#aka: everyone dies

[bluerosefox]

Always Favors You

Another Sibling Danny and Jason idea!!

"Are you Jason Peter Todd?!" demanded a deep and commanding tone from the strange glowing being in front of them.

All the Bats stiffened and tensed, no doubt gearing up for a fight against the being that somehow knew Red Hood's full name.

Jason, Red Hood, decided to put on a brave front despite no doubt cursing in his head and wondering how the heck did this thing know his full freaking name.

"Whose asking." he snarled out, his hands twitching for his gun when the huge glowing knight with purple flames coming out of his helmet and cape, who was riding on a nightmare looking horse while they all had been in the cave going over tonight's patrol.

The Knight didn't seemed bothered by his response nor did he even seem to care or flinch when Batman made his own demand on 'Why was he there and who was he' or when Damian unsheathed his sword and pointed it towards him. Instead the strange glowing Knight reached to it side and pulled out... A glowing scroll? Huh. (Also he completely unnerved everyone in the room when the Knight didn't even react when Batman had tossed a Baterang when he reached for his side)

The Knight opened the scroll and spoke clearly with purpose.

"Jason Peter Todd,

You are hereby invited as a special guest of honor to the crowning of our future King of the Infinite Realms.

Daniel Phantom, once Daniel Jackson Fenton, and once Daniel Austen Todd.

Prince of the Infinite Realms, the Keeper of Balance, The Peacekeeping Halfa, the Defeater of the Tyrant King Pariah Dark, The Great One, Youngest of the Ancients, Ancient of Space, The Bridge between Life and Death.

You, the half-brother of our King, have been given the highest of honors for your past actions and will be given housing and food in the Realms and Phantom's Keep, for the week long event. Personal servants and attendants will be at your disposal and a seamstress will be on hand to tailor make your attire for the Coronation.

Signed: Clockwork. Ancient of Time. Watcher of the Infinite Timeline. Kronos. Mentor and Adviser.

PS: I shall have Fright Knight ("Me" the Knight bluntly said for a second) leave this scroll along with a personal one for you from Daniel to read over and once you make up your mind sign the bottom of the scroll.

I do hope in time you will pick the right choice Jason Todd, we of the Infinite Realms would like to reward you for your actions. After all, if you hadn't gotten young Daniel away from your father that night all those years ago, we would never had gained our Prince nor be free from our once Tyrant King.

Ah, one more thing.

The Infinite Realms will always favor you Jason."

Jason felt like he couldn't breath as Fright Knight? Rolled up the scroll, pulled a letter from his side, and held out the two items for him to take.

[a-scary-lack-of-common-sense]

Eldritch/not-entirely-human Grunkle Stan stories have been eating away at my brain, so I have a silly little concept of Mimic!Stan.

He and his Mystery Shack are both mimics that lure tourists in as a literal "tourist trap" to gather and devour them! Since the house is alive, it raises a few (read: several) child safety concerns that lead to a LOT of rules to be created for Dipper and Mabel to follow when they eventually arrive, such as:

Be careful not to get lost in the winding hallways! The Mystery Shack is bigger on the inside, and you don't want to end up in the wrong areas.

Don't go through randomly appearing doors, they may eat you.

If you think you feel the walls around you breathing and the floor beneath you shifting, no, you don't.

If you think the walls feel a bit damp, you're imagining it.

Watch your fingers around windowsills! You wouldn't want to lose any of them.

Don't linger too long under the doorframes; it may start feeling like they are slowly constricting around you.

[dclovesdanny]

Dc x dp

Dead on main 5/5

Jason never wanted to see his family die again. He could still hear the replace- Tim’s screams. He could still feel Damian’s blood coating his hands as he desperately tried to put pressure on the wound, could see Dick’s wide yet unseeing eyes.

Everyone had died, except for him. He was alone.

Then he and Danny made a plan.

Danny had been his friend for a few years, and knew loss as intimately as he did. Jason had held his friend as he sobbed not too long ago over his clone/daughter Ellie. He knew that sometimes, you couldn’t come back.

Instead, he and Danny promised each other that if they could do it again, they’d be better. They would save their family. They wouldn’t let themselves loose everything again. They just wished they could do it again.

They were both so drunk that neither of them heard Desiree’s whispered “So you wish it, so it shall be.” Neither of them saw her exchange a glance with Clockwork.

Next Morning, Jason woke up to his phone ringing off the hook.

“What!”

“Jason, it’s Danny. You need to look in the mirror or at a calendar or something!”

Jason checked the date on his phone, and stared.

It was two months before he left the league. As he surveyed himself, everything was the same as the past except his jacket. It was the only thing that was the same. Wait, Danny!

“Danny, what happened with you? Why the hell is this happening?”

