#i don't remember but someone called him raven boy? did they?

[meadowsofmay]

gilmore called vax my bird and smiling boy

the raven queen called vax my champion and a fate touched

vecna called vax bitch's prince

[reader-wandering18]

Yuu Hunter x Hunter

Strange beasts and monsters. Vast riches, hidden treasures. Terrible places, unexplored frontiers. Mysterious and unknown.

People who are drawn to the magic of those words are known as HUNTERS.

Yuu Freecs, a boy from a vast, cruel and mysterious world, came to Twisted Wonderland.

What was a boy doing at Night Raven College?

Freecs' adventures leave his friends speechless. His kind personality reaches out to all students, including those who are not human.

The first time he arrived at Night Raven College was a moment that surprised everyone at that prestigious institution.

— A child? — Why did the dark mirror bring a child?

— Say your name.

— AMAZING, A TALKING MIRROR!

His surprise and excitement were reflected on his face. The scream he gave let the most observant ones see that he was someone curious and full of energy.

— Another Cheka — Leona sighed tiredly

— What kind of gel use to keep your hair like grass? — Vil commented upon seeing his black hair with green tips. He felt like combing it himself.

If someone young like him was at Night Raven College, it was because he had really powerful magic, right?

Wrong. That child does not contain even a pinch of magic. Many could not believe it and others made fun of him, but the boy did not appear expressionless or scared.

— Magic? JUST LIKE IN THE FAIRY TALES MY AUNT MITO TOLD ME?! I'm really sorry I don't have anything like that big mirror! But I use something very different than magic!

He seemed strangely excited.

— Waaa that boy really has a lot of energy, he's the worst enemy of an introvert like me — Idia had said scared through his tablet.

After that revelation a cat burst into the room. Demanding Yuu's place.

— That cat also talks!

— I'm not a cat!

— Is that so? So you're a magical animal? Mmm I remember Kurapika told me that magical animals can talk. But you don't look like a Kiriko at all.

— What are you talking about kid? I am the great and powerful Grim!

The place caught fire and everyone started running and screaming. Among all the most outstanding was Kalim who got his butt burned. While the other dorm leaders were discussing who should catch the cat, suddenly, that boy appeared in front of them.

— Take it

— Nyaaaaa Let me go!

— !!

The dorm leaders were surprised to see Yuu in front of them when a moment ago he was in the center of the room. And in his hands he held Grim wrapped in Kalim's robe that was previously burning.

Even Kalim looked confused. Yuu appearing behind him, said he would borrow his robe and took it off without any difficulty.

— Sorry, I don't know how to extinguish the fire. Catching it was the only thing I could do.

That year would be very interesting.

In the dwarf mine, Ace, Deuce, Yuu, and Grim were resting on the outskirts of that place due to the mysterious appearance of an ink monster that forced them to retreat. Ace, Deuce, began to fight when Yuu's scream made them shut up.

— Don't worry!

They both saw how the child stood up with great determination on his face.

— They won't be expelled, I won't allow it. His dream is to study at that school. Right? If we work as a team we can beat him. Also, I can't allow you to disappoint your mother — Yuu said looking at Deuce — it must be very important to you as it is to me to look for my father.

Yuu's innocent smile made both young men leave for some strange reason strongly hit… in their ego. How could I let a child save their skin? That would be extremely humiliating!

In the end, they all returned to school with the magic stone in their hands. Thanks to teamwork.

— Being appointed supervisor at such a young age and just entering is a great achievement!

— Is-Is that so?

— Why do you look so nervous? You seem so confident when we were in the mine.

— It's just that… it's my first time in school

—……WHAT?!

Yuu explained to them how she came from another world and lived on an island called Whale Island. There was only one other child on the entire island but he didn't play with her. She never went to school but studied at home with the help of her aunt Mito.

— Hey, now that I remember. In the mine you mentioned your father, right? — Grim asked

— Or yes, he left me when I was a baby. I'm looking for him.

— Are you looking for him? Your dad left you, why do you want to go look for him?!

At that Yuu stopped which made the two teenagers who were after him do so as well. He turned around and they both noticed that in Yuu's gaze there was nothing like remorse for being abandoned. On the contrary.

There was a great curiosity in his gaze.

— My father is a hunter. I also became one, to look for him and to know the world that he chose instead of taking care of me.

Yuu smile while mentioning his father.

— Hunter?

— Hello!

— …Hello

Malleus was in Ramshackle taking his usual walk. He appeared in the dormitory as usual, but was surprised by a child who took him completely off guard the moment he appeared.

He had heard from Lilia about the arrival of a human child without magic at the school. Which surprised him. But he didn't expect to see him in the abandoned dormitory.

The child smiles at him

— My name is Yuu, Yuu Freecss! It's a pleasure!

Yuu extended his hand to what Malleus saw without being able to believe what the child was doing. But it was rude not to greet, so he shakes hands with the small human child.

— … Aren't you afraid of me?

— Mmm, It's true that your aura is strong, but I don't feel a level of threat like Hisoka.

— What are you talking about? I don't know that Hisoka… Don't you know who I am?

— No, I'm sorry. — said the boy somewhat embarrassed.

His reaction seemed genuine, there was nothing like malaise or fear. It reminded him in a way of Silver when he was younger.

— Do you live here?

— Yes, along with a cat named Grim

With each answer that Malleus gave him he could see it. That boy seemed to have so much energy.

— I see. It's a pity, I liked to take night walks around here since it's very quiet. But I guess I'll have to look for another place.

— Seriously, I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to take away your place to explore!

Yuu shouted while bowing in apology, that causes Malleus to become more curious about the human child.

— It's okay, it's not your fault that you live here. Well, I'll take my leave.

— Wait a moment.

But Malleus had disappeared in a bunch of bright lights.

— Wow, that’s amazing — Yuu said, catching one of those lights in his hands.

— I couldn’t ask him his name.

Malleus appeared in another part of the school. He felt a little dejected that his favorite place was occupied, but there was nothing he could do. He couldn’t get that kid out of the place. He looked up to see how high the moon was until he remembered.

— Now that I think about it. Lilia said that humans should sleep to have energy the next day, or they will have health problems. But that human child was awake at this time.

While, outside the dormitory, Yuu was practicing his NEN.

My Hunter x Hunter fever came back!

The first time I saw it I was very young, two or three years younger than the main characters, time has passed and now I'm older than them buuuu 😭.

Gon is my number one main character. With that personality that I met at the beginning of the anime it was love at first sight. I'm sure that if I met Malleus they would be great friends because you know. Gon being Gon.

This anime was my second Shonen and the only one I managed to stay faithful to until today. No matter the years, for me Hunter x Hunter will be the best anime.

YES YOU CAN TOGASHI!

This idea started with a fanfic of the boys' reaction to a Yuu from different worlds, including Hunter x Hunter. I liked it so much that when I wanted to read it again I realized that they had deleted the fanfic :'v that was found on Wattpad. To get that thorn out of my side I had decided to do this. I'm thinking about whether to make more parts or not. In case you noticed, I'm a person with a lot of ideas, but I never manage to finish a story.

[syndrossi]

Do you remember ages and ages ago when we were discussing the idea of the mountain clansmen from the Vale coming down and accidentally falling in love with Jon because Jon + wildings, you know? I was just thinking about how Jon might manage to interact with some Vale mountain clansmen in Reverberate AU or Regnal AU when he and Rhaegar could ostensibly spend parts of their childhood in the Vale with Daemon and Rhea both. Maybe he gets in a huff and goes out on his own, leaving Rhaegar/Daemon/Rhea at Runestone, and gets lost and/or hurt and then picked up by a clansman. It's probably more likely if Daemon isn't at Runestone at the time... considering Caraxes' sniffing abilities, lmao. I could see Daemon or Rhea and the Runestone knights finally finding him only to discover he's gotten himself into mischief, like... the clan that found him has elected him their new leader, or he's accidentally gone and gotten himself married without knowing how. 😂

Meanwhile the angst of Rhaegar and the family when they realize they let Jon run off in an angry huff after a fight or disagreement and he's BEEN KIDNAPPED BY MOUNTAIN CLANSMEN. The ultimate enemy of the Vale! Oh no! Any thoughts?

We might need a way to take Qelebrys (and Shadow) out of the picture too, because if you think Caraxes's sniffing skills are impressive, Qelebrys and Shadow are uncanny at finding one another and their riders. (They don't have infinite detection distance by any means, of course, but you'd need quite a lot of separation.)

Perhaps a hunt in the Vale of Arryn gone awry while Daemon is called away to business in King's Landing and the boys want to do something with Rhea? The dragons are left at home, because they'll scare the prey and are jealous of the boys' falcons. Or it could be a hunt hosted by Lady Jeyne, where it's DEFINITELY expected that the dragons aren't coming along.

What age were you thinking them being in this scenario? Obviously it's scarier (and potentially funnier) if they're 8-10ish, though I wish Jon good luck going off in a huff with Ser Willam ready to sit on him if necessary. I feel like Allard would be along so that Daemon could go I TOLD YOU SO after all these years, even though he's innocent and just trying to aid in the search.

There are likely other young boys along if it's a bigger hunt, so it could be a game of chase (or hide) gone awry, where eventually someone (Rhaegar) notices that Jon's nowhere to be seen. Then there's the angst of "how could I let him out of my sight?" and "why did I suggest playing the game?"

(If they're older, it could be a horse race or something more adolescent/teen-driven.)

And now you've got Runestone a two week trip on horseback away, meaning they can't go get Qelebrys and Shadow without abandoning the search for that long, so an urgent raven is dispatched to KL. For the 4-5 days before Caraxes gets there, though, there's all manner of trouble Jon can get himself into...

(Poor Rhea, half convinced her baby boy is dead given the cruel savagery of the mountain clansmen, but trying not to make her fears obvious for Rhaegar's sake which of course fails because that boy is stupidly tuned to anyone's emotions but especially a mother's. So now she has to wrangle Rhaegar to keep him out of harm's way seeking Jon because she can't lose them both.)

[tulipsforyourlips]

✧˖°. i found you ✧˖°. (4)

|| the sandman x dead boy detectives ||

SUMMARY: You run the dead boys detective agency along with your two best friends. And somehow two ghosts and a living girl make it work. Until you dream one night, of dream himself.

PAIRING: dream of the endless x fem!reader

WC: 3K

WARNINGS: none I can think of

PART 4✧˖°.

"So let me get this straight, ghosts cannot lie to you yet you work with two ghosts who apparently can," Matthew cawed from his place on your shoulder where you were huddled in one corner of the Dreaming library. 

Earlier that day, Dream had intercepted your walk to the bakery nearby your apartment, almost giving you a jump scare, and then brought you back here with him once you'd pleaded to let your ghost friends know you were going out. Since it was a weekend and the agency remained closed, they didn't question you. Although Charles did tease you about a date. If only.  

"Yep that pretty much sums it up. But it's not out of compulsion, it's that ghosts trust me, it's like they have no other option than to trust me. I don't know how it works seriously, just that it has helped a hell lot of ghosts successfully cross over and boom our business. And as far as Edwin and Charles are concerned, well my powers, if you could call it that, did happen after meeting the guys. So," you shrugged.

"Interesting," Matthew mulled over your words, "and this has been going for the past.."

"4 years.”

"And you remember nothing before that? No family, no one from your past?" 

An all so ever familiar brush of sadness tingled every bone in your body. "No," you exhaled. 

"I am sorry.”

"Eh I am used to it now. Besides I love my life with the boys. I did search for any signs of my family, if I had one and then just gave up after a year. The boys are my family now." 

"Include me in too.”

You laughed at Matthew’s response. "Of course you are my precious little raven." 

"My lady," Lucienne's voice greeted you, "he’s ready.”

While you were away, Morpheus had tried to repair the damage only for a fresh bout of earthquakes to replace the previous destruction. Now you made your way to where he stood crafting dreams or nightmares. 

"Mortal," he said in greeting, his back turned to you. 

"Dream.”

He moved aside and your breath got caught in your throat. Staring at you, was a half human, half monster who had a tongue of a reptile and teeth like razors. The stuff of literal nightmares.  

"Make him trust you," Dream spoke.

"Are you crazy?" You looked at him as if someone had cracked his skull open and was gorging on his brains and someone might have with what he was suggesting. 

"You dare-?" 

Yes you fucking dared. What was he expecting you to do, commit suicide? 

But he was after all an Endless, and you did not wish to invoke his wrath so you only mumbled, "I can't do this, you can't expect me to get a nightmare to trust me! It's unreal!" 

"But ghosts trust you.”

"Yes because they are ghosts and he is, well a bloody nightmare.”

"Try.”

"And who's guaranteeing that I won't die trying?”

"I am.” His words were solid pebbles dropping in your guts. 

You don't know what made you take the next step, maybe it was the conviction in his voice, but you stretched your arms forward and warily tried to approach the monster human. You took baby steps towards him, just a few more, you assured yourself but then the nightmare lunged straight for you. You tripped backward and the sandy ground contacted your back. But before the nightmare could contact you, Dream raised his hand and the nightmare vanished into darkness, flecks of what he once used to be gracing the ground in front of you. You got up on your feet, the image of razor teeth inches away from your face still imprinted in your mind. 

"I am sorry Dream I can't do this." 

"What?” A frown displayed on his face. “But I ensured no harm came to you.”

"Dream I was saved from becoming nightmare food by a mere second!" 

"I would not have let any harm befall you." His eyes sook yours trying to convey the determination behind his words. 

Your face softened. You wanted to believe him. You really did. But how could you trust his creations when you did not trust the creator himself.  

"And I am just supposed to believe you?" 

"Morta-"

"You know I have a name. If you want me to help you, the least you can do is stop perceiving me as a fly in your path and call me by my name!" you snapped. 

Dream was silent. 

"Get me out of here.”

You half expected him to deny your request but sand began swirling around you, and the next moment you were teleported back to the waking world. Had he so easily given up on you? Good riddance. 

When you pushed the door to the apartment open, the guys were huddled together on the couch, watching television. 

"Hey! how was your date?" Charles asked, his gaze fixed on the television. 

"Terrible," you murmured and slammed the door to your bedroom behind you. 

The king of Dreams sat on his throne, gazing at the universe contained in his ceiling, when he felt you enter the Dreaming. He always did. He entered the mountain clearing, your lone figure was sprawled on the grass in the distance beneath the starry sky. Before his brain could object, he started towards you.

You must have felt his presence because you bolted upright when he neared you, “Dream,”

His name felt so weightless on your tongue, he wanted to hear it again and again. You on the other hand didn’t know why you were so surprised to see him here, it was his realm after all.

“I told you I am not-"

“Relax Hazel, I am not here to impart any lessons to you.”

Hazel

“So why are you here?”

He opened his mouth and closed it, no answer left him. Had you just seen the Dream Lord hesitate? You patched the grass beside you, an invitation for truce. Tentatively, he sat down, his cloak spooling around him. It was an odd sight, seeing the Dream Lord on the ground beside you, instead of his ceremonious throne.

“Did you create this?” You asked.

“Partially, I had help.”

“I thought only you had the power to create dreams and nightmares.” Your time in the library had been well spent.

“It is true, but the vision can always belong to someone else. His voice was soft, words floating into the winds.

You imagined someone having the vision for this, for this phenomenal beauty you were sitting in and you thanked them.

“It’s beautiful.” Your voice came like a whisper.

Morpheus looked at you. “It is.”

You both sat in silence, gazing at the stars twinkling above you.

Dream’s voice penetrated the quiet. “Mort-Hazel, I never mean to belittle you. And believe it or not, I am grateful to you for your help. But you have to understand that-”

“Then make me understand.” You repeated your words from your first visit to the Dreaming.

Morpheus sighed before the low baritone of his voice reached you. “You know there are seven of us. There is Death, Destiny, Desire, Delirium, Despair, Destruction and I. And it is our purpose to ensure the smooth running of humankind. We have been here since the beginning of time itself and will be here when the last soul departs the Earth-” You had already read all this in the library but let him go on “-but along us siblings, there was,” he paused.

