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#but he's actually a master negotiator (that's true) and keeper of order (also true) with Massive(tm) mental/emotional maturity
crystalglassjar · 3 years
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🦋 Butterfly Baby 🦋
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-🦋 Butterfly Baby 🦋-
this isn’t exactly a fanfic but not exactly a list of headcanons either. it’s basically an “I suck at writing but I’ve already planned out an entire story”. is there a beginning, climax, and satisfying ending? no lmao
-📋 story description 📋-
xiao and hu tao get together and have a family. hu tao is 19 at the start of this fic if you’re wondering. I just really needed to get this story out my system...hehe...and reply to this post if you can figure out why the story is called Butterfly Baby
-‼️warnings‼️-
mild spoilers, also this was written on 2/7/2021 so some stuff might seem incorrect after more story quests come out. also major character death if you read the alternate ending
-📜 the actual writing 📜-
• hu tao and xiao start hanging out together (aka hu tao comes to bother xiao and eat almond tofu with him whenever he stops by wangsheng inn)
• xiao eventually grows fond for hu tao but makes many attempts to keep her at an arms distance, all of which were in vain
• xiao and hu tao are both in denial about being in love but obviously xiao takes his denial to a whole other level
• xiao doesn’t visit the inn for 2 weeks but eventually caves and goes back because he missed hu tao the silky texture of almond tofu
• ganyu finds out after overhearing verr goldet (desk lady at wangshu inn) reporting back to ningguang about her observations
• ganyu thinks it’s an exaggeration until she goes to wangshu inn for some business affairs sees xiao and hu tao chatting over some almond tofu and tea
• xiao pretends to not notice ganyu peering from behind a wall
• xiao brings it up during ganyu’s adepti training (ganyu story quest) and she just looks away and apologizes
• xiao knows she wouldn’t tell anyone so he doesn’t bother making her feel even worse than she already does
• xiao and hu tao start actually dating (in secret) but it’s hard to keep at least a few people from noticing an adepti and a funeral parlor director walking near the outskirts of town
• xiao once again tries to distance himself because he feels like he’s not worthy of her love after all the people he’s killed and that an adeptus can’t be with a mortal, hu tao shuts that argument down with “but I don’t care”
• hu tao is a bit hurt that he thinks it matters if she’s a mortal
• she laughs at the rumors that she’s dating an adeptus even if it’s true
• zhong li eventually hears about the rumors and is pretty sure it’s true because hu tao comes to his statue everyday and recently brought up questions about love
• fast forward 10 months of hush hush dating and he finally proposes. no ring or anything fancy, just a simple “do you want to get married?” while they stood at the peak of guyun stone forest
• hu tao says yes without even thinking about it and immediately kisses him and starts excitedly talking about wedding plans that she totally hasn’t been thinking about for the past 3 months
• xiao comes to ganyu to ask for help with wedding planning and ganyu nearly looses her head when she hears him say “so I’m engaged now..”
• hu tao somehow convinced zhong li to help her with planning
• zhong li isn’t too shocked about the engagement but hopes that xiao knows what he’s getting himself into
• hu tao, with a lot of effort, convinces xiao to move into the wangsheng funeral parlor with her
• xiao has a tough time adjusting to mundane life (haha get it because- no? not funny? ok I’ll stop)
• it doesn’t take much negotiation with ningguang to secure a venue at yujing terrace
• xiao would’ve preferred a private wedding at jueyun karst but didn’t know how to ask cloud retainer about it
• one month of planning later and they get married at yujing terrace
• basically everyone in Liyue attends the wedding including traveler
• the adepti got their invites delivered from ganyu and watched the wedding from afar
• I know nothing about Chinese weddings so uhhhh that’s for the reader to dream about
• hu tao throws a flower ball made of silk flowers into the crowd (customs of liyue, volume 1)
• may or may not have forgotten about contraception during their wedding night.....
• too embarrassed to go down to bubu pharmacy get morning after medicine
• hu tao prays to rex lapis that she won’t get pregnant
• zhong li, sipping his tea: I pretend I do not hear
• xiao doesn’t know if he should tell hu tao about zhong li being rex lapis so he just hopes he’ll never have to reveal that secret
• xiao nearly breaks his skull on the wall when he realizes what he’s getting himself into
• people of Liyue are still in shock about an adeptus marrying a mortal (since they were never confirmed to be dating beforehand) and nearly explode with buzz when the funeral parlor director starts growing a baby bump
• “have you seen the wangsheng funeral parlor director? last time I saw her, it looked like her belly was growing a bit. do you think she’s pregnant? oh my archons, a half adeptus baby? I can’t believe it!”
• xiao asks zhong li if he can go out an order a crib, rocking chair, baby clothes, etc for him
• zhong li obviously says yes
• fast forward 9 months and hu tao goes into labor just an hour before the funeral parlor was closing for the day
• zhong li rushes hu tao to her room and tells the undertakers to fetch the midwife
• hu tao calls for xiao and of course xiao is there within 10 seconds
• midwife nearly shits herself when she walks into the bedroom and sees an adeptus
•the midwife nervously asks if xiao was the father
• there was a popular (false) rumor going around that hu tao had an affair with zhong li and the baby was his, mostly because people refused to believe that hu tao was pregnant with a half adeptus baby. these rumors were only fueled further when zhong li was overheard asking a shop keeper if he should order multiple sizes of baby onesies just in case.
• zhong li just nods his head and xiao looks away in shame
• midwife gives helps deliver the baby while thinking “if I fuck this up, this adeptus is going to kill me”
• surprise! the baby is completely fine and healthy
• ganyu asked the qixing if she could take a day off (much to the shock of everyone who knew she wouldn’t even take her yearly vacation leave)
• ganyu has never ran so quickly down Liyue’s streets and nearly kicked down the funeral parlor door
• she’s super excited to know that there’s going to be another half adeptus in Liyue but is also incredibly worried about the idea of a half yaksha child
• I can’t come up with a name for the daughter so ill just call her daughter
• zhong li is named the god father and ganyu is the named god mother
• xiao and hu tao take the baby down to jueyun karst
• ganyu and cloud retainer both think the baby is such an adorable and precious little thing
• the rest of the adeptus are just like “xiao wtf...but ok”
• refer to my posts about xiao as a father if you want some more cute details but I don’t wanna just write a copy paste of my past post
• everyone at Liyue harbor is gossiping about it
• hu tao is a very fun and free mom and teaches the kid to become a tiny ball of chaos with the pyromania of klee and the sneakiness of yaoyao. aka the kid is now unstoppable
• pyro vision because of course
• hu tao teaches her daughter how to master pyro, how to write poetry, and most importantly, how to become a funeral parlor director
• the daughter actually prefers swords over poles and gets classes from the guhua clan, and more specifically,
• zhong li was very eager to give the kid a vision and was managed to get the pyro archons permission
• xiao confronts zhong li about the vision it in secret
• xiao: you gave her a pyro vision. do you know how destructive she will be? 
• zhong li, taking another sip of tea: ✨ I pretend I do not hear ✨
• hu tao overhears the conversation and puts two and two together
• hu tao and xiao have their first ever argument ever since they got married
• “why didn’t you tell me before?”
• “because it was a secret!”
• back and forth until they hear the baby waking up and crying
• they agree that there’s no point in arguing now and go off to calm down the baby
• they end up living a happy life as a family of three, and after hu tao’s death, xiao continues to raise the child as much as he can (with the help of zhong li and ganyu)
• their daughter becomes the 78th director of the wangsheng funeral parlor
~the end~
-↪️ alternate ending ↪️-
• osial somehow wakes up during one lantern rite
• xiao was distracted by a different, much smaller, demon
• the guizhong ballista and jade chamber had been repaired by now and were better than before, and they were able to defeat osial without sacrificing the jade chamber again
• however they didn’t get to the jade chamber fast enough and a small part of Liyue was destroyed
• one place in that part of liyue being the wangsheng funeral parlor
• xiao is overcome by grief because he believe it was his fault that he wasn’t able to protect this family
• he finally succumbs to the corruption
• what he didn’t know what was that hu tao did indeed die in the destruction, but his daughter (currently age 12) was still perfectly well and alive
• ganyu takes in the daughter
• zhong li took over the post as director after hu tao’s death and became the 78th director
• zhong li continued to teach the daughter about how to properly run a business and conduct flawless funerals
• the daughter becomes the 79th director of the wangsheng funeral parlor when she’s 18
• she also becomes the new demonslayer of the adepti, following in her father’s footsteps
• even through the trauma of witnessing her mother’s untimely death and being given the news that her father’s had also died, she made it through and raised a happy family of her own, while wearing the hat that her mom passed down.
~the end~
-📝 author’s note 📝-
ok...so that was longer than expected. let me know what you guys think! see any typos or anything off? please mention it! if you guys have a header for hu tao please do share~
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cypher-of-the-night · 4 years
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Biography: Asher
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“Fufufu~ Now then... Shall we dance~?”
~
Full name: Asher 
Hiragana:  あしぇる
Meaning: Asher - "Fortunate, blessed, happy one"
Nickname(s):
Old Friend (by Karlheinz)
My Beloved (by Ying-Yue)
Master Ash (by Andrew)
Papa (by Naoki)
Age: 20 (Physically)
Birthday: December 20th
Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius
Ethnicity: Demon
Status: Alive (Deceased in Lost Eden)
Race: First Blood
Gender: Male
Height: 180 cm (5’11")
Weight: 68 kg (150 Ib)
Hair color: Blue
Eye color: Golden
Blood Type: O
Occupation: Protector of Naoki Enjo
Relatives: 
Ying-Yue Jiang (lover, deceased)
Naoki Enjo (hostess, adoptive daughter)
Yuuichi Kuroi (adoptive son)
Place: Naoki’s body
Favorite Food: Pineapples
Hobbies: Teasing
Seiyuu: As Himself: Subaru Kimura (Ichiro Yamada from Hypnosis Mic) (Talking / Singing)
As Naoki: Asami Tano ( Saki Nikaido from Zombieland Saga ) (Talking / Singing)
English Voice: As Himself: Austin Tindle (Kaneki Ken from Tokyo Ghoul) (Talking, 1/2) /
As Naoki: Amber Lee Connors (Android 18 from Dragonball Z Abridged) (Talking, 1/2)
Significant Other/Keeper: Ying-Yue Jiang (Deceased, Formerly)
~
Personality:
Due to being alive for more than several several millenniums, Asher is rather a cocky and egotistical trickster. While he always takes order from his hostess, it does not stop Asher from being playfully devious and rebellious. He gets easily bored and often takes up challenges he finds fun. Mischievous and a bit immature, The first blood’s arrogance has always been a coping mechanism to mask the pain of betrayal from Karlheinz whom he once respected as a father-figure. Being a Do-S, Asher has said to have always thirst for chaos and destruction in battle and would sometimes go to the human world to witness it. He would even get himself involved just to shed blood for fun on every eclipses when he is at his strongest; Because of this, he is often viewed as the true monster he is for his blood thirst and sadism. This trait still exist even within the body of Naoki as he would laugh maniacally over the idea of a heated war happening in the Demon world, and be heavily upset about is unable to join in the fray.
However, while the sadism is still there, Asher admitted to have toned down his lust to torture and to kill over the years, only spiking up as it was when given the thought of going against Karlheinz. This is due to the several thousand year influence of his beloved lover and hostess. While he does not acknowledge growing soft, Asher shows hold a soft spot for Enjo Naoki, his new hostess, and began to see her as a daughter-figure due to her uncanny resemblance to his past beloved and having to watch her grow up as her protector. He shows to be overly-protective of Naoki as he has saved her in situations where she was almost killed by even Subaru, who Asher would be capable of killing had it not been for Naoki’s influence chaining him down with taking action to do so. It is revealed that Asher’s overprotectiveness of Naoki is resulted from his beloved’s last wish to keep her safe from harm; Thus, protecting Naoki as the last order from his beloved gave him a reason to live without his love by his side and to cope from the immense loss.
While he is very laid-back and playful, Asher holds resentment towards Karlheinz, the man he himself once admired many years ago. This hatred lived on for a millennium and even lived on even when in the body of Naoki. While Naoki idolized him, Asher agrees with Subaru’s hatred of Karlheinz and finds it justifying. His resentment for him is one of the times when Asher does become serious and prompt Naoki to not try and challenge him on that fact as even that scares her.
Asher is also known for being rather promiscuous, as in-between the Haunted Dark Bridal saga and the MORE BLOOD saga, He is known to flirt with men and women in Naoki’s body; While he claim to joke when he says he states he doesn’t mind sleeping around using Naoki’s body, it is possible that Asher was not joking and was actually serious but only claimed to be joking to prevent Naoki to feel wary of him and forbid him from resurfacing again.
~
Strengths: Cunning, sometimes obedient, fast-learner, observant, highly intelligent, experienced, fatherly when it counts, athletic, fun-loving, persepctive, open-minded, high stamina, analytical, protective, goal-oriented, assertive, adventurous, playful, a realist, perseverant, spontaneous, versatile, serious when needed, decisive, charming, considerate (exclusively to Ying-Yue and sometimes Naoki), and expressive.
Flaws: Extremely sadistic, persistent, cocky, egotistical, rude, perverted, disrespectful (to an extend), devious, rebellious (to an extent), sometimes immature, arrogant, easily bored, thirsts for destruction and bloodshed from conflict, mischievous, impulsive, exasperating at times, selfish, reckless, deceitful, glutton for all the wrong things, and manipulative.
Skills: Teasing, a master of setting traps, playing the piano, dancing, rapping (due to Naoki’s influence), is able to speak different languages (Such as German, English, Japanese, and (due to Ying-Yue’s influence) Chinese), his intelligence, possesses a medium-high level of magic, high stamina, the ability to turn into animals of the four sub-clans (a wolf, snake, bat, and eagle), highly enhanced abilities such as strength and speed, can summon and control familiars, has regenerative abilities, reading people and their emotions, hunting, singing (only does it for Naoki and Ying-Yue), has archery skills, a high-tolerance for alcohol, negotiation skills, quick thinker, surprisingly a strategist when it counts, and swordsmanship.
~
History:
Many millenniums ago, Asher was a First-Blood that was taken under the care of Karlheinz, the Vampire King, after Asher’s parents were killed from the Endzeit illness. He developed a strong friendship with his butler, Andrew, a turned-vampire adopted by Karlheinz. He grew up admiring the Vampire King for his vast knowledge and potential as a ruler. He even wished he could’ve been Karlheinz’s real son, and is often overjoyed when treated as if he was his son. His hobby was to tease a young Richter, even giving him the nickname “Little Ricky”/“Rick-tan”. He was also well-acquainted with Carla Tsukinami, the first prince of Giesbach, as they would see each other often in the kings’ respective castles.
One night, he decided to explore the human world to cause mischief and witness wars and chaos to get over his boredom in the castle. There, he goes to China after receiving word from one of his familiars that two clans are at a heated war with each other. As it was the night of the Eclipse, he decided to take part in it using magic to disguise his appearance as one of the enemy clan members; However, as he was about to join, Asher gets cornered by clan members that believes him to be their enemy. While he was able to slaughter them, the first-blood faints from using too much of his own energy. Waking up, Asher finds himself in a different area of the forest bandaged up. Sensing a human presence, He meets a young girl by the name of “Jiang Ying-Yue”, who found him unconscious near the battlefield with the corpses of the men he killed and bandaged his wounds for him. Sensing she is lowering her guard, Asher initially thought about drinking her blood to quench his thirst before he goes back to the Demon World; However, before he could, Asher notices something off about the girl as her chest pains and started to have difficulties to breathe. When she was calm, He demanded answers from the girl, especially why she would save a stranger such as himself. But before she could answer, the Chinese girl noticed it was time for her to return and promised to meet him again the next night before bidding farewell. After she left, Asher decides to transform into an bat to follow the mysterious girl. He comes to find out that Ying-Yue was the daughter of a member from one of the clans in war, the same clan that he killed other members of, and has been taking care of him in secret the entire time despite of that. While he initially thought about leaving to go back to the Demon World as he has already regenerated, Asher decides not to leave yet. He became curious about the unknown girl who didn’t seem to hesitate helping someone that clearly killed clan members from her own clan, that could likely be a foe that could kill her, and concludes that she did not do it out of the goodness of her heart; Rather, she chose to heal him with an ulterior motive. Because of this, he decided to wait upon her return, and thought about killing her by drinking her blood dry once she gives him answers, reasoning to himself that he would’ve been fine without her help due to being a first-blood and can only die from decapitation.
