#he’s supposed to be a villain for a Zelda au

[smilesrobotlover]

Man I sure am rusty at this

[skyward-floored]

*intertwines my fingers*

Talk to me (about IAU downfall au)

Welllllllll I was thinking about how most of the loz villains are now in positions of power in the government (in various ways) and how that would be awful in many ways. Most of the Zeldas are too (the ones that don’t have powers at least) but they can’t stand against all of them.

Like I realized Cia would probably hang around Warriors as much as possible. And since she’s technically his superior, Warriors can’t do much against her, apart from the fact that Cia isn’t totally supposed to be in his area. He spends as much time as possible out doing things, but he does have to do office things sometimes. And Cia basically harasses him. And nobody cares.

Wild is in much better of a position than Warriors, since he got a bodyguard job and his charge is (eventually) pretty nice to him. It’s still stressful though, and Flora is trying to help him (and supers as a whole) but she can’t do all that much.

Legend’s invisibility powers are a bit of a thorn in anyone above him’s side (Yuga, for example), and he’s always toeing the line of how far he can go with bending the rules. And going behind his superiors’s backs and helping people. And for some reason it seems like supers seem to like, randomly go missing when Legend’s hung out with them. Weird.

Malon’s powers were deemed mostly useless, so she isn’t in active duty. Which is helpful, because she and Sun and Sky are kind of trying to help people in uh. Kind of illegal manners.

Story-wise I figure Wind and Four get dumped in the middle of this, and decide to first go figure out where all of their family is (Wild? Hyrule? Warriors?), and then see what they can do to help them.

It’s dramatic! It’s exciting!

It’s all in my head and it’s driving me crazy because I cannot devote lots of my time to a new wip when I have at least ten unfinished wips. I need a way to beam the images in my head onto the paper in the form of words.

[dumpster-lizard]

We need more shipping positivity out here so I'm gonna go off about all the Ghirahim ships I can think of and why they're rad. Now, if you purely like vanilla ships, you might not like these for the same reasons I do! I love toxic and/or angsty dynamics, and love the darker sides of all these ships so I'm going to focus a lot on those parts. I'll look at the vanilla perspective where I can too. If you like this and want me to try another Zelda Character (preferably a villain) shoot me an ask and I can do this for other characters!!

GhiraLink - The OG- I feel like most people who ship him with anyone shipped him with Link first. I certainly did. There's a ton you can do with them man. Link is tied to Zelda as Ghirahim is tied to his master and both are pawns in the greater scheme of things. You can do so many ways - personally I do prefer the darker route that plays into the creepy obsessive side of the character. The softer versions of the ship are nice too, though personally I like it better when you can see Ghiras development in these depictions. They can find solace in each other post game- and if you hc Demise was a bastard to Ghirahim this is also an opportunity for him to unlearn all the bad shit. Ghirahim becoming Link's new sword too? agh, Good Soup.

GhiraDemi: Master/Servant dynamic is ALWAYS a winner in my book. The adoration Ghirahim has for Demise is fantastic, and makes for a great dynamic whether it's returned or not. Again, I do like the darker route here, cause they are both mean bastards- I like the idea of Demise rubbing off on Ghirahim... but also think it would be rad if Ghirahim was deeply disturbed and violent BEFORE they met. Let them be terrible together, let them be CODEPENDANT! The angst potential for this ship is absolutely fantastic, and regardless of the level of toxicity you prefer - you KNOW he didn't handle it well when Demise was sealed, and he was left alone for centuries. I

DemiGhiraLink: Real ones know. Kudos to the folks who have made it their own and put different spins on it.

GhiraFi: I've drifted away from this ship, but it's still the parallels that get me. How they are functionally for the same purpose but so different? Have they always been like that? Which one changed? There are so many stories you could give them that could provide a variety of rich histories. I personally love the angst portion here. Love a good betrayal. Adore the scenarios people come up with where Ghirahim speaks to Fi during the events of the game, whenever she's separated from Link. And, of course, depending on whether you think she was changed, he could realize there's something wrong, this isn't the person he knew, and he would never get the closure of explaining himself. Or, if she remembers... Ghirahim being cold to her to avoid his feelings so he can do his job. Maybe a solemn understanding on Fi's side.

GhiraZant: Two super different guys dedicated to the same master. Both are massive creeps in their own right (see Zant's confrontation with Midna after the water temple), but have way different motives. Zant wanted to be a king. Ghirahim wanted to serve a king. I can see that being a good source of conflict. Perhaps they could find solace in each other if they ever understood they were being used.. or just magnify each other's obsession with their master. I suppose it depends on how much either of them remember. Does Zant remember the end of TP? Does Ghirahim remember the end of SkSw? The timeline of Hyrule Warriors is pretty unclear. Of course, there are AUs where Zant finds Ghirahim in TP...

GanGhira: Very similar to Ghirademi, but give Ghira some internal conflict about serving this mortal who's so different from his perfect master. Would he hold Ganondorf to higher standards? Would he just settle? Would he admire Ganondorf with the same fervor he did for Demise? Or, perhaps he sought Ganondorf out purposefully to continue his master's legacy. I have a lot of thoughts of a sword spirit mentoring a younger Ganondorf though sword fighting, dark magic, and seeding a deep hatred for the Goddesses. And it wouldn't be difficult, Hyrule really does create its own enemies.

GanGhiraZant: Combine the above two and add in Zant's dynamic with Ganondorf, and you've got some good soup babes GhiraVaati: I like Ghirahim, and I like Vaati (understatement of the century). And these two could NOT be more different. Vaati is essentially the hylian equivalent of a fae that decided he wanted to be a god and has a serious issue with authority. Meanwhile, Ghirahim is drawn to authority to the point he "waited his whole existence" for the chance to bring his master back. Now, perhaps Ghirahim would admire Vaati for this - ignoring his minish origins. But if we throw Ganondorf in the mix, I'm talking rivalry, I'm talking petty fights, hohoho it can get UGLY! Good opportunity for Enemies to rivals to friends to lovers here.

Getting into ships I'm not too knowledgeable on --

GhiraZel: Look. Heroine/Villain ships rock. Especially if you go with the HC Ghirahim betrayed Hylia and/or was her original sword. Perhaps he has some lingering regret about that. Perhaps he has mixed feelings about sacrifincing her- or perhaps he redirects his feelings into something more malicious. This isn't a ship I'm personally drawn to but there are quite a few possibilities and Godspeed to the folks that ship this, you rock.

GhiraVolga: Look a dragon getting possessive over what he deems a valuable treasure just gets to me ok. Two monsters, both keeping a barely restrained facade, but one that can turn into a fire-breathing monster at will? It's been a while since I indulged in this ship, but I know firsthand there ARE fics out there that explore this better than I can.

GhiraImpa: Could be an interesting history with these two. Considering, Ghirahim certainly have very intense feelings towards her in game. To the people who ship this rarepair I see you and I love you.

I know I definitely missed some, so feel free to send me any other rarepairs so I can send them some love too!

[linktheacehero]

Let everyone hear about GRANDMA 😈 (dot)

And also Zelink Villain arc I too am very excited for this one

HJDFKSHJDKS

Grandma is def gonna be a running joke sdkfs.

So Duet of Time (Dot) is a roleplay with me and heaven (number 3 out of four?? how many do we have lmao) and its basically a corpse bride au where-

Tp Zelda wanders upon Hero Shade's (Oot Linkor as we call him bone grandpa) grave a few days before she marries tp Link and practices her vows. Shade wakes up believing its his Zelda because the vows she said were a promise he and his Zelda did before he died (he also needs glasses cause he's 8ft tall and tp zelda is 6ft and Spirit(oot zelda/ spirit grandma) was also 8ft and how he confused them idk)

ANYWAY, he and Zelda go to a in between realm that he thinks is the Spirit Realm but its not where Zelda is like "im not your Zelda, Hero of Time" and he's like "wdym of course you are" (he just wants his zelda back okay, its been 300 years since he's seen her). In the meantime Spirit wakes up and discovers that Shade has pulled a grave mistake(pun intended) and goes to tp Link for help. And to explain the grandma joke its that Link believes he's the descnedant of oot zelink because he's heard as a kid all these stories of how they were so in love, etc.. so when he sees Spirit he's like "Grandma!" but she's like "oh sweet summer child" and learns that he's just Shade's desendant which means his ship never got married and decides to pull an irl fix it fic lmao.

The Hero of Time found himself circling in his his grave for the umpteenth time since his supposed regrets had eased. Although he was able to live in the Spirit Realm, his soul could not simply just leave the mortal plane, not until she came.

Zelda. His dearest princess who he vowed to forever stand by, even after death claimed him. He could remember the agony and sorrow that wore on her soul when she buried him beneath the tree of his former guardian, the regrets that weighed heavy upon them. They both had yearned for a happy life, a life to spend together until death came and they could be spirits living in the afterlife for eternity. But destiny seemed to be cruel to those who are goddess blessed.

Since that day he uttered a promise for her, that he would not leave until she came for him. That he was forever bound to her, that his devotion and love was stronger than death and their cursed destiny itself. Then, the ancient hero felt a presence come closer to his resting place. A very familiar presence. Could it be? Was it possible that his waiting was finally over?

May I always be by your side to alleviate your burdens.

If he had lungs, Link's breath would have hitched. It was her promise, the very same she had whispered when he returned from Termina and wept in her arms. It was her.

Our love is stronger than death itself.

With the ring falling perfectly onto his finger, Link tethered his spirit to his old body. He arose from the earth, leaves, dirt and plants wrapped around his golden armor. The cool crisp night air blew through his bones, the moonlight hit the back of helmet shadowing the person before him. He looked down to her, his glowing eye softening at who he saw.

"Dearest."

AS FOR VILLIAN ARC

i answered one here! But i will add more hehehe

brainrot ideas for it

Link decides to defy the King's orders about something war related which marks him as like traitor but Zelda will still stay by her beloved's side even as the kingdom turns on him

The King forcing Zelda to marry Tyrsus (aka arrogant prince) and is also preassured by her aunt, Lady Selin (the bitch)

Link and Zelda day by day having to struggle with controlling their emotions (which means also a struggle for Link to keep down Fierce Deity's power and Zelda Hylia's power) and just decide to snap

[only-by-the-stars]

tell me about your VP AU!!! :DD

Mipha was in love with Link too when they were kids, and definitely would've married him if they'd been able to get away to a happier life ;~;

in the game, there's an extra scene if you go to the town where Lucian lives before you recruit him, and you have to see it to get the best ending. it involves the valkyrie walking around town in her human disguise (the game doesn't explain why, but I have headcanons), and she gets spotted by this girl that's into Lucian and it's kinda implied they're a thing, even though he's never gotten over his childhood sweetheart, and this new girl, Claire, gets jealous and throws a rock at her, which leads to Lucian meeting the disguised valkyrie and being all :O!!! at how she looks. in my version, this jealous girl would be Zelda, and she wouldn't be with Link, but she'd be into him, and he's completely oblivious... until this incident. because in the game, Claire says something about sharing him with her ghost when Lucian confronts her, and so Zelda would say something similar, and Link would be all "..." because he's shocked and doesn't know how to react, and that just makes it hurt worse.

in the game, the valkyrie gets pretty angry with Lucian for contacting her while he's in Valhalla, cause he wasn't supposed to, and says it was unforgivable, which is OUCH and pretty angsty later ;~; but I wouldn't have Mipha be like that with Link, I think she'd be scared and worried and try to get him to cut the connection... but of course it's still just a set-up and he dies :(

there are two einherjar you can't ever send up cause you need them for A ending scenes, and I know I'd cast Midna as one of them, but I'm unsure on the other...

there is also a really creepy guy who obsesses over the valkyrie and commits multiple murders in his quest to be with her, I'm thinking Astor for him

oh! they made a little manga of VP back in the day, and it's odd in that it shortens so much, but it also adds some stuff that's pretty interesting? one of the things it added was backstory to an otherwise fairly forgettable dungeon in one of the modes I don't play anymore... and when I was doing a novelization of the game years ago, I worked it in, and had some romantic tension between the ship during the dungeon action, if I were to do some more stuff with this, I would do that again with Mipha and Link. :3

there's a recruitment scene in the game with another character, where it's implied this dude, who was honestly pretty awful, rescued Lucian's sister while transporting her for the slavers, and dropped her off at a church in some other town, and you can go back and get an item from her in that town. SO ARYLL IS OKAY HERE, LINK JUST DOESN'T KNOW WHERE SHE IS

after Mipha beats the villain and saves the world, she and Link reunite and she remembers everything (having gotten her memory back) and they live happily ever after together :3

[crystalelemental]

Huh. That’s actually some good detective work. I wouldn’t have put that together, since I mostly just assume people meet on Pasio itself, but it checks out.

