#its the same with the beheaded people thing

[okjuuzu]

I get why people are asking people to not ask for proof that rapes took place on oct 7, but if whats on stake is the lives if thousands including children its only fair to validate such claims. The israeli police have been trying to build cases for tapes however they lack credible witness testinomies, victim statements, DNA and forensic evidence or footage yet israel is using rape in its propaganda to further villanize palestenian resistance and punish gaza. Israel has been caught in like 50+ lies over 6 weeks yet it continues to push the rape narrative without real evidence and weaponize women and children's struggle. Yes believe women but where are the women? Where is the DNA evidence? Where are the police reports?

[nadiajustbe]

Underrated HMC moments I've never seen anyone talking about part 2

Howl choosing "H. Jenkins" for the shop's sign wich is the one and only moment in the series he actually uses his legal initials, as "H" can stand for "Howl" and "Howell" in the same time

Lettie being so angry about Prince Justin calling her "a sweet lady" that she said that she would prefer ever Howl over him. Wich is. Telling.

The King assuring that he never pushed Justin off and that everyone who knows them both wouldn't assume that.

Sophie being so RAGED with the whole weedkiller and daffodils situation she wasn't saying A SINGLE FULL WORD for about a page in the least. All of the sounds were like "argh!" and "Sophie gave the wordless glump of range"

The seven-league boots having the funniest description of use ever, as every time someone used it then the effects were simply narrated as "Zip!"

Howl raises the skull and quotes Hamlet directly to it, wich becomes a hundred times funnier when you remember that this Skull is canonically and ironically the only "person" in the room who can understand the reference.

Howl saying "Denmark" in the same sentence. And, again, they're in a fairly tale fantasy word. Sophie has absolutely no clue what to hell is Denmark. For Howl this is the basic knowledge of elementary school level.

Poor Percival being almost KILLED for transforming in the middle of a valley because people thought he's a WEREWOLF.

Poor Percival being STROKED with information of him being made of part of two other people right after experiencing heavy trauma, beheading, physical damages, not really well-planed adopting and moving a house.

Percival describing laying on the shelf and looking at the other parts of himself. What a lovely kids book.

Sophie accidentally making cayenne pepper magical. She would make a great seller-witch career because she doesn't need to know the spell in order to make. She takes random powder. She says it will do the duel fair. It makes the duel fare by making an opponent sneezing uncontrollable (wich is also just a way cayenne pepper affects people lmao)

Sophie's first thoughts after she heard that Howl is leaving the black door knob where it is being "Of course! There's miss. Angorian!'. Sophie, dear, he has a family out there.

Michael, apparently, hiding the money under the same brick Sophie will soon describe in CITA as "the brick where we're hiding money from Howl"

Miss Angorian and Howl acting like the spell in a modern Wales is the most normal thing ever. "That's a spell!!" "Oh yeah of course I suspected that"

“Didn’t know I used to fly up the wing for my university, did you, Mrs. Nose?” “If you were trying to fly, you must have forgotten how,” aka Sophie absolutely not understanding modern world sport terminology

Drunk Howell trying to get through the door MULTIPLE times, bumping on it before "discovering" the door

Calcifer "taking" that huge mention they lived (and almost never visited) in without buying it. It was literally said the owner is just Not Here.

Sophie loosing an acces to her own room. Wich must be really sad.

Witch of the Waste leaning on a swing when literally capturing Howl's family

Additionaly: Howl canonically NOT altering his clothes while rushing to save his family. He was running around in a long-sleeved medieval closes on a welsh playground

Sophie and miss Angorian having a whole fight over the guitar pulling it back and forward while it was making horrible sounds

Sophie literally pushing miss. Angorian off the house using the said guitar

Howl immediatly reacting when someone mentioned that the star Michael tried to catch looks sad.

Scarecrow literally running around with parts of Justin's body on its sticky shoulders for eighty percent of the book's finale

Howl saying he could be "the evil fairy at his own christening" which is probably a reference to the "Sleeping Beaty". Also. rises a question: did Howl HAD a christening. There's a huge chance he actually did.

Ben and Justin just. smiling at each other for enough amount of time for Sophie's narrative to say "If she had paid any attention she would see them". Am I interuppting something???

Lettie hating Howl's courting SO MUCH she asked Percival to bite him several times.

Additionally: Ben apologising to Howl for trying to bite him. That's also probably first time they're interacting

Howl ignoring all of it because sOPHIE HATTER

[schoenpepper]

Isekai'd Chronicles 0

Intro: The prologue to your reincarnation adventures~

Warnings: otome games, bad writing, awful grammar, reader has a sister, proofread by quillbot, lots of mentions of death

A/N: The reader is kept as gender neutral as my brain could possibly allow. Also, I have different endings planned per route, and maybe (very small maybe because I'm not too comfortable with it) a couple of harem-ish routes. Anyways, enjoy.

Masterlist

You didn't like otome games, and certainly not harem ones. When your younger sister had begged, pleaded, and cried for you to join her in this weird, "innovative" two-player otome game, you had half a mind to just lock yourself in your room and ignore her. But you don't. Because some god probably has it out for you, divine intervention leads to your agreement, and the better half of Friday night and early Saturday morning is spent flirting with beautiful men on the 32-inch television screen in the living room. Summer vacation means neither of you get grounded for doing so, but there was certainly a healthy scolding waiting for you both come Saturday afternoon.

Fortunately for you unfortunately, the scolding never comes. As it is in every cheesy harem isekai manga, the next time you open your eyes, you're already in another world. Hooray! The same game that you and your sister spent hours on is now your reality. When you look into the mirror, you're even more surprised to find that staring back at you is a cute little bun with clear skin, gorgeous eyes, and beautifully silky hair. Aren't you happy you're super adorable now? Except, this is the face of the villain. That bratty, desperate, and pathetic duke's heir who was an obstacle in all 14 routes and the three different harem endings. It's okay. It's fine. If you never fall in love with the male leads, then you'll be safe!

Safe from falling to your death, getting poisoned, turned to sand, stabbed, drowned, sunk to the bottom of the ocean in a rickety little box, beaten to death, beheaded, hypnotized and made to kill yourself against your will, cursed to melt into toxic sludge, getting an arrow shot through your heart, burned alive, getting hanged in front of thousands of people, or being mauled to death by animals…

Make sure not to fall in love, okay?

The villain's endings—none of them end with you staying alive. So you steel yourself and look at the pudgy cutie pie in the mirror with renewed resolve. You'll live to the end! You'll study hard! You won't fall in love with any of the love interests! Ever! In any case, you are human, and most of the love interests are of other races from other lands, meaning you won't even be seeing their shadows for several years. Right now, you estimate that you should be about 3 or 4. The game starts when you and the main characters are 16 years old in the super-unexpected and never-been-done-before magic academy setting. You have at least a decade to shape yourself up and grind to an OP level; that way, if you still find yourself hunted by hot men, you can at least defend yourself. Hopefully. As a human duke's heir, however, there are two male leads you know from the start. They're also pudgy little cuties right now (all the love interests are at this point in time), but they're dangerous. Because you could fall in love, which is a big no-no. But since you were a teenager in your previous life, you wouldn't fall in love with 5-year-olds. Automatically, they're struck from your mind as "love interests." Still, you can't let the danger be on its own, so you decide to tell your parents that you no longer have any interest in your weekend tea parties at the palace (that the little villain had begged for). You can avoid them easily, and so you will. As a three-year-old, there's not much you can do for now, but one thing you can do is get a tutor to teach you the ins and outs of the universal language (convenient otome game logic). You busy yourself with studying the alphabetical and numerical systems and make a staunch decision to be a good duke's heir and, in time, a good duke ruling over the dukedom.

Fate decides to tear your plans apart little by little, pop the pieces into a blender and add some water to turn it into a paper-flavored smoothie.

[luza-wayne]

someone to protect.

himejima gyomei x reader

wc: 9.4k

a/n: i'm not so sure how to feel about this :||

himejima came out of the room with the meeting he just had with the corps leader that ended swiftly. he bowed one last time to ubayashiki before closing the door.

as he walks down the corridor of the house, he thinks back to what he and ubayashiki talk about.

“ah…” he groaned as he rubbed his palms together. “another newly appointed hashira.”

he was visiting the master when the latter brought up this new information. he was told that this new hashira eliminated the lower rank three of the twelve demon moons.

tears started to fall down his cheeks as usual.

“ah… i wish they wouldn’t die as easily.” he cries, his sensitive heart breaking just by the thought of his fellow slayer dying, even if they haven’t met yet.

meanwhile, you just arrived at the headquarters with the help of a kakushi leading the way for you. you were told by the kakushi to wait in the backyard, while he went to announce your arrival to the people in the house. 

you know why you were here.

recently, you managed to kill the lower rank two.

whether it was luck or not that the sun came out as your stamina was running low from trying to keep him the demon from running away, the only thing you know is that your loathing for those disgusting monsters have gone up to the maximum level. 

just thinking about them makes your hands shake with anger.

that same day you got the recognition for slaughtering the lower rank three was the same day you lost your closest friend.

the friend who you grew up with. that friend who was with you and helped you when a demon killed your only family, your father. that friend who joined the corps with you. 

the friend who you promised to protect.

just to fail. 

…

your mouth was open but no words were coming out of it. you watched in horror as her body slowly lost its strength.

“don't cry…” she muttered, slowly. she knows you don’t realize how much tears are coming out of your eyes, that your sclera is already turning red, the same color as her red-stained clothes.

your friend was lying on your arms, blood flowed out of the large wound the demon gave her when she almost beheaded it. 

“d-don’t talk! help is on their way! just wait for a bit— i promise i won't let you die—” your eyes, disoriented from panicking, looked around to see if anyone's coming your way.

‘is there anything there that can stop her bleeding?! pressure! i should put pressure on the wound—’

your distraught mind stopped when you felt her hands, covered with blood, touch your cheek.

you looked into her already half closed eyes. 

“no… pressure… let me apply—” you uttered, trying to ignore the tightness of your throat.

she shook her head.

“(y/n), it's too late for me…” she answered.

“no, just shut your mouth! i know help is on the way!” you shouted as you took off your haori and tried to tie it around her waist, trying to stop the blood from flowing out more. not noticing how your breaths became shorter and faster. 

“please… just promise me one thing—” she started.

you held her hand on your cheeks and looked down at her. 

“no! i’m not promising you anything! you better survive this! you haven't taught me yet how to make those mochi you always make! i still haven't found the demon who killed my father! you told me you'll help me with it! so you better survive!”

she smiled weakly at you. tears filled her eyes as she listened to you one last time. 

“you have to survive… please… you're the only one i have left…” you whispered, your own tears falling on her cheeks. 

“s-sorry…” she said and stopped to take another deep breath. “please… i'm sorry for leaving you all alone. please be happy…”

you sobbed as you nodded.

seeing your answer, she smiled. and her hands slowly slipped down from their touch on your cheeks, while her eyes slowly closed. 

…

you shook your head. you felt your eyes get teary again and it snapped you out of your thoughts.

that kakushi said i should go to the back, right? 

as you were walking to the backyard, you heard a noise coming from the shrub on the fence’s side. you immediately went into alert, ready to attack it if ever it's something that needs to be taken down at once. 

you took your stance and were ready to sheathe your sword.

“nyaa~”

eh?

“a cat?” you muttered as you relaxed your body. 

what am i doing getting all tense to a cat?

now that i think about it, that was too much reaction. it’s not like there will be demons at the headquarters. what’s more, the sun is out…

“...pfft—” you immediately covered your mouth and tried to hold yourself back from letting out a laugh.

you crouched down and held your hand out to the creature. you moved your fingers and tried to call the cat.

“come here.” you talked to it. 

it meowed again before making its way to you. you peeked on its genitals and noted that it’s a male. he rubbed his face on your palm and you could hear his purrs. a small smile appeared on your lips.

“where did you come from?” you asked him, knowing he wouldn’t answer back except for a meow.

“are you a cat of the master?” you queried again before lifting the cat up and holding it close to your chest.

you examined him and he seems fine with no evident injury. you felt relieved. 

“thank goodness you're not hurt or anything.” you whispered as you pulled him closer to you.

“please live safely.” you added, booping his nose. 

the cat suddenly jumped out of your hold and ran away, vanishing from your view into a corner.

“(y/n)-sama, this way please.” the kakushi with you earlier suddenly spoke. 

you stood and tidied up your uniform.

“yes.” you answered before following them.

“nyaa~” 

“oh?” himejima uttered when the cat meowed his way. he knelt down and offered his arms to the cat.

the cat immediately jumped onto him.

“were you finished talking to that person?” he asked the feline who became fascinated by the sound that his prayer beads are making with his every move.

she must be the new hashira. he thought to himself.

as he pets the cat, he smiles to himself.

at the very least, she seems to be kind from the way she treated this cat. i wish her all the best and hope she survives long.

when his kakushi guide arrived, he left the place carrying the cat that was a stray one when he was on his way to the headquarters.

…

it’s been seven months. 

seven months ever since you’ve been posted in your jurisdiction. you did your best to protect the people from where you were assigned.

you got to admit, with protecting them and having to be always alert that a demon might appear suddenly at night during your patrol helped get some thoughts off of your mind.

but, it will make you never forget the hatred you feel for every demon.

every time you encounter one, at the back of your mind you're thinking that maybe not all demons are like that, only for that thought to be shattered once you hear how they explain with no remorse that eating human flesh is delicious and that they'll always choose to be demon even in their next life.

it makes your skin crawl with disgust that you even gave them a bit of compassion. you regret even thinking that they might be different from others.

you hate them. 

you loathe them. 

you won't forgive them for killing all your beloved ones.

you won't let even one of these revolting creatures escape your blade. you swore to kill the one who took your father's life with this blade.

it's dawn and you just woke up. you sleep during the day as demons are more active during the night, so you as a hashira should be too.

after getting ready, you immediately head out of your house that you bought after receiving your first pay as a hashira.

you also took in two tsuguko. 

they helped you out maintaining the large place. one of them is just waiting for the final selection to take place and become an official part of the corps, while the other one has just started training.

watching them two puts a smile on your face. 

they're such great students. it makes you feel proud just thinking about them becoming the best swordsman they can be.

also, worried and scared. scared that they might end up with the same fate as your best friend.

but, you trust them.

and you can't deny the fact that might happen to you too, today, tomorrow, next week, or soon.

“master, please be careful!” your younger tsuguko waved goodbye to you.

“please come back home to us in one piece!” the older one said.

they looked at each other and smiled widely.

“please bring some dangos too!” they said in unison.

you chuckled and waved back to them while walking out of the house.

“okay, okay. i won’t forget. i'll leave the house to you.” you told them and headed out.

it’s been just months but they’ve become attached to you already.

your older disciple, akiro, was a kid whose sole family left was killed by a demon. the massacre of his family happened around the time when you weren't a hashira yet and was stationed to a different place. you found him, four days after getting the highest rank, aimlessly walking around the town with nothing but his torn clothes from fighting and escaping the demon.

who knows how long he must've been walking around without thinking?

you took him to your rented house during that time. he asked you why you were helping him, and you answered him, it's just natural.

when you bought your current house, he suddenly walked up to you with teary eyes and thanked you for everything you did for him, thinking that you're done taking care of him and was about to leave him. 

you laughed when you heard it, immediately replied saying that he's welcome but you never told him you're moving alone.

he was delighted to hear it, seeing how his face lit up brought a smile to your lips.

when he regained his strength and health back, he asked you to teach him about demons and how to kill them. asking him the reason for wanting to learn it, he replied that he wanted to take revenge for his family member.

it pained your heart a bit. of course, just like you, it’s not easy to forget something like that. but you gave him what he wanted and took him as your first tsuguko.

the younger one, kenji, was a feisty one when you first met him. finding him trying to survive alone in the mountain with nothing but his make-shift weapons and his own built house made of branches of trees and large leaves.

when you spotted his hideout, you thought it was a trap made by a demon in order to catch humans, but when you turned around, you saw him carrying a bundle of woods, to keep him warm for the night.

you asked him what he's doing there and he candidly answered that he lives there. he said that he ran away from his abusive mother after his beloved father died and started living on his own because no one else would take in another mouth to feed.

you know you couldn’t leave a 12-year-old boy alone in the woods. you’re surprised that he wasn’t targeted by the demons yet, but you wouldn’t wait for it to happen first before you act.

you told him that he shouldn’t live there because there could be demons lurking around and that you’ll guide him back to his house. suddenly, a sharp pointed staff almost shoots past your face, you manage to easily dodge it. 

you looked at him and flinched at the mixed look of fear and hate in his eyes. you were wrong for that, you didn’t process what he said earlier and stepped on mine. you apologized to him and just as you were about to speak again, you heard the growling of a demon about to jump at the two of you.

it was just a low-grade demon, so you immediately dealt with it with ease. but, your every slash bore your deep hatred with them as they cut through its neck. when you looked back at him, you told him that this is the reason why he can’t stay there. he was hesitant to come with you, but you promised him that you won’t bring him back to his mother.

your older disciple welcomed him and he slowly warmed up to his new found older brother. 

they are now getting along just fine. the older one became comfortable and is now a reliable one and the younger one’s now a cheerful and healthy kid.

watching them fills your heart with fuzziness and you vow to protect them with everything you could until they become full-fledged swordsmen.

…

you started your patrol around the area, once you didn't really get any order to eradicate a demon or investigate a suspicious case from your crow.

speaking of your crow, it went to the headquarters to get some new information and order from the master and still hasn't come back.

well, based on the time my crow arrives after sending her off is long, i can assume that the headquarters might be far from my place.

guess i'll just have to be alert and patrol around.

it was past midnight already and fortunately you’re not feeling anything suspicious or any presence of a demon.

*caw. caw.*

your eyebrows furrowed when you heard a crow, you turned your head and saw it coming your way. it was your crow finally arriving after a long trip from the headquarters to your jurisdiction.

you raise your arms to her to rest on and she immediately tells you what the leader has told you.

“the master would like to say that the monthly report for hashira’s will be happening next weekend. please be ready.” she started.

you nodded, reaching for her seed bag that you keep on you. you grabbed a fistful of seeds and thanked her for doing all of that.

“also, order! order! you are to collaborate with another hashira tomorrow in a forest that borders both of your assigned regions. lots of lower rank slayers have lost their lives! investigate and kill the demons!” 

she added and ate her seeds as soon as she finished.

another hashira? who might it be?

i’m not familiar with the rest of hashira's. i’m only talking to kanae and then the rest’s name is all i know. 

that aloof looking guy, giyuu. that loud sound hashira, uzui. that one guy who made a scene in the last meeting, i think his name was shigazunawa? 

and that one big guy who always cries…

hi… himejima?

that guy’s always crying, but when i tried talking to him last time as he was the first one to arrive and i came after, he stood in front of me and put his large hands on top of my head and he suddenly prayed.

what was that? 

i just stayed silent because i don’t want to be rude to someone older than me, but that was weird. thankfully, kanae arrived shortly after.

i hope he’s not the one i’m working with tomorrow.

…

great.

as you’re running on the entrance of the forest that your crow has led you to, you could already see himejima’s gigantic body from afar.

you sped up your run and stopped in front of him.

“good evening, himejima-san.” you greeted him, you bowed to him thanking him for waiting for you.

you’re here to slay numerous demons tonight. just thinking about the countless people that died in this place makes your eyes rage with anger and contempt for those atrocious monsters.

as you were raising your head, you felt his hands on the top of your head yet again.

you were about to ask what he’s doing when he started his chants. you wanted to groan in disbelief, but you can’t.

“let’s go.” he uttered as soon as he was finished and started walking towards the forest.

“yes…” you replied and fixed your hair.

seriously, what was that for?

as the two of you walk through the dark, eerie forest, himejima leads the way. the moon was supposed to be your only light, but just your luck, it’s really cloudy tonight. 

you were astonished as to how he easily perceives the structure of his surroundings and the things in front of him.

you weren’t even thinking when you suddenly talked to him.

“himejima-san, it’s amazing. y— you can easily navigate through this forest.” you complimented, realizing in the middle of the sentence that your mouth was speaking your mind, but just decided to follow through.

“mhm. i have a hearing that i enhanced in order to live normally in this world.” he answered, without stopping his feet. “you seemed to have hesitated in continuing your sentence. i can hear that you didn’t mean to say those words out loud.” he added.

he has good hearing, he said? maybe he’s using it like echolocation? or is it really echolocation?

he suddenly stopped walking that alerted you. 

you immediately went into a fighting stance, ready to cut up every single of those sickening creatures that might show up out of nowhere.

“a single thought of a demon makes your thoughts in disarray. your hatred for them is reflecting with your every move, yet it’s holding you back at the same time.” himejima blurted out, not moving an inch from where he was.

“what?” you asked him, with an annoyed face.

“(y/n),” he turned his body halfway and faced you. “your hatred for them is holding you back.”

his words strike a nerve in you. you knew he wouldn’t be able to see your offended face, so you had to use your words.

“i’m sorry, himejime-san, but what do you know about me and the things that i experienced? you’re being extremely rude for our first work together, don’t you think?” you refuted, releasing your hold on your katana grip.

she’s upset. himejima noted in his mind.

“i’m sorry for that. i didn’t mean to upset you.” he apologized.

you were still a bit offended by what he said, but knowing that you can’t move freely in this darkness and he can, you knew arguing with him is not the wisest thing to do.

“i see.” you replied and looked away.

he smiled. he knew it wasn’t a genuine reply from you, but he was at fault here, so didn’t pried more.

he continued walking to where he could feel the presence of the demons.

he also realized that should’ve chosen a friendlier topic to strike up the conversation. he didn’t want to make the first collaboration with the hashira that he’s most interested in awkward, so he tried continuing the talk.

and he did so lousily by mentioning that insight he had about you being hateful to the demons.

after the first time he ever heard her talking to the cat, he was always praying that his crow would not come to him and report that this fellow hashira died in the middle of completing a mission. 

especially when you said those words to the cat, he felt like he needed to always keep a close look at you or else you could lose yourself.

it might’ve been just imagination and self-interpretation, but still. still, he was joyful when you attended the monthly meeting of hashiras for the sixth consecutive time.

he then remembered something kanae told him last meeting.

“how are your tsugukos doing?” he asked, hoping that this time it’s the right topic.

“my tsugukos?” you repeated.

he was right on the target. he could hear how your heart skips a beat with excitement when he mentions them. it was like you forgot that you were angry at him in the first place.

she must’ve cherished them so much.

“mhm. tell me about them.” he replied, smiling while walking straight.

huh? what kind of information does he want me to tell them? uhh…

“they said they want me to bring some dangos on my way home again. i bought them some yesterday and they really liked it.” you revealed.

“yeah. dangos are delicious.” he replied briefly.

“...” 

is that what he wanted to hear or not? why isn’t he saying something?

walking in complete awkwardness, you decided to talk more about your disciples.

“well, you see. my youngest one is still training his swordsmanship, but i can definitely tell. he’ll be a much greater swordsman than i am. he told me he’ll wait until he’s 15 years old and then participate in the final selection. my oldest one is just waiting for the final selection to happen. he’s a great swordsman too, but his quick decision thinking and ability to apply them into action is his edge— ah.” you suddenly realized how much you were talking and got carried away. “sorry, i said too much.” you continued.

“no, i don’t mind.” he comforted you. 

“oh, thank you.”

the walk was a bit quiet for a moment. himejima was contemplating whether it’s good to bring up something he noticed, or just let the conversation end there.

he risked it.

“but, when you mention the final selection. i can hear you’re a bit worried.” he said, hoping that you won’t get mad again.

instead, he heard your chuckles.

“your acute hearing sure is a bad match-up for those who want to keep their secrets, aren’t they?” you laughed.