You thought it was for dramatic effect but when he didn’t continue, you called to him, “Dream?”

He inhaled sharply, “Hope.” The word left his mouth in a breathy exhale.  “There was Hope, and she held together what you could call the fabric of humanity.”

“Where is she now?” You asked.

Dream looked at you for some time and answered, his voice a whisper, “dead.”

The hurt in his voice took you off guard. 

“I am sorry.”

Silence engulfed the both of you again.

“Is that the reason behind the earthquakes?”

“Hope and Dream are co-dependent. Neither can exist without the other. We thought, we hoped that the future could withstand the loss of hope, but the inhabitants of the Dreaming grow weak without her pulse and the realm itself is failing.”

“And if it does, so will humanity.” Your words sunk in you.

“Because what are humans, rather any of us, without dreams and hope?” He looked at you.

“And that is why you need me, to instill trust in the dreams and nightmares so that they don’t stray from their purpose to serve humanity,” everything clicked, "Dream I had no idea-“

“It wasn’t your fault,” he stated. “But now since you know how imperative it is for the dreams and nightmares to learn to trust, the shadow of hope, will you help me,” his eyes held yours and there was a delicate plea seeping into his gravelly voice, “save the world?”

“Yes.”

You rested your head against Edwin's torso as you flipped through the mail you were holding. He was propped against the back of the wall as he went through a thick volume of ghost fungi or something. You couldn't care less. The past week had been tiring, an understatement of course. Your every organ was tired, despite sleeping for 10 hours a day. But it wasn't like you were sleeping, Morpheus and you trained every night in the Dreaming, and your grueling efforts had reaped no fruit yet. And during the days, the agency's work took a toll on you. The only respite from your exhausting and rigorous routine was the hour just before dawn, when you'd sit with Dream in your little bubble and gaze at the stars together. You'd begun looking forward to it every day, you had realised with reluctance. 

"Aha! This seems interesting.” You held out a paper in your hand, grabbing the attention of both the boys. 

Charles tilted his head from his position on the table to read the print on the paper. "A demon possession, brills!" 

"So your believe you are possessed by a demon?" Edwin scribbled notes in his notepad. 

"Yes.” The girl's voice was hoarse with crying. 

"And what makes you believe that?" 

"I-I wake up in strange places which I have no memory of traveling to, and there are voices inside my head-”

"Yeah, welcome to being alive duh," you snorted. 

Shit you had said that aloud. 

Charles gave you a rebuking look. 

"Sorry," you muttered. 

"The voices inside my head, they are too loud. He makes me do things I would never do," the girl continued.

"Can you..feel him right now?" 

"No,” she shook her head, “he surfaces only occasionally," she sniffed. 

"Hey." Charles held the girl by her shoulders. "Don't worry, you will be okay. We will get him out, we promise.”

Oh no, there was only one rule. You never ever promised a client. You look up expecting to see Edwin's dismal expression but only find a thin veil of envy coating his features. Oh boy. 

You were just beginning to tease him when you caught the unmistakable unruly hair of the King of Dreams to your right in the distance. 

"Uh guys, I will be right back," you told the group, "really need to pee."

God you needed to work on your excuses. 

"What are you doing here?" You hissed when you neared him. 

Matthew cawed on his shoulder. 

"Pleased to meet you too Hazel.”

"I thought we had a deal, no training during daytime.”

"It's not I but Lucienne who seeks you. She needs your help with the library.”

"Oh?” Spending an entire day in the library of dreams? Sign me up. “Well then I could make an exception for her,” you hummed. 

“Of course, it doesn’t assist any fascination of yours,” he mocked. 

“Did you just attempt sarcasm? They grow up so fast.” You wiped false tears.

“Come now-”

“I need to tell the boys first, and don’t-don’t do that whirlpool thing here,” you looked around, “there are witnesses. Meet me at the-”

Before you could finish, he dissolved into nothingness. Great. 

“Were you um talking to yourself?” Edwin’s voice spooked you. 

You whirled around. “Yeah, just normal sane things.” You added hurriedly, “what’s with the girl?” 

Edwin’s expression changed into annoyance at her mention. “Charles insists on taking her back to the apartment to-“ he drew quotation marks in the air, “-monitor her in hopes of expelling the demon out of her body.”

“Well all the best with that.”

“What do you mean? You aren’t coming back with us?” 

“I just think that since she’s not a ghost and I don’t have any leverage over her, I might pursue other activities today.”

“Like the date?” Edwin frowned.

“No-Yes,” you sighed, giving up. 

“Uh alright have fun. See you tonight.” 

“You too.” 

You were propped up in Lucienne’s chair, combing through yet another volume of the history of the universe. The sheer rarity of this knowledge baffled you. You hadn’t seen Morpheus since he had apparated the both of you in the library. Turns out, Lucienne had been rearranging vast sections of the library today and even though she didn’t exactly need your help with that, she welcomed an eager friend and her joyful company. After hours of studying her intricate filing system and aiding her in that, your tired self now sat a few feet away from where she stacked the remnant books in their allotted places. You simply were in awe of that woman. Matthew chirped from your shoulder, he had seemed to make a home there. Eyes drooping with exhaustion, you slammed the book shut. Should you ask them? It’s now or never right?

“Who was Hope?” 

Lucienne froze in her movements, and Matthew stopped chirping. A feather could be heard dropped in the quiet that you had unknowingly compelled the room into. 

The librarian answered after what felt like hours, “it isn’t our place to say, my lady.” 

You nodded, a part of you had already known her answer. 

“Hazel please Lucienne.”

”Sorry my la- Hazel.”

Jesse, you had learned was the name of the possessed girl, giggled at an extremely, extremely horrid joke of Charles. 

“I don’t understand. That wasn’t funny,” Edwin said. 

Man he really needed to learn to conceal his jealousy better. 

“You and me both buddy,” you said more to yourself. 

“It’s alright mate, it isn’t exactly Victorian humour,” Charles said in between laughs. 

Charles and Jesse were clustered together on the couch, being unnecessarily touchy. Edwin was viewing them with a bitter scowl. 

You nudged him in the ribs lightly, “Someone is jealous.”

“Please, like she is someone a human or ghost could get jealous over.” 

Was he seriously that utterly daft?

“Eds I meant Charles,” you said it in a ‘duh that’s so obvious’ tone. 

“What?” He got immediately defensive. “Charles is my best friend, and nothing more. Nor do I wish him to be,” he jutted his chin out.

“Ok liar, pants on fire,” you squinted at him. 

“Hazel I don’t know how to prove that to you.”

You tittered, “prove it to yourself, love.” 

Edwin sat in deliberate consideration for a while. You glanced at the time, 9:00 pm, you were so tired but the day was young even though the moon was out. A part of you just wanted to escape your destiny and blah blah, but the part that was slowly growing attached to Dream didn't let you do so.

“Hazel?” Charles’ voice pulled you back. 

“Uh yeah,” 

“So tell her about it.”

“About what?” 

“About the case of the sea monster we solved a while back," he said with annoyance, "were you not listening to me?”

“Uh uh. No can do.” You got up, brushing imaginary flecks of dust from your pants. “Anyways lads, I am going to disintegrate myself into my beloved bed now where my beloved sleep awaits me.”

“Who are you and what have you done to my Hazel?” Charles pointed his fingers at you. 

“What?” You laughed. 

“Mate you have been going to bed at 9 pm for more than a week now, you, the one who put the sleep schedule of owls to shame.”

“Yeah I don’t know man I just feel super tired recently.”

“Everything's aces right?” Charles’ voice was concerned. 

“You just seem a lot distant lately,” Edwin added. 

“I do?” Genuine shock seeped into your tone. You needed to cover your tracks better. You fucking hated keeping things from them. Jesse looked curiously at you. 

“Yep boys everything's aces, it’s just called being in your 20's right?” You tried to lighten the atmosphere with a joke. 

They didn’t even seem half convinced but didn’t interfere further as you entered your room and subsequently the land of Dreams. 

The river babbled as it shimmered under the stars. Morpheus and you sat together after another training session. You were getting closer, both you and him were sensing it. You turned your head towards him, his dark eyes held the entire cosmos in them, and his cloak blended into the surroundings. Here in the dark, under the cover of the night, he almost felt like an extension of darkness itself. His hair was wild like always, falling on his forehead, and you had the sudden urge to glide your fingers through them and tuck them back. Embarrassing. 

“Do you wish to say something, mortal?” 

This time the mortal wasn’t used as a deriding remark, rather it had now become a term of endearment between you two. 

“Did you love her?” The question escaped you. 

Morpheus was silent. “Love who?” 

“Hope,” you said, her name on your tongue a weird sensation. 

He didn’t answer. But that was answer enough for you. Dream in love? The literal king of Dreams was capable of experiencing an emotion as tender as love? A pang of something hit your insides. Jealousy? No, can’t be. No way in hell you were falling for an Endless, least of all him. 

Time laughed somewhere in the universe. 

SERIES MASTERLIST✧˖°.

[perictione00]

Selfish

Ch 1: Surprise!!!

Pairing: Geto Suguru x reader

Warnings: a bit dark and graphic..?

Synopsis: You left the Jujutsu World behind the moment the source of your warmth turned cold. So what happens when you come face to face with that one episode in your life that you wanted to obliterate? Simple, you reap what you sow.

Jujutsu Kaisen Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Malaysia, 2014

It was a tiring day, your period wasn't helping either. You were just itching to get home, take a shower, and order from that new Mexican place your boyfriend had been talking about. It was a Friday, so you were getting excited about the weekend. For some reason, you were feeling so grateful, maybe because your life was finally normal and you were happy. It was all okay until you encountered a young boy in a wheelchair, with a curse engulfing his lower body. A world that you wanted to escape so desperately, somehow never failed to present itself in a situation that made you question your morality. But after everything you had seen, you were way past morality, so you ignored the boy like you did with every other person who needed you.

"Jayden", you called out for your boyfriend as you opened the door to your shared apartment. You assumed, that he wasn't home yet as nobody answered but the familiar cursed energy you sensed said otherwise. You felt dreaded as it wasn't possible, you had dodged every single mistake that could have given away your whereabouts.

"Please no", you prayed as you walked further into the apartment. You froze, as you entered your bedroom. The bed was soaked in blood as the lifeless body of your boyfriend was being violated by a curse. "No, no, no, no, no", tears spilled out of your eyes as you started screaming in denial. It quickly turned into anger as a certain raven-haired man standing in the corner declared his presence, "Surprise!!!". You attacked him with a punch straight to his face and he didn't budge, he didn't dodge the many punches you threw his way while crying your heart out. He did stop you, chuckling, "Aww, don't cry..did you actually love this one? C'mon now, you know you're not capable of that". He started cradling you in a hug, "Now let's get back to business.., remember the traitor who left me?.. yeah, yeah, the one I trusted the most, remember that person?", his hand slid down your hair slowly as he continued, "oh wait, you look a lot like that person..the one who abandoned me".

2005

On New Year's Eve, you told your mum about some weird dreams you were having for the past few days, and of course, being a typical mother, she blamed it on your choices of television series. But you knew it wasn't because of the few Supernatural episodes that you had seen in the span of two months.

From the beginning of time, you were used to seeing terrifying figures randomly, which were avoided at all costs as you were scared of what might turn out if they knew of your existence. However, your parents thought otherwise, resulting in child therapy, which wasn't working yet you pretended it did. You adapted to your surroundings being full of creepy creatures, ignoring them, and trying to live like a normal teenager. That was until the onset of some weird dreams and a malevolent presence under your bed. It was weird, as none of them ever came in close proximity to you. Hence, you started sleeping with your parents again. The nightmares didn't stop; in spite of that, you felt good, safe, and loved, no longer scared.

The peacefulness vanished on the first day of 2006, when you were alone in the house and someone was singing a broken melody. You were petrified as you saw a woman playing a violin emerging from a newborn's skull, singing while rocking to the rhythm in the drawing room, suddenly stopping, turning, and smiling unnaturally at you.

"You would make a beautiful cello."

You bolted as it proceeded to move crookedly in your direction. It was guffawing so loudly that you had to cover your ears. Locking yourself in the bathroom, you called your parents, whispering to them about how much you loved them, until you heard a frightening tune on a piano. The call was disconnected, and the door started melting while you tried to escape from the window you couldn't reach. The room started turning white, and you saw your reflection in the mirror, smiling at you. Your vision blurred as you fell into a slumber.

Waking up, your eyes adjusted to the brightness of a white room. You felt agitated at first, but slowly observing, you saw your parents sitting sadly on a white couch. Thank fuck, it was a hospital room. Their happiness and relief after your recovery from an unexplainable incident couldn't be measured. You were spoiled rotten with love as you woke up after a week of unconsciousness. In the evening of the same day, a bulky man in all black approached your family, discussing something before finally coming to you. He introduced himself as Masamichi Yaga and unfolded the world of Jujutsu sorcerers to you. Though your parents were sure he was a cult member, you felt ecstatic; you weren't crazy after all. With that came many days of convincing, resulting in your parents ultimately agreeing to admit you to Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College after checking its legitimacy a thousand more times. They were not ready to let you go, but they came around as you kept insisting with evidence.

On the way to the campus, the tough-looking man turned out to be a total softie who was explaining to you about your unknown technique and appreciating you for exorcising a grade 2 curse without any training. You were dumbfounded, but you were a sucker for praise, so you didn't question him.

After reaching the campus, you were introduced to your classmates, an almost gloomy Kento Nanami, and a total cutie, Yu Haibara. They were great, especially Haibara, who was currently showing you around the campus. After getting a hot drink, you both settled down on a seat. You weren't expecting to get along with anyone on the very first day, but Haibara's just so sweet that anyone can feel comfortable. He showed you your assigned room, and you guys called it a night.

However, later at night, your slumber was disrupted by a growling stomach at 3 in the morning. It was odd timing for a takeout, but you still gave it a shot, ordering a Zaru Soba with cola. You were surprised at how advanced the Tokyo delivery system was, as you got your delivery within 10 minutes. It tasted better than your expectations, and with that, you started brainstorming ideas to decorate your room, which was interrupted by a knock on the door. You ignored it the first time out of caution, but you opened it on the third knock. To your surprise, a literal god stood in front of you, and you didn't know how to react. "Hey..?", you broke the ice with an awkward greeting.

"I think the delivery guy confused our orders because we ordered the same thing, so I'm assuming this is yours", the Greek god said as he offered you your cola.

"Oh yeah, thanks..um..yeah", you were doing a great job continuing the conversation with your five syllables. Before you could close the door and save your ass from embarrassment, the guy asked for your name, and you told him. Shit, now you felt obligated to ask his name, and so you did. "And you are?"

"Geto Suguru"

Ch 2

[kingconia]

Hi! If that's okay could i request Riddle and Floyd with a gn! reader that instinctively shields Riddle from him? Like, this is a habit they have and the first time they saw Floyd bothering Riddle they hid him behind them without thinking much of it and getting him to leave him alone.

The reader is taller than Riddle btw!

A/N: Such a delightful concept you have here! I hope I delivered it well.

GN!Reader x Riddle Rosehearts

•

”Oh, come on now, goldfishie!~”

You raised your head slowly, looking around in a quick attempt to understand where this voice came from.

It was the middle of the thursday, endless—as it seemed—hours of lessons behind, and you were sitting in the library, allowing the warm rays of the skin to tickle your skin through the opened window as you tried to grasp the history paragraph you failed to remember for an hour now. So, on the some extent, hearing that you weren't alone here, was a relief. Taking a break seemed like a proper idea.

But you knew this voice, and you knew it never meant anything but trouble to others. Especially, that judging by the nickname he said, he was with Riddle again. And, oh, it was no a secret how much Riddle hated his company.

