#she did it because she was young and innocent and her friends were dying out there??

[transgenderfivepebbles]

hating hod is a red flag tbh. never trust a hod hater

[alicentflorent]

the amount of cope I'm seeing from that fandom about helaena since the blog post is so entertaining. reading comprehension is dead because they'll try to argue that helaena was only popular because of "a missing treasury" and rhaenyras taxes when no that's not what george wrote! grrm pointing out helaena was a "sweet and gentle soul" was not accidental - its clear that he intended her being well liked because of this!! it had nothing to do with rhaenyra herself being in a shitty position.

furthermore when it comes to helaena & rhaenyra it makes a lot of sense - helaena has lived in KL her entire life. rhaenyra on the other hand has been away on dragonstone. with the timeline being different it was even longer - about 9 years (120-129).

it's so annoying because rhaenyra has other things going for her but that lot is determined to take this from her sister

like lmafo alicent girlies are even half as mad about alicents own popularity among the smallfolk not being a thing as tb are mad about grrm confirming this about helaena. because in fire & blood grrm wrote that alicent was "beloved of the smallfolk" i can definitely see that starting off as alicent being genuinely compassionate and kind hearted like helaena in the early youth of her queenship (remember this is the woman who looked after a dying jaehaerys with great tenderness) and then maturing into more calculating as she began to see that smallfolk favor could be vital given the situation with rhaenyra and aegon. but nor do I think it was all calculation and pr - I think alicent having genuine care adds more depth to her character in that no was she a sweet woman who was the soul of gentleness? no, she could be capable of cruelty but at the same time there was a side of her that made her naturally do well with the smallfolk

This!! Helaena died as a sweet young woman, her story is tragic because she was genuinely a kind person and I always imagined she was seen the way people saw princess Diana. It’s never mentioned how much she interacted with the smallfolk but I just imagine she had this natural warm, kind, loving way about her which is why she is always called “sweet”.

As for Alicent, I imagine she had some genuine care early on like you said but I imagine she was like show!margaery, she probably did charity and won the people over with her charm and charisma (she must have been charismatic, intelligent and likeable if viserys fell for her and the men on the green council respected her) and she knew how to play the game, she knew how to win over smallfolk and nobles alike. Even Rhaenyra who may not have been well liked as queen, during the destruction of war by dragon fire, was known as the realms delight, the people loved her once and she always had lots of friends and ladies around her. Alicent and Rhaenyra got more ruthless and cutthroat with age when they were women and mothers trying to protect themselves and their children and the deaths of their innocent children/grandchildren pushed them over the edge and brought out their darkest sides.

[love-kurdt]

The Life of Us We Can't Get Back (byler): December 21, 1990

word count: 2,103

My father’s attitude was that this was but an inevitable phase of my growing up and he affected to take it lightly. But beneath his jocular, boys-together air, he was at a loss, he was frightened. Perhaps he had supposed that my growing up would bring us closer together— whereas now that he was trying to find out something about me, I was in full flight from him. I did not want him to know me. I did not want anyone to know me. And then, again, I was undergoing with my father what the very young inevitably undergo with their elders: I was beginning to judge him. And the very harshness of this judgment, which broke my heart, revealed, though I could not have said it then, how much I had loved him, how that love, along with my innocence, was dying.

The screams of the tea kettle startled me out of my place in “Giovanni’s Room,” by James Baldwin. I hadn’t gotten very far— I was only on page sixteen— but was already beginning to relate to the tortured yet compelling musings of the protagonist, David. I had already found and ended things with my “Hella,”— multiple Hellas— and my “Giovanni,” was out, working at the local coffee shop. The coffee shop where he still worked with his ex-boyfriend, Matt Winters. According to Will, their most recent breakup was mutual, but they were still friendly with one another, which… if I was being totally honest, bothered me just a little bit. Although, I’d be a total hypocrite if I were to ask Will to distance himself from Matt, because I still considered Wyatt Bowman to be one of my best friends. In fact, he was the first person I called when Will and I got together. I was pretty sure I’d called Wyatt from the foot of the bed, being sure to whisper the news quietly while Will slept.

The tea kettle obviously wasn’t going to stop on its own, so I stuck the dilapidated post-it with Will’s phone number in Joyce’s handwriting on the page I was reading and sat up from my position on the couch. I shuffled over to the stove on the balls of my fuzzy sock-covered feet (I wasn’t actually sure if the fuzzy socks I wore belonged to me or to Will), and removed the pot from the scorching surface. I grabbed a mug and a tea bag from the cupboard that I’d grown to become quite familiar with over the past week, dunking it in a few times in hopes that the tea would steep. I got a spoon from the drawer beside me and pushed the bag against the edge of the mug.

Everything was moving at either turtle or lightning speed these days. I could blame myself for that. I made the decision to drive to Chicago in seconds, Will and I reconciled and proceeded to have sex multiple times within the span of an hour of arriving at his house, and now… I was getting unnecessarily worked up over making my tea steep faster. Why the hell was I so anxious all of a sudden?

I knew damn well where my anxiety had come from; I’d been procrastinating calling my mother for days. I’d promised to let her know about my plans for Christmas, but never gathered enough courage to pick up the phone. For all I knew, she’d been calling my apartment back in Indianapolis the whole time I’d been gone. But I knew calling her would come with a plethora of problems, the first one being having to break the news that I’d failed out of college. The second one took root in the fact that I was currently staying in a different apartment (different from the one my dad had been shelling out money towards), not to mention an entirely different state, and with Will. And the third… well, the third problem was that Will and I were dating now, so I wasn’t sure if Christmas was even on the table.

Of course, Will had been pushing me to call Mom all week, claiming that she would probably understand my multi-layered problems to an extent, but I knew (and told Will so) that our mothers were very different people, and that she wouldn’t understand. Not on the level that Joyce probably would, anyway. I checked the wall clock, reading 6:24pm. Will was due to come home around 6:30, which was when the two of us had planned to start packing our things to return to Hawkins. And that probably meant Will would bug me about calling my mom again, so… time to bite the bullet.

I headed into Will’s– our, I was still getting used to saying it– room, and sat down on the edge of the bed, glancing over at the nightstand. There it was. The Phone™. The phone that Will used when he– no. We were fine now. I was quite literally living with Will at the moment. Everything was great. So why did my heart pang with sadness every time I looked in the direction of Will’s phone? I decided I couldn’t think about this, not right now. I leaned over to pick up the phone, placing it next to me on the bed and dialing my parents’ phone number.

The line picked up within two rings. Classic.

“Wheeler residence, this is Karen!” I heard my mom say in the her usual cheerful tone, and I sucked in a breath.

“Hey, Mom,” I eventually exhaled, my shaky fingertips finding the cord on impulse and fiddling with the spirals.

“Michael? Is that you?” she sounded surprised. Shocked, even.

My heart sank with guilt. “Yeah. Yeah, it’s me.”

“Gosh, honey, I haven’t heard from you in so long!”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, I know you’re busy. How are you?” How was I? That was a simple question with a very complicated answer. I’d been doing better than I had in the past year and a half, and it was all because Will loved me. But I couldn’t tell her that. Not over the phone.

“Good, I’m good,” I kept it vague, “I just wanted to check in, let you know that I’m still alive and all.” After driving drunk across state lines and having a near-death experience involving a tractor trailer and "Should I Stay or Should I Go," by The Clash.

“Well, that's a relief! I’ve been— we’ve all been worried about you.” Meaning… she was worried about me. I wished she didn’t feel the need to give me hope that my dad might actually care about my well-being. “Are you doing alright in school?”

“That’s something I wanted to talk about over… over Christmas, if you’ll still have me,” I replied, my voice trembling a little too much for my liking. Too emotional.

“Of course!” Mom told me, and I bit my lip to prevent it from quivering. “Michael, you are always welcome back home. I thought you knew that.”

“No, I know,” I shook my head, gripping the phone tighter. “Just… it’s a long story. But I was also wondering if I could bring a guest this year?” There. I said it. Kind of.

“A guest?” I could hear the excitement creep into her voice, and I shut my eyes tightly. “Things must be going really well if you’re coming home with a girlfriend!” Girlfriend. Girlfriend. Girlfriend. Fuck.

“… Haha, yeah, it’s going great,” I suddenly wanted this conversation to be over and done with so I could let the guilt eat me alive in peace. “Uh, so, I’ll see you on…” I trailed off.

“You can come home as early as you want and stay for as long as you need,” she told me. “Believe it or not, we actually miss you around here. It’s… quiet.”

“Thanks, Mom,” I said. “I miss you too. So… is tomorrow okay? Me and…” Fuck, I forgot it was Will I was bringing home with me. Think fast, Wheeler– “We wanted to make the drive a little earlier before the real holiday traffic hits.”

“Whatever works best for you, hon! I’ve gotta head to book club, but please tell Mystery Girl that we can’t wait to meet her!” Right. Mystery Girl. Mystery Will. Jesus Christ, this was going to end horribly, wasn’t it?

“Okay…! See you soon, then. Love you.”

“I love you too, Michael,” Mom said softly, and I knew that she really meant it.

“Bye.”

“Was that who I think it was?” I heard from behind me, and I turned to see Will standing in the doorway with two cups of coffee in his hands. Bless him. I set the phone back on the surface of the nightstand and shifted over a bit, patting the space next to me. Will smiled, taking a few steps to cross the room and set the coffees down next to the phone. He turned to me and held my face in his hands, his thumbs running against my cheekbones. I cast my gaze off to the side as I muttered, “If you mean my mother, then… yeah.”

Will sat next to me then, a lighthearted laugh leaving his gorgeous mouth. I felt a blush rise to my cheeks. His laugh. His fucking laugh. How was I supposed to function when he laughed like that? And how the hell did I go so long without it? “Really?” he teased. “You’re not messing with me? You actually took my suggestion, for once?”

I smirked, reaching up to brush a piece of overgrown hair out of my boyfriend’s eyes. “Don’t let it get to your head, Byers. I called her and told her we’re coming for Christmas.”

Will’s eyes went wide at that. “Wait, you talked about me?”

“Well, no,” I admitted. “I wanted to.” I reached out to hold Will’s hand in a feeble attempt to convince him that I wasn’t being a coward, that I was just… fucking terrified of the idea of coming out to my parents. “Believe me, love, I wanted to. But… I couldn’t. I just told her I was bringing someone home.” I looked down at the ground, unable to bring myself to look at Will.

“I totally understand, it’s a big step!” he exclaimed, bringing a hand up to my jaw and lifting my face up so our eyes met. “C’mere.”

Will wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me close, and I let out a deep sigh as I leaned into his touch, bending my torso at a strange angle in order for my head to meet his shoulder; uncomfortable, but did the job. “It’s going to work out,” he reassured me. “Whatever happens, I’ll be here.”

“To pick up the pieces after everything goes to shit,” I said under my breath, and I felt Will’s hand begin to rub slow circles up and down my back.

“Don’t think like that, baby. You’re gonna be okay. We’re gonna be okay.”

“I don’t deserve you, Will,” I sighed, and I felt the low rumble of Will’s voice in his chest as he disagreed. This had become a common occurrence throughout the past week: I’d tell him that I didn’t deserve him, and he’d remind me–

“Yes, you do.”

“God,” I rubbed my palms across my face in frustration, “What’s gonna happen when they open the door and see us together? What are they gonna think? Or what if I… I don’t know, chicken out and make up some elaborate lie like… trying to bring back our Chrismukkah tradition or some shit?”

“You wouldn’t be wrong. I’ve kinda missed Chrismukkah,” Will chuckled. I silently envied his optimism. I wished it was that easy.

“Me, too.”

Will grabbed my hand then, interlacing our fingers, and it suddenly felt like the world wasn’t going to implode. “We’ll have to make up for lost time.”

I nodded, gulping far too loudly. “Yeah.”

A beat of silence followed, and my eyes trailed up from our joined hands to his lips. His lips that were saying all the right things. The lips that were actively talking me off the ledge. The lips that I wanted to kiss right off his perfect face.

“Hey, Will?”

“Yeah, Mike?”

“Kiss me?”

And he did. He did kiss me. In an instant, all of my worries floated into the recesses of my mind to be dealt with later. I busied myself with the feeling of Will’s lips coaxing my mouth open, falling down onto the mattress, and letting my boyfriend hold me, take me apart, and put me back together, piece by piece.

-

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[sunsetschloe]

The Poppy War Series

“How could she compare the lives lost? One genocide against another—how did they balance on the scale of justice? And who was she, to imagine that she could make that comparison?” --R.F Kuang, The Poppy War

I have so much to say about The Poppy War series. No amount of words will describe the feeling it left me when I turned the last page and broke a little inside, but I will try, because that's all I can do the lessen the heartbreak of reading this series:

Rebecca Kuang. No words will describe my adoration for her writing abilities. To be able to incorporate such beauty into such a dark tale is impossibly hard, and no words will describe my absolute respect for her. I absolutely loved her truthful portrayal of war, instead of just romanticizing cruelty, and how utterly blunt she was about the horrors that ordinary people faced during times of chaos.

