#but i hope you enjoy anyway :D

[themisterhip]

I get brat vibes from 1998 Vash  (≧∇≦)/

[tagarilaghost]

I SWEAR CELEBI'S THINGY IS COMING SOON BUT I REALLY WANTED TO POST THIS ALRIGHT

yeaah... future trio got me too...

and Darkrai is there too, because of course he is.

hey look i drew a cute Drifloon :D

...ignore the rest

whatever started at Darkrai doodles ended in brainrot of future trio + darkrai and I'm blaming @scribz-ag24 for this

[veinsfullofstars]

🍭 Kirbtober 2024 Day 31: Darkness 🍭

(ID: Kirby series fanart of Kirby - dressed as a mummy - happily dashing by and carrying Gooey - wearing a purple, star-striped witch hat - on his head, each holding an Invincible Candy and leaving a sparkly trail of other treats in their wake. END ID.)

Happy Halloween!

Previous Day | Compilation | Prompt List (made by @/paintpanic)

Started on 10/20/24, finished on 10/21/24. | Kirbtober 2023 Comp

[mothhue]

Responses to asks/requests from @jackthesilentgentlemenshark and @flower451 :D

Apologies for taking so long to get around to these, I was distracted by other stuff for a bit! (I cut the asks so it the post won't be too long, hope you don't mind <:] they're under the cut!)

[sirazaroff]

@evilrwbyfan breakfast is on the house today

[psilliguykai]

WELCOME TO WILLIAM’S WANTON WEARY WILES!

An impulsive, apathetic man’s misanthropic jams. An eclectic collection of futile dissensions, a pretentious pile of literary bile filled with self destructive theatrics and rectifying tactics and any other slew of showy words.

Welcome.

(Info under the cut)

*queue WTTH instrumental*

Hello boys, girls, neithers, boths, and in-betweens and welcome to William’s Wanton Weary Wiles, a Will Wood/WWATTW x CCCC AU! Consider this a masterpost. Note that this AU is still very much in development, and this post will be updated as things change/get added :] Also. being totally up front. I’ve never made an AU or attempted a story this complex before, so please bare with me if things get confusing! Feedback is appreciated ^^

Warning! WWWW tackles sensitive topics, but nothing foreign to Will Wood or Chonny Jash’s music. Appropriate warnings will be put in the tags of each post, but overall CW/TW for: alcoholism/addiction, mental health issues, suicidal ideation, manipulation, and (moderate) violence.

The WWWW AU story is very similar to the original CCCC album, but with slightly different themes and tone. It still follows HMSW after Whole splits, creating Heart, Mind, and Soul. However, each character and their dynamics + certain plot points (e.g the Juno incident) are altered.

Asks about this AU are extremely welcome! Could be genuine questions, thoughts, serious, silly - anything (so long as it’s SFW!) is great and will help me with making this a Better and Actual Thing :3

In WWWW each member of HMSW represents and is based off of a WW(ATTW) album. Each character’s songs are from their respective albums, and the story will be told in the form of a written series of covers of songs by WW/WWATTW (plus some visual pieces :]). These will be posted individually and linked here as they get released.

While HMSW still exist with the same vague concepts and color themes, they do diverge a decent bit from the original CCCC album and I would not consider them to be representations of canon HMSW (or of any real people - this includes Whole /srs). I’ll be creating and posting ref sheets for each character along with extra info across the next month or so. For now, here’s some overall important info on the AU/”lore” below :3

Important overall info: 

- HMS exists in a sort of parallel reality I’m calling Marybell (as a reference to Suburbia Overture as well as The Prescription). It’s a town within Will’s psyche that reflects his reality. It can change depending on his state of mind/current situation, and pretty much only exists to provide a physical space for HMS.

- Time loop!! This AU takes place during the 2012th loop, though most of Whole’s previous splits were much shorter than this one (some only lasting a day or two, others lasting more like a couple weeks). They’ve gotten longer throughout his life. This one takes place over ~1-3 months (keeping it ambiguous). 

- Soul remembers every loop and knows the vague events that happen when Will is whole (though the memories are less clear than when he’s split). Heart and Mind don’t remember previous loops. Physical changes caused to any of HMS remain, even when the timeloop resets.

- LI does exist in WWWW! She’s about as significant as she is in CCCC and will probably get at least an intro, if not her own ref sheet at some point. I also have a sort of Darrell-equivelant which will probably get his own thing at some point as well, just later since HMSW are top priority at the moment ^^

Meet the cast: 

I’ll elaborate on each of them as the ref sheets come out :] all characters have multiple names which can/will be used interchangeably. I’ve included the pronouns I think the characters would use, but you all are welcome to use whatever you’d like for any of them. Run free :3

Whole:

- Whole/Will/William Racheal McSprout

- In Case I Make It

- He/him (GNC Cis Guy)

- 23-24 years old across the album

- Works at a small grocery/general tourist store

- Makes music as a side hobby. Not that successful lol. He makes decent stuff though - within the AU, the ICIMI covers featured would be considered his original music. 

- Spends his extra money on video games, alcohol, music equipment (sorta, though he mostly borrows shit and uses free programs), and serving cunt (fashion/makeup stuff)

- Not aware of HMS, though they’re aware of him. Mostly just feels a general sense of dissonance during splits, rather than Knowing the presence of these Multiple Actual Guys. Can’t interact with Marybell, same as HMS can’t (directly) interact with the “Real World”.

Soul:

- The Soul/Mr. Capgras/Cotard/Atlas

- He/it

- SELF-iSH

- Whole’s “self” - who he is at his core. His identity and personality at its most raw form. 

- He’s the most in-tune with Will’s actual state of being (health, emotions, etc.) and considers himself to somewhat be William, just separated and with pieces of himself missing. 

- Ultimate goal is to become a Happy Healthy and Alive Whole. Unlike in CCCC, the self-destruction is left more to H/M in this one .

- Knows he needs to get Heart and Mind to work together if he wants to keep William good and well, but he’s growing incredibly tired throughout the loops. He primarily experiences Will’s worst moments and rarely gets a break. Spends most of him life trying to get these. Fuckers. to get along and he’s so incredibly done with both of them. Growing distant, but ultimately does care about H/M on a personal level and really wishes they could all be happy together.

Mind:

- The Mind/Laplace/Al/Apollo

- He/she

- The Normal Album

- Whole’s logic, as well as his self-control and calculated decision making. Doing his best to keep Will stable and often doing so to the point of burnout.

- Primarily tries to keep Heart in check, to the point of excessively trying to control it and Soul. Wants to keep Whole productive and functional by any means necessary. 

- At the end of the day, he does want Whole to live a happy life, but (despite keeping up a facade of superiority and strength) fears Heart’s impulsiveness/ erratic nature and feels the need to over-compensate in order to keep Will safe. 

Heart:

- The Heart/Jimmy/Vestal/Artemis

- He/it

- Everything Is a Lot

- Whole’s emotions, as well as his impulsiveness and indulgence. Sometimes joy-seeking, sometimes self-destructive. Often those two go hand in hand.

- Focused on breaking free from Mind’s controlling nature, trying to get her and Soul to “live a little”. Wants to allow Whole unbridled indulgence (in every whim and emotion, including negative) often to the point of self-destruction. 

