#dig up a bunch of dirt/mud

[tea-time-terrier]

The yearly ritual of sacrificing my worst pair of pants for the earthdog dig out ✌

[justwinginglife]

Gimme a oneshot of Reader who doesn't have any experience in love so she panics when she gets feelings for Hoshina, giving him random things (a nice rock, random vegetables, ect.) And randomly blurts out embarrassing compliments "YOUR MUSCLES LOOK VERY NICE TODAY VICE CAPTAIN SIR" before she just fucking books it out of there.

I love you so much bestie. I will do this for you 100%, thanks for always matching my freak.

The Thing About Being In Love

You always thought you wouldn't know love if it hit you in the face. But then you fell in love and felt like you just couldn't stop taking hits. You had no idea how to process your feelings, no idea how to convey those feelings in a way that made sense, and no idea how to stop those feelings from overflowing.

The thing about being in love with Soshiro Hoshina was that your feelings always made themselves known to him before you wanted them to. Before you could even think about what you needed to say and how you needed to say it, you words were already tumbling out in a chaotic jumble. They always did. And it made you love him even more that he never judged you for it. He'd just smile the same sweet smile again and you could feel yourself falling deeper and deeper.

When you first met him, you made quite the first impression- after reflexively reaching out to ruffle his hair because you just needed to know if it was as soft as it looked, you earned yourself 50 push-up's and his undying attention going forward. He wanted to know more about the girl who'd said fuck it to all manner of decorum and propriety, ignoring the chain of command to satisfy her desires. It wasn't until he got to know you better that he realized that you just couldn't control yourself.

He'd been particularly amused when you'd complimented the way his muscles looked in his favorite compression shirt (it was his favorite only because you'd complimented him in it). In fact, you'd noticed that he'd started wearing it more frequently around you after you made comments on it the first time around. And you just couldn't stop making comments on it every time after that.

"Oh, wow... your back muscles are gorgeous, can I touch them?" You yanked your hand back before you actually did touch him and scurried off, red in the face.

"Your abs look so solid... shit, I'm drooling." You shook your head aggressively, wiped your mouth, and ran off again.

One time you'd even had the nerve to say "Do you think you could wear me like that shirt?" Immediately after, you slapped a hand over your mouth and bolted like you were on fire.

And when you'd taken up gardening for fun, after harvesting a bunch of potatoes, you wondered if Hoshina liked potatoes which led you spiraling down the rabbit hole, wondering if he was eating enough. So, of course, you made the walk to his apartment in your gardening overalls and offered him the potato, still covered in dirt. He took it, stunned, and watched as you proceeded to walk away as if you'd never been there in the first place. Little did he know, you were embarrassed that you'd trudged over to him, still caked in mud, just to present him with the most underwhelming of gifts. You still didn't know how you got these ideas in your head and why your body executed them before your mind could properly protest.

Then there was the time that someone had painted a smiley face on a rock and placed it near the sidewalk by your house- it had reminded you of his warm smile and you'd given it to him in the middle of a training session. Despite your malfunctioning brain, your strength and your skill were actually quite impressive, and he always enjoyed a good spar with you. It wasn't until he had you pinned to the ground that you felt the rock digging into your leg and you'd pulled it out of your pocket and gifted it to him right then and there. He did more than smile that time, he actually laughed. You flushed, wondering if he was going to make fun of you for once, but he didn't. He took the rock gleefully and even named it after you. You started giggling and soon, the two of you were just collapsed on the floor, filled with laughter.

At least some good could come out of these random bursts of affection and you wouldn't trade these precious little moments with him for the world. The thought that you were the one that made him smile and laugh like this, it filled you with the most genuine sense of happiness even if you were embarrassed at how you'd done it.

At some point, Hoshina thought he'd have some fun with the situation- he didn't want you to feel left out after all, and he wanted to compliment you too.

So he started running up to you, yelling something like "Your hair looks very pretty today!" or "Those curves of yours are looking mighty fine!" and then dart off; even though he wasn't embarrassed, he wanted to keep the same energy as you. It made you laugh. And he loved when you laughed.

And then it got easier and easier to be around him. You weren't stumbling over your words anymore, you were proclaiming them with pride.

"Thought you could hide those biceps from me forever, huh, Hoshina? Let me get a good look." You even had the nerve to fucking wink at him.

He'd smirk and flex them at you, then blow you a kiss.

And you went on and on like this, flirting with him, laughing with him, stealing little moments with him anywhere you could. The thing about being in love with Soshiro Hoshina was that your feelings always made themselves known to him. But somehow, someway, through all the awkward encounters, all the stammered words, all the heavy breaths threatening to collapse your trembling lungs, your feelings found their way into his heart. And he guarded them like they were his treasure. And he reciprocated them tenfold.

One day, he said the cheesiest thing about how when you had kids he'd have the best story to tell them about how you met and how you started falling for each other and you teased him for being so corny, but that was the day you knew you'd marry him.

Because the thing about being in love with Soshiro Hoshina is that it's the best feeling in the world, but being loved by Soshiro Hoshina is even better.

[dewsgremlin]

Kevin is absolutely annoyed by ghouls and would like to send them all back to the pit

cw: Kevin hates ghouls

(he would prefer any other demon because ghouls cause so much chaos)

Kevin hates ghouls with a passion.

Not because he's afraid of them, no, on the contrary, you can't have less respect for them than Kevin. He just thinks they're annoying little beasts, like particularly vicious chihuahuas from hell. Dewdrop, Phantom and Rain especially get on his nerves. Phantom because he's always clinging to Kevin like a leech. Dewdrop because he's a little gremlin who just causes chaos that Kevin then has to clean up. And Rain isn't that bad but he isn't good at speaking human language that Kevin usually doesn't understand what the water ghoul is stammering anyway. Well, Kevin could speak ghoulish if he wanted to, but in the end these pests would annoy him even more.

The worst is when he has to fix something in the ghoul wing.

For example, the other day, when he just wanted to clean the clogged drain in the kitchen sink, he was surrounded by ghouls within a few minutes. They reminded him of a bunch of starving cats, the way they stalked around him and cast curious glances over his shoulder.

Phantom was immediately glued to him again, practically tugging at Kevin's hair and clothes. Then Aether, who kept his distance but intermittently gave advice that Kevin hadn't asked for. "You should unscrew the drain pipe first" and "Are you sure you've mixed the cleaning concentrate sufficiently? Otherwise it could damage the pipes."

Kevin wanted to hit Aether in the face. But instead he contented himself with glaring at the sink while he worked.

At one point he accidentally hit Rain's forehead with his knee because Rain was squeezing himself on the floor between him and the bucket that Kevin had used to catch all the muck from the drainpipe. With an annoyed look, Kevin noticed that the water ghoul had started collecting small pieces that had landed in the drainpipe from the bucket.

"Stop that! You're just making everything dirty," he growled as Rain pulled his hands back and placed a marble, dripping with dirt, on the ground.

Rain just babbled incomprehensible things as he began to dig in the muck again.

"Why do you forbid Rain that?", whispered Phantom and came so close to Kevin that he felt the ghoul's warm breath brushing over his ear.

Kevin sighed with the burden of a man who would rather tend a sack full of fleas than a handful of ghouls.

Why couldn't the clergy have chosen other demons? There were many species that were less unruly than ghouls. Kevin even had the feeling that chaos ghouls not only enjoyed themselves, but that they actually drew their energy from it. He had once expressed this thought to Sister Imperator, but she had just laughed at him and said that he just had to learn to assert himself. That could only come from someone who didn't have to deal with these plagues on a daily basis.

Annoyed, Kevin stuck the spiral into the drain to push out the last bit of snot, while at the same time swatting away Rain's fingers that had appeared on the edge of the sink.

Since Copia had risen to the top of the ministry and had a bit more say, Kevin was no longer even allowed to sprinkle holy water on the ghouls to keep them away. After all, that would hurt the ghouls, the youngest Emeritus brother had explained his decision. Simply ridiculous. When Kevin had started working for the clergy, ghouls had just been treated like ghouls. But since Copia had shown up here, Kevin had to treat these creatures as if they had more feelings than lust, hunger and thirst.

Finally, the resistance in the drain was released and with a slap, a pile of mud landed in the bucket.

"Is that...sand?" asked Aether, astonished. Kevin shrugged his shoulders in resignation. "How do I know what kind of crap you always pour down the drain?!" He pulled the spiral back and knelt under the sink to screw the pipe back on.

Phantom also knelt down next to him and grabbed one of Kevin's long strands of hair to chew on.

"I'm clearly not being paid well enough for this," the brown haired growled, shooing back first Phantom and then Rain, whose hand had already disappeared back into the bucket.

