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sanjuno · 3 years

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Sanjuno’s Story and Fandom Masterlist

I’m going to pin this list of titles so that people can more easily figure out what they want to vote for each Friday. Anything labelled with Meta, WIP, or Concept can be voted for.

1. ATTACK ON TITAN

1.1. Coordinates T by H: Eren’s coordinator abilities allow him to metaphysically bond with other humans, thereby giving everyone in the group the ability to psychically communicate with the rest and also boosting everyone’s healing ability exponentially to be on par with the Titan Shifters. Chaptered, WIP - Posted

2. BLEACH

2.1. What Happens on Vacation: Crossover with YYH – turns out that Kurosaki Misaki was a senior ferry girl on sabbatical (which translates as living a mortal life unaware of her true nature) and she was late returning to work due to being trapped in Grand Fishers gut. Ichigo and Uryuu are very confused when their “cousin” Kazuma shows up to introduce his new bride to the family. Koenma is just really pissed off by all the paperwork he needs to deal with while cleaning up his father’s mismanaged pet project. Chaptered, WIP - Unposted

3. CODE GEASS

3.1. A Code of Ice and Fire: Crossover with GOT – Lelouch, his two younger siblings, and Lelouch’s most loyal followers are reincarnated into Westeros. Lelouch proceeds to make it his lifelong mission to drive Cersei into frothing fits and strengthens the Baratheon dynasty to the point that even Tywin is impressed by his grandson’s machinations. Then CC shows up with dragons and Ned Stark starts to think that maybe Robert’s onto something with the “drinking to forget” idea. Meta

3.2. Abandon Thyself: Post-Zero Requiem Suzaku travels back in time to the scene in the Shinjuku Ghettos when the truck explodes. Given that the people closest to him haven’t actually spoken to Suzaku in years, the origins of Suzaku’s obvious mental instability is hilariously misattributed by various outside PoVs. So when Suzaku hits his knees in front of Lelouch, swearing eternal devotion and vowing to make Lelouch the next emperor nobody panics. (They should really reconsider panicking.) Drabbles, Prompt Fill - Posted

3.3. The Sun Also Rises: At the moment of his death in the Zero Requiem, Lelouch travels back in time to his childhood body. With only a week to go before Marianne is “assassinated by terrorists” Lelouch sets out to rearrange the board in a way none of the other players will see coming until it’s far too late. Lelouch has been given a second chance to make things right, and Lelouch wouldn’t be Lelouch if he didn’t plan big. This time around, Lelouch plans for his victory to be a bit more obvious. Chaptered, WIP - Posted

4. DCU

4.1. Time Enough: Terry McGinnis, his little brother Matt, and their dogs are the only members of their timeline to survive because Bruce Wayne was too old to see any more of his sons die in front of him. So they all got knocked out, shoved into an escape capsule, and ejected from the Batman Beyond timeline before it crumbles. Said time pod crashes into the middle of a Red Hood versus Match throw down, and Terry’s Wayne-inherited charisma is so powerful it allows him to banter his way into good graces of both villains. Jason drags them all off to his lair because every single member of the Batfam hoards orphans. Chaptered, WIP - Posted

5. DRAGON BALL

5.1. Saiyajin Pride: Alien biology has a larger impact on characterization that it does in canon. Mirai comes back to the main timeline live in sin with Videl and Gohan. Vegeta and Goku deal with some shit that comes from being the last full-blooded members of their species. Then just as things are settling down… Garlic is an idiot who thinks up a loophole in the “can’t wish people dead” rule and wishes Goku and Vegeta’s families straight out of existence and they end up in an entirely different reality. The only upside is that Vegeta finally gets to kill Frieza. Chaptered, WIP - Unposted

6. FAIRY TAIL

6.1. Flight Of Dragons: Future!Lucy misses her target and ends up landing further back in time, during the same year Natsu and the rest of the Dragon Slayer kids were brought to when they were pulled forward in time. Fairy Tail luck kicks in, and future!Lucy runs into child!Laxus as he escapes from his father after being fed the Lightning Dragon Lacrima. Laxus is handed a Prophecy and runs with it. Children have never needed Fairy Tales to tell them that Dragons exist, but they certainly help. Chaptered, WIP - Posted

6.2. My Heart Overflows: Juvia and Grey have finally started dating, but the Fairy Tail Mage Guild has some interesting traditions when it comes to proving the validity of a romantic relationship. Oneshot, Prompt fill - Posted

7. FAMILIAR OF ZERO

7.1. A Velvet Glove: Crossover with TMNT – Leonardo gets summoned to be Louise’s Familiar. Since all of his brothers are dead, Leo sees no reason not to make the most of this “lifelong bond of magic and spirit” and adopts Louise as his little sister. Halgenkia is not prepared for a Louise Francois le Blanc de la Valliere with ninja training. Henrietta is probably far too gleeful over making her best friend her Spymaster, but it’s not like anyone knows enough about what they’re doing to stop her. Reconquista gets exposed and smashed, and Wardes really should have respected his fiancée more. Chaptered, WIP - Posted

8. FINAL FANTASY VII

8.1. A Dirge of Ice and Fire: Crossover with GOT – Several members of Avalanche and the Elite Soldiers are reincarnated as the spares and bastards of Westeros’ Great Houses. Given that Rhaenys Targaryen used to be Cid Highwind, the Sack of King’s Landing goes very differently. Meta

8.2. A Feather’s Weight: Crossover with Naruto – Kakashi and Obito, along with their respective subordinates, are reincarnated in Wutai, and are thus in position to undermine a lot of Hojo’s plans simply by being themselves. Wutai still loses, but by a much smaller margin, and SHIN-RA realizes much too late that Wutai’s “concession” was a trap. Kakashi is a big shiny distraction for Sephiroth, the SOLDIERS revolt, and nobody knows who assassinated President Shinra. Chaptered, WIP - Unposted

8.3. Antiviral: Woden and Gaia conspire to create antibodies to fight off Jenova’s infection. Cid and Vincent end up bearing the brunt of this decision, get roofied by Divine Intervention, and also end up the Gaian equivalent of demonic werewolves. Also the Planet is transforming all the SOLDIERS into werewolves too, yes, even the dead ones. Chaptered, WIP - Posted

8.4. For Love Of: Cid Highwind crashes the Tiny Bronco into Lucrecia’s cave, does the metaphysical equivalent of tearing her heart out and eating it to absorb her power, and them proceeds to adopt General Sephiroth as his son because it’s not like anyone can stop him. Cid Highwind does what he wants. Sephiroth does what Mother wants. SHIN-RA soon regrets everything because Cid Highwind is a hell of a lot better at rewriting the social order than Avalanche is. Chaptered, WIP - Posted

8.5. Hindsight is 20-20: CHAOS decides to rewrite time because they have a massive crush on Cid and they don’t want him to die. CHAOS fumbles the landing and Cid ends up in the body of some weird Lucrecia/Ancient-Cetra-Who-Was-Jenova’s-Host Clone and ends up giving birth to Sephiroth. Things only get worse from there. Chaptered, WIP - Posted

8.6. Like it Rough: Cid likes Vincent a lot and also has a bit of a kink for scars. Cid walks in on Vincent naked, runs away to hide his raging boner, and Vincent ends up chasing Cid around the airship until he can pin his friend down in the Captain’s bunk because the demons are all drunk on the pheromones. Oneshot - Complete

8.7. Names of Power: Jenova’s taint getting mixed into the Lifestream has far-reaching consequences, and Avalanche gets tapped to handle the fallout whither they like it or not. Series, WIP - Posted

8.7.1. Small Packages: The Lifestream meddles in Avalanches lives even after the Planet has been saved. There are clones and ancient powers better off left alone but it’s not like Avalanche ever gets a say in the matter. Chaptered, WIP - Posted

8.7.2. History Inverted: Jenova isn’t all the way gone and the Planet really doesn’t care if Humanity survives or not as long as the infection is burned away. Aerith shoves the spirits of Avalanche and their children into a new timeline because she doesn’t want to watch their souls get shredded. Avalanche proceeds to mosey along and wreak havoc in the way only they can manage. Chaptered, WIP - Posted

8.8. To Earn the Sky: Echidna, Mother of Monsters and Heroes, and Jenova, the Calamity From the Skies, are at war. Hojo makes a very big mistake when he uses the Blood of Echidna’s Children in his Revenant Project. Cid Highwind is a good son, and his Mother wants to meet her new Grandchildren. Chaptered, WIP - Posted

9. FINAL FANTASY XV

9.1. A Light of Ice and Fire: Crossover with FFVX – Noctis, his Retinue, and the loyal members of the Kingsglaive and Crownsguard are reincarnated into Westeros. Jorah Mormont is Cor Leonis, but Cor Leonis is not Jorah Mormont, and so the Northern Forces are something to fear in Robert’s Rebellion. By the time King Robert visits Winterfell, it will be a very different Northern Kingdom that he finds there. Meta

10. GAME OF THRONES

10.1. Crossover Fixits to Help Westeros be Less Miserably Doomed: Various casts from other series end up reborn in Westeros and use knowledge from their previous lives to change the Game. Series

10.1.1. An Assemblage of Ice and Fire: Crossover with MCU – Team Iron Man focus, since Tony is reincarnated as Ned Stark. Starks are made of Iron, and Winter is coming. Tony’s genius intellect, knowledge of politics and economics, experience with magic and alternate realities, and the fact that Extremis carried over through his reincarnation and adapted to work with First Man magic means that the Stark siblings who go to the Tourney of Harrenhal are nothing like the canon versions. Rhaegar gets his Stark bride, and he proceeds to regret it for the rest of his life. Meta

10.1.2. A Balance of Ice and Fire: Crossover with SW – Qui-Gon Jinn’s three Padawan Learners and Padme (who got taken in Anakin’s place) are reincarnated as the Tyrell siblings. They proceed to follow the Will of the Force and prepare the Seven Kingdoms to win against the Long Night. Meta

10.1.3. A Code of Ice and Fire: Crossover with CG – Lelouch, his two younger siblings, and Lelouch’s most loyal followers are reincarnated into Westeros. Lelouch proceeds to make it his lifelong mission to drive Cersei into frothing fits and strengthens the Baratheon dynasty to the point that even Tywin is impressed by his grandson’s machinations. Then CC shows up with dragons and Ned Stark starts to think that maybe Robert’s onto something with the “drinking to forget” thing. Meta

10.1.4. A Dirge of Ice and Fire: Crossover with FFVII – Several members of Avalanche and the Elite Soldiers are reincarnated as the spares and bastards of Westeros’ Great Houses. Given that Rhaenys Targaryen used to be Cid Highwind, the Sack of King’s Landing goes very differently. Meta

10.1.5. A Dying Will of Ice and Fire: Crossover with KHR – The Tri-Ni-Sette holders and all those bonded to them are reincarnated into Westeros Noble Houses. Xanxus is born as Robert’s eldest trueborn son and Heir to the Iron Throne, and so all it takes is one look at the Wall to know that there is something to fear on the other side. Tsuna is busy swooning over Arya’s muscles but in-between reciting odes to his amazing betrothed he takes time to tell Nono’s ghost “I told you Xanxus would make the better Heir.” Meta

10.1.6. A Light of Ice and Fire: Crossover with FFVX – Noctis, his Retinue, and the loyal members of the Kingsglaive and Crownsguard are reincarnated into Westeros. Jorah Mormont is Cor Leonis, but Cor Leonis is not Jorah Mormont, and so the Northern Forces are something to fear in Robert’s Rebellion. By the time King Robert visits Winterfell, it will be a very different Northern Kingdom that he finds there. Meta

10.1.7. A Space Between Ice and Fire: Crossover with Naruto WCE – The Konoha Founders and their siblings are reincarnated as Starks and Baratheons and manage to save the Realms of Men while resolving their many and varied issues with one another. Meta

10.1.8. A Transformation of Ice and Fire: Crossover with TFG1 – Most of the Cybertronians who died during Unicron’s Awakening end up reincarnated as dragons (Seekers) and Direwolves (Autobots). The sapience of the animals causes significant changes to outcome of several key canon events. Meta

10.2. Singing In A Different Key: SI is reborn as Jon Snow, who then precedes to Machiavelli the fuck out of the North in preparation for the coming Long Night and also to screw over the Lannisters. Because fuckthe Lannisters. Meta

10.3. Wolf At The Door: When Ice takes the head of Eddard Stark, Valeryian magic mixes with the Blood of the First Men. It’s wild, uncontrolled, and Ned ends up as a four year old in Winterfell’s Godswood, staring at his reflection in the water. Eddara Stark, second-born child and first-born daughter of Rikard and Lyarra Stark looks back up at him. Ned, fully believing that this is his punishment for failing his family and best friend the first time around, decides to fix the Realm by fulfilling the Pact of Fire and Ice. The thing about being a woman is that no one ever expects you to be a threat, not even other women. The thing about being the Quiet Wolf is that everyone overlooks you until the moment your teeth sink into their throat. Concept

11. GET BACKERS

11.1. Holy Days of Yore: Various celebration themed fic that explore Ban’s backstory as the “With Queen’s Grandson” and bring a bit more of that old black magic into the Get Backer’s lifestyle. Series

11.1.1. Lupercalia: Ban gets a magic matchmaker box in the mail and everyone wears their heart on their sleeve for Valentine’s Day. Oneshot - Posted

11.1.2. Oeastre: Ban gets roped into being the master of ceremonies for Maria’s coven and Easter gets interesting. (Everyone makes like bunnies.) Oneshot - Posted

12. GIRL GENIUS

12.1. The Other Side of the River: One of the Jagermonsters manages to catch wind of Lucrecia’s plans and absconds with Klaus Barry during the confusion caused by the first explosion. This understandably causes some disruption in everyones plans when KB and his nanny run into Agatha during her time with the Circus. WIP - Unposted

12.2. Threefold Path: Agatha, Gil, and Tarvek get their brains booted back in time during the si vales valeo and decided to run away and join the circus until they’re old enough to take over the world properly. WIP - Unposted

13. GUNDAM WING

13.1. Mistakes and Misdemeanors: Heero was on blockers for the entire war due to a series of implants, which did no favours to his mental health. When the implants run out Heero gets run over by a hormone train and absolutely nobody knows how to handle that. Chaptered, WIP – Posted (Under Revision)

14. HARRY POTTER

14.1. Black As His Name: Sirius Back lives! Because the Veil dumps his mind-and-soul into the empty body of his younger self in a world where Walburga Black lost it on her eldest son much earlier in life and Sirius was tortured until he was left brain-dead. Arcturus Black is pissed off over the treatment of one of his Heirs and since Sirius’ magic is still intact, names Sirius the Heir to House Black and proceeds to hold the Heirship over everybody’s heads for spite for as long as Sirius continues to “live”. Everyone in the Black Family is very surprised when the annual shaming ritual disguised as Sirius’ birthday party is crashed. By none other than the birthday boy himself. Sirius rolls with it and becomes a True Black in the most Marauder manner possible. WIP - Unposted

14.2. Black Hunt Under Bloody Skies: Crossover with KHR – Regulus and Sirius both end up dumped into KHR because Death owes them a favour on its Master’s behalf. Things start to get weird after the Arcobaleno curse is broken. Regulus is actually Skull and Sirius is his Sky and they confuse the entire Mafia so much. WIP - Unposted

15. HOMESTUCK

15.1. A Jump To The Left Behind: Post game reality has all the races living in a Galactic Republic, and the Troll Ancestors and Human Guardians all need to team up in order to solve the mystery of the planetoid-sized meteor that just barreled into the middle of their busiest spacelane because their names are written all over it. In the process of exploring the meteor they accidently wake up the Players and Sprites. Chaos ensues. Concept

15.2. Pandora’s Final Gift: A mermaid AU where a Deep Old One gives Eridan (and only Eridan) the memories of his Game Player Self as a lark. Eridan hits the level cap for his current reality, freaks out, saves Sollux’s life, and then absconds as far away from the center of the Empire as he can get. Concept

16. INU YASHA

16.1. Hunter’s Moon: The standard “Demon Mating Season” idea that draws on the infectious nature of demon energy in the Sengoku Jidai and runs with it. Everyone over the age of eighteen gets some. Kagome gets to go home and take a nap. Chaptered, WIP – Posted (Under Revision)

16.2. Cry Wolf: Playing straight with the crack concept that Inuyasha and Kouga were betrothed as children. Kagome isn’t in the picture because she got yeeted back to her own time when the Shikon no Tama got purified. Chaptered, WIP – Posted (Under Revision)

17. KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN

17.1. A Dying Will of Ice and Fire: Crossover with GOT – The Tri-Ni-Sette holders and all those bonded to them are reincarnated into Westeros Noble Houses. Xanxus is born as Robert’s eldest trueborn son and Heir to the Iron Throne, and so all it takes is one look at the Wall to know that there is something to fear on the other side. Tsuna is busy swooning over Arya’s muscles but in-between reciting odes to his amazing betrothed he takes time to tell Nono’s ghost “I told you Xanxus would make the better Heir.” Meta

17.2. Black Hunt Under Bloody Skies: Crossover with HP – Regulus and Sirius both end up dumped into KHR because Death owes them a favour on its Master’s behalf. Things start to get weird after the Arcobaleno curse is broken. Regulus is actually Skull and Sirius is his Sky and they confuse the entire Mafia so much. WIP - Unposted

17.3. Burning Salt Water: Crossover with OP – Xanxus gets dumped onto the Oro Jackson during the Pirate King’s last voyage when Nono’s Zero Point goes sideways and he ends up adopted by Rouge and Roger while he heals. After the execution Xanxus ends up raising the ASL trio to take over the Pirate Throne and Ace sets the Moby Dick on fire when Whitebeard kidnaps him. Meta, WIP - Unposted

17.4. Cat’s Paws: Uri has seen enough Time Travel bullshit to know how it works, and so when Hayato gets himself killed she grabs his soul and flings herself backwards in time because fuck the timeline this is her human and he’s not allowed to abandon her again. The other Box Animals think it’s a great idea and do the same with their humans, and this results in the kind of alternate timeline that gives Byakuran a headache. In other words, Uri creates a timeline where Flame Actives are a lot more Alien than they used to be and now everyone thinks Youkai and other myths are real. Chapters, WIP - Posted

17.5. Fire Shall Waken: All of Nono’s sons are still alive when the Cradle Affair happens and it results in the entire 10th Generation gathering up their Harmonies, rolling Xanxus into a blanket burrito, and taking off to Japan under assumed names where they proceed to spend the next eight years coddling Tsuna and being spoiled rotten by Nana in return. Meta

17.6. Gremlins Della Varia: Mammon’s experiments with the Curse have had some odd side effects on the Varia. It all comes out during the Ring Battles and the other Arcobaleno are Judging You, Viper. Oneshot, Prompt Fill - Posted

17.7. Karma, and the Repercussions Thereof: Crossover with Naruto. Legendary Ninja from the Elemental Countries get reincarnated into KHR and proceed to adopt all the Magic Rainbow Fire Children. Nono and Iemitsu suffer. Series, WIP

17.7.1. Karmic Balance: Kakashi and Obito are ninja married from the very start because of metaphysical bonding and some minor haunting during their last lives. Between Ninshu Shinobi needing to be in Clans and Flame Actives needing to be in Harmonies it does not take long before the child stealing begins. Gokudera Kakashi is the best wife and Dokuro Obito repents, repeatedly and often, while also having the time of his second life. Tsuna loves his Kakashi-sensei and wants to be just like him when he grows up. Chaptered, WIP - Posted

17.7.2. Karmic Justice: Madara and his brothers are reborn as Fon’s nephews and do not take kindly to the Arcobaleno curse being put on one of their relatives. The Hibari Clan proceeds to start hunting for the Man in the Iron Man en mass. Madara and his brothers hit Namimori during Nono’s visit and witness the sealing of Tsunayoshi. They don’t take well to this either. Things go worse for Tsuna than they do in canon and Madara hunts down Tobirama because he needs the resurrection to be done perfectly. Tsuna loves his Madara-shishou and wants to be just like him when he grows up. Oneshot - Posted

17.7.2.1. Karmic Justice – Hubris: Madara comes across Xanxus in the ice while investigating the Vongola and despite Xanxus being a bit older than the usual target for child stealing decides to steal him anyway. After resurrecting Tsuna, Madara and Tobirama’s next project is defrosting Xanxus. Concept

17.7.2.2. Karmic Justice – Providence: Madara finds Xanxus on the streets while hunting in Italy for the Man in the Iron Mask. Wrath Flame calls to Wrath Flame and Madara instantly adopts the delightfully savage little boy. Then Namimori happens, and Tsuna’s seal gets him temporarily killed, and Xanxus reaches 100-year-vengance-plot levels of overprotective big brother. WIP - Unposted

17.8. Music of the Spheres: Crossover with SM – Post Stars Usagi and Post Vongola Inheritance Tsuna are cousins who meet for the first time ever only after the Vongola’s enemies kidnap Ikkuko and Shingo. Usagi gets taken into protective custody by her Mafia relatives without being given the chance to say she doesn’t need it. Usagi then proceeds to seduce all the women, charm all the men, and accidently throw Iemitsu out the nearest window every time he’s in the same room she is. Chaptered, WIP - Posted

17.8.1. MotS - Celestial Chorus: Chibiusa’s arrival has Usagi dragging her family to Namimori to prove that Chibiusa isn’t their cousin and things get wildly out of hand. Meta

17.8.2. MotS - Sing In Exaltation: The Shingo from The Sharp Knife Of A Short Life hears the name of his ‘cousin in Namimori’ and immediately begins to meddle. Meta

17.9. Overlooking the Obvious: They say that to truly know someone you need to walk a mile in their shoes. The adage is proven true rather dramatically when a misappropriated Possession Bullet ends up switching Gokudera and Hibari into each other’s bodies. Oneshot, Prompt Fill - Posted

17.10. Reach For The Sky: Kamen Rider Sora and his team are the protectors of Namimori against the invasion of Youma from the dark dimension. Reborn shows up to tutor the last remaining Vongola Heir and ends up in the middle of a longstanding battle against the Forces of Evil. Does the World Greatest Hitman have what it takes to guide the mysterious masked Rider towards his true strength? Stay tuned to find out! Drabbles, Prompt Fill - Posted

17.11. When the Nightingale Sings: Sky Flames are Dragons, and when a Sky is Sealed they turn into True Dragons once said Seal breaks. Tsuna has the Best Treasures Ever. Reborn is confused but willing to roll with it. Hayato needs to do all the research. Drabbles, Prompt Fill - Posted

17.12. Where the Sky Meets the Sea: Crossover with OP – The ASL Trio are reborn as Sawada Tsunayoshi’s younger brothers, and the Will of D means they remember everything. Sawada Iemitsu might once have been Akagami no Shanks and despite lacking his memories knows better than to keep secrets from his wife. (Iemitsu does keep a lot of secrets from Nono, such as the fact that he has more than one son.) Iemitsu redirects Xanxus’ attention to the Family traitors, Nono never meets Tsuna, and nobody gets sealed. Then Reborn shows up, and everything is now on fire. Oneshot, Prompt Fill - Posted

17.13.

18. KYOU KARA MAOU

18.1. The Needs Of Our Natures: Wolfram decides to prove exactly how much his mother’s son he really is and seduces Yuuri. Wolfram seduces Yuuri like it’s his job. (Yuuri likes it.) WIP - Unposted

19. MARVEL

19.1. An Assemblage of Ice and Fire: Crossover with GOT – Team Iron Man focus, since Tony is reincarnated as Ned Stark. Starks are made of Iron, and Winter is coming. Tony’s genius intellect, knowledge of politics and economics, experience with magic and alternate realities, and the fact that Extremis carried over through his reincarnation and adapted to work with First Man magic means that the Stark siblings who go to the Tourney of Harrenhal are nothing like the canon versions. Rhaegar gets his Stark bride, and he proceeds to regret it for the rest of his life. Meta

19.2. Iron Laced: Crossover with TMNT – Maria Carbonell was actually Oroku Karai in disguise because she was on vacation from being a member of the Council of Shadows. Karai and all the Turtles accessed magic ninja dragon powers when they took over the Council and Karai-as-Maria passed that down to Tony. So Tony is actually a dragon and an encounter with the Enchantress leaves him locked in his dragon form. WIP - Unposted

19.3. Miles To Go: Post-MCU Civil War almost-Time Travel where Tony grieves so hard he sends an Extremis injector capsule to the year before the Winter Soldier murdered his parents. Said capsule lands in front of a wasted 15-year-old Tony in the aftermath of a frat party. Cue the face hugger scene. Tony gets an Extremis upgrade about 30 years ahead of schedule and it’s the only reason he survives the memory download without his brain turning into mush. WIP - Unposted

19.4. Perception: Instead of killing Scott in X3, Dark Phoenix instead fixes the brain damage that prevented him from controlling his optic blasts and then shunts him trough time an space. Scott wakes up 18-years-old in Stryker’s lab and proceeds to hijack Wolverine’s rampage so that they can both escape. James Howlett is impressed, and Cyclops hates everything but especially time travel because it ruins all his fallback plans. Chaptered, WIP - Posted

20. NARUTO

20.1. A Feather’s Weight: Crossover with FFVII – Kakashi and Obito, along with their respective subordinates, are reincarnated in Wutai, and are thus in position to undermine a lot of Hojo’s plans simply by being themselves. Wutai still loses, but by a much smaller margin, and SHIN-RA realizes much too late that Wutai’s “concession” was a trap. Kakashi is a big shiny distraction for Sephiroth, the SOLDIERS revolt, and nobody knows who assassinated President Shinra. WIP - Unposted

20.2. A Space Between Ice and Fire: Crossover with GOT – The Konoha Founders and their siblings are reincarnated as Starks and Baratheons and manage to save the Realms of Men while resolving their many and varied issues with one another. Meta

20.3. A Widening Gyre: Rin survives the Chidori and her existence is now an S-class secret. Said S-class secret distracts Obito on his way to ambush Kushina’s labour and several different chase scenes take place. They all end up in the ROOT base made from one of Tobirama’s old labs and instead of Kyuubi getting loose Team Ro, the Fourth Hokage’s team of bodyguards, Obito, Anko, and all of ROOT plus Danzo himself get dumped into the Warring Clans Era. Obito kills Danzo in a panic when he realizes that taking the Bijuu means killing Rin, Kakashi sacrifices himself again, and there is a lot more running around. Kakashi suborns ROOT en masse, Obito is stupidly overpowered and homicidal but it’s okay because Kakashi is playing damsel in distress and distracting him. The Senju and the Uchiha are all really confused by these kids, there are far too many mistaken identities, and Konoha gets founded much earlier than in canon. Meta

20.4. According to Custom: Hashirama and Madara should not be left unsupervised (that’s why Mito and Touka tend to lurk nearby when they have tea together) because it causes them to get Brilliant Ideas. This time they decide to make friends with one another’s little brothers. How Madara went from being “nice” to Tobirama to courting the oblivious younger Senju is still something of a mystery, but there are several bets riding on when Tobirama is going to realize what’s going on. Oneshot, Prompt Fill - Posted

20.5. Around the River Bend: Tobirama feels Itama die and runs to the river to mourn. Quite predictably he meets Madara there, and the course of History changes. Oneshot, Prompt Fill - Posted

20.6. Colours and Promises: Set a decade after the Evil has been defeated and life returned to normal, Tobirama (once the magical superhero Dragon) is still living with the side effects of sacrificing everything to save the world while he was still a teenager. Notes on a piano, and a familiar voice singing a familiar song. Tobirama finds Madara (once the magical superhero Phoenix) and finally gets to enjoy his victory. Love can be killed, but it never dies, only ever taking on new shapes as we move on with our lives. Oneshot, Prompt Fill - Posted

20.7. Dare Not Speak Its Name: Madara is Demi as all get out aka Madara’s a virgin with a shy dick. Also known as the AU where Madara proposes marriage to Tobirama for the sake of peace and the children. The only reason Izuna approves is because the thought of Tobirama suffering a lifetime of blueballs is hilarious to him. Meta

20.8. Heavy as the Mountain: Team 7 is losing the fight against Kaguya, but Obito and Kakashi perform a last-minute sacrifice that means the kids survive. It also causes them all to be de-aged by over a decade and thrown back in time to the Warring Clans Era. Kakashi and Obito die, Team 7 gets adopted by presumably-Hatake Kanna, then a few years later they run into Uchiha Izuna and it all descends into chaos. (Team 7 takes total advantage of everything to get their revenge on Zetsu and maybe fix some of Konoha’s longstanding issues at the same time.) Oneshot, Prompt Fill – Posted

20.8.1. Crumble To The Sea: The adventures of time travelling Team 7 as they get adopted by the Uchiha Clan, arrange to make Izuna’s life miserable until he proves worthy of courting their An-chan, and get aggressively mother-henned by Uchiha Madara. (The last one came as a bit of a surprise.) Kurama ends up adopting the Uchiha Clan because he likes frustrating Zetsu, and Team 7 appreciates the extra time to grow taller before they need to go weed whacking. Concept

20.9. In Konoha We Dance: The Uchiha Clan has a tradition of belly dancing and it fixes everything that was wrong with Konoha in canon. Series

20.9.1. O-Bon Appetite: Thanks to his dance training Izuna manages the core control to dodge Tobirama’s sword enough to avoid a fatal wound and Konoha starts off on more equal footing. Tobirama then walks into a traditional Uchiha celebration and his brain shuts off. Oneshot, Prompt Fill - Posted

20.9.2. Hot Like Burning: Kushina drags Minato to the Uchiha Police Office Party so she can make time with Mikoto and there is so much skin, Minato was not emotionally prepared for this. Fugaku takes advantage of the Yondaime’s weakness as only an Uchiha can and the glorious ‘ship FuMiKuMi sets sail. Oneshot, Prompt Fill - Posted

20.9.3. Got This Fire Burning: Overnight shifts at the Mission Desk gets boring. Konoha ninja like to dance, because dancing isn’t boring. Kakashi shows them all how it’s done when a member of Team 7 hits it. Oneshot, Prompt Fill - Posted

20.10. Karma, and the Repercussions Thereof: Crossover with KHR – Legendary Ninja from the Elemental Countries get reincarnated into KHR and proceed to adopt all the Magic Rainbow Fire Children. Nono and Iemitsu suffer. Series - WIP

20.10.1. Karmic Balance: Kakashi and Obito are ninja married from the very start because of metaphysical bonding and some minor haunting during their last lives. Between Ninshu Shinobi needing to be in Clans and Flame Actives needing to be in Harmonies it does not take long before the child stealing begins. Gokudera Kakashi is the best wife and Dokuro Obito repents, repeatedly and often, while also having the time of his second life. Tsuna loves his Kakashi-sensei and wants to be just like him when he grows up. WIP, Chaptered - Posted

20.10.2. Karmic Justice: Madara and his brothers are reborn as Fon’s nephews and do not take kindly to the Arcobaleno curse being put on one of their relatives. The Hibari Clan proceeds to start hunting for the Man in the Iron Man en mass. Madara and his brothers hit Namimori during Nono’s visit and witness the sealing of Tsunayoshi. They don’t take well to this either. Things go worse for Tsuna than they do in canon and Madara hunts down Tobirama because he needs the resurrection to be done perfectly. Tsuna loves his Madara-shishou and wants to be just like him when he grows up. Oneshot - Posted

20.10.2.1. Karmic Justice – Hubris: Madara comes across Xanxus in the ice while investigating the Vongola and despite Xanxus being a bit older than the usual target for child stealing decides to steal him anyway. After resurrecting Tsuna, Madara and Tobirama’s next project is defrosting Xanxus. Concept

20.10.2.2. Karmic Justice – Providence: Madara finds Xanxus on the streets while hunting in Italy for the Man in the Iron Mask. Wrath Flame calls to Wrath Flame and Madara instantly adopts the delightfully savage little boy. Then Namimori happens, and Tsuna’s seal gets him temporarily killed, and Xanxus reaches 100-year-Xanatos-Gambit-vengance-plot levels of overprotective big brother. WIP - Unposted

20.11. Look the Innocent Flower: Orochimaru gets the Hat instead of Minato because instead of working for Danzo he creates his Baby-no-Jutsu (the same one that produced Rogu and Mitsuki) and that’s how Orochimaru accidently turns Tenzo into the Orochimaru-and-Tsunade lovechild while field testing some gene-splicing adoption techniques. Sarutobi is so delighted by all the babies he names Orochimaru his successor without any further debate. Konoha proceeds to become a somewhat androgynous, gender-fluid utopia full off affectionate, friendly people who only want you for your body. Orochimaru refuses to allow hypocrisy in his Konoha and loyalty to ones comrades is not only encouraged, it’s enforced. Meta

20.12. Negotiation is an Artform: Remix of The Art of Negotiation by Kage88 – Konoha’s Founders take a trip to Uzushio and the Uzumaki are annoyingly persistent in their attentions, even when said attentions are unwanted. Tobirama’s political savvy is not to be underestimated, and Tobirama’s just as ridiculously overprotective of his loved ones as his relatives are of him. Bitchy pining resolves into dating, and the only reason Tobirama lets Hashirama get away with betting on his love life is because Hashirama was the only one who had faith in Tobirama making the first move. Oneshot, Fandom Exchange Fill - Complete

20.13. No Evil Abolishing Resentment System: Post Kaguya’s return, Madara gets bound by a System determined to help Madara turn all his Resentment Level into Love Points via a quick transmigration plot. Transmigrator!Madara gets to kiss-kiss fall in love with Reincarnator!Tobirama 55 times in a row. I promise that all the gratuitous makeout sessions are plot relevant. Meta

20.14. Only Fools Rush In: Also known as the Uchiha Get Catnipped AU – the scene of Rin’s suicide is a few seconds off from canon and this not only results in Rin remaining alive, but Obito is also welcomed back to life so enthusiastically by his teammates that his Makengyou spontaneously manifests. A year or so later, Danzo attempts to use an experimental drug to weaken the Uchiha Clan enough for ROOT to have an easy time killing them and/or an excuse for eradicating the entire Clan. Only the drug is a happy-making drug that has every single member of the Clan manifest the Makengyou and immediately run off to snuggle their friends, family, and sundry other precious people. Meta

20.15. Red in Hand and Claw: Madara has Raptor Summons. This fact is significantly more terrifying than anyone outside of the Uchiha Clan is really aware of. Oneshot, Prompt Fill - Posted

20.16. Roads Diverged: Kakashi from a Darker-Than-Canon AU ends his fight with Obito with mutual destruction, and as they both lay dying Kakashi confesses to having always loved Obito. Obito being Obito and therefore unholy levels of Extra even for an Uchiha, proceeds to use Edo Tensai on Team 7 in order to heal Kakashi and then fling him through dimensions until he lands in a Lighter-Than-Canon AU where Kakashi sees Rin in time to avoid hitting her with the Chidori. Things spiral from there. Chaptered, WIP - Posted

20.17. Spite And Fury: A crossover with the “Original Goods” Proud Immortal Demon Way from Scum Villains Self-Saving System – Uchiha Madara and Shen Jiu get combined into a single person and Cang Qiong is not ready for this much concentrated asshole. Too bad for them, the new-and-improved Shen Qingqui is here to stay. Meta

20.18. That We Answer to Our Stars: Crossover with SW – Kaguya’s reality warp has some strange side effects to the point of ridiculousness. All the Uchiha to ever exist are resurrected and then dumped wholesale onto an alien deathworld that is essentially what Training Ground 44 would be if it was allowed to cover an entire planet. The Uchiha proceed to seduce the Jedi and foil all of Palpatine’s plans for galactic domination. Meta, Chaptered WIP - Posted

20.19. The Memory Remains: Canon divergence via the reincarnation of Uchiha Izuna, his wife Kanna, and Senju Touka as Uchiha Obito, Hatake Kakashi, and Nohara Rin. Yes, they retained all their memories. Yes, Konoha is going to suffer for its sins against the children. Yes, this is going to end in a Team Minato threesome. Meta

20.20. The Thin Line: Kakashi loses patience with the Sandaime when no appreciable action is taken to remove Danzo from power even after Kakashi literally reports to Sarutobi’s face that he was ordered by Danzo to assassinate the Third Hokage. So Kakashi crashes an Uchiha Clan meeting and asks them to run away with him and his cute little brothers to a lovely tropical Island. Cue the Uchiha Exodus That Fucks Over Canon. Kakashi and the Uchiha Clan proceed to re-found Uzushio and collect a few S-class missing nin along the way. Meta, WIP - Unposted

20.21. The Waters and the Wild: The Senju are High Court Fae, and the Uchiha are Wild Hunt Shapeshifters. Tobirama attempts to interrupt Hashirama and Madara during their riverside meeting, only it backfires when he realizes that Madara is his Soulmate. Also the Uchiha are “clothing optional” and Tobirama was not emotionally prepared for this. Oneshot, Prompt Fill – Posted

20.22. To Linger In Dreams: After Kaguya takes over his body Madara gets yeeted out of reality into the Void. An eldritch Void god takes an interest in Madara and chucks Madara into a Magic Fantasy AU and Madara is even more not-Human than he was before. Also known as that really fucked up AU with cursed ABO dynamics. Meta

20.23. Truth in Hyperbole: Shinobi are what happen when Aliens and Humans have kids, Bloodline Talents are what happens when Kami and Youkai ancestry gets added to the pot. Most of the time Shinobi stay mostly Human. Sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they really don’t. Series - WIP

20.23.1. Blood Price: Tobirama wakes up after being killed and proceeds to resurrect his little brothers and Madara’s little brothers. Tobirama would resurrect Madara too but Madara had already managed to resurrect himself. Oneshot, Comm. Fill - Posted

20.23.2. Still Waters Run: The Sage of Six Paths gets his ass kicked by his ex-wife, his daughter-in-law, and Tobirama’s mother. Oneshot, Prompt Fill - Posted

20.23.3. A Thing With Feathers: Madara’s side of the story of their transformation into minor kami. Oneshot, Prompt Fill - Posted

