#...come to think of it i never beat Kingdom Battle did I?

[axewchao]

Beanies are still weird for me to draw :'D

'Cause I mean... when you look at some of them, it looks like the hat's barely hanging onto the wearer's head, doesn't it?

But I will master it. I must, for the sake of FNaF!Dal, and any other characters with beanies in the past, present, and future >:'T

[thewulf]

Starlit Promises || Legolas

Summary: Request - Heyy I really like how you write Legolas and also your writing in general so I thought I'd request a Legolas x reader where in reader saves him from an orc attack and got hurt in the process. Hehe that's all have a good day!

A/N: Ahhh I really like this one. Ty Anon for the amazing request as always.

Pairing: Legolas x Elf Female Reader

Word Count: 4.2k +

TW: Orcs, attack, shot with an arrow, poison, angst, sad Legolas

Growing up in the lush, enigmatic depths of Mirkwood had shaped you into the warrior you are today. Side by side with Legolas you had spent countless hours under the tutelage of the same masters learning the arts of combat and stealth. Though your paths within the kingdom's defense forces eventually diverged with Legolas rising to accompany his father on diplomatic missions and you embedding deeper into the scout units you never lost the connection forged in those formative years.

Your friendship with Legolas was based on a foundation of deep respect and a shared love for the vast, mysterious woodland that was your home. Over the years, King Thranduil himself had come to hold you in high regard as he appreciated how you continually challenged and supported his son. Making sure to keep him grounded and focused.

After many seasons apart, duty finally brought you back together. It was a reunion marked by warm smiles and a quick rekindling of your lifelong friendship. Eager to make the most of this reunion you both decided to embark on a patrol through some of the darker much less traveled parts of Mirkwood. These regions were where the trees grew dense, and the shadows lingered. They were known for being unpredictable, yet they offered a serene beauty that was unmatched elsewhere in the kingdom.

As you walked alongside Legolas, your steps silent and your senses alert, you found comfort in the familiar presence of your friend. The air was filled with the sounds of distant waterfalls and the occasional call of a wood pigeon. Conversation flowed easily between you. It was filled with stories of past exploits and shared adventures. It was as if no time had passed at all, and you were just two young elves exploring the woods as you had all those hundreds of years ago.

Yet, the peace of the forest was deceptive and as seasoned warriors both of you remained vigilant. It was a routine patrol on the surface but in Mirkwood with the darkness ever growing one could never be too careful. Little did you know the shadows held more than just the whispers of ancient trees that day.

In the shadow-drenched depths of Mirkwood where the dense canopy stifled even the slightest beam of sunlight you and Legolas moved with the silent grace of seasoned warriors. The forest's deceptive calm should have been your first warning, but you were so engrossed in his presence you didn’t think too much of it. It was a heavy stillness that shrouded the advance of danger. It was in this eerie silence that the ambush was sprung as a large band of orcs burst from their hidden positions among the twisted undergrowth.

In the midst of the intense and chaotic battle with the clash of metal resounding through the ancient trees of Mirkwood a sudden, jarring sound made your heart skip a beat. It was the distinct twang of a bowstring. A sound you’d recognize anywhere amidst the close-quarters combat that it sent a ripple of alarm through you.

You and Legolas were back-to-back and fighting in seamless coordination Legolas's breath hitched audibly, a rare sign of his alarm. His voice was urgent and tinged with a touch of panic as it reached your ears over the din of battle.

"Y/N, the leader, he's aiming for—"

Before he could finish you saw the movement. A shadowy figure at a distance with a notched arrow gleaming with a sinister sheen that could only mean poison. Time seemed to slow as you realized the target was none other than Legolas himself.

With a surge of adrenaline, you acted on pure instinct. "Legolas, down!" you shouted pushing him towards the ground even as you leaped to intercept the flight path of the arrow.

Legolas who was forced down by your push hit the forest floor hard. He turned just in time to see your actions. "No, Y/N!" His voice was laced with horror and desperation as he realized what you were about to do.

The arrow struck and the sound of your grunt of pain was drowned out by Legolas's anguished yell. He scrambled to his feet eyes wide with a mixture of fear and fury. "Why would you do this?" he bellowed. His voice cracking with a mix of horror and desperation. His eyes were wide with shock and nearing tears. They searched yours for an answer he could not find in the chaos of his own emotions.

As you staggered from the impact the world began to blur at the edges as the poison was already coursing through your veins. With what strength you had left you managed to whisper, trying to reassure him despite the growing darkness clouding your vision. "Had to... save you. Watch out... he has more..."

Legolas was now beside himself with worry and rage. He turned his attention back to the orc leader with a fierce glare. His usual calm demeanor was shattered by the sight of you injured because of him. He drew his own arrow with a swift, deadly precision that was uncharacteristic but fueled by his tumultuous emotions. "No one harms you and escapes unscathed," he murmured almost to himself as he prepared to return the favor with lethal intent.

What followed was a blur of motion and violence. Legolas moved like a tempest. His arrows finding their marks with lethal precision. Each strike was a blow against his own anguish, a defiance of the fate that had struck you down. The orcs fell one by one. They were no match for the wrath of a prince fighting for the life of a friend he so dearly loved.

As the last of the orcs crumpled to the forest floor, silenced forever, Legolas turned back to where you lay, your face pale and your breaths shallow. He knelt beside you, his hands shaking as he gently lifted you into his arms. The forest seemed to hold its breath. The usual whispers of the leaves stilled by the gravity of the moment.

Legolas's steps were swift and sure as he began the urgent journey back to the healers. Each step was a race against the relentless creep of the poison within you. As he moved with his arms secure around you he began to whisper. His voice a soft contrast to the earlier fury that had consumed him.

"Stay with me," he murmured. His words tinged with a desperation he had never known. "You must stay with me." His voice broke as the reality of the situation pressed upon him. The weight of his emotions threatening to overwhelm his stoic facade.

The forest blurred past as Legolas with you cradled securely in his arms. He pushed through the undergrowth with an urgency born of sheer desperation. The poison from the orc’s arrow was relentless and with each labored breath you took his heart clenched tighter.

As he hurried his voice was a steady stream of encouragement meant to fortify both your spirits and his own resolve. “You’re so strong. You can fight this,” he urged quietly. His tone gentle yet firm. The dense foliage seemed to part before his determination. The shadows of Mirkwood bending to his will.

“You have to hold on. I need you to hold on,” he continued. His voice only for you. A personal warmth amidst the encroaching darkness of your pain. His words were a lifeline thrown in the hope that your spirit would grasp it and cling to life.

Within his mind a storm of thoughts raged. As he looked down at your face contorted with the effort to stay conscious he was struck by a revelation so profound it rooted itself deep within his soul. I love her, he realized with startling clarity. The thought was both a balm and a torment emerging amidst the terror of possibly losing you. Why did it take the brink of losing her to see how vital she is to me? His heart ached with the weight of his newfound understanding. An understanding that came at such a cruel cost.

Meanwhile, you, despite the searing pain, felt the urgency in his voice and it gave you a focus. A point to anchor your fading strength. You tried to respond. To give him some sign that you heard him. That you were fighting not just for your own life, but for him, for the future you hadn't yet considered might be possible together. Your lips moved slightly as a whisper of sound that was more an exhale of pain than coherent words.

Legolas felt the faint stir of your attempt to speak and it spurred him on. His strides growing even more determined. “Just a little farther,” he promised you, and perhaps himself. “We’re almost there. Stay with me.”

His mind continued to race with thoughts of love and loss, but he kept these revelations locked within choosing instead to flood you with hopeful, encouraging words. Every step was a silent vow. Every heartbeat a silent plea to whatever fates watched over the elves of Mirkwood.

As the gates of the palace finally came into sighta surge of tentative relief washed over him. The guards recognized the dire nature of your condition and rushed to meet him calling for the healers swiftly. Legolas’s arms relinquished you with a reluctance that was palpable. His hands lingering until the last possible moment as he handed you over to their care.

Watching the guards swiftly carry you away Legolas could only stand there for a moment, alone and suddenly bereft. The depth of his emotions swirling chaotically within. Hold on, please hold on, he thought. His heart echoing each word of encouragement he had given you. Now a silent mantra for the both of you.

In the somber halls of the Mirkwood palace, Thranduil arrived, drawn by the urgent whispers of his guards about an incident involving his son and one of his most valued elves. As he entered his eyes found Legolas who stood alone. His posture betraying a mix of shock and despair rarely seen on the prince.

Approaching quietly Thranduil placed a hand on Legolas’s shoulder, his presence immediately steadying. "Legolas, tell me what has happened," he urged. His voice firm yet lined with concern.

Legolas's response was choked. A surge of emotions breaking through his usually composed demeanor. Turning to face his father, tears welled in his eye. It was a terribly rare sight that shook Thranduil to his core. "She... she saved me," Legolas stammered. The words laced with pain and guilt. "An orc aimed a poisoned arrow at me, and she stepped in front. She took the hit herself. It should have been me, Father."

The king's eyes widened in horror as he processed the gravity of the situation. His mind racing with the implications of your selfless act. "Legolas," Thranduil said softly as he guided his son to sit beside him on a nearby bench, an effort to offer comfort amidst the cold stone surroundings. "You must not blame yourself for her bravery. She acted out of loyalty and courage. These are qualities that are to be honored, not lamented."

Legolas wiped at his eyes, struggling to compose himself. "But I love her, Father. And now, I might lose her because I could not protect her," he confessed. The words tumbling out amidst sobs. The admission of his feelings which were spoken aloud for the first time seemed to both relieve and burden him further.

Thranduil was taken aback by the depth of his son’s emotions. He reached out, his own composure tinged with empathy. "My son, love is both a strength and a vulnerability. You must hold onto the hope that she will recover. And should she wake, it is your duty—and your right—to tell her of your feelings."

The king stood, resolute. "I will speak with the healers to ensure that everything possible is being done," he promised. Returning his attention to Legolas, he added, "Stay strong, Legolas. She fought to save you. Now you must be strong for her."

Thranduil placed a reassuring hand on Legolas's shoulder. His gaze intense and commanding. "There is something you can do, Legolas. Go to her," he instructed firmly. "The healers say that even in unconsciousness the presence of someone familiar may be felt. Your presence could provide the strength she needs to fight this poison."

Legolas looked at his father. The determination in Thranduil's voice sparking a flicker of hope within him. "Talk to her, hold her hand, let her feel your presence. Keep her grounded to this world. Your voice, your touch… it may reach her when our medicine cannot."

Rising from the bench with renewed purpose Legolas nodded solemnly. "I will not leave her side," he vowed. The resolve in his voice masking the tremor of his underlying fear.

Thranduil watched as his son strode towards the healers quarters. His posture that of a prince, yet driven by the raw, powerful emotions of an elf in love. "She saved you for a reason, Legolas. Now, give her a reason to return," Thranduil murmured to himself as he watched Legolas disappear behind the delicate curtains that shrouded the healing chambers.

Inside, Legolas approached your side with his heart pounding as he took in your serene yet pained expression. Gingerly, he took your hand in his. The coolness of your skin against his warm palm stirring a mix of emotions within him. Sitting beside you he began to speak his voice soft but clear threading through the quiet hum of the healing ward.

"I'm here just like you've always been there for me. Remember the storms we weathered together? The quiet moments we shared under the stars of our beautiful Mirkwood? Hold onto those memories now as I hold onto your hand. You must come back to us, to me," Legolas whispered. His words a tender plea laced with strength and love.

As he continued to speak he recounted tales of their past adventures and shared dreams. Legolas's presence became a silent, steadfast hope, anchoring you in the fight against the darkness that threatened to claim you.

"Remember the time we chased the fireflies at dusk?" Legolas continued. His voice a soft murmur meant only for you. "We wandered so far that night we almost missed the evening banquet. Your laughter echoed through the woods, brighter even than the lights we chased. I think that was the moment I realized how dear you were to me though I never had the courage to say it. I wish I said it."

He paused. His thumb gently stroking the back of your hand, each memory a pull trying to guide you back. "And then there was the storm. The one that caught us off guard near the northern border. We took shelter under that old oak. The one that's stood for a thousand years. You were so calm, so brave, even as the thunder roared around us. It was more than bravery. It was a peace within you that even the storm couldn't disturb. I truly fell in love with you then."

His voice grew softer, each word laden with emotion. "I've always admired that about you—your strength, your serenity. It's been a constant source of comfort to me, more often than you know." A sigh escaped him, a mixture of admiration and deep-seated fear. "I need that strength now, more than ever. You have to fight through this. I... I can't envision a world without you in it mellon vaer nîn, meleth nîn." He whispered to you.

Legolas's gaze lingered on your face. His eyes tracing the familiar features as if trying to imprint them deeper into his memory. "There are so many things I still want to share with you. The sunrise over the Silverlode. Quiet mornings in the glades. So many adventures yet to be had. I need you to come back to me."

As he continued to speak recalling tales of their past his voice became your lifeline, tethered to the hope of your recovery. With each story he tried to weave you back to consciousness. To draw you away from the shadows that clung too closely.

Hours passed, a silent vigil marked only by the rhythm of his voice and the faint but steady beat of your heart. It was during one such tale as Legolas recounted a particularly daring escapade from their youth that he felt a gentle squeeze on his hand. It was slight, nearly imperceptible, but to Legolas, it was as profound as the sun breaking through a week of rain.

His heart leapt and his words faltered for a moment. "Are you there? Can you hear me?" he asked. His voice a blend of hope and urgency. When there was no further response he settled back with a small, hopeful smile touching his lips. "I'll keep talking… just keep listening. You're not alone." Legolas's resolve hardened, bolstered by the faint sign of your fighting spirit. He continued to talk. Each word a pledge of his presence and protection. His stories a bridge carrying you back from the brink.

The healing ward was bathed in the soft, ethereal light of dawn filtering through the high windows. Legolas sat steadfast by your side with his hand still holding yours as a silent anchor in the hushed space. He continued to speak with his voice a soft, continuous presence in the hushed space continuously recounting tales, and shared dreams. He was weaving a tapestry of memories meant to guide you back.

As he recounted a particularly fond memory of a midsummer festival where you both had danced under the stars until the world seemed nothing more than a swirl of lights and laughter your eyelids began to flutter. It was a slight movement but enough to pause the flow of his words.