- Ultimately it knows he’s wrecking Will, but finds it’s the only way to assuage his suffering. He knows Mind is right about them needing to get their shit together, but finds him difficult to work with and listen to when he’s so excessively overbearing. 

Tags:

Everything about this AU will be listed under the tags #wwww au and #william’s wanton weary wiles. 

Additional tags (color-coded according to character): #William Racheal McSprout, #Jimmy wwww, #Al wwww, and #Mr. Capgras wwww

Look out for updates over the next uh. While, I guess :D

[c-hrona]

Hope-

Or tfw you touch grass for the first time in your life, and it makes you so sappy that you can't help it but pray for a brigther future.

If, in said future, there's also your best friend, well, who are you to not hope a little more?

Little comic without any kind of expectations and is showing I did to try the 8 page zine layout and it does work!!! I will do more of these because it was fun as heck and really made me happy to do it!

If you want to print it and have a physical copy, you can find the file on my Ko-fi for free!

Here some photos of my own little prints, tried both the A3 and A4 format and they are so cute! **

[storytellering]

Breakneck speed.

[pokimoko]

Hello!! i just discovered your blog and firstly i wanna say that your art is gorgeous! <33 and secondly, if youre still taking requests could i get a lesbian/non binary cheetah? /nf

Thank you! Cheetahs be upon ye!

[tamaruaart]

My half of an art trade with the lovely @doppel-doodles! Mengtao in something rotten :D

[hellsquills]

"Are you suggesting that I get my football prowess from fucking my wife?!" (x)

requested by: @your-dead-european-ancestor

Endless SFTH gifs [ 1 / ?? ]

[renatogpadilla]

What's In A Name.

Lux had to stop herself from lighting up.

"Jinx... Jinx..." She tried the name out in her mouth. It felt good! She looked like a 'Jinx'! Short, sweet (well, maybe 'sweet' wasn't the right word) and scrappy! "Jinx!"

She put her entire accent into that last one.

Jinx wondered how it was possible to roll the letter 'J'. She also wondered if she was as red as she felt hearing her say her name so much with such... Joy? Yeah, that must have been it... She wasn't used to that.

"Okay, glad you like it." She was REALLY trying to hide that smile, she was! "And... I appreciate that you don't blame me for... Who I was then."

"Never."

Alright... Where was she... Ah, right. Vi.

"My sister eventually found me..." She continued, tapping her temple with a brass middle finger. Had Lux noticed that before? "And I wasn't really in the best place up here. So imagine my face when she rolls up with Piltie girlfriend of all things."

Lux's hands shot up to her mouth. "No!"

"Yeah, I did NOT take that well..." She wasn't as much ashamed of how much she'd been mad at Vi as she was embarrassed of how little control she'd had over it. "Apparently, they'd been trying to find some dangerous psychopath with ties to Silco that had been making the criminal underworld get a little too bold for comfort... Imagine her face when it turned out to be her baby sister." Now that Jinx had time to really think about it, from Vi's point of view, their entire dynamic had been exceedingly fucked up.

"Anyways, things escalated pretty quickly after that. She'd grown to love her Piltie 'Cupcake' so much I thought she was replacing me... I got ready to take care of that issue myself when I found myself on the bridge between the two cities. And on the other side? Who else but Ekko? All grown up and ready to rock. my. shit."

Lux gasped. Audibly. Jinx could tell she was holding in a squeal. Childhood friends to enemies to lovers? Class-defying sapphic romance? Criminal underworld political drama?! This story had it all! Lux had never been so invested in anything in her life!

"Lemme tell you, that fight was a wake-up call. Boy Saviour had HANDS! I'd never seen anyone dodge like that either... This was before I got my powers so he was a real threat! But when he had me pinned to the ground, hand on my neck... put your eyebrows down, Lux they're gonna hit my roof, it wasn't like that! But... something stopped him. He hesitated. For a moment, he wasn't Ekko the Firelight and I wasn't Jinx the criminal... I think... He saw Powder in my eyes then. Whatever was left of her and he couldn't bring himself to kill me." She would never forget the look on his face. "I had... Other priorities. And a tricked-out grenade. I pulled the pin and waited..."

Lux softened again, and it was at this point that Jinx realized that she had tried to blow herself up a lot along with her enemies back then. Like, every other fight she'd tried to take herself out, even when she had Isha... Damn, she had NOT been okay in the slightest.

"Well, I know he made it out," said Lux, she had to make the lights dim a bit. When had she made them that bright? "So... How did you...?"

"Same way anyone in Zaun made it out of anything back then. Ekko pushed us out of the way. Saved us both."

Lux was starting to idolize this boy she'd never met. I mean, kid makes it growing up in Zaun, starts a freedom fighter gang and then pulls Jinx?! AFTER that big fight on the bridge?! 'Boy Saviour' sounded right! She HAD to meet this absolute hero someday! She hoped, whenever her witch left for home (ouch) maybe she could bring her friends to visit someday... Or, perhaps very selfishly, that she could tag along.

"Anyways, next thing I know I'm strapped to a chair. Silco had taken me to this crackpot scientist he knew. Brilliant man, but Gods he was messed up! Like, he had issues and that's coming from me! Just straight up creepy... Anyhow, he pumped me full of drugs until I got better... And I got superpowers out of it, so that was a plus!"

"I'd been meaning to ask about that... We've been running tests on me for weeks but what exactly is it you can do?"

Ooh, a chance to flex? Don't mind me! "I call it 'Chemhead Strength'! On command!"

"Isn't that a derogatory term...?"

Jinx walked over to Pow-Pow on the ground and lifted it with a single hand. "You tell me, Flashlight!" Her eyes glowed purple when she used her powers... Lux thought it was absolutely sick. And hey! There's something we have in common!

"Strength was just one part of the deal!" She said, putting the gatling gun down gently next to Fishbones. A flash of purple later she was sitting next to Lux again, like she'd never moved at all. Lux hadn't even seen her cross the room! "Speed's only good for short bursts, though. Little hops and dashes here and there. I can't exactly run from here to Piltover-Zaun in the blink of an eye, but I can cross a room no problem." She said it as non-chalantly as she could. She was suddenly feeling herself quite a bit.

"Last but not least came endurance. I speak from experience when I say you could put me through a brick wall and I'd walk it off!" She was actually pretty proud of that one. It had come in handy more than she'd like to admit...

"That's so...! Wait. From experience?"

"Yeah, you can thank my sister for that. I'm getting there." She was so excited getting to show off that she'd momentarily forgotten where her story took her next... She sunk herself into the couch. "You were right, you know? The person I had been up until getting strapped to that chair was the result of circumstance. A lost little girl who hadn't had the power or the nerve to right her wrongs. To work on herself. Who had been too clouded by her own grief and rage to see it... And I thank you for letting me understand that." Though a part of her still didn't fully believe it.

"You are so very welcome, friend." Lux was feeling herself now too.

"Having said that..." She steeled herself for this one. "Who I was after that, was all me. That I can't deny. That I won't deny. I did some messed up things, and I won't pretend I didn't. So... If you still want to hear it... know that that was MY choice. Alright?"

Lux nodded her head again. This felt heavy. She took a deep breath as discreetly as she could.

"Remember." Jinx said, straightening on the couch. "You wanted this."

"And I still do. If you feel like it."

"I think I just might, Flashlight."

She told her everything.

Kidnapping Caitlyn in the shower...