Under the curious gaze of the ghouls, Kevin screwed the pipe back on, sat up with his aching back and picked up the bucket.

"It would be nice if you could just stop breaking or clogging anything for more than three days," Kevin grumbled, looking sternly at Aether. The quintessence ghoul had spent the last few minutes watching with his hands on his hips and a critical expression. "I'm doing my best, but you know what they're like." Kevin only snorted in response. He watched as Aether disappeared into the living room before he too turned to leave. The ghoul was talking to Kevin as if they were eye to eye. Kevin shook his head.

Ghouls.

He was about to close the door behind him when Rain slithered through and tugged at his sleeve. His big blue eyes bored into his.

"What?" Kevin asked slightly suprised. Rain's mouth opened and closed a few times without any words coming out. Then, finally, when Kevin's already extremely thin thread of patience was about to snap, Rain managed to say a word.

"Encore."

He had always thought that Rain simply didn't speak human language, but apparently the ghoul was just stupid. In a good-natured tone, as if he was talking to someone particularly retarded, Kevin replied. "I know you did a great job on the ghovie. We're all very proud of you. But I," he pointed to himself, "have to go now," he pointed to the door.

Rain tilted his head, confused. He's probably doing this so that the few brain cells he has will slip into the same corner, Kevin thought spitefully.

The water ghoul tugged at his sleeve again, this time more frantically. "encore, encore, encore Dew."

Confused, Kevin turned around and froze.

Dewdrop stood at the sink and calmly poured a thick liquid into it. Kevin now also noticed the penetrating smell of ammonia. The damned ghoul poured wall paint into the sink. Kevin blinked. The man was too stunned to even utter a word.

He definitely needed a bottle of whiskey tonight. Better yet, two. And brandy. A lot of it.

[moominofthevalley]

A Kiss Left of You

Emily enjoys a rainy Sunday morning.

trystan x emily

teen | wc: 578

a/n: a short drabble inspired by the songs ‘my love mine all mine’ and ‘heaven’ by mitski; as well as the poem ‘the orange’ by wendy cope.

And that orange, it made me so happy. As ordinary things often do.

Emily’s eyes met the hustle and bustle of the city. Dewy droplets fell on the large window of Trystan’s penthouse. An overcast of grey clouds blanketed the afternoon sky. The leaves of nearby trees were a faded green; how lovely the world became during late spring. Behind Emily lay the sleeping man she loved more than anything.

They had just gotten back from a walk with Twilight, their boots stained with mud and dirt. Twilight, of course, loved it all; her fur still drying from the rain. Trystan slept on the couch, his furry friend curled up by his feet. The two looked adorable, and Emily managed to take a quick photo of them cuddling.

Emily walked over to the kitchen, her bare feet cold from the hardened floors. Coffee beans and all their love filled up the room. Her heart fluttered, hands curling about the two mugs by the coffee machine. This was all Emily ever wanted – lazy, rainy days with her found family.

Plump oranges were bunched up in the fruit bowl. Picking one up, the scent of citrus ran to her nose. Her father cut her fruits as a child, an Asian rite of passage. To be told ‘I love you’ through a bowl of fruit.

For her, love was peeling oranges. To ignore all the pith gathering underneath your nails, to split it in half; and to give your lover the bigger piece.

Emily peered into her chest, content with everything inside. All Emily truly had was love; love for her father, love for Uncle Tommy, love for the agency, and love for Trystan. Her heart will forever be hers. It will grow and crack through time, but it’s hers to mend and hers to cherish.

Digging her nails into the orange, juices and white strands cluttered under her nails. To love someone is to peel their oranges, cut their fruits, kiss the back of their neck when zipping up their suit; to seal their nights with care.

With the skin of the orange off, she split the fruit in half. Her hands were sticky with orange pulp, and Emily smiled at the easy burden. Her ears pricked up as the bubbling coffee sang, steam coming out of the machine. Fondness danced inside her, admiring how much loving someone was essentially just habits and actions. To build a routine, for your body to become used to being seen by another.

Emily poured two cups of coffee, the well-loved mugs, and the freshly peeled orange set on the table in front of Trystan. He continued slumbering, occasionally snoring, and – although he would never admit it – drooling as well.

Nothing was outstanding about today, but for Emily and Trystan, it was perfect. Despite the rain showers, the grey skies, and the muddy paws, they still had a beating heart at the end of it. Emily adored waking up in Trystan’s arms, making pancakes for breakfast, and walking around Central Park in the spring weather. 

This is peace and contentment. It’s new.

Emily gently laid on her lover, her face resting on Trystan’s chest. Instinctively, his hands met the back of her head, stroking Emily’s hair. Her cheeks rose in heat as she reached to kiss his forehead. His eyes met Emily’s, glistening with affinity. One word from Trystan could silence her forever.

“I love you. I’m glad I exist.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

A/N: this was just so lovely writing :') i hope u guys all loved it! <3 (can you guys tell that food is my love language..)

click here for a masterlist of all my written works so far!

tags: @choicesficwriterscreations @jerzwriter @logolepzy @mooserii @starsarewithinme @shadyinternetblizzard @urcowboyboyfriend @lexicook74-blog @leahtine @jahrobin (let me know if anyone else would like to be added to my crimes tag!)

[drowning-in-cacophony]

Fractures

Written for @flashfictionfridayofficial Prompt 268: Fractured Forms

[Summary: what is fractured never heals back perfectly normal]

“Sorry,” he says.

She winces, a hand slipping past the cracks spiralling up one side. The fingers, the skin, phasing like a laser out of sync with a camera’s frames; even the ghostly touch burns acid against what shivering organs lie inside. It’s not his fault, not really. He didn’t know it’d turn out this way.

But he’d done it, so she blames him a little anyway.

“I’ll fix it,” he promises, a falsehood off his tongue. Sure, he believes it as honestly as his lungs crave air. She knows better. When you fracture something, it’ll never heal back the same it was before the crack. Her unbroken form is a long gone memory now.

He should have left her in the dirt. He should have left her.

“We need to focus.” Her voice raspy, her throat painful. Is this what it’s always going to be like now? She forces a hand away from her gaping insanity, something that never should have been possible and yet here she is. Dressed in borrowed clothes, her old jacket over the top – he’d kept that, and if she presses her nose to the collar, she thinks she can just about catch her old perfume. Freesia blooms, staining the fabric like the blood scattered on the hem. Freckles, haunting proof of the near past.

The clothes slip and phase into the fractures. A slippery slope their mere drape cannot fight.

His eyes sharpen, his nod a shaky mess. “Yes. Yes, we do. Do you… do you have an idea what we should do about it all?”

Her sigh tastes stale against the back of her teeth. Her tongue flickers, bone then gum then something foreign splitting against the inside of her cheek. He’d break reality for her, wrap fingers around something so stuck it’ll break as pulled, and yet it’s still at her altar he’d implore. That’s the whole driving reason, likely. Staring off into a world churning, and there’s only one mind that he could rely on to dig them out of this.

“After you show me what’s happened.”

“As soon as this bus turns up.” He cranes around her to check the winding road, empty of the hulking rectangular shape. His eyes distracted, she peels back her coat and peers down at herself. The fracturing of her form. An ugly wound, the eye-aching edges. The colours burn at her retinas, the impossibility of it all. Looking at it has her teeth on edge – or is that just the fissure growing against her mouth, a sensitivity to set them off? He shouldn’t have done this. Not if he was going to deliver her dripping in thoughtless selfishness.

Desperation, though. It does horrid, crazy things: he’d probably been a horrid crazy thing without her.

Not too much longer, the bus comes trundling towards them, bright yellow streaks to banish the gentle autumn chill on their ankles. Her coat falls over the crater, the casting of a shadow, the closing of her eyelids when she’d turned to that blissful dark before. They take a seat, his knee bumping against hers, and let the thing drive them into town. The landscape blurs outside of rain-spotted glass. His fingers twitch and brush against her leg. Fingertips scraping against her jeans like they’re wet sand, pieces of her bunching up underneath blunt nails.

If she looks at him, she’ll trace his next apology from his eyes. So when she winces, a split throbbing brighter on the threads of her sweater, she keeps looking at the window. The chipping of cheap rubber, the grey sky stretching out beyond.

“When we get to town, lead me through the epicentre,” she tells him, still not looking. “Show me all the damage. Then we can see what we can do.”

He’s close enough, in these small bus seats, that she can smell the thick constant of his signature scent, that chemical deodorant undercut by the mustiness of his coat. It’s still covered in a fine layer of dust from the Facility, mud decorating the sleeves like tatty embroidery from where he’d dug. His consequences will wash out with a good cycle around the machine.