Your eyes slowly opened as they adjusted to the dim light of the room, focusing with effort on the figure who had not left your side. Legolas watched you carefully. His breath held in a mixture of hope and anxiety. Seeing your eyes finally meet his, a wave of relief and joy washed over him, though he tempered his reaction. The last thing he wanted was to overwhelm you.

"You're awake," he said softly. His voice a mix of wonder and warmth, his grip on your hand tightening gently.

You managed a weak smile. Your voice barely a whisper but filled with gratitude and warmth. "Legolas..." you breathed, your eyes locking onto his conveying everything you felt but couldn't yet say.

He leaned closer with his forehead nearly touching yours. His eyes were bright with emotion. "You are home," he whispered as his voice trembled slightly. "You're here with me. That is all that matters."

You nodded weakly, your smile widening just a bit. "Home," you agreed softly, the word holding so much more than its simple meaning. It was a promise, a recognition of the bond that had brought you back from the brink.

Legolas brushed a stray lock of hair from your forehead. His touch ever so gentle and reverent. "I was so afraid of losing you," he confessed, his voice barely above a whisper. "Your bravery, your sacrifice... I cannot bear the thought of a world without you in it."

Your hand squeezed his lightly. A small gesture but one that conveyed strength and reassurance. "I'm here," you whispered back, the effort taxing but necessary. "And I'm not going anywhere."

"We have so much more to see together. So many more memories to share," Legolas continued with a smile playing on his lips. "I promise from now on every moment will be a testament to the life you fought so hard to return to."

Your smile widened a bit more, your energy still faint but growing with every moment of connection. "I wouldn’t miss it for the world," you replied. Your voice was stronger this time, filled with the promise of many tomorrows.

In that quiet evening with the last light painting the world in hues of pink and gold, Legolas and you shared a moment of profound gratitude and love. A bond deepened by trials and now unbreakable by anything that the future might hold.

As your strength slowly returned Legolas took you to a secluded glade one evening. A hidden sanctuary where the world's concerns seemed to dissolve under the brilliance of the starlit sky. The air was cool and carried the sweet scent of blooming night flowers. You both settled on a soft blanket surrounded by the tranquil whisper of the forest.

Looking up at the stars Legolas turned toward you, his blue eyes reflecting the celestial light. He took a deep breath as if preparing to share something significant, and then began to speak. His voice soft yet clear. "I've spent many nights under these stars," he said, "but none felt as profound as tonight, being here with you." He paused giving you a moment to absorb the words. "When you were hurt, when I thought I might lose you, I realized something vital. Just how much you mean to me, how deeply I care about you."

Your heart fluttered with a mixture of surprise and joy. The sincerity in his voice and the earnest look in his eyes it was all you had ever hoped for yet never dared to expect. "Legolas, I...," you started your emotions thickening your voice. "I've felt the same way for a long time. But I never thought���"

"That we might have a future together?" Legolas interjected gently. "I know. I've been a fool, letting time pass without speaking my heart. But I don't want to hide my feelings anymore. I love you. More than I can say."

Tears welled in your eyes but not from sadness but from a profound relief and happiness. "I love you too," you replied. Your voice a soft echo of his own declaration. "I always have."

Legolas reached out, brushing a tear from your cheek with a gentle touch. "Then let us make a promise tonight," he suggested. His gaze locked with yours, "to never hold back our feelings. To cherish each moment, we have together and to face whatever comes with unity and strength."

You nodded, feeling the weight and warmth of his hand in yours. "I promise," you said. "To all of that."

The night deepened around you, but in the glade, illuminated by starlight, a new chapter of your life together began. It was a promise made not just in words but in the shared glances, the gentle touches, and the quiet commitment to face life's complexities together. With Legolas by your side the future seemed not just a path to walk but a journey to cherish.

The next morning, with the promise of the previous night still fresh and luminous like the dawn Legolas sought his father in the tranquil palace gardens. Dappled sunlight filtered through the ancient trees casting golden patterns on the mossy floor.

"Father," Legolas began with his voice carrying a newfound confidence mixed with joy, "last night under the stars, Y/N and I made a promise. I wish to ask her to let me court her with the intention of marriage."

Thranduil paused with his gaze piercing as he turned to face his son. For a moment his expression was unreadable. Then, a wide, genuine smile transformed his face. "Finally," he exclaimed with a rare chuckle. "You have truly found your path, my son. It is about time."

Legolas smiled, a weight lifting from his shoulders with his father's blessing. Bolstered by this support he planned a special moment to formally begin the courtship. He chose a small, exquisite pendant shaped like a star. An echo of the night that had sealed your shared destiny.

Later that day as you stood in the lush Mirkwood gardens Legolas approached you. The late afternoon sun lit the clearing casting long shadows and bathing everything in a warm, golden glow. In his hand he held the delicate star-shaped pendant which sparkled as it caught the light.

"Y/N," he said gently, drawing your attention. His hand extended offering the pendant to you. "Last night, under the starlight, we promised to face whatever comes together. With all my heart, I ask you now, will you let me court you with the hope and intention that one day you will be my wife?"

The moment was overwhelming. More tears sprang to your eyes as the magnitude of what this meant filled you. You had loved Legolas for so long, sometimes fearing your affection was a solitary flame. Now hearing his heartfelt words, confirming that he felt the same, was a relief so profound that sobs of joy escaped you.

"Yes, Legolas," you managed to say between gentle sobs. Your voice thick with emotion as you reached out to take the pendant. "Yes, of course I will."

Legolas stepped closer. His eyes shining with the same emotion. He took the pendant and carefully clasped it around your neck. He cupped your face in his hands wiping away your tears with his thumbs.

"This is just the beginning meleth nîn," he whispered. His voice as tender as the touch of the evening breeze. "A promise of a lifetime together, filled with love and understanding."

In that enchanted moment with the beauty of Mirkwood surrounding you and the promise of a future together everything felt utterly perfect. The garden seemed to hold its breath, the leaves whispering in the wind, as if nature itself was acknowledging the depth of your bond. The journey ahead would indeed have challenges but with the strength of your love you knew you could face them with him.

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[lowrezbonuslevel]

you... are my nakama.......!

Day 2 Revenge Kirby Fighters 3 and Knuckles: Old Man Yaoi Edition

⚠️ LONG (but good-faith) RANT (that gives a little extra context for today's drawing) UNDER THE CUT (don't worry it's not shipping discourse lmao) ⚠️

Okay so I know neither of these modes are canon and therefore it's SORT OF a moot point, but NARRATIVELY SPEAKING, Meta Knightmare Returns and Dededetour are completely and utterly backwards, right???

What beef does King Dedede have with Dark Meta Knight? What beef does Meta Knight have with Sectonia and Dark Matter Swordsman (besides the fact that they both breathe and hold pointy weapons)? I understand that there's this ongoing plotline with having MK face swordfighters to test his skill, but I still think King Dedede should have been the one to rematch both DMS and Sectonia in Robobot (I do know Sectonia DX in TDX exists, but she isn't the final boss of the Dededetour mode which kinda sucks).

Shadow Dedede himself is a decent idea, but he's new to the series and has absolutely no story introduction (and his design isn't all that interesting, at least to me). Sectonia? Love her, but she deserves a Dedede hammer to the face for all three phases and more. DMS (and Dark Matter in general)? The ORIGINAL Dedede opp (besides Kirby lol). I know these are just clones in-story, but the coolness factor is still there.

You can make the argument that MK got to fight Mecha Knight because of MKR--which is cool, definitely, but if it were King Dedede the same could be said for the Dedede Clone fight, so in my eyes it evens out (actually... Dedede beating Stock Mecha would probably have been even more hype. imho).

Also, a Galacta Knight battle with solo King Dedede would be rad. The power scalers would have a FIELD DAY!!!

Likewise, Meta Knight never actually got to beat DMK in a proper battle at any point, did he? So based on both canon and alt timelines, DMK could still whoop MK's ass. That's just wrong... :(

It's my understanding that TDX was made with absolutely no anticipation of Robobot, so it could be the case that they simply didn't want to give Dedede the spotlight twice. But I sort of wish they had held back on MKR regardless.

Really, I don't think you NEED the anticipation of Robobot's specific plot/mechanics to see that MKR would have fit perfectly in TDX, because it answers the question of "where the hell is MK and why did he sit back when Dedede got kidnapped"? Having him fight DMK would be a way cooler explanation than an implicit "he was doing something somewhere else."

Maybe he's been fighting on the sidelines and is now clearing out the castle--which is full of Sectonia's remaining minions, the strongest and most loyal--and getting to the bottom of some source of magic still coming from the castle. Meanwhile Dedede and Kirby are helping out the people of mainland Popstar that were displaced by Sectonia and the Dreamstalk. And DMK (or, even better--a form of Dark Mind!) serves as the final boss.

Likewise, while the main events of Robobot are going on, the King could be helping Floralia defend themselves from the invasion. (The existence of Sectonia Clone combined with the pause screen that claims "Floralia is too remote to be mechanized yet" is literally just a plot hole anyway. The invaders couldn't overtake Floralia by the time we're fighting Sectonia Clone... despite the fact that they obviously DID find the huge plant that leads DIRECTLY to their kingdom AND the invaders have a mother(computer)ship the size of Planet Popstar AND practically infinite robot soldiers...? Be so fr...)

Extra work/game industry deadlines are a consideration too, but I don't think that applies too heavily here because both modes could have heavily reused and repurposed assets and level designs.

MK could have just had the typical EX mode recolors and stuff, but maybe with the story explanation/design concept that the bosses are being controlled by the Dark Mirror this time, instead of being aggravated by Taranza.

Dededetour in Robobot could have subsequently reused TDX assets. I feel like this is even a case where reskins are the objectively cooler option, as opposed to entirely new assets: seeing the flowery, green areas of Floralia converted to gross, grey landscapes would have been AWESOME, as well as seeing the insects and flower-based enemies turned to robots. Maybe the People of the Sky have been mind controlled: the six main flower fairies work together as a miniboss, and defeating them/breaking their mind control apparatuses is how they are "rescued" here, in parallel to their game of origin. Maybe Taranza is also being mind-controlled in an act of universal karma and Dedede has to bail him out. That would be sick!

This stuff isn't a series-ruiner by any means, but it genuinely feels like a glitch in the Kirby matrix that the plotlines here are so mismatched. If I were whimsically rewriting the Kirby series, the MKR and Dededetour swap would probably be the first change I'd make. (And, again, I'd like to acknowledge that there are/were probably practical considerations of which I'm ignorant.)

You know how the series could still fix everything, though...? Kirby Fighters 3, BUT this time King Dedede and Meta Knight are the main protags. They get to fight magically-summoned/echo versions of DMK, DMS, Sectonia, King D-Mind, Yin-Yarn... you name it. TOGETHER. As husbands should!!!

[socksracoon10]

Waiting For Nothing

Pairing: Legolas Greenleaf x F!Reader A/N: I haven't written for LOTR for a while, so I thought I'd make ya'll sad with this angsty Legolas fic. Have fun! The hearts of the warriors are often small; they've grown accustomed to fighting and death. And in each battle they fight, a layer of their heart sheds off. It falls to the ground, and rejoins the earthly soil to be reborn in another's. The scars remain, but the feelings behind the memories will slowly fade, until there is nothing more than the shell of a man who attained glory with his rotting heart a testament to the last sliver of hope that echoed in the beating of his heart.

Your heart was rather large. Having lived most of your life as the poor peasant girl with no relatives by blood, Edoras welcomed you into open arms. You were friends with almost everyone, especially with Théoden's niece, Éowyn, who quickly became your best friend - Théoden even considered you his niece as well because of how close you two were. The two of you would go riding on horses, galloping around in joy as you remained oblivious to the impending doom that would soon terrorize the entirety of Rohan in just a matter of a few days.

"I can hardly see why you roam this castle so willingly when we know your place is outside in a small hut…" Grima Wormtongue spat when you had walked past him. You glanced at him over your shoulder, your lips sharply turning into a scowl. The audacity of that vile creature to even speak in your direction. You huffed out in annoyance, biting the inside of your cheek as you chose your next words, carefully.

"Bold words coming from a creature that is more disheveled than an Orc," You snickered before haughtily marching off.

Within hours, you were kicked out of the palace and exiled from Rohan. You were back to being an orphan, right where you had started. Éowyn had looked at you with such pain in her eyes but she knew that if she were to act out against this cruel decree, she would face a similar fate and nothing could be done to save the Kingdom she so dearly loved.

Living in the outskirts was not as easy as you had initially thought it to be. In your mind, you had foolishly assured yourself that since you had been in this condition before everything would come naturally. It wasn't until the first hour passed did you sorely miss the place you once called home. With nowhere to go, you wandered around aimlessly, circling the borders of Edoras repeatedly to keep your mind occupied. By the 5th day, you swore you were dying due to starvation and thirst. You could barely move, your body lay stricken on a rock as you gasped for air. Your head tilted slightly to your right, the pain in your stomach blooming to elsewhere in your body and from afar, you noticed three horses charging towards you. You couldn't even sit up properly to examine the incoming invaders, and you weakly lifted your hand, silently begging for help.

The three horses revealed their masters on top of them, a tall dark haired man, another being that resembled a wizard and on top of the third horse was a dwarf, and in front of him the most beautiful elf you had ever seen. You had heard stories of elves before in your life, ones that were told by Éowyn, but never once did you think one would be standing right before you. If you were to die in this exact moment, you would've been very pleased that you at last saw an elf.

The man jumped off his horse and crouched down to your level, feeling your forehead before turning to the elf,

"Legolas, fetch her some of your Lembas bread, and you Gimli give her your water." The man instructed; not knowing whose name belonged to which creature, you looked between the four beings with curiosity, despite being so near to death's door. The elf crouched down besides you, allowing you to drink some water before chewing on his bread. Your hunger knew no bounds and you chewed and chewed, swallowing whole lumps of bread as you slowly began to regain some of your health. The man sighed in contentment, giving you a soft smile before standing up to walk towards the Wizard. The elf, on the other hand, stared at you with a gentle smile on his face and kept offering you food until you said no.

"What's your name?" The man asked,

"My name is (Y/N) (L/N)," You whispered, taking another sip of water. You coughed a few times, swallowing thickly before meeting his gaze.