And see there’s the issue. The devs don’t care about timeline, and what universe you’re in is completely inconsequential. Alola has older Red and Blue, and people speculate 19 years since RBY, but they’re entirely different timelines, so are Red and Blue just different? And Rainbow Rocket has successful villains, where at a minimum Lysandre and Cyrus must operate in different universes given their success, so that’s at least an extra two without real consequence. Did Hisui happen in all timelines? Pasio clearly does but it doesn’t amount to much. Events are always their standard distance away, like the Hugh thing. He will never say that theft took place ten years ago, because time doesn’t progress in that way. Timeline and AU stuff is all completely made up. “But this is a different Giovanni than-“ what does it MATTER though?! He acts and functions identically, there’s no meaningful difference! Beyond the fact that time and alternate universes exist, nothing is ever clear or confirmed on the development side, which always bugs me because why does it even exist at all then? All it did was get a subsection of fans so riled about canon timelines and universe and which protagonist in Pasio is the “real” one as if the devs put a single second of thought into any of it. Like depending, given Briar’s goal of spreading Tera beyond Pasio, this is yet another universe, with no consequence to anything. It drives me insane! You’re not supposed to think about this! It was never once important! It was a throwaway concept in ORAS for funky multiverse implication points that got taken seriously, just like with the Zelda timeline! It’s not real!

[cafecourage]

The moment they realized they loved you. (Isekai Au Edition) Part 1

Because this was my first time doing this I went a little crazy. If you want more information on this AU here is the Link!

Time:

- It had been welcomed with open arms.

- You two are literally the opposite but also very similar. Time is calm and stoic. You are chaotic and loud. But both of you are very cryptic.

- You’re the only person in the kingdom of hyrule currently that remembers what he had gone through. He feels like he can trust you with anything.

- It’s started with a slip up by wind and just spiraled out of control.

___________________________________

Time was discussing the groups inventory with Twilight and Wild when it happens. A small slip of the tongue followed by a laughter that could be mistaken as a fairy chime. He looked over to see your bright smile shining through under your hood. In front of you was the target of your amusement, the youngest link.

“That’s so cute!” You exclaimed to the horror of Wind, who was red in embarrassment. “Wait who’s dad?”

“Can we let this go?” The teen was covering his face now.

“It’s Time.” Four said without looking up from his book. Utter chaos broke loose in camp with just a few words. A chorus of any forms of agreement was making you laugh even harder. Time though covering up his true feelings about the situation was very lost. While yes, he acknowledged that he had slowly became the father figure of the group. That title didn’t involve you.

Unless…

“Time! I didn’t know we were married!” You bounced over to their leader looking at him with a playful smirk.

A life with you flashes in his head.

There could be a small cottage farm surrounded by the forest that reminding him of his old family and home. You could take care of the garden while he could take care the animals. In a few years the two of you might just have a few kids running around. Playing with each other without a care in the world. No more fighting. No more traveling. Just a simple lifestyle with a tight knit family. It looked peaceful. Everything he would want.

“You should have told me.” He was brought back to the present by your face looking up at him expectedly.

“I thought you knew.” He said super seriously. “We’ve got to raise nine children together already.”

“Hey! I raised you during the war old man!” Warriors called out from across camp.

“You’re the uncle then!” (Y/n) countered “I already say Twilight is our first born!” You declared pointing to Time’s flustered descendent. The rest of the conversation was tuned out as he went back to his thoughts once more.

Time lived longer than most of the heroes here by age 11. Yet not once did he stop to think about a future and family. He was so busy trying to keep out of hero work that it just slipped. Yet see you with the other heroes, knowing now that you were just as much a parental figure to the others as him. It made his softer just thinking about it and he welcomed that warm fuzzy feeling with open arms.

Reaching out he brush’s hair out of your face to kiss your temple. “I’ll propose to you properly later.” He said in a teasing tone to suggest he was only joking to hide the truth in that statement. Seeing your entire face flush red was really worth it.

“Gross Mom and Dad are flirting!”

___________________________________

- He’ll never once tell you straight if he liked you or was just playing along with the ongoing joke that the chain has.

- This time instead of you observing him. He wants to see how far he can go until confessing.

- It drives you crazy. Since you can’t get a read on him. You attempt to flirt back in retaliation. However, it always ends with you being the most flustered.

- Who knew the Old Man had it in him?

Twilight:

- It became a melancholic hopeless feeling that spiral out of control.

- He already had his heartbroken by someone before and he knows he shouldn’t get attached to you too.

- Yet he can’t stop himself from wanting to be near you. He heard you so clearly before.

- Now that he can actually speak to you directly, he wants to get to know his other travel companion more.

___________________________________

Being alone in the forest with you wasn’t what Twilight planned when dropped in a different Hyrule but here you two where. You offered to go on patrol with him when the others were setting up camp claiming it was too see if you could identify the era. It didn’t matter since Twilight enjoyed your company no matter what. The lack of conversation between the two of you didn’t bother him. If anything, it felt the most natural. Only a few words were needed for the two of you to understand each other. “Do you mind if I use my wolf form?” Twilight asked fiddling with the chain that attached to the shadow crystal around his neck.

You paused to think about it. “I mean you can. But be aware I will baby talk you.”

This got Twilight to stop walking. Maybe he lied. He doesn’t need a few words to understand your thought process. “Excuse me?”

“I can’t control myself around cute creatures.” You simply stated like it was the most obvious thing.

Instead, Twilight was burning up. You thought his wolf form was cute? Of all things you used that word? What did you think of human Twilight if you thought like that? Did he want to even know? He was searching for any way to take this conversation but it all lead to dead ends. “Cute?” Was all he could ask. His voice pitching up as he got flustered.

“Yeah?” You looked at him just as confused as he was. “Wolves are just like big dogs and to be honest you look more like a giant dog then a wolf.” Your explanation did not help at all with his situation. “If it makes you feel better you’re very handsome as a Hylian and also built like an go-“

Twilights brain was malfunctioning he couldn’t hear any more of what you had to say about him. He grabbed on to the shadow crystal, turning into his wolf form he ran. He didn’t hear you call out his name in surprise.

Hylia, what was wrong with him? You were just a friend. A very blunt yet gentle friend. Nothing more. Nothing less. Why was his heart racing so much? He had heard you shower him in complements before while on his first adventure. But hearing you say it to his face with no shame whatsoever was a different story.

Twilight knew what these feelings were and deep down he really wanted to act on them. But was it ok? Was his heart finally healing from his last love? Twilight was already aware this time that you had to leave at some point. He didn’t need to act on them despite wanting to. He could just be your friend and continue the relationship like that.

His heart was already breaking a second time.

Twilight was in love you and it was driving him crazy.

___________________________________

- Like Time, Twilight isn’t going to tell you about his feelings. Instead, he is going to forever pine for you.

- It’s going to be a slow process and you need to be aware that he will get hurt if you’re going to go back home.

- He’ll see you off with a smile, but as soon as your gone he will break.

Warriors:

- It was full of denial and fear.

- He went through the receiving end of someone’s obsessive love.

- And it doesn’t help that you’ve watched over their adventures. He vowed to not get that close to you.

- There was a need to destroy the endearing feeling he sees when you smile at him.

- Yet seeing you with a sad far out look on your face makes him scramble to your side to find out what’s wrong.

___________________________________

It was just the two of you. Weaving throughout the crowds of castle town. You were currently in Four’s Era and in the middle of the Picori festival. The group was long spilt up, leaving Warriors alone with the dimensional traveler. Soon even (Y/n) was walking away from him. He didn’t know why he followed, the argument in his head was telling him that it was so they didn’t get lost. Yet there was a part of him that knew that wasn’t it.

“Where are you going anyway?” He thought to finally ask as you reached a quieter area. “It’s going to be hard to spend time in the festival from here.”

“Yeah, that’s the point.” You were a bit snappy today, “shouldn’t you find someone else to hang out with?” Warriors just shrugged as you slowed your pace down to pause in front of the small river that ran through castle town. The silence now filled with the rushing of water as you sat on the bridge.

Against his better judgement Warriors sat next to you. Finally, he got to talk to you one on one but the normally impulsive and excitable person Warrior’s grew to expect had changed in that moment.

You looked so tired.

“Hey Link?” You finally called out to him “I know I shouldn’t ask you this but���” hesitation was new to your character. “How do I even start?” You rake a hand through your hair. Sweeping a part of your hair out of your eyes. “Was I ever helpful during your Adventure?”

Oh… Oh he really wasn’t the right person for this talk.

You look back you and towards the festival and he followed your gaze. From where they were he could only spot a few of his party members. Wind was with Legend and Hyrule playing some of the stall games. While Four was with his Zelda holding hands as she pulled him further into the crowd. “Last time I saw this festival it ended up destroyed by Vaati.” The wind mage was only brought up a few times by Four. All Warriors really knew was that the villain was supposed to be sealed away by the Four Sword, and that his power was connected by the dark mirror. “I found myself wondering if my presence even mattered.” Your shoulder slumped in defeat as you curled into yourself.

The instant need to comfort shot through Warriors. He wanted to reach out. He fought the urge to hold you. He bites his tongue when he started to think of embellished words to make you feel better.

What was wrong with him?

Warriors had to say something though. “I don’t know about Four or the others.” He didn’t even think about your presence in his adventure too much. If anything, he actively tried not to think about it. Here you were though a person and not a figment of in his imagination. “During the war, your voice and presence is what broke the tension. The moments that could have been my lowest, you were there saying things that I wanted to repeat out loud.” There was a fondness while he was looking back at the memories. From the moment he ran on the battle field foolishly as a trainee soldier. His pride grew upon hearing your praise and surprise when seeing him fight for the first time. To your excitement while meeting his friends from the other Eras. He shared your sentiments about Mask as you cooed over the child as Warriors fought by his side. Then your anger, disgust and pity towards Cia. While on his side, your empathetic nature had you morning during her passing. These where just the tip of the iceberg.

Just having someone voice out mutual thoughts on a situation helps when you can’t do it on your own. You feel crazy thinking the way you do. “With you there it’s like you always have someone by your side cheering you on and supporting you.” He paused to look at you. Conflicting emotions clashing together. You turn to look at him, your eyes only briefly visible through your bangs. Curiosity and guilt were swarming with in them. “I’m not the person to talk to about this.” He finally admitted out loud. “But I would be lying if I said your presence wasn’t important to us.”

The silence that followed was deafening. Was that not what he was supposed to say? Warriors tried to stay calm under your gaze.

You let out a huff of laughter covering your mouth and turning away from him a bit to calm down. “I didn’t think about it like that.” There was a pause where you looked back at the festive before turning back to smiling softly at him. “Thanks Cap.”

The smile that you had on your lips had Warriors stomach do back flips. A blush decorated his face as he turns away. “It’s something that should have been said a while ago.” He manages to say without stuttering.

You were really pretty.

The sound of a picto box followed by winds snickering, was ignored when the thought had just register in his head. He finally realized how far he fell for you.

___________________________________

- one by one his defenses lowered.

- With every smiled sent his way, with every laugh that he earned. He found himself wanting more.

- He slowly opens up, a slow process but it wasn’t as scary as he thought it was going to be.

- A teasing nickname here. A gentle touch there. He realizes he has gone too far.

(Part 2)

[blackdragon-selfships]

An updated version of this meme using some of the AUs I’ve made instead of only screenshots.

Blank version

Information on each is under the cut.

The OG-Aary in his usual clothes here in our world. He likes the button-up with a pocket because he can let Aarapod sit comfortably inside the pocket.

The Fallen Star-My comic project I’m working on where there aren’t elves in the mix. It’s just dragons vs humans, with the story going in a very different direction from the source material. In the West the setting is modern day, in the East the lands are still magical. Also Aaravos is the antihero protagonist, not one of the villains.

Avatar: The Secret Bender-An AU I’m working on with my best friend. Aaravos is an Earthbender and the Avatar. The cycle was somehow messed up, with the next Avatar being an Earthbender and not an Airbender like he was supposed to be.

It’s the show, Avatar: The Last Airbender, but with mostly the The Dragon Prince cast with some OCs and s/i’s (Meg included) instead of characters from ATLA, and with tweaks and major changes to the plot to fit the AU. (Though to be fair…”too pure” isn’t the best description even here. lol It IS still Aaravos, after all. He still has the same personality, just got dealt a different hand, and made different life-choices/friends.)

Snake Charmer-Naga!Aary (part humanoid, part snake) for a oneshot on my adults-only side blog. Not much to say about this one except this Aaravos…has the least healthy relationship with Me/g of any of them, at least at first. Kind of a Beauty and the Beast formula but more adult.

Disney’s Atlantis AU-Self explanatory. It’s Atlantis but with TDP characters plus Me/g. You can read more about it here.

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild AU-Takes place before Link wakes up. Meg is a field researcher studying monsters and Guardians to create a guide on how to survive against them. Aaravos was hired by her when he expressed interest in the job of being her protection on her research trip…but it’s later revealed he is the true leader and founder of the Yiga Clan. Revealing also that things are not as black-and-white as the Shiekah and Royal Family would have you believe…

Bloodhound Oaths-Arranged marriage/vampire AU prompt I got a long time ago. Aaravos is the mysterious, powerful Vampire King. King of monsters basically. Me/g is a princess being groomed for marriage for political purposes. She is given to Aaravos as his bride to unite the human and monster kingdoms for land and strengthening forces against a common enemy. In the process Meg learns through her husband and his people to stand on her own more…and that she really needs glasses it turns out.

