#holy shit this is a long chapter

[egophiliac]

we were fucking ROBBED

[dianagj-art]

I have the httyd soundtrack blasting, an old 17k word wip and my notes open and a shitton of motivation

I WILL FINISH THIS STUPID CHAPTER

[daffi-990]

Fuck it Friday 🍔

Tagged by @diazsdimples, @theotherbuckley & @tizniz. Thanks for the tags mwah mwah mwah!

Guess who finished chapter nine of Rival Firefighters 🚒!! It’s my longest chapter yet and it’s finally DONE! One chapter to go and she’ll be finished! Ahhhh I’m so excited! Can’t wait to share this fic with you guys!

To celebrate, have something completely different from Wednesday’s snippet -> light and not angsty (it’ll be smooth sexy sailing from here on out for our boys).

Prev snippet here.

He makes it to the restaurant with 5 minutes to spare, Eddie already seated and waiting for him. He’s on his phone but stops and puts it down when Buck approaches, smiling warmly at him. Buck swallows hard, his throat suddenly parched. Eddie’s wearing a dark forest green button up shirt that looks perfectly tailored to him, hugging his shoulders in the most delicious way. The sleeves of the shirt are rolled up, Eddie’s tan forearms on full display and Buck feels like a woman from a Jane Austin novel with how hot under the collar it makes him.

Eddie’s smile plus the way the green of his shirt is making his eyes pop, well Buck’s surprised his body is still in solid form and not a melted puddle on the floor.

He slides into the seat opposite Eddie, their knees pressing against each other. Eddie doesn’t pull away, in fact he presses his knee further into Buck’s and yeah, Buck isn’t going to get through this meal in one piece.

“Hey, Shannon not here yet?” Buck asks as he scans the bar of the restaurant for a familiar head of long brown hair.

Eddie shakes his head, “Not yet. I just sent her a text to see how far away she is and if she wants us to order for her or wait until she gets here.”

Buck grabs a menu and begins to scan it, pleased that everything is in english (he had a bad experience ordering from a French restaurant and ended up ordering snails) and that there’s a section just for burgers. He’s just decided on a grilled chicken burger with a garden salad and sweet potato fries when Eddie’s phone pings with a message.

“Is that Shannon?” Buck asks as he places the menu to the side. Eddie doesn’t reply and when Buck looks at him, Eddie is staring wide eyed at his phone, cheeks turning red. “Eddie? Is everything okay?”

“Uh.”

Eddie looks up at Buck, then back to his phone, then back to Buck before staring down at his phone again. He chews on his lip nervously before muttering fuck it, and sliding the phone across the table towards Buck, screen face down.

Buck slowly reaches for the phone, his eyes locked on Eddie who is staring so intently at the table like he’s trying to light it on fire with his mind. Phone in hand, Buck lifts it to his face and whatever he was expecting to see, this wasn’t even on the list of possibilities.

No pressure tagging: @spotsandsocks @hippolotamus @puppyboybuckley @exhuastedpigeon @elvensorceress @wildlife4life @lover-of-mine @spagheddiediaz @sunshinediaz @wikiangela @watchyourbuck @weewootruck @thewolvesof1998 @try-set-me-on-fire @steadfastsaturnsrings @eddiebabygirldiaz @epicbuddieficrecs @evanbegins @alliaskisthepossibilityoflove @athenagranted @rainbow-nerdss @devirnis @fortheloveofbuddie @disasterbuckdiaz @fiona-fififi @dangerpronebuddie @giddyupbuck @homerforsure @hoodie-buck @honestlydarkprincess @jeeyuns @jesuisici33 @ladydorian05 @loserdiaz @mellaithwen @nmcggg @monsterrae1 @missmagooglie @captain-hen @bekkachaos @bigfootsmom @sibylsleaves @clusterbuck and as always, anyone else who wants to share something -> consider this your official tag 😘

[skyartworkzzz]

We are so back bitches

[human-encounters-diary]

Day 12

I apologize for the rather abrupt ending of the last record, as circumstances became rather frantic after the recorded incidents. I will apply my best efforts to summarize the following events shortly. After the human volunteered to perform the repair of the damaged outer hover engine, a rather heated discussion broke loose, concerning the risks and other possible solutions to the current situation. The Vitrichl decided that the human should perform the repair, as long as it was proved that her chance of survival was high enough. Several tests were performed, and all of them concluded that the human had a surprisingly good chance at surviving the excursion, although it was unclear whether she would return unharmed, as there was simply not enough information known about Terrans.

The Vitrichl ordered for a group of personally selected mechanics and scientists of the crew to supervise the excursion over the video recording of the space suit the human would be wearing. I was assigned as a part of this group. The human itself, inexplicably, remained incredibly calm, seemingly not grasping the gravity of the situation at hand. Despite my best efforts to make her aware of the responsibility she was assigned, she remained unresponsive. "I am applying my best efforts to make you aware of the risk you are taking.", I stated, trailing after her. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. I read the safety thingy, like, three times. And basically the entire board team will be there to guide me through the entire process and tell me exactly what to do. I'll basically not even have to think myself." "I would appreciate it if you did not neglect your thought process during such an important task." "Of course I won't actually stop thinking, it's just a way of speaking. Anyway, you'll have the entire video footage from my suit and as long as the suit remains intact, I should be fine.", Quinn continued. "Still, the probability that the system fails and you do not return…" "Is low enough.", Quinn cut me off.

"Listen, you oughta stop worrying. I might know nothing about alien technology, but this crew knows about it. And, to our luck, I'll have direct contact to them the entire time." She stepped into her assorted suit, machines around her closing and tying everything into place. Eventually, a helmet was lowered onto her head, the reflective surface hiding her face. She extended her right arm, lowering all her fingers except for the first and biggest one, which she pointed upwards. I could not decipher the purpose of this gesture, and as I could not see her facial expression, I was not able put any of my previous knowledge of humans to use.

The human underwent several further safety checks, before the medicals decided it would be appropriate to start the mission at that time. The task of the human was first to simply observe the entire damage, in order to confirm that our monitors grasped the entire extent of the damage. Furthermore, she should, under our supervision and precise instructions, reverse the worst damage she could and, at best, reverse the engine into a working state. The human was transferred into the duct from where all outerboard missions that did not require any larger equipment where started. As soon as the door opened and the human stepped into the void, medicals and scientists scrambled to examine her vitals. "Vitals are steady", a medical informed. Wrin pressed several keys on the control board, establishing the communication line between Quinn's suit and the SIIR Noxos. "Okay, Quinn, how do you feel?", Wrin, who was, for their standards, surprisingly sober, spoke into the communication tool. "Well, I feel like I've just drank a shit ton of water and then gone onto a roller coaster one too many times. Besides that, wow", Quinn's voice sounded from the other end. "Alright, I'm just going to pretend I understood any of that. So, give us a bit to get the suit camera sorted and then you can go on.", Wrin drawled, pressing a few more keys on one of the monitors. As the technicians confirmed a stable signal, Wrin began to guide Quinn into the direction of the damaged engine.