“you’re right. i was the one who trained them and refined them to be the greatest swordsman that they could. but, deep in my heart… i’m always thinking twice whether to let them participate there or not. the exam is dangerous. unless you’re ready to give everything you got and throw everything away at the same time, you won’t survive there. i know it well because i experienced it too with my friend. she was the only reason i managed to endure those grueling seven days. if it wasn’t for her, i would’ve given up right on the first day.” you babbled.

his short hums and nods tell you that he was listening intently to all of it.

“i know my two students are different from me. they’re not the type to give up on the first day, but i still can’t help but to get worried. i’m scared that they won’t be back on the morning of the eighth day. but, i also don’t want to stop them from their ambitions. i also want them to achieve their dreams and reach their goals, so i won’t stop them. i’ll protect them until they reach it. i know they’ll make me proud, just like how i am proud of them.” you finished with a smile on your face, thinking about the moment when you welcomed them back once they passed the exam.

you look up at himejima and he was looking back at you with a smile, even though you can only see white in his eyes, you know his smile is pure and genuine.

“i’m sure they are also proud to have you as their teacher.” he replied.

your eyes widened as you felt your chest get excited.

“r-really?” you sheepishly said as you looked away.

you know he couldn’t see your face getting pink, but you just can’t help it. 

why is he smiling so softly like that? i’ve never seen him even crack a smile before. it’s weird that i’ve seen this guy cry first and smile next.

preoccupied with your thoughts, you suddenly bumped on his muscular back when you didn’t notice that he suddenly stopped walking.

“there’s a demon coming.” he announced.

alerted, you immediately grabbed your sword. you took your fighting stance ready to face any demon that may come from any direction.

“behind.” himejima uttered, which you quickly responded to.

“got it.” 

you quickly turned around and found a demon lurking up a tree. once he made eye contact with you, he immediately jumped at you.

“whoo! another female with that clothes! i’m so lucky these days! keep coming!” he shouted as he tried to slash you with his sharp claws.

you kept your stance.

once he entered your reach, you drew your blade and used your breathing. 

the water breathing was originally your style, but as time passes you upgraded and turned it to ice breathing. you’re still rough around the edges as sometimes, your body subconsciously uses one of the techniques from the water breathing.

you managed to finish him off with one technique. his body plops on the ground, while his head tumbled next to a tree.

“huh?” he muttered, failing to realize that he had been beheaded. 

he watched as his body slowly turned into ashes. his eyes enlarged, his teeth grinding against each other. he moved his focus to the two hashiras talking.

“your breathing is indeed fascinating. it’s promising.” himejima praised.

“thank you so much. i’m still getting used to it, but i’m working hard on it.” you replied, putting back your sword into its hilt.

“i look forward to it, (y/n). i hope i’ll be there when you finally master that intriguing breathing.” he said and was about to start walking deeper into the woods.

the two heard the demon who's in the middle of incineration, growling his words towards you.

“argh! damn! i can't believe i got beheaded by this mere woman! die!” he uttered, the veins in his eyes almost popping from anger.

you looked down on his head and stared at him with a disgusted face.

“this mere woman didn't even break a sweat in beheading you.” you said, “hurry up and die, demon.”

just conversing with this creature makes your skin crawl with revolt. you turned your head in front and was about to take a walk, when he said something that grabbed your attention.

“ugh! kokumo-sama’s waiting for my hunt tonight!” he intoned, looking desperate and scared. “he’s going to kill me if i don’t present him something! he’ll get mad and report me to that guy!” he added.

huh? ‘kokumo’? did i hear that right?

suddenly, himejima felt it again. the same sound coming from your heart that he heard when he saw you tonight.

he turned around to see you, frozen with a shocked look on your face.

you turned your heel to the demon, walking to him without wasting any time. you grabbed his rough hair and pulled it up until his eyes were on the same level as yours.

“now… what did you just say…? who’s waiting for your hunt…?” your words, chopped yet firm. 

you never broke eye contact with him. your orbs are staring at him as if you could see even his past life as a human.

this demon was on the verge of mental breakdown, scared that he might be killed for not offering a human flesh but then realized that dying would mean he’ll be free from the fear from both kokumo and that guy, kibutsuji.

he thought that even with all the humans he killed and ate, he’s given the chance to have a peaceful passing on.

yet, here you are. glaring at him with such cold and hateful eyes. 

he felt shivers down his spine, even though it’s decapitated already. even kokumo never looked at him with this much spite.

“i— i…” he stutters, “k… kokumo…” he finally answers.

“red haori.” you said, he nodded.

“vertical line marks from his eyes downwards...” he nodded.

“... lower rank 5.” 

he shook his head sideways.

“no… lower rank… 2… now…” he corrected you. 

you were right.

not only were he still alive, he even advanced in ranks. he moved up to the position of the demon that you killed with your best friend.

you stood up, still carrying his head in your hand. you raised your arms and asked him.

“where is he?” you questioned.

you completely ignored himejima’s presence. you didn’t have time to think about him while your reopened deep abomination towards that particular demon.

the incineration reached the demon’s jaw and mouth that he couldn’t answer your question. you looked at his body and saw that hands had turned into ashes already.

“damn! use your goddamn eyes and tell me where he is!” you shouted and grabbed his face with your other hand.

“where is he?!” himejima was surprised, not only by the volume, but with the shakiness driven by hate in your voice. he walked to you and held you by your shoulder. only to be brushed off by you almost immediately.

“tell me where he is!” you shouted again to the demon with trembling eyes.

finally, he moved his eyes. he looked over your shoulder, 5 o’ clock from your position.

without wasting any moment, you threw his head away and started running to where he told that demon was.

with no choice left, himejima decided to follow you. 

he knew you couldn’t see that much in this darkness and he was right. you stumbled, tripped and everything, but you never stopped running. you will not until you find that demon.

earlier, he noted how the sound your body emits was in disarray. just like how it is every time he meets you. he thought chanting a calming prayer for you would work, but he knows it’s only temporary.

every time a demon enters your mind, you immediately feel hate and repulsion. your hatred for them is so deep and it was engraved in every cell.

you were not the type to talk about your past, so kocho couldn’t tell much to him about what happened to you that made you hate demons this much. 

sure, everyone in the corps despised them too. but, he wanted to know the reason for your feelings. that must’ve been the reason why he’s always watching over you and searching for your presence during the monthly meetings.

though, now’s not the time to ask for the reason.

right now, he can hear how disturbed your mind is. your breaths are short and fast. you're so focused on reaching the destination, that you couldn’t hear him calling for you.

“(y/n), slow—” before he could even finish what he was saying, you stopped running.

he tried to feel his surroundings. he’s sure that there is a demon close by, maybe the reason why you stopped.

meanwhile, your eyes narrowed in annoyance. in front of you is a demon who’s out to hunt, not the person you’re looking for.

you unsheathed your sword and immediately pounced on her. 

“don’t get in my way!” you screamed while running towards her and slashing her neck. 

not even sparing her decapitated body a glance, you continued running forward. himejima was calling for your name multiple times while still following your trails, yet it never reaches your ears.

i’m going to kill him!

i’m going to kill him!

that demon who took my father’s life!

these thoughts filled your mind while running past trees.

you’ve met with three more demons, but it only added to your exasperation seeing that they’re not the demon you wanted to see.

it’s actually not just three. himejima fought demons that were coming from different directions. you were so focused in front of you that you weren’t paying attention to your surroundings except for what's ahead of you.

during your interaction with the last demon, there were a lot of demons. himejima got so tangled up in defeating every last one of them, that he just saw you back still running straight in that direction.

he had no choice but to leave your side for a while, even if it put his heart in a nervous state. 

he wanted to protect you, not because he thinks you're weak and does not have the ability to protect yourself, but because right now, you’re in a complete mess. he’s afraid you might not make a sound decision because of your emotion and then find you lifeless there.

with the amount of his co-slayers dying left and right, the thought of you dying is what he hates the most.

he doesn’t understand it too, but maybe the excitement and him looking forward to every monthly report meeting and, especially, the giddy feeling he felt when you arrived tonight and he realized that you two will work together is connected to it.

yet, here you are, you ran and ran, until you reached a spot where a huge boulder was in the middle of the trees.

there, a demon was sitting on top of the rock. sitting cozily there while around him was a pile of human flesh, probably from other demons that offered him their hunt in order to not be killed.

red haori…

vertical lines from his eyes downwards…

and…

lower rank 2…

ahh… 

suddenly, it’s all coming back to me.

“(y/n), run! i’ll distract him!” “what are you doing? i told you to run!” “this is not the time to be stubborn, (y/n)! run!” “huh? your legs?” “please, just bear with it for a while and run!” “okay, thank you for listening one last time…”

the demon notices your presence. he looked down and saw a demon slayer catching up to her breath and looking rather nastily towards him.

“now, now…” he muttered, changing his position and leaning forward. “it’s been a while since i’ve seen an alive human here that’s not an offering.” 

i’m going to kill this disgusting trash. you thought as you went and jumped close to him without even thinking.

naturally, he managed to read your move and kicked you on your stomach. your body came flying back, earning you a few scratches and small open wounds.

you struggled to stand up as you held your sword firmly and looked at him. 

he stood up too and effortlessly jumped down the boulder. he took his time walking close to where you were.

you stayed on your feet, glaring and pointing your blade at him.

“you did well managing to come here without serious injury—” he suddenly halted his movements and took a good look at your face. “well, well. i might be wrong, but we’ve met before, right?”

you narrowed your eyes.

he then laughed maniacally.

“a few years ago, a parent and his child were peacefully living in a small house.” he started to narrate. 

“when one night, a demon arrived and ruined their lives!” his hands were moving in the air in a dramatic way, along with his facial expression.

“but! he was a devoted father! he doesn’t want to lose another one of his family, just like what happened with his wife…” he continued, yet this caught your attention.

how…?

“that’s why he had to distract the demon while his injured daughter ran away.” he glanced at you and smirked.

“he was left alone with the demon without knowing he was the demon’s real target! your father’s a marechi after all!” he revealed. 

you widened your eyes, promptly you went and attacked him with one of your breathing forms.

but, he was able to deflect it.

of course, he’s not like those demons you killed on your way here. this guy is at the top of the chain here. what’s more is that he’s second rank in the lower moon.

“how did you know about my mother going missing?” you asked him.

he tilted his head in confusion and sighed.

“gosh… you’re not that good up here, are you?” he said, pointing to his temple. looking at you with a pitiful expression.

“what?!” you refuted, burrowing your brows together. 

“how did i learn about it? who else would know but the victim themselves, witnesses and… the culprit.” he grinned widely.

“i mistook your mother as the one who had a marechi blood, but when i came back the next evening. it turned out that you moved somewhere else to look for your missing mother that was already in my stomach! hahaha! thankfully, i was able to find your father again. i didn’t care about you, so that was the only reason you’re still alive right now.”

your sight almost turned blurry.

she wasn’t missing nor did she run away because she got tired of living a poor life. it was this thing in front of you who took her away from you and your father.

my mother…

my father…

this demon took my family from me…

i’m going to kill him.

i’m going to kill him!

your body moved on its own. you closed your distance and tried to cut his neck, but to no avail. you failed to cut him down, because he hardened his neck.

your blade and his hard body exchanged blows. yet, it seems like you’re the only one taking the damage.

your attacks, though surely were supposed to be strong, were affected by your rapid and reckless spontaneous decision. it was erratic and weaker in force.

but, that didn’t mean he would hold back with his attack against you.

in such a short time, not even five minutes passed, you were covered with bruises and injuries. not that you had even the smallest amount of attention to look at it.

as you were blown away by his punch, you immediately got on your feet and tried to unleash another technique. 

he must admit that even though it’s evident that you’re not thinking straight, your attacks are still affecting him. 

until, he chanted the words ‘blood demon art’.

ah… that’s right, he still hasn’t used it. even though i’m beat up already. but, i can’t stop my body.

i don’t want to stop.

the only thing on my mind is wanting to see his head separated from his body.

i want to avenge my parents.

i don’t care if i wound up dead, as long as i manage to do it.

“blood demon art: countless projectiles.” he said and numerous long, black lines like the ones on his came appeared.

they moved towards you at an unbelievable speed.

nevertheless, your body was on auto-pilot. you still moved forward and still wanted to cut his head.

i don’t care anymore.

“(y/n)!” 

suddenly, himejima appeared in front of you deflecting all the attacks coming at you. somehow, it irked you.

“heh… someone capable arrived.” kokumo muttered, smirking.

“please move aside, himejima-san. i’ll kill that demon myself. don’t get in my way.” you claimed and stepped forward.

himejima tried to analyze your condition.

you were breathing heavily and it seems like every inhale is hard to do. he could hear the faint gushing sound of your blood coming out of every wound you have.

“i’m sorry, there were a lot more demons here than i thought and they stalled me.” he explained, but you didn’t respond.

“(y/n), i’ll take it from here—” 

“i said i’ll kill that demon myself!” you turned your head to him, glaring at his face. “i don’t care if i die as long as he dies too!”

before he could even reply to you, you took off and charged at kokumo one more time.

kokumo released another attack, with nothing but death on the demon in front of you in your mind, you failed to recognize his plan.

you were surrounded by almost infinite numbers of projectiles. there’s no way you could dodge all of them.

“die!” kokumo exclaimed proudly.

i’m done.

you closed your eyes to brace yourself on getting punctured by the projectiles, but it never came. 

you decided to open your eyes and found kokumo turning around as he just realized where you were. you looked up and saw himejima and his side profile as he carried you in a bridal style. he set you down and leaned your back on the boulder’s surface.

he managed to cancel his attacks in such a short time. you thought as he wiped some of the blood on your face. you wondered how he knew there was blood on your face, but you can’t question him about something like that right now.

“why are you throwing your life away so easily like that?” he said under his breath, you almost didn’t hear him. he looked rather sad rather than upset.

“it’s my life. i’ll decide when i’m throwing my life away or not.” you replied and looked at kokumo who’s getting more irritated that he’s having a hard time already with you and now someone who’s a lot stronger came. “and right now, i’m willing to throw it away as long as i kill that bastard.” you added. 

you were about to stand up once again when you saw kokumo pounce on where you two were, but himejima stopped you. 

“stone breathing second form: upper smash.” he attacked. 

he managed to hit kokumo when he threw his spiked flail upwards and pulled the chain rapidly to create a force once it hit its target. he also threw his axe and was able to cut deep through his left chest across his right chest. this caused kokumo to jump backwards as he heals himself from wounds that the spikes gave him.

“don’t get in my way, himejima-san! i’ll be the one killing him!” you shouted as you shakily stood up. using your hand by holding on to the boulder to balance your body, while your other hand is still firmly held on your sword.

himejima didn’t say anything, he didn’t look back at you. the sound of his chains getting dragged back to him was the prominent sound that you heard at that moment.

“do you not treasure your life?” he asked.

why does he keep getting in my way and asking me that? i already told him earlier that he doesn’t know anything about what i experienced and leave me alone!

fine!

“my family has been killed by that guy. my best friend was also killed by the former lower rank 2. i’ve been left alone because of these demons and you’re asking me if i treasure my life?!” you snapped at him, not noticing how your tears gathered around your eyes.

“everyone that i cherished has been killed and taken away from me already! i don’t care anymore! i don’t want—” your tears have started falling.

your emotions pouring out like an overfilled cup, but his next question left you speechless.

“aren’t your tsugukos waiting for the dangos?” he uttered, shifting his body to you.

“huh?”

it seems like your world has stopped spinning. you stood there silently with wide eyes.

my tsugukos…

akiro… kenji…

“master, this dango’s really delicious!” “you should try some, master!” “hey! kenji! that’s mine!” “eh? master wanted to eat some too!” “why would you get it from me then?” “i already ate all of mine. i can give this to master, right, ‘akiro-niisan’?” “tsk. go ahead. just know it’s not because you called me ‘nii-san’.” “yeah, yeah.”

“master, please be careful on your mission today!” “get back to us in one piece. i’ll take care of kenji here, so don’t worry.” “and, please bring some dango again, hehe!”

your knees suddenly gave up, you sat on the ground, staring at the bracelet that they both made for you. they jokingly said that it will protect you because they made it, but still you wore it. because of the same reason. 

they made it. for you.

kokumo finished healing himself and tried to use his projectiles again, but himejima, before kokumo finished his attack, flung his chain and chopped one of kokumo’s legs. he fell down and hid himself using a fort that he built with his blood demon art right there and then. at least, himejima knew that he wouldn't run away.

“you said…” himejima started. you raised your head and looked at him with blurry eyes caused by tears. “...that you’ll protect them until they achieve their goals and dreams.” 

you shook your head in denial, wanting to refute what he was about to say but no words came out of your lips. 

the picture of akiro and kenji seeing your crow arrive and thinking you’re back. but, then breaking down in tears once they’ve heard your passing kept replaying in your mind.

“are you going to throw away your life knowing your students are waiting patiently for your return and they welcome you back like always?” he asked, grabbing the chance that kokumo is hiding himself and walked to you.

he kneeled down on his one foot in front of you.

“no! no!” you finally spoke, bawling. you grabbed ahold of his green haori and looked up at him. 

“i don’t want them to suffer! i don’t want them to feel hurt again! i don’t want them to be abandoned yet again! they’re finally happy and smiling! i don’t want to see them crying again! they’re my only salvation left here in this world! i don’t want them to be left again.” you sobbed as you snuggled your face on his chest.

his large hands landed on your hair and back, pushing you closer to him providing you comfort and ease.

but, the picture of them crying wasn't leaving your mind.

i’m sorry… i’m sorry… i’m not going to throw my life carelessly anymore… 

i’ll be home later with the dangos that you two wanted, so wait for me.

you pulled away from him and wiped your face. you were still sniffing, but you were sure it wouldn’t be in the way of your breathing technique.

“i’m fine now.” you told him and he just nodded.

he stood up and stepped backwards. you looked at him when you saw him do that. you glanced at him with a confused look.

“i won’t get in your way anymore.” he said with a small smile.

“why?” you questioned, not understanding why now.

“i’m not hearing that your mind is in disarray anymore. you can do it.” he encouraged and clasped his hand together again.

you smiled.

i see. so that’s why…

you looked at kokumo, he just removed the fort he made. with an enraged face, he chanted his art technique yet again.

but, you didn’t care. not even when you’re injured and full of wounds. you closed your distance with him. when you calculated the right distance, you stopped walking.

originally, my ice breathing had only four forms. it’s a breathing that only i used, so it’s hard to make forms. 

but, i have this attack in my mind. i never executed it, even in practice, but i’m getting a feeling that i can do it.

“ice breathing fifth form: complete stillness”

it was a technique that makes the surroundings around you, with a certain distance, frozen. this makes them immobilized for three seconds.

but those three seconds are just what you need.

i’m sorry, my dear best friend, mom, and dad. 

i always thought that once i kill this guy, i’ll join you there. but, it seems like i won’t be able to now.

you see, i have two children looking forward to my return.

i’m sorry and thank you for being my will to live. i’ve found another reason to continue living too.

kokumo’s head rolled on the ground and his body soon fell over, but just as you. the exhaustion finally caught up to you. 

the difference between your body and kokumo’s is that his body fell flat on the dirty soil, while yours was immediately caught by himejima, carrying your body in a bridal style yet again.

you tried to open your eyes, you barely managed to. when you saw himejima’s face, you smiled brightly.

“himejima-san…” you called with half-lidded orbs.

“hm?” he hummed, gazing down at you. after he checked that kokumo’s body had started turning into ashes, he started walking out of the forest.

“i killed him… without dying…” you said proudly.

“you’re right. i’m relieved we’re going out of this forest both alive. you did so well. i’m proud of you.” he complimented without skipping a beat.

something did skip a beat and it’s your heart. hearing his genuine compliment and relief, puts a blush on your cheeks even though your body is so tired.

what’s more is that you’re worried that his acute hearing caught that.

ugh, so embarrassing. i’ll just pretend to be asleep.

you rested your head on his shoulder and tried to make it seem like you’ve fallen asleep.

cute. himejima chuckled silently.

…

“master?” akiro uttered confusedly.

it was already dawn and they were both up. kenji heard what he said and excitedly went to the door to welcome you. 

“eh?” he said, just as confused as the other boy.

himejima-san??? 

you still had your arms wrapped tightly around his neck, but this time out of embarrassment.

i didn’t think he would walk me back to my house while carrying me!

please put me down!

but, i can’t say it!

people are staring!

you peeked and tried to look if you were close to your house already. your crow did the work of guiding him to where your residence is, because you realized he’s going to carry you, so you hid your face.

you saw akiro and kenji on the front door with confused looks on their faces.

“h-himejima-san, we’re close to my house already, so you can put me down already. i’ll walk on my own now—” 

“no. you hurt your feet in the fight, you’re not supposed to be walking.” he cut you off and continued walking. 

he heard a conversation about their ‘master’, so he knew what direction he would be going.

he stopped right in front of them, looming over the two children with his enormous height. they were obviously frightened.

“p-please give us back our master.” akiro asked.

“what did you do to our master?!” kenji interrogated, while akira shielded him securely behind him.

akiro examined the man carrying you and noticed that he was wearing the same uniform as yours and his golden buttons.

you tapped on himejima’s back, signaling him to let you down. finally putting you down carefully, supporting your back as you get on your feet.

you looked over to akiro and kenji and smiled.

they were still confused, but slowly made their way to you. 

you kneeled down. for their ages, they’re quite tall, making you gaze up at them. you opened your arms and pulled them into an embrace.

“i’m home…” you whispered, hugging them even tighter.

the two children were surprised, you’ve come home from missions, easy and perilous missions, but you never came home in this manner.

akiro was about to ask what happened when he heard you sniffle. he worriedly peeked at the younger one and was about to ask if he knew what’s happening, only to see him bawling already.

“wahhh! why are you crying, master?” he cried, snuggling his face on your clothes.

“mhm-mm.” you shook your head. you withdrew from the hug, but kenji didn’t want to let go, that’s why he continued hugging you. 

“nothing. i’m just happy i was able to come back home.” you answered him, caressing his head.

you looked at akiro and put your hand over his cheeks lightly.

“akiro, where’s my ‘welcome back’?” you asked, chuckling softly.

he doesn’t understand it. 

the reason why you came home crying, why you’re doing this, and why you’re being like this.

he doesn’t understand why it makes him feel relieved that you look like you’ve finally lifted off of the heavy weight on your back that you never talked about.

he doesn’t understand why you’re looking at them like your world is them.

he doesn’t understand why he feels so overwhelmed seeing you like this when he doesn’t even understand anything.

yet, he can’t stop his tears as you wait for him and stare at him tenderly.

“w… welcome back, master.” he welcomed finally as he nestled himself next to his brother.

you looked behind and met himejima, crying as usual, as he listened to the three of you.

“himejima-san. thank you for making me realize i have something to protect.” you thanked him, smiling and hoping he could hear your genuine grateful feelings.

he smiled, though tears continued flowing.

“no…” he replied smiling and suddenly remembered something.

“more importantly,” he lifted his hands and you laughed. 

akiro and kenji looked up while wiping their tears and they suddenly lit up. 

“shall we eat this now?” he raised the bag on his hands and inside are dangos that are waiting to be consumed.

“dango!” the two boys said in unison.

kenji ran to him and himejima gave him the bag. the boy happily cheered, completely forgetting how scared he was by the person in front of him earlier. himejima just ruffled his hair and kenji pulled him by his fingers to come inside the estate.

akiro helped you get up, you limped while walking and accidentally let out a hiss in pain. until, himejima once again carried you.

“himejima-san! i’m fine! oh gosh…” you said to him.

he raised his brow in confusion.

“you’re obviously not.” he muttered matter-of-factly.

“akiro—” you were about to say to akiro that you can just ask akiro to support you while walking, but the kid was not there anymore.

you looked at the front and he was there with kenji, who was delighted by the dango, and akira was giving you a teasing look.

that kid!

ugh… it’s so embarrassing!

it’s even more embarrassing knowing he can surely hear how fast my heart is thumping right now!

“me too…” he suddenly spoke.

you glanced up at him.

“thank you.” he thanked you.