Danny looked around his old room. The only thing that wasn’t fitting with the past was his phone, which he had woken up with clutched in his hand. He could hear his parents downstairs. He looked like he did before. Then, he noticed a familiar green sticky note on his mirror.

Here is your chance to save them. Your consort can help you.

Only you two shall remember, but your abilities remain.

Danny clutched the note.

“ I think Clockwork just gave us a second chance.”

[cosmicourple]

Uh hi, I really like your time loop au so I have this, I hope you enjoy:

The preludes to telos

Sand drips down like heavy rain, a never ending cascade in the hourglass of her realm. Athena sighs as she steps down onto the platform, a tapestry weaving together before her very eyes.

“Old friend…” She says, her brow furrowed. “You’ve changed drastically since last I saw you…”

“Remember me…” The tapestry sang, detailing Odysseus’s mistake as he glared towards the blinded cyclops. “I am the infamous… ODYSSEUS!!”

That was the last she saw of her champion after their… fight. Yet in her absence something changed. Something unnatural, mythical yet dangerous. It forced her to stay back by orders of her own father, even Hera has become wary… Yet her concern doesn’t waver, her thirst to know what happened to her champion— her friend… It needs to be quenched. Though she made sure to be extra careful, only viewing the bare minimum. If Odysseus had truly somehow caught the attention of K- him, then she must tread with upmost caution.

“Let’s see where you’ve been..” Athena says, taking a deep breath as she let the tapestry weave forth, surrounding her as strings of yarn shape forth the events.

“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” Aeolus singsongs, the goddess took note that the man before her was still mortal, still alright.

That all changed in the next scene as the storm roars and the seas crash, her champion holding her uncle’s trident, it’s prongs buried deep into the god’s throat. Silver cracks dance around his skin, like thorns wrapping around the man, digging in and prying him open. He snarled, his voice taunting and his mouth curled up to a sinister grin, yet his eyes once full of life have nothing behind them; not boredom, not malice, nothing. “Didn’t you say that ruthlessness is mercy upon our-“

She leaps back to when the bag was opened, maybe it had something to do with that? No, Aeolus may be mischievous but even they wouldn’t dare to play around with forces beyond their control. All the goddess of wisdom could fathom was that Odysseus changed after he woke up when the bag was opened. Did he struck out and reach for him while he slumbered, weakened from 9 restless, sleepless days? Athena barely registers the ichor seeping from her fist.

“Protecting them is all you want to do.” Odysseus said in the next scene, tossing in herbs and leaves as Circe stares in bafflement behind him, dagger in hand yet she makes no move to attack. Maybe she couldn’t, not when there’s the abyss of the unknown seeping out of the man before her. She lets him turn his men back from pigs and leaves.

In the next, her champion is in a cave, his eyes so empty now have the smallest spark of sympathy and bittersweet sorrow, extending his hand to the beast before him, “Why not come along with me, fellow monster and perhaps comrade?”

Wait- that didn’t happen. That couldn’t have happened. She leaps back to when they were on Circe’s island, staring towards the ocean where the ships have departed, they all went back around the direction of where the cyclops reside, nowhere near the way to Scylla’s lair. So why did she see a scene that should not exist?

The tapestry shifts and Athena found herself leaping through memories of memories through her friend’s eyes. Some were similar, most were inconsistent, a few were things she wished she’d never seen yet none of these happen. None of these ever took place so why does it feel like it did?!

“I’m so glad we see eye to eye—“

“There are other ways of persuasion-“

“Die-“

“Where is my brother? Why do you wear his skin?”

“Odysseus king of Ithaca is the name, and do remember me as I engulf your island in flames-“

“You and me are the same-“

“I cannot tell if you are mortal or something more-“

“You lost yourself-“

“Greet the world with open arms-“

“Waiting, waiting for you-“

“How can luck run out if I know what will play out—“

“Good night…”

in the walls of Odysseus’s home, flower petals drifting around as her friend laid on the bed, exhaustion painting his face from the deep eyebags he had. His eyes were to her relief, not empty, yet the life in them was flickering, struggling not to be consumed by the pools of sorrow and resignation. Beside him was his wife Penelope, smiling gently through tears as she rests her husband on her lap but what shocked the goddess the most was seeing her father on the other side of the bed, his hand cradling the back of Odysseus’s head. Never had Athena seen such warmth, guilt, love, anger, sadness and more swirl around her father before, not even with Hera did Zeus display such a side so viscerally.

“I don’t want to sleep…” Odysseus begged, his cheeks dried from tears he could no longer shed. “If I close my eyes, I’ll have to say goodbye….”

“My heart, you must rest. Do not see it as a goodbye.” Penelope reassures, kissing his forehead. “Rather, view it as a good night. Perhaps we might not see another day with you, but let us spend it together now… One day you will be free, and Helios’s light will greet you.”

