imo the part of mahoro and amagis conflict thats related to their opposing views on soccer & mahoro following (and enforcing) fifth sectors orders is a little awkward. but i get that somehow it has to be put in there its inazuma eleven. but if you ignore it my god the whole thing is just so real and sad.

like i find it awkward because we dont really know why mahoro is so deeply on fifth sectors side... or rather what fifth sector are using to get him to be so obedient. maybe as long as he obeys them theyre protecting him from his bullies? who knows. but clearly theyve got SOMETHING they can use against him like tsurugi judging from his interaction with that dude in the suit whatever his name is. the one that was always on tsurugis ass about the money for yuuichis surgery.

like he basically just warns him to 'not expect to play soccer again anytime soon' if mahoro doesnt comply with his orders to crush raimon... but it feels so out of place? why would he not be able to play again? is it just that fifth sector would get him kicked out of the team? it has so little weight compared to everything that ties him to amagi + the bullying hes been enduring since!!!

Mizu’s Womanhood

I keep thinking about how well Mizu’s story was written. A huge factor that makes me love the show is how they show Mizu’s abilities during fight scenes, but don’t forget that she is a woman. On the surface level people could see these fights as amazing action sequences, but there’s so much story being told at the same time. And that’s what makes an action sequence truly great (Warrior HBO is another example of amazing storytelling through fight choreography. Ah Toy's fight against Cleaver and Hammer comes to mind right away when comparing). 

We start off by seeing Mizu tear through young men in Shindo Dojo. Her skills are showcased as agile, flexible, fast, and based on her ability to use her body in ways that are fluid. She’s tested as soon as Taigen enters the picture. He’s physically stronger than her, shown in a multitude of ways throughout the action sequence from him throwing her to him pushing her down to her knee, but she’s still more skilled. She uses his weight against him, which she will do in every fight during the series. Mizu beats him due to her agility and speed. On top of that, it is the first time we see a man assume victory be his downfall. And it will happen on multiple occasions.

Episode 2 comes around and Mizu is tested again, but this time by 4 opponents and one who is significantly larger and more trained (Chiaki). Mizu's smart, evaluates her situation, and changes her surroundings by jumping down onto the cliffside. It doesn’t put her at an advantage, but at least she’s not at a severe disadvantage. It allows her to fight mainly one-on-one which changes her circumstances. But it doesn’t win the fight for her. What does is her resilience, adaptability, and skill once more. Once again, in the fight, the man opens himself up for a counter during the finishing blow. Chiaki ran forward, his guard completely down because he was sure he’d won like Taigen.

Episode 5 is where we get to see Mizu struggle due to overwhelming numbers. She’s forced into a corner, but the weapon that saves her is the Naginata. Naginatajutsu has been most associated with female samurai. The added range was a huge advantage and allowed women to protect their homes when their samurai husband were gone. I love that Mizu's first time using the weapon extensively was in a situation where it wasn’t her own life on the line, but also the women of the brothel. It showcased the connection between the Naginata, women, and protection in a beautiful way. Also, her using it during these circumstance felt like she was reclaiming the weapon from the traumas she had experienced during Mikio's betrayal. The parallels of Mizu not just being demonized for her blue eyes, but also for being a woman was stunning in this episode.

In Episode 6, we see Mizu almost lose to the big club man (Okiyama). We see her completely overpowered by the size difference. Okiyama can pick her up easily, throw her, and she’s unable to parry him properly. For the first time we truly see the difference between a man’s strength and hers (which will also be present against Fowler). The fact that both Fowler and him pick her up, and attempt to crush her with their bare arms is so powerful and as a woman, it’s a striking parallel to the real world and the powers of men. She was going to lose the fight if not for her last ditch effort, that also could have resulted in her own death with the bomb. It shows her willingness to sacrifice everything for the quest she's on. And at the end of the episode, Fowler manhandles her completely. It doesn’t matter that she’s injured, it doesn’t matter that he has a gun. What matters in that scene is that he takes pleasure in using his power. He destroys the weak and he lords over them. He uses women as sex slaves. He cares for no one but himself. He is the perfect representation of what Mizu as a woman has to fight against. 

There’s no fight scene in Episode 7 of note, but what is important is Mizu’s acceptance of her appearance, whether it be the blue eyes and sharp features, or her womanly features, all of them had once been sources of pain for her. The heart sutra scene is stunning and one of my favorites of the entire series (even if her little toesies were most likely being burned to be so close to the makeshift forge).

And finally Episode 8. We get to see her fight Fowler. I have multiple gripes with the structure of this fight, but it still represents Mizu’s womanhood in a way that continues the flow of the series. Mizu has to use everything to take down Fowler and even when she does she is still overpowered by him. He mirrors Okiyama, easily lifting her and using his strength over her instead of skill. And the line “your bones break like a woman’s” shows the societal norm that men associate with women being weaker, fragile, and unable to withstand what men can. It's fitting of the time period, but also current day too.

But hubris is the man’s downfall in this series because as soon as he lets his guard down, she takes her chance. She breaks free, her rage, need for vengeance, and essential reason for being at this point drive her to beat him. The single line “Oh my dear, that’s your white half showing,” doesn’t just target her being mixed race, but also being a woman. Fowler doesn’t let up there though, he calls her eyes pretty. And not just because they’re blue, but because they’re of a woman’s. He brings up unwanted daughters and digs the knife deeper. And these last lines from Fowler represent everything that Mizu has been combating, everything that has been driving her. There’s so much to her character. The writing in this series shows how multiple compounding factors contribute to a person's drive. And in this instance, it shows how being a woman and half-white has lead to Mizu’s self-hatred and it’s beautiful in such a destructive way. 

A Rivalry Misunderstood | LN4

Ships : Lando Norris x McLaren Driver! Reader

Genre : Angst , Romance

Warning : Toxic! Lando , Possessive! Lando

Summary : You’re the new Golden Rookie of McLaren F1 , a driver loved and accepted by everyone. But Lando may beg to differ.

masterlist

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ✦ ‧₊˚ ⋅ .𖥔 ݁ ˖ ✦ ‧₊˚ ⋅ .𖥔 ݁ ˖ ✦ ‧₊˚ ⋅ .𖥔 ݁ ˖ ✦ ‧₊˚ ⋅

Quickly passing by every motorhome as you joyfully skip through the paddock , signing merchandise and taking photos with the fans. The Sprint race had just finished — with you getting your first Formula 1 win as a rookie! Well technically, but you were happy either way. Congratulations and pats on the back were constant from your team and even competitors as you made your way towards your own motorhome.

Life as a rookie in formula 1 had its ups and downs , majority of the people around have been supportive. However, oddly enough, you expected the least person to be against you would be your teammate … yet, here we are. You never understood Lando’s dislike towards you , it was so out of the blue and you could not think of anything you could have done to earn his mistrust.

You were always on your best behavior, and you always made an effort to be friendly towards your senior driver. You always made sure that you were cautious and that you didn’t step on any toes.

Busy with your thoughts, you reached your motorhome. So here you are, walking towards your designated driver room. Nearing the hallway of your destination.Head filled with thoughts but at the same time empty, not noticing the built figure as you turned the corner. Both bodies weren't aware of the other person, bumping into each other with a thump.

The person was heavy for sure, a built composed of lean and hard muscles. How would you know? He was currently lying on top of you. You were pressed by his chest, while he was on top of you. Yup … definitely muscled, you can feel it through your fireproofs

" Urghh, watch where you're going " you groaned in pain. Suddenly , you were face to face with the your teammate, Lando Norris.

His face was painted with an expression you cannot understand ... His toned arms were beside your head, trapping you between him and the floor . You stared at your co-driver, his hazelnut brown wavy hair, dark emerald eyes as green as the amazon forest, and a jawline that could rival a sword.

Unconsciously, your hand trailed the bridge of his nose to the soft and plump lower lip that the man possessed.

" What the hell are you doing" Stopping yourself from examining him more, and finally connected the dots. You were pressed on the floor by Lando Norris! The person who hated you and wanted you gone.

Almost automatically, you put your hands on his chest — an effort to push him . But alas, your efforts were null, when he suddenly pinned your hands above your head.

Struggling from his iron grip, and sighing into submission and decided to use your brain rather than brawn. Since trying to force yourself out would do you no good, knowing that he was much stronger than you were.

Having enough of his attitude and his harsh treatment , you realized being nice was never going to work— and that you don’t actually care about what he thought of you. And for the first time with him , you set your foot down and served him the attitude that he served you all the time that you were his teammate.

"I think your male bravado is content now, right? having a girl defenseless and restricted. I suggest letting me go now " you felt his hold on your wrist grow even tighter.

Steeling your front , you stared back into his glare, challenging his piercing glare.

"Why? Do you have somewhere to go? Have more people to suck up to? Don't you think that's low ,even for you?" A dangerous glint in his eyes. And an animosity in his voice that you couldn't decipher. He drew his face closer to yours, you felt his breath on your cheeks , an inch more his lips would touch yours.

Suddenly finding the situation amusing, a chuckle slipped your lips. Your chuckling then turned into laughter, and this stunned Lando, as he stared at your face, still sharing the same breath.

He can’t beat you on track, so he now uses other tactics to up you. Funny.

"Funny, such accusation are done by you , don't you think? Oh that's right its because the team actually prefers me now over you. Now that I’ve actually given them a win... hmm or maybe we all should be like you and bow and cower when max’s car shows in the mirror? “

Of course that wasn’t true, you just wanted to aggravate the English driver more. Once again, you tried prying your hands off his grip.

"Shut the fuck up . You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. " Lando bit back with so much animosity. You were definitely scared now .

Realizing that you are in the middle of a hall way and is still beneath Lando, you once again struggled to push him off.

" You know what, let go of me! I need to go to the debriefing for Pete's sake" You started squiggling trying to move away from under him, when an deep growl vibrated through your ear, causing shivers down your spine and goosebumps littering the nape of your neck.

"Don't.Move" Hearing him swallow and steady his breath, you smirked as you lay still below him and glared into his eyes challenging him further

Lando finally lets go of you as he stood up. Scrambling to your feet and dusting yourself off ; adjusting your driver suit and fixing your hair. You the felt his stare on you.