The next night, Ying-Yue returns with fruits she has taken from the clan for Asher to eat, this includes slices of Pineapples. While he was wary of the human girl, he tries it only to savor the taste. While Ying-Yue was happy he liked it, Asher goes straight to the point and asked her why she helped him, despite knowing he was the one that killed members of her clan.
And the answer was simple to Ying-Yue: She wanted him to kill her next.
Taken aback as he has never been asked by someone (let alone a human) to kill them before, Asher asks why. Ying-Yue reveals that she was actually born with a weak-heart, and brought him to a safe area as she realized he wasn’t from either clans. Despite her condition, She explains that the only value she ever had was by being chosen to be married away by her father to the son of the clan leader; Due to this, she never knew what it was like to be free to make choices for herself or to live her life to the fullest, often used as a pawn for power. With her weak heart, she wished she could live healthier, but understands it would not change how things were. Thus, when she saw that someone from a third-party came to join in the war for the sake of killing, Ying-Yue knew she found the right person that would do the job. A stranger with no strings attached that was capable of taking lives with no remorse. Now understanding why, Asher takes everything into consideration. If he kills her, he will highly likely cause an uproar that will start an all-out war between clans that could cause so much devastation and bloodshed to both sides. A war that could potentially continue for many years to come. As much as he enjoyed the thought, The First-Blood decided to accept the request and drink Ying-Yue’s blood, who was taken aback from this action but started to give in despite the pain. As he drinks her blood, Asher starts to become fond of her blood and stops before he could really succeed in killing her. When questioned why he chose to stop as Ying-Yue was prepared to give into death, Asher took a moment to recollect his thoughts as of why. While he didn’t understand himself, he only knew he wanted to drink more of Ying-Yue’s blood, yet not so much where she could really die. Noticing that it was becoming late, Ying-Yue was about to leave until she nearly faints from having the blood drunk. While reluctant, Asher decides to help her by transforming into a wolf to help her to the site of the clan and healing the bite mark before leaving back to the hidden area.
The meetings at night start to become frequent. Whenever Ying-Yue was in danger by rival clan members, Asher would protect her by either transforming into a Wolf or a snake, or by using a familiar to kill them. In the daytime, He would transform as an eagle to watch over her while he transform into a bat to watch over her at night. They started to form a bond that turned into friendship, where Asher confesses being a First-Blood and talks to her about the Demon world, which helped her understand when he drank her blood for the first time; Meanwhile, Ying-Yue talks about the clan and about the good and bad humans that also resides in the human world, which makes Asher begin to understand about the fascination Karlheinz has for humans in the first place. Asher has even transforms into a Wolf for Ying-Yue and takes her on his back to places she has never gotten the chance to go to. Eventually, as they began to show each other sights they’ve never seen before, they start to form a romance as they began to fall in love; He falls in love with her solidifying fearlessness, as she falls in love with his mischievous rebelliousness.
But after realizing he has already taken too much time away from the Demon world, Asher eventually has to bid farewell to his beloved, who kisses him and makes him promise to return for her. While he was hesitant to come back, He decides he will start to become true to her and swore to keep the promise.
However, everything changed when the Millennial war started to take place. After overhearing about a war coming to place, Asher was initially excited to see bloodshed and wanted to join in ‘the fun’. But once he heard about it being against the clans and about how Karlheinz does not plan to help save all of the First-Bloods from the disease that killed his parents, Asher felt betrayed that his idol would rather use this opportunity for his own personal plans.
Upon finding out that he and Burai, the Demon Lord, would seal the Antenate Castle with the rest of the remaining first-bloods, Asher realizes that he is no longer safe as he concluded that Karlheinz will use the trust Asher had for him to join the rest of the first-bloods and possibly die from Endzeit. Before that happens, Andrew chooses to assist his master in escaping that fate, as he has overheard the instructions Karlheinz gave Menae, the sister of the Founder king’s wife, on how to slip through the barrier that surrounds the castle. Asher decides to make that attempt to escape with Andrew before he could be caught by Karlheinz to be joined among the other First-Blood’s. While they barely escaped, Asher returns to China with Andrew, where he finds Ying-Yue whose heart begins to fail. Not wanting to be part from his beloved in this way, Asher decided to give his heart to her to save her, and orders Andrew to perform the transplant. While Ying-Yue does not know how it can be possible, Andrew only makes her unconscious to have one more moment with his master about how this woman has changed him, only for Asher to respond that if anyone was changing, it was going to be her. With that said, Andrew places Asher to sleep after a farewell to perform the procedure. Once the procedure was a success, Andrew decapitates Asher’s head to fake his own death with no chances of his body surviving.
After that, Ying-Yue and Asher became one in her body, having to become more healthy from the first-blood’s heart. But this does not change Ying-Yue’s fate to marry the son of the clan leader and become a subservient wife of the clan’s leader, bearing a son in the process. During these times, Asher would sometimes take over for her to help release the stress, and start to understand the hardships of a woman during these ancient times. Once he was given word by Andrew about Karlheinz’s plan called the “Adam and Eve” project and about how only the aunt of Carla, Mene, was the only First-Blood that was left alive outside the of the castle, Asher remembers that the Vampire King has wanted to take advantage of his dying race. When he was told that Menae was sent to Burai after she escaped the barrier and is bearing a daughter despite also being infected by Endzeit, Asher realizes that the reason Karlheinz didn’t save the first-blood race, was so that he could create a new race using a woman with first-blood blood for his own plans regarding Endzeit.
Finding out that Karlheinz might’ve sent a familiar to search for him after his escape, Asher tells Ying-Yue that she is no longer safe. The reason for this is because, despite faking his own death, it is still possible for someone like Karlheinz to see that his heart could still live on within her body, and might plan to use her for that plan. When asked if he was sure, Asher explains that the only reason he can be sure about it was because he has been under the Vampire King’s care, surrounded by his researches and Asher knew better than anyone about Karlheinz’s fascination with the human race; Even Andrew himself attest to it. He knows that even if the heart originally belonged to a male first-blood, Ying-Yue was still a female human that could still be a victim to Karlheinz and his experiments. And if she doesn’t comply, Karlheinz will either force her to comply or take the heart for himself to place in another female’s body.
While Asher initially suggested running away into hiding, Ying-Yue, not wanting to leave her baby behind or take any risks of being found, suggests to burn down the village. While she understands this to be cruel to the other villagers, Ying-Yue believes that it is the only way to save herself and her child, and even begs Andrew to turn her into a vampire to lessen her value as a human. If she simply ran away into hiding, then the Vampire King will still find her regardless; Thus, she suggests burning the village down is the only option in order to fake her own death to prevent being found, and allow herself to go into hiding with her son, even takes advantage of being a vampire to protect her son and herself. She would rather take that risk for her freedom than to be forced to a fate against her will again, and wants her son to be given the freedom to choose for himself instead of being forced to go through life with high expectations for the sake of the clan. No matter the cost may be, as a lot of things were taken from her.
Understanding her reasons, and seeing that Ying-Yue has embraced his destructive traits as expected, Asher (with Andrew’s help) arranged the destruction of the village and their escape before Karlheinz’s familiars could travel to look for them. When the day came, the village burned as planned. Despite the death of her husband and other clan members, Ying-Yue successfully managed to escape with her son by the time Karlheinz’s familiars arrived to search for them; This earned Ying-Yue the nickname of Adam’s first wife: Lilith. However, once she managed to escape, Andrew, under hers and Asher’s orders, turns her into a vampire; Unfortunately, He could not afford to stay with them, in fear that his association with them would lead to them being discovered alive; Ying-Yue tried to get him to stay, but Asher stops her and bids his friend farewell, making him promise that they will meet again soon so he may repay him for everything he has done to help his new family. And thus, they parted ways and it was the last time they saw one another.
After that, Ying-Yue starts to adjust her new life as a vampire while experiencing the freedom she dreamed of with her new family, as Asher experiences compassion and love from taking care of the human baby whom he viewed as his own son. Noticing that the son was developing differently from normal humans due to Asher’s blood, Ying-Yue has begun living her life as a Vampire watching as her descendants grow and decided to take the opportunity to save their family secret behind their enhanced abilities by establishing a new clan filled with vampire hunters, which became well-known for their professionalism in their work. Despite having to be stay into hiding for protection, Ying-Yue was very happy with the freedom to live her life as her own, to cherish living a long life after fearing her life would be cut short, and to be free to love Asher, even if they must share her body.
However, the happy days came to an end when one of the descendants was captured by a Vampire and their family secret was leaked to the world. While the original plan was to place Asher’s heart in a male vessel to protect him and to keep it from Karlheinz’s reach, Ying-Yue finds out there was an female infant, an orphan born with the same weak heart she once had as a human. Not wanting the child to die, Ying-Yue decided to pass on Asher’s heart to the child. While Asher tried to convince her otherwise as history might repeat, he gave in after hearing Ying-Yue’s solidified resolve of wanting to save the baby. Her last wish was for him to protect the baby with his life, to give him reason not to give up and to keep moving forward, a reason to keep living without her; The same way he protected her during her times of distress. Seeing what she was trying to do, he decides to honor her last request. They both proclaim their love one last time before they part, transferring Asher’s heart from his beloved to the baby.
That baby was born with the name “Jiang Xiu-Lan”, who would eventually go by a new name: “Enjo Naoki”.
While pained to leave his beloved after thousands of years being together, Asher pushes those emotions aside and end up falling asleep until he woke up within Naoki’s dreams when she was 5. This would be their first real meeting. He is awoken from Naoki’s crying and comforts her, enraged when he finds out she was suffering a fate similar to his beloved’s where she is used as a pawn and restricted from having freedom. He comes to realize she has been adopted by a selfish man that does not allow Naoki to act her age. Because of this, Asher takes it upon himself to become a father-figure to her and play with her in her dreams, where she would refer to him as “Papa” as she is permitted to call whom she believes to be her father “Father”. These blissful dreams came to an end as Naoki started to get older, as Naoki would start to remember it as having an imaginary friend, turning the dreams to bittersweet. Asher is placed to sleep again until she awakens him; However, as he has began to see Naoki’s sanity slip due to the abusive environment she grows up in, Asher decides to take it upon himself to chain himself up from within Naoki to keep her at bay, making her unwittingly and emotionally dependent on his presence. For when the time comes for her to break those chains that bind her once and for all when she needs him the most, He will free and be there to protect her.
Which does upon when Naoki starts to live in the Sakamaki mansion and meet the daughter of Burai and Mēne, Cordelia (in Komori Yui’s body), and an adult Richter. In which, Asher greets after years of slumber.
~
Trivia:
• It is heavily implied that Asher was one of the main reasons why Richter developed an inferiority complex towards Karlheinz, as he has taunted him about being a brat that will never being able to surpass the Vampire King nor Asher himself, even after he has resided to Naoki’s body ever since Richter was young.
• Asher admits, after many millenniums later, he reached a conclusion with his sexuality being pansexual; This is due to experimenting about himself while residing within Ying-Yue’s body, where even found himself comfortable in a female body despite identifying himself as male.
He even admits that, had he have experimented and known about his sexuality sooner, and if it had not been for his love for and influences from Ying-Yue, Asher would’ve taken advantage of her body to flirt with others and have fun without her consent; Although, this May or may not mean the same in Naoki’s case as Asher has made clear.
• It is revealed that after the MORE BLOOD saga, once Naoki and Subaru do become a couple, Asher began to sleep with Subaru using Naoki’s body and admits to enjoy it as Subaru is, what Asher calls, “A beast in the sheets”.
• Asher was the first, in the MORE BLOOD saga, to suspect that Yuuichi Kuroi was another surviving member of the Jiang Clan, mainly due to his scent.
• In the DARK FATE saga, it is revealed that Asher did know Christa and has known her when she was a child, to a point when Naoki finally does meet her, Christa only saw her as Asher due to having his heart; This prompt Asher to take over and comfort Christa, assuring her that he’s not dead as rumored and that he’s really there with her.
• In the Brute Ending in the DARK FATE saga, Asher decides to properly take over Naoki’s body as a vessel, killing her from the inside, in order to follow through Carla’s offer to save the First-Blood race from going extinct once Karlheinz is killed; As a result of such, Asher reigns as the new Vampire ruler, turning Naoki’s body to a turned-Vampire and awakening the full-potential of his powers, while claiming Subaru as his pet, breaking him down and manipulating him by pretending to be Naoki to keep him at bay.
• While Asher appears at the near end of the Haunted Dark Bridal saga, He plays a very prominent, important role in Naoki’s story as her anchor; As he may be crazy, Asher himself is heavily secretive and knows a lot of answers to the questions the Sakamaki’s have.
• While roaming around in Naoki’s body once he has been reawaken, It is implied that Asher is technology-challenged and just as outdated with Modern times as Carla; This is to be expected due to being only conscious in Naoki’s dreams growing up, and has not gained control over her body to roam in the surface until the near end of the Haunted Dark Bridal saga.
• He has to be taught by Naoki over time between the Haunted Dark Bridal saga and the MORE BLOOD saga to learn how to figure it out.
• While Asher can still die, he reveals killing him from within Naoki’s body will cause her will experience imbalance from within psychologically, causing a severe loss of identity/an unstable sense of self as he was the one to keep Naoki has not gone mentally insane from her childhood; Making his existence within her is essential to keep her at bay as she has been unwittingly dependent of him emotionally. This becomes heavily apparent in Naoki’s brutal ending in the Haunted Dark Bridal Saga.
However, in the DARK FATE saga, Asher states that it is possible for Naoki to not suffer such a dangerous aspect when he dies; However, the only way to not suffer it is for Naoki to accept and embrace Asher’s own destructive traits as her own, in a similar way Ying-Yue did when she carried his heart. This way requires a lot of time and effort, which is also why it wouldn’t have been possible to do in the Haunted Dark Bridal saga when he first appeared.
• While it is only implied and hasn’t been decided yet, It is possible that Asher will come back again in the DARK FATE saga after his death.
• While he no longer resides in Naoki after the DARK FATE saga, Some of his personality traits were adopted and embraced by Naoki, along with memories of his past shown in dreams, which makes even Carla question if Asher really did disappear from within her.
~
Height Chart:
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Credits: Sprites made by @crezzstar-commissions, Chibi made by minoux-draws, Character sheet image provided by Yuiannii on DeviantArt (color edited by me)
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thebibliomancer · 4 years
Text
Dark Crystal Age of Resistance ep 8 liveblog
“Prophets Don’t Know Everything”
That’s a funny line considering that the prophecy was exactly right in the Dark Crystal movie but Aughra comes up with another prophecy in the sequel comic which is also exactly right but she doesn’t understand it herself until it starts coming true. So, yes, prophets don’t know everything. But prophecy probably does.
Just a stream of thoughts.
Hey, this is a bummer. Aftermath of spider eradication of an entire gelfling tribe is a huge bummer. I’m brave enough to say it. 
Aughra starts yelling at the spider that tried to take over her body last episode. And then helps patch it up anyway because she cares for all the creatures of Thra, even the jerks.
“It’ll leave a scar but scars are good. The mind forgets but scars remember.”
Apparently if the spider had succeeded in taking her over, its tiny brain would have exploded. Good to know!