“I’ll make sure you will see the next morning sun.” Zeus promised, his eyes narrowing as his hair turns dark and clouds start to gather outside. His body simmers with righteous fury akin to a massive storm approaching in the horizon. “I think I know who is responsible for your endless plight.”

“It won’t matter, you’ll forget…” Odysseus choked out a defeated sob and Athena barely held herself back from rushing towards the memory. The thunder fades and Zeus can only give an apologetic smile, patting his head, “Perhaps, but eventually I will succeed in saving you. We will succeed in saving you. So until then, wait little king.”

“Wait my heart.” Penelope says as the two give their kiss to the man about to enter Hypnos’s realm. “Soon, you will see the next morning sun.”

“… I wish I could believe that…” Odysseus muttered, yet despite his lack of hope he gives a small smile as his body slumps and his eyes close, “Good night…”

Athena blinks away the tears, finally noticing her body trembling. So…. That was why Odysseus suddenly became a demigod with his powers slithering around him.

“Several years…” She exhaled, her voice threatening to break, “He’s kept you trapped in an endless role… Such torture would take a heavy toll…”

“And that’s quite enough, little girl…” A voice echos from behind, plunging the goddess’s heart straight to Hyperborea. She swallows, not daring to turn around because she knows exactly who it was. Who had made the sands of her hourglass stop, who had started to shatter her realm slowly like it was nothing but glass. The titan who had tormented Odysseus, slowly poisoning him to be his champion…

“Kronos…” The titan hummed upon hearing his name, even when he’s not there physically, the goddess can sense her realm being destroyed with each step he took. He stopped, and Athena doesn’t need to turn around to see his smile, “You are quite impressive little girl, but I’m afraid you cannot dig deeper anymore. Soon my champion will slumber, and you will forget, and the cycle will continue again and again…”

The sound of a tug snapped across the area like a whip and Athena’s eyes widened in horror as she finally realised what he was doing. “NO—“

“Goodbye.”

The tapestry unravels, flames licking and following the interwoven yarn. Athena rushes forward to save whatever she could, but her spear and weapons rust upon her touch. She can’t forget, she cannot afford to let her friend suffer even more! It’s all decaying too fast... She must not forget, she has to do something! Her friend needs her! Odysseus needs her! She refused to bow down to time’s whims!

She refuse, she refuse, she refuse she refuse she REFUSE—

Sand drips down like heavy rain, a never ending cascade in the hourglass of her realm. Athena sits quietly as she weaves her newest tapestry in an effort to stop thinking about her former champion.

She was so focused on her goal, it took her standing up after completing her project to finally took note of the piece of cloth falling from her lap. Curious and confused, she picks it up, examining the burnt edges, hasty weaving, warp threads and decaying yarn. Strange, this seems to be her handiwork but she doesn’t remember having it on her lap. However, when she turns around to get a better picture of what it was, she found herself frozen in place.

Her former champion, the one she had been avoiding dwelling on stood in the center of the tapestry, arms above his head as multiple chains wrap around his body, and shackles rest tightly on his wrists and ankles. His expression was empty, something that shouldn’t- didn’t belong to a man such as he. Behind him depicts a figure of no appearance with the exception of a clock on it’s face. With one hand, it held Odysseus’s wrists, almost possessively while the other holds a sickle, the tip of it pointing directly at where his heart is. And at the bottom were simply two words unevenly weaved yet they conveyed their message clearly;

SAVE HIM

DIES.

OH MY FUCKING GOD I- OMG THYJYHHGHYUUUYTTHJIJHRFFHJUUYRRWEGJYYGGGHHJYYTGHGHHYHYYYJJYTRHTY I CANT EVEN COMPREHEND THESE SUBMISSIONS- 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

I ADORE THIS HOLY SHIT THANK YOU SO MUCH 4 THIS 😭😭🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹

AFGGRDFFGTDFD THERE’S SO MUCH TO UPACK FROM DIS SNIPPET(?) FUCKING HELL/affectionate HGEFASAA

#1: first off: loving the desc for Athena’s Realm mhmh the sand sounds so nice to just. Sit in hehe. Hjhhhhgg it’s so good seeing Athena worrying ‘bout Odysseus & comparing the last time they met to (the current at least) now :’) hyggggg + mentioning a bit about the Gods also worrying wth is going on hehehaha mhm trouble is stirring dear Deities >:). (Also, ‘Thena not even thinking Kronos’s name is sooo hhgggg yaaass shivery sets up how I view him hhah 😍 (yes, I am heavily influenced by how P.J.O set him up okay, I jst like the thought :3))

