#anyways what do you think happened to the golden guards that came out with more

[tf2rocks12]

uhh something about children bearing the sins of their father idk

if you look closely you can see the exact moment i gave up coloring 

burn the witch by shawn james a+ 

[avatarmerida]

A Blight By Any Other Name

I posted a preview for this awhile ago but I've been busy and whatver so here it is! It's a slight AU I guess but I'm mostly here for vibes not for explanations. If you see any errors no you didn't!

----

“Willow please!”

“Amity, I don’t know, it’s risky isn’t it?”

“There’s no way anyone would ever find out!”

“If that’s true then why don’t you just skip it or send an illusion?”

“I just need it to go well enough so my mom will stop bugging me and I’ll never have to do it again,” said Amity. “I’m just no good at these kinds of things and I’m worried I’ll mess it up so much that she’ll make me try again or send me to courtesy lessons with the twins.”

It was the envy of every parent who hoped to gloat about their child. Once a week for a month, the head of the Emperor’s coven would see a hopeful recruit and mentor them. It was a chance to impress them as well as learn from them. There were months that went by with no worthy adversary appearing as you needed to be the best, the boldest and the brightest.

Being rich didn’t hurt your chances either. 

“Why is your mom sending you anyway? Why can’t she send one of the twins?”

“She knows they won’t take it seriously,” Amity groaned. “She wants to make a good impression and she thinks it’ll help my chances of getting into the Emperor’s Coven. But all my antidotes were formed around impressing Miss Lillith, I don’t have time to research the charm the golden guard prefers.”

“And I do?”

“You’re just naturally likeable!” Amity declared. “It will give me time to prepare. Just pretend to be me and make me seem calm and friendly.”

“And what happens if he doesn’t like me or asks me something only you could ever answer?”

“The first visit is always a tour of the grounds, which I’ve studied enough to know anyway,” said Amity. “Just nod and smile and it will be fine! I just… I can’t…”

Willow saw through her instantly. “You have plans with Luz tonight, don’t you?”

“What? No, n-not like ‘official’ plans or anything like that but she mentioned she was doing something and it seemed intentional and so I thought maybe we would-.”

“It’s okay Amy, I get it,” said Willow with a smile. She was adjusting to having Amity back in her life and whatever was happening between her newest and oldest friend might not have been her favorite thing at first but it was growing on her. And who was she to stand between two dorks with crushes? “I’ll go for you.”

“Really?”

“Yes,” she said. 

“Perfect! I’ll grab the concealment stone for you!” Said Amity as she wrapped her friend in a hug. “Oh, thank you Willow! I owe you big time!”

“Yeah I know,” said Willow with a sigh as she returned the hug. “I know.”

———

The plan was simple: Willow would take a concealment stone and go to the meeting as Amity and secure a good first impression. According to Amity’s research, she probably wouldn’t even need to talk (Willow didn’t know if that meant ‘have the opportunity to’ or ‘be allowed to’ but was too nervous to ask) and by the time they had walked the grounds, the appointment would be over. She had endured worse.

The Golden Guard greeted her at the gate, if you could call it that. He didn’t technically say hello or ask how or who she was or offer any information about himself. He just gave her a nod and told her to follow him.He  spoke only when necessary, and when he did his tone was harsh and condescending. Willow couldn’t help but feel it felt forced. He gave instructions as though it came as naturally as breathing, sounding as though he was both tired and proud of showing her around. She walked three steps behind him, just as he told her to, and nodded and showed faint signs of understanding, just as Amity had told her. It was plain and awkward and everything Amity had said it would be.

The first visit was meant to be nothing more than a mostly silent and distant tour of the grounds,but once they got to the garden, Willow couldn’t help herself.

“Woah! Is that a Phantom orchid?!” She exclaimed, trailing back to get a closer look. 

“Hmm? Oh yeah it is,” he said, stopping to allow her to observe. Usually when someone interrupted him, it was a coven head telling him to shut up or mocking him or dismissing the fact he was speaking at all. But this girl wasn’t ignoring him, she was including him in her excitement, so he allowed himself to allow it.

“And it’s blooming already?” she continued, getting as close as she could. “How did that happen? The full moon isn’t for a few more days!”

“Oh, well Terra figured out that if you add moon dust to the water it will naturally convert the sunlight into the needed chemical to bloom.”

“The water, of course!” Willow said, laughing as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Why didn’t I think of that? It helps the pigment coloration too! Ah! It’s so pretty! Look at the lateral sepal and the dorsal sepal! They’re much bigger than average, it must be cross pollinated to have a wide enough stem to support that.”

He watched as she continued to chatter about the details of the flower, seeing things within things and connecting it to flowers in her own garden. She was vibrant and excited and loud, uncaring if she got dirt stains on her uniform as she got closer to the plant. It was extremely unprofessional.

“You know a surprising amount about plants for someone on the abomination track.” He observed as he knelt down beside her.

“Well, between you and me I’m not really the best at abominations.” Willow replied without really thinking, too enamored by the details of the flower before her to monitor her filter. 

“Oh, well that was surprisingly… honest.” He marveled. 

Oh shoot, Amity probably didn’t want a rumor that she didn’t excel at the abomination track getting back to the Emperor.

“I-I just mean you know in all my studies I-I have sooo many studies!” Willow sputtered. “When I said ‘I’m not the best’ I mean more like uh… like uh…”

“Oh, no I didn’t mean anything by it! No, it’s just that… in other afternoon arrangements I’ve had they always try to talk themselves up, they’d never admit to not doing well at something.” He cleared his throat, uncertain why he cared about offering her peace of mind in her confession.”It’s… refreshing. I feel like you’re the first person I’m actually getting to know.”

Willow smiled. “Well alright then, your turn,” she said, standing back up brushing the lingering dirt off her knees. “Tell me something you don’t like.”

“Wild witches,” he responded instantly, low and dramatic.

“O-kay,” Willow said nervously. “Maaaybe switch gears then, what’s something you like?”

“Catching wild witches.”

“No,” she giggled, shaking her head. “That’s your job, but what’s something you do that’s just for you? Like, a hobby or something you do for fun?”

“I like… to read?” He said after a moment, too embarrassed to tell her he had no time for fun. None of the questions he had gotten had ever been so… genuine. 

“Okay, that’s a start,” she said with a smile. “What do you like to read about?”

He went to answer and she quickly cut him off to say: “And don’t say ‘about how to catch wild witches.’”

“Fine,” he said, cracking a smile she could hear. “I like… reading books about adventures, and history, and the human realm.”

“Ooh, my best friend is a big fan of the human realm,” said Willow enthusiastically. She decided it was best to not mention Luz, lest his line of questions shift back to the wild witch she was known to be staying with. “We found a book about human gardening at the market once and the lack of carnivorous plants over there is very surprising.”

“Yes! Exactly, okay I’ve said that exact thing before!” He replied excitedly, elated to hear his thoughts echoed. “I think it’s because the rain doesn’t boil over there and it makes their foliage more docile.”

“Oh yeah! That’s a good point!” Willow said as their excitement connected. 

“And not to mention the psshahshshlssh.”

“Oh sorry, I didn't catch that.”

“I was just saying how the flowers here aren’t as deedsmdnns.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Willow asked again, his sentiment lost behind his mask.

“Oh sorry, here lemme just-.” He realized the issue and went to swiftly remove the mask, and when he did Willow couldn’t hear a word he said, only her own thoughts echoing behind her wide eyes.

Oh boy. 

He really was just a boy.

And boy he was-

“Hot,” voiced Willow without thinking.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” He asked, moving his hand through his hair, letting a lock spin in front of his face as the rest aired out like a soft halo.

“Er I just mean it must get really hot under that mask,” Willow recovered, the guard none the wiser. 

“Um yeah sometimes I guess,” his voice clear and unmuffled making him seem more real somehow. “It’s just for protection and authority and whatever,” he said with a shrug, as though he was explaining why he wore any other mundane accessory. “My uncle requires that I wear it most of the time.”

“It’s a shame cause you really do have a nice face.”

“Oh uh thank you?” He said, averting his gaze to the ground. If anyone else had said it, he’d roll his eyes knowing it was sarcasm or was about to be followed by some nasty comment. But when this girl said it, he somehow knew it was sincere. He dared to hope she wasn’t just saying it to be polite. 

He wanted to tell her she did too. 

But instead he asked:

“What other flowers do you have in your garden?”

——

He let her talk about plants for hours. 

Her friends loved hearing her talk about them, of course, but there was something different about the way the guard listened. He hung on her words like she had invented them, but his contribution proved that he was just as well versed in certain aspects as she was. The tiny, mundane details that often caused other people to get lost were equally beloved by the pair. He just loved knowing things Willow quickly learned, and when she said something he hadn’t known before he treated it like it was a revelation and looked for a way to take notes. And when he talked, oh Titan, there was such a fire in his eyes. Willow loved how he talked with his hands as though he was laying out illustrations that only they could see, even more enchanting than an illusion. When he had been talking longer than he was usually able to, he apologized but Willow insisted he continue. 

They had hardly realized any time had passed until they heard Darius call for him, and Willow pulled out her scroll to check the time. They had gone way over the allotted hour. 

“Wow, time really flies I guess,” Willow chuckled, hoping she hadn’t kept him from anything important.

“Yeah,” the guard said, unable to hide the tone of disappointment in his voice as he tried to keep it hidden from his face. He put his mask back on. “I’ll uh, walk you out then.”

When they arrived at the gate, a familiar silence danced between them. But this time it fought, as though being crushed by all the things they had not gotten to yet. She turned on her heel and bashfully offered him her hand, trying to safe face (or, rather, Amity’s face).

“Well, it was very nice to meet you-.”

“Hunter,” he said quickly, as though he was unsure it was proper to say.

“What?”

“That’s my name, Hunter,” he said. “You can call me that, if you like. It’s a bit less formal.”

“Is that what all your friends call you?”

“I guess? They would if I did, I mean. Have friends, that is.”

“Well then I’d be happy to call you Hunter,” said Willow. “And you can call me…” Woah, she had almost let it slip. She technically hasn’t introduced herself, she hadn't needed to, but she wanted to return the favor. But in what world was Willow a nickname for Amity? “Clover.”

“Clover?”

“Yeah it’s uh a nickname,” she said with a nervous laugh. “Everyone calls me that.”

“Oh, like a lucky clover.”

“Exactly,” she said in an airy voice she had never used but he had inspired her twice in one afternoon. She’d think of a believable explanation to give Amity later. 

“Well I felt very lucky to meet you,” he said bashfully, feeling as though he was trying to add something more within the compliment. He could tell she sensed it as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. He felt a little stupid but somehow not in a bad way?

“Me too,” she said softly. “I had fun.”

“Surprisingly I also really enjoyed myself,” he admitted in disbelief. “You’re very nice company, Ms. Blight.”

“You know, you’re not so bad yourself,” she said with a smile. That’s something Amity would say, right? She couldn’t place exactly when the shift had happened but at some point she had forgotten she was supposed to be pretending to tolerate him as she found herself genuinely enjoying herself. 

He cleared his throat, kicking at the dirt as he fought against shyness. “Would you want to do this again? I mean, sooner than the weekly arrangement, that is.” He made sure to clarify. “I can plan something outside the castle, maybe show you where Terra has some of her rarer species.”

“Oh, I-I l’d really like that actually,” Willow couldn’t help but say. But that would complicate things even more in many ways. She was supposed to be getting Amity out of this and yet she was committing to more time with him. Plus how could she justify Amity being in two places at once? 

“It’s just… I’m…” but she could hardly say that was the reason so what reason could she give that wouldn’t leave him hurt or suspicious?

He sensed her hesitation. “Oh yeah I mean you’re probably busy, I’m probably busy too anyway.” 

“Yeah, and I know how strict your uncle can be and well you know how my mom is.”

“Yeah, I… sure do,” he said in a way that only someone who knew Odalia Blight but didn’t want to possibly offend her daughter would. “So, is that why you dyed your hair? I heard she prefers it all green like hers.”

“Oh yeah,” she chuckled, knowing Amity’s most comfortable level of rebellion was letting her roots show. 

“I mean, I think it would be lovely on you,” said Hunter shyly. “Green suits you; especially the green of your eyes.”

“Green of my-.” Amity’s eyes were brown and not a brown that would be mistaken for green even in a dim light. 

“And I also think they look lovely with the gold frame of your glasses,” Hunter quickly added, dipping his toes into a more detailed compliment. “Your whole face really is uh… very pleasant. Nothing like Odalia. Not that I’m calling your mother ugly! That’s no, I just meant because I know how you feel about her that I can see you as your own person and that you have features that are unique and that look very…”

As Hunter continued to ramble, Willow caught sight of herself in the reflection of a window. She wore the abomination uniform but it was not Amity’s face that looked back at her now. Her eyes darted to her neck and widened when they saw she had forgotten the concealment stone. 

Her face, her body, her voice had been hers from the beginning. The only thing Hunter didn’t know about her was her name.

“… I guess what I’m trying to say is you’re very beautiful and I enjoy spending time with you,” he managed to get to the point, his tone indicating he realized it as he was saying it. “Not that I wouldn’t if you weren’t but I guess…” he trailed off again and sighed as Willow’s heart caught up to her mind realizing his words were truly for her, as her. 

“You’re just… not what I was expecting,” said Hunter. “And I’m sorry if I didn’t give you the best first impression.”

Her throat felt tight. She hadn’t intended to trick him, not like this. For some reason doing it in her own skin made the lie more hurtful. As spot on as her Amity impression could be, she hadn’t wanted to do the wrong thing and so stuck to what she knew. He just made it easy for her to be herself. He laughed at her jokes and listened to her and looked at her so softly and so attentively and so…and for him to say such nice things… it felt odd but she desperately wanted him to know everything but her name. 

“Well, in my opinion first impressions aren’t always all they’re cracked up to be,” she said. “But I’m really looking forward to seeing you again.”

——-

“Amity please,” Willow said, her voice determined to let her know this was not a request to be taken lightly. “In all the years I’ve known you, can you honestly say there was even a single time that I was not a good friend to you?”

“No,” Amity could not even pretend to search for ammo. “But why do you want to go back so badly? Was it the garden?”