LANDSTRIDER
Oh, its Seladon. And she’s seeing the wiped out village and going ‘serves you right you dinks’
Oh she’s trying to arrest Aughra for dunking on her. And then she’s like did your prophecies predict this?
Yes, she did. She tried to warn Maudra Fara but all Maudras are kind of dumb.
Oh, nice trick. She slipped her eye into Seladon’s pocket to spy on the castle.
“Don’t worry, Mother Aughra. I’ll convince the Lords to show mercy on you. And your treasonous pets.” Oh Seladon, you sure don’t have the right idea of your relationship with the Skeksis.
Hi SkekSil!
He’s explaining his evil plan to the science slaves with the sewed up mouths because he knows that they can’t tell on him. You’re a weird one, Sil.
Oh, he’s buying their double silence in exchange for him freeing them.
He’s going to get them to replace the General’s allotted vial of essence with a substitute so General will get weak.
The Hunter took off with Brea and Rian wants to go rescue her but Heretic is like NO GO GET THE GLAIVE YOU DUMB IDIOT
Aww Hup is injured and is out of action and so is the Archer.
Just Rian and Deet now.
The Heretic shows them a secret tunnel to the Breath of Thra. Which is something that Deet knows about.
Awwww Heretic and the Wanderer are wishing Rian and Deet luck and to not get killed. Because they want to be one one day.
... I really hope that they’re actually alive by the time of the movie and get to fuse.
So after all the discrimination that Deet has faced for being a Grotten she smugly reveals that Grottan have mean names for the other Gelfling too like Daylighter and Sky Baby. Which she reveals by teasing Rian. Okay then.
Deet: -grabs Rian and jumps down a pit-
Rian: “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA”
Deet: “Don’t do that it aggros the bats”
So the spiders just brought the Gelfling to the castle to be drained all in one batch? INstead of using them as an army to capture other Gelfling? Sure, guys, sure.
Scientist: “I have strapped countless Gelflings into these chairs. And I was equally unmoved by their screams!”
Oh the guard that sold out the other guards is getting drained too. Rewarded as a traitor deserves I see.
Scientist: “The only mercy I have to offer…. Is death!”
I have to say. The Gelflings exploding at the end of being drained. That feels like youre losing something somewhere along the process. Like waste heat but soul goo.
So Chamberlain is cut off from essence because the Emperor is mad at him. But I bet he’s going to get the General’s share on the dl. That sneaky.
Deet and Rian arrive at her home cave and WHOOPS its being attacked by spiders.
Everything is awful everywhere.
Oh geez. There’s that minor arachnophobia again.
OH GEEZ GELFLINGS BEING TAKEN OVER BY SPIDERS AGAIN
Scientist: “Keep up you lackadaisical lumps!” Good alliteration, Tek.
Scientist’s two assistants just made the swap.
So with entire villages being taken, I feel like the Skeksis are really in danger of overgrazing.
Emperor: “Look at you yelling and gorging! This essence was hard won by! Lets not drink it all at once! … JUST KIDDING DIG IN”
And another Skeksis bacchanalia.
Scroll-Keeper: “My eyes! They’re working again! I’ve forgotten how ugly you all are!”
Skeksis: -laugh uproariously-
Emperor: “.... what?”
Ritual-Keeper is going to make a new ritual for drinking essence. It will involve a lot of bathing. Just guzzling essence in the bath I guess.
Oh no, Seladon just arrived.
And the Skeksis are not responding well to her new look.
Seladon: “I’m here to ask you spare the Stonewood”
Emperor: “Uh…. no”
Seladon: “I understand but the other clans have remembered their place so surely they’ll be spared your wrath”
Emperor: “...... No”
And the Skeksis just straight up revealing that they have been draining Gelfling is what it finally takes for Seladon to realize sense-
NOPE SHE DECIDES TO KEEP OFFERING THEM TRIBUTE
Emperor: “Uhhhhhhhhhh….. No!”
And then she asked the Skeksis to spare her sisters if no one else. You can guess what the response is. Its a no and laughing.
And then they take her crown and mock her. Because nothing like insult to insult.
And then she asks for mercy and they tear her Skeksis cosplay apart and take her to be drained. Because. All of Seladon’s hopes and dreams have to be crushed. And also because we gotta get that reference to the movie in.
SkekSil is probably just glad its not him this time. Its usually him.
I’m glad Aughra is crying for Seladon because I’m not really.
She Tried and that’s about what I can say.
Also Aughra’s friend spider rescues her eye which falls out of Seladon’s pocket during the ruckus.
Back over at the caves, Deet’s home is destroyed. Her family is gone. She has two dads apparently. That’s neat but sucks that they’re drunk. 
You know what I mean.
Oh hey its Deet’s brother Bobb’n! He’s controlled by spider!
Deet is trying to negotiate with the face hugging spider.
He just starting freaking out and hissing so I don’t think its going GIANT SPIDER OH GOD
And there goes spiderbrother.
And there goes Deet after Bobb’n.
NURLOC
DARKENED NURLOC HOH SHIT
ITS TRYING TO EAT EVERYONE
Rian: “Hey! Look at me! You hungry? I’m a much tastier Gelfling!”
That’s a brave thing you just did there Rian. And I’m sure you are pretty tasty.
Oh the General is blaming the Scientist for the essence not working for him.
Except Scientist has been drinking his essence and the General hasn’t so the Scientist is the jock here and bullies General right back.
Chamberlain breaks up the fight because I’m sure he has some angle but I think its so he can laugh at both sides internally
OH HI HUNTER
Wow he makes an entrance, dragging in some chains and pincushioned by arrows.
I think…. He just dropped dead?
No, he’s alive.
But a Skeksis seeming to die makes a huge stir.
Back in the tunnels of underground and Deet is lost
OH RIAN HAS BEEN SPIDERED
DEET IS ABOUT TO BE SPIDERED
OH and Bobb’n… uh intervenes? The spiders jump off Deet and Rian.
I guess the spiders aren’t so unreasonable? Rian saved Spider-Bobb’n from the nurloc so Bobb’n spared him?
Deet: “He wants us to follow him”
Rian: “What could go wrong” Heh, wRyian.
So Scientist is Bad Bedside Manner but point being the Hunter is going to die.
The Collector assumes that the Gelflings did this and the Skeksis immediately all start losing their shit. ANY ONE OF THEM COULD BE NEXT
I can see why the Emperor is in charge because he’s the only one who’s trying to think of a way to fix things.
He commands that the Hunter be given as much essence as it takes to save him.
Gourmet: “Surely not all of it?”
Ritual-Master: -glares-
Hah.
And then theres a scrabbling in the cage and whoops theres Brea
Scroll-Keeper: “Oh look the clever princess” -throws her in jail-
Brea: “No you can’t do this!”
Scroll-Keeper: “And yet its already done”
Brea: “You’re all monsters!”
Scroll-Keeper: “Have you only just figured that out? Perhaps you are not so clever after all”
Wow the Skeksis really are thrilled to let their jerk flag fly now that they don’t have to be nice to the Gelflings anymore.
Oh cool, Brea got locked up across from Seladon.
This will let them work their shit out.
Seladon: “There was an order to the world… Everything worked… Until you and your friends broke it!”
Oh good. She’s still delusional. What does it take to get her to see reality.
Oh hi Spider-Tavra is here too. Its a family reunion.
The most awkward family reunion on Thra.
So the Scientist has poured all the stored essence down the Hunter’s throat. Well most of all. It looks like he’s spilling most of it because those long snouts kind of make it hard.
But the essence isn’t healing him. So the Emperor tells Scientist to drain more Gelfling but the Scientist tells him that there’s a limit to what essence can heal. So Emperor hauls off and hits him.
Dang everyone is so rude to the Scientist.
But he raises the point that if the Gelfling know that Skeksis can die it will mean the end of their rule. I’m not so sure about this but whatever.
Emperor: “Bathe the Hunter in essence if you must! We are immortal at any cost!”
Oh hi Aughra’s Eye. On a spider.
So, huh. Are the arathim a hivemind or what? Because Aughra’s spider seems to be working for her. And Bobb’n saving Rian and Deet. 
Bobb’n: “You save our lives, we save yours”
Oh. I guess the arathim are just super into paying back debts.
So the arathim tell Deet that they’re working for the Skeksis in exchange for the Grottan caves which used to be where the arathim lived. Which Deet is like NUH UH THE GROTTAN HAVE ALWAYS LIVED HERE
Uh oh the gelflings did a colonialism. 
And the Skeksis helped. Or did it primarily. 
The Ascendency, All Arathim as One: “Then the Skeksis came. They demand we serve them. When we refused, they drove us out and gave our caves to more willing subjects.”
So. Like I said, the arathim were ahead of the curve on rebelling against the skeksis but nobody else on Thra stood with them, because horrifying spider people, so after countless years of being considered Public Enemy Number One by everyone the arathim have decided fuck it, we WILL deal with the Skeksis if we get to go home.
This is a complicated issue so good thing that everyone is going to die so we don’t have to deal with it!
Then the Darkened Nurloc kills an arathim and the spider-gelflings start freaking out. Because what one feels the rest feel.
Which sounds like a bad basis for a hivemind.
Rian figures out that the Skeksis must have known about the Darkening being here and that they double crossed the arathim.
But it doesn’t matter because the arathim are trapped in here.
Deet decides that she can get everyone out by talking to the Sanctuary tree.
Deet: “My clan takes our names from these caves. But if you were here first, then you’re Grottan too.”
Aww…. Angry denial to camaraderie in one conversation. We could learn from Deet. Learn something.
Rian asks that the arathim free the Gelflings under their control and fight against the Skeksis with them. Maybe they can together do what the arathim couldn’t do alone!
Probably not! The movie still exists! Nothing here is going to end happily!
But the arathim free the gelfling.
Hey, if the arathim are a hivemind, do the ones in the castle know this is going on too?
Awwwwww Deet’s family is cute.
Wait, is Aughra’s spider still part of the hivemind? Do the Ascendency know everything its been doing?
Oh this is confusing.
But it returns her eye to her finally. She’s just been sitting at the village.
Okay so I guess her spider is part of the hivemind because it tells her about the alliance that just happened.
Aughra: “It’s time to make my move”
THATS A MOVIE QUOTE WHY ARE YOU SAYING IT
Oh this is just so many spiders 
I GUESS THE GELFLINGS HAVE AN ARMY NOW!
Deet: “The tide is turning! A resistance is forming!” I should hope so! Its episode 8 into the age of resistance!
Rian: “I have to find the glaive” OH SHIT I FORGOT THAT PLOT POINT WHAT WITH ALL THE SPIDERS
And Rian is like This Is Something I Have To Do On My Own
But then before he can send Deet away, the Nurlocs show up and eat the Sanctuary Tree, trapping her in Rian’s subplot.
I appreciate dunking on the this is something i have to do on my own trope as much as possible but eh getting trapped in Rian’s subplot.
Sanctuary Tree: “The Darkening is pure energy! It cannot be destroyed! Like all energy it can only be transferred!” Some physics in my fantasy. Oh and the Sanctuary Tree uhhhhh uhhhhhhhhhhhh uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh transfer its power to Deet but also shows her a fucked up future with the Garthim and a weird Dark Side Deet and also the movie’s end.
Anyway, tree ded.
So the nurlocs attack. Hey the nurlocs are giant worm things that the Grottan raised. And yeah they’re worms but they’re livestock. This plot is about cows infected with pure evil
Deet stops the rampaging nurloc by absorbing the evil out of it. Even considering how everything is going to end badly, I think Deet is going towards a particularly bad end =(
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butteredonions · 7 years
Note
Listen. Listen. I got an amazing Voltron AU headcanon idea for you but you CAN'T GO RUNNING WITH IT MISS ONIONS I KNOW HOW YOU DO THINGS. From me to you: a Star Wars AU.
Predictably………..this is the longest one.
THANKS, ANDY.(I SCREAMED when this showed up in my inbox. Thank you for this gift, my friend. I hope you enjoy.)
(As a thank you to my followers for 100+, I took a handful of AU prompts in celebration! Prompts are quite closed, and I’m proud to present the culminating and final piece of this milestone series. Thank you all for choosing me on your dash!)
-
00. Lance has wanted to be a Jedi his entire life.
It’s his deepest, most sincere and heartfelt desire.
A Jedi is belonging.
A Jedi has purpose, a path and a place in life. A Jedi looks after others; a Jedi takes care of people. A Jedi is a protector of the galaxy. It’s a longing and a calling Lance has always aspired to.
A Jedi is great, and a Jedi is kind. A Jedi is a keeper of the peace. A Jedi has the Force, wide open and beckoning, bright and true. Lance has loved the Force and the Light for as long as he can remember.
A Jedi looks out for others. A Jedi looks outs for their own.
A Jedi belongs.
Lance is going to be a Jedi.
Little Lance, a handful of years old and toddling on tiptoes in the creche, pudgy face smushed against the transparisteel of the creche window. Stubby fingers leave messy prints, watching all the ships come and go in the distant hustle and bustle of Coruscant night traffic. That’ll be me someday.
Little Lance, older, peeking out from amongst his crechemates as they travel the halls. He watches the robes of the great Jedi Knights swishing about their ankles, Padawans rushing to catch up. That’ll be me someday.
Little Lance, sneaking out to the Temple Gardens late at night to watch the waterfall play, closing his eyes and listening to the Force gurgle over rocks, splash onto stones. The soft breeze of the Force through the grass, the flowers, the trees. The Force is everywhere. A pair of Jedi sit in the grass nearby, quiet, heads bowed in meditation. The Force swirls around them gently, a stream in its own right. Lance hides by his waterfall and observes, content. That’ll be me someday.
Lance, even older. Finally a Padawan himself, following at the heels of his Master as they head down to the hangars for their first mission assignment. Looking over his shoulder at all the other Jedi embarking on ships, returning from missions of their own. A hub of galactic peace, in and out, busy keeping the galaxy safe.
That’ll be me someday.
Lance, at the conclusion of his Trials.
Jedi protect.
Jedi belong.
Lance is going to be a Jedi.
01. Lance and Hunk have been best friends since the days of the creche.
“Are we getting anywhere?” Lance asks, leaning on the engine. The sleeve of his robe swings down and nearly smacks Hunk in the face.
“Watch it!” Hunk warns. He’s cross-legged in front of the ship’s engine, the door to its innards wide open and waiting. Larger parts are scattered on the floor next to him, a handful of tiny pieces suspended carefully in midair by his shoulder. They dart out of range of Lance’s robe; Hunk bats Lance’s sleeve aside and calls them back, floating them neatly within reach. “Lance!”
“Sorry.” Lance shifts appropriately, pulling the billowing fabric of his sleeves up and resting on them like a pillow. The engine malfunctioned a few systems back; Hunk’d pulled them out of hyperspace before any real damage could be done. They’re parked on some quiet little forest moon out here in the middle of nowhere while Hunk works his mechanical magic. “What’s the prognosis, doc?”
“I think I can do it,” Hunk says. He frowns and reaches in; the Force hums bright and content as Hunk tugs on something inside the machine. “Just need to - oh, come on.”
“Need a hand?” Lance offers.
Hunk shakes his head. “Not one of yours. Did you comm the Council?”
“Did,” Lance confirms. Hunk grunts an affirmation and sticks his head into the engine entirely. The bang of a wrench on metal floats out; Lance pitches his voice louder. “They can send a ship to pick us up if we need it, but it’ll be a while. The only other team out here in this quadrant of the Mid Rim right now is delayed.”
“Delayed?” Hunk asks, ducking out. “Can you pass me the hydrospanner?”
Lance waves his fingers. The Force responds easily to his call, lifting the appropriate tool and dropping it into Hunk’s waiting palm.
“Thanks,” Hunk says, ducking back in. His voice echoes from inside. “Who’s delayed? Do they need a pick-up instead?”
Lance shrugs, shifting his feet closer. “I asked, but the Council said no. Just something about ‘negotiations’ taking longer than anticipated.”
