AHA YOU DID PUT THE ASK GAME BACK UP
I humbly request something with Saville and Galen because my beloveds 🤲
I DID and took so long to respond to this lol. But! Since you didn't specify an AU I decided to explore a concept I came up with in the shower the other day: Valiant Cinderella au (featuring Ever After vibes, The Flight Of Swan characters, and one subtle reference to my liveblog)
I’d only taken my eyes off of Will for a second. We were in the market— he and I and Corbin, my stepbrother who hadn’t been convinced to hate me, despite my stepmother’s best efforts.
Will was family too, after a fashion. I’d found him, just a street urchin fighting dogs for food, and brought him home under the guise of a servant. Really, I’d just wanted to keep him safe, even if I couldn’t protect myself.
He was a hard worker, but too eager to rush ahead. I’d only looked away to barter for bread for a minute— one minute! And then I heard his voice shouting my name, and turned to see soldiers dragging him away.
King Eldin was supposedly a weak king, weaker than his hard-headed brother had been. He wasn’t a bad man— but he was easily manipulated, a fact that had been taken advantage of by Lord Leymonn, one of the top advisors in the castle. And Lord Leymonn had little tolerance for the parentless urchins wandering the streets. Which Will wasn’t— but clearly the soldiers didn’t know that.
Dropping my basket, I bolted towards the soldiers, ignoring Corbin shouting for me to be careful. I couldn’t let them take Will. I couldn’t.
The soldiers were shoving him into a cart as I approached, heart pounding with terror. I hated being scared, and that fueled me enough to shout, “Stop! What are you doing?”
The two soldiers paused, one still keeping a firm grasp on Will’s arm as the two of them looked at me. The older of the two, brown eyed with a beard, lifted an eyebrow at me. “Arresting this thief.”
“He is not a thief,” I protested, glaring at them. “Do you arrest all children you see because you suspect they may be thieves? He’s a servant in my stepmother’s household. Let him go.”
“Lord Leymonn has ordered that street urchins—”
“Hang your Lord Leymonn,” I spat out, and was surprised to see a look of amusement cross the older man’s face. The younger looked affronted, and was opening his mouth to respond when a third voice cut through our conversation.
“Orion, Hayden, what’s going on here?”
I turned, ready to fight— and the words shriveled up in my mouth.
Fine Coat. Sky above, it was Fine Coat— the noble who I’d met six months earlier on the road to Reggen, traveling back home with my father. Before he’d remarried a witch woman and then fallen ill, leaving me in her hands.
He wouldn’t remember me. He couldn’t. No matter how much I may have annoyed him at the time.
“Lord Verras,” the younger man said, straightening a little. “We’re arresting this street urchin. Lord Leymonn’s orders— we’re to keep the streets as free of thieves as possible, sir.”
“He’s not a thief,” I broke in, my fear for Will overwhelming my fear that Fine Coat would know who I was. “He’s a servant in my stepmother’s household, and he wouldn’t steal anything.”
“He’s a street rat,” the younger guard said.
“He’s a child,” I snapped, glaring at him. “Or is that an instant sign of guilt in the eyes of your precious Lord Leymonn?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lord Verras and the older man exchange a look that I couldn’t read. Hardening my heart against fear, I turned towards him. “He’s just a child. He hasn’t done anything, you can’t arrest him. Or have the nobles already forgotten what justice is?”
The younger guard gaped at me, as shocked by my audacity as my pounding heart was. Lord Verras regarded me, with eyes that almost seemed to look through me. I held myself straight, refusing to look away. I wouldn’t back down.
“You have such a low opinion of our royalty?” His voice was calm, curious.
“I have a low opinion of anyone who would lock up a child,” I told him, and he nodded.
“Fair enough. Release the boy.”
“But Lord Leymonn will—”
“I will deal with Leymonn,” Lord Verras said, and I didn’t miss the look the two guards exchanged. The older one nodded to his companion, who let go of Will’s arm.
