to Mewni and he was going to do it. So with his hopes held high and eager to meet up with his beautiful blond bestie, Marco ran through the castle with reckless disregard for anything else, feeling a new sense of pride and purpose with every step.

But this backfired, it seemed, as Marco's triumphant race through the castle was cut short as he collided head first with someone, causing him to release a startled scream. All uplifting thoughts were forgotten as Marco bounced off the body and began falling hard and fast to the ground. The teen had no way to stop himself and so just closed his eyes, as he waited for his head and the tiled floor to painfully meet... again.

And yet, somehow Marco never hit the floor, something latching onto his arm and holding him suspended there in mid-air. “You really need to be more careful, dork,” came a familiar voice from above. Marco threw open his eyes, finding himself staring into the judgmental and somewhat amused face of Mewni's youngest knight.

“Higgs!” Marco shouted in joy and relief. Higgs said nothing as she just pulled him back up to his feet with an easy and fluid motion.

“So is this how you always say hello to people or are you just the hopeless klutz I've been hearing about?” she asked, her tone more teasing than critical.

Marco ignored the comment, instead chuckling awkwardly and rubbing at the back of his neck. “Yeah, sorry about that,” he apologized quickly. “Guess I was in too much of a hurry. Nice catch though,” he added, quite impressed with the redhead's ability to not only keep her balance but also react quick enough to stop him from falling himself.

Higgs shrugged, saying in a boastful manner, “Eh, that was nothing for the youngest knight in Mewni's history.” Marco held back a chuckle. The girl did have a tendency to work that into conversations way too often. “So how did things go yesterday?” Higgs asked, as the two started down the hall together. “Did you find out about your parents?”

Marco's smile faltered some. “Yeah... I did,” he said softly. The young knight got the sense that the boy didn't want to talk about it and quickly cleared her throat, changing the subject to a bit less touchy subject. “So you up for training today? I've got some free time right now if your interested.”

Marco's smile returned full force, before he remembered his mission. “Oh well thanks for the offer, but I've kinda got plans for today,” he declined, giving the redhead a sheepish smile.

Higgs however didn't seem to accept the look. “What, you chickening out already?” she asked, her voice semi-critical.

Marco cringed, before shaking his head. “No, it's not that, I just-”

“Hey lighten up, I'm only messing with you,” Higgs said, now sounding much more lighthearted. She gave him a friendly little punch in the arm that Marco did his best to hide the pain that surged up from it, still quite sore from being her punching bag the day before. “We'll just do it another day, no big deal,” she reassured him.

“Okay,” Marco said gratefully.

The young knight then quickly picked up her pace, now practically jogging down the hallway and leaving the hooded boy in the dust. She did turn to look at the boy over her shoulder, though, the smirk obvious on her face as she shouted to him, “But we better not wait too long. After all, I'm looking forward to whipping those weak muscles of yours into a decent shape.”

Marco came to a stop as the fast-moving girl disappeared down the hallway. The hooded boy frowned and felt of his arm, pinching the appendage lightly, wondering out loud, “What's wrong with my muscles?”

“Nothing I think you're perfect exactly as you are.” Marco swerved on his heels, a wide smile on his face, as he saw none other than Star standing behind him.

“Hey Star!” he greeted loudly, tackling her with a hug, causing the blond royal to giggle as she squeezed him affectionately back. Star could tell Marco was doing much better today than he was yesterday, his cheeriness returning to much more normal levels. And she was glad for that, not wanting Marco to sit around suffering from depression like she was afraid he would be.

Once the two pulled away, Marco noticed Star's smile was brighter than usual and her sky blue eyes were shining with eagerness, prompting him to ask, “So, what did you want to tell me?”

“What? How did you know I was gonna tell you something?” Star asked, raising an eyebrow at the boy for his ability to easily guess.

Marco shrugged. “You just seemed like there's something on your mind, is all,” Marco observed simply.

Star just smiled and shook her head. Marco really was too amazing sometimes. “Well, you were right. I have big news!”

“Really? What is it?!” Marco asked excitedly.

“Uh uh, not telling yet,” Star said, giving him a playful wink.

“Aww, why not?” Marco whined, his impatience getting the better of him.

“Because I'm going to wait and tell Jackie and Janna, too,” Star explained. “Now come on they're waiting for us in my room!”

The two began walking side by side on the way to the princess's bedroom, Marco continuing to pester his girlfriend for answers, while Star just did her best to hide her smile at the boy's antics.

“Well, can you at least tell me what it's about?”

“Nope.”

“Aww, come on Star, that's not fair.”

“Hey, it's not my fault you saw through me so easily. I wasn't going to bring it up until we were already met up with Jackie and Janna.”

Marco pouted, puffing up his cheeks, huffily. Star smiled, able to tell that he was faking, before leaning over and kissing his cheek, causing the hooded boy's frown to instantly switch to a wide grin, his face lightly flushing. The teen giggled a little before taking his girlfriend's hand in his. Star shook her head at the boy telling him in a teasing tone, “You know, if you really wanted a kiss, you could have just asked.”

…

Jackie and Janna sat on Star's floor, waiting for the princess to return with Marco. They had been caught off guard when the princess had ambushed them, going on about needing to tell them something, before shoving them into her room and disappearing, the two teens just shrugging to one another in response. Since then, the two girls had just sat and ate their breakfast that Star had had brought up to her room.

“So what do you think Star wants to talk to us about?” Jackie asked her creepy friend at one point.

Janna, who was looking more at her phone than actually eating, replied, “No idea, but whatever it was it must be pretty important.”

“Do you think it has to do with that Rasticore guy?” Jackie inquired nervously.

