#but I do like wind and Wild a fair amount

[skyward-floored]

Whumptober Day 23: Shadows, “it’s gonna get me by the end of the night”

This one is kinda creepy again but. Well. That comes with the territory of dead hands...

Read on ao3

Warnings: blood, injury, uhhh lots of creepiness, being attacked by a monster in a kind of disturbing way

————————————————————

There was something in here with them.

Wild swallowed, looking around. He couldn’t say how he knew they weren’t alone, but the prickling on the back of his neck seemed to indicate a presence, one that wasn’t him or Wind. The problem was, the area itself was full of long shadows with barely a torch to fend them off with, and Wild looked nervously back at the stairs they’d recently descended.

He already wasn’t exactly the most fond of being underground, and he had a bad feeling.

“Aw man, a creepy basement,” Wind said with a groan. “Why do these places always have creepy basements?!”

“Beats me,” Wild said with an amused smile. It seemed like the complaint was mostly to hide what seemed to be Wind’s nervousness, as he was standing rather close to Wild’s side, and giving the darkness an anxious look.

“Maybe it’s a style thing,” Wild said thoughtfully. “Like, they build these or whatever, and one guy goes ‘hey you know what would be great right here? A creepy basement. Would really tie the whole dungeon together.’”

Wind laughed, and looked much less nervous as he looked out at the shadows again. Wild glanced at them as well, and squinted as his eye caught on something. Had something moved over there?

He really hoped not.

“Well, there are such things as non-creepy basements. I mean, Twilight’s basement isn’t creepy,” Wind said with a little grin, and Wild checked back into what he was saying. “Though it is full of junk. My grandma would say that’s scarier.”

Wild snorted as he and Wind began to walk into the room, feeling their way around walls, pausing to look around when they reached a torch. Wild pulled out an old branch he had and lit it, and after that, finding their way around the room was much easier.

It turned out to be what Wind said was a puzzle room, the two finding a suspicious platform, and a switch tucked in a dark corner. Pushing a block over to push it down didn’t make anything happen, but as they glanced around the area, Wild noticed some etching on the wall.

“There must be more switches we have to push,” Wind said thoughtfully. “Or else something would’ve happened.”

“There’s marks along the edge here,” Wild pointed out, pointing to four squares etched on the wall. One was filled in, and he and Wind both sighed as they realized there were three more switches to find.

“Guess we better get going.”

They continued through the shadowy maze, though as time went on and nothing jumped out at them, Wild’s uneasy feeling began to lighten. It seemed like the only thing to impede their progress was the confusing room and lack of light, and Wild was used to that. He’d done three labyrinths, after all.

No monsters appeared from the shadows to bother them as he and Wind located and pressed down two more switches, though Wild’s makeshift torch was nearly all the way burnt up by the time they found them both.

“Only one more!” Wind said cheerfully, and Wild smiled as they reached another hallway. “And that’s the only direction we haven’t gone yet, so it’s gotta be this way!”

“Good, then we can get out of here,” Wild said with another glance at the ceiling. He still didn’t like being underneath so many levels of dungeon and earth. It made him nervous.

Wind nodded, then his face took on a mischievous look.

“Race you there Wild!” he said with a grin, then before Wild could say a thing, he bolted off down the hallway and into the darkness.

“Hey— Sailor! Wait up!” Wild shouted, but Wind had already disappeared into the shadows.

Wild huffed, and bolted after him, though he did slow and peer nervously around walls and pillars. The air seemed colder this direction, a chill tricking down his spine, and Wild swallowed. The sense that they weren’t alone had gotten more intense again, and he suddenly had a very bad feeling about all of this.

“Wind? Sailor, I think we should stick together!” he called, but received no reply except for his own echo.

...Had Wind really gotten out of earshot already?

Wild sped up a little, trying to watch his steps, but also catch up to Wind. He had to be around here somewhere, this area wasn’t that big.

Or at least, not the parts they’d been to already.

Wild turned a corner and found what seemed like a wide-open space, lit by nothing but a single torch next to where he stood. Right as he took a step forward, his stick finally burnt up, and Wild gulped.

He braced himself, and moved forward into the darkness, trying to calm his thudding heart.

There hasn’t been anything in here yet. There’s probably nothing here, and it’s only my imagination because being underground sucks—

Something let out a muffled shriek.

Wild jumped and whirled towards the noise, near instantly drawing a guardian sword he had in his inventory. The sword let out just enough of a glow for him to see a little ahead, and Wild cautiously moved forward, sword held high.

The floor had turned from stone to dirt at some point, and Wild’s footsteps were near soundless as he padded across it. Something crunched under his foot, and Wild looked down, an even bigger sense of foreboding rising in his throat as he stared at the bones he’d stepped on.

“Wind?” he called softly, afraid to speak too loud.

Something grabbed his ankle.

Wild shouted in surprise as whatever it was dug in, and before he could slash at it, another grabbed his other leg and knocked him to the ground.

He got an arm up and slashed at what he could see were pale hands on horribly long arms, bloodstained nails scrabbling at his boots. Wild managed to cut away the hands, but right as he scrambled to his feet, he heard something moving, right next to him.

He turned around, and almost dropped his sword.

A pale, bulbous creature stared at him, eyes dark holes, mouth opened impossibly wide as it grinned at him with bloodstained teeth. Wild couldn’t help but let out a horrified cry as it began to slither forward, and he felt a sudden urge to be sick.

What god decided such a horrible creature should even exist?

Wild backtracked so quickly he nearly tripped over his cape, but strangely enough the creature didn’t turn to him. It veered to the side, and as Wild regained his senses enough to go after it, he saw two eyes catch the light from his sword.

He turned, and met Wind’s frantic gaze.

The sailor was being held up by multiple of the same arms that had grabbed him, a hand covering his mouth. His eyes were wide with horror, and he was scrabbling frantically at the hand over his mouth, but more arms were holding him tightly in place, and all he could do was let out a muffled cry as he saw Wild.

Wild felt a burst of anger and jumped forward, slicing at the hands, but as soon as he chopped one, another two took their place. He’d lost sight of the main body in the shadows somewhere, but he was focused solely on Wind, slicing even more frantically when he saw the blood on his shoulder.

Had that thing bitten him?

He managed to slice away most of the hands holding Wind’s body in place, and the sailor fell to the ground with a cry. But before Wild could go to him, a hand tangled itself in his cape, and Wild cried out as he fell to the dirt as well, more hands near instantly grabbing him.

They pinned him down, grasping at his face and clothes, and Wild clung desperately to his weapon. He knew if he dropped it he’d have almost no chance of getting it back.

But the hands had figured him out, and they squeezed his wrist, clawing at his hand, and Wild physically couldn’t hold onto the blade any longer. The guardian sword fell to the dirt, and Wild felt more hands come up and grab him, no matter how he struggled.

A burrowing noise sounded out, and Wild looked over in terror as the fleshy body crawled out of the dirt, that horrifyingly long neck turning in his direction.

He was it’s target now.

“Wi—!” he screamed, but then a hand covered his mouth, and all he could do was thrash in silence as the monster slithered nearer and nearer.

A hand turned his face towards it, and Wild breathed quickly through his nose, nearly gagging at the smell of decay and blood that came from the hands on his face. They tilted him up as the head of the main body drew near, lit an eerie blue by his dropped sword. Wild couldn’t help his whimper as the face leaned down, its jaws opening impossibly wide.

And then it bit down on the side of his face.

Wild screamed, the sound muffled by the hands still covering his mouth as fiery pain made his vision spotty, the feel of the monster biting down on him nothing short of horrific. The seconds seemed to stretch on endlessly as it continued to gnaw, sucking up his blood, and Wild was nearly sick as it made a particularly satisfied noise.

Somehow the fact that the monster was actively feeding on him, biting him, attacking him only to satiate some kind of awful hunger, made it twice as worse.

All he was was prey to it.

Wild let out a muffled sob as he thrashed again, but the hands only held him more firmly, a hand holding his cheek in a way that would almost have been loving from anything else. Pain and revulsion were making his head spin, and Wild squeezed his eyes shut, tears gathering in the corners.

And then he heard an angry yell.

Suddenly the pressure on his face was gone, and Wild heard another shout, catching sight of Wind throwing himself forward, his face pale but expression furious.

“Stop chewing on my brother!” The sailor screamed, then twisted himself around into a huge spin attack that Wild could barely watch. The wind it kicked up buffeted Wild’s face like a hurricane, and the hands still grasping him let go, dropping Wild to the ground with a groan.

An awful moaning sound rent the air, and Wild watched through the blood dripping down his face as Wind hit the main body of the monster once, twice, three— so many times he couldn’t keep track of the number.

But Wind finally stopped, holding a hand to his head as he stumbled, and the body of the monster fell to the ground.

Wind was suddenly at his side, grabbing his shoulder, and they watched in silence as the monster twitched slightly, then disappeared into dark smoke along with all of the arms.

For a moment, the only sound in the room was of Wind and Wild’s heavy breathing.

“I-I think... I think it’s gone,” Wind said finally, his voice shaking, and Wild gripped his arm, unsure if he or Wind was the one trembling.

“Yeah,” Wild choked out, and Wind turned to him, immediately leaning in to look at his face.

“Oh no, ohh— Wild I’m so sorry I couldn’t get to you faster,” Wind gasped, and Wild shook his head, closing his one eye as blood threatened to drip into it.

“Y-you couldn’t have...” Wild got out, and Wind turned to rifle through his bag, his movements frantic. “...Sailor?”

Wind had made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a sniffle, and Wild reached over to squeeze his hand, Wind shakily gripping it back.

Neither of them said anything for a moment, and Wind leaned up against Wild’s shoulder, Wind leaning back as they finished catching their breath.

“...That was worse then redeads,” Wind said finally, looking away, and Wild felt his eyes sting a little at the memory of the monster’s endless hands, it’s horrible main body and how it bitten down on them both...

It truly had been awful.

“I’ve never seen a redead, but based on th-the name... I don’t ever w-want to. Are they l-like... dead twice over..?” Wild asked, and Wind looked at him, eyes shiny in the light of Wild’s sword, blood still trickling down his shoulder.

Then he let out a wet laugh, and pulled out a bottle with some kind of potion in it, swiping a hand over his eyes.

“Something like that,” Wind said thickly, and Wild pressed the side of his head that wasn’t a mess against Wind’s. He breathed out, and focused on Wind’s warm skin against his, not cold, not undead, not trying to devour him.

“Thanks sailor,” he said in a wavering voice, and Wind made another noise that Wild pointedly ignored, squeezing Wind’s hand.

“Thank you too,” Wind whispered back.

[sharksssm]

I Want You (As A Bear)

On AO3 Warnings: Halsin is a bear, smut in wild shape, smut, blood, biting, injuries, no beta we die like men.

It wasn’t often you found yourself in a situation where you were so exposed, cold wind nipping at your body in places usually covered with armour, daggers usually stashed at the places on your thighs now covered with goose bumps. However, what you hoped would happen tonight wasn’t something that could be explained with the word ‘often’, and the wind was the only thing that convinced you that this could be a situation at all. Earlier, wondering through Wyrm’s Crossing, Halsin had mentioned in passing to Jaheira that he was struggling to contain his inner bear, that smells were carrying in the wind and lingering so much longer than usual. So, thinking back to that night you shared, how you had been so hesitant to embrace him as a bear, and how understanding he had been… well, you decided he should be able to have you the way he desired, as you had him. You’d been preparing for at least a tenday, trying to figure out how you would have to manoeuvre to fit him as a bear, how he’d even want you to be positioned. Eventually you’d pushed your pride down far enough to ask Astarion, who despite initially laughing at you to the point you were terrified the rest of the camp would come and ask what was going on, was taking every opportunity he could over the last few days to brainstorm (and test) as many positions he could think of, including a significant amount that you didn’t think were possible for a bear to do.

That led you to now, shivering in the forest, standing in the wind that you knew was blowing toward camp, already rubbing your thighs together, both for warmth and because the log nearby had been used by yourself and Astarion just that morning to do unspeakable things under the guise of getting berries for breakfast. You paced briefly, pushing Astarion from your mind. You were here for Halsin after all, thinking of Astarion right now, as difficult as it was, wouldn’t be fair on your lover. A twig cracked behind you, and you raised your arms to hug yourself, not afraid at all. Even without your daggers, without your armour, you had faith in the weave that ran hot and crackling through your bloodstream. Besides, not much out here could harm you, and the speak with animals spell would remain until you rested. A hand, large and calloused, wrapped itself around your waist, and you immediately relaxed into the broad chest behind you.

“My heart, what a surprise.” You inhaled through your nose, the smell of leaves, the campfire and something altogether foreign to you that you could only assume was bear invaded your senses. “And just for you, Halsin. I overheard you and Jaheira earlier… I had hoped you would find me.” There was a beautiful fondness in his eyes as you turned around, the look he always gave you. You swore you could feel your goosebumps disappear as he drank you up with his gaze. His hands enveloped your waist completely, his thumbs rubbing circles on your lower ribs, what sounded like a growl sounding low in his throat. “I did more than find you, I smelled you. Not just you, but your arousal.” He all but purred. His hand travelled down your bare stomach, fingertips just reaching the delicate hair above your sex. Your knees felt weak as he buried his face in your hair and inhaled. You can’t help but wonder what he smelled, what you smelled like when you’re ready for him like this. A stab of nervousness bursts through you - are you ready? One thing you couldn’t prepare for was the size of him. His hand faltered, could he smell that too?

“My heart, what are you thinking?” He turned you to face him, your heart in your throat at the way your neck had to strain to look up at him, and his bare chest. Gods, his chest. “I’m thinking...” you trailed off, running your hands down his chest to play with the opening of his pants, working on their undoing “… that I would like you, as a bear.” It was his turn for his breath to catch, your smaller hands finally undoing his pants and working its way into his underclothes. Your brilliant eyes caught his, seeing something different in his eyes, a primal want that you’ve only seen once, although last time he withdrew from you to fight it off. You clasped your hand around him, or as best you could anyway, and put your other hand on his face, pulling him in for a kiss finally. His mouth met yours passionately, his hands pulling you close to him as your tongues wrestled for dominance, not that it took long for you to give in to him. You would always submit to him, to your bear, your Halsin. You pushed the thoughts of possessiveness from your mind as you disconnected from him, dropping to your knees on the ground, suppressing a wince as a stray pebble made its presence known to your kneecap. Your hands gripped his waistband and pulled his pants and undergarments down, as he stepped out of them to aid you. You leaned forward, holding your eye contact, as you licked a line from his base to his tip, gathering his pre-cum on your tongue. You’d never done this to anyone before Astarion, and once Gale, not that he’d be willing to admit it to anyone but you and learned quickly that the two of them enjoyed vastly different things, so you only hoped Halsin would enjoy some of the things you learned from the two of them. You swirled your tongue around the tip, positioning your hand around the base of his cock, the gap your hand couldn’t quite cover impossibly big from this angle. Gods, he really was a huge elf. Your eyes fluttered shut as you took as much of him into your mouth as you could, a groan erupting from the naked man above you, and your sex twitched in response, a signal you were ready to be filled, though you’ve known that for a while, even if your body hadn’t caught up. You pushed him ever further into your mouth, your hands on the backs of his thighs for leverage, and set yourself a pace that you desperately hoped you could maintain with the feeling of your jaw stretching to its limit to accommodate as much of him as you could.

His hand rested in your hair as his breathing picked up, and you held his thighs as hard as you could pulling him into you. You could feel his muscles tense, as though holding back, and he twitched in his mouth. You recalled Astarion’s voice in your mind, when you were with Gale. “Squeeze him right at the base, don’t let him let go yet. You’re in charge here.” You pulled off Halsin’s cock, a wet pop and a string of saliva leading to his cock making your hole clench as your grip tightened around the base of his cock. He gasped, his hips twitching towards you and his eyes opening and immediately looking at you, surprise all over his expression. “I want you to let go inside of me, my love.” Halsin dropped to his knees before you, pulling you onto his lap, your legs falling either side of his hips. His cock nestled between your lips, pressing against your hole, his lips sought yours again and took your breath away just as you took his away only moments before. He ground himself against you, slowly and teasingly, allowing the had of his cock to catch against your hole, but never letting it inside. He pulled back, relishing in your flushed face, the way your redness spread down onto your chest. “Are you sure you want me as a bear? I know it is not most people’s preference, especially since you are so small my love.” You whimpered against him, rolling your hips for any sort of friction against your body, nodding fiercely. “I want you Halsin, all of you, all for me.” The growl erupting from his throat sent tingles through your body as he moved you off his lap, leaving you on you back in the soft dirt and grass. His body moved back, light enveloping him as hair burst from his body, his limbs and face changing in almost the blink of an eye until stood before you was a beautiful bear, all soft fur and claws. The bear stalked forward (you didn’t know bears could stalk) until it stood before you, between your legs. You quivered in anticipation, waiting for Halsin to take the lead. His forelegs bent, almost as if bowing, and before you knew it his large tongue was lapping at your hole. You gasped, trying to squirm away from him, but his large paws pressed your hips to the ground, his claws drawing the smallest pinpricks of blood from along your hip bones. You moaned as he dipped inside of you with his tongue, as though testing if you're even capable of taking him like this. You could feel yourself approaching orgasm, rapidly, as his nose nudged your clit over and over as he drank you up, his tongue alternating between thrusting inside you and teasing round your fluttering hole. You could see his cock when you looked down, animal and foreign looking, and imagining it inside you tipped you over the edge. You ground yourself into the Halsin-Bear's face as you came, the vibrations from his deep growl overstimulating your already very stimulated clit. As you came down you could hear Halsin's voice in your mind.  I want you over that log, the one with you and Astarion's scent on it. I want to drown his scent out, I want your thoughts to be of only me when you look at that log. I will have you all night until I am all you can think of, all you feel when you touch yourself, until I am the reason you cannot walk back to camp.  How could you refuse?

******* Your hips bucked against the felled log you were bent over, hands scrabbling for purchase against the cold hard ground. There was nothing to hold on to except the last remaining shreds of your sanity, and at this very moment you were thanking any god you could think of (and potentially some devils) that you had a single moment of clarity to throw your undershirt over the log to avoid splinters. You had assumed Halsin would take you the second you scrambled over the log, resting your hips on it to keep your ass in the air for him, but instead he had buried his snout back into your folds, seemingly determined to draw you to orgasm over and over. You panted and writhed as his tongue pushed against your entrance, dripping onto the forest floor as he pushed you violently towards your 4th (5th?) orgasm of the night. The coil in your stomach felt ever tight like it would never go away, and you were sure this orgasm would tear you apart, split your muscles and your entire body right down the middle. Halsin’s wet nose and fur pressed against you as he somehow harshly sucked your clit, curling your toes and eliciting desperate sounds you didn’t even know could come from your mouth. Still no orgasm came, the sweet pain pleasure of overstimulation battling against your own body to avoid the bud of nerve endings from ripping more pleasure where you had none to give. Nonetheless, Halsin placed a paw on your ass, pushing your hips down into the log and continuing his beautiful ministrations, edging you closer and closer to your breaking point, filthy things spilling from your lips in infernal every time Halsin rolled his tongue around your over-sensitive bud.