#2: HJIUTTRGFGRDFD/again affectionate, Athena being able to access Ody’s’ other Loop experiences bc of her time-connected Quick Thought power is SUCH a good idea FHYYGGHHHGFFF (I personally see it as her mother’s Titan blood showing te :>>), yas & OMG!?!?!??!!!!! THE SNAPSHOT OF A CORRUPTED ODY W/ POSEIDON AT HIS MERCY HTGFHJYGGGF KRONOS’S POWER STAINED ONTO HIS SKIN N DRIVING HIM TO FUCK POSEIDON’S SHIT don’tletthedirtythoughtswindontletthedirtythoughtswindontle-!????!??!!???!!!!!??!!!!??!?????!?! ODY JUST. GRABBING THE STUFF NEEDED TO TURN HIS MEN BACK TA’ PPL WHILE CIRCE SEES SOMETHINGS HORRIBLY WRONG!?!????????!!!?????!!!??!!!!!!!?!!!!? ODYSSEUS TRYNA’ GET SCYLLA TO GO W/ THEM N HAVING REMORSE 4 HER HJHHGBGGGGGGG I CANT OMG— HOLY SHIT AGAIN I LOVE THIS 😭😭😭😭😭😭— *hmh* anyway, about our Goddess of Wisdom being able to see som’a’ the Timeloops,,,,,,

-ougugff the kickstart to a lot of tragedy,,

-HAHAHAJYH the song that started this whole thread of Hoedysseus things & dis A.U hehe (never underestimate the mystic powers of Anniflamma’s drawings >:]]]])

-hoop- either Ody’ or Poseidon, but either way, a turning point for the previously mentioned ~tragedy~

-HELLO???????????? CONTEXT PLS (yes, Ody’ take their skin >:b)

-HAHAJJGAHA YES LET THE MANIC SLAUGHTER THOUGHTS OUT KING OF ITHACA HHAHAHA (again, yesssss, u nailed the ‘turning up the monstertm to. 16’ perfectly.)

-ohohouo- Ody’ is a lot of things, both inside n out, & unfortunately Mortal is,,,,, well- it’s still there, just. Tampered with. Quite a bit :3.

-yep, that happened quiet awhile ago suga’, keep up<3🫶

-*wince* and look where we are now…

-:()

-hehehaha oh, indeed, how can it??? What else matters in the ‘end’ you’ll always have another go even if you have to reset to it yourself :)

-*CLICKS TONGUE LIKE IVE CUT MYSELF* ooooh angsty angst lalalala how I love u 🫡🥰

#3: Bro,,,,, WHAT. THE. FUCK. -😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA ODYSSEUS IN BED- GIVEN UP ANY & ALL OF HOPE OF BEING FREE & THEN- IHHGGGGGGG PENELOPE COMFORTING HIM, ASSURING HIM THAT IT WILL BE ALRIGHT, ZEUS BEING THERE ABSOLUTELY ADORING HIM ABDFDDDEESSSSSFGHNHJJUHHGGGGFGGGGGG SHOWING A SIDE NONE THOUGHT POSSIBLE 4 A MORTAL.!!!!!!!!! ATHENA GORL IM FEELIN’ THE SAME WAY OH MY FUCK ASHAAAAAAAAA😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

“It won’t matter, you’ll forget…”

*screams internally*

“Perhaps, but eventually I will succeed in saving you. We will succeed in saving you. So until then, wait little king.”

“Wait my heart” “Soon, you will see the next morning sun.”

“… I wish I could believe that…” “Good night…”

shit. Just. Shit Anon :”).

#4: aoooooww- Athena :( poor Athena. Ha, yeah, shits been rough lately thanks so a certain Someone haha,,,,,,,

IGSKFXWA— HELL YEAH, THERES THE MAN, THING, PORK CHOPPED-ASS HIMSELF‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️

Kronos calling Athena ‘little girl’ is the most Elder Antagonist but Grandpa thing I have ever seen HTBFDDSFGGGG (in a universe where there was no ‘overthrowing Son of Zeus’ prophecy n Kronos became the Ruler of Elysium, I like to think that that would be his dated but sweet nickname 4 a little ‘Thena on the rare visits the Sky fam did :’j)

enuu anyway- HYGGG i love how u portray Kronos as calm, relaxed, still with an underline of malice but so soft sounding that it’s extremely unnerving. MMMM— YES HALF OUT IF IT WIELDER OF TIME ITSELF (i just thought of it as ‘fuck grandpa forget to take his meds again’, AND IM DYING HGJJH😭🫡)

oouuuu i love how His presence starts to shake n shatter Athena’s Realm hehahga it’s so intimidating hehe and then,,,,,

*cries* oh Athena poor thing augggg the horror of seeing n feeling the world restart around her and she can’t do ANYTHING about it AUGGGGBHHG— that part is so suspenseful in feeling & i love it amazing job >3<!!1!!111!1!!111!!!11111!

