#my whole 13 year old love for this nonsense is back with a vengeance

[versus-verses]

And I will ship my old, obscure Sherwood Smith ship ALL BY MYSELF IN THE CORNER since there are a total of like 3 posts on this blue hellsite about Crown Duel

[satonthelotuspier]

🐰 Untamed Spring Fest 2020 🐰

Day 13 - Tendril - 1.5k

Post-canon developing SangCheng - follows on from this fic from the winter fest. This story runs parallel to the WWX & JC reconciliation arc, which is still awaiting it’s finale! But you can read part 1 and part 2 of that at the links if the idea interests you.

A Man’s Reputation

Nie Huaisang worked diligently in the small garden outside his house in the Unclean Realm.

He knew his brother, if he had still been alive, would have rolled his eyes and called it more of his nonsense, but it was soothing and restful, and if he tended it well, ensured these new budding tendrils clung to the wooden trellising he had built, he would be blessed with a beautiful, fragrant backdrop of jasmine.

The sweet scent would float in through the windows when he opened them in the mornings, and, with the other plants he’d carefully picked, including the blue and purple azalea, it would create a gorgeous blend of colours which he could translate to his paintings.

He hoped Jiang Cheng appreciated the addition of the purple, something that had been made as a bow to the man he loved. Maybe in future a lotus pond would be something he added, then Jiang Cheng would always have a little something to remind him of Lotus Pier when he visited. Times like now, for example.

The fair-skinned Sandu Shengshou sat out of his way, in the shade. Nie Huaisang knew from that idyllic summer in Cloud Recesses the other was careful of too much sun when he could be. It invariably made his nose burn pink, or brought out his freckles; sometimes both.

Personally Nie Huaisang had thought that freckles on the younger man were ridiculously adorable; but apparently ridiculously adorable was something the Sandu Shengshou was averse to being thought of these days.

Some men were so precious about their reputations, Nie Huaisang thought.

Although, as he had discovered himself, a reputation was a useful thing; something to hide behind, to plot from the safety of. Perhaps, similarly, it was a safety net for Jiang Cheng.

Once upon a time the Jiang Sect leader had cared, Too deeply. And he had paid the highest price. Now he presented a cold, unfeeling and bitter facade to the world that had beaten him down; if he didn’t care for anything anymore then it couldn’t be taken away from him.

Nie Huaisang knew he did still care though, he had eyes, sharper than most, and had seen how Jiang Cheng had reacted to Wei Wuxian each time they had encountered the other.

It had been like an old wound freshly opened again for Jiang Cheng every time they had met, raw and bleeding and so much more painful because it had been assumed the injury had healed over, only to have it torn open again.

Nie Huaisang understood; he thought he had been prepared to face Nie Mingjue again at the Guanyin Temple, but it had been like a fresh stab through his heart; years of practice at killing his reactions had been the only thing that had kept the agonised keen of torment from his lips. So yes, Nie Huaisang understood.

He had tried to offer his well-meant advice many months ago, and suggested, in an indirect way, that Jiang Cheng consider repairing his relationship with his shixiong, in order to let the past go and begin to move on.

Nie Huaisang had thought, hoped, it was time both he and Jiang Cheng stopped living in the past and looked forward to a future.

It might have been selfish of him, but Nie Huaisang wanted that future, wanted to be the future Jiang Cheng, that snarky, grumpy, yet deeply caring boy he had fallen in love with in their teens, wanted.

He had buried those sweeter feelings many years ago, as deeply as Jiang Cheng had buried his own, in order to survive. Impossible to think of love, of passion and tenderness, when you carried a heart full of secrets; a heart full of poison; a heart full of schemes.

But now, all accounts were settled, everything had played out, the world, or at least a select few in it, had seen through his facade to his rotten core, and all revenge was had. It was time for him to return to the precious things he had put aside during his quest for vengeance, and live his life for himself once again.

Jiang Cheng deserved that chance too. If he wanted it to be with Nie Huaisang, then even better.

The Jiang Sect leader had been, and was still being, encouragingly receptive to the tentative overtures he had made.

His gifts hadn’t been rejected, and indeed Jiang Cheng had sent some in return. He actively sought out Nie Huaisang’s company still; they had spent a lot of time together at the Lotus Pier discussion conference earlier that year, where he had offered his unsolicited advice on Wei Wuxian, and Jiang Cheng kept up that part of their relationship. He had even visited Qinghe more than had been strictly necessary, but so had Nie Huaisang visited Yunmeng.

It was promising, if he continued to build up their relationship as carefully as he did the jasmine, urge the tendrils of their mutual respect and regard to cling to the trellis of their continued interactions, perhaps he would eventually have a love bloom as beautifully as the jasmine he planned.

Like that jasmine, nothing would be grown overnight, however, it would require patience and careful tending. Jiang Cheng was a damaged man, indeed they both were, although in different ways. But Jiang Cheng had to be allowed to heal and grow his own feelings for them to have any genuine chance at the future Huaisang wanted.

If time had shown anything, however, it was that Nie Huaisang was willing to be a patient man, and play every move carefully.

He brushed the dirt from his hands, Jiang Cheng had been allowed enough time to brood this morning in the shade of his magnolia tree.

