#zeke character novel

[devilofthehounds]

God Eater 3 Character Novel | Spinning Bonds: Chapter 8

[image id: A novel cover. Zeke Pennywort from God Eater 3 stands with his back to the viewer, his scarf billowing in the wind. Overlaid within the scarf is an image of a young Zeke with his four brothers, smiling happily. The text, when translated into English, reads “God Eater 3 Character Novel | Chapter 4: Zeke Edition | Spinning Bonds”. /end id]

This is a fan translation. Original text here.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

Standing with Neal and Keith, thinking back on those far-off memories, I let out a small sigh.

"I really was a pathetic big brother back then... I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused you."

"Yeah. Even back then, it was obvious you were pushing yourself too hard."

"Besides, you're still pretty pathetic. Why make a big deal out of it?"

"W-Why you little...!"

My incorrigible little brothers chuckled softly.

"...You know, I've been keeping this to myself for a while, but... I've been doing some digging into what happened when Saul and Rhys died. The fact that they were able to wield God Arcs without armlets has always bothered me."

Come to think of it, what happened back then really was strange.

"It seems the Ash Crawler from back then was an experimentation ship. At the time, AGE technology was still under development... By injecting modified Oracle Cells directly into the subject's spinal cord, they were able to give them suitable God Arc compatibility, as well as resistance to the Ashlands, at least for a short period of time. It also looks like they were researching a way to exponentially increase Oracle Cell activity, without any regards to safety."

Again, there was silence between us.

"I think Saul and Rhys were successful in taking over the ship. But to save us from that swarm of Aragami... they cooperated with the ship's crew and became God Eaters. And because of how unstable the aptitude test was, by the time they came to save us, they were already..."

Keith fell silent, hugging his knees. I patted him on the back.

If that was the case, it made sense why the God Eaters on that ship helped us back then.

Even in that situation, our brothers still left us with a connection that would save us.

"...Thanks, Keith. For looking into it."

"They showed us the determination to protect what's important. It's painful to think back on it, but... I think it's because we saw their final moments that we've been able to keep going until now."

Keith and I both nodded at Neal's words.

What it mean to protect your family. We learned that from them.

"In the end, it was our brothers' will that brought us together again. When I think about it like that... I don't know if I'll ever be as good as them."

The light of our big brothers, who continued to guide us.

It was as if that same light was shining within Neal and Keith.

"You okay, Neal? You're pretty chatty today."

"Ugh... Shut up. It's just one of those days, I guess."

At that moment, the Dyaus Pita burst through the wall of the ruins we'd been hiding inside.

"Bwah! It found us!"

"It's because you were acting out of character, Neal!"

"What?! How is this my fault?!"

God Arcs in hand, us three brothers stood side by side.

But then—

"Hraaaaah!"

Suddenly, Luca came flying in like a meteor and smashed into the Dyaus Pita.

"Luca?! And Hugo... Everyone?!"

"Good. Looks like you're all okay."

"When we lost contact with you in the Restricted Ash Zone, we got worried."

"Are you injured? If you need medical attention, let me know!"

Hugo. Lulu. Claire.

It looked like everyone had come to our rescue.

"Can you three fight?"

Luca landed and held his hand out to me, smiling.

Our friends, gathered right before our eyes, looked to us with confidence.

"...Heh, of course!"

I exchanged a glance with my amazing brothers, then took Luca's hand and stood alongside my amazing friends.

Facing the horde of Ashborn, we brandished our God Arcs and leapt forward.

"Alright, Hounds, move out! Let's show them what we're made of!"

Beyond this despair. Our dream would live on and connect us to the future.

Written by Hisui Kawasemi (Talepot Co.) Original Scenario by Hiroshi Yoshimura (Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc.)

[binarybitex]

doodled my baby boys today during statistics class 🏩💕

[nanapop]

A very warm welcome to the fourth son, Zeke.

He's known for his high intellect, never-ended quest for knowledge, and timid nature. Though he's not particulary close to his brothers, he does spend the most time with Cain. Zeke can be found, more often than not, reading in the library or in the observatory.

Will you be able to pull his head out of his books long enough to learn more about him?

A Cruel Demon's Fate is free to play on itch.io (link in pinned post!)

[drchucktingle]

Good evening Dr. Tingle! Would you ever like to see a film adaption of Bury Your Gays? I think it would be so neat (especially with all of the tv and movie references present in the novel). If there ever was a movie, who would you want hypothetically cast?

HELLO BUCKAROO this is always a fun question to consider actors for a book adaption. when writing i sometimes CAST IN MY HEAD and sometimes it is just kind of a made up buckaroo. there are really only two characters in BURY YOUR GAYS that were cast in my head while writing and i will mention those below.

ultimately WHOEVER was to trot in these rolls i would be happy with, so lets just consider this a fun way through imagination. i will say that i would prefer to cast queer actors, but also i know the business of hollywood means sometimes that does not work out to get the movie on screens. if bury your gays was turned into a movie i would really have no say in any of this anyway, but queer actors would be my preference when possible.

despite all of that, when writing MISHA, the actor in my head was NOT a queer actor as far as i know (although for some reason us queer buckaroos have given him a pass to play queer characters which i think is very funny and interesting, i guess we just love him a lot regardless) anyway lets kick it off there

MISHA BYRNE

when writing BURY YOUR GAYS i was picturing none other than BILL HADER. maybe it is because i was watchin a lot of BARRY at the time, not exactly sure why but thats the truth.

that being said i think i would be great to get a queer lead in there. so if that was the case i would say LEE PACE, and of course we have the ultimate fan cast MISHA COLLINS

TARA ITO

this is the other character that was FULLY IN MY HEAD as i wrote it and mentally cast from day one. it also kind of coincides with the trot of a tv show i was watching at the time which was PEN 15. so tara in my mind was always MAYA ERSKINE

ZEKE ROMERO

not exactly a known actor in my head, but when considering options i think that OSCAR ISSAC would be very good

JACK HAYS

there are a few options for this, but i keep thinking of a very clean shaven MURRAY BARTLETT in a suit. another options would be ZACHARY QUINTO especially if we get chris pine as chris oak because thats just some incredible META KIRK AND SPOCK action for the sledgehammer scene.

now onto the dang villains.

CHRIS OAK

okay so obviously we gotta cast CHRIS PINE in this role (i might have an in). however if that does not work out i would like to suggest COLMAN DOMINGO

THE SMOKER / UNCLE KEITH

would be neat to have the monsters also play their inspiration. in the case of THE SMOKER i think STEVE BUSCEMI would be incredible

MRS. WHY / AGENT Y

last buck not least i propose ELIZABETH DEBICKI as MRS. WHY

if you have not read bury your gays yet but now you are DANG INTERESTED then you can get it here. thanks for reading buckaroos feel free to reply with your own castings. I AM NO EXPERT you know my art just as well as i do so i am curious your thoughts. LOVE IS REAL

[casualaruanienjoyer]

What kind of video games would these AOT characters like to play?

Armin: puzzle games! Something that requires his full attention, challenging but still fun. It feels very rewarding to beat them. He would probably like the game Baba is You or Portal 2.

Annie: visual novels, especially psychological horror or murder mystery ones. She loves being able to "play" a book, and the voice acting and beautiful visuals create such an immersive experience. Sometimes when she gets stuck, Armin helps her out! Something she would enjoy may be Steins Gate or Ace Attorney.

Connie: ROCKET LEAGUEEE LET'S GOOO!!

Jean: he quite likes games with multiple choices, a good story that you can influence through your decisions. He probably enjoys LA Noir and Heavy Rain. However, he doesn't do super well with horror games...

Reiner: this man owns every single copy of Fifa from the year he was born and until today. But he also enjoys Mario Kart!

Pieck: dating sims! And one of her favorites is Monster Prom. She finds them hilarious, but also likes being able to choose different people to romance. Don't tell anyone, but Annie sometimes enjoys playing these with Pieck.

Mikasa: cozy games, farming, cooking, making friends. Animal crossing and Stardew Valley are some of her favorites. It's just so nice and calm!

Eren: SUPER SMASH BROS LET'S GOOOO but yes fighting games!! Beat em ups, battle royale, doesn't matter! Anything goes!

Levi: this may come as a surprise, but this man is secretly a Simmer. Yes, you heard it! He only plays the base games, from time to time. But there's something so satisfying about creating people he dislikes in Sims and then removing that sweet sweet ladder. Ha...ha

Zeke: driving simulators. This man was BORN TO TRUCK!

Yelena: something about her just screams I TROLL IN MMOs so yeah I will say she probably plays games like Leagues of Legends, gets VERY aggressive and screams in her mic. Makes kids cry in Fortnite.

Onyankopon: he is a man of culture, so of course he would enjoy adventure RPGs. He has over 1000 hours in Breath of the Wild. Somehow.

[four-loose-screws]

FE2 Novelization Translation - Cover and Book Intro Pages

If you would like to start from the beginning, read a missed part, etc., click here!

FE Game Script Translations - FE Novel Translations - Original FE Support Conversations

If you are interested in donating to support my work, please check out my Ko-fi here. Thank you!

———————————

New year, time for another new FE novelization translation!

2024's novel of focus is that of FE2, the original game Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia was a remake of. Enjoy reading this take on the same exact plot, ~25 years prior!

Cover

Fire Emblem Gaiden

The Zofian Liberation War

Book 1

STORY

The continent of Valentia is divided between the north and the south, as well as their beliefs in War Father Duma and Earth Mother Mila. While the Kingdom of Zofia is ruled with kindness and compassion, the Rigelian Empire believes in raising its citizens to be prepared for war. Their hostility towards each other has finally pulled them into a vicious war. Units from both sides spill each other’s blood, fighting for their god and loyalty to their homeland each and every day, with no end in sight…

The protagonists of this tale are Alm, Celica, and countless other young units. They all wish for Valentia to be unified, but differ in how they want that outcome to be reached. And so, a grand tale of love and hate is about to unfold!

-

Written by Katsuyuki Ozaki

Cover Illustration by Ichiro ?*

Cover Design by Kazuo Hiroi (WIDE)**

*T/N: I cannot find the Kanji character in this person’s last name anywhere to confirm its reading.

**T/N: First name could also be ‘Ichio’ or ‘Itsuo.’ I cannot find any record of this person online, so I cannot confirm the correct reading of their name. Their nickname is ‘WIDE’ because their last name, ‘hiroi,’ is the Japanese word for wide.

Published by Futabasha

Author’s Profile

Katsuyuki Ozaki

An up-and-coming author also working as a copywriter. His major works include “Valkyrie no Densetsu,” “F-Zero,” “Zelda II: The Adventure of Link,” and many more, all published by Futabasha. He has also written for other strategy guide series. His hobbies include golf, cars, and computer games. He is of course also passionate about Fire Emblem, and has completed all of the games so far. He poured all of his love for the series into writing these two books without rest!

Front:

Alm and Celica each set out on their own journey to forge!

This is the epic adventure of this young man and woman!!

The stage unfolds on a Valentia in chaos in this epic tale of love, blood, and war!

-

Back:

Ad for Book 2.

Ad for a Shin Megami Tensei novelization.

Color Art

A necrodragon was here. In Zofia. When she realized exactly what that meant, Celica was petrified in horror. Earth Mother Mila had lost all power over Zofia.

Title Page

Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1: The Deliverance

The Six Resurrection Pills

Alm’s Awakening

The Mysterious Girl Silque

Chapter 2: Mila’s Restoration Army

Celica Embarks on Her Journey

The Ruffian Saber

The Necrodragon’s Trial

Chapter 3: To Zofia Castle

Rescuing Clair

The Night Before Storming Zofia Castle

Cliff’s Gambit

Chapter 4: The Red Haired Woman

The Port Town Tavern

Differing Paths

Chapter 5: To Mila’s Shrine

The Sisters from Archanea

Blake, Wielder of the Shadow Sword

Royal Bloodline

Desert Army

Princess Anthiese

Chapter 6: The Newly Reborn Kingdom of Zofia

His name is Zeke

Cross-Shaped Birthmark

Collapse and Liberation

The Throne Bathed in Light

Epilogue

-

Illustrations: Ichiro ?* & Kazuo Hiroi (WIDE)**

*T/N: I cannot find the Kanji character in this person’s last name anywhere to confirm its reading.

**T/N: First name could also be ‘Ichio’ or ‘Itsuo.’ I cannot find any record of this person online, so I cannot confirm the correct reading of their name. Their nickname is ‘WIDE’ because their last name, ‘hiroi,’ is the Japanese word for wide.

Book design: Yusuke Matsuoka (NEXT)

Editing & printing: Rekkasha

Character Introductions

Alm’s Army

Robin: A Villager who grew up with Alm in Ram Village. He later transcends to become an Archer.

Silque / Shilk: A Cleric in service to the goddess Mila. She specializes in healing magic.

Cliff / Klihs: A Villager from Ram Village. He later transcends to become a Mage, specializing in long range combat magic.

Delthea: A female Mage who has fallen into Rigel’s hands by Tatarrah’s magic. She wields the Aura tome.

Luthier: He decides to join forces with Alm to lead his younger sister Delthea’s fate down a righteous path. A mage with a tragic past.

Mycen: A former unit of the Knights of Zofia, transcended to one of the highest level classes, Gold Knight.

Python: An Archer prodigy whose short-temper is as great as his skills with a bow.

Clair: A Pegasus Knight who was granted the ability to fly a pegasus by the two gods. Clive’s younger sister.

Forsyth: A soldier who’s greatest skill is his ability to calmly make decisions in the heat of battle.

