#I don't plan on doing very much with this yet

[revelboo]

Revel, this is very important (Atleast to us-). Me and my friend have both been reading Everything is Alright and we both agree on something, we were hoping that you could make Starscream a Girl dad, and make the first sparkling a girl. Only if you want to though and don't have any plans, we'd be alright if you don't do this too. We both really love and enjoy your writing, and check everyday for new updates from you. <3 Also, considering this is a request, If you don't mind and it isn't too pressuring, could we please have updates on the Brainstorm and Chromedome/Rewind fics?

Sure! I didn’t have a plan yet for Star’s kid so that works. I’ll try to update Chromedome/Rewind, Tailgate/Cyclonus, Sunder, Brainstorm, and Metroplex if I can today

Everything Is Alright Pt 123

IDW Starscream x Reader, Soundwave x Reader, Megatron x Reader

• “If I was in charge, we’d have conquered this miserable mudball already and crushed the Autobots,” Starscream says, lip curling and you freeze. “The Constructicons already have a refinery going, mining is in full swing. But we’d be much further ahead if you hadn’t let those disgusting Insecticons just scurry away. I’ve said that those little savages need to outfitted with mode locks and tracking implants they can’t just remove themselves.” You’ve heard Star’s side of the war. That they were fighting for freedom and to overthrow a corrupt senate, but this is the first time he’s mentioned conquering your world and it leaves you cold inside. Because was that his intention all along? Whispering to you at night whole knowing he was going to destroy everything and not even caring?

• “What do you mean about conquering Earth?” You ask and Soundwave tenses as your emotions begin to build. Glares at Starscream to stop, but the Seeker is on a roll, secure in the knowledge that Megatron can’t hurt him too badly now. Not looking at you to realize you’re upset. ‘The only value in this world is the energon Shockwave seeded millennia ago,’ Starscream says. “The only value? This is my world. My home.” And you’re shrugging off Soundwave’s hand to face the Seeker, little hands balled into fists. Furious and he’s never seen you angry like this before. “What do you to do to worlds you’ve conquered?”

• Rant faltering at the edge in your voice, Starscream sees Megatron smirk and realizes he’s just made a mistake. Wings dropping, he turns back to you and forces a smile. “Nothing to worry yourself over, little one. Our home is Cybertron. Yours now, too.” And your eyes narrow, looking from him to the other two and back as your face reddens and your chin lifts. Why are you so upset? You’ll love Cybertron. You’ll be with him and your sparkling.

• “I asked what you do to the worlds you conquer,” you repeat. “What’s left after you’re done? Is anything left?” Hates that the upset edge in your voice bothers him and knows it’s the bond pulling him to you, urging him to soothe you, but Megatron has no intention of interfering. Enjoying watching the SIC struggling for words, wings flicking as he finally catches on that he’s screwed up. “I’m not going anywhere,” you say, tossing your hands up and striding away, though there’s nowhere you can really go trapped on the berth. Watches Soundwave drift after you, touching your arm and getting his hand slapped. And Starscream is glaring at him like this is all his fault.

• “Typically,” Megatron growls and you turn to glare at him, unsettled by his lazy smile. “Worlds our war spills onto don’t survive.” Breath catching, you wish he was mass displaced so you could slap him. Actually right now, you want to slap all three of them. There has to be a way to keep your idiots from razing your home to ash with their stupid war. They’re bigger and stronger than you, but they need you don’t they? You’d gotten the impression from Star that fully bonding takes ‘til death do us part to the most literal extent. Which means you’ve got leverage to get your way, even if it’s absolutely awful to even consider holding your life over their heads by threatening yourself just to try and get them to behave.. “Though, I might be convinced to spare this world. With the proper motivation.”

• And he can feel the shift in your emotions, the cold calculation. Doesn’t like it one bit, either. Scheming and manipulation isn’t your strength. Curling his arms around you and tugging you back into him when you try to shrug him off, Soundwave tries to pin down exactly what you’re thinking, but as always your mind is too chaotic for him. But he can’t help but be worried. He’d played kingmaker for Megatron, started playing the same game for you, positioning you so you’re safest, but if you’re also playing? It complicates things. Needs to fully bond you as soon as possible so he can better protect you, be able to get a better grasp on your thoughts. Except. There’s the problem of your lifespan. If it was only his life, he’d take it, claim you, but his cassettes need him. Depend on him. And so do you. For the first time he can remember, his path forward isn’t clear to him. What he wants and needs at odds with reason.

Previous

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[lexirosewrites]

Brief interlude to the Mafia story for another mob story, only this one Steve escaped from a cult

Nancy and Robin are ex's and Nancy is who got Robin into the Wheeler family business. They broke up on good terms and Robin came to make some good friends there.

In my head Steve and Robin meet because he moves into her apartment building and the two become neighbors. Both notice how the other acts a bit odd but don't think anything of it at first. Both omegas come to assumptions about the other, Steve thinks Robin left a very sheltered and controlling environment and Robin thinks Steve's from a rival family and waiting for the perfect opportunity to take her out.

Robin shares her fear with her friends before going radio silent for a few days, everyone is ready to jump into action to take revenge when she sends a message basically saying it's all good now and she was just being paranoid

Robin came back from a date to Steve standing in the hallway in front of her door with homemade pasta and gets startled when she clears her throat behind him. Steve rambles enough to give Robin herself a run for her money and he admits that he only recently got away from a cult he was born and raised in.

The meeting turns into a days long sleepover with Robin helping the other omega learn how to make a comfortable nest, how to properly do laundry and how to clean around the house. She sees how he has several self help books and how to's for omega house care and realizes that whoever left him there hasn't the first clue on how to care for an omega but made an effort. She picks up the faint scent of pups and an older alpha coming from his nest and asks about it.

Steve was saved by the chief of police of a small town who was retiring and moving to the city with his girlfriend and family, Hopper formally adopted Steve and stops by frequently to check up on him and Steve's adopted sister Jane often comes by with her friends to try out Steve's cooking.

Robin obviously doesn't come clean about what she does for work and Steve doesn't ask but now they both chalk up any odd behaviors to Steve being from a cult, Robin thinks anything Steve does that's weird is because he's from his time in a cult. Steve assumes anytime Robin does anything weird is just Robin being a self proclaimed weirdo and also his perception of most things being weird because he's not used to most things.

I think the story could mostly be a funny slice of life story between the two getting closer and Robin's horrible dating life, she'd come back to her appointment and complain to Steve about how bad all of her dates have been. Steve will continually ask her if she's talked to and asked out Chrissy because the other omega clearly likes Robin based off of the stories he's heard.

Eventually Robin and Chrissy get together and introduce Steve to all their other friends and Eddie is immediately smitten and makes an ass out of himself, he bends over backwards to make Steve's visit super comfortable and accommodating. Robin and the others lose their collective minds because Eddie is usually calm and composed when pursuing someone and here he is, in all of his dork glory.

Robin gives Eddie a shovel talk after Steve leaves. When Hopper meets the others he quickly clocks what they really do for work and sighs. He tells them how he's retired now and works at his girlfriend's bakery with his kids and her kids but if they do anything to hurt his boy there will be consequences.

While Eddie and Robin both have no plans on ever hurting Steve both come to the decision to act more and more outlandish around Hopper to see how worked up he can get a bigger reaction.

It's all supposed to be just a fun story that popped into my head the other day that I wanted to share!

brb gotta go cry about platonic soulmates stobin yet again🥲 i love them so much it hurts me

[myfanfic-urfantrash]

i have headcanons for pregnant betas in ABO

During pregnancy a beta insttead of nesting they hide and aislate themselves,they also would try to hide it from his/her couple as long as they can and often feel depressed and insecure wonder if they alpha/Omega would reject them and the pup

So how would be HSR men when beta s/o starts to act like that and after research they find beta is pregnant and tried to hide it from them?

What an interesting headcanon! I'd love to read more of your headcanons you have for betas if you want to share :3

I made the guys alphas(though it's not exactly mentioned) because omegas getting other dynamics pregnant is pretty much unheard of though I'd probably make a whole separate post exploring that in the future idk

cw: omegaverse, pregnancy

Aventurine

It's been some time since he and his beta have spent some time together partially due to his work and theirs so he doesn't notice his beta withdrawing from him at first.

He'll figure that them isolating themselves in their bedroom every so often when they get home is just a way for them to self soothe themselves from irritating coworkers and frustrating clients. He understands so be doesn't push and goes on his way though he might try to join them but if they seem a bit too irritated with him he'll back off.

Aventurine is observant though and will pick up on how their behavior worsens day by day with them isolating themselves more often than not as well as how their shoulders sag when they think they're alone making them look smaller.

He does a bit of digging to try and figure out just what is making the love of his life so upset. But he finds it even more suspicious that he finds nothing wrong with their life. Their boss isn't mistreating them, they're eating their meals(perhaps a little more than usual but hey if you're hungry you're hungry), they sleep(much more than usual but it makes sense they work late hours) and they do greet him when he comes home(though they have been avoiding his hugs around their belly lately).

But it clicks in his head eating more, sleeping more, rejecting his hugs around their belly...just the possibility of them being pregnant leaves him feeling dizzy, giddy, yet also melancholic at the same time. So he does a little research on beta pregnancies and the more he reads the more things match up the stronger those feelings become.

Later that day when he finds his beta he'll let them know he's aware of their pregnancy and that while he's sad they hid it from him he's happy. He'll spend his time reassuring his beta that he does want them and that he wants their pups too. He doesn't know if he'd be a good father but he'd try.

Blade

His schedule is practically nonexistent one month he'll be free of work and then the next six he'll be working nonstop so it's very likely he wouldn't notice his beta mates behavior change unless it was during some of his off times. The other Stellaron Hunters, if they spend any amount of time with his mate, may notice but if they don't they won't be much help in him figuring out his mate is pregnant. There's also whether or not his beta mate is also a Stellaron Hunter or not or just a civilian living their life separate from them.

So out of all of these men Blade would likely not figure out his beta mate was pregnant unless he or his coworkers are around the to notice their changes or until they were far enough in the pregnancy to start showing when he meets them again.

If he's around them for a while and he notices their change of behavior and eating habits he will ask them right away if something is wrong and will call their lie if they try to say it's nothing. He'll out right ask if they're pregnant if they say they aren't sick and or injured as that's really the only other thing he could think of that could make them behave so differently.

Honestly surprised when they go quiet and just nod their head when he asks them again. He never planned to be a father, well he certainly never planned to have a mate either so he's more than shocked to say the least. A part of him is happy but a part of him is also just melancholic.

Will just hold his mate in his arms for a while as everything sinks in and they try to calm down. If his mate wants to keep the baby he won't object but he truly doesn't know how to be a father though he will do his best to support them.

Jing Yuan

Another one that is often too busy but unlike Aventurine he notices them distancing themselves from him much faster. At first he'll believe that they might just be having an off day so he doesn't press it but when he notices it happening more often than not that's when he steps in and confronts them.

He'll ask them if they've been alright and if there's anything they might be worried about and that they can come to him. He almost gets them to talk because he's so nonjudgmental and willing to hear them out but they back out because of their own worries. He doesn't press it again but makes note that they're hiding something from him that obviously makes them hesitant.

His first thought to their hesitation is that they might be in danger of some sorts and does some investigating just to make sure that's not the case as their safety is his priority. But his thoughts change when he notices them getting a little ill around certain smells and eating large meals less but snacking more while they hide out in the quietest part of the garden of their home.

Now he's not one to jump to conclusions so fast so instead he asks Lady Bailu about their behavior and symptoms and she pretty much confirms they're pregnant right then and there though she will have to perform an examination just to be sure and sends him on his way telling him to brew them some ginger tea to soothe their upset stomach.

Jing Yuan brews the tea and offers it to them with a light snack letting them know that he's aware they may be pregnant and that while he's a little saddened they felt the need to hide such a thing from him he's more than happy to have pups with them. Spends the next few hours just comforting and cuddling his mate until they've calmed down and they tell him they'll see Lady Bailu tomorrow for an official exam.

Dan Heng

Out of everyone he'd know his mate is pregnant the fastest as he doesn't exactly leave his beta mates side once they become mates. He and his mate aren't separated for missions or anything unless they absolutely have to be so he'll know if they start acting weird.

Does give his mate some privacy when they want some alone time but does become suspicious he might have done something wrong since they keep avoiding him. It frustrates him but he lets them do it.

Looks up some data from the archives about Beta behaviors just so he can confirm if he's doing something wrong to upset them. He doesn't think about if the section about Beta pregnancy behaviors will be useful to their situation but he reads it anyways for future reference. But the more he reads the more and more things start to make sense and he is silently jumping for joy while simultaneously screaming into the void because this shouldn't be even possible in the first place.

While Vidyadharas can certainly have dynamics like most other races they're pretty much infertile as there are no records of their kind producing offspring within their own race or outside. And while his mind does jump to the possibility that his mate might have gotten pregnant by someone else he pushes that idea out of his head because he's been by their side consistently and he knows they wouldn't cheat on him.

He's pretty overwhelmed by the possibility but does his best to calmly ask his mate if they are pregnant and reassures them that he's not mad or anything just worried and even scared for them and their pup. Encourages his mate to see Lady Bailu just to confirm everything and to ensure they do have a smooth pregnancy should they decide to keep the pup.

[merakiui]

I absolutely adore the way you write Jade! Someone who's very good at hiding his intentions and keeping himself composed just being so down bad for the prefect

What do you think of Jade with a prefect who joins the Mountain Lover's Club?

Just having someone else around who enjoys nature as much as he does. Going on hikes together and foraging. You're so excited to show off your terrariums to him. Maybe you even tell him about the mountains from your world!

With all that time you spend together alone, he's bound to fall for you, perhaps he uses a club camping trip as an excuse to make you his? Oh silly him, he accidentally planned the trip to be on a cold night, and there's only one tent! Don't worry, you can rely on him for warmth

Omg he's so happy to have someone with a genuine passion for nature join his club!! I like to think Jade assumes this is just a joke or a passing fancy of yours, so he doesn't take your admittance into the club too seriously...until it becomes clear you're here to stay. He's considerably relieved and even more happy to know you'll be the first official member in his club!! He has too much fun playing excursions to the mountains for foraging and hiking, and he'll listen to you ramble for hours about your latest terrarium design and all of the plants you'll put in it. It thrills him to no end to be able to share this hobby of his with you. >w< and you actually get it!! You don't just humor him or scoff and pull faces like his brother and Azul do.