Nie Huaisang moved to the water butt and washed the dirt carefully from his hands. He wore some of his oldest, least beautiful robes for digging about in his new garden, and he longed to be armoured in his finest, and for a fan in his hand to hide behind. Unfortunately he needed a bath, and he wouldn’t sully any of his prized, precious fans or sumptuous robes with dirt from the garden.

And he genuinely needed to stop relying on them, at least in Jiang Cheng’s company. It would help to show his sincerity. And it was too late to hide his regard, he had played that tile already and if the other wasn’t aware then he was as beyond redemption for stupidity as his shixiong.

He walked over to Jiang Cheng, untying his sleeves. The other didn’t notice his arrival, so deep in thought he was.

“Jiang Cheng” he wasn’t sure when in their relationship they had dropped formality in private, but he liked it; he’d always thought of the other by his birth name anyway, probably due to hearing Wei Wuxian use it constantly in the Cloud Recesses.

The other startled a little and looked up, “Huaisang?” he sounded like he’d just woken up, and Nie Huaisang might have thought he’d been napping, except he’d had sight of him all morning and his eyes had always been open, just staring off into nothingness.

“Want to talk about it?” he knew the answer.

“Not really. I just...I did try to talk things over with Wei Wuxian, but I think I said something I shouldn’t have. I think he probably hates me more than ever. I...forget about it, please. Maybe I’ll be able to tell you later, when I’ve had more time to think on it”

Jiang Cheng had actually said more than Nie Huaisang had ever expected him to. Perhaps he too was trying to be a little more open. Nie Huaisang hoped so.

“Alright” he agreed, and reached over to touch Jiang Cheng’s wrist lightly. “You received a letter from A-Ling this morning?” he changed the subject, and Jiang Cheng nodded.

“Yes, some ghost or ghoul someone petitioned the Jin clan to deal with. I’ll have to leave tomorrow morning”

Of course, Jiang Cheng wouldn’t allow Jin Ling to act unchaperoned, even if he only watched from the shadows. Again, Jiang Cheng cared too much, and his nephew was his whole world, even if they bickered and argued and threatened each other constantly.

“Of course. Where will you go, afterwards?”

Jiang Cheng shot him a look, dark eyes half masked, “Likely back to Yunmeng, I’ve been away a while, and there will be things that need my attention”

I’m one of those things, Nie Huaisang thought, although there was no resentment in it. There couldn’t be, they both had myriad responsibilities that weren’t to each other; balancing those, and their courtship, was going to be one of the many difficulties they faced.

But no one had ever claimed life was simple.

“I could likely make time in a few months to join you” he suggested tentatively.

A ghost of a smile touched Jiang Cheng’s normally harsh mouth, “Please do, Huaisang, I’ll be looking forward to it”

[patchdotexe]

explorers of arvus: port draavos / 3.23.20

and now for something different: the misadventures of the hope’s guard

so for the past 3 years ive been in an ongoing dnd5e campaign run by michael called Explorers of Arvus, which is super cool and super fun and i love it a whole lot! and back when i used twitter, i’d liveblog our sessions and that ended up being my way of note taking bc im otherwise quite terrible at it

after i stopped using twitter, that had the side effect of me not keeping notes anymore, so i kind of didnt remember any of the past couple sessions? especially because its hard for all 6 of us to have like, schedules that make sense, so there’s a lot of distance between each session.

and then i realized i can just take notes shitpost-liveblog style and then just… like, put it on tumblr or whatever. i’ll probably make like, ill probably port over my old liveblog threads onto here sometime but until then: we played d&d today! Time For Shenanigans

some quick context: we’re called the Hope’s Guard, but our unofficial silly name is Chunch Bunch the Dungeon Master is Michael aka Skalter aka @openlyeight​ Taure M’ea is a half-elf paladin played by Penn aka @penn-name​ and she is doing her best. Sieron Astora is a human (secretly half-orc) wizard played by Jorb aka @jorbs-palace​ and he’s basically the protagonist, and also starting to be gay for Charlie Charlie Wickfield is a halfling wild magic sorcerer played by Leos aka us and she’s known for being very chaotic, lighting things on fire, and having a high charisma score but no idea how to articulate anything Thorne is a half-orc warlock played by Solar aka @craftlands​ and he grew up in nonsense land aka the feywild and i love him, and also he’s fine-tuned to be able to snipe the shit out of anything within a 600 ft radius of him w/ eldritch blast Silje Cottonwood is a tabaxi blood hunter played by Nyx aka @patheticnyas​ and he is very edgy but also a cat and is VERY gay for Thorne our general goal is to stop some motherfucker called Halvkar / the God-King from… i dunno, being a huge bitch? he dumped zombies all over Arvus and that’s a problem. its late at night and i just played d&d for several hours

AND SO: WE PLAYED D&D FOR THE FIRST TIME OF THE DECADE

last time:

chunch bunch beat up the cult and now we’re FINALLY GOING TO ARVUS, YALL (also we picked up a cat) (his name is silly. its silje but literally pronounced like “silly”) sieron hatched a child! so like, we have a lil coatl friend now OH RIGHT SIERON HAS A MOM. sierons mom is here charlie and sieron attempted to have a gay scene but charlie went off script by being “[internal dial up noises]” when sieron said something really heartwarming we’re in fort draavos! and now we’re picking up sidequests and just kinda wanderin around. woo!

