#he just wants to deliver post and one day become the post emperor

[writing-zelda-brainrots]

The Apothecary’s Travel Guide Chapter 1

Quickly, before we begin, I want to set some things straight about this little fic series.

This fic will use Fem!Reader in both pronouns and body descriptions. I usually stick to gender neutral stuff, but this fic just works better with a female main character in mind (or at least I think so).

While I won’t be going into actual nsfw stuff (maybe in the future, I haven’t decided), this fic will still contain sexual themes and scenarios. This fic is meant for older teens and up. I don’t write with a young audience in mind, both for this fic and in general.

For those of you who are not familiar with The Apothecary Diaries (wtf are you doing here, go watch it), the series takes place in a fictional version of Imperial China. You don’t absolutely need to watch it to read this fic, but you will have a better understanding of things if you have (also, it’s just a really good show, very well written with one of the best female protags I’ve ever seen).

Also, this fic starts before Sunset, so the whole “Twilight is Wolfie” and “Hyrule can heal” things are not known yet.

–

It felt a little strange to be back in the busy streets of the pleasure district after spending months in the rear palace. But it was the good kind of strange. The smell of grilled meat skewers that you missed so much, the paper lanterns hanging overhead, people haggling for better prices in the street side shops, playing games on the side of the road, or drinking tea in teahouses. And of course, beautiful women calling men over to offer ‘special services’ in the many brothels.

It’s a sight you’re all too familiar with. Having grown up here, raised by the women of the famous Verdigris House, these things did not phase you. One would think that working in the palace would be quite the change of pace, but if there’s one thing that you’ve learned over the past however many months, it is that the palace and brothels aren’t all that different. A beautiful caged garden full of flowers for the emperor to enjoy looking upon.

In truth, if you had the choice, you would not want to have anything to do with the imperial palace, but given your situation, what could you do? You certainly didn’t ask to be kidnapped and sold off to the palace back then and you didn’t ask to be promoted to lady in waiting to one of the four highest ranking concubines. You were doing just fine as an apothecary back in the pleasure district, thank you very much.

You had originally attempted to stay low, worked as a simple, low ranking servant until your contract expired and then head home. You hid any signs of value that could get you promoted; you hid your ability to read and write, as well as hid your ‘true beauty’ so you wouldn’t become a concubine (even if a servant could only ever become a low ranking concubine). Any extra money you would have earned  from those promotions would just be swiped by your kidnappers, anyway. At least you still got paid for your regular work.

Had things originally gone according to your plan, you would have worked hard and been released within three years. However, now that goal post has been moved quite a bit.

But you shouldn't be thinking about work right now; it was your day off, after all. You were back home (after managing to haggle your way into them letting you leave the palace) and that’s all that matters right now.

I should get some radishes and chicken for soup tonight. You thought as you walked down the street of the makeshift market. You hoped that your father had been eating well. He was never all that good at feeding himself. If he was starving for a few days, the old lady from the Verdigris House would force something down his throat.

Speaking of the Verdigris House, you should probably head there later. Both to say hello to your ‘big sisters,’ but also so you could take a bath there. They’d likely want some medicine, too, now that you thought about it. The last time you delivered medicine there was the day you got kidnapped.

Heh. Even on my day off I’m running errands.

With your little morning shopping excursion done, you stuffed the ingredients into the basket you carried on your back and started heading to that familiar little shack you affectionately called home. Dad should be in the fields tending to the plants right now. Honestly, he was getting too old for that trek, especially with his busted knee, but you couldn’t deny that he loved that little garden he’s cultivated over the years. Not like you were any different when it comes to your passion for medicinal herbs. As your master, he taught you everything you know about medicine; what herbs work in which situations, what to use and what to avoid, how to make medicine, what plants, mushrooms and animals were poisonous and which weren’t, etc. He was a very learned man, having studied both eastern and western medicine. With a few more years of teaching, you might be as good as him, or you hoped so, at least.

Finally you reached the calm little neighbourhood you grew up in. It was on the very outskirts of the city, not even protected by the tall stone brick walls. Looking at the small sizes of the houses, barely larger than your average shack, told people that this was where the poor lived. It wasn’t much, but it was home. Truth be told, your father was an excellent medical expert, even having worked in the palace before from what you’ve heard, but for all his skill and knowledge, he had terrible luck, which is why he ended up living here instead of somewhere more fitting for his stature.

But when you got to your little childhood home, you were met with a worrying sight. A woman you didn’t recognise, worry and uncertainty written on her face, knocking on the front door of your home. That’s strange, did she need medicine? You didn’t recognise her servant uniform, but she seemed to be from one of the inns in the area.

You called out, catching her attention immediately. “Are you looking for the apothecary? He’s currently out, but I can leave him a message.”

“Please help, it’s a medical emergency! Someone’s been poisoned!”

Your face immediately turned serious as you dropped your belongings before running inside the shack to retrieve an emergency med kit. “Lead me to them.”

--

People had gathered around the doorway of the inn, clearly all in a panic, but not sure on what to do.

“I brought the apothecary. Please step out of the way.” The two of you moved past the seemingly small army of staff and patrons.

What you saw seemed to match what the woman had told you before. A man lying on the bed, restless, breathing erratically, hands clenching at the fabric of his clothes right over his heart. Immediately you entered your ‘work mode,’ practically diving next to the man. First, a physical check up.

You pried open the man’s eyes, looking into them; you checked his pulse and stuck a finger into his mouth. Judging from the spittle running down his chin and trace amounts of sick on the bed sheets and his blue scarf, it’s safe to say that he had vomited. Still, you pressed down on his solar plexus to induce more of it. It would help expel whatever caused this reaction, but it would also dehydrate him. There was a hrrk, and spit came pouring out of his mouth, which you wiped away with the bedsheets you had gripped.

Suddenly, a new man with brown hair and eyes came running through the door with what seemed to be a waterskin in his hands.

He was just about to offer the water to the man you were tending to, but you shouted at him: “Don’t let him drink that! Charcoal- we need charcoal!” The startled man dropped the item onto the floor, but recovered just as quickly, running off once again to retrieve the required item.

You repeated this process several times on the victim; making him vomit, wiping the bile away ad nauseum until nothing but stomach acid came out. The man was able to breathe much easier now, no longer hyperventilating. Thankfully, at your request, the charcoal had arrived just in time, which you quickly ground up with your mortar and pestle.

“This’ll be rough on his throat, but it’ll flush the toxins out of his body.” You spoke as you poured the fine powder into his mouth. Some of the men, who you assumed to be the patient’s associates, had gathered around the two of you, clearly worried.

“Wa… Water. Please…” Those were the first words you heard him speak, weak, but nonetheless a sign that he was recovering.

“Not yet. I’m sorry, but you’ll have to endure this a little bit longer.”

Though unhappy, he accepted and resigned himself to his scratchy and dry throat for the time being. Finally you were able to remove yourself from the bedside, letting the other men move the patient while the inn’s servant ladies removed the soiled linens.

First damn thing in the morning and I already have to deal with an emergency. I only just got back. You grumbled in your mind as you looked at your filthy hand. Ugh. I really need a bath. You sighed both from relief and exhaustion.

“You doin’ okay, Captain?” One of the taller men with brown hair asked while holding him up so he could stand.

The patient - now identified as ‘Captain’ - took a breath. “Much better.” He then turned his attention towards you. “Thank you. I was certain that I was a goner.”

“I am simply doing my job. There is no need to thank me.” Utilising some water in a pitcher that one of the servants offered, you wiped your hands with a damp cloth.

You then took out a wooden slip, wrote just a couple characters on it and handed it over to the servant woman who you first encountered. “Deliver this to doctor Luomen and bring him here. He should be by the south wall.”

With that, the servant gave you and everyone else in the room a small bow before leaving.

The man with a blue hat turned his attention to the patient, who had once again been laid down onto the cleaned up bed. “Now I know that stuff took you out; you didn’t even try to flirt with your “guardian angel”.”

“So that’s your impression of me?” The sarcasm in his voice was evident. “Glad to know that it took me almost kicking the bucket to change your opinion.”

--

Within about half an hour, the servant had returned, your father in tow. It took longer than you had hoped, but given your father’s age and condition, it wasn’t all that surprising.

He took a good look at the patient and asked some questions.

“I suppose you did an adequate job here.” He gave you his trademark gentle smile after he was done with his examination.

“‘Adequate’?” You ask, annoyed.

A man who you assumed to be the owner of the inn came into the room. “Thank you, doctor Luomen. You are the best medical expert one could ask for.”

“Don’t thank me. My daughter did all the hard work.”

“Tell me, how much do we owe you? Name your price.”

“There’s really no need-”

You nudge your father’s side with your elbow. “Can you pay rent this month?”

“Ah… Well, in that case, I’ll take the usual fee.”

This was one of his habits; undercharging for his work, or even failing to charge at all, much to your distress. You understood the desire not to take money from people who were already struggling to get by, but this was not the case.

A tall blond man in heavy armour came up to you, holding out a small-ish sack. “Please, allow us to reimburse you as well. We owe you a lot.” Seeing no reason not to, you accepted the item.

With that, your father and the inn’s owner head into another room to discuss payment, leaving you to gather up your tools.

From the corner of your eyes, you noticed a few of the men fidgeting nervously or giving each other glances. They obviously wanted to say something. You didn’t know why they were hesitating. Sure, you might have sharp, mean-looking eyes and you didn’t smile all the time, but there’s no reason for these numerous grown men to act like this around you.

“Can I help you?” You broke the ice. No point in delaying this.

The one who you assumed to be the leader cleared his throat. “Actually, we’d like you to answer some questions we have. We’re travellers from afar, you see, and we don’t know much about this place or nation.”

They came all this way here and they don’t know the first thing about where they are? “You’re in the country of Li, specifically in the capital city of both the nation and the Central Province. I’m not going to judge how you choose to spend your time, but if you wanted to go sightseeing, I wouldn’t exactly recommend coming to the pleasure district first.” You raised an eyebrow. Just who were these people?

You saw that a few of the mens’ faces had turned bright red when they realised where they were. “Ha! Told you that this is where we ended up.”

“Are you implying that you frequent these kinds of places, Captain?” It sure seemed like these two had a penchant for arguing. Even during the time while you were waiting for your father to arrive, you noticed that they kept butting heads.

“Enough, you two.” The oldest shot them a quick glare. “Either way, it’s good we left Wind with Four back at the city outskirts. Both because of the inappropriate nature of this place- no offence…”

You shrugged. “None taken.”

“... But so that they wouldn’t have to see you get in trouble like this.”

“You are the apothecary here, right? If so, then you should be familiar with people who have gotten injuries.” You nodded. “Have you heard anything about encounters with any strong monsters, particularly those with black blood?”

Alright, now you were really confused. Monsters? Black blood? Was this some kind of way of informing you of a new disease spreading among the troops of enemy nations? But if so, why not tell this to an army physician instead of a random apothecary?

“Can’t say that I have.” You spoke up after having given it some thought. “Though I have to admit that I have been working in the inner court for the past few months, so I’m not caught up on the goings on outside the palace walls. But if you are telling the truth, I’m certain I would have heard rumours.” Thinking back, Xiaolan - a girl you had grown a friendship with when you were a simple servant at the palace - sure loved her gossip, and if there was one thing she loved more, it was sharing that gossip with you over tasty snacks and food.

“Thank you anyways.”

While this conversation didn’t seem like it yielded much, it did get your gears turning. It was time to do some espionage- or rather, some investigating. Something you’ve gotten pretty good at lately, if you said so yourself.

“Please wait here while I get you some medicine.” With a quick bow you left the room. In truth you had already prepared the medicine while waiting for your father to arrive, but this was still a convenient excuse.

As quietly as you could you hid yourself behind the sliding door and pressed your ear against it. Sure enough, once the men in the room believed you to be gone, they started talking. Words like “monsters,” “eras,” “shadow” and others got thrown around as if it was common knowledge, yet it only served to confuse - and intrigue - you further. One thing was certain; these were not your regular, run-of-the-mill travellers.

Your earlier talk also gave you an opportunity to scrutinise their appearances. Given their unfamiliar clothes and armour, plus features like light coloured hair and eyes, and their utter lack of knowledge of where they even were, you assumed them to be from a distant land, the west, most likely. But that was before you noticed one curious detail that they all shared; pointed ears.

This one thing had you calling things into question. Sure, the world was a large place, but in all your years of studying medicine and the human body, you’ve never heard of any group of peoples with such a distinctive feature.

But now came the question of what to do. What were you going to do about this suspicious group? Should you report them in case they were here to cause trouble? To be honest, you didn’t want to get involved. No point in sticking your neck out for these strangers and possibly risk getting accused of treason. You’ve done your job, you healed them, and you’re about to give them their medicine and leave. There’s no need to let them occupy your mind anymore. You’d steer clear of them from now on. Yeah, that sounded good.

Finally, you pretended to have returned from your ‘excursion’ and knocked on the door. Given the sudden silence from the room, it was safe to assure that whatever they were talking about was not for others to hear.

Walking up to the Captain still in bed, you handed over a small paper bag. “Please take this for the next few days. It’ll ease your stomach and help with getting rid of any lingering toxins. I would recommend drinking it as tea.”

The one who you had identified as ‘Legend’ from when you were listening in groaned. “Ugh. This whole thing’s been a wash. You guys ready to head back to camp?”

A unanimous ‘yes’ was heard.

--

Ironically enough, you could not get those men out of your head. Was your intuition trying to tell you that there was something wrong with them? Or were you simply curious? They were certainly the most interesting people you’ve met in some time.

They had already left the inn and you had headed in a different direction. You did finally manage to get that warm bath you were looking forward to. And getting to speak to your ‘big sisters’ at the Verdigris House was nice. But still your mind was occupied with something else. Damn it, this was supposed to be your day off, but you haven’t been able to relax completely!

You kicked a small rock in front of you in frustration. Hopefully having dinner with your dad would help alleviate your problem.

Suddenly you felt an all too familiar feeling of being pulled backwards.

Well, this wouldn’t be your first kidnapping.

--

And Wars will have to suffer through that dry, ashy throat for the remainder of this fic- lol jk.

A.N Fun fact: did you know that other than Twilight (who has lived among humans for a long time), technically, Legend is the one who has interacted with humans the most? The people of Koholint Island had short, round ears, as did the people of Holodrum (Oracle of Seasons), Labrynna (Oracle of Ages) and Hytopia (Tri Force Heroes).

[enavstars]

May you bliss us with your angst ninja headcanons?

mainly kai pls

Sorry for the delay. You asked mostly for Kai's so I delivered. If anyone wants more hcs about the others I can work on it some time in the future (I also have more of Kai).

Now the hcs:

• All the ninja have PTSD from everything they’ve been through

• And abandonment issues

• Cole has an eating disorder and eats when he’s stressed, this is one of the reasons he is very insecure of his weight. People online poke at him for it

• Jay's terrified of losing his loved ones again because of him. That is another reason why he went absolutely crazy post Seabound, as he thinks it was his fault Nya had to resort to sacrificing herself

• He used to be bullied for living in a junkyard before becoming a ninja and that's why he was ashamed of it

• Zane always shoves down everything wrong that happens to him (e.g being the Ice Emperor for way too long to be ok about it) because he puts the team and their needs first.

• Nya has nightmares from the time she died in skybound but doesn't tell anyone.

