I love Kazuma, he is my boy. @lovelyelbowleech
seen from Russia
seen from United States
seen from Germany
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
seen from Croatia
seen from Croatia
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from South Korea
seen from Malaysia
seen from China
seen from Germany
seen from China
seen from Poland
seen from Türkiye
seen from United States
I love Kazuma, he is my boy. @lovelyelbowleech
All is Fair...
His name is Saint and Marcy hates him.
From her experience men who had such precious and holy names, never lived up them. Every Angel was a demon, No Jesús was Christ-like, and a man named Celio had put her and her mother through hell. A divorce and restraining order later Marcy still hates men like her father, hates what they are capable of, and thinks the world should be free of them.
So, when her best friend admitted to dating this man called Saint, discovered from gaming and a chat app filled with the weirdest people Marcy had ever heard of, naturally she exploded.
“BOYFRIEND?”
The word punched into their quiet apartment as Marcy stared at her best friend. Kiara had not taken it personally, nor even acknowledged Marcy’s aggression.
“Yeah he asked last month and I thought about it and agreed. So now I have a boyfriend.” Kiara said it so simply with a shrug like she hadn’t just tilted Marcy’s world on its axis.
Kiara was dating Saint. A man she had never been in the same room as. Marcy struggled to accept those words. It also didn't help that as long as Kiara and Marcy had been besties (practically their whole lives), Kiara had never dated nor shown interest in the practice. Marcy had always known she liked girls, but Kiara had never shown interest in anyone growing up. Marcy thought she was just a late bloomer, believed one day Kiara would admit she was a lesbian just like her and maybe they were both just waiting on each other. They didn’t really have other friends, them against the world. It was supposed to happen.
And now she’s dating a stranger. A man. The betrayal of it all…
“You have never met him.” Marcy states.
“Well not in person, obviously,” Kiara says with a roll of her eyes, as if Marcy is the one being difficult. “We video call a lot, have virtual dates.” Marcy was aware, Kiara did talk about them and Marcy regrets how trivial she thought it all was. A boy behind a screen trying to talk up to her friend who did not date. It had to be a fucking joke. Now Kiara was slipping through her fingers.
“But we do want to change that.”
“Huh?” Oh, absolutely not.
“He wants to meet. I want you to come.”
All is Fair
DAY 3 LOVE || ROOK
War has been declared, and Aurora has been decided as a traitor of Antiva. She can no longer return home, and she is stuck in the strange country with it's immortal king. Elgar'nan assures her that she is still safe within his borders and his palace, comforting her when no one else can. Still, he couldn't ask for a better outcome.
AO3
Days passed while Aurora lived in Arlathan's palace, and she found that she could relax. After her attempt on his life, her life was essentially his to do with as he wished in her eyes. She knew that as soon as the contract was signed.
He, however, treated her as a special guest. Elgar'nan showed her the palace grounds as well as the castle layout. It was clear that she was not meant to leave the palace at any point without his permission, but she had nowhere to go without the Crows coming for her throat. At least until she heard from her House or from her sister, Lunetta.
So, Aurora was dressed up as a doll in different dresses in Arlathan's tradition, and she found that the colors matched her complexion well. She would ask for small things, and she would receive them. A few toiletries, a book or two to pass the time, a snack in between meals. All were provided, and she was thankful for that.
She still waited for word from Antiva, her country, though. She expected to hear something by now, but it seemed that they were waiting for something. Perhaps she was wrong, and they wanted the king dead for another reason. Perhaps it was to prove that the king could die.
Today was different, though, as she was summoned to the gardens instead of the usual dining room. Aurora followed her maid to where Elgar'nan waited, and he smiled when their eyes met. She found herself smiling back, and she knew that she was in danger.
She didn't feel like she had anything to fear from the king, and Viago would scold her if he knew. He was a treacherous leader of another country, and a target. Still, Aurora had nothing else to lose. Not anymore.
"Good morning, your highness," Aurora greeted, dipping her head.
"Miss de Riva," Elgar'nan replied before dismissing the maid.