OUUUUUUUUU ATHENA SENDING HER MEMORY WIPED SELF A FRAGMENTED MESSAGE ‘BOUT WHAT IS GOING ON OH MY FFFFFFFFF AAAAAAAAAAAA YES & THE STORY STARTS ANEW‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️

(btw SAID MESSAGE IS SO???????????? FUCKING COOL FBGGGGFGGGGFFFFGGF OHHHH KRONOS W/ NO SOILD FORM EXCEPT 4 SOME SHADOWED HANDS N A LITERAL CLOCK 4 BRAINS BNGGGGGHUJJHGHG YES THAT’S HOW HE LOOKS IN THIS A.U NOW CANOM!1!11111!!!!!11!1)

srs, I tried, but i still feel like i could of expressed how much i love this omg ty SO much 4 this ghggbggf & so early into the creation of this A.U,,,, ☺️☺️

Edit: IM SORRY IF IT FELT LIKE I TOOK TO LONG TO ANSWER I JUST LOSS A BIT OF MOTIVATION WHILE WRITING SAID ANSWER :”)

[kirdoodl]

so in your relativity falls au did euclid and scalene burn down their dimension too? btw loving ur interpretation of the au SO much!!!

Thank you for the ask! And I'm glad you like this so far :D (if you want the short answer, yes, they did)

As for the long answer... In terms of Bill's backstory playing into my interpretation? I haven't figured it out yet, I have a couple of concepts but I'm not really interested in exploring that part of the narrative (even in gravity falls) as much as other parts and character relations 💔

I'd like to think that Bill or even the concept of him doesn't exist in this au, so the destruction of his home dimension wasn't at all connected to him, but maybe Scalene and Euclid still managed to cause a tear in their dimension by other means.

As far as I know in tbob the destruction itself is kept vague, and lemme tell ya I am NOT creative enough to fill in those gaps in a way that is satisfying, especially in this scenario, but...

My personal headcanon is 2 lesbian triangles find out about the concept of z by seeing something from a perspective that would be impossible to them and then accidentally exploding their universe.

Slams hand on table, there ya have it!

[melikes-reads]

Was anyone going to tell me that Moritz Brenner is a real, actual, canonically queer character, or was I supposed to find out for myself?!

[itriedsohard]

Les Mis US Tour ‘24 Is Beyond Amazing

just saw the Les Mis tour (it’s like my 4th time seeing it live) and can I just say this was my FAVORITE production I’ve seen, SO MANY ENJOLRAS AND GRANTAIRE MOMENTS my heart 😭😭😭, every single cast member sounds incredible literally a perfect cast (Nick Cartell my beloved)(now obsessed with Kyle Adams aka Grantaire)(Preston Truman Boyd as Javert healed me actually) AAAAAAHHHHHHH 10/10 would recommend

[huh-1260]

I just remembered I had dead Links for a reason

Sooo dead old man Wind and killed to early Twilight

I already have a set death for Wind but I'm working on one for Twilight, not sure if he should die as Wolfie as a accident or a unjust death (or just maybe to Dark Nuts)

Yes I took a picture on my wooden step stool, the room had better lighting or so I thought it did

[literaila]

On a scale of one to ten how emotional was readers reaction seeing megumi alive again

8.7 but she never really believed that he was gone. call her crazy but her son isn’t going to blindly submit to some manic gym bro from the heian era

megumi takes back his body and she’s basically jumping up and down with yuji and applauding. a standing ovation for her son, obviously.

and then later she goes home and cries herself to sleep because a. she’s really proud of him and b. the world is a terrible terrible place

[empty-blog-for-lurking]

What wouldn't I give for a bonkers crack au with Carissa-Bastian family reunion where Ezio and his father still survived

[andiwriteordie]

the heartbreak prince | part 3/6: running through rose thorns.

A scream tears itself from Mike’s throat, though it’s followed quickly by Will’s desperate cry: “Mike!”

Pain explodes where the arrow has punctured his skin, unlike anything Mike has felt before, and it shouldn’t hurt this badly – but it does. Fuzzy darkness begins to creep into his vision, and Mike blinks—once, twice, thrice—as he struggles to stay awake.

“Stay with me, Mike,” Will pleads.

Or: 

After getting separated from the rest of the Party, Mike and Will are forced to confront their pasts in the worst possible way.

—

part 3 of the heartbreak prince for you this evening. hope you enjoyed a happier chapter 2 because who would i be if i didn’t have angst in my fics? 

[stan-joe]

hey link click fans just to make your day worse I'm pretty sure the entire last few episodes happened on lu guang's birthday

[angelstrawbabie420]

in my quest to quell my pain ive only hurt myself worse. damned if i do damned if i dont.

[gonnaeatyourgirlfriend]

he is who i learned what goth is from

[dietmimo]

A 🌹 for KDJ.

[a-world-in-grey]

Sola/Little Nox Dissidia au

@raven-6-10 @secret-engima

The promised trainwreck under the cut!