“Well, it’s not just the garden,” Willow admitted sheepishly. “The Golden Guard isn’t as scary as everyone makes him out to be, ya know? We had a really good time and I just wanna see him again.”

“Really?” Amity asked with a raise of her eyebrow. When she arrived to download with Willow, she had expected to have much to apologize and make up for. She would never have guessed that her friend would want to take her place again. “Are you sure there’s not something else going on?”

“Well I also maaaaay have forgotten to wear the concealment stone so he thinks you look like me,” Willow added quickly as though it was a minor setback. 

“Willow!”

“It’ll be okay though! I’ll think of something to fix it! I’ll make sure you still get credit or ya know maybe we can convince him there’s two girls with the same name and it was like some kind of mix up.”

“You really think that’ll work?”

“No he’s really smart,” Willow admitted, both in awe and disappointment of the truth. “But not just about coven stuff, he knows so many little random facts. We just talked for hours about plants and books and stuff but it felt like only minutes had gone by.”

“I know how that feels,” said Amity, a blush creeping into her face as she remembered her heart flipping when she and Luz had first discussed Azura and all the tangents they went on. How everything flowed so easy, like they were in a bubble. 

Amity knew what everyone said about the Golden Guard, that he was cold and strict and stuck up. Whispers in the hallways had said the same thing about her, but she knew why. Maybe he needed a friend like Willow for his true colors to show. “Let me know if I can do anything to help.”

—-

So she went back the following week and when she entered the gates it was like they picked up right where they left off. Amity had sent her with an itinerary and talking points but all business left her mind when he entered her view. She saw the tenseness leave his shoulders and his stance become relaxed when she smiled at him. Now that she knew he was seeing her, her heart couldn’t help but flutter a little bit.

“You came back,” he said, unable to hide the fact that he was slightly stunned.

“I did,” she replied. “Is that… okay?”

“Yes, yes of course,” he said. “I’m just… not used to having people happy to see me who know me.”

“Well then, they must know you very well then, huh?”

There was hardly a moment of silence between them. Years of not being able to speak freely if anything frivolous poured out of him once she entered his sights. He collected jokes and anecdotes like inventory, counting the minutes until she was back at the gate greeting him with a wide smile no one else had ever held for him.  He had considered that their unlikely connection was part of a strategy, but the more she shared about herself quickly put that theory to rest. She didn’t have enough intel on him for blackmail and didn’t do enough to talk herself up to make him feel she was aiming for favoritism. It was almost like she didn’t care about the coven at all, she treated it like an afterthought when it came up. Their shared obligation had brought them together but what kept them coming back together was more than Hunter fully understood. He just knew that once a week he could breathe.

There were some close calls (like referring to herself as an only child once) but luckily Willow knew Amity well enough that she could quickly recover any slip ups.It actually made it easier for her to visit on the days they weren’t technically meant to. Amity was a known sucker for extra credit, so of course she’d insist on more time with the coven head who was meant to be mentoring her. Though she did not say much when their time consisted of less mentoring and more of overly competitive games of capture the flag and listing fun facts at each other. 

He asked her why she was on the abomination track when she so clearly was suited for the plant track and she said her father thought it was best for her, which was both in character and not a lie.

When they would get off on a tangent that he could not relate to official coven business, she smoothed it out by claiming the fact that they were meeting under the arrangement of her mother and the emperor made whatever they ended up doing official coven business. So he enjoyed her company without guilt, which allowed him to feel the new, confusing nerves all the more. 

Despite the purpose of the arrangement being to help see if she would be a worthy addition to the coven, she never once asked about it. She asked about him plenty, but it was almost as though she had forgotten she was there on business.

---

A few weeks into the arrangement, Hunter was pacing at the gate waiting for his guest. It wasn’t like her to be late, in fact she usually came early so they’d have more time together. Every other candidate had reached a point when they stopped coming back, his drills were too much or his voice too annoying, or sometimes they neglected to give  a reason all together. Granted this round had been different, he couldn’t deny he hadn’t been following usual protocol or checklist, but he felt that they both believed it was different in the best way. He had never been nervous like this before, he was nervous every day they were to meet. But it was a good nervous, he didn’t know how else to explain it. 

His heart leapt when he finally saw her land on her palisman. He straightened his spine and ran his hand through his hair as she walked to the gate, lacking her usual pep.

“Hi, sorry I’m late,” Willow said forlorn, trudging in.

“It’s fine, I totally wasn’t worried you weren’t coming or anything,” said Hunter nervously, barely hiding the truth within. His face became serious as he noticed the disdain did not leave her face. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” she sighed, trying to force a smile. “This girl at school is just out to get me. Whenever she sees me she finds something to make fun of, and normally I can ignore it because I know she just wants a reaction out of me but I woke up already not feeling great and I dunno I guess it just got to me today.”

“What kind of things does she say?”

“That’s the worst part too, like the things she says aren’t even true or clever but she just keeps saying them,” Willow sighed. “Like she needs me to know how much she believes I’m a loser and that I’ll always be weak. It’s like she needs to make sure there’s someone worse off than her otherwise she can’t feel good about herself.”

“I’m surprised anyone would even try to mess with you, you know considering your status.”

“Oh yeah, as a Blight.”

“Oh well yeah but I mean just because of your ability in general,” said Hunter. “You’re a very powerful witch.”

“Me?”

“Yeah,” he said with confidence. Willow knew he must be fully informed of Amity’s academic strides to have secured her time with him, the Blights had a reputation in every aspect a person could. “I mean, it took Terra weeks to figure out how to get that seed to sprout and when I gave it to you you did it in minutes.”

“I didn’t even do anything really, I just held it to my heart because I was so excited. I just got lucky.”

“Yes but your first instinct was to be kind to it, Terra would never try something like that,” said Hunter. “Your magic comes from a genuine, caring place. It’s not for show or power and that’s what I think makes it so strong.”

Willow just stared at him.

“What? Did I say something weird? Is there something on my face? Why are you-.”

She wrapped him in a hug.

“You didn’t say anything weird,” said Willow. “It was just what I needed to hear. It was so sweet, thank you Hunter.”

“Yeah well I-if you what I can make that girl spend a night in the dungeon,” said Hunter, still unsure how to respond to her genuine words sometimes. His arms were pinned at his sides as she rested the side of her face on his chest. He didn’t know what to say but he didn’t want her to think him not talking meant he wanted her to let go.He didn’t know what this was but he knew he didn’t hate it. “We’ll see if she tries to mess with you again after that.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she giggled, looking up at him. “But you know what would really make me feel better?”

“What?”

“Watching you try your first slice of fairy pie!”

He gasped. “No way!”

She giggled at his expression as she released him to skip over to her bag. “I told you my dad makes the best so I saved you some from my lunch!” She rushed back over to him with the carefully packaged slice she had perfectly crafted for him. Hunter took it and eyed it skeptically.

“Alador made this?” 

“No, he- er yeah I know right?” Willow gave the best nonanswer she could. 

“And there’s no like… abomination goo in it?” he asked, only half joking as he looked it over. 

“No I promise; I helped make this batch myself.

“Well it smells and looks really amazing,” Hunter said, feeling his mouth start to water. “But I can’t take this from you. Besides, I have my own piece of bread that I shouldn’t let go to waste.”

He went to fetch it from the table: the stale, pale slice of bread he had every encounter, the emperor’s idea of a snack. If you asked Willow, it shouldn’t be any person’s idea of edible.

“Well how about we swap then?” Willow offered. “My friends and I do it all the time! Try something new. You have the cake and I’ll take your bread so it doesn’t go to waste.”

“Are you sure? It hardly seems like a fair trade to yo-,” before Hunter could finish objecting, Willow snatched the bread from his hands and licked it.

”Now you have no choice.” She said plainly. 

He was stunned and flustered and embarrassed all at once. He never knew how to explain the things she did or how he felt about them. He knew she didn’t care about impressing him, yet she did it without trying. She didn’t care how it made her look. She wasn’t trying to bribe him. She did nice things for him because they would help him, there was no favors or ulterior motives lurking within her actions.

She placed the cake in his hands, making it clear she would hear no more on the matter.

The cake was everything she said it was, which meant it was everything his normal snack wasn’t. This was rich and vibrant and sharp and sweet in a way Hunter didn’t know was possible. He both wanted to savor it and devour it as quickly as possible. Willow’s reaction was less entrancing, as she tried to fake a smile as she marveled at how something could taste sour and salty and somehow flavorless at the same time.

When she managed to stomach it, she turned to see his reaction and was surprised to see him looking despondent despite the extra frosting she had added to the treat that she had been sure would delight him.

“What’s wrong? Does it taste okay?”

“No, I mean yes I mean it’s just… you had a bad day and you still came to see me,” Hunter said.

“Yeah, I mean I had a feeling I’d be late but-.”

“No it’s not about that, it's just… well. it would be a perfectly valid reason to not come by,” said Hunter. “If you weren’t feeling up to it or something, it would be understandable. But then when you did, you end up making me feel better.”

“Yeah?”

“Why?”

“That’s what being friends is,” she said simply, trying not to smile too wide at the stray bit of frosting that was smudged on the side of his mouth.

“We’re friends?”

“Yeah,” she said, trying in vain to bite into the stale loaf. “What else would we be?”

“Well I … I don’t know,” he said with a shrug. He wanted to ask what other things they could be. “I guess I’m just… glad to hear you say it.”

“Well then,” she said with a smile, scotting a bit closer to him to wipe the rogue bit of frosting from his cheek. “I’ll be sure to say it more often.”

“Cool,” he said, breaking off a piece of the pie to hand to her,she accepted if for no other reason than she needed the stale and somehow sour aftertaste from her mouth. She would definitely be bringing him more suitable treats going forward. 

“And besides,” she said with a smile. “Seeing you made me feel better too.”

----

On the off chance it should ever come up, Willow and Amity also met weekly to go over the meetings, Willow filling her in on any talking points that Darius might mention or Odalia might ask about. Of course, Willow did not tell Amity everything that went on at their encounters, she certainly kept the fluttering feeling in her chest to herself and the growing collection of heart doodles in her notebooks didn’t seem to come up. Willow just guaranteed that she was doing the Blight name justice and that her mother would be pleased with the report that may find its way back to her. She wasn’t sure how Hunter reported things, wondering if there were any portions he also kept to himself.

“... and then he mentioned the trial exams and “

“And what else did he say about those? Did he give you any clue about the new format?”

“Uh, maybe?” said Willow with a shrug. “Then I showed him a cute picture of Clover and he showed me a trick that he and his palisman have been practicing where he spins and then they both-.”

“Wait, he has a palisman?”

“Oh, shoot!” exclaimed Willow, sitting back up. “You can’t tell anyone! It’s a secret, oh but he’s so cute! Him and Clover get along so well. Oh my titan, I took the cutest picture of them playing when Hunter was telling us about-.”

“Hunter? Who is Hunter?”

“Oh,uh the er golden guard,” Willow said, feeling shy for some reason. “That’s his name. Is that a secret too?”

“I’m not sure,” Amity said. “But I guess it’s just surprising he lets you call him that. But I guess that means the meetings really have been going well huh?”

“Yeah,” Willow sighed, admitting a photo she had taken of Hunter and Flapjack when he wasn’t looking. The bird was looking up at him with so much love and happiness and Hunter gently stroked under his chin, smiling as the sun framed the scene. His jawline was sharp and his eyes were soft, he looked so content and comfortable and cute and- she was starting to suspect this was not a platonic way to look at a photo for five minutes straight as she totally forgot Amity was talking to her.

“...but it’s not like it’s guaranteed or anything, I mean I’m sure he would’ve mentioned it to you by now but we have a few years before it’s an issue and by then my mom might have dropped it, I mean Miss Lilith said I was on track to join the coven but that might not even be something I want by then and-.”

“What? Oh my titan Amity I’m so sorry I… I wasn’t paying attention.”

Amity rolled her eyes endearingly and laughed. “No worries, I was just saying how my mom was excited when she found out the Golden guard had taken over the coven because she thinks she can talk the emperor into an arrangement.”

“Like what kind of arrangement?” Willow asked, scrolling through her collection of photos as she sipped her drink.

“Like one like she and my dad have I think,” said Amty, wrinkling her nose. “A business marriage to try and get me ahead but like that wouldn’t guarantee anything and besides it would be totally-.”

She was cut off by Willow nearly choking to death.

“Hey, woah!” she patted her friend’s back as she caught her breath. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” she said after she managed to catch her breath. “I… um…Amity, are these meetings supposed to be like a… courtship?”

“Um I guess but my mom knows that I-.”

“Does Hunt- I mean, the golden guard, does he know?”

“Um maybe? I'm sure my mom isn’t the first person to try it, I mean it’s like the oldest trick in the book.”

“Amity, why didn’t you tell me I was basically going on dates with him this whole time?”

“Because my mom is always thinking of something new to get ahead and it never works out the way she- wait, why does that matter?”

“Because what if he thinks that I think we've basically been going on dates that I don’t actually like him I’m just trying to jump ahead into the coven and- why are you looking at me like that?”

Amity offered her a knowing glare before the dots connected and she pointed her finger at her friend and declared dramatically. “You like him!”

“What?!”

“You do! You like him!”

“I- maybe? I might? Kind of?” Willow knew she couldn’t deny it, she also kind of didn’t want to. “I mean sure, we have a lot in common and he’s really smart and funny and then I found out he was cute and I guess I just-.”

“Wait, cute? You saw his face?”

“Yeah, is that a big deal?”

“Well I don’t think he wears the mask because he wants everyone knowing what he looks like,” said Amity. “He must trust you.”

“Great,” groaned Willow, flopping onto the bed. “He trusts me and I’ve been lying to him since the moment we met.” Her voice was muffled by her pillow. Amity sighed and went to pat her back to reassure her but hesitated, not as skilled at comforting others as she wished she was. She cleared her throat and tried to offer a positive thought, but thankfully Willow cut her off as she continued to voice her thoughts.

“The ironic part is I really do feel like myself around him,” she sighed, rolling over to be heard better as she hugged the pillow to her chest. “But if I tell him now he might not believe me or he’ll be upset and then you’ll get in trouble on top of it!”