One more my beloved, and I’ll give you what you want Your entire body tensed, toes curling and legs shaking as he growled into you, slick claws running up your folds, and you could feel yourself start to break, the edges of your vision blurring. Your mind wasn’t capable of coherent thought, the only thing running through it was Halsin’s name, like a chant or a prayer, blasphemy of the highest order. He was everything, the forest, the sun, you felt the knot in your stomach tighten ever further. Your legs ached from how tight the muscles were, you felt your pussy clench and suddenly, your mind snapped. You felt so disconnected from the world as your legs shook uncontrollably, liquid gushed out of you onto Halsin’s tongue as he relentlessly fucked you with it. Raspy moans and whimpers escaped from your lips as your body went limp, your hips twitching, knocking painfully against the log in front of them lamenting how goddamn empty you were. You begged for him, no clue what language you were spilling from your lips only that it was begging for his cock, begging for him to fill you and breed you over and over until he couldn’t anymore. His tongue licked up your bare back as you brainlessly murmured your desires, your prayers to him lost in translation between his native elvish and your native infernal. His cock caught at your entrance, thick and weeping, as his paws became visible either side of your shoulder, caught in your peripheral vision as he nuzzled into the back of your neck.

Beg. You whimpered, your throat dry in anticipation and exhaustion. “Pdyiwy” you sobbed, only infernal making sense to you right now. He rocked against you, huffing into your hair and almost purring at your strangled sobs when the head rubbed against your overstimulated clit. I said beg. You squeezed your eyes shut, head dropping so your chin almost touched your chest, arms struggling to hold you up off the floor. “P-Please! I need you Halsin, fuck me.”

Halsin growled, and pushed against you, his body too animal to aim himself as he rutted against you, his cock head catching on your hole and slipping out a few times. You were too fucked out to help, as you ground yourself back into him, desperate for the stretch of him, and with a purr you connected with him finally, moving perfectly for him to slip into you. The stretch strung, his cock which was significantly above average as an elf only enhanced as a bear, but you ground down on him despite his holding back. He pulled back, and thrust back into you, your voice cracking as you groaned and tried to push yourself back onto him. “Please, don’t hold yourself back, I don’t care if it hurts.”

His breath, hot and animal on your neck, seemed to halt for a moment, before a deep, rumbling growl slipped from him and he ground his hips forward in a quick, harsh motion.  The stretch was delicious, a pricking sharp pain inside you mixed with stabs of pleasure at the blistering pace Halsin was fucking you at, never pulling out more than a few inches before slamming himself back inside you, as if he couldn’t bear to take himself from your heat for more than a few seconds. He ground against you, muzzle pressed to the back of your neck. You didn’t remember much of what you researched on bear mating to prepare for this, but you were sure that if you were another bear, he would be biting you to keep you in place. That thought rocketed straight to your sex, making you squeeze down around his cock and you could swear you felt large, terrifying teeth against your neck. The pain had all but subsided now, you subconsciously knew you’d have scrapes from the wood all over you, bruises from stones on the ground, but how could you feel any of that when all you could feel was this. Halsin’s rutting stuttered every now and then, his breath coming out in wild puffs, teeth bared now, pressing to the back of your neck. Your breathing was laboured, moans and whimpers your only sounds, words and sense long since fucked out of you. You could feel that familiar knot on your stomach, but alien this time, feeling more like Gale’s ball of weave than an impending orgasm. You were sure that this orgasm would destroy you, you’d die happy and clenching around your lover’s cock, unable to even comprehend your own demise because of how fucked out you were.

Your breath hitched as Halsin’s hips stuttered, grinding into you once, twice, and then a warmth filled you, his hips still moving to fuck his seed as deeply as he could, suddenly feeling him abruptly dismiss his wild shape while still inside you. A large calloused hand suddenly wrapped around one of your horns, pulling you off the log and onto your knees, back against his chest. Cock still inside you, his other hand found it’s way to your clit, rubbing harsh circles around it. “One more my heart, you’re so close for me.” His gruff voice whispered in your ear, your whimpers drowned out by a high-pitched noise in your ears as you catapulted before what you were sure was your blissful death. The hum in your ears drowned out Halsin’s sweet nothings, the sounds of nature around you, you felt the painful pleasure of your overstimulated sex rocket through your body. The sounds coming from you were foreign and animal, and emphasized even more as you felt the last thread of your sanity snap. Your vision blurred completely as you gushed over Halsin’s hand, your body almost convulsing as you came, his hand on your horn and you leaning on his chest the only reason you were even upright. You vaguely noticed the night sky, and someone moving your body to the water’s edge.

When you came to, Halsin was cleaning your body with a cool wet rag, smiling down at you as your eyes finally focused. “Welcome back, Art.” You looked around – it appeared you were in the same place, at the same time of day. Alive. “Halsin I-“ He shushed you, putting the rag down and running his hands through your now undone hair. The collection of delicate gold chains which usually hung from your horns were in another clean rag next to it. “You are fine my love, it was overwhelming for me too. We probably should have discussed my affinity for overstimulation beforehand.” You ran your hand down Halsin’s face, drawing him in for a kiss. “I enjoyed it very very much. I wouldn’t change a thing.” Halsin aided you in redonning your camp clothes, sneaking kisses every step of the way, checking in with you, casting a healing spell that fortunately couldn’t do anything about the ache between your legs. With what was before you, the challenges, you had no idea when you’d be able to do this again, and you wanted to remember and feel it for as long as possible. He did end up carrying you back to camp, setting you in your tent with a deep kiss goodnight, stressing your need for sleep if you were to continue your journey tomorrow. As you drifted to sleep, you felt the emptiness between your legs, rubbing your things together elicited an electric shock through your body that warned you against doing that again. You were 100% sure you wouldn’t be able to deal with someone touching your clit again for at least a tenday, if not two. Now to break that news to Astarion.

Bonus: Astarion had been waiting for Art to return all night, he was nothing if not a gossip and gods, he wanted to hear everything. But when he watched Halsin carry Art back, and Art's knees all but wobble the few steps into their tent? He needed more than gossip, he needed to tadpole that information out of Art. He started the dash across the few tents between his and Art's, confident everyone was asleep before a deep voice rang out across camp with his name. Astarion's eyes flew up to meet Halsin's, where he stood half in and half out of his tent with a smile on his face. "I may not have a tadpole, but I can show you exactly what happened anytime you want." Astarion, for once lost for words, nodded enthusiastically and silently slipped into Art's tent to the sound of Halsin's rich laughter.

[legendofmorons]

Misty! I gotta request for you! If you don’t mind taking it, ofc. Y’know how people get like, flustered or kinda giddy when getting called “sugar” or “baby” by an older black woman? Is it possible you can do a request where reader says somethin’ like that to the chain and their reaction?

I’m sending this with the little amount of confidence I got, but literally dw if you don’t wanna write this!

Reacting to being called Sugar/ Honey

Four

As soon as you call him sugar, he's blushing.

All you say is " Hey, sugar, you doing okay?"

It's mindless to throw in the nickname

Four can't describe the exact feeling but it's warm and pleasant

He really hopes you keep calling him Sugar or things to that genre

"I'm doing better than I was." Four says, because things aren't magically fixed but he feels less burdened.

Hyrule

Delighted!

He's smiling as soon as you call him 'Baby'

"You get enough sleep, baby?" You ask as you stretch your arms upwards

"Yeah." Hyrule says

He doesn't know how to ask you to keep talking to him like that. But he'd love it

He might start calling you sweet Nicknames too.

Legend

He's surprised at first.

"Are you feeling any better, sugar?" You ask as you examine his bandage.

He's a little pink.

He has no clue what to say

But he doesn't mind the nickname. He thinks he should

But he doesn't

He likes it.

He hopes if he dosen’t comment on it you'll keep doing it

Sky

He's got a grin on his face.

All you had said was, "Pass the salt, baby?"

"Sure thing, dove." Sky responds

If you get to make his heart swell turn about is fair play

He finds a way to bring it up so he can tell you he likes it

Time

"Hey baby, you're okay." Ypu soothe when he wakes from a nightmare.

He looks a little worried

He's a little confused, too.

He looks like a veteran. People don't call him baby.

Between that, the post slumber brain fog, and the warmth in his chest, he's got no response

But he likes it. It makes him feel like a real person and not a hero

Twilight

Twilight is the Most delighted

Takes it in stride though, probably the most used to such interactions

He starts calling you things like 'pumpkin' more often in retaliation

He really does love it though

Warriors

He just blinks at you when you call him sugar.

He's a whole commanding officer in the royal army

No one has ever dared to call him such things

But he actually likes it so he just pretends he didn't hear that part.

He doesn't know how to tell you he enjoyed being called sugar

But if you ask he'll be honest

He hopes you keep it up

Wild

He's laughing when you call him baby.

He thinks it's great!

But his laughter is mostly a response because he's a little surprised

He'll start trying to find you a nickname that has the same effect

Actually, he starts using the baby in his own vocabulary after a while

Wind

He thinks he should be offended when you call him sugar

He's not though

He decided you can call him that but no one else can

Probably starting trying to call you molasses so you match

[inciting-chaos-series]

j can you please make a corpse x reader where they are both publicly dating and as all internet couples do, get a fair amount of hate. but one day a specific comment gets under the readers skin so they distance themselves from corpse (lots of angst but with a good ending ?)

I'm sorry this took forever, I couldn't get my meds and went a lil crazy agh, also idk if this is any good tbh I feel bad at writing lately. Hopefully you like it though oof.

-J The Ghost

死 Requests Masterpost 死 Request Topics 死 Submit A Request 死

➢ Author: J The Ghost ➢ Pairings:  Corpse X reader | Corpse X y/n ➢ WC: ~4k ➢ Themes:  Hurt/Comfort? | Angst | Fluff | Happy Endings ➢ Warnings: Depression | Anxiety | Death Threats | Spiraling | Intrusive Thoughts | Cyberbullying? ➢ Summary: You and Corpse are publicly dating, you knew you'd get some hate, but you didn't actually think it would get to you like this...

Request: Hate Mail

You woke up from your nap to the sounds of several voices coming from the other room. He must be streaming… You thought groggily as you stretched and snuggled back into the covers enveloped in the scent of his cologne.  You pulled out your phone and checked the time, almost four… Jesus, he really had made good on his word, you didn’t even realize you could be that exhausted. As you scrolled through your socials you saw the notifications of most of his friends live streams. Sussy Sundays, of course, how did you forget? He really had taken it out of you earlier. 

You were grateful to have weekends off, allowing you to see him more than just any days you managed to get off work at a decent time, but you hated Sundays. You both took turns staying over at each other's houses and coming up with fun things to do together, but since he’d agreed to be a part of the Sussy Sundays, you had to find a way to entertain yourself. When he would stay at your house, it was easy to find things to do- dishes, laundry, and tidying up always needed done- but at his place, he mostly ordered takeout, and didn't really have enough stuff to ever accumulate messes, much less any laundry, so you were left to figure something else out. 

A few times he’d asked you to join in on games, or hangout and watch him, but if the viewers got wind that you were with him- everyone's chat would latch on and start blowing up about it. You hated the fact that you’d turn viewers' attention away from the streamers they were watching, which led to you feeling guilty for making even the slightest sounds despite both him and his ever supportive friends trying to actively involve you. 

Ever since the two of you had gone public, the internet had gone wild. In the beginning fans were pretty supportive and kind, but once Corpse started to post about you more and more, they quickly turned on you. It felt like the majority now was vehemently against the idea of your relationship. You knew that once it was public, you would get a lot of hate, but some of the comments were so hyper specific and vile- you couldn't help but be hurt. You always did your best to not read through them, or let him see when ones you did see affect you. You knew it was mostly young fans that were crushing on him and envious of you, but it all still seemed to leave you feeling drained, and anxious, an empty feeling of doom settling in with each critique. What if he saw merit in some of them? Sure most were shallow insults, but some seemed so spot on to you. 

Who even are they? They're nobody, why is he with them??

He probably felt bad- he’s just too nice…

He can do soo much better…

You weren't usually an insecure person, but it was hard to stay positive when you did kind of agree. You worked a normal job, lived an average life, and you weren't really into the world of streaming, even as a viewer. It was- at the least- confusing to understand why he would be with you over someone with a similar lifestyle, or had more in common with him. 

Tik Tok was your savior while he finished up with his friends. The algorithm only showed you the mind-numbing content you wanted to see, nothing about him or streaming at all. It was around 7:30 and you were halfway through a dinner recipe video when he finally entered his room again. 

“Have a good nap?” He smirked tiredly as he plopped down on the bed beside you. 

“So good…” You chuckled, saving the video before tossing your phone aside to snuggle up to him “How was the stream?” 

“It was fun. Everyone said to tell you hi…” He wrapped his arm around you and absently traced his fingers along your arm.

“Tell them I say hi too.” You smiled as you buried your face into his hoodie. “Your friends are so nice…” 

“Mhm… they really like you.” He chuckled. “Are you hungry yet? I'm starving…” You nodded and paused, still groggy from lying in bed. 

“Can we get pasta? I’m craving it so bad…” Your voice perked up at the thought of the recipe video.

“Of course,” he laughed at your enthused voice, “you better start getting ready though…”

“Were going out?” You looked up at him in confusion, it was rare he ever wanted to go out, especially so spontaneously. 

“Yeah why not? I mean… as long as you’re up for it?” 

“Y-Yeah, just surprised that you are…” You beamed up at him before mustering the energy to get up and get ready. You pulled your hair aside and headed to the bathroom to wash your face, peeking slightly in the mirror's reflection and catching glimpses of him changing from the bedroom. The cheeky blush across your face turned quickly to a hot embarrassment as you watched the black button-down settle across his lean shoulders. Your mind started flashing through images of all the comments deeming you unworthy of him. You turned your face away from the mirror and avoided eye-contact with yourself- knowing it would only cement those thoughts and sour your mood even more. 

You quickly brushed your teeth and headed back to the room, only to stare at the clothes you had brought in disappointment. Too loose you’ll look like a soggy cardboard box, too tight you’ll look like a shrink wrapped ham, too-

“You okay?” He chuckled from behind you as he fixed his shirt.

“Yeah… I’m fine.” You huffed out, grabbing at a random article of clothing and feeling yourself physically recoil at the thought of wearing it. 

“You don’t look fine- if you don’t wanna go out we can stay in…” He shrugged and examined your clothes with you. “You still have some other things in my closet you know… you don’t have to keep living out of your carry on bag. You can keep things here.” He laughed softly. 

“I- I know. I just… I don’t know- it's one of those days- you know?” You mustered up a small laugh. “Nothing feels right.” You shrugged it off. 

“I get it… let's just stay in.” He sat beside your clothes on the bed, offering a soft smile as he took your hands and pulled you closer .

“No, I want to go out…” You furrowed your brow a bit, irritated that you were letting it all affect you so much. “I’ll hurry up.” You pulled another few items of clothing out and headed back to the bathroom, not wanting to even think about him watching you change right now. 

You came back out after continuing to struggle through every aspect of getting ready while your mind attacked you. He sat up from scrolling his socials on the bed and quickly tucked his phone back into his pocket- a detail you wish your brain would find insignificant.

 “Ready?” He smiled and stood as you nodded. He grabbed his jacket and threw it on as you grabbed your things and started to head out with him. 

You were grateful for the comfortable silence as he drove to the restaurant, allowing you some time to try and change your mood. He’d put some softer lofi on the radio and let you silently watch as the streetlights flashed past your window. You weren't sure how he always seemed to know exactly what you needed, yet he always did. 

When you arrived at the restaurant you were surprised to hear he’d made reservations for the two of you. You couldn’t help but smile, despite the discomfort welling up that he’d chosen something more fancy than you had expected- or dressed for. 

“Wait, wait…” He hooked arm around your side, stopping you as you followed the host to the booth. He spun you into him in front of the elegant floor length mirror stood beside the entrance and pulled out his phone for a picture. You giggled at the quick cute gesture and posed with him, shutting your eyes as he snapped the pic to avoid any further mental spiraling. 

Dinner went by uneventfully, you stayed a bit more quiet as he excitedly told you about new songs he was working on, or vented about the issues holding up his new merch drop. It wasn’t entirely due to your bad mood, you loved seeing him enthuse about his passions and how animated he’d suddenly become. His whiskey toned eyes would light up and his excitement was palpable in the air, making even you more energized. It wasn’t until halfway through or so when you came back from the bathroom that things shifted. You caught sight of him looking up at you returning before tucking his phone quickly away again. 

“What’s that about?” You questioned lightheartedly with a laugh.

“Oh it’s nothing… Did you wanna get dessert?” He dismissed before swiftly changing the subject, but not before you caught a strange look on his face. 

“Okay Mr. Secretive… um, I think I’m full though.” You shrugged awkwardly as you looked down at your plate.

“You sure weren't saying that about the wine though…” He chuckled as he sipped his own glass.

“I- okay?” You rebutted, hesitating as you gave him a confused glance. “I was just trying to cure my bad mood…” You internally cringed as your voice came out more defeated and offended than you intended, seemingly proving his point that you’d had too much. It was only two glasses… am I really that bad? All that stupid pasta I kept shoving in my fat mouth absorbed it all- I don’t even feel drunk…

“Wh- no… baby I- I was just making a joke… I didn’t mean anything by it-” His face softened with concern. 

“No it’s fine… I probably have had too much- sorry.” You managed to squeak out, your face reddening with embarrassment. “Let’s just get the check…” I just want to go home now… Jesus Christ. You bit down on the inside of your lip as you heard the harsh, irritated sigh he let out. 

---

The drive back from the restaurant was insufferable, just as it had been for him to the restaurant. He wasn’t sure if even his knives could’ve cut the tension radiating from the passenger side. It was clear something happened but he didn’t know what. Before he’d gone to his office to join the stream everything was fine, but once he came back the mood had completely changed. 

“Are you- okay? Did I do something to upset you?” He asked as tentatively as he could upon getting back home. 

“N-No, I’m fine. I’m sorry I had too much to drink.” Your voice was still soft but had a bit of an edge to it. 

“I’m sorry I said that at the restaurant, I didn’t mean it like that at all. I meant it in like a- ‘it’s funny that you chose the wine over dessert…’ because I agreed- kind of way… I’m sorry baby.” He paused, taking your hands and tugging you gently closer as he kissed your forehead. “Y/n, If I did something to upset you, I wanna know, so I can fix it and make you feel better. You’ve seemed upset since I got off stream.”

“It… it’s fine, I’m just stupidly sensitive. I’m fine.” You ruined the entire night with him, great job. If he really wasn’t hiding anything on his phone earlier, he’ll surely start now. You huffed in frustration at yourself. “I should probably get home…” 

“W- Why? You always leave Monday mornings…” He asked, feeling his energy plummet as you continued to shut down. 