"You saw your sister's girlfriend naked before she did?" Lux mostly asked to distract herself from how terrifying the thought of getting kidnapped naked by a Jinx high off her mind would be. Nope! Just shoot me, thank you very much!

"Yeah, I never gave her enough shit for that... I'll say this, though: I may hate the bitch, but she's fine as fuck for Piltie swine. Gotta give my sis props on bagging that, but you didn't get that from me!"

The tea party...

"I didn't know what was going on... I just heard them, all of them at once... Some insane combo of schizophrenia and all the chems in my system telling me to shoot... Anything. I fired on Vi and Caitlyn... I didn't hit Vi and Caitlyn." Her voice was so small saying this, Lux wanted to hug her again, but too many in one night would probably lose its effect... She'd try it anyway later. For now, let her get this out, just like she'd needed to vent about Sylas. Jinx was fighting her demons and she was proud to stand by her side while she did.

"Silco bled out in my arms... riddled with holes, straight from his d-daughter's hands... And he still didn't blame me..." The words rang in her head again, whether a twisted reflection of Fiddlesticks' vision or exactly what had happened, she couldn't tell. You're perfect just the way you are...

She needed a moment after that. She couldn't tell if Lux had grabbed her hand or if she had grabbed hers. It didn't matter, she supposed.

She may not have had tears left tonight, but her eyes still hurt.

"Still here, Jinx." Lux said, squeezing the hand a bit. To kill your own father... Twice! And one that loved you regardless of who or what you were, at that... Lux couldn't imagine the pain. The grief. This girl was made of iron.

Jinx simply nodded her head in acknowledgment.

"What I did next took the cake, though." She couldn't help but glance at Fishbones. "The absolute finest crash-out Zaun ever spawned..."

The explosion of the Council...

Lux was starting to see why Jinx thought she might be... apprehensive about her past.

Here's a girl from nothing, who was seen as a menace (and at her worst moments, was a menace), who the downtrodden minority saw as a symbol of hope and rebellion, as a light in the dark! And she had now effectively killed a large number of the people in charge of the pseudo-regime they were all rebelling against.

Jinx had, Lux realized to her nausea, unintentionally become everything Sylas wanted to be by complete accident.

Maybe her new friend was afraid that Lux would shun her because of that. To tell the whole truth to herself, there was a knot in her stomach thinking of the parallels between this reclusive not-a-witch and the rebel very-much-a-mage... But Lux, maybe due to foolishness or hope or clarity or experience or some weird mixture of all of the above, realized that there was one key difference between the two: While both Jinx and Sylas had grown up in environments that hated who and what they were, Jinx had had people (criminals and villains, sure, but people nonetheless) that had let her be herself despite the horror and the glares. Silco had been the father she'd needed, and now, without him, she'd gone off the rails and done something the whole of Zaun would live to regret...

Lux realized that Sylas was Jinx, made alone. If all she'd known had been that hate, that grief, she wouldn't be the kooky friend living in the woods she'd come to care for. She'd be a monster, dark and terrifying, that even her light couldn't save from her spite at herself and the world.

And while Jinx had reacted to the pain, Sylas had chosen to inflict it... But then again, Jinx hadn't been kept in isolation for decades just for being herself and existing... Ugh, the whole comparison was so complicated!

A very small part of Lux began to pity Sylas. Oh, who he could have been, if he wasn't alone... Best not to dwell on that... For her own sake.

Jinx then told her of the following weeks... And how she'd met a lovely little street urchin named Isha. The little mute girl had come into her life and just... Decided to stay. No judgement, no hatred... Just love. She was everything she'd needed at the time. Well, her and her other friend (Frenemy? Co-worker? Aquaintence? Second surrogate mother to her child?) Sevika, who hadn't allowed her to be alone, whether intentionally or not. The two apparently hadn't seen eye to eye a lot over the years, but now that Silco was gone, they got to grieve together, and while they still came to blows on occasion, they became each other's rock and bonded over their shared love of little Isha...

Lux found the thought of her friend raising a scrappy child the cutest thing she could imagine. Just her and her little rascal playing games, building little inventions (possibly of mass destruction, but she wouldn't think about that), getting into trouble and being adorable together was enough for Lux to feel her heart grow a size... But she knew how it would end. She knew, after a while it would come to tragedy. So she enjoyed Jinx's smile and joy as she recounted how they used to get beetles to fight and pretended it was this huge spectacle for all to see... But it was just for them. Two orphans that found each other at the bottom of the barrel and made each other's words a better place.

It was the purest love that Jinx had ever known.

Her laughter filled the hut and for a moment her smile was brighter than Lux could ever hope to glow.

Then she told her of how things evolved... How she'd fought Vi and Caitlyn inside the city's guts. How she'd been put through that concrete wall. How Caitlyn had blown off her finger. How Isha had saved her... How she'd become the symbol of revolution for the entirety of Zaun, and how she'd gone into hiding for the next seven months, hearing how people with blue hair had started taking a stand against the Noxians flooding their streets... Oh, yeah! The Noxians! That whole thing also happened!

It really told Lux something about how incredibly messed up the situation was that the actual Empire of Noxus was involved in this tale and she hadn't heard about it until this point. What do you MEAN the greatest military force in the world taking over your city was a side-plot?!

"Yeah, this big unga bitch named Ambessa brought them along. I never really knew what it was she wanted, but it became a problem."

Lux did a double-take. "...Ambessa Medarda? 'THE WOLF', AMBESSA MEDARDA?! THAT AMBESSA?!?!"

"That's the bitch!" Jinx said it like she had no stake in that at all. "Why? Were you a fan of something?"

Now it was Lux that braced herself.

"The Noxians are Demacia's greatest foes! Once every two months almost on the dot they come to our borders trying to conquer us and make us part of that barbaric coalition they call an empire, and you mean to tell me they just showed up one day, with AMBESSA MEDARDA herself and you just... what, lived?! Told her 'No thanks, madame! We do not want to be colonized today! Please leave!' and it just... worked?!"

"Well, to be fair, I only saw the bitch like once. She passed by me when I was breaking into prison..."

"Yeah, and you LIVED! How the fu- wait, did you say you broke into prison...?"

Ah, yes... Isha. "Okay, so... As I became the symbol of a revolution, the most wanted woman in two cities and now one middle finger lighter, it turned out little Isha had been rilling people up. I didn't want to be a symbol, or lead the revolution or anything... I didn't even KNOW there was a revolution for most of it! But Isha... She wanted to do something with it. She wanted to actually inspire people to rise up! So she dressed up as me when I wasn't looking and started going to rallies and meetups, instigating and causing riots in the name of standing up to anyone that would threaten the people of Zaun. Noxians included..."

She continued to tell Lux about how little Isha had been taken during a rally and she and Sevika had gone in to save her... And what had happened inside.

To say Lux was surprised at the Vander fight and reveal was an understatement. Yeah, Jinx had been there. Finding out her father was alive, and more than that, that he'd been turned into a monster was a moment she'd never forget... And naturally, now that her father was back in the picture, it was time to get her sister, who apparently had quit her job back when Caitlyn had shot her middle finger off.

"Lemme tell you, that breakup got her BAD." She told Lux. "She'd been doing underground fights to drown out her pain for seven months and dyed her hair black... So when I found her, she was passed out in her apartment after a night of fighting. Needless to say, she didn't exactly react well to me popping up in her room."

