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cosette141 · 2 years

Text

Dreamshade (OUAT fanfic) | Additional Ending

Fandom: Once Upon A Time

Author: cosette141

Words: 3k (this chapter) | 16k total

Summary: (s3A, "Good Form" canon divergence) Instead of David getting hit with the poisoned arrow, it's Hook. Now it's up to David to get Hook to Dead Man's Peak before Dreamshade takes Hook's life, and maybe learn, perhaps too late, that Hook is far more than just a pirate. h/c Captain Charming

AO3 (additional ending link) | AO3 (Dreamshade story link from beginning)

Additional Ending: The Cure to Dreamshade (is You) (under the cut!)

a/n: Lol so I had thought this story was over, but I was asked by many people to continue this story so that Hook got safely back to Storybrooke. So, I spent the past 3 hours writing this, which is way less time than I usually spend agonizing over a chapter, so if it's just ehh, that's why lol. But either way, here's your closure xD

The idea for how Hook is saved came from @undercaffinatednightmare and @jonesfandomfanatic, I hope I did it justice!

Okay, NOW here is the last chapter and epilogue of Dreamshade lmao.

~cosette141

They'd saved Henry.

The bloody heroes had defeated Pan, and saved Henry.

It was something Hook still couldn't quite fathom; he had yet to see any of them fail, and had grown to wonder if they ever could.

However, as the lot of them had returned to the ship, all smiles and relief, reunited with the lad, Hook had paused at the foot of the gangplank, unable to convince himself to board.

Because it seemed that he may have just found the one thing these heroes will fail to do.

And that, was to save him.

Ever since the Neverland water had cured him, since his and David's journey to Dead Man's Peak, things had been drastically different among them.

Firstly, and most notably, between himself and David.

Not only had David stopped fighting him on which paths to take and which areas to avoid, David had quite literally shifted leadership directly and solely to Hook.

And though Hook was used to being a leader, being the Captain of his crew, he was respected out of his men's fear.

It's been a very, very long time since he'd led any people by their choice of him.

The last time he'd felt that way, was when Liam was still alive, and for a short time after his death.

He and David were now past having an understanding with each other; they did feel like mates.

It had taken a week after Dead Man's Peak to save Henry, and more than one of those nights, David and Hook had shared a shift watching over the others, and slowly, mostly to pass the time, had started to talk.

The fact that David had willingly wanted to know more about him, not just to keep him awake for fear of him dying like he had that night, was still something that touched and stunned Hook all the same.

The change hadn't stopped with David, however.

The change between himself and Emma was something else entirely.

The bitter edge to Emma had very much eroded.

But Hook knew it wasn't her demeanor that had softened; it was the walls tumbling down one by one.

Ever since their kiss all those nights ago, she'd always seemed to gravitate closer to him. So far, that kiss had been a one-time thing, but mostly due to her fear for her boy taking precedence. And Hook had quite the feeling that, if they were to find a way to save him, they'd certainly have a second time. He and Emma had fought together with every other danger they'd faced, just like they had fought the giant on the Beanstalk, and just like how her parents fought. In sync, in a way of protecting the other.

The nights that Hook's and David's shifts didn't align, his and Emma's did.

And, slowly, she and he began to talk.

Gods, he never once would have believed that he could be more excited about the fact that a woman was talking and opening up to him more than he would be to wake up next to her.

However, that was an excitement all on its own, but now, standing here on the edge of his worst nightmare and his brightest dream…

He knew, with a coldness in his chest, that it would never happen.

Swallowing hard, something terribly painful in Hook's chest as he listened to the joy on deck, of Emma, her boy, and the Lost Boys they were also bringing back to Storybrooke.

Hook shut his eyes, remembering saving Henry.

Hook never would have thought that he'd be relieved to see the Crocodile.

Pan had been moments from taking Henry's heart, Hook and Emma immobilized by the demon's magic, when the Crocodile had reappeared for the first time since he'd left their group when they'd arrived in Neverland.

With some long-winded speech about destroying Pan to save Baelfire's son, as his way of making up for past mistakes, Rumplestiltskin had used one of Pan's own weapons against him:

Dreamshade.

Right through his chest.

Pan had fallen, releasing himself and Emma. Emma had run to her boy, the Crocodile to replace the boy's heart, and Hook found himself watching Pan seconds from death.

"At least I know," gasped Pan, "that you aren't far behind."

Hook's eyes narrowed.

"I know you were poisoned, too," drawled Pan through a tight grimace. "You know as well as I do.. th-that you won't leave here alive." Something dark and inhuman in his eyes, he hissed with his last breath, "There is no cure to Dreamshade. Not for you."

Pan's body shuddered, then disintegrated into black ash that wisped into nothing in the air.

"Hook…"

Hook blinked, finding David on the gangplank, worried eyes on him.

Like he was realizing exactly what Hook had realized.

He wasn't going to live.

Hook smiled, but there was no warmth, no joy. "You saved your grandson. We succeeded."

David didn't smile. "No, we haven't succeeded. Not yet."

"Mate," breathed Hook, that pain in his chest burning so similarly to Dreamshade. "Thank you for… trying, but…" His voice trailed off, his chest hurting worse.

David's expression was tortured.

Footsteps jogged down the gangplank suddenly, revealing Emma. "What are you guys waiting for?" she asked, that smile still on her face. Relief. Happiness. So free.

It only made Hook's chest hurt worse.

She stopped beside him, so close to him, and it made Hook's eyes burn because why did he have to win her heart right before Dreamshade took his?

Emma seemed to sense the tension. Looking between them, her smile faltering, she said, "What?"

David looked at Hook, and Hook shut his eyes.

He hadn't wanted to tell her.

He hadn't bloody wanted to tell her.

Their silence stretched too long, and Emma crossed her arms. "Okay, you two have been… I don't know. There's something you're not telling me and I want to know what it is."

Hook's tortured gaze found Emma's hard one. As much as he didn't want her to know, he didn't want to lie to her.

He couldn't lie to her.

So, he took a heavy breath, and forced the words out to say, "I'm… I was… poisoned." He swallowed hard as Emma's eyes widened. "With… Dreamshade," he whispered.

"Wh—what? When?" she exclaimed, suddenly grabbing at his jacket, as if trying to find the injury, and Hook only felt more pain at how easily she has come to touch him.

Gently, he took her hand from his vest into his own to stop her. "I'm in no immediate danger," he said haltingly.

Emma's eyes snapped to his.

He was stunned to find the amount of panic in them.

"What are you talking about, Hook?" she demanded breathlessly.

Sighing wearily, Hook relented, "Our second night here, I… I was nicked by a Lost Boy's arrow." Emma's eyes widened even more. "I was… fading," he said, unevenly.

Emma's mind seemed to click the pieces together in seconds. "Those… those days you were drunk?"

"Not drunk, love," he whispered hollowly, eyes burning.

"But…" Her eyes found his again. He felt her free hand grab his jacket unconsciously. "But you look fine," she whispered.

"Aye…" Looking at David, who's expression was even more tortured, he looked back at Emma. "Your father… learned of my situation."

"Hook said there was this water that could save him," said David, "so… so that's where we went that night."

Emma's eyes slowly dragged from her father to Hook. Her hand released Hook's jacket in a way that felt like a physical blow. "You lied to me?"

Hook's eyes burned.

"Emma—" began David.

Hook couldn't speak.

"How could you have kept that to yourself?" exclaimed Emma. "You're telling me you were dying and you weren't even going to tell us?"

She said us, but Hook heard me.

"Emma, love, I—" began Hook, eyes burning hotter.

"He did it for you, Emma!"

Emma and Hook both looked at David.

"What?" breathed Emma.

"He did it for you," said David, with a little panicked heat in his voice. "Look, Hook didn't want you to know, but—"

"Mate—" began Hook warningly, but David didn't stop.

"—the arrow that hit Hook was the one that almost hit you." finished David.

Emma froze.

Slowly, she looked at Hook.

"What?" she asked in a tiny voice.

Feeling unbearable emotional pain, Hook said reluctantly, "I wasn't fast enough."

Emma stumbled back a step. "Wait," she breathed. "So," she said hollowly, "you almost died… saving me?"

When Hook couldn't speak, David said, "Yes."

Emma looked at Hook, like the gesture was something she couldn't understand.

It reminded him of how he'd felt when David had saved him.

Seeming to shake herself out of the shock, Emma said, "B-But you're healed now." It was phrased like a very shaky fact.

Which was exactly what it was.

Taking a heavy breath, Hook said, "Not… entirely. The water David used to heal me only works in Neverland."

His unsaid words were painfully loud.

Emma's brows kneaded together in a way that looked lost. "So… if you leave…"

His voice no more than a whisper, Hook confirmed, "I'll die."

The three of them stood in the quietest silence Hook has ever heard.

"What's the hold up?"

Regina's annoyed voice cut through that silence, making the three of them flinch.

But soon, Regina and Snow were approaching.

"What are you guys doing?" asked Snow.

When Emma and Hook were quiet, David said, "Long story short, Hook was poisoned with Dreamshade and healed with water that only heals him in Neverland."

At Regina's surprise and Snow's gasp, David looked at Hook. Determination in his eyes, he said, "I promised we would save you, Hook, and that's what we're going to do." As if just thinking it— "That's it! Where's Gold?"

"Listening to the pirate's sob story."

Everyone snapped around to see the Crocodile leaning boredly against the side of the ship on deck.

David strode up to him, protective anger narrowing his eyes. "There's got to be something we can do to save him."

"As enticing as it would be to save the pirate's pathetic life," drawled the Crocodile, "ever since he poisoned me with Dreamshade, I've done my share of research on the subject."

"And?" demanded David.

"And," he said, eyes narrowing, "there might be a way to save him."

"What is it?" breathed Emma, in a voice Hook had only heard her use when they'd been looking for Henry.

Rolling his eyes, the Crocodile said, "There's a… potion I could concoct that would cure him. But it is back in my shop."

David's head snapped up. "What if we took some of that healing water with us? It could keep him alive until you make the potion?"

"I believe so," mused the Crocodile. "You're lucky, pirate, that I am in a giving mood."

Hook couldn't manage to glare.

There was a chance.

"Good," said David, a relieved smile at his lips. Smiling at Hook, he said, "Got time for one more trip to Dead Guy Mountain?"

Hook smiled.

-.-.-.

The journey to and from Dead Man's Peak—including Emma this time—took far less time than it had a week ago.

But soon, they were all aboard the Jolly Roger, using Tink's pixie dust to fly back home.

The Neverland Water was now in Hook's flask, close enough to him he could feel its power radiating from it.

He was standing beside Emma and David at the helm as they crossed realms, Storybrooke's shore in the distance.

And it felt so, eerily similar, to when he'd once stood here with Liam.

When he had lost Liam.

Hook felt Emma's fingers in his, which hadn't left the entire night.

He felt David's concerned gaze on him.

Hook released Emma's hand only to take the wheel as the ship slowly descended from the sky to the water.

Everyone on deck stumbled with the landing, and Hook felt Emma's hand grab his forearm.

And Hook felt a paralyzing fear, his head snapping up.

They weren't in Neverland anymore.

Flashes of Liam dying rose sharply.

"Hook?"

Emma and David had spoken his name at once.

Hook swallowed as the ship settled.

Just as his nerves did.

He gave them a shaky smile. "I'm all right."

"You sure?" asked Emma.

"Aye," he said, smiling more at her concern. "Dreamshade took my brother the moment we landed in foreign waters." He breathed in, shutting his eyes with relief, feeling the water working to protect him. "I'm all right," he repeated, looking at her.

David clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Good. Let's make sure you stay that way."

-.-.-.-.

Once they'd docked and everyone dispersed into the cheering Storybrooke crowd, Emma had left Henry with Regina and she and David had practically dragged Hook to the Crocodile's shop, for the demon had disappeared quickly after returning home.

Kicking open the door, David called, "Gold! Is it ready?"

The Crocodile was standing behind the counter of his shop, hands clasped, smiling at them.

David's brows kneaded. "Where's the potion? Aren't you making it?"

The Crocodile smiled more. But it was sinister. "There is no potion to cure Dreamshade."

The three of them froze.

"But you said—" began David.

"I lied." said the Crocodile with another grin.

Hook felt every hope disappear in an instant.

"Gold—" said Emma in a shaky voice that she intended to be strong.

"Why the hell would you lie?" demanded David.

"The question," he said, eyes narrowing, "is more, why would I save him?" The evil in his smile growing, he said, "He took my wife and hurt my Belle. It was simply a serendipitous situation. I can kill him without lifting a finger." He grinned again. "But I can speed it up."

He flicked his wrist, and suddenly—

—Hook's flask appeared in the Crocodile's hand.

The effect was instant.

Hook gasped at the pain in his side, the shock of it buckling his legs.

"Hook!"

He felt Emma catch him before he hit the ground, slowly helping him to the ground.

"Hook," whispered Emma, a tear slipping down her cheek. "Killian," she whispered.

Knees hit the ground on Hook's other side—David. "Hook!"

But Hook's panic suddenly paused.

Because although his side hurt, it didn't burn.

With shaking fingers, he yanked up his shirt.

And there, was the slice from the arrow.

However…

It wasn't black.

"It's not there," breathed David. "The Dreamshade. It's gone!"

"Impossible," whispered Hook, his heart still slamming in his chest.

But there was nothing more than a cut.

No burn.

No Dreamshade.

"No!"

And suddenly the Crocodile was glaring at them, furious.

"There should be no way for you to have survived that," he growled. "The only cure to Dreamshade is trading lives with the candle or True Love! None of which you have!"

The Crocodile stalked toward him, hand lifted as if in attack, but Emma stood quickly, with fury of her own, and her hands suddenly glowed white, and a blast shot from her fingers, crashing the Crocodile into the counter, leaving him unmoving in the broken glass and debris.

"That's my girl," said David with a grin.

Emma stared at her hands, like she hadn't meant to do that.

But also, wasn't too upset about it.

Hook sat up, and Emma knelt next to him. "Are you okay?"

"I think so," he said. "Yet I haven't the faintest idea why."

"Gold…" said David. "What he just said…" He looked between Hook and Emma.

And again.

And smiled.

And suddenly, Hook understood.

"The only thing able to cure Dreamshade is trading lives with the candle or True Love!"

Hook's eyes snapped to Emma's.

"You kissed me," he breathed.

"What?" she said, brows shooting up.

"Emma, after I was healed by the water that night… you kissed me."

That tingle at his lips when she'd kissed him.

That feeling that had felt more euphoric than the water.

It wasn't just chemistry.

It was True Love's Kiss.

"Wait," said Emma suddenly. "You… you mean..?"

"Aye," he said with a grin.

And not a moment later, she was kissing him again.

His eyes shut, that euphoria sent through him once again.

But they pulled away quickly, for David was right beside them, and Hook saw Emma smile.

The three of them stood, giving one more look to the unconscious Crocodile before walking outside.

Emma pulled him into her arms. "Don't scare me like that," she whispered.

David clapped a hand on Hook's shoulder, giving him a little squeeze. "Glad you're okay.

"Mate," said Hook. "David." He smiled. "Thank you. For… everything."

Emma smiled at them. "I still can't believe you saved Hook," she said to her father. "You kinda seemed like the last person to do that when we got to Neverland."

David looked at Hook, letting out a breath, a hint of a smile at his lips. "He saved you. The least I could do was save him."

But he and Hook both knew, that his reasons for saving Hook had only piled up the longer their journey had gone.

"Well, you've developed quite the bromance," joked Emma, tightening her arms around Hook with a grin.

"Bromance?" echoed Hook confusedly.

"I'll explain it to you later," said David with a grin. "I'll go tell Snow everything's all good. Meet us at Granny's later, we'll celebrate many things," he said with another smile.

Emma and he smiled as he left, and she pressed her forehead to Hook's. "You saved me," she whispered.

But he smiled, his hand holding her face gently, like he knew he would for the rest of his days, and he whispered, "And you saved me."

His True Love.

And from the look in her eyes now, she was just as happy about that news as he was.

A trip back to Neverland, that had seemed like a nightmare, had now given him a brother, some sort of a "bromance", and Emma.

It had given him something even more than that.

Something he thought he'd never have again.

Something that made his eyes burn with a good kind of hurt.

It had given him a family.

And it had brought him home.

-.-.-.

the actual end. lol.

tag list: @kmomof4 @justanother-unluckysoul @klynn-stormz @stahlop @ilovemesomekillianjones @hookmecaptain @tiganasummertree @jadehowlettthewolf @jonesfandomfanatic @anmylica @pirateprincessofpizza @stahlop @snowbellewells @eddisfargo @motherkatereloyshipper @killian-whump @deckerstarblanche @cocohook38 @spartanguard

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factorialsfandoms · 2 years

Note

“You shouldn’t have come,” with Wars?

(Also originally, no I wasn’t, I just thought they were cool, but I saw the prompt and my brain proceeded to slam me with a story so uh that’s definitely happening now, original intent thrown out the window XD)

(Well, you're welcome or something ^^: Hope you enjoy both the brainworm and this)

I hope this is fun for you! He's not Warriors yet, just Link. Also thank you for the Linked Maze discord server with whom I spent Saturday evening tearing my hair out trying to work out which other character to use for this. Saturday was also the day I unlocked Ravio in HW, so........ Well. That makes it kinda obvious.

I say fun. Some of its not very fun, but we do get to the soft. Angst with ‘it’ll be okay I /promise/’ ending.

Also, given you end up with everyone even like Ganon and Cia playable, I’m using the idea that ‘evil’ characters end up working for the enemy when they fall through the cracks. Namely, Yuga.

AO3 Link as I put it straight there (also lacking editting) for once. Too bouncy about it oops.

The battle had gone atrociously. The Hyrulian army had been decimated, forced into a near rout. While many had made it back to the stronghold - the enemy largely held back by Link, Impa, and their realm-travelling companions - many more had not.

Of those that returned to camp, the screams were still coming from the medical tent.

Link himself had taken few injuries, a thin cut to his arm chief among them. It had been cleaned and bandaged when there were a hundred better things for even the medic’s runners to be doing, and then he had returned to his tent.

It was raining, but not properly, just occasionally speckling on and off.

Somehow, it was worse than a downpour.

Even Proxi was exhausted. Link helped her tuck in to a little nest in a basket he carried for her, and waited for her to sleep.

The day had been... It had gone so so so very wrong.

They had been expecting Wizzro. Instead they had found a pale man with purple scarf and bright orange braids - a new lieutenant whose name nobody had quite caught as he rained hell down upon them all.

Somehow, somehow, Link needed to find a counter, some way - any way - to defeat this new opponent.

He twisted and turned upon the bed, trying and trying to think of something.

He could think of nothing, nothing but the words that had been jeered in his face as he oversaw the bloodbath and following retreat.

