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canyouhearthelight · 3 years

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The Miys, Ch. 122

Annnnd WE’RE BACK!

Thank you so much for your patience during the hiatus. Work is still crazy, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel there *crosses fingers*. And I was able to build back up my cushion of chapters, so that was a huge win for me.

As a reminder, this is a skip forward roughly 4 years from chapter 121. So, if you read a bit and start to wonder “wait, did I miss something?”, you probably didn’t and it’s most likely something I am going to circle back to. Don’t be a afraid to shoot me an ask, however, if you are just really thrown off by something! I’ll gladly clarify unless it’s something plot-specific.

Thanks, as always, go to @baelpenrose, @raven-fae, and @charlylimph-blog. By the way, Raven is working on a podcast of The Miys, which I am incredibly stoked about. Please follow @glimmeringfeatherspodcast for updates!

I carefully adjusted my glasses as I suppressed a giggle at Noah, who was swarmed with small yellow puffs of fuzz. In the last seven years since their discovery, Else’s hyper-fast evolution hadn’t slowed down much, although Grey did promise that it had slowed down. Noah buzzed at the puff resting on one of its vomu, eliciting a purr. “I believe they learned this behavior from Mac.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” I admitted. “I caught him playing with several of them a couple days ago.”

“I have observed them together on frequent occasions.” Reaching up, it plucked another puff from the top of its head. “I cannot hear if you sit on my sensory organs, podling.” Soon after Else evolved to the point they could live outside of a habitat tank, Miys had developed a tendency to treat them like its own young, and generally had several of them perched somewhere.

“How many of them are there now?” I asked, reaching out slightly before stopping myself from petting the closest canary-sized fluff. “Else, can I pick you up?”

In response, it bounced onto my hand. I’d noticed how little they spoke now, but Miys had assured us it was a normal stage in hive-being evolution - once Else became too large to actually fit in our bodies, it wasn’t able to communicate through the translator chip. At this stage, it could still hear us, but communicating back was a work in process. Mostly, they just trilled and chirped.

“Currently, there are five hundred and seven thousand, six hundred and twenty-three.”

“They’re very adaptable,” I observed.

With the one free vomu it had, Noah made a nodding gesture. “Most species that reach sentience are. We are able to observe Else’s evolution on a much shorter time scale than most, as well. Consider humanity’s evolution, and imagine seeing it take place in years rather than over the course of millenia.”

“I know,” I laughed. “But seeing it is way more incredible than imagining it.” I adjusted my glasses again, eliciting the buzz that usually meant Noah was exasperated with me.

“Why do humans insist on using those instead of having their eyes repaired?”

“My eyes aren’t damaged,” I reminded it. “And you did repair my eyes. I’m wearing these because my eyes are working right. You know this.”

“In principle, not in practice.”

It was my turn to sigh. “Our eyes evolved to work in a specific kind of light. Earth’s sun is yellow, I think? But Von’s sun is more blue.” I gestured at the light emitters in the corridor. “When the light is in the twilight cycle like this, some humans can’t see as well as we could in Earth-twilight. Hence the glasses.”

“Sight is so inefficient.”

I just shook my head. I couldn’t exactly argue. “Between the light and the gravity, it’s been a huge adjustment.”

“You have all adjusted in quite - innovative ways,” Noah replied. “My kind have done many of these relocations. Not all species adapt well.”

“What was it you called it?” I squinted, both from trying to see what was ahead of me and from thinking. I’m going to have to talk to someone about some flashlights, I swear… “We ‘persist’?”

“Humans are remarkably stubborn, yes,” it confirmed. “As Arthur Farro seems to prefer explaining it, your species began space travel by attaching chemical ignition drives to your posteriors.”

Even after so long, some things just did not translate. “Yep, we very much strapped a rocket to our asses to achieve spaceflight,” I laughed. “Everything on Earth kind of evolved and adapted like that. We learned what wouldn’t poison us by watching others die from eating it, that kind of thing. Even our superstitions, and later our laws, were basically ‘hey, let’s not do this, it kills people’.” A liw made its way into my line of sight, rocking to mimic a confused head-tilt. “You rescued us for our sight, not because we are a particularly bright species.”

“I understand that the polite thing to do, according to your customs, is to object to that statement, however I have been told on several occasions that I lack any skill in falsehoods.”

“We bombed ourselves back to the Stone Age the second we hit our highest peak in technology.” I reached out and patted what would have been a shoulder on a human. “You don’t have to lie about that. Arthur has studied an absurd percentage of human history. Even from a scholarly perspective, I am assured we are a singularly idiotic race. Besides, we’d already ruined an entire planet at that point...”

“It has evidenced itself to be a lesson well-learned.” It returned the pat, gently. “For a species historically inclined to warfare, those on the Yjq have demonstrated a profound proclivity toward peace.”

“Trying to keep it that way, bud,” I admitted.

Removing yet another puff from its sensory organs, Noah continued. “Please be assured, also, that Terrans are far from ‘singularly’ idiotic. There are many species in the Galactic Community that are demonstrably lacking in what you refer to as ‘common sense’.”

Noah was still a terrible gossip. “Do tell,” I asked, crossing my mental fingers that we weren’t the worst out there.

“Preeyar,” it listed immediately.

“The rift-valley avians?”

“The same. They experience terrible reactions to liquid water, and yet they are fascinated by fountains and insist upon touching them!” Startled chirps erupted as all six appendages on Noah’s upper body flung out in frustration. “Any vessel transporting Preeyar has specific instructions on how to treat the resulting burns.”

I had to admit, that was pretty bad. “Terrans at least learn not to touch things that will burn us by the time we can speak, usually.” My nose tickled as several little Else-puffs migrated over to me, upset by the grand gesture from my friend. I was almost glad it was so difficult for humans to see in the corridor, because I probably looked absurd.

“Shalt’krii are somehow just as difficult,” Noah confessed. “As a species that have what you term an ‘allergy’ to sonic waves - they develop painful rashes and can have seizures when exposed. Yet, it is entirely inevitable when transporting a large group that several will have forgotten or neglected to bring dampeners.”

“Oh my gosh,” I gasped, trying not to laugh and upset Else again. “How?”

“It has eluded the Galactic Council since they joined. The dampeners are far less barbaric than what the So-K’nor do to resolve a similar concern, but I must privately admit that the So-K’nor are at least more consistent and effective.”

Well, yeah, deliberately deafening yourself permanently when you go off-world tends to be that way, I thought to myself. I knew I didn’t need to say it out loud, but I also knew that Noah would not address my thoughts out loud. “Okay, maybe we aren’t that bad,” I granted. “I think the worst we do is ingest mild poisons.”

“On an alarmingly frequent basis, yes. Including plants native to your world that actually attempt to digest you as you eat them.”

I shook my head. “Not this girl. I don’t like pineapple.”

“And the number of humans on the ship who willingly consume lactic acid, knowing it will cause them digestive distress?” If it had eyebrows, they would be arching, I just knew it.

“You have pointed out several times over the years that you can’t taste,” I pointed out. “So you have no idea how tempting cheese can be.”

Noah shook one vomu like a head. “Incorrect. Having witnessed the sheer amount of it that Tyche consumed once she realized that you were not lactose intolerant, there is empirical evidence to support your claim.”

Unconsciously, my hand jumped to touch my left ear before I could force it down. “I remember the spicy food,” I said carefully, stroking one of the fluffs on my arms. “But I didn’t know about the cheese. Come to think of it - “ I stopped in my tracks and turned to face Noah directly, “Why weren’t the consoles just adjusted to make all the food… I dunno, lactose-free, I guess?”

Two liw reached to pluck several yellow beings from my arms and head as Noah used one vomu to start ticking reasons. “One, because I was specifically asked not to by Grey Hodenson and Xiomara Kalloe, the consensus being that bovines are, in fact, in the genetic database. Two, because that was attempted several weeks before you were brought on board, and I was tempted to damage my sensory organs to block out the sheer number of complaints regarding how everything tasted.” Thankfully, its vomu was still empty when it flung outward. “Do you have any idea how difficult it is to accommodate requests regarding something you do not experience?”

I felt slightly ashamed. “Not entirely, no.” Trying to lighten the mood slightly, I felt the need to point out “Besides, I really like goat cheese.”

“Something about chetter and mootsareeleh,” Noah grumbled.

“Ohhhhh,” I whispered. “Eyeah… do not mess with Italians’ mozzarella, I have learned. And cheddar does have a very specific flavor. I can see those being very loud complaints.”

“In eight Terran years, I am still confused why the color of the chetter is a determining factor, as well as how something so soft can be compared to an edged weapon.”

I felt like I was going to explode from suppressed laughter. I had to stop, tears streaming down my face, and catch my breath. “Oh, Noah… I honestly don’t know if I can explain that, but I can try…”

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#the miys #humans are weird #found family #humans baffle aliens #humans are space orcs #earth is space australia #original science fiction #science fiction #sci fi #original sci fi #my writing

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malfoymanortings · 3 years

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therefore i am

SUMMARY: she shared his curse. they were the Duo Who Lived. but while he gets sorted into Gryffindor, she gets placed in Slytherin. she soon comes to realize that everything is not as it was made out to be, starting with the question of why their godfather never got a trial.

PAIRINGS: none for now. if continued, unsure, possibly draco x oc or ron x oc.

another story that wouldn’t leave my head. i began to lose my confidence towards the end of writing this, so sorry that it may seem to end funny or not flow as well near the end. i dunno if this is worth continuing at all, but i’m just posting what i have so far! if you enjoy, let me know! honestly i may just end up deleting this lol.

“There’s not a witch or wizard that went bad that wasn’t in Slytherin.” Ron muttered to Harry and Heather, watching as Draco Malfoy sauntered over to the green and silver clad table.

Heather’s eyes lingered on the boy, before flitting back to continue watching the sorting. Harry was sorted before her. He looked nervous as he walked to the wooden stool, and the hat remained on his head for a minute longer than it had with the rest. The hat suddenly burst out, “GRYFFINDOR!”. A grin broke across Harry’s face, and he walked to the cheering Gryffindor table.

Heather felt the knots in her stomach lesson. Her brother had been sorted into Gryffindor house. That surely assured her a place in the same house. The thought took away some of her nerves, and she walked rather confidently up to the worn stool to have the old hat placed on her head.

‘Ahh, another Potter,’ the voice of the hat mused in her head. ‘Much like your brother, you have a thirst to prove yourself. You have a desire for knowledge, and wish to find out more about your parents..’

The hat was correct. Ever since she had found out that her parents were magical, she wanted to know everything about them and the world they had lived in. The resentment she harbored towards her aunt and uncle had grown and blossomed into a burning hatred. They had kept the knowledge from her and Harry because they were scared. They knew the twins were superior to them. They weren’t just mere muggles, she thought with disgust.

‘Seems as though you don’t care much for muggles, eh?’ the hat said lightly. ‘You wish to prove yourself, and your wish for knowledge is quite strong, you appear to be a bright young witch. Ravenclaw or Slytherin would be best for you..’

There’s not a witch or wizard who went bad that wasn’t in Slytherin. Ron’s words floated through her head again, and she was saddened as she realized Gryffindor wasn’t even an option for her.

She began pleading with the hat, not Slytherin, not Slytherin, please. What if she ended up evil, like Voldemort? Or a pompous arse like Malfoy? Knowing she would no longer have her twin throughout her years here, she wanted -no, needed- to be accepted, to be liked, here at Hogwarts. There would be no Dudley spreading rumor's about her and Harry, warding off any chance of friends.

‘Not Slytherin, eh? You could be great, you know, it’s all here in your head. And Slytherin will help you on your way to greatness, there’s no doubt about that.’

The wording gave her pause. The hat had said great, not evil. But what was the difference between great and evil? How did one ensure they wouldn’t slip past the line and land themselves in evil?

‘We are all the master of our own future,’ the sorting had replied with a chuckle. ‘It all depends on what a person intends to do with their greatness.’

Slytherin was a powerful house, she knew that. It definitely could lead her to greatness, to power… and if she intended on not becoming dark, well, then couldn’t she just be great?

‘Sounds like we have an answer,’ the hat chuckled once more. “SLYTHERIN!”

She opened her eyes, immediately searching the hall to find her brother's same green eyes staring horrified at hers. Offering him a weak smile, she slid off the chair, and made her way with her head down to the Slytherin table.

There was no eruption of cheers like there had been for Harry. Slytherin clapped heartily, while the rest of the tables had a scattering of claps and a cluster of whispers. Her cheeks flamed red, and her long red hair fell over her face like a curtain.

Sorry, Harry, she thought desperately, fighting the tears that threatened to spill out.

She had to be strong. She couldn’t be weak, that would get her nowhere, just like the one time she had burst into tears when Dudley had shoved her roughly to the ground in front of their entire elementary school. The courtyard had laughed at her, and Piers had sharply kicked at her ribs.

That couldn’t happen here. She straightened her back, and fixed what she hoped was an expression reminiscent of the mask of indifference that Aunt Petunia wore when she was forced to attend a parent teacher conference for the twins.

“Potter in Slytherin, huh?” Malfoy raised a brow as she sat across from him. “Surprised you aren’t with the muggle loving Weasley’s like your brother.”

“Maybe it’s because I’m not a muggle lover,” her voice matched his nastiness, and she twisted the word as it came from her mouth. ��You don’t know anything about me, Malfoy.”

The table oohed at her words, and Malfoy glowered at her, his lip lifted in a sneer. She gave him one in response. She would be damned if this disgusting little rat put her down the same way she had let Dudley all those years. There was no fear of Aunt Petunia or Uncle Vernon here. There was only an endless possibility of power and greatness, and she would do her best to achieve both.

She spent the rest of her year at Malfoy’s throat, the two of them constantly arguing and bickering about something. They matched each other neck in neck with grades, Hermione Granger being the only one to beat the both of them. Malfoy was utterly disgusted by the fact that a muggle born was able to outsmart a pureblood, and Heather loved to dangle that fact over his head.

Heather quickly gained a decent friend group, rivaling the popularity Malfoy had obtained. At first everyone was interested in being her friend because she was part of the Duo Who Lived, and once that allure faded, she was left with a handful of people who truly enjoyed her company.

Daphne Greengrass and Theodore Nott were her closest friends, just as Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini were Malfoy’s closest friends.

Due to Harry involving her in his first year escapades with the philosopher's stone, she was tentative friends with Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. As in, they tolerated each other's presence for the sake of Harry.

Part of her had toyed with the idea of truly befriending the two, just to get on Malfoy’s nerves even more, but not only would that risk her status on Slytherin, she also simply didn’t like the two. Ron hated her on the mere fact of her being a Slytherin, and Hermione she was just jealous of. The only thing she liked about the two was that they had accepted her brother with open arms and treated him kindly, Ron had even made him a near member of his family.

Sometimes she would get upset at the thought, for it seemed Harry didn’t need her anymore, but she was the first one he had told about the stone. She was the first one he had brought to the mirror of erisid. He had even invited her to Hagrid’s hut, although she had declined. The gamekeeper wasn’t very fond of her anymore after her sorting.

Summer had come and gone, the Weasley’s had come to rescue them from the Dursley’s, who had all but decided to starve the twins, and placed bars on their windows. All because of Dobby, the house elf, who had ruined the muggle's night with some supposedly important business man from Vernon’s work.

Heather had thought it was utterly ridiculous. They were muggles! None of them were important, really.

The Weasley’s were rather nice for being ‘blood traitors’, as Malfoy had called them. The twins had taken a liking to her, much to Ron’s chagrin. Molly was lovely as always, and treated her no differently despite her being a Slytherin. Arthur had nearly had a heart attack when he saw her sitting at their breakfast table, turning to Molly with a horrified expression as he had asked if they had had another child she hadn't told him about.

When they had gone to Diagon Alley to get their school supplies, they had run into Draco who had gotten a head taller and a slightly deeper voice. He and Heather had immediately launched into their usual banter, proving that not everything had changed over the summer with him. He had been thoroughly floored that she had befriended the Weasleys, much to her amusement.

The second year of school was more eventful than the first, with the Chamber of Secrets being opened. Everyone had assumed she had done it, and when she saw the fear it caused, she played along and pretended she was the heir. Again Harry enlisted her help in defeating the beast, and together they had encountered Tom Riddle. Harry had destroyed the basilisk with the sword of Gryffindor, and she had stabbed the diary with the basilisk fang.

Summer came once more, and this time Aunt Marge was the catalyst for their eventful break. She had insulted their parents, prompting Harry and Heather to have a rather potent bout of accidental magic. Harry had made Aunt Marge swell up like a blimp, causing her to float away from the Dursleys home, while Heather had done something that altered Aunt Marge permanently. She had caused the woman's brain to implode, which made her bleed profusely from her eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. The Healers were unable to fix her, and they had to erase the woman from the Dursleys' memories in order to keep the peace.

Somehow, the ministry had forgiven the twins for their magic even though it had cost a woman her life.

