#and frankly it seemed to cheer a lot of other people up as well

[shikai-the-storyteller]

Making dinner and watching Slime's VOD for a few hours then sitting down and opening Tumblr / Twitter makes me feel like someone who survived a bomb strike solely because they wandered into their basement to grab a can of beans

[arminsumi]

DO IT RIGHT — 五夏

SatoSugu ⋅ fem reader

🔞 suggestive / partly n.sfw

SUMMARY — Suguru and Satoru each have their own differing ideas of what makes a good make out session.

WARNINGS — make outs n kissing, SatoSugu, jealousy, light angst, they fight over u, lovably annoying gojo, calling you sl*t playfully, "dirty girl" n maybe other nicknames, smidge of sexual tension/undertones ig

WORDCOUNT — 2.4k

TAGS for the lovelies !! 💗

@buttercupmuffins

" Slow and sensual; that's how it's supposed to be done, Satoru. You rush your kisses. You're too chaotic. "

" Yuh but I get more bitches than y — "

" — when was the last time you kissed a woman ? "

" Junior high. "

Suguru started cackling. The two of them were sat in your living room apartment. You peered at them from over your computer, the blue light glaring in your eyes.

" What the fuck are you two on about ? " you asked, taking your earphones out completely and halting the progress of your essay.

" None of your business. "

You sighed in response. That was such an expected response from Satoru.

" We were debating what makes a good make out session. You know, like ' fast or slow ' ? ' Chaotic or sensual ' ? Mister six eyes over here has opposition to my beliefs as usual — don't fuckin' wink at me, you freak. "

Satoru giggled. " Of course, 'cause your beliefs are flawed and quite frankly you're full of shit. Blech. Hey, you agree, don't you ? "

You looked up in thought for yourself.

" I don't know. See, chaotic movie-like kisses are something lots of people want. But then again, lots of people prefer slow and romantic kisses. They really want to intertwine bodies with their lover and — "

Suguru completed your thought.

" — and become one with each other. Yeah, you get me. "

" Hey now, I'm not saying I agree with either of you. I haven't even kissed one of you. Maybe you're both shit at kissing, now that I think 'bout it. Haha. " you chuckled to yourself.

The boys raised their brows at you. Ah, a common ground; both taking offense from you.

" Why don't you come over here 'n experiment with us, princess ? " Suguru murmured condescendingly. His earrings caught your eye.

Your stomach dropped. " Huh ? " you blinked dumbly.

" Don't get all coy with us now. Come over here. " Suguru teased.

Satoru arched a brow at you and smirked. " Yeah, come. You can help us settle this debate. "

" Mhm. " Suguru nodded.

You were reluctant, because... well, this could fuck up the friendship, right? They didn't seem to mind that, as they entrapped you between their bodies and kept you there. Imprisoned between their competing passion.

" Me first ? "

" Uh, no way, asshole. Me first. "

" I'll choose. "

" Nah, let's flip a coin. "

So they flipped a coin at Satoru's insistence.

" Call it. " Suguru said.

" Heads. " Satoru called.

You observed Suguru's attractive, veiny hands as he tossed the coin and caught it, smacking it onto the back of his hand.

" . . . heads. " Suguru groaned.

" Yay . . . smooches for Satoru. " Satoru cheered.

" You're so cringe. " you said, crinkling your nose.

" Shut up or I'll stick my tongue down your throat — "

" — you mean you weren't planning to do that ? What a pity. I like French kissing. " you teased.

That caught the boys attention. They exchanged a look, and now a tension built up between you three.

" Okay, if you want me to, then I will. " Satoru tried to remain confident, but the idea of French kissing you was destroying his cool composure.

" I want you to. So get to it, boy. " you said.

Suguru raised his brows at Satoru and smirked. He sat to your left, long leg propped along the edge of the couch, encasing you there.

Just before Satoru leaned in to kiss you, swift and cheeky as he was, Suguru interrupted with a quick, teacher-like stutter.

" Hey, nonono. We're setting a timer. Five minutes each, precisely. "

" Of course. " Satoru rolled his eyes. " Well hurry up then. "

" Impatient much ? " you chuckled under your breath. Satoru went a bit red.

The split second Suguru started the timer on his phone, Satoru engulfed you in a kiss that nearly knocked the wind out of you. He was chaotic. Feverish. Gliding those candied lips across yours was up there with the best decisions he's ever made.

He tilted his head into the kiss, tongue swiping and slipping in eagerly to play with yours. And with how he French kissed, you almost wanted to giggle; he was so playful.

Suguru watched. And observed. And thought about how he's going to win you over with his approach to kissing. What you needed, he thought while seeing how Satoru whimpered into your mouth, was a sensual man who takes his time.

" Time's up. "

" What the fu- "

A string of saliva connected you and Satoru, his lips felt tingly and he still wanted more even after devouring you.

" Five minutes go by so quick . . . "

" Uh-huh. When you're having fun. Sooo ? " Satoru looked at you expectantly.

" Rather hold back your judgment until you've tasted me, hm ? " Suguru stopped you before you made any comment on his best friend's kissing style. " Come on. Come closer. I don't bite. " he said, making the last part sound so sultry that a shiver ran down your spin.

Now Suguru . . . oh boy, Suguru. How he kissed. You were already dizzy from Satoru's fervor. But Suguru ? One little peck at your chin to test. Then he pressed teasing, leadup kisses to the corner of your lips.

" Su — " he muffled your call of his name with his lips, drinking up the rest of the syllables like a thirsty wolf.

His big hands molded to the back of your head, tangling up into your hair. Tilt tilt tilt. Press. Such a deep and hard kiss. You felt like your perception of reality got fucked up a little for a moment there.

He swiped his tongue across your bottom lip, wetting it, and once you opened your mouth for him he just smirked at your acceptance. In his mind, he was aiming to kiss you like he was converting you. Damn near kissed like a cult leader, you don't know why but you thought of that description right then.

That buttery soft tongue made you moan. The sound caught both the boy's off-guard.

And then the poor white-haired boy started glaring.

" Okay, okay, time's basically up. "

" Hmmmf ? " you looked dazed.

" How much time was left before you just cancelled that ? " Suguru squinted annoyedly at his best friend, hands still keeping you in place. His lips were barely parted from yours, so every shake of subtle anger in his vocals vibrated subtly across your lips.

" I dunno, fifty-two seconds ? "

" That's almost a whole minute left you asshole ! "

" Yeah so ?! You gonna fight me over it, big boy ? " Satoru challenged.

" What are you getting so jealous for ? "

You widened your eyes at the argument springing to life. The air felt so tense and hot. You could feel their heats radiating from their faces as they flushed from anger.

" What are you kissing her so deeply for ? Are you trying to fucking prove something ? "

" Oooooooh, pretty boy is jealous jealous. " Suguru said venomously.

" Boys, please don't fight. This is not such a big deal. " your voice came in between them.

They looked at you bitterly.

" Whose kiss did you like better ? " Satoru asked.

" Mine. No offence, but Satoru you kiss like a fucking high schooler. "

Satoru clenched his jaw. " I was asking her — not you, Suguru, baby. "

Oh he's angry angry you thought. Satoru always used nicknames with people he liked, but when the word baby came out of his mouth in that tone? God have mercy on whoever's on the receiving end. Unless it was someone who could match that intensity...

" I'll tell you what I liked and disliked about both of you . . . to be fair. Okay ? How's that sound, boys ? "

God they loved it when you called them like that. Yeah, they're your boys alright. They loved being your boys.

" Okay . . . sure. That's fair. Go ahead. " Suguru said. A small nervousness crept across his chest, but he hid it well.

You paused for just a moment to collect your thoughts.

" Damn just spill already ! "

" Let her think, Satoru. Impatient bitch. "

" I will fucking bite you. "

" Then bite me. "

" Boys. Calm down. "

So they listened. Your word was supreme, after all. If you told them to stop, they stopped.

You tilted your head and slowly began laying the truth on them. " I liked the way you held the back of my head so possessively, it was really hot . . . " you told, directing at Suguru.

Satoru grimaced. Why didn't he do that? He was mentally kicking himself.

" . . . but I preferred how dramatically you kissed me. " you directed to the sulking white-haired boy. Then his features lightened a bit.

" And ? " Suguru encouraged, eager to hear more praises.

They leaned in very close for the fact they were just listening to you speak.

" I didn't like how sloppy and wet Satoru was. "

Satoru cringed at himself. He was very self-conscious about being a sloppy kisser.

" Haha, sloppy kisser. "

" Suguru shut the fuck up. "

You quickly turned down the heat between them and knocked Suguru off his high horse.

" You're a bit of a show-off kisser, not as romantic as I imagined you to be. It feels like you were trying too hard to win me over, or something. "

Oh, he hated that you could deduce that. He really thought he had you.

" Fair enough . . . " it was his turn to sulk.

Satoru smirked. " So you prefer me ? " he winked, " I mean, of course you do. "

" No. I like both of you. "

" Okay, slut. " Satoru rolled his eyes. " If you had to choose — "

" Don't worry about offending us, we can take it. "

" Yeah right, you're gonna fucking cry if she chooses me. " Satoru cheeked.

The tension rose between them again. But this time, there was this... oddly violent passion. Some sort of suppressed, stifled romanticness brewed between them. It's always underlined their conversations before, even their arguments. This indescribable, undeniable tension — not the jokingly " I'm so gay for my best friend " stuff. No, something genuine. Something that was not a joke.

" Why don't you kiss each other ? " you blurted out.

Satoru looked at you like you were crazy. " What the fuck ? "

" I mean, to make it fair . . . and get better insight into how the both of you kiss ? I-I don't know, just a thought. "

" Just a thought ? A horny thought I bet. " Satoru chuckled. He was going red in the face. And so was Suguru.

" What the hell. I'm innocent. " you defended.

" Riiight. "

Suguru had been thoughtfully quiet. Then he finally spoke.

" . . . I'm down. "

" WHAT. " Satoru freaked out. His face went completely red now. You could feel how hot he was.

" Yeah let's go for it. " Suguru shrugged.

He froze up. His heart palpitated. Stomach dropped. Eyes went blown wide open.

" I-I-I yeah ? Okay ? Sure. Yeah. Alright. Then. Let's. Do — it. "

" Wow, I don't think I've ever heard you stutter like this, Satoru. " you teased.

" Shut up ?! Shut up. Let's just do it and get it over with. "

" Yeah. Okay. Come here. "

" What the fu- you come here. "

Suguru raised his brows at him. " Seriously ? "

" I'm more dom than you. " Satoru said proudly. " Come here. "

" Nah, you come here. "

" No way ! "

You sighed. " Wow, this is going to take a while. "

" Nonono, we're doing it — " he kissed him, " — see ? "

" Satoru, such a cute peck. We're supposed to make out. That's what you want, right Y/n ? "

You stomach flipped. His tone. His damn tone. That cocky glint in his eyes. Suguru was so teasingly seductive right then.

" Y-yeah. For five minutes. Just like we did. "

" Okay. Set a timer. "

Satoru looked like he was shocked from how fast he just kissed his best friend. Such a short peck had his stomach doing loopies. You could tell he was going through a crisis.

" 'kay, timer's on. "

So they melted their lips against each other right in front of you. Satoru was stiff at first, but loosened up the deeper he fell into his best friend's kiss. More than that, he succumbed to the sultry feelings that Suguru radiated. You know, he just had that thing about him. That air. He was alluring and enticing, almost dangerously so at times.

You listened. Watched. Glanced down at the timer. Really, you set a stopwatch, not a timer. A little experiment. You wanted to see how long they'd take to realize how long they've been kissing for.

And it's well over five minutes. Lips smacking, heads tilting, bodies coming closer. Suguru's bangs brushing over Satoru's cheeks, hands cupping his flushed cheeks. What a sight. Two pretty best friends going breathless over each other.

" 'how long's it been ? " Satoru mumbles in between kisses, totally in a dazed state.

You hide your smirk. " Just a bit left. "

Suguru gave you a suspicious side eye. Oh, butterflies. He caught onto you right then.

He thought;

Well if you want us to put on a show, we'll put on a show. Just for you.

And dipped his tongue between Satoru's parted lips, erotically swirling around — slow, sensual, languid.

" ahmmm ~ " Satoru almost made a noise close to a moan, and then got embarrassed.

You gulped and watched. Did they forget they were doing this in front of you? Your face was right there.

You stared hard.

Suguru smirked and parted from the kiss, holding the face of a dazed-looking Satoru in the palms of his hands as he spoke to you.

" Did you even set a timer ? Ah, whatever. Stop staring, dirty girl. Come join the fun. Three's company, you know ? "

[maple-the-awesome]

Another Link Crushes On You || Part 2/3

Part 1 ||

Pairings: Legend, Twilight, Wind x GN Reader

Overview: You've known Link for years - Well, a version of Link. Neither of you have seen yourselves as being anything more than friends, although it seems not all Link's think the same, in fact when you're introduced to the Chain, one of the boys falls pretty hard for you. I spun a wheel to let fate decide upon random pairs this time. Needless to say, I had a lot of fun with some of them😁

Zelda Masterlist 💚 Fandom Masterlist

Legend isn't a big fan of Skyloft which is something he decided rather quickly upon arrival - and no, it has nothing to do with the cold, thin air or hair-raising heights, although he’s also not a big fan of either. His problem lies solely on the cheerful atmosphere created by this village’s inhabitants. It’s all too easy going and mundane to fit an adventurer’s heart. Too familiar and painful, to boot. 

The others may think of him as aloof and, quite frankly, Sky might be a little offended, but Legend has no interest in exploring these islands or making friends with the locals. Never again. Instead of joining any guided tours or trading stories with inquisitive knights, he sinks into his own isolation, finding a quiet place to sit amongst the shore of Skyloft’s only large water source.

All by his lonesome, he’s free to find a good boulder to hide behind and tear away at his hair in a desperate attempt at calming his unsteady anxiety…That is, until he hears a sound - No, not a sound, a voice. A beautiful voice that doesn’t speak, but rather hums a delicate melody he’s certain he’s heard before, probably from Sky who has a habit of mumbling certain songs to himself while plucking his harp.

…And there you are, blissfully unaware of anyone else's presence by the lake as you approach the water's edge. Dropping a laundry basket in the sand, you carefully roll up your pant legs and kick off your boots, prepared to step into the cold water until you suddenly halt.

As if having developed some sort of sixth sense, you glance over your shoulder, quickly spotting the pink haired boy peeking at you from beside a boulder. The sight understandably startles you, yet despite how awkward this situation might look without context - what, to catch a total stranger apparently 'spying' from afar - you give him a kind, that be it nervous smile. People in Skyloft truly are too trusting for their own good.

"Oh hello there! …So sorry, I don't think we’ve met yet."

Legend sighs, realizing it would be creepier if he were to just ignore you. With his place of solace now ruined, he stands and dusts the sand off his tunic, "...That's because I'm not from around here."