“You could end this,” the lieutenant had said. “All you’d have to do is let me take you to Cia, and this would all be over.”

Link had not, of course, but now...

Now it really did seem like there was no other way; had Ravio not appeared with a giant bomb when he had, Link doubted that he and Impa would have been able to get away.

Or convince the others to leave them.

And if there was no other way...

Cia terrified Link. Everything about her made his body recoil in horror, every moment spent listening to her another terrifying thing. He knew this, he did, he was afraid to his very soul.

But he was also the Hero of Courage.

And the Hero of Courage would let nothing so tame as fear keep him down.

In almost a daze he pulled his boots back on. There was no point in armour, not now, and he dared not bring his scarf. Instead he threw a dark cloak over his nightmare, and stepped out into the rain.

Mud splashed up his bottoms and rain dripped through his cloak as he walked through the miserable weather. The screams of the dying in the medical tent got louder as he walked past it, then faded away once more. Still he kept walking - past the pile of bound corpses, and onto the gate.

And then beyond the gate, the guard caring much less for people leaving than entering, especially when it was night but not too late.

Beyond the gates... Which way now? He paused, and looked, trying to judge. His heart shied away from returning to the battlefield, though he was fairly sure it was the only way to Cia’s own stronghold.

Nothing for it, then; that way he would have to go.

"Mr. Captain, Sir!"

Link flinched and turned; there was only one person who would address him so, especially yelling so late at night.

"Ravio."

The man, in a paler robe as nightwear but still wearing the strange rabbit mask, ran up to him, before kneeling over panting, "golly! You sure do move fast, Mr. Captain, Sir! Nearly thought I wouldn't get to you, but if there's one thing this merchant is good at, it's running!'

Dread swirled a little in Link's stomach. Being awake so late was wildly out of character for the rabbit-masked world traveller. Either he had been out helping in the medical tent until late - horrifically likely - or something had gone horribly wrong. Likely both.

“What’s wrong?” Link asked, a little fear clawing at his throat. An attack? Worse? He could not smell smoke, but camp was always so bright he would not see a small fire.

“Nothing, nothing,” Ravio waved his arms, seemingly realising his mistake. “I just saw you out, and was worried!”

Because of course the one time he wanted to get away, someone had noticed enough to be worried. The one time Link tried to do the right thing, and some world-hopping merchant was going to try to stop him.

Never mind. It would be simple enough to send him away, surely? Ravio had a decent head on him, but tended to be as flighty as the animal whose mask he wore. He fought well enough, the trained medics sang the praises of his assistance, but the man always shied as far from conflict as he could get away with. Just tagging along because world-travellers had nowhere else to go, it seemed.

"Then you shouldn't have come here," Link said, trying to mask frustration in being gentle. "I have work to do, and you should be asleep."

There was a long pause before Ravio reached out, voice dropping nearly an archive as he took on a far more serious tone, "no, sir. With all the respect, I really think I should have."

"Why?" Link snapped, frustration boiling over. He pulled his hand away from where Ravio was reaching towards, pulling them out of range. "So you can watch me fall, too? Haven't I done enough?"

Even with the hand out of reach, deceptively spindly fingers found their way to rest on Link's arm. Link screamed at himself to pull away, to just run and finish his task.

Instead he froze, not looking, just waiting.

The fingers rubbed gently for a moment, barely detectable through Link's armour. Still he waited, tensing with every moment.

"You're giving up," Ravio said, quiet now, the same serious tone as before in all his words.

"I'm not-"

"You are." Ravio shuffled a step closer, now holding onto Link's arm. The joint of every finger was white, and still Link could barely perceive it. "Don't lie to me, sir; I've seen it before."

Link tore his arm away. "I'm not giving up; I'm ending the war. She wants me! She only wants me, if we give her that, give her what she wants-"

"It won't work," Ravio did not move closer, just tilted his head to the side and fiddled with his sleeves. "It never does, Mr. Captain, Sir. She’ll just be using you, or get rid of you, and she’ll keep coming back for more.”

Some part of Link knew that the words were true, but how could he accept them? The rest of his mind fought back against them, screaming and agonised and certain there must be something - anything - he could do. He was their Hero, he had to save them. One way or another.

Even if it meant handing himself over, at least they would live. At least... At least the blood would stop. It would, wouldn’t it? It had to.

Gently, gently, Ravio gathered up Link’s hands. Only looking down to scold him did Link discover they were shaking.

But it was not only Link’s hands - Ravio was shaking too.

“My Hilda - my Best Friend,” Ravio’s voice trembled a little. “She was promised that if she just surrendered, just did what they said, that they would save our world.”

Despite everything, Link listened; how could he not, when one of his soldiers was speaking trying to... He was not sure what Ravio was trying to do, only that it was something.

“Do you want to know what happened?”

No, Link did not.

Still he nodded his head.

“He used her. To capture another World’s Zelda, and to manipulate their Link. He exploited her desperation and destroyed her kingdom and her life, and once Ganon was resurrected he left her and our people to die. And I,” a small sob broke through from beneath Ravio’s mask. “I could do nothing but run and hide and keep the Hero alive and hope that he could save something - anything. I thought... I thought I’d lost her. And it was nothing but Mr. Hero and Miss Zelda’s kindness that saved us in the end... So please, Mr. Captain, Sir, please don’t do that to me. My little bunny heart can’t take it, not again.”

“It won’t be the same,” Link promised. “We know what Cia wants, once she has me it will be fine. I can get her to send you home, or Lana can do it, and it’ll be okay.”

“Will it?” Ravio snapped, the tears dripping out from beneath his mask now. “Will it? She wants the Hero. Will she stop with just you? Or, will she come for Mask and Tune? The heroes of the realms we stepped into? Mr. Hero? ... Me? Why would she stop with just you, Mr. Captain, Sir? And even if she does, what of you? What will she do to you?”

“But-”

Link hesitated - but what? What was it that he was objecting to? If it would keep everyone safe then did it matter what Cia did to him? She could have him in any way she wanted, so long as the others were safe.

"How about this?" Ravio’s hands tugged at Link’s, even as he continued to cry. "We head back to camp and get some sleep. Cia will still be there in the morning, and we can have a think about this in the light of day. That sound alright to you, buddy?"

Buddy. Friend. Something in Link’s mind caught on the word - and with it the entire suggestion. He found the tears streaming from beneath Ravio’s mask, watching them with a little confusion before reaching out.

“Buddy?”

His fingers brushed against Ravio’s face, and a strangled noise was extracted from both of their throats. Like a damn broken he threw his arms around Ravio’s neck, clinging hard as he tried to squeeze the medic’s pain away.

“Shhh,” Ravio’s attempts to comfort caught on his sobs. “Shhh, I’ve got you. Shhhh.”

With some of the shakes out of time with the crying, Link suddenly realised that he was crying too.

Soon enough Link found himself sat on the bed in Ravio's tent. He was wrapped up in one of Ravio's spare rabbit robes, soft as it was obnoxiously purple, and then a few blankets wrapped around that. Between his hands was a mug of hot chocolate - free of charge, just this once! - warming up something he did not even realise was cold. Ravio himself was bimbling around, fussing with the blankets and making more warm drinks, and changing the bandage around the scrape along Link’s arm. The giant rabbit mask was placed under the bed, showing off the dark hair, soft features, and green eyes of the man.

Link let him, still feeling a little too shaky to pull away. The proof of his weakness was already staining Ravio’s nightshirt, though the medic seemed almost unaware of it.

Eventually, with Link a little calmer, Ravio sat himself on a small folding chair, clearly stolen from elsewhere in the camp.

“Soooo,” Ravio began, his body not nearly as relaxed as his posture implied. “You feeling any better, buddy?”

Link tugged the blanket a little tighter and did his best at his winning, hero smile, “of course; sorry for scaring you out there. Won’t be happening again. If there’s anything I can do to make it up for you, and for you to keep this quiet, I’d be much obliged.”

“You sure?” Ravio’s entire body screamed his (very justifiable, very correct) doubt. “You’re looking a little pale. I know you can’t be bothering everyone else with your injuries, not when you’re the hero and you’ve gotta be all tough and strong, but you can stay here the night. I’ve helped Mr. Hero out often enough, I can keep an eye on your arm for you.”

Ravio wasn’t just talking about Link’s arm, and Link knew it too. He didn’t want this, didn’t want to be watched like he couldn’t be trusted, not when he’d worked it all out and perfected his plan.

“It’s fine. Sorry to bother you, again. I’ll be out of your hair soon.”

And yet at the same time... Link’s hands tightened around the cup, and he tucked himself further into the soft fabric of the hooded robe and the mound of blankets.

“No bother, none at all!” Ravio waved insistently, nearly knocking himself from his chair. “So long as Mr. Captain, Sir, is a-okay, I’ll be just fine! Gambling isn’t quite like trading, you know? But I make money either way.”

Link did not even want to think about the headache a gambling ring was going to cause him; very pointedly he ignored the new information, and continued sipping at the hot chocolate.

They sat quietly while they drank, Link savouring the taste of it. He may not have known Ravio long, but it was still likely to be the last drink he had among friends. Ravio was being so good to him, bringing him back and warming him up, that Link only worried more; he knew logically that so many of his men were good people, but to see it proven time and again?

It only made it more dire that he protected them. Before anything dire happened again.

But Mask, Tune... Ravio’s point had been correct; she was obsessed with the Hero, not just with him. How could he protect them, too? He needed to give her what she wanted, desperately so, before she did any more harm.

But how could he stop her?

Maybe if he gave her something extra, something like... Something like...

“Hey Buddy?” Ravio’s voice cut across his thoughts. “Stop that.”

“Stop what?”

“Getting yourself hurt isn’t going to help anyone,” Ravio replied. “No matter what you give her, she’ll always want more, and even if she doesn’t...”

“If she doesn’t?” Link’s eyes narrowed as he watched Ravio fiddle with his sleeves once again.

“Well, she doesn’t seem to have the best control of her underlings, does she?” Ravio asked, fake cheer in his voice before it turned quiet again. “And in the fight... The fighting today...”

Link's mind suddenly clicked, realising where he'd seen the new foe's colours before. It explained... so much. Like how shaken Ravio was. And how he knew the bomb would work - the two shared a world.

“Her new lieutenant? You know him?” he asked, just to confirm.

Ravio nodded, “it’s... how I knew something was wrong... He was the one who...” Ravio gestured vaguely. “And I know he said something to you! And I can’t- couldn’t- Not again, Mr. Captain, Sir... It’s bad enough he’s here. Don’t make me do it again - please, not again.”

Watching Ravio tear up again, sat in his clothes and bundled up all safely, Link could not help but feel terrible. A swirling discomfort only grew in his cavernous chest, even as Ravio managed to sniff back his sobs and scrub the tears from his eyes.

“What I mean is, it won’t save anyone,” Ravio sniffed again. “So please... Don’t destroy yourself for this. It’s not... It’s never worth it. You can’t give her what she wants. You can’t! Even... Even if you don’t care about yourself - goddesses know Mr. Hero never does - then for the rest of us? Can you just hang on a little longer? Please? We’ll get there, and I’ll be with you every step of the way Mr. Captain, Sir, come hell or high water! But if you give up, it won’t mean anything at all.”

Link couldn’t do it, he really couldn’t. Not with Ravio looking so miserable. He put the empty cup down, and offered out his arms. Ravio hesitated, frozen like a rabbit in torchlight, before moving over and accepting the hug.

“It’s okay,” Link tried to promise. “I’m not giving up, I promise.”

“But you’re thinking of it,” Ravio whispered back. “And you’re still trying to."

This time, Link could not deny it.

“I don’t want to,” he said instead. “But there’s no other way.”

“There is,” Ravio squeezed him. “Impa? Shiek? Lana and Darunia and Ruto? Mask and Tune? They’re not going to let her win, not that easily. And I’ll be right here, cheering you along and patching you right up after! You don’t even need to worry about fees - Impa’s got that all covered for you.”

“Ravio...”

“Shh,” the man squeezed him a little. “I’m not done! We’re all here for you. Not because of you - we’re all here because either portals did a tizzy with us or because we want to be or because its our jobs - but for you. You’re our friend. We’ve got your back. So don’t stress too much, buddy, because I’m the best heroic back getter in all of my Hyrule. Along with merchant and layabout, of course. Been doing it nearly as long as I’ve been doing the merchanting thing.”

There was no real way to argue against that, not without hurting Ravio. So Link, still not quite believing all of it, just hugged him tight.

#fanfic #hyrule warriors #lu wars #ravio #hw link #linked universe #using that characterisation so using that tag #ask and answer #mask and tune were going to get a scene at the end but I cut it for silliness sake #tldr seeing the captain missing is scary #seeing the captian in ravio's bed in ravio's clothes is funny #the clothes thing is literally just ravio trying to get link warm and cozy #get him /safe/#ravio is also dragging link to impa in the morning #she'll be making sure he's not wandering off #he'll be okay eventually #and once ganon gets involved the idea isn't workable at all #it'll just take him a while

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randowwriter · 2 years

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For the writer's ask:

1, 8, 11, 15, and 27

I started writing (not for school assignments) when I was about twelve years old. I started right away with poetry (that I thought were songs) and fanfiction. Or rather, my first fanfic was a fic written for my Science Class at the time, and while I did well on the assignment, that fanfic was awful. XD I had asked if I could write a fanfic for the class, and my teacher said I could. :) So, I set up my fanfic account then (after having lurked for a while, because I was an avid reader of fanfiction well before I wrote any). I could explain how I got into writing poetry, but ah, I'm a little nervous to share that publicly. XD 8. I don't think any comments have made me cry from sadness before, but I tend to laugh when I get some reviews, because some of my friends are really funny when they write reviews. XD @noctusfury on here is guilty of making me laugh all the time. XD Like, he writes really long reviews on my ANS fics, and he makes me laugh or even makes me reread what I've written and finally find the humor in it. He's great! I do know that as far as crying goes, sometimes I get really sweet reviews that do make me tear up.

11. I write a hundred percent for the readers. Not in a popularity kind of way; I'm not writing to get famous or to make a lot of money. I write sometimes for particular readers that come to mind; I have an assortment of fics that are very, very much aimed towards certain people. (I write a lot of ANS fics with Noctus in mind; a lot of ANS fics for particular readers in mind, and it expands outward.) I often find that the best motivation to work on some of my fics is a friend going hey, that's a great fic idea, you should really write that. XD So, I've literally repurposed fic ideas (where the fic ends up the same way as what I brainstormed) but it's more of a gift for other people. Sometimes I share a link publicly on my account here for the particular person the fic's for, or I send it to whoever it's for privately. I do write fics in mind for particular people, like when I began writing certain rarepairs, it was literally for whoever might ship them and can't write, you know? So, I'm happy when those readers do find it. And sometimes I learn the names (just account names, I guess) of people who I wrote it for, but knew nothing about. (There's a story that would take a detour off this question that relates to a book I read, but I'll behave and not ramble anymore.) XD 15. Ooh, I don't know. XD That's a tough question. I have been known to cry writing some of the Angst or Tragedy fics I've written, and writing fluff just makes me really happy. XD I think it depends on the story. I did get told once that my Angst isn't "Angsty Angst" (I'm sure it was put in much nicer and better words than this. XD) so take that as you will. (I have broken said reader's heart with a tragedy fic later, so who knows???) XD But I guess it depends on how I feel and what the idea is. I just had a lot of fun writing a nightmare fic where Yona deals with some PTSD like nightmare after chapters 99 and 100 and seeing what happened to Zeno. (But I also was kind of a wreck that day honestly, and needed something sad to focus on.) So, I guess it just goes back to how I feel. I love writing Angst when I'm already sad and need an outlet for some relief or at least as a means to take me out of my own pain, if that makes sense? And most the time, I'm writing fluff, so I guess most of the time, it is Fluff. :) 27. Well, I don't write smut. Which probably makes sense. I still feel an immense amount of guilt from the fic that came closest to that. I've written way too many things over the years, but there are certain types of pairings that I don't write anymore. The fact that there is an anymore and not a never bugs me a bit, but I hope my story somehow helps others out. I do not write Yuri, Yaoi, or polyamorous pairings, and therefore don't write harems. Other than those types of pairings and smut, I write almost anything else. (I don't write incest either, come to think of it. Definitely not of siblings or super close relations. I'm working out what that means for a year ago me who had written some SooYona, but only angsty.) I doubt any of my future writing will have cusswords in them, because simply put, I don't cuss. (Which somehow surprises people.) But I have written cusswords into stories back when I was a teenager and was trying to emulate the way certain characters spoke; I go back and forth on whether that was okay of me to do or not. So, I have honestly no idea if I'll ever write cusswords into stories again or not. We'll see, but I'm leaning on the not. I don't feel it's necessary for good characterization in dialogue anymore. (But I guess people grow up, and I'm living proof of that. I'm not like the little teenage writer I used to be.)

#writer's ask game #sctwilightvampwolfgal

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fellowshipofthefics · 2 years

Text

Hey Fellowship of the Fics! Please welcome @estethell!! 👏🥳 Estethell decided to share her thoughts and impressions on her fic: An unlikely friendship, an impossible love.

Question 1: What about this story stands out from other stories with the same trope(s)?

This story is about how Nori and Bofur met before the quest for Erebor and how they fell in love on the journey. Unlike the other stories, this fic tells the moments to which the movie has little space or importance, so as not to be too pedantic to the reader who knows well the scenes narrated.

Question 2: What was the most emotionally-charged scene to write?

Definitely the scene of Nori finding Bofur in an alley in Balegost who has just been beaten and robbed. Describing that scene, I tried to empathize with Nori and feel his burning anger at finding Bofur in that state. Describing how Nori caught those responsible and made them pay was straightforward. Instead, I felt a great pity for Bofur, I really suffered for him! Thankfully, he quickly recovers and returns to his fantastic smile in no time!

Question 3: Do you have dreams for a sequel/spin-off from this story? If so, what would it be about?

Yes, I would love to write a spin-off of this story (actually I have already written the beginning, but I have abandoned it). It talks about how Bifur took up little Bofur and Bombur, what he did to raise them, and how he got hurt. It's a very sweet story about how a gruff dwarf used to being lonely learns to love and care for two little dwarfs and raise them as his own children.

Question 4: I feel like every writer has an "original intention" for how a story's going to progress. Has this story stuck pretty well to that original intention, and if not how has it veered away?

I believe it followed my original intention very well. I started writing this story because I wanted a long fic about this minor couple and I didn't want the usual story that describes the trite scenes in the movie. I wanted something that told of a slow build in new situations but that didn't stray too far from the original story. I did it? Posterity will judge!

Question 5: If there was a Dedication section for this fic, who would you dedicate it to?