Then, in their third year, they met their godfather. Sirius Black, a wanted criminal, who was thought to have been the one who turned the Potter’s over to Voldemort. Instead, an innocent man was sent to Azkaban without a trial while the real criminal, Peter Pettigrew, hid as Ron Weasley’s pet rat. Heather had gone back in time with Harry and Hermione to save Sirius from the dementors kiss, and he filled them with promises of living with him away from the Dursleys.

The following summer was when Heather began questioning the things they had been told since joining the Wizarding World. She began to question Dumbledore’s intentions, especially after their meeting with Sirius. How was it he wasn’t given a trial? Why had Dumbledore not even tried to help him? Couldn’t they have used Veritaserum, or Occlumency?

Whenever Heather voiced her concerns, and wondering why Dumbledore hadn't done more, Harry took it as a personal attack. She supposed she should have guessed as much, being that Harry had a special relationship with the Headmaster. Instead of talking it over with Harry, she kept it to herself, just as she kept her opinions on muggles quiet.

It was an unusually warm summer day when they received their invitation to go to the World Cup with the Weasleys. Uncle Vernon had very nearly not let them go, but thankfully, with the threat of their godfather looming over his head, he relented. Harry and Heather were packed that night.

Yet five o’clock came the next day, and then ten past five… and then a quarter past five. Heather had begun to feel anxious like Harry, although for a different reason. Harry was anxious about missing the World Cup and not visiting the Weasleys for the end of their summer break; Heather was worried about being stuck with filthy muggles for the rest of the break.

Then, as Harry and Heather waited together on the opposite of the living room, there came a great commotion, and Dudley came running into the hall clutching his bottom.

Heather’s heart soared. The Weasley’s had to be the only ones to have caused that reaction. They must be there!

The twins hurried into the living room, to hear a loud banging and scraping coming from the fireplace. The boarded up fireplace, with a fake coal fire plugged in the front of it.

“Oh, no,” Heather muttered, putting the pieces together.

“What?” questioned Harry, his eyes darting over to hers.

“They came by floo.” she slapped a hand to her forehead, exhaling loudly.

Harry gasp of understanding came just as the voice of the Weasley’s were heard through the boards.

“Ouch! Fred, no- go back, go back, there’s been some kind of mistake- tell George not to- OUCH! George, no, there’s no room, go back quickly and tell Ron-”

“Maybe they can hear us, dad- maybe one of them will be able to let us out-”

The sound of fists hammering against the wood sounded through the living room.

“Harry? Heather? Can either of you hear us?”

The Dursleys rounded on the twins like a pack of angry wolverines.

“What is this?” growled Vernon.

“Well, they’ve tried to get here by Floo powder.” explained Harry, who sounded as though he was holding back laughter.

“We can travel by fire- only you blocked the fireplace with a fake one.” Heather said disdainfully, looking at the offending object.

Vernon’s face turned purple, and Harry walked over to the fireplace.

“Mr. Weasley? Can you hear me?”

The hammering stopped.

“Mr. Weasley, it’s Harry… the fireplace has been blocked up. You won’t be able to get through there.”

“Damn!” said Mr. Weasley’s voice. “What on earth do they have the fireplace blocked up for?”

As Harry conversed with Mr. Weasley, and Ron’s voice soon joined the mix, Heather brought their things into the living room, wanting to leave the moment they could. By the time she had gotten the first load of their items, she ran into Fred and George on the stairs.

“We can take it from here,” Fred winked, grabbing the trunk from her hands. “Georgie will get the rest.”

Heather grinned, and followed Fred down the stairs. Introductions had appeared to be out of the way, and Dudley had come out from the kitchen that he had been hiding out in. Dudley looked absolutely terrified.

It made Heather absolutely ecstatic.

Fred slipped back upstairs to help George, while Heather walked over to Harry who was standing by Ron. She noticed that the boy had gotten taller yet, and appeared to have gained muscle over the summer. Yet as he gave her a distasteful look, she knew not everything had changed with him over the holiday.

Fred and George re-entered the room with Heather’s trunk, cracking identical evil grins when they noticed Dudley.

Mr. Weasley lit the fireplace, and pulled out a drawstring bag from his pocket, tossing a pinch of the powder inside. The flames burned emerald green and soared higher than ever.

“Fred, off you go,” said Mr. Weasley.

“Coming,” said Fred, “Oh no, hang on-”

A bag of sweets spilled out of his pocket with the contents rolling in every direction, toffees wrapped in brightly colored wrappers. He scrambled around, cramming them back into his pockets, then waved to the Dursleys and stepped into the flames. He vanished.

Aunt Petunia gave a shuddering gasp, making Heather grin.

George left next with the trunks, and then Ron. Harry, Mr. Weasley, and Heather were the only ones who remained.

“Well, bye then.” Harry said awkwardly to the Durselys, while Heather was quiet.

She didn’t care to say goodbye. She just wanted to leave.

They didn’t say anything. Heather moved to the hearth, but Mr. Weasley stopped her.

“Your niece and nephew are leaving for the summer,” he paused. “Aren’t you going to say goodbye?”

The look on Uncle Vernon’s face when he realized a wizard was teaching him etiquette was priceless and in Heather’s opinion, made up for the extra time spent trapped in the muggle’s house. His beady eyes saw that Mr. Weasley’s wand was still out, and that seemed to be threat enough for him to give them a very resentful goodbye.

“See you,” said Harry, who stepped next to Heather.

“Have fun with the diet, Dudley.” Heather said in a parting, the corners of her mouth lifted in a smirk. Without a second look back, she stepped into the green fire and shouted, “The burrow!”

As she spun through the warm flames, she felt elation in her chest. She didn’t have to spend the rest of the summer stuck with her piss poor family. It was a good start to the school year already.

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fan-fantasies · 4 years

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Strength

A/N: Part 2 to Weakness.

Pairing: Sigtryggr x Reader

Warnings: Smut, pregnancy

Masterlist

Part One

Sigtryggr dispatched the Danes back to Wales, assuring them that he’d be joining them soon. Uhtred spoke with his men trying to figure out what had snapped in the young Dane to cause him to abandon the kingdom and search for some woman. Sihtric suggested that you were his sister, or some other kin.

“I don’t think she’s his sister. Crazy like that is caused from losing the woman you love,” Finan sighed.

“He said he had no wife,” Osferth said.

“And I can say I have no balls, doesn’t make it true,” Finan chuckled.

“I’d believe you,” Sihtric said. Finan punched the man in his shoulder and rolled his eyes. The men quieted down as they saw Sigtryggr approaching.

“We should leave immediately,” he said, grabbing a canteen and filling it with water.

“And where exactly are we going?” Uhtred asked. “We do not know where she went. We do not know her so we don’t know how she thinks or where she would go.”

“I’ve been thinking about where she might go. I know that she had knowledge of the Danes settled in East Anglia. They would be the closest and safest option for her to seek refuge with,” he answered.

“And who is she to you exactly? We have some wagers goin’,” Finan asked. Sigtryggr paused and debated on whether or not he should tell them. He knew that any wife or child could be used against him which is why he had been adamant about not having either, at least not for a long while. He wanted to live in safety and peace, limiting the threat to those he loved.

Before he could answer, however, Haesten wandered over on his horse before he was set to leave.

“Off to find Sigtryggr’s whore? Best of luck, Uhtred. I do hope that we meet again,” he smiled. Sigtryggr went to grab his sword but Uhtred stopped him. Haesten just laughed as he rode off with the other Danes. Osferth sighed and tossed the grinning Finan a coin.

“I don’t know how you haven’t killed him yet,” Sigtryggr said to Uhtred.

“Trust me, his day will come and it will come soon,” he said.

“She is not my whore. She should be my wife but I was blinded by my fear and now I may have lost her forever. I want to make a decent journey before nightfall, so if we could be on our way.” The men went and mounted their horses, setting off for East Anglia. Uhtred hoped that you were going that way, but none of them truly knew for sure.

Meanwhile, you were still at the nunnery. You found that their company was soothing and you were of use to them. Many of them were older and found it hard to do the yard work which you gladly took over. You left them to their prayers and they left you to your thoughts. You knew that you couldn’t stay there forever, but for now would do.

You wondered if Sigtryggr had noticed your absence yet. Perhaps you had made your decision to leave too quickly. You supposed that he had a right to know about his child, but you knew that it would be a distraction for him. He was making a name for himself in England and he still had more to do before he could settle down.

You were fine with living a simple life with your child if it meant that your love could achieve glory for his name. You knew many women had to sacrifice things for those they love, and happiness just had to be yours.

You were broken from your thoughts when Sister Eawynn knocked on your door.

“Supper is ready, dear,” she said. She was the only one that you had really opened up to there. She found you crying in the garden and comforted you. She felt bad for your situation and treated you kindly.

She told you how the Danes that lived near by were not troublesome and that she felt times were truly changing. Perhaps one day soon, Saxons and Danes could live together in peace. You weren’t sure that it would happen soon, but you knew that the younger generation of Danes was tired of all the bloodshed. Victory could be won in many other ways. You told her that that’s how your Sigtryggr was. He had seen the hardships of battle and knew that sometimes words were the way to success. She took your hand in hers and smiled softly, telling you that he sounded like a good man. He was, you agreed, but you couldn’t interfere with his life any longer.

You ate very little that night and had trouble finding sleep. You decided to sit in the moonlight for a while to ease your mind. The night was chilly, but not uncomfortably so. You took a seat under a large tree to sit and listen to the silence. You ended up dozing off with your cloak wrapped tightly around your shoulders.

Off in the distance, Sigtryggr and the others continued to ride in the darkness. Finan was complaining that they should find somewhere to camp for the night but Sigtryggr kept asking them to ride just a bit longer. Finan was relieved when they saw the lantern in the window of the nunnery. Uhtred wasn’t thrilled by the sight, knowing nuns aren’t usually his biggest fans.

They rode to the gate and knocked on the door, hoping someone was awake. Sister Eawynn opened the door a crack and looked out.

“What do you want?” She asked.

“We wish to lodge here for the night. Some food and ale would be appreciated,” Finan answered.

“We will be gone by morning,” Sigtryggr quickly added. The nun looked them up and down and sighed before opening the door.

“We don’t have ale, nor much food, but you are welcome to stay the night.” She led them to the main hall and gave them from bread and water. The men were grateful to have a place to rest out of the elements, even if the majority of them felt uncomfortable in such a religious place.

“Thank you, sister,” Osferth bowed his head. She gave him a soft smile and turned her attention to the other, more rough looking, men of the group.

“Do I get to know whom I am feeding?” She questioned.

“I am Uhtred Ragnarson, these are my men, Finan, Sihtric, and Osferth,” he pointed to the tired men.

“I am Sigtryggr, Lord of Wales,” he said.

“Sigtryggr?” The holy woman repeated. He nodded, confused at her sudden question. “May I ask to where you are journeying to?”

“East Anglia, to the Danes that are settled there. I am going there to join my... wife.” Sigtryggr’s eyes fell to the floor at his fib.

“Your wife, you say? She wouldn’t happen to be about yea high, (Y/H/C) hair, pretty girl?” She asked. Sigtryggr jumped to his feet and ran to the woman, startling her.

“You’ve seen her?!”

“She sleeps here this very night. I am only telling you this because she made you out to sound like a good man and I know that a good man will make things right by that dear girl,” she said. The men looked at each other in surprise. Sigtryggr could hardly contain his excitement. He hadn’t considered that you might not even want to see him. You did flee from him after-all.

“Please, take me to her. I do wish to make things right.” She led him down the hall to your makeshift chamber. She knocked on the door and when she heard no response, she opened it slowly.

“(Y/N), are you awake?” She whispered. She opened the door wider and noticed that you weren’t in your bed. Sigtryggr pushed past her and into the room. He noticed that your bag was still there but you were not.

“Where could she have gone?” He questioned in a panic. Had you heard them come in and fled in the night? Did you really not want to be with him that terribly?

He ran back to the hall where the other men were already dozing off.

“She isn’t here. We have to leave now, we can probably find her.”

“In the dark when we’re all exhausted? Why don’t we wait until morning,” Finan suggested, leaning his head back against the wall.

“Because she is out there somewhere. She could be in danger!”

“Who’s in danger?” The frantic man whipped around when he heard the voice. He wasted no time in running over to you and scooping you up in his arms. “Sigtryggr? How did you find me?”

“By the fate of the Gods,” he sighed in relief. The nun pursed her lips and shook her head.

“Why? Why did you come after me?” You asked. You were still disoriented from just waking up and you didn’t know how you should react.

“Because I love you and you ran from me,” he lowered his voice, “and took something of mine with you, I hear.”

“Haesten,” you sighed. You looked at the other men standing behind him and recognized Uhtred but not the others. “Maybe we should let these men rest. We can talk in my room.”

“Thank you, lady,” Osferth said. You told Sister Eawynn that she had nothing to worry about and led Sigtryggr to your room.

“I’m sorry I left without a word but I couldn’t ruin your chance at glory. I couldn’t be the cause of your weakness,” you admitted. He cradled your face in his hands and made you look into his eyes.

“You are my strength. You could never be my weakness, not you nor our child growing inside of you,” he said. A tear slipped down your cheek and he kissed it away.

“But you said-”

“I know what I said, but times are changing. Life no longer has to be endless battles and bloodshed. I will lead our people into a new era of victory, with you by my side as my wife. And I will create a new world for our child.” By the end of his speech you were bawling. He was saying everything you had ever wanted to hear but it all seemed too good to be true.

“Surely it can’t be that simple,” you told him.

“No, it won’t be simple, but I won’t give up. Not on that dream nor on you. I should’ve made you my wife long ago, and now I’m asking your forgiveness.” You collapsed into his arms and sobbed. Damn pregnancy emotions.

“Of course. Of course I forgive you. As long as you can forgive me for leaving,” you said.

“There’s no reason to apologize. You wanted what you thought was best for me and I could never be angry at you for that,” he replied. You said nothing more, just pulled him into a kiss.

He sat on the bed and sat you in his lap. The kiss was hungry and passionate, like neither of you could get enough. He broke the kiss and began to nip at your neck.

“I could never live without you.” His voice was breathless and raspy. His hands touched any part of you that he could get, trying to memorize every inch as if you were going to disappear.

You pulled your dress up around your hips as you straddled him. You fumbled with his pants, pulling his cock from it’s confines.

“There’s no rush, my love,” he chuckled.

“No, I need you. I need you now. We’ll have all the time in the world for patience later,” you said.

“All the time in this world and Valhalla,” he replied. He hissed in pleasure as you sank down on his cock. He filled you perfectly, like the gods made him just for you.

You began to ride him, slowly at first, savoring the feeling of him inside you. You began to move faster, his breath quickening, filling the room with sounds of pleasure.

His fingers dug into your ass in the most delicious way as he guided you on his cock. Pressure was building in your stomach as you approached your release. He pulled you in for another kiss when he felt your pussy clenching him tighter.

His hips lifted to meet yours at the perfect moment, sending you over the edge. Your head fell back and your vision went white for a split second. You were brought back down to earth when Sigtryggr flipped you onto your back.

“Did you think I was done with you?” He growled in your ear. He thrusted into your sensitive pussy, your body arching off the bed. His hands found yours and held them over your head as he pounded into you.

Your body writhed beneath him as you could already feel your second climax approaching. His hair tickeled your neck and the sensation was enough to overload your senses. Your legs locked around his waist, not being able to stop the scream of ecstasy that tore from your throat. His rhythm began to stutter until he finally stilled within you, finding his own release.

No words were exchanged, just the sounds of your breathing. He laid next to you and held you in his arms. His hand settled on your stomach and a small smile found it’s way to your lips. For the first time in a long time you felt at peace, like everything would be okay. Maybe there was strength in love after all.

——————————————————————

Sigtryggr Taglist: @ivarinleatherpants

TLK Taglist: @cornervase

#sigtryggr x reader #sigtryggr #the last kingdom #sigtryggr fanfiction #tlk #the last kingdom fanfiction

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cienie-isengardu · 3 years

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The Development of Law and Zoro relationship - Part VI: Wano, Against Emperors (The Untold Journey)

<<Part I: Before Meeting>> <<Part II: Sabaody Archipelago, The First Meeting>> <<Part III: Punk Hazard: The Alliance (A)__(B)>> <<Part IV: Dressrosa, The Breaking Point (The Plan Failed)__ (Saving Law)__(Protecting Law)__ (Birdcage, Pica and Doflamingo)__ (Aftermath)>> <<Part V: Zou, The Kindred Spirits (Traveling Together)__(Searching for Nakama)__ (Reunion)__ (Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance)__(The Last Moments before War)>> <<Part VI: Wano, Against Emperors (The Untold Journey)__(Zoro & Luffy means Trouble) ...>>

A word of introduction to the 6th part of The Development of Law and Zoro relationship: Wano arc is still an ongoing adventure and because of that, weeks if not months will pass before we learn all the details and its impact on the main characters and world as a whole. Right now, One Piece reached the 1000th chapter and from on, the Supernovas will finally face Big Mom and Kaido. It’s hard to tell if this will be their final battle or not and how much the author still has up his sleeve about Zoro and Law in regard to their relationship during this arc. I suspect some flashback may happen in the near future, especially since Luffy, Law and Zoro are going to fight arm to arm with Kid and Killer against the main target of the alliance - the Emperors. Because of that I can’t rule out the possibility that upcoming chapters could show the dynamic of Zoro and Law already analyzed by me in a different light yet I decided to slowly tackle the analysis of what was shown so far and eventually write an annex and/or correction if the future source material will bring any contradiction.