“I just have an early day tomorrow is all. I’m sorry…” You met his gaze, immediately wishing you hadn't as you offered a half smile to his heartbreakingly defeated expression. You pushed back the self-criticism as you went to collect your things, that could wait until you were alone in your car. He silently followed you back into his room like a kicked puppy and helped you gather your things, making your brain slew more insecurities about him wanting you gone. Once all your stuff was in your bag he walked you out to your car while you said your goodbyes. 

“Please drive safe…”

He’ll just feel guilty if something happens…

“...text me when you get home…”

He feels like he has to say that… you’re so fucking sensitive. He walks on eggshells with you.

“I love you…” 

No he doesn’t, why the fuck would he? 

The drive back home continued that way as you dissociated the entire time, only letting the tears fall once you were back inside your own house. After having a small breakdown over the bullying your brain had done, you texted him you were home before collapsing down into your bed- exhausted by it all. You were ready for any solace you could get from mindlessly scrolling your phone, though it seemed the universe had something else in mind. You opened your instagram to check messages from your friends but were promptly bombarded by a photo he’d posted of the two of you from the restaurant. He’d put some goofy angel and devil emojis over your faces that you tried to let yourself laugh at but couldn't muster at the moment. He’d captioned it ‘LOMFL 😍🥵’ that got a small smile out of you, but not without a scoff. It wasn’t really until you tapped on the comments, you felt your gut tighten. The first few were various heart emojis from Rae, Tina, and Sean- but below that it took a turn. His fans attacked everything about you, your outfit, your weight, even your personality- as if they even knew you. But it didn’t stop there, some crazed fans had gone as far as finding you somehow- despite him never tagging you- and DMing your personal account even more vile things, even death threats. You wanted to vomit. You wanted to scream and show them how awful you could really be, but mostly you wanted to make yourself stop believing them. You didn’t want any of it to be true… but you were now convinced it was. 

The next day you kept your phone completely off, even going as far as deleting all your socials before shutting it off. In the morning meeting with your boss you informed her your phone wasn’t working and email was how you should be contacted from now on, so you wouldn't even need it on for later. You went about your daily tasks at work completely numb, doing everything you could to keep yourself too busy to think. Of course, that only worked at work, at home it was entirely different. The next few days turned to weeks as you cleaned like you never had before, you rearranged furniture like you were suddenly trying to fit four Alaskan king sized beds in your home, you went to the store and meal prepped- full well knowing you’d have no appetite, you binged several of your favorite shows entirely. 

By the third week, you’d fully run out of tasks to keep the thoughts and anxiety at bay. You scrolled through Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon- finding nothing. Out of either habit or some subconscious cue about the anxiety of not texting the only person you wanted to at the moment, you opened up Youtube. You rolled your eyes and groaned softly but scrolled through the videos anyway, cringing as the recommendations of Sussy Sundays and various other videos with your boyfriend popped up. You felt incredibly guilty about not talking to him. It wasn’t like the two of you talked non-stop, or that he’d be mad, you were just sure with the way you’d left things he was likely worrying about you by now. As you continued to scroll you saw a live video pop up in your suggestions, of him. He’s live? Why is he live? He doesn’t stream anymore… You were already anxious, but after reading the title ‘we need to talk…’ you started to feel sick. You hesitantly clicked the video and his voice rang out from your TV. 

“...I really don’t give a fuck how you guys feel or what you fuckin think…” He paused, presumably reading the chat. “I know it’s not all of you… but those of you that are commenting this shit… I don’t wanna fuckin see it- I don’t everr wanna see this shit again… if you like my content but come into my chat, or friends chats, or on twitter.com or instagram and say that shit… fucking unsubscribe right now, fuck you. Get off the fucking internet, it's disgusting.” You took in a deep breath as anxiety welled up more, why was he doing this? “I’ll straight up never put out another thing ever again if this keeps happening. I know that people are always gonna be assholes, but if you’re a fan of me or whatever- and saying this fucking shit about my partner? Go fuck yourself. I don’t want your fucking support…”  

You stared at his animated figure standing in the rain blankly and opened up your laptop, starting a video call to him. You waited for a while as he went silent on stream before it was denied. Is he mad at me? It’s all my fault- fuck.

“Anyways- I just thought I’d get on here and reprimand you fucks… and to all my actual fans, being kind and supportive, thank you, and keep reporting these people- love you guys… oodles and oodles… keep being you- I’m sorry you guys had to hear this… love you.” 

 You tried again as the stream ended. Again denied. Fuck he’s pissed… Because of me he had to get on after not streaming anymore and do that- fuck… You took a deep breath and tried to not overthink. Maybe he’s just sick of your bullshit. If he was worried or he’d been trying to contact you at all, he probably would’ve answered. You fidgeted nervously at the thought. I’ll just start a new show- keep my mind off this… You shut your laptop and dejectedly threw it aside on the couch before getting up and grabbing some blankets for another night of Netflix. 

You were two episodes in when you decided to grab a snack but just as you paused the show and stood, there was a knock on the door. You looked over, and cautiously moved toward it. Peeking out the peephole you saw what looked like an outraged figure of your boyfriend standing outside. You felt icy panic run through you as you grabbed the handle and twisted, preparing yourself for the worst.

“You’re okay…” He sighed in relief as his whole body relaxed. 

“I- Y- yeah… I- I’m fine.. What are you-” You tried to play catch up, still in shock to see him at your door, let alone not yelling at you. 

“You haven’t answered your phone- for anyone- in like a month…” He seemed to pant out. “I tried to give you space and not worry too much when you weren't answering, but then you deleted your socials, and then didn’t answer Tina, or Rae… or me… I was… scared.” He paused and caught his breath. “When you video called me I panicked, I thought you were in trouble or- I- I don’t even know… I just rushed over.” He stepped in and yanked you into one of his enveloping bear hugs. You stood motionless, mostly from how tight his arms were around you, but partially from even more surprise. Here he was, yet again, proving that he knew you better than anyone- and certainly better than you knew him. The guilt of not talking to him only grew now. How could you have ever thought any awful things about the panic stricken, devoted, heart-of-fucking-gold man that was seemingly holding onto you for dear life? 

“I- I’m sorry…” You squeaked out, faltering under his obvious concern. He sighed again and released his hold but kept his hands gently on your arms. 

“Please don’t do that again… If you need space that's okay, but please just tell me… I- I didn’t know what to think- or do…” He knelt down to your level slightly, his face full of worry as he seemed to practically beg. 

“I’m sorry…” You swallowed hard, feeling your face heat as your voice wavered. 

“I-It’s okay… I- I’m not mad… I just wanted to know you’re safe- cause I worked myself into a panic not knowing- I’m sorry I just showed up out of the blue…” He took a deep breath. “If you still need space that's okay I just- I was really worried. I know I’m probably overreacting…” 

“No… I just… I don’t know-” You looked down at your feet, the guilt consuming you now as he continued to prove every horrible thought you had about him wrong. 

“Do you want to talk?” He questioned hesitantly as his mind began reeling in the same way yours had. You just nodded, looking up as he closed the door and looked back to you, eyes still full of worry. 

You moved back to the couch and curled up into the blanket, comforting yourself and trying to hold back tears of guilt over how you’d acted toward him. He slowly moved to sit by you. 

“What’s going on? A-are you upset with me?” He stuttered nervously, also anticipating the worst. You shook your head and shut your eyes as they welled up. It all felt so stupid now- but the constant harassment, death threats, and insults had done a number- and having him here, almost completely in the dark about it all but still so kind and loving was just too much all at once. 

“Oh- baby… shh come here.” He soothed melodically as he pulled you closer, wrapping his arms around you tightly again. “Please talk to me.” His voice was soft and quiet as he pressed kisses onto the top of your head. 

“I don’t wanna cry- it’s stupid…” You managed to mumble. 

“It’s not stupid- something is really bothering you… is it the comments and shit?” You nodded. 

“It’s all of it- I- I don’t know why you’re even with me…” Your voice cracked and broke. 

“Y/n, I’m with you because I’m in love with you- I wouldn’t ever let the opinions of fucking dumbass ten-year-olds with no internet supervision change or dictate that…” You cringed as you heard the offended tone in his voice. 

“I know… I just… I let my brain believe it all… and I feel shitty… and that just makes me wonder even more why- because I do shit like this- even though you’re nothing but amazing and loving to me…” You choked out between sobs. 

“You’re not shitty…” His tone softened even more as he pulled your face up. “I have no idea what it’s like to go through that, and how you can even deal with it. Most people don’t. I knew it was hard to see, and if I had any idea that you’d been this upset about it for this long I would’ve stopped it right then and there…” He kissed your forehead and wiped off your tears. “I’m so sorry baby… I should’ve known.” You shook your head. 

“I should’ve just told you… but I felt so stupid- letting it get to me- I wanted to just come home and clear my head and get over it… but then it got worse and I just I don’t know, I couldn't deal.” He pushed your hair from your face and let you continue after the sobs began to slow. “Now I just feel guilty and shitty for avoiding you- avoiding all of it, not telling you… especially when you are… like this- so nice, and understanding.” You scoffed harshly at yourself, making him chuckle.

“Don’t. It’s a pretty understandable way to react… I’m sorry honey…” He leaned in and kissed you softly. “Would it help if I pretend to be mad at you?” He joked lightly as you parted. You let out a weak but honest giggle and gave an exaggeratory nod. He laughed and tsked loudly. “I can’t believe it… how could someone so goddamn attractive, funny, kind, and lovable think that I’d be dumb enough to see any warrant to the words of fuckin dipshit kids? To think that I’m not already blindly and completely head over heels? I’m disappointed…” He mocked in a goofy tone.

“Shut up…” You laughed, wiping your face and pushing him playfully. 

“I love you dummy.” He chuckled and kissed you again. 

“I love you too, Corpsie.” 

[the-moon-files]

Aaaaa, hi!! I'm the anon who sent in the fairly recent ask with the Guide!Reader ideas (martial artist mention, Dehydrated Ganon, strength possibilities, Ganon not being able to escape from Guide!Reader's voice, etc)! I'm really glad that you liked my ideas so much!! 😊 I was so pleasantly surprised to see you expand on my discombobulated thoughts, haha! Thank you so much! ^w^ I loved reading them!!

I said that I made memes for the Guide!Reader/Space Orc concept, and now I shall deliver them >:D Firstly, I'm super sorry that I took so long to share these with you!! Life decided to kick me in the shins for a hot second 😭 And secondly, I made a LOT of images for this one,, Fair warning, this is going to take up a lot of space 😭 orz

But anyway!! Here are the text memes first:

Guide!Reader: We’re playing Scrabble. It’s a nightmare.

Wars: Scrabble? Scrabble’s great.

Guide!Reader: Not when you’re playing with Zelda, it’s not. She’s out here putting in words like “ephemeral” while I’m putting in “dog.”

☆

Guide!Reader: *pointing out Magic Powder* Legend, look, it’s the good kush!

Legend: …This is the Rupee Store, how good can it be?

☆

Ravio: Hi, welcome! Are you part of our Super Savers Shoppers Club?

Guide!Reader: No, I’m not.

Ravio: :D :) :| Oh.

☆

Legend, looking into a banged-up Water Temple: …It’s trash.

☆

Time, whenever Guide!Reader uses modern slang: We need IRL subtitles. What are you even saying.

☆

Guide!Reader: My Furby died in my arms when I was a child.

Hyrule, has no clue what a Furby is: I’m so sorry for your loss.

Guide!Reader: It wasn’t a loss. I had never felt more like a god.

☆

The Chain: *getting told off by Time*

Guide!Reader in the back: …

Guide!Reader: *starts playing the ukulele* 👁👄👁 🎸

Time: 🧍

☆

Four, talking about Guide!Reader: So, I’m interested in someone…

Dot: :D Oooh! What do they look like?

Four: *slow realisation*

Four: I don’t know

Dot: Wh

Dot: What do you mean you don’t know?

☆

Guide!Reader/Ganon, about hearing Guide!Reader every dang game: The universe has a sense of humour, and I respect the commitment to the bit, but girl please.

☆

Guide!Reader, to Link once they reunite with the Chain: Now… *puts hand on his shoulder* We’re back on our bullsh*t.

☆

Guide!Reader and Wild, meeting Sidon for the first time:

Guide!Reader: …Would.

Wild: Would what?

Guide!Reader:

Wild: (Name)? Would what?

☆

Wind: When you become famous you’re called a legend because your leg ends.

Guide!Reader: What? 

Wind: Your leg. It ends.

Guide!Reader: I’m not a linguist, but I think you’ve got it wrong.

Wind: Are you saying your leg doesn’t end?

Guide!Reader: I mean, at some point it does, yes.

Wind: Then what’s the problem?

☆

The Chain, waking up at dawn to get ready:

Guide!Reader and Sky, just trying to process being alive:

☆

Guide!Reader/Time: You need to get out of bed faster than this.

Sky, struggling: I’m giving it all he’s got, boss

☆

Guide!Reader at Ganon: Your anger amuses me. Please don’t find inner peace. Please.

☆

Guide!Reader, playing through LoZ game: *at an annoying NPC* Let me ask you a very fair question. What do you do successfully? Quickly. :|

Link, trying not to laugh:

☆

Hyrule, probably: I hate it when a recipe tells me to add two cups of onions. They don’t come in cups. They come in onions.

Guide!Reader, head in hands: Please

☆

Hyrule/Twilight, looking at two NPCs: Are they lovers?

Guide!Reader, who knows the lore: Worse.

☆

The Chain, enjoying Guide!Reader’s affections:

Legend: 🚶‍♂️🚶‍♂️🚶‍♂️

☆

Legend, defending himself from the “You like him” allegations from Wind: 🤸🤸🏃‍♂️🏃‍♂️

And now, onto the images- I hope you don't think the sheer amount of these memes is too excessive or anything!! 😭 /gen

Aaa and that's all the memes I've got! I hope you like them,,! orz

I'm also still pretty new to Tumblr, so I'm sorry if the format looks a bit weird,,

Oh, but also?? That last point you mentioned in your most recent post about the cultural differences between humans and Hylians on physical affection/touch?? I am VERY excited to see that,, 👀 👉👈 

U HAVE NO IDEA HOW IN LOVE W/UR BRAIN I AM RN

IM SO FUCKING ECSTATIC TO SEE THESE >>> ANYTHING IVE EVER WRITTEN U MADE MEMES??? FOR MY BS?????? DAOHGHOAKJSALKGFS;NDFKNDNFKJBDBFLN;

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

BLESS YOU, BEHEAMOTH SCREAMOTH MY BELOVED <3333

HAVE THAT HYLIANS V. HUMANS AFFECTION CULTURE POST HERE, THE ONLY PAYMENT I CAN THINK OF FOR THIS 😩😩 🛐 🛐 🛐

I LIED ITS TOO LONG, ITS GONNA BE A SEPERATE POST COME BACK AND PLS READ IT AS PAYMENT (but dont read the nsft/w if ur a minor)

BRO u got all the energy, and the dynamics i was pushing ilysm 🥺🫶

like the Hyrule = beloved agenda ive been pushing, bc i need more underrep links content, the way u carried the ganon eternally getting haunted by guide reader voice?? 10/10 ahdsfkhadl

AND WIND’S CONSTANT ENERGY OF A YOUNGER BROTHER LOOKIN U DEAD IN THE EYE LIKE “u kiss the homie (singular not even plural) goodnight?? Brother, that’s GAEY.”

u have no idea what this means to me, the impact, the understanding u have to have of my bs to make these, and how many posts youve read of mine?? im so sorry for ur loss w/my rough writing lmao

thats how you know youve made it tbh is if someone makes memes of smth u made, anyway day brightened, complexion clear, depression medicated, by this post

I HOPE BOTH SIDES OF UR PILLOW ARE COLD, UR PETS CUDDLE U EXTRA, U GET ALL THE GRADES/GOOD WORK SHIFTS U NEED

Peace out my beloved <3,

🌙

[dev1lm4n]

winter coat

read pt. 2 offering here!

pairing: jackson-era!joel miller x f!reader

summary: in which you gave a blowjob to trade for a winter coat back in the dark days, little do you know, that same guy is now your neighbor.

warnings: explicit (18+), details of blowjob, prostitution, unspecified age gap.

word count: 1.3k

notes: this is my first time writing a proper fic so im so sorry if i fucked things up ^^

The last time you saw that man was from a rather precarious point of view. A sight in which only a selected few could indulge in, perhaps several of his actual lovers from the old world and a line of nameless whores from the new world. You in particular fall in the nameless whores category, which sounds faintly depressing if you were to go into detail, but it's not the worst thing per say. You'd say that it's a fair trade for a winter coat.

An incredibly warm winter coat that's fucking lined with actual padding and not the shitty fraying kind either. To add on to that, it comes in a pretty periwinkle shade. Frigid temperatures, brisk winds, and snow wouldn't be as agonizing with the new addition. It's not a terrible view either, especially if you were to focus more on the little things happening all around you in contrast to the elephant in the room.

Your blown out pupils somehow managed to make out the figure that's standing in front of you, hazily focusing on one thing before searching for another to be interested in. First point of interest being the beads of sweat that's dribbling down his jugular vein, following each and every curves of his clavicle until it dipped all the way down his sun-kissed skin and onto the thick of his flannel. He's always wearing flannels. You're not sure if that's some sort of fashion choice he made or if it's just a consequence to the fucked up new world order.

Either way, your interest made it's way upwards towards the scruff patch right around his jaw. Right underneath the thin line of grimace he wore. How he bit his curved lip, sandwiching it between his canines before letting out what seems to be a deep groan. Was it of blissful pleasure or of annoyance that you weren't enveloping his cock further than he desired? You couldn't decide just yet when your glossy eyes flickered towards his eyes.

His gaze was penetrating the air all around you, if that was even possible to begin with. It's dull and tired as if he hadn't slept for days on end. Crow's feets provided what you felt was a sweet decoration on each corners of his half-lidded eyes. He's furrowing, the small wrinkles between his eyebrows and the broader ones on his forehead scrunched up just the right amount. You'd chalk up that he's a lot older than you. Probably has seen how jolly life was like before humanity went under. You were having the time of your life scrutinizing his every delectable features when you could feel yourself being pushed even further against the thick of his cock.

Enough that your nose is grazing right where his shaft ends. Enough to have you breathless and moaning against his warm tip. He's getting rougher and way more sloppy you think. The sloshing noises grew lewd and deafening. A drop of pre-cum trickled down the ends of your gaping lips, smeared onto the polyester of your lengthy shirt. Arousal steamed your vision and clouded your hearing. He was heavy against the base of your tongue, but you're not in any position to complain. Not when you're willingly kneeling for him, letting him fuck your throat with wild abandon, just for you to trade with a nice pair of winter coat.

That man is now standing in front of you once again and you're about to loose it. This time, he's only showing glimpses of his ruggedness from behind a comically large front door. His glare traveled with unnerving thoroughness. Up and down, left to right, as if deciding whether or not you're a threat to the integrity of his house. Everything in your pretty little mind is telling you to bolt out of his front doorstep. Erase the trail that you've left in the chilly white snow. Trade back the flours, eggs, and chocolate you picked up on the market. Forget you've ever thought of showing some odd version of hospitality by baking soft cookies for the new neighbors. But you stood there, frozen.