"Oh?" You tilt your head cutely, likely confused as to what he could possibly mean, after all, where else would he have come from if not Skyloft? Looking him over, you take notice of his outfit, “Are you a knight? I see you have the uniform of one.”

The angel on Legend's shoulder begs him to be honest, after all there's no reason not to be. Naturally, Sky seems to be pretty well known around Skyloft, so maybe you wouldn't be too surprised to learn your local hero has become ensnared in another adventure, bringing home a handful of other heroes. You might even find Legend more interesting if he were truthfully, awed by the rare chance to meet someone outside of your own timeline...yet staying true to his own bad habits, he decides to dig his own grave instead:

"...Yeah, I’m a knight. I'm just usually really busy, so that's probably why you haven't seen me around, you know,” He explains boldly.

You furrow your eyebrows while finally stepping into the water, taking a handful of clothing items with you, "...Huh...I still could've sworn I knew everyone here, what, with the island being so small and all."

Legend cringes. He can't tell if you're simply speaking on your confusion or slyly catching him in a lie, although the uncertainty isn't enough to deter him, "W-Well, I don't live 'here' exactly. I live on one of the...outer islands - And I spend a lot of time there instead of here which would make it easy to miss me."

You give him a strange look that feels as if it could burn right through him, however you fortunately turn away before his heart can ignite, "...May I ask your name?"

"My...name?" He blinks as if that’s the strangest question you could’ve asked.

"I just feel a bit rude for never having noticed you before, but if I were to learn a name to put to the face, I doubt I'll ever walk past you again without a smile," And oh, how deadly your smile is, flashed over your shoulder so innocently, yet those eyes - They hold mischief behind them.

 "My name is Li - Ravio. That's my name," Another needless lie...

"Li Ravio?" You repeat, not looking very convinced, "That's certainly...a name, alright."

"W-Well, I didn't pick it!" Yes, yes he did...

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean any offense. It's a unique name, that's all, but that will make it easier to remember," You laugh at his misery, your eyes crinkling with the action. You then introduce yourself, your name sounding vaguely familiar, although Legend's in too much of a daze to think of why, "It's nice to meet you, Li Ravio."

He bites back a grumble, already regretting his life choices up until this point. Seriously, if he was going to give himself a cover name and story, couldn't he have picked something a little better? You probably think he's a weirdo, just showing up out of the blue with some half-assed backstory that sounds totally fake - Wait, what does he even care? It's not like he knows you! You're a random civilian from a timeline that comes generations before his own. If he wanted, he could march off and never see or think about you again...but does he want to?

Despite his previous desire for isolation, Legend remains standing there dumbly in the sand, entranced by the song you go back to humming while carefully scrubbing away at your laundry. You take no shame in your singing - which is good, because there's no reason to be. You sound nothing short of holy, and quite honestly, you match the look, practically glowing in the beams of sunlight. Even your movements are graceful, so much so that as you wade out of the water, you hardly disturb the water lilies around you.

"Where'd you learn to sing like that?" The question slips before Legend can help it, but there's no taking it back. You stop mid-step onto the sand, eyes quickly darting up to look at him in surprise. It's as if no one's ever been smart enough to give you that compliment before...or perhaps no one has ever sounded quite so astonished while saying it.

"My cousin and I sing every evening at the Lumpy Pumpkin," You explain, bashfully tucking a strand of hair behind your ear after dropping your laundry back into its basket and picking it up, "You should come by sometime. It’s on an island south east of here - Very cozy, and a great place to get to know new people, too.”

"I'll, um...think about it,” Legend answers awkwardly with a cough. Will they even be staying in Skyloft that long? How would he even get to another island, especially without anyone else following - Wait, why is he even considering this?! 

You seem to have lost some of your cheer. Perhaps that wasn’t the exact answer you were hoping to hear, however Legend, once again, has no way of taking it back.

“...Well, I, um, should get going. These clothes won’t dry themselves,” You mumble, gesturing to the basket you keep against your hip. Without waiting for any goodbye, you make your way up the shoreline, only stopping temporarily to shout over your shoulder, “Oh, and Li Ravio? I should probably tell you that Link was looking for you earlier! He wanted to make sure all you boys knew not to get too close to any edges! It’s quite the fall!”

Legend doesn’t respond, too stunned to form words as you chuckle to yourself before skipping off on your merry way. So you were aware of his lies the entire time!

Faced with tired bones and a sinking sun that plummets the world into night, the Chain has no choice but to call it a day (not that they have any objections towards rest). They practically collapse where they stand, taking a few greedy minutes to catch their breaths before picking up the work once again.

Setting up bedrolls, sparking a fire, organizing supplies, and chopping vegetables, the heroes are kept active for a decent hour or two until they can take another breather. Gathered around a wonky circle, their conversation is light and mostly focused upon their hunger which is only fueled by the pleasant smell of soup until it can be dished out.

About half the boys have bowls in their hands before a sudden snap of a twig causes them to trade their meals for weapons, senses on heightened alert especially when a stranger soon steps out of the shadows. At such a distance, the fire's light only barely outlines their silhouette, but that’s apparently all it takes for someone in their group to realize this is no actual stranger who's stumbled across them.

Hyrule's face lights up as he exclaims your name. Your own reaction is quite similar, switching from caution to excitement within the same second that you remove the hood from your head. The way you both move to greet each other, holding the other's arms with bright smiles and disbelief is quick to calm the other heroes. If you're a friend of the wary traveler's, then you'll be a friend to them.

"I thought it was your voice I heard from the trail, but then again, I haven't heard you in ages! And to find you in such a large group of companions? Never before! Where have you been for all this time, old friend?" You seem to go through several emotions all at once - a steady flow from relief, confusion, sorrow, and joy. Hyrule is hardly any better.

"It's a long story, but I haven't exactly been around to be seen," When you give him a bewildered look, he’s quick to brush it off, "I'll tell you all about it some other time - Hey, why don't you join us for dinner? There's plenty to go around!”

Your eyes instantly widen as you wave your hands in front of yourself, your smile suddenly strained, "Oh, no - no thanks! That's a kind offer, really, but I, um, ate not too long ago -"

"- Pss! He's not the one who does the cooking here," Someone whispers. At that, your shoulders visibly relax.

"...Oh...Well, uh, now that I think about it, it was really more of a light snack earlier. I suppose I could stand to eat something more."

Hyrule beams at this, clearly happy to have someone he knows so well stick around even if only for a night. It's then that he finally introduces you to the group, explaining that you're a fellow traveler he often crossed paths with during his own adventures. Seeing how dangerous this time can be, you had a habit of sharing supplies, camps, and stories to feel less alone in the world, so it's no wonder that you'd be so relieved to see each other safe again.

"Mind if I sit by you, stranger?" You ask, peeking around at Twilight while Hyrule grabs you a bowl of soup. Despite your tired eyes and worn expression, you still manage a friendly smile that causes the rancher to nearly choke on his spoon.

With a cough and blush, he scoots to the side, probably making far more room than you actually need, "...Not one bit."

"Thanks!" Fortunately, you don't seem to think anything of his reaction as you gratefully take a seat nor do you take any notice of the way he steals another curious glance at you.

Seeing as you're a new face within the group, it's only natural that you become the center of attention. Questions are thrown your way left and right, many interested to know your story which you modestly tell with little fanfare. Apparently, you've been a traveler for the last few years, wandering from place to place while making a living off trading the resources you collect throughout your journey. Before then, though, you used to live at your family's ranch.

"You grew up on a ranch?" Twilight asks a bit too eagerly once the topic's mentioned, earning himself a lot of strange looks including one from yourself, although you at least seem more forgiving than his friends, quickly letting your confusion go with a gentle nod.

"I did - For most my life, actually," That's all you say before going back to stirring your soup which you're thankful not to find any bone fragments in.

"What made you move on from that life?" Perhaps it's an out-of-line question a gentleman shouldn't be asking, after all he's no more than a stranger to you, but learning a pretty thing such as yourself may have a similar background to himself makes him forget all manners.

"...It was destroyed by monsters some time back," You answer simply while taking a bite.

Twilight bows his head, shame burning inside, "...Oh. I'm real sorry to hear that."

Despite his fears of having caused offense, you merely shrug off any discomfort, “My family made it out alright and we make do with what we have now. Can't go complaining about that."

"...I'm from a farming village myself - From Ordon,” He goes on to tell in a quiet ramble, “I’ve worked there as a ranch hand practically all my life, overseeing the goats we’re famous for. It’s quaint, and about as far from the big towns as you can get, but homely. And the people there - Why, I don’t think you’ll find anyone more kind and welcoming. Like livin’ in one big family.”

Once again, this probably isn't something he should be saying. If it were him, he'd be beyond distraught to lose the ranch to the point that any reminders would send him spiraling, yet to his continued good fortune, you take his story for what it's meant to be, setting down your spoon with a comforted smile.

"I'd love to see that…" Orondian, how you enchant him with such a soft gaze, taking him hostage in the sea of your sparkling eyes. If Hyrule's tales are any indication for the horrors of this broken world, you must be a true diamond in the rough to be from a place so cruel. Any less personal control and Twilight wouldn't hesitate to ask you to join them - to come along on this adventure and see how beautiful life will someday be. He could take you to Ordon and show you all he’s come to adore - let you breathe the fresh air scented like hay and pine while overlooking the familiar green fields you’ve dearly missed. Who knows? Maybe you’d even ask to stay. 

“I’d love to show you…”

"...Is this still a group conversation ooor?" Wild pipes in awkwardly from Twilight’s side, seeming to speak on everyone else’s discomfort as the poor, stricken young man loses himself to this yearning in his heart. This might be a long night and an even longer day tomorrow if they get stuck listening to him fawning over you...

You’re starting to doubt this shift will ever end…

It feels like you’ve been stuck in here for hours with nothing to do aside from sit at the counter and beg the sun to set just a little faster. You've already restocked inventory twice, organized stock to perfection, and swept the floor until your broom broke…If this keeps up, your sanity might just break, too.

Ringing from the front door’s bell gives you at least something to do as you sigh your typical greeting: "Welcome to Gia's General Store, where we have all your - LINK?!"

With a complete shift in mood, you happily leap up from your stool and race around the corner to meet your friend halfway in a tight embrace that you've both gone far too long without, "It's been ages! How have you been? Where have you been?"

Four chuckles at your eager questioning, "It hasn't been that long."

"Really? Because I swear five years have passed from this shift alone…" You groan dramatically before breaking away from the hug to get a solid look at him. Despite the months that have passed, he looks no different than when he had first set out. Good. You like him just the way he is anyway. 

"Please tell me you're planning on sticking around for a bit. I’ve been dying for something interesting to happen around here and your stories are just the salvation I need! I only have an hour to go until I can close up, though I'm afraid I might stab myself with a fire arrow before then. It’s been terribly boring!” 

That, Four doesn’t doubt. Your home village is as serene as they come which isn’t always a favorable trait in the judgement of two teenagers with more energy coursing through their bones than they know what to do with. Of course, he’s probably done no good helping matters by always filling your head with envious dreams of adventure and mystery. 

“We’ll probably be spending the night in town,” He tells you, much to your relief, “In the meantime, we have quite the list of supplies that we need to restock on, if you don’t mind.”

"We?" Somehow you only just notice the group of young men who managed to sneak into the store after Four. A few of them are already looking around at the items you have to offer, while others wait patiently with the hope that they'll be introduced to...Well, whoever you are to their dear friend.

"I would introduce everyone, but we all share the same name."

"All of you?" You look at Four in shock, yet he nods as if it's the most normal thing in the world to him...Then again, it probably is at this rate. Honestly you shouldn't be that surprised yourself. This is Link you're talking to.

"...Huh...Well, feel free to have a look around, I guess, and let me know if you need anything in particular. Arrows are buy one get two free right now, and fully in stock, too, since Link - Er, this Link, hasn't been in town to buy us out,” You explain to the group, jutting a thumb towards Four who rolls his eyes.

Now, usually you become a bit overwhelmed whenever large groups enter your shop, but seeing as these guys are Four's friends, you feel comfortable letting them wander freely. It helps that they seem to know exactly what they're looking for, too, making your job all the easier.

For the most part, the group allows Four and you privacy to catch up, only interrupting your conversation occasionally whenever they have questions about your prices or the quality of your goods, however you aren’t blind to the curious glances they spare you even in silence. No doubt they’re wondering how deep your relationship with Four goes, finding it endearing how at peace the young hero has become in your simple presence.

Most of these glances are quick enough, although you can’t help noticing that one of the boys seems to lack the same subtlety as his friends. Each time you steal a peek through the corners of your eyes, you spot him staring in your direction with an awed look overtaking his face. Whenever someone else nudges him to ask a question, he blinks rapidly with a stammer before bashfully looking away.

‘Cute…’ You’re tempted to think, but then you take notice of how young the boy seems to be. He must be at least a few years younger than Four and you - still a just child, at least by your standards which is an upsetting thought since context clues point to him being a hero, too. If that’s true, that must mean he was as young as Four was when he first set out on all this hero business himself, if not even younger. Poor kid…

Soon enough, Four confirms your suspicions about his traveling companions’ identities, telling you all about the strange portals they’ve traveled through and the journey they’ve been on up until this point. It was mere hours ago that they found themselves this close to home and, well, he couldn’t bear to pass by without seeing you or his uncle.

“Smart. I would’ve been livid had I found out you were in the area and didn’t stop by,” You elbow Four who pushes you back with his shoulder playfully before suddenly glancing behind you. Following his attention, you find the youngest hero standing there shyly, a minish feather necklace in one hand and a small pouch of rupees in the other.

Wind startles, seeming to have not expected your turn, “I, uh, wanted to know how much this was - um, is…So that I can buy it, if I may - for my little sister!”

You notice Four hiding his smirk behind his hand, yet you elect to ignore him for now, instead giving the younger boy your full focus with a kind smile, “How sweet of you. Consider it on the house, kid.”

“R - Really?” He brightens with possibly the widest eyes you’ve ever seen.

“‘course. Think of it as payment for helping my friend here find his way home safely.”

“Wow, thank you miss!” Oh goddesses above, his smile is adorable! He reminds you of the village children who often come here seeking sweet treats, such a simple delight to create lasting joy in their hearts. How you wish you could return to those days yourself - to no longer bear the weight of the world and its troubles in your thoughts. Alas, you could never so skillfully rewind time, but at least you can help protect that same innocence in others, even if only for a moment.

And protect it you do. Even late into the evening, Wind still cherishes that necklace in hand, carefully inspecting its details while kicking his feet giddily in memory of you, the pretty shopkeeper from Four’s Hyrule.

Sure, it probably isn’t that big of a deal. You gave the entire Chain a rather generous discount on their supplies despite their protests, but he was the only one who received your kindness personally without having to share. No one else aside from Four had the joy of seeing your beautiful smile directed his way, your expression soft and comforting like a warm breeze on the summer’s beach. 