Rin, Nezha, Kitay, Venka, etc etc. They were just children. That's all I can say. They were children that were no longer innocent because adults shoved swords into their hands, and told them to die for a cause. They were so fucking young when the responsibility of millions of lives was forced upon them, and no person should ever have to make a decision that had such impact, especially not some young people. I loved each and every one of them, and I also loathed the decisions they made, but at the end of the day, they were just children born into a fragile world of cruelty and darkness.

Rin

"Dying was easy. Living was so much harder--that was the most important lesson Altan had ever taught her" --R.F. Kuang, The Burning God

From her choice in choosing to pledge Lore, till the end when she took her own life, I didn't like Rin. I didn't like her decisions, and I didn't respect how she treated her friends, but I did grow so SO attached to her as a character. I hated her for leaving Nezha with a shattered nation, but I also realized how much courage it took for her to take that route. Since she was born, survival mattered the most, always, and the fact that she chose to kill herself, with the interest of her country in mind, deserves so much respect. Yes, you could argue that she realized how hard surviving was, and chose the easy way out, but she was nurtured in a way that forced her to choose survival, to choose life, even if she wasn't truly living. Along with that, she also had Kitay's life bound to hers, so I don't think she made her final decision out of selfishness, but rather a willingness to sacrifice her life so that millions more would keep their own. As long as she was alive, the Hesperians wouldn't leave them alone, so she made her final decision for her country.

Nezha

“He knew exactly what choice she'd made and what she intended. And that made everything- hating her, loving her, surviving her, so much harder.” --R.F. Kuang, The Burning God

I truly believe that Nezha only acted the way he did because he was fucking terrified of everything happening around him. Yes, he was bred for this, but nothing ever prepared him for the shit that was going to come his way. And when Rin was going to kill herself, his composed mask just faded and he revealed the fear he had in him all along. He was another victim of the fragility of society, and I truly hope that no matter what happened after the third book, he found his peace and order.

Venka

After her reappearance (iykyk), I was so terrified that she would die, or go through something just as traumatic again. AND SHE DID. I was trembling when Rin accused her of being a traitor, and the way she threw herself on top of Rin to save her just broke my heart. I refuse to believe that she sold them out and wrote the letters, because how could anyone be a traitor, and still be willing to sacrifice her life for the person accusing them of such things?? Since the truth will never be uncovered, I will live with the hope that she was innocent all along, because she's been through so much, and her legacy should live on clean and untarnished.

[hbnjhgv]

I feel like no AOT, any character is actually completely 'heartless' or 'evil' other than king fritz (sorry if I get facts wrong) !SPOILERS!

Porco: who is hated for eating Ymir and taking the Jaw Titan from her. He wanted to make Marcel proud and probably wanted to eat Yumir because she ate and killed his older brother. He also sacrificed himself when Falco got turned titan to save Falco and Reiner. The marleyan training camp to become warriors was probably very hard on him.

Annie: She's typically hated for being heartless. The reason she's "heartless" is because of the intense training she went through to become a warrior. Also, the intense training her dad put her though made her tough as nails and kinda numbed her in a way. When Levi and Mikasa save Eren from being kidnapped by Annie in the forest, you can see that she's crying as they take Eren away. I think this is because she feels like a failure for failing the mission. Plus, during Marco's death, the obviously felt guilty and didn't want to kill him because he became her friend. She also had to go through the hell of the Marleyan training camp to become a warrior. She then had to watch her friend get eaten by a titan.

Bertholt: I feel like he's hated mainly for kicking down the wall and being a reason Erens mom dying, but then he was sent there as a mission and was told as a kid that the civilians on Paridis were 'devils' and 'needed to be eradicated' The training to become a warrior also probably added on quite a bit of trauma. He had to watch his friend get eaten by a titan when he was young, then found out the titan that killed his friend was someone he trained with.

Reiner: I think Reiner is also hated for the wall being breached, but again he was taught that Eldians were 'Island devils' and should be wiped from the earth. Also, Reiner actually grew a deep connection with the 104th cadets and saw them as family. You can see this mainly when he's watching Marco die and asks why he's being devoured. And near the end of the show when he's leaving to go take down Eren, and he hugs Annie, that really shows how the two of them are connected and even see each other as siblings in a way. Not to mention he wasn't raised by the best parents, with his dad never being there and even being shown in the anime and I think the manga that Reiners father hated him it shows how horrible he is. Then we have Karina over here guilt-tripping Reiner into becoming marleyan for her own selfish desires. Plus, when Karina said 'if only you had been born fully marleyan, basically telling Reiner that his dad left because of him and not because of her being Eldian. He witnessed his friend get devoured in front of him, and Annie beat the shit out of him. Reiner then found out that the titan who ate his friend was someone who trained with him and in a relationship with the girl he had feelings for.

Yumir: She gets hate for betraying the survey corps, and she gets called 'selfish' but you have to remember that she did it for Historias sake. She said that she wants Historia to have a better life, and she felt like she had no choice. She thought that it was either be free with Reiner and Bertholt or be trapped in the wall and possibly be experimented on by the government. She was abandoned at a young age and brainwashed into thinking she was some big god. She then got thrown under then bus when the cult she was in said that she was the leader and witnessed all those innocent people get turned into titans, probably thinking that it's all her fault.

Pastor Nick: Now, I HATE Pastor Nick a lot. He's one of my least favorite characters. BUT he was very passionate about the walls and his religion, and genuinely believed the walls were their savior. He tried everything to "save the walls" but it never ended well. I'm basically saying that he believed everything he was doing meant the best for the people.

Kenny: I love Kenny. He's one of my favorite characters. I think he's hated a lot because he abandoned Levi and killed a bunch of people, but he also felt the military police was not good. You have to admit, he was very loyal to Uri and his squad. In the cave, he seemed kinda upset about his squad dying, and he seemed most upset about Caven (the blond woman) dying. He was loyal to Uri, and I think he actually had feelings for him. Not to mention that he found his sister dead, the only thing she left behind was the son she had which he then kinda raised and abandoned thinking he's strong enough to live on his own. Overall, I love Kenny and he's one of my faves.

Yumir Fritz: I think people forget that she was forced to eat her mother, and was just a little girl. She was a slave to the Eldian king and he abused her power. She was killed while trying to protect the king then was EATEN by their daughters that the king basically forced her to have. After she died she had to make titans out of sand and obey the royal family every time they wanted the founders power.

Grisha: I think people forget how horrible Grishas childhood was. He was taught this horrible stuff by his parents that basically scared him, and he probably felt a bunch of guilt about the time he convinced Faye (his sister) to go outside the internment zone where eldians weren't aloud, which ended up getting her killed. He also passed down generational trauma to Zeke, and he watched his friends and lover all get turned into titans right in front of him. He turned Eren into a titan thinking it would save Mikasa and Armin and had to go through the trauma of his wife being killed twice.

Zeke: He had the stress of learning about the walls from his parents and was neglected by Grisha and treated more of a weapon than a son. He also probably feels jealous and kinda screwed over when he found out how Grisha treated Eren and actually raised Eren like he was his son. Not to mention how he had to go through the hell that is the Marleyan Warrior's training camp.

Eren: Eren saw his mom get eaten by a titan right in front of his eyes after trying to save her, but then being taken away by Hannes. That same day or the day after his FATHER took him into the woods and forcefully turned him into a TITAN. He then ATE HIS DAD and didn't even know he ate him and was very confused, so he basically lost both parents around the same time. Then during the Battle of Trost his leg was bitten off and had to watch his best friend almost get eaten, but then he saved him and Eren got eaten. He realized he almost killed Mikasa and obviously felt guilty about that, then a few minutes later got the shit beat out of him. He found out his friend died and he wasnt even there to possiby help. Eren also grew a bond between his squad and he had a choice to go titan or not and him not going titan resulted in his whole squad being killed. A little bit after that he finds out the person who killed his whole squad was actually his friend which he didnt take well, Annie almost killed him and he got impaled in the chest. Also finding out that your dad killed innocent people in the exact cave you're chained in and feeling guilty about always needing to be saved. Not to mention that he had to watch Hannes, the person who was there for him his whole life and basically became his dad after his parents died be eaten by the same titan who killed your mom and we knew he could transform but it wasnt working. then finding out two more of your conrads and friends were not only titans, but the titans who are the reason his mom died. Mind you this is the same episode they kidnapped Eren and the same episode Hannes dies. THEN his best friends gets BURNED ALIVE and he almost wasnt able to convince Levi to save Armin instead of Erwin. He was FAMILY ZONED after asking Mikasa how she sees him. He hears that Sasha died and was struggling to take that. He also was being a bitch to the two people he cared about most so they weren't as sad when he died. Then he tells Mikasa he's always hated her and ends up fighting Armin with tears in his eyes. He was going through the guilt of killing billions of people to save his friends and he was panicked about Mikasa marrying another man, even going as far to say "That'd break my heart... I don't want her to find someone else! I eanna be her one and only love! Even if she does get over me... I THINK IT SHOULD TAKE HER TEN YEARS AT LEAST! Don't tell Mikasa about this... I want her to find happiness.. I do. But.. damn it! I don't wanna die... I just want.. to stay with MIkasa! With all of you!" LIKE HOW CAN YOU SAY HE DOESN'T FEEL GUILTY FOR DOING THAT TO HIS FRIENDS?! I could literally talk about how much I love Eren for hours.

Floch: This ones kinda controversial but Floch was very passionate and loyal to Erwin. He was determined and he belived that Eren was their last hope. Also everyone hating on Floch for supporting Eren but I think Erwin wouldve done the same. Floch wanted to save his people and didnt understand why some of his conrads were aginst the rummbling. He litterally said "Please don't go. Everyone on the island will die. Our devil is our only hope." He wanted to save his people and belived he was saving his people. He survived Zekes rock throwing and I think Erwins speech really took him to heart. Floch put in alot of effort to try and save Erwin aswell. I also dont blame him for being pissy about Armin being saved instead of Erwin because I wouldve been pissed aswell. Like imagine seeing all your conrads die and carrying the dying commander to try and save him, just for some kid that you dont even know to be saved instead. Also when he said they need to fight like devils he knew thats what eren was thinking. He stayed loyal to the fact that Marley was the enemy.

[t3a-tan]

What if Sammy were to meet Oliver in New Perspectives? How would she react to her cousin being giant?

Funnily enough, whilst writing New Perspectives I wrote Oliver finding Sammy at one point, only to cut it out because I wanted the story to focus on James and Oliver. Here's that little piece, set just as they were leaving Oliver's burrow...

---

"I—" Suddenly Oliver bumped into someone thanks to not looking exactly where he was going. Because the forest rarely had humans in it he thought it would be fine, but clearly not.

Oliver managed to keep his balance although he was startled— and his hand quickly came up to his pocket, relieved that James was unharmed after the collision. Oliver then moved to help the stranger up.

It was a young man, or boy maybe, with dyed red hair, clad in black with a tattoo sleeve and several piercings. And…sunglasses? Oliver hadn't seen many of those types of humans…and definitely never in the woods. Either way he crouched down and offered a hand.

"Sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going. Are you alri—?" He paused, eyes falling upon a tiny figure on the ground. A borrower? Oh stars, I wasn't even thinking about the possibility of outdoor borrowers hanging around in this area… or were they with this human? Wait…

Oliver felt like his heart had stopped. The borrower on the floor…she looked a little different because of her hair and eye colour, but it was definitely Sammy. He knew it was. She looked a little older too of course— and was that a mechanical arm?? Oliver had no time to process this before he saw the red-haired boy attempt to grab at his cousin. His missing cousin. His alive cousin.

The borrower tried his best to remain composed, he really did… But before he knew it he had pinned the red-haired kid to the forest floor, immobilising him completely and grabbing onto his collar with an intense and wide-eyed glare. He made sure, of course, to keep Sammy out of the crossfire.

Oliver preached that humans could be good… that most humans weren't malicious to his kind, and that humans should be treated with the same respect afforded to any other person… but almost three years had passed since the incident and all Oliver could think was that this boy was the most likely suspect.

He killed Uncle Haris. He took Aunt Charlie. He took my cousins. Where is my aunt? Where is Tanner? What did he do to Sammy??

"Did you take them!?" Oliver demanded, just calm enough to keep the growl out of his voice. Oliver wasn't quick to anger, but when he was angry he was furious. He couldn't hurt a human boy. Even if he wanted to, he shouldn't. But he had every right to be angry…

The kid yelped in surprise when he was suddenly pinned down by Oliver, and although he made a brief attempt to free up his limbs he found it was useless pretty quickly. He looked a mixture between pained and panicked, eyes squinted as his sunglasses had fallen off when he got knocked to the ground.