A puff of air escaped your lips as you opened it ever so slightly to come up with an excuse, to churn up every last bit of your courage to greet him. To greet Joel Miller who you used to whore yourself up to earn a few more ration cards, a few more jackets and socks, or maybe some moonshine to drown your pathetic life with.

He took a step forward, out of the shadow and into an array of orange emitted from the afternoon sun. You thought that perhaps he's decided that you're either pretty enough to entertain or dumb enough not to be a hassle. You couldn't be certain, but he sure has the same ol' grimace accentuating the bows of his lips. God. He even still had those pretty curly locks that came hand in hand with his eyes, even when it's greying on multiple ends. You could even swear that he still had on the same flannel that he used when you blow him for a winter coat. He's still.. handsome no matter how many years passed by. Your homemade cookies shook in its basket as you staggered backwards, maintaining a healthy distance that your pounding heart could tolerate.

Maybe if you rationalize this, things will start being okay. Maybe this situation isn't as bad as you think it is. Maybe.. maybe he forgot who you were. He's dealt with whores of your kind every day of the week, right? You're almost one hundred percent sure that you're not the first and definitely not the last gal to use their bodies as a currency in this fucked up apocalyptic world. So, logically speaking, he shouldn't have remembered any of their faces. He shouldn't have remembered your face.

Unfortunately for you, Joel Miller doesn't work by the logics and he's here calling you out by your real name. It rolled off his tongue like thick honey. Smoothly, but with just enough caution. He used the version that you've only told a handful of people, even when you're in the safe embrace of Jackson. The version that you don't remember telling him, but apparently you did in the midst of doing unspeakable things with him. You were aghasted. Realization hit you like a truck, but what absolutely demolished your sanity was the fact that he remembered even after all these years. He remembered the name of the whore he's fucked.

"Hi," you squeaked out. "Hello," he parroted out an equally dry greeting, almost as if he's mocking how much tension grew between the two. You swallowed the liquid bile that's piling up in your trachea, only then are you able to bring your hand forward to offer a stupid basket of cookies. Stupid because you've done little to none research on who your new neighbors was and thought that chocolate chip cookies were a good gift to a smuggler. Joel Miller was all things at once, but never a cookie guy. "I see you're still wearin' that coat." Joel reached over for the basket you've presented, craddling the stiff handle with his large calloused fingers. You knew exactly what he's talking about.

You're still wearing that damned periwinkle winter coat you traded for. The same one you've sucked his cock for like years ago. You turned pink at the thought, embarassed and mortified. It's not like you didn't get a chance to earn new winter equipments here in Jackson. It's just that nothing ever came close to how soft the padding on this damned coat is. "Yeah." You nodded. "Still warm." That's all you had to offer to him, before you trudged back hastily into your doorstep. Clumsily shutting the door close, while he continued to watch from a distance.

Curious.

[neverchecking]

I have a brain rot for sage, hes challenging the chain for their time with player/reader, he basically wants all His/Her/Them's attention, of course none of the chain and sage are going to "play" fair their going to cheat no matter what. the only ones he might not win against is time, FD and maybe twilight. wind, four, Hyrule, and sky would do sad puppy eyes to get cuddle time, twilight and legend turn into their animal form to get pettings, sage and wild would cook food to get points for being delicious. (etc.etc.) just some yandere shenanigans for attention. the challenges he did were sword fighting, bow and arrow targeting, sparing, arm wrestling, and so forth.

-Eevee

Okay, last one for the night! I figured since this isn't really a request, I could spitball some more of my headcanons for our beloved Sage.

Jk it delted itself so I gave up and went to bed bc last time I tried to push through I wasn't happy with the end product, so sorry for the delay!

For those of you who don't know, Sage is another name for the Tears of the Kingdom Link--dubbed Hero of the Zonai-- should we decide he is not in fact Wild.

For the Wild and Facesitting request, it's in progress I promise! I try to go in order with my requests, but like I said, this is more headcanons versus a scenario. It should be out tomorrow later today so look out for that ;)

ANYWAY-

Y'all. The amount of Sage requests in my inbox right now? You guys are feral for this man and I love it. So I'm here to feed you guys.

TotK spoilers below!

・❥・Okay, so lemme start this off by saying. I have done you all wrong. And for that I apologize.

・❥・Because our wonderful @wayfayrr has opened my eyes to new possibilities that I would've never even thought of. So everyone say thank you rn >:(

・❥・So let's make some amendments!

・❥・First off, let's talk about nicknames. I love the idea that Reader, and only Reader, can call him anything other than Sage. And calling him other herb-related nicknames? Kills me. He is a flushing red mess the first time it happens. You had deemed him worthy of a nickname? You considered him person enough to have a moniker that wasn't also a title? If he was down bad before, it's so much worse now. Because you see him as a person. He's sure the others just see him as a means to the end. The second one of them, maybe save Wind, try it, he's shooting them daggers and snarling at them for even daring to try and impeach your privilege. (I also love the Calm, Wild and Feral thing, I thought that was so freaking clever.)

・❥・And you know how each of the hero's have their own 'sword' right? Well, what if Sage's was the Master Sword Remastered? Like Sky's (Like most of their Master Swords actually) but now it's been boosted by ten thousand years worth of direct light magic. (Does the Zonai time fall before Skyward Sword or after? I have no idea where they fall on the timeline tbh.). Just a thought. It could also be a gloom sword which probably wouldn't effect him as hard in other timelines because there's no demon king to power it, but it probably does hurt the others if they try to touch it.

・❥・Now, the juicy part. Let's retouch on Wild's and Sage's relationship. I originally said that Sage was okay with him? I lied. Wayfayrr has opened my eyes.

・❥・Sage probably can't fucking stand Wild. As they said, this is a version of him that didn't have this second adventure. Got to rest and distant himself from the Hero Title. And that just pisses him off. Why did he get the shittier hand? Why did he have to do it all over again? Why when this failure got to get off easy? Why couldn't he have the same grace, huh? What made them so different?

・❥・And if we're using the past oneshot (Here!) as they're 'canon' meeting, this filth let you get hurt. You were hurt before meeting him, which means that they can't be trusted with you. Especially Wild. So Sage cannot stand you being near Wild. At all. It eats at him and he doesn't last long before splitting the two of you up.

・❥・Calamity is even worse. There is probably an active hate towards Calamity (In this Yandere world, in a normal, not toxic world? They probably work out their differences a little better). This was a version of him who didn't even have to die to complete his quest. And this just shows that Fraud has favorites and it's not him.

・❥・You know who else he probably doesn't like? Twilight. Now, hear me out. This is purely me just spitting this out, but Sage has to be aware. He listens when they don't think he does, he's awake when they think he's not, he's watching when they don't even know he's there.

・❥・So he probably picks up on all of their little secrets. Meaning he knows Twilight is Wolfie. And (I think this is Canon is LU but I'm not sure) Wild had Wolfie as a guide. Which means Sage had Wolfie as a guide. The difference? When he needed him the second time, left stumbling around like a newborn fawn crawling out of the shrine all over again, he was left alone. He was fighting robots with a fucking Stick. He fused a mushroom to a shield just to buy himself more time. At one point, he was fusing a long stick to another long stick just to fight from a distance to save his battered body. Rauru did as much as he could, but there were some times he wished he was left for dead.

・❥・Not anymore as that means he would've never met you, but then? different story.

・❥・They also brought up that Sage probably doesn't stop at just cooking your food and I agree. When on the road, he for sure goes straight to the source. If he doesn't know exactly where it came from, it's not going anywhere near his Goddess. Nope. Not a chance in the gloomy depths from hell.

・❥・He's going to farmers themselves rather than merchants for produce, hunting any protein himself, climbing trees for eggs, he probably even makes his own butter. Now, because he's also cooking savy this for sure makes the rivalry between him and Wild widen. Wild is set in his cook for the chain, not you. Sage can't trust them to not hurt you again. Whose to say they don't over spice the food? Or undercook the fish? Or drop shells into the egg?

・❥・He can't trust them and may force you to pick one of the other. Depending on who you chose, he'll either hold his victory up high or work even harder to separate you from the chain. Can't you see, Reader? They aren't good for you.

・❥・When it comes to the Gloom, he for sure uses to his advantage. You know he's been infected, but you don't know how much light he's gathered to dispel it. At this point, he's probably gotten most, if not all of it, out, but you don't know that. And he preys on that fact.

・❥・Oh, the Traveler wants to down to the river with you? But, Reader, there's something rotten in his chest and he's stumbling against trees, exaggerating his steady steps just in case to really sell it. He needs you by his side, can't you see?

・❥・Oh, the captain is trying to get you to settle with him for the night? But, Reader, he's tossing and turning, feigning sleep and acting just enough to catch your attention. He's listening, ears pricked, just to hear you swiftly apologize before your gently hands are laying on his shoulders and he's won again.

・❥・And because his Hyrule is one of, if not the most dangerous Hyrules, he's given so much ammo to keep you tethered to him. You can't trust anyone, don't you know? The Yiga uptake has skyrocketed and they are everywhere, along with Ganon's new ability to make puppets? Can't you see how you can't trust any of them?

・❥・He even entertains you when you come up with the idea to have a secret saying between just the two of you as a fail safe. (It's probably something like 'Deforestation Enthusiast' because of how the two of you met.) Anything to have you pulling further away from the Chain and into his arms.

・❥・If it begins to take longer than expected, Sage is not above letting you wander just enough in his Hyrule. Maybe you set off a bit of Gloom hands (Or maybe he nudges them in your direction, hard to tell, really) and they go charging at you. The others don't know how to deal with them, but he does. He saves your life before the others even know what hit them. He's cooing into your ear, reassuring that where the others fail, he would never dream of it. He's whispering that he knows how scary the feeling of those hands are. He knows how freezing the feeling of sudden restriction, only accompanied by the burning sizzle of malice, is. He knows and he understands, but he's right here. He'd never let anything happen to you. Not like the other frauds.

・❥・Now, all that being said, Sage for sure does not play fair. Oh no. He does challenge them in his own ways, but does it in a way that can only reflect badly on them should they call him out on it.

・❥・He's fighting (Picking apart) with Wars and Calamity on their sparring routines, angling it in just a way that should they snap back he can turn on the innocent little look with a 'But I'm just trying to protect you. I don't know how any of you fight, I'm still learning.' Just in time for you to catch them barking at him to 'Learn faster' and it just falls perfectly into place.

・❥・He's calling out Twi and Four every time they try to wander off (Probably to bring out Wolfie or split to relieve a headache of sorts) because 'The woods are dangerous, what are they doing going off alone?' and now they can't leave because all eyes are on them and he's restricting their movement without even really trying. They wanna go foraging? But he and ...Wild were their best foragers and they were busy with dinner (That was something bitter to get out).

・❥・And wow, Time, Legend and Fierce have so many secrets, can you really trust them? Sage has laid down his entire adventure to you, and regardless if Reader is a LoZ player and knows of them regardless, Sage told you. Those two are trying to hide from you. He would never.

・❥・Wind, Hyrule and that filthy disgrace want to drag you along to go Shield surfing? Reader, do you know how dangerous that is? Especially with someone's track record. Here, you wanna go riding on this motorized wagon he just happens to have on hand? (Between the Zonite in his Purah pad, he can build any component necessary.)

・❥・Not even Sky and First are safe as he uses carefully laid words to sully their once golden image towards you. Afterall, they're so close to Hylia, whose to say they aren't behind all of this?

・❥・Now, you said that the only ones he may not win against are Time, Fierce and Twilight, but like I said, I can imagine him loathing Twilight, so instead, may I suggest First.

・❥・Time and Fierce are both pretty burly dudes that demand some semblance of respect and while Sage has muscles, he's not overly tall. So while he doesn't bow, he may just back off from their forefront for a while.

・❥・Now, First. He's probably the only one who can put Sage back in his place of the hierarchy. It's the first in the timeline, versus the last (As of right now). And it's not pretty. They probably go to blows a few times when you're out of ear shot.

・❥・The problem is that First can only push him back when you're out of ear shot and Sage makes it a point to keep you as close as humanly possible.

・❥・And while yes, some of them may use puppy eyes, Sage is not above using pity to get what he wants because he just hurts so badly don't you know?

・❥・He unfortunately can't do anything about wolves or rabbits. If they manage to disappear before he can call them out on it, he's left bitterly sulking as Wolfie laps at your cheeks or dumb rabbits nose at your hand. He may know who they are, but not even he's cruel enough to call them out (Yet) because that would just pit you against him. They weren't his secrets to tell, you would scold, and he just couldn't handle that possibility.

・❥・The biggest difference between Sage and Wild, one that the chain will fail to realize right away, is that Sage is much more experienced. He is on his second, THIRD if you count the pre-calamity, adventure. He knows everything Wild does, and more. Wild knows how to improvise and adapt, Sage can do it faster. Wild knows how to forage and concoct incredibly potent elixirs? Sage can do it tenfold with half the ingredients. He knows all the little tips and tricks and is not only backed up by the champion's gifts-- should they have remained-- but now he has the sages with him.

・❥・Like imagine their mid-battle, they had forced you away from Sage just to create some distance (At long last) and mans comes rolling in a giant fucking robot. He's using Sidon's sage to shield you over and over again and decimating a battle field using nothing but Riju and an arrow. Hell, the bigger enemies are struck down by Yunobo crashing into them. Sage alone is enough to cut the enemy hordes in half through recall and sending their own attacks back at them or fusing together weapons they wouldn't have ever dreamed of with new abilities. Even his outfits give him benefits far beyond anything they could think.

・❥・You saw him as someone more than just Link. He wasn't just the Swordsman to you when that was who he was to everyone else. You dubbed him something far beyond what a damned sword made him.

・❥・And he would have to be four days dead before letting you go.

・❥・And as he's proven before, Not even death could truly kill him.

I am so glad I waited bc I like this one so much more than the one that was deleted.

[rockybloo]

Feel like dropping a Beanstalked funfact before I go to take my daily nap so here is one about Jack's Slayer mode. This at some point becomes me rambling about fairy tales again so it's a long one:

Jack's Slayer mode exists because I grew up loving the trope of protagonists in anime that had an alternate side to them. I think one of my first encounters with such was watching Yugioh as a kid with Yugi and Yami Yugi...though that's like...a more positive spin on it. STILL - I loved how there was that switch up between a nice and innocent face to someone who was more skilled and experienced.

Then you got me getting into Inuyasha and his entire full demon mode he entered under specific circumstances, and then Ichigo's whole thing with his hollow self, and Maka's temporarily going insane during her battle with Crona. All of which are instances of protagonists becoming more antagonistic (or just losing some chill).

All a lot less wholesome than the Yugioh example (and all are things I got into when I was older)

BASICALLY - That switch being flipped in a character you typically see as the good guy, doing some wild ass shit just STUCK with me forever. It's very cliche and many kids these days would call it edgy but I adore how corny it is.

For Jack specifically, I felt like he'd be the best character for such a trope because Jack and the Beanstalk is a very interesting fairy tale to me. It's my favorite and I think one big reason (aside from how cool a gigantic beanstalk is) is the fact Jack isn't explicitly a good guy. He def can be depending on the story you are reading (especially one meant to be read to children) but some old retellings lack that moralization for him.

And that's something that has led to a very large amount of fairy tale adaptions featuring their own beanstalk Jacks that are viewed as the bad guy or are more mischievous than a Cinderella or Little Red Riding Hood.

TO BE FAIR the fella kind of just breaks into someone's house, steals their shit, leaves and cuts the beanstalk down, killing the giant in the process.

It helps ease the "illegality" of Jack's actions that the giant is typically a giant maneater with his whole "I'll grind your bones to make my bread" shtick. But many choose to just look past the cannibalism (or non-cannibalism since giants aren't really humans) to point at Jack and go "Hey that's actually really fucked up man"

Growing older, I def can see that perspective and understand it more than younger me who grew up with a more moralized version of the story where Jack was depicted as a little kid instead of a young adult (or straight up grown man).

So I always grew up with a bias towards a good guy Jack.

CIRCLING BACK AROUND TO MY FAV TROPE - Jack was the best OC for it because of the duality to the character he was based off of. His default personality is the Jack I grew up used to imagining: A wholesome guy just trying to do his best in a situation he very much didn't fully understand and winded up doing something drastic just because he didn't know what else to do.

And his "cool and edgy" personality was the Jack that would purposely cut down a beanstalk to kill a giant in cold blood.

Over the years of working on Beanstalked, Jack's Slayer mode became a lot more dynamic and wasn't just tied to him being angry. It shifted to something that triggered when he felt adrenaline and winded up being a peek into the emotions he'd bottle up and push down because Jack, at his core, just wants to make people happy. And some emotions make that a bit more difficult.

But it basically is just my way of having my cake and eating it too. I wanted a nice and sweet farm boy but I also wanted one who wouldn't hesitate if placed in the right (or wrong) situation.

[bokettochild]

Hello! This doesn't really align with the format, but for day 14 can you please do something with those tile enemies (the ones in that comic with Legend thinking about the worst thing he's faced)? I can't really decide if it would be better to torment the heroes unfamiliar with that enemy or to go with the ones that have dealt with them before, or a combination...

So, this did end up with less whump and more sort of...crack vibes? it was fun to write anyways, and I hope you enjoy!

Rating: General

Wordcount: 3,443

Summary: While Legend and Wind are getting their asses beat by a gleeok (see Day 12) the rest of the chain are trying to find them, which leads to a lot of fun realizing just how awful a floor can really be. Wild's pretty sure he hates dungeons, Warriors is torn, Hyrule is resorting to the worst humor ever, and Four would just like out now, please.

(Warning for copious amounts of bad humor and some movie quotes.)

-

  They should never have let Legend and Wind go on ahead. 

  Not that the skill of either of the two boys is in any doubt, but the skill of those left behind is somewhat lacking. While Hyrule manages just fine, Time is apparently much older now than he was the last time he took on a dungeon, and Warriors and Wild are not familiar with them at all. Sky lacks stamina, Twilight lacks speed, and Four lacks nothing, but he keeps getting stuck at the back of the group. It’s not fun, and it’s not very fair either, considering he’s pretty sure he could handle this if they’d just let him try. It’s just a path after all. Just floor tiles that flee from beneath their feet, but even so, that’s not the worst thing someone can find in a dungeon! 

  “Is there a way to skip this room?” Sky groans, not the first one to wonder, but the first to ask. 

  Hyrule puffs on a bit of hair falling over his eyes. “You wanna be the one to go back and look?” 

  The skyloftian does not and doesn’t suggest anyone else do it either. 