"I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn. This is Gandalf the White, that is Gimli, son of Gloin and over to your left is Legolas of the Woodland Realms." Aragorn exclaimed, gesturing towards the elf beside you. You glanced back to face the elf, a small smile forming on your face. After acquainting yourself with the 4 beings, they heard your pitiful tale and realized that Rohan deeply needed imminent change. They allowed you to accompany them, seating yourself behind Aragorn as the horses charged forward.

Your eyes, however, remained glued onto the elf. You noticed his soft features, the way the wind seemed to swirl around him and only him, and his piercing eyes that scoured the land before him with diligence. His silence captivated you, and you did not know why.

With Grima Wormtongue out of the way, and your adoptive uncle restored to his glory, it seemed that you were finally welcome in the castle. Éowyn had rushed forward, capturing you into a warm embrace before kissing your forehead. She grinned at you, holding onto your arms ecstatically as she danced to and fro, dragging you deeper into the throne room. As she tugged at your hands, you glanced to your right to find the elf conversing with the dwarf, the both of them walking in the opposite direction with concern glazing their eyes. You wanted to listen, you wanted to be a part of them… but you did not know why. You yearned for the chance to just be alone with him, and whether it was good for Rohan or not, the chance soon came when everyone was ordered to seek shelter at Helm's Deep.

"You're rather quiet," You chirped, catching up to Legolas. The walk to Helm's Deep was excruciating and you feared that the boredom would kill you before starvation or even worse - the Uruk-hais. Legolas smirked, his lips curving ever so slightly upwards before he turned to face you,

"Forgive me. I am not one to converse so easily in such pressing times. Though, of course, must you include Gimli in our conversation, I shall pass a few jokes at his expense." He glanced over his shoulder to face Gimli atop his horse; the dwarf shook his head and grumbled,

"I'd cut yer pointy ears off if ye try to embarrass me in front of this lassie," He scoffed and you let out a laugh, before turning to Legolas,

"Come now, surely you would be able to carry a conversation without teasing the poor dwarf!"

"Perhaps, but I do not know for sure," He sighed, before resuming his silence as he watched the horizons.

Legolas knew. He could sense your attraction towards him, but he chose not to say anything about it. He hoped that it would pass, that you would not be bound at his feet, desperate for his affection. Because it would never work, and he did not have the heart to admit that he did not have any feelings for you. You were trying so hard, trying to spend more time with him. You were trying to distract yourself from the doom that lay ahead of you because everyone knew how big your heart was; all you could ever do was dream.

Éowyn and you had both tried to convince the King to let the two of you fight. There was nothing for you to lose, you both loved your Kingdom, tremendously. But as Aragorn reminded Éowyn of her duty, you turned to face Legolas whose piercing eyes never once left you. His lips formed into a thin line, and he followed Aragorn out of the room, leaving you in your thoughts.

"She's very affectionate towards you," Aragorn pointed out as they were leaving,

"I'm well aware," Legolas responded.

"What do you plan to do about it?" The man questioned.

"Nothing."

"Nothing? Legolas, perhaps-"

"Perhaps we do not speak of it." Legolas jeered, his brows furrowing at the rightful heir to Gondor. "We have more pressing matters to deal with, the lives of 100 thousand men are at steak tonight."

"Ignoring her will only heighten her love for you, she will be desperate. She will be fooled into thinking that she has a chance. If you are going to reject her, at least have the courage to tell her directly!"

"That wee lass will be devastated," Gimli chimed in, fixing his helmet, "You sure you don't feel anything?"

"I'm positive, I do not." Legolas grimaced and shoved past his two friends to grab his arrows. The incoming surge of Uruk-hais was his primary concern, but the guilt he felt as he killed one after the other tormented him. With each arrow he shot, he felt his burden increase tenfold. Aragorn and Gimli were right, but why could he not bring himself to tell you the truth? To tell you that he had no feelings for you?

Because… then he would be lying. He watched you from afar at times, watched the way you'd dance with Éomer, your arm wrapped around his as you skipped around. You'd stand beside Théoden to catch a breath, your eyes searching for Legolas and when they landed on him, he'd instantly look away - as if he wasn't staring at you. As if he wasn't infatuated with you the same way you were with him. He was lying to himself, he wanted to break free. He wanted to stand near you, to hear you constantly chittering about something; his heart ached at the sight of you fondly playing with some children. His mind roamed to thoughts that turned into dreams; dreams of you and him together. But this was wrong, all of this was wrong. He would only live a short life with you, and when you died, he would spend the rest of his life in solitude.

He'd seen it with his father. He'd seen the way his mother's death impacted him; he was not a man of many words, but his cold demeanor lingered around Legolas, a constant reminder of the similar fate he'd feel if he decided to indulge in his present feelings. He decided that he had to do something about it, even if he couldn't face it himself.

"Would you like something to eat?" You asked, toying with an apple as Legolas tended to his horse near the campsite. He glanced over his shoulder, looking at you with solemn eyes. You could've sworn a tear drop cascaded down his pale cheeks. He harshly took a deep breath in, and shook his head,

"It is alright, I do not need anything to eat." He responded, his fingers wrapped around the reins of his horse.

"Well, perhaps I could offer you something? It is not material…" You began, stepping forward with hope in your eyes. It pained him, it pained him more than anything else in the world. He could not bring himself to do this, but at the same time, it would be even worse to accept your affections.

"Lady (L/N), please." Legolas exclaimed, finally meeting your eyes, "Do not continue. I… I cannot accept your affection."

You paused in your tracks, looking at him with wide eyes.

"I do not… envision a future of us two living a happy life." He was searching for proper words, his head turning around the room as if he was physically swimming through his thoughts, "I… My heart is heavy, I have never felt this way for anyone. I do not want to be the one to burden your heart, but I am afraid that you must keep those feelings to yourself. There is nothing that I can do. Nothing we can do."

"I… You… You don't even know what I was going to say…" You reasoned, and Legolas let out a huff,

"I do not need to hear you say it, I already know. I've seen the way you look at me, the way you tend to me. I am forever in your debt for your kindness, I thank you for it. But, it cannot continue. Aragorn, Gimli, and I will be leaving tonight." Legolas murmured, tugging on the reins as he drove his horse forward and away from you. Your heart sunk at his words, unsure of what was happening.

This couldn't be happening to you. Not before you even had the chance to tell him how you felt. What if he realized how true your love was for him? What if this was the last time you ever saw him?

"I shall be waiting for you." You stated, swiftly turning on your heels to face his departing form.

"Don't, you'll be waiting for nothing," Legolas whispered, his eyes softening at your words.

"Nothing is… indeed something," You breathed, your fingers linked together as you began to fidget, nervously. "Perhaps, you'll understand. Perhaps you'll… come back."

"Perhaps, but I would not count on it." Legolas sighed, before hopping onto his horse and riding off, leaving you alone for the night.

"I see you've told her how you felt," Aragorn had asked Legolas when they were far from Rohan, "Does it feel as if your heart is lighter now, with nothing to worry about?"

Legolas paused, hearing Gimli grumble a few curses under his breath regarding the elf. He opened his mouth to speak, before closing it. The elf thought deeply, his mind was utterly blank and he hated it.

"I feel…" He began, "I feel as if I've only made it worse. Not just for her, but... for me as well." He swallowed, thickly, before glancing over his shoulder to take one last look at Rohan. The wind was still, there was not much that he could hear.

Except for the beating of a very large heart that painfully yearned for him with each fleeting second.

[sayafics]

Dance of Shadows - Chapter I

Hi guys, I hope you enjoy the first chapter of this series!

I know the teaser was an excerpt of another chapter after Aemma died, but I wanted to add some context/depth to Daemon and Saenyra's relationship before that, since there's such a long gap in the timeline before he returns to Kings Landing after beating the Crabfeeder.

I hope I got the timeline right, and I do hope this lives up to your expectations! Please let me know what you think, all comments and reblogs are appreciated <33 thank you to everyone who showed love on tha teaser excerpt!

Next Chapter

Masterlist

Saenyra had just spent the last few hours lounging in the library, browsing through books ranging from histories of the Seven Kingdoms and how they came to be, to the myths and legends of dragons and other beings which lurked the lands they inhabited and the seas they wished to rule, to charming scrawls of love written in between lines of literature and poetry.

She had finally found a book she was content with, eager to return to her room before divulging its contents. If she were to hurry, she was sure she would be able to finish before it was time for dinner.

With the book held in one hand, Saenyra used the other to gather the skirt of her dress. Whilst her sister preferred to adorn herself in gowns of black and red - the designs grand yet mature for her age, Saenyra deigned to dress herself in shades which resembled the skies on a warm autumn eve or the sun on a bright summer's day. She would parade around the Keep in hues of yellows and blues, greens and pinks - whatever it was that her heart so desired.

As she made her way through the Keep, eyes roving around the walls as she treaded through corridors and weaved past bowing knights and respectful Lords, she turned the corner only to bump into a solid figure.

Saenyra stumbled back, her hand letting go of her skirt to brush against her forehead as she took in the figure in front of her, a slight pout on her lips. Her eyes found her smudged reflection glinting in a shining and tainted armour, gleaming in the light of a new day but stained with the signs of a bloodied battle.

Her eyes continued their path until they met a set of familiar violet hues.

Oh.

Before her stood Daemon Targaryen, looking as though he had slaughtered an army single-handedly. His eyes were bright with the thrill of a good fight. He looked lively, and if she peered closely enough, she could see how he trembled with unbound energy that coursed through his veins.

At the sight of his niece, the one so quiet and quaint who looked up at him with wide eyes and parted lips, Daemon found an unfamiliar softness seep into his features, "niece, my apologies."

He rarely saw his little niece around the Keep when he did come, he preferred to keep company with whores and dragons.

It was with poorly hidden determination that Rhaenyra would find him, trailing his every step.

When Rhaenyra had found him before his bloodbath in the city, he had gifted her a necklace. A piece of shared ancestry, a piece of home. Now, glancing at Saenyra's bare throat, he wished it had adorned her instead.

Daemon was not one for apologies, even Saenyra was aware of that. So, to hear the words brought a heat upon her cheeks as her gaze became down-turned, "I fear I must apologise too, dear uncle. I must have become too distracted with my thoughts."

A smirk tugged at Daemon's lips at the sight of her bashfulness, amusement colouring his features as he spoke, a teasing tone tainting his innocent words, "ah yes. I believe it is only right if you make it up to me then, don't you think?"

Daemon had never spoken to his neice in such a way, too fearful of what his brother might do. Of what he, himself, might do.

Daemon could not be the reason his darling niece shed tears. He would not forgive himself if he was the reason she were to break.

Seanyra's head had never looked up so fast, eyes flitting around the corridor as she leaned closely, as though she was sharing a secret - "of course. Only if you promise not to tell Kepa." Father.

The easy slip of High Valyrian made Daemon heady with the desire to hear it again, and his eyes burned into her at the eagerness she showed as she was desperate to make things right. His smirk grew broader at the show of her naivety, but still - he would make no fool of his sweet neice, his little 'nyra.

"Anything for my Zaldrītsos." Little Dragon.

Her heart twisted slightly at the endearment, despite the heat that flushed her body once more - although said good-naturedly, the word was a stark reminder that the only dragon the girl had was the one pumping through her blood. It was a subtle reminder of the differences between Saenyra and her sister, of how Rhaenyra has conquered a dragon and emanated a fierce and challenging nature, whilst Saenyra was simply a dragon by name.

Daemon could see how her eyes dimmed at the word, hated how her smile wavered - the Seven Kingdoms would rave about the similarities between Daemon and Rhaenyra, how the two had fire running through their veins and charging their souls, how they would burn each other to ash should they get too close. And with Saenyra, they would whisper about her lack of spark, how she didn't have the charm of a Targaryen, nor the fire of one too.

All that tied her to the Targaryen line was her silver-white hair and lilac eyes.

But a part of Daemon, a dark and repressed echo that grew louder as the days went by, found that he preferred it as such. She was a calm summer evening, a quiet winter's day.

Daemon was chaos, and Saenyra was peace.

Her voice broke him out of his reverie, "so, what is it that you want?"

There was a curious smile on her lips, her eyes searching his as she became impatient. He huffed a laugh, teeth bared in a broad grin - "I guess you shall have to wait and see."

Daemon knew what he would ask. He had been thinking of doing so from the moment he had stepped foot back in King's Landing and seen his Saenyra. She had grown tall, her hair flowing down her back is careless ruffles, flowers twisted between the intricate braids that adorned her head as a circlet rested atop her brows. Her gowns were tight fitting, the neck would swoop low, or her arms would be bare of fabric, and sometimes, if he was lucky, careful patterns would be cut into the lining of her waist to reveal the milky skin that lay underneath.

Daemon would be lying if he said a part of him hadn't grown feral at the sight, something dark and desperate coming to life within him as his desires for Saenyra grew stronger.

It was something unexpected, especially by him. He had expected, if anyone, it would be Rhaenyra he would pursue. The two were in a silent battle for the place of heir at Viserys' behest, fervent prayers that the next child Aemma gave birth to would not be a boy. So it would make sense to present a united front. To present themselves as a joint option, a better choice to the other heirs Viserys would force his wife to bear.

But Rhaenyra and Daemon had the fire of a dragon running through them, and they would ultimately burn each other and leave nothing but destruction in their wake.

Daemon cleared his throat, forcing himself to stray from his traiterous thoughts and focus on his task - he had to attend the meeting with the Council, he had to reach Viserys before they filled his head with lies about Daemon - before they seeded doubt and had him sent from the Seven Kingdoms once more.

"I must take leave now, dear niece."

Daemon skirted around the girl, his golden cloak billowing behind him, the soft and bloodied material brushing against her cheek in an imitation of affection he longed to show himself. His moves were slow and sluggish as though he was hoping she'd stop him. And she did exactly that - "where are you going, Kepus?" Uncle.

He inhaled sharply at the Valyrian word, there was a frown on her lips as her head twisted in question and Daemon felt as though he would kneel for her and give all of himself right there, if she had simply asked.

Her hand came to hold his own as she tugged at his fingers. Daemon risked a glance down, eyes tracing over her nimble fingers and how they dwarfed against his own. She tugged again, "Kepus."

The word was stressed and elongated, hoping to catch the man's attention as he kept gazing off to a place far from where she could see.

"The King wants to see me," it wasn't a complete lie, but it was an easy one, "I wouldn't want to keep them waiting."

She nodded, understandingly. But there was a part of her left unsure by his words, Daemon was never one to obey with such ease - always at the ready to challenge those around him, including his own brother. Even if he was King.