He scrambled free, tumbling into my arms, and I pulled him close, trying to hide my trembling. “Thank you,” I told Lord Verras.
“You were right,” he said simply. “If the boy hasn’t done anything wrong, he deserves to go free.” He paused, frowning a little. “It’s rare to see someone around these days who’s so willing to speak up against one of the king’s advisors. Particularly among the nobility.”
I almost snorted. “I’m no noble.”
He didn’t seem surprised, just curious. “Really? You mentioned your stepmother’s household.”
Internally, I cursed. I was supposed to be a nameless servant, not the daughter that witch didn’t want. If I let anything slip about her, or her plan, Will and I were done for, to say nothing of my father. And despite our differences, it was my responsibility to protect him.
Though if it came down between him and Will, I’d hand him over in a heartbeat.
Lord Verras was still watching me with those keen eyes, waiting for an answer I didn’t know how to give. “Um. I—”
“Saville!”
Corbin was heading my way, holding the basket I’d dropped, his frown deep. For a brother who wasn’t blood, he was plenty protective, and his scowl deepened at the sight of Lord Verras. Glancing between me, him, the guards, and Will, he seemed to put together the pieces. “We should get home,” he told me. “Mother won’t be pleased if we’re out too late.”
“Saville?” Lord Verras’s voice was quizzical, and I saw a furrow appear between his brows. He’d realized something was off, or familiar, and my heart lurched.
Time to go.
Grabbing Will’s arm, I said, “Thank you for your help,” and forced myself to walk away, not run. Despite the urge to do so, twisting in my chest. It was time to get away from this nobleman and his eyes that saw far too much.
I didn’t breathe easy until there were several yards and a few turned corners between me and him, and Corbin gave me a confused look. “Who was that?”
“Someone who met me on the way here,” I told him. “Someone who could find out who I am, and destroy your mother’s plan.”
Scowling, Corbin muttered, “If only he would.” A heartbeat later, remorse smoothed away the scowl, and he shot me an apologetic look. “Sorry. I know you’re as stuck as I am.”
“At least I don’t have to marry any princess.” Breathing deeply, I glanced at Will. “Are you alright?”
Nodding, Will said, “Are we in trouble, Sir?”
Shaking my head, I said, “I don’t think so.” As long as we don’t bump into Lord Verras again. With any luck, that would be the last I saw of him.
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I believe you (i'm not wrong)
2042 words
gem winces as she nicks her finger with the hammer for what she's pretty sure is the fourth time tonight, but she's not really been keeping count. it might be the fifth. it- okay, gem knows she should sleep, but she just- it- she doesn’t like the idea of sleeping right now. you can’t keep your mind off stuff if you’re asleep—they just turn into nightmares, and gem really doesn’t want to have another nightmare again. it's- she doesn't want to bother scar again.
this will make no sense if you don't know this au, and it is so self indulgent, but it's easier to format fics on tumblr than on discord GKFHD
anyway this is an au that me and stiff came up with and then made increasingly more angsty. this is the happiest part of the whole plotline if you can believe it
cw: panic attack, hurt/comfort
gem winces as she nicks her finger with the hammer for what she's pretty sure is the fourth time tonight, but she's not really been keeping count. it might be the fifth. it- okay, gem knows she should sleep, but she just- it- she doesn’t like the idea of sleeping right now. you can’t keep your mind off stuff if you’re asleep—they just turn into nightmares, and gem really doesn’t want to have another nightmare again. it's- she doesn't want to bother scar again.
she could bother joel. hypothetically speaking, gem could go up the mountain and knock on his door and awkwardly explain at three in the morning why she can’t sleep and that she needs his help, but- void, there is nothing she wants to do less right now. she loves joel- really, and it's more than likely that he'd be pretty helpful actually. it's- it's just too much right now. gem would rather build her problems away.