Mathilda: An exceptionally talented female Cavalier. She possesses both a brave soul and bewitching beauty.

Tatiana: A Saint captured by Nuibaba. Zeke’s beloved.

Clive: A Cavalier and the leader of the young surviving units of the Knights of Zofia.

Zeke: A mysterious Gold Knight who has lost his memory. He serves Alm under Emperor Rudolf’s orders.

Lukas: A hot-blooded soldier who wields his lance like lightning.

Alm: A fighter raised by Zofia’s hero Mycen, and the protagonist of this story. He is a boy with a grand fate!

Gray: A Villager from Ram Village. He later transcends into a Cavalier.

[gothgril69]

Levi Ackerman/Fem!Reader Royalty!AU

Summary: You dream of another life, a simpler one under the rays of the warm sun, where you find love and your brothers live happily.

But you're destined to serve, to be the black sheep of the family and married off to whoever your father pleases because your parents can't seem to harbor any love for you. Your brothers will serve in the war, side by side with their Chevaliers, and you'll be left to pick up the pieces or die trying.

And the one you thought always hated you, will be right by your side to catch you when you fall.

Overall Warnings: themes of sexism, minor character death, angst, depression, minor character death, smut (please check ao3 for all tags)

Chapter warnings: graphic violence

Chapter Length: 10.6k

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

ao3 link

Auguste lifts you up from the ground, arms wrapped around your torso as he hugs you. It’s not until he sets you down that Theo joins in, creating a group hug just like when the three of you were younger.

Todays the day. The day they all set off to the frontlines.

You’re only slightly less worried than you initially were. Your brothers (Levi and Furlan too) have assured you that it should be a short trip due to your engagement with Zeke, allowing both of the armies to fall back and finally come home. It was supposed to be a joyous occasion, your brothers and father would be going to personally tell the Mirlenas army on the Northern coast that their time serving would be put on pause for now; the war against Kaslogon would be over.

But you still had tears streaming down your face, sobs shaking your body even as Auguste and Theo attempted to make you laugh – and they did, it just wasn’t without tears. Furlan had even given you a giant hug, along with Isabel who was crying right next to you. Levi only ruffled her hair affectionately, earning a goofy grin from her that made you smile.

“The voyage is a month long,” Auguste addressed you. “So give us at least three to see you again.” You nodded with a sniffle.

“I’ll play that song for you when I get back, Aeron,” Theo beamed at you. You let out a small, but genuine, laugh and gave him his own hug. You were going to miss your brothers dearly.

You step back to finally let them get into the carriage, watching as the group climbs into one of the two carriages that awaited them in front of the castle grounds that would take them to a rendezvous point. Levi was the last to go in, pausing for a moment. He turns around and meets your gaze, giving you a small nod – a promise, to do everything he could to get your brothers home safely. You nod back at him in thanks.

Your mother had already gone inside the moment she said goodbye, not waiting to see the carriages off. Honestly, you were grateful that she wasn’t still there because when they were finally out of sight, you fully broke down. Your sobs shook your whole body and if it wasn’t for Isabel next to you to hold onto, you would’ve surely fell to the ground. She cried with you as you embraced each other.

War was always a frightening thing, even if it was ending. There was no way of knowing that the group you just sent off would make it back to you and you’re not quite sure what you would do if they didn’t. You would just have to trust them, just like Auguste and Levi told you.

—

Time seems to move differently when you get lost in your own thoughts. Sometimes it moves slow to savor the torturous hours it provides you. Sometimes it moves too fast and one day you’re waking up wondering where all of it went.

You were experiencing both – in a limbo of sorts.

Time seems to move fast when you have Isabel’s company, often talking about your novels or enjoying the quiet air on morning walks. She usually brings you tea, sitting at your balcony table while the two of you share a pot before going on your walk. You’ve switched the time, now preferring the cool morning air opposed to the sunsets at dusk to avoid the summer heat. You no longer felt warm inside – not that you ever really did – now that you were typically alone. It didn’t feel right to have the sun warm your skin. The cold air would do just fine.

Time seems to move slow when you’re alone, sitting on your bed and simply staring out your balcony doors and curtainless windows. The castle is quiet without your brothers and half of the guards gone and you’re not sure what to do with the missing sensation of noise throughout the halls. Your mother does not come out of her room, choosing to have her mealtimes in her bedroom – not that you mind. You could no longer hear Theo and Furlan in the distance as he brushed up on his battle skills, Theo’s voice echoing through the castle gardens. You could no longer walk the halls and hear Auguste and your father in his study, discussing anything Auguste could possibly need to know about being a king. You no longer had Levi’s company throughout your days, even if it was just filled with bickering most of the time. It seemed as though even the birds had left, quietude filling their space.

Though you weren’t quite calm either. It felt odd – lonely. At first you thought it was nice to have the time to yourself, even if you missed your brothers dearly, but you soon found out it wasn’t quite living up to your expectations. You found yourself sitting up late at night most of the time, sitting, staring, at nothing. Your inspiration to paint had left you – although it wasn’t due to lack of ideas. You had the creativity in your mind, but it was being held captive by a force unknown to you. 

You would look at your canvases across your bedroom, wanting to create the picture in your head and make it tangible; real. It just never seemed worth it to pull yourself up, to cross that invisible barrier your mind had laid out and just pick up the paint brush. You would let the ideas fester in your mind until temporarily forgotten when you picked up a book instead. It was easier to just lie there and read the words on the pages than create something from your own mind.

And then soon it would be evening, Isabel would bring you dinner, and you’d stay up late into the hours of the night until you woke up the next morning and did it all over again.

Perhaps it was because no one was really in the castle that your mind had turned against you in this way, but you had always made an effort to keep yourself busy before. Even when your brothers were busy with their own chores or duties, or your parents were too occupied by anything else to give you an ounce of attention, you still kept yourself busy. It feels as though you’ve never had as much time as you do now, just sitting and waiting. You suppose that’s really what you’re doing, waiting, and you’re getting quite impatient.

It’s been four months – Auguste said three. But you’ll trust them, because that’s what they told you to do.

—

Levi has never felt as uncertain as he does now. Erwin reassures him that there’s a plan – he always has a plan – but he cannot help but feel lost. He wishes they never left the Southern coast of Mirlenas, where the lavender grows in fields and the ocean is a stone skip away, the mountains bordering the town and protecting the mainland from their enemies. Levi has never been a man with a lot of comforts in his life, but anything has to be better than the bloody fields he’s walked across.

He has seen his fair share of bloodshed, rotten men behaving like animals, his own mother being abused by the men that frequented the brothel he was born in, but nothing could have prepared him for this. The Kaslogon soldiers were brutal, practically committing war crimes as they slaughtered the Mirlenas army. Bullet holes would be in the center of men’s foreheads, even if they were about to bleed out from wounds puncturing their abdomens or legs. Levi knows the Kaslogon soldiers had made their rounds, finding anyone still alive and killing them off rather than tending to their wounds.

Your brother had cried the first time he saw them, excusing himself back to the camp they had set up with the rest of the men accompanying them. Levi had watched as Erwin brought a comforting hand to his shoulder, guiding him into the tent and never leaving until the next morning. If your father noticed he did not say anything and Levi would not dare to point out the glaringly obvious affection the two share for each other.

He would remain strong for your brothers, two men that have never seen this side of a war. It was good that they were getting experience, but Levi knew if his own hardened façade cracked then your brothers would have no one to look to – they would feel like no one could protect them. Theo seemed worse off than Auguste, often stealing Furlan’s time just to talk about anything but their surroundings and leaving Levi alone.

He was used to it, sitting alone during the night and having his insomnia get in the way of finding a restful night sleep. It would be impossible even if he tried, the images of what he’s seen on their journey so far haunting him already. The aftermath of battle was not a scene he was fond of.

It had been four months – a month longer than what they had told you. Levi hopes you still trust them to make it back to you, but the longer he travels the more he feels as though they shouldn’t have given you anything to hold onto. They should have told you to expect the worst and if everything turned out to be okay then you would feel relieved.

Levi looks up at the stars, trying to find the one his mother always told him would guide him – the Northern Star. He thought it was silly to look for such a thing when he was just a small boy, laughing at his mother for her foolishness, but now it’s the first thing he looks for after the sun is gone over the horizon. He wishes he could go back and tell her that she was right, that it did always seem to guide him, but he likes to think that she already knows. That she’s simply the Northern Star’s neighbor, looking down on him.

She did everything she could to give him a good life, selling her body to put food in his belly even if Madame Elise, who ran the brothel, would have never let him go hungry. He would pickpocket in exchange for the wellbeing of his mother and his own, giving her his earnings when he was done for the night. He would give anything now just to hear his mother’s voice, the one that spoke to him so softly at bedtime before she fell ill and passed.

He startles when he hears the sound of a branch snapping behind him, alerting him to someone’s presence in the surrounding forest they had chosen to settle in for the night. He doesn’t make any sudden movements, eyes and ears alert for any motion around him until he hears a footstep right behind him.

He swivels on his seat – a small stump – and swings at the man behind him, knocking him out cold. He’s wearing simple clothing, but Levi sees the glint of the man’s broche under the starlight – the Kaslogon emblem, a golden crown, staring back at him. His eyes go wide in recognition, immediately scrambling to run back to camp that resides only twenty-five meters away. 

He’s met with chaos upon his return, tents being ransacked and men fighting each other with knives or just their fists with only the soft glow of the torches aiding their sight.

Levi doesn’t spare a moment, jumping into action to save Theo from an oncoming knife as Furlan protects one of his other comrades. He swings at a man in front of him, buying enough time to pull a dagger from his belt and slicing the Kaslogon soldier across the neck, causing blood to splatter. He quickly takes in his surroundings, spotting Auguste being protected by and fighting alongside Erwin – he’ll be okay. Levi doesn’t have time to look for the king further when he’s unable to find him at first glance, focusing his energy on protecting your brothers and Furlan.

He sees Furlan kill a man in front of him, not realizing the threat coming from behind as Levi struggles to fight off the three men in front of him by himself. He has no choice but to watch as Furlan is shot in the back of the head from a man that had pulled out a musket as Levi knocks out one more man. It feels as though time slows in that moment, his best friend’s body collapsing to the ground with empty eyes and limp limbs. It takes all of Levi’s strength to keep fighting, to protect himself instead of running to Furlan’s body.

He doesn’t cry – he can’t. The grief hasn’t caught up with him enough to allow for it, the adrenaline pumping through his veins at too rapid a pace. His mind is telling him that safety comes first, that somehow Furlan might be okay when he walks over to him after he’s done, but Levi knows better. He’s seen men die before and he can only take comfort in the fact that his dearest friend died instantly and most likely without recognition of what was going on.

Theo’s scream rips him from the sight as he tries to locate your brother from the sound of his voice, only to see him staring down at his hand that clutches his abdomen before he pulls it away and reveals the crimson that seems to continuously gush out of him. The wound is brutal, too deep to stop any blood from coming out as Theo presses his hands to it. There’s nothing Levi can do, still immobile from the men that attack him now and he has no choice but to let Theo die in front of his eyes. He told himself he would give his all to protect your brothers, and he has. There was simply no way for him to break free from his struggle now, the sight of Furlan dying right before him breaking him enough to the point where it feels like he’s losing his strength even though he wants to help Theo so desperately. 

Levi watches as Theo falls to his knees, before falling to the side in pain. Their eyes meet for the very last time as the light leaves his viridian eyes, a look of fear being the last thing he sees in them.

Levi’s heart feels like it stops.

And then it soon feels as though it might beat out of his chest, breaking free of the confines of his ribcage to allow him to fully feel the fury flowing through him without any inhibitions. He stabs the third man in the heart, walking away before he’s even fallen to the ground, and coming up behind the man that had pulled out the musket. Levi stabs the man in the neck, watching as blood spurts from his carotid artery and grabbing the musket from his hand as he falls to the ground.

Levi reloads it in record time, spending a precious ten seconds rather than the standard thirty, and fires it into the head of a man that was about to ambush Auguste. He looks at Erwin, simply nodding and ignoring the blood that drips off of his clothes as the two of them make a silent agreement to give their all to protect Auguste.

They quickly fire rounds off and kill anyone that comes close to them, protecting Auguste with their own lives. Levi is numb to the dull ache in his heart as he fights the rest of the Kaslogon soldiers off, focusing on killing the men as quickly as possible so they can be safe again – so your brother can be safe again.

When the last man is killed he finally takes a breath, his heart rate beginning to slow to a normal speed. He doesn’t notice the tears that have started to fall down his face despite the lack of emotion on his features, and he doesn’t notice the conscious Kaslogon soldier on the ground a few meters away from Erwin and Auguste. The man that he had rendered unconscious earlier as Furlan was shot was now reaching for the musket that laid next to him.

Levi only notices when it’s too late, turning around and throwing his dagger into the man’s skull just to watch Auguste get shot in the back and the musket ball travel through him, out the front of his chest at the same time. Auguste lurches forwards, falling straight towards the ground if it weren’t for Erwin’s arms wrapping around the man’s torso and supporting all of his bodyweight. 

“Auguste, amour,” Erwin chokes out. Levi remains still, eyes wide in shock as he watches his Commander tear up at the sight of his lover dying in his arms. He can feel the clench of his heart, the loss of his best friends finally coming to the surface as Auguste fights for a breath.

“It’s,” Auguste offers a lazy smile, “okay, Erwin.”

 “You stubborn man,” Erwin scolds through his tears with a humorless chuckle.