"What? The hell are you staring at?" With a scowl, you folded your arms and returned his stare with a glare.

"You changed your fireproofs" You looked down at your clothes . Your race suit was half open and your fireproofs were showing.

"What? Even my uniform you've got issues with? Should I also have my uniform exactly like yours instead? " you asked with a sneer as you patted the crease on your pants

"Stop trying to be different from everyone on the team! Fucking mooching on every mechanic . Know. your. fucking. place “ The British driver said scathingly.

Suddenly pissed, you decided to provoke Lando even further. Having enough of his bullshit. You drew your body near his , going on your tippy toes and placing a delicate hand on his chest, slowly dragging your fingernails to draw patterns on his fireproofs, feeling him tense under my touch. Fuck it! You were already a slut in his eyes anyway.

Slowly moving your lips to his jaw then towards his ear and whispered

"Does that make you angry, hmm, Lando? little ol me taking your precious spotlight? People adoring me instead of you. “ You tutted , making sure your voice held rotting sweetness

“All eyes on me. Does that make your blood boil? You getting nothing while I have everything, Lando?" Adding emphasis on his name, you gently moved your hand towards his hair and pulled.

Feeling Lando freeze and grow rigid from your touch you chuckled, you were about to move away, when you felt a hand wrap around your waist and suddenly pinning you against the wall with force.

" Don't fucking test me princess. Your playing a dangerous game. No one will look at you, I'll make sure of that.... Don’t prance around trying to win everyone to your side, you’re only mine to look at “ His lips ghosting the shell of your earlobe as he pulled you into his embrace even tighter.

Your breath hitched when you felt his teeth nip your ear. His lips traveled down your jaw to your neck, harshly biting the skin he traveled. He licked the junction of your neck and your shoulder, sucking and lapping his tongue over the bite. He let out a moan while you whimpered.

" Baby? I Never knew you could taste this good" Speechless , you stared at him as he licked his lips, your mind trying to gather any thought it could process.

"Win all the races you want, I don’t care. But don’t fucking flirt with anyone … and I don’t care if he’s your engineer. " With a kiss on the cheek and a squeeze on your waist , Lando was gone

You stood shocked, heart pounding, in the deserted hallway,trying to piece everything that just happened.

What your romantic journey with Rindou would look like

♡ I grant a wish for whoever summons me and take one thing as a payment ♡ 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: Rindou Haitani   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rindou would rather suck his thumb and die in a hole then commit to someone. Rindou is like a defensive cat. he's good at keeping your relationship with constant bickering and you teasing the shit out of him which ends with you two fighting and pulling each other's hair. he is the enemies to lovers troupe. like you had definitely one of the worst meetings with Rindou. you weren't looking where you were going, spilled soda on his shirt, and then he broke your skateboard in half to show his “gratitude.” so...yeah...there's a bit of hate sparking between the two of you. and it gets even worse. you're practically buddies with his brother, Ran. you and Ran are constantly flirting like its nothing and then you turn around and bicker with Rindou. as time goes on and his hate for you “grows”, he’ll feel a pang in his chest when he sees how great you get along with Ran rather than him and he has no clue why. i think the biggest thing with Rin is that he’s scared of accepting you. he’ll slowly realize something similar to: we bicker all the time. but why am i kind of into it? is it because their attention is on me when we yell? but i don't want it to be like this forever because it gets exhausting. even if it's slow realization his thought process when he's trying to figure it out goes by very fast in his brain which results in getting brain fried and needing a break by beating some people up. this boy has a hard time with just saying he wants to just be with you normally and doesn't want to fight forever. so, he’ll show this the best way he can. which is through action. he’ll say he doesn't care if you were to get in trouble and to just ask his brother to save you since you two get along so well. ...but if you were truly in trouble. he’s the first one to come and get you and help you. maybe Ran called Rindou on his phone and said to come help you or you dialed Rindou by accident instead of Ran. whatever reason, Rin is coming to help you and cleaning up whatever mess you're in. if it's a physical issue then he's sure as hell not sitting back and not protecting you. when he gets you out of a fight. like an actual fight with someone way stronger than you, he’ll scold you. why would you get yourself hurt badly and fight someone who's three times your size. sure, he knew you weren't this stupid to fight someone for no reason. and he could win against this person easily, but why did you do it? your weak and always arguing with him. maybe you just pissed off the wrong person- you explained it was to defend your best friend Hakkai Shiba from his brother, so you don't regret it. you did it to protect a friend. and you would do it again. ...well shit. you weren't as stupid as he thought. Rindou doesn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed. because you were brave and protected your friends. which was. well stupid since it got you hurt in his eyes. but when he heard you explaining it, he just understood. he thought of his brother in that moment and how he would team up with Ran to fight people who tried to puff their chest and them. i guess you could say, he didn't really know what to say when learning you had not such an annoying side to yourself. because this was exactly what he wanted. he wanted to know the side of you that didn't include bickering at each other all the time. another time he was gentle with you and didn't challenge you over something stupid was when you were crying. you were stressed about school and felt small and overwhelmed. he’s the one who just sits there and makes you talk about it. i don't meant that he forces you. what i mean is that with your other friends you’d say just a little about it before apologizing and carrying on. you never actually let all of it out. you didn't want to drag anyone down because you were already in a muddy space in your mind- Rindou sits beside you. pulls you close. and tells you to just say what's going on and do not stop. if you stop or apologize, he’s going to flick you on the forehead. he's the one who just understands you more than others. you two are sort-of enemies after all. which means he has to observe you to learn your weaknesses in the beginning. learning more ways to piss you off when you make fun of him and cross your arms at him. but this also led him learning the best ways to being able to read your mind and emotions when you're feeling down. like he's the first one who notices you're not doing so good in that little head of yours. and over the years you've been gentler with him too. you'd clean up his wounds and learn little things about him that he wouldn't really show anyone else. of course, you'd get little things from Ran but it was...different, to say the least, when you got new information about Rin from himself. what finally pushes your relationship with him to a state of playfully bantering with each other and not hatefully bickering at each other and have a bit of romantic advances in view is when he just tells you what he wants. it was when you two were adults and working as Bonten Executives. Ran called you, absolutely wasted. you couldn't understand a word he was saying. he sounded panicked and trying to say it as fast possible which made it sound all like gibberish. you're just confused and ready to just hang up at this point since you're ready to go to bed and it wasn't uncommon for him to call you like this. suddenly Rindou grabbed the phone (drunk too) and cried into the phone. “i don't understand why you are so rude with me when i don't even do anything. i want to be your friend because your friends with Ran. i want you to compliment me every once in a while, too.” Rindou was a blushing and embarrassed mess in the morning, but it was exactly what you two needed to reach a new level in your relationship. you two finally just playfully bantered and teased like it was normal. Ran has honestly been waiting for this day. he called you in the first place to tell you, but Rindou was like “WAIT NO IM TELLING THEM MYSELF STOP” you both had your first kiss about four months later. you two had a little too many drinks than you could handle and were pushing at each other with teasing. you were betting he never had his first kiss yet. he was telling you to watch your mouth or maybe you’d find out if he has or not. well. some would say this isn’t exactly a teasing they’d seen before when it came to you two. “so, you're saying you have some experience?” you smiled, pressing up against him. you invaded his personal space bubble to see if he’d snap. not much to anyone's surprise, he would snap in a few seconds if you kept this up. “you talk big but we both know you have less experience than me. you yell at people you grow a soft side for.” he pointed out. “you're not any better because you let it drag on through the years. would've been much easier if you just said something sooner.” he pursed his lips.  he soon rolled his eyes at you and grabbed the back of your head, forcing your lips onto his. you didn't even fight back either. you kissed back with just as much aggression as he did. finally, just letting it all out. you two didn’t even realize how he was crying as the kiss softened out and it was just you two being gentle with one another. it was so intimate that if you told him this would happen when he first met you, he’d laugh right into your face. he snapped her skateboard in half because she stained his white sweatshirt with her stupid soda. there was no way he’d believe it’d be the chain reaction to years of learning about her and wanting to know her better...and not hating her so much as he originally thought. when he pulled away and had a little tear rolling down his cheek. “sorry” he murmured, letting go of your hair. he didn’t know what he was apologizing for. maybe it was for breaking your skateboard all those years ago? for bickering with you every day about something as simple as the weather? for waiting so long to just tell you he wanted to get to know you? whatever it was. you assumed it was for something else. because you grabbed his wrist that previously held your hair and looked him right in the eye. you were crying a little too. “you better not be apologizing for the kiss, Rindou.” you told him. he shook his head. “never in a million years would it be about the kiss.”

I just love the idea of Gojo and reader being soulmates who keeps getting reincarnated (in reality my OC but I wrote it with the reader)

ONE LIFE TIME ISN'T ENOUGH

Part 1/Part 2

It was the Yayoi period when they met for the first time.

He was fifteen years old and he was already the capoclan of a sea tribe. All the man were tall, with dark skin, burned by the sun, with dark hairs and eyes. They were strong, they dominated the sea and the near land, destroying and burning down neighboring tribes. He stood like a God in the middle of his men, stronger than all of them, with blue eyes that didn't look like the sky, white hair and skin, as a snow flake in the middle of an ash field.

No man was able to win against him, no curse was able to stop him. They called him God and he acted like one.

He was only fifteen and his name wasn't Gojo Satoru but he was him. He was at the top of the world.

He met her in war.

His clan was attacking a tribe, the clan of his future wife, choosen by his father, was attacked by them and it was his duty to extract revenge even if he didn't care about them.

There was war, blood dripping down men, screams, women and children crying and then somebody started a fire. It was like the gods decided to destroy the whole word by burning down everything, it looked like a divine punishment. And she was standing in the middle of it. He thought she was a god of war, fighting in the middle of the fire, face covered in blood, shooting arrow killing his men and the other clan men one after the other. Who was she?

He walked in the fire circle and fought against her and for the first time he felt alive, while watching her vibrant eyes and the smile on her lips. He never had so much fun before in a fight.

The two fought all night, all day, until the next morning when they stoped, no one else was around, all run away from the fire but them.

And then they start to meet there again and again, to fight, to talk, to run on the woods and swim on the river.