He’s made hers permanent.

“I know you’ll be able to see what I can’t,” he says. Like it’s obvious, like she’s his saviour descending down from the sky. She’s always been able to see what he can’t; she’s always been the one he turns to. “We’ll find a terminal afterwards if you need it. I know a couple places – things have-” He coughs, a small thing into his coat, unable to muffle the awkwardness. “Things have changed a bit.”

Her reflection doubles as the bus begins to take a corner. An unwieldy thing that’ll still squeeze through the gap because it has to, and the angle has her face splitting. Her eye overlaps at the edges, an image in sympathy.

Her side gives a stirring throb.

His fingers give a sweaty, apologetic pinch.

The city rears up, a handful of engine growls and pin-tight corners later. They’re not the only ones to get off, an old lady with a cane scampering off before her, paying no mind to the shallow ditch cracked through the dirt. One of the new scars for her to greet. She stands underneath the flag of another bus stop, gazing out at a city bearing its own fractures. Torn through concrete, weeds already starting to determinedly claim back what they can. If they grew on her, maybe they’d knit her into some sort of togetherness, fix the mistake he’s left shattered throughout her form. It wouldn't be the same, however. She's never going to be the same.

He steps down behind her, his sigh coffee-dark in the strands of her hair.

“This way,” he says, holding out his hand to her.

Keeping one hovering underneath the fabric of her coat, acid splashing against her palm, she lets her other hand go to his.

[reallyhardy]

actually i need to put some GOOD in my life onto the blog, bye bye 🩸period vent posts🩸, hello really wonderful experience i had recently:

so most months once a month i get my sweet sweet gig of outdoor art messy play with families at the art gallery in our garden. we make magic potions with leaves and water and sometimes dried tea and spices for extra magic, and we do mud painting with just like dirt that i dig out of a big hole in the ground.

it's THEEEE most fun i get to have, basically just rush around refilling buckets of water and seeing kids have fun learning about how to be creative with what there is around us to use (for free) but of course it generates a lot of mess...

well last summer during our outdoor play sessions i got quite a lot of different volunteers who would come help out on different days, and we encourage family volunteering where people can bring their kids and the kids get to wear volunteer t-shirts but we basically just tell them their job is to be in charge of 'fun'. anyway this one lady brought her twins, boy and girl, age about 6 on a few days and OMG these kids. such shining little humans, and always so ready to help out with tidying up. i remember by the end of summer i had to send their mum a message just to tell her what a great job she's done raising her two lil superstars honestly...

anyway last saturday i was doing the first outdoor art club of the year and it was getting to the last hour when this lady and her twins arrive and the absolute JOY on their faces 😭😭😭 never seen any child look happier to see me that wasn't a member of my family - or maybe more so i cannot lie. they were like "OMG LOREN'S HERE! the guy at the desk said it wasn't you running it today!" and i was like "WOAH well i am here and what a wonderful surprise to see you guys here!" like literally. so so sweet and adorable.

so we played around for a bit, they tried out painting and all the activities, anyway obviously i had still to attend to all the other visitors but i kept circling back, then when it was packdown time and me and the other facilitator started tidying... the twins came back around and kept on asking all the different ways to help out, they helped me rinse down all the mud paint palettes and put everything away, even helped me carry a bunch of easels inside... i kept trying to tell them "okay great job thank you for your help! i got this from here" but they were SO determined to make sure they helped me with every little thing 🥺 like obvs. little children i am much stronger than you yes i can lift this easel on my own and prob get it done way faster too but i SO so appreciate you wanting to help me.

anyway sent another message to their mum the next day just gushing about her lil critters, she sent me a whole heartfelt message back saying my thank you message is going in a scrapbook. just... so so sweet. maybe on those days, i literally DO have the best job ever i can't even deny it. for me it's perfect

[weirdkayak]

A little story I want to add to this, but there's an elementary school I pass by almost daily on my way to work, and near the back of the field is a fence and then farmland, the owner of the farm put stakes in the ground behind the fence because the kids were digging a hole under the fence.

Eventually the kids stole the stakes and started using thwm as rudimentary tools to dig the hole, it was interesting to watch their progress over the span of a month they had dug a hole depe enough for a six year old to stand in it and not be seen, it was really very impressive.

At this point they were just digging for the sake of digging, but of course summer break started and in less than a day the school had the hole filled in and the area blocked off. I felt disappointed, it was an impressive hole and the fact that upwards of ten kids would come together to dig it and take turns was interesting, it made me think about the prospect of studying stuff like that, why a group of kids were able to come together to do something so pointless to an impressive degree.

It all brought back memories of when I was in elementary school, during recess a bunch of kids, myself included, would all race to the back of the field where there was a little patch of trees in the corner, we would dig up dirt and use sand and small pebbles from the playground and mix it together in a hole with water from other kids water bottles to make mud and clay, and we would stack rocks and sticks with it, making a stone wall.

There wasn't a point in building the stone wall, we just liked doing it and it felt like we were accomplishing something. Of course after summer break we would all come back to find it gone and our holes filled, but that didn't stop us from going right back to building a new wall.

My point is, kids will do things for what seems like a pointless reason, but why does it need a reason? Dig a hole, build a wall, kids don't care why they're doing it, it's just fun and makes them feel like they've accomplished something.

i think it is unjust to deny a child their right to dig a hole motivelessly

[mistakenot4892]

Nebula blevdog April '24

This post was crossposted from cohost.

Quite a bit to talk about this month! Mostly relating to the various crafting and building systems being put into place for the low-fantasy map, currently titled Shaded Hills.

Nebula SS13 is an open source project based on the Baystation 12 version of Space Station 13. SS13 is a topdown multiplayer simulation game where you play the crew of a ship, station, colony, etc. depending on your fork and map, with the Nebula and Bay forks having a focus on roleplaying and simulation interactions.

Notable changes

Fair bit of boring backend stuff - some HUD code has been streamlined, the way stack recipes are handled has been redone, and using an item with even the slightest heat difference to the target will no longer 'carefully heat' it.

Penny removed a metric shitload of unused procs and variables, cleaning up the codebase and revealing that a bunch of really fiddly DNA code just... doesn't need to exist anymore. Blessed.

The fantasy map is now merged into the main dev branch, and has been receiving periodic updates from Penny and I. It's slowly approaching a state where it can be playable...

Flame sources like matches and lighters have been reworked, and now include fueled lanterns and torches, which can be crafted. This is mainly to support the fantasy map, but also means you can hotbox the station in carbon monoxide with 200 lighters burning at once, if that appeals to you.

Farms have been redone. Rather than building a plot out of stone, you now dig a plot into a dirt or mud turf. Plots will take water from adjacent water sources or rain, and you can fence them with bricks to prevent people walking over them and squashing your crops.

Various other crafting systems are in, albeit in skeletal form. Metalwork, tanning, making catgut, and weaving cloth are now supported. You can grow cotton, process it on a spinning wheel to make thread, and then weave the thread into cloth on a loom.

Fishing got merged. It's basically Stardew Valley without the minigame, currently. If I can get through my backlog in a reasonable timeframe I'm going to try working on a proper little minigame for it, but it's a pretty chill mechanic currently.

Bugs of note

r5 is overdue, mostly because I've been putting my after-work dev hours into random stuff like weaving or clothing code. Hoping to get onto that before making any more big feature PRs. I have instructed the dev channel to smack me if I open more feature PRs before r5 is stable.

While testing campfire cooking I was saddened to discover that all of my food would get up to cooking temperature and then instantly melt into 'liquid nutriment' which fertilized the ground under my campfire.

Downstream on Scav, dexterity changes resulted in one of the species being totally unable to pick up or use items with the only inventory slot they had capable of doing so (their mouth). 'Baxxid Stares Longingly At Vending Machine' indeed.

Current priorities

r5 is the main priority, we need to get that stable as soon as possible. r6 is going to be enormous due to all the crafting changes and several big backend rewrites like the removal of /turf/simulated.

I'm working on getting the fantasy map into a state where we can actually run a round, off and on. There's still a pretty big laundry list of props we need to be able to get the map populated, but it's all pretty achievable.

My storage rewrite PR is now up to its fourth or fifth rebase. Please save me from this PR.

[thegettingbyp2]

So I was thinking for a smutty Johnny fic, maybe something where he comes home all exhausted and dirty so you jump in the shower with him and clean him off, then leading to you making him feel better in other ways😏, leading to some loving shower sex ?