He hadn’t lied. He does plan on giving the necklace to Aryll once this journey is over, but until then, he’ll probably admire it a little longer, at least until this crush of his settles within his heart.

[drvscarlett]

About You Pt 21

Sebastian Vettel x Webber!Reader

Summary: Everyone knows about the history of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. But there's a well kept story within the paddock about Sebastian Vettel and another Webber. This is that story.

A/N: our final chapter! thank you so much for reading this series. will be now working on jenson's fic and maybe an about you special chapter if you folks like that??? hehe enjoy

About You Series

2019, Suzuka Circuit

Mark watched the couple have a table for themselves. The body language alone could talk about how delighted Sebastian was and how comfortable Y/N is back in his presence. He smiled as he sips his cup of coffee.

"Uncle Mark, who is the pretty girl?" Margarette asked.

The little girl didn't stop asking question after recognizing Y/N as the girl who saved her from getting lost in Singapore. It took a lot of begging for her to part ways with Y/N so she could talk to Sebastian privately. Mark smiles thinking how Sebastian doesn't seem to be the only Vettel that Y/N charmed now.

"My sister and your Papa's..." Mark answers and he debates how to answer Sebastian's relationship with Y/N "bestfriend, your Papa's bestfriend"

Margarette's eyes widened in surprise, "if that is Papa's bestfriend then why don't I see her a lot?"

"Its complicated"Mark sips his coffee again to hide his nervousness.

"Compwicayed?"

The confused look in her face seems to signal to Mark that its the first time that she encountered the word. Mark tried to wrack his mind a way to explain the situation to the kid.

"You'll get it when you get older"Mark assures.

"But Y/N should come visit me more often if he is Papa's bestfriend" Margarette insists.

"I sure hope so"

Back at the other table, the conversation seems to be more quiet as if they were both not sure which part should they talk about first. After so many years of waiting for each other, they just felt speechless because this moment seems unreal. Sebastian feels like any second now, the alarm would ring and everything will fade away.

"All those years? You were just here in Japan?"Sebastian could not believe it.

She nods with a shy smile on her face.

"The community is well nice here. A good rehab to help me walk again. People here respects privacy" she enumerates.

"And since when did you start walking again?"

"I think spring of 2017"Y/N recalls "It was not easy to walk again and it really was more of a mental strength issue.."

Her right hand fiddles with the necklace, a habit that she never outgrew. Sebastian finds comfort that there may be some changes in her life but she is still the same old girl that he met years ago.

His eyes trailed at the pendant on the necklace and that's when Sebastian noticed the familiar piece.

"You kept it?"

"Why would I throw it away?" she asked

"I thought you hated me" Sebastian knew that he deserves to be hated for everything he said that night.

"And I thought you hated me"she rebuts.

The driver immediately shakes his head sideways. There is a higher chance that he would hate himself before hating Y/N. It was frankly impossible for Y/N to do anything to make him hate her.

"I searched for you ever since I went back to my senses that I said some hurtful things that I didn't mean that night" Sebastian held her free hand.

The feeling of holding her hand again just felt right.

"I wanted to hold your hand again and we will go to your rehab sessions. I wanted to pick you up when you fall. I wanted to cheer you on when you take your steps again. But I wasn't there because my stupid words created a wedge between us" he continues.

There were tears on her eyes. Sebastian doesn't know it but she remembers all those times where she suffered alone. She didn't have anyone, just strangers or staffs in the hospitals. Maybe she have tried to imagine Sebastian being there for her as well during that time.

"But I'm not going to let you walk alone again, I'm here to stay. I promised myself to be a better man when you come back so you don't have to leave again. I promised that while you rebuild yourself, I will also do that so that when the time comes and we meet again, we can get a shot at this." Sebastian's words were determined and sincere.

Y/N looks at him hopefully. However, her eyes found the figure of little Margarette and remember the dilemma that she may put her through.

"What about Hana and..." she whispers "Margarette?"

"We're coparenting and Hana has long moved on with a guy in Switzerland name is Connor and they are pretty serious" Sebastian updates.

She nods in understanding.

"But Margarette, I can't let go of her" Sebastian admits "She is my world ever since we got seperated"

This time, Y/N's hand other hand found its way on top of Sebastian's. It was like a gentle way of her assuring that she wouldn't ask for that.

"I would never ask to seperate the two of you" she states "if you would have me then I would like to not just get to know you again but get to know Margarette as well"

It brings tears of happiness in Sebastian's eyes. It was like everything was finally falling back to places. Even if it took so long to happen, he was so glad that it was happening.

"We'll be okay?"

And Y/N nods.

2019, Interlagos

F1Gossips In a surprise turn of events, Sebastian Vettel reunites with Y/N Webber as they arrive together for media day

User11 MY PARENTS!!!!

User7 everybody stay calm, whats the procedure!!! User8 no one is calm, we have prayed for this for years

User9 they look so happy

User18 ikr, even if seb has a bad car, he smiles like he is a world champion here User17 and lets talk about how i was so happy to see Y/N again

User81 was there! and i saw her and i couldnt believe my eyes!

User5 she is so brave and she is so strong. we hope she feels the warm support

Webber Returns for an Australian driver

The paddock was buzzing with excitement as news spread around the return of the infamous Y/N Webber to the public eye. After disappearing for several years, she walks to the free practice of Interlagos with a rising australian driver, Oscar Piastri.

She confirms in an interview that she will be back to work with her brother Mark, who is currently Piastri's manager. After the successful win of Piastri in Eurocup last October, Y/N announced Piastri is now moving up to Formula 3 in 2020. The reason for their presence in Interlagos is purely out of the invitation of the Renault garage but she states its a way to motivate Piastri to find his direction.

"It won't be difficult to move Oscar up. I definitely think that in a few years or so then he would be competing here in Interlagos with the rest of the Formula 1 drivers" states Y/N.

When asked about her personal life, Y/N redirects focus towards Piastri's growing career. However, the clear joy from some of the old drivers have been evident with her return. Lewis Hamilton described that "it was nice to have an old friend back in the paddock" and Y/N has been photographed with the Mercedes driver together with Scuderia Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel in several free practice pictures.

2019, Yas Marina Circuit

When Sebastian called asking that he needs help and he sent a location for a very expensive jewelry shop, Mark almost had a heart attack. He probably broke all the speed limits just to get to the store at a records time and prepared his fist to strangle the German driver.

"Where is that piece of shit?" he shouts as he opens the door.

A startled Sebastian rises from one of the waiting area chairs.

"Do you have to be so angry?" Sebastian complained.

Mark tried his best to calm himself down. Thinking happy thoughts and world peace before he says his next few words.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Mark asked slowly "Why are you buying a ring?"

It was now Sebastian's turn to look at Mark as if he was crazy. Mark just kept his harsh glare towards Sebastian and it was like they were transported to those years when they were crashing with each other in Red Bull.

"Did you get her pregnant? I swear to God sebastian, I'm going to kill you right here and right now" Mark threatens.

"What? No!"

"Then why the hell are you buying a ring?"

"Because I love her"

Suddenly the buzzing of the shop suddenly goes quiet with the declaration of love of Sebastian. Mark's glare softened with the realization that maybe he overreacted and overthinked the whole thing.

"You thought" Sebastian catches on "That I'm proposing because I got her pregnant? Do you really think I will just marry her out of obligation?"

"Hey, its my job as a brother to overthink that all men are never good enough for my sister" Mark defended himself.

Sebastian shakes his head in disbelief

"Just help me pick out, I need your opinion because maybe the stuffs she liked changed over time" Sebastian went back to the original dilemma that he called Mark for.

Laid out in front of them were different cuts of diamonds in different designs. Sebastian was torn whether to pick something simple stone or should it be an extravagant as a marquise.

"They told me that I should give her something heirloom since its just an engagement ring but then I told them I already gave them that ring years before as a promise so this has to be different..."

While Sebastian is ranting, Mark was trying his best not to show emotions. He was reeling back to moments of a younger Y/N who wished to have her very own prince charming and now here she was about to be swept away by his former teammate.

"The oval one with the pretty blue diamonds all over it"Mark pointed out.

"Yeah, that was like the necklace I gave her for her birthday" Sebastian picks it up delicately "You think she will like it?"

"She would love it"

"Okay please ring this up and charge me" Sebastian instructs one of the sales assistant present.

Mark couldn't believe what was happening. A part of him was overjoyed to be included in the ring picking but there was this other part that knows that he will have to give her away.

"I thought you two are taking things slow?" Mark wondered.

"That we are but I just want to be ready" Sebastian agrees.

"Ready?"

Sebastian runs a hand over his hair, a sheepish smile on his face. It was the same kind of smile that he has whenever he talks about Y/N. Mark doesn't know how he missed it all these years.

"We waited for each other to be better version of ourselves. We gave each other time and now we meet again. We have some catch up to do and so but after that I feel like its just a few months before we level up this relationship" Sebastian explains.

Mark nods in understanding

"I'm really serious about her, Mark. I know I have been very stupid before but I have grown and I have learned. I'm not hurting her or even losing her ever again"

There was something that made Mark resign and give him the complete sign of approval. He knows how much Y/N have also loved Sebastian and maybe it was about time for Y/N to make her own family with him.

"Just take good care of her, she deserves good things"

"That's what I intend to promise her when I marry her" Sebastian assures.

2020, Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya

A group of drivers were huddled up in a room and they were all engaged in a very serious conversation. One may think that this was a grid meeting but it seems like it was all centered to the whiteboard with the messy writing "how will Seb propose?".

Sebastian was actually quite desperate to ask help and initially he sent the message to the groupchat he had with Charles and Mick. However, he wasn't particularly tech savvy so it was sent to the grid group chat.

With everyone finding out the information, everyone is pitching in their ideas.

"I know, you should set up a picnic and then propose to her while eating" Daniel suggested.

"And then a bee or a wasp will invade their space and it will ruin the whole thing" Kimi countered.

"What about a stargazing" Charles pitched in "And then you get this telescope and then she looks at it then you get on one knee and when she looks back at you she is surprised"

"That's actually a good idea" the room murmurs in agreement.

"But what if there are no stars?" Sebastian worriedly asked.

So there goes the stargazing idea scratched out in the perfect proposal plan.

"Just propose to her at a Grand Prix" Lewis suggested "We're always in a Grand Prix"

"But its too much attention and I'm sure they want this to be intimate" the young Max Verstappen voiced out.

"But isn't it romantic to have a grand gesture at the place where their love story revolved?" Carlos backed up Lewis' suggestion.

The Red Bull driver shrugged in response.

"I think the best way of proposing would be in your flat or when you are feeling domestic, its a moment for you two and its going to give you a more real speech without all the fanfares and pressure" Max explained.

Charles shakes his head violently.

"No, you see this is why romance is dead." Charles argues.

The whole room was chaotic and ideas were pitched left and right. Sebastian felt like banging his head to the table but the heaviness of the box in his pocket is much more heavier.

"I still can't believe you didn't try to propose during the holidays" George exclaimed "That would have been perfect and no fuss at all"

"He tried to but then he got food poisoning during Christmas and flights got cancelled for New Year" Mick retells the unfortunate story.

"Maybe its the universe way of telling you that its not the right time"Sergio joked.

It immediately earned him a kick for his chair from Charles and Mick.

"We have waited for this for years so don't jinx it" Charles whined.

Their whole meeting was interrupted by a knock, a steward announced that the testing will commence in 10 minutes so they should be back to their garages.

"Don't worry Seb, we will help you out on this" Kimi patted his former teammate's back.

"Consider my suggestion" Max insists.

2020, somewhere in Japan

Usually its already halfway through the season already but June rolls in without any races. The whole world seems to stop because of the pandemic and its something very frustrating for most. However, here in Japan, Sebastian and Y/N were locked down since March and somehow they are enjoying the domesticity of life.

"Isn't it my shift today to cook?" Sebastian asked as he saunters to the kitchen.

The smell of a freshly cooked breakfast made him smile. He is still getting used how lucky he was that he gets to wake up with this kind of view.

"It was but you had a long round of meetings last night so I figured I'll do the cooking today" Y/N smiled.

Sebastian hugs her from behind and clings to her as she cooks.

"How was your meeting last night?"she wonders.

"Ehh could have been an email" Sebastian shrugs "And maybe I need to get back in shape to race for July"

Worry flashes across her face and it was not missed by Sebastian. She knows how much he misses racing but she wanted him healthy and safe.

"July, isn't that too soon? Is it safe?" she questioned.

"Relax" Sebastian assures "They are making sure that they are going to lessen the risk and the crowds. Its still up for negotiation"

"I supposed if Formula 1 is coming back then maybe Formula 3 is also going to follow soon" she sighs.

"Our vacation is ending" Sebastian jokes.

Y/N turns off the stove and faces Sebastian. She returns his embrace and stayed in that hug as if a bubble protecting her from whatever is happening in the outside world.

"I just want to stay like this forever" she mutters.

She knows its quite an awful statement. Some people have a hard time and they have to go back to their old lives soon. However, for the two of them, it was the break and the catching up that they needed.

Little did she know, these past few months seem to be Sebastian's vision of the future. It was something that perhaps what he looks forward to retirement.

"We can stay like this forever" Sebastian agrees "Just domestic life, farming, cooking, reading"

"I still have to work for Oscar" she reminds.

"Then you can work for Oscar and then we will be following you around" Sebastian smiles.

"What?" she laughs "You mean to tell me you won't be racing?"

It feels weird for Sebastian to reach that realization that he may have to retire some time soon. He loved what he did but he thinks its time for him to take on a new role and just enjoy life in a slower pace.

"I wanna quit racing and I wanna marry you" Sebastian finally makes the statement.

Y/N looks at him as if he misspoke something but Sebastian pulls out the box. He carries it everywhere with him just incase he decides its the perfect time to propose. He has been carrying it with him ever since this pandemic started because it was only during that time that he realized that moments are fleeting. If the opportunity exist then go and seize it.

Maybe this isn't in a fancy place to ask for marriage or maybe its not too publicized but this is the moment he has been waiting for. He would be a total idiot to lose it again.

"You are the love of my life that I have waited for a very long time now" Sebastian goes down on his knees and opening box "I have already achieved a lot of stuffs and won my fair share of championship or podiums. I achieved most of my dreams already and now I want to focus on my dreams of spending life with you. If you would have me then I would like more peaceful mornings like this one. I want to be that person that you come home after a long day at work. I want you and Margarette in those spontaneous grocery trips or the midnight snacks. I see you being a part of my life for as long as I live so if you will have me then I promise to be the best husband you could ask for"

The whole speech was not prepared. Even if Sebastian has visualized this speech for a while now, he seems to be underprepared and spewing out nonsense. He could only hope to hear a positive response for her.

"You are an idiot proposing to me in our kitchen" she finally says

A breath of relief rushes over Sebastian. He stands up to wipe her tears away and places the ring on her finger.

"Hey, I haven't said yes yet!" she jokes.