The human's vitals remained stable as she approached the engine in question. As instructed, the human began a scan of the area through her suit, linking the results directly into the main control quarters. Through the analyzation of the information, the technicians were able to confirm that there was no worse damage than our previous scans had recorded.

The human began to work on the engine. She removed the outer layer of metal within a few moments, which was almost fully demolished. As she worked towards middle of the structure, I observed her every step. She moved coordinated and careful, as if frightened that the engine might implode if she didn't (which was, admittedly, a rather real threath). Eventually, she removed a piece of charred metal, exposing an accumulation of cables. Wrin straightened as I took the communication tool from them and spoke into it: "Quinn, these cables are of high importance. Would you be able to reach the brown cable and remove it from its place? As careful as possible.", I added. Despite my, in my eyes, rather clear instructions, the human continued to reach towards a completely wrong cable. "Human", I interjected. "I do not mean to be insensitive, but that is not the cable I was referring to." "Huh? But that one's brown?", the human responded, tone signaling possible confusion, although I could not be sure, as her face was still hidden. "Human-", I started once again, thinking of the most polite way to phrase the following statement, but I could not finish, as Wrin pushed me away rather aggressively before taking the communication tool themselves. "Quinn, the mechanic‘s referring to the second cable from the far right.", Wrin eludicated. "…but that one's Magenta!", Quinn protested further. "Not to the mechanic. Different eyes, different colour perception.", Wrin quipped. Quinn said something indiscernably quiet, before continuing, carefully following Wrin's instructions. As these records' purpose is to observe human behaviour, I will not go into much detail describing the repair. If you wish to obtain more precise information about the details of this particular repair, I suggest you visit the archives, in which we keep all records of repairs, routine check-ups and everything else regarding the state of the ship, to gain a further insight.

The human proceeded the repair, although another thing of note happened rather towards the end: After the human had reconnected several wires and added a new protective layer on the engine's surface, the technicians tested whether or not the engine would start, obviously after the human had moved to a safe distance. The technicians started the engine at its highest setting, but with no success. No sound emitted from the engine. "Wait, let me try something.", the human sounded over the communication line. In spite of any common sense, the human moved closer towards the engine. The human inspected the engine, before suddenly, for some to me inexplicable reason, hitting the engine repeatedly with the flatter side of her hand. "Alright, try again." "Human Quinn, it is imperative that you move out of the immediate proximity of the engine.", I stated, but the human refused. "No, I wanna try something." "Human, it is-" "On one, come on, guys.", Quinn cut me off. "Start the engine on one." Against better judgement, the technicians began to prepare another start of the engine. "Okay, ready? Three, two, one, go!", besides my best efforts to stop them, the technicians started the engine at the exact time as Quinn hit its outer layer again. Fortunately, the engine did start. Unfortunately, the stuttering start of the engine produced a pressure wave that catapulted the Terran away from it. Eventually, her body was stopped by the cable attached to form a connection between the space suit that the human was wearing, and the SIIR Noxos. The body of the human did not move. Wrin, seemingly concerned, spoke into the communication line. "Quinn?" It took a few moments before we received any kind of answer, the silence filled with a slight buzzing sound. Then we registered the human's voice over the line. At first, the human only produced several sounds, possibly signaling pain. Then: "Well, I'm never doing that again." A pause. "Did it work? Is the engine stable?" "The engine is running. I wouldn't call it stable, but it will get us far enough.", one of the technicians informed.

Silence.

"Alright, Quinn, we‘re going to pull you back into the ship. Try not to move too much and uh…don‘t die.", Wrin spoke up.

"I can do that."

As the retraction program was started, I, accompanied by Wrin proceeded towards the intertravel duct. The human arrived shortly afterwards.

The suit seemed to be unharmed, a good sign, but its owner did not.

As a robotic arm removed the helmet and started to disassemble the suit, the human stumbled out. Stumbling, that was not a good sign. The human’s complexion was even paler than its naturally bright shade. And the skin of her face seemed to have a slight green undertone. Had it always been there? I could not recall. Perhaps their skin changed colours, similar to Wrin‘s species?

I was brought away from these suspicions, as the human opened her mouth and released a brown-green, odd-smelling fluid out of her mouth and onto the floor. This couldn‘t be normal, could it?

The human was immediately referred into the, for a ship and crew this size admittedly rather small, hospital wing. The medicals are currently observing and recording any interesting observations regarding the human‘s body. Unfortunately, while the medicals are treating Quinn to the best of their ability, it is difficult, as there is so little known about humans.

Although, perhaps this way I will receive more information regarding the anatomy of humans.

I will continue to record the recovery and the state of the human.

[cipher-the-sidhe]

Hey, how the hell are some of y’all regularly posting fic chapters that are 10k+ words???? How???

[spinjitsuburst]

I’ve been reading a very very very dark Skybound Fic all night and I feel slightly ill but I’m so so obsessed with literally every “how Jay’s lightning works” headcanon

[cephaloclod]

the game is okay i guess :///

[bachirasbodyguard]

Ok I can't not talk about this for any longer.

What the FUCK is up with Blue Lock chapter 156???? you know the one where Bastard is doing the obstacle course? Please look closely

What the fuck is all of that 😭😭 First of all, where in the actual fuck does it all fit in the building???? based on the fucking size of this shit it takes up like a third of the entire Blue Lock complex and for what reason?? also why does everything suddenly look like the manga takes place in the year 2723??

Also, why did they have to make this room so needlessly huge, like? Why is the ceiling 60 meters tall just for them to run on the ground and then up a lil??

And don't even get me started on this fucking shit.

Like are you actually for fucking real telling me they have discovered how to levitate objects in the BL universe and NO ONE cares?? look at the first panel again. An entire walkway is just suspended in the air on NOTHING?? Like the micro-translators were already pretty crazy but THIS is some fucking Star Wars, Blade Runner, The Jetsons type shit like???

and what would happen to Igaguri if he fell off here (the ground is like 5 stories below)? WOULD HE JUST DIE???

And how many tens of millions of dollars did it cost to build this futuristic ass obstacle course with fucking invisible screens and levitating platforms that was just COMPLETELY unused before this one tiny part of the blue lock players came here

No fucking wonder this institution is going bankrupt like holy shit.