"Take— w-what do you mean? I'm sorry for bumping into you sir, I-I swear I didn't mean to..!" There was a pleading edge to the kid's tone, which was only natural considering that, to him, Oliver seemed like a human adult. Oh well. Let him be scared.

"Do not act innocent with me, human. Why do you have my—"

"Oliver s-stop..! Let…let him go…! He's my friend…!" That familiar voice snapped Oliver out of it immediately, his expression becoming subdued quickly as he turned around to his cousin. She was trembling, wide-eyed and terrified, ready to bolt at any moment. Naturally she would be, if she had just escaped her kidnapper…

Wait. Friend..?

Oliver looked back down at the red-haired kid for a few moments, appraising him. Sammy had said he was a friend so that must be true, yes? He released the boy.

"...my mistake. I apologise for my hasty actions." The borrower spoke, clearing his throat. The boy only nodded shakily, still pretty freaked out after getting tackled like that. Oliver turned to look back at Sammy again, leaning down to see her better, reaching his hand towards her by pure instinct. Before he could speak though she suddenly ran off… ran past Oliver and straight over to the red-haired kid instead.

She was scared. Of what? Oliver looked around to see if there was some critter she may have spotted but he could sense nothing. He turned to look at her again, seeing that she was hiding behind the fingers of the stranger. Oliver moved in their direction.

"Sammy, are you—?" He paused, withdrawing himself again when he noticed her flinch upon his approach. She's…scared of me? But… Oliver felt as if his heart had just been torn from his chest, and he tried hard to keep his composure at the realisation.

I scared her. I wasn't trying to… I wasn't trying to be violent. I shouldn't have assumed. Is it because I'm this size at the moment? I shouldn't have yelled. Oh stars, what if I hurt James's ears..? Oliver took a step back, uncharacteristically expressive as a hurt look appeared in his eyes, and he turned his attention to his pocket to distract himself from the pain of feeling like he had hurt someone he cared about.

"James, are you okay? I'm sorry I shouted…" Oliver whispered. James poked his head out from the pocket, assuming the coast was clear and seeming a bit miffed based on his pinched eyebrows.

"Yeah, mate, that really bloody hurt…! Gonna need hearing aids after that, Jesus." James complained, before pausing when he saw how Oliver's face crumpled at his words. "Woah— hey I'm exaggerating I'm… I'm fine, Oliver. Are…you okay..?"

Rather than answer that, Oliver looked at Sammy again, ignoring the red-haired human's murmur of surprise at seeing a man appear from his chest pocket. Sammy stared back at him with a mixture of fear and confusion. What could he say to remedy his mistake? His cousin beat him to it.

"H-how did you get…human sized..?"

[ewingstan]

How'd you think the Undersiders would handle the Pact setting?

Oooh this is a good one. I'm interpreting this as asking what they'd be like if they were in the otherverse instead of the parahumans setting. I haven’t read Pale yet so I can’t claim to have complete knowledge of otherverse mechanics, but here’s what I can come up with:

Taylor: even more willing to sacrifice aspects of herself than Blake, and largely refusing to be consciously worried about how much her passenger affects her behavior—yeah, Taylor’s not staying human for more than a week, tops. She'd do something incredible and stupid and give up all she had to give in the process. Would likely become a particularly terrifying boogeyman hunting those she sees as bullies, one who gets summoned quite often by novice practitioners for he ability to overwhelm seemingly much more powerful enemies. She's avoided by more learned or less desperate practitioners, though, because she often ends up slipping out of her bindings or somehow gaining power over the practitioner who summoned her. Evolves into something more than a boogeyman over time.

Brian: He's careful, clever, and wants to be respected. Similar to how he led the Undersiders, I see Brian as leading a faction of practitioners that have collectively claimed a small but strategically important section of their area. Would never make a direct play for the Lordship, but would always end up in good graces with the current Lord. I think I'd see him specializing in glamours and illusions, making himself more intimidating and the area around him confusing and disorienting. He's in danger of falling for his own illusions a lot of the time, but that tends to make them more effective. His diplomacy skills, coupled with his practicality, makes him especially good with dealing with and binding the fae.

Rachel: Laird talked in the beginning about the spirits obeying people who haven't binded them if they are in a specific position of authority within a community. I see Rachel as having achieved something like this, traveling with a swirling mass of dangerous spirits not properly binded to her but who nevertheless follow her, because she is seen as the one those spirits follow. Not interested in dealing with other factions outside of making sure they stay away from her and hers.

Lisa: She's already a rogue Duchamp in all but name. An enchantress with a specialty in reading the connections between people to a frightening degree. Coin-flip if she ends up dead or a Lord from relentlessly aggravating more powerful factions.

Alec: Makes himself out as a generalist, with an eclectic and seemingly harmless score of abilities and a fairly large group of friends/followers in the form of pseudo-innocents. Actually a Spellbinder who's dealing with having bound a large number of innocents to him at a young age and now cannot break the connections without someone dying.

Aisha: Picked up glamours from her brother and enchanting from Alec, but her main tool is her implement, a mask made from a bound demon. Brian is not happy that her implement is a mask made from a bound demon. Where did she get this. Everyone is going to target us now, Aisha. How did you—and now she's using it to help the Hebert boogeyman? Fuck.

I feel like I need to update this with a more in-depth piece if I ever reread Pact. Or, god forbid it, after I start Kinbote-posting.

[she-karev]

The Pregnant Resident (Andrew DeLuca x Alex Karev’s Sister Imagine)

Age Rating: 12+

Chapters: One of Four

Fandom: Grey’s Anatomy

Ship: Andrew DeLuca x Amber Karev (Alex Karev’s Sister)

Canon Episode: Season 19 Episode 2

AN: Hey guys I decided to show some soft pregnant Amber Karev chapters. The next three chapters will be released once daily with the next one coming out tomorrow morning.

Summary: Amber becomes the chief resident while six months pregnant where the interns underestimate her abilities due to her condition, but she proves them wrong.

Words: 1335

September 12th, 2022

“Finally, the world is in balance.”

Amber says as she puts her baby blue scrubs on for the first time in six months. The residency program shut down in March due to complaints about the methods. But they reopened it with a new batch of interns. Amber DeLuca has been appointed as the new chief resident of this group and it makes her excited to finally getting back to the job she was meant to have. Her visions from when she was an intern did not include a six-month pregnant belly, however.

“You know you can start maternity leave at any time, Grey and Marsh said it was fine.” Amber turns to her husband, Andrew DeLuca, sitting on the bench behind her clearly hovering to her annoyance.

Amber grabs her antacids from her cubby, “We’ve got interns who look like they came straight out of a gen z teen show and their resumes could only be accepted by a state penitentiary infirmary. Maybe.”

“I know these guys didn’t get straight A’s like us and they aren’t as tough and able to take a punch like you, but they show promise.” Andrew stands up to face Amber in his navy-blue scrubs and lab coat, “They did pretty good for their first day on the job in the middle of a crisis.”

Amber narrows her eyes, “Adams almost cost live saving organs for a patient because he didn’t know to use full names when addressing grieving loved ones. And Kwan reminds me of my brother when he was in intern.”

Andrew hisses at that comparison knowing how his brother-in-law was when he was Amber’s age, “Ouch I feel bad for him when he’s on your service.”

“Oh you should.” Amber pulls out a candy bar and devours it in two bites to Andrew’s shock, “I’m eating for two don’t judge me.”

“I’m not judging I know better than that. And I also know how you’re getting crankier as the due date draws near. Being a chief resident at a major hospital your bound to snap and cause a scene that can make you look…”

“Aggressive?”

“I was gonna say passionate.” Andrew mends before giving his wife a concerned look, “Are you sure you can handle working here today? We do have other residents.”

“We have Parker, Qadri and Schmitt and I only trust one of them to operate on me if I was dying.”

“I know Schmitt is dead last.” He says amusingly.

“I’ll be fine babe, it’s the ER today where Hunt is working so I’ll be fine.” Amber’s smart watch beeps and she groans, “I gotta get to the locker room and greet the interns. I’ll see you tonight where I can brag how I’m a much better chief resident than you were.”

Andrew chuckles at that, “You know those hormones make you cocky too, more than usual at least.”

“You were the one who knocked me up this is all on you pal.” Amber teases before walking away from her husband who watches in amusement at his wife’s waddles.

Later

“How bad do you think this is gonna get?” Casey Parker asks his friends and fellow residents Levi Schmitt and Dahlia Qadri as they wait inside the intern locker rooms for Dr. Nick Marsh to present their chief resident who will give them instructions for the day.

As they wait they watch the interns change and are astonished by how young and innocent they look. It makes them wonder if they looked that way their first week and how they perceived the residents in charge of them.

Dahlia shrugs, “Well Amber is sixty months pregnant, the residency program started up and these guys are from a generation of backtalkers and privilege seekers. I think we’ll be fine with her as our boss.”

Schmitt eats a granola bar and asks with his mouth full, “What about the interns? How are they gonna feel under her rule?”

“Oh they don’t stand a chance.” Dahlia confirms after years of working with Amber and being close friends with her.

Casey chuckles in agreement, “Ten bucks says she makes an intern cry at the end of the day.”

Levi joins in, “Twenty says she yells at one so loud they faint.”

“Fifty says those hormones of hers yells at the first person who pisses at her, intern or attending wise.” Qadri bets with confidence.

“Oh you are so on, I’m gonna be rich.” Casey smiles at that before Marsh walks in and stands in front of the interns with the residents behind him except for Amber.

“Listen up. Dr. DeLuca is your chief resident.”

Mika Yasuda whispers under her breath, “She's our only senior resident.”

Marsh continues, “She is not here at the moment but she will be. She's gonna be handing out your assignments while I'm doing a kidney transplant. Who can name the top three causes of end-stage renal disease?”

The interns raise their hands except for Kwan who answers immediately, “Hypertension, diabetes, glomerulonephritis.”

Jules Millin calls out to Marsh, “He didn't raise his hand.”

“Yeah, I don't care about any of that.” He says dismissively.

“Am I correct?”

“Yeah, you are.”

“Do I get to scrub in?” Kwan asks causing the residents to roll their eyes at the eager puppies.

“No, uh, you cannot. Where is Dr. DeLuca?”

Qadri explains, “She’ll be here soon she’s just…a little slow nowadays.”

Kwan scoffs dismissively, “And they made a slow person chief resident?”

Casey chuckles at that knowing Amber will hate him, “Oh you are gonna make me some good money Kwan.”

Kwan furrows his eyebrows at that just as Dr. Amber DeLuca enters the room exhaling deeply due to how winded she is from her power walk there.

“Sorry I’m late.”

“It’s no problem.” Marsh turns to the confused interns who look at Amber curiously, “Okay this is your chief resident, Dr. DeLuca.”

Most of them look at the pregnant woman shocked to have her as their boss. This causes Amber to grin sarcastically at the young doctors while her friends next to her shake their heads knowing the interns are in for a ride today.

“Have fun, DeLuca.” Marsh leaves the room causing Amber to walk to the front with her tablet in hand.

“Okay people here’s the deal. I am in charge of the ER today in a major populated city, I have to watch over interns, I am six months pregnant with my first baby and the heartburn stops for five minutes a day. So, nobody complain or we will have words and they will be one’s you’ve never heard in the same sentence before.” Qadri grins at that threat as the interns look taken back while Amber explains their duties for the day.

“Adams, you're with Dr. Pierce. Kwan's with Ndugu. Yasuda you’re coming to the pit with me and you will report to Owen Hunt. Millin and Griffith you will join us and do surgical consult in the pit.”

“Uh, two of us for one consult?” Simone Griffith asks causing Amber to glare at her.

“This is a world class hospital and your interns on your first week. Leaving one of you to care for a patient would be like giving a loaded gun to a coked-out monkey.” Casey and Schmitt snicker at that comparison that makes Millin and Griffith look offended but Amber ignores it, “Now, don't embarrass me or kill anyone or drop anything inside a patient. I am dead serious about that last one.”

“Oh trust me she is.” Schmitt states knowing it’s from his rotation at the hospital when he and Amber first met. This makes Parker and Qadri smile while Amber frowns at the interns who are still standing there frozen.

“What are you all waiting for? Chinese New Year? Go!”

The interns scurry off in fear leaving the residents in the room where they nod in approval of Amber’s first moment as the chief resident. Amber ignores them however and heads to the pit.

Next Chapter Here

[mylordshesacactus]

Captain Olassa Appreciation Post

For uh....completely innocent reasons. She’s. She’s fine.

No, in all seriousness though--Olassa is the longest-running NPC in this campaign, she was one of the first characters I created who really made Suncrest feel alive to me.

(Ironically enough. She’s a paladin of the Raven Queen.)