I think the first successful club meeting he has with you is when Jade returns to Octavinelle, positively beaming, and it manages to weird even Floyd out. T_T no one (read: Azul and Floyd) are used to seeing Jade in such outwardly high spirits unless something really good has happened (like a scheme has come to fruition or he's found a rare species of fungi). In other words, this means Jade really values your company and participation in the Mountain Lover's Club.

Of course, even with his growing affections for you, that doesn't mean you're spared from his tricks and teasing. >_< it's just like him to plan a camping trip on a night when the weather is cold. How he conveniently forgets about those "little" details. :) because he's an eel from the deep-sea, the chill of night has never bothered him. But you're human, and he can see you're shivering and snuggling deeper into your sweater. He's even playfully draped his jacket over your shoulders,, admittedly, Jade might be showing off just a little. He just wants you to see he's strong and dependable, that not even the cold can deter him from being here for you.

He offers a very simple way to preserve body heat: cuddle. :D and that earns him a pillow to the face, but you hesitated before whacking him with the pillow. You're thinking about it. He's planted that seed in your head. >:D inevitably, as the night wears on and you bundle up in your sleeping bag, you can't take it anymore. Jade pretends to be asleep, but he's nearly vibrating out of his skin when he hears you shuffle in the darkness. And then you're pressing yourself against him, tucking yourself right beneath his chin. He'll allow you to get comfortable before deciding if he wants to disturb your peace. Because he's Jade, that's exactly what he does lol. He'll softly nudge you and suggest you slip into his sleeping bag because it's big enough for two, and then you can use your sleeping bag as an extra blanket. You're so sleepy and cold that you agree without much thought.

And now you're pressed so close in the sleeping bag, almost like sardines crushed together in a tin. <3 you find yourself unable to sleep. The reason? You can hear Jade's heart pounding away in his chest, a steady, yet quick-clipped thrum. You almost can't believe it..... is Jade Leech nervous???? :O

[megapteraurelia]

comfortable silence — part 2.

summary | kozume kenma and gn!reader are just really bad at tiptoeing around their feelings for each other, tbh. warnings | none! just super fluff if you don't have a sweet tooth. (the barest tiniest grain of molecule of angst if you squint hard enough) word count | 1360. a/n | i still very much love kenma. i actually didn't plan on the ending but then decided to roll with it :o i hope that this holds up with what anon wanted T_T so sorry if i completely butchered it!! please let me know what you think! -` ♡ ´- part 1 to be found: here.

“you forgot your book.”

the muscles in your hands locked as you were leafing through the documents the teacher had given you. you were staying behind after the last class of the day — most, if not all, of the other desks, were cleared off the other students’ belongings.

you knew that kenma was supposed to be at volleyball practice, yet there he was at the entrance of your classroom, still in his school uniform. you didn’t even hear his steps when he came closer to drop the book onto your desk, even though you were watching him shorten the distance between you.

and just like that, the air suddenly felt awkward and charged. 

you refused to look at him but felt his gaze trained on you, roving from the top of your head over your hair to your neck and shoulders, going further down to your fingers to note how tightly you gripped the sheets of paper.

you knew that if you reclined your head and looked up to the side, you’d meet the curious and vigilant widening of his pupils, the little cock of his head, his blonde-coloured hair crossing his field of vision like a curtain. 

but you also knew that if you were to look at him, you’d want the ground to open up and swallow you whole. his eyes would remind you of how he averted his gaze every time you looked at him after you had entered his personal space and kissed his cheek, of how he had grown quieter than usual. 

“thanks, i didn’t mean to...forget it,” you mumbled, fingertips caressing the paper for a change of sensation, to forget the tension in your pulled-up shoulders.

“yeah.”

he didn’t move. you didn’t move. it was embarrassing. it was intimate. 

it was the way he was standing close to you, neither of you talking; the air pregnant with even more things left unsaid than before, the afternoon sun shining through the windows, painting everything in a light that said i’m here to make memories. the opened window sent a light breeze and the clock ticked in the background, the bell chiming in harmony to signal the start of a new period, yet he made no moves to get to practice.

instead, the only thing that changed in motion was a steady blush crawling over your skin at the silent presence next to you, at the golden sheen on the paper in your hands that made it difficult to escape the golden of his eyes.

“kenma.”

“hm?”

you forced your eyes shut, forcing the words through your lips, every letter burning your tongue and wishing to be left hidden, “i didn’t mean to do that. it kind of...just happened. i didn’t mean to make it weird or anything.”

you couldn’t even mention the stupid kiss, and you don’t think you needed to. you were sure that kenma was more than capable of understanding what you meant, yet he still didn’t say anything, still close enough for you to smell him, still just standing there, hands twitching at his sides as he gripped his phone tightly yet kept it closed and turned off lest anybody of his teammates could try to spam him with calls to get his attention.

you hesitantly glanced up a little bit, seeing the open collar, the lazy knot of his tie, and just a bit higher: the sharp line of his chin, the soft caress of the tip of his hair strands, the uncertain press of his lips together — and just as quickly as your gaze was going to search his, as fast it dropped again at the reminder.

another avalanche of nonsense tumbled through your mouth and out into the world, “i mean, i was just— i don’t know. i wasn’t thinking and then i’ve already— i don’t— and i’m making this super awkward, n—ugh.”

your face was burning, teeth digging into your lower lip. there you went and made a whole fool of yourself, and would the ground please just open up and swallow you?

“uh, it’s fine,” came the response, soft-spoken and nervous, almost too quiet in comparison to the thunderous beat of your heart, so you had to look up to him if only to connect his words with the movement of his mouth. 

meeting his eyes and knowing he was studying you intently with his eyes, catching each shiver running down your back, each whitening of a knuckle, the gulp of your throat swallowing despite your mouth completely dried out — it sent another flash of mortification through you. the golden of his eyes were competing with the rays of the sun, attentive as usual.

hesitantly, you asked, “are you uncomfortable?”

“not really.”

again with that assured tone of voice, yet still carrying elusive words, evading questions and assumptions. the wind blew softly again, hugging your skin, but it made no difference to the heaviness sitting between you, didn’t blow away the expectations racking up for something you weren’t even sure existed outside of your head. 

your neck started hurting at looking up from the side, so you went back to staring at the long-forgotten documents in your hands, the book he brought to you — just another pretense, another excuse that felt safe to hide behind. 

your voice was still meek, “really?”

in lieu of an answer, he instead moved from your side to stand in front of you, leaning forward in such a certain manner that seemed so at odds to the usual lethargy he carried around. your perception was long used up to note all the tiny details and minimalistic gestures that you barely had any left to understand what was happening until it was happening. 

a timid meeting of lips and skin again. the corner of your mouth warming up at the contact, the closeness of his face, his half-lidded eyes reading you, his nose kissing yours, and then he stepped back again, one hand going up to rub his neck to relieve his nervousness. 

he took your breath away. 

kenma in normal lighting was already pretty, but flustered kenma bathed in the sheen of the afternoon glow with deep pink stealing itself on his cheeks and across his nose, eyebrows drawn over intense gold, teeth worrying his mouth was gorgeous. his voice murmured, almost sheepishly, “i guess i’ve been thinking about it too.”

you stared at him; your face in the same shade of red, breathless, heart stuttering like mad. by his accelerated quiet breathing you could only guess that the same type of adrenaline was rushing through him. 

a beat of silence, and then both of you blurting out at the same time:

“i have to go—” 

“i like you. lots.”

like a deer caught in headlights, he finished his sentence dazedly as his ears registered your words,”—to...prac...tice.”

more silence with the leaves rustling outside. more staring at each other as if blinking would make this real. more of red cheeks, red ears, red necks, red, red, red. the air was brimming with all the vibrations of emotions ready to spill over, and before you could scramble to apologise, to run away, to destroy the bud of a flower before it was even able to bloom, kenma reached out and took the book on your desk.

he used it to point towards the door, yet glanced away from you, the blonde strands falling into his eyes; his voice quiet and hesitant, “i forgot what you just said. you also forgot this book at my home. so, you have to— you— should come pick it up later. when practice is done.”

you blinked, and then nodded, “okay then.”

he left in a hurry unlike him, similar to the way you rushed away from him in search of water a couple of days ago at his house. head bowed with golden eyes studying the ground, wiping his hands on the grey pants, a small and unbelieving smile hidden behind the curtain of blonde, skin on fire, though you weren’t better off. 

leaning back in your chair, hiding your face from the world, you thought that water would be really good right now.

[probably-flowers-and-cats]

it happens. sometimes. very rarely, so he has no reasons to be concerned about it. the days when everything feels heavy, when every move seems impossible, and breathing goes almost silent — it's still present, Sakura is still alive, no worries, it's just harder to do. the days when he doesn't feel like eating, coming outside, talking. only sleeping. to curl into the ball under the thin blanket, let the darkness consume him, and he finally can drift away into nothingness that gives him the much needed sense of tranquility.

the thing is he's not alone anymore.

before Makochi, no one was worried when he didn't show up in school or outside of his room. no one cared.

Makochi is different.

the day comes, eventually, and drags him under the blanket into the void of exhaustion, breathing drains his last drops of energy, and he slowly slips away into anxious sleep, full of images from his past.

Sakura wakes up soft and warm.

his house smells of food, and he hears muffled voices in the kitchenette of his, voices familiar. curtains closed, and he didn't remember touching them. on the table Kiryu brought weeks ago he sees tea and some sweets from shops nearby. Sakura frowns.

who?..

"you're awake," Suo's voice comes before Sakura sees his friend. Nirei follows Suo, and Sakura pulls himself to sit up and face them properly at least. he tries to say something in reply, but Suo shakes his head. "you're tired. don't exhaust yourself more than you've done already."

probably, the puzzled expression gives him away.

"you're not that subtle as you think, Sakura-kun. it's always piling up and eventually buries you under the rubber of everything you've tried to carry on your own."

what the damn are they talking about?

"we've noticed," Nirei says, placing plates on the table, "that you've been more silent than usual and it became harder for you to keep up with everything. it's fine, we've got your back," Nirei's grin looks like his usual one, but Sakura feels hidden sorrow behind it.

"I don't understand," Sakura finally lets words slip, ignoring how every one of them feels heavier than previous. "what are you guys talking about?" Suo and Nirei exchange look, and this one even for him is obvious — they're not just mad or upset, they're devastated and livid, and yet it's not addressed to him. for him they show only gentleness when Nirei tucks his blanket tighter and Suo turns and gives him freshly poured cup of tea, smelling of honey and flowers.

"we'll explain it to you later, Sakura-kun. for now, please, rest. we will be here when you wake up."

the tea Suo brewed seems to have magic in it, because the next moment after he finishes the cup, the sleep comes and it's much more softer than before.

he dreams of the green field, flowers, and friends, holding him tight and dearly.

gotta admit I didn't plan on giving Sakura such bad days when having one but luckily he has Suo and Nirei now, and they'll explain to him that nothing goes unnoticed and always leaves a trace. his past included, years of everything finally catching up to him, and refection he faced, pain, and isolation — it won't be soothed in one night, but, again, he's not alone anymore.

(Suo and Nirei, hug him and shower and love and care, pls)

[cosmowgyral]

"The Vicious Wildcat is Clumsily Affectionate"

▪︎ Kagari's 1st Birthday

This is a fan translation so please don't expect it to be 100% accurate. Creative liberties have been taken. All content belongs to Cybird. Reblogs are appreciated. Hope you enjoy!

This is my very first time reading and translating a Kagari event and since he's not yet out in the EN servers, there might be terms that will be used differently when he's finally released.

Chapter 1

A while after coming to Kogyoku with the bookstore owner, I noticed that on a certain day, the town was bustling with more people than usual.

Emma: It’s Prince Kagari’s birthday?

Town woman: Yes, it has become a tradition for the whole town to celebrate.

Emma: That’s why it’s so lively.

(I didn’t know it was Prince Kagari’s birthday.)

The town’s residents seem to be in high spirits, and the aroma of dorayaki fills the air.

Town woman: You should wish Prince Kagari as well.

Town woman: I’m sure he’ll be delighted if his favourite lady celebrates with him.

A woman I had become acquainted with since coming to Kogyoku, gives me a shove with an innocent smile.

Town woman: Now if you say you’re having trouble deciding on a present, I’ll help you with it.

Emma: Thank you so much. But, I’d like to think of something to give on my own.

(I wonder what it is. I sense an odd pressure…or maybe it’s just my imagination.)

The woman left in a good mood with words of encouragement, suggesting she was satisfied with my response.

(Whether I’m his favourite or not….I’ve been helped by Prince Kagari many times since coming to Kogyoku.)

(Now that I know it’s his birthday, I have no other choice but to celebrate.)

(Alright…)

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ㅤ𔘓 ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

(….Wha-what’s with this huge line?!)

When I packed my bag with the present and headed to the castle, the square was crowded with people who had come to celebrate the yasha [1].

(From swordsmen to nobles…and even commoners, there really is an incredible number of people.)

At the end of the line, I catch a glimpse of a person with striking red hair.

Prince Kagari, standing at a distance, remained expressionless as he received a constant barrage of wishes and gifts.

(He is acting like it’s none of his business. He doesn’t seem to be enjoying this at all.)

As I stood on my toes to have a better look, a pair of emerald eyes greeted mine.

(….Prince Kagari is sensitive to gazes, so I wonder if he noticed.)

(I might have been a nuisance by watching too much.)

I turned away and took shelter under a nearby cherry tree.

(I wonder what I should do. With so many people waiting in the queue, it really is difficult to go and wish him.)

( I wanted to celebrate on his actual birthday, but I guess I’ll have to come back later----huh?)

When I casually looked back, I saw that Prince Kagari had disappeared.

Instead, an aide is standing in his place..and despite not being the yasha, people continue to offer him wishes and presents.

It was a strange sight.

???: You’re wide open, princess.

(!?)

As I turned to face the unexpected voice close to my ear, a hand closed across my mouth.

My back made contact with a tree trunk as I was pulled into the shade of trees.

Emma: Nnnn…!!

(Before I knew it, Prince Kagari had caught me from behind.)

He easily pushed me against the trunk even though I was struggling, and then he brought his face close to mine.

Kagari: Do you promise to behave?

I nodded vigorously and he finally took his hand off my mouth.

However, the distance between us remained the same, and Prince Kagari, with his hands on the trunk behind me, seized me.

