#Also off we go to meet the Beast Tamers!!

[twst-kumi]

Weeping maiden

Prologue part 2

Name] was woken up by Flora, an old fairy who worked in RSA to help around. She decided to take care of her, mentioning how she used to take care of a teenage girl in the past.

“_I hope you had a good night darling. I prepared a surprise for you.

_Good morning Flora.”

[Name] yawned before walking down the stairs to the living area. She looked at the red fairy going around using magic to prepare breakfast. Flora then pulled a small box on the table.

“_Here, I made it myself.

_Thank you, Flora.

_The Headmage said he didn't have a girl uniform. So I asked him to give me some tissue here and there to make your uniform.

_Thank you, I love it but… it's pink.

_Yes! Lovely isn't it?

_ Isn't the school uniform white and Blue?

_But pink would be better for a sweet princess like yourself.

_ I'm not…

_Now, now, you will be late. So dress up and off you go.”

A knock was heard on the door before the young girl could even argue back. She looked at the fairy leaving for the door as she took the uniform. [Name] came back after some time.

Flora was chatting with a young man. With his long pale blond hair, light purple eyes, and a sleepy look he looked so soft and delicate. He wore the school uniform with a pink and blue cardigan inside. It was as if the colors tried to mix. His eyes twinkled when he saw her.

“_Good morning, I'm Aurelius a first-year like you. The headmaster asked me to be your guide since we are in the same class.

_ I'm [Name], let's be friends.

_It would be my pleasure, Princess.”

The young girl felt a little bashful. Aurelius smiled teasingly as he held his hand to her. [Name] walked with the young man, he held her hand all the way. She felt like she may have to say something but didn’t dare. Chatting with him was surprisingly easy even when her social skills were so low. Aurelius was a good listener.

As they walked upon the main road, she could see two rows of statues. Like in NRC, they seemed also to have important people they were inspired by. Noticing her curious look, Aurelius tactfully started to talk about them.

“_This is the Seven Lights, their equally renowned like the great seven. Oh, but you must not know them too. I will tell you more about them afterward if you want.

_It’s okay, can you tell me more about the seven lights?”

Aurelius looked excited by the prospect, he eagerly started to blabber about them. [Name] smiled not even noticing the slight blush on his cheek as he talked with her.

“_Sure, the beautiful princess you see there, is Snow White. They say that she was so beautiful that she had to flee from her home. She took care of seven children in a cottage deep in the forest. She came back after she worked hard and discovered a seven-jewelled mine. She ended up saving a kingdom from a terrible queen and saved the kingdom from bankrupt with the mine. Her dorm is Apple Red, they have the most hard-working people here.

_You would never have imagined it, looking at her. She looks so delicate.

_I know, it’s incredible, right? The next one is my dorm. Belle-Rose is based on the famous beast Tamer. She tamed a terrible beast thanks to her knowledge and saved her village. It was said that she was a dreamer and enjoyed romance stories a lot. It must be why I’m in this dorm.”

Both laughed as they looked at the other statues.

“_This little girl is…

_The lady in blue. She saved a kingdom from a tyrannical queen.”

They turned around to see a delicate-looking boy. His hair was short and platinum blond. It gave him an icy but soft look coupled with his light blue eyes. He smiled softly before lifting her hand to put a light kiss on it. Aurelius frowned a little uncomfortable by the boy’s action. Even more so when he looked at the violet-eyed boy and had a small smirk. Aurelius could tell they weren’t going to be big friends.

“_Alexis Lewis, a first-year from the Whitecourt dorm. Nice to meet you, my lady.”

[Name] could hear his British accent even when he talked. His eyes looked calm but she could see a small gleam in it. A teasing little light barely contained behind his smooth appearance.

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[pumpkincarriage3]

Ace, Deuce, Yuu, & Grimm Relationship Analysis

Before we got into this, I wanted to specify why I added Grimm in. Typically, when I see people talk about the relationship of any of the characters and Yuu, Grimm is never mentioned. Unless of course, they are referring to the relationship of Yuu and Grimm.

I think this is an oversight. Simply because Yuu and Grimm are quite literally a package deal. There are a few characters in the game you so rarely see without each other, Jamil & Kalim, Azul & the twins, these are examples of this. But you also see these characters on their own quite frequently. But Yuu and Grimm being separated from each other is abnormal.

I can only think of three examples where they are willingly away from each other. The first, being in Iida’s lab vignette where Grimm was sent by Ace and Yuu to go get snacks. But even then, Ace and Yuu weren’t far behind him. The second, when Yuu went to go talk to Malleus. Grimm was asleep during this, and even then - Yuu’s relationship with Malleus effects Malleus’s relationship with Grimm. Simply put, since Yuu has permission to call Malleus Tsunotaro, Grimm also has permission to call him Tsunotaro. And thirdly, when Grimm went to eat magic stones. Yuu wasn’t always aware Grimm was doing this and Grimm also kinda came off possessed during those times - which is another thing entirely to talk about, but the point still stands. Grimm and Yuu are rarely ever away from each other.

Which is why I included Grimm in this analysis, he is just as important to the relationship as Yuu is.

Now, moving on from that, let’s talk about Ace’s, Deuce’s, Yuu’s and Grimm’s relationship. They by far have one of the most unique relationships in the game. This is because we actually get to actively see their character growth throughout the game through the relationship.

They are the only group in the game that Yuu can say will be there to help them no matter what. Chapter four and six not standing simply because of the unique circumstances. But that doesn’t change the fact that Ace and Deuce wanted to help Grimm and Yuu, they just couldn’t get to them in time.

The other characters don’t do this. Typically, you’ll only see the character for their respective chapters and the following one. Chapter six is unique in that regard, but that seems to be the rule. Only, Ace and Deuce don’t follow this rule. They have been in every chapter, either in big or small ways.

Because of this, we get to see them grow as characters. We don’t get to really see this for other characters, but we can for Ace, Deuce, and Grimm.

In particular, I think Ace, Deuce, and Grimm are all effected by Yuu in a unique way. Yuu is described as “disgustingly nice” by some of the characters. And since they are villains, this isn’t surprising. 

I think we see this “disgustingly nice” trait with Grimm the most. Keep in mind, Yuu took Grimm in. They could have kicked him out, or had Crowley kick him out once he showed up. Keep in mind, Grimm tried to burn Yuu alive on first meeting, and kept insulting and demeaning them second meeting because they didn’t have magic. It’s shown that Yuu feels sympathetic for Grimm, and that’s probably why they took him in, in a way.

Grimm treats Yuu as a henchmen but will get just as offended on Yuu’s behalf when something happens to them. And Ace has made a few comments on home screen, Ceremonial robes if memory serves, about how Grimm acts up the moment Yuu leaves. Grimm does cause Yuu a lot of trouble, but Yuu is known as a beast tamer because Grimm will only listen to Yuu. And I think that’s because Yuu is “disgustingly nice”. It’s kinda like, Grimm may give Yuu a hard time, but he’s the only one that can do that because that’s his henchmen.

Ace and Deuce do the same thing. They’ll give Yuu a hard time and cause trouble, but they are there for Yuu when Yuu needs help. They do this for each other as well. Considering these are the same people that had Yuu give them their lunch to help catch Grimm in the beginning, and they’ve now moved on to helping with much bigger things because they’re worried about Yuu says a lot about their character growth. And I think this is because Yuu is so “disgustingly nice”. Yuu hasn’t made the three of them better people, but Yuu has made them care more for their people.

And this concern isn’t centered around Yuu. It goes between all four of them. We see this in Endless Halloween with Ace. His vignette in particular. He knows Deuce is gone, so he goes to check Ramshackle to check if Yuu and Grimm are gone too. And when he finally gets them back, he’s angry because it was all just some big prank and he was worried something horrible happened to them. And he couldn’t even get mad because it was a prank pulled by the Malleus Draconia, and it was a big party for the ghosts.

This was the person that teased and poked fun at Grimm and Yuu in the beginning and tried to skip out on his punishment. This was the person that refused to work with the others and was content to get expelled. This was also the person that ran to Yuu because he knew they would at least let him stay at their dorm because they were so “disgustingly nice”. And this is the person that traveled a huge distance, spent and did who knows how much, just to get to Yuu and Grimm because they were in trouble. Him and Deuce didn’t even get to spend proper time with their families over break, because they immediately went to go help Yuu and Grimm.

Deuce was the person that got dragged into Yuu’s, Grimm’s, and Ace’s situation. Also refused to work with someone even though it could get him expelled. But he was also the person that went to check on Ace once he learned that something had happened. And even though Ace and Deuce both had times where they wanted something in exchange for their help, they went running to help both Yuu and Grimm once they knew they needed it.

Grimm is the person that didn’t have anyone before he came to NRC. And even then, the only person he had was Yuu. Yuu didn’t have anyone because they came to NRC and didn’t have anyone but Grimm. Ace and Deuce became people they could rely on. And Ace and Deuce could rely on them in turn.

Another thing is - spoilers - how Grimm, Ace, and Deuce are all helping Yuu get home in Chapter seven. All three will lose Yuu, who they care for deeply as a friend. Grimm in particular will be the most alone once Yuu leaves and there is no guarantee he can still be a student once Yuu leaves. But all three are still helping Yuu find a way home.

They have one of the clearest friendships in NRC. You know that they are friends. And I think this is because that they have one “non-villain” character that it’s so obvious that they are friends. Because while Ace, Deuce, and Grimm wouldn’t necessarily say that they are friends, Yuu would. 

That’s not to say they don’t have their ups and downs. You notice this the most with Ace and Deuce. Ace teases Deuce a lot, and Deuce doesn’t appreciate it. While Ace teases people because he genuinely wants to make fun of them, he also does it to people he likes. It’s unclear on if Deuce knows this, but it does upset Deuce enough that he’ll go to the beach and scream about it. It’s also unclear on if Ace knows that it even bugs Deuce this much. It probably doesn’t help that the two can’t get away from each other, they share a dorm room. But they’re still friends. 

People know that they’re still friends even when they frustrate each other, simply because if you can’t find the two with Grimm and Yuu, you can typically find them together.

Ace and Deuce are friends. Yuu and Grimm are friends. And while all four are friends, they do separate in that regard. But together they are a friendship group that cares about all of its members and will do anything for each other.

There’s an interesting phrase I’ve heard before. A hero would sacrifice you for the world, but a villain would sacrifice the world for you. I think this sums up the four’s relationship perfectly at the end of the day.

[familiaralien]

Giant monster tamer megathread

Decided for the sake of education and my own neurodiversity to make a post including every video game series or stand alone title I know of that focuses on creature capturing competitions that isn't Pokemon.

One big exception: the game has to be a reasonably playable state. So no games that are effectively or literally lost media (like Micromon) or games that only playable state is currently a short demo (like Bestieball). With that in mind here we go:

Digimon

This one is pretty obvious. While more of a multimedia franchise it has tons of games to its IP. The one that probably would appeal most to Pokenerds is Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth and its sequel as they're turned based RPGs with a monster capture mechanic.

Monster Rancher

Another one I think a lot of folks have heard about or least millennials would remember. I haven't personally played any of these titles myself but from what I gather they're raising sims with tournament combat. For a while their availability was mostly limited to emulation but Monster Rancher 1 and 2 have been ported to modern systems like the Switch.

Yo-kai Watch

A mid 2010s franchise that had a whole lot of initial success in Japan. Its an RPG series that doesn't take itself very seriously with cute and goofy monster design based on the Japanese folklore creatures called... well yokai. Has real time combat instead of turn based and more luck based capturing mechanics than Pokemon.

Palworld

Brand new game that's only in its alpha release as of now. Its effectively a parody of Pokemon where you're stuck trying to survive in the wilderness so you must build a base and farm resources to survive. Game did have some initial controversy due to some of its designs stepping a little TOO close to being outright ripoffs of existing designs. Also you can capture and enslave humans which may not vibe with some folks.

Temtem

Basically Pokemon meets a MMO lite. The game can be played mostly as single player campaign but does unfortunately still require a constant internet connection. Battles are turned based but 2 versus 2.

Shin Megami Tensei

What could be consider the original monster tamer game. The series is aimed at a somewhat older audience and the plots tend to be more philosophical then like "gotta be the best *insert title here* ever". Focuses a lot on fusing monsters as well as trying to convince them to join you. You actually battle alongside your monsters.

Dragon Quest Monsters

Monster Capturing mechanics do exist in the mainline DQ games as well (at least since DQ5 I think?) but its these games have them as the main gameplay. Much like SMT it focuses on fusing monsters as one of the main ways to expand your library off available species.

Nexomon

Franchise that started its life as a mobile game but has since gotten ports to other systems. Its very similar to Pokemon in terms of creature designs and combat but the worldbuilding is quite different as is its tone being a lot more comedic.

Coromon

Indie game with visuals similar to Pokemon Black and White. Its story was originally kinda so-so and its ending pretty abrupt but its since gotten a free patch that smoothed that out quite a bit. Also has a sorta unique "shiny" system where alternate colors are associated with higher potential which can actually be altered once. Also has a built in randomizer and "nuzlocke" mode.

Cassette Beasts

A pretty recent indie game. Unlike all the others you don't capture or hatch monsters but rather record them to transform into them yourself. Battles are always between you and a companion which there are multiple to befriend throughout your journey (including a dog!). Has some really interesting quirks with its type chart that adds a lot of extra depth. Will soon be releasing a mutiplayer update for anyone that's into that kind of thing.

Monster Crown

A game with visual based on the Gameboy era. It has some pretty fascinating breeding mechanics and a somewhat darker tone than Pokemon. WARNING: DO NOT GET THE SWITCH PORT! For whatever reason its especially glitchy and I have genuinely gotten entire save files ruined by game breaking bugs (such as my player character getting stuck in walls or clipping out of a bounds). As far as I'm aware the PC version is not nearly as much as a mess though.

Monster Sanctuary

Monster collecting meets metroidvania. Has a really fun skill tree type move learning system that allows for quite a bit of strategy. Also the monster designs are way less Pokemon and more inspired by traditional roleplay monsters (so there's like Goblins and stuff). My only gripe with the game is how you get monsters involves getting specific scores in battle which makes getting 1 of each monster way more tedious than it needed to be.

Fossil Fighters

Franchise is maybe dead since there hasn't been a new entry in it since the 3DS but its still easy enough to these games. Anyway this series involve reviving dinosaurs (and some other ancient animals) into new lifeforms called vivosaur and using them in 3 on 3 combat. Vivosaurs are obtained with a fossil digging minigame which is kinda neat.

Spectrobes

Another franchise that's been pretty dead for a while (it last entry was on the Wii). Spectrobes has a more sci fi like setting with its monsters being aliens you revive from fossils. Combat is real time and you participate alongside a couple of your monsters. I'm btw describing only the first game because I haven't played either sequel!

Evocreo

Mobile only monster game with a style similar to Pokemon Black and White not unlike Coromon mentioned above. Has a lot of focus on split path evolution. The devs are apparently going to release a sequel soon but its been in development hell for years so I'll come back and edit this if that actually happens.

Monster Hunter Stories

I have not played nor watched gameplay of this one so I can't really describe it that deeply all I know is its a spinoff of Monster Hunter involving befriending and using the titular monsters in combat.

Telefang

Its sad this game series is most famous for being badly translated and repackaged as a Pokemon game. Anyway these are Japanese only titles though fan translations exist. The gimmick of this game is that you call monsters up on your cellphone to get them over to participate in combat. This series this sprout out when cellphones were consider newfangled and hip so it makes sense.

Anode Heart

Pretty sure this one is PC only. Takes some inspiration from the Digimon World games and is semi open world. Sadly this one I don't know much about outside of that though it does have a free demo on Steam for anyone that wants to try it for themselves.

Ooblets

Extremely wholesome monster catching and farming game. Battles are actually dancing competitions instead of violent confrontations and monsters are recruited simply by beating them in a fight. Thing is monsters will only fight you if you offer them their favourite food so that's where strategy comes in.

Moonstone Island

I know very little about this one except its also a monster catching and farming game. I've heard that its really good though and I believe its PC only right now but has a planned Switch port.

Timenet

Probably the most obscure ass monster tamer on this entire list. This is a Japanese exclusive set of Gameboy games featuring very cute monster designs... and Hello Kitty. Yes Sanrio made a monster tamer back in the late 90s. I only learned this even existed after scrolling down a comment section on a random YouTube video.

Abomi Nation

I'm mostly excluding roguelike games due to most having nothing but battles an 0 plot but this one does actually has a story! You play as the actual monster as you make your way through somewhat randomly generated maps with lots of other randomized elements. The game allows for a lot of customization including turning off permadeath if you're not a fan of that. The visual style is a bit crude but its still a pretty cute game.

Jade Concoon

Another somewhat obscure entry but at least this one got an English release. Anyway its an old RPG for the PSX with monster capturing and a very fascinating monster fusing mechanic that uses an algorithm to determine the appearance of the fusion. The player character can also participate in battle and the plot is very complex. The game also has a sequel on the PS2 but I know even less about that one.

Robopon

Now if you thought Palworld was bordering on some copyright infringement this game is basically nothing but "Pokemon but the designs are robots". Still worth bringing up I think!

Ni No Kuni

Not sure how I got to mentioning several obscure titles and somehow didn't mention something that really isn't. Ni No Kuni is real time battles between you and 2 party members. You can both battle as the actual human characters or switch into a monster. Wrath of the White Witch's visual style in particular is very whimsical and even has some animated cutscene done by Studio Ghibli. I haven't played any other game in the franchise.