And then on the day of his wedding he run away with her, not caring about anyone else in the world, not his clan nor his responsibility. She was the only thing that had value on his life.

It was the most beautiful time of his life, being free and wild, living only by themselves, going from clan to clan together, and being with her. Nothing else in the world mattered.

They created another clan, with strong people, sorcerer helping them fight curse and they were getting paid by the tribes with food, a sleeping place and whatever they needed. People acted as if they were God and they felt like one.

And then the world crushed into him when he realized how mortal they were, the blood coming from her while crying, the baby growing in her slowly killing her from the inside. She fought with nail and teeth, renouncing to her own powers just to keep the baby alive, for him, because he needed a son.

She slowly died between his arms and he cried day and night, holding her to his heart while she grow weaker and weaker. They promised to each other to meet in the next life and to be happy again.

The second time they met was during the Kofun period. She was the daughter of a blacksmith, he was the best and she was secretly learning from him. A queue of men was always out of the shop, watching her and trying to make her fall for them. And then he, Satoru, arrived. His name was different but it was him. He had eyes like the sky, and plush pink lips. He was a samurai and a sorcerer, while she was a sorcerer and a blacksmith like her father.

He saw her working and he decided that he wanted a sword made by her. He came by every single day, tormenting her and pestering her on how he wanted his sword.

Every single one of her sword didn't work for him, too light, to heavy, too long and too short, and yet he wanted one made by her.

It took her twenty years to do the perfect sword, one he wanted to use.

He accepted it on his death bed, laughing and coughing about how finally she learned how to make a good sword, one he could use. Her last word to him was to tell him how annoying he was and how one say she will get back to him, and he laughed before telling her that he hoped to have this fun again in his next life.

The third time they met was in the Asuka period. He was a warrior in search of fame and fortune, fighting curses and men, to be known as the strongest. People were starting to tell legends about him, a man so beautiful that people had to close their daughter in their house, who looked like the first winter snow and as strong as the storm. He met you when he decided to destroy the terrible band of rogue who was destroying the south of Japan, attacking clans and tribes, fighting the Yamada clan, taking their food and money away, killing their men. People talked about monster and demon, yet not a lot of curses where there.

When he went to destroy all the brigands there he met her, with wild hair and a long scar on her face. She laughed at his face before fighting him, he won but he was unable to kill her. And after that day he always had to put up with her.

Wherever he traveled she followed, taking horror and terror with her. When he slept she tried to assassinate him. When he ate she tried to poison him. When he showered his water was always incredibly cold. When he got undressed his clothes disappeared.

It was the most annoying thing in his life.

They fought, and fought and fought. He would have been lying if he said it wasn't funny to fight against her.

And then she died in the battlefield, nor because the enemy was too strong but to protect his son. He said to her that she would protect her in another life while she answered to him that in another life she hoped they could fight alongside.

The fourth time they met was during the Heian period. A struggle of power was going on between the emperor sons, and yet he didn't have to fight as he was not a soldier but a sorcerer. He was taking car of curses destroying village in his clan territory when he stopped near the soldiers to talk with them, knowing curse were going to rise up there. During the night an attack was carried out, the soldier were killed by arrows so silently that he could have missed them if not for his eyes. Then he searched for the killer, her. She was beautiful and angry, as if her face was a mask.

He decided not to fight but to follow her out only of interest and he learned how she was the leader of a group of farmers, not warriors, and she was putting them in harm way even if she was an hunderd time stronger than them.

It was dishonourable or so he thought until she heard her speech to women and men, until he heard her anger and she undressed in front of everybody to tell them how her body was destroyed by that men, how they needed to kill to save themselves and how even dying in battle was better than that. Everybody listened as if it was the emperor himself talking to them.

And they fought and killed and died. Leaving only her standing to fight again. And he decided to help. Maybe because he was touched or maybe because she looked as if fire was in her vein. They fought, and fought again. And then when they got older, he claimed the land for his clan, letting her live there, asking her to stop fighting but she didn't listen. They ended the fight when he died by the end of a Shikigami, him destroying it to protect her.

They promised each other to be friend in their next life.

Fairytale AU + Hair Brushing/Braiding

Ah, Elrond/Erestor...and a dash of fairytale vibes! Always a winning combo lol

Sorry for dragging all my blorbos into this LOOOOL

Prompts: Fairytale AU + Hair Brushing/Braiding

Pairing: Elrond x Erestor

Requester: @maglor-my-beloved

Words: 1 130

Warnings: Injury, trauma, doom, nudity, bath scene, Fëanorian Erestor

Once upon a time, in a faraway land that was yet free of the strife of this present day, two young souls sat by a peaceful river’s shore, braiding each other’s hair in a gesture of unmarred affection.

“I shall cherish your design forevermore,” Finwë, future patriarch of a fated line, whispered, and Elwë smiled knowingly.

Soon, though, they were torn apart by destiny.

Many cycles of silver and golden light later, Finwë found himself brushing the hair of his firstborn son—his heir, his cherished boy—and, inspired by the love he had lost, he wove an intricate, intimate pattern into that living silk.

Thus, a hallowed tradition was born on either side of the great divide. For generations, fathers would braid parts of their identity and their most unspeakable well-wishes into the hair of their progeny.

Often hidden but never undone, those tresses spoke of legacies and enduring faithfulness—they spanned ages, becoming ever more complex, and retold the story of a people ever on the brink of desolation.

So it was that, with heavy hearts and three skeletal hands, two notorious kinslayers thusly marked the blessed sons they’d stolen from their intended purpose.

It was with surprise and life-altering emotion that a stubborn, golden-haired princess and her dignified spouse discovered that, despite and beyond their differences, they shared this precious custom. Together, they created a new design for their daughter, interweaving strands that had been set apart by time and providence.

It was with tears in his eyes that a taciturn, irascible hermit looked upon the simple plait a ferocious mortal had put in their sleeping son’s hair.

“So he’ll never forget where he comes from,” Haleth whispered, kissing a burning cheek. “So he might find his people when both of us are gone.”

The one she loved so desperately without being able to save him frowned.

“One day,” she promised, “he’ll be able to trace back these strands of hair to the root of all love. The braid shall lead him home!”

Once upon another time, a valiant leader stood alone in the face of overwhelming evil. He was beaten down mercilessly, and—just as he had accepted that he’d never leave the battlefield alive—a warm hand settled on his hip.

“The day is lost,” a scratchy, breathless voice mumbled. “Come away now and live to fight another day.”

Too weak and injured to protest, Elrond Half-Elven let himself be carried away by Erestor who was stronger, faster, and much more cunning than he looked at first glance.

“I shall bathe you,” Erestor declared as soon as they had reached the camp, “and tend to your wounds.”

When Elrond tried to decline, overcome with a sudden sense of shame and panic, a resolute but tender finger was pressed against his lips like the prelude to a kiss the other didn’t yet feel comfortable dispensing.

“Hush! Your secrets are safe with me!”

Mollified and subdued by the severity of his injuries, the fearless lord mellowed into the caring embrace of his saviour who bore him to a small tent where a copper tub was already waiting to be used.

Servants brought in hot water and clean towels, and Elrond melted into a semi-conscious state of bliss, listening to the soft murmuring of the blurry shapes fading in and out of focus.

It had been many long years since he had last allowed another to gently peel muddied, blood-soaked fabric from his clammy skin, and the very recollection of those hands—drenched in crime and regret—made him sit up with a jolt.

“You must not…” he whispered hoarsely, but already, he could feel nimble fingers comb through the tangled strands of his sweat-matted hair. “I—”

Erestor’s affectionate ministrations slowed to a crawl as he found what his friend had so desperately tried to keep from him—in the face of such stark, unequivocal reluctance, he felt strangely shy and unwilling to cast his eyes down to look upon the discreet braid, burning like a string of hot metal against his palm.

Even though his mind shied away from an identity he had always suspected but never dared confirm, the sensitive tips of his long, sinuous digits deciphered unerringly what his heart might always have known.

“I recognise parts of this design,” he murmured pensively. A wave of heartsick longing threatened to drown him from the inside as he remembered his mother, brushing his hair and sharing all she had been able to learn about his father’s family with him.

Erestor also remembered his father—stern, often distant as if afraid that his mere touch could harm his child, and yet so discreetly and steadfastly loving—and he couldn’t help but wonder what had become of him.

“He thought I was too young to know,” he whispered as if to himself.

“Who? What do you mean?” Elrond articulated painstakingly. The soothing warmth of the herb-infused bath had washed away the last vestiges of his stubborn ferocity, and he felt worn out and dizzy.

With a soft, rueful chuckle, Erestor lifted the obscuring curtain of his dense, dark hair to reveal a gorgeously elaborate tress of his own.

“It is far from being as ornate as yours,” he conceded sheepishly. “Alas, I have fewer legacies to represent and keep alive, but…you are not alone.”

If he had thought that every layer of protection—armour, clothing, and the dignity of his station—had already been stripped from him and that he had nothing left to lose, Elrond now discovered that he had been sorely mistaken.

A weight he had not been fully aware of carrying fell from his soul, and—finally unburdened—his very heart seemed to draw breath for the first time in centuries.

“They have claimed you wholly then,” Erestor said, his voice becoming unsteady as he was shaken to the core by this revelation. At last, he allowed himself to look down and read the labyrinthine story of his dear love’s life, woven in glossy strands that felt more akin to a soothing river on a hot day than to the burning sun itself now.

“How do you know?” Elrond asked, too overcome to play coy.

“My father would only share so much, but—needled and encouraged by my mother’s faith—I have spent a lot of time seeking answers and documenting as much as I could about those lost to horrifying history.”

Spell-bound and stunned into startled silence, Elrond could merely stare at him.

“I shall not undo it,” Erestor promised as he took up his cherished task of carefully washing the abused, battered flesh once more. “Once we get you out of here and into a warm bed, I shall tell you about my findings. Welcome home, little star. You’re much loved still.”

@fellowshipofthefics Here's another one!

Lots of love from me!

-> 🌟Masterlist 🌟

[TL] PYSCHOBREAK/Chapter 13

[ This post uses Ois~su ♪ ]

Koga: (Woah, that playboy suddenly changed up his movement! Before he was jus’ flailin’ his limbs around like an octopus!)