And no one said anything about this obstacle course in character too like hello? is this normal to you????? I can not fucking believe we got this one absolutely insane, bizzare, world-breaking chapter and then just moved on like nothing happened 😭😭

[cheezegamerboi]

"Your children are NOT safe with CatNap."

[annimator]

*BANGS POTS AND PANS*

NEW CHAPTER! NEW CHAPTER’S OUT!

Chapter 3: My Heart is Overflowing

(A1 Chunsik experiences emotions. Mostly joy and wonder)

The little egg was thinking about a lot;

It would be living outside of the Federation’s walls once it left this small house,

It would be living in the care of a new guardian instead of in a cell devoid of literally anything,

and most importantly-

“Chunsik!”

A1 Chunsik was given a new name.

Acau was calling out for his new egg. By the looks of it, Quackity was going to be bringing him to someplace else outside of the house the egg was currently in.

So Chunsik followed its new caretaker, and in doing so, the egg gets its first look into the outside world.

The house it was in was surrounded by a stone wall with a large entrance that gave way to a small rock pathway, alongside a small garden that contained a plethora of different flowers including a peony and a rose bush. A plentiful amount of trees were strewn around the area, which were placed beyond the walls that were bordering the house.

The sky was brightly blue. And despite all the clouds that were scattered amongst it, the sun still shined on the little Korean egg.

After a life spent locked within a Federation facility that was practically devoid of any colours, this was a sight to behold for Chunsik.

Hopefully it won’t have to go back to that wretched place now that it’s in Acau’s care.

Whilst Chunsik was admiring its new surroundings, Quackity asked Acau another question. “So people are asking; is it a boy or a girl?”

The Korean egg remembers the Federation workers using the words including “it” and “its” whenever they were referring it back when it was still A1. Something about how they used those words when talking about it felt wrong to Chunsik back then.

The egg looked at Acau as he was pondering up an answer to the question given to him, eventually answering Quackity after a couple seconds.

“Chunsik is a man.”

Chunsik was happy over this, bouncing out of joy whilst Quackity responded to Acau’s answer. “Oh! A- a guy?”

“Mhm”

“Okay, a boy.”

Acau repeated what Quackity said, glancing at Chunsik as he spoke in English, with a smile on his face, “Boy.”

Chunsik bounced out of joy again over what Acau said. By the looks of it, its his new caretaker doesn’t seem to be fluent in English, but it also means that the Korean lessons he was taught in the past won’t be going to waste.

———

All the plants and decor scattered around the area Chunsik was walking through were beautiful. He didn’t even notice whatever Quackity and Acau were talking about on their way to the big building Quackity was bringing Acau and him to.

There were other people in the building to by the sound of it, but he paid no attention to them. He mostly clung to Acau and Quackity since everyone else there was practically a stranger to him.

Presumably, Quackity was teaching Acau about these “quests”, and about some kind of money system that the island was running on.

As Quackity brought him and Acau to what looked like the center of the building they were in, people started to notice Chunsik’s presence.

He wasn’t sure how people would perceive him, and he slowly crouched into a corner, but his worries went away when he saw another egg.

Unlike him, this egg had a large crack on her face, and she wore a beanie with purple stripes of different tints, and had black hair. Her name was Lullah.

She placed a sign to greet Chunsik, “Good morning little eggo.”

Lullah was accompanied by another man. He had blonde hair, and wore a striped green & white hat, with a black haori that covered a dark green samue, alongside wooden sandals, and large crow wings that were sprouting from his back. This man was Philza.

Similarly to Lullah, Phil greeted him, sounding delighted over the sight of him, “AWWWW. Hello!“

Chunsik quickly wrote a greeting on his sign, and bowed after finishing it. “Hello!”

Philza read the sign, quickly replying. “Hi little guy! Hello, how are you? Oh, that’s a cool pose you’re doing.”

Another egg appeared next to Lullah, writing on her sign to also greet him. Unlike Lullah, this egg didn’t have any cracks or hair, but she did have a hat that was slightly tilted on her head and funnily enough, looked like a stack of pancakes. Her name was Empanada.

She was excited to meet him, something easily seen in what she wrote on her sign, “OMG HII.”

Chunsik was bouncing out of joy over meeting people that didn’t seem to have cruel intentions with him, and Empanada similarly bounced to mimic him. He started writing on another sign to greet Empanada, “Hello! I like your pancake hat!”

Other eggs and people started to crowd around him; one of the eggs had a duck floatie wrapped around his body and another one had a red baseball hat that was placed backwards on top of her head.

Whilst Chunsik was writing his greeting to Empanada, Philza asked him a question,

“What is your name little eggo? How do I say your name?”

Chunsik quickly started to write him an answer on yet another sign as more and more people and eggs started to notice him in the area they were all in.

He eventually finished his sign, finally introducing himself to everyone that was there, “My name is Chun-sik. It means… ‘Worker’.”

Philza laughed over learning what his name translated to. Alongside that, a large amount of people and eggs were all surrounding him.

In comparison to back during his time in the Federation’s custody, something about this felt more… comforting.

None of the people here sounded like they wanted to hurt or berate him. The egg with the duck floatie even greeted him in Korean! His name was Chayanne

And Chunsik greeted him back in English, “Hello Chayanne!”

Everyone there started to talk to and about him, but at the same time, none of it was insulting. He even spotted another egg too! And they had sunglasses!

“Did Acau name you?”

“AWWWWW.”

“Oh! I see the little egg! Oh my god, it’s so cuuuute!”

“Hello.”

“Hello!

“Helllooooo!”

“Acau, they’re all meeting your new son!”

“It’s pixels. It’s pixels.”

“Did you just say ‘it’s pixels. it’s pixels’?’

“Oh, you’re so damn cute.”

“If you need food or protection let me know.”

“I like the hat!”

“It is nice to meet you.”

It was all simultaneously overwhelming and comforting. But right as he was starting to take it all in, one of the eggs started to punch him in what seemed to be a playful manner, so Chunsik playfully punched back.

The egg wore an oversized yellow and green jersey with a mooshroom hat, and quickly placed down a sign to greet Chunsik. Their name was Richarlyson.

The Korean egg also place down a sign and greeted him, “Hello! I like the cow hat!”

Richarlyson placed down two signs to greet Chunsik, one of which was even in Korean, “CHUNSIK! You can trust me with anything!!“

Chunsik quickly replied to them with a sign of his own, also replying in Korean, “Yes, I got it!“

It was all sweet, cosy, and heartwarming. Chunsik never experienced this much joy over being surrounded by loads of people before.

Hopefully, this wouldn’t be the last time it happens.

…

But amidst all the solace, Chunsik noticed something.