Cleaned Up

It was late so you decided to wait for Johnny to come home in bed, reading your book. Your ears perked up when you head the front door bang closed and footsteps making their way up the stairs until Johnny appeared in the doorway of your bedroom. He was covered in mud with blood dried along his temple and down his cheek so you put your book down to get up and go over to him.

‘Heya, sweetheart,’ he breathed out, he sounded tired.

‘Hey,’ you said, leaning up to press a quick kiss on his cheek. ‘How was your day? What happened?’ you asked as your thumb rubbed lightly along the dried blood coating his face.

‘It was alright, hit my head pretty bad but got checked out and I’m all good, I’m just tired. I’m gonna hop in the shower and then I’ll come to bed.’

‘Are you too tired for company in the shower?’ you asked, looking up at him and biting your lip lightly. There was something about Johnny being coated in dirt that you couldn’t help but find attractive. Johnny perked up at your words and his arm came to wrap around your waist and pull you tight against him.

‘I’m never too tired to see you in the shower sweetheart,’ Johnny said, leaning his head down until his lips were brushing yours, ‘why don’t you go and get the water going and I’ll be in in a second,’ he said, his hand brushing down to land a light slap on your ass before gently shoving you in the direction of your shared en-suite. Decided to be a bit of a tease, you slowly undid the knot of the silk kimono you were wearing and turning around before you let it drop, revealing that you were wearing nothing underneath before walking into the bathroom and turning the shower on.

From the bedroom, you could hear the sound of Johnny’s clothes hitting the floor before he bunched them in his arms and tossing them in the hamper in the corner of your room. You stepped into the shower and sighed as the warm water rushed over your shoulders. You soon heard the shower door open and close again, a pair of arms wrap around your middle and Johnny’s lips landed on your shoulder, trailing up into your neck and settling along your jaw.

‘You look amazing, sweetheart,’ he murmured against your skin as his kisses got harder, his teeth nipping at your skin every now and then.

You turned around in his arms and looped your arms around his neck, connecting your lips together. He immediately took control of the kiss, moving you both backwards until your back was pressed firmly against the tile wall and Johnny was standing directly underneath the shower head, the warm water washing down his face and body.

‘PJ,’ you gasped, fisting your fingers in the dark, wet strands at the back of his head as he groaned against your mouth. You turned your head to the side, Johnny’s head diving back to your neck straight away as you pushed him back lightly and reached to the side to grab the shower gel from the shelf. Johnny stepped back slightly to give you some space as you poured some shower gel into your palm, rubbing your hands together until it formed a lather and you ran your hands up his chest, working in the soap and cleaning away the day.

‘Sweetheart, that feels so good,’ he groaned, tipping his head back as the dirt washed down the drain. You moved your hands up to work the soap into his hair and he leaned into your touch, relishing in the feeling of your hands on him after a long day.

After you had washed all of the soap from his body, he wasted no time in crowding you back against the wall and yanking your thighs up so your legs were wrapped around his waist and he was holding you up against the wall. You moaned as his erection brushed against your pussy and you clenched around nothing but air, your nails digging into his shoulders. ‘PJ, please,’ you moaned, trying to push your hips against his.

‘(Y/N), sweetheart, I’m not gonna last long tonight,’ he said, lining himself up and looking into your eyes to check you were okay.

‘I don’t care, just hurry up.’

With that, he pushed into you with one thrust, leaving the both of you panting against each others mouths. Johnny’s head fell into your neck as he breathed heavily against your skin, trying to stop himself from cumming then and there. You clenched around him which made his hips twitch up into you before pulling back and slamming back in. He set a fast pace which you could tell he needed, releasing any pent-up frustrations of the day onto you and you held on as tight as you could, feeling yourself getting closer and closer to your high with every thrust of his hips.

‘You’re so good to me sweetheart,’ Johnny groaned into your neck.

‘PJ, I’m so close,’ you gasped as his hips sped up slightly, the rhythm turning almost erratic, a clear sign that he was on the edge. One of his hands slid up your body to cup your jaw and his other hand moved until it was resting against your stomach so he was still holding you against the wall but it also allowed his thumb to brush lightly against your clit.

‘I’ve got you sweetheart,’ Johnny murmured against your lips as your body began to shake as your orgasm hit. Your arms tightened around his neck and your head fell into his neck as tears began to prick at your eyes, quickly spilling over your cheeks as your face was buried against Johnny’s neck. Shortly after, Johnny’s hips began to slow before coming to a halt as he emptied himself inside you. He set your legs down, still standing close to you in case your legs gave out as both of his hands cupped your cheeks, thumbs wiping away the tears that were mixing with the water still coming from the shower head. ‘You okay, sweetheart?’ he asked softly.

You nodded and leant into his touch as your eyelids began to feel heavy and he reached up quickly to turn the shower off before sweeping your legs out from underneath you so he was holding you bridal style in the middle of the shower.

‘I love you,’ you mumbled, as you snugged into his shoulder, inhaling the clean scent of his skin.

‘I love you too,’ he said softly as he stepped out of the shower. ‘Now howabout we get you dried off and crawl into bed and stick a movie on,’ he said, kissing your forehead.

‘I was supposed to be the one helping you wind down,’ you protested lightly, not attempting to get out of his arms.

‘Sweetheart, believe me, I’m the most wound down I’ve been all day,’ Johnny chuckled before taking you both back into the bedroom.

[monterraverde]

[You’ve weathered worse. Stand firm, we’re at home in the mud.]

She’s laughing, practically cackling until Belles little fist connects with Adniels jaw, and both her and the Garchomp react to it.

She FELT that- Mega evolution was on a whole new level of syncing, it was almost terrifying. She’s the one tasting blood in her mouth, now.

What a RUSH.

Adniel roars, and now he’s Outraging, taking the hits and rolling in the mud with the Raichu and thrashing until he manages to throw her off and swat her with his tail.

He strikes at her repeatedly, letting the Outrage run its course before he’s struck confused, but managed to pin Belle under his tail, and Rika holds a hand out as she steadies her stance.

[Focus-]

Then she stomps her foot into the dirt hard, and Adniel follows suit, digging his feet into the mud as [Earthquake] rocked the whole area. It’s erratic because of Adniels confusion, and winds up tearing up a bunch of the earth around them and creating a mess of difficult terrain. Both pokemon and trainer let out a triumphant roar before Adniel swats Belle away with his tail and back toward Gold.

The Mega evolution would fade after that, and Adniel collapses to the ground. Triumphant, but tired, and Rikas clearly riding a head rush after it based on how hard she’s breathing.

“Nahaha!! Come on!! I know thats not all you got in you!!”

She recalls Adniel, hes done enough, and she throws another ball out behind him. Crashing to the ground came a Donphan- A hulking BEAST of a Donphan with sharp, serrated teeth and giant tusks, covered in scarlet fur. It scoops a canister of some deep blue liquid into its mouth and bites down, releasing a portion of the serum that seemed to invigorate it and awaken some kind of primal rage, a rage that manifested as scarlet lightning arcing across it whole body.

It scrapes its foot against the ground, wiggling its head and planning to charge whatever Gold throws out to face him.

Kaminas proud of himself, its clear on his face, the sandstorm empowered him enough to dodge several strikes, moving almost like lightning to dodge a few of Pidgeots attacks… That was until it suddenly took off into the sky, and she saw Gold move in sync with the bird.

It’s enveloped in a rainbow light, and the power all but explodes across the area.

She swallows hard, and she’s sweating, but her mouth cracks into a smug smirk.

This was fun. This is what she’s been searching for.

The sandstorm is whipped away as the Hurricane hits its mark, and before she can run for cover, Adniel , her Garchomp, bursts from his ball and covers her with his form to protect her from the shrapnel and winds. She hardly gets to see Kamina bobbing and weaving like his life depended on it, only to be struck by the beak and sent careening into a nearby tree that had somehow survived the hurricane.

Recalled, she’s two matches down, she hates it, but the battle highs raging.

She pats the garchomp on the arm, pointing to the battlefield as he stomped out and roars at Opal, the chain necklace on his neck rattling in the wind as he widens his stance, notably in sync with Rika.

If gold looked close enough, he could see the sclera of her eyes had turned black, as if to match her chosen partner.

She takes a slow, deep breath, and theres a brief moment of quiet…

Hassels voice echoed in her mind, words of joy and praise, congratulations, and this little Gible babbling away the whole time. The bites, the fights, the history of fighting side by side…

Sorry Finn, it had to be him.

“Fun trick, let me try.”

Theres a flash of rainbow light from her fist as she tightens her grip, holding her fist out as power filled the area, the wind that generated knocking down some branches from the nearby trees and causing a minor, centralized earthquake as out of the purple shell of energy suddenly erupted a newly transformed Adniel- Mega evolved and taking to the sky like a jet plane to match Opals speed. The two bash against each other several times in an exchange of blows, before Adniel finally gets his scythe claws on her and Crunches onto her neck, sending them plummeting toward the ground.