Auguste frowns and glances at Levi. “Protect A-Aeron.” Auguste’s eyebrows furrow as he grimaces in pain. “Front pocket,” he coughs, blood coming out onto Erwin’s chest. “For her.” Auguste looks back at Erwin, adoration and fear in his eyes. Levi can’t look at the brown eyes that had comforted you many times before, the ones that made you laugh for the first time in front of him. 

He looks away, giving the two men their moment of privacy and allowing Auguste the comfort of seeing Erwin before he passes on. He can’t bear the sight of it, choosing to distract his mind by scanning the camp, ensuring the last of the Kaslogon soldiers are dead or gone. He checks inside each tent, coming to a stop when he sees the king’s body lying outside of the furthest tent, bloodied and broken next to two guards that shared the same fate.

A note is left on his torso, partly covered in blood, and sealed with gold wax that’s been stamped with the emblem of Kaslogon. Levi picks it up in his own sullied hands, opting to open it when he and Erwin have a moment.

He stands still, staring down at the body of the king. He doesn’t think you’ll be overly sorrowful over the loss of your father, but he hopes your mother does not retaliate or take it out on you. He tries not to think about all of the responsibilities you are going to have now that your brothers no longer walk the earth, the ones you never wanted in the first place. His mind briefly wonders what will happen with Zeke and how he cannot fathom letting the man take you.

“He’s gone,” Erwin’s voice sounds from behind him. Levi turns to face him, watching as one of his closest friends lets his tears drip down onto the cold earth below them.

He’s never seen the man shed a tear before and he’s surely never been one to have a way with words. “I’m sorry,” Levi frowns. “I should have seen the man on the ground before it was too late.”

Erwin gives Levi a sad smile. “No. You acted as swift as you could. I am sorry I failed at protecting them, but we both shall live without regrets of tonight, knowing we did everything we could.” 

Levi doesn’t argue with him – he doesn’t bother explaining how he could have done more, how if he had just killed the man instead of knocking him unconscious then at least one brother would be coming home to you and Erwin would not be a shell of himself in front of him. 

Erwin looks past Levi at the king that lies on the ground before his eyes find Levi’s again. They’re hardened, the tears no longer spilling over and instead the blue has turned as cold as ice. Levi simply lifts the letter in his hand to give to Erwin, allowing the man to take it from his hand with ease and letting his arm fall to his side. He feels drained, weak and frail, but he needs to collect the bodies of his friends – of your brothers.

He tries not to focus on the ache in his heart that now feels like it’s going to burn him alive, and he tries not to think of how he’s going to tell you that your brothers are dead, or how he’s going to tell Isabel that Furlan is gone.

Erwin’s arm stops him before he can walk to Furlan’s body. “I think you should be the one to give this to her,” Erwin tells Levi softly, holding out the letter from Auguste’s breast pocket in front of him. He looks up at him, wondering why the hell this man would make him go through something so torturous. He doesn’t wish to see the face you’re going to make when Levi finds the strength to hand you a letter written by your dead brother. 

He doesn’t want to go home anymore. He doesn’t want to see the woman that reminds him of the very same lavender fields he trekked through to get here. He knows you’ll never forgive him for losing the only two people who ever truly understood you.

All Levi does is nod, accepting the letter anyway and promising Auguste and Theo’s souls that still roam the earth that he’ll do everything in his power to protect you.

—

Six months.

Six months have passed when Mrs. Kirstein rapidly knocks on your bedroom door, shouting about how a carriage has pulled up in front of the castle grounds.

You run as fast as you can out of your bedroom, pushing open the front doors and hurtling down the front steps of the castle so fast you almost fall down at least sixty of them with Jean and Marco yelling behind you to be careful. Your brothers were finally home, Furlan was finally home, Levi was finally home. You would no longer fill your days with nothing. Isabel would have Furlan’s company again and you could finally find your peace in Auguste’s kind words. Theo would finally play you that song. You don’t think you’ve ever been more excited for Levi’s attitude and bickering than you are now.

You skip the bottom step, jumping onto the gravel pathway that leads out to the dirt road in front of the gates that are already open. You’re grateful you had worn trousers today, usually foregoing them as of late in favor of a light dress and robe that was more comfortable, but Isabel had suggested going foraging in the nearby woods that bordered the castle. Your boots had already been tightly laced in anticipation of your day out.

You run as fast as you can, hoping that Auguste will be waiting for you with open arms and lift you into the sky just like he did before he left. Six months has been too long; the summer months had gone by in the blink of an eye and you assumed it would have made their travel easier – you didn’t think about the logistics as to why they would be months late now. The autumn air makes you feel more alive, ready to train your combat skills with Auguste and Theo, or take evening walks again with Levi and force him to accompany you while you read.

But when you reach the gates of the castle grounds you still only see one carriage when there should be two, and you only see Levi stepping out onto the dirt road. His eyes meet yours, but he looks different; he looks empty. You slowly walk up to him, the small smile not faltering still.

“Is the other carriage almost here as well? I expected all of you to arrive at once, but I suppose Auguste could have needed to stop in town before his arrival,” you ask, peering down the dirt road to see if you can spot the second carriage coming around the corner.

Levi doesn’t say anything, still staring at you when you look back at him. Your eyebrows furrow in confusion.

“What?” You tilt your head at him, that same stupid, oblivious, smile still on your face.

“Aeron…” His voice trails off, eyes looking at you with misery practically pooling out of their grey.

“Levi…” Your smile falls, realization rearing it’s head.

“Aeron, they’re gone,” he states plainly, as if it’s the easiest thing he could have said to you.

Your heart palpitates, all of your senses becoming numb for a moment. They’re gone. Your brothers that you sent off to end a war, were now gone and would never return to you. It was supposed to be an easy mission, a simple voyage to tell the frontlines that the war was over. They would rejoice and praise their king and return home shortly after, giving Auguste the experience he needed as king and Theo the experience he needed as the Prince of Mirlenas.

Auguste was supposed to lift you into his arms and set you back down so Theo could wrap his arms around the two of you and crush your ribs with a teasing smile. Theo was supposed to come back and play his song for you, the one he had written just for you. He had finally told you he loved you, something he was never good at doing when the two of you were growing up as brother and sister even though you knew he did.

But now, all you can do is stare at Levi, eyes and soul empty as you feel yourself collapse to the ground. Your knees dig into the dirt and you watch as water droplets fall to the soil as your tears overflow. You feel as though you’ve been ripped apart at the seams, only Auguste and Theo being the ones able to pull you back together and stitch your heart with such precision that it heals with minimal scarring. There was no mending you now – you were destined to be broken forever.

It’s when you stare down at the ground that your breathing becomes heavier, sadness immediately overcome by rage inside you.

You look up, a scowl on your features and absolute resentment in your eyes. “You promised,” you spit out at Levi, venom dripping from your words. You stand up just so you can stomp your way in front of him. “You promised!” you yell into his face. Your voice cracks with anguish, but you don’t even notice. “You told me you would protect them, but you let them die!” Your tears haven’t stopped, your voice continuing to falter as you yell at him. Your emotions feel like they’re boiling over, ripping your heart in two as it explodes against your ribcage. “I hate you, Levi. I hate you for letting the only two people that cared about me die!”

Levi is looking at you, a blank expression on his face as he takes you in and it only makes you more angry. You look into his eyes, seeing the same lifeless features mixed with an overwhelming amount of sorrow in the depths of the grey that stare back at you. Your heavy breaths and tears are the only sounds around you.

Levi watches you in front of him, feeling every word you spat at him pierce his heart. He wants to tell you how sorry he is, how much he truly tried to protect your brothers and Furlan, but he knows you wouldn’t hear any of it. He wants to tell you how he was the one to watch helplessly as Furlan was shot in the back of the head, or that he was the one that saw the utter fear in your brother’s eyes as he lied on the ground, helplessly bleeding from his abdomen so quickly that he was gone in mere seconds. He wants to scream for his friends, for their meaningless deaths that could have been avoided. He wants to be there for Erwin, to comfort the man who’s guided him through so much of his life on his path to becoming a Chevalier where he met Furlan in the first place. He wants to tell you about how there was so much love in Auguste’s eyes when he passed, some of his last words regarding your protection – he’s not even sure Auguste knew that Theo died. 

But he would never reveal any of this to you – to protect you just like your brother told him to do.

He can see the fury in your eyes, your pupils blown out with rage as you look at him so scrutinizingly. He doesn’t even flinch when you pound your fist into his chest, sobs wracking your whole body as you now cry into his chest. You’re punching him, taking your anger and sadness out on him and he stands there, allowing you to do as you please if it will make you feel better at all. He wants to wrap his arms around your frame to hold you steady, to tell you it’ll be okay, but he can’t bring himself to touch you in such a fragile state. He’s afraid you would just push him off even if an embrace is what you need. 

Whether you get too tired to continue assaulting his chest, or you know that it won’t do you any good, you stop and look at him. He stares back with furrowed brows and sad eyes, apologies and meaningful words on the tip of his tongue that he just can’t seem to speak aloud to you.

He stands still and watches as Mrs. Kirstein arrives with Isabel behind you. She grabs your shoulders and spins your fragile body away from him, guiding you past Isabel and into the castle walls – you don’t even look up at her as you pass. Once you’ve gotten at least twenty meters away his eyes focus back on Isabel who’s looking up at him with big doe eyes that are brimmed with tears. He has to fight back his own at the sight.

“Is,” Levi mutters, not knowing how to approach her. “I’m so sorry.” He knows she knows what he’s talking about, the obviously empty carriage behind him that carried no one but him home, leaving Erwin in town to drink away his sorrows for now.

Tears stream down Isabel’s face as she walks towards him. “I’m glad you’re okay, Levi.” Her voice is small and she gives him a sad smile before her arms are wrapped around him, pulling him into a much needed embrace. He wishes he could have provided this for you, but even now as Isabel pulls him close he can’t help but be especially aware of the foreign contact with someone else.

Levi and Isabel walk back to the castle grounds together, arms wrapped around each other’s shoulders in support as her silent tears continue to stream down her face. He’s never been more grateful that neither of you were allowed to go on that mission with them. He doesn’t think he would have made it with no one left.

—

You realize now that you never truly knew what loneliness felt like. 

You’ve locked yourself in your room for a month now, never unlocking the door even when there was a knock that announced your meal times. You didn’t leave your bed – not until your kidney started to pierce your side with pain from not relieving your bladder. It was just so much easier to cover yourself with your blankets and stare at the patterns in the walls, the intricate detailings on the borders allowing you to focus on just the white wood. You wouldn’t even realize the day had passed until the sun was setting, or when the moon had shown it’s face and the sun was kissing it goodbye with it’s rising. You wouldn’t even know what day it was had you left your curtains hanging – you almost wish you had just left them alone when you were seventeen so you could be absorbed in the darkness now.

But all the while you simply chose to ignore your surroundings enough to disassociate, you were made painfully aware of the presence outside your door when you would hear the familiar footsteps, the sound being recognizable to you even after he was gone for those six long months. Levi has been standing outside your door since he arrived, never leaving except for what you would assume is sleeping or eating – although the man hardly does either it seems. You’re not sure why he has decided to stay near and you don’t bother telling him to go away. It’s too much effort.

You haven’t seen Isabel since that day, only Mrs. Kirstein has been delivering you food and tea regardless of how little you’re able to choke down. You feel guilty for not being there for the young girl, knowing shes suffering from grief about Furlan just the same as you are for your brothers. You’re only grateful for Levi in those moments when you think too hard about how you’re not the one there for her, but he is. At least she has someone to comfort her.

Your dreams and nightmares are the worst they’ve ever been in your life. Happy memories of Auguste cleaning the dirt off your cheeks after Theo pushed you into the ground, or repeats of Theo telling you he loves you and that he always has, he was just never good with words in that way. You wake up, ready to face the world and a smile gracing your lips for once until you remember that it’s not a reality – your brothers are dead.

Other nights are worse as you cry yourself to sleep just when you thought you didn’t have the tears to spare anymore. Visuals of what you imagine their deaths to be like and how gruesome they probably were float through your mind; images of Theo looking so helplessly into your eyes and Auguste’s own flickering with fear you’ve never seen before in him. You always wake up in a cold sweat, the coming winter air chilling you down to your bones, but somehow your skin is so sticky and uncomfortable you have to throw the blankets off your body in the middle of your panic. 

You always try to calm yourself down, eyes wide with fear and breathing so labored you’re moments away from hyperventilating. Your cheeks are always stained with tears and they’ve fallen onto the nightgown you wear to bed that’s now sticking to every curve of your body in the worst way possible. 

It feels like you’re drowning, lungs burning as you take deep inhales to make sure you don’t pass out again – the last thing you need is to succumb to any kind of slumber for fear that you’ll just wake up in a panic again. The only reason you let yourself fall asleep is because of the hope you’ll have a happy memory instead of the grueling nightmares, that maybe your mind can have a moment of reprieve from the harsh reality.

—

Levi always hears your struggles every night. If you’re not whimpering in your sleep, crying for Theo and Auguste to just be okay or that you’ll be there to save them, then he hears the unusual quietness of the night followed by soft cries and whimpers as you wake up from an undoubtedly happy memory since you’re not screaming. He wants to break down the door and run to your side, hold you until you feel normal because he knows you just feel alone – he’s familiar with the feeling. He doesn’t want anyone else to feel the pain of loss, to feel what it’s like to lose your sun that brightens your day for the moon cannot shine without it, and he can feel your light dimming everyday.