I would dedicate it to all those people who supported me during the writing phase, read the chapters and commented even privately. They know who they are ;)

I would also dedicate it to my boyfriend who with immense patience has always listened to my ideas-theories-solutions even if he doesn't like this kind of thing xD

If you haven’t read this story yet, go back up to the top and be sure to click the link. Also if you haven’t seen Estethell’s works before, here are some other fics that she has done that are worth checking out as well:

A bad temper

Nightmare

If you would like to get you and your story featured in Monday Mentions, please click the Application Link! If you have any questions/concerns with the form, please feel free to leave an ask or DM one of us! Questions will be updated each month so repeat writers and stories are welcome. New writers will be prioritized.

#monday mentions #estethell

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evieonic · 3 years

Text

The Man of My Dreams (TomoKazu fic, published 7/26/21)

TomoKazu... ; - ;

P A I N.

This fic is available on here and on ao3, however, before you chose to click reading here, I strongly to ask you to please view the tags on ao3 before reading. I also have some headcanons I’d like to share with you, before you start. XD

- I based Tomo's personality off of Leon from Rune Factory 4 and Ryoma from Fire Emblem: Fates. A lot of people perceive Tomo's personality differently but for some reason I could see him being a confident and teasing guy who can be serious and likes to help people but really likes to tease them too. XD Basically, a big brother figure.

While I was basing his personality off of those figures, I also stRONGLY HEADCANON AND I'LL PUT UP A FIGHT IF THIS DON'T HAPPEN, I STRONGLY HEADCANON THAT TOMO'S ENGLISH VA SHOULD BE MATTHEW MERCER. I WILL ACCEPT NO ONE ELSE.

- Tomo's love language is giving Kazuha random things he finds on his travels like flowers, berries and rocks, as well as showing him things he finds like stumps, trees, or just a pretty view he found.

- I also strongly headcanon that Tomo can get pretty possessive. Not Yandere possessive. But possessive. Ya know, the normal amount.

Anyway that’s all i got, I just really wanted to share them with you. XD Now we can go back to our regularly scheduled program.

----

The Man of My Dreams (Published: 07/26/2021)

Pairing: Kazuha x Kazuha’s Friend (fanonically called Tomo)

Fandom: Genshin Impact

Trigger Warning: Pre Updates 2.0 spoilers, Major Character Death (kinda not really tho), Graphic Violence (kinda not really tho. If you have played through the story quest featuring Kazuha and got to the part about Tomo, that’s why these tags are here because that scene is described again in the fic.) This fic is also a songfic, the song is called Hitchcock by Yorushika. 100% recommend listening while reading, though you don’t have to. Song lyrics are in bold and italics.

Length: 5037 Words, 1 Chapter. Completed.

Platforms: Ao3 (Link in Title)

Summary: He couldn’t place it.

He watched as the raindrops fell, gently hitting the ground, creating puddles as he sat there on the bus, his cheek pressed against the cold window.

On any other day, he would be smiling, thinking of flowery words that could match the way this scene appeared to him. But right now, he couldn’t do such a thing.

Because he was too busy thinking about the dream he had last night. A dream about a world called Teyvat, in a beautiful city called Inazuma.

Normally, anyone would shrug off these dreams. However, Kazuha has these dreams every single night as the season of fall dwells closer.

And in every dream, there's always a man, a man whom he doesn't know nor has he ever met... yet somehow he knows that this man is important to him.

As if he is someone he lost long ago and has been missing ever since.

"Why does the scent of the rain make me feel nostalgic?”

He couldn’t place it.

"Why does my heart clamor as summer approaches?”

He watched as the raindrops fell, gently hitting the ground, creating puddles as he sat there on the bus, his cheek pressed against the cold window.

"Why do I cry when people laugh at me?”

On any other day, he would be smiling, thinking of flowery words that could match the way this scene appeared to him. But right now, he couldn’t do such a thing.

"Is it all right to think that even so I'll be rewarded someday?”

Because he was too busy thinking about the dream he had last night.

With the word "goodbye"

Kaedehara Kazuha has a unique problem. Every time the season of fall approaches, he begins to get these strange dreams of a strange world, in a strange city with… a person. It’s the same dream, each and every time, and as fall gets closer, the dreams become more frequent.

Kazuha doesn’t always remember much from the dreams, but he knows they aren’t exactly ordinary. He’s been trying to dismiss them for so long but now, with the tail end of summer approaching, the dreams are nearly every night, ending as a nightmare now. It causes him to lose sleep, which he can’t afford as a college student.

tearing so much at my chest,

So, now he’s been attempting to solve this problem by documenting everything he sees in the dreams, so he can find the cause of them. He looked down at the journal, already managing to fill it three pages full of content. He can already see patterns in his dreams, such as the names Teyvat, Inazuma and…

He frowned, almost glaring at his paper. There’s another name he’s missing, he hears it all the time but he doesn’t know what it is. He always hears it as he begins to wake, usually hearing it softly on his own tongue but lately he can hear himself screaming it.

I was standing still for just a few moments

Whatever the name is…

at sunset

It’s significant to him.

"Teacher, I want to talk about my life.”

He sighed, closing his book and putting it in his backpack. He would think about it later and try to catch it tonight when he fell asleep. He stood to his feet, holding onto chairs as the bus came to a stop in front of his apartment. Time to continue his research inside.

When this problem first appeared, Kazuha did his research on dreams and met with mixed results to his problem. Many say it was just a coincidence, which he thinks not or it was something spiritual, which Kazuha did not believe in. But the most interesting and possible result was that a recurring dream could mean something he hasn’t acknowledged that is causing stress.

But the thing is how?

He knows that Teyvat and Inazuma do not exist anywhere on earth, he has scoured the web as far as he could to find mentions of it in books or shows. It doesn’t exist anywhere, and his imagination is not that on par to create a world as detailed as that.

“What should I do from now on?”

So what could it mean?

He pouted as he tried to think of the reason. He glared at his backpack full of schoolwork he needed to complete but he was too stressed and tired to deal with it. He sighed once more, stripping off his jacket as he stumbled to the couch, letting his body fall onto the soft cushions.

In the name of research and healthy sleep.

Kazuha was going to take a nap.

“Are you just going to tell me 'no one knows that' or something?”

He slowly closed his eyes, letting sleep overwhelm him. His breathing slowed, steady and even and his mind drifted, absolutely blank for a second before…

"Look,”

“Kazuha!” A voice called out to him. Ah…, so now the dream begins. His vision began to clear, taking in the sights of Inazuma. He was sitting down at a lake, most likely meditating as a deep, rough voice called out to him once more.

“Kazuha!” It said, louder now.

“What?” Kazuha felt himself respond. He wasn’t in control of the dream. He never was, but he was always able to observe, and observe he did. His dream self, dressed in clothes that he's never worn before, akin to something you’d see in Japanese culture, suddenly stood up and turned to the voice.

Kazuha took in the sight of the man of his dreams. He was taller than he was, slightly more muscular with sandy blond hair up in a high, spiky ponytail. His amethyst eyes glittered with happiness and a hint of teasing. He even had a smirk on his face which did nothing but further that point.

This man… Kazuha had no idea who he was…

But, somehow, he made his heart beat a little faster whenever he was near.

“it's not that I want to suffer.”

“Are you just going to sit there and meditate all day?” The man said, a little smirk playing on his lips as he walked closer to him, “It’d do you good if we take a walk.”

“Did you find something you wanted to show me again?”

The man scoffed, “Did a fi- of course not, why would I look for things that I like to show you?” he chuckled softly, a teasing grin on his lips, “maybe I did.”

Kazuha felt himself smile ever so softly, tingles flooding his heart at the mere thought that his friend liked to find things just to show to him. How endearing that idea was. “Very well. Let’s go see it.”

“Ah-ah, I said ‘maybe,’ I didn’t say actually,” His friend said.

“Then shall I sit back down and ignore you for the rest of the day?” Kazuha said, a playful smile on his face. His friend’s grin widened as he shook his head ever so slightly.

“No.”

“Then let’s go see what you found.”

"I just want to live without doing anything.”

The man grinned as he started walking, shoulder to shoulder with Kazuha, his eyes almost always glued to him as he talked nonsense. He rambled on about his day, about what he did, what he saw, what he heard…

To Kazuha in reality, all of this was just minor details that he didn’t really need nor desire to hear.

But to Kazuha in the dream…, each word spoken was precious.

He hung on to every word, listening and memorizing every little detail, zoning in on his friend’s tone of voice so he knew whether or not the events of the day troubled him or not. He cherished every little detail he was able to learn, analyzing them before listening to the next.

To Kazuha in the dream, these miniscule moments were everything.

He wanted nothing more than for blissful moments like these to last forever.

"Is it selfish to just want to look at the blue sky?"

“And so, while I was talking to Thoma about dinner while scouring for treasure hoarders to take down, I noticed something I thought you’d like,” his friend said, smiling slightly as he lifted his arm, his sleeve long enough to obscure Kazuha’s vision. “Any guesses?”

Kazuha in reality sighed at this cheeky action but his dreamself blushed just a little bit by how smooth his friend’s voice was.

“Let me think,” he mumbled, taking a deep breath as he inhaled the scents on the wind. “Is it… a Sakura Bloom?”

His friend clicked his tongue, appearing annoyed as his sleeve dropped, revealing a strange yet beautiful tree full of tiny lavenderish-pink flowers. “Damn that nose of yours. You were supposed to guess wrong so I could tell you.”

“Then what is the point of guessing?” Kazuha asked, “it is only satisfactory for one of us in the end. And besides, if I guessed wrong on purpose, you’d give me a major hint to purposefully get me to say the correct answer and then ignore that my first try was actually wrong.”

“I don’t do that,” his friend smirked, a playful look in his eyes, “I'm just extremely helpful with my hints.”

Kazuha gave him a look full of doubt. For once, something that he and his dreamself could agree on.

"Why do I lie even though it makes my heart ache?”

He rolled his eyes before looking at the sakura bloom, smiling softly as he inhaled it’s sweet scent. “It’s beautiful.”

“Yeah?” His friend remarked, his eyes glued to Kazuha, completely ignoring the tree, “I thought so too.”

“It has a lot more flowers than usual,” Kazuha said, “sakura blooms rarely bloom so much.”

“Why do only bad people prosper?”

“True,” his friend said, stepping closer with his back almost grazing Kazuha’s, “I thought it was a little odd myself but then I remembered they are your favorite.”

Kazuha hummed, a warm feeling filling him, “they are. They have a very pleasant scent and look to them. Very serene and peaceful. My mother used to think so as well.”

His friend smiled softly, reaching over as he picked a small flower, “want to know what I think?”

“Always,” Kazuha said, watching as his friend gently leaned over him, pulling the hair at his ear, tucking the strands behind it before placing the flower there.

“Why is it that the character for "happiness" includes the ￥ sign?”

“I think they look best when they’re on you,” his friend smiled, “perfect.”

Kazuha chuckled softly, “flowers do not suit me,” he said as he reached forward, picking another flower before holding it up and doing the same to his friend as he did to him, “however, they do with you. It matches your eyes. Almost the same shade as amethysts but a little brighter. A perfect contrast to your personality.”

“Hmm…,” his friend hummed, smiling softly down at him, his eyes almost adoring, “is that a compliment or…?”

“Well. A contrast is a striking difference. So pretty flower…,” he trailed off as his friend already began to laugh, “not so pretty personality.”

“Oof,” his friend chuckled, “how cruel. And here I thought my charms worked on you.”

“Is it on purpose that leaving out a single stroke turns it into the character for "pain"

More than you know, a little voice said in Kazuha’s mind. “Well… I am well known for hiding my true feelings.”

“Oh?” His friend smirked, lowering his head to the point where their eyes were close, so close that Kazuha could see every beautiful line in his irises. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

“I believe the meaning is rather direct,” Kazuha said, his turn to be a little cheeky.

“Hmm,” his friend hummed, “interesting.” He smiled softly, his hand sliding up so his thumb could gently run across Kazuha’s jaw.

This was…

a new development.

With a price sticker saying "youth"

In Kazuha’s dreams thus far, this man had never made such a move on him. He was never touchy, just always charming.

Kazuha could already tell that his dreamself for some reason found this man attractive. That was no puzzle to solve. But this was new.

Never before had this man touched Kazuha like this, his fingers rough and calloused, warm and loving.

stuck to my back

His eyes were half-lidded, lazy and full of love as they stared into Kazuha’s eyes, every now and then flickering to his lips.

He watched, a little confused and shocked as his dreamself returned the action, his heartbeat quickening as his eyes locked onto the taller man’s lips.

It wasn’t noticeable to either of them except him in reality that they were getting closer, as if they were magnets attracting one another.

I was hoping in some way for

Slowly, his dreamself lifted his hand, letting it go to his friend’s hair and gently tugged him down so their lips could finally meet.

The man’s eyes fluttered closed as his other arm tucked around Kazuha’s waist, while his hand on his face continued to gently stroke the skin there. Kazuha leaned into his embrace as he kissed him, gently, before pulling away.

He smiled softly, staring at his “friend’s” lips as they quirked into a smile. He huffed a chuckle before speaking, “I should give you flowers more often if that’s the gift I receive.”

Kazuha chuckled this time, “you don’t need to give me flowers for that.”

“Well then how can I ensure that that keeps happening?” he smiled.

Hitchcock-like suspense

“You can just ask,” Kazuha said, “or be, as you like to put it, ‘charming.”

“That sounded sarcastic,” his friend frowned, though the playful look in his eyes remained.

“Perhaps it was,” Kazuha grinned, “perhaps you should learn to listen more so you can properly tell.”

Kazuha’s mouth opened to let out a laugh; however as soon as his lips parted, his friend dived down and pressed another kiss to his lips. It was rougher, a small growl coming from his friend as his hand took a gentle hold on his neck in an act of possession.

His friend parted from him, staring down at him and admiring the dazed look in his eyes before smirking, “I think you should learn to be quiet and not ruin the mood.”

Kazuha stared at him for a moment, blinking, before his words processed and he began to laugh. His laugh was delicate, making the man towering over him melt before his eyes. “Yes,” Kazuha giggled, “that’s your job, isn’t it.”

"Teacher, I don't care.”

Kazuha watched as his dreamself continued to smile while his friend looked down at him with such a look of love over his features. So, this person was of romantic interest to him, to this weird alternate version of himself.

Interesting, was all Kazuha could think.

He couldn’t see how that could relate to a problem in the real world, a problem that was causing him stress and needed to be solved. Kazuha was quite happy on his own. It’s not like he didn’t want to be with someone someday, it just wasn’t his main focus right now. He didn’t really have anyone who interested him right now and he was okay with being single. He is quite happy with his circumstances.

So why was he having dreams like these?

And why did a part of him want to cry?

“Just going on living causes me pain.”

Kazuha studied the man while the rest of the dream carried on in peace. He doesn’t know anyone who looks like him. Not even remotely close. He only had three friends at the moment, three boys named Venti, Xiao and Aether. And none of them had his hair color, his hair style or even the same shade of eyes as his. None of them were even his height or had his features.

This man was completely random.

Of course, Kazuha knew that dreams were able to replicate things you’ve seen before in your life, no matter how far back, and incorporate your own imagination into them. But Kazuha’s imagination was not this good and the detail of this world was so precise…

Was this all really just his imagination?

He couldn’t find anything on Teyvat and he didn’t even know this man’s name. So this couldn’t be something he’s ever seen before.

So what could the explanation here be?

It was all too frustrating for Kazuha to keep up with.

“Neither Nietzche nor Freud wrote about how to fill this hole.”

He sighed, about to see if he could force himself to wake up when all of a sudden, the man spoke again.

“Kazuha…,” he said, his voice suddenly sounding different. More wistful, less playful, almost as if he was… sad?

“I just”

“Yes?” His dreamself said, appearing to be none the wiser.

His friend smiled, looking down at him in such adoration as he pulled away, turning his dreamself to face him as his arms wrapped around him. He tucked stray hairs behind his ears as he continued to scan his face, admiring every little detail.

“What is it?” Kazuha asked once more, smiling gently.

“want to close my eyes in the scent of summer,”

He sighed softly, nuzzling his head into his neck, “I love you.”

Kazuha chuckled, his fingers combing through his friend’s hair.

Strange…

Up until now, Kazuha couldn’t feel things in the dream. The wind, the texture and scent of the flowers, his friend’s lips… he couldn’t feel them.

But now he could feel just how soft his friend’s hair was and he could smell the faintest hint of wood and something sweet on his person.

Sakura blooms…, a little voice said in his mind. He gasped as a chill went down his spine. How did he know that?

“And sketch out the height of the clouds with my fingers.”

“I love you too,” his dreamself said, combing through his locks.

“I love you more,” his friend said, cheekily, nipping at his neck and earning another laugh from his dreamself.

“What’s got you so sentimental?” Kazuha chuckled, “you hardly get like this.”

“Oh…, no reason,” his friend hummed, “I just… really wanted you to know that I love you.”

Kazuha watched as his dreamself smiled, seeming unworried by this yet, for some reason, he himself was buzzing with anxiety. Why did he feel so scared?

Why did this hurt?

Why did he remember this?

“Is it selfish to just want to relive memories?"

“I already know,” Kazuha hummed, “I always know.”

He watched in stunned silence as everything became clear, too clear for his liking.

Everything didn’t have that foggy dream-like atmosphere to it anymore. He could hear his own voice as clear as a bell, feel it vibrate in his throat as he spoke the words.

He could feel his friend’s warm arms around him, strong and tight. He could feel his breath on his neck, his lips rough and chapped.

“I love you, Kazuha,” his friend said once more, “I’ll always be there for you. Always, you know that right?”

He was so hyper-aware of everything that he was beginning to hyperventilate.

Why did everything feel so…

“Of course,” his dreamself said, “and I with you. Always and forever.”

...So true?

"A story where people die dramatically will sell, won't it?”

He almost screamed as the scene changed, no longer sure if he was dreaming anymore. Suddenly, it was dark, storm clouds shielding the sun, the rain pouring down as if the heavens were crying with him.

He wasn’t watching anymore, he just was.

He wasn’t watching himself run up the stone stairs, he was.

He wasn’t watching the tears pour down his face, he felt them.

He wasn’t watching himself murmur a name, his name , as he ran, he was saying it.

He was here.

In a moment that he had locked away for centuries.

“I've come to hate that even the moment that a flower's petals fall has a price on it.”

“You bastard…,” he sobbed, “you liar…”

His blood was pounding against his ears, roaring as his lungs stung. He was breathing so hard, ignoring the pain in his legs as he ran up the flights of stairs.

He couldn’t hear the fighting.

“You said you’d be there,” he mumbled. “You said you’d be there!”

“What was your dream, Teacher?”

He screamed as he reached the top of the stairs, right at the moment he was dreading, hoping that wasn’t true, hoping it was all just some…

...dream...

