#i ripped through the previous 4 so i’m not used to one taking so long

[cowboysmp3]

i’m on the 5th trail of the first ace attorney game rn and it’s genuinely taking forever esp since i know the ANSWER !!!!!!!!! oughhhh

[pit-and-the-pen]

I'll Crawl Home to Her- Chapter 5

This is a short but not so sweet chapter. I’m sorry in advance for what I’m about to do <3

Warnings: so much angst, mild torture and violence, injury to characters (let me know if I missed anything)

This is the first chapter I’ll put a big spoiler warning on, it follows the events at the end of A Court of Mist and Fury. I would HIGHLY suggest not reading this if you haven’t finished that book.

WC:4.5k

Previous Parts: [Prologue] [Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4]

It all went wrong so quickly. So quickly, I knew there was never any chance it would have gone right. We woke before the sun had risen. My mind instantly screamed to leave the moment I saw the bone white castle in front of us. But instead, we followed Feyre. Deeper and deeper into the castle.The cauldron urging her to find it. 

Cassian followed nearly a flight ahead of us, clearing the few guards with ease. If only I knew why it had been so easy. 

And then I saw it. It filled the room with something so dark, I didn’t have a name for it. 

“Hurry.” Was all Mor said as Feyre approached it almost timidly. 

“Listen.” Azriel whispered. I felt it then. I thought it had been my own heartbeat pounding in my ears. But as I took a deep breath, it seemed to be coming from the cauldron itself. Feyre walked towards it, eyes clouded and unfocused. Mor cried Feyre’s name as the other female reached into her cloak, hands grabbing onto the pieces of the book. I realized seconds too late as did Mor. Feyre laid the pieces atop one another. The world did not explode around us. A good omen, or simply holding its breath for something worse. I did not know. I watched as Feyre’s lips formed words I could not hear. Then the small trail of red streaked down her face. Azriel’s hands reached out so fast I almost missed it until I sensed the new addition in the room. Jurian. I took a step back, closing the distance between Mor and Cassian. Azriel retreated back a few paces as well. Putting himself between Feyre and the resurrected human. Rhys was instantly at her side. Hissing words at Jurian. The male only seemed to brush them off. I tugged on the sleeve of Cassian’s leather. A silent plea for us to run the hell away. The fog would not roll from my fingers. Frozen behind some new, unknown force. But I stayed silent, not taking my eyes off of my family as they spoke with Jurian. 

“I was sent to distract you-” The joy in those few words was enough to send my mind into a panic. I surged forward to pull them back to the stairs. “You won’t leave this castle alive.” 

Jurian tilted his head as he eyed up Rhys, my proximity to him.

“Do you know what it was like? To be forced to watch everything, to be alive in that ring. Not able to sleep or breathe, or feel.” 

“It must not have been so bad if you joined her master.” 

Rhys’ response seemed to be sucked from his chest. And I followed his eyeline and felt the air leave my lungs. The familiar face of the King of Hybern soaking us all in. 

“I’m almost disappointed you didn’t see the trap, it was oh so…easy.” 

The king of Hybern spoke, distracting all of us just long enough that no one could stop Jurian as he drove an ash arrow through Azriel’s chest. A twisted, gnarled scream ripped through my chest as I saw Azriel fall to his knees. His precious wings drooped to the ground. I scrambled over to his side before a pair of invisible hands wrapped around me, pinning me in place. A cry left my lips as I saw Rhys and Cassian struggle to haul Azriel to his feet.As the force released me, Mor’s support at my side was the sole reason I was standing. 

We marched up the stairs behind the King of Hybern. Soft sobs racked through my whole body as Mor all but carried me up the steps. My eyes did not leave Azriel’s frame. Holding my breath at every passing second, waiting for the moment Hybern would release the poison into his heart. We didn’t stop moving until we entered the throne room

The throne room ripped me from my body, catapulting me back into that vile place under the mountain. Except it was not Amarantha that was waiting for us. It was something more horrifying altogether as I watched Lucien and Tamlin step out of the shadows. 

My legs finally gave out. Mor’s hand wrapping under my arm to stop my knees from colliding with the hard marble floor. Feyre was shaking her head from side to side, like she could shake the sight from her memory. “Tamlin…” I started to take a step before a force pushed me onto my back. A snarl ripped from Cassian's chest as I yelped. My breath getting knocked out of me in a loud whoosh. I could only sit and watch as Tamlin’s green eyes swept greedily over Feyre’s figure, taking in the Illyrian leathers she was dressed in. It seemed it was only Lucien’s hand on Tamlin’s shoulder that stopped him from lunging at her. 

“What have you done?” Her voice a cold whisper. 

“It was easy really. I return you to your rightful place, and Tamlin, in exchange, would allow my shoulders to pass through his court and use it as a base when we brought down that stupid wall.” Pure panic flowed through me as I fought against Hyben’s power to try to get to Feyre, to put myself between Feyre and the High Lord of the Spring Court. I could only manage to sit up with my hands resting beside me. 

“Tamlin…please.” I panted at the effort it took to speak the words. “Don’t do this.” I searched for any other options. “Take me instead. Leave her here.” Despite the arrow through his chest, Azriel growled lowly at my words. For the first time since we arrived, Tamlin looked at me. 

“That’s what you think this is all about?” He gave a single sharp chuckle. “This isn’t about revenge for you leaving me. This is only about returning what was stolen from me.” Feyre tensed as he said her name, a command to obey in his tone. Lucien’s metal eye was whirling around in his head as he spoke Tamlin’s name. A hint of doubt and fear in his voice. A tone I had never heard from the red haired male. It felt like the world was moving in slow motion around me. My mind desperately trying to figure out how to get out of this, how to rip out that arrow from Azriel’s chest, how to get Tamlin as far away from my family as I possibly could. 

“The last part of my plan is simple. Break the bond between you two.” He pointed a bony finger to my brother then Feyre. I felt every muscle in Rhy’s body tense beside me. To his credit, he didn’t lunge at the king. The whole room took a collective breath. 

“No.” Feyre’s voice broke around the single word. I could hear the way her heart broke in that single syllable. 

“Please.” I said around a sob. 

Hybern turned his cold eyes to me. “How else is Tamlin supposed to have his bride? He can’t have Feyre dear running off to a different court every month. We saw what happened last time.” 

“I told you not to come for me that I lef-”

“We all saw that you weren’t okay. He took advantage of that, turned you against your home, against me. He stole you from me. 

“She was going to die in that house.” Anger flared through me for the first time since we arrived. 

“Don’t talk about things you know nothing about.” He spit at me, not taking his eyes off of Feyre. 

“Don’t you dare-” 

“I’ll come with you.” I swore I felt my heart stop beating. “If you leave them alone. Let them go.” 

“You’d let them- Feyre, they’re monsters.” Tamlin almost pleaded. His voice sickly sweet. Despite his words, he crept closer to Feyre, hand outstretched. He lunged at the spot where Feyre had been standing not a second before. She was now standing across the room. I felt no satisfaction in the way Rhys’ fist made contact with Tamlin’s face, knocking the male off of his feet. Feyre was at Rhys’ side in an instant. The unmistakable combined scent filling the air. Tamlin went deathly still. A look I had never seen crossed the High Lords face as Hybern confirmed what he had already realized. 

“I’m sorry.” her tone honest. 

More soldiers filled the room and I lost the last bit of control I had as I saw the color drain even further from Azriel’s face. 

“You fucking traitor. Do you know what he is going to do with that cauldron, do to all of us?” I could not stop the tears that tracked down my face. 

“There are many, many things I’m going to do with it.” He snapped and the Cauldron appeared in the room. “Starting with this.” Fire flickered in Feyre’s psalm at the sight.

“There she is. Made from all seven courts. Did you really plan to destroy the cauldron? You could rule the world with that book by your side.” He noted her silence, tilting his head with a sickening smile. “You’ll tell me soon enough. Your master made a bargain and you don’t want to know what happens to those who break their word” 

“If you take me from my mate, from my home. I will find a way to destroy you. You, your whole fucking court and everything you love.” 

“Feyre, please. Just come with us.” Lucien begged Feyre. The king’s laugh echoed through the throne room. 

“That won’t be necessary. Because you will find it in your best interest to behave, Feyre Archeron.” The four queens filled into the room but their guards did not stop as they hauled into two small figures. I heard the cry that left Feyre as we all saw the faces of her sisters and thrown at the feet of the King of Hybern. 

Feyre did not move, she wasn’t breathing. She could only stare blankly at her sisters. Elain who was sobbing even through the gag in her mouth and Nesta who yowled like a rabid animal. “If you touch them I will end you all.”

“Do you hear that,” The king of Hybern purred to the queens. “Slaughtering and destroying, that’s all they are capable of. Ending life. While I plan to give it. Now will you let me show you what the cauldron can do?”

“Please. I’m proof, Jurian is proof. I’ll give you whatever you want, just leave them out of it.” Feyre pleaded, the King just gave her a wicked smile. 

“Just show us.” A bored drone from the eldest queen. 

“Don’t look so down, Feyre. Isn’t this what you told our dear friend Ianthe about. How you would miss your sisters terribly. Now you don’t have to. Now you three can stay young together.” 

“Don’t pl-” 

A force knocked the wind out of Feyre.

“Bring them here.”

And then the room exploded. Feyre exploded around us. It felt like drowning and burning and when you come in on a cold day to a hot fire. My skin buzzed. Under that magic, a scream, Cassian’s scream pierced through me. I felt the force of it knock me off my feet once more. And then it was gone. And Azriel was crouched over me. Mor around Cassian. Cassian. One look at his wings and I felt like I was going to be sick. The room broke into chaos. Mor and Rhys both lunged for the king. Tamlin going for Feyre. And I could do nothing more than cling to the male next to me. Azriel let out a cry of pain as Mor pulled out a dagger from her belt. I froze. Mor looked back to him and let her knife fall to the floor. Mor stumbled to Azriel’s other side. 

“Start with the pretty one first.” Feyre only moved an inch before Azriel was writhing in my hold. My hand went to wipe away the strands of hair that stuck to his face. 

“You’ll be okay. It’s okay.” I whispered against his forehead. I could feel his sweat against my skin and my stomach rolled. I closed my eyes tight, praying to whatever god was still listening that this was all going to be a dream. Azriel’s hand resting on mine made me open my eyes, tears streaming down my face at the streaks of blood his hand left on mine. 

This was no dream and I could do nothing but watch as the guards struggled with Elain, pulling her up to the mouth of the cauldron. Nesta looked like she wished nothing more than to rip everyone's throat out with her bare hands. More guards joined her side to hold her back. 

“Stop this. We didn’t agree to this.” Tamlin called out, an unfamiliar horror etched into his face. Jaw and shoulders tight. When the guards continued dragging Elain to the cauldron, Tamlin pounced. Even I cried out as he was slammed to the ground by that invisible force. He strained but did not rise. 

With a blood curdling scream that drowned out Feyre’s last plea, we watched Elain get thrown into the almost black water of the cauldron. Seconds passed like hours, she hadn’t resurfaced after a few moments and both Feyre and Nesta were holding their breath. Eyes locked on the horror in front of them. Suddenly, the cauldron tipped over and Elain’s limp body tumbled to the floor. Feyre let out a sob as Elain gasped for air. I was ashamed of the relief that flowed through me. Her skin had a slight shimmer to it, ears already elongating. It worked. 

Elain was already shivering, her nightgown soaked through. 

“So it works?” One of the queens spoke, if I had been able to move I would have punched her in her perfect face. 

“The next one if you please.” Hybern spoke to the guards holding Nesta. In all my years, I had never seen someone fight as hard as Nesta did in those moments. She almost slipped out of the guards hold three times before they managed to get her to the edge of the cauldron. Before she could be dunked, I watched as she pointed a long finger at Hybern. A curse, a promise that he will pay for this moment until he stopped breathing. Nesta spent longer under than Elain did, each second passing by slower than the next. Feyre vomited as the time passed. Rhys scrambled to her side.  Nesta was dumped onto the floor beside her sister. Just like her sister, she was faintly glowing. But there was something different, unsettling. I couldn’t place my finger on it but Nesta felt like she was more than fae as she clutched her sister. 

Nesta shoved Lucien off, shoved the cloak he had wrapped around her shivering body and replaced it with her arms. Sobbing her sister's name into her hair. She rocked her like a babe. 

Between my own sobs I almost missed it. That one whispered sentence from Lucien. Mate. I never hated him more than I did right at this moment. I let my mind fill with what I would do to the both of them when we left this room. Imagined the blood was not Azriel’s but Tamlin’s or Lucien’s. That it was them screaming and not my family as it was torn apart in front of me. 

Feyre collapsed to the ground so suddenly it pulled me from my violent thoughts. Light so blinding I buried my head into Azriel’s shoulder. My hand blindly reached to cover his eyes. I sensed the light fading and peaked my head up enough to see Feyre on the ground, clutching and tearing at her head. Then she looked around the room, as if seeing it for the first time. She pushed Rhys away from her and scrambled towards Tamlin. This has to be a sick dream. 

“What did you do to me?” Feyre cried out, clinging to Tamlin like he wasn’t the reason we were in this mess. 

“How’d you do it Feyre?” Rhys’ voice wrapped around the words like a siren song. I couldn’t make sense of what was happening around me until Mor gasped. 

“What did you do to that girl?” 