20.23.4. Come Away: Zetsu is targeting Obito in another attempt to create the Rinnegan. Kakashi has his first “near death” experience and Obito is not amused at all. Neither is Rin. Team 7 is overprotective and codependent regardless of the generation in question. Oneshot, Prompt Fill - Posted

20.23.5. Quoth the Raven: Danzo’s schemes got him chased out of Konoha to escape execution, and he invades during the Chunin Exams in order to get his revenge. Summoning Tobirama using the Edo Tensai was probably not the best plan. Oneshot, Prompt Fill - Posted

20.24. Tsukumogami No Kankurou: While he is still very young, Kankurou signs a Summons contract with the Tsukumogami (aka the Muppet Theater Troupe) and then proceeds to interrupt Yashamaru’s “attack” on Gaara while simultaneously wreaking havoc across the entirety of Sunagakure. All of this is done to get back at Rasa for not letting Kankurou play with his baby brother. The Middle Child Syndrome is strong in this one. Never underestimate the power of petty spite. Oneshot, Prompt Fill - Posted

20.25. Twice is Happenstance: As a side effect of the battle against Kaguya breaking through dimensions, the ghosts of the Uchiha Clan send their memories as far back as possible. On the eve of his younger brother’s assassinations, Uchiha Madara wakes up with memories of being Indra and Sasuke. All the Uchiha have memories of their past and future lives combining with their current selves, and it causes something of a fracas while it gets sorted out. Cue the Uchiha Exodus That Fucks Over Canon. Oneshot - Posted

20.25.1. Enemy Action: The building of Uchihatlantis, the knockback effects of remembering more than one lifetime, and what happens when the Uchiha start to go back out into the world in order to hunt down their spouses and mess up Zetsu’s plans. Meta

20.26. Two Steps Back: Retired Rokudaime Hatake Kakashi accidently has his first vacation ever interrupted when he visits the Uzushiogakure ruins and gets slingshot back an incarnation or two due to triggering a derelict seal. Kakashi being Kakashi, he proceeds to continue with his vacation until he has a drunken bar hookup with Uchiha Izuna and now the beloved younger brother of Uchiha “I-can-fight-five-armies-and-win” Madara is stalking Kakashi in order to recite (hilariously awful) poetry about the beauty of Kakashi’s kenjutsu. This is not the retirement Kakashi signed up for. Drabbles, Prompt Fills – Posted

20.26.1. TSB – And a Jump To The Left: The epic courtship confusion which descends upon the Land of Fire when the Time-Travelling King of Trolls and an Angry Weasel Brat attempt to out-romance each other. Meta

20.27. Two Truths and a Lie: Mikoto and Kushina have been fake!dating for years to keep the more annoying Uchiha relatives from trying to get her married off. It’s a brilliant plan, and it works perfectly. But times change, and Kushina’s eyes are very pretty. Oneshot, Prompt Fill - Posted

20.28. Wills of Fire and Conquest: Crossover with OP – Kakashi is Rouge’s little brother and ends up raising the ASL trio while also searching for other reincarnated shinobi. Obito and the rest of Akatsuki become the Red Dawn Pirates and Kakashi eventually founds a new Uzushiogakure on the Red Line. Ace decides he wants to be the Nidaime Uzukage, and Whitebeard accidently insults Ace’s mother so badly during the “recruitment” debacle that Ace spends 100 days trying to beat an apology out of the arrogant old goat. Shinobi-versus-pirate culture clash is frequent and hilarious. WIP - Unposted

20.29. Worth of a Thousand Words: Political Hostage!Tobirama gets caught by the Uchiha just before he manages to use Hiraishin in battle for the first time. The Uchiha are all sensors that use Ninshu techniques otherwise since lost to time to communicate among themselves. This results in a much more united Uchiha Clan who are perfectly willing to let Madara push for a peace treaty with the Senju now that Tobirama’s capture has given them the leverage to do so. Meta

21. NURARIHYON NO MAGO

21.1. 1001 Demonic Nights: An AU Rikuo who was dragged into Yomi along with his Hakkai Yakko during the battle against the Nue manages to escape from hell by jumping into an alternate reality where his mother Wakana had a threesome with Rihan and Otome. Wakana left to take over her family shrine without telling her lovers that she was pregnant. The Rikuo who was born as a result died as an infant from the Nue’s curse on Nurarihyon’s bloodline. Both Rikuo and Otome’s daughter were conceived on the same night and are both half-demons due to Rihan shifting forms for kinky species-play. WIP - Unposted

22. ONE PIECE

22.1. Burning Salt Water: Crossover with KHR – Xanxus gets dumped onto the Oro Jackson during the Pirate King’s last voyage when Nono’s Zero Point goes sideways and he ends up adopted by Rouge and Roger while he heals. After the execution Xanxus ends up raising the ASL trio to take over the Pirate Throne and Ace sets the Moby Dick on fire when Whitebeard kidnaps him. WIP – Unposted

22.2. How Far I’ll Go: Roger had other lovers before he met Rouge and one of them was a Fishwife that he met at a Peacemoot. Their daughter was a mermaid and thus needed to remain on Fishman Island for her own safety. The World Government is so Human-centric that they don’t bother looking into any of Roger’s lady friends from the other races. Gol D Ann gives no shits about anybodies prejudices and when her mixed up genetics mean her feet come in about 20 years early she immediately takes off to track down her baby brother. Goldfish is Luffy’s favourite sibling and Ann is delighted to find three baby brothers for the price of one. WIP - Unposted

22.3. Rumour, Slander, Hearsay: Garp is even worse at interpersonal communication than in canon and now the entire Marine fleet thinks that Monkey D Dragon is an oversexed degenerate who keep dumping his illegitimate spawn on his poor heroic father’s doorstep. Otherwise known as Dragon adopts ASL and they seek a glorious Revolution. Meta

22.4. Those Who Favour Fire: Ace survives Marineford, even if only in spirit, because the Goddess of the Sea answered the prayer of another version of Ace. Waking up in the place of his 17-year-old murdered doppelganger, Ace now has to deal with raising a 7-year-old Luffy and escaping the notice of the Marines. Oh, and his murdered younger self is hanging around as a ghost, all the younger versions of Luffy’s crewmates keep showing up on Ace’s boat, and Ace keeps getting tripped up over how much more horrible this world is compared to the one he came from. Chaptered WIP - Posted

22.5. Where the Sky Meets the Sea: Crossover with KHR – The ASL Trio are reborn as Sawada Tsunayoshi’s younger brothers, and the Will of D means they remember everything. Sawada Iemitsu might once have been Akagami no Shanks and despite lacking his memories knows better than to keep secrets from his wife. (Iemitsu does keep a lot of secrets from Nono, such as the fact that he has more than one son.) Iemitsu redirects Xanxus’ attention to the Family traitors, Nono never meets Tsuna, and nobody gets sealed. Then Reborn shows up, and everything is now on fire. Oneshot, Prompt Fill - Posted

22.6. Wildfire Hearts: Ace goes back in time from his death to the Grey Terminal Fire, figures out how to use natural fire to heal himself, saves child!Ace and child!Luffy, changes his name to Portgas D Riot, runs away to the Grand Line with his baby brothers, puts together a new pirate crew, and hits on Marco so hard the Phoenix forgets how to complete his sentences. Everything works out for the better. Oneshot, Prompt Fill - Posted

22.6.1. WH – Heave A Sigh And A Wish For Me: SI-Clearfin Lionfish Mermaid named Occhio D Vittoria gets tapped in by the Ocean Goddess to help Riot et al from Wildfire Hearts succeed in their adventures.Oneshot, Prompt Fill – Posted

22.6.2. WH – Today Is The Day Of Reckoning: Riot is gathering up his new crew, forming the Anarchy Pirates, dealing with Garp, seducing Marco the Pheonix, and discovering that Sabo survived when his little brothers gatecrash a Revolutionary Army mission. Meta

22.7. Wills of Fire and Conquest: Crossover with Naruto – Kakashi is Rouge’s little brother and ends up raising the ASL trio while also searching for other reincarnated shinobi. Obito and the rest of Akatsuki become the Red Dawn Pirates and Kakashi eventually founds a new Uzushio on the Red Line. Ace decides he wants to be the Nidaime Uzukage, and Whitebeard accidently insults Ace’s mother so badly during the “recruitment” debacle that Ace spends 100 days trying to beat an apology out of the arrogant old goat. Shinobi-versus-pirate culture clash is frequent and hilarious. WIP - Unposted

23. PETSHOP OF HORRORS

23.1. Event Horizons: Leon isn’t human, and that changes things in the aftermath of the confrontation with Papa D. Count D wants to unravel the mystery of his favourite Detective, and Leon is starting to wake up. Hopefully they both find the knowledge they’re looking for before it’s too late and their enemy finds them. Chaptered WIP – Posted (Under Revision)

24. POKÉMON

24.1. The Hero Of His Own Story: When Green Oak is replaced as the Kanto Champion less than a full 24 hours after winning the title, he runs. Right into a Celebi that was looking for an assistant. Green Oak gets over his bullshit really fast because oh shit that’s an Angry Legendary. Green is also supremely unimpressedwith Red’s bullshit when he learns that Red was supposed to be dealing with all the world-saving events but is instead hiding in a depression cave. Meta

25. SAILOR MOON

25.1. From Olympus to Mu: The Senshi go to college and Mamoru reunites with the Shitennou. Basis of headcanons and characterization for any further post-canon SM fic. WIP - Unposted

25.2. Music of the Spheres: Crossover with KHR – Post Stars Usagi and Post Vongola Inheritance Tsuna are cousins who meet for the first time ever only after the Vongola’s enemies kidnap Ikkuko and Shingo. Usagi gets taken into protective custody by her Mafia relatives without being given the chance to say she doesn’t need it. Usagi then proceeds to seduce all the women, charm all the men, and accidently throw Iemitsu out the nearest window every time he’s in the same room she is. Chaptered WIP - Posted

25.2.1. MotS – Celestial Chorus – MotS Spinoff AU: Chibiusa’s arrival has Usagi dragging her family to Namimori to prove that Chibiusa isn’t their cousin and things get wildly out of hand. Meta

25.2.2. MotS – Sing In Exaltation: The Shingo from The Sharp Knife Of A Short Life hears the name of his ‘cousin in Namimori’ and immediately begins to meddle. Meta

25.3. The Sharp Knife Of A Short Life: SI is reborn as Tsukino Shingo under the aegis of the Roman God Janus and then proceeds to merrily say ‘screw canon, my sister gets to be happy or else’. Oneshot, Prompt Fill - Posted

26. SCUM VILLAINS SELF-SAVING SYSTEM

26.1. Spite And Fury: A crossover with Naruto and the “Original Goods” Proud Immortal Demon Way from Scum Villains Self-Saving System – Uchiha Madara and Shen Jiu get combined into a single person and Cang Qiong is not ready for this much concentrated asshole. Too bad for them, the new-and-improved Shen Qingqui is here to stay. Meta

27. SLAYERS

27.1. Infinite Blue: Zelgadis starts paying more attention to the deeper practices of Shamanism and gets in touch with his demonic side while achieving deeper harmony in himself. Xellos approves and it all results in magic explosions and very strange demonic courtship rituals. WIP - Unposted

28. SONIC THE HEDGEHOG

28.1. Skipped Tracks: The triplets from Underground end up transmigrating into the recently deceased bodies of their counterparts in a SatAM reality and proceed to rock out and confuse everyone. WIP - Unposted

29. STAR WARS

29.1. A Balance of Ice and Fire: Crossover with GOT – Qui-Gon Jinn’s three Padawan Learners and Padme (who got taken in Anakin’s place) are reincarnated as the Tyrell siblings. They proceed to follow the Will of the Force and prepare the Seven Kingdoms to win against the Long Night. Meta

29.2. A Robe of Stars: Crossover with TMNT – The turtles and Karai help Obi-wan save the Initiates and babies in the Jedi crèche before the Temple gets razed. Once the children are safe, Obi-wan and his new allies turn their attention to saving the Vode. WIP – Unposted

29.3. That We Answer to Our Stars: Crossover with Naruto – Kaguya’s reality warp has some strange side effects to the point of ridiculousness. All the Uchiha to ever exist are resurrected and then dumped wholesale onto an alien deathworld that is essentially what Training Ground 44 would be if it hadn’t been fenced in. The Uchiha proceed to seduce the Jedi and foil all of Palpatine’s plans for galactic domination. Meta, Chaptered WIP – Posted

30. TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

30.1. A Robe of Stars: Crossover with SW – The turtles and Karai help Obi-wan save the Initiates and babies in the Jedi crèche before the Temple gets razed. Once the children are safe, Obi-wan and his new allies turn their attention to saving the Vode. WIP - Unposted

30.2. A Velvet Glove: Crossover with FOZ – Leonardo gets summoned to be Louise’s Familiar. Since all of his brothers are dead, Leo sees no reason not to make the most of this “lifelong bond of magic and spirit” and adopts Louise as his little sister. Halgenkia is not prepared for a Louise Francois le Blanc de la Valliere with ninja training. Henrietta is probably far too gleeful over making her best friend her Spymaster, but it’s not like anyone knows enough about what they’re doing to stop her. Reconquista gets exposed and smashed, and Wardes really should have respected his fiancée more. Chaptered, WIP - Posted

30.3. Iron Laced: Crossover with TMNT – Maria Carbonell was actually Oroku Karai in disguise because she was on vacation from being a member of the Council of Shadows. Karai and all the Turtles accessed magic ninja dragon powers when they took over the Council and Karai-as-Maria passed that down to Tony. So Tony is actually a dragon and an encounter with the Enchantress leaves him locked in his dragon form. WIP - Unposted

30.4. Paper Flowers: Leonardo and Michelangelo reconnect after years of separation and deal with some leftover issues from their childhood while they prepare to welcome the next generation of Ninja Turtles into the world. WIP - Unposted

30.5. Patching the Trousers: Starting from the end of the Fast Forward arc, Leonardo gets lost in the multiverse and proceeds to adopt all the secondary turtles. All of them. Leonardo is the Mom Friend, only he’s not a friend he’s just a Mom. Chaptered, WIP - Posted

30.6. Stained Bandages: Realistic resolution to the most common dark!Splinter tropes. Leo doesn’t really care about himself, but if you touch his brothers he will kill you. Splinter touches Raphael. Karai is gifted with Splinter’s decapitated head in a box. Oneshot- Posted

30.7. Unraveled Sleeves: After First Contact and Splinter’s death from old age, the Turtles scattered to live their lives. Leonardo is the only one who stayed in the Lair. Making peace with the Karai was only the first step towards healing, and Leo makes peace with himself as he takes on students and his family grows again. Chaptered, WIP - Posted

31. TRANSFORMERS

31.1. A Transformation of Ice and Fire: Crossover with GOT – Most of the Cybertronians who died during Unicron’s Awakening end up reincarnated as dragons (Seekers) and Direwolves (Autobots). The sapience of the animals causes significant changes to outcome of several key canon events. Meta

31.2. Action Equals Reaction: There is a time and a place for everything. Even things like learning that your Air Commander is pregnant, and his parents are wingnuts. The middle of battle is neither the time nor the place. Oneshot - Posted

31.3. Compromising Positions: Bay’verse Shattered Glass – Megatron knows that there’s something wrong with his brother, but nobody will listen to him. Oneshot - Posted

31.4. High Stakes Wagers: Decepticon Romantic Gestures at their finest. Series

31.4.1. The Bet: Soundwave saves Starscream’s life after he gets blasted away from Unicron and they proceed to have wild, kinky spark-bonding and that’s it that’s the plot. Oneshot - Posted

31.4.2. The Rebirth: Starscream and Soundwave head off Galvatron and Zarak’s attempt to destroy Cybertron (and Earth, but that’s really secondary to them) and earn their just rewards for being on the winning side. Oneshot - Posted

31.5. Nine Rings of Vos: The Epic Seeker Saga where Starscream is the uncontested leader of the Seekers and he’s using the Great War as a cover to renew his people’s population numbers, add some variety to their core coding, and also destroy the Cybertronian Government because they liked to make Seekers into their slaves. Seven-part Series, Chaptered, WIP - Posted

31.5.1. Before Dawn: A Rings spin-off where the Seekers are actually all sparklings who disguised themselves as their parents in order to survive the Great War. Crash-landing on Earth precipitates the Big Reveal and also the actual adult Seekers get woken from Government sanctioned stasis thanks to the energy surges caused by resource shipments coming in from Earth. Chaptered, WIP - Posted

31.6. No Evil: Starscream is a scientist who wants to stay a scientist but he’s so damn good at being Air Commander that he gets promoted anyway. Also, his best friend/roommate from the War Academy is the closest thing to a therapist that the Decepticons have and that means Starscream stays mostly sane. Concept, WIP - Unposted

31.7. Thundercracker’s So Crazy in Love: Seekers Go Into Heat and that will put the War on pause for a bit because of the crazy. Series

31.7.1. Always the Quiet Ones: Thundercracker terrorizes the Decepticon forces on Earth while displaying for his Wingmates and accidently kills Megatron. Oneshot - Posted

31.7.2. Decepticon Service Announcement: Thundercracker is the new Supreme Leader of the Decepticons and he’s decided that they’re in a good position to negotiate peace terms with the Autobots now. Oneshot - Posted

32. YU-GI-OH

32.1. Old Game, New Rules: Sentinels and Guides are a built in part of society and a certain playing card game ties into that a bit more than most people would expect. There’s a lot of gratuitous soul-bonding smut, worldbuilding runs rampant, and there’s a lot of social commentary on the futility of stereotyping any portion of the population based on a single point of commonality. Chaptered WIP – Unposted

32.2. The Future of the Past: Jounouchi’s past life left a surprise in their soul that the trip to memory world triggers and now Katsuya is living through all of Jono’s memories. Chaptered WIP – Posted (Under Revision)

33. YU YU HAKUSHO

33.1. Bonds: Koenma and Yusuke are soulmates and Enma Daioh interferes because one his brat son is properly wedded and bedded Enma can take a long overdue vacation. Oneshot – Posted

33.1.1. Ties That Bind: Koenma and Yusuke are just starting to get used to being bonded mates when a new/old-and-forgotten enemy shows up to complicate things. WIP – Unposted (Under Revision)

33.2. What Happens on Vacation: Crossover with Bleach – turns out that Kurosaki Misaki was a senior ferry girl on sabbatical (which translates as living a mortal life unaware of her true nature) and she was late returning to work due to being trapped in Grand Fishers gut. Ichigo and Uryuu are very confused when their “cousin” Kazuma shows up to introduce his new bride to the family. Koenma is just really pissed off by all the paperwork he needs to deal with while cleaning up his father’s mismanaged pet project. Chaptered WIP - Unposted

#au masterlist post #sanjuno's ficwork #33 fandoms and counting

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mommymooze · 3 years

Text

A Lesson in Beekeeping

Claude x reader

Warning: bee sex discussed. Honeybees. Bee Stings. The noble worker bee giving up her life for the hive

Today is a free day. Free from classes and studying and homework. Everyone needs time to themselves to relax and do what interests them. You’re deep in the woods near the monastery, collecting plants, seeds, flowers and mushrooms. Your restful time alone is interrupted as Claude, your house leader, has found you.

“What’s a little girl like you doing out in the dark spooky woods? You better watch out for big bad wolves!” Claude laughs.

“I’m not Lys. This isn’t frightening. The higher altitude and specific climate divergence varies greatly from what I am accustomed to, as well as the flora has specific diverse qualities that interest me.”

“No need to go all Linhardt on me.” The dark haired male backpedals.

“New place, new plants.” You translate.

“You’re not going to complain about being called little?” Claude elbows you, digging for a reaction.

You roll your eyes. “My stature is undisputed. 95% of the student body is taller than I am. As time passes, the percentage pullulates.”

“So now what am I going to pick on?” Claude shrugs.

“Your pants, most likely, you’re standing amongst cockleburs.” You grin.

Pulling your notebook out, you scribble something on a page, stuffing a few leaves in the book before you return it to your pocket.

The next day, Professor Byleth makes an announcement to the class. “The kitchen is in need of anyone who is familiar with collecting honey or bees.” She continues to read the note and frowns. “Honeybuns no longer available in the kitchen.” She looks panicked.

Dorothea, recently recruited into the house raises her hand. “Ferdinand is much like a bee, send him!”

You raise your hand. “I will assist.” You do not mind missing the afternoon class for weapons training and maintenance, since you are a mage, it does not interest you.

“I’ll give it a shot.” Claude throws his hat into the ring.

“You guys are creepy, wanting to play with bugs.” Lysithia snipes.

Class ends and everyone heads out for lunch. Byleth thanks you and Claude for saving the honey buns.

You finish lunch quickly and head to the back entrance of the Kitchens. Martha greets you and hands you a few buckets and sharp knives. They don’t really have the beekeeping equipment, the keeper left suddenly due to his mother becoming ill.

“Looks like we’re going to have to improvise.” You groan.

“To be honest, I’ve never done this before. Always willing to learn something new though.” Claude confesses.

You frown at him. “You’re just curious because their stings contain poison.”

Claude looks away.

You run over to the Golden Deer lunch table. “Professor, we’re going to need assistance gathering equipment together. I’m going to leave the buckets and knives here, if anyone can add to it bring it here. Dorothea, do you have any stiff wide brimmed hats? I need 2. Leonie, can you bring some scissors, needles, thread and thick twine string or cord. Going to need about 3-4 meters. Does anyone have any thick extra leather gloves? Especially if you don’t want them back because they are going to get messy. A pair for me and a pair for Claude. We also need 2 white long sleeved shirts. Ignatz, if you have a spare that would be wonderful. Need one for Claude too unless he has one.”

You run off to the marketplace to find some dark black diamond netting with the smallest holes you could find. Back at the dining hall the Deer have done the deed and all needed items are acquired.

You create a beekeepers veil from the hat, stitching the netting around the brim of each hat. Wearing the long sleeved shirt you put the hat on, then tie the hat itself on with it’s ribbons so it won’t fall off when you bend over. Then you tie the string over the veil around your neck so that the string goes under the collar of the shirt. Putting on the gloves, you stuff the cuffs inside then wrap the open end of the gloves shut with gauze, pinning then tying it with more string. At the bottom of your pants you tie them around your ankles keeping them close over your socks. You take extra string and wrap them around bundles of semi dry weeds you pilfered from the compost pile.

You are ready for the battle of the bees.

“How do you know all this?” Claude asks as you head out around the walls of the monastery. The bees are located around the back by the fruit trees.

“Grew up a farmer. Brothers wrangled the larger animals. I was stuck with smaller ones. Chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits and bees. Need bees to pollenate fruit trees.”

“An expert on the birds and bees. Got it!” Claude grins.

“Have you ever been stung by a honeybee?” You ask him.

“Dunno. I’ve been stung by all kinds of bees. Black ones, yellow and black, black and white.” He shrugs.

“Claude! Just like every four legged animal is not just a horse, every flying insect is not necessarily a bee!!” You chastise him. “Honeybees are mostly non-threatening unless you are invading their home or disturb them while they gather nectar.” You stop at a nearby flowering bush. “This bush has all sorts of insects on it.” You take the sharp knife and point at a few different ones identifying them. Bluebottle fly, paper wasp, hornet, sweat bee, carpenter bee, bumblebee and finally honey bee.

“Most of the stinging insects have a sharp, smooth, pointy stinger, like Felix’s sword. The honeybee has a barb at the end of its stinger. Think of Byleth’s fishhook. The smooth stingers, can sting multiple times each putting a little poison in. Honeybees, when they sting, their barb gets stuck in your skin, and it rips off their stinger. When the stinger rips out, the poison sac comes along with it. The bee then dies, they are literally giving their life protecting their homes. Never use your fingers to grab the stinger to remove it, you are squeezing more poison into you. Scrape it off with the blade of the knife.”

“Good to know.” The archer nods.

“We are headed out to work on the bees. As soon as you notice you have been stung, we move away and make sure it won’t kill you. If it itches or swells a little, that’s normal. If you swell up to 10 times your normal size and stop breathing, you’re allergic.” You warn.

“Understood.” The Deer’s leaderman nods.

At the middle of the orchards are several different tables and boxes. You put the knife and bucket on the table. Inside of the boxes, with the front completely open, are what look like upside down baskets. They have a small hole in front that the bees are going in and out of at a fast rate.

“First we need smoke.” You instruct, taking out a bundle of semi dry weeds, lighting the ends with fire magic until most of the ends catch fire, then you blow the fire out. The weeds give off lots of smoke.

You tell Claude to wait by the table. You quickly go in front of a hive and lift it, pulling it out of the boxlike shelf and placing it on the table. You lift the hive pulling it to the edge of the table and let the smoke go into the hive for 30 seconds or so.

“Smoke gives the bees something to do besides chase you. When bees smell smoke, they think there is a fire in the hive. That means they have to grab what they can and get ready to leave. The bees are filling their stomachs as fast as they can and will fly off when the heat is too much. Another benefit of this is the bees will have a full stomach and are less likely to sting you. The bee has to curl its body to the front of it to sting you, like bending itself into a letter C. That is much harder to do when its gut is full, less likely to sting.”

You look underneath again There are several rows of beeswax combs hanging down with bees crawling all over them many bees face first into cells eating. You squat down low so you can look up into the hive. The white beeswax comb on the outside looks like it is empty, the next section of comb looks like it has some nectar or honey in it, and the one after that looks like it is fat with honey that has been covered over by the bees.

“Ok. This is a skep, we try to get bees to build their hives in them. It is thick rope that is bound together in sort of a bell or upside down pot shape. The bees start at the top and attach wax to the top, then create these combs. The combs are built hexagonal cells on each side at the tiniest bit of an angle, facing up in a wide V shape. That is so they can put nectar in it and fill it almost half way. Once the nectar is in, other bees will evaporate the water from the nectar by fanning their wings. Once enough water is evaporated, it turns the nectar to honey. Once it is the right thickness they fill the cell up completely, then bees cover it with wax to preserve it. Then we steal it.”

You stick the knife between the ropes of the skep. You cut through the beeswax at the top and sides of the third comb from the left until it comes loose in your hands. Gently, so gently, you pull it out from the hive. It has some bees on it, but most of them stay inside the hive.

“Honeycomb is made from wax that the bees shed off their bodies. They chew it until soft and build these perfectly symmetrical 6 sided cells. Notice the bottom of the cells on this side matches with where 3 cells come together on the other side. Makes it super strong. This honey is heavy, at least 15 pounds on this one chunk alone. We only want to take honey, and the honey should be covered by wax.”

You tilt the comb to the right and some liquid runs out of a few cells.

“Too watery. Bees didn’t cover it and won’t until it evaporates more. Whatever spills the bees will collect and put into their hive again.”

There is about 16 centimeters of comb at the bottom where there is nectar not covered or just empty. You cut this from the rest of the honeycomb, placing the capped comb in the bucket.

You take the part that is cut off and hold it to the light.

“Sometimes you can see eggs in the bottom of the combs that do not have nectar in them, those are bees of the future. I am not wasting this. I’m going to melt the wax at the cut and put it back where I took the other part out.

Squatting under the hive, you summon magical flames, melting all along the cut edge of the wax and nectar, sticking it into the space you took the top of it from. Holding it up there you wait a bit for the wax to cool and it sticks. You leave the next couple combs alone, looking at the opposite side. You don’t want to disturb the queen or babies. The bees keep their spare honey to the sides of the nest where the queen is laying eggs. You decide to cut another chunk out. Gently taking it out you bring it to the table. There is capped honey about half way down. Then the honey stops and there is different colored darker stuff in the combs.

“The top is capped honey. Bees make it to feed the babies and feed themselves, especially in winter. Next they gather pollen. They even sort it keeping the types of pollen together. Grass, clover, ash, oak, maple, sunflower, if it has pollen bees take it. Heavy protein in pollen. They sort honey too. You’ll see all kinds of colors. Really light colored honey in the spring. Darker honey in the fall. Anyway, cells lower than that is where the queen lays the eggs. When the eggs hatch they look like larvae, you know, the stuff Teach fishes with. The bees feed the larvae honey and pollen. It grows and fills the cell. Once it is big enough it spins a cocoon, the adult bees cover them with wax. They pupate and turn into adult bees, chewing their way out and going to work in the hive.

You continue working as you harvest more honeycomb and try not to destroy any of the hard work of the bees by putting what comb you can back inside the skeps.

“I gotta know. Tell me about bee sex. Everyone talks about the birds and the bees.” Claude grins.

“There are 3 castes of bees. The queen. The worker. The drone. There is one queen in a hive. She is the only female that mates. She mates for maybe 7-10 days of her life, maybe 12 to 16 times. Spends the rest of her life laying eggs. Her body is the longest/biggest in the hive, her abdomen is quite large, swollen with eggs. It sticks out much farther than her wings. Next are the female workers. That accounts for 90% more or less of the population. They gather the nectar, bring it back, put it in the cells, dehydrate it, make wax, build cells, protect the hive, guard the hive, get rid of the dead, feed the queen, clean the queen, pollenate the flowers, collect the pollen and 100 other jobs. If there is work to be done they do it. They have the stingers that sting to protect the hive. Queens have stingers too, but theirs are smooth. They fight other queens, nothing else. That is why there is only one.“

“We can’t’ forget the drones, the males. They have no stinger. They do no work. They contribute nothing to the hive except for the queens genes. They don’t pollenate. Their only purpose is to go out and find a virgin or recently virgin queen to mate with. They mate while flying in the air. The drones hang out in an area looking for their lady love. Their eyes make up 80% or more of their head, go almost all the way around it. Once they see a queen, they fly after her. She flies high and fast and whoever catches her first gets her. He sticks his male part into her female part. Upon his entry, his part breaks off, and he falls to his death. She goes out again for more. Bees don’t mate with their relatives, each has their own smell. So they spread their genes around. “

“Gah!” Claude slaps his arm. “They got me!”

“Get over there by the wall and sit down!” You order him, quickly finishing what you were doing, then rushing to Claude’s side, away from the bees you take off your hat and veil putting your ear to his chest to listen. His heart sounds pretty normal. Breathing sounds good

“Where is the sting?” You’re looking him over.

He points to his right upper arm.

“How are you feeling?” You’re watching the spot where he was stung, checking his fingers, his eyes, listening to his breathing.

“Talk to me for a bit. Just talk about anything. If your tongue swells up, that’s a bad sign. Talk so I know you’re okay.” You unbutton his shirt and pull it down over his shoulder to where the sting is.

“Gah! Just mention bee sex and you’re all over me!” He laughs.

The bee must have snuck inside his shirt, got into a small hole somewhere. His arm looks okay, the stinger is still in his arm and his skin is red around the stinger, the spot is about as big as a gold coin and slightly puffed up. Pulling a dagger out of your pocket, you scrape along his arm, flicking the stinger out.

All the while Claude keeps talking, counting trees in rows. Asking if you would be taking his pants off if he was stung in the leg…

“How are you feeling now?” You ask. “And that is why your pants legs are tied at the ankles. To keep them out.”

“Doing fine.” He grins. “The sting hurts a little less now. Not sweaty, not a real good poison. Mostly localized.

You put your ear to his chest again, checking on his breathing and heart rate.

“So how many stings before they really get to you?” The master tactician asks, his mind always working.

“If you are allergic 1, if you are sensitive maybe 20? If you work with them all of the time? Well I had over 75 in a single day and it just made me a bit nauseous.” You say as you help him put his shirt back together. “Want to do more or call it quits? I don’t want to do this when it starts to get dark.”

You both agree to play it safe. Marking the hives that were harvested, you head to the kitchen dropping off the buckets of honey. There’s a few bees hanging out with the honey comb, but the kitchen can deal with them.

Heading back to the hives you finish cleaning up.

“So what did you bring to put bees in?” You ask.

“What?” Claude feigns innocence.

“Don’t be all innocent with me. You want some of their poison.” You grin. “Give it to me. I’ll get some in it and then show you how to get your poison. Oh, remember, male bees have no stingers right? I think we should prank Lorenz. It’ll give him a heart attack.”

Claude laughs heartily, “And here I thought you were nothing but a bookworm with no sense of humor.”

“I can have fun too!” You whine.

“Great, just come by my room any night you want to discuss more about the birds and the bees, eh?” He grins.

“Now you’re sounding like Sylvain.” You groan.

“Oooh, that was a major insult. I am wounded.” Claude laughs.

***********************

Yes. I am a beekeeper. I love my bees. I could watch them work for hours. The smell of a beehive on a warm summers day is amazing.

#fe3h #Fire Emblem Three Houses #fe16 #feth #fe3h x reader #Claude von Riegan #beekeeper #Save the Bees

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off-light · 3 years

Text

dimilix; ~3k from an abandoned wip; snapshots from Felix's different lifetimes

--gold.

The world is bright—too bright, searingly white, to a degree that all other colors are washed into pain.

Your clothes are damp around your skin. The blood that soaks them overwhelms your senses, metallic and putrid. It smells particularly strong because you have just rubbed your nose with the back of a knuckle, unintentionally making a mess of yourself. You wonder if it’s from the pegasus knight you dispatched last, or maybe the young soldier before her.

The grass around your knees has already been matted by the stompings of the three armies. Dirt, so saturated with blood, mixes now into a sludge that smears over your pants when you bend and wrap your hands around the handle of the first spear.

When your grip is adequate enough, you pull.

It takes some heft before it comes out. The body underneath you shifts, almost as if protesting in death.

The blade tip comes out glossed in burgundy. You cast it aside and reach for the next.

“Hey,” a voice calls.

You do not stop.

Besides, they’re too slow. You’ve already hefted the next spear out—this one lodged so deep that the blood has soaked a finger’s width into the wood of the shaft—and you fling it aside in the general direction of the other.

As you brace one hand on the corpse and reach for the next, a funny thought passes through your head. You are grateful for your gloves. Otherwise, the scent of blood would not come out from under your fingernails for days. What an irritation that would have been.

You sense someone crouch beside you.

The third spear is difficult to pull out. You have to shift it, a tad too rough.

Though you know he is already dead—have already checked for a pulse and breath yourself—still you feel a pang of guilt.

“Felix.”

It would not be wise to ignore her any longer. If you had any energy remaining, you would sigh.

“Leonie.”

“Stop doing that. Someone else will take care of it.”

“It’s fine.”

You select the next one to remove. This one is in the deepest of them all. You can tell by the angle, how it must have been thrust with such great force to lodge itself in so firmly. You grab it and shake it, experimentally, to confirm.

“Don’t worry about it. Really. We’ll have some of the other Leiscester soldiers come take care of it.”

It won’t come out. You stand for better leverage, push down on the body with one hand while using the other to pull.

Three big jerks, and the tip pulls free.

Ah, there’s the problem. It was a harpoon point. You bring it up to your face to examine it. His blood trickles down your palm, mirroring the path of your own veins.

“No need. I’ll meet everyone back at camp after I’m done.”

You have removed four spears. There are still—you make a quick count—five left. The four that have already been removed are laying on the ground, basking in the sun. This is more tiring work than you had expected.

Above you, she shakes her head.

“If I didn’t know you any better, I would say you were punishing yourself.”

What a pointless thing to say. You fold back onto your knees and reach for the next.

“Don’t you have other dead to move?”

--black.

Dusk. The sun is setting orange around you, glinting direct off your half-sharpened blade with a burning ferocity. Your fingers are powdered with grit from your whetstone, numb from the act of holding metal so firmly.

A voice from behind you. “You go through those pretty fast.”

You had been thinking about the letters that you’d burned this morning, picturing the way they blackened and curled in the fire, re-living the vindictive joy you had felt while carrying out the act—at the sound of the voice, the thoughts scatter like birds.

The other person approaches and takes a seat next to you, craning her neck to see what you’re doing.

“Not in the mood to talk, I see. As usual. I’m not exactly surprised.”

“Then why do you bother?”

“What can I say? Sometimes a girl just wants company.”

Silence stretches between the two of you. You can feel how she watches your hands as you continue to work—there are another two blades to sharpen after this one, and you’d rather finish before the sun goes down in full.

You hear her shift, cross her legs and prop her chin on the palm of her hand.

“Edie’s really been putting you to work, hasn’t she? I’m always positioned pretty far from you, but you’re always so easy to spot at the front lines. I just have to look for the only officer without a battalion.”

“I see.”

“Your fighting is very efficient and skilled. Very impressive to watch.”

“Thank you.”

Her voice drops. She sits up straighter.

“I didn’t mean it as a compliment.”

Something about the sudden seriousness in her tone makes you want to smile.

“If it disgusts you, then don’t watch.”

She laughs.

“Didn’t I just say? You’re hard to miss.”

She picks up another whetstone at your side and weighs it in her palm. You watch the way her fingers wrap around it, clumsy and uncomfortable. You know that she has her swords sharpened at the armory, like all of the others. You’re the only one, to your own knowledge, that insists on doing it yourself.

“Not like that.”

You take a pause in your work and reach over to fix her grip. She shakes her head when you try to help, drops the whetstone back onto the bench between you two.

“I thought the letters stopped coming for you. I’m surprised you even got the one today. Who was it from this time?”

The vision of the flickering embers come back into your mind. You turn back to your work.

“Didn’t check.”

“You didn’t even check to see who it was?” She sounds incredulous. You’re surprised by the degree of emotion in her voice. “I didn’t realize you hated them that much.”

“Why is it surprising? They have nothing to do with me now.”

She falls quiet in thought.

One blade done. You sheath it and pick up the next.

You feel her eyes track you.

“Do you go through all of them? With each battle?”

“Generally.”

“It usually takes me a little over a dozen battles before one of my blades becomes too dull to cut, depending on the armor.”

You know the durability of the blade that she uses.

“Your edge alignment must be off. They should last longer.”

“Yours do?”

You hear the challenge in her voice, and look up to meet her eyes with your own.

You are beginning to understand. Perhaps this is why she came to speak with you. To confirm her suspicions of your nature, how terrible she expects you to be.

You wait for her to ask. If she does, you have a number ready. Would she keep her composure then?

...