He shrieked his name, reaching for his love, the one who swore he’d be by his side through everything, just as the sword was brought down on him, his blood staining the ground.

“Did you forget it when you became an adult?"

The next thing he heard was his own scream, his actual scream as his eyes blew open, his hand slapping against his mouth.

He grabbed at the soft couch cushions as he sat up, his tears making his vision blurry.

He had never experienced dreams like that before.

It was the first time anything like that ever happened.

He was never bothered by nightmares, rarely did they ever terrify him. But this one was different.

It didn’t feel like a dream… it felt like a memory.

Oh god, it felt like a memory.

"Teacher, I want to talk about my life.”

“What should I do from now on?”

“Tears make people stronger' was nothing but sophism.”

“Yes,”

Kazuha stayed up all night, sobbing. When he wasn’t crying, he was writing the details of his dream but then he’d begin to cry again.

He couldn’t even truly understand why he was crying so hard.

It had to be nothing more than a dream. No other explanation was possible.

“it's not that I don't care what happens to me,”

But it felt more like a truth that Kazuha so desperately wished was nothing more than a lie.

He wore himself out as he cried, finally drained of all emotion as he fell asleep once more, still in his clothes, his pillow wet. When he woke up the next morning, he discovered that he didn’t dream at all and actually slept well.

He rubbed his crusty eyes, the memories of yesterday flooding him once more. It coaxed more emotions from him, his heart aching again at the thought of the man that he loved in his dreams.

But before he could cry, he let out a sigh. It wasn’t true. He really needed to find the source of this and move on.

“it's just that reality is flickering,”

He showered, ate his breakfast and boarded the bus. He had classes so he might as well focus on them instead. His assignments were getting more and more difficult as the semester went on.

It was stressful, but it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle. He was quite good at his classes, never before making anything but high A’s and high B’s. He smiled softly at the thought of how well he was doing. He was proud of his academic record.

He sighed in bliss as he leaned against the window, watching as the sun rose. Might as well get some peace before he’d have to deal with Professor Zhongli.

“And summer is far away.”

He watched as the sun rose, his thoughts drifting. For a second, he almost began to fall asleep once more but just as his eyes began to close…

The sun managed to hit just right.

And illuminate a person walking across the sidewalk, his hands in his pockets, earbuds in his ears.

Kazuha’s hand slammed against the window so fast, so hard that everyone on the bus gasped, their eyes turning to him.

He ignored them, too busy focusing on the man walking down the street.

It was him…

It was him…!

“Stop the bus!!” He screamed suddenly, running to the door just as the bus driver slammed on the breaks.

“Is this really all right?”

He almost fell just as the bus came to a hard stop, making everyone lurch forward.

“Are you crazy?!” Someone screamed at him but he ignored them. The bus driver opened the door and Kazuha immediately leapt down the steps, watching as the man kept walking forward.

There was no mistake.

He had his hair.

He had his eyes.

He had his height, his features, he had it all.

“Can I go on living like this?”

It was him…

Finally, it all came rushing back to him. He finally realized the truth.

It seems that time has flowed faster than anyone had ever imagined in the beginning. The world had changed, growing and changing then changing again. There were things in this world that were different and no longer the same as his life of old.

There were no longer sakura blooms.

There were no longer shrines made to the almighty Shogun.

There were no longer pirate fleets captained by a brave woman who had a liking to alcohol.

“Are you just going to tell me 'only you can answer that' or something?”

There were no longer duels, ways of the sword, wandering travelers blessed by the god’s with a vision of immense power.

He could no longer use the wind to his advantage. And that was okay.

This was how the times had changed.

Yet he still wondered if his friend Venti was the same as the archon he knew back then. He still wondered if Xiao was still the demon conqueror and Aether, the same adorable traveler full of determination in his hunt to find his sister.

Were they like him? Reincarnations of old, full of memories that are locked away?

That was a mystery for another time. Right now…

“I just”

This reunion was more important.

“want to close my eyes in the scent of summer.”

He felt his feet move slowly at first, the man now reaching the end of the block. His feet gilded and then they stomped, as his pace quickened, his excitement getting to him.

How should he react? What should he tell him first?

How much he missed him? How mad he was when he left even though he said he’d stay? How much he loved him? What should be first?

His feet was pounding against the ground, his run burning his lungs as his eyes were glued to the man who was coming increasingly closer. The man seemed to hear his footsteps and he stopped, curiously turning to him and taking out his earbuds.

He looked confused at first.

Then his eyes widened with recognition.

So beautiful…

They were still the same shade of amethyst as before.

“I want to feel the wind always.”

He reached out to him, just like he did that day, reaching for him to come to him, to take his hand, to tell him all those sweet words like he did before.

He reached out and before he realized it, his lips opened and his tongue formed a word, a name that had been foreign to him in his dreams. It was never spoken. He never heard it.

But his heart knew what it was.

“Tomo!!!” He screamed, his arms outstretched to him.

“Kazuha…!” His love gasped, dropping his phone as he ran forward, his arms wrapping around him and lifting him into the air as he swung him around. He held him so tightly as if he was afraid if he did not, he would disappear.

“Tomo!” Kazuha sobbed. Oh, he has missed this. He missed this so much. His strong, warm arms felt just like they did the day before he died. His hair, silky and fine just like it was back during the days of Teyvat. “Tomo…, Tomo…!” He repeated his name. It’s been so long since he’s said it and has had him be able to hear it.

“Kazuha…,” Tomo responded, pulling away to look at his face, his eyes watery with tears as he smiled so brightly, he could illuminate the night sky. “I’ve missed you so much, you have no idea.”

“Miss me?!” Kazuha slapped his arm, “basterd, how do you think I felt when you died?” His tears started to run again, “do you know how hard it’s been since then? To wake up without you there, without hearing your voice?”

He sniffled as Tomo wiped away his tears, smiling softly at him as his own tears ran down his cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Kazuha. I was an idiot, i’ll admit. I never should’ve done what I did, I’m so sorry.”

“Well make it up to me by not doing it again,” he huffed, “I’m not going to give you the chance this time!”

“Is it selfish to just want to look at the blue sky?"

Tomo chuckled, leaning down to kiss Kazuha all over his face, marking every spot on his face, every inch he could reach, “good.”

“This world doesn’t even have visions anymore, so you have nothing to challenge now,” Kazuha said, still angry, “so ha.”

“Okay,” Tomo chuckled, kissing his nose, “I won’t challenge anything. Except maybe you every once and a while.”

“Tomo-”

He laughed, his laughter so joyous it could make flowers grow. He nuzzled his forehead as he beamed, “I've missed you so much.”

Kazuha gasped softly, fresh new tears forming once more. He’s been missing him since the day he left. It felt so good to have his missing piece back, “I’ve missed you too.”

Tomo smiled softly before leaning forward, kissing Kazuha gently, his rough lips against his soft ones. Kazuha’s arms instinctively tightened around him, refusing to let go. This was a feeling he has gone centuries without and he would not go without again.

Thankfully, Tomo seemed to feel the same way as he pulled away only to take a breath before kissing him once more, his arms tight around his waist. He chuckled as he kissed Kazuha one more time, spinning him around again and keeping his body glued to him. It was such a clingy action but Kazuha did not care for one second.

“Is it selfish if I just want to know you?”

He was never going to give him the chance to let go. Never.

And neither was Tomo.

They were going to stay together this time, live together, grow old together then grow old together again in the next life.

He wasn’t leaving.

And they both were going to make sure of that.

-Afterword-

“So how did you find me?”

“I kept having dreams about you. I couldn’t figure them out until I remembered the day you died.”

“I… see. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, Tomo. I have you back now.”

“It is nice to know that even now, I’m still plaguing your dreams. Does that mean I’m the man of your- ow!”

“Still such a jokester, aren’t you, Tomo? I would think this new modern lifestyle would’ve taught you new tricks.”

“Well how could it? You were on my mind the whole time too!”

“E-Eh?”

“Silly Kazuha. It seems we were the same throughout this journey.”

#kazuha #genshin impact #genshin kazuha #kazuha's friend #genshin kazuha's friend #kazuha's friend is called tomo #tomokazu #kazuha x kazuha's friend #fluff #fluff and angst #angst #angst with a happy ending #reincarnation au #modern au #dreams

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dimigex · 3 years

Text

New Altered Reality Chapter!

A03 / FF

I think it’s been like . . two years since I updated this story XD oops. The story is linked at the top if you want the full chapter and/or story. This is only a portion of the new chapter because it’s over 6k words

"Why don't you go train for a little while? It might take your mind off things." Rin made the suggestion as gentle as possible, ignoring the frustration that seethed just beneath the surface of her calm. She wanted the apartment to herself for a few hours and desperately needed Kakashi to stop fussing over her. Then, she'd be able to relax the way that she was supposed to. The man's constant attention put her on edge.

Since the doctor's appointment four days ago, Kakashi had been acting like a brooding hen. When Rin stood up to get her book from the bedroom, he'd jumped to his feet and offered to go instead. He didn't want her standing long enough to cook or clean, so he'd taken over those duties as well. While Kakashi was decent in the kitchen, he'd kept everything bland and refused to add any salt to the dishes. If the man mentioned her blood pressure one more time, Rin was fairly certain that hers would rise to dangerous levels when she yelled at him.

At Rin's words, Kakashi glanced up from the book in his lap. The man's brow furrowed as he marked his place with a finger. "What if you need something while I'm gone?"

"Then, I'll get it myself," Rin answered. She moderated her tone to placating rather than annoyed. It was more difficult than she expected. "I'm hardly an invalid, you know?"

"The doctor said you needed rest." Kakashi argued for the umpteenth time, as if Rin had forgotten it, as if he would give her a chance to forget it.

Rin held up her hand to stop Kakashi's next arguments before they could form. Slowly, she counted to five under her breath. The idea of laying in bed or on the couch for even one minute longer made her physically ill. She had done everything that she was supposed to: drinking glass after glass of water to keep herself hydrated, keeping the lights dim and the room quiet, resting on her left side whenever possible. There had been a dozen tiny things that might make a difference, or might not.

While that scenario would sound like a dream for some women, to Rin, it was a nightmare. She missed the days when training and missions kept her mind and body racing. When she was in the village, Rin kept herself busy wherever the hospital needed an extra set of hands. She hadn't chosen her specialization yet, but she was leaning toward pediatrics. Most medical nin worked in triage and emergencies, but there were plenty of quiet days as well. Rin liked the idea of helping children feel better rather than focusing on battle injuries.

Rin realized that her mind had drifted from the topic at hand and brought her eyes back to Kakashi. She couldn't help but appreciate the changes in her husband in the past few days, even when they annoyed her. In some ways, he was more like himself and others, he was totally different. Rin could manage the symptoms of her pregnancy; she'd done that when morning sickness left her more or less living on the bathroom floor for two months. But, she couldn't handle the hovering worry that radiated off of Kakashi.

"Why don't you go see if Minato has an update on your team?" Rin suggested, pushing into a sitting position.

Apprehension entered Kakashi's eyes. The man still hadn't been able to explain his nervousness over the chunin exams, no matter how much he tried. Rin almost felt bad for bringing up the memory, almost. Team Seven was the only distraction that could get Kakashi out of her hair for an hour or two. Sensing the man's wavering resolve, Rin pushed. "I'm just going to take a bath anyway. A cool one," Rin amended when Kakashi opened his mouth. He had been reading one of her many books about the dos and don't of pregnancy; Rin wished that she'd thrown them out once she finished.

"I'm sure he would have sent someone if there was news," Kakashi countered. His voice lacked its usual certainty, however. He wanted to know what was happening with his students as much as Rin wanted some time to breathe.

Rin nodded, running a hand through her hair. "Probably, but it would be good for you to get your mind off this mess." She gestured around the apartment. "Besides, if I need you, I can create a clone to find you. I still know how to do some things."

Over the past few months, Rin had been developing her chakra control. Once her pregnancy had been confirmed, she'd been removed from active duty. With missions off the table, she spent more time at the hospital. Even so, Rin was only permitted to assist with certain cases, so she spent her free time working through exercises that improved her control. Hopefully, that would allow her the freedom to study more medical ninjutsu after the baby was born. If she'd learned anything from being on a team with hotheaded Obito and reckless Kakashi, it was that a medic was always necessary.

"You promise you'll come find me if you need anything?" Kakashi's voice held a note of uncertainty that surprised Rin. When she nodded, he tucked a strip of cloth into the book on his lap and placed it on the table. "I won't be gone long, but maybe you're right. I'm sure there are rumors about teams finishing the second exam by now."

"Take your time," Rin offered, schooling her face to impassivity. If she looked hopeful at the free time, Kakashi would see the trap. He stood, stretching the stiff muscles in his back, then glanced in her direction. A slight frown appeared on his face.

He's debating whether or not to kiss me, Rin realized with a start. While Kakashi had changed significantly over the past few days, the hesitancy about displaying emotions with her remained. Honestly, it didn't bother Rin as much as his lost memories did. Kakashi had always been private and reserved with his affections. Deciding to meet him halfway, Rin caught his hand with hers and squeezed. Kakashi exhaled in relief.

"Go on," Rin prompted, dropping her fingers away. "I'll be good, I promise."

A smile tugged at the corners of Kakashi's mouth as he stepped closer. To Rin's surprise, he leaned in and pressed a warm kiss to her forehead. An unfamiliar explosion of heat washed through her chest at the gesture. "I'll bring dinner home," Kakashi continued, completely unaware of the effect he had on her. "Don't even think of trying to make it while I'm gone."

"Promise," Rin laughed, hoping that her smile disguised the fact that she had just been considering that very thing.

When the door shut behind Kakashi, Rin glanced at the calendar on the wall. She calculated how much longer she'd have to endure Kakashi's worrying before life could get back to normal. If everything went perfectly, they would meet their son in twelve weeks; Rin could hang on that long. She didn't have a choice.

When a brief knock sounded on the office door, Minato glanced up from the paperwork in his hand. Shikaku slipped through before he had time to answer, and Minato's heart leaped into his throat. "Has there been news?"

The second chunin exam was coming to a close, and there still hadn't been any word of Naruto's team. Minato knew that his son and his teammates were talented shinobi, but the exams were designed to be taxing. He'd seen just as many groups fail because of bad luck as poor skill. With the relative peace in the shinobi nations, fewer genin were advanced to the next rank. Minato agreed with the changes, but he could still remember all too well how quickly the ninja wars had started.

Shikaku shook his head as he shut the door behind him. "None about Team Seven."

Minato understood what the man wasn't saying; there were more important things to worry about than Naruto's advancement. Shikaku's son was also competing in the exams, he had to be wondering about the same things as Minato, but Shikaku remained detached. He stayed focused on the other matters that required his attention to keep the village running. Shikaku had been an excellent pick as Minato's second in command, and Minato didn't know what he would do without him most days.

Dipping his head in understanding, Minato pressed a thumb and forefinger against his eyes to stave off a headache. It had been a stressful week. When he wasn't torn between worries over Kakashi's memory and Naruto's performance, Minato had been dealing with chaos of having multiple villages together. There had been half a dozen fights to break up, tempers that needed soothing, and the exhaustion of hosting delegates. He cringed. "What is it this time? A broken nose over which kage is the strongest? Blood feud over the death of a distant relative? A comment taken the wrong way?"

"None of the above." Shikaku didn't crack a smile at Minato's attempted levity. Whatever he had come to say must be bad. Minato waited in silence. "I wasn't sure what to make of the report, so I brought it to you immediately. Someone made an attempt against the village barrier."

Minato shifted, mind flashing back to Kakashi's warning about Orochimaru. Even so, he forced himself to think logically rather than responding with a knee jerk reaction. "Did the Anbu tasked with that portion of the village find anything out of the ordinary? Which team was it?"

Again, Shikaku shook his head. "Obito's team deemed it a false alarm, something bound to happen with this many foreigners in the village."

Minato nodded without answering. Technically, his advisor shouldn't know the names of the men and women in Anbu, but Obito's presence hadn't been easy to hide, especially from someone who worked closely with Minato. Shikaku had been an effective jonin commander because he knew the strengths and weaknesses of every jonin in the village. There were few who weren't under his purview at some point, but Minato had no doubt that the man knew them as well. He wouldn't be good at his job if he didn't.

"Was there any evidence to suggest otherwise, anything at all?" Minato hated asking the question, but he couldn't afford to be lax with village safety during the chunin exams. There had been too many warnings to write this off as a coincidence. Though, he knew that if Shikaku had more information, he would have supplied it already.

Shikaku's sigh spoke volumes. He'd been under the same pressure as Minato the past couple of weeks. "No, everything appears to be in order."

Minato wondered if Shikaku had been thinking about Kakashi's warning when he brought that message. As much as Minato wanted to, he hadn't been able to keep that solely between himself and Inoichi. He relied on Shikaku too much to withhold such critical information. Even so, he held back as much as he could about Kakashi's memory loss. Until he figured out the cause, the less that everyone else knew, the better.

Tapping long fingers against the polished wood of his desk, Minato considered. He wanted to hear the report from his Anbu, but that would require summoning Obito. Or, perhaps, he could get by with asking Tenzo about it. The remorse that Obito had shown for what he did to Kakashi wasn't enough; the boy needed to realize that his behavior would not be tolerated. Minato decided to summon Tenzo once Shikaku left and get the full report on the disturbance. Though, he suspected it was a false alarm.

Sensing that he'd only skimmed the surface of Shikaku's reports, Minato nodded. "What else?"

A wry grin twisted the jonin's commander's face as he glanced down at the notes in his hand. "Uchiha Fugaku has requested a private meeting with you." Minato's eyebrows rose at that, wondering who Fugaku would want to talk about, one of his sons or Obito. It wasn't like the clan head to meet with Minato for something minor.

Minato dipped his head in understanding, then Shikaku continued his thought. "He requests a private meeting in the Uchiha compound."

The locale didn't surprise Minato. Fugaku must have found out something about the mystery surrounding Kakashi, but it wasn't something he wanted to risk being overhead. Which meant that it probably touched on some clan secret. Having the Hokage come to the compound instead of the other way around would raise the clan's opinion of Fugaku, at least. There were still some people, particularly in the Uchiha clan, who wished that Fugaku had become Hokage instead of Minato. Hopefully the man's information would be worth the hassle.

Minato glanced at the clock. It wasn't quite noon, and he was already longing for home. "When am I supposed to be there?"

Shikaku consulted his notes to be sure he was correct before speaking. "Tonight. Your schedule was too full to allow time during the day, and with the second exam ending in the morning, there wasn't another opportunity."

Fugaku didn't want to wait that long, Minato realized after a moment. He dipped his head in understanding; there were a million loose ends that needed to be tied up before the final exam could begin. Even problems as important as this one had to wait. Minato rubbed at his temples in frustration, then gestured for Shikaku to continue. "What else?"