“huh? why? i didn’t do anything though…” you were muddled by what he’s saying.

the corner of his lips moving upwards, it’s not visible but from your position, it’s easy to point out.

“i also realized that i have someone to protect outside of my responsibility as a demon slayer.” he said.

“huh?” i did that? “when did i—”

“for the next hashira meeting next week, i’m hoping for your presence there in a full condition.” he said while he set you down on the tatami floor.

akiro and kenji went to get silverwares to eat the dangos, leaving both of you alone in the living room.

“i’ll try my best to recover fast.” you promised, looking at all your wounds and injuries that were already aided by the kakushis, that you didn’t hear what he whispered.

“...say it to you.” were the only words you caught.

“what was that?” you asked him, but akiro and kenji came back from the kitchen.

“let’s eat this now before it gets chewy.” he redirected your attention.

he sat in front of you while akira occupied the left side of the table and kenji did for the right side.

the boys started eating and exclaimed how delicious it was. you decided to eat some too, picking up one stick and gently taking a bite.

himejima silently listened to all of you enjoying the taste of the sweet. he smiled as he focused on your voice.

“please eat up, himejima-san.” you offered him, reaching for another stick and gave it to him. “it’s really delicious.”

“i see. i’ll try some too, then.” he said and took a bite. “it really is delicious.”

“see!” you chuckled.

it made him smile and thought to himself.

‘during those seven days before the meeting, i’ll be sure that what i’m feeling is much more than wanting to reason for your hatred for demons. so, please be there when i finally get the courage to say it to you.’, that's what i said earlier, but now i’m certain.

it wasn’t a kind of worry you will have for your colleague.

i wasn’t familiar with this feeling, so i thought it was just normal.

i’ll just pray she’ll accept my feelings.

‘(y/n), i know you don’t need protection. you’re strong after all. i’ll still promise that i'll always protect you and those who are precious to you.’

i want to say that to you.

but, not now.

you’ve just realized that witnessing these two precious boys' growth are worth living for and you should only be focusing on that for now.

“i look forward to that day.” he muttered to himself and took another bite.

hope you enjoyed that one, because i did. reblogs would be much appreciated!

if you'd like to support me and my broke ass, you can tip me at my ko-fi acc! thank you very much!

[qwimblenorrisstan]

Saving Grace | Rhysand x Reader

Summary: The war between humans and Fae is about to happen, and you, desperate to save Autumn Court, your home, from the destruction to come, are going to attempt a political alliance with the current High Lord of Night Court’s son, Rhysand.

Word Count: ~ 2k

Warnings: toxic family, political marriage, Beron being annoying, nothing too bad

A/N: the notes you see in the beginning are from another outside character you will meet more later, not me. im trying out something new for this series, so lmk what you think and how you’d want it to go in the future (FOR ALL THE RHYS GIRLIES I SEE YOU) hope you enjoy<3

Requests are open!

It starts anew, as any other tale would.

It is only fair for me to warn you now, that even as I write to you from the box of my new home, the solitary walls pushing in on me until I turn into something else, something new and changing, that you should not proceed.

Our doom was set into place the moment we opened that letter, and so I’ll give you another warning, my dear reader.

You have more power than you think. Be careful how you use it.

~

“I believe you’ll enjoy the letter on your desk, sister.”

Eris spoke in a dry tone, only a hint of his hidden flamboyance underneath the snake's skin he wore most of the time. He had just passed by you in the hallway of the grand palace we called our home in the Autumn Court, something most of the royal family took for granted, even I did to an extent.

Even makeup and magic couldn’t hide the effects that the looming war had on him, the bags under his eyes slightly visible, and the usual cunning spark in his fiery gaze dimmed to some degree. All of your brothers had experienced the same thing to some point, even Lucien.

The rumors were getting worse, and word breaking free everywhere if the human slave revolts. You saw the glimmer in the eyes of the humans that your father enslaved and forced to work here, and even though you could never say it, lest you be beheaded or worse, you thought it was about time their species stood up. You couldn’t imagine being forced into such cruel conditions and not doing anything about it.

Submission never came easily to you, though.

It still doesn’t.

You tried to smile up at Eris, even as he strode past without another word. Relationships in this family were rough, considering how the males just tried to take each other out with every given opportunity. Had you not been born a female, you might’ve suffered the same fate.

You couldn’t help but wonder what the letter on my desk could be, even as you walked to my room. It could be anything, from lunch with a friend, to an opening for a job opportunity anywhere you could help. You wanted to help people, help your struggling Court pull itself together with war on the horizon. Rumor had it that the mortal king, Hybern, was gathering his forces still and that he wouldn’t let go of any of his slaves. Not even one.

Pushing open your already ajar room door, you strode quickly over to the desk, still a bit cluttered from all the different things our mind was trying to think about at the same time while working and writing letters to friends and allies in neighboring courts.

A letter lay on your desk, and not just any letter, but a valuable one, based on the stamp and rich, violet wax that shimmered slightly.

A Night Court stamp.

Considering Night Court wasn’t the closest ally, if an ally at all with Autumn Court, you weren't exactly sure what it meant at the time, or why Eris thought you might be excited about it. How would he even know what was in it, now that you thought of it?

You grabbed the cold metal letter opener, sliding it neatly under the wax, and popping it off satisfyingly. Sliding the warm parchment from its sheath, you unfolded the letter, the details of it surprising you.

The High Lord of Night Court had delivered a letter personally to you, and the contents of it? Nothing but strange.

In short, it was a formal invitation to a Solstice Party, a night where you’d heard that supposedly other spirits would cross over the night sky, making a beautiful scene for all those able to witness it. However, the true reason became apparent at the bottom, where a single sentence blasted holes through all of the male’s fake formality and politeness in the previous statements.

“I’m certain that you and my son would get along quite well.”

An alliance. A political marriage.

That was what he wanted.

To strengthen his alliances while he could before the war began, and to blast away any humans standing in their path. His son might as well have been in on it for all you knew, probably willing to marry you and produce an heir, treating you like breeding cattle. You’d heard rumors of Illyrians before, and they weren’t pretty. Especially not the ones who lived in the mountains.

But the real question was, why would he send it to you, and not your father?

Was it a test? A way to test the boundaries and see if you would go tattle to your father at the littlest prod? Or maybe a way to see how far you were willing to go to ensure the safety of your court during this war.

You didn’t believe in slavery. You never had. But for your court, your home, and all the other courts as well to possibly be destroyed by unruly humans? That would be disastrous. Their species didn’t stand a chance, anyway. Not when they had inferior strength, weapons, and not a lick of magic.

But still…in the case that they did manage something, the reassurance of an alliance between your courts could help.

The only question was whether to involve your father or not. If you did, he would probably refuse to trade you away for an alliance with Night Court, waiting for a better deal from a people that had more items to trade or land to offer. Sure, Night Court had the most land and soldiers, but there were little to no trade routes running openly through the area, leaving little economic profit other than what they earned on their own. The Illyrian Steppes were too harsh for anyone to handle, and Hewn City could barely be counted as an economy it was so small.

In that small moment, you made a decision that would change both of our existences, the decision to hide it. Your father wouldn’t understand, and you were doing this for the better of your court. You were doing it to help him, to save your people from what you suspected to be carnage ahead.

You didn’t realize you’d been staring at the letter for so long until you heard your door creak a bit wider open, and you immediately whirled, putting the letter face down onto your desk. Lucien cocked a brow, his hazel eyes immediately going to the letter in what looked like suspicion.

“Hiding something?”

He asked, and you rolled your eyes, biting your lip slightly in what looked to be an expression of a flustered female.

“I don’t think you’d like to read the letters of my most recent lover, Luci.”

His expression immediately changed, going to being a bit caught off guard himself, before he shook his head. He gestured for you to follow him, and before you did, you slipped the letter between the small crack of the shelf and the desk itself. He only gave you a withering glance at that, and you glared back.

“I wouldn’t want anyone else finding it. Imagine if Beron found it.”

You said in a wry tone, and Lucien let out an undignified snort at that while he led you down to the dining hall, the first bit of laughter you’d managed to coax out of him in a while. You must’ve lost track of time while thinking, a common habit of yours.

“Yes, I don’t think he’d appreciate a letter from one of your notorious lovers.”

He said in a quieter tone, probably not wanting anyone else to overhear. Rumors of the royal family spread too quickly for their good, especially when the human servants were paid by others, sometimes journalists, to spill the drama.

Most of it, of course, was made up simply to get money, but sometimes…the rumors were true enough to make you be a lot more secretive with what you did and displayed in public, and even behind closed doors. Eyes and ears were everywhere, after all.

“Notorious is a strong word.”

You mumbled in an amused tone, right as you entered the dining room, your father at the head of the table, your mother to his left, Eris to his right, and all your other brothers seated miscellaneously. Lucien sat down in his spot, and you sat in yours that was beside his, your other brother to your right.

“I’m glad you finally decided to join us, Y/N.”

Your father’s monotonous but still annoyed voice rang out from the head of the table as he began to eat, signaling everyone else could as well. You stabbed a potato with your fork, taking a small bite to give yourself time to formulate a coherent response to it, something that you could use to distract from the letter you’d gotten. Unless…

Swallowing your food, you spoke.

“I received a letter.”

The sentence alone was a challenge. The normal response would be a formal apology for your tardiness to dinner, which was more like an event you had to attend than any family activity. You didn’t go on, another challenge. Making him wait for you to speak.

The silence grew oppressive, and you continued eating. Your brothers watched, some openly staring in confusion, Eris only glancing once with something of a warning in his eyes, and Lucien stared down at his plate, probably already having figured out that the letter he’d seen you hide hadn’t been one from a lover.

Your mother then pinned you with her sharp gaze, the intelligence behind her submissive figure clear in the moment. Even if your father wasn’t smart enough to see it like you did.

“What did it contain?”

She asked, intervening between you and your father. Your father didn’t so much as glance at her, now scowling and staring at you. You put your fork down on your napkin, swallowing a mouthful of delicious food before speaking again.

“I’ve been invited to Night Court.”

You spoke, looking up to meet your father’s gaze, unwavering. He seemed to tense at that, and the news you’d shared with him.

“Why.”

He demanded, his eyes narrowing.

“For the prospect of seeking out an alliance in your stead. Though with the coming war, it might be my last chance to see Night Court at all.”

Everyone tensed at that, your casual but realistic words hitting right where they should’ve. Reminding everyone of the insecurity in the court, that the coming war could kill you, or take out Night Court. The latter Beron wouldn’t mind, but the former…you were a valuable trading piece for him, one that he didn’t want to dispose of through your possibly untimely demise.

Beron swallowed, sighing through his nose as he broke his stare to glance down at his plate, clearly considering it. Eris then spoke up.

“If I may, she has a point, father. An alliance with the Night Court and their considerable armies could prove useful during the battle to come.”

He spoke, glancing over at you with a clear look of “You had better know what you’re doing.” You didn’t know why he was helping you, considering he’d probably looked inside the letter. His words to you, that you would enjoy the letter, only supported that theory. For whatever reason he wanted you to go into Night Court wasn’t clear, but he was helping you nonetheless.

Beron finally spoke, everyone holding their breath.

“Very well. You will remain there 2 months at most, but at any hint of attack, you will return here immediately.”

You gave a dip of your head in obedience and appreciation, before going back to your dinner as the tension remained in the room. You had told your father of the alliance prospect, but nothing of a political marriage. A half-truth at best.

You were going to Night Court, to woo the heir to the throne and convince him to marry you for an alliance, all in time to save your Court before the first attack came.

The real question was, would you be quick enough?

We’ll see.

[barblaz-arts]

I haven’t sent any of the other messages, and this is the first time I’m even seeing your opinions on this matter as I’ve followed you for your Wenclair art.

I’m an Israeli citizen. On October 7th thousands of Hamas terrorists went into Israeli villages (on Israel’s territory) and raped, shot, beheaded, burned alive and murdered 1400 CIVILIANS. They kidnapped 230 more citizens into the Gaza Strip, including babies and the elderly (no idea if they are alive, as Hamas didn’t let the Red Cross or anyone else see them and REFUSED any deal to release them, despite all the lies they are spreading). Hamas uploaded videos of them doing these deeds, they were proud of them. We are still not done counting our dead, 3 weeks later, because of the state they were left in. We identify people by DNA pulled from pieces of skull tissue, by CT scans of burned masses of flesh showing parents hugging their children as they were burned alive.

A little bit of history. In 2005 Israel completely pulled out of Gaza, and handed it over to the Palestinians. In 2007 Hamas was elected to lead the Gaza Strip. This is an organization that in its charter says loud and clear they want to murder Jews. It’s not hidden, there is no question about it. They are proud of it. And since 2007 they have not allowed for an election in Gaza, they have stolen international aid money to build terror infrastructure and embedded themselves deep within their civilian population (just a few days ago evidence was provided that Hamas built their HQ under a hospital, specifically because they knew Israel wouldn’t bomb it).

The truth is, the pictures from Gaza are heartbreaking. The civilians are suffering and it’s making me sick. But how is Israel supposed to respond to the massacre of October 7th? Just pretend it didn’t happen? No country would. Israel isn’t targeting the civilian population though, unlike Hamas. I’m not saying innocent civilians aren’t killed, they very sadly are because war is horrible. But it’s always an accident, they are never the targets. Hamas is the target.

Israel has its part in creating Hamas just like the USA had its part in creating ISIS and Taliban. Still doesn’t excuse terrorism. Israel didn’t deserve the October 7th massacre anymore than the USA deserved 9/11. I hope that you can appreciate that.

The truth is, there are innocent civilians on both sides here that are suffering. Things aren’t black and white, and they never were with this conflict. And if you want to have a discussion I’ll happily talk to you privately, answer questions as best as I can. But only if we come from a place of mutual respect. If you want to block me, that’s fine too.

I do want to let you know while I can that your art is beautiful and made me smile on multiple occasions. I hope you continue it. And I wish you luck with everything and hope that we all have peaceful days in the future.

First of all. Gaza was not given to Palestine. Israel put them there and had Gaza serve as an open air prison.

You can't go around saying "Israel has its part in creating Hamas but it still doesn't excuse terrorism" then go around saying that this genocide is justified because "What else are we supposed to do after what happened in Oct 7?" What a double standard. You do not get to say that what happened to them makes you feel bad but say that you were left with no other choice. You dont get to say that Hamas being born from 70+ of brutality is still not an excuse to kill but also say Israel doing the same thing is justified.

Now, of course this does not mean that I side with Hamas. Never have, never will. I side with Palestinians, something so many Zionists cannot seem to comprehend, because they see killing them as one and the same.

Listing off those atrocities, though heartbreaking, as I will always mourn the innocent, still does not change my stance or how I feel. I feel like a broken recorder, constantly having to repeat that the civilians in Gaza did not do those and in turn did not deserve any of this. The hostages don't either of course, and the families of the ones still held captive are furious with their government for choosing to bomb them along with Hamas like some sort of sacrifice, like what you are implying the civilian deaths to be. Just unfortunate casualties for the greater good.

You can go ahead and say that only Hamas were meant to be targeted all you want, but they did not need to cut off their water so they're not even able to clean and defecate. They did not need to cut off power and render hospitals useless. And NO they did not need to bomb those same hospitals, even IF it were true that it was a Hamas base. And they did not need to use phosphorus bombs to do it. This has, and always will be about Israel's hatred of arabs and Muslims, as it was 70 years ago before Hamas even existed, as it still is now.

Tell me, if the past two or so weeks was really about Hamas, then why are these people mocking the civilians that are mourning their families' death as they starve?

None of this should have happened. Hell, you shouldn't even be living where you are in the first place. No one has any right to colonize. Whatever white supremacists or religious reason anyone says.

Of course this does not mean that I believe all jews or Israeli are as evil as the pieces of shit in that tiktok compilation or the powerful pile of dung that rule your country. There are Isreali and Jews protesting for Palestine as well, and I deeply admire them for their bravery and to feel compassion for the other side and act on it.

It's baffling how you're aware that Israel is responsible for Hamas creation but still, maybe not want it, but think all you can do is reluctantly accept the unavoidable. Because this was definitely avoidable. But your government actively wants this, and frankly I dont think it cares about you. It does not care about the soldiers they send out and the people that died and the hostages that were taken. They are using you as an excuse for more death and money.

"Those thinking of revenge should be ashamed," said by one of the survivors of Oct 7. And she is right. You are demanding the wrong things of your government.

And no, I will not be talking to anyone about this in my direct messages. Talking about it privately makes it feel like some debate to be won, when this shouldn't be a debate at all. The reason why I answer these kinds of asks is to make people aware of what is happening. I'm just some girl, I cannot fight for Palestine in any way that can directly save a life and I dont have the financial capability to donate, but I can do this. We can make those sick excuses of humans on top know that we know of their stink and we will not give it any excuse.

[lordadmiralfarsight]

Revolution fetishism is a horrible political view, especially in this context

Okay, rant incoming, partially related to recent events, but also to earlier thinking on my part.

There are, on the Left, a fair few people that romanticize or outright fetishize the concept of Revolution, of violent popular uprising to wrest power out of the hands of a corrupt elite and give it to the people. Very romantic, very righteous (self-righteous pretty often), very good and nice and sexy. And by the grace of revolutionary fervor and ideological purity, everything will be better after.

Except no.

See, a lot of this romanticization of Revolution comes, to my knowledge, from my own country of France. We have romanticized our Revolution a fair bit, and honestly, looking at the first part, fair. A serious go at giving women rights, a no-cause divorce, abolition of slavery, privileges thrown out, equality between people proclaimed loud, enfranchisement given to minorities ... in 1789. A LOT of good and progress, especially for the time.

But then it got fucky, VERY fucky. The Reign of Terror, under the caring leadership of Maximilien Robespierre, was a fucking nightmare on Earth, caracterized by mass executions on political basis, and by this I mean anyone that opposed Robespierre got beheaded. Political plurality? You mean anti-revolutionary sentiment ! Unacceptable, kill everyone.

A rumor of the time said the Place de Grève was covered in a layer of blood that was ankle deep. Is that an exageration ? Yes, certainly. But the fact it got to that point should tell you something about how intense the murdering was. And that was just one square in Paris, there was the rest of the country to consider too.

But surely, after Robespierre fell victim to his own system and was executed, something better emerged, right?

No. Sweet mother of fuck, NO.

What followed was roughly 70 years of political instability and violence, warfare and civil war, several dictatorships, including attempts to restore absolute monarchy, that undid most of the good brought by the first part of the Revolution. And finally, France stumbled onto political stability in 1870 when the temporary 3rd Republic, that was supposed to wait until the presumptive heir to the throne (who wanted an absolute monarchy) croacked did what temporary things do best and became the permanent system (until its fall).

This was not thanks to the Revolution. It was pure randomness.

Did the French Revolution bring good things? Yes, it did. In its first part. The second part brought chaos and misery for multiple decades. And it took a lot of work and efforts to bring back what the Revolution, the peaceful part, had brought in.

And far too many people on the Left fetishize and romanticize the whole thing, as if we couldn't have had the first part without the second, as if the progress and hope and betterment somehow needed the chaos and murder that came after.

Yes, there would have been a period of conflict, European monarchies would not have accepted quietly a realm the size of France doing away with monarchs. But did we REALLY need the political purges ? Did we REALLY need the paranoia ? Did we REALLY need the massacres ?

But you will find people that answer yes, and say the spilled blood somehow made it pure, or good. And those same people are looking at what Hamas is doing and are cheering. These people don't celebrate the first part, the progress and hope. They claim to be, but they aren't. They celebrate the Terror. They yearn for the unjust "popular tribunal" AKA mob "justice". They dream of executing political opponents or anyone they think is "bad" on light or even absent charges.

And That's why they cheer for Hamas rockets and massacres. That's why they sing when Israeli children are murdered. That's why they attack Jews that don't live in Israel. Because they hope to vicariously live this period of unchecked violence.

Know who was celebrating the RIGHT part of the Revolution ? The Israeli working with Gazan to build understanding. The Gazan protesting against Hamas. The Israeli Arabs risking their lives to save the lives of fellow Israeli and of foreigners, regardless of skin or creed. The Gazan trying to improve things in their homes against the wishes and efforts of Hamas.

Know who IS celebrating the RIGHY part of the Revolution ? The Israeli protesting the way the IDF is bombing Gaza. The people decrying the hypocrisy of blood-thirsty leftists. The people calling for Peace and working to make the political change to allow it.

But the Robespierres of the time, drunk on their own self-assurance, condemn and insult them, claiming that blood must be spilt. But it doesn't have to be. The French Revolution started relatively bloodlessly. It didn't need some great orgy of violence. Oh it wasn't clean, but it was far cleaner than the armchair Robespierres would like it to be. Because it didn't need to be.

And that's my point, really. The people fantasizing about and fetishizing the Revolution always dream of torrents of blood washing away the injustices, of seas of corpses forming a fertile ground upon which progress can grow. But that horseshit. All you get with that is, like the Place de Grève, a sinister place that stinks of rot and death, and flocks of scavengers gorging on your crimes.

All you get is a chance for a Napoleon to arrive. Or Stalin's USSR that so casually carried on with the crimes of the Tsars. Or Polpot who murdered 25% of his population.

If you look at the French Revolution, the right lesson to learn is that you need to know when to stop, and that's before you get to indiscriminate killing. Because once you get to that point ... people that thrive in those settings get in power and perpetuate them.

And to apply that to the situation in I/P ... knowing when to stop means realizing that Israeli are still humans, that Gazan are still humans, that their lives have worth and should be protected, that supporting child killings when it's done by "brown people" is not anymore alright than supporting child killings when done by the IDF. And you people should very well consider the possibility that people inside the IDF are doing all they can to reduce Bibi's ability to order war crimes.

And you should recognize that there are efforts on the part of the IDF, sometimes token efforts, sometimes more than just that, to limit the number of dead civilians. Point me to a case where Hamas did the same. Point me to a case where they tried to get Israeli civilians out of the way instead of targeting them.

Hamas is not a Revolution you want to succeed. It's not about being free. It's about killing. This isn't a "glorious revolutionary action", it's a prelude to the wholesale slaughter and ethnic massacre they dream of. It's a tiny window into their ideal, blood soaked world.

Violent revolution should be a last resort, when there is no other option available, when the system is so utterly broken and shattered that nothing can move, and it should be stopped as soon as the system is unfucked enough to negociate. The I/P situation is not at that stage. Look at how much efforts the fascists of both sides have to invest in maintaining this. Look at how much time and money and efforts they have to invest to keep each other in place. And despite this, people of both sides reach for peace, argue and protest for it, even at the risk of their very lives (especially true in Gaza).

And if you refuse to consider all this, if you insist on following Robespierre, remember this : La Veuve came for him too, in the end.

[shiny-jr]

♥ damnation [ the king of hearts ]

– Summary: When you commit a crime, you receive a punishment. This is especially true in your society. No matter the crime, your punishment is the same: banishment. But to where you will be sent in exile and how miserable will it be? No one knows, because no one has ever returned.

– Warning: Yes, this is a yandere thing. Gender-neutral reader. 

– Characters: Ace Trappola, Deuce Spade, Cater Diamond, Trey Clover, Riddle Rosehearts. 

– Note: Decided to try a new type of look with the formatting here, thought it would be a good opportunity since I used the original formatting I usually use with the original announcement post. Okay, so, here is one of currently three and what will eventually be seven results from my damnation project, which I’ll link below. Lots of content for y’all. I wanted to put all three results in one post, but that would be so annoying for readers because the post would end up ridiculously long. Which is why I opted to separate the results. Anyways, I’m also posting these here for those who do not want to take my quiz (please try it, I worked hard on it!) or just can’t get the result they want from it. So, here it is. 

– Pages: 42

– Not satisfied? Try looking here for the quiz to take it yourself and see where you end up banished! 