“Break the bond.” Feyre sniffled. Crawling a pace towards the king of Hybern. The small flicker of her eyes back to Rhys made it come crashing down on me. She was not leaving with us. She was going to go with Tamlin. I watched as the scene unfolded around me. I cried harder. Azriel’s hand tightened on my own. They would pay for all of this, one day. I would make sure of that myself. They were-

Rhys’ scream made every hair on my body stand up. Feyre’s own screamed wove in with his and I covered my ear not pressed into Azriel’s chest with my free hand. Unable to hear the sounds around me any longer. I rocked back and forth, desperately trying to calm down. But the sobs continued as the screams did. I couldn’t take this. Hearing my family's agony was going to kill me, I was certain. Then it all went quiet. A haunting quiet that left my ears ringing. 

Tamlin ripped off the glove on Feyre’s left hand and found nothing but perfectly smooth skin. I clutched onto my brother's jacket as he crawled over to us. He wrapped his arms around our group as best as he could. 

“You’re free to go, Rhysand. His poison is gone. Shame about the wings.” He taunted my brother. I grabbed at his jacket so hard my hands shook. Fiery pain at the small motion. I turned my eyes to Feyre, to this brave and beautiful girl who once again had sacrificed everything for the people I loved. I let my thank you echo in my head, roaring in the mess that was left. It was in that split second that Mor winnowed next to the huddled newly-fae females. And winnowed away. Rhys winnowing us at the same moment. 

I couldn’t breathe. So afraid to even move. I laid on the floor until Rhys pulled me up to my feet, my unsteady legs nearly buckling under me. My eyes looked around, not believing what they saw. The warm wood of the walls in our townhome. Rhys’ arms wrapped around me, pull.ing me tight against him. My arms hung limply at my side. I felt like I was floating away, like it had been me that was pulled into that inky black water and sent adrift. 

“Stay with me.” Rhys whispered into my hair. I fought through the haze in my head and eyes, clawing my way back into the very real room I was now standing in. My muscles locked tight, an ice cold feeling traveling down my spine. A cry left my lips and I pulled myself out of my brother's arms. Caring about nothing else but Azriel suddenly. 

I crouched over him, pulling his head into my lap. The ash arrow still sticking out of him

 “I’m sorry.” I whispered as I ripped the arrow out of his chest. “Where is Majda?” I hissed to my brother. His face was pale. 

“She’s on her way, he’ll be o-”

“Don’t finish that fucking sentence Rhys.” Azriel was getting paler by the second. Eyes fully closed. I leaned my forehead against his. “Please. Please, I can’t lose you.” I whispered, not caring if the others heard. I was shaking all over but I couldn’t let go of him. 

Amren walked into the room, freezing as her eyes swept over all of us. 

“Where is she?” Her quicksilver eyes flaring with something dangerous. Rhys didn’t respond, when none of us did, she simply asked again. That fire behind her eyes growing ever brighter. 

“It was a trap. Tamlin sold out his court for Hybern’s use and Ianthe sold out Feyre’s sisters. He wanted to prove…prove the cauldron could make people immortal. Make them fae. We could do nothing. We were out of options.” Mor responded. Voice heavy with the words, like she was speaking with a mouth full of rocks. 

“Rhysand” Amren started. Blind rage flared through me at the accusation in those words, 

“She knew we couldn’t do anything. She pretended like I had made her do it all, leaving spring, staying here, the bond. She said she would go with them if they stopped. So we walked out of there freely because she stayed behind.”

“The bond?” 

“Hybern broke it.” I croaked. The words like sandpaper in my throat. 

“That’s impossible. That magic simply does not exist.”

“No it doesn’t.” Rhys spoke clearly. My eyes darted to his. That pain was real, the heartbreak for his mate could not be faked. But it was not because of the bond breaking. Because if it could not be broken then Feyre…

“Go get her. Now.” Amren hissed at my brother. 

“No.” The room trembled under the weight of a high lord’s command. Even Amren balked at him. “She is a spy, with a tie to me. So she will stay in Spring where she will see Hyberns’ soldiers, learn their plans. And so will we.”

“She isn’t a spy.

“No. She’s my mate. And she is the High Lady of the Night Court. 

“What?” Amren and Mor spoke at the same time. 

“If they removed her other glove, they would have seen the mark from last night, the ink swirled around her wrist from when I swore her in as my High Lady. My equal in every way that matters.” 

I didn’t think it was possible for my heart to break more tonight. Hearing the sure way Rhys spoke, the decision they had made in a split second together. He would never have allowed this on his own, but Feyre. The cunning girl came up with this in seconds. When Azriel’s life was hanging by a thread. She knew she would have to return to that vile place to save my family, her family. I sobbed, already tired of the sound. But for the first time tonight, there was a shard of hope poking at the edges of all the pain. Worming it’s way to the surface. But I felt it, that itch under my skin. The warm thoughts were already being dragged under by the simmering rage I felt. The rage that was echoed in my brother. The stiffness in his shoulders, his hands clenched white knuckles by his sides. The muscles in his jaw jumped slightly, eyes far away as he drifted far away for a second. Only a second before I felt the room tremble again. A deep sigh in the ground beneath us. My skin crawled in response. That surge that threatened to swallow us both whole and take the house with it.

I unwrapped myself from Azriel’s side, standing on sure legs this time. And crossed the room to my brother. I held out an expectant hand. He only stared for a few moments before he grabbed it. Winnowing us out of the house. I exploded the moment Rhys appeared back in the world. Inky blackness thick enough to hold poured out from me in waves. This was not sadness, no, it was pure rage. Rage at a male who thought he owned Feyre, could own anyone. He might hide behind polished clothing and excuses of good intentions but I could see him for the monster he truly was. Rhys stayed by my side as I fell apart. And when I saw that last cloud of black ink fade into nothing, Rhys collapsed with the force of an earthquake. The ground splitting around us. Cracks formed so deep they seemed to never end. He let out a roar that sent animals and birds running away from us. I didn’t try to comfort him. I had no words that could fix this, nothing that would bring Feyre back to us. So I sat and watched as his heart poured out from him in the only way he could. Screams broke off into sobs and that was my undoing. I sank down next to him, wrapping my arms so tightly around him I was worried if he could even breathe. Worried he wouldn’t push me away if he couldn’t.

“We’ll get her back.” I spoke against his answering swirl of darkness. “We got her out once. We can do it again. We Will do it again.” I pulled back enough to see his face. 

“And we will plan, and we will fight. And you will eat. You will breathe. And you will live knowing we will get her back. And I will live knowing that I am going to help you end them all for what they put our family through.” My own power trickled out. Nothing more than vapor before it faded away. And this time I felt it. That final death knell of the powers I had clung to so dearly. 

“And once she’s back. We go to war.” I whispered, a stray tear rolling down my face as I pushed the hope of ever using my powers again far away. There was no forgiveness in my heart. Swept away when I saw the pain in Feyre’s face. No. I did not forgive Tamlin for what had happened today. And as I tried to forget the screams as they danced around my head. I know, deep down, I never would. 

Next part: Chapter 6

Taglist: @nickishadow139 @tothestarsandwhateverend @quinzzelx @durgenyx @i-am-infinite @mariahoedt @acourtofbatboydreams @starswholistenanddreamsanswered @nocasdatsgay

[sleepiexx]

Boom

Kyle “Gaz” Garrick x fem!Reader

Note: bro literally why is Gaz so underrated I’m sick of it. Call me the messiah of the lost or some shit bc I will be writing for every character I feel has been fucked out of their fame.

Summary: Kyle finds his long time girlfriend strapped to a bomb in a terrorist attack.

Warnings: reader’s been beat tf up, there’s a bomb, Kyle lowkey tried to kill himself but not necessarily in like a suicidal way, more like a “if you die, I die” kinda way

Word count: 1073

As he found her there, beat to shit in some skyscraper in London, the life they’d lived together up until this very moment flashed before his eyes.

He remembered meeting her some time after basic training, they were both Rookies assigned together on a mission, she’d saved his ass. He was right next to a grenade and he didn’t even realize until he heard shouting. He was too slow, but she wasn’t. She tackled him to the ground and covered his body with her own, taking the brunt of the blast.

It was as she recovered from the injuries that incident left her with that they’d fallen in love with one another. From then on they’d been inseparable. They became official after a year. After 2, they moved in together, and now, after 5 years, Gaz had been shopping around for rings, trying to psych himself up to ask the question.

The IED strapped to her ticked away, the sound of her impending doom ripping Gaz out of his stupor. He rushed straight to her side.

He shook her motionless frame, pleading she was still alive. She turned her head up weakly and looked at him, blood streaming across her bruised face.

“Mm-mm,” she whined, face twisted in pain, “no.. Kyle you can’t be here.”

Gaz shook his head, disregarding what she was saying as nonsense from her delirious state. “Shh, shh, shh, I’m here sweetheart. I'm gonna get you out of this.”

“No!” She sobbed, “You gotta get away, Kyle. Bomb! There’s a bomb!”

He refused to listen, hands already moving to try and figure out the workings of the IED. He had a minute and a half on his side.

He worked frantically, but as the clock counted down, Gaz’s frustration grew. He couldn’t let her die, he wouldn’t, not on his watch.

“Fuck,” he muttered, trying hard for (Y/N)’s sake not to let his panic show. “(Y/N), love, do you know anything about this bomb?”

She shook with terror, face soaked in blood and tears, voice wavering, “No, please, Kyle, you have to go. There’s no time!”

Price finally caught up to Gaz, catching sight of the couple from across the room. “Gaz!” He yelled at the sight of the IED, stepping towards the two.

Gaz’s anxiety spiked. Normally, the sight of the old man placated Gaz. He trusted the captain to guide him through almost every situation possible, but not this one. Memories of Price tossing a man off of a balcony on a previous mission involving a bomb vest flashed through his brain. That would not be (Y/N), not his girl.

“Stay away from us!” Gaz spat, venom seeping through his tone.

Price stopped in his tracks, raising his hands up. Gaz had his teeth barred like a cornered animal. Price broke eye contact, nodding his head towards the IED.

“Look at the wires, are there any red ones?” He asked.

Gaz dropped his guard dog act, turning back towards his lover, or rather, the bomb strapped to her. His hands began to shake, tears fell from his eyes.

“They’re all black.”

The words rang out like a death sentence, yet Price remained the voice of reason.

“Alright, grab your knife, Sergeant. Don’t focus on the wires attached to the timer. Cut any attached to the explosives. Do you understand?”

“Yes sir.” Gaz’s hands steadied as he gripped his knife, following Price’s orders.

He glanced at the clock as he worked, ten seconds left. His pace quickened, cutting through every wire attached to an explosive, yet the timer kept ticking.

”No! No! No!” He cried.

5

“It didn’t work! Captain, why didn’t it work?!”

4

“Did you get every explosive?”

3

(Y/N) frantically shook her head as Gaz scrambled, scanning the vest desperately to see what he could have missed.

“Just fucking run, Kyle!” She screamed.

2

His mind raced as he found the final explosive, roughly slashing through the wire. The milliseconds on the timer ticked on, so Gaz resigned himself to his fate, wrapping his arms around (Y/N)’s sobbing form and burying his head into her shoulder.

1

Price flinched away, not wanting to witness the Sergeants’ brutal end, but to his relief, nothing happened.

Gaz slowly lifted his head, confusion evident on his face. (Y/N) met his eyes with the same confusion.

Whatever miracle had saved them, Price didn’t know, but he didn’t waste a second in running to get the bomb squad on site.

To their dismay, Gaz didn’t move from (Y/N)’s side once as the bomb squad pried the IED from her body. He sat still, holding her hand and keeping her attention on him.

The moment she was free from the explosives, she collapsed into Gaz’s arms, crying into the crook of his neck.

“God, you fucking idiot.” Her voice broke, as did any resolve she had left in preserving what little composure remained, “Why would you do that?”

He kissed the top of her head, rocking her back and forth. “Couldn’t let you die. At least not alone.”

Her voice was small, hesitant, “You’re really that willing to die for me?”

“Is that even a question?” He muttered.

They parted momentarily, only so that they could position themselves into a kiss. Lips chasing one another, desperate, hungry, pressed so hard they felt they might become one.

“Marry me.” Gaz whispered onto her lips. He’d meant to ask in a romantic way. Take her out to dinner, then to a private location where he’d get down on one knee and ask, yet with their sheer mortality becoming increasingly apparent, he knew it couldn’t wait.

She gripped onto him hard as she nodded, “Of course.” More tears streamed down her face, “Of course I’ll marry you Kyle.”

His lips curled up into a grin, “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

He threaded his fingers through her hair, pulling her in for multiple kisses that she could feel his smile through. She began to smile too, bloodstained teeth on display.

To the side, someone cleared their throat. They snapped their heads to the noise, seeing the captain staring them down with his arms crossed.

They sat like a deer in headlights for a second but quickly broke out into a fit of giggles, Price himself unable to contain his little chuckle.

“I’m just messing with you, kids. I’m proud of you, Kyle. Even if you’re a fucking idiot.”

[topguncortez]

The Professor | Chapter 4

previous part | masterlist | next part

synopsis: You and Professor Seresin now have a system going, but how long can the secret relationship stay a secret.

word count: 3k

warnings: age gap, power imbalance, mentions of smut, making out, cursing.