(Full chapter and story available on A03 and FF, linked at top of the post)

#Dimi writes #Altered Reality Update #KakaRin #Kakashi #Rin #Full chapter available on Archive and Fanfic #This update is ridiculously old and I'm sorry #Hopefully this will give me inspiration to keep going

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ask-iamnotanalicorn · 4 years

Photo

The Crystal War Timeline

Equestria had already been stunned by the return of Nightmare Moon - learning that one character of myth and legend was real, was the sister of Celestia herself, proved a powerful blow to the nation. Their princess was in a period of mourning after the re-banishment of her sister, and uncertainty crept across the land.

When the Crystal Empire returned, bringing with it living shadows and mind-controlled armies, that shock was compounded twofold.

But shock gave way to determination. Princess Celestia rose from her grief. The ponies of Equestria rallied. Peaceful ways of life had to give way to sacrifice for the good of the nation.

At first, there was concern among the alicornis imitato; where could they serve? A few felt capable of joining the call for volunteer fighters, but found themselves rejected. Too handicapped magically. Too great a distraction. Too high a personal risk if they were targeted for their alicorn appearance; too great a chance the few with cult followings would accidentally cause dissension and disobedience in the ranks.

Then Celestia called them in. Each one of the twelve, and their families, escorted to the castle in Canterlot under guard. For their safety, she assured them. They would bear no suspicion, they would not be harmed, and their loved ones were welcome to the same protection unless they wished to help the cause in some other capacity. And the AIs trusted her, for hadn’t Princess Celestia always made an effort to get to know each AI, to befriend them, to demonstrate to them her friendship and wish for their good?

None were aware of the ulterior motive behind this special consideration. True, keeping them safe, keeping them under a watchful eye, was a wise tactical move. But in truth, Princess Celestia had need of something else they had power over - power none of them realized was theirs:

The Guardians.

With each AI safely protected in the castle, the Guardians were now available. Twelve of the most skilled, elite agents in Her Royal Service. Twelve ponies picked for their patience, their decision-making, their stealth, and their fighting skills. Twelve ponies who had proven themselves not only strong and capable, but compassionate and rational - ponies with the rare skillset required for competently watching over, protecting - and, if need be, stopping - another pony in secret, for decades on end. And never once be found out, or require gratitude, for their service.

She had a special mission for them, if they agreed. They did. And so the Guardians gathered, trusting their charges, their foremost responsibility, to the Princess’s care.

There had been a Crystal Heart once, she told them in the secret meeting chamber. The Crystal Ponies had once powered and protected their city with its strong enchantment - an enchantment fueled by their love for one another. It had been a beacon of hope and light, a physical manifestation of the King’s love for his creatures. And Sombra had stolen it from them, filling the void left behind with his malice and lust for power.

He could not have broken it, she was certain. It must be hidden in the castle. And if they could find it... reactivate it... free the crystal ponies from their enslavement... the war would end, and no more innocent lives, lives utterly overshadowed by Sombra’s wicked hubris or laid down to defend Equestria’s freedom, would be lost.

The plan might not work. It might be too dangerous. It might be a fool’s errand.

But there was no group of ponies, Celestia felt sure, who could be more well entrusted to such a task.

-----

Welcome, one and all, to this special What If? series of “I Am Not An Alicorn!”

This has been a LONG time in the works. I initially started brainstorming this project back in January with Reversalmushroom, as his Patreon reward for supporting me under the Resplendent Royalty tier. He asked if his comic reward could be used to give a glimpse of what life would have been like for Salespitch & Co in the seven alternate timelines created by Starlight Glimmer in the Season 5 Finale, The Cutie Re-Mark. As you can tell from the time gap, it took me quite a while to get it done, and now I’m very excited to show you all the result!

I am quite pleased Reversal wanted this for his reward, and also for his commissioning of Panel 7 - as you may or may not know, there were seven timelines, but the Patreon reward only allows for up to two pages of comic, and I could only satisfactorily fit six of these panels onto those pages. So he commissioned the seventh one out of his own pocket (and lemme tell ya, I REALLY like that one :D) Thank you again for your patronage, Reversal, and I’m glad you have been happy with the results so far!

The descriptions I’ve added are not part of the original reward; I just really like adding lore, and thought ya’ll would enjoy some further elaboration of what’s going on in each timeline. It’s not a full story, but hopefully gives you enough fun details to imagine how things might have gone. I know I have fun with that kind of thing. :D

There will be a long post at the end with all of the timeline art cards together and links back to these description posts, but I hope you will enjoy the next seven weeks with me as we explore these different What Ifs! Also, feel free to send additional questions in about each timeline; I might answer a few of them during the week.

(And remember: no matter how dark or catastrophic things may seem... there is always hope.)

Some Fun Facts About The Crystal War Timeline/Art:

- All of Sales’ family is safe and well in this timeline. Pitch Black is the only one going into danger (and I assure you, he doesn’t die; the mission, while not without some serious roadblocks, is successful.)

- Sales feels a little cooped up at the castle, but Celestia has people who try to give all the AIs ways to put their talents to good use, and he ends up making some solid connections with the ponies of the Department of Equestrian Commerce. He actually has some suggestions that help streamline the war effort supply lines.

- All of the AIs in the upper half have appeared in the comic before! Some are from the MLP show, others (like the little red foal) are made up by me, and Willow Resin (the blue and blonde mare talking to Sales) was the winning entry for my Alicornis Imitato contest, created by @johndoestudios!

- The yellow AI is based off the show glitch of Lemon Hearts that made her into an alicorn, and the sunglasses guy is obviously Neon Lights, but while this is NOT Lemon Hearts and I made a new cutie mark for her lookalike, Neon Lights is still Neon Lights. I figure he just hides his wings under his vest when he’s working with Coluratura’s shows. Also, that purple tail is one of the VERY obvious on-screen “alicorns” in the episode where Rainbow Dash goes to Las Pegasus (named Purple Rain by me).

- The ponies with Pitch Black and Celestia aren’t all named yet, but I like them all, and I named the green guy Strawberry Spice.

- The blue pegasus Guardian ended up looking so much like Agent Windigo that I decided he is her twin brother. Their real names are Storm Front and Spring Frost. I haven’t decided a codename for Frost yet, but all the top-level special agents have codenames based on dangerous creatures or constructs (i.e. Black Knight, Windigo, Phoenix, Golem, Manticore, Hydra, Chimera, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, Siren, etc.) Kinda too bad his sister stole the ice monster already, I bet she ribs him about that. XD

Hope you’re all well and taking time to relax and appreciate the little joys in life! They’re still out there, I promise. :) And let me know if anyone has any prayer requests! Jesus is still Lord, and He’s never surprised no matter what craziness we run into!

~River Babble

Next Week: Changeling Times

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reimahowaido · 3 years

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I’ll get to those Magic Crafter Dragons I sweeeear But first, fun stuff from Discord. Dunno who made the original, it was just posted on a server, but yeet I did it anyway First of all, I don’t play a lot of games. I like games and the idea of them. I enjoy people playing stuff, I love watching others play. It’s that little sibling culture. But lemme toss a word or few about all of these. Though first of all, I only own 4 of the 8 games listed and even still I’ve only played 3 of them xD R.I.P. Pokemon Cafe Mix - The game is just Super Cute. Like oh my god Aesthetics! Adorable, every pokemon looks so nice and I just want to go to the cafe and taste everything and just chill. Please. It looks so cozy and relaxing. Gameplay is fairly simple too. Sometimes things seem a bit BS but in one way or another I’ll get through every stage etc. so it’s not too bad. Most of the time relaxing, can be addicting because of how simple things are. But really I love the game and I hope one day they’ll add more of the pokemon I like xD Buizel is my current favourite <3 It’d be nice seeing Mienshao or Mienfoo for one, maybe Glameow as it doesn’t get a lot of attention. We got Gogoat, but I wouldn’t mind a Sawsbuck or Deerling Pokemon Black 2 - To keep the Pokemon trend going, this is my fave out of the mainline games. I’ve been a fan ever since the first generation, I’m older than Gen 1 at that. But yeah, we did buy games but Nintendo stuff was too expensive and so I never really got to play those growing up. Black 2 was the first game I ever bought, for myself, with my own money. It was my first game and I loved it dearly. Still do and man I’d Love to replay it, but the curse of only 1 save file is cruel. I don’t want to restart my first ever save file. Currently I have no way of transferring anything over and I even have a Shiny Gothorita there (as underwhelming as it is, it was my first ever shiny). I love these games~~ Lots of different pokemon to choose from, great story, the fact that it’s a sequel is so freaking cool and unique I Love It So Much. Of course it’d be cool to have some extra things to do in it, like cleaning my badges, contests would be cool, I loved the mining stuff in Gen 4 when I got to try it on my friend’s Platinum save file as a kid. Speaking of, Gen 4 games would probably be my favourites, if I ever had the chance of owning and playing any fully. They have soooo much to do in them! Gen 5 is good and certainly up there in faves, but bruh, Gen 4 had all sorts of extra stuff, especially Platinum, and in HG/SS you had Pokemon following you like bruh that’s Crazy and I’d love to have that for a game I own, it’s like a dream Honorable mentions to Mystery Dungeon and Gen 6′s Pokemon Y for some grand memories. Firstly Pokemon Y, the second game I ever owned I think, great fun. I played that game for hooooooooours and it’s the only Pokemon Game that I’ve both played as a Nuzlocke and actually reset to play again. Also the first gen where I actually really got into competitive stuff, breeding for natures and stuff, and I’ve caught so many shinies in Y and Omega Ruby (mostly Y, OR has 1 shiny in Pidove, while Y has Ninetales, Pachirisu, Burmy, Gligar, and perhaps some other ones I caught/hatched myself). Mystery Dungeon games get a mention for having cool stories and I like the idea of the personality test and stuff. I’ve never played or owned any of these games, but I’ve watched Marriland play a handful of the games and currently am enjoying MDB playing through the first games in the series. Also a quick bloop on Colosseum being Cool as heck, and Battle Revolution gets a shoutout for looking so freaking good, having amazing music and making me search up videos with my favourite pokemon and just looking and watching hundreds of videos just because they looked so nice

Fire Emblem has to be the 2nd series of games I’ve gotten the most into. Although I’m a fairly new fan and my experiences and knowledge are limited, I do still enjoy the series and games - both old and new - a bunch. I only own Awakening, Conquest and 3 Houses, but I’ve again watched others play the past games a bunch, so I have some knowledge and memorable moments from those games too. Now I haven’t actually gotten myself to play 3 Houses yet, I’ve seen playthroughs of the game already and know the story etc. But yeh. Still, I’d say that I’ll probably like 3 Houses more than Awakening and Conquest. Awakening is nostalgia galore for me, but it does have its things with the story and characters and stuff. It’s nice, but I dunno, I just feel 3 Houses has an edge on it in some way. Maybe it’s just... Less controversial? Less Flame Wars? Maybe? Fates games, well, we all know the big glaring thing here. The story. And some of the characters suffer from this too. I kinda do wish that the Player had a biiiit more control in how the story went and played out, like I feel you definitely could have saved Scarlet in some way still, and all that. But eh, there’s enough stuff for me to go and prefer 3 Houses over it. And yes, I like choosing the members of my team and playing however I like, so giving me the ability to class my characters however I want is going to be a mistake as I’ll just make everyone a mounted unit and get destroyed but hey! Options :2 Variety :22 Great tiiiiimes~ Also it’s Blue Lions for me, Golden Deer Second Now for the games I don’t own. I chose Radiant Dawn because the Tellius games are just so good. I love the character in them, the story is pretty solid and the worldbuilding is cool too :2 I like both of the games, and while Path of Radiance is more coherent and doesn’t give split the characters up a bunch, Radiant Dawn has More of the great characters :2 Yes I know, not all of them are as fleshed out and thought out as the first game’s characters, but yo I still love them. I love a good continuation to a story. I love a ‘hey maybe it wasn’t as Black & White as we were made to believe’ twist. Also just hella good memories from watching BigKlingy play these games. The audience memed Aran to the final levels. We did it, he did so well, Aran deserved to be there xD Radiant Dawn also brings us Nailah, who is just. Yeah, you speak to me on so many levels, I’m easily readable. But also, woman, wolf, strong, yasss~~ Also I love the idea of the Jaegan character being a Thief/Assassin. That’s just so different and cool to me after all these Horse Units. And I’m the one guy who likes Levail and would love to see more of him. Give us more of Levail, the man who almost made it to being playable. Man. Levail is probably the one reason I’d pick Radiant Dawn over Path of Radiance xD The other game I’ve watched BigKlingy play through (and that’s my only experience on that game) is Sacred Stones. Pretty solid game all in all. Story, characters, but speaking of that story, if you really think about it, it’s Hella Dark, and that’s actually kinda cool in a way. I’m not that into dark stories, but here it worked. Also watched PhoenixMaster1′s playthrough on the Echoes game. I do like the game, if i find it one day I Might buy it but I’m not like in a hurry to get it. It was cool though, different for reasons but hey~ Also, Berkut, yes. I’m one of those people who like this angry man. But come on, he was really good xD Spyro I’ve already talked about in my lengthy little thing that I’ll get to continuing eventually xD But yes, I freaking love Spyro, my childhood, still very enjoyable experience full of great memories Metroid Fusion - Oh boy here come the nostalgia~ I’ve actually never played any Metroid games myself. I got introduced to the series in the early 2010s through youtube videos. I’m fairly sure it was me looking through dozens and dozens of Top 10 videos, several of which were on ‘the scariest bosses’, either unexpectedly scary or something else. But guess what, Nightmare from Fusion was in there, and I Think the person in the video said something on not wanting to even show the final forms of Nightmare’s face because it was that horrifying to them. And honestly? The fact that they didn’t show how bad it got, mixed with my morbid curiosity and woop, here I go~ Down the Metroid rabbithole where I watched a lot of videos on people fighting Nightmare and the other bosses in the game, eventually going into watching full run-throughs of the game and enjoying my time. Game looked pretty good, soundtrack was really nice too. And so I ended up on listening to a lot of the game series’ music and getting more familiar with the other games and the lore too. Learning to know that Samus was a lady was also hella badass. Fusion started it all for me, and while Super Metroid is cool, people also just play it a loooot, especially the Speedrunners, there’s also plenty of hacks based on that game and yeah I get it the game is Good, but that makes Fusion all the more special to me~ Devil May Cry 3 - Ok so again, I’ve not played any DMC games myself. This one again though is nostalgia ocean for me~ 2010 or such, I’m on some forum, said forum has a forum game based around songs or such and someone links one from this game. I Think it was the Doppelganger battle theme, or then I just found that one and listened to it for hours among the other battle themes these games have because they’re soooo gooood~~ DMC 4 was fairly new at that time, but I remember Gredo’s and Agnus’ themes being up there in songs I listened to a lot too. My experiences and stuff on this series was fully based on the songs, images on said songs, bits and pieces of the cutscenes of these games I saw and comments I read. I didn’t get too deep into DMC back then though, but I did have a bit of knowledge here and there, even if my idea of the stories in all the games was, well, I wouldn’t call it warped, but I definitely had imagined the story going differently to how things actually went xD Still, as a few years back I returned to DMC out of that feeling of nostalgia, and discovered DMC 5 had Just been released, boi, I was In. And I watched through cutscene compilations, playthoughs and what have you on all the games (Except for DmC, boot to you ReBoot), and it was quite the hype time~ I enjoy the chracters, the story that there is around them, and just how carefree and fun stuff can be. The party sure did get crazy~ Lost Dimension - The last game I have on the list there. This might be a weird one and I get that yeah. How many have even heard of this game? I sure wouldn’t have ever known of it without BigKlingy’s playthrough of it. But that playthrough was full of memories, I should really rewatch it one day~ I may not remember an awful lot about the game, but I do keep coming back to it in one way or another. I liked the character designs, the fact that all of them were unique and had their own abilities, there was a bit of story around all of them, the traitor system had you thinking & made each run a little different... That’s some Cool Stuff! The game might be a bit obscure and seriously not known at all, but for what it was, it was great and I enjoyed it a bunch! And now for stuff that wasn’t on the list but I kinda still want to mention. Because why not~ IB - This Almost made it onto the list, but I felt a little closer of a connection to the other games on it. But IB is one of those games from the early 2010s that I also got introduced to through the wonderful world of Youtube. I have forgotten the name of the person whose playthrough in the game I watched. But I watched a ton of people play this game. It was just. So cool. The puzzles in this game were nice and the fact I myself could solve and understand them too was pretty nice to me, and for some reason I just enjoyed watching other people react to the game and try solving stuff. It also had a couple different endings so watching and seeing what the other people got was also interesting. Great memories~ Witch’s House / Ao Oni / Mad Father - And all sorts of other horror games that kinda fall under this grouping and style and stuff. Yeah, IB kinda opened a bit of a thing for me as I realized I greatly enjoyed the horror games with puzzle elements to themselves + a bit of story here and there. There’s definitely much much more than these 3, I watched soooo many of these games being played by others. Ao Oni I may have discovered through my Hetalia phase though, HetaOni, if any of you still recognize that name. Daym. Although at first I didn’t want to watch HetaOni because of the portraits. Pfffff I thought the person who made them was being mean to some of the characters, but nah, I’d later learn that those were simply just mimicing the ones from the original game. But yeah, Ao Oni had a dozen variants and things inspired by it so those kept me busy for a whiiiiiile Hades - Now here’s a cool recent game! Again, haven’t played it, but it looks cool. The story is nice, character designs are God Like (hehe), soundtrack is super cool, aesthetics and oh my god everything is voice acted oh my gooood. This game is just. So cool. And the team who did it seems really cool too and are seemingly full of nice amazing people. This is definitely some great example work on how things should be done :2 Definitely something to look up to, I love everything about them~ The only reason Hades isn’t up there is because of its recentness and my brain not managing to think of it somehow even as I struggled to come up with stuff (I was mostly trying to think of stuff I had played, so that’s one thing. I even struggled to remember DMC because my current hyperfixations are elsewhere and that’s freaking Wild considering how much I enjoy DMC) But yeah, Hades is Super Freaking Cool Crash Bandicoot - These games I did play as a kid actually, the 1st one was way too hard and the 3rd one was my favourite. I like Crash, these games were nice too and I have plenty of good memories with the game, just not enough to make it up there on my list. Yeah it sounds stupid that I’d take out a game I actually played and replace it with stuff that I didn’t, but... Hey, my list Minecraft - Watched several videos on other people pllaying this game, I know of it, I respect it, but I’ve never played it myself and stuff. It’s cool but didn’t make it on the list Animal Crossing - Riiiiiight, these games seem adorable and I wouldn’t mind owning an AC game one day. I’d probably reset continuously though to get Skye in my town/village/island, she’s my favourite xD If the recent game had cost lest I might have gotten it. 60-70€ is just, a lot of money Persona - I guess I’ll mention these too. My experiences are through Bigklingy’s videos again. 3 is a fave, 4 seems cool, 5 I don’t know a lot about but it seems nice too. I probably wouldn’t be able to play these games myself, since some fights kinda need certain things and strategies and you can’t really just pick whatever and whom ever and roll through with brute strength. I mean, I Guess you could, but that might not be as fun in the long run? Who knows, but it’s not exactly like Pokemon or Fire Emblem in those regards you know The big conclusion is that I like all sorts of different aesthetic looks, mostly probably natural with some brighter colors in it. Stories are good, I love stories! Good characters with nice designs and backstories are really nice too. Things being thought out and built nicely is great you know? A little bit of strategy, fantasy here and there. Nothing too dark and gloomy or ‘hyper realistic’ or what have you. I guess no first person shooters either, though combat is fine. Games where I can pick and choose what to use and what kinds of ‘teams’ I build and the ‘members’ I use in them is nice. I do love watching others play, but with games like Pokemon & Fire Emblem I have that drive of choosing who to use and having my own unique experience kinda gets me to buy the games.