“I shouldn’t have  put you in this position in the first place,” said Amity solemnly.. 

“I’m honestly kind of glad you did,” Willow admitted bashfully. “I… I really do like him.”

“Well as… unorthodox as your meeting was, I’m happy for you,” said Amity. “I’m sure he likes you too.”

Willow couldn’t help but blush, feeling giddy to finally be open about her crush. She had missed talking crushes with Amity.

“Which probably isn’t ideal since he thinks you’re me, huh?”

“Yeah that’s… probably not great.”

“I mean, he may think you’re a Blight but he knows inside you’re a Park,” Amity offered proudly. Willow simply offered her a look. 

“Was that too much?” Amity winced.

“It was a little cheesy,” Willow admitted with a chuckle. “But you’re right. I care about him and  don’t want to hurt him. So I think I know what I have to do.”

Amity could tell that knowing the right thing to do also meant Willow wouldn’t enjoy doing it.

—-

Willow did not go back the next week.

Or the week after that.

She couldn't help but feel like doing so was leading him on. Even though she knew she felt… a certain way about him,there was no scenario she could think of that didn’t end with him feeling heartbroken or foolish. The Blights were known to be busy, she hoped he’d assume she’d been held up with school or other obligations.

But instead, he broke his own heart because she was too polite to do it.

Which is how he found himself at the Blights’ door.

He waited patiently as the abomination servant fetched Odalia, who greeted him with a smile that lacked sincerity and brought to mind a vampire. How had such a cold place brought forth such a warm person?

There was no turning back now, he would not be scared off by the unfortunate circumstance of her upbringing. Hunter removed his mask knowing it naturally lent authority to his tone and he wanted to assure that this came not as a demand or something official but a personal request from the heart. He had rehearsed it in the mirror for hours, imagined and planned different scenarios of varying grandness but he didn’t want it confused for a spectacle.

“Mrs. Blight, I’ve come here to ask for your blessing,” he said, certain and nervous in a way that made the contraction feel welcoming.

“Blessing? Blessing for what, exactly?”

He took a deep breath to better brace himself and his heavy eyes were serious and sincere as the words entered the world outside his bedroom for the first time.

“I believe I am in love with your daughter.”

“Well, I can’t say I’m surprised,” she replied with a smug gleam in her eye. “The Blights shine so brightly, of course the emperor’s right hand man can see that clearly. Allow me to fetch her.”

Hunter straightened his spine as Odalia touched her broach and in a moment, Emira appeared beside her.

“Oh, uh I-I’m sorry I meant your other daughter,”

“Oh,” said Odalia. “Heh, my apologies.” She touched her broach and Amity came trudging in beside her sister, trying to keep her composure when she discovered the reason why.

“Oh, uh I guess I meant your other other daughter,” he clarified once more.

“Edric?” Emira said with a raise of her eyebrow.

“Amity,” said Hunter. “Though I know she prefers to go by-.”

“This is Amity, your grace,” said Odalia, bringing Amity forward. “I understand if you didn't recognize her. I know the purple hair is rather unappealing, but we can change it if it isn’t to your liking.”

“No, no that’s not-.” He sighed. “Are you sure there’s no one else here? Anyone who might go by Clover?”

“‘Clover?’” Emira repeated. “Isn’t that the name of-.”

“Um, ya know I think we just need some privacy,” said Amity, nearly jumping out of her skin as she ran to take Hunter’s wrist. “Excuse us won’t you okay byeee!”

Hunter followed her until they were out of earshot, then stopped to demand some  explanation. His confusion bordered on anger, slowly shifting to hurt.

“What’s going on?”

“You’re not in love with me.”

“Well duh,” scoffed Hunter. “I’m in love with Amity.”

“No, no you’re not,” she sighed. “I mean, you are but the Amity you think is Amity isn’t really Amity because I’m really Amity.”

“What?”

 She went and pulled out her scroll and turned to show him a photo. “This is her, right?”

He looked down and saw it was her… whoever she was. She was bright and beaming, smiling the smile he knew meant she had been laughing. 

“Yes,” he said. For a moment, his heart dropped as he considered the notion that she had seen him coming and fled the house in order to avoid this conversation. “So if she’s not here… what’s going on?”

—

Willow had drafted dozens of letters she didn’t know how to send. No matter how she worded it., the truth just didn’t seem good enough. And now she had let time pass, maybe too much time. But she didn’t know which she was more afraid of: hurting him or admitting she had been hurting him all along. But realistically what did she think would happen? He was essentially a prince. Her reputation labeled her as half-a-witch. Their worlds were never meant to collide, he would be bored of her or outgrow her soon enough. He would never demote himself to her world.

Then she saw him at the end of her garden path, walking to her front door.

No mask, no armor, no walls. Just him. Her heart raced and sank and hid over and over. Was he here to arrest her? To yell at her? To save her? Suddenly, she didn’t care. After weeks that felt like lifetimes, seeing him just made her come to realize how much she missed him. 

He knocked.

She quickly fluffed her hair in the mirror by her front door and took a deep breath before she slowly opened it for him. She didn’t know what to say, if she should greet him, hug him, or if she should have pretended to not be home. Once their eyes met, the words flooded out.

“I’m sorry,” she said with wide eyes. “Are you mad? It’s okay if you are, I’d be mad too. You should be mad, I lied to you. I had a good reason to, I know it’s not an excuse because I kept doing it even after Amity asked me to stop. I just liked you and spending time with you and I promise I never lied about that and I wanted to tell you but I didn’t know how and I-.”

“What’s your name?” He asked.

“I- what?”

“Your name,” he said breathlessly. “Your real name.”

“Willow,” she said. “Willow Park.”

“Willow,” he repeated, like it made the air taste sweeter. It suited it, it felt like it should be so obvious that it was the perfect word to describe her. It was elegant and whimsical and simple in a way that managed to capture all that she was in mere letters. It had music in it, like reciting a fond dream. 

“Well Willow Park,” he said, the name dancing on his lips like prayer as he extended his hand to her. “It’s an honor to meet you.”

She took it. “The pleasure is all mine, Golden Guard sir,”

“Please call me Hunter.”

“Okay,” she said nervously. “Even though I actually don’t have the status of a Blight? You’re still okay with me calling you Hunter?”

“Yeah, I mean that’s what my friends call me.”

“Okay cool,” she said, feeling nervous around him for the first time in weeks. She brushed her hair behind her ear, feeling like he was waiting for her to say more. “So um h-how did you find me?”

“Oh, Amity- the real Amity- told me,” he explained. “When you stopped showing up I went to Blight manor to make sure you were okay.”

“I’m sorry I worried you,” she said softly. “I wanted to explain but I didn’t want to get Amity in trouble and I didn’t want to lie and it was just easier this way. It’s cowardly, I know. But I was worried that if I went to tell you and saw you I wouldn’t be able to go through with it.”

“Oh, okay,” he voice wavered and he cleared his throat to try and hide it. “I uh- t-that’s good to know then. I was also  worried that maybe I had done something to offend you.”

“No of course not! Why would you think that?”

“Well the last time I saw you we um, or rather I lingered in our embrace,” he said, his face reddening with every word. “And I was worried that it may have been inappropriate that you could interpret it as unprofessional.”

She had noticed, but she would have sworn she had been the one lingering.

“That’s definitely not the reason.”

“So then you forgive me?”

“There’s nothing to forgive,” she said with a smile. “I’m the one with things to apologize for.”

“Weeeeell that’s not entirely true,” he said with a nervous laugh. “Since we’re admitting things, you or rather Amity I suppose, didn’t need to keep coming because… my uncle stopped requiring it after the second visit. So I… I kind of lied too.”

“And why would you do something like that?”

“Because I liked spending time with you,” he said. “And I would like to see you again,” he cleared his throat to try and summon his confident tone back. “Outside the castle walls.”

Willow smiled. “To do what?”

“Well, uh I know the… situation of how we met wasn’t entirely… ideal “ he continued. “And I eh- hold on, this changes my speech a little.”

“You made a speech?” she said, knowing he made speeches for the most important matters in his life. “For me?”

“I heh yeah I did,” he said with a chuckle. He knew she wouldn’t mock him, her teasing was always gentle and from a caring place. She helped him see the humor in himself, that allowed him to relax for at least a moment.“I… it’s so weird. I had no trouble telling Odalia Blight how I felt about you.Titan, I loved you even when I thought you were a Blight, I considered it the closest thing you had to a flaw and even then I-.”

He looked up and saw her gentle expression was gone and now she looked stunned. Not upset, just surprised. 

“What’s wrong?” He asked, worried he had misread the situation. 

“You just… you just said you loved me.” Willow said as though letting him know he had misspoke. 

“Oh! I mean yes, I did,” he tried to save face. “I did say that because… well… it’s not totally untrue. I mean I was researching dynamics within a friendship and found many of the aspects present in our interactions but then there were other… feelings that were slightly more advanced than ones expressed within a purely platonic relationship. And one day after you left I suppose my face was still rather flushed when a scout saw me and they accused me of being in love and I… I don’t think they were wrong?”

She knew they were young and being in love was something major and brought with more time but Titan she couldn’t deny that she loved hearing him say it. Despite his feeling causing him to be teased and confused and uneasy, he trusted her enough to share it unfiltered. 

“You mean a lot to me too,” she said, trying to balance the sentiments dancing between them. “

“Sorry if I’m talking a lot I just feel like when I don’t see you I save all the things I want to say and they just like flood out because I just feel really safe around you and I know it was only a week but I really missed you, like I miss you every time sorry if that’s weird or-.”

“It’s not weird,” she said, taking his hands in hers. “It’s definitely not weird.”

“Yeah okay,” he chuckled, trying to hide his blush as he couldn’t help but focus on how soft her hands were. “So it’s… okay? I wanted to do this right and not seeing you at Blight manor kind of threw me through a loop. I just pictured it happening a certain way.”

“How did you picture it?”

“Well, worst case scenario you turn me down because it was just something you did for your family and you secretly despise me.”

She giggled, not to make fun of him but because it seemed like an impossible scenario. “And the best case?”

“Well I… I guess this is probably better than the best case,” he said. He balled his fists at his sides and bit his lip, feeling entirely out of his element. 

“Hunter,” she began gently, finding solace in the fact that they felt out of place together. “Would you like to go on a date with me?”

“Yes,” he said, dramatically exhaling unaware he had been holding his breath in the first place. “Oh thank Titan I’m so glad you said something because I did not know where I was going with that.”

They laughed, falling into a comfort they had both missed dearly. 

“So… can we start over?” she asked. “No lies?”

“Sounds good to me, Willow,” he said, getting used to the excitement that came with saying her name now. “So since we’re being honest, do you actually have any interest in joining the emperor’s coven?”

“Not really,” she admitted, sucking her teeth. “Is that okay?”

“Well, technically I’m only supposed to socialize with potential recruits,” said Hunter, pretending to be distraught. “So it looks like I’m going to have to find a way to convince you.”

“Hmmm, that might take awhile though.”

“I’m prepared to arrange as many meetings as necessary to try and enlist you,” he declared in a new version of his ‘official’ voice. “The emperor’s coven can’t let a recruit with your potential get away so easily.”

“So what do you have in mind?”

“Well, I’d love to take you to the botanical gardens we talked about,” he said. “Perhaps one of those flyer derby matches you mentioned or that bakery I pass by on patrol.”

“I’d really like that,” she said with a smile.

“So we… have a new arrangement?” he asked, extending his hand to her before adding just because he liked saying it: “Willow?”

“It looks like we do,” she said, shaking his hand. “As long as you’re prepared to give the speech you wrote for the Blights to my dads.”

[ilguna]

☼ the little mermaid (Finnick Odair) ☼

summary; you find a mute man on the beach, and agree to take him in for the time being.

warnings; swearing,

wc; 1.7k

–

The next time one of your guards suggest you take a walk on the beach to clear your mind, you might just order them to follow you so they can see how unenjoyable you find it. You had to completely change into sandals because you knew that you wouldn’t step foot onto the sand if you kept your heels on.

They think you’re going stir crazy from being inside of the castle for so long. To be fair, you haven’t been offered many duties after you got knocked off the boat. It wasn’t your fault it happened, but with the way they’re treating you, it might as well have.

“Come on, Max.” You motion at the white and grey dog, “Let’s go back.”

He looks at you for a moment, and then begins to follow after you. When you get back to the castle, you’ve got to convince them that you truly don’t mind being inside. Otherwise they’re going to find something else for you to do. Although, you honestly wouldn’t mind tending to the garden. The flowers smell nice.

You only make it so far when Max freezes in the sand, and turns to look back at you. You raise your eyebrows, continuing past him. Your feet are beginning to cramp up from trying to keep the sandals on.

Max barks, starting in the direction you just came from. You halfway turn to watch him, and when you realize that he’s not slowing down or coming back, you let out a huff.

“Max!” You shout, starting with slow steps, “Max, come here!”

He continues barking, running away from you. You hike up the bottom of your dress to chase after the dog, scowling when the sand fights back with every step you take. Max leaves billows of sand in the air, bounding around a giant rock.

You drop your head, pushing to follow after him. You’ve already lost sight of him, you might as well go back to the castle. He’ll show up soon anyway, you’re the one that feeds him every night. He wouldn’t abandon you.

Regardless, you round the corner, huffing, eyes searching for your dog. You find him, as well as a partially naked man that’s sitting on a rock, out of reach of your pet. Max must’ve cornered him.

“Max!” You snap, finger pointed downward at your side, “Here.”

Max perks up at your tone, and immediately calms down. He drops from the rock, coming your direction to heel. You offer an apologetic smile at the man on the rock, letting the bottom of your dress down.

The man has tanned skin, golden in the sunlight. His bronze hair is curling above his eyebrow, it looks freshly washed, soft. From where you’re standing several feet away, you can see his green eyes. And as you look over him, you notice very quickly that he’s not wearing actual clothes.

There’s a white cloth around his lower half that’s being held there by a rope. 

“I’m so sorry, sir.” You press your hand to your chest, “He really has no manners.”