Riddle Rosehearts was the first person in the Night Raven College, who caught your attention. A little tyrant—others called him so jokingly, though, you never liked it—always seemed an interesting person, but once you got a chance to understand him, you also realised that he was more than interesting. He was nice. And caring.

He liked your company, too. At least, Riddle was willing to give up his study time for you, and he cared about you enough to gift you a single red rose everyday. You only wished to be for him as comforting, as he was such a person for you.

So, abandoning your favourite spot, leaving your things there, you started to walk around library, moving on voices.

You found them quickly. Riddle was pressed with his back to the bookshelf, frowning in disgust, as Floyd was standing in front of him, taunting—again—about their height differences. Instantly, you meddled between them, and did what you always did: shoved Riddle behind yourself.

You were rewarded by a short squeak, which was his natural reaction to this habit of yours. Instead, you frowned furiously, folding hands on your chest.

”Floyd Leech,” you wrinkled your nose. ”Are you, perhaps, bothering Riddle again?”

This habit of yours—with shielding Riddle as the possible danger stepped in the picture—started rather accidentally. You remembered how it happened for the first time; both of you were having a walk in the gardens of the Heartslabyul, when Ace accidentally dropped the bucket of the red paint he held on Riddle. You reacted rather quickly as you closed Riddle with your own body.

And then, you continued to do that all the time. You were hiding himself like this, when bees were somewhere close—did you know that he was afraid of them?—or when the sun was too much for his eyes. When he saw someone he didn't want to deal with, or from Savanaclaw students, who were racing in the corridors, too.

It was natural. It felt right.

And it didn't seem like a strange thing to do! But apparently, Floyd disagreed. Somehow, the sight of two of you, made him very amused.

”Ha! I see, I see,” he laughed quietly, opening his arms widely. ”Shrimpy-chan is very territorial with their loved ones.”

You blinked in confusion. What was this nonsense about?

”I don't understand what are you talking about...”

”No!” Riddle yelled suddenly. ”Don't you dare!”

He yanked you by the sleeve of your jacket, but there was no attempts to leave your side, or to do anything at all, so you couldn't figure out at who exactly he was screaming—you or Floyd. So, you merely ignored him.

”Floyd, be nice for once, and stop bothering Riddle,” you turned your attention back to the boy. ”I am really not in mood to fight with you right now.”

”Ha-ha! Sure!” Suddenly, Floyd moved closer to whisper something on your ear. ”Don't take it personally, shrimpy... If I knew that he is here for a library date, I wouldn't bother him! Have fun!”

He winked at you, and before you even managed to call for him, still not understanding what it was all about, the Leech twin was already out of the library, with doors closing behind him loudly.

”What an idiot...” Finally, you turned around, to Riddle. He was staring at the floor, suddenly all red, much like a little cherry. ”Riddle? Are you okay? Should I do something?”

As you leaned lower, to be able to see his face properly, he hid it in his hands instead.

”Y/n, just give me the alchemy book from the highest shelf. It is the third one from left,” he hissed. Then, quietly added: ”Please.”

You huffed, but did as you were told to, easily grabbing the right book.

At the end of the day, you still were quiet confused with Floyd's words, let alone, with Riddle's reaction. But, well, at least, you helped him, right?

[otdiaftg]

The Raven King - Chapter Ten

Day: Saturday, November 4th Time: 12:20 PM EST

"This story is about Cass and Luther, isn't it? Luther said he could send me back to Cass. I gave him a secret to make sure he wouldn't." "And he told someone," Neil guessed. "No." Andrew tapped his fingers a little faster, an agitated rhythm completely at odds with the mocking smile on his lips. "That's too easy. These kinds of secrets are not given out lightly. You know that. We calculate collateral damage and escape routes. We plan and brace for the reaction and fallout. But Luther did not tell. He chose to not believe me at all. And that's a thousand times worse, you see." "That depends on the secret," Neil said. "True." Andrew let go of Neil and wheeled away. "Maybe it comes as a surprise to you, Neil, but I am not a very trusting person. If I tell a man the sky is blue and he tells me I am wrong, I am not inclined to give him a second chance. I see no reason to." "So did Luther not believe you or did he say you were wrong?" Neil asked. "There's a significant difference between the two." "Oh." Andrew half-turned to face him again. "Sometimes I forget you are sharper than you look." Neil struggled with his memory, knowing the answer was right out of reach. He thought about Higgins' visit and Nicky's parents, and then Neil remembered sitting across from Andrew on a bench in the locker room to ask about Higgins' first phone call. He'd thought Andrew's parting words strange but he hadn't understood at the time. He wasn't sure he'd drawn the right conclusions now but it was worth a shot. "He said it was a misunderstanding." The way Andrew went so perfectly still, if only for a second, told Neil he was right. "Shh," Andrew said, soft like he was reassuring a cornered animal. "Shh, don't say that. I hate the sound of that word. I warned you once so you'd know better than to use it again. Why would you risk it?" "Andrew," Neil started. "No." Andrew didn't raise his voice, but he didn't have to for Neil to hear the warning in it. If Neil pushed the matter any further in the wrong direction Andrew would shut down and this conversation was over for good. Neil grasped at straws, looking for the right words to say to keep Andrew talking. Maybe Andrew was right and Nicky's parents would never accept him as he was, but Nicky needed to try.

Art used with permission by Karasawr. Thank you @karasawr!

[yatagarasuhonyaku]

The Raven of the Empty Coffin: Chapter 2 "Akeru" Part 1

Disclaimer: This is a fan-translation japanese-english of the original novel. The events of this novel follow after what's already covered by the anime. For an easier understanding, I recommend first reading the few scenes of previous books I've already translated.

Blog version

For the Index, you can find it HERE

Previously: Shigemaru (Part 3)

⊛　　　　　⊛　　　　　 ⊛

Chapter 2: Akeru (Part 1)

“Good evening,” the boy said to me.

His clear eyes were jet black. His skin was whiter than magnolias even under the setting sun. He had small shoulders, covered by a thin haori made of silk gauze. His perfectly straight hair fell smoothly over them.

——What a beautiful person.

That was the first impression I ever had of His Highness Wakamiya.

Back then, my mother was completely focused on my older brother, the family’s heir, and my older sister, who everyone counted on to enter the Imperial Harem. In my loneliness, I had taken to endless mischief to make the adults pay attention to me and that day was no exception. As soon as the maids told me to ‘not go to the palace’s annex on my own, there was an important guest staying there’, I immediately decided to sneak there.

I remember it clearly even now.

It happened at dusk. I took a peek in the annex’s direction as soon as I crossed the then flowerless camellia hedges. My plan had been to go inside and explore if I found nobody there, but that wasn’t the case. Someone was in fact sitting on the veranda, surrounded by red light.

As the light lingered it turned the sky crimson, dyeing the blooming white magnolias a light pink. The person on the veranda had been looking up, admiring the spectacle made by the delicately falling petals—yet, somehow, he noticed me on the spot. He even nonchalantly greeted me first.

“Go…… Good evening,” I answered back, full of nerves. I sure sounded insecure even to myself, my voice barely a flutter.

“Is something the matter? Maybe a message from Lady Masuho?”

I didn’t like the familiar way in which he spoke of my sister, but I still kept my silence. Instead, I shook my head.

“Then, was this originally your playground? I'm sorry to intrude like this,” the boy responded, and I panicked.

“No! They just told me I couldn't come here, so, erhm… you see…”

“You ignored it and came here.”

“I did…”

That was the ‘important guest’ the maids had told me about, even I could tell that much. At that moment, I was convinced he would call the servants and I would be yelled at, which made what happened next even harder to believe. I couldn’t trust my ears at first.

“Then let's keep it a secret.” I looked up in surprise, and there was the boy pressing his index finger against his lips. “You don't want to be scolded, right? So leave it just between us that we were both here. How about that?”

I just stood there like a fool for a while. Had that been my older brother, I had no doubts I would have been harshly yelled at. I had bothered plenty of people with my troublemaking, yet this was the first time someone had offered to keep it a ‘secret’. Thinking about it now, this was the exact moment I learned you could actually have friends—people to get in trouble with.

“——Yes, let's! It's a secret.” I too raised my finger to my lips.

In answer, the boy gave me the gentlest of smiles.

⊛　　　　　⊛　　　　　 ⊛

“It's time at last,” Akeru declared as he observed the expressions of all the boys standing in front of him.

The Unbending Reed Monastery, third building, second room. Not even an hour after Akeru had carried his belongings inside, all the trainees with connections to the Western House had gathered there for a meeting.

“The Southern House’s overt and ever-growing tyranny these last few years is the biggest proof of their fear. We may have struggled because of it, but that too is about to end.”

The trainees, who had been attentively listening, leaned forward. “Then…!”

“It's just as you think. His Highness Wakamiya will inherit the throne soon.”

There had been an endless amount of councils held at the Imperial Court over the past few days. The requests for the reigning emperor to abdicate the throne in favor of His Highness Wakamiya grew in number, and while the Animiya Faction, most of them from the Southern House, was against the idea, they had no arguments against their rival faction's efforts. It wouldn’t take long to gain the Court's approval, that was almost certain.

“It would be unacceptable to have Yamauchi Guards like the scoundrels from back then by the time His Highness Wakamiya has truly become His Majesty. I came here, to the Unbending Reed Monastery, under Wakamiya's personal orders to preside over you all,” Akeru said gallantly, as he surveyed them all. The people present went from Seeds to Evergreens, all the very picture of solemnity.

“We shall become His Highness Wakamiya’s true allies. Indolency is inexcusable. Brace yourselves and perform your duty diligently.”

“Yes!” his companions said at once, bowing their heads.

“Someday, he’ll become your brother-in-law, so make sure to not disrespect him in any way.” Those were the words Akeru's father gave him once upon a time.

Afterwards, he introduced him to the very same boy who had turned into Akeru's first ever accomplice. His Highness Wakamiya—a young prince of the Imperial Family and his older sister's future husband.

Wakamiya’s health had been poor when he had first arrived at the Western House. He had been recovering in the annex, so they were only formally introduced to each other once he had actually recovered. But, when his father wasn't looking, Akeru pressed his finger once more against his lips and, all while keeping a straight face, Wakamiya responded with the same gesture for just a second.

Akeru and his sister were given plenty of chances to play with Wakamiya ever since then, using the fact that they were all children as an excuse. From that point onwards, Masuho no Susuki, Akeru's kind and compassionate sister, came to genuinely like him.

Akeru was also filled with the desire to do something—anything—for his beloved sister and his future brother-in-law. That was why, the very second he learned of Wakamiya’s return from his studies abroad in the Outside in order to choose his legal wife, he volunteered to become one of his attendants.

It was early spring, and the first time they had met in years. The location was in front of Sunrise Palace—the Crown Prince’s residence. It had been kept closed due to Wakamiya's long absence, and the plan had been to spend the day getting it back to livable condition. Akeru had been given the position of the head of the attendants—acting as the representative of everyone serving in Sunrise Palace—so he was given the opportunity to, personally and with great anticipation, wait for their master's return.

While he had expected Wakamiya to arrive from the bridge connecting the Palace to the Imperial Court, he instead appeared riding on a horse and landed right in front of Akeru and the rest of the attendants. Akeru wouldn't ever forget the scene.

Three sharp claws grasped at the stone floor and the resulting wind forced them all to shield their eyes. The horse kept flapping its wings for no apparent reason, its black feathers dancing in the air. The rider’s straight hair danced in the wind, its color a splendid black, and his eyes, resplendent like amethysts, were directed at them.

“Oh, Akeru. It has been a while,” were Wakamiya's first words. As he said that, he swept the sleeves of his garment, a luxurious piece embroidered in gold, out of the way and jumped down from the horse’s saddle with practiced ease. He was all grown up, yet he remained the same beautiful person of his youth. Just as Akeru remembered him.

“Welcome back, Your Highness. I've been waiting for you all this time!”

Akeru would give his all for this person's sake. He wholeheartedly thought so. Yet, just as they finally opened the doors to Sunrise Palace and set about cleaning its long unused rooms, Wakamiya stopped them.

“There's no need to do that,” he assured them. “All of you, return to your previous workplaces.”

Akeru heard someone else raise his voice in baffled surprise.

“One person shall suffice to tend to Sunrise Palace, everyone else can return home. Akeru, you come with me.”

Immediately after saying that, Wakamiya left the Palace and settled on a small annex as his private chambers in complete disregard for the large building that he was supposed to live in. He checked the place's surroundings and, only then, after inspecting the dusty interior, he gave Akeru his first order.

“All the vegetation in the garden bothers me, cut them so I can see further from my room. Also, there is too much of a mess of things inside, I don't like it. Leave a bookshelf and take away everything else. I have somewhere to go after this, but I'll be back before sunset…… So, let's see. At the very least, before then, clean up the room enough for me to sleep. Can you do that?” Wakamiya asked him.

Akeru nodded, full of confidence. “Of course, leave it to me.”

“Then that I shall. Don't let anyone inside while I'm away.”

“Understood. Please, take care.”

Akeru was overjoyed to have Wakamiya relying on him, proud to be able to answer to those expectations. Once he had seen him off, Akeru gave his servants, who had been waiting just outside the Palace, the order to send a messenger to the Western House's residence—not the main one in their territory, but the palace they owned for work at the Imperial Court.

From there on, Akeru spent his entire time diligently working until dusk. In fact, Sunrise Palace had been completely transformed thanks to his efforts by the time of Wakamiya’s return. The setting sun shone over them when he finally came back to his room. As soon as he set foot in it, however, he writhed in shock.

“...... What's this?”

“I just followed your commands, Your Highness. The room was truly painful to behold, so, brazen as it may be, I took it upon myself to prepare and deliver new furniture. All made by Western craftsmen,” Akeru proclaimed to him, checking the room once again.

If he told anyone that the room had been a disorderly mess just a few hours ago, nobody would believe him. Luxurious crimson curtains hung from the window overlooking the garden as decorated golden buckles kept them stylishly open in a shape that resembled a butterfly’s spreading wings. The desk in front was pitch black and covered in mother-of-pearl decorations. A rainbow crane flew through a nearby cupboard with top shelves(1), made by the same artisan.

An incense burner rested on top, as well as a vase filled with red apricot blossoms. All masterpieces, decorated with gold and grey heron stamps.

“I trust all these items are of a quality befitting for Your Highness, but if there is any problem, please do tell me. Exchanging them should be no problem whatsoever.”

“No, I have no complaints with the furniture as long as they’re in working condition. But… it's a bit painful to the eyes……”

Akeru could tell Wakamiya was surprised by such a splendid transformation from his somewhat bewildered look. “Please, do also check the garden. I called for one of the Western House's Retainers, a gardener, and completely fixed it. It should be perfectly pleasant to the eyes now.”

Wakamiya immediately took a look from the window and saw the garden, which had been delicately cut down and had its entirety replanted with all kinds of garden trees. He was at a loss for words. Akeru was filled with a sense of accomplishment as he looked at the man’s back. His day’s efforts were rewarded.

After all, it had been a lot of trouble to arrange it all before Wakamiya's return. To mobilize all the servants at the residence, call for the gardener, check the Western House’s treasure storage, and choose between the available furniture. He hadn’t had the time to do a careful selection and he wasn't wholly satisfied with the end result, which was a shame, but he had managed to go above and beyond Wakamiya's orders. It should be enough for the time being. 

“Is it all to your satisfaction?”

Wakamiya had been standing there, deep in thought and with a hand on his forehead, for a while. His expression was just as blank as usual, yet Akeru got the feeling he looked somehow troubled when he turned towards him.

“It's certainly an impressive change, but I can't believe you did this all alone.”

Wakamiya’s words were incomprehensible to Akeru. “But I did do it all.”

“Are you telling me that you carried even furniture like those shelves and the jar all by yourself?” Wakamiya asked him as he touched the items, all taller than Akeru.

“Oh!” Akeru finally understood. “I had the Western House's guards carry those, of course.”

“I most certainly told you to not let anyone in.”