She is the first to break. She doesn’t look away—but smiles, devoid of warmth.

“Always so impressive, Felix. I suppose it’s good for Edie that you’re on our side.”

--blue.

Cold wind on your face. It’s the biting mountain breeze of the sharp peaks around Garreg Mach, and it is now very, very familiar. As you walk on, in formation, down the steep slope, you can see the battle flag lead at the head of the army.

With your position, higher on the cliffs, you watch it snap with the current. The blue is so vivid and energetic that it looks more alive than the standard-bearer carrying it.

“Incredible sight, isn’t it, Felix?”

You’ve been hearing the sounds of a horse coming towards you for a while now, but didn’t expect it to be him.

You look up to see the solemn face of your father. His eyes are bright.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

You watch him turn back to the standard. This is not exactly a conversation that you want to have, but he opens his mouth and continues it—now undeterrable.

“Is it not incredible that His Highness has returned to us? Look at how quickly the soldiers have rallied around him. Faerghus may now have a true chance at victory against the Empire.”

What he’s implying is something much more personal than what he’s speaking aloud. You feel your mouth pull into a frown.

“Hmm.”

“Have you had the chance to speak with him since—?”

“Since I watched him slaughter dozens of people in cold blood? Connected him to the tales of evil incarnate tearing through Imperial soldiers?”

“—Since you saw him alive.”

The breeze has become persistent, throwing your hair into your vision. You blow it back out, a little huffier than you’d like to admit.

“No.”

Your father sighs. “I see,” he says.

It is easy to recognize it as his disappointed voice. You feel the familiar pull of frustration in your throat.

“I have nothing to say to him.”

“On the contrary, Felix. I feel like you two have much to talk about.”

There is no way to remedy a misunderstanding as fundamental as the one between you and your father. You actually find it astounding that he looks at Dimitri and sees anything remotely akin to hope. How does your father not feel the same crushing sense that Dimitri’s current form is proof that everything was truly done in vain?

Damned if they lose the war, damned if they win. For all the fuss of fighting for victory, it’s about just as annoying to convince people to abandon hope.

“It is your role, as his oldest friend, to support him. You have a connection with him that others do not.”

The taste in your mouth grows sour. You were raised to never yell at your father, but it is a close thing.

“We have nothing in common.”

“You’ve always held a deep empathy for him. I know that there were times when the two of you do not always see eye to eye, but—”

“And I am not his keeper.”

“Felix. That is not what I am implying, of course.”

“What do you even propose I do? Invite him for tea to discuss all the people we’ve killed over the past five years?”

“Felix.”

His voice is growing stern, in warning.

Unfortunately for him, you have long passed the point of caring. You know what he wants you to do, and it is an impossibility. You are wiser than him in this regard. You have never held power over Dimitri in the way everyone seems to think that you do.

“If all you want is a man on the throne, you should take up the position yourself.”

A sharp stop. You can tell, from your father’s silence, that you have gone too far.

It raises the hairs on the back of your neck. You feel young again, on the verge of a scolding—only now you are much older and, with that experience and learning, was assumed to be wise enough to not propose treason in the middle of a prince’s army.

You do not turn to him. You press on in the crowd, leave him and his outdated views behind.

--war.

You stare out at the grassland in front of you, pointedly ignoring what’s happening with your right leg at the moment.

“Am I binding it too tight, Felix?”

“No.”

He’s not. The wound isn’t even drastic enough to be bound in the first place, as it’s not anything you would have bled out from—it is large, sure, but shallow, far from any key artery. You had tried to press this point earlier, but it apparently was not enough to convince him.

All you can do, now, is stay put on this rock and hope this inconvenience-turned-ordeal passes soon.

“Mercedes will have much work today,” he says. “I have always been astounded by the stamina of healers. Their fights extend long after ours.”

His voice is even, but you can tell that he is very tired. This battle lasted much longer than anyone’s projections—stretching long after the sun went down, until the dirt was long soaked in a darkness that masked the strange, blood-sloughed quality of battlefields.

You two are far enough away from the main line to hear only the groans and screams of the wounded as distant hauntings. Here, those sounds are muffled by the more urgent call of crickets. Deceptively peaceful, for wartime.

His bandaging, around your leg, is neat and clean with practiced efficiency. It’s clear that you’re still bleeding, enough that it’s soaking through the cloth.

“Would you like to raise it?”

“No. It’ll stop soon.”

“It’s a very large wound.”

“Just give it a few minutes.”

His focus is still on your leg. There is a corner of his mouth pulling to the side, obviously displeased, set with a stubborn stiffness that you have long learned to recognize.

“I’m worried. Even if it clots, it will only tear off again when they remove the bandages to heal you.”

“Wouldn’t matter if they’re going to heal me anyway.”

He shakes his head. “But it will hurt.”

It has not been very long since you both returned to speaking terms—speaking terms that didn’t involve outbursts, accusations, or delusions. You’re sure he’d feel more awkward about it, too, if he wasn’t so consumed with this non-task.

“I can take it. Don’t you have other things to tend to?”

“Of course, but I’m not done.” He sits back, clearly frustrated. “If I was better at faith magic, I would heal you myself.”

“Don’t. If you healed it wrong, we’d just have to cut it open again.”

“That is my fear as well.”

If you were more prone to dramatics, you would have long fallen back onto this rock. It’s clear that he’s in one of his moods. Only the Goddess herself could move his mind, at this point.

You begin to slide off onto the ground. He moves out of your way as you lay down, rearrange yourself, attempt to lift your leg—a huge mistake, as searing pain swells past the numbing salve you’d applied earlier, making you lose your strength.

Luckily, he catches your leg and helps you navigate it onto the rock.

“Content?”

He sighs. “There was no need to do that just for me.”

Liar. As if you could have had any peace from him otherwise.

“It’s fine. You can go now.”

He takes up your old post on the rock and sets a hand on your knee.

“I will wait with you, at least until the bleeding stops.”

No escape, then.

You shake your head. One day, you’ll learn how to stop him.

You turn your attention above you, filling your sight with the new moon-sky and its little pinpricks of stars.

From this vantage point, it feels as if the world itself is cupped around you, high and unreachable, safe.

No one that has spilled as much blood as you deserves this form of peace, and yet here it is.

In your peripheral vision, you can see the way he’s turned upwards as well, gaze tracking from star to star. Marooned with you, just briefly, on this little island.

--young.

Your pinkies jerk against each other and, when he pulls on your arms, he does it just a little too hard.

You feel it in your shoulders. It is a familiar tension.

“Say, say, oh playmate—”

“Come out and play with me—”

“And bring your dollies three—”

“Climb up—”

He slows, trailing off. He’s waiting to see what you do first.

“—my apple—”

He takes too long. Your palms meet the back of his hands.

The rhythm is lost.

“Dimitri!”

He starts to turn pink, ducking his head into his shoulders as he giggles.

“I’m sorry! I’m confused by the song.”

“I already taught it to you three times!”

“But it’s hard to sing and remember the hand claps.”

He claps once in demonstration. He looks a little embarrassed—which he should be. Ingrid would have gotten it ages ago.

“It’s not hard to remember, it’s middle—”

You clap your hands in front of you, and he copies you.

“Right—”

You hold up the corresponding hand and feel his meet yours. The sound when they collide is crisp.

“Middle.”

Clap.

“Left—”

Left. He’s staring intensely at your hands in concentration, mouthing the words as you speak them.

“Clap, clap—”

Four claps, his set just a fraction of a second behind yours.

“Back—”

Your knuckles bump against his, bony and unfamiliar.

“Front—”

Palms.

“—And that’s it!”

You say it firmly, with a hint of a tone to imply the extent of his sluggish brain.

He doesn’t seem to notice and is entirely focused on miming that same pattern. He runs through the pattern a few more times, and then looks confident.

“Okay. May I try again?”

You hold out your hands and his pinkies curl around yours, shaking your arms up and down, in a way that sets the beat. You couldn’t care less about the soreness in your shoulders.

“Say, say, oh playmate—”

“Come out and—and play with me—”

“And bring your dollies three—”

“Climb up my apple tree—”

“Jump down my rainbow—”

“Into my cellar door—”

“And we’ll be jolly friends—”

“Foreverm—”

Your hands miss.

“Dimi—!”

“Felix!”

“You missed!”

“No, your hand was too high!”

He grabs your wrist and holds your hand up near his, miming incorrectly the distance that had been between your palms.

“No—”

“Because my hand was here, and yours was—”

He fights your grip when you try to adjust his hand more accurately. The stubborn set of his face make your sides hurt from laughing.

“Okay, fine.” You raise your hands. “Go again!”

these were originally flashback scenes from a twine game that i was making, but alas! don't think i will ever finish them, so here they are banished to tumblr

#dimilix #fe3h #fire emblem three houses #felix hugo fraldarius #dimitri alexandre blaiddyd

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bubble-tea-bunny · 4 years

Text

bloom

[claude von riegan x reader]

author’s note: i got fe: three houses over christmas break and fell absolutely in love w claude oml. i’ve only finished the golden deer route so far and i wanna do blue lion next, just not too sure when since i’m back in school, and i am busy. rip

word count: 7,152

Being set atop a hill, Garreg Mach Monastery is afforded beautiful views of the countryside every single morning. Rolling hills are silhouetted against a dark sky giving way to reds and oranges as the sun rises. Mist is low on the ground, a haze in the air like you’re dreaming. Dewdrops rest on blades of grass and birds hidden in branches sing to each other, and maybe they’re sharing poems about the wind catching under their wings. The weather is crisp and cool, cool enough to see one’s breath with every exhale, and it might be best to enjoy the cold and early hours from indoors, where it is warm and cozy with the flagstone floors, wooden rafters, and blazing fireplaces.

The romanticized musings of winter mornings are fully lost on the Golden Deer house today, as they have been the last couple of weeks. Instead, the air is harsh and bitter, biting at their cheeks left unprotected. They stand shivering in the field, simultaneously yearning for the coziness of the monastery and for Professor Byleth to finish giving out directions so that they might finally start moving around and hopefully get some warmth back in their systems.

Professor Byleth’s classes focus primarily on practicals, and Golden Deer had thus far been perfectly fine with that. The lecture halls could quickly grow suffocating, and the general quiet within them, save for a professor’s voice, made it all too simple to doze off. But when training takes them outdoors is when the blood truly gets flowing, for they’re afforded the chance to move around and spar, pushing each other to their limits. The golden deer love their homeroom professor dearly, of course, but with lowered temperatures comes lowered motivation to be out in the field first thing in the morning, and despite this being the start of the third week since winter began, they highly doubt they will ever grow used to the chill.

Claude thinks he might fall asleep right where he’s standing. Another issue with morning practicals this time of year is that the sun rises later. As someone whose internal clock tends to sync with the movement of the sun through the sky, he isn’t quite up to his typical level of jokes and antics until the day has fully broken.

His eyes close. The professor is addressing Leonie’s question, so he takes those several seconds to rest them as if that might be enough to get energized. His fingers feel frozen around the grip of his bow and he’s certain they’re stuck. He’ll need to unthaw in front of a fireplace when this is over. A nice, warm fire sure sounds wonderful right now…

Grass sifts beneath the boots of someone coming closer and Claude’s eyes slide back open. He glances to his left and grins tiredly.

“Hey, [Name],” he starts quietly, for you’re not standing very far. “Do you have any spells that might wake me up? Or at least feel warmer?”

You smile, sympathetic and similarly fatigued, and shake your head. “Unfortunately not, Claude.” Your cheeks and nose are red, and you punctuate your statement with a sniffle.

“I’m turning into an ice block out here,” Claude continues. The two of you are in the back, so there’s no issue of the professor overhearing. “Almost makes me wish for Hanneman’s history lectures instead.”

At this, you chuckle. For Claude, that’s no small claim. He’s fallen asleep in said lectures before, and you’ve had to wake him up before Hanneman noticed and woke him up himself. But you find you’d have to agree. While you mind them less, and can stay awake the whole way through, you do prefer the fresh air. Just… perhaps not when the cold is making your fingers numb even in your gloves.

After Professor Byleth has fielded everyone’s queries, she sets you all loose to begin your training. Everyone shares the same sentiment as they split off, but it’s Hilda who gives voice to the mutual relief inherent within them all at finally moving: I thought I was going to freeze in place if I was standing still any longer!

Once class is done, the sun has fully emerged from its hiding place and the chill is less severe. Claude isn’t bothered by it anymore, however, and he doubts his classmates are either. The professor’s practicals aren’t easy, and they’ve only gotten more difficult as the moons pass and everyone is well past the point of beginner. With blood pumping and heartbeats racing, there was no room left to feel cold.

The other two houses emerge from their classrooms and the corridors are filled with students. Professor Byleth has to raise her voice to be heard above the hustle and bustle, parting with a commendation for another job well done today. She separates herself from the crowds to return to her classroom, and Lysithea and Lorenz follow after her to ask a question. As for the rest of the house, you join the sea of people. There was some time yet until the next set of lectures, and in your case, you’re keen to freshen up.

Mail comes in at the beginning of the week. You don’t expect many letters. You expect only one, in fact. Every Monday, like clockwork, you collect the envelope with the familiar wax seal keeping it closed. What’s different about the letter today is that it’s accompanied by a small burlap pouched tied up with twine. It confuses you to receive, and you’re wondering what it could be, but despite the distraction, you say your thanks to the courier before taking your leave.

You settle down at a table in the reception hall to review your mail. Carefully you peel open the envelope, breaking the seal, and pull out the letter folded parchment. The correspondence opens with your name, written immaculately in your brother’s handwriting, and the noise around you seems to melt away and you’re not in the monastery but rather, somewhere closer to home, somewhere like home.

You and Ludwig exchange letters regularly, as you made him promise to do before you’d left to begin your schooling at the officers academy. You’d always been close, and he shares with you the goings-on of being head of the guard. He’s privy to many of the discussions your father has with other houses, as is necessary if he’s to take over one day, but he still laments the boringness of it all, sparing you of no detail regarding how heavy his eyelids felt, how the monotone voice of some such lord or other seemed to go on and on and on… (You can practically hear his exasperation and you giggle. Poor Ludwig.)

With the remark that he hopes he hasn't just made you want to fall asleep on the spot too, he changes the subject and turns the conversation on you. This is where you finally get an answer about what’s in the small bag, now sitting on the table: they’re peony seeds. Your eyes light up upon reading this.

I bought them at the market the other day, Ludwig writes. I know you’ve been asking me to send some. Peonies are native to the area where your home city is located, and they grow in abundance there. The greenhouse at the monastery is lacking in the pink flower, and you recently requested that Ludwig sends you seeds if he was able so you could cultivate your own. You’d gone from seeing them daily to not at all, and you’d come to miss them. A ghost of a smile rests on your lips as you pick up the bag, clutching it in your hand and already formulating the heartfelt thanks you will send in your letter back.

There’s a break in Ludwig’s letter then, a new line, a new paragraph, as if a new thought has just occurred to him.

You know what these symbolize, don’t you? Maybe when they grow, you can give them to the one you love most.

Ludwig closes with well wishes and reminders to study hard even though it bears no reminding. You’re studious, more so than he during his time attending the academy. He never could sit with his nose in a book for long. But it’s his obligation as your older brother, he argues, that he tell you to work hard—I want to see you succeed! So don’t let me down, okay?

You remain sitting after you finish reading, processing all the information. Getting letters from Ludwig is a great way to start your week, and nearly makes up for the fact that your morning practicals since the start of winter are a harsh wake up call after lazy and relaxing weekends. You’re always eager to reply, and you plan to write your response tonight and have it sent out first thing tomorrow morning. Then begins the waiting game again.

Your eyes slide back up the piece of parchment, paragraph by paragraph, reviewing every topic covered. Upon reaching the topic about the present he sent, your head tilts thoughtfully. Burlap and twine scratch at the soft skin of your palm. You look down at it, like you can see the seeds inside, and your cheeks are feeling warm. The one I love most…

“There you are!”

Being so deep in thought, you don’t notice someone approaching, and you jump at the loud interruption, nearly dropping the letter and the pouch of seeds in your surprise. Claude smiles apologetically and rubs the back of his neck. “Whoa! Sorry, I didn’t mean to sneak up on you like that.”

“It’s fine,” you brush it off with a dismissive wave and a smile. But your face is still burning, your mind lingering on the subject of peonies and true loves. You clear your throat and try to will away the heat, though it’s to no avail, and you know better than to assume Claude, ever so curious Claude, would brush over the reddening of your cheeks which the cold isn’t responsible for.

“What’s got you blushing so much this morning?”

You shake your head. “It’s nothing.” Before he can try to goad you to give more information (because you know he wants to), you tuck Ludwig’s letter back in the envelope and stand up. “You ready to go to class?”

Claude’s grin is mischievous but he doesn’t pry anymore as he nods instead, and the two of you exit the reception hall. Dodging the question won’t work with him. He’ll find a roundabout way to come back to the topic after considering what the answer could possibly be, offering up his guesses for you to confirm or deny. But for once you doubt he’ll get this one, and you don’t know that you have the confidence to admit to him that he’s the root cause.

You walk slightly behind and look up at him briefly, staring at the back of his head. You imagine the scenario and can see him now, chuckling as he accepts the bouquet of peonies and pondering aloud if it isn’t he who’s supposed to be giving the flowers. You’ll laugh at his small quip because he always makes you laugh with little asides like that, then you’ll ask if he knows what they mean. And if he doesn’t, you’ll sheepishly tell him, your heart alight with the hope that maybe, hopefully, your affections are reciprocated.

The what-if has your cheeks bursting in warmth once more and you hastily look down at the ground, focusing hard on the motion of your boots as you take each step. The blush needs to be gone by the time you get to the lecture hall, or else other people will ask about it too and you can’t have that!

Once you feel the dusting of pink has gone from your face, you quickly spare one more glance up at Claude. This time he seems to notice and glances over his shoulder, flashing you a quick smile. You smile back instinctually, though it fades once he turns his attention back in front of him.

Or maybe it's too much to hope for, that your relationship could extend beyond anything more than friends. Doubts nag at the back of your mind that he won’t feel the same, and that your confession will have upset the current balance. You fear the prospect of it doing the total opposite and pushing Claude away. Why risk ruining a good thing?

———

Professor Hanneman’s most recent writing assignment practically makes the library a second home for you and Claude. You stay there for hours, poring over old tomes for material to reference in your essay. You see your fellow classmates there occasionally and wave hello, but no one seems to be in there are often as you both. It leads to Claude wondering half-seriously if there’s some lecture you could’ve somehow missed that had pertinent information for this paper. You can only shrug helplessly.

“Maybe I’ll ask Marianne if I can take a look at her notes…” you murmur, flipping through your own. You speak quietly because of the environment, but as far as anyone on the outside is concerned, you may also be doing it because you’re speaking to yourself. Claude’s resting his head on his propped up hand, his eyes having slid shut a few minutes ago.

But you know better, and you smile slightly as you turn to look at him. He hasn’t knocked out quite yet, and at your comment, his eyes open. He sighs, exhaustion creeping up on him, and also glances over what he has written so far.

“Yeah, I could probably go ask Ignatz. He takes good notes.” Claude sits up and yawns, which prompts you to check the time.

The clock on the far wall denotes it’s early afternoon, but being cooped up in the library, the last couple of hours have crawled along and felt like much longer. With a sigh, you gather up your notes, careful not to accidentally grab any of Claude’s. “As much fun as we’re having”—Claude’s laugh earns him a shush from the nearby monk organizing the shelves—“I need to get going. I’m meeting Professor Manuela at the greenhouse.”

Given that Professor Manuela specializes in healing magic, you often spend your free periods with her to better hone your skills. One of the places in which you spend those free periods with her is the greenhouse, reviewing the various herbs to have on hand in case anyone is injured. Spells are good, she’s advised you, but it doesn’t hurt to have herbs on hand as well to aid the healing process.

“I’ll head out too then,” Claude replies, voice extra quiet so as not to be reprimanded by the monk again. “All this fun and no one to share it with? Not fun at all.”

You walk out of the library together with an agreement to meet up again tonight. The paper is due in a couple of days, and usually you don’t like to cut it so close, but Professor Hanneman had given it at an unideal time, caught up in multiple other assignments as you are. To add insult to injury, they had due dates close to each other, which only makes the mad scramble to finish everything even madder. The best you can do to cope is take solace in the fact your plight is not an exception. Your peers are experiencing much the same.

Your talks with Professor Manuela don’t end when she’s finished her small lesson for the day, reviewing the nuances of an anxiety-relieving herb kept at the greenhouse. Every so often there’s a short story about her days with the Mittelfrank Opera Company. You’ve heard her sing before, and you delight in imagining her up on the stage in Enbarr. How amazing it must have been, you muse. You don’t think you could perform in front of thousands of people like that, but maybe in your dreams you could, at the very least, pretend.

Though what tends to be brought up, more so than the opera company and show business, are the professor’s most recent flings. The first instance she had shared with you the failed connection with a man she met at the bar, you’d blanched, unsure if this was even allowed. Weren’t the personal affairs of faculty not meant to be shared with the students? Your mouth opened, prepared to ask if you were really the correct person to share this with, but she’d kept going, and she was so distraught, that you couldn’t bring yourself to stop her.

Better to let the feelings out than in, is how you’d justified it. You refrained from cutting her short and listened patiently. If anything, you suppose you’re glad she thought you someone worthy to share these frustrations with. Even if you couldn’t exactly do anything about it or have any advice to give.

“Love lost then found then lost again,” Professor Manuela laments. The sky is turning orange and dinner would be served soon. If you were closer to the dining hall, you’d be able to pick up the delicious smell of tonight’s dishes wafting out through the open double doors.

“Or what I thought was love. Turns out he was just like the rest of them.” She laughs dryly.

“I’m sorry, professor,” you do your best to console.

Professor Manuela sighs. “Me too, [Name].”

Her words echo in your mind during dinner, where you’re only pulled from your thoughts by your friends pulling you into their conversation. But as you return to your dorm and sit in silence, they come back, and there’s nothing to keep you away from them here. Love lost then found then lost again. You repeat it over and over, and you can’t shake the notion that it sounds so… dismal. It must be tiresome to go through disappoint like that again and again. You don’t know that you’d be able to go through it more than once. The heartbreak the first time might be too much. And besides, who’s to say you could find it again? Or would?

This gives you pause, halting your motions of sorting through your notes where you sit at your desk. If someone were to ask who you love, you can only think of one person, and the possibility of losing him is too much to bear. So much so that it’s frightened you from trying to share your feelings in the first place. Will you even dare to entertain the possibility of someone else out there, that you could feel this way about? At present, such is beyond you. Not when you think of peonies and they make you think of Claude. They might always make you think of him, and how could you stand to lose someone like that? So maybe you can carry on with the current state of things forever, never venturing past the point of friends. (Though perhaps it’s less about can and more about must.)

There’s a knock on the door but you don’t need to ask who it is. Claude is standing on the other side with a smile, texts he’d borrowed form the library and various papers tucked under his arm. “Ready to hit the books again?”

You open the door wider to allow him in before closing it behind him. “Not one bit.”

Claude chuckles and sets his study materials down on your bed. “Yeah, me neither. But I think we could finish tonight if we really go for it.”

You plop down in your chair to review your notes and continue from where you left off earlier. There’s the shifting of paper and flipping of pages to your left so you assume Claude is doing the same, but then the noises quiet down. It’s suspicious, but not enough for you to check on him. Before the quiet stretches on long enough to finally merit your concern, he speaks up.

“A new project?”

You turn to him, wondering what he could mean, but he’s not looking at you. Instead, he’s looking at the pot sitting on your window sill.

“Oh, uh, yeah…” you respond. “I asked Ludwig to send me peony seeds. There’s none here, and I missed them.” You hadn’t planted all of them, since you needed to make sure the pot was small enough for the sill, and you have the rest stored away, along with Ludwig’s accompanying letter, in the top drawer of your desk.

“They remind you of home.” It’s a statement, not a question.

But Claude’s hit the nail right on the head, and you nod. “Exactly.” There’s silence for a few moments as you stare at the pot and the small sprouts jutting from the soil, the beginnings of pink peonies, then quietly you continue. “Admittedly, I do get homesick sometimes…”

The smile Claude graces you with then is sympathetic. “I’m glad you have those flowers, if only to ease up on some of that longing.”

Your thoughts have trailed to your small garden at home with the gazebo and small table for two. At Claude’s words, your eyes flicker to meet his. And you imagine him sitting there with you, among the peonies, and you would have him immortalized in oil paints, his smile that which makes flowers blossom and which keeps your heart warm so that in the very depths of your being, where the soul finds rest, is perpetual spring.

“Yeah.” Your reply is curt, and you do your best to ignore the tightness in your chest. Longing, yes, he’d gotten that right. But was it merely for home? Or was it for him too? “It helps well enough.”

The air had quickly felt as if it was closing in on you. To break past its uncomfortable hold, you change the subject, taking in a steady breath and picking up what you’ve written of your essay so far. “Well, let’s get started then! Maybe we can finish before midnight if we’re quick about it.”

Claude laughs and looks at the clock. “With how fast I’d have to write to make that deadline, my hand might catch fire!”

———

Somehow, you make it. You all do: Golden Deer, Blue Lion, Black Eagle, the victory of each student no matter the house is one and the same. The point in the school year where exams and homework assignments are crammed in around the same three weeks is finally behind you. The atmosphere of the school in those weeks had been stressful, and had many late—sometimes even sleepless—nights packed with studying. On the Friday of the third week, at the end of the school day, a collective sigh of relief sweeps through the hallways like a welcomed breeze on a hot day.

Hilda’s making plans to go into town to celebrate, and she’s adamant you go with her.

“Come on, [Name], I don’t want to go by myself!” She’s practically hanging off your arm.

“I dunno, Hilda, I’m kind of tired.” You shrug, but the arm she’s hugging doesn’t move much due to her hold. “Isn’t there someone else who could go?”

“But I want you there with me! It isn’t the same if it’s somebody else.”

You and Hilda get along well, and despite how long it’s been since you met, it still strikes the others as a surprise as much as it does you. While Hilda is outgoing and energetic, you’re generally calmer and more subdued. You’re happy to stay in, and as is the case today, to go back to your room and relax as a way to celebrate the passing of the stressful weeks composed of midterm tests and assignments. But you guess your opposing tendencies can be good for each other. You help rein in some of that energy, the gentle reminder for her to take a breather every now and then; and she encourages you to go out and take advantage of the sunshine, to go around exploring. And since last time you made plans, the two of you just stayed in your room chatting and gossiping…

“All right,” you concede, and halfway through it’s nearly drowned out by her squeal of elation. “But can we at least get changed out of our uniforms first?”

“Of course! I need to find something cute to wear. You too, okay?”

You laugh at her enthusiasm as you nod your assent. The request shouldn’t be difficult to fulfill, since she had assisted in redoing your wardrobe, which meant a majority of it was now Hilda-approved by default.

Once at the dormitory, you part when you reach Hilda’s room, which is closer to the entrance of the building. You’re still several doors down, and you spot a familiar figure coming towards you.

“I feel like I can breathe again!” Claude declares, setting a hand over his heart to complement his exclamation.

“I’ll be catching up on a lot of sleep this weekend,” you state. That would have begun right this instant, but, well, Hilda happened. “Though I’m sure I’m not the only one with that plan.”

Claude chuckles. “Far from it. But how about right now? You getting up to anything?”

“Hilda and I are heading into town. So shopping, I guess, is what I’ll be getting up to. What about you?”

“I have some books to return to the library, but after that, the rest of my day is free. I think catching up on sleep is gonna start a little early for me, and, to be honest, I feel like I’m more excited than I should be.”

You grin lopsidedly in amusement. “Hey, it’s sleep well deserved, right?”

You bid your goodbyes, Claude continuing down the hall and you retreating into your room. Rifling through your dresser, you opt for a white dress. The days have been growing warmer and the sun is pleasant to feel on your skin in the afternoons. You stand before the mirror and braid your hair to keep it out of your face, for there’s a small breeze today. When you’re finished, you momentarily remain where you are, studying your reflection and nodding in satisfaction.

Then your attention shifts to the left, in the direction of the window. You walk over and flip the latch so you can slide it up. Immediately cool air floats in, and you smile as you glance down at the pot on the sill. The peonies are slightly bigger now; leaves are forming, though it would be a while yet until the flowers bloomed.

While in town, you settle for following Hilda’s lead. She pulls you into basically every boutique along every street you walk on, the wares on display in the window piquing her interest enough to look in detail at the selection inside. So far, she’s bought two blouses and a pair of shoes, and she says she’s now on the lookout for new earrings, but she still gets sidetracked by all the boutiques, whether they carry jewelry or not.

You’re happy to browse but haven’t felt particularly compelled to purchase anything. Hilda picks out clothes and holds them up, aligning them with your figure as she imagines what you’d look like in them. This is cute! she’d say. You should get it! But you chuckle and respond simply with a Maybe because with the number of suggestions she has given, if you had indeed bought every single one, you’d have enough to fill half your closet. While you’re open to the idea of expanding your wardrobe, you’re inclined to be picky else you shop till you quite literally drop. Hilda might be okay with that, but you… perhaps not so much.

By late afternoon, your stomachs are grumbling and you’re searching for snacks. Eating a big meal now made no sense because dinner would be served by the time you returned to the monastery. Hilda spots a cafe at the end of the street: a perfect place for tea and pastries, which would be enough to keep you sated for the walk back.

“Going shopping is so much more enjoyable without the thought of homework in the back of my mind!” Hilda remarks. Following midterms, the professors wouldn’t be handing out any new assignments until Monday, which meant as far as anyone else in the academy is concerned, this weekend is as free as free can be.

“I feel kind of strange knowing there’s nothing to work on,” you state. “But I’m not complaining.”

The two of you are approaching a flower display set up in front of a shop, and you slow down to glance at the pots and bouquets. Hilda slows her pace to match yours, and she grins. “Ah, finally it isn’t just me who’s wanting to pull you into shops.”

You chuckle but don’t turn your attention away from the colorful arrangements. It’s only when you look through the opened door do you turn around to look at her. “I know we were going to get food, but…”

Hilda waves a hand. “Go for it. But I’ll just stay out here, since, well…” She holds up the armful of clothes and accessories she has. “I’d hate to accidentally knock anything over.”

You tell her it’ll only be a few minutes, then step inside the flower shop. There’s a skylight built in to the ceiling, the last few hours of sunlight today flooding in past the glass. Your boots thump quietly along the wooden floors, though occasionally you step over a squeaky board. It is the series of quiet squeaks that captures the attention of the florist, an older woman whose back had been turned to you until now.

Her smile is polite, and when she asks if there’s a specific flower you’re looking for, you contemplate for a moment whether you should tell her or just proceed to browse in search of it yourself. After all, you don’t mind combing through the aisles, if only to take in the pretty selection. But since she offered her assistance, you figure you might as well. Before you can change your mind, you say Yeah, actually and ask if there are any peonies.

She shakes her head regretfully and apologizes. “I’m afraid I’ve sold out of peonies.”

You’re disappointed but smile anyway, appreciative of her help. “Oh, well… maybe next time.”

You can’t say you’re surprised there are no more available. Peonies have been especially popular recently, with the coming spring. Since the ones you’re growing are still young, there are no blooms to be witnessed currently, and you would have liked to buy some to enjoy. It seems as though you were too slow to get a bouquet on today’s visit, but you could hardly be blamed, given you were basically cooped up in your room during free periods and the weekends this past moon to study.

You envision the bouquet in a glass vase, sitting next to the pot of young peonies on the window sill. Then invariably your thoughts shift and you envision handing them instead to Claude, a sudden shyness overcoming you being despite the fact you have been good friends for a long while, but with the implication of your actions, you can’t help it. And you’d like to hide your face behind the pink bunches, too embarrassed to meet his gaze, and your cheeks would burn, jut like they do now.

If you had been able to buy the bouquet, which would it have been? Would you have kept it to yourself, or would you have finally done it, admitted to Claude how much he means to you, a sentiment beyond mere friends? You’re still hesitant that the feelings could be mutual, and are adamant in telling yourself that to risk it would be far from a good idea. So you surmise that if there had, in fact, been peonies available, then that would’ve meant something, a strong enough sign from the universe of what you should do. The flowers in your hands would be the push you needed because Ludwig’s words play in your head again and peonies are pretty sitting in front of a window but they’d look even better in the hands of the one you love most.

You huff out a heavy sigh. And perhaps the opposite is a sign too. At best, a sign to wait; at worst, a sign that it isn’t meant to be. And the latter hurts to consider. Even for all your aversion to risking your friendship with Claude, a tiny part of you holds onto the hope that so long as you don’t acknowledge your feelings, so long as you keep them a secret, there remains the possibility for him to love you back. Those what-if’s have kept you satisfied up until now, but would they always?

Maybe the lack of peonies today are the universe telling you that it’s your choice to make. To reason that your profession of love to Claude depended on whether there were peonies in the shop today, was to discount the magnitude of your feelings. If they’re as strong as you believe them to be (and you believe them to be very strong), they will be that final nudge. The universe removes her hands from this one.

Hilda frowns when you emerge from the store empty handed. “No flowers?”

“Nothing caught my eye,” you explain, not going into anymore detail than that. Your stomach grumbles again, a well-timed reminder of your original goal, and the perfect excuse to change the subject. “Now come on, let’s get food!”

Maybe on the day the peonies in your room finally bloom, you’ll have the courage to confess.

———

When you’re back at the monastery and in the dining hall for dinner, you don’t see Claude anywhere. It’s an observation you make but doesn’t warrant your concern nor suspicion. You hadn’t arrived right when the cooks began serving the food, and by now other students and faculty are finished or are almost finished with their meals, and have left to continue with the rest of their evening. The table you’re sitting at with your fellow Golden Deer steadily empties until it’s just you and Raphael. He tells you he spent his afternoon training, and when you commend his dedication, he gives you a toothy grin and playfully flexes one of his arms.

“Have to keep my muscles big and strong! That’s why I gotta eat so much too, like right now!”

Even he’s lost track of how many times he’s gone back to get more food. Seconds, thirds, fourths… If no one else is eating it, then I will! You can’t help but laugh. His passion for food (more so to eat than to make) is unparalleled, and it leaves little to go to waste. The dining hall is growing quieter as people depart, and there’s still some food left being attended to by the cook, which you know Raphael will be going back for. With slight amusement you wonder if they make extra just for him.

Eventually you too take your leave, wishing Raphael a good night as you stand. The breeze is cool and you shiver, for you don’t have a jacket. You’d come straight to the dining hall when you got back. You hasten your walk to the dormitory, and with every step closer, the thought of sleep begins to excite you. It technically isn’t very late yet, but the stress of the last few weeks have caught up to you, and you’re ready to plop into bed and sleep for days. Besides, there’s sure to be other students who have already fallen asleep, like Claude, according to what he’d mentioned this afternoon, so you’re no outlier.

Or, it seems, not like Claude, because you see him in the hallway.

Your brow raises in confusion and you don’t have to say anything for him to know why you’re looking at him so surprised. He laughs and falls in step with you as you continue on to your room.

“I took a nap earlier and was a little more energized,” he begins, “so I’ve been chatting, hanging out, getting things done.” He shrugs matter-of-factly.

“What things need getting done?” you inquire curiously. “Not anything class-related, that’s for sure.”

“No, nothing about our classes.”

He doesn’t expand more than that, and you look up at him, expecting him to speak again, but he keeps quiet. You’ve arrived at your room now, and your hand curls around the doorknob. You take a second to open the door, opening it wide as a signal for Claude to come in if he wants.

“Then what’s—” Your question is cut short once you step into the room. In shocked silence, you observe the scene before you.

Bunches of peonies adorn every available surface: on your desk, atop your dresser, scattered over your bed and even covering the uniform you’d folded and left on top of it when you changed after class. The window sill where you keep your own pot of peonies is almost hidden beneath how many of the pink flower have been placed there. More are tucked among the books and knick knacks you have on the high shelves mounted on the wall. If you had any words, they’ve left upon the breath you let out, a sigh of disbelief and wonder. It’s beautiful.

You twist around, and the soft smile on Claude’s face from where he stands by the door is an instant giveaway. You want to ask him what this is about, but you can’t find it in you to speak. Thankfully, he understands fine, and answers without needing to be questioned aloud.

“Since you couldn’t go home, being at the academy to study and all, I figured I could bring home to you.”

Your lips lift at the corners in a grateful smile, though it’s shaky because you might cry. The thoughtfulness makes your chest squeeze painfully, that Claude would do this for you. You hadn’t paid any special mind to your comment about peonies and your attachment to them, but Claude had. It had stuck with him, and not only that, it had spurred him into action. Your room is filled to the brim with peonies and you’re certain you’ll see them behind closed eyelids as you sleep.

“Thank you, Claude.” You hope he can detect your gratitude, the heartfelt sincerity. You mean it with your entire being because never in a million years did you think anyone would go to such lengths for you. His smiles grows then, and you know that he had picked up on it. “But how—”

“—did I get all these flowers?” he completes the query for you. “Yeah, about that, I asked around from the merchants if anyone was bringing in shipments of peonies, and when I found someone, I bought the whole supply.” He chuckles and rubs the back of his neck sheepishly.

That must be why the florist from this afternoon had no peonies available. You’re familiar with Claude’s talents, and have been privy to his fair share of schemes, but evidently, he’s so good that he’d managed this one right under your nose. Suddenly you want to ask why. Why had he done this? Multiple crates of peonies couldn’t be cheap, and though money is no issue for a noble like Claude, it’s still a lot to spend on one person. Did he truly value your friendship that much, that he hardly blinked at the prospect of doing something like this?

As if he could hear your thoughts, he speaks up again. “I did this to help you feel less homesick, but… there was more to it too.”

You tilt your head but keep quiet so he can continue.

“I like being the reason for your smiles,” he admits. “I want you to be happy. And when the opportunity to do this”—he motions to the room and the peonies—“fell into my lap, and I knew it’d make you smile, I couldn’t pass it by. I didn’t think twice. I mean… how could I?”