• She had to keep her work and love life secret from her brother for fear that he would shut her down to protect her. Her fear persisted well into s1 and that's why she felt she had to hide Samurai X even from Kai

• Lloyd still admires his uncle despite his obsession with the green ninja (and all the neglect that came with it) because he's the only relative that actually took him in

• All of the ninja have at some point hidden an injury at least once. But Kai and Nya are the ones that do it more often (Nya specially when she was samurai X), and know how to treat mild wounds because of it.

• Kai and Nya do physical activities when they’re stressed or have emotions they don’t want to process. They can do their thing like Kai working in the forge and Nya doing mechanics but they usually train, however they can go on for hours (Kai has passed out a few times)

• Kai and Zane have a very poor sense of self. Zane’s comes from him not valuing his life and thinking he’s expendable since he can be rebuilt, ignoring all the trauma that comes from getting severely hurt or “dying”. Kai has problems seeing his worth as a human being because he’s never lived for himself; everything he does is for someone else and so he thinks his value resides in what he can do for other people. 

• Kai is terrified of the idea of being alone, it’s his worst fear.

• He has THE WORST coping mechanisms and Zane is confused on how his body was able to go through all of them (Alcoholism, illegal fights, smoking…)

• Kai is an insomniac, he barely sleeps most nights and instead just waits until he passes out (He has very deep eyebags because of it but hides them with make up, covering his freckles too). He sometimes bumps into some other ninja at night since they all have fucked up sleep schedules. 

• Lloyd also has a lot of problems sleeping because of nightmares and goes to Kai or Nya’s room where he feels safer (mostly into Kai’s). Sometimes they stay up at night chilling or they try to sleep. In those cases the nights with Lloyd are the ones where Kai sleeps the most because he feels safer too.

• Kai has chronic depression because of his fucked up childhood

• Lloyd thought he had depression too for a while but it turned out to be autistic burnout because of the stress of being the green ninja. But he can’t properly rest or heal from the burnout so he’s exhausted most of the time.

• When he’s stressed Kai forgets to eat and can go days with very little food because he’s used to it from being poor in his childhood.

• Genuinely forgot what it feels like to be a kid and have no responsibilities so it’s his personal mission to not let that happen to Lloyd. Kai would be devastated if Lloyd ended up like him.

• Kai sometimes feels insecure about his face scars and contemplates hiding them with make up.

• Kai’s touch starved but terrified of letting people in.

• He hides his negative emotions as anger and when the others try to reach out to him he pushes them away by getting angry at them until it's mutual and they leave him alone.

• Never told the others about what he did after Zane’s “death”. He fixed himself up, alone.

[umbracirrus]

WIP Wednesday!! 💛

Believe it or not, I actually have been working on my Oblivion fic a bit between stuff for The Perfect Storm. Last week I was debating between posting this or what I actually ended up posting, so thought I'd share this now!!

Tagged by @hircines-hunter and @thequeenofthewinter!!! Not tagging anyone back this week, but do feel free to share if you have anything and tag me 💛

Drissa's being a stubborn so-and-so, whilst Florian has the level-headed braincell these two share. For once.

Also, does anyone else find it strange that you can just walk on in to the Imperial City after having literally just broken out of jail in Oblivion? I always avoided it at first thinking I'd get arrested but. Nope. You can just walk on in. So I thought to rectify that.

----

“Whoa whoa whoa, hold it there, Champ-“ Florian quickly cried out, rushing to in front of her and holding his arm out. “I know that that Blade fellow said that he would pay off everything to do with our imprisonment if we’re delivering the amulet for the emperor, but he most certainly wouldn’t have done it straight away, and those things take time to process.” There was a desperation in his voice, a fear. “Don’t go into the city just yet. We’ll just get arrested again.”

Drissa scoffed and attempted to manoeuvre around him, just for him to grab at her arm and pull her back. For someone she could only call a fool, who held back and used a bow for the entire time they had been fighting to get out from those sewer caverns, she was not expecting him to actually have any sort of strength. He should have been using a blade instead. Coward.

“Do you have a death wish or something?!” he quietly hissed, pulling her towards a recess in the outer city wall. “Those guards are out for blood until they get told by their superiors not to arrest someone, why do you even want to go back in there when we have to go to Chorrol?!”

“I need my stuff. My weapons and my-“

“No. You don’t.” She was almost taken aback at how assertive he had become in his fear. “Look, you’re in my world right now, Champ.” She glared at him. If he called her ‘Champ’ one more time- “We’re not safe going into the city for the next few days, possibly even weeks, and you would be delusional if you think that you can just go to your house and get your belongings. The guards will have gutted your home if you’ve been accused of murder to find any weapons, and might even take possession of the building for a time. Nobody can stop them or call them out on their hypocrisy because they are ‘the law'!”

Remaining silent, Drissa continued to glare at him. Then came a quiet tut. "Then how do you propose that we handle the inevitable assassins who will come after us for the amulet? Not with these pieces of crap from the sewers, that's what!"

He continued to remain in her path, though folded his arms over and let out a sigh. “I have contacts. One is in Weye, not too far from here. They will have a better chance at getting your weapon out than you will... If we – or rather I – can afford to pay whatever price they ask.”

Drissa fell silent, weighing up his suggestion. It sounded marginally better than the chance of getting re-arrested with the Amulet of Kings in her possession... So she let out a frustrated huff. “Fine. How much would it cost?”

“With luck... Just a favour.”

[alia-turin]

Blood and Bones: Journey [Eilis]

I decided to post the full chapter here this week as well as on Wattpad, because it kind of fits nicely with a new project I am working on. Hope yall enjoy!

Warning: Violence, werewolves

Full story on Wattpad

Eilis left the capital with just one companion. She was fine doing so without anyone accompanying her, she rode through two countries almost alone, but the Emperor had insisted. This had surprised her. In her mind, the man barely noticed her in her short time at court. His choice of companion, however, puzzled her. When the Emperor had suggested an escort, she imagined guards or even a nobleman who might want to stay in his good graces of her, but instead, she was accompanied by the mysterious man she had seen after the werewolf fight.

"You didn't even tell me your name." Eilis finally spoke an hour after they had left the capital. The man had not introduced himself. He just rode in silence. Presumably, both of them knew where they were going and why. To her, the human was as mysterious and even scary as he was when she saw him at court. He was dressed in black, with messy black hair and piercing blue eyes that seemed to judge her with every breath she took.

"Lyall." He responded, but his eyes were fixed somewhere on the road ahead as if she was an annoying voice in his head he had to answer.

"My name is Eilis." She offered, trying to be friendly and helpful. It was a two-day ride to the border. She didn't mind the silence when she was alone, but when she had a companion Eilis felt as if there was a code where they needed to talk.

"I'm aware," Lyall replied, still not looking at her and sounding even more annoyed.

More silence followed, and every second they didn't say anything bothered her. Eilis couldn't even pinpoint why that was happening, but something in her was eating her alive. Probably she was too used to people responding to her, but she had never seen anyone who would be so cold to her without apparent reason.

"Why did the Emperor send you?" Eilis finally asked.

"A dog is not suitable for you, Princess?" There was mockery in his words.

"A..." Eilis didn't understand what he was saying. While she understood he was not a nobleman or knight, she wasn't against him accompanying her, most curious at the choice. "I'm not a Princess."

"No? My bad, the elves must be sending their servants to do their plotting." Lyall finally looked at her. His cold eyes felt as if he was piercing her soul. "You are naive, stupid, or very good at pretending to be innocent. Suits you with all your priestess robes and act."

Eilis could rarely say she had felt anger. While she had grown up as nobility and had a certain path in her mind, she was used to accepting life as it was. She was never supposed to join a monastery, but after her youngest brother left his religious service, her family felt like someone had to replace him. While a nun's life has never been what she imagined, she didn't protest and accepted it. Coming to the human lands to deliver a message of which content she wasn't even aware. He probably was right about one thing. She was stupid to trust her brother blindly. In her naive mind, that message was innocent, probably a trade agreement or something else. Doubts had started creeping into her mind once she saw the night elven exiles at the human court. M'Ryan had spoken so elegant to her, but she couldn't get it out of her head that he had killed his master and was punished by the old king for that.

"It's not an act." Eilis defended herself. "I am a sworn priestess of our gods."

She was used to people looking down on her devotion or even her choice of vocation. If she got a coin for every time people asked her why she abandoned the glamorous life of nobility to become a nun guided by restrictions and rules, she could purchase herself a whole kingdom, maybe an empire.

"I thought servants of the gods are supposed to be impartial." He continued his mockery that was driving her even angrier. "You just ruined that by getting yourself into that court."

"What do you mean?" Eilis stared at him, expecting an answer, but none came.

The rest of the day they spent in silence. She was too focused on his words and trying to figure out why she had made a mistake. Bael gave her that letter. She trusted him. She trusted all three of her brothers even when they didn't get along with each other or had different ideas about the kingdom. Still, she couldn't imagine they would use her for their plotting.

"We need to look for a place to spend the night," Eilis finally said as the day became darker.

"This is as good a place as any." Lyall stopped his horse and looked around.

"I meant like an inn..." Eilis also looked around, and there was nothing but the road and the trees lined next to it.

"There is nothing until you get to the border. That's four hours of riding in the dark, and while that doesn't bother me, our horses and you might not like the perspective." His tone continued to be mocking as if she was a child needing an explanation why horses moving in the dark was a bad idea. But why wouldn't it bother him? He was just a human. Their senses were significantly weaker.

Eilis just nodded in agreement. They couldn't ride more than an hour, and this was as good a place as any.

They walked away from the road so other travelers won't see them. Lyall took care of the fire, and she pulled whatever dried food she had, but he showed no interest in any of it.

"Not hungry?" She asked as she offered meat and fruit to him.

"Not for dried food." He looked at the flames as he responded.

"What did you mean when you said I was not impartial for being at the court?" Eilis finally asked as it was eating her on the inside. Everything he was doing was so odd. Lyall was dismissive, but he was helping her get to the border, even if that was ordered. He barely talked despite his biting remarks. Brooding and harsh comments were something she was not used to.

"You don't know?" He finally looked at her. "M'Ryan has been hiding at that court and whispering in the emperor's ear since he was exiled. What do you think your brother might want with the man protecting someone your kingdom considers unworthy on its territory?"

"Maybe to send him back." She suggested, but the way he laughed made her feel even more stupid than she did before.

"Well...what do we have here?" It wasn't Lyall who responded, but someone who had approached them. Four men were coming closer to them, their hands on their swords. "Care to share your fire with us?"

"Piss off," Lyall responded without even considering the situation. He didn't look at the men. His eyes were still pinned on the fire.

"No need to be rude, friend." Another one spoke. "We just want to share your fire."

"And other stuff." A third voice joined, and a laugh followed.

Eilis looked at them with concern. All of them had their hands on their swords. The first one who spoke started pulling the weapon with a satisfied grin. This is why she never rested by the road. Her brother Rean would always tell her how dangerous that was, and even though she had never been a traveler, that had stuck in her head. She was stupid to allow Lyall to decide for them to stay here.

As she looked at the men, the grins on their faces suddenly soured, and it took a second to understand why. She had been so focused on the danger ahead of she almost missed the sound of ripping clothes and bone cracking. Her attention turned back to Lyall, who had stood up, but nothing about him seemed right. His black hair had grown and now started covering his face. Instead of a mouth and nose, his features started turning into a snout. His eyes betrayed pain, as his body twisted and jerked, and she could see the bones and muscles going through a transformation. Eilis' paniced mind thought of dough, how it turned and shifted, but instead of softness, there as a struggle in what was happening to the human. He wasn't a small man, probably one of the tallest she had ever seen, but now he grew in size, and his frame became broader while the cracking of bones continued and the grunts of pain echoed in the woods.

"A monster..." One of the men screamed as he dropped his sword to the ground.

It wasn't a monster, he was a werewolf, and looking at the fur and the eyes, she recognized this one. The same black beast she saw in the arena ripping the throat of the other animal was standing in front of her now. His wild blue eyes looked at her for a second, and then, with a quick jump, he attacked the bandits. There was screaming; some tried to fight him, but he was incredibly fast and strong. Their swords were too long to be effective against the best that was on the throats before they could even pull them out. His giant shape was ripping and tearing through their bodies as if they were parchments of paper, and it took her a short time to realize that he was also chewing and swallowing whatever his mouth got to before jumping onto the next victim.

Despite their numbers, it was all over soon. The screams were done, the bodies or what was left of them were on the ground, not twitching, and small rivers of blood pooled around them. Lyall turned toward her, his claws and snout covered in sticky liquid. Eilis panicked. She had heard stories of werewolves that could be mindless and dangerous when turned. Was she next? She stepped back, aware that she couldn't run and she couldn't protect herself, but instead of launching at her, Lyall stood there and winced. His body started shivering again, similar to what Eilis witnessed a moment ago, but this time the bones broke and started shrinking, the black fur vanished and the muscles became smaller, he was grunting and groaning, baring his teeth in pain and she reached for him to help him as he fell on the ground and almost curled in a ball.

"Don't touch me," He hissed at her while his face had turned into his human shape. The way he hissed was terribly animalistic. "There are clothes in the saddlebags of my horse. Bring them to me.

He was sweating and shivering as he was leaning against the ground.

[fairytales-and-folklore]

First Lines Tag Game

Thank you for the tag @ash-mcj and @greyhavenisback! <3

Rules: Post the first lines of your last 10 fics posted to AO3

• "So, as you know, Amity and I are coming up on our one year anniversary in exactly one month's time," Luz informs the pair of them, pacing the length of the living room like she's delivering her opening statement in court. (Huntlow | Until You Meet Someone Who Makes The Fall Feel Like Flying) • The first thing Hunter notices when he's thrust out of the portal into the human realm is that the rain here doesn't boil like it does back home. (Huntlow | Being Human) • Hunter can't stop staring at his hands, big goofy grin threatening to leave permanent dimples in the sides of his cheeks, because Willow— Willow is holding his hand. (Huntlow | Advanced Friendship) • He finds the book at a local shop downtown, half price on a Halloween special. (Huntlow | I'll Stare Directly At The Sun But Never In The Mirror) • It's a work in progress, but in the months that follow the revival of wild magic on the Boiling Isles, it's become a lot easier for him to accept what he is, especially now that all the most important people in his life know his biggest, deepest, darkest secret. (Huntlow | The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter) • It wasn't just the fact that he looked incredible in one of her favorite color combos (she's the girl with the bee palisman, of course she's gonna have a thing for black and yellow) but more than that, it was the fact that he looked so proud to be wearing something he'd made by hand, so passionate and enthusiastic about this book series he and Gus love so much, that made her want to be a part of it, to get invested in something he cares about. (Huntlow | The Borg and the Botanist) • Willow finds the camera hidden away amidst a sea of human realm junk late one afternoon while she's down the basement helping the boys set up their new sleeping arrangements. (Huntlow | The Golden Hour) • Willow takes a deep breath as she makes her way down the familiar floral-lined path, hand hovering for a few anxious moments over the peeling green paint of her front door, before rapping her knuckles against it in a steady, three-count knock. (Huntlow | First Impressions) • The six of them stand at the edge of the graveyard, breathless from battle, staffs at the ready, pre-sketched glyphs running low. (Huntlow | You're My Head and You're My Heart) • In the months that follow the Battle of the Boiling Isles, after two great evils have been defeated and the dust starts to settle on their strange little island, Hunter delves further into his studies, into subjects he'd never been allowed to research in the light of day — mindscape magic, palisman magic, grimwalker lore — now more knowledgeable than ever with access to a whole underground archive that Lilith had uncovered in her renovation of the Emperor's old castle as she seeks to turn it into a school for wild magic. (Huntlow | A New Familiar)

[gigantomachylesbian]

saw your storygraph post, and now i'm wondering, do you have any favorites amongst the LGBTQIA+ books you've read so far this year? would you recommend any of them? i'd love to hear your answer!