“And I didn't. No Yatagarasu besides me has entered the Palace's premises while His Highness was absent.”

“...... What about the gardener or the people who carried all the furniture?”

“But those are all servants?” Wakamiya stayed silent, and Akeru couldn’t help but feel like there was a discrepancy forming between them. “Well, if you allow me. It's true that I allowed the servants’ entrance so I could fulfill your orders, but they're usually out of the way so His Highness won't ever see them. Please, don't concern yourself with that and treat them as if they didn't exist.”

“By any chance, are they on standby right now too?”

“Indeed, just behind the stables.” There were always servants following Akeru no matter where he went. They fulfilled any task at any moment when so requested and, if those were Wakamiya's orders, he fully planned to keep them out of his sight.

Wakamiya opened his mouth for a moment, yet he didn't say anything in the end. He fell silent again, a complicated expression on his face. Meanwhile, Akeru stood there, disconcerted and incapable of even conceiving what Wakamiya was so concerned about. Finally, Wakamiya sat on the window frame and fixed his eyes on Akeru, an air of formality to him.

“Akeru, do you truly desire to serve me?”

He hadn’t foreseen the topic to be brought up in such a way, but it was one he had long since been waiting for. Akeru kneeled at Wakamiya's feet and looked up with determination.

“Yes. I wish to serve you, even if I must risk my life in the process.”

“Is that so,” Wakamiya muttered, then continued with an order, “Then, go to the Unbending Reed Monastery.”

“To the… Unbending Reed Monastery?” He hadn't ever even considered it. “Why?”

Wakamiya quietly answered, “That's something you'll understand once you arrive there.”

“But, who will be your attendant then…?”

“There are other candidates for the position, but few people who want to become my subordinate by their own will. If you truly mean those words of yours, what you'll experience at the Monastery will be essential someday.”

After such words, there was no space for him to complain. He didn't have the slightest idea of what Wakamiya told the Western Lord, but Akeru ended up returning to the Main Residence that very day. There, the Western Lord had invited an ex-Yamauchi Guard, now a the wonder of a dojo in the West, who rigorously trained Akeru until he was old enough to enter the Monastery.

Akeru, however, couldn't help but to wonder and wonder. Why did Wakamiya decide to send him to the Monastery? The question gnawed at him until, less than half a year later, that assassination attempt against Wakamiya took place.

Upon hearing the news from his father, the shock Akeru felt was enormous. “His Highness, is His Highness Wakamiya alright!?”

“Fortunately, yes. He didn’t receive any wounds in the attempt.”

“Who would even attempt such a thing?”

“A Court Raven from the Southern House was the ringleader—he was Lord Natsuka’s subordinate.”

“Of His Highness Animiya……?” His voice came out higher than he intended. A cold shiver ran down Akeru’s back.

“Lord Natsuka denies any involvement and seems to be quite infuriated with said subordinate. Nonetheless,” his father bitterly added, “only Lord Natsuka himself truly knows how aware of his subordinate's feelings he actually was. Due to this incident, Lord Natsuka has once more made it clear he intends to pledge his loyalty to Wakamiya, but we can't be certain of how honest he is.”

Even though he was playing the role of Wakamiya's faithful subordinate in public, his true feelings remained a mystery. “On top of it all, and this wasn't made public, there were actual Yamauchi Guards among those who wielded their blades against Wakamiya. They had sworn their loyalty to Lord Natsuka.”

“That cannot be!”

They were supposed to protect the Imperial Family before and above all, to follow their orders unfailingly, and yet they tried to kill the very imperial son who held the title of the Crown Prince? The moment he heard that, Akeru felt like he had finally understood Wakamiya's goal.

Wakamiya was under constant peril, so Akeru would absolutely need the skills of a warrior to remain by his side. Even though employing the On'i system and gathering power at the Imperial Court was a possible option, he would also need the strength of a warrior to supervise the Yamauchi Guard. That had to be why he commanded Akeru to go to the Monastery.

Masuho no Susuki would become his wife and her little brother Akeru would become his trusted vassal, and, just like that, the Western House would hold the power at the Imperial Court. Wakamiya wouldn't have to worry about his safety anymore. 

——However, the situation didn't progress as the Western House had thought.

Around a year after Akeru started to prepare to enter the Monastery, they got the news—Masuho no Susuki had failed to become Wakamiya's wife and had instead chosen to remain in Cherry Blossom Palace as the head lady-in-waiting. The woman who became Wakamiya's legal wife in her place was from Natsuka's maternal family. She was a princess of the Southern House.

“The South clearly acted to interfere and get in the way of the other Houses, from the looks of it.”

“Just how much do they dare to look down on us!?”

As soon as the news of the Southern Princess’ success at the Rite of Ascension reached them, all the leaders among the West-affiliated Court Ravens gathered at the Western House's Main Residence. While hearing the argument, Akeru could only pity his sister. 

His older sister was his pride, the gentlest person he knew. She loved Wakamiya so, so dearly. He was certain that if the competition had been fair, no woman from the South, who were only capable of thinking in politics, would have even had the chance to be the chosen one. His sister’s marriage had been foiled by the South's schemes. There was no doubt.

“Damned be the South! To imagine just how sad my sister must be after this……” Akeru murmured to himself.

However, one of the young nobles who had just arrived seemed to have heard him. He approached him. “Although it's a shame she couldn't become the legal wife, she remains in Cherry Blossom Palace. There’s still a chance.”

“What do you mean?”

“There have been cases of princesses who temporarily remained as ladies-in-waiting in Cherry Blossom Palace and who ultimately became consorts even after initially refraining from becoming legal wives. Apparently, the North and the East were given leave from the Palace—only Lady Masuho no Susuki got to remain.”

In conclusion, the Northern and Eastern princesses had no chances to join the Harem even if they were to stay. Following that logic, Masuho no Susuki was clearly in a different position. 

“His Highness doesn't have any children yet, fortunately enough. If Masuho no Susuki manages to become a consort and bear a son before the South's country girl gets pregnant, it would in practice be the same as becoming the legal wife.”

“So that's how it works!”

In such a case, his sister would need his help even more. Someone had to protect her once she became a consort. From that day on, Akeru further dedicated himself to his training, managing to be admitted into the Unbending Reed Monastery as the first of the class.

Akeru took part in the trainee gathering at the dining hall once he was done giving the requisite commands to the Western forces. He coldly watched his fellow Seeds as they introduced themselves, as it all made him realize once again why he had come here.

——The current Yamauchi Guard was corrupt.

His swordsmanship teacher, the ex-Yamauchi Guard his father hired to prepare him for the Monastery, had taught him a lot about the current state of affairs in the Guard. The real reason behind both the Monastery and the Guard’s fall into ruin was said to be none other than His Majesty, the current Emperor. The man who held the position of the current Acting Golden Raven and Wakamiya and Natsuka's father.

“The custom is for the Golden Raven to frequently visit the Monastery to build up a close relationship with the trainees who shall become his private guard. A duty the previous Acting Golden Raven diligently performed.”

He would reward the instructors and thoroughly involve himself in the administration of the Monastery itself to guarantee the proper growth of the future Yamauchi Guard. That way, they ensured the Guards-to-be were highly loyal and their performance would be just as expected of the Imperial Family's bodyguards.

“His Majesty hasn't ever done such a thing, however. According to the rumors, he loathes warriors and hasn't visited the Monastery's premises or the Yamauchi Guard's headquarters even once since he ascended to the throne.”

Abandoned by their master, the Yamauchi Guard gradually lost sight of its very reason to exist. As a result, ever since his reign started, the number of candidates for the Guard had diminished little by little, and additionally, there was a dramatic increase of graduates who wouldn't even attempt to join the Guard or who would resign almost immediately afterwards. What remained were commoners with no other way of survival and a bunch of rogues with ulterior motives.

It was obvious that the source of the Guard’s corruption was found in the Monastery, and so there was a need to cut it off. If he had to guess, Wakamiya’s plan was most likely to send people who had sworn their loyalty to him to the Monastery to gather allies within it. If he was right, then he suspected that there was another Seed sent here for that very reason. 

Akeru had been Wakamiya's first attendant after his return from the Outside. However, he was given the order to go to the Monastery almost immediately and his actual time performing such a duty had been very short. After his leave, none of the attendants who came lasted very long. They either failed to perform their duties and were kicked out, or resigned themselves. Akeru’s fury raged whenever he heard about it, angry at their complete lack of determination. 

Only one person did not just remain with Wakamiya for an entire year, but was also granted the position of close aide. Such a rank that, unlike a normal attendant, acted as proof of their Lord's expectations of him and a promise to recognize him as one of his trusted vassals in the future.

Akeru had badly wanted to know what kind of person he was, so he researched him and, once he realized his status, everything fell neatly into place—he was a scion of the Northern House with a suitable rank. The North had, following the West, the best disposition towards Wakamiya out of the Four Houses. There was no doubt. Akeru functioned as a representative of the West and, much like him, this close aide was surely expected to perform a similar role for the North.

He was quite the oddball too. Despite holding a rank equivalent to Akeru's and having been Wakamiya's attendant for a year, he had also come to the Monastery. Given their rather similar circumstances, Akeru had been hoping to get along with him, yet a part of him also felt a need to compete with this close aide at the same time. He had been eagerly waiting to meet him and figure out what kind of person he was.

“I’ve been assigned to the tenth room, second building. I’m Yukiya and I’m from Taruhi in the North.”

Despite having learned his name and heard all the rumors about him, this was the first time Akeru actually saw his face. The boy who stood up at the banquet was truly plain—his only defining characteristic was his small stature. Wakamiya's ex-close aide smiled cheerfully as he kept speaking.

“Pleased to meet you all.”

——If he had to be honest, Yukiya turned out to be a complete disappointment.

Akeru sighed, walking all by himself to the hall where their next class took place. His appearance was utterly lacking, he spoke in the most absent-minded manner, and one could hardly say he seemed the smart sort even in dire need of a compliment. And, on top of it all, he kept acting as if any ridicule towards Wakamiya had nothing to do with him.

His mother was a princess of the Northern House, but he had grown up as a rural noble—the second son of what amounted to little else than a powerful local family. It was nothing like the Four Houses, who were direct descendants of the first Golden Raven's children. He lacked the spirit of a Wakamiya Faction’s Court Raven—he had even gone as far as to get involved in Kimichika's petty fight with a servant.

Wakamiya was probably hoping for either Akeru or Yukiya to spearhead the Wakamiya Faction, so Akeru had no option but to work even harder than before. 

Akeru had a general grasp on the state of their curriculum by that point in time, and there wasn't any in which Yukiya could be said to stand out. Only one subject remained—Strategy’s exercise lessons.

Strategy counted as a theory subject and was further divided into study and exercise lessons. The first was just sitting at their desks in the dining hall to study from their textbooks, while the latter was about experiencing actual combat situations in order to understand the fundamentals of battle tactics. 

For Saplings and Evergreens, exercise lessons were considered a part of the practical courses. They even took part in actual combat as well, but the Seeds’ training for the most part consisted of what they called ‘board drills’ instead.

This would be Akeru’s first time ever attempting one. When he had first heard from his teacher about these drills—simulations over a board representing the battlefield with pieces as the soldiers—, his mental image bore quite the resemblance to shogi or go. Actual ‘board drills’, however, weren't the kind of activity one would enjoy as mere games. 

The boards it used, called ‘Fields’, were modelled after real places across all of Yamauchi. There was plenty of variety. Everything, including rivers and mountains, was faithfully recreated on them. Some boards even represented actually existing palaces and temples. These ‘Fields’ had been created to execute simulations of hypothetical revolts in the chosen environment and were apparently crafted by referencing official maps kept in the Imperial Court.

The pieces too were diverse—ranging from simple soldiers to officers, horses, scouts and spies.

Balancing established daytime and nighttime periods was the actual main source of headaches. The opponents had to choose which soldiers to keep in bird form and which as humans just before the night came and made it impossible to transform your pieces, and while they could see each other’s Fields and movements during the day, the opponent’s movements were invisible once nighttime arrived. It was necessary to use the scout and spy pieces in order to predict the other side's actions and craft a strategy going forward.

The roll of a dice determined the results and casualties whenever a battle took place on the board. The same method was used to determine the accuracy of information gained through one’s spies and scouts. It was because of this that ‘Strategy’ was handled by multiple instructors. One was in charge of study lessons, while the other took care of exercise lessons together with one assistant. 

‘No matter the age of the individual, it is the best tactician who holds all authority in times of need’. This was one of the reigning principles of the Yamauchi Guard and, because of it, whoever was deemed the current best tactician was in turn given the position of main instructor for Strategy exercise lessons. In peacetime, it ensured he was always on standby in the Monastery.

Their instructor for study lessons was already of advanced age, but Akeru had heard the man in charge of exercise lessons was the youngest instructor in the entire Monastery.

Board drills used a hall the Seeds hadn't visited before. The place had already been prepared by the assistants and administrative officers by the time Akeru came in. Maps covered in a grid—the Field—were set up right in the middle of the room's stone floor with a variety of pieces also in place at the spots chosen as the respective camps.

The opponents were to position themselves at both sides of the Field. Behind the seat for the one in charge of the dice and registers, there was a large diagram pasted on the wall in order to easily check and visualize the situation on the entire battlefield. There were also seats for the trainees, but their set-up was entirely different to the other classes. They were hugging the walls of the room, with the exception of the one with the diagram, forming a U shape and surrounding the Field. Fences separated the seats from the rest of the room.

The trainees proceeded to sit as they examined the strange room. Not too long after, the bell rang, marking the start of classes, and their instructor entered the room virtually at the same time. The man pushed the door open violently and crossed the hall with audible steps—he wasn't in a good mood, that was for sure.

The trainees, who had been chatting among themselves, shut up instantly, focusing their attention instead on their new instructor. The man in front of them looked like the uptight kind. He wasn't short but he wasn’t particularly bulky either, and his feather robe was woven to cover him entirely, up to the throat. One could feel themselves asphyxiating from watching him wear that.

His lips were thin and his face plain. His eyebrows were like willow leaves and his eyes, covered by a hidden double eyelid, looked as if a sharp, thin blade had been used to cut them open. His eyesight must have been poor, as he wore eyeglasses with green temples and a slender chain attached. His long hair didn’t have one single strand out of place and was combed back, leaving his pallid forehead completely bare.

For a while, their instructor didn't utter a single word, opting instead to coldly glare at the trainees. When he finally spoke, his tone was as pointed as his appearance would lead one to believe.

“I'm Instructor Suikan. Some of you may have heard this already, but at present I'm considered the most skilled tactician within Yamauchi.” There was a note of sarcasm in the way he spoke, making it hard to ascertain whether Suikan himself saw that status as a source of pride or not. “It seems there were many candidates for the Monastery this year. Maybe it’s because of that but, unlike your average year, there is one person among you who has shown truly exceptional talent both during the admission trials and the study lessons’ exercises.”

Akeru's heart started to beat noisily. Those sitting close to him were casting side-glances in his direction.

“I'll have him as my opponent today.”

Upon hearing Suikan's words, his assistant, who was waiting by his side, cut in on the explanation with clear confusion. “Wait a moment! We set up this Field to show them an example, the idea was to battle between us.”

It was clear why he was saying so—the Field in place was way too complex for first-timers like the Seeds. Most of all, it was just cruel to ask someone who hadn't even moved a piece before in his life to become Suikan's adversary all of a sudden.

Yet Suikan didn't seem to agree.

“There'll be no problem,” he flatly rejected the notion. “I've read his study lessons’ homework.”

Suikan’s gaze turned towards the trainees, who instinctively straightened their backs. “It was truly impressive. It’s truly, truly hard to believe a Seed could write something like that. He clearly knows how every piece moves to perfection, so I expect him to handle himself just fine even with this Field.”

There was no feeling whatsoever in Suikan's voice as he spoke.