It’s silent for several moments as you process what he has said, and the implication behind his words. He did this because it made you happy. He did this because he does value your friendship but what’s more, he values you. What he shared mirrors your own sentiments, gives voice to the warmth you feel whenever you see him smile and how that’s all you want to dream of and when he smiles because of you, you always feel like the two of you could be something more.

By now it is impossible to deny that Claude is baring his heart to you in a way you never had the courage to. And he watches you the way you imagined you’d watch him, waiting nervously, with bated breath for the response, clinging to the hope that the yearning and the pining and the love, that it’s all mutual.

You swallow the lump in your throat, and your voice is barely above a whisper because if you were to speak any louder, your voice might crack. “So what are you saying?” This feels as if it’s not real, is just in your head, and you’re too nervous to come to any conclusions on your own lest you somehow take everything completely the wrong way. Even now, you’re second guessing yourself, wondering if you can finally acknowledge and confess your own feelings. But you have to know for sure.

“What I’m saying is…” Claude takes the few strides to close the distance between you, and when he’s standing before you, he carefully lifts a hand to rest on your face. He visibly relaxes when you don’t shy away from his touch. “You mean the world to me. You make me feel like I can move mountains, and I never want to let you go.”

You’re overcome with happiness at his words—he feels the same!—and you can’t contain your smile. His eyes light up when he sees it. “There it is.”

The remark only serves you to make you smile wider as you laugh shyly. The skin of his palm is warm against the coolness of your cheek, and you lean into his hand. You notice his gaze drop from your own, flickering to your lips, and then he’s closing what small distance remains, and his lips are soft, so soft, and you could stay here forever. This isn’t quite your garden of peonies and the gazebo with a table for two, but whether you were at the monastery or back home, whether you were in a gazebo or in your dorm room, you’re still surrounded by peonies, and most importantly, Claude is with you. That’s all that matters.

Your thoughts drift to the letter in the top drawer of your desk, and you only hold him tighter.

#claude von riegan x reader #claude von riegan imagine #fire emblem x reader #fire emblem imagine #fire emblem three houses x reader #fire emblem three houses imagine #claude von riegan #fire emblem #fire emblem three houses #bubble-tea-bunny #queue

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pinstripedaisy · 4 years

Text

Your Devout Shield (Commission)

This is a commission for the wonderful @audshorne who asked for a Ferdinand x Male Reader and I was more than happy to deliver~! Commissions are currently open.

TW: Reader injury, lots of emotional vulnerability

When you opened your eyes, you could immediately tell what had happened - you slipped up.

The pale light of day shone in through the still cracked infirmary windows. You’d heard Manuela ranting to a patient Marianne that they needed to be replaced some time ago. How long ago it was, you couldn’t quite say.

Everything was unbearably fuzzy. You couldn’t tell if it was dawn or dusk, the pain in your skull threatened to break out, and you could feel burning still in your stomach.

Oh.

What had happened after was a blur, but you could certainly recall getting stabbed through the middle by a wicked looking sword.

Almost immediately afterwards, you blacked out from the pain, though if you had actually gone down, you weren’t sure. Judging by the extra bandages around your exposed arms, you hadn’t gone down without a fight.

As you attempted to cut through the cloud in your memory, one thing rung out through the darkness. Ferdinand’s voice, screaming your name. Like a desperate plea, as if he could single handedly change what was happening before his eyes.

It was just like him. Thinking if he willed something into existence hard enough, it would be as he desired. But it seemed even his immeasurable will could not prevent what had happened to you.

Ferdinand.

Your heart pounded hard against your ribs as you surveyed the beds around you. None were occupied. It seemed you were the most grievously injured.

But Ferdinand…

You couldn’t bear to think along those lines. If you were alive, that meant Ferdinand had assured it. He wouldn’t be foolish enough to die in your place, this you knew to be true.

And sure enough, you could hear a quick stride stomping down the hall. You’d only heard that pattern of footsteps a few times, during happier days.

You tried not to lose yourself in the fond memory of Ferdinand following an evasive Felix through the halls, giving him some sort of lecture you’d only caught parts of. But your efforts were in vain, to the point you nearly missed it when Ferdinand appeared in the doorway.

He looked a wreck, so different from the image of nobility he often presented. Dark circles had appeared under his eyes, darker than even you had ever seen them.

His hair was pulled up into a messy bun, likely not even done by himself. Strands of bright orange hair were falling out, some into his puffy eyes.

His armor was shed in favor of commoner’s clothes, and a shirt you recognized as your own. It appeared a bit tight on him, but if he cared, he didn’t show it.

Instead, his sunset toned eyes were focused on you, a mix of desperation, relief, hope, and pure, heartbreaking love brewing together.

“My love,” he breathed, barely audible. He rushed into the room before you could get a single word out.

Carefully, as though he thought you would break with a misplaced breath, his hand ghosted above your cheek. His gloves were gone, allowing his calloused fingers to meet your skin.

“Ferdie…” You mumbled, not quite sure what tone to take. Seeing him so distraught, so broken...even for you, who had seen him more vulnerable than anyone in the army, it was heartbreaking.

The sound of your voice seemed enough to completely destroy him. With a choked sob, he pulled you to his chest, squeezing you with all his might.

You didn’t exactly want to show how he jostled your wound, but the hiss you let out was quite audible.

Ferdinand pulled back as though burned, shame heavy on his features. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” He rushed out, tripping over his own words.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” your tone was barely convincing to your own ears, pained and rather forced. You took a shuddering breath to steady yourself. The sharp pang faded, settling back into the rhythm of a dull ache. “I’m fine, Ferdie, I promise.”

“But you very nearly weren’t,” his voice trembled.

Gingerly, he sat beside you on the bed, gently tangling his fingers in yours. His gaze was transfixed on his own actions. He wouldn’t meet your eyes.

“Why did you do that? I would have been fine, but you...protected me.” His eyes were burning with anger. But you knew him well enough to know it wasn’t at you. It was at himself.

“I told you I would protect you. You would have done the same for me in a heartbeat.”

“I almost lost you, my love. That is the closest I have ever…” He cut himself off, biting his lip. His eyes had begun to turn red.

You reached out, pushing a loose strand of hair behind his ear. You cupped his cheek in your hand, allowing yourself to relish at the way he leaned into your touch. His eyes finally met yours. You could finally see the full force of the tears brimming in his eyes.

“Sorry, Ferdie, you’re stuck with me.” You flashed him the best smile you could muster. He returned it, shakily. The truth of it was debatable, but you would accept it for the time being.

“It will never be ‘stuck’, my dearest.” He moved his free hand to grasp yours, moving your hand from his cheek to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to your knuckles.

He dropped your joined hands to his lap, rubbing a circle on the back of your hand with his thumb. “It is good to see you warm, again. You were so cold…”

You couldn’t imagine what he must have thought. Vaguely, you remembered him holding you to his chest as he rode through the rainstorm. The rainstorm that very likely led to the severity of your injury.

Even as a novice, just enrolled at the academy so many years ago, you’d never gotten hurt quite like you just had. First, it was Marianne and Leonie backing you up, sniping from behind and healing your wounds before they could get worse.

And then, you had Ferdinand.

Ferdinand had taken a shine to you, for reasons he refused to elaborate on, and made it his mission to be your shield. He had vowed that to you on the night of the ball, high atop the Goddess Tower. It almost seemed like a joke, but the sincerity in his eyes kept you from laughing.

Oh how glad you were that you hadn’t laughed. He held true to his promise. Every fired arrow, every swinging axe, every blade at your throat, he always knocked them away.

You knew the fact he’d missed was eating away at him.

“This isn’t your fault.” You reminded him, sternly.

“Is it not? I vowed…” His voice caught in his throat. “I am your shield.” He insisted. Whether it was for your benefit or his own, you couldn’t say.

You knew if anyone else heard, they would laugh at what you were about to say. But Ferdinand clearly needed more than the simple assurances you had offered.

“Every shield needs a sword. Isn’t that what I am?”

The first of his tears began to fall. You untangled one of your hands to begin wiping them away. You could almost hear your heart breaking.

He leaned forward, resting his head in your shoulder. Careful not to repeat his mistakes, he wrapped his arms around your torso, twisting his fingers in the fabric of your shirt.

“You stupid, wonderful man…” His voice was muffled by your shoulder.

Despite the sharp pain it caused, you couldn’t help but laugh. You stroked the nape of his neck, holding him close with your other arm. His body shook with silent sobs.

Ferdinand only allowed himself a moment before meeting your eyes again, eyes determined. The strongest expression you’d scene thus far, other than guilt that nearly crushed you.

“Promise me you will not repeat such reckless actions again. When I left the Empire, I worried that everything would soon be taken from me. I thought I could handle that, until I realized ‘everything’ included, no, was you.”

The passion in his voice was nearly enough to make you join him in tears. Instead, you nodded, making sure his eyes met yours.

“I promise.”

Finally, Ferdinand gave you a sincere smile, shining and utterly heart-stopping. Yet tears still flowed down his cheeks. It seemed that you had opened gates he’d sealed shut for some time.

“You always do have a way of lifting my spirits. When did you get so good at that?” His voice still shook, but had regained some of its strength.

You shrugged, flashing a mischievous grin. “When you told me you loved me.”

His face softened. He leaned in close to you, close enough you could track the rise and fall of his chest.

“I love you.” his words were a murmur, almost close enough to touch your lips with his own.

Even being so used to him, he still had ways of making your heart beat out of your chest. Kissing you was easily the best.

#fire emblem three houses #fe3h #ferdinand von aegir #ferdinand x reader #my writing #commission

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x-avavarts-x · 4 years

Text

A final fantasy fanfiction for my oc and her family.

Characters: Cor Leonis, Laura lucis caelum (my oc), Loqi Tummelt، Lunafreya nox fleuret, Crystalcrown Leonis ( @yutauke28 oc)

warning:

My national language is not English. I apologize for spelling and grammar mistakes.

summary :

When your flesh and blood are mixed with pain and you are nurtured with it, you dedicate your whole being to those who were trying to improve your suffering by touching their love. What's wrong with you? It does hurt to lose these loved ones, even thinking about it bothers you. At that time .. you grab everything to stop the destiny .. like a bird stuck in a cage and trying for freedom, you knock yourself on the door and the wall to find a way ... and if you find it. Nothing can stop you, even if it is a God!

part 12:

She gently pulled her lips together to make her lipstick even! She doesn't like to have a face without makeup. She felt that her colorless lips and a pale face usually made her look weak from the eyes of others, or even made their feel sorry for her. She put the blush in front of the service's mirror and went back out. She looked at her team. Crystal, Cor, and Loqi were the way to go and each did something. Loqi was trying to find nifs uniform in size of Cor and Crystal was tying makes her hair wouldn't come out from under her hat! She smiled briefly, happy that her teammates had no material purpose. Especially Loqi because he had to be with his enemy!

" Being far away is also a problem, Mr. Leonis !!"

It was the voice of Loqi coming out with greed and anger. His mean is about Cor's highest. He was right, he had those MTs under his command, and it was almost impossible to find the soldiers' uniforms in his airship! But it seemed like luck was on the side of this small four-man team that finally found the right hand for Cor!! There was no respect for Cor in Loqi's behavior, so he threw the dress at the 45-year-old man and put his hand on his waist:

" We have to come down to the ground, go and put it!"

Unlike Loqi, Cor did not show any anger. He easily ignored it, and that made Loqi even more greedy! That was Cor's goal! He deliberately ignored him! To enjoy his greed! Because Loqi couldn't see how Cor was laughing at him!

"Hey !! Altissia is much more beautiful of above!"

Loqi and Laura's attention was drawn to the crystal sound. She was standing on a chair so she could see the bottom of the ship's wall through a small hatch. A smile settled on Laura's lips. she stood beside her without climbing! Altissia was a place of good and bad memories at laura's childhood! she turned her head toward the crystal and leaned against the wall of the ship:

"Altissia is always beautiful! And of course, don't forget that is holy! Because Leviathan is here!"

She was standing in front of a wooden model, looking at the white dress she had prepared for her wedding, unlike the girls who are very happy on this day, Luna's blue eyes showed no sign of happiness! Her feelings were filled with tears and the need to cry in her heart. she was alone and never had anyone to talk about her pain, she never said she was suffering! never..!! As a child, she learned to think only of her duty ... but as she grew older, she realized that the world was more beautiful than it was to hide behind her duties.

When she first touched love ...!! She smiled sadly because her newborn love soon became too bitter and painful to imagine! Before she thought about forcing her to marry Noctis ... she lost the person she had imprisoned in her heart ..! Light ... Was the light cruel or dark? Are these two different from each other? Both light and darkness destroyed everything.

She nodded her head and looked at her white dress. Her thoughts were drawn to the darkness, and it was not in her honor to doubt the light and power of her gods! Slowly she took a step towards the window to calm down when he saw the blue sea, but suddenly someone opened the door of her room! She turned her head towards the door. She was shocked to see the face of her beloved! He was alive !!

"Thanks to the Gods, Loqi!!"

Luna's voice of hope and joy was smiling at Loqi's lips! No one knew how Loqi felt about Lunafreya, even that was hidden from Aurora!

He went to Luna without considering the three soldiers with him. He hugged her delicate body and kissed Luna's forehead in missed, the short silence that had fallen between them was broken by Luna's worried and homesick voice:

"You ok? ... I thought I lost you!"

Laura's gaze was fixed on Loqi's hands as he gently stroked Luna's golden hair, laughed softly, and walked over to them. She dropped the gun in his hand and picked it up on the sofa and his hat too:

"I don't know why you want to get married when each of you has a LOVE !!"

LaUra's voice frightened Lunafreya. She turned away from her beloved Loqi and turned to the princess. She didn't know how to react at that moment. Her voice was barely released:

"Princess Laura! what are you doing..here?!"

Laura was well aware that Luna was scared. Contrary to Luna's idea, Laura easily coped with this issue. Just don't do this because of congratulations!

" I really knew that Loqi would fall in love with you, he would also fall in love with Oracle! But I'm glad you have one in your heart too! However, I did not come to see you, and Loqi play loves now. we are in a hurry. Isn't it Loqi?"

Laura's friendly tone calmed Luna's heart. She smiled as much as she could. Unlike Laura, Loqi's tone was not very friendly. Once again, the reason for his hatred of Lucians appeared before his eyes. He put his hand around Luna and wanted to guide her to sit together:

"That's right, but here's our range. I can stay for a while."

"I want to talk to Luna alone, dear lover!

You and the rest stay out !!"

Laura's voice made Loqi stand. He took a short breath and turned to Luna. Without saying a word, he kissed her lips briefly and quietly and then left the room in front of the girl's eyes, which he had been worried about for several days. It closed with silence.

For Luna, it was very wonderful why Laura was here in secret. Laura knew that if Luna didn't ask, it wasn't because she didn't want to know. She stood in front of Luna and motioned for her to sit down. Lunafreya was silent but waited. In a way, she was very happy for Loqi, because he knew he was standing in the right place! And on the one hand, worry about how satisfied he is with the Lucians on one front! However, she waited for the princess's words to understand what was going on!

It didn't take long for Laura to sit on of her knees in front of her. She put out One of her gloves and said in a serious tone:

"Give me the ring of lucci!"

Laura's wonderful request for the ring made no positive sense in Lunafreya. She lowered her head slightly and displayed the ring between her clenched fingers. But before handing it over to Laura, she looked at her:

"This is for Noctis, Laura! What do you want it for?"

And again doubts against Laura's loyalty! She smiled out of habit:

" Do you think I want to get it for myself?"

Laura's words embarrassed Luna! But her embarrassment did not cause her to back down!

"You know that the power of this ring belongs only for the true king, Laura. You harm yourself by taking it. Noctis is now in Altissia. I have to give the ring to him!"

Lunafreya's insistence on not wearing the ring, and seeing Laura's personality like the rest of the power seekers, made the princess somewhat nervous! She got up and took the metal ring out of Luna's hands, using her mastery of the metal. She looked at Luna as she held the ring in his hand:

"I don't want the power of this ring, because it has no value for me! I want the support of ruler of yore, I want to make sure no one is green in front of me because killing those of my blood is unbearable for me, Lunafreya Nox Fleuret!"

Laura's cold and serious tone silenced Luna alone! She was worried that Noctis would lose her sister too, or that he would not be able to bear that Laura had betrayed him! That's what Luna believed! No one was happy with Laura's heartfelt intentions at first! And they always accused her of treason! Contrary to Luna's imagination, Laura didn't even leave the room! She had no respect for the power of that ring! Wear the ring without any hesitation. Time stopped before Laura's eyes, and suddenly she was surrounded by absolute darkness. When the first blue-colored light shone, she grinned and turned to the 13 King of yore, who appeared one after the other in front of her!

Mystic, as he held his sword in front of his body, shone brighter than before, and spoke:

"In our presence, you have to explain why you wore the ring! Did you covet his power?"

Laura's gaze turned to the blue giants, and then she laughed softly:

"the power? No, I don't want anyone's power! I came to talk to you!"

"Did you just risk your life to wear the ring because of a short conversation?"

It was the father's voice that reached her daughter's ears! She raised his head and turned to her father. Her father's soul was standing in front of her, healthy and well, without a cane in his hand.

" For two thousand years, we have witnessed deaths that were all due to darkness! It's natural to want to attack Noctis to destroy him and his soul! But I have a suggestion for you !!"

"A suggestion?"

It was the voice of the Warrior that caught the attention of Laura and the other kings of yore! Laura's gaze was fixed on him and she continued without hesitation:

" I want to end this killing from the root! I will fight Ardyn without using your power! If I could close it again, I might have invited him to my front! Anyway,That's not all, and my goal is bigger!"

Laura's words made the heart of mystic full of joy and happy! Finally, someone was going to revolt!

"We hear light's daughter!

Mystic's voice invited all the kings to silence and Laura to speak! It was very difficult to please the kings of yore, but Laura could solve this problem with her words! She continued with a short pause:

" I want to kill Bahamut!"

The movement of the spirits means they are be surprised. The first spirit to protest was the Rogue!

"How dare you say this, humble creature!"

Laura's gaze was mixed with anger and hatred, and she looked at Rogue:

"This humiliation must end! How long are you supposed to be a slave to someone who does not calm down except the smell of innocent blood !! Why did you blind to the truth ?? Do you think this is not enough ???"

The first agreeable soul was the Just, the Queen of Peace who tried for years to stop the bleeding. She pushed her shield away from the tension and stepped forward a little:

"You're right, this bleeding must end! But how can you end it? Bahamut is the absolute power of this world!"

" I can handle it. Either I die or he dies, I just asked you for just one thing !!"

"What is it my child!"

Laura's gaze turned to the Mystic. Because she heard his voice:

" I don't want to fight with my ancestors! If you don't support me, don't stand in front of me !! I did not wear this ring to ask for your power !! All my efforts are to keep you, so I don't want to take any of you by surprise!"

At the end of Laura's words, one by one, the blue spirits disappeared. And the only the true king stayed with Laura. The Mystic returned to his human form and walked towards Laura, a smile on his face showing how happy he was that one of his 114 generations had finally been found to find out the truth. He hugged his daughter and whispered:

"thank you..!"

Somnus' body shone through the bright crystals and turned into a spot of light sinking into Laura's heart. As Somnus' soul plunged into the princess's heart, Laura took a step back and punched her hand in the chest. The darkness was gone, and it was Lunafreya who hosted Laura. Happiness smirked at Luna's lips:

"Thank Gods that you are fine!"

A smile also settled on Laura's lips. But it didn't take long for her face to return to normal. She took a deep breath and turned her back on her. She took off her hat as well as her gun. She wanted to go, but she stopped, took the ring, and looked at it:

"Power ... it's a strange thing! Those who don't have it, search to find it. And those who have it ... either try to make everyone understand that they are powerful, or try to increase their power!"

She held the ring between her two fingers and raised her hand, pulled it back slightly so that Luna could receive the ring, and continued:

" This is the power that has been entrusted to you, Luna .. When you give this ring to Noctis, tell him that he is going to be sacrificed for the light ..!"

Luna's eyes shone with surprise as well as a concern! She opened his lips to say something. It was very unusual for her how Laura knew this! But Laura doesn't let her eat her opinions:

"If that woman two thousand years ago .. Aera .. told Ardyn why he was chosen, now light and darkness are in balance .. and our world was not endangered. Your secrecy, Oracles, is a betrayal of all humanity !! So don't hide the fate of Noctis from him .. maybe something better happened .."

Laura's words made Lunafreya sad. She lowered her head a little and answered in a low voice:

"I am not allowed to do this .. God of Gods has forbidden revealing this issue ..! Its power is beyond the powers .. We must listen to the command of our God!"

Laura's frown was drawn, and she hated it so much. She let go of the ring so that Luna could catch it, and if Luna brought her hands later, the ring would fall to the ground. She raised her head and stared at Laura, unable to see her face ... but she could tell by the tone of her voice that she was angry:

"Absolute power, we are Lunafreya .. We are the ones who choose who commands us !! Nothing should stop us from achieving our goals! Tell Noctis ... and wait to see with your own eyes how I will destroy that power beyond the powers that be !!"

Although Laura's tone was angry, she did not have a loud voice, and this increased the influence of her words! She put on her hat and left the room without giving Luna time to ask questions.

Lunafreya's gaze was fixed on the closed door, she couldn't believe what she had heard with her own ears. What did Laura want to do? War with the god of gods ?? This was impossible !!

"Nothing is impossible in this world, Oracle ..!"

It was Gentiana's voice that caught Lunafreya's attention. She looked back and stared at Gentiana. She squeezed the ring in his hand and then stared at the ground .. if that's possible .. what's better? Her frown softened and she shook her head in Gentiana's approval:

"If this is possible .. then I am waiting to see it !!"

Luna's words had taken on a different tone, and that made Gentiana smile and open her green eyes!

"On my honor as Oracle, I will not rest until the darkness is banished from our world and the light is restored.."

Oracle's words thrilled the people, and joy and hope rippled through them all, and peace settled in their hearts. Somewhere far in the Oracle, Laura was standing right behind a stone wall, looking down at Noctis from behind her hat. Seeing her brother among the people gave her an unusual feeling, the fear of losing him was killing his soul!

It was in these thoughts that someone put his hand on his shoulder! She didn't look away from Noctis, but she raised her hand and put on that hand! She knew her owner, a man who had taken her heart.

"We have to go, my princess!"

" Did you talk to Ignis?"

" I delivered your message to him!"

With a short pause, he looked away from Noctis, knowing that he was safe with Lunafreya and the rest of his friends and that he was ready to die so that Noctis would not be harmed, so finally, she had to leave! She has to go to the crystal! Now that she was a few steps away from her goal, she didn't want to back down or be late. She had not yet boarded Loqi's ship when Crystal stopped her from moving. She raised her head and turned to her strawberry. Laura's silence allowed CrystalCrwon to speak:

"Can I stay with my friends?"

The fact that Crystal wanted to be next to Noctis was a peace of mind for Lara because Crystal was an Oracle and could save Noctis from death. In addition, the presence of two Oracle next to the Noctis made it easier for Laura to focus on her goal. She smiled and gently patted Crystal's shoulder:

"Because your father is your master, I'm not worried about your life. Go and take care of my brother! OK?"

A smile of longing flashed on Crystal's lips. She took off her hat and respected Laura:

"Sure!"

She ran to Noctis, but Laura's voice stopped her. She stood up and turned to see what her princess was up to:

"Luna is like someone you wanted to see her face! I heard this from your uncle !!"

Crystal eyes sparkled. Surprised and perhaps happy ... Did Lady Lunafreya look like her mother? She ran more restlessly than before to see Luna. Once again, she stared at her face for a long time, hugged her, and felt her mother.

Cor was still standing at the foot of the ship. He didn't object to why Laura allowed Crystal to stay here. It's true that she wasn't his own daughter, but he loved her so much that he never thought about it! In addition, he knew that Crystal would not be harmed, but he was worried anyway. He lowered his head slightly and then boarded the ship, trying to focus on Laura. When the ship took off, he could now safely pull the clothes out of tension and put his uniform again. He knelt in front of Laura, who was sitting on a chair. because he felt Laura's mind was engaged in an adventure other than her goal. He took her hands and caressed Laura's fingers, trying to free her mind from the hustle and bustle of empty thoughts.

Laura looked at Cor, that was her only reaction. She smiled and kissed the forehead of her love. She knows what is Cor's opinions, so she tried to save him from worry by kissing his forehead, but she couldn't:

"What's wrong, baby?"

The wave sat softly in Laura's eyes. She rested her head on Cor's shoulder and waited for Cor to embrace her:

"Can you don't come to Gralea?"

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ffxvficrec · 4 years

Text

FFXVtober Week 4 Round Up

There are SO MANY amazing events happening this month - we are trying a round up of all the different -tobers, one week at a time.

A few call outs -

- This week we have listed the -tober the story is a part of and listed relationships where possible.

- So with that in mind, please tread mindfully! Remember to look at the tags before reading.

- If we have missed your fic, please send a DM and we will get you added. We have only pulled from AO3, so if you have posted somewhere else we have not seen it most likely.

With that, here’s the final round up! Shout out to everyone who participated in these events, thank you for all your hard work!

Day 22

A Bargain by kickcows

XVtober ~ Prompto Argentum/Ardyn Izunia

Light on the Path by Lady_Kaie

Igtober ~ Ignis Scientia/Reader

So Little of Me by MsChievous

Whumptober

sometimes love is like a roundhouse kick to the face; what i mean is that i want you to kick me as hard as you can by queenhomeslice

Promptober ~ Gladiolus Amicitia/Prompto Argentum

Homecoming by HardNoctLife

Noctober & Igtober

Almost by Soyna

Whumptober ~ Gladiolus Amicitia/Ignis Scientia

Holy/Crystal & Training by EzraTheBlue

FFXVtober & Noctober & Promptober

Wonder by nightflower_panda

Gladtober

Day 23

Standing by you by Lady_Kaie

Igtober ~ Ignis Scientia/Reader

Safe by kickcows

XVtober ~ Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum

White Lies by Alternatewarning

Whumptober ~ Gladiolus Amicitia/Ignis Scientia

the burn between my thighs is a welcome pain, if it means i get to have you in my bed by queenhomeslice

Promptober ~ Gladiolus Amicitia/Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum/Ignis Scientia

Sacrifice by HardNoctLife

Igtober & Noctober

Hallucination by Soyna

Whumptober ~ Gladiolus Amicitia/Ignis Scientia

Bad Memory & Sacrifice by EzraTheBlue

Gladtober & Igtober

Bad Memory by nightflower_panda

Gladtober

Day 24

A Favor by kickcows

XVtober ~ Cor Leonis/Ravus Nox Fleuret

No One Puts a Scientia in a Corner by Lady_Kaie

Igtober ~ Ignis Scientia/Reader

my smile's an open wound without you and my hands are tied to pages inked to bring you back by queenhomeslice

Promptober ~ Prompto Argentum/Reader

Tattoo by HardNoctLife

Gladtober & Igtober

I've Got You by Soyna

Whumptober ~ Gladiolus Amicitia/Ignis Scientia

Trident & Piano by EzraTheBlue

FFXVTober and Noctober

Tattoo by nightflower_panda

Gladtober

Day 25

I wait for thee spector... Take me Home to those I love... by Lady_Kaie

Igtober ~ Ignis Scientia/Reader, Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum, Gladiolus Amicitia/Nyx Ulric, Ravus Nox Fleuret/Original Female Character(s)

Double Trouble by kickcows

XVtober ~ Gladiolus Amicitia/Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum/Ignis Scientia

I'm gonna stay eighteen forever (cut me open), So we can stay like this forever (sun poisoned) by queenhomeslice

Promptober ~ Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum

Friends by HardNoctLife

Promptober & Igtober

Panic by Soyna

Whumptober ~ Gladiolus Amicitia/Ignis Scientia

Homecoming & Goodnight by EzraTheBlue

Gladtober & Noctober

Goodnight by nightflower_panda

Gladtober

Day 26

Love Is Watching Someone Die by Alternatewarning

Whumptober ~ Gladiolus Amicitia/Ignis Scientia

Be Wary of Sharp Claws and Beaks by Lady_Kaie

Igtober ~ Ignis Scientia/Reader

A Special Item by kickcows

XVtober ~ Noctis Lucis Caelum/Ignis Scientia

i was never a wine person until i tasted your lips, and now getting drunk is my new favorite pastime by queenhomeslice

Promptober ~ Prompto Argentum/Ignis Scientia

Spice by HardNoctLife

Gladtober & Noctober

Stitches by Soyna

Whumptober ~ Gladiolus Amicitia/Ignis Scientia

Carbuncle & Sharp by EzraTheBlue

Noctober & Igtober

Carbuncle by nightflower_panda

Gladtober

Day 27

Enjoy the Ride by kickcows

XVtober ~ Cor Leonis/Noctis Lucis Caelum

Heal by Lady_Kaie

Igtober

Shot through the heart (and you’re to blame) by queenhomeslice

Promptober ~ Gladiolus Amicitia/Prompto Argentum

Heal by HardNoctLife

Igtober & Promptober

Tears by Soyna

Whumptober ~ Gladiolus Amicitia/Ignis Scientia

Father/Son Bonds & Warp by EzraTheBlue

FFXVtober & Noctober

Autumn by nightflower_panda

Gladtober

Day 28

A Close Shave by kickcows

XVtober ~ Prompto Argentum/Ignis Scientia

That Mouth is Trouble by Lady_Kaie

Igtober ~ Ignis Scientia/Reader

and all the city lights at night could never hope to be as bright as your eyes by queenhomeslice

Promptober ~ Prompto Argentum/Reader

Sassy by HardNoctLife

Igtober & Noctober

Healing by Soyna

Whumptober ~ Gladiolus Amicitia/Ignis Scientia

Driving & Sassy by EzraTheBlue

Promptober & Igtober

Throne by nightflower_panda

Gladtober

Day 29

Freckles Aligned Like Stars by Alternatewarning

Whumptober ~ Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum

In the Shadow of Greatness by kickcows

XVtober ~ Gladiolus Amicitia/Noctis Lucis Caelum

Mr. Scientia Tell me of your favorite pair... by Lady_Kaie

Igtober ~ Ignis Scientia/Reader

when i'm with you, i'm home by queenhomeslice

Promptober ~ Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum

Gloves by HardNoctLife

Igtober & Promptober

Chapter 29 by Soyna

Whumptober ~ Gladiolus Amicitia/Ignis Scientia

Loved & Loving by EzraTheBlue

Noctober & Promptober

Loved by nightflower_panda

Gladtober

Day 30

Darkness, Bathed in Blood by Alternatewarning

Whumptober

A Gentlemen's Agreement by kickcows

XVtober ~ Gladiolus Amicitia/Ravus Nox Fleuret

Quiet by Lady_Kaie

Igtober ~ Ignis Scientia/Reader

for all the things my hands have held, the best by far is you by queenhomeslice

Promptober ~ Prompto Argentum/ Ignis Scientia

Guilty Pleasure by HardNoctLife

Promptober

Carry by Soyna

Whumptober ~ Gladiolus Amicitia/Ignis Scientia

Frog & Guilty Pleasure by EzraTheBlue

Walk tall/Crisp by nightflower_panda

Gladtober

Day 31

thunderbolts and lightning, very very frightening by queenhomeslice

Promptober ~ Gladiolus Amicitia/Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum/Ignis Scientia

Friendship by Lady_Kaie

Igtober

Master by kickcows

XVtober ~ Prompto Argentum/Ardyn Izunia

Happy Halloween by HardNoctLife

XVtober

Finally, the Vacation by Soyna

Whumptober ~ Gladiolus Amicitia/Ignis Scientia

Dawn, Spooks, and Friends by EzraTheBlue

Noctober & Gladtober & Promptober & Igtober

#noctober #gladtober #promptober #igtober #ffxvtober 2020 #whumptober 2020 #ffxv #final fantasy xv

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pinelliforte · 4 years

Text

imagine an intimate moment with Leonie while she’s wearing those cute half-gloves... imagine the leather-clad fingers dragging along bare skin at the same time as her much softer, exposed fingers. imagine that sensory split between two very different textures...

#a li'l something for your spicy sunday needs--#⤗ нυѕн j ⊧ ooc ⤗

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platonicone · 4 years

Text

Devotion - Story of the Oracle and her Shield

Chapter 18 - Catching the falling sky

If I could see myself from someone else’s eyes, what would I see? I wonder…

Once the excitement of sharing Oracle’s powers settled down, they both sat back near the warmth of the fire. While Luna was exhausted, Leon was excited like a kid who had too much candy. Little did Leon know that giving blessing takes a heavy toll on Luna.

“Can we go to sleep now? It’s past midnight already,” she proposed.

“Can we stay up a little longer, please?” he requested.

“It’s past your bedtime young man. You need to go to sleep,” she scolded playfully like a mother scolding her child.

Leon looked at the watch and they still had 15 minutes to go before the meteor shower started. “Just a few more minutes, please.”

“But I am tired,” she complained, with a sigh.

Not wanting to force her Leon proposed, “How about we lay down and talk for a few minutes?”

“Leon wants to talk?” she asked, taken aback. “Are you okay? Do you have a fever?” she asked rhetorically, while touching his forehead to check his temperature.

“Yes, I want to talk. Why is it so strange?” he asked.

“It is strange because this is unlike you. Maybe my essence has changed you and now you are behaving like me,” she added while laughing.

“I don’t know if I should be happy or scared to hear that,” he admitted with a facepalm.

Luna sat on her sleeping bag and gently laid back on her makeshift bed. Leon followed the suit as well and lay comfortably on his sleeping bag.

While staring at the stars Leon couldn’t help but notice, “The stars here are so different from my world.”

“Really?” This topic had piqued her interest.

“Yeah, the moon seems similar but the cluster of stars is all different. What is that constellation called?” he asked, knowing fully that it would engage Luna.

“That one is called Andromeda - the chained maiden. The legend says that she was a beautiful and pious maiden who was chained and left at the sea as a sacrifice but was saved by a brave warrior.”

Pointing at a different cluster she described, “that one is Leonis – The lion.”

“What is the story behind that one?” he asked curiously.

“Nothing. It just looks like a lion,” she shrugged while looking at him. He immediately facepalmed earning laughter from Luna.

Once her laughter died down, she continued her tour of the galaxy. “That one is called Scutum - The shield.”

They stargazed together for a few minutes while making ideal chit-chat. Suddenly, a streak of light ran across the sky. “A shooting star!” she exclaimed, with childlike joy. “Quick. Make a wish.”

‘You are here with me. What more can I wish for?’ he thought. But he refrained from saying it because it sounded too cheesy. So, he settled for his default answer, “Whatever.”

“You are so boring. Forget it. I’ll make a wish. I wish that...” as she was pondering what to wish for, another star fell brightening up the sky. Before she could react to that, another star followed the suit. One after another, the stars seem to be falling from the sky. Leon’s much-anticipated meteor storm was finally here.

It looked like the stars were raining from the sky. She sat up on her sleeping bag, her eyes still glued to the sky. “Wow. This is amazing.”

Leon sat up too, still looking at the sky above. He was about to say something, so he looked at Luna and he froze. Her eyes were lit by the falling stars. An innocent smile played on her face. A light-blue glow was cast on her face from the illuminated sky. He wondered what was more beautiful, stars in the sky above or the star sitting next to him. He snapped out of his momentary stupor and fixated his gaze above.

The meteor rate picked up, and it looked as if the entire sky was falling down. “Is this why you were trying to keep me up?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“Thank you. This is so wonderful.”

“You are welcome.”

At the peak intensity of the meteor storm, it felt as if they were traveling through the stars. “This is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.”

“Ya, me too. A cosmic firework,” he remarked, looking at the endless cosmos. He laid back on his sleeping bag and tucked his arms under his head and watched this divine display. Luna too laid back after a while, still mesmerized by the spectacle in the sky.

Neither of them realized when they fell asleep. The temperature fell as the night progressed. The wood in the fire burned out as well. Unconsciously, they snuggled together for warmth. It was as if the blanket of the night brought them together and daylight tore them apart.

Luna was the first one to stir awake. With her eyes still closed, she noticed a rhythmic beating of a heart close to her ears. The next thing to register in her mind was something heavy draped across her shoulder and her legs. She noticed that her left arm was tucked underneath her while her right arm was encompassing something. Overall, she felt the warmth the likes of which she had never experienced before.

Her sleepy mind eventually pieced everything together and realizing what it was, her eyes shot open. Her heartbeat picked up as an irrational fear and an untamed desired dominated her thoughts. She loved his warmth, and that’s why she hated it. She tried to squirm out as quietly as possible as not to wake up Leon, but it was as if their bodies were tangled together.

Leon noticed slight movements next to him and woke up too. It took him a few seconds to register the situation they were in. He immediately retracted his arm and legs as if he had touched a live wire. “I am sorry,” he apologized.

“It’s okay,” she whispered, avoiding any eye contact.

They both got up and went their separate ways to do their morning rituals. The normalcy to their routine returned quickly as it was not the first time they had woken up like this.

Carrying all her essentials, Luna asked Leon, “I am going for a bath, are you coming?”

“Coming,” he replied, flinging a towel across his shoulders.

After concluding their morning rituals, they started packing everything one last time.

Leon was back to his default white undershirt and his short-sleeved jacket. His jacket had a red lion symbol on his left shoulder. He wore three brown belts on his left forearm and had three buckles on his right and left thigh. His black pants sport a vertical zipper going down the side of each leg. He wore two brown belts and two black ones around his hips, all of which were quite loose except for one. He had black gloves with belts on them and wore black zipper-lined shoes.

Luna wore a pink dress with magenta lining and buttons going down the front; all of which were buttoned except for the last two. She had a loose, lilac belt around her waist with a black string tied into a bow on it. She had a black string tied in the same fashion as the one on her belt around her neck and had brown boots.

“I am going to miss this,” she confessed, taking a break from packing.

“Miss what exactly?” he inquired, while removing tent pegs from the ground.

