#do i need to explore this more in detail later? also yes

[lesbianslovebts]

Here me out. Lee Dongsik and religious trauma. Catholic guilt off the charts.

[mel-addams]

Get Started Drawing...

...even as a complete beginner!

In my efforts to help some friends who are only just starting to learn to draw (as adults! glorious!! <3), I kept digging around for resources that cover things I remember learning in the various art classes I've taken...but that does a better job than I can of laying it all out in a comprehensive, but not overwhelming, manner. (I am far too prone to rambling as you can see from this post, and bounce around topics as I remember them, rather than in a sensible order.) I've found a few guides here and there that cover one thing or another decently well...but I've finally found a free site I'm really keen on as an overall source if you're just starting out with learning to draw!

It's incredibly clear and concise, whereas many of the other sites and books I found could sometimes be overwhelmingly detailed. It's arranged in a way that reminds me of the flow of art classes, starting at the very first steps--how to approach art if you've never done it before, and the fact that you only need basic tools to begin with. If you go in approximate order, it then establishes that you should start sorting out a solid foundation by practicing simple lines and shapes--the same way you learned to write letters so you could ultimately make words, sentences, stories... This includes some neat little practice exercises with questions to consider while you do them, so you also learn to see and observe things like angles and proportions, which are critical for being able to accurately draw more complex things.

It evolves from there into how to take those basic shapes and turn them into simplified human bodies--and from there, how to consider more complex 3D versions of the shapes to give those bodies a sense of dimension and physicality. It even touches on things like composition, silhouette, negative space, and line of action--all in a quick, straightforward manner. It plants the seed of understanding for these more complex illustration concepts, which you can then research further, armed with relevant terminology to dig up more in-depth resources as they catch your interest!

The style itself is usually simple, but even if your aim is to draw with a more detailed style, this one can serve as a base sketch to add that detail to. (Combine learning this base with photo studies, plus more detailed style guides for wherever you want to take your art, and you could use this as a base for comics, cartoons, anime, realism...the core concepts and skills remain the same!) There's also examples of how to adjust for varied body shapes, so it provides more flexibility than some drawing guides do, which often only focus on one "ideal" body type. (This style can also be used for that, if it's what you want--you just adjust the proportions of the basic shapes as you need! But this provides examples of how to handle variety, which will give you a better foundation for drawing people and characters so they don't all look the same, instead of having to figure out how to adjust for it later on.) The Shape Dolls for reference are also incredibly delightful, and a great cheap way to have a little pose reference mannequin of sorts!

There's also links to sources if you want to dig into concepts more deeply--available both as a general source page, as well as some specific topics including relevant sources at the bottom of their respective pages. There's also a patreon with some extra thoughts that is fully accessible for free, but has a paid option if you want to support Tan for providing such a lovely resource! (Also they have a legit vegetable farm?? How cool is that.)

So yes! If you have any interest in learning to draw--whether you've ever tried before or not, and no matter your age--try looking through this site, and let it guide you through the process!

[alohaasaloevera]

guys I’m honestly happy that klance didn’t become canon because I love how as a collective group of people we utilize our right to explore what could have been and create the most smoking hot scenarios ever and yes I obviously wanted more of their friendship growing into this bond stronger than anything else in the universe especially since Voltron has teamwork and family as one of their main lessons but that’s more of a development issue all around…ok besides that there’s something about klance where it provides this PERFECT environment for shippers to inhabit and FEAST upon. With klance, there’s a solid, engaging dynamic between the two set up, which is this weird one-sided rivalry that stems from Lance’s insecurity and his need to prove himself of his worth and Keith literally being one of the best pilots for his age but since they’re flung into space and chosen to become child soldiers in this 10,000 year old intergalactic war so they have to work as a team which surprise surprise forces them to put aside their differences and work as a team which is shown a bunch when Keith needs to become a leader and Lance steps up as his right hand and and they have some kinda tender moments that won’t definitely drive shippers into a shipping craze (or worse) SO YEAH you could see why people loved it with all the classic tropes and mutual growth all that schmooze (ALSO THEY KNEW EACHOTHER BEFORE THE MAIN PLOT??? Well maybe not like friends or even acquaintances probably BUT HELLO?????? EVEN MORE SHIT TO EXPAND ON????), and they share multiple scenes that could be interpreted as romantic but there’s no explicit romance. This environment is fucking dripping drenched flash flooded cornered by 1000ft tsunamis in all directions with potential for shipping, so when people saw this relationship between two bros with this sort of homoerotic (IM JOKING. Kinda.) unresolved tension towards each other and the POTENTIAL for a good slow burn rivals to friends to lovers, it was to no one’s surprise that they went APESHIT. Klancers made countless different ways where they get together whether it be pre-Kerberos, post-gettingthefuckoutofearth, the start of the show, the end of the show, after the end of the show, right smack in the middle, anywhere, anytime, for who the fuck knows why just ANY REASON DAMN IT it doesn’t really matter because people were pumping out fanfiction or fan art or any fan media of klance faster than I spit out a raw baby carrot after chewing it for one second and now we’re all wallowing about how it should have been KICK but the thing is that if VLD did KICK all the way to Altea, the production of these beautiful stories that so many people have and still are coming up with about klance kissing in midst of a battle, helping each other with their crippling nightmares, smiling for the stars or some other sad premise, and whatever is nestled in his pulse…just like uhhh the amount of fics like these that go into great detail about Keith and Lance in these random situations that end up with them getting together being produced would go down to some degree because of the fact that if the people’s beloved sharpshooter and samurai had ended up together like we had wanted, and the majority was satisfied with the ending the creators had given, people would have shifted from writing about “How could Lance and Keith get together?” to writing about “What could Lance and Keith do now that they’re together?” And like. There’s nothing wrong with that honestly I would be HYPED if klance was ever canon but there is profound beauty in the way the community is able to create more from less and turn a show that went to shit in the last few seasons shine even brighter than it did at its prime. Like I wouldn’t trade my favorite fics 4 anything.

—

Ok another little thing I’m going to put here: With Klance, all I wanted was for them to be great friends 😭😭😭. I tend to prefer klance becoming canon in later seasons or at the end or even an open ending with no confirmed romantic relationships because I am a sucker for character development and the idea of Keith and Lance both harboring these feelings that at first are just admiration and respect but then escalate to yearning for one another or becoming close friends at the end of the show and getting to imagine anything I want post canon is EVERYTHING if you give me S7 Garrison klance I’ll keel over and thank you like I was a second away from dying of thirst and your gift was a truck load of water

[astradyke]

Just saw someone call DNP a QPR and at this point it’s like…are you even fucking real? are you homophobic? You’ve got to be homophobic to be saying shit like that

yeah like... i have a lot of thoughts on this but i struggle to articulate them so stick with me here. i'm going to start a lot of (unedited) trains of thought and then switch direction and i would love input here.

i have never been in an official QPR myself so i lack that direct experience, but i have individually explored QPRs/alternate forms of relationships outside systemic amatonormativity in my own life. i have also been in other spaces (which i won't detail here) where a lot of people would misunderstand QPRs-- seeing them as like, romance lite, not an entirely distinctive kind of relationship. like if you didn't want to call something romantic, you could just call it queerplatonic and that was safer, because that's less invasive, right? ...more on that later.

i think it's this 'romance lite' idea that drives people to assume DnP are in a QPR. as people have started to become aware of what QPRs are, a lot of misinformation spreads that QPRs are just like... romantic relationship except no sex? friendship except yes sex? a lot of framing QPRs as being some "More" iteration of an amatonormative type of relationship-- and thus, relevantly here, safer for people to 'assume' people are in.

it's my own personal assumption that some people take a perceived lack of a hard launch as a reason to assume DnP are in a QPR (note: i am aware that it's untrue that DnP have never hard launched, because they have three times; i use perceived here because people have differing thoughts on what a hard launch is for a myriad of reasons). this is because 'QPRs can be anything', so based on whatever fragments of information they perceive to have about DnP, they can just slap it together and call it a QPR. and the assumed range of behaviors that implies is not inherently inaccurate! two people could kiss on the mouth in front of you and they could be in a QPR. the world is beautiful like that!

but what assuming DnP are in a QPR does is it disregards what we actually see and hear out of DnP, and relies on a shit ton of assumptions. i need to preface before i continue here that i do NOT know Dan or Phil, and it is ENTIRELY possible that my judgments here are inaccurate, but i am working directly off of the information we have been provided. Dan and Phil have only ever indicated they are alloromantic and allosexual. people who are in QPRs can be allo, but if two people who are allo have said they had a past long-term relationship, have mentioned past romantic relationships with other people, have indicated separately that they are still in that long-term relationship, frequently reference the idea of having sex with each other, have intentionally or not put forward videos in which 'i love you' has been contextualized alongside typical romantic actions, and-- separate from each other-- seem to have a default allo understanding of other relationships, and more, it's... really hard for me to believe they're in anything other than a romantic relationship.

it's the idea that people need DnP to explicitly say that they are in a romantic relationship, no nuance, right now. which they don't have to do! it's also the idea that because Dan has referred to his relationship with Phil as being this incredible unique thing, "more than romantic", that must mean that it's not a romantic relationship. but more than romantic still means romantic, because a romantic relationship can fulfill you in many areas of your life, just like a QPR can for the right people! we have no evidence indicating that Dan and Phil are the 'right people' for a QPR! so it reads like just... outright denying the information they have shared with us about their relationship. and that reads like trying to be 'respectful' of DnP's boundaries by assuming that QPRs are a 'less invasive' assumption, which is... firstly, not true-- you can be invasive about assuming a friendship for fucks sake, it doesn't matter the kind of relationship but how you do it-- and seems to again somehow imply that QPRs are more intense but less important than romantic relationships? or something? simultaneous glamorization of QPRs and also disregarding them as anything that holds emotional weight? treating it like a proverbial unicorn? i don't know.

i'm like... overwhelmingly sympathetic, but incredibly exhausted, by this. because like: historically, in the past, i did think for a second that they might have been in a QPR! which was projection on my part mostly (trying to navigate QPR feelings at the time, being immersed in a lot of discourse about QPRs, etc.) but i dropped that near immediately because there's just No Evidence and it kind of makes me feel like people just don't know what QPRs are. it makes me feel like people are too scared to claim that they're in a romantic relationship, entangled in the past anxieties of being a 'demon phannie' etc., and so they go for what's next best: a QPR. but a QPR is not a stand in for a romantic relationship-- that would look differently! that would operate differently! and QPRs are not just a thing you fall into, it's not something you trip into, it's an agreement between two or more people. Dan and Phil would have to deliberately agree to be in a queerplatonic relationship and there is just no evidence backing that that's something they are interested in doing, or honestly, even aware of.

(i have no idea where to insert this, so side note that another possible reason why people think BIG was alluding to a QPR-- which i admit was part of my own issue at the time-- is because, as i mentioned earlier, Dan had referred to his relationship with Phil as being this unique force in his life, something he hadn't experienced. but my own interpretation-- and i believe the intent-- is not that the relationship with Phil is different in absolute nature to other relationships, but rather that the relationship is different due to its longevity, emotional security, etc. the relationship isn't 'More' than his past relationships because it's not a romantic relationship, but because it's with someone who he could experience true love with-- which, when you have been in past relationships without experiencing true love, having that experience may feel entirely fundamentally different).

again, i am sympathetic because QPRs are relatively untalked about and are given a lot of shit, and i've seen them be given a lot of shit by other queer people and that obviously really fucking upsets me. but like... the information DnP have shared with us readily point to a romantic relationship as the most obvious, direct conclusion, with the least amount of assumptions necessary. it's really nothing more than that. and i think it's either projection from people who are considering how queerplatonic attraction fits into their own lives (which i doubt as being the number one reason), or what is more likely, anxiety about being 'invasive', that is causing people to do this. which i do fear is kind of hand in hand with a subtle homophobia that leads people to deny relationships between queer people unless the couple is like, having sex in front of them and getting married. and even then, people can still deny it. because relationships are complicated but you have to use context. and i'm really exhausted of QPRs being used as an excuse to not accept a romantic relationship, instead of actually viewing QPRs as a beautiful kind of relationship some queer people have that is equal in value to a romantic or platonic relationship.

sorry to write an essay in response to this but i hope this like, roughly expresses my thoughts on the subject? again despite my best attempts at the time, i've not been in a QPR myself, and now do not think QPRs are best fit for me. so i lack that experience and i would love to hear more from folks if this misses the mark. but i have touched on this in the past and i wanted to provide a more thorough reasoning behind why i personally am dismissive of QPR theories*, at risk of people thinking that it's an objection to the idea of QPRs overall. i hope this is more of an informational meta than a direct discourse, since i don't know who is considering them a QPR at this point and i don't want this to read as a vague at all. if anyone who does see them as a QPR wants to chime in, i am happy to hear your perspective. okay much love <3

[avonne-writes]

In you HS au, does gale have any insecurities? Maybe related to how he looks? What about bucky? since he always seems so confident, does he have anything he's insecure about?