[bexterbex]

A Soul to Mend His Own | Ch. 74

Warning, PLEASE CHECK TAGS IF YOU SEE SOMETHING YOU DON’T WANT TO READ THEN DON’T READ. Tag lists are closed

Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Will tag as I go along, Will update tags, Slow Burn, Influenced by Star Trek and other Sci-Fi themes, References to We Happy Few, Tons of References and quotes to George Orwells 1984 see if you can find them all, The First Order is the new Big Brother,  but who is really surprised, Blatant Nazi Symbolism, Interrogation Themes, Eventual Smut, Eventual Romance, Really just drawn out Slow Burn, Don’t repost without permission, Torture themes, Suggestive Themes, Execution themes, Disturbing Themes, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Verbal Abuse, Controlling Kylo Ren, Physical Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Kylo Ren is Not Nice, Kylo Ren Has Issues, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, Possessive Kylo Ren, A character shamelessly based on Zelda

A Kylo Ren x Modern! Reader in a soulmate au with canon divergence. —————————————SLOWBURN————————————–

He is already the Supreme leader, searching the universe to find you, his Empress. Your name on his wrist has been the only constant in his life, while you have doubts about his existence and his acceptance of you. He isn’t in the database and why did the name Kylo Ren cover Ben Solo?

MASTERLIST

Chapter 74: False Freedom

*****So this chapter contains Dub/Con so you have been warned.******

Ten days. Ten days you were without conscious thought. It’s been ten days since you were able to see out of the windows of your eyes. Ten days of pure blackness, of being confined with the creature. Only the dying embers keeping you company, but they were slowly receding around you, your territory shrinking, the monster creeping closer. On Earth, you weren’t free.

But now you were face to face with him, with your own personal demon. His eyes peering into your soul, knowing that he was controlling you. Seeing you struggling to hold on. Watching you behind the glass.

For once his helmet was off, but his voice was void of emotion. “You will come with me to Exegol. He has requested your presence.” You wondered who he was. And why he needed you to be there.

You wanted to respond, but you couldn’t. Kylo still having control over you. You know he was watching you internally scream and beg him to let you go. You were lashing against the grip of the black creature that held you back, that held you down. You were powerless to him.

But your body betrayed you as he took your arm and escorted you to the shuttle that would take you to the Supremacy. You could feel the darkness taking over as you were strapped in. When you gained consciousness you were finishing dinner, you felt yourself regain control of your voice.

“You will join me in bed tonight, Kitten.” It wasn’t a question, it was a command. You watched as his eyes watched you, knowing there was little you could do to resist him. He was a beast that had already captured its prey, now was no time to fight.

You tried to move your body, but you only had control of voice. “Why are you doing this?” The sound of your own voice seemed foreign on your own ears. You hadn’t had control over yourself in over two weeks.

He was agitated now, something about your question was angering him. “As I said before, this is for your protection. I do not know his full strength and the only way to protect you now is by occupying your mind, putting up a wall you can not do yourself.” But who was this man that threatened you, that asked for you?

“And killing my family? Was that putting up a wall too? Or was that so you could have me all to yourself?” You knew that there was nothing you could do now to stop him from doing whatever he wanted to. You were completely at his mercy.

He scoffed, he was acting like the villain in this story. “We gave them a merciful death. Our enemies would have watched them tortured, to try to get to you. I did you a favor.” His face sneered at you, there was no remorse for what he had done. You felt the tears fall down your face, seeming to have control over the windows now. Allowing you to show some emotion. “Making me watch the first order murder them was a favor?” You wondered just how far he was willing to go to ‘protect’ you. Your family was dead, your friends brainwashed, your planet seized. He was a monster.

His eyes narrowed at you, one twitching with anger. “Remember, you are the First Order now.” Yes, you were the face of it now. The Empress.

You tried to remember back to when he told you that he wanted you to rule for him, but the memory was becoming murky like it had been tainted. “You’re right and I have control over nothing, not even my own body.”

His eyes grew dark as he leaned forward, his body language as threatening as it could be. You felt the internal hold on your body release, and then you felt the Force wrap around you, holding you now from the outside of your body. “You want control, here you have control.”

You struggled against the invisible grip. “You know that’s not what I meant.” “But this is what you are going to get.” He then commanded you up with the Force, your feet levitating off the ground. No control over anything as the tendrils wrapped themselves tightly around you. You were being taken to the bedroom and put on the bed.

You were afraid, this was not the same man who left you weeks ago. “Please don’t do this.” You felt the bed dip with his weight as he crawled up over you. You wanted to push him off, wanted him to get away from you.

His eyes feasted upon your flesh, seeming to mark exactly where he was going to bite into you, like his last meal. “What am I not supposed to do? You are my wife are you not?” His eyes focus on your chest and crotch, taking you in like an object to be defiled.

Your voice broke as you pleaded to him “I am, but I don’t want this, not like this. I want you freely, no Force to hold me down, no Force inside my mind.” For some stupid reason, your love for him was still fighting the fear and terror you felt for him. Trying to remind you that you love him with every fiber of your helpless being.

His demeanor shifted for a moment, it softened. “Promise you won’t run away?” He seemed vulnerable in that moment, and it made your heart yearn for him. Your voice was quiet, your crying calmed. “I promise.”

You felt the tendrils release you, the black entity inside your mind leave you. You were yourself again, but for how long? You weren’t really even able to enjoy this freedom as Kylo began attacking you with kisses, biting love marks into your skin. You heard fabric ripping as your dress came off of you. The Force wasn’t holding you down but his hands were.

You felt conflicted at the situation. Should you be letting him do this? After all he’s done? But your body betrayed you, giving in to his touches and kisses. Every fiber of your being overcome with joy knowing that he was next to you, that he was loving you. It didn’t take him long to get his clothes off. He wasn’t fully erect yet, but that wasn’t unusual.

You struggled against his hold. He was still resisting giving you freedom. “May I please have my arms back?”

His voice was harsh, “Why?” His grip tightening, you were sure that you were going to bruise.  

“You haven’t let me touch you when we’ve made love. You’ve always just held my arms down.” You wanted to be able to touch him, but that never seemed to be an option. You wanted to hold him, maybe that would help this broken man.

He complied, but then a hand wrapped itself around your neck. “I need control,” was his explanation. He used his free hand to stroke himself hard.

You were being choked. His hard pounding thrust caused you to force yourself harder into his hand. Cutting off blood flow to your brain, but not oxygen. Your hips rolled upward as you struggled. He wasn’t going to kill you, but that didn’t mean you didn’t need to be afraid. But again your body was betraying you, your slick was pooling between your legs.

Once he was done making himself hard, his hand found its way to your hot core, plunging a finger in without any warning. He was pissed, and so it seemed that you were not going to get any more warm-up than absolutely necessary. After a couple of thrusts, a second finger was added and then a third. When he thought you were prepped just enough he forcefully split you in two. His pace rough and quick, unrelenting as he pounded into you. You lacked the ability to speak for a different reason, his hand still clamped tightly around your throat. He was vocalizing groans, snarls, the occasional fuck. His lips and teeth covering you in deep dark bruises. This was the first time that he seemed to break skin, you had a bloody bite mark on your breast. The man fucking you was truly a monstrous savage.  

Unlike before he climaxed before you, but he left you feeling empty as he pulled out. You were flipped over, your face shoved down into the mattress as he took you from behind. Yes, you might have had your arms free, your mind free, but you were far from freedom. There were tears in your eyes as you finally reached your orgasm, he was close to his second. Gone was the loving man you once thought you knew, now he was a creature that haunted you, something born of nightmares. A demon trapping you to your own personal hell, but you could help but feel pleasure at your release. Your body still overjoyed at the things he was doing to you. Your body and you slowly becoming two separate entities as he occupied you, both in body and mind. Your tears staining the mattress.

When he pulled out he released all over your cunt, covering your crotch in his hot cum. His grip on your head holding you face down on the mattress released. His hands now attached themselves to your thighs. A long hard swipe fo his tongue changed your tune entirely. Lapping you up, now this was a delicious pleasure. His enthusiasm for your combined juices seemed to return. He hooked a finger inside you to try to scoop out as much mixed cum as he could, after a while the finger just seemed to massage your walls as you produced more and more arousal. His tongue occasionally thrusting in and out of you, before you came to your climax. Your legs collapsed under you as Kylo’s touch left your body, and his weight left the bed.

He went into the bathroom where you heard the shower run, for the first time since you’ve been married he had abandoned you on the bed. He wasn’t returning to clean you up. When he came back, there was no good-night kiss, no real acknowledgment of your existence. He turned off his light and seemed to fall asleep. You tested your own strength as you tried to get off the bed. You limped into the bathroom, the woman in the reflection haunted you, the love bites no longer reminded you of sweetness, but pain. They were marks of ownership, pure ownership over your existence. You turned on the shower and let the scalding water try and wash away the pain in your heart, but it couldn’t. Not before you lost control over your mind once more. The black creature invading your sanctuary. You wondered when the next time you would be guaranteed moments of freedom.

When you came to you were stuck behind the glass. No control over yourself. You were now wearing different clothes. You wondered how many days had passed by, how many days he had stolen from you. For some reason some stupid part of you was still in love with him, believing that he was actually protecting you. But now you were descending to the surface of Exegol from what you could observe. You were going to meet him, whoever he was. You were surrounded by the knights and Kylo, a blaster placed on your hip. You could sense the nervousness from the knights. If they were afraid, you should be too. You weren’t sure if you were being led to your death or not, but you were afraid either way.

Kylo wore his helmet, his lightsaber in his hand, ready to jump out of the craft when you landed. The knights assumed similar positions. You were the only one strapped down, but you could feel Kylo’s Force around you, like some sort of protective bubble. When the exit ramp lowered, it looked like you were released directly into the gates of hell. Chanting was heard in the distance. You felt yourself lose full consciousness once more.

[bigtiddygothhusband]

a bunch of fanfic recs from different fandoms

ordered shortest to longest with an exception right at the beginning. Descriptions originally written for my brother so some of the descriptions don’t make a whole lot of sense in the context being presented here.

Muckraker! (https://orphan.black/dat/fic-muckraker-venom/) I don't know precisely how long this is so have it at the top. One of my all time favourite stories, defined how I look at Eddie Brock. Mostly a sort of journalism detective type thing about gentrification. Venom.

Clenched Fists and Battle Cries (https://archiveofourown.org/works/15197111) Very short thing of an angry explosion boy befriending a very small child with a canonically sad backstory that doesn't really come up here. My Hero Academia.

Whiskey, Cigarettes and Outer Space (https://archiveofourown.org/works/5242880) Young Stan Pines and Young Rick Sanchez meet in a bar and talk about shit. That's basically the whole thing but it's written really well. Implied start of a road to romantic relationship. Gravity Falls/Rick and Morty

Dude, Your Sister is Hot (https://archiveofourown.org/works/5245892) Zelda sees Link experimenting with gender and Link lies and says she has a sister, who Zelda then asks out. Trans girl Link as you may have guessed. The Legend of Zelda.

Eraserhead's Number One Fan (https://archiveofourown.org/works/14121309) Eraserhead's supposed to be an underground hero, away from the attention of the media keeping him from doing his job. So how did he get a twitter stan account? My Hero Academia.

No Secrets To Success (https://archiveofourown.org/works/19974307) Kirishima's gonna have to start school a month late, which means he has to study. Fortunately he runs into the top of his future class on the street! Unfortunately he has no interest in being a tutor. Until that is, it's implied he wouldn't be good at tutoring. Because fuck you, he's the best at everything. My Hero Academia.

Responsibility (https://archiveofourown.org/works/12208788/chapters/27727098) Fun stuff here, an abused child experiences family for one night when teachers take him out to dinner. Slightly sad ending but has a sequel (the next entry). My Hero Academia.

Liability (https://archiveofourown.org/works/12652599/chapters/28834710) Out of place length-wise but its the sequel. Things get better. My Hero Academia.

Detective Pony (https://archiveofourown.org/works/2427119/chapters/5371283) I've extolled the virtues of Detective Pony many times I'm sure but I'll do it as many times as I need to. Wonderful character study, stunning examination of stories in general, lots of allusions and literary references, one girl's simultaneously a small town and having a crisis about that fact, so many fucking ponies, one parts in iambic pentameter. It's so good. Please read detective Pony. Homestuck/Pony Pals/ Parks and Rec/The Divine Comedy/others.

The Worst Candlenights Ever (https://archiveofourown.org/works/12792789/chapters/29195202) Sometimes you just gotta ruin your extended family's Christmas. And to do that you need a good date. So you ask a near stranger who you definitely don't have a crush on to pretend to be your boyfriend. Perfect! The Adventure Zone.

We Are So (Not) Married (https://archiveofourown.org/works/11468634/chapters/25714014) The one i was telling you about where the teachers pretend to be married so they can end homophobia. My Hero Academia.

2am Knows All Secrets (https://archiveofourown.org/works/8738770/chapters/20035240) Sometimes you just gotta platonically snuggle your bro to help him cope with his panic attacks. Platonically. My Hero Academia.

Villainous Heroics (https://archiveofourown.org/works/17297096/chapters/40682882) Sometimes you start villaining to prove a point and then you fall in love with a hot hero and get a tad distracted. My Hero Academia.

Zone of Trulips (https://archiveofourown.org/works/11107605/chapters/24787350) John has no life and is deeply depressed. So he starts working at a flower shop. With the funny, kind, attractive proprietor. Who he's certain he only likes platonically, until petals start falling from his lips. The Adventure Zone.

Reincarnation Blues (https://archiveofourown.org/works/3621903/chapters/7996044) Dipper Pines has been a demon for a long time. His sister has not, but she gave him her soul and in each new body it inhabits he finds her again. But she's not really the same person and well. Neither is her new boyfriend. Gravity Falls/Transcendence AU.