“Nah, I'm putting my money on it having something to do with Marco,” Janna replied, before taking a mouthful of food without looking away from her phone.

“Like what exactly?” Jackie asked.

Janna swallowed down the bite before replying, “I dunno, maybe they're getting married.”

Jackie's eyes narrowed at the remark. “Jan, they've only been on one date so far.”

Janna shrugged. “Eh, you never know with those two.”

Jackie rolled her eyes, before remarking, “Right, well I still think it has something to do with Monsters.”

Just then the door flew open, Star shouting, “I'm back!”

“Hey, Star!” Jackie greeted her friend with her signature coolness.

“Sup Marco!” Janna said at the same time.

“Hey guys,” Marco greeted cheerfully, before his eyes landed on the extra tray of food sitting next to Jackie. The hooded boy gasped loudly as he asked in wonder, “Is that my food?”

“Yep, sure is,” Jackie said and in the next second, Marco was beside her already digging in to his delicious breakfast.

“Oh my gosh, this food is so good, Star you've got to try some!” Marco exclaimed between mouthfuls.

“Maybe later,” Star said, even though she hadn't eaten yet, her excitement too great to even think about eating.

“Well you've at least gotta taste this pie, it's delicious!” Marco continued as he wolfed down his food, moaning in delight after every bite.

“Should be, the pie folk make the best pies ever,” Janna said, taking a bite of her own dessert. “Sure you don't want to try a bite, Star?”

“I'm good,” Star politely declined.

“Your loss,” Janna said with a shrug.

“Maybe we should go visit the pie folk one of these days,” Marco said thoughtfully.

“Not a good idea,” Janna argued simply, Marco giving her a questioning look. The creepy girl then explained, “As good as their pies are their also a bunch of liars and thieves, they'd rob an easy mark like you blind in no time.”

“That's horrible,” Marco gasped in shock, unable to believe someone who made such delicious food could be so crooked.

“Ya know, Janna, if we didn't know you were an Impure, I'd swear you were a pie folk,” Star commented.

Janna nodded her head in agreement, saying, “That's fair.”

After that, everyone went silent, the three teens just enjoying their food while their royal friend patiently (impatiently) awaited them to finish. Once they were nearly done, Jackie spoke up, asking, “So anyways, Star, what did you want to tell us?”

A bright, infectious smile instantly lit up Star's face, as she clapped her hands together once, loudly stating, “I know how to solve the problem between the Monsters and Mewmans!”

Of all the things the three had thought she was going to say, this didn't seem to be what they were expecting, as they all instantly went into shock by the loud declaration. Janna nearly chocked on her pie, coughing as she tried to clear her tight airways, Jackie's normally calm persona changed to one of disbelief, her mouth dropping open and her body freezing up, leaving her to awkwardly hold her fork, still with a bite of pie on it, hovering in mid-air, while Marco just gaped at her, his eyes widening to cartoonish levels, with a look of hopeful optimism.

“Really?!” he exclaimed, leaning closer to his girlfriend. “How?”

“Well, I'm going to make my own commission,” Star quickly explained.

The three shared a look at that. “A commission?” Marco repeated in confusion.

“Like the Magical High Commission?” Jackie supplied.

“What's that?” Marco asked.

“They're this group of magical being that oversee all the dimensions in Mewni,” Jackie explained quickly to the hooded boy.

“Uhh, how is that going to help exactly?” Janna asked bluntly.

Star didn't seem at all troubled by her friend's doubt as she said confidently, “Okay I get you guys are confused, but trust me I've been thinking on this all night and I know this is gonna work. The Magic High Commission has been watching over every dimension in the galaxy with success for a millennium.”

“Yeah, but no offense, Star, I don't think more of a bunch of stuck-up know-it-alls are gonna fix the unrest in Mewni,” Janna said, crossing her arms.

“Which is why it won't be a bunch of know-it-alls,” Star argued. “I'm gonna choose each member myself and each one will represent a different part of Mewni and its allies as a show of good faith. And our task will simply be keeping peace in Mewni and resolving any conflict that come in the way, without violence hopefully. That way the Mewmans will see that we are still protecting them from Monster attacks but the Monsters won't think that we're simply turning a blind eye to their problems, either.”

Once Star finished speaking, she went completely silent, taking a moment to let all of that sink in, looking between each of her friends hopefully. Marco looked overjoyed at the idea and was clearly instantly on board as Star suspected. Jackie and Janna, however, were just silently contemplating it, with no emotion on either of their faces. Star couldn't help but feel her heart pound a bit in worry. Had she been too rash? Was this a terrible idea after all? She had been so sure earlier but now...

“Wow, you've certaintly been thinking on this a lot,” Jackie said, her tone unreadable.

Star simply nodded. “So, what do you think?” Star prodded her friends, biting at her lip.

“I think it's a great idea, Star!” Marco shouted instantly, giving her a wide encouraging smile and Star couldn't help but feel a bit eased. She was lucky to have such a supportive boyfriend like Marco.

“Thanks, Marco,” she said, leaning closer and giving him a quick peck on the cheek, the boy's face turning bright red. She leaned back, her face becoming suddenly serious as she asked Jackie and Janna, “So what about you guys, do you think it will work?”

Finally, Jackie said, “Yeah, I think it will, actually.”

Janna nodded. “It's definitely got potential,” the half-Monster girl agreed.

Star felt hope rise in her chest as she let out the breath she had unknowingly been holding in. “You have no idea how big a relief that is hearing you say that,” the blond royal admitted, putting a hand over her pounding heart. Good so they were on board with the idea. Now came the important part. Star paused for a second, wanting to find the right way to phrase this. Her voice grew softer, as she played with a curl in her hair. “Because I was actually kinda hoping you guys would be on the commission with me.” She gave them all a wide, pleading smile, but wasn't surprised to find that all of them had frozen in complete shock.