The explanation of the next few hours was... Emotional, to say the least. Lux heard, little by little, as Jinx recounted spending time with her sister, bickering, fighting... bantering. How they found a note their father had left, and how it might have changed things if it had ever been found... How they found Vander again, changed and transfigured into something almost unrecognizable, and how he realized who they were... How for a brief, beautiful time, despite everything, the sisters were and had a family again.

What happened next was hard to hear...

It wasn't the part about the mystery cult leader mage that turned chemheads into robots offering to help their father (though that did catch Lux's attention. Apparently Jinx called him a 'Metal Fortune Cookie'), or the part where Caitlyn came back and turned on Ambessa within about a minute of seeing Violet again (Jinx's sister must have been really something else if she had her ex that whipped after seven months absent). No...

It was the part where the Noxians showed up and somebody killed the cult leader mage, corrupting his connection with all the people he'd helped and causing them to forget themselves... including the now-mindless monster that was Vi and Jinx's father...

How one moment they were a family, holding each other past the pain of a life of strife none of them deserved, and the next, her father was gone, lashing out at whatever moved, his daughters included, wild and in pain, with Noxians on all sides...

It had been little Isha that had known what to do.

The same thing her mama had done so many years ago. That same haunting mistake that had kick-started everything...

And Lux held her through the whole thing.

She had no more tears. She couldn't cry anymore tonight.

For this, she wished she had tears.

Lux killed most of the lights. She left one, small and unimposing, changing from blue to pink, blue to pink, blue to pink... A perfect little candle for her friend's perfect little girl. Jinx thought it was wonderful.

Gods know how long they held each other, but the sun hadn't come up yet, so it was still somewhere deep in the early hours.

"After that, all hell broke loose." She said. She had some mixed feelings about this next part. "The Noxians were everywhere, Cookie - sorry, Viktor- got resuscitated by some insane mix of chems and magic and lost himself as well somewhere in the process. And as if that wasn't enough, he brought the corpse of my dad back to life as a bloodthirsty monster to use in his uprising. Oh, yeah. He kinda gave up on the whole 'help thy neighbor' thing and decided to turn everyone into mindless robots, so we had THAT 'Glorious Evolution' to deal with... Well, the others did. I... I had other plans." Home stretch, Jinx, you're almost there.

"I tried my best to make peace with my sister and then..."

Lux just knew she wasn't going to like what happened next...

"Well, then I remembered that the only way to break a cycle of suffering was to step out of it. To... To remove yourself from it." She put her arm around Lux a little tighter. Lux didn't mind at all. "So I went home. To The Last Drop. Had a whole meltdown, cut my braids off, set the place on fire... And while it burnt I went down to my workshop and made one last little gadget. One just for me. A little monkey bomb. Felt fitting, you know? To... to end it... to end me with it. So I stepped to the nearest ledge and took a deep breath..."

"Oh, Jinx..." Lux didn't have the words. But a part of her understood. There were days (not many, and not often, but there were days) though she would never admit it, when things got so bad... when the pressure of hiding who and what she was became so unbearably crushing that she had eyed her bottle of Petricide Potion a little too longingly...

But the weight of this moment, she couldn't have imagined if she'd tried. And for her friend, she tried.

"It was Ekko that saved my life."

Absolute fucking hero, Lux thought. Whenever she met him (and now she WOULD meet him!) she owed him a drink.

"He came in, at the nick of time, sweating like he'd run a marathon and talked me down from blowing us both up... He... He just sat with me. Just... Let me get it out. No judgement, no fight, no snarky remark, just... time. Time enough to tell me... Well, it sounded ridiculous, but I couldn't help but listen, you know? He said that in the time since I lost my finger he'd been stuck on this other version of the world. Apparently, he and Jayce and a Yordle professor from Piltover just happened to be messing with this huge magical reactor at the same time and ended up stranded in another reality."

"And the Noxians were the side-plot?"

"Yeah, I still don't fully get it myself. But... he told me about this other life. This other world where nothing bad happened after the heist... Other than Vi not making it out, but that's not the point. He told me of this other Jinx... One that never stopped being Powder. For a second I thought he was gonna rub it in my face. 'Look what you could have been!' or 'She was so much better than you!' but... He didn't. Hell, he saw the good in her and told me that all that mattered is that that was somewhere in me too. He didn't try to change me. Just... show me I could do good with who I was. That I wasn't broken. That I still had time to figure out a way to make myself work... To make us work... if I wanted it. And I wanted it, Lux. I really REALLY did. And that he would be there every step of the way..."

No romance novel Lux had ever read (and there had been quite a few) could ever come close to that. Gods above, he gave up the perfect life for her!

"You'll... umm..." Jinx cleared her throat. Now she knew she was all red. "You'll have to forgive me for not going into detail about how the next few hours went."

"Oh, worry not, mon chère." Said Lux, not even trying to hide her playful grin. "I've always been told I have an incredibly active imagination and I'm more than happy to put it to good use!"

Jinx smacked her in the arm and chuckled. What a rollercoaster tonight had been!

"Anyway, after a few hours of making new gear, changing our looks and making up-"

"And out!"

"-WE managed to convince Zaun to join the fight against the Noxians on the side of Piltover. Brought the whole thing together for the first time since... I don't even know how long! Also made this huge flying machine to get us there. I think it's the best entrance I've ever pulled, if I'm being honest! Colors and bullets flying everywhere... Noxians and robot-people getting knocked every which way... Lux, I think it's the closest I've come to making actual magic happen. Then Ekko took off to help out in the fight..." Her tone changed for what must have been the 10th time tonight. "I heard he made it out, but..."

"Was he okay...?"

"I don't know... I never saw him again."

Lux was genuinely speechless.

"I joined up with Vi and got jumped by what was left of dad... We fought. As hard as we could. We... tried to get him back to us. To talk, but he wouldn't listen. Like there was nothing left to listen... Except there must have been, in the end..."

This was the last of it... Just get this out and you're free.

"He grabbed me, and I let myself fall into the bowels of the city with him. I pulled out the monkey bomb and got ready to blow us both to hell, but... at the last second, he... softened. One last act as my dad, I guess. His claws relaxed around me and I got the smallest opening possible to dash away. I left the bomb to go off with him and jumped into an old ventilation duct on the way down as the colors exploded around us... And after that... I was gone."

Jinx felt herself relax, for the first time in... probably months. Someone knew now. The whole thing, beginning to end, and she was still here.

"Remember when I said the only way to break a cycle is to remove yourself from it? Well, that's what I did. My sister would never move on if I stayed in her life, and Caitlyn only left me alone at the time because she loved my sister more than she hated me, which side-note: I blew up her MOM after the tea party, kinda skimmed over that before, so Vi must've had her on a leash! But she'd have to go after me again, if I showed my face... And Ekko? He'd find a way to kill himself for me at the first sign of danger... Better to leave him sad but alive. I lo-... I care for him too much to curse him with me. To give him that chance to play hero one too many times. Did keep his hoodie, though. That's for me... So I stowed away on a blimp (always wanted to ride one of those things, by the way) and flew wherever people wouldn't look for me. Where the name 'Jinx' wasn't on everyone's mouth... Where I could disappear into the dark, and curse the ones I loved no more..." And for a while, she thought, it had worked.

"Just your luck a Mage comes knocking on your door."

