i'd do anything for you.

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i was thinking about applestrike and lightningheart SO MUCH yesterday. i talked a lot about the progression of their codependency and a little on how its solution might go (lot of stuff in the middle there is unplanned, i just have the end goal of "everythings okay and niceys")

applestrike and lightningheart as teenager equivalents are generally: lightningheart defers to applestrike and relies on her for emotional stability. he holds her in the highest regard and is on her side for everything. she is his only source of positive social connection and he will die and kill before he lets that go. applestrike sees lightningheart as her closest companion, someone she can trust above anyone else. she knows that he will never ever leave her side or betray her, like she fears her clanmates and family might. this is only ever confirmed and bolstered by lightninghearts behavior. applestrike accepts his leaning on her and finds it a comforting purpose to have, compared to the sense of purpose/obligation she feels for her work for and against the war. lightningheart is the dearest thing to applestrike. she cant lose him.

their movement away from this dynamic isnt in sync. applestrike was sent as a prisoner to windclan, but lightningheart was exiled outright. applestrike made friends/allies in windclan that helped her realize what she had with lightningheart was bad for them. lightningheart was alone, spiraling on himself with paranoia for the entire duration of their separation. when theyre finally reunited, lightninghearts attachment is still in full force, and even more desperate and fearful after being not only separated from applestrike but alone. everything is hitting applestrike so hard now that she has a better perspective, and her new boundaries freak lightningheart out even more. he resents her windclan friends, and feels like she replaced him.

i think lightningheart still isnt quite right when he leaves the clans with applestrikes group. theres only like a moon between the end of the war and them leaving. i think in that time lightningheart has pivoted to focusing on appeasing applestrike however he can so he can stay close to her. she is plainly aware of this and it makes her uncomfortable but she also doesn't want them to stop being friends, she wants that incredibly close relationship, she just doesn't want them to be so codependent. she wants lightningheart to make more friends! she wants him to like her friends! she wants them to stop feeling like they have to die for each other! but for now lightningheart says yes to everything she wants, joins her away group with no question, and hangs off of her as long as possible until she asks him to stop

living on the move in a small group where everyone needs to help each other is good for both of them, i think a lot of close bonds would come out of that. everybodys helping everyone so you have more exposure to people and interact more closely and talk to people and whatnot. This Is How We Make Lightningheart Make Friends. so by the time they find their home on the coast everyone is pretty well established socially

i dont have a lot of specifics in place for any of this post-war stuff so i dont have one-on-one interactions for lightningheart and applestrike. like whats actually happening that changes their relationship. but the end goal really is just "they are each others closest companions, minus the unhealthy attachment." the whole point is for them to be bestest friends in the whole world they were just going the fuck through it as teenagers. they raise each others kids together

anyways i love them a lot. i love this drawing a lot too the composition came out so good