“Guess we’re not the only ones having trouble,” Hunk mutters. Something clatters inside the engine with him. He swears. “This is the last time we borrow a ship!”
“Excuse you, this ship’s doing great,” Lance croons, patting the broken engine fondly. “Aren’t you, girl?”
“Sorry. I’ll be clearer,” Hunk says. Lance can almost hear his eyes rolling. “This is the last time you get to borrow a ship without me checking her over.”
“Hey!” Lance squawks. Hunk laughs, his chuckles echoing. “Blue’s a good ship!”
“Did you name her?” Hunk asks, pulling his head out. His hair’s somewhat mussed above his standard ribbon. “She’s tan and green, Lance. There’s nothing blue about this ship.”
“She feels blue,” Lance coos, rubbing his knuckles affectionately over the busted metal. “Don’t you, my beautiful friend?”
“You’re unbelievable,” Hunk says, as if he’s even surprised. Lance grins. With a simple wave of Hunk’s hand three of the little pieces floating in midair drop down; Hunk catches them, squinting back into the engine. “And you get to explain this one to the Council, by the way. ‘Hey, where’s the ship you guys left with? Why’d you come back in that old thing?’”
Lance gasps. “She’s not old! She was a gift! Queen Luxia was grateful!”
“And also because ours was wrecked, no thanks to a giant serpent water-demon-thing that someone decided we had to awaken,” Hunk says. “Next time I tell you I have a bad feeling, listen to me.”
“It worked out in the end,” Lance protests, flopping down to sit by Hunk’s shoulder.
“It did,” Hunk agrees, “But next time, listen. Unless you want to be held captive by weird mermaid girls again.”
Lance pouts. “I thought they were nice.”
“Because they were flirting with you, Lance,” Hunk says patiently.
“What’s it like to get premonitions?” Lance wheedles instead, folding his legs underneath him. Lance is well-trained in many regards: he can fly almost any kind of ship, he’s super good with a lightsaber, and he’s awesome at negotiations (if he does say so himself). His training’s been thorough; Lance is proud to use the Force like he does. There’s a freedom there, a safety and a surety in the Light that Lance has never found anywhere else.
For all that he loves it, however, the Force has never seen fit to send Lance even the tiniest glimpse of the future. Which, considering how bent-out-of-shape Force Visions sometimes make Hunk, Lance doesn’t mind in the slightest.
“They’re useless, when your best friend won’t listen to you,” Hunk says.
Lance groans, flopping sideways. “Hunk!”
“Kidding,” Hunk says, grinning. The remaining two pieces floating in midair float gently into his hand. “Kind of kidding. If you’re going to sit there, you can be useful. Hold these, I need to concentrate.”
“So demanding,” Lance pouts, but scoots closer to help anyway.
02. Lance has looked up to Shiro for as long as he can remember.
Which is probably why this moment is absolutely, horrifically, entirely embarrassing.
Or it would be, if Lance was more than semi-conscious.
The Force inhibitor they injected him with - whoever they are, Lance can barely remember the species’ name - is still running through his veins, making his thoughts slick and stupid. His thoughts slowly tumble over one another when he tries to grab them, tries to slot them into any reasonable semblance of order or logic. The Force eludes him, its absence sickening and gone. Normally it flows through him like water, beautiful and strong, but now he can’t…he can’t…it’s like drifting through a terrible fog.
He’s not entirely sure how long he’s been here. A few hours? Days? Everything’s a bit of a blur. There’s the fog between him and the Force; Lance tries to reach through it, strains out for anything, but there’s nothing. His thoughts are oil, thick and slippery. There’s the hard surface he’s lying on; there’s a distant spark of pain burning in the back of his head, maybe. The lights are too bright and hurt, especially around the door, where it’s extra sparkly and red-hot shiny for some reason. They could at least have turned off the light. Maybe that way he’d actually get some sleep.
Wait.
Extra…red-hot?
What the -  
The door blows open. Part of it falls away in an explosion of metal and flames, letting in a burst of blinding light from the hall. A figure stands in the now wide-open, smoking doorframe, backlit like a rescuing, vengeful angel.
Huh.
“Lance?” says the angel.
“Hunk, I told you to go,” Lance says. Or tries to. The words trip over his tongue, thick and clumsy. All he gets out is some kind of whine vaguely shaped in the sound of “Hun’, I’oldu…”
“Lance,” the voice repeats, urgently. Lance forces his eyes open again. Someone’s bending down over him, blocking out the light from the hall and the stupid bulb overhead. Their face swims in and out of focus; dark hair, closely shaven to the sides except for a tuft in front. Strong nose. Worried grey eyes. What?
“Lance,” Shiro repeats. He leans closer; his hand’s on Lance’s cheek. The tiniest trickle of the Force hums in at his fingertips. It’s warm. For just an instant the headache’s gone. Lance’s eyes flutter closed. “Lance, can you hear me?”
“That’s me,” Lance mumbles. Definitely doesn’t make any sound related to “szat’smmborf.”
“Lance?”
“Uh-hmm,” Lance says, eloquently. He might actually just groan.
Shiro’s entire face softens into something more affectionate, more fond. “They got you good, huh, buddy. Can you walk?”
“Of course I can,” Lance says. Or means to. It definitely doesn’t come out like “‘fcurschmaumble.”
“Going to take that as a no,” Shiro says, and kriff, is he smiling? Lance can’t make his eyes focus, but Shiro’s voice definitely has a smile in it. Kriffing hell. “C’mon, up you go. We have to get out of here.”
He slings Lance over his shoulder like Lance is nothing more than a sack of potatoes, and carries him bodily, just like that, out the door.
Lance tries to keep track of their passage as they go, but it’s hard with his vision wavering in and out like this. They’re underground, judging by the path Shiro’s taking. Lance doesn’t remember these halls whatsoever. The last thing he remembers is -
“Hunnnghk,” he groans against Shiro’s shoulder.
“Hunk’s fine,” Shiro says. A tendril of Force wraps around Lance’s headache again, tugging, easing. Lance can’t help his sigh of relief. “Commed for help and we came. You doing alright?”
“Mm’fnn,” Lance manages. He swallows. “‘m fine. You - wha -?”
“We were closest,” Shiro explains. He’s supporting Lance easily with his left hand, clipping his lightsaber to his belt briefly with the fingertips of his right. “Council sent us, but we would’ve come anyway. Keep breathing, Lance. You’re doing fine.”
Uhhh. “ ‘Wh’e’?”
“We,” Shiro confirms, pulling out his commlink and speaking into it. “Guys, what’s your ETA?”
“We can meet you in the hangar in three minutes,” comes the reply. Lance frowns - or tries to. It’s more of an uncoordinated twitch of his facial muscles than anything. He knows that voice.
“Wait,” Lance struggles to say. Who’d Shiro come with?
Shiro ignores him. Lance probably would too if their positions were reversed.
“Do you have him?” the commlink asks.
“Affirmative,” Shiro says.  “He’s - “
Shiro stops suddenly, feet skidding on the stone floor. Lance struggles to raise his head. He can’t manage that, either.
“Halt,” orders a mechanical, tinny voice. “Hands up, Jedi!”
Kriffing.
“How did you end up on a planet with battle droids?” Shiro asks Lance, incredulously.
“They didn’t say they had battle droids when they asked for aid,” Lance tries to explain. Approximately three of the words make it out (“th’y ddn’sulgheshemm”). He gives up.
The comm squawks a burst of static. “Shiro? Shiro, are you there? What’s happening?”
“Hands up, Jedi!” The droids command. “Don’t move!”
“Minor delay,” Shiro confirms to the commlink. His voice is thoughtful, and almost…amused? “We’ll meet you in the hangar momentarily.”
Metal feet clack against the floor. Lance still can’t see with his face flopped into Shiro’s shoulder. “We said, hands up!”
Shiro’s shoulder shifts under Lance’s midsection. “Lance, buddy. I’m going to need to set you down for a minute.”
“My ‘saber,” Lance groans, with a supreme effort of will. “I’ca fight.”
“I have that, and no, you can’t,” Shiro says, still with that amused lilt in his voice.
The determined click of blasters interrupts him. “Don’t move!”
“I’m just putting my friend down,” Shiro says, deliberately slow. “He’s hurt.”
“I can fight,” Lance tries, one last time, as he’s gently slid off Shiro’s shoulder. Shiro sets him carefully down in an alcove in the wall, cupping the back of Lance’s head to make sure he doesn’t jar it further. Lance slides down the wall bonelessly, unable to so much as lift his head once Shiro pulls his hand away.
“Surrender!” the droids order.
“Mm,” Shiro says. He drops something into Lance’s limp palm: the commlink.
“Shiro,” Lance croaks, as Shiro stands.
“Rest,” Shiro tells him. “We’ll be out of here in two minutes.”
Even with his blurry vision, Lance can just make out the determined glint in Shiro’s eyes, steady and firm above a scarless face, one single thick streak of white in the otherwise perfect set of bangs. How Shiro got that white streak is legendary.
As is Shiro, the youngest Jedi Knight in six centuries.
“Last warning,” the droids command. “Surrender or be destroyed!”
“Not doing that,” Shiro says easily, and in one smooth motion calls his lightsaber to his right hand and ignites it.
The greatest regret of the mission, Lance thinks, is not being captured in the first place. It’s not the loss of the Force, thanks to the inhibitor drug still coursing through his veins. It’s not even that Hunk and his bad-feeling-number-twelve were right.
No. Lance’s greatest regret is that he passes out before he can watch Shiro single-handedly take down six battle-droids, armed only with a lightsaber and the strongest, most unwavering trust in the Force that Lance has ever seen.
Lance is never going to live this one down.
03. Scratch that, scratch all of that: the greatest regret of the entire mission failure is that being rescued by Shiro also means being rescued by Keith.
Lance comes to because people are yelling.
“Everyone on?” bellows a voice from afar, sharp syllables brash and blunt. Lance knows that voice. Aw, hell, he knows that voice.
“Go, Keith!” Shiro shouts. He’s carrying Lance again, slung over his shoulder. Did early promotion to Jedi Knight come at a total loss of any basic field first aid?
“What happened?!” says a blessed voice rushing towards him - oh, that’s Hunk, oh thank the Force, that’s Hunk. Relief surges through Lance’s chest.
“Hunk,” he cries, stretching out a hand. Or tries to. The drugs mean he just moans and weakly flings his fingers into the fabric of Shiro’s hood.
A hand grasps his anyway, calloused and warm. “Is he okay?” Hunk asks, worry thick in his voice.
Before Shiro can answer the ship shakes, hard. Shiro staggers but somehow doesn’t drop Lance. Hunk yelps.
“You might want to buckle up!” Keith shouts, probably from the cockpit. Keith. Of all the terrible luck.
“‘m not letting Keith save me,” Lance groans, trying to kick his feet so Shiro’ll set him down. His feet don’t even twitch. “Put me back. No. No way.”
Surprising absolutely no one, only half of the syllables make it out. (“ ‘mnahleKeeeeef…”)
“You sure he’s alright?” Hunk asks, following in concern as Shiro carries Lance further into the ship. “He’s kind of out of it.”
“Understandable, after what they dosed him with,” Shiro says. His voice reaches Lance as if through a distant tube. The world tilts; something soft presses against his back. Shiro’s hand cradles the back of Lance’s head again, laying him down. Even so Lance’s entire world spins - he can just barely make out Shiro’s face still, and behind him, Hunk’s wide-eyed worry. He squeezes his eyes shut, miserable.
“Lance,” Shiro says. “You need to go into a healing trance, okay? It’ll do until we get back to Coruscant and can put you into bacta for your head. Can you go into a trance yourself, or do you need help?”
Oh hell no. Lance doesn’t need help with a healing trance. He’s the best at these. This is his chance. He’s totally got this.
He raises a hand to say so - maybe cock the trademark finger-guns in Shiro’s direction - but can’t actually get his hand more than a millimeter off the bunk. His fingers really just flop weakly against the medical mattress.
“Uh,” Lance groans.
“He needs help,” Hunk summarizes for him.
The ship shudders beneath them, harder. Hunk grabs for a hold; Shiro braces Lance against the bunk with one hand.
“Keith?” Shiro calls urgently.
“I got it, I got it,” Keith shouts back. The ship shakes again, harder. “Krithspit!”
“You got him?” Hunk asks. “I can man a cannon.”
Shiro nods. “Go.”
Hunk squeezes Lance’s hand and lets go, robe brushing Lance’s failing fingers as he leaves. Lance should say something  - total encouragement, maybe - but the words are stuck in the fog, lost in the slick of oil inside his head. The Force is still so far away it’s sickening. He hates this.
That comforting broad hand settles on his forehead, gentle and firm.
“Breathe,” Shiro suggests. The Force swirls under his palm of his right hand; his glove’s ripped, exposing bare skin. Lance can feel Shiro’s pulse through the contact, steady and strong. Shiro’s fingertips are warm as he brushes Lance’s sweaty hair away. “Let me help you.”
“You came for me,” Lance murmurs. It’s the easiest thing he’s managed to say all evening.
Shiro’s smile warms his voice, too. “Of course we did.” The Force presses, insistent, strong. It reaches out to Lance like tendrils of wind, brushing back the clouds trapped in Lance’s brain. Lance sighs, the fog drifting wisps at his corners.
“Breathe with me,” Shiro murmurs, and Lance does.
04. It’s not that Lance doesn’t like Keith, per se. It’s just that there’s all kinds of better, totally-valid-and-not-petty-at-all reasons not to (shut up, Hunk).
For one, Keith’s - prickly, or something. He’s super quiet. He’s never really said more than four words to Lance, even when they were assigned to a mission together back in the day. He’s curt and closed and Lance has definitely wiped that mission from his memory, thank you very much. Clearly they didn’t work well together or the Council would’ve tried again. Case closed.
Keith’s an excellent swordsman. He was the first one in their early classes to advance to the next form of lightsaber technique, always reaching, always going first and always outdoing Lance by a landslide. Even now it’s not uncommon for Lance to come back from a mission with Hunk, seek out one of the sparring bots, and find Keith’s set some new record or other. If Lance wasn’t an awesome Jedi who could release his anger into the Force and all, it’d be infuriating.
There’s also the fact that out of everyone in their age-group, Keith was picked first by a Jedi Master to be a Padawan.
He was picked first and he was picked early. And even though it’s been years, even though Lance did get chosen before his thirteenth birthday, even though that’s long past and now they’re all Jedi Knights anyway so it doesn’t even matter, it still….stings, sometimes. Just a little.
The other big reason to Not Like Keith is that Keith’s primary partner for field work just so happens to be Shiro.
Nine times out of ten they’re off together, completing missions with aplomb and speed and legendary success and blah, blah, blah. A dream team. Fine. Lance gets it; he has his preferred field partner, too. He wouldn’t trade Hunk for anybody. He certainly wouldn’t trade him for Keith.
Which is why when Hunk comes down with a nasty case of the Andorian flu the day before the Council summons arrives, Lance barely manages to hide his dismay.
“I can do it,” Hunk insists, but the very act of speaking sends him into an explosive fit of sneezing.
“You’re sick,” Lance says patiently, fluffing pillows. He’s helpfully fetched every pillow in their apartment, propping Hunk up and making sure his airway’s as unrestricted as possible. It’s a nasty bug, but all the meddroids can do for Hunk is administer the vaccine and wait for it to take effect. He hands Hunk another handkerchief, fresh from Lance’s stash - a habit he’d gotten into as a Padawan. “You stay here and rest. You good? You can reach the water from there, right?”
“Yes, Master,” Hunk mimics grumpily, already reading for a holopad. “Is this yours?”
“Yours,” Lance confirms. He’d tucked away all the ‘pads with anything remotely busy or stressful, like the Council’s latest mission request? Totally stressful. The only holopads left within Hunk’s reach are puzzle games, exotic cooking magazines, and that one interesting holo-opera Hunk claims he doesn’t like (but definitely does).