Do they ever! Hahaha 😄 Yes, they have some insecurities. A lot of the fics posted in the collection so far are outsider POV, most of them their peers' POV, that's why the boys seem more confident than they are.

In Broken Things, we get a short mention of Gale being insecure:

When Bucky’s small car comes to a halt in front of him at the gas station, Gale realizes he looks like a stray cat on the side of the road. Probably the least attractive he has ever been. Are his cheeks blotchy and gross? Did the slap bruise? He tries to look more presentable by tucking his dishevelled hair behind his ears and brushing down the knees of his jeans, but it does little to improve his appearance.

But I've yet to explore their insecurities in detail. Here are some of my headcanons:

Gale

Believe it or not, Gale doesn’t think he's handsome. He thinks, at best, he looks like a Ken doll and he wishes to look tougher. He loves his long hair because he feels like it gives him an edge. He always wants to look flawless and is actually a notorious mirror hogger.

He's insecure about body odor, so he always tries to be as clean as possible and uses distinctive deodorant (that Bucky loves, as mentioned in the latest chapter).

He's scared of making too much noise when he and Bucky are making out or more. He doesn’t want to embarrass himself by being too needy, too touch-starved. He thinks he’s not normal about touch and almost never initiates because he feels like it’s gonna expose how utterly pathetic he is about it. (It gets better for him later, I promise.)

He's insecure about his entire personality and existence in the company of adults. He’s confident with his peers, but adults leave him all sorts of anxious. He hates when teachers pull him aside or try to have a conversation with him. He wants all adults to like him and second-guesses everything he does in their presence.

Having too many bad memories from home. Nothing gets him more uncomfortable than a group conversation where someone asks him about his family and he can’t recall any completely normal and nice anecdotes to share.

Bucky

Like a typical teenage boy, he spends an unnecessary amount of time trying to figure out if his dick is big enough. It’s dumb because he doesn’t have expectations for Gale, yet he still feels anxious about what Gale might think about that part of his body. He’s glad that he knows how to delete his search history...

Somewhat related, as we saw in the latest chapter, he needs reassurance about his sexual performance in a way Gale doesn’t. This gradually decreases as he gets more experience.

He thinks he’s too skinny, and hates that despite being thin, he doesn’t have defined abs (Gale does). When he’s in a bad mood, he feels like an ugly twig. But he likes his own jawline.

He has acne breakouts sometimes, and he wants to hide in a dark corner whenever that happens. The first time he had it after he and Gale started dating, he actually wondered if Gale would still kiss him at all. He’s also worried he's too sweaty.

He often feels like he’s too much. Too talkative, too loud, too rowdy. When someone reminds him of this insecurity, he can plummet into a sudden, bone-deep depressive mood.

[redslug]

Denoiser wisdom

Since a lot of people showed interest in my workflow of using SD like a renderer for existing sketches, I'll be sharing the little tricks I find while exploring the capabilities of SD with Neuroslug. Read the inpainting post to understand this one. When inpainting, the model takes into consideration what is already in the area it regenerates and in the areas around it. How exactly it'll follow these guidelines is determined by denoising strength. At low values it'll stick closely to the areas of color it sees and won't create anything radically different from the base. At high denoising strength it'll gladly insert colors, shapes and silhouettes that weren't there originally. Basically the more you trust your sketch the smaller your denoising strength should be. It doesn't mean you won't need the high denoising at some point. Let me explain it using yesterday's artwork. It all starts with a rough sketch.

Since I have a particular composition in mind and want it to be maintained, I'll be using a low denoising strength to fully regenerate this image.

It means that the algorithm won't have enough freedom to fix my large-scale mistakes, it's simply not allowed to change the areas of color too dramatically. So if you want to do this yourself make sure to set the image to black and white first and check that your values are working and contrast is good.

To make sure the result isn't too cartoony and flat I used brushes with strong color jitter and threw a rather aggressive noise texture over the whole thing. This'll give the denoiser a little wiggle room to sprout details out of thin air.

It kept the composition, the suggested lighting and the majority of flowers kept their intended colors too. This was denoising strength 0f 0.4. To contrast that, same base image with denoising at 0.7:

It's pretty, but it's neither the style nor composition I wanted. Let's refine the newly redrawn base to include the details that were lost in transition. These were intended to be roses.

It's here where I learned a little trick. You can mix and match different models to achieve the look you desire. Neuroslug is good at detailed moths and painterly environments. It's not good at spitting out really detailed flowers, they end up looking very impressionist which is not what I want in foreground. So, I switched to an anime focused model and let it run wild on this bush with high (0.7) denoising strength.

Nice definition, but it looks too smooth and isn't in line with what I want. Switching back to Neuroslug with denoising at 0.5 and letting it work over these roses.

This way, I get both the silhouette and contrast of the anime model (counterfeitV30) and the matching style of Neuroslug. It's also useful in cases where the model doesn't know a particular flower. You can generate an abstract flower cluster with the anime model and use the base model to remind the AI that what you want is in fact a phlox specifically. So I did this to basically every flower cluster on the image to arrive at this:

It's still a bit of a mess but it has taken me about 80% of the way there, the rest I'll be fixing up myself.

My "Lazy Foliage" brush set was really helpful for this. I'll release that one once it accumulates enough brushes to be really versatile. Now we block in the character.

Yes, I left the hands wonky since I intend to be drawing them manually later, same about the foot. There's so much opportunity for the AI to mess them up that I'd rather have all the control on these details.

When it renders the face it can really mess up everything, so I do it with low (0.45) denoising strength to discourage new eyes popping up in inappropriate places. Take note that I kept the antennae out of the mask. AI is easily confused when one subject overlaps the other.

Good, good. Wait. Why are your eyes hairy? Now, mask out the eyes, remove all mention of fur from the prompt and

That's about right. Since the eyes are all one color block I can afford to raise the denoising strength for more wild results. Same for areas of just fluff on the entire body, it's all one texture and having the denoiser at 0.6-0.75 is beneficial because it's going to add locks, stray hairs and other fluffy goodness. Just make sure to not make the mask too tight to the silhouette, it needs some space to add hairs sticking out.

With the skirt it was back to really low denoising. The folds I blocked in make sense with the position oh her legs under it, so I didn't want it to be lost.

Lastly, I drew in a flower that she's planting and ran over it with moderately high denoising to make it match the surrounding style. Ignore the biblically accurate roots there, I'll fix them by hand.

One last pass over the whole thing in Procreate. I draw the hands and add details such as the round pseudopupils, face ridges and wing markings to keep the character consistent with the previous image of her. And a bit of focal blur for a feeling of depth. Phew, even with generous use of AI this whole thing took an entire day of work. In the end what determines quality isn't the tool you use but the attention you choose to pay to finding inconsistencies and fixing them.

[annabelle-creart]

TF KINKTOBER DAY #7: Plug-N-Play || SEX TOYS

*nobody told me I can't use both

CW: valvepluge, sticky interfacing, fingering, sex toys

Ship: OPchet

Au: Aligned continuity (but Optimus never died and Cybertron's okay👍)

Maybe it was just Ratchet who was foolish to believe Orion wasn't capable of such things as get his digits on Ratchet without asking or try to rizz him up, nor even plan the entire night at the minimus detail to keep Ratchet there

"This feels good?" Orion asked him, yes, Ratchet enjoyed the massage, the caresses and his partner's soft vents were relaxing and pleasurable, but Ratchet still felt it out of place

"Ah, yes" Ratchet replied softly, nonetheless, his discomfort was hearable

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, just... is nothing, I promise"

"Let me change the question" Orion changed his position, getting in front of the med bot, sometimes Ratchet forgots how much Orion had grow up since he became Prime "how do you feel?"

Ratchet took a moment to think properly, he definitely didn't wanted to lie but didn't wanted to worry his partner, he sighed, and prefered to tell the truth

"It's... we didn't had a moment like this in a lot of time, like, never? I feel like disconected, I want to feel alright and this is really good but... I feel like something's about to happen"

"Like restless?"

"Yes"

Orion looked at him sadly, but got him inside his arms, hugging him with care, Ratchet replied the hug, burrying his head on Orion's chest and recieving his kisses on the forehead, this was just what he needed, something to remind him he is safe, Orion could feel it on his partner's ventilation

"Thanks" Ratchet replied softly, letting go just a bit of the hug to meet Orion's optics

The rest of the night was quiet, some energon snacks and chuckled to decor it and their happiness to fulfil it, a lot of time before, they wouldn't know this could happen, nor the peace or the kisses

One cute kiss became a laugh kiss, and later two laugh kisses, then one longer and silent, then one with touch at their faceplates and backs, they were like that for some minutes, feeling the air get hot by their motors and their glossas twitching with each other, Orion was always the softess, and the Ratchet was always of the speed

Maybe Ratchet was too concentrated or too distracted by the deep kiss to notice, until his valve was aroused, that Orion had his digits down there, nonetheless he decided to enjoy a bit more than usual this time, letting his partner touch him as much as desired, noticing his digits were moving such like Ratchet always tell Orion he liked, he let out a soft moan the moment he got separated from Orion's glossa to catch air, he was slow and exploring, getting all the place, then, he got near Ratchet's neck and kissed him, two, three more kisses, and then a soft suck. Orion was enough close for Ratchet to feel his spike

Orion never stopped, which Ratchet took as invitation, he was really good at getting Orion's secrets, and as expexted, one of the food baskets had just what he needed

Orion was kind of surprised Ratchet knew, nonetheless he also knew he would know soon or later

Ratchet take the initiative, and after some kisses, put the turned on ring on Orion's spike, at the lowest vibration, it wasn't much but it was enough to turned him on more, Orion recieved more of Ratchet's kisses on mouth, neck and chest, when Orion also thought it was a good moment for his gift to Ratchet

After some more movements on his node, Orion put the sucker with care, turning it on also at the lower level, Ratchet started moaning a bit louder, which Optimus used to start kissing his partner, now more quick and deep, leveling both vibrators at the same time, both were about to moan out the feeling both had but couldn't let out the other's throat, it was too good to let it out, and what was even better was that Orion felt easily Ratchet's transfluid, which he took on his free digits and put on his spike while Ratchet hunted his neck for kisses and light bites

Orion got closer, he hugged Ratchet again to keep him close and inserted his spike on his partner's valve with care, slow, finding the spot, both vibrations collided, specially Orion's ring on Ratchet's valve, Ratchet inmediatly took the leadership as the one with more movility, going up and down, searching and finding the right point, there, Ratchet moaned more deeply this time, Orion wanted to do so too, the up, down and the vibration stimulated both almost as the same time, Ratchet could feel how his callipers closed Orion's spike, Orion could feel how his spike was stretched, Orion took both his servos on Ratchet's aft to keep him in rhythm and support him

With ech strike and the more higher the level, Ratchet was faster and Orion was wishful, refreshing their vents with each moan and getting hotter with each vibration

"Fraaag" Orion head Ratchet murmur, but was too aroused to say something inmediatly, nonetheless

"I love you" Orion wanted to say something too, he didn't knew if Ratchet heard him because he didn't replied or changed his movement, so, Orion glued again on Ratchet's chest

A soft but deep moan took Ratchet's attention, feeling Orion's whole armor relax more, he decided to stop and get slowly out of it, even if he wanted to enjoy his own overload a little more, Orion took out the ring, full of transfuild, Ratchet couldn't use the vibrator more because his overload got him sensible and retired it too

Orion reclined himself and offered Ratchet to rest on him, which of course, he did, getting both comfy while refreshing his motor and vents

"I love you too" Ratchet replied tired

[olenvasynyt]

This is more of a rant than an actual question but I need Lucien to KNOW he is not Beron's son. I will never be able to reallistically believe he is as smart and clever as SJM has hinted at if he DOESN'T know! Plus, if Lucien is Helion's Heir he'd have to have SOME day court powers and he'd probably had to hide them in Autumn and how would he do that if he didn't know he was helion's son/not Beron's son?? I've never bought the theory that eris and his mother "binded" his powers, i truly think he's hiding them on purpose just like Aelin buried her fire magic so deep inside her when she was afraid of it

I feel like he knows he's a bastard, actually! I think there's a lot of hints to it. When we see this thoughts in ACOWAR we see him think about his mother and that he kept some things about her a secret because they were personal and irrelevant.

"I am Lucien. Seventh son of the High Lord of the Autumn Court." And a whole lot of nothing. He'd told the shadowsinger all he knew--of his surviving brothers, of his father. His mother...he'd kept some details, irrelevant and utterly personal, to himself.