Flowey is Not A Good Life Coach (https://archiveofourown.org/works/5056333/chapters/11627629) :(. Undertale.

quote love unquote (https://archiveofourown.org/works/12025527/chapters/27220212) This is like, a real slowburn not in terms of the relationship but the plot. It just gives you so much time to intricately learn every ideosyncracy and hangup of these boys so that when shit finally hits the fan it hurts. My Hero Academia.

Chill or Be Chilled (https://archiveofourown.org/works/5387672/chapters/12443822) I'm gonna be honest I haven't read this one yet, the premise/length combo is just so wild I had to send it your way. Undertale.

[miracle-sham]

Instead of Dead, Become Two Dragons in Red.

| {MaribatMarch2020 — Week 1, Day 5: Transformation} |

| [Ao3 Link] | | [Masterlist Link] |

| {Repost due to original post disappearing from the tags.} |

| Triggers/Warnings: Violence/Implied Violence, Animal Transformation, Explicit Language/Some Swearing, Implied/Referenced Character Death (but not really), Polyamory (not really a trigger/warning but if you don't like Polyamory then this isn't for you). |

| For Gotham vigilantes, rampaging magic-users always make for an interesting fight, that is of course, provided one doesn't get hit by any stray bolts of magic. However for Parisian heroes, it's just your typical Tuesday Akuma situation. |

| Word Count: 3232 |

==‹›==

| A/N: Hi! I'm not dead, sorry for how long I took to respond to comments, I got hit by a nasty cold then sinusitis so I lost basically all my Maribat March prep time thanks to that, so I just barely managed to finish this ficlet/oneshot for today, anyway I hope you guys enjoy, and if enough people enjoy it, I'll make a second part to this oneshot because I had to cut so much material and it'd be nice to be able to use it still. |

| If you want to be tagged in future oneshots/fics, or a specific Au, then comment or send me a DM/ask! |

| Also side note, Don't Like? Don't Read. Also also, please do not criticise any of my writing. This was written for fun and receiving criticism, even in a compliment/criticism sandwich, is the exact opposite of fun. |

==‹›==

Zzzzt-crackle-woosh, a purplish-black bolt of unstable magic flies through the air, just barely grazing passed Dragonbug's side as she flips across the gap between two buildings. Cheerfully, she calls out “Missed again!”

The villain, an amorphous black shadow with dripping molten gold eyes and donning a ruddy patchwork hooded robe (which suffice to say, looks suspiciously like a rip-off wizzrobe from the Legend of Zelda, that or a faceless Gregorian based cultist extra from a film or TV show), scowls furiously, “Oh fuck you! I'm trying my best here!” and blasts another bolt of purplish-black magic towards her.

Conveniently located on the roof she just landed on, is an air vent. She cartwheels behind it and manages to dodge the bolt by a good metre or so. “Well, your best sucks and so does your aim!”

The wizard-villain screeches in fury, “Well my aim wouldn't suck if you didn't keep moving like a goddamn Duracell bunny!”

Dragonbug snorts. “Yeah but firstly, I'm dragon and ladybird themed, not bunny-themed; the bunny theme's already taken anyway. And secondly, where's the fun in that?”

As soon as she says that, her earpiece crackles as Red Robin pipes up on the comms channel. “Ready to see some fireworks?”

“Oh, you bet!” She responds, all too gleefully.

There's a faint clink-woosh-woosh-woosh and out of the corner of her eye, Dragonbug sees a blur of a small round silver ball arcing through the air towards the wizard-villain who's quite stupidly standing in the same place. As the silver ball disappears from her view, she hears a clatter of clink-clink-clink followed by a bwoosh and a bright flash of white light. At this moment, Dragonbug is so glad the Miraculous suits protect against flashbangs of all things.

The wizard-villain screams and once the flash of light fades, Dragonbug can see that they've fallen to their knees, in the middle of the street.

Dragonbug frowns and eyes their form, then double-taps her comms. “Hey, is it me or does our rip-off wizzrobe-magic-cultist look somewhat unresponsive?”

Her earpiece crackles again as Red Robin answers, and really someone should give these things a maintenance check, the crackling can be so distracting. “Our wizzrobe-magic-cultist is looking pretty unresponsive to me too. It could be a trap though because I swear I didn't use one of my knockout flashbangs.”

She nods, despite the fact he can't see her; which upon realising this, she flushes red in embarrassment. After clearing her throat to compose herself, she tilts her head to the side. “That's concerning, unless our rip-off wizzrobe-magic-cultist is susceptible to flashes of light.” She pauses, frown deepening, “You don't think they've got epilepsy do you?”

There's a slight rustle before Red Robin responds, “No, that's not what an epileptic seizure looks like. Again this could be a trap, or they could just be stunned. Either way, we should hurry but be careful.”

“Right.” Dragonbug scurries over to the edge of the roof then flips her way down to the ground. As she lands, she just spots Red Robin vaulting across an overturned car. As he catches sight of her, she gives him a thumbs up, which he returns.

Dragonbug then nods to him and he nods back, silently communicating their plan. They both start to slowly approach the wizard-villain in a pincer movement, her to the left and him to the right.

Red Robin reaches to his bandoliers and whips out a pair of manacles. He skulks behind the wizard-villain and goes to handcuff when the wizard-villain starts cackling maniacally. The laughter is quickly followed by a forming orb of purplish-black light—the same light as the magic bolts.

Oh, fuck! Is Dragonbug's only thought as she immediately dives at Red Robin, who's started backing away; she uses herself to try and block him from the still-forming orb. Please let the Miraculous magic protect us both! She silently begs as the orb expands exponentially, unfortunately enveloping them both completely in a fraction of a second

The maniacal laughter is the last thing they both hear as they're violently launched backwards into an alleyway, and everything fades to black.

==‹›==

Kagami's lounging on the sofa at Tim's Nest and binging Netflix, when the red alert rings across all the comms units.

“Shit,” Oracle falters, “Red Robin and Dragonbug are down. Dragonbug's signature has disappeared from our systems and her comms aren't responding. All Red Robin's vitals are down, his suit isn't registering any more signs of life. But I'm still getting warnings that the villain they were fighting is still active, so everyone available needs to converge on Red Robin and Dragonbug's last known location.”

Fear immediately seizes Kagami's heart, no please, please don't be dead my loves. She double-taps her comms. “I'm suiting up as Kuro Neko, I'll be at the location in three.”

With that said, Kagami flings herself off the sofa. She glances around the room for Plagg who's halted in his eating of cheese and giving her a sad but cryptic look. Her eyes flicker to the window and he nods almost imperceptibly.

“Plagg, claws on.” There's a woosh as the poisonous green light washes over her, donning her in the Kuro Neko suit. She flexes her claws for a split second, tail whipping back and forth furiously, before darting over to the window and vaulting out of it.

As soon as she's out the window, Kuro Neko extends her baton down and begins pole-vaulting her way across the rooftops and over towards where her significant others were last.

==‹›==

When Dragonbug returns to consciousness, the first thing she notices is that she can't move, nor see, nor hear. But she can feel, and unfortunately that means she feels a strange painful pulsing throughout her entire body, as well as an excruciating aching sensation. The second thing she notices is that she's curled up on the ground and her head, or the world, is spinning somewhat. Anyway, I can safely say I'm not doing so good right about now, big ouch.

The first of her other senses to return is her hearing. Which immediately makes her hiss in pain from the sudden cacophony seemingly coming from somewhere above her? She pauses, then realises that something's not quite right, hey wait a minute, why'd my hiss sound so weird? Something's not right, although I suppose that's kinda obvious now, but still! Oh god, what if I'm dying, or I've been body switched, or—or—or—

Her thoughts are interrupted by a sudden scream of fury, ringing out from above. Which is good because it means Dragonbug doesn't get time to dwell on that particular string of anxious thoughts, but it's also bad because it's loud and causes her to whimper in pain from how loud it is.

“Where the fuck are they? What the fuck did you do to them?” A voice sounding very similar to Kagami yells out.

Wait a second, that doesn't make sense, Red Robin and I didn't call for backup, so why would Kagami suit up on her night off? Dragonbug muses to herself, brain immediately latching onto the next train of thoughts. As she muses, she slowly realises that she's starting to regain the feeling in her limbs. Which is another positive? However, the feel of said limbs, causes her mind to immediately blank and lose the train of thought. While her brain tries to figuratively perform an error message, she does finally manage to crack open her eyes, yay sight.

It's at that moment, Dragonbug's superhero experience/training kicks in. She quickly takes stock of her surroundings and quietly thinks to herself, oh fuck.

It looks like she's in a giant—no massive—version of Red Robin's suit. Have I been shrunk? She wonders for only a brief second as something moves, just out of the area of her view. She turns and squints at the movement. Not a second later, a roughly cat-sized red lizard shuffled into sight.

She squeaks in surprise, then has a minute of wait what because her squeak sounded weird and very concerningly not-human-like.

The red lizard tilts its head to the side and coos at her.

Dragonbug glares at the lizard and tries to back away. Emphasis on tries, because as she does so, she ends up tripping over herself? Confused and extremely concerned now, she glances down and oh.

What. The. Heckles. She slowly spins around, checking out her new form, because she's clearly no longer human. No, she's got a snout, scales, fur—well mane—, claws, a long snakelike body, and a tail. Spinning around, she catches sight of a gleaming piece of shiny silver metal. So does what anyone would in the same situation as her, and scuttles over to it to use it as a makeshift mirror.

The reflection that greets her is… frankly quite adorable but also she's now a tiny little lung/long dragon. Which to be fair, makes quite a bit of sense as she was using the dragon Miraculous and Longg is a lung dragon. Her scales are a pretty red with shimmery golden accents and her mane is a dark red-almost-black colour. Her eyes still have the golden yellow iris and sclera that the dragon Miraculous gives. And the rest of her is all done variation of the gold, brighter red, and darker red. So at least her colour palette doesn't clash. Okay, so the colour palette isn't the most pressing issue here, but also I don't know how to fix this or change back so y'know, I'd rather potentially be stuck like this permanently with a nice colour palette, than one that clashes. But also oh god please don't let this be permanent, there has to be a way to undo this!

In her panic, Marinette doesn't notice the red lizard slinking closer to her. As it reaches her, it gently prods her with one claw; startling her badly and causing her to squeak again, loudly.

The red lizard flinches back and Marinette realises that maybe, just maybe, that's not a random lizard. And that maybe the not-a-random-lizard is actually a drake. A European dragon that hasn't got wings. And Tim. Tim's surname is Drake. A coincidence? I think not! It's got to be Tim!

She stares at the probably-Tim dragon and makes a chirping noise because dragons don't have the same vocal cords as humans, so she can't exactly ask him if that's him or not. A minor nuisance, to say the least.

The red drake mimics her chirp. Then cautiously slinks up to her again.

This close, Marinette can see that she's probably around the size of a ferret, in comparison to him being roughly the same size as a cat.

He flops down half beside, half against her and makes a series of clicks and chirps. She can't help but to tense as he flops but as the seconds pass, she finds herself relaxing bit by bit until she's also flopped over.

Enjoying the peaceful impromptu not-quite-a-cuddle cuddle session with one of her significant others, Marinette does try to keep an ear out for any goings-on above, just in case. But all seems well.

That is until, not even three seconds later, the peacefulness is abruptly shattered by a cacophony of screams, yells, zaps, and loud bangs echoing shrilly from above, before ceasing just as abruptly as it started.

However, the unexpected cacophony still manages to cause Marinette to panic. She tenses with a low whine, hunching slightly, and holds her breath. Alert and anxiously vigilant, she can't help but survey the immediate vicinity again and again and again—looking for anything she missed initially or if anything's changed.

Tim shuffles and stumbles into a sitting position. He nudges her gently in the side of the neck with his snout. He makes a cooing noise, followed by a soft rumble—as if he were trying to imitate a cat's purr.

It takes a few seconds, but his actions start to help calm her down. She takes in a deep breath and mentally reassesses the situation. We've been turned into tiny dragons. We're inside-slash-underneath the Red Robin suit which is on the ground. Before we woke up like this, we were battling a magic-user villain who tricked us. We didn't get time to call in backup before we got hit but it sounds like backup arrived anyway. As far as we know, no one is aware of what happened to us or that we're in-slash-under the suit. We are currently safe for now.

As Marinette reaches the end of the reassessment, she feels much calmer. She makes a low trill-like-purr noise to signal to Tim that she's calmed down.

He sticks his tongue out in a blep and mimics the low trill.

Their second moment of calm is then also interrupted because apparently fate hates peace and calmness or something like that.

“I will ask you once more, Where. Are. They?” Kuro Neko questions.

There's a loud thump-snap, followed by the wheezing cackle of the Wizard-villain. “They're gone! Dead! Erased! Exterminated!” With its piece said, the wizard-villain continues to wheeze and cackle maniacally.

Marinette can't help but shiver in fear at the sound, barely able to squash the rising nausea.

A harsh snap sound echoes loudly in the street and the wizard-villain starts choking wetly.

Kuro Neko hisses something but the red robin suit muffles the words to the point of being indistinguishable.

The minutes drag by and the only sounds of note from above, are inaudible mutterings and the clattering of handcuffs and car doors. They must've handed the wizard-villain over to the police, Marinette thinks.

She's about to go nudge Tim to try and communicate that they probably need to go find somewhere to stash his suit and a place for them to hide until they can figure out how to turn back when a conversation between the vigilantes who arrived for backup catches her attention. Partly because of the topic, and partly because of how close the voices suddenly sound.