Siralim

I haven't played any entry in this series yet (there's apparently 4 games + a spinoff) but from reading up on the most recent entry these are basically procedurally generated dungeon crawlers with an insane level of depth. The story is apparently not that great but the games themselves apparently also make fun of it so it seems its an intentional dev choice. Battles are 6 on 6 and there's over 1000 monsters to collect.

Disc Creatures

A monster tamer with a visual style similar to the Gameboy and Gameboy Color. It has 3 on 3 combat. Impressively I'm pretty sure it was developed by just one person in the RPG Maker engine (I'm honestly surprised this is the first indie game made with ya know... an engine meant for turned based RPGs).

Monster Harvest

A Dungeon crawler mixed with farming. Its a bit shorter than anything else I've mentioned here and its a bit glitchy but its a cute little game worth picking up on sale at the least. Notably also only about a 1/3 of the monster in the game are combative with the rest being either used for farming resources or as mounts.

Loomian Legacy

A Roblox monster tamer.... yes there's 2 of those in this (I could even have added 3 but I think one is in still a pretty early state). Pretty sure this started as a Pokemon fangame and become its own thing later. It has your typical 1 on 1 turn based combat and all that. I think its free to play and there's like several hours of content on it so maybe worth a gander.

Tales of Tonorio

Pretty sure this is the same basic deal as Loomian (Roblox game, started as a Pokemon fan game, etc etc) though its has its own world building and creature designs since I'm pretty sure its made by a completely different team.

So yeah that's all of them I can think of right now. If I learn of others and/or there's new releases I may expand this.

PS: There is almost certainly numerous typoes in this. This post is way longer than anything else I've ever made on Tumblr so I can't be arse to fix them you're just going to have to deal!

[twstjam]

Memory Lane Part 2: Faded Scars

Characters focused on: King of Beasts!Leona Kingscholar & GN!Reader

Word count: 2.2k

Summary: You're an innocent isekai victim... until you accidentally step on a cranky lion's tail.

Or: You wander into another world and meet reincarnations of cartoon villains (who were REAL and also your friends in a past life). Leona-centric chapter.

Masterlist

AO3 Link

The Queen of Hearts, the King of Beasts, the Sea Witch, the Tactician of the Sands, the Fairest Queen, the Ruler of the Underworld, and the Thorn Fairy.

Together, they're known as the Great Seven.

Or at least, that's what Ace had told you... right before him and Grim got collared for burning the Queen of Hearts's statue and you got arrested into having tea time with his boss.

Now, you're told that Riddle was the Queen of Hearts in a past life. According to him, her powers and memories had been passed down the previous rulers of the Queendom of Roses and that he was the current inheritor, thus making him the current ruler of the kingdom (queendom?).

Or at least, that's what you got from his long-winded spiel. He had explained it with a sort of manic, frantic look in his eyes that made you fear he might actually behead you after all, which then died down into a sort of defeated acceptance when you only nodded and smiled at his rambling. The disappointment on his face made that fresh feeling of unexplained belonging twist in your chest, but what in the world were you supposed to say to all that?

Oh that's so cool that you have the memories and powers of a controlling, temperamental tyrant! Based on how you're so uptight and everybody shivers at the sound of your name I'm sure it didn't affect you negatively in any way! Let's totally be friends like we used to be in a past life! Sure, why not! ?

That was another thing you can't quite wrap your head around. He knew you? In a past life? Or at least, the Queen of Hearts did? And you were some sort of "Beast Tamer" that was the only person that the Great Seven listened to?

Oh yeah, as it turns out, Riddle isn't the only one with the memories and powers of an evil fairytale villain. There are others like him, and apparently one of them was here at the Castle of Roses.

"This is a very puzzling situation," Riddle had sighed as you stuffed your face with more desserts in an effort to drown out how much of a stranger you suddenly felt in your own body. The queen sitting across from you had his brow tightly knitted in an intense expression, deep in thought. "I can sense that your essence is theirs, just like all the others, so you should be able to remember. For the past hundreds of years, we've never had a problem like this before. Everyone's always been able to access their past memories just fine..."

He had trailed off and you paused in the middle of taking a bite out of another cupcake (why are these desserts so good?!) at the sudden silence. His gaze was still really far away, as if he was watching an intense drama unfold instead of the untouched strawberry tart in front of him.

He blinks and suddenly he's back to fairytale earth. The crease in his brow disappears as he looks back up at you and you can practically see the light bulb go off above his head.

"Maybe... we can use something to jog your memory."

That's how you're here, standing in the sweet-smelling garden and face-to-face with another thing in this world that wants to kill you.

If you really were a "beast tamer" in a past life, you must've really sucked at it. Or maybe you just didn't inherit the beast-taming abilities like you didn't inherit the memories, which was just your luck.

You don't really believe anything that Riddle had said about you being some sort influential figure like the Seven (except for what he said about your past self having a knack for getting into danger, which you don't doubt a single bit) but right now, as you're staring down a cranky lion man, you really hope he was somewhat right.

"You've got some nerve stepping on my tail and just walking away," the man/lion/furry growls. His mussed dark hair falls over his eyes messily, but you're still able to spot a scar over his left eye. On top of his head are a pair of furry ears, stiffly folded back in irritation. When he talks, you catch a glimpse of inhuman canines in his mouth. "Ain't nothin' worse than bein' in the middle of a nap and havin' some jerk step on your tail."

"As we might have it, the inheritor of the King of Beasts is here at this very castle." you recall Riddle saying, followed by an irritated sigh. "Not that I have any idea where he is... he's always slacking off who-knows-where and has his retainers running around doing chores for him. We must find him. I'll have some of my card soldiers looking as well. He's hard to miss: he's a lion beastman with dark hair and a scar on his eye."

Ears, tail, a head of luscious dark locks, and a scar...

You hadn't put it together before, but in hindsight, you really should've been able to figure it out before you stepped on Scar from the Lion King 's tail. Not that it'd have increased your chances of survival.

"Sorry—! Um, your majesty...?" He was a king, right? But— Wait, Scar wasn't the king in the movie. That was literally the whole plot... you think. You can't really remember. Even if you did, that knowledge would only be useful if the fairytales you knew actually did align with the history of this world. Wait... the Lion King isn't a fairytale! …Or is it?

The lion man is still glaring at you. You pull your mind back into the moment and try to instead think of ways to not get eaten.

...Would it count as cannibalism? Agh, question for another time!

"I wouldn't know anything about having a tail but uh, I'm sure it's not fun to get it stepped on," you stammer with a forced polite smile that you hope looks apologetic, or at least pathetic enough that he'd consider you not worth snacking on. "I'm really, really sorry. I really didn't mean to disturb your nap! But it's actually good that you're awake. The queen's looking for you, soooo..."

"Hey." You flinch at his sharp tone and your back springs up straight. Your blood turns cold with fear as you feel him examine you closely before he speaks again, "Look at me when I'm talkin' to you."

You're not eager to get up-close and personal with his sharp-looking teeth, so you do the smart thing and look up.

His eyes are green (just like the cartoon lion) with slitted pupils, like a cat's. Having never seen such a thing on a human face before, you find yourself transfixed... and then blinded.

The lion man's eyes go wide before he blinks and they suddenly start glowing a bright yellow. You squint your eyes against the light but you don't look away.

The same thing had happened with Riddle earlier when you met him. You hadn't been looking as closely then as you were too busy trying to control your erratic heart rate, but it's hard to miss when someone's eyes change from grey to red.

Just like Riddle's did, the glow in the lion man's eyes fade as suddenly as they had appeared and you're looking at a pair of green eyes again. You think his pupils go round (just like a cat's do!) but you don't have time to be sure as you're suddenly being shoved under an arm and against a hard chest as the lion man throws his head back with a loud laugh.

"Of all the herbivores!" he exclaims boisterously, a stark contrast to his drowsy anger earlier. He practically squeezes the breath out of you and you wheeze weakly.

As you're suffocated to death, your life flashes before your eyes. You see green eyes, dark hair, a scar… Wait, this just happened, didn't it?

There's a lion in front of you. A massive, full-grown lion with a mane of dark hair and a conniving smirk. For whatever reason, you don't run, and that proves to be a mistake when the lion suddenly climbs into your lap and curls up on top of you even as you scream and shove at him. You feel his chest rumble with a laugh when you give up struggling and flop back defeatedly.

You blink and your vision focuses back on a man lion instead of an actual one. The one that was actually holding you down and under an arm instead of a massive furry body. There's a very obvious difference, but you swear the smirk on his face is the exact same, eyes, scar, canines and all.

"Finally decided to show your face, huh?" the lion man chides. You only keep staring at him. You can't move even though you want to. Like with Riddle, your body suddenly feels like it has a mind of its own and your actual mind is telling you things that don't make sense but feel like they should .

The silence between the two of you turn awkward when you continue to let yourself be dragged around like a limp doll. The lion man's expression shifts drastically from a friendly one to one of shock and you almost fall on your butt when he suddenly pushes you away.

"Ugh, I hate it when that happens…" he growls. He's turned away from you, but it's obvious from the sound of his voice that he isn't only exasperated but also embarrassed.

That makes two of you.

"I don't know what that was but I do know it was super weird," you say with a shrug. Lion Man whirls around to level you with another glare, but unlike earlier, you don't flinch. You know he's not going to pounce. Not actually.

"That never happened," he snarls. He steps into your space and you can feel his hostility, but all it does is make you defiant (You mourn the loss of your self-preservation instincts, but hey, at least you're not trembling like a newborn kitten). Lion Man points his index finger at your chest and you can feel his claw-like nails through your shirt. "We're not friends , alright? Just 'cause you used to be chummy with Scar, doesn't mean we're going to be all buddy-buddy, got it?"

He aggressively jabs your chest at each emphasis and you almost stumble off your feet. You mirror his glare and shove his hand away by the wrist.

"You don't have to get your fur all fluffed up," you scoff and a low growl rises in his throat, but you're not dissuaded. "It's not like I want to be pals with you either."

"Great," Lion Man huffs, turning away. "I'm in a bad mood on account of bein' woken up from my nap, so unless you feel like losing a tooth, scram."

You're just about to bite back your assent when a voice suddenly calls back from across the garden.

"Leonaaaa!"

Lion Man curses under his breath. You hear footsteps approach the two of you, and a scruffy-looking man (? He's so small and scrawny that he could be a boy for all you knew.) appears down the path. He has animal ears and a tail too, but his ears are bigger and fluffier and so is his tail.

If Lion Man is supposed to be Scar, then could this guy be a hyena?

"Leona! There you are!" he says with a wide, relieved grin. You'd assumed he was one of the card soldiers, but with a closer look, you realise he isn't at all dressed like one. "I knew I'd find you here."

"Ugh, and now I've got this guy on my tail..." Leona groans, turning his irritation onto the new stranger now. "What is it, Ruggie?"

"Riddle's lookin' for ya," the hyena boy—Ruggie—replies without missing a beat despite the deadly glare trained on him. "Says it's important inheritor business. He's even got the guards looking."

"Inheritor business, huh." Leona's ears rise at that and he glances at you over his shoulder. "Wonder what about."

"Beats me." Ruggie shrugs as he crosses his hands behind his head. "But you should probably go see him before he boils over."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm on it," Leona says gruffly as he stretches out his back and limbs. "I don't feel like gettin' collared today. I'll go see what he wants."

Before he leaves though, he turns to you, but instead of looking angry, he looks thoughtful this time. Riddle had had a similar expression earlier, where it seemed as if he was looking at something that wasn't actually there. Not in the present at least.

"I'm guessin' you're comin', huh," Leona sighs, sounding put-upon, and walks past Ruggie towards the end of the garden. He waves a dismissive hand in the air as he says, "Just remember what I said. I'm not waitin' up for you, and don't expect me to."

You roll your eyes at his back before walking after him with Ruggie tailing behind you (probably to make sure Leona actually makes it to Riddle). Leona is far ahead at this point so you could be wrong, but you think you catch the quietest little chuckle from him.

[maiji]

I'll request a reading if you're still doing them! why not. for my little guy Hana. what is he afraid of with regards to... his own history? 🤔 numbers.. 11 and 23. and if you're not still doing readings.. i hope you have a great day regardless!

I am absolutely delighted to do a reading for Hana from the webcomic Kings of Sorts! Hana seems like such a sweetie but from his very first appearance it's clear there's so much more to him than meets the eye. I'm nowhere near caught up on webcomic so this will be interesting, to see whether any patterns/interpretations we pull out manage to touch on anything that readers can already experience, or whether it just veers off into another direction of far-off general speculation. So if there somehow manage to be spoilers in this reading, I'm sorry, I had no idea either. lol

#11 was The Whip (which, by the way, is actually the eleventh card in Lenormand as well, interestingly enough), and #23 was The House. This combination actually made me gasp in light of the question. Kind of an "oh! / ohhh??" gasp. I think there's a lot of potential in terms of delving deeply into creative writing inspiration or character analysis!

The Whip is a card associated with many things that can cause pain: conflict, violence, shame, anger. And The House has already come up before, so we know it's used to represent a lot of things that seem like the exact opposite of The Whip - warmth, stability, things that make you feel cozy and happy and comfortable. But it's also associated with private matters. In other words, the exterior facade presented to the world may be brightness and cheer but there may be something much darker happening behind closed doors. I am reminded of when we first meet Hana in his home, and the scene where he talks about wanting to be able to help the people in his community in some way, any way...

In short, looking for a connection between the two cards that could be a cause for fear in Hana's history seems like we have a plethora of options. If we're being super dark - was there past punishment and suffering that separated him from things he considered home or family? Did they hurt, or were they caused by, people he would consider family? And whips are also things used to control - there's a lot of symbolism for a whip as not only a weapon and instrument of torture, but also a stereotype of a tool used to manage things seen as dangerous, wild and/or "other", like some kind of beast tamer. It has a lot of cruelty associated with it.

We don't have to go down the path of only super dark places, by the way. The Whip doesn't have to be interpreted in an extreme fashion - though I suppose with creative writing/inspiration we can often feel like that's an obvious or exciting and dramatic route to go down. It can also represent an argument, a physical activity (an injury?), something much less overtly traumatic but still play a major role in a core memory/event. Also, this Whip has flags added to it for greater control and sound effects - there's a sense that it can be for show, engineered as part of a performance.

I hope this was helpful! Thank you for the opportunity to read for Hana. Please don't be too mean to him!

---

Thanks for requesting a limited time free reading to celebrate the new edition of the Fortune Lenormand oracle/art deck!

Want to dive deeper?

Fortune Lenormand oracle/art deck - there's a free downloadable overview of card meanings!

humangray.com/lenormand - more info and resources/links!

(Note: these readings are being done with my old card deck from the original printing. There's not much difference with the new edition available in the link above - the biggest one is that the new edition has a custom box ooh ahh!)

[dorokora]

Chapter 14 Prologue Part 5

We start with Kresnik meeting up with someone at the police station. A new character named Pazuzu, he’s from the Beast Tamers. Kresnik is grateful to them for the meeting. Pazuzu said they won’t turn down a request for the guild that helped them out in CH8. We get a small flashback as a continuation of what happen with the Beast Tamers during CH8. Thanks to that, a alliance between the Beast Tamers and Outlaws was formed. Back to the point, they are we’re about the identity of the victim from the first Ripper case. Kresnik managed to get a sample from his old police connection. The body part has a body tissue of a dragon’s tail of a Dragon Snake. Pazuzu said he’s a reptile expert. Dragon Snake have a certain characteristic, they can change their appearance depending on who sees them. It’s the same with this body part, you can’t truly tell who it belongs to. There is also the possibility that someone from the "Dragon Snake" who happened to be nearby was "identified as being the same" as the victim. Meaning someone set it up to hide the true identity of the victim. It’s the opposite of cause and effect. Kresnik thanks him for the info, it could be useful in negotiation with the three guilds. Pazuzu said he has to go somewhere. Kresnik ask if that wise, gunshot and explosion are happening everywhere right now. Pazuzu said not to worry he has a friend.

We cut to the battlefield with Balor and his men fightning the drones. He thinks about Avagara and we enter another flashback, Balor tells Avarga to go and protect his student and settle things with his rival. He won’t be able ensure their safety. Balor thinks there maybe a reason he was summoned to Tokyo as a old man. Back to the present, Balor and other surviving World Reps are frighting on the front lines. On the other side, The Invaders are getting overrun by the Rule Makers and Entertainers. App users are panicking about which side to join as the all out battle engulfs Tokyo. We cut to Duo saying Tokyo is now the East and South VS the West and Entertainers. You can’t be neutral anymore, you will be forced to pick a side. We cut Barong meeting the new recruits of the Entertainers. Another new character named Amduscias introduce himself, he wants to be an Idol. Barong said if they work together he can become anything and decided he will be his mentor.

We cut to Ueno, where the Rule Makers Angels are telling the Beast Tamers to cooperate with them or die. Leib tells Cusith and Fenrir to don’t resist. The angels tells them to put their hands up, but before Leib does it he press a button in his lab coat. Angel said not all the Beast Tamers are here. It’s a emergency signal to all the other members. At the Ueno dorms, the Rule Makers are searching when they found a cage and are attacked by a Beastman.