Every part of the analysis so far got an individual subtitle from me, as a quick summary of Zoro and Law’s relationship stage. For example, Dressrosa Arc was the breaking point that in the visible way separated their neutrality (indifference?) from previous adventures and the clear comradeship presented from on. Wano is pretty hard to name properly so I went with the general “Against Emperors'' title. But frankly speaking, the Together But Separated so far would fit even better because from chapter 909 to 1000, Law and Zoro interacted directly or indirectly (including, having some thoughts about the other) for like, maybe 10 chapters at best. At the same time, most of the likely development of their relationship was happening offscreen - the journey to Wano that is basically omitted by the story so far and so is the time before Straw Hats went undercover. The upcoming confrontation with Emperors thankfully is going to change that. Because of lack of direct interaction I decided to write also about A) Law and Straw Hats (especially Straw Hats men) and B) Supernovas to show how different it is from his and Zoro dynamic.

That said, time for a proper analysis!

The alliance separated into four groups. Luffy's team went to rescue Sanji and got into a fight with Big Mom. Zoro and Law became part of Kinemon’s team and headed to Wano Country scrambled in Law’s submarine. For now (up to chapter 1000), there was little to no detail or flashback about that time of journey, but who knows what future chapters will reveal.

Despite the lack of proper information, some conclusions may be drawn on the basis of previously established informations and logic:

➽ On Zou, Law promised Kinemon a safe passage to Wano. Since shogun Orochi worked closely with Kaido, Beast Pirates posed an additional threat on this part of the sea. Another problem was limited ways to enter the country by ocean. The hidden tunnel leading to Mogura Port was used only when Kaido or Orochi granted someone permission thus was out of question. The other known method was the Climbing Koi Waterfall which itself was a pretty dangerous method, especially since sea currents and weather there were all the time bad for sailing (chapter 910)

So far, there is no information how exactly Team Kinemon avoided or passed by the natural dangers nor how they entered the country (did they find another way underwater?).To get into the country without being spotted by the enemy the submarine most likely needed to be submerged for the majority if not all of the course since Zou alone was already targeted by Beast Pirates.

➽ It’s hard to tell how long the journey took from Zou to the samurai homeland - what depended on the Elephant’s location, submarine’s speed achieved while sailing or during the submergence and eventual obstacles on the way. The most telling time reference we have is that:

⟹ Luffy’s team needed “multiple (several) days” to reach Big Mom’s territory (chapter 823, 824). Nami said Luffy wasted a week’s food supply which also supports the claim that the journey was meant to last for more than one-two days.

⟹ Additionally, the enemy subordinates transporting Sanji to wedding (chapter 825) also needed “several days'' to cross the borderline of Big Mom’s territory and they left Zou two days before Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, Robin, Franky and Law get there. The Straw Hats spent at least two days before they separated into two groups, which gives the enemy four days of advantage. It feels like Big Mom’s pirates sailed around a week (4 day at minimum).

⟹ Saving Sanji and fighting the Charlotte Family took another five days. On the fifth day, in the early morning the Straw Hats escape Totto Land (chapter 901)

⟹ While Luffy’s team sailed to Wano (chapter 903), manga showed the events happening at the same time in a different places, including the world leaders sailing to Mary Geoise for Reverie that last for a seven days. In chapter 904, it was said the conference would start in two days that have passed in chapter 908. Chapter 909 brings the storyline back to Wano and chapter 910 is the moment when Luffy’s team reach the country boardline. It seems safe to assume Luffy’s group took at least 2 days to reach Wano.

⟹ The journey from Zou to Whole Cake Island took Straw Hats several days but from Totto Land to Wano closer to two days.

⟹ Jack the Drought’s return to Wano happened several days before Luffy’s arrival. Since “several” is an “indefinite number more than 2 or 3 but not many”(x), he most likely got there before Luffy left Big Mom’s territory. Of course that doesn’t tell much how long it took to sail from Zou to Wano, because Jack needed to be rescue from the bottom of sea first (after Elephant destroyed all ships of Beast Pirates on Momonosuke’s order, chapter 824) but at the same time it suggests that journey from Wano and back took days. To find Jack, the Kaido’s people most likely followed the vivre card - otherwise, how did they manage to find and rescue the person stuck deep underwater? And because they traveled through their captain’s territory, they didn’t need to avoid anyone in their journey, unlike the alliance.

Though it’s impossible to determine how long time passed from Luffy leaving Zou to arriving in Wano, it was longer than a week yet the most likely shorter than a month. I feel like the safest bet is something around two weeks. When Luffy arrived in Wano, Zoro’s group was already working on their tasks yet the indirect information suggests that Kinemon’s group most likely traveled for a few(?) days rather than just hours. Whatever it was a few hours or one day or more, the Zoro and Law’s group was stuck in enclosed space deep under water for a while.

➽ The manga does not provide a precise scale to measure Thousand Sunny with Polar Tang. The closest in that matter are frames from Marineford and Dressrosa arcs

in which both Polar Tang and Thousand Sunny look tiny compared to Marine Battleship. It’s hard to tell for sure the difference in length but it’s not something truly drastic. Thousand Sunny uses a soldier dock system and the Coup de Burst in specific situations, relying mainly on sailing in a traditional way. Although Submarine is also equipped with sails, more often was shown during immersion. Both boats are equipped with some advanced technology though I suspect that engines and machinery for air circulation and heat (the basic life support equipment) built into Polar Tang may take some of space (that and at least some space was intended for the operating room).

➽ Even if Law’s Polar Tang was spacious boat, it needed to accommodate Heart Pirates (Law and his 20 crewmembers), samurais (Kinemon, Momonosuke, Raizo and Kanjuro) and remaining part of Straw Hats (Zoro, Robin, Usopp, Franky). An eight additional people to feed and bunk somewhere, in case of a longer journey. For record, Thousand Sunny during its journey to Dressrosa carried only 9 Straw Hats and four additional people (Law, Momonosuke, Kinemon, Caesar Clown). Even if both ships are more or less of the same size, Sunny hadn’t been crowded like Polar Tang was while heading to Wano.

➽ In contrast to normally sailing Thousand Sunny, the submerged submarine has less space to find privacy (isolation) from the group or the noise. All members of Straw Hat crew have their personal space on the ship, be it Usopp’s Factory or Sanji’s kitchen or Zoro’s gym (lookout point). A place they may work in peace or relax. On Polar Tang, samurais and Straw Hats were the guests, thus on personal territory of other pirates. If they didn’t get along well, the journey could be awkward and uncomfortable. Most likely it wasn’t, considering how Heart Pirates were excited to meet their allies and the two crews already were partying together on Zou. At the same time, during that party, the lonely panel (evidence) showed only Usopp interacting with Penguin(?). Zoro was drinking with wolf Mink, while Robin, Franky and samurais weren’t there at all. The little bits of Law’s crew presented in the previous arc suggest they are more emotionally open and easy going people than their captain and both crews have a lot of stories to share and laugh about during their journey to bond over. Usopp and Franky most likely didn’t have any problem fitting into the new situation, but Zoro is a much more reserved, no-nonsense person than them, especially around strangers. Much more intimidating too. And the last journey with Bartolomeo’s crew proved how short-tempered he can be if surrounded by noisy and/or idiotic people for too long.

➽ Straw Hats for the first time had a chance to see Law on his turf. Up to this moment, they interacted on either neutral, enemy or Straw Hats’ home ground. Now the roles were reserved, Law was the host and captain of the submarine. Kinemon may be the leader of the team, but during the journey it was Trafalgar (and Heart Pirates) that guaranteed safety and took responsibility for the wellbeing of the rest. Straw Hats were the ones who needed to adapt to the situation (like not getting in the way of Heart Pirates when the crew performed their duties) and trust Heart Pirates’ navigation skills.

➽ Adding to that, all the additional 8 people weren’t really accustomed to traveling underwater for longer period of time. Of course, Straw Hats had some experiences with the little submarine built by Franky but from all of them (beside maybe Franky himself), only Robin, at least manga-wise, took part in submerging search for Fishman Island, two years earlier - what was seen in chapter 490. And was apparently aware of the danger submerging too deeply.

All Straw Hats experienced submerging to Fishman Island but according to Nico, it was “nothing like a submarine” and it felt like they were “flying through the air” (chapter 604).

Which may imply that traveling in Law’s submarine was very new and/or different experiences to what Straw Hats knew.

➽ Also, out of 8 people, half were devil fruit users. We may only wonder how spending hours/days underwater could affect samurais (who were still catching up with the technological change that happened in the last 20 years) and Robin - and depending on the result, affecting Zoro, Usopp and Franky. Like was mentioned above, Robin already had some experiences with submerging but we must remember that “Shark Submerge III” was built by Franky, thus trusted to be a safe way of exploring the ocean while Polar Tang was totally new, alien territory belonging to other pirate crew. Once again, we don’t know how long the journey lasted and how enclosed and crowded space was and how being trapped for a longer period of time under water was affecting devil fruit users. Claustrophobia and panic attacks could happen at any moment, even more if the submarine was attacked by sea monsters or flowed into an excessively strong current. Law presumably was used to the feeling and enclosed space by now but at the same time, his crew so far doesn’t seem to have any other devil fruit user beside him. Traveling together with so many (inexperienced) stranger devil fruit users could be much more exhausting than it seemed at first glance.

➽➽ Frankly, the additional scene in episode 490 showed that:

A) living conditions on the submarine can be affected by external factors. In this case, the submarine going through an underwater volcanic(?) region caused the rise of temperature inside the boat and thus brough discomfort to Heart Pirates.

B) The living conditions worsened to the point Bepo was suffering overheating. He admitted “I hate riding the submarine. Spending several hours in a cramped area together with these scruffy guys.” and even kinda bullied Penguin and Shachi into submarine ascent so he could breath with fresh air.

We don’t know much about the underwater region(s) between Zou and Wano but manga mentioned at least strong sea currents. Depending how deep the submarine could - or rather needed - to submerge, the outside temperature (and pressure) of water could affect traveling people. Generally, the deeper into the ocean, the temperature is lower while the hydrostatic pressure increases. Of course, waters of the Grand Line are unpredictable and there was no one in the group that knew for sure what awaited them during underwater travel. So if even experienced Heart Pirate like Bepo, who according to SBS (vol. 84, chapter 840) met Law shorty after Cora’s death and is his friend since then thus we may assume has the same years of experiences with submarine, could be so affected by heat, cramped area and hours of traveling underwater with “scruffy guys”, the possibility of happening something similar to Straw Hats or Samurais can’t be excluded.

➽ In contrast to the uncertain situation of devil fruit users, Franky and Usopp most likely were smitten with all the technology of the submarine and bonding over it with Heart Pirates. In addition, both men were friendly by nature.

➽ Zoro, sadly, wouldn't have much to do there. No lookout point available, no guarding ship, no way for a serious trening or real fight with Law or samurais (to avoid destroying the submerged boat). Did he happily sleep or drink through the journey or did he grow restless at some point, we don’t have any clue so far. At the same time, Zoro wasn’t on his (safe) ship, had other Straw Hats (and samurais) to look after, didn’t have anything important to do (no real duties, no knowledge how to maintain submarine) and unhealthy habit of sleeping barely 3 hours per day that could finally took its toll. Though looking at Law’s dark circles under eyes, his sleeping habits may not be better than Zoro's .

In general, the alliance journey to Wano could provide a lot of interesting and important details about the development of Law and Zoro relationship, especially since for the first time in the four arcs, Law was on his home ground and had better control over the course of events. At the same time, his dorky crew could tell many stories of their (and Law’s) past or previous adventures. There were also matters of Wano to discuss, but also no place to run away if Zoro wanted some distance from noisy Law’s crewmembers - on Thousand Sunny Law at least could choose to sleep on the ship deck instead of being cramped with others in the men quarter. Straw Hats and samurais didn’t have such luxury.

Zoro and Law could learn something new about each other or simply fall into an already established dynamic or even get tired of each other after being forced to spend time together in enclosed space. Sadly, so far manga did not provide anything useful about their journey.

The next part: Zoro & Luffy Means Troubles...

#one piece #roronoa zoro #trafalgar law #The development of Law’s relationship with Zoro #wano arc #i'm impatient #which is why i'm slowly writting this meta even though arc is not done yet #i'm so mad that we don't know how straw hats heart pirates and samurais were dealing with each other #on this tiny submarine #trapped under water #como on that is a crime against readers!#one piee spoilers #zoro & law #law & zoro

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quirkwizard · 4 years

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Stand as One

One of the major themes across manga is the importance of the connections between the protagonist and the people they associate with. They talk about how they can't make it by themselves or how they are doing everything for those they love and cherish. On the other hand is the villains. More often than not, they are the most powerful people possible, either using others for their own gain or just simply being stronger than everyone else, often doing what they do because of some selfish reason. But this is where My Hero Academia seems to differ. Instead of having a collective mindset like most of this manga seem to be leaning towards, the series seems much more oriented to the individual with heroes and much more to the collective with the villains.

Heroes, at their core, are highly individualized. It's all about a hero putting themselves out there as a brand, as a single entity that represents everything that they are about. They have their styles, costumes, and abilities, all of which are supposed to be helping the user stand out. But it goes beyond just that. Each hero is not doing what they do for altruistic reasons. Some do it for altruistic reasons, others do it for money, some do it as an easy way to become famous. As the series continues, we learn about how much a person needs to set themselves apart from other people. While they can be inspired by others to take action, it is ultimately up to themselves to get to where they want to be. The series puts a lot of emphasis is put on one's own hard work to become a hero and how hard it is to become one. It is the acknowledgement that they are weak and they can overcome this through hard work. Even Deku, who gets his power, moves, and his primary goal from All Might can still see the importance of branching and trying to do things his own way. This is reaffirmed further by Izuku learning how to grow his Quirk in news ways such as his Shoot Style.

But regardless of all that, there is a prevalent theme of effort on the side of the heroes. It is shown constantly how hard it is to become a hero, training for years at the chance of getting a license and working to get a public image. And part of that hard work is about someone growing personally, expand beyond their original comfort zones to be the best heroes they can be. Ochako branches out from her mainly supportive role to make herself more rounded, Kirishima learns to be more confident in his seemingly unimpressive ability, Shoto overcomes his personal feelings regarding his father to truly become the be hero he is capable of being. It's all about hard work and how that hard work gets that person to where they want to be. It ties in nicely back into the idea of individuality since all of these people are either made or broken by how much effort they put into their hero work. Yes, people who have strong Quirks certainly get a head start, but what ultimately determines how good of a hero that person is their effort. It's why Mirio was such a legend amount UA in spite of his ability, to the point his considered the person closest to the number one spot.

All this does mean that some people do get left behind. Look at Class 1-A for example. Despite being a group of students that are working together, they are ultimately competing against one another to try and become heroes. And while Aizawa's teaching may be harsh, it goes to show how hard it can be to function as a hero. If someone cannot make it in the hero world, they are left behind because they cannot put in the work to succeed. You either need to be in the work to become a hero or risk falling behind or failing in your work. You quite literally live and die by how good of a hero you are. And once a hero becomes official, most of the work seems to be done on their own, with teams being rarely seen in the story. The most other heroes have been sidekicks, but they are still playing second fiddle to this single entity, cursed to forever live in their boss' shadow until they can strike out on their own. Yes, heroes do work together at times, such as the join operations we see throughout the series, but most of the time they seem to work on their own.

But this individuality is in pursuit of a greater goal. While all the heroes are working against each other for money and fame, they are still working for the same objective: they help those who cannot help themselves and try to maintain peace for society. Even if a hero does not have altruistic intentions at heart, they still have to work and strive to help the most people possible, making it more about the group than the individual. But this is no better represented in then the person who stands at the very top of hero kind. The main goal of Number 1 hero is it is they are the person who is standing above everyone else, hence why so much emphasis is put on the person who actually fills that spot. To both inspire those beneath them to do better and provide a sense of comfort to the masses. They must sacrifice both in body and in soul to make sure everyone can hold on to hope. They are one for all.

As for the villains, this is one of the many ways they differentiate from heroes. When it comes to the villains, they are much more oriented to a group. This is done as a basic need to survival, coming together to oppose the much more well organized heroes, but it goes beyond just that. In working together, they are propping each other up, working far better together than they ever would apart. It is the acknowledgement that they are weak and they can overcome this through working together. Overhaul found people that were struggling to find meaning, giving them a second life under the yakuza. Re-Destro united many people under the teachings of his father and wanted the free use of Quirks for all, as misguided as it was. Even Gentle and La Brava, who are basically two ragtag nerdowells, still found and sense of completeness with one another not only in their complementary skills but in their emotional needs. This contrasts with the more solo working heroes.