[wellthebardsdead]

Shimada coffee and a glass of lemonade?? ~Bambi

———

Jack: okay! Today we’re gonna take a big step in taking down your fear of dirt hannybee!

Hanzo: *in a tiny pair of overalls, a sun shirt, some lil mud boots and gardening gloves* m-mm…

Jack: don’t worry kid, after today you’ll be one step closer to seeing there’s nothing to be afraid of! *places a sun hat on him and takes his lil hand walking him into the garden where Gabe and Cole are already planting seeds*

Jack: see? Even coles getting in on it!

Cole: flower! We got seedlings!

Hanzo: kōru-chan…

Jack: *leads him over to a garden bed with a bunch of herb seedlings waiting for them to plant* okay! First we need to dig a hole! *hands him a lil spade* can you do that for me?

Hanzo: m-mm… *shakily digs it into the dirt trying to keep his hands as far away from it as he can before lifting it up and immediately squealing and crying upon seeing a worm* ICKY!!!

Jack: *smiles and kneels beside him gently picking up the worm* I know right? I think they’re icky too, but this is a very good thing Hannypie.

Hanzo: *sniffles looking up at him then at the worm* h-huh??

Jack: Mhm, this means the soils healthy, so our plants will grow very big and strong, like you!

Hanzo: hu?…

Jack: and the best part about touching icky things? You can always wash your hands afterwards. *sets the worm back into the dirt and gently hands Hanzo a seedling* dirt can’t hurt you, but it can grow things, things that’ll help you, things that’ll taste nice, things that’ll look pretty. Like flowers.

Hanzo: flower??? *points at himself referring to the nickname Cole gave him*

Jack: *snickers and nods* Mhm. Like you. Why don’t you plant that seedling and we’ll dig another hole Huh?

Hanzo: mm! *gently places it in the hole and pats the dirt down feeling more confident with the gloves and jacks advice*

Jack: great job!

*Meanwhile*

Sojiro: *watching from the kitchen window, making sandwiches and lemonade for lunch, quietly tearing up with pride his son is conquering his fears* well done little rabbit- GENJI NO!!

Genji: *somehow got a hold of a lemon slice, now having an existential crisis after taking a bite* AEEEEWEHBEH!! (I THOUGHT IT WAS AN ORANGE! FRAUDULENCE!)

[luimagines]

oooh i have an idea, how would dear reader reacts to the chain's secrets? they could be canon like wolfie being twi, or something you headcanon!

Masterlist

I procrastinated on this one admittedly because I had no idea where to take it but after writing out a list and appointing a secret to each boy. I have it done.

Some things are definitely headcanons.

Part one will include Hyrule, Sky, Warrior, Four and Wild.

Content under the cut!

Hyrule

The battle wasn’t necessarily hard to deal with- the monsters weren’t difficult to deal with and there weren’t a lot of them to begin with.

You slashed, dashed and kicked every enemy away from you and watched as they fell to your blade. Every new step revealed a new purple cloud as you danced around the battle field.

You saw Wild and Twilight fighting back to back with practiced ease and handling it as well as you were. Warrior and Sky was side by side closer to Time and Legend than the rest of the group was and Four and Wind were up in the trees striking the enemy down at a distance and no doubt scheming something while the going was easy.

The only one you had no idea where he was, was Hyrule.

And that didn’t take a lot to dive into your brain and wriggle uncomfortably until your own insecure thoughts pushed you to go look for him.

Between the monsters and the land mines of purple smoke, it was a little difficult to find him.

But when you do- he does something you don’t fully understand at first.

You manage to run into him in a clearing, but he doesn’t notice you at first. Instead, you see him take his sword and run it through his palm. His blood coats the length of his blade, and it drips down his hand onto the grass below.

He watches the monsters in front of him and dances for a minute around them before he takes a breath and kills them effortlessly.

You frown and step toward him. “Why did you do that?”

Hyrule jumps higher than should be physically possible and doesn’t catch himself on the way down. He falls flat on his butt and looks up at you with wide and startled eyes.

“Are you ok?” You kneels next to him and go to take his injured hand. “What on earth were you trying to do?

Hyrule jerks his hand back like you’ve burned him and you see the magic flow through the air around his wound- closing it like it never happened.

“Link?” You frown again and slowly place your hand in your lap. You’re confused and a little afraid for him. You know that blood magic is taboo for a reason and is typically avoided more often than not because of its’s dark nature- but you never thought Hyrule of all people would dabble in it.

“I’m fine.”

“Link.” You stress a little more. “What were you trying to do? I didn’t think you were capable of blood magic... At least you don’t usually use those kind of spells. Is that why you fight on your own for a while each time?”

“I’m not using blood magic.” Hyrule frowns and stands abruptly. 

“Then why-?”

“It’s not important.”

“Hyrule, you’re hurting yourself. I’d say that that’s pretty important.”

“It’s not a big deal.”

“Don’t make me get Time.” You threaten. “I’ll get Legend too. I bet they’ll get some answers out of you.”

“You won’t just drop it, will you?” He sneers

“Nope.” You stand and cross your arms. “What were you trying to do?”

“I was just checking something.”

You raise an eyebrow. “Like if a curse would work or something?”

Hyrule tenses and he crosses his arms- instantly looking away from you.

“WERE YOU ACTUALLY TRYING TO CAST A CURSE?!” You screech.

“THE CURSE WAS CAST ON ME!” He yells back.

You both still for a moment and wait for the forest to show any signs that others might have heard you.

The sounds of distant fighting continues and after a minute of waiting some more, no one shows up to check on either of you, so you’re safe.

You turn back to your companion and furrows your eyebrows. You lower your voice just above a whisper just in case someone might be on the way but now you need answers. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

He scowls- a face you’re not used to seeing on him and throws his arms down his sides in anger. “Back home, Ganon cast a curse on me. The monsters need my blood in order to resurrect him and I can’t risk letting any monsters from my time getting to me. I need to check if the other monsters will follow suit.”

You blink, not expecting that answer but your anger flares up regardless. “So you go out on your own to check this curse because your blood is needed to resurrect hatred incarnate? What if you’re overpowered? What if they do react to it? How are we supposed to help you if you’re alone?”

“It’s my problem to deal with. I don’t need-”

“Shut up.” You scowl and grab him by the shoulders. You shake him roughly for as long as you speak. “We are your friends! We care about you! We don’t want to see you hurt! We’re going to help you! Whether you want it or not- we’re not to let you deal with this alone. Not while we’re here.”

“Stop shaking me.”

You let him go.

“I won’t tell the others because I know you wouldn’t like that.” You say. “But this stops today. You hear me? None of us are just going to let these freaks near you and this is not necessary while you have a whole team of heroes just as pissed about the situation as you are. You hear me?”

“Loud and clear.”

“How clear?”

“Crystal.”

“Good.”

Sky 

Sky wakes up one day with a far away look in his eye which immediately puts you on edge.

Not only that but to make it worse, he doesn’t stop looking at you.

He looks scared.

Every five minutes you swear you catch him looking in your direction only to look away in haste when you look back at him.

No one is saying anything and it doesn’t help your paranoia.

With some people walking ahead you, you step back and take a spot next to Sky. You notice that he’s tense and walking robotically, and trying to match your pace. “Dude, what’s up? You’re freaking me out.”

Sky trips over himself and finally looks you in the eye. “What do you mean?”

“You woke up like you saw a ghost. You’ve been looking over to me every five minutes and even now you look like you want to sprint away from me. Did I do something?”

“I.. Ummm...” Sky stutters for a minute before swallowing whatever lump was in his throat. “I just had a dream... is all.... I’ll get over it.”

“I’m assuming it had something to do with me then.”

“No, not exactly.” Sky’s quick to speak even if you can see the beginning’s of sweat collect on his brow. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Want to talk about it?” You tilt your head. “It looks like it really shook you up.”

“Oh, um, I-”

“Maybe you died and Sky freaked out.” Legend pushes you forward and away from Sky. “He doesn’t have to talk about it if he doesn’t want to.”

“Ok, my god, Legend slow down! Not everyone is as emotionally constipated as you! Talking about things is healthy and important!” You shout over your shoulder, trying to dig your heels into the dirt with little to no luck.

Legend seems a bit stronger right now that he usually is, you bet it’s his power bracelet.

If Sky actually looks a bit paler at Legend’s claim than neither of you notice.