At the end of today’s session, after acting as a rearguard to cover the party’s retreat, she sent them and their mage friend Arlette on a mission to find a way to close the breaches and cut off the invasion--something which cannot be done from within a besieged city, and if they’re going to get out of the city, it has to be done now, because by morning they’ll be cut off completely.

She gave them these orders while steadily braced and reforming a line of battle with the shattered, scrambling city guard. It was very clear that she did not intend to go with them. It was equally clear that every guard in that square is going to die.

Arlette and Nimbus both tried to convince her to live to fight another day; Andromeda, to whom she’s been a major mentor, just swallowed hard and thanked her, and promised to say a prayer for her to both her own god and to the Raven Queen. 

(Andromeda, a book-dumb paladin of Pelor, has absolutely no knowledge of the long-running tension between their respective deities. She has no idea how deeply and profoundly touching--how significant--it is, what she just offered, or the fact that she burned one of her last spell slots to give Olassa Protection From Good And Evil keyed to the fae as one of their last interactions.)

Her last words were, as a quiet reassurance to Andromeda, “I am not afraid to meet my lady.”

Before that, to Nimbus, as he tried to convince her to run with them and try to regroup later:

“You are very young, Nim. Defiance in the face of hopeless odds is--is your birthright. But I am older than you, and wiser. I have oaths to uphold. I am guard-captain of Suncrest and a paladin of the Order of the Breaker of Chains, and there are things worth dying for.”

Last the party saw of her--and where we left the session--she was standing in a chokepoint, halberd levelled against the top of her shield, bracing for a charge.

[yaeggravate]

Kaeya, The Snow Queen and The Boar Princess

i believe kaeya is partly based on kai from the fairy tale the snow queen.

this is a theory that has been floating around for a while, but after recent events i would like to revisit and expand on it.

the thing is, the book the boar pincess that you can collect in the game is inspired by the snow queen. this book, aside from being quite disturbing, is potentially very important to the lore, as it was written by a member from the hexenzirkel, andersdotter, whose name is a nod to the author of the snow queen, hans christian anderson.

since kaeya is potentially a character from the snow queen, that would mean he might be connected to the other characters from the boar princess. i thought it would be fun to try and figure out the hows and whys.

please note that this will contain spoilers for every archon and world quest up until 4.1.

KAEYA AND KAI

i'll start by giving a brief summary of what the snow queen is about.

an evil troll created a magic mirror that would distort every beautiful thing reflected in it. this mirror shattered upon the earth, scattering its shards everywhere.

one day, a shard would lodge itself into the eye and heart of a young boy named kai. kai suddenly became very mean and cold towards everyone, even his childhood friend gerda, who was like a sister to him.

the snow queen whisked kai away, so gerda went on a long journey to save him. eventually, the shards melted because of gerda's compassion and love for him.

THE SIMILARITIES

most obvious similarities are their names. not much to say here, really. they just added a "ya" after "kai"

凯 = Kai 凯亚 = Kǎi yà

the story of the snow queen is a metaphor about losing your childhood innocence as you grow up.

in recent patches, it's been emphasized quite a few times that kaeya wants to protect klee's childhood and shield her from the cruelty of life. kaeya has also mentioned that he wished people could stay young forever and not deal with the troubles of adulthood.

kaeya and kai both changed drastically after their eyes were damaged.

kaeya's kit has some possible references to the snow queen: his fourth constellation frozen kiss could refer to the (platonic!!) kiss the snow queen gives kai.

极寒的轻吻 = Gentle Kiss of Extreme Cold

"Are you still cold?" she asked, and she kissed him on the forehead. Ugh! it was colder than ice, it went to his very heart, which was already more than half ice; he felt as if he were dying, but only for a moment, and then it seemed to have done him good; he no longer felt the cold.

his ultimate, which is a couple of a icicles spinning around him, has this voiceline when cast:

 …这刹那，将是你的永恒。= …This moment will be your eternity.

this could refer to kai having to spell out "eternity" with shards of ice.

[…] made many patterns forming words, but he never could find out the right way to place them for one particular word, a word he was most anxious to make. It was "Eternity."

we even get prince baited 💀 as gerda mistakenly believed kai became a prince by marrying a princess.

THE CURSED MIRROR

if you've played the melusines quest, you probably know where this is going.

we learn that, like durin, elynas and the melusines perceive things differently from regular humans. elynas and durin were abyssal beings brought to life by rhinedottir. elynas and durin both believed they were having fun on the surface, but they did not realize they were harmful to the humans and the environment around them.

melusines claim to see the "truth" of the world, or at least something close to it.

in the book of estoric revelations quest, we are dragged into a ruined post-apocalyptic world. however, the melusine canotila does not see destruction when she enters, but a beautiful serene garden. she does not see terrifying rifthounds but regular dogs.

Canotila: Perhaps you've heard that we Melusines can see things that humans cannot see… But for some reason, I see things differently, even when compared to other Melusines. I can always find things that have been hidden. I have read that the "nature" of things is hidden beneath them, and this "nature" decides their "future." Not that I know what that means…

why this is the case is unclear, but it might have something to do with the melusines being born from elynas.

anyway, back to the snow queen, all of this is very reminiscent of the troll's magic mirror that would distort every beautiful thing reflected in it…

Some of these bits were not as big as a grain of sand, and these flew about all over the world, getting into people's eyes, and, once in, they stuck there, and distorted everything they looked at, or made them see everything that was amiss.

the question is, who is actually seeing reality, us or the melusines? and does this have something to do with kaeya and pierro both covering their right eye?

remember how kaeya has a voiceline comparing himself to an owl that can see through things... a bit similar to what canotila said before.

Interesting Things: Have you ever seen the owl of Dragonspine? If you look directly at it, it seems to see right through you, while letting go of none of its own secrets... Quite fascinating, don't you think?

the goddess of flowers, nabu malikata also has something interesting to say about illusions breaking through the shackles of the land.

"And though the invaders (second who came) brought war to my former kin (seelies), they also brought about illusions that could break through shackles to the land. But the master of the heavens (heavenly principles), consumed by fear for the rising tide of delusion and breakthroughs, sent down the divine nails to mend the land, laying waste to the mortal realm…"

and last but not least, an abandoned letter to knight marshal anfortas mentions khaenri'ah throwing off the shackles of the world...

Of course, I am keenly aware that the four pillars of our kingdom have achieved the prosperity they have today precisely thanks to us spying upon secrets from beyond the skies, and thus have our mechanisms been able to throw off the shackles imposed by this world's laws...

it's unclear what the nature of this power is, exactly, but it's speculated to be forbidden knowledge.

THE BOAR PRINCESS AND THE WOLF PUP

brief summary of the boar princess: once, there was a wolf pup who was cursed by an evil sorcerer. the wolf pup swallowed the sorcerer but by doing so his heart was pierced by an icicle and he became cold and mean.

upon hearing what happened, the boar princess felt great sympathy for the wolf pup and set out on a journey to save him… she accomplished this by sacrificing her two friends to him.

…i don't think i need to explain the similarities to the snow queen here.

it's highly likely the boar princess is an analogy of real events in the history of teyvat. this has happened before with nahida and scara, when she turned his backstory into a fairytale to keep it safe from irminsul alterations.

they've also referenced the book quite a few times this year, even going as far as to show alhaitham reading it in official art. this might mean they want us to remember this book or the book is simply being memed on because of its disturbing ending.

so, who are the boar princess and the wolf pup? to start with, they are meant to represent gerda and kai. notably, there is no snow queen equivalent in the story, instead it's the boar princess or gerda who is the titular character. this could mean the boar princess IS the snow queen or would become her later on…

THE BOAR PRINCESS

the following is pure speculation but personally, i have long suspected the boar princess is the tsaritsa for a number of reasons, not just because the boar princess could be the snow queen.

The Snow Queen (Russian: Снежная королева, romanized: Snezhnaya Koroleva).

it is heavily implied the tsaritsa is or was the god of love.

Dainsleif: She is a god whom no one will love ever again. She is a god who will never love anyone again.

the snow queen tries to make kai forget about his love for gerda. even so, the most important message of both books is that love is an all-encompassing force that conquers all.

the boar princess is described as a generous soul. likewise we are told multiple times of the tsaritsa's benevolence.

About Tsaritsa: Her Royal Highness the Tsaritsa is actually a gentle soul. Too gentle, in fact, and that's why she had to harden herself.

tartaglia's voiceline reveals that the tsaritsa is a gentle person, maybe a bit too gentle. this matches the boar princess sympathizing with the wolf pup, almost to the point of insanity, as she sacrifices her friends to save him.

"No one deserves this fate." The good princess sheds a tear of compassion.

Friendship demands sacrifice. No friendships come without sacrifices.

perhaps these two friends were venti and zhongli, specifically, their gnoses. or perhaps it's meant to represent god remains that the tsaritsa is possibly using to create delusions.

Venti: Five hundred years ago, I knew her well. But I can't say the same is true now. You see, a certain catastrophe happened five hundred years ago, and after that, she cut off all ties with me.

with all that being said, i should mention that according to the story, the boar princess might be from mondstadt, so that could put a dent in this theory. however, it's not impossible that the tsaritsa was originally from mondstadt.

THE WOLF PUP

the identity of the wolf pup is a bit harder to figure out as there are several characters refererred to as wolf pup. namely rostam, who was signora's lover, and the first knight of boreas. it could also be andrius himself.

but since this theory hinges on this assumption that the boar princess is the tsaritsa, the wolf pup must be someone she was willing to make great sacrifices for.

this line from pierro implies that both the tsaritsa and pierro know what the gnoses are, as neuvilette also refers to his stolen powers as authority.

Pierro: In the name of Her Majesty, the Tsaritsa, we will seize authority from the gods.

one possibility is that the tsaritsa is working with a dragon to get their powers back.

but how can a wolf pup be a dragon? wolf pup is merely an analogy. he might have nothing to do with wolves at all. just like how scaramouche has no cat motives or association with cats, yet he was portrayed as a cat in the fairy tale. and we know dragons don't all look the same. azhdaha is a giant…bull thing and apep is a worm.

still, it wouldn't be too far-fetched if the wolf pup was a wolf. in norse mythology, for example, there exists the mythical wolf fenrir who was destined to kill odin.

...as you know, khaenri'ah borrows a lot from scandanavian mythology. if this wolf pup is a dragon, they could be one of the sovereigns, specifically the cryo sovereign.

the second possible identity of the pup is pierro because of this line which might hint at visual similarities

The pup was a carefree child who had bright blue eyes and slick gray fur.

pierro has one visible bright blue eye and long gray hair with one blue streak in it.

pierro has one eye covered (like kaeya) which might reference the shard of ice piercing kai's eye and the wolf pup's heart.

pierro is from khaenri'ah so it is likely he is or was cursed like the wolf pup.

oh, and i want to clear up a common misconception about pierro: he does NOT have the same open gem pupils as dainsleif and clothar. it's hard to tell but if you zoom in, they're actually closed like kaeya's. what the meaning behind this is, is unknown. but visual similarities between kaeya and pierro DO exist.

pierro has also mentioned that the tsaritsa knows his pain well just like how the boar princess sympathizes with the wolf pup's predicament.

Pierro: Then I shall become instead a fool, a Fatuus, and devote myself to Her Majesty, who understands my pain...

the third possibility is the first knight of boreas. the new weapon wolf-fang gives us more information about him. the story seems to have taken place a 1000 years ago, back when venessa was the grand master of the knights of favonius.

what's interesting is that this nameless knight used coins with strange symbols as payment indicating that he might have been from a place free from the rule of the seven. this could've been the dark sea which includes places like enkanomiya and possibly khaenri'ah.

Some noticed the exquisitely crafted yet battle-worn armor beneath the cape. But that didn't mean anything. Perhaps the armor's bearer was just another lost soul who had lost their prestigious position with the changes wrought by revolution. The tavern's owner noticed that the man paid with real gold and silver coins, though none recognized the symbols on them.

not much is known about him, as he only stayed in mondstadt for a few years.

this brings me to the matter of what exactly happened to the wolf pup. it seems he was corrupted by an evil that changed his personality and possibly the way he perceived the world. his friends ended up shunning him leaving him all alone.

perhaps this is an analogy for being corrupted by the abyss or it has something to do with the Curse (tm).

after that, the boar princess came along and presumably cured him by way of sacrificing lives.

...

okay, so what does this have to do with kaeya? good question!

i have no idea.

here's the thing, i am reasonably certain kaeya is at least partly inspired by kai. and i am a 100% certain the boar princess is inspired by the snow queen.

if kaeya is kai and the wolf pup is also kai, then that could hint at a connection between them. but in what manner i can't say.

they could also have absolutely nothing to do with each other, like how fischl has no known connection to the real "princess fischl". (though it would be cool if there was.) in that case, kaeya might just be a narrative parallel to the wolf pup.

either way, it's something to think about.