 (I need to calm down…)

(Maybe he’s sticking close to me so the others won’t find him.)

I instinctively lower my voice so that my breath doesn't touch him.

Emma: Why are you here, Prince Kagari?

Kagari: I saw you.

Emma: So you came to see me?

Kagari: I came because I thought you called.

(Maybe that’s how it looked to Prince Kagari.)

Even though I feel guilty, my heart was ticklish.

Kagari: If you plan to stand in the line, don’t.

Kagari: It will continue till midnight.

Emma: That long…

Kagari: At night, there's a party. It goes on through the entire night till the wee hours of the morning.

(It’s amazing that they celebrate whole day long. I don’t expect anything less for Kogyoku’s yasha.)

While I was impressed, Prince Kagari remained expressionless.

He looks at the long line like it has nothing to do with him, and his expression is so bleak that it’s hard to believe he is the one being celebrated.

Maybe Prince Kagari isn’t interested in celebrating his birthday.

(…What if he thinks of me as a bother as well?)

Kagari: So, why are you here?

I turned my face away from him.

Emma: Well….there was a huge crowd, so I…was just curious.

(I can’t admit I came to celebrate too.)

I hid the bag with his present behind me.

Prince Kagari paused for a moment.

Amidst the awkward silence, the noises of the crowd felt distant.

(I tried my best to hide it, but it might seem too obvious.)

However, Prince Kagari didn’t say anything and just grabbed my arm.

Kagari: Will you come with me, princess?

Emma: Eh…I..Prince Kagari?

Contrary to his request, I was almost forcefully taken inside the castle in secret….

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ㅤ𔘓 ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Prince Kagari threw me into a room and brought out a large basket from somewhere.

Kagari: Put this on first.

Emma: H..hakama [2]?

Kagari: Next, wrap this around your face.

Emma: A scarf?

Kagari: And finally, put this on your waist.

Emma: A sword..?!

Kagari: Now tie your hair in a ponytail.

Emma: Um…

(Why is he asking to change all of a sudden?)

I tilted my head as I received the things handed to me one after another, and then Prince Kagari picks up the hakama and reaches for my clothes.

Kagari: If you don’t know how to put on hakama I’ll teach you.

Emma: N-no, I’ll try to do as much as I can myself!

(I’m not sure what’s going on but I think it isn’t anything bad---.)

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ㅤ𔘓 ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

(----But, why did it come to this?)

[Masterlist] [Chapter 2]

➽──────────────❥

I think I've found a new favourite in IkePri, guys.

(1) Yasha or yaksha refers to guardian deities in Buddhism. In ancient Japan, these terms were given to demonlike warriors.

(2) Hakama are a type of Japanese trousers.

[slut-strut-satan]

Hi 👋 I just saw your post about the inconsistencies in DA canon, and I very much agree: some things look like the writers themselves are unreliable narrators when it comes to some parts of the lore. But I wanted to ask something - and I hope you don't mind - as someone who isn't a Solas fan and hasn't spent as much time analyzing his story as maybe you did. I see so many vastly different interpretations re: the Veil I'm starting to feel like I'm losing my mind. A lot of people strongly believe that tearing down the Veil wouldn't end the world, but Solas himself says in Trespasser: "I will save the elven people, even if it means this world must die." If you ask him why he helped you with the Qunari plot if he intends to destroy the world anyway, he says he doesn't want people to suffer before it's necessary (which implies that at some point it will be necessary). He seems genuinely sorry for what he believes he has to do. Doesn't it mean he confirms the consequences of removing the Veil would be world-ending? If it doesn't mean the world would be literally destroyed and a great number of people killed, why did he phrase it like this? Why make an enemy out of the Inquisitor and make them believe he is planning to destroy the world if it isn't the case?

Solas rarely speaks in straight lines. He uses metaphors and is generally very vague, which is how he gets around lying. He doesn’t lie, he disguises the truth.

I’ve never understood why people thought he was speaking literally there, because Solas ‘destroyed’ the world of the Elves and yet Elves are very much still around. Changed, but around. Dwarves, too. There’s no reason to believe everyone would just drop dead the minute the Veil comes down, especially since people can go in an out of the Fade physically with no major consequences. I firmly believe Solas would not take action against the Veil if he thought it would just end all life on Thedas. That’s just not the character. People can hate on him all they want, but Solas values life. That’s just canon. He wouldn’t be trying to do what he views as saving the world if he did not care about the people living in it.

And if that’s not enough for you, Solas himself directly tells us that modern people would survive to see the new world. He’s had multiple lines implying that he fully expects the current inhabitants of Thedas to be capable of surviving in the Restored Thedas, hes just not naive enough to pretend casualties won’t be inevitable.

When you ask him what his plan was, he tells us that he took precautions to lessen the loss of life. The estimate he gives us in regards to potential casualties is ‘thousands.’ And whether or not you think a few thousand people is an acceptable sacrifice is irrelevant right now. The point is that he’s not recklessly throwing lives away for no reason. Solas believes that Thedas will not survive long term in its current state and that restoring it to its natural state is the ethical thing. The Veil is an ecological disaster. Think of it as something similar to a Climate Change situation.

We know that the Veil had been growing weaker and weaker over time because it’s been established that mass death and violence weakens it. And Veilguard might not want you rememver that part, but modern Thedas is a hell world of violence, disease, and oppression. It is not a healthy or nice place. Spirits, Mages, and Elves (Solas is all three of these things) are routinely, systematically, and horrifically oppressed, and the Veil has contributed factors which unfortunately lead to this state of oppression. Again, DATV doesn’t want you to know any of that, but they can’t sweep these things under the rug for anyone who’s played the other games.

Solas created the Veil because he’d been forced to make an impossible choice for the good of the world. No one in Thedas would be alive today without him. Now, he’s been forced to make an equally impossible one, and ultimately he decides that he is morally responsible for undoing the damage wrought by the Veil. This is not to make himself happy. This is not selfish. This is a character sacrificing their own sense of self for the sake of duty. His conscience compels him to try and right what he perceives as a terrible wrong. I’m not sure why this is meant to be a negative quality but I’m not a sociopath so I couldn’t hazard a guess.

[sexy-gummi]

Do you know how much trust I must have in you to lay back and spread my legs? When most times laying myself bare before another like that would fill me with dread.

Because I wonder what you see, or better yet, if what you see are the slight imperfections there? Maybe how one lip is bigger than the other and how there's a slight growth of hair.

Certain times of the month, my walls are a pretty pink, other times slightly darker in color. Most guys probably don't notice, but usually, you're a very attentive lover.

Oh God!!! Don't look any lower, yes ik my skin is a little darker around that tight little hole. Oh, what the hell!!! Your mouth feels soo damn good, imma just lay here, relax, and let go.

Of all the worry abt whether or not my body is attractive to you. Something MUST be appealing abt it considering how satisfied you are when we're all through.

Take your time, explore all you want, I'm thoroughly enjoying all the pleasure you bring to me. I hope other lovers experience this kind of freedom and joy, this is EXACTLY how sex is supposed to be.

No inhibitions, no restrictions, no judgment or shame. Just the two of us sensually fucking one another and maybe calling out each other's name!

Go ahead and get your fill, do whatever it is you want to do. Because when you're finished, it will be my turn, and I have so many plans for you!!!🤎

#let go #surrender

[tokyo-daaaamn-ji-gang]

I am unabashedly requesting for rindou and Inui light-hearted cute funny HCs in a world where Bonten Rin has a huge crush on Inui (crushing on him since tenjiku times)

what are some of the things a secretly lovestruck Rin would do? He has to keep his feelings for an oblivious Inui at bay but he at the same time wants to see Inui as much as he possibly can

(if this req is too weirdly specific pls feel free to disregard this!!!!!! I love ur stuff as always mwah)

That sounds cute! Here's how I think bonten Rindou would act while crushing on Inui!

Honestly Rindou is pretty bad at hiding his crush, he blushes and get's flustered pretty easily. The only reason it hasn't been discovered by Inui yet is because Inui is so oblivious. 

Rindou keeps turning up at Inui and Drakens bike shop with 'problems' but they're like the smallest and silliest problems possible (he's actually just coming up with excuses to see Inui but he's not very good at it).

Brings Inui lunch often, normally with excuses like "they accidentally gave me extra" or "I packed too much today" Inui finds this a little odd but doesn't question it because free food.

Walks past the bike shop often, one time Inui waved at him and he almost walked into a street light in shock. 

Sometimes Rindou accidentally goes round there when Inui's not working and then he has very awkward interactions with Draken instead. 

One time Inui brings up how he wanted to beat Rindou and Ran up after he got out of juvie but then he immediately regrets mentioning it because he thinks it's probably weird to bring up now? Meanwhile Rindou is just thinking like "wow he knew I existed even all the way back then". 

Normally they talk about their weeks or random things while in the shop together, with Rindou browsing or waiting for Inui to finish whatever small problem he has now. Both of them enjoy these talks a lot. After awhile Rindou doesn't need the excuses anymore because it's accepted that he just takes his lunch breaks in the shop to hangout with Inui.

Rindou plans for ages on how to casually see Inui outside of the bike shop (his main plan is to invite him to see a movie together but he always get's too nervous). But then one day, when Rindou is mid rant about not having a good gym partner, Inui volunteers. Which really throws Rindou off for a sec but he quickly agrees and they become gym buddies. 

Rindou absolutely tries to show off his strength and flexibility to Inui.

During one lunch time hangout, Inui accidentally drinks from Rindou's bottle of water and Rindou stops functioning for a sec because indirect kiss!???

Rindou thinks he's being so secretive with this crush but literally everyone can tell aside from Inui. 

One time when they're walking past the shop together, Ran makes a comment to Rindou like "you sure do like going into that shop don't you?" and Rindou, who's panicking just goes "I've never been in there before" (this happens seconds after Inui waved at Rindou and Rindou waved back. 

Sometimes Rindou will leave anonymous gifts for Inui like a bouquet of his favourite flowers (he had to pay Koko for that information).

And finally, Rindou may not know it but he has already confessed to Inui. One time when they went drinking together, a drunken Rindou told Inui how much he loves him. Inui just smiled at him and said "you're drunk". Rindou may have forgotten that incident but Inui remembers it and wonders if he'll get to hear those words again from Rindou some day...

[keshvi19]

Void through lucid dreaming ( Progress)

Although I thought to post this when I get into the void but its taking time and i didn't entered it yet.

So I feel to finally post this today so here we go

My Plan

So guys in my day 9 post I told u about my plan one but i said that I will let u know about plan 2 later when it will happen

TODAY IS THE DAY TO REVEAL IT GUYZZ

So my plan is to get in the void through lucid dreaming. So first a fall meditating for void is not my thing I just can't meditate muchh to get in void cause me and my body get bored after some time.

But the lucid dream is a thing that I am doing from my childhood. One day I got a post that how u can induce void through lucid dream so I read it and I think that woww i got this this is my thing bitch cause when I was a child I able to control my dreams and get the lucid dreams very frequently to till this date so it's easy for me to enter in void from lucid dream so I choose the method ETILD method cause I found it easy.

Here's my progress

Day 12

Guyz I got the lucid dream today I able to control it i didn't remember the scenario of the dream but guyz in that dream i affirm that "I am in the void state " and " i am entering in the void state" in my native language and it worked i don't know but I think it worked more if I say it in my native language so from then i decided to say it in my native language only and guyz when I affirmed this in my dream i started to get drastic symptoms its like my soul is getting snatched or getting out of my bodyy bitch and it like I am going towards the death and I am going to die and my body got afraid but I am not i mean my mind is chill about it cause it knows that it's just symptoms and I am getting in void I am not able to express it but my body getting afraid but I am not cause when i got afraid I got the sense at that second only that it's just symptoms and nothing happening to get afraid but my body is afraid so that's why I think I came back in reality that's it guyz

And you guyz don't know THAT HOW MUCH I AM FRAKING HAPPYYY FOR MY PROGRESS I AM SO HAPPY THAT DAY BITCH

and then my motivation also increased to the sky and then one day later

Day 14

So guyz i got the lucid dream what I did when I get up from the sleep I am still feeling drowsy then I closed my eyes and did the ETILD method and got in the lucid dream guyzzzz i got it about two three times in a row but in the first and second dream i did the silly mistake that I knew that I am in a lucid dream so I affirmed for the void immediately and I get out of dream because you are not suppose to do that you have to wait for your dream to get stable and then you should affirm for the void so I did the lucid dream again and then again i able to control it very well And to check it out I am changing the colour of the room I am in lucid dream I am changing the colours of the walls of the room in pink, blue and yellow and it did change and I got it that it's a dream I didn't said void affs because I have to make my dream stable first so I am creating different scenarios and then i got lost in it and didn't affirm for void then I woke up.

Things that I want to tell u that my family is so noisy so when I am in my dream I am able to hear the noises of 3d but I am ignoring that and focusing on my dream.

And now I am so motivated cause I master the ability of lucid dream anyways I am master of lucid dream since my childhood

Day 20

I induced lucid dreaming again i slept after listening to the lucid dreaming subliminal by enchanted workshop this one. which is I think popular and everyone getting results from it after I sleep listening to it. Then when I wake up I sleep again and i immediately got knew that this is a dream. Like I said in the dream out lound that THIS IS DREAMM but not to worry cause no person was there they came later in this dream I am in my old school where I am till 10th class I made my dream stable by doing activities and imagining scenes like I make my boyfriend get in school gate witch big bouquet and all that nvm then I went in class again and this time i decide that dream is stable now let's do it then I closed my eyes and said that I am in void, I am in the void state then that blackness behind my eyes started moving speedly like in movies it like a vaccume but then nothing happened I think that became the part of dream also I don't know but only this happen but I am so happy I did it again I will sleep again after listening that subliminal I am so motivated rn guyz

That's it this is what happened in previous week. I will keep u guyz updated if something happen again

Stay tuned ❤️🎀✨

[thetomorrowshow]

you could always stay this young

Or, 5 times that Ilphas saw Scott as a boy, and 1 time they saw him as far older than he is.

FEBUWHUMP 2025 DAY 2 - holding back tears

fandom: empires smp

TRUST AU BABEY!! cw: descriptions of injuries, perceived major character death, referenced torture

~

~1~

"Come in," comes the young, wavering voice on the other side of the door.

Ilphas carefully pushes open the door.

There he is.