The day passes a little calmer after that, Sky seeming to have calmed down enough to not be so weird and it something you’re quick to forget about.

By the time the afternoon hits, a bunch of dark and foreboding storm clouds roll in.

Somehow, Sky manages to find it in himself to walk next to you again and does his best to stay close.

You don’t mind it and even jokingly pull his sail cloth over your head when it begins to rain on your group. It’s not particularly strong and there’s not a lot of options to rest and take cover, so you bare with it. Sky lets you keep the sail cloth over your head surprisingly.

But then there’s thunder and you see lightning in the distance and bite your lip. “Maybe we should hunker down or something?”

The rain goes from gentle drops to a down pour within seconds and the group runs a bit to gain as much cover as you can in the nearby tree line.

Sky pushes himself in front of you and shoves you behind him with enough force that you’re fully knocked over. In one fluid motion he lifts the Master Sword skyward and charges the blade, tossing it away from the group in a glowing blue arc. It cuts through the grass and even splits the first tree it strikes in half before dissipated into the air. 

You would have been struck by lightning if he didn’t do that.

“Sky?” You get up and try to wipe as much mud off of your pants as you can. “Are you ok? How did you know that would happen?”

Sky gulps and takes a deep breath as he looks at you with wide eyes and understanding. “I saw it in a dream.”

“Oh...” You gasp and reach out to him shakily, putting your hand on his shoulder. “You have dreams then?”

“Yes.” Sky looks at his sword and hesitantly puts it away. “Sometimes.”

“Ok then...” You nod and look around the group. They’re all in varying stages of shock, surprise and concern.

Everyone is looking at Sky.

“We need to get out of the storm.” You say in lieu of changing the topic. ” Who knows if there’s more lightning on the way and there’s a lot of metal within the group.“

“Right.” Time nods and does a not so subtle double take in his attempt to leave it be. “Let’s go.”

You nod back and nod once more to Sky and wrap your arm around his shoulder. you lead him forward and lean into his space to whisper into his ear. “Thanks.”

“I’m just glad I made in time.”

“We’ll talk later ok?” You smile in hopes of alleviating some of the tension. “I have some questions if you’re willing to indulge me.”

“I suppose it’s only fair.”

Warrior

“He’s a cute kid.” Warrior mentions randomly one day. 

You startle and jump, nearly dropping the image. You scramble to catch it and successfully do so after playing hot potato with yourself.

“Warrior, a little warning please.” You sigh and attempt to clean your finger print smudges on the glass. “But yeah, my little brother is cute. I hope he stays that way.”

“I don’t think you have much to worry about.” Warrior shrugs. “He grows up to be a fine and upstanding young man. Good looks run in the family. ”

You scoff and roll your eyes. “Thank you, I’m sure they do.”

Warrior comes to stand next to you and gently turns the glass over to see the image better.

“Warrior?”

“Hm?”

“Am I doing the right thing?” You sigh.

“What do you mean? I’d say you are. Sacrificing yourself for the good of a better tomorrow- for your family- for your loved ones- but that’s not what you’re talking about are you?” Warrior lets you take the image back.

“But he’s so young... and I’m supposed to take care of him.” You gulp. “I just want him to be safe and sound and healthy but I can’t really do that from- from... I’m here instead.“

“Well... no said it was going to be easy.” Warrior offers lamely.

“What if he grows up to hate me?” You clench the glass tighter at the thought. “I just abandoned him, didn’t I? Oh my god-”

“Hey. He loves you.” Warrior takes your shoulders in his hands and shakes you somewhat. “He admires you greatly. You’re his hero. He looks up to you even now. He’ll understand when the time comes.”

“Even now?” You sniff. “What does that mean?”

“Years have passed and he hasn’t stopped looking up to you and how you did everything you could for him, for Zelda and he’s trying to make you proud-”

“Warrior he’s five, how do you know this?”

His mouth shuts with a click of his teeth.

“Warrior.” 

“Um... I... He...”

“Link.” You pocket the glass and face him head on. “When did you meet my brother?”

He stares at you for a moment and deflates. “During... during the war of my era.”  

“...What?”

Warrior hisses and brings his hand to scratch the back of his neck. “He showed up around the same time that Wind did but he talked about you.... and I guess you talk to him about me because he wasn’t really surprised at what was happening.”

“How old was he?” You bite your lip, already dreading the news.

“Older than me actually.” He offers with a tight smile. “I never asked him but if I had to guess I would have put him in his mid twenties. The oldest Link to start his adventure compared to the rest of us...”

“But he still...” You deflate as well and hug your arms around yourself. “He still has to go doesn’t he? I can’t save him from it. Even now, I... I can’t- I fail him in the end then.” 

“He doesn’t see it that way at all.” Warrior catches you before you fall to your knees in despair. “He admires everything you’ve done for him, everything you’re currently doing. You kept him from danger for as long as you could- until he was old enough to take on his destiny. That’s more than any of us could say.”

“I don’t want him to go through any of it though.” You sob and lean into Warrior for support. “That’s my baby brother Warrior- how am I supposed to be ok with this?”

“I don’t think there is a way.” He admits. “Nor do I think you should be.”

“I can’t keep him from it.”

“But you can and have been postponing it.” Warrior rubs circles into your shoulder as you cry. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you even more.”

“I miss him.”

“You’ll see him again.” Warrior grips you tightly. “He also did very well all things considered. He became an older brother to me and to Sprite and Wind... I don’t think Wind has figured it out yet that your brother and Lucky are the same Link though.”

You sniffle and calm down slightly. “Was he awesome?”

A laugh is startled out of him and he chokes on the snort and cough that tries to leave him at the same time. “I’d say he was better than me... And he claims to have never held a sword until then.”

“Good.” You nod. “He’s the best brother in the whole world.”

“Yeah, he was.”

Four

You’re walking on a random trail as the day dies down and you’re partner is Four for the hour.

The sun rests behind you comfortably and you talk about the different weapons from each others Hyrule. You’re no smith- but you do think it’s an interesting process and try to take notes where you can.

As you trade your notes and laugh at the more ridiculous stories from one another, you look down and notice something weird with Four’s shadow.

It almost looked like it was laughing along too... in the opposite direction that Four was looking in. But you blink and it’s as if it never there.

Maybe you’re tired.

You have been walking all day and perhaps it was a trick of the light.

You don’t think on it too much and go back to talking with your friend.

Hours later-you’d think that it would be the end of it but it isn’t.

In fact, you can’t sleep. And the way it moved was different than it should have been and the more you look into the memory there more obscurities than there should be. Not to mention that Four gets weird around shadows or whenever they are mentioned.

You stare up at the star filled sky as you think about the incident.

“I’m telling you I think they saw me.” A new voice says.

You’re thrust into the moment and attune your hearing to the direction it came from.

“I think you’re thinking too much into it. How could they have seen you?” It’s Four.

You close your eyes and roll over in the same direction, pretending to still be asleep.

The voices take a minute to pick up again when you do that.

They were watching you.

“They stared at me for a solid minute- how did you miss that?” New voices hisses.

“They were laughing-”

“You were laughing, you love sick fool. They looked at me. They saw me. I’m going to blow the secret and you’re not even listening to my warning.”

Your eyes snap open and you push yourself up as quickly as you can.

You instantly spot Four sitting by the fire, but you’re not surprised by that. What really takes your attention is the new person next to him- who looks uncannily like your friend.

But with purple hair...

And red eyes...

And darker skin...

“Four what the hell?” You blurt.

Four responds quickly and as intelligently as he can manage.  “Uhhhh...”

The person next to him curses and runs a hand through his hair. “I told you. I told you. I told you.”

You lock eyes with the new guy and introduce yourself.

He huffs and crosses his arms, his face darkening slightly- or again- maybe it was a trick of the light. “I’m Four’s shadow.”

“His... shadow...?”

“Yes. That’s what I said.”

You nod, wide eyed before turning to Four with a million questions in your eyes. He can see it and holds his hand up to his mouth, pressing his knuckles harshly against his teeth as he waits for them to start flowing out of your mouth.

“Love sick fool?”

“Shadow you snitch!” Four screeches and takes a swing at him.

His cry is loud enough rouse some of the others but only really wakes up two of them. You stare tensely as Time and Legend sit up fast enough to nearly throw themselves into the fire as they turn to Four.

“Sorry.” You whisper yell to save his honor.

Shadow is nowhere to be found.

Time and Legend turn to you as the only other one awake and each raise an eyebrow in tandem.

“Ni-nightmare. I yelled. I’m sorry.” You try to act like you just woke up as well and try to hunker down into your blankets.

Time sighs and wipes his eyes. “You ok?”