Kaeya: History always repeats itself. When you keep this in mind and watch out for the echoes of past events in the present, things that appear unfathomable at first glance become much easier to comprehend.

[creepereyes]

As someone who’s new to the Stranger Things fandom, I’ve got to ask: have there always been this many Billy Hargrove haters or is it a recent trend?

This will probably get ranty and long winded, but I don’t get all the hate.

Yes, Billy did some douchy things in season 2. I like him a lot, but I can’t sit here and say that it was okay for him to yell at Max or threaten Lucas. Antis love to spout the tired old “he was a racist piece of shit” line, but there’s no proof of it. He never used racist language, and unlike the bullies from season 1, he never called Lucas racist slurs.

The Duffer Bros, who are shitty writers, wanted Billy to be a racist, but then Dacre Montgomery read the script and said, “No, I don’t want to say that and I don’t want Billy to be racist.”

When he tells Max “There are certain types of people you need to stay away from.” it could possibly be read as racism, but that’s a stretch and personally, I don’t see it. It’s never addressed again after that episode.

He’s an abused teenager with poor coping mechanisms living in an unsafe home. Of course he’s going to be an ass at times.

The worst thing he does in canon—literally the WORST thing—is beat up Steve. His actions in that scene were uncalled for, but Steve wasn’t innocent either. They were both out of line there. And you can’t fault him for his actions in season 3 because he was a puppet for the Mind Flayer. It was controlling his actions just like it did to Will in season 2.

Meanwhile Jason Carver held Lucas at gunpoint, beat the shit out of him and actually tried to strangle him to death. Plus, Jason lead a lynch mob in his hunt for Eddie, who had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. He said he was doing it to ‘avenge Chrissy’ but I don’t buy it. Given his actions towards Lucas, who he once viewed as a friend, Jason definitely would’ve killed Eddie if he found him.

Martin Brenner essentially ran a prison for children. He never actually cared about any of the kids, and his treatment of El was abhorrent. It didn’t matter how scared she was or if she didn’t want to do something. Dr. Brenner used her, and all the other children, for his own personal gain. Even his dying words are him trying to convince El that he wasn’t a bad guy.

Henry Creel was a straight up sociopath. I partly blame Brenner for his actions, but come on; Henry was killing small animals before Brenner started experimenting on him. He was abused at the lab, but he chose his path. Once El removed his tracking chip, he could’ve used his powers for good and helped the kids at Hawkins lab. Instead, he violently killed them all, some of whom were as young as 5 or 6. Then he tried to kill El, got banished to the upside down, became a literal monster, then started killing vulnerable and abused teenagers.

Yet Billy Hargrove, an abused teenager who Henry 100% would’ve preyed on if he’d still been alive, is somehow the most vile character on the show? Where’s the hate for Jason, Brenner and Henry?

I don’t get it. I really don’t.

I’m curious on your opinions, even if you strongly disagree with mine.

[riderofblackdragons]

Day 22: Slowly Running Out of Air

And now, the challenge of figuring out how to make them run out of air when they're literal vampires! I've done my best with this prompt, but seriously, vampires don't need air. And the other option was I enjoy writing the angels, who , surprise, don't need air either! So we're going back to the Runaway Treasures AU, bc I can trap Elijah in a place without air for that!

Enjoy!

If he was truthful, Elijah hadn’t expected to catch up to Katerina. Innocent she may have portrayed herself as, and certainly more human than either him or Niklaus, but Elijah hadn’t missed the sharp intelligence in her eyes, nor her general sense of self-preservation.

As such, Elijah could only assume that the reason he was able to find her, although miles ahead of the other men and vampires his brother had sent out with him, was because Katerina had let him. He’d been all or bringing her back, even though she was now a vampire, so his mate could get closure on it, and Elijah wouldn’t have failed his task, but.

Katerina wanted to talk, and so, in the name of their former friendship, Elijah agreed. And he didn’t like what she was saying. Things about Niklaus, about their relationship. She wasn’t really trying to explain why she’d run from them, he’d realised quickly. Still, he’d stayed, letting her talk.

Eventually, he wasn’t quite sure of what Katerina had said that had convinced him, but Elijah ended up going with her. Avoiding all of his mate’s attempts at guilting him through their bond, and ran with her.

And where had it gotten him, he mused. Trapped inside a church, under it, even, after being cornered by the vampire-hunting townspeople who were convinced they were doing the right thing. Without his friend, the one he’d spent some 300-odd years running with.

Oh, Katerina had arranged for the escape of both of them. They were still friends, and she did still care for the Omega, despite their rocky beginnings. But Elijah had given it up for a younger vampire, little Anna, and so he was stuck here, whilst Anna and Katherine, as she’d decided to go by, were running free.

The upside, Elijah mused, to being vampires, was that they didn’t require air. There were a few townspeople who were caught up in the spell, and were now trapped down here with them, but they had quickly been devoured, before they’d even had the chance to run out of air.

Still, breathing was a comfort to many, after they’d turned, and the air in the tomb quickly ran out. Elijah could spot a few newer vampires struggling with the lack of air, as they desperately tried to inhale whatever was left of a substance they no longer needed.

It amused him, Elijah supposed. And it was fascinating, to see how they hadn’t quite grasped the vital thing they were missing down here, something he had noticed as soon as he’d realised the others weren’t dying in the fire.

It wouldn’t be long, he reckoned, before they started attacking each other for the blood in their systems. These young vampires, they wouldn’t be thinking rationally, trying to stay alert the longest, as opposed to merely waiting. None of them would be getting out any time soon, by Elijah’s estimate. They would all desiccate, no matter how much blood they stole from each other, before the spell upon this tomb was released, and they could walk free.

And it wasn’t as though it was easy to tell time in here, either. It was cold, and dark, and Elijah could tell when he tried breathing that he’d be long dead if he was a human. It had been easier to track, when there was still some oxygen left in the room, but given it was all gone now… He couldn’t be completely sure of how long it had been.

Only Elijah’s bond with Niklaus, still thrumming along the back of his mind, despite their centuries of distance from each other, kept him awake. Far longer than the others in the tomb, long after they’d even stopped twitching, from the lack of blood in their systems, Elijah remained conscious, even as his body shut down.

But it was something, at least. A little push and pull with his mate’s emotions, over the centuries. Just enough to keep him with a vague sense of what was happening, purely based on Niklaus’ emotions. A little fear here, a little caution, a little love… It served to make his time as a corpse more interesting, at least.

And then, over a century after he was trapped inside this tomb, Elijah tasted fresh blood on his lips, and saw moonlight stream into the tomb, and knew that his freedom had come.

[hidingoutbackstage]

Just thinking about how Claire experienced unimaginable horrors constantly and regularly witnesses the deaths of people she bonded with, but she never gets the time to mourn them, usually because she has to fight for her life and the life of someone else she’s protecting, and how that feeds into her survivor's guilt. Additionally, even when seriously injured, she doesn't even have the time to stop and assess her own wounds before fighting or taking care of somebody else

In Resident Evil 2, at only NINETEEN years old, a college student with no military or cop training or experience goes to a city she knows to look for her brother who’s been MIA for a bit and accidentally gets trapped in a nightmare. She’s forced to find a way out alive, while also protecting and eventually saving a little girl who is completely reliant on her.

And two people’s deaths on that mission, Marvin and Annette, have an impact on her. Marvin is nothing but supportive of her, and he’s doomed from the moment he meets and saves her. She’s unable to do anything to help him, and the entire time it’s like waiting for a clock to count down until Marvin’s dead. When she moves on, she has to leave him behind, and if you go back, he’s a zombie, his fate is sealed. Claire can’t deal with her ally being dead because if she hesitates or feels emotional, she’ll die, so she just has to move on or kill zombie Marvin.

Annette is obviously a worse person than Marvin by a fucking mile, but her death still impacts Claire because despite her reluctance, she still DID help save Sherry, she told her daughter that she loves her even if she’s been a bad mother, and she gets a good-bye with Sherry. Claire, who lost both of her parents in an unknown way, HAD to have felt something at watching a mother say good bye to her daughter before dying in front of her. And Claire doesn’t have time to deal with her feelings because she still needs to get herself and Sherry out of there.

Code Veronica is the most obvious example of Claire losing an ally, but I’m gonna mention Rodrigo first. She doesn’t watch him die, Chris does, but after he helps her escape prison and they have a nice allyship when she gets him what he needs, afterwards she has to leave and has to leave him behind to certain death.

The other person she watches die in front of her is probably the most well known. Steve. Love him or hate him, he meant a lot to Claire. His last words before dying to his injuries were that he loved her and he’s sorry he couldn’t do more. Claire gets a moment to mourn him, but not long enough, as she and Chris are still stuck in the base that they need to escape. And in the moment she’s in intense mourning, she’s given NO comfort, because her brother can’t get into the room with her and offer her even a hug. And we KNOW Claire kept Steve’s memory with her decades later, because in Revelations 2, she references something Steve told her all those years ago.

Infinite Darkness doesn’t have her lose an ally, but you know what’s traumatic? Looking for a person you think is a lead on your case, and finding the scene of a brutal suicide.

In Revelations 2, literally every other innocent person she ran into inside Alex Wesker’s evil torture house dies from fucking fear. And she can’t process any of that or even really show too much emotion regarding that since she’s trying to be strong for Moira. Also, you know, Neil’s betrayal is pretty fucking shitty for Claire, but again she can’t process it, she just has to kill him.

Heavenly Island we return to actual allies dying in front of her. Inez, her fell TerraSave member, someone who is just as headstrong as Claire and someone who is obviously a good friend, gets fucking killed defending her fellow survivors, and she dies in Claire’s arms.

Also like. 90% of the young women on that island are murdered and she’s powerless to stop it. Also I’ll say it, Marilou is assaulted and nearly killed, which Claire also can’t help or offer the girl comfort since they have to either run or kill Julie.

Even Death Island, even though Taylor was a fucking asshole, Claire still failed to save him and he was shot and died right next to her while she was in a jail cell about to be infected herself. When Becky saves everyone, once again no processing time, no time for relief.

I think Degeneration was the exception, but still she had to put Rani’s feelings and safety before her own, something that someone as kindhearted as Claire Redfield wouldn’t hesitate to do, but something that probably still weighs heavily on her psyche.

[lilweaselhub]

Okay so no one asked---but time for me to randomly be feral about Spinel. I don't plan on making this SUPER coherent or anything mostly because I've been running on fumes for a MINUTE now.

But recently, I was asked what I think the difference is between good spinel content and bad spinel content and well thats a loaded question.

Before I say ANYTHING about anything for anyone who reads this, I would like to preface;

These are my personal opinions on her character and I really don't care too much if you agree or disagree. Whatever makes you happy is fine with me. You can disagree and be entitled to that opinion.

That being said; I'm just going to come right out and cut to the chase before we even get started.

I don't like how the Steven Universe movie ended. I don't think Spinel going with the Diamonds was a good idea && Spinel in SU future was a major let down for me.

There. if you don't like ^^^^ that statement right there && if you don't think you can handle someone disagreeing with how she was handled I'd stop right here.

For anyone else; Allow me to explain.

When Spinel is introduced in the movie, it is immedietly clear that she is no typical adversary of the crystal gems. Shes incredibly cunning, and actually acknowledges steven as his own person. -&& seeks vengence anyway.

Despite KNOWING steven is a stranger.

Something we don't see in any other gem that the crystal gems go up against from homeworld. I'd argue this makes Spinel one of the SMARTEST gems we see.

The other thing thats immedietly apparent is just how VIOLENT and ANGRY she is. Her entire song 'other friends' gives the audience immediate insight that she knew pink diamond and knew pink PERSONALLY. She has a very personal vendetta, and is lashing out.

now im not going to analyse every single scene in this movie. I'm far too tired for that. Besides, we know it by heart by now. Everyones done it. But all of this to SAY-; what many people have pointed out is that Pink was akin to Spinels favored person, something a lot of people who struggle with mental illness have.

ESPEICALLY those with BPD, something that has been near universally agreed on with her.

During the first half of the movie, leading up to the garden flashback. We get to see Spinel as she was made--; before she was traumatized. How she was initially. Happy, bubbly, fun loving, and sweet. In my mind, this always was reminiscent of an allegory for childhood innocence.

A type of innocence one has before the real world hits them before they experience heartbreak, trauma, or real raw grief. Spinel in her beginning was NAIVE, and had no idea that Pink Diamond did not have the same undying loyalty and love that Spinel herself was programmed with.

Spinels feelings were not mutual, but she was too innocent at the time to really SEE This. She was too naïve and optimistic. During this time she was very much mentally like a young child.

Time passing && the garden itself dying could even be an allegory for the death of ones childhood innocence and wonder.