it takes longer than it probably should have done for gem to realise that her hand is bleeding, but she can’t be bothered to do anything about it; it doesn’t hurt much. besides, it's just another scar to add to the list of silly accidents she's had while building—like that time she almost took her finger off because she wasn't paying attention when she was dismantling some iron bars with less care than she should have been.
wiping sweat off her forehead, gem steps back for a second, taking in her work. her very wonky work. void, gem really needs to sleep soon, but there's no way that's happening without at least four nightmares, regardless of how much she tries to keep her mind occupied by something else. it's all she can think about- she's barely even done anything, despite 'building' for at least six hours now. the wood is unevenly cut, the moss is slowly dropping chunks into the sand from the roof, and the whole house looks like it's about to collapse on itself. that's- okay, that's the look she was going for, but it was meant to be structurally sound in actuality.
this was a bad idea- building a town that reminds her so damn much of where she grew up. it wasn't- it's not like gem really thought it through until it was too late to change her theme, and now she's kind of stuck. how in- anyone's name did she not even realise what she was building until after the nightmares started again?
.. don't answer that, actually. she doesn’t want to know.
maybe if gem sits down here, she'll fall asleep before she can start thinking about.. anything she doesn’t want to be thinking about. it feels like her limbs are made of lead, and gem has begun to debate on which sleep deprivation is worse: the exhausted building or the nightmares. maybe she'll flip a coi- what the fuck was that.
a figure- there's something- it's coming-
she hasn't- why the fuck didn’t she sleep- she knows what happens if she doesn’t sleep. can it reach her? can it make it onto the sand- can it outrun her? what if- what if it can walk, and she just never- gem never knew because she only encountered it whilst sailing but- she's endangered the whole server because of her stupid mistake-
stealing a glance behind her, gem's heart drops into the abyss- it's gaining on her. she's dead, she's going to die, she's doomed everyone, there's no escape-
something grabs her arm.
a strangled scream forces itself out of her tattered lungs, and she swings- desperation flooding her mind. she's gone- she's going to die- she's going to die-
"gem! please- it's me! it's me."
she opens her eyes, breaths still tearing their way through her throat, and- when did she get on the floor? her vision swims, body shaking too violently to steady herself and she thinks she must be drowning. there's a figure above her- there's- there's something above her.
her hands are numb and she's shaking and she's on the floor and she's not drowning, but she may as well be because she can’t fucking breathe. she's going to die and she's going to deserve it- she's- it's all- there's nothing left-
someone is holding her hands. she is having a panic attack and someone is holding her hands. she's not dying- she wishes she was dead. why would- who is- where is she? who is talking?
there's- there's her name. she feels like she's falling, but someone is talking and holding her hands and she's not drowning. did she- did she break something? was it her fault? she didn’t mean to.
a hand- a thumb against her face. gem was- she is crying. her vision is clearing but nothing will process and she just- she just wants to go home. she doesn't have a home anymore. she broke her home.
she didn't mean to. she's sorry- she just wanted to fix it. she's sorry. she is breathing, and she's not drowning, and she's not dying. right? is- is she right?
"right." there's a voice, and it sounds like home. she is crying again. "you’re okay."
no that's- she's not- she can’t be okay, ever again- she ruined it. there's nothing- she can’t- there's nothing left. she broke it- she ruined it. she's sorry.
her hands are warm. someone is holding her hands, and she's breathing and she's not drowning. there's a figure in front of her- there's scar in front of her.
"i’m sorry." gem's voice is sore, and comes out quieter than she expected it to. she's not drowning. "I never- i’m so sorry."
scar is crying, and gem is holding his hands. "I know." he says, and he’s quiet too. "I didn’t- void. I don't think i’ve- ever been on the receiving end of that."
it takes gem a moment to understand what he means, and her chest fills with emotion. she tries to say something, but nothing comes out.