The Citadel's been a wreck of tension ever since Spitfire and the prince went missing. Abyssus yowling fit to wake the dead brought the on-duty glaives running to find Sola's bed empty, phone still on her bedside table and all her shoes still in her closet, all signs pointing to an unwilling departure despite a clear absence of any sign of a struggle.

They'd raised the alarm, checking on the rest of the royal family and their retinue-

-and found Prince Noctis' bed as empty as his sister's.

Then, while Citadel security was swarming like a kicked anthill, spearheaded by a blackly furious Marshal and King's Shield looking for their godschildren, those guarding the Crystal had sounded the alarm.

Which is when they'd found their missing royals, via the Crystal putting out a hologram of the two like something from a bad science fiction movie.

Tredd hasn't gotten a decent night's sleep in four days.

If it's not the palpable worry radiating from the King racking up the tension, then it's the fact that the royal children have been summoned to a desolate world to participate in what's essentially a glorified death match on opposite teams, during which Prince Noctis is in nothing but his pajamas.

No one is ever again calling Sola's insistence on keeping her deployment bags in her armiger frivolous.

Though, if Tredd has to be completely honest, Sola's younger brother's lack  of proper attire is only a fraction of what's causing the tension. No, the bulk of it goes to Spitfire's newest Uncle and now youngest brother. The once-Chancellor of Niflheim and Captain's kid. Captain's kid who's apparently the Crown Prince's clone, created from a sample Niflheim stole how knows how many years back.

Luche had dipped out to make a phone call to Axis, because those are Arra braids in Ardyn and Nox's hair, and Axis had completely neglected to mention that his recent adoptees were Lucis Caelums, leaving Tredd to watch Axis' clansmen on this fucked-up version of reality TV.

Nyx has been teaching Spitfire the Ulric Dance ever since her Rage a few months back clued them all into the fact that Spitfire's as Sky-born as anyone can get without being an actual dragon - and seriously, Tredd is this close to shaking Nyx, the idiot needs to adopt her already, for Ramuh's sake - so he's in the room whenever he's not sleeping. Which means Libertus is also here, making sure Nyx does take the time to sleep because the last thing any of them need is the twitchy Ulric doing something Dumb, aided by Abyssus literally carrying Nyx out of the room when it's time to catch some shut eye.

Crowe's anxiously watching her girlfriend fight off various monsters and champions, fingers plucking at the rubber band Crowe's worn on her wrist ever since the Burning. This hadn't been how Sola and Crowe had wanted Sola's family to find out about that particular relationship, but Crowe had adamantly refused to be barred from the room for a second until Sola came back.

Luche, like Tredd, is there as Axis' braided brother, leaving the rest of the Fourth Regiment to attend in shifts depending who's on break, with Pelagia and her Third Regiment counterpart running everything because Captain is also busy watching this clusterfuck.

The Marshal's not left since the whole thing started - has he even slept? - but the King and Shield have to leave for short periods to make token appearances lest the entire country learn the royal children have disappeared into the ether. Gladiolus and Ignis have to be forced out of the room for their studies, which has apparently resulted in temper tantrums worthy of a Raging Sola, but the two young teens have yet to convince the King, Shield, or Marshal otherwise so the process repeats every day without fail.

Sola latching on to her new uncle and brother isn't a surprise. She's Sky-born, they do that. Especially because for all that the ex-Chancellor is clearly missing more than a few lines to his sails, he equally as clearly cares for and is protective of his niece and nephews, despite his distaste for Regis and Mors.

Were it not for the danger to her brothers, Sola would probably be having fun. The chance to cut loose against other skilled fighters? No one looming over her shoulder, scrutinizing her every action and deeming anything not up to their standards as 'monstruous'? Sola would have loved that in any other scenario.

But Spitfire has two brothers to protect, and Tredd swears under his breath when Sola assigns herself to Noctis and Nox's guard team, instead letting Ardyn join the strike team. The self-sacrificing dumbass.

"Care to explain that?"

Whoops.

Tredd cringes away from the Marshal's displeasure, silently thanking the Storm-Father that the King and Lord Amicitia are off in an unavoidable meeting with one of the Councilors.

"Sola is better suited on the strike team, sir." Luche says politely, before Tredd can stick his foot further in his mouth. "She's not usually charged with guard duties in the field."

The Marshal eyes them both severely. "Izunia is stronger than Sola." He says sourly. The revelation of the former Chancellor's heritage and all it's unpleasant implications hasn't been fun for anyone. "He can take a smaller strike team, freeing more people to guard Noctis and Nox." Unsaid is the fact that neither Sola nor Ardyn will leave the princes alone with strangers.

"Yes, sir." Luche demurs. That had been the argument Sola used to convince Ardyn.

(Tredd hadn't thought anyone could be more protective than Sola of her brothers, but Ardyn has her beat by a mile. Ifrit have mercy on whoever tries to harm either of the princes in the future, because Sola and Ardyn sure as Pyre won't, and Tredd doubts there'll be enough of the moron in question afterwards to scatter their ashes.)