What being abandoned by pink can really be alikened to with Spinel is the experience of TRAUMA. Something that udoubtedly TRANSFORMS a person---; Much like in the movie. (That whole anime girl transformation as out of left field as it is, kind of makes a lot of sense to be emphasized. Its getting a point across.)

Trauma PERMENANTLY changes a person. For better or worse.

In spinels case--; it could be seen as a metaphor for trauma, and the effect it has on someones mental health. The Childhood innocence dying and growing up after experience significant trauma.

Spinel post transformation && in the very beginning / climax of the movie is much less naive. Much more cunning, and carries herself much older than when she was first created. While Spinel in the beginning was reminiscent of a young 8-10 year old child, spinel now reads more as a rebellious older teen to young adult. She does not have that mentality of a child anymore. She's impulisve, shes cunning, shes sarcastic and shes mad as hell.

Spinels trauma not only mentally changed who she was as a person--it PHYSICALLY altered her. It changed her entire person. This is what trauma DOES. this is what experiencing all the grief and negative experiences of growing up DOES to you.

Abandoned, forgotten and spiteful, Spinel sets her sights on steven && co in a last ditch effort to get her version of closure---revenge on those that wronged her and threw her away like garbage.

I would easily argue that the climax of this movie is were Spinel's character SHINES the most. This in my opinion, is one place where the movie SUCCEEDS where Future FAILS.

In the climax of the movie, we really see the moments that clinch that BPD allegory. The Back and Forth between her emotional impulse to spiral and lash out, and the desire to be better. It doesn't shy away from showing the UGLY and sometimes AGGRESSIVE symptoms of mental illness. But it doesn't necessarily villainize her.

Steven himself realizes that Spinel is not thinking logically, she's lashing out and letting emotions DRIVE her impulses.

It shows her as she is now, flawed, impulsive, and hurting.

" Why? Why do I wanna hurt you SO badly??"

" When you change, you change for the better---when I change I change for the WORSE."

" At least you liked the old me--"

Spinel herself acknowledges that she's changed. That experience has Permanently changed who she is, the person she once was is gone. She is mourning not only the relationship she had but the person she once WAS.

Now;------After this point in the movie is where I start having gripes. As spinel is shown through most of the movie as such a dynamic, interesting character and actual RAW representation for people who STRUGGLE to be a good person after what they went through. Individuals with UGLY symptoms and sometimes SCARY symptoms of mental illness.

Things that are strongly stigmatized in this society we live in. It was refreshing to have a character SHOW this side of mental illness and still be treated like a person, and not a MONSTER.

&& Before I start this next section, let me preface by saying i am ALL about healing journeys. 100%. I would love for Spinel to be happy, I want her to find a place to find her own and feel safe.

That being said, I want healing journeys for a character to be realisitc. I don't want a FIXED character, I want a REAL character. A character that feels like a person. A real one. Not sunshine and rainbows and a "love fixes me" type. (Ty @veroxins for verbalizing what i never quite could with her arc.)

Unfortunately that is EXACTLY what ends up happening to Spinel though. Suddenly it feels as though they run out of an idea for how to continue her arc. && At the end of the movie they decide that the diamonds finding her amusing and bringing her back up to homeworld would be the best course of action.

&& I'd argue that at this point in the movie spinel's characterization already starts seeming odd / contradictory comparative to what we JUST saw. && this only continues with her appearance in future.

Suddenly Spinel is Happy, bubbly and kinda...naive again isn't she?

Spinel in future (and partially at the end of the movie) is kind of reverted back to her old persona. The diamonds 'love' fixes her.

" Steven: Wait a second, you used to have vengeful thoughts. Oh, yeah! But I don't get 'em anymore. Steven: How did you make them stop? I met a little someone named "Steven Universe"! And he told me ♫ IIIII- I CAN MAKE A CHANGE! ♫ "

Whats worse than that in my opinion, is that not only do they take this representation away---and make the case that love just 'fixes' a person and puts them back to how they were--but they make spinel a joke.

They didn't even have her take stevens on struggles seriously or have them relate to each other in any meaningful way.

I like many others, hated peridots treatment for this very reason.

Not to mention--- a very important point. After all this time emphasizing how absolutely UNHEALTHY and TOXIC the power dynamic was between Pink Diamond and Spinel. WHY on earth would putting her right back in that power dynamic (x3 mind you), be condusive to her healing? At all?

I'll tell you---it wouldn't be. She's put right back in the position of being ENTERTAINMENT, a TOY. && Not being even given the CHANCE to discover her own personality, who she is now, or hell--who she ever was outside of pink.

I noticed that a lot of peoples fixation and interest in spinel greatly reduced after the future airing and I really don't think thats a coincidence.

&& AGAIN i have to PREFACE. ;I want spinel to get better. I do.

I have no issues with that.

But trauma permenately changes someone. Thats just how it functions. Spinel is not going to just go back to how she was before her trauma. && I think it sends a more powerful message for her healing to have her find a place as she is now, and be loved for her flaws and all, while making a conscious effort to be better.

For it not to be just a quick fix, and shes back to how she was, but to have her come to terms with the new her, and find a way to reinvent herself, with her flaws and still be loved as she is. Even if she still slips up from time to time. Because mental illness is not a straight and narrow road. it has its ups, it has its downs. you get better, you relapse and then you pick up the pieces again and keep going.

Tdlr; All of that to say. Spinel is a character that was REALLY important to me, a character that showed ugly mental illness symptoms, and didn't glorify or villainize it. A character that wasn't nice or tied up in a bow, but deserved to be loved, and deserved to have the chance to be her own person.

Outside of the diamonds, outside of pink, outside of her TRAUMA. and she never got the chance. She deserved better.

Also---sassy, chaotic, morally grey spinel is just superior in general. She's the goat and i want her back. rn.

[sansxfuckyou]

The one time it mattered

Summary: Five times Kenny confessed and the one time he didn't

Warnings: swearing, loss of faith, check Ao3 port for full tags

Authors Note: Never written a 5+1 fic before and maybe this was just a little bit ambitious on a time constraint but I managed. Day four was secret/confession, and I chose confession! the K2 comes like, after everything else so feel free to just skip ahead. so I hope ya'll enjoy and if ya do maybe consider dropping a reblog or checking out the Ao3 port

1.

Kennys first crush was on Butters, the adorable and innocent Butters. Almost everyone could see that, they were young as they were when Chef was still around, and still terrible at hiding emotions. At the time Kenny didn't really get how to make a formal confession, or how to do it. He did understand the parts that came well after an established relationship though.

Still, he played plenty of games that put him in all sorts of roles and positions. This is the first time he plans on fully utilizing his role to get what he wants. And what he wants at the time is a kiss from Butters or for Butters to say 'I love you' and mean it. He doesn't do that a lot at home, or school, more focused on taking care of Karen or not dying. But just this once in grade four in South Park elementary, he plans damn well on getting what he wants.

If he has to use his Princess Kenny persona then so be it, he'll use his dress and his 'royal presence' to distract Butters into a kiss.

"Oh god! Princess Kenny is dying!" Came the shrill cry of High Jew Elf Kyle as he watched Princess Kenny go down.

"I got it!" Butters shouted as he ran over to his fallen ally and helped her up.

"Thank you, Paladin Butters," Kenny said as calmly as he could muster as he Butters handed him a cure potion for the bleeding. The same one that he had drank from- Kenny guzzled it in mere moments, "You look magnificent in battle Butters."

"Thank you Princess," Butters said before dashing off to smite some enemies with his hammer of justice.

Kenny sighed dreamily as he watched.

"Kenny block!" Kyle cried out just in time for Kenny to barely avoid the attack.

"Thanks!" Kenny shouted back as Butters returned to his side.

"Let me heal you," Butters said as he walked over to give Kenny a pat on the shoulder.

Kenny grabbed onto Butters, albeit extremely gently so he could escape if he wanted to. Shock played itself on his friends face, "Kiss me Paladin Butters."

An instant and visceral response of 'Gross!' was how Butters reacted, dropping the princess.

Kennys fourth grade mind took it as a devastating rejection. Took it as such to the point that while staying completely in character he ran off crying, one hand keeping his dress from dragging and all. He had a hard time believing he got rejected, they were so close, how much could one little kiss change that? His fourth grade mind just didn't get it.

His fourth grade mind also let him move on in a months time.

2.

Kenny realizes that he's bisexual in grade six when gets a crush on Wendy Testaburger. He previously thought he was just gay. But nope, now he wears a little pin on his shoelaces, blue, purple, and pink. He doesn't wear it with a whole lot of pride because he has too take it off every day after school so his parents won't know he swings both ways. But at school he does wear it and flaunt it a little bit, happy he can sit comfortably with himself despite everything else.

He's forgotten about the horrible rejection of grade four, and him and Butters are just friends anyways. He can see now that it was just juvenile attraction, a foolish puppy crush not to be confused with what he feels for Wendy. The major hurdle when it comes to Wendy is the fact that she's in a rough spot with her on and off relationship with Stan. And as much as Kenny wants Wendy, he likes his friendship with Stan a lot more.

"Hey Stan," Kenny begins with as he sits down next to his friend whose lazily drinking a juicebox.

"Yeah man?" Stan asked in response as he prodded at his vegetable medley.

"How pissed would you be if I hit on Wendys best friend?" Kenny asked nervously, glad that Kyle and Cartman weren't around to hear it.

Stan looked confused, "Go for it, it's not like she's my girlfriend."

Kenny cleared his throat, "And if I hit on Wendy?"

"Dude! Fuck no! She's my girlfriend," Stan said defensively, putting up his hackles and spitting his words.

"Alright, alright," Kenny said as he rolled his eyes, hands thrown up in surrender, "She's all yours."

"At least wait until she's gonna break up with me before you start trying to get her for yourself," Stan said, tossing a juicebox to Kenny who expertly caught it.

-/-/-/-

Stan trudged to school the next day, Kenny meeting him at their lockers. The Marsh looks absolutely wrecked, like he got no hours, or minutes of sleep, the night prior. And that's saying a lot, usually if he goes without much sleep no one can tell that anythings wrong with him.

Kenny placed a hand on his shoulder, "What happened?"

Stan sighed, "Wendy broke up with me Kenny, she's all yours."

"Really?" Kyle asked, trying his hardest not to sound excited.

"Really," Stan echoed back with a nod, "Hope you enjoy her, if she even says yes."

"I have maxed out charisma Stan, it'll work perfectly," Kenny said boldly, bringing a hand to his chest in an eloquent manner.

"Good luck with it," Stan said, "I'm hanging out with Kyle while you make a fool of yourself during seven minutes in heaven."

"There's a game of seven minutes in heaven?" Kenny asked eagerly.

"Yep, drama room at first break, I'm not going," Stan said as he pulled off his outer jacket.

"Well I am, I'll make sure to tell you how much I score," Kyle said as he walked off to his own class, making sure to grab his homework before slamming his locker shut.

-/-/-/-

Kenny idly meandered around the halls as he waited for the bell to ring, he had sneaked out a few minutes early. He just had to get lucky now. The loud and obnoxious ringing of the stupid bell sounded and he was already rushing into the drama room. Most of the girls were already inside, sitting in a circle with a couple of the guys.

Kenny awkwardly wedged himself across from Wendy, sitting in between Clyde and Craig. He crossed one leg over the other.

"Alright, everyone knows the rules of seven minutes in heaven?" Bebe asked as she walked into the center of the circle, holding a glass pop bottle as she spoke.

Everyone nodded along.

"Cool, now," Bebe began as she placed down the bottle in the middle, "We spin!"

The bottle scratched on the hardwood floor as it spun in a perfect rotation. There was meager grinning and chatting as it came to a halt. Bebe drew an imaginary line from the mouth of the bottle to the person it pointed to.

"Contestant number one in this matchmaking game is Kenny!" Bebe exclaimed as she raised one of Kennys arms as though she were a ring announcer. He stood up and grinned a little bit as he was pushed out of the circle, he stood patiently.

She spun the bottle once more and Kenny is practically vibrating as he watched the bottle slow down. This was his best chance, he just had to get lucky. Obscenely, and impossibly lucky, but he's recently placed himself in the anything is possible category. He can die and come back the next day! Getting lucky in a game of seven minutes in heaven is nothing in comparison.

"And the second contestant is Wendy!" Bebe announced as Wendy stood up and walked over to Kennys side.

"Seven minutes," Wendy muttered under her breath as they were led to the closet.

"Have fun," Bebe said in a taunting singsong as she closed the door after them.

Kenny dropped down to the floor, crossing his legs. Wendy sat across from him, knees bent.

"So, Wendy," Kenny begins with, "You dumped Stan?"

"Yes," Wendy said.

"Which means you're up for a brand new a relationship?" Kenny asked, tapping his hand on his knee as he spoke.

Wendy raised a brow although Kenny couldn't see it, "I suppose it does."

Kenny took a bit of a shaky breath, "I'm pretty sure I have a crush on you," 'Pretty sure' what a lie. He was absolutely certain that he did.