(Now he’s movin’ with emotion, somethin’ he never did at practice! He has emotion, a soul! He can really dance!)

(I’m still in the middle of practising that part…! I don’t wanna make excuses like I haven’t prepared enough or I don’t have the talent though!)

(I’ve got to do my best with what I’ve got!)

♪～♪～♪

Adonis: (Hakaze-senpai, Oogami… You’re both amazing. It’s like wet gunpowder suddenly exploding.)

(What changed? Is it because Sakuma-senpai is here now? Did seeing him ease your anxieties and rejuvenate you?)

(I don’t understand how but– I must try my best too.)

(I need to learn from these people, from my friends.)

(I need to do this for them, who accepted a foreigner like me without a second thought!)

♪～♪～♪

Rei: (Ahaha. Thanks to me showin’ up, they’ve suddenly got some pep in their step.)

(Your scrambled thoughts have been blown away, and your anger and emotions are stronger than ever.)

(As long as you don’t think about random shit, your brain can focus on movin’ your body.)

(Then, your bodies won’t get worn out—otherwise you’re hidin’ your strongest talents.)

(Let it explode. Let yourself bloom spectacularly, magnificently.)

(That's why, even if I’m not there, you guys can defeat anyone.)

(I don’t wanna deal with those “vampires” that were slackin’ off ‘n messin’ around.)

(The DreFes was supposed t’be a live showdown, but this time it’s more of a ceremony.)

(UNDEAD will beat the “vampires” who are nothing more than an untalented, unorganised mob.)

(That’s how it’ll go. They had lost before we even began.)

(Bouzu wrote this story. Because of today, the Student Council will be received positively from vanquishing these delinquents.)

(These are just their opening moves. Haha, I ended up bein’ his pawn.)

(But I guess I was a little on edge in the beginnin’, but if things keep goin’ how they are, the only way we don’t win is if somethin’ major goes wrong.)

(We’ll be victorious, as UNDEAD.)

(The vampires, they won’t even come in here even if we ask them to. This battle— Flashback, has already been won. By us, by UNDEAD.)

(On top of that, they ain’t gonna exactly be eager to be fightin’ against me, against their god.)

(Those guys, those “vampires” won’t fight us. They won’t participate. They won’t even get up on this stage.)

(It’s ‘cos those vampires have no sense of danger.)

(They don’t think about the future. If they don’t get up on the stage, they’ll never know what could happen.)

(If you actually thought about your future, you wouldn’t be wastin’ your precious life bummin’ around being a delinquent.)

(They’re probably not even worried at all. They’re just goin’ about their day as usual. Maybe they’re making fun of us for the fact that we challenged them to this.)

(They think everything’s a joke, and waste their days laughin’ to themselves.)

(But they won’t be able to laugh for much longer.)

(My condolences. It’s too late for them to regret it now, morons.

(The crossroad lies here.)

(And those guys took a wrong turn.)

(Sorry, but I got no sympathy for them… Bouzu’s different, he actually fought back. They said they admired me, yet they avoid me, they can’t even face me.)

(They say they love me, yet all they love is themselves.)

(That’s why they chose the easiest path, the one that would hurt them the least.

(Pretendin’ they couldn’t see me right in front of their eyes and ran away.)

(That road doesn’t go anywhere. That road is crumblin’, and it'll send you straight to hell.)

(But now I feel like I can reach out my hand to those who have nothin’ to do with me.)

(I’m sorry, I can’t help you.)

…Welp, since you found me, I’ll be up there in two shakes of a lamb’s tail ♪

Kaoru: Seriously? If you’re not interested in doing this, you can just go home, okay?!

Rei: Ahaha. You’re sexy when you’re angry, Hakaze-kun. Sorry, sorry, Freudian slip?

Kaoru: Are you kidding me? Even if you think that, you don’t have to tell me!?

Rei: Yeah yeah, anyway. We just gotta get to know each other one step at a time. We’ll become friends no matter what happens, and there'll be a lot of opportunities to do things like this.

Yup. Fortunately, we’ve still got time.

This is our youth.

♪～♪～♪

[ ☆ ]

Chapter 12

Same anon and fwiw, I think Gojo will win but die and the students will have to deal with everything else, and Sukuna will have to accept being defeated and weaker than someone which will be interesting for his character.

And sorry, I don't see an issue with depending on on the fly smart manoeuvres over long term strategy. And I liked your blog before but I feel you're being unpleasantly rude to people who like Gojo and aren't calling Sukuna a fraud or shit like that.

There is so much to unpack here.

You came to me with your first ask that was phrased in a way meant to provoke me due to its tone, and I explained to you why I think the thing I think. Gave you 2 arguments for it. Then you came with your second ask which you phrased in a pretty rude way and in which you try to provoke me more by completely ignoring the points I made. Kept implying that the main problem is that I don't want to admit that Gojou's smart or whatever.

You finished it off with: "You hate the idea of Gojo winning, I get it, but you could be more self aware of your bias lol." Do you think this sentence somehow doesn't mean: your opinions are stupid because you're not perfectly objective. And implies this as a contrast between you, the objective one and me, the subjective one. Are you a right wing/centrist influencer who thinks that the appeal to the fallacy of objectivism is somehow a discussion ending statement? Do you somehow not know that the accusation of subjectivism and emotion is used by the right wingers and centrists to shut up people, especially women and queer people? If you weren't aware what you sounded like. If you really didn't mean it in your head as a dismissive provocation, I'm sorry to tell you, you live in a culture with certain cliches and strangers online will not be able to glean your pure intentions when you use loaded language like this.

So I matched your tone. And now you're here: I don't like you anymore because when I was rude to you, you should've been extra nice to me. I'm sorry stranger online who I had no idea reads things on my blog that I won't roll over for you and pretend to you that this also isn't straight from some right wing playbook of internet discourse. The appeal to civility when you broke the rules of it first.

________

Yes, Sukuna managed to seem a bit human in this fight, got a tiny bit character development. Gojou got none.

Both of them enjoyed this fight equally, they were both very mean to each other and insulted each other to rattle each other. Both of them were purely focused on dominating. Gojou in an even more open way by yelling: look I will humiliate you in front of an audience...

Gojou never respects his opponents, in no fight of his, he always insults them. Sukuna actually praised his opponents 3 times in total, 1 time purely mockingly, the finger bearer, 2 times the mocking tone was actually laced with sincerity, Megumi and Jougo.

Because Gojou disrespects his opponents he makes them other people's problems.

He disregards Touji, thinks Touji's attacks and actions are merely to distract Gojou so Touji can go after Riko, because Gojou can't even perceive himself as vulnerable or as a target at a time when his techniques aren't perfected yet, then he's still a kid. Riko dies. But Gojou ascends because he's untouchable. He suffers no permanent damage from that just gets stronger.

He destroys the Inverted Spear of Heaven and the Black Rope later out of pure selfishness and pettiness because they could be used against him and even a tiny bit level the playing field, that will not stand.

He doesn't contain Jougo, just bullies him in the open. Hanami saves Jougo and Gojou doesn't give a shit because he can easily best Jougo. Countless people die, including Nanami.

Gojou doesn't make sure to kill Hanami during the school attack.

Had he respected these opponents and killed them, Kenjaku would've had a much harder time pulling off Shibuya.

Gojou knows something's cooking, that he might be a target. He very flippantly concerns himself with it. After all, he can take everything that anyone throws at him.

Shibuya happens, countless people die. Culling games happen countless people are affected, die, are displaced. All because Gojou has zero respect for his opponents.

He doesn't even treat Sukuna as a potential threat. He'd win, maybe he'd break a bit of a sweat but he'd win. And he does. Because the rules that govern all other characters, including Sukuna do not apply to Gojou.

Gojou is exactly the amount a piece of shit as Sukuna. Sukuna is actively homicidal and Gojou shows so little regard for others and is so neglectful that people die and suffer. But Gojou is worshiped, there's so much propaganda behind him that everyone sees him as a savior. It's perverse.

________

Sukuna didn't get nervous so he lost. Sukuna lost because the longer they fought the more damage he too, it affected him. His power level, his abilities, his durability.

Nothing that happened in the fight affected Gojou for longer than a moment. His power level kept resetting. None of the damage stuck.

The brain damage Sukuna suffered was because that's how Gojou's technique works. Sukuna had no choice but to take it and hope for the best, he miscalculated, didn't asses his condition well enough. Instant consequences, that carry on throughout the fight.

The brain damage Gojou suffered was unintentionally self inflicted. He instantly gets over it, he didn't know that it'd happen but he walks it off. It has no bearing on the fight going forward.

Gojou has a secret childhood technique that perfectly counters Sukuna's type of attack. No damage.

Gojou can pull off a Black Flash because he's undamaged, because he's power levels don't drop.

Why can't Sukuna perform it? Why doesn't he counter with it and reap the benefits of it? He doesn't know how to? Toudou explained it to Yuuji, so even if Sukuna didn't know it before then he'd've known it now.

Oh and Hollow Purple doesn't affect Gojou because it's his own cursed energy... Funny how that didn't apply to Yuki.

Clever moves mean nothing if you're not bound by the rules of the game. Sukuna isn't worse than Gojou in figuring out what's going on in the fight on the spot. He's just bound by the rules. All the other characters are.

________

Being able to think on the fly isn't less than planning. It can be absolutely fucking amazing. Yuuji fights like that. All his fights are so fucking good. He's very good at reading and understanding his opponent. In matching them, in countering them. The fights wouldn't be half as good if he wasn't bound by the rules. If his reactions or tactics or maneuvers always worked flawlessly. If he didn't take damage. If his superhuman qualities weren't consistently met with reality checks.

These fights are fucking brutal, they are heart breaking. He's so amazing and heart-wrenching alone, he's even better when he fights with someone else, with Nanami, with Nobara, with Toudou with Megumi or Maki. His fights are gripping, they make me scream, or cheer, or cry.

But thinking on the fly to magically counter everything that is thrown at you is not exciting after a while. Coming up with clever tactics that always work as planned, especially when the character isn't affected by the fight while their opponent is.. and while their opponent really planned for the fight. and while the opponent is equally smart but somehow fails a lot... that's just plot armour, that's deus ex machina. For me there's no excitement in that. And if everything works in Gojou's favour it really doesn't feel like he's actually doing much.