"Yes. Luck." Jinx admitted. She allowed herself to smile. "The best luck. And not to get sappy but... I'm really glad you did, Lux."

"Well why would we get sappy now?" The glowy Demacian girl quipped, and Jinx knew she'd made a friend for life.

"Anyway, that's me!" She said, standing from the couch she had practically fused with over the last... Hour? Or two? Meh, whatever. "You wanna take the bed? It's not much of a bed, but you're not sleeping on the couch after sitting through all of THAT."

Lux hadn't even thought about how she was going to spend the night here until this exact moment.

"Oh, no! I couldn't! I wouldn't want to impose..."

"Girl, I told you I was a wanted terrorist and you hugged me so hard you provided mood lighting. You're taking the bed."

"I-" She sputtered, but Jinx practically lifted her off the couch and started dragging her to her ramshackle little room. She really was deceptively strong.

As Jinx unceremoniously carried her through the door at the back of the hut, Lux got her first look at her friend's room. A big, thatch bed and a couple of hand carved drawers (wow, she'd had a LOT of free time on her hands!), a big window to the outside with the floppiest curtains Lux had ever seen, a little shelf over at the side of the wall with a bunch of little trinkets of her own making, a little mini-workbench for Zapper, Lux presumed, and a standing mirror in a corner of the room in front of the bed.

Jinx dropped her on the bed like an unruly kitten.

"Jinx, I can't. Noble or not, I'm a soldier! I could sleep on the floor! It's no problem, really!" She was just making excuses now.

"You are NOT sleeping on the floor!" Jinx went, taking off Lux's boots and gently (at least she thought it was gentle... she was moving a lot!) tucked her in. Which implied holding her down on the bed and just dropping a big blanket on her. "You are my guest and my friend and I'll be damned if I let you treat yourself like that in my house!"

"But it's your bed! Where are you gonna sleep?!"

"Uh, couch? I was already sinking into it before! Never let it be said I'm not a good host!"

"That doesn't feel right." Lux protested. Even if she was already snug as a bug in a rug.

"Well, we're not gonna cuddle. Buy me dinner first!" Jinx jested. She thought she was being funny. She clearly didn't know who she was dealing with.

So she almost jumped out of her skin when Lux answered with "Deal!"

...

"Um... Excuse me?"

"Dinner! Or lunch, or whatever! Because you know what, Jinx?" Lux sat up and spoke with authority, trying to hide how incredibly red she was at the moment and failing miserably. She'd just answered out of reflex! And she didn't think of Jinx like that... though she had to admit she enjoyed being carried juuuuust a little bit too much. "We went through something horrible tonight. And it was so bad you told me your whole life story! And on top of that, we have both been through a lot! Each of us has dealt with Noxians and a revolution! Hell, I'm still dealing with mine! So we're taking tomorrow off! As soon as my shift is over at midday, I'm going to make an excuse and I'm coming to get you, and I'm going to show you what Demacia is all about! Outside of the mageism, the swords and shields, the politics... You let me into your home, Firework, so now you gotta let me show you mine!"

Jinx slowly realized how dangerous letting Lux call her 'Firework' had really been. She was a bit overwhelmed at all the aggressive kindness. "Look, that sounds wonderful and all, but I haven't gotten to the cities for a reason! What if someone recognizes me?! And besides, I only have two outfits..."

"Then I'll sneak you a dress or something!"

"Oh, don't you DARE, Flashlight! Do I look like the kinda gal that wears a dress?!"

Lux had to admit she thought she'd look cute in one. Like a big ragdoll!

"You won't know if you don't try it!" She said. And she was really getting excited now. "If you don't like it, I won't push, but please try it? For me?"

Big round eyes... Waaaay too big, but they did the trick!

Jinx sighed in defeat. "Fine... Tomorrow. But nothing fancy, okay? I was never exactly high class or nothing." She smiled a bit. When was the last time she'd let herself have nice things?

"Yes! You're going to love it!" Lux let herself light up a little. "I'll pick out something simple for you to wear, nothing too fancy! Don't worry, it's going to be lovely." Okay, maybe she was a bit too excited about this...

"Okay, whatever. See you tomorrow..." Jinx stretched and went to the door. "Goodnight, Flashlight."

"Goodnight, Jinx!" There she went, rolling Js again.

When Jinx closed the door, she let herself lean on it a bit and breathe a sigh of relief. Like a huge weight had lifted off her shoulders at last... She smiled wide. And for a moment, nothing was wrong in the world. She said it to herself, mostly. Barely a whisper before going to sleep.

"Isha would have loved you."

And she thought Lux didn't hear it, but now it was the noble who had to fight back the tears...

[eligobrrrrr]

Hêng Kusuriuri, once again

Some thoughts and same thing but untextured under the cut

When deciding to draw him and his Shingi/Hyper next to each other I ended up changing a bit of his design oops- But I think I like it a bit more, specially now that I have them together. and specially now that I did want to lean more into the eye clothing pattern

Tbh I have so many thoughts about their design jkdsfhskd

[adrift-in-thyme]

Happy belated birthday @luna-lovegreat !!! Here’s the Sky fluff I promised!

So sorry this took me awhile to finish!

—————————

“Just how strong is the bond between a loftwing and a Skyloftian?”

Sky has been asked that question quite often since plummeting to the surface. Even more so after he ventured from his timeline. He never truly knows how to reply. How can he explain their relationship? How can he put into words the utter exhilaration of soaring atop your loftwing?

From what he has observed, people usually place platonic love — and especially the platonic love between human and beast — somewhere beneath both romantic and familial, as though it is an inferior thing. As though it can never reach the same heights and depths as the others. The same precious worth. But Sky knows differently.

The love a loftwing and their rider share is like nothing else. As priceless and unbreakable as a diamond.

So, when, finally, a portal spits the heroes out in his era, Sky is overjoyed.

He can see Sun for the first time in forever, wrap her in his loving arms, hold her close and breathe her in, and whisper everything he’s wanted to tell her all these long months. He can see his friends, his family, the place that will always be his home, no matter how far he travels or what monsters he battles.

And —

He separates from Sun, runs to Lofty as the bird lands in a rush of wind and feathers. A grin splits his face and it feels good to smile after everything, so, so good…

— and he can reunite with his loftwing.

“Wow!” Wind gasps, mouth agape. “So, that’s a loftwing?”

“Close that mouth of yours before you swallow a bug,” Twilight teases, setting a hand on the sailor’s shoulder. His lips quirk up in a smile. “He’s beautiful, Sky.”

Lofty preens beneath the praise, ruffling his feathers and throwing back his head. Sun chuckles, and Sky sends her a grin.

“He is, isn’t he?” He sighs, leaning his forehead against Lofty’s beak. The next words leave his lips in a whisper meant only for the glorious animal before him…though if the beautiful woman standing close beside him hears he won’t mind. “I missed you so much, Lofty.”

A low trill emanates from the bird.

“He has missed you too,” Sun murmurs. “I’ve taken him out for a few flights to keep his wings limber. But you know he truly flies for no one except you.” She cocks her head, a grin on her lips. “You should take him out for a flight.”

He turns to her, a question in his eyes. It’s been so long, after all. He feels as though he hardly has enough time to catch up with them both. Much less Gaepora and Groose and everyone else….

“Are you sure, Zel?”

Sun nods and the breeze lifts her golden locks. “Go on, sleepyhead. We’ll have all the time in the world to spend together once you get back.”