Hunk’ll figure it out eventually, maybe, but hopefully not before he falls asleep for at least a quick nap. Hunk’s supposed to rest, not worry about the mission details on the Council summons. Especially since there’s no way the vaccine will take hold fast enough for him to join Lance for it.
Lance is just going to have to work with a different partner for this one.
He rocks back and forth on his heels all the way up the turbo lift, all the way up to the Council chamber. Mostly it’s nerves. The last time he went out without Hunk, he’d had to do it with that weird Balmeran Rax, and that had been, uh…interesting. Less exciting than the time Lance got paired with that one Arusian, though - Lance doesn’t even remember her name, it’d been that bad. None of it even comes close to the disaster that was the Keith-mission.
Lance shudders. Maybe he’s cursed. Does the Force work that way? Maybe he needs Hunk in order to have a successful mission. Maybe he’s better off telling the Council to wait, to find someone else to do this “time-sensitive” whatever.
No. Lance is a Jedi, and as a Jedi he has a duty. He’s not shirking this because he’s nervous. Lance is skilled and strong; he’ll make a success of this no matter who his partner is. They won’t live up to Hunk, but that’s okay. Lance can work with anybody.
Unless it’s Keith.
…the Force can’t hate him that much.
The lift lets him off on the Council floor. The young attendant there waves him in.
“Ah, Lance,” says Master Coran, seated in his deep brown chair. The other Jedi Masters of the Council nod in greeting as Lance slips in through the door. “Good of you to come. How is Hunk?”
“Definitely got the sniffles, but on the mend,” Lance says, “This is about the mission, right? I can work with whoever - ”
He stops short, because he’s finally caught sight of the anomaly in the room. The other person summoned before the Council, standing in the middle of the Council chamber floor and, oh Force, oh no, smiling apologetically in his direction.
“Keith’s ankle is broken,” Shiro says, taking no notice of Lance’s open-mouthed bug-eyed Gungan-fish impression as his jaw meets the floor. “He’s down for the count as well. Mind if I join you?”
05. Lance has never met anyone with as much control over the Force as Shiro.
The Force has always whispered to Lance like water talks to trees. It’s easy to listen and easy to drink in. It guides his choices, rushes through him with significance, answers, a simple ebb and flow that’s deeply comforting. He’s certain the Force manifests itself to other people in other ways;  sometimes, in meditation or when he focuses hard enough, Lance can feel it. The Force swirls around Hunk, for example, as bright and warm as Lance’s own energies, welcoming and gentle as a sunbeam.
Shiro’s so steeped in it, so firmly grounded in Light, that he practically shines.
The Force ripples and sways around him, tender, attentive, little wisps of a waiting breeze. When Shiro calls on the Force to soothe ruffled feathers at the royal dinner on the planet they’re visiting, it’s so subtle Lance barely notices. When they’re nearly overtaken by the palace’s personal guards, insistent the ‘honored Jedi’ stay in their rooms and don’t go into the city, Shiro’s Force redirection of their attention is so gentle and firm that Lance has to fake a coughing fit so the guards won’t notice his squeal of glee.
When they discover the outlawed rebels on the edge of town, frightened but not cowed, it’s Shiro’s battle plan that regains the city - quick-thinking, clever, genius. Lance’s favorite part of the entire thing is standing on the eve of that battle, the moment when Shiro pulls his lightsaber out. The blue blade hums in the darkness as he tilts his head, whispers to Lance: “Can you swing in from the south? You’ll only have one shot.”
Fierce pride bubbles warm and expansive in Lance’s chest.
“Yeppp,” Lance smirks, and does.
Needless to say, the mission goes really, really well.
It’s not the last time Lance and Shiro partner up, either. Keith’s ankle takes time, which leads to Mission Two - and then even longer, as Keith tries to train too soon and makes everything worse (which Shiro reports with fond exasperation as he arrives for his and Lance’s Mission Three). Hunk takes a brief stint at teaching - basic ship repair while the primary Jedi-instructor is away - which gives Lance and Shiro Missions Four and Five.
And so on. It’s amazing. Shiro isn’t Hunk, of course, but - who is? For a substitute, Lance has to admit, Shiro’s not bad. Not bad at all.
(“And this isn’t an opinion tinged in hero-worship, of course not,” Hunk teases, when he and Lance are back in the field again.
“Shut up,” Lance says.)
One afternoon, back at the Jedi Temple after his and Shiro’s impromptu mission streak has ended, Lance goes up on a whim to ask if Shiro wants to spar. Shiro’d mentioned last time that he’d be happy to teach Lance some tricks - when they aren’t in as confined an area as a ship, or as tense an area as ‘peaceful’ negotiations - and Lance fully intends to take him up on it.
Shiro’s quarters are in the same section of the Jedi Temple as Lance’s, just a floor or so away. Lance bounds up and knocks on the door.
The door swishes open.
It isn’t Shiro.
Lance’s jaw drops. “Keith?”
“The hell?” Keith blurts, right back.
“Is that Lance?” Shiro asks, from further inside.
Unbelievable. Lance gapes, staring. “What are you doing here?”
“I live here,” Keith snaps. “What are you doing here?”
“You live here?!” Lance squawks. “But - “
“ ‘Living’ is a broad term when you’re hardly ever home,” Shiro says, finally in line of sight over Keith’s shoulder. He smiles. “Hi, Lance. What can I do for you?”
“Uh,” Lance says, still reeling. “Uh?”
“Unless you came for Keith?” Shiro asks politely, or it would be polite if not for the frankly mischievous glint in his eyes. Lance, seven missions in with Shiro, knows that glint.
“No!” he yelps, windmilling back. “Him?!”
“He’s just mad I saved his ass,” Keith says. He pulls away from the door to push around Shiro and back inside. “Twice.”
“Once!” Lance hollers at his retreating form. “Don’t remember the first. Doesn’t count!”
Shiro shakes his head, which he’s totally doing to hide the fact that he’s laughing. Traitor. “Quite the history. Keith, do you still need help with -“
“No,” comes the sullen call from within. A door slams.
“How did he manage to slam an automatic door,” Lance whispers.
Shiro rolls his eyes, amused. “Keith is a man of many talents. Come in, Lance; you’re welcome here. Ignore my rude roommate.”
He steps back, freeing the entry to his apartment. His and Keith’s apartment. Kriffing.
“I will if he will,” Lance declares, and steps inside.
06. The dream changes everything.
“They’ll expel you from the Jedi Order.”
Lance gasps; his head whips from side to side, struggling to catch a view of the speaker. No one is there. He’s alone in the middle of pitch darkness - no floor, no walls, no ceiling. Just black.
“Expel?” His voice echoes into the nothingness, hollow and distant. Cold fear swoops into his stomach. He can’t feel the Force. Lance takes a cautious step forward. “Expel - who? What’s going on?”
“Lance.”
Lance looks over his shoulder. Keith’s standing there, lit from the flickering lights unique only to the back corners of the temple hangars. A ship waits behind him, loading ramp down, landing lights humming. He is between the ship and Lance.
The hilt of a lightsaber rests in Keith’s hand, his fingers curled around the metal - no. He and Lance hold it, both their hands on it, Lance’s on top and Keith’s below. The lightsaber rests in the space between their palms.
Keith’s eyes burn.
“Don’t do this,” he says.
The room shifts. Lance reels with the abrupt curl of the hangar fading away. He’s standing in a hall, now, narrow and tight. The light overhead is cold and weak.
Shiro’s seated on a bench down the way, slumped over, elbows on knees and back bowed forward. He’s cradling his right wrist in his left hand - a wrist that shines as it catches the light. His palm, fingertips, and all the way up past his elbow is made of metal, silver and grey glinting in the weak light of the hall.
“I don’t know,” Shiro whispers, tired. Deep exhaustion’s settled under his eyes, in the harsh scar etched across his nose. The tuft of his hair has gone completely white.
A chill of alarm shivers down Lance’s spine. He steps forward. “Shiro?”
Shiro shakes his head, still staring at his hand.
“I couldn’t stop it,” he says.
“No,” Keith snaps, harsh and brutal. Lance spins towards the voice, but Keith isn’t looking at him. He’s not the same Keith from earlier; his Jedi robe is gone. He’s standing alone in the middle of a wide, cavernous room. Thin blue strips illuminate the cold rock walls and the hexagonal symbols rising from the floor. His lightsaber hums to life, the purple blade highlighting his face in stark shadows.
“I won’t quit,” Keith snarls, and lunges.
“Lance!”
Lance turns in alarm. Hunk’s staring at him - no. Hunk’s staring off into the distance, the dusk of an orange sky bright in his wide-eyed horror. A figure stands by his side, small and hidden in Hunk’s shadow. “Lance, don’t!”
“Hunk!” Lance cries, and starts forward -
It’s too late. The light of the sunset fades. Lance nearly slams right into Keith one final time, standing stock-still in the middle of the way.
“Keith?” Lance says. Keith’s back is to him, illuminated only in the light from one of the long Temple windows. The sun’s setting outside, too, but it’s dim and offers no warmth. “Keith, what’s going? Where are we?”
“The Council’s given up on him,” Keith says. Lance has never heard him like this, bitter and tired like an old bell. “They say he’s gone.”
“Who?” Lance insists. “Keith, what are you talking about?”
“Shiro’s my friend,” Keith says. He’s turned, staring down the hall towards a shadow Lance can’t see. His face is twisted, hard, and closed. “I’m not letting the Dark Side take him.”
“What’s wrong?” Hunk asks, when Lance bursts out into their shared little sitting room. He’s still up, tinkering with a droid. A holopad blinks open on the coffee table; parts of the droid are scattered all over, spanning nearly every available surface. It’s one of the reasons Hunk stays up later than Lance. He sets his tools aside, concern deep in his frown. “Lance?”
“I have to talk to Shiro,” Lance blurts. He’s half-dressed already, shoving his feet into boots. He doesn’t bother with the robe.
“Sure,” Hunk starts, easily. “Is this about - Lance, wait, Lance! Do you even know what time it is?!”
Lance doesn’t hear him. He’s already out the door and moving too fast to stop.
They’ll expel you from the Jedi Order.
I couldn’t stop it.
I’m not letting the Dark Side take him.
06. Lance doesn’t get premonitions.
06. Lance doesn’t get premonitions.
Through some stroke of luck, he finds Keith and Shiro down in one of the sparring rooms. The Force leads him there, pitter-pattering ahead of his heartstrings on silent feet. Lance pauses just in line of sight, just beyond the door.
They’re using their actual lightsabers, or at least Keith is. He’s stepping carefully and deliberately across the salle’s floor, the green blade of his lightsaber quick and burning sharp as he demonstrates a move for Shiro.
Green blade. Lance lets out a sigh of relief he didn’t know he’d been holding.
Inside, Shiro reaches to correct Keith’s grip, fingers tapping lightly on Keith’s wrist. Fingers. Flesh and blood. Real.
Real.
Lance ducks out of sight. He leans his head against the wall, breathing hard.
He doesn’t get premonitions. He doesn’t get any of this. The bad feelings, the visions? The future? That’s Hunk’s job. That’s not what Lance does.
This isn’t…
I couldn’t stop it.
Don’t do this.
This can’t be.
07. There’s only one person in the entire Jedi Order Lance trusts enough to help with this.
“I knew it,” Coran exclaims, slapping the tea canister down on the counter. “I knew it! Was this your first one? You haven’t had other dreams you’ve been hiding from me, have you? Have you?”
“What?” Lance blinks, pulling back. Coran’s right up in his face, squinting at him with one eye. “Uh, no? What - ”
“Your premonitions!” Coran exclaims, gesturing broadly with both gloved hands. He wiggles his fingers. “Your awakening.” He straightens, tugging proudly at the ends of his mustache. “And to think the others doubted me. Master Kolivan owes me fifty credits. That old scoundrel!”
Lance chokes. “What?!”
“Of course, he’s not around to collect it now, so that could prove a bit of a challenge,” Coran muses in agreement. He shrugs. “Ah, well. Patience comes to the faithful!”
“Were you,” Lance starts to ask. He can’t even - what the hell. “Were you betting on me?”
Coran’s eyes are shining, twinkling with pride. “I’d wondered if this little talent might find you someday.” He sniffs, pressing a hand dramatically to his chest. “Oh, I’m so proud!”
Lance buries his face in his hands. “You can stop any time, old man.”
“Nope, not now, I’ve been waiting years for this,” Coran declares, gleeful and giddy. “Sometimes this particular talent can turn up late, very late in life. This is later than usual, but I had a Hunch and the old Force hasn’t led me wrong yet.”
Enough’s enough. Lance groans, letting his forehead hit the table. “Do I always have to do things late?”
There’s a reassuring pat on top of his head.
“There, there, Padawan,” Coran says. He’s sombered a little, voice gentle. It takes Lance back immediately; some of the tension drops from his shoulders. “There’s no shame - ”
“- in taking your time,” Lance mutters with him, into the wood. “‘m not your Padawan anymore, Master.”
“You’ll always be my Padawan,” Coran says, fondly. He ruffles Lance’s hair one more time before pulling away. “Tea?”
“Maybe.”
Coran hums, still quite pleased, and busies himself with the tea preparations. Lance gives himself twenty more seconds of embarrassment before he sits up, rubbing at his forehead.
“Right,” Coran says, when the tea’s steeped. “Tell me more. You’re certain the lightsaber was purple?”
Lance nods. Coran pours. The tea streams into two mugs, steaming hot and a peaceful amber. “Not like - magenta purple, but darker. Almost blue.”
He can’t shake the images from his head. Keith’s determination in that empty room of rock, hard and fiercely desperate. Shiro slumped in the hall, the strength Lance admires and respects leeched from his shoulders.
I’m not letting the Dark Side take him.
“Here.” Coran slides a mug of tea to Lance, breaking him from his reverie. The busy traffic of Coruscant sails by the windows, far away in the distance. “Drink this. It’ll help.”
“It better not be that nunvil-flavored stuff,” Lance warns, reaching for the cup.
Coran waves his hand absently. “No, no, not for this. You haven’t had this one before.”
That’s never reassuring. Coran’s infamous even among the Council for his terrible taste in tea. Lance suffered through many an awful cup in his Apprenticeship.
…well, there’s always a chance. Lance takes a skeptical sniff.
The putrid scent of dying animal and burnt grass whiffs straight into his nostrils. Lance gags. “Coran!”
Coran chuckles. “Helps clear the old noggin. Take a sip, and then finish telling me about your vision.”
Vision.
Lance stills. A spark of fear lights under his ribcage; he struggles to release it into the Force, setting his cup down slowly. “So you think it’s real.”
“I think times are changing,” Coran says, carefully.
08. Time passes. Lance doesn’t have the dream again. Maybe it was a fluke.
The call comes, blinking urgent and frantic across the dashboard of their ship.
“That’s an emergency code,” Hunk says, frowning. “The frequency - ”
“I got it,” Lance says. He taps open the channel immediately, cocking an eyebrow at the comms. “Lance and Hunk here.”
There’s no visual on the comms; nothing but static. Hunk leans forward, tweaking a dial until the static diminishes. Lance grins. “What can we do you for?”
There’s such a long pause Lance wonders briefly if the system’s broken.
“Helllllo?” he drawls. “Anyone there?”
The voice on the other end sighs.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Keith groans.
It’s six hours before Lance and Hunk manage to pick up Keith and Shiro. Any thoughts Lance had of lording this over Keith dies as soon as the landing ramp hits the dirt.
“Quick,” Keith insists by way of greeting, “They’ll have seen you land, we have to get out of here. Hurry!”
Keith is a mess. He’s covered in scratches and bruises, his robe ripped and marred. He’s frantic, yelling up the ramp as Lance stares back at him, tongue-tied and paralyzed with shock.