The King of Hearts   |   The Hyena Chieftain 

Robes. You were wearing robes of the finest quality that weighed heavily on your shoulders. This surface you laid on felt... nice. Soft, nothing like the hard bench of the prison cell. As you sat up and recalled your current dire situation, you felt a sense of dread loom overhead like a thick blanket of gray clouds. Immediately, fearfully, you scanned your surroundings. Everything was painted red, there was so much red velvet. The floors were polished checkered black and white and the furniture, if not completely red, was crafted of finely carved wood. It was fancy here. Safe, for now. Wherever this place was.

There was something hefty on your head, only noticing its weight settling on your skull as you moved to stand up from the crimson red sheets on the king-sized mattress. As you removed the item from your head, you were perplexed to see a small golden crown and a heart-shaped staff beside the spot you had laid on. Wait just a moment... red everywhere? A fancy setting? A crown and a heart-shaped staff? Rapidly you dashed over to the mirror just beside the bed, gasping at your appearance.

You were dressed just like royalty. And not just any royalty, like a king. A king of red with a heart-shaped staff... Just like the meek king that was married to the ruthless Queen of Hearts from the fairytales. So it was true, criminals were often sent to dangerous tales where they would perish. And you... you were a criminal and you were here, but... you were the king. How did the story go again?

The Red Queen, or Queen of Hearts, ruled over Wonderland with an iron fist. She would behead anyone who got in her way, and her reign terrorized the residents of the realm. That is, until Alice fell down a hole and arrived in Wonderland. She would eventually free this land from the oppressive rein of the queen. As for the king... what happened to him again? He didn't really appear in the story. You wracked your memory for an answer, when the horrid realization came to you. The Red Queen had been so terribly jealous and suspected that her husband was cheating, that she had him beheaded! His head left to rot as it floated in a river of blood, surrounded by the heads of other victims, and the king's lifeless head still with the crown. He had died before Alice even arrived in Wonderland!

You clutched your neck, grimacing at the thought of your own detached head, crown still attached, doomed to sail in a moat of blood. It made you sick to your stomach just thinking about it. There had to be a way to prevent your death, or at least stall for time, but how? The king couldn't just up and run away! People would take notice immediately, someone would inform the queen, and you'd be a goner for sure! But then what? You couldn't kill her either, could you...? It certainly was an idea. You would be doing a favor for the rest of Wonderland too...

THUMP!

Abruptly the doors flew open, nearly causing you to shriek. But you managed to hold your tongue as you quickly placed your crown back on and clutched your staff. When your eyes focused on the door, you were surprised and almost relieved to see the figure of a short young man that had slammed the doors open. He was... rather adorable, actually. It caused you to tilt your head, endeared by his appearance.

The young man had hair that shamed the red roses, and wide gray eyes. As soon as his eyes landed on you, however, his face grew flush and his expression twisted into one of rage. Immediately he slammed the doors shut behind him, stomping up to you, his heels violently clicking against the tiled floors. When the short young man was in your face, another horrible realization dawned on you. With that crown on his head and his wondrous red garbs, this could only be the queen. Or at least, someone meant to be the red queen.

“You knave! Where have you been lurking?!”

“I…” You were at a loss for words. What were you supposed to say? What was the king even doing before you got here? Most importantly, how would you avoid this queen’s wrath?

At your lack of a response, he only seemed to grow more frustrated as he threw wild accusations, “You–– You’ve been sneaking about, seducing the men of my court, haven’t you?! I shall have your head––!”

“Wha–– N-No, I haven’t!” You blurted out. The king was originally beheaded because the queen was jealous and thought she would lose him to others. So if you could assure him that your heart belonged to him, well… survival just might be possible. Although acting wasn’t necessarily your strong point, you could only try for the sake of living another day. Nervously you smiled, throwing aside your staff as you lifted your hands to gently hold his fist he had been angrily waving near your face. Thank god he didn’t have a knife or anything of the sort, or you feared he may have tried to stab you out of raging envy. “How could I ever dare to throw my loyalty to you away…? You are amazing…! I apologize sincerely if I haven’t been able to express my love for you properly. Sometimes it feels like you’re really too much for my heart to handle, you in all your… glory…!” Oh god, this was going terribly. All you could do to give the messy act a bow to top it off, was lean your head down and hesitantly kiss the back of his hand.

Miraculously, that seemed to work. Almost. The queen’s face was no longer as flushed, but he gazed down at you as you lingered at his hand. Suspicion was still evident in his eyes. “How do I know?”

“H-Huh…?”

“How do I know you aren’t lying? How do I know you won’t leave me as well? How do I know that you still love me? Prove it to me.” Those gray eyes of his watched you carefully, seemingly unhappy with your lack of a response. After about five seconds of no answer, his face scrunched up and he bellowed, “Guards!! Gua–– mmph!”

Not knowing what else to do, you kissed him. He wanted a sign of devotion, right? Oh god, this was it. Your death was here and now. You had no other way to shut him up. If you covered his mouth with your hands, you were a goner. If you attacked him, you were a goner. If you tried to continue reasoning, you were still a goner! You can’t believe that this was how you died, having to kiss a stranger as your last desperate attempt to stay alive. Well, he wanted a sign. You were ready for him to push you off and armored guards come running in to drag you to the guillotine, when the most unexpected thing happened. He froze, he didn’t fight back or scream bloody murder.

When you slowly pulled away, you were stunned. His face was flush again, but for an entirely different reason other than anger. There was a dazed look on his face, and it almost looked as if he wanted to do it again judging by how he gazed longingly at your lips. It was then you understood that your reckless decision making might’ve just saved your neck.

The red ruler frowned, but you were unsure if it was because he was unsatisfied with something or if it were for another reason entirely. This time, when he opened his mouth, he spoke softly, as if still dazed. “You scoundrel… How dare you play with my heart like this? I should still take your head for that.” You gulped, but he continued. “But… I truly didn’t want to get rid of you. So I’m glad we can avoid that now. I expect to see you well away from the noblemen.”

“Y-Yes… Your Majesty.”

At your obedient response, he smiled and patted your head. “Good.” Taking one step closer, he leaned forward and pressed a kiss against your cheek. He lingered there for a few moments, before taking one step back.

The action left you flustered, embarrassed, because not only had you kissed a stranger but they had kissed you in return. And not only that, this crimson ruler believed you were his partner, the king! Under normal circumstances, you would’ve considered yourself lucky to land in such a position since the king has so much power and wealth. But in this type of situation, you can only shudder to think of what may come next and what would’ve become of you. Because these were no ordinary circumstances, and this was no normal kind ruler.

“Come along now. I don’t want you alone, do you understand?”

“Yes… Your Majesty.”

He beckoned you towards the very doors he entered from, and when he opened them, you were met with another character. It was a tall man with glasses and short messy dark green hair. Immediately he bowed to the queen, but when his eyes landed on you, he looked as if he saw a ghost.

“Change of plans, Trey. We will not be beheading my king today. Nor tomorrow, I think. They’ve become quite affectionate, so my doubts have been dismissed.”

“O-Of course, Your Majesty…” The glass-wearing man, Trey, glanced over at you with disbelief, but he looked a bit relieved, it’s as if he wanted to say something. But he opted to hold his tongue and instead shifted his gaze forward as he walked beside the red-haired royal. “There is still that soldier imprisoned that displeased you.”

“Ah yes, the one that claimed to see those messy blonde locks but failed to capture our lost wanderer. Bring him to me in the throne room.” Just then he glanced at you as you walked a bit behind him, “My dear, you must be there with me. This should be quite the spectacle. I will see you in a moment.”

“A-As you say, Your Majesty…” You replied stiffly.

He frowned and stopped in his tracks before grabbing your collar and bringing your face closer to his. What you half expected was a sharp knife against your throat, something that would kill you, but there was no such thing. There was only his sharp gaze and disappointed tone. “You’re supposed to respond with: my dear. Not Your Majesty, not Rosehearts, but perhaps I’ll allow Riddle for now. Do you understand, dearest?”

So his name was Riddle. Judging by Riddle’s tone, he wasn’t angry, but rather irked that all the sweetness from earlier was now gone. Proceeding, you chose your words carefully as you attempted to smile as convincingly as possible, “Y-Yes, of course, anything you say, Riddle, my darling.”

At your words his cheeks became a pink hue before he let go of you and cleared his throat, quickly turning away and proceeding forward towards the end of the hall where he had whatever duties to fulfill. So you were left with Trey, his subordinate. The calm and collected tall man’s shoulders sagged once the royal left, all the tension seemingly evaporating from his body. When he gave you a somewhat soft smile, your worries ceased for the moment as well. “I’m glad you’re still intact. I was certain you were a goner.” He was… nice? “You need to be more careful. I don’t know what you did to change Riddle’s mind, but he was ready to behead you himself. You know how he keeps that huge battle ax under his bed. He mentioned something about using that, and I thought he was going to use it to chop your head clean off.”

Oh god. That little guy was going to do that? That stupid kiss really did save your skin. “Heh, I’m still a little shaken…” Wait, you were supposed to be acting like the king! What did the king even act like? How were you supposed to know? He never even lived long enough to make it into the story! “I, um, am very appreciative towards your concern… Trey.”  

Trey appeared a bit surprised but he then smiled once more at you. “We’ll talk more later. Right now, we have a situation on our hands.”

What kind of situation? You didn’t even have time to ask when Trey led you down the checkered hall to an opening behind velvet red curtains which were the entrance directly to the large elegant throne room. There, you saw another stranger talking animatedly to the less-than-pleased-looking Rosehearts. This stranger had orange hair that brushed against his lower neck, and he had much more enthusiasm than those you had encountered thus far.

“Dear, there you are.” Instantly Riddle visibly brightened up as he gestured to the soft smaller heart-shaped throne beside his much larger grand seat. “Come, sit, we’re currently discussing the important matters at hand. Such as the dilemma with our prisoner. Cater, continue.”

When this Cater, fellow’s, green eyes trailed over to you, they became filled with surprise as he fumbled over his words, “Huh–– O-Oh! Right!” Forcing his gaze back on the red-haired royal, he began explaining, “There’s nothing really new to talk about, Your Majesty! I mean, seriously, this rookie was just the unlucky one that happened to see that blondie Ellis. According to him when I went to question him, he just said that he saw the guy in blue and when he went to confront him, Ellis escaped with some purple beastman!”

“Purple beastman…?” For a mere moment he appeared perplexed, when quickly the dots began to connect in his mind as he gasped, “Chen’ya! Why, the nerve of that––!”

When you saw his face begin to heat up again and a look of anger crossed his face, you slowly placed your hand over his arm that rested on the armrest of the throne. Then, he froze, everyone else, Trey, Cater, the armored guards in the room, they all were wide-eyed at what you had done. You had touched the queen when they were about to enter a fit of rage! You messed up–– Shit––

Riddle released a slow breath before placing his other hand atop your own. You felt such a massive flood of relief knowing you made the right move when he appeared much calmer as he nodded his head toward you, “Thank you, my dear. We shall discuss a proper punishment for that wretched feline later. For now…” Instantly his voice did a one-eighty as he turned his head toward the two imposing doors and shouted, “Bring him!!”

Nervously you looked over at Trey who stood tall and upright by Riddle’s side, and he remained oddly focused on the door. And that orange-haired guy, Cater, where did he go…?

“Hey…!”

Your eyes flittered over to you right where Cater was bent over a bit to whisper in your ear, while everyone else was distracted by the prisoner being escorted inside.

“I’m so happy that you’ve alive…! Don’t go dying on me so quickly, ‘kay? You wouldn’t leave me all alone here, would you?”

“Uh… no, of course not.” Huh. This Cater guy seemed pretty close to the king, or now you actually.

When you averted your eyes to the front, you listened to the clacking of armor as you watched more soldiers bring forward one of their own. Yet unlike all the others masked by metal, this soldier in shackles didn’t have a helmet. His messy red hair stuck out every which way, which made you wonder how on earth he even managed to fit that mess of hair under a helmet at all. His eyes were glued to the floor, and he wore a stiff frown as his shackles rattled with every step he took until he was right before the steps leading up to the red royal. When he refused to kneel, he was pushed down to his knees as Riddle eyed him with disdain.

Riddle wasted no time, because as soon as this prisoner was on his knees, he began his tirade of questions. “Ace Trappola, was it? We know you saw Ellis. Do you know where he is?”

The soldier’s head lolled forward a bit, his warm-colored eyes stopping on you for a moment as you gazed back at him. In a way, this Ace reminded you of… well, you. In shackles, forced to kneel, in front of a higher authority that was obviously not particularly fond of you, and likely with a sentence that could only mean your doom ahead of you. In a way, you did feel for him after hearing the basis of why he was arrested.

All was silent, only his shackles could be heard again as he slowly shrugged and snapped back, “I’d like to know that too! I mean, I’m sure wherever he is, he’s free as a bird. Meanwhile, me? Locked up for trying to do my job––!”

“Failing to do your only job.” Riddle corrected with a scoff. “I will ask you one more time. Where. Is. Ellis?”

Ace, still annoyed, continued. He must’ve been either stupid or brave for continuing. Although it might’ve been both as he mocked him. “Didn’t you hear me the first time? I. Don’t. Know.”

Under your hand you felt Riddle’s fingers dig into the armrest, his knuckles growing white as he raised his voice an octave, “What if I take off your head? Will you know then?”

“If you took my head, you wouldn’t get any answers after that.” He retorted with a slight eye roll.

Underneath your hand you could feel Roseheart’s anger growing the tighter he dug his nails into the chair. When you saw his face, you and everyone else could tell that he was fit to burst, no doubt ready to seal this soldier’s doom. Instantly you shot up from your throne, wanting to help save this prisoner. However, you very quickly began to regret it when all eyes darted over to your form, and you now became the center of attention. You couldn’t just sit back down, so with no other choice, you awkwardly cleared your throat and proceeded nervously, “My dearest, earlier when in our chambers I had an… um… epiphany! A vision! Y-Yes, I had a vision…! Ellis will slay your–– our, pet dragon jabberwocky.”

Instantly Riddle’s eyes widened. “He killed our jabberwocky?!”

“No…! No, at least not yet!”

Technically you weren’t lying. The story goes that the Red Queen had a powerful dragon, the jabberwocky, which was the main reason why she could keep such a grip on the kingdom with no rebellion ever coming close to dethroning her. At least, that is until Alice comes along and slays the jabberwocky. If you could somehow get rid of Alice, or Ellis in this case, and stay in Riddle Roseheart’s good graces, you would have it made! It was practically certain that the court back home thought you would’ve been beheaded already and your head would float in that river of blood for eternity. Yet here you were, alive, and if things went smoothly, you could live out your life in splendor here. Yes, you’d have to deal with the red royal, but if you could just stay in his good graces at all times, you would have a wonderfully lavish life! At this point you were just speeding things up, Ellis’ intentions of slaying the jabberwocky probably weren’t supposed to be revealed until much later. But, it would make a perfect excuse now.

As all eyes remained on you, you recounted your fake tale, “It all makes sense now…! In… In my vision I saw… A red-haired knight, um, clashing swords with a blonde man in blue and white!” Well, that part was a lie. There never was a red-haired knight in the stories. But this was an opportunity to potentially save Ace as well, and give him a chance to redeem himself in Riddle’s eyes. When you turned to face Ace, he was gazing at you with furrowed eyebrows, but you proceeded anyway as you gave your attention to Riddle now. “Riddle, I think–– I mean, I b-believe that knight is this one here in front of us.”

“Him?” The royal exclaimed in disbelief, looking at the soldier with something akin to disgust. To which the said soldier stuck out his tongue before a stern glare from Trey and Cater made Ace close his mouth. Riddle blinked, quiet for a moment before gazing up at you, his expression softening as he flipped over his hand so it held yours. “Is that what you were doing in our chambers alone? You were studying texts and had a vision, to save me?”

“Y…Yes…?”

His big gray eyes became fixated on you, as his voice became soft when he replied, “I’ve misjudged you, my dear… I believed you were being unfaithful, but you were working hard for me. How wrong I was.” The way he looked at you could only be described as adoringly.

It made you nervous, but you could only awkwardly smile in return. In order to ensure your own life of comfort here, you had to be sure to ruin the plot of the story. This meant that Ellis, the protagonist, could not win no matter what. Although it pained you to do such a thing, knowing that the outcome would most likely mean death by beheading him and his allies, you were more afraid of death than you were of the hero. For this, you would have to make sure the antagonist, Riddle Rosehearts in the role of the Red Queen, obtained a happy ending instead of a bad ending where he himself would be banished after being defeated by Ellis.

Clearing your throat, you hesitantly listed off the sequence of events in the way you recalled them playing out, “In my vision I saw… a blonde boy in blue, a purple feline beastmen, and a hatter, among other allies. Ellis will… will attempt to infiltrate the palace, and gain your favor under a disguise, and steal the ancient sword that can slay our Jabberwocky.” As all eyes and ears remained on you, you hesitated once again, mentally apologizing for what you were about to do. Maybe in the end, you might be able to plead with your supposed spouse to spare them. But deep down, you knew it was unlikely for the ruthless tyrant to even consider the idea. “Your Majesty, my darling, i-if I may make a suggestion…?”

Riddle nodded as he listened attentively, “Go on.”

Thankfully you had moved your hands away from his, and had them folded in your lap as you took a seat again so he couldn’t feel the way your fingers trembled with anxiety. “I would like to suggest we allow this knight before us to carry the sword, sheathed and hidden at all times. Let this be his redemption–– um, please, if you allow it, your Majesty.” Said knight gazed up in surprise. “It would be best to keep sir Ace in our sights. So might I ask that he and another capable knight become my guards?” Guards. Smart move, especially if things get hairy later. “I-I’d also like to suggest an increase in your personal escorts too… my dear. So… so you’ll be safe. And, no one else besides those in this room, will know of what we spoke of today––”

“That way, Ellis will come here all on his own, and if he searches for the sword it will not be there.” Riddle finished, to which you nodded. He caught on quickly. “That’s brilliant!” You nearly breathed a sigh of relief as the red royal turned to glance at his two subordinates, Trey and Cater, only to gesture to the former prisoner and demand of them, “Unbind him, Trey. How can he wield a sword if his hands are bound?”

Trey slowly stepped forward as Ace was allowed to stand, and he unlocked the shackles around the knight. Ace continued to peer up at you, suddenly flashing a grateful smile. To which you only caught a glimpse of before being distracted by the redhead on the throne.

“Cater!” Cater stood upright immediately and awaited orders from the royal. “Find a suitable knight to escort my partner! I expect only the strongest and most obedient of knights! Am I understood?”

“You got it, Your Majesty! I already have a few in mind.”

“Wonderful. I will be interviewing them myself, as well as hand-picking my own escorts.” Riddle stood from his throne, tossing out more commands and orders to be followed by his remaining subordinate and the guards that had escorted the former prisoner. “You lot, I want an increase on the perimeter and another search crew to hunt down that wretched boy Ellis! Trey, go and fetch the sword. As for you, Ace Trappola,” Turning to face the knight, he warned, “You have one more chance. Should you fail a second time, there will be no do-overs. Your head will roll and your family shall pay the price for your mistakes.”

For a mere moment, disbelief and anger flashed on Ace’s face. Just as he opened his mouth, you spoke up, “T-Thank you, Your Majesty…! You really are so… merciful.” Better to be a pawn in this game than to be dead.

Riddle turned his attention to you before smiling, such a true and proud smile as he declared, “I have you to thank for this, for saving my kingdom and protecting me. Once we have Ellis and his companions captured, we will have a morning execution for him, with front row seats to the show." As his eyes drifted back to the onlookers, he commanded, "All of you shall speak nothing of what transpired in this room.”

A chorus of Yes, Your Majesty echoed in the chamber. The royal nodded, content for now, sending you one last smile before turning on his heels and walking off to elsewhere with Cater in tow. Leaving you alone with Trey and Ace as all other attendants and soldiers exited the throne room to go fulfill their duties.

Just for a moment, you wanted to talk to Ace alone. There was something about Trey, something about the way he watched you so calmly but there was something in those yellow eyes behind those glasses. Something that made it seem like he knew your secret, like he knew you were not really the king. You weren’t sure if it was your paranoia getting to you and your mind was just playing tricks on you, but you wanted to distance yourself as far away from him as possible. As the former prisoner made his way towards you, you cleared your throat and spoke quietly, but loud enough for Trey to hear. “Can–– M-May I have a word with you, sir Ace…? In private.”

“Sure, I’m free now.” He half joked, giving a bit of a grin which didn’t do much to ease your worries.

Trey stood beside the empty throne, watching as you glanced over at him and made a gesture for him to carry on with the assigned duty of retrieving the legendary sword, as dictated by His Majesty. To which he did, after he carefully observed the way you scurried behind velvet curtains with the knight not too far behind.

When you were finally out of sight with Ace, you noticed his raised eyebrow. Noticing this and the way he tapped his foot, you hesitated, unsure where you were even going with this or what you should do now. “You… You look like you have something to say.”

“Why’d you save me?” He demanded, all that cheerfulness from before gone now as things took a serious turn. Looking you up and down, he crossed his arms and continued, “You could’ve had your cute little hubby chop off my head like all the others before me. So, say it. That’s the reason you wanted to talk alone, isn’t it?”

He got you. Were you that obvious? You’d definitely have to work on being more discreet… Looking around twice to make sure no one was listening in, you huddled with him in a corner by the stained glass windows as you whispered hurriedly, in a panic, “O-Okay, whew, you’re gonna think I’m crazy, but… I’m not really the king, or queen, or whatever role I’m supposed to play here! Well, I guess I am now? Uhhh… h-here! It’s like this: I was put on trial in my homeworld, and as punishment I was banished. When I woke up, I was in Roseheart’s bed and he started talking to me like I was an unfaithful partner! I didn’t understand it, until I realized that it was all exactly like a story I read as a child. My punishment was to become the king that dies by being beheaded by his own wife! I… I got out of that somehow, and now, well…”

Ace was looking at you as if you were crazy, as if you had grown an extra head or something. His arms were crossed and he continued to stare at you. Should you have done that? Could you trust him? Well, he did owe you his life. If things really came down to it, you could have him arrested again and beheaded. Play the victim, call guards, and make up some lie that he attacked you, but you really really didn’t want it to go like that… Finally, after a few seconds, he shook his head and gave a weak chuckle, as if he couldn’t even believe it. “Hold on, let me get this straight: You’re not the royalty, but you’re a criminal from another world? Did you hit your head or something?”

You knew it. He wouldn’t believe you after all.

“I mean, they keep saying this Ellis loser came from another world too… So… Maybe your story doesn’t sound too crazy after all.” His scarlet eyes focused on the floor, as if considering something. “You really weren’t lying about knowing the future. And I thought you had gone mad or something! So I’m a hero in the story?”

You could only scratch your arm nervously, a bit regretful for having to crush his sudden burst of excitement. “Ahaha… not exactly? I made that part up…”

Disappointed at the revelation that he wasn’t some badass hero wielding a legendary sword, he scoffed, “Seriously? So why save me then?”

“Look…” You took a deep breath, hiding your fidgeting fingers in your palm as best as you could. “We were both supposed to die. At least my character was mentioned in the story, but you? Y-You weren’t even mentioned at all…! You were just a nameless faceless soldier, someone not even worth mentioning––”

Offended, he snapped back, “Faceless? Rude much!”

You quickly shushed him, internally freaking out at the prospect that you may have been overheard. But when nothing else and no one else stirred, you frowned and muttered, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that, I’m just really nervous… I guess what I’m trying to get at here is… why don’t we both help each other survive?”

“What?” Shaking his head in disbelief. First this person called him someone not even worth mentioning then they ask for his help? Seriously, what was with them?

“T-Think about it…! I’m the second most powerful person in the entire kingdom…! I know what will happen! Kinda…”

“Well, I do want to live just as badly as you do…” It appeared he was still on the fence. Leaning his weight against the wall, he demanded, “But what do you mean you kinda know what will happen? I thought you, for sure, know.”