Two weeks. It had been two weeks of Jake finding himself deep inside his student really, at his convenience. He wasn’t sure how he was going to feel about it. He was never one for just random hookups when he was young. Him and Allison had been together since his freshman year. She had only been the third woman he had been with, the other two were high school girlfriends. Throughout his relationship with Allison, there had been times where they had broken up, and Jake found himself in bed with another woman, but again, that only happened about twice. He wasn’t really sure how to navigate the world of “just sex”, but he slowly caught on. 

The first night after fucking you, he really didn’t think you were going to leave so soon. He was used to girls hanging around at least for a little bit, some pillow talk, maybe a glass of wine and round two, then he would walk them to their cars and kiss them goodnight. But after you declined his invitation to shower with him, he quickly understood the rules to the agreement. In fact, you had laid it pretty clear to him the next day. 

“It’s simple, we fuck when we need it. Having a bad day? Yes. Hard as a rock at 11:30? Sure. One of your students said that Shakespeare isn’t real? I’m down. Just send the text,” You said and told him the emojis to use. 

The first time he did send the text he thought it was very juvenile to use an eggplant and a water droplet, but it was something simple that wouldn’t distract from the various messages about grades and homework assignments. He waited patiently for you to show up, and was surprised when you promptly arrived ten minutes after the message. After screwing every legitimate thought out of your mind, Jake offered to watch a movie again, but you were sliding your panties up your legs (you took them off this time, not being able to afford another pair of ripped ones). 

“Okay, listen old timer, I know they didn’t do hookups back in the-” 

“I am only 35,” He rolled his eyes, “And for your information, I did hookups when I was your age. Though the women were much less annoying and demanding than-” 

“Sorry I’m not going to pretend like you are doing something when in reality you are just rubbing my left lip.” 

“I think I found your clit pretty eas-” 

“Like I said, this is a hookup. Means you or I text one another, we come over, we fuck, we leave. There is no staying, there is no post sex cuddling, besides you sweat like a whore in Church.” 

“Again, when I am doing most of the-” 

“I was on top this time so you can’t even use that excuse.” 

Jake huffed and rolled his eyes, “You can find your way out.” 

“Im taking this,” You said and grabbed the sweatshirt he was wearing from the floor, and slipped it over your head. Jake watched as you grabbed your keys and baseball cap that you wore over. Once again, he didn’t walk you out, but peered out the window to make sure you got to your car safely. He also texted you to let him know when you got home safely. And you’d never admit it, but you smiled at your phone as you read the message. 

Jake had guessed that the deal to relieve some tension was working. He had heard many of his students say that they noticed a change in his attitude. He was less angry, more willing to actually have a conversation about grades and topics and not call you stupid in the process.

Jake felt like there was a weight off his shoulders as well. He had more time to work on his next research paper with his friend Bob, and didn’t have to spend hours upon hours trying to decipher what first years were trying to say. He also noticed himself smiling, just a bit more than usual. Some chalked it up to his divorce finally going through, which he did celebrate with bending you over his desk at home, but it was more than just that. 

“Many of you probably know this TV show, but it is a modern day example of Hamlet,” Jake said as he presented the slide. 

“Jax fucking Teller,” You whispered to Lucy. Jake looked over at you. He was yet to meet Lucy, but from all the times you had mentioned her, he felt like he knew her. 

“I’d let him do sinful things to me,” Lucy said back. 

“Miss Y/N,” Jake said interrupting the conversation, “Care to explain why Jax Teller is a good example of Hamlet?” 

You licked your lips as you sat a bit. The outfit you decided on today was something simple, a pair of black biker shorts and one of Jake’s old college sweatshirts. He had to refrain from looking at your ass as you bent over earlier to pick up your pencil. Somehow, you had managed to get Jake to start allowing note taking, and the whole class was thankful. 

“Jax is a perfect example of Hamlet because of what happened to his father. He’s a tortured old soul with daddy issues,” You spoke and batted your eyelashes at him. Lucy had to bite back a smirk as Jake cleared his throat. 

“Pay attention,” Jake said and turned back around. 

“Yes professor,” You said softly. Jake closed his eyes and started thinking about anything other than hearing those words come out of your mouth as you were on your knees for him. 

“If you read the assigned chapters, you should know what this slide is referring to.” 

Jake was running late as he walked into the dimly lit bar. It was hardly crowded for a Wednesday night, but there was a good sized crowd. He easily spotted his friend Bob sitting at the bar chatting with Bradley. He looked up from the glass he was cleaning and shot Jake a bright smile. 

“Look who decided to show up!” Bradley cheered and Jake shook his head. 

“Some of us have real jobs, Bradshaw,” Jake grumbled and took off his suit coat, “Whiskey neat please.” 

“And some of us aren’t miserable robots working a useless system,” Bradley said and poured Jake his drink. 

Bradley Bradshaw was a smart man, a very smart man. He and Jake had gone to school together, though they studied different majors, they were in the same fraternity, so they saw each other often and had another mutual friend, Bob Floyd, who was studying astrophysics. Bradley was in his last semester of law school, already having completed and passed the Bar exam, when he came home one day to their shitty apartment in Chestnut Hill and announced he had dropped out. Bob and Jake thought he was joking, it wasn’t unlike Bradley to joke around like that. But he showed them the paperwork as proof. 

“What the hell are you going to do?” Jake asked him, “Work at the bar for the rest of your life?” 

“Yep,” Bradley smiled and sat back on the couch. 

And that’s exactly what Bradley did. He worked at the “Main Street Bar” as a bartender all throughout undergrad and grad school. In fact, nearly three years ago, Bradley had become the owner of the bar when the previous one passed. Jake hated to admit it, but he had never seen Bradley so happy in his life, than when he was behind the bar or playing the piano. He envied Bradley for being happy with such a rash choice. 

“Have you had a chance to look over that-” 

“Hey, what’s the rules?” Bradley said, cutting Bob off. 

“It’s not like I’m going to ask him for his dissertation notes, I just wanna know if he got my email,” Bob said and rolled his eyes. Bob had gotten his PhD in physics and also taught at Boston College. Bob was a science nerd, Jake could vividly remember the day Bob moved into the frat house and put his Star Trek sheets on his bed. Bob was quiet, shy and almost scary smart. 

“I got the email, but I was a bit busy this afternoon,” Jake answered. 

“Busy?” Bradley asked, and Jake nodded wordlessly, “You got a girl.” 

“No, I don’t,” He rolled his eyes. 

“Liar,” Bradley smirked, “Moving on so quickly after Ally? Lemme guess. . . you and Natasha finally stopped playing your stupid “i’m in town, lets fuck” game and got together.” 

“It’s not Natasha,” Jake said, rolling his eyes again. 

Natasha Trace was their other friend all three of them had in common. All four of them had met in a freshman stats class, and had just stuck together after that. Natasha was the only female of the group, and the three boys had decided early on they weren’t going to try and make a move on her. But Jake only half listened to that promise. Him and Natasha snuck around a bit, until he met Allison. Natasha was also the only one of the group who didn’t go to Boston College, instead, after getting her undergrad in Military science, she joined the Navy. Whenever she was in town though, Jake always made a plan to seek her out. 

“It’s not Allison, again, is it?” Bob asked. 

“No, god no,” Jake scoffed, “It’s uh. . . it’s a friends with benefits thing.” 

“Certainly didn’t have that in my cards,” Bradley smirked, “At Least you aren’t hung up about Ally. I hate to say this now, but I never liked her.” 

Neither did I, Jake said to himself. 

“So, who is she?” Bradley asked, “Someone we know?” 

“No,” Jake mumbled, “Listen, I don’t want-” Jake’s speech was cut off as his phone rang. He looked up at Bradley for a moment, before they both reached for his phone, but Bradley was quicker than him, “Bradshaw give it back.” 

“Oh shit! Is this her? ‘Miss Thing’?” Bradley laughed. Jake shook his head, you had called yourself that once and he thought it was funny, “No passcode Jakey, tsk, tsk, dangerous,” Bradley scolded him, “Oh shit! Emojis! Bob, he got sent emojis!” 

“Bradley, really give it back.” 

“Nah this is just too good,” Bradley cackled, and continued scrolling, “Damn this is like every single . . wait. . . ‘Did you have a chance to look over the first draft notes I sent? Do you think it looks good?,” Jake reached out for his phone again, but Bradley pushed his arm away, “Seresin, are you fucking your student?” 

“Holy shit,” Bob said. 

“No, just,” Jake sighed, “Yes, but it’s not like that. It’s just for stress relief.” 

“Jake, that isn’t-” 

“Way to fucking go, Seresin!” Bradley laughed, cutting Bob off, “Finally doing something cool with your life.” 

Bob shook his head, “Jake, you can’t be doing that. What if-” 

“I know,” Jake shook his head. He had thought about what could happen if people find out that he was fucking his student it could all end badly. You and Jake had even talked about the dangers of being caught, which was why they made a promise to not do anything on campus, and always after 7PM. Jake swirled his whiskey in his glass, “We talked about it. And it’s strictly sex, I’m not doing her any favors. Only other thing she’s doing for me is helping me grade first year papers.” 

“But she’s still your student, Jake.” 

“She won’t be like a couple months,” Bradley shrugged, “You're half through the semester, she won’t be taking your class again unless she completely fails it. I don’t see a problem with getting to know your students.” 

Bob scoffed and shook his head. 

“Bob, I need you not to tell anyone. She consented all on her own, I didn’t force her. She knows that she can stop at any time and without consequence,” Jake said to his friend. Bob looked at him and clenched his jaw.

“Fine,” Bob said, and drank down the rest of his glass, “Well what are you still doing sitting here? She sent you emojis.” 

Jake cracked a smile and Bradley handed his phone back. He said goodbye to them before heading out of the bar. Your car was already sitting on the street when he arrived. He didn’t mind that you always came to him, and he hadn’t seen your house, save for the time he dropped you off one night. You said that it was too risky for him to be there with your roommate and her boyfriend around. Jake whistled to himself as he opened the door to his house and jogged up the stairs. 

“Took you long enough,” You said as Jake opened the bedroom door to find you in nothing but lace red bra and panties. Jake felt himself stiffen in his dress pants. 

“Where did you get this?” Jake said and gestured towards her undergarments. 

“Someone left a card with some cash in my backpack and said ‘buy something nice. And red’ on it,” You smirked and pushed yourself up on your knees at the edge of the bed. Jake walked over, his hands going straight for your hips. 

“Glad you spent it on more than just alcohol,” He nodded. 

You rolled your eyes and ran your hands over the expensive dress shirt he was wearing. Your hands helped push his suit coat off and landed on the floor. Grabbing his face softly in your hands, you pulled him in for a kiss. His hands went to your ass, squeezing it in his hands. You gasp and he slips his tongue into your mouth. Jake leans you back on the soft bed, and your legs wrapped around his waist pulling his hips to be flush with yours. You moaned at the feeling of his already erect cock hitting your core. 

“You’re needy, you know that,” Jake laughed, “Already wet for me and I didn’t even do anything. 

“I sit in class and listen to you rant about stupid shit and get turned on,” You admited. 

“Really?” Jake asked, and you nodded, “Gonna have to show me next time. But for now,” He grabbed your hips and turned you around so you were on your front, he slapped your ass making you jump slightly, “That didn’t even hurt, quit acting like it did.” 

“You going to fuck me or talk the whole time?” You looked over your shoulder, “Cause I can leave and finish this job myself. My vibrator does a pretty nice job.” 

“One, shut up,” Jake said as he discarded his dress shirt, and trousers, “Two, bring your vibrator next time, I want to use it,” He slid his boxers down his legs and climbed on top of you. You sucked in a breath as his hands spread your cheeks apart. He groaned at the sight of your wet cunt. He ran a finger through your slit, and before pushing it into your opening. He pumped his finger in and out of you a bit, working you open for him. When he felt like you were ready, he lined his cock up with your weeping hole. 

“Three, I will always fuck you,” He slid into you with ease. Every time he fucked you, it was easier for him to slide into your cunt, your body now getting use to his size. It was still a bit of a stretch, and Jake waited just a moment for you to adjust to his size, starting off slow and working up to a faster more brutal pace that had you screaming his name. 

Derek was being pushed to the side and he couldn’t stand it. At first, he summed it up to you being busy with your studies. Everyone was busy as it was nearing midterms, stressing out on whether or not they should continue with certain classes, trying hard to make high marks on their upcoming exams and papers. You hadn’t been out drinking on Friday nights with Lucy and Zeke like normal. You also didn’t leave class with him and Lucy either, almost always staying after class to talk to Professor Seresin. 

Professor Seresin. Derek hated him. Derek had spent nearly six hours writing on his last paper, even having it looked at by the writing and media center, and sent it in before the due date, and ended up getting an F on it. Derek had tried to ask Professor Seresin for an explanation on the grade, since he didn’t believe in rubrics or giving proper feedback. But Professor Seresin merely dismissed Derek and others and told them his famous line of “drop date is coming up soon.” 

“Do you think something is going on with Y/N and Professor Seresin?” Derek asked Zeke  as the two of them walked to class. Zeke looked over at his friend and shrugged, “It’s just. . . she’s ignoring me again. She hasn’t invited me over in weeks!” 

“Maybe because she doesn’t like you,” Zeke laughed. 

“She likes me.” 

“No dude, she doesn’t. Lucy tells me nearly everything they talk about. And Y/N does not like you,” Zeke answered as he opened the door to one of the lecture halls, “And why are you here so early? Your class isn’t for. . . another hour?” 

