#Glad you enjoy the comics as well lol

[pushing500]

Hi! I love your stuff, but noticed you’ve got a Pink boxed euglena too! For me it ended up being a conflict between [NL] Facial animations and the race, but the Facial Animations Xenotype Compatibility mod by Leaguenet fixed it for me, I thought I’d reach out and tell you about it incase yours was coming from the same problem. Love the comics!

Hello, Anon, I would like you to know that you are my hero. I hope you have the most amazing, incredible, spectacular day ever!! That pink square has been bugging me since Jesse arrived, and now it's gone!! He must be so glad to be rid of his ridiculous pink halo. Thank you so much!! <3 <3 <3

You've saved him from being cursed to an eternity trapped in that pink box.

His head changed shape a bit, but I like the new look. It suits him.

[b4kuch1n]

done with the current dip pen comm queue (just in time for another Nib Accident too lol. I’m learning how to take care of the tools as well) so uh! it’ll take me two days to get a replacement and get some other stuff done. which means slots will be available again this saturday!

[robotic-poet]

Scott pilgrim anime was SO good. Might make some art. Also ramble on tags

[pinkaditty]

Beauty (Twisted Wonderland, Rook Hunt)

tiptoes into blog again but steps on a comically placed whoopee cushion and alerts the entirety of my eagerly awaiting readers

hey hi hi sorry this is 2 let you all know that i am ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i had 2 disappear 2 focus entirely on my studies bc i was due 2 graduate with honors soon and i needed 2 have ALL my work completed lol! anyways, im glad 2 say that soon i will be the proud owner of an early bachelor’s degree in pre-med. this honors thesis better look STUNNING on my fucking resume. 

a/n: anyways YES im working on ur asks now that i have more free time yaaaaaaaaay!!! in the meantime enjoy this lol i wrote it entirely on a whim bc i saw the new rook card on twt and was like “hm. okay fine ass.” anyways let it be known i know VERY LITTLE about book 7 and Rook in general (ive seen spoilers but i don’t actively seek them out, plus i don't have the game anymore bc free palestine, fuck disney), so this might be ooc or an unusually placed scenario. please let me know how i can improve!

summary: rook’s back to his old self. he’s not sure of himself, but you have some choice words. 

cw: suggestive!!!!!!!! minors DNI!!!!!!!!!, book 7 spoilers i think, gn!reader (specifics of reader’s physical attributes are not mentioned, but Rook uses the masculine French word for "dear"), NOT PROOFREAD!!!!.

MINORS DNI AS PER USUAL THIS IS SUGGESTIVE!! THANK YOU FOR RESPECTING MY BOUNDARY!!!

“Well, I admit… the version of me you see standing before you, cher, was not me at my prime…”

You stare curiously at the man before you. Unmistakably, this was Rook. Same French accent, albeit with a harsher twang, same upturned green eyes, same haunting, knowing smile. It was Rook, without a doubt. But, he was different. He looked different. His uniform wasn’t Pomefiore- it was Savanaclaw. His hair was longer and wilder, choppy bangs and uneven waves falling in his face and along his back. His skin was darker, a light tan present on his usually pristine, pale skin. Freckles dotted the bridge of his nose and crest of his cheeks, and a smattering of them was found on his shoulders and neck. He didn’t stand quite as tall; rather, he stood with a slight slouch. Bending forward just slightly, piercing green eyes peering at you from beneath the shadow of  a wide-brim brown hat. Strangely, like this, he appeared considerably more predatory. 

Suddenly, him previously being in Savanaclaw made sense. 

However, this spurred a question in you. Not about his decision to change dorms, but about his words.

“What do you mean, not at your ‘prime’?”

You furrow your brows in confusion as you stare back at him, searching for answers. This Rook- with far more obvious muscle definition and hardened expressions- seemed quite at his fully-functioning peak. You step towards him, your eyes raking over his form, lingering at his rough, calloused hands on his hips, at his broad, freckle-covered chest, and at his perfect cupid’s bow, where a stray freckle laid. “Mon trickster,” he speaks, the sharp twang of his accent making you shiver. His lips rise into a knowing grin. Your eyes snap back up to his eyes, glued to you in irony. “It’s rude to stare.”

Your cheeks heat up only for a moment, but you wave him off. “Rook…” You start, giving him one more once over before glancing away again, not wanting to get too caught up in observing his proportions. “I don’t think this isn’t your prime. If anything…” You turn to him again, looking him in the eyes. You roll your bottom lip between your teeth before hurriedly spitting out the words before you could regret them. “...I think you’re beautiful.” 

You would expect Rook, of all people, to be unfazed by these words. However, he seems a bit taken aback, his eyes widening and his posture straightening, before he leans back forward again, his predatory smirk stretching wider across his face. “Merci, mon chéri, however, I do believe-”

“I mean it.” You quickly interrupt him, stopping him from beginning a self-depricating tirade of how unaccustomed he used to be to the concept of beauty. “I think you’re beautiful like this.” You face him head-on, your heart pounding loudly in your ears. This shouldn’t feel like confessing, but strangely, it does. 

Now it’s Rook’s turn to blush. His smile fades, his eyes going from knowing to gentle curiosity. The warm redness of the blush spreads across his tan cheeks, accentuating the darkness of his freckles. Something about that is endearing to you, and for a moment, you are emboldened. 

You step closer to him, to which he instinctively steps back, maintaining space while his senses are momentarily thrown off by his reaction to your praise. However, he doesn’t get to do that for long. He stumbles back into a stool, gripping onto its edge as he falls onto it, surprised. He would have known that was there, if not for your closeness and persistence. You move even closer, placing a knee between his thighs on the stool, boosting your height and leaning in to grab his face. He freezes, momentarily shocked by your bold actions, but he soon relaxes, his shoulders falling and his breathing returning to normal. He looks down, his eyes becoming hooded before he looks up at you again, his emerald gaze more alluring than before. He bites his lip before speaking, probably to distract you. Admittedly, it almost works. “Mon trickster…” He speaks again, and you wonder how anyone got used to hearing him speak, when such a harsh twang in a smooth accent contradicted so perfectly. He breathes shakily, a blush returning to his face. You deduced he was definitely trying to lure you in. “You’re being… awfully bold today. May I ask what’s brought this on-”

“Your imperfections are what makes your beauty!” You don’t shout, but you do raise your voice, ensuring his words are drowned out. Being this close to him makes you somewhat nervous, but you stand your ground, pressing your palms a little more into the flesh of his cheeks. He blinks at you confusedly, waiting for you to speak. You open your mouth to speak, but close it just as quickly, letting out a few false starts before sighing. You look away, taking a deep breath, before steeling yourself and facing him once more. Slowly, you let your eyes take in his face, until your gaze reaches his freckles, prominent against his tan skin. You find yourself stroking his freckles with your thumbs, gently tracing the nonsensical patterns in which they appear. You finally find your confidence again, and speak without thinking. “Your freckles and tan don’t tell me that you had bad or sensitive skin- they tell me that you loved the sun.” Your voice is so gentle it surprises yourself, not whispered, but low, and filled with a strange intimacy. 

His eyes widen at your words, his lips parted. He breathes shakily, but something about it is genuine this time. His eyes remain fixated on yours, his thick eyebrows downturned in a strange mix of melancholy and yearning. You stroke his face more, and he relaxes, closing his eyes and letting you hold him. You begin to breathe shakily yourself, your body flushing with heat and your fingers beginning to tremble just slightly. You move your right hand from his cheek to his hair, not once lifting your palm. Your fingers gently move through his hair, holding the back of his head, and he leans into your touch, exhaling as your pinky brushes the back of his neck. You lean in as well, following him as he follows your touch. He opens one eye to peer at you curiously, gauging your next action. When you gently pull at his waves, his eye snaps shut again, and he disguises a moan as a throaty exhale. You speak again, led purely by the spur of the moment. “Your uneven bangs and wild hair don’t tell me that you didn’t care for it- it tells me that you took the time to let it grow, and chose not to restrict what was yours.” You say this close to his neck, your lips gently brushing against the shell of his ear. He shivers, gripping the stool harder.

You begin to pull back, keeping your palms to his skin. You move your right hand back to his cheek, where your left hand still rests on his other one. You pause for a moment before drifting both hands downwards, your palms and fingers tickling his jaw and neck. He leans his head back to allow you access, sighing quietly at the feeling. You gently trail your palms and fingers down his neck before finally resting at the base. You then gently drag your hands to his shoulders and squeeze them, looking up at him. His blush still remains, and his lips are still parted, his breathing still shaky. He gazes at you expectantly, as though eagerly awaiting your next bit of praise. You lean towards his face and press your forehead to his, looking down at his shoulders. “Your slouch does not tell me that you had bad posture- it tells me that you were shyer, and didn’t take pride in your appearance.” You begin to trail your palms down his shoulders, your fingers feather-light on his skin in their wake. He shivers at the gentle stimulation, closing his eyes again. His breathing gets heavier and shakier, and you begin to feel heat pool within you once more. You pull your head back, straightening up as your stare at him. Leaning your face close to his, you continue to trail your palms down his arms, your fingers lightly pressing into his muscles, mapping out the structure of his body. Eventually you lift your palms, using only your fingers to trail down his forearm, tracing the insides of his wrists. He hardly flinches, likely expecting this, but still shivers at the sensation. “It also tells me…” You continue, your lips mere inches from his, but not daring to move any closer, staring at his cupid’s bow and blonde lashes. Your fingers reach his hands, and you gently pry them from their grip on the stool, moving them to his lap, palms up. You trace your fingers along his rough, calloused palms and fingers, making shapes and patterns. “...That you took more pride in the things you did with your hands.” You press your palms into his and his eyes flutter open, not surprised to find you mere inches from his face. He exhales, his blush deepening. He blinks at you, knowing you still weren’t finished yet. 

“Your imperfections lead me to your beauty. That’s why…” You trail off, lifting one hand from his palm and caressing his cheek once more. “...You’re beautiful.”

You begin to pull back, closing your eyes and quickly moving away, beginning to move your knee from between his thighs on the stool. However, he quickly grabs you, his fingers gripping the back of your uniform as he pulls you in. Your knee follows your movements, pushing into his inner thigh on the stool. He sharply inhales, looking down, before looking back up at you with hooded eyes. His eyes still look expectant, as though he still wants more.

“Mon trickster…” He says lowly, pulling you in further. Your knee presses harder against his inner thigh and your upper body closer towards his. He breathes shakily, moving one hand from the back of your uniform to the front, bunching some of it in his grasp. He tilts his head towards you, and you can feel his breath on your lips as your eyes lock with his. Heat flushes through your body again.

“Are there any other… imperfect beauties… that I possess, that you’d like to point out to me?”

rejoice! entertainment be upon ye!

a/n: okay but seriously, i hope u all enjoyed! i wrote this in like,, a few hours? for reference it is like. 5:45 am where i am as i type this LOLLLL! i was up lateee bc i no longer have schoolwork which meansss every spare second i have that im not working working, ill be doing these. anyways! please please pleeeeaaaasssseee leave a like, comment, and a reblog if u liked it! i love 2 know that u loved my work! ik its been a while but i promise 2 try 2 be more active… i swear!! oh, and leave an ask if u have any ideas about other things i should write!

[loudclan-clangen]

sort of an out of the blue ask, but I remember when Weed was first introduced, she and Tundrafrost were said to be old friends and they were being pretty touchy and blushy with each other and Chickadeeblur seemed kinda jealous. Did they actually have a thing for each other, or did Chickadee just misinterpret it that way?

…also I can imagine Weed sort of being the wine aunt to Tundra’s kids and that’s cute to me lol

Tundrafrost and Weed did in fact "have a thing" in their much younger years. Tundrafrost and Chickadeeblur didn't grow up in the valley, and throughout their journey to it Tundra had many non-serious flings, of which Weed was one. When Weed was looking for a place to settle down for her old lady years, she reached out to Tundrafrost, whom welcomed her to the clan. Chickadeeblur had no real reason to be jealous, as she has no interest in taking a mate at this age, and the three are very good friends now. You're so right though, they definately do a kid trade where Tundra and Chickadee get to enjoy Cavepaw's baby phase and take him exploring out of camp to get his energy out while Weed settles down to talk Kingfur, Sockeyepelt, and Chumpaw through their standard teenager drama.

*bonk* *bonk* *bonk* *bonk* *bonk* *bonk* *bonk* *bonk* *bonk*

hehe, love it!