“Us?” Janna said, looking dumbfounded. “You want us to be on the commission?”

“But, we're not even royalty,” Marco pointed out, self-consciously rubbing his arm.

“No, but you are all my best friends and I trust your judgment completely,” Star said sweetly.

The teens faces all seemed to soften at that, even Janna's, though they still remained silent. “Sooo should I take your silence as a yes, then?” she asked, trying to prod them into answering.

“Of course it is,” Jackie said.

“We're always up for helping you out, Star, with whatever you need,” Marco added.

“Well, actually,” Janna said apologetically, causing the others to face her with questioning looks. “As much as I appreciate the offer, I don't think me being on a peace brigade is exactly my style. I think I'd rather sit this one out, if that's all right.”

Star nodded in understanding, trying not to let her disappointment show. “Yeah, that's fine,” she said, unable to quite keep the sadness out of her voice.

“Trust me it's for the best,” Janna added, sensing the girl's somberness. “I'm the last person you'd want trying to fix Mewni.”

“That's true,” Jackie agreed, as horrible scenario after horrible scenario played in her head. “Putting Janna in a position of power is just asking for things to go wrong.”

Star's eyes widened in fear. “Oh my gosh I hadn't even thought of that,” she whispered nervously, as an image of Mewni burning to the ground flashed through her mind. She quickly shook her head free of the disturbing thoughts, needing to go back to the matter at hand, as she turned to Jackie and Marco. “Well then, in that case, you two will be my first members of the newly formed, umm-” Star's mind was now drawing a blank, as she realized she hadn't given the group a name. She rubbed at her chin trying to think of a good name. Finally, she decided to just go with something simple  and easy to remember, saying proudly and confidently, “The Mewnian-Monster Peace Commission or MMPC.”

“Nice,” Jackie said, approvingly, while Janna just shrugged.

“Eh, it could use some tweaking,” the beanie-wearing girl commented.

Star ignored that, keeping herself focused on the next step. She went over to her desk and retrieved her wand. Now that they were on board it was time to make it official, she told herself. She walked back over to the two, keeping her head held high, both just watching her now with confusion etched into their features. She cleared her throat before holding her wand out in front of her, the magical device glowing a soft white. “Please kneel,” she said, her voice holding all of the regality of that of a seasoned queen and both teens instantly obeyed, dropping to their knees and bowing their heads to their future ruler.

Janna just watched all of this with a raised eyebrow, commenting, “Geez, what are you knighting them now?”

Jackie quickly shushed her, before lowering her head submissively once again.

Star went over to the skater girl first, saying, “Jackie Lynn Thomas, since I've met you I've always known you to be level-headed and honest. You are quick to solve any problem by using your wit and always remain calm in the face of danger. And most importantly you believe in fairness and equality in Mewni. And so it is for all of these things that I now hereby deem you-” Star tapped her wand on both of Jackie's shoulders. “-representative of Earth. Do you accept your position?”

“Absolutely,” Jackie said, sounding quite humbled, raising her head up a bit so she could smile at Star. The princess returned this gesture before moving over to Marco.

“Marco Diaz,” she started, keeping her tone strong and sure. “I can't think of anyone more worthy of this job than you. Not only has your family been fighting for equality for years...” a sad smile crossed Marco's face at that and Star gave him an apologetic look knowing that was still a touchy subject for him. “... but without you we wouldn't even be here right now.” Star's voice shook a little, as she held back the well of emotion rising up inside her. “You helped to open my eyes and show me that Monsters are capable of good and I know that you will do a great job at showing others the same. You are kind and understanding and always determined to do what's right. So, with the power vested in me as the Princess of Mewni I now hereby deem you-” Star tapped Marco's shoulders, one at a time with the wand. “-representative of Monsters.”

Marco's eyes widened at that and he raised his head a little to give the blond royal a questioning look. “You want me to represent the Monsters?” Marco asked in shock. “But shouldn't you have a Monster do that?”

Star leaned down so she was closer to Marco as she explained to him, “No, that won't work. The Mewmans still aren't ready to see an actual Monster on the commission. But if we put you in this position instead, you can still fairly fight for Monster's rights without upsetting anyone.” Star gently placed a hand on his shoulder with her free hand before continuing, her voice losing its commanding tone as she told him truthfully, “I'm not gonna lie, Marco. This job is kind of a big deal. You are the key to making this all work. Without you, this commission is pretty much pointless. So,” Star took in a deep breath, her voice returning to its regal infliction. “ Do you still accept this important position?”

Marco swallowed hard, but Star could see the fire in his eyes, an unwavering resolve hidden just behind his chocolate brown orbs. The hooded boy nodded and said confidently, “I do.”

Star smiled down at him, her heart swelling with pride, as she gushed out, “I knew you would,” giving him a tiny kiss on his nose.

Both Jackie and Marco rose back up to their feet and Star said in excitement, “Well, congratulations you two are now the only acting members of the MMPC! Yay!” She did a little jazz hand wave at them, causing Jackie to laugh.

“This is so amazing!” Marco yelled, equally pumped up at their accomplishment, practically leaping around the room in giddy delight. “I'm the first representative of Monsters ever! Wait till Buff Frog hears this, oh my gosh, this is so perfect! Now I can finally start living up to my Diaz name!”

The three girls watched the boy as he continued his energetic celebration, before Janna spoke up, saying, “Well you seems like your back to your old self.”