“I am going to miss camping,” she clarified.

“I thought you hated camping,” he commented as he dislodged another peg.

“I’ve grown to like it,” she admitted, folding clothes. “I think more than the camping I am going to miss our car.”

“Our car?” he repeated her words looking at her.

“Okay, technically it is not our car, but you know what I mean.”

“Ya, I will miss it too. But sadly, we have to return it at Wiz Chocobo today, Cindy has arranged for someone to pick it up from there,” he reminded her.

“Wait, where are we going to sleep tonight?” Asked Luna as their situation dawned on her.

Leon took a pause from what he was doing to address her concerns. “From now on we will be staying in a trailer at the outpost.”

“Yuck, those things are nasty,” she remarked, making a disgusting face just to annoy Leon.

“Sorry, Your Highness, I cannot afford anything beyond that,” he mockingly apologizes.

“Traveling with a princess and making her sleep in a trailer. You have no class,” she chided playfully.

“I am sorry, but I am broke,” he said, sounding almost hurt.

“Geez, lighten up. I was just kidding. I will stay anywhere you are. Your company is the only comfort I seek,” she said with a gentle smile.

Leon smiled back in response.

“Besides, last night we slept on the ground, so sleeping in a trailer might actually be an upgrade,” she suggested.

They continued their cleaning up of Haven and packing for the next few minutes. Once everything was packed and placed in the car Leon asked, “Ready to go?”

“Yes, let’s do this,” she affirmed, giving a thumbs up.

“Do you want to drive or should I?” he asked.

“You drive, I will enjoy the luxuries of passenger seat one last time,” she stated, walking towards the passenger side.

“What luxuries?” he asked, taking the driver seat.

“To sit next to you and annoy you while you drive is my luxury,” she added, buckling up.

Leon just rolled his eyes and started the car.

“It’s a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky. Do you mind if I open the roof?” she asked, buckling herself in the passenger seat.

“Go ahead,” he replied, reversing the car.

The roof of the car retracted, exposing them to direct sunlight and wind. As the car picked up speed, cool breeze washed over them.

“Leon?”

“Yes?”

“Tell me about your world.”

“What do you want to know about it?”

“It’s a whole new world. Completely different from this one. I wonder how it looks, what kind of technologies and magic you have there. Does the sky, water, terrain, and the mountains look the same? What kind of animals do you have there? What kind of vegetation and flowers do you have there? Do you guys have Chocobo and Moogles over there? So many questions,” her excitement and childlike curiosity was evident in her voice.

“Calm down my curious cat. Let’s see, my home is a giant mobile building magically hovering over the ground. It can fly or float anywhere we want,” he took a brief pause, trying to recollect all other places. “There are a couple of very beautiful beach towns. There are scattered peaceful villages, untouched by the chaos of city life. Speaking of cities, there are cities just like here, full of people and a lot of tall buildings. There is one nation that is very futuristic and feels like it is straight out of science fiction. So overall it’s a lot similar to how it’s here.”

“Interesting.”

“One particular thing odd about my world is that we have a moon, which harbors all the monsters and it sends them hurtling towards our planet after every few years causing major destruction.”

“Monsters flying down from the moon?” she could not believe what she was hearing.

“Yes, it even wiped out an entire civilization once.”

“That sounds scary,” she confessed.

“We have Chocobos there, but Moogles are very rare. Caves, mountains, ocean, sky, vegetation, terrain, and animals are all very similar to here. From what I have seen so far, I think your world is a lot more beautiful than mine.”

“Really?”

“Yes, this world is very scenic compared to ours. But I guess, my world had its own charm so we can’t really compare the two.”

“You know, you are really lucky that you got to see two different worlds. I wish I had that kind of opportunity.”

“I never thought about it that way. I guess it is nice to be able to see two different worlds,” he admitted.

“Leon, take me with you when you go back. I want to see another world and experience its nature, learn about their culture and customs, and go into outer space. It would be so much fun,” she said with childlike innocence.

“Would you come with me?” he asked, playing along with her fantasy. “I can show you a whole new world.”

She nodded with childlike excitement.

After a few minutes of idle chit-chat Luna suddenly realized something, “Before we return the car there is one last thing to do.”

“What would that be?” Leon asked, adjusting his glasses.

“Finish that list of 36 questions. We still have one more set to go,” she announced while getting the book from the front compartment. She had used that paper cutout as a bookmark.

“Not that again,” Leon complained, under his breath. Thanks to the gushing wind, Luna did not hear it.

“Here we go. Set III. Question #25 - Make three true “we” statements each. For instance, “We are both in this room feeling ...” Luna reads.

“I’ll start. We like coffee,” she went first.

“We like ice cream,” Leon followed.

“We like this road trip,” she contributed.

“We like sleeping with the stars,” he chimed.

“We like helping others,” she shared.

“We like to live in a fantasy,” he added, running his hand through his hair.

That one sentence was enough to instantly change the mood. Leon saw her expression change and immediately regretted saying it.

Luna brushed it off and continued, “26. Complete this sentence: “I wish I had someone with whom I could share ...”

“I wish I had someone with whom I could share my joys,” Luna admitted with a smile.

“I wish I had someone with whom I could share my fears,” he confessed, which took Luna by surprise.

“Your fears? I did not know you feared anything.”

“I do. I fear losing the people I love. I fear being forgotten. I fear that I will die alone. I fear that I will never be able to go back home. I fear many things. I try not to talk or think about it.”

“I might not be able to quench your fears, but I can cry with you if it helps,” she offered innocently.

He smiled and shook his head. “Thank you.”

After a brief pause, she continued reading the list, “27. If you were going to become a close friend with your partner, please share what would be important for him or her to know.”

“I think we are close friends already, right?” he asked.

“Yes, we are more than close friends, so we can skip this one,” she suggested.

“28. Tell your partner what you like about them; be very honest this time, saying things that you might not say to someone you’ve just met.”

“Where do I even start? You are altruistic, beautiful, courageous, determined, energetic, faithful, graceful, heroic, idealistic, joyful, kind, lovely, modest, naughty, optimistic, perfect, queenly, resilient, smart, talented, uplifting, virtuous, witty, xenial, yern, zesty, and many more,” he listed. With every word, Luna’s blush seemed to get intense.

“You are too kind. I am nowhere close to that description,” she suggested, downplaying the compliment.

“I guess you don’t know yourself well enough then,” he countered.

“My turn,” she began. “You are alluring, brave, creative, discipline, efficient, forgiving, gracious, handsome, intelligent, judicious, knightly, loyal, mature, noble, objective, patient, quiet, resourceful, simple, tactful, understanding, valiant, wise, xaern, youthful, zen and many more,” she highlighted his traits avidly. It was Leon’s turn to blush furiously now.

“Are you sure you were talking about me? I am nowhere close to that,” he doubted.

“I guess you have never seen yourself from my eyes,” she said, fondly looking at him.

Their eyes meet and feelings they tried to suppress resurfaced. Not wanting to fan those flames further, Luna turned her attention to the next question, “29. Share with your partner an embarrassing moment in your life.”

“When I found out that you heard what I said to you while I thought you were in a coma, that was very embarrassing for me,” he spoke, after thinking. She laughed upon hearing that, which added more to Leon’s embarrassment.

“For me, it was outside of Lestallum when you almost kissed me in trying to hide my face from the Empire troops,” she mumbled, hoping Leon did not hear it.

“That bad, huh?” he asked with a smile, looking at her. She was blushing furiously.

To avoid any further embarrassment, she quickly read the next question, “30. When did you last cry in front of another person? By yourself?”

“The last time I cried in front of someone was when I had that nightmare,” she recalled that chilling image. “The last time I cried by myself was after our last fight.”

“Sorry,” he apologized immediately.

“It’s okay. Your turn now.”

“Last time I cried in front of anyone was probably when I was a child. Last time I cried by myself was when I realized that there was no way out of time compression. I thought I was going to die there.”

It seemed like the mood in the car swung between joy and pain with each question.

“31. Tell your partner something that you like about them already.” She was glad this was a more upbeat question.

“I love your laughter,” Leon replied instantly.

“I love your shy smile,” she added looking at him.

“Next question,” Leon requested, as he felt her eyes on him.

“32. What, if anything, is too serious to be joked about?”

“Not sure. Maybe my duty?” he offered, sounding unsure.

“For me, it would be my faith. It is very sacred to me.”

Leon made a mental note never to joke about it.

“33. If you were to die this evening with no opportunity to communicate with anyone, what would you most regret not having told someone? Why haven’t you told them yet?”

“One thing I would regret is not saying to her that I love her more than anything in this world. Why haven’t I done it? Because I don’t know how she would react.”

‘Is he talking about her? Or me?’ she wondered.

“Same for me. Never telling him that I love him with all my heart and soul. I have never said it because I am afraid of what might happen after that.” She took a leaf from Leon’s playbook and kept it equally vague.

‘Him? Noctis? Or me?’ he wondered.

“34. Your house, containing everything you own, catches fire. After saving your loved ones and pets, you have time to safely make a final dash to save any one item. What would it be? Why?”

“My gunblade and Griever pendent,” he stated.

She suddenly realized that she hadn’t seen his pendent or ring today. She wondered why he was not wearing it anymore. ‘Maybe I’ll ask him later.’

“For me, it would have to be my staff.”

“35. Of all the people in your family, whose death would you find most disturbing? Why?”

“Ravus. He is the only family I have,” she said, looking down.

“Not applicable. No family here.”

“Am I not part of your family?” she asked, slightly getting offended.

“You. You are very important to me, but I don’t know how to classify you. It’s complicated.”

“Fair enough,” she acknowledged with a nod.

“36. Share a personal problem and ask your partner’s advice on how he or she might handle it. Also, ask your partner to reflect back to you how you seem to be feeling about the problem you have chosen.”

“What would you do if you were stuck in an unknown world with no memories?”

“Create a new one,” she replied instantly. “Sometimes, you seemed to get stuck in the past to the point you can no longer enjoy the present moment.”

“I see,” he contemplated on her answer.

“What would you do if you knew your fate, but couldn’t change it?”

“If you cannot change the situation, then change yourself.”

“What do you mean?”

“The only difference between a problem and a challenge is the mindset. The situation doesn’t change, your attitude towards it can change your perspective. If you have no power to change something, then change your mindset towards it. How you can make the best out of a given situation? Instead of succumbing to fate, thinking about alternative ways to accomplish it.”

“Alternative ways to accomplish it, now that’s an interesting thought,” she wondered.

“I feel, sometimes, your single-minded approach stifles your creativity.”

“Interesting,” she said, thinking about his advice.

She looked at the cutout of paper and ordered, “Leon, pullover.”

“What happened?” he asked, getting alarmed.

“I’ll tell you. Pullover first.”

Once the car was pulled over on the should of the road, she narrated, “that last activity requires us to stare into each other’s eyes silently for four minutes.”

“What? You had me pull over for that?” he said, with disappointment.

“Yes, we have to do this.”

“No, we don’t. This is silly.”

“Oh, come on, you did 36 questions. What is one more? This will complete this activity.”

“Fine. Whatever,” he succumbed, not wanting to argue about it. He retracted the roof of the car.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Giving us some privacy. People would think we are crazy if they saw us like that.”

She just laughed in response.

“I am starting the timer. 3…2…1… go.”

They felt like they were isolated from the world as they started into each other’s eyes. It was uncomfortable at first, but they settled in quickly. Their shyness was quickly replaced by a feeling they were not familiar with. It was a thrilling and terrifying experience for both. Seeing softness, compassion. and love in the eyes was the thrilling part. The terrifying part was being observed by someone so intently. Unable to glance away, there was nowhere to hide. It felt like being exposed and vulnerable. Perhaps being vulnerable together was what made this effective.

‘I could keep staring into his dreamy blue eyes forever. It’s like looking into an endless ocean.’

‘I never noticed how beautiful her eyes are. In my defense, I never stared at her like that. It would be creepy if I randomly go up to people and stare into their eyes.’

‘They say that the eyes are the windows to your soul. I wonder what he sees in mine?’

‘Her eyes feel so warm, carrying, and full of life. Just looking at her eyes makes me feel calm. I wonder what she sees in mine.’

‘His eyes seem to carry a storm of emotions. Love, fear, rage, all mixed together, making it for a wonderful viewing.’

As the timer went off, a wave of relief washed over them. They were equally happy and sad that it was over. It was a strange, exquisite, and intimate experience.

“That was weird. In a good way. You have beautiful eyes,” Luna was the first one to speak.

“Thank you. I was born with it,” he said, without thinking. She started laughing.

“Sorry. That was a surreal experience. I am still getting back to my senses,” he admitted.

“It’s alright. I think it was fun.”

“It was scary at first, but I felt comfortable after the first minute.”

“Same for me.”

She folded the paper and kept in her pocket. “Thank you, Arthur Aron, for this wonderful list.”

“Who is that?” he inquired, starting the car.

“He is the scientist who made this list.”

Their last car ride together was peaceful and enjoyable. They made small talks and recollected some of their fond memories in this car. Before they realized they were already by the Wiz Chocobo outpost.

Author's notes:

In case you didn't know, psychologist Dr. Arthur Aron and his colleagues had published a study called 'The experimental generation of interpersonal closeness: A procedure and some preliminary findings' with these 36 questions. It is commonly refereed to as 36 Questions That Lead to Love. I thought it would be a great tool to develop these two characters (Leon and Luna) and understand their complex relationship.

Please leave a comment if you have enjoyed the story so far. Would love to chat with some of my readers. Or at least say 'Hi' so I know someone is readying this. Thanks :)

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the-truth-will-light-the-sky · 5 years

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Road Trip with Prince Regis and His Crew

Prince Regis Lucis Caelum crosses the continent alongside his friends Cid Sophiar, Weskham Armaugh, Clarus Amicitia, the young but firecracker Cor Leonis and an unexpected guide. Who can shower in the rain?

Long Headcanon post...again.

The song playing in my mind each time I imagine Prince Regis and his friends cutting across the continent towards Accordo is “Blowing in The Wind” by Stevie Wonder (his version is so beautiful). Imagine the prince and his friends singing the lyrics to the songs they love, not minding if they’re out of tune or out of sync (that’s Cid).

Regis

Regis is the fussiest among the rest of the crew. Not about mud or dust. It’s not that. The only thing he’d ever care about are his dirty clothes.

He’s used to presenting himself in the best image at all times, he’s used to keeping his look pristine and well-kept and so must his clothes.

Oh and hygiene. He’s fine with dirt. But no proper baths or showers? Expect the prince to be pouty until their next motel or caravan stop.

Gloves all day, every day. In the cold, in the heat, while sleeping, while eating -- Prince Regis doesn’t like dirt in between his fingernails.

Aside from all these, Regis is a complete outdoors man. He can adapt to any situations and would always have the best solution to the weather.

Rain? He’s got an umbrella at his disposal. Too hot? He’s brought his sleeveless shirts (black and sleek, of course. He has to wear those for the photos because Aulea loves seeing him in those things). Too cold? He’s got the thickest and comfiest coat. Fashionable too, of course.

When it comes to food, despite being used to the finest cuisine Lucis and Insomnia has to offer, Regis can stomach just about anything.

He’s endured so many things even at a young age. Five star food can wait. At twenty, Regis doesn’t mind if he’s eating toast all day or beans. He can eat any vegetables that Weskham can find.

Regis brought most of his essentials with him. As mentioned, there’s his hygiene and shaving kit. He’s also brought his sewing kit to fix those loose buttons and yes his pants that is ripped in the middle, his medicine (he gets allergic to the outdoors sometimes; Cid calls him a princess), his favourite book, extra pairs of gloves (must hide that ring), flashlights, extra weapons just in case he loses yet another dagger, his favourite coffee brand and of course, and of course his phone card (gotta call his sweetheart Aulea).

Regis is a really bad driver — every one of them would scramble for the seat belts only to know there aren’t any. Instead, they’d hang on to their dear lives each time he’s behind the wheel.

Regis would drive and chat, much to everyone’s horror. Cid’s incessant cursing doesn’t help either, as it even encourages Regis to be animated with his expressions and uses his hands to tell his stories.

Regis is not the first to rise in the mornings, but he’s not the last either. He’s more of the middle.

He’s one of the last to sleep, though. He’s got a lot on his mind.

And the complete darkness gives him the chills. He’s used to the comfort of Insomnia’s bright lights or his bedside lamp.

The Prince has the quickest reflexes and the sharpest hearing, too. So if anyone starts to fight their pillow in their sleep (it’s Cid), he’s the first to grab his heavy flashlight to brandish about as if all of Eos’ daemons are jam-packed in their already full tent.

Regis would give Cid a playful kick in the leg to rouse him from his sleep, much to no avail.

Being a proper prince and all, Regis is not an unruly tent mate. He keeps much to his own space and rarely snores.

Just don’t deprive him of his pillow and blanket. He’s used to comfort and his back hurts a lot if he doesn’t have any cushioning. Cid calls him a sissy, to which the Prince retorts that he won’t share his exquisite Lucian blanket when the temperature gets cold.

He kept his word, of course. Cid immediately regretted the decision as the comforter reached up only until Weskham. He’d have to endure the surface and the cold. His favourite line of ‘Oh my achin’ back’ originated from this little event.

He’s the guy who wants the oil lamp to be set to dim at night inside the tent, not to be extinguished at all.

The Prince of Lucis does the dishes. Don’t let the sharp suit and neatly trimmed nails fool you. He’s built for hard work and he’s willing to do it all.

Just don’t make him put up the tent, if you don’t want it to look like a child’s make-believe fortress in the end.

Prince Regis can be a rebel out in the wild. He’s not a stranger to mischief despite his gentlemanly demeanour. Like every young man, he always likes to get away with some trouble making.

Regis prefers to use his weapons against daemons whenever they stayed too late out in the wilds. He would be inheriting the Ring of the Lucii but he prefers not to use it against the daemons.

He’s not afraid to fight them off. Although, he has a particular dislike of those Nagaranis and Necromancers. Gives him the shivers like the Frozen’s Glacian’s breath breathing down his neck.

The Prince, despite his wealth, is the stingiest of all the guys. He’d hold back until the last moment a.k.a. until the seller gives up and gives him half the price. Score!

Thinks he’s the coolest guy in Lucis whenever he drives his car. He’s a bit vain when he’s out on the road; he knows he looks too damn fine and sexy in his gloves as he drives out into the wild in his sleek and shiny Regalia.

Cid

The able mechanic has all his tools with him. It’s stored in the back of the Regalia, inside his pockets, even inside his jacket or his screwdriver tucked in his pants. Don’t ask where he keeps the screws.

Cid is the rowdiest of the group. And he never shuts up.

He does keep to himself sometimes, but if he’s in one of his moods, Cid will just keep on singing to his heart’s content.

He likes to take the wheel when on the road, but Regis says no.

Aside it from being his car, Regis knows that if Cid is behind the wheel, it means that the grumpy mechanic holds all reins to the car audio system.

It’s all country music or swampy music of course. Cowboy tunes are his favourite.

Not that the guys mind, of course. They’re not choosy. But it’s Cid’s incessant singing that bugs them.

He can’t even sing the songs right, almost always singing the lyrics late. When he realises this, he tries to quicken his singing to keep up with the song. It’s like listening to those tapes that you fast forward. It’s both funny and annoying at the same time.

Cor would never admit it, but he likes it whenever Cid starts singing. It gives him the best laughs in his ‘boring’ life.

In the whole crew, Cid is the most un-fussiest of them all when it comes to camping.

Beans for lunch? Great, tastes like caviar. No water for showering? He can shower in the rain. A snoring Clarus for the rest of the night? Why, music to his ears. A bratty Cor Leonis? Lemme handle this brat.

Cid loves camping. He’s ecstatic to be out in the wild. He’s not fond of the bright lights of Insomnia. He likes looking out into the wild lands each time he has the chance. And now he’s out here and there’s nothing that he could ever ask for. Oh, uh, except for peace of course. Peace needs to be won.

Cid, despite his hard demeanour, is a softie for the wild animals. The rest of the crew loves animals, of course, but the animals love Cid like he’s their daddy.

The mechanic can even tame a bloody sabertusk, petting its head while Clarus wrestles with one beside him, screaming as he does so.

Regis runs away from a pack of rogue Daggerquills while Cid has one perched on his shoulders like he’s freakin’ Snow White. He’s proud of it, of course.

‘They ain’t like the varmints folks call ‘em — they’re practically a softie!’ Cid says about a skarnbulette.

He even thinks a behemoth is an adorable little kitty. Clarus gives him the weird look reserved only for the looniest of people. Cid’s the second in that list of his, and that’s not a compliment.

Cid Sophiar puts up the tent. He’s the best tent maker around. The rest of them can screw it. Yup, his own words, not mine.

Cid is almost always awakened each time Regis rises from his sleep. The two best friends are inseparable despite their differences.

It is also universally known that if Regis catches the stomach flu, expect Cid to get the same predicament or something similar.

Cor Leonis gets on Cid Sophiar’s nerves. Not because the fifteen year old ‘stuck up’ is a hyper active teen because he’s not. It’s because he treats Cid with the utmost respect even if the older man tries to rile him up to get any kind of reaction from him aside from his usual stoic scowl.

Cid Sophiar always gets the ladies’ numbers if they’re ever stopping by civilisation. He’s a ladies’ man. Sorry, Weskham.

If only Cid’s incessant cursing and badmouthing can kill even the fiercest of daemons, Regis would be grateful. The mechanic slings out bad words like a freakin’ machine gun.

Weskham

This Keycatrich native is the calmest of the group.

Nothing ever freaks him out. Not even a rogue Behemoth screeching eerily close to their camps at night. Nope. Not even Cid’s stink eye nor Cor’s tantrums.

He’s the parent of the group. He’s the one who administers the medicines and the salves, the one who cooks, the one who is the first to rise from sleep.

He’s also got the longest patience. Cid can mumble his cowboy tunes like a broken vinyl record and Clarus can snore as loud as a behemoth until dawn and Regis can be all too fussy for not showering for two days and Cor can keep on babbling about the empire’s demise all day and night. Weskham doesn’t bat an eyelash. He’s chill.

But if anyone loses any of his pens or scratches his pans, expect a little scolding. Yes, even Regis…especially Regis. The prince accidentally washes his prized pan with the rough texture side of the sponge.

Being an able cook, Weskham can whip any delicious food up with just about any ingredient, to which the crew is very much grateful for. At least they won’t have bean soup for the third night straight. He’s looking at Cid.

Weskham is the most civil when it comes to getting rid of both vicious animals and villainous daemons. Swift and painless.

He has the best tunes than the rest of the crew. Whatever he picks to play in the Regalia, anyone would say it’s an agreeable choice.

Weskham loves to tell stories by the camp fire. This is Regis’ favourite part of the night.

The wise man always has something to tell and most of the time his stories are both exciting and insightful.

The guys look like children huddled by the camp fire, their eyes glued on the charismatic man as he regales them of tales of days past.

Weskham, suspiciously enough, has keys for almost everything.

When it comes to sleeping, Weskham is a shallow sleeper. He can rouse from his sleep just like Regis but unlike the Prince, this gentleman handles his sudden awakening with a very calm and collected demeanour, not thrashing about like a coeurl.

He is the only one in the group with a watch. In fact, he’s got like, five pocket watches?

He’s also the one they can rely on when it comes to reading compasses. But without it though, Weskham is, in Clarus’ own words, as useless as a dessert spoon.

Weskham is the voice of conscience. If Regis is driving recklessly, expect him to tell the prince to glue his eyes on the road. He’s also the one to tell Cid not to bother poor Leonis.

He is also the negotiator of the group. Cid is the opposite of course. When Cid gets them into trouble with anyone, especially at diners, Weskham is the man to do the job of clearing things. Regis can’t do it though because he won’t stop laughing at the bumbling mechanic.

Clarus

Clarus Amicitia hates bugs. He won’t stay still whenever he sees one. He won’t freak out, goodness no. But expect him to be jumpy each time he’d feel a mosquito on his skin. Those hundlegs? No thanks.

This is where his skill with blades come in handy. A fly on flying in front of you? SLASH. Clarus just slashed it in half with his little dagger. Cor wants to emulate it…he fails each time.

Cor asks his secret to being precise and agile. Clarus agrees to do so if Cor can tell him if the mosquito was a female or male. The young soldier gives him the famous Cor Leonis scowl. Priceless.

Clarus is the most adaptable to sleep and waking up. He needs to wake up early? No prob, he’ll be asleep by eight pm. He needs to stay up? No prob, bring in the coffee and expect him to be as hyper at four in the morning.

He likes to work out as much as he can. He also trains young Cor as Weskham cooks their food and Regis does his regular shave.

Clarus and Cid get on each others’ nerves sometimes. Nothing serious, though. It’s more that Clarus is used to keeping quiet and Cid is just the blabber mouth of the group.

He particularly HATES it whenever Cid clicks his tongue to fill in the silence, especially at night.

He likes watching the stars before he goes to sleep. There’s something so calming about it each time he’d gaze at the stars in their millions.

He keeps a journal where he writes his star charts.

He also writes about the animals and plants he sees. Everything about the wilderness amazes him. Yes, Clarus is the explorer of the group. One day, he’ll live out somewhere in Duscae where he’s surrounded by all things living. Insomnia’s just too full of buildings…and malls.

Clarus smuggled a frog in their journey. It’s his favourite pet, found it in Alstor Slough. His name is Pepito. Please don’t ask him why. Regis can’t get rid of it, not that he hates it. He likes it and wants it for himself. It’s just that, they can’t keep it from croaking all the damn time. Plus, Cid says frogs give warts. Weskham wants it out. Cor wants to keep it because it keeps the mosquitoes away. The said frog made it back to Insomnia.

He likes to sing in the mornings. He’s just way too happy in the early dawn.

Sabertusks hate Clarus. He doesn’t know why, but they always try to go after him. Remind him to bring extra clothes because he always ends up having ripped sleeves.

He’s the one who gets the fire going. Nobody else can do it like he does.

Clarus is not fussy with anything at all, except for his weapons. They have to be polished each time.

Oh and, they must always have some hot sauce in their spices. This man lives for the spice.

And please, no matter what happens, please don’t give him those instant noodles. He wants real food. And real food takes time to be cooked.

Dirty nails, every damn time, no matter how many times he cleans them. It sets Regis’ hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

Has the best whistle in the group; could be heard hundreds of feet away. No joke.

He’s also the navigator of the group. Regis is a lost cause in map reading and Cid is always holding the map on the wrong end. Weskham helps, but he’s not good with the actual terrain.

Clarus sees a coin on the ground. He takes it. He sees a wonderfully shaped stone. He stashes it in his pocket. He finds a small crystalline curiosity. He covets it like a diamond ring. He’s the pack rat of the group.

Cor

Cor Leonis only thinks of one thing: keep the Prince safe. It’s hard-wired into his system. A pesky Voretooth is gnawing at the prince? Get rid of it. A cockroach is crawling on the prince’s shoulder? Smack it away. No more coffee? He’ll walk a kilometre to buy one.

Despite this, however, he’s no pet. He’s only doing his duty. Cor is not afraid to call out the prince if he’s doing something wrong. And it always happens.

Rain or shine, the young soldier always wears his hat. He’ll chase after it if it gets blown away. Cid teases him that he’s hiding something in his hat. He probably is, who knows?

Cor can sleep anywhere. He’s not fussy how he falls asleep. This boi can sleep standing up.

He sleeps as still as a door nail -- he doesn’t move at all. He’s the perfect tent mate.

He loves to read his books before sleeping. Not maths or his studies, those are boring, he says. He likes to read nonfiction books about the world and of course, philosophy.

Cor can deny it all he wants, but he secretly likes it whenever Weskham makes a bowl of chilli. He lives for chilli nights.

He’s an all-around-er, meaning he can do almost anything. He’s a walking Swiss Knife.

If there are any imperial locks they needed to pick, Cor is expected to open it with ease. Oh and those tough cans of beans, he’s the only one who could open them.

Cor Leonis is stuck in the Regalia with older men. It’s not like he’s bothered by it; he even thinks as if he’s older than Cid.

What he doesn’t get is their taste in music. He prefers the silence.

He likes to whistle, however. It’s the only habit that he can’t stop himself from doing.

He has a dislike for V, their guide. He doesn’t like that she dresses in men’s clothes and hides her face most of the time. He doesn’t trust people with secrets even if they have a good reason for it.

Cor treats her with courtesy but expect him to square his jaws whenever she gets to an enemy before him.

The wild animals love Cor Leonis. Even the bugs, much to his dismay.

He’s also known as the ‘Sunburn Kid’ as he always ends having his nose red after a long day on the road. He wears longs sleeves to shield himself from the sun, but his nose couldn’t escape the wrath of the sun.

He’s also the one who is more likely to catch a cold. He would have allergies too that would cause him to sneeze incessantly. The older guys feel sorry for the firecracker kid. He gets all pouty and his eyes would get so watery he looks like an innocent child.

Cor has names for everyone in the group, but he would never divulge it.

In fact, he has names for almost everything. It’s his way of amusing himself when the group starts talking about things like allergies or romance. Gotta keep himself entertained or else he might lose it.

Whenever they end up stopping by a gas station or a Crow’s Nest diner, Cor is the centre of attention.

Women of all ages gawk at him. The way he presents himself is a real lady killer. The older ladies remember their old romances back in the day, the moms would fuss about him asking if he’s already eaten and the young girls his age or the young women in their twenties would stare at him like he’s a rare chocobo.

Regis loves making fun of him, taking photos of the stoic young soldier as he whistles. He’s kind of proud of the ‘lil heartbreaker.

Clarus gives him the stink eye. It’s unfair.

Buys postcards from every damn outpost. He never sends it to anyone. He likes to collect them in his journal of mementos. Yup, Cor is loves to journal.

Cor is also the one with the most mosquito bites after a night at camp. He doesn’t know why, but bugs just love him.

Clumsy. He’s supposed to be the paragon of stoicism and grace, but somehow Cor ends up spilling his coffee on his pants, tripping on flat surfaces or knocking down merchandise.

Beside disliking V, he found himself imitating her love for the word ‘phony.’

V finds herself crossing paths with Prince Regis and his crew. During their journey, she’s hired by the prince as their guide after she defeated a group of Reapers faster than any of them ever did.

That was before they knew she was a woman. She wore men’s clothing, trying not to show her face just in case someone who knows her sees her and asks why she hasn’t aged at all.

This triggered Cor’s suspicions about her when she revealed that she’s a woman by speaking since Cid won’t stop asking her about things.

Cor wants her out but Regis was adamant. Her skills and expertise in medicine would prove useful if they ever run out of potions supplies and their supplies are indeed running out, as well as their money. Plus it doesn’t hurt having a girl in the group.

After escaping Somnus Lucis Caelum two millennia ago, she lived her life as a rogue traveler, performing odd jobs from healer to scholar to hunter. That’s how she learned how to survive, hiding from the eyes of her most hated Lucian King.

During their days together, she doesn’t know who the guys are, even Regis. They never told her of their real identity nor their missions. In turn, she didn’t reveal her full name and never once stated her disdain for the Lucian line.

A wild woman in the battlefield. Cor considers her a savage in the way she fights as she fights with unrefined movements and uses every damn thing she can to her advantage.

A crate on by the rocks? The perfect thing to throw on a Bulette before it rolls over and flattens poor Regis. A crouching Clarus? Why the perfect leverage for a pole arm dive attack. Cor’s daggers tucked in his back pockets? The best emergency weapons.

Veritas would often shout to the crew about the daemon’s weaknesses and would encourage them to use whatever they can to exploit the daemons’ weaknesses to kill them swiftly and painlessly.

She helps with the herb gathering, often times saving the guys from stomach aches or worse by telling them which mushrooms are not fit for consumption. Whoops. No wonder Regis gets stomach aches as he always picks the wrong ones! Good thing he didn’t get the ones with poison.

V can barter with the prices whenever they’d stop over at a market. Despite concealing her face, people know of the mysterious hunter who saved their hides a lot of times. So when this woman needs some discount, they’re not hesitant to give her some. They’d even throw in some free things, too, much to the crew’s gratitude. They once drove off with two boxes full of supplies and hurrah, Regis’ favourite coffee brand.

When it comes to hygiene, V is just like Clarus. She can handle all the dirt. She doesn’t have to shower a lot, much to Regis’ dismay. How can a woman be so unlady-like? V doesn’t mind, there’s always some place she can find for that most coveted shower time.

One of the boys. If there’s one thing that the crew has noticed is her lack of…femininity.

She can be as brusque as Clarus or as bad-mouthed as Cid (to a lesser degree, thank goodness) and as tough as Cor.

But show her a spider and all femininity goes back to her in a snap.

She once spilled her hot cup of coffee on herself when a spider jumped at her one morning and Regis found himself holding on to a scared witless V. That started their friendship that would last a long time since in fact, Regis himself is terrified of spiders. So they both ran towards Clarus who also ran towards a very confused Cor Leonis who in turn held the spider in his hands (Regis cringes) and out of their sight.

V loves to catch the first rays of the sun as well as the last golden light at dusk. She talks of different things with them, especially with Weskham whose wisdom and calm demeanour she finds refreshing.

When it comes to sleeping, V sleeps outside the tent, much to their protests. Cor Leonis is suspicious of her, so he sleeps outside sometimes too.

She likes listening to the guys as they banter. She’d inadvertently join in, causing a ruckus when she defeated Cid in a ‘back talk’.

She doesn’t need saving, even from persistent men in the diner.

Regis likes watching her turn down good looking men and women. She once smacked a guy in the face when she felt him feeling her up.

Clarus had to carry her away. That’s the only saving she needed, much to the prince’s amusement. He remembers that, even until today.

#cor leonis #regis lucis caelum #clarus amicitia #cid sophiar #weskham armaugh #veritas lux seculum #final fantasy xv #ffxv #ffxv headcanon #final fantasy xv headcanon #cor leonis headcanon #prince regis headcanon #the truth will light the sky #msy the truth will light the sky

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beauvoyr · 5 years

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Lazy People’s Club for the Sleepy and Tired | 18 & 19

flowering | 18 & 19

Pairings: Noctis/Reader Genre: Friendship/Romance/Friends-to-Lovers Tags: Fluff, Humor, Eventual Romance, Slow Burn, Abuse, Torture, asphyxiation, no beta we die like men, pre-Omen trailer route, pre-demon Noctis Chapter Rating: M Crossposted on: ao3 Summary: Rules to join the Lazy People’s Club for the Sleepy and Tired: 1) One must love sleep. Sleep is love. Sleep is life. 2) One must be tired. Physically or emotionally, both are acceptable. 3) One must love video games. Halfhearted interest in video games will result in immediate termination of membership. Fortunately, Noctis falls into all three categories.

CHAPTER SUMMARY: What kind of friend is he anyway? The shittiest, lowest kind. The kind that’d fuck your mouth with your head to the wall, that’s what. The kind that’d press his fingers over your ribs like a pianist over his keys, memorising the erotic way you shudder under him. The kind that wants to substitute your pillows just so you’d hold him instead. Exactly the shittiest, most fucked up kind of friend.

XVIII flowering: gluing eggshells together

loud voices are never good omen. byron favours speaking in soft tones with underlying firmness that warns those unprepared never to challenge him. shouting marks an unworthy man and it is a level he strives not to stoop for as long as he lives.

in this house of statues, he knows nobody speaks to you. save for the outsiders, your lecturers, the manservants mute themselves in your presence should they encounter you. your commands are acknowledged by way of a bent waist, head lowered, mouth stitched shut. hearing voices carried from your room right into the hallway is a phenomenon that has byron picking up his speed twofold, careful enough to balance the tray of tea and tidbits as he marches into your room, nary a knock.

“twenty, and that’s final.”

unless your room had transformed into a haggling hypermarket overnight, it sounded like an unfair deal coming from quintus. truly a rare sight to see father and daughter gathered in the same space, byron takes a moment to pencil the details in his mind. you, besieged, behind your desk with your fingers woven through your hair, shutting your eyes, shutting out the world. quintus, machiavellian, a proud figure in the heart of your room, unsmiling, uncaring. it has byron stepping aside when quintus gathers himself after seizing victory in one of the many wars he fought for lucis, even if it’s a war he waged with his very own daughter.

locking the door behind him, byron deposits your teatime tray and strides to your desk. you’ve curled in on yourself, legs drawn to your chest, all balled up on your chair. a hatchling truly unprepared for the world beyond the fragile shield of your eggshell. the pathetic sight makes byron drop on his knees before you, gloved hands unraveling the knot of your legs to be placed on the floor once more. “milady, what’s wrong?”

“everything.”

he doesn’t need to see your face to hear the tears in your voice. “everything, milady?” he tries again, softer, resting his hands on your twitchy thighs. “what did your father want from you? twenty of what?”

“not twenty of what.” your head shakes, arms that are shielding your face gradually dropping to unveil a face full of forlorn, reddening eyes brimming with unshed tears. “twenty, byron, twenty.” you stop, sucking in a deep breath, trying to pull your legs to your chest once more—only, byron has his hands on you and he fights your desperation to curl in on yourself again. “—let me go, byron—“

“not until you tell me twenty of what, milady,” he breathes, tone going softer than before, barely lined in warning. “now, tell me: twenty of what.”

you could’ve kicked him, planted a foot in his face if you struggled hard enough. break his teeth, break his nose, break everything for all you care. but you don’t. all you do is to look at him, helpless, hair mussed up, broken, choking low in your throat, lost, tired of fighting your frustration. “twenty,” you cry out, voice cracking, and byron’s fingers dig into your thighs at your next words: “father’s marrying me off at twenty.”

IT HAD ALWAYS BEEN THE same routine in any council meeting. Councilmen and women alike, dressed in their regal uniforms, discussing Lucian politics in this chamber. Sunlight streams from high above the paneled walls, bringing light to the ebony carvings on crystal chandelier. Fire from two elaborate torches lent feeble warmth in this air-conditioned place, not that Ignis minds it. Even in his waistcoat, he barely feels the cold. Ballpoint skittering across feint-ruled paper in an elaborate script Noctis had long deciphered under his tutelage, Ignis pens in points from today’s discussion for his charge’s digestion.