His might be that he knows LoA had an affair, but it could also just be about the abuse she recieves from Beron. But we later discover secrets his mother has been keeping. And I also think "a whole lot of nothing" is interesting to say too, because saying he's the seventh son to Beron is "a whole lot of nothing".

And we also understand how the High Fae magic develops in their youth because of Mor. He probably had his Day Court powers develop as his Autumn Court powered developed, but LoA and Eris might have told him to suppress it.

I don't think he has had the room to explore his Day Court powers. He keeps a lot of things suppressed. And when he breaks free from Hybern's spell at the end of ACOMAF to get to Elain, that was a sudden, in the moment thing fueled by his anger and the mating bond. We don't know his thoughts and feelings about that moment and how he was able to free himself, so it's hard to say.

And I think Lucien is smart enough to figure out that Beron mistreating him might be for a deeper reason. And he does have darker skin than his brothers. Yes, that's technically a retcon because there's signs that this wasn't what SJM intended in ACOTAR because he's decribed to look like Beron UTM, but anyways lmao.

I don't think he knows he's Helion's true son though, mostly because SJM will want the dramatic reveal! He could fully think that LoA had an affair with a random Day Court male. I do have theories that it could be possible Lucien knows Helion is his father based on how the High Lord's powers transfer to the next person and how the heir has to hide their powers--we see this with Rhys and Tamlin.

I feel like there could be a lot of signs that he knows he's a bastard, but think SJM has retconned a lot of stuff surrounding Lucien and his true heritage so it's hard to come up with actual theories. She said that she didn't go into Lucien's full backstory until ACOMAF, so honestly, a lot of potential "hints" in ACOTAR are a bit irrelevant now. But I'm also pretty cynical of SJM tbh lmao and I enjoy coming up with headcanons to fix the holes she left.

[tinycheesecakedetective]

What about relaxation for Eternal Sugar and Greed for Golden Cheese?

Rambling/Concept Post pt. 2 (OLD)

My first ask! Thanks for asking, by the way, and sorry that this took so long to answer. I've been staring at this draft like the void, and it started to stare back.

Anyways, enough about my procrastination. That sounds good, at least for Eternal Sugar! Greed just feels kinda easy, not to mention that greed is seen as a good thing in her story specifically. Spinning greed back to being a bad trait feels like it dampens a bit of her story. That does give me a different idea for her, though. Golden Cheese Cookie, Beast of Gluttony and Burning Spice Cookie, Ancient Hero of Renewal

So you might be wondering, "Gluttony? Why gluttony, that has to do with food, doesn't it?" To which I say, I will get to it. Abundance is having [something] in excess, and Golden Cheese was drowning in wealth, subjects, and power before it was stripped from her during the Great Flour War. The reason why she was greedy was for the sake of her kingdom and went to great lengths to provide for them and her allies.

Which brings us back to why. Why gluttony? It's because Gluttony doesn't have a reason. It doesn't have a reason why it needs to consume, it just does. It is mindless, driven only by basic instinct and a lust for more because it needs more. Gluttony doesn't care if it deserves it or not, it needs to be fed and it will have what it wants. It is greed without reason. And it's a great fit for an ancient who loses sight of why they were greedy in the first place.

So... What exactly would her kingdom look like? Considering it's completely gone, GC would use the digital world she created as a blueprint. While she has the cheesebirds to help with reconstruction efforts, she lacks the resources needed. So, she begins searching for materials, and that's where the trouble begins. GC looks at the blueprints and decides it's simply not enough, so she begins expanding. And she doesn't stop; the kingdom becomes a tumor across the desert with more and more areas being built. Nowhere is untouched, and trying to explore the place is impossible because there's always new rooms, new entrances, and new things to explore. It's practically a maze with Golden Cheese at the center, always wanting more and never having enough.

Now onto Burning Spice... After beating myself up about how to make destruction a positive trait, I eventually decided on Renewal as their soul jam. Renewal, according to Merriam Webster, means "to make like new", and yes, I know it's close to change, but this was hard okay? Canonically, they give me warrior brute vibes, and I think their kingdom is just a complete wasteland. Like, there isn't anything there but monsters and sand, and maybe some old houses that survived. And technically their resting place, but that barely counts. When your known trait is destruction, it's kinda hard to think of anything to do for it. Maybe in the past they had a more permanent area? Spice seems to have connections with the Mala tribe, especially with Capsaicin Cookie specifically, but again, speculation.

I imagine Spice's (new) territory to be nomadic. Fitting with the theme of Renewal, they don't have any permanent homes and move between Spicy Spider Valley and the area surrounding their tomb in a pilgrimage of sorts. They of course have Burning Spice as ruler, but also a group of advisors that can make calls in their absence. I think the way they get their soul jam is they go on a solo journey through the wilderness to try and find himself or something, I can work out the details later.

Hollyberry Cookie, Beast of Ambition and Eternal Sugar Cookie, Ancient Hero of Serenity

Thankfully, this is way easier. Hollyberry is a boisterous, loving individual and my absolute favorite Ancient. For a while, my favorite update was the Dragon's Valley update, and I adore her interactions with Pitaya Dragon. But enough of my rambling, we're here to talk about her becoming ambition! Now this is pretty straightforward, passion and ambition are similar after all. But the difference between the two is that passion is a feeling, and ambition is a mindset. Taking one's passion and hyper focusing on a specific thing could make it into an ambition. And that's not always a good thing.

Having ambitions is great! Letting those ambitions run wild is ill advised, however. Balance is important to have, and if you don't keep that in mind, your ambitions can make you go to extremes and you might do things you never would've just to reach them. How Hollyberry falls is through her passion for the ones she loves. It starts innocently enough, she gets worried about the well being of her family, so she tries to get strong enough to protect them. She starts with trying to connect with her soul jam more, then finding artifacts that could boost her strength, and then all of a sudden she's trying to unlock the path to divinity. Whoops, how'd that happen? Interestingly enough, the Hollyberry Kingdom would probably end up the least affected by Beast!Hollyberry's actions. All they know is that she said that she would be going on a short trip and she hasn't come back yet, so the kingdom wouldn't change unless Pitaya got tired of their stalemate and made the entire kingdom their playground in the meantime.

Next and last for this post, Eternal Sugar Cookie! Also very easy, her new virtue is serenity! Eternal Sugar gave me HEAVY fallen angel vibes, although interestingly enough she gave me Greek vibes as well. Their territory is definitely some version of the Garden of Eden, what with the paradise name and seraphim wings and all. They feel like Mystic Flour's exact opposite, and while Mystic Flour tries to free everyone from all desires, Eternal Sugar seems like the type to indulgence in ALL of them and encourage pleasure over everything else.

So how do we make them into an ancient hero? Since serenity is a state of peace, perhaps they find it by complete accident. Maybe they start out as their usual slothful self but they don't find satisfaction, so she goes on some quest of self discovery and finds the way to peace or something like that. You know those relaxation gardens that people make in their backyards with the koi fish and the bonsai? Sugar's area feels like it would have that vibe, hidden away from most people.

And I think that's it. The next and probably final post is about everyone's new favorite gay ship! And they're very tricky. Again, sorry this took so long, I was running on empty for a WHILE. Hope you enjoy!

[piggledy-higgledy]

As anyone who’s been looking at my page semi-frequently will have noticed, I am a big Richard Armitage fan. Mostly in love with his portrayal of Gisborne in BBC’s Robin Hood, but I also enjoy most of his other work and consider him a very talented actor (and a very sweet person from what we can tell.)

There has been a lot of furore lately about his latest project, “Obsession” (a series unfortunately promoted as an erotic thriller by Netflix), which is a remake of 1992 film “Damage” (with Jeremy Irons and Juliette Binoche) and based on the book by Josephine Hart. He portrays William Farrow, a married, middle aged, successful surgeon, who has an affair with his son’s fiancé, Anna (Charlie Murphy) -an affair so obsessive that it costs him everything: his career, his family, his son’s life, even his own self (more on that later.) The series features a lot of sex scenes, very light BDSM elements, and a LOT of nudity from RA on a level most fans never thought we’d see (RA being famously private and modest.) The fandom has been divided over this, with some looking forward to it and some being sure it’s not for them at all. From what I can tell (and I might be wrong) most people were put off by either the copious amounts of sex (and the trailer leaned very heavily on that) or the unsavoury morals of the main characters. Which is fair, if it’s not your cup of tea, don’t watch it.

I *did* watch it, and because opinions have been so strong, I wanted to share my thoughts. No disrespect if you prefer to pass. I hope it might be helpful for anyone on the fence and still making up their mind whether to watch or not. Happy to chat more about it if anyone likes! There WILL be spoilers.

Before watching it

I have personally felt very intrigued about this series and I was excited about watching it. Not so much because of the nudity or explicit scenes -or, rather, because of them, but not in the way you might think. Richard Armitage has played very, very few roles where he was primarily the romantic lead, and none later in his career. He tends to be cast in active roles, a lot of dark, violent characters, tense action. When there is romance it’s not the main aspect being explored. And he has NEVER (with the notable exception of Between the Sheets, which was so early in his career I doubt he necessarily had much choice to turn down work) done anything close to this level of sexual screen time. Why now? What made this different? I really wanted to know.

There was another reason I really wanted to watch Obsession. What Richard Armitage does best, in my opinion, is give characters depth (even characters that were clearly not written that way *cough* *Guy* *cough*). He is an incredibly detailed actor and uses his face and eyes to a stunning degree to convey things that go far beyond the dialogue. He has spoken about how he creates complete backstories for all his characters. This project is literally made for his type of acting. There is hardly any action, and leagues of unspoken material. RA called it “one of the most fulfilling pieces of work he’s ever done”. I needed to see why.

After watching it

I binged all 4 episodes in one night. And then again the next morning. And again today. I finished the first episode and thought “Yes, I understand why he wanted to do this.” (He also said in an interview that there was a moment in one scene that he’d never achieved before on film. Having watched this, I believe him.) Is this the kind of series I’d normally gravitate to? No. But I’m glad I watched it. Every single actor was incredible. The filming was beautiful. I just… don’t know where to start.

The story:

In my opinion “Obsession” is not about infidelity or sexual exploration -it’s about William and Anna’s experience with obsession and addiction. Anna isn’t just having an affair. She is addicted to being in control and to using sex as a means of asserting that control. (We learn that she had a brother who sexually abused her for years and committed suicide when she finally put a stop to it. And throughout the series, she reacts to strong emotions by initiating sex. Charlie Murphy described the character as a “dominant submissive” and that’s spot on, not just in the way that she sets the rules and boundaries of their sexual relationship, but in the way that, having been abused, asserts her control on the situation she had to submit to as a young girl by controlling when and how she submitted). William is not just having an affair. He is obsessed and addicted to Anna to the point that it completely deconstructs him as a person. He is the counterpoint to Anna’s character, in that he has no control. He doesn’t initiate, he doesn’t resist, he can’t or won’t control his reactions or his impulses and he completely loses control of his life as a result of his actions. In the final episode Jay, the son, discovers the affair and in shock, falls off a railing to his death. There is a scene where William faces his wife after everything is revealed and watching Richard Armitage convey all those emotions without saying a word is some of the best acting I’ve seen in my life. I don’t know what part of himself RA drew from to act the guilt and grief and absolute devastation in that scene but it was… amazing and heartbreaking. Even then, the obsession wins. When Jay dies, we see Anna walking away while William cradles the body of his son, paying her very little attention. I completely believe that he is broken in the scenes that follow. But after a few days the addiction takes over and he still seeks out Anna, convinced they can now be together (“there’s no version of this with just you,” she’d told him earlier on, but he clearly thinks otherwise). And we get the following:

W: … I let uncertainty in. (NB: What is uncertainty but lack of control?)

A: And look what happened. I don’t think… we can ever separate who we are from what we’ve done.

W: But… we can’t let it all be for nothing either (NB: William’s voice breaks here. He’s lost everything he ever cared about, she’s the only thing left. Does this phrase mean he thinks there was depth in their affair? Or does it mean that he is looking for meaning and depth so that he can cope with the fact that he sacrificed everything for an obsession and an addiction?)

A: Jay died because of us.

W: Still I wouldn’t change it (TNB: THIS! This phrase upset so many viewers! And of course it did, it was supposed to. The acting is, again, amazing. This isn’t said to Anna, this is introspection. William is looking inside himself, realises he wouldn’t change it, realises how much of himself he’s lost.)

A: You don’t regret it?

W: How can I?

A: We caused so much pain

W: But it’s done now.

A: I am so sorry for what happened. But I wish we’d never met. (She walks away, leaving William sobbing. Because there. is. nothing. left.)