Elsewhere in Ueno, we see Pazuzu get harass by the Rule Maker Angels. The angels said the Beast Tamers are on their wanted list and they know everything about them. A new character shows up, Hastur the king of Yellow and a biohazard transient. The angels thought their mask would be enough but poisonous insects got into their suits and paralyzed them. Pazuzu excitedly wants to check every part of his body but Hastur said he’s not a lizard. Pazuzu said it’s fine, his sacred artifact wards off evil.

Back to Bigfoot and MC, Bigfoot continues to be nice to MC and MC ask him what is he plotting. Bigfoot said he wants to protect them that’s all. Ever since he meet them, he loves them. We see Barguest monitoring MC from a distance reporting back to someone. This is another part of his job. Barguest then spots a suspicious person. The person grew a sword and threw it at MC. Barguest ask them why are they targeting MC. The person said his name is Beowulf. He’s here to slash the Dragon Snake. The MC he attacked was a fake. Christine then shows up and said “you look youthful as ever, Game Master Beowulf.” Barguest ask what’s going on. Christine said she set up the fake MC as a substitute. Christine knows the Game Masters are targeting MC, if the trophy is taken out then a new loop will occur. They used their privilege to hide MC from the stage but now. Beowulf said you can’t hide anything from the Game Masters. Christine said they will use their privilege to protect the trophy and that she’s on the audience side.

Back to Bigfoot, a fog sweeps the area. Inside the fog is Kirito. He saids to MC “Long time no see, MC. Do you remember me? I bet you didn’t want to see me. I didn’t want to get involved with you either. Why are you so serious about this game?”. MC asked a Kirito does he know Mononobe. Kirito says he heard a lot about him after he first met MC. But doesn’t know more than than. Kirito said “Well than shall we get to work.” and pulls out his knife towards MC. “It’s not personal, I’m just doing my job.” said Kirito. Bigfoot then steps to protect MC.

[the-scouts-codex]

Summary: “A Housewarden meeting?” Renmu repeats. “Yes, a Housewarden meeting. Normally Housewardens are elected by previous Housewardens and or by challenging one for the position.” The Headmage explained, “Since Ramshackle is still considered a dorm, and You and Grim have taken residence in it, this makes you Housewarden of Ramshackle. Therefore, you now attend Housewarden meetings.”

Scout's Notes: This fic is 11,333 words. Yes, that is a lot of words lol. So I will be posting my work in parts. This is part one.

This fic is also found on A03 here. Thescoutscodex

“A Housewarden meeting?” Renmu repeats. “Yes, a Housewarden meeting. Normally Housewardens are elected by previous Housewardens and or by challenging one for the position.” The Headmage explained, “Since Ramshackle is still considered a dorm, and You and Grim have taken residence in it, this makes you Housewarden of Ramshackle. Therefore, you now attend Housewarden meetings.” “Makes sense.” Renmu mumbled. “Indeed, it does. Normally we would hold a ceremony for new and or elected Housewardens at the start of a new year. Since you are now Housewarden under new circumstances, I decided to hold a mini celebration for you. I am such a generous man.”

A Housewarden get together did seem fun. The problem was that Renmu had zero social skills. He wasn’t the “party” type either. He was more of the awkward guy that sat in the corner of the room, watching everyone else have fun. Plus, normally people avoided him. “Jaa, when is the meeting again?” Renmu asked. “Oh, yes that would have been good information to know. It’s tonight.” Renmu looked at the Headmage nervously. “T-Tonight?” “Yes, perfect, no? Mr. Rosehearts is very busy and this was the only night he had available. He was willing to put his things off for a bit for the occasion.” Renmu sighed. Now he had no other choice but to go. Especially if they were talking time out there busy schedules to do this. He didn’t want to come off as ungrateful and rude. “Is there a way you want us to dress? Do we have to bring anything?” Renmu asked. “You don’t have to bring anything, and can just wear your uniform or dorm uniform. Though, you don’t have one it seems.” The Headmage said in thought. “Just be ready at 7:30pm. It will be held at Mostro lounge at Octavinelle” “Ah, thank you sir.” The Headmage smiled. “You are welcome. Now, I'm a busy man. Please don’t forget about the meeting.” Renmu bowed curtly at the Headmage. “Thank you and I won’t.”

Renmu had time to kill until the meeting. He needed to freshen up anyways. Being an errand runner and beast tamer of NRC was a handful. Renmu decided to buy some new soap from Sam’s Mysterious Shop. He’s been saving up extra money for miscellaneous expenses. The shop wasn’t bustling like it normally is. Lunch time is the worst time to be in here. The shop is kinda small plus a hoard of ravenous school students isn’t a good mix. “Hey there, little imp. What can my friends get ya today?” Sam asked behind the counter. “Hi Sam. Do you by any chance have some good face wash, shampoo, conditioner, and soap?” Sam smiled deviously. “Of course I have things like that in stock. Is there anything specific that you want?” Renmu hummed in thought. “I guess anything cheap? I don’t really know. Never had the opportunity to care what it smelled like or what it did.” Sam hummed in thought, pacing behind the counter. “Would you like for me to make a suggestion? Of course, I'll give you a discount since you work here from time to time.” Renmu smiled. “Deal.” “What’s the occasion? Are you going on a date?” Sam asked as he went into the back of the shop swiftly. Renmu shook his head and laughed. “As if. The Housewardens are having a meeting tonight and I’m invited.

Sam came back out with the products. A two in one shampoo and conditioner, face wash, and a fancy looking bottle of body wash. “Here ya go, My little imp.” Sam said smiling. “Are you sure?” Same asked with an evil grin. ” I’ve seen the way you look at some of the boys here.” “Sam!” Renmu yelled, embarrassed. “How much?” Renmu asked, pulling out his Knapsack. “Normally this would be around 30 to 45 Thuamarks, for you, 25 Thaumarks.” “Wow, thanks Sam.” Renmu said happily, though he didn’t show it much. Renmu pulled out 25 Thuamarks and handed it over to Sam. “Thanks a bunch, My little imp.” Sam bagged the products into a maroon bag and handed it over to Renmu. “Oh, I'll let you have this as well. Think of it as a little thank you for always helping me out around here.” Sam handed over a sleek black glass bottle of cologne. The glass bottle had a glass red rose swirled around it. It looked so expensive. “Sam…i'm sorry but how much is th-” “Nope! I shall not answer that, little imp. It’s a gift from me to you.” Sam said firmly with a smile. Renmu sighed and smiled. “At least let me hug you.”

Sam smiled and hopped over the counter. He effortlessly picked up Renmu and squeezed him. “You better date someone here, my little imp. Or I might just take you out myself.”

Renmu couldn’t help but laugh. Renmu picked a can of tuna for Grim on his way out. Hopefully Grim would behave tonight. Renmu bumped the door to Ramshackle open with his hip. He would have to fix that door soon. “Grim, I'm back!” Renmu called. “I got you Dinner too.” “Welcome back, mortal.” One if the ghost greeted him. “Good evening. “ Renmu replied. Grim came scurrying down the hall for Renmu. “Oh, did you get tuna!?” Grim asked, sniffing Renmu. “Yes, I got you Tuna.” Renmu said laughing. “I have to go to a Housewardens meeting tonight. Can I trust you to stay here out of trouble until I get back?” Renmu asked. “Of course you can! I don’t cause trouble.” Grim said, taking the can of tuna.

Renmu rolled his eyes and headed to their shared room. Renmu grabbed his things and prepared for his shower.

Once the hair washing and shower was done he got dressed. Only thing was Renmu didn’t know how he wanted his hair to be done. Renmu brushed it out and tried an array of ponytails, braids, and or buns. All of those styles made him feel exposed. He decided to just brush it down and call it a day. Why was he so worried anyways? It’s not like he cared what they thought about him. But he did and it was eating away at him. Yes, he was worried he would make a fool out of himself and all they would think of was that he was a bad Prefect. Yes, he was scared of letting Dire Crowley down. Yes, he was anxious of them thinking he was nothing but a magicless mistake like he already thought he was. He feared that he truly didn't belong here. What if they saw his eyebrowless face!? That scared him the most. Renmu's phone chimed, pulling him out of his trainwreck thoughts. The Headmage was calling him. Renmu quickly picked up the phone. He hoped nothing bad happened. “Moshi Moshi?” “Ah, Renmu. Could you fetch Malleus Draconia, the Housewarden of Diasomnia. It would seem that he was not informed about the meeting tonight.” “O-Oh, okay. Where would I find him?” Renmu asked. “He should be at his dorm. Go to the Hall of Mirrors to travel to his dorm. Do hurry. Now then, I'll let you go. I am a busy man.”

The Headmage hung up without a goodbye. Renmu sighed. How did they forget him? No, how did the Headmage forget to tell his own student about an important event? Renmu checked the clock. It was 6:30. He had time to fetch the Housewarden. Renmu pulled his hood on and held his cloak closed. The evening air had become chilly. Renmu left Ramshackle and made his way to the Hall of Mirrors.

Renmu scanned the room for the Mirror to Diasomina. It was the last one in the room. There were students still going in and out of the portals this time of day. Renmu made his way through the Mirror to the Diasomnia dorm. Once the magic dissipated around him, Renmu was met with such a dark sky. Cloudy and foggy. Everything looked so gothic and medieval. There was a long stone path that led up to a castle, the dorm of Diasomnia.

There was an archway along the path that brandished the Diasomnia insygnia, below a ravine full of thorns. Renmu wondered if there was a way out of that if he fell in? Renmu made his way up the stone path. Some students that were walking by looked at Renmu questionably. Did they not like visitors? Ravens flew about and perched themselves on the thorns beside him. Renmu reached an extensive drawbridge. He could see another pair of doors at the top of some stairs at the end of it. He continued on through the dimly lit tunnel. It was even colder in the tunnel. Bats hung gracefully above his head. Their little red eyes watched him as he passed by. Renmu made it to the staircase and realized how large they were. Renmu took a deep breath as he ascended the intimidating staircase.

By the time he got to the top, he was out of breath. He steadied himself on the cold stone walls for a moment. It was now or never he supposed. He pushed the heavy door open and squeezed himself inside. The inside was warm, thankfully. The corridor was extensive. The light gray stone floors and brick walls gave the room a cold look. The lights were green torches, candelabras, and chandeliers. Black leather couches and armchairs around dark oak tables. Dark floral carpets under each set. There were some students that were staring at him at some of the tables. Renmu approached them cautiously. “D-Do you know where I could find your Housewarden?” “If you request an audience with him, you need to go to the Vice housewarden, Lilia Vanrouge.” One of them informed him. Renmu nodded. “Wakarimashita, where would I find the Vice Housewarden, Lilia Vanrouge?” “You can find-” “I’m right here.”

The three of them jumped at the voice. Renmu jumped even more when someone dropped down in front of him. His black and green cape falling gracefully behind him. He was met with bloody red eyes and the palest skin he has ever seen. Lilia Vanrouge it would seem was standing before him. His pointed ears stuck out of his pink and black shaggy hair. A black and green horned hat sat upon his head. It was very odd in Renmu’s eyes, yet he liked it. The white button down and black tie he wore paired with a corset, high waisted half skirt that turned into a pair of black and green shorts. The purple ombre tool that cascaded down his hip and thigh. The purple legging that showed his thin and toned legs. His heeled boots added height to him making him an inch or two taller than Renmu. Lilia smiled at Renmu fondly, showing off his rather sharp looking fangs. He was adorable. Lilia chuckled softly. “You rang for me?” His voice was deeper than what Renmu was expecting. But it made him more lovable to Renmu. “U-Uh yes.” Renmu stammered. “I was looking for Mallues Draconia.” Lilia smiled even more. “Yes of course. Do follow me.” Lilia began walking towards the staircase and Renmu quickly followed after him. “What is your name, dear boy?” Lilia asked. “Yuu Renmu. You can call me Renmu.” “How positively unique. What do you need Malleus for, my dearest Renmu?” Lilia asked. “Oh, the Headmage is throwing a party for me tonight. I’m the new Prefect of Ramshackle. But I guess no one told Mallues, I think.” Renmu explained.

They stopped at the giant dragon throne. It wasn’t empty like before. There was a tall fair skinned man sitting in it. He had a huge pair of black horns on top of his head. His long black hair cascaded around his high cheekbones. His pointed ears stuck out through his hair just like Lilia’s. He turned to Renmu, his deep green eyes looked up at Renmu. There were two others around him at each side. One was very tall with slicked back green hair and the other had loose silver hair. The silver haired one had a drowsy look to him. His cornflower eyes were lidded. The green haired one looked at Renmu with disdain. “Who is this?” The horned man asked.

His voice is deep and velvety. Renmu suppressed the shiver that threatened to run down his spine. “This is Renmu.” Lilia informed him. “The new prefect of Ramshackle.” Malleus stood up from his chair. Renmu had to crane his neck just to look at his face because man was he tall. He towered over Renmu like a skyscraper. “Malleus Draconia, though you have already heard.” He announced. “Nice to meet you.” Renmu replied with a bow. “You said you were Prefect of Ramshackle, yes? I thought that building was vacant?” Mallues questioned. “I-I have taken residence there now. I don’t belong to any dorm since I don’t…harbor any magic.” Renmu explained. “But I am still a student. So since I’m the only one there, technically, the Headmage said that I'm considered Prefect. So he threw me a party to spend time and get to know the other Housewardends and their Vice Housewardens.” Mallues hummed. “When is the party?” Renmu swallowed nervously. “Tonight at 7:30…” “Eh, that’s in less than an hour.” Lilia said, concerned. “The Headmage forgot to tell me about it until earlier today. Then the HeadMage realized that you weren’t invited. So he made me find you…” Renmu trailed off. Lilia sighed. “It wouldn’t be the first time they forgot to inform Malleus about something.” “They do this all the time?” Renmu asked. Lilia nodded. “Even the Headmage?” Lilia nodded again. Renmu frowned. “That’s sad.” Malleus chuckled. “Well I don’t use my phone too much. I detest technology.” “O-Oh well, i’ll make sure to find you whenever I hear about a Housewarden meeting.” Renmu assured him. “Aww how sweet of you.” Lilia cooed. Renmu’s cheeks flushed a bit. “Where is the party?” The silver haired one asked Renmu. “Octavinelle’s Mostro lounge.” “Are you sure you want to go, your Highness? We probably won’t have time to scout the area for any threats.” The silver haired one offered. “I cannot allow you to get hurt!” The green haired one yelled. Mallues shook his head. “I should be fine, Silver, Sebek. It’s a Housewarden gathering after all.” Malleus said with a hint of happiness. Renmu sat there dumbfounded. “You’re a prince?” The greened haired one named Sebek glared at Renmu. “You have never heard of his Majesty!? Malleus Draconia, the future king of the Briar Valley!?”

Renmu really hoped he didn’t just commit a crime of not knowing he was a prince. The last thing he needed was being thrown in a dungeon in a world he had no knowledge of. “I-I apologize. I was never informed he was a prince.” Renmu stammered, bowing over and over. “Please forgive my ignorance. I am not from here.” Renmu felt a hand ruffle his head. Renmu looked up through his bangs. Malleus was smiling at him. “It’s alright. I wouldn't expect you to know. Please don’t worry about my title.” Renmu nodded. Malleus turned to his two worried shields, “I should be okay, Sebek. Lilia will be with me. Will you watch over the place for me in my absence?” Sebek nodded eagerly. “Yes of course!” “Well then, there isn’t much time left. I shall prepare for the party.” Melleus said with a smile. “I shall walk you back to the hall of Mirrors, Renmu.” Lilia offered. Renmu nodded vehemently . “Arigato Gozaimasu.”

Malleus retreated into the hallway with Silver and Sebek behind him. Lilia began walking back to the staircase and Renmu followed. As they walked through the corridor, the students bid Lilia farwell. It was chilly outside and Renmu pulled his cloak on tighter. Lilia looked up at the bats hanging from the tunnel. “Good evening my babies!” He said affectionately as he walked. The bats began flocking around Lilia as he walked. Renmu walked behind him astonished. It was almost like he was a Vampire. “Lilia-senpai.” Renmu mumbled. Lilia turned around a bit. “Senpai?” “Ah, where I'm from, we give each other honorifics. Senpai means that I'm showing respect to a classmate older than me.” Lilia hummed, “I like that. Now, what was it that you were saying?” “Lilia-Senpai, are you by any chance a Vampire?”

Lilia stopped walking this time. He turned around and looked at Renmu. Renmu couldn’t tell what kind of look it was he was giving him. “Gomenasai, that was rude of me to assume, right?” Renmu said anxiously. “What do you think, Renmu?” Lilia asked, mirthful. Renmu hesitated before answering. “I think that you are…” Renmu mumbled. “Then I am. I’ll be whatever you like me to be.” Lilia began walking again. Renmu walked with him again. They reached the Magic Mirror and Lilia let his bats go. They flew off into the cloudy night sky. “Thanks for walking me back.” Renmu said with a bow. Lilia chuckled. “Not a problem. I’ll see you at the party.” Lilia waved goodbye before grabbing the edge of his cape, pulling over his shoulder and disappearing out of thin air. All that was left were bats that soon turned into magic dust. Renmu blinked a few times. Renmu wanted to get to know these people more.