You stop a foot away from him, reaching up to smooth your hair down. The longer you stare, the more you realize that you recognize him. You’ve seen his face before, if you could just remember where…

“We’ve met.” You say, it’s not a question. The man nods very quickly, sitting up on the rock. “What’s your name?”

He opens his mouth to speak, and then his face falls, shaking his head.

“What is it?” You ask.

He reaches up, grabbing his throat.

“You can’t speak?” 

The man presses his lips together.

“I see.” You lace your fingers in front of you. “Well, if you’d like, I’ll take you back to the castle so we can get you cleaned up and into better clothes.” 

When you offer your hand out for him to take, he nods, slipping his hand into yours.

—

“Grim, I think it’s him.” You smooth down the front of your dress, watching the sunset’s colors across the sky. “The man I found, he’s too familiar.”

“(Y/n), we were very lucky to find you. I don’t think there was a man out there swimming around waiting for princesses to fall off boats.”

“Grim.” You warn, turning to look over your shoulder, “If I were a prince, would you be saying the same?”

“Yes, because if you were telling me a girl had saved you, I would still be asking if you’re sure you didn’t hit your head too hard.”

You make a noise, looking back at the window. “Well, if I ever do find the man who saved me, I might as well marry him.”

Grim sighs behind you.

The sound of laughter makes you turn away from the window and to the tall doorway, where you find the man you rescued with one of your handmaidens. She’s tugging on his arm, “Come on, honey. Don’t be shy.”

She’s dressed him up in a white long-sleeved shirt with buttons and black slacks. You offer a smile, raising your eyebrows.

“You look wonderful.” You tilt your head, watching the dazzling smile that crosses his face.

“Let’s get you seated.” Grim says, directing you to your chair. 

As you’re sitting, the bronze-haired man slides the chair under you properly. You turn your head, a little surprised that it’s not Grim, but you offer him a wide smile. “Thank you.”

He sits on the left side of the table, because you’re supposed to sit at the head. Grim sits across from him. He fiddles with the fork on the table, twisting it between his fingers.

“Carlotta, my dear, what’s for dinner?” Grim asks the handmaiden.

“Oh, you’re going to love it.” She smiles, “Chef’s been fixing his specialty, stuffed crab.”

“I’m sure it’ll be delicious.” You agree.

Carlotta nods, walking out of the dining room to go retrieve dinner. You turn your attention back to Grim.

“You know, (Y/n), perhaps our guest might enjoy seeing some of the sights of the kingdom.”

“It won’t be the beach.” You scoff, “If we must, I’m opting for the garden, and I’m not taking guards with me.”

“It’s completely your decision, princess. I was only going to suggest something in the way of a tour.”

“We’ll see.” You look at your guest, “Would you like a tour of the kingdom tomorrow?”

He nods, reaching out to place his hand over yours. You bat your eyelashes.

—

When Grim had suggested a tour yesterday, you didn’t think that it would be all that interesting. Especially not for you, because you live here and you’ve seen what this place has to offer a hundred times.

With your guest, it’s been different. He wants to do everything he sees, wandering on the streets, watching the puppet plays, listening to music, clapping along to a beat. You took him through the bakery, and bought him a hat to protect his eyes from the sun. 

While you were walking down one of the streets, he took your hand and twirled you, wanting to dance. He didn’t know how exactly, but after you taught him the steps to one of your favorites, he caught on very quickly. You don’t know how long you stayed there, swaying to the sound of violin music and words you couldn’t quite understand.

You decided that instead of taking him to the garden tonight, you’ll bring him to one of your favorite places. You’re surrounded by water on all sides of the castle, but if you travel far enough, the grass and trees turn into swamp. It doesn’t sound like a proper place for a princess, certainly not to Grim. The willows hanging over the water and the lily pads floating aimlessly tell you otherwise.

“Oh, I hope you know how to row a boat.” You laugh, using his hand to steady you while you step on. “Grim normally does it for me.”

Your friend nods, smiling at you. He steps into the boat next, takes a seat, and grabs the paddles without hesitating. You let your hands rest in your lap, watching the water ripple as you travel further into the area.

“I love it out here, it’s so serene.” You murmur, “I don’t have to worry about running the castle out here, or chase Max around on the beach. I can think.”

He nods.

The noises of the birds chirping are quiet but melodic. It begins with just the birds, until there’s a harmony of other creatures out there, joining the song that had already started.

Finnick watches your face carefully, leaning forward to get a leverage on the water before pushing the paddles out. 

“Did you come from a nearby kingdom?” You ask.

He tilts his head, moving his mouth to one side, allowing you to get a good look at his dimples for the first time. He nods.

“Well, if it’s not too far, then I wouldn’t mind visiting sometime.” You comb through the ends of your hair with your fingers. “If they ever let me on a boat again. Would you like to go back? I can arrange for them to take you.”

He shakes his head quickly.

“You want to stay?”

He nods again.

“That’s fine, we’ll figure it out.” You place a hand on his knee. 

He leans forward, and then sits back again.

“It’s odd, not knowing your name for this long. We don’t know what to call you.” You play with your fingers, “I could guess, but we’d be here forever.”

He nods quickly, taking your hands in his, squeezing them.

“Okay, how about David?”

He shakes his head.

“Johnathan? Eric?” You suggest.

No, that’s not his name.

While you think in silence, you hear a whisper of a name through the harmony of insects and birds.

“Finn? Finnick?” You say.

His eyebrows shoot up, a smile lighting up his face, nodding his head quickly.

“Finnick.” You breathe, “That’s a handsome name. I couldn’t imagine anything else.”

Finnick squeezes your hands, leaning forward into you, lips parted. You wish he could speak, so you’d know what’s going through his head right now. If he’s thinking about the same thing that you are. 

He moves one of his hands from yours, to reach and touch your jaw, fingers gently grazing up the side of your face. You close your eyes, letting out a breath, feeling your heart begin to beat harder in your chest.

You can feel his nose brush against the tip of yours, when the boat flips.

[zeldaelmo]

Congratulations on your two milestones!

Have fun:

“What do you mean you ate it?”

Hey B! Thank you for your prompt! This was fun. 😆 Thank you @flutefemme for betareading!

Imagine Link speed ran both games for this. He didn't do the tears quest apart from the one Impa half-dragged him into. Crack fic, kinda, takes place after the ending.

Of Rocks

Link peeks into the cooking pot and then back at Zelda who sits on a log and scribbles furiously in a notebook. He speaks up anyway; she usually gives him her attention if he keeps talking. Old habit from when he hardly got words out.

“I'll have to admit, I was a little confused earlier, you know, back with Rauru and… his wife. What did you say was her name?” He shakes his head to himself. Sometimes he thinks his memory took more damage than they thought.

“Sonia,” Zelda breathes absently and continues taking notes.

“Yeah, Sonia. Anyway, maybe you can tell me more about this Light Dragon thing.”

That makes her look up. She rubs her ink-stained fingers at each other, frowning when he underlines his words with the sign for ‘noodle’. Another old habit.

“Did it… swallow you?" he asks. "Kinda like the Calamity?”

The fire under the cooking pot pops and Zelda sighs like she always does when he brings stray animals home or weapons that are too good to be tossed away (they are!).

“You didn’t search for the geoglyphs, did you? Just like you ignored the pictures on the slate the first time. I even made them easier to find this time, they’re glowing in the dark and all.”

He narrows his eyes on her. “Zelda. You fell into the abyss when we accidentally stumbled over the mummy of the Demon King. You were gone. Poof, swallowed by golden light. So, no, I didn’t feel like searching for anything but you.”

She stares at him for a moment, but then she puts her notebook aside, and faces him fully. “The secret stone here”—she taps the golden, tear-shaped gem on her necklace—”it amplifies the powers of the wielder. It can also be used to perform a forbidden ritual that turns the wielder into a dragon who isn’t bound to the limits of time. Performing that ritual was the only way to heal the sword for you.” Her gaze searches the small clearing where they’ve set up camp on their way to Hateno. It's not far from where they fell from the sky.

Link points his thumb in the general direction behind him where the sword leans against his pack. “I got it, no worries. Didn’t forget how mad you were the last time when I rushed to the castle with a soup ladle.” He lifts the stew-covered one currently in his hand for good measure. Then, he mulls over what she said and tries to piece it together with the strange things that happened in the sky. Or realm. Might as well have been a different realm with the clouds, the hovering, and all that. He stirs the soup, watching her through his lashes. “So, the Light Dragon, that was you?”

“Yes.”

Now that answer came quicker than he had expected. “Huh.” He scratches his head. “So, the other dragons, Naydra, Dinraal, and Farore…”

“Were once priestesses who swallowed a secret stone to guard the springs eternally, yes.”

“Wait.” He leans the ladle against the brim of the pot and frowns.

“What do you mean, you ate it?”

“Well, it’s part of the ritual.” She crosses her arm in front of her, voice growing impatient.

Yes, yes, he should have tried to find more of the geo-thingies. They would probably have explained everything, but they've been through this before; he doesn't feel like dabbling when her life is on the line. And he didn't even have amnesia this time!

“So when you eat a stone that's fine but when I do it, you get mad?”

She blinks and blinks and blinks. He clicks his tongue. Seems like she has been mad at him so often that she can’t even remember it.

“Goronia,” he jogs her memory.

“Oh!” she calls and leaps up, the notebook toppling into the grass. “Oh, now that was completely different!”

“Is it now? You ate rocks, I ate rocks. Seems pretty similar to me,” Link says, unwrapping a dark clump directly in front of her eyes. His little diversionary tactic nearly works out when he drops it into the cooking pot and the whole content shifts to a dark blue, but she shakes off the urge to investigate.

“You ate the rock roast for sports. For me, there was no alternative to this measurement. I took the risk of losing myself entirely to give you a fighting chance!”

“Well, I saved diplomatic relationships with the Gorons, as you surely remember. And just for the record, it was a Rock Roast Flambé.”

“You are ridiculous and you know it.”

“Ridiculous, huh? The Princess of Hyrule causing a scandal by refusing to eat traditional food prepared especially for her? I saved your ass back then.” By now, he can’t help the grin tugging at his lips. Her eyes flash dangerously when he passes her a bowl of dark soup. "What?" He laughs. "It's true and you know it. Just admit that you're just as unhinged as I am."

"It was a sacrifice," she insists, blowing over her spoonful of blue soup. "For Hyrule. And you. Although you make me second-guess myself about the latter."

"Ah, come on. You seemed pretty happy to see me earlier although it has hardly been two weeks."

"Two we—" she starts, her spoon freezing mid-air and soup dripping back into her bowl.

"I know, I know, last time I only needed a couple of hours after I woke up. Rauru kept holding me back. Tricked me into thinking you were at the sky island."

"Well," she deadpans. "It sure felt like an eternity for me."

He knows he's missing something with the way she chuckles dryly, but she'll bring it up again later. He'll feel stupid for the things he said, then, but she says it's part of his charm, so he doesn't mind.

They eat in amicable silence, fire cracking and soup simmering. Farore buzzes in the distance, climbing the skies at her own, leisurely pace. Link's gaze follows her for a while, but then he turns back to Zelda.

"Did you chew it?!"

"Link!!!!!!"

[apollosgiftofprophecy]

can you tell me more about draco and the northern oracle 🙏 i wanted to dive more into this when i saw your post about heavenly oracles but all that came up when i searched for the dragon was ladon

Ah yes, I know why that is.

Multiple myths can correlate to the same constellation. Capricorn, for instance, could be this one legendary seagoat who was memorialized for his bravery as a constellation OR it could be a representation of Pan's escape from Typhon as a seagoat.

The Draco constellation is like this - most will say it's to symbolize Ladon, the dragon who guards Hera's golden apples, while others will say the constellation itself is the earth-dragon of Koios's oracle.

Obviously, I think we all know which one I prefer lol

and!!! um!!! maybe I can tell you more, we'll see XD

So. I am of the mind that Draco and Python both coexisted with their respective Titan counterparts - Koios and Phoebe. They both witnessed the Titan War, and while Draco retreated inside Koios's oracle and kinda shut it down to a degree to keep it from falling into the gods' hands (because remember - Draco is on Koios's side here. He would do everything he could to keep it from Olympus.), Python remained neutral with Phoebe.

That is. Until he grew greedy. And wanted Delphi's power for himself. And then got slammed by her grandson lmao

BUT THIS ISN'T ABOUT HIM :D IT'S DRACO TIME :D

I imagine Draco to be kinda an icy-blue and white dragon, resembling the north but also the sky, because that's where he and Koios get their prophecies from (and I see Python as purple & green hence the Earth and all that hehe. Colors!!!).

AH I CAN SHARE MY HEADCANON ON WHERE I THINK THE ORACLE IS AT NOW :D

so context: Koios's oracle is to the North, but not like. the North Pole. The Ancient Greeks weren't aware of such a thing - sure, they believe Koios was the Northern pillar, but not like the North Pole.

This is important to know because Hyperborea, Apollo's eternal spring vacation suit, is located just below where Koios's oracle is!

SO IF WE TAKE OUT MY MAP HERE (yes I have a map for this. i have ADHD what do you expect?)

The Underworld River Eridanos runs through Hyperborea, as seen by the 34 Gray marker on the map^

Gray marker 32 is the location of the Rhipaion Mountains, where Boreas lives. This is the southernmost border of Hyperborea!

Originally I thought Eridanos was like. the Northern border - but no! Sources say that it's the River Oceanus instead.

But the thing is. For this river to be the northern border, then that means Hyperborea takes up like. Bulgaria to Poland. Lithuania. Till it hits the Baltic Sea, at least.

(Wait. oh my gosh...that's how Freypollo happens...ohmygosh EVERYONE I'VE FIGURED IT OUT!

ahem. saves for later <-ask me about it. please.)

anyway. SO THEREFORE HYPERBOREA IS LIKE. WHERE GRAY 33 IS. BUT ALSO FROM GRAY 32 AND UP.

Apollo really just went "See this? It's all mine now." lmaooo XD

that or Boreas was a really good boyfriend <-headcanon i could share too if anybody's curious hehe

BACK TO THE ORACLE NOW.

Delphi is the center of the world to the Ancient Greeks, so if we go North, Koios's would be right about...