Hands clenched, Quintus’ jaw barely rocks with each heavy blow of his word. “We cannot dismiss the fact that each day brings us closer to Niflheim’s machinations.”

Gentle-faced Estelle, Countess of Cimlain, is never known to raise her voice in the presence of the king. But her voice is clear as her stand on the matter. “We’ve discussed this time and time again, Andronicus: We will not reinstate the military. There is no need for them in this world, as Lucis is taking a peaceful stand against the war.”

—heated discussion, Ignis amends his initial monologue, pen skittering faster to keep up with the exchange of dialogue.

“My dear Cimlain, you say it’s peaceful only because you get to sleep soundly on your bed each night, blissfully unaware of the wars our Glaives wage against the Imperials,” Quintus remarks with barely a twitch of his wispy brows, knowing his words brought forth a round of shifty eyes hiding their guilt. “Believe me, if His Majesty permits my presence on the battlefield, I would have done the job myself.”

King Regis holds up an authoritative hand to silence any retorts from red-cheeked Estelle, regarding Quintus with the apathy of one whose ear had been plugged with this debate for many years. “Your place is not the battlefield, Andronicus,” he reminds him. “Your health takes precedence above all else. It’s best you spend your years waging your wars behind a desk instead.”

“Marshal Leonis commandeers the Crownsguard and Captain Drautos, the Kingsglaive.” Quintus nods the king’s way like a sleepy man nodding off at a boring meeting, entirely disregarding what he said. “Your Majesty, I’m not asking for much. I merely want to reestablish a small fraction of militia, starting with conscripting our young Insomnians to join the fray. The great Solheim was not built in a day, and I’m not expecting much from these men,” his hands wave about, eyes drifting from one face to another, taking in their expressions, “but give it time and it will surely flourish.”

Lukas clicks his tongue, earning an eyeful from Quintus. He is not known for his kindness, and it shows in his words. “We can all see that you are hungering for the power your family has lost, Andronicus.” His moustache bristles. “We do not condone Niflheim for their cruelty, yet it seems you are keen on letting Lucis tread the same path. You will be the downfall of our kingdom, mark my words.”

Ignis stops penning at that point, knowing the downwards spiral of the meeting has just begun.

“It truly isn’t a fruitful meeting without our friend Lukas resorting to ad hominem,” unsmiling Quintus says, ignoring the verbal lunge for his heart. “Because I care more about the result of our meeting, I choose to disregard the useless nonsense you spewed, and instead, focus on how to solve the problem we face.” Without much pomp, he turns away from the fuming man, facing a weary Regis. “Majesty—“

And he stops. Eyes screwing shut. A thumb on his temple. Pained.

A fresh wave of murmurs spreads through the chamber behind a hand to the lips. Ignis would’ve leapt to his feet if this occurrence was the first of its kind, but he’s lost count of it as the years trickled by. Headaches, dizzy spells, migraines, standard signs of a man overworking past his limits, past his age ordained. For all the cruelty Quintus inflicted upon you, he is but a mortal in the end. A helpless old man even in the face of the reaper himself. Capping his pen, Ignis quietly observes as Quintus’ forehead is slick with a sheen of sweat, soundlessly battling his agony. And, ever friendless, nobody moves to aid him through his personal war.

King Regis, the benevolent man he is, leans forward in urgency, settling a steadying hand on Quintus’ shoulder. “Dizzy again?” he asks to a soundless Quintus, who neither nods nor shakes his head at the question, eyes still shut. But King Regis knows. He holds up another hand to the rest of the Council, marking the end to the meeting.

As Ignis sweeps his belongings into his briefcase with the rest of the apathetic crowd thinning out, he hears faint murmurs from the king himself.

“What did the doctor say?”

AT THE END OF YOUR third rep of push-ups, the subtle burn in your upper arms whines for you to stop. Not the awful kind of burn, but the kind of burn where it feelssatisfying. Sweating enough to fill buckets for rainy days, the bridge of your nose slick in perspiration, shirt plastered to your back. Even the slightest twist has your muscles aching, crying for mercy. Gladio’s ruthless, that’s for sure, clocking in enough counts for you to pass out if you aren’t thoroughly prepared with your warm-ups. It hurts when he manhandles you just as easily, demonstrating his raw strength and power over you, a reminder that it took him years to get to where he is now: A Shield to Noctis.

But the ache lancing through is real. All sharp edges, knives cutting your nerves. This ache isn’t anything like your innards you eviscerated, this ache comes from an entirely different reason altogether. It reminds you that you’re very much alive, living and breathing with Gladio stretching you to your toes, big hands on your shoulders to put you in place, to put up with the pain you agreed. Your throat scratches with all the sounds you make, from tiny squeaks to big yelps, pushed past your limits with Gladio’s amber eyes promising you that this is just the beginning of what he started.

“C’mon, ass up,” he swatted your back one time, just because he caught you drooping unsteadily in your planking. The sheer difference in size between you and him meant that one: He swatted you and it hurt, and two: It had enough strength to collapse your elbows and introduce your face to the hardwood.

Of course, Gladio remedied it with a hastily barked apology, bear paws wrapping around your hips to hoist you up once more, and he might have left a handprint Byron pointed out before your shower. But you liked it. Liked how each session ends with your lungs wheezing and your knees bruising, liked how Gladio cards his hands through your damp hair like a proud brother, always encouraging your every move—liked how he praised you even if it’s for the pettiest of things.

Good job for holding out longer than ten minutes.

Good job for those five extra stretches.

Good job for not puking.

Good job, lil’ lady.

You distinctly remembered making a face at that. “Little lady?”

“Yeah, ‘cause you’re one,” he supplied helpfully, looking like it was the most natural nickname ever. At your persistent staring, Gladio stops practicing his broadsword swings and shrugs, lips twitching. “What’s a man gotta do to get your real name? Just T. Andronicus or that Quintus Guy’s Daughter or Quintus’ Whatever ain't gonna cut it down the years.”

“How about Kaliva?” you proposed, sounding hopeful. “That’s pretty close too.”

The look Gladio threw you was an answer enough, returning to his sword swings once more. “Yeah, no. No name, no change.”

Well, at least you tried. If anything, it’s a lukewarm reassurance to hear him inadvertently confirming he hadn’t snuck his nose into all six of your private envelopes signed in your name.

The heavy double doors creak open, effectively bringing you out of your musings on your behemoth of a trainer. Gladio had run out earlier, babbling something about picking up someone and instructed you to stay put as he threw on a jacket and left. In the middle of your cool down stretches, you couldn’t help but to crane your head over your shoulder to spy on your new visitor. Is it Nyx again? The cheeky Glaive liked to pop in and out of his rounds, smirking at how you panted through your regimen. On days he felt gracious, he’d share tips on how to maximize your core muscles, and on not-so helpful days, he’d cross his legs at the ankles, leaning against the wall and chuckling at your wilting planking.

Your jaw almost unhinged when Gladio steps in, bringing with him a man the size of a boulder. Distinctly aged, his salt-coloured hair and shaved jawline is reminiscent of an obelisk in a museum. All regal poise, spine straight. Age is something he wears handsomely, despite the hardened finish of his eyes. Your gaze trails over the soft leather and gilded trims on his robes, memorizing the regal way he holds himself. Despite the difference in his ensemble, this is a variation of a getup you’ve seen father wore before.

He is man you certainly shouldn’t mess with.

Pulling yourself to your feet, you fold your hands over your thighs, bowing deeply. Manners first. “Good evening, sir.”

“At ease, young Andronicus,” the man commands, and you know you’re right if he’s the one calling you that. He comes to a stop with Gladio hovering closely by, eyes raking you from head to toe. You must’ve appeared disheveled, sweaty, awful for a first impression, but he says nothing of it. “I’ve heard of you from my son. Received your papers, in fact.”

So this is what Gladio talked about, the trial by fire. Realising the severity of the situation, you allow yourself absolutely no chance of being mistaken as a diminutive doll all shy and reserved, for he is part of the Royal Council. And men in the Royal Council surely must be statues in serving the king. You should do well to reflect your part too. “I’m glad you did, Sir Clarus. Gladio did mention that I should be expecting a visit from you sometime in the future.”

A curious light shines from within his granite grey eyes, a hand thoughtfully placed on his chin. He seemed to have not heard you at all. “…I must say, I wasn’t expecting to meet the controversial child of the Andronicus like this. Your existence had been a rumour, all this while.”

For you, it brings only the tritest of smiles. “Are you surprised, sir?” you say, all too aware of how he quirks a brow at your impudence. “I know how my father had repeatedly discredited me, just because I’m female. He has no plans to allow me to lead the House, but be rest assured I will.”

“Bear in mind, there is a fine line between confidence and arrogance. Confidence will take you to places beyond your imagination, but arrogance will only serve to narrow your vision,” Clarus warns, making neither distinct disproval nor approval at your proclamation. “I mean no offense, of course. From a simple glance, I can see nothing of Quintus in you. But your words cut just as sharp as his.” He pauses, seeking your eyes in a resolute stare, a predator staring down a prey. “You aspire to best your father and become the next Andronicus serving His Highness Prince Noctis, yes?”

Hearing Noctis’ name from Clarus’ lips brings back that same nausea from before, nausea blooming in your heart. He’s testing you, you realize. “Yes sir. And I won’t stop until I will be the next in line to serve His Highness. That has been my dream from the start.”

At this, Gladio makes a face, eyebrows perched high on his forehead.

Clarus, presumably used to his son and some of the many odd faces he’s artfully mastered through the years, chooses to ignore it. Though his movements are minute, each action is calculated, never an absent gesture. Eyes travel from Gladio to you, from Gladio’s stanch silence, to your squared shoulders. He is summing you up, finding you a place in his mind. A temporary residence, where you can easily fall if you failed his trust.

“I expect to see you during the Prince’s Coronation Ceremony when he is finally the 114th King of Lucis,” he finally says, allowing himself the slightest quirk of lips. Then, his choice of word sharpens with the slant of his frown. “Whatever it is that you are trying to do, you best avoid your father’s eyes. You and I both know how shrewd he can be at times. Sometimes the best course of action in war is to retreat and reorganize your strategy.”

Of course he would know, wouldn’t he?

Clarus Amicitia must’ve sat at the table over a dozen of times stomaching father’s arguments and refuting them in councils. Father assaults him verbally, and Clarus deflects them as the steely Shield of King Regis. Judging from the way he speaks of father, he doesn’t seem to regard him highly, though he refrains from voicing out such thoughts in concrete. Fortunately though, Clarus seems like a sound man who doesn’t pass his judgment from father to you in the very same way. And you’re thankful for small mercies like this, thankful that he doesn’t reject you for your father’s mistakes.

“Thank you, sir,” you incline your head in a respectful bow, one he accepts with a nod of his own. “Your advice is well-heeded.”

Clarus doesn’t smile at you. He doesn’t need to smile when his words carried his sincerity. After all, a smile can be easily faked; one that father had taught you over and over and over again. He bids his farewell, turning away. “I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors, young Andronicus. We will cross paths again, soon enough.” Gladio follows him to the door, but Clarus only lifts a hand to stop him. “No need to see me out, son. Who do you think owned this training room before you?”

To his credit, Gladio only crosses his arms as his father left with little flourish, seeing himself to the exit without waiting for a farewell. As the doors clicked shut, you can’t say you’re surprised when Gladio attacks your hair with his hand—one that left you batting his arm in desperation as he musses up your already scruffy hair, limp from sweat.

“Look at you, being all adult with my old man around,” he grunts, though there’s no malice in his teasing. “Good job for not pissing your pants talking to him.”

Clarus is intimidating, yes, but the random encounter isn’t all too bad. At least he genuinely offered you some advice instead of putting you down. You chalked it off to being lucky, since Gladio’s a nice man and his dad, however terrifying he may be, should be a reasonably nice man as well. “Your dad’s cool—but kinda scary,” you admit, bringing his barking laugh rounding your statement. “Just…don’t tell him that, okay? It’d totally ruin all the front I put up just now.”

“Depends on your next answer,” is all Gladio answers, amber eyes winking in mirth. “Think you can drop down and give me five reps of push-ups?”

Try as you might, you definitely did a poor job of hiding your grimace. Gladio definitely saw that, arms crossed over his chest with a huff, awaiting your reply. The short little break you took barely did anything for your muscles, but if Gladio wants it done, you suppose you could try—even if you fail halfway. With a sigh, you head to the training mat. “I guess…I can try. Just—don’t chew me out if I can’t finish it, please?”

Gladio only pats your back good-naturedly, following you as you drop down on the mat and shifting into position. “That’s more like it, at least you’re givin’ it a shot.”

You only barely resist the urge to roll your eyes at him. “Sometimes, I wish I don't.”

twenty and married, a fate worse than death. father trampled over your dreams once again, never caring if you had anything to say about it. a maid had shown up on your doorstep, one who refuses to meet your eyes as she mutedly dropped flimsy files on your desk, curtsying before she left. your treacherous fingers flipped through one of the dossiers, taking in the sight of a formal report with a passport photo stapled in the right hand corner. each file contained different pictures, different names, different information, yet they all bear the same trait: a man.

the knowledge sees your hand trembling, whether out of grief or rage, you aren’t certain.

this is father’s final slap to you: a choice you have to make, that is to select your own husband.

you make quick work of these dossiers, glancing through the eligible bachelors father had undoubtedly handpicked. they fall nothing short of a standard arranged marriage’s prerequisites: groomed handsomely, unparalleled intelligence, of acceptable height and weight and build, shortlisting their many talents and hobbies, detailing their age, current workplace, and their slew of achievements like trophies on a shelf. some wear their dark hair slicked back; others opted for a loosely trimmed touch, falling over their foreheads. some wore glasses, sharpening their overall appearance; others had eyes the sparkling colour of sea foams.

aether, flavian, icarus, scientia, xander.

proud men from distinguished families whom father saw fit to tame you.

you stomp out the urge to introduce these files to your fireplace, throwing them aside to be perused no longer. instead, you remove yourself from your desk, making your way to the television and switching it on. anything to get your mind off those things, off the thought of marriage, off the sight of men who’d hold you down and snatch the name of the andronicus for themselves. furiously flipping through the channels, past gossip talk shows, past cliché soap operas of poor girl meets young ceo and falls hopelessly in love, past music videos and blaring rock music, finally settling on crown broadcasting channel.

the newscaster, a peppy blonde in subdued makeup, prattles off three words per second as she’s already well underway a story. “—tigious day as prince noctis lucis caelum celebrates his sixteenth birthday in style at the caelum via. attending his birthday celebration is his majesty king regis—“

the scene transitions from the newsroom into a panning shot of a rooftop ceremony, all crisp glass and smooth silks hanging off the banisters, all bearing the royal crest of the lucis. it cuts into a voiceless shot of prince noctis interacting with guests, an aristocratic teenager clad in a bespoke suit of fine lines, receiving each and every hand with a smart shake or two. his bangs haven’t quite grown out yet, tapering in stunted spikes over his alabaster skin, and his deep blue eyes are too narrowed, too tensed to be enjoying this birthday celebration, but the imperfect image imprints itself in your mind all the same.

he isn’t ugly, no. he’s easily the most beautiful person you’ve ever seen, even if you are only going by the unfairly monochromatic pictures in the newspaper. yet, there’s something about his profile that strikes a chord in your heart.

he looks tired. he looks like he’s been run haggard for his own birthday. he looks like he’d rather be anywhere else than here. and he looks sad. but why is he sad, when he’s the prince and princes have everything they want in the world, and then some?

at sixteen, he looks like he’s suffering.

at sixteen, you are suffering.

sixteen and suffering. how awful. novels always made a big deal of being sixteen and how it marks the start of boyfriends and casual romances and a little fumbling in the sheets, but prince noctis doesn’t even look like he has the time to comb his hair. snatching the remote to switch off the TV with a click, you hold your face in your hands as you try to breathe. legs to your chest, toes curling into the cushion.

breathe in. breathe out.

here is the man you’ve been shaping your life after, but he doesn’t even know you exist.

how will he know, when you’ll be married at twenty?

NIGHT HAS LONG FALLEN OVER the city, shading skyscrapers in shadows. In your little chamber, you make yourself a thick mug of hot chocolate, sipping on the artificial sweetness to replenish your brain juice. After each training session, Gladio would always bring you back to your room, making sure you’re safely tucked inside your little box and messing up your after-shower hair. And, following his standard end-of-the-day statement, he’d always recite, “Same time tomorrow, lil’ lady,” before he retreats with a wave. It’s rather comforting to know he’s got your back if anything happens, though you don’t really know what to do with that knowledge for now.

Glossing over the documents in your Moogle Drive, you take another sip of your drink. A great many of the documents never made full sense to you, often containing jargons too complicated for you to understand lest you’re a scientist of Niflheim. Some seemed to be subject test reports on their monsters tubed in Fodina Caestino. Others aren’t any better, just full of codes and never a legible word. Unless you contracted external henchmen, say an underworldly character to decode this gibberish, you’re never going to get anywhere far. But the risks are high with these shady fellows, for their loyalty lies in those with deeper pockets.

It’s either that or those who have them on knifepoint all the time, you think to yourself, eyeing the scattered documents in your Drive.

With no new information coming from Byron, you’re still stuck trudging your way through these nightmarish creatures. Of course, he is never to be blamed for the shortage of information coming your way. This two-man show of yours suffered a great many shortcomings. Money is never an issue to you, thankfully, since father never trespassed into your bank accounts to see how you spent your allowances. While having enough money to silence a cop is undeniably handy, it isn’t the best currency to scout for the best talents in gathering information for something as dodgy as Niflheim.

Because, really, who wants to get involved with the Andronicus and Niflheim?

Even the hardiest of assassins would run ten kilometers northwards if they heard that.

The reputation surrounding the House of Andronicus is something much like a hardened stalagmite; built upon blood dripping over its foundation, culminating in a sharp peak in the end, sharp enough to rend flesh. These men weren’t written into history as paragons of Lucis. You know what they do: Exact justice all in the faith of keeping the kingdom safe, even if it sullied their hands. There are no grey areas in here: Everything is either white or black. White, for upholding the commandment and maintaining public safety; black, just to hide the bloodstains that inevitably come along with it. Kill whenever required, extort whenever needed, reconstruct the law whenever they saw fit. Your father is a man of sins from the very beginning, and there is no denying that you have left reddened footprints of your own too.

The sooner you unravel what the empire is building, the easier it’ll be for the prince in the long run.

And you know exactly what you have to do.

With a yawn, you chance a glance at your desktop clock. 10.26 p.m., already past the bedtime Gladio designated for your optimum rest. Sensing a well-rested night’s sleep already beyond salvation, you resign yourself to the usual standard of falling asleep on your worktable, dragging yourself to your cupboard, where your stacks of pillows await. You randomly select the one at the top, sinking in your chair once more, propping the pillow on your thighs. Hugging it like this as you sloughed your work is so comforting, especially with your nose pressed into the cotton and—

—oh.

You sit up abruptly, staring at your pillow.

It’s a different scent from the usual. Not worn cotton drained from sunshine, no. Something more of fancy soaps and chamberlain-laundered clothes, and a little bit of something else. You gingerly nosed your pillow again, marveling in the different smell. It’s something you’re familiar with, but it’s just different Familiar but different. How confusing. You smelled this before, not on your body, not on your bed, not on your clothes, but on someone. Someone whose clothes smelled exactly like this, coming into contact with your pillow. Someone lying on your comforters, someone sharing your sleep.

Noctis.

It’s his scent.

The nausea associated with his name comes back in full force; warmth washing over your cheeks, churning your tummy. He’d always smelled nice, you know that, but you never expected the scent from his clothes would transfer on your pillow. It’s a nice scent, clean with underlying notes of—you don’t know, himself, maybe? Whatever it is, and as creepy as it sounds like, the knowledge only serves to make you tighten your hold on the pillow, burying your face in it.

You’re okay to me, he said.

He saw you as an okay person, even when you stammered out your thoughts, tongue tripping, breath hitching in the night. How desperately you want to wield a whip. It's okay to him. How desperately you don’t want to be like your father. It's okay to him. How desperately you want to atone for your sins. It’s okay to him. How desperately you want and it’s still okay to him.

Teeth already littering bites on your lower lip, chin on the pillow, you hold it closer to your heart. Close, closer until each curve yields around your frame, holding you tight in return. If you think hard enough, you could recall how the flame danced from the tips of his fingers all the way to his palm. How scarlet melts into his skin and a clumsy smile on his lips, thoughtful enough to notice you’re cold all over. He listens, he stays, he encourages, he is everything you don’t deserve because you're a liar and a murderer and you’re sitting on a throne of bones with their skeletons shackling your ankles.

What if he leaves you when he knows how dirty you’ve become?

You should tell him what you are.

No. You shouldn’t tell him.

If he leaves now, he’ll destroy you. You’ve gone too far with wanting this time, farther than wanting mother and her musical memories. All the years you built around him, carefully constructing a castle around your prince, it’ll all crumble once he’s gone. All the months you spent with him, all for naught. No more trading texts in King’s Knight co-ops, no more sleepy afternoons slumbering together. He is the very foundation of your core, and you know that well enough not to let him leave. Because once he leaves, he’ll never come back for you.

Curling in on yourself, you hug the pillow tighter, inhaling deeply.

For now, it’s okay like this. It’s okay. It’ll be okay.

That’s what you’ve been telling yourself all this while, haven’t you?

You’ll be okay as long as he’s with you, as long as he stays.

He can’t leave. He won’t leave. He will never ever get the chance to leave.

A solitary beep shakes your phone awake, the screen lit by a notification. Your shoulders twitch at the sound, casting a discreet glance at the King’s Knight message box adorning the front. On any other normal day it’d be a promotional message from the developers, trying to entice players with limited-time events and bundle sets. This time around, things had been different these past few months. A text that’s not from the developers only meant one thing.

Slowly shaking yourself out of your stupor, you log into the game with a frown.

TO: THE ARCHITECT FROM: NOCTGAR SUBJECT: [none] MESSAGE: quick favour: what’s your number?

You blink owlishly, slowly digesting his message. That’s odd. Your number? What does he need it for? Silently praying it isn’t for anything urgent, you press in your reply.

TO: NOCTGAR FROM: THE ARCHITECT SUBJECT: Sorry. MESSAGE: Of course, here is my number.

After double-checking the digits, you hit send.

Some paranoid part of your mind yells at you to stay up for his next message—what if it’s something urgent after all? If he got caught up in some unsavoury part of the town and needed rescuing? No—that’s silly, firstly the prince is more than capable to fend for himself, and secondly, Ignis would be on his speed dial for emergencies. Which begs the question once more: What’d he need your number for? You rock back and forth nervously in your chair, staring at the message with your heart racing and debating whether or not to send another message to Noctis—only to have your screen blurring out into a call. With your phone hooked up to your computer, you could very well see that it’s not an ordinary call with your phone to your ear; it’s a video call linked through Moogle Ring.

Before you manage to listen to some rational part of your head counseling you to reject the call, your itchy fingers scramble for the bright green button. Your desktop pixels out into a dimmer, blurrier image with an all-too familiar voice echoing, “Hey.”

Somewhere in the background, a little bit off to the right, a spot of yellow chirps. “Woah—hey! Hey hey hey!”

It takes a moment for the connection to stabilize and iron out all pixilation, but once it does, you’re treated to a lovely sight: Noctis and Prompto, two heads at two different ends, the prince to your left, and the blond to your right. They’re both hunched over a table, books spread haphazard, looking equally exhausted with faint dark accents under their eyes. You try to ignore how your heart lurches a little when Noctis meets your eyes, but you can’t deny a corner of your lips quirking upwards. It makes you hide your face in the pillow, breathing softly.

It smells like him here, right where you are.

Ah. You shouldn’t like it this much, but you do.

“Hey guys,” you finally work up the courage to summon a little wave, though you still hide part of your face behind the pillow. “Uh.” This is something new, something you haven’t done before. What should you say during video calls? They’re not physically here, but the prince is here, staring right at you. Best to get down to business, just so you don’t have to hide your face behind this pillow. “I—well—why’d you guys call? Did something happen?”

“Nah, figured you’d be busy,” Noctis waves you off, the pen in his hand drawing abstract patterns in the air, “’cause you’re always busy.”

“Yeah, when are you not busy anyway?” Prompto chuckles good-naturedly, leaning forward. His voice echoes through what seems to be a living room, though you’re not sure where they are. Noctis’ apartment, maybe? “We both kinda have to stay up for tonight to get rid of this pesky assignment due tomorrow,” he stops to heave a theatrical sigh, “so do you wanna stay up too? Y’know, just the three of us, the Midnight Trio?”

Noctis makes an amused noise in the back of his throat, throwing the blond a half-grin. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“She doesn’t sleep—and you and me, buddy, we both aren’t gonna get any sleep tonight.” Prompto shrugs, snatching a canned drink off-camera, taking a swig out of it. “Makes sense, yeah?”

Hearing their typical banter between each other stirs a bit of laughter in you, and the sound has them turning to you with questioning eyes. Noctis still wears that half-grin as he studies you, though you don’t know if it’s still for Prompto, or. Well. For you. Thinking about it has your nausea bubbling like a pot on the stove, so you duck your head and try not to mind the warmth seizing your cheeks, your neck.

Surely you could stay up a little and keep them company as they battle their avalanche of assignments. Give them a bit of a pointer here and there, a silly banter to keep the mood light, easy, less sleepy. And you could certainly use the opportunity to look through the documents you put off earlier as they suffer through their paper, making good use of your time. Already knowing what’s your answer when you’ve started making excuses for yourself, you lick your dry lips and muster a nod at the expectant duo.

“Makes a whole load of sense to me,” you agree, making Prompto hoot and fist-pump the air. “Gimme a sec, okay? I’ll just go and make myself some coffee real quick.”

“Be sure to make a whole jug of ‘em,” Prompto’s voice follows you as you deposit the pillow on your chair, ushering yourself to your kitchenette. “’cuz we’re partying all night tonight, woohoo!”

You hear Noctis snorting Prompto’s way, the sound of a pen clattering on the table echoing loudly through your room. “Party tonight, funeral tomorrow if we don’t finish this up, yeah?”

“Talk about a mood killer, Noct, sheesh. Okay, okay, let’s focus on getting this stupid intro out of the way first. Where’d you stop?”

“At the index.”

“…dude, you didn’t even start yet?”

You know you’re laughing again because the sulk is dead obvious in Prompto’s voice, reaching for a canister of coffee Byron tucked somewhere in the cupboard overhead. Standing here like this, boiling some water and preparing coffee—a whole jug of it, as per Prompto’s helpful advice, you can’t help but to smile as you liberally doused the dark concoction in creamers and sugars.

Friends are beautiful: They make you forgo your sleep, just to keep them company.

XIX flowering: the heart of a king

YOU LOVE HIM.

He knows you do.

He flicks a gaze where you stand in a blue wave of sylleblossoms, your hand outstretched, balancing a dragonfly on your fingertips. Your expression is soft, glassy, your hair floating almost ethereally in the breeze. The mesmeric melancholy on your face draws him in, closer and closer until three stalks separate you and him. In this field, you are a free soul, bounding through crests of blossoms with the paper petals kissing your calves. Watching you wade through this sea of flowers, clutching a fistful of stalks with limpid heads of sylles, a smile on your face.

He reaches for you, fingers chasing after your shadows.

Only, the breeze whips around you, around him, scattering petals to the skies, thwarting him.

Between the snatches of blues, you cradle the blossoms to your breasts, eyes cut to sultry halves. There’s something hypnotic in the way the corners of your lips lift; you know he’s there, he knows you’re making a show out of it. Hands bring the sylleblossoms to veil your face, wispy blues hiding the pale pink of your lips. Eyes lidded low, coy. The sight is just enough to whisk warm flares in his belly and he is acutely aware of his intense need to cradle your cheek in his palm, thumbing your eyelids, just to taste the flower on your lips.

The first step he takes has him crushing a sylle under his foot. The earth is cool and moist beneath him, and the broken blossom dies between his toes. He doesn’t stop; he crushes a second one. Leaving behind a swathe of devastation, injuring the sylleblossoms with his every step, but he stops at nothing until he paves a road of death to you.

Here you stand before him, cradling the sylles when it should be him in your arms. He doesn’t want that.

His hand curls into your wrist tight enough to break your hold on the blossoms, scattering them in the little space between you and him. No, there shouldn’t be any space separating you two anymore. He doesn’t want that either. He wants you under him, so he tucks an arm around your midriff and pushes you to the ground, breaking your fall. He’s draped over you, falling in all the right nooks and crannies of your body as if you’re made for him, fitting him in all the ways he wants you to. On this bed of blossoms, hair fanning your face, you twist your head aside, teeth catching on your bottom lip.

Noctis. So good to me.

Hearing his name colours his vision in red.

All at once, your palm rests in his, with his tongue running over your little digits. These are the hands that feed him. These are the hands that love him. These are the hands that make him live. Each swipe of his tongue is reverent, worshipping your existence. He’s mesmerized with the way you tip your head back, the way you’re whimpering Noctis Noctis Noctis in fragments from your lips, the red in his eyes running over the reds on your cheeks. Your quiet little sounds are hungry with want, and he makes sure to return your show with his own as he licks a wet stripe from the heel of your palm to the tip of your index, nipping oh-so gently at the end.

Noctis, I want.

He knows you want. He wants too.

He sucks on your ring finger, getting a reaction more vocal than before, relishing in how hot you’ve become under him. Like a fevered flush leaving you delirious, all eager, all needy, all for him. You’re his. All his. And all that is his should be marked. His teeth circle the base of your finger and sink deep into your flesh, hard enough to leave imprints. You whine—Gods, a high-pitched noise that goes straight to the burning pit low in his belly, but you don’t resist because you love it, you love the pain, you love whatever it is he does to you. He releases you with a wet pop, licking his lips, leaning back just to admire the art he made.

A ring of teeth marks, just for you.

Noctis, I.

He loves you. You know he does.

Noctis knows, even when he disentangles himself from his sheets, that his throat is tight and he feels sick, but he too knows he’s just a man left on his knees, waiting for your hands to crown his hair.

MOST OF THE TIME, the prince is too busy to show up to practice sessions with Gladio. You kind of get that, since the final semester always hits the hardest. His little video call days ago proved how much him and Prompto were suffering, cramming as many words as they can in a single Word document before rolling the pencil to decide who’s proofreading the entire mumbo-jumbo. It’s a little bit sad too, you realized with a sip of your coffee at 3.48 a.m., that Noctis might be dying from caffeine overdose when he cracks open yet another can of energy drink to prep himself since he lost the roll.

As their senior—well, kind of senior, albeit clearly majoring differently from their course—you kindly shouldered the burden of proofreading instead. You’ve never heard Prompto bawling in relief and hailing you as their newfound savior, though it’s a little bit exaggerated and embarrassing to be regarded in such saintly light. Noctis only slurs a quiet thanks before he drops on his textbooks, sleep-heavy eyes just waiting to be laid to rest.

Quickly rectifying whatever jargon they misused, formatting the assignment for improved readability, and redoing their appalling citations from a scratch, it was only past five that you could resend the document for them to print and staple alongside other assortments. The call ended anticlimactically with a Prompto passing out on the couch and a sluggish Noctis yawning out another thanks, hand absently scratching his neck.

Poor boys. Suffering is part and parcel of university life, and nobody graduates without losing some part of their sanity. Or a huge chunk of hair, whichever comes first.

“Come on, milady, pull yourself together.”

Right now though, there are more pressing matters in hand. You squint at the whip, willing it to go away. “Uh. Trying.” It doesn’t budge an inch. “Trying.”

Byron is as unimpressed as ever. “Well then, try harder.” His gloved hands gesture at the entirety of the languid weapon all curled up on the hardwood, its segmented handle braided in leather, and the notched tail of blades resembling the jagged edges of a human spine. “Surely if the rest of the Crownsguard and Kingsglaive could do it, you can’t afford to disappoint them.”

You could only frown at the whip. That’s easy for him to say since he’s not the one trying to work the prince’s magic. “Trying harder.” The accursed whip still doesn’t budge, stubborn bastard. “Yeah—still trying, in case you haven't noticed.”

“Unless you’re trying to scare the whip with your glaring, whatever it is you’re trying, it’s not working at all.” At this point, even Byron looks like he’d rather do it himself had Noctis blessed him with magic—much like how he grows exasperated every time you do something either too slow or too imperfect for his liking. “Come now milady, remember what Nyx told you? Electricity. Magic is like electricity. Even Gladio demonstrated how he kept that trunk of a sword—surely that electric magic had something to do with the disappearance, like shorting the metal into molecules or something.” His expression falls for a split second. “Well. What was it that he said again?”

He’s not doing a very good job at lecturing you if he can’t even remember what Gladio said in the first place, and you’re pretty sure that’s not how physics and chemistry work at the same time. You sigh, rolling your shoulders in an attempt to work out a grand strategy in your ticking head. “He said to visualize a room, like you’re trying to put something in it. And taking it out is like removing the stuff,” you condense the whole speech, finding that it makes lesser sense the more you think about it. “I dunno, Byron. His Highness said it’s kind of like a room too. A weapon room, I guess?”

“I believe the word you’re looking for is armoury,” he supplies, murky eyes settling uncomfortably on you. It’s one of those expressions that says he’s disappointed in you, but he’s willing to see this out until the very bitter end. “Let’s try again from the top: Put your hand on the handle and reach out to the magic. Let it beckon you.”

Byron, coaching you on magic? When he knows nothing of it? Unbelievable. Yet his face is clean from laughter, not a twitch of an eyebrow whatsoever, and if you didn’t know any better, he could actually pass as some legit magic instructor from Harry Potter. On days Gladio can’t train you personally, he enlists Byron’s help in watching over you—codename for babysitting, really, though you don’t appreciate getting hawked like this. You’d rather have Gladio punishing you with ten push-ups for your ineptitude than getting served by Byron’s tongue.

Biting the inside of your mouth, you almost wrap your hand around the handle—until your phone beeps inside your pocket, and then you find yourself wrapping your hand around the device instead.

Byron only raises a slim eyebrow in disproval. He doesn’t say anything about your newfound addiction. He knows a vain effort when he sees one.

Ever since Noctis asked for your number, exchanging text messages on King’s Knight moved to an appropriate channel, one that actually sees you using your phone for proper communication. Texting is the only way for you to reach him, not to mention it’s the easiest method too. You trade texts with him on a daily basis now, reminding him to wake up earlier on Mondays and Wednesdays, keeping him company through lectures that are drier than Leiden landscapes, and snorting through late night video calls with caffeine-fuelled Prompto while they battle through three stacks of project papers.

This time, things aren’t any different as you give a cursory glance through the message.

busy?

Judging from the eyebrow permanently raised on Byron’s forehead, you toss him an apologetic smile, thumbs automatically keying in a reply.

Trying to make my whip disappear. Not working. Send help.

Another beep brings another message from the prince. It has Byron’s other eyebrow joining its friend up there, forming a bridge. You wince, hastily getting your job done, readying to banish your phone far far far away where you can’t reach it.

lol good luck

Meanie. Gonna head back to practice now, Byron’s grilling me with his eyes.

wait.

You take a moment to mouth Byron’s way, prince said wait, and the look he gives you aptly sums up whatever he thinks of Noctis in these three months. Still, he doesn’t stop you other than to mimic an unapologetically texting schoolgirl, sassing you by flipping his braid from his shoulder, one that has you rolling your eyes and turning back to Noctis’ message.

wait. you busy this weekend?

You look up from nosing your phone, resting your elbows on your knees, wearing the deepest frown that Niflheim surely couldn’t even pull from you. “Am I busy this weekend, Byron?”

“Please don’t tell me he’s asking you out,” he deadpans. You shrug, clearly having no idea what this is about, and he makes the most distressed sound ever in the back of his throat, the kind that sounds like it belongs on the wildlife channel. “Six help me. He’s going to ask you out.”

Is he? Somehow, that particular thought has you wetting your lips contemplatively, thinking of a reply witty enough to best Byron. Nothing comes. All you’re left with is Byron’s judgmental staring, complete with his arms squared across his chest, and the prince’s message on your phone. Neither of that solves your question, so you readily assume your weekend is free from disturbances, free enough for you to enjoy your time together with Noctis if he does ask you out.

Should be. Why?

specs’s birthday is coming up and i wanna get him something. come with me.

Ignis’ birthday is coming up?

You perk up, offering your phone to your babysitter, who’s already well underway dissecting every single sentence Noctis sent to you. “He said Ignis’ birthday is coming up. We need to get him something special.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that he’s still asking you out,” says Byron, already lifting your phone and examining the messages in different angles of light as though it’d unveil some sort of secret subtext inked in lemon juice. “But yes, I must confess, I’m rather fond of my alter-ego. Go ahead and ask the prince if he’s throwing a birthday party for the man. I imagine he’d rather like the thought, since it doesn’t look like the Prince appreciates him much.”

Ignis is Byron’s alter-ego? What a disturbing notion. Still, you don’t get the chance to pursue the conversation with your phone handed back to you, so your steady thumbs press in Byron’s demands.

Sure. By the way, are you throwing a party for Ignis?

nah, but prom wants that party tho lol

Relaying the message to Byron has him wearing the ghastliest disproval on his face, eyes blown wide and mouth twisting in obvious displeasure. “What? No birthday party for the poor man?” he spits out, clearly baffled with what Noctis is planning. “Hand me that phone, milady, I must correct this problem right away. And no,” he cuts you off the moment you’re fighting to keep your phone from him and failing, “you won’t stop me from throwing a party for him.”

Unsure of what to expect from this dramatic turn of conversation, you hang by the sidelines as Byron presses your phone to his ear. His fingers tap a methodical melody on the hardwood, impatiently waiting for the prince to pick up. Once your butler gets into this mode, not a single soul succeeds in telling him otherwise—Gods know you tried and died. And you’re not about to sacrifice yourself again like some martyr because you’ve seen the things Byron is capable of.