NOW, ON EXPLORERS OF ARVUS:

thorne and charlie discuss the morals of necromancy, and also the concept of “[charlie voice] necromancy racism”

EVERYONE IS BONDING WITH CHARLIE TODAY taure gave charlie the rune of wound closure and told her to stay safe and im :keralisweep:

accidentally started a cutscene bc charlie is very loud in a temple, oop. some priests(?) glared at us and walked off and im sure they wont stab us later! ingrid the adorkable friend has been having reoccuring nightmares about a dark figure w/ black robes standing above a bleeding platform high in the air over a swamp and summoning undead, so we’re gonna go hit that up! it MIGHT be like, a vision of the past, but even if so thats still pretty relevant also there’s a cool half orc lady named undril silvertusk who we’re gonna escort to camp vengeance! she’s awesome

thorne: i was in a dungeon once charlie: you got better! thorne: [points] i DID get better!

summer: can i roll to steal the laser gun? michael: if you find the dragon, you can try to steal the laser gun.

solar: guys, we have to protect the lesbians at all costs. and if one of them turns out to be an ancient gold dragon and curses my dick, then so be it

taure: dont worry, i wont let you die. ingrid: …okay :D!

THE HOT SPRINGS EPISODE IS FINALLY HAPPEN sorry thorne. charlie dabbed at a buff tiefling charlie is too fucking short for the hot springs. also she’s like 50% hair so she is Dying

time for food! we ran into an adventuring party that is apparently based off one michael was part of in another campaign, and i think the buff tiefling is his? also taure ordered samples of everything and then got Super plastered

thorne rolled really good to infodump hardcore about arvus artifacts and it is cute and id die for him oop michael asked for all our passive perception

omg theres an introduction of a ~mysterious character~ and originally theyre supposed to just sneak off but then michael realized they’d be genuinely interested in thorne’s infodumping so now theyre just Lurking

the opposite of a slow burn is a fast explosion

[everyone gets distracted quoting realtime fandub]

oops taure is depressed! ALSO SHE BROKE UP WITH SIGRA??? charlie is VERY bad at emotional support so she’s just “uhhhhhhhhh”, but thankfully thorne catches her before she faceplants into her potatoes CAN ANY OF US CARRY TAURE??? SHE’S IN FULL ARMOUR AND ALSO PASSED OUT

michael: what do you do with the bottle? summer: eat it

charlie get haircut! WITH SWORDS. her hair is now like midway down her back so its like, a bit shorter than when she first met everybody silje: do you want this [the hair he cut off]? charlie: UH WHAT WOULD I .. DO WITH IT… silje: …make a rope? charlie: yknow what i might as fucking well, who knows if id need spare hair

penn: i dont think taure is horny tho! summer: ITS OK, SILJE IS HORNY ENOUGH FOR ALL OF US

michael: Sieron, Str of 10- action hero Thorne, str of 14- twink nyx: silly, str of 13- cat solar: i guess thorne is a hunk. michael: thorne is a twunk summer: the t in thorne stands for twunk

taure, extremely drunk and sad: CHARLIE IM SORRY I MADE YOU BURN DOWN THAT LIBRARY (sieron and thorne carried her to bed and she ended up apologising a whole lot about literally everything)

jorb/sieron wants to know if charlie’s hair has any lingering wild magic nonsense!

thorne’s staring out the window! and also discord kept censoring solar when they were trying to say that THIS ENTIRE AREA IS WITHIN THORNE’S RANGE. solar: i could shoot someone at the thundering boar tavern [from our tavern] jorb: [as thorne] WRONG TAVERN, IDIOT!

solar called soldier:76 a cornfucker and it blindsided me so hard

michael: silje cottonwood, dark edgy blood hunter. [flops over on camera] NOTICE MEEEEEEEE

WE’RE NOW MAKING NONSTOP FORT DRAAVOS PUNS. i had to go clean pepper’s litter and when i came back they were STILL GOING

thorne pets silje on accident bc silje ws doing an anime squat on the balcony’s railing and is now having a crisis of “is it appropriate to pet the furry?” AND ALSO SILLY IS VERY SOFT

jorb & michael: [say something cursed] summer: [looking around frantically] I DONT HAVE AN IMPROVISED WEAPON solar: Allow Me. [brandishes baseball bat on camera]

[hell-heron]

I finally watched the italian 2013 Romeo and Juliet miniseries with Alessandra Mastronardi and honestly I hate everything about it but specifically:

- i LOVE Alessandra and she was my childhood but she’s too old for this. Romeo also is too old for this - they went for a more mature angle and I hate it. And Elena Sofia Ricci is too young to be the Nurse (but very done and funny, also she and Alessandra played mother and daughter in the past so they have a chemistry that makes me cry) Also why is it set in the snowy mountains somewhere in Trentino, what’s this, and mostly, if we’re so keen on changing setting and stuff, why did no one in this wretched boot made it in a 19th century setting with pro unity folks VS austrian loyalists

- There’s also Ken Duken (Anatole in War and peace 2007) as Mercutio, it’s not a criticism because he’s lovely and good at it and an adorable little shit. But it severely weirds me out. Also HE is the sensible one and Romeo the one who has the idea of sneaking to the ball???