Yeah absolutely! I'll try to recommend a variety of things (without going overboard) but I must admit that I'm very biased towards epic fantasy and horror in my reading (also wlw stuff more than anything else, though I'm trying to broaden my horizons a bit!) Under the cut because I have so much to say about books literally all the time every day.

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan.

This is my absolute favorite book I've read so far this year, and it probably makes my top 3 overall! This is a historical fantasy novel inspired by the rise of the real-life Hongwu Emperor in the 1300s in China. It follows Zhu, a girl who takes on her dead brother's identity to also claim his fate of greatness, becoming a skilled tactician and ruthless enemy along her rise to power. This book has some of the best scheming, back-stabbing, and vying for power I've ever read--I cannot possibly emphasize enough that a guy gets drawn and quartered and it was delightful to me <3. In addition to just being deeply compelling and well-written (Zhu is SUCH a good, complex character, she is absolutely ruthless and clever and perceptive), it has some really interesting representation! Because it's set in historical China, a lot of this stuff isn't stated explicitly in the way it would be in, like, a contemporary novel, but it's absolutely clear in both how the text is written and its themes. Zhu does have a romance with a woman which I really enjoyed, and at a certain point she acknowledges that, while she's not a man despite living as one to maintain her power, she's not really a woman, either. At the same time, our other POV character (and Zhu's narrative foil, which is done so well it makes me BANANAS), is Ouyang, a eunuch within the Mongolian army who, while not transgender, faces a unique, interesting, and incredibly degrading position of gender within this society due to his status as a eunuch, and it drives everything he does. He's literally my favorite character in the entire book I need to study him like a bug. ALSO he's gay. She Who Became the Sun really explores, through Zhu and Ouyang, this theme of "like recognizes like," where, despite being on opposing sides, Zhu is able to recognize in Ouyang this sort of precarious gender status she herself experiences, and understand him better for it. This book is complex, extremely well-written, and delivered everything I want from a historical fantasy, from rich settings, cut-throat politics, complex and morally gray characters and, of course, ghosts! The sequel (I believe the series is a duology?) comes out this summer and I AM going to flip out about it.

Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers.

Now, on a totally different note, I've got a contemporary romance! But not really of the rom-com variety necessarily. This novel follows Grace Porter, who recently completed her Astronomy PhD and celebrated by letting loose for once in her life--which results in her having a vegas wedding with a girl she just met. As silly as that premise is, much of the novel focuses on, yes, Grace's developing relationship with Yuki as the two connect, but also on the effects that Grace's perfectionism and burnout have on her mental health. The novel explores her feelings of uncertainty about her future, as well as how the scientific field she loves is 10 times harder for her to succeed in as a queer black woman, even when she's dedicated her whole life to it. It has some incredible discussions of both the beauty of science and of storytelling, a delightful and fleshed-out set of side characters (including a fantastic queer friend group that I adored), and absolutely beautiful, rich descriptions and prose. I absolutely adore Grace as a character and find her to be just so incredibly real and believable, and this was a book I could just sink right into with its beautiful descriptions.

Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White. Now we're onto a YA dystopian horror! This novel follows Benji, a trans teenager whose eco-fascist, Christian cult has destroyed most of the world, and turned him into a bioweapon to destroy the rest. He's on the run, and finds refuge in a group of survivors based out of a local LGBT+ teen center as they fight to survive when faced with the murderous cult members, horrible conglomerations of flesh and bone made to kill them, and a damaged, burning Earth. This novel has some absolutely fantastic body horror! It's very gnarly, and combines a lot of meat with Christian imagery in a way that was just delightful. The tension and horror elements definitely worked for me, and I really enjoyed Benji as a protagonist. Benji's experiences as a trans kid are pretty heavily focused on, especially combined with the community he finds in the other survivors and his relationships with them. Also, his love interest is canonically autistic! Overall, Hell Followed With Us has a great balance of nasty body horror, the challenges of fighting to survive, and the hope found in community.

Okay those are the only books I'm letting myself write extensive recommendations for because otherwise I'll be here all day, but here's some bonus recommendations: The Burning Kingdoms series by Tasha Suri (lesbian epic fantasy series, 2 books so far, Indian-inspired fantasy world with incredible world building, action, and complex women <3. Also in my top favorites from this year!), A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows (mlm fantasy romance, explores cultural differences really well+a powerful trauma recovery narrative (with a touch of vengeance <3), first book in a series but the second isn't out yet, I LOVED this book and its characters and the romance so so so much, but do heed the trigger warnings as it starts out pretty dark), Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth (Horror that plays with metafiction, weaves together narratives of past tragedies at an all-girls boarding school with the making of a contemporary film about those events, lesbian+bi+polyamorous rep, grossnasty bug stuff+picnic at hanging rock vibes. An absolute blast!).

Okay those are all my recommendations for now (and limited to just what I've read this year) BUT if you're looking for a specific genre, type of representation, or even just something more lighthearted than most of what I've mentioned, please don't hesitate to ask! I definitely have way more things I could've recommended if I didn't want this post to be a million miles long. Also thank you for asking! :^D

[cawcawpeasants]

I'm in holidays, yessssssssssssss ! Moreover, i was thinking of my two sweeties and do you think you can do a scenario, if you haven't to much to do, of Fuegoleon who is over jealous for some reasons ? I can see Nozel joking with this, and it's not helping. But, a lion over possesive and jealous, i want to read what you can write with this ! I'm sorry to bother you if it's to much ... ^^

This was fun! huehuehue

Poor Mailman, somebody better stop Nozel and Leon. When they are Jealous they can become so damn unpredictable. 

Well, here goes, enjoy ;) 

Jealous Leon escalates:

A knock on the door interrupted the two men’s conversation.They were In Nozel’s office in the castle, as it was that time of the year werethe captains had to evaluate the budget needed for the following year, so theythought they could be pretty much undisturbed. They were just discussing whatto have for dinner, when they were startled by the knocking.

‘Lord Silva?’ asked a young voice from the other side of thedoor, ‘May I enter?’

Nozel seemed to recognize the voice, as his posture relaxed.

‘You may, Philippe.’

Leon shot him a weird look.

Since when does Nozelcare for the first names of others? And why does he look so…happy?

He decided to keep a close eye on whoever was coming throughthat door.

A young man, probably in his late teens or early twentiesentered. He was well kempt, nice stature, pretty blond hair and a face thatstill had some baby fat on it, which, in combination with his big green eyes,made him undeniably cute. He was also dressed in the royal post uniform.

‘Good evening Lord Silva, oh, and Lord Vermillion. I hope I didn’tinterrupt you. I have the documents you have ordered yesterday, Lord Silva.’

He smiled kindly, innocence was dripping from his well-manneredwords. Usually Leon would like an upright young fellow like him, but seeing thesmall smile on Nozel’s face, which wasn’t for him but the other male in theroom. He squinted his eyes slightly at the young man.

‘Oh, that was fast Philippe, thank you very much. I didn’t evenexpect that they would come today.’

Nozel grabbed his pen, ready to sign off the confirmation ofreceival which Philippe handed him. These two had a routine already, and Leon hada hunch that the boy had been spending more time with his man in the last weekthan he had.

He also saw the now slightly red ears of the fellow, whichhad turned that way because of Nozel’s small compliment.

‘O-oh, that is because I had some business to do in the areayesterday evening, so I was able to pick them up after work already.’

Nozel looked him in the eyes and smiled again.

‘Is that so? Then thank you very much for doing this for mein your free time.’

‘It’s nothing, Lord Silva. We of the royal post would go toevery length possible for our customers happiness.’ A wide smile, as bright andbeautiful as the sun lit up the room.

Leon felt like punching someone. Maybe it was the sleep deprivation,but he had a feeling this guy was flirting with his lover. And that his Nozelwas even flirting back!

It took years for himto call me by my first name! Let alone to even smile at me.

He was positively pissed and maybe he did glare a bit at theyoung man, because Philippe’s smile seemed to become a bit strained afterlooking at him. The guy excused himself quickly, nearly fleeing the office.

After the door fell close, Nozel sighed while scooting overthe papers he had just received.

‘What did the poor guy do wrong to receive such hostility fromyou, Leon?’

The question was simple, but Nozel’s tone of voice and the particularlook full of mischief told Leon, that he already knew what had riled theredhead so up.

Leon leaned forwards across the desk, bringing his head onone level with Nozel’s and glared back.

‘You know exactly why!’

Nozel out the papers down and answered with a fake-cluelessexpression.

‘Oh, I am afraid not, Vermillion, I was kind of too busy checkingthat cute guys stunning little butt out to pay attention to your jealousy.’

Leon basically sprung out of the chair, now leaning overNozel, who still coolly met his angry stare.

‘What did you say?’

‘I said that Philippe, the nice postman, has a nice butt,and believe me, he is a very cute, nice and disciplined young man. I saw himfor the better part of the last week, so I can promise you, he is very…pleasingcompany’

The tone was teasing, and somewhere in Leon’s tired brain washis usual voice of reason calmly telling him that Nozel was just messing withhim, that the Silva for sure did NOT have an affair with the mailman, but therewas a louder voice, that told him to get rid of the love rival and then throwhis mate over his shoulder. To show the Silva all over again who he belongedto.

He stood up and left the room, the loud bang of the doorclosing behind him drowned out the ‘Leon?’ behind him.

He strutted down the hallway, looking out for the oh soperfect blond hair that apparently was set to seduce his Nozel.

A familiar voice saying its goodbyes in a close office caughthis attention. There he was, leaving and smiling as brightly as before.

Apparently Nozel wasn’t the only one the boy was out to get.

The moment the door closed again, Philippe found himself be draggedby his collar into a smaller adjoining hallway and then pressed up against awall.

Fearful green eyes in a pale face met angry purple.

‘What are your intentions?’

Leon’s tone was deep, nearly a growl, too. Philippe never hadmet a real Lion before, but he had the feeling, he now knew exactly how anantelope felt 5 seconds from being eaten.

He tried to answer, but the Vermillion held him pretty highand by his collar, so no air reached his panicked lungs. He held on to his bagwith the documents and letters he was yet to deliver, while trying to get on histip toes so he could breathe.

The lord grew impatient, so he repeated the question, this timewith more emphasis.

‘What. Are. Your. Damn. Intentions.?’

‘I- I intent to-to deliver the P-Post, sir’ came the choked-outanswer.

Phillipe tried to stay calm, like he learned in that seminarabout how to react when you are being attacked by a client’s dog or otherpossible dangerous pet. He should probably inform his bosses, that they shouldalso offer courses on how to deal with possible dangerous human companions ofclients, too.

Leon was clearly not satisfied with the young mans answer,so he yanked him up even higher. Philippe, now completely dangling in the air, puton his customer service smile in a try to appease the obviously angered man.

‘You know damn well kid, that I don’t care about your letters.I want to know what your intentions are concerning Nozel!’

‘Lo-Lord Silva? Well, I intent to deliver him his letters,too, Sir.’

Poor Philippe was confused. Had he done something wrong? Heloved his job, so probably not he was quite a stickler to the rules. He alwaystried to be punctual and had his whole routine planned out, so his customers wouldalways know when to expect him. Hell, his bosses had refined their protocolbased on his performances.

He winced at the thought of lagging behind in his schedulealready, and also because he heard the doomed sound of bursting seams. He likedhis uniform, always took care of it with pride, as it was what he had alwayswanted since he first saw someone from the royal Post wear it as a kid. EvenLord Silva had complimented him on always looking professional, which had been quitea surprise, as he had heard of the other being quite cold and detached. Theybonded a bit over their mutual work-a-holic attitude with a good helping of perfectionism,so Philippe wanted to help him out a bit by getting him his documents earlier.

Always 110%, was his motto. Applied to both work ethic andpaycheques.

The interrogation had turned into a staring contest, withFuegoleon glaring into the blond one’s soul and Philippe smiling as bright ashe could with a panicked look in his eyes.

As Nozel entered the scene he couldn’t help but raise aneyebrow at this ridiculous display. He went over to the enraged redhead and puta hand on his shoulder, effectively ripping the two out of their match.

‘Leon, let the boy go. Philippe, I am sure you still havework to do, so you better get going.’

Then he turned around and left again.

Disgruntled, Leon did as Nozel told him to and turned to goafter him, but not without sending one last angry stare at Philippe who hastilybrought his uniform in order again. The message was clear.

Stay away from my Man!

Leon caught up with Nozel halfway to the office, and was metwith a cold shoulder and some choice words.

‘What the hell was that, Vermillion? Do you really think Iwas into him? He definitely did not deserve that, and you acted completely out.’

‘Its not my fault that you were basically slobbering all overhis cute butt, Silva. I had to show him that you are off limits before he triessomething.’

‘Excuse me, that was just playing. Honestly, you shouldprobably take a nap when you are so tired that you don’t understand sarcasm andteasing anymore. If you don’t stop making such an ass out of yourself you mightas well find me in the close future not being “off limits” anymore, understood?’  

They had walked next to each other while having their spatin hushed tones so as not to inform the whole castle about their fight and hadreached the office door. There Nozel looked at him for the first time duringtheir fight and Leon saw him being pissed at his behaviour, but the redhead couldn’thelp but still be angry. Then he remembered the second part of his originalplan.

He cornered Nozel against the door, looming over him like apredator.

‘Oh, teasing it was? Well, my dear tease, if it makes youhappy, I am glad to inform you that that just worked alright. And I think Ihave a good idea on how to recompense your words’

Andmake sure you forget all about that Mailman’s ass when I amdone showing you who yours belongs to!

[thefreakishmuffin]

Lunter role-swap AU

I said I was going to expand on my Lunter role-swap AU, and I intend to deliver! The link to the original post with some basic notes can be found here. Here are some notes for Luz I've jotted down for it (I’ll do Hunter in another post): 

(Warning: ANGST!)

Luz

Luz was born as a powerless witch in the Boiling Isles to unknown parents. No one could ever diagnose exactly why Luz was incapable of performing magic, as she was otherwise perfectly healthy. For some reason or another, magic just never seemed to work for her. 

She had always adored the book series The Good Witch Azura growing up, and always dreamed of being like her. She longed to be a powerful witch who spread light, good, and happiness around everywhere she went. But felt that, without magic, this was impossible. 

The poor girl was consistently bullied both because of her interests and her inability to do magic.

But one day... Everything changed...

She had started hearing rumors about the infamous ‘Eda the Owl Lady, the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles’. A very young and optimistic Luz began to wonder, if this Eda person was the most powerful witch in the area, than perhaps she could finally help her get a handle on magic! Besides, if the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles couldn’t help her, who could?

Luz, being as impulsive as she is, decided to throw all her eggs in one basket and set out to find Eda the Owl Lady, a woman she’s only heard about by word of mouth. And eventually, she did find her. She found The Owl House.

(Important to note that the Eda she meets is the Eda at the beginning of the show’s canon. Meaning that this Eda still has all her magic, isn’t too keen on having an apprentice, and hasn’t developed any ‘maternal instincts’ just yet).

When Eda meets this girl, she’s initially thrown off. Who is this girl? How did she find out where she lived? And why does she want me to teach her magic? These were all questions going through her mind. 

Luz begs and begs Eda to please teach her magic, explaining to Eda how she can’t do magic naturally and was hoping that somehow she could help her. Eda keeps trying to deny her help, but Luz is persistent. Eventually, Eda gives in. After all, this could be an interesting challenge.