“Going to talk to Professor Seresin,” Derek said, “Ask him about this stupid lecture quiz grade. But I’ll see you later.” 

Zeke nodded to Derek and went his separate way towards his class. Derek walked up to the floor of Professor Seresin’s office. He had rehearsed what he was going to say over and over. He was going to demand that Professor Seresin explained the reasoning for his grades and that he raise the grade of his last quiz. Derek fixed the collar of his sweatshirt as he arrived outside the door. He raised his hand to knock on the door, but froze, seeing two people through the crack in the blinds. He squinted as he moved his body over to the side a bit, so he could see through the blinds easier. 

“Holy shit,” Derek’s eyes widened as he saw you perched on Professor Seresin’s lap, your hands tangled in his hair, and his lips on yours, “Jesus Christ. . . no wonder he’s been so nice lately. He’s fucking my girl.”

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[buriednurbckyrd]

Nothing Stays the Same Forever: Chapter 4

fContent Warning: fat/body shaming.  Joel and Tommy aren’t having any of it, but proceed with some caution it is pretty mean. Also, Joel might be a wee bit ooc but I can’t help it.  I’m weak thinking about that gruff man being soft and sweet.

previous

It had been about two weeks since he had last seen her.  According to Ellie she had been by the house a few times to visit.  He wanted to tell the girl not to wear out her welcome, but it sounded like Y/N was happy to sit and listen to whatever the teenager had to say.  And Joel knew she had a lot to say.  So he figured that if it got to be too much Y/N would nudge her along.  It did make him happy to see Ellie had a woman she trusted, though he kept that thought to himself.  Not that she didn’t have a good relationship with Maria, but it was different.  

He might have gone longer, until the next “family” dinner, but that morning he realized there was a large tear in his most worn jacket.  The lining flapped open exposing the fibrous filling, and for the life of him he couldn’t remember when or how it happened.  He asked Ellie and the teen had just shrugged and said something sarcastic before going off with a group of kids.  So after helping out with some of the livestock he cleaned up and headed over to the building Tommy told him Y/N worked out of.  

He heard the sewing machine going when he stepped through the doorway, and she was hunched over, all her focus on the stitches.  An old tape deck played what he thought was an old Patsy Cline ballad from a corner.  There were neat stacks of clothing on shelves and boxes labeled ‘scraps’.  He didn’t want to startle her so he waited patiently until the machine stopped and she pulled her project away, neatly snipping a thread.  She held it up and he saw it was a sweet little quilt, the squares sewn into a heart pattern.  He tapped his knuckles on the door frame to get her attention and she turned sharply, her expression wide eyed.  When she realized it was only him she relaxed a fraction.  

“Oh, hello Joel.  I was a little worried you were Maria or Tommy.  This is a surprise for them.”  She gently set the material aside.  “Is there something I can help you with?”  He nodded and walked over to hand her his jacket.

“I saw this big rip this morning.”  She took the garment from him to examine, a little furrow between her brows.  

“Huh, it almost  looks like the seam was cut.  Maybe the thread came loose and you snagged it on something.”  She looked up with a soft smile.  “It’s a quick and simple fix.”  

“I can wait.”  He said.  Y/N blinked a few times and her hands fumbled a bit.  

“That’s fine,” she finally replied.  “There’s um, an extra chair right there.”  She got up to look through her supply of thread to see if she could match the original color.  “This isn’t an exact match, but it should blend in and it won’t be noticeable.”  She heard the chair scrape across the floor.

“That’s fine.  As long as it’s fixed.”  She was a bit surprised when she turned back to see he had moved the chair to sit more or less directly across from her at her work table.  Refusing to let him see that she was even a little bit rattled she quickly regained her composure and sat back down.  He carefully pulled the little quilt closer to him so he could look at the pattern.  Watching his dark eyes take in the details of something she had worked so hard on was nerve wracking.  He traced his calloused fingertips over the heart that made up the center of the blanket.  

“It’s for the baby.”  She told him in a quiet voice.  “I have a little teddy bear at home too.  Tommy came back from patrol one morning with his flannel all torn up after he stumbled into a pricker bush.  I salvaged enough to use so the baby has something made at least partly from something that belonged to their daddy.”  

“Very thoughtful of you.”  He told her.  “This looks nice.”  He tapped the unfinished quilt.  She ducked her head, but he saw the pleased grin on her face.  

“It’s not much, but sometimes I have a lot of down time.  I never made many blankets or quilts before…well, just before.  But I hate to see anything go to waste so I try to recycle any ruined clothing and stuff and turn it back into something useful.”

“Gets cold.”  Joel wanted to smack himself for his stilted small talk but she didn’t seem to mind.  

“It’s nice to give people something new, even if it’s made up of old parts.  There isn’t much that exists anymore that didn’t belong to a whole lot of other people first.”  He followed her nimble fingers with his eyes, watching her quickly and carefully stitch the lining back together.  Every once in a while she would pause and coax the fiber fill back in.  All too soon, she was finished, and if Joel hadn’t seen the damage himself it would have been impossible to tell that it had ripped at all in the first place.  

“You do good work.”  He said after inspecting it.  

“It ripped along a seam, really no trouble.”  She looked down and away again and he frowned.  

“Don’t sell yourself short.  I don’t see anyone else in here doing the work.”  She shook her head.  

“There’s lots of people in Jackson doing a lot more than I can.”  She wrung her hands together.  “Keeping us all safe, hunting for food…I’m just here with my needle and thread.”  

“I hunt.  I patrol.  I definitely can’t pick up a needle and thread and do this,”  he held up his jacket.  “Or take scraps of fabric and turn it into that.”  He gestured at the baby quilt.  “Jackson doesn’t only need hunters and guards.  It needs people like you that keep us all clothed.  That are thoughtful enough to make a blanket and teddy bear for a friend’s baby.  Or a quilt to keep someone warm at night.”  

“That’s kind of you to say, thank you.”  She replied after a few moments.  

“Thank you for the repair job.”  He said, putting the jacket on.  “Seems it’s about quittin’ time, buy you a drink?”  The invitation surprised him as much as it did Y/N.  

“Oh, that’s not necessary…” She began.

“Maybe not.  Still offerin’.”  He could see the struggle in her face, and he wondered why he wanted her to accept so badly.  

“Well, okay.  Thanks, that sounds nice.”  She finally answered.  “Just um, let me tidy up everything real quick.”  She hoped that setting her work space back to a clean slate would calm her frazzled nerves but she was no calmer when she finished putting things away.  She carefully folded the tiny quilt and tucked it into a box with spools of thread.  Taking a moment to press a hand to her chest to soothe her thumping heart, she steeled herself and turned to leave with Joel.  

…

She hadn’t stepped foot into The Tipsy Bison before then.  Alcohol tended to erode away people’s filters, and in Y/N’s experience that led to her needing to dodge insults and cruel critiques.  But Joel’s presence gave her a slight feeling of security.  He wasn’t the type of person people went after, he was the type of person that cleared a pathway through a crowd with an air of intimidation.  He was however, still a southern gentleman at his core and pulled out a bar stool for her.  She awkwardly climbed and slid onto the seat.  Joel sat next to her, his arm nearly touching hers.  It made the side of her body closest to him tingle just from his proximity.  She was happy to see Tommy behind the bar.  Seeing another familiar face was comforting in a place where she was more or less completely out of her element.  

“What can I get you two?”  He asked them with an open smile.  

“Usual.”  Joel grunted.  Y/N hesitated.

“I’m not much of a drinker…”  

“How about a glass of mead?”  Tommy suggested, pouring whiskey into a glass for his brother.  “They use honey from our own hives to make it.”  

“Sounds good, I’ll give it a try.”  

“Didn’t know people still made mead,” Joel said.  “Guess when the world ends you figure out how to keep getting drunk.”  He took a sip from his glass, savoring the smokey flavor of the whiskey.  

“Guess so.”  Y/N replied.  He sensed her tense up beside him when a few men wandered up to the bar.  Tommy set a glass of golden liquid in front of her and turned his attention to the new arrivals.  She was silent, her left hand clenched so tightly her knuckles turned white, but she took a sip.  “Pretty good.” She muttered.  Joel turned his head when a table across the room erupted into raucous laughter leaving his bad ear facing her.  So he didn’t hear what was said that had Tommy furious and yelling; and Y/N looking like she had been slapped.  

“The fuck is wrong with you?”  Tommy demanded, pulling the drink he was about to serve back from a man with a smug grin on his face.  

“I’m sorry, I just haven’t seen a land whale since the world ended.  Figured with it being the fucking apocalypse they would have all gone extinct with nothing to eat.”  His buddy beside him laughed.

“Didn’t know Jackson let bloaters move in.”  Joel’s vision went red and hot with anger and he suddenly found himself with his hand wrapped around the first man’s throat.  

“Excuse me?”  He hissed through gritted teeth.  Tommy started to make his way around the bar.  “The fuck did you say?”  The man swallowed nervously but refused to back down even in his precarious position.  

“Hey man, I get it.  Chubby chasing was fun back in the day, but she’ll eat you out of house and home before the novelty wears off.”  Joel’s fingers constricted and the man’s face started turning red.  

“Joel, Joel!”  Tommy gripped his forearm and tugged.  “Let ‘im go.  He’s not worth it.” 

“Imagine getting so worked up over the little piggy that went to market.”  The buddy laughed, the sound sharp and cruel.  Joel threw the first man aside.  He hit an empty table hard, landing on the bar floor.  He pushed past Tommy and caught the other man by the shirt and watched his expression turn downright afraid with a decent amount of satisfaction.  

“If either of you ever dares to even breathe in her vicinity I will break all the bones in your hands.  If she offends you so much, don’t fucking look at her.”  He shoved the man away and shook his head, looking around to see where Y/N had gone.  

“Guess the fat bitch has a guard dog.”  The first man muttered as he picked himself up.  

“Joel…”   Tommy started, reaching out to try and hold his brother back.  But the older man was far quicker and the sound of snapping bone reached his ears before he could pull Joel away.  The man let out a shrill scream and fell back clutching his arm.  

“You broke my fucking wrist!”  He shrieked, and Tommy saw his hand hanging at an unnatural angle.

“You’re lucky he didn’t break more than that,” Tommy sighed and signaled for some of the other residents to come pick the man up.  “Take him to get patched up.”  He told them.  He knew the headache wasn’t over, but he couldn’t honestly fault his brother for his reaction.  Joel’s chest was heaving, the fury beginning to leave him.  He turned a few times, looking for Y/N.  “She left, Joel.”  His brother shoved past him, the door slamming closed behind him.  He let out another sigh and got to doing his best at damage control.  

She was nowhere to be seen in the town but he figured she would most likely head to her home, her safe place.  His pulse rushed in his ears, the adrenaline of anger still pulsing through his veins.  It shouldn’t have shocked him, to see that people still had the capability to be so vicious to a person that had never harmed them or anyone else.  His only worry right then was that he had frightened her, but in the moment he couldn’t help the violent rage that had bloomed in his chest.  Y/N was one of the kindest people he had ever met, even before cordyceps had plummeted the world into chaos and catastrophe.  

The further he walked with no sign of her the more frantic he found himself getting.  He broke into a quick jog, not stopping until he was on her porch and banging on her door.  He continued until it was wrenched open and his heart twisted to see her tear stained face. 

“What is it, Joel?  I’ve had enough of this night.” 

“I wanted to see if you were okay,” he said, out of breath.  “But I guess that’s pretty foolish, you clearly aren’t.”  

“I’m fine.”  Her voice was tight, she was trying not to start crying again.  “I’m used to it.  Everyone always has something to say about my body, how I look.  The end of the fucking world didn’t change that.”  She turned and stomped further into her house, leaving Joel to follow.  

“Those things they said, they’re fucking idiots.”  

“You think saying that changes anything?”  She cried.  “I’m the fucking idiot, Joel! I

always think it’s gonna be different, that I’ll find some place that just lets me exist in goddamn peace but I’ve finally learned I’m never going to.  But at least here I won’t be turned into a fungus zombie or be forced to-”  She broke off and looked up at him, shocked at what she was about to say out loud.  He took a step towards her.  

“Forced to what?”  He said quietly, his soft tone dangerous.  She shook her head violently and her face crumpled, fresh tears spilling from her eyes.  “Shh, it’s okay, darlin’ you don’t need to talk about it.”  He stepped closer, and laid his hand on her shoulder.  “Come on, now, you don’t need to cry.”  Tears had always been his weakness.  Moving slowly so he didn’t upset her more, he gently pulled her closer, holding Y/N’s trembling form.  She gripped at his shirt like it was a life line.  “Let it out, it’s gonna be alright.”  He tried to soothe her as she cried herself out.  When she quieted back down he took her chin between his thumb and forefinger, tipping her face back.  The pure misery in her eyes was like a gut punch.  “You didn’t deserve that tonight, and you didn’t deserve all that shit in the past either.”  Her eyes closed and another tear slipped down her cheek.  

“I’m so tired.”  She whispered.  Joel wiped the tear away with his thumb. 

“You’re so beautiful.”  He murmured, taking them both by surprise.  Y/N’s eyes opened again in shock.  “I wish you could see it.”  

“Don’t.”  He could feel her trying to pull away from him.  

“I don’t say things I don’t mean, Y/N.”  He cupped her cheek.  The way she looked at him with her big, sad eyes had his stomach twisting in knots.  “Prettiest lady in this whole damn place.”  She closed her fingers around his wrist, her fingers sliding across his pulse point made his knees feel weak.  