- Apparently Juliet has an older sister, Ursula who is betrothed with Paris and hella jealous and catty that Paris loves Juliet instead (?) so she told tales on her and Romeo. Romeo has a younger brother, Antonio, instead of Benvolio (insert appropriate wailing for this tragic loss) who is a violent little shit

- I liked that Juliet’s first line was “I’m stronger than you think”. I liked less that the first scene is literally ROMEO&CO SETTING THE CAPULET’S CARRIAGE ON FIRE wtf and Romeo saves her from rape like in the worst trash action movies. He also kills a man immediately which imho ruins all the impact of him killing Tybalt but okay I guess we all hate innocence and men showing emotion here. Apparently Romeo used to believe in Revenge but Juliet changed him? Ugh

- They made Tybalt in love with Juliet AND southern (or at least it seems to me it’s implied by some lines, I don’t know if the actor is southern too) Such an hot take! What a fresh and interesting casting for the literal embodiement of jealousy and murder!! Really the proper message in a story which is supposed to be against prejudice and domestic conflict! (he was a pretty and badass guy though, so it’s forgiven).

- There’s a dynamic that Lord Capulet promised him he’d marry Juliet, but actually he has no intention whatsoever to give her to him and just uses it as an excuse to criticize him and say he’s not worthy, also the family fortune is in shambles and there’s a more wealthy suitor and the family’s wellbeing is more important than Tybalt’s even thought he always sacrificed himself for the family - man this is even more Nikolai\Sonya than it usually is. Marriage shit otherwise, they could be a very sweet brotp and she calls him “like a brother to me” a lot, so fuck you for ruining this with this romantic nonsense I guess.

- Lady Capulet is so shrewd and political and dominates her husband and I love her, she’s my only joy here. That and the Capulets having cats swarming everywhere.

- Oh and one part I like is when they do some adorable love\hate roleplay and make under a stage where a bad Midsummer production is taking place

- OHHHH WAIT Mercutio turned out to be on the verge to poison himself for his long lost love which WHAT that really did came out of nowhere. If they had any chemistry here, I might choose to think it’s about Tybalt but it’s not worth it with what little they interact. Oh I might think it’s an hypotetical dead Benvolio, but it seems this person dumped him rather than dying, and I don’t see Benvolio dumping him

- Now Tybalt, who apparently thinks he is in Assassin’s creed, is climbing over the Montague castle walls and setting fire to the barn. Classic. Oh and Romeo saved Juliet from rape AGAIN

- Oh the wedding happened - not much to say about it. Now Tybalt and Juliet are making out. Well he’s kissing her, she isn’t enthusiastic. Sweet. Also  “I can’t compete with powerful Paris or handsome Romeo. Come on, say it, I’m just the orphan cousin” MAN. I’m marginally happy, tho, because if he’s an orphan he’s not the son of the uncle from the South, so my suspicion there was the usual prejudice about Southern people and violent jealousy here was off

- “We’ll make up new words to say what words can’t say.” “For example?” “I love you, Juliet Capulet” I’m pretty sure these words already exist. 

- Oh Ursula wants to run away, I wish I had some sympathy for her but she’s been a bitch this whole time. Ohh Juliet told her “Can’t you understand neither of us has a choice” poor girl. ...but why is literally no one in this family doing anything about their daughter running away from home in plain sight except Lady Capulet looking a bit upset? This is fully preventable??

- Mercutio is drunk and having knives trown at him on a bet. Also, he’s said to be metaphorically in love with death instead of life, which is beyond bad but he’s still the best character here. Also confirmation that what happened to him is that the woman he loved married someone else. I didn’t need this. OHHHH Romeo took his potion vial an helpful tool that will be useful later...

- Apparently the Bad Thing  happens on Christmas day, literally an hour before Romeo and Juliet were supposed to announce their wedding and fix everything :( oh and we got literally 5 seconds of Mercutio and Juliet bonding at mass, I liked that

- Ken Duken Is Deeply Stressed By His Man Crush’s Dueling Endeavors, A Rai Production

- “I played with death, now death plays me” oh Mercutio this made me sad :( they did the unintentional stabbing but it’s a bit weirdly since Tybalt seemed pretty serious about dueling with Mercutio, not like in 1968 where they looked like 13 year olds playing at pro wrestlers. But Lord Capulet didn’t believe him and beat the shit out of him and said he “won’t cover for him this time” which is fucking rich since it’s said all Tybalt did until now it was because his uncle ordered him and just now he gets mad becaus it makes the family look bad. OH HE KICKED HIM OUT OF THE HOUSE TOO WHAT THE HELL. Literally compelled 3 children out of 3 to quit the family, what the fuck’s wrong with this guy

- Yeah, they didn’t make Romeo kill Tybalt immediately but rather go look for him at his own house, which... looks bad, since it’s more sympatethic if it’s a moment of madness, he really isn’t a premeditated vengeance guy. To make up for it, now his entire family is bullying him into Revenge and calling him a coward. Can I file for adoption of all this guys much older than me?

- AAAAAGH now Juliet is begging Romeo not to kill Tybalt and he gave her back the wedding ring and said her love made him weak and I suddenly hate this again why why why. And she was already sad for Mercutio who she knew five minutes, now she’s getting much worse, she deserves better than this. Oh, Tybalt is fighting with a longsword in each hand because why fucking not, and it was decided Juliet has to witness the fight because WHY FUCKING NOT. And we’re giving the violent Montague baby brother Benvolio’s role because WHY FUCKING NOT. 