“They can't be dead, Red Robin's suit is still there.” Dick—or well more like Nightwing, since he probably arrived as backup as well—stresses.

“But Dragonbug an' her suit's gone. You'd think maybe that there'd be a little more left if just organic matter was destroyed.” Jas—Red Hood mutters, the vocal distorter in his helmet making his tone of voice sound strange.

Or maybe that's just a side effect of getting tiny-dragon-ified, thinks Marinette, things sounding stranger. Although I've not really noticed anything bar the distorted voice sounding weird.

“The Miraculous suits are made of magic, and anyway, Plagg says he can't feel Tikki or Longg's presence anywhere,” Kuro Neko admits, reluctantly. “If all living things in the vicinity of the orb were destroyed, then the Miraculous would have still been left behind.”

“And how d'you know that?” Red Hood asks, sounding both genuinely curious and mildly concerned.

There's a split second of almost icy silence before Kuro Neko responds with a clipped tone. “Akuma.”

“Ah, o'course.” Red Hood comments, voice getting closer again. “Hey, d'you think B will want to stick the Red Robin suit in a memorial case like what he did with my Robin suit?”

“Hood!” Nightwing exclaims in a horrified and almost scandalised tone of voice.

Red Hood snorts.

Marinette flinches, and so does Tim beside her, although probably not for the same reasons as her. I don't think I'll ever get used to how flippantly Red Hood jokes about his death. Even if most Parisians who've died in Akuma attacks use the same sort of gallows humour.

There's a few seconds of silence before someone grabs the Red Robin suit and yanks it upwards, causing Tim and Marinette to tumble out of it with a series of startled squeaks and clicks.

Red Hood is the first to respond to the situation, with an eloquent, “what the fuck.”

Marinette glances up and sees Kuro Neko holding the Red Robin suit and looking rather shell shocked, with Red Hood and Nightwing a few steps away.

“Oh, thank fuck they're alive.” Nightwing half mumbles, dragging a hand down his face in exasperation.

“My loves,” Kuro Neko murmurs leaning down and scooping up Marinette and Tim, “I'm so glad you're okay.”

They both squirm for a minute before relaxing into her arms.

Nightwing frowns. “We should bring them back to the cave, maybe call Zatanna and Wonder Woman.”

“To the cave then.” Kuro Neko nods, hugging Marinette and Tim carefully, making sure not to accidentally hurt or squish them.

Marinette looks up at her significant other and bleps. She then trills, content to be held for the journey back to the Batcave.

Tim however, wrinkles his nose and chirrups in protest, he squirms and tries to escape Kuro Neko's hold—probably wanting to return to the Nest and deal with this on his own instead.

Kuro Neko gives Tim a deadpan stare before expertly pinching the correct pressure point to temporarily paralyse him.

Red Hood gives her a quizzical stare.

“Akuma, as well as kwami.” She responds, sagely.

“Right…” He slowly mutters, shaking his head.

Marinette can't help but burst into laughter at that, only because she's currently a ferret-sized lung dragon, the laughter comes out as a stream of trills and chirps.

Red Hood narrows his eyes at Marinette. “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, danger noodle.”

Marinette pouts, whilst internally promising herself that revenge will be swift and pasta themed.

==‹›==

When they finally arrive back at the Batcave. They're greeted by the sight of Batman and Robin at the Batcomputer.

Robin turns and sneers at them. “Of course, trust Drake to pull such an attention-grabbing stunt as this.”

Marinette immediately looks up from her snuggled up position in Kuro Nell's arms and hisses at Robin; Tim however, lets out a world-weary sigh.

“Robin.” Barks Batman, but the reprimand does nothing to quell Robin's hostility.

Fixing a glare at Robin, Kuro Neko starts to stroke Marinette's scales like an evil villain would stroke a cat (much to Marinette's delight). “Need I remind you, how you hesitated upon hearing Oracle inform us that Red Robin's suit ceased reading any signs of life.”

“That was not hesitation! I was merely preparing for Grayson or Fatgirl to become hysterical in their distress.” Retorts Robin, who then stalks away, scowling and red-faced.

Nightwing dithers between going after him or staying to check on Tim and Marinette.

Kuro Neko shakes her head. “Go after him, Marinette and Tim will be fine without you hovering like a mother hen.”

Nightwing flashes her a grateful smile and scampers after Robin.

Kuro Neko then heads over to the medical bay and gently plonks the two dragons onto a cot. “Batman, I believe we will need to do as Nightwing suggested earlier, and call Zatanna and Wonder Woman. As this is a magic situation and I am not as skilled or knowledgeable in regards to magic as my love is.”

“Hhrrm,” Batman growls, already calling up the Watchtower.

Kuro Neko smiles softly as she glances down at her significant others, eyes twinkling with mirth. “Let's hope they arrive soon, otherwise who knows what sort of trouble you two could get into.” She winks.

Marinette chirps, tail flicking side to side eagerly. Whilst Tim perks up slightly and tilts his head to the side, mind probably racing with hundreds of pranks and shenanigans they could pull off whilst in dragon form.

==‹›==

| Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this little oneshot! Comments, likes, and reblogs are much appreciated! |

| @maribat-march2020 | | @vixen-uchiha |

[ashleyswrittenwords]

The Queen’s Tournament II

A ZeLink Fanfiction (Part Two of Three)

(Art by the wonderful @ramibriidge)

Summary: Princess Zelda is ready for her coronation. Her court, however, is not. In an effort for a King, the ministers pressure the crown princess into agreeing to marry whoever champions in a tournament any man in the kingdom can participate in.

Note: Thank you for all the kind words! I loved writing this and it brings me so much happiness to see others enjoying it as well. Happy Thanksgiving! So, a little forewarning - I wrote a good chunk of this in segments... and not everything lines up with TP. (It was supposed to be more AU, but like work with me. It makes sense I swear it.)

The Queen’s Tournament

The maids had come in to draw a bath and left. The excuse of horseback riding had been a better excuse than she thought. Dirt clung to Zelda and made her look awfully unroyal. Thankfully, no one asked questions. The court knew of her infamous distaste for suitors and her absence was somewhat expected. So, when Impa barged into the room when Zelda was neck deep in a bubble bath she was shocked.

“What were you thinking?!” Impa berated the princess, her hands flailing. It was always like that when she was reprimanding the princess for something or other. Zelda made the woman so baffled that words alone couldn’t contain her frustrations.

“I can explain-” she started, only to be interrupted by the exasperated sounds of her advisor.

“When I taught you to use your blessings, I didn’t mean for this!”

Zelda clamored down and watched as Impa paced the room speaking out a frustrated monologue, “What will the court think? The public? And not to mention the men who signed up for this ridiculous thing. There were lords, Zelda. What if – goodness – and you won’t win. Surely. I cannot fathom what – What could possess you to –”

“Why wouldn’t I win, Impa?” Zelda said after she calmed herself. Her expression was supposed to be assuring, but from the bubble bath it looked more childish than anything. For a moment, Impa saw the little girl she helped raise. No more was she small, defenseless and motherless against a cold world.

Impa looked resigned and voiced it in a sigh, “After today? …You have a chance.” She threw her hands up and shook her head, an internal war with herself came to a head. “I worry for you, child.”

“But do you trust me?” The princess caught her advisor’s attention. Zelda sounded like her father. Bold, even without needing assurance or support from others.

“I do. My concern is that you will get hurt,” Impa pulled a vial from the pouch she carried. It was thin and a pink color glowed from it. “Take this before bed. In the morning you will have enough energy to strengthen your spell for the next event.”

With wide eyes, Zelda took it from Impa into her hands. The vial was a rejuvenation potion and would cause her fatigue with the spell to dissipate by morning.

“Thank you, Impa. I’m indebted to you,” she said softly, a smile overtaking her features.

“Nonsense. I know I’m unable to stop you. I should at least help you avoid embarrassing yourself,” Impa retreated to the door and turned momentarily. “Get yourself cleaned. You look like you spent the afternoon rolling in dirt.”

Zelda laughed breathlessly and sunk deeper into the soapy water as the door shut. The vial was placed on the same stool that her night gown sat on. A warm feeling surged in her chest and she felt deep appreciation. It felt nice for someone else to know her little secret. She always believed that the weight of secrets was greater than their worth. A part of her wanted to tell Link after the competition today and ended up chickening out only to end up having him stop her.

Her eye twitched in remembering the intonation of his voice and the sharpness in his blue eyes. She didn’t realize Yoland looked angry. If anything, Link did. It was strange to see that in him. He was usually so reserved. He could break down her walls so easily. This different side of him asked her of her intentions, pressing for answers that should have been self-evident. He was supposed to be who he was to Zelda. Kind, well-meaning, brave, and everything those silly maids gossiped about. Everything he exuded to the princess. The said woman’s face burned at the thought of his voice in her ear as she cleansed the grime off her pale, soft skin. His breath. The way Link’s hands lingered above her hips as he corrected her stance.

Zelda breathed in sharply at the cold air as she stood from the steamy water to grab a towel. Evidently, this wasn’t the case. Maybe the Link she saw wasn’t who he really was. The unsaid accusations humored a darker part of herself.

A bitter laugh rose in her chest just as it did then. If he wanted a villain, he’ll get one.

  The mask went on easy today. Yoland Romerok didn’t look much different than he did the day prior, the only difference was that he was adorned in the appropriate riding boots. Other than that, he still had the thick black braid and narrow eyes that hid Zelda’s own bit of mischief. She wondered dully if Link felt threatened by Yoland’s presence because he seemed to have his attention when the door was opened.

Yoland Romerok matched the Hero of Hyrule’s glare. An idea dawned on Zelda and she strolled over to the crate he was sitting on. “Good morning,” Yoland said indignantly, plopping down into a seat on the floor beside it.

“What are you doing?” The blond man said, peering down from the crate. He looked more confused than annoyed.

She didn’t bother looking up. “I’m sitting. What are you doing?”

He didn’t answer. Finally, Zelda looked up hoping to look bored. His expression satisfied her, Link looked frustrated as he tried to place the person in front of him. Despite that, he didn’t respond and refused to the rest of their time sitting together. They had called for the competitors to line-up before the event was officially started as they were yesterday. Link seemed to jump from the crate and as they organized in the line, Zelda was thrilled as she learned that Yoland would be standing behind the coveted hero.

“So, what are you doing here?” Zelda tried speaking lower. If she hadn’t had so much at stake she would have giggled, a thin grin covered her features instead.

Link sighed out of exasperation, obviously not thrilled with the placement. His tone communicated no different, “What do you think I’m here for?”

Yoland quirked his lips to the side, looking like he was mulling over the many options. “Maybe make a quick change to your title, perhaps? King does sound a lot more appealing than hero.”

An icy blue glare cut Zelda’s taunting short.

“I would never-,” he closed his eyes and touched his hand to his forehead. “Never mind.”

Zelda blinked with an eyebrow raised. The line was moving fast than she had previously realized and taking a quick peek to the front made her realize why. They were moving people out in pairs onto individual chariots that were attached to horses. The chariots looked less like glorified military accessories and more like wagons they had taken on the street and halved. “This is the best they could come up with?” Link muttered under his breath. Underneath the mask, she had to agree. They had simply said that horses would be involved yesterday, so Zelda had assumed what Link had – horse back riding. Perhaps another archery competition.

As their time came, Zelda took the opportunity to examine the equipment it contained. A short sword, a longsword, and a bow along with a quiver of arrows. One look at the horse told her that this wasn’t the type of race she was expecting. The horses were draped in armor and Zelda surmised that she may want a suit of her own. With a pull of the reigns, the chariot jolted forward and she allowed the horse to lead her to the rest of her peers.

The makeshift arena seemed larger with the absence of the targets. In their place was an outline of the track. It was wide and water barrels lined the border.

Adrenaline jolted her nerves as the announcers began rattling off to the screaming audience. Zelda glanced at Link who was looking ahead with a hardened expression. Then she looked behind her, immediately regretting it. Lord Ganondorf stood in his chariot several pair behind her with a smile that could sharpen knives. A quick flashback to her time in military history courses were evidence enough why he looked like a bull in a china shop. The Gerudo had invented chariots centuries ago and they had been proven to be quite effective time and time again.

A deep breath in and out. She narrowed her eyes and forced herself to attention. There was no time to quit now. A score of men were handing out leather helmets as if that would make a difference. “The competitors are to not outright harm the horses as they are the crown’s property after all,” the announcer said cheekily, this garnered a laugh from the stands. The man in front of Zelda seemed to be weighting his options because he was speaking out every bit of anxiety to the world.

“Shut up!” The man beside him hissed just as the next set of rules were given.

“In conjunction with that, competitors are given the choice to attack the chariots of their rivals. However, direct combat is strictly prohibited in the arena.”

As the details were rattled off, she realized it was a formal way of saying that there was a fair possibility that men could fall from their shoddy wagons and be stampeded. “Brilliant,” Yoland muttered, watching as the same suitor before her walked from his own chariot and towards the exit. He was moving fast, but people in the stands were beginning to take notice. The crowd began booing excessively. Archery had narrowed the competition from seventy to twenty-two, now the race was narrowing that number further before it even started.