I try to keep the names the game gives me if it doesn't contradict with the setting. Things like "Owl", "Weed", "Jagged", or "Fierce" while not being Alaska specific are things or ideas that would be accessible to the cats and therefore I leave those. But names that do contradict or just seem boring to me I do try to change to something similar but more specific. Sand -> Silt, Chicken -> Chickadee, Prarie -> Tundra, Dog -> Dogwood, etc. It's not that any of these couldn't exist in nature in alaska, they just didn't feel like they fit the story at this point. In the first couple of hundred moons I tried to make sure that litters were named thematically based off of the oldest kit's name and their parent's personality, but after time this just became too much work and I think the random names are fun too. That's why the Tundra x Chickadee babies are all types of salmon and the healer kits all have long plant names. Some themes are definately looser than others. I do definately change the sillier names and try to balance out the "weird", for example, the fish babies all have pretty plain suffixes because their prefixes are pretty out-there and nothing else seemed to pair very well with them. "Kingflight" is just a little much, to my ear at least. Also the healer kits will have short suffixes because their prefixes are so long and just from a purely mechanical standpoint I can't fit "Dogwoodcaterpillar" or "Rosehiptadpole" in a comic panel.

Thank you! And go for it! I'd love to see people use my ideas in their own ways! If you want to give a little "insert idea inspired by @loudclan-clangen" I'd appreciate it a ton, (mostly cause I want to go see what you guys are making), but if not that's totally fine. I'm definitely not the first person to do a lineage challenge, but I'm glad that you like my system!

[umboloae]

AAAAAH The beauty in your latest comic has rendered me speechless. Goodness, I love the way you write them! Your Mabel is adorable; of course she would include Bill in the girl code lol. Ford's not even able to get annoyed with her. So in character for both of them. I died during the montage when she took the time to thwack Dipper with the sticky hand. And the drama! Lol Dipper was right; better than TV. And the way you color panels! The palette compliments itself so well! All I can do is gush about this. How long have you been writing that you can do it so compellingly? - TS

AAAA THANK YOU SO MUCHHHH 🥹🥹🥹❤️❤️❤️ I'm glad u enjoyed it!!!

Honestly I've written very little along the years, but I've read a LOT. I think that's what's helped me mostly. These comics are basically me learning along the way how to make comics, each one I'm getting better, so it's been fun!!

[mirensiart]

ALRIGHT SO. im not sure if you personally hc it but a lot of hyrule-focused fics ive seen have said like, because of the state of his world and always being on the run from monsters and stuff he's in poor condition, like starving and thirsty and stuff.

following that logic, after some time you start to get used to it a little, right? uh, i hope so at least- but my point being maybe hyrule is bad at recognizing when he's starving so he just forgets to eat or something.

so in pain sharing au the others start feeling hunger pains from this guy, and their like "who tf" and hyrule just, because this is natural for him is like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

idk if its a good one but just an idea i had, and maybe eventually the chain would start to figure it out and feed this mf

anyways- i love where you're going with this au, wars shenanigan's with wind were hilarious in the last one and i love your art style too! the old cartoon one you had before as well, though i love both around the same! the warmer colors are comforting honestly and the characters all seem life-like and natural. keep up the good work <3

Anon, u don't know how grateful I am whenever people give me info on hyrule cause, as I've mentioned before, his games are the only ones I haven't played

That being said, I do like this a lot and it would make sense 🤔 especially since others have told me he is constantly chased around by monsters cause of his blood, so cooking must be a no-go as to not attract attention to himself (which is why he sucks so much at it now that I think about it lol)

So hyrule being used to and ignoring hunger pains is just *chef's kiss* I can see the others being horrified over this after they find out thanks to the pain sharing curse, I can def see wild being very fussy over him and making sure he eats first and always passing him snacks from his slate

I personally really enjoy the hyrule+wild adventure buddies duo, like both of them coming from devastated hyrules, both being excellent at surviving and life on the go, but one being hopeless and careless when it comes to food while the other makes cooking and food part of his identity/life is very funny to me and I love it, 100000/10

And waaaah thank u so much anon 🥹💖‼️ I am very predictable and since I like wars+wind duo so much I will keep adding their shenanigans in future comics lol so I'm glad u liked them!

And omg 🥺💖 thank u truly, ur compliments about my art aaaah I'm sending u so much love, this means a lot to me!

[theoneeyedgoldenwolf]

Brothers not bound by blood

Whumptober 2024, number 13: Team As A Family

Inspiration:

Summary: One small question while fixing the Captain’s hair after a prank he had done leaves Time hurt. The answer he had sought for years wasn’t what he had waited for. 

CW: Pranking, hurt feelings, cursing, literally stabbed to back, magic blockers, poisoning, arrows into bad guys, Wolfie attacking and mauling a bad guy, the Chain attacking and taking down the bad guys, near death situation, short bit of afterlife

Notion: - Time’s hair is much longer than in the comic for braiding reasons! =P Especially the hair at the back of his head since the bangs are perfect already. ;) - *facepalms* This didn’t feel whumpy enough and so I went and got Time literally stabbed to back. -.-‘ - Also, when the Chain was commenting on Time’s purring, I didn’t mean Legend to be the last one to talk. Sorry, Ledge, for the words I put you to say! XD So, this is one of my ideas how the Chain can stay together. =) I got two more ideas but those might take quite a while before getting written.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The day had been going well. Time had declined from the offers of practice while claiming that he wasn’t as fast as the others and laughing things off while claiming he just was too old. But, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t supervise things as Warriors had taken his place and put the boys through their moves.

The Chain had gathered together for meal and the Chain’s leader finally had a chance to talk with his older brother. Yet, as he approached the high ranked soldier, he couldn’t help but feel entirely mischievous. This whole situation reminded him of the past he had had with the other Link.

“Captain.” Time called while coming over. The younger male, whom over twenty years ago had been older than him by a decade or so, turned around to face him.

“Yeah?” Warriors called before bit gasping as the one eyed male placed his hand onto his hair. Yet, he couldn’t help but enjoy of the situation and how things had, in a way, changed between him and his brother.

“Thank you for training with the younger Heroes today.” Time told while honestly meaning his words.

The war hero grinned and chuckled. “I was glad to give these youths some guidance.” He replied warmly. It was always nice when the others actually listened and learned from each other. They all had lot of experience and knowledge when it came to fighting with different weapons but it all was different from each other. That made it unique and allowed new attacks and moves that the others had never even thought about.

Suddenly Time pulled off while looking disgusted. “Eugh…” He almost whined while trying to calm down.

Warriors freaked out entirely by that. “WHAT?!” He screamed out while grabbing his hair. “WHAT IS IT?!” He nearly screamed while already starting to go through his hair. That, along with his looks, his armor and, most of all, his scarf were always in tiptop condition. If SOMETHING was messing things up, he would NOT accept such!

“I’m serious, Old Man. WHAT IS IT?!” The Captain demanded while messing up his hair while trying to figure the situation out. “A spider?!” He queried in near panic before something far more horrifying struck his mind. “DID A KEESE POOP IN MY HAIR?!” He shrieked in disgust and terror.

Time tried to wave his hand in dismissing way. “No…. It’s nothing. I overreacted.” He claimed but his older brother didn’t see the mischievous and victorious grin on his face. He was chuckling almost evilly as he headed back to the camp.

Hyrule had the bad luck of having just come back from gathering some healing herbs from close by. He hadn’t seen his oldest brother’s look as Warriors already dashed to him and started to shake him. “RULIE! WHAT’S IN MY HAIR?! TELL ME!!!” The war Hero panicked while barely even giving the youngster a chance to check the situation.

The half-fairy’s reassurances weren’t enough to calm the Captain down. Time watched with a grin as his older brother went from one Link to another. Few, such as Sky and Twilight, actually checked his hair and tried to assure him of there being nothing out of ordinary. Others took the chance to mess with him and claimed all kinds of things. Especially Legend seemed to enjoy of the moment.

The Chain’s leader was actually bit surprised that Warriors didn’t realize the similarities between this situation and the dozens during the war. The one eyed male had been one hell of a gremlin back then as a ten year old kid. He had pulled this trick on him so many times that it was almost worryingly odd that the high ranked soldier hadn’t already realized to pick up on the telltale signs of the prank.

After the meal the war Hero was still wary of his hair and desperately trying to check it. The rest of the Chain had already settled for the evening and gotten off of their gears. Time just couldn’t take it anymore so he moved over to his older brother. “Sit down to the ground, Wars.” He half commanded and the Captain followed the request.

The one eyed male sat down onto the log behind the younger male and started to go through his hair. “I fooled you, you know.” He told and grinned a bit when the man below him went rigid. “Just like so many times during the war.” He continued and chuckled when Warriors whined and slumped. “There’s nothing wrong with your hair. And I’m already fixing the knots and whatnot you’ve created.”

The Captain huffed but he closed his eyes and just enjoyed of the situation. “No braids, little brother. You owe me that much at least.” He commented while knowing how eager Sprite had been to do such little things.

Time rolled his eye and shook his head. “Still don’t understand what you have against braids.” He playfully grumbled while working with harder knot with delicate and gentle actions.

“I’d rather not answer that one.” Warriors replied but he could notice that the others were curious for the answer too. The Chain’s leader didn’t pay attention into the curiosity of the others, especially of Hyrule, Wind and Wild.

“Hmm… Maybe I should do a braid just because of that answer.” The Old Man mused with a mischievous grin. He began to tug on the hair a bit while entirely faking like doing a braid in there.

“Please, don’t.” The war Hero begged while hiding his face into his hands.

“Oh, I know a better one.” The oldest Link nearly smirked. “How about I start to tickle you? I know all the places where I can turn you into giggling breathless mess.”

“Sprite!” The Captain exclaimed while feeling like wanting to pull away from the place. Yet, he needed someone to get his hair fixed. He ended up whining as Time laughed behind him.

“You either answer the question after all these years or I’ll pick one of the two ideas of mine.” The one eyed male told calmly while still working with the fixations.

“You don’t want to hear the answer.” Warriors warned bit sharply.

“I think I deserve the answer after all these years.” Time replied while wondering what could be such an answer that the other one didn’t want to give out.

“It’ll hurt and I don’t want to hurt you or anyone else.” The war Hero told bit unwillingly. He gulped as the hands in his hair stilled for a moment as his little brother thought the answer through.

“Just tell. I’m sure we’re all old enough to understand it’s just one opinion.” The Chain’s leader commented. Still, he couldn’t help but feel bit of dread about the situation. Yet, it had already gone too far to back away anymore.

Warriors debated for a moment longer before sighing heavily and slumping with his ears drooping. “It’s girly.” He finally whispered. He nearly flinched as the hands in his hair stopped moving again. He could easily feel the shock around the camp by his words.

Time gulped thickly while trying not to let the words hit him. “Well…” He started with strained voice before bit shrugging. He was fighting to stay calm and forced his bit shaking hands to continue to fix the Captain’s hair. “T-that’s just one opinion.” He continued and inwardly cursed at the slight tremble in his voice. “I like the braids. It reminds me of home and fairies. They’re affectionate beings and do braids all the time. Hyrule’s half-fairy so doing braids is kinda like in his blood. Wild likes them for their uniqueness and different way of keeping his long hair off the way. Wind’s curious and just wanting to learn new things.” He explained as carefully as he could while knowing he wasn’t in one piece anymore.

“Anyway, your hair’s fixed.” The Old Man stated out firmly while standing up. He patted his older brother’s shoulder. “I’ll head off to bed. Wake me up for the second shift, thanks.” He told while avoiding eye contact and heading off to his things.

“Sprite…” Warriors called while not really knowing what to say. “I… I’m sorry.” He half shouted after him but all he got was a dismissive wave of a hand. He looked around in near distraught. “Guys… I… I’m sorry….” He whispered without really knowing what else to say as he knew Time hadn’t been the only one he had hurt.

The war Hero glanced once at the bedrolls and almost flinched at the fact of Time having his back towards them and he could hazard a guess of him having curled up too. He wasn’t shaking but the Captain was certain he was crying. This wasn’t the first time he had caused this kind of hurt to his brother. The first time had been in the war when he had claimed to Sprite that Hylians don’t purr. That hurt and shock in the kids eyes had killed him but he couldn’t fix it back then and now he had hurt his little brother all over again.

The Captain gulped a bit as he noticed the glares the others were giving him. Twilight was trying to calm Wild down while whispering reassuring words. Wind was in Sky’s arms and Hyrule was being consoled by Legend and Four. The roughest glares came from the Veteran and Ranch Hand. The Chosen Hero just was disappointed and sorrowful. The Smithy was trying to figure the situation through and kept his gaze off of him.

“I’ll take the first shift.” Warriors whispered while keeping his gaze in the fire.

“Might not be a good idea. I doubt Time wants you to wake him up.” Twilight nearly snarled the words out.

“I’m taking the first shift. I have no intentions of waking Time up for any of the shifts.” The war Hero sated out as firmly as he could. “I need to think. I need to find a way to apologize to him and to each of you.” He told much softer. “I did warn but I didn’t mean this kind of hurt.”

“He’s going to be mad for not being awakened for his shift.” Four commented calmly. He wasn’t among those whom had taken the words roughly but he sure as hell didn’t like others hurting his brothers no matter whom they were.

“I can deal with the gremlin but not with the hurt.” The Captain replied bit roughly before already apologizing. He sighed heavily and slumped. “He can be mad at me all he wants but I want to fix this. I can’t take it when I see him or any of your hurt. I just…” He explained before trailing off with a heavy sigh.