  Crushed beneath them, Four has half a mind to go himself, but he’s pretty sure that’s not even a possibility. No, because they’ve been taking the path two at a time like Wind and Legend, but rather than take off after the other two and risk getting split up, they’re waiting until everyone has converged on the islands of stable flooring in the room before moving on, and it means they’re continuously piling on top of each other to do so. So, at this very moment, he’s somehow managed to get trapped crouching beneath the captain and skyloftian as they wait for Time to bring up the rear of their party. It’s not ideal and it’s not pleasant and he’d really much rather be just about anywhere else. Again though, he can’t exactly go anywhere at the moment. 

  We’ll be last to get to go, Blue reasons, we should just dart on past the others and to the next island. 

  Blue. 

  It would work! 

  Except that we’ll still get crushed under everyone when they catch up again, so it’ll be pointless. Vio points out, which of course has the more aggressive aspect huffing, but there’s not really anything that anyone can say to deny that logic. 

  Aloud, Four groans. “How far off is the old man?” 

  “Not far,” Warriors assures, rolling his shoulders. “And since the path takes two minutes to reform, we won’t have to stay much longer after this.” 

  Murmurs, thanking various deity’s and spirits, rise from the group of them, and Four shuffles slightly, trying to relieve the weight on his arms while he waits until, at last, the old man’s feet touch stone and the last of the floor falls away. Then, they just have to wait two minutes (two minutes and fourteen seconds, as their leader helpfully observes) and then everyone else is moving off in pairs along the path. 

  Once or twice, hook-shots must be used to cover the remaining distance on time. No one wants to risk falling into the blackness below and none of them want to know what happens if you do. Legend had warned that it would probably take them back to the beginning of the dungeon, and there’s no desire for such a fate. They've finally all dried out again after dropping into the wetness that was that first room, and going back there and wandering through all the rooms again doesn’t sound pleasant, even if there won’t be any monsters left that they’d have to face to get through (hopefully). Personally, just the time it would take sounds miserable, and they want out. It was fun doing the dungeon with Legend doing the hard work and the rest of them free to mess around, especially since Legend seemed to be enjoying it so much and his own excitement was surprisingly infectious. Now though, Warriors’ wonder is beginning to fade and Legend’s not here to be strangely excited about death traps and pushing heavy things around and the like. Now it’s just them trying to catch up to the other two, who are probably still enjoying themselves while the rest of them suffer. 

  Earlier, every so often, they’d see a light go off in the depths of the room. It served the purpose of helping them realize just how much there was of the room, but also letting them know where the vet and sailor were. Not that the laughter and talking wasn’t something they could hear, but it echoed awfully, distorted and confusing, and they’d been unable to guess off sound alone where the two boys had gone off too. The lights have stopped coming on though, and the ones that were lit have already flickered out. 

  Warriors, with the use of a fire rod, has been lighting the sconces as they come to them, but the light only lasts a few precious minutes before fading, and he keeps having to relight it every time it goes out, up until it’s his turn to race along to the next stone island where the rest of them wait. Still, it’s not a lot of light, and Four is beginning to miss the actual light. He wants daylight, not magic, not fire, but sunshine that is just beginning to fade over the world, painting the sky in a dozen rich colors, all bleeding and swimming into each other so he can’t tell where one ends and another begins. He likes sunsets for that very reason; they remind him of himself. 

  They won’t be seeing the sun for a bit though, and he’s left sitting until nearly all the others have darted off, waiting for his turn, and then taking it as quickly as his shorter legs will carry him. He has to employ his Pegasus boots to keep up with Sky, which earns teasing, but the man really is fast, even if his stamina is shit.  

  “Anyone see an end ahead?” Time asks, groaning as he attempts to keep ahold of two of the younger heroes and keep them toppling over the edge of the platform. There isn’t nearly enough room on these things to support them all. 

  Hyrule, one of said younger heroes, takes advantage of their leader’s grip on him to lean out slightly, peering into the darkness. His eyesight is, surprisingly, the best, even in the dark, and while Four’s isn’t half bad either, he doesn’t pipe up. The traveler is more familiar with all this anyway, and he can’t provide much help himself, so he’ll leave it to ‘Rule. “I see a wall up on our right, and maybe a door?” 

  “Thank Ordonia,” the rancher groans. “Does the path lead up to it?” 

  “One more stop.” 

  There are a few more groans, but with an end in sight, they’re all quite eager as well. 

  “You’d think they’d wait up for us,” Warriors muses as they wait for Sky and Hyrule to dart off along the path towards the door, now that the path has reformed. “Or at least signal where they are.” 

  A few of the heroes glance at each other in the dancing light of the fire they’re gathered around, but Four is the one who answers their captain’s worry. “Maybe they got caught up in something?” 

  “No,” perfect brows furrow, “this is Legend, he doesn’t like splitting the group. Even if Wind didn’t, he’d have left some sign of where they went.” 

  “So maybe they didn’t find this door,” he shrugs, “they probably found another one. Dungeon rooms usually aren’t linear, captain, we’ll reach them with time.” 

  It’s some assurance to the man, and Wild too, who looks extremely uncomfortable at the moment and has since they entered the dungeon. The champion's been in awe of the place for the most part, but that was when there was light, and he looks a bit perturbed by the idea of such illy lit spaces. Four wonders why, but he doesn’t ask. He knows that many in their group aren’t keen on the dark, and considering their line of work, they have grounds. Had he gone through the same sorts of adventures they have, he’s sure he’d be wary too. As is though, it’s more just an annoyance than a thing to spark fear within him, and as they slowly move their way from floating stone to the doorway, he tries to be understanding about the wariness the others show upon reaching it. 

  “Vet usually peeks in first, right?” Wild asks, staring at the door like it’s a maw rather than simply an entrance.  

 The more dungeon savvy in their group exchange looks before Sky elects to answer. “Does it matter? Everyone has a different way of doing things.” 

  “’s dark in there any’ays, cub,” the rancher sighs, “ain’t nothing to see even if we did.” 

  “Let’s get it over with then.” Blue is definitely tired of sitting around and doing nothing, and Four blames his actions on the more aggressive aspect of himself as he snatches Warriors’ flame rod and darts through the door, brandishing the weapon in preparation for any attack that comes at him. 

  The room is empty. 

 It’s totally empty, and he can say that for sure, because the lights come on once he’s properly inside and reeal nothing more than torches and a stone floor, although there’s a door on the far side of the room, just as he’d hoped.  

  “Did- did the lights just come on by themselves?” When he turns, it’s to see the captain standing in the doorway, blinking against the sudden light and with one hand raised to shield his eyes. Even with that though, he can see the bright sparkle in royal blue, curiosity quickly overtaking ire once again as the captain looks about. If Four had to bet, he’d say their soldier would probably be a whizz at puzzles and dungeons too if he’d ever been given the chance, and though he’s easily surprised by the workings, he’d probably love to toy with them and learn how they do what they do, or at least watch them react to his actions. It’s sort of a shame the goddesses robbed him of the chance by giving the clever man a war to fight instead of a quest to undertake like the rest of them. 

  “Puzzle gods,” Four repeats. He means it as a joke, he does. He’s relatively certain there is no such deity in the hylian pantheon, although he’s heard some other kingdoms believe in trickster gods of various sorts, or so the books in Legend and Twilight’s eras say. Still, it’s funny to watch his brothers accept the explanation and even murmur it to each other whenever something starts being confusing. He’s certain he’s heard Time curse the supposed ‘puzzle gods’ a few times by now, especially when he’d had to use his hook-shot to avoid taking a dive when the floor went out from beneath him earlier. 

  Now though, the others all just sort of snort at his comment as they wander into the room, and it’s only once they’re all in that the true foe of the chamber reveals itself. 

  The floor. Again. 

  He’s just looking about, letting Vio and Blue take the lead as they look for patterns or words or anything to hint at the way forwards.  Honestly, he’s sort of shocked Legend hardly even has to look anymore, and no doubt the vet would already have answers for them if he was here, scoffing or chuckling as he pointed out what, in hindsight, would feel painfully obvious to the less experienced heroes as they’d follow his lead. He’s not here though, and so far, they’ve yet to find any sign of where he and the sailor went. It’s a bit worrying, and that’s where his brain is focusing when all of a sudden, he feels the floor sway beneath his feet. 

  Like any normal person, he darts away. They just came out of a room where the floor fell away as you stepped on it, and he has no interest in collapsing through this one too. Once he’s back to the others though, he learns that that is hardly the worst risk at the moment. 

  No, because the floor isn’t falling down. It’s flying up. 

  “What the-” they have no time to say much more because that’s about when the lifted tile suddenly launches at them, spinning and all sharp edges. 

  “What is this?” Twilight yelps, throwing himself to the floor and narrowly avoiding the tile as it crashes into the wall, just behind where his head was but a moment before. 

  No answers come. Both because they’re all too busy running from the tiles that are flying, fast and sharp and spinning at all of them, and also because how does one explain floor tiles trying to kill you? Four’s seen them, yes, but not often enough to suspect them the moment he sees an empty room, and by the looks on the faces of most of his brothers, they haven’t a clue what’s going on anymore than Twilight does. 

  Avoiding the awful things is a nightmare. He’s darting and throwing himself down, but the tiles ricochet off of walls and mirror shields, and despite all attempts, there’s really too many tiles and too many other people to avoid being hit by anything. The only advantage is that the things seem locked on his much taller companions, so Four has at least some chance of avoiding being hit. 

  The same is not true of Hyrule, who’s struck first and goes down with a bitten off cry. The fact that he’s made any noise at all though is a bad sign. The traveler never makes noise when he’s hurt unless it’s very bad or very unexpected. It’s a danger, he’s said, to be loud when injured, because the smell of your blood and your own injury endangers you enough; drawing further attention to your location is never a good thing. Luckily for him, lying on the floor and gripping his arm seems to be out of the target zone for the tiles, and they fly most pointedly at the adults in the group instead. 

  Sky, with a hiss, has drawn the master sword and, quite shockingly, is throwing himself in the path of the blasted things, swinging till they shatter and then moving for another. 

  It takes maybe ten minutes for the attack to die down altogether, and when it does, everyone but the chosen hero has collapsed against the wall, panting and catching their breath and their runaway hearts from the start of it all. 

  “Whoever designed this place is a monster,” Time groans. “Why would you have two floor focused rooms right after each other. Just, why?” 

  Warriors snorts, half laughing, half something else, something strained. “Keep us on our toes?” 

  Their leader grabs for a bit of fallen tile and chucks it. Hitting the wall right beside no longer coiffed locks with a growl. “Not funny.” 

  From the floor, Hyrule gives a strangled giggle. “I thought it was.” 

  “Hyrule thought it was,” Warriors states, pointedly, pulling himself to his feet and looking just a bit like a spider with the motion (the man is seriously all limbs) before moving to the side of their fallen brother. “How bad?” 

  “I fear I’m dying,” the traveler responds, staring up at the captain with a wince. “Promise to burn my body, will you?” 

  The captain’s face washes over with severity. “I swear it will be done.” 

  “What?” The speed with which Wild flies to his feet is frankly quite impressive, but the strained laughter of the traveler is apparently enough reassurance to stop him running to his brother’s side to inspect the damamge for himself. 

  Warriors looks apologetic as he takes the traveler’s arm in his hands, gentle but firm, eyes warm though as they flicker up to the champion. “We jest, Wild. ‘Tis but a flesh wound. He’ll live.” 

  “You mock my pain,” Hyrule giggles through a wince, clearly trying to lighten the mood, at least for the captain, or maybe just trying to distract himself from the sting of the rather nasty looking gash on his arm. 

  Time snorts, staring on, but not moving. They can’t help anyways so there’s no point in any of them rising for the time being, and giving the traveler and their medic some space is in everyone’s best interest. “Life is pain. Anyone who tells you different is selling something.” 

  “Pessimistic much?” Sky observes. 

  “Well read, I should think,” the captain corrects, already starting to mind the injury of their brother. “I believe that one was from a book. As was my own, if anyone was wondering.” 

  Time nods. “I’m surprised Wind hasn’t called us on-” and then he trails off. Wind isn’t here. Wind is with Legend. 

  “We need to catch up to them,” Four reminds. Not that he’s particularly nervous about what they’re getting up too, but he doesn’t know how much longer they can progress through a dungeon with the group split and no idea where and when they’ll come across the others. “Can Wolfie track them?”  

  “You can jist ask me now, Four,” their shifter reminds, “ain’t a secret no more.” 

  “Anymore,” Warriors murmurs under his breath. 

  “No more,” Twilight hisses back, grinning. 

  Four ignores both of them, even as a few of the others start rolling their eyes at the grammar battle. If left unchecked, this will go on forever. “Use your nose to find them then, if you don’t mind.” 

  “If you can,” Sky adds, glancing warily at the rancher. 

  Twilight agrees, and while black magic washes over the rancher, Four takes it on himself to peek through the now opened doorway on the other side of the room. All that lies within is a chest, no doubt containing the map they’re so in need of, or some other such tool he’s shocked they’ve made it this far without.  

  There aren’t any monsters in here. 

  It’s a chest room! Monsters aren’t in chest rooms. 

  Most of the time. Vio corrects. 

  Most of the time. Red agrees, and then, We should open it! 

  Green? 

  Yeah, no harm. Let’s move quickly though, Twilight should catch their trail soon. 

  So, he does. He darts across the room and, sure enough, the chest contains the map they needed hours ago. Honestly, he’s kind of shocked they’ve done so well without it, but looking it over doesn’t reveal much more than what they’ve already seen. They’ve worked themselves through all three floors already, and the only rooms they haven’t been to appear to be on the right of the falling floor room. Unfortunately, there’s no guide on how to cross the floor anywhere on the map. 

 Coming back, the others are staring and Twilight is absent. He holds up the map, nodding back to the room. “Our prize! It’s useless by the way, we already knocked out everything except the boss chamber.” 

  “Boss chamber?” Warriors, again, although Wild also looks confused. 

  “Dungeons tend to end with a fight with a larger monster in order to reach the end and gather whatever treasure is there.” Their leader groans his words, pulling himself up again and creaking worse than an old door as he does so. “During my adventures, that treasure was usually a tool or information, although rupees and other baubles aren’t uncommon either.” 

  “Bet you Legend’s already collected it by now,” Sky grins. 

  “Means they’ve already fought the boss,” the traveler points out. “And I know they’re capable, but-” 

  The skyloftian nods, “you don’t like the idea of them taking it on alone when we should be with them.” 

  “Yeah.” 

  “Well,” he rolls up the map, tucking it into his own bag and trying for a smile to his brothers. “We’ll find them, just give Wolfie a moment more and-” 

  As if on cue, their shifter companion darts back in through the door, barking once to catch their attention and then moving out. The motion is repeated again, and all take the cue to rise and follow. Warriors is finished with the traveler’s arm and they’ve mostly caught their breath. Now just to face the floor a third time and reach where the other two are likely waiting for them.  

  Four just hopes the floor won’t do anything else crazy when they get there. Legend's talked about boss monsters that are the floor itself, and if that’s what awaits them, Four’s going to start climbing the walls. Literally. 

[elliebyrrdwrites]

13.3

DRACO

There was nothing more lovely than the sight of a wide-eyed, open mouthed Hermione Granger. She was awe-struck by his confession, one he hadn’t given anyone. A truth he kept hidden away since he was ten years old.

Well, there might be something more beautiful.

It was the flare of indignation that crept slowly into her sparkling brown eyes as his words sunk into her.

“What do you mean, it started at the beginning? The beginning of what?”

Draco shrugged, muscles loosened from the small amount of alcohol coursing through his system. “Of school.”

She was scowling at him. “How is that possible?”

Draco shrugged, finding it hard to put into words the complex and twisted lines of fate that led him here. “It just is.” He straightened and lifted his menu again. “Shall we order?”

“We were ten.”

“And I was already in love, imagine that.”

“You’re a liar.”

He was. And he was currently lying. Well, actually, he was elaborating. Draco was ten when he first found himself compelled with Hermione Granger. The fact of the matter was that it developed into a crush around third year and he believed he fell in love with her during their sixth year.

“You had a lot of hair.” He watched her face turn red and her nostrils flare. “And your teeth,” He flicked his hand toward her face. “They were quite large.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” She pushed out through clenched teeth.

Draco battled with the need to calm her down, to tell her how fucking fascinating he had found her and also with the need to get her worked up. She had tricked him into this date, after all. It only seemed fair.

Besides, when Hermione was upset, she got flushed, her eyes brighter than usual. It allowed him to imagine her flush and bright in other positions. Like in his lap and with him tucked deep inside of her.

“You asked me when it started.” Draco lifted a hand for the waiter, signaling for assistance.

“You are the worst.” She pushed away from the table.

“Granger,” He sighed. But she was already rushing out of the restaurant, away from him.

Draco quickly paid for their drinks before running after her. She was already trudging through the field, past the little farm. He marveled at how quickly she moved when she was upset and not wearing heels.

“Granger,” He called, jogging after her.

“Go away.”

“Well, you know I can’t do that.”

She stopped and spun to face him. “You ruin everything.”

He smiled at the way the wind ripped at her hair, pulling strands and wrapping them around one another. Her hair was naturally wild and here in the wind, it looked at home. He loved her hair.

She growled. “You think this is some kind of a joke. But you know what, Malfoy, I’m tired of being the butt of all your jokes.”

Draco’s smile faded at her words. At the way she turned her back on him again and marched up the hill. She was aiming for the spot they had arrived with the Portkey.

He had teased her, relentlessly, as children. He didn't know how to tackle his obsession with her then, he only knew what he was ordered to do. Which was to hate her, minimize her. She had seemed so fucking resilient that he believed her impervious to his vitriol. It made him even more fascinated with her.

“Where are you going?”

“Anywhere where you aren’t.”

“That’s impossible.” He sighed, catching up to her with his long strides. He was walking beside her now and watched as she kept pushing curls away from her face, throwing her shoulders back each time as they worked their way up the hill. On her fourth attempt to pick hair out of her mouth, Draco latched onto her wrist and pulled her to a stop.

“Granger,” He sighed. “Would you calm down?”

“Calm down?” She shoved at his chest with one hand, pulling her other hand free. Draco lit up at the feel of her hand pressing into him. At the combative way she shoved and pulled, her hair flying wildly around. “Stop telling me what to do! I am not a child!” She pulled her hand from his chest and spun to leave.

But Draco was still holding onto her and the grass was still wet.

Hermione slipped and went down, taking Draco with her.

With a grunt and a yelp, they fell and tumbled several feet down the hillside.

Draco managed to wrap her up in his arms as they rolled and when they came to a halt, she was beneath him, panting and wide-eyed.

Draco’s hands were stuck between her and the ground, his legs straddled her hips. Her hands were stuck between their bodies.

That was when he realized how cold she was. Her skin was pebbled, her body trembled beneath this, despite the flush brightening her cheeks.

Words began to tumble free from him. “I had never met anyone like you. You tore into that compartment like you owned the damn train.”

Her eyes found his mouth.

“And I liked your teeth.” He exhaled and her eyes lifted to his eyes.

“You did?” Her voice was broken and soft.

Draco was so close to her, he could taste her breath. It caused visceral reactions, it caused reactions that went soul deep. He nodded, lowering his head just enough to brush the tip of her nose with his.