- Romeo improved a bit in the post duel part, at least he seems a bit more vulnerable. He snapped at his mom and gave up his family name but that’s understandable since, again, it’s them who pushed him to kill. I may be relating to him a little because I, too, never made any fucking decision on my own and then bitch when it turns out bad

- Paris is a fucking sleezeball iwth no respect for people’s mourning, the Capulets can’t stop scheming even at the funeral and apparently beat the shit out of 2\3 of their children, and Juliet fucking forgave the guy already? The only good people left here are Friar Lawrence and the nurse. I felt really bad because she got bullied by Lady Capulet so much, and he calls Romeo out on his bullshit so well

- Okay, I warmed up to Romeo and Juliet again when they started fantastizing about four children and family Christmas dinners where everyone argues

- Ok the whole ending was actually pretty good and sad, especially all the family arguments. Alessandra was really good here. Also there was Ursula calling out Paris at Juliet’s funeral and I live for that

- OH AND THEY DID THE THING WHERE JULIET WAKES UP WHILE ROMEO DIES BECAUSE WE HATE JOY IN THIS COUNTRY and this lasts so long they have time to have a conversation and talk about peace and children and marble castles again and this took a bad turn

[shianhygge-imagines]

REQUEST: Divine Intervention [Ravus/Reader] AU

Edit 1: Guys, I would appreciate it if you didn’t spam that person who sent me the request, okay? It was my mistake, I am sorry. 

You all wanted Ravus... so here’s Ravus :3 If you were wondering why I wasn’t posting much... it was cause of this, lol (8 pages) The ideas put into this is a chain of events. The butterfly effect. How different Ravus’s story would be if something didn’t happen. The alternate universe of my Ravus Headcanon. And I shall graciously take those cookies, thank you! :3

|Masterlist Link|

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You had listened to the young Oracle, and you had carefully considered her words, yet you had only smiled and continued on your path away from gates of House Fleuret.

You loved Ravus, yes. But you refused to be a second priority to him. Your pride and your heart could not let you continue on this path. And a voice whispered in the back of your mind, soft, rumbling, yet irrevocably male, but it’s always been there. Ever since you were young.

The Fallen Prince, in his heart, seeks only a vengeance and to protect his sister. Should you turn back from your decision, you seal his fate. But should you stand firm, have comfort that the one you love may be saved.

So you kept walking, back straight and head held high despite the tears that gathered at the corners. You didn’t know if you could trust the words. Didn’t know if someone was trying to deceive you. All you knew, was that Ravus had to change his ways, and you couldn’t be there to help him.

You left. Not just the place you had called home for your whole life. Not just Tenebrae. You left to go to Lucis. Far away from the man you love.

~~~~~~

He was on his knees, kneeling with a pool of glass around his feet. Ravus had seen his sister speak with you, and saw you stand at the gates to his home before turning and walking away. Many have come to believe that Ravus was cold and unfeeling, a determined and no-nonsense commander, but it was only half true. Somewhere, buried, was that kind and compassionate boy from eleven long years ago, but only those near him could find that boy. You had been one of the only ones who could still see the best of Ravus, could still see the hurting boy crying out for those he’s lost. And Ravus had loved you for it. He’d loved you for the longest time. Fifteen years of love and he had still managed to push you away.

His hands were cut up from gripping the shattered glass frame of an old picture. It was a photograph that the two of you had taken long ago, there was a smile on your childish face as Ravus gave you a chaste kiss on the cheek. You had been 13 years old and he 14. It was a year before his mother was killed, and it was a happier time. And suddenly tears found their way down from his mismatched eyes, landing on the picture. He’d driven you out with his selfish ways, had taken his anger and frustration out on you. And now you were gone.

There was no one to blame but himself. He had been blind. Had assumed that you would be by his side forever. But what was his vengeance worth now? He’d known that his loved ones had disapproved of his blaming King Regis, that they believed that he should have directed his anger at the Empire instead. But he had been stubborn. But what good was his blaming King Regis now if it meant losing you. It was worth nothing.

So with a sob, Ravus stood and rethought about his goals, lamenting that he had to lose you before he could see how foolish he was.

Though he still cried because, “I never had the chance to tell them that I love them.”

~~~~~~~

It was challenging, moving to another nation and start anew, but the people were kind, and you found a new calling, not as a servant to a royal family, but as a Hunter.

Fighting had never been important in Tenebrae, and many in Lucis could probably get away with not fighting. But as the nights grew longer, and more daemons appeared, that voice urged you to learn. Take up the blade to protect the light. He had said solemnly, though you’d decided to refer to him as Sage, or Sagesse. Sage never spoke to you but to direct your actions, and you had come to learn that when the voice spoke to you, it was best to listen. Especially if you were traveling. You’d learned the hard way what happened if you didn’t heed Sagesse’s advice.

It was on your way to the Chocobo Farm that you found the ruins of Costlemark Tower, and you had wanted to explore the ruins, expecting it to be full of weak daemons given that the centipede-like creatures outside were easily killed. Sage had told you immediately to camp or continue to the Chocobo Farm and to forget about the Tower ruins.