“You’re just trying to make me feel better.”  

“I’m not a particularly nice man.”  

“No, you’re not.”  She dropped her arms.  “But you aren’t mean.” Joel chuckled lightly with a sort of grim smile. 

“I can be, but not to folks that don’t deserve it.”  When her bottom lip trembled again he soothed his thumb over it.  “And you don’t deserve mean from anybody.”  The gentle kiss he pressed to her forehead made her heart ache.  “You go on and mop yourself up and get some sleep, Y/N.  If you need anything you know where I am.”  She nodded, looking mildly dazed.  He turned to leave.  

“Joel?  I heard some commotion before I got too far away.”  He made a sound of affirmation.  “Did you fight that man?”  He paused in the doorway.  

“Wasn’t nothing he didn’t deserve.”  He said finally.  “Goodnight, Y/N.”

next

taglist: @boofy1998 @o-sacra-virgo-laudes-tibi

[forthesanityofstorytellers]

Five Lines Tag!

Tagged by @mysticstarlightduck here, thanks!

Rules: find five lines based on the prompts you're given, then change ONE of the prompts at the end!

Gently tagging: @afoolandathief @waltzshouldbewriting @asterhaze @vacantgodling @cosmo-lexies (no pressure at all!)

(Not sure if this is what's meant or not, but I'm using the prompts from the previous post, sans one I swapped, feel free to do the same if you guys play!)

a line about a building (Halfblood)

I kept my head down as I padded towards the old creaky doors, slapping against the rest of the building as if seeking permanent release. Wanting to spring free of the hinges, even if it meant breaking apart to do so. The wood was so old it would splinter upon contact with anything, the freedom it sought only bringing inevitable destruction closer and closer to reality.

Still, it insisted, the door slamming itself against it’s frame in barely any wind, clamoring in any way it could in it’s desire to be free.

I reached out and grabbed the rusted knob, leaning against the old wood and silencing it’s cries.

2. a sad line (Abracadabra)

It was a bit of a silly thing, to be honest. The grave had been created by one of me, whichever one of me happened to be here at the time of death’s visit. While I may have only been human on my mother’s side, some of the traditions she taught me had stuck even after all this time. In the end, I suppose traditions and stories are the only real things left after we pass. My mother survives through me because I choose to remember her traditions. Whenever it is that I truly die, I will only live as long as my stories do. Beings, Terrans and otherwise, are easily forgotten. Stories and traditions are not.

I guess that’s all any of us can truly strive for.

3. a line about food (Abracadabra)

Eventually she looked squarely at me and snapped, “what!?” “Nothing. You just seem…irritated.” She growled and swiped my can of cucumbers, shoving a finger through the top and hooking it around the lid, giving it a yank. The metal screamed as she ripped it open and handed it back. “I’m fine.”

4. a line that is shouted (Abracadabra)

“We’re getting ready to take off,” Miles said with a grin, slight tinges of color starting to show against his skin and clothes. Interesting. “Take off?!” she shouted. I nodded, holding on to the edge of the desk. The ship heaved, Layla ducking down against Kashi’s back and looking around. “Aren’t we inside something?! What about the pocket dimensions? And…and what do you mean take of!?” “What do you think it means?!” Miles asked back, grin widening as a set of engines kicked into life.

5. a funny line (Abracadabra)

She snorted and very plainly stated, “Niipalnon-iara elelonea’aisim. Sionrar.” We are not going on that thing. “Com’on,” I said, pointing at it again. “It’s perfect for what we need. Give me one good reason.” “Nainia’absman-king!” It’s a fucking ghost ship, she snapped, starting to turn away. “Ionlikei-Layla se-kanim niipalnon-iara.” I’m not putting the kid in danger on that thing.

[jinmukangwrites]

Choose Your Own Adventure: Linked Universe

Master Post

Previous Poll

--

["Investigate it Yourself" (68% majority Vote)]

--

“Hold back,” Twilight says, tightening his grip on his weapon. Wild nods, keeping his bow strung, while the others nervously shift their positions. “I’m going to check it out.”

“Careful, pup,” Time says cautiously, almost making Twilight roll his eyes. Don’t have to tell him something he was already going to do.

The air shimmers with anxiety as he steps forward, carefully. Like the world itself has begun to hold it’s breath. Something snaps again, and Twilight turns toward where it’s come from; his eyesight landing neatly on a rather large bush ladened with berries and thorns.

His own breath seems too loud to his own ears as he approaches. Perhaps, it’s just a wild animal picking at those berries for a late dinner?

Time shifts behind him, catching the evening sun and reflecting a blade of light across the bush. Two predatory eyes flash in that light, one after another.

A growl erupts from the shadows, and Twilight swears.

Before he can even try to step back, the creature pounces, a long wolf-ish snout sneering and dripping with saliva. Twilight lifts his sword arm, but he’s too late to fully deflect the Wolfos. The sword slams into it’s collarbone, but it’s freakishly long front arms whip out and sharp claws dig into Twilight’s side.

Pain rips through his body, just under the curve of his ribcage and to the side of his belly.

The monster makes another attempt to strike Twilight, ignoring the sword that barely had even pierced it’s thick hide, but before that can happen, three arrows pierce expertly at its hulking body, one in each shoulder, and another right through the paw that was about to strike.

Twilight scrambles back as the Wolfos retreats, snarling. It glares at Wild, then turns tail and flees.

“Rancher!” Warriors shouts, reaching Twilight first and helping him keep steady on his feet. Already, practiced hands reach towards the wound.

“Was that thing spying on us?” Wind shouts.

“More like stalking us like prey,” Legend breaths.

A howl erupts in the distance, and several more monstrous shouts answer.

“I hate it when I’m right,” Legend groans.

Twilight groans as Warriors runs some water over the wound, ignoring the others as they begin to argue what to do. “It doesn’t look bad,” Warriors says, “but if it’s bugging you, it might be a good idea to heal up. We have incoming.”

True to Warriors words, the howling and screeching of monsters sound ever closer.

“Should we run?” Sky asks, the Master Sword glinting in his grasp, raised and ready.

“I say we meet them head on,” Wind says, “they’re going to be faster than us, so might as well fight them when we’re not tired from running.”

“We have no idea how many there are,” Legend snaps back, “could be a whole army.”

“If they’re Wolfos, they’re tracking us with scent, there’s a river nearby, it could help lose the scent,” Hyrule adds.

“There’s nine of us,” Wild argues, “we can take them.”

More howls, closer. They’re wasting time.

Character health and inventory post

Twilight: 94/100HP

Health Potions are NOT infinite, every Link starts with Two. They can be found and bought throughout the story, but they're rare. Use wisely!

Health can also regenerate passively on Parts per No Damage. For every Part uploaded from here, if Twilight takes no damage, he will regenerate 1d6 of HP.

Health Potions heal only when it wins on a majority vote, they heal 1d10 per 10%, so on a 4 option poll, the lowest a winning vote can get is 25%, meaning the health potions would heal 2d10 of HP. At 100% on a winning vote, it would heal 10d10.

Fairies can also heal, but they will not become available until Health Potions are all used up, or the Character is at 0HP.

I encourage all of you to look in notes and see what others are voting!

Okay, you can vote now, the rest of this is for those who are interested in the mechanics:

Why did Twilight get hurt?

Before posting, I set a DC (difficulty class) for each poll option that comes into effect ONLY when that poll option wins. DCs determine how successful something is, I set them kinda like a dungeon master in a dungeons and dragons game, which means the DCs are based purely on how well I think something could possibly work out and are secret until the player has rolled. DCs are based on the total percentile of a winning poll option. Losing poll option DCs become irrelevant.

DCs for the previous poll:

Send Wild to investigate: <50% Wild shoots into the bush, misses, takes 1d10 damage from attacking Wolfos per 10% below. Twilight backs up Wild and scares the Wolfos away. >50%, Wild shoots into the bush, hits, and scares the Wolfos away.

Send Twilight to investigate: >80% Twilight blocks the attacking Wolfos, Wild helps scare it away. Every 10% below DC, Twilight takes 1d10 of damage.

Ignore it: no DC, the party will be ambushed by more monsters later.

There are other Mechanics that I will introduce as we progress, like Risk and Stress, however, I don't want to overwhelm you all from the beginning. Consider these first few parts as "tutorials".

Twilight takes 2d10 of damage on a 60% majority vote:

Yes I have Zelda dice and a Zelda dice tray on hand

[anthropologicalhands]

twenty questions for fic writers

tagged by @redbelles !

1. how many works do you have on ao3? 112

2. what’s your total ao3 word count? 497,546

3. what fandoms do you write for? currently, I’m still eyeballs deep in black panther (mcu). I’ll write for whatever catches my interest, but previous fandoms include naruto, yuyu hakusho, thor (mcu), mass effect, and crazy ex girlfriend

4. top five fics by kudos

vigil of the loved tales of the storyteller bring back the baby shoes sleeping arrangements pft, tradition <- biggest shocker honestly

5. do you respond to comments? i’m making more of an effort these days! I might respond late, but i do try to respond because it’s a nice way to talk more about characters and stuff with people.

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? probably a frozen pond alight with torches. It’s a hina fic, by nature of canon it’s doomed. I tend not to write straight angst though. Or maybe i stay up all night in your memories, where priya has to let go both of ajay and, worse, of seema so they can all move on.

7. what’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? by far don’t need no ammunition, aka the sif goes to midgard au. loki doesn’t fall into madness, thor and jane get to stay in contact, and sif gets a shiny sword that cuts through dimensions. everyone wins! it’s so self indulgent, but i do find it endearing.

8. do you get hate on fics?

almost never, but the only time i remember getting hate is on make me an offer i won’t refuse, where some commenter took issue with how i wrote kay and her and michael’s relationship. they clearly hated kay as a character but still read a whole fic about her, so i wasn’t even angry, i was just completely bemused by it. 

9. do you write smut?

…i do. i have a very limited comfort zone, but honestly i want to write more and get better at it!

10. craziest crossover:

I don’t really do crossovers, except for the ceg fic that ended up featuring jean ralphio from parks and recreation. that was super fun, but i think it’s too tonally consistent to count as crazy. I’m more likely to write fusion fic than crossovers

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not as in someone else tried to take credit for it — i have had my fics uploaded onto other websites w/o my permission though

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

I have! In the Naruto fandom, someone translated one of my fics into Vietnamese. that was pretty cool, but i think i lost the link.

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

just for fun! And there was one sasusaku/uchiha family round robin fic i was fortunate enough to participate in. 

14. all time favorite ship?

nah, can’t do it

15. what’s a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

rip telepathy au. I had so much written but i couldn’t figure out a couple key parts and then i lost steam for writing ceg fic. I’ll never say never, but i think that one is gone.

16. what are your writing strengths?

i think emotions, how characters relate to each other, moments of high intensity and catharsis

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

Setting! i hate it, because i loooooove a good vivid setting, but i have such a hard time visualizing places! Especially new places!

18. thoughts on dialogue in another language?

probably only a good idea if you are fluent. I have used honorifics in anime fics, but i worry that i apply it too inconsistently and not as thoughtfully as i should have, so these days i try to move away from it.

19. first fandom you wrote in?

unpublished, probably teen titans or sailor moon. published, naruto

20. favorite fic you’ve written?

I think understand the edge of this desire is one of my favorite things I’ve written, just because i think i got the voice and the mood right, and it took a long of agonizing over both.

tagging anyone who wants to do this meme!

[matt-lifesage]

Ciel’s route continues to restructure and recontextualize all the way to the end by changing how Type-Moon endings work, which kinda threw me for a loop until I figured out what they were going for (spoilers for the ending of A piece of blue glass moon)

So Day 14 of Ciel’s route closely follows the original’s final day and ends on the same cliffhanger. But this time, the following epilogue is completely new. It's a somber ending but still an appropriate and satisfying one that does a great job wrapping up the story and ripping out my heart.

After getting this first ending, you unlock the ability to go back and hit certain flags for an extra ending--leading to an original version of Day 14 which is an insanely indulgent, lengthy action sequence that ends on a far neater and happier note, leading into a tweaked version of the original game’s true ending for a complimentary super happy ending to the super sad one--though it doesn’t resolve most of the dramatic threats too well, only sends the main trio off on a nice note.

I like this structure. Gating you into a 'Normal' ending before giving you the option for the extra stuff is neat. I do have a couple notes, though, because what really threw me off for a minute was that in previous Type-Moon visual novels, this second ending would have been called 'Good.' It’s 'True' this time, despite not feeling like a traditional true ending. In the past, the 'Normal' was a complimentary sadder take on the events, but never mandatory and didn’t necessarily do a good job at wrapping up the loose ends. But 'Normal' this time is mandatory and does a better job at wrapping up parts of the story. What complicates this is the flags to get 'True' in Remake are the choices that led to the original’s 'Good' and original's 'True' lead to Remake's 'Normal' and-- (and at this point, anyone reading this who hasn’t played both games is totally lost……)

TLDR: Ciel's True End works nearly the same way previous game's 'Good' endings did, and I would have called it 'Good' to remove the connotation.

Weird pedantic nonsense that only bugs me aside, I did have some mixed feelings about that ‘True’ Day 14.