“Um…” Twiddling your fingers, you hesitantly explained the dilemma, “I did mention we were both supposed to die… And while that part isn’t a lie and the whole you being the destined one to stop Ellis was a lie, the other thing I didn’t lie about was Ellis gathering with his allies to infiltrate the palace and acquire the sword to kill the Jabberwocky. That will actually happen. S-So, since I told everyone that––”

“Let me guess, you told it early?”

Freezing, you gazed up at him and murmured, “H-How did you…?”

He shrugged, “I would’ve done the same thing if I were in your position. That means a higher chance of survival, right? Assuming that the blonde is the good guy and our King Rosehearts is the bad guy of the story. And considering all that, now you have no idea how the story will be affected, right?”

“R-Right…” Wait, now it just looked like you were useless! Immediately interjecting, you added, “But I can still make predictions based on what I know, like how things were originally supposed to play out…!”

“And you are still technically a royal…” Ace placed a finger to his chin, probably thinking about possible outcomes, upsides, and downsides if he agreed to work together. Finally, when his gaze flittered back to you and you stood upright, he questioned, “What if things don’t go how we–– you plan?”

You actually considered this briefly. If everything came crumbling down and all plans failed, there was but one last option to avoid any punishment. “Find Ellis and the White Queen… or is it the White King? I-It doesn’t matter…! The point is, the White Royal is very kind and merciful. If I go to them and explain that I am not really the Red King’s consort, then they’ll spare me…! If you come too and bring the sword to slay the Jabberwocky, that will assure them of our good intentions!”

“Isn’t that just running away? I don’t want to do that. And come on, the Whites? Are you for real? I thought us Reds were bad, but those pristine prissy little killjoys are no fun.”

For a second you wanted to strangle him. What kind of idiot would risk certain death by staying here if everything goes south, instead of fleeing to a good place that would grant you sanctuary? “It’s exactly running away, that’s the point…! The point is to stay alive!”

The redhead tilted his head to the side, his disappointed and serious behavior disappearing as he grinned. “What if I became king?”

Now it was your turn to look at him as if he were the insane one. Was this knight actually the mad hatter that had been driven insane by mercury poisoning?

“I do owe you one for saving my neck back there. And I won’t lie, I’ve dreamed about being king one day. And you, you’re actually way more ruthless than you seem at first. I thought you were a scared little wimp that always cowers behind their little hubby husband.” He mocked. Ouch. He thought you were a wimp…? “But turns out, I was so wrong about you. Sounds like you’re willing to do whatever it takes to live another day. Even turn on your own husband!”

He was whisper yelling, and it was starting to make you anxious that someone would overhear. So you whisper yelled back at a lower volume, “S-Stop that…! You know the truth, he’s not really my husband…”

That smirk made you think that he was going to respond in a louder voice, but thankfully he wasn’t that stupid. Just stupid enough to plan to overthrow the bloody Red King and talk about it in his own palace. But maybe you were stupid too, for talking about such delicate matters in the palace halls. Ace took your hands and performed a mock bow. “No running away, you got it? I’ll take that tiny red punk’s crown and become king, then I’ll keep you as a royal beside me, it’s the least I can do after what you did. We’ll both not only survive, but thrive. What do you say, Your Majesty~?”

✧   ✧   ✧   ✧   ✧

When only a few days passed, you couldn’t get the thought of what Ace proposed out of your head. Death to Rosehearts, and long live Trappola. That was what he wanted. It was an idea, an option to consider should Riddle eventually become hostile towards you again. The proposal left to marinate in your mind as you spent the next day idling in the garden, doing nothing in particular. Since Ace was now your guard, you didn’t want Riddle to become paranoid or anyone to start spreading false rumors. So you’d spend your time in the garden, in public, where you could be seen so no lies were ever fabricated. The Red King was quite busy and so concentrated on the efforts to find Ellis, while his attendants kept close by.

You were chatting with Ace as he stood beside you while you sat by roses and sipped tea, listening as he spoke about himself and the latest rumors. Sometimes you replied, divulging bits of your own life when none of the gardeners or landscapers were close by. He was actually pretty laid-back and cheeky for a knight that served the Red King. Right as you were in the middle of telling him about your experience of being a prisoner, you zipped your mouth shut when a soldier appeared some distance away from the tall hedges.

It was a soldier with armor much like Ace’s, but Trappola’s was red and this one approaching was blue. Not to mention Ace never wore a helmet, but this blue one did wear his. Once the helmeted head turned towards you, he swiftly marched forward and stood straight in front of you. He bowed his head before kneeling in front of you and removing his helmet, revealing a young man, about Ace’s height, but with short blue hair and cyan colored eyes. He then announced himself, “Your Majesty, I am Deuce Spade! I was recommended to this position as your personal guard by sir Cater Diamond. It’s an honor to serve you! Here is my recommendation letter. I hope you’ll see me as suitable for this role.” Outstretching his hand without lifting his head yet, you unsurely accepted the rolled up scroll.

“O-Oh, um, thank you. I’m sure you’ll be fine… Stand up if you’d like, I don’t think the ground is comfortable.” Out of the corner of your eye as you unraveled the scroll, you could see Deuce obediently nod and stand as he held his helmet in his arm. Before you began reading, you could even see Ace frowning at this newcomer.

The scroll was much less like a recommendation letter and more like a haphazardly written medieval text message. It read: Hey, Your Majesty! Hope you like this newbie I sent over. He’s a littleee dumb but his heart’s in the right place and he’s surprisingly tough for a fresh recruit! Trust me, I saw him myself when he took on two older knights and won. You will be perfectly fine with this guy! He is literally perfect for a bodyguard. I’m kinda jealous. Anyways, meet me tomorrow night at the bridge between the palace’s northern towers! Come alone. –– From, Cater Diamond, always at your service!

That was strange… Come alone…? Not wanting there to be any evidence that you were meeting another man alone, that would definitely piss off Riddle, you tore the scroll to shreds and turned your attention to the blue knight who became the target of Ace’s pestering. They seemed quite familiar with each other, as Ace continued to poke at this Deuce guy while the blue knight attempted to remain calm and composed but was quite obviously growing annoyed.

“You? You’re the new knight? The guy who stupidly thought one of the nobles was an intruder and nearly attacked them on the spot? Ha! C’mon, I mean, we’re supposed to be the same rank, but even I’ve never made a mistake that bad!” Ace scoffed, grinning a much crueler smile, appearing more content with every passing second he noticed his companion was beginning to lose their cool. “You’re lucky to even be alive! King Riddle could’ve had your head for that, and he should’ve.” Deuce opened his mouth, likely about to snap back in reply, but Ace only cut him off. “Ah, ah, ah, I wouldn’t be so rash in front of Their Majesty, if I were you.”

“Ah––” Recalling where he was at and your presence was just feet in front of him, he resumed his uptight stance while averting his eyes to the ground respectfully, but he was still irked with the fellow soldier beside him.

“Ace, quit bothering him, will you?” You requested, sending the redhead a pleading glance to which he, surprisingly, listened to. “Will you go find Trey? He has something very important, and I need you to deliver it to me.”

The red knight sighed and took a step back, not bothering to argue or continue his efforts to make the blue knight explode with anger. However, he did hesitate at your request, but after a second he finally relented, “Whatever you say, Your Majesty.”

“Thank you.” Nodding, you watched Ace leave the small area of the garden before then turning your attention back to the matter at hand. The new knight. Poor guy, he looked a little nervous. “You can relax, it’s alright. I promise, I am certainly more nervous than you currently are. Can you, um… maybe tell me a bit about yourself?”

“Uh…” Deuce appeared at a loss for words, not expecting the sudden interview. Finally thinking up a response, he did the opposite of relaxing. He only appeared more tense as he stood rigidly and loudly declared, “I am a soldier part of the first platoon!! I began training after being recruited a few months ago, and I was raised by my mother!” That last part was unexpected, and the volume of his announcement made you jump in your seat. Maybe he didn’t entirely know what to say when you asked him about himself. “I am honored to be chosen as one of your personal guards! I will do everything in my power to protect you!!”

Ah… still too loud. You winced at this shouting introduction before nodding in understanding. Your reply was like a quiet squeak of a dorm mouse compared to his tone. “T-Thank you, Deuce, but you really don’t have to be so stiff… I assure you, I’m not like my… my husband.” God, that felt so weird to say. “I’m not exactly the type to take off heads, as you can tell, haha…”

Your awkward smile managed to finally get him to relax. His shoulders sagged down as he sighed, and he smiled. It was an odd smile, not an ugly or strange one, but genuine and somewhat kind, it was unexpected and placed you on edge.

Why was he looking at you like that…? It wasn’t like how Riddle would often stare at you with fondness, but rather, this one could be described as something akin to… admiration. “Is something wrong…?”

He bowed his head, giving an awkward chuckle but his smile remained. “Sorry, I know it’s rude to stare, but you’ve changed. A lot.”

“Changed…?” Your nerves were spiking. Did Deuce somehow know the king before? You gripped the armrest of your lawn chair, wondering if you would need an escape.

The blue knight seemed to sense your distress, because he quickly waved his hands and explained in a small panic, “W-Wait! It sounds weird when I say it like that. Uh–– you probably don’t remember me. But we met a few years ago during a parade in town that was thrown to celebrate your engagement to His Majesty, and during that parade I was racing some friends and nearly crashed my horse into the royal carriage! The King was furious and my mother was there too, apologizing for my stupid mistake, when he cut her off and declared that me AND my mom were gonna be sent to the guillotine as punishment! They took us to the palace, and I remember you quietly watching the whole time. But before they could drag us by the chains to the dungeon, you appeared and secretly pardoned us! Do you remember now?” His cyan eyes were sparkling with excitement as he pointed to his head of hair and added, “My hair was bleached back then!”

“O-Ohhhh, of course…!” Not of course. You didn’t remember a thing! That wasn’t you, that was the true king! Those weren’t your memories! But you could only continue to awkwardly smile as he let out a sigh of relief and a bright beaming smile took over his expression.

By now, all his previous tension was gone. He was in a much different mood, delighted as he continued to explain with such boundless energy, “I was really a mess back then. But that day changed my whole life! I was so scared for my mom, I thought she was going to die because of me. When you pardoned us and we went home, I decided to change. That’s when I decided I wanted to pay you back for saving our lives, and I wanted to help make ends meet. And the best way to do that was join the King’s army. I know it’s tough work, but I knew I’d get funds to send back home and I might get a chance to properly thank you! I’ve waited for this day to see you again for so long!”

“Is… Is that right…?”

Noticing your apprehensiveness, Deuce frowned lightly and changed the subject. “No one has seen you outside the palace in ages. Everyone is worried! People are starting to say you’re being kept inside because of, well… every Red citizen knows you’re the favorite royal. So when you stopped appearing in public…”

Wait, just a moment. The king was beloved? Actually, that wasn’t too hard to believe when the only competition alive was the hot-tempered queen. It might not even be too far-fetched to believe that the king once spared people often behind the back of their spouse. At least based on Deuce’s story, because why else would the former king have any reason to spare the lives of what were, back then, simple rabble, if not due to the kindness in his heart?

The blue knight continued with another short story, “On your weekly outings, my mom and I used to try and wave at you from the crowd. But we never got noticed. And they never let us close either…”

They must’ve been truly grateful to the king, now you, and it only makes sense after what happened.

“Oh–– sorry, I just keep going about myself! That other guy is taking a little long…” Turning his gaze over to the exit between two hedges, exactly where the red knight had gone, he muttered, “Seriously, what’s taking him so long? Isn’t he supposed to be your guard? Don’t worry, Your Majesty, I’ll bring him back for you!”

“Ah, wait––” Too late. He was gone. Complaining about Ace leaving and then leaving himself? It was clear that Cater was right, Deuce wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed but he had spirit. At the very least, you felt safe with him around. Due to the obligation he felt toward the king, he would no doubt be a great help. In the quiet of the garden, you sipped your tea and listened to the buzz of bees traveling from rose to rose, flowers which gave off a pleasant aroma in the slow breeze. It was relaxing, peaceful for a moment, not like every other waking hour as you fear your true identity will be discovered or even last night you lay awake in bed fearing the moment your spouse would come to bed, yet he was so busy that he never did, so you lay awake with major anxiety practically all night.

“Your Majesty, forgive me for the intrusion.” The sudden voice startled you, shattering your tranquility, but you quickly regained your composure upon realizing it was just a servant from the kitchen. One arm was neatly folded behind their back, and the other held up a tray of delicious pastries. “I’ve brought you extra, should you desire any.”

“Ah… haha…” Your sigh turned to a nervous laugh as you managed to stammer out a polite, “T-Thank you.” When they bowed their head and began to make their leave to the pathway behind your seat, you turned your attention back to the fresh baked goods just waiting to be devoured. Plucking up one of the smaller delicacies to take a bite––

“Your Majesty!!!”

CLACK!

Dropping the pastry, you whipped your head around only to be met face-to-face with the sharp end of a dagger. The only thing stopping that knife from plunging into your flesh, was the equally sharp end of a spade-shaped spear that had crossed with it and deflected it. The servant was the culprit, having replaced the tray of desserts for a weapon meant for slaughtering. And they nearly had killed you, had it not been for the blue knight.

Horrified, you fell out of your chair, back, away from the two. Your terror only grew when with one swift motion, Deuce used his spear to slash the face of the attacker. They fell back, you didn’t know if the servant was alive or dead, if they weren’t dead they certainly would be soon. But you did see red. Red, red, red, why was red everywhere in this world? You had nearly died, again. Your heart felt like it was racing as you saw the red knight reappear and tackle your attacker, the struggle hidden behind the lawn chair and table cloth. There was shouting, you think, but the banging of your heart against your rib cage was too deafening.

All you could make out was the presence that had rushed to your side. They stuck close by but never quite touched you, their hands ghosting over your side. There was red. Red on his hands, red on his blue armor, a small dash of red against his cheek. You were growing lightheaded, your head hurt. You must’ve peered up a bit, because you could see Deuce looking frantic and as your vision became spotty, you saw his mouth moving, but you couldn’t hear a word he spoke.

✧   ✧   ✧   ✧   ✧

When you awoke, it was a bit of a rude awakening. You could hear shouting, behind a door. As you slowly sat up, feeling the familiar softness of the king-sized bed belonging to the Red King himself, you practically melted into the silk sheets. The shouting was muffled behind the heavy double doors, but you could easily distinguish the voice as belonging to Riddle. And just as you could tell who it was, you could clearly make out what he was saying. The thickness of the door was not enough to quiet his tone, even from here.

“I want the executioner here now!!! The crime of attempted regicide against my consort is unforgivable!! It is the highest form of treason!! Make it a public execution in precisely one hour! I want all those that dare to even think about harming my companion to understand what fate will await them should they dream to even attempt it! Question that blasted assassin, and I want to know who sent them so that I may punish them in a matter even worse than a beheading!!!”

Wow, he sounded pissed. It was kinda scary. Even though you couldn’t see him, you just picture his face twisted into pure rage, no doubt he was about ready to pop a blood vessel. As you began to recall what happened, you shuddered, both because of recalling the fear you felt at the moment and how you imagined what pains the assassin would face at Riddle’s hands.

Clink!

Flinching, you fearfully looked to the side, half expecting another assassin to appear out of nowhere and take revenge on you for their fallen compatriot. However, much to your relief, or not, it was only the King’s familiar subordinate, Trey. He readjusted his glasses over the bridge of his nose, giving you a gentle smile as he finished placing down a glass of water by your bedside. “It’s alright, there’s no need to look so frightened. You’re safe now. Everything is being dealt with, as you can, uh, probably tell.”

Right, you could still hear the commotion of Riddle’s bellowing commands along with the various rushed footsteps of servants and soldiers running about to fulfill their given tasks. It sounded like things were really getting hectic.

Lowering himself onto a wooden seat placed at your bedside, his yellow eyes flitted over to you, peering at you through the glass. “Normally I would let you rest and I would take on the responsibilities from here on out, but I have to tell you…”

You gripped the glass cup, feeling that oh-so-familiar anxiety creep up your neck. Trey had to tell you what…? Was something wrong? Did the assassin hurt Ace or Deuce? Were they okay? Did it have something to do with Ellis or the White Royal? Did Ellis successfully infiltrate the palace and steal the legendary sword? Has the Jabberwocky been slayed while you were unconscious? Or worse, had Riddle discovered you were really a big fat liar this entire time? Oh god–– what sort of unspeakable torture would he inflict upon you for this? Just yesterday at dinner, you saw him declare that a very young servant of the kitchen staff was to be beheaded because they stole a single tart! You didn’t want to die––

“It’s good news actually, so you don’t have to look so pale.” You resisted the urge to sigh–– wait, Trey was surprisingly observant. Or maybe you were still failing to better conceal your reactions and emotions, because he could tell you were obviously distraught. “Based on the intel you’ve given His Majesty, soldiers were able to capture a hatter, twins, a white rabbit beastman, and… a purple cat beastman. All working with Ellis, and loyal to the White Kingdom. There isn’t any sign of Ellis though.”

No Ellis yet… The fact that the protagonist was out there somewhere and still had a small chance to succeed, slimmed by the fact that his allies were now imprisoned, but still a chance, made you uneasy. This place was really starting to drive you mad… You’d have to readjust your escape plan and make a backup if it came to it…

“Your Majesty, now that I have the opportunity to talk with you in private, I’d like to ask you something.”

Tapping your fingers against the half-filled glass, you nodded for him to continue. “Okay… I’m listening.” The news was already said, so that placed you at ease. Slowly you raised the glass to your lips, taking a sip of the cold water that parched your dry throat. You didn’t realize you were absolutely parched until right now.

“Earlier, I said normally I wouldn’t tell you the news because I know you don’t do well under stress. But this time was different. This time, you initiated the action. So, I just wanted to know, who are you?”

You froze, nearly choking on the water you forced down. “W-What…?”

Folding his hands together, he stayed on his seat, but again, those eyes of his just watched you. That gentle smile he wore often, was no longer present. He looked serious, which made you even more tense! He spoke calmly, quietly, but that did nothing for your spiking nerves. “Their Majesty that I know, wouldn’t save Riddle even if they had the power to do it. They were waiting for a chance to run away to the White Kingdom, because they had fallen in love with someone else. And the more I look at you, the more I’m realizing that you aren’t them.”

Shit, shit, shit–– you seriously underestimated him. Of course he’s one of the king’s right hand men for a reason! Your hands were shaking uncontrollably. So much so that you dropped the glass, the cup rolling onto the sheets and drenching the blanket as you pleaded, “P-Please, don’t tell Riddle…! You’re right, I-I’m not His Majesty’s consort, but I can explain…! Just, please, please, I’m begging you, don’t tell him the truth! I… I’ll tell you everything you need to know! Please, I don’t want to go like this…!”

“H-Hey, hey, I wasn’t going to tell him!” Caught off guard, he picked a box of tissues from the nightstand and moved it in front of you. He spoke softly, gentler this time, “You’re not them, but you really do act like them sometimes… Here, use these tissues to wipe your tears. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Tears…? Reaching up to your face, you gasped when you felt your cheeks damp and droplets dripping down from your eyes. You were crying, and you hadn’t even noticed it. Fear had been the cause of these waterworks. As you rubbed your eyes to clear your vision, once you removed your hands, you saw Trey extending a tissue to you as his hand rested on the small of your back. “I… I’m sorry, I overreacted…”

“No, I should’ve approached you more carefully.”

Dabbing away your tears with the tissue, you sniffled, still finding it hard to meet his concerned gaze, so you averted your eyes down to the wet sheets and now empty glass in your lap. Where do you even begin?

Appearing to sense your hesitance and fear, his eyebrows furrowed with worry as he assured, “Take your time. I’d like to know everything, but go slowly if you need to.”

Despite knowing you didn’t belong, he still treated you so carefully. Maybe it was foolish to believe the right-hand man of the bloody Red King, but this was the kindest anyone had been to you since before your banishment. Ever since you were arrested, everyone had eyed you with suspicion, it felt like that continued into this world as most people were stepping on thin ice around you, and even you would be on your toes around certain people like King Rosehearts and his subordinates. But this time, it felt like you were truly being heard, even if it was a trap, something which you didn’t want to believe. So you told him everything about your story, but not this story. Afterall, you still needed leverage so that they wouldn’t kill you.

There was something about Trey that made him easier to talk to, easier than the red knight Ace you’ve trusted with your secrets, and easier than Deuce who had just saved your life. Trey listened attentively, never interrupting you, never looking away, keeping a hand over yours. Occasionally he nodded or hummed, providing reassurance that he was still listening to you recount your tale. Once you were done, and only then, did he speak.

The king’s right-hand man let out a sharp exhale as he rubbed his head, still attempting to process all the details. You were still trying to process everything that was going on.

“Everything makes sense now… but, I never thought you were bad. When you came out of that room with Riddle, when he was supposed to kill you, I thought something was off but I couldn’t put my finger on it. But when you stood up as His Majesty was questioning the soldier, that’s when I realized you weren’t the same royal from before. And then I understood that you weren’t a person with bad intentions. If you do really hold knowledge on our future, you could’ve usurped power for yourself and gotten rid of the King. But you didn’t.”

He smiled at you, not a malicious or cruel one, but a soft kind that placated a bit of your jumpy nerves.

“I owe Riddle a lot, so all I ask is that you tell him the truth soon and make him happy. Because you do make him happy. I’ve never seen him smile so much as he does when he thinks of you, even when you aren’t around. Of course, you don’t see it. You’ve made him much happier than his previous consort ever could.”

Frankly, you were at a loss for words. Yes, your original plan was to get Riddle Roseheart his victory and remain on his good side, but you didn’t think you’d actually get this far! Now at the prospect of having to permanently stay playing the role of his spouse, even if you survived telling him the truth, well… now you weren’t sure what to do. Not to mention, you did feel a little guilty because while Trey caught you, he didn’t entirely understand that you were only doing this to survive. It wasn’t for him, it wasn’t for the kingdom, it wasn’t for Riddle, it was for yourself. “And you… you really aren’t mad…?”

“Well… I do feel a little betrayed. But now, I think I’m starting to understand you and what you’ve been doing. So I’m not hurt. I’ll just continue with my job, serving His Majesty and serving you.” Removing his hand from yours, he stood up and picked up the glass you had dropped onto the sheets now damp with water. “Come on, let me get these sheets changed for you.”

For a while, it was just you and Trey, talking quietly about things like yourself, and he even revealed details about himself and his life to put you at ease. Trey was truly a comforting figure, and it became evident by more than just his words, it was obvious by his actions as well. Servants brought sweetened goods and various drinks, some of which he claimed to make with his own two hands. How a busy subordinate of the king even had time to bake, you have no idea. Not too long after, presumably after he sent out soldiers, servants, and put the executioner to work, Riddle Rosehearts entered the room, making a show to throw the doors open as he commanded sternly,

“Leave us, Trey.”

When the king’s gaze traveled over to you, you froze on the small chair you were currently seated in. At that moment, you just wanted to shrink in on yourself, all the little confidence you had built on the foundation of Trey’s presence, crumbled the instant he obediently nodded his head and hesitantly left the room. You felt frozen in fear as soon as the king appeared in your line of vision, but all you could see was heeled shoes against the tiled floors, since you kept your gaze down. That’s when the questions that spurred your anxiety came to fruition. Had he somehow heard the conversation between you and Trey? Did he know too about your true identity? Had he realized it? Was he growing bored of you or becoming jealous once again? How would you get out of this one––?

“My dear, I apologize for not being able to see you sooner. There were matters that needed to be dealt with.” His hand went to your chin, and he forced you to look up at him, carefully though, as he used his fingers to prop up your head. What consoled you, pacifying your fears, was the look in his eyes. Those eyes were filled with sorrow and possibly… dread? “Are you alright? Do you need anything? Anything at all?”

“N-No, I’m alright––” You were just more alarmed and concerned as to why he was acting this way.