 “Why do you think braids are girly?” Sky queried while trying to get into the bottom of things instead of letting the situation harm everyone any of worse.

Warriors shrugged. “Everyone whom I’ve ever seen having braids during the war and after it were all women. Sprite had those but he was a kid and surrounded by the fairies. I didn’t think much about that.” He answered as calmly as he could.

The Chain nodded and Sky was ready to go even deeper into the conversation before Hyrule took the chance. His voice was quiet and he kept his gaze on the ground. “The braids aren’t just for girls. Not with fairies. Some braids mean leadership. Some stand for specific title and status. Each fairy has their own signature braid to tell them apart from the others. It’s a sign that this person was helped by them specifically. That they were there first. It’s a sign of gratitude and caring. It’s a mark of family in a way of saying I give you my braid and you give yours so we’re together now. The braids mean the world to fairies.”

That explanation left the whole Chain silent around him. It took a while before Sky spoke softly with a small fond smile. “Braids are fun to do. Sun loves them and I’m always trying to find new ways to make them unique.”

“The flowers that are used have meaning.” Wild whispered quietly while leaning against Twilight and keeping his gaze off of everyone. “Sometimes it’s easier to speak through the flowers than to say the words out loud. And it means a lot when Time and Hyrule add them into my hair. They tell what they think of me without words. It means the world to me when they don’t say what flowers are used and I get to see them by taking a pic of the braid. It gives so much.”

“It’s a soothing action when I’m having a nightmare.” Wind told bit uncertainly and playing with the rim of his tunic. “Aryll does those little braids whenever she notices that I’m sleeping restlessly. It works the other way around too.”

Unknown to the Chain, their leader was listening to them talk. It felt bit nice to hear the others try to explain things and fix the situation. Still, it had been his older brother whom had called the braids girly. He took that much more to heart than if it would’ve come from someone unknown. The braids had been part of his life for as long as he could remember. The fairies did them already the day he had had hair to braid. He liked the feeling. He liked the memory of those flyers. He didn’t really have a braid of his own but three fairies had already claimed him as theirs. Navi, Tatl and Proxi. It was family and home. And now….

Time carefully shifted and tried to dry the tears. It was like when Wars had told that Hylians didn’t purr. That only cats did that sound and but people didn’t. They weren’t animals. He had learned it from the fairies. They purred whenever they really were happy and at peace. Showing that they were enjoying of the actions and words. And then, it all was shattered. Just telling it was wrong. That it wasn’t supposed to be done or received. It was like saying he didn’t belong with the fairies whom called him as their brother not bound by blood. He couldn’t even anymore think that he could ask for Hyrule’s signature braid to be claimed by the fourth fairy in his life. He had always had a fairy for a bigger quest and on this one it was the Traveler. Now, he felt like had just been robbed of that right.

The one eyed male simply hid his face as the Chain finally headed off to bed and left Warriors to the first shift. He didn’t know what to do and even less what to say. So all he could do was to lay there and try to figure it out. Without him realizing it, he fell asleep at some point of the night.

The Old Man stirred into quiet talking. He tried to catch the words but the whispers were too silent for him to hear. He bit shrugged and just shifted before falling back asleep as it clearly wasn’t anything of bad and he still recognized the voices belonging to his boys. Yet, it still confused him a bit why Warriors was talking with Hyrule out of all of them after last night’s situation.

When the Chain’s leader woke up next time, the voices were louder. It still took a moment for his sleepy mind to catch the words and figure out whom was talking which line. Yet, he frowned when he realized that the topic of braids was still going. He yawned and forced himself up from bedroll. He scowled the moment he realized that everyone else was up already.

Time sighed heavily before facing the campfire and going over to the others. When his gaze fell into the war Hero, he stopped dead on his tracks. After moment of shock, he felt a grin tuck on his lips before letting it on. “So, am I asleep or am I really seeing the Mr. Braids-Are-Girly actually having braids in his hair? And a fancy ones too.” He queried while very much being ready to NOT let his older brother live this down anytime soon.

The Captain blushed brightly while feeling entirely nervous. He shrugged a bit while wanting to disappear right then and there. The others were waiting for the situation to unfold as they had already cleared things off.

The war Hero had woken Hyrule up couple of hours earlier. They had talked about braids and what they meant to the fairies. Much to the half-fairy’s shock, Warriors had eventually asked for one that would stand for a Captain and one for the meaning of a Hero. The Traveler had needed bit of coaxing and assuring before he created them along, with his brother’s acceptance, one that meant for older brother.

The others had been woken up about an hour later by Hyrule out of Warriors’ request. This was what he could do to show he hadn’t meant of anything bad. That he had just needed answers and explanations to why the braids weren’t just what girls did. He had never thought about the reasons or meanings of those creations. But, having seen the hurt his words had caused and the answers from his brothers, he was ready to give the braids a chance.

And right now Warriors had a braid that rounded his head. At his neck, starting off from the braid-crown at the middle of the back of his head, was another braid. On the sides of his face, in front of his ears, were braids too. In each of the braids was one single flower, a cherry blossom, except for the crown-braid which had four in it. That meant for seven flowers in total.

“The flower stands for warrior.” Wind piped in and Time nodded while still grinning.

“I’m aware but thanks.” The one eyed male replied before walking over to his older brother. At there he began to investigate the very ornamental braids.

“Hyrule did them.” Warriors whispered while bit fearing of how things would go down from here. “The crown with a tail stands for captain. The left side’s one stands for a Hero and the right side’s for a brother.” He explained while feeling like slumping beneath the checking his little brother was doing. “I…. I-I kinda asked for them. Hyrule had said fairies got braids for everything so….” He trailed off and bit shrugged.

The Chain’s leader stayed silent while listening before frowning. “Since you already got three, may I do a fourth one?” He inquired while already taking hold of the hair on middle of his brother’s forehead.

The Captain would’ve rather nodded but he couldn’t really dare to move as the one eyed male was already working without waiting for his answer. “S-sure…” He mumbled while not having any of idea what kind of braid it would be. At least Hyrule had described things and explained it all.

“There.” Time finally told and pulled off with a slight grin. Warriors feared for there to be a knot instead of a braid but at least no-one was laughing or trying to suppress such. Yet, when he glanced at the older male, he frowned. The look on his face was sorrowfully fond. “Proxi’s braid.” The Old Man explained quietly. “You were claimed by her before me.” He reminded gently.

“You… You remember her braid?” The Captain queried bit startled.

Time sighed and shrugged. “She taught it to me since I don’t have a braid of my own.” He answered bit tentatively.

“If a fairy teaches their braid to someone, that means for absolute family.” Hyrule told with slight shock. “You’re her brother through and through by that.” The war Hero was more shocked of the information than what his little brother was.

The one eyed male blushed a bit while smiling bit shyly. “I… I-I guess that goes with Navi and Tatl then too.” He whispered quietly, almost mouthed the words. He gulped once and pulled away from the war Hero before turning his gaze into the dying flames of the campfire. He needed to stay in one piece and not break down. He was their leader after all!

“May I teach you my braid?” The Traveler whispered and bit startled the Old Man as he hadn’t realized the half-fairy having come over.

Time felt uncertain, even fearful. He opened his mouth and shut it few times while trying to figure out what to do. He wanted to say yes. He wanted to at least nod but his older brother’s words of braids being girly were going around his head. He felt like he didn’t have the rights to accept even though Hyrule was offering to claim him as his brother.

“Go for it, Sprite.” Warriors whispered and startled the Chain’s leader quite thoroughly. “Family means the world. And I know what the fairies mean to you. What the eight of us mean to you.” He told bit sorrowfully. “I’m sorry, little brother. I should’ve rather talked about this instead of just claiming stuff.”

The oldest Link hesitated for a moment before he hugged the younger male tightly. After that he pulled off, took a deep breath and faced the half-fairy. “If you truly wish to claim me as your brother, then I accept.” He spoke in Fairy Language before bowing his head and closing his eye.

Hyrule smiled fondly and leaned his forehead against Time’s. “Brother. Now, before and forever.” He whispered before pulling off and beginning to braid the left side’s bangs while, in Fairy Language, explaining how the braid was done. After that he made another braid to right side with the meaning of a brother.

“You are ambidextrous but you prefer left so that is why my braid is on that side. You protect your family with your left side. They say heart is on right and hence I place brotherhood into there to be part of your life forever.” The Traveler explained in Hylian so that the others would understand the reasons for specific sides chosen.

“I wish I could return the favor. I really wish I had a braid of my own.” The one eyed male whispered bit sorrowfully. “For this reasons all I can give is the mark of brotherhood for both sides.” He continued before braiding the half-fairy’s hair. He knew he should’ve talked in Fairy Language but he wanted the others to know that he was claiming Hyrule as Hyrule had claimed him.

The half-fairy closed his eyes and bowed his head a bit while fully accepting the braids. Once the Old Man was done, Hyrule glomped him on that second. Time returned the hold while finally relaxing. He was family of four fairies now.

When they pulled off, Hyrule went to do a braid for Wild while the Champion worked with the breakfast. Wind dashed over to Time and eagerly requested for a braid or few. The oldest brother of the nine Links created the braids for brother and Hero. After that, one by one, the others came over too and asked for their hair to be braided.

Warriors watched the situation unfold and slowly calmed down. He couldn’t deny that the braids looked really amazing. They were elaborate and loving. And they had lot of meaning. That was what finally started to get him to accept the braids as something more than what girls did just because. And suddenly he realized something which got him to snap his gaze into the half-fairy.

“Hyrule, what’s the braids for a General and a Princess?” The war Hero queried with a slight frown. As the Traveler explained the unique braids, the Captain could easily recall the similarity in the braids Impa and Zelda had worn during the war.

After the meal the whole Chain was getting ready to head forward. Time approached Warriors and made sure the others wouldn’t listen in. “Wars.” He called carefully and the Captain turned around. “I know we should get to the town and restock but if you’re not yet ready to go around the public with braids, we can head different way. We can create arrows of our own and Twilight can hut with Wild. It’s nothing we haven’t done before.”

The war Hero was bit startled of the reminder but he thought for a while before shaking his head. “Nah. I’ll manage.” He answered and smiled reassuringly. “These braids mark me. Captain. Hero. Brother. I am all of those and claimed by one of the fairies as part of their family.” He continued surprisingly confidently before gently forcing Time to lower his head to lean their foreheads together. “I’m sorry, little brother, for having hurt you.” He apologized before bit grinning. “Oh, and please, do purr when you feel like it. Heard someone claim such heals. I’m sorry about having been such an idiot back then.”

The Chain’s leader was fully taken off guard but he sighed in relief and relaxed. “Thank you.” He whispered quietly before pulling off. “If you’re sure of this, then we should head forward so we can actually do some restocking today already.”

“I’m sure.” Warriors replied firmly and his little brother nodded once before going off to finish getting ready. He couldn’t deny of being bit worried but the braids were him. They told his rank, title and family. They told everything without needing to wear any markings such as the armor or scarf. And they were quite unchanged throughout the eras too.

The Chain arrived to the town, by Time’s accurate knowledge, at sixteen minutes over one. It was still lunch time but no-one was up for eating as Wild’s breakfasts were usually such amazing ones to keep one going well through the day if needed. The Champion did offer to handle meal but the others were more willing to get the restocking done and get to laze off for some hours before evening meal.

The Old Man stayed by his older brother while sharing off who searched out what. He had already noticed the attention they all had gained so far. It was why he had Wild with Twilight and Sky just to make sure he got the needed support if someone decided to be an idiot about the braids. Hyrule was with Legend while Wind left with Four.

“How are you so far?” The one eyed male queried before letting his older brother leave the Inn they were going to stay for a while.

“I’m used to the attention.” Warriors replied before tad shrinking under Time’s gaze.

“Not what I asked.” The one eyed male sated out bit warningly.

The Captain sighed and shrugged. “Still getting used to the braids but they’re telling who I am.” He told before bit slumping against the wall behind him. “But, that’s not what people see. They see the braids but they don’t see their meanings.”

“Do you want the braids off? Hyrule won’t mind. He would understand it.” Time offered bit sorrowfully but his brother shook his head. “You sure? You’re getting quite a lot of notion. And if they don’t understand the meaning of them, you’ll be getting the wrong kind of attention.” He warned while not wanting to put the war Hero into bad place.

“Army will understand. Commoners don’t.” Warriors replied firmly while standing up straight. “I’m a Captain and a Hero. I know who I am.” He stated out and nodded firmly to show he was ready to face the world.

The older male nodded back and took a deep breath before following the high ranked knight out of the Inn. He stayed by him but slight bit behind just to let him deal with things without him interfering unless needed. Most just watched and were very plainly curious while his brother just either ignored the stares or gave a grin and possibly a wink as thanks for the attention. Some acknowledge his rank and saluted while alarming others of his presence too. The war Hero replied into the actions accordingly.