________

But all above is actually just insult to the true injury that is this fight happening at all.

You know what would've been perfect. If Gege never answered the question who's the strongest. If those two arrogant fuckers never got to measure their dicks against one another. If they both got humbled and suffered the consequences of who they are.

Gojou should've stayed in the box until it was all over. He should've have been thusly rewarded for his arrogance. It should've been proven to him that he's not indispensable. That him being one of the kind is nice but the world doesn't need that. That the victims of his negligence managed to clean up his fucking mess. And that if he wants to be a part of the world he needs to rethink who he is.

Sukuna should've been beaten by people individually weaker than him. It doesn't really humble him to be beaten by an invulnerable being. Sukuna did consider himself above all but at no point it seems that he thinks that the rule don't apply to him.

Gojou comes from the supposition that they won't, that whatever reckless thing he does, the universe will align itself and it does. There are no stakes, there is no tension.

All the stress is manufactured by Gege adding an audience because none of it comes from Gojou himself. It's all from the people who don't know that the rules don't apply to him and who care about him.

________

People whose potential is being wasted, whose stories are being put on hold.

And look what Kusakabe says: there are still Uraume and Kenjaku to fight... why isn't Gojou going to kill them? He's fine, he can't be affected by anything. So now others are supposed to risk their lives... Why? What's the logic here?

Because the Sukuna fight was Gojou's dick measuring contest, a little ego booster, an opportunity to show off to the public. There's nothing cool with him coming up to Uraume and exploding them like he did with Hanami. The audience wouldn't even register that it happened. He's done. He showed how cool he is, he didn't save Megumi but that never was the point of this exercise. He's done.

Also as I said, magically nothing he did made Megumi worse, at least nothing to the effect has been mentioned. The stakes literally don't exist.

Now the kids can go and die dealing with Uraume and Kenjaku, tough love... or like Ijichi put it he's just lazy. And selfish. He kinda beat Sukuna... will he contain him? Considering how he behaved with Jougo... Maybe he learned something from that one...

________

Speaking of the kids, he supposedly does it all for them, just not for Megumi fuck that one. And fuck all the weak ones who didn't survive, like Mai. So he put Gakuganji in charge. Gakuganji who doesn't consider Yuuji human. Gakuganji who killed Yaga. A death Gojou made all about himself. He wasn't there to prevent it. But now he surely will be so it's okay to put Yaga's murderer and the person who actively tried to kill Yuuji twice, in charge of the system the kids are trapped in. The system that killed Mai because there was no way out for her.

________

To me whether Gojou's move can be considered tactics or can be considered smart is a moot point in the context of how his character functions in the story. If he pulled some of these things... not all of them because the sheer amount of these clever instant solutions also diminishes their impact... If he pulled some of them off, failed others and was actually in any way affected by the fight then we could talk about him outplaying Sukuna. I will repeat it one last time. You can't outplay anyone if the rules don't apply to you because then you're not actually playing the game, you're just taking the board and breaking it.

________

I have no idea how Gege is planning to sell whatever happens next.

If they focus on Yuuji now and his overdue family time and matricide, if it's painful, excruciating, tense and beautiful I will stop caring about how annoying and disappointing this fight was.

And some more Dark Urge asks! Set 2, set 3; first set of answered questions here. Content warning for the usual Dark Urge stuff, plus misgendering/deadnaming, discussion of vivisection, and pregnancy.

Set 2

1. Did your Durge interact with others of their assigned race? How did it go, did anyone notice something was off? Did they try to blend in?

So on paper, Tavias is a wood half-elf with draconic ancestry (the scales and horns are pretty obvious). Baldur's Gate is predominantly human, but there are enough elves and half-elves that people like. Know more or less what to expect from them, and he absolutely seems 'off' by half-elf standards. Prior to learning his background, he assumed it was just the dragon part coming out (draconic bloodline sorcerers are rare, but exist, even if not many people have met one); after, he would use it for an excuse if he was trying to blend in, and would sometimes just… smile if he was deliberately trying to be Ominous.

But yeah, the whole 'created from Bhaal's flesh' thing means he didn't have anyone who was the same 'race' as him other than Bhaal himself. Even his fellow Bhaalspawn, Sarevok and Orin, were still 'other' to him - Sarevok was half human, Orin was part human, part changeling (via Helena's mother). He had half-elven racial traits, darkvision and Fey ancestry and a natural affinity for stealth and swift feet. He had the pointed ears. (In fairness: Orin also had darkvision and Fey ancestry, and she could give herself pointed ears if she wanted to, and often did!) There really wasn't anyone exactly like him, and that was both a source of frustration and also pride.

2. The Urge itself was Bhaal's greatest gift, a testament to their lineage. But did they despise or delight in these violent urges, did it maybe even scare them?

Sort of… fearful reverence? Prior to Bhaal's proper return in 1482, the Urge was much more controllable - it was more or less Tavias' bloodlust combined with a tendency for dissociation, and he could use assorted techniques to fight against it. After Bhaal's return, it became much stronger, to the point of outright possession by Bhaal (it was possession by Bhaal that led to Tavias killing Alfira; the only reason he could fight it when it came to Isobel and later Astarion is because Bhaal was still testing him, trying to push him into doing it himself). Tavias, for his part, was only rarely possessed outright, and only when he was feeling mentally weak or fatigued and Bhaal wanted to step in personally. For the most part, it'd be Bhaal's voice/encouragement/persuasion, and Tavias would just… let it happen.

3. Bhaal can control his chosen and force the Slayer or actions upon them; did he ever force your Durge to do something against their will or would they obediently follow?

For the most part, he was pretty obedient. More than anything else, he wanted to be loved and accepted, especially by Bhaal, and so would do all sorts of horrendous things to win his approval. If Father wanted it, his son would obey! The only dealbreaker was getting pregnant, which… wasn't so much a pressure with Orin alive as well, although she didn't necessarily want children either (and would have been emotionally destroyed if she knew just who was planning on impregnating her). Still, Bhaal very much did want more Bhaalspawn, and he was prepared to put the pressure on if it became necessary.

4. Durge has an inherent skill for anything medicine; what was their greatest skill? Sewing, caring for wounds, brewing potions or concocting poisons?

Definitely not wound care, haha. It was mostly an encyclopaedic knowledge of anatomy - how bodies are put together. Most of it was learned, uh, hands on. There was a fair bit of both dissection (sometimes combined 'dissection' and 'dinner preparation' :|) and vivisection (had to know what all the assorted parts did, and it helped when, um, everything was still functioning). That included on himself, too - the only reason he didn't give himself a hysterectomy was because he knew Bhaal would be angry. He absolutely would have been capable of doing so, it was just his own fear that meant he didn't, and just stuck with doubling up on contraceptives (using both the Block the Seed spell and Ye Olde Faerunian Condom or the like) and hoping nothing happened.

5. The Deathstalker Cloak is part of their inheritance, but did they really use it or did it bide its time wasting away in a wardrobe?

He did use it, yeah. It's useful! Granted, half the time it would be something like… kill random cultist. Turn invisible. Use invisibility to pull a prank on Orin, but in a proper battle or Situation, it definitely had its purposes.

6. Durge's adoptive family lived in a house in the lower city. Does that house still stand? Did they claim ownership of it, or did they try to get rid of it? Why?

I put them in the Outer City (we just get 'poor part of the city', IIRC?), but no, the house no longer stands. The area was rundown to begin with - after an entire family was murdered there (all save their eleven-year-old foster child, who went missing, presumed dead), it stayed empty for a long time, and eventually the whole block was pulled down for redevelopment. The area is still poor, but there are new houses and new families there.

7. Bane once sacrificed all of Bhaal's assassins, a mistake that caused a great rift between them. Did Durge ever plan to get revenge for it?

Ooh, I don't know about this lore bit. Someone let me know and I can work something out? :D

8. Being the head of a temple comes with lots of tedious work, did they truly manage all of it or did they try to outsource the best they could?

lmao definitely not. Sceleritas did all Tavias' personal scheduling, for one thing - part butler, part PA. There was an actual accountant to do the numbers, I want to say. Tavias did end up having to do a distressing amount of paperwork (I presume his last thought as Orin's dagger entered his brain was, "Ha ha, you have to do the paperwork now~"), but Sceleritas picked up a lot of slack.

9. The Feast of the Moon is a Bhaalian ritual where priests told the stories of particularly interesting or unique kills. Was one of your Durge's deeds ever discussed, or perhaps even turned into a beloved and often retold story?

Oh absolutely. The spree of 1477 gets told a lot. It tends to get a bit exaggerated - Tavias is made out to be more childlike as opposed to already sixteen, body count is increased, it becomes a lot more ~artsy~, stuff like that - but definitely told.

10. Speaking off, Day's Farewell was another ritual everyone of the clergy had to attend as evening dawned over Faerûn. But was it really everyone that came to the gathering, or did a particular Bhaalist sneak out at times or outright refuse attendance? Did they maybe even appear early, eagerly awaiting another service?

Damn, on a daily basis? Yeah, Tavias would have attended most/all (unless on a specific mission), but I feel he'd just… zone out for a lot of it XD;; After a while, it just gets a bit tedious, y'know?

Set 3

1. Name one specific song that fits the vibe for a vivisection partaken in by your Durge. What would it be?

……..I desperately want to name something other than Stuck In The Middle With You but I literally can't think of anything else XD;;

2. Speaking of vivisections; Sceleritas famously messed one up once. How did you Durge react go that? Did it have lasting consequences for the little imp?

Probably annoyance/exasperation. He doesn't ask for much, Sceleritas! It's not that fuckin' hard, Sceleritas! Mild, because he really does care for Sceleritas more than anyone else at that point, but really, dude.

3. The Netherstone, how did they wear it? Did they even wear it?

Kind of a brooch thing at his shoulder. He had his robes drape across his chest, and the Netherstone was embedded in a gold surrounded and used as, basically, a robe clasp.

4. Why the red Netherstone and not the purple one? After all, a proper Bhaalist priest should wear purple robes, so they should have that colour and not Gortash, right? What was the reason behind the switch? Bestie Bracelets? Secret promises? Just plain defiance?