Prince Scott is sitting behind a desk that seems far too large and mature for him, perching on the edge of the chair. His wings fit awkwardly behind him, and his hair (now cut short, far shorter than Ilphas has ever seen it) is tangled, as if he's been running his hands through it. The button of the high collar of his mourning vestments has been undone, and the cuffs are already trailing threads, a sure sign that the boy has been picking at them.

"The ceremony shall begin soon, my lord," Ilphas tells him, and Prince Scott bites his lip.

"How much longer until I must leave?" he asks quietly, and Ilphas represses a sad sigh.

The prince is not an adult yet, that much is clear.

Prince Scott had his coming-of-age ceremony yesterday, and although he's just reached eighty-two (technically old enough to come of age), he's still a child. He probably won't fully mature to adulthood for another ten years.

And now, forced into adulthood too early, the prince must be ordained king.

"They expect your presence within the hour."

His highness, as Ilphas suspects he's been doing all morning, buries his hands in his hair, staring unseeingly at his desk.

"I don't want to be king," he whispers, and Ilphas feels their heart clench.

The boy is only eighty-two. Queen Isidriel had always referred to him as the princeling, and as inappropriate as that may have been, it is a word that aptly describes the young lord.

And as they're thinking that, Prince Scott's shoulders begin to tremble, as if he is barely holding back tears.

Ilphas surreptitiously pushes the door shut, and finds themself wishing a moment later that they had shut it with themself on the other side. They find emotions difficult at the best of times, especially with one so young. Especially when most of what can be done to comfort children is far above their station.

"With permission, I shall lead you through the schedule of today," Ilphas says after a moment. The prince raises his eyes to meet theirs, redrimmed and exhausted.

"Do you recall the rehearsal that was held last night?"

His highness nods.

"Very good. In one hour, that will occur. Everything will follow according to that, though quite a bit longer."

Once the prince nods again, Ilphas continues.

"Once the crowning has been performed and adjourned, there is very little that will be expected of you for the day. All celebrations will be planned for two years in the future, to allow for the proper mourning period of your parents. You will be needed to sign papers and send out an official decree of kingship, and then there will be a small meal with the traditional breaking of bread. Then you will bid farewell to all those who witnessed the ceremony, before retiring to your quarters for the evening."

"And tomorrow, the funeral," Prince Scott murmurs.

Ilphas nods. "Your days shall be busy, but do not feel anxious. You . . . you are not expected to know how to reign. The death of your father was not anticipated for at least five more centuries, and it is not unreasonable that you have not been adequately instructed."

They don't know how to say that this is absolutely unprecedented. Since the beginning of its life, Rivendell has never had a child ruler. His majesty King Andeloth had only ruled for ninety years, so while many of the palace staff were present for his mother's death and the transition of leadership (Ilphas included), King Andeloth had been five hundred years of age and had essentially already been ruling as the queen's health had declined.

A week ago, King Andeloth and Queen Isidriel had been in full health, as strong as they ever had been, with no threats to the throne and the only marring spot on their rule the death of their younger son three years past. Of course nobody had yet begun to train the prince, when his father would rule for many years to come and he would likely be joined by several siblings, all ready to share the weight of the kingdom should an unexpected death occur.

But five days ago, after a sudden, unknown illness (one of blackened flesh and pulsing red veins, one that the king and queen and many of their ship’s crew had contracted while crossing the ocean, one that had become so dangerous so quickly that the prince found himself quarantined in the summer home in the valley before his parents had even returned), the king and queen had died.

And now, five days after his parents' death, and one day after his coming-of-age, and one day before his parents' funeral, the prince must be crowned king, with no training and barely any preparation.

He's so young. The prince really is just a boy. Everyone knows it—the priest yesterday, while officially declaring his highness an adult, had looked uncomfortable with the words proceeding from his mouth. Those present had seemed unsure. Several elves had glanced around when the priest asked for objections (and objections of a non-serious nature are often brought up by the parents or close friends in a more casual ceremony, but other objections are not unheard of), as if asking for someone to say what they all knew.

But the need for a king was more important than tradition, and no one spoke out.

And as Ilphas examines the prince at his father's desk, they wonder if perhaps it was the wrong choice.

They do not voice such concerns, however. They only wait for the future king to speak.

Finally, his majesty sighs, pushes back the chair, and stands, almost seeming to tremble. "I suppose I have nothing to gain here," he says, casting a glance around the room. "Will I need to meet with anyone beforehand?"

Ilphas's eyes catch on his hair and his sleeves again, then they open the door and usher the prince out.

"There will be an attendant in the anteroom to fix your hair," they say. "And after that, do try not to touch it, or your sleeves."

The prince grimaces, but nods, and the two of them leave the room together.

And Ilphas offers up a silent prayer to Aeor that the boy will take his new role with grace.

~2~

Somehow, Ilphas lost the king.

They had contacted Rivendell to ensure that his majesty arrived safely, only to discover that his majesty had not arrived at all, nor had they requested his return.

And with a sinking feeling, they quickly realized that Lord Smajor had lied about where he was going.

He was gone, with no one the wiser as to his whereabouts.

Under other circumstances, Ilphas likely would have been demoted (or even released) for such a grave error. But as soon as they explain the situation, they can tell that the rest of the council does not blame them whatsoever, and they're fairly certain that Lord Smajor won't insist they step down when he was the one who went and got himself lost in the first place.

Maybe that isn't the correct attitude to have with the king, but he's simply too young.

In Ilphas's eyes, the king is still a boy. It's not even been thirty years since he was crowned, and less than twenty since the point that he likely would have become an adult in a normal situation, and Ilphas cannot see him as anything other than a boy king.

So when Lord Smajor makes contact and informs them that he will be returning after six days of nothing, Ilphas feels more annoyed than relieved. Does he believe that he can just come and go as he likes, sending the palace into a panic over nothing?

Which is quite the attitude that Ilphas brings to the dock when they go to meet his majesty later that afternoon.

The moment Lord Smajor steps off the boat, Ilphas knows something is wrong.

He's holding himself oddly, his shoulders rigid and unmoving, one arm around his waist. His steps are slow and careful, as if expecting to step on a needle at any time. Perhaps most obvious, however, is the simple clothing (certainly his own, though missing layers and embellishments), the sling that holds one of his wings close to his back, and the deep shadows under his eyes.

He looks oddly small, curled in on himself, and Ilphas feels all their irritation melt away as they realize that something very bad has happened to the boy.

Ilphas steps forward—to support the king, perhaps—and freezes when his majesty flinches away.

"We have anxiously awaited your return, my lord," Galidre says uncertainly, bowing.

Lord Smajor waves him off with a quick jerk of his hand. "I'm afraid," he says, and his voice is raspy, damaged— "that I must pay a visit to the infirmary. May we leave now?"

So Ilphas sits across from his majesty in the carriage and watches as the king sits on the edge of his seat and winces with every bump yet holds his head high.

When they arrive in the palace infirmary (and Lord Smajor walks from the carriage into the palace and down the long hall without support, despite his stride growing stiffer with every step), Ilphas quietly sends Galidre away to work on other business and closes the door, glancing around to ensure that the other beds are empty.

When all is done, they stand beside Lord Smajor as he gingerly sits on the bed closest to the door, and they nod to the lead healer (Velien) who approaches.

"Good afternoon, my lord," Velien says, bowing. "How may I assist you?"

Lord Smajor scrunches his eyes shut for a moment, sighs just the slightest bit. "I . . . I sustained a fall from a great height," the king says carefully. "I believe that I broke my wing in this fall."

A fall?

That certainly explains quite a few things—the late return (with a broken wing, he would have had to walk quite a way), the exhaustion, the way he holds himself as he walks—as if he's got several deep bruises that he doesn't wish to agitate.

A fall would make sense, and despite themself, Ilphas feels that irritation poke at them again. Lord Smajor knows how to fly, doesn't he? He's had wings for his entire life, after all. He hasn't fallen in decades.

Velien nods and tugs up xyr sleeves. "It will likely need to be set and immobilized," xe explains, circling around the bed to examine the wing. Lord Smajor's sunken eyes follow every move.

He goes utterly still as xe touches his wing, unwrapping the sling and stretching out the limb. Ilphas watches carefully—the lord doesn't much care for being touched (few elves do), but his face pales beyond its already overly pale complexion and he almost looks ready to bolt, lips trembling and fingers tightly gripping his tunic.

Velien clicks xyr tongue. "There likely is a break, though with your wings, your majesty, it is difficult to tell. I believe it is right here—"

Lord Smajor flinches forward with a noise of pain, and Velien raises xyr eyebrows.

"Yes, right there," xe says. "On a numerical scale from one to ten, how painful would you describe it?"

Lord Smajor takes a slow breath, in and out, and it hurts Ilphas's heart to see him in so much pain, but maybe he oughtn't sneak out like a child and get himself into situations such as this.

"Six, maybe? From the wing?" his majesty offers, looking to Ilphas as though they know the answer.

Velien nods. "All right, then. I believe it is an operation that can be performed while you are awake, but I would recommend imbibing a sleeping draught for our ease."

Again, despite no one touching him, the king flinches forward. "I—if I must," he stutters.

"Very well. Xolineh, would you mind retrieving a sleeping draught for his majesty?"

An elf sitting at a desk near the back of the infirmary nods, turning away to the wall of cupboards.

"Your majesty, if you would please remove your tunic."

Again, Lord Smajor looks to Ilphas.

Does he not wish to undress with others present? It is only themself, Velien, and three other elves in the room. And they will all (save Ilphas) be involved in the operation, so there isn't much point to privacy.

"I don't believe I can," Lord Smajor whispers, and though Ilphas is about to sigh and tell him to get it over with, it isn't an issue, something in the king's face gives them pause.

"My lord?" Ilphas asks after a confused moment. "Is something the matter?"

His majesty swallows. "I believe . . . I am injured in other places, and I . . . I do not think I can raise my arms that high."

Velien looks up sharply at Ilphas.

"Where else are you injured?" asks Ilphas, suddenly fearing the worst. He might have suffered internal damage—there is no one else with royal blood, the king is practically a boy himself so of course he's not had heirs of his own, he snuck out and nearly got himself killed in a childish mistake and how is Ilphas not supposed to be irritated with him while also terrified for the future of Rivendell?

This simply cannot happen again. There is far too much at stake for the only royalty in the empire to go about risking his life.

"My shoulders," the king says, and his voice still sounds so raw. "I have already received medical attention for other injuries."

Medical attention?

Other injuries?

Ilphas finds themself speechless. They can only stand there and watch as Velien takes a knife from xyr pocket and in one slow movement (and the king's flinch away cannot be written off as one of pain this time) slices through the tunic and pulls it down off of his arms.

Oh, dear Aeor.

Ilphas turns away abruptly, pulls the curtains around the bed closed. They aren't even sure what they're looking at, but Lord Smajor's shoulders are covered in bruises and swollen and Ilphas suddenly feels as though maybe some privacy is warranted.

And when they look back, they see just how terrible the king's condition is.

It isn't just his shoulders that are bruised. At least half of his skin is painted purple or brown or yellow, bruises in various stages of healing, particularly dark and plentiful on his stomach. There are some healing cuts as well, cuts that look clean and taken care of, but amidst all the bruises Ilphas can't find it in themself to pay them much attention. Their mind instantly jumps back to internal damage, because those bruises on his majesty's stomach could be indicative of anything.

They look up to catch Velien's eye, see if xe has noticed the danger, and finds xem staring open-mouthed at the lord's back.

Ilphas steps around the king (whose eyes stare at nothing as his mouth moves silently) and looks at whatever it is that has the Head Healer so dismayed.

"Aeor above," whispers Ilphas.

This isn't from a fall.

The king's back is marred with bruises, just as the rest of his body, and lashes, crisscrossing his skin. The lashes, like the other cuts, are partially healed—someone had likely poured a healing potion over them—but still obviously painful judging by the way one has split open, blood dripping from it.

The lashes aren't just on his back, but on his wings as well—in featherless stripes that Ilphas had assumed had been lost in the fall but are clearly matching the marks on his back—and below where his shirt has pooled around his waist the lashes still reach, and Ilphas can barely hope that they don't go down further.

Then Ilphas's gaze catches on his swollen shoulders again, and from there travels down his arms (and that looks like finger-shaped bruises on his forearms) to his wrists, identically red and rubbed raw.

The king did not fall from the heavens.

And if he did, he somehow landed in hell.

"My lord—"

"Tree branches," King Smajor says quickly, turning his head just barely. "I fell in a forest—the branches cut me—"

"My lord," Velien says, voice trembling, "these are not from—"

"Leave us," Ilphas commands, and without another word (but with another glance at the king's back), xe parts the curtains and steps without.

It's quiet for a moment.

And Ilphas notices with a start that Lord Smajor's ribs are so starkly visible that they could count them, and that might explain how small he seems.

Ilphas is reminded of not long ago—half a century, maybe—of when the young lord had ingested a bad plate of food and been committed to the infirmary for a week. For months afterward, Ilphas had watched (without knowing what to do) as the prince had grown thinner and thinner, his face more and more skeletal, as he refused to eat, not trusting the food to be safe for consumption.

They don't remember what it was that helped him to recover, but within a couple of years, he began eating normally again, and Ilphas had breathed a sigh of relief and forgotten it.

His back whipped. His body beaten and starved. Hung by his wrists, possibly, chains dragging them up, putting intense weight on his shoulders and even dislocating them. His voice damaged and raspy, as if he's been screaming. . . .

"My lord," Ilphas says, coming back around to stand before the king. Lord Smajor doesn't look at him, eyes fixed on the floor. "I am afraid that a tree would not be capable of these injuries."

The king doesn't respond, still looking down like a guilty teenager.

He's so young.

Too young to be kidnapped and tortured.

"Who did this to you?"

Lord Smajor shakes his head.

"You've been missing for a week, my lord," Ilphas says. "You may feel . . . unwilling to speak of it, but you must tell someone."

He hasn't stopped shaking his head, his fingers wrapped in the remains of his tunic.

"If we are to bring the villain responsible to—"

"I cannot start a war," the king bursts out, looking up desperately.

Ilphas goes still.

A war?

If he had been kidnapped by a common criminal, identifying them would not be a war-starting issue, no matter the empire that they came from.

But the king's words now not only confirm that he was kidnapped and tortured by someone of another empire, but that it was a prominent member of said empire. Possibly a ruler, or at least approved of by a ruler.