#Games #Lists #Text #Some sort of 'fill this' meme I think

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meimi-haneoka · 5 years

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Clear Card chapter 39 - review

AT LONG LAST!

Real life really takes the will to do lengthy things away from me, even if it’s for fun.

But I love Cardcaptor Sakura so much, so I take this almost as a “duty” to pay respect to this wonderful series. I love when things are done properly and not left “hanging”, so here we go, even if a bit delayed compared to usual: (long)THOUGHTS ON CHAPTER 39 under the cut!!

I’d like to start with a small consideration before going with plot-centric rants: I have noticed the post with this chapter obtained a lot less notes than usual, but it’s a trend that has been going on for a while. I’m not really sure what could be the cause, it can range from Tumblr shadowbanning posts from the tag search if they include a link (so the posts are not visible that much anymore, despite my efforts to make a second text post), to people preferring other sources to get their chapters (and that’s fine), to the fandom moving altogether to other sites and communities, or....to the fandom’s interest slowly fading away. Since it seems we’re almost going towards the climax, I’m not sure how to react to the latter option. I think this is supposed to be the moment in which the fandom’s interest is the more active, but I could be wrong. Anyway, if that’s the case, then I guess it’s really time for CLAMP to wrap it up.

Without further ado, let’s analyze this chapter!

The color page was L O V E L Y. Oh my gosh Sakura-chan, look how grown up you appear here. More beautiful than ever. She’s even re-using a sweater from another color illustration, lol. It’s perfectly fitting with the autumn season and I loved it!

Let’s bother her a little more

Starting off from where we left in ch. 38, Sakura is blown away and Syaoran tries to have The Shadow look for her once again, but....”fooled once, not fooled twice” thinks Kaito, isn’t it? Kaito wants Sakura to do stuff on her own, so he literally “throws” her into a dark tree hole, where her shadow can’t be traced, because well....there’s none. He isn’t looking particularly amused while he does this, well, what I mean is that it’s not like he’s having sadistic fun, causing her troubles. His face is kinda apologetic when he's all “here comes the knight but thanks, no thanks”, as if he understands that Syaoran wants to save her, but he cannot really do otherwise. Sakura needs to do this alone, in order to produce a fitting card. Would you care to tell us readers what this damned card is, Kaito?

The first conversation

Kaito is in the mood for some memories. Memories of the first time he spoke with Akiho. I found it interesting that he used the verb “having a conversation with” rather than “meeting”, and the reason is also pretty easy to guess: for him, it wasn’t the first time. He saw her (although from afar) when he analyzed her through that ball, to determine whether she had magical powers or not. And their first conversation didn’t start in the best of ways: Akiho’s first reaction is to run away. But what can you expect from a little girl who was used to be considered a bother and only basing on her magical capabilities, and not as a human being. So when Kaito asks her if he bothered her, her confusion is plain visible on her face: Is he talking to me? Me, who is usually the bothering one here?

And so she’s surprised big time when he actually shows to be interested to know which book she was reading. NO ONE, I repeat, NO ONE ever did that for her. Remember what environment she grew up in. He is the first and only one wanting to even have a conversation with her (her family only made “questions”). By the way, thanks to Impatient Scans, we actually aknowledge Akiho here might be reading “Momo”, by German writer Michael Ende. That opens a whole new box of questions, starting from “IS THIS where Momo takes her name from? Who gave it to her? What is her real name? Could the story actually be giving plot hints?”

All in all, let me just say I loved this flashback. I always love when there’s a Kaito or Akiho flashback, because I’m so hungry for their background story. I know the story has to sacrifice a bit of the other characters in order to show more of them, because 30 pages are just 30 pages, after all. But it’s ok, that’s also the reason why I’m glad I warmed up to both of these 2, because every month I have more things to look forward to, and I generally am never disappointed with a chapter’s content.

There’s no turning back

As if on cue, Momo starts an inner monologue on Kaito and Akiho, and how much he changed for her.

He really didn’t care about anything, before. He couldn’t be bothered to do anything. He was a very apathetic boy, some fans have theorized he could be on the brink of depression himself without even realizing it (again, consider what a shitty environment he grew up in, a den of delinquents).

And yet.

Among all those criminals, he raised his hand. His voice loud and clear, “I’ll go”. He, the boy who found everything a bother, decided something for himself for the first time ever, and to assist someone else, no less. Momo wonders, to herself, what changed inside of you? Cause something must have changed.

This was another part I really really loved. All the memories of their travels together. You can see the different countries they’ve been to, and their body language, that implies there was still some kind of “distance” between them. Akiho seems still kinda “wary” of Kaito in these shots (and with a reason, who would trust anyone if they were raised up like she did?). But we can see them being more relaxed and at ease the more they spend time together, and it’s on this time spent together that Momo puts the focus on. It’s where Kaito should ideally start to find the answer to the big, complex question.

What made you do this?

Momo muses over how Kaito learned to do all sorts of things in order to please Akiho and to make her live in a healthy environment (remember Akiho saying that Kaito makes by hand all her meals?), finally not neglected but at the center of someone’s attentions. She makes a random example on the tea. Why someone who didn’t give sh*t about how tea tasted, went all the way down to learn how to make it in a delicious way? I love how CLAMP cleverly used the word 術 with the furigana “sube”, which means “how to do something”, but with the same kanji and the reading “jutsu” it also means “spell”. This probably to imply that some magic might have been included in this learning process, err. XD

I also loved how Momo thinks that Kaito needs to look at the truth straight in the eyes, without turning away. Could he be scared to admit the truth? Loving someone (and hear me again, love of any kind, not romantic love exclusively) comes with a little fear. For someone who never experienced it, all the more. It’s a totalizing feeling that might destabilize you. If he doesn’t wake up to this, it’s gonna be too late. That’s literally what Momo says.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE SHOCKER OF THIS MONTH! Momo and Akiho’s mom knew eachother, and Momo even received her ring and the task to look over her daughter, and Sakura as well. “My Alice, and that girl’s Alice”. I mean, I knew Akiho’s mom was going to be important, but dammit she really looks like she’s been the one moving some plot threads since long time!!! I love this.

The nightmare

And here comes the part where I start screaming “WHAT THE F*CK IS HAPPENING HERE”. Sakura finds herself in a strange land with big flowers (she’s still tiny, let’s remember that), flowers that can actually speak. At her surprised face, the flowers reply “You wished for this, didn’t you?”.

EH?

And then we get to this creepy scene of Akiho appearing out of nowhere, with her experiment outfit, calling Sakura in a dead tone. I was seriously freaking out at the panel composition. Made entirely to evoke creepiness. Apparently, we’re in Alice’s story. Yes. BUT WHICH ALICE?

The strange reality turns into a nightmare. Literally.

Everything turns dark, Sakura is having another one of her dreams. The “shaaan” and the clocks are a sign of it. MCF appears behind Akiho, who this time is in the same position she was when she was turned into a magical artifact by her clan. Sakura’s face twists in horror even before MCF opens his robe, because she knows who’s under it. The last time she saw MCF in a dream was also the last time she saw who was under it. Her heart and mind scarred irreparably forever. And there he is. Syaoran, dead in his eyes. Sakura’s shrieks “NO!!” in horror, she completely refuses to believe this is a real thing. Now, I don’t really know what’s happening here, because after this, everything breaks and she captures GUESS WHAT, the “Break” card. So it’s hard to determine if it was a real dream or only an illusion. Maybe Kaito made her go into her subconscious to find bits and pieces of what she experienced before, in order to shake her enough to produce the right card. Because, if all of this is coming from her, then it means a part of her brain does remember despite the time rewindings of Kaito. And it’s very important. She saw Akiho’s past when she was trapped inside Akiho’s book, but all of that was erased when Kaito rewound time. Well, not from her heart, however, because she hugged Akiho tightly while crying. So now what do we have here? A part of what she’s not supposed to remember. I think this vision is a twisted mix of horrifying things she saw previously, and indeed her natural reaction is to destroy in pieces what she’s seeing. Quite literally, since the two kanji for “Break” actually mean “Destruction”. Is this the card Kaito was looking for? I’m not sure. Because he said that “Rewind” went quite close to it, and I can’t make out any relation between “Break” and “Rewind”. I still have the impression the card he might want her to make has got more to do with “restoring” things to how they were before. So, if it’s instead Kaito the one who made her see those things, he might have wanted her to wish to bring everything as it was before. HE needed a strong reaction from her. But she made “Break” instead. Will it be ok for him so we can move on to the climax?

I have to admit I kinda loved the more creepy and nightmare-ish atmosphere of the last 10 pages. Sakura evidently has got something big going on, and it’s time she talks to Syaoran about this. It’s time she tells him fair and square what’s she’s seeing more and more often. It’s about him too, at this point. She can’t keep this a secret anymore, not when it’s eating her sanity and peace of mind away.

Next chapter is going to be published in the February issue, in stores on the last days of December if everything goes as usual (for New Year’s they always anticipate the release of that issue). So we have another unexpected break as I already said, and I kinda figured it when I saw CLAMP going on a trip 20 days ago. It’s ok, we can do this! If we’re approaching the climax, it make sense that they take vacation now, so afterwards they can work fully straight into the finale.

Thanks for reading this long rant, and I wait for your comments!

#Card Captor Sakura #cardcaptor sakura #CLAMP #ccs spoilers #ccsakura #clear card arc #clear card manga #chapter 39

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6ix-dragons · 4 years

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Edens Zero: The Chapter 83 Uproar (and What’s Next)

(Please be advised: important spoilers for the latest chapters of Edens Zero will be found below!)

When I mentioned in one of my previous posts, the other day, about having to take a break from this series...I was actually half-joking about it. More on that, at the end of this post.

But, ladies and gentlemen...even ‘though it has been probably mentioned multiple times, by now—can we still talk about how incredibly dark the latest chapters have gotten, for this series...so far? I mean...pump the brakes there, Mashima! We can’t handle all this angst, and feels, that quickly!

As long-time followers of Hiro Mashima’s works would know, these dark themes and situations are really nothing new. We’ve seen them before, in Rave Master. We’ve seen it also happen in Fairy Tail—despite it being considerably lighter in nature, compared to Rave. However, all of those darker moments in both series don’t come even close to what had just happened with the latest chapter of Hiro’s newest series!

Now, for those who have actually yet to be caught up with the story, I’ll just cut straight to the chase: Shiki and a few of his prominent allies of the Edens Zero have taken on the next biggest villain (and, arguably, who might yet be the most infamous amongst those who the EZ crew faced, when this is all said and done), in Drakken Joe, and his equally-challenging cronies that are the Elemental Four.

Long story short—all of the more prominent members of the Edens Zero crew end up losing their fights to them, and are promptly captured by Drakken Joe, and his group. What then happens next will may as well have sent most of the fandom into quite the shock they’re having right now.

Not long after Weisz ends up losing his arm, as punishment following their defeat, Drakken Joe—who claims he doesn’t kill people (yeeeaah...keep saying that, why don’t you? /s), makes the serious decision to execute Shiki, by putting a friggin’ bullet right through his head!!

I haven’t seen an execution this brutal being carried out by a villain, ever since Arlong did it to Bellemere, from who knows when!

Okay, now, not long after this chapter was released, I made the social media rounds to see how readers of this series really felt about what had happened in that chapter. There were some who actually praised Mashima for taking a more realistic, grounded approach, as well as for bringing the tone and themes more in line with Rave. Personally, I don’t see much of a problem with these opinions. I also did think that Edens Zero should stand out more than Fairy Tail did, in terms of both. However, as I will mention this later on, I was also concerned at the same time, as having something like this happen much earlier in the story, does bring major implications to the entire story itself, including its direction.

Aaand, then, there are the opposite reactions from the other portion of the fanbase. I’ve heard rumblings of a lot of readers who were upset (rightfully so, but greatly) by this latest development. In fact, they were so upset about it, they actually sent hate messages—and, probably death threats, too, while we’re at it—to Hiro’s social media accounts! At least, that’s what I’ve come across from others in the fandom, who were warning those not to do these kinds of things.

So, what are my actual thoughts, and opinions, about what had just transpired from all this? Having read the latest chapter myself, I had the same reaction just like most of the fanbase did. I was shocked, and upset, at what was being done to, who is (apparently), one of the major, prominent leads of this series. And, just like certain portions of the fanbase, I had previously expected a different outcome for the main characters involved. Just an outcome that would not potentially divide the fanbase in half, much like now. That wasn’t quite the case, unfortunately, as I have mentioned everything above.

As it stands right now (as of the time, and date of this post), it seems that Shiki has been ‘killed-off’...maybe for real, but, maybe not. It’s hard to mention, for sure, if he really is—unless there’s solid confirmation from Mashima, himself. All I can say is, ‘though, Shiki’s ‘death’ does open up more new questions, than it does answer the ones that have already been established before.

Questions, like, how does this really address the nightmare that Rebecca had, from a few chapters earlier? In that sequence alone, we do get to see Shiki in it, as he tries to lead her out of an intense battle happening somewhere, at some point in time. How do the events of this newest chapter factor into what was already happening before?

Another question, I think, would be even bigger than that. We’ve seen, from the beginning of the series, and onward, about what each character’s motives are, and their goals. Shiki’s ultimate goal was to find the mystical space entity, “Mother”. With the events of chapter 83 seemingly putting that into major doubt, however...that just makes me wonder what Mashima’s true intentions are, for this series. Were we really to believe that this would just be about the protagonist going on a journey to search for this entity of sorts—only for Mashima to mislead us into thinking that, and what really ended up happening, was definitely all for naught? Because, I certainly want to know what Hiro was truly thinking, when he planned out this arc of the story.

Then, there are the significant implications to the future direction of the story that I previously mentioned above.

So, it’s obvious enough that Shiki is, at the moment, ‘killed-off’ quite early in this series. Where does it all go from here? As I previously mentioned above, Shiki’s goal was, ultimately, to find Mother. Without him at the helm of the Edens Zero, however, it won’t be possible anymore. Maybe the rest of the crew there can take the mantle from him, but I have a hard time imagining that would be the case. After all, he is the one guiding them, in the first place.

With all that being mentioned, I’ve been hearing from some who have mentioned that Shiki should make a return into the story, at some point. I also think that he should come back into the fold, too. The only questions for that, is: how—and, how soon?

Let’s start, by answering the first one. Assuming, again, that Shiki isn’t 100% confirmed to be killed off, for sure (which, also again, is pending on what Mashima says, himself), there are already a few possibilities on how he can make a return to the story in some form, or capacity.

One of the most common theories I’ve come across from readers, is this whole C.A.T. idea. It’s been mentioned more than once in the story, including one from Master Noah, of all people. The thing is, ‘though, we still don’t know anything of what C.A.T. really is about. That’s where the whole aforementioned...mention from Master Noah comes in, however. He claims that Shiki is the key to unlocking C.A.T.—as he is talking about Rebecca, in the same breath. What does this all mean? Not much, but I believe Mashima should address that question, in a later chapter at some point.

Speaking of Rebecca...another theory some fans have, has something to do with her recently-discovered Leaper ether-gear ability. They theorize that Rebecca would use that ability to somehow reverse these particular events from happening in the first place. Some of them have also included the above-mentioned C.A.T. idea, and combined the two together. I would seem to think there is some plausibility to this notion—it all comes down to how well Rebecca can develop her ether-gear to that point, however.

The third-most plausible theory would have something to do with Shiki himself. I believe it was either Drakken Joe, or Master Noah (correct me if I’m wrong; I’m trying to remember what happened in that chapter, as I’m typing out this part xD), who mentioned that Shiki ‘wasn’t human’. However, let’s go way back to the beginning of the story, when Shiki and Rebecca visited her guild, for the first time. Shiki claimed that ‘he saw Mother before’, after when said entity was mentioned by someone else. Maybe there is something more to how Shiki and Mother are greatly linked to each other, than we already know, in the grand scheme of things.

And, then, there’s this theory thrown out there that might be one of the least-plausible. A certain section of fans claim that Shiki could possibly make a return to the story...not as a human, ‘though—but, as a robot/cyborg of some sort. Yeah. No. Seriously. While it does lend credence to an older, but still-relevant idea that the Demon King Ziggy could actually be Shiki himself, I also have a hard time believing it would happen so soon. I mean, it’s still a possibility, of course...but, given the timing of it all, I reserve a healthy amount of doubt about this one.

So, the other question to answer about Shiki’s (assumed) potential return in the story, is, how soon?

From how the story is paced yet, so far, I have my doubts that he will make a return that quickly. There is a source I’ve come across on Twitter, recently, who regularly posts spoilers for upcoming chapters of this series (I won’t name the source here, ‘though; you’ll just have to look it up, yourself). Based on the purported synopsis and spoilers straight from this source, for the next chapter—chapter 84, it appears that the focus is on what happened after the previous chapter, roughly a week later...mainly on Rebecca, herself, as she tries to make her escape.

Of course, there are also other questions to answer that remain from the last chapter, such as the whereabouts of Weisz, Homura, Happy, and Pino. But, regardless, I digress. The point I’m trying to make here, is that, assuming Shiki does come back into the story...it probably won’t happen, until at some point later on. How late, we don’t really know. It all depends on what Mashima does next, for the upcoming chapters, soon. But, we can only hold onto the hope that he does write Shiki back into it all. Otherwise, I...well, I don’t know what to think of, anymore, then.