This caused Marco to come to a stop, turning to the creepy girl, wide-eyed. His smile faltered just a bit as he explained, “Not completely. I'm still kinda processing everything, y'know.”

“That's understandable,” Jackie said comfortingly.

“But I'm doing better,” Marco quickly reassured them, before they could give him any sorrowful stares. “And this is actually great because now, after just finding out about them, I'm actually getting the chance to carry on in their place!”

Star studied her friend closely, making sure he was really telling the truth. Though he seemed okay, she didn't want him to be silently suffering, but he did seem back to normal, his energy and infectious joy returned full force despite everything. Jackie and Janna seemed to have realized this as well, because their smiles returned as well, Jackie saying, “Glad to hear it, Marco.”

The other two nodded, glad that their normally vibrant friend was no longer acting so depressed, all of them hating to see him so hurt.

“So then, Star, what's the next step to your brilliant plan?” Janna asked, changing the subject, deciding it better not to dwell on the sensitive topic, which Marco looked grateful for.

Star rubbed awkwardly at her arm, wishing that Janna hadn't brought that up. “Wellllll....”

…

There was a soft knock on the door to Moon's office, before the door opened an inch and a familiar blond head popped in. “Mom?” Star said, her blue eyes searching the room for her mother, spotting her sitting at her desk, surrounded by piles upon piles of paperwork. Star found herself once again grateful that she no longer had to deal with the tedious task. There were a few things she missed about no longer being the acting ruler but the constant writer's cramp was definitely not one of them.

“Yes, come in, Star,” Moon said, not even looking up from the scroll she was reading and Star obeyed, entering the room and closing the door behind her.

“So I wanted to talk to you about something,” Star started as she shuffled closer, wanting to get right to the point.

“Yes, my dear, what did you want to tell us?” came the voice of not her mom, but her dad, as he suddenly appeared from behind one of the stacks of papers, the pile hiding the short king completely from view.

“Dad?!” Star shouted in surprise, jumping a bit. “I-I didn't see you there,” she said, trying to recover from her shock.

“Oh that's because I was working on my stealth,” River explained to his daughter, an unstoppable vigor in his tone and attitude. Moon just ignored her husband's childish ways, a concentrated frown on her face as she examined the document in front of her closely. “You never know when you might need to disappear.”

“Riggghhht,” Star said, knowing there was no point in questioning her father's logic. “So, uh, anyways, as I was saying I think I might have an idea to help solve our little...” Star's voice lowered as she whispered to her two parents, “Commission problem.”

Moon finally looked up from her work, a stern look on her face. “Star, we talked about this,” Moon began in a warning tone.

“I know, I know, but just hear me out,” Star begged. “I've thought very rationally about this and I promise that it's very delicate.”

Moon seemed to be thinking it over, her face scrunched up and her hands folded in front of her face. River decided to try and appeal to his wife, going over to his daughter and putting an arm around her waist, before saying in the most convincing tone he could, “Come on, Moonpie. I'm sure whatever Star has hatched up is a great plan!”

Moon sighed, knowing she was outnumbered, finally agreeing, “Very well then, Star. Let's hear it.” She folded the scroll up and set it to the side, giving her full and undivided attention to her daughter.

Star smiled gratefully to the both of them for various reasons: one for her dad taking her side and two for her mom being willing to hear her out.

She took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly, before beginning. She told them everything, giving them the full and complete detail of her plan to form the commission, leaving nothing out, even telling them who all she had in mind to be on the commission with her and that Jackie and Marco had already agreed to the position. Once she finished, she took a moment to catch her breath, so eager to get everything out so fast she had nearly hyperventilated herself. Her parents both looked at her blankly, sharing a look between one another, Star unable to tell the meaning behind the exchange.

She felt her confidence crumble as she awaited their answer, much like it had with Jackie and Janna, but this time was much worse, as she constantly strives for her parent's approval and the fear of not getting it made her feel self-conscious and doubtful. “Look I know you probably think it's childish,” Star blurted out, unable to hold herself back any longer. “But I-”

“Actually,” Moon interrupted, looking into her daughter's puzzled eyes. “I think it's quite good, Star.”

“Really?” Star said, her heart filling with pride.

Her mother nodded, smiling encouragingly at her daughter. “Really.”

Star breathed a sigh of relief. “And you think the commission will be on board?” she asked, with a questioning look. It was the only part of her plan she was unsure of, not sure how the dead-set-in-their-ways-and-almost-never-open-for-change Magic High Commission would take the news.

Before Moon could answer, River quickly burst out, “Why they have to accept it?! Only an idiot wouldn't be able to see how beneficial this will be for Mewni!”

“Well, I'm not so sure about that,” Moon muttered, disapproving of her husband's brash declaration. But her tone was much stronger as she said, “However, I see no reason the commission would reject this idea.” Moon's tone hardened some, as she added, “Though they will most likely have a few conditions in mind.”

Star rolled her eyes at that but, staying positive, replied, “Then we'll find a way to make it work with them.”

Moon gave a sharp nod, though she looked to Star like she had something else on her mind. Star waited for her to voice this concern, but it seemed her mom was having second thoughts on bringing whatever it was up. Finally, she must have pushed past whatever objection her mind had, as she pointed out, “You do know, Star, that if you go through with this that this will be quite time consuming. You won't have as much time to relax and just be a normal teenager. It probably won't be that different than when you were acting ruler. Are you still sure you want to go through with this?”