The king returned to admiring the flowers growing around them as Aurora took in the sight, surprised about how serene he felt. She watched, looking around as well.
"We have received word from Antiva," Elgar'nan told her calmly.
Aurora froze as her blood ran cold. She had expected him to reveal the news like this. She swallowed, wondering what his plan was now.
Perhaps he was bringing her out here to see something beautiful before putting her down like a dog. It was kinder than an assassin deserved, and she wasn't sure if she was prepared. Perhaps she could bargain for one more letter to her sister.
"I see," she whispered, her head swimming.
Elgar'nan turned to her, seeing her mind spiraling. He stepped towards her, placing a hand on her upper arm, nearly startling her. Aurora's eyes were wide with confusion and concern. He simply smiled.
"They have declared war, as you predicted," Elgar'nan added.
Aurora stared at him, surprised that it happened so quickly. Perhaps her letter caused too much panic. She swallowed, looking away.
"What now?" she whispered.
He thinned his lips and exhaled through his nose. She watched him for a moment, thinking that his reaction was strange.
"You have been branded a traitor," the king explained.
Aurora's vision swam as she went lightheaded. She swayed a little before he steadied her. Blinking, she thought about what he said.
"It seems that they think that you spared me on purpose. Since both of us were alive, you were a traitor. It was the only explanation that they could come up with," the king continued. "My reputation of showing no mercy seems to have preceded me in this. They don't believe that you could be loyal to the Crows and Antiva while both of us breathe."
She nearly burst into tears, realizing that she couldn't return home. Leaning forward, she gripped his arm in an uncharacteristic move. She couldn't believe that Viago thought that she would abandon their House like that. There was no way he believed that.
Of course, he wasn't the only one who would make that decision. It was likely the First Talon and the Antivan king who made that decision.
Elgar'nan brought an arm around her shoulder and held her close to him. She relished in the comfort, and she would question it later. For now, she needed someone to be close to her.
"You are safe here, I promise," he cooed, closing his eyes.
"Thank you," Aurora muttered, squeezing her eyes shut as tears poured down.
"We will find a way to get you home one day," he reassured her.
It was strange to find his words soothing, but she found that they helped calm her down. Her tears slowed, and she felt warm and safe in his arms. While it wasn't ideal, and she wanted to go home, staying in Arlathan wasn't the worst outcome.
After a little while, Aurora asked for some time alone, and he told her to take as much time as she needed. He watched as she walked back inside. He knew that her maid was close by and would keep a close eye on the Crow.
Once she was safely inside again, Elgar'nan continued down the garden path. He found himself smiling, his trap closing in around the Crow. Aurora had trusted his word, just as he had hoped. It was true that they were now at war with Antiva, but there was nothing said about her or the assassin who had tried to take his life. She hadn't been important enough for that.
However, it was plausible enough of a lie for her to buy it. Now he had her right where he wanted her. If she could rely on him a little longer, he was sure that those feelings of comfort and safety would grow into something more natural. Then he could foster those feelings as well, and his seduction would be complete.
Picking a flower, he thought about the future once he won the war with Antiva. He didn't want the entirety of the country, but he did want some more of the territory than he had before at least. Maybe he could give her a nice summer home in the area known as Western Antiva when this was all said and done.
Arlathan had been missing a queen for a century now, and he was sure that the people would be ecstatic to know that he was courting a woman. Another good reason to play the game he had begun, especially with the news of war beginning to circulate. Of course, he hadn't started anything.
Elgar'nan would make an announcement later that night about the war, but he would reassure his people that the king of Antiva had declared it unprovoked. He would explain that their new enemy was a warmongering monster, but Aurora had come to him as a dove in the night to try and warn him.
He smiled, liking the idea. He wanted to endear the people to her. He would tell his people that she tried to prevent the bloodshed by warning him, even though the Antivan king decided to follow through regardless of Elgar'nan's response.
Yes, he would play up Aurora as the lovely savior, and he would continue to protect her. He called over one of his guards before telling him to gather people so he could make an announcement regarding the new war that was starting. He would reassure the people that they would be fine, and that they were in the right to defend themselves.