Zelda gripped the reigns in her hands and widened her stance. She had ridden in one before for a parade in Gerudo Town. Another time during a short outing and even then they didn’t look like the ones constructed for this event. A Gerudo woman walked into view with a colored flag. The people in the stands started stomping in anticipation, it reminded her of a sports game. She drowned it out.

Her heart pounded. The woman raised the flag in the air.

Focus.

The flag dropped through the air and chaos irrupted. Zelda whipped the reigns down harshly and the chariot jolted forward. Horses around her whined and she pulled ahead. The wagon let Zelda feel every bit of the ground. Each pebble she ran over gave the entire rolling death trap a jolt. She pursed her lips and bent her knees more, hoping for more balance. Spurring the horse faster, she covered the ground of in front of her and took advantage of the now vacant spot. Her eyes darting behind her when she heard a scream as the first turn came to a head. Lord Ganondorf had wedge a long sword between him and his opponent. To her horror, he cut one of the traces that connected the horse to the chariot. The rider lost control of the horse as he was flipped out of his transport. She swallowed a yell and promptly turned to face forward before seeing anything more.

Her horse wedged her own chariot in between the two in front. Glancing to her left it was apparent that Link had gotten the same idea to gain ground early on. He was looking at Yoland with a bewildered look. Zelda grinned, “Pardon me.”

With a short yell to the horse and a hiking of the reigns, the animal drug her forward. She weaved upward in the line. Zelda could see it now; she was near the front. A piece of her felt bad and she promised herself that she would find this horse afterward, but now wasn’t the time to make amends.

There was commotion behind her and she glanced that direction. Yellow eyes snapped to hers and Zelda gasped. How could he possibly gain that much ground that quickly? Link just behind her was pulling at an arrow stuck in the side of his wagon, uncomfortably close to the wheel. The next turn allowed her to pull ahead, but she ended up finding herself slammed against an older fellow. He looked at her in surprise and drew the longsword. She yelped as he aimed for the reigns, causing her to pull back and slow the horse. Zelda cursed.

A smug looking Link passed her, but he was constantly turning. “Heyah!” A deep voice yelled and a large, belligerent Gerudo appeared next to her. His lip was upturned in a scowl as if bothered by her presence alone. He jerked his reigns to the side, colliding into her wagon. Zelda screamed and hung onto the sides. Her feet lost their place and for a moment she feared she would fall out. The motion spooked her horse.

With wide eyes, she watched as Ganondorf drew a blade and aimed a slash at her own trace like he did to the last man who crossed his path. Zelda passed the reign to one hand, grabbing the short sword and prayed it was light enough. She gritted her teeth and crossed his sword with her own. A loud clanking sound was heard. The crowd roared.

“Pathetic!” The lord bellowed at her. Slashing his blade down. Zelda ducked and the hilt of his sword bounced off the wooden side. With her distracted, he barred down onto the trace. The chariot jerked and Zelda shouted. She popped back up and watched the leather tear. An arrow smacked into the front of Ganondorf’s wagon and Yoland stared wide-eyed at Link, who dropped the bow for his reigns and pulled forward. The offended man was angry and went to reciprocate the attack. An idea sprouted in her head and Zelda stared at the wheel of Ganondorf’s chariot. Her grasp tightened around her short sword, she moved the horse closer to his. Holding the blade like a spear, she gathered her strength and slammed the short sword into the wheel. It wedged with the motion and the wheeled stalled.

Zelda watched with bated breath as the aggrieved lord was engulfed by the stragglers and disappeared. Her relief didn’t last long as a snapping sound was heard. The trace was slowly giving out and Zelda panicked. There was only one thing that came to mine. The horse didn’t seem to notice anything amiss and followed the turn with the rest. With shaking hands, Zelda held the reigns in her teeth and climbed onto the front of the chariot. She grasped onto the horse just in time for a bump to rock the wagon. Her eyes darted to the trace. There wasn’t time to pause.

Once she had climbed onto the horse’s back, her hands worked undoing the opposite support that held the wagon in place.

  Zelda?

It was where his mind went when he heard a scream. Link’s head snapped back just in time to see Yoland batting away a longsword headed for the axel of his chariot.

There were already several people carried away on stretchers. Link had counted. Needless to say, the Gerudo politician was every bit more dangerous than he thought. So when there was an opportunity to distract the man, it was only natural that he repaid the arrow that was shot at him earlier. It had given Yoland the chance to go after one of his wheels, but the leather trace had already been cut. Link was juggling with looking at the road ahead and the disaster waiting to happen behind.

Then, next thing he saw was Yoland riding on horseback beside him with the lost chariot rolling towards the inside of the track. To say the least, he was surprised. The horses didn’t have saddles and the man still held onto the reigns. That couldn’t have been comfortable.

Link didn’t dwell on it long. He had a race to win and the white flag told him this was the last lap. The whipped down the reigns and spurred the horse to run faster. There were two men other than Yoland in front of him, one of which he passed. The stands thundered and he asked himself if the princess knew this was happening. A chill slid down his spine and he had a feeling Ganondorf didn’t stray far behind.

He passed the last man and just barely reached Yoland before crossing the finish line.

Link could barely hear himself think. He stepped off the sorry excuse for a chariot and took a deep breath. Out of the corner of his eye, Yoland basically fell from the horse and laid on his back. Some medics came by but the man shoed them away.

“Are you still alive?” Link said as he stood over him.

“Yes, I just,” Yoland paused and closed his eyes. Letting his head drop back to the dirt he spoke again, “I just need a moment. I’m sorry, by the way.”

“Sorry?” Link echoed.

“Oh, yes,” his dark eyes met Link’s from the ground as an arrogant grin crossed his features, “You ate so much of my dust during that race.”

She tied the bath robe tightly around her waist, frustrated by its slipping ties. Her thighs ached. Who knew riding bareback on a horse could be so painful?

Zelda had been brushing out the knots from her hair and the thought of cutting it crossed her mind for a moment, but she relented. Impa would have a fit over it. The image of the woman’s reaction made her giggle and she wondered if the kingdom had ever had a short-haired queen.

A knock at the door cut through her fantasies.

“Yes?” Zelda called out idly. There wasn’t a reply and curiosity got the best of her.

With a sigh, she set down the hairbrush and crossed her bedroom. The quarters door was pulled open just enough where she could pop her head out and repeat her phrase, “Yes?”

The sight of Link was unexpected.

He stopped in mid-sentence at her appearance. The two stayed frozen, staring, until Zelda breathed out an unsteady sentence, “I thought you were the maids.” Footsteps sounded down the hall and Zelda’s brow furrowed. He shouldn’t be here. Oh, Hylia, he should not be here. The footsteps thundered louder. Link had the same alarm in his eyes as they darted back to her, so she made a decision. Zelda grasped the collar of his tunic and tugged harshly, pulling him inside and shutting the door with a quickness she didn’t know she was capable of.

They stood awkwardly close as the footsteps and the chattering of servants arrived and disappeared.

“What are you doing?” Link hissed in a whisper. His voice sounded hoarse.

Zelda crossed her arms, “Trying to save us from more trouble. What are you doing?” They were closer than she expected because her forearms brushed his abdomen. It was difficult to maintain a serious expression when her brain was becoming increasingly flustered.

Link mirrored her tone, “Yeah, it’ll save us a lot of trouble when someone finds me in your room with you half naked.”

She fumed, looked down to see that the silk robe had slid to reveal more cleavage than she meant to. It stopped at her knees. With a red face, she turned and yanked the fabric together. “Well,” the woman huffed irritably, “Well, do you have any better ideas?”

There was a pause. “No.”

Her slippers slid on the floor and she stepped away, folding her arms once more. “So, what is it?” Her voice was thick, betraying her.

Link shrugged loosely, his hand reaching up to rub his neck. For the first time, she took a moment to take him in. He was wearing the same clothes from the race and dirt marred his cheeks. He wasn’t as tense as when speaking with Yoland and for a moment it felt like the tournament wasn’t happening. That she wasn’t about to battle with the court over her stake in power. Everything felt nearly normal again. If she were to let herself forget her worries, it would be just like any old night of stealing away together to talk about their frustrations. No tenseness, no qualms, and reassurance of his comforting presence. However, this wasn’t the same. There was an intensity in the air between them and the lingering implications of his whereabouts. Despite looking like a princess, Zelda’s subconscious clung to the frustrations Yoland had felt towards him. After all, it was difficult to separate the headspaces.

“I wanted to check to see if you were okay.”

“I,” her mouth spoke before her brain could process and she ended up copying his shrug. “As best as I can be, I suppose.”

He was frowning. “I’m sorry.”

Zelda’s eyes trailing to the floor and she kicked the air. There felt like an elephant in the room. She cocked her head to the side and peered up at him precariously, “I’ve heard you’ve been having quite a fun time recently.”

“No, I um,” Link laughed nervously, shaking his head as he diverted his gaze from her. “I don’t know about that.”

She pulled a lock of damp hair over her shoulder with a thin smile, “Sounds exciting. The ladies-in-waiting talk too much about it.”

Link seemed to be struggling with something. Zelda went to pester him. Bother him about why he was there. Why? The reason was obvious, but it felt artificial to break Link’s complexities down to simply wanting the throne. Instead, Zelda wanted to taunt him and distract herself from dissecting him further. Before she could do just that he spoke first.

“It just feels strange to not talk to a friend in over a week.”

Zelda’s parted lips froze in mid-jest and closed. Her breath seemed to catch as well because as Link looked at her. He was so genuine. His blue eyes were eased, almost sad. Guilt coiled in her stomach. She hadn’t thought of it that way. In her eyes, she had spoken to him. Fairly frequently at that. However that wasn’t her, was it? Yoland wasn’t Zelda to Link. She hadn’t properly spoken to him since he had given her that ridiculous list.

Link swallowed thickly before she could offer an apology, “I’ll go.” His hand was already on the door nob and her words in her throat. Not one had left her lips when he slipped out and left her alone again.

  Impa flopped a stack of papers onto the bed as Zelda finished up her braid. The sky was still dark due to the early morning hours. She looked up questionably and before she could voice it, the advisor answered. “They’re all covering your tournament,” she said idly, reaching behind the girl to smooth over loose ends of her locks. “Tabloids to political periodicals to entertainment magazines.”

She reached over to thumb through the first newspaper. An illustration covered the front page it was a recreation of Yoland and Link on those sorry excuses for chariots. They were dramatically glaring dagger at each other as they passed the finish line. She noticed they had missed the scar above Link’s eyebrow and made Yoland unnecessarily disheveled. Zelda raised her eyebrows as she skimmed over the headline. Impa moved to fish an outfit from the princess’s wardrobe, “They’re going crazy trying to find out who in Hyrule Yoland is and where you’ve been going during all this. The ministers are concerned, obviously, that their future king will either be an out of control soldier or a complete nobody.”

The Hero of Hyrule Out-Bested by the Hero of Nothing?

“They don’t like Link?” She yawned and set down the article. The attempt to sound nonchalant was flimsy. Impa had given her a look through the mirror.

The woman pursed her lips, “He’s not… well, he’s not a prince. There were talks about that Gerudo aristocrat. However, the public has always put Link on a pedestal. You know that.”

“The prime minister signed the agreement just as I was forced to,” Zelda said, not without a smile escaping. A thin veil of pink graced her cheeks. She wasn’t used to talking about Link like this. Not when he had a chance at being her husband within the next six months, and though this wasn’t the preferred situation her heart betrayed her mind with its incessant beating. Impa hummed knowingly and laid out some clothes. Unsurprisingly, it was difficult to find masculine attire in a closet made for a princess. Thus, why she had worn the same drab outfit for the last two days.

The older woman gave Zelda a hard stare. “Today is not the day to mess up.”

“Which is precisely why I will not ‘mess up’,” she smiled lightly, pulling on a navy tunic. She always preferred to dress herself before the spell. Somehow it looked more complete that way; it made it where she wouldn’t have any last-minute doubts. “Besides, I’m sure it will be no more entertaining than fencing with how many restrictions the judges have added.”

The rules were made clear several times over. Though the tournament was publicized as being close to gladiatorial combat, there would be no killing and no excessive violence. Children would be present in the stands and, according to the court, it would be of bad taste otherwise. Weapons would be provided within the arena and the style of combat was dependent on the individual’s background. No doubt, this would create quite a spectacle for anyone in attendance. Anxiety gnawed at the princess’s gut. This was it.

There was one reason why they had woken up so early to prepare for the tournament. Impa had been tipped off that the ladies of the court would try to march up to Princess Zelda’s room under the pretenses of preparing to see her future fiancé. Her daily horseback rides as of late were dampening the dramatics apparently. The notion made her stomach churn and she was again reminded of her deep appreciation for the older woman who was now shooing her off through the glass-paned door.

The balcony attached to her room led to a walkway. That walkway ended in a series of spiraling steps to the castle garden. The perfect place for the princess’s antics because with the longer summer days, the general gardening staff tended to arrive later. Zelda took her time this morning to walk through the various flower patches. It wasn’t common that time was found in the day to enjoy the garden and its many luxuries. Whenever she did manage that, it went towards preparing for the Queen’s Tournament.

Even in the dim lighting from the castle torches, the rose bushes gave off a brilliant red. Her shoulders loosened and just for a moment the troubles of the near future faded from her mind. A heavy sigh filled her lungs and during the exhale the imaginary weight of her crown settled back in. Zelda willing herself to focus and waved a hand. It wasn’t possible to feel the masking spell, so she diligently watched her hands tan and her fingers become more calloused. Just to triple check, she pulled her newly blackened braid to the front.