Renmu had enough time to go back to Ramshackle and freshen up again. He was feeling self-conscious after he had been outside. What if he smelled like outside? He spritzed himself with the cologne Sam gifted him. The scent was alluring. It smelled like Dahlia, Vanilla and Rose oil. Renmu hoped the cologne wasn’t enchanted or something. The last thing he needed was 7 guys and their Vice Houswardens chasing him like he was the next bachelorette or the last grilled cheese at the bakery. He looked at the label, “The Alluring Rose.” By the Poison Apple company. Renmu growled. “This stuff has to be enchanted. Well whatever, it’s too late for me to wash the scent off…Grim, I’m leaving.” Renmu yelled. Renmu could faintly Grim mumbling something about tuna and homework. Renmu shook his head and laughed as he left Ramshackle.

Part 2 can be found here.

[letsrearise]

Season 1 retrospective part I: the most memorable adult evolution, Filmon.

As a way to celebrate ReArise’s Anniversary, I’m starting my retrospective series on season one highlighting its most memorable parts in order to cover season 2 later on.

ReArise’s season one scenario writing is mostly formulaic—it uses the basic format of meeting up with the focus character, having some kind of spiral encounter that’s resolved through fighting and some kind of highlight such as a new character introduction or a new evolution. That’s not to say it doesn’t seed its plot and lore—although the repetitiveness hurts lending the drop feed more interest. From the Tamers’ introductions that involved random digimon as collateral, there’s been hints to Herissmon's true nature and their affinity to Spirals; as well to the Spirals’ plans through them provoking digimon and manipulating both the digital points’ frequency and size (the most pointed case being in act 11, with Keito noting the weird expansion of a particular Digital Point). Which leads us to acts 12-13 being among my favorites in season one, since they take all these hints and escalate the situation in an effective, shocking way.

The end-of-act-11 cliffhanger revealing the spiral expanding the Digital Point is still around, coupled with the fact that the unusual electronic disturbances point at the movement of the Digital Points for their eventual convergence at the center of the city are both rewarding little ideas that sell a sense something bigger than usual is brewing, more so than your typical “Digital Points are increasing in frequency” talking point so far. The event ties the instability of the Digital Point to Tyrannomon, so we get a different main objective than simply destroying the Spirals in order to restore the space back to normal. Previous digimon encounters haven’t necessarily been friendly from start, but none were a serious threat to the Tamers themselves as much as to the digimon’s own safety, so it’s a fun tug-of-war between Spirals and Tamers to get to and pacify/subjugate Tyrannomon first (also, it’s nice to see the once-to-be mascot of the franchise get a lil’ hype as especially strong).

 We also get to entertain some kinda strategy from the Tamers, with Takumi dealing with Tyrannomon directly and the others offering support by clearing the Spirals. Agumon’s eventual request for their help in order to talk it out with Tyrannomon also provides a shake-up to the usual course of action. The Tamers clear a path for Greymon to get to Tyrannmon, who at this point is merely a rampaging beast… It’s a bit underwhelming as far confrontations go, but it’s also note-worthy as the first time ReArise puts reaching out to the creature lashing out at the heart of the debacle, something that gets much greater pay-off in season one’s own finale.

 Herissmon’s building sense of impotence through act 12 is good to anticipate their eventual evolution during this event, as well as valuable characterization setup for their constant ruminating and guilt through the last stretch of season one as the Spiral possession occurrences keep on troubling them. The Tamers’ initial hesitancy to simply destroy Tyrannomon isn’t too deply explored, but it’s nice to see echoes of it for when the possibility starts creeping as a way to deal with Herissmon themself later on.

 The end of act 12 is a great cliffhanger on its own right— just when it looks the tides have changed and the Tamers have successfully weakened and cornered Tyrannomon, the Spirals resonate with it and force a corrupt evolution that successfully integrates Spiral data. This finally puts into perspective all of the Spirals previous experiments and hints at their ultimate goal as well as it foreshadows Herissmon’s own eventual fate. Not to mention it was just cool. This fucked up egg is my friend.

Herissmon’s adult evolution being fueled by a desire to help their friends when they’re in a pinch and literally paralyzed is Digimon at its most classic. It’s not the most shocking of revelations, but it goes quite well with Herissmon’s character— their answers for the Spirals in the season 1 finale hinges on how much they cherish life thanks to their beloved friends, and this will continue being their core source of strength through season two. Herissmon’s deep love for its friends is even baked into the lore of its ultimate evolution, given that it can get a power boost from the emotions of its allies. That the spirals are drawn to Herissmon as well and it looks like they might try to force a corrupt evolution right there and then is the cherry on the cake adding a bit of a twist. All in, it’s the perfect scenario for Herissmon to evolve for the first time.

There’s genuine pathos in the way the Tamers note SkullGreymon’s pain over the forced evolution and MetalGreymon’s desire to keep on reaching their rampaging friend culminating in a bittersweet victory for the Tamers. It’s a bit of a waste this season doesn’t use this event to pivot to a more serious atmosphere, especially as we deal with its shadow looming over Herissmon and how it affects the other Tamers—particularly Takumi, but I still enjoy the tragedy of it as is.

[cheemken]

Yeah the concept with all the Champions dying makes more sense if it was apart of the Rebellion AU. Can make it more devastating for Diantha if the Kalos League tells her how she died

But damn, we won’t have the Lance, Clair and Silver reunion :(

But we can have the “Lance finds out his cousin and son were killed because they were important to him” scenario instead >:). Imagine he eventually asks where Clair is, or where Silver is

Also yeah I intended for Hau and Geeta to be killed as well, I just couldn’t think of a way for them to die lol

But Hau is still champion, and I like what you did with Geeta. Having her as the villain for her region. Love me some twist villain characters

We can also go with the other scenario if you like her being the good guy better. Ma’am dipped, left Nemona in charge (a teenager btw), and came back months later with a fucking killer team. Ready to avenge her soulmate and friends with mons she specifically trained to go for the kill

Ouughfhchfhfjdhsn your honour Lance having to find out everyone he loves is dead😭😭 his wife and kids and his cousin man that's gotta fuck him up imagine him finding out that his alt self is still alive in this universe but he's a prisoner of RR, a hollow shell of a man he once was, a man who lost everything, who was powerless to save everyone and ough,,,, OUGH™

Imagine him on the verge of a meltdown too, having to find out how everyone else died, and how he's still alive, still breathing somewhere, aware of the bloodshed happening around him, but was already too broken to do anything, powerless, dead in a way that he was alive yet mourned for not his loved ones but also for himself.

And oughfhfhf villain Geeta my beloved holy shit can you imagine Geeta meeting her alt self, and she's there w RR maybe, or in her office at the league, and this is so so so fucking self indulgent on my part bc I have this lil au abt Geeta and Diantha as well, but like,,,, ough,,,,, imagine Alt Geeta smirking at Geeta tho, telling her how Diantha died, how her angel fell from grace, how her screams echoed within the chambers, how she was killed by a pack of Houndoom. Geeta couldn't fucking believe what she fucking heard man, her own hands were shaking like crazy, the want to punch and go batshit on Alt Geeta fucking flared, and Alt Geeta was there going, "what are you so mad about? If anything, we took her away from that incompetent dragon tamer she calls her husband." Then she mutters under her breath, "unfortunately, even in her final moments she still chose him."

And ofc, Geeta's there telling Alt that Diantha didn't deserve that, she didn't deserve to die, none of them deserves to die. Then Alt Geeta gives her this dark af glare as she stands from her seat, stalking towards Geeta, almost growling, "if I can't have her then no one can."

Your honour they make me so fucking ill I can't hcmxbxmx

Imagine how that mustve been for Diantha tho, hearing from Drasna how her alt self was killed, how it was Geeta who killed her, and it's by a pack of Houndoom, can you imagine how hurt Dia must've been w that tho, how much it'll fuck her up, bc she knows its not her Geeta who did it, it's the one in this universe, but man she knows she just fucking knows she entrusted the same three people about that trauma of hers, about her past: Drasna, Geeta, and Lance. Like chdmxbnd your honour please😭😭

But either way, Geeta's going through it™ lmfao

W Hau tho,,, y'know imagine if he gets killed by an Ultra Beast, maybe Nihilego bc that's the one w Lusamine right?? That or like,, the cockroach looking one, Pheromosa?? I'm so sorry I'm not familiar w the Ultra Beasts except for Guzzlord and Buzzwole (bc this one's in unite lmao). But anyways, idk, like,,, Lusamine maybe killing Hau, bc ofc, he's friends w her children, imagine her killing off Hau infront of Gladion and Lillie tho, to show them what happens if they defy her again and oughchmdhx that's fucked up your honour Gladion would go apeshit too lmfaooo

[caffinedragon]

My main Tav:

Name: Razzikel

Lythari Drow, Beast Tamer Ranger

Romance: Halsin(Druid)×Astarion(Rogue)

RazzikelxHalsin: Razzikel was born and grew up int the UNderdark as a Ranger slave for his mother whom had secretly converted to Seladrune/Elistree after obtaning the Lythari gift for him to prevent a gentic disease from killing him. Living a life where true safety and freedom was only obtained through violence and control if he continued to live amongst his kind, he longed to go up to the surface and never return. But due to his love for his mother, he remined in order to try and protect her back from the claws of the other houses. Until his motther forced him to fail so that he could escape in a way no one would be able to find him.

Halsin and Razzikel met after the trauma of the escape forced him into his Lythari Dire Wolf form for 15 years and Halsin found him stuck in a bear trap and took him back to his grove to recover. he surprised him by the change but after that helped him to not only be on two legs again, but to embrace the freedom he now had due to his mother's sacrifice.

Halsin was the one who taught him the beast tamer skills he has so that he wouldn't be as lonely out in the wilds and helped him orient himself with the surface's foriegn flora and fauna.

In return, Razzikel taught him how to better track out of wildshape and unintentionally, how yo better take care of himself and to stand up for himself better even if it is just by walking away.

The two of them end up having the same sort of platonic relationship that Geralt and Dandilion have where now matter how long there apart they always meet up again like it has only been a few days instead of several years.

Until the Shadow Curse cuts them off.

Once they reunite in game however, the Thirimin kicks in and they go from Geralt and Dandilion to Stede Bonnet and Edward Thatch from Our Flag Means Death. Nature's newest power couple. Wolf Dad and Bear Dad of the motly group fighting to stop The Absolute.

Modern Au Equivilent: Razzikel is that wandering biker dude that may or may not be an ex-con dressed in black that like breaks down along the side of the road and Halsin is the local farmer/rancher/vet etc that finds him and takes him home to help him and he just never leaves.

RazzikelxAstarion: Very much the sassy chaos gremlin and the stoic gentle giant that often humbles them. Astarion invokes the protective instincts in Razzikel but also his more viscious drow side that finds his antics funny. He knew AStarion was manipulating him from the start but also knew that to get behind his mask it was easier to play along until he could essentially Uno reverse card him. Especially since he had grown up in a similar situation even if it wasnt as horrific as Astarion's was. He had just been on the other side for about 150 years by then. Ex-slave - soon to be ex-slave if he had anything to say about it.

Razzikel often used his stoic nature to allow him to talk through his feelings without interuption or judgement and in return Astarion helped him better manage traversing the cityscapes he often had trouble in due to him primarily sticking to the wilds most of the time.

RazzikelxHalsinxAstarion: Their dynamic is the two old trauma survivors who are happily married take in the younger freshly traumatized but finally escaped survivor and show him the way towards healing via patience, understanding and all the affectuin he can stand.

Modern AU equivelant: Stoic Metel head biker built like a slim oak tree hapilly married to his paper bear husband meet thier new neighbor, a heavily traumatised feral cat twink freshly who finally escaoed a horrifically abusive relationship with only a backpack full of clothes, and some packages of ramen and a ywelve pack of cheap soda and are like...

Halsin: "We gonna leave him like that?"

Razzikel: "Fuck. No."

And then proceed to feed him and take care of him causing the new neighbor to be like...

Astarion: "You gave me food and treated me with kindness so I'm your problem now."

And so their like:

Halsin: "That's fine, you like honey buns?"

Razzikel after finding out about his abusive ex who is still breathing: "You want me to kill that guy for you?"

So this is out of curiosity.

Reblog and share a bit about the dynamic between your tav and their love interest(s) in terms of their class and backgrounds. Maybe their shared class or background they bond over? Maybe they have different viewpoints that they learn about each other? Maybe one teaches the other a bit from their class (like Gale teaching Tav how to summon light, or Lae'zel giving Tav combat techniques)

[mavda]

Beast Tamers

Ch.1 |  Ch.2 | Ch.3 | Ch.4(1) | Ch.4(2) | Ch.5(1) | Ch.5(2) | Ch.5(3) | Ch.5(4) | Ch.6(1) | Ch.6(2) | Ch.6(3) | Ch.7(1) | Ch.7(2) | Ch.7(3) | Ch.7(4) | Ch.7(5) | Ch.8(1) | Ch.8(2) | Ch.8(3) | Ch.9(1) | Ch.9(2) | Ch.9(3) | Ch.9(4) | Ch.10(1) | Ch.10(2) | Ch.10(3) |

Ch.10: The Two-Tails (4)

Shino's bugs buzz around him and he stares into the dark. He can’t see, but he senses, feels, and his bugs tell him about the meeting happening a couple hundred meters away from him. 

    “I can’t see shit,” Kiba shares, right beside him in a whisper. He’s on his stomach, with Akamaru right beside him. “We can’t go closer though, they’ll notice us.”

    “Correct.”

    Shino remains still and Kiba remains restless next to him. 

    “Fuck this.”

    Shino agrees but says nothing. Away from them, deep into the forest, Lord Graff meets someone whose scent they can’t sense, whose voice they can’t hear, whose presence they can’t follow. 

    When the meeting finishes and the mystery figure leaves the place, Kiba and Shino try to follow, but they end their chase shortly after, with Akamaru sniffing around furiously and with Shino’s bugs buzzing louder than usual.

    “They’re good,” Kiba says, frustration lacing his words.

    Shino usually lets Kiba’s words hang in the air between them, especially if what he’s saying is already understood between them. But this time Shino can feel his own exasperation rising, so he scoffs once, turns around and says, “I agree.” 

•····························•····························•

Shikamaru and Naruto sigh at the same time, and Naruto locks eyes with him a second before huffing out and shaking his head. 

    “I talked with him again, he knows nothing.” 

Shikamaru lets one of his hands press on his head. Tsume looks at Naruto with squinted eyes, completely concentrated.

“Or he’s extremely good at hiding things? I don’t know.” Naruto opens his hand in irritation. They know Lord Graff has something going on. Out of everyone they have checked on, he’s the only one that meets a stranger. And yet…

“What if he doesn’t know?” Starts Shikamaru.

“How so?” Naruto interrupts, “a third party, you think?” 

“Maybe.”

Tsume stares at the two youngsters in front of her and raises her nose in dissatisfaction. “What does it matter?” She growls. 

Shikamaru lets his head fall to the side with a tight smile. Because yes, but also no. 

“We knew from day one that this wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. I knew from day one this was a trap, and you two seemed happy to go into it anyways-”

“Well, happy is a strong word.” Naruto chimes in, but Tsume stares him down and he looks down in embarrassment.

“So I say we focus on what we can do and prepare. Lord Graff is probably giving the enemy information, so what? We prepare. And what we need right now is not to prepare our defenses, but our attack.”

Naruto looks at Tsume, her short hair framing her face, her eyes burning with passion. The fang markings on her cheeks crinkling as she smiles, showing her own teeth, “I am good with that.” 

 •····························•····························•

Naruto finds Neji in his room. Deep into the night. Neji is reading a book under the candlelight and opens the sliding door before Naruto has a chance to even announce himself.

     “My lord,” Neji greets, and Naruto closes the mouth with which he was about to call for Neji before tilting his head and huffing out.

    “Hey, sorry for making you wait too long.”

    “Not at all, my lord, please,” Neji points to the two cushions laid on the floor before walking to them. He waits for Naruto to sit down before following through. 

    Naruto sits in silence and then breathes in and out loud enough. Neji looks at him with a blank stare and Naruto has to look away for a second.

    “Shall I offer you a drink, my lord?”

    Naruto raises his hand immediately, “No, no, sorry, it’s just…”

    “Are you nervous?”

    Naruto scoffs, “Is it that obvious?”

    “No. Not really,” Neji bites down the remarks of how Naruto seems to only show this side of himself to Neji and Shikamaru. He bites down on his questions because he fears Naruto will change his demeanor, as if the only reason for this is because he somehow hasn’t noticed.   

    Naruto lets his head fall back and moves it side to side. His muscles are sore. “Well, basically, you know we’re leaving in a week, right?”

    “Yes, my lord.”

    Naruto straightens, blinks hard. He needs sleep. “I’m only taking Shino, Sai and Ino with me. Nothing ought to happen in here while I’m gone. There will be guards and shifts and everything will be under control, you’ll have Sakura right beside you if anything happens. Hell, my dad and my godfather are pretty good assets too, I would say, this place will be more guarded than any other place I know of.” He takes a moment and Neji says nothing, and the anxiousness that eats at him tries to resurface, “I want you to stick close to Hinata, Neji. Fuck, not close, I want you to be her shadow.”

    “Yes, my lord.”

    “There will be guards and I have already talked with everyone about her being priority number one if… if anything were to happen. Which will not, you know,” he adds, with a soft brisk in his voice. “But…” he hates having to put himself through these scenarios. “I haven’t told her, you know? Haven’t said a peep about things going wrong.”

    Naruto looks at Neji, at his white eyes, that seem impassive and full of knowledge. “You have her same look. She knows… I know she-"

There is not much he can say, and there is not much he can do. They have prepared and prepared further. And now Naruto needs to know that someone will have only Hinata's well-being on their minds. So he asks. 