"I don't see you saying no"

2021, Spain

F1Gossips This year's silly season seems to be pointing in Spain. Drivers both current and former were spotted in their suits in a church in Spain.

User6 who is getting married???

User7 MARRIED???? User9 is jenson making poor choices again lol User10 thats just mean.

User5 i dont see pictures of sebastian here. thats weird, that's suspicious

User19 maybe he wasnt invited User55 lmao, why would they not invite seb?? User3 what if its seb's wedding User15 time to take your delulu pills User3

User13 let me innn, i wanna know who's marriage is this that got everyone in the new grid and old grid in.

User17 can drive to survive cover this event??

Y/NPrivate we waited for so long for this moment to happen. i still can't believe that i get to marry my first love. this relationship was a rollercoaster and we have spent years before coming to terms about our feelings. all i can say is everything is worth it because now i am building a family with you. thank you for bringing joy into my life. thank you for waiting for us to be the healed version of ourselves. and like i said, i'll be yours for eternity. kisses

CharlesLeclerc i swear i just finished crying and now i am crying again??!!

Y/NPrivate you always cry with ferrari -seb CharlesLeclerc you better watch out!! Y/NPrivate what are they gonna do fire me? i mean they already picked a replacement for me so they don't scare me -seb CharlesLeclerc Y/N YOUR HUSBAND IS RUDE, GET HIM OFF YOUR ACCOUNT Y/NPrivate its a conjugal account now hahaha

MickSchumacher papa would have been so happy to see his two favorite people finally get together

Y/NPrivate we wish he was there to see us

JensonButton im really happy for you Y/N, seb you know the rest mate

Y/NPrivate thanks Jenson, seb also sends his gratitude. PS we got to chat soon about the girl you are seeing JensonButton whatttt thats crazyyyyyy how did you know that Y/NPrivate duh i have eyes -seb JensonButton make your own instagram account seb!

Hanna_Prater its a very lovely wedding, thank you for inviting us!!

Y/NPrivate thank you for designing the venue, i really love it hanna! Hanna_Prater were coparents so only the best for you! Y/NPrivate love u hanna! sending my regards to connor as well

[vax-merstappen]

friends? (ls18)

summary: you had fallen for your childhood friend lance. but when he shows up to his family's party with his girlfriend, you are forced to confront your feelings.

i apologize in advance if your name is bethany, just the name i picked. but i hope you enjoy my first lance fic!

no warnings that i can think of :)

Lance captivated any room he stepped into. All eyes turned to the billionaire’s son, the racecar driver, and the worldwide star. But even with her on his arm, his eyes turned to you, his best friend.

You had grown up together, both starting karting around a similar age. You had gone from competing against each other to cheering when the other did well in races. Then you were hanging out at each other's houses outside of racing, playing video games or running around outside. In your teenage years, you continued to be friends even as the racing got more and more competitive.

The years blurred by until you got to where you were today, Lance racing in Formula 1 and you in Formula 2. You got to see him less often now, mostly when the F2 schedule aligned with the F1 schedule. He was always busy training, and frankly so were you. Apart from the occasional chat, you were now living separate lives.

So it had surprised you when Lance had posted a few pictures to his Instagram with a woman. They were holding hands in one photo and he had his arm wrapped around her waist in another. You had stared back in disbelief. Of course he was an adult, he was allowed to date someone. It was just the fact that he hadn't told you that hurt. And maybe the fact that you had fallen for him years ago.

Yes, you were hopelessly in love with your best friend. Lance Stroll, the Formula 1 driver.

And it seemed he now loved someone else. When they had walked into the party that his family was hosting, everyone in the room had turned to look at the driver and his new girl. You couldn't blame them. He looked stunning in his tux. And she looked like a goddess in her flowing red dress.

In the crowd, his eyes found yours and you felt your breath stop. Those soft brown eyes that you had looked into for years. His face shifted to a grin and the couple made their way over to you.

"Hey, you," he said, pulling you into a friendly hug once he made his way through the group of people. "Long time no see."

"Yeah," you replied, your voice like a sigh.

"Oh, and this is Bethany," he said, introducing you to the woman he had arrived with. "We're dating."

You plastered a smile onto your face and shook Bethany's hand. "It's so nice to finally meet you," she had said. "Lance talks about you all the time."

He did? Even though you two had fallen almost out of touch? This caught you by surprise.

"All good things I hope," you had replied with a chuckle.

"Of course!" she had laughed, smiling at you.

You looked over at Lance and saw he was no longer looking at you, but at the ground. Almost as if he were embarrassed. You flashed her a smile again and looked over at Lance.

"Well I'll let you two enjoy the night," you said, trying to excuse yourself from the conversation. You turned to leave them alone, before you heard Lance stop you.

"No, why don't you come eat at our table?" he asked. You saw Bethany's smile falter a little bit. And as much as you didn't want to have to watch Lance with his girlfriend, you couldn't exactly turn down your best friend, could you?

"If that's okay with you," you responded, looking between the couple.

You found yourself sitting on Lance's right while Bethany was to his left. You all had engaged in a bit of conversation, Lance talking about how his season was going in Formula 1 and you talking about how Formula 2 was going well for you. Bethany seemed a little zoned out of the conversation, a lot of the intricacies of racing not familiar to her. Racing was something that would always tie you and Lance together, whether you liked it or not.

But as the conversation went on, you saw her reach for his hand and grab it. You didn't deserve to be mad, as you had never decided to voice your feelings in fear of ruining what you had. But watching that simple act of intimacy between the two broke you.

You had always enjoyed his family's parties in the past, but now? Now that you couldn't sneak out early with him to go drive around aimlessly and listen to music or that you couldn't bribe him to grab you an extra portion of dessert, things were different.

As you distracted yourself with a refill of your drink, you didn't notice how his eyes lingered a little too long on the back of your dress or how he released her hand after he saw the way you looked sad.

A few more awkward moments in conversation with the couple, you decided to make a break for it. Being questioned by Lawrence for leaving early would be better than any more moments watching your childhood best friend and crush being romantic with someone else.

"I- I'm sorry," you mumbled. "I have to go..."

"Are you okay?" Lance asked, looking concerned.

"It's fine..." you sighed, quickly getting up from the table. "Enjoy your night. You both deserve it."

Quickly making your way to the parking lot, you held back tears. Even though you had drifted apart, a small part of you had held onto hope that maybe he would feel the same. That he could love you back just as you had loved him for so long. But clearly that was an illusion.

You staggered through the door of the venue in your heels, kicking them off and picking them up before running into the parking lot. You didn't care if there was media watching, all you needed was to get away as fast as possible.

Finally getting to your car, you fished around in your purse for your keys. You mumbled a few curses, unable to find where they had gone. A few tears pricked your eyes, this was the last thing you needed right now. You leaned up against the car and slid to sit on the ground, shutting your eyes against the world.

"Hey," a familiar voice said. "Forgot your keys."

You peeked open your eyes to see Lance standing in front of you. He looked concerned upon seeing you in such a disheveled state.

"Are you okay?"

You barely nodded. "Not really... it's stupid..."

Lance sat down on the asphalt next to you, wrapping his arm around your shoulders. "You can talk to me. I know we haven't been as close lately, but I'm always willing to listen."

"I don't want to ruin things..."

"What could you possibly ruin? Look, I care about you. Just tell me what's going on."

Him saying he cared about you was all the motivation you needed. Maybe if you just got this over with, you could move on and things would go back to normal.

"Lance... I've always liked you... as more than a friend. And seeing you tonight... so happy with her... I guess it hurt."

The look on his face went from concerned to shocked and then to sad.

You cleared your throat. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to put you in this position. You and Bethany... you look good together. You deserve someone like her."

Lance was silent for a minute. "I... you never asked me how I felt?"

"I never thought you would feel the same. Didn't want to ruin our friendship.

"Well... for the record I did love you. I... still do."

Your heart skipped a beat at the answer. "You do?"

"Yeah. I do."

You both sat in silence for a minute. "What do you want to do about it?" you asked quietly.

"I broke it off with her," Lance said simply. "Before I came running after you."

"Why would you do that?" you asked, genuinely confused. "You seemed so in love with her."

He looked you in the eyes. "Because coming to this party made me realize. It brought back so many memories. All the years we goofed around in front of dad's rich friends. All the times we left early to go have fun just the two of us. And then I saw you in that dress... and the way you looked at me after all these years. And I realized what I had with her would never compare to the years I've had with you. Even if you had said no... I couldn't just let you leave like that. Thinking our relationship didn't mean anything. Even if we just ended up being friends tonight."

"Lance I..."

"You mean a lot to me, you know? Just took a year apart and a girl I didn't truly love to realize how much."

You took a chance and reached over to grab his hand, just like she had a few hours earlier.

"Wanna get out of here?" he asked. "Speed away like we did as teenagers?"

"Yeah. I'll drive and you get the music."

"Deal," he said, cracking one of his smiles that just made your heart melt. He tossed you the keys to your car that you had forgotten on the table. You caught them with ease and stepped into your car. You looked over at your best friend, and now possibly lover in the passenger's seat and your heart was full.

"Lance..."

"Yeah?"

"I've wanted this for a while. Just me and you again."

"Well if you want to... we can spend a lot more time now just the two of us. Now that we're both on the same page."

"I can't imagine anything better," you said with a smile. You shifted the car into drive and pressed down the gas pedal, speeding away into the night. And as your favorite song came on the radio, you knew your life was about to get so much better.

[princesskenny1998]

Big Mouth | Judd Birch x CheerCaptain!reader ~ Project

After class on Tuesday, your biology teacher dropped the bombshell: you and Judd Birch were partnered up for the sex education project. The moment his name was called alongside yours, you felt a strange mix of excitement and dread. You’d heard plenty about Judd – the brooding loner, always lurking in the background with his leather jacket and mysterious aura. Judging by his indifferent glance in your direction, he probably thought you were just the stereotypical cheer captain: popular, preppy, and frankly, boring.

But this wasn’t a choice you could dodge. And, if you were being honest with yourself, there was a curiosity there. Something about Judd’s dark, detached vibe intrigued you, even if he did give off the impression he couldn’t care less about... well, anything.

As you walked out of class together, you turned to him and forced a friendly smile. “So, we should probably figure out a time to get started on this project.”

Judd shrugged, barely making eye contact. “Whenever. Not really my thing.”

“Sex ed isn’t really anyone’s thing,” you shot back, a little exasperated. “But we’ve got to pass this, right?”

He snorted, like it was an inside joke only he understood. “Fine. When and where?”

You considered your options. “How about my place tomorrow after school?”

Judd didn’t look thrilled but shrugged. “Alright. See you then.”

The next afternoon, you waited in your room, trying to get over the nerves fluttering in your stomach. Your hormone monstress was thrilled – Judd Birch, in your room, working on a topic that had her cackling in delight.

When the doorbell rang, you composed yourself and headed down to let him in. Judd stood there in his usual attire: dark jeans, a band tee, and a leather jacket. He looked around your house with a mix of disinterest and mild surprise.

“Come on up,” you said, gesturing toward the stairs.

You were fully aware of the contrast between your outward appearance – all polished and put-together – and your bedroom, which was a haven of your hidden tastes. Posters of Korn, Nirvana, and other alternative bands lined the walls, and your shelves were packed with well-worn albums and a collection of eclectic books.

The moment Judd stepped into your room, you noticed his eyebrows raise ever so slightly as he took in the posters. He seemed taken aback, a glimmer of interest finally breaking through his usual indifference.

“Korn? Didn’t expect that,” he said, his gaze flicking over to you with a hint of approval.

You felt a surge of satisfaction. “People don’t expect a lot of things about me,” you replied, smiling a little too confidently.

He gave a low chuckle, almost to himself. “Guess not.”

The two of you settled down to work on the project, spreading out your textbooks and notes. But the awkwardness lingered in the air, intensified by the topic. You could practically hear your hormone monstress shrieking with delight every time you said words like intimacy or sex, while Judd’s deadpan expression only made things more uncomfortable.

At one point, you caught Judd rolling his eyes. “I think they make us do this just to torture us.”

You laughed, and to your surprise, he smiled back. “Probably. They can’t get enough of seeing us squirm.”

Finally, after about an hour of stilted conversation, awkward explanations, and several breaks where you both complained about how ridiculous the assignment was, you threw your pen down with a sigh. “This is hopeless.”

“Tell me about it,” Judd muttered, stretching and letting his eyes wander around your room again, as if looking for something to distract him.

An idea seemed to come over him. His gaze sharpened a bit, and his mouth quirked into a smirk. “You know, we could make this more interesting.”

Your heart skipped a beat as he leaned back, eyeing you with that familiar detached but intense stare.

"Interesting and sex education? How?” you asked, trying to keep your tone casual even as your stomach did a little flip.

“Definitely,” he replied, barely suppressing a grin. “How about... making out?”

Your hormone monstress practically cheered, her voice echoing in your room, "Oh, honey, YES. Take him up on that! Let’s see where this goes!"

And, well, you didn’t need much convincing.

“Sure,” you replied, trying to keep your voice steady. You had to keep up the cool-girl act, after all.

Judd raised an eyebrow, like he hadn’t expected you to actually say yes. But he quickly recovered, leaning over and brushing a hand through his dyed hair, his fingers lingering just above your shoulder as he took a breath, like he was trying to decide where to start.

And then his hand reached out, tilting your chin up slightly, his face inching closer until you could feel his breath against your skin. When his lips met yours, there was none of the gentle, hesitant build-up you might have expected from someone else. Judd kissed you with surprising intensity, his grip on your jaw firm as he pulled you in closer.

Your heart raced, your mind going hazy as you melted into the kiss, matching his intensity. The roughness, the way he didn’t hesitate – it made your pulse pound with a mix of excitement and nerves.

His hands slid down to your waist, pulling you on his lap, and you tangled your fingers in his hair, letting yourself get lost in the moment. You could feel the edges of a smirk on his lips as he noticed you leaning into him, and the thrill of it all only grew.

After what felt like an eternity – or maybe just a few minutes, though you’d lost all track of time – you both pulled back, breathless. Judd leaned back, looking as unruffled as ever, though there was a hint of satisfaction in his expression.

“Well,” he said, his voice low, “that definitely beats desk research.”

You laughed, feeling a blush rise to your cheeks. “Agreed.”

There was a comfortable silence between you, though your mind was still reeling. You’d just made out with Judd Birch, the boy you’d only thought about in fleeting glances, the boy you’d never guessed would even look at you twice.

But here he was, smirking and staring at you like he’d found something more interesting than anything in that biology textbook.

Just then, your phone buzzed, snapping you out of the daze. It was a reminder for dinner with your family.

“I guess we should wrap this up,” you said reluctantly, glancing at the unfinished notes on your bed.

Judd shrugged, a smirk still playing on his lips. “Yeah, we should.”

You walked him to the door, a newfound, awkward silence hanging between you – but this time, it wasn’t the kind of awkwardness that made you cringe. It was something else entirely, something almost... exciting.