She stays with Eda and King for a few months. But unfortunately, no amount of training works. Luz still can’t do any kind of magic. Eda tries to convince Luz that perhaps she can just stick with potions, as that doesn’t require magic to be cast, but that isn’t good enough for a now frustrated and troubled Luz. Despite how she felt about Luz before, Eda has now come to care for her and wants her to be happy.

One night, Luz and Eda get into a huge argument about Luz not being able to do magic, and Eda being unable to teach her. It eventually turns into an all out screaming match where emotions explode at the surface. Luz, after all this time, still wants nothing more than to be like Azura, but now believes that this dream will never come to fruition. She falls apart, feeling like a failure, and feeling like she will never have a place in the world. 

During the argument, when Eda loses her temper, doing all she can to restrain the Owlbeast during this emotional outburst, she says something. Something horrible. Something that wounds Luz deeply, and leaves her devastated. Something that Eda deeply regrets.

Feeling hurt and betrayed, Luz runs off, abandoning Eda, The Owl House, King, and the last bit of hope she had for herself and her future. 

And it’s then that things take a drastic turn...

Somehow, she runs into Emperor Belos (or he finds her, Idk). The Emperor listens to her story and plight, and offers to take her in as an apprentice, promising Luz that, while he may not be able to teach her magic, he can give her magic. 

She takes him up on his offer, and she receives a staff with artificial magic, as well as a new uniform and title: The Silver Guard. She becomes his right hand.

Luz still wants to do heroic deeds and help others, but Belos insists to her that she’s being heroic and doing good by helping prepare for the upcoming Day of Unity.

And you know what? That’s where I’m gonna leave it for now...

Stay tuned for a post on Hunter!

[kookies2000]

So I noticed this story idea got some attention.

And you know what, I'm gonna give a sneak peek soon and post a test chapter soon. But before I do, I'm gonna say some extra things.

The title is officially:

"My Sunries"

And more charaters I wrote in:

Vee: Luzs twin sister. The two lost their parents in a mysterious accident and were taken in by the Emperor. Vee loves to be a lady in waiting and helping with everything. She loves animals, children, learning, music, art, going into the private library and thanks Hunter everyday when he let's her in. She's calm, obedient, and shy. Everything the Emperor could ask for in a proper lady of the court. Shame she isn't really human but a monster that the Wittebanes have been hunting to extinction for generations.

Steve: A loyal soldier of Emperor Belos. He has always dreamed of being a soldier and serving his kingdom with a proud heart. He sacrificed so much for his family and made sure to be a positive role model for his younger half brother. He loves spending time with his best friends Lilith and Hooty. He's the first soldier to greet Willow into her new home and show her the garden. He instantly falls in love with Willow's unicorn shaped bushes and pets the everyday. His only regret? Becoming a solider for the Emperor.

Mattholomule: Steve's half little brother. He looks up to his brother and wants to be a solider like him. He pushes everyone down so he can be on top just so Bria and her friends accept him. Though they never do. He always tries to join Steve on his mission's to prove he is strong enough to hang out with the Glandus kids but Steve only let's him join the more tamed missions. Like delivering the a certain jester of the Emperor to see his bettoth. What Mat didn't expect was to be intrigued by the jesters fascination for illusions and human history. Or for this jester to show genuine kindness towards him with no strings attached. Or for the jester to be a handsome young guy.

Alador: King to his Queen Odalia. The two were childhood friends until Aldors parents pushed the two to marry. Alador is highly intelligent and hard working. Perhaps a little too hard working. He hasn't taken a break in years or even talked to his kids. In fact, he can't remember when was the last time he saw the sunrise. It isn't until his daughter runs away when he finally gets to see what he's been missing his entire life. Finally going out and meeting new people and old friends. Though he wishes he could've douged Darius just so the twins would stop asking about him.

Edric and Emira: Twins. Love their little sister to death. They prank her, joke around with her but still look after her needs. Helping her sneak out of the castle and making illusions so no one suspects she's gone. But they regret it when Amity decides to not come back one day. The twins go after her against their mothers wishes and are determined to bring back their Mittens.

Original characters

Amado- A prince from another kingdom across the sea. His kingdom is not under control of Belos or anyone that isn't his family. He loves to travel and stops by every kingdom he finds to explore. He loves making new friends and learning about every culture. Helpful, kind, loyal, determined and a romantic. Now if only he could add empathy to that list instead of being ignorant to others feelings.

Miss Baron: A human teacher that encourages Eda and Lilith to share their witch culture with humans.

Oh, and what are you're thoughts on musicals? 😅 Hey! As a theater kid, I FEED ON MUSIC AND DRAMA!!!! I swear, if I don't add musical numbers, at least one, I'll explode and die!!!!

[dreamsmp-au-ideas]

Fire Emblem AU. That is to say, I thought of some pre timeskip shenanigans. Also, thank you for the compliments and for running this blog. Cant say thank you enough

-Dream claims that Techno is his rival. Meanwhile, Techno wishes he would stop barging into his office and asking to spar. As much as Techno would love to go “all out” as Dream requests, he does not wish to get fired for accidentally breaking the future emperor’s arm.

-The people with three crests are highly susceptible to illness. Philza is constantly checking on Techno when there’s bad weather. When Techno gets annoyed and asks why he’s not like this with Ranboo, Philza responds that Ranboo knows when to take a break. Techno will keep going without rest until he passes out in class.

-As Philza learned the hard way when he walked in on half a class trying to get Techno into a chair and the other half debating if they’re allowed to leave if the professor passes out for five minutes.

-Karl took Philza’s coveted spot of Teacher of the Month that he pretty much always gets. Coincidentally, Philza starts bringing in fresh fruit for breakfast every morning. Karl retaliates by bringing in cookies for class after lunch everyday

-Due to Techno’s strength, he’ll sometimes open a door and it comes completely off the hinges. Which he always responds to with a loud sigh and one of the students has already gotten the toolbox from the desk.

-Ant is really popular with the local monastery cats. He has a tradition where he’ll eat his breakfast on the stairs and feed the cats who come to him

-Dream completely derailed the Green Gator’s class when he burst in the door holding what he called “colorblind glasses” that Sam had made. Karl then realized they aren’t learning anything today and the rest of the class period was going around the monastery and seeing if George could identify what color things were.

-Sam made the glasses and Dream gave him a ton of good supplies for inventing and gold. Really, Sam just did it to challenge himself, but hey free money! He also got three thank you cards at his door from each member of the Dream Team

-Techno was technically supposed to die like two years ago and is living longer than anyone expected. Which made things super awkward because he had gone ahead and ordered a tombstone for himself. It got delivered to the monastery and he had to put it somewhere. So, he shoved it under his bed and called it a day.

-Wilbur came to Karl’s class one time with a five-page essay he doesn’t even remember writing about why the house animal shouldn’t be the Anteater. Wilbur suspects it was when he was staying up late doing research on Anteaters and he wrote an essay on it in a tired blur.

-Karl is more surprised it’s actually good and gives Wilbur extra credit for it

-Somene tried to posion Bad’s food one time but Skeppy had stolen it first because the Monastery’s chicken is really good. Which results in Skeppy getting posioned and The Red Ravens learn that Bad actually can be intimidating when he wants to

-Don’t worry, Skeppy got better in a day or two and he immediately made a food posioning joke

-Schlatt and Wilbur’s C-support is mostly Wilbur asking Schlatt if he wants to reconnect over and over again before Schlatt stops ignoring him and goes “Ha, ha no”

-Tommy got a beehive for Tubbo on his birthday

-Tubbo got him this moth house he made that’s a good place for moths to go

-Once The Blue Anteaters find out that Fundy is a fox spirit they start giving him pats on the head.

-Karl says that one of his students is his favorite and then never says which one purely to mess with them.

-Some of Bad’s relatives came over and made him feel bad about himself again. The Red Ravens decide to have a Bad Appreciation Day

-Bad is mostly numb to his relatives by this point but he is very grateful to his friends.

-The Blue Anteaters can tell when Wilbur has had a bad night and at least on of them will bring him some tea.

-Dream got super sick one time and refused to let anyone except George come into his room in order to hide his crest problem.

-Ranboo visited him and got in by telling him he also doesn’t like his hair. The two become fast friends after that

-Like actually friends Dream cares about people in this universe

-Ranboo sleepwalks and one time he walked into the fishing pond

-Karl definitely abuses his time travel powers in order to mess with people. Particularly when Quackity made it his personal mission to prank Karl one day and he dodged every single prank

Might do some post-timeskip angst stuff but who knows? Or maybe I’ll write some supports? If I was to write a support, who’s would you like to see?

All of these are glorious. All of them are absolutely glorious.

Also, if you’re writing supports, maybe Schlatt and Quackity interacting? That would be fun.

[minmotl]

Ch. 68: Tang Fan Spills Medicine Over Injured Sui Zhou & Makes Him Take Off His Pants

Context: Tang Fan, Sui Zhou and their surviving subordinates have escaped the tomb and won against the remnants of the White Lotus Sect members camping outside their escape route. They should be celebrating, but trouble has only begun for Tang Fan. Although Yin Yuan Hua’s death was hardly his fault, their rivalry is still well-known back in the imperial city. Yin Yuan Hua’s direct supervisor makes use of this opportunity to lodge a complaint about Tang Fan having failed as a leader, and Tang Fan’s powerful allies in the ministry are all sent away. This case must have a scapegoat, and the Emperor, hearing all the complaints about Tang Fan from another official as well, decides to suspend him from his rank and title.

Before they deal with that, however, Tang Fan tries to take care of an injured Sui Zhou on their way back, and is unsurprisingly, absolutely useless at taking care of someone else.

*Note: Tang Fan is referring to a previous incident later when Sui Zhou teased him about his... after making him take off his pants (for a good reason).

Introduction Post | Masterpost

—

Highlights under the cut

In Tang Fan’s eyes, his person career advancement will never be as important as the health of his friends and companions. He orders Cheng Wen and the rest to properly record all the treasures and also rejects Magistrate He’s attempts to make him stay, bringing everyone on the journey back to the imperial city.

They are not as much in a rush this time on the way back because they have to take care of those who are injured. The journey cannot be too fast and they must often take rests at outposts along the way meant for officials.

Magistrate He helped them to prepare several carriages and inside, several thick layers of soft covers have been placed to ferry the injured. A physician is also accompanying them on this journey and he can help to prescribe and brew medicine, and also to treat wounds.

As Sui Zhou’s internal organs have been wounded, he needs to to rest often and adding to that, he has to drink medicine that has herbs that would help with his sleep, so on this entire journey, he has spent most of the days in sleep.

Those who are injured need someone to take care of them, and the only woman in this convoy is Lady Chen. However, as she’s a wanted criminal, she can enjoy sitting in a single carriage, but her hands and legs have been trapped with heavy cuffs. There are supervising men stationed before and behind this carriage. Tang Fan cannot let her come and take care of Sui Zhou, and so Tang-daren volunteers bravely to take on the responsibility of attending to this patient.

Pang Qi is immensely touched at how noble Tang-daren is.

And at this moment, Sui Zhou is still unconscious in rest, otherwise he would be the first one to jump up and oppose this… but the ship has sailed and there is no time for him to even protest.

After Sui Zhou wakes up, he realises that the person who is delivering his medicine to him has change from the accompanying physician to Tang Fan.

“…”

“What is it?” Tang Fan asks.

“Where’s the physician?”

“He’s helping others to change their dressings, I’ll feed you today,” Tang Fan answers.

Sui Zhou’s smile is forced as he says, “No need, I can do this myself.”

Tang Fan thinks that he’s only being courteous, and then presses him down, “The physician said, forcing all of you to journey back at this point is already harmful to your injuries. If you can lie down just lie down, then you can recover quickly! How close are we, you don’t have to stand on ceremony with me!”

Sui Zhou is speechless, thinking that he would truly like to stand on ceremony with him.

Tang-daren scoops out a spoonful of the medicine and is about to bring it to Sui Zhou’s mouth. He then remembers the way Sui Zhou took care of him when he was ill, and learns from him by placing the spoon to his lips to test the temperature, before sending it over.

And yet, just as it is about to arrive at its destination, Tang Fan’s hand shakes.

Sui Zhou, “…”

Tang Fan, “…”

Sui Zhou, “It’s best if I drink it myself.”

Tang Fan laughs, “I’m just not used to this, sorry, sorry! Or we can change a position?”

He uses his sleeves to wipe at Sui Zhou’s shirt and places the bowl aside first. He then helps Sui Zhou up so that he is half leaning on him, then picks up the bowl, carefully bringing it up to Sui Zhou’s mouth. He slants the spoon slightly, thinking that this time, his hand will not shake, at least.

Unexpectedly, a woman’s scream resounds from the outside, and then it is followed by the sounds of chaos from a startled bunch of men and horses.

After a moment, they then hear Qian San Er’s voice, “Sui-daren, sorry about this and that we disturbed your rest. Lady Chen was screaming for no reason and insisted that someone was peeping at her as she was changing clothes. We didn’t startle you did we, Sui-daren?”

Tang Fan, “…”

Sui Zhou, “…”

This time, the whole bowl of medicine has been spilled on Sui Zhou’s face. Thankfully the medicine’s temperature was just nice, otherwise they will have to add another item to the list of Sui Zhou’s injuries.

Sui Zhou is left with no choice but to remove the bowl from his face, and says, “I’ll do it myself.”

Tang Fan is speechless, “Guang Chuan, I really did not meant to…”

Although Sui Zhou is the victim of this, he wants to laugh, “I know, but you are not the type to assist others like this. Get someone to brew another bowl, you just have to stay and chat with me.”

He has to comply unconditionally with the patient’s requests. Tang Fan is reinvigorated, “Sure, what do you want to talk about?”

Sui Zhou, “… You should help me get another set of clothes to change first.”

“Oh, oh, oh,” Tang Fan says.

Seeing Tang Fan get up to help him find clothes, Sui Zhou cannot help but feel helpless but also slightly sweet inside. Helpless, because Tang Fan cannot even take care of himself and wants to take care of others - anyone who is taken care of by him will end up in a pitiful condition. And slightly sweet because… Sui Zhou does not need to describe it, as long as he himself knows what it is about.

After a moment, Tang-daren comes back with a pile of clothes.

Sui Zhou has internal injuries and his hands and legs are fine. The physician asked him to recover in peace and quiet, but never said that he cannot move entirely, so changing his own clothes is not a problem. However, Tang Fan insists that he feels guilty and wants to make amends for what he did earlier. Sui Zhou is unable to refuse this face filled with sincerity, and can only silently agree to Tang Fan’s offer.

Sui Zhou’s bronze-coloured abs and muscles are revealed as his inner layer is removed. From the lines of his arms and chest, one can see that he definitely has trained hard on a daily basis. At the same time, as he frequently needs to walk on the edge of danger and has been through many battles, the old marks left by wounds on his body are not little. Some are old and the colours have become very light, but some of them he got a few days ago in the tomb, and are only starting to scab over.

And yet it is this body littered with scars and marks that are a testament to how manly and masculine he is. Without the cover of clothes, he is definitely more imposing than usual. Even if he is wounded now and sitting on the bed, the first thing every person will think of is that this is a sleeping lion, and not a sick cat.

Originally, it would have been fine to just change his outerwear and the inner layer, but Tang Fan insists on changing the full set, making him change his pants as well together. Sui Zhou has no choice but to go along with it. And in the end, when he takes off his pants, he sees Tang-daren eyeing him there, and mischievously he says, “So the shape looks like that.”

Sui Zhou, “…”

How well Tang Fan holds onto grudges… so many days have passed, and at that time, Sui Zhou was merely teasing him, must he remember it like this?