Sky breathes in deep.

That’s right. They have time now. For the first time in a while, they have time.

He raises his eyes to Lofty’s, excitement alighting in his chest.

“You wanna go for a flight, Lofty?”

Feathers fly as the bird straightens, shaking himself out. His proud cry reverberates around the space.

Sky leans over, presses a kiss to Sun’s lips. And then, surrounded by the echoes of oohs and awws and ews that sound from his brothers, he climbs atop the loftwing’s back and is off.

The sky is a brilliant blue today. And while it’s always a brilliant blue in Skyloft – has been since he was born – Sky can still appreciate its splendor.

Even the brightest, most joyful heavenly display in another Hyrule cannot measure up to the plush clouds and soaring ceruleans of his home. And as Lofty climbs higher and higher, he feels a wide grin stretch his lips.

It is wonderful to be home.

He had known that he missed it – this little island full of vibrancy and life. The longing had eaten at him during the long nights and dogged at his steps through their arduous journey. But he supposes he had suppressed it to an extent — denied it even — if only to keep going. If only to keep from crumbling beneath the fear that always captures him when he sets foot on firm, grounded earth.

The fear that he will never again take to the skies.

But now as Lofty turns his grand body in a barrel roll and his sailcloth lifts and the wind sings in his ears and fills his nostrils with exhilarating freshness, those dark feelings are miles away.

Lofty pauses abruptly at the tail end of the trick. Then, he dives, plunging downward so suddenly that Sky’s stomach plummets along with him. His grin grows wider even as the brisk air steals any moisture from his mouth. He’ll be choking later, more than likely. But he is used to it by now.

A dry throat is a small price to pay.

Lofty shoots up, goes down again. Another pointed spin takes out a drifting octo. Sky’s echoing whoop turns to almost giddy laughter.

“Having fun, sleepyhead?” Someone calls from his right. Sky looks up just in time to catch sight of Sun streaking towards him. Her loftwing flips upside down as they soar over his head. Her delicate fingers reach for his and for a split second, the world seems to slow.

“Sorry,” she says as their fingers brush in the ghost of a caress, “I couldn’t resist joining you.”

Lofty lets out an eager call of welcome and Sky smiles.

“I’m glad you did, Zelda.”

She smiles and the world seems to grow a little brighter.

It always does when she’s around…

“How about a race, then?” She inclines her head toward the minuscule forms standing on the edge of Skyloft. “They’ve already cast bets.”

Sky chuckles. “All in favor of you, I’m sure.”

She doesn’t reply. But her smile grows just a touch larger, a hint of mischief in it.

Sky shakes his head.

He’ll admit it hurts a little to be betrayed by his brothers in such a way. They’re right though.

The only person who could ever beat him in a fair race was Sun.

“Alright.” His grin is more fierce now, teeth bared in playful determination. “You’re on!”

Yes, he thinks as they streak toward the designated finish line, the tips of their loftwings’ wings just touching, the bond between a loftwing and their partner is strong. As strong as the love he feels for Zelda. As strong as the love he feels for his brothers.

His family.

And maybe in it’s own way…even stronger.

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

the needle gathering dust

hi! this is my gift for @swiftiefirefighters as part of the @buddietommydaily gift exchange :)! I had fun with this silly idea - and it kind of got away from me. Sorry to drag it on, but there will be a second (hopefully not a third) chapter in a few days lol. Tommy wanted to keep running into his loves instead of moving the plot forward, so here we are lol.

I hope you enjoy!

(title from Blues for Almost Forgotten Music by Roxane Beth Johnson)

~

“Agent 21! It’s been too long.”

Tommy sighed. Not again.

Sure enough, when he turned around, there stood Agent 115 and Agent 105. Matching suits, matching “hidden” guns, and matching cocky grins. Tommy was waiting for the day Agent 105 came in with scar matching Agent 115’s. Agent 115, who had spoken, had a key in his hand – that must’ve been how they got into the room. Tommy had double checked that the door was locked, but it didn’t matter when your opponents had keys.

“15, 05,” he responded dryly. “It’s been two weeks.”

Agent 115 looked deeply offended.

“He can’t even say the first digit,” he said mournfully. “Our poor ‘1’s.”

Agent 105 nodded, then added: “And two weeks is a long time for us.”

Tommy sighed again. They were almost always on the same missions as him, somehow. Half the time it didn’t even seem like something the A.A.H. would be interested in, given that they mainly focused on information over technology. Yet here they were.

“Listen, I’m just trying to do my job,” Tommy said, not able to stop the exasperation from bleeding into his voice. “All I need is the crystal.”

Agent 115 grimaced and Agent 105 sucked in a breath.

“Unfortunately,” said the former. “That’s what we’re here for, too.” 

Agent 105 nodded.

“We could always team up to get it,” continued Agent 115, a hopeful smile on his face.

Tommy blinked.

“There’s one crystal.”

“He’s got a point,” Agent 105 said quietly. Tommy started edging towards the other door as they whispered a few things to each other. They were like an old married couple – half the time, Tommy wondered if they were one. But hey – if it distracted them, it was all the better for him. Just a few more feet. . .

A shot sounded, and a metallic bang. Tommy dropped to the ground automatically, but no other shots came. He looked back at the door, only to see the handle blown off to who knows where. He growled in frustration as he turned his gaze back to the agents.

“Sorry, 21,” Agent 105 said, and he almost sounded regretful. “We can’t let you do that.”

“Seriously?” groused Tommy. These guys couldn’t mind their own business. He rolled to the side and hopped to his feet before tossing a charge at the door, then drew his own gun while waiting for the door. It never paid to be overly trusting with the A.A.H., especially with Agents 115 and 105. They always managed to cause trouble. Within seconds, both of their guns were out as well.

“It seems we’re at an impasse,” Agent 115 joked with a smile. That’s what they thought.

The door blew. A few small pieces of metal went flying, but luckily his aim was true – most of the door was still intact. The other agents stumbled away from the direction of the smoking door, but Tommy jumped towards it, kicking what was left of it in.

“T-” whichever one of them was speaking cut off with a small cough. “Agent 21, wait!”

He considered tossing a teasing reply back at them, but he didn’t have time. He had to get to that crystal before they got their wits about them (and apparently, their lungs – it really wasn’t that much smoke).

Still, a small smirk graced his face.

-

“Agents, what can I do for you?” Tommy asked dryly.

The two men startled just slightly, before whipping around to face him. Smiles lit up their faces – yugh, they were unbearable.

“Agent!” Agent 105 greeted. “We’re just browsing. How are you this fine afternoon?”

“It’s 9 P.M.”

“And?” asked Agent 115.

Tommy raised an eyebrow. “I’d be better if you weren’t trying to steal my score, again.”

“There’s no way we didn’t get our assignment first,” Agent 115 argued. “Tw-” Agent 105 elbowed him in the side.

“I probably shouldn’t tell you that,” the former finished. Tommy fought back a smile. If he had to have nemeses, at least they were kind of idiots (and just a little funny, but you’d never catch him admitting that). It certainly helped make up for the annoyance they caused while trying to do his job.

“Step away from the computers,” he said, serious now. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

That wasn’t entirely true; he did want to punch them sometimes, and– well, oddly enough, that was about it. Nothing else. The thought made something deep inside his brain squirm, which was decidedly not comfortable, so he brushed it aside. He couldn’t be distracted while in the field, even just for a split second. He refocused on the agents in front of him. 