"Please just take care of her."

"Yes, my lord."

•····························•····························•

They are inside their room, and Naruto leaves a trail of kisses on her body. He engulfs her, her body against his, his hands roaming wherever they can. Hinata can only sigh and moan to the wall in front of her. 

He has a meeting soon after. 

“Y-your mee-” Naruto brings her mouth to his. He’s eager, his hands caress her belly and he stops when his hands meet under her, he loves feeling the weight in his hands, the little sigh Hinata gives as her body feels some relief from her added weight. 

“Do you think we can-?” he whispers. His breath hot behind her ear, his body ready. 

It takes Hinata less than two seconds to nod. Her own body has undergone changes, her mind has become filled with worries, and Naruto’s touch has become the only thing capable of overruling her mind, to keep her from spiralling down places she knows she can’t go.

It is hurried and messy and full of hot breathed moans against her back. Naruto keeps his hands under her stomach and he takes care of not pressing her too hard against the wall. Just enough. Just enough to make Hinata tremble under his touch and grab onto his arms to keep herself from losing her footing. 

Her kimono is all disheveled and Naruto presses her to him, keeps one hand on her stomach and the other squeezes her breast. He bites the nape of her neck and Hinata feels herself coming from a mile away. 

“I’m c-comin-”

Naruto slows his pace and rides her high with her, he doesn’t come. He turns her around with utmost care, keeping his hands on her at all times. “You all right?”

Hinata nods, but her legs feel weak and her hands don’t leave his arms in fear of stumbling over. He looks tousled, and his erection stands in between his robes. 

He starts undressing Hinata in order to help her get ready again, her obi falls and Naruto puts it over his shoulder. Hinata’s hand ghosts over his glans and Naruto freezes.

The corner of his mouth rises, “Are you gonna help me take care of it, love?”

Hinata wants to whisper a yes, wants to be seductive and smirk back. But their desperation to be together has only grown bigger over these past weeks and she can’t hide the sun with her thumb. 

She’s scared. 

She moves closer to him and starts stroking his erection, her mouth leaving kisses on his chest. He doubles over, covers her hand with his and helps her make him come. 

When he does, his mouth opens over hers and he spills himself over her stomach. Hinata brings his hand over her pregnant belly and rests it there for a second, before she steals a kiss from his lips and then uses a cloth to clean herself and Naruto. 

They say nothing, and Naruto leaves her with her clothes as if nothing ever happened and with a kiss on her lips that lasts longer than usual.

•····························•····························•

It is morning and Naruto has been staring out their window for a while. He thinks she’s sleeping, but she awoke the moment he stirred beside her and she has not been able to fall asleep again.

    Naruto looks over at her out of habit and catches her eyes. He crawls to her, “Have you been awake long?”

    “No,” she lies and Naruto lies with her again, but outside the bedclothes. 

    “I’ll be back before you notice.” 

    He whispers and she whispers back. There is no one nearby, and what they are talking about is hardly important, but they mutter back and forth, with their hands interlocked. 

    Hinata rubs her thumb over his cheek, drags her fingers over his whiskers. “I’ll be r-right here, w-waiting for you.”

    Naruto’s blue eyes wrinkle and then Hinata’s hand flies to her stomach, “We,” she corrects herself, “we will be w-waiting.” 

    Naruto smiles, lets out a snort before he rolls over and lets his elbows rest at her sides. He kisses her face, her neck, he sits and lets his hand come up in front of him, right over Hinata’s tummy. 

    “Daddy’s going,” he whispers against her clothes and then comes up again for one last kiss. “Go back to sleep.”

    Hinata nods but sits and follows with her eyes as he grabs his bag. 

    Naruto checks his things before sighing and getting a shawl he then wraps around her body. “See if you can and get some more sleep, okay?” 

    Hinata nods again and her hands grip the shawl around her with too much force. Naruto notices and moves his hands over hers, “Hey,” he calls, his voice low, full of sleep and wishes, “I love you.” 

    A last kiss on her lips and then he looks at her eyes. “I’ll be back before you even get to miss me.” 

    He leaves and Hinata feels his absence immediately after. What a lie.

    She misses him already.

•····························•····························•

His group waits outside the inner compound. With their bags ready and a look in their eyes that leaves nothing to chance. 

    They ride a carriage and Shino’s bugs let out a soft hum that helps Naruto drift off into a series of naps before the sun hits his face. 

    They stop, eat, talk about their plans making sure no one listens, then ride again and keep on going. 

    Shino’s surveillance never wanes and Ino has taken Sai as a chatting companion -with Naruto as a close second best option and Shino up to whenever he feels like sharing something-. Their travel is lengthy and without disturbances and Naruto somehow wishes something came out so he could take out his frustration on something.

    Nothing happens. 

    And they reach the territory of the Two-Tails. Unlike what Naruto expected, no one is overly aggressive and they reach their dwellings without trouble. And all of this should make him sigh in relief, but somehow it only makes him more agitated.

  �� “This sucks,” he says under his breath.

Ino snorts and looks around with her high ponytail following behind, “Indeed it does, my lord.”

“Just one of you is allowed inside, so Sai will be coming with me.”

Shino and Ino nod and start checking their room with professional care. Shino’s bugs fly around and Naruto can feel the buzzing outside the room already. One of his bugs crawling inside Naruto’s clothes. 

“We’ll be on the lookout.”

Ino opens the window and looks around for a bird. “Yes, my lord, we’ll gather information while we wait.”

Sai remains silent and the moment they leave he shadows Naruto with a confidence that makes Naruto smile. 

The One-Tail, the Two-Tails, the Four-Tails, the Six-Tails, the Nine-Tails. All in one room. It sounds like the start of a bad joke.

His territory and the Four-Tails’ are the farthest apart from here, so he knows the others will be more rested. He half expects for the Four-Tails not to appear. 

A guard looks at him with a bored look Naruto returns before opening the door to the meeting.

The One-Tail, the Two-Tails and the Four-Tails stare at him and Naruto doesn’t even get to give ten full steps into the room before the Two-Tails shakes a paper in front of her.

“My lord, a pleasure to meet you, the Six-Tails is dead.”

Naruto snorts at her tone, walks the rest of the way to a seat away from all of them and lets his hand come to his chin. The Two-Tails locks eyes with him and Naruto tilts his head.

“Oh.” He says.

[iambutmortal]

Darling, I'm a Daydream Dressed Like a Nightmare

Summary: When Lucien goes to the Night Court to update Feyre and Rhys the Spring Court, they would like to thank Lucien for his services in the naughtiest way possible.

Written for @sjmkinkmeme​ and also a massive thank you to @separatist-apologist​ for beta reading

Pairing: Feyre Archeron x Rhysand x Lucien Vanserra

Word Count: 4k

Content Warning: Dubious Consent, Explicit Cheating

Read on AO3

Lucien hated the Court of Nightmares.

Rhysand’s underground court made his skin crawl, reminded him far too much of Amarantha. How Rhys could stand it after being trapped for fifty years, Lucien didn’t know. He was surprised Feyre hadn’t ordered it demolished, if only as a favor to her mate.

Still, when the High Lord and Lady of the Night court summoned him there to give his monthly report on Spring, he had no option other than to show up, not while they offered him the only employment he was likely to find.

The doors to the throne room swung open as he approached, and he strode into the cavernous space. His golden eye clicked as he took in the stone walls, the carved beasts and low, flickering light. Mercifully, Rhys and Feyre were alone, none of the other members of their court of dreams hanging around, judging him for his every move.

The smell of sweat and desire hung heavy in the air. Rhysand had no doubt been having one of his famous parties, although those had been notably tamer since Feyre came into the picture. It was hard to host an orgy to rival Helion’s when you had a mate and baby at home.

Feyre and Rhys were still dressed for her monstrous court, scraps of see through back fabric showing off most of Feyre’s lightly freckled skin as she lounged in her mate’s throne. Rhys perched on the arm, his wings nowhere in sight while her own seat remained empty.

“Thank you for meeting us here,” Feyre said once Lucien stopped at the bottom of the dais, her blue eyes keen as her gaze roamed over him. Lucien felt himself stand up a hair straighter as she took in his polished boots, the simple tunic opened nearly to his navel. His hair hung loose around his face, an easier style than tying it back.

Lucien sketched a quick bow, raising one brow in mock difference. “Whatever my High Lady requests.”

Feyre snorted.

Rhys cleared his throat and Lucien straightened. “Your report?” he asked.

“Spring is unchanged. Tamlin remains largely absent, even as his lords work to rebuild. I have concern about Autumn trying to encroach—”

Feyre held up a tattooed finger to stop him. “You’re too far away,” she pouted. She seemed to spread her legs wider, something Lucien would have hardly noticed had that single bolt of fabric not fallen between her thighs, showing off more of that creamy expanse of skin.

Lucien averted his eyes, turning to Rhys, who only smirked.

“Come closer,” Feyre ordered, and Lucien forced down the lump forming in his throat. Hesitantly, he took a step up onto the dais. 

“Closer,” Rhys said. There wasn’t much more closer Lucien could get, but he took another half step forward until he was practically standing between Feyre’s parted thighs.

“Beron seems to be sending patrols closer to the border than he has in the past,” Lucien said, continuing. Feyre extended one bare leg, wrapped it around the back of his thighs, and tugged. Lucien’s mind went blank as he stumbled forward, bracing himself against the arms of the throne to stop himself from falling into her lap.

“You work too hard,” Feyre purred, running one finger down the front of Lucien’s shirt.

Lucien quickly righted himself. “I can prepare a written report if you prefer.”

“We don’t prefer,” Rhys said. Perched on the chair arm, he was only slightly shorter than Lucien, which made it easy for him to lean forward and lick a stripe up his neck.

Lucien’s body went hot, simultaneously tensing and going loose all at once.

“We do however think you deserve thanks,” Feyre added, undoing one of his few remaining tunic buttons.

Hastily, Lucien stepped back. “I think a bottle of your good wine would more than suffice.”

Feyre hummed, looking up at him before reaching out a hand and grabbing the bulge in the front of his pants. Lucien had been so distracted he hadn’t realized he was already half hard, and, now that Feyre was touching him, was rapidly growing harder.

Lucien looked away, staring at a spot on the back wall. “I’m a mated male, I don’t want—”

“You haven’t accepted the mating bond,” Feyre countered, scraping the nails of one hand lightly along the front of his thighs while her other continued to stroke him through his pants. “And Elain doesn’t want you.”

Lucien flinched. He knew, even if he didn’t want to acknowledge it. Elain had no interest in him, actively avoided him. He was keeping himself chaste for her, remaining loyal despite having no proof she expected it. Or even if she bothered to do the same for him. He doubted it.

“We want you, though,” Rhys said, moving from where he’d been watching to stand behind Lucien, running a hand under his tunic and up his chest.

Indecision, and deep shame, flickered through Lucien. He should value that mating bond more. Still, it had been so long since anyone had genuinely wanted him for more than what he could offer them—

Rhys seemed to sense his wavering, was probably poking around in his mind to make him compliant. His hand on Lucien’s chest pushed, shoving him into the open throne.

“We would take care of you,” Feyre added, rising gracefully out of her own seat to stand next to Rhys. They stared down at him with twin predatory gazes.

Lucien swallowed thickly. “I don’t want this.”

“You don’t want this, or you shouldn’t want this,” Rhys asked, his voice teasing.

Feyre stepped forward, climbing into his lap so her legs straddled his hips. “Don’t tell me you’re not curious,” she whispered into his ear, her lips brushing the delicate skin. “Haven’t wondered what it would be like.”

Lucien shivered slightly. He would be lying to himself if he said he’d never thought about it, early when Feyre first came to Prythian. She’d been so fierce, even when she was nothing more than skin and bones and scared out of her mind. But then she’d belonged to Tamlin, and now Rhysand, and Lucien had quickly banished auy thought of it. A part of him privately mused if it was because she looked like Elain, if there was some magic driving him towards the Archerons.

“Thankfully, little Lucien only has to be curious about what one of us is like in bed,” Rhys purred. He stood back, content to let Feyre take control.

“That was a long time ago,” Lucien ground out, as Feyre reached down to fully unbutton his shirt. He hated how turned on he was at the sight, how hard his aching cock was.

Maybe it had been too long.

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten,” Rhys teased. “I thought our nights together were special.”

“I was young,” Lucien said defensively.

“Want to see how I’ve improved? Although I don’t remember you ever complaining,” Rhys purred.

Feyre had made it down to his pants, was slowly undoing the laces that were barely containing his cock.

“I would rather not be ripped apart for touching another male’s mate.” It was a last ditch effort, and all three of them knew it. If Rhys wasn’t upset by Feyre draped over his lap, there was little else Lucien could do to provoke him.

“Rhys doesn’t mind sharing,” Feyre said, undoing that final tie. Lucien’s manhood sprung free, long and proud, already weeping slightly at the tip.

Feyre’s eyes went wide at the sight, even as she slipped from his lap and onto her knees.

“Not as little as Rhysand likes to make it out to be?” Lucien asked.

Feyre didn’t answer, instead leaning forward to run her tongue along the underside of his shaft.

“Fuck,” Lucien breathed, arching out of the seat slightly.

Feyre smiled up at him. “Still don’t want this?” Lucien didn’t answer, and Feyre wrapped her lips around the very tip of his head, sucking lightly.

She’d barely touched him, and Lucien was already far too close. His hand paled in comparison to the feeling another body, could never elicit the same feeling.

“Elain never hears of this,” Lucien ordered.

Feyre’s smile was pure wickedness as she winnowed them out of the throne room.

They landed somewhere warm, so at odds with the ever present chill of the Court of Nightmares. 

Lucien was perched on the edge of the most comfortable bed he’d ever felt, a slight breeze blowing through the open arched windows. From the mountains outside, Lucien guessed they were somewhere above the Court of Nightmares, probably in Rhys’ private residences. His people could rot in the darkness, but he was too good for that, needed the open air.

Feyre’s hands were back on him, tugging his pants down his legs and throwing them off into a corner somewhere, her mouth returning to his cock.

Rhys sat behind them on the bed. He ran his hands up Lucien’s chest, divesting him of his open tunic while Feyre continued her ministrations.

“Feyre darling,” Rhys said, “don’t you think Lucien should lie down, since he works so hard.”

Releasing him with a pop, Feyre grinned up at her mate. “I think he’s earned the rest.”

Rhysand pressed lightly on Lucien's shoulder, laying him down on the bed.

Ferye slid onto Lucien’s lap, head between his parted thighs. She ran her tongue along his slit, collecting the drop of precum on his tip.

“Now, now, Feyre,” Lucien said, rising onto his elbows to watch. “You’re not going to tease me, are you?”

“What would you do about it,” Feyre asked, toying with his balls but leaving his shaft untouched.

Instead of answering, Lucien reached out, wrapping Feyre’s long hair around the palm of his hand, tugging lightly. Her lips parted in surprise, and Lucien took the opportunity to shove his cock into her mouth.

Feyre gagged as he hit the back of her throat, her hand reaching out to brace herself against his thigh. Lucien groaned at the feeling, sitting up and burying his other hand in her hair and using his grip to bob her head.

Saliva dripped down Feyre’s chin as Lucien fucked her face. From somewhere above him, Rhys growled. “I believe Feyre darling wanted to be worshiped.”

Lucien glanced behind him to see Rhys watching them intently, his body tense. 

“Feyre, tell your mate this is what you want,” Lucien said, pressing deeper into her throat until her nose brushed against his lower stomach. Feyre gagged, unable to speak with him occupying her mouth. “Feyre,” he taunted. “You asked for this, didn’t you?”

He loosened his grip on her hair just enough for her to nod her head. Rhys relaxed slightly, his hand drifting down to the ties of his own pants.

Lucien tightened his grasp again, keeping Feyre’s head steady as he pulled out to the tip before thrusting back in. Feyre screamed against him and Lucien gave a dark laugh. “Poor Feyre, you thought I was going to worship you?” Another thrust. “That’s for good girls.” Another. “Not sluts who let their mates watch them get another male off.”

Feyre moaned, the sound muffled.

Lucien felt the rough slide of fabric along his back as Rhys came up behind him. “We serve at the Lady’s will,” Rhys snarled.

Lucien looked down at Feyre, spread out on his thighs, grinding slightly against the mattress in search of any kind of freedom. He felt release growing closer, his balls tightening at the sight.

“Then what does the Lady want?”

Blue eyes met his, and Feyre sucked, hollowing her cheeks as she took him impossibly deeper. Rhys reached around Lucien, rubbing his testicles with one hand.

The twin sensation sent him over the edge and Lucien came with a groan. Cum spurted into Feyre’s mouth, and she swallowed it dutifully. Some spilled from her swollen lips, dripping down onto Lucien’s thighs.

“Clean that up,” Lucien ordered, releasing Feyre’s head and running one hand down her exposed spine, the sun and moon inked there.

“Make me,” Feyre said.

Lucien hummed, fully willing to drape her across his lap and spank her for her behavior. She was saved by Rhys, who reached out to lift her off him, plopping her on the bed before taking her place. He looked flushed, his cock erect between the laces of his pants.

“Your mate sucks good cock,” Lucien said appreciatively.

“I know,” Rhys said, smirk firmly in place as he leaned down to lick the cum off Lucien’s thighs, biting softly at the skin.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lucien could see Feyre watching them intensely.

“Something to say, Feyre?”