Tactically, the assignments have merit. As Tredd exchanges a glance with an equally grim-faced Luche, he knows tactics aren't what they - or any of the glaives - are worried about.

Spitfire doesn't do defense. It's not a matter of skill. Tredd wouldn't be worried if it was, skill they can compensate for.

No, the issue is that Sola's a damn dragon of a Sword. Her first, second, and third instinct when dealing with threats is to kill it. She can't do that on defense - her priority has to be Noctis and Nox's safety, even if it means letting her target escape.

It's not impossible. Not when she's got help.

And yet Tredd can't shake the feeling that this isn't going to end any way but badly.

.

Tredd's right.

Two days later, everything goes to Ifrit's Pyre in a gift basket.

The strike team is away, trying to complete whatever the objective is that will send them all home.

(Ardyn is a force of destruction to contend with, tearing through enemies like they're tissue paper, making the King pale with an anguished epiphany he refused to share.)

The ambush catches everyone off guard. The strange dragon-like creatures swarm the protective detail. The healers push Nox and Noctis behind them, the champions better suited for close quarters combat struggling to keep the creatures off their more vulnerable companions.

In the commotion, Tredd doesn't see what sparks it, but he sure as Pyre sees when Spitfire loses it.

A low snarl rips from her throat, gaze and focus narrowing down on the threat in front of her.

Crowe swears. "Pyre-damn it all, someone back her up-"

But none of the other champions are watching Sola's back. They're too busy with their own battles, too busy keeping the kids safe. They don’t notice how Spitfire's been drawn away from the rest of the group, don't see the blind spot left vulnerable without a glaive or Abyssus there to cover her.

If Sola's family hadn’t known before, they've sure as Pyre realized it now. It's impossible to miss the glaives' reactions - Luche's grim certainty, Libertus' hand a physical restraint on Nyx's shoulder, Nyx's hands clenching and unclenching as he resists the useless instinct to grab his kukris and throw, Crowe's snarling at people who cannot hear, the way every muscle in Tredd's frame coils as he fights off the Fury rising like a wave-

-and crests, as Spitfire staggers, the attack she doesn't see ripping through her. Magic erupts throughout the room as Sola's eyes widen and her face twists in an agonized cry that has no breath to voice.

Sola hits the ground, and Nox s c r e a m s.

Ghostly weapons tear through the remaining creatures, a constant stream of light and steel that is nothing like any armiger they've seen. Champions startle as weapons pass through them harmlessly only to shred the creatures around them, until nothing remains.

The healers rush to Sola's side, but even from here, Tredd can see that it's bad. Really bad - he doesn't know if Spitfire's going to make it even with three healers and her own regeneration trying to save her life.

There's another burst of magic and Ardyn arrives, terrified and protective - Nox's magic must have alerted him, but Tredd doesn't know what the ex-Chancellor can do that the healers can't, Lucis Caelum magic just doesn't heal…

Ardyn takes in Nox, boneless with exhaustion and sobbing in Noctis' hold. Noctis, trying to keep it together. The champions doing their best to shield them from where Sola is laying on the ground between the healers.

(None of them can see it in the blue of the Crystal's hologram, how Sola is too pale against the shock of red hair haloed around her face, nearly indistinguishable from the blood staining the grass.)

Something in Ardyn's spine steels. He strides forward, ignoring the champions' attempts to keep him back, shedding his upper layers before he kneels and gathers Sola against his bare chest.

(The scars hit Tredd like a sucker punch. They've all seen some gnarly scars, no one survived the Burning unscathed, but these… these are torture scars. Torture scars and death blows and the glowing sigil of the royal family that can't be anything other than a brand.)

(The King is white as a sheet. Tredd wants to throw up. Parents are supposed to support you, not… not this.)

(Six, no wonder Axis kept Ardyn and Nox's heritage a secret. That Ardyn is able to trust and care for any of his Kin is astounding.)

It's not until magic rises from Ardyn's skin that Tredd realized what's happening. That he realizes what the tint of the Crystal's magic had disguised. But he's seen Spitfire heal others dozens of times out in the field, he recognizes this shaping of magic, and Ardyn is so much stronger than Spitfire-

It doesn't make it any easier to watch as Ardyn's skin splits, his blooding pouring out to join Sola's painting the ground. Doesn't make it any easier to watch as his wounds close, Ardyn gasping and trembling from more than just pain as he curls over his healed but unconscious niece, even as Noctis and Nox barrel in to comfort him.

Tredd's almost relieved when the Marshal turns to them and demands, "What the fuck just happened?"

As one, every glaive turns to Nyx. He's the only Chief present, he's the only one who can make the decision to share Galahdian lore with Outsiders as he has been with Sola.