The final battle is indulgent in all the best and worst ways. Do you want an all-out brawl with a fully-powered Arcueid? A first half featuring Ciel operating at her total demigod peak, and a second half with Shiki teaming up with Roa and using his full vampire abilities in an apocalyptically bombastic action set piece that invokes Evangelion meets Drakengard meets FGO?? Yeah, it’s some great spectacle--but not to be a traditionalist, it’s really not why I read Tsukihime. As awesome as it was, power-scaling Shiki is actually the opposite of why I find him an interesting protagonist in a fight scene. But hell, this route was the only chance Type-Moon had for justifying something like that--same with showing off Arcueid at full power. I understand the desire to pay off the 20 years of hinting at what her character can do with something totally insane. I’m glad it exists for that reason alone.

Here’s the deal though: It’s a fitting sequence for finally showing off Arcueid’s insane potential as a super boss, but it’s not a fitting climax to the route it's in--hence why they structured the endings for this fight to be ‘extra.’ If they didn’t include the Normal Days 14 and 15, I would absolutely hate this. And I think they knew that which is maybe why they gated it inside an ending you need to work for after getting that first ending.

My annoying #not-my-tsukihime instinct aside and dead where it belongs, my legit criticisms of this sequence come in the form of a recommendation: Maybe take a couple days to read it because it is oppressively long. We’re talking about almost 4 hours, and I know plenty of people with slower reading speeds than mine. It got to the point that I didn’t feel like the characters were going through a gauntlet to get to their happy ending. I felt like I was going through a gauntlet to get to their happy ending.

Also, for what dramatically adds up to be a tweaked version of the first Day 14 you read… I don’t think its dramatic scale matches the insane stakes it suddenly drops you into. Type-Moon has been excellent at aligning drama with spectacle (see Heaven’s Feel’s climax and Mahoyo’s True Magic payoff), but here it feels inflated (see what I did there) far beyond the reach the route can justify. Honestly, both of these criticisms aren’t too big of a deal when seen through the lens that it is something extra. Which is exactly what it is! So the VN manages to get across the tightrope unscathed.

Beyond that, True Day 15 was fantastic. Beautifully done. Invoking the original epilogue as well as Kagetsu Tohya and Hollow Ataraxia. Even if I found the climax on the verge of exhaustively over the top (seriously, maybe spread your read of it across multiple days. DON’T DO WHAT I DID), the epilogue was the perfect note to end the novel on.

Now if you'll excuse me, I’m going to start clawing at the walls in anxious anticipation for The other side of red garden.

[anonymousfoz]

The Earth, Stars and Moon (Part 3)

Part 2.5 | Part 4

Taglist: @vite-poh, @theoracleofgiana, @quinnharperwrites, @holdmyteaplease, @yesireadbooks

Brother Bear walked away from the border with a small kitten in hand. He wasn’t a happy camper as the sheriff had pissed him off from the previous town, which was nothing but ash. The kitten had purred and received a few head pats from the large man, but the walk back in the cool of night was enough to wake them up. The kitten meowed and wiggled before Brother Bear placed it down. It began to shift until a small teenager was all that was left. The teenager hadn’t said much, and that somewhat pleased Brother Bear, as he didn’t want to be in his current state with a younger person around him. As much as he had to deal with it, social skills weren’t his best skill. He could do it with the townsfolk, but only with the knowledge that most wouldn’t survive to tell the tale. He didn’t know how to communicate to younger people his emotions, and it stunted him a while with a younger Sister Wolf, but she also had those issues, so it wasn’t that bad. But this teenager was unknown to Brother Bear, and it worried him that they wouldn’t understand him.

“Thank you for freeing me.” He looked over at the teenager before responding. So many thoughts going through his head, but all he could say was

“Welcome.” He panicked and had spoken before he fully finished thinking. The teenager gave a confused glare before sighing and stopping to look at a tree. “I apologize. Not good with people.”

“I can tell, considering what you did to that sheriff.” The teenager looked up at the large man with a smile before looking back at the tree. “He talked about defeating you only to lose in a few minutes.”

“I hate boastful assholes.” The large man sat down in front of the tree and invited the teenager down with him. They were hesitant, but eventually sat down with him, taking a look up at the stars. It was one of those perfect nights Brother Bear used to be scared of, until he met Sapphire. The two would sit under the stars waiting for something only for nothing to happen; Mother Moon was cruel, but she never traumatized them twice. The teenager reminded Brother Bear of a younger Sapphire, very strong and bold, yet a reserved figure. How all that changed for Sapphire, who knew?

“How many stars do you think are out there?”

“At least more than 5.” He had gotten a chuckle out of the teenager before they turned back into a kitten and crawled in his lap. The two could wait. After all, they weren’t that far. The large man laid down and looked at the stars before heading to sleep. They could make the rest of the walk in the morning, but to sleep under the stars like this was something that didn’t come around every day. Wolfie’s Ma had taught him to take every opportunity he could; he wasn’t sure if this counted, but he was pretty sure and she was right. This was a moment to be seized and held onto, a memory to be kept until the end of time. And a good 8 hours of sleep that the large man hadn’t had in weeks.

The man was awoken with a golden buck in front of him. The buck looked disappointed until Brother Bear lifted up the kitten.

“You’re going to be late.”

“She wanted to stop. I’m not going to force her to go on long walks she’s not used to.” The buck went silent, thinking before they responded.

“'I’ll cover for you this time, James.” Brother Bear got up and looked down at the buck; Father Sun had liked to treat them like equals, a comparison to Mother Moon. He had even given Brother Bear the name of James to make him feel comfortable when he was grieving about his former life being ripped away from him so suddenly. “And only this time.”

“You said that last time, Father Sun.” The buck pushed brother bear a bit with his hoof in a playful banner before prancing off into the sunrise. It got the grisly man to smile before hearing a small yawn from his palm. Brother Bear began to walk with the kitten in hand to what was called the Wolf Den. It would be another long walk, but Brother Bear was already used to these walks.

[tickle-her-senseless]

Reblogging vs reposting - a rant…

I wonder how long it’ll be before a certain someone decides to save and re-upload my latest bunch of gifs 😒 All I seem to see around here these days are re-uploads of my old gifs by the same person, usually with hundreds of notes on them. When their blog initially appeared, the majority of the owner’s posts were just copypasta of my gifs from the previous few years - not reblogs, to be clear. Giving her the benefit of the doubt (she was new and pretty young), I sent her a friendly message:

As you can see, her response was to block me with no reply - but it hasn’t stopped her from continuing to rip my gifs off, going way back to the days when I was still learning and didn’t know how to make them without a big “makeagif.com” watermark at the bottom right 🙄 I guess she either sees them in reblogs (which is how I see her posts everywhere) and saves them, or she views my blog in a browser window without signing in. I just had a look at hers using the same trick, and there are asks saying things like “where did you find that video? I’ve been looking for that for years” and she replies along the lines of “oh, it’s not available on the site where I found it anymore”. I doubt she’s ever even seen most of the videos I used to make the gifs. They were just lifted from my blog.

“But Swift, why get so precious about it? Aren’t you stealing from the original videos when you make gifs anyway?”

One or two people have asked me similar things over the last several years. My take on gifs can be broken down into 5 parts…

1. They’re ubiquitous on the Internet and seem to get a free pass as low-quality glimpses lasting a couple of seconds with no audio. Major entertainment studios tend to enforce copyright restrictions with an iron fist, but you never see them going after gifs. Official accounts can be seen posting humorous gifs that others have made of their films, shows, music videos etc etc. They’re just part of Internet culture at this point. I’ve seen gifs others have made of me tickling my friends out there online … I’ve even seen a couple of me being tickled, God help me 😱

2. I believe that enough work goes into making a gif for it to qualify as transformative content. Most of it is actually the time spent watching a video like a hawk (usually with the sound off for context) and waiting for a brief spike of beauty or intensity or excitement. Then I’ll replay it a few times, screen record it, crop out any black bars, trim it (sometimes trying to make it loop as smoothly as possible), convert it to a gif while adjusting the size, FPS, format etc, optimise it to get the file size down and finally post it with a caption. All of this was learned through trial and error … which is plain to see in my earliest posts 😅 If reaction videos fall under transformative content from which some people make a fortune, my little non-profit tickle gifs are OK by me.

3. As a hard rule, I never make gifs from videos that aren’t already available to view somewhere online. A lot of them are actually from preview clips posted by the studios themselves, since they put all of the best moments in there anyway! I’ve been known to pay for tickle videos, but I never use them as gif material.

4. I spend a fair bit of time telling people where gifs are from when they ask eg. “Oh, it’s from a free preview of this video by this studio, full version available on Clips4Sale here.” I reckon I’ve actually directed a lot of traffic towards creators by this point.

5. I’m just continuing a convention that pre-dates my involvement on Tumblr and will probably carry on for a long time. When I arrived here, I was more interested in well-drawn art, well-written stories and community meet-up/session videos which warmed my icy heart and really made me want to be a part of things here. To my surprise, the engagement on gif posts dwarfed every other type of content, even videos. Ironically, I don’t actually get much pleasure from them myself, I find them empty without the audio. I always want to hear how much the lee is suffering, sue me 😁 Still, I figured that learning how to make gifs would be the most effective way to integrate myself here - and I was right, it was 😉 I do think it’s crazy, though, that a gif of mine could get hundreds of notes in 24 hours when I was posting regularly, but talented artists and writers struggle to get a few dozen in total. They’re the real content creators.

Anyway, yeah, there you go. It’s also true that content takes on a life of its own to some extent once you upload it. I see a bunch of my stuff on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok … people regularly upload it to Discord servers that I’m in (or even help to moderate) and I just smile to myself and don’t say anything. Posting a gif on a different platform is one thing, but I do think that posting literally dozens of them on the exact same platform is shady as hell when the reblog button exists. Especially when I reached out amicably and was blocked with no response.

It’s been one of the factors behind my activity dropping off so much in the past year - motivation to make gifs is hard to find when you know that someone’s waiting to help themselves to anything you throw out there. The only reason I haven’t named this person is that she’s on the young side, although not a minor (as you can see, my original message to her was sent over a year ago and I never said anything in public to spare her any flaming that might ensue) but I have to admit, it’s beginning to grate on me - especially when I see people tagging her blog as the source when they incorporate the gifs into their own posts…

[glacecakes]

Whumptober Day 4: Hiding Injuries

S3A Sasha and Grime have a talk about self preservation after a mission gone wrong.

Hello happy whumptober I'm just going to be smacking Sasha around for a few days don't mind me These are gonna be pretty short since I uh... procrastinated and literally just finished this with 50 minutes to spare on day 4. And they may be late. Rip. I tried. So uh fun fact this one is based on something that actually happened to me! I had this weird pain in my neck and then all of a sudden i couldn't move for like 4 hours. The human body is whack.

Canon typical violence ahoy, nothing too crazy! 

-

It should have been a simple mission. Get in, steal the supplies, get out. But it’s never that simple, because if there is a god out there, it hates Sasha with a passion.

How long has she been training these frogs into an elite fighting force? A month, two months? Maybe more… time has lost most meaning. Wake up, train, go on missions, plan, sleep. Her days were never the same but always the same sort of goals or challenges, more fires for her to put out, more recruits to train, more sleepless nights of stress.

Today is no exception. Even before amphibia, she was never one for coffee, but now that she’s been living in a warzone for a while, she can’t help but miss the stuff. How else is she supposed to constantly be on her a-game? Rest? Relaxation? Pffft, no one has time for that! Not when King Andrias is building a robot army to destroy her home that she misses so desperately and has hurt and maimed and used the girls she loves so much like her own it hurts-

Ahem. Anyway.

They’re still getting the hang of things, still learning the ins-and-outs of Andrias’ fortresses, so the ones that aren’t cookie-cutter repeats of previous maps always throw them for a loop. This one is a factory that has a few extra security measures… she doesn’t want to give her group the credit of being the reason for beefed up security, she’s not that egotistical. One of the frogs’ slippery legs slides across a laser beam, something they’d never seen before. It’s unsurprising how they jump (ha) at the alarms that blare, totally confused as to how they’ve been caught. But Sasha doesn’t wait, doesn’t hesitate, grabbing the one (Wally…? Waldo?) and ducking him under her arm as she dodges a hailfire of turrets. The red hot lazers sear at her back, the heat so intense she can feel it even as she dodges.

She sets Willy down. “Stay here.” she advises. “I’ll turn off the alarms.”

“Yes ma’am!” He salutes, dead eye snapping open just briefly before shutting. He should probably try and pin it open, having depth perception would really help in the fight.

With a grunt, she turns back to the robots that have flooded the room. This part comes naturally to her, the slicing and dicing of steel, the ache in her muscles a familiar companion. A robot flies down from the ceiling, its wings buzzing angrily as its eyes narrow in on her. She throws her sword perfectly, stabbing it right in the chest. It goes down in a blaze of glory and takes out a few more robots along the way. Her sword burns in her hand from sizzling wires, but she pulls it out with a flourish, slicing through robots that rain bullets faster than she can even blink. She’s never going back to cheerleading, she thinks bemusedly. This is way more satisfying.

Finally, blissfully, the last robot goes down. She steps back, satisfied. The frog gives her a thumbs up. She can’t help but return it with a faint smile. These folk, despite their kindness, have a powerful warrior spirit that she can’t help but admire. They’re a lot like Marcy, in a way.

“Quite a show, miss!” The frog (Dolly…?) hops over. “Now let’s get the grub and get outta here!”