Of course, this is best shown with the League of Villains. Heck, they were the inspiration for villains teaming up to get strong, both in the USJ attack and the League as a whole. But this is more so about the core League, especially true after the arrest of All For One. They work together, protect their own, seek vengeance when one of them is wronged. They grow and train together, sticking together through highs and lows to achieve what they want. This in of itself is best represented by Double, always surrounded by his allies and inspired to become stronger to protect them, and Spinner, who finds new power under the branding of villainy and the League. It's likely why so many people in the fandom gravitate towards this ragtag group of villains. They are the underdogs in the story, banding together to better fight against those with much greater advantages then they could ever hope to fight alone, whether they be heroes or different sorts of villains.

But how this differs is that this collectivism is that this all seems to be done for the sake of one person. Despite how much emphasis the villains seem to put on working together, it all seems done an individual's goal. Overhaul, for all of his talk about raising people up, still treats his subordinates as inferiors and garbage that he can toss aside. Re-Destro still sacrifices countless of his own people in the hope that he can kill members of the League. Yes, the various villains of the League seem to have their own goals and dreams, but all of that seems to be down in the pursuit of They cannot achieve their dreams on their own with the society they live in, so they must follow Tomura to get what they want. But what they want becomes superseded by what Tomrua wants. The more and more the series goes on, the more and more it seems to be all about Tomura. It stops being about the group, only focusing on Tomrua and getting him where he is now. It is all for one.

Now this isn't a perfect one to one comparison on either side. There are certainly exceptions to this idea on both sides. Hawks is someone who has his individuality striped away in favor of having an agent that will do whatever is necessary to ensure the safety of the public. Stain is a figure who fights alone, trying to reform society in his own way through his actions and effort in a quite twisted manner. However, the comparison is still there for a large portion of the two sides. It's interesting to see this kind of development out of a major manga. While it still has some of the major tropes, it certainly has the roles reversed when it comes to this traditional theme. So why is this comparison here? Well I think it is to make a sort of connection to the nature of heroes. It's like Aizawa said, you can't always rely on other people to help you out a situation. If you want to help someone or help yourself, you need to put in the work and you are the only person who can make it work. It all works back into Horikoshi's inspiration of American comics and more American-style heroes, where people with the will and the way could achieve great things.

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arr-jim-lad · 4 years

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Can you go into how you think Dios insane and how his mind works. I have trouble putting my thoughts into words but reading other people's opinions helps and not a lot of people talk about dios insanity even tho i find it very interesting

Sure thing!!! You know I love to talk about DIO lmao(NOTE: This will include spoilers for Stone Ocean later on)

In part 1, human Dio’s goal appears to be proving a point to his dead father as well as himself. He always wants more, to achieve more, to prove he’s capable of more. He does that by pursuing superiority in many fields; he proves academic excellence by finishing law school at the top of his class, he proves he’s a talented sportsman by being one of his school’s star rugby players, and he actively, since the moment he joined the Joestar family, wants to prove that he’s superior to Jonathan and therefore a better heir and a better son.

It’s also important to mention the flaws he sees in himself here; his anger. I went into this before here but to summarize it; Dio has an anger problem and he not only knows it - it’s his most despised thing about himself.

That’s all simple stuff at the start, as it’s just trying to prove he’s better than others, and that’s easy to understand.

Then he becomes a vampire and a power trip REALLY hits him. Now he doesn’t have to pretend that he’s a gentleman anymore because literally no one can do shit to him. That law he studied? Fuck that, he can break it now all he wants, because it doesn’t apply to him anymore. The law is written for mere humans, and he’s not one of them anymore. He can do whatever he wants and he will do that - as flamboyantly and dramatically as possible. The Joestar fortune he was after in his earlier days? Fuck that too, he’s an immortal vampire with superpowers now, he can just take whatever money he wants.

Now Dio is free to be himself in every sense, and he stops pursuing power in a sneaky, deceitful way, but just. Straight up terrorizing anyone who steps in his path. Now EVERYONE gets to know about his wish for power, not just Jonathan.

And what’s even better - NO ONE is a problem anymore. NO ONE can hurt him. You know what this means for Dio? That he doesn’t have to get angry and frustrated anymore, because no one is able to push him that far.

….Except for Jonathan Joestar, who just won’t leave him alone

Jonathan keeps coming back and it low key pisses Dio off, but on the other hand, he also has major respect for him because of that. In his life of power and bliss, Jonathan manages to be the ONLY thing to disturb him

So Phantom Blood ending happens, Dio is bodyless, and in a mixture of necessity and respect, he takes Jonathan’s body. I notice people often seem to think that he took his body because he wanted it from the get go or something, but that’s not accurate. Initially it was for revenge, because Jonathan was the one who caused him to have to behead himself, and in SDC DIO even clearly says he NEEDED to take that body in order to survive - it was originally revenge and survivalism, but seeing Jonathan’s final actions also added immense respect to that. That body means a lot of different things to DIO.

Anyway now we get to the good part.So Dio is underwater all alone with a corpse for about 100 years. I went into more into this once before but to TL;DR that post; that kind of situation Does Bad Shit To You.

By the time DIO arose from that coffin, the insanity REALLY took hold of him. Because, in that coffin, he got to THINK. He got to do a LOT of thinking. All alone. He got to think about what matters to him.

And once he did all that thinking, he found his goal.It was not riches or power, but lack of anger: Inner peace.

Throughout SDC and Stone Ocean, that’s his ultimate goal.Now, how he goes about to obtain that is… hm.

In Stone Ocean, we are introduced to DIO’s diary, in which he essentially wrote down a highly complex, highly convoluted ritual of obtaining peace of mind, or as he likes to call it like the dramatic bitch that he is: Heaven.

I’ve seen people say that he apparently doesn’t show any philosophical interest in that kinda thing in SDC to which I say, do you even pay attention?

Think about DIO throughout SDC - what do we actually see him do before the final battle? He’s reading, he’s studying, he’s relaxing, he DOESN’T WANT TO BE BOTHERED.

He isn’t even the one sending out his assassins at first - the Tarot enemies are all Enya’s employees, she dragged those homicidal maniacs together. It’s only after all of them are defeated that DIO sends out HIS followers, the Glory Gods.

DIO wants his minions to take care of this because it’s low key stressing him out and he Doesn’t Need This Shit Right Now. He’s SO CLOSE to doing his ritual, Pucci is waiting for himin America, they have PLANS, and now these Joestar bastards are in Egypt?? What the fuck??? Can they like, not??? Is there any respect left for the ‘Do Not Disturb’ signs you hang on the door handles??

Basically, SDC catches DIO at a really bad time because he’s just in the middle of something big and it all just comes in to crash his plans, but there’s a lot about him that can be discerned from the final battle, and that is one of my favourite aspects of him, which is also very closely tied to his idea of Heaven; KNOWLEDGE.

DIO was really REALLY confident at the start of the battle, because he was convinced he had more knowledge about the Joestar group than they did about him, and knowledge was supposed to be his greatest weapon.

You can tell how paranoid and stressed out he becomes once Jotaro breaks that idea of him Knowing More and starts moving in stopped time. One of my favourite scenes in the final battle has got to be the ‘Is Jotaro Really Dead?’ scene, in which DIO acts like a paranoid wild animal, he acts like a cat who has his sights on something, but is not 100% sure if it’s safe to come close.

This paranoia is a HUGE factor of why he wants Heaven, aka Peace of Mind, and he is fully aware that he has this issue.

Another one of my favourite moments happens to revolve around his paranoia, that being the moment in Stone Ocean which shows us that it’s preventing him from fully trusting even those who are the most devoted to him, such as Pucci;

What we’re looking at here is DIO speaking to someone who is essentially the closest thing he EVER had to a friend, someone he admits he feels truly relaxed with, and yet even with this man he’s unable to shake off the paranoia he feels.

DIO really doesn’t know true inner peace, even in a situation that he himself described as being one that’s making him feel at ease.

Now we finally get into some bigger Stone Ocean spoilers regarding the stand of the main enemy of that part, Pucci - the same stand that DIO tried to obtain.

Here’s basically what the ritual-obtained stand, Made in Heaven, does;

It speeds up the time of entire universe to bring it back to a point where it started the spin, with everyone still alive just as they were (except the people who the stand user kills), but this time everyone has a vague idea/knowledge of what will happen next, because everyone essentially witnessed the future.

Now, assuming that DIO’s Made in Heaven would do the same thing as Pucci’s did, here’s what this tells us about DIO:

He is SO PARANOID that the thing that gives him the most anxiety and unrest, the thing he wants to get rid of, is the same that all of us take for granted:Not knowing what will happen next.

DIO wants to obtain peace of mind by getting rid of that ‘problem’ of an unknown future and making EVERYONE know what’s inevitably coming next, but he’d be the only one who would be able to change it. That’s his ideal world.

DIO’s insanity was born from his wish to achieve peace of mind.He wants to get rid of his anger and paranoia, but his idea of the solution to those feelings is absolutely demented and unfathomably convoluted.

Basically… it’s something that only be thought up by a megalomaniac vampire who was left deep underwater for 100 years in a claustrophobic coffin with only the corpse of the only man he ever respected to keep him company.

#jjba meta #dio brando #jojo meta #jojo's bizarre adventure #stardust crusaders #stone ocean #jjba #jojo #Anonymous

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rawrroarart · 4 years

Text

Dreamer of Stars

[Little Witch Academia, Diakko, Slight Astronomy/Moon&Stars, Slight Mythology]

Diana wishes to be found.

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Well, tumblr deleted my last post of this so I guess I’m just gonna keep posting it until it stays put.

Hi everyone, this took so long to write but I’m really happy with how it turned out despite my days of agonizing pain. Please read it so that I’ll be motivated to write more because I really like this one and hope other people will too. (I really wish I was around when LWA popularity was at its peak lol but it is what it is)

Read it on FF.net: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13506038/1/Dreamer-of-Stars

Read it on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23734732

Inspired by: Sleeping At Last (Venus), lots of fanart (mainly tonton), Diana (who makes me cry), and my girlfriend (who taught me the stars)

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The first time it happened, it felt natural. While it did catch her by surprise, the moment alone and euphoria that accompanied it didn’t allow any discomfort and questioning to break through. She wasn’t hesitant, nor did she think twice upon what was happening, but this moment alone was the key culprit to her restless agitation that would consume her in the many months to come.

As they gazed up at the stars, the dreamer buried deep inside her heart believed that if she were to reach out her arm, she would be able to take ahold of them, as if the stars and perhaps even the moon was for her to control. Their elevation into the atmosphere ruled over her imagination, and she knew mapping out each point of light pathed the way to the rest of the universe. It was breathtaking, and strangely felt personal, as if it was only a sight for them and them alone, and nobody for the rest of time would be able to recreate it.

The ground seemed so far away from where they stood. And with the return of the Shiny Rod into the night sky, the Big Dipper shone an even brighter light, enveloping them in its glow as if they were destined to be the bridge between space and earth.

The Shooting Star wobbled from its once stagnant position, and it was then that her fantasy of astronomy came to a halt. “Akko, be carefu-'' She didn’t get to finish her concern before the slender arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her in, and the chestnut haired girl buried her face into her shoulder.

Feeling a slight dampness of her clothes where the eyes of the other witch would be and the small sniffles against her ear, Diana only sighed, but smiled as she rested her head atop Akko’s, and her arms moved on their own to hold her back.

“Guess what?” The unnaturally soft voice muffled through her collar, and she couldn’t help but shiver from the sound. Was Akko always this capable of a gentle tone? And if so, why now?

“Hm?”

Akko removed herself from her shoulder, grinning wide through her tear-stained face as they stood so close that should she move any closer their noses would touch. Tears continued to fall from her brilliantly crimson eyes, enhancing her natural sparkle that Diana was sure another universe existed in her eyes alone. The contrast of red against the deep blue of the sky stole away her breath, and she waited for the dazzling smile to speak the words that she could not seem to find.

“We did it.”

It was three words, but Diana understood completely. Processing the events that had transpired until that very point took a little longer than expected, but who could blame them? Partaking in a battle that had nearly cost them their lives and the entire fate of the world and then winning was almost too much to believe. Perhaps where they stood was actually the afterlife? The two of them set to watch over from the heavens for the rest of eternity. Was that why everything felt surreal and dreamlike?

She could only nod in response, offering a smile in return from the relief and ecstasy that she could not describe. And they pressed their foreheads together, reveling in their victory and unmoving from each other’s hold as the Shooting Star began its careful and slow journey to return them to the ground.

------------------------------------

There had always been an unspoken barrier between her and the rest of the world, and she knew it. From the moment she was born, the expectation and weight of her heritage had been thrust upon her, and her fate had already been sealed to become what everyone destined her to be. That isn’t to say she resented her birth, far from it even. She was proud of her home and ancestors and aspired to continue to follow in what they believed, even aiming to become the greatest witch to excel where they had fallen.

This ambition and privilege of birthplace forced her into solitude, not in the literal sense of physicality, but rather many came to resent her, and those that didn’t kept a respectable distance away whether they meant to or not. Over time she came to learn that this was just the way it was and grew accustomed to think nothing of it. Only her mother had ever really touched her in form of affection, holding her close and kissing her head. But that was a long time ago, and perhaps her mother was just an abnormality.

When the Shooting Star had landed safely onto the floor, Akko was immediately tackled down by a giggling group of teenage witches that congratulated her on her achievement. Diana watched as Amanda locked Akko’s head into her arm, playfully ruffling her hair as Lotte and Sucy both clung onto Akko’s body. Jasminka picked them all up off the floor in a bear hug, and Constanze held on where she could as her short legs dangled in the air.

A ping of emotion wanted her to join, but she knew the moment wasn’t for her. Akko was the hero after all, and it wasn’t right to intrude where she didn’t belong. Instead she received a dutiful “Good work!” from Professor Ursula and Professor Croix who returned from whence they came, as the three of them stood and took in the excitement that radiated from the bubbling crowd before them.

That’s just the way things were.

If only Akko hadn’t done what she did in the sky, she could have moved on with her life the same way she had before, knowing no one would dare approach where they weren’t permitted. Curiously enough, she didn’t remember if she had ever prohibited anyone from approaching her in the first place. But now a faint ghost of where Akko had hugged her lingered on her body, and if she tried to erase it, it would only grow stronger. Memories of her mother appeared one after the other, and it was almost painful to remember a time she felt wanted, not for her status or abilities, but just for who she was.

When they all had returned to Luna Nova, her closest friends immediately ran up to her, tearful and blubbering in their words of praise and admiration. She waited and listened, thanking them for their compliments as modestly as she could. It was overwhelming how high of a pedestal they put her on, and her mind wandered to a timeline where they wouldn’t hesitate to tackle her down in a hug the same way Akko’s friends had tackled Akko down. With Akko’s hug still in her thoughts, a small part of her wanted to ask them for a hug, but perhaps that was betraying a boundary that they had set for their own comfort. Instead she stood there with a soft smile on her face, glancing as they instead excitedly clutched onto each other with each applause.

It was the same for anyone else she passed. Her classmates congratulated her in awe, staring as if she weren’t a student the same as them. Her professors respectfully nodded, singing praises of her being the ‘star of Luna Nova’ and of course she would be victorious because she was a Cavendish after all.

On the other hand, Akko was somehow being scolded for being reckless, but all in good nature as they congratulated her too. Many approached her, offering handshakes and hugs in thanks one after another. Even Professor Finnelan, Akko’s least favorite person and vice versa, very briefly patted her on the shoulder for a job well done.

Why didn’t anyone pat her on the shoulder?

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A few months had passed when it happened again. Everyone had finally settled down after the Noir Missile and class was back to the way it was before. She was on top of any class she took, as per usual, and everything was at peace as if the Noir Missile had never happened at all. This familiarity made it easy for her mind to return to the period where she had never yearned for touch, and all was as well as it should be.

“Diana!” Akko came rushing into their morning class of the day, clutching a now wrinkled piece of paper in her fist as she scanned for where Diana was sitting. It didn’t take her long as Diana always sat in the same seat anyway, but the moment she spotted her a bright smile appeared and she began her dash up the stairs.

Diana felt a slight increase of heart rate being the subject of Akko’s joy, and she watched the odd girl nearly trip over Barbara seated in her path. Offering a weak apology with uninterest, Akko ignored Barbara’s complaints as she shoved the paper into Diana’s face. Her finger pressed onto the corner of the paper where a red ink marking lay, the grade ‘B+’ written in bold.

Before she had the chance to speak, Akko instead spoke first in a rather loud voice, “You’re the best tutor ever!” and then immediately squeezed her into a hug so hard that it almost hurt. “Thank you!” And the hug was gone as quick as it came, as Akko bounced away to her own seat in high spirits yelling something about ‘seven p.m. again, okay?’ that she woozily nodded to.

Hannah and Barbara expressed the shock on their faces that she hid, and they turned around to start arguing with Akko about something she wasn’t listening to.

She just stared at her desk and the notebook she was writing on before Akko had interrupted her, unsure what language it was in as her ability to read disappeared. Her body felt like it was burning, and she knew the only way to make it stop was to be held again. But was there a way to naturally achieve that goal without forcing the other party into discomfort?

…

…Would Akko hug her again if she helped her pass another test…?

…

At seven pm she arrived with extra notes.