It seemed, however, his words were enough to snap her into a state of disinterest, she turned away from him with such ease and continued on her way, a soft "I shall see you later, then," passed over her shoulders with a friendly smile as she walked away from him.

Daemon found he could do nothing but watch.

***

Saenyra hadn't left her chambers much after her encounter with her uncle - with no dragon to tend to, and the lack of duties as a second-born and the burden of being a girl, she had no pending responsibilities. Left in the confines of her room, she made due with what she had - her books.

There was not much else to do in King's Landing, with no Kingsguard assigned to her yet, she was not free to roam the cities that belonged to her father.

Saenyra ate in her chambers, despite the call for her to join her family in her father's - were she to join, she was sure the room would be full of praises for a successful Rhaenyra - whether it was how she was getting on with her lessons with the Septa or a new dragon-riding trick mastered, or whispers of possibilities of their future son - a new heir and a new King in the making.

Anything but Saenyra.

All throughout the hours of the night, even as she laid her head to rest, her mind would tiptoe back to the voice of her uncle.

Despite all his time in the Keep, and all his trips out, Saenyra had never been able to bond with her uncle the way she wishes she had. The way Rhaenyra had.

Daemon had been the Master of Laws, the Master of Coin, and now Commander of the City Watch. And throughout it all, she had been unable to bond with her uncle in a way she was desperate for ever since she was a child. She remained oblivious to his glances and heated stares, to the dark whispers in his mind and the temptation that lurked under every passive graze and touch.

It was instead Rhaenyra who found him, who bonded with him. Who found common ground in their love for riding and dragons and violence. Rhaenyra who adored her uncle as he adored her. As everyone adored her, in a way Saenyra craved for them to cherish her.

The two would gush over dragons and tales of battles and wars, a wistful tone taking over Rhaenyra's voice as she spewed questions at her uncle whenever he dined with them, and a look of admiration would sparkle in Daemon's eyes as he answered every question with ease.

Saenyra would sit quietly, never speaking aloud unless spoken to, and even that was quite rare. So, for her uncle to say he wants something from her? It was a surprise, indeed. And a bubbling sensation of guilt began to fester as she realised that she felt excitement build at the prospect. What would Rhaenyra think? Would she be hurt? Jealous?

Saenyra was not blind to how Rhaenyra was captivated by Daemon, how she craved him and called to him. Although Daemon was both of their uncle, there was an unspoken claim placed upon him from the moment Rhaenyra was old enough to articulate her fascination with the man. A silent boundary, a whispered challenge Saenyra had never dared to overstep. And she was worried she may now.

Would he ask to take her dragon-riding? Perhaps he would ask her to steal him some lemon cakes, as he had when she was much younger? Or maybe he would ask for a favour she couldn't provide.

Perhaps, he wanted her help to get Rhaenyra something. Or to tell her something.

Saenyra wasn't blind to Daemon's own infatuation with her sister, whether it was because of her claim to the throne or her violent beauty. The man was enamoured, even if he tried to deny so.

She resigned herself to the idea of having to wait until Daemon had finally asked her whatever it was he decided, a frustrated sigh escaping her as she rolled onto her side and faced the open balcony windows, watching as the soft winds blew a quiet tune through the curtains. Her eyes traced over the dark shadows of King's Landing, her eyes finding the moon and seeking comfort in its shallow glow.

With steady breaths, she fell asleep quickly, her mind flashing with images she had long learned to ignore. What good is being a dragon dreamer when you are unable to tame one?

***

In the cities of King's Landing, Daemon had taken to throwing himself in the arms of lust as he sought out ways to expel his energy and frustration in the brothels of Silk Street.

He had been here for perhaps hours now, gyrating and grinding against the softness of his paramour. Mysaria wasn't a quiet lover, her moans drawing an audience as he pounded relentlessly, chasing a high that escaped him at every turn.

No matter how hard he tried, how much he relied on his imagination - it wasn't what he wanted. This wasn't who he needed.

The meeting with the Small Council hadn't ended badly, but Otto's reminders of his duties to the Bronze Bitch of the Vale continued to follow him. A dark reminder that although his marriage was not consumated, in the eyes of the Seven Kingdoms and in the eyes of his brother, Daemon was a married man. And even if Targaryen men had taken on second wives before, he knew his brother would never accept such an ordeal.

But still, such moral obligations hadn't stopped him from chasing his pleasure in brothels and amongst whores. Yet, Mysaria's dark hair was a pitying reminder of the woman he felt no love nor lust for and so proved to be a dampener for his fun, amongst other things.

He sighed out of frustration, halting his hips as he laid his head against Mysaria's shoulders. He pulled out roughly, tugging a blanket over his naked form as he trudged towards the window in a hollowing mix of rage and despair. His eyes found the stars, seeking comfort in their luminous glow as his mind flitted over myths and legends of constellations etched into the dark sky.

Mysaria followed, consoling the man as she praised him. But her words had no effect on him, so she offered him something more instead.

"I could bring in another? Perhaps one with silver hair."

Daemon was tempted to say yes, urged to give in to his fantasies and imagine.

But it wouldn't be what he wanted. No, the whores of Silk Street - the bastards of the Targaryen line, although their hair grew white it wasn't the right shade. Too different for him to be able to pretend.

And Daemon didn't want to pretend.

Twisting his fingers and tugging strands of golden-white hair were a mere illusion for the girl he pretended he wanted.

The girl he truly desired was one he would never taint, her hair brighter and longer - the wisps of her soft, white hair were their own streaks of light, like beaming stars in the night sky.

No, it wouldn't be the same.

It wouldn't be what he wanted - what he needed.

Daemon Targaryen wanted Saenyra. But he knew he could not have her.

He would not take her, for fear of corrupting her. Of ruining her, and breaking her beyond repair.

Taglist: @marihoneywk @ahristata @gracielikegrapes @luanasrta

[askthechronoverse]

Last Chapter •||• Next chapter

No one made a sound, but all eyes were on Kit.

“Well. Time is ticking away. Are you up for the challenge, daughter of Emmet Brickowski?” Master Doom looked down her nose at her.

“I think you're mistaking me for my cousin Charmy?” Kit said after a very long silence. “Yeah. I'm pretty sure you're mistaking me for my cousin Charmy. I don't know where she is. I assume she wasn't built or my aunt and uncle are hiding her. They could be training her to kick your butt. I don't know how this dimension works. I just know my dad is not Emmet Brickowski. Not anymore.”

“That's what he said, too.” Doom made a disapproving click of her tongue. “But he will never be anything more than Emmet Brickowski. He will always be a child having a tantrum, even when he's not here anymore.”

“He’s not a child! He's way older than me!” This comment made Doom smack her head with her hand.

“You are just like him. It's terrifying to know that this man was allowed to raise a child.” She shook her head slowly. “I still need an answer. You can have whatever you want… if you can beat me.”

“So it's just me? Fighting you?” Kit looked up at the tall crystal dragon, swallowing hard.

“Yes. One on one. Just like it should have been all those years ago.”

“You don't need to get involved. I could-” Apocalypse was interrupted by a wave of Doom's hand.

“Silence. You had your chance, boy. Maybe you're not as strong a soldier as I thought you were. Once I take care of her we can discuss your place in my empire. Now. I want to hear her answer.”

Before Kit could give Doom the satisfaction of a reply, a rift similar to the one Kit came through opened between the two. Out of the bright light came a woman with a sword that had a purple heart gemstone set to it. Its blade was made out of a dark pink crystal with a center made out of rose gold. The hilt was also made of rose gold and looked like it had an antelope's horns. Her mousy brown hair was long and flowy, her eyes narrowed and semi-hidden behind a pair of goggles. She pointed her sword blade to Master Doom and bellowed her words in a powerful voice.

“My name is Charmaine Brickowski! Queen Watevra Wa'nabi sent me to make you go back to the darkness you came from and to ensure that the kingdom of Syspocalypstar returns to her full glory!” Kit smiled. It was good to be right for once. It was also good to know that in this dimension, her cousin was more than willing to step up when the world was screaming for a hero.

“Wonderful. There's two of you.” Doom rolled her eyes.

“Two of us?” Charmy looked around until she saw Kit. “Oh! Wasn't expecting Queen Wa'nabi to send another hero.” She inspected Kit carefully. “It doesn't look like she has Dawnbringer, though.”

“Dawnbringer?” Kit questioned. She had to assume it was the familiar looking sword. Her mind spun as she attempted to place where she saw it.

“Yeah! The queen found this sword in the remains of the Unikingdom. It's a sword of ancient power that can only be unlocked with-!” She was cut off by Master Apocalypse.

“A Gem of Acrilique!” He moved to his mother's side. “I'll take care of the so called hero, Mother.”

“I told you to be silent. Do not continue to test me. Now, the child came all this way to fight me and even found a sword that belongs to me. The least I can do is give her that fight.” Doom smirked. “It's funny how this family reunion will soon be cut short by their desire to be heroes.”

“I just want my dad back!” Kit added.

“We know, Catherine. Still amazed at how selfish that is!” Apocalypse called back. If one look from his mother could kill, the one that she gave him would be more than enough to obliterate.

“Stand. Down. Master Apocalypse. I do not need you to fight my battles.” The smirk never left Doom's face. “Unlike a certain brat who had to send his daughter to come fight me.”

“I told you! I was sent by the Queen, not by my father!” Charmy huffed. She turned to Kit. “Did Apocalypse say your name was Catherine? Unless you're bringing something to the table, get behind me.”

“I… I can help. I think.” Kit nodded slowly.

“The confidence you have in the situation is very reassuring.” Charmy gripped Dawnbringer tight. She took an offensive stance and heaved the sword to get ready to strike. “Catherine. Just stay behind me. I've got this. I've trained my whole life for this.”

“No, no! I can help.” Kit still didn't sound very sure, but she put up her fists regardless. Charmy shrugged.

“My deal with Catherine will apply to you as well, Charmaine. Defeat me and I'll give you whatever you want.” Doom's smile was sickening.

“I really don't trust that, but I'll still defeat you in the name of the crown!” Charmy rushed at Doom and was promptly thrown toward the wall. She lifted herself using Dawnbringer and tried again to swing at Master Doom. Doom attempted to grab her, but this only got her hand slashed by the blade. She howled in pain as she swiped at Charmy with the other claw. She took the hit, but used this as an opportunity to connect her blade with Doom once again. Another angry growl escaped from Doom's throat as she conjured a fireball and shot it at Kit. Charmy blocked the flames with her sword.

“Well? Aren't you going to fight? Your father put up so much more of a fight than you.” Doom scratched her chin as she parried Charmy’s sword swipes with her claw. “I know what I could do.” In a flash of light, Kit was holding an antique rapier made of solid red material. Kit knew the blade well, as she saw it on her father's hip during special occasions.

“Where did you get this?” Kit would have held the rapier, and the only other thing in this world that was her father's, close if it wasn't a weapon. She couldn't remember if her father actually gave the blade a name. That didn't seem like something he would have done and, if he actually did, he never referred to it by name to her.

“It doesn't matter. What does matter is this was the blade that helped your father defeat me. I refuse to let the same mistake occur again.”

“Are you sure you don't want to just fight my dad?” Kit said after a moment. “You've been doing so much to recreate a fight with Dad.”

“Oh no. If I wanted to fight your father, I would be fighting your father. Apocalypse controls the multiverse, after all. No, I see you as a way to assert my total domination over Emmet’s little picturesque life. I destroyed the world he loved and I made sure he would never come back. But you seem to be the last stubborn remnant of his former existence, the last continuation of the life he wanted to live. I will destroy you and finally completely destroy him.”

“Hey! My dad is Emmet! I have no idea who this girl is!” Charmy swung at her foe with fury. “The only way you can claim that that girl is Emmet Brickowski's daughter is if she was somehow the daughter of Rex Dangervest! But he's been gone for decades! My father and mother saw him disappear into nonexistence!”

“Why don't you ask her who her father is?” Doom purred as the smirk came back to her face. She threw two fireballs, one at each of the girls. Charmy was again able to block with her sword. Kit had to duck and roll. “I know I refuse to use that name he gave himself or any of the other names he decided he wanted to use to run away from his past.”

“You sound like Rex Dangervest is still a threat! He's gone!” She turned to Kit. “I really don't care who your dad is, by the way. I just need you to do something! I don't care what, I just need help over here!”

Kit closed her eyes and tried to remember what her father told her to do to do his special punch. He always said it was something that only an adult can really do, but he was trying to teach her anyway. She remembered asking Hawkodile about it as she was sitting in on her father's training. He said that it had to do with controlling a specific emotion. She was never able to do it, but it was something her father mastered. What emotion could he be controlling? She couldn't think of what it could be as she tumbled out of the way of another fireball. She decided to, instead of solving that mystery, employ the techniques taught to her by proxy, as RJ and Hawkodile sparred together. She tumbled behind Master Doom and lunged at her with the crimson rapier. The dragon growled as she swiped at Kit.

“You are so much weaker than your father! And he was weak! Didn't he train you for this fight?” Doom roared as she turned to see Kit roll away from her line of sight.

“What is with you and Apocalypse and thinking I was built specifically for a grudge?!” Kit shouted from behind Doom. “My parents never told me about you! The only reason I know anything about the Doom Lords is because we learned about them in history class! And guess what I was told?” She lunged a few more times at the head Doom Lord. “I was told that my dad kicked your butt! I have nothing to do with that! I was built long after you were sent to Awntawp!” Charmy watched the verbal and physical onslaught with total and visible confusion.

“That's impossible! You do know that your other father, Richard, has been fighting a war with us since long before recorded history, right? It's a war that has been passed down from generation to generation of Princess Unikitty's bloodline.” Charmy returned to the fight just in time to be whipped against the wall by a magical flick of Master Doom's wrist.

“I'll tell you what my father has told me. He told me of a kingdom long ago. He told me about the friends he made, the prince and princess he guided.” Kit did not stop lunging at Master Doom. “He never told me about you. He did tell me about Master Frown and Brock. Just not you.”

“He only told you about that weakling?” Doom used her magic to throw Charmy and Kit into each other. It took them so much longer to get up, the battle taking its toll. Kit got up and rushed at Doom again with her father's rapier.