“Same time tomorrow?” you asked, trying to sound casual.

“Sure,” Judd replied, and there was a gleam in his eye that made your heart race.

As he walked out of your house, your hormone monstress let out a triumphant laugh. “That’s my girl! Now we’re talking!”

And as you closed the door, you couldn’t help but grin, your mind already racing with thoughts of what tomorrow might bring.

[cinnamonsikwate]

i'm really curious about what marcille's mother's deal is. seems like she's not too big on the rest of elven society. here's what we know about her so far:

mage at a human royal court (adventurer's bible)

courtship with marcille's father donato lasted 17 years (adventurer's bible)

specialty is roast pork, which was also donato's favorite (chapter 81)

had a cheerful personality up until the point donato got too sick to eat his favorite food. her extreme emotional reaction to this left a lasting impression on marcille (chapter 81)

remarried to a gnome and moved away from the city at some point after donato died (adventurer's bible)

several portraits of her appear in marcille's nightmare (chapter 42); this is the second time we see marcille dream of her (chapter 3)

preferred non-elven food and didn't introduce marcille to any traditional elven dishes (chapter 74)

from the canaries' reactions in chapter 74, it appears elven society looks down on elves who go to live among and work for short-lived races. they seemed especially put off that she would have a mixed-blood child. when they're talking about the lyrikmumare to get marcille to trip up, marcille envisions her mother saying that the food "here" (i.e., the northern continent) tastes so much better. so the picture we're getting here is of an elf who has removed herself from elven culture, but the question is, did she do it willingly or was she forced to?

keeping her other actions in mind, i'm leaning more towards the former. the most intriguing thing for me is that she eventually married a gnome, despite elves and gnomes having infamously waged war against each other over differences in the practice of magic and presently tending to discriminate against the other on sight. (one thing's for sure — marcille's mother is winning the idgaf war!)

marcille never talks about her gnome stepfather though, and it's unclear what she thinks of her mother's remarriage. the timing of the remarriage is also a mystery. donato married marcille's mother when he was 32 (after having courted her for 17 years) and died at 82, meaning they were married for 50 years. marcille is also currently 50 years old, but we know she wasn't born immediately after the marriage: in chapter 81, donato's doppelganger says marcille was born when he'd started "getting on in years." based on marcille's memories of him and the established fact that the average tall-man lifespan is 60 years, i'd hazard that he was in his 50s then. this gives him 30 years or less with marcille — definitely less than 35, which we know is the age at which she left for the magic academy.

we don't know if marcille's mother remarries before or after marcille leaves (if before, than that's definitely a shockingly short time), but it's interesting that she chose to marry someone from a long-lived race this time. maybe this is her way of ensuring she spares herself another heartbreak? or maybe she *is* still heartbroken and is trying to cover it up.

but. i can't help but kind of agree with chilchuck in chapter 81, that marcille's parents are not blameless for marcille becoming the dungeon lord. since it's apparently well-documented, they surely must have known — as well-educated people — that mixed-blood children face not just discrimination but also mental anguish that comes with their unstable aging (not to mention the sterility). so the way they raised marcille feels frankly irresponsible 😭

anyway. i'd love to get spin-off content where post-adventure marcille and her mother meet again. i feel like there's a lot of unresolved issues there (that can of course be hashed out over a good meal).

[tribalauthor]

THE WISEWOMAN (roman reigns ff) <chapter 4)

Word count: 2.5k

And here we go. My turn is near. I can feel my heart skipping like a rabbit in the woods. I even hear the pulse in my ears. I am backstage right now with Roman, Jimmy and Solo.

"You can do this, Sophia. You're gonna smash." Roman hyped me up and gave me a little pat on the shoulder. "Or as the girls say 'You're gonna slay'. He pitched his voice a little higher, so he can sound more girly and I furrowed my eyebrows.

"You are so cringe, uce." Solo wrinkled his whole face from the second hand embarrassment he just experienced. Jimmy, of course, had the exact same expression.

"You got this, Soph." Jimmy also patted me on the back. "You will see it's not that scary out there"

"Yeah, I mean, at the end of the day people paid to be here and even if they don't like you now, which I'm sure they will, they will like you later. Trust me." the younger brother assured me.

"You think that people liked me immediately? I have fought for years for the crowd's respect" Roman added. Oh yeah, I know that. People didn't like him for real but now he is the most famous and loved wrestler. "And they still boo me but..." he waved his hand. "It ain't big of a deal. I mean as long as you get a reaction, you are good. That's the most important thing cause imagine stepping a foot in the arena full of thousands of people and everyone going mute. Now that's a nightmare." while he was talking, Roman fixed a strand of my styled hair.

The hairdresser curled my long blonde hair and made it into a high bun and left a few short strands in the front. As for my makeup, I have some nude eyeshadow, winged eyeliner, foundation and red lipstick.

I caught Roman glancing at my lips from time to time while talking to me but I guess this man likes red too much. He is kinda like me if that's the case.

The camera man made a sign that I have to go now.

That's my cue. I took a deep breath and walked to the door then stepped my foot in the arena.

With the mic in my hands I had that confident catwalk.

"Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Sophia Heyman and I serve as a temporary special council for Your Tribal Chief, The Undisputed WWE Universal Heavyweight Champion, Roman Reigns" I was saying while walking to the ring in a normal pace.

I took my time to analyze some people's expressions. Of course, most of them looked very confused.

"What" all of them shouted.

"I am Paul Heyman's niece and I have been authorized by him and by The Tribal Chief to be a temporary Wise Woman." I specified and stepped into the ring.

"What" they shouted again.

"My uncle had the unfortunate accident and he broke his leg severely, so the doctor told him to rest and that's why I agreed to be his substitute and no matter you like this or not, things will go a bit different from now on"

The reactions were so mixed, honestly. I heard both cheers and boos but Roman's words are in my mind right now.

"As long as you get a reaction, everything is gonna be alright"

"I am here with a clear purpose A) to help my uncle B) to prove that a woman can do a job like this as well." I put my two fingers up while listing my reasons.

"I know some of you may have some prejudice about me and I am not mad about that. Frankly, I have been misjudged my whole life because of my looks but my uncle Paul knows best that ever since I was a little kid, I am a gifted talker just like him." the crowd started clapping. "And you all gonna see for yourselves." I took a look at the people around me and there were a lot of men who were drooling over me while others seemed upset that it isn't uncle on this ring.

The echoes were a mixture of cheers and boos.

"Welcome, Miss Heyman." I heard a voice from the back of the arena. I turned around and it's Nick Aldis.

"Thank you, Mr. Aldis." I grinned at him. "I just wanted to talk with you...privately." I licked my lips leaving everybody wondering.

"Be my guest." he made a gesture and I walked out of the ring. Then commercials started playing.

The Bloodline was behind the stage and they seemed anticipating to see me.

"I knew it would go exactly like this. Not even surprised. Them Heyman genes run wild." Roman was grinning from ear to ear and he also raised his hand for a high-five and when I hit it, he pulled me for a hug. I felt the strong smell of testosterone mixed with his cologne.

I also got the feeling that I completely lost myself in his arms. Gave me the impression that I can be protected from everything and everyone right at this moment.

The ringing of my phone interrupted me from this trance. Me and Roman broke the hug and I went to the table to grab it. It was uncle facetiming me.

Lord, hope he liked this.

I immediately picked up and I saw he is in his house already. I couldn't confuse that dark beige wall.

"My deepest congratulations to my favorite niece who put on an amazing debut performance on live television" these were literally his first words. He seemes so proud and happy.

"Thank you, uncle. How are you?"

"Amazing. Especially after I watched the segment, I am just left speechless." he chuckled softly.

"Paul, Soph is a hidden gem. If she continues like this, she might steal your job. Be careful." Roman appeared next to me so he can see uncle as well.

"I am scared, I admit after everything I witnessed. But I know that my dear Tribal Chief would never replace me, right?" uncle asked seeking for validation.

"I don't know, OG. Big uce seems to enjoy the company of Soph a lot." Jimmy appeared on the screen as well and Roman gave him a deadly look as if he shouldn't have said that.

"Really? That's good to hear" uncle seemed pleasantly surprised. "She is usually not the type of woman who listens...ever since she has been this little" he mimicked the size of a small kid.

"We are gonna change that" Roman said and looked at me with wild eyes, big grin and raised his eyebrows.

I gave him a cold eyebrow raise. Does he really think this?

...

Time for my second segment of the night. Right now I am at Nick Aldis' office sitting in front of his desk.

Cameras are on.

"So why do you want to see me, Miss?" Nick went straight to business and I slightly chuckled.

"I just wanted to tell you you are doing an amazing job, Mr. Aldis. I think Smackdown needed someone like you - intelligent, handsome well-put business man." I praised him. "I admire you, Nick. May I call you that?"

"Of course, my dear." he seemed impressed. "You think I'm handsome?" I caught a little blushing.

"Everybody thinks that, Nick." men are just the same. He is flustered that a woman like me just called him handsome.

"Well, thank you, Sophia." there was a big grin on the general manager's face. "I am fluttered."

I laughed softly and put my strand of hair behind my ear.

"Is there something I can help you with?" and I got him. I changed my expression. Kinda like damsel in distress.

"Yes. There is. I want you to cancel the fatal 4-way match. Please." I did one of my cute faces.

Nick sighed.

"I knew it." he shook his head. "The decision is final, Sophia. Your uncle always speaks highly of Roman. He will be okay." the manager tried to reassure me.

"I'm not saying this because I think my Tribal Chief won't win. He will win and that is not a prediction, it's a spoiler." I used my uncle's most iconic phrase. "I ask you because people are more eager to see another kind of match." I shrugged.

"And that is..." he wanted me to specify but I decided I am gonna play the "dumb" card.

"Oh I don't know. How can I know? You are the expert." I put my hand on my chest. He thought for a bit and it seemed like he just got an epiphany.

"Alright. I think I might have just figured. But I have certain conditions." Nick switched his tone to a strict one.

"I'm all in ears." I leaned closer to the desk.

"Tonight's main event is Jimmy and Solo versus Randy, AJ and LA Knight. If the Bloodline beats them, we will change the Rumble match. Do we have an accord?" Nick gave his hand for a handshake.

"Yes." I said and we shook hands. "Thank you for your time, Nick." I gave him an air kiss then he caught it.

After I exited the office I headed to the locker room with the cameras following me.

I knocked at the door and I heard a "Come in". I'm pretty sure that everybody in the arena recognised this voice.

I entered in the spacious room and there was Roman sitting on the couch with Jimmy and Solo was standing behind them.

All of them had the looks of anticipation.

"What happened?" Roman was eager to know.

"Nick will change the match." I said and they were all shocked from the news. Solo was shocked in his own reserved way.

"But if Jimmy and Solo defeat the three men tonight." I added the most important part.

"You two have to win this. It's vitally important, you understand?" Roman started giving a talk to his cousins.

"My Tribal Chief." I spoke exactly like uncle when he wants to pour wisdom. I sat next to Roman. "There's just two of them versus three men." I stated the facts.

"And? Do you know how powerful us Samoans are?" he asked me as if I'm dumb or something.

"I understand but...my Tribal Chief, won't the win be more certain if you were to join your cousins?" I used the power of suggestion.

"Tonight?" he raised his eyebrows and all of his wrinkles were exposed.

"Yes. Tonight." I nodded my head and I looked deeply into his brown eyes which are usually small but right now, not so much.

We stared like that for a while and he eventually gave up and sighed.

"Okay. If that's the only way, I'm gonna join, fine." Roman finally gave up and I glanced at Jimmy's surprised face.

"Uncle Paul is going to be so happy when he finds out." I started clapping my hands.

...

We are in the middle of the main event match of Smackdown.

Not gonna lie, this looks lowkey fun on TV but not so much when you are literally in the middle of the match.

The vision of these men brutallizing each other and their bodies falling next to me is just terrifying.

I hope I get used to this because that's what the next few months are going to look like for me.

All of these men seemed so tired from all this beating they were doing and things looked hopeless for the Samoan brothers.

I didn't quite understand when Roman is coming, so I just stood there in a praying position picturing my character praying for a miracle.

And after just a few seconds his music hit.

Everybody started screaming and got up from the seats putting their ones up. Nobody expected Roman to appear tonight since that decision was made the last moment.

The effect this man has on the crowd is truly insane. It's like their whole energy shifted.

Just like a hypnotherapist putting the patients in a trance.

Roman is wearing the 'Levels Above' hoodie and his hair was all down and wet.

He ran to the ring and started attacking the three men who were also almost out of power.

That man is very scary when he steps into that ring. It's definitely not the gentleman I see when we talk.

As I can see he is very deep in this character. He lives in this character.

After he did a few punches and spears, he finally pinned LA Knight.

A victory for The Bloodline.

I clapped my hands showing how proud I am and then Nick Aldis appeared, marching to the ring.

I grinned at him.

"Congratulations to the victory of the Bloodline" the general manager spoke to me. He wasn't carrying a mic with him.

Roman was busy trash talking his opponents and his cousins were busy collecting themselves.

"We thank you." I put my head on my heart.

"Tell Roman that the Royal Rumble match is gonna be him versus Randy Orton." I smiled when I heard the news.

"Thank you so-" Nick didn't let me finish.

"With special guests AJ Styles and LA Knight." he added and my expression changed drastically.

"What? We had an accord, Nick." I yelled.

"We did. I told you that Jimmy and Solo should beat the three men alone. No interferences." he specified.

"No. You said 'The Bloodline should beat them' and who leads The Bloodline?" I asked.

Nick chuckled and look at his left for a bit.

"Sophia, you just didn't understand me. The match would have been changed if Jimmy and Solo beat the men clean, okay? This was what I meant. You are really your uncle's niece. I knew you would call Roman for help." he just outsmarted me.

I squinted my eyes and got so angry but I suddenly felt a hand on my arm.

"Tell Roman he has a contract signing next week. Championship is gonna be on the line." I wrinkled my lips into a thin line and people may think I will punch him. I am very close to doing so.

I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Let's go, Soph." Roman's voice took me out of my aggressive thoughts.

"See ya at the Rumble, Nick. Better change the match up immediately." Roman taunted the general manager, looking very proud and cocky but now I have to tell him.

The cameras followed us backstage since this is the closing segment.

"See what I did there? Spear, superman punch." he started reenacting cutely his moves.

"You did an amazing job, my Tribal Chief." I said.

"So who am I facing?" the question I was most afraid of.

"Well...my Tribal Chief." I looked down. "Nick said he isn't changing it." I closed my eyes in fear and I just heard his heavy breathing.

"What the hell?" I took a look at Jimmy. "I thought he said-

"He said but he meant only you and Solo winning by themselves. He predicted that I will call Roman for help." I explained and then there was the closing scene of Roman being angry as hell, Jimmy being disappointed, Solo plotting the beating Nick is going to receive and me being concerned.