"Has Aurora replied to the message?" Viago asked.
He had returned to the de Riva estate, and he searched the place before he found Lunetta. She had been researching the different systems and geographical layout of Arlathan. She needed to know if there was a reason why her letters weren't reaching Aurora. Of course, there was a chance Aurora's letters weren't reaching Antiva.
"No. I sent another one yesterday as well, but there's been nothing," she answered, shaking her head.
It had been a few days since the King of Antiva declared war on Arlathan, and Viago had been working tirelessly to recall his Crow from the immortal king's clutches. However, it seemed that every message that was sent was being blocked or destroyed.
He didn't like it, and he was worried that he was going to have to send a Crow in to retrieve information on Aurora's whereabouts. He didn't leave his Crows behind if he could help it. Lunetta tapped the table's surface as she thought of other solutions as well. They needed to be quick before the border turned into a battlefield and became impassable.
"What are we going to do?" Lunetta hissed, closing her eyes.
"We need to be patient," Viago urged, taking a deep breath.
Lunetta stared at him for a moment before turning away. They both knew that wasn't an option, and the Talon folded his arms. He wasn't going to be able to be patient either. All the rest of the Crows were back in Antiva where they needed to be.
"I'll send a reconnaissance team to Arlathan to see what's going on," he amended before she furrowed her brow.
"Can we do that? Won't the king see that as interference?"
"It's either that, or we sit and wait here. Aurora is alive, we know that."
"But for how long?" she whispered.
"Exactly my point. So, we need to send people into Arlathan to see if they can find Aurora."
Lunetta nodded as Viago folded his arms, thinking about who would be good for this mission. There were few Crows that were out on contract right now since the king declared war.
The king had built an army in the past few years, which meant that Crow recruiting was down. Viago hadn't actually thought that they would see the country attack another, though.
"Why would the king declare war?" Lunetta wondered softly.
"I don't know. Arlathan is rich in magic, but that stems from their leaders more than any natural resources," he answered with a sigh. "There's the forests, but we have our own."
"Then it isn't resource or land based."
Viago turned to her and frowned. Lunetta grimaced, realizing what the king was threatened by.
"You don't think our king wants to kill Elgar'nan, do you?" Lunetta muttered as Viago nodded.
It made the most sense, especially with the chain of events that happened while they were left in the dark. He took a deep breath before he pointed at her, pacing the small area in front of her seat.
"Not only that, but our king wants to do it brutally. Not only does he want to be the one to do it, but he wants to prove that only he can do it," Viago pointed out, shaking his head. "That's why he hired Aurora. He found the least prepared Crow we had to show that we didn't have what it took to take on an immortal ruler. If our king could kill Elgar'nan, then he would be famous and legendary for centuries to come."
"Absolutely ridiculous," Lunetta hissed, closing her eyes. "Well, we can't let Aurora get caught in the middle of this, right? Do you think it's our king intercepting our messages then?"
"I don't know. It doesn't make sense that she stopped responding."
"We're missing something."
"Then we need to figure out what that something is," he told her before he snapped his fingers. "You and Isa are going to go get Aurora, alright? I need the two of you for this."
"Just us two? I don't think I've worked with your sister before," she pointed out before Viago nodded.
"Yes, just you two. You two can blend in better than a larger group. You can pose as visitors or refugees. I would imagine elves in Antiva are going to have a worse time soon, so you can use that when you're in Arlathan," he offered before giving a sympathetic look.
Lunetta sighed and nodded. While it was unfortunate, Viago wasn't exactly wrong. He was also giving her the chance to get Aurora out of there.
Aurora was told about the announcement about half an hour before Elgar'nan was meant to go on, and she expressed interest in attending. The maid was unsure that a lady should be going to a war announcement, but Aurora had to remind her that she wasn't a lady but a Crow.
The maid couldn't come up with an argument, and she took Aurora to where the announcement was going to take place. It was in the ballroom, and Aurora could see that several of the local people started to pool in. It seemed that the people wanted to know more about what was going on, and Elgar'nan was going to explain what was happening.