And then there were the people whom either entirely ignored the signs and clear telltale marks of who they had in their notion or weren’t aware of them. The Chain’s leader hated the looks the fools threw at his brother and he was ready to strangle them for it. Warriors ignored most of them but he could see it affecting him. Eventually, when one of those fools came too close and clearly had wrong ideas in his head, the one eyed male couldn’t take it anymore.

Time growled and slammed his arm diagonally on full length into guy’s torso while striking the guy’s back roughly against the wall behind the man. “Show some respect, you bastard. You are in the presence of the man whom is both the Hero of Hyrule and the Captain of Hyrule’s army.” He snarled while glaring on full force at the man.

The said Captain of Hyrule’s army was taken fully off guard by his brother’s actions and words. He stared bit startled at the scene before calming down. He was entirely grateful of the protection the older male gave him but he also felt bit bad that he had been forced into this situation.

“Are you just fucking oblivious or entirely stupid for NOT recognizing the markings claiming him high ranked?” The one eyed male continued with almost cruel voice. “Everyone knows how fairies do their braids and mark those they care and respect. You have NO rights to your actions.”

The man in the Chain’s leader’s hold flinched and slumped. He muttered some kind of apology. “Brother.” The war Hero called before his little brother could go further with his words. “He already got it. You can let him go.” He told as calmly as he could. Time growled and pulled off but his glare didn’t lessen. “You’re lucky he’s lenient today. He could’ve easily crushed you.” Warriors told with a slight grin before turning his gaze into the taller male. “Come on, Sprite, let’s just continue.” He half called while turning to head forward.

The Old Man huffed and tore his glare off of the guy. He blinked once slowly and let himself calm down as he followed the Captain. Yet, before he got more than two steps forward, he felt dread lodge into him. The movement had been too fast for him to react before the hand was over his mouth to silence the loudest part of his scream as a knife was struck into his back.

Warriors jerked and turned around in a flash. “SPRITE!” He screamed out as he saw the guy they had just encountered to be right behind his little brother with hand over the one eyed male’s mouth. Time gave out a pained gasp as the knife was yanked out of him and brought into sight while the guy’s hold on him shifted to lower to hold him up.

The man smirked and snapped his fingers. Right after that other men came from the close by alley and surrounded them. The Captain gasped as two of the guys took strong hold of his arms. Yet, his gaze was fixed into the oldest of the nine Heroes.

Time was gasping for air. He had closed his eye but his face was twisted in pain. He was trembling and losing fast his strength and consciousness.

“Magic blockers and poison.” The guy behind the Chain’s leader mused with a smirk. “Works beautifully together. He’s not having much of time to live anymore.” He told and his smirk only widened at Warriors’ growl and struggling. “You can either come nice and easy with us or you can watch your brother die slowly and agonizingly.”

“Oooh! I know what this means.” One of the men suddenly told while coming closer to his comrade and Time. The one eyed male whimpered when the new guy’s hand brushed at his face and took hold of the braid. “Fairy braid. Connection.” He smirked cruelly while playing with it. “If it’s broken before twenty-four hours have gone past, it’ll mean the offer was declined and it can never be renewed.” He tugged at the hair and earned a new whimper from his victim. He licked at his lips with a sadistic look on his face. “How about I break this, hmm?”

“N-no…. P-please….. D-don’t….” Time whimpered while forcing his eye open. The look he gave was a pathetic plea compared to the cruel glare he had only moments ago given. “P-please… I-I’m begging of you….” He nearly prayed as the guy tugged at the braid again. He flinched as the guy laughed when he noticed him crying.

The war Hero was growling loudly and desperately fighting against the hold. “LEAVE HIM ALONE!” He screamed while hating the sight of his brother whimpering. The poison clearly had rendered him unable to fight back. The magic blockers wouldn’t prevent him from struggling or giving a death-glare to these bastards so it had to be the poison. And that freaked the crap out of Warriors as he realized how quickly and strongly it was affecting.

Suddenly the guy toying with the oldest Link’s braid screamed in pain. That one eye snapped open and took in the situation of the man having an arrow in his hand. He recognized it swiftly even though the short lived shock was already moving aside and the poison’s cruel work came back.

Soon two more screams were heard and the Captain dashed forward as he was freed. He glared on full force at the guy behind his little brother and punched the bad guy cruelly into face. He swiftly caught the Old Man and lowered them both down to the ground. If Wild was there with his archery skills, the others weren’t far.

And, just like on cue, the massive wolf dashed into the scene and crashed into the guy whom was closest to the Chain’s leader and his second in command. The canine growled cruelly before already sinking its teeth into the bastard. The man screamed as the Sacred Beast tore him apart in rage.

The Chain quickly showed up right after Wolfie. The swords swung through the air and forced the bad guys to back off.  Sky tackled the guy whom had stabbed the one eyed male into the back. He wanted to kill the bastard but he had heard the word poison so he thought keeping the man alive was wiser idea at the moment in case they’d need information from him. Hyrule just dashed through the group and straight to Time and Warriors. He, like the others, had heard the muffled scream since they had, instead of going for restocking, followed the duo around. Sadly, they had been keeping bit too long distance just to make sure they wouldn’t be noticed and they wouldn’t overhear possible conversations. They just had been worried for Warriors going around with braids and attaching unwanted notion.

“T-the b-braid…?” Time almost slurred while looking desperately at his older brother. He was entirely terrified of the guy having done something to it.

“It’s intact.” The Captain assured while checking the braid. “Nothing to worry, little brother.” He assured as calmly as he could. “Just stay conscious, little brother. Just stay with me, Sprite.” He nearly begged while noticing the sleepiness the one eyed male was fighting against. Yet, with the reassurance about the braid, he relaxed more than he should’ve.

Hyrule was already working with his healing magic before growling in anger. “I need the knowledge of the poison! It’s blocking me out!” He shouted while trying even harder to get his magic in. He wasn’t even capable of tapping into his leader’s magic like every time before. The magic blockers didn’t stop external magics from getting inside. Those only blocked one’s own magic’s usage. The poison though….

It was enhancing the magic blockers so much that it almost got the magic to turn against its own wielder. It blocked the magic from leaving one’s body and from getting inside there. It was keeping the stab wound bleeding and unhealable. It almost paralyzed its holder and made breathing hard. It was weakening and killing the one having the poison within them. The worst thing was that it didn’t matter if one fought against it or not, it still got stronger with every passing second.

“We’re running out of time!” The Traveler nearly snarled as he watched Sky and Legend interrogate the guy whom had stabbed Time. At first each of their attempts failed but when they picked the man’s own knife up and noticed the dark purple goo on it, they threatened to stab him with it. The thought of getting poisoned with the same shit he had used got him finally to talk and tell what the poison was.

“Wild! Sky! I need you two!” The half-fairy almost commanded the moment he got the needed knowledge. The Chosen Hero was there before he even finished the sentence and the Champion jumped down from the roof before he took the Paraglider out to land safely. The moment the duo was by him, Hyrule already started to name herbs, plants and whatnot while commanding the Knight of Skyloft into getting the ingredients mixed the right way.

As the potion of sorts was on making, Time shakily raised his hand towards Warriors’ hair. The Captain swiftly took hold of his hand but the one eyed male almost fought to get it free so he loosened his hold. Slowly and weakly that hand found its way into the crown-braid. “Cap…” The Chain’s leader almost just mouthed the word out before continuing forward from there. “H-hero…” He mumbled, nearly slurred it before going for the third braid. “Bro…” He gave a weak and fond smile before softly exhaling while closing his eye. His hand fell limply down onto his chest.

“S-Sprite…?” Warriors called fearfully. “Sprite!” He half shouted while bit slapping the older male’s cheek. “SPRITE!” He screamed in near terror as he realized how quiet and unmoving his little brother was. “SPRITE! WAKE UP! DON’T DO THIS TO ME! WAKE UP!!” He screamed in terror while crying.

Before the war Hero could’ve cradled his brother into his arms, Hyrule was right back. He forced the golden colored liquid down the Chain’s leader’s throat while already initiating his magic. He nearly threw the small bowl out of his hold before slamming both of his hands down into the Old Man’s chest. The sudden arching and soundless gasp coming from the one eyed male startled everyone else except the half-fairy whom had been waiting for this reaction. Time wasn’t awake but at least he was breathing and alive.

It was hours later before Time stirred. He smiled fondly as he felt the action of someone running their fingers through his hair. Before he realized what he was doing, he already purred. Yet, nearly instantly, at the same time as the hand stilled in his hair, he stopped in shock. He hadn’t meant to do that sound. He slumped and felt entirely ashamed.

“Sprite? You awake?” Warriors called while gently resuming into his earlier action. He saw the older male gulp once before slowly opening his eye. The uncertainty and shame he saw in the gaze nearly killed his heart. Yet, he forced himself to smile fondly at his little brother. “Hey there, little brother.”

The one eyed male sighed and closed his eye while hiding his face into his hand. “Go on, you can say it. Purring is not meant for Hylians.” He half grumbled and turned to his side so his back was towards his brother.

The Captain was bit shocked of the situation but he soon grinned. He laid down and pulled the Chain’s leader into his arms. “Fine, hugging time, it is.” He stated out before getting tad startled as Time chuckled. “What?” He queried with a frown.

“Double meaning, dear big brother, double meaning.” The older male replied with a clear grin on his face. He chuckled again when the war Hero groaned.

“Just shut up and enjoy of the embrace.” Warriors playfully snapped and tightened his hold around the Old Man. Yet, he soon sighed heavily and hid his face into the other male’s hair. “I nearly lost you, Sprite.” He whispered bit fearfully while tad tightening his hold. “I freaked out so bad.” He mumbled with bit breaking voice.

Time sighed heavily in sorrow and carefully turned around in the younger male’s hold. After that he wrapped his arms around him and held tight. “I’m here, big brother.” He assured while moving to his back and pulling the Captain to his chest so he could feel and hear the heartbeat of his little brother. Yet, the moment the weight was there, the one eyed male hissed in pain and Warriors pulled off on that instant.

“You’re still healing.” The war Hero whispered sorrowfully. “The wound needs to heal on its own since the poison almost killed you. Hyrule was able to counter things and get the healing to work bit faster than normally. Still, it’ll take few days before that wound’s gone.”

Time carefully moved to his side and tried to relax. “I think I’ll just take a nap.” He mumbled while bit curling up.

“You’re allowed to have braids. And you’re allowed to purr.” Warriors told firmly while laying down in front of the one eyed male.

The Chain’s leader frowned and opened his eye. “What?” He queried bit confused.

“I’m sorry I made you feel like you didn’t have the rights for those.” The Captain whispered while gently starting to run his fingers through the golden hair of his little brother. “I was an idiot. I’m supposed to protect and defend you. Not bring you down.”

Time huffed a bit and closed his eye while trying to relax. “We’ll talk about this when I’m more coherent to understand.” He mumbled while just wanting to get off of the conversation. Warriors simply nodded even though it went unseen.

Few days later the stab wound in the one eyed male’s back was healed. The Chain still made sure they’d have a day off just to be certain that their oldest brother was to his best condition. He was just going past the living room of the Inn towards the dining room to catch something to eat when he noticed all of his boys circled around something. He frowned and tilted his head a bit in confusion before going inside. “What are you guys doing?” He called curiously.

“Braiding.” Wind almost chirped happily.

“Brai— Wait, what?” Time gave a slight startled move before moving closer to his boys. “What exactly are you braiding?” He inquired while seeing all eight as Hylians so it wasn’t Wolfie they were doing braids into. He bit thought that the boys had found broken rug and were having fun with that. Them having broken the said rug did cross his head and got him bit uncertain.

“Come and see, little brother.” Warriors called while grinning. That got their leader even more worried of the situation but he went to check on the situation. He was quite taken off guard when he saw the very beautiful and very ornamental braid made by several long pieces of different colored yarns.

“Up to you to finish it.” Hyrule told with a fond smile while the Chain moved off the way. Time stared at the creation in shock and awe. There was one piece of yarn, a golden one, still off of the creation while the braid had eight yarns already together. He half crashed, half sat down to his knees while feeling almost unwilling to touch the creation.

“According to Hyrule one can make their own braid and claim it as their mark.” Legend started calmly.

“The braids the fairies have, are slightly bit altered from their own family’s mark to make them their own.” Sky explained with a fond smile.

“We’re not fairies but we’re a family.” Four stated it out as a certain fact.

“So, we made our own braid.” Wild continued with a bit shy smile.

“Our mark. Our braid. Our family.” Twilight said firmly.

“All it anymore needs is your line, Sprite.” Warriors told fondly.

Time stared almost wide-eyed at the braid made out of yarns. He didn’t know what to say or do but he picked the last piece of yarn with bit trembling hand. He felt hesitant and uncertain while feeling like he’d be destroying something the others had created. “Go on. Make it finished.”  The Captain coaxed gently.