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Akko was weird.

There was no other way to describe it. She thought that the hugs were just Akko’s way of showing thanks, but it seemed Akko had no regard for social cues and her personal boundaries at all anymore. It wasn’t like Akko was too dumb to notice she was so close, but rather she just didn’t care in the first place. Perhaps Akko had come from an environment where it was normal to be close to everyone you know, then she really had no room to judge. But to her it was weird, and she couldn’t help but feel tense and awkward as Akko sat next to her.

It was dinner time and she was reading a book as normal days go, occasionally tuning in to Hannah and Barbara’s conversation as they sat across from her. Lazily feeding herself a small parfait offered for dessert, she felt relaxed in the ideal situation of her friend’s voices, a good book, and a sweet dessert. Perhaps this was her most favorite time of the day, and she zoned out into the story as her spoon hung down against her lips.

She was aware when Hannah and Barbara had abruptly stopped talking, but her tranquil mood kept her from switching into alert, and she continued reading without regard to the world outside her mind. Once the foreign lunch tray was placed directly next to her did she suddenly jump in surprise at the sound and tray in her field of vision, and her head turned to Akko simply digging into her dinner as if she belonged.

Her, Hannah, and Barbara just stared at their intruder who paid them no mind.

“Um. What are you doing here?” Hannah had spoken up first.

Akko blinked at her, confused, as she chewed her food. “What do you mean?”

Hannah and Barbara immediately twitched their eyebrows in annoyance at Akko playing dumb. “Go away.”

“Eh? You don’t own this table! I can sit wherever I want!”

“Well we don’t want you here! Go away!”

Akko completely ignored their orders, turning to Diana with a cute smile, “Whatcha reading?”

Diana looked up towards the table that Akko normally sat at with her friends in hope to receive some answers. Lotte caught her glance and pointed at Sucy, who in turn shrugged yet failed to hide a mysterious potion resting atop their table which contents burned through Akko’s seat like acid. Perhaps Akko was tired of the experiments for the day and decided to leave, and she turned back to Akko waiting for an answer and sighed as she removed the spoon from her mouth to speak, “It’s a collection of Roman mythology.”

“What?! No way! I thought you’d be reading something boring!” Piquing her interest, Akko leaned closer to read too, pressing her body against Diana’s arm as she ate.

“Akko. Go. Away.” Hannah and Barbara threatened, fire in their eyes as she continued to ignore them.

“Ehhh? But I’m hanging out with Diana…”

They all turned to Diana for approval, but she herself wasn’t sure what should be approved. Her body was tense, and she was in a mental battle against herself of whether she liked Akko touching her or not. As much as she desired the physical contact, would it not be better to ‘rip off the band-aid’ now than get used to the feeling and later mourn the loss again?

In preparation to shoo Akko away, she made the mistake of looking into the bright hopeful pools of crimson that threw her memories back to their intimacy in space, and she found her mouth unknowingly saying the words, “It’s fine.”

Thankfully, Hannah and Barbara respected her odd decision, shrugging amongst themselves as they eventually returned to their conversation from before.

In a panic for the rest of dinner, she and Akko read some more stories together without Akko ever moving from her arm. This was the longest anyone has ever touched her in years, and she held back a disappointed cry when the end of dinner was announced.

At least since then, very occasionally Akko would return to read whatever she was reading, and sometimes she hoped for days Sucy would play a prank that drove Akko to sit with her.

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“…and thus, due to the sun’s gravitational pull and its close proximity to Venus and Mercury, both of these planets show an instability in obtaining a moon of their own.”

Finished with her long speech of the moons of the solar system without so much of a sweat, she didn’t move from where she stood, knowing what to expect as her eyes stayed shut with her arms elegantly crossed behind her back. Her back was perfectly straight, and altogether she radiated the book definition of poise, intelligence, and grace. She listened to the applause that erupted in the rest of her classroom, aware that she had done well in her assignment after days of preparation. When she received her unsurprising grade from Professor Ursula, Diana respectfully curtseyed and headed back towards her seat where her proud friends awaited her.

They spoke in admiration of her words, going over what parts resonated with them the most. She could always count on the two for their feedback, and she gratefully thanked them for the analysis as she squeezed between the rows and took her seat. It was another day, another grade. It wasn’t so hard to continue her reputation in these times, and she was glad that nothing ever seemed to change. This was her life, and she had to get used to it.

Patiently waiting for Professor Ursula to look over a list of names to call the next person up to the board to speak, her mind wandered to a universe where her friends would take her by the hands and playfully tell her what went wrong with her speech, but they would all laugh at the statements that held no weight. And she would be able to hold their hands throughout the rest of class, smiling as the three of them listened to the essays to come.

“Psspsspsspsspss!”

Her ears twitched at the sound behind her that seemed to be calling for her attention as if she were a stray cat, wary of strangers and wishing to go on her way in the normal cat life she lived. As cats do to unfamiliar noises and surroundings, she turned around to the source with curiosity, seeing Akko awkwardly leaned halfway against the desk with an outstretched hand and her palm raised as if in motion to ‘stop.’

Diana raised an eyebrow at the hand, uncomfortable with the eager look Akko gave her as if expecting her to reciprocate something she didn’t know.

Akko gave a defeated sigh, motioning with her other hand to offer her wrist.

Diana complied with the command, interested in what Akko had planned as she carefully placed her wrist on Akko’s fingers. Akko quickly morphed her hand to take the same ‘stop’ command that she had and held it up for her as Akko slapped the now open palm with a grin.

“High five! You did good!”

Diana winced at the stinging pain in her hand that didn’t actually hurt but caught her by surprise and confused her. She was aware of the concept of ‘high-five’s’ and what events typically lead to such actions, but it wasn’t like she had ever done it herself. Blankly staring at her still raised hand, she snapped out of the trance while the lingering sense of touch stayed against her fingertips as Akko unexpectedly jumped at the sound of her name being called.

“Ah! Sorry, give me a second!” Akko rummaged through her bag, filing through a noisy mess of crumpled papers in agony. “It was here somewhere…!”

It was humorous how different they were. Akko was everything but the definition of poise, intelligence, and grace. Yet that’s what made her so endearing, and so… herself.

Diana smiled as Akko pulled out a small stack of papers stapled together at the corners, watching as Akko scurried out of her seat and apologized again for the delay at the center stage of the classroom.

Akko took a deep breath as she held her paper to her chest, almost as if it were an essay dear to her heart and unmeant to be heard by the masses of ears that awaited. But she gave a signature confident grin, not bothering to read from her assignment as she boldly proclaimed the words, “Today I’m going to tell you about the goddess of the Moon, Diana!”

And Diana knew Akko was truly talking about the actual mythological story of the Roman goddess Diana and then later the origin and stories of the names of the moons themselves, but the way Akko had started her speech and looked directly at her with her big crimson eyes full of wonder and excitement made her want to believe that perhaps the speech was dedicated specifically for her alone.

And she wondered when Akko had stolen her book on Roman mythology.

When Akko returned to her seat, an itch on her mind wanted to turn around and return the favor of a high-five for a job well done. But when she had moved an inch to offer, Akko was already being high fived by her peers and laughing at all the errors in her presentation in a loud friendly bubble that she would never be a part of.

Diana instead gently praised her with a few words, and that was the end of it.

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Unbeknownst to many people, Diana was a night owl.

She was aware of the normal sleeping hours she was supposed to partake in, but something about the nighttime was so alluring and drew her in. It was always quiet, and no one expected anything of her (other than to sleep), and she could enjoy her time alone by reading a book, drinking tea, analyzing the stars, or even studying to get ahead where she didn’t need to. It was easy for her to fall into an educational hole where new discoveries excited her and kept her awake, and she was free to be herself without any obligations.

This was not one of those nights.

A pillow rested atop her face, acting as a makeshift sleeping mask to block out the deep blue of the moon gently lighting up her vast dorm room. The night sky never bothered her before, but she was desperate to fall asleep and took out her frustrations on as many reasons as she could come up with. She could hear the same soft snores from her roommates that she had been listening to for hours, and she almost wanted to be annoyed at them for sleeping while she couldn’t. But that was silly, and she knew the fault was in herself.

Or perhaps it was Akko’s fault?

Silly, again. It was wrong to blame others for reasons they did not control. She groaned, moving the pillow to her chest to hold it, wishing that her beloved teddy bear was there with her to confide in.

Diana was homesick. But not in the traditional sense where she wished to sleep in her room at her manor. (Though, her bear was there, so perhaps that was what she wanted as well). Instead what she missed was being a child. Overjoyed by the thought of Shiny Chariot and ranting to her mother who was alive to listen and encourage her to chase her dreams. And her bear, who was her best friend, that, too, quietly listened to what she had to say and followed her wherever she needed to go. She missed her mother patting her head and tucking her hair behind her ears. She missed her mother gently kissing her forehead and carrying her despite the weak and sickly body she dealt with. She missed her mother embracing her and telling her that she loved her. She missed being loved.

To return to a place where she felt loved was her home. And as it turned out, for many years now, she did not have a home.

And it was Akko that continuously reminded her of this.

She desperately wished to be held again, and her mind and body ached from the selfish desire. It wasn’t like she was trying to hold anyone else, so why should they act where she could not? Her mind bounced back to Akko who did not have a care in the world, and she was sure that if she just opened her arms in invitation, Akko would not hesitate to jump in. But was it wrong to take advantage of Akko’s kindness? To use her for selfish gain?

Shaking her head at the despicable thoughts of using another person, Diana restlessly got up off her bed and put on a pair of slippers, shuffling her feet towards the exit of her room without so much of a squeak. What she needed was a glass of water to clear her mind, and hopefully by then she would be able to fall asleep.

Careful not to wake her roommates, Diana slipped out of the room into the hallways illuminated by the moon’s light beaming through the large windows of the school. She adored large windows that stood high overhead and made the plan to bask in the moonlight after she obtained her water.

Filling up a small glass in the kitchen, Diana silently made her way back to her room, taking careful sips as her eyes studied the night sky through the windows. Lately the stars had meant much more to her than they had before, and she found herself studying more astronomy than she expected. Astronomy specifically wasn’t in their curriculum, but it wasn’t difficult to be able to mix it in during the astrology class that she already dominated in. Nearing the turn towards her dorm, Diana stopped walking to stare up at the sky wondering if she should invest in a high-quality telescope.

No one could relate, but she severely missed being so close to space on a single broomstick, up high where nobody else could reach as if it were just her and Akko against the world. Only then had she ever felt so natural, like it was meant for the two of them to be one with the stars forevermore.

Gazing back down to remove herself from the fantastical dream, she held back the emotion that attempted to thrash its way out of her practiced hold, feeling the pain in her heart that she pressured to be still and disappear. Though, it wasn’t working as well as it had before with her desires only growing stronger with each passing day.

Caught up in her will to be calm, it was then that she had come to realize she hadn’t been alone. Outside in the balcony not too far in front of her was the familiar brown of the chestnut-haired witch who seemed to constantly be running through her mind however long she was awake. Akko stared up into space alongside her, a serious and thoughtful gaze on her face that Diana was sure that nobody else had seen before.

She could pretend she had never spotted her, but Diana felt drawn from the curiosity of what Akko could be thinking this late at night. Her aspirations to always learn more, even when it involved other people, moved her forward, and she found herself opening the doors that led out, wincing at the brisk cold of the air that stung against her once warm skin.

Akko had yet to notice her arrival, and from their closer proximity, Diana could capture the troubled and melancholy eyes that wavered as they tracked the stars. It wasn’t until a tear perfectly fell down Akko’s pale cheek that her worries kicked into overdrive, and she announced her presence with a stern “Akko.”

“D-Diana?!” Akko screamed from the surprise, jumping about a foot in the air as she furiously rubbed away her tears. Her awkward instinctual smile took over, and she rapidly sputtered out the words “I didn’t steal anything, I swear!” She emptied her pockets as if to prove her point, smiling meekly in hopes that Diana would believe her and let her off the hook.

Diana rolled her eyes as she walked closer, “If you had stolen something, then it would have been a dessert. And if it was a dessert, then you would have eaten it by now.”

Akko gulped at her expert deduction abilities, holding her hands up as if she were a criminal caught red handed. She was surprised to find that instead of a scolding, Diana instead handed her the glass of water and motioned her to drink.

“What’s wrong?” Diana asked, in a much softer tone than she had been using.

Akko took a moment to think, drinking sips of the water before frowning into the reflection of her and the moon above. She hadn’t expected the voice of concern from Diana, and she awkwardly shuffled her feet as her mind picked through the words in her head.

Diana gave her time to answer, walking to the edge of the balcony and looking back up. The stars were somehow brighter now that she was outside, and she wasn’t sure why she had never thought of it before to be outside when she needed to think.

“I’m just…” Akko started, anxiously rubbing her fingers against the smooth glass of the cup. She furrowed her eyebrows as she continued to stare at herself in the water, a thousand thoughts passing through her head and Diana unable to imagine any of them. “…lonely.”

“Lonely?” Diana tilted her head in confusion, hoping for clarification of what that meant. Akko was surrounded by many doting friends and professors, so she wasn’t sure in what way Akko could be lonely. It reminded her of the reason for her own restless night, and she resisted the urge to selfishly bring out what she wanted in response. It was Akko that needed comfort right now, not her.

Akko was visibly uncomfortable by the questioning, and Diana knew it was time to drop the subject. Though, Akko did apparently have the ability to talk just as she was about to, and Akko continued the conversation with, “Sometimes I feel like I’m not enough.”

“It’s not your fault. You’re only gaining your magic back after all-“

“It’s not that.” Akko was unwillingly crying again, doing her best to hold back her tears without a sound.

They fell, one after another, and Diana stayed silent. Her fingers twitched to move, wishing to test her theory and hold out her arms for an embrace, but that was extremely inappropriate in their situation, and she was still. Correctly understanding emotions was a subject she continued to have trouble in. There was no formula or correct answer that would solve everything, and she thought too hard on her actions and ended up missing the chances that would have been ‘correct’.

“I’m sorry.” Akko mumbled, and Diana wasn’t exactly sure why she was apologizing.

“It’s fine.”

But Akko was trembling, biting her tongue to avoid an explosion. She seemed to want to say something, to cry out or lash out, but Akko was seemingly trained in the art of masks as well, and she held it in.

Diana’s mind commanded herself to do something about it, but she resorted to the safest bet she could with her words and said, “You’re doing fine.”

But somehow, those were the wrong choice of words as a river of tears gushed out of Akko’s eyes in a steady stream, and Akko’s frustration seemed directed at her and only her. Rapid thoughts buzzed through her mind to try to make sense of what was happening, but all she knew was that she was the cause of this outburst and had to fix it.

Panicking as time passed, Diana’s anxiety soared high, and she only just wanted to hold her and be held as this was all too much to handle so late at night. She wanted to lay down now and be done with it. No more tears or miscommunication or confusion or fear of resentment.

Grabbing Akko’s hand, Diana marched back into the school towards her own dorm. Before opening the door, she shushed Akko to be quiet and snuck the both of them in, grateful that the snores of her teammates were the same as before, and brought them around her dividing bookcase towards her bed. She took the cup of water from Akko’s hand and placed it on her bedside table, motioning Akko to sit down despite the very confused look she was receiving.

Honestly, she didn’t know what she was doing. She just wanted to sleep and for Akko to stop being sad, and it was already too late to turn back anyway as Akko laid down despite not being told to. There was nothing wrong in comforting a friend in need, and she, too, needed comforting that this was the most viable answer.

Akko rested on her side, eyes closed and her tears slowing down to a stop. She almost seemed asleep, and Diana laid at the other side of the bed facing her, curiously watching her but closing her eyes as well. They laid an arm’s length away on Diana’s large bed, quietly resting and listening to each other’s soft breaths.

This was enough. She could imagine what it would be like to be held asleep from this point on and deal with it. And tomorrow would come as all days go, and that’s all there would be to it. Part of her imagined Akko as a cuddly person, and she inconsiderately wished it to come to reality. But that just wasn’t her life, and she knew it wouldn’t happen.

If only Akko agreed to the same terms and conditions.

Her eyes opened feeling the weight against her chest, Akko snuggled in close and clung onto her nightgown with tears still stained on her swollen eyes. But Akko was already fast asleep, calmly breathing and in the most peace Diana had ever seen her in. Perhaps Akko was just like this with everyone, and Diana let her be, closing her eyes and finding sleep to arrive much easier than it had before.

For the first time, she fell asleep with a smile on her face.

------------------------------------

“Say cheese!”

“Cheese.”

“I don’t get it!”

“Get what?”

“How are you not smiling while saying cheese? Say something funny then. Like ‘booty’.”

“No.”

Akko was glaring at her with her hands on her hips. They were in an open courtyard during a small gap between classes, and Akko had dragged her along into some scheme after noticing she ‘never smiled.’ For some reason, Akko started laughing at the word ‘booty’ that she had said herself. And during her fits of laughter, Akko stepped closer and reached out towards the corners of Diana’s mouth, weirdly massaging in circles, “You needa exercise those smile muscles!”