Instead, you had ignored him and ventured forth, watching as the ruins opened to you once the sun set. You only needed to descend to the first room before you sprinted out of there, only to be met with a Red Giant at the entrance of the ruins. You would have perished from your stupidity if Sage wasn’t kind enough to guide you to the campsite, where the glowing blue runes protected you from the Red Giant and a few Mindflayers staring you down.

So, lesson learned. You always listened to Sagesse from then on.

You’ve tried to hold a conversation with Sagesse a few times, but it didn’t seem that he wasn’t all that interested in what you had to say, often keeping silent no matter how much you thought or spoke aloud. But he kept you safe, so you suppose you shouldn’t bother him too much.

But his guidance led you back to your beloved.

~~~~~~

In leaving Tenebrae, you had diverted Ravus’s path away from his and your original fates. An early death, turned into a daemon and forced to obey. And you, left a widow in a world of darkness, forced to watch the people around you succumb to the darkness before perishing yourself. Your decision to leave had left scars on both yours and Ravus’s heart, but it had been for the best.

Reconsidering his actions and feelings, Ravus no longer sought after the Ring of Lucii. Instead, he placed his efforts in assisting his little sister with fulfilling her duty as the Oracle. Yes, perhaps it was inevitable that King Regis would perish by Glauca’s sword, and Insomnia reduced to ruin, but Ravus had not lost his arm that day, and would, therefore, not need a magitek prosthetic. And when Lunafreya was killed by Ardyn, Ravus would immediately defect from the Empire in order to assist Noctis traveling with the young Prince and his friends to Gralea to retrieve the Crystal. But most importantly, Ardyn would no longer be able to turn Ravus into a daemon.

Your love for Ravus would have killed him, but in walking away, you had saved him.

You would not see Ravus again until after the world had been sent into permanent darkness.

~~~~

You had been with the Hunters for a whole year now, although Dave had reluctantly took you on as his apprentice. Sagesse had directed you to the Hunter’s Headquarters very thoroughly after you had agreed to help “defend the light,” and you found yourself asking for training before your knew it. In the beginning, Dave had you on for a trial period given that you’ve only ever use a chef’s knife before. He quickly found that he should never let you near a melee-type weapon unless he wanted someone who wasn’t the enemy killed.

In the end, you took up the crossbow because you were absolute shit at close range combat. And with that settled, Dave eventually started sending you out on small missions. Killing Abar eventually came to hunting minor daemons. And while you’d gone solo for the longest while, Dave eventually had enough faith in you to lead a team of hunters when the world was thrown into permanent darkness. It wasn’t a mistake to have you lead a group of hunters, but it was a mistake to send your group of young hunters to fight a group of Sir Tonberries.

You watched with abject terror when a Sir Tonberry cut through another of your six man group. You had been sent to retrieve a stranded group of civilians, but the intel had been wrong about the number of enemies involved. It was reported that there were only two Sir Tonberries, which could have been dealt with slight difficulty, but not four Sir Tonberries plus Hobgoblins and two Nagas.

Clicking your tongue in thought, you dove out of the way in order to cover your teammates, “Vergil, Seb, take Devon and run back to the truck. Isa, Kelsey, I need you two to escort the civilians to the truck. I’ll draw the daemon’s attention.” You shouted, dodging the strikes from a Sir Tonberry to flip and shoot at the Naga. Your teammates start to protest, “I don’t want to hear any complaints! It’s either most of us get out of here, or we all die.” That shut them up, you grimaced before taking off your dog tag and throwing it at Vergil, who caught the metal thing with a fearful look. “If you’re fast enough, you’ll get back to me on time with reinforcements. If not... “ You didn’t finish your sentence, instead opting to push your teammates away. “Go!”

“We’ll be back, Y/N!” You could hear Isa shout back at you, but you don’t respond, too busy trying to buy them time.