Perhaps Lord Smajor hadn't lied when he'd told Ilphas he was leaving to return to Rivendell, but Ilphas is inclined to believe that he had. The advisors here had never requested his presence, and if he had intended to return directly to Rivendell, he simply would have leapt off the balcony and flown away.

But if someone at the dance had said something, perhaps threatening him or something dear to him if he refused to go with them. . . .

Dear Aeor. The king is hardly more than a child, he doesn't deserve to be kidnapped! He never ought to be placed in situations where he suffers torture, then cannot even persecute the perpetrator for fear of war.

"Is there anywhere else you are injured?" Ilphas asks after a long moment.

Lord Smajor looks away again. "My legs and feet have . . . similar wounds," he says reluctantly. "They should not need more than regular health potion admi—administration. I only need the wing and—and my shoulders examined, I believe."

Ilphas sighs. "There are some offenses that are worth starting a war, sire."

His majesty manages an exhausted, monosyllabic laugh. "There may be one soon enough. I would rather prepare to defend Rivendell from the demon than selfishly go out to war over something so small."

King Smajor has always been wise for his age. A king far more advanced would declare war without a second thought—in fact, if the king's own father had been in this position, Andeloth the Stern would doubtlessly have done so.

Lord Smajor, though essentially a child, has always elected to put the good of others first. When the king had insisted on cutting ties with the Grimlands, Ilphas had barely questioned it, assuming it to be more than a rash decision. And so far, the breaking of the alliance has been fairly beneficial, with the loss of one equaling the gain of four others.

So, though Ilphas disagrees with this decision to withhold the identities of his torturers, they choose to trust that the king knows what he's doing.

So they nod. "You would do well to stay away from trees if they injure you so," they say carefully.

His majesty grimaces. "Believe me, Ilphas, if I could avoid them, I would."

It's someone he interacts with regularly, then. Another ruler, more likely than not.

But Ilphas doesn't ask any more questions. They nod, and call Velien back in, then stand there while Lord Smajor drinks the sleeping draught (which takes him some time, as he seems to be quite upset by the idea despite agreeing to it), and once the king is asleep, Ilphas slips out and informs the rest of the council that his majesty will need ample time to rest in the coming days.

And in the coming days, they watch with pain in their heart as Lord Smajor refuses food again and again and stays up all night, his face growing gaunt and hands shaky, and they pray that someone will help the boy soon before he wastes away.

~3~

This time, everyone knows where his lordship went.

Everyone knows that most, if not all, of the rulers of the lands left this realm for the next. They went to the End, for what purposes Aeor only knows, in the middle of the night and without preparation or warning.

When the king of Rivendell returns that evening, he certainly looks worse for wear. Ilphas follows him all the way to the medical wing, watches on anxious as Velien checks his vitals and patches up some odd tears in his skin (“I fell into the Void,” Lord Smajor confesses, and Ilphas almost gasps at his utter disregard for his own safety). With instructions to keep an eye on how he feels, the king is quickly ushered into meeting after meeting after meeting, each set to discuss the demon and his return, and how they might face the war on the horizon.

He had planned for a war, and he had been right. Hardly more than a child as he is, Lord Smajor has always had impeccable instincts. This is just another example of his youthful wisdom.

His majesty seems distant all day, eyes as far away as the Void he’d fallen into. Which—how on earth does one fall into the Void? His majesty isn’t clumsy, it isn’t like he just . . . stumbled off the edge of the End.

The last time that Lord Smajor claimed to fall, Ilphas had seen through the lie within moments. This time, he doesn’t appear to be hiding anything—he just seems . . . off, as frustratingly vague as such a description is.

He’s tired, as well—it’s fairly obvious. After all, he likely didn’t sleep at all the night before, or not much. He’s been doing better as of late (which Ilphas suspects the Codfather has no small part in), but his majesty still hasn’t been getting as much sleep as he ought to be. Ilphas can’t tear him away from the meetings that last all night—and the meetings are so important that they wouldn’t dare try. Ambassadors from Mezelea, the Undergrove, the Ocean, and Crystal Cliffs all arrive at various points in the night, urgent to meet with the king, and with the looming war there is nothing that Ilphas can do to ensure that his majesty actually gets to close his eyes for a moment.

Then, close to noon the following day, Ilphas glances up and suddenly realizes that Lord Smajor’s face is bare.

How could they not have noticed before now? His majesty has been seen by so many over the past hours, so many who knew of his engagement and now, perhaps, carry the wrong impression of his lordship’s fidelity.

“I—my lord,” they say quickly, interrupting Galidre’s words on labor distribution. “A word?”

Lord Smajor nods to Galidre, who bows and sweeps out of the throne room, taking with him the present attendants. Once alone, Ilphas approaches the throne, keeping their eyes on the floor.

“Your veil,” they say imploringly, clasping their hands in front of them. “My lord—”

“The betrothal is postponed,” Lord Smajor says. “I . . . I should make an announcement. It will continue once the emergency is dealt with.”

Ilphas does not argue, though they very much wish to do so.

Is it wise? Is it wise to end a betrothal, right as the war begins, when alliances and bonds must be made stronger than ever?

“But—”

“My word on this is final,” his majesty says sharply.

So Ilphas bites their tongue and leaves, letting the others re-enter, ready to send out his majesty’s (foolish) announcement of postponement as soon as it comes.

When that’s done, they finally manage to get Lord Smajor to shut himself in his chambers and rest. There’s nothing more that is so pressing it demands his immediate attention, for the moment. He needs to sleep.

If he can manage it.

And Ilphas needs to sleep as well. They clean up their desk with heavy arms, ensuring that the proper papers are in the right places and everything will be relatively easy to locate come the following day, then prepares to leave for their own chambers.

A commotion that echoes up the stairs distracts them as they lock the door to their office, though, and Ilphas allows themself a moment to sigh deeply before heading off down the staircase.

It’s—

It’s the Codfather, though his face is—

Oh, my.

Ilphas has to reassure themself several times that it was not the palace guards who injured the Codfather so, but the trip to the End that so many rulers had embarked upon, only the previous day. That still doesn’t stop them from calling out angrily as the guards stand uncertainly in a semi-circle around the Codfather, preventing him from moving any further into the palace (which he clearly has been trying to do, judging by the anger in his eyes).

“Leave him,” Ilphas calls, nodding sharply to the guards, who looked back in confusion. “A resident of the palace, treated with such disrespect?”

“But—the betrothal. . . .” one of the guards starts uncertainly.

“Postponed, not ended,” Ilphas says icily. “Let him through.”

So they part, and the Codfather, after a moment’s hesitation, nods self-assuredly and strides right past them. “That’s right! You can’t stop me from seeing Scott.”

Internally, Ilphas cringes at the familiarity. Externally, they are emotionless. “His majesty is in his quarters,” they say stiffly to the Codfather.

Though, really, his majesty oughtn’t be disturbed right now. He ought to be resting, not distracted by his youthful little love affair.

There isn’t really anything Ilphas can do about that, though. They’d be better off sleeping now so they can deal with whatever this situation is in the morning.

Aeor help them. They’re going to need it.

~4~

Ilphas hesitates before knocking.

They don't wish to be the one to say this.

But they do knock, and they hear a stuffy "Come in" from the other side.

They push open the door, and there he is at his desk.

He looks devastated already. Must they bring him this news?

Lord Smajor is dressed in black, a simple black robe with a black cloak thrown over the back of his chair. His hair is unbrushed, tangled as if he's been running his hands through it, and the cuffs of his stiff sleeves are trailing threads.

It's a sight so similar to years ago, after the death of the boy prince's parents, that Ilphas can't help but purse their lips and restrain a sad sigh.

"Hello, Ilphas," the king says without looking up, bloodshot eyes fixed on the desk. "How might I be of service on this fine . . . fine day?"

Oh, Aeor.

His lordship isn't in a good state at all.

Which isn't something that Ilphas feels they can blame him for.

Instead of saying what they'd come for, Ilphas steps forward, closes the door behind themself.

"Is there anything I can do, my lord?" they ask gently.

His majesty chews on his bottom lip, squinting his eyes shut.

After a long moment, he sighs.

"I don't want to do this," he whispers.

Ilphas waits.

His majesty sighs again. "My apologies," he says, rubbing his face, before opening his eyes and meeting Ilphas's gaze. "I have been working on the emergency refugee support plan. I should have it finished by tomorrow. My apologies for missing the deadline."

Lord Smajor returns to his work, and, just as they had been those years ago, Ilphas is struck by how unfitting the large desk covered in papers seems to be.

"That is not what I am here to discuss," Ilphas says.

His majesty frowns, glances back up. "What?"

Ilphas truly does not want to bring this up.

The king is only a boy, after all. Too young to experience such heartbreak. Too young to have to lead a war amidst it.

Ilphas steps closer to the desk. "The councils of the court have decided," they say reluctantly. "Your betrothal holds true."

For a moment, Lord Smajor only stares at Ilphas.

Then he blinks rapidly, tears suddenly sparkling on his clumped eyelashes.

"The mourning period will be extended by six months," Ilphas continues. "And you will be expected to adjust your clothing to be as those—"

"I know."

Ilphas falls silent, just watches as the king buries his face in his hands.

They hadn't initially approved of Lord Smajor's betrothal to the Codfather. Their alliance thus far had been short, and their friendship even shorter. The Codfather was hotheaded, rash, and made decisions based on personal opinion rather than measured benefit.

But it had become apparent immediately that his majesty was head-over-heels in love with the Codfather.

It was clear in the way that he spoke about his betrothed, the way he allowed—and even sought out—physical contact from the man, the way he went out of his way to make sure the Codfather had all the comforts that he could.

So Ilphas stopped voicing their objections, and simply let the love blossom. The king was young, after all. He'd lost some of his childhood to sudden responsibility, and though it appeared that a war was soon to start, Ilphas let the king be young.

And perhaps, if this whole ordeal with the Codfather worked out, they wouldn't be out of line for suggesting to the king that he get started on some heirs.

The need for an heir had become even more urgent as Lord Smajor began preparing for this unknown war, which would apparently be waged against the Grimlands and Mythland (though he refused to speak of why, and Ilphas began to have suspicions about the possible perpetrators of the king's recent captivity).

Then, once the demon was released, the war plans (and the wise premonitions of Lord Smajor) all made sense, and Ilphas began to feel quite anxious for an heir.

Not that they anticipated his majesty to perish, but one never knew what would happen. And Ilphas began to wonder if it was perhaps more of the king's divine insight that led to the unexpected betrothal than true love—he had been planning for the war for quite some time, after all. Perhaps the betrothal was part of that planning, beginning the one year process as soon as possible so that he might provide an heir once it was finished.

And now, mere weeks later.

The Codfather is dead, and King Smajor is devastated.

He has a mourning period of a year, and after that he oughtn't rush into anything for propriety's sake, and then another year's worth of betrothal period. . . .

Well. Ilphas isn't exactly hopeful for a bastard child, but perhaps it would be something to think about.

"I don't want to do this," the king whispers again, bringing Ilphas back to the conversation at hand.

How much more can a king so young experience without breaking?

The death of his entire family, forced to rule as a child, suffering torture, the death of his betrothed not long into their betrothal, a war. . . .

"You are not alone," Ilphas says, hoping vaguely that they are not overstepping their station. "I cannot imagine how you feel, sire. However, we are all here to . . . share the burden. If you need . . . anything, do not hesitate to make it known."

His majesty nods slightly, then, with a slight gesture of his hand, dismisses Ilphas.

With a bow, they depart, leaving Lord Smajor in the privacy of his office.

And soon enough, the king emerges, head held high and veil pinned in place.

Perhaps it is only Ilphas who sees it, but the red in his eyes makes the blue shine in ways it hasn't in decades.

~5~

Ilphas can do nothing but watch.

They stand there as Lord fWhip utters vile things and confirms their theories of who might have taken the king captive those months ago.

Yet they stand there and silently urge the king to not rise to the disgusting bait.

And when the light goes dark and the tent flies off and the world is bathed in red (and Ilphas is cast to the ground, the wind blowing ferociously), Ilphas can only watch.

They pick themself up and watch as Lord Smajor fights for his life, as ice bursts from him uncontrollably—and Ilphas had suspected, ever since one week ago when they saw the ice left wherever the king touched, that they might have a legend come to life on their hands.

Did Aeor have to choose the boy?

Then, the unthinkable.

Lord Smajor fails.

He fails, and the demon throws him aside (like he isn't royalty, like he isn't the demon's own brother, like he isn't anything) and declares his reign.

Ilphas will not stand for that. They know for a fact that the elves of Rivendell would rather die than allow such an evil creature rule them.

Ilphas needs to rally the troops (which isn't their job, they aren't the general, they aren't anywhere close to being the leader), but they can only stand there and stare at the crumpled body of their king.

And then that blue hair shifts just the slightest bit, and Lord Smajor lifts his head (for a moment Ilphas has hope, maybe this was part of the plan) to make eye contact with Ilphas.

Ilphas can't restrain the horror that leaps up within them.

The king's face is washed in blood and smeared in grey dirt, his expression twisted in pain, grain-like black grit sticking into a gash on his cheek. His hair is tangled; his mourning clothes are torn and dusty.

But Ilphas meets those surprisingly clear (clear, understanding, pained and despairing and terribly sad but clear) eyes.

The king nods, only slightly.

Oh.

His meaning is obvious. Though willing to fight to the last elf, Ilphas knows with a certainty that such a battle would be fruitless.

Lord Smajor knows so as well.

It is the king's final wish that they surrender, that no unnecessary lives are lost, that the people is not entirely destroyed.

And the king is nothing if not selfless.

So Ilphas blinks back the wetness in their eyes, and nods in return.

The final moment of eye contact that they share with the boy king is long, an eternity of understanding.

Then Ilphas turns away, commands that weapons be lowered, calls for surrender.

And when Xornoth speaks—

"This is your king, and he is dead."

They can do nothing but watch (a tear slips down their cheek) as the boy is killed.

They see the way he doesn't even move with the obvious snap of his wing, he doesn't make a single noise of pain, and they're fairly certain that his soul has departed before he's even thrown from the cliff.

He was so young.

He was only a hundred and nine, expected to save this world and banish the demon in the midst of so much grief and pain.

He was set up for failure from the beginning. How could anyone have expected him to succeed?

Ilphas doesn't dash to the edge of the cliff to try to glimpse the young king's body. They instead kneel in that place, the place where his majesty had first stood his ground, the dirt swept about by his footprints.

There, on the stony ground, is his crown.