Diana raised an eyebrow as Akko messed with her face, internally enjoying the touch despite Akko pulling at her cheeks. “Smole mosclos?” She attempted, not realizing her mistake as Akko squished her face when she had tried to speak.

“Pff!” Akko held back her laugh.

Seeing the puffed-up cheeks on Akko’s face, Diana couldn’t help but crack a smile back.

And together they laughed, maybe not for the same reasons or in the same volume, but it felt as if it were them alone in the world and time had stopped to accommodate. Akko had thrown her arms around her neck, and they stood close as they continued giggling.

Akko’s laugh was a sound that she wished to be able to save for as long as she would live, and Diana hoped to continue being a part of Akko’s happiness. She knew she wasn’t as funny or relatable as any of their other classmates, but Akko kept coming back to her anyway to share the immense amount of joy that she held within her.

As Akko continued laughing, Diana took notice of the flush on Akko’s face, similar in color to the crimson of her eyes. Her heart raced at the sight, and she took advantage of the only person left in the world who did not hesitate to touch her and held her close. It was the first time she had done so on her own accord, and she wasn’t sure what had prompted her to do it, but both were frozen in surprise.

Before she could let go and apologize, Akko held her back, burying herself into the wavy locks of her blonde hair with a smile on her face.

And she continued smiling too.

------------------------------------

Perhaps Akko was spoiling her with all the affection she was receiving.

As time moved on, Akko seemingly grew more accustomed to making physical contact whenever she saw her. It wasn’t abnormal to be randomly tackled during the day into a hug no matter how far Akko spotted her anymore, and a small part of her expected it and waited just for that moment to come. Sometimes she’d even pretend to need to walk by one of Akko’s classrooms during passing period so that Akko could easily find her, and she could see the soft resting face instantly turn ecstatic once they made eye contact.

While it wasn’t every day that they hung out, and sometimes she was forced to agonize as day after day passed, many of their usual activities kept her spirits high enough until the next opportunity. They read books together, studied together, stargazed in the dead of night, braided and played with each other’s hair, high-fived (she was getting good at it!), fist…bumped? (this was a new one), hugged, laughed, cuddled, slept.

She was so used to these forms of intimacy now that her typical life plans made room for them, as if it was normal and just the way things were and always have been. It involved expecting Akko to fulfill the hole in her heart that craved to be touched.

And that’s precisely why it needed to stop.

Diana lay in her bed, staring blankly at the night sky with a long, exasperated sigh. It was another restless night, but one filled with thoughts she knew she needed to sort out for the near future. Her arm was outstretched against the rather empty mattress, not moved from its position for the last hour or so.

There would come the day that Akko could no longer keep up with her demands. The day Akko would leave her or realize her friends needed as much attention as she did. And then what? She could not get so used to the fleeting moments of affection like this, as it would only become her downfall once it disappeared for good.

Diana had tried to imagine hugging or holding hands with her own friends that same way she did with Akko, but unlike long before, it instead made her uncomfortable and she didn’t want it. She no longer cared to be touched by anyone that wasn’t Akko, and that was exactly the problem. Akko had unknowingly spoiled her!

Like a true villain, she had been using Akko for selfish gain when she knew it was wrong. And Akko, from the kindness of her heart, never thought once to wonder about her motives, smiling brightly as she always did.

How evil for her to take advantage of the sweet and innocent.

Yet she could not seem to stop. In fact, her egocentric mind only wanted more, and no matter what effort she made to refuse it, she could not stop. The selfish piece of her head was angered that Akko would dare leave her, yet she knew for a fact that Akko was never hers to keep.

Earning a migraine from the mental battle between good versus evil, Diana held onto her head with anguish, wishing to cry out in pain at how much she despised herself that night. Her eyes were squeezed shut, and there was a ringing in her ear that sounded louder with each second.

She could feel the small lump slither around in her blanket, but paid it no mind with the suffering that was too much to bear. When the small twitchy snout of a mouse poked out from under the covers, the beady red eyes followed and paused with anticipation and concern. On normal(?) days, Diana would make room on the bed when the mouse had visited her in the night, but this night she ignored it and partially hoped it would go away and leave her alone.

Transforming back into a human, Akko laid next to her in worry, carefully reaching towards the part of Diana’s forehead that pained her the most. And Diana let her, moving her own hands aside for Akko to gently caress the spot in hopes to soothe the troubles away.

Akko really was too kind to her, and Diana furrowed her eyebrows at how weak she was to temptation. Her eyes were still shut, and she could feel her breathing haphazardly increase in random intervals as her mind spiked in alarm and self-hatred.

But before the panic attack could reach any peak, Akko stretched upward, planting her lips between the furrowed eyebrows that promptly lost all tension they held in response.

Diana’s eyes were wide open then, but she could not see anything as Akko quickly moved up to hold her head against her chest. Listening to the heartbeat against her ear, Diana relaxed, and the pain was no more. She buried her face into the scent of the shirt she had grown familiar with, and could feel herself falling into sleep from the beat that matched her own.

Just one more night wouldn’t hurt.

But Akko needed to know the truth. And it was time to let her go.

------------------------------------

“Akko, I need to speak with you.”

“Okay, sure!”

She briskly made her way to the exit of the cafeteria, waiting at its doorway as Akko waved to her group of friends and bounced after her. The radiating, carefree smile never left Akko’s face, and with each step closer that she walked, Diana could feel the heavy burden against her heart. She nearly called off the meeting with an escaping ‘never mind,’ but successfully fought the screaming urge as she led Akko into the quietness of the hallway.

Out of coincidence, she had chosen a spot where the entirety of the full moon was visible from the window. Its light shining down exactly where they stood to face each other, as if it were a spotlight and they were the actors in a play.

Akko watched her with interest, staying silent as if to give her time to observe the stars, and she followed her gaze up. The difference between them was that while Akko’s smile grew bigger at the sight of the moon, Diana instead frowned as if the moon’s light was there to curse them, mocking them in its brilliance and edging her to speak.

Diana Cavendish. Serious. Composed. Intelligent. Quick-witted with a sharp tongue. All feared to cross in her path. She could turn down those who opposed her without an ounce of hesitance in the ice of her voice. With careful calculation, any conversation would turn in her favor.

Diana Cavendish. Cold. Distant. Reserved. Life was easy when her emotions were stagnant. She never had to think twice of whether her actions came from the head or from the heart. Logic and reasoning would always be her answer.

Then why now couldn’t she speak?

She could feel herself trembling. As they locked eyes, no words wished to exit her thoughts, and they just stood there. Why did Akko have to smile at her like that? Akko, who treated her with kindness and affection without regard for her title. Akko, whose smile would light up her day and enter her dreams for a brighter morning. Akko, who could easily get her to laugh even when there was nothing to laugh at. Akko, who wasn’t afraid to hold her, and be with her, and care for her. Akko, who reminded her of the stars and their glittering intensity throughout the night, and how she yearned to be in space again where she was at her happiest.

Akko, who would come to despise her should she learn the truth.

She had to let her go. She had to let her go. She had to let her go.

“Diana?”

And Diana felt a burn against her eyes that she hadn’t known its time of origin. She gingerly swiped against her cheek, staring in awe at the foreign tear that had escaped without her knowledge. But it didn’t end there. One after another the tears fell, and, as much as she tried, she could not control it. When had she started crying?

Akko was no longer smiling. Instead, Akko firmly took her hand and dragged her along through the maze of the corridors in a direction she did not know.

She couldn’t remember the last time she cried to this extent. This was ridiculous. To be nearly at the age of adulthood and be childishly crying over her own faults and inadequacies. And in front of Akko, of all people! Akko surely thought less of her after this mess, and her picture of perfection and elegance was now ruined. But did it matter? Akko was going to dislike her anyway, so what was the point?

Before she knew it, Akko had brought them outside of the school where her wet paths of tears now stung against the cold. But she was grateful for it, as her eyes dried from the air and no more tears fell. She stared at the floor as they walked, unsure where Akko was leading her, but uncaring as the outcome would only be the same.

They entered a field she was unfamiliar with, but her eyes stayed glued to the ground as if her shoes were somehow the most interesting thing in the world. She really was like a kid then, and she had to laugh at how silly it felt.

When the first flower appeared in her vision, she couldn’t help but marvel in its luminosity. It was a bright blue in color, and quite literally glowed from its magical roots that reminded her of the moonlight reflecting off the surface of water. Then another one appeared. And another. And another. Until she could no longer see her shoes as the flowers covered them with their abundance.

Eventually Akko had stopped, patiently waiting for her to look up. And when she did, she could only describe what she saw as otherworldly. As if Akko had somehow removed them from Earth and landed on a planet that was coated in every inch of its surface with the peculiar flowers. They stood in the middle of the field and were bathed in the blue hues of the mystical plants that the only other color in the night was the deep red of Akko’s eyes.

As much as she refused to admit it, she was a dreamer. And perhaps where they stood was instead the sky where they guided the world from above in their ethereal realm of flowers.

Akko sat her down in the field, plucking one of the flowers off the ground, and lightly blowing against its exposed head of seeds that easily broke way from the force to release the glowing bits of fluff into the nighttime breeze. They watched them dance and twirl in the air and fly away under the guidance of nature that took them high up until they were visible no more.

If where they stood was the sky, then perhaps these were the stars.

It felt like everything she wanted. To be in space where she believed she could control the stars with Akko by her side. This was a dream.

Spending their time taking turns blowing the magical dandelions, they sat in silence, never once uttering a single word. Akko waited for her to gather her thoughts, just enjoying the presence and having fun with the abundance of flowers that hardly dented in number despite however many they had picked.

When Diana released another cloud into the wind, she could only feel remorse. Like the fluffs that were now free from her actions, Akko must also be able to spread her wings and fly, and she knew what must be done. Loss was something she was all too familiar with. To give up something, whether people or dreams, was just the way her life had always been. Selfishly desiring never achieved anything, and she waited for the seeds to disappear in the air to declare, “I have a confession to make.”

And Akko stiffened in her seat, sitting straight with a red flush across her face as if she were ready. “You do?” She was listening rather intently, Diana could tell, so there was no backing down now.

Diana took a deep breath, trembling again as the thoughts of Akko’s hatred spilled back into her mind. But she knew it had to be done, and Akko was waiting. And she looked her fiercely in the eyes to put an end to the thoughts of escape.

“I have been using you.”

Akko froze, staring blankly from the words that she hadn’t expected to hear at all. Her confusion turned into disappointment and she actually looked offended.

This was it. Diana could not immediately speak with Akko looking at her that way, and she felt all her emotions bubble out at once like a weakened dam that had finally burst.

“Using… me?”

“Yes.” Her mind was melting down, and she wasn’t even sure what came out of her mouth anymore. “Ever since the Noir Missile, I found myself desperately lacking in human affection. Selfishly, I placed the burden on you to fulfill what I desired and continued to use you for my own satisfaction.” Akko would hate her. Akko would hate her. Akko would hate her. “Truthfully, I never planned for it to get this far, but now it seems I entirely depend on only you for this matter and cannot seem to stop.”

Akko was still staring at her, at least instead quizzically as opposed to frustration.

Diana ignored the buzzing in her mind, continuing her explanation in hope that Akko would understand. “As you may tell, this is an issue for when the day arrives that we must part. Unfortunately, there is an evil in my mind that wishes to keep you for myself until the end of time, and I often dream of being with you in space where the stars and the moon are within our grasps and nobody else can reach us. But with as big as a heart as yours, I’m aware that this is an exceedingly selfish request, and so I wish to release you from everything you have given me. Though, I do thank you for providing what may be the happiest days of my life, and I apologize for forcing you for so long to comply with my hopeless needs.” And she was finished and able to breathe.

Akko stared now as if she were an alien, or a fish out of water who had yet to understand anything about the world they lived in.

They sat there in a momentary silence, and Diana felt at ease now that it was over.

“Well that’s stupid.”

She glared at the unexpected insult to her speech. Akko didn’t understand her at all! And the audacity to name her concerns ‘stupid.’

Akko crossed her arms with an exasperated sigh, “Is there a record for ‘Worst Confessions Ever in the History of Ever?’ Because this one would definitely be up there in the top ten -no five.”

She couldn’t understand what Akko was saying. Was her confession not sound in its arguments and points to be understood? Did she not explicitly state the problem and provide a valid answer to fix it?

“Diana?” And Akko was smiling at her, her white teeth shining brightly in contrast to the blue of their setting.

She didn’t know how Akko could smile like that, but again her heart beat faster in response, and when Akko took her hands she knew that Akko hadn’t understood a single word she said. Yet she did not recoil at the touch, even when Akko scooted closer to be near. Did she have to explain again? Moving her mouth to speak, Akko instead used the ability to speak before her.

“It’s really okay! I won’t disappear.”

How odd, she hadn’t said anything about Akko disappearing. But she shut down any prospect of what Akko really meant, as she had done for the past few months. “Did you not hear what I said? I’m using you.”

“Diana.” Akko again ignored what she said with the smile ever growing bigger. “I also have a confession to make.”

And Akko pushed her down into the bed of flowers, still holding onto her hands as she laid on top. The dandelions exploded into the air upon impact, sprinkling the sky with the masses of glowing fluff that hovered where they stopped before beginning their slow descent down. Akko was crying through her smile, almost laughing even as if all of her worries were forever gone.

Diana was fascinated. With the makeshift stars that decorated Akko’s head, and large moon directly above to cast its light down onto them, it was like they were back on the Shooting Star high above the clouds where only they existed. How Akko was able to recreate her idolized scenario, she didn’t know, but she could feel the tears escaping her eyes again as for the first time her dream had become a reality.

And Akko delicately whispered the words, “I want to be with you.”

She was sure Akko could feel the rapid beat of her heart, and the red of their faces matched in color. Trying to find a way to reject what Akko meant, she didn’t get the chance to when Akko continued.

“You don’t have to deny it. Don’t be afraid that I’ll leave you, okay?” Akko pressed their foreheads together, snuggling close as proof she meant what she said.

Deny what? That she feared to be alone, left to fend for herself for years without affection? That once she was given the chance of happiness, she twisted it to avoid attachment in fear that history would repeat, and she would find herself back in solitary? That everything she ever came to love in her life had to be surrendered, no matter how much she desired to keep it?

That, perhaps, maybe, she had potentially fallen in love, and feared that for that reason alone she would lose everything, and with how broken she was already, she’d never be able to pick herself back up again?

That’s silly.

And yet she could not stop crying. In a battle between happiness and fear, she was unsure if Akko would truly keep her word. How long would Akko stay with her? What if Akko grew tired of tending to her needs? Did Akko even realize how much she loved her?

…Did Akko love her back?

As if Akko could read her mind, she leaned forward, gently pressing their lips together in a moment that felt like it lasted a lifetime.

And somehow, that was the answer to her problems, and Diana melted at the touch as a wave of bliss washed away her anxieties.

She almost let out a gasp when the kiss was over as quick as it came, glaring at the crimson-eyed witch for breaking off her peace and elation so suddenly.

"You know, Diana? You're – and you know this means a lot coming from me – a bit of an idiot."

------------------------------------

You’re late. She thought, glaring hard at the rodent apologetically clasping its hands together in plea. Letting out an annoyed sigh, Diana moved aside on the bed to make room, still pouting when said rodent transformed back to normal.

Akko sheepishly smiled at the harsh look, opening her arms and wiggling her fingers in invitation.

Taking the bait, Diana buried herself into Akko’s chest, relaxing as Akko ran her fingers through her hair and all was forgiven.

She never thought that this would become her normal life. How almost a year ago she believed that she had everything sorted out until the day she would eventually die, and she would be proud if only to have served her purpose in the world. How she didn’t have time to dawdle in these so called ‘emotions,’ as they did nothing but burden her goals and ambitions, forcing her to dream and desire the unrealistic that taunted her from the distance that she could never reach.

But as she listened to the steady drum against her ear, she had to wonder if maybe at least one of her dreams really did come true. That, after all these years, she deserved to be selfish and take what she wanted. That she deserved to be happy as herself, as Akko didn’t expect anything of her other than to return the love she held in her heart.

Attempting to bury her face deeper into the scent of the shirt, she listened with joy as Akko giggled at the ticklish action, and peeked up to meet the big, round eyes that seemed to sparkle whenever they made contact. No matter however many times they looked at each other, she could feel the fluttering inside her chest that wished to stare forever. How the crimson depths of Akko’s eyes told many stories and held a universe of their own, and how she dearly wished to live in the cosmos of that existence for eternity.

Oh, how quick red was to shoot up in her most favorite of colors.

Diana, as she was beginning to admit, was a dreamer. She was an astronomer and Akko was the constellation she had spent her life researching to find, only to realize Akko was instead the universe she was helpless in. Or perhaps it had been her who was a billion tiny pieces, finally pulled together into focus as if astronomy in reverse.

And it was Akko who had discovered her.

And when they pressed their foreheads together once more, she was no longer afraid to admit that she had found her home.