Tang Fan helps him to change and says, “Coming to Gong County, I thought of some materials for the new novel. I’ll write about a man who was born in the wilderness and one day, a demon sets its eyes on a unique treasure that has been passed down for generations in the man’s family. However, he’s troubled by the fact that the treasure recognises its owner and the demon cannot come close to it. And so the demon drinks on the fresh blood of women and turns himself into a beautiful woman, seduces the man and finally makes the man fall irrevocably in love with her, so much so that he willingly gifts the treasure to the demon. The demon’s true form is immediately revealed, the man sees that the person who has slept with him all this time is a horrifying demon filled with scales and has blood-filled eyes, and is scared to death. What do you think?”

Sui Zhou is silent for a bit, “It is rather good.”

But he also has a bad feeling…

As expected, the next moment, he hears Tang Fan say, “How about I call the man Sui Zhou then?”

“Change it,” Sui Zhou replies.

Tang-daren goes with the flow, “Alright, then I’ll call the demon Sui Zhou.”

Sui Zhou, “…”

As people say, one would rather offend a gentleman than offend Tang-daren.

Don’t just judge by Sui Zhou’s unapproachable face, and how he seems cold and ruthless to his subordinates and others. Everyone tends to think that he is so cold that he doesn’t have friends and even when he spends time with his good friend Tang Fan, it is Tang-daren who is always giving in to him.

They do not know that their assumption is wrong, because with Tang-daren, Sui Zhou has this “as long as he is happy anything goes” attitude. Once compromise becomes a habit, he unconsciously keeps giving in, and giving in, and giving in again…

Giving in to the end, and Sui Zhou is defeated and convinced.

And so Tang-daren’s new novel and the name of the demon in it is set, just like that.

As for those from the Northern Administrative Court who will see the book in stores in the future, they will make a noise of confusion, “Zhenfushi-daren’s surname is not common, how did it turn up here? Is the author a man who was arrested and tortured by Sui Zhou before?”

But that is all talk for later. Tang-daren finally can make use of this opportunity when Sui Zhou is weak and via the chance to change his clothes, he unceremoniously bullied the other. He is feeling exceptionally good right now, and hums a small tune under his breath.

Sui Zhou doesn’t know if he is deliberately being like this in front of him, or if he really does not care, and cannot help but ask directly, concerned, “Did you think about what will happen after you return to the imperial city?”

[baoshan-sanren]

Chapter 6

of the wwx emperor au which I’m thinking about calling Emperor Wei WuXian and his Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Birthday

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

It is not easy to slip away from watchful eyes in between the greeting ceremony and the Sect Leader meeting, but with a little bit of help from HuaiSang, Wei Ying manages. 

He had needed to shed his conspicuous outer robe, and convince A-Sang to wear the thing all the way back to the Imperial chambers, but he is certain that no one will notice. HuaiSang is fairly skilled at pretending to be the Emperor by now, and Wei Ying, with his hair loosely tied and his plain black inner robe, no longer looks like an Emperor.  

Still, every time he encounters his own guards, he bows his head low and keeps his distance. Madam Yu had been terrifyingly clear about all the ways she can make his life difficult if he were to neglect his duties for the next seven days.

Wei Ying has no intention of neglecting any of them. He simply has other priorities, equally as important, that she does not, and would not understand.  

He manages to turn the corner at the Six Fans Pavilion without attracting any notice, and quickens his steps, thinking himself in the clear. There are no guards stationed between the Pavilion and the South Lakes courtyard, at least not in the daylight hours. Only three years ago, this had been the heaviest guarded section of the Immortal Mountain City. But Wei Ying had chipped away at that, little by little, month by month, wheedling and cajoling, and moving guard posts himself when no one was looking. As a result, the South Lakes courtyard is the most peaceful place in the Immortal Mountain, and the time spent underneath its plum trees, uninterrupted by patrols, seems to move at its own pace.

“Wei WuXian!”

He freezes, then whips around with a sheepish smile, “It is not what it looks like.”

“It looks like the Emperor is running away from the Sect Leader meeting in nothing but his inner robes,” Jiang Cheng says, “But I am curious to find out what you would call it.”

Wei Ying can see Madam Yu in every inch of Jiang Cheng’s appearance. The heavy hair ornament that Wei Ying knows for a fact will give Jiang Cheng a tension headache by midday. The severely cut outer robe, slightly too tight across the shoulders, when Jiang Cheng hates having his sword arm restricted. The heavy embroidery along the bottom hem which weighs everything else down, an unnecessary burden for the sake of appearance.

Sometimes Wei Ying forgets that Jiang Cheng’s world can be as restrictive as his own. It is easy to forget, especially when A-Sang’s world barely has any restrictions at all.

“I am not running away,” Wei Ying says firmly, “the meeting does not start for another hour. And I promised A-Yuan I would see him on my birthday.”

“You could have had him brought to you, instead of running around half-dressed,” Jiang Cheng points out.

“You want me to have a Wen child delivered to the Iron Palm Palace. The Palace currently occupied by eleven sect leaders and thirty-six clan leaders, who are already starting rumors as to why the Wen Sect had opted not to show.”

Jiang Cheng’s jaw clenches, “You promised.”

“I promised not to miss a single meeting, and I will not. I have an hour. Come with me. You can make sure I leave on time.”

“Am I your babysitter now? Do you not know how to keep track of time?”

“The Emperor cannot be a slave to time,” Wei Ying grins.

“The Emperor needs a good beating,” Jiang Cheng grumbles.

But even as he is complaining, he has already fallen in by Wei Ying’s side. And although he grumbles all the way to the South Lakes courtyard, the tension in his shoulders seems to unwind little by little.

Just as she does on every sunny day, Granny Wen has set up her table in the courtyard, partially shaded by the heavy canopy of branches. Patches of cloth covered with drying herbs form a checkered pattern across the dirt, and Wei Ying carefully makes his way between them, the thick scents of saffron and thyme making his eyes water. Jiang Cheng cannot move as quickly, his ridiculous robes threatening to sweep up every herb in sight. Still, he lifts the excess material, and for once, does not complain. Wei Ying very much hopes that Wen Qing is around, because this sort of a behavior deserves a reward.

Granny Wen sees them coming, and narrows her eyes.

“Your Majesty has a Sect Leader meeting to attend,” she says the moment they are in earshot, “And you, Young Master, look like a peacock. Did your mother dress you again?”

Jiang Cheng splutters, and Wei Ying waves his arms in the air to attract her attention, “I only want to see A-Yuan for a moment. I am heading to the meeting right after.”

“He is inside,” she shifts so she can squint at Jiang Cheng over Wei Ying’s shoulder, “If you manage to get out of that robe without tearing it, bring it to me after. I can let out the shoulders.”

“The robe is fine,” Jiang Cheng says through clenched teeth.

“Okay!” Wei Ying says, “Thank you, Granny! We are going in.”

He grabs Jiang Cheng’s sleeve to pull him across the courtyard, but before they had made it two steps, the door is sliding open, A-Yuan propelling himself down the steps.

“Gege!”

Wei Ying grabs him at half-run, and tosses him up in the air. A-Yuan shrieks in delight, so Wei Ying does it again and again, until Wen Qing comes out to scold them both for the noise.

Between A-Yuan trying to clamber onto Wei Ying’s shoulders, and Jiang Cheng trying to greet Wen Qing properly over the A-Yuan’s delighted screams, and Wen Qing trying to yell to Granny that the tea is ready, it takes a long time for all of them to make it inside. Once they do, however, A-Yuan runs to get the present he had made, and Wei Ying immediately turns to Wen Qing.

“I am sure my uncle has already asked, but--“

“There have been no messages from the Nightless City,” she says, “I can only speculate. They have sent twelve cultivators with your gift, so another open rebellion seems unlikely, but--“ she lowers her voice as A-Yuans thundering steps become louder, “Granny says you need to be careful nonetheless.”

“Careful? Of what?”

She shrugs and says no more.    

A-Yuan runs back in, clutching a large grass butterfly, and immediately launches into an explanation of how he and Wen Ning had made the butterfly all by themselves, and how the first two had fallen apart, and how the third had gotten eaten by a bear.

Wei Ying raises his eyebrows at Wen Qing.

“Granny sat on it,” she mouths soundlessly.

They had wanted to make more than one, but Wen Ning had said that the Emperor is going to get a lot of presents, and will have nowhere to keep them. So they made one big one, but still small enough to fit in Wei Ying’s sleeve.

Wei Ying’s inner robe has no sleeve pockets, but he still has a pouch tied to his belt, and the butterfly fits without any trouble. He thanks A-Yuan, who is practically glowing, and wistfully thinks of his normal day routine, when he could just scoop A-Yuan up and take him back to his palace for the midday meal. Instead, he hardly has time to finish his tea before Jiang Cheng is nudging him to go.

A-Yuan runs out ahead of them, but Wen Qing stops Wei Ying at door, “Uncle Four will stay in YiLing, in case any messages come. Wen Ning is with him. You should always be careful, but do not worry.”

“I never worry,” Wei Ying grins, “I have Jiang Cheng to protect me, and you to heal me if someone sticks a sword in my back. What is there to worry about?”

It is extremely cute that they both manage to roll their eyes at the same time, but Wei Ying does not bother pointing it out. He thinks it will only make them angry.

[josefavomjaaga]

Mier's letters from Naples, mid-March 1815

Things are starting to fall apart.

Mier to the Duke di Gallo (Copy) Naples 12 March 1815 (morning).

The departure of His Majesty the King, announced as very near, for Ancona, the movement almost general of Neapolitan troops from the interior towards the frontiers of the Kingdom, the order given to the Royal Guard to be ready to march, and many other circumstances and measures taken, prove only too well that His Neapolitan Majesty has projects in view which it is important for Austria, friendly power of the King, to clear up, principally in the present circumstances.

The undersigned Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of His Majesty the Emperor of Austria to the Court of Naples therefore has the honour of addressing His Excellency the Duke of Gallo, Minister of Foreign Relations, in order to obtain from His Excellency prompt and categorial clarifications and answers in this respect, so that they can be brought to the attention of his Court as soon as possible.

In requesting His Excellency to send him His reply today to be sent by a courier which he is sending tonight to Rome, he has the honour to renew to Him on this occasion etc.

(Signed) Mier. To His Excellency the Duke of Gallo etc.

That sounds a lot like a diplomatic ultimatum. And I can't help but be reminded of the letter Eugène wrote to Murat the year before ("So ... you with us or against us, buddy?")

Mier to Metternich. Postscript

Naples, March 12, 1815, evening.

My Prince!

1) The greater part of the garrison of Naples set out this morning. The few troops which still remained will start tomorrow. Veterans and invalids have occupied all the posts. The officer carrying my present expedition will be able to verify in his journey the number of those who have taken the road to Rome, and will report to Marl Bellegarde; all the rest of the garrison and the troops of the surroundings will have marched towards Ancona. The field crews, the King's treasury, and many people, both civil and military, attached to his person, are leaving tomorrow. Everything proves that the King has made up his mind and that He is only waiting for the first news of Napoleon's enterprise to act. I do not believe that He has the project to march into France. He will try to raise Italy and take possession of it; it will be necessary therefore that He fights with us. Although one wants to make believe that these steps are concerted with Austria, consternation is general here, people distrust the King's head and foresee misfortunes.

2) This morning there was a Circle at Court; several Englishmen attended to take leave of the King. He gave them a long speech on the recent event that occupies all minds. He said that he had news of the Emperor from Grasse; that everywhere he was received with enthusiasm and that there was no doubt that he would succeed in his enterprise; that he could not but ardently desire it, the Bourbons having declared themselves openly his enemies in spite of all the steps and advances he had made to render himself sympathetic; any change of dynasty in France could only be advantageous to his interests; that it would be quite indifferent to Him whether it were Napoleon or some other French general who occupied the throne of France, provided it were not the Bourbons: "I am their enemy, as they are mine". He said that he marched his troops towards the frontiers to be more in touch with events; that moreover his policy remained invariably attached to that of Austria; ... and much other drivel which relates to his military career and his elevation to the throne of Naples.

3) The Princess of Wales left this morning for Rome, from where she intends to go to Civitavecchia and embark for Genoa on the English frigate which had come to Naples to fetch her. She wanted to follow the King to Ancona, but yesterday morning he had his Grand Equerry tell her that the political situation prevented him from receiving her in Ancona. It is said that she was furious and decided to go to Genoa.

4) As the Duke of Gallo has not yet sent me an answer to my note of this morning, and seeing the urgent need for Your Highness, and Mar Bellegarde to whom I am writing at the same time, to be informed of what is being prepared here, I have decided to send my mail to Rome without waiting for this answer, which I will send to Your Highness as soon as I have received it.

5) My position here is becoming very embarrassing and I beg Your Highness not to forget me and to give me His orders as soon as possible.

6) I have the honour of sending herewith to Your Highness the two proclamations of Napoleon to his army in France. I have the honour etc.

Mier.

The proclamations are not cited but according to the author, vary only in details from those in Napoleon's correspondence. Mier actually even received Gallo's reply before sending off this letter to Metternich.

Gallo to Mier

Naples, this 14th of March 1815.

My Lord Count! Having had the honor to submit to the King the note dated the day before yesterday which you did me the honor to address to me: S. M. could not read without surprise that you show concern about the march of His troops towards the frontier when it is known that France gathers considerable forces in Grenoble and Dijon with hostile aims against the King, as the Cabinet of Vienna itself is convinced.

In addition, the extraordinary and unexpected events which are taking place at this moment and which can set the continent ablaze again, are of such a nature as to require that the King be in a position to act for his own preservation, and as a result of the answers which His Majesty impatiently awaits to the overtures which His ministers have been ordered to make to the Cabinet of Vienna.

I have already had the honour of speaking to you about these overtures, as well as about the journey of His Majesty into the provinces and countries occupied by His troops, a journey which was decided upon and announced, as you know, My Lord Count, at the beginning of the winter.

I have no doubt, My Lord Count, that you will find in these clarifications very natural motives for justifying the movements in question.

Please accept the repeated expression of my highest consideration

The Duke of Gallo.

I'm not sure if di Gallo actually expected Mier to believe this.

Mier to Metternich, Postscript

Naples, March 16, 1815.

My Prince!

1) Today at three o'clock in the afternoon I received an invitation from Her Majesty the Queen to come and see her. I hastened to go and found Her Majesty very distressed. The King had just received a letter from Florence from General Pignatelli announcing the arrest of Madame Mère and Princess Pauline by the Commander of our troops at Villa Reggio [correct: Viareggio]; that they were being treated there as state criminals; that one of our officers was always keeping watch over them. The Queen told me that this news had enraged the King, and that she was very saddened by it. I tried to reassure her that there was surely some exaggeration in this report; that I supposed that these ladies having landed at Villa Reggio, the Governor of the Principality of Lucca would have thought it necessary, in the present circumstances, to oblige them to remain there until he received orders concerning them from the Marshal, the Count of Bellegarde; that everyone in his place would have done the same; that moreover I could assure her that these ladies would not be mistreated. The Queen informed me that the King had sent General Filangieri to Marshal Bellegarde to urge him not to oppose the continuation of the journey of these two Princesses to Naples, and that he had charged her to ask me in his name to support this request. I replied that I would do so willingly and that I would take advantage of General Filangieri's departure to write to General Bellegarde, as I did indeed as soon as I got home, and I had my letter delivered to the Queen's Cabinet. This evening Mr. de Gallo gave me the attached note, which I have the honour of bringing to the attention of Your Highness. I confined myself to acknowledging its receipt and to informing him that I had already written on this subject to Marshal Bellegarde at the invitation of Her Majesty the Queen. She must also have addressed His Imperial Highness the Grand Duke of Tuscany to ask him to take an interest in this matter and to try to arrange it in accordance with their request.