That was also the first time that she also saw the rest of the Evanuris near the council seats along the walls. Elgar'nan was in the middle of them, and a few of them were speaking with him as he passed, offering their thoughts before he walked up to the podium.
"We should return to your room," the maid urged before Aurora shook her head.
"No, I need to listen if I am going to live here now. I am a citizen here, right?" Aurora reminded her shortly.
The maid huffed before she sat next to Aurora among a few other nobles. The other rich people didn't give either of them the time of day, much more interested in the topic at hand.
Elgar'nan used magic to project his voice, and Aurora leaned forward. She was interested to listen to how the king talked to his people when she wasn't involved. He didn't know that she was in the crowd. At least, she didn't think he was aware that she was present.
"Thank you, people of Arlathan, for your time and attention," the king began before looking over the room. "I believe word has traveled by now that our neighbor, the country of Antiva, has declared war on us. As of right now, we are unsure of why.
"What we do know is that they have been planning this for a while now. They even made an attempt on my life. However, one of their own even risked her life to try and warn me that war was imminent. Without her, we might have been completely unprepared."
Aurora paused, feeling the color drain from her face. Was he really praising her for warning him that Antiva was going to try to go to war with him? After she tried to kill him? He was also talking as if two different people had done this.
She folded her arms, hugging her torso as she continued to listen. She wasn't sure what he was doing, but she was growing uneasy. It seemed that he had a secondary motivation, but she couldn't figure out what he was doing.
"We aren't going to attack first, but we will defend our interests and our people. We will not allow these people to hurt us or our lands. I will talk to as many as I can to learn why we were attacked so ruthlessly like this, but until then, we will hold the line," Elgar'nan announced before he took a deep breath. "If you are interested in defending our lands and our people, please see our generals and our recruitment centers stationed in our city centers.
"As of right now, I am not sure what is going to happen. I truly hope that our neighbor will rescind their declaration, and we can continue to live in peace as we have for centuries. I thought I had a good relationship with the current king of Antiva, but it is clear that relationship has been damaged somehow, which is something I plan to get to the bottom of.
"If you have any questions, I will answer them to the best of my abilities."
Aurora listened to the questions that the people and the nobles asked. They wanted to know where the generals and the king thought the Antivans would attack first and if there were any evacuations. They had no ideas at the current moment, but there would be notices given out to the towns and villages that would be effected when the time came.
They also wanted to know if there would be any chance of invasions on Arlathan's part. Elgar'nan had no plans for infiltrating Antiva without good reason to, but he wouldn't rule it out. For now, he was focused solely on defense and keeping the enemy out of his country for the safety of his people.
Aurora wondered how much Elgar'nan cared about the people versus his pride. She wanted to believe that this was for the people, like he said. She wanted to believe that everything he said was truthful, because that meant that every promise he made to her was true, too.
She took a deep breath as he watched the people chat among them along with his generals and other leaders.
A few of the Evanuris asked a few questions as well, and she was surprised about how levelheaded they were as well. She had only heard horrid tales of the Evanuris growing up, but they were acting like a ruling council for the king in favor of the people. Aurora would even argue that it worked better than it did in Antiva.
The Crows had to advocate for the people half the time, and most of them were assassins. It was a terrible system, and Aurora found that she wasn't surprised that Antiva was the aggressor in the equation.
After a little while, it was clear that Elgar'nan's announcement was done, and the time had been taken over for questions and concerns. Aurora nudged her maid, and she stood. The maid followed her out of the main area, and they left.
Aurora felt better about her decision to stay in Arlathan, not feeling or seeing Elgar'nan's stare on her back from across the room.
All Is Fair
This concept is not a fic, and I may not actually write it out as a fic. It's just a summary of an alternate sequence of events I had in mind that I wanted to record on impulse.
Warning: The content is dark. Comment if you want more specifics or spoilers before proceeding.
Summary: Vulcan won.
⸻
Vulcan didn't turn Rafal over to the prison warden of Monrovia. Instead, the Evil School Master was paraded down the halls in a straitjacket and locked in what was to become the "Doom Room," a name later coined by a future Dean years down the line, inspired by Rafal's blueprints for a veritable dungeon that Vulcan stole.