The sex:

I hate that this was marketed as a sexy series because it created all sorts of hype and expectations that were misplaced imo. The story was never about the sex. Morgan Lloyd Malcolm said a couple of days ago on Twitter that it’s about “sitting in the discomfort of human behaviours” and that is spot on. Like I said above, this is a story of addiction. Anna is not addicted to the sex -she is addicted to using sex for control. That’s why Anna and William never kiss (she is the one controlling their physical interactions. William leans in to kiss her in many scenes, she never lets him.) That’s why the music is so jarring in all the sex scenes. That’s why there’s no foreplay, that’s why William never lasts long. That’s why they only ever have sex on the floor or in public, never in a safe, comfortable place like a bed. They are not comfortable. This is not a comfortable situation. We, as viewers, are supposed to be uncomfortable. The infamous hotel pillow scene was meant to demonstrate the turning point in William’s addiction, the complete loss of control, I think. It was never supposed to be funny or sexy -it was meant to disturb us because this intelligent, cultured, previously collected man becomes completely animalistic. Which is why he sobs afterwards -I think this is the point when William realises that (as Ingrid puts it later) “he is lost to her”. William’s face after their first sexual encounter is the face of a man under the influence. When she gets up to leave he makes this movement with his fingers like he is trying to hold on to her, but only grabs air. It’s just a twitch -but it’s Richard Armitage and we know how detailed he is in his acting, and I am sure it was a gesture with meaning.

The intimate scenes in Obsession are sometimes sensual, sometimes uncomfortable, sometimes genuinely hard to watch but never gratuitous.

Why a fan of Richard Armitage or anyone writing for his characters should watch it:

Again, you do you, but hear me out: This series is a veritable treasure trove of body language, voice/cadence, facial expressions that you can then apply to your favourite RA character. The longing. The conflict. The loss of control. The vulnerability. The eye contact. The fact that the lover’s name is Anna, which is also my name. Also, I’m being completely serious when I say that this is some of the best acting I’ve seen him do *ever*. If you can only bring yourself to watch parts of it, do that. There were some scenes that genuinely made me tear up. Look after yourself, respect your boundaries, but sample what you can because it’s a veritable banquet.

PS: I am focusing on Richard Armitage for this review because I came to Obsession from that fandom. But every single actor gives an amazing performance. I especially adored Charlie Murphy as Anna, Indira Varma being astounding as Ingrid and the criminally underrated Marion Bailey as Anna’s mother, Elizabeth, who packs SO MUCH into so few scenes.

[nualaofthefaerie]

Hi! This might be a bit of a broad question but here it goes: What is it about Nuala that you love so much in particular? Is it a general appreciation of fairies or something that narratively you are drawn to re Nuala in Sandman?

Just asking because I’m always so in awe in how much love and care you have for the character and it’s overall such a nice vibe you bring to the fandom 🖤

What a truly wonderful question! Thank you so much!

I will do my best to answer, please bear with me.

First off, I have indeed always had fascinations with fairies. Ever since I was a child, my favourite characters were Tinkerbell and her gang, which at the time looked a tad different, but Tinkerbell was the very first character I fell in love with.

Both the old Pixie Hollow and later the new Pixie Hollow fairies were my chosen Disney poison.

(If anyone ever asks me, I will go into heavy detail).

Another big inspiration to my character love roster (please, bear with me, this is all relevant, I promise), was the original run of the WINX club.

And specifically from both, my favourites were Tinkerbell and Flora, respectively. Now, I am not saying, there is a pattern, but it is quite...on the nose.

The influence is undeniable, side by side.

Another favourite visual inspiration of mine is the Kpop girl group, Red Velvet. Nuala encapsulates a lot of their aesthetic, so that certainly was there as well. Especially, Wendy, is a very seemless Nuala stand-in to me. Because Nuala sings and there is no voice in the entire industry such as Wendy's. So yes.

However, it is certainly not enough. There a lot of beautiful women in the Sandman - Calliope, Titania, they are close to that concept, however why Nuala?

To me the answer is simple - Nuala is one of the very few modern female characters that encapsulates girlhood. She is not a girlboss, neither does she have it all figured out. Cluracan and by extension, Titania in combination with Morpheus, throw her in for a ride where she is forced to explore all that she is, reevaluate it and come on top of what makes her, her. I think this is such a human thing, where our environmental circumstances put us in situations where we are at a loss, so then we have to actually either adapt or lay down and die.

And that very thing, is what makes her the most unique Sandman character to me, alongside Morpheus. Nuala is diametrically opposed to Morpheus. Being put in imprisonment (Nuala was very much imprisoned in the Dreaming, I could write a whole post about that) Morpheus and Nuala react to their world differently. Of course, Morpheus was far more limited and yet, he could always reach out to those who would've helped him. He didn't. However, Nuala in complete opposition makes the best of her circumstances - she makes connections within the Dreaming, creates a "life" that wouldn't fill her with absolute dread, despite the crippling wish to be free. Morpheus believes he shouldn't bother anyone and hence always carries the world on his shoulders, while Nuala infamously says:

And I think THIS one, THIS panel right here, it made me fall in love with her helplessly. She opposes Morpheus by simply breathing, by simply believing no one has to be alone in this world. She is hope. She is kindness. She remains kind throughout everything that happens to her. And even though she cries for Morpheus, she also realises this os her right and it is her journey. And I think if people took her a bit more seriously, they will see what I see. That kindness is not weakness and kindness can be beauty.

But all and all:

"People need people."

Author Note:

I hope this answer made a smudge of sense.

My inbox is always open!

Love,

Li 🪷

[buckets-and-trees]

Silent Screams in Wildest Dreams

Characters/Pairings: Bucky Barnes x female!Reader, side of Steve Rogers Word Count: 8k Summary: A dark tale with an unhappy ending. Just when you’ve married the man of your dreams, only just closed the chapter of your honeymoon, happily ever after is wrenched away, and you’re met with a nightmare you never could have imagined. This was written for prompt #14 in Roo’s Hallo-Cream Extravaganza: Each morning you feel more and more drained, but you don’t notice the marks until it’s too late.

Content Warnings: DARK tale; main character death; explicit smut: rough sex, fingering, oral (f receiving), unprotected vaginal intercourse, creampie; talk of wounds; slight dub/con; somnophilia; DEAD DOVE DO NOT EAT

Additional Notes: I will leave more detailed notes at the end of the fic so I don’t give specifics away, but this is loosely based on some Scandinavian folklore I’ve been exploring. I emphasize this is loosely based on the folklore – I’m not a Scandinavian folklore expert AND there were a couple of elements I did adapt to fit the direction of the story overall. I've left some songs throughout the fic for a bit of a soundtrack, if you wish. The title is taken from a Taylor Swift lyric (from "This Love"), but don't let that fool you. Here be a dark story.  

Also, thank you to @darkficsyouneveraskedfor for letting me in on the party here with the challenge (my first challenge in this fandom) AND for literally saying "take all the time you need" when I said the beast was still being tamed and that life had been more life-y than I thought it would be over the past few weeks.

The first thing you’re conscious of are the warm fingers stroking lightly up and down your back. You take in a deep breath of morning air, and hum in contentment as you let it out, stretching one of your arms out across the mattress, and the other above your head, pushing out from under your pillow to press against the headboard.

“Good morning, beautiful,” your husband says softly, his hand now moving beneath the hem of your shirt to press gently against the small of your back.

“Morning, Buck.”

Then you frown, registering that he’s not on his side of the bed, but sitting on the edge of your side of the bed. You turn and try to sit up. “Wait, what time-?”

He cuts you off and pushes you back down to the mattress. “Early.”

“James! You said you were leaving at six!”

He chuckles, “I know. I’m sorry.” He leans forward, brushing some hair out of your face before kissing you. You wrap your arms around his neck. “You don’t have to get up until seven, and I didn’t want you to go to the trouble of getting up at five to try and make breakfast and send me off.”

He’s kissing you again to try to swallow your protests, which only works for a moment, but then you turn your head. “It’s our first day going back to work since the wedding, you should have let me dote on you.”

Pressing kisses along your jaw and down your neck, he counters, “Shouldn’t a husband allow his wife to sleep in so he can keep her up all the later when he gets home?”

You let out a soft moan as he punctuates his question by sucking softly at the crook of your neck.

“What time is it?” you manage to whisper, trying to stay focused on your spat.

“A little after four.”

“What?” you jolt up with shock. “Four!”

He laughs. “Wheels up at five so we could get back for dinner.”

You groan and settle back into the mattress. “Four in the morning is disgusting. I’m glad you tricked me. Just make sure to grab some toast or something on your way out.”

“Yes, dear.”

As he moves to leave, you pull him back. “One more kiss.”

“Always.”

He sinks back into you, and your lips meet again. You love to feel his weight pressed against you, but he does prop himself partly, his metal forearm right next to your shoulder, and vibranium fingers tangling in your hair. Both your hands hold his face, and you part your lips to drink in more of him. He reciprocates, tongue seeking yours earnestly. His flesh hand skims up the side of your body, moving again under your sleepshirt, over your ribs, and then he begins to gently palm your breast, and your moan again.

“Keep up with that, and you’re not leaving this bed anytime soon,” you murmur against his lips, your back arching into his hand.

He huffs out a sigh, easing his hand away, but pressing his forehead against yours. “Fuck, I know.”

Your lips capture his again, but with less urgency, just lips and feelings, and his warm hand withdraws from your chest and comes up to caress your face.

After another minute, he sits up.

You sigh but smile at him.

“I promise to pick up where we left off when I return.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

He takes your hand and presses a warm kiss into your palm before standing, then pulling the covers back up and tucking you in. You yawn, both of you laugh, and then he leaves a final kiss on your cheek.

“Sleep well, my love.”

 The sky grows darker, and you frown as you look at the clock on the wall. It wasn’t a problem for Bucky to be taking longer than you expected to get home for dinner because the soup was safe just simmering, but this much later when he texted he would be home soon wasn’t normal.

There’s a knock on the door, and you carefully move Alpine off your lap and deposit her back on the cozy armchair to go answer it. You wonder if it’s Bucky and maybe he forgot his keys?

A quick glance out of the peephole reveals the familiar frame of your husband’s best friend on the other side of the mahogany door.

“Steve!” You open it wide and beam at him. “Bucky didn’t say you’d be coming by! You’ll stay for dinner, I’m assuming?”

Because Steve is already such a regular fixture in the place you and Bucky had recently moved into before the wedding, you had already turned and crossed the living room, heading for the kitchen, when you pause and turn back around, realizing that Steve hasn’t said a word of greeting and has only taken a few steps inside.

He’s watching you closely in a way he never has, and you read hesitancy in every muscle and movement of his body. He slowly pushes the door closed behind him.

Steve looks around the room very quickly, then takes a deep breath in and out before saying your name, and there is so much emotion in it, your blood runs cold immediately.

“No,” you shake your head. “No, no, no. Steve, he can’t…”

He closes his eyes and gives a single nod.

The flood of anguish is overwhelming, dropping you to your knees, and the tortured sound that erupts from your soul is foreign to your own ears. In less than a moment, Steve is crouched next to you, wrapping his arms around you. As much as you’re clinging to him as you sob, his arms are holding you so tightly you can feel he must be trying to hold both of you together, but he weeps as well. You stay that way, huddled together, until both of you are empty – no more tears, past feeling, beyond exhaustion – overcome with the grief that Bucky is gone.

There is no body to bury, but Bucky had already stipulated he didn’t want to be buried. He and Steve both stated they wanted to be cremated when their time came to remove temptation for trying to develop any new super soldier serums from their remains.

Without a body, you, Sam and Steve decide burning mementos as part of a funeral bonfire would be a fitting tribute for those who wanted to pay their respects.

The man who so often perpetuated that he was a taciturn and sullen retired assassin had collected a small but mighty community of neighbors, friends, and colleagues who show up on the day. Seeing so many who regarded him as Bucky, James, Sergeant Barnes, or the White Wolf – not HYDRA’s Winter Soldier – gather to say goodbye is a balm to your soul in those days immediately after losing him. You know it will take years and still the vast hole of losing him will never be truly filled, but you don’t want to drown in the depths of despair.

Still, you are a shadow of yourself as you live through the enormous heartache.

Steve comes by to “check in” on you every other day, but it’s always around dinner, and you think he needs someone who feels this much pain over losing him, too, needs to know it’s okay that it still hurts, with someone else who knew him, even though you knew different parts of him. You’re glad because Steve had also become someone you considered one of your own close friends, and a small part of you had worried that without Bucky to tie you two together Steve might have disappeared as well.