You would hate him more if he burst into your room uninvited, you would punch your fists into his chest as he tried to hold you, but at least he could be there for you. Levi misses your brothers dearly and doesn’t have to imagine what it feels like to feel such loss after watching Furlan die right in front of him – his own brother. Instead he stands guard by your door every day and night, only taking breaks to give him the nourishment his body requires and to check up on Isabel and make sure that Mrs. Kirstein and Mrs. Springer are looking after her with the utmost care.

It’s now, as he stands in the candle-lit hallways of the castle outside your door, that Erwin makes his way down the parquet flooring. Your distant soft whimpers of pain are coming through the door and Levi has to pull his mind away just to focus on Erwin’s presence in front of him.

“I’ve read the letter,” he states, leaning against the wall next to Levi. His voice is hardly above a whisper as he steals a glance at your door – he can hear you too. “She has a duty to fulfill.”

“Her brothers just died,” Levi scoffs, trying to be mindful of his volume.

“It’s been a month,” Erwin states plainly. “I’d like to have a meeting with her and I’m afraid you’re the only one that can ensure her attendance.” He pauses, glancing over at Levi before his gaze finds the flickering sconce on the opposite wall. “Have you given her–”

“No.”

“Levi. Auguste wanted her to read it.”

“It would break her even more,” Levi sighs and looks over at Erwin’s profile. His eyes are sharp, seemingly focused on the flame across from them, but Levi knows better. He can see the flickers of pain in the sea of blue, drops of anguish falling into their ocean, as the two broach the topic of your brothers’ deaths.

“She’s already broken, Levi.” His voice comes out harsh, probably harsher than he meant to, but Levi feels it all the same. “It would be something for her to hold onto. I think it could provide some closure.”

He pushes himself off the wall and a hand lands on Levi’s shoulder, causing his gaze to look up at the strong blond man in front of him. Levi can’t help but notice he looks anything but.

“Be there for her.” Erwin gives him a small smile, one that doesn’t even come close to reaching his eyes. “She’s angry, and grieving, but she’s strong. Give her something to fight for and she’ll succeed.” Levi can only nod, his voice is lost as Erwin removes his hand from his shoulder and takes a step back. “I need her presence in the meeting hall tomorrow at noon. Read this.”

He grabs Levi’s paralyzed wrist and flips his palm upwards before placing an envelope in his hand; the same one he saw on your father’s chest, but now with the Kaslogon emblem wax seal broken.

He doesn’t want to read it. He wants to throw it in a fire and watch the edges of the paper turn black and fall into ash as the wax melts down, sizzling as it lands on the burning embers below. Levi doesn’t realize Erwin has walked away already as he silently sits in his anger; he can practically feel the heat radiating from him. He unfolds the paper, uncaring whether or not the paper gets torn while his eyebrows furrow in simultaneous frustration and concentration. He watches the black ink reveal itself to him, blurry words exposing to Levi that he has tears in his eyes that he didn’t realize were about to fall.

He roughly swipes at his face with one hand and sniffles, clearing his face of any emotion before fully unfolding the paper and reading the messy scrawl in front of him. It’s addressed to you, and his heart palpitates.

Levi is seething with anger by the time he finishes reading the letter. If he didn’t want to murder the man before, he does now, and he can see images behind his eyes of the man perishing by his own hand. The hand that does not hold the letter is clenched into a fist by his side, the other one almost doing the same and wrinkling the paper in front of him. He has to take deep breaths just to stop himself from punching the wall next to your bedroom door – he can’t wake you and you would be furious with him for damaging the carvings you admire so much. He can’t let you read this, but knowing Erwin it’s inevitable with your presence being requested tomorrow.

You’ve gone quiet now, the stark silence almost startling Levi now that his breathing has slowed and he is no longer seeing red. Good. That means you’re either sleeping with no nightmares or you’re awake and no longer suffering from your dreams. He takes this moment of your peace to walk away from your door to find Mrs. Kirstein so she is prepared to take care of you tomorrow morning and ensure your presence at the meeting. He’ll have to knock on your door to inform you before she arrives so you are not mentally unprepared for what Mrs. Kirstein has in store for you.

—

You watched your brothers be buried two weeks ago, a large ceremony to honor them and commend them for their bravery. You attended only so you could say goodbye to them and caress both Auguste’s and Theo’s features one last time, but they were so cold; their skin like ice. Auguste’s curly brown locks had turned dull and Theo no longer held his boyish charm that you loved so much. You had asked to see their wounds and Levi had stepped in to refuse, putting a hand in front of the priest that offered to assist in pulling back the lower half of the casket and the soft fabric that covered the rest of their bodies. Although you had given him a glare, you knew he was right – why would you want to see how much pain your brothers suffered through? You had watched as they lowered the caskets into the ground and left as soon as the first shovel of dirt was thrown on top of the three people you had ever cared about. You had demanded for Furlan to be buried next to them because he had no living relatives – his mother had already died from sickness before he became a Chevalier.

You didn’t want to linger and receive the small words of pity people would throw towards you in hopes of making the pain lessen in your heart. Walking away was the easiest thing you could do at the time instead of listening to empty promises of a better future and apologies that never meant anything as soon as they left the person’s mouth. All you had ensured beforehand was that Erwin Smith knew his presence was welcome and encouraged so he could mourn your brother properly – you don’t want to think about what it would be like to lose your soulmate.

Levi had followed you wordlessly inside, remaining a decent distance behind in what you would assume was fear of being lashed out on again, but that was far too much effort for you. The one thing that you could be grateful for was that he remained silent as the two of you walked and he was never one for empty words. He meant everything he said despite his broken promise of protecting your brothers. You were internally working on forgiving the man for something he could not control, but it was easier to find someone else to blame for your loss. Mrs. Kirstein has been trying to convince you otherwise, to let God into your soul and find it in your heart to forgive, but you were never really a friend of His.

You now sit in your bed, staring at the blank canvases that litter your room, but not truly as your mind stays focused on recalling the events of the funeral and images of your brothers flash through your mind. Even then, your mind seems to be barely focused on that as you simply lose yourself in just existing, sitting here with no real motivation to move or take care of yourself. You feel like a hollow shell of yourself. You briefly wonder if Levi feels the same way, if he grieves the same way you do or if he is able to push through it. He hasn’t left your door since the day he came back and you can’t help but wonder why the man would do such a thing when he’s likely heart broken of the loss of Furlan and your brothers.

“Aeron,” His voice sounds from the other side of your door, pulling your gaze towards it as you blink away your dissociative state of mind. “Erwin requests your presence in the meeting hall.”

“Go away,” you yell back at him so he can hear through the door. You know your voice sounds empty, no malice lacing your tone, just exhaustion.

You hear him sigh through the door. “It’s urgent and your mother refuses to see him.”

“I don’t want to either.” You stare blankly at the carvings in the molding that surrounds your ceiling.

“Great,” he scoffs, “I’m sending Mrs. Kirstein in, she’ll help you get ready.”

You don’t get a chance to refuse before you hear the sound of his footsteps receding. You sit up in your bed, the thin nightgown covering your body practically falling off your shoulders and the loose tie in front threatening to come undone. Your hair is a disaster, having not been washed in at least three days – you’re not really sure – and you know the inevitable dark circles under your eyes will give away the amount of sleep you’ve been getting. You can’t bring yourself to care, simply sitting here as if you were dead already with a lifeless stare directed towards your bedroom door. You know you won’t have to get up to unlock it – Mrs. Kirstein has access to the master key of the castle. You are at least grateful that you’ve had your privacy thus far, knowing at any moment she could have come marching into your bedroom.

You hear the sound of a key being inserted into your doorknob before the door is slowly opened, only Mrs. Kirstein peeking her head through before she walks in fully. You look down, not wanting to meet her gaze just like every other morning, but today it’s worse – you finally have to leave the safety of your bedroom.

“Oh dear,” you hear her sigh. “Come here, sweet.” You feel the bed shift under her weight, her legs coming into view as she sits next to you on the mattress.

When you look up at her the tears have already started streaming down your cheeks – you thought you were done crying. She pulls you into her embrace, arms wrapped around you in the most comforting way possible, like a true mother’s hug. You briefly wonder if this is what your own mother’s arms would feel like and it only makes you cry harder when you remember what it felt like to be embraced by Auguste and Theo. You’re staining the fabric on her shoulder, but she doesn’t seem to mind as she squeezes you tighter, trying to calm down your fragile frame as your sobs shake your body.

“Let’s get you cleaned up, hm?” she mutters softly to you, arms still protectively embracing your body. 

You simply nod, the tears still flowing but without any violent sobs that shake your body. She gently guides you off of the bed and holds your fragile frame so your knees don’t give out on you, straightening your nightgown so it stays on your shoulders enough to make it to the bathroom. You let her undress you, too weak to care about her seeing your body – you know you need the help. Her gentle hands untie your nightgown to let it fall off your body, her eyes meeting yours in a silent question of your consent. You simply nod, allowing her to hold your hand and guide you into the tub that she seemed to have already prepped before sitting down on the edge of your bed. Your concept of time and awareness of your surroundings are severely lacking.

You sniffle as you settle into the water, the subtle smell of lavender floating towards your face as you try to inhale. You spot the sachet of oats and lavender she had placed in the water to nourish your skin. You look up at her to find her already looking at your eyes, wrinkled eyes practically begging for you to let her help you and eyebrows furrowed with sympathy. You would hate that look being directed towards you if it wasn’t Mrs. Kirstein or Mrs. Springer. You nod again, wordlessly giving her your permission for help to bathe you because you’re so exhausted, limbs weak despite lying in your bed for what feels like eternity.

She takes the softest washing cloth you own and gently swipes it across your skin after lathering it with your lavender scented soap, the suds feeling heavenly against your once sweaty skin. Your nightmares haven’t gotten any better with last night plaguing your mind of dark and gruesome images of your brothers dying right before you. You’re suddenly very grateful for Levi’s interference at the funeral as you stare down into the water at your toes that scrunch against the cast iron edge of your clawfoot tub.

Mrs. Kirstein helps you out of the tub with a towel ready to wrap around your body after she finishes washing you – you barely felt her touch. You’re quietly dressed in simple attire to meet with the Commander with a loose dress and a hardly tightened corset around your waist. She leaves your hair down, allowing it’s natural texture to flow with minimal product to tame any wild strands and leaves your face bare. You stare at yourself in the mirror, imagining Auguste walking through your door and meeting your gaze in the mirror like so many nights ago. He would ask for your wrists and gently drop lavender oil so you could spread the scent onto your skin and he would tell you how beautiful you look before you had to leave your room.

You sigh, blinking to prevent any tears from forming, and turn to Mrs. Kirstein. “Thank you.” Your voice is soft, slightly hoarse from not being used and the constant choking you force upon yourself to prevent yourself from crying.

“I’ll send Levi in, madame.”

You don’t bother telling her no, knowing Levi will refuse regardless and appear whether you want him to or not. You nod instead, taking a seat on the bench at the foot of your bed to wait for him after hearing the door close.

There’s a short knock, followed by the creak of your door hinges and the sound of it opening and closing. You don’t need to look up to know it’s him.

“Are you ready?” his voice cuts through the silent air, unusually tense.

You look up, finding that steel grey gaze that seems to follow you everywhere now. “Do I have a choice?”

He clears his throat. “I’m afraid not.” He pauses, watching you as you sit on your bench and look at him. “I have a letter for you, from Auguste.”

Your breath hitches, your eyes burning from tears already forming. You refuse to cry – you won’t shed another tear. You look down at your lap to steel yourself in front of Levi and wait as your heart rate slows down to the point where you feel like you can breathe again. You don’t question why he waited so long to give you the letter or why Levi is even the one that has it in the first place. Perhaps it’s good that you didn’t have it right away. Despite feeling so heart breakingly empty everyday, you know that if you received the letter any earlier you wouldn’t have been able to handle it. You can barely handle the concept of reading Auguste’s perfectly written calligraphy on the stationary he kept neatly on his desk, a pristine capital A that would inevitably be written at the bottom of the page to begin his signature.

You swipe a hand over your face and stand up to place yourself in front of him. He reaches into the breast pocket of his tailcoat and holds out the folded piece of paper with your kingdom's emblem on the wax seal. It’s unbroken, and you ignore the small spot of blood next to the deep blue wax that seems to contrast so harshly. You take a deep breath, calming yourself down in order not to beat your fists into Levi’s chest from how much anger you feel towards the world that brews inside of you. He cannot be blamed for everything, and you try to will yourself to believe he has your best intentions in mind with delaying the delivery of the letter.

You take the folded paper from his hand. “I’m working on it,” you state, looking down at your fingers as you fidget with the edges of the letter, being careful not to ruin the paper. “Mrs. Kirstein believes I should forgive you, so – I’m working on it.”

You look up at Levi to see him blink at you, facial features giving nothing away, but you can tell he’s thinking about your words. After a moment, he nods and you take that as your sign to move on – that the two of you have come to some kind of understanding, but he knows your feelings are conflicted and full of anger still. You place the letter down on the edge of your bed and walk past him to exit your bedroom.

“Do you know what this is about?” you ask as he walks through your doorframe and you stand in the hallway to wait for him. He takes your conversational tone as an invitation to walk beside you instead of behind you. You don’t mind, you’ve always hated that feeling of him lingering behind you.

“Of course,” he states, eyes trained forward.

“No clues for me again?” you inquire, eyes focused on the stretch of hallway before you.

He seems to think about it for a moment, briefly glancing over at you before he speaks. “Erwin is better with words than I could ever be.”