Red matched his Aesthetic(tm) better. Tavias was all black, gold, and red. He couldn't have purple, it would clash. But really, he just gravitated towards the red, didn't really overthink it too much.

5. What was their class, and what was their favourite way to use its perks? Did they maybe even dabble in multiple ones?

Draconic bloodline sorcerer, and probably… 'setting shit on fire'. Lots of. Lots of fire. Uh, he definitely tended to burn places down after doing a kill. …Also came in handy as a makeshift barbeque. ("I much prefer roasted dwarf.") He was entirely adept with other spells, tragically you can't get by with just Fireball, although he definitely had a preference and skill for Evocation spells. (BG3 only goes up to level 12, but pre-brain damage, he was around level 14, and so had access to level 7 spells. Like Fire Storm.) RIP everyone.

6. How did they actually learn their craft/class? Were they born with it, or did they study under someone? Did they have a natural talent?

Born with it, and underwent a lot of training to keep it under control (including when he was being fostered), and, later to use it to cause Massive Damage (at the Temple). It was pretty much one of the main tracks of his education - general education, Bhaalist religious/cult education, combat education, and sorcerous education.

7. The Slayer, Bhaal's gift, how did they earn it? Was it before or after becoming his Chosen? Did they even recieve it?

Basically at the same time as being named Chosen. Theoretically, it was to reward him for the 1477 spree, but he only received it in 1482 when Bhaal returned, which was the same time as him being confirmed as Chosen (Bhaal had spoken through him before to say this was his wish when Tavias was quite young, about twelve, but this was the first time he said it in-person). Definitely made use of it over the next ten years.

8. Durge didn't grow up in the Temple, but Orin did. Did this fact ever have any consequences for either of them? Did it affect their relationship?

There was this weird sort of like… mutual envy. Tavias envied Orin for being able to be so comfortable with everything. She knew the Temple like the back of her hand, it had always been her playground. She knew everyone. She knew all the rituals and rites. She knew all its secrets. Tavias arrived at age eleven and immediately felt like an outsider, and so felt he had to work twice as hard just to get used to the Temple. It wouldn't do for the heir to get lost in the corridors, right?

Conversely, Orin had always found the place a bit claustrophobic. She was taken on excursions to the city, but always strictly supervised - there was no chance for mischief or, well, play. Granted, her methods of 'play' would have been… more on the lethal side, but she still envied Tavias and the way he moved so comfortably through the city streets.

9. Bhaalists are surprisingly skilled with a wide range of weapons. Which one was your Durge's favourite? Did they use it often or did they use something else for their 'regular' schedule?

Shortswords, scimitars, rapiers, and daggers, same as Orin. Longswords and the like could be on the… obvious side, so the siblings were mostly trained with more easily concealed ones (Crimson Mischief always had been Orin's, but Bloodthirst was originally Tavias'. Actually, after it all, he ended up being a little jealous Orin had thought to put the Netherstone in it; it was such an obviously fitting place!). His favourite was using daggers, preferably two - Bloodthirst always, and the other he'd switch out as needed. He had used Stillmaker a bunch when utilising poison, for instance. (During the course of the game, he stole Abdirak's ritual dagger and used it for the entire adventure. He was quite inspired by the idea of pain that didn't cause harm!)

10. Their name; did they ever have one? Who chose it for them, or did it maybe change sometime down the line? Did they perhaps even have multiple alias?

Honestly he legit doesn't know. He knows his original foster parents called him 'Tavia'. When he went to the next ones, they told them his name was Tavia as well. Did that first set come up with it, or did whatever Bhaalists dropped him off leave a note saying, "Hey, this girl's name is Tavia"? Either way, when he started working out he was a boy, he changed it to the more masc-reading Tavias, and when he woke up, that name was the only thing in his head. It's just another mystery to him, along with how he has draconic sorcerer abilities and the appearance of a half-elf when he was made from Bhaal. Let's just not think about it too much!

For aliases, he would most often use his title as the Dragon of Bhaal amongst those he didn't think he needed to know his actual name.

11. After a successful sacrifice, all cult members are encouraged to take their victim's possessions. What's the one thing Durge claimed like that way that they're most proud of? What did they leave behind on purpose?

Jewellery. Shinies. He goddamn loves shinies, especially ones he can put on his horns. Definitely a dragon thing XD

12. Speaking of claiming the possessions of sacrifices, did they ever snatch any real estate in the upper city? Why or why not, and if they did, what did they do with it?

Technically the cult has some, just not Tavias specifically. They're mostly safehouse-esque places, and a few (very hidden) shrines. He would have signed off on some, but otherwise, not a ton of involvement. There's also just some old-fashioned property assets they rent out for income. Running a cult takes money!

13. Cazador's little dungeon is located in close proximity to the Temple. Were they ever some sort of run-ins or disputes between neighbours?

Cazador is just sort of… there. Oh, the Bhaalists 100% know that a) he's a vampire and b) that he's grabbing a hell of a lot of people off the streets, but hey, so long as he's killing them, it's all Bhaal-approved activity! …They don't actually realise that his victims aren't dying, and if they did, there might have been… issues. Like come on man those are perfectly good murder victims, y'know? And if their souls are being pledged to Mephistopheles, that's no use for Bhaal! So in short, they just more or less ignored Cazador and his activities under the assumption he was killing a lot of people, and didn't learn otherwise until it was too late.

Cazador, for his part, had no idea about the Temple. He definitely knew there was a Bhaalist presence in the city, he had been right there for the Bhaalspawn Crisis over a century earlier, but he didn't realise the Temple was that close. I suspect he would have tried to make some sort of deal with them if he had known, which may or may not have gone down well.

14. What did Durge think about living in the Undercity Ruins? Did they miss the surface sometimes, or did they enjoy the unique Underdark-esque decor? Did the great chasms ever lead to some sort of 'accident'?

Oh god Tavias hated being stuck in the Ruins. He might be Daddy's Special Boy, but he's also a lover of sunshine (it's a gold dragon thing. How does that dragon thing work? We just don't know but it's 100% there), and he definitely wilted like a sad flower in the constant underground gloom. Went up to the surface as much as he could via the many secret passages and just… basked like a lizard. He knew it was necessary for security, but he was definitely happiest when he was on a mission and could roam the city streets. As for 'accidents'… yeah, look. They used as much of the bodies as possible (trophies, dinner, decor…) but sometimes you just got to get rid of the remnants, and giant chasms help with that, you know? And if you happen to hold someone over a chasm to let them know just where their bits will end up, well, so be it :)

15. They had an adoptive family once. What did it look like, though? What were their parents like? Did they have siblings? Was it a big, close-knit family or maybe just the mom that stepped up?

It was a few successive foster families, and… it was awkward, y'know? They never felt like his family. He was visibly different, he was, uh, emotionally different. He just never actually... belonged to anyone, and the foster families he stayed with just sort of blended into each other.

After he lost his temper and killed the latest ones when he was eleven, and Sceleritas came for him, he understood, then. He would make sure he belonged with his real family.

Sword of God

The Past

Pairing: spn Charakter x reader

Warnings: death

Summary: When one day Sam and Dean Winchester needed her help, she didn't know that the decision to help them would change her whole life.

Masterlist:

Hi guys! This is my first story I've ever written and English is not my first language either, so there could be mistakes in the text and the grammar could be wrong, but I hope you like it anyway. Love Helena

Many moons ago when God created Adam and Eve, he created from a piece of wood of the forbidden tree a woman as beautiful as an angel with black curly hair, piercing green eyes and a smile that shines brighter than Sirius, the brightest star in the sky.And her name was Isabella. Just like Eve, she was created to serve a man and in her case it was Cain.

Her beauty and kindness was not only known to people but also to the archangels, especially Lucifer the morning star desired her beauty. Against all the laws that existed, Lucifer approached her and fell in love. His goal was to win her heart and make her his queen, but her love already belonged to someone else. Every day he meets her until she looked more into him and began to long for him. But their love doesn't last long. When Cain killed Abel, she tried to save him, but she died in this attempt. Full anger fought Lucifer against Cain until he stood on the threshold of death. When Lucifer wanted to strike the last blow, two angels held him back and a third gave Cain the Cain’s Mark.But the torture he got was not enough, Lucifer wanted more, he wanted his bright star back.

So he made a deal with God. He wanted Isabelle to live again, but she should be much stronger and more powerful than before. He wanted her to become immortal so that he would never have to live without her again.

To his surprise, God accepted the deal, only under one condition Lucifer should not get too close to her and never tell her the truth about her past. Lucifer looked expectantly at the earth and waited. Minutes turned into hours and hours into days and after the seventh day he saw her. As promised, she was more beautiful and stronger than before. But one thing was new, she had wings, beautiful bright white wings. Desperate, he Looks for God and when he finally found him, he got the answer. God not only brought her back to life, he made her the first prophet and she was to be known under the name, God's sword. She should destroy the evil on earth and be his warrior.

Lucifer was able to stay away from her for a few centuries until one day. He went to his favourite place on earth, it was a beautiful clearing in the forest with an old wooden swing and there she sat, even more beautiful than the day he saw her for the first time. He forgot the promise and started talking to her, laughing with her and finally kissing her. For centuries he waited for this moment, when he slowly broke the kiss apart and looked her in the eyes. But she went up in flames right in front of him. You could hear her screams from miles and Lucifer, who stood right in front of her, couldn't do anything to help her until nothing from her was left.

Angry, he confronted God. "Why did she had to die, why"? He screamed. „You, samael, broke your promise, so I broke mine.“ God Said Camly "You will regret this, I will take revenge on you"! that were Lucifer's last words then he disappeared. And when he came back, he started a rebellion against God. He killed dozen of angels.He fought as hard as he could against his brother Michael but he couldn't win and he was locked in the cage of hell.

Now he sat on the floor of the cage surrounded by bars, humiliated by his brother and greedy for revenge. But still, only one question went through his head, will I ever see my love again.