Nyx stares a few moments longer at Sola's too-still form, hands flexing. Finally, he turns to face the Marshal and the King, expression dark as a thunderstorm. "We call it the Draconian's Rage."

"We?" The King's eyes are sharp. Tredd thinks he sees something of the warrior the King must have been when he visited Galahd twenty years ago.

"Galahd. The Draconian and the Infernian weren't the only Astrals to Bless humans. The magic disappeared long before the time of the Founder, but we still Remember." Nyx glances back to where the healers are fussing over Sola and Ardyn and Nox. "You have the Draconian's Blessing. But the Draconian isn't human."

Nyx turns back to the King, storm-blue locking with armiger-blue. "The Astrals aren't human, and sometimes their Blessed aren't either."

The King's lips thin. "You're saying my daughter isn't human." Treading on dangerous ground - the King's never taken kindly to the rumors painting Sola a monster.

"Physically, she is." Nyx says, steady as the cliffs against the storm-swept tides. "In her soul? Her instincts? She's no more human than I am."

That startles the King. "You are-?"

"Ramuh's. Storm to Sola's Sky."

There were rumors that the Ulrics were Ramuh's Blessed. Coeurl-Kin. Shape-changers and Wind-Walkers and as Black as the storms in their souls.

Tredd never thought he'd hear the rumors confirmed. This is Clan History. Private Clan History only ever shared with Clan Allies. If that.

"We thought you knew." Tredd says, trying to buy some leeway for Nyx. Tredd can't reveal that he's also not-quite human. Not without his Chief's permission. He might be able to get away with telling Sola - it's only a matter of time before she joins the Clans - but King Regis? Tredd would be in serious trouble. "You have thousands of years of history. Family customs as unique as any of ours." Customs catering specifically to those non-human instincts, Tredd doesn't say.

Tredd suspected otherwise after Sola's Rage in HQ. Sola didn't know anything about her Rages, only that she'd get so angry she couldn't think beyond needing to kill something. She was terrified that she'd try to kill anyone near her, hence her retreating somewhere secluded until she could regain control over herself. When she'd come out of her Rage to find Nyx and Tredd at the end of her weapons, injured but otherwise in one piece, she'd been horrified that she might have tried to kill them.

She hadn't known that she wouldn't. That even in the deepest Rage, her instincts would recognize the difference between hers and threat. Sola would never harm an innocent bystander. Not on purpose. Not unless they provoked her first.

So Tredd had suspected. He didn't want to believe it - how could the Lucis Caelums not have any information of the Draconian's Blessed? He knows Mainlanders don't keep Tales like the Clans do, but they do keep records! Sola cannot be the first Lucis Caelum to be Skyborn!

But no. The royal family has no clue.

What a mess.

"What does that mean for Sola?" The Marshal asks while the King processes Nyx's revelation.

"She's protective." Crowe says. Tredd snorts at the understatement of the century. "She'll react violently to anything threatening her Claimed. Lethally, if she can - Skyborn don't like leaving threats alive to try again."

"Prince Noctis and Nox are her only vulnerable Claimed. Prince Nox has his uncle to protect and care for him, which will satisfy Sola's instincts." Because nothing short of an Astral will be able to get past Ardyn to harm Nox, and even then Tredd would still put his money on Ardyn. "But Sola's Sword to Prince Noctis, and the oldest and strongest of his Retinue. She's his primary protector. Not being allowed or able to kill anything threatening him will stress her instincts."

The Marshal grimaces, glancing at the King and Shield. Tredd wonders if he's thinking about how Sola came to join the Kingsglaive. She'd eventually told them the circumstances behind her joining their training, one night out on deployment. Knowing now that Sola's Skyborn, that was a really Stupid decision on the King's part, banning Sola from protecting her disabled brother. The King was lucky Sola didn't try to sneak out of Insomnia after them.

"When she's under a lot of stress, she'll lose her grasp of human language." Tredd tells them. Tredd's never had that happen to him, but he also knows that as far as Seaborn instincts go, his are fairly tame. Sola, unfortunately, is way out on the extreme end of the scale. "Sign language she can comprehend, and that empathic thing she does with her magic. She'll lose her words before she Rages, so if it's that bad don't bother talking to her. She won't hear it."

Another glance between Sola's relatives. Six, how many signs had they missed?

Tredd determinedly ignores it. "When she's Raging, either give her space to work through it or spar with her. Sola won't hold back, but she won't try to kill you. But if you need to step out of the fight, make it physically clear that you surrender. Weapons away, hands down and open, on your knees and throat bared if you have to."

The King frowns. "That seems… dangerous."

"Not with Sola." Nyx says before Tredd's temper leads him to say something snarky and unwise to the King. "She'll always recognize her own."

"Shit's starting up again." Luche suddenly says.

Everyone turns back to the Crystal, conversation tabled.

For now.