“I did. I do.” He murmured.

She leaned up into him, straining her neck enough that Draco lowered his head some more, and brushed his lips against her cheek. Her hands latched onto the fabric of his shirt.

Her breath shuddered against his face, and the urge to drag his teeth along her skin, his lips across her mouth was too overwhelming, and so he moved his lips lower, towards the corner of her lips.

“Draco, get to Hambleden now.” Theo’s voice suddenly erupted into the night, startling both of them.

He looked over his shoulder to find Theo’s silver fox Patronus standing before them. He didn’t like the tone to his voice. Hermione’s hands fell away and Draco had to pull her up with him in order to gain control of his hands again.

“Do you think Harry is okay?” She looked scared and Draco’s resolve hardened.

“I don’t know. Let’s go find out.” He pulled her to her feet and together, they apparated out of East Cumbria and into Hambleden.

[blarefordaglare]

A very horrible, bad, never again prom

Gonna try to go all out with a modern AU in this one! Or in other words: time and malon adopted and raised/raising 8 children because why not. 

This takes place when sky is like 17 btw, so someone plz help me do the math for the rest, but just assume everyone is like children ig haha, this is Junior prom because I never went to any prom and Junior year is kinda easier maybe to write with? Because it’s just not the last one? Idk I sucked at school so what do I know

TW: swearing (uncensored), Overstimulation, alcohol, one small mention of sex, very poorly written high school dance scene from someone who had no experience with it so it sounds straight from Hollywood. 

_____

“How come I can’t go?” Wind whined,   tugging on Time’s shirt, his grip stretching the grey fabric, “It’s not fair.” His brow creased, lips forming a pout.

Time sighed, detangling Wind’s hands from the cloth, “You’re going to get wrinkles like me if you keep scowling like that,” he chided gently, “And second graders have no major academic accomplishments to celebrate.” 

“I’ll let you know I memorized all my addition facts up to ten!” 

The conversation seized to a halt as soft footsteps pattered past the doorway, revealing Sky, hair finally combed, and a dark green suit fitting loosely around his physique, “Mom?” He called out, “Where did you put my tie?” 

The red haired mother in question peeked out from the kitchen, “I thought you didn’t want to wear one?” She sighed as she reached over to the kitchen counter, “Knew you’d change your mind though. And please, this time no stains. You know juice is impossible to get out.” 

The brunette nodded as he looked over to his father, “Can you please help me put it on?” He sheepishly asked. At seventeen he should have known to properly tie a tie, yet his fingers would never cooperate in said fashion, “I’m sorry.” 

Time gave a sympathetic smile, shaking his head, “We’ll learn another time, but it’s your big night tonight.” He quickly adjusted the fabric around the teenager’s neck, centering it to complete the outfit. 

“Freshman should be able to go,” Legend grumbled by the couch, flipping through channels, “Give me a break from all these menaces in here.” 

“Says the one who wears underwear with bunnies on it like a baby!” The long haired blonde shoved the boy, trying to steal the remote from him, “Give me that! I want to watch my shows! Not your boring ones!”

“Boys!” Time called, “This is no time to argue, now say goodbye to Sky.” The man’s head pierced with a developing headache, making a mental note to take some Tylenol later. 

Wild and Legend looked up at their older brother in shame, before slowly walking over to give him a hug, “Bye Sky, we’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you guys too,” He wrapped his arms around the children before quickly pulling away, “Love you!” He waved a quick goodbye before sprinting out of the house. 

“I’m worried for him.” Time deadpans, looking over to Malon, “First dance, no date.” 

“I didn’t even have a dance fairy boy.” 

A quick jog later, and the high school doors flew open. The room held a dark sprinkled with lights of color that the teenager didn’t even know existed until then. His eyes quickly scanned around the vast room, attempting to find someone-anyone-he remotely knew. 

“Hey man,” Sky quickly whipped his head around, stumbling on the ground that shook from the dancing, only to be met with a familiar red hair, confident smile, and amber eyes, “How are you enjoying the party?” Groose asked, “In my opinion it’s pretty boring.” 

Boring? Boring? Sky took a second to process what he just heard. It’s loud, flashy, and many people here, how could it be boring? “Yeah, it really could use some spicing up.” He quickly forced, trying to save face. 

As Groose waved a goodbye, Sky made a beeline for the food stand, silently praying to Hylia that the vast amount of options would give him the chance to focus on something and not go insane. 

His eyes of hope quickly went to eyes of disappointment as the options lay in front of him. Everything looked gross, nothing like mom’s cooking at home. He wanted to go home. He was going to stay and make the most of this party, prove that he’s mature enough to handle these kinds of situations. 

Grabbing a cup of fruit punch, the brunette quietly retreated into a quieter corner of the room, granted it still was bursting his ear drums, but at least there was a minuscule amount of peace involved. Bringing the plastic cup to his lips he attempted to down some of the liquid, yet his mouth felt a bitter taste as his eyes widened with panic at the unfamiliar sensation, and without a second thought his hand froze, dropping the punch onto the suit.

The moment of realization hit like a title wave, the suit! His mind screamed at him, go, clean it up! His body couldn’t move, frozen with embarrassment. His eyes burned with shame as his body wrapped in on itself, curling into a ball and finally resting on the cool, shaking ground.

The room spun around him, lights stabbing his sensitive eyes, music he hated waving over him like a title wave. Waves of anxiety washed through his body, his figure shaking perpendicular to the room. Fingers reaching out for his phone, he opened up messages.

Dad can help. Dad can come get me. 

His fingers tried to type an explanation, but it all ended up futile, the bright phone screen shutting down to an eerie black. No contact. No safety. No desire to stay. 

The held tears in his eyes finally released, saltwater falling down his face, a quiet, yet painful sob escaped his throat, his eyes shut closed, in attempt to block out the intensity taking place in front of him. 

“Hey, Mom told me you forgot your shoes-“ Sky blinked up at the voice above him, noticing a familiar blonde wearing a signature blue scarf, “Woah, what happened to you?” 

The brunette couldn’t find the words to describe the horrors of this dance, it wasn’t even a dance! It was a death party at best, “I wanna go home.” He mumbled, tears pooling onto the ground, “I hate it here.” 

“But prom is so much fun!” Warriors quickly spoke, then realized his mistake, “Well, granted I went to boarding school. Are you sure you want to leave?” He grabbed a cloth from his pocket, urging his younger brother to wipe his tears before standing up, “Come on, let’s go.” 

As they exited through the big doors, Sky could feel his ears burn. Everyone else was having fun, so why couldn’t he? Stupid, his mind rang out again, couldn’t even handle a small dance. 

As he stepped into the passenger seat, he couldn’t deny the mix of relief and shame swirling in his heart, as he gazed longingly at the window, he felt the urge to speak up, “Are you going to tell dad?” He knew that he tried to text him before, but the feeling of embarrassment wasn’t any less.

“Only if you want me to.” His brother’s eyes were focused on the road, hands gripping tightly, but not tensely on the wheel, “My first dance I got laid and you didn’t see me tell them.” 

A wet giggle escaped the other, tears finally drying onto his face as he looked down at his socks, how did he forget shoes? “Well you’re gonna have to come up with a lie on why we are home so early.” 

“Who said anything about going home?” Pulling over to a small cafe, Warriors urged Sky out of the car, “You must be starving, and no spoiled drinks this time, I promise.”

“How did you..?”

“Please, it’s a room full of teenagers that finally get a night out, who wouldn’t want to remember, or I guess, forget it?”

[skyward-floored]

On a list of most likely to be part dragon to least likely to be part dragon, where would you put each link in the chain?

Well I'm probably biased BUT

Warriors is at the top, since he interacts very regularly with a dragon(knight) and I really do just think they look similar. they do. They also act somewhat as narrative foils (both are prideful, Volga continues down the path, Link turns back due to his friends, blah blah) so I just. yeah. I'm convinced Volga is legitimately his dad.

Sky is probably right around there with him, just because he interacts with his dragons the most extensively, and they all seem pretty fond of him (...in their own ways lol. lookin at you Faron). I'd make him related to the thunder dragon personally, though that would probably lead to some very strange paradoxes in regards to how Sky exists lol

Wind I think is next, since he's got the next-friendliest dragon who he interacts with a fair amount. I don't have much reasoning apart from that (though Valoo does burn down the fort of the guy who nearly killed him multiple times, so there is that), but it would be plausible at least.

Wild is next I guess, since he's got dragons that aren't enemies. He even helps Naydra a whole bunch at that one part, who's to say he couldn't (somehow??) be related to her? Mom? Naydra mom?? I'm writing that down actually that could be really interesting–

For everyone else I'd say it's probably about the same amount of likelihood (which is to say, slim). You could maybe make a case for Time being related somehow if you factor in the manga thing with Volvagia, but that's about it. Same with Twilight, you could borrow the manga thing with Argorok, though I would edit some of that a bit personally.

Legend's dragons are all bosses as far as I know (though gemesaur king-related Legend would be COOL), which is actually a little surprising. Maybe you could contrive something with that dancing dragon dungeon though. Maybe.

Four just has Gleerok, a fiery dragon boss. Again, you could borrow from the manga and have it be a corrupted dragon, but it seems more creaturey to me so that might get weird.

Least likely is Hyrule I think. He's got like three dragons and all are bosses. though I guess you could make an argument for him having the same colored eyes as Aquamentus and Gleeok's scales. That's pretty much it tho.

[evolutionsvoid]

The mountains are not the most welcoming of ecosystems, always getting worse the higher you go. Fierce winds, minimal amounts of food, dizzying heights, frigid cold and erratic weather. If it is not one thing plaguing your day, it is another two from that list. All my trips up in the mountains have had their fair share of issues and challenges, some easy to overcome and some that make me wish I focused more of my studies in the tropics. But despite all the hardships, life does exist up there and thus I must go there to see it for myself! Plenty of species that see all these problems and somehow accept them as a way of life. Then they just make it work! It is incredible! Absolutely incredible! I feel there is something inspirational to take away from something like this! However, keep in mind that these species aren't all just happy little success stories of how hard work and good ol gumption solves life's challenges. Some grow to be as hardy as the ecosystem they live, while others choose to mimic its lethality....

In certain mountain ranges out east, where the peaks stand tall and snowy, is a notable species that carries a certain infamy: the Yuki-onna. They are a member of the harpy family that is quite a bit bigger and taller than your usual harpy. A full grown Yuki-onna stands about as tall as a human, which means it has a pretty impressive wingspan to boot! They are clad in feathers of black and white, and their hair-like plumage upon their heads is a pitch black. Due to their high up homes in the mountains, they are a species that are more often read about than actually seen. If you ask the locals, however, they would tell you this is a good thing. As far as they are concerned, your life would be much better if you never saw one of these in the wild. It would be longer too!

So why the fear around these big birds? What is so threatening about a tall harpy? Well, if we dive into their diet and hunting strategies, you will quickly learn the reason. Yuki-onna are predators, hypercarnivores to be exact. Their diet is entirely meat, taken from any animal they can find on the mountains. Since the ecosystem is so extreme and the meal options are limited, these birds will take on any creature they spot (within reason) as they never know when they will next get the chance. They have very keen eyes, able to locate small critters scurrying amongst the rocks as they soar through the air. Typically, they want something a bit bigger and meatier, but if hunger is haunting them, even a small fuzzball like a hare or weasel will do. What they want most are things like mountain serow who are on the slopes grazing upon what little vegetation they can find. Beasts like these climb these tough slopes to escape larger predators, finding safety on steep inclines and loose footholds. Surely no bear would dare try to scale these slopes, and even if they did, the serow would spot them a mile away. However, the Yuki-onna doesn't have to worry about climbing, as they drop in from above. These attacks are swift and silent, seemingly coming from nowhere. And this is when they deploy their most powerful weapon: gravity.

While the Yuki-onna has sharp talons and a powerful grip, there are easier ways to dispatch prey up here. With a beast clinging to the steep slopes, all is needed is one good push or pull to cause them to plummet to their deaths. This is their favorite strategy, swooping in, grabbing hold and then dragging their flailing victim right off a cliff. They then let go and wait, as eventually their broken bodies will come to a rest and dinner will be served! In cases when food isn't near a lethal drop, they can still be a great danger. They are strong and know where to strike to put prey down for good. The ambush will remain the same, but they will aim to sink their talons into the neck or spine, then clamp down hard til something breaks or someone gives up. If their strike fails, they can always reset the encounter by heavy flapping of their wings, which stirs up the snow. In seconds, the prey is blinded by a small blizzard and the bird slips away. Once again out of sight, they will circle around and find their next opening.

Another tool at their disposal is their excellent vocal mimicry, which allows them to copy anything they hear. When the winds are whipping and the snow is blinding, the Yuki-onna may utilize its voice to fool prey with familiar calls. They know which sounds go to which animal, and have figured out what kind help lure food closer to them. Often they use calls that mean "help, I'm lost" or "the herd is over here," with the hopes that other animals may hear it and try to follow the sound in the blizzard. Some have even been seen using the calls of the young, triggering mothers to come running at the sound of their distress. This mimicry is typically done near a cliff edge, luring them to a deadly drop. Once the animal gets close enough, they pounce and pull them to their doom.

Yuki-onna are solitary creatures, spending most of their lives alone. It is only when the breeding season comes and a viable mate is found will they accept company. For as long as there is an egg or a young chick, the two will work together. In such frigid temperatures, an exposed egg would freeze within a minute, thus the female must remain sitting on it constantly. It is up to the male to provide for both of them. Once hatched, the chick can last a bit longer in the cold, allowing parents to swap spots without issue. But once the chick is grown big enough on its own, the whole family dissolves and moves on, going back to a life alone.

Though they are a beautiful sight to see and their hunts are fascinating, the Yuki-onna are not a loved species in these parts. While harpies can be hit or miss with folk, due to their wide range of attitudes and behaviors, the Yuki-onna is a bird that is always in predator mode. Like I said, they need to eat whatever they can whenever they can, so any meaty beast is fair game. What I am trying to say is that man is most certainly prey to them, and humans falling to them is not a rare event. Their method of dragging prey off the side of a mountain works on them too, and many lost climbers and travelers are assumed to have met this fate. What makes matters worse is that this does not seem to be mere accident or a case where they blindly go after any prey they see. Studies and stories suggest that Yuki-onna have actually started adapting their strategies to hunting humans, and they are scary good at it. Remember, they are very good mimics...

Those who have braved the mountains for long enough will have a story about hearing a voice upon the wind. The sound of another human speaking to them, despite there not being a single soul around for miles. The words can be hard to hear at times, and come off a bit odd, but many attribute it to the howling winds and disorienting echoes. Wise men would not follow such a noise, but those lost or desperate may be fooled into thinking help is nearby. And as they follow the voice, they see a silhouette in the snow, one of a woman with long black hair. I hope at this point they realize it is a ruse, but when the body is cold and the brain is deprived of food and proper air, some folk may not be thinking straight. Even if they do change their mind, it may be too late. The "clothes" of this woman will fan open into great wings and she will launch herself at them. Talons dig in and pull them off their feet, and then the next thing they know they are falling to their deaths. Indeed, Yuki-onna impersonate humans to lure them in, often mimicking calls for help or even the sound of rescue teams. Some folk say that even traveling in numbers isn't guaranteed safety, as a Yuki-onna may copy the voices of your fellow climbers and use those to draw you away from camp. So with that, many people of the region prefer to keep far away from the mountains, and when someone disappears up there, they simply shake their heads at the foolishness of those who dare test their luck.

I would like to end the entry there, but I unfortunately feel like I got to bring this up. Because people get....ideas when they see illustrations of these birds and hear their voices. Yes, a Yuki-onna is person-sized and in a blizzard can certainly give the impression of a robed long-haired woman. With their intelligence and vocal performance, they can absolutely sound like a human and pretend to have short conversations. And of course there are even stories of humans who fall in love with a Yuki-onna but I would advise you to read to the end, as those tales never end happily. These birds need lots of meat, which often forces their would-be suitor to sacrifice other people to them. And often these tales have a hero or traveler dispatch both of these culprits behind the many disappearances, in some cases by having the Yuki-onna turn on her human partner and eat them. So yeah, not a happy tale. Because they are always predators at all times. They live to hunt. It doesn't matter how all these little things may add up into the idea that these are consenting sapient bird women, because they DON'T! So what I am saying is.....you see it's...what I am getting at is.....just don't. Don't.

Chlora Myron

Dryad Historian

----------------------------------

"Yuki-onna"

Time for some different harpy species! Unfortunately, I must admit I am not a fan how the wings turned out. Eh, not great...

[caffiend-queen]

Do NOT Say 'Always After My Lucky Charms,' Or I Will Stab You

Welcome to another addition to the Holidays in Hel series! Where Loki and Mina attempt to save the Avengers from yet another catastrophic holiday fuckup.

I've been cleaning up and adding bits to my Holidays in Hel series because really, it's my favorite. I hope you enjoy, and thank you as always for reading!

Chapter Two: "Why Do I Always Smell Like Something Dead That Washed Up On The Beach?"

In which Mina discovers that the Fair Folk are not only not Fair, they're kind of assholes, and it's looking like another holiday shot straight to Hel.

Mina...

“Wh- where the hell am I?”

You were in the middle of a miraculous forest clearing with brightly colored birds swooping gracefully and gnarled tree trunks that looked ready to come alive and scold you. The sky was a vaguely eerie lavender and a single, wistful pipe was sending out a delicate tune on the wind. You could just see the sparkling sapphire and golden tints of a wide river meandering through the woods. Anxiously checking, you heaved a sigh of relief to see you were still in your sweater and tartan kilt. And, you were resting on a bed … uh … couch… “Is this like a throne?” you mumbled, “Because there’s that one spiky part that looks like it’s got a crown carved into it, but there’s blankets and… why does this shit happen to me?” The couch/bed/throne whatever you were sitting on was remarkably comfortable and rose grandly above the clearing. “So was I roofied? Loki’s the one who bought the drinks, so… Poofed? Is there someone aside from Loki who can poof people in and out of bars? Ugh. I’m beginning to feel like John McClane in Die Hard, why is it always us?”

One of the tiny, jeweled butterflies ventured closer to you and made an inquiring sort of sound. Admiring its iridescent patterns, you crooned, “Hello, you little sweetie. Don’t suppose you could show me where the exit is, huh?” The glittering creature landed lightly on your upturned hand, and two eyes popped open above the concealing swirls on its thorax. You jumped a little, “Oh! Hey, look at you! I don’t suppose you talk?” There was another delightful, high trill from the butterfly, and then a shocking amount of pain as it chomped down on the sensitive webbing between your thumb and forefinger. 

“OW! You little shit!” You shook your hand furiously but the butterfly had surprisingly sharp teeth and stubbornly hung on until you smacked it sharply on the head with your index finger. “Bad! Bad butterfly!” With a spiteful chitter, the creature fluttered away.

“Babe! You’re up!” Two arms wrapped around you like a particularly stubborn strain of ivy, a hand heading straight for your breasts.

And suddenly you were fighting off the long-limbed advances of a very handsome man.