At first the one eyed male thought about just starting from middle where the Chain had left unconsciously an empty spot for the yarn and just wrap it around the other yarns gently and carefully. Yet he soon scratched that idea. It would ruin the creation and seem to suffocate things. So, instead, he very carefully and bit uncertainly began to slip the yarn into middle of the whole creation while having it in straight line but going up and below the other yarns to make it like the others were rounding it and claiming the straight line as part of them. For some reason it reminded him of all the times the Chain had piled on him for Hero Pile of Support and Comfort to show they were right there for him. Together and close to one another but not suffocating. Him being the protective leader but them being right by him to defend him too.

“Brothers not bound by blood.” Time whispered quietly after letting go of the golden yarn.

“I think that’s perfect name for the braid.” Hyrule commented. “The nine Heroes of Hyrule, brothers not bound by blood, a family through and through.” He mused fondly. “May we do this braid and claim you as ours?” The half-fairy queried while looking at his oldest brother with hope and love. The others were equally hopeful while clearly wanting to do this for him.

The Chain’s leader was unable to talk as he felt the lump in his throat. All he could do was to bite down to his lower lip and nod. He felt the tears in his eye so he closed it and let out a bit shuddering breath. The Chain moved behind him and each of them took hold of his hair. “Just hold the middle one straight, please.” Hyrule asked and his oldest brother did as requested.

“You okay, Sprite?” Warriors called as each of the Heroes were holding one piece of the braid while carefully, on their own times, swirled them around the others. Time was actually smiling while feeling tugging and moving his hair around to create the unique braid.

“Y-yeah…” The one eyed male half mumbled. “J-just….” He trailed off and tried to dry the tears.

“This is your braid, Time.” Hyrule said firmly and softly. “This is our braid.” He continued while making sure it all went as supposed to. “This is the braid of family.” He concluded while fully understanding how much this meant to the Chain’s leader. “You are family to four fairies and you are family to eight Heroes. With this braid, we claim you as our brother now, before and forever.” He explained and bit grinned as the seven others echoed his last line.

Time gasped in shock before already hiding his face into his hand while crying. He had never felt this loved and cared about before. Like the fairies before in his life, he now had eight brothers by the rules of the fairies. His brothers. His family. He barely was capable of talking when he whispered with slightly broken voice: “Thank you.”

“Can I get the braid next?” Warriors requested and the others nodded. Once the braid was done for the oldest brother of the nine Links, he kissed his little brother’s head. “It’s official now, Sprite. You are our brother through and through.” He told fondly.

Time turned around swiftly and pulled each of the Heroes into a tight hug. He would’ve loved to hug them all simultaneously but he wasn’t capable of that. Still, it was clear how much this action, the braid and the whole situation meant to him.

The rest of the Chain, one by one, requested for the braid too. The one whom got the braid to be done for them, held the middle one straight. The rest moved places for each other so in the end, every single one of them had held and moved each of the pieces of the braids. This further claimed the braid as theirs and made them even more of a family according to the Rules of the Fairies.

None of the nine Heroes wanted even one damage to come to the new braid so they stayed at the Inn for the day and the night. They weren’t going to allow any kind of chances that they’d decline from this offer and family. Each of the braids had been given with the words of With this braid, we claim you as our brother now, before and after. It was to show that this brotherhood would never break.

It didn’t need more than one stray fairy whom saw and heard the situation. She very quickly informed her kin of the new braid, of the new brothers and, most of all, of the new family. The moment the news reached the Great Fairies, the family of nine brothers were already, unknown to the Heroes, welcomed and blessed by the fliers. And Fierce Deity, connected to the family of nine brothers, was entirely doing all he could to expand the blessing and acceptance of the Great Fairies and their small sisters and brothers. Even though it wouldn’t come into the knowledge of the Heroes of Hyrule, this braid and the acceptance and blessing by the Great Fairies, fairies and the Fierce Deity would make it certain that they would be in contact even after they would have to leave back to their own eras.

Until then it was more often than not Warriors whom actually requested for the braid to be done for him. After him, usually, it was Time out of unconscious mutual agreement unless he specifically asked not to be next. Then, out of whom was the quickest, the rest of them half shouted off for a turn and taking numbers in a way.

Then, at one time, as the Chain had become very good at braiding their marking, the Chain’s leader purred contently while very much liking the action and, even more so, the specific braid. The others hadn’t heard him do such before so it took them off guard and they stopped the braiding. Yet, that also was when Time realized what he was doing. He jerked in shock and clamped his hands over his mouth even though it wasn’t where the sound came. He slumped with ears drooping.

“Just purr, little brother.” Warriors whispered and gently kissed the top of his leader’s head. “It’s good to see you enjoying.”

“Fairies purr. It’s natural to them.” Hyrule commented while nudging others to continue with the braid. “You were raised by them so it’s natural for you too.”

“I like to listen cats purr. Wish I knew how to do that.” Twilight told while wanting to glomp his mentor and find a way to make him purr again.

“Do that sound again! It was so comforting.” Wind nearly begged.

“Agreed. There’s something entirely enthralling and special in the sound you made.” Four told while bit frowning as he tried to figure the whole thing out.

“The Remlits purr too. It reminds of Skyloft and makes me feel safe.” Sky mused fondly while checking the line of hair he had in his hands that there weren’t any of knots or such as he waited his turn to swirl it around the braid to get it to correct place. “Since fairies purr, I now understand why their presence is so comforting and making me feel so at home when surrounded by them. I didn’t make that connection during my quest and, well, not until now.”

Legend hesitated for a while and already blushed but luckily everyone was ignoring his situation. “You make it sound so beautiful.” He mumbled and felt like wanting to disappear at the round of Aww-sounds. Yet, for his luck, no-one started to pick on him for that line. Though, the Veteran thought it was due to them wanting to make Time feel secure, happy and having full rights to do unconscious things such as purring without fearing to be ridiculed.

Hyrule took the next turn to have the braid done for him and he purred loudly and happily. Showing that there was nothing wrong with creating the sound. The others, with mixed results, tried to purr too when their hair was braided. Mostly the others tried not to laugh or giggle at the failed attempts but everything was done out of affection and made sure no harm was meant. Hugs and closeness were shared, especially from the oldest of them as he often felt bit overwhelmed and in need of gentle touches. The others were happy to provide him what he was needing. So, usually, those days were filled with leaning against one another and hugs.

When the end of the quest came as the evil was defeated and timelines were saved, the nine portals opened up to separate them. Yet, before they could even start to say their goodbyes, the area was filled with fairies whom were followed by the Great Fairies from all of their eras. Right after them, Fierce Deity came into sight with a slight startled and bit pained gasp from Time. The Chain straight off came next to their oldest brother while feeling contradicted of the situation. The God of Protection moved to the fairy kin and turned around with a fond smile.

“Hero of Time, my dear friend…” The Deity started calmly. “I have been doing my best to ensure you could keep contact to the family you have gained through this quest. Yet, I feared that I was not powerful enough while having been reduced into a mask and connected to you.”

The Great Fairies glanced at each other before one of them was chosen to be the one to speak on everyone’s behalf. “Dear Heroes of Hyrule, our brothers…” She began gently while sticking to Hylian Language for everyone to understand. “…The day you together created the Brothers not bound by blood -braid, was the day you gave us the rights to ensure nothing would break the ties you have created.”

Another Great Fairy stepped forward with a fond smile. “Hero of Wild, take your Slate and open it.” She requested and the Champion did as she asked of him. Yet, he gasped the second he noticed the new feature within his device. She nodded firmly and the fairies, in small groups, came to the Heroes.

The small fliers, with all possible colors of the world within their glow, carried smallish devices between them. “Please, accept our blessing.” Third one of the Great Fairies almost pleaded and the nine Links carefully took the small, round things into their hands. With Wild, though, the thing quickly was within the Slate.

Fierce sighed a bit and gave a sorrowful look to Time and Twilight. “I know you have thought that the name of the braid does not entirely hold true but, forgive me to stay this, it does. The two of you are not related as you believe. You are from different timelines but the end result is the same. It sadly goes crossed in your case and hence not related by blood.” He explained while making the braid’s claim entirely true between all nine Heroes.

“Guys…” Wild called while looking both entirely baffled and delighted at the same time. “These things… We can communicate through them. It’s like the Rock of Connection and my Slate. It’s like letters. It’s…..” He nearly choked on his words while looking so happy. “It’s like the portals. We can get back together whenever we wish. Call, letters, the sight of the others on a call like my Slate and Wind’s Rock of Connection and real honest portal to get back together.”

“Well, in that case…” Time started slowly before already grinning widely. “Don’t hesitate to drop in at the ranch whenever you wish. You’re all welcome to home at any time.” He promised fondly. The moment the others, besides Wild, understood the actual meaning of the small items in their hands, they already glomped Time while promising to visit often and telling that everyone was more than welcome to their eras and homes too.

The first one to make the visits to the others after that day was none other than Wild. He, with all the tech in his usage, figured the items swiftly and right after that already began to visit the others to teach them how to use the connection items. Before it even was fully realized, the Lon-Lon Ranch became more often than not the place where they all got together. Yet, even though it was used to keep contact and visit each other, it also became a way to request help and in no time the whole Chain was together to clear off whatever problem it was as it ranged from normal everyday problems and such into taking down ferocious monsters and cruel bad guys.

About a year later, during one call from Time to all of his brothers, the Chain got one hell of a surprise. Their leader was first having his back to the camera of sorts before, while grinning widely, turning around and introducing his bit over a week old baby girl. The room was filled with “Aawww!”, “Congrats!” and “What’s her name?”.

“So, when do you boys think you could come over again to meet her properly?” The one eyed male queried and the Chain, even though everyone at their own eras, glanced at each other through the shared screens.

“How about straight off?” Warriors half queried.

“Perfect. We’ll be waiting.” Time replied and grinned even wider. “My little princess needs her eight God Fathers, you know.” That almost got his brothers to faint before already scrambling into action and getting to the ranch in record time. Soon they were truly introduced to Linnea and their family had just grown by one.

When the natural end of the lives of the Heroes came, Time did not end up as the Hero’s Shade. He had had long and amazing life with his family of the Chain, Malon and their daughter. He got to see her grow into adulthood and worry for her safety with the eight brothers of his. He even lived to see his precious daughter to get married and to watch over her two kids. Not just all this, he also got to be there as the Chain found the love of their lives, got married and had kids. This was the life his counterpart in Twilight’s own timeline wouldn’t have.

As the Hero of Time met with the other Links at the afterlife, he wasn’t certain things were right for Twilight. Yet, even though the Rancher hadn’t met with the one he shared his blood with, he met with the real family he had of the Chain and the one eyed male. The Chain’s leader’s Cub was more than happy to be here than with a person he shared blood but knew nothing of. This was the family he knew and wanted to be with and, in the end, that was more than enough for Time as he had one hell of a huge family by him.

[flightyalrighty]

(sorry if you've gotten this before or if this is not the right kind of question for the blog)

Do you have any advice on HOW to make a comic series? From what I've seen your work is fantastic, well made and written! (Cool concepts, story, and character dynamics etc)

How did you start? How DO you start?? How do you comic lol

I'm glad you enjoy my work! I'll do my best to answer this question!

I could give the ol' "Just jump in! Get started!" But I don't think that's the answer you're looking for, here. Even if it's technically the correct one.

"How do you make a comic series" Is one of those questions where the answer is kinda difficult to summarize in a single ask, because there's a whole lot that goes into it, y'know? I'll give you a brief run-down of my process.

I figure an idea for a story. In the case of Infested, the whole story was written before I even got started on the script. This is an outlier in my usual process and I don't normally do this and definitely don't recommend it.

Figure the plot like how you would figure a regular story's plot; The beats you wanna hit, the way the characters develop, the beginning, the middle, the end. What's the point of the story? What, exactly, are you trying to convey here? Who's the target audience? All that stuff ought to be figured out before even picking up a [MEDIUM OF ARTIST'S CHOICE].

Script the story. If you've seen a movie script, these things look a bit like that. You wanna not skip this step because this is where you determine the visual language of each page. Comic script writing is a whole thing and a half but I do have some random tips regarding it. -> When writing the beginning of a new scene, write down the time of day, the weather, and any important details about your setting (this is most important if you're working in a team). -> Using storyboard/film language when trying to figure out a scene is very helpful. You're not gonna remember exactly how that scene looked in your head when you finally get around to penciling it. Trust me. Write it down. Or thumbnail it! Thumbnails are also very helpful! -> Remember that you have very limited space for dialogue. Write with that in mind.

Figure the paneling on a page. I work at 11x17 and do my panel layouts based on those dimensions. I tend to make more important panels, or panels with PUNCH or SHOCK bigger than the others. Each panel is an individual illustration, but together they make a whole piece. You gotta treat it like that, y'know? Find the focal point on a page, find the most important element of it, and make that your focal point. Don't be afraid to get a lil wacky with panel shapes, either. They don't HAVE to be squares and rectangles. Check out what other cartoonists do! Get inspired! Paneling is an art-form within itself!