Zelda’s ears quirked upward at the sound of shifting gravel and she stiffened. Thoughts raced through her mind of who it possibly could be. Impa was preparing an excuse to tell the court about her absence, so it couldn’t be her. A stray castle guard? It wasn’t impossible, but they rarely went farther from their posts on the wall. It was the best vantage point. The princess silently ran through her excuses. Yoland Romerok secretly snooping around castle grounds. That wouldn’t paint the prettiest picture if he is found directly outside the princess’s terrace.

Like any rational person caught in a criminalizing position, she froze. She froze with her head craned to the sound for about five minutes until a white fluff ball jumped out of a bush. The formidable Yoland nearly let out a high-pitched scream. Instead he put a hand to his chest with wide eyes. A nervous laugh escaped. Zelda’s perusal of the royal garden was cut short by a small white rabbit and opted to head towards the tournament site a little earlier this morning.

  His mornings were like clockwork. Link woke up early, he grabbed food, and prepared himself for the day before anyone else had. But this morning was different. Instead, he sat up from his bed and stared at the wall in a state of dreariness. When he rationalized to himself that yes, last night did indeed happen, Link sunk back down into the covers and promptly pulled the sheets over his head. His decision to ask of her well-being was born out of a deep seeded worry that something was wrong. Zelda had a nasty habit of voicing her every opinion. It hadn’t bothered him before, if anything it was entertaining to see. It meant that she trusted him enough to stay up at unholy hours of the night discussing seemingly mundane topics. And when those nights did come around, she spoke with such vigor and excitement. It had him hanging onto every word.

Now, it was different. Even when Link told himself time and time again that this was worth it, the cost of her words had affected him more than he cared to admit. Why did she have to open that door in the state she was in? The pink robe had barely reached her knees. Her hair was still wet from a bath and the expression on her face when he saw him made him forget the entire monologue he had rehearsed. It was another reminder that Zelda was gorgeous. He could win this tournament, forget about giving her a choice, and be the luckiest man in history. A groan escaped him and he wanted nothing more than to blip out of existence at the thought. That was wrong. No, that was beyond wrong.

Link pushed himself from the bed and blindly felt around for an abandoned shirt. He mumbled incoherently and stumbled out of the guest room. Food somehow found his way to him, but now he felt sick. His early morning reflections had only frustrated himself more. As usual, there weren’t many people out and about. After all, it was summer. The days were long and it made the staff slower. It was something Link didn’t understand. He got up to beat the heat of the daytime, but he did enjoy the stillness to an otherwise busy hive of people.

The man stared at himself critically in the mirror. He looked like hell. Circles were beginning to appear under his eyes and the scowl on his face wasn’t helping matters either. After washing his face with hot water, he grabbed a razorblade and carefully ran it over his cheeks, shaving the stubble that was starting to appear. Today would be it. It was the last day of the Queen’s Tournament, then it would be done. He sighed, it wasn’t as easy as he expected it would be. His chances were slimmer, but that didn’t allow him to let an inkling of a doubt plant in his mind. There would be no if. When he wins today, he’ll ask Zelda what she wanted. And when she inevitably says to leave it’ll be all up to him.

Link quirked his lip to the side in the mirror. What would he do then? Maybe he’ll fake his own death and escape to Zora’s Domain. They’ve always been pretty indifferent to him over there. The hero left the bathroom and wandered to a closet. He’d always hated living under a microscope. It felt like everyone in the capital had their own reasons for doing things. Never did they do favors without expecting something in return. Genuine people were a dime a dozen. Link’s hands paused their lacing. The princess just so happened to be one.

The halls were still empty as Link strode towards the back of the estate. The sky was getting a hint of color amongst the stars as his boots hit the white gravel of the garden. It was a nice contrast to the vibrant colors of the plants. Then, his thoughts paused with his feet.

There was someone else here. They had paused too. Link swore to himself. He had heard it. Several fleeting minutes went by and there was a little shape that jumped from the rose bushes meters ahead of him. The person moved into view, staring at the rabbit with a whimsical expression. Link side-stepped behind a hedge of greenery, careful to avoid noise. With the retreating footsteps, he took a look around the hedge. A man with a long black braid. His eyes widened, momentarily flickering to the princess’s terrace where a shadow moved within. Link’s brows knitted and willed himself not to confront Yoland.

“What the fuck?” He whispered.

Part 3

[mamahanu]

fanfic tag game

I was tagged by @dragonnan. Thanks, friend! I love these!

Questions:

Ao3 Name: HanukoYoukai

Fandoms: ~long inhale~ Well... I’ve been writing for a while. A long while. So... I’m just gonna follow dragonnan’s example. Bear with me. 

Currently writing fic for (that are posted/going to be posted):

Final Fantasy

MCU

Captain America

Spider-Man

Deadpool

Avatar: the Last Airbender

Currently finished and recently posted (yes... there are WIPs for these fandoms, and yes, I’m still working on them):

Dragon Prince

Merlin

Wrote fics years ago (and I may still revisit the fandom):

Glee (on FFN)

Harry Potter

Wrote 1 or 2 fics but won’t write more:

Diabolo

Weiss Kreuz

Fruits Basket (deleted... it was bad. I’m not sorry it’s gone)

Wolf’s Rain (see above)

Haven’t published any fics yet but have (or had) ideas ~cracks knuckles~:

Doctor Who 

The Legend of Zelda

How to Train Your Dragon

FireFly

Split/Glass (crossover idea... it’s outlined...)

Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn

The Flash

DC

All up and coming plans are subject to change depending on my whims as a creator. ;-)

Number of fics: I’m only going to count the fics that are currently posted between Ao3 and FFN. 

Spider-Man/MCU/Captain America/Deadpool: 16 (this includes the crossover with Final Fantasy)

Dragon Prince: 1

Merlin: 4

Harry Potter: 1

Glee: 2

Diabolo: 2

Weiss Kreuz: 1

Total: 27

1. Fic you spent the most time on: Omertà hands down. Wow that fic... I mean, just posting it took 10 months. And I started writing it way before I posted the first chapter so, I think I spent about a year and some change on it. 

2. Fic you spent the least time on: So This is Christmas. I was a pinch hitter for an Irondad Secret Santa. I got this one written in a few hours due to the deadline. 

3. Longest Fic: Again, Omertà. The final word count on this bad boy is 154,668. 30 chapters. It was supposed to be 10 chapters and about 50,000 words. That did NOT happen. 

4. Shortest Fic:  I Like Oatmeal. The word count is 652 and it is easily the shortest thing I’ve ever written so far. This was just a fun little crack fic that broke me into the Merlin fandom. 

5. Most hits: In all honesty, this is a very difficult one to answer because as far as I can tell, FFN does not record hits very well. My two highest fics for Ao3 are  Omertà with 8008 to date, and You are in Control, I Disappear with 5450 to date (but it’s porn, so surprise, surprise.) On FFN, the fic with the highest hits (if I did my month-by-month math right) is The Trouble with Gossip (using the Ao3 link) with 6102 hits to date .

6. Most kudos:  Omertà again. Really, y’all should read it. It’s pretty good. ;-)

7. Most comment threads/ reviews: Want to guess? You got it! It’s Omertà! You all are so smart. :-)

8. Fave Fic you wrote: What? These are my babies. These are my blood, sweat, and tears. You want me to pick a favorite? You’re crazy. 

...

No, seriously, that’s a really hard question. I love them all and for very different reasons. So I’ll pick one that I haven’t mentioned yet. I’ll say Bear the Burden of Responsibility, which was the fic that broke me into the MCU/Spider-Man fandom (I’d been reading for forever, but this was the first one I wrote). It also was my intro to Irondad and Spiderson, which has been SO fun to write, and the community has been fantastic to be part of, in my opinion. 

9. Fic you want to rewrite/expand on: Hmm. Well, I’m already expanding on it, just slowly. I have a series called Take My Heart With You which is kind of an alternate reality/alternate universe series for Merlin. It mainly focuses on the gap between seasons 3 and 4, and events in season 4, but there is a relationship between Merlin and Percival that I’m playing around with. I also am touching on the friendship Merlin has with Gwen, so there may be elements from previous seasons added soon. I actually really enjoy that one, but I’ve lacked inspiration for it, so I haven’t been writing much in this universe lately. 

10. Share a bit of your WIP or share a story idea that you’re planning: How about both?

Love Runs Deeper than Blood

***SPOILERS! FOR MY READERS WHO WANT TO WAIT UNTIL I POST, SCROLL UNTIL YOU SEE THE NEXT BOLD TEXT!***

“Tarkik.”

“No.”

“Koko.”

“Hmm, maybe.”

“Nanouk?”

Kyra laughed, bouncing the baby boy on her knee. “You have great love for that name,” she said, grinning. Bato shrugged, wiggling his fingers at the boy and making him giggle.

When he brought the child to Kyra, she broke down in tears before immediately thanking the Great Spirits. She fell in love with his soft hair and golden eyes, and she held him like she could never let him go. Bato understood. He was like that with the boy the whole journey back.

“It’s a good, strong, water tribe name,” Bato defended, grinning. “What about Toklo? For your father?”

“My brother was named for my father already,” Kyra replied. “Maybe Tonraq?”

Bato made a face. “No,” he replied, shaking his head.

“Why not?”

“When I went Ice Dodging, the boy manning the main sail was named Tonraq. He’s the reason I have a scar on my boat,” Bato said, darkly. Kyra laughed.

“Well, there’s always Soomool,” she offered. Bato shrugged. They had been going over names for two days now. Even Kya and Hakoda offered input, with baby Sokka in tow. The new boy was fascinated with the chief’s son. Bato hoped they would become good friends. Kyra handed the boy to him and he lifted him up so their noses could touch. The boy went a little cross-eyed, making Bato laugh.

“You know what his eyes remind me of?” he asked Kyra.

“The sun?” she asked, grinning.

Bato shook his head. “No. Well, yes, I suppose. But they look like the sky during a storm, when lightning strikes.”

“You mean when the sky turns to gold for a moment?” Kyra asked, thoughtfully. Bato nodded. Kyra hummed in thought.

“What about Kallik?”

*** OKAY ALL CLEAR***

Story Idea - Spider-Man Villain/Anti-Hero AU:

Plot: What if Peter stopped the convenience store thief instead of letting him run away? Uncle Ben is still alive, and that major guilt he felt that acted as a catalyst for him to become Spider-Man and look out for the little guy isn’t there anymore. Instead Spidey is a wrestler, then a “hero” who asks for donations to his paypal, and then a mercenary. All his bad guys are now neutral contacts, and he frequently teams up with DP, Moon Knight, and Black Cat (among others), working for cold, hard cash. He drives Iron Man crazy, he baffles Captain America, and Black Widow has a soft spot for him (because she gets that double life). 

It’ll be fun when I get to writing it. I’ve got some semblance of an outline. ;-)

Tagged: I’ll tag @silentsaebyeok, @reachingforaspark, @blondsak, @jro616 and @kitcat992, as well as anyone else who wants to play. And if I tagged you and you don’t, no pressure! <3

[jacksgreysays]

Fake Fic Summaries 26/?, the Five Ways Love Hurts edition (2020-04-20)

A/N: I would like to preface this be reiterating the shameful fact that I still have yet to consume any canon BnHA. All of my knowledge is entirely from fanfiction, the occasional wiki-ing, and various meta analysis posts.

I mean... I don't think that really matters considering these are all fake AU/recursive ship fics, but I just feel like it's something I should warn people about?

Anyway, here we go!

~

1) clockwork hearts (the too many gears remix)

Or, when you're in love with an android because he's so human, but that android loves some other human entirely...

... and that other human hates your beloved android because he's not the real thing.

Aka, I read clockwork hearts by OneshotPrincess and thought to myself, how do I make this beautiful and sweet fic dramatic and sad? Throw some Bakugou into the mix!

Okay, so, I would highly recommend the fic--it's beautiful and sweet and pretty quick and also this next bit is spoiler-y/won't matter much if you haven't read it.

Anyway, clockwork hearts is a TodoDeku fic in which Izuku is an android, and Todoroki is a rich boy completely enamored by this android who seems so human.

And while I cannot say whether or not it's because the android IS based off a human Izuku in the original fic, I can say that's the situation in this little brainstorm because what if that was true? And so because android Izuku is based on human Izuku that would mean android Izuku loves (whether platonically or romantically) Bakugou.

But that means Bakugou knows (and maybe loves?) the human Izuku so android Izuku is like... a despicable artificial mockery in his eyes.

So I guess first I have to figure out what the BakuxHuman!Izuku side of this fic would be--like, is who/why does Human!Izuku have an android version of him? Is he in some way incapacitated or or missing/presumed dead or actually dead?--and then, second, I would have to figure how the TodoxAndroid!Izuku path crosses with the BakuxHuman!Izuku path.

I mean, if Human!Izuku is missing then maybe Android!Izuku has the clues to find him so Bakugou is like "hey, I need your shitty robot to find my [beloved] childhood friend" to Todoroki because he doesn't even think of Android!Izuku as being sentient and Todoroki's just like, wtf no, but Android!Izuku does kind of love Bakugou and is just like. "He needs my help! Even if it's to find Human!me."

And then it becomes a begrudging trio road trip to either a) find Human!Izuku or b) give Bakugou closure on Human!Izuku's death PLUS c) fall in love???