You scoff. “Hm. That seemed to have worked out well last time.” 

He says nothing, continuing his rigid stroll to the meeting hall by your side. You leave it at that, wanting to get the meeting ahead of you over with so you can return to your bedroom and wear your thin nightgown instead of the dress that feels like a bear has sat on your chest from the weight. Politics were never your area of expertise, always something that was left up to Auguste while you remained the artist of the family, the black sheep that didn’t have those kinds of responsibilities.

You turn the corner of the hall and Levi opens the second door to your left, gesturing with a hand for you to enter first. You’re met with Erwin and Hange’s presence upon entering, Erwin’s form slightly bent over the dark stained cypress table as he studies multiple sheets of paper. You spot gold wax on one of them, the broken Kaslogon emblem staring back at you, and you freeze in your steps. Levi bumps into you from closely following you, his hands ghosting the sides of your waist to stabilize you so you don’t fall forward. His presence is gone in an instant and your eyes are too focused on the contents of the table to even spare him a glance.

Erwin looks up at your paralyzed form. “Ah, your grace,” he greets with a slight bow. You grimace. “Thank you for coming. There are a few things I believe you should be aware of.”

You blink, continuing forward a few steps to stand by the rectangular table directly across from him. “If I’m doing this, do not bother with formalities,” you state bluntly. You hardly wanted your title of princess as it is.

“Right,” he softly smiles at you. “I’m not sure if Levi has briefed you at all–”

You humorlessly laugh. “No, why would he do such a thing.”

“Of course,” Erwin clears his throat as Levi makes his way to his side, in between him and Hange. “We’ve received a letter from Kaslogon, as I’m sure you’ve seen. Your mother refuses to be involved in foreign affairs and I have, unfortunately, been left to consult you instead. I think it’s quite imperative for you to read the letter and I can elaborate on a plan of action once we are all on the same page.”

“Who is this letter addressed to?” you ask, reaching forward to grasp the paper in your hand.

Erwin doesn’t miss a beat. “You, Aeron.” You look up at him instead of studying the broken golden wax seal, lips parted in surprise. “I suggest you sit down before you begin.”

You give him a curt nod and sit in the chair in front of you, still on the opposite side of the table, and flip the paper so the messy scrawl of ink is visible to you.

My Darling Aeron,

Your heart feels like it’s in your throat. You don’t have to check the signature at the bottom of the page to know the owner of the sloppy ink words in front of you. You look up at Levi, his eyes already staring at you with something you’ve never seen before; sympathy, pity even. You look back down to avoid it.

I hope this letter finds you well. Hopefully, everything has succeeded and you are reading this while your beloved brothers rot in the ground. It would simply be the cherry on top if that guard dog of yours joined them.

You can’t do this. Tears are pricking at your eyes, a lump already forming in your throat as you try to push yourself forward to read the paper. It was his doing. Zeke. He’s the one that caused your brothers’ deaths, Furlan’s death, your father’s death, and almost Levi’s death. You feel a tear escape your eye and you quickly wipe it away, knowing three pairs of eyes are staring at you now, and look up at Levi. You never wanted him to die, you’re not sure if you truly hate the man either.

He’s the only one you have left. 

Zeke is to blame.

You swallow and look back down to keep reading.

Do not fret, darling, for I have a plan that will ensure you will be by my side for as long as we live regardless of your family’s death. Soon, my own shall follow and you and I will rule our kingdoms together in a peaceful harmony without anyone else in the way. I will always be there for you and I want you to know that I never wanted your brothers to perish, it was simply a necessary action to ensure your safety in my arms.

“A plan?” you choke out, looking up at Erwin with a bewildered expression. What could this man possibly have in store for the future of both your kingdoms? You want to laugh at his false claims of sympathy for your brothers deaths – they meant nothing to him. Erwin simply gestures for you to continue.

I’m sure this letter has the possibility of falling into the wrong hands before reaching you, but I assure whoever is reading this that my plan is unflawed. I will have your hand in marriage and there is no possible way for my own family to know of my planned actions before it is too late.

I look forward to seeing you again, my darling, and properly seeing your supple figure underneath my own without your guard dog to stand in the way of you returning to my chambers.

I love you with my whole heart,

Zeke Jaeger

You throw the letter onto the table and stand up from your chair, pushing it back as you begin to pace the room. You now understand why Levi hasn’t left your bedroom door – he’s protecting you. You’re the only thing he has left to protect. You can’t marry this cruel man and it makes you ill just thinking about the possessive way he writes about you, his promise of claiming you making you nauseous.

Levi has stepped away from Erwin and Hange, hesitantly reaching for you, but not being close enough to even come close to coming in contact with you. “Aeron,” he hesitantly mutters, unsure of how to approach you.

“He–” you choke on your words, “he’s going to- to–”

“He won’t,” Levi interrupts you, a scowl on his face as you whip your head towards him.

The tears in your eyes have inevitably fallen down your cheeks – fuck, you’re so tired of crying. “Levi,” you choke out, uncaring of how desperate you sound. “You can’t– can’t let him take me.” You’re pleading, begging, to be saved. There has to be a way out of this, a way to save yourself and the two kingdoms without sacrificing your own sanity and safety; your body.

Levi walks up to you and for the first time you welcome his presence, crave it even – something familiar to comfort you. Once he’s within arms reach you all but collapse into his arms as he wraps them around you, supporting you as sobs wrack your body. “He won’t,” he repeats, gently muttering into your hair as you let your tears soak the fabric covering his torso. You’re so tired. So tired of fighting that you’ve completely let yourself go and find comfort in the same man’s arms you claimed to hate your whole life.

“We’ve come up with a plan,” Erwin intervenes from behind and you lift your head to look at his blurry figure by the table. “I need you to be ready for it.”

You reluctantly let go of Levi, keeping your gaze fixed on the papers littering the table out of embarrassment of meeting his eyes. His arms fall to his sides as you make your way to stand next to Hange, a new sense of vengeance overtaking your surge of emotions – you’ll kill Zeke if you have to.

“Your mother will simply receive a letter to inform her of your involvement,” Hange joins the conversation, “We’ve been told by Mrs. Springer that she’s rather compliant and uncaring as to what the kingdom’s future holds. As far as she’s concerned the people are now under military rule.” They pause, seemingly gauging your reaction. “As far as the people are concerned… 

You are their new Queen.”

[bellybiologist]

Is Jayesh the only gainer OC you have and what is his lore?

One of two! A lot of my characters have weight gain narratives, but very few of the gains are purposeful, though there are some that have preferences for being bigger cuz its indicative of Other Circumstances:tm:. I don't give traditional gainer narratives to a lot of characters because it's not one I find interesting all the time, nor do I feel it fits with most of my characters personalities. Jayesh and Lae (who i've drawn twice, but i havent shown here yet, but has existed for several years, since I had a short story I planned to writing that I never got around to) are the only 2 Actual Gainers and are part of their college gainer scene, which, until I decide to add more people, consists of Jayesh, Lae, Baron (Lae's feeder boyfriend), and Joshua (who is not really a gainer, but they love him there cuz he's hot).

As for Jayesh's Lore... despite me drawing him only only like 5 or 6 times, has been around for a long time! See the Jayesh Facts under the cut: ======

-He's 24, and goes to college with Joshua, Lae, and Baron, as mentioned, and graduated from the highschool most of my OCs attend/went to.

-He's Indian and can speak some Hindi

-Has a younger brother (Vivek) who is a freshman in high school.

-He is a childhood friend of Florence, Zeke, and Oznie, and participated in their adolescent urban fantasy american-dragon-esque adventures, though he is a year or so younger than them. Was part of their polycule for a bit, which is revisited when they're feeling it.

-Now, he works as a security guard at a checkpoint between mundane and magical places. -In terms of his creation, he was actually conceived at the same time as Titus for the same visual novel project that I scrapped as one of the 3 paths I wanted to write. So he's existed since 2016.

And that's about it until i get time to do more development and OC content!

[darqx]

Good afternoon! I have been your subscriber for a long time and wanted to ask... Do you have any updates and work on the Battle Priest??? I miss the characters from this project very much and I can't wait for a comics or a novel with them! (sorry for possible mistakes, I'm not an English speaker)

Hullo and thank you for sticking around so long AND aaaaaaa I am so happy you are excited for BP :D I have indeed been working on it when I can (though with a full time job my time and inspo is sometimes severely lacking |D)! At the moment a good 80% or so of the story is plotted out and I got bored of writing dot points and so also started thumbnailing on the side lol. Now if I can just keep it up!! OTL

Here’s a sneak peek in the face of my generally doing things quietly in the bg XD;

Yes I have this aforementioned little webcomic I’ve kinda been pottering away at XD It’s not out or anything yet though.

I think that’s partially due to Tumblr being rather bad at searching for stuff and that yes it is a little disjointed at the moment! |D (there is a BP tag on my blog which might be helpful though). I can’t really put that much about BP out yet since like a bunch of stuff I actually want to draw are IN the story and so I’d just end up spoilering a lot of it lol, so what I DO put out might be somewhat random. You can of course still ask questions about it and if I can answer it without spoiling something I will :)

I’d love to just ditch the first few pages at everyone since I’ve finished thumbnailing them and could actually start drawing it, but I’ve learned it’s so much better to have a good bank of pages so alas, we’re all gonna have to continue being patient whilst I thumbnail/work on it 😭

It technically doesn’t have one (I have consciously not made much ref to an actual date lol), and exists in one of those AU timeframes where some things from different years got shoved together. An example being the tech is reminiscent of the 90s but then there’s also some fashion from the 2000s etc.

In the lore of BP, there are technically (love that word lol) no angels so canonically this would be a moot point lol. IF angels were a thing, any mixed race would have the free will to either be good or bad (like the demons), and it wouldn’t affect much other than maybe they might have their own special abilities that could counter the demonic ones (like how priests do).

🤔 Hmmmm if i had to pick just one as a main it might be like (and this is expressing as opposed to receiving):

.D: Acts of service

Izm: Gift giving

Marcus: Quality time

Zeke: Acts of service (specifically, cooking)

Wei Ren: Words of affirmation

Rire: ...uh...i’m gonna say quality time

Well, a satanist would not be sanctioned as a battle priest so if there is one they’d have to be worshipping in secret cos that would get them unsanctioned pretty quickly. .D and the gang would be like wat. Rire would be like well...this is unexpected. I will let you imagine the tone that conveys XD

[devilofthehounds]

God Eater 3 Character Novel | Spinning Bonds: Chapter 7

[image id: A novel cover. Zeke Pennywort from God Eater 3 stands with his back to the viewer, his scarf billowing in the wind. Overlaid within the scarf is an image of a young Zeke with his four brothers, smiling happily. The text, when translated into English, reads “God Eater 3 Character Novel | Chapter 4: Zeke Edition | Spinning Bonds”. /end id]

This is a fan translation. Original text here.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

The mission in the old city had begun.

"Hraaah!"

I fought frantically, mowing down small Aragami with my Boost Hammer to vent my frustration.

Even at a time like this, there were only Blast Spiders. Disgusting. They brought back memories of the past I didn't want to remember.

"Heh, you're really motivated, huh, Zeke?"

"Shut up... Don't act like we're friends!"

I was so frustrated, I ended up yelling at them. Though I was more frustrated with myself than them.

"I don't know what your deal is, but let's all stay calm. ...If we lose our focus out here, we'll die."

Hugo and Luca. The two of them seemed to work well together.

They fought as if they knew each other's every move. And when they Engaged, they were even more in sync.

If they could move like that, they could definitely hold their own against even a large Aragami.

Then why?

"Zeke?"

Luca looked back at me as I stood still, his face full of concern.

"It's nothing... Let's keep going."

What happened during the Vajra subjugation mission? I was scared to ask.

If I heard what they had to say, and I found out it couldn't have been helped...

I wasn't sure if I'd be able to go on.

I couldn't decide what to do, so I ended up going on ahead on my own. At that moment—

A high-pitched, bird-like cry echoed from between the buildings.

"What the—?!"

A moment later, a brightly colored Aragami descended right in front of me.

It was a medium-sized Aragami, something I'd never fought before. If I remembered right, this one was... a Nemain?

"Zeke, get back!"

Luca came running up behind me.

At that moment, I felt Luca's presence in my heart.

If I reached out to him, we'd be able to Engage.

But then, in my mind, I saw Neal's smiling face.

"...Forget it. I don't need your help!"

I shook off Luca's will and leapt at the Nemain.

But in my haste, I forgot to activate my God Arc's Boost Ignition. I ended up getting hit head-on by the Nemain's knife-like feathers and fell over.

"Gh... Ack..."

What was I doing? Everything I wanted to do, everything I needed to do—I was making a mess of it all.

Oh, right. I wasn't even sure what to do from here.

How could I protect Keith from here on?

I didn't even know how to motivate myself.

"Move, you idiot!"

Hugo's yell brought me back to my senses.

In front of me was the Nemain, its blade raised.

I'd seen this scene before. It was just like when my brothers died.

In times like this, I was reminded of my powerlessness.

"...Gh!"

The blade swung down.

"Luca!"

"Hraaah!"

Propelled by a Link Burst Round from Hugo, Luca deployed his shield and dove at the Nemain.

Hugo and Luca readied their God Arcs to protect me from the now-reeling Aragami.

"Hang in there, Zeke! We won't die! We won't let you die, either!"

"We'll make it there together. A place... where everyone's dreams can come true!"

I gasped at Luca's words.

"How do you...?"

"Let's go, Zeke!"

Luca turned and reached out to me.