“My parents never told me anything important relating to their past! I always assumed it was because they wanted to think more about the future, but I don't even know anymore!” Kit kept up her onslaught, feeling her frustrations blossom deep within her. “None of this matters anyway! It's not like they loved me any less because they didn't tell me anything important!”

Charmy steeled her gaze as she swung Dawnbringer above her head to strike at Master Doom. “Actually, I feel that the kingdom before the Unikingdom was really important to know.” Charmy pointed out.

“Your more juvenile father never deserved the life he was given, Catherine.” Doom magically pushed both Kit and Charmy into the wall once more. “Once I'm done with you, that pathetic excuse for a minifigure will finally be wiped from history as the hero and be known only as the villain of the story. He will not be missed.”

For a moment, Kit and Charmy did not get up. Something within Kit began to course through her very being, a deep anger she never felt she would feel. Almost by instinct, Kit's right hand wrapped around the horseshoe pendant Ken had given her. Somehow this gave her strength, amplifying her rage. She got to her feet once more, glaring daggers into Doom. Charmy could feel the heat coming off of the strange teenager and scrambled to her feet as well. Kit’s knuckles cracked as she clenched her left hand tightly around her father's rapier.

“I'm getting tired of hearing you talk crap about my dad!” She rushed at Master Doom, dropping the rapier as she moved. It felt like an aura of pink and green streamed from the tip of her knuckles as she pulled her arm back. “HE DID WHAT HE COULD TO BE BETTER THAN HE WAS!”

Doom tried to run, reopening the rift she had come into Foundation Prime through with a wave of her hand. She didn't go far before something tripped her just before she could step through. All she could register was that the offending object was something long and hard, the tip vaguely reminding her of a bubble wand. It seemed infuriatingly familiar.

Doom barely had time to react to the object's origin as the girl’s fist connected with her back, the force of a punch backed with the anger and stress of the whole journey breaking her into pieces. Kit fell to the ground, tears flowing down her cheek.

Wordlessly, Kit got up and grabbed the baseplate.

“What the heck was all that?” Charmy grabbed Master Apocalypse almost instinctively. “You. You stay.” She watched Kit flip through the previously discarded instruction book to figure out how to get the world she wanted out of the plate.

“It won't matter. Once she's done…” He took a breath. “I'll be back on Awntawp with… her.” That one word held more disappointment and pain than he probably anticipated could be detected.

“That makes things easy, I think.” Kit said, tiredly and without looking up. “And I'm going to meet you there. I want to see my dad after all this.” She glanced at Charmy. “I'll call you later, OK?

[keylovesstuff]

Ok so @tiny-prom and @casual-derg 's Player One Luigi AUs has had in a chokehold for a minute and I had to write a little thing for Villainess Peach....cause I love her 👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾 and this little Idea has been on brain for a minute.

The final Hammer bro clutched its right arm and its trembling legs ultimately gave out collapsing on the ground. Struggling to maintain consciousness, it summoned what little strength was left to glance from the red boot to her blue.

"You ..won't get away... with this...Luigi…He'll stop you like always," it stammered out every word.

Princess Peach snorted with glee reverting her wand back to its battle axed state. She gave it a smirk and then her back before making her way to the throne room.

"Tell him I look forward to it." She said confidently.

Opening the doors to the chamber, as expected, she was met with an empty, bigger throne and a much smaller one beside it. Bowser made storming the place way too easy sometimes between leaving these goons he called as a defense and following his daily routine to a T. She might as well make herself comfortable for a bit, seeing as he wouldn't be back from his morning stroll for another hour. This Kingdom's so-called heroes must be out as well, seeing as no one came to the aid of the soldiers earlier. It was a special day, however, so it made some sense why they weren't around, she thought as she readjusted herself on the bigger throne. No more than ten minutes later did she hear the sound of footsteps approach the chamber, and in front of the opened door appeared her pride and joy.

"Dad, were you guys training the army again? I think you all went a little overboard." The prince commented in the direction of several laid out soldiers before letting out a surprise gasp."Mama Peach, " he yelled in excitement, running towards and jumping into her open arms as she stood up.

"Surprise," she said, pulling the koopaling into a tighter embrace. "Didn't I promise I'd come see you on your birthday?" She reminded him, smiling when she felt him nod in her neck.

"Thank you. Oh, Mama, " he pulled away to look at her."Were you the one who did that to everyone in the hallway? You should go easier on them next time, " Junior advised, looking back at the area once more.

"If I hold back, they'll never get stronger now, will they?" She asked, placing him down on the floor, giving him another smile as he sort of agreed. "I tell your dad that all the time, but I guess he's become rather complacent with those guys always around. Yes." Peach stated it as a fact more than a question.

"Luigi and Mario" The prince felt the need to clarify their names as he would always do. "They're the best fighters in the whole wide world," he praised, and she had to stop herself from outwardly grimacing.

"Yeah? Do you think they're even better than Mama?" She asked and giggled when he immediately went silent as he seemed to be thinking about it hard.

"Hmm, I can't decide who would win in a fight between you guys. Maybe a tie?" He concluded, not reaching a clear answer nor wanting to give it any more thought.

"A tie, huh? I'm glad you think so, son. " The Princess struggled a bit to maintain the calm and sweet demeanor in the presence of her child as she said that. It took her a few seconds to push the images of her losses to them into the back of her mind. "Well, you know mommy's can do anything, right? Even beat the best fighters in the world, " she told him, kneeling down to his eye level, and he nodded again.

The outcome would be different this time. Peach just knew that what she had planned would put an end to those guys once and for all. With them out of her way, Bowser would have no choice but to give into her demands. Finally, she would be able to raise her child how she wanted so that he could serve his purpose for the people. Letting her thoughts get ahead of her, she could feel a laugh undignified for a lady creeping up. Glancing at the clock, it appeared she only had about twenty minutes left till his Majesty would return if word hadn't reached him already about what went on not too long ago. If she didn't want her plans thwarted before having a chance to execute it, then it was probably best to get a move on.

"Junior, how about we -" she started and gasped, looking in every direction as if he had just vanished in thin air from where he was seconds ago. Switching from panic mode real quick, she once again reverted the battle axe to her wand mode just in case she ran into some minions daring to challenge her should they regain consciousness along her way.

Just as expected, Junior was in his mess of a room. Toys, crumpled up pieces of paper, bandana's, and art materials were scattered all over the floor while he was in the closet desperately searching for something. All she heard from him were "no's' ' , "not that", "how did this get in here" and saw the items being tossed out one after the other, She was starting to get antsy at Bowser returning and with those guys as well.

"Honey you shouldn't walk away when mama's deep in thought it's a little rude" she lectured "Oh but we simply must get going, I have a bunch of festivities planned for you back at the mushroom kingdom" Peach told him walking up to him at the closet.

"Found it!" He yelled in triumph, showing her a piece of paper with a drawing on it. Ignoring what she had just said, he pulled her arm so she'd lean down to look closer at the picture as he pointed to each figure. "That's Dad watching everyone from his seat, and that's Papa Luigi with huge muscles showing off his cool hammer. Right here, Kammy's fussing at Mario about something, I think he called her a funny name or something. Finally, me and you are over here holding hands and smiling. Do you like it?" He finished.

Peach focused on the image of the two of them for a little minute. She couldn't put a finger on it, but something was a little off about it. Then she caught it.

"Oh, what's that little thing on your head here?" She pointed to the picture of himself.

"That's your crown, can't you tell? You're not wearing it in the picture cause it's on me, " He told her as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "It reminds me of you since I don't see you all the time. At least on paper, I get to wear it just like you, Mama. Do you like it?" He repeated his question.

It took everything she had to hold back the tears of joy pricking at the corners of her eye. A son should never see his mother break down crying even if it is the happy sort. Winning the fight against her emotions, she took a deep breath before answering him.

"I love it. I'm happy to know you want to be just like mama sometimes. " She finished and started standing up before Juniors voice caught her attention midstand.

"You can have it. So whenever you miss me, you can look at the picture. " he handed it to her.

Peach held onto the paper with great care not to crease any of the already existing creases. Even with the addition of the four extra figures, Junior's art was perfect. So perfect, the thought of desecrating the portrait by cutting out the extra people as soon as she was alone with it exited her mind as soon as it entered. Yes, they could stay in pictured form she figured it'd be a good source to turn to should he find it difficult to produce some tears. Again, this plan is full proof, so he'd need many things to help him for the future.

"You're the sweetest." she placed her hand on top of his red hair and rubbed it softly. "But Mama's supposed to give you presents on your birthday." With a giggle, she stood up and reached for his hand. The boy took it, and she led him out of the room.

They walked a little ways outside the castle to the pipe she entered from. All while she promised him the best birthday cake and gifts he could dream of. The best part, though she reminded him, was that he was spending this special day with his mama.

[blapis-blazuli]

Now listen up

I am obsessed with this man. He's got so many weird details about him and I love (almost) all of them.

First, Slim's original concept fucks. Being an undead cattle rustler out for bull's blood due to being trampled to death is fascinating. I don't know how long it took before someone at Disney cried "too dark" at that backstory, but I'm surprised it was even in consideration given the mostly lighter tone of the final product. More than that, Disney could've had a literal ghost rider among their villains! Had that movie been any good, he might've joined Disney's popular villain lineup, or maybe we could've even gotten a boss battle with him in a Kingdom Hearts game. That's not what we ended up with due to Reasons, though, which is a bit disappointing, but not much you can do about that.

Anyway, onto what we did get.

Before Slim makes his formal appearance, he's only seen in silhouette, on a wanted poster, then in disguise, and is finally fully revealed when he rides in on a bison. He is huge, and I don't mean because he's fat, I mean he's a good deal taller than most of the other characters. He's set up to be someone threatening, to be taken seriously.

And then comes his yodeling villain song.

The moment it's revealed that Slim's yodeling can hypnotize cows, the music picks up and there's a literal rainbow of colors for the rest of his number. As I said, he's a big man, but he's also light enough on his feet to dance and jump on and off any of these cows while not missing a beat in his performance. When the men who got knocked out beforehand come running after him, he doesn't threaten them, he just throws his spurs at a precarious bit of rocky landscape with such force that it falls and blocks the pathway to him. That's more badass than if he did draw his gun on them.

Actually, I wanna talk about the music he performs. The movie's set in Wyoming during 1889, so obviously Slim's not gonna be yodeling A Cruel Angel's Thesis or whatever. They could’ve come up with something original for him to yodel to (which, I mean, they kinda do), but they chose music by composers such as Tchaikovsky and Beethoven, which aren't exactly things you'd associate with the wild west. The obvious out-of-universe answer for why those pieces were chosen is "they existed before the year this is set in, and they're recognized even today," but we've no in-universe answer for why he chose them or how he knows them. Regardless, it's kinda amazing that he knows them well enough to yodel them.

His lair in Echo Mine has an area with some nice furniture in it. How'd this shit get there? Who knows. Anyway, this is where he reveals that he disguises himself to buy up the properties owned by the people he's stolen cattle from, which includes his former employers. Why doesn't he work for any of them anymore? He never directly says. According to him, they didn't "appreciate [his] talents," which means they probably hated his yodeling. I don't blame him for being mad about that because why the hell would you tell someone that? If he's doing the job right and well without hurting anyone, then who cares? The idea that he's moved on to use a skill against the former bosses who didn't like it is kinda great though.

(Side note: a nice, small detail about this part of the lair is the faded branding on the map, which shows that Slim has been doing this for quite a while. Shame that it's not more consistent from shot to shot though. I can't take credit for noticing this myself: my partner pointed it out after I posted a screenshot as a joke on Discord. She's so cool.)

Slim doesn't like it when someone calls his yodeling "singing": he thinks singing is beneath him given the disdain in his voice when he says that's what birds, saloon gals, and children do. No, he considers what he does to be an art. He's not entirely wrong, though: it is an impressive skill, especially since he can yodel to certain classical pieces like The William Tell Overture, Ode to Joy, Ride of the Valkyries, and The 1812 Overture. (Also Yankee Doodle, because, well, American. Also maybe Largo al factotum from The Barber of Seville, but I'm unsure of that one: unlike Slim, I am no classical music expert.) There's no need for him to be quite as defensive about it as he is, but his nephews calling it "singing," saying that might be why his bosses didn't like him, and calling yodeling "silly" is enough to make him get violently angry at them. Man's got issues.

Oh yeah, Slim has nephews. They're triplets named Gil, Phil, and Bill, and they're collectively known as The Willies. Unlike their uncle, they're all blond and thin, so god knows what Slim's unnamed and unmentioned sibling must look like.

Slim also has a bison named Junior. I'm not fond of the whole "he's too fat to ride anything else" angle of that, but I do like that they chose an animal that people are constantly told to not mess with because of how dangerous they are. Slim's not afraid of him: he's got this creature trained to listen when he calls for him. I can only guess that Slim is the one who named Junior, so maybe he also raised him. It would explain why Junior appears annoyed with him but still puts up with having Slim jump on his back and the like.

You know what Slim doesn't have though? Kids. Putting together the disdain in his voice when he mentions children, his seemingly low opinion of saloon girls, his big villain number turning the landscape into a rainbow of colors, the queer history of cowboys, and the prevalence of queer-coding in Disney villains... well, I think you get where I'm going with that.

Moving onto his disguise. Don't ask me why nobody figured out this was Slim sooner, given that his wanted poster shows they have the same facial hair, bushy eyebrows, and bags under the eyes. My best guess is because it's in black-and-white and he's in a different outfit, and unless someone's encountered him before they probably don't know what he sounds like. Anyway, His alias is Yancy O'del (yeah, I know), but the one sign we see him with has both "Mister" and "Esquire" in there.

Having looked this up, I learned a few things. First, having "Mister" and "Esquire" together isn't something you're supposed to do, yet nobody in-universe caught this. Second, in the United States, "Esquire" is a title only used for lawyers, so maybe that's why nobody questioned him - fear of a sudden lawsuit for something or other. Third, "Yancy" was not really a name used back then, or at least not a common one. Why'd he choose that name (besides for the pun)? I dunno.

(Also, where the hell does Junior stay whenever he goes to one of these auctions? The world may never know.)

Slim's final defeat at the hooves/wings/what-have-you of several farm animals is pretty pathetic, even by silly Disney villain standards, but I got to give him credit for not wanting to give up even after his disguise is (literally) blown and while he's stuck in a train's smokestack. I have no idea how he planned on getting out of that one, and whatever it was most likely wouldn't have worked anyway, but I admire his refusal to back down in the face of obvious defeat.