“I will be.” You try to smile but you’re too nervous and it comes out more forced than it should- but perhaps that helps you sell your little fib.

Legend for his part glares at you before he sits down with a solid thump and throws himself dramatically back into his bedroll. 

No words are exchanged between you two.

“Everything alright Four?” Time yawns as he also begins to lie down again.

“Yeah. All good here.” Four laugh nervously and waves him away.

Time nods, no longer paying attention and slowly... nearly half an hour later, you see that the two of them have fallen asleep again. Thankfully neither of them seem to realize that it didn’t sound like your voice at all.

Shadow appears again from somewhere and takes his spot next to Four. “Nice going.”

“Shut up.”

“Four, I have questions.” You sit up and make your way over to the two of them.

Shadow raises an eyebrow. “What’s there to explain?”

“Everything?”

“Ok. Ok. Both of you, don’t start. You caught us fair and square. Sit down.” Four sighs and gestures to the other spot next to him. “It’ll take a while.”

“Done.” You grin and nearly run over a sleeping Sky in the process. “Tell me everything.”

Wild

“Has anyone seen Mr. Champion?” You glance up after doing a supply check through your bag. You’re running a little low on rations and know the resident cook usually has some to spare.

But you haven’t seen him in a while.

“Didn’t he go to get fire wood?” Wind tilts his head.

“Wasn’t that at least an hour ago?” You respond, furrowing your eyebrows as you think about it more. Where did Wild go?

“He hasn’t come back yet?” Warrior sits up straighter. Now the rest of the group is a little more aware of their missing member and each start subconsciously checking the tree line as if he were about to come back that very second.

“I can go look for him.” You offer, standing up. “Maybe he got distracted. We are in a new area.”

“Oh great, he could be miles away and we’d never know.” Legend groans and throws his head back. “Just what we needed.”

“Have a little faith Vet.” You snort. With a quick jump and skip over the supplies, you begin to leave the camp behind. “Try calling him Wind, I’ll see if I can go find our missing chef before dinner.”

“Please do.” Time nods. “We’ll start a full search party if you’re not back within the next hour though. It’s getting too dark.”

“Noted.”

“I could find him faster.” You hear Twilight say but you’re already too far away to back down now.

Truthfully, you have no idea where to start- but you imagine that to find Wild- one must think like Wild.

You pick a direction and stick with it.

At some point maybe fifteen minutes in you reach a small creek and begin to follow to stream upwards.

It’s really more like you’re taking a hike than searching for your friend and you begin to feel a little stupid even if realistically there’s no other way for this to be done.

That is- until you see him anyway.

He’s seems to be frozen in place, staring off into the distance with his hands still held mid air, gripping the canteen he appears to have been filling up.

It confuses you and you stand there staring at him to move- to blink- to do something. But he doesn’t. “Wild?”

No response.

“Champion?” You call a little louder and begin to tip toe a little closer to him. You’re afraid that even the slightest snapping of a twig would break whatever spell he’s under and you don’t fancy a violent reaction out the man who can easily blow the whole area up with little to nothing.

But still no response.

“Link!” You hiss and eventually reach his side. He hasn’t once turned in your direction or even acknowledged your presence and you begin to doubt that he’s even conscious.

His eyes are open and he’s knelt beside the creek but maybe he got hit with some magic or something- you don’t know.

You gulp and place a hand on his shoulder. You shake him lightly but when that also proves to not do anything you begin to shake him more and more until you nearly throw him over-but he does not react at all.

“Oh boy... What on earth happened to you?” You bite you lip and begin to look around. He’s too heavy for you to carry on your own and also too far away to yell for help or assistance.

You should have dragged Twilight with you.

Suddenly he takes a deep breath and blinks rapidly, shaking himself back into the present. 

You freeze and tense up considerably as you watch him come back to himself.

Wild stretches and looks up at the sky before standing up. “Twilight’s not going to like this.”

“No. I don’t think so.” You reply.

He freezes as well and looks at you by only shifting his eyes. “How long were you here for?”

“A while...” You admit. “Maybe fifteen minutes. You were gone for over an hour. I got worried.”

“Oh. That’s not so bad then.”

“You ok?” You gulp and slowly drop your shoulders from your ears and unclench your fists.

“Yup. Peachy.”

You nod and continue to lower your guard- not trusting this one bit. “May I ask what that was?”

“Just a memory.” He shrugs and tries to walk past you.

“A memory?” You frown and turn on your heel to follow him. “A memory? I shook you head enough to nearly throw you into the water and you claim it was because of a flashback? I’ve heard of disassociation before but I think this is more like astral projection through dimensions. You were completely gone!”

“It happens from time to time. Nothing to worry about.”

“What if something came up behind you and killed you?” You argue. “I’d say that’s something to worry about. Does this happen often?”

“Everyone once in a while. Maybe once every other month. It depends really. It doesn’t happen as often as it did in the beginning though.” Wild admits and gestures for you to follow him.

You do- but you keep asking him questions.

“So this is normal?”

“For me? Yes.”

“For you?”

“I...” Wild hisses slightly as another thought comes to his mind. “I never told you did I?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about but I’m going to assume that no, you didn’t.”

“I get memories from my old life from time to time when something triggers them. I used to have amnesia but I’ve got most of the my memories back at this point... By now it’s just filling in little blanks.” Wild shrugs. “Nothing to worry about.”

“Oh...” Understanding calms you somewhat. At least it’s not a magic spell or anything. “How did you get amnesia? Do you remember that?”

Wild stops in his tracks and looks at the ground momentarily before looking up again and walking forward. “I died.”

“I’m sorry what?”

“I died.”

“Huh?”

“I. Died.”

“WILD!” You tense up again and follow him without hesitation. “What do you mean you died? Did you heart just stop or were you like blow up or something- Oh my god! I’m so sorry! I’m being super insensitive right now, aren’t I? But I don’t understand! I don’t- Wild- Link- you can’t just drop a bomb like that. Are you like a ghost or something? No. Wait. You can bleed and I’ve seen you crash into more walls and rocks than I care to admit.”

“This isn’t exactly the reaction I was expecting.” Wild frowns and cuts you off. 

“ArE YOu oK?!”

“I’m here aren’t I?”

“But that’s not what I mean- How can that even make sense-”

“Where did you think I got my scars from?” Wild cuts you off once more with a barely restrained snort as he bites his lip.

“Oh my god.”

“I’m fine I promise.”

“Wild nooo....” You whine and Wild thinks for a minute that the information upset you so much that you’re going to cry. “Who did it? I’ll kill them with my bare hands. Who hurt you?”

Wild comes to a full stop again and sighs. Deep and tired but he tilts his head and offers you his hand. “Do you want the short story or the long?”

“Long story please.”

For the first time since this conversation started, Wild smiles even if it’s faint and subtle. “Alright, let’s take the scenic route back. This might take a while.”

Part 2

[roach-works]

goblincore

i have always respected and admired goths but i think i love the goblincore aesthetic so passionately because i’ve never managed to be elegant or refined enough to be a goth. like, goths are really good at mystery and elegance, they reckon with the implacable terror of death in ways that are frankly beautiful. that’s extremely cool of them.

but goblincore is for the rest of us messy bitches who can’t coordinate a wardrobe because they are too busy looking for bugs in a swamp. it is i think an aesthetic for people who don’t revere death so much as they want to dig into it.

like, my house is basically chock full of skulls. there are corpses in most of my flower pots, feeding my flowers, waiting for the fall when i’ll dig away the dirt and roots and keep the bones for awhile. i’ve hauled a dead deer through a graveyard and cut it up in my bathtub. i love living sunk up to my eyeballs in the macabre and the morbid. my life in my thirties is every bit as gruesome and morbid as i wished it was when i was a teenager reading johnny the homicidal maniac and wishing i could buy a bunch of really big knives. i grew up to be what i wanted to be and i get to do what i want to do, and that’s have a house that looks like an ossuary had weird sex with a taxidermy shop.

but i think what i really like is rot, not death: the gross and relentless business of life, happening over and over. what i love about death is the persistence of life regardless, not the final oblivion.

decay is inevitable. it’s the loss of one thing and the transfiguration of another thing and the birth of another thing. our bodies become dirt and our bones become sticks. new things grow up where we lay down. there are stone with the fossils of ancient shells in them, and the clamshells i dug out of the river mud last week have silicates knitted into their calcium carbonate and they’re so beautiful. life screams and death echoes. it’s a round.

i don’t know, i don’t know. i think i love the asking more than the answers. i love an aesthetic appreciation of mess and dirt, mud and rot, of the value of filth. that’s what goblincore is, i think. the love of life that’s inextricable from death.