One night about a week after the service, Steve seems a little distracted, and you ask what’s on his mind. He mentions that there have been two deaths reported that Bucky would have been interested in – Senator Stern and Jack Rollins. The senator had already been in treatments for advanced colon cancer, but it appeared there had been a severe reaction with his chemotherapy. Rollins, the former number two on SHIELD’s STRIKE team who was revealed as a HYDRA sleeper agent when Steve exposed them and Bucky escaped and went into hiding, had gone underground himself, a mercenary operating in the shadows of the shadows, but had turned up in an alleyway in Detroit. He’d died of what looked like an aggressive infection from a wound, likely from a violent altercation.

“I know he never pursued vengeance, but I think he would’ve liked to know those two were gone for good. It’s just another thing I won’t get to talk to him about,” Steve says.

“Damn it, Barnes,” you sigh. “This would all be so much easier if he’d been a pain in the ass not worth missing.” 

The ache still hurts, but the small genuine laugh you and Steve share is another tiny piece of healing.

A few days later, you’re curled up on the couch with Alpine who’d been distant and skittish at Bucky’s abrupt extended absence at first, but then finally sensed you were as forlorn as her and largely refuses to leave your side now. It’s late, and you’re starting to fight with your eyes to stay open as you read, when two distinct poundings on the door startle you and Alpine both.

“Who could possibly be here at this hour?” you whisper to Alpine, gently moving her from your lap into a small cocoon of the blanket you’d been wrapped in.

You move to the door as quietly as possible. You don’t want to confirm to whoever’s on the other side that you’re home if you can help it, glad now that you had been too lazy to get up and flip the record in your record player when the music came to an end however long ago.

But when you see the shoulders of the man leaning weakly against your doorframe, a shocked cry bursts out your chest. Your fingers struggle with the locks as you hastily work to throw the door open, and he stumbles in.

You’re quick to try and catch a cold and shaking Bucky Barnes as you close and lock the door behind him.

“Bucky?” Your left hand moves to his bicep to steady him, but your right hand tentatively seeks his.

He seems lost for another moment, but then his other hand comes up to cover yours and when his fingers brush over your wedding ring, he turns his eyes to look at you, and you see the flame of recognition. It’s confirmed and your heart sings when he murmurs your name.

“How are you here?” you ask, desperate to know this is real.

“I promised.”

Your breath hitches. You’d relived the pre-dawn moments of your last morning together in so many dreams, waking up with a tear-stained face too many times to count. “Is it really you?”

You’re not convinced this is any more than a hallucination.

But then he pulls you in and his lips consume yours, and its lips and teeth and crashing, too desperate and too real to deny.

“What do you think?” he growls, breaking the kiss for a moment, leaning his forehead to yours again as he had so many times.

“God, I missed you,” you respond, tears freely spilling down your cheeks.

“God has nothing to do with it.”

His hands grab the collar of the old sweatshirt you’re wearing, and you yelp in surprise as in one swift motion he rips it from top to hem and pulls it down away from your body. He’s never ripped your clothing – he always wanted you to feel safe even in your most vulnerable moments – but if he’s anywhere as close to as desperate as you are in this moment of reunion, it’s no wonder he doesn’t hold back.

Your hands go beneath the collar of his jacket to push it down his arms, and before it hits the floor, he’s already lifting his Henley and undershirt up and off his torso. You quickly unhook your bra and drop it while he yanks off his shoes. Then he’s up, and his lips capture yours again, his metal hand tangling roughly in the hair at the nape of your neck, the other palming your breast. This is truly where you left off the last morning you saw him, and you’re entirely overcome – by the grief that has enveloped you the past two weeks, the release of relief, confusion, but, more than anything else, your love and lust, blazing out from the depths of your soul. He sinks to his knees, pulling you with him, then pushing you back to the floor, the hard wood solid against your spine while he hovers over you, his lips moving down to your neck, kissing and sucking, nipping at your collarbone. Then his hungry mouth latches onto your other breast, alternating between sucking the nipple and teasing his tongue over it, drawing a moan from your lips.

Your hands seek every part of his bare skin they can reach, running over his face, his neck, in his hair, gripping his shoulders, up and down his arms, the planes of his stomach, his broad back. Then you pull his head back up to you, needing his lips against yours. You need him more than you need to breathe.

He pulls down your underwear, and you work at his belt and zipper, and in the next moment, he’s plunged fully inside you, bottoming out in your wet heat, and any pain is welcome, less painful than your heartache without him. He doesn’t let you take a breath to get used to the fullness of his cock inside you again before he’s already setting a quick pace, thrusting in and out brutally. You whimper against his lips, but you don’t want him to stop.

“I didn’t want to believe you were gone.”

“’m never leaving you again,” he swears.

You’re hit with a fresh wave of tears at his words and with a shift in his hips, his cock now hitting at a different angle, pressing furiously now against that most pleasurable spot up against your pubic bone.

“More,” you moan, and he grunts and gives you exactly that, more force as he ploughs into you.

Your walls clench around him, and he reaches down to pinch your clit, biting down on your lip at the same time, and it all pushes you over the edge, and you cling to him as your orgasm shakes you. He continues to fuck you through the waves, not slowing his pace or his force, and you whimper, but with no desire for him to stop. Every brutal thrust is primal, and you need to feel this as much as he does.

Finally, his movement stutters and then he’s filling you with his hot seed, his head tucked in the crook of your neck, hot heavy breaths against your skin. His pace slows, but he continues to pump into you until he’s finished, then collapses fully onto you. You welcome the weight of him, another reassurance he’s really here. You thread your fingers through his hair, no thoughts of moving.

“Don’t scare me like that again,” you say softly.

Bucky raises his head to look at you. His expression is unfamiliar – haunted, hungry. It’s unsettling. Or it should be.

“You’re still cold, Buck,” you note, moving a hand to stroke his cheek. Immediate intensity of your reunion starting to abate, and now you begin to assess and worry over him.

He moves quickly, standing up, then scooping you from the floor and pulling you into his arms, you wrap your legs around his waist. His destination is the bathroom where he deposits you on the counter before turning to the shower, twisting the knobs to initiate the stream of hot water. As you’re securing your hair up and out of the way, he drops his pants to the floor, and then the two of you step naked into the shower.

The hot water pours over your skin. Enclosed by the sanctuary of tile and glass, in here he kisses you as if it’s as essential as breathing, slow and concentrated. It’s still overwhelming, but it’s not the same frenetic desperation he took you with on the floor, and time flows by just like the rivulets over your skin, until you realize the temperature of the water is cooling.

A small laugh bubbles up from your chest, and you pull away from his lips. He tries eagerly to follow, but you gently cover his mouth with your fingers. “Let’s get you cleaned up before we lose the hot water completely.”

Bucky sighs, but nods meekly. You turn to see only your things in the shower, and it’s only a half of a second that you bite your lip before pushing out of the glass door, not caring that you’re dripping water all over the floor but do take care not to slip as you take the few steps to across the bathroom to the cupboard. You had removed Bucky’s toiletries from the shower, the counter, and his designated shelves behind the mirror so you wouldn’t be constantly reminded of his absence but couldn’t bring yourself to throw them out and had only been able to stash them in a box. You slide the box from the shelf, set it on the counter, quickly fish out his shower gel and shampoo, and return to him and the shower.

Bucky's already soaped up your loofah and gets to work running it over your skin as he has so many times before. You switch him spots to rinse off, then turn your attention to him. You work up the shampoo in your hands, and he bows his head down when you reach up for him. You draw a moan from him as you work your fingers through his hair and massage his scalp and his posture relaxes. You trade places again for a moment to let him rinse the suds out of his hair, then pull him back out of the direct stream so you can wash the rest of him. Neck, shoulders, arms, chest. You tug his vibranium arm to get him to spin around for you, but then you gasp.

“Bucky!”

Your fingers skim over burns below one shoulder blade, and he tries to turn back to face you, but you press your left hand firmly against him to keep him there as you continue to examine him. You knew every freckle and mole on his skin, the scars he had before, and these are new. So, too, are some bruises, and there’s even a gash lower on his side.

“Bucky, what happened?”

He’s slow to turn back and face you now, and there’s a deep furrow in his brow, the haunted look is back in his eyes, and he’s frowning. Your heart aches while you wait for him to speak.

You take his hand and gently tighten your grip, trying to reassure him that you’re here, that there’s no rush for him to answer.

After another moment, he finally answers, but he drops his gaze to the floor. “I don’t remember everything that happened. It’s just fragments.”

Setting aside the foam sponge you were using, you take a half step closer to him and cup his cheek, urging him to look back at you. “You’re here now. We’ll figure it out together.”

He engulfs you in another kiss. The heat and urgency grows, and then you two quickly rinse off the suds from his scrubbing down, and you’re escaping the shower, quickly toweling each other down, and Bucky pulls you to your bedroom and buries himself again in you. He’s relentless, taking you apart for hours, pulling orgasms from you, spilling his own into you, until you’re beyond spent, unable to move a muscle. Only then does he sink into the mattress next to you, pulling you into his side, you burrow happily against him, and he pulls the sheets and blankets up and around you both.

“Sleep well, my love.”

When you wake in the morning, you feel the sun on your face and fingers softly stroking up and down your back, and you sigh in contentment. A moment later your eyes fly open, and you shoot up in bed, your heart skipping a beat as you lock eyes with Bucky. You’d been so consumed by grief and conditioned yourself to coping with his absence that the reality of having him back hit you anew, and a laugh bubbled out of your chest even as you heaved a small sob.

“You’re really here,” you say softly, confirming it, reconditioning your brain.

“Never leaving you again,” he promises, pulling you close and wiping the few happy tears that spilled over your cheeks.

Tucked in under his right arm, you rest your cheek on his shoulder and let your fingers come up to trace lazy patterns over his chest, reacquainting yourself with the planes of his body. “I thought I had dreamed all of it.”

“This is not a dream.”

You shift slightly and laugh. “Yeah, my muscles are saying last night was very real. Can’t conjure up this kind of soreness in a dream, and I’m sure I’ve got bruises.”

“I’d apologize, but…”

He can’t see it, but you roll your eyes. “Bucky, I’ve always said I’d tell you if I ever needed you to stop, if you ever really hurt me.”

He huffs.

“Speaking of bruises,” you continue, letting your hand move to the side of his torso where you had discovered the gash in the shower. It’s still there. You lean up on your elbow and with your other hand, push up under his back, urging him to roll up onto his side. He tuts impatiently but indulges you all the same. Your fingers skim over the same bruising and burn marks that remain unhealed on his back. “Why are these still here? You always heal so quickly.”

He rolls onto his back again, looking at your concerned face. “I don’t know.” Your frown deepens. “No, I really don’t know, but they don’t hurt either.”

You sigh. “Okay, okay. But you’re also looking pretty peckish-“

“Peckish?” he interrupts, a smirk on his face. “I don’t think that means exactly what you think it means. How much BBC have you been watching lately?”

“Fine! Gaunt! You’re looking pretty gaunt for my super soldier, and I at least know how to fix that, so can we go make a ridiculously big breakfast?”

This had been a routine weekend ritual for the two of you, so you fall naturally into your roles in the kitchen, moving around each other to prepare your typical feast. Bucky is on waffle duty, in addition to making coffee and cutting up strawberries and bananas. You take care of scrambled eggs and frying up sausages and thick slices of tomato. The two of you know your timings, and you’re placing everything on the table around the same time.

He looks at the different dishes laid across the table, studying them. You watch his face, reaching slowly to spear a waffle with your fork. “Bucky? Everything alright?”

“Hmm?” He blinks and shakes his head before looking at you. “Of course, just… been a long time.”

You smile, but it’s a sad smile. He’s here now, but it doesn’t erase the weeks of pain your heart crawled through day by day, alone at this table, in this kitchen, in your bedroom, in this home you’d built with him.

“Tell me what you read this week,” he says, starting to pile food on his own plate.

And then you two fall into your rhythm. In your job as a literary agent, you read incessantly, and in a relationship with a man who turned out to be quite a book nerd, you’d established that you didn’t talk about books every night so you could have some off time from your job at the end of each day, but he was an eager listener each Saturday morning, and at the end of the week you always had an array to talk over with him. He would take seconds, and often thirds, while you spoke, and today was a dive back into that.

After an hour, the two of you cleared up the table, put the food away, did the dishes. As you do, Bucky eyes are on you constantly, and he takes any opportunity to touch you that the mundane tasks afford, a hand on your back as you pass each other putting things away, fingers brushing your skin when you hand him dishes, standing shoulder to shoulder at the kitchen sink.

As you close the cupboard, you turn and find Bucky moving to press you up against the counter, his arms bracing the marble edge on either side of you, and he slots his lips over yours, kissing you with a hunger that takes your breath away, and your fingers take desperate purchase clinging to the green t-shirt he’d thrown on with a pair of sweats.