This has been a long post, so far. I only typed this out to let it all out from my mind, because of how chapter 83 had actually bothered me. I’ve been into Edens Zero a little bit more, now that the story has gotten somewhere—and that Shiki happens to be one of my favourite characters from that series, just like Natsu, from Fairy Tail. These latest revelations from the last few chapters, so far, have put a damper on what I expected out of this cast of characters, going forward. I know that there are some who wanted this series to stand out from Hiro’s previous works, through the inclusion of darker themes, and moments. But, this is something I think was a bit too extreme, in my honest, personal opinion. It also lead me to think more about how this series is going to progress, as well...which is why I made this post, and posts like this one, prior.

Anyway, I had already stated that I would be taking a break from Edens Zero, for now—half-jokingly, that is. I will still try to keep a close tab on what will happen, every now, and then. But, you can let me know when Shiki does make a return (or, not) in the story, by leaving a reply on this post, or you can DM me. Either way, thanks for reading this entire post. Click on the heart if you like this; reblog this to all your friends...and, I will now focus on the Fairy Tail side of things. At least that can’t be any more messed up than EZ is, right now...

...right??

#edens zero #ez spoilers #chapter 83 #shiki granbell #rebecca bluegarden #weisz steiner #homura kougetsu #edens zero happy #em pino #hiro mashima #fairy tail #long post #personal takes

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1111jesusandmarytwinflames · 4 years

Video

youtube

639 Hz ❯ PURE POSITIVE LOVE ENERGY ❯ Miracle Tone Healing Music | Heart ...

TUESDAY, 7 JANUARY 2020

Katy Perry Interview The Hot Hits Up Close & Personal Part 1

Katy Perry Satan and the Superb owl:

https://youtu.be/wHknzzJeK6Y

Bad Blood:

https://youtu.be/QcIy9NiNbmo

Watch the video below

https://youtu.be/mE9rkOZetCw

of the turning away

Katy Perry Worldwide Fan Club on facebook @kpworld1 is a page that openly cheats in the voting for awards for Katy Perry all sorts of cheating is rife on its timeline ANIK KARMOKAR is the owner and takes twitter accs of 'kittens' he calls the fans and abuses the VTMA awards katy perry awards are rigged return her awards she admits it herself calling all her awards 'worthless' @katyperry buys over half her follows and likes and the Katy Perry facebook presence is used for child sex abuse grooming ban Katy Perry from social media we can do without paedophile cheats🕵️♂️👮‍♂️👮‍♀️🕵️♀️👩‍✈️👨‍✈️👁️🤘🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐉

Dear MTV, I would be grateful if you could delete Katy Perry from the

#MTVHottest

Katy Perry voting for

#VMAS

#votekatyVMAS

2017 due to voting irregularities carried out by KATY PERRY SOCIAL MEDIA as we speak as they do every year discovered by underground journalist and Private Investigator [email protected] on www.facebook/@kpworld1 Katy Perry World Wide Fan Club continue with other Official KP pages to use fake accounts for multiple votes and are persuading fans called by page owner ANIK KARMOKAR 'Kittens' they are so young to hand over fake twitter accounts they call them and their passwords to inbox of Shahriar Anik who uses them on tweetdeck to make multiple

#VMAS

votes by www.twitter.com/@Anik_Chocolaty @anikchocolaty and @Kxtysboy in yet another concerted fraudulent exercise to con the public, MTV and Katy's fellow Award nominees in order for Katy to win yet another 'worthless' award she calls them recently in the Music press as Katy's company cheats at every public voting Award ceremony that is why she has won over 650 they use spambot software and buy the secret codes to enable KatyCats to clear the single one vote per person page after making their vote so they can make multiple votes and is orchestrated by Katy Perry clones and their MK Ultra Monarch sex slave handlers (usually pressing F5 after voting). They also cheat Radio station air play votes and requests to manipulate chart position and what else would we expect from @katyperry who has bought and paid for over 58% of their Twitter followers and social media likes and goes against the spirit of Award voting as the clones are seriously at it full time and persuade for example loyal mind controlled Monarch victims called KatyCats to open up multiple social media accounts which are against the terms of the sites like Facebook whose rules are one account per person on Facebook for example where some shady employees of Katy Perry Inc open literally hundreds of fake accounts and twitter.com accs who limit you to one acc per your one mobile telephone number and you should inquire like I AM under 'freedom of information' legislation how many millions of Facebook + Twitter names contain the names KATY KATYCAT HUDSON KATHERYN ELIZABETH HUDSON and PERRY as Facebook + Twitter are compliant in this flagrant abuse of their own rules as we are looking to the integrity of a mass voting actuary org like

#MTV

to take the lead and exclude Katy Perry as a nominee for award ceremonies which cast aspersions upon the Music Industry as a whole as Katy Perry social media is a front for more Paedophile grooming rings than any other operator currently (WARNING!) under secret police investigations on both sides of the Atlantic USA and UK. EG's of fake voting accounts on Twitter.com include the following I found on the @kpworld Facebook page are; @Kian8202 @KPizzas @guptautkarsh @Katyvotes4 @Katyvotes5 @Katyvotes6 @Katyvotes7 @Katyvotes9 and @Katyvotes. I suggest you take immediate action to remove the name of

#MTV

from the complicit frame by banning @katyperry from Award nominations as the story is being exposed on youtube.com and Police forces are aware too. You may ask.fm how I know so much because I AM a whistle blower and Katheryn Elizabeth Hudsons Katy Perry ♥:xD husband and search on youtube.com for 'KATY PERRY EXPOSED' 'KP OCCULT EXPOSED' and 'KP ILLUMINATI EXPOSED' 'KP WITCHCRAFT EXPOSED' and 'KP BIRTHDAY BACKMASKED' and 'KP WIDE AWAKE BACKWARDS' and listen and watch the true Satanic Agenda of Illuminati Goddess Katy Perry, clones and mind control of the masses victims. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED DON'T IGNORE THE JESUS CHRIST for he is your Messiah. 🦋

Katy Perry Satan and the Superb owl:

https://youtu.be/wHknzzJeK6Y

Bad Blood:

https://youtu.be/QcIy9NiNbmo

Watch the video below

https://youtu.be/mE9rkOZetCw

of the turning away

Katy Perry illuminati Super Bowl Half Time isis / Phoenix SOS EXPOSED:

https://redd.it/6reuxn

comments:

https://www.reddit.com/r/katyperry/comments/6reuxn/katy_perry_illuminati_super_bowl_half_time_isis/?ref=share&ref_source=link

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ZEUS ALULIM

02:36

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FRIDAY, 20 DECEMBER 2019

ISIS CULT FOUNDATION: TOTAL MIND CONTROL DOCUMENTARY 2016 ! MK ULTRA CEL...

ISIS CULT FOUNDATION: TOTAL MIND CONTROL DOCUMENTARY 2016 ! MK ULTRA CEL..

Humanity’s awakening process is further intensifying, as you may well have noticed. The need to awaken is emerging into the collective human awareness as the pain and suffering of the illusion, the dream or nightmare in which it seems you presently have your existence, becomes increasingly unacceptable. Violent and frequent conflicts and disagreements at every level of society in every nation and culture are leading to exhaustion and a deep seated desire for peace. Those who have been in control for so long are in disarray as the power they thought they had and owned dissolves leaving them confused and terrified.

The nightmare that so many on Earth have been experiencing is drawing to a close as an era of peace, harmony, and creative cooperation flows in to replace it. It will be a new and gentle era, very different from the one to which you have for so long been accustomed, as people come together to join in love and completely change the way society has been interacting for eons. Housing the homeless and feeding the hungry is the first priority, then, all across the planet, work will commence to repair the damage that large international corporations have done by mining, drilling, logging, dumping toxic wastes, and by industrial scale farming using utterly inappropriate pesticides and fertilizers.

Humanity is ready for change! And massive changes are occurring that will completely alter the way humans interact with one another and with the planet, your earthly home. Your true nature is Love, you know that, but you chose collectively to hide your true nature from yourselves in order to play the game of separation in the illusion, but the many games you could choose from were only possible if you actively and very effectively forgot who you were. You made that choice, and then renewed it each time you chose to incarnate as a human on your beautiful planet.

Having forgotten who you were, you became alarmed – many of you today have memory problems as humans and find this at the least unsettling and, sometimes, even terrifying – and feared for your very survival. You developed an ego to advise and protect you from the dangers you imagined surrounded you and programed it to be fearful and mistrustful of others and of the world in general. And this general lack of trust led to secrecy, betrayal and conflict, conditions that are now endemic throughout the human collective, and to most the states of constant caution that have arisen as a direct result seem wise and sensible when you live in such an apparently dangerous environment.

However, the dangers of your environment are but scenarios that you invented to make your games interesting, and you can remove them at any time you choose to do so. You are all beings of enormous power, in fact in the terms of your limited human environment, your powers, were you aware of them, would seem infinite. You change the environment in which you experience life and you change the experiences presented to you by the intent that you hold. Your intent is what you generally think about or dwell upon, but frequently it is at a level below your conscious human awareness because it is so constant and unchanging, mostly guided by an underlying sense of fear. It is a little like the electricity that flows in your homes and powers the appliances, you are generally unaware of it – although you use it almost constantly – until it fails. @1111twinflames @1111jesusandmarytwinflames

#jewish #jesusislord #jesuslovesyou #jesus #jesuschrist #christ #katherynhudson #katheryn elizabeth hudson #katy perry #katyperry #katyperrysexy #katyperrycollections #katy #katycats #mary magdalene

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kehkatycatqueen · 4 years

Video

youtube

Katy Perry - Rove - August 16 2009

TUESDAY, 7 JANUARY 2020

Katy Perry Interview The Hot Hits Up Close & Personal Part 1

Katy Perry Satan and the Superb owl:

https://youtu.be/wHknzzJeK6Y

Bad Blood:

https://youtu.be/QcIy9NiNbmo

Watch the video below

https://youtu.be/mE9rkOZetCw

of the turning away

Dear MTV, I would be grateful if you could delete Katy Perry from the

#MTVHottest

Katy Perry voting for

#VMAS

#votekatyVMAS

#VMAS

#MTV

Katy Perry Satan and the Superb owl:

https://youtu.be/wHknzzJeK6Y

Bad Blood:

https://youtu.be/QcIy9NiNbmo

Watch the video below

https://youtu.be/mE9rkOZetCw

of the turning away

Katy Perry illuminati Super Bowl Half Time isis / Phoenix SOS EXPOSED:

https://redd.it/6reuxn

comments:

https://www.reddit.com/r/katyperry/comments/6reuxn/katy_perry_illuminati_super_bowl_half_time_isis/?ref=share&ref_source=link

Posted by

ZEUS ALULIM

02:36

No comments:

Email This

BlogThis!

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FRIDAY, 20 DECEMBER 2019

ISIS CULT FOUNDATION: TOTAL MIND CONTROL DOCUMENTARY 2016 ! MK ULTRA CEL...

ISIS CULT FOUNDATION: TOTAL MIND CONTROL DOCUMENTARY 2016 ! MK ULTRA CEL..

#jesuslovesyou #jesusislord #jesus #jesuschrist #katy perry #katherynhudson #katheryn elizabeth hudson #katyperry #katyperrysexy #katyperrycollections #katy #katycats

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siren-dragon · 5 years

Text

1,001 Lucian Nights -- Somnus x F!reader fanfiction (Ch.4)

Hello again everyone! Sorry this has taken so long, I am still packing boxes for a move and suffered from a brief writer’s block XD. Anyway, here is the newest chapter and I hope you all enjoy! I am actually very surprised how many people have been wanting a Somnus fanfic and are enjoying the story, so thank you for your support! Also a big shout out to Wild_Sylleblossom on AO3 for being so wonderful! ^_^

Also, for those who want to start from the beginning, I posted links to the chapters but you can also read it on AO3 as well. :)

Chapter 3

Chapter 2

Chapter 1

“Is that the end of your story?”

Your eyes immediately snapped open before blinking slowly and sleepily as you tried to process your companion’s question, the late hour and limited sleep you gained the previous evening now finally taking its toll on you. Mentally you chased away the welcoming embrace of sleep in favor of directing your attention to the man that sat across from you. Somnus still appeared to remain unaffected by the lack of rest, his mouth set in an expressionless draw as the edge of his thin lips tilted downward in the slightest appearance of displeasure. It seemed that the rest the king so desperately craved still alluded him as the fear of nightmares still kept its grip upon his mind, despite the work of your story.

“No… no, it is not the end,” you replied as you fought the urge to yawn.

“Then what happens next, Lady (f/n).” Somnus spoke, his words more a demand than an inquiry.

It felt as if time had stopped as you let your gaze settle to the ground while you tried to find a way to continue your story. You let your eyes wander across the beautiful carpet that lay beneath your skirt, tracing the outline of a few embroider flowers which were woven into the carpet. The elegant craftsmanship of the flora design was so impressive, it almost seemed as if you were sitting among real gladiolus’.

Your eyes brightened as another story began to come forth to your mind. “There were a number of guests who attended Prompto and Cindy's wedding, two of which were a man named Gladiolus and his sister… Iris, who hailed from Keycatrich. Gladiolus had designed the bouquet and garlands for Cindy and Prompto to wear for the ceremony, he was one of the greatest gardeners within all of Leide- for the greenery that he sowed held a beauty grander than any precious gemstone. But both he and his sister often gave the impression that they would be best suited for a career in combat rather than gardening.”

Though Somnus remained silent as he lounged against a set of pillows, he listened intently as you continued your narration. “At the wedding, they happened upon an old friend they’ve not had the pleasure to see in years….”

“And who might that be?”

You paused, trying to draw an image to your mind of what this new character should appear as. Glancing to the balcony you noticed a flock of birds soar across the skyline in the distance, their silhouettes barely visible beneath the evening sky. “It was a man named…. Crow. Kenny Crow.”

=======================================================

“Despite how closely he resembled an apkallu, Kenny Crow liked most things about himself, including his unique appearance. Without it, he might not have become the Leiden king’s favorite jester.” You explained with a slight laugh, “anyway, back in Keycatrich Gladiolus and Iris had invited Kenny Crow to dinner at their home. And Kenny never turned away a free meal…”

A loud, rambunctious peal of laughter could be heard from within the now closed flower shop. Within the living quarters that remained on the upper level of the simple establishment, a well-lit dinning room that played host to three individuals, two of which were the source of the laughter. On the right-hand side of the table sat a tall man with a large and muscular physique, a telling sign of the long hours he had spent in the sun and working in fields, while beside him sat a much smaller young woman. Though their appearances seemed polar opposites of each other, both held the same dark brown hair, cinnamon colored eyes, and bright smile- traits one would only see among a pair of siblings.

Across the table was the third attendee of the small dinner party, a man who looked startlingly different from the two siblings. His hair was a deep shade of black that was the same color as his wide, unblinking eyes- which seemed eerie with the thick, jet-black eyebrows that rested above them. His nose appeared almost beak-like and lead to a wide grin; his unique appearance nearly resembling that of a bird….

“So, I said ‘Caw, it’s me Kenny Crow!” The black-haired man spoke, tears beginning to well up within his eyes from laughter.

Gladiolus and Iris screamed with laughter, both barely able to speak as they tried to catch their breath. “By Shiva, what did he do next?”

“He sprung from his chair, releasing the loudest squeal of surprise and showing off a strong pair of lungs with that shout. The prince was so loud he could have made a behemoth moan in agony at his screech!”

Another round of laughter drowned out the remainder of the conversation between the three friends, neither quite sure if it were from the humorous jests or excessive wine. However, the once cheerful sound of amusement quickly altered to one of pain and gagging from Kenny Crow; his face turning red as his dark eyes went wide in panic and fear until they fell limp. The bird-like jester quickly slumped forward, his face landing upon the plate of food before him which only prompted Gladiolus and Iris to laugh even louder; assuming the action to be deliberate. One minute passed, then two, and by the three-minute mark, the siblings began to feel a slight bout of concern for their now motionless friend.

“Kenny? Kenny?... Are you alright?” Iris asked, rising from her seat and shaking his shoulder gently.

Gladiolus grinned, “what’s this? You can’t hold your liquor anymore hmm? Looks like you’ve become a light-weight after working for the king Kenny.”

Iris frowned at the lack of response and moved to grasp Kenny’s head, rising it upward to see if her friend was sleeping. Vacant and glassy eyes stared blankly back at her while his mouth remained slightly parted; but it was his skin that bothered Iris the most, it was paler than before and cold…too cold. She immediately dropped the head in fright, causing it to fall into the plate of food once more, before she shakily turned to face her older brother. “Gladdy…. I-I think he’s dead.”

“What? Iris, that’s ridiculous.” Gladiolus shot back with a laugh as he rose from his seat and moved to awaken his friend. “Come now Kenny, you’re just fooling us now. Wake up, you old fool.”

The moment Gladiolus let his hand set against the other man’s shoulder, he quickly snatched it away as if his flesh had seared from the touch. Kenny’s body was ice cold- as if he had stood within Ghorovas Rift for hours on end instead of the cozy dining room they currently occupied. Instantly Gladiolus went to find a pulse and backed away in shock to find that the man was indeed dead.

“He’s dead… how could this have happened?”

“Maybe a bone got stuck in his throat and he suffocated,” Iris suggested, looking sadly at their now departed friend. “Poor Kenny Crow, we will have to tell the authorities.”

“What if they blame us though?” Gladiolus shot back.

“It was an accident!”

“They’ll still blame us; he was the king's favorite. There they go: the people who killed our poor Kenny Crow.”

Iris’ eyes widened in alarm as she turned to face her brother, “Gladdy… what if you lose your customers over this? Even if we didn’t do it, a dead body appearing is not going to bring patrons. What are we going to do?”

Gladiolus sighed heavily as they both stared at the corpse sitting at their dinner table. It was in that moment an idea struck, one that may save their hides yet; despite its dubious nature. “I have an idea but… it’s not an honest venture.”

“What is it?” Iris asked curiously.

“Well, there is a physician just down the street from our home. We could take him there.”

The brunette girl let loose an exasperated chuckle as she gestured to the corpse sitting at their table. “It’s a little late for a physician Gladdy, we’ll need an undertaker-“

“And leave him there,” Gladiolus finished.

“You mean to let another take the blame?”

“It’s not my first choice but it’s the only plan we have.”

Both siblings stared at the motionless body of Kenny Crow, whose vacant eyes reminded them eerily of a child’s doll, for a few seconds before finally reaching an agreement. “Then let’s do it,” Iris replied.

As quietly as a scurrying mouse, Iris eased open the front door of their home, glancing down the dark and deserted streets of Keycatrich. Breathing a sigh of relief at the lack of patrolling guards, Iris quickly gestured for Gladiolus to follow after her as he half-carried, half-dragged Kenny Crow out of their home. With every step they took to the physician’s home, the brother and sister nervously watched any sudden movements in fear of a soldier or wandering resident to step from the shadows and question their late-night venture. After what felt to be an eternity but in truth was a mere five minutes, the trio climbed a narrow wooden staircase to a mahogany door; a plaque sat on the right-hand side beneath a lite lantern allowing one to read the words Ignis Scientia, Physician to the Court.