And they—they had a look, something between wan and heartbroken. Tommy frowned just slightly.

“We know,” Agent 105 said softly.

What?

But then smiles slid back onto their faces, eyes shuttered, and the moment was gone. That was also decidedly uncomfortable.

“How kind of you,” Agent 115 said cheerily.

“But, we’re just about done here,” Agent 105 completed. “So–”

Tommy drew his gun and shot one of the laptops they had set up. Both A.A.H. Agents jumped and ducked away from the shrapnel.

“Seriously?” complained Agent 115.

“Couldn’t let you get away with everything,” Tommy replied, gun trained on them.

Before anyone else could speak, the other agents’ watches started blinking. They both glanced down (now, now, he could take them out right now), then looked back up at him. There was something in Agent 115’s eyes as Agent 105 started collecting their other equipment.

“Well, looks like our visit’s going to have to be cut short,” 115 said with a fake frown. The smile quickly took over his face again as Agent 105 tapped him on the shoulder, equipment packed up.

Agent 115 nodded to 105, then to Tommy. He grabbed a rope that was laying on the floor, leading to– the window. Of course. The other end was attached to the sill. With a mock salute, he jumped out the window.

“It’s been a pleasure,” Agent 105 said, before following his partner.

Tommy lowered his gun and sighed. That uncomfortable moment was still sitting in his shoulders, tension he hadn’t yet shaken. But he could still get at least some information from this mission. He holstered his gun and started plugging his own devices into the computers, trying to roll out his shoulders as he did.

But somewhere deep in his chest, past the harsh feeling, some part of him couldn’t help but feel comforted.

-

“I just keep running into them on missions,” complained Tommy. “It’s like we have a rivalry that I don’t know about!”

Lucy laughed. “Do you know how many people would kill for a nemesis, let alone two?”

Tommy rolled his eyes and picked at his salad. It was dumb.

Lucy closed the cupboard and turned back to him as she set her plate on the counter. She started dishing herself lasagna as she spoke.

“And look at you. Here you are, complaining about them. They’ve been your rivals for a while now.”

And they. They had—

“Okay, sure,” Tommy acknowledged. “But it still feels like they’re way more invested in it than I am.”

Lucy shrugged, rolling the foil back over the pan.

“I think A.A.H. agents are just extra like that,” she said as she put the lasagna back in the oven.

“Maybe,” he said noncommittally.

“What does A.A.H. even stand for?” asked Melton, entering the kitchen. There was a coffee cup in his hand and a tired look on his face – which made sense, given that Tommy was pretty sure he’d just gotten off of a 24 hour stakeout.

“It doesn’t stand for anything,” Lucy answered, sounding exasperated. Tommy hid a smile. Melton had definitely asked this before (though again: 24 hour stakeout). “It’s a designation number.”

“Ohh, right,” Melton said. A look of understanding lit up his face, and then something more sheepish. “I’ve asked that like, four times, haven’t I?”

“Six,” Tommy cut in as he stabbed a few pieces of lettuce. He ducked the coffee packet that went soaring at him with a laugh.

“In my defense, I’m always the one on stakeouts,” Melton said with mock-offense. Probably.

“Not our fault the boss hates you,” Lucy joked, taking a seat at the edge of the island.

“Hey, I like stakeouts! At least I’m not diffusing bombs all the time. It’s like they want you to blow up,” shot back the other man.

Tommy just watched as the other two bickered, smiling into his salad.

-

Tommy swung his gun to 115.

“There’s no need for us to be stupid about this,” the other man said.

“I’m not the one who said ‘Hey, wouldn’t it be a good idea to call the police?!’” Tommy practically shouted.

“Okay, well– ah, yes. But,” 115 stuttered.

Tommy switched his aim back to 105, and he could see both of their guns shift slightly.

“I didn’t do it on purpose,” 115 finished exasperatedly.

“But you did do it.”

“You’re on his side?”

Tommy let them argue for a moment as he tried to figure out a way out of this. They couldn’t have more than 5 minutes before the police got here, and they couldn’t stand here in a stalemate forever. It would take at least 2 of those to even get out of the building, let alone find the ID he was looking for. He growled in frustration.

“You triggered the alarm,” he interrupted, gun swinging back to 115. They stopped arguing to retrain their weapons on him and he rolled his eyes.

“Only because he pushed me,” 115 said. Tommy went back to 105, and they followed him.

“To keep you from hitting your head on the fire extinguisher!” 105 shot back. Tommy switched again. They followed.

“How are any of us supposed to do this now?” Tommy said, and turned his gun back on 105. 115 and 105 turned their guns towards each other.

Tommy blinked.

“Wait,” 115 said.

Tommy started laughing, the stress combining with the absurdity of the situation.

“Okay, okay, stop!” 105 shouted. “We’re not getting anywhere like this. Can we all just put our guns away?”

Still laughing, Tommy clipped his gun back into its holster. He paused, surprised. Not only was he laughing, he actually put his gun down. Just because 105 said so. Hm. He didn’t like that.

Tommy cleared his throat and composed his face again. The other two sighed as they holstered their own weapons.

“Now,” 105 continued. “We have–” he moved to check his watch, but 115 interrupted with “Four”.

“--Four minutes before the police get here,” finished 105.

“Not enough time to get the folder,” 115 added.

“So you’re proposing we. . .” Tommy trailed off. Wait. What? He was sent to get the ID of an employee in this building.

“The folder?” he asked.

Both agents turned to him, confused looks on their faces. “Yeah?” 115 said. It took another second for them to both freeze.

“You’re here for something else?” 105 asked. His face was pale, his eyes were wide.

Tommy shouldn’t have said anything. He could’ve let them believe he was here for whatever the folder was and they wouldn’t suspect anything with the ID. But, it did tell him that they had no idea he was looking for something else. Which meant that the A.A.H. was farther off than they had thought.

“It doesn’t matter. We need to get out of here,” he said brusquely. “No one’s getting what they want.”

115 and 105 were still looking at him as he made sure all of his equipment was secure. There was something in their eyes again.

“What?” Tommy asked gruffly.

There was a moment of silence where they were just staring at each other. The alarm had stopped ringing shortly after 115 triggered it, and without their voices there was nothing but the hum of the air conditioning. No one moved.

Distantly, sirens faded in. Tommy shook himself out of the staring contest, and Agent 105 spoke.

“Nothing,” he said, just softer than a normal speaking volume.

Tommy didn’t have time to figure that out. He turned, offering an annoyed half wave to the other agents, and started running back the way he came. Luckily, they’d gotten in different ways. Their paths collided in that room, but otherwise, they didn’t cross. He could just get out of here. And, luckily, two more lefts and he was.

He skidded around the second to last corner, ready to– camera. It took a few more steps to come to a stop, but by the time he had, his gun was out. Crack. Luckily, his silencer was on, so it was more of a slap than a full volume gun shot. The camera flopped, attached to its body by a straining handful of wires. Tommy didn’t even bother putting his gun away before he started running again. It took him a few tries while running and not looking at it, but he managed to get it clipped back into place as he made the last turn.