“But……”

“He has the skill for it. If he doesn't have the self-confidence to go with it, I'll reconsider, but we cannot know without asking him first.” Akeru took deep breaths, preparing himself to be called at any moment. Meanwhile, Suikan took a good, hard look at the nervous trainees. “Is 2-10’s Yukiya here?”

——Akeru couldn't comprehend Suikan's words at first.

Many of the trainees seemed to be just as surprised, their eyes going back and forth between Yukiya and Akeru. On the other hand, Yukiya himself didn't appear to be surprised at all. He stood up as he raised his hand.

“That would be me.”

“I won't force you if you can’t. What do you say?”

“...... It would be my honor to get such a chance.”

“Very well, come to the front then. You'll be my opponent today.” As he said that, Suikan started to walk towards one of the seating stands by the Field. During Monastery's lessons, the orders of the main instructor were absolute. Yukiya as well quickly moved to the center and went up the opposing stand. His expression was ever so slightly stiff. 

Akeru watched him, incapable of suddenly accepting the implications of this particular development. He knew what this meant—Yukiya had better scores in Strategy than him. That was all there was to it.

——But, even if he understood it as a fact, he couldn't bring himself to accept it yet. It didn't feel real to him.

“The setting is a regional revolt's suppression. I'll be the leader of the rebel forces, while you'll take the role of the general sent by the Center,” Suikan started to explain to Yukiya in a steady tone, but it all felt distant to Akeru. “The rebels’ base of operations is the temple. The suppression forces are a total of thirty men. One General, two Officers, one third of the Soldiers have Horses, Scouts are available, but no Spies. Meanwhile, the rebel forces consist of one General, no Officers, forty Half-Horses, no weapons, Scouts are available, but no Spies.”

It was quite the complicated setup for a novice, as expected, but Yukiya was listening attentively as Suikan explained the Field’s premise with a monotonous tone. “The time limit will be three hours, until the end of the class. If the time limit is reached, the number of forces remaining will determine the victor. Otherwise, the only other winning conditions are to take the enemy general's head or to inflict losses heavy enough that retreat becomes your opponent's only option.”

“The day and night changes, how are they going to work?”

“They'll change every 30 minutes. In other words, you have a total of three days. Any questions?” Suikan asked.

“None,” Yukiya answered immediately.

“Very well, let's start then. Everyone else, please pay attention to the match.”

Suikan’s assistant stood by the side of the Field as the referee, following his orders. “The Field is in Toudou, Ayukumi Township, Eastern Region. Sea Rumbling Temple(2) has been occupied. The events take place during the sixth month of the year and the emperor orders you to suppress the revolt. Upper side, 2-10’s Yukiya.”

“Thank you for having me.”

“Lower side, Monastery Instructor Suikan.”

“Thank you for having me.”

Once Suikan and Yukiya were done exchanging the customary greetings, the referee gave his command. 

“Start!” At the signal, the person in charge of the registers lit up the incense clock. “The upper side has the first move.”

The referee pointed at Yukiya, who immediately started with instructions. “Mounted Unit number one is now Scout number one, move to D6. Mounted Units numbers two to six move to H3. Rest on standby.” 

As Yukiya spoke, the helping administrative officer moved the pieces to the indicated spots and the scorekeeper wrote it down both on the diagram at his back and the paper in his hands. Once it was all finished, Suikan responded.

“Half-Horses numbers one to seven move to D12. Half-Horses numbers eight to twenty, disperse through the temple's surroundings.”

The officer moved the pieces just like before and registers were taken. It was Yukiya’s turn again. “Scout number one, advance to D8. Mounted Unit number two is now Scout number two and moves to H8. Mounted Units numbers three to six advance to H6. Rest on standby.”

“Half-Horses numbers one to seven to D8.” The pieces moved as Suikan instructed, ending up in the same square as Yukiya's.

“Combat starts,” the referee announced. In answer, the scorekeeper rolled the dice and read the results.

“Upper side, Scout number one is wounded and retreats to camp. From here on, it will be only capable of moving as infantry. Lower side, some minor wounds but no need to move.”

Yukiya's piece was forced to retreat, and Suikan took over the D8 coordinate. “Lower side, will you go after them?”

“I'll retreat as well. All Half-Horses in D8 move back to D12.”

While Yukiya was taking a look at his opponent's face from time to time, Suikan's eyes were completely fixed on the Field as he kept giving instructions. His demeanour was calm to a fault.

They continued like that for a time, engaging and retreating, and with the repetition one could start to get an image of the situation on the board. Yukiya's soldiers had been steadily advancing towards Suikan’s forces, which formed to tighten their defenses. Then, just as Yukiya's troops seemed to be at a loss on how to maintain the offensive, at least from Akeru's perspective, nighttime fell upon the Field.

“It's sunset. Please, determine the numbers of people and horses,” the referee announced. At the same time, screens were placed in between the opponents and the Field.

The opponents couldn’t see the pieces actually move during nighttime, so they had to instead rely on a topographic map to predict their opponent’s movements and move their own forces. The only way they had to attain any reliable information on their opponent’s actions was through the Scouts they had sent during daytime.

The scorekeeper went from one person to the other, listening to their respective orders and moving the pieces accordingly in the blocked off Field. While the opponents themselves couldn't see it, the referee could still observe the Field and make any announcements as they became necessary.

“Combat starts in F8.”

“Lower side, your units are seriously wounded and have to retreat. Upper side, your units only received light wounds and don't have to move.”

“Combat starts in D11.”

“Lower side, retreat, some of the units died. Upper side, no changes.”

All the information gained through the referee's vocal announcements pointed to Yukiya's successful advance, yet, despite the news of victory, Yukiya didn't seem to be particularly happy. He kept a calm demeanor as he gave order after order.

Unlike Yukiya, Akeru’s seat allowed him to perfectly perceive the situation on the Field. It was a surreal sight, yet the pieces’ abnormal movements kept catching his eye whether he liked it or not, and while he dully wondered what he would do in Yukiya's situation at first, he soon gave up entirely.

As stumped as Akeru was at the increasingly strange state of affairs on the Field, by the time daytime came, the situation progressed to a point where the conclusion was plain to see. The screens were moved away and Yukiya finally gained sight of the Field. He grimaced as a groan left his lips.

Yukiya's troops had, indeed, successfully penetrated through his opponent’s forces—but there was no enemy general to be seen in the camp he had successfully invaded. Suikan's main forces had abandoned the temple during the night and, without Yukiya ever noticing, had closed the distance to his camp and were already set up to invade at any moment. Their numbers were high, no holes left in their formation. 

Anyone could tell that it was next to impossible to get through such a perfectly positioned army. On top of that, Yukiya had overinvested units on his offensive and his own camp was virtually empty. What came after was a one-sided assault. Once daytime arrived, it took barely any turns for the battle to end.

The drill didn't even get to the time limit. Yukiya had lost entirely and unquestionably.

“......Had this been a real battle, you would have died.” Suikan stepped down from the stand, picking up the piece of the general he had just defeated, which he proceeded to unceremoniously drop on the Field again. It hit the floor with a light ‘clack’ and rolled all the way to Yukiya's feet.

The match’s development had been so irregular, Akeru had found it incomprehensible after a while.

——The moment night arrived, Suikan had gone entirely unrivaled.

Suikan's pieces had been unquestionably preparing for a long battle during daytime, clearly getting ready to withstand a siege. His arrangement was perfect—the commands given to his troops had been by the book and Akeru had been capable of following the events up to that point. The moment the sun set, however, Suikan instantly went on the offensive. The shift had been terrific, truly a complete turnaround. 

His army had dispersed and started to move independently, lone Scouts sent all over the Field. The pieces Yukiya battled with the entire night had, in truth, been all such spread out Scouts. Using the information gained by such skirmishes, Suikan's main forces avoided the enemy with terrifying precision and quickly moved through the Field. The speed and precision on show had been enough to leave an onlooker like Akeru dumbfounded. He had watched Yukiya move his pieces, completely unaware of what was happening to him. It was clear Suikan had him in the palm of his hand the entire time—at his mercy.

Yukiya had been absolutely no match for him, to put it plainly.

Suikan went to the scorekeeper’s desk and took a pile of paper from it. He then walked back to stand in front of a frozen Yukiya, who was pale as a sheet.

“I’ve read all your tactical plans, as I said before. Not only your homework, but everything up to your answers on the admission exam,” Suikan said with pleasure. “With that knowledge in mind, let me tell you this. You're brilliant, of that there's no doubt. But, at the same time, I could feel arrogance in every single answer of yours. Quite a marvel, to be able to think up such nonsensical, preposterous plans before even having come here to study. They don't deserve to even be called plans—they're just a waste of paper.”

Coupled with his harsh words, Suikan threw the entire pile of papers at Yukiya. It made a soft noise as it met his head, before the sheets dispersed, fluttering to the ground. 

“Don't get the wrong idea, brat—not everything is going to work as you want to. If you go through life like that, ignorant of your own place and without even a speck of respect for your superiors, you’ll just end up just like this—disgracing yourself. Now, are you listening to me?” a scowling Suikan further asked Yukiya, who hadn't said a single word so far. “Last evening, you picked a fight with a Sapling, didn't you?”

The Kimichika incident. Akeru could hear whispers about it all over the place. Shigemaru, who had been watching over Yukiya with clear anxiety from the front, raised his voice in a panic. “Wait a moment, Instructor! That was—!”

“If you want to say something, raise your hand and introduce yourself first.”

Shigemaru did just as told. “I'm 2-10's Shigemaru. About the incident last night, that was—” 

“2-10's Shigemaru, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw your scores in theory. Before even considering your mouth, you better first memorize the basic rules for piece movements. What’s the point of opening your beak when you don't even know that much? I can’t help but wonder whether you can properly understand the current situation like that.”

Akeru heard snickers among the trainees and Shigemaru stood there motionlessly, completely ignored.

“Yukiya, Shigemaru… There's someone else left. Where's 1-1’s Chihaya?”

Urged by the people around him, Chihaya reluctantly left his seat as well. Suikan scowled at the three of them, as if mocking them. “Chihaya, Shigemaru, and Yukiya, you should learn how to behave according to your station all over again. There’ll be punishment for looking down on your superiors, disdaining rank and breaking rules.”

“But wasn't the Monastery a place where skill is given precedence above all? Yesterday, Kimichika was throwing his own weight around using his family's status, isn't that the problem here?” Shigemaru insisted once more.

“Skill is indeed the priority. You aren't wrong in that regard,” Suikan gave him a look and nodded. “It’s precisely because of that, once it’s decided who is the superior and who the subordinate, there is no changing it. Did you think it would be acceptable to throw miso soup at a superior just because you didn't like what he said?”

In answer, Shigemaru simply went quiet.

“Deplorable,” Suikan spat out the words in the quietest tone, yet his voice resounded through the entire hall. “Chihaya and Shigemaru, you'll be in charge of cleaning up the great hall every morning for a month from tomorrow onwards. Yukiya, you'll have to work on organizing the fourth library every night from dinner to lights-out until you are done registering every unclassified book in it.”

“But! Shouldn't Kimichika also receive punishment then?” Shigemaru complained.

Suikan curtly answered with no pity, “I'm giving you instructions right now. Kimichika has nothing to do with this. When someone powerless speaks, no matter how fair the argument, the only thing he’ll achieve is sounding like a sore loser. The weak have no right to speak. If you believe yourself to be right and don't want people to look down on your words, don't speak them when you remain weak. Know your place.”

Suikan spat out the words as his eyes narrowed, fixed on Yukiya.

“...... So, as we are right now, we have no right to even speak?”

“Indeed, especially you.” Suikan gave Yukiya such a look, nobody would believe they were teacher and student. “If you have any problems with my methods, complain once you beat me at least once. I'll make this a special case and take the role of your opponent every single time you take part in board drills so you always get a good taste of your ignorance and foolhardiness.”

Suikan didn't bother to wait for Yukiya's reaction before turning his eyes to everyone else. “I take it you all have also learned the kind of tragic ending that awaits a badly led organization, one where the rules are broken willy-nilly. I want all of you to individually examine today’s results and present your conclusions in writing for the next class. Base them on the fundamental principles of Strategy, and determine and summarize what was wrong with Yukiya's moves and what were the issues with these people's actions. Class is over for today.”

The trainees stood up in a hurry to perform the normative greeting. ‘Thank you for the class’, they all said. They hadn’t been this uncoordinated ever since classes had first started. Then, on their way back for lunch afterwards, everyone who wasn’t already close to Yukiya made a clear point to avoid him altogether.

“What's wrong with that instructor? He clearly came with the intention to bully Yukiya and you all from the very start!”

Just as Yukiya opened his mouth to say something to his indignant friends, Akeru approached him and started to speak instead. “Apparently, Suikan has ties to the South. I guess he couldn't leave you alone after what happened yesterday.”

Yukiya's group, who had all been huddled together, turned towards him with a start.

“Wait, so he's a South-affiliated Court Raven?”

“No idea. I don't know the finer details, but I at least remember he had some kind of connection to the Minami-Tachibana.”

“......So he is the instructor Sapling Ichiryuu mentioned, the one giving Kimichika preferential treatment.” Shigemaru nodded to himself. Beside him was Yukiya, who was looking at Akeru with obvious distrust.

“What do you want?” Yukiya seemed quite guarded against him, but Akeru paid that no mind.

“I have something to tell you,” he proclaimed instead, deadly serious.

“To me?”

“To you, yes. I’ve reconsidered my opinion of you after what just happened.” Akeru had felt humiliated at the idea of losing against Yukiya at first. Yet, thinking about it more—if he had to lose against someone, wasn’t it a relief for that person to be Yukiya of all people? “To be honest, I had underestimated you, but I see you truly are a scion of the Northern House. You may have lost against that instructor, but your talent as a tactician shone through all the same. It fills me with pride as a fellow member of the Wakamiya Faction.”

“Huh. Thank you, I guess.”

“That’s why I've come to warn you. I may not like Suikan's way of doing things and, yes, I hate Kimichika as well. However, I agree with what he said up to a point.”

Akeru had found quite a number of issues with Yukiya’s behavior for a long, long time. Leaving factors like jealousy aside, this was the perfect chance to bring them up. “There's a problem with your attitude, you see. Shouldn't you choose better with whom you socialize?”

Yukiya's expression went blank. “......What do you mean?”

“If you still don’t understand, I'll say it plainly.” Akeru glanced at Yukiya's friends, all glaring at him, before returning his gaze to him. “You should stop spending more time than strictly necessary with Hill Ravens. It’ll harm your dignity as a Court Raven in the eyes of others, to say the least.”

Shigemaru and Yukiya were known as the ‘Bear and Cub’ among their fellow Court Ravens. Besides Shigemaru being the biggest of all the Seeds and Yukiya the smallest, they both spent even breaks clad in feather robes. At first, the nickname could be read as harmless, yet at its root was ridicule for not owning even one single proper kimono. Akeru couldn't take it—to have Yukiya, a fellow scion of the Four Houses, insulted like that.

Yukiya stared back at Akeru, as if testing him. “Are you suggesting I should have sided with Kimichika yesterday?”

“No, not that.” Akeru was opposed to Kimichika from a political standpoint, that much was beyond question. What he was trying to point out, however, was much more basic than that. Opposing factions didn't even factor in.

Unless the lines between Court and Hill Ravens were properly preserved, Yamauchi's order couldn't be maintained. This was especially true for the Four Houses and the Imperial Family—they required that dignity to be able to govern Yamauchi. Akeru desired nothing more than to look at things as fairly as possible but, although he couldn't see Chihaya anywhere at the moment, Akeru did take issue with the Hill Raven’s refusal to listen to Kimichika's orders.

“Kimichika was wrong too, of course, for ignoring the rules and giving those stupid orders, but Chihaya should have still obeyed. To even try to defend him after refusing to follow orders is unbefitting of a Court Raven like you. We cannot stay like this,” Akeru affirmed, “His Highness Wakamiya will soon ascend to the throne, yet he has barely any allies. As fellow Court Ravens, it’s our duty to join hands and boost up his faction from within the Monastery.”