"Mood, lot's of guys do," Wendy answered with, "What makes you think I should choose you over Clyde? Or maybe even Damien?"

Kenny couldn't form an answer.

"You're sweet McCormick but you have nothing to bring to the table," Wendy said, she gave a small smile as she spoke, "Maybe next time."

Grade six, drama room closet, first break, is the exact second that Kenny realizes he needs to plan things out if questions are asked.

3.

Kenny has secretly been planning this moment for weeks, the perfect confession to his massive crush. More massive and more important than the last two combined, he's in grade eight now, this one is the winner. He has it all planned out, but he's fully prepared for something to come along and mess it up as well. He has a little speech prepared and enough confidence to kill a horse which is all he needs. Cartmans petty remarks are not part of what he needs but that's what he'll get if Kyle and Stan aren't around.

"Hey Craig!" Kenny called out from across the cafeteria, waving a big to grab the ravenettes attention.

He started on his way over.

"He's not gonna accept your confession man," Cartman said as he inched away from Kenny.

Kenny turned to throw him a smirk, "Jealous I have balls Cartman? Ones that will be sucked without fail?"

"Shut up," Cartman snapped back, "You're lucky that Stan and Kyle aren't here to see your pathetic attempt."

"You won't be either," Kenny said smugly, sticking out his tongue a bit.

Craig sat down across from Kenny, "What is it man?"

"Not a whole lot," Kenny started with as he drummed his fingers on the table, "I was just wondering if you're free for ten minutes after school?"

"I am," Craig said bluntly, taking a forkful of his salisbury steak, "Why does it matter?"

"Meet me where the goths usually sit right after school, they've all come down with a terrible case of the shits, it's fucking tragic," Kenny said, having to repress the grin on his face as he spoke.

Craig gave a single chuckle, "Did Cartmans mom cook for them?"

"Hey!" Was the only venomous exclamation Cartman could get out.

Kenny nodded, "Yeah, the chocolate chicken potpie was too much for them to handle."

"What a shame," Craig said, "Anything else? I told Tweek I'd only be a couple minutes before I go back."

Kenny shook his head, "Nope!"

"See you after school," Craig said as he made his way back to his table.

"Cartman it's gonna be great," Kenny said, taking a bite of the side dish.

Cartman sighed, "Don't say I didn't warn you."

-/-/-/-

Kenny has one flower behind his back, a lupin, as he waits out back for Craig to arrive. He's smiling a little bit as he watches the ravenette come into view and walk on over.

"So Kenny, what did you want to talk about?" Craig asked, tracing Kennys expression.

Kenny cleared his throat before holding out the singular flower, "Craig, I'm deeply enamored and adoring of you. You're one of the coolest fucking people on this planet and I'm lucky that I know you well enough to mostly read your emotions. I, I think you're one of my all time favorite people- more than Cartman, Stan, or even Kyle!"

Craig was silent.

"And with all that being said," Kenny said before taking a steadying breath, "Will you go out with me? Please?"

Craig roughly swallowed, "Kenny me and Tweek went on our first date this weekend."

That punched Kenny in the gut, all he could produce was a lifeless, "What?"

"Yeah, we were gonna tell everyone about it tomorrow during lunch," Craig said stiffly, "I'm so, so sorry."

"That's fine, thanks for letting me know," Kenny answered with to the best of his abilities, "You aren't, you aren't telling anyone right?"

"Fuck no," Craig said, "That'd be a total betrayal of trust and ruin our friendship."

Kenny nodded silently.

"Unless this did," Craig tacked on helpfully.

"No, we can still be friends, probably," Kenny said, "I'm going home."

"Me too," Craig said before turning to leave.

Kennys hands still tightly clutched the stem of the flower.

-/-/-/-

"What do you mean you knew and didn't tell me?!" Kenny snapped at Cartman.

"That's what you get for asking out everyone who says hi like some fucking whore!" Cartman shot back as he pressed a finger to Kennys chest.

"I don't do ask everyone out, formally at least," Kenny defended with in a sputtery manner.

Cartman narrowed his eyes, "Look man, it's gonna start wearing on you and I'd hate to see my best friend down in the dumps over it."

Kenny did nothing, not a nod or a word out of him.

"Wanna watch a shitty movie and eat KFC?" Cartman asked.

Kenny nodded, "Thanks."

4.

Kenny feels a flutter in his stomach when he realizes who it is next, and for once cupid has good timing. That cunt shot his red tipped arrow into Kennys skull a week after Stans most recent breakup, right around the time he's rebounded entirely. They're finishing grade eleven now, almost prom at that, and the McCormick feels a sick satisfaction because he can ask Stan to go to prom if nothing else.

He can plan it out in advance again, watch his good friends love life like a hawk, make sure there's no hangups. He'll have someone say yes! Someone'll accept his confession and he hopes so much that it ends up being Stan instead of anyone else.

He does try to plan it out, he really does, but everything has a way of going to shit for the McCormick.

"Pass another one down!" Kyle called out for only for Craig to hand him a bottle of some local brew.

"Can I have that?" Kenny whined.

Kyle rolled his eyes and handed it over, "Fine."

"Thank you," Kenny said, batting his eyelashes a bit as he spoke. He popped open the bottle and tilted his glass before pouring in that golden liquid once again. This was his third beer, and maybe he was a bit more of a lightweight than he accounted for.

Stan placed down his mug, only the faintest red on his face. By all accounts he was sober, except for the amount of alcohol running through him, and the lack of filter. He pushed out his chair, "I'm heading outside for some fresh air."

"Alright, you do that," Was what he got in response from Cartman who was attempting to stay sober enough to drive. He was failing, but he could still walk straight.

Kenny watched eagerly as Stan left, sipping on his glass of beer the whole while. A small ring of foam was left on his upper lip, "I think I'm gonna do it."

"Don't do it," Cartman warned, heavily aware of what Kenny was referencing as he spoke, "You had a plan."

"I did but last time that fucked me in the ass with a chainsaw," Kenny explained with a shrug, "It's not coming out when I'm sober anyways."

"That's the problem idiot," Cartman muttered, "I'll preorder KFC for your mourning period."

Kenny gave a laugh, "There will be no mourning period this time."

Kyle reached over and swiped his thumb along the foam, wiping it down as best he could, "Don't wanna get beer in your kiss dude."

Kenny instantly froze at the soft, smooth touch. He was shoving it aside again in an instant, "Wish me luck dear friends."

Somehow he got a chorus of 'Good luck!'s on his way out to the sliding door. He wore an all too confident look on his face as he sidled up next to Stan. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a twenty dollar bill, fresh and green.

"Stan," Kenny begins with boldly.

"Yeah?" Stan answered with.

"I'll give you this crisp twenty dollar bill if you let me kiss you," Kenny said, waving the bill in the air as he spoke. He held it tightly between middle and pointer finger, saccharine grin on his face. He was winning right now.

He studied the slight shifts in Stans expression like he would be tested on it. He waited patiently for a response, he's answered with his twenty dollar bill being snatched away and pocketed. Then it's followed up with a hand at the small of his back tugging him flush against Stan and their lips meeting in a brief instant. That one instant is all he wants though, and maybe he's a bit too drunk to truly appreciate but he still craves it.

Stan releases him, "Thanks for the quick buck."

"Dude I fucking love you," Kenny accidentally said, words coming out in a mush of what he wanted to articulate.

"Real fucking shame," Stan said, leaning against the porch railing.

"You and Wendy hooked up again?" Kenny asked cautiously.

Stan laughed, a beautiful and angelic sound to Kenny, "No, god no. I think she's having an affair with Wendy right now. It's just that I'm shit."

"But you're not," Kenny said blandly, tugging on the syllables just a bit.

"Like, I'm bad at relationships dude. That was a good twenty bucks, but you can't buy your way into wasting your time on me," Stan explained. He tapped his foot on the wooden planks a bit, "Besides, if you're lucky you'll just forget this in the morning."

Kenny was not lucky and he remembered it perfectly when he woke up.

5.

Kenny finds himself holed up in the bathroom at one of his best friends house when the realization of his next accomplice of romance hits him upside the head. Because of course it had to be him, it had too! He almost feels ill to the stomach because he knows exactly what the answer is, he doesn't even want to give himself false hope.

But he does anyways.

Life isn't worth anything if it isn't accompanied by the little lies you can tell yourself.

"Hey dude? You good in there?" Came a rather worried voice from the other side of the bathroom door.

"I'm fine," Kenny answered with as he stood up and unlocked the door. He hesitantly opened it and stepped out.

"So, no KFC or else you're gonna yak?" Cartman asked, Kenny nodded.

"Yeah. Definitely not," Kenny answered with a nervous chuckle.

"Deal breaker man, that's our usual 'Kenny just got rejected' meal," Cartman teased, "We could get something else, I guess."

"Thanks bro," Kenny said with a playful punch to Cartmans shoulder.

How was he gonna go about it this time?

-/-/-/-

He ended up deciding on a letter, a long, well thought out love letter. He knew it was too sappy for Cartman of all people but he also knew he'd just get turned down anyways. Why not do it with a little bit of flare? Have some fun while he's getting rejected for the umpteenth time before he's even done his school education.

He's scrapped at least four rough drafts, looking over the best parts of each and avoiding the really bad parts of the rest. He absolutely wants to die, but Cartman would remember and ask why he died so easily. Stupid curse and it's absolutely garbage ruleset, it really pissed off Kenny at times like this.

He took a deep steadying breath before paper to pen again.

Disclaimer: This letter is entirely seriously. Take each word at face value unless it's clearly part of a metaphor. It isn't a joke. I'm sorry in advance and I'm working on dealing with it.

Maybe that's a little bit too somber for the start, he keeps writing anyways.

Okay, with that disclaimer out the way, I need to say something. Dude I think I like you, I'm know that I do actually, even though you're an awful fucking asshole most of the time. You're just, you can be nice in private if you actually want to and that's pretty fucking endearing. And you've been sitting at my side for each and every single one of my rejections, even back in grade four!

Kenny pauses, maybe grade four is a bit too far back. He's writing in red ink, no going back now.

Look man. Every single time I've had someone reject me, brutally or otherwise, you've been there for me. You've spent entire nights playing shitty video games and eating KFC with me so I can forget and feel better about it. No matter what, and that's impressive if nothing else.

He tightens the grip on his pen a little bit and the side of his hand smudges a bit of the ink.

I already know what the answer is, I think it's helpful to get it out of my system as soon as possible so I don't dwell on it. I already know you're gonna say 'no' and probably call me a stupid homo or a whore cause you do that sometimes.

Sorry in advance, Kenny McCormick.

Before he can dwell on it he folds the paper in half and stuffs it in his pocket before heading out to Cartmans house.

-/-/-/-

"What is it this time? Get rejected by Tweek?" Cartman asked as he leaned on the doorway, arms crossed over his chest. He stared at Kenny, searching for the usual indicative reactions but there wasn't any.

"Worse," Was all Kenny could muster as he pulled out the folded paper.

"What's the paper?" Cartman asked as he snatched it out of Kennys hands. He expected some form of reaction or retaliation but he got absolutely nothing in response which was wrong. It was entirely wrong, he knew exactly how to push each of Kennys buttons and taking something without incentive was usually one of them.

Kenny glanced to his feet, "Read it."

"Right now?" Cartman asked, unfolding the paper doused in red ink.

Kenny nodded, "Or later, whenever works best."

"Something is seriously wrong with you today," Cartman said as he stared at his friend.

"You'll know when you read it," Kenny said absently as Cartman read over the words.

He glanced over them at first, latching onto a couple as he went before rereading it. He held the paper in one hand and tapped it with the back of the other a couple times. Then he checked it once more, disclaimer and all.

"Wow," Was what Cartman could manage.

Kenny couldn't even look Cartman in the face.

"At least you knew the answer am I right?" Cartman got out on an awkward laugh, "Look, I'll still be here eating KFC with you until the end of time, but saying vows? No fucking way."

"I know," Kenny got out quietly, "I know."

Cartman stuffed the letter in one of his few pockets, "Wanna watch a shitty movie and get some KFC?"

Kenny nodded, "That'd be fun."

6?

Kenny just feels dread whenever those butterflies start to flutter in his stomach now, he's trying his hardest to beat them down. To ignore them, stuff them deep down where they'll never surface and hurt him again. He just wants to sob when he fails to keep himself safe, when he feels that all too familiar and unwelcome sensation crowd his skin.

He'll let himself have it one last time, he has a good net to fall back on. Said net being Cartman, and Cartman being used to dealing with an emotionally messed up Kenny. He's even roped Stan into helping him out with rough landing from getting rejected.

The real problem is that Kenny can't tell who it is, he can only tell it's definitely festering in his veins.