Keith’s visibly supporting Shiro, who staggers with every step the two of them take up the ramp. Shiro’s bruised and bleeding too, from a scratch under his eye just to the left of his nose. For a second Lance is slammed with a double-vision of the Other Shiro, the one from his dream with a scar deep across his face -
No. That isn’t real. This is just a scratch; just a nick. What’s most frightening is the vacant look in Shiro’s eyes, the tiny tremors wracking his frame as Keith all but drags him onto the ship.
“Keith,” Shiro mutters, as their feet hit the metal grating of the interior. He’s swaying.
“We have to go,” Keith says, again. “Medbunk?”
“This way,” Hunk says, swooping in to sling Shiro’s other arm over his shoulder. “C’mon, big guy, we’re heading over here.”
Lance follows despite himself. “What the hell happened?”
“I don’t need it,” Shiro murmurs. The way he staggers into Hunk betrays him.
“You’re sitting down until I tell you otherwise,” Keith snaps. The medbunk’s not far; between the two of them he and Hunk get Shiro there with ease. “He threw you into a wall!”
“Who?” Lance gapes, hand gripping one of the overhead rails. Shiro lets himself be pushed down without complaint. The fingers of his hand are twisted tight in Keith’s tunic; he shows no sign of letting go and Keith doesn’t move to pull away. “What happened?”
“It was a trap,” Keith says tightly. “They sabotaged our ship and then ambushed us. Why aren’t we moving? Shiro, lay down.”
“I’m fine,” Shiro protests.
“You are so not, man,” Hunk says, placing his broad hand on Shiro’s chest when the other man tries to get up.
Shiro’s terribly pale and shaking. The stark red of blood stands out against his cheek. His pupils are blown wide. “We have to - the Council has to know - ”
“It can wait, Takashi,” Keith snaps, “Lay down.”
“I can comm them,” Lance offers. He’s halfway between the medbay and the cockpit, but despite Keith’s urgency the Force isn’t screaming at Lance to get them in the air. The mystery in front of him is too unnerving. “What do they need to know? What happened?”
“Medkit?” Keith grunts.
“Right here.” Hunk also reaches up to snap on the brighter lights of the medbunk. Shiro flinches. Keith turns Shiro’s cheek towards him to carefully apply a plasti; as he does Hunk gasps, shocked. “How did - Keith, your arm!”
“What?!” Lance abandons any pretext of giving them space, crowding in over Hunk’s shoulder.
“I’m fine,” Keith says. “I got out of the way.”
The sleeve of his robe is completely and utterly singed, marred in a distinctive pattern that Lance - Lance knows. How many times has he received a similar burn on his sleeve, on hems, even on flesh when the training blades are set low enough? Next to him Hunk gapes, speechless with horror. A chill runs down Lance’s spine. The Force goes very, very still.
There’s only one type of weapon in the entire galaxy that could cause that kind of a burn.
“Who did you run into?” Lance asks. It’s as if the words come from somewhere outside of him, someplace different. Distant. Cold with fear.
Keith stiffens. Shiro blinks, sucking in a ragged breath.
“Guys?” Hunk asks, worry and concern warring in the single word.
“A Sith,” Shiro says at last, into the horrified silence. He swallows, thick and choked. “He called himself Darth Sendak.”
09. The Force works in mysterious ways.
Shiro’s sitting on a bench in the hall, slumped, hunched over. He cradles his right wrist in his other hand. The lights overhead glint off the metal of his wrist and palm.
“I don’t know,” he says.
“I won’t let them,” Keith says, fierce, stern. “Shiro’s my friend. I’m not letting the Dark Side take him.”
“They’ll expel you from the Jedi Order.”
“Lance,” Keith says. Lance whirls; Keith’s standing there between Lance and an open ship, holding out a lightsaber. Their hands meet, over and under.
“Lance,” Keith says, again. His eyes burn. “Don’t do this.”
Lance jerks awake.
It’s late. The lights of the ship are dimmed, the comms silent. His heart’s pounding. Hunk snores next to him in the co-pilot’s seat, completely out. Lance leans over him, checking the hyperspace clock. Plenty of time.
Lance pulls Hunk’s robe off the back of the seat where his friend had tossed it, draping it over Hunk’s shoulders and tucking him in instead. Hunk snuffles a bit in his sleep, but doesn’t wake. Lance shakes his head fondly and stands up.
He needs some air, or something.
He’s heading for the little galley on board when he hears the voices. They’re quiet, pitched low and murmuring in the artificial night. The ship’s not exactly small, but Lance can’t help himself. He presses against the wall and settles his breathing.
“You need to tell someone,” Keith murmurs.
“It’s really nothing,” Shiro insists. He sounds exhausted. Lance can’t exactly blame him.
A tiny huff of air. “Don’t give me that. I’ve never seen you so off your game. Sendak rattled you.”
“He’s strong,” Shiro mutters, and if he’s trying for thoughtful, the tone isn’t quite there. “Keith. Nothing’s bleeding. I’m alright.”
“Your definition of ‘alright’ has always needed help,” Keith shoots back, so fast it’s clearly an old topic between them. “You don’t have to be bleeding to be hurt. What do you want, Lance?”
Lance jumps, startled. Caught, he swings sheepishly out from around the corner.
Keith’s sitting on the metal grating by the medbunk, glaring up at him. Shiro’s still lying down, though his eyes are focused now and there’s a little more color to his cheeks.
“Just passing through to the kitchen,” Lance offers. Keith exhales another tiny huff of air. Lance refuses to back down. “You guys want anything?”
Keith’s reply is immediate and harsh. “No thank you.”
Lance’s eyes narrow. Where does Keith get the right to be like that to him? What has Lance ever done? “I’m not going to poison you or anything. I know how to make caf just fine.”
“That’d be great, actually,” Shiro says, before Keith can. Keith starts to say something; Shiro cuts him off with a pointed look. “That’d be nice, Lance. Thank you.”
Keith shuts his mouth. He doesn’t make eye contact with Lance.
There’s nothing else Lance can do, then. He nods and turns to head back down the corridor.
He’s barely made it three steps before Shiro’s voice floats quietly to him once again.
“Why are you so rude to him?”
Lance’s feet stop.
He shouldn’t. He shouldn’t -
But something in him is upset, is coiled and tight and hurt. Keith rattles him too, even if he doesn’t mean to, even if Lance can’t explain why. Guiltily, quietly, Lance pulls the Force around his presence to mask it ever-so-slightly, making himself seem out of earshot and farther away than four feet down the hall.
“He started it,” Keith mutters. He sounds angry - no. Not angry. Sullen? Lance frowns.
Shiro sighs.
“I don’t want to talk about this,” Keith says.
A pause. The slight shifting of cloth, brief. “All I’m saying, Keith. Give him a chance.”
“Oh, so I’m supposed to be polite to someone who’s been nothing but rude to me?”
There’s a pointed silence. Lance frowns. I’m not always rude.
Right?
Keith sighs, that tiny little huff of air again. “He doesn’t - I don’t get him, Shiro. He’s always glaring at me, and he’s so - so loud. I don’t know how you do it.”
“I do it because it’s not hard,” Shiro says. “In addition to being talented, a good partner, and strong in the Force, Lance is also a Jedi Knight, just like you. He didn’t earn that title lightly. Ask him to spar with you, when we get back. He might surprise you.”
Keith doesn’t reply. Lance tucks the Force in closer to himself, hiding both his presence and the confusing mix of emotions the Force surges with. Pride swells in him again, but this time it’s also mingled with the hot burn of shame, pressing and tight.
Has he been mistreating Keith, too?
“I don’t understand him,” Keith says, at last.
“That might be because you haven’t tried,” Shiro suggests, slow and calm. “Lance is a good person, Keith. It doesn’t matter who ‘started’ it. One of you has to end it.”
Lance’s face heats, flushing embarrassed red in the darkness of the hall.
Jedi protect.
Jedi look out for others.
Jedi look out for their own.
How could he have forgotten so thoroughly?
Keith doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t need to. The awkward silence is enough.
Shiro chuckles, the sound tiny but true. “Besides.” Cloth rustles again, shifting for longer. “You might need him someday.”
“That the Force talking, or my laserbrained friend who shouldn’t be sitting up?”
“Can’t drink caf lying down.”
“You’re hopeless,” Keith mumbles, but it’s fond. Lance pushes himself away and heads for the kitchen.
The caf takes a bit of time to brew. Lance busies himself by grabbing the mugs (finding them, really; Hunk stores things in weird places sometimes) and giving them a good cleaning, just in case.
One for Shiro. One for him. One for Hunk, who’ll probably snore himself awake any second if he hasn’t already. Lance hums a little as he prepares the hot drink. He’s no Hunk, sure, but the motions are familiar and soothing.
Don’t do this, Keith’d said, in the dream. Lance’s hands still over the cups. Lance, don’t do this.
I don’t know, Shiro’d whispered, in the dream.
Shiro’d also said: One of you has to start.
Lance reaches and grabs a fourth mug.
By the time he returns to the medbunk, mugs balanced carefully in his hands, it’s been long enough he’s kind of surprised to still hear voices. The conversation’s turned again. Lance slows, not willing to risk the corner so fast with four mugs.
“So we get stronger,” Keith says. “We warn the Council; we insist. For next time.”
“You think so too, then.”
“The Sith didn’t just appear,” Keith says, low. Lance pauses, nearly spilling the caf. “You know it. I know it. If they’re out, they want something. This isn’t going to be the last time we see them. This is a beginning.”
There is a terrible, heart-wrenching pause.
“Shiro?”
Lance waits. Fabric shifts; someone sucks in a breath. Lance makes himself stay put.
“Shiro,” Keith whispers, barely loud enough to be heard. His voice cracks; Lance has never heard anyone sound so concerned as Keith does in this moment. “Shiro, what’s wrong?”
Lance cannot resist any longer. He peeks around the corner.
Keith’s kneeling now, looking up at his best friend. Shiro’s sitting up, folded in on himself. The lights of the bunk reflect off a face lined in weariness.
“I don’t know,” Shiro murmurs, and only Lance’s grip on the Force keeps the mugs from dropping. “But I…I have such a bad feeling about this.”
Shiro’s staring at his right hand.
10. When it happens, it’s devastating.
“I don’t know,” Shiro murmurs. He’s staring at his hands, the fingers of his right whirring as the machinery inside moves. It’s a quiet noise in the silence of the hall. “I couldn’t stop it.”
“Don’t do this,” Keith insists. He’s standing between Lance and a ship, lightsaber held out, eyes hard. “I trusted you.”
“Lance,” Hunk urges, frantic, “Lance, you need to come and come now, I can’t hold them off much longer!”
“No!” cries a new voice, one he’s never heard before, the syllables stark and short. “My father - my family!”
“The Council’s given up on him,” Keith concludes. The long windows of the temple let in the light of the setting sun. It’s warm and wrong across Keith’s skin, the hard purple of his eyes. His lightsaber hangs at his waist; not purple. Unignited. Dark. “They say Shiro’s gone.”
“The Council knows what’s best,” Lance tries. It’s like he’s speaking without being aware of it, like his tongue moves without his conscious consent. The words drift to his ears from afar. “I’m sure they - ”
“I don’t care what they say,” Keith snaps, and he’s looking over Lance’s shoulder - no. He’s making direct eye contact, cold hard steel burning into Lance’s gaze. Lance can’t look away. “They don’t know Shiro like I do. Shiro’s my friend. I’m not letting the Dark Side take him.”
Lance jolts awake with a cry, breathing hard and panicked. Cold sweat dries on his skin. The Force is screaming, crying with outrage all around him. With Keith’s words ringing in his ears Lance throws the bedcovers aside, clambering for his boots. He has to find Shiro. He has to ask. This time he has to ask, don’t be a coward, Lance, if Shiro’s really in danger from the Dark Side Lance owes it to him to ask.
The Force cries, swirling around him, upset upset upset. There’s no time. Lance doesn’t have time to sit and be sick about it. The Force barks a warning just as he palms open the door to his bedroom. Hunk stands on the other side, hand raised to knock.
“Lance!”
“Hunk,” Lance gasps. “Hunk, I need to talk to Shiro. He’s - ”
Hunk’s jaw drops. “How did you know? Did the Force tell you?”
“I - what?” Lance’s thoughts grind to a stop. The Force - told him something, if that’s what the vision was, but right now it’s just screaming, crying and loud. He can barely stand. “I - no? What? Hunk, how did I know what?”
Hunk’s eyes widen. “You don’t - you don’t know, then. Oh, Lance. I’m…I’m so sorry.”
For the first time Hunk’s alarm fully reaches him. The pallor of Hunk’s skin; the way he’s worrying at his lip; the way he’s wringing his hands. The wide fear in his eyes. “Sorry? Sorry for what? Hunk, what’s wrong?”
“The call just came in,” Hunk says. Lance’s breath catches in his throat. “I was coming to wake you. Shiro was escorting some scientists over to Kamino. They were - we think they were shot down.”
The Force slams to a shuddering, desperate full-pitch halt.
“No,” Lance breathes.
“Master Coran commed,” Hunk says. Worry mingles with great sorrow in his eyes. The Force coils around the both of them, upset and distraught. “If anyone would know, it’s him. Their ship was destroyed, Lance. Shiro’s gone.”
12. Lance catches Keith in the hangar, wide-eyed and frantic.
“Keith!”
“Don’t try to stop me.” Keith’s got a bag over his shoulder, bulky and crowded. Exhaustion lines the shadows under his eyes, sits rigid in the tension of his shoulders. “He’s not gone. Get out of my way.”
“No.” Lance stands his ground. “Keith, you’re too close to this. We’re all - ”
“He’s not dead,” Keith cries, a near shout in the emptiness of the hangar at this hour of the morning. “Someone sabotaged their ship, exploded it or something just so we’d think that. Shiro isn’t gone.”
“Keith,” Lance tries, again. The Force whispers around him, keening and lost. He takes a step closer. “Keith, you have every right to be upset - ”
Keith pulls away, out of range. “Don’t touch me.”
Lance pulls back too, fingers hanging in the air. How do you comfort someone who doesn’t want to be comforted?
“Okay, I’ll play,” he says. Something beeps from the ship behind him; Keith looks up, brow tight. “Say Shiro’s not dead. Where is he?”
“That’s what I want to know,” Keith snaps. “And that’s what I’m going to find out. If he’s stranded, or someone took him, I’ll - I’ll find him. I’m not letting this happen.”
I’m not letting the Dark Side take him.
Lance stills. Keith, sensing the change, pushes past Lance’s shoulder and towards his ship.
“Wait,” Lance says, spinning round. “Keith, wait. There’s no proof someone took him.”
Keith turns, too. His eyes meet Lance’s. Lance braces for Keith’s angry hot glare -
- and is instead surprised to see frustrated, bitter sorrow.
“Shiro’s not dead, Lance,” Keith says. He swallows. “He isn’t. I would’ve…”
He stops. The Force whispers. Lance notices it almost absently: a warm press, like heat from sitting too close to a fire. Keith takes a deep breath.
“I would’ve felt it,” he says, quietly.
It’s the first piece of honesty they’ve ever shared.
Lance’s heart catches in his throat.  “Are you two…?”
He doesn’t even know what question to ask.
Keith shrugs, hefting his bag higher on his shoulder. “I’ve known Shiro my whole life. I don’t care what the Council says about this; he’s still out there. I’m not wasting another second here while he’s alone and in danger.”
“He isn’t alone,” Lance says, still trying, still reeling. “What about the scientists he was with? Hutch? Holt?”
“Does it matter?” Keith asks tightly. “If I find them too, great. Shiro’s my first priority. I have his last known coordinates. Every minute I waste arguing with you about this is a minute longer he’s on his own. Now let me go.”
The Force whispers to Lance again, distraught, tired. It’s more of a whine -
No.
It’s a murmur.