“I will serve the sentence proudly knowing I have aided SOMBRA! One day you will all have no choice but to follow us!” - Pyotr Morozov

Biographical information

Full Name: Pyotr Morozov

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Gay

Status: Incarcerated

Age: 69 (season 3)

Birth: 1946

Race: Human

Nationality: Russian

Origin: Yakutsk, Sakha Republic, Russia

Residence:

Saint Petersburg, Russia

Yakutsk, Sakha Republic, Russia (formerly)

Profession(s): Distiller

Affiliation(s): SOMBRA

Profile

Height: 6'1" Age: 69 (season 3) Weight: 205lbs Eyes: brown Blood: A+

Hailing from Russia, Pyotr is a tall man in his late sixties. He has thinning, short white hair and clean stubble around his jawline. His brown eyes are dull from fatigue, with small eye bags underneath. He wears simple but clean clothes: a dark red shirt and brown jacket, light-washed jeans, and brown winter boots.

As per his suspect appearance in Fathers and Death, it is known that Pyotr drinks red wine, has read Fathers and Sons, and was a Young Pioneer.

Synopsis

Pyotr was the killer of his long-time friend and crush, Aleksey Zima. The two had known each other since they were teenagers but drifted apart when they went to different universities. After obtaining a business degree, Pyotr began working for a famous vodka distillery in Saint Petersburg.

Several years after he had last seen Aleksey, Pyotr found his friend in a bar trying to drink his life away. Pyotr, still in love with the man, offered to let Aleksey live with him, which the other greatly accepted. With Pyotr's help, Aleksey got back on his feet and eventually became the owner of a local bar.

It was at this bar that Aleksey met Natasha, and Pyotr realized that the man would never see him as more than a friend. It hurt to watch the man he loved get married and start a family, but Pyotr buried his feelings for Aleksey's sake. And so, the two drifted apart again, but Pyotr promised to always be there if Aleksey needed him.

When Pyotr was thirty, he heard rumours of a criminal organization looking for recruits. He was captivated by the idea of a world ruled by the strongest people and longed to prove his worth after so much heartache. He joined SOMBRA and became one of their first Russian agents. He was also the one to recruit Natasha into the agency despite his hatred for the woman.

And his hatred towards her only grew when Aleksey came to him after Natasha kicked him out. Pyotr comforted his friend as Aleksey mourned the loss of his wife and daughter, knowing he would never be a man they would be proud of. Once again, Pyotr opened his home to Aleksey even though he knew his love would never be returned.

Decades later, Aleksey told Pyotr that he learned his daughter had joined the Bureau after reading an article about Natasha's arrest. He talked about his desire to reconnect with Marina, and Pyotr, sensing this could be a way for SOMBRA to gain an advantage against the Bureau, supported the idea. So, the two travelled to Kazakhstan to find Marina and the Bureau.

Sadly, but not surprisingly, Aleksey failed to reconnect with his daughter. While comforting the man, Pyotr confessed his love and revealed the secret of SOMBRA. He'd hoped he could recruit Aleksey by promising the man could be happy with him in the new world. But Aleksey was appalled by the declaration of love, laughing in his friend's face. However, discovering Pyotr's allegiance to SOMBRA gave Aleksey an idea.

Aleksey planned to betray Pyotr by turning the man into the Bureau to prove his worth to Marina. He didn't care about the friend who had given him so much; he just wanted to show the world that he wasn't useless. He also hoped to win back Natasha's love by showing her he was strong enough for SOMBRA's world.

He tried to overpower Pyotr while they were at the mall, planning to knock the man out in order to deliver him to the Bureau. But Pyotr was stronger and more skilled than Aleksey and quickly took the man down. He drew his gun to defend himself, and when Aleksey charged at him, Pyotr shot him in the head.

Pyotr couldn't believe what he had done. He hadn't wanted to kill Aleksey, but the man left him no choice. He had to protect himself, and if Aleksey refused to love him after everything he had done, then he wasn't worthy of Pyotr's forgiveness or mercy.

Story Information

First appeared: Fathers and Death

Trivia

He is a skilled poet

He knew Angela was the mole inside the Bureau; the two had met several times before

He used to be a smoker but quit in his forties

He was an expert at distilling flavoured vodka

Disclaimer: Character design was created using Rinmarugames Mega Anime Avatar Creator! I have only made minor edits to the design! Background courtesy of CriminalArtist5

Links to my stories:

The Case of the Criminal (Ao3/Wattpad) Killer Bay (Ao3/Wattpad) Where in the World are the Killers? (Ao3/Wattpad)

Hi there! Love your RWBY meta analyses. Very intriguing, especially about the Brothers. Say, @luminigh had theorised that the Brothers are not actually gods, but aliens posing as gods instead, and with the CRWBY announcing that V9 would "change everything we know", I'm starting to think that the CRWBY are going for this angle. How would you feel about thus if it's true, and why? Personally, I think I'd only accept the "it's all aliens!" angle if they made it that the Brothers were ALIEN GODS, like aliens yes, but still godly by nature. What do you propose?

Okay, wow, so do NOT try to shift from Rich Text Editor to HTML mode after writing a long-ass reply to an Ask. Save that thing as a Draft first, because Drafts still handle that transition fine, while the Ask will instead become a blank white screen that effectively deletes everything.

And to get one more unpleasant thing out of the way, Luiminign blocked me at least a year ago. They didn’t say why and I’ve long forgotten what I suspected to to be the trigger. That’s just the normal Tumblr experience, really.

In Short

Luiminign’s prediction is entirely futile at best, and is inescapably self-defeating at worst.

Even if they hadn’t blocked me, I couldn’t put it any more pleasantly than that. It’s inherently doomed for three different reasons.

Distinction Without A Difference

Salem calling the two brothers “aliens” instead of “gods” would not have made them any weaker. Ruby Rose calling them “aliens” wouldn’t make her or the present form of humanity any stronger.

Remnant is a pale shadow of its former self. Salem led three armies of people who, individually, had more magical power than all four Seasonal Maidens combined. As one, they launched all of the magical destruction they could muster at the gods... and just one of the brothers scooped that barrage out of the air like a harmless soap bubble. Just as effortlessly, that one brother then produced a wave of extinction that wiped out every human being on the planet without disturbing a single leaf of plant-life, and he broke the moon by merely brushing it on his way out.

The only thing new on Remnant since then are the Relics, which is as much a creation of the gods as human magic was. If humans couldn’t use magic to harm the gods, there’s no way they could meaningfully turn the Relics against the gods either.

Luiminign cannot even claim that the gods have become weaker because of some notion that they depended on the faith of humanity to make them so strong. If humanity was so beneficial to the gods, why would the older brother need to deck the younger one to the floor before convincing him to make humanity together with him? And why would the younger one then so readily wipe out all of humanity instead of just a few to make an example of them?

Just Making The Problem Bigger

The only meaningful distinction between “gods” and “aliens” would be the possibility that the Two Brothers aren’t the only two of their kind in the universe, but rather just two members of an entire species.

But if someone hates how easily the Two Brothers alone can abuse humanity, why would that person want to make the problem worse by introducing even more gods of the same kind?

At least with just the present two gods, Ruby Rose has a chance to win peaceful coexistence by meeting the criteria of their deal with Ozma. But a third god, or an entire multitude of other gods, agreed to no such deal and can just wander in and fuck things up as they please.

Remnant doesn’t have the ability to defeat even one god, let alone survive the collateral damage of another divine war.

Not That Kind Of Story

Of course, CRWBY’s writers could change their minds and give Luiminigh the kind of ending where Team RWBY declares “There is no god!” and kicks alien ass because “Humanity, Fuck Yeah!”...

But doing so would totally contradict the established facts of the setting and compromise the themes of the work.

So it seems to me that Luiminign favors their imagination more than their sense of reason. If they refuse to accept what logic and facts tell them, then they have no choice but to retreat behind imagination and fiction. Which includes believing that Remnant's humans can likewise reject the Two Brothers' reality and substitute their own.

But reality is not democratic.

Many fans want to ignore it, but we were warned from the beginning: “There will be no victory in strength.”

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

back to my sub-index for the Two Brother Gods

back to my RWBY Meta index

It was really exhausting to love Sirius Black. Remus was tired of the Rollercoaster of emotions that it brought him. It was supposed to be easy, to love someone. People described love as the most beautiful thing, something that brought joy. That was bullshit.

Only Sirius Black could make Remus feel at the top of the world but at the same time at the bottom of the ocean, drowning.

If only Remus could get him off his mind. If only he could stop loving him. But it seemed impossible.

This love was the rush of adrenaline when Remus saw Sirius smiling. This love was every heartbeat, one after another, unable to stop when Sirius was close to Remus. This love was peace and tenderness when Remus laid next to Sirius and stared into his eyes. And this love was joy when they talked and laughed for hours about silly things. And this love was the passion of touching and kissing everywhere when there were no words left to express how they felt. This love was every cheeky glance, and sneaky hand and every tender kiss, every careful touch, and every laughter or word that had been interrupted by a kiss. This love was every word unspoken but said through gestures and intense looks. This love was the 'I love you's' that weren't said yet but we're clearly felt.

But this love was also the fights and discussions. This love was the fear Sirius had of being rejected. And the fear Remus had of not being enough. This love was the shame they had of showing what they really felt to each other, to the world, but also to themselves. This love was the conformity of seeing each other just as friends because it was easier than accepting their relationship was stronger. They could never be just friends. This love was the 'I don't want to see you again', the constant pain of trying to deny what was obvious. This love was pretending they didn't care. This love was accepting all just in half. This love was letting anyone who was against them win. This love was not fighting enough to be together.

Perhaps Remus wanted to be done with Sirius Black for once and for all. But he knew that he needed Sirius like breathing. And Remus simply didn't want to get him off him mind. To get him off his life.

Sirius Black was too important for him, the most beautiful thing that had ever happened to him, even if it was also the most painful.

I desire to know more about your oc Fodder, I think he's neat :3c

While obviously Fodder’s roommate would probably be another OC, if I were to choose a canon character as his roommate, it would be Sparrow Hood. Basically Fodder’s straight man being paired up with Sparrow’s antics.

When learning that Apple is going to be Raven’s roommate, before Raven could file a complaint against the headmaster and switch roommates, it was Fodder that convinces her otherwise. Basically saying to her “Who else would be a perfect roommate for the future evil queen other than her future Snow White.” In Fodder’s mind, whether Raven and Apple actually gets along or Raven kills Apple in her sleep, she will get closer and closer to accept the parts she doesn’t like.