Using his other hand, he took your palm, quietly inspecting you for injury. It seemed something was on his mind, because his eyebrows furrowed together and he scowled, seething quietly, “I can’t believe the moment we are getting along, just when I’m receiving your love, that foolish assassin tried to take you away from me.” His hold on your hand tightened. “How dare they? How dare they?! Do they not understand that all I want is to be loved, and when I finally have it with you, they try to–– Forget it. They will become an example of what happens to those who dare attempt to harm you.” Looking down at you, his gaze softened as he spoke in a much gentler loving tone, “My dear, the public execution of the criminal will be in a few moments. Would you like to go and spectate from above?”

“Umm… n-no, thank you.” There was no way you wanted to watch someone be beheaded. Especially knowing that they were there because of you, even if they had attempted to kill you. You didn’t need the very vivid image of their head dropping and rolling on the ground, with their lifeless eyes still open, to haunt your dreams at night.

“Very well.” Taking a seat beside you, he sat upright and proper as he continued to hold your hand. “And your knights? Shall we have them beheaded as well for failing to apprehend the suspect quickly and for being so idiotic as to leave you alone?”

“W-What? No!” Ace and Deuce, beheaded for failing to protect you? You turned to the king, pleading, “Please… my darling, don’t punish them. Afterall, they saved me in the end, so please… I… I commanded them to go! I did…! I had sent them to retrieve the sword and a duplicate I had Trey commission the royal blacksmith to make. That way, s-should Ellis and his allies manage to retrieve the sword, they might get the useless duplicate instead…! S-So you see, it’s really all my fault.”

For a while Riddle was silent and you feared that he would place you on the ballot of today’s executions. But then the unexpected happened. Slowly, he reached forward, awkwardly wrapping his arms around your figure and resting his head over your shoulder. His voice was quiet, hushed, “Taking all these steps to ensure my victory and continuous rein… you have truly changed.” Tightening his hold, he pressed himself against you, forgetting all the formalities and etiquette that a king should have. His warm breath fanned your ear as he whispered a promise, “For you, I will not stop until our rule is absolute. I will control the whole realm, and shape it into a wonderland that you desire.”

When he pressed a soft kiss against your cheek, you felt your face heat up. You sat rigidly, arms awkwardly wrapped around his waist as he moved himself to sit upon your lap as if it were his very own throne. As he leaned closer, you noticed his cheeks were pink, quickly turning red, as he leaned his forehead against yours so you could look each other in the eye.

In your childhood you read about Alice’s adventures in Wonderland with the odd Tweedle twins that spoke much like in riddles, the mischievous yet mysterious grinning Cheshire cat, the wondrous Mad Hatter who was insane, and an abundance of others in the colorful cast of characters. Yet no matter how often you read the tales, it always told of a cruel hot-tempered Queen with no heart. And yet, here was Riddle, in the role of the Red Queen, flustered yet affectionate as he continued to sit on your lap and wrap his arms around your neck.

Those big gray eyes continued to gaze at you, never looking away, which caused you to immediately avert your gaze. That is until he tapped your chin lightly, chiding,

“Don’t look away, darling. I demand your attention.”

“A-As you say, my dear…” Slowly you focused your gaze back on him, by now you were sweating bullets. How did you end up this close to the bloody Red King? It seemed like he was starved of love, he craved it so desperately and wanted it all for himself, that he nearly killed you the moment you first met him, out of pure envy. Just as he was leaning in to place a second kiss, this time on the lips, you inquired in the tiniest squeak, “Is it not better to be feared than loved…?”

Riddle stopped just an inch away, processing your words as he eyed your nervous expression. “I wasn’t certain anymore, but now I am.” He lingered in place, taking the time to explain his answer, “By the masses, it is far better to be feared than loved. They can be unruly, rebellious, disorderly. Yet it is fear that never fails, it tames and controls those that are even insusceptible by love.” A shiver ran down your spine as his fingers played with the small locks of hair behind your neck. He shifted closer, “But when it comes to you, I must change my approach. Love is the most favorable option, because I want your true love. Not a forced type of affection. Do you understand, my dear?”

You gulped, growing more abashed with every passing moment as Riddle remained so close. “Y-Yes, I understand…”

“Just as you proved to me that you desire my affection, I shall prove to you that I truly love you.”

That night you fell asleep in Riddle’s arms, laying on the plush king size mattress you two were supposed to share every night. Your face was red, both from embarrassment and partly due to the bit of lipstick he wore now marking the spots on your face where he had kissed you. At first it was nearly impossible to sleep, you stayed awake, staring at the ceiling, as the bloody Red King peacefully slept beside you with his arms around you. It was only until exhaustion finally knocked you out, forcing you to close your eyes and rest a few hours. Only then as you drifted off to sleep while gazing at Roseheart’s content sleeping face, did you realize how much of a mess this plot has become.

✧   ✧   ✧   ✧   ✧

In the morning, you groggily awoke to Riddle, already changed and prepared for the day, leaning over to adjust the blankets around you and wish you a good day before his leave. Not too long later, once you got up and prepared for the day, as soon as you opened your doors, you were greeted by two particularly distraught knights, Ace and Deuce. The sudden quiet you had was immediately shattered as the two began speaking, almost shouting, rapidly as if babbling, you couldn’t understand a word they were saying due to how fast they were talking and how they spoke over each other. How long had they been waiting outside your door? Just barely you could distinguish the occasional apology, mixed in with exclamations and bickering against one another over who the fault lay on.

This was going to be a long day… and a long day it was. As you were escorted to breakfast by your two protective knights, you passed by a window where outside you could see a courtyard. Your eyes wandered to the scene behind the glass, and down below you could see a balcony where your spouse was seated, overlooking the courtyard below where a crowd gathered. In the center, your heart dropped when you saw the executioner standing over a heavy basket where a colorful hat poked out of, beside a pair of white rabbit ears, and brown rabbit ears. There was red seeping out of the basket, and the sight immediately caused you to turn your head away. The mad hatter, white rabbit, and march hare, had all been executed. But there were no cat ears, so the cheshire cat must’ve been spared. You lost your appetite for breakfast.

In the middle of the day, after giving Ace and Deuce the swords, you left it up to them to see if they could tell the difference between the two blades. Which was the real artifact of legends and which was the duplicate? They couldn’t figure it out. You then accompanied Trey to the kitchen as he was commanded by the king to make something delicious for dessert. Turns out, Trey was only usually commanded to drop his usual responsibilities and bake when the king was in a good mood. You didn’t know what was worse, was Riddle in a good mood because of the smooch you hesitantly gave him last night or was it because he had put his enemies to death?

For dinner, you ate beside Riddle, unnerved as he watched you with contentment the entire time. Throughout the dinner, you managed to distract him from staring by carefully sharing bits of information that could provide useful. To defend himself from the might of the Jabberwocky, Ellis would need the legendary armor currently in the White Kingdom. The Bandersnatch, another powerful creature under Roseheart’s command, can be tamed by Ellis and convinced to change sides. Ellis may very well retreat to the White Kingdom for help. All of which he noted down carefully.

And finally, later that evening, before Riddle could arrive for bed, you snuck past your two dutiful knights that were changing shifts with other soldiers that would stand guard beside your room. You had a bit of time, as they rotated often, and when they rotated to patrol the halls and come back, was the opportune time to sneak right back in. Through everything that happened and how hectic it became, you had nearly forgotten that Cater extended an invitation to meet you in private.

It had only been a few days, but by how often Ace, Deuce, and Trey led you through the palace, you were beginning to get a rough understanding of the layout and vague memory of the routes. So it didn’t take you very long to reach the northern towers near where the monstrous Jubjub Bird, what you learned was Riddle’s giant pet bird of prey, resided at the highest point. It really was no wonder Rosehearts had such an iron grip on the kingdom, with beasts like the Jubjub Bird, Bandersnatch, and Jabberwocky at his command, no one would be so foolish as to question him.

Thankfully, Riddle had offhandedly mentioned that the Jubjub bird spent most nights in its cage, and was only freed during the day to bring back rebels to the gallows. So you weren’t too fearful of seeing the giant bird of prey at the windows. What did make your heart stop, was when a hand covered your mouth, and you were suddenly pulled into a room. You kicked wildly, your screams muffled against their mouth––

“Wait, wait, calm down, it’s just me! It’s me! Look! It’s your Cay!”

The rapid pace of your rising and falling chest slowed and you stopped screaming as your eyes readjusted to the dim lighting of the room. In front of you, just inches away from your face, you could make out familiar downturned green eyes and orange hair. When you finally went quiet, he removed his hand away from your mouth.

“You’ve always been super jumpy, Your Majesty, but not like that! Didn’t you recognize me?” He pouted, whining, “I’m a little hurt. I thought I was your favorite!”

“W-Why on earth would I––!” You stopped, realizing his hair was down.

It wasn’t tied up like before, and he wasn’t wearing all the intricacies of his outfit which you saw him in prior. In fact, he was very very casually dressed, and that was putting it lightly. All he wore were his dress pants and the last layer that was the dress shirt that had only the lowest buttons together, so as he leaned closer his shirt moved as well, exposing his torso. Keep it together! You weren’t like some Victorian maiden who fainted at the mere sight of an exposed ankle! By the dim candlelight you could piece together that you were in a spare bedroom, and the dots began to connect in your head.

Cater tilted his head, his longer orange locks shifting with his movement as he murmured quietly, “What’s wrong, Your Majesty? Are you not in the mood tonight? I know you’ve been reallyyy busy lately, with so much going on and all. But… I just really wanted to see you.” Too close, he was leaning too close! “I have to admit, I’m a little jealous of all the time you’re spending with His Majesty.”

Wait. The loose layers he had on, the dim candlelight, the bed, the suspicious hour of meeting, Cater’s sweet talking–– oh my god. The former consort in your position really had cheated on the Red Royal, and they did it with Cater! It made your cheeks burn, but wait–– that wasn’t you! You had nothing to be ashamed of! But things would look really bad if you were caught like this with one of the king’s closest subordinates!

“I-I’m afraid you’ve gotten it wrong––” Was it a good idea to tell him the truth? Afterall, his equal Trey knew, and you would be telling Riddle sooner rather than later, as you didn’t want the lie to fester into something ugly, thus lessening your already slim chances of survival by admitting the truth to the king. How did the former king even get with one of the queen’s subordinates? “You… You see, I’m not––”

“Really the royal consort?” He finished your sentence, giving a sort of cheeky smile at your dumbfounded expression. Straightening his posture, he hummed, “Yeah, I know, it’s pretty obvious you know! And that face you’re making right now, is so cute. It totally confirms it.”

It was obvious? Your stomach dropped at the potential prospect that Riddle already knew. But wait, if he really knew, then why hadn’t he said anything–– or were you getting too hopeful that he wouldn’t want to slaughter you as soon as the truth reaches him? It was probably safest to assume that he didn’t know at the moment. Now, as for Cater, you nervously eyed him, grimacing as he gave you a playful wink. “If you know I’m not them, why would you t-try to initiate…” You gestured to him and the bedroom. “––this?”

“Just testing you, that's all. Had to make sure I was right, after all. I didn’t really plan to do anything, unless you wanted to risk it.” As you immediately shook your head, he laughed and proceeded to button up his dress shirt and shrug on a coat. “I’m kidding! Joking. There’s no real reason to get all embarrassed. I just wanted to mess with you a teensy bit.”

Averting your gaze down as he readjusted his attire, you muttered quietly, “Did you and the person before me really…?”

“Hmm…” He paused, as if considering whether he should answer or not. Finally, he shrugged, “I mean, since you are kinda them in a way, I should probably tell you? As long as you promise not to tell His Majesty Riddle about all this, I promise not to tell about your dirty little secret, you know, being an imposter and all! Oh, that, and your little chit-chatwith Ace.”

Your blood ran cold. Cater had heard that? Even the part where Ace plotted to take the throne for himself? The part about you running away? Pursing your lips, feeling a bead of sweat run down the side of your head. If that got out, it would be game over. Your life would truly end, and all Cater had to do was whisper in His Majesty’s ear. But you now had dirt on him too. The fact that he knowingly slept with the bloody Red King’s consort, and kept it secret. It felt like with these secrets, you were both holding a knife to each other’s neck, figuratively speaking. “Something tells me you really did…”

“I did. But it was a one night-stand. They were a scaredy-cat, even more than you. They said they needed someone else’s comfort beside the exact person they feared the most in the world, which is why they came to me.” That easygoing smile appeared back on his face. “But you know, I wasn’t lying when I said you were cute. It’s just a real shame you’re already Riddle’s, or else I would’ve definitely snatched you up for myself!” Taking a seat at the desk, he propped his head up with both hands and continued, “Sooo, are you going to tell me who you really are? You will, won’t you? Let’s get to know each other a little bit longer before you go, ‘kay~?”

With not much of a choice left, you sighed and recounted your story once more. You told him why you ended up here in the first place, what was supposed to happen to you, how you managed to survive, and how you knew what was supposed to happen. He listened, only occasionally chiding in with a witty remark or comment.

Only once you finished your story, he whistled and spoke, “Everything makes sense! You’ve really been through the wringer, huh? Riddle must be so hard on you! But I’m not.” Then he brightened up, as if remembering something, “Oh! And Riddle won’t be getting any rest tonight, so you can stay with me as long as you want tonight!”

Perplexed by his words, you furrowed your eyebrows and gazed up at the cheery subordinate. You were kinda afraid to even ask what he meant by that. “What… What do you mean…?”

“I mean that His Majesty is gonna be way too anxious to go to sleep anytime soon! Ah–– right, you don’t know.”

Don’t know what? It felt like he was teasing you with this information you didn’t have. You would’ve said it made you nervous, but on the contrary, it puts you a bit at ease knowing that Riddle won’t stumble to bed only to find it empty and go mad. But still, you didn’t like the way Cater was messing with you. It didn’t feel like he meant any ill will, but not knowing what would happen and not having control placed you on edge. A single finger of his tapped your head as he answered,

“Ellis’ beheading–– Oh, but not yet! Using your intel, Riddle managed to pinpoint the location of a forest where that little blonde must be hiding in, also partially thanks to the Jubjub Bird’s latest catch who was a rebel that cracked like a nut when the king questioned him! And this evening after dinner, he sent out multiple soldiers to go hunt Ellis down! It’s really only a matter of time before they drag Ellis back in shackles. You see, Riddle’s just waiting impatiently for news back. So that’s why!”

In the distance, outside, you heard a trumpet. On impulse, you raced to the window, followed by the curious Cater, as you both stuck your faces against the cold glass to get a peek at the ground below where the noise had come from. At the towering palace gates, you could make out the small moving figures of soldiers crossing the river of blood and heads. They held up their sharpened spears and blades, torches of fire to light the way, and… in the midst of it all was a tall young man with blonde hair and a coat of baby blue, locked and restrained in shackles, dragged forward along the path.

“I… I have to go––”

Astonished at the speed you took off in making a direct beeline for the door, he blinked and exclaimed, “Wait! You’re not even gonna let me walk you back?”

No, there were far more important things on your mind. Without wanting to waste a single second, you rushed back, silently skittering and speed walking through the halls as quiet as a mouse. You avoided all the guards on patrol as you weaved from hallway to hallway, taking multiple twists and turns that were as confusing as the hedge maze in the king’s beloved garden. It seemed like an eternity before you finally snuck back into your room, where you were relieved to see the room empty. No angry king awaiting your return.

So you jumped into bed, nestling yourself into the make-believe safety the comfortable sheets provided you. As if these blankets could protect you from everything in the world, much like how your mind liked to believe the warmth protected you from the boogey-man lurking in the shadows. It was a childish thought, but a persistent one that refused to leave your mind. The seconds you counted not with the tick-tock of the clock, but the thump-thump of your beating heart that filled your ears as you lay silent and still. Thump, thump, thump, your heart beat, as your mind wandered to imagine whatever horrible fate would shortly greet Ellis, if it hadn’t already. A life in exchange for a life, the innocent blue boy in exchange for you who had done wrong before. Yes, it was wrong. So so wrong, and it ate at you inside, but you didn’t want to die. You didn’t want to.

And it scared you, knowing you’d have to tell Riddle the truth soon. Very soon. If he found out by his subordinates telling him the truth, you may very well be right behind the blonde boy waiting your turn at the guillotine. If you told him, he could very well decide to kill you anyways. Even if he had proclaimed his obsessive bloody love for you, would that matter? Riddle believes he loves the royal consort, a role you’ve been playing. It wasn’t truly you. Nothing would stop him from yelling, off with their head! Right then and there.

Well, there was one way to save your head if things got ugly… Ace was still in your corner, and if you could possibly convince Deuce to join you, you’d have both knights, one of which had the real sword of legends. If they could just slay the Jabberwocky, that would be enough for the White Kingdom to interfere. The only thing preventing Riddle Roseheart’s fall, was that damned Jabberwocky––

THUMP!

“My dear!!!”

The door slammed open, followed by a screech in that familiar voice you’ve been dreading. You froze, resisting the urge to scream and beg for forgiveness. Your heart dropped, and you just wanted to perish in your cocoon of cloth and fabrics. By now it felt like your heart had grown louder, pounding in your ears so loud that when you hesitantly lowered the sheet down over your face so you could see. What you saw made your heart stop, it felt like your soul left your body when you saw Riddle leaning over you with a huge battle ax in hand.

The ax could easily sever a whole appendage, even a head, in one fell swoop. It was recently sharpened, its metallic material and the red rubies encrusted into the weapon both glimmered in the light. It was a huge weapon, but despite its size, Riddle appeared to carry it with ease. Finally, when he dropped the weapon beside you and practically flung all his weight on you, did you snap out of your fear-induced trance.

“We did it…! We found Ellis, and it’s all thanks to you!” By now he was on top of you, normally he would’ve realized quickly and scrambled to get off while composing himself. But at the moment, he was far too eager for that. Instead, he grabbed your head with both hands on your cheeks, and on his face was the loveliest smile. The prettiest smile that was so large it reached his rosy cheeks, and joy was evident in those big eyes. “We have that wretched boy in the dungeons right now!”

“T-That’s great…!” Nervously you glanced down at the ax, “And that…?”

Waving it off, he replied without so much of a second thought, “Oh, it’s not for you. It’s for Ellis. I’ll be beheading him myself, no guillotine or executioner needed.”

Not for you… Carefully you inhaled shakily, feeling your hands begin to tremble. If there was a time to tell Rosehearts, it would be now when he’s at his happiest and most merciful. Yet, telling the truth did nothing to help you back home. So why would it help you here? You were so scared, so nervous–– if Riddle reacts explosively, he could just grab that ax and end you here or he could use his arms wrapped around your neck to suffocate you. There were so many countless ways this could end, and you could only think about the negative outcomes. Slowly you reached for his hands over your face, removing them so they were in between the two of you. His confusion did not go unnoticed. “M-My… No… Riddle, I have something to tell you…”

You took notice of the way his eyebrow raised, and his smile shifted to a sort of concerned frown. Oh, how you dreaded that it may soon become the ugliest scowl known to man.

“I-I’m… I’m……” Why was it hard to say? You couldn’t force out the words. Slowly shaking your head, you began to regret coming this far. Why couldn’t you have just run with your knights when you had the chance a few minutes ago? “… not–– not who you think I am…”

Squeezing your eyes shut, you anticipated something. A slap, a punch, the pain from the ax being brought down upon you for your sins–– something terrible! Not gentle hands patting down your head. “Is that all?” He giggled, to which you hesitantly opened your eyes, petrified at his expression of adoration. Placing a finger at your chin, he tilted your head up as he hummed, yet there was a bit of a dark look in his eyes as he spoke.

“Did you believe I wouldn’t notice that my own spouse was replaced? My former partner wouldn’t lift a finger to protect me, yet you did. So, upon my realization, I thought to myself: perhaps I should spare them and see how else they serve me. And serve you did. In ways that were incomprehensible, your short time here surpassed all efforts ever made to hunt down our dear Ellis. It took some prying out of my subordinates you’ve charmed to learn what secrets you’ve uncovered to them. But, I believe I have the whole picture painted.”

Using his thumbs, he rubbed your cheek and his fingers massaged your temple.

“A criminal from another word, sent here in exile to receive a gruesome death as their punishment. Yet they survive, because they recognize that this world is much like a story from their youth. So they trick, lie, and act, all to save their life, even risking the demise of others just for their own salvation. And in the process, not only win the hearts of some cards, but also the heart of the land’s monarch. Do I have that right?”

When his gaze became focused on you and he leaned closer, you nodded, feeling the pace of your rising and falling chest begin to increase rapidly. In response, Riddle placed a hand over your chest, where your heart would be, and continued in a quiet tone,

“Don’t panic. I’m not angry. In fact, I’m very glad this happened. In exchange for your servitude towards my cause, I’ll reward you with forgiveness, but beyond that, I’ve taken a liking to you. So, from now on, you will remain as my royal consort! And, as promised, I will shape this world into whatever your heart desires.”

Removing himself from you, he brushed himself off and stood upright at the bedside, offering you a hand to take as his other hand reached for the heavy ax which he carried over his shoulder. The bloody Red King smiled, oh-so-delighted.

“Shall we go now? I understand it’s late, but tonight is a special occasion. This night marks the death of Ellis which we will witness together, and the proper beginning of our relationship. Tomorrow, with no one left to protect the White Kingdom, I’ll send my pets to conquer. Then, the only ruler of this land will be me and you, and we’ll govern the land splendidly. Don’t you agree, my King of Hearts?”

[weemietime]

1. there's no such thing as a soul and 2. why does israel specifically need to be where it is now? israel has not even existed for a century. many different people have inhabited the land for thousands of years, mostly arab. is the only argument for the current geographic location of israel a religious argument? why can't it be anywhere else? if it's not a religious argument, why is the land so important if the it was jewish land thousands of years ago? is america justified in its existence despite having killed dozens of millions of native americans? WHY CANT ISRAEL ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD? WHY IS ISRAEL EXPANDING INTO LEBANON AND WHY IS IT BUILT UPON THE EXPULSION OF HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PALESTINIANS? Religious arguments should not be taken seriously in the current day. The only other argument i've heard from zionists is one of racial superiority. Zionism boils down to white supremacy and Judaism/Jewish people are completely separate from that. The original zionists claimed to be secular marxists. How can you reconcile these inconsistencies and expect people to not think you're genocidal???

Good l-rd, the Kremlin-Hamas propaganda pipeline workin overtime. *Pats trunk* I can fit so much Nazi gibberish in this bad boy. 1) I don't give a shit that you don't respect my traditions and my beliefs, we already know you have no respect whatsoever. Cool.

2) Israel is where it is now because it is Israel, you deranged fucking lunatic. No, the people who have lived there over the last centuries have NOT been Arabs. There is ZERO archaeological evidence to back up a claim that Palestinian Arabs have been in Israel from the same time as Jews.

3) Point blank, everything you've built up here is a Nazi lie. this is false. A lie. We Jews dig up thousands years old shit from our culture in Israel. Not Arab/Islamic culture. It isn't there. You know your little al aqsa flood operation as Hamas calls it. Arabs built Al Aqsa over our most precious Beit hamikdash. Just for spite by the way. Muhammed hated Jews, ask the Jews of Medina how he handled them. Oh you can't they all got beheaded and enslaved.

Then turn around and call us colonizers when we return street names to their ORIGINAL Hebrew. You're ignorant as fuck of history, "dismantle colonialism" but simps for Hezbollah, the long arm of the IRGC who colonized Iran from the native Persian population. Do you know how many countries Arabs conquered? You don't know shit about the Middle East, keep us out of your fucking mouth.

This is called DARVO and its a tool of colonizers to suppress indigenous history and tradition and overwrite what really happened. And y'all are mad about it because Jews won't let it happen. We won't let you gas light and manipulate us and say see we're the indigenous ones when Arabs were the ones who rolled in and stole our land in the first place.

Arab migrations happened and the Arabs who lived there knowingly lived in stolen land, that is not our fucking problem. I would be content to live in peace with Arabs. I would respect moderate Islam. I would even say sure you can call Israel your homeland even though it's not, whatever.