Her mother studied her intensely for any signs in Star's form faltering and so the blond royal made sure to keep her eyes level with her mother's and remained tensed and still, not allowing her body to shift in the slightest degree, afraid to show any weakness in her resolve. Though there was a part of her that would probably miss not having as many duties and responsibilities to deal with, she knew this was the right choice, happy to sacrifice the life of a normal teen in order to set her beloved Mewni on the right path. Beside, she was a magical wand-wielding princess who was destined to inherit one of the most enchanted dimensions in the galaxy, being a normal teen was pretty much out of the question.

So Star made sure to answer in the most royal and dignified voice she could muster, “Yes. I'm prepared to do whatever is necessary for the sake of my people.”

Moon's face softened at her daughter's words, cupping a cheek in her hand, her tone soft and motherly, as she replied teary-eyed, “I'm so proud of you, Star. I hope you know that.”

Star put a hand over her mother's and gave it a small squeeze, replying, “I know, mom.”

“This is a very grown up thing to do,” Moon added, proudly.

“Yes, it is,” River agreed, crying louldy as tears streaming down his face. He pulled his daughter into a suffocating hug, adding, “Why before we know it your gonna be an adult and ruling the kingdom all by yourself.”

“Uh, dad, I already ruled the kingdom by myself,” Star remind him and that only seemed to cause him to cry more.

“Oh my little girl is growing up too fast,” he sobbed.

Star blushed slightly, but finally returned the hug, reassuring him, “Don't worry, no matter how old I get, I'll always be your little girl, dad.”

Finally, her father broke the crushing hug, sniffing as he got a hold of himself once again. Star turned to her mom and asked, “So we should probably tell the MHC before we do anything else. Make sure they approve of this and everything.”

“Leave that to us,” Moon responded. “You just focus on getting all your members together, after all just Jackie and Marco aren't going to be enough.”

Star nodded, entrusting the difficult task of convincing the Magic High Commission to her more than capable parents. To be honest, it was quite a relief to her, she hadn't really been thrilled at the idea of trying to handle that job by herself, feeling intimidated at the mere thought of being in the presence of the magical beings. “Okay, then I'll let you two get back to whatever you were doing,” she agreed, walking to the door, still wanting to go over some things with Jackie and Marco.

Her parents didn't object to this, watching as the girl exited out of the room, closing the door behind her, leaving the two to peace and paperwork once again. Moon, however, rose from her seat, ignoring the pressing work as she messaged her temple with her fingertips, her face set in a deep frown as she wandered aimlessly around the room. River didn't react to this, used to seeing his wife let her guard down and show all the stress she was feeling when they were alone. He did however, tell her, reassuringly, “Relax, my love, Star can handle it.”

Moon didn't seem so convinced, though, arguing, “It's an awfully big task, River. And she's been through so much recently. I'm just afraid that she's pushing herself too hard for our sake.” Moon released a tired sigh, before adding, worriedly, “Have we put too much pressure on her? Would she still wish to do this if I hadn't-”  

“Moon,” River interrupted her and his beloved wife looked at him with deeply troubled eyes. “You can't continue to blame yourself for what happened. Star has moved past it and so should you. She is a very mature girl, she wouldn't have offered to do this unless she wanted to. We just need to trust when she says she's making the right choice.” the short king said calmly.

Moon let out a long breath, feeling her body relax. “You are right, River. Thank you,” the queen said gratefully. “Star can handle herself. I feel a little silly for worrying so,” she confessed.

River put an arm around his wife, pulling her in close to him as he replied with a hearty laugh. “Ha, not to worry, Moonpie. Everyone is allowed to act a little silly from time to time, even a queen. I mean just look at me, I do and say stupid things all the time.”

Moon smiled at that, rolling her eyes. “Yes, I'm well aware,” she said almost playfully. Then, she leaned down and kissed her beloved husband on the cheek as a way of thanking him. That was just what she had needed, not that she was surprised he had known exactly what to say to calm her down. Even through her husband's many faults, she was continually reminded why she had fallen in love with him. He understood her in ways no one else did and was always a comfort and a pleasure to have around. Even after all these years, she still couldn't imagine a better man to rule by her side.

…

“Can you hear anything?”

“Shh, quiet they might hear you.”

“You two both need to shut up so I can hear.”

The trio of teens stood impatiently around the door to Queen Moon's office, Janna with a glass pressed against its frame and leaning an ear against that, trying to hear the occupants within, a trick she had picked up who knows where. They spoke in whispers, trying their hardest not to alert anyone else of their presence, as they were fairly sure they would get in some form of trouble for spying on the Queen of Mewni, but they were all too curious to wait and hear from Star and choose to risk the possibility of punishment.

Janna sent the two a warning glare, before focusing back on her task, trying her hardest to pick out the conversation from the muted voices inside, but it was very difficult to do with a certain hooded boy breathing down her neck. Though she after a few seconds she was able to begin to distinguish between the two, no three, voices inside, identifying them as Star, her mom... King River it seemed. “I can hear them talking,” Janna said triumphantly.

Marco from beside her let out an excited squeal, immediately bombarding her with questions in a voice that just barely identify as a whisper, his impatience refusing to allow her a second of peace to work. “What are they talking about?” he asked. “Has Star asked her yet? Does Moon seem happy? Is she mad? Is Star trying to convince her...”

“Wait a second,” Janna muttered, her eyes narrowing in concentration. Marco did go quiet then, even putting a hand over his mouth, his body shaking in anticipation.

Janna smiled a moment later, saying to them, “She thinks it's a good idea!”

“Yea-mmph!” Marco started to scream, but was halted by Jackie as she clamped a hand over his mouth, stifling his cry of victory. “Shh,” Janna and Jackie both hissed as one. The skater pulled her hand away a second later and Marco gave the two a sheepish grin.

“Sorry, got too excited,” he apologized.