Where did Acau go? Wasn’t Quackity showing him the ATM machine a couple of minutes ago?

Did he abandon him?

[a-small-writer-in-a-big-world]

it just hit me that there are only three chapters left of the roommate series

[jinxedruby]

Febuwhump Day Twenty-Nine: Not allowed to die

Featuring Warriors. Conclusion of days twenty-seven and twenty-eight (the ones where Hyrule and Warriors get attacked at some ruins)

Starting and ending with Warriors, perfect. And uhh no one look at the date, it's fine, don't worry about it haha. I was not expecting to actually be able to do (almost) all of this! Thanks to everyone who read at least some of this beast, I appreciate the support :)

Heads up for major violence and major injury in this one. Little extra emphasis on the "major" this time around (it's the last day of febuwhump, I had to go all out lol)

AO3

First part | <- Previous part

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

“Traveler!”

A stalfos lunged at Warriors before he could even get the full yell of alarm out as the aeralfos dragged Hyrule away. He twisted to block the stalfos’s sword with his own, metal clanging. He shoved against the monster with a grunt, trying to force it back to give himself the opening needed to go help Hyrule. A second stalfos darted in the moment the first one stumbled, replacing it. Warriors parried the blow with his shield, followed up with a slash. The stalfos leapt over his sword. The first one reappeared with no warning, sword streaking toward Warriors’ side. He twisted to block it, the weapon clanging against his shield. He delivered two rapid strikes, both scoring the stalfos’s ribs before it had the chance to dodge. The second one attacked, forcing him to go back on the defensive while the first one recovered. A particularly heavy blow cost him some balance. He took a half-step back to regain it. His heart jumped into his throat as his heel tipped back over empty air. He leaned forward, attacking viciously in an attempt to push the monsters back and give him room to move away from the edge.

Rapid flapping to his left served as his only warning. A blur of green and orange slammed into him before he could even turn his head. The impact knocked him to the side. His boots slipped off the ledge and he yelped. Pain burst in his shoulder and neck as he hit the stairs at an angle. The world flipped and flipped again, the edges of the steps jabbing painfully against him. His shoulders hit the floor hard, head snapping back and banging against the ground. Stars burst into his vision, prickles of pain radiating out from the back of his skull. He groaned, the sound muffled by the faint ringing in his ears. He blinked and dragged himself upwards.

He whipped his head up at a screech from the top of the stairs. The aeralfos dove and Warriors scrambled back, hand darting out, fingers scrabbling as he searched for his sword. His fingers wrapped around the hilt just as the monster reached him. He wrenched the sword up. The aeralfos’s blade crashed against his, shoving down against him. He braced his right hand against the flat of his blade. The monster shoved harder and his arms shook, head throbbing sharply as he struggled. The metal of the aeralfos’s blade crept closer to his throat and Warriors gritted his teeth. He tensed his core, preparing to try and kick the monster off of him. Abruptly, it ducked its head, looking back at the entrance through its legs. It shrieked, planted a foot on Warriors’ chest, and sprang over his head. The action knocked the air from Warriors’ lungs and he wheezed, the frantic skittering of the monster’s claws against stone growing fainter as it ran. He pressed a hand to his chest and managed up onto one elbow, squinting through blurry vision at the stairs.

A bomb sat at the bottom, hissing as its lit fuse burned shorter and shorter. His eyes widened. He scrambled to his feet, twisting around and dashing away from the bomb. A blast of heat and an ear-splitting BOOM collided with him simultaneously. The explosion launched him forward, limbs splayed, eyes screwed shut on reflex. He hit the ground face-first, temple cracking against the stone.

****

Ash dragged into his lungs with each breath. He coughed weakly, something wet spraying from his nose. He peeled his eyelids apart, vision blurry through the soot and concussion. Pain pulsed in his head so sharply he thought he might be sick. He drew in careful breaths, slowly trying to move his limbs. He wiggled his fingers and toes carefully, felt them move against his gloves and boots. His shield weighed down his right arm, thankfully having stayed strapped to it through the explosion. Something burned dully across his back and shoulders, aching along the backs of his legs. He took a deep breath, immediately regretting it as it triggered another wracking cough that dug shards of glass into his brain. Forcibly swallowing the coughs back, he carefully bent his arms, wincing as the movement tugged at abused skin. He placed his palms flat on the ground under his shoulders. With a groan, he pushed himself up to his hands and knees, head pounding the whole way. His vision swam, causing his grayish hands to swim before his eyes. He stayed like that for a long moment, watching as little beads of blood dripped sluggishly from the tip of his nose and splattered onto the stone between his hands. Even that appeared oddly gray.

Once he could almost convince himself that he felt marginally better, he pushed back to sit on his knees. He nearly overshot, throwing out his arms for balance. The world spun around him and he narrowed his eyes further, determined to remain upright. He briefly considered using the fairy he had but ultimately dismissed the notion. He only had one and wanted to save it for when he was truly on the brink of death. This was only a concussion. And explosive damage to his back. He’d survived worse.

He struggled to his feet, using the wall to drag himself up. He squeezed his eyes shut against the rush of nausea and spiking pain, leaning heavily against the wall. After several deep breaths that hitched against the ash in his throat, he opened his eyes and looked around. Rubble filled the tunnel behind him where the stairs had been. His eyes widened at just how close he’d been lying to the debris, barely a foot away from being crushed. The rubble completely sealed the entrance, trapping him inside. A glint of metal in his peripherals caught his eye and he turned to see his sword discarded beside him. He stooped to pick it up, head throbbing at the change in pressure. Frowning, he stood back up. No sunlight could possibly get through all the rubble, which begged the question as to how he could see.

Claws skittered against stone. He whipped around, the motion driving a spike of pain through his head. Blinking the blurriness from his vision, he saw a blob of color sprinting toward him, wings flapping.  He yanked his shield up. The aeralfos slammed into it, throwing him back against the rubble. He somehow managed to stay on his feet, shoving the monster back and sending a thrust toward it. A wave of dizziness washed over him, bile crawling up his throat. He clenched his jaw, willing his vision to steady as the aeralfos lunged. Its blade smashed against his shield, the impact jolting through his arm and stinging the burns on his back. He struck with his sword, scoring a gash on the aeralfos’s shoulder. It hissed and leapt away. He only had a moment before it swooped in again, lifting off the ground and flying toward him despite the close quarters. He tried to time his attack to cut the aeralfos’s wing but missed, sword stabbing empty air under the limb. He managed to deflect the blade with his shield but couldn’t dodge the claws that sank into his tunic. The aeralfos yanked back on him, lifting him off his feet. It slammed him down onto the ground, perched on his chest. He sent a wild swing toward it. He managed to clip its arm, but not enough to keep it from dragging him up and slamming him down again. He grunted, the pain across his back increasing tenfold at the repeated blows. Blackness pricked at the edges of his vision.