An extremely gorgeous man with pointed ears.

“Hands off, pal! Who the Hel are you?”

He chuckled indulgently, leering at you - shit, were his eyes silver? - and took a swig of something out of the golden cup with one hand while gripping you around the waist with the other. You managed to eel free from his grip - mainly because you knew his attention was on his cocktail. Stumbling back, you took a wild look around before focusing again on him.

He was beautiful. Beautiful in the perfect, unearthly way that Loki was. Likely as tall and perfectly muscled with long, flowing golden hair and pointed ears.

Pointed. Fucking. Ears.

“Aw, damn it. You’re one of the Fae, aren’t you?” Loki had warned you about those guys.

The elf smiled again, full red lips and so alluring as his lids dropped to half-mast, looking you over thoroughly. "You are so hot. Babe, we are gonna PARTY," he paused, leaning in to whisper in your ear, “and then I'm gonna find your pot o' gold.“ He chortled loudly and for a minute, he reminded you of your ex-boyfriend Ted, president of his fraternity and notorious for the high alcohol poisoning rate on campus.

“I beg your pardon?” you gasped, “Look, I don’t care who you are- just send me back, and- wait, where’s Monty? You didn’t hurt the poor guy, did you?”

He began laughing magnificently, really, no other word would do, his head thrown back and mouth open to show his sharp, white teeth. “I am that shriveled-up old dude. I’m Monty with just a touch of glamour to make me ordinary. Now look at the real me! What a step up in your love life, huh?”

You glanced over your shoulder - was there an exit around here? A portal? A Greyhound bus? “This cannot be happening,” you groaned. “Yeah, uh… your name’s not really Monty, what is it?”

Taking another gulp of mead, or whatever the Hel the Fae drank these days, and giving an extremely rude belch, your supermodel fairy kidnapper offered, "Aengus. Prince of the Tuatha Dé Danan." He winked at you over the goblet he was drinking from, "And your fairy for Youth, Love, and Summer. I know you're honored, 'cause you are my chosen lady-babe."

“Angus?” you attempted.

“No, babe. Just- it’s Ah-hen-gess.” He put his long fingers on your jaw.

“Uh, Ah-hingus?” you tried again.

“Draw it out, gorgeous, just elongate your jaw like a snake and say, “Ah-he- Look, never mind, babe. Here,” he thrust a goblet (chalice? flagon?) into your hand and you sniffed at it. “Uisce beatha. The good stuff. It’s the second most delicious thing to come out of Ireland.” The smarmy bastard had the nerve to look pointedly down at his junk as he said this.

“M’lord, the other humans are totally bitching about getting stuck in the tree castle. You want me to knock ‘em out?” Another spectacularly good-looking elf with the body of a Ken doll and the expression of a village simpleton interrupted your little interlude.

“You- wait, there’s other humans here?” You froze in your efforts to bat away the wandering hands of Aengus and frowned at him. “How many people did you kidnap?”

Glaring at his tattle-tale elf buddy, your captor tried to smooth it over. “Babe, don’t worry about them. Let’s chill, take some clothes off, drink a brew or two…” he leaned forward, his beautiful face wearing a dashing grin. “You show me yours, I’ll show you mine. It’s…” he giggled, “magically delicious!”

“Really? Oh, my god, just- geddoff me! I mean it! You do not want the Hel that is about to rain down on you in the form of my boyfriend Loki!”

Both elves stopped dead and stared at you. Aengus even put his flagon of uisce beatha down. “Did you say… Loki?” he asked hoarsely.

You rarely invoked the Name of Loki. You preferred to handle your own problems. You didn’t expect or even want Loki to get involved in all the petty details of your life because he had a tendency to attempt to take them all over in order to “assist” you. But if it freaked out these douchey Irish Fae then you were going to wield Loki’s reputation like a blunt instrument.

So… “Yes!” you hissed threateningly, “You’ve interrupted a very important night for us and Loki, Prince of Asgard, rightful King of Jotunheim and God of Mischief and Lies does NOT like to be disappointed!” 

You were pissed. You didn’t get your traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner. You did not get lucky with Loki - wait, that sounded like a dating show - but this was really the worst kind of bullshit! You may have been shy when Loki first plucked you off Madison Avenue (literally) but time and a series of disastrous holiday fuckups had definitely helped you find your voice. And your temper. You leaned forward, staring into his startled silver eyes. “And of course, you probably know Loki best as the most terrifying of the ten things that invaded Ireland. Remember the Vikings? I’ll bet you do, Angus!”

“Aengus,” he correctly absently before looking at the other freaked-out fairy. “Get the other babes, I don’t care if they’re hot, this is turning into a total buzzkill, man.”

Your eyes widened, Shit, did I just get us all killed by invoking the name of Loki? 

Loki...

“Why does this always happen to us?”

It could have been any one of the Avengers whining, and really, Loki had to agree it was a reasonable question. It had been repeated over and over, on every holiday since Stark had first insisted he attend the billionaire’s ridiculous Yule festivities.

“We are cursed,” Thor said, slumped over Mjölnir, which he had been swinging around in an extremely unsafe fashion as he shouted about “Betrayal!” and “Vengeance!” until he’d nearly caved in the skull of one of the terrified bartenders and had been threatened by Tony. 

“I will shave you bald. Point Break, if you don’t put that stumpy piece of shit down! You remember that doorman you put into a coma? Do you? That was Happy’s second cousin’s kid!” 

Trying to ignore them all, Loki was walking through the deeply uncomfortable patrons of the Dead Rabbit, which had been locked down the moment they discovered their dates had been - yet again - abducted. Bucky was following close enough to have scuffed his exquisite Bolvaint onyx dress shoes, but, well, there was more important business at hand. Also, anyone willing to attempt to get testy about being detained was instantly quelled by Bucky’s glare. 

Leaning in close to Loki, he murmured, “What are we looking for?”

Lips barely moving, he answered, “Our women were taken through some portal with that vile troll Monty,” Loki sneered, “so I am attempting to discover this portal. But upon occasion, a creature of supernatural origin might also act as the portal. So no one shall leave until -” His sharp eyes just barely caught a tuft of hair moving stealthily along the mahogany bar, and he vaulted over the shining expanse and seized the tuft of hair and the body attached to it.

“Saor mé nó bás!” The diminutive man was kicking at Loki fiercely, though his legs were too short to make contact.

Holding him up to eye level, he snarled back, “Phooka, I should have known. You must be mad to attempt Maidentheft here!”

“Wait?” Steve poked his head over the bar. “Maidens? Theft? Is this some human trafficking ring?”

“Of a sort,” Loki said, not taking his gaze from the writhing Phooka. “The Fae enjoy stealing mortal brides upon occasion. But the victim must agree to dance with them first before they can be pulled through the portal.” He gave the flailing creature a brisk shake that nearly took his tufted red head from his body. “You are the portal, goblin! Where have you sent them!”

Steve just couldn’t help himself. “Don’t you mean Leprechaun? Or is that rude? Little person? Or-”

“Call him what you want, Capsicle,” barked Tony, “but he’s snatched the girls and we need them back! Pepper’s never going to let me forget this, so let Loki do his mystical mojo shit before she has me sleeping out on the balcony for the next year!”

“Ní inseoidh mé go deo! Lig saor mé!” The glamour was wearing off Phooka and his limbs were lengthening, hair turning long and silver-blond. But then the image shimmered and he returned to the gnarled little creature he’d been before. 

“Oh, no, Cluricaun, I will not release you. In fact,” Loki’s arm raised higher, easily holding the struggling creature at eye level, “I shall bind you into this form forever.”

“Nil! Nil!” he screeched, thrashing like a trout on the hook.

“Oh, yes…” purred Loki, an unholy look of joy gleaming in his eyes, “no longer of the Fair Folk, the beautiful creature who bespells all who see him. You shall be in this lumpy, repugnant form forever. Warts covering every inch of you. Oozing pus.” Phooka shrieked and kicked, fruitlessly waving his stubby arms as Loki’s grip remained steady. 

Bucky pulled an alarmingly large KA-BAR USMC Utility knife from… somewhere. The dim light of the bar glinted off of it as he pointed it at the troll that kidnapped his Darcy. “Let me soften him up for you, huh?” Everyone crowding around them backed up three steps.

“No need, my friend. Is there, Imp?"

Looking angrily between them, the creature slumped in Loki’s grasp. Expertly spinning his knife between his fingers, Bucky looked at the rest of the Avengers. “Armor up. Let’s go get our women.”

Mina...

“No hard feelings, huh?” Aengus was examining his perfectly shaped fingernails and flicked off a bit of a fish scale. “Your dudes should be here sometime, so… you know.”

“Wait, what?” You were waist-deep in fish guts. Pepper was sliding headfirst off a mountain of what looked like rotting seaweed and slime, and Jane and Darcy were trying to fend off the seagulls who were apparently assuming they were part of the fish offal and thus fair game. “No hard feelings? You kidnapped us, you dick! And now you’re leaving us… where the hell is this, anyway?”

There would be no further information forthcoming from Prince Asshole of the Fae, because Aengus and his fairy henchmen disappeared with a sparkly ‘pop!’

“What the hell just happened?” screeched Darcy, swiping at a seagull trying to get his beak into her hair. “Get off me, you flying barnacle!”

“I’m… I don’t know,” you admitted, trying to raise one foot out of the fish guts and losing a shoe. “Ugh! This is so nasty! But I think I freaked him out by telling him we know Loki and this was really going to piss him off.”

Pepper was gagging as she slid sideways in the disintegrating fish intestines, her immaculate white suit now an unspeakable Rorschach test of nausea. “How long before your boyfriend figures out where we are, Mina?”

“Loki’s not some kind of a magical bloodhound,” you groaned, “I dunno. Did these idiots try to hide us, or is this like just dumping us off on the side of the highway like a carjacker leaving you to die?" Looking around as you struggled to free yourself from the decaying remains of what had to be half the sea life in the Atlantic Ocean, you were getting concerned that this was option number two.

There was no sign of life around you. 

“Now what?” sulked Hedley Kow, who’d really been looking forward to scoring on this night, of all nights! The Fair Folk were all hot, but man, there was something about bagging a human chick… there was nothing like it. Unfortunately, he’d attempted to woo Natasha, so he was currently sporting two black eyes and a broken arm.

Sighing elaborately, Aengus glared at him. “Ring up the Aos sí. You know there are some serious babes there, especially the Pinkets. Tell ‘em we got barrels of Uisce beatha and a live band. Those chicks will be topless by midnight!”

Loki...

When their feet hit the ground of wherever they’d been portal’ed to, the Avengers were ready. Armed, teeth gnashing, weapons bristling, and ready to bring down the entire Leprechaun Kingdom to avenge their abducted comrades. But there was no one to admire their ferocious presentation, aside from a couple of listless seagulls pecking at the bloated carcass of what was possibly a seal.

“Are you sure we’re at the right place?” Steve said doubtfully, “I just figured the Fairies would have a… fancier setup?”

“We are in the correct place,” snarled Loki, “but not in the kingdom of the Fair Folk. They have discarded the women in this benighted place.”

Tony was levitating in his suit, thrusters firing randomly as he turned in one direction, and then the other, trying to spot Pepper and the others. Loki could feel a searing headache creeping up his spine as he had to put out the small fire Tony’s suit had created on a dilapidated shed before he set this malodorous fishing slum ablaze. 

“Hey…” Bucky put down his AK-47. “I think I know where we are. This is Port. It’s an abandoned village on this tiny island off the coast of Ireland. Donegal. In World War Two, we were doing reconnaissance on the Nazis…” His ocean eyes went blank for a minute before he seemed to reboot again. “It’s supposed to be haunted. It smelled like fish guts and mildew. That part’s just the way I remember it.”

Spreading his long, pale fingers, Loki created a sizzling rope of green fire. He whispered to it, twirled it in an endless loop between his hands, and then flung it free, like a bird set loose from its cage and it soared toward the sea. “They are here,” he said, “but hidden. The Fae are spiteful, even in defeat.”

“Hey, what’s that?” Darcy was pointing a fingernail with chipped red polish at the sky.

Sliding free from the pile of fish offal, Jane still managed to slip and fall into a particularly rotted, gelatinous mass. “Damnit!” she howled, Just So Done With This.

Putting a hand over her eyes and trying to shield them from the salt-laced wind, Mina squinted. “That’s…” she knew that signature, the coils of green flame twisting elegantly as it circled around them. “That’s from Loki.” She gave an excited little jump and slipped too, ending up on her ass with a “splat!’ in a decaying barrel of… of course, fish guts. “Ugh! But that means they’re here. They’re looking for us! HEY!” Mina shouted, jumping up and down, waving her filthy arms, “Here! We’re over here!”

Within an instant, the tall, beautiful form of her lover, her god, her Loki stood before her, cradling her face in his cool hands. “And here you are, lovely.” He bent to kiss her but Mina backed away. 

“Don’t! I love you and I’m so glad you found us but don’t touch me! You’ll have to burn that suit and you know I love the Tom Ford jackets on you!” Loki’s elegant nose was wrinkling, despite his best efforts and she sighed. “Why is it that I always smell like something dead that washed up on the beach whenever you rescue me?”

“Ah,” he raised one finger, gently tapping her nose. “I did not rescue you on this particular disastrous holiday. The Fae set you free.” She shivered, looking doubtfully around the filthy pier and Loki chuckled, pulling off his jacket and helping her into it, mourning briefly. It really was one of his favorites… ah, well. “How could this happen? We were prepared for battle.”

“It was genius,” Jane said approvingly, “Mina terrified them into releasing us.”

“How?” asked Thor, clumsily petting her hair and snarling it into dreadlocks with a hint of decomposing marine life lacquer. 

“She evoked the name of Loki” Darcy interrupted, as she always did. “She scared the shit out of the head fairy guy. Man, were those assholes a letdown! I thought fairies were supposed to be so magical and mysterious? They were like frat guys! Even stupider than frat guys, which I did not know was possible.”

Loki raised one elegant black brow. “Really, my clever girl? What did you say that so discouraged them? The group of you are an extremely desirable prize to the Fae.” The women simultaneously looked at themselves and shuddered as one. “Well, not at this moment,” he allowed, “but you are delectable.”

Mina allowed herself the smallest smirk, the tiniest bit of gloating. “I told that dickhead Aengus that surely he remembered that of the ten most terrifying things that invaded Ireland, you were the worst.”

“I was there also!” protested Thor, who’d given up on trying to soothe Jane and was attempting to wipe off the gelatinous fish residue from his hands. “I was very terrifying! The Fae must sing songs of my power in battle-”

“Yes, yes brother,” Loki interrupted, emerald eyes narrowed, “did you say Aengus?”

Mina nodded vigorously. “Yeah, that shut down his sleazy seduction scene in a hurry. You should have seen-”

His elegant hands waved furiously in the air, and they all disappeared from the dilapidated remains of Port with a loud “Pop!” that scared the seagulls.

The stink from the group was so appalling by the time Loki had “poofed” them back into the Tower that F.R.I.D.A.Y. politely informed them that, “I have taken the liberty of opening the gym showers for your group, and there will be a cart to take your clothes to the incinerator.”

Watching something that might have been a fish eyeball fall out of her hair and swirl down the shower drain, Mina smiled a little to see even Natasha, who had somehow remained untouched gratefully lean into the warm water. “Everyone okay?”

“You know that when the tower’s AI refuses to let you on the residential floors without a decontamination that you smell really, really bad,” sighed Pepper, shampooing her hair for the third time.

But finally clean at last and dressed in warm, fresh clothes, Mina sighed with relief, falling into the firmly muscled arms of Loki. “Thank you for being historically terrifying, sweetheart.”

“But I was there, too!” protested Thor, still upset and looking vaguely ridiculous in borrowed sweats that barely reached his shins. “Did the sprite not mention me?”

“Uh…” Mina was trying to not actually inhale the corned beef and cabbage dinner, grabbing another scoop of creamy Colcannon before Bucky took it all. Tony was insistent that no one was heading off to bed without polishing off the Irish dinner his chefs prepared. “Try the mustard sauce, Loki,” she said, spooning some of the fragrant yellow sauce onto his corned beef. “So, I still don’t get this. Leprechauns are really just fairy guys who use it as a disguise to trick human women into like, dating them?”

Loki shrugged, elegantly slicing into his meal. “There are Leprechauns. But they care for nothing but their gold. Their interaction with mortals is minimal. But their appearance is one easily taken and the Deamhna Aerig can use it to walk among you. No sweet girl like you would turn down a dance from…” he sneered despite his attempts to remain calm, “such as Monty, now would you?”

His Mina’s chin went up, a bad sign. “I won’t ever be sorry for being kind to people.”

Sighing, he tried to backtrack. “I know, lovely. But this is also what these craven fools count on.”

Natasha was finishing off another two fingers of Redbreast 15-year whiskey. Slamming the glass back on the table, she said, “What matters now is what happens to this мудак! How do we teach them a lesson?”

Even knowing he was about to say something terrible, something probably rather evil, Mina still felt a tingle in her girl parts as Loki leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers as a slow, savage grin spread across his beautiful face. “мой друг, this is happening as we enjoy our dinner. Though,” he added graciously, knowing the Russian’s desire to handle her own ‘business,’ "I am happy to deliver the fool who assaulted you to a location of your choice for your own brand of justice.”

She just couldn’t help it, Natasha started laughing, this arrogant сволочь knew her so well. “I’m looking forward to seeing your Evil Genius. I assume you have a way for us to enjoy it?”

“Well,” Loki allowed modestly, “since you have requested it…”

It was as clear as some well-filmed high-definition film, but the scene the highly entertained Avengers were watching wasn’t fiction, though the sight of the ethereal forest of the Fae would seem so. But the vile, sweating mass of Leprechauns were anything but enchanting.

“No, ladies, just hold-” a giant fart ripped through the desperate attempt from Hedley Kow to salvage the evening. Two nymphs reared back, waving their pretty hands in front of their faces as they gagged. “I mean it, we’re just gonna switch back to our real forms and-”

“If thou could have, thou wouldst,” sneered one. “Come, sisters. It is time for the Aos si to take our leave.” Groans rippled through the forest as the silvery forms of the nymphs disappeared.

“What is happening, man?” screamed one of the Fae, pulling at his ratty red hair as he belched miserably, sending up a cloud of fumes so toxic it was almost visible. “This is on you, Aengus! No babes! We’re in Gnome Hel, man! It was Loki, huh? You pissed him off again and shit- I can’t stop farting!”

Their leader gagged, feeling another one of his monstrous pimples spurt pus onto a chest so hairy that he appeared to be wearing a sweater. “He’s just being a dick! I’ll fix it, y’know, when Loki cools down.” The sweating mass of hairy, pimpled, gaseous trolls moaned, a chorus of ear-splitting farts their only answer.

Mina...

“How are you feeling, sweet girl?” That sly devil you were in love with, the god who’d rescued you yet again from a colossal holiday fuckup that was guaranteed in the company of the Avengers, was stroking your neck very softly and it was doing things to you. 