Koios has friends in the Norse pantheon confirmed?

guys I'm just spitballing right now. but it makes sense too.

Ancient Greece was aware of the Norse, btw! and, funnily enough, they could have mythologicalized them as...the Hyperboreans.

Freypollo happened y'all it's all right here

And I'm not making that up! It's historically agreed upon that the Hyperboreans in mythology were probably mythological avatars of the Norse! Greece rarely interacted with them, but they still knew of the other's existence. In fact, they were in a bit of awe of the Norse if memory serves correctly lol

Fascinating. Amazing how it all fits together.

Of course, remember this is just me making a crack theory about this Really Obscure Thing so there may be something out there that doesn't add up with this and if there is I Will make it Work with this but all in all, I think it does make sense?

Like seriously I just pulled this out of my head. Only the part above the cut was prewritten but the rest was pure crack theory slammed down.

As for where I think Hyperborea and Koios's Oracle are in the RRverse...

Greenland be covered in snow, yes. But remember Hyperborea is a land of Eternal Spring and would not be deterred by that lol

Plus it'll be typical RRverse shenanigans for Eternal Spring to be in a Very Snowy place lmao

I was tempted to put Koios's Oracle at The North Pole but then I was like ehhh not very accessible, is it?

I can officially say this is my second theory lol hope you enjoyed the rabbit hole :3

[amee-racle-ofmyown]

your hands have always held their own

Heist!Mark x reader | Words: 1,063 | read on AO3

Heist!Mark finally asks his partner in crime out on that date.

It was early evening and you and your heist partner sat nearly shoulder to shoulder in your shared living room. The sun hung low, just barely brushing its rays against the clouds, tinging their edges amber and yellow.

Recently, there had been a lot more of these calm afternoons where you would sit together, discussing everything and nothing, perhaps watching TV or whatever videos took both your fancy; sometimes you simply watched the sky until you felt sleepy. Occasionally one of his hands might come up to play idly with your hair (a more affectionate gesture than either of you had ever previously initiated, but you didn't really mind, and neither of you mentioned it).

'This next heist…’ he started, ‘it's supposed to set us up, pretty much for life. And it got me thinking—'

'That's dangerous,' you interrupted.

'Yeah, maybe for you,' he quipped back, eyebrows raised mockingly, but there was no malice in his voice.

'Anyway,' he continued, voice softening. 'I was thinking about the future and stuff. Like, what do we do after this? And as nice as it would be to be able to relax and just enjoy the rest of our lives without worrying about the next spot to rob, I think I would kind of miss doing these jobs with you.'

That got your full attention. He wasn't quite meeting your eyes — instead, a loose strand on his clothes was apparently very interesting — but something about his words and the gentle sincerity with which he'd spoken them took you a little off-guard.

‘...I hadn't really thought much about it. About what happens after.’ And it was true, you hadn't; nothing past the first few wild, exciting dreams that sprung to mind when reading the amount of money the pair of you were being offered for this particular artefact. No real, solid plans.

‘I think I'd miss it too,’ you continued quietly. ‘But I mean, who's to say we can't do a couple more every once in a while, just for the fun of it, y'know? We don't even have to go after anything that valuable. More like just… for old times’ sake.’ You caught his gaze and he smiled, a little fond and a little hopeful, dark eyes twinkling.

‘Yeah, cool… So, uhm,’ he averted his gaze again and you couldn't help but find his uncharacteristic hesitance and bashfulness adorable, wondering what was on his mind that was making him act this awkward.

‘So I was wondering, once this heist is over, if you'd maybe wanna go out sometime?’

‘Sure, is that it?�� you question, oblivious. (Or maybe not wanting to get ahead of yourself. Surely there's no way he meant it like that.)

Your crime partner’s head perked up, eyes wide and looking directly into yours, as if searching for something.

‘Really?’

‘Umm, yeah?’ you say, incredulous. ‘What's got you so nervous? And… surprised? We go out together all the time.’

‘No, buddy, you don't get it…’ he said, sat looking a little like a kicked puppy. The look of disappointment that crossed his face broke your heart and instantly made you regret your words.

His hands returned to fidgeting and oh, you wanted to take those hands in yours and ease the nerves from his palms, thread his fingers through your own, press your lips to his knuckles.

Mark sighed. One of his hands came to rest on his knee while the other carded through his hair. You found yourself wanting to do the same.

‘Listen…’ he began again, eyes downcast while his hand came to rest in his lap. ‘We've been friends for what feels like ages now, working together for even longer. I know we butt heads at times, I can be an idiot and you can get on my nerves but-’ Finally his eyes met yours, and the affection in them made your breath catch in your throat.

The sun was setting by now, casting a gorgeous orange glow through the room and over his features. It made his eyes appear almost golden, and it suddenly occurred to you that no shiny trinket you could steal could ever possibly be worth more than the look those eyes were giving you in this moment. You internally cringed at the thought, but you couldn't deny it was true.

‘You're really important to me,’ he said earnestly. ‘I don't always agree with you but I always trust your judgement. I probably trust you more than anyone else, to be honest. You're my best friend, and maybe I'm wrong, but I think there could be something else here? And I wanna try being more? If that's okay with you.’

‘You mean-’

‘Yeah.’ He took your hand, said your name, foregoing any of his nicknames for you. ‘I love you — I always have, as a friend, but I think I have feelings for you. So, if you reciprocate even a little, let me take you out. On a real date. And if things don't work out,’ (you didn't miss the small flicker of something sad as he added that part) ‘well, we can still work together. And we'll still be friends, right?’ he asked hopefully.

You could feel your heart thrumming wildly, from his words, the intensity of his gaze and the warmth radiating from his hand to yours.

You took his other hand, the one still atop his knee, and replied softly: ‘I'd really love that, actually. To go on a date with you, I mean.’

The smile he gave you was genuine, unlike the typical cocky. It was wide and crinkled the skin beneath his eyes. You briefly wondered whether he could feel your racing pulse through your intertwined hands.

‘Then it's agreed. After the heist.’

‘After the heist,’ you promised.

Inevitably, you would run into problems and possibly danger in your next heist, as you usually did, but you trusted Mark, and you knew you could count on him when push came to shove. You knew that you would follow him anywhere, and the two of you had a better chance of conquering any obstacles you faced if you were together, as you always had.

The sun dipped beneath the clouds, the room was warm, and things felt comfortably the same and yet like this was a turning point for the pair of you.

You were sure this heist would be one to remember.

[thousand-winters]

Do you headcanon Hunter as having any issues with food/ eating from the EC?? I’ve been projecting myself way to hard lol

It's likely he definitely has some issues with that, because frankly... his whole life there was SO bad.

Mostly I figure Belos didn't really withhold food from him or anything like that, not directly anyway, because Hunter was supposed to be an scout and then his Golden Guard, if he just doesn't give him food, Hunter is going to end up passing out and being unable to do his training and his missions. Which, you know, it's not like it was vital for Belos, but he did keep the appearances of Hunter being important to him to some degree.

Now, I say not directly because while I imagine Hunter had his meals in the mess hall or whatever the Emperor's Coven has for that, just like everyone else, he ended up not getting as many meals as he could have because he felt too committed to his duties. It's clear he didn't sleep properly already, and if he had too many responsibilities, he probably cut corners when it came to eating as well, very "oh, I think I'll be fine if I just have one meal today, this work is more important".

Also, there was the guilt factor, with Belos constantly reminding him he took him in and gave him everything he has, so every time he failed a mission or simply didn't perform to the level that was expected of him, while I personally don't think Belos would straight up go "you're not eating today" or anything like that, Belos would very much make him feel like a waste of resources. He took him in, he gave him a place, a room, food, clothes, and Hunter can't even do what's asked of him? Ultimately the guilt would have made Hunter simply decide that he has NOT earned the right to go get some food because he has obviously disappointed his uncle. I feel like it fits Belos' methods of manipulation in which ultimately he made Hunter feel like he deserved everything bad that happened to him and at some level he didn't have to punish him himself for it to work.

The one instance he could be a little bit more carefree with that, I feel, is his missions. Because Eclipse Lake also showed that those were like privileges to him, and being withdrawn from them was horrible to him, which makes sense with the extra context in Thanks to them that it was the only times he was even allowed outside of the castle. I'm basing this solely on that one box of crackers in Separate Tides, sue me, but I think he would feel that he's worthy enough during those, because the emperor has entrusted him with them, to not have to feel like he hasn't earned food.

The problem would be that anything he got that wasn't assigned rations would have to come from his own pocket, and he probably had an assigned budget for each mission, so I don't think he could constantly afford snacks and fun things anyway, so even if it was the one moment he let himself have a little treat, it wouldn't happen often.

Once he's living with Darius and Eber, this is absolutely going to come up. Maybe not right away because he also would have gotten a positive and healthy example from his friends at the Human Realm, but I could see him getting a bad grade at school or something like that and then just... deciding he can't go eat because he failed and he can't just go and waste resources when he can't even do that, right?

... So the short answer for if I think he has food/eating issues is yes.

[mystic-myrtille]

Anyway here’s a little Migration fix-it with Lukanette I wrote for @airi-p4 based on this post ☺️💙 (Airi I‘m sorry this took so long kdhskahshs)

Sorry for any grammar or spelling mistakes!

Enjoy!

Gold record stepped through the portal on the Eiffel tower, ready to capture Luka. As he threw his golden record at the guitarist, Ladybug got herself into position, ready to strike as soon as the akumatized villain would be off guard. All according to plan.

The golden record touched Luka and he immediately turned into a light blue record floating in the air.

Now's the tim-

„I love Marinette~“

Ladybug froze.

„You know, I'll tell you who I love~ The most amazing, talented and smartest girl I know~ Funny and brave as well, the most extraordinary girl~ It's Marinette, you know, I love Marinette, you know~“

Ladybug watched the record wide eyes as Luka sang... about his feelings? For her?

Luka still had feelings for her??

„Her eyes are the prettiest blue, you know, like have you seen them?“

Ladybug blinked a few times, the mission completely forgotten as her attention was now entirely on Luka's song. A song she definitely hadn‘t expected at all.

She had been sure that after their break-up, it was over between them.

They were buddies now. Really good buddies. Especially considering how he had seemingly doubled down on his support of the, as Alya had called it, „Adrinette train“, she had assumed that any sort of romantic attraction, at least on his part, must've eventually worn off. Which she would understand, honestly. She had been a complete disaster as a girlfriend, of course Luka would move on quickly, and she knew that such a pure soul deserved better. So so much better.

„M'lady?“, Chat's voice spoke through the little ear piece. „Is everything okay? What about the plan?“

„Hold on,“ Ladybug replied. Even though she was still aware that letting Vinyl Luka sing could end with their identites being exposed, but then again, his heart seemed to have other priorities she was very interested in listening to.

„She'd the sweetest and I hope she's happy forever,“ the song went on, „from the bottom of my heart, you know. She's wonderful and and hot, I hope she knows~“

Ladybug slapped a hand over he mouth to keep herself from squealing. Luka wanted nothing but for her to be happy? And to know that she's wonderful? And hot!? Nobody has ever called her hot before! The thought of Luka thinking of her as hot… yeah that definitely did things to her…

Wait, what was she thinking??

„The most extraordinary girl, clear like a musical note, you know~“

Ok, now that was just entirely unfair! As if the entire thing hadn't already caught her completely off guard, this line gave her full on deja-vu, how Luka rested his hand on her shoulder to look deep into her eyes, smiling like she was the most precious thing he had ever seen to just casually drop the most beautiful love confession she had ever heard in her life, something even Adrien couldn‘t top.

„I love her more than my guitars, you know~“

Ladybug was too captivated to register anything that wasn't Vinyl Lukas singing, that she didn't realize her partner standing next to her until he poked her. She jumped with a loud „Agh!“

„M‘lady, what‘s going on?“, he asked confused.

„What are you doing here?,“ she scuffed, „didn‘t I tell you to stay put?“

„You weren‘t reacting and I got worried, so I came to look if everything‘s okay,“ he explained in a defensive tone, „What are you doing, what happened to ‘needing to do this quick, otherwise he tells Monarch out secret identities?‘ “

Ladybug fumbled with the needle. „Uhh… oh that. Well, he hasn‘t done that yet, so… uh…“

Shit, was she still blushing? God, hopefully Chat won‘t notice…

„So what, you wanna- wait a sec…“

Chat's ears pointed to the vinyl. „Is he singins about… Marinette?“, he muttered more to himself than anyone else, his tail flipping seemingly irritated. Ladybug swallowed. Chat sounded as if he was jealous. If he got jealous and threw a tantrum in any way, they were screwed…

Then again, didn’t he reject Marinette himself not too long ago? He had no reason to care…

Expect judging by the way he narrowed his eyes at the Luka record (which was now singing about getting lost in the bluest eyes, making Ladybug‘s mind go „same“ followed by a panicked „wait what am I thinking??“), maybe he wasn‘t so unbothered by that after all.

… What was his problem with Luka's love confession?

… and more importantly why was she the complete unbothered, quite thrilled even, by Luka's love song?

„Okay, let's end this,“ Chat said, then ran.

---

Golden record inspected the Luka record with a confused look.

„Wow, that's lame,“ he noted. „Nobody in this family has any talent. I'll teleport you to spa-“

The butterfly mask appeared over his face. „No! He knows their identites, he‘ll sing them any minute now…“

„Monarch, he's been going on non-stop with compliments and love confessions for 10 minutes, I don't think-“

The mask popped up again. „He‘ll sing!“

„Oh, just give it up already, this is getting pathetic. You'll find another way!“

He was about to open the portal to space, when suddenly, he was struck to the ground, his golden record flying in the air, only for Chat Noir to yell „Cataclysm!“ and turn it into dust.

Then a swarm of small ladybugs washed over him.

---

Luka sat up on the floor, looking around confused before the events of ten minutes ago came back to him, when he had lured the akuma to the Eiffel tower. And... oh god!

Had the plan worked? He hopefully hadn‘t said anything, right? Right??

Chat Noir walked up to him, offering a hand to help the musician stand up.