By the way when Israel declared independence Israelis didn't force Arabs out of their homes. The Arabs all ganged up on Israel and attacked. The Arab league told those people leave your homes, we will kill all the Jews then you can come back. Welp they lost. Tel Aviv wasn't there before 1920s, dipshit. Most of Israel has been build on ceded, legally purchased land.

The amount of private land that was taken from innocent people occurred as insulation from terrorism from a war six other fucking countries started at once. Israel is genocidal huh, Israel has never once fired the first shot in any war its ever been in. Think on that you limp ugly bitch.

We're a community, a family. That's what Judaism is. By the way, that's what the people in those kibbutzim were doing too. They were peace activists, pro Palestinian peace activists, lol. They tricked them for twenty years, multiple generations, being their friends.

But Hamas doesn't want peace and they openly say it over and over and over again to you dumb fucking imbeciles, over and over and over. No peace, no compromise, no ceasefire. They want total annihilation of Israel and Jews world wide. That's their agenda. Don't even fucking come back if you can't acknowledge that this is what they want to do.

Palestinian Arabs can't even pronounce the word Palestine in Arabic lmao. It's not got any Arabic etymology. It was a slur to mock US, THE JEWS, by the romans. Can you pickup a G-d damn history book and read for once in your piss baby life?

[cario55555]

Gonna be taking a bit of a break from art and such and so, specifically cotl stuff mainly because i got abunch of wips in the backlog and others stuff to doodle but also i like this little freakshow im making too so have abunch of fun facts about the funny lamb universe i got goin on for now under the cut

⁍ The Lamb would canonically win in a fight against 4 Leshy's or 2 Heket's, but not 3 Shamura's or 2 Kallamar's. ⁍ The Goat literally just walked into the Cult and acted like he already knew everyone. This somehow worked for 3 years. ⁍ I have no idea if Narilamb is canon in this or not, but if it was then it would not end well for anyone ⁍ Plimbo is the best character, this is a fact and you cannot dispute it. I tried designing him like 8? times and I just couldn't get it in a satisfying way. this is because he is without flaw. ⁍ The Lamb was fully aware of the prophecy before the beheading. They were counting on it. There is blood on their hands. ⁍ Sozo is very dead. Whatever's walking around the Cult, that's not Dr. Sozonius. ⁍ Look at this thing I can do ☺ isn't that wild ⁍ It takes place in a permadeath save. This means that the Lamb's delusions of power definitely weren't helped by the fact that they BARELY even knew Narinder, and the fact they killed 5 gods without sleeping. ⁍ Also Lamb killed Narinder lol ⁍ Mystic Seller is named "That Which Takes" ⁍ Leshycat's canon but I'll never design them its just gonna be like in Tom and Jerry where they're just slightly offscreen at all times ⁍ Midas that rat fuck owes me 20$ ⁍ Surprisingly, Heket got the closest to killing The Lamb. She wears this as a badge of honor, or as a means to make fun of the other Bishops. I forget which. ⁍ I might make a fanfic one of these days based on cult of the sham but it'd literally just be an always sunny episode lol ⁍ Webber is literally the exact same as the one from Don't Starve. They had to put him down because he kept placing spider nests all over the Cult, and Pigs kept trying to throw down. ⁍ A little gnome just ran behind you when you weren't looking. ⁍ The Lamb is ambidextrous, this is because I keep forgetting which hand to have them hold stuff with. They also have no idea what this word means. ⁍ The gnome ran behind you again you gotta pay more attention to this stuff ⁍ ☺sorry i didn't mean to do it that time ⁍ Clauneck and Kudaai like switching clothes and acting like eachother to fuck with people, it works every time without fail. ⁍ Aym and Baal are hanging out with Forneus. The Lamb didn't let them do this, they literally just booked it as soon as they got the chance and Forneus totally could beat the shit out of The Lamb. ⁍ help its red now ⁍ nevermind we're good ⁍ Ratau was driven mad by the crown. He's had the knowledge of the gods ripped from his skull and delicately placed onto some psychopathic woolen beast. He's not all there. ⁍ Any time I'm working on COTL stuff I'm usually listening to King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard. To get the general tone I try and set, listen to their album "I'm In Your Mind Fuzz". Good stuff. ⁍ The Industrial Meat Grinder incident was an inside job.

thank y'all for all the support, means the world that people actually like the delusional ramblings that come out of my brain at...

yeah that tracks.

also one more little mini preview for a drawing that might get finished one of these days idk

why is webber there i genuinely do not remember???

[blabberoo]

"Are you..drunk..?"

He couldn't even talk right, his hands forming in half phrases to half words (is he even talking?), then finally resolving to a 'no'.

Drifter sighed, pinching his nose bridge between his fingers. "Goddamn it. How is that even possible."

He grabbed the corpse by the arm and dragging it over his shoulder, supporting the rest of him by the waist. The beheaded was thrashing at first, attempting to get off of Drifter's grip, yet was quick to give up when sudden motions was too much for his... flame? Letting most of his weight fall over the smaller person, to which he couldn't do anything but to grumble under his breath.

Thankfully, the base wasn't too far. It took a few walks to the door and onto the bed where Drifter plopped Bobby like a carcass (well he is.)

As he stood up and was about to walk away, the beheaded grabbed him by the cloak in a state of panic. This, of course, caught Drifter's attention, simply at stasis and looking at him as if to wait for a reason. Why did he stopped him? Why did it hurt to see him go? Why the hell does his head hurt..

His eye blinked weakly, tried to muster up the energy to speak.

"Vomit." he signed.

"Oh, shit. Wait! Hold on—" It took three second for Drifter to find a basin a bring it to Bobby, just in time for him to let it all out. Seriously, how is this possible?

Though he was able to have a slight sigh of relief he wasnt able to get the mess on the bed, that's one less thing to worry about.

"Sit up. I'm gonna have clean you."

It took him a bit slow but he followed without retaliation, possibly too sick to do so. Drifter walked away to the bathroom and returned with a new basin and towel. He begin cleaning whereever the mess got him, along his hands and to his arms. Although there's not much he could do with his clothes but to wipe off what he could, it's not like he'd be comfortable enough to change his clothes. He'll have to take care of thet himself when he's more sober.

"Lord Jackal, why do I put up with you." He muttered under his breath, moreso to himself.

However, that might have caught up Bobby's attention,as he raised his hands to sign.

"Why do you?"

Drifter's gaze caught his at the sudden movement, although his eye were still unfocused, perhaps by the lingering influence of alcohol.

"People— They always look out for me because I could somehow save them from their problems. No matter how many times I've shown them I couldn't— Don't want to! Because even if I did, I will still screw it up— time and time again— ALWAYS! But everything ends the same. Everything ends. And I'm still—"

He pauses, and his hands flopped over his lap. His head lowers and shoulder slacked. He had never been like this before. Quiet. Tired.

Of course, Drifter was the same. He approached him for the same reason, and yet it hasn't crossed his mind the fact that he had gone through this a lot. And he was adding up to that.

"Do you want to cut the deal?" He intended to make it sound neutral, though his remourse came out of his soft tone.

Bobby took a moment to register it, flame still swaying through the influence.

"I don't know. I just—"

God. It hurts to think. He felt like everything around him is swallowing him whole.

"I'm tired of people leaving. I just don't want—"

He hasn't blurted out like this in a long while, maybe never. And the guts of this dead body seemed to sprung alive only to churn in pain. Its all too much. He closed his eye and let his heavy toll rest upon Drifter's shoulder. Soft flames prickling the crook of his neck.

I don't want to be alone.

He felt arms wrap around him, a palm brushing along his back in a comforting rhythm. His mind focused on these sensation, and for a moment he could feel himself grounded under Drifter's touch. It felt like he could breath again, and for the first time, felt like he mattered to someone.

This simple moment alone could stay with him for eternity. And if that were the case, perhaps he can indulge himself in it.

Tomorrow— he can pretend to forget.

[an-ambivalent]

I thought of this scenario... 😳🙃 So um anyway... Back on my uchiha bullshit.

Warning: yandere content and themes of abuse. Read at your own discretion. I do not condone this behaviour in real life.

Imagine one of those medieval european settings from any villianess/isekai manhwa you've read. The royal family (the Uchihas) are tyrannical rulers, particularly the current monarch Fugaku Uchiha. There's no room for error, people are easily beheaded left and right for the tiniest mistake or "disrespect" against the Uchiha family.

Itachi understood his family dynamics. So, he adapted quickly and knew how to behave and navigate his family complex situations to not get on his father's bad side. Despite whatever he believed, he did whatever Fugaku expected him to do to not face his father's wrath. But, Sasuke on the other hand... He's always been a bit more oblivious from a young age.

He lived a sheltered life. His mother already lost her first son to Fugaku, she didn't want to repeat the same mistakes so she kept him more isolated and protected. It didn't matter because Fugaku ignored his youngest son anyway. He only cared for his heir, Itachi.

Raised in his own little bubble, there were only few people Sasuke interacted with: his mum, his nanny, and his nanny's daughter and his only playmate: you. There wasn't much else for a long time, just sweet innocent childhood memories. That's until he reaches a certain age and starts noticing the difference between his brother's status and his own, and his own father never even speaks to him. He wants to start seeking out his father and yearns for his approval.

There have been something different about Itachi lately. Fugaku knows he's losing his control on his son. There's not much he can do until he notices his second son lingering around. Its perfect because Sasuke is seeking his approval and Fugaku needs to restart his training for a new puppet.

The tyrannical monarch, when seeking out his second son for the first time, witnesses the most appaling his scene. His son, a royal prince is confessing to you, a mere servant's child, a commoner. That's not the worst part: how dare you, a filthy peasant, dare to reject his son?! Who did you think you were?!

That scene is enough to show how lacking Sasuke's education has been under his incompetent mother. The most pretegious family, Uchiha, they don't ask. They take what they want, when they want it.

And then before anything could happen, both you and Sasuke are captured by the imperial guards. You're terrified. You've heard countless of stories about how ruthless the Emperor is. You knew that with your status, death awaited you. For Sasuke, despite whatever his harsh punishment, his royal status would protect his life.

You cried out in pain as the knights pinned you to the ground. The concrete dug into your skin, causing painful abrasions, and you felt blood gushing out of your forehead.

Sasuke cried out in panic at seeing your situation. "Father please! Stop-"

"Insolent child! No child of mine will be ever at a peasant's mercy! Clearly, your education has been lacking. I've been too lenient with my dear wife. It's about time I take you under my wing.

"You're not going to be like Itachi, I'll make sure of it. I'm going to teach you how to take things for yourself and keep them for yourself."

Fugaku loomed over Sasuke; the young boy wept in fear, with tears at the corner of his eyes, and legs shaking.

"Do you want her?"

"W-what?"

Fugaku clicked his tongue and his glared hardened. "Don't make me repeat myself boy, I will make you regret it. You confessed to her. Do you want her?"

"Y-Yes."

"Then you will have her. No child of mine will be denied anything, especially not from a peasant. You're going to keep her and learn how to take what you want and keep everything under your control." He said, grinning widely.

You could do nothing but tremble in fear knowing that you were going to be nothing but become a possession for another future tyrannical monarch.

[matan4il]

hey sorry if this is disrespectful as a non-jew but ive been reading up on stuff and thinking about i/p and.

War is synonymous with mass death. There has not been a single war in the history of mankind that has not resulted in suffering. Even Sun Tsu, in his 25-century old The Art of War, emphasized the importance of peace and of nonviolent resolutions. so i really do not understand the watermelon-fixated dumbasses who cheered on the oct. 7 massacre then decried Israel's self defense as genocide. this is the "globalized intifada" they've been clamouring for. this is *exactly* what you're asking for when you cheer on hamas and their genocidal buddies. sorry that yank school never taught you that war is bad but this is how reality works. the real pro-palestine stance would be staunchly against hamas.

Hi Nonnie!

I'm not gonna lie, whenever I think about war, the one sentence that gets stuck in my head is, "war is hell." It is death, destruction, mayhem, and cruelty that has no bounds, even when it's not committed on purpose. Even the most justified of wars. I think one of the reasons we all keep going back to WWII is because it was simultaneously maybe the most justified war ever, literally fought to stop a fascist regime and its dictatorial partners from expanding their conquests of more and more land, occupying more and more people, bringing about more and more suffering (including the most extreme case of genocide in human history), and yet at the same time, it was also the single bloodiest conflict ever, and the war itself was cruel and brutal, certainly when we talk about acts committed by the Nazis and their collaborators, but on occasion there were atrocities committed by the allied soldiers, too (not to the same degree, and not as a part of their government's policy, but my point is that even fighters who are in battle for the best of reasons, as the allied soldiers were, have some among them, who commit terrible crimes. In part, because war blurs the lines of normal reality and morality).

And I'm saying all of this, because I truly believe that we, as human beings, should always aspire to avoid war whenever possible. I would have given EVERYTHING I could in order to stop Oct 7 from happening. Because the second that the massacre started, that's when this war began, and so many innocent lives were doomed, along with the terrorists. From the POV of what is internationally accepted as an act of war, Hamas firing 4,000 rockets into Israel in one day qualifies. Hamas breaching Israel's border and invading it with thousands of armed fighters qualifies. And without a doubt, Hamas committing the biggest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, while intentionally targeting civilians, and compounding the horror of so many deaths, with the rape and beheading and torture and abuse and then kidnapping of even more victims, it beyond qualifies as an act of war. In fact, on August 25, 2023 (a month and a half before the massacre), Hamas senior Saleh al-Arouri explicitly said in an Arabic interview that IT IS THEIR GOAL to, that THEY WANT to, start a "total war" with Israel.

Once Hamas made and executed that choice, it doesn't matter how much and how many Israelis may aspire to avoid war. We were already in one. We should always aspire to avoid war, but we also have to recognize that sometimes, the choice simply isn't in our hands. It wasn't in the hands of the British on Sep 1, 1939. And it wasn't in ours on Oct 7, 2023.

And the thing is that war IS hell. Like I said, the massacre of Oct 7 was already war. Which means, it was already hell. Certainly for its victims, but it also was already a hell that every Israeli will carry with them for decades to come. And if we don't want ANOTHER war, if we don't want ANOTHER HELL, then we have to be sure that Hamas, those who chose to start this war, will pay for it in such a way that they can't start another one, and so that others will be deterred from starting one, too (I'm thinking mainly of Hezbollah and Iran, but all Islamists need to see a western democracy not backing down from defending itself in a war it did not choose).

THAT is the meaning behind the ancient Latin phrase, "Si vis pacem, para bellum." If you want peace, prepare for war. It's the understanding that sometimes, for the sake of peace in the long run, you have to be prepared to fight in the near future.

(remember in 2014, as the pope released doves in a symbolic gesture of hoping for peace in Ukraine, and they ended up being attacked?)

I want peace. I have always wanted peace. I was the ridiculous kid, who had a "peace diary" where I wrote every day about how much I wanted peace, and how I hoped it was coming. I'm not writing that diary anymore, but I still want it, and I still believe that one day, we WILL have peace.

But it's not going to happen as long as there are extremists on Israel's borders, who still believe they can genocide us a second time, and are willing to start a war to achieve that. When they give up on that "dream," when they finally see that it will always fail, and in the process, they will suffer hell along with us to such a degree that it just won't be worth it, that's when we'll have real peace. That's when both Israelis and Palestinians will finally be safe from the threat of another hell being unleased on us. We'll have real peace, not the kind made to get something from the other side, but because both sides want peace over war for themselves (that's what the crucial mistake of the "land for peace" formula was IMO. It should be "peace for peace." With agreed land concessions, obviously. But it should be clear that the big prize both sides get is peace itself, and not that one side is doing the other a favor, and giving it peace in exchange for something material, because that kind of peace is an abstract concept, that can be withdrawn at any moment when it's not something the "giver" values for themselves. That's what happened with the Oslo accords, the PLO got territories, self rule and international legitimization, then as admitted by Imad Faluji, the Palestinian Communications Minister, Yasser Arafat planned the launch of the violent riots and wave of terrorist attacks known as the second intifada once he concluded he got as many material prizes out of the accords as he could).

On a side note, when the total number of people killed on both sides during the two intifadas was in the thousands, and the injured in the tens of thousands, IDK how anyone can claim that the call to "globalize the intifada" is anything other than a call for violence and death. The fact that this chant is coming from the same crowd that claims to be pro-peace when they demand a ceasefire now is truly deranged, and can only be rightly addressed with memes...

Sorry for the length, I guess it's still hard to process the inability of people to understand that sometimes, we don't want a war, but we do grasp that we have to fight one, even at the cost of possibly our own life or the lives of those dearest to us, even when it's bloody and nasty and hell, and civilian casualties are impossible to avoid thanks to Hamas' choice of using Gazans as human shields. I'm not sure if this helped, but I hope it somehow did! xoxox

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[clockedtomb]

GtN Allusions: Page 8

Cavalier Absolutely should have done cavalier on page 7, but just didn't think of it. Middle French for horseman or knight, from the Latin for horse. Also means not caring enough about something important, like burning alive for ten thousand years.

Centurions Ancient roman infantry commander of units consisting of 100 (duh) or 80 (times is hard) legionaries. The centurion was responsible for disciplining other soldiers and also civilians, which I think Judith and Marta were clearly All About. Centurions carried a sword at their left side and a dagger at the right side. Centurions sometimes became lictors (which we'll get back to). Roman centurions had to be at least 30, literate, and experienced, and were expected to be strong, dexterous, skilled, and lorge.

There is a biblical story in the gospels of Matthew and Luke about a centurion who asks Jesus to heal his sick boyfriend-slave. It is usually not translated as boyfriend or slave but I've heard pretty compelling tell that the original very clearly refers to a slave that is also boyfriend. Jesus heals the boyfriend, and later the centurion is present at the crucifixion and attests to Jesus's divinity and/or innocence. This is painful for Corona reasons and also Teacher reasons, imo.

There is also a centurion called Julius who helps Paul go to Rome in the book of Acts.

Judith Deuteros Judith means "praised" and/or "Jewish woman." Judith was a brave and beautiful woman who was pissed at people for not trusting G-d enough. She, trusting G-d a frankly legendary amount, prays a lot and then goes into the enemy camp with her maid and casually beheads the Assyrian leader Holofernes. She takes the head back to her people and the Assyrians are like WOW I'm gonna go, so she's saved the day.

There are many excellent paintings of Judith slaying Holofernes but I am partial to this one by Artemisia Gentileschi because these women are gonna do what needs to be done.

An English play about this by Howard Barker has a scene called "The Unforeseen Consequences of a Patriotic Act" and if that isn't putting it mildly.

Deuteros is greek for the second or the other of two. This is a really interesting name to give the heir of the second rather than the cavalier, who should be the second of two. I think this could speak to Judith's inappropriate feelings for Marta, or of her devotion to Jod.

Marta Dyas Marta is a name derived from Aramaic, meaning "lady." There was also a 547 AD Battle of Marta in Tunisia involving a guy called John but it's a stretch. I feel strongly that I'm missing something here.

Dyas has so many interesting false positives that cannot possibly be related and I'm going to share some of them for fun. Dyas is an oil and gas company. Dyas was an 11th century Indian King. Dyas is a surname used in England and Ireland (there have been a couple athletes with this name). Dyas is also just related to the Greek for two of the same, a pair.

The Procession A procession is when a bunch of people walk together in a ceremonial or formal way and what a weird nickname for your house.

Processions were part of major religious festivals in classical Greece and Rome, especially in the cult of Dionysus and in the ritual of Triumph. This got adopted into early Christian practice and processions became associated with ritual performances of the crucifixion and resurrection and with everyday mass and things like weddings and funerals. I mean frankly what doesn't have a procession these days!! Processions were part of what Luther was mad about, and Luther would probably hate the Third so that's valid.

Coronabeth Tridentarius Corona means crown or garland, from Latin. It can refer to the sun's outer atmosphere, the part that's brilliant and shiny. COVID is called a coronavirus because its spike proteins form a corona or halo around the body of the virus, resembling the sun.

Beth is a Kiss song from 1976 from the album Destroyer. Oh Beth, what can I do? It's also a common shortform of Elizabeth, famously the name of two English queens who did some pretty memorable queening. Beth El is a Hebrew phrase meaning "house of G-d" in which beth is a transformation of beit, home.

Tridents are three-pronged fishing spears; the name comes from latin "three teeth." They are associated with Poseidon/Neptune in classical mythology. Poseidon was associated with the sea, storms, springs (water), earthquakes, and horses; Neptune was also associated with heaven.

-ari is a Latin suffix that makes nouns into names.

-ius is a Latin suffix that makes something an adjective indicating that the thing being described is "made of" or "belongs to" the noun.

Together tridentarius seems to be a construction that does The Trident People Name. Which basically does what it says on the tin.

Ianthe Tridentarius Ianthe means "purple flower" in Greek.

Once upon a time in Greek and Roman mythology there was a boy named Iphis who was secretly assigned female at birth but raised as a boy. When Iphis his dad arranges a marriage between Iphis (who he doesn't know is secretly, classically trans) and a girl named Ianthe. Iphis is SO in love with Ianthe. Iphis's mom tries to delay the wedding, but eventually the wedding was going to happen, so Iphis and the mom go to a temple to Isis to pray for help. Iphis is miraculously transformed and marries Ianthe and they live happily ever after.

Tridentarius is still The Trident People Name.

Naberius Tern Naberius is a demon. He is a Marquess of Hell, commanding many legions of demons. Naberius has the body of a three-headed dog or bird. He's a bit of a fop and is super talented at rhetoric and the arts and sciences. He speaks quietly. This is my favorite picture of him.

Stuff I found about Naberius the demon said he's the same as Cerberus the three-headed hell dog but I don't think this association goes both ways.

I was real confused at first about how tern functions as a house name for Babs. A tern is a sea bird. There's a lot of them. But the name doesn't mean three. Here's a black tern. I think it's pretty.

Etymonline says the name of a tern comes from Old Norse for "maid-servant" but etymonline also saved me, because the entry for ternary (threefold) mentions that a tern or terne is a dice throw with three dice or a prize in a lottery with three winning numbers. Why isn't this in the entry for tern!? Babs as the prize seems to be happening for a lot of GtN, and Babs as a throw of three dice works for me on a poetic level. I'm into this.

Isaac Tettares Isaac is the biblical son of Abraham and Sarah. Abraham was supposed to be the father of a great nation, but his wife Sarah was infertile for many years. When Abraham is A HUNDRED YEARS OLD, after decades of not being able to have a child together, Sarah has Isaac. He is personally promised to them by G-d. I absolutely cannot overstate how wanted and loved this child was. Then G-d instructs Abraham to sacrifice Isaac in place of a lamb, as a test of faith. Abraham takes Isaac up to the place where the sacrifice is to take place. He puts his son on the alter, trussed up like a sacrificial lamb. He raises a knife over his head. And G-d is like wow. WOW. Do not. Can you imagine. Good job, absolutely but wow do not, yikes. Thank you <3 and then they just go on with the rest of their lives as father and son?? But Sarah immediately dies. Sometimes it's said that someone told her what happened carelessly and she was scared to death. If you would like to listen to a short and heart-wrenching song about the binding of Isaac and its emotional aftermath, I recommend this one.

Tettares is an Anglicization of the Attic Greek word for four.

Jeannemary Chatur A Google search for "Jeannemary" returns exclusively TLT related results and I think TM may have made this name herself.

Jeanne is a French given name equivalent to Joan/Jane/Jean in English, and rooted in the Hebrew name Yochanan (also the source of John!) meaning "G-d is Gracious." I suspect that the reference here is to Jeanne d'Arc, who believed in G-d the absolute most.

Mary refers to roughly 1/5 of women in the bible and half of all queens.

Chatur is a name derived from Sanskrit. I wasn't able to find reliable information on its etymology.