[dark-ambition]

He can’t but help and admit the satisfaction that burns through him when he sees that spray of red blood, that strike true that causes the accursed microphone staff to almost fall into the mud and the dirt, a satisfaction that brings a grin, however brief, to his lips, wicked and full of fangs, even as he hauls himself up onto the highest point of the wreckage. He begins to dig through the inside of his coat, probing pockets in order to try and fish out even a single replacement bullet, and when his talons touch something cold and heavy, he feels a thrill of excitement rush through him, even as his eyes steadily watch Alastor’s body shift and elongate into his more proper, more deadly demonic form.

He is quick to load the bullet into the chamber, a practiced flick of the wrist that takes him less than a second, and when the beastly deer’s claws shoot forward to attempt to grab him, he instead topples backwards, slithering coils quick to bunch up around himself into a tight ball to as to minimize the damage of the impact. He feels himself bounce off the side of the warped metal once, twice, before his momentum slows into a roll as he feels the ground go from steep to more or less flat, and he uncoils himself with his gun raised, snarling with vicious rage as he fires yet another shot, right into the Radio Demon’s chest.

“And yet you’re the one who’s bleeding firsssst!”

His lips curl into a wide, sadistic smile full of fangs, as the site of where Alastor was struck begins to visibly smoke and burn.

“You treat thisss like a damn game! I’m treating thisss as a fight to win!”

Pentious’s lips can’t help but twitch up just the faintest touch at the sight of the blood that bloomed over Alastor’s cheek like a streak of paint, can’t help but feel that brief and giddy sensation of having caused pain to the Radio Demon, if however slight, but when the tentacles rush up from the ground, dark twisting tendrils crackling with a haze of green energy, he feels himself tense, quick to leap himself off the ground and right onto the side of the demolished ruins of his ship, coils twisting and his one free hand clawing up the wreck of warped metal and twisted glass, escaping the tendrils from immediately ensnaring him. He’s quick to aim another shot, knowing he only has 7 more bullets to spare, gritting his teeth and firing another round, this time aiming properly for the arm that was holding that damnable microphone staff of his.

[evolutionsvoid]

"Oooooo, it's happening, Eucella! Grab you binoculars, you don't want to miss this! I already see two of them, and I think I hear a third making its way through the brush!"

"Guuuuuh..."

"Ah, there it is! Looks like a young male, probably will hang back til the older one is done. C'mon, Eucella, this is what we've been waiting for!" "Chlora, we have been hiking for like the past three days, then spent all last evening digging a hole in the ground, then you wake me long before sunrise to trudge out here and sit in this miserable pit, all to watch some deer eat dirt." "They're not deer, they're yales! Yes, they are in the same family as deer, but they are different things! You wouldn't call them a moose, even though they are the same family, right? And what we are seeing here is not just 'eating dirt' as you so bluntly say! What we are witnessing here is geophagy! Now most people tend to think of trolls when you say geophagy, as they eat rocks and such, but that isn't the only example of the practice! There are many other species out there that occasionally practice this in order to get essential minerals, and that is exactly what the yales are doing here! There are plenty of herbivorous species that do this, as their normal diet can be lacking in some areas. Ever heard of osteophagy? I am sure you are thinking about bone slugs and the such, but herbivores partake in that too! And for the same reason! Gnawing on bones helps fill in parts of their diet, just like this mud! So bright and early in the morning, they come to this mud hole to drink up the muddy water and nourish themselves! It is incredible and convenient! Normally, yale herds move rather unpredictably and wander across the land in search of good grazing, which can make it hard for one to find a good place to observe them consistently. But here, we have a special spot that draws them all in, as you could see when we noted all the prints and trails that led to this particular waterhole. It is like if you went to one of our villages and wanted to figure out the best way to see the most dryads consistently. Well, everyone has their day-to-day lives, some stay home, others travel, it is all so unpredictable. You could focus on watching a single home, but that would mean you only see one family, and they could be on vacation! So you would want to go to a place where it is almost guaranteed for you to see a bunch of dryads! And where would that be? Eh? The community gardens, of course! Not only do you have the community matriarchs there working and tending to the crop, but also have others coming and going to pick up-"

"Just watch your deer, Chlora. I am going to focus on the whole be still and silent part of this grand event..."

"Oh! A territorial snort! The older male smells the younger one! Fruit from the skies! Eucella, you gotta see this! Things are getting tense, and it isn't even the breeding season! But what is happening here is-"

"Chlora, how do you see some many animals when you never shut up?"    

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

“The Waiting Game”

Chlora doesn't always go alone on her expeditions and research trips. Sometimes there is a colleague with her or she is going in a team. However, there are some rare times when she talks Eucella into leaving her office and joining her on a rather tame trip. If she is going to be the editor of her impeccable research, then she should get some experience in the field to really know what it is like! Eucella is not against going on such journeys, but only after Chlora has sworn it isn't going to be super dangerous or extremely rigorous. Such opportunities can be interesting to her, as she can finally see what she has only read about in Chlora's work (and it also makes Vera happy whenever her and Chlora are together for something). But in this case, she has found out that the writing doesn't always convey the full story (which is surprising with how much Chlora writes). There is a whole lot of in between that occurs before you get to see the cool animals, and that is if you see them.  

[bluewren]

After Corypheus was a really good time for Talisen :)

This was for a prompt I wrote a week ago, thought I should post it somewhere. She’s mostly just enjoy cake and filing papers. XD

There was humming as Sera walked up the steps back to Taliesen’s room, cautious to wander into a skip with her hands full, a fox tucked between her left arm and a platter of cheesecake on the right. 

A bit of a struggle with the Twinkle Toes’s constant wagging but she makes it through the door to the sight of her lover hunched over the candlelit table.

“What got your breeches up in a bunch?” she asks, emphasis placed on the question. She sets down the platter and fox by the Inquisitor’s table. 

Documents and agreements flooded onto her table. Her drawings, along with the old artifacts and trinkets that were once anchored down as roadblocks to quills and other stationery, seems to have drifted to the wayside. It was a confusing thing to observe at first.

She lets out a snort, “late enough as is. Ought to start picking it back in the morning.”

“If only that’s possible,” Tali states in a swift voice, head still tilted down at her papers.

“There’s still too many proposals and requests that Joesphine needs signed.” She takes a moment to breathe and blabber to her partner, “this one comtesse is demand we bring three of his horses and his whole bath set with us to the Basin,” her eyes widened, “where would we find room for a tub?”

*“Right?”* Sera slowly hummed. One finger tapping the top of Tali’s busy skull, “and a prancy noble not wanting dirt up his butt is worth cramping you noggin over?”

Tali lets out an exaggerated sigh and slumps herself down on her chair, Sera was right, some of these requests are ridiculous, even if she didn’t want to admit it.

“Empress Celene has been funding a large part of this expedition too, it matters that everything goes perfectly.”

“And she doesn’t think some of this is stupid?” Sera raises a brow, “that woman’s definitely scary. Probably not worrying about nobles walking through mud.”

“Good point,” Tali chuckles, resting her head on her palm. A smile forms as she speaks, “you think there’d be less work now that Corypheus is no longer a problem. I haven’t even gotten back to Dagna on the Sha Brytol equipment yet.”

“Well Dagna isn’t working on dwarfy stuff right now. You shouldn’t either,” their tiny fox was digging her claws at a scratching board in search of ways to entertain itself, likely it won’t mind being lifted up and planned onto Buckle’s lap. “She visited Twinkle Toes, that’s how I know.”

The fox’s big beady eyes blinked at Tali, its tail was playfully wagging behind to draw her attention away. Biting back it’s loud bark for a moment to relax with her caretaker. The fox was an adorable little distraction.

“Got letters for the Jenny’s too if you can't change your mind after,” Sera has a smile watching Tali pet her fox. She shoves the platter with cheesecake closer to them, “that comes after. Right now, we stuff ourselves.”

“I concede,” Tali’s eyes softened at the sight of cake. Her free hand grabbed a fork, “I never was good at saying no to cake.” She takes a bite, she lets the soft filling melt away her worries for a moment. “I never thought I’d be quite as excited to go on an expedition for Orlais either.”

“That’s what I love about my Buckles,” Sera had a grin as she took her own bite, “always something big and fun in that head of yours.” She lets out a soft chuckle, “but someone ought to take care of it, ‘cus you don’t always.”

It was a side of Taliesen that she’s always admired, and one that she takes joy in seeing it shine brighter. 

Tali lets out a chuckle. “Any excitement of your own?”

“There was a noble that got her breeches inked. It’s all grand though she kept sending food back to the cooks earlier, ought to teach her to be less of a knob.”