Vulcan kept Rafal as a prisoner of war instead of turning him over to Monrovia, and tortured him everyday, personally. Eventually, he became a lazy "fat cat" in his own right and hired Man-Wolves to continue on without him, so he could revel in his nemesis' agony.
Rafal never even had a fair chance to escape. Vulcan knew to use electrified, sorcery-resistant bonds, specially ordered from Monrovia, that rendered Rafal as powerless as any mortal.
Rhian languished in the tower over Evil, also trapped by Vulcan, and was administered drugs and various sedatives of questionable legality on the regular—all so he would agree to everything without putting up a fight and sign off on important documents to the Kingdom Council without retaining the presence of mind to read any of them.
And, to make matters worse, the Council never checked up on the Schools and assumed Rhian was spineless, like he'd always been. Or that's how it looked on paper.
Thus, Rhian lived in a haze of memory and Rafal lived in pain and obscurity—if one could call either of those states living.
And the lack of a Council fail-safe occurred because Rafal, for lack of foresight, wanted everything to be regulated by themselves, the twin School Masters. Thus, by the time handing over partial authority to the Council would've been convenient, Rafal was in no position to do so, and the oblivious Council had no jurisdiction to intervene on the Masters' behalf.
The brothers had no support system outside of themselves. How wrong they were to realize it as late as they did.
Those days, Rhian was not usually lucid, and eventually began responding to "Duckling." Though, when he was lucid, and remembered vaguely who he once was, he worried for Rafal and was consumed by guilt, overcome with nausea, wondering what had happened to his brother.
Whenever he was called useless for refusing the red "wine," a sleeping draught Vulcan kept bringing him, Vulcan pinned him down and forced it down his gullet. Rhian loathed the drink he'd once lauded.
Eventually, Rhian was killed when Vulcan got sick of his toy, and Rafal never knew.
Rafal was mentally disoriented, enough so that he could barely fathom his love for Rhian consciously and preserve his brother's life. His sense of self was slipping away.
The students greatly regretted rejecting Rafal and choosing Vulcan over him. As it was, Rafal would've been the better option over Lord Vulcan.
Fortunately, Vulcan never did gain the Pen's favor as a usurper, so he also died one day, decades later.
Yet, the Evil School Master was never spoken about and never got a tale to his own name, so he was lost to the sands of time, erased from living memory.
⸻
Since day one of Vulcan's reign, Rafal had been hanging by his wrists off a wall in the Doom Room, until he had gone numb, and his circulation had cut off. And yet, he was alive, sustained by only the Pen, the Pen that had once planned to allow him to become the One, as per its original plan, now a discarded plan, centuries old.
The damp cell grew black mold and the chains rusted, but the one who dwelled there never aged.
Perhaps, the Storian had forgotten to cancel its subscription for the one remaining School Master, in a sense, so there he hung.
Over the years, each day, or at best, a few times a week, he heard the screams of students he'd never met and had never taught and the gravelly threats of probing Man-Wolves. The screams never phased him.
Then, one day, he hears pleading, in soprano, and shortly after, a great splash.
That was new.
He opens his eyes and listens intently for once. His eyes had already grown used to the constant, endless dark.
The girl who peers in through the doorway looks haunted, lost in the labyrinthine sewers below the Schools. He senses her soul is Evil.
⸻
At first, Sophie believes she's stumbled upon a corpse, strung up on the wall, and almost runs off in alarm, until she notices it's blinked at her.
She shrieks.
Oh, it was a boy. A rather handsome boy.
He hasn't spoken in years, so he says nothing, and besides, he has no seductive appeals to offer her in the dense fog occluding his speech.
She musters up the courage to ask what happened to him.
His answer doesn't entirely make sense.
He says "bats."
Though, no one can expect coherence because he's been alone with his thoughts for two hundred years and has gone well off the edge of sanity. And his memory doesn't serve him as well as it once did, as, every unchanging day in the dark has bled into the next.