In my heart, I could still feel his warm presence.

Guided by that presence, I took his outstretched hand.

At that moment, our consciousnesses connected.

Oracle energy erupted from our bodies, and Luca's thoughts flowed into my head clearly.

In the midst of that warm, powerful light, I thought I could see Din and Oulu.

"So... that's how it is..."

Their dream—it lived on inside these two.

If they'd really entrusted these two with this light.

"...I get it now... Let's go, Luca!"

There was no way I'd let it go to waste.

Remembering what Din had taught me, I finally activated my Boost Hammer.

Hugo's diversion combined with Luca's tempest of attacks created an opening.

Now. Propelled by the voices of the connections inside my heart.

"Take this!"

I struck the Nemain in the head with all my might.

Unable to resist, it collapsed. Hugo and Luca immediately moved in to devour.

Seeing the Nemain turn to ash and disappear with its core removed, all strength left my body.

"Hah... Hah... That's the first time I've ever fought a medium-sized one."

I laid down on the ground, spreading out my arms and legs.

Even though we were in the Ashlands, the sky was beautiful.

"Geez... You begged to come along, full of energy, and now you're flopping down on the ground? Pull yourself together."

What Hugo said made sense.

Now, I knew exactly what I had to do.

"...Sorry for causing so much trouble. Really, I am!"

I hung my head. I really did feel bad, making them go along with my pointless stubbornness.

"Everyone's safe. Don't worry about it."

Luca smiled as he spoke. It was a little unnerving. Even so, I couldn't help but smile back.

"More importantly, what you said earlier... A place where everyone's dreams can come true... Did you really mean it?"

Luca and Hugo looked at each other.

"Yeah, we're serious. No matter what happens, we won't give up on that dream. We'll carry the feelings of those who died and entrusted their wishes to us into the future."

When I saw the choker wrapped around Hugo's right arm, I realized who it had belonged to.

For them, death wasn't the end.

For me, someone's death had always been a source of regret.

I had always thought of it as a burden I'd have to carry for the rest of my life.

But that wasn't the case.

The wishes and wills that were passed down would continue on into the future.

And I knew I had the same will in me that shined in these two.

"I see..."

Finally, I felt like I could move forward.

But... if they were saying they'd carry on that dream...

"Then..."

I stood up, grabbed Hugo and Luca by their shirts, and pulled them towards me.

"Then promise me one thing!"

What if that dream was something we inherited from our heroes?

"This dream doesn't just belong to you two! The other kids at the Port... don't you dare leave them behind!"

How much hope did the dream those two told us about give us, that day in the prison?

How much had they saved me?

I'd shoulder all the burdens they couldn't. So—

"If you can promise me that... then count me in!"

I'd made a promise, too.

To make our dreams come true together.

My words, echoing throughout the Ashlands, were met with an honest answer from both Hugo and Luca.

"Of course. We won't abandon anyone."

"This dream connects all of us. ...We won't let anyone die."

Luca's words reminded me of what Saul had said.

"Yeah! There's nobody in this world that should just be left to die!"

Saul. Rhys. Neal.

I remembered all the wishes that had been entrusted to me.

Our journey would continue. And...

I'd try to believe once again that at the end of it, there'd be a place we could all reach together.

Having gained a second wind, I returned to my cell.

But... I still needed to properly tell Keith what had happened with Neal.

I wasn't sure if Keith would forgive his failure of a big brother.

"...Huh?"

There was no sign of Keith in the cell.

He'd been coughing so much, wracked with pain.

My mind immediately turned to Neal, who'd been taken away.

No, it couldn't be...! My blood ran cold. And then—

"*cough* *cough* Zeke..."

Keith came from the other side of the bars, dragging a heavy-looking package.

"Keith?! Were you... on a mission?!"

"Yeah... but I'm okay. Take a look at this."

Keith opened the package, revealing it to be packed with food.

"I found it all by myself. There's enough for everyone, so why don't we share?"

"You..."

Putting the package aside, Keith stood proudly in front of me.

"...The guards told me what happened to Neal. That must have been why you were so down, Zeke..."

Keith shook his head.

"You've always tried to protect me, but look. I'll be fine on my own, okay? I'll do my best to complete missions, so don't worry."

Keith smiled gently and looked at me.

"So, Zeke... Don't try to carry everything all on your own. I don't want to just be protected anymore!"

"Keith..."

"I couldn't do anything when Din and Oulu died, or when Neal was taken away! I... know how frustrated and sad you must've been!"

Tears started streaming down Keith's face as he rested his head against my chest.

"I-I'll get stronger! I'll stay by your side! So... So let me protect you, too...!"

Geez, I really was a useless big brother.

How could I let my little brother worry so much?

"...Thanks, Keith."

My armlets were restrained, so I couldn't hug him. Instead, I held his hand tightly.

I wouldn't let him see me gloomy anymore. I wouldn't let him see any of my bad sides.

There wasn't much I could do, but at least I was no longer lost.

"We'll keep going together, Keith. From now 'til forever... we're one, the five of us."

"...Yeah!"

As long as we kept these feelings close, someday, we'd see Neal again...

I looked back at everyone in the prison.

The heroes' dream that dwelled in everyone's hearts. To make it shine once more.

"...Hey, guys. My brother found some food! Let's eat!"

I, Zeke Pennywort, began to connect the pieces of my dream.

[theambivalentagender]

I love your comic!! What inspired you to share Zekes story?

There's a lot to this answer so buckle up.

I've always been a writer, ever since I was a little kid telling stories has been my entire life's goal. But its been a struggle, and for a long time I've felt kinda lost in trying to survive taking soul sucking desk jobs. It honestly destroyed any desire I had to create.

And then at the beginning of 2022 I got abruptly fired (for what I don't think are honest reasons but that's another story). And then I found myself just not being able to land a new job no matter what I did - I worked in a tech-adjacent industry and know others in similar positions also have had these issues. Weeks turned into months, and my mental health took a nosedive.

That summer I noticed one of my long time close friends kept popping up on steam playing Stardew Valley at odd hours in the morning. I'd heard of the game before, I loved farming sims, and I really needed a distraction. So I finally bought it.

Long story short, several hours into the game this motherfucker hits me up with this line:

So you can imagine what that did to my psyche. I got so god damn invested in the game. Like I do with any game, I started modding the crap out of it, mostly to add more lines for Shane. And then I found myself imagining my own little story with my farmer.

For a good while this was just a dumb headcanon story I had every time I played Stardew. But then I found myself actually plotting things out, connecting different aspects of SDV that were "unexplained" or "implied" with the story I was developing in my head. And then I realized - I was making a story again. I was feeling the exact same way I used to feel when I would plan out and write a play, or a short story, or one of my many unfinished novels. It was such a good feeling, and I started coming around to the idea that I shouldn't just keep this story in my head.

I dealt with a lot of self doubt over it of course. The last time I wrote anything like fanfiction was when I was 10 and it was a HP fanfic where I misspelled Slytherin in five different ways. Some part of me felt like it would be wasting time because I wouldn't make money off of it. Another part of me worried I'd be mocked for writing an entire self-indulgent story about a borderline self-insert character romancing a grumpy pixel man, when I was nearly 30 living in an apartment with a long term partner and shouldn't be doing such *childish things*.

I lurked around the SDV fandom for a long time before actually posting anything, and seeing other people, often people close to my own age, doing exactly what I was afraid of because fuck it, we're adults and we get to decide what that means, really helped. It also helped to see a positive community praising and supporting creators of all skill levels.

As for the money thing, I ended up "justifying" it to myself that if I made myself draw just about every day working on the comic (since I had decided to make it a comic rather than a fanfic), that would help me bring my art skills up to par with my writing skills. And, well, it would probably help my mental health if I had something productive to work on while I still looked for a job, because there's only so many times you can rotate between various video games.

I honestly didn't expect the comic to get as much attention as it has. But I told myself even if nobody cared about it, I'd make it for the one person who wanted to see this story play out - me.

[pickalilywrites]

Levi and Zeke finding their younger sibling/cousin are dating each other on Valentines while they're on their own respective dates. LevixPetra & ZekexYelena

you've got to be fucking kidding me

rivetra. high school au. 1550 words.

Petra can write a whole novel describing Levi and his character. "Romantic” is not one of the words she would use for him, at least not in the traditional sense. He can’t even hold a smile when the waiter tells them that a table is finally available and leads them to their seats. He just scowls and follows the poor, underpaid service worker, and Petra knows that Levi is going to complain about the wait time as soon as the waiter is out of earshot although he’ll be kind enough to leave a large tip. No, Levi isn’t necessarily the romantic type, but he’s certainly endearing in other ways and Petra loves him for it. 

“You didn’t have to book this place, you know,” Petra tells Levi once they’ve taken their seats. She had mentioned off-handedly about how beautiful this café was and how she would try it out if it weren’t for the long wait times. She hadn’t expected Levi to make reservations because he hated waiting in lines at restaurants.  

“It’s fine,” Levi replies, although the scowl on his face says otherwise. He picks up a menu and starts flipping through it. “Although I hadn’t expected to wait half an hour after making a reservation weeks ago.”  

“They probably hadn’t expected so many people to come in on Valentine’s Day,” Petra says.  

“Poor planning on their part,” Levi says dismissively before waving the waiter over to put in their order, a wagyu tagliatelle for him and uni pasta for Petra. He lets the waiter take their menus and is about to lean over and continue his conversation with Petra when an unwelcome guest seats themself at the table beside Levi’s.  

“Levi, I hadn’t expected to see you here,” Zeke says. He settles in his seat, steepling his fingers together as he gazes at Levi with amusement. His smile looks more like a smirk and while he claims to have run into them coincidentally, Levi suspects otherwise. Zeke is too damn nefarious for any accidental run-ins.  

Petra politely greets Yelena, Zeke’s date, who’s taking her seat across from him. Even though Zeke and Levi have never gotten along well, Petra and Yelena have managed to remain on friendly terms. Even as Levi glowers at Zeke, Yelena just rolls her eyes and Petra has to laugh a bit seeing Yelena’s reaction. Knowing that Zeke’s presence is likely to ruin Levi’s mood for the entire day, Petra tries to placate him as best as she can.  

“I heard the pasta here is amazing,” Petra tells Levi, reaching out for his hand. She runs the pad of her thumbs over the knuckles of her boyfriend’s lithe fingers. “They get their seafood fresh every morning.” 

“I should hope so at these prices,” Levi says. His eyes flit towards Zeke, a sour expression on his face as if the exorbitant prices at this establishment are Zeke’s doing. He leans back against his seat, assuming a kind of swagger that he wouldn’t care to put up in front of anyone else. “It’s a shame that you couldn’t get here earlier. The view by the window is quite nice.”  

Petra tries not to scoff. Levi typically hates sitting by the window. He despises having others walking by and making eye contact with them or having them gawk while he’s eating like he’s some kind of animal at the zoo. She’d try to stop him from antagonizing Zeke, but there’s no stopping him once he gets started. She’s also aware that Zeke does his own share of antagonizing Levi. In the grand scheme of things, it might just be better to leave them to their own devices and not get caught in their crossfires.  

“There aren’t any bad seats here with the way they’ve decorated so beautifully,” Zeke says, gesturing at the Rococo-inspired café. “Besides, Yelena and I were lucky to arrive as a table opened. We didn’t have to wait at all. I think you mentioned as we were sitting down that you were not as fortunate.”  

Levi scowls in reply. “It gave Petra and me valuable time to converse with each other as we waited,” he snaps.  

Yelena shares a knowing look with Petra as their boyfriends bicker. Even when the waiters bring out their food, Zeke and Levi continue to swap thinly veiled insults in between bites. Petra is sure that Levi and Zeke won’t stop until one couple finishes eating and leaves first but Levi suddenly stops speaking without warning.  

“I see your wit has run out,” Zeke says with a victorious smile. He looks as if he’s about to continue gloating about his own cleverness when he notices the odd expression on Levi’s face and follows his rival’s gaze to the window. “Is that ...?”  

“What the fuck is your brother doing with my cousin?” Levi asks. 

“What the fuck is your cousin doing with my brother?” Zeke asks.  

Petra and Yelena turn to look at the window and see Mikasa and Eren walking towards the restaurant, their fingers intertwined. The sight makes both Levi and Zeke livid, and they’re angrier than they had been earlier swapping insults with each other. It’s not a secret that Eren and Mikasa have been interested in each other. The two have been friends since middle school and have been dancing around the thought of being in a relationship for nearly as long. Practically the entire school knew they were involved with each other and that their coupling was inevitable. 

Yelena turns back in her seat. “I don’t see how any of this is surprising,” she remarks, but Levi and Zeke ignore her. 

“Are they coming here? He seriously took her to this restaurant?” Levi asks, watching like a hawk as Eren enters the café with Mikasa.  

“What? As if you’re above taking your girlfriend here?” Zeke scoffs. Like Levi, his gaze is fixed on his brother and Mikasa.  

Now that their attention is turned toward Eren and Mikasa, their insults are more tied towards their relatives rather than each other. The two watch as Eren struggles to speak with the waiter, trying to get a table despite the crowd. It seems in his nervousness he had forgotten to make a reservation for today.  

“Idiot. He should have been more prepared if he was going to go on a date on Valentine’s Day,” Levi mutters. Even as he watches, he tries to remain hidden behind the partition set up to section off different areas of the café.  

Zeke shoots a glare at Levi. “Cut the kid some slack. He’s just nervous. Your cousin is lucky my brother is even interested.”  