[deafeninggardenerpanda]

i'd love to hear about manmaru metadede !!! i heard it's really Gay but no one ever details it. not a lot of it is translated too, as far as i know, but i really like it.. any excuse to talk about something you like is good too

NO YEA not a lot is translated and the manga itself is already more niche compared to like, mopupupu so its not too well known. translation efforts have really started picking up the past year though (shoutout to @/kirby-manga-translated they do great work). if it needed to be restated for new followers since i havent tl'd in a while, i know a decent amount of japanese so i read them on my own :)c

shoutout to my guy @/rosakikoza as well for giving me his scans hehe. the majority of images below are his or taken from his scans. the rest are mine

*deep breath* the tangent. im gonna need to put this under a cut dont mind me 😍😍😍 did i say 3 paragraphs? i meant 20. like 20 paragraphs

meta knight is absolutely pathetic and incredibly down bad for dedede this manga. its adorable. multiple people ive talked to or seen have come to the conclusion it seems like he has a huge crush on him. a quick brief for those who dont know but this mangas meta is admittedly Veryyyyy different from how you'd expect a meta knight to be. uncharacteristically friendly and cheerful and. pathetic is really the best word for it. hes kinda a loser. incredibly protective of dedede, he switches between two modes of fussing over him quite a bit and semi-often going into incredible rage bloodlust modes over protecting him or his image (youll see a good amount of jp fanwork depict this version of him as a yandere for that reason)

theres also been more than one occasion where meta knight tries to commit seppuku upon accidently doing something he sees as unforgivable towards his king (its in the chapter i just screenshotted above too, another time he broke dededes clock and freaked out about it). i-. dont consider this a cute ship thing for the record im just stating it to emphasize the extent of metas obsession towards dedede this manga. the mans got Problems...

apart from that, also quite differing from most interpretations of both of them, both of them seem to genuinely really like spending time around each other all the time. it comes off as casually domestic and is very cute...

regardless of my attempts to brief it, i dont feel like im explaining this very well so lemme just show you a frankly ridiculous amount of reasons for why i keep feeling like this mangaka ships metadede

-fake kiss: self explanatory

-fake proposal: also self explanatory

mk: Will you marry me!?

ddd: Yes!

context for this scene is that theyre rehearsing for a play, but actually its later revealed that meta knight is playing the princess while dedede is playing the male protag so im not exactly sure it makes sense that hes the one proposing here. my speculation is that to make the proposal seem legit for the gag they Had to use meta LMAO but thats just my take

also to be noted, right after kirby hears the proposal he immediately runs off and tries to tell everyone the news before ddd+mk stop him and explain that its fake. hes not thrown off or weirded out at the idea that they could be getting married in the slightest. kirby says gay rights Real i love him sm

-this one is from what i call the memory loss chapter:

dedede loses his memories from getting hit in the head too hard. the gang figures out that beating dedede up or otherwise causing him injury causes him to regain some of them back though, to which kirby attempts to harm him with increasingly violent means, much to meta knights horror. mk spends the entire chapter trying to protect dedede from him, and it doesnt work obviously, but after a particularly hard hit dedede remembers everyone again... except for meta knight. to which meta knight gets upset about and lets kirby lay into dedede for real. you see where people get the yandere personality from now right. i dont recall this trait coming out too often but ill talk more about it later

-the whole chapter thats a cinderella retelling with dedede and meta knight. also also self explanatory COME ON LOOK AT THIS ONE. LOOK AT IT.

mk: Y…You're…

ddd: Wow, he's so beautiful!! It's like I'm dreaming…!

-theres the mangaka chapter which is a more recent one

the gang makes manga for dedede. meta knight's manga is about how cool, brave, and heroic dedede is. mysteriously enough however the only thing hes good at is drawing dededes face and nothing else. the implications of this one drive me absolutely insane. is it supposed to imply that meta knight stares at his face all day?? admires his appearance??? he looks at him so much he basically has his face memorized????? HUH???????? theres no heterosexual explanation for this. acting like a teenager with a crush out here got damn

=various images im sharing out of context because they r cute

head pats. holding hands and reaching the goal together. peak.

KNIGHT DRESSUP FOR THE KNIGHT. AHAAHGH

ddd: Hoho, pretty spiffy don'cha think?

mk: Ohh!? It suits you!!

fellas is it gay to shout "OHH! META KNIGHT!!" with a dopey grin on your face upon being saved like a damsel in distress

sometimes meta knight acts domestic as fuck too. his copy abilities as he states are: cook! clean!! and sleep!!!

regarding my thoughts on their dynamic in this series overall, i think theyre absolutely adorable. meta knight emits dog energy in this one. eager golden retriever towards dedede, though dedede has his sweet moments towards meta knight too. (viewing it with a shipping lens just for this post ofc) while meta is the more active crusher, some of the stuff above seems to imply that dedede has feelings in return as well :') they just get along really well too its great. theres a different chapter where they perform as a comedy duo. theyve done plays in multiple chapters. its my hc for these versions of them that they love doing performances of all kinds together and do a lot of rehearsals and writing in their free time...

and the yandere stuff i feel like i should address as well. i try not to take some aspects Too seriously because its to be expected things are over emphasized for the sake of the joke with gag mangas. but oh man the man definitely has problems. he needs therapy. i tried to be transparent in listing those aspects as well so people can make their own conclusions on it But theres one more thing id like to mention regarding that

meta knights personality has been shifting to be different from what i listed, as of the most recent volume. my beloved forgotten land arc... a first for this series in that, while the chapters still retain their gag humor and dont take themselves that seriously, its a serialized story that mostly follows along with the game plot that lasts nearly the whole volume (as opposed to other game arcs in this manga being episodic stories, using the games as their theme rather than a full on setting). with the more serious tone of the serialized story, theres a frankly startling hint of character development i never wouldve expected from a gag manga at the end of it

kirby gets ko'd the first round of the meta knight cup so meta knight joins the meta knight cup instead. turns out when he does that the final boss of the cup is dedede. meta knight Really doesnt want to hurt dedede and so dedede promptly kicks his ass without a second thought and wins the tournament. while the crowd cheers for dedede's victory, meta and dedede have a small talk where dedede tells him he doesnt need to fuss so much about hurting him/him getting hurt. presumably this is supposed to mark the end of meta knights intense overprotectiveness because (its never been clear-cut due to the nature of the manga previously, so its a lil hard to say) dededes shown he can handle himself, or like, isnt some fragile thing. i really hope itll stick around because i think its a great addition to both of their characters. the meta-knights have also been appearing way more frequently as of very recent chapters (ones that havent been compiled into a volume yet) which seem to also hint to meta knight getting more independence to his character from dedede's loyal servant. im very excited to see where it goes :D

and like, last last disclaimer if anyone needed it; even tho i love metadede and i like to see things through ship glasses sometimes i absolutely try my best to keep my biases out of my translations. putting out accurate translations means a lot to me! this entire post is me purposely putting the ship glasses on so please dont take it as "omg metadede is canon in this manga". you know way back when i was the only active translator for this manga someone tweeted at the mangaka on twitter mentioning that there were english translations around and he replied to that person. didnt respond to the fan translation thing specifically but the fact that he could know who i am definitely kinda terrifies me. if anyone goes around saying that his manga is the metadede manga because of me and he even has the slightest sliver of a chance of seeing that i will kill yall fr LOL

[conkers-thecosy]

Well! It seems that despite my wishes to be kept out of this whole debacle, I’m going to be dragged into it by my hair whether I like it or not.

First of all, to be absolutely crystal clear: I am unequivocally against generative ai. There are many reasons for this, which I frankly can’t be arsed to get into, because I’m trying to get ready for work. You know why it’s bad, I know why it’s bad, the end.

Secondly, yes I wrote a gift fic. The person I wrote it for was going through a rough time and I wanted to cheer them up.

Yes, I got a lot of messages about the person who I gifted it to being pro ai. Some were well meaning, and others were just mean, but I understand the impact of gen ai and that it makes people angry.

These messages prompted me to open a dialogue with the person the fic was for because I had thought they were anti gen ai as well. When I found out that wasn’t the case, I told them I couldn’t defend their stance.

As the day wore on, our conversation on the subject continued and I received a huge amount of messages. Not for sympathy but rather for context, I’m going through extreme autistic burn out right now and I’ve been in and out of hospital, and I couldn’t cope with it, so I deleted the fic.

I regret writing the damn thing, and I won’t be gifting fics ever again. I asked the person to please leave the matter alone, and while it’s their prerogative to answer whatever asks they get in whatever manner they choose, they shouldn’t have brought me into their personal views on ai because it makes it sound like I agree with them, when I have very explicitly said I don’t.

Frankly I’ve had it. In fact, this whole drama and all the shit I get lately has made me want to just leave the fandom entirely. It’s not fun for me anymore, and I’m sick to death of getting hateful messages every week, even before this. I did not sign up for this, I just wanted to do something nice and now I have to release a damn statement like some kind of politician who’s been accused of cheating on his wife. Ridiculous.

Tl;dr - I am against ai. I am against ai. Please leave me alone about it. Thanks.

[thekingofwinterblog]

Was Ragatha a Mom?

So watching Digital Circus, it struck me that there are a lot of contradictions with Ragatha.

She is obviously a very caring person, as we see with her interactions with Pomni, but she also sucks at actually helping her feel better, as we see with the absolute trainwreck that was her innitial attempt at trying to make Pomni feel better after Gummygoo's death.

She still has the spirit to visually disaprove of Jax and his violent and cruel actions, but she doesnt have it in her to actually physically stand up to him unlike Zooble.

And of course there is the way she always puts on a brave face, and refuses to act like even the worst of Pomni's or the other peoples around her bother her.

Obviously there is a lot of context here we are missing. But there was one line from episode 2 that finally seemed to make it click for me.

"Im not a child. You don't have to hype me up."

That line made me realize jusy how, well... Motherly Ragatha acts. And she doesn't just act motherly, she acts like one, very specific kind of mother.

Ragatha acts like the kind of mother who ALWAYS, wheter it is warrented or not, pretends to be fine, that there is nothing wrong, because she believes that the worst thing that she could do would be to act worried, afraid or hysterical, as that might make her kids scared.

And when she talks with Jax, rather than treating him as a violent adult, she treats him like a child she needs a stern talking to.

As if she could actually make him change his ways by doing it, rather than actually taking him to task about his actions.

It again speaks of a very specific kind of mother, who tries to be stern when such is needed, but frankly has no backbone to actually discipline her kid.

On the other end of the spectrum, when Pomni actually hurts her, rather than actually talking it out, she pretends everything is fine, like it wasn't a big deal.

Even her saying that Pomni's moments of weakness was "understandable" as she pretends it didn't mean anything is her effectively saying that Pomni "didn't know any better", as one might say to a child.

The fact is, Ragatha treats Pomni like a child, more speciffically a child she has to protect, cheer up, and guide, rather than an actual adult woman who is her equal.

The single biggest showcase of this is how she talks to Pomni after Gummygoo's death... When she essentially treats her like a Kid who just tried something really, really hard, and gave it her best, only to in the end hit the wall and be crushed by the fact what She attempted was impossible... But still, she tried her best, and that's important. And hey, maybe it's not as bad as you think after all.

Rather than... You know, an adult woman who just had one of her friends murdered in front of her eyes.

Well meaning certainly, but incredibly(And unitentionally) condecending.

It's only when Ragatha stops trying to baby her, and gives her a bit of actual adult heart to heart that she finally manages to make Pomni feel better.

Beyond this, Ragatha also has a body language that is very connected with a steretypical, feminine, motherly image.

She puts her hands together in front of as a clearly natural pose for her, when angry she puts her hands on her hips which comes across like a stereotypical angry mother/caretaker that wants to show how upset she is right now, and she is constantly running about trying to make others(usually Pomni) feel better.

With this in mind, assuming that Ragatha is a mother, lets try to figure out what we can from her age.

Ragatha is 30 Years old, and judging by her comment at the end of episode 2, we can presume she's been there a while.

Now withouth knowing how often a new human enters the circus it's impossible to be entierly sure about how long she's been there, but let's say 3-6 years, given she's well familiar with people abstracting.

That means that at the absolute most(Assuming she didn't get pregnant under the age of 18) that her kid(Or oldest kid) could be up towards 12 years old now, and that she dissapeared from their lives probably when they were 6-9, which lines up with the way she treats Pomni and Jax.

The reason she sucks so badly at cheering others up despite being a very caring person, is that her first instict is to act in her familiar role as a mother figure... But she was ripped away from that role just as her kid was growing old enough to grow out of the baby/little kid stage of their development, and need actual discipline and guidance rather than protectiveness and comfort above everything else.

In other words, she never got to actually develop those skills, being ripped away from her role prematurely, and finding herself in the hell that is the Amazing Digital Circus, where she gets to befriend person after person after person, only to see them end up dying one after another.

Truly the worst hell for such a caring person who just wanted to be a mom.

[onboardsorasora]

🎾Tennis Dan - Part 35🎾

Soooo I started writing this at the start of the year when the Australian open was actually going on and then my brain decided it needed a break. Which fair…. I'd been writing 3 Roses non-stop and then like a lot of smaller fic around that time as well. I took the break my body requested then just…. didn't have the inspiration to come back to this. I wanted to do a completely new chapter but I also really liked what I'd already written here, so I finished it. Nothing else has been written so anything after this chapter will be like, current lol

I'm so sorry for taking so long to bring our boys back, please forgive me.

Part 1 | Part 34

Max felt the roar of the Australian crowd as the set finally ended. Sustained by the announcement that the last rally surpassed the games record of 27 volleys with 31. The set had been going on for over an hour now with both players giving it their all.

Max watched as Daniel wiped at his face with the oversized towel. He was drenched in sweat, the planes of his muscles were obvious through the slicked fabric of his shirt.

This was the longest match Max had ever witnessed, Daniel and his opponent were very well matched and they each had an answer whenever the other had the upper hand. The scoreboard looked like an annoying math equation with integers and fractions.

It was clear who the crowd were behind though, the ‘Aussie Aussie Aussie oi oi oi’ chants riled the packed stadium in every break. The inflatable kangaroos waved merrily when Daniel got the advantage.

He was doing well for himself in his first big Open back from injury. Daniel had spent the Christmas break in training camp on the ranch while Max had been doted on by Grace and Daniel's grandmother.

Watching Daniel in his element would always make Max's blood simmer in his veins. Daniel was calm, focused, and fucking good. His navy shorts were short– mid thigh and shorter than he normally wore but Max wouldn't say he was complaining. Not when Daniel was lunging and stretching this way and that, Max loved watching his straining muscles.

He watched as Blake and Michael hurriedly poured packets of salt in a branded water bottle and shook it all together. Daniel had already drank all of the electrolyte drink and even the ‘just in case' pickle juice that had been packed in his gear bag. They were moving quickly, never once expecting the match to go on this long, for him to go through the back stores.