“Huh.”

“I've heard the tenth room is quite packed at the moment, isn't it? You can come over to mine instead, if you want to. We have both sworn our loyalty to His Highness, we should get along just fine.” Finally, Akeru had said all he had to say. Now he only had to wait for Yukiya's answer. 

Yukiya had spent the entire time completely still, icy cold eyes fixed on Akeru. Once he finally opened his mouth to speak, his speech had lost all traces of formality(3). “My bad, but I'm from the countryside, remember? What’s even the damn point in asking me of all people to behave like a proper Court Raven of the Wakamiya Faction? It’s not like I’m going to feel like one all of a sudden after all this time. I’ll do things my way, don't worry about it.”

Yukiya had spoken in a roundabout way, yet it was still a clear rejection. Akeru's fellow West-affiliated Seeds, who had been standing behind him in silence, opened their eyes wide in shock.

“Do you truly not care? The North belongs to the Wakamiya Faction too, right?”

“Lord Akeru may not have pointed it out, but there's no question the Western House will gain power after this. You really should reconsider now that you still can!”

Yukiya’s answer to their rage was a simple, carefree smile. “The future of the North and the West has nothing to do with this. My relationship with these guys is leagues more important to me than any of that.”

Yukiya looked at the commoner trainees surrounding him and grinned—an unbelievable attitude for a Court Raven. Akeru’s expression shifted instantly to one of disappointment and embarrassment. “...... I see. That's truly a shame.”

Akeru turned on his heels without even saying goodbye. He promptly shook off his underlings, who had both called after him, and returned to his dormitory without even going to the dining hall. His self-restraint met its limit the very moment the door closed. Furious beyond belief, Akeru violently threw his own ornamented blade to the ground. 

“Dammit!”

What was Yukiya even thinking? Whatever it was, it was unforgivable. However, it wasn’t the only thing that made Akeru feel that way—just as intolerable was the fact he was lagging behind that same Yukiya in his studies.

 “Lord Akeru!” From the other side of the door, he heard his subordinates’ loud footsteps as they ran towards the room.

“I'm sorry. I really need a moment here,” Akeru bluntly requested in his desperation.

“This is not the moment for that!” one of them yelled at him. “We just got a message from the Western House.”

“It’s a huge problem. Aah, what are we going to do?”

“...... What's wrong?”

——The news had just arrived. The Head Priest had ordered to delay His Highness Wakamiya's ascension to the throne.

Next: Akeru (Part 2)

—————————————

1: The cupboard here is a ni-kai zushi (二階厨子). They usually have two levels, with at least part of the first level enclosed by doors. The remaining shelves are left completely open in front and back.

2: Just a short clarification. During The Raven Doesn't Choose His Master, it's explained that Yamauchi defines the word 'Sea' as a very wide and deep lake—they don't have oceans as we understand them. It's a similar situation to the words 'horse' or 'human'.

3: In the original Japanese, Yukiya changes register when speaking fairly often. Between the three most common pronouns for young men, he uses Boku the most. He’ll use Watashi if the situation calls for such politeness, or change to Ore if he's particularly comfortable with the other person or very pissed. Similarly, while he defaults to Keigo or formal speech most of the time, he’ll drop it on occasion for the same reasons as Ore. That’s exactly what's happening here, showing how angry Yukiya is with Akeru.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

It ain't over 'til the Old Crow sings.

This is the concluding story to go along with the Two Ravens at the Writing Desk blog event! Please note, I was not able to respond to all interaction requests, as many were submitted after the period of acceptance and/or disregarded other event rules.)

Does Two of us make a Murder of Crows? … Or an Unkindness of Ravens?

The Newspaper Club's office was a hub of activity. When its door was cracked open, the smell of fresh paper and ink would greet visitors. The murmurs of concentration and furious keyboard clacking of its members, the organization's calling card.

Raven was fond of it.

She tended to skitter on the outskirts of the club, observing as students drifted in and out, sometimes lugging supplies or equipment with them. Too shy to ask if she could pitch in, too scandalized at the thought of the boys staring at her if she entered.

And so she remained, watching.

Raven peered around her secretive corner. Today, there was a cluster of club members outside the office, caught up in a heated debate. One of them--the leader?--had a thick packet in hand and a frown on his face.

"We can't print this," he was saying, waving the papers around.

"If we don't, he'll be on our asses," protested another member. "Let's just suck it up and send it into the printing press."

"Where's your journalistic integrity, man?!" a third demanded.

"We've put out crappier stuff before," a fourth shrugged. "Remember that article about the seven greatest unsolved mysteries on NRC campus? As if most of us don't already know."

"It's not the same thing," the leader shot back. "That was one piece. This is an entire issue. You really want to flush down our rep?!"

Oh dear, it looks like they've run into some sort of trouble. I wonder what's wrong...? Raven leaned a little closer, cupping an ear.

"What are we going to do" The club leader worriedly paced around. "We don't have much time before the deadline comes up on us... Oh, hmm?"

He cocked his head, noticing a flicker of movement around the corner. "Is that...?"

Raven startled. I've been spotted!

"Excuse me!" To her horror, the club leader approached and called out to her. "You are... the headmaster's something-or-other, right? Someone who can speak to him on our behalf."

"Er, yes. I-I suppose that's true." She tried to control her nerves by smoothing out her skirt, but found herself anxiously wringing the hem of it.

"Great! See, the headmaster proposed running a special edition in the campuswide newspaper. In honor of NRC's founding month, he said," the club leader explained. "Front to back, the whole works. The only problem is... well, see for yourself."

He offered his packet. It was about the width of a modest novel and bulged with additional sticky notes and photographs shoved inside of the stack.

One glimpse at the cover page, and Raven instantly understood what was happening.

Oh, Uncle. You just can't stay out of trouble, can you?

"You wanted the school newspaper to have a Crowley-themed edition for March... Have you gone mad?!"

"I thought it would be an earnest and approachable way for the student body to get to know their headmaster," Crowley faintly defended himself. "And you did tell me to pen some writing by my own hand. Does it not make sense to publish those works in a publicly accessible source?"

Raven held her head in her hands. A migraine was coming on, steady but piercing.

"Please do not impose your agenda on a student-run organization. It is meant to be a forum that promotes freedom of expression, not for personal vanity projects!!

"There are other avenues you could use for publications if you want an 'earnest and approachable' image. For example..." She produced her phone, pulling up Magicam via an app. Personal blogs, social media accounts... There are many other places.

"Oh." Crowley cupped his chin. "I was not aware."

"Many students are on Magicam, so if you want to be relatable this may be a good starting point. Perhaps it's not the best for posting written works, but surely you could take pictures of your daily activities and briefly caption them."

"Well, why didn't you say so sooner? Nothing could be simpler, my dear niece!" The headmaster beamed, displaying his pointed, pearly canines.

“I wish you’d explored these options first,” she sighed. “Then we could have avoided this almost-disaster altogether.”

Her guardian was already preoccupied with his own phone now. Typing in information, fishing up the most photogenic pictures from his album to slap on. A few minutes into setting up his account, Crowley paused. He eyed his child the same way a hawk might eye a scurrying field mouse.

“… What is it now?” Raven asked, dreading the worst.

“Oh, I was just thinking about what my first post should be. Something that says a lot about me and where my values lie. I know exactly what to use: a family photo!"

She raised a brow.

Crowley shoved the rejected proposal packet back into his niece's hands. He then shuffled next to her, holding his phone out--the camera, flipped--and made a peace sign with the other.

A bolt of panicked realization raced through her. "Uncle... you don't mean--"

"Fufufu. Say 'cheese', Raven-kun!"

CLICK!

The headmaster's first post would go up around midnight. Under the picture of a jovial crow and a befuddled raven was a very telling statement.

So glad to have such bright young minds steering the way to the future~ Proud to be the headmaster of NRC 🐦‍⬛

[familyvideostevie]

summer's early sway

thank you for voting in this poll! here is remus taking you to a craft fair and calling you his girlfriend for the first time xo | fluff, early relationship, 1k

It might be the most perfect day ever. It's warm but not too warm, the sunlight's sting soothed by a nice breeze. You've made it to the craft fair fairly early to avoid the crowds, though not as early as you'd planned. Despite Remus's best attempts at order in most parts of his life, it's more like controlled chaos. He tends to run a little behind though that's still earlier than anyone you know.

You've been on enough dates that you've lost count but not enough that it's stopped feeling new. You're meeting his friends for dinner tonight -- the first official time you'll all be hanging out together, though you've met the boys a few times here and there -- but today is all about the two of you. You're going to stroll around the craft fair and then go for a walk by the water in the summer sunshine and probably sneak some kisses.

The market is lovely and you tell Remus so. You've got your hand in the crook of his elbow like you're on an old-timey date.

"You think so?" he says, eyes crinkling. "I've not been but I thought you'd like it because of the music." There was a folk band playing by the entrance and he's right, you do love it. What is there to say to his kindness?

No words come, so you kiss his cheek instead. Remus looks like summer was made for him though you know he's most alive in the fall. The sun tans his skin and makes his scars more prominent which makes him more handsome, in your opinion. His hair highlights just a little bit and he loosens up in the sunshine. It's magic.

"Did I tell you how lovely you look today?" he says, small smile turning to a grin. His eye contact is so intense that you can only hold it for a few moments before you look down at your feet.

"You might have," you tell him. He's said it many times just this morning. "You do, too."

"Darling, you'll make me blush."

The market has plenty of beautiful things. Your own place is full of knick-knacks whereas Remus tends to be a bit more minimalist. It makes you smile to remember how you've given him a few things since you started dating and he's put them all in prominent places.

You find a tent of frog sculptures and name all of them. A beautiful and kind of eerie raven pendant in the same row catches your eye and you buy it for Lily's birthday.

"Don't let me forget to get soap for James' mum," Remus says, palm on your lower back as he watches the artist pack up your gift.

"Christmas shopping this early?" you tease.

His face is so close that you can't see all of it but you know what his smirk looks like. "Obviously," he says, voice low in your ear. "I've got to impress her. She's got to like me best."

Another row of stalls reveals one full of stuff made out of spoons. Wind chimes, clocks, kitchen utensils, belts. You're looking at a spoon lamp as Remus wanders further into the tent to chat with the man running it. Their voices carry but you don't pay much attention until you realize you're being called into the conversation.

"Maybe your girlfriend would want one?" the man asks Remus. You look up and find both of them looking at you, the man with a somewhat bemused expression and Remus with what you can only describe as adoration.

You walk over and see that he's been admiring a large collection of rings made from spoon handles. "What do you think, my girlfriend?" he asks cheekily. It's the first time he's actually called you this out loud to someone else -- you've discussed it, of course, and you figure that it's how he refers to you when you're not around but you've not heard it yet. And even though it's a bit of a joke it makes you feel like you've just sped down the steep part of a rollercoaster.

"Only if you get one, too, boyfriend." you say, though you're not totally sure where it comes from. Remus's eyes widen in mirth and he blushes a little.

Rings are much more Sirius's thing, so you gather, so you think Remus will laugh you off but he seems to actually consider it.

"Pick one for me, then." You laugh in delight and survey the display boxes of rings as he looks for one for you, too. You settle on a curved handle with an intricate twisty pattern that should fit his thumb and he picks a lovely one that will fit your thumb, decorated with a delicate flower and vine.

"Perfect," he says, sliding the ring onto your thumb as you slide your selection onto his. It's startlingly intimate, exchanging rings, even if they're made of spoon handles and going on your thumbs. Your heart beats loudly in your chest and you can't stop smiling.

The shopkeeper is grinning as he reads off the price and Remus pays. You are admiring your new ring in the light when he grabs your other hand and pulls you back into the row of tents.

"Quite stylish, Rem," you say. You lean in to give him a kiss on the cheek in thanks but he feels you coming and turns his head to catch your lips in a quick kiss.

"You're quite welcome," he says, smile turning cheeky. "Sirius is going to have a fit that he's not the only one wearing rings anymore."

"Oh, let him," you say. "From what you've told me, he could do with a bit of humbling."

Remus's eyes sparkle. "On that, darling, we agree." He kisses you again, just as quick but no less tender before he pulls away and points at something over your shoulder. "Oh, look! Soap!"

He drags you towards the tent to the sound of your laughter. Sure, you haven't been together very long, but you're pretty sure you could do this for the rest of your life.

thank you for reading <3 reblog, send feedback, masterlist here!

[bumblesimagines]

you were wrong about everything.

we were never meant to be together.

Yennefer

you were wrong about everything.

we were never meant to be together.

pronouns: they/them, gender neutral

"And what did we learn today, Kaspar?" You asked the boy teasingly as you wrapped bandages around the cut on his forearm. His dirt-covered cheeks puffed out and reddened with embarrassment. By far your favorite patient, Kaspar had a habit of getting into all sorts of trouble that always ended with him sitting in your shop seeking treatment for a bump or cut. 

"I shouldn't take Father's horse without permission." He muttered and you chuckled at the dejected look on his face. He'd managed to get away with falling off a horse with only minor bruises and a cut, but the scare had frightened his poor mother. Nodding with a smile, you straightened up and dipped your hands into the bucket of water, rinsing it clean of dirt and smudges of blood. You dried them off with a rag and fetched a basket of baked goods. His eyes lit up and he eagerly took it from your hands, shuffling through it until he found the pie. 

"Remember to share!" You called out him as he shoved some of the pie into his mouth and scurried out of your shop. With a soft laugh, you began collecting things off the table and putting them back in their rightful place. The front door creaked loudly, signaling someone else had entered the shop. You ensured everything appeared tidy before rounding the corner and putting on your best smile, only for it to drop immediately at the sight of the raven-haired mage. 

"(Y/N)," She greeted softly, unusual for the coldhearted woman who'd taken your heart and shattered it without thinking twice. She looked the same yet different all at the same time. Her vibrant violet eyes looked softer, gentler. The furrow in her brow that had once seemed permanent had vanished and she even appeared to seem... meek. 

"Why have you come crawling back to my doorstep?" 

"I wanted to see you again. I... I wanted to prove that you were wrong about everything. I've- I've changed." Yennefer spoke, her warm and hesitant voice unnerving. The last time you'd seen the mage, she'd been a force to be reckoned with, even without using her powers. Every move Yennefer made had always been calculated. Every word she uttered, every insult she spat, every spell she casted. Calculated and planned. And yet, standing there before your door, she looked out of place in her own body. 

"You've changed? You, Yennefer of Vengerberg? The same woman who told me I'd been a hopeless fool to believe there'd ever be a world where she ever loved me? The same woman who looked down on me for choosing to help people over slithering around a court?" You scoffed softly and her head bowed in shame and regret. "What was I wrong about, Yennefer? Are you no longer a heartless, selfish bitch who's going to die alone and forgotten?" 

"(Y/N)-"

"I don't believe for a second you've come here to prove anything. We were never meant to be together. Anything between us has long died along with any affection I held for you. If you've come here because you need something, I suggest you go looking elsewhere, Yennefer of Vengerberg."

[jacks347]

The bell on the coffee shop door jingled as Raven pushed it open, the familiar "Welcome to the Regrets Cafe!" greeting barely being processed. She ordered her usual, hot chocolate with extra whipped cream and a peppermint stick. Call it childish, Raven found it comforting when she was wallowing in her own thoughts. Blame it on her growing motherly instincts from raising Paloma.

She carefully cradled the warm mug in her hands when her name was called, watching the steam peek our from the gaps in the melting whipped cream as she settled into her usual table by one of the massive front windows with a world weary sigh. What she failed to notice was that, for once, the table wasn't empty.

"Rough day?"

Raven just about fell out of her chair, head snapping up to see a person sitting across from her, the barest hint of a smile peeking out from behind the coffee mug they were sipping from.