It’s a murmur of a creek, small and new. It’s a murmur built into the swish of an open door; the shout of a pilot from the cockpit (everyone on?). It’s a murmur shaded in the blur of a lightsaber late at night (green, not purple). It’s a murmur founded in the answer of a frantic call (you’ve got to be kidding me). It’s a murmur crafted around the corner of a small ship, formed in the hold of a tiny kitchen, pulling down a fourth mug.
Let go.
“I’m not here to stop you,” Lance says. Keith’s head snaps up. “I’m here to help.”
Keith opens his mouth to reply; Lance holds up his hand. “I get it. I get that you don’t like me, but Shiro’s my friend, too. If I can help, I want to. I’m going to. And besides: you need a pilot.”
Keith blinks, stunned. “I need a what?”
“You need a pilot,” Lance repeats. “Or a co-pilot, whatever. That ship behind you’ll fly a lot better with two sets of hands. Or we can take Blue. She’s old but she’s fast. You and Shiro both already know her.”
“Blue?” Keith echoes, confused.
“My ship,” Lance clarifies. “I mean, not ‘mine’, of course, she belongs to the Temple just like the pod you’re borrowing there, but. She’s sturdy, and she can get us to Kamino faster than this old thing. What do you say?”
Something in Keith’s eyes shifts, a barrier not breaking, but…bending, perhaps. In the Force, a tiny ember sparks.
“I’m not asking you to come with me,” he says.
“Tough,” Lance says. “I’m offering. Yes or no?”
The silence in the hangar is thick. Any minute now the Temple’s going to wake thoroughly; any minute the hangar’s going to flood with droids, beginning their morning routine of maintenance. They’re out of time.
“What about Hunk?” Keith asks, finally.
“I left him a note,” Lance lies. Hunk will understand. “Are we doing this, or not?”
+1. Keith agrees.
(other AUs: daemons | fashion | pirates | fantasy: magic | fantasy: urban | sports | fantasy: obsidian | hogwarts )
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thingamadjig · 7 years
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AHH about ur ocs Sofiti and Quinn (who are just SO CUTE i love them) um ok for sofiti how does she feel abt krells sort of reckless sort of plans does she follow them to the T or like kind of try 2 work w the clones to ease it a bit? Does she fight out in the front w them or does krell keep her in the rear? how does she feel abt clone chatter regarding her master (which w obv be kinda negative) also has she ever worked w other padawans/masters (before krell died)
Omg hi thank you so much! o lawdy I hope i can answer all of that haha
this got really long so imma put a cut here lol :,D
Well, Sofiti does in fact generally follow Krells orders to the T. She is after all barely the height of her Masters Beltbuckle and also only a shy eleven year old who is quite hearing to authority. Considering the clones are older both in training, mental age and most of them also physically, she will accept a new plan so long as the outcome remains the same. What Krell don’t know won’t hurt his Troopers. 
As for how she feels about it, I imagine she’s not overly happy with the loss of many clones, but also chalks it up to the price of war rather than directly her Master. Considering how young she is I thought she, like Ahsoka, was brought up as a war-time-Padawan, unlike for example Obi-Wans generation. 
((*DISCLAIMER* this is entirely a headcanon of mine, but I think Padawans during war time have a vastly different experience than ‘regular’ Jedi had. Sure Obi and co had their adventures as well, but fight scenarios and war torn worlds were the exceptions and padawans were certainly not commanding soldiers. For this generation of younglings, there’s no real question as to whether your next mission will involve war, the entire Galaxy is at war, most missions involve battle. So I believe that Padawans are also being prepped differently, as in they get more extensive training in strategies, Technology and combat than for example meditation or history. ANYWAYS))
I like to think that waaay in the beginning there were a few coop missions specifically with Kit Fisto, on a water based mission, as Krell is somewhat amphibious (??). Sofitis fur definitely took at least a day to dry, she most probably was overly floofy for at least a week and she needed a lot of shampoo to get the soggy smell out of herself. Maybe a mission with Yoda where both of them can bounce all over the place and ride on the backs of Clones. Later on canonically I think Jedi became quite thin spread and I see Krell more as a Ground General than a fleet Commander, so he would not have had a lot of opportunity to cooperate.
Since Krell keeps himself and, half the time, his commander in the rear, Sofiti would as well. She makes a good Scout though and will sometimes detach with a core team of jet-packed Troopers (specifically on terrain that allows for sneak, airborne or otherwise lifted attacks i.e. canyons, forests or jungles) to do either scouting, or be part of an ambush. This Team is the ARC Team Quinn originated from before he became Commander. Her job is to deflect for the Team as they fire at the enemy from above. 
I actually found some old sketches of said in my PSD file so here’s those:
Tumblr media Tumblr media
AND LASTLY, since the clones, like Sofiti were likely introduced to Krell as their first Jedi General, I think they might be likely to focus their frustration largely on the Jedi Order itself. The older the clones the more likely they are probably to have seen other Jedi and have exchanged experiences with other Soldiers from different Battallions. They would be questioning on the one hand how any of this unscrupulous fighting equals *peacekeeping*, and what kind of cult exactly justifies sending a kid into a war zone. Sofiti believes in the Jedi as Peacekeepers, and re-assures them that the Council and her Master want nothing more than for this war to be over, and that they fight to defend freedom, including theirs. And then she’ll go off on tangents about how she wants to be like her idols Master Plo Koon and Master Kenobi when she grows up, a true Negotiator and serene keeper of the peace. 
And how can you argue that as a grown ass twelve year old.
I hope that answers everything, thank you for your interest anon this was super fun aah. I think that was my first ask about Ocs haha >v
Also I’m sorry this got so long *sweats*
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jotawakening-blog · 6 years
Text
10 Septober, 5A 169: Exploring Menaphos
I wake up from a light sleep at the diplomatic residence in the Merchants’ District at the crack of morning, just as soon as it’s bright enough outside to make my way through the city’s slums without drawing attention to myself via artificial lighting.  My plan is to go down into the catacombs beneath the city, where the Jack of Spades’ hideout is most likely to be, and catch him by surprise if at all possible.  Well, I hope this works…
I go down the narrow flight of stairs indicated to me by Batal yesterday.  The stairs soon broaden, and take me to a central chamber with four entrances, all identical and one on each side, and a deep well in the middle flanked by the statues of the four lesser gods in the Menaphite pantheon.  And… the Jack of Spades is there, clear as day, standing in his robes by the well!  I draw my crossbow and move in to apprehend him.  I call on him to surrender, or else we settle this by force of arms, at which the Jack merely scoffs and asks me “Is that any way to treat a friend?”
I growl at the Jack to cut it with the psychological games and let him know he’s no friend of mine but a common thief.  This really gets the Jack’s goat: he exclaims that he is not ordinary but one of a kind… and throws off his hood, revealing himself to be Ozan!  Aha— so he actually was a friend!  My bad!  I bid him explain.  First of all, how did he get into Menaphos?  The city seemed impregnable like a fortress, and I know I only got in by invitation!  Ozan explains that it took a clever disguise and some humiliation involving a snake charmer’s flute.  As for what he’s doing here, that much is obvious: he’s tracking down the Kharid-Ib.  He tells me Apep and Heru, Lady Keli’s two lackeys, weren’t just random Menaphites; they were high up in the city hierarchy.  So he’s been spending his time here gathering information, and what he’s found suggests that Amascut is in the city right now!  Well, not inside the actual city, but underneath it: there have been whispers of workers and soldiers being led into the Great Pyramid and not coming back out.  Some investigating has revealed that the captives are being used to dig up old tombs, for a purpose as yet unknown.  (And, yes, ‘captives’ is the right word: most of them are operating under mind control, a sure sign of Amascut’s presence!)  However, there is still much Ozan does not know, and it will take some doing to get more leads and figure out a course of action.
Okay, that makes sense.  One last question: why steal the items?  Ozan explains that his thefts were absolutely intentional, calculated to get my attention and make me rub shoulders with some of the figures at the heart of the corruption in Menaphos.  Grand Vizier Ehsan, for instance, covertly trades on lies and gossip, and keeps a record of the dirt she has on everyone who’s anyone in the city.  Her ascent to power has been largely based on extortion.  Ozan asks me to warn Grand Vizier Hassan about her, lest he stumble into negotiating a badly unbalanced treaty.  ‘Admiral’ Wadud, for his part, is little more than a greedy thug, with a monopoly on the city’s crime.  He gained his so-called rank by double-crossing the Skulls (seemingly a broader organisation than just the Draynor branch, and into piracy around these parts) and stealing a portion of their fleet for himself.  (Incidentally, Khnum has proven cooperative of late in providing information to Ozan about the Skulls: perhaps he will deliver some helpful intel against Wadud in time).
Ozan continues, moving on to Commander Akhomet, who used to be a great soldier before the Pharaoh ordered the gates closed, at which point she became little more than a lackey and a bully.  As for Batal, his case is the saddest: he was once a fiery campaigner for the rights of the working classes, but his downfall came when he tried to organise a protest against the abductions of labourers for the Great Pyramid project.  The Pharaoh ordered his hands cut off in retribution (how did I not notice that?!) and since then he’s been a broken man and willing collaborator with the regime.
Well, that about covers my questions.  I ask Ozan what he wants me to do with him: should I turn him in, and trust in his ability to make a dashing escape?  Ozan, however, tells me that it’s best we separated, and that I start courting the influence of the very same disreputable figures who run the various parts of the city.  Okay, I wasn’t expecting that, so I let Ozan explain, and his reasoning seems sound.  The stronger my ties with the grandees, the less likely it is that Hassan and I will have our right to visit Menaphos revoked.  In addition, getting on the locals’ good side could help drive a wedge between them and the Pharaoh’s increasingly reviled regime, and that can only be a good thing.  To get me started on this task, Ozan hands me the various things he stole from the grandees, and tells me to return them to their more-or-less rightful owners.  Once I’ve done that, and warned Hassan about Ehsan’s duplicitous ways, I should come back to him and work toward figuring out a plan.
I guess that means it’s time I became familiar with this sprawling city.  I go back out the way I came and make the workers’ district my first stop.  The first person I talk to there is actually Batal, whom I intercept walking by the entrance to the tombs.  And, now that Ozan mentions it, his hands really have been replaced with hooks!  Poor guy…  Anyway, Batal is grateful when I hand him his purse back, and tells me he looks forward to actually eating tonight.  Damn, I feel for the people of Menaphos.
I start my tour of the workers’ district in earnest from the coastline.  For whatever reason, though, you can see ruined buildings out quite some ways into the sea that look like they once formed part of the slums.  Kind of makes you wonder how they ended up submerged!  Anyway, the area isn’t very crowded: all it contains, other than a few unattended tents, is a small makeshift altar and a local practising his dance moves.
I then move inland, into the warren of huts and alleys that comprise the slums.  The locals seem to be quite aggrieved by the Pharaoh’s regime: they tell me half-whispered stories of corruption at all levels of the system, of working all day, every day without breaks and still not having enough to live on, and persistent crime that the guards aren’t willing to check.  In fact, the only things the guards— and there are many of them here— seem to be interested in is keeping the workers in the open-pit quarry from slacking off!  Sickening.
The whole workers’ district is grindingly poor, with only a few basic trades such as blacksmithing and pottery represented.  The merchants’ district, by contrast, is basically a different world, full of sophisticated trades and populated by folks who appear quite content with their lot and mainly concerned at getting an edge over their competitors through the bureaucracy.  I make my first stop in the district the diplomatic lodgings, where I return the ‘tax’ ledger to Ehsan, and use the opportunity while she looks through it to make sure nothing is missing to whisper a warning about Ehsan to Hassan.  Unfortunately, Hassan is not very willing to believe his ears when I tell him about Ehsan’s true colours, and quite loud about it to boot, and Ehsan overhears.  Gracefully, she assures Hassan that there is nothing suspicious in her actions besides what the troubled times necessitate.  Sadly, he seems to believe her, hook, line and sinker.  Oh dear, that’s definitely something that Ozan shall have to worry about.
Since I can’t prevail on Hassan that he’s being a fool, I exit in a controlled huff and hit the market, which is glittering with goods of all kinds, from gems to fish and beyond.  Standing off to one side is a very curious sight: a creature that looks like a hybrid between a human and a camel.  Sadly, it appears too busy with… whatever its business is… to talk to me, or even much notice me gawking at it.  North of the market, there are a few larger shops, and outside one of them, I run into a young woman named Pia who tells me she’s considering giving up being a merchant and becoming a slayer master.  I agree to help her practise and tell her to give me a slayer assignment.  ‘Fine,’ she tells me, ‘Go kill 24 Scabarites!’  Um, that’s not a name of a monster I’ve encountered before, so I ask her where I can find these creatures.  ‘In the Scabarite hive, of course!’ she says, as though that would have been obvious.  I conclude she’s quite likely pulling my leg and move on to the shops.
These, it turns out, also contain a great diversity of wares, going beyond what you would find even in great market centres such as Varrock.  For one, there’s a shoe store with the largest selection I’ve ever seen, where I spend more time than I care to admit.  Then there’s a shop that claims to sell spirit lamps— and not just regular lamps, but ones that can be used four times before they are used up!  The seller tells me the tale of how he won the secret of making them from a wizard in the Eastern Lands that he beat in a game of Runeversi, and I believe him… that is, up to the point where I actually inspect one of his lamps, and it looks to be just an ordinary clay lamp with a nice paint job, nothing magical about it.  So I challenge the stall keeper to prove to me that his lamps are all they’re cracked up to be, at which point he shoos me away.  Pah, what a cheat!
I leave the guy’s stall with a grimace and hit up the shop behind him, which is focussed on the spiritual arts and even holds a full-fledged summoning obelisk!  Unfortunately, the shopkeeper is rather low on shards and other summoning-related lairs, to the point where he asks me whether I come bearing manuscripts and supplies from the ‘greener lands’. (Taverley, perhaps?)  Anyway, since I’m not buying and he’s not selling, I move on toward the river, which seems to attract poets and entertainers making the most of the city’s stifling atmosphere.  Nearby, there’s a baker’s stall and the city’s largest general store, which is stocked with the usual necessities, as well as a local speciality: blue-and-gold feathers known as talismans of Ma’at.  They’re supposed to be used for cleansing corruption from the spirit, and while that’s not something I need right now and the feathers are mighty expensive, I buy one regardless: you never know when they may come of use.  In fact, having one may have protected me from that whole Icthlarin fiasco in Sophanem, now that I think about it!  It never hurts to be protected, the point is.
South of the market proper, I find a lone stall selling toys and, more importantly, the city bank.  While the bankers there seem to have arrangements not only with the Bank of Gielinor but with the Grand Exchange as well.  (Hardly surprising that the Pharaoh would be interested in maintaining a strong flow of trade despite the physical isolation of the city!)  Sadly, the staff there demand that I show a token of approval from the Grand Vizier before they’ll let me use the facilities… and after ratting on her, I’m not sure she’ll give me that.  But we’ll see.  Opposite the bank, meanwhile, I glimpse from afar the Palace guard— a much more flashy group than regular city guards— arresting someone for an unknown transgression!  I try to get closer and find out more, but the guards warn me not to make a scene, so I reluctantly, with Ozan’s warning not to compromise the broader mission in mind, move on across the central plaza toward the royal palace, where Akhomet tends to spend her time.  Unsurprisingly, not many citizens linger directly under the gaze of the pharaoh and the many guards, but one person catches my attention: a woman with a butterfly net who’s looking for implings, but confesses not to have had much luck in that regard, recently.
The Imperial District, now that I’ve got a chance to take a proper look at it, is even more beautiful than it first seemed, made up as it is of expansive parkland, acadia trees and palms that provide shade, and pools of flowing water.  I make a beeline for Akhomet and return her dagger to her, adding that the Jack of Spades unfortunately remains at large.  She’s not too displeased at this news, though, and in fact tells me to check back with her later, as she might have some work for me.  Okay, much as I like to avoid dealing with treacherous snakes, I feel Ozan is right on this one and I should take her up on the offer.