With Fodder being friends Maddie, he also knows Lizzie and Kitty. While being on good terms with Lizzie (possibly because of his Servitude lineage) he is more closer as friends with Kitty. While he doesn’t join in every prank, he does join in if it involves Raven (perhaps it could cause something to trigger inside her?) or especially if it involves Faybelle. If it gets under Faybelle’s skin, the two seem to be in sync.

Speaking of Faybelle, of all people Fodder seems to treat on equal footing is her as he seems to see her eye-to-eye. This is possibly because Faybelle isn’t actually The Next Dark Fairy and technically has no story of her own.

Faybelle and Fodder’s relationship seemed to have started back in Spellementary. During some recess shenanigans, Faybelle was wanting to play Sleeping Beauty and came up to Fodder to play the role of her servant (how did she see him? Possibly because she doesn’t have a title.) Since Raven herself didn’t give Fodder the order to play with Faybelle, he told her no as he has his own mistress. It made Faybelle so mad that some Lowly lackey would ever tell her no that it basically moved him up her shit list. And once Fodder had become more individual, he had no problem being one of the few students willing to knock the dark fairy down a few pegs.

Going back to power skill wise, as mentioned before he is considered stronger than anyone without a title. For example in a story idea I had for Rothbart (Duchess’ uncle) Fodder would attempt to stand against him despite knowing the obvious outcome. But despite knowing he is destined to lose, Fodder always makes sure that the one he is against doesn’t win. Fodder tries to be an impenetrable wall. No matter how many times he gets knocked down, broken, and bruised, he always makes sure that as a servant to his friends he won’t let the enemy take another step forward. Even as he is tinkering on the edge of life-and-death he stands in their way.

On the other end, when facing against a character with no title, he becomes a wall that is impossible to overcome. A character with no title/destiny is basically just a background character. In another storyline idea I had about a character named “Linus the Line-less” Fodder stand in their way and becomes a force that they can’t overcome, well, until Fodder … (Well, that’s a story for when I talk about Linus the Lineless)

Toto anon here.

Firstly, thank you for such a considered answer. Secondly, thank you for that gif. Oh my, I forgot that look.

I thought Emma would be the most likely to do it it in a jokey way. She’s ridiculously pleased with herself - less so when bear claws are suddenly off the menu at grannies.

Regina would totally call her Toto when she’s annoyed. It’s snarky but not malicious - perfectly acceptable from a former evil queen. She gets an eye roll or the glare.

I had forgot Zelena! She’s narcissistic and has seen the Wizard of Oz - she refers to Ruby as Dorothy’s ‘mangy little dog’ 🙄. That gets her a snarl.

Now I’m curious how Toto and the Wolf get on? I imagine Toto exhibits a lot of big dog syndrome - very annoying for the wolf but Ruby manages to show remarkable restraint. No fluffy bite size snacks for her.

Thanks again for your answer - that was really fun. Poor Dorothy. Someone (Regina or Emma) would definitely make a joke about being surprised it’s Dorothy in the dog house and not Ruby 😜.

Emma!! Oh, you just know Emma would slip up and say something like that completely on accident. Regina will be impressed by that, such flexibility, to be able to put her foot in her mouth so often.

The big group was deciding on how to proceed, when a new crisis set in. They had new people to consider in their planning, new abilities and weaknesses to take into account. For once, they were being cautious before jumping into danger.

After the third or fourth failed sketch of a plan, David reminded them, "We need to keep Dorothy's dog in a safe place. We can't let them use that type of leverage again."

Emma gasped, "Dad! What the hell! Why would you talk about Ruby like that?"

...................... silence.

"Emma, honey," Snow said, reaching out a hand to touch her daughter's shoulder. Her eyes, however, were fixed on Ruby's blushing face. "Oh, honey, no..."

Emma blinks. "...What?"

****

Hah! The Wolf and Toto getting along is something funny to watch.

The very first time Ruby transformed in front of Toto, he almost had a tiny whining meltdown, he trembled so much you'd think he had a vibrating feature. Dorothy had to keep him calm all night.

Who's afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? Toto. That's who. But give him time.

The next attempts were a little bit smoother.

First, they let Toto sniff around the Wolf, until he was comfortable getting closer. He was so scared, the poor thing. Toto's entire body barely was the half the size of the Wolf's head. It was so intimidating for him to get close...

Fortunately, Ruby knew how to win people (and pets) over. She laid down, as low as she could. She lowered her head, showed her belly, put her ears back. She was trying to say: See? I'm not scary at all! I'm just big!

But... that might have been a mistake, because Toto interpreted that as the Wolf surrendering the authority to him, making Toto the dominant one between the two. And now... The Wolf has to deal with the barks and growls and howls (they're... so high-pitched...) when Toto feels like ordering her around. It can be incredibly annoying.

The Wolf tried showing her teeth once. Not even a snarl. No sound, just this stiff wolfish grin, so that Toto could see that her canines were the size of his body. Just so Toto would leave her alone for a bit... Nope. Toto is a brave one, going up against something much bigger and more powerful than him — I guess he gets that from his mom....

Of course, there was a time (and Ruby still feels awful about that...) where the Wolf was feeling specially grumpy and short-tempered, and Toto was particularly energetic, chasing the huge fluffy tail around. The Wolf was trying to not give him any attention, but gods!, was he persistent. When Toto got a hold of the Wolf's tail, she let out this warning bark. An instinct stronger and faster than her restraint, an animal plainly annoyed to its limits, setting a firm boundary...

Toto ran away as fast as the short legs could carry him, seeking cover behind Dorothy's legs.

Ruby turned back into a human immediately, chasing after him to apologize.

"Kansas, I'm so sorry!" Ruby said, cloak over her shoulders, hands gripping it tightly. "I didn't mean to! It just—It just happened. I'm sorry!"

Oh, poor Ruby, she was feeling so so bad... All that hard work to get Toto to trust her, could have been easily undone...

"It's okay, Wolfie." Dorothy said, her voice surprisingly soft. "Toto was pushing it, I know" She looks down at the tiny dog, shaking between her feet. "I'm sorry about that. It's his first time having a new friend. He got a little too excited."

The bottom, top and sides had fallen out of Merrick's world. His heart and hands burned to squeeze the galaxy in one mighty fist; to make Bastila give him what was his by right. He had found the young Jedi with Carth. They had been kissing passionately. Merrick had thrown Carth into the wall with the Force and screamed in his face to leave Bastila alone. That she was Merrick's, and only Merrick's. Bastila had slapped Merrick as hard as she possibly could and told him she had never had feelings for him in the first place. Merrick had stormed out of the Ebon Hawk, shouting that they would all pay. Did this mean he had fallen to the dark side? Inside Merrick felt hurt and pain and anger. He was the hero. He had rescued Bastila from the Taris swoop gang. So why did she not want him? Merrick stared out at Manaan's ocean. He wished that the sea could just swallow him up; that all those numberless fathoms of water could fill the empty places inside. Merrick heard footsteps approaching. He turned. It was Jolee.

"Got something on your mind, do you?" Jolee said.

"I..." Merrick began.

He looked at the ground.

"It's nothing."

"It must be something for you to scream in your best friend's face and charge out of the ship like a hunger crazed bantha." said Jolee.

"It's just... I thought Bastila and I... I thought we had something. I guess I got it wrong."

"Sometimes the only control you have over a situation is to accept you have no control. Bastila has to make her own choices. And so do you."

"I'm supposed to be the hero. Bastila should want only me. I don't understand why she doesn't."

"Why do you need Bastila to want you, Merrick?"

"Because I need someone to tell me I'm not a monster. I need someone to believe in me. So I can believe in myself."

Jolee harrumphed.

"It's hardly Bastila's job to provide those things for you. You need to find them inside yourself. I and the others will help. But you can't hate or blame Bastila for the way she feels. About you or about Carth."

Merrick barked a laugh.

"Carth is a war hero. I'm a guy in a bathrobe with a lightstick."

"Kid, there will always be people who are better or stronger or smarter than you. But those people will never be YOU. We can't do this mission without you. We need your help."

"I..."

Merrick paused. He looked out at the ocean. Then he turned back to Jolee.

"Do you really think I can do it?" he asked.

"Defeat Malak. Save the Republic."

"Anyone can win a fight when the odds are easy." said Jolee.

"It's when the going is tough, when there seems to be no chance, that's when it counts."

Merrick seemed to turn in on himself. Then he looked at Jolee.

"OK."

***

Merrick walked up the Ebon Hawk's ramp into the ambient coolness of the ship itself. Merrick turned a corner and nearly collided with Canderous.

"Watch it."

"Sorry Canderous."

A pause.

"Have you seen Bastila?"

The big Mandalorian laughed.

"She's in her bunk. If I were you I'd space Republic and get a pilot who can keep his hands to himself."

"Thanks, I'll think about it." said Merrick.

Merrick approached Bastila's dorm room. The door was closed. Merrick thought that as he had come this far he may as well continue. Merrick knocked on the door.

"Bastila? It's me, Merrick."

Silence.

Merrick rested his head against the door's cold metal.

"Bastila, I don't hate you for choosing Carth over me. That's your decision and I accept that. I'd like us to still be friends. And work together to save the Republic. I'm sorry for what I did. There's no excuse."

Merrick turned around and made to leave. He had barely gone three steps when he heard the door swish open behind him. Merrick turned around. Bastila was there. Her face was red and tear stained but she otherwise seemed composed.

"Thank you for apologising, Merrick." said Bastila.

Merrick smiled.

"It's the least I could do."

Merrick found Carth in the cockpit. The two men stood a few feet apart, neither of them saying anything.

Then Merrick said "I'm sorry."

Carth regarded him warily.

"Don't apologise to me. Just make sure we complete our mission."

"Right. Right." said Merrick.

He turned to leave. At the last moment Merrick turned back and said:

"You should know that I am sorry Carth. I really mean that."

"Just don't endanger the mission. And don't endanger her."

"I... I'll do my best." said Merrick.

Carth turned away from Merrick and sat down at the ship's controls.

"We've still got one more Star Map to find. So let's just do that. I sure hope there aren't any surprises waiting for us."

"So do I." said Merrick quietly.