The aeralfos lifted him a third time but he was expecting it. He folded his legs under himself, planting his boots on the ground. He wrenched his torso upright, throwing the monster off-balance. It floundered in the air, trying to keep its hold on him and regain its balance at the same time. He stabbed it through the underarm, the tip of his sword jutting through its collar just beside its neck. It screeched loud enough to make his ears ring, black blood spurting from the wound and coating his sword. It thrashed madly, blade smashing against his shield, glancing over the top and nicking his cheek. He yanked his sword free and prepared to strike again. The aeralfos shrieked and lunged in a blur. Pain burst through his arm as the monster’s blade sliced through his skin, his sword slipping from his grasp. He somehow managed to block the next blow but the aeralfos collided with him all the same. It twisted its hand into his hair, claws digging into his scalp. He didn’t even have time to try and free himself before it wrenched him sideways and slammed his head against the wall with a sickening crack.

His vision blackened, limbs numb. The abyss of unconsciousness grabbed him for only a moment. He awoke immediately to the aeralfos’s sword stabbing through his collar and down into his lungs.

For a moment, the pain didn’t register. His chest grew heavy, ice and fire spreading through his veins and seeping into his skin. Then the sword twitched as the aeralfos adjusted its grip and Warriors screamed. The sound split in his own ears before cutting off into a choke as something bubbled up his throat and over his lips. The monster tore the sword from him and he didn’t have the air to scream a second time. Hot blood rushed from the entry wound in his collar, chest burning. At some point, the aeralfos released his hair and he sank to the floor. He clawed at his chest, trying to suck in a breath. Blood pooled and hitched in his lungs, spraying from his mouth when he coughed reflexively. His vision wavered and dimmed. Distantly, faintly, he remembered the fairy in his pouch. He took a hand off of the wound in his collar, blindly reaching for his pouch somewhere at his side. His fingers touched something cold, stuck strangely to it, slipped off of it, and time suddenly felt like a very distant concept. Moving too slow and too fast and his thoughts unraveled in his head as his hearing muffled to the point of deafness.

This is bad, managed to be the only coherent thought he could maintain a grasp on. The dark shapes making up the remains of his vision shifted abruptly. A shearing agony cleaved through his throat and the thought repeated itself. Instincts screamed at him in garbled syllables that made no sense. Gravity shifted, tugging him onto his side. His body felt leaden and light. Darkness flooded the ground and he sank into it. And he drifted.

And drifted.

Feeling roared through his limbs. Pain screeched along his nerves in the instant before a pink light smothered it. Something fluttered through his chest and neck, tingling, warm. He’d hardly realized he couldn’t breathe until the ability abruptly returned. Air tumbled down his throat, catching and choking on the way to his lungs as the pink light carefully sealed the holes in them. His vision returned, dim and hazy, head throbbing fiercely. Everything before his eyes blurred into a grayish blob, the colors rusty and reddish at the left edge. His fingers twitched. Nausea scrambled up his throat. Just as he felt the need to move, the pink light zipped to hover before his eyes, something tapping frantically against his nose. His brow twitched and he narrowed his eyes slightly, focusing just enough to see the transparent wings fluttering at the back of the pink light. His vision wouldn’t expand past the sea of black dots prickling at the edges, but it was enough. A tiny hand pointed somewhere above his perspective and, with great effort, he lifted his eyes.

Colors separated more properly as he woke more, enough to make out the vague shape of the aeralfos stalking down the hall, tail lashing. A low scraping sound rang through the cave as it dragged its sword along the ground beside it. The blade left behind a trail of blood on the stone. The monster chittered and growled, clutching at its wounded shoulder with its other hand. It turned abruptly and he snapped his eyes back to look straight ahead of him. He halted his breathing, staying as limp as he could, ignoring the throbbing in his head.

The aeralfos growled again and the scraping resumed. He cautioned a slow glance upwards, or left, rather, as he realized he lay on his side, the world turned sideways in his view. The aeralfos continued walking farther away from him, down the hall. He drew in a thin, careful breath, making sure to remain silent. He looked around with his eyes, trying to find his sword. The aeralfos thought he was dead. He could grab his sword, surprise it. How… how wasn’t he dead? Only then did he fully register the pink light. The fairy. As he looked around, he caught sight of glass shards scattered across the floor, a cork strewn among them. He had managed to get the bottle out, then? Then he dropped it and it shattered, releasing the fairy. He could’ve laughed.

Just the slightest tense of his abdominal muscles brought the nausea crashing back. He bit down on his lip, forcing it back, suffocating the involuntary flinch. Sword. He had to get his sword. Right now. He continued looking around, each flick of his eyes sending needles into his brain. He spotted it to his right, lying in the middle of the hall where he’d dropped it earlier. He cast another glance at the aeralfos. Still trudging its way down the hall with its back turned. Slowly, he tested the movement of his limbs. He folded his legs and had to stop due the nausea’s return. He took a steadying breath and moved again, gritting his teeth and rolling silently onto his stomach. His head throbbed fiercely, a shiver fighting to be released from his nerves that he managed to suppress. Something lukewarm soaked in his clothes. He risked a glance down to see a pool of his own blood covering the stone ground. That would explain the nausea and blackness persisting at the perimeter of his vision, then. And the still muffled hearing.

After another glance at the aeralfos, he ventured pushing himself to his hands and knees. He let out a slow breath as he moved, arms shaking, balance threating to buck at any moment and send him back to the floor. His stomach rolled and he froze. He took shallow breaths through his mouth, ignoring the urge to cough. The scraping sound stopped and he looked up. The aeralfos had halted in place, dropping its sword to apply better pressure to its bleeding shoulder. He needed to move quickly. It could turn around at any moment and see that he was still alive. He turned carefully but quickly, reaching for his sword. His hand closed around the hilt and he lifted it directly off the floor, not allowing the blade to scrape along the stone. He sat back on his knees, hugging the sword to his chest. He cautiously picked himself up, rising to his feet.

The nausea spiked in his throat just as he stood, head spinning, hearing muffling. He stood stiff for a moment. The nausea only got worse. He needed to move now, right now, or he was going to throw up and the aeralfos would kill him. With practiced efficiency, he clenched his jaw against every signal his body sent him to get him to lie down. He hunched low, gripped his sword, and sprinted.