I just love drama!

~

2) Becoming Real (not too shabby)

Katsuki has long ago put away his childish things, but Izuku's not one for giving up.

Or, in which Izuku is one of Katsuki's childhood toys and wants to become Real.

(aka, a Velveteen Rabbit/Pinocchio AU)

Vaguely reminiscent to the above brainstorm, although I don't know if this would be weird to make romantic or not. Given the whole Izuku starts as one of Katsuki's childhood toys and all.

I'm trying to figure out in this journey to become real, if Katsuki's life is just normal BnHA world (minus Izuku as a human) so he goes to UA and there are quirks etc etc. Because that would mean I couldn't make some of the other toys/beings on Izuku's journey to Realism be the Dekusquad. Like. The idea of Iida and Uraraka and Tsuyu as other toys/Jiminy Cricket equivalents trying to help/guide/keep Izuku from doing something nuts is very fun. But then would that mean they're not in class 1-A anymore? Or is this a weird Wizard of Oz situation? Or are the League of Villains obstacles for Izuku instead of being actual Villains ruining the UA students' lives?

Or... is this somehow a Izuku is actually human with a quirk but long ago something happened to Inko so he turned himself into a toy as a weird quirk defense mechanism and Katsuki took him home and both of them/just Izuku forgot how to turn back? So the answer all along is to get to Aizawa? ... but that one's kinda weird and horrifying, so I'm going to say no.

I don't know, I just thought. Velveteen Rabbit = Izuku was easy to connect but there's not much of a plot to follow through on?

~

3) Bakugou Katsuki's Guide To House Husbandry and Domestic Bliss

It's just a Way of the House Husband AU but with retired pro hero Ground Zero instead of a former yakuza. That's it.

Weirdly enough I have more semi-angsty backstory for this fluffy nonsense than actual fluffy nonsense, presumably because I was trying to figure out a feasible set up for the fluffy nonsense? So it's something like: 

When Izuku and Katsuki are six years old, they are attacked by a villain made of sludge.

This is after Izuku's quirk has failed to appear, after he has been branded as quirkless and useless, but before the words become pointed and suffocating and bitter. 

This is after Katsuki fell and Izuku leaped after him hand outstretched, after a false sense of inequality has been wedged between them, but before it can permanently shape a dynamic of confused conflict.

This is after their lives have been tied together, for better and worse, but before it can be horrendously tangled and frayed.

When Izuku and Katsuki are six years old, they are attacked by a villain made of sludge and saved by the number one hero All Might--it changes both everything and nothing of their futures lives.

Because Katsuki will turn this horror into determination, will become a hero that always wins--and better than All Might, he vows, staring wide-eyed at the curled form of his best friend in All Might's arms as he run, run, runs to the hospital. And Izuku will still help people with all he can give, even quirkless and one hand short.

And two decades later, as they move in together, this still stays the same: Katsuki is far and away the better house husband.

... and it's basically Izuku is some kind of engineer/doctor/physical therapist and at the top of his industry same as Katsuki who is Ground Zero and who is on some kind of injury related sabbatical and who has decided to be the Best House Husband ever.

I had some more thoughts about how, even though Izuku still admires All Might and doesn't at all blame him for the loss of his hand, that his mentor/goal in this world is the engineer/doctor/physical therapist that helped child Izuku with his prosthetic (and I came up with a name and a non-work related quirk for them, too, Akahana Tonakai who can make their nose glow and that's it. Quirks do not make them great, etc. etc.) And also some angst about how the hand that Izuku lost was the hand that he reach out to Katsuki when they were younger (should've take it when you had the chance!! he sometimes thinks, before shaking that thought away)

I don't have anything concrete tho, so... that's it.

~

4) Legend of... ???

Power, Wisdom, Courage...

Even without the great calamity, the princess of legend, or the hero of time, the triforce still remains in Hyrule waiting for those who would wield them.

Or, Katsuki was always going to be a hero, he just has no idea what to about with the weird forest spirit that has the other half of his sword.

Basically... Deku = Deku Tree from Legend of Zelda? Not that Izuku is that big old tree, but, like, maybe he was raised in the forest? Maybe it's the only name that non-forest dwellers know? I don't know. I've literally only played Breath of the Wild and, like, 20% of Majora's Mask so... the lore is not strong in me.

I kind of had an idea of, like, mixing the "canon Fantasy!AU" (which is, frankly, bewildering that that's a term that both applies and makes sense) but I don't really know the full lore of that either? I mean, maybe All Might was a powerful hero who had managed to unite all three pieces of the TriForce (at expense to his health) and when his sword was split in two and one ended up with Katsuki while the other was SUPPOSED to be waiting for its other half in the forest protected by the Deku Tree but instead Izuku was like. Hey. I can wield this to protect people and off he went and now it's kind of this chasing me, chasing you type adventure?

I was also trying to figure out the whole Power = Bakugou, Courage = Izuku, Wisdom = ??? thing. Because while I would normally be like, ah, yes, the Big Three would be Bakugou, Izuku, and Todoroki, I wouldn't necessarily say Todoroki is Wisdom? So... *shrugs*

~

5) i dream of flowers (the always fading remix)

Or, how to take a yearningly sweet and slightly melancholy fic and turn that sad dial up to eleven!

This would be a real sad remix of i dream of flowers (and they're always sad) by Seeress

The idea I have is going to be spoiler-y and it's not worth the spoiler so PLEASE read that first. Trust me, it's worth it. Actually, all of Seeress' fic is so *chef's kiss* if you're into BakuDeku. Anyway, the rest of the brainstorm is under the cut so as not to violate spoilers.

I really just wanted to lean on that ANGSTIER AMNESIA. So the remix is more... in which they can only be together when Bakugou is "Ground Zero" because Izuku's brain is literally incapable of holding memories of "Bakugou Katsuki" after the hanahaki surgery. So not only did the surgery cause retrograde amnesia (in that, all of Izuku's memories of Katsuki were taken out along with his feelings) it also causes anterograde amnesia in that, Izuku can't form new memories surrounding the person he knows as "Bakugou Katsuki." Kind of like a vaccine... or, so as to maintain the flower vibe/analogy, it's like selective herbicide.

BUT (and here's where it gets deliciously angsty) he can still form memories of the hero "Ground Zero" he just can't connect that Ground Zero = Bakugou Katsuki. Which is especially fun given that in the original fic they meet up again and Ground Zero is trying to reconnect with/date Izuku. It's not quite the level of Fifty First Dates, because Izuku CAN keep memories of Ground Zero (and like in the original fic, Izuku has been a fan of Ground Zero for a couple of years) it's just whenever Katsuki tries to say his real name that the memories/connections fail to form. Like the two identities must be kept compartmentalized. So they can have a perfectly functional relationship so long as Katsuki only ever stays Ground Zero to him.

I don't know how to get to a resolution though, or if there even is one? Because on the one hand, I guess I would love Katsuki mildly suffering in order to be with Izuku for infinity, but Izuku is also real smart and I feel like even amnesia wouldn't stop him and he's not really one to be stuck in a dilemma when he can just resolve it through sheer force of will... *shrugs*

[vdoesbookrecs]

Book Review #6 - There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done

Blurb:  Come on, Simon Snow.

Your hero’s journey might be over - 

but your life has just begun.

SIMON SNOW IS BACK, AND HE’S COMING TO AMERICA!

The story is supposed to be over.

Simon Snow did everything he was supposed to do. He beat the villain. He won the war. He even fell in love. Now comes the good part, right? Now comes the happily ever after....

So why can’t Simon Snow get off the couch?

What he needs, according to his best friend, is a change of scenery. He just needs to see himself in a new light.

That’s how Simon and Penny and Baz end up in a vintage convertile, tearing across the American West. They find trouble, of course. (Dragons, vampires, skunk-headed things with shotguns.) And they get lost. They get so lost, they start to wonder whether they ever knew where they were headed in the first place.

With Wayward Son, Rainbow Rowell has written a book for everyone who ever wondered what happened to the Chosen One after he saved the day. And a book for everyone who was ever more curious about the second kiss than the first. It’s another helping of sour cherry scones with an absolutely decadent amount of butter. 

Synopsis: Following the events of Carry On, Simon, Baz and Penny are more or less free to do whatever they want. Penny and Baz throw themselves into Uni work - and worry about Simon, who seems to be falling deeper and deeper into depression. When Agatha, who moved to California to get away from all magic, starts acting strange over text, making Penny worry, the three of them jump at the chance to get a change of scenery. Armed with a spell that makes Simon’s wings disappear and some stolen plane tickets, the three of them fly to Chicago, Illinois to pick up Penny’s boyfriend Micah on the way. 

Only Micah doesn’t seem to see himself as Penny’s boyfriend anymore. 

In fact, he sees himself as someone else’s boyfriend altogether. Penny is crushed and would much rather return home, but the boys think they might as well finish their road trip, and after all, Agatha still needs their help. But without someone to explain the completely different set of rules the American magical community lives by, the group gets into all sorts of trouble. Good thing they have the mysterious Normal Shep offering to be their guide. If only they could figure out what Shep wants from them - and why he knows so much about magic. Meanwhile, Agatha gets kidnapped by a group of suspiciously well-kept entrepeneurs who call themselves the NextNow and have a feud with the King of Las Vegas. 

What was supposed to be a relaxing vacation is quickly turning into a dangerous and violent getaway drive across half America - but at least Baz’ and Simon’s relationship is still going strong...right?!

My thoughts: I have so much going on in my life right now that I honestly forgot about Wayward Son being released. And then I saw the memes on Tumblr and thought to myself: No way in HELL am I reading this now, I don’t need any extra stress in my life (I recently moved, I’m pretty homesick, my anxiety is going haywire, the usual). Only then I was doing some exploring in the city and stumbled across a bookshop. And they had this. And it was exactly ten Euros. And I had ten Euros. 

I read it in one sitting, and then I reread it again yesterday, because it’s just that damn good. 

The writing style is On Point, the story is gripping, we get so much more information on magic and how it works, the ‘European persons shocked by American culture’ is played so well, and Baz challenges Simon to a duel with the Master Sword from The Legend of Zelda in Shakespearean English when they visit a renaissance fair. Need I say more?

That being said, I would like to address some things the fandom has been freaking out about though. 

I’ve seen a lot of posts saying the book reads like a fanfiction, or the classic ‘lmao that was wild, anyone know when the REAL Wayward Son is coming out’, and....I don’t get it. In my opinion, Wayward Son read a lot more ‘bookish’ than Carry On, which I totally would’ve bought as fanfic (High School AU, Boarding School AU, Magic AU, Vampire!Baz, Chosen One!Simon Evil!Mage, BAMF!Penny. Do these tags sound familiar? If you’ve ever read any Harry Potter AU or crossover fic for any other fandom ever, they should.) Carry On, like a fanfiction, jumps right into the interesting stuff and kind of assumes you know the characters already. Wayward Son does not, though I will grant you it’s a sequel and doesn’t have to introduce its characters like the first volume of a series does. 

The real reason why lots of people who’ve read Carry On don’t want Wayward Son to be canon is a different one, though, and it’s the portrayal of Simon and Baz’ relationship as crumbling and, potentially, failing. And listen, I would’ve totally got that if it really was the way y’all made it sound before I read it myself, but it isn’t. 

Wayward Son is not the story of a relationship falling apart; It’s the story of two people who formed a relationship in very specific circumstances preserving that relationship after these circumstances completely disintegrate. When Baz and Simon got together, Baz clearly had the role of the adversary, and had had it for years. Simon was used to being the all-powerful Chosen One, who knew almost nothing beyond school and foster homes and fighting the evil of the day. Now, none of that is true, and they’ve all witnessed it come apart in front of their very eyes. They’ve witnessed their headmaster and father figure, respectively, kill a person. They know they are responsible for his death, even if their actions were justified. They witnessed one of their friends become traumatized to the point where she gave up magic. Penny couldn’t even bring herself to go back to Watford for her final exams, and y’all expect them and more importantly their relationships, especially Simon and Baz’ relationship, which was literally founded on trauma, to magically be O.K. because they moved to London and can make out without risking the contempt of everyone around them now? 

Bitch please.

As someone who went through a really hard time on a very much smaller scale, I actually think Wayward Son is unbelievably optimistic about Simon and Baz’ relationship. I mean, for fucks sake, it literally ends with a prologue. A prologue is what comes before a story, not after. 

In my opinion, Simon dealing with internalized homophobia, depression and a fucked up self image and that clashing with both his and Baz’ PTSD and Baz’ trauma and internal conflict about being a vampire is very well portrayed and written, and I, for one, am very glad to see the aftermath of being the protagonist of a ‘chosen one’ story being treated realistically. I mean, could you imagine if Rainbow Rowell had pulled a J.K. Rowling? Would you really be happy with the white picket fence and 2.5 children type of ending that a big part of the fandom seems to be screaming for? 

Do I recommend this book? Yes tf I recommend this book. I recommend it so hard if I recommended it any harder it would fly through your computer screen and smack you in the face. 

Don’t read this book if...

...you want a story or an ending where Simon and Baz are completely fine and happy.

...you’re squeamish about blood, violence, kidnapping, unconsensual medical testing, multiple near-deaths for several main characters, unsafe medical procedures, body horror. 

...your least favourite characters in Carry On were Penny and Agatha and you hoped that Wayward Son would focus less on them than Carry On did.