When you finally break away to gulp in a lungful of air, he nips down your neck, then spins you around to face the counter and kneels behind you, yanking down your shorts and underwear with both hands, and you lean forward against the counter as he forces you to swiftly step out of them. Then he’s nudging your legs apart and burying his face into the apex of your legs, first biting at the tender flesh of your inner thighs, making you keen. Bucky makes one slow, torturous lick along your folds before going at your core with abandon, licking, sucking, slipping his tongue into your pussy, teasing your clit, bringing you to the edge. He backs off completely, and you whimper. “Bucky, no! More!”

He chuckles darkly, caressing the round curves of your hips. “More?”

“Need you. So close.”

He picks up again, but slowly, teasing you more, making you a whimpering mess, desperate for him. Your legs tremble, and you push back against his face, urging him to push you into waves of ecstasy.

Suddenly he backs off again, but he stands quickly, turns you around, and pushes you up onto the counter. He pushes his pants down, and you wrap your legs around him. Bucky sinks into you, but doesn’t move yet, instead demanding more kisses. You taste yourself on his lips and tongue.

“Take me back to bed,” you finally gasp out against his lips.

He nods and lifts you off the counter while keeping his cock inside you and takes you back to the bedroom. He tosses you onto the mattress, and you shuck your own clothes off, tossing them to the side, while he hastily removes his own and joins you on the bed. You push him down onto his back and straddle his hips. His hands move smoothly up your thighs as you reach down and guide his cock into your slick folds. You sink down slowly, and you both moan at the sensation. You close your eyes, but you can feel he’s watching your face. Your move your hands down to twine with his at your hips, and you gradually begin to move above him, raising and lowering yourself unhurriedly.

Since the very beginning taking Bucky as your lover, it’s always undulated between fast and slow, but with passion burning steadily through all of it. His every move, every touch, has always felt more intentional and cherished than everyone who came before. It consumed you in those early days, and he’s consuming you again now.

After a few minutes though, Bucky is not satisfied with the pace, and he sits up to take more control. With your faces close again, his hands move your hips up and down more quickly, setting a blistering pace, racing to another climax for you both, and you’ve no complaint, head falling back. He plants hot kisses along the column of your throat, his hands moving up your back, kneading, almost pinching the flesh as he clutches and clings to your shoulder blades.

He can feel you clenching down on him, knows your close, and he brings his metal hand around to reach down where your bodies meet in the thrusts, and rubs the small, tight circles over your swollen bud. Just another moment, and you let out a sob as another orgasm rolls over you, pulling him over the edge with you as your walls constrict around him. He grunts and holds you down, rocking your hips together back and forth as he shoots his hot sperm inside your womb.

You’re both breathless as he lays back, pulling you down to rest on his chest.

As your pulses return to normal, you place your hand over his heart, humming in contentment. But then you frown, noting that the skin you were so used to running hotter than anyone else because he’s got that super soldier serum running through his veins is still cooler than it’s supposed to be.

“What is it?” he asks, sensing your mood shift.

“Maybe we should call Dr. Banner and ask him to run a physical.”

He doesn’t answer, but you can feel the hesitance.

“I’m worried is all, Buck. You’re cold, and you’re never cold, and then the lack of healing with your wounds, I think something strange is going on.”

“Something strange is going on,” he admits, “but no Banner, not yet.”

You shake your head and push away, sitting up to look at him, “Why not?”

He earnestly sits up and cups your cheek for a moment, eyes seeking understanding in yours. “I can’t do it – no, I won’t do it again. I just got to a place in my life where I finally felt almost normal, and I don’t want to return to being be the oddity to everyone while I’m putting things back together.”

“What about Steve? He knows you better than anyone.”

He shakes his head. “Not even Steve. I’m not my old self yet, and Steve has seen me broken too many times, I can’t do that to him again. Maybe in a few days.”

You sigh.

“I know you’re worried,” he continues, “but please don’t. I still can’t tell you what happened, but I knew I had to get home, but it took me so long to remember how and to remember why. Someone said promise and I remembered I’d made you a promise. When I got here and you opened the door, when you put your hand on my arm and then I felt your wedding ring, another piece – quite a few pieces actually, it’s one of the reasons I couldn’t stop last night. Every touch put more pieces back into place. I’ll figure this out, but I can’t do this to Steve again.”

You chew the inside of your lip. “He’d want to know.”

“That punk doesn’t get to have everything he wants all the time.”

The comment draws a smile to your face again. Bucky rests his forehead against yours.

“I’m getting more clear pieces all the time; I just don’t know how they all fit together yet.”

“Okay.”

“Besides, you’re wrong about one thing.”

You pull away again, searching his eyes.

Now he is the one with a small smile on his face. “Steve doesn’t know me better than anyone. You do.”

Another kiss.

You melt. You understand. You trust him. You agree. 

Unfortunately, you don’t know what you don’t know. Neither does Bucky.

You spend the rest of the day wrapped up again in each other, the night as well.

Sunday passes much as Saturday had – eating, talking, more sex than you had on the honeymoon. He’s seemingly insatiable, and you’re no less desperate, but also no match for his stamina.

Monday he lets you work, but only just. He convinces you to set up shop in the living room, where he promises to behave, he just wants to be near you, and your heart can’t deny him. He is always near you, almost constantly touching you in some way whether it’s one of you leaning against the other on the couch, holding your feet in his lap, sitting at the table and your knees touching. He lets you read manuscripts, but not for long before exacting more than proximity or the innocent touches from your body. You’re so intoxicated in his return you can’t think of denying him. Even during the night, you sleep more than he does (you always have), and as you drift in and out of consciousness, it’s to the feeling of his hands or his lips on your skin, waxing again between innocent and carnal.

Each morning you feel more and more drained, but you don’t notice the marks until it’s too late.

Tuesday so many of your bones and muscles ache that you draw yourself a hot bath, unable to sleep and waking earlier than you had planned. The sex has been desperate and rough and frequent, and so the bruises on your body seemed natural.

When you step out of the tub, you happen to look over your shoulder in the mirror and see there are a couple of bruises that had bloomed on your back that were much darker than any you’ve had before. You just frown, finish drying off, and get dressed. Part of you longs to go back to bed and back to sleep, but you want to check in and see if you can’t get a few hours of work done. You do call off for the afternoon, and Bucky joins you for an afternoon nap.

You awaken with a gasp. It’s dark outside and Bucky has you on your back, planted between your thighs, his cock thrusting into you the action that woke you up. You clutch at his shoulders, letting him carry you away in the pursuit of more pleasure. He pulls you later into the kitchen to eat, but you’re still so tired that Bucky insists on returning you right back to bed after. You drift off, but not before he’s exacted another orgasm from your body, with his lips on your clit.  

The next morning, you look at the bruises on your back again. They’re still just as black, but now two of them look like they’re starting to open up like wounds. Your stomach floods with dread, and you call for Bucky, trying to keep the edge of panic out of your voice.

When he enters the bathroom, in the mirror you see there’s something that flashes in his eyes when his eyes first take in the planes of your back, but you can’t tell what it is, and it’s gone too quickly. You want to ask, but you’re also too afraid to know what it could be.  

“I…” he starts, then swallows almost imperceptibly. “I was thinking I would go to the store. I’ll get something from the pharmacy for that, but I think we should get you back to bed.”

You’re so bone tired you don’t protest, and even your worry is swept away by your exhaustion. He tucks you in, and you’re already beginning to fall asleep again.

Another long rest seems to help, and you’re able to pull yourself out of bed and into the kitchen. The clock reads that it’s early afternoon, but Bucky is still out. You warm up some soup, toast some bread, and curl up on the couch with your modest meal. You switch the television on and stream some of your favorite reality show; it’s engaging enough to pull your mind a little from worrying about Bucky’s extended absence.

There’s a soft plop, and Alpine has suddenly appeared on the other end of the couch. You extend your right hand out, and she stalks over, nuzzles her head against your hand, and climbs right into your lap as if she hasn’t been absent for days.

You chuckle. “Where were you, you little minx?” It wasn’t uncommon for her to come and go on her own adventures in and out of the home, but she rarely left for so long. “Bucky’s been back since Friday night, and you’ve missed him completely!”

She settles down and purrs as you start petting her, seemingly oblivious to your inquiry and revelation. You turn your attention – as best you can – back to the screen.

Bucky was only supposed to be going to the store, two stores at best, but many episodes later, he’s still not back, and you can’t even contact him because you realize you two haven’t even got him sorted out with a new phone since he’s come back from the dead.

It's dark when you finally hear a key in the lock, and you’re fully alert again, turning to watch him enter, disturbing Alpine asleep in your lap, and she jumps down and darts away.

“Bucky!”

His back to you, he methodically closes and locks the door. When he turns back around, the look on his face makes your heart skip a beat. His eyes are wary. His whole demeanor is tense with dread. He moves slowly toward you.

Adrenaline floods your veins, relieved that he’s back, but worried at his state. “Where were you?” you ask, noting he has returned empty handed. “You were gone for so long.”

He sits down next to you on the couch, positioning himself to face you, never taking his eyes off of you.

“James, talk to me. You’ve got me scared to death.”

He opens his mouth at that, then closes it again. You move closer and take one of his hands in both of yours, pulling it into your lap. “Dying moves lower and lower on the list of bad things that could happen.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m already dead.”

The blood rushes in your ears, and your heart stops.

“I don’t want you to be afraid.”

A bitter laugh falls from your lips, jumpstarting your breathing again. “A bit late with you talking like that. What happened? Where did you go? Why are you saying this?”

“I told you the other day that pieces were coming back.”

“Right, go on.”

“The marks on your back, they reminded me of a very old piece I didn’t even know was there.”

You nod slowly.

“When I was just a boy, my grandmother’s older sister, my mom’s aunt – so my great Aunt Ida, she came from Sweden to live with family here in the States after her husband died. They didn’t have any children of their own, and my grandmother had written to her and convinced her to come live with her in Brooklyn, because she’d have all of us around.”

Bucky rolls his left shoulder, something you’d noted he would do when he got uncomfortably nervous. You don’t push him, but just wait. He rubs his left hand up and down his leg, then continues.

“Aunt Ida liked to tell stories and read books – got me into books, actually. When my sister was around, she’d tell harmless stories, fairytales and stuff, but a couple of times when it was just me, I’d ask if she knew any scary stories, and she played along, teasing me, get me going. The last time, she told me this old folktale I’d never heard of before or since. She told me about there were souls who were killed but refused to die, souls who were either so tormented in life or who had tormented others so much that they could never be laid to rest.

“She got lost in the tale and before she realized what she was saying, she joked that her husband never wanted to leave Sweden, for years he knew my gran had wanted her to come to America, and she said she was surprised he hadn’t already risen from his grave and followed her to New York. She said it was only a matter of time before he tracked her down. My gran overheard that from the doorway though and screamed and scolded Aunt Ida for suggesting such a thing.

“A couple of weeks later Aunt Ida got pretty ill, I saw her only once more before she died, and she had the same kind of black bruise on her arm that I saw on your back today. Only once did I see my gran draw the two together – I wasn’t supposed to be close by, but I was down the hall when the doctor made a final house call to look over Ida, and my mom had to pull her out of the room. She was hysterical, saying it was this creature I’d never heard the name of before, that it was Ida’s husband, come to pull her away, but I couldn’t remember the name she used.

“But when I saw your bruises, and the way they were opening up like hers, I remembered everything about Aunt Ida and that story. I went to the library. I wasn’t sure where to start, except I figured folklore always starts with roots of truth somewhere in its distant past, so I pulled books on Swedish and Nordic folktales and got to reading.  

“Then I found it. They’re called gengångare, and I know I am one.”

“No!” You had let him go on for some time, fascinated and horrified, not even sure what you would’ve interjected previously, but this you couldn’t believe or agree with.

“I must be. No, don’t cry,” he says, bringing his vibranium fingers up to gently brush away the tears spilling over onto your cheeks. “It explains everything: you said I died, and I’ve remembered a lot about my life before the incident, but almost nothing after, only scattered pieces that are so much slower to come and foggier than my actual life. It explains why my body isn’t the same as it was – I ignored every time you said my skin was colder, didn’t want to think my body wasn’t healing, but I’m not feeling any pain with those injuries either. I’ve been so desperate to touch you, to please you, because the heat and the physical sensations – especially the pleasure – I can feel something of that.”

He pauses, his expression changing slightly before he continues. “It explains why loose ends from my past have turned up dead in these past weeks.”

You have to move away from him, have to think. This is too much.

You stand abruptly from the couch and start pacing, but you only manage to take a step or two before you sway and have to steady yourself with a hand on the mantle so you don’t fall. Bucky is at your side in an instant. He’s calling your name, but you feel so lightheaded, and it sounds like he’s miles away instead of right next to you, holding your arm.

You blink and try to shake your head to clear it.

The cool vibranium of his hand is suddenly on your face, pressing against your forehead, then your cheek, your neck, and your cheek again. “You’re burning up,” he mutters.