Even in his very last scene we see him struggling with the ropes they tied around him while he's carted off to jail. He does not give up.

Anyway, here he is picking up Small Black Market Dealer Steve Buscemi one-handed like it's nothing. (His name is Wesley, but Slim keeps calling him Mister Weasley. That's right, this movie used that joke before Frozen did.)

And here he is lifting three full-grown cows off the ground before tying them up faster than they can react to it. (The cows have names too, but this post ain't about them.)

He uses his left hand to write and aim his gun and seems just as adept with using it as much as his right, which is cool. (There's no frame with both his face and the gun, so you'll have to trust me on that.)

Speaking of his hands

Look at this huge-ass man and his pinkies, I can't with this dude

Look at that smile, sir, who gave you the right

If there were a whole movie about just these two, I'd watch it, I won't even lie.

I've gone on about this guy for probably too long by this point, so to sum it all up:

Babygirl

[fanartfunart]

The Well of Memories

Summary: post Tears of the Kingdom, Zelda thinks back on what happened, and what she can and can not remember. Link makes a connection with the feeling.

Happy 1 year anniversary to Totk! Here's a short drabble

(Totk Dragon Tears spoilers)

Zelda looked out at the endless sky, brows knit together. She tried to tease out her hazy recollection of swallowing the stone and everything after, but it refused her. Each droplet of memory felt like it was encased in a bubble too far to reach. Something that happened but never did all at once.

The edge of a cloak fluttered against her shoulder. A pair of legs slipped off the edge of the sky island next to her and settled there. A warm presence against her. Link. She slowly allowed herself to lean against him. He let her stay there, cozy and comfortable.

"Rupee for your thoughts?" Link whispered.

"...I had scars. Before. The battle with Ganon had been- I had wounds I never thought would heal." Zelda raised her hand, tilting it in the light. The skin was smooth and seamless. "They're gone. As if nothing had happened…. It disturbs me."

Link nodded softly. Zelda dropped her head against his shoulder. He hooked his chin over the top of her head.

"I know it would probably be far too much to comprehend, but I just wish I could at least recall my time as a dragon. It- it weighs in my mind as this untouchable pool, deep and mysterious."

She looked up and traced a mindless path in the sky "Continually, I ask myself: Did I help anyone for those thousands of years? Was I a symbol of Hope? Or was I a symbol of Desperation for my ancient friends? Did I do anything in the light of the first Calamity? I had to have been there. Did- did it rouse any part of my humanity when I saw it? And our own-" Zelda clutched the fabric of her pant leg. Link's soft presence was warm and far too light. She felt a need, a craving for pressure.

"I know for a fact I never saw such a dragon as you described. But- but is that because I was not ready to See? Could you have, then? Would we have known what would be if you hadn't-..." She threw her hand up and shook her head "No. I- doubt it would've been apparent regardless…"

Zelda sighed, heavily, "It just- it was such a monumental, terrifying, heartstopping decision. I- I felt as if I was to die." Zelda clutched at the stone at her collar. "I almost was, in many ways. And- I- I can't remember the last moment. I can't. I don't know if I ever felt relief. If I ever knew peace, even just once, for those thousand years."

Zelda took a breath.

Link said nothing.

It was a curious sort of nothing, because he had gotten at least slightly more talkative recently. He still took his time to consider words in situations such as this. But he was quick with a comforting hum or something to indicate the thought being made. Instead, it was a stark rigid silence. It reminded her too much of his knighthood.

She ducked her head, "Apologies, I didn't mean to overwhelm you with my thoughts. … I feel as if I'm a cacophony of emotion. I know it would be difficult to understand…"

Link was still quiet.

"Link?"

One more agonizing beat of silence, and he shook himself from it, "I know what you're talking about."

Zelda blinked. How could he possibly know? Then with sudden clarity, it clicked. A near death. A rebirth without memory. "Oh. Oh! I'm so sorry I didn't mean to-"

He snorted and giggled softly at her. Zelda frowned, looking at him to protest the indignity of his amusement. He soothed a thumb- his left, she noted, despite his right being the first to move- over the crease in her brow. "It's perfectly fine."

He looked to the distance of sky for a moment, the thoughtful hum settling in the breeze. "I- I think they come easier, softer, when you let yourself breathe," he said eventually, "They may never come to you. Perhaps it's a gift. To rediscover old sights as new. To live with fresh eyes and enjoy the moment." Link smiled, eyes closed, face soft with light haloed in his wind-tossed hair.

Zelda smiled, keeping her gaze to what was close. In her reach. She wrapped an arm around Link's shoulders. "We'll discover together," she said.

Link smiled softly, "Yes, together."

[universestreasures]

Inferiority Complexes

As far as my YGO DM muses go, Yugi & Mokuba are not only the youngest of my current line up, but are also the two who possess heavy feelings of inferiority regarding themselves and someone they care about a lot / look up to. With that comes shaky self-confidence and high self-doubt. However, how their feelings manifested, the intensity of those feelings, and how they are eventually overcome are different, and I want to go into that in this post (prepare yourself it's gonna be a lengthy one)

So, let's begin with Yugi, whose feelings are pretty blatant in the text (both anime and manga wise) and are a big part of his character growth / central arc. Yugi, unsurprising to anyone, feels a sense of inferiority to Atem, someone he looks up to and sees like an elder brother. So, when did this all start?

Well, pretty much as soon as Yugi figured out there was 'someone or something else' who shared his body and was the one doing the majority of the big feats in terms of the plot (Manga wise that's Death-T and Anime Wise that's in Duelist Kingdom). Atem always appears as a source of strength for Yugi when something is too tough for him to handle emotionally or physically. Even when he was unaware that Atem wasn't just an alternate personality of his but in fact his own person, he still was very much aware of the strong presence taking him over in times of adversity. And that fact...made him feel so weak and pathetic in comparison, that he Yugi Muto, wasn't strong enough to handle whatever he had to face.

This fact of him feeling like the 'lesser Yugi' damages Yugi's own low amount of self-confidence that he had even before completing the puzzle. He's never seen himself as anything special, partially due to his own humble nature. Even after the main story is done, he still feels that way. That low self-confidence leads to self-doubt and needlessly beating himself up for being so 'weak' to the point there are moments he gives into what others, such as Marik, have said about him only being Atem's 'vessel' and nothing else. As if that is the only thing he is good for, that he is the 'weaker' Yugi.

Sometimes he even questions if he should just 'vanish', that everyone would be better off if he wasn't there or that people would prefer Atem being around over him. We see this in the anime when Anzu is dueling in the Noa Arc, Yugi thinking that she is calling out for Atem and not him.

But it is Atem, along with the rest of Yugi's friends, who help him through these complex feelings, Atem especially. He teaches Yugi about strength and courage, a trait Yugi has had all along inside of him that he was unable to truly see. For example, he stood up to Ushio to defend Jonouchi and Honda even before Atem appeared, to stand up to a bully and protect people he called 'friends'. That kind of strength, the strength of kindness, is Yugi's strength, and it is through seeing Atem and teaching that fact to him, along with the encouragement of his friends, that allows him to really see it for himself.

This is why Yugi takes steps, such as during Battle City, to prove his own strength to himself. He wants to prove he isn't as weak as he thinks he is, to use what he's learned from his partner and stand on his own because he knows one day he will have to. This is done mainly through his battles with Otogi in the manga, possessed Jonouchi in both versions, and Yami Bakura in the Dark RPG. They were battles Yugi had to primarily or entirely fight on his own. And those battles showcased Yugi's own unique strength that wasn't just 'an inferior version of Atem's' or even a 'copy', which is shown well through Yugi's own unique deck he used against Yami Bakura.

This all cumulates in the ceremonial duel, where Yugi proves his strength and truly is able to overcome his insecurities to fulfill his last mission as Atem's vessel / partner. And he takes as much pride in that victory as he does sadness, for it was the last step in his journey. After that fight, he no longer sees himself as inferior to Atem, but rather his equal. For he knows that duel was evenly matched, and if he didn't predict Atem's final plan to win, he would have lost.

Lastly, he gets to prove to everyone who did believe those negative thoughts he had about himself to be true in DSOD, such as with Kaiba. Kaiba at the end acknowledges him as a true duelist, and that meant the world to Yugi. It really helped cement that new found self-confidence of his, especially because Kaiba has always been someone Yugi's respected and was Atem's rival.

Overall, Yugi's inferiority complex is a key part of his character arc. It is something he overcame with time and the support of his loved ones, and I for one as a Yugi mun cannot be more proud of my boy. I'm sure Atem is proud of him too, as we can no doubt see by the end of their duel and I suspect he felt when seeing Yugi again in DSOD.

As for everyone's favorite little bro, Mokuba feels a sense of inferiority to Seto, which isn't probably that surprising considering how he views his big brother and just what his brother has accomplished. Unlike Yugi who developed his feelings in the midst of the story, Mokuba's feelings have been pretty much a part of him since he could remember. Though, they are just as deep-rooted and potent as Yugi's, if not more so.

Mokuba's feelings began when he first developed his admiration for his brother. Seto was a genius, a capable young boy most would consider a prodigy. From Mokuba's POV, everything his brother was able to do was impressive, be it from grades, to ideas, to his talent for gaming. This feeling was probably shared by their parents and many other adults, to the point I am 100% certain Seto was a prime adoption candidate who probably refused if they did not want to take Mokuba too (which I imagine most if not all did not). And while he felt no feelings of jealousy to his brother for all that praise or attention he got (jealousy is a feeling Mokuba's never felt towards Seto ever), he did sorta start to see himself as...lesser in comparison.

Though, this is Mokuba 100% being unfair to himself. You must keep in mind Mokuba and Seto are 5 years apart in age, and Mokuba was only 5 and Seto was 10 when they were dropped off at the orphanage. That's a huge gap in terms of development, and Mokuba had not gotten as much life experience as his brother or time to learn and hone any really major skills (because I do think Mokuba is a fast learner when he puts his mind to something and is very motivated, similar to his brother).

But this reality goes over Mokuba's young mind (and it still does, even after knowing the logic). After all, if his brother can do all those things, surely he can too, right? So it must be an issue with HIM. It's part of why, more often than not, Mokuba sees himself as a burden to his brother, that his own lack of 'competence' or 'specialness' holds him back. He blames himself for them not being adopted by potential nice families who wanted Seto and not Mokuba, because if he was just 'better' than they surely would want both (even though that's not at all how that works, but again, little kid logic).

This is why, even at a young age, Mokuba tries to prove himself and can often be reckless. We see this in Death-T primarily in canon with him wanting to challenge Yugi (which was also motivated by getting his brother's approval), but I imagine he did this with just about anything he tried to do. He wanted to sorta 'catch up' to his brother, even though there was never a 'race' between the two of them to begin with.

These feelings of inferiority intensify after they are both adopted by Gozaboru. I imagine Gozaboaru, much like other parents, only really was after Seto. He had no interest at all in Mokuba. Why would he when Seto was the one to be the heir?

I imagine Mokuba didn't get the same harsh treatment his brother did from Gozaboru, because it was almost like he wasn't 'there' to begin with. Mokuba was isolated from his brother I imagine through a lot of their childhood, so he wouldn't be a 'distraction'. Sure he got educated too (I imagine he was just sent to regular school much like we see him in the manga going to), but it was not anything special. It was more like 'good enough' as opposed to anything extraordinary. And he was no doubt compared to his brother constantly, whether it was by staff or by people at school. That only made what he was feeling worse and led to both beating himself up needlessly (like Yugi does) and contributing to his nightmares at times.

On top of all of that, as Seto and him (manga wise anyway) got further and further apart, he sorta got the vibe from his brother that Mokuba was no longer 'worth his time'. He wasn't anything attention-grabbing anymore, hence leading to Mokuba's early manga actions (because I 100% think everything from the first Capsule Monsters game to his match with Yugi in Death-T was all to get Seto's attention and not his true nature. Why else would he just suddenly change personality traits upon Seto's loss, when he didn't get mind crushed?).

Even after repairing his relationship with his brother post Manga Duelist Kingdom, his feelings of inferiority were not addressed (he hasn't brought them up to Seto directly before cause he doesn't like to burden his brother and it's hard to talk about for him) and only grew as his brother accomplished more and more. He almost like saw himself at the bottom of the hill with his brother at the top, with the distance being too great between them. That distance was indeed one of his motivators for him to start working harder, to start taking a more active role in Kaiba Corp, and to start honing his gaming skills without the use of cheating.

So, with all that said, how does Mokuba overcome these feelings? Well, aside from working hard as I mentioned, I imagine it will be a slow process that is helped by both his friend squad and his brother. Mokuba's Buddyfight friend group (AKA my Gao, Tasuku, Suzuha, and Akatsuki) are the first real friends (outside of Yugi's gang) he's made that see him as NOT Seto Kaiba's brother but rather his own individual. They constantly lift him up, support his efforts, and are there for him. They've done a lot for him personally to feel like he's worthwhile and that he's not as 'weak' as he thinks.

As for Seto, any kind of praise or showcase of being 'proud' of him helps. This can be done in many forms, including being given important tasks at Kaiba Corporation, such as running things in his absence post-DSOD until he returns. I do imagine if Mokuba ever told his brother about his feelings, that Seto would tell him something along the lines of that he doesnt' need to feel that way or that he should not compare himself. Being seen in such a way by his brother would help greatly, along with I imagine if Mokuba is able to beat him in any sort of game and his brother expresses that he did 'good'.

In conclusion, I do not think it will be till Mokuba is an adult that those feelings he has will completely go away (I imagine they pop up every now and again too, like any deep-rooted feeling). It is only after having stood on his own two feet, having proved himself, having gotten that approval from those around him, and having probably bested his brother in a game that his view shifts from being 'lesser' to that of an equal, a true Kaiba in his own right (something he didn't have to 'earn' btw but he thought he had to). And I hope to get to explore that journey of growth through all my threads!

[tamathestoryteller]

What reason does cross guild have to take out Blackbeard? Did I miss something?/genuine

Holy shit I have never gotten an anonymous ask before! I am honoured! Thank you 🥹

No you haven’t missed anything. Not really!

The Strawhats and Luffy especially have reason because Blackbeard orchestrated Marineford to get an all star evil crew from Impel Down and Whitebeard’s DF. Therefore Blackbeard is basically responsible for Ace’s death. We know Blackbeard gave Shanks his facial scar, so I assume there is bad blood there, although the story hasn’t been revealed.