For now, though, I ask her a favour that I’m pretty sure will get shot down: would she let me enter the palace, just so I can have a quick look around?  To my surprise, she tells me to go on ahead— as a diplomat, I do have that privilege— and so I let a guard usher me through the grand gates and into the pyramid.
The guard leads me straight into the monument’s heart, a hall of marble as pure as snow and as noble as an icyene.  The Pharaoh’s throne stands on a high dais on the far side of the room, with the ruler upon it.  Next to him is that utter snake Ambassador Jabari, slipping poison into his ear.  There is every air of decadence in the decor— indeed, the ground below the Pharaoh’s throne is heaped with mountains of gold coins five metres high.  So much gold, and all on display!  There must be several billion gold pieces’ worth in that pile!  And yet, for all that, the Pharaoh exudes an air of preternatural wisdom, and, somehow, that is the part of the whole set-up that worries me most.
Unfortunately, an audience with the Pharaoh is out of the question: his schedule is already filled by various petitioners, some of whom have come audaciously to vent their grievances with the regime at the very source.  For instance, there’s a priest who’s complaining about the Pharaoh’s policy of destroying every scrap of text that denies his divine lineage.  With her is a merchant who complains about the onerous taxation that supposedly leaves the tradesmen of the city barely able to afford a modest standard of living (though how much of that is due to their fundamentally expensive lifestyle is another question)— still, the giant piles of gold around the throne suggest she has a point.  A final set of complainants comes from the army, like the officer of the guard who wishes to bring to the Pharaoh’s attention the increasing rate of desertions by soldiers who abandon their posts to become common thugs.  
Keeping order against the petitioners are the royal guards, who brandish their weapons conspicuously and seem to relish the prospect of suppressing any overt violence with lethal force.  Given the delicacy of the situation and the fact that I’m under orders not to jeopardise the prospects for a lasting detente between Al-Kharid and Menaphos, I take my leave of the palace and have a walk through its outer grounds.  Around the back of the palace, I find a small residential district and, looking out to sea, even more evidence that a sizeable part of Menaphos has disappeared under the waves.  To my surprise, even this close to the seat of power, one can find revolutionaries, including a musician who has drawn a modest crowd with his call to arms.  Maybe the guards are letting him be as an outlet to all the tension pent-up in the political system…
As I walk down toward the houses of the district, I unexpectedly spot an egg on the pavement.  Thinking it just a normal chicken’s egg, I pick it up, and to my surprise find it covered with lustrous greenish-black flakes, as though corrupted!  And as I hold the egg, it starts moving, and before I can figure out what to do with it, it cracks open and a glowing green scorpion, apparently some kind of spirit creature, hatches out of it and begins to follow me around!  I don’t know what I’m going to call my new friend… perhaps Ishhara?  I think that’s what the Kharidian scorpion in the story that palace guard once told me while I was staying in Al-Kharid for the night was called.  And if memory fails to serve, well, Ishhara will just have a unique name that sounds Kharidian enough.
The residential areas of the imperial district are populated with dull members of the administrative elite to whom I have little to say, so I start heading back toward the central plaza.  On the way there, I pass a side entrance to the royal palace with stone carvings that indicate that the great library of Menaphos lies within.  Remembering the task Osman set me, to learn about the succession of pharaohs, I head inside, into a deep, multi-tiered chamber of bookshelves and scrolls that puts the palace library in Varrock to absolute shame!  I mean— with this sort of knowledge, it’s no wonder Menaphos is so rich and powerful!
I relinquish all plans of visiting the docks of Menaphos today, and instead sink into sampling some of this immense collection.  There’s way, way too much to be read in a single visit or even a single lifetime.  So I sample more or less at random.  The first work I look through is the diary of an architect, and specifically one impassioned entry in which he defies the desert and declares that Menaphos alone shall stand eternal.
I take that book along and move on to other shelves.  The next book I sample happens to be another journal, this one by a seer named Saa Akila that must have appeared in the library very recently.  In it, she describes a series of ill omens that have befallen the city: the Sophanem plagues, the withering of the royal gardens, the decadence that has replaced innovation, and ultimately the abandonment of the city by the gods.  Akila fears that, if these trends are not reversed, if openness is not restored, that may be the end for Menaphos.  Sobering thoughts.
The next book I look at is rather light-hearted in comparison, being a guide to the brewing of tea.  The advice that it gives is nothing revolutionary, though it does recommend that spices from the eastern isles be added to the tea— an exotic proposition given how little of that stuff has made it out to the Three Kingdoms!; the interesting part is the social commentary, on how tea is a gift from Tumeken and a suitable drink for the working class to make them more content with their toil.
I move on to the next book, which turns out to be another very recent diary by a girl named Dawnsu, evidently from Sophanem.  In it, she tells the tragic tale of how her parents both came down with Klenter’s Plague (an event that, let’s face it, was more or less my own damn fault…).  In an extremely odd twist, she becomes friends with a penguin (yes, a penguin, in the desert) pretending to be a cactus, and this penguin, named Sophie, smuggles her out of the plague-infested city to a new life.  That’s… almost too strange to believe.  And yet, her words are right there on the page!
The next account I pick up is a memoir by a disciple of Amascut by the name of Tefnut, in which he reminisces about how as a child he would rise to observe the beauty of the sunrise, yet now, as an old man, knows that beauty is a distraction and the only truth lies in emptiness.  If he really believes that, it’s quite sad!
By that point, I’ve completed my circuit of the upper tier of the library and it’s near closing time, so I tuck the books I removed from the shelves into my bag, the better to smuggle them out, and nonchalantly have a conversation with the librarian about the state of the collection.  He rebuffs my compliments about the sheer volume of knowledge stored within with a scathing attack on the Pharaoh’s policies of book-burning, which have severely depleted the shelves of material on history, sociology and, um, adult romance.  Fortunately, the librarian says, thus far they’ve been able to get away with burning only duplicate copies, but the time is approaching when the Pharaoh’s philistinism will start to do real damage.
Um, I guess I’m kind of doing my part to save this priceless knowledge, by stealing a few works here and there for my personal collection?  Anyway, the stuff I took doesn’t seem to be that valuable and I doubt the librarian (singular!) will be quick to notice it gone.  Still, there’s a lot of shelf space I haven’t even glanced at yet, and the book Osman was seeking must be around here somewhere!  I shall come back tomorrow and see what I can find.
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Grimoire of Zero 1 | The Royal Tutor 2 | SukaSuka 1 | Tsukigakirei 2 | Kado 2 | Twin Angel Break 2 | Boku no Hero Academia 16
Grimoire of Zero 1
I mistook this as Re:Zero at one point (because of the Zero Kara Hajimeru… start of the title). However, despite my having never seen Re:Zero, I’m always open for a good fantasy title.
At least this show is funny, that’s for sure.
Eh, this plot seems like Bungou’s a tad – if you think about why Atsushi was hunted down and such – but then who’s going to be Zero in a Bungou Stray Dogs x Grimoire of Zero AU?
This seems a little cliché in how it handles its humour, but I have a feeling it’ll go above and beyond.
What struck me was that they chose the name Plasta as the capital’s name. A capital city called “Plaster”, pretty much, LOL.
The ED reminds me of Flip Flappers and the book motif reminds me of Deltora Quest, so it’s quite the nostalgic feeling. It’s a keeper, although if it becomes an endless bore of a quest then it may hold less potential than I think it does.
The Royal Tutor 2
It seems Bruno is one prince everyone with a strict study regimen’ll relate to. (Or at least, those who’ve had a strict study regimen at least once in their life.) Even if this is an exercise in drawing out humour to the fullest, it’s relatable and that’s part of what gives this show its personality.
I haven’t seen anyone this enthusiastic to have a master since Yotaro (SGRS)! LOL.
Heine used watakushi. He’s very polite.
Yeahhhhhhh…this, as you may know from how I treated Love Tyrant and Armed Girls, is not going to go down well. Just when the show had gained my favour, too…
I think the girls might’ve referred to Heine as Heinecchi. Update: My mistake, it was Heine-chan.
Behoove? Welp, I learnt a new English word from the subs. It’s not every day that happens, although I tend to pick up cultural things a lot from subs (hence these notes).
Creepy CGI door is not to be taken lightly too. The camera angle was a bit weird there, to boot.
Eeeeeeee! Kai is the one I want to know about the most! (Not just ‘cos he’s handsome, mind you. It’s because he doesn’t talk.)
Shadow? A name for a white dog? Doesn’t make much sense, but it makes me laugh, so okay, I’ll take it. *beams*
Just antisocial, eh? All the more reason to like ‘im.
SukaSuka 1
There aren’t too many promising debuts this season (I only really have my eyes on BnHA, Kado and The Royal Tutor at the moment) because “shows potential” is very different to “I want to keep watching!” for me, but maybe SukaSuka will do the trick.
Why does every fantasy world these days involve animal people? Who knows?
Intereting to note there was Scarborough Fair in English (yes, I had the volume on this time). As a side note, the song was sung by a Tamaru Yamada. (Around when the juggling Pac-Man appears, there’s credits for it.)
I would’ve asked where she was going if she said she had to go, mate. Ask her!
Ny…troll girl is pretty typical for this kind of anime, but Willem seems like he could be a spanner in the works.
Butt shot no. 1.
That oddly placed camera angle (the one where you see into the room from the window) was weird. Seriously though, how does Willem know Nyllathgo (or whatever troll girl’s name is)? Update: her name is Nygglatho. It was close, but not quite it…
Reptrace appears to be a made up cuisine.
I can only see the kids as shippers in the making, but I guess that’s YoI’s fault…?
I remember from pre-show material her katakana name is Kutori, so I’m gonna go with that spelling.
Lemme guess: it’s because the weapons are the kids?(!)
Well that was new: I can normally guess a new point for a show that plays it safe like this, but Kutori is a weapon too? That I didn’t guess. That automatically means I keep it on, at least for another week.
Tsukigakirei 2
Tsukigakirei is sitting somewhere pretty high on the list of “shows to go on hold this season”, so it’ll have to perform well to not have to get that treatment. Considering I can be fairly strict with my 5 show quota, I need to put 2 shows on hold (since out of 8 shows, the third is Kenka Bancho Otome, which automatically goes out of the running), 1 if I use a space I just freed up.
Was the live action OP really necessary? Considering this is anime, it is a bit odd. (Then again, didn’t I raise that gripe with Kado too?)
I don’t normally think about staff much unless they’re familiar names, but Seiji Kishi is a name that’s come up before – with Rampo Kitan.
It just so happens the girly boy is the one with the horns on his headband…for some reason, I find it suits him, since he’s the devil’s advocate to Kotaro. Also, why isn’t Kotaro wearing his headband?
Hey, this feeling. I’ve never really participated in these sport days (if I was forced to do stuff, I’d shotgun shotput since no one really took it), but I know the feelings around them real well. Once again, Tsukigakirei excels in recreating a teenage experience…
I has a small sneaking suspicion Akane’s toy would have gotten lost, and it seems like that’s coming true.
I laughed a really derpy laugh at devil’s advocate boy liking the teacher. Even though I had a small squick moment that it may have been romantic, suki is quite the broad term compared to how Akane and Kotaro’s romance is laid out so…it can’t be said for sure that the boy’s “like” is romantic, too.
That pink thing is a potato mascot?! I’m not angry, just hella surprised – that pink thing is so not a potato.
I gave a little “aw!” at when Kotaro told Akane she was fine the way she was. Now there’s a sentiment I can get behind.
Why does he box the light string? I don’t get it…but at least it makes him more dynamic than, say, Haruki (Sagrada Reset).
Haneteru-kun? So that’s how you say it in Japanese?
The style of the ED is unique, that’s for sure.
I think Tsukigakirei just proved itself. Sure, it’s not a complete “turn genres on its head” sort of thing, but it’s competent at what it does, and that’s all it needs right now. That’s all it’ll ever need. Then again, that does beggar the question: what goes on hold instead? There’s only one way to find out…
Kado 2
I was surprised to find out Shunina was voiced by none other than Akoya (Takuma Terashima)!
The OP is a rather odd choice (in regards to the music), but it does at least set the atmosphere well.
WPAN? I know of LANs and WANs, so WLAN makes sense (kind of), but not that…Okay, I learnt something.
“…we’re touching the ground…”
When the plane looks better than the characters…you know you’re doing CG wrong.
I want the OST of this, that song when Shindo touches the bottom of the cube really creates the feeling of a “foreign space”.
Erm, while Shindo and Shunina are negotiating, Shunina seems to have forgotten he’s buck naked…? Not that I mind, and it completely makes sense for an alien like him, but…yeah. He’s naked.
Base 10 = decimal, base 16 = hexadecimal, base 2 = binary. Shunina seems to be expressing the time in binary, but time is in base 60 (because 60 seconds = 1 minute and so on, so forth).
That bread doesn’t look too appetising, LOL.
I know Kado is much prettier flat, but when it’s just slow pans…you can tell they skimped on the budget. CGI is costly, sure, but…make sure you have proper budget before you make an anime, people, please. (On the other hand, I like 2D!Shunina.)
Is there any significance as to what order people appear in the ED?
Kado’s been my top contender ever since episode 0. While it does have its visual flaws, it’s an intelligent anime that takes its time to explain things and build suspense.
Twin Angel Break 2
I ended up keeping this on because I have no access to Twin Angel: Twinkle Paradise…
I never knew Sumire was such a sucker for her brother…I’ve never seen such a trope in magical girl shows before, and normally when you see it in anime, it’s a dude lusting after his younger sister, not the other way around. Just another sign this is aimed at pachinko-playing guys…
Gah! Fanservice shots! In my magical girl anime! *points* Another sign this is for dudes. By the way, ari can mean ant.
People don’t move like conveyer belts when solving maths problems.
Welp, such is the mark of a society that wants extroverts…
Meguru appears to have a red bean bun, although I’m not sure of its name aside from “red bean bun”.
Wait, where’s the ball?!
I always thought “Pochi” was a common name for a dog in Japan, kinda like the Western world’s “Spot”. Or “Hachi”, if you want your dog to be like Hachiko.
An event about animals at Tokyo Big Sight? Well, I’ll be. Wonders never cease in this show.
During the pan, the screen seems to jolt a bit. It’s kinda awkward for a show that is otherwise good visually.
Who has a porcupine as a pet? Sometimes I can’t tell if this show’s for little girls or older men…Well, Google says it’s possible to have a porcupine as a pet, but still I bet a pachislot-playing man wouldn’t know you can have a pet porcupine.
I was most displeased when I realised Sumire has a Gainax moment in her transformation sequence. Yet another fanservice spot to add to the growing list of annoyances in this show…
Geddit? It’s Me-ari?
It’s the ol’ duplication trick. Saw it in Smile Precure, so I guess I’m kinda numb to it already.
I was not expecting that for the ED. I really didn’t.
Well, I’ve had enough gripes about this show. It’s going on hold so I can figure out my feelings about it. That being said, there’s a lot of “middle ground” anime this time - if SukaSuka or Grimoire of Zero don’t get the boot from their next ep, I’ll have to deal with 6 simulcasting anime and leave the space open. (Luckily, there have been so many full seasons that I have a little too much bingewatching material available, regardless of whether I have the space open or not.)
Boku no Hero Academia 16
Not sure if chicken race means this or actual chicken racing, since Google tells me actual chicken racing exists.
I’ve wanted to know more about Tokoyami for a while, so here’s hoping for character development!
A-ha! Exploiting landmines’ propulsion – not many would think of that, but Midoriya certainly would.
All Might, Thirteen and Present Mic ganging up like that looks ridiculous, but it’s hilarious and helps to break up the suspense. *thumbs up*
*laughs* Oh man, this is what makes this show so good. It manages to strike hard and well with both its humour, strategy and action – it never misses one beat. That’s the spirit, Boku no Hero Academia! Keep going just like this!
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