All he can do is wait patiently for the catalyst that's gonna set it off. The thing that's gonna let him know exactly who he needs to confess too and get it over with. He's just going through the final motions of school at this rate, trying to survive and ignore the ache.

He tried his best to give a smile when he opened the front door to find Kyle standing out front, "Hi Kyle."

"Meet me at Starks Pond, 5 'o clock sharp," Was what Kyle answered with.

Kenny was just stunned. "What?"

"Starks Pond, just me, and you," Kyle explained, "Five in the evening."

"We'll have to wait and see what happens then," Kenny said as he stuffed his hands in the pockets of his parka, "I am curious about why you'd like to meet me at Starks Pond."

"You'll have to come meet me to find out," Kyle spat back, trying to provoke a reaction out of Kenny. He hadn't been the same since the Stan thing, the Cartman thing went under the radar, even to Kyle.

Kenny raised a brow, "Oh? What makes you so sure of that, I have my ways Broflovski."

"Your ways aren't gonna get a word out of me this time," Kyle countered with, "Not when I've already paid them to keep quiet."

"Impressive," Kenny said, he held out a hand, "Consider it a deal."

Kyle took his hand in a firm shake, "Thanks bro," Then he pulled Kenny into a brief hug.

Kenny short circuited at the touch, the tough but still gentle squeeze. Hand to hand contact never once broken and head resting on his shoulder. He returned it the best he could despite how tense he felt, mostly because it was unexpected. Definitely because it was unexpected.

He watched Kyle walk off in one direction until he was starting to blur on the edge of Kennys eyesight. The McCormick pulled out his phone before sending over a message to Stan for help.

'what the fuck am i supposed to do?'

He watched the bubble flicker with intent.

'good luck man'

-/-/-/-

Starks Pond.

Kenny stagnated at the sign for much longer than he had too, but he really wanted to run away or just sink to the bottom once again. He had a pretty good idea of what was about to happen considering the past of Starks Pond. He wasn't sure if was mentally able to handle it, but it's Kyle, there's no way in fucking hell that Kyle would confess to him.

Especially not at Starks Pond of all places. It's far too cliche. Far too traditional. Far too perfect and exactly what Kennys ever wanted if someone were to confess to him instead.

He looks up from the sign before glancing around to find Kyle situated across the pond. Kenny starts on the trek over, eyes fixed firmly on the ground. He kicks small stones as he goes, some ending up in the consistently near frozen state of the pond. He plucks a crocus on his way over, bright purple petals standing out amidst the frozen ground.

He spins the stem between his thumb and pointer finger as he makes his way over. He actively refrained from the strings on is hood to cover his face, to protect himself just a bit more. He takes a small breath before he speaks up.

"What was it you wanted to talk about?" Kenny asked.

Kyle simply handed him a small, store bought bouquet. He could only tell it was store bought due to the variety of the blooms. He toyed with the petals as he thought over his next words.

"So, you brought me here to give me flowers?" Kenny asked, trying his hardest to avoid the topic that he knew was going to surface. He tactfully placed the crocus he picked alongside the rest of the flowers.

"Idiot, I'm here to ask you out," Kyle corrected, "And I thought you, ever the romantic might understand the connotations of a bouquet."

"Oh I do, I just didn't expect you of all people to fall for someone like me," Kenny said, "I'm kind of a loser these days."

"Who the fuck told you that?" Kyle questioned, both stern and worried all at once.

"No one, I am simply stating facts. Bad luck streak, poor- I am the worst romance candidate possible," Kenny got out on a light laugh, using himself as the butt of the joke just to make sure that Kyle understood he wasn't the right choice. That there are thousands of better choices out there.

Kyle simply answered with a firm, "You're the best one I've met."

"Prove it," Kenny said with a hum of laughter, he swung a foot back and forth, brushing the sole across the ground.

"Firstly, you don't fucking give up, ever, like, at all. Even when you were dying of muscle deterioration you still came back, somehow. You're a determined asshole and I admire that so much you would not believe," Kyle started with, raising a finger for his point, "Secondly, you have a decent sense of humor. In the worst of times and the best of times you're making everyone laugh one way or another. It's impressive honestly."

"And?" Kenny asked, still refusing to believe that Kyle is here to confess to him. It's making his heart pound a little bit harder in his chest, not hard enough to burst an artery of course. He knows exactly what that feels like. This is like a light summer breeze compared to a hurricane.

"Thirdly, you look hot, like honestly bro you are no doubt about it the most attractive of us all. Even more so than Craig, but that might be my blonde bias coming out when I say that. You got a couple scars here and there but honestly it's part of the look, and somehow your hair always looks nice? I don't know how you do it but I'm impressed," Kyle explained carefully, watching Kenny for any form of muted reaction, "And lastly, I love you man. I've grown into it and I doubt I'll grow out of it, but whatever we have, well, it's definitely mutated to love on my end at least."

Now Kenny felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest. He couldn't get a single word out.

"I love you Kenny, here's hoping I'm not too late in fessing up," Kyle said, lowering his hand as he spoke.

Oh.

That's who Kenny had fallen for this time.

"You're not, I'm shocked I didn't confess first honestly," Kenny managed to get out.

"I've been procrastinating on this for years man," Kyle said bluntly, "Trust me, there was a massive window of time you could've spoken up first."

Kenny clutched the bouquet a little bit tighter, "I doubt I was in any shape to tell someone like you was crushing on me when I was jumping at the first sign of anything for anyone."

"So, you'll go out with me?" Kyle asked hopefully.

Kenny nodded, "Of course man, I'd fucking love to go on a date with you."

"Wanna go rub it in Cartmans face that you finally have a boyfriend?" Kyle asked in an almost teasing tone as he held out a hand.

"Fuck yeah," Came Kennys knee jerk response, gladly taking hand and interlacing their fingers.

[luceirosdegolados]

Marek, Mak to his friends, well he never thought much about Chayka. Not too much anyway; street kids, they're a dime a dozen, they come in various shapes and sizes, all a little dark under the eyes, some meaner than others, he knew from experience.

She was a grain under the wheel, human kid, perhaps too chirpy and cheerful for her own good. Got duped a couple times for being too trusting, but she still liked to trust. Never had the chance to learn music, but she still had the voice of a songbird.

And chatty, too chatty for Mak's liking that's for sure. Still, she knew how keep secrets like a tomb, and ran the Underduke's errands like the rest.

Mak took some time to teach her how to handle herself in a knife fight, even if she kept dreaming about studying magic.

Like that was ever going to happen.

.

And then, the elf. A tall fellow with long dark sideburns and even longer ears. Mak didn't know what to make of him, definitely seemed too old for his Chayka -8 years were just a blink for him and she was suddenly a young woman-, but hey, he was not her dad. Sure she was old enough to make her own decisions. Like dying bits of her hair the color of her eyes, piercing green. Like disappearing and reappearing with violet scars and sparks around the eyes.

Marek didn't know what to make of all that, but then again, it was none of his business. Street kids, they're a dime a dozen, and the ones that survive are bound to cut some corners.

But sometimes life throws you curveballs, doesn't it? You end up in a mindflayer ship, infected by some kind of disgusting worm, you crash through the planes, pick up some gorgeous company from the sandy beach you've landed on and then you find, out of the blue, that chirpy little street kid from almost 20 years ago, amidst the wreckage, trying to pull gods know what out a void vortex on a wall of rock.

"Chayka?"

"Mak!"

That little scare is enough; she turns so violently that a whole man comes through the purple whirlpool of magic. Whoever he is, he tries to speak, but Mak doesn't hear a word; Chayka is in his arms and has used the cant word for clan.

"What a shitty place to find you, kid." And he means it, he's sorry to hear that she's infected too, but he is also relieved. So relieved.

.

"Is that Wyll fucking Ravengard?"

It sure is. He vaguely remembered strutting around the fancier part of town, seizing up patriar houses to rob, when he saw the duke and his son make their way from wherever to who gives a fuck surrounded by flaming fist. Mak blended in with the shadows, and let a sigh of relief out when they were gone.

"I always thought he'd died," he admits.

Chayka smirks, "He's kinda cute."

He rolls his eyes, he reckons its a nice dream for an urchin, to be swept off her feet by a handsome prince of some sort, although he wonders if that sketchy elf fella from days past would have anything to say about it.

"Say Chayka, that fella with the sideburns you used to hang out with... he still around?"

Magic courses through her, eyes glowing bright. She smiles, charmingly confident, the picture of innocence, "He never left."

Marek understands.

Even so, when Mizora appears he has to ask again. What did you get yourself into and all that. The girl -the woman, he reminds himself, humans go about everything a little faster- has no good answers. She even says so herself.

"If I tell you he's different you would not believe me. If I tell you he's done right by me... he's not working for Zariel, at least."

Of course not. But it's not like fey are any more trustworthy than devils, though he reckons it could be worse, and it's not like he's her father or anything so who is he to judge? Is making a deal with the fey really worse than slitting someone's throat? Makes one wonder.

.

The bear was a surprise, but really it shouldn't have been, because they were looking for a druid after all, and because a man on a torture rack admitted so. A poor sight, that boy, beaten in all the wrong places. Shadowheart surprises even herself when she notes the goblin's clumsy work; pain without damage, without precision.

The bear is a surprise for Mak, but not so much for Chayka, who puts the goblin children to sleep before confronting their elders. An urchin is an urchin, Mak reasons, and goblin children have numbers for names.

It's not strange that the old man takes a shine to his Chayka immediately, after all, she was first to speak to him, animal form and all. What Marek was not expecting was for the street kid to be so fascinated by this agent of the wilds. Perhaps it's the fey pressence always over her shoulder. Perhaps he hasn't come to know her as he thinks.

.

When Halsin steps out of the portal holding Thaniel in his arms, Chayka is the first one to go to him. When Oliver wants to play, she sticks out her tongue at the druid's scowl. Even so, he comes back for more.

When they go to sleep, he is the second to last person she talks to. Mak is the last. They sit down, and he pours them a shot of whatever strong stuff they got lying around. They speak in cant to each other, brief sentences and simple gestures. Astarion scoffs and chuckles when he manages to overhear something.

.

Often now, he is glad that she's around. He would've let Shadowheart kill an angel if that's what she wanted, but he was glad that Chayka was there to ask her if that was really really what she wanted. Because, Hells, Mak didn't want to kill a fucking angel. But he would've, for Shadowheart. If that's what it took.

"I don't want to waste any more time," says she, with a resolve he hadn't seen until now, and then, her lip trembles, her eyes darting past him, "unless... is Chayka...?"

A shiver runs down his spine. It almost feels wrong to think about it, "Fuck. No, I... gods, I watched that kid grow up."

A sudden realization clashes onto another. Want, tenderness, friendship, even, fucking love. Twofold, unfurling, no, cascading.

He holds Shadowheart close to his chest, like a treasure, "You're It to me. You."

He would've killed an angel, if that's what it took.

.

The street kid is now a grown woman of 27, in actions and words. Mischievous to be sure, but perhaps that's part of the charm. The druid must see it, because he tags along with their little troupe, and Mak is pretty sure he can't take credit for it.

"He's too old for her," he complains one day, watching them speak.

Shadowheart's laughter fills the space, "You sound like concerned mother."

"Well it's not like she has one so..."

He startles himself. Shadowheart tuts.

"Halsin is a good sort. Let them figure it out."

She's right of course. Chayka is radiant, Halsin looks like a literal shadow has lifted from above him.

.

One day, Mak even sees Him, the elf with the long ears. A glimpse of him, really. A trail of laughter only as Chayka pulls them both out of view.

Halsin stands next to Mak, with a question at the tip of his tongue.

Mak brings a toothpick to his lips and pretends not to be nervous, "You know about 'im? The uh..."

"Patron, I believe is the common term, yes. Although I am not sure this bond is altogether that common."

"You're right about that. You wouldn't catch Wyll giggling with Mizora in a corner table like a pair of teens."

"Marek..."

Shit. Full name. Mak steels himself, "Huh?"

"Do you think-? Ah, never mind me. Chayka is a formidable woman, if she's content I..."

He trails off. Mak catches himself thinking that, to him, Chayka will always be that chatty little kid with no parents to speak of.

That's why he is a bit startled when she resurfaces, back from whatever hiding spot among the trees, 15 years older than his memories, grinning from ear to ear.

"Halsin," she begins, "Would you...? I'd like to introduce you to someone."

Introduce. A formal thing for a wild pair. Mak kicks himself. As far as trust goes, he's only gained a wicked grin from the dark corner of a dingy bar.

.

"Mak."

It's her, eyes still red, a trail of tears still fresh.

"Kid..."

"You'll come with me, right? To get Halsin back."

"No question, I'm with you, kid." To the hells. He will always be there for his prodigal, he thinks, he'll kill a demon for her. He's going to. If that's what it takes.

He'll kill the spawn of Baahl and anyone who stands in his way. For his urchin.