“Don’t have to tell me twice.” She agrees. These facilities are never fun, a stark contrast to the Amphibia she’s been used to. The frog turns around, and Sasha does as well, but her ears perk up at the faintest of hums. It’s a noise that they wouldn’t know; the sound of a fan whirring in a machine overheating.

She whips around to see the last robot, the one with a gaping hole in its chest, with eyes glowing and a final blast prepped in its arm cannon. “Get down!” She cries, running for her companion and tackling him to the ground. But not before a large blast of heat rockets through her shoulder, just grazing her neck and nearly hitting her ear. It cuts a clean line through her once pristine hair, now a ratted mess that lays dead on the floor.

Well. That’s one way to get a haircut.

The frog groans, before he comes to his senses and gasps. “Oh my gosh! Are you alright?” his hands hover, almost afraid to touch what he fears is a nasty burn.

Sasha blinks. Then she snaps her fingers. “Wally! That’s your name!”

-

The walk back to their snail is slow. Even by snail standards.

For some reason, her body just isn’t moving properly. It’s like everything is stuck in honey, her brain, her limbs, all of it. The world is slowing like a clock in desperate need of a wind up. But she chalks it up to adrenaline, and asks Wally to drive them back, which he does. She takes up residency on the back of the shell, half splayed out, with her front draped over the chair. Now that she’s not moving, now that she’s still, the slowness of the world begins to fade out, and something else takes its place: pain. A throbbing, searing pain that grows in intensity along her neck.

She remembers once, on what used to be the scariest day of her life, when she fell on her back at cheerleading. How she tried to get up, and a searing pain in her neck caused her strings to drop like a puppet. How all she could do was lie there and scream while the others got a teacher. She had to be carried to the nurse’s office, where she was diagnosed with a seized up muscle and given muscle relaxants. At the time, she’d been so scared she’d managed to paralyze herself, but now it seems almost silly.

Now it feels way more real.

Anytime the snail so much as runs over a pebble she can feel it. She can feel her spine literally burning from the inside out, there’s no other explanation. She managed to get stung by some bug and now there’s bug eggs eating her nerves or something. That sounds like an Amphibia thing, why not?  But when she asks this of Wally, he goes “Ew, that’s disgusting! No we don’t have that!” and grumbles about how barbaric Earth must be in comparison.

Well. That’s concerning.

Because if she wasn’t stung, what’s causing this pain?

The answer hits her as the snail crosses a bump, jostling her neck and pushing a specific spot that makes her see white briefly. As the spots dance in her eyes, she finally recognizes the pain not as a sprained muscle, but as a sharp, stabbing, even torn one.

The turret, duh. She must’ve been hit when it cut off her hair. Sure enough, when she places a trembling hand to the spot, and pulls back, her glove is now damper and redder than before. Grime was gonna lose it , he always did when she got hurt. Speak of the devil, the snail finally enters Wartwood, where she takes a deep breath and slowly slides herself off of the ride. As slow as she goes, it’s not enough to fight gravity, and she flops bonelessly onto the dirt.

“I’m good!” She calls.

She’s not good.

Wally is kind enough to help her up, but she brushes him off once her feet aren’t at risk of buckling like a newborn deer. She’s a hardened soldier, a mere scratch can’t keep her down! So what if it’s twinging on her nerves? She doesn’t stop, marching down into the reserves and into the catacombs without stopping. Because if she stops, she’ll fall all over again. She enters the planning room to see her toad friend staring at some maps.

“Captain,” she gives Grime a salute. “Mission success. We got the supplies.”

The toad runs a warty hand over his map. “Good. I expect a report on what went down in the morning.”

Silence. “Not now?” Sasha asks. “You don’t wanna hear about how I totally saved that frog’s little life?” She accentuates with a punch, flexing her muscles. No response, instead the other is too focused on his job. Ugh. Marcy and Anne would’ve laughed.

She turns around, short hair hissing in the wind. It swipes against the burn spot, and she can’t help but let out a tiny moan of pain. Her hand moves to clamp the wound, but stops last second.

Grime looks up. “Everything ok, lieutenant?”

“Peachy.” she grumbles. “I’m gonna go even out this hair cut.” and then maybe sleep for a century. That sounds nice. So nice, her body thinks, that it decides it can’t even wait for her to be in her room before giving out. There’s a pull on her neck muscle, and whoop, down she goes. And hey, she’s laying down, maybe she can take that nap now.

“Sasha!” Grime yells, quick to abandon his map and hover over the teen. “What on earth happened? Were you poisoned? Did little bugs crawl into your spine and eat you from the inside out?”

She can’t help but let out a ridiculous snort. “Knew those existed.” she mumbles. And the world turns black.

-

When Sasha finally comes to, she’s laying on her side. Which is weird for her, because normally she sleeps on her stomach. The only time she ever sleeps like this is when one of her girls is nearby, during their sleepovers… she reaches out instinctively for them.

She instead touches a wart.

Her eyes shoot open, and there’s Grime, looking both incredibly uncomfortable and like a disappointed parent. It’s a look she’s seen a few times, and it never fails to make her insides squirm. She’s seen it on her real parents way too often, and to see it on Grime just… reminds her too much of them sometimes. But like the good soldier she is, she swallows her nerves and stares at him head on.

“You didn’t tell me you got hurt.” He starts with, right out of the gate.

“To be fair, I didn’t know how bad it was.” She responds. With a grunt, she tries to sit up, but that same spasmy feeling returns and overrides her neck with pain, forcing her to fall back down. “God, human anatomy sucks. Do you guys have a weak spot like this?” Well, they are cold blooded, if that counts for a weakness. Nothing in biology class prepared her for the intimate knowledge of amphibian anatomy that is needed in a frog war. To think, the last day before leaving Earth was about frog dissection. If only they hadn’t ditched.

“Sasha.” Grime’s voice cuts through her brain’s rambling. “You’re deflecting.”

“Oh boy, pulling the first name,” she grins weakly. “I’m in trouble, huh?”

“Wally told me what happened. You threw yourself in harm's way!” He crosses his arms, nails clenching on his skin. “And then you just walked off as if you hadn’t been hit! You know better lieutenant!”

Sasha huffs. “Like I said, I didn’t actually feel it at first. It’s not that bad! I’m fine!”

Grime raises a brow. “How long have you been asleep, then?”

“Uh, half an hour?”

“12 hours.”

Oops.

Ok, so maybe she was a little more hurt than she realized. Head injuries do bleed a lot, and maybe she just needed to catch up on sleep! No biggie, she’s fine!

“Have you even noticed the other injuries?” he asks, and she starts.

“What?” Her eyes jump down, and sure enough, there’s gauze wrapped around her hand, and a few patches on her leg, who knows what her torso looks like. “When did that happen!?”

“Have you not been paying attention? You jumped into a pile of enemies for the little frog man! What if he hadn’t been there? What if you hadn’t made it back? What if-” He cuts himself off with an angry grunt. And… oh.

He’s crying.

“Grimes…” she breathes, struggling to sit up on one arm. “I’m sorry for scaring you, really. I swear, I just didn’t notice. Adrenaline and all that.”

He huffs. “You need to take better care of yourself if you want to be in one piece for your friends, lieutenant. I don’t want to have to tell them you threw yourself on a spear.”

Right… Anne and Marcy… friends. Is she still their friend? Do they still trust her? Can she still trust them? It must show on her face, because Grime gently pushes her back down onto the bed. It’s probably the gentlest he’s ever been in his entire life.

“Is this about proving yourself to them?” He asks, and she stiffens. “It is, isn’t it? Deep down.”

Damn, when did he become a therapist? “Maybe…” she admits. “I dunno, I feel like… I swore I’d protect Wartwood while Anne was gone, I want to prove to her that… that I’m worthy of being her friend. All I cared about was myself for so long, that I just… I needed to care for others the way she did, yknow?”

“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to change, Sasha. But throwing yourself in harm’s way isn’t the way to go about it.”

“I know,” she sighs. “I know.”

He pats her fondly, the faintest of smiles on his face. “Atta soldier. We need you alive and sharp. You’re not disposable, lieutenant. The townspeople, for as… dense as they are,” she snickers at his reluctance. “Are smart enough to look up to you. And they need their leader.”

She can’t help but smirk. “Getting sappy, are we Grimesy?”

“Just this once.” His grin is all teeth. “And only because no one will ever believe you.”

“Wh-!” She gasps. “Betrayal!”

“Have a good night!” He laughs, standing up and leaving. His laughter carries out into the hall, and it’s infectious, even from her drooping eyes.

Yeah, ok. “Night, Grimes.” She mumbles, laying back down. “And… thanks.”

[metalandmagi]

Winter 2021 Anime Worth Watching!

Since 2020 basically sacrificed itself to give us the most stacked anime season of all time, I’m currently buried under the weight of almost 20 shows airing per week. So for anyone who’s looking for some anime to watch this winter, here’s some first impressions! I’m speed running my list this time by only talking about the new shows...because otherwise this would be my great American novel. 

If anyone’s interested, I have master lists for both 2020 anime and 2019 anime, because there’s no shortage of fun things to find. 

New Shows!

And before anyone asks, So I’m A Spider, So What? isn’t on here, because CG spiders freak me out.

Cells At Work Code Black: This...less comedic spin off of Cells At Work (made by a different studio) takes the wholesome concept of Osmosis Jones meets cute anime girls and turns it on its head. In this much more depressing version, we follow a rookie red blood cell who works in the body of an overly stressed, alcoholic smoker who puts every strain on the body imaginable. I love Red Blood Cell AA2153 and his co-workers, but man am I glad we get the regular Cells At Work airing this season too, because I need something fun and uplifting after seeing my sweet son go through hell every episode. 

*Heaven’s Design Team: Have you ever wondered how God came up with some of the weird ass animals that live on this planet? Like, what’s the deal with giraffes? And why can’t we have dragons and flying horses? Well this is a comedy about the engineers and designers in heaven creating the new animals that are going to inhabit the Earth. That’s it, that’s the show. It’s kind of in the same vein as Cells At Work, having comedy blend with a surprising amount of educational information. If you want something light and funny, this is the show for you (though I don’t think it needs to have full length episodes). I’m just hoping there’s an episode about how the hell the platypus was created. Also it’s the only new one available on Crunchyroll.

Horimiya: A romantic comedy about a girl named Hori who fits the image of a perfect queen bee and a quiet bespectacled boy named Miyamura who never makes an impression at school. When the two meet by chance outside of the classroom, we see that Hori is practically raising a younger brother by herself, and Miyamura is actually a sweet guy who happens to be covered in tattoos and piercings. This show is an exercise in breaking down the images people have of others in their minds, and it’s a concept that really hits home in a fun and meaningful way. Honestly, this has become one of my immediate favorites. The characters have great chemistry, and I can’t wait to see more of them!

Monster Incidents (Kemono Jihen): When big shot Tokyo detective Inugami is called to a rural town to investigate a series of strange animal deaths, he finds a mysterious boy with the nickname Dorotabo who has been shunned by the other children in town. As the detective gets closer to Dorotabo, he discovers that there may be more...inhuman secrets to the boy than he realizes...and Dorotabo discovers that Inugami has some secrets of his own. This is a hard show to sell without spoiling the first episode, but it had twists and turns that kept me engaged from start to finish. I’m really interested to see where the plot goes, because I thought this was going to be something totally different just from the PV and series summary. If it plays its cards right, this could be a great paranormal detective show!

Wonder Egg Priority: A psychological drama about a girl named Ai who starts having dreams about a mysterious egg that promises to give her what she wants most in the world...a true friend. Before long, she begins to see how the dream world and reality are tied together, and trippy antics ensue. It’s hard to say more without spoiling anything, but I had to go back and add this one in because I made the mistake of thinking it was an OVA when it’s actually a full series. And what a series it’s starting out to be. This anime has all the psychological discomfort of a Satoshi Kon product with the beauty and style of something from Kyoani (even though it’s made by Clover Works). It’s really one of those anime you just have to see to understand.

Sk8-∞ (Skate the infinity): An original skateboarding anime from Bones, featuring a typical sports anime protagonist who takes a new transfer student who has never skateboarded in his life under his wing. Together they compete in dangerous races and take the skating community by storm. The character designs rival Appare Ranman’s in outlandish creativity, and I can smell the main characters’ ship dynamic a mile away (considering they’re exactly the same as the protagonists from Robihachi). If you’re looking for some wild and crazy fun with top notch skateboarding animation, don’t skip this!

2.43: Seiin Koukou Danshi Volley-bu (Seiin High School Boys Volleyball Club): Yes, it’s another volleyball anime. And no, it’s not just a clone of Haikyu. This story follows Yuni Kuroba, a physically built but emotionally weak teenager who finds out his childhood friend Hajime is moving back to their hometown for high school. Yuni discovers Hajime has become an exceptional volleyball player and they join their school’s volleyball club hoping to turn the unknown team into a rising star. If anything, this anime is much more like Stars Align or Free, where the sport is a backdrop for letting the characters explore their personal problems. Or at least it seems that way after the first episode. I went into this show ready to throw it in the trash because how could anything compete against my beloved Haikyu, but I found myself really enjoying the dynamics of the main duo and I’m curious to see what the rest of the team is like.