Abigail Pent Abigail is a Hebrew name referring to a father's joy. The biblical Abigail was a prophetess and the wife of King David. She was wise and is described as one of the most beautiful women ever (Isaac's mother Sarah is one of the others).

Pent is a prefix referring to the Greek for five.

Magnus Quinn Magnus is "great" in Latin. A bunch of kings of Norway and Sweden have been called Magnus. There are also SEVEN saints called Magnus. The Magnus effect in physics describes lift that affects a spinning object moving through fluid. I don't know which if any of these is a reference.

Quinn gives me a liiiiittle trouble as a house name. Quinn is an Irish surname that's usually Catholic with two Ns and Protestant if only one N. Quint refers to a fifth, and quin refers to quintuplets. I find Quinn a stretch.

[artificial-transmutations]

Max’ Journey - Nordic

When Max appeared in his new surroundings, he didn't have much time to react to the change of scenery. The first thing he felt was a significant drop in temperature that made Max, who was completely naked again, shiver. He was surrounded by grassy hills, some rocks and birch trees, and more importantly, a bunch of people who were shouting at him in a language he did not understand. He tried to speak back, but they only shouted louder. They were pointing at him with their swords, but he couldn't make any sense of what they were saying.

Then suddenly, one of the men pointed at Max with his sword and yelled something. Immediately, four burly armed men stepped forward and grabbed him. Max' newfound love for freedom as well as his cave man reflexes kicked in, and he struggled, but to no avail. He was held firmly by the arms and dragged into a nearby village by the coast, consisting mainly of wooden huts. Max tried to talk to them, tried all the languages he knew, but nobody understood him. There was a huge commotion between the Nordic looking people and the guy who saw him first was gesturing wildly.

They argued for a while, and Max could take in a bit more of his surroundings. The people here looked quite different than the ones in Rome. They had longer hair and lighter skin, and even though some of them wore leather armor, most were wearing clothes made of rough linen, fur and skins. It looked a lot like the portal had brought him into a Viking society. And although Max didn't understand their language, it was not hard for Max to guess that him appearing out of thin air might be troubling for those people. He just hoped that they did not decide to burn him at the stake for witchcraft or something like that.

It turns out that this wasn't their idea - but the alternative wasn't much better. After several minutes of discussion, he was dragged to a wooden block with some old bloodstains and cuts. Apparently, they were planning on beheading Max!

"Noooo! Please, don't kill me! I'm not a bad person! Just let me go!" cried Max desperately, but still nobody understood his language. Did he really barely escape the slave uprising in ancient Rome, just to die shortly after in the Viking age? He was about to start crying, when the crowd parted and a heavily tattooed old man wearing fur clothing appeared. He approached Max carefully and inspected him thoroughly before turning around and speaking a few sentences to the crowd. He then turned to Max again and reached into a pocket.

He produced a small clay vial and held it in his right hand. Then, with the other hand, he took a sword of one of the armed men and offered Max both hands.

It was clear to him that the old man, who appeared to be some kind of leader or shaman, offered him to choose. Max was fairly certain what the sword stood for, but the vial puzzled him. Was it poison? Was the old man offering him to kill himself instead of doing it for him? Or was it something else? Max needed to make a decision now.

Regardless of whether the vial contained poison, there was a chance to survive the contents, which was more than Max could say for the sword. So with the same rush of bravery, he felt when he joined the slave uprising, he took the vial and downed its contents in one go.

The liquid burned through his throat and into his stomach like fire. It felt like someone lit his insides on fire from the inside out and he screamed in agony. His eyes rolled up into his head and everything went black.

When he opened his eyes again, he realized that he had been thrown onto a pile of hay and straw and covered by furs. His insides still felt very warm, and his head was swimming, but it was just ember inside him now, not a burning pyre. Max groaned and looked around. He was inside one of the small wooden huts, and, apparently, he was still alive. Max groaned and tried, unsuccessful, to get up. However, the rustling of straw alerted another person who was inside the hut. It was a tall and burly Viking man with light brown hair, a short beard and blue linen clothes. He immediately got up and handed Max a wooden cup full of water, who took it gladly. The water was refreshing, and Max only now realized how thirsty he was. He gulped down the liquid quickly, and also the second and third cup the man brought him.

After drinking, Max finally had enough strength to sit upright. He looked at the man who had helped him: "Thank you... Who are you?"

The Viking man smiled at him kindly and said: "My name is Thjodolf." It took Max a few moments to realize that he could understand the other man. Instinctively, he had spoken in another language himself, probably some kind of Scandinavian dialect. He couldn't really say that he spoke the language in a sense that he would be able to translate anything to it. Yet, actually speaking it somehow worked.

Thjodolf noticed Max confusion and smiled warmly. "You must have a lot of questions, I am sure. And I will try to answer them all tomorrow, but for now, you need to rest. The magic potion must still be coursing through you violently."

Max nodded gratefully and laid back down on the straw bedding. He closed his eyes for a moment to regain his energy and fell asleep almost instantly.

When Max woke up the next morning, he felt much better. The burning inside him had reduced to a warm feeling and he felt really energized. When he looked around, Thjodolf was nowhere to be seen. Max didn't mind a bit of privacy. Under the furs, he was still naked and this way, he could walk a few steps without exposing himself too much. He got up and looked down on himself. Apparently, his body was changing yet again: He could clearly see the faint outline of muscles all over his body. The body hair, which stuck since he was a cave man had shifted to a lighter shade, appearing almost blonde now. When he brought his hands to his face, he could feel his fingers go through rough stubble on his chin and his hair seemed to be a bit longer as well. His pubes also had lightened to a dirty blonde shade, but it wasn't just this new contrast that made his dick look bigger. No, his package definitely had grown as well. He gave his dick a playful tug, feeling it chub up somewhat. Before he could explore any further however, the door suddenly opened.

"Oh", Thjodolf exclaimed, with a hint of amusement. "Do you want me to leave you alone for a few minutes?"

Max blushed bright red and shook his head hurriedly. "No! Of course not!"

Thjodolf laughed and walked closer to Max. He was carrying a basket with fresh bread and chuckled softly, as Max quickly covered his groin with one of the furs. "I'm glad you are feeling better."

"Yeah," Max replied with an embarrassed smile. "Thanks."

Thjodolf placed the basket down on the table and sat down beside Max. "I thought you might like some breakfast. Or you can first ask your questions. Whatever you like."

Max nodded and looked into Thjodolf's eyes. They were blue and looked warm and friendly. "Breakfast sounds amazing", Max said and took one of the offered pieces of bread. For a while, they sat silently, while Max was eating. The bread tasted really good, and Max was starving.

After he was finished, Thjodolf handed him a rough green linen piece, apparently some pants. "If you want to cover yourself." He looked away modestly while Max slipped on the piece of clothing. It was a bit big and felt comfortable even though it was obviously very basic.

"Thank you," Max said. "So where do I start? What is going on here?"

Thjodolf smiled gently. "You tell me. From what the others told me, you appeared out of thin blue, and that completely naked."

Max nodded, and then paused. "That is correct."

Thjodolf waited for a moment, but when Max obviously didn't want to explain any further, he continued. "Styrkar and his men witnessed your appearance and brought you back here. They thought you were a demon from what I hear and wanted to, well, send you back to where you came from. The man who saved you is Gunnald, our shaman. He had a vision from the Gods, he said, and they spoke to him through the bright yellow mists that a naked man would appear and that he must be given the magic potion."

Max nodded. "I remember that."

Thjodolf grinned at him. "He also told us that you were sent by the gods to help us fight the 'evil ones' who have attacked this village twice before. That the magic potion would help you become a great warrior."

"The evil ones?" Max asked curiously.

Thjodolf shrugged. "I don't know where they are coming from exactly. They are raiders who come by horse. We could barely fend them off the last time they attacked."

"I see," Max said and thought about this for a moment. "So, if I am supposed to protect you, how do I do that?"

Thjodolf snorted in amusement. "Your body is changing from the magic potion, I can see that already. When you were brought here, you were much weaker, and also a bit smaller, I think. You will become a great warrior for sure until Gunnald returns."

Max frowned. He had really wanted to talk to that shaman. 'Bright yellow mists' sounded a lot like the swirling yellow energy portals that were throwing him around in time and space like a ping pong ball. Perhaps a conversation with that Gunnald would shed some light on this whole mystery. However, Thjodolf seemed to be more than eager to move on with their conversation, so Max decided to follow his lead and ask his next question.

"So, am I... your prisoner?"

Thjodolf looked surprised for a moment but then burst out laughing again. "No, no! You're free to go whenever you want! Of course, we would like you to stay and protect us, but you are free to do whatever you want."

"Well, thank you," Max said politely and looked at Thjodolf closely. "You seem to care about me a lot."

Thjodolf looked at him quizzically. "Of course! Who wouldn't want to help someone who has just appeared out of nowhere? Besides, you are quite handsome!"

Max blushed slightly but couldn't help smiling at Thjodolf's compliment. Apparently, the outburst was a bit embarrassing for Thjodolf, too, and he looked away.

"Thank you." said Max.

During the next days, Thjodolf cared for Max devotedly, although Max was feeling better quickly. His changes proceeded fast: He was quickly putting on muscles and gained a fair bit of height. His hair hat lightened to a bright blonde and his face quickly gained Nordic features.

With each passing hour, the cold bothered Max less and less, and each time he looked down on himself, more swirly tattoos formed on his skin. It wasn't long before he found himself looking like an ancient Viking warrior.

When he walked around the village, Max found himself accepted by the villagers quickly. Apparently, the story of him and the magic potion had spread through the village, and everyone was friendly to him. Even Styrkar apologized to him for wanting to kill him, which Max found a nice gesture.

After a few days, when he had dinner with Thjodolf, Max asked him: "Do you mind if I ask you something?"

Thjodolf raised one eyebrow curiously but nodded anyway. "Of course not."

"I noticed that the other villagers are kind of... avoiding you. I also did not see you the day I arrived here. What is it about you?"

Thjodolf chuckled softly before he looked a bit sad. "Well, let's say I'm different from the other men of the village."

Max looked at him curiously. "How so?"

Thjodolf sighed deeply. "I do not love women, but... other men."

Max stared at him blankly. That was all? Thjodolf was shunned because he was gay?

Thjodolf laughed nervously and shook his head. "Oh, don't worry about it. The other men don't hate me or anything. They just don't understand why I prefer other men instead of women."

Max smiled gently. "That must be difficult for you. Where I am from, this is considered pretty normal." Max thought for a moment. "In fact, I prefer the company of men as well, you know?"

Thjodolf blinked several times in surprise and looked at Max carefully. Then he grinned happily. "Really? I mean, I have never met anyone who preferred men before."

Max shrugged. "As I said. It's nothing special. In fact, I suspected something like that when you called me handsome the other day."

Thjodolf flushed red and looked away shyly. "I... I didn't meant..."

Max put his hand on Thjodolf's shoulder and gave him a warm smile. "It's alright. I am glad you find me attractive."

Thjodolf turned back to look at him again. "I... I do."

"Good," Max said and took Thjodolf into his arms. He felt the Vikings heart beat fast - or was it his own? Either way, he was happy to feel it beating strongly against his chest.

"You smell good," Thjodolf murmured after a while.

"Do I?" Max asked, surprised.

Thjodolf nodded eagerly, his eyes a deep sea of blue. "Yes! You smell like pine needles and sunshine."

Max smiled and rubbed his nose against Thjodolf's neck. He liked the scent of leather and sweaty skin. It smelled good, natural. He tenderly stroked the other man’s muscled arms. "I like your smell too."

Thjodolf leaned forward and pressed his lips against Max's. They were soft and gentle, but they still sent a shock through Max's body and made his knees weak. He returned the kiss with equal passion and pulled Thjodolf closer until their bodies touched. When they broke apart, both of them were breathing heavily.

"I want you," Thjodolf whispered in a husky voice.

Max nodded and pushed Thjodolf onto his bed. "Then take me."

Thjodolf moaned softly and crawled over Max's body. His kisses were slow and sensual, making Max shudder with excitement. Finally, Thjodolf lay down on top of him and kissed him deeply. Their tongues explored each other hungrily and their hands roamed everywhere.

Max gasped as he felt Thjodolf's hard cock pressing against his thigh. He reached out to touch it and was rewarded by a gasp from the Viking.

"I want you inside me," Thjodolf whispered between breaths.

Max nodded and rolled over, pulling Thjodolf along with him. He pinned the other man to the bed and started kissing his neck and shoulders. Thjodolf groaned loudly and spread his legs wider, exposing himself completely to Max.

"Please," Thjodolf begged. "I need you."

"I will give you what you need," Max promised, moving down Thjodolf’s body until he could reach his cock. It was already fully erect and throbbing in anticipation. Max wrapped his hand around Thjodolf's shaft and stroked him slowly. Thjodolf whimpered in pleasure.

"Oh gods," he moaned. "I've wanted this for so long."

"Me too," Max said and aligned his hard and throbbing cock with Thjodolf’s hole. He pushed inside slowly, letting his tip slide past the tight ring of muscles. Thjodolf let out a loud groan and grabbed Max's hips tightly.

"Fuck me!" Thjodolf pleaded.

Max thrust harder, pushing himself deeper inside Thjodolf’s ass. The Viking grunted in pain and bit his lip hard, but then relaxed and closed his eyes in blissful enjoyment.

"That feels amazing," Thjodolf whispered.

Max kept up his pace, slamming into Thjodolf with increasing force and speed. The Viking groaned again and dug his fingers into Max's hip bones. He tried to keep quiet, but his voice cracked in half as he screamed: "Harder! Fuck me harder!"

Max obeyed at once and slammed into Thjodolf faster and faster. His balls slapped against Thjodolf's butt cheeks every time he bottomed out inside him. Thjodolf's moans grew louder and more desperate and soon he was crying out in ecstasy instead of pain.

Max growled low in his throat as he felt his orgasm building. He pounded Thjodolf even harder than before, driving his cock deep inside the Viking without mercy. Thjodolf cried out one last time and came violently, spilling his seed all over the sheets beneath them.

Max followed suit a moment later, emptying his own load deep inside Thjodolf.

Panting heavily, the two sweating men held each other tightly. They stayed that way for some time, until finally, they fell asleep together, exhausted by their lovemaking.

The next days were the best ones in Max' live. Even though being gay was not considered quite normal in the Viking village, Thjodolf and him faced no malice, and both men were in seventh heaven. For the first time in both of their lives, they explored hot and intense sex with each other. Both of them were eager to try new things and explore every inch of each other’s bodies. But they also resonated in mind and soul - they were in deep love.

Those happy days seemed like they could last forever, but one night, when Thjodolf and Max were in a tender embrace again, a loud horn disrupted the silence and ripped apart the lovers peace.

"The raiders.", Thjodolf whispered, his face ashen suddenly. They both stormed outside and saw, in the middle of the night, the torches of many riders approaching. They were a lot, a lot more than even all of the village men combined. Although Max body had transformed into a strong Viking warrior, he didn't see a way this could end well. Suddenly, he was experiencing the uprising once more. People dying left and right, screams and blood. Max exhaled. They had no chance, and he knew it. "No..." he whispered softly. "We can't fight them."

Max looked at Thjodolf helplessly. He couldn't bear seeing him die here, having just met him such a short time ago.

To make matters worse, in this very moment, a swirling vortex of yellow energy materialized right next to him, a silent invitation for Max and Max alone.

"No... not yet. I can't..." Max whispered and then shouted at the portal: "I can't leave like that! You cannot do that to me!"

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his muscular arm. Thjodolf smiled at him, sad but encouragingly. He spoke softly: "I don't understand what is going on here, but I do understand that you cannot escape fate. You need to follow through. Don't worry. We will survive, one way or the other. And some day, you will come back to me, and then you will return this to me."

With these words, he took off his necklace and handed it to Max, who could feel tears filling up his eyes. It was no use. If he didn't enter the portal, he would never be able to return to his own time, and he would not be able to save the villagers here either. "Thank you, Thjodolf. For everything."

Tears were running down Max cheek, as he finally jumped into the portal, leaving Thjodolf and his Viking village behind.

That was a long one. You can read how it all started here or just the previous episode here. The next episode can be found here.

[yelenasdiary]

The Hunters Stand

Pairing: Yelena Belova x Reader (Zombie Apocalypse AU)

Summary: Searching for supplies, you’re caught off guard and surrounded by one too many zombies for you to take down by yourself. 

Warnings: Language Warning, Gore (blood & beheading), Death (Zombies), Mentions of an animal carcass | 1.6K

AC: If this pops off, I’d love to write more! 

"Canned goods" you mumbled to yourself as you quietly walked through the aisles of what used to be a gas station. It's been days since the camp you were staying at was split up, a heard of lurkers as you called them ripped through the camp outnumbering those you were staying with. It was moments like those that made you thankful that you were alone, you didn't have to worry about losing your loved ones, that has already happened. It was just you, you against the lurkers and occasionally finding kind enough people to let you camp with them. 

The gas station had seen better days, shelves empty only leaving behind things that people didn't need, dirty and leaves covered the once white flooring, the cash registrar had been looted which always made you shake your head, who needs money in an apocalypse? You'd ask yourself. Windows broken and advertising posters showed weather damage, the building was dark and almost a little too silent as you carefully took one step after another, careful not to stand on anything that would make a sudden noise. 

"Please don't be opened! Please!" you whispered softly to yourself as the sight of a chocolate bar came to your sight. Maybe today was your day as you reached for the sweet treat from the shelf to find it was still in its packaging and a bonus, only a few months past it's due date. How somebody missed this, you didn't know but you didn't care. It went straight into your backpack for a rainy day. 

Knowing you wouldn't find anything else worth taking, you left the gas station and followed the road, careful of your surroundings until you came to the sight of a small town. It wasn't smart to enter a town by yourself, no matter how big or small it was, lurkers came in groups and if you weren't quick enough, you'd become one. But the grumble of your stomach reminded you just how hungry you were and with night approaching, you'd need to be quick if you were going to find a safe place to camp for the night. 

The smell of death covered the town, a smell you'd grown to get used to. It was worse when there were decomposing bodies around, especially in houses where the smell was almost trapped within the walls. You covered your mouth and nose with a bandana before entering the already broken into home, the smell wasn't as strong given the bandana but still enough to make your stomach turn. You kept low, away from windows and crept as quietly as you could. Lurkers outside in the streets could be alerted to any suspicious sound that would alert them a living meal was only meters away. 

Luck was really in your favor today, finding two unopened cans of canned peaches was the highlight of your week, right away finding the chocolate bar. You stashed them into your backpack and left the house the same way you entered. You nearly jumped 10 feet into the air when a raccoon rushed by you, "fuck!" You accidentally let slip. Within seconds the harsh sound of lurker's groaning came rushing towards you, their arms out ready to grab their next meal. 

"Fucks sake! Stupid raccoon!" You muttered as you reached for your weapon, a rusted machete. Lurkers came at you from every direction, swinging your machete at them you were able to behead a few and stab a few more between their decomposing eyes. With the commotion brought lurker after lurker, you were more than outnumbered. Your eyes quickly searched for an opening to make a run for it until a dark figure joined the fight, taking down more lurkers that you could within seconds. 

Blue taser like electric gently lightened up the era, lurkers falling to the ground one by one as you watched for a brief moment in starstruck at the mysterious figure with mind blowing combat moves. 

"Behind you!" A voice alerted you, you spun around slicing the lurkers head clean off its body. "Thanks!" You replied before helping the person you couldn't see clearly take out the remaining lurkers.

Wiping the splattered blood from your skin, you looked up at the mysterious woman who just saved you from being a lurker yourself. "Thanks for that, I thought they really had me for a moment" you spoke softly, not to alert any other near by lurkers. 

The woman looked you up and down for a moment, "Are you on your own?" she asked, skipping over your words.

 You nodded, "yeah, the camp I was with got ambushed"

The short haired blonde sighed, "Head north, there is a small camp that will take somebody like you in, you won't miss it. They have red paint markings on tress that will point you in the direction" 

"Somebody like me?" you frowned at her words, "what's that supposed to mean?" 

"I just mean, you're on your own and you almost just became one of the dead. You're not skilled enough to be out here on your own" she replied honestly and bluntly. 

"Geez, thanks" you rolled your eyes, "not everybody was trained for the world to go to shit like this" you spat before turning around to walk away. 

"There's a heard of about 1500 in that direction, you want to go north" 

"Thanks, but I think I'll do just fine on my own!" you replied while continuing to walk away. 

The woman who was yet to introduce herself watched as you kicked a stone in your path, she couldn't help but roll her eyes knowing she couldn't just let you walk head on into such a large heard. "Wait!" she called out in a hiss. You turned around to face her, crossing your arms over your chest. "I have shelter and food. You can stay with me for the night, if you want" she offered with regret in her voice. 

You were in no position to turn down food, no matter what it was. "Which way?" you asked causing the blonde to nod her head in the direction of her shelter, "follow me" she replied. 

A short walk-through overgrown grass leading into the woods, a run-down hunters stand came to sight. Well off the ground, no lurkers would be able to get inside without a grappling hook. "Homey" you mumbled unsure if you sure should trust the woman who still was to introduce herself. "What was that?" She turned and looked at you.

"Nothing" your eyes shot down to your feet. 

Once inside, the first thing you noticed was a dead rabbit hanging from the roof. "I hope you like rabbit" the blonde the silence, "Honestly, anything hot sounds like a 5-course meal right now" you replied, placing your bag on the floor beside your feet. 

"Do you stay here alone?" you asked, she nodded. "I'm Yelena, by the way" she replied as she threw two pieces of raw rabbit flesh onto the fire. 

"I'm Y/n" you smiled softly, "you're Russian?" You couldn't help but question. 

"Yes, but I have spent many years in the states before all this happened" 

"Have you been by yourself the whole time?" you asked. 

"Do you always ask this many questions before buying a girl a drink?" Yelena smirked, turning the rabbit flesh over. "S-sorry, it's been a few days since I've had any human interaction" your eyes dropped. 

"I was joking" Yelena looked up at you once more, "no, I haven't always been on my own. We have a camp but I guess it was a little too much so my friend and I, Kate, we left but Kate and I got separated, now I just wait here for her" Yelena added. 

"Oh, I'm sorry. How long has it been?" 

Yelena shrugged, "a few nights? Sort of lost sense of time. Anyways, you should be fine here for the night, tomorrow, head to that camp I told you about" 

It was obvious that Yelena wasn't open to talking much about herself or in general so instead you made small talk while eating the cooked rabbit before the two of you eventually called it a night, Yelena took her pre-made bed while she told you to take Kate's sleeping bag for the night. 

----

"WOOHOO!!! COMING YOU SICK PRICKS!!" You were awoken by the loud yelling of voices outside, Yelena was already by the small window watching the idiots rounding up a heard of lurkers. 

"W-what's going on?" you asked, rubbing the sleep from your eyes. 

"Shh!" Yelena hushed you with her finger against her lips, "don't move, it's just some idiots in a car rounding up the dead" she added not taking her eyes away from the strangers making more than enough noise. You didn't listen to the blonde and carefully crawled to the small window closer to you. 

"I told you don't move!" Yelena huffed. 

"You might want to check this out" you turned in a whisper. Carefully and slowly, Yelena made her way to the other window, her eyes widened when she saw the large heard of lurkers B-lining straight for the open field. 

"Fuck!" she muttered, "there is more than I can count!" she adds quietly before turning to look at you. 

"What do we do?" you asked in a worry, your hand reaching for your machete. 

"Stay as still as you possibly can, don't make a sound! We'll wait it out" Yelena whispered but her words had to effect on your scared thoughts, "That's your plan?!" You almost snapped. 

"Well, do you see any other option?!" Yelena made herself comfortable on her pattered bed, laying on her stomach allowing her to peek through the small cracks of the floor to the lurkers below. You sighed and did the same thing, the stand shook as lurkers bumped and brushed by the stands legs. 

It would be a long night before this would be over.  

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