Not the one of legend, that had fallen with him, but Lord Smajor's crown, the one of gold with white crystals that had been forged for his crowning. The one that the king had let fall to the ground before the battle began, his shaking hands placing the crown of antlers upon his head.

Ilphas picks up the crown, wipes away a few specks of dirt with their gloved thumb.

The last king of Rivendell, fallen.

And he was only a boy.

~+1~

Ilphas doesn't expect his majesty to be awake, but when they push open the door to the infirmary, he isn't in bed.

He's sitting by the window, staring out into the darkness of night, alone but for the soft noises of an owl somewhere in the distance.

It's been a full day since the king returned. Since he appeared from seemingly nowhere, the also-dead Codfather at his side, and wielded a shining sword against the demon, binding him in an ancient ritual that has likely not been seen on this earth in thousands of years.

Ilphas knows that there will be many songs and stories of the final duel. They had once scoffed at the tales of Alinar's prowess, his larger-than-life stature, his being of fire and command of the heavens.

Now, however, they feel their skepticism drifting apart. After all, Lord Smajor had seemed to literally be engulfed in brilliant white fire as he fought, in some moments seeming as the ancient king himself, miniscule glimmers of change every millisecond.

The moment that Lord Smajor had collapsed to the ground, it was as if the fire went out. The heavenly light illuminating him faded, and everyone had stood still for a long moment—then King Joel of Mezelea had moved forward, gathering Lord Smajor into his arms and carrying him away toward the palace.

Ilphas had followed not far behind, had helped lay out the unconscious king on a bed in the infirmary, had carefully unlaced and removed his worn leather boots and set them on the floor, before allowing a healer to examine him.

The healer hadn't found anything wrong, and eventually Lord Pix of Pixandria had shown up, saying something about magic and ancient bindings and promising that Lord Smajor would wake by the morning.

His majesty had actually woken some time before the morning, and Ilphas saw him not long before dawn, joining the effort of helping the wounded and collecting the bodies.

Somehow, in the darkness of the night, he had still seemed to slightly shine.

Ilphas had been called away from the clean-up as soon as the sun broke over the horizon, to join the council in making decisions about the once-invading armies of the Grimlands. Count fWhip had surrendered immediately after the fall of Xornoth (a little strange, in Ilphas's opinion, seeing as his forces were surely far greater than the ragtag rebellion King Joel had managed to put together), and was now hurriedly departing, leaving it up to the king's council to decide whether to help them or hinder them in their flight.

Discussions of such matters took half the day, and then Ilphas was quickly pulled into another meeting about sending aid to the Codlands (from what they'd heard, though, the Ocean Queen had it well under control), and it's taken until night again to find Lord Smajor and properly speak with him.

He had helped for a good part of the morning, Ilphas was told, in organizing the wounded and setting up extra makeshift infirmaries. Most of the beds had been dragged out under his direction, onto the lawn of the palace so that they might be of easier access for the wounded. It was only when he almost collpased that the healers ushered him back to the nearly-empty-of-furniture infirmary, claiming the last remaining bed as his and commanding him to stay there.

And, as expected (seeing as the infirmary is little more than the king's bedroom at the moment), Lord Smajor is there alone.

He stares out the window, the moon illuminating lines in his face and turning his hair almost silvery.

He looks old. Far older than Ilphas has ever seen him, and far too old to be here, dealing with matters such as the restart of the world.

His left arm is resting on the arm of the chair, not in a sling or missing entirely, as the rumors would have one believe.

Without turning his gaze from the window, Lord Smajor sighs. "Hello, Ilphas," he says, something somber (something ancient) in his tone. "Apologies for not seeking you out earlier. How might I be of service?"

Ilphas doesn't respond, standing by the door, and after a moment, his majesty turns his eyes toward them, his stare piercing and bright. "Have a seat," the king says, nodding toward an extra chair at the side of the room.

Their instinct is to kneel. How can they sit?

Ilphas pulls it over to set it across from the king, then sits there with him.

Lord Smajor smiles, the turn of his lips strained, but Ilphas can't help but feel relieved.

The king has returned.

Once dead, he's here.

He isn't without mark of his apparent death, of course. What had been a gash on his cheek the last time Ilphas saw him (and what a terrible time that was) is now a light brown scar, sure to fade within the year—and there's a pink mark on his chin from the demon kicking him, also likely to fade—and there's a weight to his brow, formed of emotional and physical stress, if Ilphas had to guess.

He's here, though, thin and exhausted but here, and frost curls around his fingertips for a moment then recedes and Ilphas knows at once that his majesty is truly Aeor's Chosen.

"The army of the Grimlands has fled," Ilphas says, realizing that the king has been waiting for him to speak, "and we have a host mobilizing to cast them from the far reaches of the land. Is there anything else you believe should be done?"

The king shrugs. "I have been living in the woods for a month," he says drily. "I'm not sure that I'm aware of our needs."

Living in the woods? In what woods?

Surely wherever the Codfather had been hiding. After all, they had appeared together at the funeral, hadn't they? Perhaps the Codfather had rescued Lord Smajor from his fall, had brought him to a secret location to heal and wait for the moment to return.

Why that moment was the king’s own funeral, Ilphas will never know—though the timing could not have been any later. Only a few minutes more, and the demon would have been crowned king.

Four days after the king's fall (and that's what already elves are calling the cliff, King's Fall), the first day after the armies had returned to Rivendell, Ilphas had hid a dagger in their robe and vowed that if they ever had the opportunity, they would drive it through the heart of Xornoth.

Just a month ago, they had almost wished for Lord Smajor to beget bastard children during his mourning period, as inappropriate as that would be—but they had decided that losing the last remnant of the royal line would be far preferable to allowing the prince-turned-demon to rule.

"Is there anything I ought to be made aware of?" his majesty gently prods, and Ilphas realizes that they've been lost in thought, staring at the king.

"Apologies, sire," they say. "I believe not. Is there anything I may do for you?"

They want to ask how he survived. How he fell, beaten and broken, from the cliff to the rushing river and still survived. They want to ask how long he's known that he was Aeor's Champion. How he managed to return. How he succeeded this time, following such disastrous failure.

But none of those are proper. If the king wishes to explain, he will explain.

He isn't a child, after all.

Lord Smajor turns his gaze back toward the window. "I can no longer use my left arm," he says after a moment. "It was bound to the crystal in the ritual."

So some of the rumors were true, at least. His majesty has essentially lost a limb.

The king is forever changed. Not just because he lost use of his arm, nor because he is Aeor's Chosen.

But war brings grief, and grief takes its toll, and his majesty has had far more than his fair share of grief in his life.

He will never be the same. He will always bear the weight of this war and its consequences. Although the Codfather may yet live, Lord Smajor will never forget how his supposed death felt. He will always remember his own failure.

But Ilphas feels confident that he knows how to move forward. He isn't a child, after all.

There are, however, some things that they can help with.

“Will the betrothal with the Codfather go forward?”

“Yes,” the king says, without hesitation. “As quickly as possible.”

Ilphas nods. “I would advise a week before beginning it again,” they say, and this is exactly what they want. One of his majesty's problems that they can help with. “Time to settle, to ensure that your betrothal wear still serves its purpose. The next item—the church will certainly need construction, however—”

“Ilphas,” the king interrupts quietly, a bit of a smile playing on his lips.

Ilphas pauses, meets his eyes. “Yes, sire?”

“I thought there was nothing I should be made aware of,” he says, and Ilphas once again sees it—the spark of something wise, something ancient in his ice-blue eyes.

“Of course,” says Ilphas, ashamed at their mistake. The king needs rest. “I will—”

“Ilphas.”

“Yes?”

His majesty looks at them for a long moment, and Ilphas refuses to believe that's something fond in his look—

“Go rest,” his majesty says, then, “that's a command. Sleep, at least until morning.”

Ilphas will not argue against the king.

So they stand, and bow—deeper than normal, they haven't bowed so deeply since King Andeloth—and depart, feeling the king's eyes on them all the way out of the infirmary.

Then, just as his majesty commanded, they go to their quarters and rest.

[tiggymalvern]

The Burn Notice pilot spackle nobody asked for

There are various moments in the BN pilot that in retrospect seem to be OOC. Like Michael begging Lucy for work by acting like a dog, a ridiculously playful side of him that we never see again.

And obviously those moments happened because Matt Nix hadn't figured out quite who the characters were yet, but as fans we're left to come up with Watsonian answers for them. In the case of Michael and Lucy, the BN podcasters explain it away as a Lucy-specific in-joke - they met years ago not long after Michael joined the army, still a teenager, and that act is a hangover from when they were silly kids together, which is a headcanon I cheerfully accept.

At least that odd scene with Michael is harmless. In the case of Fiona and Sam, there are scenes in the pilot that come across as character assassination. So here I go, wading in...

With Fiona, there's the infamous, "Shall we shoot them?" that appears in every opening credit. Fiona's a violent criminal who hates cops, yes - but she's also smart. Way too smart to think shooting three FBI agents in the street is a good move. Suggesting it makes her seem like a brain-dead, trigger-happy lunatic. So why does she say it?

Fiona doesn't really know Michael Westen at this point. The man she knew was Michael McBride, the IRA sympathiser. Michael himself says in season two (with his Irish accent back in place) that Fiona and Michael McBride 'caused a lot of mayhem'. We don't know what the CIA wanted Michael to find out in Ireland, but whatever it was, Michael would have been very interested in Fiona talking about her work. Would have encouraged her to give him all the details about it. Wanted to help out with her work in any way he could. Fi knows Michael as someone who's really into her violent side, who thinks it's amazing and fun and hot when she's showing him weapons stores and blowing things up.

So when she's trying to wriggle her way back into Michael's life and into his bed, she plays up that side of herself. She beats up Sugar's hitman outside the loft and expects that seeing her do that will make Michael horny. And she suggests shooting multiple FBI agents, not because she plans to actually do it, but because she thinks hearing her say it will make Michael hot for her, remind him of everything he always liked about her.

And then there's Sam. When Sam meets up with Michael, he's openly leering at a random woman who's just walking past in the street minding her own business, and he's making vile comments. Sam's a flirt, not a creep! There's a difference. But here the audience is introduced to Sam and he immediately comes across as the nastiest kind of sleazebag. What is going on?

Sam's meeting up with Michael, who's just been burned. Michael's been unceremoniously kicked out on his arse and he's angry, frustrated, depressed. It's exactly the same thing that happened to Sam two years earlier.

Sam can't sit there and tell Michael that being fired from the job he loved and was incredibly good at is the worst thing that ever happened to him. That he's bored out of his mind and drinking too much and eating too much and having lots of casual sex because there's nothing else for him to do. That he takes on an occasional job for Lucy when he needs cash, but he doesn't even do that much because Lucy doesn't know if she can trust him any more, and the jobs she offers him are so far below his skill level it's positively depressing.

Sam needs to tell Michael that life after your career's ripped away from you is fine! That he can have fun! That the world is his oyster! And Michael knows Sam as a flirt, someone who enjoys sex and booze between missions, so Sam lays it on extra thick, tells him how great it all is, how you can pick up hot women in bikinis everywhere you go.

Both Fiona and Sam are putting on a performance for Michael in the pilot - they're dialing one aspect of themselves up to eleven, in the hope of eliciting a particular response in Michael. And that's why they both come across as not quite themselves.

[bl-bracket]

Deserved Better Round 2: Black (Not Me) vs White (Dead Friend Forever)

[Submitted Reasons Under Cut]

Black: "He got beat into a coma (his former bffs fault), his twin brother took over his life, none of the people in his little revolutionary group seem to like him (fair enough I guess but still), and when he wakes up from the coma and everything is settled his twin brother basicly still takes his place and he's just told to find his place. Somewhere else."

"Black was put in a coma by one of the people most important to him and when he came out of it, he'd been replaced in his own life by his twin brother who everyone liked better than him. Black wasn't the most likable guy in the world but at the end he's just like "well I guess I don't have friends anymore". The gang didn't seem to care about him even after he saved their asses from getting arrested. He should've been part of that group hug and I'll die mad about it."

"He gets torn away from the twin he loves and has a litteral psychic link with as a child and left with an apparently emotionally neglectful, if not abusive, mother and his dad just decides he’s dead to him now. He was an litteral 10 year old kid at the time no less. Then as an adult he’s betrayed by his life long best friend/maybe ex boyfriend if the very not straight way they interacted is anything to go by and ends up beaten into a coma by his thugs and nearly killed. His friend straight up don’t notice he’s not himself when his brother steals his identity and when he finally wakes up and takes his life back they all decide they like White more and tell him white is actually better at their work than him, his ex moves on with one of his friends and even when everything works out in the end he doesn’t get his life back cause it’s all essentially white’s now. He haunts the narrative even when he’s alive because he’s lost everything and yet he’s not even mad at his brother cause he loves him so much. Yeah he’s absolutely a dick, but OUCH that sucks to experience."