“Did you truly lie together…before?”

“Five hundred years is a long time to know someone,” Lucien said. “You should ask Rhys what he and his brothers got up to in their youth.”

Rhys lifted his head. “Why talk when we could demonstrate for Feyre darling?”

Feyre made a small whimper and Lucien grinned. He guided Rhys up his body until they were level. Blue eyes met his and Rhys’ brow quirked, daring him to go first.

Lucien took it as a challenge, surging forward to meet his lips in a clash of tongues and teeth. It brought Lucien back to his youth, when they’d both merely been Lord’s sons, messy and inexperienced, eager for release in any way possible.

Rhys’ cock brushed against the skin of Lucien’s stomach, and Lucien reached down to wrap a hand around it. He stroked it slowly, enough to excite but nowhere near enough pressure to bring Rhys anywhere close to climax.

He could hear Feyre whining in the distance, and broke the kiss long enough for them both to look at her. Her legs were parted, a finger running through her slick folds as she watched.

Rhys chuckled. “I promised Feyre there would be two males lavishing attention on her. I don’t think she’s quite getting what she wanted.”

Lucien let go of Rhys’ cock with a sigh. “I didn’t become Spring’s emissary without knowing how to please the people in power.” He cocked his head. “Although it’s hard to do that when you’re both wearing so much clothing.”

Rhys snapped his fingers and his and Feyre’s clothes disappeared.

“Show off,” Lucien muttered, sliding back against the headboard to make room for Feyre to climb between them.

She crawled over, facing Rhys. He pressed a sweet kiss to her lips, and Lucien wrapped his hands around her hips, tugging them towards him. Feyre fell onto her hands and knees, ass in the air.

“Poor Feyre,” Lucien said, dragging a finger through her folds, gleaming with her arousal. “You’re practically dripping.”

“Are you going to do something about that, or just tease?” Feyre asked. 

Lucien’s answering spank sent her lurching forward. “If you want to talk, I can put your mouth to good use.”

Feyre turned back to glare at him, but remained silent.

Lucien palmed her ass, admiring the red print his hand had left. He leaned over her, his chest against her back. “I think Rhys should kiss and make it better,” Lucien whispered into her ear conspiratorially.

Feyre shivered slightly, nodding. Lucien sat back up, pulling Feyre with him until. She spread her legs, exposing her pretty, pink pussy to Rhys, who stared down at it in wonder.

“Lick it,” Lucien ordered.

Rhys didn’t need further prompting, falling forward to bury his face in Feyre’s cunt. She moaned, her head falling back to rest in the cradle where Lucien’s neck met his shoulder.

Lucien wrapped an arm around her body, palming her breasts while Rhys lavished attention on her clit. Feyre whimpered, her hands going to Rhys’ hair to hold him against her. 

“I want you to fuck me,” she declared when Lucien flicked his thumb across her nipple.

“Eager, are you?” Lucien asked, returning his hand to the slick pooling in Feyre’s core.

“Please, Lucien.”

He responded by inserting a single finger into her cunt. She clenched around it, desperate for any relief.

“Are you sure you want me in your pretty pussy?” Lucien asked. “After all, it might be hard to explain a little redhead baby running around. What would you tell your family?”

If possible, Feyre seemed to grow wetter at that, her hips grinding against his hand even as Rhys growled low in the back of his throat.

Lucien pulled his finger, swirling it around her puckered hole and spreading that slickness. “I think it would be much better for me to fuck you here.”

Without waiting for a response, Lucien shoved his finger in her ass. Feyre tightened around him, before slowly relaxing as Rhys doubled his efforts on her clit. Lucien dragged his cock through her folds, wetting it as he worked a second finger in.

Feyre was panting, her head still resting against him. “Lucien,” she snapped, clearly frustrated with his slow touches, “fuck me.”

Always one to please his partners in bed, Lucien removed his fingers and lined his slick cock up with the entrance of that hole.

Feyre gasped when he pressed the tip in, so obviously unused to being penetrated there. 

“Relax,” Lucien whispered, hands returning to her breasts, those erect nipples. She did, leaning against him and letting more of his cock in.

“You got a good one, Rhys,” Lucien said. He was going out of his mind, Feyre holding him in a viselike grip.

Rhys paused his ministrations long enough to smirk up at Lucien from between Feyre’s parted thighs. “I know.”

Feyre laughed, body going even looser.

“Is this what you dreamed about?” Lucien asked, pulling out slowly before thrusting back in. “Did you touch yourself while thinking about this, my cock in your ass with your mate on his knees?

“Shut up,” Feyre whined, rolling her hips in time with his, “and fuck me.”

Lucien responded with a particularly sharp snap of his hips. Rhys matched him, sucking hard on Feyre’s clit. Lucien felt her body tense, growing closer to climax and Lucien had to clench his ass to keep from coming.

“Are you going to come for us?” Lucien asked. “Show your mate how well you take my cock?”

Feyre let out a strangled cry as she broke, holding his cock impossibly tight. It sent Lucien over the edge, had him coming in her. He rode them both through it, Rhys licking up any of the cum that spilled out.

Lucien collapsed against the headboard when they were done, pulling Feyre down on top of him.

“For someone who didn’t want to do this, you’re awfully bossy,” Feyre said.

Lucien chuckled, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek. “Then tell me, how may I best serve you, Lady?”

Feyre looked at Rhys, sitting opposite them, his cock still erect. “I think it’s only fair Rhys gets to come too,” she answered, crawling off him and onto Rhys. “Since he’s been so patient.” Lucien watched as she slid onto his cock, admiring the way her slick folds parted to allow him to enter. Feyre rode him, the muscles along her ass and thighs fully on display. Rhys sucked kisses along her breasts, no doubt leaving marks that would make it clear to all of them who Feyre belonged to at the end of the night.

Lucien’s dick was already hard, and he lightly stroked it in time with them.

Rhys and Feyre were both panting when she paused, muscles shaking as she hovered over Rhys, the head of this cock just barely buried in her wet cunt. 

“We brought you here for a reason, and it’s not to watch.”

“Oh?” Lucien asked.

Feyre sunk down on Rhys’ cock. “I was told you fucked like you had fire in your blood.”

“I’m sorry my previous efforts didn’t live up to those claims,” Lucien said, sliding up behind Feyre anyway. “What can I do to please my High Lady?”

“I want you in me,” Feyre breathed. “Both of you.”

Lucien made eye contact with Rhys over her shoulder, who stilled his hips. Lucien slid into Feyre and she gasped at the fullness, the feeling of two cocks in her, only separated by that thin wall of skin. They gave her a second to adjust and then Lucien pulled out at the same time Rhys surged forward, giving Feyre no relief from the onslaught.

She was a mess between them, rolling her hips without rhythm as she alternated between craving more and seeking respite.

Feyre gasped as Lucien tilted his hips to hit a new angle. “Fuck, Elain was wasted on you.”

The mention of his mate spurred him on, driving him impossibly deeper into her. Feyre’s cries were hoarse, broken things as both males slammed into her, and she broke around him.

Lucien kept rutting into her, Rhys matching his effort. Feyre came again, one orgasm bleeding into the next. Her tightening walls had Lucien seeing stars, and he spilled into her at the same time as Rhys, their fluids mixing.

Feyre collapsed on top of Rhys, Lucien lying on his side next to them, the three spent. Cum slowly leaked out of Feyre, marking what they’d just done.

“Should I clean you up?” Lucien asked.

Feyre shivered in Rhys arms. “No more,” she begged.

“Had enough of the fire in my veins?” Lucien asked, rising from the bed.

Rhys quirked a brow. “For tonight. It has been a while since I’ve felt that flame.”

“Then you’ll have to ask me to deliver a report more often.” Lucien gave them both a bow before winnowing out of the Court of Nightmares.

Elain cradle Nyx in her arms, rocking the baby back and forth as she headed towards Feyre and Rhys’ room. She’d agreed to watch him for the night while his parents held court. She didn’t mind being left out, hated the leers that seemed to follow her wherever she went to the Court of Nightmare, its members sizing her up, wondering what advantage Feyre Cursebreaker’s sister could offer them, how she fit into the Night Court.

Yet it was one more reminder that she didn’t fit in among Feyre’s friends. They all seemed genuinely excited every time they had to go down there, no matter how much they tried to hide it, while all Elain felt was dread.

Nyx cooed as they got closer to the door, picking up the scent of his parents. Elain wrinkled her nose at the stench of sex. She could live without the constant reminder of how vigorous both her sister’s sex lives were.

When she picked up another smell, she froze. It was the one that haunted her in her dreams, inevitably led to her waking up with her panties soaked. Lucien, but deeper somehow, muskier. The scent of his arousal. But entwined with her sister and Rhys’. 

Elain chewed her bottom lip as she inched closer to the door, senses straining. She could make out muffled voices behind the it, but none of them contained the timber of Lucien’s, the tone never failing to send shivers up her spine.

She knew it was wrong to hug Nyx closer to her chest and press her ear against the door, but she couldn’t help herself. And really, it was their fault for forgetting to put up a ward.

“It’s nice to know that your recommendation of Lucien’s skill wasn’t exaggerated,” Feyre said.

Rhys’ reply was too soft to make out, not that Elain would’ve been able to hear it over the roaring in her ears. Her stomach felt tight, even as warmth pooled in her core against her will.

It was just the smell of her mate’s arousal, she rationalized, her body being driven by some instinct. It had nothing to do with the idea of her mate being pleasured, even as her mind conjured images of his face screwed up in ecstasy, of what could lie underneath those carefully tailored pants.

Or how he could pleasure her, if Feyre was to be believed.

She should knock on the door, should confront them. But Elain just hoisted Nyx against her shoulder and moved back down the hall, towards her own room where she could take care of her own needs in private.

[illusionsofdreaming]

May I have some Beacrox and Rosalyn hcs? A mix of fluff and angst with their S/O being similarly weak to Cale? (Not their fault, not everyone can be as monstrously strong as the rest of the group)

Notes: I got.. a bit carried away with Beacrox's one, it's practically an imagine at this point hahahaha...

Ft: Rosalyn, Beacrox

Rosalyn

You’ll never quite wrap your head around how you managed to catch the attention of one of the smartest and prettiest person in the world when you’re honestly, just you

Rosalyn’s flattered but also chides you for putting yourself down. It matters not to her whether your strength lies in the sword, the wand or the pen because the person she loves is you not your skills

if you want she’ll gladly teach you magic and she’s an extremely good teacher

she also gifts you an amulet with her magic so that ‘she’ can always stay besides you wherever you go

because of the different natures of your roles, you sometimes travel separately

she doesn’t worry much as your job is not considered dangerous and the charm she gifted you had been inlaid with some basic protective spells

the day she felt the spark of her magic shatter and disappear, she was absolutely filled with horror and worry

she immediately abandoned whatever she’d been doing and teleported to the spot where she felt the magic die out

it was a classic case of being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time and oh gods there’s so much blood-

healing magic isn’t her forte -what should she do, the bleeding isn’t slowing- please please please hang on, don’t sleep, don’t leave her-

she doesn’t leave your side for weeks afterwards and studied healing earnestly

it’ll take a while before she’s convinced you won’t keel over the moment she takes her eyes off of you

she gifts you a new amulet and you don’t have to have any affinity with magic to feel from the intimidating aura it projected - this one’s packed full of the strongest defensive and offensive spells

Beacrox Molan

it’s strange because you’re so absolutely mundane and yet here he is thinking and caring for you

the moment he finally acknowledges that he has feelings for you, your fragility is a weakness he must fix

you’re joining the wolf kids’ training whether you like it or not

it’s torture and too tough on you as someone who’s never lifted a sword in your life, suddenly having to run laps and wield weapons like you’re about to go to war

not to mention, Beacrox is an extremely tough and demanding tutor

you know that all this is just how Beacrox projects his worry because he’s still terrible at expressing his feelings. So you endure as much as you can - because learning how to protect yourself is not entirely the worst thing that can happen to you

but at the end of the day you’re still human, you don’t have the stamina of beast people nor the natural instincts of a warrior

no matter how well you train or practice you’ll always fall short of the others who seem to take to these martial arts concepts like fish to water

and it hurts when Beacrox doesn’t understand and gets frustrated with your lack of progress

many times you’ve told him to slow down to accommodate your lack of experience, but he’s unyielding in this matter.

“The others have long since mastered this. Do you think your enemies will take it easy on you just because you say so?” it was the finally straw that broke the camel’s back

you threw down your weapon, angry tears bursting from the corners of your eyes. “Enough! I am not the same as the others Beacrox Molan! If you’re so dissatisfied with who I am then perhaps it would be best if we call it off.”

“________!” he snapped but you had already exited the training grounds, slamming the doors on the way out

for several days you avoided him and he’s spent these days stewing over your words over and over again

even the others could feel the tension between you two and eventually Ron had to step in and knock Beacrox upside in the head

a stern father-son talk (which may or may not have involved knives and threats) which made Beacrox realise how his harsh words could’ve been taken the wrong way, how patronising he’s been

he finally turns up late at night at your door with baked cookies and ointment cream

if you allow him in, he’ll sit before you and care for your calluses and bruises silently - with how fresh some of these blisters and calluses are it really nails home how hard you’ve been pushing yourself - and Beacrox feels even worse

“I’m sorry-“ “Beacrox I-“

you paused and let him go first and Beacrox takes this chance to apologise for everything. For pushing you so hard, for dismissing your concerns and your efforts, for neglecting your feelings, for… everything.

he looks so sad and angry at himself that you sighed. “I know what you’re worried about Bea and I agree that it's important to learn how to protect myself. But I have my limits too. Perhaps I’ll never be strong enough for you, I’ll always hesitate at stabbing another, I might not ever meet up to your perfectionist standards… Would you hate me because of it?”

he immediately grasps your arm, eyes meeting yours sharply as his voice cracked “No. Never.”

you smiled gently, “I don’t mind returning to training but I’d like to rest a few more days first.”

that you’d still want to train with him meant a lot to him, he knows he’ll still have to work hard to apologise for his behaviour but at least he knows he hasn’t ruined everything yet

from that day on, training was definitely tamer for you

from time to time you can see how Beacrox sometimes still struggles to understand whats wrong but you also see how he holds himself back from his remarks and tries to consider a different way to teach you

it’s been rocky, as it will be for all new relationships, but you’ll always come out stronger on the other side

oh yeah, you’re not a swordsmaster or anything but you definitely know how to kick some ass by the end of things

Bonus:

+ Ron just admiring the chaos from the sidelines, shaking his head with fondness “Ah.. young love.”

[shihalyfie]

A timeline of Ken’s fall into the Kaiser persona

The timeline of Ken meeting Wormmon and going through a sequence of events that made him into the Kaiser is relatively unclear, especially because Ken’s own memory is distorted, but production notes and other minor clues in the anime hint at a timeline that works with it:

August 2000: Ken goes on some kind of adventure with Akiyama Ryou and Wormmon

Late 2000-early 2001: Osamu dies

Around 2001: Ken goes on a second adventure with Akiyama Ryou, is hit by the Dark Seed, Oikawa sends him the fateful email, Ken visits the Dark Ocean

Late 2001-early 2002: Ken begins his conquest as the Kaiser

Yep, that’s right: Ken went on two different adventures with Akiyama Ryou.

A further breakdown of this timeline is under the cut!

So the thing you’re probably wondering is “wait, this is supposed to be a Tag Tamers tie-in, but Tag Tamers doesn’t make sense with this at all! Didn’t it say Ken went on an adventure with Ryou in March 2000 right after the Diablomon incident?” The thing is that for as much fanfare as there is about Tag Tamers being important to 02′s timeline, in fact, very little of Tag Tamers makes sense with 02 itself, and the game is is so contradictory that it doesn’t actually help you understand 02 much at all. This is, unfortunately, par for the course with Bandai licensed games, which don’t exactly have the greatest track record of keeping true to anime characterization or being remotely consistent with it at all (Daisuke’s characterization in Re:Digitize is borderline insulting), and everything we know about Adventure and 02′s planned lore doesn’t make sense with it either. In the end, we’re just going to have to follow our very loose attitude towards the concept of canon and default to the anime’s depiction of things for the sake of this particular analysis, pulling from Tag Tamers only when we can incorporate details from it in a way that doesn’t contradict everything.

02 episode 33 has Ken explicitly bring up the idea of “an encounter with a Digimon” that led to him becoming a Chosen Child happening in August 2000 (Koushirou had just mentioned the recent wave of Chosen Children having had a preliminary encounter via the 1999 incident). Unfortunately, we don’t know any more than this, due to Ken’s own memory failing, and the subject is left there.

(Again, yes, this is contradictory with Tag Tamers, but remember that said depiction of “Ken and Ryou watching the Diablomon incident” also contradicts Ryou clearly being seen by himself in Turkey in Our War Game! The anime is consistent with itself; the game is the outlier here.)

So when the Digivice emerged from Osamu’s computer (actually meant for Ken) in the flashback in 02 episode 23, we see a very young Ken with a purple shirt. Let’s take a closer look at this design.

We’ve received a lot of versions of this design sheet over the years, but all of them are consistent about one thing: this design depicts Ken as nine years old, in third grade. (Whether it gives grade level or age depends which version of this reference sheet you’re following, but everything is consistent about this.)