You remember his enhanced hand can register temperatures.

He scoops you up bridal style into his arms and takes you to the bed you share for the last time.

“The gengångare went after souls,” he continues to explain, “trying to pinch and pull at their life, whether to steal them away into death or try to just pull some life back into their own souls, they couldn’t seem to control their draw fully one way or the other.”

Bucky seats you on the edge of the bed, and you remain quiet. Truly, what could you say?

He plants a kiss on your forehead. You don’t fight him when he reaches for the hem of your shirt to pull it up and over your head. He turns your body so he can examine your back again, and his breath hitches. When you turn back and meet his eyes again, your heart sinks because his are full of resignation.

“I should have known it was too good for us to be happy. Taken from you after our honeymoon, brought back in a cursed state, doomed to lose you.”

“What now?

He lifts his own shirt up over his head and lets it drop to the floor.

“You’ll be consumed by what loves you. Ruined.”

He steps out of his boots, unbuckles his belt, and unfastens his jeans, sliding them to the floor.

Another tear slips slowly down your cheek, and he falls to his knees in front of you, fingers brushing the tears away. Then his fingers continue trailing down your neck and ghosting over the lace trim of your bra over the swell of your breast, making you shiver, terror and yet desire for him surging through your veins.

“You’re still so beautiful here at the end,” he whispers, his other hand smoothing up your leg.

Not knowing what else to do, your hands reach out and cup his face, drawing him to your lips. He kisses you so deliberately.

Bucky releases the clasp of your bra, you shrug it off your shoulders, and he pulls it away, tossed onto the floor in the heap with the rest. He pushes you back further on the bed and lays you down gently. The places you know those horrific bruise wounds should be feel numb against the sheets. He draws your panties down, discarding them as well.

Worshipping you as he has so many times, he hovers over your body, kissing your neck, your heaving chest, your breasts, while the skilled fingers of the assassin delve into your folds, drawing the wetness from the heat there, touching you in the way he knows your body craves. His fingers slip into you while his thumb rubs over your clit. He finds the tender spot within your pussy so easily, and you moan and whimper, one hand clutching his shoulder, the other tangling into the sheets.

You can only manage a short scream with your release, and though he was slow in the first stages, now he’s feral, wasting no time kneeling between your thighs and plunging his cock into you. It jerks you, but he pays no attention. He’s chasing with abandon now, both hands gripping your hips as he thrusts in earnest, bottoming out with tremendous force each time. The fullness, the force, it’s so much pain and pleasure with each stroke that you sob, clinging to him as another orgasm washes over you. His face is buried in your neck, and he cries out, his own climax coming soon after as your walls contract around his full cock. He pumps you full of his seed, moving until he’s empty, everything and every emotion poured from him into you.

He drops onto you, his energy fully spent. Once he’s recovered enough, he moves off of you, rolling to the side, and pulling you with him, chest to chest, face to face. His vibranium arm holds you close, and his other hand gently pushes some of your hair out of your face.

You look at him for a moment, but you can feel you’re slipping out of consciousness. So tired.

“Don’t be afraid. Dying is much easier than living.”

His blue eyes, darker than you’ve ever seen them before, are the last thing you see.

He whispers quietly to you in the dark as you fade away. He wouldn’t let Steve see him like this. He’d pulled you away from life, he wouldn’t do it to another now that he knew. He would return to Russia, so fitting to go to where so much else went wrong for him, and vanish in Siberia, waste away where he would never be a danger ever again.

Then after a while, he falls silent, wanting to hear the rest of your heartbeats while they last.

Then finally, he murmurs his goodbye.

“Sleep well, my love.”

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More detailed author notes...

First, LONGEST ONE-SHOT I'VE EVER WRITTEN (I've got some very old HP fandom days under my belt from many years ago, just not attached to this tumblr account). Just kidding. I lost my masterlist, and so I'm going back through my fics and saw that Into Dust actually almost hit 9k.

Second, Into Dust was only a slightly dark fic, but this was a. dark. plot. I was stoked to write something for spooky season, and when I got the line part of the prompt, it wasn't exactly what I was expecting, so I... knew I wanted to go into some uncharted territory. This year I've been turning toward discovering my own ancestral heritage instead of just "being American." My ancestry DNA test reports that I'm a RIDICULOUS AMOUNT of Swedish - like almost half my ancestry. I've had an affinity for Sweden for ages - have friends who moved there, have been able to visit once myself and completely fell in love, half the stuff I own is from Ikea, etc, etc.

So with this, I was initially thinking, what's a folktale or fairytale or halloween thing that I could use that's not totally overdone... but then I thought, wait, I'm trying to learn more about my Swedish heritage anyway, so why not see if there are some creepy awesome SWEDISH folklore elements I could research and explore. I googled "Swedish folklore monsters" and started combing through different top 10/top 5/top 15/top 20 lists, and this Gengångare came up across most of them, and the concept intrigued me. I think I stayed true to about 90% of what my deeper digging led me to. Anyway... if anyone is more interested, let me know/send me an ask/whatever and I can share more of what I found and catalogued away.

[sunnyrealist]

Chapter 34: A Hidden Cave

The Sun, the Moon, and All Our Stars

Summary and Details…

Chapter Background and Summary: Sebastian and Kate are on an adventurous camping trip in the Scottish Highlands. Their first two days were leisurely, but now that their third day has begun, they're getting higher into the mountains and closer to the places they want to explore. In this chapter, the two lovers discover a cave hidden behind a large waterfall that does not appear on any map.

Pairing: 25-year-old, post-Azkaban Sebastian Sallow x Kate Mayflower (my OC)

Content warnings: In general, this story is rated 18+, so MNDI. For this particular chapter, there are no content warnings.

The full chapter is available below the cut; it can also be found on AO3 (link is posted below). Please leave some feedback. A comment, like, or Kudos would be quite motivational. 🥰

Chapter 34: A Hidden Cave

Sitting on a large rock, Sebastian unfolds his map. As she patiently waits, Kate observes her boyfriend silently studying the route. 

Being dressed for action and adventure feels so foreign to her. She had to pay a visit to Augustus Hill at Gladrags prior to the trip to acquire outfits suited to hiking and exploration per Sebastian’s strong suggestion. She could still hear his words in her head: “Dresses are completely unsuitable for the trip.” Trousers are not Kate’s favorite clothing item by any means, but she had to admit, now that they were truly trekking up mountains over rocky terrain, that they are the most sensible. Accompanied by boots, a sweater with two additional layers, gloves, and a cape, Kate wears a darker color palette than usual - browns with varying degrees of gray. 

Sebastian appears dashing and completely in his element, clad in a jacket and trousers in off-white, with a vest and cape in dark green, and boots, a necktie, and belt in shades of brown. His chocolate eyes are trained on the map, then glance at their current surroundings.

“We should still have a couple more hours until we reach the first cave,” he explains, perplexed. “There is nothing like this marked on the map. It’s strange.”

Kate, though surprised, can’t help but marvel at the gorgeous waterfall along their path. “Then it’s a lovely surprise, wouldn’t you say?” 

Sebastian’s eyes narrow as he stands up, examining the waterfall. “It is rather pretty, but this map should account for almost everything we should see along the way. The thing is - we are going in the right direction… I just can’t make sense of it.”

Kate reaches out, smiling and putting her hands over his, forcing him to fold up the map. “Do we need an explanation for something so beautiful? Perhaps we should simply enjoy it as it is.”

Sebastian sighs, the tension visibly disappearing from his posture. “I suppose you’re right.” 

He pockets the map, then puts an arm around Kate’s waist as they both admire the sight. She leans her head between his arm and chest, taking in every little detail.

A moment later, she gasps. “Sebastian… look! Look behind the waterfall! Do you see it?”

Sebastian focuses, staring. There is a tiny path leading towards the waterfall, which doesn’t seem all that interesting until he notices an opening - a cave entrance - behind it. “Was that there the entire time? I swear, I didn’t notice it until just now. How odd.”

“I don’t know,” Kate replies honestly. “Likewise. I only just saw it…”

They turn to look at each other, rather intrigued. 

“Sebastian, if this was not on the map, it could mean that no one knows this is here,” she deduces. 

“Yes, you’re right,” Sebastian agrees, intrigued. “Who knows what could be inside? Perhaps we are the first to find it in centuries…”

Kate raises her eyebrows. “There would only be one way to find out… Should we go inside?”

Sebastian pauses, running through hypothetical situations they might find themselves in. “Unmarked destinations can pose danger. If no one has been here for years and years, there could be a high reward if someone used it as a hiding place for treasure. But, I’ll admit - situations like this are high-risk.”

Kate nods. “I know nothing about this, but I trust your judgment, Bash.”

“High risk, high reward…” he muses, then puts his hands on Kate’s shoulders, making certain that she is listening to him carefully. “There could be traps. Curses. Spiders. I mean, truly, who knows.” He studies her face. “My love, I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but I’m not sure you’re ready for something like this. This is only your first time exploring…”

She cuts him off. “But you said that the castle we’ll explore has been abandoned for centuries, too. Why is that any different?”

Sebastian considers her reasoning. “I… I understand what you’re thinking. It’s just that caves have a more… wild and untamed nature than something man-made like a castle. Anything could be waiting in the dark for us.”

Kate smiles, pulling out her wand. “Then let’s use Lumos.” She pokes him with the wand. “My moon, this is why we’re out here, isn’t it? To have an adventure together? Come on, let’s check it out. If you’re with me, I know I’m safe.”

The worry on his face begins to fade. “Yes, that’s true… Well, if you’re this enthusiastic, I suppose we could have a look around.” He takes her hand, kissing it, then speaks in a serious tone. “Just promise me… if I tell you to do something, you’ll do it.”

“You’re not the boss of me, Sebastian Sallow,” she playfully retorts, already beginning to wander onto the narrow path that leads to the cave.

“Kate - wait! You need to be more careful. It’ll be slippery,” he warns.

Just as he finishes speaking, she loses her footing with a little shriek. She almost topples over but catches herself in time. It all happens so quickly that Sebastian can do little more than reach out. She flattens herself against the rocky wall, her eyes wide as she stares at the steep drop leading to a pool of water far, far below. Her heartbeat drums in her ears.

“Are you okay?!” Sebastian asks, gingerly making his way towards her.

“Yes,” she responds breathlessly.

“This is exactly what I meant when I said you need to listen to me,” he continued, his own heart rate speeding. “Merlin, you scared me.”

“I’m sorry.” She observes him carefully. “I know you have more experience. I guess I was just excited to try something new.”

“It’s fine. It’s fine,” Sebastian repeats. “Come here.”

Kate shuffles back towards him, much more cautious now. Her boyfriend opens his arms and takes her into his embrace.

“I don’t want to have any chance of losing you,” he whispers, kissing the top of her head. 

“You won’t. I promise - you won’t.”

“I’ll protect you as best I can,” he murmurs against her hair. “My sun.”

“And I’ll do the same,” Kate tells him. “I’ll protect you, too, my moon.”

Sebastian laughs heartily. “Oh, Kate, my love. I don’t think I’m in any need of that. Remember, I’m the experienced one here.”

She smiles. “Yes, you are. But even so…” Glancing back towards the cave, she asks, “Are you sure we should do this? I’m having some doubts now.”

“It will be fine,” he answers after a moment. “We will be fine.”

As the light slowly disappears behind them, Kate holds on to Sebastian’s arm. His eyes dart around, trying to get a sense of what the cave might be like. She can’t explain it, but she feels a sense of exhilaration along with a sense of dread. Every step forward, the sensation increases. Neither of them speak. The two listen intently for any sounds that might indicate danger, but it is eerily silent and has been since they entered the cave, despite the rushing waterfall outside.

Without warning, both of them fall over, tripping over something that feels like overgrown tree roots. Kate squeaks in surprise and then becomes more alarmed as she feels tendrils moving around her, wrapping around her legs and torso. She is separated from Sebastian, who is dragged in the opposite direction.

“Bash!” Kate shrieks, terrified as she is carried towards a wall, the tendrils growing tighter as she squirms.

“Lumos!” Sebastian bellows with his wand outstretched, bathing the area in light.

Kate gasps in realization the moment she sees the source. “Devil’s snare!”

“Lumos maxima!” he calls out. 

The plant drops him immediately, shrinking away from the illumination. Sebastian stands up quickly, rushing over to Kate with his wand held out towards the Devil’s Snare. It relaxes its grip around her until she is able to stand on her own two feet. 

She reaches out for him, trying to feel secure with a hug, but he shakes his head. “We need to move past this area - it’s not safe.”

Sebastian pulls her forward with haste, turning back to see the Devil’s Snare stretching back out across the cave floor as the light from his wand gets further and further away. 