#lwa #diakko #Little Witch Academia #dianakko #my writing #fic: Dreamer of Stars #diana cavendish #akko kagari

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phoenix-reburned · 3 years

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The Eagle: An Alternate Take to the AnR Theory

Before I begin this post, I want to preface this by saying that if the AnR ending happens, I will be sad but not disappointed, this is simply a thought I had that I hadn’t seen anyone else propose. I won’t be discussing why people believe that the eagle is Eren, although I know that there’s a lot of symbolism regarding it. This is simply my own thoughts on how Isayama could have a tragic ending that destroys us while also keeping some people alive.

Spoilers under the cut for both the manga and season four of the anime, you’ve been warned. Also long post, sorry.

First of all, if you have not yet watched the Akatsuki no Requiem video, I highly recommend you do that before continuing to read this post. Here’s the video:

youtube

For those of you that don’t know, the AnR theory states that the eagle in this video represents Eren and that this video basically spoils the entire ending of AOT. But what if the eagle isn’t actually Eren? What if it’s another character, telling the story of how they ended a war through bloodshed and lost their closest friends on the way? What if the same person telling us this story in the video is the same person who’s been telling us this story the whole time?

I believe that the eagle in this video is actually Armin Arlet, and that this is him recounting how he stopped the rumbling. This mixes in some of the Lebouch (?) theory, but not in the way you think.

Let’s start with something most people overlook about his character: Armin is extremely manipulative when he needs to be. He was able to convince Pixis that Eren wasn’t an enemy, quickly became a strategist that even Erwin trusted, and told Bertholt that someone he cared about deeply was being brutally tortured to save Eren. In his current position in the manga based upon the 137 leaks, he’s been able to take control of some of the titans away from Ymir. Whether or not he’s really done this or this is apart of Ymir’s plan is up for speculation, but for now let’s just assume that he did this of his own accord. He was able to talk Zeke into dying for humanity, a literal nihilist who killed countless people. Armin clearly will get his hands dirty if it benefits his plan, as shown multiple times. He’s not innocent.

Something else that helped me come to this conclusion, although this isn’t necessarily a huge reason I believe it, is that Armin is the one telling us this story. He’s been our narrator since season one. If Isayama wanted to kill him, why not just have Eren be the narrator? If Armin’s dead it makes no sense for him to be able to tell us the story even if you take the paths into consideration, since you can’t interact with anything or anyone in there.

Last thing before I get into the video is that Armin is being treated like a god right now by the titans on Eren in 137. The creator of the trojan horse theory (@/localhangeluvr on twitter), which is another inspiration for my theory, made a thread showing this and the similarities between Armin and the devils in Ymir’s story. This shows that he is going to be extremely important to the ending, whether or not he lives or dies. This thread also discusses the idea of Armin being the eagle, but we came to different conclusions based upon that idea.

Now let’s get into the video. The first thing I want to point out is the appearance of the color blue. We first see this when the eagle cries and dyes the baby eagle(?) blue. Later on, it reappears on the butterflies. The character that is most associated with this color is Armin, through his love of the ocean. His eyes are also blue in the anime, although blue for the ocean fits better since they’re hazel in the manga. The first time we meet Armin, he’s also wearing blue. Maybe this represents him wishing for a simpler time, before the fall of wall Maria?

Another thing, the grave the eagle visits. Look at the symbol on it.

To me, it resembles a snake eating it’s own tail. This makes me think of Eren, someone who ended up becoming what he hated most. First in the form of a titan, then in the form of a mass murderer. This could very well be Eren’s grave that the eagle visits, meaning he could be crying because of the knowledge that he killed the person that was once his best friend.

Next, let’s examine the thing on top of the baby eagle’s head, which also reappears later in the eagle’s library.

This clearly is supposed to be the wings of freedom. If Eren was the eagle, why would he hold onto the wings? At this point, he’s completely abandoned the scouts. Why would he want to keep anything what reminded him of what became his enemy around? These questions disappear if this is actually Armin though, as he would have no reason to renounce the scouts.

Another interesting thing is that the eagle has blue eyes when he has the lizard/frog mask on, but his actual eyes are brown. As I mentioned before, Armin has blue eyes in the anime but hazel in the manga. This could be another subtle hint to the eagle’s identity.

Next, the lack of walls in the sky city, or the fact that this is what it represents. This is when the Lebouch theory comes into play. While I don’t necessarily believe that Eren wants to be stopped, I do believe that if he is killed and the rumbling ends, that this will create peace. A scene all the way back in season one makes me believe this. After Eren agrees to try to seal the wall, he takes a walk with Pixis. To paraphrase what is said, Pixis states that only a world ending event could truly bring humanity together. Well, I do think an attempted mass genocide would be world ending enough to do it. Plus, there’s the fact that if the alliance stops it, that would put Paradis and the eldians back into the world’s good graces. And if one of them gets their hands on the founding, there’s also a possibility that they could completely remove all titans from the world.

The family is another reason a lot of people assume that this is Eren we’re watching because of his and Historia’s possible relationship in the manga, if you believe that Historia’s child is his (which I do, but that’s not super relevant right now). But that’s not necessarily what’s happening here. If someone’s able to reverse the curse of Ymir, then this COULD be Armin and Annie’s family. If Armin and Annie’s feelings for each other wasn’t important, why bring it up right at the end of the story? At this point there’s no reason for Isayama to show us that they like each other UNLESS it plays a role in the prologue. Or, maybe it’s to make Annie’s death sadder if he does kill her, but since she’s still alive I’m sticking with option a. I’m not sure if the cat means anything, however black cats are usually regarded as an omen of death. This could be a reminder that Armin killed Eren.

Another clue is the library.

It’s shown to be very expansive, clearly showing that whoever owns it loves to read. Only one character comes to mind when you think about books.

The lizard family is next.

Notice that it’s a father, mother and child. Maybe Armin will have to end up killing both Historia and her child along with Eren? Or this could just show Armin’s regrets at the deaths he’s caused in general.

In the ruins, we again see the image of a snake eating it’s tail. Possibly representing the damage that Eren caused with the rumbling?

Now the butterflies. Possibly one of the biggest reasons why people believe that Eren is the eagle.

In total, we see 10 butterflies. I believe that this does represent the alliance as they attempt to stop Eren, and shows that about 5 of them will die. I believe that the first death is either represented by Hange or Zeke, depending on how you view it. Maybe Zeke, as he was an outlier to the group until his death. I believe that Levi, Reiner, and Pieck will be the last three deaths. To add to this, the ground shot also only shows five butterflies, meaning that more than likely the rest of the alliance will live.

Right after these deaths, the baby eagle is shown preparing to fight. I believe that this means that these last three deaths will happen in quick succession and drive Armin overboard, causing him to do what Mikasa won’t and kill Eren.

Next, we see both eagles in a field of graves, showing that Armin regrets not being able to save more people. Maybe he even blames himself for their deaths, wishing he had stopped Eren earlier.

While I know that Mikasa is the one to wake Eren up from under the tree, maybe this shows that Armin is the one who says ‘see you later’ before she does?

I believe that this represents Armin realizing that, without Eren’s destruction, they never would have gotten peace. I believe that him dropping the arrow represents him feeling a kind of gratitude towards him, in a weird way?

And then the end of the video just shows us again that, while Eren did ultimately bring about peace, it came at a heavy price.

A few more things to mention:

1. The lyrics DO tie into chapter titles, while I won’t list them here going through the comments of this video will show all of them to you.

2. Armin’s last name literally means eagle.

That’s the end to my theory! Basically, I believe that Armin will kill Eren and that peace will be achieved, however it won’t be a happy ending for anyone involved.

There’s a few things about the video that I can’t necessarily explain, like the eagle’s lost leg. Though maybe, if they do rid the world of titans, if Armin is injured while killing Eren he’ll end up losing it? It’s something I’ll keep an eye out for over these last few chapters. Another thing is the revealed last manga panel. Most people do believe that it’s Eren (for good reason), we never get that confirmation. If this is after another time skip, that could be another character, hell maybe it’s even Armin talking to his and Annie’s child.

That’s it from me though. Let me know what yall think, if you think it’s plausible or tell me that I’m wrong, I don’t care lol. Proofs to either disprove or prove this would be great if yall find any! Thanks for reading my longass post.

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chosenkeepersworld · 3 years

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A Gatekeeper's Mission (Part 1)

Original Work Word Count: 1856 words Date Posted: March 31, 2021 Author’s Note: Unbeta’d but I hope you guys still like it and as always I love hearing your thoughts about my work so comments are always appreciated.

Their story was not what most people would consider conventional. They had their own roles to play, separate from each other. But an unexpected event forces them to meet and set off a chain of events that changes not only their worlds but the entire universe.

“The Prima would like to speak with you” upon hearing those words Andromeda Castel froze. It wasn’t often that the leader of their faction would personally be the one to speak with anyone lower than her superiors. “She would like to speak with both of you actually” Andromeda instantly exchanged looks with Astrid, her friend and partner.

The pair stood to follow the guard. The facility was bustling with activity, there were always Gatekeepers arriving and leaving, usually those coming and going from worlds and missions. There were tours happening for those in the academy and a few petty criminals being brought in.

They eventually stopped in front of The Prima's office. The guard knocked and after a beat a voice told them to come in.

The girls exchanged nervous glances for a brief moment again before entering the room. The Prima was seated at her desk going over documents. Andromeda and Astrid waited for her to turn her eyes on them. The Prima’s call was always important, as the leader of their island’s defense and as Gatekeepers it was necessary to heed her call.

Andromeda took the moment to take in The Prima’s office, it was not what she expected. Besides the desk the only other furniture were the four bookcase, two on either side of the office, a small table behind it to entertain guests and something covered and circular in shape in the middle of the room.

“Thank you for coming,” The Prima finally said, causing both girls to jump in surprise.

“I-it is an honor to be summoned by you, Prima.” Astrid stuttered, straightening her posture.

The older woman gestured to the chairs in front of her desk “Please, sit”

The pair took their seats, The Prima clasped her hands together and settled them on the table. “I have a situation that I would like for you two to handle.” she began. “There was an incident that happened in one of the Outer Worlds, there were reports of a foreign creature being spotted.”

“And you would like us to investigate?” Astrid asked.

“Yes” The Prima confirmed “and to instigate peace with the people who live in the area”

The two young women shared concerned looks then turned back to the older woman “What do you mean?”

Said older woman sighed “The inhabitants are incredibly territorial and are not very trusting outsiders. They are more likely to attack first and ask questions later. The creature attacked them and escaped, this only made the inhabitants more distrustful of anyone who approached. They have made more efforts in defending their territory. They can be quite dangerous.

“I thought that it would be a good idea to send in a small group of Gatekeepers rather than a large team. It’s likely the inhabitants will be more at ease with your presence if your numbers are fewer, even though it might make the investigation more difficult.”

She raised her head to look at her subordinates. She had been watching their progress carefully, she had her reasons for doing so. Castel had always done well while she was at the academy and that continued when she became an official Gatekeeper, it was important to keep track of the consistent ones, especially when her tests are way above average.

And she could admit that she watched and kept track of Astrid Verano for personal reasons. The pair made very good work together and actually got along with each other. The Prima believed that, with their skills and teamwork, they could handle this situation.

“This may be a difficult and dangerous mission, in addition to the circumstances you will have to be on site until the creature is caught. There will be no one else to assist you while you are there. If there is a need for back-up, it may not arrive for some time. You will only have each other to rely on, can you handle that?”

It was no lie. The Prima had been keeping an eye on the situation and it was truly going to be an arduous mission if they were willing. Andromeda was surprised that the older woman thought of them for this mission. The young woman, if she were to be honest, was proud of her achievements during her days at the academy, along with her own skills as a Gatekeeper allowed her to reach her current ranking. But considering the risks of this mission, she and Astrid really needed to discuss this.

Astrid and Andromeda shared concerned looks before the latter turned to the older woman “Is it alright if we discuss this first, Prima? This is an important decision after all”

The Prima nodded her head “Of course.” She glanced at the monitor on her desk and stood “I need to check on something important but I will need an answer from you by tomorrow.”

The three women made their way out of The Prima’s office but before they went their separate ways The Prima turned to Astrid “Tell your grandfather I’ll be home for dinner. If there are leftovers from lunch, heat those up as well”

The red headed young woman couldn’t help but chuckle “Of course, grandmother. I’ll see you at home”

“You are absolutely sure about this? No changing minds after we tell her” Andromeda said.

The partners had been discussing their options since last night and after had come to agreement as they came into work. The pair headed to The Prima’s office to give them their answer.

“I already told you how I felt about this. It’s a good opportunity to do more than just staying around the island and catching petty criminals. We get to go off world, do our jobs and show them that Gatekeepers are their allies”

Andromeda grinned. When she first arrived in this world as a child, seeing so many different people of all sorts of species was unnerving. She had accepted the invitation to train as Gatekeeper which granted her permission to live and stay in this world until her training was finished.

Learning about this new world and the world around her was thrilling. Experiencing it was even more so. To be responsible for the protection of your own world was a gigantic responsibility and to help protect a world not your own was an honor.

This was a lesson Andie had learned, but one Astrid grew up with. This mission was a start for them, it was their chance for them to do something more. The two young women paused to knock on the Prima’s door.

A little while later the three women had moved to the small table behind the older woman’s desk, they had tea and some small snacks brought in as they continued to discuss the details of the mission.

“The mission is scheduled for the following week, which means the two of you will need to up your training regiment until the mission. We will have your schedules adjusted to accommodate more time for training.”

The pair nodded “We’ll take more time for training”

“I think that covers what you’ll need to prepare for this. Do you have any questions?”

Andromeda perked up at that “Yes, Prima.” she shot a glance at Astrid before turning back to the older woman “You told us about the inhabitants of that world. What makes them dangerous?”

The Prima stared at her granddaughter’s partner for a moment before bringing up her folded hands to rest under her chin “They are an old species, girl” she began “One of the first creatures born from the First Gods. When they first arrived, they were going purely on animal instinct, vicious predators that burned everything they couldn’t eat. Even worse, when they began to develop intelligence. They learned how to think and speak eventually learning how to change forms”

“Dragons” Andromeda breathed to which the Prima nodded in response.

“Correct. Which is what you both will be dealing with.” she paused for a moment “Yeah, you’ll need to study about them. I think there are a few books in the archives about this world and the specific species in the area where the foreign creature was spotted. There is much for you to do, ladies”

They truly did have their work cut out for them.

Andromeda was screaming. The hardest part of using the Gates to travel was the exit. The exits appear where they wanted no matter where you make the opening. It could be in a nice meadow, in the ocean, in a volcano or even in the sky. Causing you to fall to your death.

Which is what Andie is currently dealing with. And anyone in her position would most definitely be screaming. She had no control of her body, her heart was racing and her stomach felt out of place in her body.

The young woman finally angled her body to face the world below her, only to a dense forest below her. She crashed through leaves and branches, letting out small shrieks and grunts. Andie finally managed to grab hold of a branch and made to lift herself up when a body crashed down on her and both of them landed on to the forest floor.

Andromeda groaned as she lay on her back, her body aching but at least her heart was slowing down and no longer felt like it would burst out of her chest. She sucked in greedy breaths then turned her head to see her partner’s condition. Astrid looked fine, visibly at least they would need to find shelter first to make sure there really was nothing serious.

The two got up and started making their way through the forest, keeping alert for any signs of the inhabitants or the creature they were meant to capture. “If you see any place we can stay in for the night just let me know. I need to just make sure we aren’t being followed or hunted.” Andromeda took off one of her gloves and slowly approached the closest tree.

She took a deep breath and quietly muttered “Lend your sight, old, wise one. Allow me to see your world the way you do and protect it in any way I can.” Nature was sacred to Keepers of the Gate, respect for all life was something they always kept in mind when being in any world.

The brunette young woman placed her hand upon the trunk and in an instant her sight changed. Her vision tinged with green and all she could see were the trees and the environment surrounding them. She jumped from tree to tree and sure enough there was no animal or any human like creature following them. Andromeda lowered her hand and her vision was back to normal. The raven haired woman turned only for something hard hit her head then there was only darkness.

#writeblr #creative writing #original writing #short story #original character #unbeta'd #critique welcome #A Gatekeeper's Mission #Gatekeepers #Gatekeepers part 1

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thesagedahlia · 4 years

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🎭 Gemini Season (May. 20-June 21st) ♊

🌬

Vitality is coming through in order to tackle any blocks you have toward a specific goal. Changes will happen with an unexpected nature, but that shouldn't be enough to be able to count you out. There may have been disappointments that caused someone to deal with great lengths of grief or sorrow, but the only option one has is to keep pushing forward with better judgment, brought by past situations that may have acted as conflict for them. Seeing forth to the future, there is anticipation & a determined spirit that radiates from someone's thoughts & feelings, once they withdraw from the emotional side of the situation that may be keeping them in a sad place. It seems to be a hidden passion or desire that is causing emotions to bubble up from the surface, & it may need to be someone who has to manifest their emotions through a concrete way in order to avoid an explosion of passion; something that is constructive, yet disorganized. There needs to be mastery of what one is feeling, because the execution depends on its stability & foundations. As long as the will is organized, & not misinterpreted, there will be a well deserved result that comes from this expression & sharing one's voice. This may be an important heart to heart conversation someone is needing to have with another person, & that important person can very well be yourself. You may be looking at things through fresh eyes, & are looking & determined to remain young in body, mind & soul. In a lot of ways, this is having to do with expression & embracing one's weirdness. Some of you may be wanting to face your true north in life, & others are trying to detach themselves from the outside world & are following wherever their instincts are driving them.