"what-" scar's voice breaks, and gem wants to hug him. she doesn’t know if she's allowed. "what did you think I was?"
gem takes a shaky breath, shaking her head. "I never- I never knew what they actually were." she whispers. "they'd- if you didn't sleep, they'd appear."
scar is silent, and gem almost apologises, but her voice seems to have abandoned her. maybe this is all she can ever have- was she asking too much of him just now? void- the whole plan was to avoid pestering scar, and now she's had a panic attack because she mistook him for- that- okay, it doesn’t matter what, but now he’s dealing with her and she doesn't know if he even wants to, or if he just feels obligated-
"can you stand?" scar asks suddenly, and gem takes a second to recalibrate. can- what? can she stand? of course but- why is she standing? gem doesn’t actually ask any of this, of course, but the questions arise nonetheless.
gem lets go of scar's hands and pushes herself upwards on weak legs, but she doesn’t let it show. she wipes her face and takes a breath, bolstering herself for whatever it is she has to do next.
but scar just holds his hand out. "can you come sleep?"
gem is so surprised, she takes half a step backwards before she realises how rude that looks, and steps forward again, hoping she can play it off as rocking. "I don't- what?"
scar looks almost embarrassed, and gem finds herself getting even more confused. "well- if you-" he clears his throat awkwardly. "if- I can’t, um. I can’t be mad if you're.. not sleeping."
is scar being deliberately vague, or is gem's brain just too tired to understand what is going on? she shakes her head, still trying to process what scar could possibly mean. "I don’t- I don’t know what you-"
"I don't want you to stay up so late." scar says, and his voice is soft like gem hasn't heard it in months, and she might cry. again. "I just- I know you can’t sleep unless you have a distraction. I was trying to ask- can I be the distraction?"
gem takes a shaky breath. "oh." it's all she can manage- it's all she can think right now. gem is tearing up again and she wipes her eyes hurriedly. "I- are you sure?"
scar nods, smiling tearfully. "I miss you. I never- I didn’t expect how much." he holds out his hand again. "will- will you come with me?"
there's a moment of hesitation, of is she allowed, before gem slips her hand into scar's and squeezes. "i'd be happy to."
-
the conversation between her and scar on the way to his base was awkward and best, and plain old silence at worst, so gem was a little nervous for what it'd be like when they tried to go to sleep. what if scar changed his mind- or if one of them had another nightmare and suddenly both of them couldn't sleep? what if scar was just- lying, or something, and he was just expecting gem to say she was fine on her own?
gem has never been happier to be so wrong about something in her life.
in all the time she's known scar, gem has never seen scar transfer into bed so fast—and he practically pulled her after him before she'd even got her shoes off. once gem crawled under the duvet, she and scar may as well have just become one body. it's so bizarre, how easily they can pick up where they left off, even after so much time, and when gem rests her head against scar's chest, it feels like home.
and- void, gem missed this so much. the way they fit against each other like they were made for each other, the feeling of scar's hand in her hair, the warmth in her stomach as she burrows under the duvet- it's the closest to perfect that gem thinks can exist. it feels as if she could close her eyes and drift off in an instant, she feels so safe.
scar buries his face in gem's hair. "I love you." he mumbles, and gem almost starts to cry again.
"I love you too." she holds scar tighter, voice wavering embarrassingly. "i’m sorry- i’m so sorry. it- for everything."
"i’m sorry too." scar whispers, sounding close to tears. "I shouldn't have- i’m so sorry gem." he presses a kiss to the top of gem's head.
gem's throat is tight, and she swallows a sob. "it- it's okay. I didn't- you didn’t mean it."
"neither did you." scar's voice is painfully soft, and gem blinks back tears. "it wasn't- I have to-" scar gives a little huff—the one he does when he's tripping over his words. "I- gem, I forgive you."
it hits her a moment later, like something melting in her chest, and the tears that had been threatening to spill over come clawing back up her throat. I forgive you.
gem is sobbing into scar's shoulder, and scar is holding her tight and he’s crying too, and she knows that if she asked why, he'd say that if she's crying then he's gonna cry too, and she's missed him so much. her chest aches with each breath, and she doesn’t care because he forgives her, and she doesn't deserve it, but scar thinks she does, and there's nothing in the world more important than that.