„Thank you,“ Luka muttered, still feeling a little dizzy, „Did the plan work?“

„Sort of,“ Chat said with a netral expression, „We had to improvise, but we won. It's all good now.“

„So I didn‘t blabber your identities?“

„No, you did not,“ Chat replied, rolling his eyes.

Luka smiled relieved. „Ok, good.“

He turned around to Ladybug, standing a few feet away. As soon as his gaze met hers, her cheeks became as red as her superhero suit and she looked away.

„Uuhh, yeah,“ she stammered, „Y-you didn't do anything wrong, you were hot- I mean perfect. Perfect.... bait. For the akuma. Akuma bait. Yeah.“

She rubbed her neck with her hand, looking entirely too flustered. Luka found that awfully cute.

„M'Lady, are you not feeling well? Your face is red,“ Chat noted sounding a little bitter.

Ladybug fumbled with her hands. „Uh, what? But of course not, I'm perfectly fine. I've never felt better my entire life! Don't worry about me, Luka was the one who got hit by golden record!“

She slowly looked at Luka again. „How do you feel? Are you okay?“

Luka smiled. „I'm okay, thanks to you.“

She gave him a shy smile back.

„Oh you little…!“

A voice caught their attention. Oh right, they‘ve completely forgotten about Mr. Roth, who was just getting up again, looking angry. „You take right after your father, Jagged Junior. You‘re just as talentless as the rest of this talentless family!“

„Wha- you take that back!“, Ladybug exclaimed, „You wish you had just an ounce of his musical abilities, you-“

She felt a hand on her shoulder and turn around to see Luka was now standing next to her, a calm smile on his face. „Even though I appreicate you standing up for me, don‘t bother with him, it‘s no use. Really, his words don‘t hurt me.“

Ladybug met his eyes and the way he smiled at her made her lips form into a smile as she was hit by another deja-vu. From when they had stood up to him together after he had stolen their work. They did make a pretty good team, huh?

„Ahem,“ Chat brought the attention back to him. He seemed even more annoyed than before. „So yeah, the day is saved and everything's wonderful, I’ll just take care of of more thing.“

Then he walked right over to Bob Roth, grabbed the man and threw him off the plattform.

Ladybug and Luka gasped. „Chat!“

„Don‘t worry, I‘ll catch him,“ Chat said as he casually walked over to the egde of the platform, then turned around again.

„Before I go,“ he turned around one last time looking at Luka, sounding a little cocky, „cute song, but I‘m afraid that it’s not going to work out between you two. Marinette's already taken.“

Luka furrowed his brows in surprise, but before he could ask any follow-up questions, the cat hero leaped off. He hurried over to the edge of the platform, Ladybug following him, to see Chat indeed catching Bob just in time.

„What the… I can‘t believe he just threw a man off the Eiffel tower!“, Ladybug uttered in disbelief. „What is with this guy?“

„Well, at least he caught him,“ Luka said, not sure what to make of that strange situation.

He looked over to Ladybug and met her eyes. „You okay?“

Ladybug clung to the railing, opening her mouth only to close it again and advert her gaze, blushing again. Luka blinked confused. After telling her he knew her identity, he expected her to act more upset. He wasn‘t entirely sure how to interpret this reaction.

„Ladybug, I-“

„Did you mean what you just sang?“, Ladybug blurted out, immediately slapping a hand over her mouth. „S-Sorry, didn‘t mean to yell… I-I mean... uhm...“

Luka tilted his head. „Is everything okay? Did I say… or sing something weird...?“

„Not at all,“ Ladybug reassured him, still blushing, „It's just that... you said something about… well…“

Luka took a few steps in her direction, closing the distance between them and put his hand on her shoulder. „Okay, let‘s try to calm down first, shall we? So deep breaths in-“

„Oh my god, Luka,“ Ladybug exclaimed irritated, „you just casually sing a song about how I‘m hot and you love me more than you love your guitars and expect me to pretend like I‘m fine?!“

Ladybug slapped a hand over her mouth. God, why did she never think before speaking??

Luka didn‘t move. He just blinked at her, processing what she had just said, until his eyes went wide and his furious blush matched hers.

„Wha- I mean, uhm… oh, I sang that?“ he stuttered, rubbing the back of his neck. „Wow… huh, so that‘s what Chat meant earlier. Well, glad we have this mystery uncovered.“

„It doesn‘t matter what he said,“ Ladybug rolled her eyes, thinking back to Chat’s unnecessarily rude attitude from earlier. „But… Luka, is it true? Do you love me?“

There was a hopeful glimmer in her eyes and she found herself wishing that he‘d say yes. Please say yes.

Luka held her gaze for a few seconds before looking down to his shoes. „Well, the akuma did make us share what‘s in our hearts, so…“

There was a moment fo silence between them, Ladybug taking a few seconds to fully process what Luka had just admitted to. But once she did, she felt her heart beating faster. Just like back then, when he had told her how he felt for the first time. Only that this time, he didn‘t walk away right after.

„B-but that shouldn‘t matter… you‘re taken, like Chat said, and I‘m not getting in the way. You‘re happy this way and that‘s all that-“

„But am I really?“

Luka finally looked up again.

„I mean,“ she continued, „if I really was so sure, wouldn‘t I be with the supposed boy of my dreams already? Instead of constantly feeling insecure about myself and actively avoiding him? And what does it mean that me learning about another boy loving me doesn‘t make me feel upset? And instead made me doubt a decision that… actually was mostly made for me?“

Luka tilted his head. „W-what do you mean?“

Ladybug shrugged.

„Maybe I‘m not so sure after all. I was happy when you were my boyfriend back then. A different kind of happy. A… less stressful happy?“

Luka chewed on his lips. „But that didn‘t work out because I was noisy and couldn‘t handle you having secrets you didn‘t want to share. So… I don‘t know…“

Ladybug stepped closer and looked deep into his eyes. He was thrown off guard by how close she was standing to him all of a sudden and swallowed.

„You being upset about somebody lying to you doesn‘t make you a bad person, you know?“

„But I shouldn‘t have tried to reveal it either!“

„You were akumatized, Luka.“

„But I could‘ve resisted,“ he said, „and I didn‘t. And then I found out on accident and kept it from you. I messed up big time and honestly, I‘m not sure I even deserve yout trust ever again. I just… I‘m so sorry for keeping quiet about this for so long. If I just had said something sooner, I could‘ve avoided this whole thing and…“

Ladybug didn‘t reply. She‘d lie if she said she didn‘t mind at all, it did hurt a little, knowing he hasn‘t been honest with her. But…

„You had good intentions,“ she said, „and I know we both didn‘t handle the situation perfectly, but that‘s really because of reasons we had no control over. I know keeping secrets this big in a relationship can hardly work out but…“

She took his hand in hers.

„But now we know our secrets, right?“

Luka blinked a few times, then smiled a little relieved. „Y-yes, I guess we do…“

Ladybug smiled. „I want to make a confession. I‘m actually a little happy you know. And understand why we had to end things. It was never because I didn‘t like you, I did. I really did…. And I think I still do.“

Now Luka was the speechless one.

„But… Adrien…?“

Ladybug shrugged. „I don‘t know. He still holds a special place in my heart, but… I feel so stressed out all the time. He sang a song for me few days ago and I completely freaked out and maybe that‘s a sign that… we‘re not meant to be romantic with each other. With you, it‘s different. With you, I feel like… it‘s okay to be myself.“

She squeezed his hand and smiled even wider. „Just myself.“

Luka chuckled and looked away for a moment, trying to hide his blush before realizing there‘s no use and looking back at Ladybug.

„So… what now?“

„Well… if you want, we could maybe… go out sometime?“, said Ladybug, „I mean, there‘s a chance I might have to do superhero but, but…“

„We can do something spontaneous,“ Luka suggested. „And if you have to go, I‘ll wait for you. Since I know you’ll come back.“

Ladybug smiled. „That sounds lovely.“

[asmallpinkfan3]

woah woah WOAH, you write for toh too?? Didnt know thay holy cow

ANYWAYS, could i request a hunter x gn witch reader who is literally death straight up like in pib: tlw (appears to be a teenager and cannot change that, but age is immortal)

itd be funny because hunter is in his wolf phase and then he meets reader who is the embodiment of death as a wolf

maybe a little angst because reader has met every other version of hunter/caleb but is unable to take their souls to rest because of phillip :((

love ur stories stay hydrated <33

Awww poor hunter but ofc.

Also i didn’t know if you wanted romantic or platonic so I’m gonna go with platonic.

Hunter x reader who is the embodiment of death.

Song I listened to on repeat while writing this:paint it -black Rolling Stones.

Warnings: small angst of reader not being able to take hunters soul, swearing

You were always called to take souls but one stood out from the rest.

Hunter, or as known as the golden guard was not able to have his soul taken.

You saw how his brother murdered him and when you went to take his soul his body was no where to be found.

Cursing under your breath you needed to find him and his soul before something bad happens.

Soon when you found his soul it was no longer there it was made into something for evil.

“Shit this is bad”. You mumbled to yourself as the golden guard stood beside Phillip.

Even after all of the ‘deaths’ of the past golden gaurds you still desperately wanted to set his soul free instead of being trapped.

So when hunter came along and found out the truth you felt a sort of relief thinking maybe now he could be free, wether it be living this life out as someone else, not the golden guard.

You saw how him and the others connected, he seemed happier with them instead of being threatened constantly for a slight mistake.

You wanted to end belos for all the pain he cause his own brother.

So when him and the hexsquad were sent to the human realm you followed just to make sure that he was gonna be ok.

After a couple of weeks you saw how he got better and seemed much more happier.

One day you were near by watching him see and he mentioned that he liked wolves to Gus his eyes wide with sparkle.

You took the chance and walked up to him while he was in the bathroom putting a bandage on a. Cut he had got on his wrist from getting scratched from amitys cat.

“Hunter.” You got his attention and he turned at the unfamiliar voice.

His eyes widened at you, you were a wolf after all how did you know his name?

He stumbled back, “h-how do you know my name”? He asked his hands grabbing onto the sink behind him. You put your paws up.

“I’m not here to hurt you hunter”. You said, your eyes soft and a small smile.

He furrowed his brows in confusion, “then what are doing here”? He asked desperately wanting to know.

“I just wanted to talk, I’ve seen all of your previous deaths and I can never seem to collect your soul”. You explained and his eyes went wide with confusion and fear.

We’re you gonna collect his soul now? You took the silence as a shock and continued.

“I’m the embodiment of death meaning I end peoples timer of life”. You said and he slowly let go of the sink.

“And I’m not here for your soul, i promise”. You added slowly putting your paws down.

“So your a wolf that’s the embodiment of death and your not here to collect my soul and you just want to talk”? He questioned.

You nodded and he slowly walked closer to you, you gave him a small smile and ruffled his hair.

“Wait you won’t tell the others I’m a grimwalker right”? He asked panicking you shook your head.

“No they don’t even know I’m here”. He breathed a sigh of relief and heard Willow calling his name.

“Hey I think Willow needs you I’ll talk to you later”. You said and he passed by you to the bathroom doorway.

“See you around hunter”. He turned back to you and smiled.

“See you around..” he didn’t even know your name.

“Y/n or death”. You answered.

“Right see you y/n”! He yelled walking to Willow.

Ok so I genuinely didn’t know where to go for this.

[rhineposting]

If you want questions about women, then I have questions about Kikimora. What do you think of her? And isn't it strange that she was able to eavesdrop on all the conversations between Phillip and the Collector, but didn't tell anyone about it? And how did Phillip (I'M REALLY SORRY, I'M SORRY), who knows everything that happens in his castle, not notice her?

FINALLY-

I mean. Wow, I was really looking forward to someone asking about her!

As always, more below the cut.

So. I could never really put Kikimora in one box, which made her all the more fascinating to me and all the more eager to explore her psychology.

In the end, I came to a conclusion that she's a rare case of both an Unsympathetic Victim and Perpetrator at the same time, which I rarely see explored in media.

Of course, she's a different type of unsympathetic victim than Hunter from that short series of headcanons and studies, but rather similar still. She too yearned for Belos' affections and recognition, even rushing to help when he almost had another one of his outbursts. She abandoned her family for a position possibly closer to him (and she's already high up, even above Lilith) but most importantly...She was jealous of Hunter.

While being actively aware of the abuse he endured behind closed doors. While knowing what happened to previous Golden Guards, and possibly the plans regarding the Day of Unity.

Yet she still wanted to be as close to Belos as possible, and nothing besides being told to go die by the object of her adoration changed her mind. To me, it seems like Kikimora projected some sort of relationship (is that the right word) onto Belos, and I still can't figure out just what kind of relationship.

Ruler and his right hand?

Closest confidant?

Devil on the shoulder and the listener?

There's also a small possibility for that loyalty to be underlaid with something else entirely, but I'm not certain if I'm equipped to talk about it. Sometime ago, someone in my notes made a somewhat distasteful joke about Kikimora's situation in reply to someone else and I have been thinking about it since.

Then, there's also the perpetrator part.

Despite her being in a cult just as much as everyone else in the Emperor's Coven, she was pretty much the Chief cultist, without doubt verbally abusing scouts working for her at every occasion. On top of that, when in Agony of a Witch she saw Lilith returning from the Owl House, she seemed entertained by the possibility of her meeting with the Emperor going wrong and rubbed it in her face.

There's also the Hunter situation. Again, she knew everything. And she still tried her best to make his life worse. She still chose to bring him back to Belos.

Even though she's clearly a victim of propaganda and manipulation, that doesn't stop her from being both complicit and a perpetrator of abuse directed at others. A walking contradiction, which makes her all the more interesting to me. Is she an opportunist or a naïve fool who thought she could befriend the owner of the boot at her throat?

Guess we'll never know.

Now, as for why she didn't tell anyone about the Collector, I can think of three reasons.

Her loyalty to Belos, rooted in the belief that he above all else knew what was right and what was not.

That knowledge being exclusive to her could have proved useful later, babbling it out would have done her no good. Of course she didn't get to use it, but anyways.

No one would believe her that the Emperor keeps a child god from outer space in his workshop. Just writing that feels absurd.

As for how Belos supposedly didn't know...I think that's not actually the case.