Jackie gave him a reassuring smile and a pat on the shoulder to let him know that he was forgiven, before turning back to her roommate and asking in a whisper, “What are they talking about now, Janna?”

Janna pressed her ear against the make-shift listening device, relaying to them, “It's quiet right now... oh wait. Moon is telling Star that it's a big responsibility and that she won't be able to be a normal teen anymore if she takes it.”

“Well, what's Star saying?” Marco asked, suddenly worried. What if Moon talked Star out of it?

“Star said she's prepared to do whatever's necessary for her people,” Janna replied, before scoffing. “Jeez Star, cheesy much.”

“And what about Moon? What's she saying now?” Jackie asked, her own impatience beginning to get the best of her, as she leaned in closer to the creepy girl.

Janna huffed in annoyance. “Hang on guys. Neither of you are making this easy, y'know,” she said sharply. “Your just lucky I'm a professional. I'd like to see you try and do this with two people breathing down your neck the whole time, it's very distracting.”

Jackie rolled her eyes, before replying, “Just listen, Jan. Before you miss something.”

“Well if I did it would be your fault, Jacquelyn,” Janna taunted, a smirk on her face, knowing how annoyed her friend got when someone used her full name. And her reward was instant, as Jackie's cheeks flushed with anger, her eyes narrowing to literal daggers.

“Don't even go there,” Jackie said in warning, her voice shaking with mirth.

Janna just smiled openly as she went back to her work, pleased at being able to win the argument, feeling Jackie's cold glare on her as she began picking up the pieces of their conversation again.

Marco suddenly spoke up, scratching at his head while asking in complete and total confusion, “Whose Jacquelyn?”

“I am,” Jackie responded, sending her smirking roommate another glare.

“But I thought your name was Jackie?” Marco said, still looking lost.

“It is. But it's short for Jacquelyn.”

Marco nodded in understatement, finally grasping the confusing concept. “Ohhhh,” he said.

“Quiet,” Janna snapped. She went back to listening in, now relaying to them what she heard, as she picked up their voices again. “Okay so right now their... hugging I think. Star's dad is crying and Star just said something cheesy again.... Okay wait, Moon's saying... something... Oh no, guys, Star's coming!”

The three panicked, as they all quickly backed away from the door, making sure they were out of the Queen's possible line of vision. Janna ditched her cup into a nearby plant that decorated the hallway, before leaning against the wall casually. Jackie leaned against the wall opposite as well, looking as relaxed and at ease at once, no evidence of her crime at all visible on her face. Marco on the other hand looked completely incriminating, as he tried to instead hide behind one of the plants, his slim body visible easily and his bright red hood doing nothing to hide him in the slightest.

Star opened the door and stepped out of the room, before gently closing it shut. She then collapsed against the frame, letting out a deep breath. “Oh hey, Star,” Janna said casually and the young royal finally noticed the three around her, smiling instantly.

“Hey,” she greeted cheerily.

“So how'd things go with your mom?” Jackie asked.

“Well she-” Star suddenly froze mid-sentence, spotting her boyfriend's form peeking out from behind a plant. “Marco, what are you doing?”

Marco flinched at his name, before stumbling out from behind the bush with eyes blown wide and a fake smile on his face. He quickly stuttered out a rushed lie, “Oh I was just... umm, counting the leaves on this plant.”

Jackie and Janna both face-palmed at the terrible lie and Star merely raised an eyebrow, before looking around at her other two friends. “Okay what really happened?” she asked suspiciously.

“We were spying on you, sorry,” Jackie quickly admitted, knowing it was useless to lie to the princess at this point.

Star looked like she was on the verge of getting angry, but she quickly let it go, saying in an excited tone, “That's fine. Besides then, that means you guys already know everything right?”

“Yep, your mom said yes,” Janna said. “And that you are apparently your dad's baby girl.”

Star glared at her friend at the last bit, saying in annoyance, “Okay, I'm no longer okay with you listening in on me when I'm with my parents. Or you listening in on me period.”

Janna shrugged. “It's never bothered you before,” the creepy girl stated.

Star's eyes widened. “Please tell me your joking,” Star deadpanned.

“Hey, if it helps you sleep at night,” came Janna's cryptic reply.

“She's joking,” Jackie reassured her friend, rolling her eyes.

“I had a feeling,” Star said, with a scoff. “If someone really was spying on me, I think I would know it.”

From the corner of his eye, Marco spotted Starfan13, her small form hidden completely in one of the decorative plants and for a moment their eyes met. Then the fan girl put a finger to her lips, telling Marco to keep quiet about her presence. Before the hooded boy could respond, the girl slowly slinked lower into the fronds, her form somehow disappearing as she lowered herself into the depths of the plant. Marco blinked, not sure how what he just saw was even physically possible (even for a Mewman), before turning back to face the girls with a dumbfounded look in his eyes.

“So then, how about we start working on the MMPC?” Star said clapping her hands together, which sounded more like a command than a suggestion. “We still have lots to do before it's ready-”

Star was interrupted as Janna suddenly threw her arm around her shoulders, leaning quite a bit of body weight on the princess which caused her to stumble. “Yeah we could do that or we could go out and celebrate your victory,” the creepy girl said persuasively.

“Janna I really don't think that's a good idea, we don't have time to-” Star started to argue, but was immediately interrupted by her insistent teen.

“Aww come on, you guys have plenty of time to do all your boring planning. But right now is our only chance to go see the soul rise at Lava Lake Beach.”

“In the Underworld?” Jackie questioned.

“Uhh, yeah, why?” Janna said not sensing the cynicism in her roommate's tone.