My reasons for the cross guild joining… under the cut. (Spoilers for Egghead arc past the anime, safe to read for manga readers)

My first (weaker) reason:

Perona goes in search of Moria, who is last seen on Blackbeard’s island while he is away. We are lead to assume Moria is killed by Shiryu and Catarina Devon. In the fandom, most people consider Perona to be Mihawk’s adopted daughter. In cannon, I’m not sure if Mihawk would go rescue her, but if he did he would probably go by himself…

But I think it is so funny to imagine Mihawk pulling up to the Sunny and being like: “Zoro! We gotta go rescue your sister”

My second (stronger) reason:

Currently all the 4 emperors are going after the One Piece and while Luffy has Robin to read the poneglyphs and went to each one of the Road Poneglyph and then collected them honestly. Luffy and Law gave Kidd copies of the Road Poneglyphs they got during their alliance because of his help with the battle on Onigashima. I’m not sure if he even knew about the road poneglyphs being necessary to find the One Piece before they give the copies to him. Anyway…

Shanks takes Kidd’s poneglyphs before he distroyed him (although I’m sure Kidd is still alive somehow), and Blackbeard took Law’s when he beat the Heart Pirates. So if we look at the race for the One Piece as consisting of having the info (poneglyphs) and having the means to translate them.

1st place- Luffy with 3 poneglyphs and Robin

2nd place- Blackbeard with 3 poneglyphs and Pudding. As it is implied in WCI that Big Mom wanted a kid with a 3rd eye because she thought they could read the poneglyphs.

Also in 2nd place- Shanks, because even though we don’t know how he intends to read them, Shanks has 3 poneglyphs and probably knows where the 4th one is.

Last place- goes to Buggy and the Cross Guild, with no poneglyphs and no means for translation. However Buggy has strong armed Crocodile and Mihawk into going for the One Piece by telling their entire organization that they will. If they go against him the organization will crumble because all of Buggy’s followers think that he is awesome, and they will look ridiculous if it comes to light that he got the better of them in the first place.

But I bet that it will only take Crocodile realizing that the race for the One Piece would help him get his hands on one of the ancient weapons and he would get on board. After that getting their hands on the road poneglyphs would be fairly easy. As a former Roger Pirate, Buggy can walk into Wano and ask to see their poneglyph, and unless he can read the poneglyph, or is given the explanation by Oden’s dad, he or Crocodile wouldn’t know about Pluton being hid under the poneglyph. If Crocodile did know about Pluton being under there then he would probably want to stop the whole thing there to bring down Wano’s borders and get it.

So after Buggy goes to Wano, Inurashi and Nekomamushi would give him a note or something to have permission to look at the one on Zou. A quick call to King Neptune or a little research and he would find out that the road poneglyph from the Ryugu Kingdom went to Big Mom.

With Big Mom out of the picture the Cross Guild could honestly trade or buy access to the one on Whole Cake Island.

Then the Cross Guild would have everything Shanks has since Buggy would also probably know how to find the 4th one.

My third reason:

Blackbeard is growing stronger by the day, and in addition to looking for the One Piece it is going to become obvious to everyone that he is going to try to crush the other Emperors eventually. His crew is in direct competition with the Cross Guild in terms of power. If they want to survive, teaming up with Shanks and or Luffy would be their best bet.

I also think story wise it would be one of the best ways for a Shanks and Buggy reconciliation, and to allow the Akagami Pirates to interact with the rest of the one piece world.

Because if that theory goes around that Shanks will die before Luffy gets to reconnect with him ends up being true. I will be very upset 😠

Thank you for coming to my ted talk.

[loneamaryllis]

for WIP game!

Lucius/Harrie

auction war for Reader

The many deaths of Severus Snape (is this perhaps a multiverse!au?👀)

The Muggle variable

Rose and the Alchemist

Harrie going dark, Snape following

God help me, i’m this close🤏 asking for all titles😔 all of em sounds amazing aaah

Hehe I can talk about all of them!

The Lucius/Harrie fic is a oneshot taking place after the war. Harrie comes to Malfoy Manor to check on behalf of the Ministry that Lucius is complying with the terms of his release. They have tea, and he flirts with her, while he's under Veritaserum influence because that's part of the agreement. To the standard question of "Have you had any thoughts that would cause you to break the law?", he talks about dreams he keeps having, spicy ones, featuring a dark-haired woman.

She leaves, flustered, trying not to think about it. She comes back the next day, and she's like "I don't know why I'm here." Lucius replies that yes, she does. Harrie asks him what happens in his dreams. And Lucius goes "Would you like me to tell you, or would you prefer a practical demonstration?"

Then they bang of course.

(Snape is off on a vacation or something, not dead, but not interested in Harrie either. Maybe he's with Narcissa, who is in a open marriage with Lucius.)

The Auction war for Reader is a Snape/Reader oneshot where a Muggle-born reader who fought in the Battle of Hogwarts is being auctioned off to a panel of Death Eaters after Voldemort won. Snape buys her, and then there's smut. It's a dark Snape fic...

The many deaths of Severus Snape is a complete crack fic.

Harrie keeps looping back in time, from the day she received her first Hogwarts letter to the final battle. She wants to save everyone. The problem is that Snape keeps dying. Whatever she does, and she tried a lot of things, he always dies.

The fic starts somewhere around her 100th loop or something, and its goes back and forth between her current loop and previous failed attempts, including one where she showed up on Snape's doorstep at 11, one where she kidnapped him, one where she pretended she was Voldemort reborn in her body, etc. Many fun scenarios!

The Muggle variable is a fic where Harrie never got her Hogwarts letter. She was hidden under a Fidelius set by Dumbledore, and she grew up in the Muggle world, never knowing she was a witch.

Then one day the Fidelius expires and both sides are suddenly aware Harrie Potter is alive. Snape finds her in a coffee shop, where she works. That first meeting doesn't go very well (she flees from him because he's Snape and did the "you're a witch, come with me if you want to live" with zero tact).

Eventually the Order convinces her to come with them, and then they have to figure out how to beat Voldemort.

Rose and the Alchemist is a Medieval AU where Rose Potter is the princess of a kingdom, and Snape is the royal alchemist.

She likes spending time with him in his weird laboratory up in his tower, and he keeps telling her it's not proper for her to be alone with him, but she doesn't stop. He teaches her things, too, things a princess shouldn't know, like which plant are deadly and how to make poison.

Then one day Prince Riddle comes to court, and asks for Rose's hand in marriage...

The Harrie going dark, Snape following fic is little more than mere vibes at his point, haha.

I imagine it happens after the fight at the Ministry in fifth year. Harrie loses Sirius and suddenly she decides she'll fight fire with fire. She starts looking for dark books in which she'd find dark spells, blood magic, things like that.

Snape notices, and Harrie is afraid he'll scold her and rat her out to Dumbledore. Instead, he helps. (And he gets turned on by Harrie getting darker and darker, and more powerful, though he keeps his hands off her probably until after she kills Voldemort, at which point they fuck next to his corpse while they're both covered in blood.)

Thanks for asking <3

[unreadpoppy]

6 songs tag game

I was tagged by @flamemittens!

I'm doing these for my dnd oc, Elizabeth Adawolf (drawing by @littlemoondarlingarts)

No pressure tagging: @desenhosdebolso @actualmagus @littlemoondarlingarts

(and you can bet i'm gonna put some of the meaning of these songs in a vaccum)

An event that defines your character's past (Blackbird by Norma John)

You sang when he was in my bed You sang when my heart sang, now Now you remind me of something I'll never have so Blackbird don't sing

I wrote a whole ass fic based on this song and in regards to Elizabeth's past, it's related to how she and her girlfriend got separated from one another.

2. How your character sees themselves (Monster by Skillet)

I feel it deep within It's just beneath the skin I must confess that I feel like a monster I hate what I've become The nightmare's just begun I must confess that I feel like a monster

Elizabeth's a werewolf, and for a long time she realy struggled with that, especially with the shift from her usual life to now being alone and working as a monster hunter. Beyond that, 'I hate what I've become' is a line that resonates with Elizabeth because she has suvivor's guilt and she keeps thinking about how she's not good, and she wished she had died alongside her family or that someone else has survived cause she did and she's a mess.

3. How others view them (Queen of Kings by Alessandra)

Got raven hair, it's dark as night Icy eyes, out of sight, out of sight Her heart in spite, is warm and bright Her smile awakes the Northern Light (...) A firestone forged in flames The wildest card, run the game, run the game Can't stay the same in this world of change Don't fear the pain, just break the chain

Very early on in our game, we discovered that Elizabeth was the chosen of the sun goddess, which also made her the heir of some kingdom, and because of that, some revolutions in a continent started happening and she's kinda the leader of all that now (and of the party) so this is why people see her way differently than she sees herself. Others do see her as a strong, capable leader.

4. Their closest relationship (platonic or romantic) - Universe & U by KT Tunstall

And you know there's no need to hide away You know I tell the truth, we are just the same And I can feel everything you do Hear everything you say even when you're miles away 'Cause I am me, the universe and you (...) Oh-oh when you're on your own I'll send you a sign Just so you know That I am me, the universe and you

Kallista is the most important person is Elizabeth's life after her family died, and one thing I like about this song in regards to that is that it refers to distance, because Kallista and Elizabeth have been (physically) separated for a long time now but the love they hold for each other is still very strong (so much so that one of the driving motivations of both of their stories was trying to find the other).

5. A major fight scene - Hero by Skillet

A hero's not afraid to give his life A hero's gonna save me just in time I need a hero to save me now I need a hero (save me now) I need a hero to save my life A hero'll save me (just in time)

Fun fact: This was the song I was listening when I came up with the concept for Elizabeth! And the reason it's here it's because of the image it conjured when I listened to it that led to Elizabeth which was a battle scene and of her beheading people to save others. Also I think the chorus has some beats that kinda give those 'combat montages' vibes kkkk

6. End credits song - Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles

Here comes the sun, doo-doo-doo-doo Here comes the sun, and I say It's alright Little darlin', it's been a long, cold, lonely winter Little darlin', it feels like years since it's been here

This is the moment where I get a bit sappy but because our campaign never ended (as our DM gave up on it due to personal reasons), there's not an actual, canon ending for my girl. BUT, in my personal ending, I would have wished for Elizabeth to finally get the peace and happiness she longs for and deserves and this song kinda signifies that for me, both in a metaphorical sense (the winter being sadness ending for the sun, peace, to come it) but also in a literal sense as i said before, Elizabeth is the chosen of a sun god, so I think it just fits perfectly.

[writing-from-supernova]

“Who would you choose, me or Kairi?”

this series makes me insane /pos

Wrote this pretty soon after I finished Kingdom Hearts 2, I only got into the series in early 2022 (late to the party lmao). But that means when I wrote this I lacked the context of anything beyond KH2, though I don’t think that negatively impacts what I wrote in any way.

I imagine they never speak of this again after returning to the Destiny Islands and it’s only after DDD/pre-KH3 that they finally talk about it. Soriku is canon in my heart.

Words: 603

The Realm of Darkness is surprisingly beautiful.

An endless beach, an endless sunset, and an endless feeling of relief. At least for Sora.

Everyone in the light world is safe. Kairi, King Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and all the friends he made in all the worlds he visited. Even though it comes with the sacrifice of him and Riku being stuck here, well... he can't complain too much. He can even catch up with Riku, which is exactly what he's been doing for the indeterminable amount of time they've been here.

"...Hey, Sora?" Riku asks. Sora sits up.

"Yeah?"

"Who would you choose, me or Kairi?"

The question is immediately confusing. "Huh? I can't pick between you two like that! You're both my best friends." Sora huffs playfully. "What kind of a question is that?"

Riku smiles gently. "I dunno. Guess I was just curious." He looks back out to the sea, seemingly finished, and Sora follows suit. A few minutes later, though, Riku looks back at his friend and speaks. "Can I ask you another question?"

"Sure, go ahead."

There's a pause. Riku scans Sora, his eyes holding an intensity that's only matched with how they looked during their recent battle. "Can I kiss you?"

Now that definitely takes Sora aback. He jolts backwards in shock, sending a small wave of sand towards the other boy.* "H-Huh? What? Kiss me? Isn't that– don't only boys and girls do that?" Of course, Sora knows that answer, he's thought about kissing and being near Kairi for a long time. But the thought of it being Riku instead, it's... strange. His heart has started to beat faster against his will.

Riku chuckles. "Not only boys and girls do that. You really are naïve."

"H-Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!"

"That you're naïve."

Sora growls. Before he can come up with a retort, Riku has suddenly shifted closer to him.

"I would like an answer, though." Riku says quietly, seemingly unfazed with how close they are to each other.

Sora stutters, and he can feel his face warm up. He thought this would be with Kairi, not...

“I... w-well,” Sora begins, “I wouldn’t... mind it.” That’s the strange part to him. He’s never thought about kissing Riku before, and now just the concept is making his heart leap into his throat.

Riku doesn’t say anything in response. He seems surprised, just for a moment, until he gently leans in and kisses Sora, bringing a thumb up to rest on Sora’s chin.

Sora can barely breathe, let alone move. It’s only just occurred to him that he doesn’t exactly know how to kiss somebody, which has resulted in him being completely frozen while Riku puts his lips to his. But the experience itself, how warm it is, feeling Riku’s hair brush up against his face, the feeling of Riku being careful and taking his time for once...

He may not be able to breathe, but he sure can turn his cheeks bright red.

Riku pulls back a few inches after a moment. His expression seems unsure. “Did you... like that?”

Sora’s eyes are wide like saucers, and it takes him a second to regain his voice. “I-I— uh, yeah... I did. It felt really weird, but I really, really liked it.”

Riku sighs softly in relief. “Good.” He pulls away fully, leaving Sora somewhat cold, and looks back out to the sea. “Just... let me know if you’d want me to do that again.”

There’s a pause. “I... I think I do want it again.”

The corners of Riku’s mouth curl up slightly. “Hah... come here, then, Sora.”