In the Eclipse Lake episode, his one line of dialogue about Kikimora having her little schemes implies that he knew she was around and eavesdropping, on top of that planning on getting higher up the hierarchy. However, confronting her about it could have possibly deprived him of an important resource if she decided to desert or rebel, so he played along.

Right up until he didn't need her anymore, as she was supposed to be dying in the next few minutes. That would be the most logical and efficient way to go about it, I think.

As for my personal opinion of her, I want to throw her at a wall and put her brain until a microscope. I want to know and understand her thought processes so, so badly.

Final rating would be 7.5/10 as there's still very little to go off.

Thank you for asking.

ALSO I'M STILL NOT A THERAPIST OR A LICENSED PROFESSIONAL IN PSYCHOLOGY OF ANY KIND!!!!

[justafairytailofinnocence]

Of Gods and Queens🐍👑

Loki x fem reader

Chapter 3

Previous chapters :

chapter 1

Chapter 2

Commission from @kitxel-draws

Synopsis: Loki, the god of mischief, has brought chaos to new york. What happens when he meets a particular interesting human? Love? Havoc? or rather--amusement.

Warnings: swearing

--------

The young woman was dragged away with the Chitauri firmly grasping each side of her arm. It was a living nightmare; the dirt mixed with the blood and grime stained the golden marble floors of the palace. She felt like a peasant in some medieval castle that wouldn’t give her pardon for her freedom. Each step she took echoed through the unknown chamber’s staircase. She didn't know where they were taking her, she didn’t know; all that mattered was to keep her guard up as she prepared for the worst. Will she die in a fire? Be tossed in a den filled with lions? Be forced to fight a god that will demolish her? Or, become a toy for the god of mischiefs amusement. The last thought seemed promising. The distance of each step seemed to drag out longer and longer, and she wondered what the damn snake was thinking about; was it glory? Vengeance? Power? Oh, it was so obvious; it was all three. Only one question plagued y/n’s mind— ‘Why keep her alive’—she held no power nor authority on Asgard. Loki could’ve quickly taken one of the “heroes” as his captive since they are far more reliable than a mortal. Why go through all the effort to keep y/n alive? What could she offer that others couldn’t?

Loki had a goal, a plan to keep the Midgardian heroes at bay; the young woman was mortal, a civilian they couldn’t kill. It was against their values and morals to endanger anyone innocent, and for the woman, she was innocent enough. She just needed to be alive, unharmed, and untouched. So, he’ll play by their rules until he wins the game of heroes and gods.

The Chitauri had stopped outside an entrance; the inside seemed too beautiful to be true. The waters were clear, and steam emitted from the surface. The ponds inside were large and round; the tubs were coated in gold. To the side of the large tubs were statues of women wearing light fabric drapes pouring water from vases into the pond. The walls, floors and steps leading to the ponds were also covered in gold. This place seemed too magnificent; even for someone as plain as y/n made her feel like a mystical being. “Is this how I die?” she thought “, drowned by the hands of some ancient bastard”.

The force she felt while gripped by the Chitauri wasn’t by their strength but by another. One that couldn’t be seen or felt.

“Undress, girl”, The voice commanded.

“What?” Y/n questioned.

Y/n was confused. Did he command her to undress, to get naked? Y/n lightly blushed; she wanted to punch the seeming pervert and tell him to watch his words. She felt prepared for everything but not in a pleasurable way. The weird thing is that he didn’t seem interested in that kind of thing.

Y/n felt a strong force holding her back release; her hair loosened, and the pressure holding at her throat released. Her body felt like a weight of bricks; she came crashing down onto the ground; it reminded her of the feeling of getting pins and needles after an hour and not being able to walk.

“Was that my doing? I don’t seem to remember omitting any force to my movements,” Loki thought.

He brushed off the thought and demanded once more firmly. “Undress; your wounds cannot be attended to with all that filth and grime. By the gods, I will not allow my human shield to be rendered useless. Now undress.”

“Fuck—You—” She was in pain; her body felt agonizing, and every movement she made, made it worse. However, her spirit wasn’t weakened; her fight was over. She refused to back down even at the oddest of requests. She’ll keep going until she wins.

His game.

Anyways that's all I have for now:

Ta Ta ✨

[bloodgulchblog]

Armor by John Steakley pt 3 (end)

Actually wait, no, I have a promise to fulfill.

I finished Armor. Let's talk about it.

The final sections of Armor cover what happened to Felix back on the planet Banshee, and then what happens on the planet Sanction with Jack Crow, the Fleet's project director Hollis "Holly" Ware, Lewis the drunk planet owner, and Borglyn the space pirate come to collect.

The no-more-spoilers review is: if you liked the sound of Steakley's man-punches-space-bug action and enjoy some melodramatic manpain, you might have fun. Just feel free to skim liberally over the Jack Crow sections. It's not like, amazing, but the ending was fun enough for me that it made the whole thing maybe worth it.

Now that I know what does and does not matter, I'll backpedal a little.

In the first section with Felix, he met a female Scout named Forest who turned out to be the second best armor operator in the entire fleet, as determined by the powered armor Olympics. (Which are, apparently, a thing.)

During this section, he came to learn about how the man who bested Forest (Nathan Kent) is treated as an ornamental hero by Fleet: He's the best there is at using armor, but he's never been sent on a combat drop because his job is entirely to be shown off for PR.

Also, Forest loved him.

Forest dies.

After we limp our way through Jack Crow's long section, we return to Felix as he has gone through combat drop after combat drop.

Eventually, Fleet decides to establish a research base on Banshee. Nathan Kent is even sent out to participate in combat for PR because it is finally deemed safe, the Fleet thinks they understand how the ants work on Banshee and how to build up an impenetrable fortress that makes operating on the planet so much safer.

Felix is actually, through the force of having other people around him and nothing going horrifyingly wrong for five minutes, temporarily coaxed into feeling more like a human being.

He even finally breaks it to Kent what happened to Forest, which fucks Kent up emotionally because Kent feels responsible for her death.

Anyway.

The ants fuck everything up. But that's not as important as what happens later.

Felix's 21st combat drop isn't even a real combat drop. He's actually there to babysit a visiting dignitary who has used his vast wealth and influence to get Fleet to include him for idk, some kind of warrior honor dignity reasons probably: The Masao. He's extremely wealthy. He shows up with a personal guard. They give him golden armor, and a fake milk run to go do in the Banshee desert that will almost certainly not endanger him for real.

Felix, being their best fighter, is of course there for security purposes just in case.

This is all according to the Masao's plan.

The Masao is known to Felix as his childhood friend Allie, back when Felix was growing up special on his own very wealthy and important planet, Golden. Felix was supposed to become First Guardian, which is the beloved leader position for the whole of Golden.

Allie asks Felix what the fuck he's doing out here, and pretty quickly figures out the extent of how bad Felix has buried himself in the antwar.

Felix, it turns out, abandoned his people and his planet after his wife, who was named Angel, died and he blamed the people of Golden for failing to protect her.

It almost seems like things are going to work out for Felix. His friend's understanding and sympathy (and calling him out a bit) revive him, and Allie and Felix start making tentative plans re: what Felix is going to do after he gets out of this war.

.......Then, of course, when they're about to transport back to the ship, the ants attack them and Allie is killed.

Back on the ship, a grieving Felix is approached and apparently attacked by Nathan Kent (???).

The recording ends there.

Jack Crow, Holly, and Lya on Sanction headscratch over the ending of the recording, convinced that Nathan Kent killed Felix?

But they also have much bigger problems because soon enough, the space pirate that Jack was cutting a deal with (Borglyn) is ready to come collect the power cell he was scheming to get.

But actually, unbeknownst to Jack, his plan is bigger than that. Borglyn intends to take the whole planet. Nobody told Jack, and Jack was too stupid to figure it out apparently.

This results in a standoff between Borglyn aboard his ship threatening Holly down in the Dome headquarters. Holly won't come out, so Jack goes in to try to convince him in order to save his life. They both end up trying to last stand against Borglyn and his pirates.

Then.... something weird happens.

Lewis, you know, the drunk fisherman who supposedly owns this planet, shows up??? Through everything????

....And he goes to the black Scout suit they've been reading memories from, opens it up, and climbs inside.

SHOCKING REVEAL: IT'S ACTUALLY FELIX

They have A Moment with Felix, whose memories have changed their lives, and everyone's like fuck, okay, we have so much we need to talk about later. But for now, they do get one detail:

Nathan Kent did not kill Felix. Nathan Kent popped him out of his armor (that's why the recording ended) and threw him onto the little ship that Allie had brought as a gift for him, and remotely programmed it to fly Felix out here away from the war so that Fleet couldn't find him.

Fleet executed him for it.

Mystery solved.

Felix proceeds to fuck up Borglyn's entire heavily armed pirate crew so badly the big (also heavily armed) stolen spaceship has to flee, but not before Felix gets a grip on it.

The last anyone sees of Felix is him deteriminedly punching his way up the side of the stolen ship to go after Borglyn.

Epilogue: Holly and his girlfriend Lya are married with kids, Jack Crow and Karen the administrator are still miserable bastards that fuck one another, and the people from Golden have sent investigators looking for Felix because they refuse to believe he's dead. See, a body was never recovered.

Jack Crow wonders if he's still out there.

Fin.

ANYWAY....

The end made this for me, I was finally having fun by the time it was over. Felix is a Very Special Boy and you know what? Sure, I can roll with that. Making jokes about how obviously Felix/Allie was real for five minutes was some of the most fun I've had all week.

Armor wants to be smarter than it is, the psychology it has cooked up for Felix is kind of bonkers to the point where it distracts me, but like. I respect that it tried.

It's not high art, but it very much fits into the overall shape of military scifi as a genre and I have read multiple stories that feel like its descendents.

....I also have an anthology of power armor short stories that is dedicated to John Steakley. I'll let you guys know if/when I get around to those.

[wiinestories]

Polly couldn’t help but chuckle softly at Beck’s playful self-deprecation, the way he stumbled over his words yet managed to make her feel seen and heard. There was something disarming about him—his golden retriever energy, as she'd come to think of it, with his earnest attempts to charm and his clear enthusiasm for life. He wasn’t perfect, but that was part of what made him endearing. The way he listened, really listened, was refreshing. "Did you stutter?" she teased lightly, raising an eyebrow as she swirled the wine in her glass. "No, you didn’t. You just caught me off guard, that’s all. I’m not used to being called breathtaking." She allowed herself a small smile, one that didn’t quite reach her eyes but showed she appreciated the sentiment.

When he called her a busybody, she couldn’t help but laugh, a sound that came more freely than she expected. "I’ll give you that one," she said, her gaze softening a bit. "I do like to keep busy. Sitting still’s never been my thing, and if I’m not moving, I feel like I’m wasting time." She shook her head, still smiling at his flustered attempt to explain himself. "And don’t worry, I’ve heard worse. At least you didn’t call me a control freak—though I wouldn’t argue with that either." In some way, she did like to keep things under her control to avoid her anxiety from showing. The conversation shifted as he brought up destiny, and her expression turned thoughtful, her fingers tracing the rim of her glass. "Destiny, huh?" she repeated, her voice softer now. "I don’t know if I believe in it, not in the traditional sense anyway. I think we make our own choices, and sometimes, we just end up where we’re supposed to be."

She paused, looking at him with a hint of curiosity. "As for you being in that club… maybe it was meant to be, maybe not. But you’re here now, and that counts for something, doesn’t it?" There was a flicker of something in her eyes—an awareness that Beck, for all his warmth and charm, had layers she hadn’t yet uncovered. Part of her wasn’t sure if she wanted to. "Besides," she added with a small smirk, "if destiny brought you to that club, who’s to say it wasn’t also supposed to bring me there too?" Polly tilted her head slightly, studying Beck with a quiet curiosity as he spoke. There was something in his voice, a subtle edge beneath the warmth, that hinted at the distance he kept, the walls he carefully maintained. His words about walking alone echoed in her mind, though he hadn’t said them aloud — it was something she could see in him, the guardedness of someone who’d long accepted solitude as a necessary part of their life. She could understand the depth of it given her own experiences and how she'd been left on her own ever since she turned eighteen.

Still, when he said he liked the idea of finding her, a soft blush touched her cheeks. She wasn’t easily swayed by flattery, but there was something different about the way he said it. Something that made her feel like he meant it, even if he was still holding parts of himself back. "Carving your own path… I get that," she said, her voice thoughtful, images of what she endured crossing her mind. "I’ve always felt the same way. I’ve never been one to sit around waiting for fate to hand me what I want. You’ve got to make things happen for yourself." Her smile softened, and for a moment, she let herself believe in the possibility he was offering, even if she sensed he wasn’t the kind of man to truly settle down or let anyone in fully. When he mentioned her smile, though, her eyes met his, and something in his gaze made her heart skip. "Well, you seem to have a way of bringing it out," she replied, her voice light but sincere. "I don’t smile like that for just anyone, you know."

Beck was a good listener, that was part of his charm , the way he could cold eye contact and nod his head, the way he could show he was truly listening and not pretending to care with fake nods of acknowledgement. Part of that was down to training, another part of it was heavily down to the fact he really did care to hear what she had to say. He could've listened to her talk endlessly. "Did I stutter?" he questioned. "I said breathtaking because I meant breathtaking Polly! Sure, I've met women in my lifetime, plenty of pretty women, beautiful women but breathtaking? Well, they're more rare, and you're one of the first breathtaking women I've ever had the nerve to even say hello to."

"A busy body." he stated, listening to her say that she liked to be doing something, moving, then he waved his hand. "Not like- I mean in the, have to be doing something sense! See this is probably why breathtaking women don't talk to me, I put my foot in it really quick." he had a polished act really, of being loveable, likeable, of being someone that you'd cherish in your life when in fact.. he wasn't really those things. He was a golden retriever dealing with the energy he couldn't get rid of normally by playing games, but he was still very much the loveable golden retriever.