The note Mier refers to is not cited, but seems to have repeated Caroline's protest against the way Letizia and Pauline had been treated.

2) I found the Queen very distressed and dismayed at all the King's actions. She repeated to me what she had already told me in this respect, and assured me that she was doing everything in the world to prevent the King's departure, because she foresaw the consequences; that twice in succession he was about to get into a carriage to leave Naples and that she had succeeded in diverting him from it; that in order to persuade Him to give up this journey She had declared to Him that She did not wish to take charge of the regency, or to interfere in any way whatsoever with the affairs of the government in His absence; that if He left She would retire to Portici to live there in the greatest seclusion, and that She did not wish to receive any minister there, and much less to talk to him about business. This statement greatly embarrassed the King; for He knew that in His absence no one was in a position to conduct business but the Queen.

3) She told me how the notes which Your Highness had addressed on February 26th to Campochiaro and on the 25th to Talleyrand had had a bad effect on the King's mind; that in them there was no question of defending the King, but rather the Princes of the House of Austria; that the King believed himself to be on the eve of being sacrificed by our Court. He claims that we have been sparing Him and lulling Him into hope until the moment of a definitive arrangement with the other powers, and that we are now gathering troops in Italy to dictate to Him the rules. The Queen told me that She was far from admitting his ideas, having too high an opinion of the loyalty of the Emperor Francis, but that with the distrustful character of the King it could not be put out of His mind; that these ideas and the appearance of the Emperor Napoleon on the scene at the moment when He believes Himself sacrificed, have turned His head. "He believes that Napoleon's possible successes may help to keep Him on the throne of Naples. You know," she continued, "my opinion in this respect; I do more; I advise the King that if Austria replies that she is determined to oppose the possible successes of the Emperor Napoleon, He should join her, and follow in everything her system and policy. You see that my particular affections and the torment of seeing my family persecuted and covered with disgrace give way to the duties of a mother and those of a Queen of Naples. The King must hold on to a great power which protects Him; if He ventures to fly on His own wings He is lost. I once held to the system of France to the last extremity, because I was convinced that our interests required it. Events have had to change our policy; I have convinced myself that our salvation depends on our intimate union with Austria, and I hold to it with my heart and soul. The Emperor Francis has supported us until now as a loyal ally, and I am sure that He will not abandon us, if we deserve it. It is His duty, His own interests command it." I replied that this was an excellent response. I observed to Her that Austria could not be satisfied with the conduct of the King, mainly in what relates to our Italian provinces and to the affair of the Marches. She tried to defend Him and contradicted several statements I had made in support of my thesis. "But the King's last steps," I said to her, "can only increase our distrust and discontent?" "I fear," she replied, "that they will produce this effect; you know how much I have fought against them; but do not look for much malice in them; it is a spur-of-the-moment move, a foolishness which is repeated and which I hope will not be supported. The King is calmer, more reasonable, and I flatter myself that this state of affairs will continue." She could hardly speak, so weak was she. "You see", she said to me, "in what state my sorrows and the continual debates I have to support have reduced me, I often lose courage. I observed to Her that She would make a well-deserved reproach to herself all her life if at such a decisive moment She allowed herself to become depressed and discouraged, and did not use all her power to prevent false steps. May Your Highness please accept etc.

Mier.

Sort of typical: So the boys made a mess of things, and the one woman around is supposed to reproach herself for not having prevented it.

[dudeandduchess]

Affairs of the Heart: Chapter 2 [Knight!Sanemi x Princess!Reader](Royalty AU, Westernized Plot, SFW Scenario)

Summary: Sanemi is a knight for the (L/n) Empire’s second princess; only, their relationship isn’t simply that of a princess and her retainer. Behind closed doors, they’re merely a man and his lover. At least, until the day they dreaded the most comes: the day when (Y/n) finally gets engaged to another man.

Chapter: 2/3 Word Count: 3,420 blaze it

Previous Chapter || Next Chapter

***

“Your Imperial Highness,” One of the maids dropped into a curtsy, maintaining her good composure as they waited for (Y/n) to acknowledge her with a simple ‘proceed’, before rising back up with a couple of letters in hand. “Greetings to the Jewel of the Empire.”

With that greeting, the maid set the letters down on (Y/n)’s table— a few inches away from the document that she had been reviewing, but still well within her sight. “Thank you. You’re dismissed.”

She didn’t even bother to look up from her work, preferring instead to keep scanning the numbers which had been written down on the paper. However, once the telltale sound of the door closing echoed in the room, she closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose— all in an effort to alleviate the headache she felt coming on.

“Are you alright, Your Highness?” At Sanemi’s words, (Y/n)’s gaze immediately darted over to him. But instead of reminding him of how she’d wanted him to address her in private, she chose to turn her face away from him and let out a deep sigh.

His formality was to be expected; since they were in her office on official hours. Still, that didn’t make (Y/n) wish for him to be less formal with her; they were lovers, after all.

“You can always tell me what troubles you, my dear.”

(Y/n)’s eyes widened at the rarely spoken moniker, cheeks burning a warm and vibrant red as she tried to calm her fluttering heart. Of all the times to be sweet to her, Sanemi had to choose a moment when she least expected it.

To save face as much as possible, the young woman pressed her fingers against her warm cheeks— hiding the blush that showed her lover just how flustered he’d made her. And, with a quiet chuckle, Sanemi glanced over at the door before standing directly behind his beloved princess.

Gently, the silver-haired knight set his hands on his lover’s shoulders; kneading her tense muscles while trying not to grin even more at the way that she practically melted beneath his touch.

Then slowly, he let his left hand glide up her neck, settling for cupping her chin so he could tilt her head up to look at him. “(Y/n)?”

Immediately, the hands that were still covering (Y/n)’s cheeks moved to cover her entire face; effectively shielding her embarrassment from Sanemi. “Stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what?” His answer was teasing, totally meant to discombobulate her even more than she already was. And it amused Sanemi immensely. “I’m just asking you to tell me what’s been bothering you.”

At that, the young man moved his hands to encircle (Y/n’s) wrists— gently prying her hands away from her face so he could fully bask in her beauty. However, it was her eyes that drew him in— watching them practically glittering as the morning light illuminated the world around them.

He could feel his pulse race slightly at that; even more so when she gingerly shook off the grip he had on her right wrist, before reaching up to touch his cheek gently— feather light at first, until he felt her trying to pull him down for what he could only guess was a kiss.

It still amazed him that (Y/n) could go from shy to tenderly bold in the blink of an eye, especially when it concerned things that she wanted from him. She would blush at the tender words and gestures he doled out, but would retaliate with gestures that were enough to have him feeling lightheaded.

He chalked it up to her competitive nature, what with her always having to stay on the top of her game; as well as adding in all of the other noble ladies trying to get the upper hand.

But he would be lying if he said that he didn’t love the fact that he was the only one who could fluster her as much as he did.

Slowly, he bent down to give in to her silent whim; pressing his mouth to hers in a light, fleeting kiss that had him smiling against her lips. Still, that wasn’t enough to tide over his own need for her, so he swooped in once more and kissed her in such a way that he was slightly sucking on her lower lip.

And, with a quiet pop, he released her lip— which had her lifting her head in an effort to chase after him.

“You’re so unfair, Sanemi.” (Y/n) pouted, pursing her lips together while pinching her lover’s right ear lobe between her thumb and forefinger.

In response, the knight chuckled and claimed her lips in a kiss once more. “What’s unfair is you teasing me like this, my dear.”

(Y/n) was just about to answer, when a couple of sharp knocks rasped against the door. It had both of them springing apart, with (Y/n) quickly righting herself and fanning her warm cheeks— as if that would help her blush go down faster.

Meanwhile, Sanemi went back to his post a few feet adjacent from (Y/n), fixing the collar of his regal knight’s uniform, before assuming a neutral stance like before; hands firmly clasped together at the small of his back, and feet together in the off chance that he would need to spring into action.

“State your name and business,” (Y/n) answered coolly, her tone completely at odds with the residual butterflies that still fluttered around in her stomach.

“It’s Grey, My Lady. I bring a message from His Majesty, the Emperor.”

“Enter, but make it quick, Grey.” I have no patience for this today, the young woman thought to herself, while biting back the deep sigh that wanted to escape her lips. She already had the palace’s Autumn budget to go through, as well as her own social duties to attend to— which was only evidenced by the short stack of letters on her desk; all of them being invitations for parties among the nobles.

Immediately after her response, the door swung open quietly which was followed by her family’s head butler stepping into the room.

Grey swept down in a low bow, keeping his eyes firmly on the ground for a few seconds, before moving to stand upright once more. “Greetings to the Jewel of the Empire.”

The expression on (Y/n)’s face gave little to no indication of the irritation she felt at the greeting, as years of schooling her expression had trained her to keep a stoic façade even when she had the strongest urge to scream. After all, it would be unwise to tarnish her family’s reputation.

It was one of the reasons why she cherished every stolen moment with Sanemi; as he was the only one who knew her so well— to the point where he didn’t even bat an eye at the less than stellar attitude that she presented at times. She could be herself with him, and she could be honest about her emotions when he was the only one there.

He was her solace. The one person whom she knew would never turn his back on her, even when the world has forsaken her.

“You said you have a message from my father?” (Y/n)’s hands tightened into loose fists at her question, with her thumbs rubbing at the sides of both her index fingers in an effort to drown out the dread she felt brewing inside her.

Her father never bothered her in her own palace— the Lilac Palace, which was where she used to reside with her older sister before she had been married off. Aside from the occasional meetings, both of them never saw each other much; so, to have Grey personally deliver a message from him spelled something foreboding.

Especially when he had already had to cancel their prior tea engagement the other day. Something was not sitting right with (Y/n), and she didn’t like it at all.

“His Majesty is inviting My Lady to a party at the main palace, tonight at six.”

“A party? For who? And so soon?” She could feel her chest tighten up at that, dread stirring up within her to the point where she had to tamp down the urge to look over at Sanemi for comfort.

The butler’s words harped at the nerves inside her; making her so on-edge in her seat. Parties were held for delegates of foreign countries all the time, but for that particular party to have slipped her notice… it screamed suspicious to her.

“His Majesty has a few guests from the Eastern Kingdom, but that is all that he had permitted me to say. I apologize, Your Highness.” Grey wasn’t apologetic, at all; his words were no more than lip service and, even though it irked (Y/n) that he clearly knew what was going to transpire, he still chose to obey her father’s orders.

Then again, she couldn’t blame him. In the hierarchy for power, she was on the lower half of the spectrum— especially with three of her older brothers already ahead of her in the succession for the throne.

With her being fourth in line for the throne, the chances of her becoming the Empress Regnant were slim to none. So, she had banished the thoughts of those early on, most especially when she met Sanemi.

All she wanted was to live her days out as peacefully as she could with him beside her, even if they could never bring the real extent of their relationship to light.

“Why am I not surprised?” The princess whispered under her breath, sneering to hide the fact that she was already dreading whatever underhanded plot that her father had put in place.

Because she just knew, whatever was going to happen at that party was not something that she would like. And the Eastern Kingdom’s involvement only made her all the more apprehensive, as there had been talks of the peace treaty between the (L/n) Empire, as well as that Kingdom, slowly being breached.

(Y/n) wasn’t dumb; she could loosely piece together that all of it was a set up to announce another treaty with the Eastern Kingdom. And what quicker way to do negotiations, than to settle things with marriage? As was customary in their day and age.

The princess had never felt so helpless in her life, than in that moment.

“You’re dismissed, Grey.”

The old man didn’t even wait any longer. With one more bow to the only remaining Lady of the empire, he made haste to exit the room. And once the door had clicked shut behind him, (Y/n) brought her fists down on the table; out of both anger and sheer helplessness.

“Fuck!” She yelled irately, banging her fists once more against the hardwood. Tears pricked the backs of her eyes, yet she could do nothing to stop them from forming. “Fuck. Damn it.”

She had known that it was coming— both her and Sanemi did— yet it still didn’t lessen the pain that both of them felt at that moment.

Sanemi, despite his blood feeling like ice in his veins, forced his own legs to carry him back to stand beside (Y/n); gently swiveling her chair to face him, as he got down on one knee in front of her.

It was all he could do to prove to her that he would be there for her, no matter what. And it was all that was left of him to give to her.

He’d known that he would only get hurt in the end, yet he’d still given in and pursued a relationship with her. For six long years, they had been together— he had been hers, just as much as she was his; but there was no changing the fact that he had always known that her place was never with him.

All he could do was accept their fate, no matter how much he wanted to ask her to run away with him.

Gently, the silver haired knight took his lover’s hands in his own, squeezing them when he felt just how cold and shaky they had gotten. Tears pricked the backs of his eyes, yet he blinked them away as he focused on staring into her own tear-filled gaze.

“(Y/n), whatever happens… I swear on my honor as a knight, that I will never leave you.” Sanemi’s heart broke when a tear rolled down his beloved’s cheek, yet he forced himself to look past it to continue with his oath. He swallowed past the lump in his throat, willing his lips to keep moving.

“I swear on my life, that you will always come first. And I swear on my heart… that you will always own everything that I am…” He took a deep breath at that, trying to center himself to make his voice sound even, yet it still came out softer than he intended. “And everything that I will be. From this day, until the day I leave this earth.”

What Sanemi had just recited was the sacred oath of the Imperial Knights, and it was only uttered when one was completely devoting a part of themselves to their master or mistress. As it was, a knight could choose which oaths to give, and which to omit; but to promise all three meant that (Y/n) had full ownership of him.

If proven that Sanemi had broken his oath, she could choose to end his life; which made it a dangerous one to make, even when there were no magical or extraordinary factors involved.

With Sanemi’s piece already given, (Y/n) could only stare at him as more and more of her tears rolled down her cheeks. Part of her had wanted to stop him, but a bigger part of her didn’t want to turn him down like that. Not only would it be a hit to his pride, but it would be akin to throwing his feelings back in his face.

Shakily, the young woman shook off her lover’s hold on her hands; moving to cup his face tenderly. She then shook her head, and bent down to press her forehead to his in a tender gesture that had Sanemi’s heart racing wildly in his chest. “You’re an idiot. An absolute idiot.”

Instead of dampening his mood even further, however, it only served to make the silver haired knight smile, as he blanketed his hands over the princess’. “I know, (Y/n). You make me so goddamn stupid for you.”

***

The party was already in full swing inside the palace’s grand ballroom, yet (Y/n) still made no move to get out from behind the trees where she and Sanemi had ensconced themselves between. Her legs were already shaking with the effort it took to balance herself on the balls of her feet— if only to keep her heels from sinking into the ground beneath them; but the last thing that she wanted was to go and enter the lion’s den.

Because she knew, she would never be able to do anything if she willingly fell into the trap that her father had set for her. Originality was not his strong suit, as he had done the same thing with (Y/n)’s older sister.

However, unlike the first imperial princess, she wasn’t going to go down without a fight. Even if it meant tarnishing her family’s reputation, and possibly getting imprisoned, then she would take any punishment; as long as she could remain beside Sanemi forever.

But Sanemi didn’t know the reckless plan that she had in mind. If he’d known what she was planning to do, he definitely wouldn’t have allowed her to leave her palace.