“Just put him by the door,” Iris whispered, the sound barely audible due to their fear of being overheard.

“Alright��there.” Gladiolus spoke, leaning the body against the wall beside the start of the stairs. “Now let’s go before we-“

“Whose there?” A voice spoke before the door swung open to reveal a woman clad in an elegant dress of silk with a crimson robe and leather belt bearing a small dagger, her simple attire doing nothing to mask the shapely body beneath it. Silver-grey locks fell straight down her back and came to an end just past her shoulders with a small kink in her hair, as if she just removed it from a binding or braid. Gladiolus and Iris stood frozen on the steps as sharp green eyes narrowed suspiciously while she folded her arms across her chest; making her seem rather intimidating despite her short stature. “Can I help you two with something?” She asked in a slight drawl, as if she wanted to do anything but help.

“We came to see Doctor Scientia… for our friend. If it’s not too late.” Gladiolus explained, gesturing to the slumped figure resting against the wall. At the woman’s lack of movement and unchanged expression, Gladiolus went to retrieve a few gil from his pocket in offering. Immediately the silver-haired woman smirked while green eyes brightened at the sight of the money before she took hold of the coin payment, “it’s never too late for Doctor Scientia.”

“You wanna bet?” Iris muttered dryly under her breath, which only Gladiolus heard.

“I’ll go and get him, wait here.” She glanced down at Kenny Crow and gave a grimace, “your friend looks like shit.”

When the door closed once more, Gladiolus and Iris raced off into the night toward their home as quickly and quietly as physically possible…

===========================================================

“Ignis? Ignis, are you still awake? You have a customer.”

Sitting within a brightly illuminated study that was filled with stacks of books and manuscripts consisting of topics that ranged from herbal medicine to culinary techniques was a man. He was nearly buried behind a stack of paperwork at his desk; only his spiked caramel-blonde hair was visible due to the barricade of books and paper. At the sound of his name, Ignis shifted his eyes; which were a color of green and hazel toward the woman standing in the door way of his study. “A customer at this hour? It’s not some drunkard who got lost again is it Aranea?”

Aranea gave a sly smirk to her lover, happy to showcase the money she received at the door, “not this time Specs; this fool actually paid for once.”

Ignis sighed, giving Aranea a look of exasperation despite the relief that was evident in his eyes. “Is it really necessary to call the patients fools, Aranea?”

“Only when they don’t pay,” she replied dryly.

“Then you’d best show him to me before he can get away.” Ignis answered with a small smile as he rose from his desk.

Together the two approached the front door and opened in wide enough for Ignis to step out and have a look at their new patient. Unfortunately, the dim-lighting was not able illuminate the path fully and Ignis ended up tripping on Kenny Crow’s legs. With a cry of alarm, Ignis’ arms flailed out in a panic as he moved to grasp any manner of support to steady himself; which just happened to be the jester’s arm itself. Within the span of a few seconds the young physician found himself and his waiting patient tumbling down the flight of stairs before their home; only to come to a crashing halt on the ground in a tangled mass of limbs.

“Ignis!” Aranea cried in alarm, all pretense of her jesting behavior gone as she hurried to Ignis’ side. “Ignis! Come on Specs, talk to me: are you alright?”

“Ugh… I don’t know.” Ignis groaned, slowly sitting upright and wincing in pain.

“You don’t know? You’re a physician.”

Ignis huffed irritably as he rubbed the new bump on his head, “so what if I’m a physician, it’s not like I can examine myself at the moment.”

“Let me take a look at you then… no broken limbs or bleeding from what I can see. I suppose the only thing you’ll take from this fall is a horrid headache tomorrow, thank Shiva.”

“I just hope our patient didn’t suffer anything worse,” Ignis replied. He frowned at the motionless body beside him and soon leveled his head against the man’s chest to check his heartbeat and breathing.

Aranea sighed, “we apologize for this sir, but whatever is afflicting you I’m sure Specs- er… Doctor Scientia will be able to help.”

“No, that… won’t be possible.” Ignis replied slowly, staring in horror at the man laying prone before them.

“Yes, you can Ignis; you’re the best in the city.”

“Aranea… he’s dead.”

A stone-cold silence fell between the two as they turned to stare at the corpse resting beside them. The first sensation that filled the minds of both Ignis and Aranea was shock, only to be briefly accompanied by panic. “He… He must have been injured in the fall down the stairs,” Aranea uttered in disbelief. “Ignis, if word gets out that a patient came here and ended up dead; your reputation will be in jeopardy.”

“I believe the consequences of this accident will be far worse than that Aranea… this is the king’s jester Kenny Crow.” Ignis spoke, his voice faltering slightly.

Aranea cursed, “despite what we say we’ll be blamed for this. And I doubt the king will believe two foreigners claiming this was a mere accident.” Both we’re regretting the death of the jester and panicking at the subsequent punishment they would suffer from for ‘inadvertently’ causing his death.

Ignis took hold of one arm and gestured for Aranea to grab the other, “we have to move him now; help me carry him upstairs.”

‘It is amazing how quickly a person can improvise when necessary.’ You explained, noticing the amused smile on Somnus’ face at the twisted humor of your story. ‘Ignis and Aranea had to take a gamble… forgetting all too quickly that gambling is merely a way of getting nothing, for something.’

As Ignis and Aranea dragged the body of Kenny Crow from the steps of their home, a few streets down resided the most skilled blacksmith in Keycatrich; Cid Sophiar. The steel he crafted in his prime was legendary, sought after by many nobles and swordsmen alike- but such times had long since past as the old craftsman now enjoyed maintaining a smaller smithy. Having retired for the evening, Cid groaned slightly as his back popped, causing the elderly smith to grumble. “Ugh, if I keep getting to many orders, I might just move the blasted shop to the middle of the desert. At least then I can enjoy my retirement in peace.”

Meanwhile, high atop the sprawling rooftops of Keycatrich, the physician and his companion dragged Kenny Crow’s body beside the twisting flues, weaving across every building similarly to the streets the stood above. Ignis and Aranea soon came to a halt at an ideal location to hid the body; a sole chimney on a lone rooftop that did not expel smoke. “Here, lift his arms higher so he slides down easier…agh!” Ignis cried out, shuddering at the vacant gaze Kenny Crow that loomed over him as the body smack against the brick chimney.

“Are you alright Ignis?”

“I’m fine, though I am certain that he would not enjoy what it is we are doing.”

“Nonsense, he’d see the funny side of,” Aranea panted in exhaustion as they slowly and steadily lowered the heavy body into the chimney. Glancing at each other they silently counted to three before releasing Kenny Crow and watching the deceased jester vanish into the darkness….

===========================================================

A loud rumble began to echo from within the chimney of Cid’s small parlor, only to be immediately followed by a limp figure falling from the flue and landing within the empty hearth. Cid nearly spat out his tea at the sight and with a look of outrage and anger, grabbed the nearest discarded tool from his wooden desk and hurried forward. “Thief! You think you can come here and steal my work? Think again!”

The silver-haired man slammed the tool within his grasp, which happened to be a wooden mallet, against the side of the thief’s shoulder. As if a leaf being gently blown from an autumn wind; the would-be thief’s body collapsed to the ground, with Cid managing to land another blow to the man’s neck on his way down. “Had enough yet, you brat!” he shouted, glaring down at the intruder as he waved his impromptu weapon threateningly. A few seconds passed and when the man did not move from his position on the floor, Cid frowned in confusion; surely the thief wasn’t in that deep a sleep? Kneeling down beside the prone figure Cid lifted to fingers to the man’s throat and immediately jumped back at the feeling of cold skin and no pulse.

“Dead… I warned you punk.” Cid grumbled as he observed the body, now covered head to toe in soot an ash from his fall through the chimney. “Wait…I know you; you’re Kenny Crow. The king’s jester…”

Cid immediately jumped away from the body, a look of shock and irritation twisting his face. “Why would you come down my chimney?!” He cried in disbelief, gesturing in exasperation toward the fireplace with the wooden mallet in his hands. Yet soon Cid’s expression revealed a crooked grin as he began chuckling nervously, “it’s a damn joke isn’t it; to get the whole town laughing at Old Cid. Well the laughs on you, Kenny Crow!”

But as the body of the comedic man remained still and motionless upon the floor of Cid’s parlor, the blacksmith’s grin faded as concern and alarm filled his veins. “No, the laughs on me. They’ll say I murdered you and I’ll hang! There has to be something I can do, think of something Cid; think of something….”

Opening the front door of his shop and glancing down the deserted streets of Keycatrich, Cid quickly moved to retrieve Kenny Crow’s body; groaning in pain from the dead weight the corpse on his back. Having not the strength to carry the jester nor a calm enough mental state in which to find an ideal location to store the body, Cid found the nearest shadowy alleyway and propped the body against the wall. It was then however, that the sound of singing caught the ear of the old smith; yet this music was not a melodious tune that would even charm a siren, but a rather appalling and extremely off-key ballad coming from a stumbling drunkard not 20 feet away. Cid immediately raced away from the alley, only to slow his gait when the singing man passed by him before sprinting back to his shop as fast as his legs would carry him.

The intoxicated man was so deep in his cups and far too preoccupied with the musical lyrics he was butchering in his loud, toneless voice that he did not even notice Cid pass him by. He stumbled along the stone walls of a nearby building with a splash of crimson coloring his bearded face; the alcohol accentuating the red flush on his sweaty face. As he shambled further down the dirt street, the man continued his song until his hand rested against what appeared to be cloth; only to have a body fall upon him.

“Ah, help! I’m being attacked!” The man screeched, the sensation briefly pulling him out of his drunken daze. “You’ll not get a single gil from me!”

Using what little strength that he possessed, the drunk grabbed his assailant’s shoulders and slammed him against the stone and mortar wall. With each hit against the building structure, Kenny's head let loose a sickening crack that would have alarmed the man had the alcohol not dulled his senses. At last, the drunkard’s strength wore out and the body fell to a heap on the road as the man shouted aloud, “guards! Guards, seize this man! H-He just tried to kill me!”

As the two patrolling soldiers hurried over, one knelt beside the fallen body and checked for any signs of life. “No, he’s dead- you killed him.”

“Oh, thank Ramuh,” the man chortled.

One of the guards bristled angrily at the drunk's carefree attitude. “You drunk; this is Kenny Crow. The king’s jester… and you killed him.”

“Wha- Why should I kill him? We haven’t even been properly introduced.” The man laughed, as if it were all merely some joke.

The guard smirked cruelly at the short, fat drunk. “That us for a judge to decide. And when he does…we'll hang you.”

And within an instant, the poor man’s face fell as he was dragged the city dungeon to await his fate.

========================================================

‘The trial of Vyv Dorden was the social event of the season, the stands in the courtroom filled to bursting to view the man who murdered the famed jester. The judge who presided over the trial was none other than the renowned Judge Calligo. Of course, Judge Calligo was completely incompetent, but being a judge; no one even noticed.

“Why did you kill him?” Calligo questioned, staring down at the shackled man sitting in the chair before him.

Vyv, whose face was now as white as fresh linen, trembled within seat as the spectators eagerly looked on. Gone was the bold and brash man from the previous evening, now replaced with a frightened and confused man awaiting judgement. “I thought he was trying to rob me.”

Across the chamber laughter erupted from nearly every attendee, only causing Vyv to shrink slightly within his seat. Calligo snickered at the answer given to him and he smirked cruelly at the poor man. “Kenny Crow, trying to rob you? Fourteen years I’ve sat on this stand hearing claims of innocence and you, Vyv Dorden, have had the worst excuse.”

“B-But I made a mistake.”

“You certainly did,” Calligo snipped coldly. “All of Keycatrich will mourn the loss of poor Kenny Crow, we will never see the likes of one like him again. Kenny Crow lightened our lives and gave us laughter, laughter from the heart. We knew him, we loved him, we laughed with him.”

Judge Calligo’s somber speech had managed to even invoke several sobs from few of the onlookers, the obvious sorrow felt at the loss of the jester causing far severe an impact than one would expect. Yet not a moment after the strange and awkward expression of emotion, Calligo’s face became twisted by rage as he glared hatefully at Vyv. “For your crimes against this city, Vyv Dorden, I sentence you to hang.” A round of cheers shouted in agreement at the verdict, eager to see Kenny Crow’s murderer pay for his crimes.

“No!” A voice yelled out over the crowd, causing several people to frown in confusion as Cid stumbled toward the center of the court room. “No, no, no you idiots!”

“Wha- who is this old fool?!” Judge Calligo asked in bewilderment.

“He didn’t kill the jester, I did. I stuffed the body in the alcove where it fell on him,” Cid explained.

“No!” Another voice cried out as the crowd parted to reveal Ignis and Aranea, hurrying forward to stand beside Cid and Vyv. “No, I killed poor Kenny Crow. And then I stuffed his body down the blacksmith’s chimney.”

“No!” The booming voice that belonged to Gladiolus bellowed as he and Iris stepped forward, both bearing grim expressions as they joined the growing list of accomplices. “I killed poor Kenny Crow.”

Judge Calligo’s look of bafflement shifted between the six people, now unsure as to who to sentence with so many clashing confessions. “But I…I don’t understand-“

“I killed him; warned him never to mess with an old smith!” Cid interrupted, waving the wooden mallet in his hand as if he were belittling Judge Calligo.

Ignis shook his head, “no, I tripped over him in the dark and we fell down the stairs.”

“He’s very short-sighted, you can’t hang a man for that.” Aranea admitted while Ignis face flushed pink in embarrassment at his companion’s bluntness.

“It was a bone, a fish bone I think!” Iris argued.

“And I’m still the best gardener in all of Keycatrich!”

“Gladdy, now is not the time-“

As the six continued to bicker over who was the true killer, a blaring horn rang out across the courtroom, causing all to fall silent and turn toward the entryway. The doors opened to reveal a vast armed escort alongside the King of Keycatrich himself; prompting all in attendance to kneel in reverence to their sovereign. “Your Majesty,” Judge Calligo greeted, bowing deeply.

“…Who killed my funny man Kenny Crow?”

“I did!” Gladiolus, Iris, Cid, Ignis, Aranea, and Vyv all exclaimed simultaneously.

All watched on in silence as the king walked forward to observe the six people who had confessed to their crimes. “Who do I hang, sire?” Judge Calligo asked hesitantly.

“Nobody,” every person within the courtroom gasped in surprise at the merciful verdict. “It was an accident. Besides being my jester, Master Kenny Crow was also my friend and if I knew him well; he would have appreciated the manner of his death. It was his final jest. Dear Kenny didn’t have to be alive to be funny, even dead he managed to make us laugh!”

It was with those words that the tension within the court room faded causing a sea of laughter to ring out across the attendees. For even though none suffered the consequence of an accident, there was no denying that Kenny Crow’s final joke was certainly one to remember….

=========================================================

A deep and joyous chortling filled the air as you watched Somnus laugh while your second story finally came to an end, though the sound was now a bit coarse from his constant laughter throughout the story. His wide grin and genuine happiness reminded you a bit of a child; one who could not stop finding the glee within a well-told quip. The rare sight made a sad smile drift across your lips, as you couldn’t help but wonder when was the last time the king was able to laugh so freely?

“Is that the end of the story?” He asked, the drawl in his voice showcasing not only his amusement, but also a sluggish exhaustion of someone truly tired.

“Not quite, but for now it will have to wait till tomorrow night.”

“Do not try to trick me again and leave your tales unfinished, Lady (f/n),” Somnus snapped sharply, all traces of humor now gone as half-lidded blue eyes glared at you; the young boy you briefly saw now buried behind the façade of a ruler.

“There are more to stories than simply concluding the tale, your Majesty. For every good story has a moral woven into their words.”

“And what could possibly be the moral of Kenny Crow’s death.”

“Well, Gladiolus, Ignis and the others learned to take responsibility for their actions. As we all should.”

Somnus scoffed, blinking slowly as sleep began to once more overcome him, “but if they had, Kenny Crow’s final jest wouldn’t have been realized. Nor would his destiny to make people laugh even when he was dead be known.”

“That’s true,” you replied, giving a soft chuckled. “Stories, much like life, are far more complex than we think they are. But this new story is filled with excitement, thrills, and adventure… and it can wait till tomorrow night, your Majesty.”

“…Why do you help me, Lady (f/n)?”

“I am bound to aid my sovereign whenever he requires it, your Majesty.”

“Is that the only reason? A sense of duty you feel.” Somnus murmured softly, his body beginning to relax as he finally allowed the need for sleep to take hold.

You shook your head, “no. I suppose I stayed because I am concerned for you, your Majesty.”

“Why?”

That simple question had more impact upon you then you realized, curious yourself as to why you even bothered with such actions. It was true that you were obligated to assist Somnus because he had ordered you to do so, with a veiled threat to the consequences you’d suffer from if you did not comply. But as you sat and illustrated your story to the king you couldn’t help but take notice of the kind smile on his lips are the way his face softened as he relaxed, the hard lines that always remained on his face gone and making him appear younger and… handsome.

You felt your face burn with a light blush as you turned to face Somnus, who had fallen into slumber once more. Retrieving a stray blanket, you laid the soft duvet over the Lucian king, still pondering his question as you doused the oils lamps. “I care for you, Somnus…perhaps more than I once knew.” You whispered softly before you exited the bedchamber. Gilgamesh immediately hurried toward your side at the sight of the opening door, “are you alright Lady (f/n)?”

“Yes, just tired is all.” You smiled weakly, finally feeling the fatigue of the evening’s events.

“I shall escort you back to your chambers. And Lady (f/n)… thank you.”

“It is not over yet Lord Gilgamesh, but he is improving. We can only hope it is for the better.”

As the two of you continued your walk down the corridor to return to the East Wing, neither of you noticed the figure hidden within the shadows of a marble column. Quickly the figure hurried away from their hiding place and down the empty corridors of the Citadel, careful not to make a sound. Soon the approached a large wooden door and hurried inside. The room happened to be a guest chamber for visiting nobles and was currently occupied by none other than Lord Aldercapt himself. He glared at the servant he had managed to bribe, less than pleased at their late arrival and doubting if they were even worth the coin he spent on them. “What is it you’ve learned?”

“His Majesty seems to be unwell, my lord, and the Oracle’s attendant has been meeting with him every evening.”

“Is that so? None would abide a weak and ill king… Perhaps his Majesty feels the burden of his throne too much to bear. As his loyal subjects, I believe it time we relieve him of his calling.”

“B-But he was chosen by the gods themselves, Lord Aldercapt-“

“And now, they will choose another far more worthy of their power.” Aldercapt smirked maliciously, greedily wondering how wondrous the Ring of the Lucii would appear upon his own hand…

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