The aeralfos whipped around with a craw at the sound of his boots pounding against the stone. It shrieked, reaching down to grab its sword. He drew close enough to see its eyes bug out of its head. Its clawed fingers closed around the hilt. Warriors leapt with a crackling shout. His blade slammed down on the aeralfos’s crown and embedded deep in its skull. Instantly, it crumpled. Its sword fell from its grip, hitting the ground with a clatter. He lost his grip on his own sword, stumbling forward as it fell back with the aeralfos, lodged in its head. Then he immediately fell to his hands and knees and threw up so hard his abdominal muscles cramped.

He spluttered and gasped, tears stinging his eyes. He let out a hoarse sob between heaves for air. He clawed at his chest, felt at his collar and neck. Slick blood met his fingers and he choked on another cry. The wounds were gone but goddesses, goddesses-

A sorrowful chime rung in his ear, muffled and tinny. He lifted his head, struggling to get his desperate gasping under control. The little pink fairy from earlier bobbed beside his head, speaking in pitched chimes he couldn’t understand.

“You’re st… still h-here?” he croaked, voice cracking with every syllable.

The fairy’s wings slowed and it sank through the air a little before darting upwards again. It zipped from wall to wall, giving distressed sounding rings the whole time. Warriors fell back into a sitting position, just barely keeping himself from tipping over and landing on his back. He looked to the rubble still blocking the entrance.

“Oh,” he rasped. “Yeah, k-kinda forgot we’re… we’re trapped.”

He pushed himself back so he leaned against a wall. He let out a long sigh, popping a knee up and resting an arm on it. His stomach still churned and he let his eyes slide shut, head thudding back against the wall. Soft tinkling filled the cave. He cracked his eyes open to see the fairy settle onto his knee, folding its wings.

“Thank you,” he said. “F-for sav… saving me.”

The fairy’s wings fluttered and it chirped quietly.

“That was…” His voice stuttered to a halt. Pain ripping through his chest, burning, burning- He squeezed his eyes shut until little stars winked behind his eyelids. “…pretty rough.”

The fairy chimed gently. Little hands tapped his cheek and he opened his eyes to see the pink glow hovering in front of his face. It chimed again with a bit more pep, pink sparkles drifting from its fluttering wings. Warriors allowed himself a small smile, lifting a hand for the fairy to land on.

“I can’t… can’t understand you,” he said. “But thank you.”

The fairy gave its wings a flutter before sitting on his finger. He carefully moved his hand to rest on his knee again, tipping his head back against the wall with a sigh. His heart fluttered too quickly in his chest, trying to make up for the lack of blood. He took deep breaths, not letting his eyes fall shut if only to try and keep himself awake. He needed to figure out how to get out of the cave, but the mere thought of moving right then made his stomach churn. In the meantime, he grabbed his water flask with shaking fingers, taking small sips. It felt like more water stuck to his dry throat than actually made it into his stomach, but it felt heavenly all the same.

The fairy lifted off his hand at one point, drifting farther into the cave. It froze abruptly in the air some distance away. It dropped a few inches before buzzing its wings again. It chimed loudly, zipping back to Warriors. It bounced up and down a few times, glow too bright for him to make out its figure at all. It darted down the cave and back again. He understood that, at least.

“Okay, just… give me a-a second.” He put away his flask then leaned forward. He planted his feet on the ground and slowly pushed himself up. His stomach didn’t protest quite as violently as before but his head still spun, vision shrinking slightly. He braced himself on the wall then began to gradually make his way deeper into the cave. The fairy zipped back and forth as he went, seemingly impatient with his slow progress. Or maybe just excited. Hard to tell without a reliable method of communication. The ambient light of the cave seemed to brighten the farther he walked. He was too exhausted to puzzle out how there was light at all. Then the columns finally came into view.

Several stone pillars stood in the center of a depressed section of ground. Small arches connected the tops of the pillars, forming a semicircle on the outskirts of the shallow pit. Statues depicting a head and wings stood in the middle of a few of the arches, looking very similar to the full statue of the fairy above ground.

“Huh,” Warriors said, slowing. The fairy chirped excitedly and fluttered ahead of him, sparkles trailing behind it. “I guess… guess it is a fairy fountain.”

He trudged forward as the fairy darted around between the pillars, chiming loudly. As he drew closer, he saw that the fountain sat empty of water, the stone dry. The pillars had a few cracks zagging up them, the stone old and worn just like the ruins above. He stopped at the corner where the wall turned to open up to the larger, circular room, not trusting his ability to walk without something to lean on. The fairy continued to fly around, chimes turning frantic. Looking for others, he realized with a small pang in his heart. The fountain seemed to have fallen to ruin long ago. Any fairies that had been there were long gone. The fairy, seeming to realize this, slowed its desperate searching. It hovered in the middle of the fountain for a moment, sinking as its wings drooped. Then it drifted back over to Warriors, who held out a hand for it to land on. It settled on his finger with a low chirp, glow dimming.

A drip echoed through the cave. Warriors turned, the fairy standing up on his finger. Some kind of black goop wormed its way through the rubble blocking the entrance. Bits of it wriggled free and fell to the ground with drips, the liquid continuing to writhe on the floor. He stilled, watching as more and more of the viscous fluid squeezed its way out of the rocks and into the cave, forming a dark pool on the ground. The fluid stopped seeping through the cracks after a few seconds. Then the surface of the puddle rippled unnaturally. An arm clawed its way out of the surface, landing heavily on the ground with a slap, scattering droplets of ink.

Warriors stiffened and quickly moved around the corner, out of sight. He peered back around to see a second arm emerge and brace against the ground. A head came up, then shoulders, then a whole body as the creature dragged itself out of the pool. The puddle shrank as more and more of the monster emerged until none remained, all of it serving to form the body. It stayed huddled on its hands and knees for a long moment, heaving haggard gasps. The blackness began to fade and grow patchy, leaving behind dull color. The creature stumbled to its feet before it was finished fully forming. Warriors swiftly ducked back behind the corner, holding the fairy to his chest and cupping his other hand around it, partially to protect it, partially to hide its glow. The fairy dimmed its light as if sensing this, going very still on his finger.

The creature coughed wetly, the distorted sound bouncing off the cave walls. Warriors heard a shuffle, a slither, a hiss. It coughed again. Something splattered to the floor. Warriors inched away from the corner as silently as he could, quickly looking around. His sword still sat embedded in the aeralfos’s head leaving him with only his shield. The cave dead-ended at the fountain, giving him absolutely nowhere to hide. He had no idea what this monster was. He was in no state to fight, even if he did have his sword. His heart hammered against his ribs and he let out a slow breath, wracking his brain.