Always willing to sacrifice, Y/N. You could hear the taunt in Sagesse’s voice sometimes, as much as he would like to simply be an unfeeling spirit. There is not much to feel for, mortal. And then he goes and speaks like an all knowing being, and then you aren’t quite sure whether you heard the first part at all. Tail to your right. You roll to the left, dodging the Naga’s tail before moving away from the Tonberries and Hobgoblins closing in. Hopefully you could survive an hour.

~~~~~~~~

After assisting Noctis in infiltrating Gralea, Ravus had gone back to Tenebrae to assist with the evacuation of his people, using Aranea’s airships to fly the surviving citizens of Tenebrae to Lestallum, where he worked to secure a safe home for his people. But with the influx of refugees from Accordo, neighboring towns, and Insomnia as well, space became tight. What more, with the limited space, there were a limited amount of Hunters who could protect those unwilling to fight. So Ravus found himself traveling with Gladiolus, Prompto, Ignis, and Aranea to the Hunter’s Headquarters a few months after Noctis was pulled into the Crystal.

He didn’t know what he had been expecting, a large and secure building perhaps, but it was not the open yet well-lit outdoor space that the Hunter Headquarters actually was. And least of all, Ravus didn’t expect the utter panic as various individuals hurried to and from, escorting civilians from a small truck. There was crying, but most of all, screaming. From what he could make out from the various voices speaking at once, a group of hunters had gone out to retrieve a stranded group of civilians at a nearby campsite. Their intel had been wrong about the types of daemons surfacing around the area, and were not prepared. And in order to get their job done, the group leader had sacrificed themselves as a decoy for their team to get out.

A noble act. Ravus thought, his heterochromatic eyes darted towards the dogtags that a young woman named Isa waved around.

“We have to go back and save them!” Isa demanded with a stomp of her feet.

The man she chased looked to be in his late thirties to early forties, hair closely shaved, and stern looking. But when Ravus took the time to look at the man more, there was an air of authority and subtle kindness. The man thought for a moment, eyes hard before shaking his head, “We can’t afford to send out more Hunters for your leader. I’m sorry, Isa.”

“But it’s Y/N!” the woman emphasised, drawing a surprised look from the leader, “Dave, Y/N was our leader during this mission.” When the older man didn’t move, Isa drew herself to her full height, a less than impressive 152cm, but she still went to sternly cup Dave’s face in her hands. “Y/N L/N,” Ravus’s eyes widened in shock at the leader’s full name. “Dave, you trained Y/N, and I know you have a soft spot for them. And if you have any love for me, or for Y/N, you’ll let me gather a team to go after them.”

The older man let out a long suffering sigh before relenting, “Fine.” though he quickly pulled Isa into a kiss. “Gather whoever is willing.” Dave’s eyes soften for a moment, “But come back to me, Isa.”

The younger woman smiled fondly, brown eyes twinkling with love, and nodded, “You know I would walk to the ends of Eos to get back to you.”

And it is at that point that Ravus turns away, feeling like he should not bear witness to the privacies of the couple. Instead, his mind is filled with thoughts of you. His beloved that he had pushed away two years ago. And now, he was so close to finding you again, only to be under threat to lose you again. No. The former Prince shook his head and stomped over to his new friends. He could not lose you. Not again.

Gladiolus noticed the stormy eyed man approaching their trio and directed a worried look at Ravus. “Is there a problem?” Ever since Lunafreya’s death, Ravus had joined them on their journey, and while it was strange to have a man who used to be the enemy on their team, they had all tried to be civil with one another. But as it turns out, Ravus was actually a man that Gladio could respect.

Ravus clenched and unclenched his right fist, his head bowed slightly, “There is to be a mission to retrieve the escort team’s fallen leader. And I have decided to join the effort.”

Ignis, though his world was still dark, could imagine the high commander’s posture given the tone of the man’s voice. It was dire, but not as subtle as when they first encountered one another at the Imperial base nearly a year prior. A life was in danger. “Do you require our assistance?”

“-Wait just a minute.” Gladiolus interjected, much to Ravus’s annoyance. He had wanted to keep details sparse so that they could leave immediately. “I want to know why you care about this mission.” When Ravus didn’t speak, Gladio could only go on, “You know the team leader, don’t you? What I don’t understand is how that person could be important to you. Don’t get me wrong, we will go with you, but I just want to know why.”

The former Prince let out a heavy sigh, his face still stern, but his eyes softened ever so slightly, “Y/N L/N.”

Prompto cocked his head to the side, blonde hair rustling with the motion. The gunman recognized the name, “Dave’s apprentice? That’s the leader’s name?”

“Yes. But I knew Y/N long before they came to live in Lucis.” Ravus’s eyes darted towards Isa as she left Dave, watching as the young woman asked around for volunteers to help retrieve you. “We were friends in our youth, and I lo-... I’ve come to hold them quite dear to me.” Ravus cursed himself for nearly saying his feelings.

Meanwhile, Gladio and Ignis were not fooled, having heard Ravus’s slip up. Though both hid their smirks well. Instead, Gladiolus strolled over to the older man and clapped his shoulder, shocking Ravus. “Well. We should go join the retrieval team, then.”

As the younger men left to go speak to Isa, Ravus stood in deep thought. He had thought that he lost everything. He had failed to protect his beloved sister, yet he had succeeded in bringing Noctis to Gralea as well as bestowing King Regis’s glaive to the now sleeping prince. And he had pushed you away two years ago when he should have kept you by his side. Now, he had a chance to find you again… Ravus brow set into a determined stare, and he marched with confidence towards the truck, which Gladio, Ignis, and Prompto had piled into. “Wait for me, Y/N.”

~~~~~~~~

There were various hisses and cries from below you, but you could only wince. Your wince was heard by your tiny companion, who only purred and cuddled into your side, careful to keep its weapon away from you. Seriously, it was the cutest, yet deadliest little thing, a product of a stupid decision you made earlier, but you didn’t regret it. Simply having a tiny Tonberry cuddling up to you was adorable.

The little thing had wandered into the battle and had tried to attack you along with its more powerful counterparts… and then the Hobgoblins, for whatever reason decided to gang up on the little one. And seeing how the Sir Tonberries and Nagas weren’t going to help the little daemon, you’d run over to rescue it, getting jabbed in the side by a Sir Tonberry before you sprinted to a cliff face and climbed, putting your new friend in the hood of your cloak as you climbed… and after a while, the Tonberry actually warmed up to you… but now you were stuck.

“Corvo, we’re in some deep shit.” You muttered, pulling the tiny green daemon into your arms. It only purred, nuzzling its snout under your chin. “And Sagesse hasn’t been speaking to me at all.” you pouted, wondering where the miracle voice in your head had gone.