"you’re- you’re so important to me, gem." scar says, voice thick with tears, but gem can hear his smile—which only wants to make her cry more. "I couldn't- there was nothing that would have kept me from you. not even myself."
"I love you." gem is still crying, and she's smiling, and she's hugging scar, and there's nothing that could ruin this moment. "i’m- I could never-" she chokes on her words and dissolves into another sob, holding scar like a lifeline.
"if- if you keep crying, i’m not gonna be able to stop." scar says, hiccuping a weak laugh.
"that's- that's your fault." gem manages through sobs, half laughing. "I blame you."
scar pulls her closer, and gem melts into him, tension she didn't even know she was holding leaving her. "you're so wonderful." he says, and gem almost sobs.
"you’re not- i’m gonna keep crying if you say stuff like that." gem says, and scar is laughing, and she's a mess but she doesn’t care.
scar forgives her.
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Imagine an AU where Sabito suddenly wakes up , he notices his body has grown as if he had been alive since the Final Selection (21) and finds Urokodaki (ouch, please imagine Urokodaki having doubts and even testing that Sabito is not a shapeshifting demon, but when he confirms for real that IT IS Sabito, Urokodaki hugs him and cries, his other adoptive son is back.) and soon, Sabito learns that Giyuu is now the Water Pillar.
To say Giyuu is beyond shocked, him standing frozen as Sabito smiles at him and calls at him,
"Giyuu..."
Oh god, Giyuu missed his voice so much, but this can't be. Sabito seemed like he aged with him as well.
Sabito was dead.
Whatever demon plays this game is just tricking him, this is a cruel trick. Giyuu had learned from Tanjirou about that demon who gave dreams that victims wanted to see.
Except Giyuu is very much awake, and this is daytime.
There is no way that this is a Blood Demon Art.
"I know it's hard to believe, and you might never accept that is all happening, but I just want to say I'm proud of you." Sabito kept that fond look on his face, and finally, Sabito smiles at him gently.
Oh, how Giyuu's heart skipped a beat as he felt so many emotions all at once.
"I'm sorry for dying that time, and for not being able to say goodbye to you. But I'm back, Giyuu. I'm home."
It took a lot from Giyuu to not react and turn his back away, this is no way happening.
Tanjirou was also shocked to see Sabito but is otherwise overjoyed. It was not until Giyuu received a letter from Urokodaki that it is indeed Sabito, that Giyuu finally faced Sabito himself, and Giyuu hugged him tightly, and cried.
It was a silent cry, but his tears never stopped as he hugged Sabito tighter and tighter, as if letting go would equate to losing him the second time.
They reconnect, and Sabito caught up to everything. He even met the other Pillars and Oyakata-sama, suffice to say it took a lot of convincing from the Pillars to believe Sabito's existence.
However, Giyuu visibly changed bit by bit. He is still a tiny bit distant but is slowly opening up to others in general.
Sabito trained more and more with Giyuu, and after quite a time, he was also promoted as a Water Pillar.
While Giyuu was out, with Sabito walking outside, he met Sanemi, who walked up to him.
"Hey, are you for real?"
"What?" Sabito replies, and he observed how Sanemi was weirdly calmer than usual yet carried a certain air towards him at the moment.
"How long will you be here?"
"Pardon?" Sabito was starting to realize Sanemi didn't come here for a friendly chat.
"If you're just going to disappear again—"
Sabito cuts him off, "Our jobs are risky, but that doesn't mean I won't fight to stay alive."
Sanemi replied that he was starting to lose his temper. "You know that's not what I mean. Tomioka—"
Sabito winced, "What about Giyuu? What do you want?"
"First name basis?"
"Yeah, we're childhood friends, for now."
"If you really care about him, don't fuck around and—"
"Listen," Sabito paused, his tone just as threatening. "Whatever Giyuu and I have is none of your business."