Australia. That was a good place to start, he could do some digging with that, a name and a location could get him quite far and all he'd had to do, was talk a little.. and listen a little bit more. His smile grew, smiling to her when his wine was poured. Inwardly it was a success, he could start to dig on Andrew, find out snippets, wind the path and build a case against the man. It didn't matter how nice he might be on the surface, the mask he chose to present.. Beck knew all about the mask being presented and how it was never the same as the person wearing it. "So you're a big believer in destiny then? Do you think I was meant to end up in that club?" He wondered what she might say, the day when he had a case and took the mask off on who he really was, would it still be something that was meant to be then? Would it be the same level of acceptance?

Beck wasn't sure really, if he liked the idea of how she'd look at him when that day came, but he'd find a way to deal with it. Part of being an undercover detective was accepting that no matter what path you walk, you'll walk t alone... and he'd come to accept that long ago. Alone was fine with him. Alone meant there was no room for disappointment, nobody could abandon you or change career, you couldn't lose a partner if you just choose to remain doing the job alone, you didn't have another life in your hands, another back to watch, a responsibility weighing on your shoulders. "I like the idea that I was meant to find you, I'm not sure how much I believe in destiny.. I think I like to believe that we carve our of path, that's not to say I don't admire what you believe." he paused, his eyes lowering down to her smile. He wanted to commit her smile as it was right now to memory. "I do love seeing you smile like that, Polly."

[yandere-chocolate]

Yandere Hunter the golden guard x Reader Headcannons ~(Romantic)~

(Someone wanted more yan! Hunter/Golden Guard stories & now this exists,

Are you proud, @agoldenbaby ? ARE YOU?!-

Extra note: if you want me to remove your name from this ✨garbage blog✨, just ask me.)

(Anyway, sorry for all the misspellings/bad grammar, I can be pretty bad at English-)

This golden dummy doesn’t know how to express his feelings at first. At all. He’s never had such strong feelings before…ever.

As a result of this, Hunter may seem awkward & distant. He doesn’t want to be, but he’s just just so unsure if you’ll like the real him! What should he hide? What should he let you see? What should he do, he doesn’t want to lose you!

After awhile of being friends with you, Hunter calms down, slowly learning that he can trust you to accept the real him, flaws & all.

Oh, but the golden guard had already embarrassed himself multiple times trying to find out what kind of person you were into. He has learned not to trust Edric’s & Emira’s advice-

(Not really Hcs, but I wanted to give examples:)

To name some situations where this may happen: The golden guard was nervous & desprate to impress you when Edric gives him some advice! The young Blight told Hunter that he should use his title & power to impress you! This resulted in the golden guard bragging about the Emperor’s Coven & his position in it to you for about 3 days straight. Needless to say, that didn’t really work as he intended it to.

The other time was when this poor lovesick boy got some advice from Emira, who told the golden guard to simply show off his knowledge about certain topics, especially ones you liked! Normally this would be good advice, however Hunter took this in a more black-&-white context, bragging about knowing oh-so-much about topics & things he had absolutely 0 knowledge about, inevitably embarrassing himself in the end. Hearing him excitedly go on & on about topics he loved/found fascinating was cute, though.

(Now back to your scheduled hcs.)

After realizing he could trust you, his obsession subsided a little…before getting much, much worse. Hunter began doing reckless things to protect you, refusing to leave your side no matter what, even if it meant lethal consequences.

Hunter keeps photos of you around his room, mostly for emotional support. He knows deep down that it’s not right, but…you’re just so lovely. He can barely believe someone like you even exists, much less even breath in his direction.

Oh yeah, that’s another thing, I’d like to think that this man is so used to being manipulated & lied to that he can barely believe how much you give him…how genuine it is, too.

You could just buy him ice cream during one of your hangouts & the golden guard thinks it’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for him.

I’d also like to think that Hunter often vents to Flapjack about how pretty you are.

Seriously, it’s all praise.

For the most part, Hunter doesn’t enjoy killing others, it’s almost always just bluffing. Unless it’s someone who hurt you…then it’s straight to the conformitormium.

Hunter often plays pretend & writes down you guys dating, or getting married, or whatever he’s in the mood for. Whenever he’s sad, he reads it & feel better, now having hope of his fiction being a reality.

On a note involving his interests in certain topics, he constantly gushes about them to you because you listen to him! You make him actually feel valuable!

Though, after you came into his life…Hunter suddenly gained a new interest in romance.

•Darius is not happy he has to explain to Hunter, a 16-year-old, about love & dating.

[zoeykallus]

Imperial Crosshair x Fem!Reader Short Fic Part 2/? - My Sweet Traitor

Warnings: Hurt / Angst / Tiny bit of fluff

What Happened Before:

Imperial Crosshair x Fem!Reader Short Fic Part 1/? - My Sweet Traitor

Part 2

When you came to, things were different than you expected. You weren't in a cell on an imperial cruiser like you expected. Nor were you tied to a table or chair for a painful interrogation. You were lying in the alley, right where Crosshair had stunned you. Slowly and carefully you straightened up, brushed the sand off your robe and looked around.

Far and wide there was no one to be seen, not even ordinary passers-by. The suns in the Tatooin sky were slowly setting in the distance, bathing the sky in glorious golden and orange shades. Your chest hurt a little where the stun shot hit you.

It seemed that Crosshair had just left you lying there. You weren't sure if you were grateful or angry because he still left you stunned and lying in the dirt. But you probably should be grateful. After all, you were still free and unharmed.

"So you were unable to locate the fugitive Jedi?" asked Rampart, turning slowly.

Crosshair, standing on the other side of the huge desk, met his gaze almost defiantly as he replied, "No, sir. Not yet."

Rampart sighed softly, but then said, "I'm sure you will. Anyway, this Jedi can't leave the planet that easily. We control all spaceports and there are enough of our ships in orbit to intercept fugitives. No one leaves the planet unnoticed."

Crosshair felt a hole open up in his stomach and his chest tighten. He had made up his mind to forget you, not to think about how you were doing. But now he had seen you again and just the thought of you and that you were trapped was eating him up inside, against his will.

He wanted to do his duty. He was a soldier and a good one at that. He always carried out orders to the satisfaction of his superiors. That he had made an exception because of you angered him. But he was even more annoyed by the concern you had aroused in him. The questions and thoughts that came with it.

"Your shift is over. Purge Commander Cody will take the next shift. If she is not located by morning, you take over again."

Crosshair pulled himself together, trying not to outwardly show how much concern the Purge Commander's deployment was causing him. Cody's chip worked, he wouldn't make exceptions, and he was unfortunately damn good at what he did.

" Understood," he said simply.

Pretty soon you realized that the Empire would not let you leave the planet There were guards, patrols and roadblocks everywhere. You wondered if Crosshair was still on the planet, leading a search party.

In an abandoned cellar vault you had found refuge for the time being. Outside it was dark by now, but search parties were still running through the streets. More than before it seemed to you. You had little hope of escaping from the planet. You sat down in a corner, pulled your robe tighter around you and breathed deeply. You wanted to sleep or at least meditate, you would need the strength. But meditating with all this commotion all around you in the streets was not so easy. As soon as you opened yourself to the Force, you felt the unrest that, thanks to the Empire, seemed to have the whole planet in its grip.

When you heard sounds that seemed to be very close, you were startled out of your meditation. Someone was entering the basement stairs, you could hear the footsteps coming from behind the door. The basement was mostly empty and there was no second exit. You were trapped, cursing yourself over your choice of a hopeless hiding place.

When the door opened, however, you immediately recognized the trooper by his stature and the way he moved, despite his helmet.

"Crosshair?"

He glanced up the stairs behind him, then turned to you.

"How the hell did you find me down here? This doesn't feel like a coincidence somehow."

Crosshair growled from under his helmet, "Because it's not a coincidence".

He walked up to you and you flinched back in alarm as he reached into your robe. However, he immediately pulled his hand back out and had a very small object between his fingers.

"A bug? You put a tracker on me when I was unconscious."

Crosshair nodded and looked behind him again to the stairs leading out of the basement. Looking at you again he explained, "Just in case if I needed to find you again quickly. This case has come to pass. The whole planet is under surveillance. Purge troopers are in the streets, all because of you. You won't get out of here alive without help."

Your heart began to race. Basically you had already known that, but hearing it from his mouth, albeit distorted by his helmet, was a whole different ball game.

"So you want to help me?"

Crosshair murmured, "There's no question of wanting. Because of you, I will probably lose everything. My position in the empire, my rank as a soldier, and most likely my life."

"Then why are you doing it?" you asked quietly.

He paused for a moment, not answering immediately, only after a small sigh.

"Because my feelings for you haven't changed, even though I tried to suppress them, day after day. I thought I had it made, and then suddenly you have to come stumbling across my path again and make me realize that I'm not capable of suppressing my feelings for you."

He sounded angry but also vulnerable. You could sense fear beneath his surface. You knew he was afraid you might not make it.

"I don't want you to sacrifice yourself for me" you said softly "I don't want you to die because of me."

"If we do everything right, neither of us will die" he said firmly "Stop trying to play the martyr again, those days are over"

Crosshair threw you the bag he had with him. Before, you had only noticed it fleetingly. "Hurry up, get changed."

He turned and stared up the stairs while you hurriedly opened the bag and pulled out the uniform of a female Imperial NCO.

"How did you get the uniform?"

Crosshair said quietly, "Stole it, of course. I was looking for an officer about your size, broke open her locker and stole the uniform."

"I see," you said quietly.

Crosshair chuckled, "What did you think? That I slept with her to get the clothes? Are you jealous?"

You were glad Crosshair wasn't looking at you, because you were jealous and it was probably clear from your expression, as well as the shame that was reflected on it because of that.

"Of course not"

Crosshair chuckled again, "Well if you say so."

You hurriedly got dressed and finally told him he could turn around. Crosshair turned around, looked at you briefly and said, "I never thought I'd find this uniform sexy."

Heat rose in your ears and cheeks. As he walked toward you, your heart pounded to your throat. You wondered if he knew what effect he had on you, how even words and movements from him, without a touch, could fluster you.

He reached for the cap of your uniform and pulled it deeper into your face.

"You'll have to hide a bit. In that uniform, they won't look too closely when you're wearing it, but your face is still theoretically known to them out there. A wanted picture has been issued," he warned you, but his voice was suddenly gentle.

"We can do this," you said, looking up at him from under the brim of the cap.

Crosshair was still wearing his helmet, but you could feel the small smile underneath.

"Remember, you have to act like an Imperial officer," he reminded you before you took the stairs up.

"You mean arrogant, domineering, and condescending?"

Crosshair growled, "Yeah, pretty much like that."

Ko-Fi (If you feel like giving me some coffee)

@rintheemolion

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@misogirl828 @tech-deck

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[frauleinfunf]

Dadrius Day 2: Apologies

@sergeantsporks

Darius really didn't want to have this conversation.

There were plenty of reasons he didn't like remembering his time as a Coven Head. All the typical backstabbing and sometimes front stabbing was enough to churn most witches' stomaches.

But beyond that, he didn't like the person he was back then. So paranoid, so vicious, so cruel. True, it's not like most of the other Coven Heads were much better.

Most, anyway.

Ignoring it, though, wasn't going to make things easier for him. Even beyond the Deamonne family and his own late mentor holding him and themselves to higher standards than that, trying to push down his guilt only made it more forceful. Darius had wronged Hunter, and every single sign of trauma from that child was a reminder of it. He knew a conversation would only be the beginning of his road to his forgiveness. Hunter spent too much of his childhood trying to predict and navigate the volatile emotions of adults to not immediately offer up a forgiveness he didn't really mean. It would come up again and again as Hunter progressed in his therapy and slowly learned how to parse out his own feelings. But after what happened at the store yesterday, it needed to happen.

So, he steeled himself, and quietly knocked on Hunter's door. He heard a distracted "Open" and slowly crept in.

Aside from a small number of trinkets and a stack of books, the former guest room looked much the same it did before Hunter moved in. After a lifetime of military style quarters, he was still overwhelmed by the idea of choosing bedsheets and posters and wallpaper. So instead, Darius slowly introduced things they were able to salvage from the castle, while also occasionally sneaking in a small gift or two in with them.

The boy in question was sitting up and reluctantly placing a bookmark in the tome he'd been reading. Darius took a seat by the desk nearby.

"What's up?" he asked.

Darius took a deep breath. "I want to talk to you about yesterday."

Hunter's eyes started darting everywhere but Darius. "What's there to talk about?" he asked. "You wanted to get me a coat, I freaked out, you said sorry, we went home."

"I know I apologized yesterday, but it didn't feel like enough. I think we need to at least to talk about our time at the castle."

"Whaaaat?" Hunter laughed nervously, putting his hand behind his head. "We don't have to. We can talk about anything else. You know what Flapjack brought in this morning?"

"Hunter." Darius said, firmly. "I know this is hard for you. But I want you to know that you have done nothing wrong. May I please tell you what I wanted to say?"

Hunter went quiet and fidgeted with his hands. Whenever he did that, he still looked like the same scared little kid Belos had first brought to the castle all those years ago. A year ago, Darius had thought there was no longer anything in common between that kid and the Golden Guard.

Hunter continued to look down at his hands, but nodded.

"I...did wrong by you back then." Darius said. "When you first came to the castle, I couldn't shake how you were the spitting image of the last Golden Guard. I had no way of knowing what Belos had been doing, but I had suspicions."

Hunter's shoulders hunched, but he gave Darius no indication of stopping.

"Belos noticed my reaction, and wanted me to know I was powerless to stop him from doing whatever he pleased with you. And that made me so angry. And I couldn't understand how you could keep defending him. I told myself that is was better for you if I kept my distance, but...."

And here it was, what he'd been afraid to acknowledge for eight years.

"That wasn't any reason to behave the way I did. I knew what Belos was doing, I could've chosen not to contribute to it. But I just couldn't understand why someone who looked like my mentor wouldn't act like him. It was an unfair and unkind way to look at it, but it's still the way I saw it. Like I said yesterday, I took my anger at the situation out on you, and for that I am so, so sorry."

Hunter finally looked up, and his eyes were wet with tears.

Normally, Darius was careful when it came to touching Hunter. Between his sensory issues and most of his previous experience with physical contact being violence, it was still a lot for Hunter to take in.

Now, however, he gave into instincts and protectively wrapped his arms around Hunter. Hunter, in return, hugged back as he cried into Darius' shirt.