A court attendant in a white wide brimmed hat accepted the bottle and placed it by Daniel's bench. Daniel grabbed the bottle and took a sip and Max chuckled when his face involuntarily squished onto itself before he raised a thumbs up. He drank the salty water like a trooper before chasing it with some ice cold fresh water.

He made a face that was broadcast onto the screens, with his tongue out and sharp head shake, the crowd cheered and screamed. Daniel grimaced then laughed before waving to the camera goodnaturedly. He stood and wiped his face again before grabbing his racquet. The crowd swell was insane.

The next few sets went quickly after that, most into Daniel's favour. Max stopped paying attention to the clock, to the score. Instead focused on how strong and– quite frankly– fucking sexy Daniel looked below him. Panting and straining and looking positively dominant.

Grace's hand clamping onto his arm brought Max back to the present. The stadium was tense, with the sound of thousands of people gasping and holding their breaths. 

Max looked to see Daniel on the ground, on his back. His opponent returned the volley with vigor and Daniel had no time to get back up. The crowd groaned with fear and Grace seemed as if she wanted to hide her face.

Then Daniel arched up and volleyed back from his position on the ground. Then he scrambled to his feet just as the ball was returned. Daniel grinned widely and watched triumphantly as the ball went out. The stadium roared and Daniel beat his chest, then raised his hands tiredly in thanks.

— - —

Max licked his way up the planes of Daniel's back as he laid prone on bed beneath him. His arms were spread out like a cross, ice packs taped to his biceps and traps. 

Daniel was exhausted, and Max had elected to be the one in charge of his post match care. He'd say through the trophy ceremony impatiently, he couldn't wait to get his hands on Daniel.

“Mmm Max.” Daniel groaned gutterally, his face smushed into the sheets. Drool collected beneath his lips to form a wet patch.

Max had been edging him the whole time, massaging his muscles while keeping him horny as hell. Daniel's body was a livewire of pain and pleasure and his dick was hard and leaking, trapped beneath him.

“You did so well today, Daniel. You were perfect. My perfect champion.” Max cooed in Daniel's ear, pressing his hard dick between the cleft of Daniel's cheeks. Daniel shivered and whined.

Max kissed the column of Daniel's neck and rutted against him, savouring each of Daniel's breathy moans and exhales.

“You're gonna come for me baby, let me take care of you.” 

“Yeah.” Daniel panted, trying and failing to raise his head or his hips for better access to Max's roving lips and grinding hips. He wanted to do more but his energy was done. And Max felt so so so good.

“Don't worry, I'll fuck you tomorrow baby. I promise.” Max gripped Daniels hips and picked up his speed. Daniel's whines became hitched before his eyes clenched and he stiffened beneath him. Daniel choked out a moan while Max murmured praises into his ear, a soft smile on his pink lips. 

“Max, fuck.” Daniel rasped and Max came with a moan of Daniels name.

[swoo0zy]

I think Star and Wander would be just as frustrated w/ each other as Wander was with Dom in s2, if not more. Ostensibly, they share the same goals so theoretically it shouldn't be too hard for one to get thru to the other. Problem is, both Wander and Star are very stubborn irt their views and what they think is the right way to go about things. Granted, with s3 being about testing Wander, he likely would've started to question his beliefs abit and eventually become not as stubborn with his views, especially considering Dom blunty turning down his offer of redemption/friendship at the end of s2. Maybe Star would've had a similar arc? What do you think ?

YEAH !!!!!! YEAH LITERALLY !!!!! thx for asking! big oc infodump incoming

thats exactly what ive been thinking of, like SFEF honestly have the universe's best interest in mind. they motivate their actions on the belief that they're right n they're genuinely doing good by freeing galaxies of villains, even if it's in frankly cruel ways n their definition of what is "good" n what is "evil" is extremely black n white n divided. they are the always the good guys n others r the bad guys who are inherently fundamentally evil n dangerous n deserve every terrible thing in the world to happen to them (that worldview is basically exactly what leads to the dehumanization of villains in their eyes n that is what makes it rlly easy for them to do what they do cuz they don't view villains as actual ppl with their own motivations n reasoning but as a disembodied force to be defeated).

star, who is the perfect guy to represent SFEF's beliefs n ideals (like he genuinely does not question them in the slightest he accepts their worldview as his own to the point his self-identity is tied directly to SFEF. the way he goes about fulfilling his duty is sort of tainted by his own personal wants n opinions sometimes, that's why sugar n ultra r there to level it out, but at the core he operates on the same logic as SFEF do, underneath all of their inspiring slogans n speeches of their righteous mission), is also the perfect guy to serve as a contrast to wander. star is literally like helplessness-less wander from the wanders episode. we only got to see him once in the show n the only thing he did was do a cool pose n explain his worldview, so star is basically what would happen if he got to act upon n actively spread his ideology — if wander had to face against someone w his own discarded belief n prove not just to himself but to literally the entire galaxy that it is not the answer

i feel like wander would be absolutely delighted to see SFEF show up at first. new people in the galaxy, and they're here to help, and they're really good at their job and others seem to really like them — this is basically like the hot shot episode situation. but then as their mission goes on hed begin to recognize their approach is flawed AS HELL — hed get that ideological ick from them. the problem is — he's the only one. post-dominator, after his pacifistic approach didn't work and dominator turned out to be an irredeemable sadist who could've only been stopped by force, the yonder galaxy would sorta start questioning wander n be more willing to side w SFEF n their more forceful methods. maybe that would even include sylvia, give her a bit of an arc — ofc shed still stay w wander n in the end shed support him, but judging by her character i feel like she wouldn't be opposed to a team of good guys who stop villains by force instead of trying to befriend them. even if she started warming up to peepers a lot n even cheered for hater in the end of the galaxy, she still doesn't seem to fully agree w wander on the sentiment that villains can be redeemed (quite paradoxical considering she was a redeemed "bad guy". wonder where that stems from). i think an arc of her coming to her own conclusion that wander really is right abt that instead of just going along w all his plans throughout all s3 would do her pretty well. so there goes the testing wander part. no matter how confident in ur own righteousness u are, if literally the entire galaxy rejects ur worldview u can't help but start to question it. that might even work to wander's benefit in a way, cuz his approach admittedly is still kinda flawed, so starting to question it might in the end make it more nuanced n balanced instead — curiously, what tries to break him ends up helping him in its own way. in the end it'd all probably come around to a big epic wander win n a great philosophical conclusion abt pacifism n what is good n evil n how too drenched in nuance everything actually is to apply such simple black n white logic to it. idk exactly how it'll happen but thats how i imagine it

now this part is curious, cuz smth needs to happen to SFEF after they lose right? now um the best outcome would be to show the entire bigass intergalactic SFEF organization the error of their ways so they can use their influence n power for something better — but idk how to actually come to it, cuz it's quite the feat.

what is a bit less of a feat is to redeem just star sugar n ultra in the end. ultra has her own arc going on of gaining conscience n beginning to question SFEF's ways by virtue of their beliefs being programmed into her, n the very act of her gaining free thought goes directly against her programming. so she doesn't have a brainwashed stupidass little head like how star does, which makes it just the tiniest bit easier. wander would come in super handy as a guy who showed an alternative to loyal to their authority soldiers/robots at least two times before. now i just dont know if i should let ultra have her happy ending or give her the beep boop treatment, inevitably shut down for good or sent back to be reset back to her factory settings the moment she stops being convenient to the cause or even worse tries to sabotage it. hard choice

sugar... sugar is a bit of a pickle. they dont go against SFEF but they don't exactly support it either. u see their species — bonbons — due to their physiological advantages, r rlly convenient for SFEF to hire. theyre almost impossible to hurt, have the ability to regenerate, can shift shape freely n can solidify or liquify their body's consistency at will. so basically SFEF practically has control over their homeplanet, in the cultural n societal sense. working for SFEF is like the go-to career there — kinda like the military if they payed better n also didn't endanger ur life so much. so sugar isn't there out of some righteous desire to save the universe, or for glory, or out of obligation — theyre basically there for the bag. its like a 9 to 5 to them. a circumstance. that attitude is outrageous, but that's the point — sugar is rlly detached from reality. they just go w the flow. they dont want to think too hard about the cause theyre contributing to. they dont want to think of the fact their actions have consequences. they dont want to take the lead of their own life. n since they leave it up for grabs SFEF is happy to accept the offer. in order for sugar to have an arc of abandoning SFEF n growing as a person they need something DRASTICCCC to happen, put them in a situation where they have no choice but to take action n actually pick a side. to commit. idk how that'd happen but it would be great trust 🙏🙏

now star. heheheheheh. until just recently i actually didnt even consider a character arc for him. hes a stubborn self-assured delusional fucking blockhead who would rather kill himself than admit he's wrong. i felt like just keeping him that way cuz i didnt see how wander would be able to make him reconsider that wout it feeling forced. but then it came to me, that if there's anything he believes to be as correct as himself — its SFEF. like ive said SFEF is basically tied into his self image now. every "I'm not wrong" automatically translates into "SFEF isn't wrong" n vice versa. n now — what if those sentiments weren't just separated but directly put against eachother, one or the other inevitably false. what if SFEF fired him. its their big final loss, star is forced to admit defeat, mark the end of their mission in the yonder galaxy n just come back to the main SFEF station empty handed. but they don't even let him do that. they just fire him. he fucked up his first mission in a relatively small galaxy that was literally almost wiped out by a huge threat beforehand — like it was perfect picking n he fucked that up. he proved himself worthless n hes not rlly important enough to deserve a second chance from them, they can fire him n literally nothing would change (a big shocker for star who genuinely thought he was all that. in reality they didn't even hire him in the first place cuz of his skills or something — it was because he looked like their mascot 😭 ofc going up the SFEF career ladder to the point they oh so generously allow him to lead a mission took him a lot of effort. but in the end he's just another easily replaceable cog in the machine. he refused to see that until now. he was like the biggest SFEF d-rider ever n he naively thought he meant something in return, that his efforts would pay off, that he'd be recognized for how absolutely jawdroppingly cool n awesome he is, that he has some worth to them — but he doesn't). n so something that was a big part of him, something he built his identity on, now leaves him on the side of the road. n it creates a huge dissonance — n he can't figure out whether he's wrong for fucking up n being a fucking loser or they're wrong for firing him, cuz both of those r thoughts he refused to even consider before. now probably for the first time in his life he's forced to come face to face w the fact he failed, in a way he can't brush off or takw himself back from after. to make matters worse he's basically homeless now lmao cuz he used to live on the SFEF spaceship station until they fired him n he cant come back to his parents house cuz that's the most shameful humiliating shit ever to him n hed rather kill himself than let his parents know the fucking SFEF fired his ass cuz its kinda a big deal 👍 n so there goes wonder — @catfacedcat's oc

some exposition so wonder is a criminal who keeps getting away n hes basically like stars arch nemesis n they also have a bit of a Thing going on. toxic yaoi situationship. now to star wonder was like. a spot on his squeaky clean self image. falling for a criminal n ur enemy is basically... a flaw. a weakness. an inevitable loss n stuff. actually there was smth rlly good that came out of it, interacting w wonder a lot n warming up to him made star question a bit maybe he's not such a fundamentally evil terrible badguy after all. like "maybe nuance is real n bad ppl r still ppl hmmm ☝️☝️ nah no way" or whatever. so what i mean to say is star is at the lowest of the lows rn right. this is that inevitable loss. hes the spot on his own made up image of himself that he couldn't live up to. so he goes to the guy who he feels he belongs w most now — wonder. belongs not in a romantic sense(ok maybe a romantic sense too) but in a "ure the only person im vaguely close to who i feel like could look me in the eyes rn simultaneously the only person id let see me cuz the very act of me feeling anything towards u was already a step so low for me that begging u to let me stay w u doesn't even feel like going much lower. anyway so can u let me in ure my only hope 🥺" sense. so he just stands outside of wonders car cuz wonder doesnt even have a fucking house either, holding a cardboard box w 3 shirts 10 ties n a cactus, completely drenched out in the rain probably fell in a fucking puddle on the way. n i feel like he doesn't even expect him to open the door. n wonder wouldn't really be to blame if he didn't like things r rlly complicated between them. + she alr has to share her stupid broken ass car w her coolioburger 4yo kid (big shoutout to woopa) like be so fr rn. but hed probably let star in anyway n they just sit there rlly awkwardly n avoid eye contact. basically a huge humbling experience for star that is sure to kickstart a character arc of reconsidering things n becoming a better person n stuff 👍 all because of yaoi

big shoutout to my frjends for this one fr stars arc was like a group project

[vilevenom]

Part four in my collection of ficlets for "Hello My Old Heart"!

I have been yearning to write some more Hickdory, because it fuels me, and quite frankly there is just not enough content of these two. For this part - a wedding! But probably not the one people would be hoping for, lol Enjoy!

John Dory, apparently, got weepy at weddings. Or, perhaps it was just because it was his baby brothers wedding. Either way, he was half covering his face to stop himself from openly sobbing as Branch recited his vows to Poppy. They were the sweetest, most sentimental vows John Dory had ever heard (not that he had a habit of being invited to weddings to hear a lot of vows), and they made John so thankful for Poppy and her persistence with his brother.

"Daddy? Why are you crying?" a hissed whisper to John's right made the teal troll finally pull his gaze from the happy couple, down to his four year old son who was watching him worriedly.

"They're happy tears, bug. Don't worry," John whispered back with a wet chuckle, ruffling Sky's curly hair. He lifted his gaze just in time to watch Poppy nearly bowl Branch over as they were pronounced married, his brother just barely managing to catch himself and Poppy as she kissed him soundly. "Sugar," John huffed out, sniffing back more tears as Hickory's arm wrapped around his shoulders from his left side.

"They're so cute," Hickory chuckled into John's ear, the country troll grinning widely as they watched the happy couple wave at the cheering crowd that had witnessed the ceremony. "Ya gonna be okay there, darlin'?"

"I'm just so happy for Branch," John choked out, wiping at his eyes, "Ugh. Didn't think I'd cry this much."

"Well, at least yer not alone in yer tears," Hickory said with a grin, gesturing for John to look at the other seats around him. It would seem that all of John's brothers were also criers. Which, although not surprising for Floyd or Bruce, was a bit surprising for Clay, who was red in the face and talking quietly to Viva as the happy couple walked back down the isle towards an awaiting flyer bug.

The wedding had been held in a large clearing, not too far from Pop Village. This way, the royal Bergen couple and Bruce's family could attend, without worry for the space available in town. It had been agreed, though, that after the ceremony, Bridget and Gristle would head back to Bergen town with Brandy and the kids, while the trolls held a party in Pop Village before Branch's official coronation as prince consort the next day.

"We're all such messes," John snorted, pulling a handkerchief from his hair to wipe his eyes, watching as Bruce trundled over to Brandy and his children to say goodbye before they all headed back to the village in Rhonda. His attention was diverted, once again, by his son as Sky tugged at the hem of the formal jacket he'd worn to the ceremony. "Yes? What is it, sweetheart?"