[queen-of-the-avengers]

Thor: Part Six

Pairing: Loki x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~2.3k

Warnings: canon violence and angst

Author’s Note: any and all comments are appreciated <3

x

Right behind the creature are armies of Jotuns ready to kill the Asgardians. You have no confidence that you'll come out of this alive, so you literally don't know what to do. You have the ability to fly away and separate yourself from the danger, but you're not the kind of person to leave your teammates behind despite not knowing them for very long. Right before they reach you, you hear a deafening road right above you. The sky opens up, letting the Bifrost blast down to right behind you. When the rainbow bridge is gone, Odin is there on a horse with Gungnir in his hands.

"Father! We'll finish them together!" Thor says with a bright smile.

"Silence!"

His voice booms as he strikes Grungnir on the ground, causing the Frost Giants to cower backward in fear. Laufey uses his powers to get to Odin's level to talk to him while your team is left on the ground below. Both Laufey and Odin look unsure of what is about to happen next, and the blue creature sizes up Odin. He can tell Odin is not the foe he once was--he's matured. Something that Thor still needs to learn.

"Allfather, you look weary," Laufey says calmly.

"Laufey. End this now."

"Your boy sought this out."

"You're right. These are the actions of a boy. Treat them as such. You and I can end this here and now before there's further bloodshed."

"We are beyond diplomacy now, Allfather. He'll get what he came for--war and death."

"So be it."

Without warning, Laufey swings an ice blade at Odin, but the Asgardian King is quicker. Odin brings down Gungnir to the ice below him. Laufey and the rest of the Frost Giants are blown back by the wave of energy radiating from the spear. The other Frost Giants turn tail and run knowing that they won't beat Odin. Thor watches them flee with delight shining in his eyes. You should have never come here in the first place.

Odin raises Grungnir and the Bifrost opens at his command. Every single Asgardian, including you, gets transported off the icy planet and back to the golden one. As soon as everyone is in the Observatory, the Bifrost closes. The air is thick with tension as Odin determines how to punish his son for what he did. Odin looks scary enough as it is, but he's beyond pissed which only puts you more on edge. You back up in fear, almost knocking into Loki.

You don't know what he'll do to you since you're already on his bad side.

"Why did you bring us back?" Thor demands.

"Do you realize what you've done? What you started?"

"I was protecting my home!"

"You cannot protect your friends. How can you hope to protect a kingdom?" Odin turns to the other warriors who fought alongside you. "Get him to the healing room!"

Sif, Volstagg, and Hogun help Fandral out of the Observatory since he got injured in battle.

"There won't be a kingdom to protect if you're afraid to act!" Thor says once you're alone. Odin stares at him as if he can't believe his own son would talk to him this way. "Whatever the cost, the world must know that the new King of Asgard will not be held in contempt."

"That's pride and vanity that talks! Not leadership! Have you forgotten everything I've taught you?"

"While you wait and be patient, the Nine Realms laugh at us! The old ways are done. You'd stand giving speeches while Asgard falls!"

"You're a vain, greedy, cruel boy!" Odin yells.

"And you are an old man and a fool!"

The whole world seems to stop at Thor's words. Odin falls quiet as he thinks about what to do next. You and Loki stand off to the side in complete silence, too scared to speak for very different reasons.

"A fool, yes," Odin says with a certain calmness that makes you uneasy. "I was a fool to think you were ready."

"Father--"

Odin turns to his younger son and gives him a look that stops Loki in his tracks.

"Thor Odinson, you have betrayed the express command of your King. Through your arrogance and stupidity, you have opened these peaceful Realms and innocent lives to the horrors of war."

The Allfather plunges Grungnir into the Observatory's control panel, the same control panel that Heimdall used when you first got here. As soon as he turns it, the Bifrost opens to a place you don't know of yet. This could be your chance to get the hell out of here. You're not sure where the other end of the portal leads, but you can always figure out the details later.

"You are unworthy of this Realm, unworthy of your title, and unworthy of the loved ones you've betrayed. I hereby take from you your powers." As Odin is talking, he uses his powers to remove the armor from Thor's clothing, stripping him bare. He reaches out for the hammer, and it slams into his hand as if he owned it. "In the name of my father and of his father before, I cast you out!"

Lightning stems from Mjolnir and onto Thor, casting away the rest of his body armor. Odin thrusts Mjolnir before him, and with a crack of thunder, Thor is hurled backward into the open Bifrost. This is your chance to escape. You spring forward and rush to the Bifrost before it has a chance to close. Odin sees you running toward the open portal, and he's more than happy to get you out of his home. You jump through the portal in hopes that you're put back home.

Anywhere is better than Asgard.

Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.

The blinding lights of the rainbow bridge keep you from seeing where you're landing. You slam into the soft soil below with a loud noise, skidding a couple of yards away from the crash site. You groan and cough, your eyes fluttering open from pain. The first thing you see is an ugly van with a bunch of scientific shit on it. The next thing you see are two women and a man bending over Thor to see if he is okay.

You groan in pain as you sit up, realizing your injuries are worse than you thought. Your arm is broken, there are cuts all over your face (you can feel them stinging), and your legs are all cut up. You'll heal in time, so you don't worry about them too much. Thor isn't moving on the ground, so you have to get to him before something bad happens. Your vision is still a little blurry, so you're not quite sure what planet you're on just yet. Plenty of planets have cars and human-like figures.

"I think that was legally your fault," the darker-haired woman says.

"Get the first aid kit," the light-haired woman orders.

"We have another one over here!" the man says loudly to the two women.

"Thor!" you say with a strained voice. You pull yourself to your feet and hobble over to the ex-God. "Move!" You practically shove the brunette out of the way to inspect your friend. "Thor, wake up."

"Lady, your arm is broken. Are you okay?" the man asks.

You ignore him for the time being and slap Thor's cheek as hard as you can. Thor's eyes open wide as he lets out a startled gasp. You sigh in relief that your new friend isn't dead yet.

"Where are we?"

"Excuse me?"

"The planet. Where are we?"

"Earth."

"Son of a bitch," you curse and turn to Thor. "Come on, let me help you stand up."

Using you as a strong support system, Thor struggles to his feet. Your arm is still broken, so you have to use your good side to hold your enormous friend up. This isn't the first time you've been tossed around like this, and in fact, this isn't the worst kind of pain you have felt. Your arm may be broken, you may have scratches and cuts all over your body, and you may feel sore, but Markus has done worse to you which is why you're not taking it as hard as Thor is. Odin has stripped him of his power, so he is just a man now. You've been with these powers even with the torture you endured.

"Wow. Does he need CPR? Because I know CPR. Where did they come from?" the dark-haired woman asks.

"Are you two okay?"

"Hammer," Thor mutters, still out of it.

"Yeah, we can tell you're hammered. That's pretty obvious."

"No, did you see a hammer fall from the sky?" you ask

"Are you two on something? Weed? Crack? Heroin?"

"Erik... look at this."

The light-haired woman stares at the mark left by the Bifrost. The man named Erik joins her side to marvel at the phenomenon that they've never seen before. Amazed and excited, the woman hurriedly takes out a camera and snaps some photos of the runes. A breeze begins to blow them away.

"Darcy, grab a camera. We've gotta move fast before anything changes."

The dark-haired woman must be Darcy. Thor looks up at the sky, his vision still blurry from the fall.

"Jane, we need to get them to a hospital," Erik says to the light-haired woman.

Good, you now know all of their names. Jane kneels and quickly scoops up a soil sample in a canister to examine later.

"Look at them, they're fine."

"Her arm is broken and he doesn't seem in his right mind," Erik whispers to her, but you hear.

"Father! Heimdall! I know you can hear me! Open the bridge!" Thor yells to the sky, startling the trio. When he doesn't receive an answer, he turns to the trio with angry eyes, startling them. "Where am I?! Answer me!"

Darcy reaches into her fanny pack and removes something, but the lights on the car are too bright for you to see what it is.

"What Realm?! Alfheim? Nornheim?"

"Thor," you hiss quietly.

"Uh... New Mexico?"

Darcy raises the object in her hand at Thor, silently threatening him that she will use whatever it is on him. You shift to the right and see that it's a taser gun.

"You dare threaten Thor with so puny a--"

Darcy fires at him before you can stop her, the electrified wires shooting out of the taser. Thor convulses and falls to the ground, unconscious.

"What the fuck did you do?" you exclaim and rush over to Thor.

"What? He was freaking me out," Darcy shrugs.

"Next time, don't fucking taser him," you sigh.

With your alien strength, you heave Thor to his feet. He leans limp on your body as you drag him to the car. You don't know who these people are or what their intentions are, but they are taking you and Thor to the hospital. Your broken arm fucking hurts whenever Thor leans on it, but you fight through the pain.

"Jane, come on," Erik says.

Reluctantly, Jane joins the rest of her friends inside the SUV. Erik gets behind the wheel, Darcy takes the passenger seat, and Jane joins you and Thor in the back. It's pitch-black outside, so the only source of light is from the moon and eventually the street lights. Jane hasn't stopped staring at you since you got into her truck.

"Can I help you?" you ask Jane.

"Your skin. Are you healing?"

Your wounds must be healing right in front of her eyes. Though, through the darkness, she could be mistaken. The scratches on your face close up, the wounds on your legs slowly heal, and your broken arm tries to mend itself back together.

"You must be mistaken. I'm fine."

Erik races to the hospital, the car in complete silence. You try to ignore Jane who keeps staring at you as if you're a fucking alien. Well, you are, but she doesn't know that. By the time you get to the hospital, all the cuts on your face are healed, most of them on your leg are gone, and your arm is about halfway through healing. You hop out of the van and hear a sickening crack in your arm, and you look down to see it completely healed. You stretch your arm to get the blood flowing again and turn to Thor only to see Jane staring at you.

"Would you quit staring at me? How would you like it if there were eyes on you at all times?" you snap.

"Sorry," she whispers.

"Go get a fucking nurse."

She scrambles out of the van and jogs inside with Darcy to get a nurse. They come out with two of them and a gurney. The nurses work together to put Thor on the gurney while you, Dary, Jane, and Erik head inside to the receptionist to check in.

"Name?"

"Thor."

You turn to see Thor being wheeled to the back by people in white clothing. You narrow your eyes at the orderlies before turning back to the receptionist.

"T-H-O-R. Your relationship with him?"

"I've never met him before," Jane says first.

"Until she hit him with the car," Darcy quips.

"Grazed him, actually. She tasered him."

"Yes, I did."

"He's my friend," you say.

"Fill out these forms please."

The receptionist hands you a bunch of forms to fill out, and instead of making a scene, you take them and grab a pen. You're about to take a seat when Jane stops you.

"What are you?"

"Excuse me?"

"You had cuts all over your face and legs, and now they're all healed."

"You must be seeing things. I'm fine."

"I know what I saw."

You have to give her credit where it's due. She is persistent, but that can be dangerous to certain people.

"Thank you for bringing us here, but I can take it from here."

"Jane, come on. We need to go," Erik says.

Jane has no choice but to listen to her friend. She, Erik, and Darcy start to leave the hospital when Jane looks back at you. You have forgotten the clipboard with the paperwork on one of the chairs, and you're heading back to see if you can't find Thor and get him the hell out of here. Jane turns around and watches you walk away. She notices your leg and her eyes widen at what she sees.

The gash that's on the back of your leg is mending right before her eyes. You don't realize the pants you're wearing are torn in the back. Your wound stitches back together as if it was never there in the first place.

x

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[blazerwyvernmaster]

Rating FE4 Maps P2

Girl of The Spirit Forest

YAY, I'm talking about FE4 again!

BTW, if yall just want to rate maps from other games too,

I've played through FE4,FE5,FE7,FE8,Echoes,Three Houses, and I'm playing Engage.

Though it may warrant a new series. ANYWAY!

Story

Unfortunately, in the last chapter, our princess was in another castle. Gandolf took her to Verdane. So that's where our next stop happens to be.

It's probably good to mention that pretty much all the battles in this game are full on wars. And I love it.

Anyway, Eldigan takes a visit to be cool and says he'll protect you from any possible invaders, as that's what buds do. Later on, he will uses his actual fucking demon blade on a regular ass man. And doesn't kill him. God he's cool. It would be a shame if I had to Insert spoiler here.

After that, we learn that Edain is OK! The youngest prince of Verdane, Jamke, saved her behind the back of his two, more evil brothers. And also freed an actual thief. Be tells them to run away, but can't go with them because he has to deal with his father.

In the meantime, you learn about Ayra. She's working for one of the princes of Verdane in order to protect Shannan, her nephew, who is a child. She doesn't seem evil. I wonder what would if you lured her away from the castle and killed that stupid dickbag prince?

Oh, she joins! Which is weird because your kingdom and hers are at war?? But it's fine. I'm sure deciding to have the prince of a warring country in your custody will lead to no problems whatsoever.

Then you kill Gandalf. Fun times.

Manfroy and Sandima talk about the backstory of the Loptyr Cult over the kings dead body. They also talk about finding a lady with the best holy blood.

Edain talks Jamke out of murdering you! Yay! And then Sigurd makes some unwise decisions regarding a mysterious forest lady named Deirdre.

That will not come back to bite him. I'm positive.

Aaaand THATS BASICALLY IT!

Never expect me to make a good story synopsis.

I like the story of this chapter. It gets a lot more interesting since you can already see how things have already started to unfold and change for future events.

Gameplay

While I did wish the game once again explained how castles worked,it's really not hard.

I like how you can figure out how to stack the weapon triangle, terrain, and authority stars with the first few enemies.

I also love the Dew pitfall. It gets Dew some levels... but thieves aren't very useful in this game, so it doesn't matter. It does by Edain some time to escape.

Ayra's recruitment is very stressful and difficult. Not to say that it's a bad thing, but thr safest solution I had was just having Finn hide in the forest and pray she didn't reach him.

The worst part of this chapter is near the end. I know the game wants you to get Deirdre by having Sigurd more through the forest, but there was definitely a way to do it without forcing your entire army to slow down to a crawl. And you have to deal with Jamke too! For me, that meant killing some of his squad, then retreating and praying Edain didn't die while I tried to talk to him. The recruitment on this chapter can be downright frustrating at times.

Also, I like the Lex brave axe secret. It's funny and incredibly random, and it makes him become a god. It's the reason I promote him first.

Eldigan showing up to beat up Elliot with his actual fucking demon blade was cool as hell. And if you're good, you can probably use this opportunity to train Arden, who you definitely parked at the castle at this point.

Anyway, with that all said and done, I think this chapter deserves

7/10

Don't ask what the rating system is based on. Idk either.