(Y/n) took another deep breath to calm her nerves, biting down on her lower lip before looking at her lover. He looked so handsome even in the dim light, almost ethereal with the faint glow of the chandeliers in the palace illuminating his fair skin.

“Have I told you that you look very beautiful?” Sanemi whispered softly, as he lifted a hand up to trail the tips of his fingers across the princess’ right cheek. He then glided his fingers closer to her hair, tugging on a tendril that artfully framed her face.

All he could think was that, and how it was the last time that he was going to be allowed to touch her like he was doing at that moment. His heart was breaking inside his chest, but he still pushed himself to give her a small smile; if only to ease some of her worries.

“You have, but I’m not complaining,” (Y/n) returned his smile at that, placing a hand on top of the one that was still by her face, and nuzzling her cheek against Sanemi’s warm palm. She closed her eyes then, breathing deeply for a handful of seconds, and taking in the music that drifted out into the night.

Her heart felt so heavy in her chest, and her stomach felt like it was in knots, yet the longer that Sanemi touched her, the more she felt at ease; as if nothing could hurt her when she was with him. And that was how she found herself wrapping her arms around his middle— pressing her cheek against his shoulder, and closing her eyes as she breathed in the minty scent that she’d always associated with her silver haired knight.

In turn, Sanemi locked his arms around her and pressed his lips to the side of her head— kissing her temple in such a tender gesture that had him fighting back tears.

Inadvertently, both of them had begun swaying to the music; shrouded in the darkness, and well away from prying eyes and listening ears— much like how they had spent the last six years together: as a secret from everyone.

(Y/n) balled held on to the back of her lover’s uniform then, balling her hands into fists as she savored another moment of peace with him.

No words were spoken between them; only the soft rustling of grass beneath their feet, the music wafting from the ballroom, and the occasional sound of clothes shifting coloring the air between them.

Neither of them could have wished for a more perfect moment.

And that moment had Sanemi thinking: Was he ready to let go of (Y/n)? Would he ever be ready to let her go? He already knew the answers to those questions, yet he pushed them down in favor of doing what was expected of him— and what was right in the eyes of the Imperial Family.

Still, he held (Y/n) closer and shut his own eyes to bask in her touch even further. For a moment more, he could still play blind to all of the truths that the world held for both of them.

“Run away with me.” The words were spoken quietly, but it still surprised Sanemi that they had even spilled from his mouth. Immediately, he tried to pull away from (Y/n)— in order to apologize for such an unthinkable question— but she held him in her arms as tightly as she could.

It wasn’t his intention to be selfish, but it had just come out in his moment of weakness.

Wide-eyed and slack-jawed, the princess blinked almost owlishly at her lover. She couldn’t quite believe it herself: that her straight-laced and selfless knight had uttered something so… utterly selfish and reckless. Still, instead of worrying her, she felt herself grinning at his words.

The dread that had stewed inside her slowly turned into excitement, and the tightness she felt in her chest lightened up to make way for the excited thumping of her heart.

“I’m sor-” He couldn’t continue his apology, as the princess took her right hand and laid her index finger flat against his lips; effectively silencing him.

“That has to be the most reckless thing I’ve ever heard you say, Sanemi,” She mused with that same excited grin. “I was planning on refusing the engagement the moment I went in there, but I prefer this. Let’s do it; let’s run away.”

Note: Initially, I wanted everything to have been a huge misunderstanding, but where’s the fun in that??? 😂 Next one will have sexy times tho.

Also, please tell me if any part is confusing, as I wanted to include all the details and may have forgotten to write down some clarifications. 🥰🍉

[rabid-heart]

Intertwined

For @sefikuraweek 2021 Day 5: Prompt - Gloves

The fairytale of the Princess Cloud, and her SOLDIER, the General Sephiroth.

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences

Notes/Warnings: Genderbend/Royalty AU! Mentions of war. And, I guess, the fact that I watched too may royalty/period dramas and this is the brain-rot that resulted?

Read on Ao3 | Previous Day’s Post 

---

It is a bittersweet affair, as farewells usually are.

The hall is decorated with luminous candlelight, flames flickering beautifully against the crystal chandeliers dangling from the ceiling. It looks almost like starlight, like the cosmos, twinkling above, contrasting with the night sky and the dark curtains shadowing the windows. Equally as dazzling are the people of the Midgar Court, the men and women all in their finest garments and jewels, rounding out the perfectly glossy picture of prestige, wealth and power. The sight might have been pleasant, had it not signified something much darker. As it is, General Sephiroth has trouble hiding his frustration and his anger at this unfettered decadence.

The ball is meant to be a celebration of the General and his fellow SOLDIERs, an elaborate sending off before what would hopefully be the final few months of the Wutai War. The last round of negotiations following the temporary ceasefire between the Shinra Empire and the Wutai Kingdom had fallen through, largely in part to King Shinra’s greed and pettiness. Thus, in spite of the costly war effort, in spite of the numerous lives lost, in spite of the suffering of his men, they are to be forced to take up arms once more. When Sephiroth had delivered the news to trusted officers, the disappointment on their faces had be more than evident. But there was nothing more they could do: in the end, the world had been crafted for kings and emperors, and soldiers, no matter how powerful, merely played pawns in the grand scheme.                  

It leaves little choice now but to try and enjoy the evening, though that proves to be a far more difficult gauntlet than Sephiroth is currently willing to endure. It is a special type of torture, watching his men, his friends, his companions, try to hide their fear over the coming months behind pleasant smiles and fake laughter, all for the benefit of the nobility. For a moment, he thinks about destroying the whole thing, tearing down the castle stone by stone, setting fire to the greed and the cowardice to purify it from the face of Gaia. But he does not and knows he cannot – for many reasons, including one that he holds so secret in his heart.

As if on cue, the court pages begin to sound their trumpets, and all heads in the room turn toward the towering doors separating the grand hall from the rest of the castle. The orchestra simmers into silence and, in the ensuing quiet, a servant calls out, “The Royal Family of Shinra, the King, the Crown Prince, and the Princess!”

The grand doors open. There is the King, dressed in robes of purple and gold, the emblem of his dominion emblazoned across his chest. He stalks his way through the doors and down the steps into the ballroom, trailed by his two children. They say the King had once been a handsome man, and there are some shadows of his lost youth in the shape of his jaw and in his height and proud stature. In fact, the clearest sign of his former vitality is embodied by his son, the heir apparent Prince Rufus, debonair and devastating in his white suit and slicked back hair.

But the true beauty of the family belongs to the fair-haired Princess Cloud. She walks behind the men, dressed in a gown of blue, with cap sleeves that just dip from underneath her shoulders to showcase an enticing decolletage. Her arms and hands are encased in gloves of the most expensive white silk, and around her neck sits the sapphire jewels of the royal family, a brilliant blue that is remarkably overshadowed by the absolute beauty of her glowing eyes.

On this night, and every other night since he had first laid eyes on the Princess, Sephiroth finds he cannot tear his gaze away.

The family walks to the center of the room, and the king lifts up his hands to further corral attention. “My citizens, my Midgar, tonight we celebrate a truly momentous occasion. Because this night marks the beginning of the end of our Wutaian enemies.” The man turns to take a chalice from a servant standing nearby and lifts the golden cup into the air with a haughty flare. “To our brave men, our unparalleled SOLDIERs, who will bring the Shinra Empire the greatest glory and the highest of victories, this night is for you.”

A roar of applause sounds through the crowd in response. But Sephiroth does not care. His eyes are fixed on the Princess, standing beside her father in the middle of the hall, her head slightly bent. To all others, the gesture would have appeared to have been out of respect – and there is some truth to that statement. But Sephiroth knows better – because for the briefest of moments, her blue eyes turn to him, and there is nothing there but sorrow and regret.

The King, however, fails to notice the exchange. Instead, he offers another toast. “For the glory of Shinra, for the power of the Empire, for the strength of our nation!”

“Huzzah!”

The festivities begin anew, and music once again flows through the air. Sephiroth watches Cloud, the way she gracefully bows to her father and brother as the two leave the floor to talk to the other nobles, the way the candlelight of the room highlights the radiance of her eyes. He had spent hours upon hours getting lost in that blue, like flying through a mountain sky, airy and free. The imagery only exacerbates the irony of just how trapped they truly are – a Princess meant to sell her happiness out of duty to her family, and a SOLDIER crafted as the perfect weapon, whose only purpose was to destroy in the name of the kingdom. The very facts that they commiserated over, that drew them together, would likely be the very reasons they would be torn apart.

And yet, in her arms and looking into those eyes, Sephiroth lets himself imagine a different life, one full of beauty and liberty and light and promise and hope. How he longs for it, longs for her, how he cherishes the secret kisses and furtive couplings. It had been a love at first sight, an attraction he hardly knew what to do with, one that haunted his evenings and consumed his waking thoughts. It took every ounce of his trained discipline to stay away. And yet, to his surprise, the affection had not been one-sided. When Cloud sought him out, forced a confrontation, kissed him with a fierceness and a fire that seemed to pull his very soul out of his breath, Sephiroth realized then that he was not dealing with a delicate sapphire jewel, but a sword of the strongest steel.

It only made him fall for her harder.

Her companionship had brought him a relief and a joy like no other, but they always had known it was forbidden, that Cloud would eventually be promised to another nobleman, that he would eventually be shipped off to some far corner of the planet, a tool bent her father’s will. But those facts did not stop them from indulging in the beautiful fantasy, even though they both knew exactly how it would end.

It is this very conflict that stirs in Sephiroth’s mind now. He knows he should look away, knows that the Midgar Court already whispers about them with scandalized delight, knows that if her father ever found out about their relationship, he could very well be executed on the spot – grand General or not. But tonight, he finds himself caring little for the gossip, the royal protocol. Because tonight, in Cloud’s wonderful and ethereal beauty, the loss of her is almost too much for Sephiroth to bear.

(And if he is destined to die for the Shinra royal family, he is at least determined to do it on his own terms.)

That strange mixture of grief and defiance is what carries him forward, striding across the ballroom with a purpose so evident, it parts the crowds around him. He only stops when he stands in front of the Princess, her expression startled at his approach, and yet yearning all the same. Around them, the people murmur, though Sephiroth pays no heed to what they have to say. The tones of the current song have begun to fade away. That is when Sephiroth makes his move.

“Your Royal Highness,” he says smoothly. “May I have this dance?”

The Princess’ eyes flicker between surprise and joy and fear. Not once out of the several balls and banquets hosted at court have they done this, knowing full well that adding any more fodder to the rumor mill could push the King into forcing a separation. But that concern is now a moot point. Tonight, all he desires – and all he knows she desires – is for one last dance.

Cloud bows to him now, but even in that deference, she still displays her formidable nature, in the sharpness of her blue eyes and in her cool disregard of the stares and whispers that the court sends their direction.

“My dear General,”’ she responds, taking his hand firmly and confidently.

The music resumes and the two begin to move, swept up in the melodies and the steps and the notes. As they progress, Sephiroth begins to feel like he always does around Cloud. It is as if the entirety of the universe melts away, collapses to its center – and for him, that center had become none other than her. With his arm around her waist and their eyes locked on each other, he cannot resist the spell that she casts to hold his attention, keep him in her thrall. And from the way her smile lights up to her eyes, to the gentle touches of her hand caressing the back of his own, he can feel her affection for him, just as strong as his own.

But like all good things between them, the song ends all too quickly, the moment fading. The time to say goodbye creeps closer. Sephiroth steps back and offers a serene bow. “Thank you, Your Highness,” he whispers, hoping all the things he wants to say aloud but can’t are conveyed in those words.

Cloud lets out a breath, her eyes glistening with unfallen tears. This is the cycle between them, the beautiful rush of the fantasy falling away, crushed under the relentless malice of their reality. For what else could they be than this – stolen kisses, brief dances, whispered words? Tomorrow, Sephiroth will begin his journey to Wutai, and they will be apart again in all ways, once more. He wishes desperately that it would not be so, but that is a choice that he cannot make.

But then, suddenly and in the quick and determined and bold manner that made Cloud so powerful and so alluring, the Princess chooses for him. She takes his hand and begins to run, pulling him along, out of the ballroom, out of the castle, into the gardens. In the rush, she ignores the startled gasps and hushed commentary of the courtiers, the guards, the servants, and even the King, with whom Sephiroth locks eyes with for a brief and revelatory moment before being swept up and away by Cloud.

He knows, he realizes. He knows.

If this is to be their last night on Gaia together, that fact hardly matters. And regardless, Sephiroth cannot pull away from Cloud, cannot help but run after her, because in his heart, he knows he would follow her to the very edges of creation itself.

Cloud finally stops in a quiet corner of the grounds, pushing him up against the wall of shrubbery and kissing him, gasping and desperate. Her sentiments spill into him, and Sephiroth finds his hands clinging to her waist, roaming over her shoulders, cradling her neck. Any modicum of distance between them feels like an aching sore, and tonight, of all nights, he would do anything to take away her pain.

His lips move, from hers, to her jaw, to her ear, her neck. She sighs, in that lovely way she does, in the way that drives Sephiroth to the very edge of his restraint. His fingers find purchase around the buttons on the back of her dress, and almost as if on instinct, they begin the process of undoing them, one by one.

Cloud’s breath hitches, and she pushes back and away slightly. “I don’t want you to go,” she whispers. “I don’t want you to die.”

“I won’t,” Sephiroth promises, reaching forward to kiss her again.

She dodges the kiss but wraps her arms around his shoulders anyway. “You are fighting a war that you do not believe in. That does not lend itself well to success.”

“Do you suggest I run, then?”

Cloud places her hand on the back of his neck, runs her fingers through his long silver hair. “Maybe we should. We could run. Find a corner of the world that is just the two of us. Where no one could ever reach us.”

For a moment, Sephiroth is tempted by the beauty of the wish – the idea of Cloud, forever his, on a house by a lake somewhere where wildflowers grow. Somewhere he could kiss her without fear of scorn, derision, discipline, or death. Somewhere he could love her, freely and truly. But it sounds too good to be true, because it is, and they both know it.

“I cannot abandon them, my friends and my men,” Sephiroth whispers back, squeezing her tightly in apology.

Cloud lets out a quiet whimper, but he knows she understands, knows that his loyalty is one of the reasons she loves him so deeply. “Then what do we do?” she asks, burying her head in his chest. “I can’t keep living like this. Knowing that I love you and I can’t be yours.”

Instead of responding outright, Sephiroth reaches down and takes her left hand, bringing it up to his lips. He slips the glove off her finger gently, tenderly, with all the love he has in his entire being, allowing the silk to slip to the ground. Then, he himself begins to fall, down to one knee.

“When I return, I’ll put a ring here,” he says, gently kissing her fingers. “And I’ll make even greater vows to you.”

Cloud watches him, eyes wide. “You…are serious, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“My father will not let you.”

“I don’t care about your father,” Sephiroth says, turning her hand to press more intentional kisses to her palm and her wrist. He then pulls back and gazes up at her with expectant eyes. “I’ll fight his war, because that is my only way back to you. But once I return, I have no intention of letting you go. If you let me fight for you, then I swear to you that nothing will stop me until you are freely and truly mine.”

The tears now stream freely, slipping softly from those dazzling blue eyes. But Sephiroth knows Cloud enough to recognize that they are not from sadness, not in the slightest.

She bends over to cradle his face and tug him gently upright. Once he stands in front of her, she takes his left hand, and just as he did hers, slides off his glove with equal affection, dropping the black leather atop of her own white silk.

As she kisses his knuckles, Cloud whispers with all the passion and fire in her soul, “Then as you fight, so will I. For us. So I too can make more promises to you when you return.”