“Janna there is no way we are taking Marco to the Underworld. He is too innocent and pure to visit that awful place,” Star argued, feeling quite overprotective of her boyfriend.

“Whatever Star, you just don't want to go because your afraid you'll see Tom there,” Janna said knowingly, which caused Star to glare back defiantly.

“Yeah well I'm still not talking to that jerk,” Star muttered in anger, crossing her arms. “Besides the only reason you want to go is in hopes you will see Tom,” the blond shot back in a louder voice.

Though Janna did her best to hide it, all of her friends caught the subtle blush on the girl's cheeks. “Yeah well, can't blame a girl for trying,” she said, not denying the claim. “Still, we should all do something to celebrate that doesn't involve politics.”

“It would be kinda nice to just relax for a bit, since we're gonna be so busy for a while,” Jackie slowly agreed, giving Star an apologetic look along with it. The princess looked to her left to see Marco looking like he was also wanting very badly to do something fun but wouldn't admit to it, literally biting his lip to keep himself silent, not wanting to risk upsetting his bestie or defy his parent's vision.

Finally, Star let out a sigh, knowing she was outnumbered, before saying, “I guess a little break won't hurt anything.” She watched her boyfriend's face brighten out of the corner of her eye and felt her heart swell, feeling suddenly proud of her decision. He deserved a break after everything he had been through. “Besides, we don't even have all our members together yet anyways,” she continued. She then turned to her half-Monster friend with a narrowed glare, adding warningly, “But no soul rise.”

“Ooh ooh, I know what we could do,” Marco suddenly pitched in helpfully, waving his arm in the air to draw their attention. “I heard about these movies that are going to be coming on the magic mirrors and it's got this really famous warrior from Earth called Mackie Hand! They're supposed to be really good. We could watch those, if you guys want.”

Janna and Jackie both smiled at the suggestion and Star took her boyfriend's hand in hers, giving it an encouraging squeeze. “You know what, Marco. That sounds just perfect,” Star said. And it really did.

So for the rest of the afternoon, the four friends forgot all about the troubles plaguing the rest of Mewni and the hard task that now was ahead of them. Instead, for a few hours, the teens just allowed themselves to live, right there, in that moment, just laughing and watching cheesy karate movies and eating popcorn and just acting like normal teenagers and best friends... if only for a short while.

[bexterbex]

A Soul to Mend His Own | Ch. 66

Warning, PLEASE CHECK TAGS IF YOU SEE SOMETHING YOU DON’T WANT TO READ THEN DON’T READ. Tag lists are closed

Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Will tag as I go along, Will update tags, Slow Burn, Influenced by Star Trek and other Sci-Fi themes, References to We Happy Few, Tons of References and quotes to George Orwells 1984 see if you can find them all, The First Order is the new Big Brother,  but who is really surprised, Blatant Nazi Symbolism, Interrogation Themes, Eventual Smut, Eventual Romance, Really just drawn out Slow Burn, Don’t repost without permission, Torture themes, Suggestive Themes, Execution themes, Disturbing Themes, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Verbal Abuse, Controlling Kylo Ren, Physical Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Kylo Ren is Not Nice, Kylo Ren Has Issues, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, Possessive Kylo Ren, A character shamelessly based on Zelda

A Kylo Ren x Modern! Reader in a soulmate au with canon divergence. —————————————SLOWBURN————————————–

He is already the Supreme leader, searching the universe to find you, his Empress. Your name on his wrist has been the only constant in his life, while you have doubts about his existence and his acceptance of you. He isn’t in the database and why did the name Kylo Ren cover Ben Solo?

MASTERLIST

Chapter 66: Without a Proposal

Your brain was rather foggy when you felt a familiar pressure behind your ear. He continued down your ear and kissed you. You felt the weight of his body above yours, “Good morning Kitten, I’ll be leaving soon.” Another kiss fell on your lips. “Please wake up, I would like to see your beautiful eyes before I leave.”

You opened your eyes and were greeted by his dark cauldron eyes, scanning your face as he looked at you. Once you held eye contact long enough he resumed peppering your face and neck with kisses. Marking your collar bone with more love bites before meeting you for a deep kiss. “I have to go Kitten, but I will try and holocommunicate with you when I can.” He gave you one last kiss before he stood up.

You watched him leave, taking your heart with him as he left. You knew that he was leaving you for the greater good. To protect you, but that still didn’t mean you were fully ok with him leaving. Your protective hound was about to go out and fight while you were to stay behind. You also did not feel ok with him facing Rey, the scavenger, who wanted Ben to come home. You knew Kylo did not feel the same about her, they were connected through the Force but you were his match. He wouldn’t leave you especially with you being so close to being Empress, to being fully his. His mother was another thing that made you worry a bit, you didn’t have the best relationship with your family, but you could never imagine killing them. But they threatened your existence by wanting Ben Solo back.

Adlez and Olivia-Rose appeared around the corner and got you out of bed. You made your way to the dressing room where you sat down in front of the vanity. Adlez gave you a look as she worked on your hair, “How are you feeling?” There was a tone in her voice that seemed to judge you. “Good. Why are you asking?” You knew she suspected something but you didn’t know what yet. “You weren’t feeling well yesterday. We called the doctor, you did something with him and the Supreme Leader. We were told to put you back together. You went off to a meeting and when you returned we were ordered out. You spent the night alone with him and he leaves this morning and will be gone for who knows how long. I don’t like it,” said Adlez. “I would like to know if you are all right.”

“I am fine, there were some complications that are fixed now. The Supreme Leader needs to do some things in order to protect me, once it is done I will be Empress.” You met her eyes in the vanity, trying to reassure her and yourself at the same time.