🔮 Crystal for 🌬 signs

Cavansite: Expand your consciousness.

👭🏿

It is being revealed to you about a situation that is keeping someone stuck or bogged down, & someone is focused about communication or a conversation, but is uncertain about how it will turn out. For others, someone is either feeling hopeless about not knowing much to the meaning of life, & are confused about where their focus should be in that regard. Someone's social circle may be a dominant factor in their life or it has an influence on them, & they are the type of people to give flattery in order to gain compassion. There is a strategy behind the connection with this person/people, & these may be people who are stressful or overwhelming to deal with. Someone may be needing to walk away from this situation, or talk things out about what feels like too much responsibility, or someone could be dealing with obstacles in society, or challenges with communities that comes off as selling deception to other people, which is causing confusion in social life or a relationship for someone, as well as challenges resulting from uncertainty, or being stuck in a confused situation. This can all be regarding a business situation/group/contract that may be less than secure. Someone is needing to be committed to making a decision regarding this, because there are fears of something failing. Someone's luck with a connection is decaying, & there is nothing but conflict to come out of it.

⚖

Someone is trying to enter a new phase into their path, & for some this can involve getting a business off the ground, or being involved in a lot of determination & focus on one's goals/relationships. When it comes to your community, or the people closest to you, they see you as a very wealthy person; which can act as a double edged sword. For someone, you're financially supportive of this community (or this community can pertain to family), & this can be a situation that's lacking balance. Someone may be needing to put this situation to an end, due to there not being so much balance in their work or there is too much work or responsibility for someone to handle. For some, this is directly related to a marriage & working on certain financial issues, for others this can be parents or older family members. Someone may feel that they are privileged to receiving what comes from this hard working person, & this is an imprisoning conflict for them. This can also be a matter of a married couple taking care of older family members of the either partner, but it is coming up as a thieving issue. Someone may be expecting a fortune of this hard working person's progress, but there may be some strategy of spreading a misconception about a message of concern regarding this wealthier person, wanting to drive a wedge into someone's courtship, or trust from the family; someone is wanting to manipulate a situation into their favor.

🤖

Someone may be dealing with a person who can be draining of their energy or finances, or they could work themselves into the ground a lot. This can be causing someone to be in bad shape, even in the face of blessings. Someone may be subjected to a legal challenge or dispute that is the clear cause of why someone may be having a drain in finances, or someone could be coming into some kind of inheritance that is an unexpected gift or income. A lovers connection may be running it's course or it has become the source for boredom. Some may be wanting to break away from a relationship with someone who isn't producing anything positive, let alone any balance. A new beginning is something you want, but a leap of faith needs to be had. Someone is having thoughts of going onto a new pathway going toward what they consider great fortune, but until that can happen, an end to this previous position that isn't serving them. Someone may be fearing having to give their fortunes or their money to the connection any further, because there is concern of theft. Even in searching for a way out of a crippling relationship, action toward this is delayed due to a lack of focus or lack of strength; this seems to be a very draining situation that they are in, & the only way they can pull it off is when they feel they are in the right position to take certain initiatives.

🌊

Power & strength can lie in being able to have control over your heart space & emotions, & sometimes instability or imbalance can bring their own problems when you either are suppressing, or misunderstanding your emotions. Sometimes we have to deal with negative cycles, usually to learn a lesson. It is one thing to mentally interpret the solutions available to you, but it is another to absorb it in order to execute the change that comes after. For some, transformation will attract major stability after ending a rough cycle, & others may be taking this season to relish in the new cycle of their own. Power is within yourself to get through another tough cycle, & but it can't be of any use if one isn't able to tap into that part of themselves that is connected to their faith in their growth/capability. It is coming to completion of someone who has been learning to balance the elements within themselves & they are more determined to go within & retreat for spiritual purposes (that, or this will coming up for someone during this season). Someone has their vital masculine drive to be underactive or overactive, which could be resulting in them lacking in willpower, initiative, or instability in a financial sense. More aggression or assertion of one's own initiative is being allowed by way of one's ancestors; as long as they are tapped in & aware of their presence, you can get further past any obstacles that they can remove for you. This is a call to activate your higher self & find joy in the life lessons you are being pushed to learn; some of you are being asked to give up the victim role & start living in purpose. You can find a passion for doing & creating what has not been done before, as the true pioneer you are capable to be.

🔮 Crystal for 🌊 signs

Amethyst: Get drunk on your highest self.

🦀

Someone may be going through some inner child healing/cycles to get rid of the false/poor sense of self. Someone is having trouble getting to a more mentally stable place in order to create inner peace/balance. Ending cycles have been happening for some time lately, & it may be causing a slow recovery & discovery of mental strength. Someone is privileged to great fortune, but they are dealing with mental states of concern that is causing stagnation. Someone is taking on the path of being in business for themselves, or coming from an occupation that wasn't for them & thinking to start over. Someone is wanting or expecting to start a family in a new location, or someone is wanting to travel to/away from family (or someone could be thinking a lot about foundations in general). You may not expect to really be on the same page with family members, & someone may not want you to be away from them, or they may not approve with what you may want to do for success in your life that is a real passion. Someone doesn't feel the need to be dependent on family, or doesn't want to be dependent on, & for some family members there is a strategy to allow yourself to be in a dependent situation in an effort to achieve certain goals/benefits. It has become a lot of responsibility to take on, & someone is needing to take whatever initiative that they feel they need to take instinctively to have solo success. If the initiative is to be still, be still; sometimes we take action by needing to be inactive.

🦂

Someone may be having a conflict dealing with an envious or jealous person, & for some of you this is an (older) family member. There is a feeling of being trapped in conflict due to someone who may be always seeking it. This can be interfering with a partnership of some kind. There is an antagonistic or extreme energy this is always clashing with you, & this is a false person that someone needs to move away from. Someone needs to take that initiative to remove themselves from people or situations that are too taxing of your energy. There is a false person robbing someone of their energy, & they come off as an innocent person, but they is really a hidden intention or motive behind them. Moving away from this energy/person is going to bring in unexpected income or sudden wealth to someone, & it may be of a true connection with a person that will exceed one's expectations. For some, they need to separate from family that is dependent or expectant of someone's fortune, & there are thoughts/feelings to create distance between them. Someone may be needing to come to the conclusion to move away, but there may be lack of focus or clarity that needs to be addressed & organized. This is an energy that is concerning or imprisoning, & change is something that is needed to happen through one's own faith. Someone may be thinking of moving forward with someone else who has been at the back of their mind. Communicating this lack of compromise may be someone's focus.

🐡

Someone is going within themselves & is (self) reflecting on one how work or relationships have been affecting them & their energy. There may be some stresses that are coming up to be examined, & some of you have been working so hard with the desire to have the high honors to show for it. Someone may be receiving a message of concern about not being aligned with what they're wanting to do in life, & it may be time to make a change that aligns with your true feelings & desires. In staying in a situation that doesn't balance yourself out will only cause stagnant or slow growth, & it is also allowing them to embrace a false version of themselves. There is a fear of change because of the expectations of not getting to where you want to be, but that should be the least of your worries. If you're energy is being robbed by your job/relationships/environment, then there needs to be an ending. The path to great fortune isn't always going to involve toil & labor, & sometimes your intuition can be nagging you about that much to your aware. It may be an issue that someone can't get on too of everything, or someone may be worried about having to wait on what will truly be a preferred occupation. The only thing keeping you at an job is the expectation that you will receive what you have earned, but it can ultimately cost you the price of your physical/mental health if you're not careful. Someone may be hoping to create distance from this false reality & are wanting to get on their actual path/journey.

🔥

Some conflict may be coming up in the form of karmic relationships, or deceptive energy, that may be causing oppression. Someone may be basing their hopes the ability to imagine a better situation after an unfavorable outcome or having to face a sacrifice or loss. Aside from the uncontrolled energy around you, there seems to be a magnetism, power, or strength that keeps focus & movement on what is constructive, but it is possible that some others may be feeling the destructive effects being caught up in such difficult energy. There is peace & tranquility in doing things in a soloist fashion, but it is up to the individual whether they choose to let these cycles define them, or make them into a stronger person. Someone is becoming devoted to protecting their crops of growth/energy from vibrations that seek to destroy, & they're going within a lot more to have the clarity to tackle these obstacles. Others may already be past this energy & is maintaining stability with their own energy. Balance (within or without) is going to be the focus for some this season or taking the action toward creating that balance for themselves, & others it will maintaining this balance. Someone may have to head face first into their problems, only in pursuit to make it to the other side. There is a purpose to all of this, & that is what this journey is teaching someone; that devotion to one's path will allow them the strength in their movements & vocalizations. If there are restrictions to how you express yourself or your voice/actions, they may be there out of fear & should be lifted, for the power in your initiative is where a lot of the skill in balance lies.

🔮 Crystal for 🔥 signs

Danburite: Turn on your electric light.

🦁

There may have been some destructive or out-of-control energy that has called for strict distance. There may be some communication coming in with someone who may have been an aggressive or conflicting person, who may be trying to take a more gentle & mature approach since the last time dealing with them. Some of you are receiving an apology because of this behavior from the past, or some may be giving an apology. Someone may have went through a lot of emotional or mental turmoil because of dealing with in ending that ended in a neutral fashion, yet caused a lot of pain or imprisonment of one's pain/thoughts regarding this situation. Someone is trapped by their emotions for another & they seem to be all they think about. This feels like someone expecting to receive an apology, or they are expecting to hear from someone, because the more this person thinks about them, they feel the pull toward them. The only issue is there needs to be a stable person to approach this; the person being thought of has certain expectations for the people they let into their life. There was a false start, or premature ending to a potentially abundant courtship because of someone's immaturity, & it is haunting someone's subconscious, which is triggering who's being pined after. What is deeply disturbing someone & causing fear/anxiety is that their person is now convinced that they are fraudulent & that they won't be heard; they are exuding the energy that they are picky about who they let in & someone is picking up on that.

🐎

There may be some controlling people around you that are trying to get to someone's abundance, & this can be pertaining directly to family inheritance, or familial responsibilities. Some of you may be talking care of an older family member that is sitting on great fortune, but there may be no balance in the say so of who is entitled to what. Others may feel they are deserving of what is inherently yours (whether it is family inheritance or a job/career advancement. This may be a situation that is allowing stagnancy in someone or in a commitment/situation, & it may have to be an ending that is being delayed by fear or inability to change. For some, there is a partnership/marriage that may be going through a division of a fortune (or divorce) that may be a contract that is broken. Others are dealing with family issues regarding finances in some way. This may be a lot of labor put onto one person, & it is causing stress & despair, & going through the (court) proceedings in order to have freedom from the stress. Some may feel empathy in this case where they feel they don't have a choice, which is making them feel vulnerable. Someone may feel this is an issue of rank, or someone's ability to attain a certain security away from this energy, & this can be a dependency situation for both parties involved for some. A family member may have been poverty stricken, which is what is keeping someone in this cycle of responsibility. Someone is wanting to follow a path that is destined, but there may be a feeling of being overworked & not being able to break free from this codependency energy.

🐏

There is a need for a change of scenery or a need to embark on a journey, because someone may be feeling imprisoned where they are. This may be related to broken family aspects or disharmony in the home. Someone is distressed about a false person, or dishonesty, in a family dynamic, that is causing much despair. For some, there is financial responsibility that is causing someone to be drained of their money, for others this is matter of someone's energy needing to be protected from vampiric conditions/people. Someone's environment is really bringing themselves to a place of feeling lack, of either self or of material income. There is a need to communicate this stress, but in an effort to end the arrangement rather than compromise. Someone is needing to move away from this situation (for some, this is depicting an actual move out of a family home), & they are grinding to get to that point. Someone's thinking of letting go, but are also taking into consideration what is going to go into this separation, & for some there may have been legal action taken (or it will need to be taken). Someone is hoping to be able to make this change & the people around them are concerned for this. There may be a lack of confidence in this journey because they haven't gotten to a place where they feel they will have this opportunity, so the clarity of this execution will be the focus. Someone is fearing making a bad choice, having unwanted opinions or lack of opportunities.

🌍

There may be some inner conflict or strife within yourself about what is & what isn't. Resentments may be doing more damage to someone than those they may be holding them against, or someone feels unsure, or is lacking real clarity, about what is being presented to them, versus the actions that should be taken. You may be questioning everything you ever knew about entering a new beginning for yourself, whether that may be regarding trusting the signs you get or yourself. Some are able to have fairness in judgment, while others may need to tap into this knowing. Behind this clarity is the answer to your soul's calling, which may have been keeping you on the other side of the gate out of dealing with a war within yourself. It may behoove you to accept the contradictions as well as what you find to be needed that is obvious; facing union of the opposites to reach a greater strength that will be conducive to your growth. For some, there is a lack of acceptance of what someone is capable of; good & bad. For others, an abundance of energy within oneself can either be productive or destructive; depending on the filtering process of the proper balance of the two. When change is happening, the outcome can be unstable if those involved are. You should change your focus to healing yourself from whatever is active within you that is unstable. As someone who can be a, healer, teacher, mystic, priest(ess), or plainly someone of a very equally powerful nature, you are asked to hone & sharpen your skills in whatever you are called to do in serving humanity with humility, & you are needing to pay attention & weight the forces you wish to put into action. Beauty & devotion can come from the right energy being put into these new cycles, but be careful that you neither act through contradictory behavior, nor allow such causes to go to waste.

🔮 Crystal for 🌍 signs

Sapphire: Find your tranquil place.

👰🏾

Someone is feeling some heartache or pain in dealing with their emotional health/situation due to a loss (of anything tangible; from money to relationships). It may be oppressing someone to open up to what is causing them confusion or fear because of the emotional control that they don't try to let go of. Someone may be in bad shape about what is keeping them in their emotions, & for some this can be because of an elder that may live in the home that may be needing financial help (or they don't have to live at home, nor another person). A lot of it may have to do with what is expected to be given, & someone may be seeing the truth of what others may want from them, or what is being expected of oneself to be able to open up to examine their own personal power through experience. Loss can be what is keeping someone in a challenging place, & they might be receiving signs/communication about it. This may be something that you may have already been aware of but hasn't investigated it further. Someone may be overwhelmed by toil & labor that has been brought upon by this loss, & it may be affecting a community of people for some. As you assess the situation, you may have realized there are decisions regarding the home that will be interfering with some unexpected income that will be rewarded (which can be achieved through acceptance of departure from a situation). Change can happen through a transformation in perspective, but fear of change (within the family) may be keeping one from it.

🐐

Someone may have been expecting to hear from a certain person through some sort of communication/message, but they may have been trapped in the mindset of expectations regarding someone specific. Being put in a state of waiting to hear from this person may have caused someone to feel the need to make a change themselves. Someone may have thrown themselves into stressful, back breaking work, that was able to distract from the problem at hand, but this self imprisonment is coming up in regards to a relationship with a person that they feel very passionate about. Someone is considering this person to be of great fortune to them, however an amicable or neutral ending has occurred which has left someone feeling trapped by the way they feel; which is bringing up concern in regards to this person. There is no question that there was lack of completion here for someone, but a new cycle beginning between these two parties is bound to happen, if this concerned person has any say in it. What caused separation in the past was the work behind false people within a community, which can point directly to family or someone's social circle. All this concerned person wants is to build with this other person, but they feel powerless by this ending & are deeply saddened about it. This courtship was much more abundant than what other people led someone to believe, & for some they wanted to keep this person away from their true potential. Someone wants to reach out, but may be feeling unfocused with scattered emotions/thoughts or scared to do so; they may already feel the opportunity has been missed.

🐂

It appears to be an unfair outcome to a situation that may have caused distance within a relationship. While one energy is wanting that courtship to work out, the other energy is expecting of it, even at a very large distance from one another. Not only is this courtship wanted, there is concern on how & if it will happen. Someone may have been keeping controlling people around, or have been overwhelmed by responsibility at home; a specific scenario is someone dealing with a live in situation with a false person that you may have loved once but ended in theft or loss (most of you have children together, hence why you may still be living with them). The problem with leaving this other person may be directly tied to someone's finances, & they may need to be ironed out legally (this can be a divorce for someone). Someone may be overwhelmed emotionally & physically by this situation, which is further stagnating them on their path. Independence for oneself may be the focus, because someone is dealing with false people/person that may be people at work, or in business with you. For some, you may be thinking to begin a business venture or partnership but the person considered isn't who they say they are. The only solution is getting away from those who don't have your best interest at heart, & defend a relationship that may have you emotionally invested.

*this reading is intended for air (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius), water (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces), fire (Leo, Sagittarius, Aries), & earth (Virgo, Capricorn, Taurus) sun, moon, rising, & venus placements, & is intended for entertainment purposes only, energy is fluid not linear, roles are interchangeable, cross readers (reading for another person's sign) should pick their energy in the scenario, take what resonates, leave the rest*

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