Page from "Hanna Is Not A Boy's Name" By Tess Stone

5. Penciling time! Get the perspective figured out, then draw the background, then draw the characters. Do it in that order. Trust me. With a background already set up, characters can be drawn more like they exist within that space, instead of floating in front of it. Also? Be aware that comic artists need to be ready to draw ANYTHING. You may have a great idea that you GOTTA put out into the world, but you have no idea how to draw, say, a car. Or debris. Or jungle foliage. There's no shame in using references, tutorials, or even doing a bit of tracing if something's outside your wheelhouse. Here's a bazillion tutorials from two guys who REALLY know their stuff.

6. Speech Balloons! Yes, really. In fact, you may want to do this and penciling at the same time. I certainly do. It's better to figure this out immediately so it doesn't hurt you later when it comes to getting your balloons to share a space with your art. Here's some great advice on the whole subject from a master of the craft

7. Inks! Line weight variation is key. Closer to the "camera" means thicker lines. If a part of a character is in shadow, that part is gonna get thicker lines, too. Personally, I make my background line art thinner than character line art. It helps the characters pop out!

8. Flats! Or flat colors if you wanna get specific about terminology. It's exactly what it sounds like -- Coloring the characters and backgrounds with the bare bones basic colors. I highly recommend keeping the character flats and bg flats on separate layers if you're working digitally.

9. Rendering! There's no hard and fast rule as to how a cartoonist ought to render their comic -- If they want to do that at all, even. Go with what you believe looks good AND is something you can do quickly. The "quickly" part is important. Heed my warning. Don't be like me.

And then I'd schedule the comic to be uploaded on whatever day suits me -- Thursday (usually) in Infested's case.

Of course, I kinda suck at relaying my process, so the final thing I can do for you is direct you to an extremely helpful book that really breaks it down in a way that may click with you as it did with me.

I hope this was in any way helpful to you!

[crescentmel]

i watched the x-men films for the first time ever here are my thoughts *spoilers obviously* :D

small backstory: i was going to go watch Deadpool & Wolverine however i have seen the previous deadpool movies but i’ve never watch the x-men films at all, my knowledge of that universe is minimal. my coworker suggested i at least watch Logan before watching Deadpool & Wolverine so i did.

Logan is easily one of the best Marvel films i have ever watched in my life, like top 3 films for sure it was amazing im still thinking about this movie weeks later. so i watch Deadpool & Wolverine and realize im low key obsessed with logan so might as well watch all the x-men films ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

ALSO I HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE FROM THE COMICS DONT COME FOR ME

The Original Trilogy

Overall i enjoyed the first two films, i think The Last Stand might be my least favorite of the whole franchise im not gonna lie

i’m just gonna say it, i was so not here for the Logan & Jean romance, like im kind of a hater so if this upsets you than this post is not for you lmao

ADORED JEANSCOTT WITH MY HEART AND SOUL !!! THEYRE SO FUCKING CUTE !!!!

Right of the bat, Logan & Jean’s romance felt SO forced. like it wasn’t believable for me, in the first movie it felt like Logan decided he was in love with Jean, not that he is actively falling in love with her, it was kinda weird

Meanwhile you can like clearly tell that Scott & Jean are in love with each other, but it feels like Logan’s character is just disregarding that

I understand in the comics it’s supposed to be a love triangle of sorts, i just think that if they wanted to do that for the films they could have portrayed it better

Ororo is an angel i love her

charles & eric need to make out

scott summers you ball of sunshine

i’m glad the rogue crush thing died in the first film bc ohmygod that was hard to watch

my favorite is X2 of this trilogy i really liked the plot and how it expanded more into Logan’s story

The Wolverine Trilogy

Origins wasn’t like, super terrible? i guess? my least favorite of this trilogy for sure though

i liked the plot twist that his girlfriend of 6 years was manipulating him, i didn’t see it coming, i was like WOW that’s fucked up

was disappointed he forgave her like wtf 😭

deadpool thing was weird i didn’t like that

good film to learn logan’s backstory, his brother was so fucking annoying though

The Wolverine was a decent film, if ur looking for an x-men film that’s more action centric than mutant centric this is your film

it felt like a wolverine side quest lol, nothing crazy going on, but i liked it more than Origins

logan is just tired

snake lady’s powers were cool

this girl is never going to see logan again so at least she got what she could

it goes without saying that Logan 2017 is the best film in the whole x-men/fox franchise

i could definitely make a whole post going into a deep dive of Logan but i’ll just keep it short

Logan’s dedication to taking care of Charles warms my heart in a way you cannot imagine, he truly cares so deeply for that man, charles gave him the opportunity of having a new family and i feel like logan will always be grateful for him

Logan & Laura :’)

it was like watching Logan go from only caring about kids in a “i’m a teacher” way to seeing Laura in a “i’m her caretaker now” kind of way, like there was a shift in his character that he wasn’t expecting

my little family of three that definitely lived happily ever after

my favorite scene of the whole film was when Logan realizes that it was his clone self that stabbed Charles, and his immediate gut reaction was to say “It wasn’t me” and to reassure Charles that Logan would NEVER do that

so that Charles would never die thinking one of his closest friends (AND SON FIGURE) would ever betray him like that and kill him

LIKE THAT WAS SO IMPORTANT TO LOGAN, HE DIDNT WANT CHARLES TO DIE THINKING HE KILLED HIM ;_________;

Logan 2017 the film that you are

X-Men Prequel Films

oh boy here go

right off the bat i’m going to say Days of Future Past exceeds all four of these films, so fucking good, my favorite after Logan

but yeah First Class wasn’t like, terrible per say, i just found myself a little bored ngl

absolutely here for eric & charles love story, they’re literally friends to lovers to enemies to still lovers but they’re still enemies i adore it

i liked the character that mystique brought (& jennifer lawrence) but it was just such a jump from the mystique in the first films

also i just think that if eric wants to kill his abuser then he should go for it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ just saying charles it was a lil weird u wanted to stop him

i get the premise, setting up the basis of the x-men, but i just found it a little lacking

DAYS OF FUTURE PAST

amazing 10/10 movie, i genuinely enjoyed every second, actually felt like a superhero movie

great balance of logan not knowing what the fuck is going on vs charles knowing exactly what to do next & logan just going along with it i love it

i’ve heard legends of how amazing quicksilver is in these films and this went beyond my expectations, fantastic character AND amazing showcase of his powers, the writers cooked on this, also makes me want to rewatch wandavision bc i didn’t appreciate his character enough son i’m so sorry

prison breaking out eric sequence was amazing

there’s so much more but just overall amazing film

apocalypse was definitely something? i mean it was probably difficult to follow up days of futures past so i can’t blame them, not like the worst film ever but ….. idk

THINGS I LOVED !! young jean & scott :’) !!!!! genuinely so happy to see the beginning of their friendship & romantic relationship, they’re literally so fucking cute AND young storm omfg a baby 🫶🏾

took me a second to realize it was oscar isaac lol, also OUCH eric’s little family but also like wtf was that death ??? 😭

idk plot was just kinda everywhere, nothing super memorable, also i just found it funny that logan was there for like less that 5 minutes and all he did was grunt lmfao at least he popped off on stryker for the millionth time fuck that guy

uhm dark phoenix

the one and only highlight for me for dark phoenix was once again, jean & scott lmfao

the whole solar flare & alien race thing was kinda weird, they didn’t even explain the alien race thing that well, idk what to even say about this movie

i thought it was weird that hank & eric were suddenly jumping on the “let’s kill jean” train when like they know she didn’t mean to kill raven ??? 😭 like wtf

someone explain the timeline bs to me bc i was surprised that jean “died” AGAIN.

wasn’t the point of futures past that logan now in the present is experiencing the new timeline in which charles, scott, and jean are all alive

so why did jean die in this, does that not defeat the purpose, like she’s alive in the present

or were they trying to plan another prequel film in which she comes back, again. then it’s just a repeating storyline from the og trilogy

anyways it was kinda bad

i don’t even want to talk about The New Mutants i’m gonna be real, it was also bad

and that is my long af reaction to watching all the x-men films for the first time. if you’re reading this and read all my yapping then thank you i really appreciate it lol 🫶🏾 in conclusion, i’m sad i missed out on a whole era of these movies when they were being released (probably bc im avengers obsessed lol) but i’m glad i did watch them now, and now i have a new universe to hyper fixate on lmfao (and logan) amazing movies !! gonna go rewatch Logan now ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

also here is my full x-men movies ranking, deadpool films included:

[studentinpursuitofclouds]

Hello! I've recently taken the plunge and downloaded Ridgeside village for one of my save files. I'm enjoying it so far and I am eyeing some of the romanceable candidates 👀.

So I was wondering, you know the ask a while back about the farmer being oblivious to all of the bachelor and bachelorette's being in love with them? Could you do the same with the Ridgeside characters? And maybe expanded?

Eyyyyy glad you liked the Ridgeside Village mod, dear anon ☺️

I've added both SVE and RSV candidates as well. Sorry if the headcanon came out a bit stilted (wasn't sure what the best format was lol). Thanks for the ask and enjoy 💕

RSV bachelors/ettes with oblivious Farmer:

After the young Pelican Town candidates failed miserably to win the heart of Farmer, who must be the most oblivious person in the world, the bachelors and bachelorettes of Ridgeside Village decided that their time had finally come. They're the ones who can get the Farmer's attention, aren't they? Oh, but they didn't, because they didn't count on two things.

First, there were still competitors in Pelican Town - it was just that the other residents hadn't immediately joined the "hunt". Although Sophia and Victor weren't even sure what was even going on, they just wanted to spend more time with their friend Farmer. Victor, however, tried to give a couple compliments, but the gist of the content of his words apparently didn't get through to Farmer. It's a shame of course, but both Sophia and Victor just get over it and just switch to their own lives (and maybe even each other). Claire also threw a loving glance in the direction of the eternally energetic Farmer, but due to uncertainty and constant fatigue she decided that she had almost no chance (it's not true, but *sigh*). Olivia, of course, could show all these young amateurs how to properly compliment and hint at the object of their affection, but feels it's not her age to go after Farmer. She will respect Farmer's choice, and may even push Victor toward Farmer a little bit so that her son will be more confident.

Second, Ridgeside Village residents doesn't really realize how painfully oblivious Farmer is. All the advances and compliments the Farmer (unknowingly) dodges like a spy film protagonist dodges enemy bullets and lasers. And Jeric and Blair will be the first to question their own flirting abilities. Maybe they should have been more.... assertive?

Standing nearby the restaurant, Corine, Ysabelle and Paula greeted the Farmer more flirtatiously, asking to spend time with them just a little bit more. The girls decided to play fair: to whom the Farmer would pay more attention - the winner. Except that Farmer thanked "their good friends for the compliments" and ran off on their farming business, leaving girls in shock. Paula at least laughed at the comicality of the situation.

Faye and Irene thought that the way to the Farmer's heart was through their stomach, so when the girls found out what were the favourite dishes of the daredevil of the entire Stardew Valley, they immediately began the preparation. The Farmer thanked them not with dates, as the two girls had hoped, but with... fresh fruit from the greenhouse. Shit. Okay, well, at least the fruit is delicious. Bryle, passing by, decided to tease Faye and show her the "real master of pick-up", since he himself had had his eye on Farmer for a long time. A complete fiasco, as you might expect, causing Faye herself to start laughing at her friend's failure. The two will then argue again (but will become a couple in the future, but that's another story).

Anton... Doesn't even look in the Farmer's direction. He wants to try, wants to give them at least one good compliment, but... Why? So that Farmer will be disappointed in him like his ex-fiancée? No, Anton won't risk their friendship for that.

Apparently Yoba itself (or other magical forces) are protecting Farmer from flirting, because there's no way they couldn't pick up on Daia's hints. The girl is almost directly flirting, proposing to become something more, trying to kiss and, pardon my language, "get them into the nearest bush for some fun." "Into the bushes? Maybe we'll find a cute bunny there!" ....Bunny, huh.

But that's at least some effort, though, because Jio didn't come up with anything better at all than to express his flirtation in the form of... completely ignoring Farmer. Like, the more he ignores them, the more interested they'll be in him. Weird logic, and then the grumpy will have a face like "Wait, that's illegal" meme when Farmer ignores his ignore (and Kiwi is now constantly teasing him).

Ian, Kenneth, Phillip and Shiro decide not to act without haste, but to learn from the mistakes of other candidates who have failed on the love front. Slowly but surely, they try to spend more time with Farmer without making any drastic moves yet. And honestly, even if they too fail to endear themselves to Farmer, a caring and loyal friend would be enough for them. Sean also wanted to take leisurely steps at first, but he didn't have the patience and so he heads to the bench with the other losers. Better luck next time!

Zayne is a rather well-mannered young man, and he is not going to impose his company on anyone without their desire. If the Farmers themselves approach him, then he will try to make small talk and apply all his knowledge of flirting. It's a similar situation with June, but he may be a little more stubborn as he, unlike the others, has limited time and will be less likely to do so when he goes back for two whole seasons.