The moment Noctis picks up—or so you assumed, Byron opens his mouth, only to shut it with a click.

You nervously wet your throat with a gulp. Oh boy.

Seconds later, Byron’s eyebrows are hiking his forehead with an air of utter disgust. “Don’t use that deep sexy tone on me, young man, it’s obviously not going to sweep me off my feet,” he starts, clicking his tongue in disdain. You somewhat wonder what qualifies as a ‘deep sexy tone’ coming from Noctis, though the question remains unanswered when Byron tuts. “No. I’m not sorry for disappointing you, I’m not her. Now, enough with this pointless prattle, I’ve come to make my demands.”

More chatter coming from Noctis has you pitching your ears for any stray sounds.

Verdict: None.

“I hear you’re not throwing Ignis a birthday party,” he says, examining his fingernails, running a thumb over them. “As a manservant who clearly understands what it feels like to be unappreciated,” he eyeballs you, to which you launch a well-timed kick on his knee, one he counters with a warning smack to your ankle, “I’d like to remind you that Ignis Scientia is a fine man who probably does it all for you while you sit around and stuff yourself silly. Therefore, he more than deserves a party for his birthday.”

Another hum of silence, and Byron narrows his eyes at your phone.

Your stomach roils at the sudden stress.

“As far as I’m concerned, there is no royal decree preventing me from having his number,” he sighs, long and weary. “If it bothers you so much – oh, this is getting silly, we only exchange recipes and cleaning tips. Dull manservant stuffs a prince like you shouldn’t be concerned with. Nobody likes a jealous boyfriend, Noctis, you best keep that in mind for your next relationship.”

This is a disaster.

You know you can’t do anything but to internally cheer the prince to weather it through.

“Mhmm. Mhmm. Yes, thank you for getting back on track,” Byron lazily drawls. To you, he nods Noctis’ way and mouths kids these days as you submit a mental email to the Astrals to ask what you’ve done to deserve this nightmare. Probably a whole bunch of things starting with murder, that’s for sure. “Ah, all right, 7th February? Lovely date for a lovely man like him. 3.00 p.m.? Your apartment? And where exactly is your – huh, all right, settle down please, don’t shout. Do text milady the address later on.”

At this point, you wonder if you can attune the entire floor to Noctis’ armoury just so it’d suck you away from this place.

Byron, fortunately, doesn’t seem to notice your dead-eyed resignation to your fate. “See? That wasn’t so bad, you and I manage to have a civil conversation after all—oh,” he stops, lowering your phone to examine your blackened screen, amused. “He hung up on me. The nerve.”

You bury your face in your hands, rubbing your throbbing temples while you’re at it. It could’ve gone much worse, so you’re thankful for small mercies. At least Byron didn’t go completely off-tangent like a grandma next door. “Uh…on the bright side, I guess we now know Ignis’ birthday’s on 7th,” you murmur dryly. “Now we can get to work planning a party for him. Good job, Byron.”

“We? Did I hear that right?” he echoes, dusting his hands on his thighs, getting up from the floor. You crane your head to scrutinise the odd curve settling in the corner of his lips, and he returns it with excessive flair to the sweep of his bow, rising partway to shoot you a salute. “No, not we, milady, only me. You, on the other hand, have a whip to attune. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some shopping to be done.”

And he’s off, strutting towards the exit in a sashay that belongs on a catwalk runway.

You can’t help but to slump against the wall, defeated. “That’s so unfair,” you whine, causing your butler to throw his head back with a laugh that echoes through the training hall, a hand on the doorknob. “How come you get to go shopping and I don’t?”

“Oh, milady,” he turns on his heels, wearing a smile both deceptive and insincere in nature, “you have a date to prepare this Saturday, am I right? I can’t simply commit the sin of letting you wear last season’s fashion statements. I’ll be sure to find something suitable for your little outing. Floral patterns are all the rage these days.”

You’re definitely not buying that snide smile of his. “That’s just some fancy excuse ‘cause you just wanna go shopping, don’t you?”

Byron’s only answer is another heavy laugh, full with mirth. “I’ll text Nyx to replace me in light of this unexpected circumstance.” With a little cheery wave, scarlet eyes glittering beneath his bangs, he heaves the doors shut. “Goodbye, milady!”

Wood meets wood with a bang, silence goes sssssss from the air-conditioning, and you’re all alone with this whip. So much for a butler, goodbye indeed.

PALE SUNLIGHT FILTERS THROUGH cotton curtain, mellow rays diffusing in his dim room. Phone tossed aside, on the edge of his bed. His sheets smell like dried sweat, the air stagnant. It’s probably past eleven and he should be up for a replacement class slotted during lunch break, but all he does is to cover his face with his hand, eyes scrunched shut. At the backs of his eyelids you stand, hugging sylleblossoms the same way you hug a pillow.

The longer he looks at the love slackening your habitual indifference, the more he wants to brush his knuckles over your lips. The smaller the smiles gracing your face, the more he wants to kiss you to make it widen. The harder you fight back with whines too wanton and heart too giddy, the more he wants to pin you in place how one pins a butterfly to a corkboard.

It’s sick.

He’s sick.

A million and one questions harried his thoughts; how did it start, when did this happen, what should he do, but all he does is to kick off the sheets tangling his ankles, palm digging in the depression of his eyeball.

His cock had been straining heavy and full against his abdomen and it’s an ache he can rid in seconds with a few rapid strokes—Gods, that’s how fucked up he’s gone, but the thought of delving his hands in his pants, to desecrate his image of you—it’s something he can’t do. It’s disgusting. He’s disgusting. Prince Noctis pining over a girl in his disgusting desperation, venting out his frustration only in his dreams. Tabloids would salivate over the scandalous headlines, plastering it in bold all across Insomnia.

He wants to claw it all out, everything, starting from his careless curiosity of The Ghost in the Citadel, all the way to the weak curl of your spine as you mouth thank youfor the scant few words he uttered under the stars. Restart fresh from a scratch, forgoing all the hellos and goodnights and fencing you from a distance, keeping this on a professional level Ignis would approve. He’ll ascend as the 114th King of Lucis, reforming his father’s council into one of his own, one with his best friends and comrades—Ignis, Prompto, and Gladio—installed in their rightful positions.

And you, whatever it is you want to do, he’ll set you free.

No longer bound to the Andronicus and their antediluvian rules, you’re free to roam the lands after throwing a dart to the globe. Quintus will never set his hands on you, he’ll make sure of that, he’ll promise. It’s the least he can do, out of the many things you did for him.

Still, why does the thought raise an urge to retch? Jealousy, that is an ugly emotion he hasn’t felt in the years following his dad’s retreat. A primal urge to keep you with him, never with anyone else. Nobody separates you and him, nobody takes you away from him, nobody leaves him alone anymore. He hates it, hates how weak he feels when he sets his thoughts straight—but what can he do when it’s what he wants? You gave him whatever he needed no matter how meagre you had; you acknowledge his strengths and never once ridiculed him, you embraced his weaknesses and offered your shoulder instead.

He wants it all.

Wants all the time you spent on him, wants all the laughs you gave him, wants all the smiles you left him, wants your eyes fixed on him forever.

He craves you, that’s what it is.

Tossing on his mattress with a groan, Noctis rubs a hand over his clothed cock in an attempt to will it away. He’s so fucking hard since he woke up, it’s starting to hurt real bad. A damp spot’s already on the front of his sweatpants and he’s sticky all over. He needs to rub one out, that’s the best remedy to cure any stubborn erection, coming like it’ll purge him of his sins on any other day. On his bed or on the shower walls, whichever’s the closest release he can get.

Or maybe on your lips as you smile your glassy-eyed smile, his hand around your neck, painting your tongue in streaks of white.

Fuck, his cock twitches at the thought of debauching you in your whole. He’s venturing into the dangerous territory where reality blurs behind his fantasies, burning down all the bridges he’s crossed just to get to your side. His toes curl in the sheets when a hand subconsciously grabs his cock, already rutting into the callused roughness of his palm. It hurts, still dry for him to ride it out like this, but he’s too far gone to even give a shit where he’s heading even if it’s headlong into destruction.

His cockhead’s beading at the slit, angry red and peeking from the hem of his elastic, and the waft of cool air brushing over his over-sensitized skin has him biting his lip to keep it down. Fuck, he hasn’t even locked the door in case Ignis walks in, but fuck, you like littering bites on your bottom lip, don’t you? He’s learnt how you seem to chew on your lip when you’re thinking—it only makes him want to yank your mouth to his just so he’d introduce you to his teeth.

The slight slick from his precum makes things easier but not necessarily less brutal with the wild pace he’s set, thumbing at the head and smearing it all over his cock for makeshift lube. He grunts into his pillow, bangs in his eyes, that familiar coil taut and ready to burst in his belly. He’s fucked up in the head from your smile, he’s fucked up in the head for your mouth, he’s fucked up for you. There’s no turning back from being friends when he’s already shoving his cock down your throat in his foggy mind, hand holding the back of your head and letting you choke around his mouthful of cock and cum.

Oh, fuck, his hand is a poor substitute for your throat convulsing weakly around his leaking length, but he’s got nothing else than the you living in his head, making sweet little sounds like you worship his cock the same way you worship his existence. Noctis bites into his pillow with a groan when he pulls out of your messy mouth, rubbing his saliva-slick cock on your hot and wet tongue, savouring the way you wait on your knees for him to come all over you. He grits his teeth when the indulgent thought is one that shamefully tips him over the edge, snapping the tight coil in his belly and spurting warmth over his torso.

He’s done it now.

Fuck.

No turning back.

Coming down from the euphoric high of release has him panting harshly through his mouth, gulping in oxygen fast enough to replace the vacancy in his lungs. Cum cooling on his sweaty skin, fatigue settling in his muscles. The unmistakable scent intermingling with his stale bedroom air. Vision blurring, head heavy. Once he salvages the lasts of his thoughts before his illusions took over, the aftermath of his actions has Noctis reeling backwards in three parts shame and one part anger. Shame on him for succumbing to primal reactions when he defiles you into a slave of his, angry with himself for thinking about you in that way. His fingers are sticky when he stretches them to the ceiling, examining them with hooded eyes.

He knows.

He knows he’s officially gone off the rails when he first saw you sleeping without a care in the world, vulnerable, pure, weak on your white sheets.

He’s just prolonging the inevitable, isn’t he?

Swallowing the pathetic sounds he nearly makes, Noctis swipes his dirty hand clean on the sheets and twists to his side, curling up. Ridding the evidence rids him none of his guilt. The heat of his skin abates, but the throb of his heart doesn’t. Class is starting soon and he needs to pack up all his textbooks to sit through Modern Managerial for two hours and a half on an empty stomach unless he whips up some oatmeal to replace Ignis’ hearty breakfasts but all he wants to do is to call in sick and pass it off for some over-exhaustion from burning himself through a whole damn month just to cover up the fact that he jerked off to some lewd thoughts of his friend.

Scratch that. You’re not his friend. He doesn’t deserve to call himself your friend.

What kind of friend is he anyway? The shittiest, lowest kind. The kind that’d fuck your mouth with your head to the wall, that’s what. The kind that’d press his fingers over your ribs like a pianist over his keys, memorising the erotic way you shudder under him. The kind that wants to substitute your pillows just so you’d hold him instead. Exactly the shittiest, most fucked up kind of friend.

Swallowing his dry throat, Noctis tips his head on his flattened pillow and stares at the ceiling.

He needs to get his shit together, and fast.

Fast enough before he does something he can’t undo.

WEEKEND COMES WITHOUT MUCH FANFARE, putting Byron in a mood too good to be true. He hums, he bobs his head to some catchy pop tunes he Moogled on your computer, he even does a little backwards walk on the mopped marble. You find it cute that he’s jittery like he’s the one with a full weekend when you’re the one who stepped out of the shower smelling like crushed sugar, towelling your damp hair absently, ready to go out for the week.

As you plug in the hairdryer and blasted hot dry air, raking fingers through your locks to detangle knots, Byron sneaks into your room to stare at your reflection in the vanity. “You do realise this is a date, right?” he crosses his arms over his chest, eyes narrowing. “As in, not the friendly sort of date. A date date.”

“I wouldn’t call it a date,” you retort mulishly, angling the hairdryer from the drying tips and steadily working it up the length of your hair. “We’re both going out to get Ignis his birthday present.” At Byron’s pensive staring, you find it appropriate to bolster your argument with more defense. “You’re really overthinking things, Byron. Stop that. It doesn’t matter anyway, not with the way things are.”

Given the time, Byron’s persistence rivals a cockroach; it’s no wonder the two won’t get along before Byron winds up cutting the critter into two. He all but rummages through your closet, withdrawing purchases from days earlier that are still packaged in paper bags. “But you’re alone with him. It’s a date.” He makes it a point to stare in your eyes, nodding solemnly. “Your very first date, mind you.”

Technically, it’s not your first date, is it? If you follow his judgment on the matter, this makes it your third date. With your hair sufficiently dried, you switch off the device and set it aside, dropping on the vanity’s velvet stool. “He might bring Prompto along,” you offer, carefully putting your thoughts together. “Because, y’know, the more the merrier. Prompto probably didn’t have the time to put together a present for Ignis too, since they were all chasing deadlines these past few days.”

Emotionally-challenged Byron casually cocks a brow. “Then it’s a threesome.”

You give Byron a look. “Am I going to get one of those birds and bees lecture from you again? I’m not sure I wanna relive that trauma right now.”

“Milady, you need to realise that you’re at that age where men will find you incredibly ravishing.” He sighs, introducing his palm to his forehead. You make a face at the word because who even uses ravishing at this day and age anyway? “I saw that, don’t make that face at me, young lady,” he warns, clicking his tongue. “I was once twenty, all right? I know what boys think when they see a pretty lady walking down the streets.”

“Then make me unpretty.” You shrug, sorting through your comb and clips stowed in the drawer, deciding between a bejewelled claw and a fuss-free ribbon. “That solves all issues, doesn’t it?”

Byron sighs for what seems to be the umpteenth time in ten minutes, resting his head against the cupboard like he gave up on life. Or on you. Both sounds tempting. “It’s hard to devalue a work of art like you, milady. Even if I wrap you in last season’s Dior, you are still Mona Lisa hanging in the Royal Lucis Museum.”

“And what’s wrong with last season’s Dior again?” you roll your eyes at his dramatization, combing sections through your hair and scrutinizing your reflection, wondering what’s the best way to go about looking casual but not too casual—somewhere in between? Like you’re trying to look presentable, but not trying too hard. “It’s not a date, trust me.”

“You’d be very surprised at how fast this entire thing is turning into a cliché,” he points out, shuffling through flimsy chiffons in Hermes and pairing it up with some stiff pleated skirt from LV. He recoils at his disastrous matchmaking, sets down the two items, and picks through a bagful of Comme des Garçons instead. “Girl says it’s not a date, boy thinks it’s a date, they both go out together, and somewhere along the way,” he wrinkles his nose, “girl falls for boy, they kiss by the sunset, and go home to make out. Awful cliché, don’t let your romance suffer through the same predictable path. I’d rate your movie 1.5 out of 10 if that’s the case.”

You try your very best to remember why he’s your butler again. Right, some sort of contracted family deal from ages back, probably dating all the way to Solheim. “Just—can we drop this topic? I’m just hanging out with him, we both like the same things, and I’m expected to serve under his council somewhere in the future. Don’t set us up.”

Byron examines a floral YSL piece printed in pastels, holding it up to the sunlight. “Milady, he looks at you like a constipated man finding an empty stall in the public washroom. You’re the love of his life, the one he needs, in case you don’t understand my analogy.”

You do—just that it’s probably not the best one he’s come up with. “Uh. Doesn’t sound like a compliment, but I totally appreciate the sentiment all the same. Very Byronesque, as expected.”

Byron finds it appropriate to ignore you. “Noctis does seem like an awkward young prince who has little to no experience in love, given his sheltered circumstances. He’s like you—except, he’s the prince. So it’s understandable why he latches on to you the moment you show signs of accepting him for who he is. You and him are two halves of a moon, completing one another.” He holds up a plain sundress scalloped in sheer lace, thin straps crisscrossing down the back, and nods at the satisfactory shift of your expression. Then he kneels to sift through Manolo, trying to pop some colour on his overall co-ord for the day. “He’s a classic textbook fool on falling in love—trust me, I’m a man, I know what I’m talking about.”

You open your mouth to retort—only, your mouth is dry.

His ruddy eyes dart from the strappy wedges to your brooding face in a split second, turning back to his task once more. The corners of his lips are upturned, smug. It’s an answer enough. “What about you, milady? What do you think of him?”

Your nails cut crimson crescents in your palm.

Ignis’ birthday is next week. It’ll mark a full four-month friendship with Noctis, toeing the start of a fifth month in the making.

Four months passed since he showed up demanding your name, eating through your cereal and playing through King’s Knight with a Revenant weapon. He introduced you to the personification of a chocobo who photographs loads of things as he worked through part-times in hopes of saving enough for a Lokton. His Shield, on the other hand, puts you through the wringer by adding punishing reps to your regimen, gruff voice calling you lil’ lady. And his Advisor is a piece of work amiable enough to carry a conversation, yet distant enough to remain an enigma skirting your life.

What was it like without the prince?

Listening through mother’s tracks on your computer, Debussy making itself a home in your heart. Talking to the walls, talking to the books, talking to Byron, talking to yourself in front of the mirror. Mother’s hands never left your neck, her glossy fingernails raking your skin in welts. Insomnia is your pretty glass globe and Niflheim wants to shake it in its hands, stirring snowstorms in its wake. It was cold. It was lonely. You were cold and lonely.

Then Noctis came along and you forgot what it felt like to sleep alone.

You know what it is. You always do.

“I like him.”

And Byron’s smile turns bitter. “I know.”

You like him, you know you do. How can you not like the person who defended your rights against father, who wanted you like you wanted him? You purse your lips, turning away. “But you know how we are—you know how I am. He doesn’t know anything about me, about us, about mother, about father. I can’t possibly tell him—“

“Milady, does he need to know?” he interjects, sitting on his haunches. At your wordless silence, eyes uncertain, Byron clears his throat and tries again. “What I’m trying to say is, I’m certain King Regis remains unaware of what exactly the Andronici do. We may be nobles, but we are tied deeply to the underworld. The police, the mobs, the gangs, the yakuza—they are all under the Andronicus’ thumb. If His Majesty knows what your father, your grandfather, your great-grandfather, and the rest of your ancestors had done to keep Insomnia safe, I’m sure he’ll have a hard time trying to convict Quintus of anything without crippling everything.”

He words it as though he’s putting a finger on your lips just so you won’t tell anyone who ate the last cookie.

But Byron never minces his meaning.

Taking a deep breath, you mutter, “So…you’re saying I should continue keeping this whole thing a secret until my death.”

It isn’t a question. It’s a statement met with Byron’s approving nod. He brings the dress and the sandals together with him, dropping them in a hapless heap by your feet. Always reverent, always your dog, he kneels with his hands resting on your knees, tipping his chin to admire you like he always does.

“Ignorance is bliss, or so they say,” he chuckles low, warm breath fanning over your cheeks. Just like this, his fingers card through your hair, tucking stray locks behind your ear, thumbing your cheekbone. Sunlight brings out the blood in his pale irises, thick lashes curtained partway. “Milady, I do want to see you happy. I truly do. But these past few months have taught me that I can’t make you happy the way he does. If your happiness lies with Noctis, so be it, I’ll continue fighting to keep the smile you learnt from him.”

Happiness is subjective.

Happiness is when you hold a brand new video game in your hands, waiting to be played. Happiness is when King’s Knight gets patched with a new update, and you’d roll over in bed as you scuffled through the stages. Happiness is when Byron drops by with a new book, babbling about his latest reading recommendation and how you should read it too. Happiness is when mother sits at the piano, her elegant fingers pressing the ivory keys to produce a hymn only the Astrals could’ve bestowed, her eyes closed, eyelashes fluttering. Happiness is when King Regis’ letter finally came, freeing you from the shackles within.

And happiness is when you are here with him.

With Noctis.

Byron’s sincerity brings tears to your eyes, but they don’t fall down your cheeks—they never do anymore, ever since you eviscerated your innards to rid your feelings. Yet, his reverence tightens your throat, seizes your voice. You choke up.

He only runs his fingers over your wet eyelashes, grazing against your unshed tears. You draw his head to your chest, scrunching your eyes shut at the feel of his cheek resting on your collarbones. Hunching over like this, all balled up with Byron by your side again, you are aware of how insignificant you are without him. On your own, you would’ve slit your wrists in the tub, letting clear waters run red, letting the Andronicus end with you.

Byron gathers you in his arms, rubbing loose circles between your shoulder blades. His words are a soothing thrum against your neck, breathing in the lush scent of soap on your skin. “In the end, we are no better than your father. We are liars. We lie to keep those around us safe. That is what the Andronici do: We lie. We kill. And we lie again.”

You know. Aren’t you always lying? Aren’t you always killing people to get what you want? Human lives are the currency in your game, and you make it a point to have as much as you can before time runs out.

This is how it goes: You will amass a mountain of bodies by the time Noctis appoints you as his military strategist, and he will never know the things he does not need to know. Insomnia thrives under his reign, while you are every death sentence signed in blood. As he goes to bed each night, you will do a routine maintenance to sweep unnecessary dusts from stirring unneeded curiosity. For every dispute raised in the council, you will have already threaded your orders through the ranks, starting from the police, to the gangsters, to the yakuza, to the mob and the men. Those crossing your path will be carefully scissored out of the picture by way of Byron or their suddencooperation out of the plea of a beloved, whichever method most convenient at the moment of need. Decoys are magnificent, what more framing those complicit to the cause; suspect a foul play, and an execution is the remedy to all.

And this is how you will maintain your ecosystem, keeping a manicured garden free from weeds and pests.

Resting your cheek against Byron’s hair, idle fingers curling his ponytail between each digit, you clear your throat, fighting to keep your voice from cracking.

“You know, when I was young, I really liked reading all those fairytale books mother bought for me,” you confess, stewing in the indulgent thoughts of mother and her boozy smile, gifting you books to make up for the world father denied. Byron makes a quiet noise at your throat, and you give a small laugh at your foolishness fifteen years ago, holding him tight. “Thought I’d be one of those princesses when I grow up, wearing dresses and tiaras for my whole life. I was so wrong. Look at me now. What kind of fairytale princess am I?”

You don’t blame Byron for huffing under his breath, probably amused at your childishness.

Then his hand rubbing your back stills, lips burning words on your skin.

“Oh milady…you’re never a fairytale princess to begin with. You’ve always been the monster.”

[tbc.]

NOTES:

Hi, are there people still reading this fic and waiting for updates?

LPC updates long overdue? DON’T WORRY I GOT YOUR BACK! WITH TWO CHAPTERS BACK TO BACK! TLDR of my current life can be read here if you’re wondering, but all woeful life shenanigans aside, woah plot. And keeping secrets are no good but we’re only starting! Slow burn! Friends to lovers! Angst! And the next chapter is a plot-filled interlude of fun dates, car rides, and a certain creepy old man!

With this, we’re finally coming to an end with the FLOWERING arc, thanks for sticking around this far! Everyone’s support and heart-warming words on Tumblr didn’t fail to keep the passion going for writing LPC, and I really appreciate everyone’s enthusiasm and consistent check-ups on the next update! Again, I’m truly sorry for the one-year break, but I hope everyone enjoyed both chapters!

We’ve made it through BLOOMING, and we also made it through FLOWERING. Now, let’s welcome the next instalment, DECAYING. And you all know what that means… ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

PREVIEW: [20] Nonchalantly picking out a petal streaked in rich pinks fading in whites, Noctis drops it into your outstretched hands. You crane your neck to reward his gift with a smile, and it’s all that he needs, really. He’s good at pretending, isn’t he? He’s been pretending he’s got his life together all these years, so he’s sure he can pretend to be your friend just a little while longer.

[21] Byron’s eyes are the colour of rust-eaten iron flaking gold over the years, corroded by the light. There is a disturbing twist to his lips. Caressing your cheek, he’s whispering go back to sleep too loudly and all you can tell him is wait byron i’m scared please stay voicelessly when your limbs don’t move and you can’t move and it’s dark, it’s too dark, but why can you see the line of his smile shifting into a smirk and—

[22] “…is it okay if you stay for the night?” you ask, the curl of your fingers tightening as if it’s a manacle chaining him where he should be.

[23] Sure, Noctis could disentangle your limbs from his and keep this memory all to himself, but he’s done lying to himself, he’s done pretending this is going nowhere when he wants it to go somewhere—anywhere, as long as it’s with you.

[24] Home. A word he lost when mom left and dad ran. A word he found in you once more when he realises his home exists in a person, not a place. Byron throws his gaze to the slice of sky above, counting the days when he’ll see you again. Home.

[25] Noctis feels his jaw grow tight at the aloofness of the answer. No, Ignis doesn’t understand at all. Ignis won’t ever understand this. How could he understand when he hasn’t suffered through a crippling loneliness only Noctis had felt? Through gritted teeth, he grinds out, “You don’t get it. I don’t want her to go too.”

[26] Noctis knows that much when Regis furrows his brows, understanding dawning in his eyes. “So we finally meet,” says Regis, exhaling the words like a laborious process, “young daughter of the Andronicus.”

[27] “And you, Highness? Will you still rally under her banner even if you know she slit her mother’s throat at sixteen?”

[28] Tossing a look over his shoulder, his eyes are alight with mischief. “Well, what’re you waiting for? For me to bathe you too? Aren’t you too old for that?"

Lord have mercy on me, because each chapter’s close to 10k words. RIP in pieces myself for having to edit through almost 80k of words. There’s a mixture of drama and so much fluff it’s so fluffy I could die from the fluff. (The fluff is just there as a distraction to hide the fact that this is DECAYING we’re talking about and there’s bound to be angst everywhere.)

Hope you guys enjoyed the updates on LPC, My Friend, Mr Noctgar, and My Little Sister ☆ Can’t Be This Cute! Looking forward to hear from everyone again; thoughts and comments are always lovely to hear!

#noctis x reader #noctis/reader #Noctis Lucis Caelum #final fantasy xv fanfic #final fantasy xv #ffxv #lazy people #fanfic #whew this chapter is so long because everything's crammed into one chapter #hope yall enjoyed the double release

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sanjuno · 5 years

Note

Could you please list out the various au!ideas you have at some point? I really want to find a certain one every now and then but then have trouble remembering what you called it

You asked for this…

An incomplete AU Master List for Sanjuno’s Ficwork:

1. ATTACK ON TITAN

1.1. Coordinates T by H: Eren’s coordinatorabilities allow him to metaphysically bond with other humans, thereby givingeveryone in the group the ability to psychically communicate with the rest andalso boosting everyone’s healing ability exponentially to be on par with theTitan Shifters. Chaptered, WIP

2. BLEACH

2.1. What Happens on Vacation: Crossoverwith YYH – turns out that Kurosaki Misaki was a senior ferry girl on sabbatical(which translates as living a mortal life unaware of her true nature) and shewas late returning to work due to being trapped in Grand Fishers gut. Ichigoand Uryuu are very confused when their “cousin” Kazuma shows up to introducehis new bride to the family. Koenma is just really pissed off by all the paperworkhe needs to deal with while cleaning up his father’s mismanaged pet project. WIP

3. CODEGEASS

3.1. A Code of Ice and Fire: Crossover withGOT – Lelouch, his two younger siblings, and Lelouch’s most loyal followers arereincarnated into Westeros. Lelouch proceeds to make it his lifelong mission todrive Cersei into frothing fits and strengthens the Baratheon dynasty to thepoint that even Tywin is impressed by his grandson’s machinations. Then CCshows up with dragons and Ned Stark starts to think that maybe Robert’s ontosomething with the “drinking to forget” idea. Meta

3.2. Abandon Thyself: Post-Zero RequiemSuzaku travels back in time to the scene in the Shinjuku Ghettos when the truckexplodes. Given that the people closest to him haven’t actually spoken to Suzakuin years, the origins of Suzaku’s obvious mental instability is hilariouslymisattributed by various outside PoVs. So when Suzaku hits his knees in frontof Lelouch, swearing eternal devotion and vowing to make Lelouch the next emperornobody panics. (They should really reconsider panicking.) Drabbles, WIP

3.3. The Sun Also Rises: At the moment ofhis death in the Zero Requiem, Lelouch travels back in time to his childhoodbody. With only a week to go before Marianne is “assassinated by terrorists”Lelouch sets out to rearrange the board in a way none of the other players willsee coming until it’s far too late. Lelouch has been given a second chance tomake things right, and Lelouch wouldn’t be Lelouch if he didn’t plan big. Thistime around, Lelouch plans for his victory to be a bit more obvious. Chaptered, WIP

4. DCU

4.1. Time Enough: Terry McGinnis, his littlebrother Matt, and their dogs are the only members of their timeline to survivebecause Bruce Wayne was too old to see any more of his sons die in front of him.So they all got knocked out, shoved into an escape capsule, and ejected fromthe Batman Beyond timeline before it crumbles. Said time pod crashes into themiddle of a Red Hood versus Match throw down, and Terry’s Wayne-inheritedcharisma is so powerful it allows him to banter his way into good graces ofboth villains. Jason drags them all off to his lair because every single memberof the Batfam hoards orphans. Chaptered, WIP

5. DRAGON BALL

5.1. Saiyajin Pride: Alien biology has alarger impact on characterization that it does in canon. Mirai comes back to themain timeline live in sin with Videl and Gohan. Vegeta and Goku deal with someshit that comes from being the last full-blooded members of their species. Thenjust as things are settling down… Garlic is an idiot who thinks up a loopholein the “can’t wish people dead” rule and wishes Goku and Vegeta’s familiesstraight out of existence and they end up in an entirely different reality. Theonly upside is that Vegeta finally gets to kill Frieza. Chaptered, WIP

6. FAIRY TAIL

6.1. Flight Of Dragons: Future!Lucy missesher target and ends up landing further back in time, during the same year Natsuand the rest of the Dragon Slayer kids were brought to when they were pulledforward in time. Fairy Tail luckkicks in, and future!Lucy runs into child!Laxus as he escapes from his fatherafter being fed the Lightning Dragon Lacrima. Laxus is handed a Prophecy andruns with it. Children have never needed Fairy Tales to tell them that Dragonsexist, but they certainly help. Chaptered,WIP

6.2. My Heart Overflows: Juvia and Grey havefinally started dating, but the Fairy Tail Mage Guild has some interestingtraditions when it comes to proving the validity of a romantic relationship. Oneshot - Complete

7. FAMILIAR OF ZERO

7.1. A Velvet Glove: Crossover with TMNT –Leonardo gets summoned to be Louise’s Familiar. Since all of his brothers aredead, Leo sees no reason not to make the most of this “lifelong bond of magicand spirit” and adopts Louise as his little sister. Halgenkia is not preparedfor a Louise Francois le Blanc de la Valliere with ninja training. Henrietta isprobably far too gleeful over making her best friend her Spymaster, but it’snot like anyone knows enough about what they’re doing to stop her. Reconquistagets exposed and smashed, and Wardes really should have respected his fiancéemore. Chaptered, WIP

8. FINAL FANTASY VII

8.1. A Dirge of Ice and Fire: Crossover withGOT – Several members of Avalanche and the Elite Soldiers are reincarnated asthe spares and bastards of Westeros’ Great Houses. Given that Rhaenys Targaryenused to be Cid Highwind, the Sack of King’s Landing goes very differently. Meta

8.2. A Feather’s Weight: Crossover withNaruto – Kakashi and Obito, along with their respective subordinates, arereincarnated in Wutai, and are thus in position to undermine a lot of Hojo’splans simply by being themselves. Wutai still loses, but by a much smallermargin, and SHIN-RA realizes much too late that Wutai’s “concession” was atrap. Kakashi is a big shiny distraction for Sephiroth, the SOLDIERS revolt,and nobody knows who assassinated President Shinra. WIP

8.3. Antiviral: Woden and Gaia conspire tocreate antibodies to fight off Jenova’s infection. Cid and Vincent end upbearing the brunt of this decision, get roofied by Divine Intervention, andalso end up the Gaian equivalent of demonic werewolves. Also the Planet istransforming all the SOLDIERS into werewolves too, yes, even the dead ones. Chaptered, WIP

8.4. For Love Of: Cid Highwind crashes theTiny Bronco into Lucrecia’s cave, does the metaphysical equivalent of tearingher heart out and eating it to absorb her power, and them proceeds to adoptGeneral Sephiroth as his son because it’s not like anyone can stop him. CidHighwind does what he wants. Sephiroth does what Mother wants. SHIN-RA soonregrets everything because Cid Highwind is a hell of a lot better at rewritingthe social order than Avalanche is. Chaptered,WIP

8.5. Hindsight is 20-20: CHAOS decides torewrite time because they have a massive crush on Cid and they don’t want himto die. CHAOS fumbles the landing and Cid ends up in the body of some weirdLucrecia/Ancient-Cetra-Who-Was-Jenova’s-Host Clone and ends up giving birth toSephiroth. Things only get worse from there. Chaptered, WIP

8.6. Like it Rough: Cid likes Vincent a lotand also has a bit of a kink for scars. Cid walks in on Vincent naked, runsaway to hide his raging boner, and Vincent ends up chasing Cid around theairship until he can pin his friend down in the Captain’s bunk because thedemons are all drunk on the pheromones. Oneshot- Complete

8.7. Names of Power: Jenova’s taintgetting mixed into the Lifestream has far-reaching consequences, and Avalanchegets tapped to handle the fallout whither they like it or not. WIP

8.7.1. SmallPackages: The Lifestream meddles in Avalanches lives even after the Planethas been saved. There are clones and ancient powers better off left alone butit’s not like Avalanche ever gets a say in the matter.

8.7.2. HistoryInverted: Jenova isn’t all the way gone and the Planet really doesn’t careif Humanity survives or not as long as the infection is burned away. Aerithshoves the spirits of Avalanche and their children into a new timeline becauseshe doesn’t want to watch their souls get shredded. Avalanche proceeds to moseyalong and wreak havoc in the way only they can manage.

8.8. To Earn the Sky: Echidna, Mother ofMonsters and Heroes, and Jenova, the Calamity From the Skies, are at war. Hojomakes a very big mistake when he uses the Blood of Echidna’s Children in hisRevenant Project. Cid Highwind is a good son, and his Mother wants to meet hernew Grandchildren.

9. FINAL FANTASY XV

9.1. A Light of Ice and Fire: Crossover withFFVX – Noctis, his Retinue, and the loyal members of the Kingsglaive andCrownsguard are reincarnated into Westeros. Jorah Mormont is Cor Leonis, but CorLeonis is not Jorah Mormont, and so the Northern Forces are something to fearin Robert’s Rebellion. By the time King Robert visits Winterfell, it will be avery different Northern Kingdom that he finds there.

10. GAME OF THRONES

10.1. CrossoverFixits to Help Westeros be Less Miserably Doomed: Various casts fromother series end up reborn in Westeros and use knowledge from their previouslives to change the Game. Meta

10.1.1. An Assemblage of Ice and Fire:Crossover with MCU – Team Iron Man focus, since Tony is reincarnated as NedStark. Starks are made of Iron, and Winter is coming. Tony’s genius intellect,knowledge of politics and economics, experience with magic and alternaterealities, and the fact that Extremis carried over through his reincarnationand adapted to work with First Man magic means that the Stark siblings who goto the Tourney of Harrenhal are nothing like the canon versions. Rhaegar getshis Stark bride, and he proceeds to regret it for the rest of his life.

10.1.2. A Balance of Ice and Fire: Crossoverwith SW – Qui-Gon Jinn’s three Padawan Learners and Padme (who got taken inAnakin’s place) are reincarnated as the Tyrell siblings. They proceed to followthe Will of the Force and prepare the Seven Kingdoms to win against the LongNight.

10.1.3. A Code of Ice and Fire: Crossover withCG – Lelouch, his two younger siblings, and Lelouch’s most loyal followers arereincarnated into Westeros. Lelouch proceeds to make it his lifelong mission todrive Cersei into frothing fits and strengthens the Baratheon dynasty to thepoint that even Tywin is impressed by his grandson’s machinations. Then CCshows up with dragons and Ned Stark starts to think that maybe Robert’s ontosomething with the “drinking to forget” thing.

10.1.4. A Dirge of Ice and Fire: Crossover withFFVII – Several members of Avalanche and the Elite Soldiers are reincarnated asthe spares and bastards of Westeros’ Great Houses. Given that Rhaenys Targaryenused to be Cid Highwind, the Sack of King’s Landing goes very differently.

10.1.5. A Dying Will of Ice and Fire: Crossoverwith KHR – The Tri-Ni-Sette holders and all those bonded to them arereincarnated into Westeros Noble Houses. Xanxus is born as Robert’s eldesttrueborn son and Heir to the Iron Throne, and so all it takes is one look atthe Wall to know that there is something to fear on the other side. Tsuna isbusy swooning over Arya’s muscles but in-between reciting odes to his amazingbetrothed he takes time to tell Nono’s ghost “I told you Xanxus would make thebetter Heir.”

10.1.6. A Light of Ice and Fire: Crossover withFFVX – Noctis, his Retinue, and the loyal members of the Kingsglaive andCrownsguard are reincarnated into Westeros. Jorah Mormont is Cor Leonis, butCor Leonis is not Jorah Mormont, and so the Northern Forces are something tofear in Robert’s Rebellion. By the time King Robert visits Winterfell, it willbe a very different Northern Kingdom that he finds there.

10.1.7. A Space Between Ice and Fire: Crossoverwith Naruto WCE – The Konoha Founders and their siblings are reincarnated asStarks and Baratheons and manage to save the Realms of Men while resolvingtheir many and varied issues with one another.