“Keu?” The Tonberry tilted its head to the side in question.

You merely sighed and pat your little friend’s head gently, “Never you mind, Corvo. Let’s just concentrate on surviving, savvy?” But not only ten seconds after you spoke, you saw the unmistakable headlights of a hunter truck rolling down the road. “Well, damn. They actually came back for me, Corvo.” Your little friend cooed in worry. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure they don’t hurt you.” Corvo gave out a happy purr before hopping into your hood, holding out it’s lantern to light the area around you.

The daemons below had noticed the truck’s return and had left the area below you to surround the truck. You couldn’t make out the individuals that came to rescue you no matter how much you squinted, but you started climbing down regardless, wincing occasionally when you irritated the wound at your side.

Once you were down, you gently pulled Corvo into your arms and ran towards the truck. You had lost your crossbow earlier, but you were better off without it, running without any weight carrying you down. “We’re almost home free Corvo.”

You were nearly to the truck when you saw the group that had come to rescue you, and you nearly tripped when you saw the white haired man fighting alongside the Prince’s companions. Ravus. You screamed, a high pitched stressed sound akin to a mix of a behemoth and a daggerquil, and even Corvo looked up at you in alarm. Though you probably shouldn’t have screamed, because the next thing you knew, you felt a deep pain in your back before falling. From the floor, you glanced back to see a Sir Tonberry advancing towards you, and little Corvo trying to protect you. Suddenly, a bullet collided with the Sir Tonberry, and you were lifted by the arms, though in your daze, you managed to call out for Corvo, catching the little Tonberry in your arms as it jumped into you.

You blinked in and out of consciousness, the darkness creeping at the edges of your vision, but the last thing you saw were the worried and scared heterochromatic eyes of the man you love.

~~~~~~~

Ravus held your unconscious form to him tightly as he boarded the truck, the other hunters fending off the daemons behind him. His body trembled in fear when he examined the deep cut in your side and the burned slash on your back. He’d heard you scream at him. Saw your shocked face and the Sir Tonberry that crept up behind your back. But try as he might, had wasn’t fast enough to warn you, wasn’t fast enough to protect you. There was a small coo from the Tonberry latched onto your form, it’s tiny fish tail tucked between its legs as it showed its worry. It was a strange thing, having a tame Tonberry protect you, but Ravus was grateful for the little daemon’s help nonetheless.

“You succeeded where I nearly failed, little one.” Ravus cautiously pet the Tonberry, “My thanks.”

~~~~~~~~

You woke up to the soft beeps of a heart monitor and the soft coos from Corvo sleeping on your chest. Blinking the sleep out of your eyes, you moved to sit up from the medical bed, aware that various tubes were attached to your arms and that the room lights were dimmed slightly.

“Y/N.”

Your head snapped to the left and it took everything in you not to look away from the tall white haired man across the room. It had been two years since you’d seen Ravus. The last time had been… you averted your eyes… If you are unable to stand by my decisions, then I don’t need you by my side. Leave. The unforgettable cold stare of his blue and brown eyes was still ingrained in your mind. What were you to say to a man you loved, but didn’t want you by his side? You couldn’t come up with anything, so you settled with a, “Hi.”

Ravus furrowed his brow at your response. He didn’t know what he was expecting when you awoke, he had pushed you away and hurt you those years ago after all. But he didn’t expect you to be unable to meet his eyes. Unable to speak to him. Once upon a time the two of you were as thick as thieves, never withdrawing from the other’s company. And now, because of him, everything was so different. What does one say to one that they have wronged?

Remember what you told me, big brother? “Go to Noctis. Show him the truth of your heart.” Perhaps it is high time that you showed Y/N the truth of yours.

He could hear his sister’s voice as if she were still alive, still standing next to him, wise beyond her years and smiling encouragingly.

You heard his quick footsteps, and quickly turned to face him in alarm, but he had pulled you into an embrace, careful not to squish Corvo, who rested on your lap. His left arm wrapped around your shoulder, and his right came up to hold your cheek. And you’d only a few seconds to stare into his eyes before they closed and his lips were pressed against your own. You barely had enough time to kiss back before he withdrew, and you saw that he was shedding tears. “Why-?”

Ravus cut you off with another kiss, deep and pure, muttering against you, “Please don’t leave me. I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry, Y/N. I’m a fool for pushing you away. Forgive me.” He gripped your shoulders tightly as the tears fell, his face losing its sternness as he confessed, “I love you, Y/N. Forgive me for not seeing it until I had pushed you away.”

And you kissed back. Because you had loved his man for so long, and to hear him tell you that he needed you by his side, that he loved you back… There were no proper words, only actions.

“I love you, Ravus. I won’t leave. Never again.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There is a rumor that the Astrals loved to play with the lives of mankind. That among their beloved playthings and pawns, they often chose favorites. Ramuh favored the Prince of Lucis. Titan and Shiva favored Lunafreya. And Ifrit favored Ardyn. But what of Leviathan and Bahamut? Leviathan held no love for man, and therefore held none in favor. But Bahamut... once in a millennia, Bahamut would come to favor a human, though only through proving their worth. But just this once... He had chosen two. One Ravus Nox Fleuret and one Y/N L/N.

~~~~

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