White: "he literally didn't do anything wrong 😭 he died to punish tee, whom white didn't know the truth about. not only did he DIE to punish tee, he got murdered BY tee to punish TEE. white just wanted to chill with his boyfriend guys"

"Literally was just minding his own business. Absolutely did not deserve to be collateral damage in [spoiler]'s revenge plan. If anyone should've been able to get out of that house alive, it's White"

[tryingahandinholdingapen]

I'm flattered /gen

glad you like my silly little au fjbsjfh

okay. I mean I said I'd write more of this anyway, so...

let's add even more tropes into the mix actually

- The Senju clan's healing ability is ridiculously superior to the Uchiha clan's, which is actually pretty shit really. They're doing their best but they don't have nearly as much knowledge or inventions or justu relevent to healing and prevention as the Senju, meanwhile the Senju clan's ability to heal horrendous injuries+illnesses is absolutely unbelievable. Neither party is quite aware of the extent of this discrepancy tho,,,,the Uchiha are slightly more aware of it than the Senju are but. Yeah big knowledge gap

- Hashirama et al has lowkey been planning to Get Rid Of Butsuma and take over for like, ages. He's not old enough or experienced enough to take over the clan yet but he + Tobirama + others have quietly been working towards the eventuality in which Hashirama IS old enough to do so for. years

- Tobirama has leopard summons which okay yeah does make him act a teeny tiny bit like a cat sometimes. The instincts are there

okay now I need to backtrack to my original post because now that I've added these tropes in I wish to expand on the ending paragraph. the bit about the Uchiha clan at large attempting to befriend the young Blessed like he's a stray/feral cat, meanwhile Tobirama starts dropping metaphorical dead mice on their doorstep as he gradually warms up to them? that bit

okay so after that encounter that broke the stalemate, in which Tobirama was wounded and the Uchiha gave the young Blessed medical supplies to try and help, there's a few realisations. The Uchiha realise this Blessed is almost certainly a recognisable (and therefore probably important?) member of a neutral or, more likely, enemy shinobi clan. Tobirama realises, after a few similar encounters (Butsuma has a few months of beyond usual paranoia and keeps sending Tobirama on missions that are too difficult/dangerous for him really), that based on how bad the Uchiha seem to think his injuries are vs what supplies they give him....the state of the Uchiha's healing supplies is possibly a bit shit. hm

(Tobirama's also warming up to the concept of peace with the Uchiha due to these encounters. He already wanted the war to stop, because it was killing so many of their people and didn't make sense to continue when they didn't know why it STARTED and it almost got Itama killed (he survived, but now stays in the compound learning to be a healer and that's Tobirama's baby brother that nearly died!) buuuuttt now Tobirama's not only like "we should stop the war" but "we should start an era of peace", you know? Subtle but very important difference. He's willing to be more proactive now and maybe if he does nice things for the Uchiha then if/when he reveals his identity as Senju Tobirama it could help cement peace? He considers talking to Hashirama about the possibility but uhhhh then he'd have to admit he's been sneaking onto Uchiha lands sans disguise and he doesn't want to do that. Not because he doesn't love and trust his Anija, of course he does! But this is HIS thing he wants to keep it to himself,,,plus Hashirama would get so emotional about it he just KNOWS he would and he doesn't want to get sobbed all over again, thanks)

Anyway. After the Uchiha found him injured that first time and determined the Blessed was almost certainly from an enemy clan, they decided plausible deniability was the way to go, on the theory that if they pretended he wasn't an enemy or even that they hadn't noticed him, he would also pretend he wasn't from an enemy clan and therefore 'why would I spy/hurt/disadvantage the people who let me hide on their lands and give me free medical supplies? enemies? who? the Uchiha aren't my enemy don't be stupid'

This tactic is incredibly successful actually. Tobirama hadn't wanted them to know that he was from an enemy clan at all, if possible, but the moment he picked up on the fact that a) the Uchiha clan likely knew he wasn't exactly from a neutral/allied clan and b) they were pretending they didn't know in order to avoid conflict, Tobirama was very happy to play along. Thanks for solving the problem he had no idea what to do about! Plausible deniability is absolutely something he can do, he's great at that actually (fuck you Butsuma)

(Sighs of relief on the Uchiha side of things, when they realise the Blessed is happy to play along despite being discovered)

One of the ways this plausible deniability manifests is that the young Blessed is gradually demonstrating a number of preferred places to hang out/hide on their lands. The Uchiha steadfastly pretend not to be aware of this, sometimes walking by and COINCIDENTALLY not seeing the kid scrambling up the tree to his favourite perch for example, but by some happenstance a few of their patrol routes have altered ever so slightly so that the kid's preferred places are more strongly protected than they had been previously. Wow what a weird coincidence am I right

Anyway after that first encounter that broke the stalemate, subsequent encounters with the Blessed now routinely include giving the kid (11-14?? idk man I'm still undecided on ages) a shirt. Because for some reason whenever he's injured he's also absent proper clothing. They really aren't sure why this is the case? He wears proper clothing when he's not injured! Injuries and lost clothing do not normallt have such a strong corrlation as they seemingly do for this kid so like, what the hell is hapoening there?? But they're not gonna leave the kid to freeze when a shirt is one thing they have plenty of sooo shirt and medical supplies it is

The Uchiha have no way of knowing this, but the reason Tobirama keeps ending up needing a shirt whenever he's injured is because when Tobirama plans in advance to go hang out on Uchiha lands, he can ensure he's dressed appropriately with outer layers etc that don't have the Senju mon on. But if he hasn't planned it in advance, and is just trying to hide because he's injured and doesn't want to go home (partly conscious planning to avoid Butsuma and partially unconscious cat instincts to go hide somewhere nobody (that he really knows personally) can find him) then that usually means that his armour and outer layers etc all had the Senju mon on, since that's somewhat required for missions, and therefore he has to discard them before he can safely go on Uchiha lands. Thus any time he's injured on Uchiha lands he's also usually more or less just in his underclothing which...okay, honestly? He rarely cares at the time because yk injuries but looking back on it thinking about the sheer number of random Uchiha who have seen him in his under things is pretty embarrassing. Mm. Let's not dwell on that

Tobirama isn't so proud as to refuse the clothing they offer, because that would be stupid. It's fucking cold without his outer layers and yeah yeah he could stay warm using chakra circulation but that would use energy and chakra that he really ought to be dedicating to healing those injuries. So a shirt is better

However! He can't really keep the shirts? The younger and cockier/stupider Uchiha keep giving him shirts with the uchiwa fan on, which obviously Tobirama can't risk being spotted with back home because it would be impossible to explain, and depending on who found him with it he probably wouldn't even get a chance to try and explain himself. If it's one of the older/more experienced Uchiha who offer a shirt then he usually doesn't have to worry about them giving him something with the uchiwa emblazoned on it, but then it's also usually big enough on him that it's not reeeeally worth keeping since he can't exactly wear it regularly

So instead, he starts using the gifted shirts to wrap up medical supplies from the Senju healing halls (stuff that's better than what the Uchiha have been able to gift to Tobirama, but he's careful to ensure it's neither so good as to be obviously Senju nor marked in any identifying way) and occasionally also food, during times he has reason to believe the Uchiha clan (who do not have mokuton on their side) may be struggling a bit with that e.g. in the middle of a particularly harsh winter. So yeah he uses the gifted shirts to make little parcels of food + supplies

And then he starts sometimes leaving these little return parcels near any of the hangout/hiding places that he knows the Uchiha know of ('plausible deniability' does not mean 'so subtle Tobirama can't pick up on it' and it was never intended to be, and all parties know it). Only on times he's sure he hasn't been spotted though. Kami forbid he doesn't want to risk being spotted leaving them gifts or, even worse, having to explain himself. Let him have his own plausible deniability here, please, he's just returning the favour of the shirt+medical supplies gifts

Welcome to the 'Tobirama leaving the Uchiha clan gifts like a cat depositing dead mice on their doorstep' era

The Uchiha clan did NOT expect their gifts to be reciprocated but they're very excited about it! I mean the Uchiha patrol that were (un)lucky enough to find the gift were also somewhat embarrassed because now they have to admit the full goings-on with the Blessed to their higher-ups and the clan at large (the various shinobi routinely on patrol may not have yet confessed to smuggling the kid shirts and medical supplies. maybe. they also maybe weren't supposed to have some of those supplies and got in a fair amount of trouble for stealing from the limited healing halls surplus. oops) which was almost physically painful tbh,,,the disappointed stares for stealing from the healing halls,,,,but the return gifts the Blessed left pretty much redeemed them so like. It's fine it's all good. And hey, they even got the shirts back?

(Seriously what is going ON with that kid and his clothing. He clearly has clothes, so why isn't he always wearing them? Or if he doesn't have ENOUGH clothes to always wear them, or something [admittedly Tobirama does have a fairly limited number of outdoor clothing absent his clan mon so if any Uchiha was paying enough attention they may notice he was cycling through like, three shirts and two pairs of pants or something ridiculous like that], then why doesn't he keep the clothing they offer him?? What??)

Anyway they're very grateful for the medical supplies, and the food in mid-winter is a fucking BOON let them tell you that. Woo some actual fruit+veg instead of just fucking rice for the last stretch of winter! Some of their healers are sparing as much time as they can to try and reverse engineer the medication the kid left them, but it's really difficult and so far they haven't really had any success. The young Blessed helpfully used the same (knots? colour?) code as the medical supplies they left him used, for painkillers vs sedatives vs antibiotics and stuff, which is excellent

They try leaving him a thank you note near one of his hiding places once, but decide NOT to do that again because it fucking spooked the kid. He had been routinely hanging around about a third of the way between their outermost patrols and their compound, but after the Uchiha found disturbed ground by the note (which he notably did not take with him) the young Blessed a) vanished off the face of the fucking planet for like, two months and b) returned to lurking around the very very edges of their lands instead of coming further in

So outright straightforward communication is a bust, they guess.

Damn.

Somewhere in the distance Tobirama is quietly panicking because he can rationalise leaving them gifts as simply returning a favour/debt but writing to a clan his own are still enemies with? That's a bit too close to treason for him to deal with calmly

(Yes this is irrational when he is involved in actively planning much worse treason against their current shitstain of a clan head, but emotions are rarely rational, to Tobirama's eternal frustration)

So the Uchiha clan abandon direct communication as an avenue to winning this Blessed over, but they refuse to fall into ANOTHER stalemate with the quiet exchange of gifts and plausible deniability, they want to keep making some sort of progress towards winning the kid over

There's a lot of discussions back in the compound about this, throwing around various ideas. I think it should be someone from the main family (your choice who) who eventually suggests that making some of the young Blessed's hangout spots more hospitable may be a good move. After all, he's spent a fairly large amount of time on Uchiha lands, but considering he never comes inside the compound or outposts...he can't exactly be all that comfortable

(this is true he isn't, he just deems the discomfort worth it)

This is deemed a high risk, high reward idea. It might work really well! It may also just spook the kid again, probably badly enough to scare him off for good. They'll try it, but they'll only target one (1) of the kid's chosen places, in the hopes that even if he elects to forever abandon it once they actually acknowledge they know where it is and have even meddled with it, he might still use the other places. Also, whoever suggested the idea REALLY wants to help with making a cozy place for the Blessed, or tag along to see his reaction to it, or SOMETHING, but alas is strongly outvoted on the basis that altering one of the Blessed' safe spaces AND introducing a new Uchiha shinobi who doesn't routinely patrol and from the kid's perspective would have no reason to be there,,,could only end badly

There's a lot of whining about this, but they stand firm. No tagalongs. Yes even if it was your brilliant idea in the first place. Can't risk scaring him off. Eventually Tajima backs them up on this and the whining stops. Good

Time to go go spruce up a ridiculous hiding place for a young enemy Blessed shinobi

(how have their lives come to this)

let's combine some tropes

- red eyes are blessed (and therefore Tobirama has been hiding his face (and possibly generally his appearance via seal) bc they're not sure what Uchiha do with red-eyed people)

- Tobirama is a v strong sensor

- He finds Uchiha chakra in general and Madara's chakra in particular to be v pleasant

- He sometimes hides at the edge of Uchiha land borders when he's having a bad day, or just when he feels like it, in order to better immerse himself in chakra he finds comforting

- (and also Butsuma Sucks. he's abusive to his kids, esp Tobirama bc woe red eyes akin to sharingan and Butsuma's never been the most rational about his hatred. on a related note he's a passable clan head but he'd be a lot better if he didn't let said hatred guide his actions more than his reason)

...I don't think this post will get too long but I say that every time and then it does so maybe I should just preemptively stick a read more here??

basically au in which, from a p young age, Tobirama sneaks off to chakra bathe when he's sad or stressed. the Uchiha clan haven't actually found any red-eyed people in a while so the Senju aren't sure what they do with them but rumours still abound and all the rumours Tobirama have heard have generally been... well they've been bad. very bad. but they've also all had a common theme of 'the red-eyed person is not immediately killed on the spot', which is better than Tobirama could hope for from Uchiha as the Senju surety heir. so anytime he's hiding/skulking around the edges of Uchiha land, he makes sure that, unlike usual, his true appearance+eyes are on display as well as ensuring he doesn't have the Senju mon on him anywhere

he absolutely does not want to get caught by the Uchiha but also it's only sensible to take precautions so that if the worst case scenario happens and he IS caught trespassing, he should at least have a bit more time to try and escape, bare minimum, right?

so that's Tobirama's side of things

the Uchiha side of things is more like

okay they haven't found a Blessed in some time now and it's not like there's a strict manual what you should do if you find one. it's more like "these people are important, don't hurt them if at all possible, help and protect them if at all possible, bringing them into the clan and teaching them abt all things Uchiha including our religion would be a very good thing". so there's like some guidelines but it's fairly vague

this means the patrol predominantly made up of fairly new shinobi has absolutely no idea what to do when a while after sun-down they come across a Blessed child fast asleep, but slowly blinking awake, in the branches of a tree near the edge of their lands. like. hello?? small child?? why are you here how are you here do you want some soup

they're only standing around in confused and slightly awed shock for like, 3 minutes MAX but unfortunately that's long enough for the child to wake up properly, take one look at the patrol and then fucking bolt off Uchiha lands

cue surprised and self-recriminating cursing from the Uchiha shinobi. they can't just abandon their patrol route and they're somewhat wary of a potential trap for (relatively) newbie shinobi, so they don't all go after the child. but they do send their fastest after the kid because cmon that's a tiny Blessed!!

no luck, they return empty handed

apparently the Blessed child is unreasonably fast and tricky

damn

what now?

baby Tobirama returns home absolutely furious with himself. he can't believe he fell asleep!!! of all things! yeah he was exhausted and yeah he was snuggled up in warm comforting chakra but to fall asleep in enemy territory! he's so mad at himself. it was stupid and it was reckless and it was incredibly selfish of him to risk such a thing when his family, his clan, need him and- (continues telling himself off for like, 3 hours, until his brothers eventually manage to distract him from his horrible mood)

he doesn't return to Uchiha lands for ages after that. but he does, eventually, return

he isn't spotted every time he sneaks onto Uchiha lands, far from it, maybe one time in twenty or less, but it definitely happens enough times that they must know there's a little red-eyed child who keeps skulking around their territory and then bolting whenever he's spotted. oops. regardless he's very stressed and very sad because one of his little brothers is now gone (I kind of want this to be an au where his brother lives but is now stuck in an arranged marriage/learning to be a diplomat in the capital or smth, but regardless of how Kawamara is gone now and baby Tobirama is very sad abt it) and despite how many times they've spotted him, none of the Uchiha have actually managed to catch him yet, so he deems it worth the risk. (he maybe is not thinking incredibly rationally rn and just willfully disregarding anything against what he wants to do. give him a break his life sucks rn let him have this one thing)

meanwhile the Uchiha are like. where is this tiny Blessed child coming from/going to and why does he keep running away from us? like okay we know there's some horrendous rumours abt what we do with Blessed and we can't correct those rumours bc doing so risks others using Blessed against us but like....if that was the reason this kid was running from us then surely either he'd be trying to hide his features or he'd stop sneaking onto our land?