“I should have known it was Devil’s Snare,” Kate whispers, shaking her head in remorse. “My papa would have been so disappointed to see me scrambling like that. I… I didn’t have a clear head.”

“It’s alright. Just keep your wits about you,” Sebastian requests. “We may run into more surprises soon enough.” 

After walking about ten more minutes, Sebastian affirms Kate’s feelings by sharing his own. “Something about this cave is strange. I don’t like it. I have half a mind to turn back. It just doesn’t feel right.”

“I have an odd feeling, too. It’s like I feel… thrilled… but also terrified.”

“Maybe we should leave-”

“Sebastian!” Kate shouts, cutting him off. “Wow! Do you see?!”

He squints and then his eyes land upon what his girlfriend has spotted. From right where they stand, the cave walls are suddenly growing with life - and glowing. Lined with green vines and leaves along with huge, exotic flowers, it seems like a little paradise within the darkness. The area is lit up by bioluminescent mushrooms. Common blue butterflies flit about, not at all afraid of the humans walking amongst them.

“I don’t understand… I didn’t think anything like this could grow without sunlight,” Kate muses, astonished. She reaches out to touch a yellow and pink hibiscus flower, her fingertips caressing the silky, soft petals. Her eyebrows raise when she realizes that all of the plant life feels as cold as ice, yet unfrozen. “My papa would be fascinated.”

“No, none of it could grow without light,” Sebastian replies. “This makes no sense.”

“But it is real, Bash,” Kate tells him, astonished. “Touch something. You’ll see. It isn’t an illusion…”

He reaches out to touch leaves on the vines, sharply inhaling when he feels how freezing cold they are. His eyes are wide as he contemplates how the cave could defy nature. He takes a moment to think.

“Something’s wrong here,” Sebastian finally concludes in a serious and urgent tone. “We need to leave. It isn’t right. It isn’t natural.”

A group of butterflies rushes in front of Kate. She gasps. “Sebastian, even more butterflies!” 

They fly further into the cave with Kate eagerly following. Sebastian trails after her. “Kate…” he warns.

She completely ignores him, transfixed by the display. Deeper and deeper she travels, driven by the instinct to follow the butterflies to beautiful treasure, just like she had in the forest. As nervous as Sebastian feels, his feet move forward. Something within him is bidding him to continue on, to follow his lover…

The path within the cave eventually ends, circling around a lowered pit. The butterflies flutter down below, where Kate and Sebastian cannot follow. 

From the corner of Kate’s eye, something dark flies, almost hovering up above. Not able to see much in the darkness, she ignores it, figuring it must be a bat. It certainly isn’t the butterflies; now at the bottom of the pit, they all fly in a wild circle, stuck in an endless loop, until they disappear into thin air.

The pit dimly lights up. They are no longer observing a dark and empty pit but a bookstore within the cave. 

[nerdyfan1]

Btw I’ll always argue Pentious is not just a gag character and his arc is probably the best one in season one. In fact not only do I like him more in the actual show then how he is in the pilot but, I think the show makes him in the pilot make more sense.

Idk I noticed some ppl were expecting him to be way more serious. Which doesn’t really fit season 1 at all. Here now we got a more interesting character with a good set up for depth later on along with something that both makes sense with what was established in the pilot (cus yes I actually do think deep down Pentious was always a bit soft and his behavior in the pilot along with towards the beginning before he got used to everyone in the hotel is him reacting to his environment) and fits the general tone. I noticed that a lot of ppl really wanted to seem more depressed or serious while having his softer more goofy side underplayed (or be just be completely dickish which sounds super uninteresting lol) without really trying to understand why he was written this way in the official show to begin with. They clearly wrote him this way to show his progress in the hotel. He doesn’t start sad wet uwu babygirl, go back it’s more of a result of him soften around ppl like Charlie and the rest of the cast. That’s kind of the point. Like idk I wouldn’t have this man be any other way. 💖

Hearing about the interviews and stuff including how they do plan to explore his backstory kind of tells me what I was expecting. Idk we can’t expect all the characters to be dark and serious in the first season we need to have some endearment first. Following this show as episodes reminded me why I usually hate following currently airing stuff cus ppl always assume stuff way too soon. I understand some ppl can have skepticism but, I do think ppl should at least try to trust the writers know what they are doing. The creator been working on this concept for god knows how long.

Besides I’ll always in favorite of a more openly emotionally softer male character in animation that the rest of the cast doesn’t mock specifically for seeming so “sensitive”. Especially in adult animation. I love how the cast realized this is just how Pentious is and don’t mind it. It helps emphasize the arc that Pentious just really needed someone who accepted him for who he was deep down. He able to open up and feel comfortable as himself. Idk I like that it’s a way more interesting direction to take.

Sorry btw for how ranty this is I’m a picky guy and as you can probably tell I’m pretty passionate about this specific character but, also the show as a whole. I try to keep in mind what the actual show is trying to accomplish when it comes to this and it’s so so sooo important to remember what the source material is like. Along with the creator. There are times when the creator insight ends up with a bad end result however I don’t see that here. At least in terms of season 1.

Idk if ppl really get this but, thought I’d throw it out there cus you guys seem to like when I ramble about this man so yeah while trying to figure out my Cherri Bomb theory post out um have unfiltered Pentious thoughts. Cus I never really went into detail why I like him in the actual show anyways. Cus my problems with uwuifed Pentious is more a community thing. Even at that it’s not as bad just sometimes annoying.

Guys I’m a Tobias Wilson fan, trust me I’ve seen far worse fandom butchering of a sad lil guy. Besides Pentious is definitely cute that issue more me being bothered ppl pretend the canon Pentious is exclusively a gag character who is soft and cute. Pentious is probably one of the most misinterpreted character along with Alastor.

[pain-in-the-butler]

Hi, I just thought to let you know that you really inspired me to write my own kuro fanfics (specifically dadbastian) 🫶💗 You're very talent at writing, have you ever thought of writing an original book? Also I have a question, how do you write such long chapters ?? I mean I don't mind, I love long stories. But like how 😭 the only reason why I haven't posted any fanfics (apart from lack of ideas) is that it's never long enough

🥺 Wah, thank you so much for sharing this with me, that's wonderful! I hope you are having so much fun exploring these characters in your own way too!

It's interesting for me to consider how I make chapters longer at this point, because I so often find myself thinking "How the hell do I make this shorter?!" So, if you're anything like me, I think you'll find as you keep writing that you will naturally find more ways to make your stories longer. When you have scenes that you know need to happen, you'll wonder how you can set them up in advance; or you'll get used to following your curiosity with the knowledge that it has the potential to land you somewhere very interesting.

The best thing you can do, imho, is never undermine the little details, because they can be tools you can use later to strengthen and lengthen your story. For instance, a throwaway line about Indian desserts in chapter five became the catalyst for the Funtom event that made up the crux of Coattails's third arc. Worldbuilding can be scary, so take it slow. If Ciel is too busy to take Lizzie to a party one day, what is he busy with? If the servants undid all of Sebastian's hard work, what specifically did they ruin? You'd be surprised at the way details pay dividends later on in ways you never anticipated. And you'll get better at asking yourself these questions the more often you practice asking them.

But don't sweat the length too much either. Long stories are nice, but many people like short stories too. Practice by writing what is enjoyable for you and you may soon find yourself in the same predicament as me, unable to keep it short and sweet any longer...

As for an original book, first of all thank you asking, and second of all, I would like to someday, yes! We'll just have to see what the future has in store after Coattails...

[amelias-zelda-calamity-quintet]

Amelia's Zelda Calamity Quintet Resource List

Hi there, I'm Amelia (she/they). You may also know me as Hart or Echo (my old handle was echosound). This is a master post of links for my works as well as all the tags I use on this blog. This post will be pinned on the blog and I will update it as needed so check back if there's something new.

You can find my profiles here: AO3 - Wattpad

Expanding Hyrule Community Discord (16+)

Quick FAQs

Is this a main blog? This is a side blog, my main is @amelias-hart. To keep this blog mostly to fic updates and as a reference tool, I reblog LoZ stuff on my main, to include art and fics.

Can I draw fanart of your characters? Yes, absolutely. I should clarify. You are more than welcome to draw art based on the descriptions in my fics and the resources I put out for them. I work with other artists though for most of my character art. If you are going to use those designs, make sure you're familiar with their opinions on fanart.

What kinds of LoZ fics to you write? All of my fics are fully original legend and long form stories. My average chapter length is 3k and the shortest of my fics (not in a series) is currently drafting to be like 100 chapters.

How adult/mature are they? It ranges, but typically it's pretty tame. I don't really handle gore and explicit scenes, and I'm not a fan of dark fantasy generally as a writer. If fics are rated adult/mature, it's typically because the characters are largely adults.

Is there romance? We're on that Zelink train, absolutely! There are no explicit scenes, again, so the range here is fluff (GoS, RA) to some more mature flirting with some innuendo being about the most serious content (DAD). Maybe a more intense kissing scene once the slow burn gets through to that (MoaH).

How do you write so much? Autism baby. Got that clinical hyperfocus going.

Do I need to read your fics in a certain order? No, all of them are stand alone but they do share a linked timeline in the following: GoS -> MoaH -> RA -> CoL -> DAD (And honestly it's really just GoS and MoaH with any "serious" timeline lore connections)

What's the Convergence? To the previous point, it's referring to GoS any time it comes up. Really only a thing in MoaH and MoaH does try to explain it within the text.

Will add more as they come up. If it's not here, it's probably below. If not, send it as a reply or an ask and I'll add it!

Other Custom Tags List

#originallegends/#lozoriginallegends - Pending community tag for Legend of Zelda fics about original iterations of Hyrule. Check out @expanding-hyrule for more details.

#moahmemes - This is for memes and quotes redone with the MoaH cast for fun, mostly for character exploration and cause it's funny.

#moah worldbuilding - In character worbuilding snippets about various topics for the MoaH era of Hyrule.

Open Ask List

I'm always open to asks, but I have a few prompts I figured I'd throw out if y'all want ideas.

Web: Asks for an update to the MoaH Obsidian web

WIPWednesdays: I'll post a snippet of MoaH, very likely will contain spoilers for a later part/book than is out.

Star: I'll give ya a random factoid about something in one of my fics, you can add fic tags if you'd like a specific.

Q: Check to see how far updates for MoaH are queued out

Character asks: I don't have art, but you can absolutely send in character asks for the cast. I love these, they're great character voice practice. Please keep to one question per ask, but you're welcome to send as many as you like.

Fic List

Goddess of Secrecy (Complete on Wattpad, New Edited Chapters On Wednesdays & Saturdays To Both) - #goddessofsecrecy, #gos, #gosspoilers

Hyrule has only ever dreamt of an end to the resurrection of Demise. With the returning of an ancient power, that dream could finally be fulfilled. Can the Hero of the Fourth Goddess save Hyrule once and for all?

Fic Links: AO3 - Wattpad

Mark of a Hero (Updates on Tuesdays & Fridays, 1 of 9) - #markofahero, #moah, #moahspoilers

Hyrule is at peace, or so the Royal Family would have its people believe. Something is afoot in the kingdom, and someone needs to do something about it. Least likely would be Marksmen Link Sayre- a mercenary and monster hunter doing his best to get by. Until a job goes wrong, and he gets roped into the secret plans of Hyrule's princess. Now Link must play the part of the Hero to dive deeper into the mystery, and maybe stumble into a legend of his own.

Fic Links:

Book 1: AO3 - Wattpad

Book 2:

Book 3:

Book 4:

Book 5:

Book 6:

Book 7:

Book 8:

Book 9:

Series Link: AO3

Arc Progress & Spoiler Reference

Character Reference Page

General Setting Resources Page

Restoration Age (Hiatus) - #restorationage

Hyrule has grown. The fairy tale kingdom that has endured for eons is no more. And while historians argue over what history needs to be preserved, Hyrule endures and thrives in the modern age. With the proverbial guide book gone, where will the kingdom go now? And what would a Hero mean for a country that no longer needs a Hero?

Fic Link: Wattpad - Not yet imported to AO3

Cinders of Life (Hiatus) - #cindersoflife

Hyrule has burned. No more is the vibrant kingdom that was once protected by the Hero. Now is the reign of evil, an evil without end. Hope is a word used without meaning, and hero is all but lost. Could one even stand if the people of Hyrule don't even know what they would be calling on?

Fic Link: Wattpad - Not yet imported to AO3

Day After Destiny (Hiatus) - #dayafterdestiny

Hyrule is beginning its new golden age. The king and queen prepare to hand their crowns to their daughter and her husband. It is a union out of legend, though legend is far from anyone's mind in Hyrule. For who would call upon ancient war heroes in a time of peace? The wars for Hyrule have been won.

Fic Link: Wattpad - Not yet imported to AO3