They finished getting your ready in relative silence. You could tell neither of them liked the situation you were in. They knew you weren’t really telling them the whole truth. But you had other things occupying your mind. As you stepped out into the hall you were greeted by Dr. Dabrini.

“Good morning m’lady I am here for our follow up,” he gestured for you to follow him into the bedroom as Adlez and Olivia-Rose headed into the dining room. “How are you feeling?”

“My head is a bit foggy but I did not dream last night, at all.” “Good, good. I believe this may be what you need until the Supreme Leader gets back. I will be monitoring your doses closely for the next few days just to be sure. But if you feel any nausea or feel anything other than normal please contact me immediately.” After receiving confirmation from you he left and you joined the others in the dining room to eat your breakfast.

“Would you like to go over your schedule this morning m’lady,” asked Captain Mitaka.

“Yes, please.” You were wondering what Kylo has left you to do while he was gone.

“This morning the Allegiant General will be joining you to plan your ceremony to become Empress. You will then have a luncheon with members of the High Command. Then you have your lessons, and then a dinner of your choice.”

It dawned on you that this would be the first time in weeks that you would be eating dinner without Kylo, sleeping without him for the night. You also remembered he tended to take the knights with him when he left. “Who is guarding me with the Supreme Leader gone?”

“There will be a rotation between Captain Phasma and Commander Pyre with Knights Trudgen and Kuruk. They will be rotating 12-hour shifts and will switch over during your lesson time,” responded Mitaka.

Your staff tended to stay quiet as they were still getting used to you, and their first few days haven’t been the greatest as you have been affected by a number of different things.

“Shall we go wait for the Allegiant General in the lounge,” you ask the group, who all just nodded in agreement. You then proceeded to meander upstairs as you waited for Hux to arrive. You answered various questions from the staff as you watched him enter.

“Good morning m’lady, I hope you’re feeling better,” said Hux.

“I am thank you, so we are to plan my ceremony,” you ask him as he takes a seat across from you.

“Yes, there is a list of things we need to plan right away, one of them being your dress.”

“My dress,” you ask curiously. You assumed that there would need to be some sort of regal gown, but you didn’t think it would be that big of a deal that it would need to be planned first.

“Yes, I believe the customary color in your culture is white,” said Adlez.

You turned to look at her as curiosity took flame, “So like a wedding?”

“It is a wedding,” said Adlez with confusion on her face. “Did the Dark Lord not inform you as to what the ceremony is?”

“No, he didn’t.” You turned back to Hux. “So you're telling me he just up and left and is making me plan a wedding, without so much a proposing? I assumed I was just going to be crowned Empress or something, like that type of ceremony, Not a wedding.” You were now getting angry but reasonably so.

“I was unaware that he did not tell you what the ceremony is. Right now, unmarried you can only take the title of First Lady. But within marriage, you are allowed to take the title as Empress,” responded Hux. You knew he was telling you the truth there was no need for him to lie to you, especially about this.

“Now I can see why you suggested that I would want this to happen on Earth.”

“Would you like to change venues m’lady,” asked Mitaka.

“No, no I already agreed to Mustafar, a planet that is important to the Supreme Leader. So I will just have to deal with it. But if this is really a wedding I would like a white dress, is there any place I could look at designs or anything?”

“I can have a dressmaker come in and design something with you,” said Adlez. “That would be preferable, can you find examples of some of the most important dresses in the galaxy? So we know what we have to hit as a goal?”

“Anything you wear will be considered the most fashionable thing in the galaxy. After the ceremony, people across the galaxy will be asking for replicas, and you will be seeing similar dresses for years if not decades,” replied Adlez.

“I know but I only have Earth fashion to really base anything off of, I would love to be inspired by parts of the galaxy too.” “I can arrange for that, something inspired by his grandmother might be preferable. Although I would suggest less heavy makeup and not so intricate hair,” said Adlez, there was a giggled shared around by your staff members.

“Is there something odd about his grandmother’s fashion,” you ask not understanding the odd amusement.

“Naboo isn’t known for its simple fashion. They can be rather…,” said Hux.

“Avant-garde” jumped in Olivia-Rose.

“I see. I trust your judgment Adlez, send over sample ideas to beat, and then the dressmaker has a good idea where to start.”  

After that decision was made everything went rather smoothly. The luncheon with members of the High Command went quickly, nothing too out of the ordinary. And soon you were off to your very topical lesson with Hux. “I technically haven’t been given the go-ahead by the Supreme Leader, but seeing as you now already know we can finish your standard lessons.”

Ch. 20: Engagements

Ch. 21 Part 1: First Preparations before a Wedding (para. 1-50)

Ch. 21 Part 2: First Preparations before a Wedding (para. 51-114)

Ch. 21 Part 3: First Preparations before a Wedding (para. 115-end)

Ch. 22 Part 1: The Day of the Wedding (para. 1-57)

Ch. 22 Part 2: The Day of the Wedding (para 58-108)

Ch. 22 Part 3: The Day of the Wedding (para. 109-end)

After your lesson, you decided to take dinner alone. Not wanting to be disturbed by anyone as you have yet to be really alone for a long while. You have been constantly surrounded by others 24/7, you were surprised you could even go to the bathroom by yourself honestly. The peace and quiet were refreshing. After dinner you let Adlez and Olivia-Rose help you get ready for bed. Dr. Dabrini delivered you your sleeping pill, and Adlez insisted on staying until you fell asleep. Once again you were greeted by blackness, no dreams, no surprise visits. Only calming blackness.  

A/N: Check out this post for my fic recommendations. I will be recommending a few fics every Friday. Some Kylo Ren related and some not. But if you need something else to read before my next chapter go check it out.