On his deathbed, as a wizened old man, Vulcan had ordered that the Man-Wolves keep torturing his prisoner for eternity, but eventually the Man-Wolves lost discipline without a leader, and faced with declining pay, they decided to let the prisoner alone to essential solitary confinement. They were too young to know his crime regardless.
Back then, Vulcan loved having a fresh "canvas" to bloody every session, thanks to Rafal's invulnerability. The days when Rafal still had functional nerve endings.
Not that either of them could know all that. He or the Nevergirl.
Rafal had all but forgotten, and never did truly register the passage of time, and Sophie would very much have liked to have surfaced right then instead of stare at the ghostly, hanged man.
Sophie thinks for a moment, and realizes she'd done what any prince would do. Kill the beast, save the—
The prince? He looked like a prince. Close enough. Albeit, he was a prince in a tattered, sorely outdated suit.
Thus, for once, Sophie chooses to do a "Good" Deed and releases him, as if to atone for her first murder. She melts through the bonds with her fingerglow, her magic fueled by the fear and burgeoning tension within her.
And, without so much of a bow or a "thank you," the man practically vanishes into thin air, shooting out of the sewers like a bullet, face grim.
But, Sophie doesn’t know she’s released two hundred years of pent-up fury into the Woods.
Her classmates seem afraid, not by the beast's disappearance. That's been overshadowed by something far worse. The changes in the sky.
The Coven had started to creep into the sewers to check on her since Sophie's punishment had gone on for longer than was customary, and even Hester steps back, bewildered, as a skeletal being whooshes by the entryway, up the stairs and into the blue day.
Lightning rains down from the already darkening sky.
And the Nevers all wonder what unholy eldritch being had risen from the grave? What abomination had Sophie released into their midst?
⸻
The daylight of the outside world blinds Rafal and burns him like it would a Night Crawler as he's spent centuries in the dark. His name has been lost to time, and he feels low, more base and wretched than a primal beast.
His rage and sorcery unleash themselves without so much of a command as he realizes this is a new time. Another era. And the magnitude of that starts to eat at his insides. The nearest forest is blue. The seasons have changed more than a hundred times over. His Stymphs have molted.
Then, it dawns on him: his brother is dead.
His head spins, and the sunlight doesn't provide anymore clarity than what shreds he ever might've had, and he starts on an utterly, literally blind, murderous rampage, his sight seared away, his irises sun-bleached to the coldest white-hot blue, besting even the lit sky itself.
This material world is his rival, as he's already lost his sight to it and wishes to, if not right the wrongs this world has scorched and slashed into him, to, to wrong this world. Right back.
Only the Storian remembers the archived tale it left with loose ends the day it had written itself into a dead end, but it must deal with Rafal, now that he has returned a threat.
During its first intervention of this new era, the post-School Masters era, the Pen lances through its once-last-hope for the One, and the balance resets, the two brothers laid to rest as equals in death.
With no corporeal form left, Rafal wanders the grounds, until he comes across Rhian in a quiet glade.
The two ghosts are reunited and they turn their back to the Schools for the rest of eternity, save for the rare times they return during a tale, to speculate about events that don't concern them from beyond, and to enjoy the offerings a new hire, a certain Professor Sader, leaves out for them on windowsills.
Rhian reminds Rafal of who he was, and gasps out shuddering sobs, apologizing for everything, and Rafal simply lets him, and doesn't scold him for once because he believed he was the one to fail and lose Rhian.
Occasionally, when Rafal watches the mortals below, he regrets having left Evil in that girl-in-pink's hands, but he gradually comes around to the fact that, perhaps, ruling was too precarious of a position for him.
Better to watch the mortals fell themselves to ruins. It's what they did best.
ignore the thumbnail, i didn't select it, i originally was just gonna send it on discord to friends but i don't have nitro anymore ( got it as a barely belated birthday gift -- my birthday is liiterally one of the final days of december for one month in like january so it ran out in feb )
but i uploaded it to youtube on my phone and it spoiled my rook roast i'll probs fix it later L
even then its just a wip i'll likely private / unlist when the final ver is out yknow???