When Raven finally recomposed herself in her seat, she cleared her throat before answering the question. "That's a word for it, sure." The person hummed, setting down their mug and leaning forward over the table. "Mentally or physically?" "...what?"

They gestured to the shop around them. "This is the Regrets Cafe. Hardly the place people go when they're just tired from a hard day at work but it wouldn't surprise me. So, I ask again, mentally or physically?" Raven blinked a couple times before sitting back in her chair, deflating a little. "Mentally." "I figured. What's on your mind?" "Are you always this prying?" "Only to the people who sit at my table looking like they hold the weight of the world on their shoulders."

Raven highly considered just getting up and moving to a different table at this point just so she wouldn't have to actually talk about what was going on in her head but by now, this person had caught their attention. "You first. Why are you here?" They chuckled at that, sitting back and crossing their arms over their chest. "Should've expected that." They turned and stared out the window into the setting sunlight. "Just thinking about someone I shouldn't." "Ex?" A whirlwind of emotions passed over their face at the question; anger, betrayal, sadness, regret, before landing on a cold mask of apathy with a click of their tongue. "Tsk. Nah, he's burning in hell where he belongs. Just...a friend who got caught in the crossfire." They finally turned their gaze back to Raven. "Now you. Got an ex on the mind?"

Raven sighed, laying their forehead on the table with a quiet thunk. "Ex feels too strong of a word for him. Like yes that is his title but it doesn't feel right." "Was he a good ex or a bad ex?" "What's the difference?" "Physical and/or psychological abuse. The fact you have to ask is a touch concerning." "Oh, well, by that definition he was a good ex." "Okay, where's the regret?" Raven paused for a moment to swallow the rock in her throat that had formed as she lifted her head off the table. "...he didn’t deserve to die. If it wasn't for me, he'd still be alive." "Ah, there it is. Survivors guilt." They nodded sagely. "Can't say it's an unfamiliar feeling, though it is an unfortunate one." "Did you lose your friend too?" "Mm, not quite. They're still alive just...don't remember me. And I can't talk to them again." "Can't bring yourself to?" "No, legally I cannot speak to them again. Trust me, I would if I could."

Raven almost laughed. Legalities, boy was she familiar with those. "Yeah, I get that. I lost my name the day I lost him. I lost...everything. Everything I'd ever known died with him. It had to." "Run away? Start a new life?" "Not exactly? Went into witness protection." "Ahhh, that explains it. So you had to start all over, leave everything behind whether you wanted to or not." "Pretty much." "Are you scared?" "Of witness protection?" "Of forgetting. Forgetting who you were, who you used to be. Are you scared of the day you forget your own name?" The intense stare the person was leveling them with made Raven shudder. She almost felt like she was back on trial. "Sometimes. But at the same time, that life brought me nothing but pain, I'm glad to leave it behind."

They sat back, eyes turning to the ceiling like they were searching for something in the tiles. "Do you regret loving him?" Their tone was softer, more thinking out loud than an actual question. Raven smiled the smallest bit, taking a swallow of her now significantly cooled cocoa. "Sometimes. But then I look at the people I have now and remember that I found them through loving him. So maybe it was all worth it." She watched their head tilt back down, looking at Raven again. "What about you? Do you regret loving your ex for what happened to your friend?" They sighed, chewing on their lip as they contemplated their words. "Every day. Every day I regret loving him because if I hadn't, they would be fine. They wouldn't have had to go through everything that they did. They wouldn't have had to get their mind wiped and all the memories taken away. They wouldn't have...had to forget me. Had to forget how they helped me in the lowest point of my life. Had to forget how much I cared about them." They paused, their jaw clenching to hold back tears. "But then I see the domino effect. The things that happened because of it. The person I met because of it. And then I wonder if it was all worth it and if fate really does exist. It's-" "Confusing. And complicated. And frustrating as hell." Raven finished for them, making them chuckle. "Sounds like you've done this before." Raven shrugged with a smile. "Not so much a reoccurance, more so just a more recent one." "Oh? So then miss recent expert, what's your opinion?" They leaned forward with a smile and a quirked brow. "What's your advice?"

Raven considered what to say for a while. What would her advice be? "Others can't write your story for you. They can hand you the pen and paper but they can't put the words on the page. You have to write your ending yourself. It's up to you to decide if you want to write it happily or not." The words rolled off her tongue easier than she thought they would. Her own spin on the words that kept her from running away from the best thing that happened to her. Would Crow be proud of her? She hoped so.

The person's eyed widened for a moment, blinking in surprise. "That was...shockingly profound. And actually really good advice. Huh. I'll have to remember that." Raven stirred her mostly melted peppermint stick through her cup. "Your turn now. What sage wisdom do you have for a newcomer to grief?" Raven half teased, not really expecting an answer.

"The world isn't out to get you. You're allowed to rely on others, the people around you want to help. You can't keep throwing yourself at the wall and expecting it to break every time. One of those times, it's going to be you that breaks. But when you do, you don't have to pick up all the pieces by yourself." They spoke softly, sounding like they were repeating a mantra. Maybe they were repeating advice of their own. Raven couldn't help laughing. "Sounds like we both are rehashing the words of someone far better at this than we are, huh." "Aw damn, you can tell that easily?" They both dissolved into laughter, not noticing the jingle of the bell at the door.

"Darlin?" A smooth Southern accent made Raven turn her head. Standing behind her new friend was a man, flannel shirt and worn blue jeans with a cowboy hat. Looked like he'd walked off the set of a western movie. Her friend tipped their head back to look at him and smiled. "Hey there cowboy. Come to find me?" "Clearly. I've been trying to text you but you haven't been answering." "Ah shit, have you? Sorry, got caught up talking, I haven't been checking my phone." They pulled their phone out of their pocket and scrolled through what Raven assumed was their missed messages. The cowboy just smiled and ruffled their hair. "It's fine, darlin. I'm glad you made a friend." He turned and faced Raven. "Sorry, should've introduced myself. Name's Sam. Their partner." Raven almost slapped herself when she realized she'd spent this whole time talking and never bothered to introduce herself. "Oh, hi. Sorry, I never actually introduced myself. I'm-" "Miss Raven!!"

A familiar excited voice interrupted her, the girl it belonged to running up to cling to her in a hug. "Paloma, don't run, you could slip." Ivan chided softly, coming up behind her. Raven just laughed, squeezing the little girl in return. "She's fine, Ivan. What are you even doing here?" "Well you weren't home at your usual time and hadn't texted so I figured you stopped on your way home somewhere and came to take a look. I'm just glad we found you." Ivan leaned down and kissed Raven's forehead, earning an amused look from her new friend. "He yours, I'm assuming?" "Yeah, he's mine. And the cowboy belongs to you?" "Who, this guy? Nah, he's just some puppy I picked up off the street one day." "Darlin..." Sam warned but his smile made the threat hollow. "Well, I thank you two for finding my girlfriend and keeping her in one place. Made it easier on me." Ivan offered, earning a wave from Sam. "Ah, don't thank me, thank my partner here. I only came in a minute before you did to find them myself. So I should be thanking you." "Please, it was no trouble. It was...quite the productive conversation." Raven waved off his thanks, smiling softly at her friend. They shrugged, returning a half smile. "Yeah, you could say that. Have a few less regrets than when I walked in here. Maybe one day I'll get rid of them all." They downed the rest of their drink and stood, taking Sam's hand. "Well, it was nice to meet you Raven. Maybe we'll run into each other again." "Maybe. Stay safe out there." "You more." They gave a final wave and headed out, leaving Raven with Ivan and Paloma.

"So, who were they?" Ivan questioned, taking the now empty seat. "Honestly...I have no idea. I never asked for their name. But they gave an interesting perspective for me to think about." "In a good way or a bad way?" "Good way, definitely." "Well that's nice." Raven hummed in agreement, turning to look out the window. "Maybe one day I'll stop having regrets too." "Miss Raven, are you going to finish your drink?" Paloma asked, poking the now cold mug. "Ah crap, my cocoa! Aw, now it's all cold." Raven pouted sadly, making Ivan laugh. "Oh Raven, has held the weight of lives in her hands yet pouts when her hot chocolate gets cold."

"Oh we'll see how funny it is when I pour it over your head mister!" "No, wait, I concede! Ah!"

(I have no idea why I wrote this. I had the thought "What if Darlin and Raven had a conversation about how dating their exes changed their lives" and boom, this was born. Okay this post is long enough, I'm shutting up now.)

[kissorkill16]

Friendship In Raven Brooks: A Hello Neighbor Fanfic

By JJ

Summary: They all just wanted to live their lives, and then they met each other and became the bestest friend group you'll ever see.

Chapter 23

Aaron and Nicky walked home from their little walk around the park. It was a nice day outside. Not too hot, not too cold, just a nice type of weather, although it wasn't sunny. So the boys had decided to go for a walk.

But Nicky had that uneasy feeling again.

"Aaron?", he said.

"Yeah, what's up, Nicky?", said Aaron.

Nicky looked at his shoes as he asked his question.

"Have you ever had that uneasy feeling that you're being watched?"

Aaron looked at Nicky incredulously.

"Being watched?", he asked.

"I know it sounds a little crazy, but ever since that night we walked home from Finch's house, I felt like someone was watching us.", said Nicky. "I tried to ignore it, but the feeling just never went away."

Aaron listened to his friend intently.

"I thought it was just because we were just walking at night. But it's the middle of the daytime, and I still feel like someone is watching us from afar."

Aaron took Nicky's hand and held them in his.

"Nicky, I may not know exactly how you feel right now, since we've been in this town the same amount of time, but I promise that if you ever feel unsafe, you can always come to me.", he said. "I'm not completely fearless, but I will protect you no matter what it takes."

Nicky smiled at Aaron, then he turned around to go to his house.

"Thanks, Aaron.", he said.

"No problem, Nicky.", said Aaron.

Aaron walked to his house and went inside. He was just about to go upstairs when he heard someone call for him from the kitchen.

"Aaron, come here for a moment."

It was his father.

Aaron went into the kitchen, and he saw his father sitting at the kitchen table, drinking a glass of milk.

"Where were you?", he asked.

"I wish I could ask you the same thing.", thought Aaron. It's been a while since he saw his father, at least when he didn't look so stressed out. It's been a while since he's seen him so calm. "I was with Nicky, we went for a walk around the park. I thought Mom told you."

His father shrugged. "Hm. Maybe she did and I just didn't hear her.", he said.

Aaron shrugged. He took a cup from the cabinet and filled it with water, then he sat down across from his dad and drank it.

"Do you still want to invite your club over?"

Aaron could've choked on his water at that moment, but he managed to compose himself.

"W-What?"

"You mentioned once that you wanted to invite your club friends over.", said his father. "I said I'd think about it, I thought about it, and I approve."

Now Aaron remembered, and his eyes widened in realization.

"Dad, I don't think I was really thinking about what I said when I asked you that.", he said. "It was night and I was just so sleepy and -"

"Is there a problem?"

Aaron quickly stopped talking and shook his head. "No, Dad. Of course not."

He tried to sound as honest as he could.

"No, Dad. Of course not. There's no problem with my family with a tower full of secrets, a mom who can't seem to remember where she is or what she's doing for more than a minute, and a dad who just locks himself away and has mood swings where he's hot one minute and cold the next."

"I just...uh..."

Then he had the perfect excuse.

"I haven't talked to Mom or Mya about it yet."

It was the perfect excuse, or so he thought.

His father set down his empty cup and went over to where Aaron sat.

"Nonsense, Aaron. I'm sure Mya would be happy to have your club over. She does have such a strong friendship with those two little girls, Lucy and Maritza.", he said. "And I've already talked to your mother about it, and she's already upstairs on the phone with Jay and Luanne. From what I hear, they're more than happy to let Nicholas come over, and Nicky is more than happy to be with the rest of your club."

With every word his father said, Aaron felt his blood run colder and colder.

"Now, since there are no more excuses, I suggest you talk to the rest of your friends. Let them know and see if any of them can stop by."

Aaron nodded, got up and left the kitchen, then went upstairs to his room.

The next day, after school, Aaron and Mya arrived late. No one else seemed to mind, but Ivan was less than pleased.

"Aaron, Mya, where have you two been?", he asked, a salty look on his face.

"We were just talking about some things.", said Mya. "And we needed to talk to you guys about some things."

"Like what kinds of things?", asked Maritza.

Aaron sighed and looked at all of his friends.

"I'm sure that each one of your parents got a call from my mom saying that I wanted to invite you all to our house.", he said. "I wasn't completely thinking when I asked my dad if it was okay. It was nighttime when I asked him, and I was just so sleepy. But apparently, he thought long and hard about it, and he said yes."

The group looked at him and Mya with widened eyes.

"You guys don't want to come, do you?", asked Mya. She smiled nervously and put her hands up, "But that's totally fine. We're totally fine with that. It's -"

"I'll be there."

Aaron and Mya looked at Nicky with widened eyes.

"Me and Maritza are totally fine with it.", said Enzo. Maritza nodded.

"I can make it.", said Lucy.

"I guess I can clear my schedule.", said Ivan.

"I'd love to come.", said Trinity.

"That would be nice, guys.", said Finch.

"I ain't got nothing better to do, so...", said Delroy.

Aaron nodded, then he went over to Nicky, grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the room, Mya went out with them.

"What's the matter?", asked Nicky. Aaron sighed.

"Look, Nicky. I know you by now. At this point, you're my best friend, and you didn't have a problem with our family ever since you met us.", he said. "But none of them have met our dad, they don't know us like you do."

"Well this might be a good chance to get to know your dad."

Mya looked at the floor. "Are you sure about that, Nicky?"

Nicky nodded. "I know we're all kids, so it's easier for us to become friends. But when our parents had a get-together, those people couldn't have been closer. So maybe it'll be the same thing with this one. We'll all have such a growing and strong friendship by the end of the night.", he said.

Aaron and Mya exchanged a look, then a nod. They had to admit, Nicky was right. When all of them had first met, they formed an awesome friendship that strengthened and grew within just a few weeks.

So maybe this get together wouldn't be too different.

"Well, you talked me into it.", said Aaron. "I'll take your word for it, Nicky."

"Me too.", said Mya.

They walked back into the room, where everyone had agreed that they would be there at Aaron and Mya's house for the get-together.

Mya hugged Nicky, happy that he was so confident and managed to convince her.

And Aaron silently prayed to himself that this get-together would be just like the last one, to not end in disaster.

[rattlyglitch]

The Friends of the Heart

The first week at Night Raven College didn't go as Lilia had expected it to. The plan set up was that Lilia and Silver would be staying a a random shackle on the grounds campus. When a new student suddenly appeared during a meeting between the housewardens and was given the dorm as a place to stay, the plan went out to the widow.

The next plan was for Lilia to be given the biggest room in Diasmonia. The room was secluded enough to where Lilia could wake up and get Silver out of the dorm and to Sam's shop before any other students awoke. So far no one had suspected anything from Lilia but the rumor of a student having a child at the school did spread quickly.

Lilia didn't mind the rumors and brought on the rumors happily even giving his own thoughts on the rumors. Though they were fake theories it was fun to be able to stir the pot of mystery just a bit more in the elaborate prank he decided to play.

////////////

Silver was enjoying his first week as much as Lilia was. Sam was a kind person and his shadow people were nice too. One looked like Sam while the others looked like the posable plastic figures in stores with clothes on them. They would play with Silver whenever there was nothing for him to do either rolling around a ball with him or playing guessing games to figure out what kind of animal or thing they were making shadows of.

At the moment it was mid-afternoon and two people entered the shop. One of them was short and had red hair and a cape while the other had glasses and green hair. Silver went behind the shop counter where Sam was and climbed up on his stool to see them better. "Hi," Silver said waving to the two. Sam who hadn't realized someone had entered and had been organizing behind the counter stood up.