10.1.8. A Transformation of Ice and Fire: Crossoverwith TFG1 – Most of the Cybertronians who died during Unicron’s Awakening endup reincarnated as dragons (Seekers) and Direwolves (Autobots). The sapience ofthe animals causes significant changes to outcome of several key canon events.

10.2. SingingIn A Different Key: SI is reborn as Jon Snow, who then precedes toMachiavelli the fuck out of the North in preparation for the coming Long Nightand also to screw over the Lannisters. Because fuck the Lannisters. WIP

10.3. Wolf AtThe Door: When Ice takes the head of Eddard Stark, Valeryian magic mixeswith the Blood of the First Men. It’s wild, uncontrolled, and Ned ends up as afour year old in Winterfell’s Godswood, staring at his reflection in the water.Eddara Stark, second-born child and first-born daughter of Rikard and LyarraStark looks back up at him. Ned, fully believing that this is his punishmentfor failing his family and best friend the first time around, decides to fixthe Realm by fulfilling the Pact of Fire and Ice. The thing about being a womanis that no one ever expects you to be a threat, not even other women. The thingabout being the Quiet Wolf is that everyone overlooks you until the moment yourteeth sink into their throat. Meta inDevelopment

11. GetBackers

12. GIRL GENIUS

12.1. The OtherSide of the River: One of the Jagermonsters manages to catch wind ofLucrecia’s plans and absconds with Klaus Barry during the confusion caused by thefirst explosion. This understandably causes some disruption in everyones planswhen KB and his nanny run into Agatha during her time with the Circus. WIP

12.2. ThreefoldPath: Agatha, Gil, and Tarvek get their brains booted back in time duringthe si vales valeo and decided to run away and join the circus until they’reold enough to take over the world properly. WIP

13. GundamWing

14. HARRY POTTER

14.1. Black AsHis Name: Sirius Back lives! Because the Veil dumps his mind-and-soul intothe empty body of his younger self in a world where Walburga Black lost it onher eldest son much earlier in life and Sirius was tortured until he was leftbrain-dead. Arcturus Black is pissed off over the treatment of one of his Heirsand since Sirius’ magic is still intact, names Sirius the Heir to House Blackand proceeds to hold the Heirship over everybody’s heads for spite for as longas Sirius continues to “live”. Everyone in the Black Family is very surprisedwhen the annual shaming ritual disguised as Sirius’ birthday party is crashed. Bynone other than the birthday boy himself. Sirius rolls with it and becomes aTrue Black in the most Marauder manner possible. WIP

14.2. BlackHunt Under Bloody Skies: Crossover with KHR – Regulus and Sirius both endup dumped into KHR because Death owes them a favour on the Master’s behalf.Things start to get weird after the Arcobaleno curse is broken. Regulus isactually Skull and Sirius is his Sky and they confuse the entire Mafia so much.WIP

15. HOMESTUCK

15.1. A Jump ToThe Left Behind: Post game reality has all the races living in a GalacticRepublic, and the Troll Ancestors and Human Guardians all need to team up inorder to solve the mystery of the planetoid-sized meteor that just barreledinto the middle of their busiest spacelane because their names are written allover it. In the process of exploring the meteor they accidently wake up thePlayers and Sprites. Chaos ensues. Meta

15.2. Pandora’sFinal Gift: A mermaid AU where a Deep Old One gives Eridan (and onlyEridan) the memories of his Game Player Self as a lark. Eridan hits the levelcap for his current reality, freaks out, saves Sollux’s life, and then abscondsas far away from the center of the Empire as he can get. Meta

16. InuYasha

17. KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN

17.1. A DyingWill of Ice and Fire: Crossover with GOT – The Tri-Ni-Sette holders and allthose bonded to them are reincarnated into Westeros Noble Houses. Xanxus isborn as Robert’s eldest trueborn son and Heir to the Iron Throne, and so all ittakes is one look at the Wall to know that there is something to fear on theother side. Tsuna is busy swooning over Arya’s muscles but in-between recitingodes to his amazing betrothed he takes time to tell Nono’s ghost “I told youXanxus would make the better Heir.”

17.2. BlackHunt Under Bloody Skies: Crossover with HP – Regulus and Sirius both end updumped into KHR because Death owes them a favour on the Master’s behalf. Thingsstart to get weird after the Arcobaleno curse is broken. Regulus is actuallySkull and Sirius is his Sky and they confuse the entire Mafia so much. WIP

17.3. BurningSalt Water: Crossover with OP – Xanxus gets dumped onto the Oro Jacksonduring the Pirate King’s last voyage when Nono’s Zero Point goes sideways andhe ends up adopted by Rouge and Roger while he heals. After the executionXanxus ends up raising the ASL trio to take over the Pirate Throne and Ace setsthe Moby Dick on fire when Whitebeard kidnaps him. WIP

17.4. Cat’sPaws: Uri has seen enough Time Travel bullshit to know how it works, and sowhen Hayato gets himself killed she grabs his soul and flings herself backwardsin time because fuck the timeline this is her human and he’s not allowed toabandon her again. The other Box Animals think it’s a great idea and do thesame with their humans, and this results in the kind of alternate timeline thatgives Byakuran a headache. In other words, Uri creates a timeline where FlameActives are a lot more Alien than they used to be and now everyone thinksYoukai and other myths are real. Chapters,WIP

17.5. FireShall Waken: All of Nono’s sons are still alive when the Cradle Affair happensand it results in the entire 10th Generation gathering up theirHarmonies, rolling Xanxus into a blanket burrito, and taking off to Japan underassumed names where they proceed to spend the next eight years coddling Tsunaand being spoiled rotten by Nana in return. Meta

17.6. GremlinsDella Varia: Mammon’s experiments with the Curse have had some odd sideeffects on the Varia. It all comes out during the Ring Battles and the otherArcobaleno are Judging You, Viper. Drabbles

17.7. Karma,and the Repercussions Thereof: Crossover with Naruto. Legendary Ninjafrom the Elemental Countries get reincarnated into KHR and proceed to adopt allthe Magic Rainbow Fire Children. Nono and Iemitsu suffer.

17.7.1. Karmic Balance: Kakashi and Obito areninja married from the very start because of metaphysical bonding and someminor haunting during their last lives. Between Ninshu Shinobi needing to be inClans and Flame Actives needing to be in Harmonies it does not take long beforethe child stealing begins. Gokudera Kakashi is the best wife and Dokuro Obitorepents, repeatedly and often, while also having the time of his second life.Tsuna loves his Kakashi-sensei and wants to be just like him when he grows up. Chaptered WIP

17.7.2. Karmic Justice: Madara and his brothersare reborn as Fon’s nephews and do not take kindly to the Arcobaleno cursebeing put on one of their relatives. The Hibari Clan proceeds to start huntingfor the Man in the Iron Man en mass. Madara and his brothers hit Namimoriduring Nono’s visit and witness the sealing of Tsunayoshi. They don’t take wellto this either. Things go worse for Tsuna than they do in canon and Madarahunts down Tobirama because he needs the resurrection to be done perfectly.Tsuna loves his Madara-shishou and wants to be just like him when he grows up. Oneshots, WIP

17.7.2.1. KarmicJustice – Hubris: Madara comes across Xanxus in the ice while investigatingthe Vongola and despite Xanxus being a bit older than the usual target forchild stealing decides to steal him anyway. After resurrecting Tsuna, Madaraand Tobirama’s next project is defrosting Xanxus. WIP

17.7.2.2. KarmicJustice – Providence: Madara finds Xanxus on the streets while hunting inItaly for the Man in the Iron Mask. Wrath Flame calls to Wrath Flame and Madarainstantly adopts the delightfully savage little boy. Then Namimori happens, andTsuna’s seal gets him temporarily killed, and Xanxus reaches100-year-vengance-plot levels of overprotective big brother. WIP

17.8. Music ofthe Spheres: Crossover with SM – Post Stars Usagi and Post Vongola InheritanceTsuna are cousins who meet for the first time ever only after the Vongola’senemies kidnap Ikkuko and Shingo. Usagi gets taken into protective custody byher Mafia relatives without being given the chance to say she doesn’t need it.Usagi then proceeds to seduce all the women, charm all the men, and accidentlythrow Iemitsu out the nearest window every time he’s in the same room she is. WIP

17.9. Overlookingthe Obvious: They say that to truly know someone you need to walk a mile intheir shoes. The adage is proven true rather dramatically when amisappropriated Possession Bullet ends up switching Gokudera and Hibari intoeach other’s bodies. Oneshot

17.10. Reach ForThe Sky: Kamen Rider Sora and his team are the protectors of Namimoriagainst the invasion of Youma from the dark dimension. Reborn shows up to tutorthe last remaining Vongola Heir and ends up in the middle of a longstandingbattle against the Forces of Evil. Does the World Greatest Hitman have what ittakes to guide the mysterious masked Rider towards his true strength? Staytuned to find out! Oneshots, WIP

17.11. When theNightingale Sings: Sky Flames are Dragons, and when a Sky is Sealed theyturn into True Dragons once said Seal breaks. Tsuna has the Best TreasuresEver. Reborn is confused but willing to roll with it. Hayato needs to do allthe research. Drabbles, WIP

17.12. Where theSky Meets the Sea: Crossover with OP – The ASL Trio are reborn as SawadaTsunayoshi’s younger brothers, and the Will of D means they remembereverything. Sawada Iemitsu might once have been Akagami no Shanks and despitelacking his memories knows better than to keep secrets from his wife. (Iemitsudoes keep a lot of secrets from Nono, such as the fact that he has more thanone son.) Iemitsu redirects Xanxus’ attention to the Family traitors, Nononever meets Tsuna, and nobody gets sealed. Then Reborn shows up, and everythingis now on fire. Drabbles, WIP

17.13.

18. KyouKara Maoh

19. MARVEL

19.1. AnAssemblage of Ice and Fire: Crossover with GOT – Team Iron Man focus, sinceTony is reincarnated as Ned Stark. Starks are made of Iron, and Winter iscoming. Tony’s genius intellect, knowledge of politics and economics,experience with magic and alternate realities, and the fact that Extremiscarried over through his reincarnation and adapted to work with First Man magicmeans that the Stark siblings who go to the Tourney of Harrenhal are nothinglike the canon versions. Rhaegar gets his Stark bride, and he proceeds toregret it for the rest of his life. Meta

19.2. IronLaced: Crossover with TMNT – Maria Carbonell was actually Oroku Karai indisguise because she was on vacation from being a member of the Council ofShadows. Karai and all the Turtles accessed magic ninja dragon powers when theytook over the Council and Karai-as-Maria passed that down to Tony. So Tony isactually a dragon and an encounter with the Enchantress leaves him locked inhis dragon form. WIP

19.3. Miles ToGo: Post-MCU Civil War almost-Time Travel where Tony grieves so hard hesends an Extremis injector capsule to the year before the Winter Soldier murderedhis parents. Said capsule lands in front of a wasted 15-year-old Tony in theaftermath of a frat party. Cue the face hugger scene. Tony gets an Extremisupgrade about 30 years ahead of schedule and it’s the only reason he survivesthe memory download without his brain turning into mush. WIP

19.4. Perception:Instead of killing Scott in X3, Dark Phoenix instead fixes the brain damagethat prevented him from controlling his optic blasts and then shunts him troughtime an space. Scott wakes up 18-years-old in Stryker’s lab and proceeds tohijack Wolverine’s rampage so that they can both escape. James Howlett isimpressed, and Cyclops hates everything but especially time travel because itruins all his fallback plans. WIP

20. NARUTO

20.1. AFeather’s Weight: Crossover with FFVII – Kakashi and Obito, along withtheir respective subordinates, are reincarnated in Wutai, and are thus inposition to undermine a lot of Hojo’s plans simply by being themselves. Wutaistill loses, but by a much smaller margin, and SHIN-RA realizes much too latethat Wutai’s “concession” was a trap. Kakashi is a big shiny distraction forSephiroth, the SOLDIERS revolt, and nobody knows who assassinated PresidentShinra. WIP

20.2. A SpaceBetween Ice and Fire: Crossover with GOT – The Konoha Founders and theirsiblings are reincarnated as Starks and Baratheons and manage to save theRealms of Men while resolving their many and varied issues with one another.

20.3. AWidening Gyre: Rin survives the Chidori and her existence is now an S-classsecret. Said S-class secret distracts Obito on his way to ambush Kushina’slabour and several different chase scenes take place. They all end up in theROOT base made from one of Tobirama’s old labs and instead of Kyuubi gettingloose Team Ro, the Fourth Hokage’s team of bodyguards, Obito, Anko, and all ofROOT plus Danzo himself get dumped into the Warring Clans Era. Obito killsDanzo in a panic when he realizes that taking the Bijuu means killing Rin,Kakashi sacrifices himself again, and there is a lot more running around. Kakashisuborns ROOT en masse, Obito is stupidly overpowered and homicidal but it’sokay because Kakashi is playing damsel in distress and distracting him. TheSenju and the Uchiha are all really confused by these kids, there are far toomany mistaken identities, and Konoha gets founded much earlier than in canon. Meta

20.4. Accordingto Custom: Hashirama and Madara should not be left unsupervised (that’s whyMito and Touka tend to lurk nearby when they have tea together) because itcauses them to get Brilliant Ideas. This time they decide to make friends withone another’s little brothers. How Madara went from being “nice” to Tobirama tocourting the oblivious younger Senju is still something of a mystery, but thereare several bets riding on when Tobirama is going to realize what’s going on. Long Oneshots, WIP

20.5. Aroundthe River Bend: Tobirama feels Itama die and runs to the river to mourn.Quite predictably he meets Madara there, and the course of History changes. Oneshot

20.6. Coloursand Promises: Set a decade after the Evil has been defeated and lifereturned to normal, Tobirama (once the magical superhero Dragon) is stillliving with the side effects of sacrificing everything to save the world whilehe was still a teenager. Notes on a piano, and a familiar voice singing afamiliar song. Tobirama finds Madara (once the magical superhero Phoenix) andfinally gets to enjoy his victory. Love can be killed, but it never dies, onlyever taking on new shapes as we move on with our lives. Drabbles, WIP

20.7. Heavy asthe Mountain: Team 7 is loosing the fight against Kaguya, but Obito andKakashi perform a last minute sacrifice that means the kids survive. It alsocauses them all to be de-aged by over a decade and thrown back in time to theWarring Clans Era. Kakashi and Obito die, Team 7 gets adopted bypresumably-Hatake Kanna, then a few years later they run into Uchiha Izuna andit all descends into chaos. (Team 7 takes total advantage of everything to gettheir revenge on Zetsu and maybe fix some of Konoha’s longstanding issues at thesame time.) WIP

20.8. InKonoha We Dance: The Uchiha Clan has a tradition of belly dancing andit fixes everything that was wrong with Konoha in canon. Oneshots

20.8.1. O-Bon Appetite: Thanks to his dancetraining Izuna manages the core control to dodge Tobirama’s sword enough toavoid a fatal wound and Konoha starts off on more equal footing. Tobirama thenwalks into a traditional Uchiha celebration and his brain shuts off.

20.8.2. Hot Like Burning: Kushina drags Minatoto the Uchiha Police Office Party so she can make time with Mikoto and there isso much skin, Minato was not emotionally prepared for this. Fugaku takesadvantage of the Yondaime’s weakness as only an Uchiha can and the glorious‘ship FuMiKuMi sets sail.

20.8.3. Got This Fire Burning: Overnight shiftsat the Mission Desk gets boring. Konoha ninja like to dance, because dancingisn’t boring. Kakashi shows them all how it’s done when a member of Team 7 hitsit.

20.9. Karma,and the Repercussions Thereof: Crossover with KHR – Legendary Ninjafrom the Elemental Countries get reincarnated into KHR and proceed to adopt allthe Magic Rainbow Fire Children. Nono and Iemitsu suffer.

20.9.1. Karmic Balance: Kakashi and Obito areninja married from the very start because of metaphysical bonding and someminor haunting during their last lives. Between Ninshu Shinobi needing to be inClans and Flame Actives needing to be in Harmonies it does not take long beforethe child stealing begins. Gokudera Kakashi is the best wife and Dokuro Obitorepents, repeatedly and often, while also having the time of his second life.Tsuna loves his Kakashi-sensei and wants to be just like him when he grows up. WIP

20.9.2. Karmic Justice: Madara and his brothersare reborn as Fon’s nephews and do not take kindly to the Arcobaleno cursebeing put on one of their relatives. The Hibari Clan proceeds to start huntingfor the Man in the Iron Man en mass. Madara and his brothers hit Namimoriduring Nono’s visit and witness the sealing of Tsunayoshi. They don’t take wellto this either. Things go worse for Tsuna than they do in canon and Madarahunts down Tobirama because he needs the resurrection to be done perfectly.Tsuna loves his Madara-shishou and wants to be just like him when he grows up. WIP

20.9.2.1. KarmicJustice – Hubris: Madara comes across Xanxus in the ice while investigatingthe Vongola and despite Xanxus being a bit older than the usual target forchild stealing decides to steal him anyway. After resurrecting Tsuna, Madaraand Tobirama’s next project is defrosting Xanxus. WIP

20.9.2.2. KarmicJustice – Providence: Madara finds Xanxus on the streets while hunting inItaly for the Man in the Iron Mask. Wrath Flame calls to Wrath Flame and Madarainstantly adopts the delightfully savage little boy. Then Namimori happens, andTsuna’s seal gets him temporarily killed, and Xanxus reaches 100-year-Xanatos-Gambit-vengance-plotlevels of overprotective big brother. WIP

20.10. Look theInnocent Flower: Orochimaru gets the Hat instead of Minato because insteadof working for Danzo he creates his Baby-no-Jutsu (the same one that producedRogu and Mitsuki) and that’s how Orochimaru accidently turns Tenzo into theOrochimaru-and-Tsunade lovechild while field testing some gene-splicingadoption techniques. Sarutobi is so delighted by all the babies he namesOrochimaru his successor without any further debate. Konoha proceeds to becomea somewhat androgynous, gender-fluid utopia full off affectionate, friendlypeople who only want you for your body. Orochimaru refuses to allow hypocrisyin his Konoha and loyalty to ones comrades is not only encouraged, it’senforced. Meta

20.11. Negotiationis an Artform: Remix of The Art of Negotiation by Kage88 – Konoha’sFounders take a trip to Uzushio and the Uzumaki are annoyingly persistent intheir attentions, even when said attentions are unwanted. Tobirama’s politicalsavvy is not to be underestimated, and Tobirama’s just as ridiculouslyoverprotective of his loved ones as his relatives are of him. Bitchy piningresolves into dating, and the only reason Tobirama lets Hashirama get away withbetting on his love life is because Hashirama was the only one who had faith inTobirama making the first move. Oneshot -Complete

20.12. Red inHand and Claw: Madara has Raptor Summons. This fact is significantly moreterrifying than anyone outside of the Uchiha Clan is really aware of. Oneshot

20.13. Roads Diverged:Kakashi from a Darker-Than-Canon AU ends his fight with Obito with mutualdestruction, and as they both lay dying Kakashi confesses to having alwaysloved Obito. Obito being Obito and therefore unholy levels of Extra even for anUchiha, proceeds to use Edo Tensai on Team 7 in order to heal Kakashi and thenfling him through dimensions until he lands in a Lighter-Than-Canon AU whereKakashi sees Rin in time to avoid hitting her with the Chidori. Things spiralfrom there. WIP

20.14. That WeAnswer to Our Stars: Crossover with SW – Kaguya’s reality warp has somestrange side effects to the point of ridiculousness. All the Uchiha to everexist are resurrected and then dumped wholesale onto an alien deathworld thatis essentially what Training Ground 44 would be if it was allowed to cover anentire planet. The Uchiha proceed to seduce the Jedi and foil all ofPalpatine’s plans for galactic domination. Meta

20.15. The ThinLine: Kakashi loses patience with the Sandaime when no appreciable actionis taken to remove Danzo from power even after Kakashi literally reports toSarutobi’s face that he was ordered by Danzo to assassinate the Third Hokage.So Kakashi crashes an Uchiha Clan meeting and asks them to run away with himand his cute little brothers to a lovely tropical Island. Cue the Uchiha ExodusThat Fucks Over Canon. Kakashi and the Uchiha Clan proceed to re-found Uzushioand collect a few S-class missing nin along the way. WIP

20.16. TheWaters and the Wild: The Senju are High Court Fae, and the Uchiha are WildHunt Shapeshifters. Tobirama attempts to interrupt Hashirama and Madara duringtheir riverside meeting, only it backfires when he realizes that Madara is hisSoulmate. Also the Uchiha are “clothing optional” and Tobirama was notemotionally prepared for this. Drabbles,WIP

20.17. Truthin Hyperbole: Shinobi are what happen when Aliens and Humans have kids,Bloodline Talents are what happens when Kami and Youkai ancestry gets added tothe pot. Most of the time Shinobi stay mostly Human. Sometimes they don’t.Sometimes they really don’t. Series - WIP

20.17.1. BloodPrice: Tobirama wakes up after being killed and proceeds to resurrect hislittle brothers and Madara’s little brothers. Tobirama would resurrect Madaratoo but Madara had already managed to resurrect himself.

20.17.2. StillWaters Run: The Sage of Six Paths gets his ass kicked by his ex-wife, hisdaughter-in-law, and Tobirama’s mother.

20.17.3. A ThingWith Feathers: Madara’s side of the story of their transformation intominor kami.

20.17.4. Come Away:Zetsu is targeting Obito in another attempt to create the Rinnegan. Kakashi hashis first “near death” experience and Obito is not amused at all. Neither isRin. Team 7 is overprotective and codependent regardless of the generation inquestion.

20.17.5. Quoth theRaven: Danzo’s schemes got him chased out of Konoha to escape execution,and he invades during the Chunin Exams in order to get his revenge. SummoningTobirama using the Edo Tensai was probably not the best plan.

20.18. TsukumogamiNo Kankurou: While he is still very young, Kankurou signs a Summonscontract with the Tsukumogami (aka the Muppet Theater Troupe) and then proceedsto interrupt Yashamaru’s “attack” on Gaara while simultaneously wreaking havocacross the entirety of Sunagakure. All of this is done to get back at Rasa fornot letting Kankurou play with his baby brother. The Middle Child Syndrome isstrong in this one. Never underestimate the power of petty spite. Oneshot - Completed

20.19. Twice isHappenstance: As a side effect of the battle against Kaguya breakingthrough dimensions, the ghosts of the Uchiha Clan send their memories as farback as possible. On the eve of his younger brother’s assassinations, UchihaMadara wakes up with memories of being Indra and Sasuke. All the Uchiha havememories of their past and future lives combining with their current selves,and it causes something of a fracas while it gets sorted out. Cue the UchihaExodus That Fucks Over Canon. Oneshot - Complete

20.19.1. EnemyAction: The building of Uchihatlantis, the knockback effects of rememberingmore than one lifetime, and what happens when the Uchiha start to go back outinto the world in order to hunt down their spouses and mess up Zetsu’s plans. Meta

20.20. Two StepsBack: Retired Rokudaime Hatake Kakashi accidently has his first vacationever interrupted when he visits the Uzushiogakure ruins and gets slingshot backan incarnation or two due to triggering a derelict seal. Kakashi being Kakashi,he proceeds to continue with his vacation until he has a drunken bar hookupwith Uchiha Izuna and now the beloved younger brother of Uchiha “I-can-fight-five-armies-and-win”Madara is stalking Kakashi in order to recite (hilariously awful) poetry aboutthe beauty of Kakashi’s kenjutsu. This is not the retirement Kakashi signed upfor. WIP - Drabbles

20.21. TwoTruths and a Lie: Mikoto and Kushina have been fake!dating for years tokeep the more annoying Uchiha relatives from trying to get her married off.It’s a brilliant plan, and it works perfectly. But times change, and Kushina’seyes are very pretty. Oneshot - Complete

20.22. Wills ofFire and Conquest: Crossover with OP – Kakashi is Rouge’s little brotherand ends up raising the ASL trio while also searching for other reincarnatedshinobi. Obito and the rest of Akatsuki become the Red Dawn Pirates and Kakashieventually founds a new Uzushiogakure on the Red Line. Ace decides he wants tobe the Nidaime Uzukage, and Whitebeard accidently insults Ace’s mother so badlyduring the “recruitment” debacle that Ace spends 100 days trying to beat anapology out of the arrogant old goat. Shinobi-versus-pirate culture clash isfrequent and hilarious. WIP

20.23. Worth ofa Thousand Words: Political Hostage!Tobirama gets caught by the Uchiha justbefore he manages to use Hiraishin in battle for the first time. The Uchiha areall sensors that use Ninshu techniques otherwise since lost to time tocommunicate among themselves. This results in a much more united Uchiha Clanwho are perfectly willing to let Madara push for a peace treaty with the Senjunow that Tobirama’s capture has given them the leverage to do so. Meta

21. NURARIHYON NO MAGO

21.1. 1001Demonic Nights: An AU Rikuo who was dragged into Yomi along with his HakkaiYakko during the battle against the Nue manages to escape from hell by jumpinginto an alternate reality where his mother Wakana had a threesome with Rihanand Otome. Wakana left to take over her family shrine without telling herlovers that she was pregnant. The Rikuo who was born as a result died as aninfant from the Nue’s curse on Nurarihyon’s bloodline. Both Rikuo and Otome’sdaughter were conceived on the same night and are both half-demons due to Rihanshifting forms for kinky species-play. WIP

22. ONE PIECE

22.1. BurningSalt Water: Crossover with KHR – Xanxus gets dumped onto the Oro Jacksonduring the Pirate King’s last voyage when Nono’s Zero Point goes sideways andhe ends up adopted by Rouge and Roger while he heals. After the executionXanxus ends up raising the ASL trio to take over the Pirate Throne and Ace setsthe Moby Dick on fire when Whitebeard kidnaps him. WIP

22.2. How FarI’ll Go: Roger had other lovers before he met Rouge and one of them was aFishwife that he met at a Peacemoot. Their daughter was a mermaid and thusneeded to remain on Fishman Island for her own safety. The World Government isso Human-centric that they don’t bother looking into any of Roger’s ladyfriends from the other races. Gol D Ann gives no shits about anybodiesprejudices and when her mixed up genetics mean her feet come in about 20 yearsearly she immediately takes off to track down her baby brother. Goldfish isLuffy’s favourite sibling and Ann is delighted to find three baby brothers forthe price of one. WIP

22.3. Rumour,Slander, Hearsay: Garp is even worse at interpersonal communication than incanon and now the entire Marine fleet thinks that Monkey D Dragon is anoversexed degenerate who keep dumping his illegitimate spawn on his poor heroicfather’s doorstep. Otherwise known as Dragon adopts ASL and they seek aglorious Revolution. Meta

22.4. Those WhoFavour Fire: Ace survives Marineford, even if only in spirit, because theGoddess of the Sea answered the prayer of another version of Ace. Waking up inthe place of his 17-year-old murdered doppelganger, Ace now has to deal withraising a 7-year-old Luffy and escaping the notice of the Marines. Oh, and hismurdered younger self is hanging around as a ghost, all the younger versions ofLuffy’s crewmates keep showing up on Ace’s boat, and Ace keeps getting trippedup over how much more horrible this world is compared to the one he came from. WIP

22.5. Where theSky Meets the Sea: Crossover with KHR – The ASL Trio are reborn as SawadaTsunayoshi’s younger brothers, and the Will of D means they remembereverything. Sawada Iemitsu might once have been Akagami no Shanks and despitelacking his memories knows better than to keep secrets from his wife. (Iemitsudoes keep a lot of secrets from Nono, such as the fact that he has more thanone son.) Iemitsu redirects Xanxus’ attention to the Family traitors, Nononever meets Tsuna, and nobody gets sealed. Then Reborn shows up, and everythingis now on fire. Drabbles - WIP

22.6. WildfireHearts: Ace goes back in time from his death to the Grey Terminal Fire, figuresout how to use natural fire to heal himself, saves child!Ace and child!Luffy,changes his name to Portgas D Riot, runs away to the Grand Line with his babybrothers, puts together a new pirate crew, and hits on Marco so hard thePhoenix forgets how to complete his sentences. Everything works out for thebetter. WIP

22.6.1. Heave A Sigh And A Wish For Me – WH SpinoffAU: SI-Clearfin Lionfish Mermaid named Occhio D Vittoria gets tapped in bythe Ocean Goddess to help Riot et al from WildfireHearts succeed in their adventures. WIP

22.7. Wills ofFire and Conquest: Crossover with Naruto – Kakashi is Rouge’s littlebrother and ends up raising the ASL trio while also searching for otherreincarnated shinobi. Obito and the rest of Akatsuki become the Red DawnPirates and Kakashi eventually founds a new Uzushio on the Red Line. Acedecides he wants to be the Nidaime Uzukage, and Whitebeard accidently insultsAce’s mother so badly during the “recruitment” debacle that Ace spends 100 daystrying to beat an apology out of the arrogant old goat. Shinobi-versus-pirateculture clash is frequent and hilarious. WIP

23. PETSHOP OF HORRORS

23.1. EventHorizons: Leon isn’t human, and that changes things in the aftermath of theconfrontation with Papa D. Count D wants to unravel the mystery of hisfavourite Detective, and Leon is starting to wake up. Hopefully they both findthe knowledge they’re looking for before it’s too late and their enemy findsthem. WIP – Under Revision

24. SAILOR MOON

24.1. FromOlympus to Mu: The Senshi go to college and Mamoru reunites with the Shitennou.Basis of headcanons and characterization for any further post-canon SM fic. WIP

24.2. Music ofthe Spheres: Crossover with KHR – Post Stars Usagi and Post VongolaInheritance Tsuna are cousins who meet for the first time ever only after theVongola’s enemies kidnap Ikkuko and Shingo. Usagi gets taken into protectivecustody by her Mafia relatives without being given the chance to say shedoesn’t need it. Usagi then proceeds to seduce all the women, charm all themen, and accidently throw Iemitsu out the nearest window every time he’s in thesame room she is. WIP

24.2.1. Celestial Chorus – MotS Spinoff AU: Chibiusa’sarrival has Usagi dragging her family to Namimori to prove that Chibiusa isn’t their cousin and things get wildly out ofhand. In Meta

24.3. The SharpKnife Of A Short Life: SI is reborn as Tsukino Shingo under the aegis ofthe Roman God Janus and then proceeds to merrily say ‘screw canon, my sistergets to be happy or else’. WIP, Drabbles

25. SLAYERS

25.1. InfiniteBlue: Zelgadis starts paying more attention to the deeper practices ofShamanism and gets in touch with his demonic side while achieving deeperharmony in himself. Xellos approves and it all results in magic explosions andvery strange demonic courtship rituals. WIP

26. SONIC THE HEDGEHOG

26.1. SkippedTracks: The triplets from Underground end up transmigrating into therecently deceased bodies of their counterparts in a SatAM reality and proceedto rock out and confuse everyone. WIP

27. Stargate

28. STAR WARS

28.1. A Balanceof Ice and Fire: Crossover with GOT – Qui-Gon Jinn’s three Padawan Learnersand Padme (who got taken in Anakin’s place) are reincarnated as the Tyrellsiblings. They proceed to follow the Will of the Force and prepare the SevenKingdoms to win against the Long Night.

28.2. A Robe ofStars: Crossover with TMNT – The turtles and Karai help Obi-wan save theInitiates and babies in the Jedi crèche before the Temple gets razed. Once thechildren are safe, Obi-wan and his new allies turn their attention to savingthe Vod’ade. WIP

28.3. That WeAnswer to Our Stars: Crossover with Naruto – Kaguya’s reality warp has somestrange side effects to the point of ridiculousness. All the Uchiha to everexist are resurrected and then dumped wholesale onto an alien deathworld thatis essentially what Training Ground 44 would be if it hadn’t been fenced in.The Uchiha proceed to seduce the Jedi and foil all of Palpatine’s plans forgalactic domination. Meta

29. TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

29.1. A Robe ofStars: Crossover with SW – The turtles and Karai help Obi-wan save theInitiates and babies in the Jedi crèche before the Temple gets razed. Once thechildren are safe, Obi-wan and his new allies turn their attention to savingthe Vod’ade. WIP

29.2. A VelvetGlove: Crossover with FOZ – Leonardo gets summoned to be Louise’s Familiar.Since all of his brothers are dead, Leo sees no reason not to make the most ofthis “lifelong bond of magic and spirit” and adopts Louise as his littlesister. Halgenkia is not prepared for a Louise Francois le Blanc de la Vallierewith ninja training. Henrietta is probably far too gleeful over making her bestfriend her Spymaster, but it’s not like anyone knows enough about what they’redoing to stop her. Reconquista gets exposed and smashed, and Wardes reallyshould have respected his fiancée more. Chaptered,WIP

29.3. IronLaced: Crossover with TMNT – Maria Carbonell was actually Oroku Karai indisguise because she was on vacation from being a member of the Council ofShadows. Karai and all the Turtles accessed magic ninja dragon powers when theytook over the Council and Karai-as-Maria passed that down to Tony. So Tony isactually a dragon and an encounter with the Enchantress leaves him locked inhis dragon form. WIP

29.4. PaperFlowers: Leonardo and Michelangelo reconnect after years of separation anddeal with some leftover issues from their childhood while they prepare towelcome the next generation of Ninja Turtles into the world. WIP

29.5. Patchingthe Trousers: Starting from the end of the Fast Forward arc, Leonardo getslost in the multiverse and proceeds to adopt all the secondary turtles. All ofthem. Leonardo is the Mom Friend, only he’s not a friend he’s just a Mom. Chaptered, WIP

29.6. StainedBandages: Realistic resolution to the most common dark!Splinter tropes. Leodoesn’t really care about himself, but if you touch his brothers he will killyou. Splinter touches Raphael. Karai is gifted with Splinter’s decapitated headin a box. Oneshot, Completed

29.7. UnraveledSleeves: After First Contact and Splinter’s death from old age, the Turtlesscattered to live their lives. Leonardo is the only one who stayed in the Lair.Making peace with the Karai was only the first step towards healing, and Leomakes peace with himself as he takes on students and his family grows again. Chaptered, WIP

30. TRANSFORMERS

30.1. A Transformationof Ice and Fire: Crossover with GOT – Most of the Cybertronians who diedduring Unicron’s Awakening end up reincarnated as dragons (Seekers) andDirewolves (Autobots). The sapience of the animals causes significant changesto outcome of several key canon events.

30.2. Action Equals Reaction

30.3. CompromisingPositions: Bay’verse Shattered Glass – Megatron knows that there’ssomething wrong with his brother, but nobody will listen to him. Oneshot, Complete

30.4. HighStakes Wagers: Decepticon Romantic Gestures at their finest. Series of Oneshots

30.4.1. The Bet: Soundwave saves Starscream’slife after he gets blasted away from Unicron and they proceed to have wild,kinky spark-bonding and that’s it that’s the plot.

30.4.2. The Rebirth: Starscream and Soundwavehead off Galvatron and Zarak’s attempt to destroy Cybertron (and Earth, butthat’s really secondary to them) and earn their just rewards for being on thewinning side.

30.5. NineRings of Vos: The Epic Seeker Saga where Starscream is the uncontestedleader of the Seekers and he’s using the Great War as a cover to renew his people’spopulation numbers, add some variety to their core coding, and also destroy theCybertronian Government because they liked to make Seekers into their slaves. Seven Story Arcs, Chaptered, WIP

30.5.1. Before Dawn: A Rings spin-off where theSeekers are actually all sparklings who disguised themselves as their parentsin order to survive the Great War. Crash-landing on Earth precipitates the BigReveal and also the actual adult Seekers get woken from Government sanctionedstasis thanks to the energy surges caused by resource shipments coming in fromEarth. Chaptered shortfic, WIP

30.6. No Evil:Starscream is a scientist who wants to stay a scientist but he’s so damn goodat being Air Commander that he gets promoted anyway. Also his bestfriend/roommate from the War Academy is the closest thing to a therapist thatthe Decepticons have and that means Starscream stays mostly sane. Meta in Production

30.7. Out From Under

30.8. Thundercracker’sSo Crazy in Love: Seekers Go Into Heat and that will put the War onpause for a bit because of the crazy. Oneshotseries

30.8.1. Always the Quiet Ones: Thundercrackerterrorizes the Decepticon forces on Earth while displaying for his Wingmatesand accidently kills Megatron.

30.8.2. Decepticon Service Announcement:Thundercracker is the new Supreme Leader of the Decepticons and he’s decidedthat they’re in a good position to negotiate peace terms with the Autobots now.

31. YU-GI-OH

31.1. Old Game,New Rules: Sentinels and Guides are a built in part of society and acertain playing card game ties into that a bit more than most people wouldexpect. There’s a lot of gratuitous soul-bonding smut, worldbuilding runsrampant, and there’s a lot of social commentary on the futility of stereotypingany portion of the population based on a single point of commonality. WIP

31.2. TheFuture of the Past: Jounouchi’s past life left a surprise in their soulthat the trip to memory world triggers and now Katsuya is living through all ofJono’s memories. WIP – Under Revision

32. YU YU HAKUSHO

32.1. Bonds:Koenma and Yusuke are soulmates and Enma Daioh interferes because one his bratson is properly wedded and bedded Enma can take a long overdue vacation. Oneshot, PWP-ish

32.1.1. TiesThat Bind: Koenma and Yusuke are just starting to get used to being bondedmates when a new/old-and-forgotten enemy shows up to complicate things. WIP – Under Revision

32.2. WhatHappens on Vacation: Crossover with Bleach – turns out that Kurosaki Misakiwas a senior ferry girl on sabbatical (which translates as living a mortal lifeunaware of her true nature) and she was late returning to work due to beingtrapped in Grand Fishers gut. Ichigo and Uryuu are very confused when their“cousin” Kazuma shows up to introduce his new bride to the family. Koenma isjust really pissed off by all the paperwork he needs to deal with whilecleaning up his father’s mismanaged pet project. WIP

… Ta-dah. And also I apologize to the mobile users.

#Sanjuno talks back #fic I haven't written yet #AU masterlist post

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