Right before his hand was on the fire escape door, another alarm started blaring. It sounded different from the one 115 had triggered (which still had blinking red lights going off along the top of the wall every few yards). Uh oh. Tommy swore he could hear footsteps and yelling, but he was so far from the main entrance it probably wasn’t possible. Ignoring it, he pushed open the fire escape (he’d cut the alarm wires on his way in) and burst out into the sunlight.

-

Lucy kicked the burnt. . . something lightly. Tommy thought it looked like a computer, but he honestly wasn’t sure.

The place was crawling with B.A.G. agents. Floodlights were being set up, items were being bagged, burnt and crushed items were being studied. It was a flurry of activity, but Tommy could still see what happened here.

“This was definitely them,” he said. Lucy looked up from the wreckage in front of her.

“Who?” she asked with a small frown.

“Agent 115 and 105,” Tommy answered, crossing his arms. He nodded towards the pile of burnt items. “I’ve seen them do that.”

Lucy blinked at him. What?

Eventually, she said: “Okay, Mr. Nemesis. I don’t even know how they would’ve done this, though.”

“They have an explosive that reacts to the coolant inside computers,” Tommy supplied immediately.

How did he know that?

Lucy stared at him again.

“How do you know that?” she asked incredulously.

The question of the hour. Had they mentioned it? Had he seen plans for it, even on a mission they weren’t on? He– Tommy had no idea.

He swallowed. “I heard them mention it.”

Lucy snorted as she looked back down at the (presumably electronic) remains.

“Your nemeses have big mouths,” she said.

Yeah, sure. He was pretty sure he was the one with the big mouth.

“They were gloating,” Tommy answered numbly.

“I guess. Still kind of dumb,” the other agent said. She shrugged. “But, it doesn’t matter. It’ll all get tested and we’ll figure it out. We’re B.A.G.”

Maybe it would be better if they didn’t. Then it wouldn’t prove Tommy right.

Tommy nodded, but couldn’t get his vocal cords to work.

Lucy walked away towards a group of lab techs, and Tommy just stared after her.

-

“Can you pass me the blue?”

Tommy smiled. He always used blue, in any craft.

“Here,” he said, just a hint of teasing in his voice. There was a small laugh from behind him, and Evan rolled his eyes.

“You two need to stop ganging up on me,” he said with mock annoyance.

Tommy has to physically restrain himself from making an innuendo as he turns back to his own work. Evan does take the blue, though.

“Never will,” Eddie responds. “You’re stuck with us.”

“Yep,” Tommy confirms, glancing back at Evan. The love in the other man’s eyes nearly takes his breath away. Even through the joking, and even after this long, it still leaves him speechless.

“Good,” Evan says after a moment, a smile on his face.

Tommy woke up to darkness and a beating heart. 

It felt like the wind had been knocked out of him, like the time he fell out of a second story window. There was a memory, of stark clarity and yet impossible to describe. A dream. Of a—a house, or a kitchen, or maybe just a weird realm of light. And something in his hands. A mix between a paintbrush and a pen, and maybe sandpaper. There was a person to his left, that he couldn’t see, and a person to his right, that was—Lucy, maybe. Or Derrick from accounting, or an A.A.H. agent he met once, or a mix of all three. And his chest was on fire but his hands were freezing. It didn’t make any sense.

But now his chest was tight. His shoulders too. There was sweat on his back, and his legs, and it was too warm and that must’ve been a nightmare, because he now felt terrified. There was a pinprick ache in his temples, like he was grinding his teeth.

And nothing made sense.

[majorproblems77]

Sacred Realm updated which means im actually so excited to be making this omg

Hi there Sacred Realm fans! :D

It is I, the one who makes the analysis posts on various comics on the internet. (With permission course) Because I love doing them and they bring me joy.

If you are unaware of what Sacred Realm is, it's a Legend of Zelda AU about a new Link who gets a little medallion that makes him a badass, also it can hold the spirits of heroes from across the realms (Including my fave boy ever okay)

Before I begin, I'll get the important stuff done, This is done with permission from @zelda-the-sacred-realm, and all art from the comics belongs to the comic artist. Please do me a favour and go and check it out because it's a wonderful comic and extremely well-drawn and written.

Now, grab some popcorn, and a drink and please enjoy me rambling about a comic that I enjoy so much. :D

Lets begin!

First, some sass

Damn, possessed Link got a mouth on him. Low key I love him, he looks like he could go for round two like right now. Wouldn't be surprised if he went for the hero of time next.

My eyebrows shot up at this.

Time KNOW's

let me repeat that

TIME KNOWS. HE KNOWS WHATEVER IS IN THE MEDALLION CAUSING THIS.

(More on this later)

He knows he knows he knows he knows he knows

I can hear the mocking voice of Link while he is saying this. Time has experience with this particular entity before.

Okay, so here is when it gets interesting.

Possessed Link or this entity I suppose, referring to Time and in turn Hylians as 'Your Race' Tells me a couple of things.

This thing in the medallion isn't a Hylian spirit. So as much and as fun as a dark link theory is, I dont think it could be.

Time arguing that we're not perfect, again referring to Hylians sounds very much like an "I'm speaking with a god speech"

I present my theory on what is in the medallion.

An extra spirit, a god of some description, from the spirit realm. Out to get revenge on Hylians.

Time has been to the spirit realm, in his games. (I am under the assumption that those still occur in this canon please do correct me if I'm wrong here.)

I'm convinced that this thing in the medallion is a deity of some kind because of the eye colour. I can't get over it.

This style of blue, with no pupils.

We've seen it before.

On Hylia.

From Chapter 2 fate PT2

And here is the first time we see it on Link for comparison, With Sky's alongside him for comparison for what Hylian eyes look like.

From Chapter 2 Fate PT3

The colour isn't exact so it can't be Hylia herself I dont think, but, i believe that there is a spirit trying to escape the sacred realm and is using Link to do it.

Okay, enough of my conspiracy theories moving on!

Link you gotta wake up!

Sky thinks so, I love the coloured speech bubble, what a good idea.

OH BOY I LOVE THESE PANELS

You know those scenes in video games when you're fighting off something that's trying to possess you and you have that ominous-sounding echo that seems to reverberate through your head. But is also muffled at the same time?

(If I find a game example I'll link it)

This. Put that noise you think off over this.

KICK ITS BUTT LINK GET IT, GET BACK IN HERE.

These five panels tell so much when it comes to how much effort Link has to go through to fight off the medallion possession. I wonder if its going to be easier or harder for him to fight it off as he gains spirits in the medallion.

You can really feel his struggle and I just love it. The visual storytelling is incredible in this comic and I will fan girl about it all day because I just love it so much

I'm thinking he says this to gauge just how bad this possession is. time seems like the guy who would, especially as he already seems to know what this is.

I wonder if he really is the hero of realms?

Yes, Time. Yes, he is.

The face he dosent remember any time he's possessed by the medallion is a little worrying.

Makes me think that could be used later.

Like, Link dosent remember fighting this ice comet now. What if he fights an enemy while possessed, breaks the possession then has to relearn how to defeat it because as possessed link he's not gained any information.

Man Link is a cinnamon roll sometimes and I love him dearly okay.

Alrighty, thats me finished with my rambling. Thank you so much for sticking with me through this! And thanks again to @zelda-the-sacred-realm for the permission to do these i really appreciate it.

Please please go and check out the rest of the comic if you haven't it's amazing :D

Thats me finished for this chapter, so I'll be headed out!

Hope you have a wonderful day! :D