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i have... ✨Danyal Al Ghul Headcanons✨ but specifically for my yaelokre danyal oneshot
There's also the tumblr post here but I recommend the link in the title because its the ao3 version, and that one is edited and has some stuff in it that's not in the tumblr post, and will be the version I'm using.
So for summary: this Danyal is also from a Demon Siblings Au where Danny is five years older than Damian. However, things turned out a bit differently, and Danny and Damian had a fantastic relationship with one another. Danny loved music and regularly came up with songs to sing to Damian with. Specifically the folk band Yaelokre's EP "Hayfields" (seriously go fucking listen to it its sooo good. Harpy Hare is the second song but its my favorite. Special shoutout to @gascansposts for introducing the band to me)
He falls off a train when he's twelve and Damian is seven while the two of them and Talia are on mission. He ends up with magically induced amnesia and wakes up in Arkansas while the Fentons are on their yearly Divorce-iversary visit to Aunt Alica, and since he can only remember his name, he ends up being taken into their care.
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Yaelokre Danny has the same facial scar as Things in Threes Danyal, since he was initially another version of him where things turned out better. I'm debating on whether or not I should take it away however, and give him a different scar (maybe from when he fell off the train?), just because the scar is a pretty key identifier for Ti3 Danyal.
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Danny frequently visits Aunt Alicia in Arkansas! Well, only after he gets settled in and stuff. He doesn't really like the city that much and prefers the countryside where Alicia lives. I know she lives in a cabin but I'm changing it to a farm, so she puts Danny to work and gets him to help her.
I don't want to confine his hobbies to only being star stuff, because people tend to have more than one hobby and I feel like it reduces him to one-dimensionality, so he likes to garden, and learns guitar. His room becomes filled with plants, and he turns their roof into a rooftop greenhouse right below to OPS Center.
He has a complex relationship with the weapons from his past, but he's not... like... appalled by it? When he finds his weapons in the Fenton attic all he thinks is that they're his weapons, and he starts carrying a knife on him afterwards. Essentially he becomes fascinated with weaponry because its one of the few physical ties he has to his past, and while he's not training like he is in the League, he allows his strong muscle memory to guide him through his katas.
Danny likes climbing things. This causes Problems For Everyone Else.
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Danny was not the "kinder Al Ghul" in the League. His kindness extended to his brother and family, and that's it. To everyone else he had high expectations out of them, and the pride you'd expect from the grandson of Ra's Al Ghul and trained by its top members. While he wasn't like, unnecessarily cruel or anything, he wasn't merciful either.
This transfers post-train fall as him coming off as no-nonsense and unforgiving. He's not fond of the idea of giving people second chances, and is skeptical of the idea. He's disgusted by incompetency and views it as an unforgivable offense, especially if he thinks that the person should know better, although he's not sure why. Some egocentrism for the soul.
He doesn't like being touched by anyone who isn't family, and gets irritated when anyone grabs him or holds onto him for extended amounts of time. Dash has gotten hit so many times. With Jack Fenton's tendency for abrupt physical affection, it doesn't make it any better. I'd argue it'd make it worse because Danny doesn't want to be touched more often than not.
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Danyal had a red scarf in the League that he wore on his last mission, it came off before he fell off and caught itself on the roof. Damian still has it and took it with him to Wayne Manor. He's got it locked in his room and takes it out when he's alone and missing Danny the most. One time he forgot to put it away before leaving his room, and Dick was visiting the manor for something and found it. Damian found him holding it and freaked out.
Dick could only say "I've never seen you wear this, Damian, this is really pretty--" before Damian shoved him to the floor and stole it out of his hands, before screaming at him; "Don't touch this! You don't ever touch this! This is mine! You hear me!?"
It caused such a commotion that the rest of the family present came to see what the fuss was about, and Damian kicked them all out of his room. Dick is the one brother Damian's the closest with, so the fact he reacted so strongly shocked them all.
This is likely what leads to the "Danyal" conversation.
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