“Interested in a loser like him?” Levi snorts. “Mikasa can do plenty better.” 

“Is your pasta any good?” Yelena asks Petra. Trying to stop their boyfriends is completely useless so Yelena has decided to disregard them completely. Yelena has ordered a tagliatelle, but hers is covered with a buttery cream sauce and salmon roe.  

“Oh, yes,” Petra says. “The uni is excellent here. It practically melts on my tongue.”  

“Hmm, maybe I should try it the next time I come here,” Yelena hums.  

The two are startled when both Zeke and Levi jolt back in surprise. Yelena and Petra turn back to where Mikasa and Eren are and realize that Eren has managed to convince the waiter to give them a table. The manager must have taken pity on him because he’s leading Eren and Mikasa to an empty table that just happens to be right behind Levi and Petra’s.  

“Oh, this isn’t good,” Petra murmurs, and she watches as Levi and Zeke grow more on edge as Eren and Mikasa approach their tables.  

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Levi mutters under his breath. 

Eren has a broad smile on his face as he reaches the empty table but his smile slips off his face as soon as he sees Levi and his brother. “Oh my god. What are you guys doing here?”  

“Going on a date, what does it look like?” Levi snaps as if Eren had planned for this to happen. His sharp tone makes Eren flinch. 

“S-sorry,” Eren stammers. 

“Levi,” Mikasa says, giving her cousin a warning glare that Levi ignores. 

“Don’t you think you’re being unnecessarily hostile?” Zeke growls at Levi. “God, no wonder Petra is the only person who can stand you.”  

It seems the situation is only going to escalate from here. Petra opens her mouth to try to stop it even though she knows diffusing the situation is futile, but then Yelena stands up unexpectedly. Levi and Zeke continue to argue as Eren mumbles incoherently as he tries to defend himself.  

“Come on. They look like they’ll take a while. We should have fun by ourselves,” Yelena says to Petra. She takes a few steps and turns back, looking a Mikasa. “Do you want to come too, Mikasa? You can have fun with your boyfriend later.”  

Mikasa purses her lips and glances back at her cousin and Zeke still bickering with her boyfriend stuck in the middle. She contemplates staying back to defend Eren and then glances back at Yelena and Petra waiting for her. She hikes the strap of her bag up her shoulder before jogging towards them, leaving her boyfriend to his unfortunate fate. “Let’s go.”  

[ultrainfinitepit]

🏵️🍃🥀 for the emoji ask list!

🏵️ [ROSETTE] What flower symbolizes your OC best and why? What does the flower mean in floriography?

Sam is fireweed. It’s a flower that grows in areas that have previously been burned by fire. It’s a symbol of rebirth and resilience, which suits Sam well. And the name is very fitting, Sam would be a weed if he was a flower: something that people disdain as useless or annoying but is still beautiful to the right person.

Lily is lily of the valley. She lives in Puddle which is in a valley, and her name is Lily. It’s a sweet flower that looks like something out of a fantasy novel. It’s a symbol of joy, sincerity, and luck, which suits Lily well. It’s one of my personal favorites!

Cale is dandelion. Like Cale, dandelions change shape. They are symbols of hope and perseverance. And dandelions are delightful flowers: they are edible, fun to play with, and bring joy to people. But yet they are humble as well, just like Cale.

Zeke is forget-me-not. It’s all in the name for this flower. Zeke has no memory of his past. Memory, remembrance, and forgetfulness are all important parts of his character. Forget-me-nots are delicate and sophisticated, which suits Zeke well. They are symbols of true love and respect, two things that form the basis of all the relationships Zeke treasures the most.

Mick is sycamore. It’s his last name so it seems fitting! He’s dependable and strong like a sycamore tree. They are symbols of divinity which aligns with Mick’s angelic nature. 

Vivian is red poppy. I’ve picked this flower for her more for the color than anything else. Red is Vivian’s color, and the black center of the poppy hints a little at her dark nature as a vampire. It’s also a flower to symbolize the threshold between life and death, and as a vampire and forensic pathologist, Vivian embodies that threshold as well. Relatedly, if Vivian was a fruit she’d be a pomegranate. 

Pat is white clover. This is perhaps a rather stereotypical choice for Pat, it’s the national flower of Ireland and he’s Irish. But I feel like it suits him too well to pick anything else. It’s another humble flower, it’s a symbol of luck, protection, and lightheartedness - all which Pat seems to either have, or have need of throughout his story. If Pat had a house with a lawn, he’d want a clover lawn for his kids to play on but also to provide food for bees.

🍃 [FALLEN LEAF] What’s the darkest period of time your OC has been through?

The hardest life for Sam was the life after his adoptive family were killed. We call this the Evil Sam life because he became completely rebellious and murderous and it ended in a very horrible way for him and his Keeper. He was in terrible grief over losing his family and it was further fueled by bad influences around him. Looking back, Sam hates this lifetime the most, he sees that version of himself as senseless and cruel. 

However, not far behind this life, is the life right after he was forced to forget his soulmate, Zipporah. We call this the Cult Leader Sam life, because Sam started a doomsday cult. That lifetime was one where Sam felt a deep-seated emptiness so terrible, it twisted his entire worldview into one where he felt the entire world should simply cease to exist, so he could cease too. That emptiness would carry over in part from this life to the next and so on, even into his Puddle life where at last it would be filled by Zipporah’s memory once more.

The only reason I say that life is not his darkest period is that, when Sam looks back on it, he feels it was the correct reaction to losing Zipporah. A world without Zipporah in it simply has no right to continue existing. We are very lucky Sam tried to do something about it back when he was in a lame human body, and we should hope he doesn’t try the same thing after he gets his full angelic form back!

Before Sam came to Puddle, Lily was relentlessly bullied and all her friends turned on her. She was ostracized for her weird behavior. While Lily felt she was much the same it was like suddenly everyone else was different. We could say this is because she was growing into her witch powers, but I think even if Lily wasn’t a witch this still would have happened. Lily felt she couldn’t talk to her parents about any of this, and had to handle it on her own. Some days all her secrets and troubles felt like too much. She considered running away without a word. But she loves her parents too much to do that. Luckily Sam, Cale, and Zeke come into her life and become her new friends, who love Lily and her weirdness.

When Cale is much older, his best friend Lily passes away of old age. They both had lots of time together and they were both prepared for this, but even still it hurts Cale a lot. At the same time, Cale’s friend Zeke is off somewhere in the world fighting his personal demons; and Sam is dead and gone (once again) so Cale can’t talk to him. Cale leans a little bit on his new Puddle friends and family for support, but there’s only so much they can say. The people who would understand Cale best in this difficult time, Zeke and Sam, aren’t around. So for a while, Cale stays in the woods in the form of a bear or sometimes a dog. He roams far and wide through the valley and even beyond it. He lives each day looking ahead only at the next one, thinking like a beast and not a man, until finally he’s ready to return to town.

Zeke’s life before he was Zeke was awful. He was named Cain then. Cain had a hard upbringing, and ended up on a dark path filled with loss and selfishness. His own hubris resulted in the death of his boyfriend Isaiah, and then later his own death.

But if we say Cain’s life is separate from Zeke’s, then Zeke’s darkest time is after his wife Delphinia is killed. This starts a chain of events that leads to Zeke’s imprisonment in a magical coffin, which is a tortuous time in his life; and then to the death of his son Samuel, in the same way Cain and Isaiah were killed as well. Zeke doesn’t even get a chance to breathe before a war starts and he’s tossed into that. He pretty much completely loses touch with his humanity, and embraces undeath fully as a way to numb himself to the pain and deal it out onto others instead. Zeke eventually comes back from this dark time, but the effects of it linger on him and he’s never quite the same person after.

Mick’s a pretty steady guy. He’s gone through dark times, arguably most of his human lives under control of the Order are dark times, but he’s a good little soldier about it and if he’s got any hard feelings about them he just files them away quietly.

I think there’s maybe two exceptions to this: in one lifetime, Mick had to execute Lucy, the nephilim child of the angels Ash and Orpheus. Lucy was Sam’s adoptive sister as well. While Lucy was evil and had to be stopped, she was still very young and much loved by all the angels, and it hurt Mick a great deal to have to be the one to stop her. 

In a subsequent life, Mick was the mentor of Adam, the nephilim child of Sami and Zach. One day Mick and Adam got into a fight with the corrupted angel Gabriel, resulting in Adam’s death by their hand. Mick has since blamed himself for Adam’s death, and Sami’s subsequent descent into madness and mourning. 

These deaths shook Mick to his core, and affect him even into the present.

Vivian had a rough childhood. In the beginning it was not so bad, she has vague happy memories of her father and mother. But after her mother was discovered to be a vampire, Vivian’s happy life was ripped away. Her mother ran away with her and then basically abandoned her to live in the care of a lodging house manager, who treated Vivian like a worker rather than a child. Vivian got so desperate that she jumped at the first chance at freedom, even if it would land her in a pirate crew of bloodthirsty vampires. So Vivian would probably consider this early part of her life her darkest time, and say everything following it was a breeze.

But it wasn’t all sunshine and roses from then on. After Vivian was turned into a vampire by Teutho, their relationship began to sour. She spent decades being miserable, yet there were enough good times stringed together where she convinced herself, it was not so bad and she was happy. Finally she realized she no longer loved Teutho, and left to go pursue her dreams of becoming a doctor - which would fail, but she was still happier failing at her dreams than not chasing them. If I had to pick I would say this was Vivian’s darkest period, even if she doesn’t see it that way. It was a time of emotional abuse and manipulation that left a deep impression on her.

When he was younger, Pat was rebellious and reckless, and developed a heavy reliance on alcohol. He fell in love with his wife Martha and they had two sons, and Pat began having a creeping feeling of deja vu. He was determined not to be like his father. He made an effort to always greet his boys with smiles and laughter, but it started being too much with his work and the alcohol and the bills piling up. One day Pat blacked out, he lost an entire day and when he woke up, he was in the hospital and told he had gone drinking, and various things happened, and he had been dead for a full minute. Pat did not want his sons to see him like this, but Martha brought them anyway. The looks on their faces was the wake up call he needed, and Pat sought out a therapist through his church, and went away to rehab. That day in the hospital was the worst day of Pat’s life, and he was determined never to repeat it. Since then, he tries very hard not to drink, and he’s learned to talk about his problems instead of bottle them up.

🥀 [WILTED ROSE] How good is your OC at meeting deadlines? What motivates them?

Sam waits until the last minute to start anything, he needs that deadline panic to really motivate him. If it’s something important he will do it to an excellent standard, it will appear as if he has been diligently working on it up to the deadline. If it’s something unimportant, which is totally up to Sam’s judgment, he will leave it unfinished or give up and then somehow blame the person who gave him the task in the first place.

Lily has the potential to be just as bad as Sam, but deadline panic makes her flustered and she is prone to making mistakes when flustered. Lily learns she does her best work when she makes a plan at the start and follows each step carefully. She motivates herself by tracking her progress using a log book, ribbons, and other cute things so the task turns into something fun rather than work. She will usually cajole one of her friends into giving her a reward, or treat herself to something nice, as a further motivation to finish things on time. 

Cale was raised to be hard working and obedient, so if he really commits to something he will always get it done on time. The way he does this varies wildly on the day and the task. Sometimes Cale does things bit by bit over time, other times he’ll rush everything at the end much like Sam. However, Cale is only motivated to do things if he sees the real, practical value in the task. If it’s something too vague or frivolous, he will simply ignore it, which can be a problem sometimes. His friends and family often rely on Cale’s desire to please them to motivate him. It becomes a game of asking Cale to do something in just the right way, with clear enough instructions for him to see the end goal.

Ezekiel always meets his deadlines. He lays out a plan for every step of his task and then follows through on it flawlessly. If he has to, he will sacrifice sleep, socializing, and food to meet his deadline. Zeke prides himself on being perfect and dependable, this is all the motivation he needs. If he’s competing with someone, that’s even better motivation because Zeke loves to prove his superiority to others. He’s the type to get extra motivated if there’s some kind of ranking system or medal at the end. 

Mick is very disciplined and always meets his deadlines. He might not write down a plan but he will certainly have one in his head that he’s following. He’s very stubborn about his plans, and it’s hard for him to adjust to surprises. He will stay on his plan and follow it until the task is complete, with some time right before the deadline for any last minute changes. He’s only learned to add that time recently after many lifetimes of dealing with unpredictable people. Other people are the bane of Mick’s existence when he’s working on something, he always finds himself in the project leader role and no one ever meets his standards. Mick is motivated by his innate willpower, but also, secretly, his desire to impress people.

Vivian can also be very disciplined like Mick, but she writes her plans down. She has journals that she uses to make plans very neatly, she enjoys stealing pens in different colors that she uses to make these plans. She’ll collect notes and do research as much as possible so she has everything she needs to execute her plan on time. But she doesn’t always meet her deadlines. Vivian’s flaw is that she needs to have a certain amount of work on her plate or she’ll lose all her motivation. Too little and she won’t feel sufficient pressure to follow through on all her careful plans. Too much and she gets overwhelmed, her plans go out the window and suddenly she’s not getting anything done. This is why Vivian often has little background projects going on, such as writing a paper or trying to piece together a cold case; she needs this extra bit of work in her schedule to motivate her to do everything else.

Pat is average. He usually meets his deadlines, if he doesn’t he has a good excuse such as family. Pat will work overtime if he has to, to stick to his commitments. He’s not as rigid as Mick in his approach to work, nor does he require the same workload balancing act as Vivian to stay motivated. Pat is simply the type to do his work on time to the best of his ability. He considers himself a man of his word, and if he promises something he’ll try his hardest to fulfill it.