Flor, Alissa and Maddie are pretty shy in that regard, so they'll leave the flirting and sighing heavily when Farmer walks by. It's just that Farmer is a very close friend to them all, and to demand anything more from them is somehow wrong. If only they would notice... *Sigh*

For Kiarra, the best way is to be herself: no intrusive flirting, no those innuendos. Just have a nice time with a (so far) friend and not worry about anything. And then - just ask Farmer straight out. Do they want to date? Yay, Farmer and Kiarra have become a couple. They don't want to date? Yay, Farmer and Kiarra remain best friends. It's simple.

Magnus, who decided to introduce Lance to Mr. Aguar, became unwitting spectators of an oblivious Farmer being chased by a crowd of admirers. It's a funny situation, really. Heh, maybe Magnus would have joined them, but he decided to let fate take its course. If he's meant to be with Farmer in this dimension, then so be it, but if not, well, just suck it up and move on. Lance, on the other hand, believes he's in charge of his own destiny, and his sly smile suggests that he'll take matters into his own hands once the competition has died down. He has a couple of trump cards up his sleeve....

...............

And somewhere nearby, the much-admired Lenny is sitting on a bench, eating popcorn and watching the whole thing like a favourite comedy show. "Huh, and they said there'd be no fun in old age!".

[66sharkteeth]

Weekly thoughts, ep 179. Caution for spoilers, bigger than usual!

Oh man, I'm glad this episode went over...for the vast part positively haha. I think it's kind of ironic that the character I always joked about only having 8 fans turned out to be the biggest deal in the story lately. I've been kind of down lately, so I'm glad this episode went over well with the majority of readers.

I WAS super nervous about this episode though- I know people sometimes have strong feelings about fake-out deaths, and there are a couple of comments expressing that (which, fair), but the vast majority seem just to be happy Desmond's still alive. I did also promise I'm cooking something with this twist, but it looks like 90% of the comments already know what that is, though I won't 100% confirm yet haha.

The only thing I wish got a little more recognition was the actual interactions with Lyss and Nia, which I thought were really fun haha. But I get the Desmond reveal stealing the show. I know at least a few people really didn't like Nia this episode and how aggressive she was. Which... Hm, I dunno. This is how she's always been to Lyss, who she is still working hard to get over thing she's done in the past. Much like Lyss getting over her biases against blanks, Nia's in the same boat with humans. She only even recently started liking her dad again. She's just a very head-strong and heated character, and I get if that's not everyone's thing, but I always make sure she never crosses a line unless it's called for, or if she does, she gets reprimanded for it (like when Rex called her out back in ep 151).

For the actual episode though, aside from the reveal, one major goal for this episode was just get rid of any chance of misunderstanding trope. It's a big thing I don't like in stories and I even made Nia 4th wall break about it a little haha

No misunderstanding tropes in this comic, only fake-out deaths!

Anyway, I always kind of write Nia to be the character who says what the audience is thinking and I think that was more clear than ever this week lol (down to "you pick now to have impulse control?"). Basically, I have a lot of fun writing Nia.

I think that's it this week. I'm glad people enjoyed this one, I really needed that small win this week. :'D

[lilys-of-the-valley]

Since you are now taking headcannon requests, maybe a little something about how each of the boys deals with a shy/quiet reader. Like after just recently being betrothed and meeting for the first time, they come to realize reader is really shy and nervous around them and they go from there. Which ones are really sweet to them, do some of them tease and get extra flirty for fun to see readers reaction? Oh the possibilities lol

I’m loving your work so far! 😊

Awww, this is such a sweet request!! I'm glad you're enjoying the headcanons as well. <3 🩷

🌸 I feel like Aemond would also be shy and reserved at the beginning of your relationship. Especially if yours was an arranged marriage.

🌸 He would probably get a little self-conscious that the reason you are shy because of him. His eye, maybe. So he doesn't really know what to do about that.

🌸 But soon he comes to realise that that is just how you are normally and that it isn't personal. After that, he becomes much more at ease and actually tries to initiate conversation and contact with you.

🌸 As your relationship progresses, you both become more open and talkative with each other. You both learn each others boundaries and body language so you can tell when someone or something is making you uncomfortable.

🌸 I don't feel like he would tease you, but I do feel like as your relationship progresses and you become more comfortable with each other that he would start to be more bold to see your flustered reactions.

🌸 He likes seeing that you talk more to him than most other people you interact with. It makes him feel proud that you feel comfortable enough to involve him in things like that.

🌸 Definitely a little shit about it.

🌸 He definitely teases you and does whatever he can to make you blush and get all flustered. He LOVES it.

🌸 He thinks it's a little annoying sometimes when you don't speak much. He feels like you don't want to be around him or you don't love him or want him there. He's very clingy.

🌸 He goes whining to you one night and lays on top of you in the bed, begging you to tell him the reason you're so withdrawn and quiet. He's drunk out of his mind you can tell.

🌸 When you explain that's just how you are, he manages to piece it together and understand that you don't only act like that around him, but everyone, so you must be true.

🌸 After that, the teasing becomes relentless. He will not stop. Just to see your cheeks flush and watch your eyes widen comically.

🌸 Our sweet gentleman is so kind and understanding with you.

🌸 He knows that you may not talk alot and he doesn't take it to heart at all, he knows that that's just your personality.

🌸 He always tries to initiate conversation with you and always involves you in talk at the table or when he enters your chambers and pries about your day.

🌸 He feels so happy when you start to come out of your shell and start talking to him on your own, speaking about anything and everything to him like you were never shy at all. He loves that he brought that out of you.

🌸 He always stands up for you fiercely if anyone dares to comment on your shyness. He will not stand for people talking down about you or the way you act. He loves you too much for that.

🌸 He always gives you space if and when you want it, he will give you time alone in your chambers if you don't wish to be disturbed. Or he will sit by the fire and read or do some studying of High Valyrian if you don't want to talk.

🌸 He is very understanding of any and all boundaries you have set.

🌸 Our sweet baby boy 😭

🌸 He is definitely very very understanding. He gets shy and nervous as well, he won't judge or pry.

🌸 He spends alot of time with you in silence, maybe just both of you reading books, or just sitting under a tree in a garden. He's getting used to your presence and he just loves to be close to you.

🌸 After a while, he opens up to you first, and after that, you open up in return. The both of you talking and actually having an enjoyable and wholesome betrothal.

🌸 He gets so giddy inside when you talk to him first, or hold his hand or something like that. He finds it so cute.

🌸 He loves you so much and definitely stands up for you whenever someone says anything ill about you, he won't stand for it. Even if he is scared to say it himself.

Note: Sorry, this one took a while, haha! Hope you liked it 🩷🩷

[eleni-cherie]

a thief's origin✨ || bts • kth - chapter 1.0

"you're afraid I won't wait." "I'm afraid you will."

a criminal and a doctor should be as different as the sun and the moon - but unexpected things happened every day. like him finding his safe haven in her.

© 2024 | eleni_cherie

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masterlist: here

— genre: thief au, gangster comedy, adventure, romcom, humour, angst, fluff, sexual tensiON, slowburn, mutual pining, strangers to friends to lovers s2f2l

ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE. CHARACTERS NOT NECESSARILY LIKE THE REAL PERSONS. ALSO VERY UNREALISTIC PLOT LOL - JUST PRETEND READING A MANGA/COMIC OR WATCHING A FILM, REALLY.

SUGGESTIVE THEMES. MENTIONS OF VIOLENCE & BLOOD (BUT NOTHING TOO GRAPHIC, IT'S STILL A COMEDY!)

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20th December

Barcelona, Spain

Most days in the hospital were surprsingly good. Despite the unholy shift rotations - sometimes going from a late to an early shift, only giving her six hours of sleep before having to return there - Cassandra liked her work at the hospital overall.

She appreciated the routine, but also the occasional challenges. Even Pavlo decided to stop being a massive nuisance.

She even got her own group of first-years she did the round with. Now being the one acting like a quiz master which was highly entertaining, even if she had to stay professional and couldn't openly show it.

Sure, sometimes it got tiring whenever the rookies came running to her for every silly question, but she also enjoyed it. It made her feel important.

Her upskilling in surgery also began soon. It'd surely be interesting and instructive to get more insight in the opposite medical field. And frankly, she was kind of excited to witness her first real surgery.

All in all, it went well.

However, that didn't mean all days were pleasant like that.

That particular day, for example, had been one of those not-so-great-ones. The cloudy weather and her pms not helping either. Making her extra emotional after treating one of her older patients.

Her early shift ended and after bidding goodbye to Stella who had a double-shift ahead of her, she made her way out into the pre-Christmas coldness.

Christmas season was joyous for most people - or at least that was what commercials wanted her to believe - but for the young physician it had ended being fun when she'd found out Santa wasn't real at the age of eight.

The only thing she linked to this holiday now were family chaos and, well, presents. Quite superficial, in retrospective. Although she did miss the family chaos as she hadn't been able witnessing it quite often due to her work these years.

This year, however, she'd get to witness it all again, one more shift tomorrow and then she'd fly over to her home country. She'd have been more thrilled though if there wasn't one thing that concerned her. Or rather someone.

Taehyung.

He knew she'd leave soon, she'd told him over the phone. And he wanted to visit her before, but couldn't promise being able to do so.

Cassandra wondered if her boyfriend could make it after all, he still had one and a half days left. And if not, she wondered if he'd visit her in her hometown instead. He'd met her parents when randomly showing up during one of their visits a few months ago anyway, so the biggest hurdle had already been taken.

Her brown irises focused on the ground as she adjusted the grip on her backpack. A heavy sigh leaving her lips.

She was glad it was time to go home after a draining morning. The harsh December wind brushed against her flushed cheek, wiping a few strands over her eyes which she quickly tucked away only to abruptly stop in her tracks. Her shoulders fell, only now noticing how tense they'd been all this time.

There he was - her favourite worst menace, casually leaning against a black car.

One hand shoved into the pocket of his dark coat while the other was pushing back the sunglasses on the bridge of his nose which he had on despite the cloudiness. Ignoring the wind tousling his slightly trimmed waves. Evoking a small laugh from her.

Of course she knew it was a lazy attempt to cover himself, but it'd never work for her. He looked too cool and airy, too effortlessly attractive for her not to recognise him.

And her heart swelled with the sight of him after several weeks again.

Taehyung was absentmindedly resting his eyes at nothing in particular when his gaze instinctively wandered to her. Heart-shaped lips curling upwards into a beaming smile when spotting her and he was about to call out for her, when he paused instead when noticing her gloomy expression. A frown replaced his smile.

Cassandra's jaw unintentionally started trembling.

She couldn't contain it anymore, she had to let it go. She'd planned to do so when arriving home, but seeing him there now made everything from the day along with the fact she'd missed him, raise to the surface. but it was also how he always showed up when she needed him the most. As if he knew, by intuition.

And before she realised, she was sprinting towards him, crashing into his arms and embracing him tightly.

The brunette froze for a moment before his hands curved around his girlfriend's smaller frame. Cradling her against himself. His fingers brushed a few coppery strands from her face then, urging her to look at him by holding her cheek with one hand.

"Cas, what happened?"

Cassandra didn't say anything, though. Her glistering eyes looking up at his warm ones before she wordlessly kissed him.

The fact he made sure to visit her before she left, warming her inside. Making her forget the depressing day at work for a moment.

It was a gentle press of her lips, taking him aback at the unexpected gesture. But he didn't move or backed away, he simply closed his eyes and reciprocated it. Having missed the warmth of her more than anything. And he hugged her closer to him with the arm that was still wrapped around her waist. His hand moving from her jaw to the back of her neck.

The kiss merely lasted seconds before her heels return to the ground. A weak smile grazing her face as their noses brushed and she sniffled. Her head returning to his chest then, right above his heart.

"I love you."

It slipped past her lips so naturally, so easily. He almost failed to hear it the way she so casually said it. As if she commented on the cloudy weather or that she preferred chocolate over gummibears. But he heard it after all and swallowed. His heart contracting in a strange way and he could swear a beat was skipped, completely missing.

Taehyung was her happiness and strength and the sole reason she hadn't lost her mind at the hospital yet. The only person whose weirdness was compatible with hers, really. And she had to admit, the only time she was truly carefree and at peace was when he was holding her. A terrifying realisation. Especially since she didn't want to know the alternative.

With a light giggle Cassandra stepped back and let go of him, the only evidence of her blue mood moments ago being the drying tears now. "Sorry, that was random. Let's go," she said then, readjusting her backpack. Attempting to walk to the passenger seat when Taehyung grabbed her arm and pulled her right back into another kiss.

She had the guts, he thought, she really had the guts to say it first.

"Idiot," he muttered against her lips then, a chuckle erupting from his throat, "You think I'd risk getting caught every time if I didn't love you, too?"

Cassandra pouted with a nothing but teasing shrug. "I don't know.. You could have multiple girls all over the world."

Taehyung's brow perched up at this with disbelief. "You really think that of me?"

"You really think I'd be with you if I believed you were such a guy?" she huffed, "Of course not, I trust you."