"Why did Uncle Branch and Aunt Poppy do this, again?" Sky asked, tilting his head with a confused little from on his face.

"Do what, sugar?" Hickory asked, leaning around John to pick Sky up.

"This," the tolling gestured to the milling crowd of trolls and clearing at large.

"The wedding?" John asked with a lopsided grin, tucking his handkerchief back into his hair.

"Yeah! That," Sky nodded, absently picking at the tiny flower on his shirt. He'd been the flower boy for the ceremony, and as such he had pinned a flower to his lapel, and had petals stuck in his hair.

"Well," John hummed, taking Sky from Hickory to bounce him on his hip, earning giggles from the trolling, "When two people love each other a whole bunch, and they decide they want to spend their whole lives together, they have a wedding. And all of their friends and family go to the wedding to celebrate how much those two people love each other."

"Oh," Sky hummed thoughtfully, tapping his little fingers on his chin thoughtfully. "Well, why did they put rings on each other?"

"Ah," Hickory piped up next to John, tickling Sky and causing the child to squeal happily, "That's so everyone else knows that they're each others chosen person, an' love each other to the moon and back."

Sky swatted at Hickory's hands, his face flushed as his giggles tapered off. "Papa, no! Stop," Sky gasped, waving his hand at his father, "I'm tryin' to learn." Hickory held his hands up in surrender, while John snorted in amusement, knowing full well he'd picked that up from Clay. Sky took a breath, turning a very serious expression to John Dory, who arched an eyebrow curiously. "So, why don't you an' Papa have rings?"

John blinked, having fully not expected such a question from a four year old. "Uhhh," he said intelligently, staring blankly at his child. Sky frowned, glancing between his parents, before fat tears welled up in his eyes.

"Do you not love each other a whole bunch?" Sky asked, voice indicating that he was very much on the verge of tears.

"Yer Daddy an' I love each other so much, that we just plum forgot all about gettin' married," Hickory was quick to intervene, taking Sky from John's arms and tossing him into the air a bit, hoping to distract the trolling from his oncoming tears. He caught Sky, shooting John a worried look over the trolling's head. John continued to stare into space, an odd look on his face. Hickory frowned lightly, only to turn a bright grin on Sky, who no longer appeared to be on the verge of a meltdown. "Tell ya what, bug. Why don't ya go with yer Uncle Floyd back to the village? I know ya like how fast he goes on his flyer bug."

Sky visibly perked up at that, clapping his hands together. "Oh! Can I?!"

"You bet! Why don't ya go an' ask him right quick, while he's talkin' to yer Uncle Clay?" Hickory set the trolling down, who immediately made a beeline for his uncles. Hickory watched Sky run and get scooped into Clays arms as he approached the brothers, before turning a worried look on John. "Johnny?"

John Dory shook his head quickly, flashing Hickory a brilliant smile. It was obviously fake to anyone who knew the teal troll. "Yeah?"

"What's eatin' ya, John?" Hickory asked, taking one of John's hands in both of his, giving it a little squeeze.

John's smile fell, shifting from the overly wide and toothful grin he used in photos to a more subdued one, his lips pressed thinly together. "Sorry. Sky just caught me off guard with that question. I wasn't expecting it."

"Kids say the darndest things, I've been told," Hickory nodded, shifting closer to John to cup the teal trolls cheek in the palm of his hand, "But ya look like you've seen a ghost of somethin', darlin'. Is it botherin' ya that much?"

"Of course not!" John shook his head quickly, lifting his hand to press Hickory's more firmly into his cheek. "We don't need to be married to know how much we mean to each other. I just…it's something to think about."

Hickory blinked in surprised, his smile turning slightly lop sided. "Is it now?"

John chuckled quietly, pecking a kiss to Hickory's lips. "Yeah. Maybe."

~

The reception party was massive. Trolls of all genres were in attendance, and the entirety of the town was decorated and celebrating Branch and Poppy's marriage. The party clearing was reserved for the party proper, but music, dancing and celebrations spilled out across the village.

"Quite the shindig," Hickory said with an impressed whistle when they finally made it back to town, shaking his head slightly with a smile.

"Everyone loves Poppy and Branch. This wedding was a long time coming," John hummed beside him. They both turned at the sound of their child's joyful shrieks approaching, watching as Floyd landed his flyer bug with a grin on his face, while Sky had his arms in the air, laughing wildly.

"Again, again!" the four year old shouted, laughing as he pushed a tiny pair of goggles off his face and into his hair. "Uncle Floyd, you give the BEST flyer bug rides!"

"Do I? That's quite the compliment. Thank you," Floyd laughed as he disembarked, before helping his nephew down.

"When I get big enough, will you teach me how to fly?!" Sky asked, bouncing on his toes as his parents approached.

"That is definitely something you are going to need to ask your dad about, kiddo," Floyd grinned, ruffling Sky's hair.

"Ask me what?" John scooped Sky up and tossed him into the air, reveling in the trolling's laughter.

"Uncle Floyd is going to teach me how to fly!" Sky informed, as though this was a stated fact.

"Is he now?" John arched an eyebrow at his brother, Floyd waving his hands in the air as he took a step back.

"When he's older! And I told him to ask, not tell," Floyd reassured, grinning awkwardly.

"I see," John hummed, shooting his brother one last suspicious look, before laughing and poking Sky in the belly. "All right, kiddo! You ready for a party?"

"Always!" Sky cheered, wriggling free of John's hold. Once he was on his feet he was off like a shot, running towards the party clearing.

"Such a pop troll," Hickory said fondly next to John, earning a light jab in his ribs from John Dory's elbow.

~

The party went off without a hitch. But that was to be expected, given that Poppy and Viva had planned the whole shebang, and Branch and Clay had taken all of the appropriate measures to ensure that nothing could or would go wrong. Truly, John could not think of better partners for his younger brothers.

"Okay, everyone," Poppy called from her spot atop a glow mushroom to the side of the party clearing, grinning widely while Branch stood beside her with a lovestruck expression on his face, "It's time for the bouquet toss!"

John snorted quietly as he watched trolls scramble to gather around near the base of the mushroom, sipping at his drink.

"Not a fan of the toss?" Bruce asked his older brother at noticing the amused expression on John's face.

"Not so much that," John hummed, shooting Bruce a grin, "I just think the scramble to catch a cluster of dead flowers to find out who's getting married next is funny."

"I think this particular toss is less about the superstition," Bruce hummed, "And more about having a memento of one of the most anticipated weddings of our generation."

That caught John's attention, he turned a sharp gaze to Bruce, eyebrow arching. "A memento, you say?"

"Oh no," Hickory groaned, rubbing at his face, "Bruce, what've ya done?"

"Out of my way!" John suddenly shouted, haphazardly tossing his cup behind himself as he jumped from his seat and made his way into the crowd of trolls beneath the mushroom.

The two watched as John Dory shoved his way through the crowd, ignoring anyone who called after him for being rude. Branch finally caught sight of his oldest brother as Poppy turned her back to the crowd, shooting a question look towards Bruce and Hickory, who shrugged back at him. The three of them could only watch as John shoved past trolls to get to the very center of the group, Bruce letting out a groan of embarrassment over how John was acting.

"Ready?" Poppy called over her shoulder, before tossing the bouquet into the air behind her. The bouquet sailed through the air as the group of trolls below shouted and moved, several giving up quickly and ducking out of the way of others who were not watching where they were going to try and catch the flowers.

John had a plan, though. Hickory gaped as he watched John grin and toss a glitter bomb into the air, causing nearly everyone in the crowd to scream and scatter. Meanwhile, the teal troll yanked his goggles over his eyes to protect them from the falling glitter and snatched the bouquet out of the air with a triumphant shout.

"I am never gonna hear the end of this from Branch, am I?" Hickory groaned half covering his face as John Dory cheered and waved the bouquet in the faces of other trolls as he walked back to their table. He caught a glimpse of Poppy and Branch up on the mushroom, the former looking amused, and the later annoyed.

"Judging by the look on his face right now? Probably not," Bruce said with a light laugh.

"Victory!" John shouted as he made it back to their table, holding the bouquet in the air.

"Guess you're getting married next, huh?" Bruce teased, grinning widely as John stuttered to a stop, his eyes flicking momentarily to Hickory before his cheeks went up in flames.

~

The party raged on for hours after that, and upon finding Sky tucked under their table asleep, his fur slathered in cake, John and Hickory figured it was about time to head home.

"Woo, what a party," Hickory laughed as they made their way back to their pod after bidding their farewells and congratulations, Sky fast asleep in his arms.

"It'll probably go until the sun rises. Or past that, honestly," John snorted, absently playing with the soft petals of the bouquet in his hands.

Hickory watched John out of the corner of his eye for a moment, before clearing his throat. "Y'know, Johnny…If ya wanted, we could…have a wedding." He flushed at the startled look John shot him, quickly ducking his head so the brim of his hat hid his face. "I mean, we've been together a while now. Sky's four already. Wouldn't that be the next logical step?" He lifted his head slightly when the silence dragged on longer than expected, only to find that John was no longer walking next to him. He stopped and turned, finding John stood a few feet behind him, looking surprised.

"You'd really want that? With me?" John asked quietly, clutching the flowers to his chest.

Hickory smiled warmly, trotting back over to John. "John Dory," he hummed with a grin, "we are raisin' a kid together. I have been in love with ya since I was seventeen. How can ya not think I would want to marry ya?"

John swallowed thickly, letting out a quiet, choked laugh. He wiped at his eyes quickly, before shifting forward to kiss Hickory quickly. "You're right. Dumb question."

"Not a dumb question," Hickory hummed, shifting Sky in his arms so he could take John's hand, giving it a little squeeze as they began to walk again, "Just not a well thought out one."

That startled a laugh out of John, who brought Hickory's hand up to kiss the back of it. "Let's do it then," he said giddily, "Let's get married."

[raptorsgust]

hello! so i was lucky enough to snag a ticket to the tgcf donghua s2 fan screening right here in singapore, so here's a short report on the happenings! under the read more as there will be spoilers including those from the novel

arrived at around 1:20pm and it already looked like a full house! lots of people queueing at the photobooths and stuff, LOTS of cosplayers, mainly hualian and beefleaf. after a while i asked an usher about the merch booth but it was already closed due to the long queue, so i just went to find my seat which was near the back (in front of a bunch of cosplayers haha)

the hall had at least eight screens but none were positioned in a way where i didn't have to turn/crane my neck lol i can still feel the strain

the screening itself started at about 10 minutes past 2pm! we first had some voice actor greetings first, both of shi qingxuan's voice actors seemed to have received the loudest cheers from my pov! all of them ended their greeting with 天官赐福，百无禁忌

there was also a quick announcement of another tgcf collab cafe in 2024! sg just keeps winning and winning

after that we finally started the screening with a recap of s1 starting from the cart scene all through the banyue arc. xie lian's lines were all newly voiced by his new voice actor deng youxi, and he sounded alright to me! (note: not 100% sure that he did replace jgt's voicing but that's what i remember, correct me if im wrong!)

more than an hour of s1 later, we smoothly transitioned into the first episode of s2, and the following are some highlights and points:

s2 is still based on the unrevised novel as far as i can tell

everyone loves shi qingxuan!!

ghost city is very extravagant and fun! lots of quirky ghosts, there's joss paper flying around everywhere

xl's 不举 was omitted even though it's already rated m18 lol

the part where hc teaches xl to shake the dice has a lot of hand touching and cute reactions from the ghosts and sqx and lqq

a LOT of teasing leading up to the reveal of hc's true form, they'd show part of his face, his hand, his boots, and when he stepped out from behind the curtain and xl laid eyes on him for the first time there were shoujo bubbles

also A LOT OF SCREAMING FROM THE AUDIENCE tbh it was already loud enough throughout the gambling scene it was just hilarious

frankly i couldn't see hc clearly cuz, bad seat, but we all know how he looks like anyway

idk if it's just mE but the audio of the entire screening had its pitch raised, all the songs were a key higher, everyone sounded higher-pitched...... to ward people from secretly recording it?

feels bad for fulgur cuz it feels like most of the audience didn't care about him? half of them left their seats for the photobooths during his q&a segment

quiz time was interesting......

for "what is hc's weapon?" the host accepted the answer E-Ming, as in the person who answered said cAPITAL LETTER OF THE ALPHABET E which i would personally not accept as correct but o wells

the last question was "what did hc give to xl at the end of s1?" and the lucky person who answered very precisely said "his ashes in the form of a ring" and the host went aRe YoU sUrE and tried to make us recall an oBjEcT and i think we were all second-guessing ourselves there lmao please get a host who did their homework next time

pretty sure that was a huge spoiler for donghua-only fans tho HAHA

after the event was over i hung around texting friends and then tried to see if the merch booth was available but all the nice merch was sold out, and frankly just thinking of trying the queues at the photobooths was mentally draining so i just left haha

overall it was a great experience! watching and reacting together with so many other fans is truly a rare experience and despite going solo i had fun!

excellent door gifts too, the acrylic stand is of great quality and is now set up and sitting on my mxtx shelf~

[esta-elavaris]

I'm so sorry to hear about your grandmother. That kind of diagnosis is so hard, I'm wishing you and your family the strength get through this. As for the writing challenge, go for it! It sounds like you've put a lot of thought into whether that kind of challenge will help or hurt you right now and you're a pretty good judge of your capabilities. I think it makes sense to stick with it based on your reasoning. If you find it is making things harder on you then you can always reassess later. But frankly, as someone who was following CtW as it was coming out the amount of writing you were able to do during such a difficult time in your life was astonishing. I have no doubt you can handle this if it is something you want to do.

I just want to say that even if we aren't reading it as you go along we're all cheering for your novel! We may not be able to comment on each chapter as you go, but pretty much everybody who reads your fic is excited about the novel.

I'm sorry for the slow reply to this! I read it when it first came through a couple of days ago and have been trying and failing to find the words to formulate a half-decent reply ever since.

Genuinely, thank you so much for this. I'm still so proud of Catch the Wind, and a lot of that is tied into what I was going through while writing it, as well as how good the end result ended up being despite that fact - or maybe even because of it, so having others recognise that aspect of it is always incredibly validating. I also love that out of all of my stories, it's the one that people always seem to find when they're Going Through It in life and it's been helpful in some small way, so there's a very wholesome little cycle in there somewhere.

As for the novel thing, honestly, if I can use another difficult time to capture whatever magic happened in the writing of CTW, then like? It won't be worth it, obviously, but maybe it'll be another case of scraping in some good from the bad, so I massively appreciate the support with that, too. And I'm glad my reasoning in the post made sense, I honestly couldn't tell if I was being logical, or just making unreasonable excuses not to let myself back out. But yeah, I'm gonna go for it. I'm already behind with word counts but I'm surprisingly not mad about it, so that's a good sign at least.

Thank you 💜 this was so lovely to hear and genuinely means a lot!