All of Ken’s various designs as depicted in this episode and other flashbacks are very clearly marked and depicted, and even the younger design of “Ken at the time of blowing bubbles with Osamu” has its own sheet (he’s four years old at that point). Moreover, the above nine-year-old design has an explicit instruction on this particular sheet: “please use this for his interactions with Osamu,” meaning that this is the design everyone was instructed to follow up with during any scene where Osamu is alive.

The Animation Chronicle confirms that this happened in August 2000, so it seems to be shortly after Ken’s “initial encounter”. (Or maybe this is the “initial encounter”? Ken might have conflated both.)

This is the same design Ken is depicted with when he first is sucked into the Digital World (again: he’s clearly depicted as going in alone, not with Ryou as Tag Tamers depicts). While Ken’s memory is understandably very muddled, a lot of the details here make sense with each other:

The worst thing we see of this little venture is Wormmon having to fight a Gazimon. It’s not a big deal of a thing they have to fight through.

It’s clearly short enough that Ken can go in and out during the duration of an afternoon without anyone in the real world noticing (besides Osamu).

Ken’s looking like he had a lot of fun -- definitely not the kind of thing that seems like he went through a lot of trauma.

It’s unlikely anything much of a big deal happened during this point, other than some emotional bonding with a new best friend.

Osamu also died shortly after, given that Ken is still depicted with this design in the surrounding events as depicted in 02 episodes 21, 23, and 45. (Spring 2003 also refers to the titular spring as “the third spring” since Osamu’s death, confirming that Osamu must have died within the time period of late 2000 to early 2001.)

Ken is depicted at Osamu’s funeral in 02 episode 48, and while his clothes are different and we don’t get a full-body shot of him, note that there’s attention paid to making sure his design aligns with the above purple-shirt one -- his bangs drop in the center, rather than pointing left.

However, Ken remembers a trip through the Digital World in 02 episode 43, and Ken is depicted with a very different design that doesn’t match up with the one depicted in 02 episode 23. This has often been passed off as animator error, or Ken’s memories perhaps being extremely muddled, but what we know about the surrounding circumstances doesn’t actually suggest that...

This design is consistently written in notes to depict Ken as ten years old, in fourth grade. Not only that, if you look closely, Ken is visibly slightly taller, so it’s not just a simple question of clothing; his bangs are also depicted as pointing left, the same way they’re generally depicted with him at eleven, and not dropping in the center the way his nine- and four-year-old designs depicted.

On top of that, the surrounding circumstances behind this adventure depicted in 02 episode 43 also seem to be very different from what was depicted in the one from 02 episode 23:

The battle is clearly depicted as being against Millenniummon, and, regardless of whether this is following Tag Tamers or not, that’s clearly a big deal of a defeat.

Ken’s injury from the Dark Seed is enough to completely send him on the verge of death, which probably would not elicit the same kind of casual reaction he had during his emergence in 02 episode 23′s flashback. It was mild enough that Ken “recovered from his injuries and went home,” but that’s definitely not the kind of thing you’d expect to result in Ken be emerging with a big smile on his face (especially since Osamu’s violent reaction back then was implied to be out of jealousy for Ken’s happiness). Moreover, Ken returning in a poor state of health would probably be much less likely to be noticed by his family when Osamu is dead (and therefore not there to notice) and Ken’s parents are deep in grief.

This incident is the one that directly caused Ken’s trauma, meaning it’s more likely that this incident is going to be the one that got scrambled up in memory (it didn’t take long for Ken to recall his initial adventures with Wormmon in comparison back in 02 episode 23).

Ken refers to this incident as “two years ago”, but recall that, on top of his own unreliable testimony and scrambled memory, 02 episode 43 (when he brings this up) takes place during late December 2002, meaning that an early 2001 date doesn’t necessarily fall out of the question here, and it’s also not the first time 02′s final quarter taking place at the very end of December has thrown off date references. (02 references to “age” and “relative time” are often very rough in general and a bit too overly realistic, considering how long of a period 02 spans over and the question of things like exactly how long Daisuke can be said to be “eleven years old” over the course of the series, or the fact Osamu is said to be 7 when Ken is 4 and 11 while Ken is 9, so the more important part is paying attention to the fact the design sheets are so explicit about referring to different things.)

Moreover, this design of “ten years old, in fourth grade” is used in 02 episode 23 to show the events that we retroactively know happened right after that:

Once Ken had the Dark Seed in him, it makes sense that Oikawa wouldn’t hesitate to reach out to him, since he now had a great opportunity to exploit him mentally! Remember that this design debut all the way back in 02 episode 23, which meant that we knew that there was some kind of “timeskip” between Osamu’s death and Oikawa emailing Ken, but...if that were all there was to it, why would Oikawa wait so long between Osamu’s funeral (which clearly had Ken with his nine-year-old design) and now, especially since this “timeskip” would have given Ken extra time to mull over and recover from Osamu’s death? It makes much more sense when you apply 02 episode 43′s context that Ken’s Dark Seed implantation happened between Osamu’s death and the email, with Ken still having a really horrible year mulling over Osamu’s death, then getting dragged out like this and having something traumatic stuffed into the back of his neck that had the potential to feed on his already thick emotions of grief, and finally being at the right emotional point for Oikawa to make use of him.

It also explains why the Kaiser didn’t become enough of an issue to merit intervention until all the way in April 2002 -- presumably, of course, the Holy Beasts needed time to prepare, but if Ken wasn’t implanted with the Dark Seed until 2001 and Oikawa’s email shortly after that, that means Ken building up his persona as the Kaiser only really had less than a year to form (especially since 02 episode 23 states that Ken suddenly “doing well in school” didn’t start happening until Ken roughly got to the same height as Osamu was when he died, and the illusory meeting between the brothers in 02 episode 49 shows that Ken’s not actually that much taller than said height at eleven).

Moreover, if you do know the development circumstances behind Tag Tamers and 02: Tag Tamers already existed by the time 02 episode 23 was released, and so did Ken’s ten-year-old design (hence why it and Ryou’s design consistently show up together in concept art). This ten-year-old design had already been associated with “the time Ken got hit with a Dark Seed” (which really seems to be the only holdover in common between Tag Tamers and the anime) by the time 02 episode 23 was made, and despite that, Ken was given a completely different nine-year-old design for the flashbacks in 02 episode 23 that consistently got its own sheet. And you can’t say the animators forgot the ten-year-old design existed, because they clearly were fine using it for the other flashbacks in 02 episode 23 that happened to not be that flashback -- it’s hard to easily pass that off as “animator oversight” when it’s conspicuously introduced in the anime in a context it’s not known for and only revealed to be in its original context later.

Why did they suddenly change designs and depict such a “timeskip” back in 02 episode 23 when, if it really were supposed to all be related to the same events anyway, they could have just reused the designs and called it a day instead of making a whole new model sheet for an entirely new one? Whole entire character designs don’t just come up for no reason, especially when sheets are so consistent about them corresponding to different things, and the nine-year-old design seems to be made specifically for the purpose of having a distinct one for anytime Osamu was alive -- so it’s much more likely that this distinction is actually intentional (regardless of whatever the game says in terms of specifics).

As an amusing side note: Ken’s unusual height has been pointed out by a lot of people, and it’s sometimes been speculated as a bit of fridge horror that his unusual height growth might have also been impacted by the Dark Seed (especially given the 02 episode 23 comment about Ken reaching Osamu’s height correlating to when he started expressing similar “genius” tendencies), but even putting aside the fact he’s consistently portrayed as tall even in Kizuna and the epilogue: if Ken indeed got hit by the Dark Seed at 10 instead of 9, that means the kid had some pretty considerable height growth between those ages even before anything supernatural came into play. His father’s also tall, and Osamu was pretty obviously around the same height as Ken at age 11, so there’s clearly something in the Ichijouji family overall. Ken’s just tall.

[twstdreams]

I've loved your non-romantic/platonic content that you've done so far! Adding on to that list, could I please request a short story surrounding MC, Ace, and Deuce? An accident occurs which ends in MC turning into a little kid and now it's up to the two boys to put their differences aside and babysit their friend until she's back to normal. Girl pronouns plz! Lol I can only imagine the chaos that would ensue. If you don't feel comfortable with this ask you can skip it! Thx for reading :)

I am always up for platonic content and shenanigans! Long story, so the rest is under the cut!

Warning: Minor spoilers for side stories (briefly alluded to)

Length: ~2.3K

“It’s this one!” Deuce declares with unfounded confidence.

“No, it’s not!” Ace rebuttals despite not making it past page 10 in his textbook.

“It’s mine!” Grimm shouts even though he most definitely does not understand the experiment at hand. 

The magicless student can only sigh. Deuce and Ace suck at potions. So when the two bicker about what to add to their cauldron, the prefect doesn’t even blink an eye. Deuce mispronounces an ingredient, Ace corrects him, but neither are even talking about the right thing. She can practically sense Crewel’s glare despite her eyes remaining on the cauldron, cautiously waiting for bubbles to appear so she could add the indigo milk cap mushroom. 

What is added next to her cauldron is not the mushroom in her hand but a random root Grimm throws in. In Deuce’s haste to catch the gremlin, he spills over his own cauldron and some of their potion spills into hers.

“What are you doing?” she asks, but it’s too late. The mixture in her cauldron is boiling profusely and suddenly envelopes her in a cloud of smoke.

“Funya! MC, are you okay?” Grim inquires. Deuce and Ace also call out her name but there is no response. When the smoke clears, everyone in the room is left speechless.

The potential beast tamer hasn’t moved but an inch but she’s at least two feet shorter and with rounder cheeks and wide eyes. 

“WHAT?” she screeches in disbelief, suddenly too short to even reach the cauldron, “Fix this!” 

And this is how the group’s long catastrophic day begins.

Adventure 1: The beginning

“What?!” Grim shouts. If looks could kill, Crewel’s glare would have toasted the monster.

“Yes, it is hard to predict when MC will return to normal because you carelessly threw together that potion. It should wear off in a day, but there’s no guarantee,” the teacher explains through gritted teeth. The bell rings but the quartet barely registers it.

“Go to the headmaster! It’s not my problem anymore,” Crewel declares. 

Unfortunately, as most meetings with the headmaster are, the conversation is fruitless.

“Hah? We’re supposed to babysit her?” Ace asks.

“Yes! It’s your fault, is it not? Take care of her until the spell wears off,” Crowley declares.

“Isn’t there any way to break the spell?” Deuce inquires while nervously glancing towards MC.

“It’s hard to tell because you added in unknown amounts of various ingredients,” Crowley answers before muttering, “It takes too much time! I need to know what happens next in my novel.”

“Tch, what a lazy adult,” MC comments with a bored expression. She figured this would happen. She can’t even recall a moment when the headmaster had actually been helpful.

“What did you say?” Crowley demands. Deuce immediately picks up MC and heads for the door.

“Nothing! We’ll take care of her! See you later headmaster!” Ace explains while the two boys dash out of the office. They book it out of the hallway and then set her down on the ground.

“Hey! What was that about? It’s usually Grim saying stuff that gets us in trouble, not you,” Ace comments.

“Don’t tell me…Now she acts like a little kid too?” Deuce wonders.

Adventure 2: Stranger Danger

“Oh? Ramshackle prefect, you seem to be caught in quite the predicament.” MC glares at the Octavinelle dorm leader in return. Ace and Deuce are in the midst of calling Cater and Trey to ask for advice, giving Azul the perfect opportunity to approach her.

“I have an offer for you,” the second year begins.

“No.” MC is firm in her answer and has no intention of making any deals.

“Are you sure? I treat children well,” Azul adds but it only results in her frowning. There’s suddenly a glimmer in her eyes but before Azul can deduce what it means, MC begins shouting.

“STRANGER DANGER! STRANGER DANGER!”

“Stop that!” Azul insists but his wide eyes give away his flustered state. With a smile that looks a little too much like Chenya’s, MC continues her call for help. Soon enough, Deuce and Ace rush to her side.

“Stranger? That’s Prefect Azul! Have you forgotten him?” Deuce inquires with a look of concern. MC decides this is the perfect time to practice her puppy eyes and simply looks up at Deuce, wide eyes and with a pout.

Azul silently admits defeat as he forms a tight-lipped smile accompanied by some false pleasantries before exiting the area. 

“I’m hungry!” she announces before anyone can question her further. 

“Yes! Let’s go eat!” Grim agrees.

Adventure 3: Sweet Dreams

Getting lunch is a surprisingly painless affair. Though Night Raven College students could be quite self-centred, even they balked at harming a little girl. MC easily orders her favourites before sitting with her friends, though she has to sit on her knees to be at a comfortable height compared to the table.

“Wow! It’s true!~” Cater chimes while taking a seat at the table.

“How are you feeling?” Trey asks.

“Okay! It’s kinda weird but at least it was easy to get lunch,” she replies while taking a bite of her food.

“Now you really look like my minion!” Grim declares. MC shoots the monster a glare but doesn’t give him a response.

“You’re actually a little kid, huh? So, what do you wanna do when you grow up?” Ace teases.

“I want to control all the ghosts and have an army,” MC answers nonchalantly as if she had been discussing the weather.

“What?” Trey asks, slightly taken aback. Wasn’t this the person who was gullible enough to think that oyster sauce went in tarts?

“A ghost army,” she repeats confidently.

“Anyway! Aren’t you lucky? You get all these handsome guys to help you today!” Cater interjects, not wanting to unpack why the prefect wanted an army of the dead. 

Her gaze scans the table before looking up at Cater, eyes wide and expression void of malice, and asks, “Where?”

Grim howls with laughter while the four Heartslabyul students try to recover from the blow to their ego. It’s definitely going to be a long day for them.

Adventure 4: Smiles and stares

“Hey wait!” MC whines. One disadvantage of becoming short is that her stride decreased accordingly, thus her struggles to keep up with her classmate’s pace.

“Just walk faster or we’ll be late for class!” Ace retorts, glancing up ahead to see how far away the next building is. 

“AHH!” Ace turns around to see MC a couple of meters behind him face-first in a patch of grass. 

“Uwah! Are you okay?” Grim asks while flying above the fallen girl. Ace groans at the predicament. Deuce ran ahead to warn the other teachers of MC’s unfortunate condition so the redhead was the only babysitter at the moment.

The situation only worsens when MC begins to sit up, knees scraped, eyes glistening with tears, brows furrowed, and lips pressed tightly together. Ace’s eyes widen at the sight.

“Please don’t cry,” he mutters under his breath before trying to think about how to soothe kids.

“Oh my, that was quite a fall. You’re okay now though, right?” Jade asks while extending a gloved hand. His face is calm, showing no signs of concerns or worry with only a placid smile to demonstrate any emotion. MC stares at his face, analyzing his expression for a few moments. After finding the answer to her unsaid question, she accepts his hand and quickly sniffles before nodding. 

Ace watches in amazement as all signs of pain and panic vanish from her expression. He decides not to question her mood change before ushering the prefect to their next class.

Adventure 5: What came first? The egg or the chicken?

“You have to!” Deuce insists.

“NO!” MC shouts back, sitting firmly on the ground. Deuce is startled by the force of her words but stands his ground.

“It’s for your own good! Kids need exercise!” Or at least that’s what Cater told him before going to light music club.

“You can’t move me an inch!” MC retorts.

“I’m older, you should respect your seniors,” Deuce adds, doing his best to retain some level of patience.

“At least I know where chickens come from!” she rebuttals and Deuce feels at a loss for words. It is certainly not honour student behaviour to yell at a young girl but the first year is at his limits. He came to NRC to learn about magic, not dealing with children!

“Let’s play tag,” Jack suggests. Being the only one with little siblings, he is quickly enlisted to help. While disappointed in Deuce and Ace’s carelessness, he didn’t want to risk MC’s safety by leaving her in their care. Thus making him a reluctant member of the babysitting team.

“Tag?” MC echoes before a bright smile forms on her face. “Can it be teams?”

“Sure,” Jack agrees nonchalantly. 

“Jack and I are on the same team! We get to chase Deuce and Ace!” she declares gleefully.

“Huh? I didn’t agree to this,” Ace interjects.

“We need even teams!” MC responds with puffed cheeks.

“Too bad, so sad!” Ace replies without remorse.

“This is our fault Ace. Plus we promised the headmaster to take care of her. As Heartslabyul students and men, we can’t go back on our words!” Deuce declares. Jack’s firm gaze and Deuce’s blazing spirit give little room for negotiation and Ace sighs in defeat. Ace really does hate alchemy class from the bottom of his heart.

Adventure 6: Idiots, all of them

MC closes her eyes and enjoys the breeze while resting. Deuce and Jack had gone to the cafeteria to get drinks for everyone after several rounds of tag while Ace lay on the ground to catch his breath. It was quite entertaining to see the fastest first years engage in a game of tag and even more fun to watch Ace try to avoid his inevitable fate. Agile as he was, Ace couldn’t run fast enough to outdo Jack with his insane stamina and speed. She giggles at the memory.

“Bonjour petite princesse!” Rook looks down at the little girl with a shining smile. Her eyes snap open and follow the source of the cheerful voice. 

“Isn’t it delightful to see a new side to your friends? Like escorting someone on their first dance, like watching a lazy lion transform into a beast for the sake of the hunt, like observing night flox bloom under a full moon!” Rook beams but MC merely shrugs in response.

“Yeah but I’ve also seen Ace fall off his broom, Deuce compliment plants, and Jack mistake onions for a chemical leak.” 

“Oh? Is it not like having several princes tend to you?” he inquires. 

She scrunches her nose in thought before replying, “If my prince got stuck in a tree and I had to go save him.”