His lips curled into a boyish smile. "Good. 'Cause I only want you, no one else." He patted her flushed cheeks with the sleeve of his coat then, drying them before speaking up with sudden glee. " Anyway! It's almost Christmas and I extra came all the way here to celebrate with my girlfriend. So let's celebrate!"

Cassandra looked at him suspiciously. "And what did you plan?"

"Don't worry, you'll like it."

"As long as I get some sweets.. been really craving some chocolate," she grinned. Already certain she'd love whatever it was anyway. The mere fact he was there was already enough to lift her mood for the entire month.

He arched a brow at her then. "Of course you'll also get your obligatory holiday sweets. Are you doubting me?"

And he laughed when seeing Cassandra's large eyes gleaming at the mention of desserts.

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The shrill scoring sound echoed above them when the white puck slid passed his hand and into the hole. Cassandra immediately leaped up, almost bumping at a girl playing at the table behind her. Face beaming with joy at the display announcing her victory with 10 - 7.

Taehyung's brows rose, his head tilting while still processing what had just happened. "Huh," he huffed eventually, licking over his lips then. He had to admit defeat.

Cassandra grinned victoriously as she propped her hands on the airhockey table and leaned forward. "Say it."

Rolling his eyes, he chuckled lightly. "Fine, fine. You're the arcade champion."

Content, she nodded to herself and folded her arms. "Music to my ears."

They had spent the last two hours trying out almost all games around the arcade, competing in most of them - just for fun of course, although both tended to occasionally forget about that part. And they were sore losers, too, Cassandra more than Taehyung though. And with her total of five wins against his four, airhockey having been the tie breaker, she gloried her win. All for fun, of course.

"Don't tell me some relative of yours is also an arcade genius now," Taehyung whined. He was only teasing but was surprised to see her folding her lips in a mischievious manner.

"Not in all games, but my aunt was an expert in Pacman and other videogames if that counts."

"Of course," he laughed under his breath, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and walking her to one of the empty tables.

Truth was, he'd purposely gone easy on her. Not only because of her becoming whiny and pouty when losing - an adorably childish sight - but it also served another reason. At least, that's what his ego reminded him of.

"Anyway, since you're the winner, you should get a prize, right?"

Cassandra's eyes widened at his excited smile. Watching him pulling out a small box wrapped in fancy paper from the inside pocket of his coat that was hanging over one of the chairs.

She perked up at this. "A prize?"

"Technically your Christmas gift, but I figured it'd fit as a prize, too."

He laughed at her eagerly grabbing it out of his hand after sitting down. He had originally planned to hand it over while avowing his love to her, but she'd preempted him there at the parking lot. So he decided to give it to her as her prize after beating him at the arcades.

Unwrapping it, her brown eyes laid on a golden heart pedant, shining under the colourful blinking lights from the games around them. And the corners of her lips tucked into a soft smile.

"It's beautiful," she glanced up at him, "Thank you."

He motioned with his chin towards it. "Open it."

Her eyes frowned briefly, not having realised it was actually a locket and she obeyed. Bursting out laughing the moment she did, though, finding nothing else but a silly photo of him inside. Of course.

"You can swap the photo if you want."

But Cassandra only shook her head. "Nah, it's perfect." And she leaned over, pecking his cheek tenderly. "Thank you."

"You like it?" he asked, scratching the back of his neck and she wondered where that insecurity came from.

"Yes, of course," she smiled brightly and reached out to grab his hand and squeeze it. Taehyung smiled shyly back. Taking it from her hands then, he motioned for her to turn around and she did. Feeling his fingers brush her hair aside before putting the necklace around her neck. And she touched it briefly before facing him with a smile and another kiss on his cheek.

She genuinely loved it along with the photo inside. Even if she was usually going for silver jewelery, she found it beautiful and could tell it was of value save for the emotional one. She wasn't an expert, but it must've been pure gold, which made her a bit nervous when thinking about wearing it in her daily life. On the other hand though, whenever she felt dull at work, she could take a look at it and instantly get a serotonin boost.

They finished their drinks, which had been forgotten while playing and decided to leave. Stepping outside into the now dusken streets.

"So where to now?" Cassandra asked. Voice muffled underneath her thick scarf. They climbed into the car and she shivered from the sudden warmth when the heating started.

"I promised you sweets, didn't I?"

He chuckled when seeing her nodding vigorously.

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"How much longer?"

"Just be patient. I know I have it here somewhere."

Taehyung took a sip from his red wine before laying down onto the fluffy carpet. His fingers folded under his head as he let his gaze wander over the ceiling coloured in a yellowish hue from the lamp in the corner.

He got tired of waiting as Cassandra was rummaging through her wardrobe and cabinets in search for his present. She couldn't remember where she'd stored it, not knowing when she's see him again.

"It's alright if you can't find it, you don't need to give me anything," he said in between of yawning. Hearing a faint scoff from the other room.

"Of course I need to! It's not only Christmas but also your birthday soon. Don't be ridiculous."

"But I'm bored," he whined, "Just come here and give it to me some other time."

"Don't make me regret confessing to you." He heard her laugh.

"You won't," he countered with a smug grin lazily spreading onto his features, "You love me after all."

And she only rolled her eyes, shaking her head in defeat before concentrating on looking for the small box when something caught her eye. "Found it!" she exclaimed happily and appeared seconds later above him with an object decorated by a green bow.

Curiously, he sat up and reached out for it. She sat down cross-legged in front of him. Nervously, she took a sip from her own wine as she watched him. His brows furrowed when unwrapping it. Seemingly not understanding what it was, he gave her an inquiring look and she sighed.

"It's a mini portable projector," she explained then, "Thought this would be the perfect gift for a film-lover on the run like you. You could always carry it around and use it wherever."

"Are you kidding?" His brows rose and he glanced down at the box in his hands.

Cassandra grew more and more fidgety at this. "If you don't like it I can return it. Not sure if I still have the re-"

However, Taehyung quickly cut her rambling off with a kiss. His smile bright and square. "It's perfect, Cas. I didn't even know such things existed. Thank you."

She couldn't help but bite back a relieved smile. "We could test it out right now," she suggested then. But Taehyung only smiled and tucked a curl behind her ear before leaning in.

"Maybe later."

 And he pulled her into his embrace, kissing her all over again.

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"By the way, when will you tell me why you got so emotional earlier?" Taehyung wondered into the silence. It was late, past midnight for sure. The film they had settled on, 'How to steal a million', had ended some time ago.

He glanced down at her with a scowl. Observing her eyes fluttering open. His hand slid up and down over her warm skin as he waited for her to muster her courage.

Sometimes Cassandra was worse than him with being withdrawn and keeping her sorrows to herself.

With a sigh, her fingers fumbled with the bedsheet covering them. "It wasn't anything special," she mumbled then, causing him to roll his eyes.

"You know, if I am more vocal with my feelings, you gotta be more vocal with your concerns, too. It'd only be fair, don't you think?"

She peeked at him, lips folding in embarrassment. He was right, he was her boyfriend after all, he should know.

"Maybe I'm in the wrong profession after all.." she eventually spoke up then, dragging an exhale. Her hand had abandoned the sheet, lying flat on his bare chest now. "I still let things get too close to me."

And Taehyung realised it must've been about a patient. She couldn't tell him details, he knew so he didn't ask for any. "Isn't that good though?" he countered instead, "You aren't emotionally numb."

"It can be.." She propping her chin on his chest, eyes focusing on the small tiger pedant that had slid from his neck. Toying with it as she collected her thoughts. "But it can make me lose objectivity when I like or care for a patient too much. At the end of he day, I have to treat them the best way possible and that's not always pleasant."

He hummed, not entirely sure if he related to her dilemma. "Better to care too much than not caring at all. That's what I think at least."

She let out a noise of agreement although not seeming very convinced. And he gave her a worried look as he caressed her head before his arms wrapped around her lower back. It hadn't been the first time he'd seen her like that after all.

"If this profession causes you so much sorrow, why don't you quit?"

She shrugged, eyes still fixated on the tiger. "I don't know.. Why are you a thief despite having to constantly run away from interpol?"

It was a rhetorical question. He understood what her point was.

It wasn't always logical, it wasn't always pleasant, but that what having a passion was like. An inner force that constantly drove you, unable not to follow it whether it made you suffer or brought you joy.

He had to be a thief and partake in heists with his friends. It was the only thing he knew and was good at. Of course, he was certain that wouldn't last forever the older they got. For the time being, however, that was his inner pulse. Until it changed and something else replaced it.

His gaze rested on Cassandra who was seemingly absorbed in thoughts when she abruptly sat up in his lap. "But it's alright. I'm over that slump by now anyway."

He eyed her suspicious. "Are you sure?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, don't worry. Beating you at the arcades and eating cake managed lifting my mood again," she giggled, and he scoffed only to tickle her sides. Making her squeal and pushing his hands away.

She leaned over him to reach the nightstand then, suddenly feeling the urge to eat some of the left-over of the cake they had bought in the afternoon.

Christmas was only a few days away but thankfully, bakeries and patisseries still had enough of the taditional tronco de navidad in stock. A thin cake spread with cream and rolled into a cylindrical shape to form a tree trunk, covered with a thick layer of chocolate.

"Gotta remember that place, it's really good," she mumbled with her mouth being half-stuffed. She was munching on the cake and seemingly saviouring every bit of it with eyes closed as she sat there on his lap.

His thumb wiped away brown cream from the corner of her mouth, his hands settling back on her hips then with a fond smile. Skin warm and soft under his fingers, holding her there between his palms. His irises fell on he heart-pedant that swayed on her colarbones with every bite she took, peeking between her cascading curls.

He really loved her. He was utterly and hopelessly in love with that beautiful girl. And he was glad seeing her so cheerful and carefree again compared to hours ago, this look suiting her the best. Sunlight burst into the room whenever she smiled like this, no matter the time of day.

Cassandra's happy humming interrupted his train of thoughts.

"You can change the photo inside if you want." His mellow voice took her attention away from her cake and she followed his gaze to her new necklace. She swallowed the dessert.

"I know, you already said that. But I don't wanna."

She liked the photo of him inside the locket. He looked cuddly and cute on it.

Taehyung only huffed and she almost cooed, finding his random shyness adorable. "Isn't it corny though?"

"A little bit, but I don't mind," she shrugged, before adding with a smirk, "Unless you stole the necklace and are now afraid of leaving evidence."

Her tone was obviously teasing and he squeezed her hips. "Please, what do you think of me?" he fake-pouted. "I'd never give you stolen goods."

Of course he had paid the full price. Cassandra was worth every price after all. Furthermore, he could never bring himself to give her something stolen, it'd be insincere. Gifts were meant to deliver his feelings to her - giving her stolen goods wouldn't make sense.

Cassandra smiled gently at this and bent down. Kissing his pout away with her chocolate-tasting lips.

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next chapter: 1.1 here

Don't forget to like, comment & leave feedback!♡ It motivates me to keep writing :)

taglist: @lilanyxta @naoolammao345 @memna234 @tetehion @myblacklilame

[steelheart-redux]

Recently found the comic and wanted to say I love it and am excited for more! Wishing you a speedy recovery! I was wondering what program and tools are used for the creation of the comic, unless I missed it somewhere. Thanks for your time, and rest well! You have a riveting story!

Thank you so much!! I'm glad you're enjoying :)

I don't remember if I've said it anywhere but I don't mind repeating it if I have. To make all my comics, I use Procreate, Photoshop (you may boo), and blender.

Process is as such: I get the thumbnail (I usually do these in advance, not the entire chapter at once but I'm usually 30-40 pages ahead in terms of thumbnails) then put it in a new procreate document. then if there's weird backgrounds (cities, indoor, etc.) or weird robot-y hard angle things (so far, just the hoverbike) i either make or use a 3d model i've already made and just trace it. (i have an arthur model for scale but i try not to trace it directly bc it's.. not a great model lol. sometimes i'm lazy though.)

then i do lineart + colors + shading + etc directly on top of that (no additional sketching generally, unless the pose is giving me trouble). basically all of the artwork in the pages is done in procreate.

then i chuck it all in photoshop to do some final touch ups, blur stuff (sometimes done in procreate but not always), and do the text. i use adobe fonts i get through my school for most of the text, and then i draw in all my font bubbles + sfx by hand and slap a stroke modifier on them for the outline.

then, ta-da! comic page.

[avianoutcast]

*points at you (or, well...all of you I guess)*

COOL MOOT !!!!!!!!! AND COOL LITTLE GUYS THAT COME WITH YOU !!!!!

Yall like brownies?? The irony! My papyrus makes *EXCELLENT (read as *not burnt) batches of the stuff! In fact, I offer you each to try one! Enjoy ;))

(on a more serious note I think you're pretty cool (⁠｡⁠•̀⁠ᴗ⁠-⁠)⁠✧ you're doing a bunch, so take breaks every now and then! Dont be like me and only update your comic every seven years /j ಥ⁠‿⁠ಥ)

Awww thank you so much really glad you all like my art works so far!❤️💙

Also here's the two exchanging brownies lol XD (I love your oc btw they so precious!)