Muffled voices seeped through the ceiling. Hope rose in his chest as he strained his ears. He couldn’t make out words and the voices were too quiet to recognize, but they were human, that much he could tell. A low growling sound left the creature, followed by stumbling footsteps towards him. He sank his teeth into his lip, breaths quickening.

“Captain!”

He sucked in a breath, eyes wide. Traveler. Voices spoke after the shout, too quiet for him to understand. He couldn’t call back without the monster hearing him. He couldn’t risk it finding him too soon before the others had a chance to get to him. The creature’s footsteps had stopped. He heard a very quiet sloshing.

“He…ro,” a deep, otherworldly voice snarled. The steps continued again, faster. His blood. The creature had seen his blood pooling in the hall of the cave. Which would lead it to the body of the aeralfos. And his sword. And it would know he was unarmed. He stuck a hand into his pouch, desperately searching for anything he could use. The voices above grew louder. Then quieter. He bit back a curse, hand darting from item to item. The footsteps grew closer. His fingers closed around his bow. He yanked it out then guided the fairy to sit on his scarf. It nestled into the folds of the fabric, wings folded flat against its back. Silently, he pulled out an arrow. He winced at the soft twang of the string snapping into the nock. The footsteps seemed deafening. He pulled back the arrow.

A shadowed, hunched form with blazing red eyes lurched out of the hall and into the fountain. He loosed the arrow. It slammed into the monster’s face, sinking into its cheek. Black blood flow around the arrow as the creature stumbled back with an ugly screech. Warriors quickly drew another arrow before allowing any time to process exactly what it was he was shooting. The creature ducked under the second projectile, whipping around to face him with a snarl. His heart stuttered, eyes widening briefly at the distorted interpretation of his face. The features grew clearer as he watched but he shoved down the shock. He drew back an arrow, backpedaling as fast as he could without falling. The monster, the shadow, growled and lunged. He clumsily fired the arrow as he darted to the side. The yowl of the shadow told him he must have somehow hit his mark. He twisted to face it but the movement cost him his balance. He staggered as he wildly attempted to regain it, back hitting one of the fountain’s pillars. Black splotches danced in his vision, blending with the dark patches on the shadow’s body and clothing. His body and clothing.

The shadow dove for him before he had the chance to nock another arrow. He scurried to the side. The monster crashed into the pillar and shoved off of it just as quickly, careening toward him. His head spun as his knuckles whitened around the bow. As the shadow approached, he planted a foot and sent his fist into its cheek, just beneath the arrow still lodged in its face. Its head snapped to the side and it staggered. Somewhere through the blood rushing in his ears, he thought he heard Hyrule call his name again.

“Down here!” he screamed as loud as he could, voice cracking. While the shadow recovered from the blow, he traded his bow for the knife on his belt. He slashed in an arc in front of him, forcing the shadow to stay back. It growled, pausing for a moment, watching Warriors as he carefully held his stance and struggled not to waver. He didn’t have to win. He just had to stall long enough for the others to reach him. Assuming they’d heard him.

The shadow darted forward and he darted back, swinging the knife and keeping it at bay. It repeated its attempts to get close to him a few more times, Warriors warding it away each time with the knife. Then it snarled dangerously, hunching down. It lunged. Warriors swung again, the knife slicing along the side of its neck, but it didn’t seem to care. It collided with him and the world flipped as it brought them both crashing to the ground. His head smacked against stone, starkly reminding him of his concussion as pain split his skull in half. He swung blindly, feeling resistance as the knife sank into the shadow’s side. The monster hissed but didn’t move off of him. It snatched his wrist, twisting his hand, trying to get him to drop the knife. He held on until it smashed his hand against the ground. Something cracked and he cried out, the knife jerking from his grasp and skittering away across the floor. Then hands wrapped tightly around his throat, squeezing and cutting off blood and airflow.

He choked, clawing at the shadow’s forearms, fingernails sinking weirdly into the gloves. His already darkening vision darkened even faster, rapidly shrinking. Sharp chiming reached his ears as the fairy darted out of its hiding place in his scarf. He could just make out the pink orb zipping up the shadow and battering itself incessantly against its head. But the monster paid it no mind, only tightening its grip on Warriors’ throat. He kicked as he struggled to breathe. He took a hand off the shadow’s arm to grasp at its face, trying to jab it in the eyes. If he succeeded, the shadow didn’t even flinch. Pressure built in his head, senses growing fuzzy and distant. His heart beat frantically in his chest as his struggles slowed. Something loud jammed into his ears but he could no longer discern any noise aside from the dull roaring. His hands went numb and tingly, fingers slipping off of the shadow’s arms.  A manic grin twisted into the murderous rage on the shadow’s face. His vision shrank to a pinprick, eyes lidding.

Something shifted. The pressure released. His vision flooded back and blood rushed into his head once more. The shadow screeched, the sound dampened by the muffling in his ears. Something grabbed his shoulder and he thrashed, or tried to. His fist connected with something before the hand vanished and didn’t return. Air raked through his throat as he sucked in a desperate gasp. It burned in his lungs, a fit of raspy coughs spilling out of him. The shadow screeched again and he struggled to pry his swollen eyelids apart, adrenaline blazing through his veins.

His eyes opened a crack, just enough to see Hyrule straddling the shadow on the ground, sword gripped tightly in both hands, whaling on the shadow’s head. Black blood splattered with each strike, the creature shrieking. Another sound layered over the shadow’s voice and it took Warriors a moment to realize it was Hyrule screaming. Another shout joined the cacophony and Wild sprinted over to them. He deftly dodged Hyrule’s haphazard strikes and grabbed the traveler’s wrists. Hyrule’s head snapped about to face him, eyes alight with rage. Wild’s words drowned under the ringing in Warriors’ ears, but Hyrule’s face froze then collapsed. The shadow went still and melted out from under him, the pool of black blood seeping into the ground and vanishing.

A hand landed on Warriors’ shoulder. He nearly jumped out of his skin, attempting to roll to see what touched him, which only resulted in triggering another coughing fit. Air streaked through his throat and lungs like lava, each cough only making the pain worse. He struggled to get the fit under control, dragging in thin gasps that didn’t carry nearly enough oxygen into him. As he lay on his back, tears stinging in his eyes, struggling to breathe, a low, rumbling voice reached his ears. The words were muffled to the point of incomprehensible, but he recognized the voice as Time’s. The fight drained from him the instant he did.