“Dear me, and I thought you were une petite princesse mignonne [1]! Perhaps that was a misunderstanding,” Rook remarks though he doesn’t seem displeased with the discovery.

Adventure 7: Mandatory nap

“Let’s go to the infirmary,” Ace suggests, “MC needs a nap and it’s the closest building with beds.”

“I’m the one that needs a nap?” she asks while side-eyeing her tired friend.

“She hasn’t even run for 3 hours,” Jack comments.

“Kids need naps! Plus, who knows what the side-effects of the potion are?” Ace adds, “We shouldn’t take any chances with her health.”

“You do need proper sleep to grow strong!” Deuce concurs.

“Sure, sure,” she concedes. When they arrive at the infirmary, there is no staff in sight. Ace guides her to a bed with an expectant smile.

“Well, go to sleep now!” Ace announces.

“It doesn’t work like that. I’m not sleepy,” she responds.

“Just lie in bed and close your eyes!” Ace insists with a huff.

“Shut up. You’re so noisy,” a voice growls. Leona appears on the other side of a room divider. Jack lets out a sigh, disappointed but not surprised by his dorm leader.

“I was having such a nice nap and now I’m… hah?” His sentence trails off as he eyes the little girl before him.

“Well,” you launch into an explanation of what happened, Leona shooting a judgemental look towards Deuce and Ace midway, before concluding, “It should wear off by the end of the day.”

“Tch, what an annoyance. I’m going back to sleep, don’t be loud,” Leona warns before flopping back onto the bed.

“How do you fall asleep so fast?” MC inquires. Leona glares at her, lips pressed together to form a thin line, but he lets any threats die in his throat.

“It’s nap time. Count sheep like a good herbivore until you fall asleep,” he instructs before turning his back towards the group. More than she’d like to admit, her small body requires rest and what better excuse than this? Besides, it’s not like magical history homework was particularly appealing, so she plops onto the bed to rest.

“I’m exhausted. Taking care of kids is tiring,” Ace says before falling onto another bed.

“It’s been a long day. I’m glad MC is okay, though. Haaah…I’m sleepy,” Deuce murmurs before resting on a different bed. Jack doesn’t comment but quietly begins his homework while keeping watchful eye on the little girl, not that he’d admit it if asked.

Adventure 8: The End. For now, anyway

She stretches after waking up, pleased to find her body back to its normal size. Ace snores lightly, Deuce’s mouth is agape, and Leona is nowhere to be found.

“Are you feeling okay?” Jack asks.

“Yeah, I actually feel pretty good!” Their conversation awakens their friends.

“You’re finally back to normal! I’m relieved,” Deuce interjects.

“You’re a lot of work for a minion, ya know? You’re lucky I’m so great,” Grim comments.

“That was a pain! You owe me big time!” Ace adds. MC shakes her head and wonders if she has the greatest or most chaotic friends.

[1] une petite princesse mignonne = a cute little princess

[twistedlymad]

Hello there, I love blogs and your writing. If you have the time, can you please write about the MC (fem reader) where she accidentally summons Stitch himself, befriends him, Stitch took an instant liking to her, with the TW guys becoming jealous to the new familiar and Stitch causing all sorts of mischief and pranks towards them. Thank you, keep up the good work and stay safe

Ohmaigawd. When I first read your request, I was honestly shocked! OwO

I literally could not have made the connection between Twisted Wonderland and Stitch at all! When I started writing, I did so many research! Forgive me, but, I have not seen any episode nor movie related to Stitch during my entire childhood, hence the research ahaha

One note though, I cannot make you summon Stitch as he already is a being on his own. However, I can make him appear in Twisted Wonderland :’)

Anyway, I hope this story lives up to your expectations! Thank you for requesting and have a lovely day! 

What if Stitch appeared in Twisted Wonderland? (Ft. Grim, Ace, Deuce, Sebek, Jack, Epel and Crowley) (Twisted Wonderland crossover w/Lilo and Stitch)

It was a quiet night at Night Raven College, no unnecessary arguments, no drama involving dorm leaders nor their members and most importantly, no fights occurring.

Or so you thought.

After having dinner, you and Grim went back to your Ramshackle Dorm after saying your goodnights to your friends.

“Fgnaaaaa! That deluxe-katsudon was the best dinner I’ve ever had!” Grim said as you put him on top of your head. It was his go-to spot for relaxing.

“You always say that to anything you eat.” You said, laughing. “You should cut down on all the extensive eating, you don’t want to have a certain teacher order you to run laps more than usual now do you?” You continued, a slight smirk on your face as you felt slight shivering on top of your head.

“Ahaha, you know what? Maybe I’ll skip lunch tomorrow.” The creature said to you and you shook your head.

“I told you to pay attention to your diet, not skip out on meals. It’s unhealthy.” You said as you opened the door to your humble Ramshackle Dorm, Grim jumping from your head and went inside. Before you went in yourself, you took a look outside and saw that the sky was clear and the moon shone upon you with no distractions. You felt a slight breeze blow through your hair and decided that it was a perfect weather to take a walk.

“Grim, I’m going to take a walk! You can go to sleep without me!” You yelled into the dorm before closing the door behind you and went on your walk.

You weren’t far from the dorm, in fact, you were taking your walk on the small field behind the building, enjoying the peace and quiet for once. As you looked up to the sky again, you noticed the stars that littered the sky. You took out your phone and took a picture of the night sky. However, a certain star caught your eye.

It was rather large to be a star? You thought it must be because the star was relatively close. You almost shrugged it off, keyword: almost. You would’ve went on your merry way if it wasn’t for a certain fact about the star.

It was getting bigger, it looked as if it was right above you. Once your mind had taken this fact into realization, your legs got the message and began to move out of the way. You ran to a few trees and hid behind one of them. A crash was heard soon after, it was rather loud, Grim would have probably heard it if it wasn’t for the fact that he was asleep. You peeked your head out from behind the tree to see what had happened, but all you could see was smoke.

Your mind had told you to get back into the dorm and call Crowley but your curiosity got the better of you. You began to walk towards the smoke to see what had crashed. You craned your neck, trying to get a better view when all of a sudden a part of the crash had flung open. You were taken aback and took a few steps back, fearing for whatever would emerge from the thing.

However, the only thing that emerged is a blue koala? Was it even a koala? You weren’t sure. Your whole body froze as it looked at you.

But what scared you the most was the fact he had 4 arms.

AND 4 GUNS?!

The creature then pointed the guns at you and your arms immediately flailed up to shield your face.

“D-Don’t shoot! I wasn’t going to hurt you!” You yelled, hoping that it would just go away. The creature just looked at you, guns still pointed at you. However, you noticed that it was slightly trembling, so you slowly lowered your arms.

“Umm… Hi?” You waved to it, you weren’t sure if it even understood you. But it replied.

“Hi?” Your eyes widen and slowly crouched down to its level. The creature still had its guns pointed at you. You just held up both your hands as if to show you were harmless.

“C-Can you understand me?” You asked and the creature nodded, but then shook its head.

“Ah… I’ll take that you do understand but you aren’t quite sure on how to speak it.” The creature nodded furiously.

“Interesting… Do… Do you have a name?” You asked and slowly approached the creature. The creature still stood his ground.

“S-Stitch. My name is Stitch.” It said and slowly lowered its weapons, slowly realizing that you meant no harm.

“That’s very good, where are you from?” You kept the conversation going. You were trying to let it relax and know that it has no need to be defensive. You sat down and looked at it.

“Ha… Hawaii.” You nodded with a smile.

“I assume you’re a boy?” He nodded.

“Ah… I see… I should introduce myself too.” You said to him. “My name is (Y/N) (L/N). Nice to meet you.” The koala-like alien blinked at you before nodding.

“(Y/N)?” He asked you.

“Yes, (Y/N), that’s my name.” You smiled to the creature, it also gave you a smile back. Stitch and you looked at the crashed craft and could already tell that it was unusable. Sighing, you returned your attention back to the creature, you used your hand to cup his head to look at you.

“Say, Stitch, how about you stay for the night? We could go find help first thing in the morning.” You offered and you saw his eyes light up. Stitch nodded and you smiled.

“Alright, come, let’s get a good night’s rest.” With that, you and Stitch walked back to your Ramshackle Dorm. You let Stitch sleep on the bed while you slept on the sofa. Grim was already asleep on the bed so he didn’t hear the crash happening. You let Stitch shimmy himself into the bed and tucked the two creatures in, after doing so, only then you went to sleep on the couch.

You were awoken the next morning by a scream.

“FGNAAAAAAAAA!”

Your eyes jolted awake and you saw Grim running towards you and away from an already awoken Stitch.

“(Y/N)! THERE’S A MONSTER IN OUR BED!!!” Grim yelled, jumping into your arms. Your eyes travelled to Stitch only to see him looking kind of sad. You just let out a small smile.

“Grim, he’s not a monster, his name is Stitch and he crash landed on our yard yesterday. I’m going to take him to see Crowley in a short moment.” You said, petting Grim to soothe him.

“Does that make him an alien?” Grim asked you and you shrugged.

“I guess.” You said, letting Grim go and walking over to Stitch, who was now curled up into a ball. You then bend down to his level.

“Good morning Stitch, I’m sorry you got scared a moment ago, but this is Grim! He won’t hurt you, he was just surprised to see you.” You said and nudged Grim over.

“I am the Great Grim, the most powerful mage in Twisted Wonderland!” You rolled your eyes at his introduction.

“Grim? (Y/N)?” Stitch asked and you nodded.

“Yep, that’s us. Now, let me just go prepare for the day and we can go find help for you.” You smiled at Stitch and left Grim and Stitch in your room. You got dressed and had Grim resting on your head while you hugged Stitch in your arms. As you did, Stitch somehow morphed his extra 2 arms back into his body, this made you jump a little.

“So, you can morph those arms in and out?” You asked the blue creature and he nodded. “Wow, that’s very surprising. Well, time to go.”

With that, the 3 of you set off to find the bad fashion sensed and lazy headmaster. When you arrived at the headmaster’s office, Stitch had hidden himself behind your legs. You giggled and told him not to worry and went in the office together with Stitch and Grim.

Truth be told, the headmaster had let out a girlish scream when you brought Stitch into his view. The 3 of you were taken aback but the headmaster had quickly calmed down and asked you what had happened. After explaining the situation to Crowley, he decided that he will have students from Ignihyde Dorm to check out the crash and see if they can help, meanwhile, you get to have Stitch stay as your pet since you were a beast tamer after all. But in return, you must keep an eye on him 100% of the time and not allow any nonsense to happen at all.

Pfft, I think most nonsense happened because of you Crowley.

“Well, looks like we’re stuck together for now Stitch!” You said to the blue koala. “Now, you two better behave well in class later on.” You said and the three of you went to class.

After this time with Stitch, you would be lying if you said you weren’t attached to the him. Grim and him actually chatted here and there and became fast friends really quick.

Whispers and gossiping were heard once you’ve stepped foot into your classroom. You felt slightly uncomfortable, Stitch saw this and bared his fangs at the students who were gossiping about you and Stitch. Grim shot a few nasty looks here and there but nothing much.

“(Y/N), I don’t mean to be rude but, what is that?” Deuce asked you once you sat down at your usual spot, between him and Ace.

“This little cutie, is Stitch!” You said happily to the two of them.

“He’s the most adorable little creature I’ve ever seen!” You added, hugging Stitch closer to you. In return, the little blue koala-like creature snuggled close to you too.

Little did you know, a few sounds ‘tchs’ were heard from the two Heartslabyul boys beside you. However, Stitch heard them. Oh, this little creature knew what was going on when he looked up to see two jealous slightly annoyed faces looking down at him. And with that, he had concocted a plan to see how far he could annoy them.

They boy’s eyes widen as they saw Stitch had a semi-evil smile on his face as you giggled and kissed his nose. The boys were shocked! A few veins of theirs popping too! Low grumbles and mumbles were heard from the boys but you payed no attention to them as Professor Trein had walked in and began teaching.

As the bell rung, signaling that it was time for lunch. You stretched your body, arching your back after having it hunched over a table for some time. You then looked down to see a sleeping Grim and a semi-asleep Stitch. You let out a soft giggle and woke the both of them up.

“Grim, Stitch, come on, let’s go get some lunch.” And the two creatures woke up.

“Fgnaaaa! It’s eating time already? Come on, let’s go!” Grim said excitedly.

“Jeez, Grim is sure as hyper as ever.” Deuce commented.

“He better not steal my sandwich again…” Ace added and you let out a small laugh.

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on him.” You said, winking to the two boys. They blushed slightly as you walked with the two creatures to the cafeteria. The boys followed behind but was met with Stitch sticking out his tongue at them behind your back.

Cue more veins popping and potentially a bad boy Deuce breaking out.

Nevertheless, the two Heartslabyul boys had scowls on their faces and kept mumbling to one another. Somethings about ‘that little alien thinks he’s so high and mighty’ and ‘how dare he have more treatment from (Y/N) than us’ were thrown here and there from them.

When you arrived at the cafeteria, Grim jumped from your head and ran in a beeline towards the line for buying food. Ace and Deuce accompanied him as you and Stitch went to find your other friends. You saw them sitting at a table when Epel had waved you over. You smiled, waved back and head towards their table.

Jack, Epel and Sebek sat and chatted when you came over, and all their eyes landed on Stitch. You noticed that and began to explain what happened last night. Once you finished, Ace, Deuce and Grim were back with their food.  

“So, he’s an alien?” Jack asked and you nodded.

“Yes, and he is the most adorable creature ever! How can you not love him?!” You let out a small squeal and once again hugging Stitch closer to you.

Multiple and I mean MULTIPLE ‘tchs’ were heard. You were too busy giving Stitch attention that you didn’t hear a single thing.

Remember when I said Stitch knew about this jealousy the boys had for him?  

With a small smirk on his face, he kissed your cheek.

Innocently.

Jaws were dropped to the ground, eyes were wide open like saucers, and the most terrible thing was,

Sandwiches and food were squeezed until they were either like a thin piece of paper or entirely inedible.

FOOD WAS WASTED. HOW COULD THEY?! QwQ

You were shocked to have Stitch kiss your cheek. You looked back at the blue koala-like creature only to see him giving you the most adorable puppy eyes ever!

“Awwww! I love you too!” You said and hugged Stitch tightly and him hugging you back, tightly as ever.

“You see what we had to deal with?!” Ace whisper-yelled to everyone and they all nodded. Well, everyone except Grim. The little furball was just happy he got his sandwich and sat there, eating happily.

You guys were chatting and eating, with the occasional glaring between Stitch and the boys of course, when Crowley came up to your table, informing you that the dorm members of Ignihyde managed to fix Stitch’s aircraft and even upgraded it.

Truth be told, you felt happy and sad at the same time. Sure, it might mean Stitch gets to go home, but it also meant that you’ll have to say goodbye to him. It might have been only a day, but you’ve grown attached to the creature and now it’s time to say goodbye.

You had stick on a smile on your face and hid your true feelings inside.

“That’s great! Well, Stitch, let’s go and see your new aircraft!” You said to Stitch and all of you went back to Ramshackle Dorm to send Stitch off.

When you arrived, the aircraft in front of you didn’t look too much different when you first saw it, but it did have a few tweaks here and there. You let Stitch inspect his new ride, checking for anything that might go wrong again before taking off.

You were painfully quiet, which didn’t go unnoticed by the boys and Grim.

When Stitch had finished inspecting, he gave you a big smile and nodded furiously, telling you that everything was okay and that he will be going shortly. You gave him a smile back.

“Well, looks like you’re going home.” You said to him and gave him a hug. He hugged you back tightly and did something very surprising.

“Ohana.” Said the blue creature. You were puzzled.

“What?” You asked Stitch as you pulled away from the hug.

“Ohana means family. (Y/N), you took me in even when you knew I wasn’t normal. You, Grim and everyone were friendly to me and didn’t try to hurt me in any way. You even helped me in this unfamiliar world and didn’t push me away. That’s why, you’re all family to me.”

“You’re my ohana.”

Tears streamed down your face when Stitch said those words. A genuine smile had formed on your face and Grim was right beside you, bawling his eyes out as well.

“Thanks Stitch, you’re ohana too.” You said as you and Grim hugged Stitch together.

The boys at the back were holding in their tears. How could they think that this sweet little creature tried to take you away from them? They felt like as if a gun struck their hearts with guilt for wanting to hurt Stitch even though he only wants someone to guide him through this unfamiliar world.

You then pulled away from the hug and let Stitch get into is aircraft. Once the engine is up, you stood back and waved goodbye to him. He smiled and waved goodbye to you too before ascending into the sky, going back to his home.

The boys came up and comforted you as you wiped your tears away.

“Listen, (Y/N), we know Stitch meant a lot to you…” Deuce started but you just shook your head.

“Don’t worry, even though my relationship with Stitch was strong, I still have a lot of ohana here.” You said and smiled to them, in return they smiled to you as well.

“Yanno, I don’t mean to ruin the mood, but, VARGAS’ CLASS STARTS IN 4 MINUTES.” Grim said to everyone and you all laughed.

“Well, we better hurry if we don’t want to get punished. I remember the last time it was Sebek and Ace who got punished and their punishments were to run 200 laps and do 300 push-ups.” You giggled at the memory and the boy’s faces paled.

“What’re we waiting for? LET’S GO!” Ace yelled.

And so the 7 of you ran as fast as you could to get to class in time.