The Nostalgia Overtakes Me

That's what happened, I'm pretty sure

Ooooh boy.

Finished Martyns pov...

He sounded so evil and consumed by greed oh my goodness. And the listeners! They return in pretty art form!

Well I for one am excited for the animatics.

!Spoiler warning!

I've only watched 3.5 povs (Cleo, Scar, Scott and Martyn part way) and I'm already so emotional.

The family is dead!! But reunited as ghosts. I'm imagining them haunting Etho for the last minutes of his life.

Etho and Grian sword loyalty, honestly forgot about it for a bit with Ethos mess of questionable loyalties. Only know about it because of Scars ep so idk how that's gonna go.

Martyns unfailing loyalty until the very end. Scott giving up time so things would be fair and him just killing them, saying he doesn't want to play silly games. Him going for Scott first. Unexpected but not out of character, I'm pretty sure he considers betraying everyone.

...Just reached the last few minutes of Martyns, it's so dramatic and intense here and I'm worried even though I know he wins. Heard we get lore if he wins but there's only 2 minutes left so I'm doubtful...

We'll see I guess.

Fire Thief

A Ranchers Animation AU

The servants often whispered about King Radian of Cloura. This is not uncommon, of course. Every castle has gossip, even the most impenetrable had to have some drama.

But... there's a difference between shady dealings and rumored magic.

Magic isn't rare, exactly. But it isn't something you see everyday. Corrin can count on one hand every time he'd encountered some.

At least, he could before coming to Cloura.

He'd heard, of course, that the King could sniff out any traitor. That there'd never been a successful reconnaissance mission. But he'd just thought he was very insightful, able to spot suspicious activity more easily then others.

Corrin could deal with that. After all, he could lie his way out of anything. Plus, he was only going to be in the castle for three days. He didn't even need to go near the king.

His first day, he was more preoccupied with fitting in then anything else, practicing blending into the background and such.

Which is why it's a surprise when the headservant calls everyone to the throne room.

One of the maids helping him adjust, Mailyn, he thinks her name was, notices his confusion.

"Did no one tell you? The King double checks loyalties weekly. A little paranoid if you ask me but I mean after his brother..." She gives a weak laugh. "Well, either way, no need to be worried. It's safer for us all this way, picking out those that might hurt us."

That does not make Corrin any less worried.

Regardless, it'd be even more suspicious to miss it. Corrin heads in anyway.

They're sent in in groups of about ten. He doesn't quite count, busy holding composure, blending in. He's just another face in the crowd. He can blend in.

It's just rumors. Rumors.

He originally attempts to keep his head low, not wanting to accidentally draw attention or make eye contact. But curiosity gets the better of him and he finally chances a glance.

His heart speeds up.

Because there's a difference between magic being uncommon and humans possessing magic. There's a difference between exaggerated rumors and glowing eyes.

Glowing eyes shining yellow, the colour of the kingdoms banners.

Glowing eyes staring right at him.

The King smirks. "You. Come Forward."

Corrin would like to pretend that he did not know he was being spoken to, but the crowd around him has already parted appropriately.

"Yes, Your Majesty?" His steps are hesitant, but he manages to keep his voice steady.

The King tilts his head. "Emperor Doven? Really? Surely someone who so easily got past my background checks should work under someone of more worth."

The hilarity of the situation has him laughing, a little. "He pays well." Corrin manages.

"For now." Is all The King replies. "Maybe I can work something out with you, make you a better offer."

Corrin nods. "Perhaps." Honestly a little lucky he's getting this chance. He can pretend he'll take it.

The King sighs. "Alas, I have other matters to attend to. You must wait until I am available in the dungeons."

"Of course." Compliance is easier, better most of the time. Lowers suspicions and perception of risk. That's the same for servants and captives.

He can be an easy prisoner. For now.

______________________________________________________________

Radian's posture droops the moment he's alone in his quarters. He's exhausted, unsurprisingly. Being King takes effort. Honestly feels like he's been going non-stop since he was 15. Since he took the throne.

(Since he finally understood what the colours meant. Since he realised why his brothers had changed.)

He wants nothing more than to fall into bed. And maybe have a snack or somethi-

"Heyo Princey." A familiar voice says from behind him.

Well. Maybe he wants one thing more.

He turns around, eyes quickly landing on the figure that would have been successfully blending into the shadows if not for his eyes lighting up the room a bit.

"Hello to you as well, Ash" He laughs slightly as they step forward. They're wearing simple clothing, and the colours- well.

He has an interesting relationship with colours, as they paint the clothes of those around him in a representation of their loyalties. He often only sees a radiant yellow as he goes through the halls, the occasional blue or grey of any visiting nobility. That was how his magic worked, after all.

But Ash has never followed any of his rules. They're dressed in many colours, purple, blue, green, black, layers and layers of depth that Radian never gets to see anywhere else around him.

And maybe it's dangerous not to know the loyalty of your partner when anyone else would be easily revealed. But everyone else is afraid, as if their loyalty isn't set in stone. Radian prefers Ash, who treats them the same as when they were the forgotten spare prince that'd gotten lost in town.

Radian feels his self smile as he meets his partners eyes. "You've been gone a while." He says, tone teasing.

"Well, you know. Hard to sneak into the castle of a paranoid king." They joke. "Plus, places to be, people to scam. I'm still working on forging those nobility papers, too." It turns into a bit of a ramble, and Radian can't help but grin.

"I get it. You're a busy person, always working hard to make money despite being partners with a literal king." He puts an arm on their shoulder as he says it, meaning to keep up the joking, but they frown.

"I wouldn't take from you like that though." They shake their head. "I don't need to steal from you like that, I can gain money myself. And even if I couldn't, I wouldn't steal from you."

"Well, it would be a gift, though." He suggests. "You wouldn't be stealing. It would be freely given."

"Money by itself is a pretty poor gift, you better put thought into something you get me." It's an attempt at bringing back the light air of their reunion. A subject change.

Radian lets it happen. "Of course. I'll get you a belt that has space for many trinkets, or perhaps an even bigger wagon for all of your faux-magic gadgets." He pokes them in the side as he says it.

Ash giggles. "I'll have you know my wares are perfectly legitimate!"

"Sure." He laughs. "I really am glad to see you though. It's been a tough day."

"Oh yeah, did you catch anyone?" They ask.

Radian sighs. "Just one, luckily. One of Doven's."

"And, let me guess, they're in the dungeon right now?" Radian avoids eye-contact. "Why? You know his are always too loyal."

He sighs, pulling Ash closer. Part of him wants to deflect, like Ash did earlier. He knows they'd respect it, but... "...I'm hoping that it'll be my brother, one of these days."

"Oh, Dian." Ash squeezes him tightly. "Come on, lets get some sleep, alright?"

Radian nods into their hair. "Alright."

The king has the ability to see team colors. Everyone who’s working towards the same goal as a group appears to be wearing the same color, regardless of what color their clothes actually are. This makes conspiring against him really, really hard.

writing mood™️

You know, we really should be figuring out what Martyn's winner title thing is by seeing if any of the options fit non-winners better. Process of elimination and all that.

Random thought. So apparently Speakers are a thing like Watchers and Listeners (I've seen like three posts) but I saw some Speaker Scar art and people sometimes make vex's the enemies of watchers so I was like what if the Vex are Speakers, right? I mean, they're often portrayed making contracts and deals so it works. And then I was like, well, Wardens find people by hearing them so that suits Listeners, what would Watchers be?

Endermen! The creatures that are everywhere but don't want to be observed? It works too well.

Anyway, ramble over. Maybe I'll do something with it, probably won't. Who knows? I sure don't.