He forced his eyes open to see Time kneeling over him with a stricken expression. The old man’s face went in and out of focus, the room dimming and brightening at random intervals. Warriors tried to say something, but only a harsh croak left his lips, scraping against the inside of his throat. Time looked away from him with a hardened expression that badly masked his panic. Warriors let his eyes fall shut again, feeling the timbre of Time’s voice in his ears. Someone shook his shoulder and he blinked to see all three heroes suddenly crowding him. Words passed over him that he could almost make out, between Wild and Time, but his gaze drifted to Hyrule. Aside from the black blood splattered across his face and arms, deep red blood also stained the midsection of his tunic. Warriors reached for Hyrule with numb fingers, grasping at the traveler’s hand and trying to convey his worry despite not being able to speak.

Hyrule grimaced and closed his hands over Warriors’, giving them a squeeze. I’m okay. His lips moved before the words disentangled themselves in Warriors’ head.

“-said she already spent her magic healing him before,” Time was saying. Warriors looked over to him, sound still muffled but at least making sense.

“B-before?” Wild replied. “So, then, all that blood-“

“Is- is his, yes.” Time sounded ill.

A pink glow flitted across Warriors’ vision as the fairy landed back down in his scarf with a mournful chime. Warriors gave a brief effort to sit up, if only to reassure the others that he wasn’t dead, but just attempting to lift his head caused the room to careen and tumble nauseatingly. He closed his eyes with a soft hiss, waiting for the pounding to subside.

“Traveler, can you heal him?” Time asked.

“I- n-no, I’m out of magic,” Hyrule stammered. His hands tightened around Warriors’, voice dropping to a whisper. “I’m sorry.”

“You have more potions, Champion?”

“Plenty.”

Warriors winced at just the thought of trying to swallow anything. He pried his eyelids apart, opening his mouth to express that. His voice barely squeaked in response. Shaking his head caused needles to stick into his neck, so he settled for grimacing and weakly pushing the potion away when Wild offered it to him.

“Captain, you gotta drink it, you’re hurt,” Wild insisted. Warriors pressed his lips together and pushed the potion back again.

“Captain-“ Time began.

“Guys, I don’t- I don’t think he can,” Hyrule said hoarsely. “Look at his neck, it- it-“

Time and Wild’s gazes both dropped below Warriors’ chin. Judging by their expressions Hyrule didn’t need to further explain himself. Warriors relaxed slightly, giving Hyrule’s hand a grateful squeeze. The fairy nuzzled against the skin just beneath his ear and he let his eyes slip closed. Snatches of conversation jumped back and forth over him, a heavy blanket over his ears muffling them as exhaustion pulled at the backs of his eyes. Just before he slid under the gentle waves of unconsciousness, hands grabbed at his shoulders and arms. The world tilted and he groaned, or tried to, too-tight throat pinching off the sound. A sturdy arm looped around his back, holding him upright.

“Just lean on me, Captain, we’re going to get you out of here,” Time murmured beside his ear.

A second arm wrapped around Warriors from the other side, Hyrule taking his left arm and draping it over his own shoulders. Then he and Time lifted him up. Warriors’ legs gave out from under him immediately, the world pitching abruptly, gravity pulling at his stomach and the center of his skull. But Time and Hyrule were ready, already supporting all of his weight. They practically carried him between them as they made their way out of the fountain and through the hall. He tried to walk with the movement, but he mistimed nearly every step, boots tripping and dragging the whole way. Light flooded the hall that Warriors hadn’t noticed before. He lifted his head just enough to see the rubble strewn about the cave instead of plugging up the entrance. Wild, he thought with a resigned sort of fondness as he let his head lower again. He had very little doubt the champion would be the one to come up with the idea to blow up the cave-in that had been caused by an explosion in the first place.

A soft splash sounded underfoot as Time and Hyrule stepped into a puddle. Hyrule sucked in a shuddering breath and Time’s arm tightened around Warriors. Warriors blinked, convincing his eyes to focus for long enough to make out the pool of his blood. And the blade driving down through his chest, ripping apart his lungs- He tried and failed to suppress a shudder, turning his face into Time’s shoulder. Time said nothing, only holding him even more securely.

“Time,” Hyrule began in a rough voice, distracting Warriors from his memory. “Captain, I- I’m sorry for insisting we look around. If I hadn’t, then- then you wouldn’t have-“ A shaky inhale interrupted him. “And I’m sorry that I left, I didn’t- had I known, I never would’ve- I- I should’ve realized something was off sooner, but I-“

“It’s not your fault, Traveler,” Time cut into Hyrule’s quickly spiraling apology. “You were tricked. It could’ve happened to any of us. I don’t blame you. I’m sure the captain doesn’t, either.”

Warriors couldn’t nod, so he just squeezed where his hand gripped Hyrule’s shoulder in agreement. He hadn’t seen what happened to Hyrule after the aeralfos dragged him off, but he knew Hyrule wasn’t the type to abandon his brothers.

Hyrule made a choked sort of sound, squeezing Warriors in return. A blur of blue appeared on Hyrule’s other side, Wild falling into step with them and resting a hand on Hyrule’s arm. The light grew brighter as they approached the entrance to the cave. It stung Warriors’ eyes and he blinked, squinting against it. Time and Hyrule picked their way through the rubble, carefully keeping their holds on Warriors as they did. They paused at the bottom of the stairs, readjusting so they were basically fully carrying Warriors. Then they helped him up the ruined steps and out into the light of day.

[forestfullofberries]

catching up with lotr newsletter rn and i never realized for some reason that barrow downs and the prancing pony incident happen on the same day. not even one long rest between these two events. wild

[lordisitmine]

THOUGH THE NIGHT BE DARK, CHAPTER 14: LIES OF OMISSION

AO3 | FicFan

Summary:

It was then that Lizzy became fully aware of the ill-advised impulsivity of what she had done. Somehow, she had not fully expected to be believed, and now that she was, there was no way out of saying what she had ostensibly wanted so badly to say. And now, she realised with some dismay, she had not decided just what she wanted to say in the first place.

Chapter Warnings: Explicit Sexual Content Chapter Word Count: approx. 13,700 words

[hi-there-buddies]

Do you guys remember that one episode of Steven Universe where Steven got banned from Fish Stew Pizza and the Crystal Gems got all dressed up for a volleyball game? Well I was watching that episode and felt it IMPERATIVE to somehow incorporate it into my Steven Universe inspired Transformers AU, mostly because Optimus in beach wear would be amazing.

So I figured I’d draw an outfit that was PLAUSIBLE for a huge robot to wear. And then I realized I had to design a new Optimus for my AU which I had put off because designing Transformers is HARD. And then I had to find a design that looked good on him.

But I DID IT

I TRACED THE DESIGN FOR THE FLOWERS ON THE CLOTHES CAUSE I WAS TIRED DONT JUDGE ME. You can kinda tell I got lazier as I went on lol. But anyway i guess I just killed two birds with one stone: Designing my AU Optimus and drawing Optimus in beach clothes