.....maybe he's not worried abt us noticing there's a Blessed child on our lands. he doesn't seem TOO bothered by us getting glimpses of him in the relative distance after all. so...he doesn't want us to see him close up? why?

..maybe he's like, really obviously from a neutral/enemy clan or something when you get a better look at him? hmmm

maybe he'll let us talk to him/catch him eventually if we keep trying. I mean it doesn't seem like he plans to stop sneaking onto our lands and WE'RE certainly not going to stop so surely its only a matter of time before he realises that if we wanted to actually hurt him we absolutely could have been throwing jutsu or weapons at him from this distance or senbons laced with sedatives or-

(should we do that instead actually? hit the kid with a sedative, deal with the rest later?

no, then we might permanently fuck over any chance of him ever trusting us and that would make helping/protecting/integrating him SO much harder

urgh. you're right I guess. okay)

anyway. maybe the little Blessed kid will relax eventually

(Tobirama does not relax eventually)

they've fallen into a frustrating stalemate in which Tobirama will fairly frequently lurk around Uchiha lands and occasionally an Uchiha will spot him and halfheartedly attempt to catch him, only to fail because Tobirama is unreasonably fast (....part of me wants to start spouting my mokuton secondary agenda again here to explain his Speed) and also they're trying not to hurt him in any way which makes it a lot harder

Tobirama has technically relaxed somewhat in that he's now significantly less worried about the prospect of the Uchiha hurting or catching him (as long as he's obviously red-eyed and absent any Senju mon, at least, all bets are off on missions/battlefields) and has as a result started to a) gradually creep further into Uchiha lands each time bc hey if the Uchiha aren't too much of a threat then it's better to be within the patrols who would stop any bandits or rogue shinobi right? and b) has started wandering off to Uchiha lands whenever he feels like it instead of just when he's near his breaking point. like now whenever he has a free moment he's like 'hmmmm do I want to spend time fucking about with research or with Touka/brothers or do I want to go chakra bathe' and they're all weighed up near equally in his mind

(assuming that said free moment would also give him the time/cover/distraction needed for him to reach Uchiha lands and back without Butsuma noticing, ofc. he isn't stupid nor does he have a death wish. That Man assuming he'd gone traitor would be.............bad.)

so I mean the Uchiha were sort of right in assuming he'd relax once he realised they weren't incredibly intent on hurting/catching him. they were just wrong in hoping he'd relax ENOUGH to let them catch/talk to him

they're very disappointed. however they're also cautiously pleased that the Blessed child has not stopped coming back over and over again, and also that he is gradually coming further into their lands and two months ago when some (significantly less welcome) trespasser turned up and tried to attack the kid he even ran to an Uchiha patrol for help! Admittedly he didn't say anything, or stick around after, but hey he at least trusts them a tiny bit to go to them for help against an enemy, right? Progress! It might take a billion years at this rate but they WILL win over the Blessed kid eventually!

at this point it's been like, at least two years since Tobirama was first spotted. probably significantly more. the stalemate truly is getting a bit ridiculous but neither party is willing to break it for fear it would end badly (and probably specifically end badly for Tobirama/little Blessed child, realistically. given he's a small child and they're an entire clan whose land he is trespassing on, there's v few ways they could break the stalemate which wouldn't risk - at best - the kid simply never returning again or at worst the the kid/Tobirama dying or living but hating+distrusting the Uchiha forever or Tobirama getting kidnapped and suffering [unspecified bad fate bc Tobirama doesnt know which rumours may be accurate but he hates them all])

eventually, fucking years later (I'm imagining Tobirama somewhere between 11 and 16 but truly can't pin it down further it depends if/what plot I include later in this theoretical fic) the stalemate does get broken, but not exactly by choice

Tobirama was on a mission and fairly badly injured. not enough that he's at risk of dying, unless he does something truly incredibly stupid + fucks up his own condition further, but he's in a lot of pain, his adrenaline is sky high, and he generally had a shitty time on the mission. he completed it successfully- barely - but it sucked and he's pretty miserable at the moment. he knows what he SHOULD do is go home and report to the healing hall to be fixed up and then go recount the mission (and his many failures/perceived failures on said mission) to Butsuma but.

but.

he doesn't want to do that

to put it mildly

anyway, the Uchiha is significantly closer than his own clan due to the direction the mission led him in, and he's exhausted and hurt, and his disguise is compromised..

(if it's something physical like a mask/contacts/dyed hair/etc then he lost it on mission or it got washed out due to how So Many Things Happened. if it's something chakra based like a jutsu or seal then he's too low on chakra and too hurt/distracted to maintain it)

...so trying to get all the way past the Uchiha, in his Senju armour but clearly a red-eyed child, when he's too exhausted and injured to guarantee he could succeed in doing so, would be a really bad idea, right? right. like they'd probably see him at best and then they'd know there was a red-eyed Senju kid and far more realistically they'd successfully catch or kill him in this state

so obviously it makes more sense for him to discard everything that marks him as a Senju, whilst he's still conscious+has the chakra to seal it away surreptitiously, and then go nap on Uchiha lands until he's recovered enough to make it home safely

yeah, that's a good idea. he'll do that

(tbf this is a fairly decent tactic but he's also trying to convince himself because when the options are 'soak up the most wonderful chakra he's ever felt and have a nap safely on territory he knows he probably won't be hurt on' or 'go home and get horribly mistreated by Butsuma for doing so badly on a mission before he even gets a chance to rest' he knows which one he wants to pick)

so Tobirama discards his armour and most of his equipment (urgh why is the Senju mon on EVERYTHING he complains to himself) and seals it away, making sure said seal also isn't at all obvious. all the moving he has to do to get this done really sucks because ow. injuries. most of them aren't that bad, a lot of surface wounds, and none of them are fatal, but OW moving so much aggravates almost all of them

this more or less just leaves him in pants, an undershirt, shoes and a kunai pouch. it's....Not A Lot and the paranoia and vulnerability is prickling at him even once he's within Uchiha patrols on their lands and he keeps trying to assure himself he's safe there but it's not working. he's hurt and exhausted and he barely has any chakra left and now he's not even wearing his armour or most of his weapons and he doesn't USUALLY wear his armour on Uchiha lands but he's also usually wearing more and NOT INJURED and more heavily armed and-

to appease his panic so he can actually rest like he'd intended to, instead of just kind of hanging around or scaling some branches/outcropping, he instead finds a tree that has a small burrow at the roots, just big enough for him to fit and evidently not currently in use by whatever animal made it, and curls up in there. he's careful of course not to let any open wounds meet the dirt, that's just asking for infection - thankfully his pants are long and his undershirt has long sleeves, so he just has to curl his hands up in his sleeves and ensure his head is cushioned on the lightweight cloak that thankfully had no clan mon on it - but he feels a lot safer when he's hidden away in an enclosed space

he reaches out to the warm-spice-passion chakra signatures within the Uchiha compound, shifts a bit for the comfiest position he can find in his little hiding place, and finally feels able to relax for the first time since that horrible mission started

there. safe

he falls asleep

meanwhile a Uchiha patrol has found spots of blood and a lot of scuffed up footsteps along their border, plus one spot that's just, a mess of leaf litter and kicked up moss (Tobirama tripped over a tree root when trying to take his chest plate off, immediately felt irrationally angry about it, and kicked at the stupid root to get it back. he then felt stupid himself and pretended it didn't happen. the rest of the mess is bc he was p carelessly dumping his shit on the floor before sealing it away) and they're concerned about it

is this from a fight?? no signs of jutsu tho, or discarded weaponry....hm. at the very least, someone was injured and (given that as far as this patrol knows, all their clan members are accounted for or shouldn't have returned from their missions yet) probably also trespassing

better go investigate

so they do and they find....that's a Blessed. that's the same Blessed that keeps wandering onto their lands, and he's asleep in a fucking hole and bleeding everywhere. oh shit. also where the hell is his shirt?? that is not a proper over-shirt that is underclothing what-

ah fuck what do they do

ah fuck

they know they're supposed to help this Blessed but they also know that a) he's scared of them for some reason. possibly bc he may technically be an enemy to their clan? they have no proof but its a persistent theory over the years and b) he's definitely a shinobi there's no way he could have outran that trespasser without training nor ended up in some of the ridiculous places he's been (hello?? tiny Blessed?? why are you 30 feet up a tree) without the ability to tree-walk

so like. they want to just take him back to their healing halls or something, but if they try that they'll probably just scare the shit out of him and he'd likely hurt them - and more crucially - himself in trying to get away

so they probably shouldn't do that. but they also can't just leave him injured in a hole. he's a Blessed! they can't leave him like this!

so

what do they do??

they have a quiet argument/discussion and ultimately determine that some of them will stay guarding the injured Blessed and some(one) will run back to the compound to firstly explain what's happened + that someone else needs to take over their patrol route and secondly gather what medical supplies they can spare and bring those back here

when the assigned shinobi returns with the supplies they end up accidentally waking the Blessed, which unfortunately immediately confirms their worries because he freaks the fuck out. he seems to want to run but swiftly determines he couldn't get out of the fucking hole + past them without them letting him, and instead twists with a pained hiss, bringing his hands up to hide his face and build as much as possible

which is interesting. he doesn't go to hide his hair, nor specifically to hide the red eyes that mark him as Blessed, no he goes to hide other potential identifiers....which kind of suggests he is indeed from an enemy clan. hm. damn. doesn't make him any less a Blessed but oh boy that may complicate things later on

(hc for the purposes of this fic that as a kid/early teen Tobirama looked fairly generically (mainline) Senju, apart from his colouring, and it wasn't until mid teens when he got a massive growth spurt and his face started changing more that he began to look more like his (outclan) mother and taller+slimmer+narrower than the average Senju, with pointer facial features, and just generally look a lot less like Butsuma+less obviously Senju)

the Uchiha silently and unanimously agree that this would go better if he DIDN'T feel like the wounded cornered animal he currently is, so they get the fuck out of the way. they don't go too far away, still within view, but they make sure the Blessed has a clear run out of the hole and off/away, if he wants. they also ensure that the medical supplies are very visible within that cleared space

a minute or so later they're rewarded when the Blessed stops cowering, and shoots past them faster than they would have believed possible. he takes the medical supplies on his dash past though - victory! woo!

they have a little discussion whilst they wait for him to get whatever he feels is a safe distance away, and decide that yeah that behaviour definitely indicates he thinks some sort of familial resemblance or something is a) noticable and b) gives him reason to fear the Uchiha's discovery of such. so. probably from an enemy clan

but...he's Blessed, and he hasn't tried to hurt any of them or actually get far enough into their territory to spy, or anything like that at all as far as they've noticed, so...?

plausible deniability, they decide. plausible deniability is going to be the name of the game, here

they'll just pretend not to notice he's present/a potential threat and hopefully he'll pretend right back

(also, interestingly, when they send someone to try and follow after the Blessed from a distance, they find that he hasn't bolted away from Uchiha lands as he has every time previously he was spotted. as they expected him to do now, when he's probably feeling cornered and threatened as well as being injured. no, instead he's stayed well within the area the Uchiha patrol (if anything he's actually gone further within Uchiha territory which, what?) and has found another substandard hiding place in which he's using the offered medical supplies to clean and tend to what injuries he can, and then he actually goes to sleep right there. he leaves when he wakes up a few hours later, and they don't try to stop him - REALLY not the time - but. hm. interesting)

anyway that whole encounter pretty thoroughly breaks the stalemate

after that, the Uchiha clan (specifically their patrols) and Tobirama somehow develop a whole new dynamic which honestly is almost identical to the Uchiha attempting to gradually befriend and lure a feral cat into their home, meanwhile Tobirama gradually starts leaving metaphorical dead mice on their doorstep

it's...yeah, it's really weird, actually, but. it's working?? so??

[solardee]

Just an Apothecary

Fourteen days, six hours, and 2 minutes.

That’s how long they’d been on this winding road for, painstakingly traveling from the city Dahlia called home. Fifteen days ago, she hadn’t even ridden a horse before let alone owned one! Still, the things one will do for family; Dahlia had hardly hesitated when word had come by that her younger sibling Mazus had been snatched up by a dragon with a penchant for demanding gold in exchange for loved ones.

Her… traveling companion was quiet, dressed in dark black clothes and armor that resembled scales in a rich violet color. A stock villain character in those heroic poems that her sibling adored so much, with the large broadsword to match. She hadn’t trusted him for a moment when he appeared on her doorstep in the midst of her frantic packing, offering his help.

“I was nearby when he was snatched. I can show you where he was taken,” he had told her, standing in her doorway.

How he knew who she was in relation to the random snatched teen he saw when he was clearly a foreigner was a question the other had avoided. That being said, Dahlia was no warrior, had no fighting experience, and certainly did not know where one began in hunting down a dragon.

So here she was, traveling miles away from her home, a stranger at her side with little more than a hunting knife as a means for her own protection.

“You know, you hardly needed to bring your entire Apothecary with you for a month long trek in the mountains,” her companion drawled besides her, hardly a stupid purple hair out of place despite the miles long hike in heavy armor.

“I am a healer,” she huffed in response, slightly out of breath, “you certainly will thank me should you decide to bite off more than you can chew, Darcy.” 

Oh, her Apothecary, how she already missed it dearly. She had never been one for great adventures, grand reveals, or large events. The quiet peace of the countryside and her shop were plenty of hustle and bustle for her thank you! However, her dear sibling heavily disagreed. Maybe they would see eye to eye a bit more after their terrorizing affair with that winged beast…

“There isn’t much that could get past me, mage,” Darcy responded, lazily waving his hand as their horses trotted along.

“Did you, or did you not get stabbed just a mere fortnight ago?”

“I was not stabbed, it was a mere flesh wound!”

“And yet you almost bled out in the dirt,” Dahlia ended huffily, “if the wound were so small, I don’t see why it would require such heavy amounts of regeneration magic.”

Darcy did not answer, his face souring under the shadow of his hood. Dahlia took a little satisfaction in wiping the semi-permanent smug grin off his face.

“Well,” he spoke after a few beats of silence, gathering his wit, “I highly doubt you would be much better. You went heralding off to face a dragon with a simple kitchen knife!”

Dahlia straightened her aching back as she turned her determined gaze at the other, “I am an Apothecary, not a coward.”