Their fingers intertwine. And in the garden, underneath the real starlight and away from the prison of the palace, they seal the first of their many vows with a loving, hopeful kiss.

[a-day-in-the-afterlife]

Hello since we had post abozt how bois would survive in wildness how about how they would be like going on field trip with Manager (preferably all of them like group) thanks

This is such a cute idea, anon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, this ended up being super long, I apologize!  I kinda got into it, heheh!

Also, I know you asked for them all to be in a group, but I hope you don’t mind that when organizing this, I did separate them into their respective teams (just so it wouldn’t look cluttered and I’d have an order in which to write).  They still interact with Soul Reapers from other teams, though!  (or at least, I tried to make them to!)

The 14th Department Goes to the Aquarium

Mane

So, Ell finds the jellies absolutely ethereal.  He’s lived up in the Celestial Realm his whole life and the otherworldly calmness that they exude almost remind him of home.  He and Jamie spend an hour at the jelly exhibit, and Ell is so enraptured by the sight of them that his clumsy self bonks into the aquarium glass four or five times—on separate occasions—when he steps too close.  After he is sufficiently amazed by the jellies, he goes to hang out with his father Youssef and the Manager, who together haunt the aquarium café, sipping on caramel lattes and watching over the other Soul Reapers.

Like Ell, Jamie loves the jellies.  Something about their soft and translucent form makes him feel incredibly peaceful.  He could’ve spent hours taking in their mesmerizing beauty, but soon moves exhibits in order to take in all the “wonderful lil’ critters” the aquarium has to offer.  He is particularly interested in the beluga whales because “Bless my heart!  Don’t they have the friendliest face you ever did see?”  Overall, he enjoys the museum trip because animals of all kinds amuse him, and the low burbling of the water in the tanks is so soothing.

Ghilley is highly intrigued by the octopuses—with their extensive abilities to camouflage and maneuver their bodies, they’re even better at sneaking up on people than him!  He read on the sign next to the octopus tank that the animals are so intelligent that they can solve problems, predict, remember, dismantle things, and even do puzzles, which is one of his favorite hobbies!  Licht teases him by saying that Ghilley himself must be one of the ancestors of the octopus, since he is so old, and they are so similar.  Ghilley allows the tease with an “Ufufufu,” but secretly vows to cover his boyfriend’s roommate’s bed in Legos as revenge.

He initially doesn’t have that much enthusiasm for going on this field trip (“Who’s going to admire my beauty in an aquarium?  What, the fish?  We should go somewhere with more people, darling!”), so Licht stalwartly shadows Ghilley in the octopus exhibit, commenting that he wished he himself was an octopus, since being able to change one’s “outfit color” based on one’s surroundings just sounded so tantalizing!  Bored after standing in one exhibit for so long, Licht wanders into the amphibian section of the aquarium, where he stands, enrapt at the gorgeous colors of the (poisonous) frogs, for a whole hour, before calling over the Manager (who takes a “break” from her “coffee break”) to ogle at the animals with him—her close proximity and warm scent causes him to rethink his stance on the engagement of aquariums.

Die

Theo finds himself in a conundrum: he wants to spend time with Junee and the Manager, but he also desperately yearns to discuss the aquarium cleaning regimen with the staff.  With how long he expects the latter conversation to last, he’s not sure he’ll have time to do both activities in the eleven hours that the 14th Department intends to stay at the aquarium!  He almost takes up Cyrille, who professes to have discovered the secret to cloning, on his offers of allowing Theo to be in “two places at once,” but decides that on his day off, he might as well just get some info on what kind of industry-standard and nonabrasive detergents the staff uses to clean the aquarium, for he can spend time with Junee any other day.  However, seven hours into the discussion with the staff, Theo feels a prick of conscience and spends the rest of the day gallivanting about the aquarium with June and Day.

Slightly disheartened by the fact that Theo initially chooses to spend what looks like the entire day with the aquarium staff, June is rescued from squeezing out a few manly tears by Day, who encourages him to do as he does and see how many times he could visit all the exhibits before the day is done.  June likes the idea—only a true man could see all the animals in the aquarium more than once in a given day—and the pair cause a general ruckus as they speed through the various exhibits, staring at the animals in awe for no more than two minutes before rushing to the next tank.  He feels especial pity for the turtles: if only he had thought to bring extra running shoes for them to feel the joys of speed as he did!  

Louis, with a clothespin over his nose to block the stench, spends much of the day in the penguin exhibit.  He can be heard announcing “Thou art a very dapper bird, although not as fine as me!” to every penguin who is willing to hear his blathering.  He is most appreciative of their debonair coat of black and white and is even more intrigued when a trainer tells him that there is a breed of penguin called “Emperor.”  A fellow royal, just like him!  Upon the Manager’s request that he spend his time admiring the other animals as well (the penguin trainers were having trouble hiding their laughter at the pompous prince, and she wanted to give them a break), Louis bothers Verine and Ethan at the sea star habitat, and the sickly Soul Reaper wonders if life is worth living at all if this is how it’s to be spent (listening to the prince).  Louis connects to the sea stars deeply because he, too, is a star!

Like many occasions when he has to interact with the other Soul Reapers, this field trip is a special brand of hell for Ethan.  He stays with Verine by the sea star tank for some time, before his roommate, Louis, prances in and begins all manner of comparisons toward himself and the sea stars.  Ethan, after listening to Louis for seventeen minutes, has to relieve himself of the prince and begins quietly examining the exhibits en route out of the main part of the aquarium and into the adjoining café and gift shop area.  He spots Ell, Youssef, and the Manager there, and as he finds those three not entirely unpalatable in terms of disposition—Manager, especially—he joins them, although he scoffs at the trio’s preference for coffee over tea.  

Hesperide

Sian is one of the few people in the entire 14th Department that visits the aquarium like a normal person.  He and Noah throw out the terrible maps that they bought from Mori and peruse the exhibits at their own leisure, admiring the animals, and spending more time at the exhibits that strike their fancy.  Sian personally finds the seahorses to be some of the most entertaining aquatic creatures in the whole aquarium; there are so many different designs they can take!  As he and Noah stroll among the tanks, he can’t help but wonder if they’ll catch a glimpse of the Manager (he doesn’t know that she’s retired early from visiting the exhibits to drink coffee).  Of course, he’s not going to say that—“Y—yo, don’t take that the wrong way!  It’s not l—like I’m interested in hanging out with the Manager or anything!”  No one believes him, though.

Enthralled with the idea of a more educational field trip, Cyrille is on Cloud Nine.  He forgoes any interaction with his fellow Soul Reapers, preferring to study the various informational signs on the tanks, check the cleanliness and ethicalness of all the habitats, and interrogate the workers in the aquarium as to how they are maintaining all the animals and their tanks.  He is satisfied in knowing that the aquarium takes care of all their wildlife properly and makes sure that their animals are comfortable and are in habitats as close as to the ones they would have been living in in nature.  Although Manager tries to coax him from his awkward questions, he’s far too interested to take notice, but he ends up having the most fun of all the Soul Reapers during this field trip, when all his queries are satisfied.

Kati fights with Aitachi the entire bus ride to the aquarium and spends much of the time inside the building screaming obscenities like “Noctu and Noah are stupid!” from the top of his lungs.  He is thoroughly shut up when Manager advises him to vent his feelings to the corals, which he does, and becomes much more relaxed.  He had plans to follow Noah and bully him the entire time (he just wants some attention from his roommate, poor thing), but after seeing that Noah and Sian are too busy being mature by actually enjoying the aquarium, he thinks better of it, and instead, stations himself at the sea otter exhibit.  They are so cute—although, not as cute as him!  There, he finds Aitachi, who is also charmed with a childlike passion by the otters, and immediately threatens to bite him.  He is rescued from being obliterated by the much-more experienced warrior by Noah, who “coincidentally” decided he wanted to drop by the sea otter exhibit.

As mentioned earlier, Noah enjoys the aquarium with Sian, perhaps in the way that it’s supposed to be enjoyed.  He likes taking it easy, not wanting to cherry-pick any exhibits to see, but instead, choosing to admire the interesting ones as they came along.  After seeing most of the aquarium together, he and Sian part ways, Sian deciding to go find the Manager (he finds Quincy instead), and Noah, feeling that Kati probably had gotten himself into trouble by now, decides to go look for the younger Evening Team member.  He texts the Manager to see if she knows where Kati is (she says he’s in the sea otter exhibit) and goes to find him.  He is just in time to see Aitachi and him ready to begin dueling, and delivers Kati from getting clobbered by the young Atiyah warrior and insists that it was an “accident” that he happened to bump into the pair.  Noah forces Kati to apologize to Aitachi, and even though it was done in a most begrudging manner, the pair do not have any more quarrels (in that day).

Noctu

Despite Nine’s frequent wishes to be alone, he has long since realized that in public places where they have never been before, the three other members of Noctu will follow him around like orphaned children.  As he’s pretty sure that the trio would get themselves into trouble otherwise—and on accident, of course—he’s contented himself to live with it.  He and the rest of Noctu traverse the aquarium in a group and mostly juggle their party between the freshwater and saltwater fish exhibits.  They do visit the rest of the aquarium, though, and Nine is overcome with panic when Aitachi is found missing from the group for all of twelve minutes.  He is most excited when him and the rest of Noctu sign up to watch a video presentation on sharks (which do not have a live exhibit at the aquarium), but he mostly zones out during it and enjoys the silence of his own mind.  Because they finish perusing the aquarium much earlier than anticipated, Kirr, Aitachi, and him retire to the aquarium café with Youssef, Ell, Ethan, and the Manager.

Day has been counting the days for this field trip the moment he heard it announced, and his excitement is rewarded with a great day at the aquarium.  He loves this opportunity to “play” with Nine-Nine and the rest of his teammates and see all the pretty fishies!  Day likes the freshwater and saltwater fish a lot—the clownfish amuse him to no end, but he is even more enamored when the group visits the dolphin exhibit.  They remind him of himself—playful and smart!  Day, who has no grasp on the concept of money, throws away his ticket to the shark presentation that he had already paid for, and decides that he’d rather still explore the museum further instead of sitting around to watch a video (he can’t sit still for very long).  He finds June sadly, but earnestly, wandering about the exhibits by his lonesome, and instantly invents a way for them to hang out and see the entirety of the aquarium together by ways of running around it like a lunatic and see all the exhibits as fast and as many times as possible.  It’s great fun and brightens June up considerably!

Having lived high up in the mountains all his life, Kirr is astonished by the sheer amount of aquatic life present in the aquarium.  He has a terrible habit of calling every organism around them “a fish,” whether it be a spindly lobster or an entire coral reef.  Kirr does not fear when Aitachi becomes lost, knowing the young warrior can take care of himself just fine, but he still looks for him and successfully tracks him down in the sea otter exhibit.  Kirr is the first one to agree when Nine suggests that the group sign up to watch a video presentation on sharks, especially when he sees the poster promoting the video call sharks “the hunters of the sea.”  The informative presentation teaches him nothing new about hunting, but he appreciates it nonetheless.  Him, Aitachi, and Nine retire to the aquarium’s café after strolling about the entirety of the exhibits and are delighted to find Ell, Youssef, and the Manager enjoying coffee together.  He himself is significantly less excited upon seeing his opponent, Ethan, there, as well, nursing a cup of what appears to be hot leaf juice.

Warrior Aitachi does not know what to expect upon entering the “aquarium” place that Miss Manager insists that the 14th Department tour.  He is, however, sufficiently pleased when he realizes that it is a place to view many fish, even if it is merely a fruitless pastime.  Nevertheless, he is enthralled with childlike vivacity at all the exhibits that he and the rest of Noctu visit and loves the sheer amount of color present in the watery tanks.  He is not entirely distraught when he become separated from the rest of Noctu, for he can definitely take care of himself!  Aitachi is wise enough to stay at the exhibit where he last was with the Night Team—the sea otter habitat—so his team can find him more easily.  There, he watches the cute antics of the otters and is content until Licht and Ghilley, who were coming back from the aquarium bathrooms, have the audacity to compare his “cuteness” with the otters’!  It puts him in a bad mood, and it is even worsened when that intrepid Kati comes from out of nowhere and bites him.  He would’ve had no qualms at honorably cutting down the Evening Team member, but alas, Kati is rescued by Noah.  After receiving an apology from Kati, Aitachi is reunited with Noctu and they head to their scheduled shark presentation before seeing the rest of the museum, and heading back to the aquarium café with the Manager.

Diluculo

If it isn’t already obvious, Youssef prefers to spend his time in the aquarium in its café, for he has seen many aquariums in his youth and would prefer to spend this trip to the museum watching over the other Soul Reapers.  Since the café is elevated enough so one can look down from its ledge over the entire aquarium, he is joined by the Manager, so she, too, can survey what is happening among the rest of the members of the 14th Department.  Youssef immediately orders for the Manager and himself two caramel lattes and they sip and chat and watch over the Soul Reapers like mother hens.  Their small party of two grows as the day passes, and by the end of the field trip, it comprises he, the Manager, Ell, Ethan, Kirr, Aitachi, and Nine.  Even though he appreciated the alone time with the Manager, none of the other Soul Reapers are unwelcome and only heighten his enjoyment of the trip.

Mori sees the aquarium field trip as an excellent business opportunity.  He already sold several copies of a map of the aquarium (complete with animal facts pulled from Otherworldipedia) he had made prior to the trip to Noah and Sian.  They sold for a hefty price and even if he had made no other profit that day, Mori would have still been satisfied, even though Quincy had called his maps fit for nothing but to be used as toilet paper and that was only if the world had run out of its supply of one-ply.  Nevertheless, he stations himself outside the aquarium entrance and sells twenty-four copies of his map pamphlet before aquarium security ask him to not charge money for what they were already giving away for free inside.  Mori is unabashed, however, and makes his way to the aquarium gift shop, where he sells many mass-produced, underwater-themed trinkets that he bought from a bulk party store online.  He happens to make a killing, before the aquarium security, once again and less politely this time, ask him to buzz off.

Criticism is his strong suit, so Quincy wanders about by himself making rude remarks on all the fish and other underwater life.  He only does this, however, to hide how bored and lonely he is, especially since his roommate, Verine, had decided to be boring and spend his entire afternoon embroiled in the sea stars.  Despite this annoyance with Verine, Quincy still texts him hourly reminders in typical Quincy fashion (read: rudely) to take his medicine.  He is infinitely satisfied when he finds Sian, who is a kindred spirit in criticism, and together they stroll about the aquarium, judging the creatures inside the tanks as if they weren’t completely and utterly entranced by their beauty.  Quincy particularly likes the birds of prey exhibit (although he wonders why the aquarium, which focuses on underwater life, has one), for he has to admit contentment in watching the little moles and mice get absolutely massacred by the owls and hawks in the enclosure.

Verine doesn’t enjoy the museum one bit: it’s cold, it’s stuffy, and there’s too many people (which means more dust in the air).  He has to content himself with his pills and tissues in the least popular exhibit with the sea stars (coincidentally, corals are significantly less interesting to watch than sea stars, but considering they have much more of a media presence with the “save the coral reefs movement,” more people tend to frequent their exhibit).  He is secretly flattered with Quincy’s constant reminders to take his medicine, because it shows he cares, in his own denigrating way.  He is not, however, amused by Louis’ frequent inquirings after his health, for they all follow a split-second look of pity, just as the prince begins one of his long ramblings about his own beauty, and how Verine should, instead of “focusing on his deformities,” look to the handsomeness that was the prince.  He much preferred the awkward silence he had been sharing with Ethan before the prince’s arrival!