“Better, I guess,” you were trying to not melt into some needy, shameless puddle because you were standing just behind the rest, who were still enjoying the complete shit show that the Irish Fae had found themselves floundering through. “At least we got our corned beef and cabbage dinner.”

“Mmmm…” he breathed against your ear, the vibrations tingling up and down your spine. “And is that all my darling Mina wanted for her ancestral holiday?”

“Well,” you allowed, “I’d hoped for… you know. A special moment. No matter how godawful our holidays are, the sex afterward is always so…” you sighed mistily, “spectacular.”

His long arms tightened around your waist, and you felt that strange pull at the base of your spine that told you within an instant you would be somewhere else, swept away by this magical god, who for some reason loved you. The room disappeared, and you fell onto your bed, pillows flying in all directions, and in an instant, you were naked and Loki was thrusting into you. You yelped in shock. Usually, it was a production, a slow build as your delicious god toyed and cajoled you into being ready for him. 

But this!

You were ready, oh, god you were ready and you had no idea how it happened so fast.

“W- wait, one minute we’re watching the Asshole Fae Reality Show and now we’re- oh, GOD!” He’d given a particularly savage thrust and you just howled.

“I fear I cannot be patient tonight, cailín daor,” he groaned, “I have wanted to be inside you since I heard of your genius, your terrifying of the Fair Folk until they retreated from the field of battle.”

“Th- th- they dumped us in a pile of fish guts in a haunted village!” you managed, the mattress bouncing vigorously and your hands slipping over the slick skin on his back, trying to hold on. 

“Ah,” he chuckled breathlessly, a deeply arousing growl that made your thighs clench harder against his hips, “you were cunning, my love. You were outnumbered in combat against a well-armored - though profoundly stupid - foe, and you drove them before you like sheep. You used your wit, your cleverness and I have never,” he thrust hard again and your legs flew up, toes pointing to the ceiling as the silky tip of him pushed higher inside you than you knew was possible. “I have never,” he continued, “desired you more.” Loki was speaking with his mouth against yours, not kissing so much as taking in the breath of each other, his body iron-hard and driving fiercely through you, big hands groping your breasts greedily. “So tonight, mo shióg deas, I shall fuck you, as one warrior would another after combat.” Heaving up and back on his heels, he hauled you along with him, still connected as he bent you, back arched over his arm, his other hand pushing gently against your heaving stomach. “I can feel myself,” he panted, “here.” 

You let out a screech as he pressed harder. The feel of him inside and outside of you was unimaginable. It was wild and overwhelming and so fucking sexy and it was turning you into some kind of lunatic because you wrapped your arm around his shoulder and reared up, biting his neck with your sharp little teeth. Loki let out a low, harsh groan and you could swear his cock just doubled in size.

“Do it again.” His fingers gripped the back of your hair and pressed your face to his throat. “Again.”

Grinning, you did, biting into that luscious muscle just over his prominent collarbone and seizing a handful of his thick, silky hair as well.

Loki was always smooth, exquisite, and slick in his seductions. He was not one to lose control but you felt a savage sort of victory as his sinuous hips stuttered, pushing harder, sloppier into you. “Again,” he rasped.

Now both hands were in his hair, tilting his head sharply as you bit into the other side of his neck, and to your shock, your mouth filled with the lush taste of his cool blood as your cunt filled with the heat of his come.

Shivering against each other, Loki’s hands squeezing your ass and your still gripping thick handfuls of his hair, you were still, frozen tightly together. “Holy shit,” you wheezed, “I never… That so goes on our list of stuff to do to each other again!”

Loki began laughing, a huge, hearty laugh that so rarely came from him, an unguarded moment he rarely allowed and it was wonderful. Also, it was making his cock jolt inside your swollen girl parts and rubbing up against some really sensitive places. Wrapping your legs around his hips, you started giggling, too. “Happy St. Patrick’s Day, baby,” you managed, “now, that’s celebrating like a true Ireannach!”

“And to you, my love,” he managed, “and to you.”

Ireannach - Irishman mo shióg deas - my pretty fairy

Deamhna Aerig - air demon

Uisce beatha - from the genius misreall, it means "water of life," early whiskey and the rare thing that the Fae would be guzzling on a night like this.

I'm starting over with a vague memory of who might like my Loki and Avengers tales. If you would like on or off this list, please let me know! Thank you. Mwah!

@what-is-your-plan-today

@sweater-daddiesdumbdork

@the-soulofdevil

@americasass81

@mdemontespan1667

@sultry-rachael

@myoxisbroken

@gigglingtiggerv2

@notpedeka

@narnianarcher

@sylviefromneptune

@winterslove1917

@kimanne723

@hawkeyes-queen

@grymrayven

@stevihj

@lizette50

@jevans2

@wolfsmom1

@devikafernando

@wegingerangelica

@nildespirandum

@alexakeyloveloki

@thebatshitcrazyfangirl

@thehumming6ird

@archy3001

@iheartsebastianstan

@tomstinkerbell

@wolfpawn

@rayofdawnworld

@thecutestlittlebunbunfairy

@dangertoozmanykids101

@alexakeyloveloki

@nuggsmum

@boredbrooder

@fairlightswiftly

@inkededucatednnerdy

@nonsensicalobsessions

@viv-annelore

@eleniblue

[likeawolfatthemoon]

australian surprise songs

loving him was red.

the delicate beginning rush, the feeling you can know so much, without knowing anything at all. i don't wanna look at anything else now that i saw you. i want you for worse or for better. i want your midnights. i'm a fire and i'll keep your brittle heart warm. it's a goddamn blaze in the dark and you started it. laughing with my feet in your lap like you were my closest friend. faster than the wind, passionate as sin. i can tell that it's gonna be a long road. all these people think love's for show, but i would die for you in secret. i gave you all my best mes, my endless empathy. i stay when it's hard or it's wrong or we're making mistakes. and you know that i would swing with you for the fences, sit with you in the trenches, give you my wild, give you a child, give you the silence that only comes when two people understand each other, family that i chose now that i see your brother as my brother - is it enough? i'll be there if you're the toast of the town, babe, or if you strike out and you're crawling home. something keeps me holding onto nothing. give me back my girlhood, it was mine first. you had me crawling for you, honey, and it never would have gone away. i stay when you're lost and i'm scared and you're turning away. i'll give you my sunshine, give you my best, but the rain is always gonna come when you're standing with me. sorry for not making you my centerfold. i'd live and die for moments that we stole on begged and borrowed time. would it be enough if i could never give you peace? you've got your share of secrets and i'm tired of being last to know. a circus ain't a love story. this thing is breaking down, we almost never speak, i down feel welcome anymore. i damn sure never would have danced with the devil. he's gonna burn this house to the ground. fighting with him is like trying to solve a crossword and realizing there's no right answer. you say "i don't understand" i say "i know you don't." he poisoned the well, every man for himself. my mistake, i didn't know to be in love you had to fight to have the upper hand. did i close my fist around something delicate, did i shatter you? i thought i had you figured out. i never learned to read your mind, i couldn't turn things around. i can't let this go, i fight with you in my sleep. did i say something way too honest made you run and hide like a scared little boy? how can you say that you love someone you can't tell is dying? i fake a smile so he won't see. i sent you signals and bit my nails down to the quick. you never gave a warning sign (i gave so many signs). how the hell did we lose sight of us again? 'cause you were never mine. was it over when she laid down on your couch? she's got everything that i have to live without. before you go tell me this, was she worth it? your new girl is my clone. was she worth this mess? you should've said no, baby, and you might still have me. tell myself it's time now gotta let go. should've known i'd be the first to leave. could've loved you all my life if you hadn't left me waiting in the cold. so step right out, there is no amount of crying i can do for you. suddenly this summer it's clear. i'm getting tired even for a phoenix. pulled my car off the road to the lookout, could've followed my fears all the way down. can't breathe whenever you're gone. you're in london and i break down 'cause it's not fair that you're not around. i know my pain is such an imposition. my pain fits in the palm of your freezing hand. you feel so low you can't feel nothing at all. it's hard to be at a party when you feel like an open wound. the tomb won't close, stained glass windows in my mind.

[occasionallyprosie]

"The Power of Words"

"No excuse," Legend exclaimed. "There is no excuse to be fighting a battle for a whole hour straight!" "Obviously you've never fought a war," Warriors deadpanned. "Got any injuries?" "No, for both, but still! Unholy amounts of enemies? Fine. I get it. But barely twenty? Against the nine of us? Goddesses, I could take out twenty alone on half my adventures within ten minutes!" "Oh shut up," Wild snorted. "Yeah right." Legend opened his mouth to retort only for not a sound to fall out. He sat up quickly as he heard Hyrule pipe up to side with him but that wasn't his worry. Why couldn't he speak?

Febuwhump 2024 | Prompt 4: Obedience

Read on AO3 Warnings: Major character death

The battle ended and Legend groaned, dropping down to the ground to just lay there.

"No excuse," he exclaimed. "There is no excuse to be fighting a battle for a whole hour straight!"

"Obviously you've never fought a war," Warriors deadpanned. "Got any injuries?"

"No, for both, but still! Unholy amounts of enemies? Fine. I get it. But barely twenty? Against the nine of us? Goddesses, I could take out twenty alone on half my adventures within ten minutes!"

"Oh shut up," Wild snorted. "Yeah right."

"No I believe it--"

"You believe anything the Scholar says, Calatian."

Hyrule scowled. "I do not!"

Legend had sat up fair quickly, eyes wide, but between Warriors checking the others for injuries and Wild and Hyrule arguing, Time was the only one who noticed.

Time approached him as he rather frantically stood.

"Vet? What's--breathe."

Legend inhaled immediately.

"Good--No, what's wrong?" Time asked because apparently breathing made the veteran panic even more. Yet he wasn't making a sound either. "Veteran, I can't read minds. You have to tell me what's wrong--"

"I can't!" His voice nearly exploded across the area before he yelped and slapped his hand over his mouth, eyes wide.

Time hadn't seen their veteran shaken aside from when one of the others displayed one of their more powerful abilities without warning, usually that was just being taken off guard before their scholar started questioning them on the ability. Actually, also during storms the vet was rather shaken.

"What's wrong?" Time asked again.

"I don’t--I don’t know, I shut up and--" their usually eloquent veteran just gestured helplessly.

"Shut up--Because I told you to?" Wild frowned.

"He'd never," Twilight scoffed, but he did seem a bit concerned. "Shut up because someone told him to?"

"I did though," Legend sounded so confused and panicked. "And then the Old Man said to breathe and it was--I mean obviously I'm breathing but it wasn't--It wasn't voluntary."

Time grew concerned, but an idea hit him. "Vet?"

"What?"

"Draw your sword."

The oddest thing was, despite the flash of confusion, he immediately did so and that confusion was promptly destroyed by the panic.

A moment later he dropped his sword, stepping back as he pulled his hands close to his chest and stared at Time like he was a danger. At all of them like they were a danger.

"What the hell..." Wind gaped.

"You didn't do that voluntarily either, did you?" Warriors croaked.

"Oh goddesses, oh goddesses, no," Legend whispered yet in the shaken clearing it was so loud. "I can't--No."

He ran.

"Veteran! Do--"

Wild slapped his hand over Twilight's mouth. "Don’t tell him what to do! We go after him and talk him down, no orders involved. Got it?"

Problem was, in the moment it took Wild to say that, Legend was gone.

Naturally, they started searching for him.

Time found their scholar partially on accident, but he found him nonetheless.

"No. No," Legend said immediately once he saw Time.

"Veteran--"

"No!" He covered his ears. "Don't you say a thing!"

Time held his hands up placatingly. "I won't. I won't say anything. I only wanted to ask... to suggest if you would be willing to--if you wanted to talk this out?"

"No," Legend said immediately and slapped his hand over his mouth. He was panicked, Time noticed, terrified even. "No! Shut up! Don't--I can't risk this. Oh goddesses above I can't risk this. I know way too much, can do too much, to risk anyone forcing me to do or say anything. Okay? So stay the hell away from me and-and I'll wait until the spell wears off."

Time actually hated that idea. "If someone or something attacks you while you’re alone?"

Legend didn't respond immediately, which clearly had been a breath of fresh air for the panicked veteran. "I'll handle it."

"And the shadow?"

"I can handle it too--Look, Link," Legend sighed, his breathing steadying. "I cannot explain how bad it could become if someone managed to control me. I have items that could complete destabilize the world. I--I could light the Flames of Destruction and Sorrow and revive Ganon. I could--I could kill all of you because even for all your power we don’t use our strongest abilities because of our allies nearby."

"Veteran..."

"No. No, I need you to understand that I cannot let anyone control me like that. It would put the whole world at risk--"

A voice that was distinctly Time's but he hadn't opened his mouth entered the clearing.

"Veteran, don’t move."

Legend froze, he glanced at Time who quickly drew his blade.

"Who's there?" He demanded, quickly pulling the stagnant hero against his chest.

"Old man," Legend breathed, and Time heard the absolute terror in his voice. "Please--"

"Shut up. Kill him."

Time could barely get away before something exploded off of Legend and sent him flying too far.

He rolled across the ground, groaning.

A shadow blocked the light and he barely dodged the sword that embedded into the ground.

Legend stood, tearing his precious blade from the rock with way too much carelessness. He always treated that blade with respect, for reasons Time just didn't know.

His armor was hot, he could feel it softening purely from that explosion. Somehow he managed to protect his head enough it didn't burn off, but it was ringing.

He met Legend's crimson eyes and he saw the way they were filled with pure grief and fear, pleading with Time.

"Vet--"

"Don’t listen to him," Legend's head twitched as the foreign entity using Time's voice spoke before he could.

With the previous order still apparently controlling him, Legend flickered through the shadows and Time barely was able to block the swinging blade. He didn't block the ice that exploded off Legend's blade and froze the Biggoron Sword.

"Old man! Vet--Holy shit!"

Wind screamed as Legend whipped out some magic rod that caused a geyser to explode beneath Time's feet and send him flying up at least ten feet.

"Sprite!" Warriors cried.

"Only obey me," the voice took on an unrecognized voice. "Kill all of them."

Time slammed into the ground, groaning painfully. Warriors was quick to help him up as Wind ran forward and locked blades with Legend.

"Snap out of it, vet!" Wind pleaded. "You don’t--"

He was cut off by his own cry of pain as Legend flickered into a shadow again and appeared behind Wind, hitting him with the water rod that sent him tumbling. Legend switched that water rod with some kind of hookshot faster than Warriors could pull Time to his feet and suddenly Time was standing, his leg giving out beneath him, right where Legend had been a moment ago. He was disoriented, but clearly the veteran was not as he lunged recklessly at Warriors.

Time quickly drank a red, shaking his leg out to force it at least somewhat into place.

Warriors held his own against their veteran well, but only in sword play and as Legend flitted between the shadows and used his huge arsenal, he lost ground and was stabbed through the arm just as Wind rejoined the fight.

Time realized, as Twilight and Wild stumbled onto them and he explained the situation, that Legend hadn't been lying. The Legendary Hero hadn't told a single lie as he used items none of them could counter, moved faster than most of them could turn, and he used the shadows themselves as if they were his home.

Twilight couldn't even overwhelm him because Legend wouldn't engage a direct fight with him, their blades would not connect, Legend used his heavyweight, wrestling inspired style against him. Likewise, he and Wild was a vicious battle but even Wild lost ground against the teleporting and switching positions with allies. Time tried to help, to fight as well, but even so, Legend held his own against all four of them with ease.

That golden blade was soaked in blood as Legend drove it through Wind's stomach.

Someone screamed.

Wind's eyes filled with tears but he reached to Legend's face, only touching it for a moment before Legend was tearing his blade out and fending off an enraged Warriors.

Time ran in and pulled Wind back. Hyrule and Sky and Four arrived just them, the sky knight running in to help while Hyrule and Four both slid beside Time.

"Hey--Sailor, hold on," Time pleaded as he pressed down on his wound with one hand. He released a fairy, fully aware that would not save him, only help.

"He-He--"

"I know," Time brushed the tears from their sailor's face.

"No," Wind insisted. "He's crying."

Time couldn't help but look over, and sure enough, as Legend kicked Wild over the head and hit Sky in the stomach with the blunt end of some cane Time hadn't seen before, there were tears streaming down his face from glassy, dying eyes.

He'd lost hope. Legend had lost hope, he could see it in his eyes, the way they cried freely, the way he seemed to beg for death as he tried to kill them. There wasn't a flicker of the boy's stubborn fire in those eyes.

"It's okay, you'll be fine," Hyrule promised Wind weakly. "We just--knock him out."

"We haven't landed a single hit on him," Time informed him.

Wind laughed, Hyrule's spell helping him tremendously. "H-He always said--He'd kill us."

"Shut up," Four growled. He got up. "I'll go help them. They need it."

The voice laughed. "Yes! Kill them all! Kill every hero!"

Five voices rang out in horror, screams and shouts not to.

Time looked back quickly, Hyrule and Wind too, Wind forcing himself up prematurely to see.

Legend's blade was sunk into his own chest.

Time wanted to scream, but when he saw the blazing flame of spite and determination returned to his eyes, he realized... if the veteran had to die... better by his own blade than one of theirs.

But, how could he be okay with any of his boys dying?

"NO!" The voice roared and Sky's head snapped toward it, but since it came from everywhere, Time figured that meant Sky was just looking in a direction to figure out where he came from.

His sword pulsed, pointed to the side, and Sky drove it into a tree.

The voice screamed, the Master Sword burning bright as Sky drove it deep into the Shadow.

"Vet! Vet no! Don’t you dare die!" Hyrule screamed. "Link please!"

Whatever spell that was affecting him had clearly let go.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry--" Legend sobbed. "I didn't--I swear--"

Time realized Hyrule had expended a lot of magic saving Wind from a wound that would have killed him, but that hadn't stopped their traveler from trying.

"We know! It's not your fault, just hold on," Hyrule begged. Time realized Wild was only just getting up from the kick to the head and stumbled, Twilight helping him over to Legend as Wind stubbornly brought himself--still not fully healed, but good enough the tight arm against his abdomen would suffice.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry--I didn't--p-please--"

"No, no stop that." Sky dropped beside him, Fi laid beside Legend's sword and Time noticed for the first time how they glowed in proximity to each other. "It's not your fault. Don't you say sorry again. It's okay. It's going to be okay. Fi absorbed it. Fi took care of it, you know she always does."

"I don’t want to die," Legend whispered yet with how close they were gathered, they all heard it. Time heard several of them choke on a sob while others made angry or wounded noises. "B-But--I-I'd rather--I'd rather die than-than be--"

"Just save your strength!" Hyrule begged him.

"I'd rather die than be the reason Hyrule falls... or her heroes."

If Time thought Legend's eyes earlier right after he stabbed Wind was awful, the pain, the grief, the wish for death all bundled in the sea of crimson...

It wasn't as bad as the moment those eyes grew distant and the tears stopped rolling, one last one slipping past and turning red with the blood--only some of which was his own--on his face. 

Event Masterlist