"Oh, hello my little imps. It's wonderful to see you and Mr. Trey again Mr.Riddle." The red-haired boy didn't seem to care too much about the formalities Sam had said. Silver had learned that being nice, especially to loyal customers helped to make sure that people came back to the shop. "It is also a pleasure to see you again" the red hair boy replied. Silver though his name being Riddle made sense. His eyes seemed to hide some kind of secret behind them that needed to be solved like a Riddle.

It was a sad one though and Silver wasn't sure if he wanted to be the one to solve it. "May I ask why you have a child here?" Mr.Riddle asked looking at Silver. "I didn't think children his age would be allowed on the school grounds." Sam only smiled and placed a finger over his lips. "I can't exactly tell you why but Crowley made an exception for him and since he did that I now have a little helper around my shop."

Silver could feel Mr.Riddle looking at him while Mr.Trey had gone off to look for something. He felt awkward like he was being analyzed. Silver remembered his Papa did that whenever he was trying to scare someone off. He was about to leave before being handed a lollipop by the red-haired boy. It was heart-shaped and looked delicious. "It would be best to save that till after you have lunch so that you don't ruin your appetite. Now Trey are you ready to go?" Mr.Riddle asked before turning around and looking at his friend.

"Yes, I have everything needed." Sam helped Mr.Riddle and Mr.Trey check out. As they went to leave Silver decided to quickly call out to Mr.Riddle. "Mr.Riddle enjoy your day and next time you come back. Come back with a smile! Please!" Mr.Riddle walked off with his friend leaving what Silver said unanswered. Silver didn't mind that though and hoped he would return happier next time. He decided since lunch was so far away though to eat the lollipop. It tasted like cherries.

///////////

Silver was walking around the school grounds near the statues when he met three new people. He had been interested in the statues of the seven and decided to wander off towards them. He was sure that Sam wouldn't mind since he was somewhere on the campus and delivering something to another student.

Silver was at the moment most interested in the statue of the fae queen Maleficent. He had read stories about her and they always seemed happy. At the moment he had been trying to climb onto the statue and get a better look. Every attempt seemed to be unsuccessful until someone seemingly helped him up.

Silver turned around to see who was there and saw a boy with orange hair. The front was tied back in a ponytail. "Thanks for helping me Mister" Silver replied to the orange-haired boy with a diamond on his face before turning around to look up at the statue. Two people could be heard walking up and Silver turned around. He saw a shorter boy with reddish-orange hair and a heart on his face and another with blue hair.

"Cater there you are we were about to ask-" the blue-haired boy looked at Silver confused. "Cater where did you get this child?" The taller orange-haired person shrugged. "I kinda just found him trying to climb this statue. OMG, he must be that rumored kid that everyone's talking about. I have to get a picture with him." Silver watched as Cater stood in front of him and snapped a quick selfie getting both of them in it. After the picture was taken he turned around and began typing on his phone quickly. The blue-haired boy walked over and lifted Silver off of the statue's podium and held him in his arms.

"We need to get him back to whoever he was with." The heart man looked around. "Well, I don't see anyone nearby Deuce. Maybe we should take him to the head mage's office?" Silver shook his head quickly. He didn't know why but the headmage seemed weird. He acted airheaded as his Papa had called it. Silver didn't exactly know what he did and didn't care.

"Take me to Mr'S. I want Mr'S." The smaller orange-haired boy looked around confused. "I don't see him anywhere." Silver pointed at a shadow that seemed to be moving around. "Mr'S appears if you poke it." The smaller orange-haired boy, Cater, and Deuce both seemed confused. Ace who Silver learned was the orange-haired boy that had shorter hair was chosen though as the brave soul ("more like a sacrifice" Ace had said) to go over and poke the shadow that seemed to be moving around from place to place.

As soon as he did poke it Sam popped up from the shadow like Silver had said. He looked frantic and looked at Ace before looking over to Deuce and Cater and hurried over taking Silver out of Deuce's arms. "Now now little man. I'm not angry but you can't scare me like that. I would be in a lot of trouble if anything happened to you." Silver looked at Sam with an apologetic look on his face. "Sorry, Mr.Sam. I just wanted to look at statues."

Sam seemed calmed by Silver's words and sighed. "Thank you three for watching him for that short bit. If you come by the shop whatever you want is half off just thank you." Deuce gave a nod. "We were happy to watch him. It would be bad if anything happened." Cater let out a disappointed pout. "Can he come by and visit the dorm sometime? I would love to see him again. Plus he's going viral on Magicam."

Cater held out his screen to Sam showing him all the fame that was happening from the one photo Cater had taken alone. "I don't know if it's a good idea to post photos through diamond bro. I'm not his dad. He can visit again though just refrain from the photos unless I get the ok from his papa." Cater gave Sam a thumbs up.

"Ok, no more photos. But omg is he cute? Anyway, ttyl and thanks for agreeing to let us see him again." Silver waved by to Cater, Deuce, and Ace as Sam walked back to the shop carrying him.

//////////

A month later The five students returned to Sam's shop. Silver was excited to see them again. Especially since Mr.Riddle was smiling and seemed happier than he had before. "Hi again. Welcome back." Cater was awed upon seeing Silver and went over and squished his cheeks. "You're as cute as I was the last time I saw you." Silver giggled and hugged Cater. "It's nice to see you again Mr.Cater."

Cater looked like he had been told he won the lottery and was at a loss for words. "Oh hi, Mr.Riddle," Silver said waving at him. "You two Ace, Deuce, and Trey." Ace and Deuce gave Silver a wave while Trey went over and high-fived him. Riddle on the other hand gave him another lollipop and a small smile appeared on his face. "I'll go get Sam" Silver replied before going off to the back and walking out with him.

"Why welcome back loyal customers? How may I help you again today?" Sam showed them around while Silver played with the shadow people again. Trey, Ace, Cater, Deuce, and Riddle's shadows seemed to turn into the shadow people and they joined in on the fun. Once it was time for the five of them to check out Silver went back to the counter with Sam.

"Thanks for visiting and come again," Sam said waving goodbye to them. Silver also waved but decided to call out to Riddle. "Hey, Mr.Riddle thanks for coming back again smiling!" Riddle turned to look at Silver and gave him a nod. "Thanks, Silver for welcoming me back with a smile."

(Just in case anyone was wondering the reason why Riddle was happier was because when he met Silver again at the end of the month his overblot had happened and he felt more at peace when he started to relax some and no doubt was helped by the other four.)

Prologue, Chapter 1 Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4

[twstmagica]

Magical Girl Yuu's First Day pt 4

“Listen dude, I don't know what kind of cult thing you’ve got here and at this point I don't care. I just need to get back home before my mentor freaks out.”

This time it really isn't Yuu’s fault she got lost!

“Cult?! Night Raven College is the most prestigious school in all of Twisted Wonderland!”

“Cool story bro. You still kidnapped me.”

“The black carriage does not kidnap – !”

“The what?”

So according to Birdman all students are recruited via some spooky carriage and horse that Yuu does not remember seeing.

Actually she can't remember anything of how she got here. The day was Tuesday, or maybe Wednesday?  She had been getting ready for… something important. Something that had the adult magica gearing up. Yuu remembers a sense of urgency, this had been different from the usual fiend attacks. 

What happened? Did something go wrong? 

For the first time since waking up Yuu feels truly scared.

Panic rises as she tries to go over what enemies could have the power to transport someone while fogging their memories.

Meanwhile!

Totally oblivious to Yuu’s mental crisis, Birdman was reaching his own conclusions.

“... truly weren't meant to be here then that could explain why you couldn't be sorted. I suppose there's nothing for it. Step back in front of the mirror, young man.”

Finally Crowley looks back at the child, Yuu, and takes in his state.

One hand is tugging at his hair while the other grips his strange magic pen. The boy’s eyes are unfocused and he rocks his weight back and forth from one foot to the other.

Hmm.

Hmmmmmmm. 

That’s probably not good. If only Crewel were here to deal with this instead.

Remembering the damage from earlier, Crowley approaches cautiously. He keeps an eye on the hand holding the oversized pen and grasps Yuu’s shoulder in a clawed grip.

Yuu does a full body jolt but listens when Crowley tells him to approach the mirror again

*Return to sender!*

…

Nothing happens.

Yuu’s anxiety is getting out of control, so she tries channeling it towards something more productive. Specifically anger.

This mirror!

First he calls her a freak, now he's saying her home doesn't exist. 

“I cannot discern –”

“Well, is there anything you do know? Or should I do this place a favor and break you out of that frame!”

For the record, Yuu wasn't actually going to break the mirror. Squakface still wasn't willing to risk it as he dragged her out of the room.

Crowley guides Yuu to the library where they spend some time looking for references to her home city Duskfront.

Eventually Yuu asks what the books are referring to when they say Twisted Wonderland.

After some more back and forth Crowley concludes that Yuu must be from another world. 

Yuu is like okay bro, a likely story.

She’s still concerned this might be a plot, and thinks it's pretty convenient that they happen to be on an isolated island.

Crowley suggests that they shelve this for now and he offers to house Yuu in an unused dorm.

Yuu is not having it and tries to walk out, determined to swim back home if she must.

Crowley protests, despite the many complaints from both students and staff alike Crowley does in fact have a sense of responsibility. And while this particular student is, for whatever reason, unsortable, he cannot allow a student to just walk out. Not even one as unruly as Yuu.

Yuu really, really, doesn't want to be alone with her thoughts waste any time, but she understands this isn't the type of situation you can just bully your way out of. So with gritted teeth Yuu finally hisses out, “fine!”

Birdface is leading her far away from the main building.

Really far.

How big is this campus?

Finally they reach a derelict building that may at one point have been a dormitory.

“It's a little old, but a building with such character is suitable for such a rambunctious young man.”

“Why do you keep calling me that?”

“Calling you what? Rambunctious? I’d say it's rather accurate.”

“No. Young man. I'm not a guy.”

“What?”

Yuu loosens the sash holding her outfit and pulls back the outer robe to reveal modest, but still visible, breasts.

“WHAT!”

I was going to make it longer but I decided to split the final into two parts and give you this now. Sorry about the long wait (╥_╥). I'm kinda disappointed by how close to canon I've been but I know there will be big opportunity for change later. Specifically with the ghosts.

Ive been thinking about writing some drabbles or trying to draw out some scenes, turns out even making a short comic is hard. Im working on a short piece about the mine based more on the manga than the game. I'll focus on that after the last part of Yuu's first day, but might also do some smaller posts as well.

[cherryheairt]

There's this odd thing that I always do whenever a fav fic of mine is updated... I reread the previous chapter to build up my excitement and investment again. But then you published twice in one day, so o lucky me, I got to read three chapters in one day! Additionally, this habit makes me always late to comment about previous chapters, soooo having reread the past three chapter of Dragon Dreamer, I'd like to share with you my thoughts. 🌝

Regarding chapter VII...

I love how Cregan's little pov was like

"I want her to be mine and always have eyes on her-" 😈

"-so that I can watch her grow and see her cute reactions, because it's an honor to be in her presence." 🥺

"I want to keep her in Winterfell forever-" 😈"

"-so that she can be kept safe." 🥺

"I WILL KEEP HER-" 😈

"-let me just ask her mother for her permission and her blessing first." 🥺

Also, how did I miss that Daemon called her "his daughter" in his pov when I first read that chapterrrr???!! Aaaahhh!!! He is gonna flip when he finds out someone is asking to marry her, even though we already saw in chapter VIII that he predicted it. I can totally see him and Jace ganging up on Cregan, trying to intimate him... As if a Stark can be intimidated.

I love that we already had Daenys, The Dreamer, but now we have Daenys, The Unburnt. So brilliant of you and so magical, that part! Cregan's reaction was that of an old man's who had seen so much weirdness in his lifetime that any more weirdness stopped surprising him - I loved it!

Now, about Chapter IX... I. Cried. I don't think there was a part in which I didn't cry. I cried when Cregan was confessing to her, when they got the letter, when he fed her because he just wants to keep her safe and fed with all the huggies in the world 🥺, when she got back to Dragonstone, her little encounters with Rhaenyra!

My heart broke during that group hug! Because while Daenys was thinking that Lucerys normally met her in the dragonpit, I was also thinking that he should have been there with them in that group hug. No one can make me like Aemond Targaryen after he killed baby Luke (except those Aemond fic writers whose works I read). Totally reminded me of how I cried when Daenys was in Cregan's arms crying and said "My boy..."

Her reaction to everything? I felt it all. Including how she reacted to her Jaehaerys vision and how she knew instantly that Daemon couldn't have demanded that - she knew he didn't mean it. Honestly, I would love to see more of their relationship; I hope she saves him. 🥲 This also brings me to how Helaena basically intercepted the vision; I know it's not really different from how Alys and Helaena share a dreamer braincell, but there was something odd about how Helaena believed Daenys can prevent anything. Makes me believe our special Daenys, The Unburnt is a special kind of dreamer. 👀

And now that Cregan confessed first, I think our boy might have a heart attack when she tells him she loves him. AND THAT ALMOST DIRTY JOKE OF HIS?! I LOVE CRAENYS!

I know my thoughts aren't well arranged. Sorry about that, I don't know how to express my obsession in any way other than having what I call a "a brain dump". Please, keep feeding us multiple updates a day, queen - no pressure, though.

Have a good day/night!

I do the same thing! Sometimes if there's a long break between two chaps I'll just reread the entire fic so i remember everything and get to enjoy it longer lol.

LMAO thats so real he's fighting his own demons over there while shes just 😴, he truly just wants his fiance to be safe in his protection, knowing hiw the war is mainly going to take place in the crownlands where she is stationed. He hates not knowing if she's okay, always looking to the skies for a raven or her dragon.

Him and Jace would totally gang up him, and get no reaction or a very very subtle snide comment on how no one in their family could even protect her from bullies so how could they expect to protect her from war 🥱

hehe Daemon's pov in the next chapter is gonna go crazy. He's gonna be too busy getting yelled at by his wife than he will be to reprimanded Daenys for the lil punch

'as if a Stark can be intimated' Daenys will soon be a Stark, too 🤭

Thank you! I really loved writing the fire scene, but I was scared everyone might think I made her OP or something. Cregan was mostly glad to see her safe, and knows that she'll tell him about the experience when she's ready for it.

AHH is it bad to say I'm glad you cried?? If it invoked that much emotion im so so happy 🥹

Her reaction broke my heart, it was the hardest part to figure out how to write, especially because I knew it had to be short to really show how Daenys had to cut off her emotions and just go back home asap, no time to mourn. 'my boy' has been planned from chapter one though 🤧

Canon Aemond they can never make me like you. Buttt fic Aemond 🤭 I lowk want to write a series for him, too. But he's so complicated ughh

Do you mean saves Daemon? I do have a lott of canon changed due to the fact that I just can't wait for S3 to drop just to finish this series, so I will be going off of vague book knowledge and the seat of my pants lol.

I do like their complicated relationship too. Daenys didn't like him as a kid, suspecting he had something to do with Laenor but not fully blaming him, and knowing Rhaenyra was happy to be with him. Perhaps even thinking he's a total weirdo for wanting a girl so much younger than him (we all side eye him for that). They grew to be a true father and daughter over the years, but the war is putting a strain on Daemon's relationships with everyone, even Baela, Rhaena, and Rhaenyra.

Helena and Daenys have a special connection, both being different types of dreamers. Hel had hoped Dae could save her baby, but is not had at the fact that she couldn't. She understands, due to her more lengthy experience with the dreams, how hard they are to change. I think in the show she knew about her son dying, but blocked it out and distracted herself from the shock. Like warning Aegon about the rats, she could not SEE her son dying but knew that there were threats. Her dreams are more complicated to understand because we rarely get them, and then suddenly she predicts Aemond's death and says it outright.

#CREANYS ❗️❗️

Thank you for your thoughts I adore hearing them, mine are so jumbled too, I barely understand by own brainstorm notes for the series. Hopefully another chapter before Friday, but who knows my schedule has been sporadic. Have a good night also 🤭