[cosmic-hoboandthehighlander]

As some of you may know, I’ve been working very hard on a divorced dad Mort AU for a few months now. If you don’t know, you’re about to know because I’ll be talking about it all the time over the next year! I plan on posting the first chapters early next year, but I really can’t wait to introduce you to my OC, Mort’s daughter, as she’s become one of my favorite characters and I need all of you to meet her!

When Abbey was 7, her parents divorce leaving her in Mort’s primary custody. Her mother is very absent, continuously choosing her boyfriends and later, her new family, over Abbey. When Abbey was 9, Mort began dating Teddy and he loves her more than anything in the whole world! (And he tells her so!) There’s a reason I like to also call this the Stepdad!Teddy AU because he’s the best dad ever and Abigail is so very loved by him. Most of the story takes place when Abbey is ages 13-17 and she is the same age as Tina Belcher.

Short, around 5’6 or 5’7. She takes after Mort, who is on the shorter side. She says she gets it from her dad since he’s on the shorter side. Compared to Teddy, she’s pretty small (he’s like 6ft!) He calls her all kinds of names like short stack and squirt (teasing of course!)

more of a midsize body; has a bit of a tummy, wider hips and thicker thighs. As a child she had more rounded cheeks, but she’s grown out of her baby face for the most part. Shes always been a little on the bigger side (think Gene as a child?)

brown-hazel eyes just like her dad. More golden than brown. She wears glasses, usually thick plastic frames. She likes color, so she hardly ever had just plain black glasses. She has medium brown hair, wavy but not quite curly. She wears it in braids a lot, she likes french braids. When her hair isn’t braided, abbey typically wears her hair to her shoulders.

there a spattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks, though not a ton. She gets that from her mother.

Abbey’s very best friends are Becky Krespe and Tina Belcher; she’s also a member of the Boys4Now fanclub and spends a lot of time with Krissy and Robin, and of course she hangs around the ‘main’ crew: JJ, Zeke, Tammy, Jocelyn, Darryl, etc.

Abbey wants to be a mortician when she grows up, so she likes to help Mort at the funeral home. In the summer, Teddy likes to take her on jobs with him. She knew how to hold a drill by the time she was 8 and Teddy is really proud of that fact.

When Abbey is 11, her and Mort move in with Teddy. They get married when she’s 14 and Abbey got to help Teddy pick out the ring

Ever since Abbey was 8, she and Teddy have been reading bedtime stories. Save for a short time when she’s 13-14 when she thinks she’s “too old for bedtime stories” and breaks Teddy’s heart just a little, they do it every night. When Abbey is older, she starts reading aloud to Teddy. This continues until she moves off to college.

Abbey likes horror novels (just like Mort!) and her favorite holiday is Halloween. Halloween is a huge deal in the Kindler house, actually, they go all out with decorations and costumes!

Though she’s not biologically Teddy’s, being basically raised by the guy since she was 7 means she’s picked up a lot of his habits. She's loud, kind-hearted, and likes to see the best in people. She also has a habit of talking with her mouthful and can be a little clumsy.

Please feel free to ask all the questions about my girl, she’s literally my favorite! She’ll be a main character in my upcoming fic Dance One More With Me but she has already been featured in five of my fics so far, just look for the Abbey Kindler (OC) tag to find her!

[four-loose-screws]

FE2 Novelization Translation - Book 2 Cover and Intro Pages

If you would like to start from the beginning, read a missed part, etc., click here!

FE Game Script Translations - FE Novel Translations - Original FE Support Conversations

If you are interested in donating to support my work, please check out my Ko-fi here. Thank you!

———————————

Cover

Fire Emblem Gaiden

Land of Sorrow

Book 2

STORY

A large-scale war is currently ravaging the continent of Valentia. After the loss of countless Units, the story of a new encounter is told. General Alm, leading the imperial army of Zofia to restore the country’s sovereignty, under the name “the Deliverance.” Young Priestess Celica, attempting to make her deepest wish of restoring goddess Mila to her rightful place a reality. However, fate is still leading these two in opposite directions.

The dark plot of the cold-hearted and ruthless Emperor Rudolf of Rigel is once again in motion. …The plot to thoroughly destroy the Kingdom of Zofia. For what reason has he fallen to such insanity? Alm, who has not even an idea of the fate of his bloodline, raises his sword against Rudolf.

Will he and Celica finally be able to act upon their love for each other? Will peace return to Valentia? Find out here, in the conclusion to this story!

Written by Katsuyuki Ozaki

Cover Illustration by Ichiro ?*

Cover Design by Kazuo Hiroi (WIDE)**

*T/N: I cannot find the Kanji character in this person’s last name anywhere to confirm its reading.

**T/N: First name could also be ‘Ichio’ or ‘Itsuo.’ I cannot find any record of this person online, so I cannot confirm the correct reading of their name. Their nickname is ‘WIDE’ because their last name, ‘hiroi,’ is the Japanese word for wide.

Published by Futabasha

Author’s Profile

Katsuyuki Ozaki

An up-and-coming author also working as a copywriter. His major works include “Valkyrie no Densetsu,” “F-Zero,” “Zelda II: The Adventure of Link,” and many more, all published by Futabasha. He has also written for other strategy guide series. His hobbies include golf, cars, and computer games. He is of course also passionate about Fire Emblem, and has completed all of the games so far. He poured all of his love for the series into writing these two books without rest!

Front:

The stage continues to unfold upon the continent of Valentia at war!

This fantastical tale of our young fighters finally comes to its end!

What will become of Alm and Celica’s love for each other? Where will their fate to fight lead them?

And in what direction will these Unit’s adventures take them…?

Back:

Ad for Book 1.

Ad for a Shin Megami Tensei novelization.

Color Art

Text:

This fantastic story is about the great battle on Land Valencia.

According to the destinies, many young heroes and heroines will fight to save their lovers.

Which will God promise to them, victory or defeat?

For whom will He smile?

Whom will He crush by a hummer at last?

Nothing but the bravy spirit of youth can bring peace to such a confused world.

The new act of this drama has just started now!!

Title Page

Table of Contents

(T/N: Exact translation of the chapter and chapter part titles are subject to change, once I read and translate them in full detail, based on exact context.)

Prologue

Chapter 1: The Second War

Mila, Lost Forever

The Empty Throne

Divine Blade Falchion

The Army of Witches at the Border

Chapter 2: The Battle at the Border

The Tragic Mage Luthier

Fratricide

The Golden General, Zeke

Surprise Attack

Sonya’s Secret

Crux of Fate

Chapter 3: God Duma

Triangle Attack

Great Sage Halcyon

Volcano

My Father, Jedah

Chapter 4: Reunion

To Rigel Castle

Mad Emperor Rudolf

The Heir

Chapter 5: The Altar and the Final Act of the War

The Mystery of Gradivus

Inside the Continent

My Father, Rudolf

The Gods’ Slumber

The Reborn Kingdom of Valentia

Epilogue

-

Illustrations: Ichiro ?* & Kazuo Hiroi (WIDE)**

*T/N: I cannot find the Kanji character in this person’s last name anywhere to confirm its reading.

**T/N: First name could also be ‘Ichio’ or ‘Itsuo.’ I cannot find any record of this person online, so I cannot confirm the correct reading of their name. Their nickname is ‘WIDE’ because their last name, ‘hiroi,’ is the Japanese word for wide.

Book design: Yusuke Matsuoka (NEXT)

Editing & printing: Rekkasha

Character Introductions

Celica’s Army

Genny: A Cleric from Novis Island’s Priory who supports Celica’s ideals.

Atlas: A Villager who joins Celica and her army to defeat the pirate Grieth. A hot-blooded young man with exceptional sword fighting talent.

Leon: A young Archer who is saved by Celica’s army at the pirate’s fortress, and stays with them afterwards.

Saber: A Mercenary searching for an employer to work for at Novis Greatport. Later transcends to Myrmidon.

Valbar: An Armor who was one of three people fighting to kill the pirate Barth at his fortress.

Est: A Pegasus Knight and one of the three sisters from Archanea. She is captured alone and brought to Grieth’s fortress.

Palla: One of the three sisters from Archanea. A Pegasus Knight with superior strength and mobility.

Nomah: A Sage whose spiritual powers have only strengthened in his old age, and possesses the skill to cast Sagittae.

Catria: A Pegasus Knight and one of the three sisters from Archanea. When they combine their powers, they can pull off the strongest attack of all…

Boey: A young Mage who serves at Novis Island’s Priory with Celica. 

Jesse: A Mercenary who joins forces with Celica to defeat Grieth. Though he acts like a ruffian, his swordsmanship skills are above average.

Sonya: A female Mage who can cast Excalibur. Her red lipstick and makeup proves that she is not associated with either the Mila nor Duma faithful.

Mae: Like Boey, she is a Mage from Novis Island’s Priory.

Celica: A deeply devout Priestess who leaves Novis Island’s Priory to travel to Mila’s Shrine. She is the second protagonist of this story, in addition to Alm.

Kamui: A Mercenary who goes to the pirate fortress with Leon and Valbar.

[kestrellady]

Book Riot's 2024 Read Harder Challenge

Ongoing 15/24 Challenge Link

6th year with this "get out of your comfort zone" reading challenge. Full list under the cut.

1. Read a cozy fantasy book. The House Witch by Delemhach This is a sweet, cozy read about a young witch finding his place and coming into his power. I can tell this comes out of the fanfic community, but it's really a plus for this book. This is the first of a series, which just has volume numbers.

2. Read a YA book by a trans author.

3. Read a middle grade horror novel.

4. Read a history book by a BIPOC author. The Ocean of Churn by Sanjeev Sanyal This was an incredibly readable history of the Indian Ocean trade and its place in world history. I sometimes got a little confused with the names of people and places, but the author was great about pulling out the main points.

5. Read a sci-fi novella. The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Ann Older It's so refreshing to read a take on Holmes and Watson that actually gets the dynamic right! I had a bit of a tone mismatch because I initially expected a space western (and there's a bit of that) rather than a Holmsian mystery.

6. Read a middle grade book with an LGBTQIA main character. Dear Mothman by Robin Gow This is a really sweet and soft book about dealing with grief, and friendship, and identity, all told in verse.

7. Read an indie published collection of poetry by a BIPOC or queer author.

8. Read a book in translation from a country you’ve never visited. Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura This is a bit difficult, but ultimately kind and hopeful read about friendship and the effects of bullying. It reads more middle-grade than I had expected, but I can't tell if that's just the translation or not.

9. Read a book recommended by a librarian. Walking to Aldebaran by Adrian Tchaikovsky Recommended to me by the lovely @/elodieunderglass! This was, hoo boy. It was something. It's a horror novel! All of the signs were there for the twist! I was still surprised and horrified!

10. Read a historical fiction book by an Indigenous author.

11. Read a picture book published in the last five years.

12. Read a genre book (SFF, horror, mystery, romance) by a disabled author. Fourth Wing by Rebeca Yarros This was another one of those booktok books that I was a little hesitant to get into, but certainly sounded like it was made for me and hoo boy was it. The main protagonist has major weakness in her joints and bones, which was really well woven into the plot.

13. Read a comic that has been banned. The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman I have a really hard time with Holocaust literature, but this is one of the most accessible books I've read. Not necessarily because it's a comic, but because it's framed and paced so well that you can really feel for the people, but still get a chance to breathe and recover.

14. Read a book by an author with an upcoming event (virtual or in person) and then attend the event.

15. Read a YA nonfiction book. Photographic: The Life of Graciela Iturbide by Isabel Quintero and Zeke Peña I've been fascinated by Graciela Iturbide since I listened to a Duolingo Spanish podcast episode about her photographing Frida Kahlo's newly discovered bathroom. This was a very poetic, graphic novel overview of her life. It was told in first person and I wish it was a little more clear what was a quote and what wasn't.

16. Read a book based solely on the title. That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming This was a fun, raunchy, read with an interesting world and a very pragmatic heroine.

17. Read a book about media literacy.

18. Read a book about drag or queer artistry.

19. Read a romance with neurodivergent characters. Viscount in Love by Eloisa James The heroine in this historical romance is dyslexic and deals with a lot of prejudice and self-doubt because of it. I love Eloisa's romances because the people act like real people.

20. Read a book about books (fiction or nonfiction). The Sinister Booksellers of Bath by Garth Nix This is a sequel to The Left-Handed Booksellers of London and takes place just a few months after that book. I love the way it delves into English folklore and the ways the characters grapple with being not quite human.

21. Read a book that went under the radar in 2023. The Hanging City by Charlie N. Holmberg This book had some really amazing worldbuilding that suffered a bit because the focus was so thoroughly on the narrator. I felt like most of the rest of the characters weren't really fleshed out, including the love interest. This was good, but I really expected to like it more than I did.

22. Read a manga or manhwa. In/Spectre Vol. 18 by Chashiba Katase This series is weird and I love it. It's largely mysteries where the protagonist already knows what happened and has to convince other people that it didn't happen the way it actually did. This volume wraps up a longer storyline and I loved the twists and turns and return of a side character.

23. Read a “howdunit” or “whydunit” mystery. Miraculous Mysteries edited by Martin Edwards I really enjoyed this collection of locked room murders and impossible crimes. Some of the stories definitely show their age, so be prepared for some casual racism and misogyny, but most of the stories were interesting and several were very surprising!

24. Pick a challenge from any of the previous years’ challenges to repeat!