And speaking of sports anime rip-offs…..I can’t believe I’m including this but…

Skate Leading Stars: The show where the animators clearly wanted to design another throw away idol anime but saw how popular Yuri On Ice was so they decided to make whatever the hell this show is instead. It revolves around a fictional team sport called skate leading, and we follow the world’s most insufferable main character, a former figure skater named Kensei who wants to return to the ice and join his school’s skate leading team after he finds out his childhood rival is going to compete in the sport. Look, this show is just trashy enough to get a certain type of audience hooked, and it mainly has to do with the best boy of the winter season, Hayato Sasugai, the aspiring team “coach” who pulled most of us into watching this show with his punk appearance, snide comments and smug personality. He’s basically the lovechild of Izaya Orihara and Shizuo Heiwajima in a high school sports anime setting. The show treats itself with the perfect amount of sincerity to get away with being absolutely ridiculous most of the time without making you feel like you’re watching it from a dumpster...like Try Knights. You will know after one episode whether this show is for you. All I can say is, Hayato is worth the watch, and I haven’t seen any 3D animation used for the skating scenes (yet) so that’s a win for me. 

Honorable mention:

Jobless Reincarnation ( Mushoku Tensei): Yet another isekai where the main character is hit by a car (big surprise) and gets reincarnated into a fantasy world...but he happens to remember his previous life and narrates himself growing up as a jaded adult. I’m only including this because it looked amazing animation wise, and I love the opening where getting hit by a car and dying is actually traumatic. And I love the protagonist’s parents (who are retired adventurers who just want to bang all the time). But honestly...the main character is the fucking worst, and I don’t know if I want to keep watching it because of how creepy and weird he is. Like...he’s the hit on your fantasy mom as a baby kind of creepy and weird. But for anyone who wants a cool looking isekai that had an amazing PV, it’s worth checking out. 

Continuing Series!

Because the real gold of the season is in all the established anime getting their next seasons, I’m just going to list some of the things that are also amazing and definitely worth checking out if you haven’t already (because I’ve already talked about most of them at some point and don’t know what else to say).

Attack On Titan season 4

The Promised Neverland season 2

Beastars season 2

Log Horizon season 3

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime season 2

Re: Zero season 2 (second cour)

Dr. Stone season 2

Cells at Work season 2

Osomatsu-san season 3 (second cour)

Higurashi New (second cour)

Jujutsu Kaisen (second cour) 

Not to mention all the shows I don’t watch that everyone else loves...like World Trigger (which I have seen quite a bit of, but long shounen shows are too much for me now) Quintessential Quintuplets, and Non Non Biyori. 

So there’s just some of all the anime airing this season. Hopefully, someone can find something they like. Here’s to a great year...well, of anime at least...

[botwstoriesandsuch]

Big question. I need your opinion on something. If Mipha was never saved, and Vah Ruta was never calmed, what effect would it have on Hyrule. We know that it will flood, however I doubt the Shiekah would have the ability to create water from nothing (like to gods) so I just assume they are teleporting so the ocean won't rise. With this in mind, none of the major settlements would really be affected. Gerudo Town is far enough out of the path that the river would take through lake Hylia, Riti Village is also out of the way, and not only does it have a natural moat (if you could call it that) but also a canyon in the way. Korok Forest has magic and a moat and is also out of the way, Goron City is also to high up and out of the way, Tarrey Town is really highup and out of tge way, Zoras domain has pretty good drainage and it will probably go through the several other exits to not cause that muc damage, Kakariko Village is safe in the mountains, Hateno Town is safe and out of the way, and Lurelin Village is also out of the way and won't be damaged unless the ocean floods.

WOO LET’S FLOOD A CIVILIZATION AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS!

**Zelda meter is the meter system of objmap.zeldamods.org, but in accordance with previous posts I'm gonna convert it later to "actual" meters that I think is more realistic. You’ll see why later.

ALRIGHTY, SO LET’S START WITH MEASURING TIME!

So, East Reservoir Lake is 545 zelda meters long (light blue) and 340 zelda meters wide (blue)

Or if we want to see it as more of a circle, it has a radius of 239 zelda meters

Rutala Dam itself is 30 zelda meters wide and 140 zelda meters across. (see purple)

Taking a picture and using an online ruler, I found that the damn is roughly 123 zelda meters tall. (1 cm equal to 17.5 zelda meters by using the 140zm measurement)

Technically speaking, the dam's depth is infinite in the game, so we'll just use this damn's height as the depth.

And before you tell me that I should count the height of the rocks that the damn sits on top of as part of the depth, I'm gonna say not because dams typically block preexisting waterfalls, and given the rounded erosion of the rocks here, I would say that is also the case. Therefore, this was a waterfall that fed into the Rutala River and is not counted for the reservoir's depth.

So, in summary:

Reservoir Length: 545zm

Reservoir Width: 340zm

LW Reservoir Surface Area: 185,300zm (That is only 0.1 zelda kilometer. For comparison, the 45th largest reservoir in the world, Capivera Dam [last place on Wikipedia list] is still 515 square kilometers. The largest ones being in the 60k areas. I’ll come back to this point later.)

Reservoir Radius: 239zm

(pi)r^2 Reservoir Surface Area: 179,451zm2 (179zkm2) [Just got these numbers of surface areas to demonstrate they're practically the same whether you see it as circular or rectangular. I think the circle will be more accurate so going forward I will be using it as my basis for calculations]

Dam Length: 140zm

Dam Height: 123zm

Dam Width: 30zm

The Total Water Rutala Dam Holds Back: 22,072,473zm3 [Instead of just using the sphere volume formula or the LWH formula, I used my more accurate surface area made with the the radius and multiplied by the dam height(is that the,,,cylinder formula? I think so)]

Rutala Dam is supposed to be the largest reservoir in Hyrule, shown very prominently on the map. The largest reservoir(by surface area) in our world is Lake Winnipeg, with a surface area of 24,514 km2, (but only has a depth of 12 meters.)

But here it is on a map of Canada:

To reiterate, Lake Winnipeg has an area of 24,514km, and with zelda meters, East Reservoir Lake has an area of 179.

“BUT KIP! MAYBE EAST RESEVOIR LAKE IS JUST REALLY REALLY SMALL, HYRULE IS PRETTY SMALL ISN’T IT?”

Ok, so comparing the reservoir to one of the the largest, if not THE largest, settlements in the game, Zora’s Domain, we can see that the reservoir is several times it’s size.

But you’ll also note that Zora’s Domain has a diameter of 234zm. That, the entire city, the entire DOMAIN of Zora. 234 zelda meters. Manhattan is 21,100 meters long. Manhattan, by the way, is a fifth fraction of the New York County, which is the smallest county in the United States of America.

234 zelda meters, that’s an area of 43,005zm2. Do you know what else is aobut 40k meters squared in real life? Your nearest Walmart. Just a bit bigger than your local Tesco. Supposedly the entire Zora population, that has been untouched by the 100 year apocalypse and arguably had room to GROW over this time, is living in a Trader Joes.

So I hope this illustrates why I’m converting the zelda meters used on the website to something that I think would be more realistic in the realm of Hyrule. You can find my very loud and kinda embarrassing but factual! and old post about the conversion here, same link as at the top, but essentially just trust me on the conversation that 1zm is equal to 30 real-life meters.

New Realistic Measurements:

Reservoir Length: 16,350m or 16.35km

Reservoir Width: 10,200m or 10.2km

LW Reservoir Surface Area: 166,770km2

Reservoir Radius: 7170m or 7.17km

(pi)r^2 Reservoir Surface Area: 5,383,530m2 or 5382.53km2

Dam Length: 4200m

Dam Height: 3690m

Dam Width: 900m

The Total Water Rutala Dam Holds Back: 19,865,225,700m3 or 19.8 million cubic kilometers of water AKA 19.8 billion kiloliters AKA 5.2 trillion gallons o’ agua

Now THAT sounds more like the biggest dam in all of Hyrule. In fact, it adds up with the stats of the largest dam in our world(by gallons held), that is, the Three Gorges Dam.

The Three Gorges Dam, located in China, ALSO holds back 5 trillion gallons of water/19 billion cubic meters. Although it is a lot shorter than Rutala’s measurements--I think the amount of water that it holds back will be a perfect guide to see the devastation that Rutala’s potential breakage could cause on Hyrule.

There actually is a simulation online about what would happen if the Three Gorges Dam collapsed but I’m not gonna link it cause it might be a bit too distressing, but just know that I based this on that simulation.

Firstly, the biggest sigh of relief comes from the Samasa Plain.

The plain is very very low and slopes down into the Lanayru Bay, so a lot of the water would empty into there. However, the plain would then be totally submerged, so RIP to the shrines and ruins around there. Areas in red as submerged and areas in green would become islands or marshes.

And with that, the water level of Lanayru Bay would rise drastically. Blue is the new water level, dark green are islands, and light green are potential wetlandish areas that would form as time passed.

But basically, Rutala river would have a new branch that spills directly into the Lanayru Bay.

So now you may be thinking,

“HEY KIP THAT’S NOT SO BAD! MOST OF IT SPILLS OUT INTO THE BAY SO IT’S NOT A LOT OS DESTRUCTION! YAY!”

And you’d be half right.

Yes, a lot of the water is going to spill out over Samasa Plain and yes, Lanayru Bay will house a lot of it. But here’s the kicker.

It’s a bay.

Not an ocean.

It would take 1.25zkm or 30km for the water to make it’s way to the ocean, and the water will be traveling SUPER fast--about 100 kilometers per hour.

And that water wants to move, it wants to flow, and Lanayru Bay cannot help all that water flower because:  It’s shallow as fuck.

This chest shows the deepest point in all of Lanayru Bay.

I dropped a windcleaver down in the water: and using a generous GENEROUS estimate of 2 feet per second given the conditions of the still water in the bay--It took 5 seconds for it to float to the bottom. 10 feet. 3 meters. That’s just barely deeper than the deep end of a backyard swimming pool.

But even being extra EXTRA generous and using a real world estimate: Bays would be around 14 feet deep, roughly 4 meter. And we can be even more generous and say the sounding mountains can accommodate 30 feet of height. 9 meters. 9 + 4 = 14 meter height times 30km by 10km(width) = That’s 4.2 cubic kilometers, or 4.2 billion kiloliters of the 19.8 billion kiloliters in total.

uh oh. wheres the other 15.6 billion kiloliters of water gonna go?

It’s like taking a firehose, and filling up a bathtub. Yeah, the tub’s gonna catch a lot of that water, but that firehose has way, way, way, more water than that tub can hold, and when the tub can have a leak or hole on it, but the rate that that hose is going is astronomically faster than the rate the tub can expel water, so it’s just gonna overflow and water will still spill everywhere

[And this isn’t even taking into the account that Rutala Dam is SIGNIFICANTLY higher that it’s surrounding landscape, and would pour into the river with such a force that it could cause a giant tidal wave and break through the rocky boundaries of the pre-existing Rutala River causing even more water to flow into the bay]

Lanayru Bay would be occupied with a lot of water, and since the other 15.6 billion kiloliters of water can’t immediately flow into it, it’s gonna take the scenic route through Rutala River. It’s high mountains on either side basically just make it a death funnel.

Here’s how that would look:

This is the new water level for the Lanayru Wetlands. MAn they weren’t lying, those lands do be wet.

so yeah everything is submerged in between 10 to 20 meters of water and you might be thinking

“WELL KIP, I THINK THAT’S NOT SO BAD AFTER ALL! AT LEAST NO MAJOR LANDMARKS WERE DESTROYED AND NO ONE WAS HURT!”

Well, bestie, here’s the thing. This length of land is 3 zelda kilometers long. AKA 90 kilometers long. And you might recall, I said, that this, 3000 meter tall  wall of water was traveler at 100km per hour. Well the good news is, my calculations are a lot easier for this as this large stretch of flat Lanayru Wetlands land lines up perfectly with the flat areas of Yichange, (which was actually traveling at twice the speed compared to Rutala because it didn’t have Lanayru Bay to open up into)  

But the bad news is, the video is five minutes long, and this is just the first 50 seconds. This water is destined to travel 400 kilometers. That’s about half of the country of Wales, by the way. The entire length of the state of Virginia.

Here’s the rough path of the total flooding that other 16 billion kiloliters from Rutala Dam

Oh, and what’s worse is that the rivers in central Hyrule? Yeah they’re like HALF the depth of Lanayru Bay so the flooding will be even WORSE :D

So here’s the new waterlevel map!

Overtime, a lot of the water is gonna spill onto the paths through Central Hyrule, new swamplands, creeks, etc. etc. The path to the Gerudo Desert will be fin initially, as the water as slowed to the point where it won’t put immediate damage since the bridge is so high. But that new water level plus the influx of water from the River of the Dead is definetly gonna erode that over time and maybe possibly will just collapse and prevent anyone from leaving or entering the desert.

Hyrule Castle will be even more of an island, as the two islands to the left and right of it will be moslty submerged. Also the entire path through Eldin is just fucking done. Everyone in Akkala and Eldin? You’re trapped there. It’s basically a new Lake Hylia but no bridge. Sorry Robbie.

Oh, and also these rapid waters are carrying the debris of it’s destruction, whether the corpses of travelers or giant rocks that it broke off from the side of mountains. So everything is a mess, and depending on the amount of debris, it could completly alter water paths to go even more in land. The rivers are shallow enough, so just pilling in more rocks and dam metal and dirt just makes things shallower

Lake Hylia will be fine, the mini islands are gone, but as a whole, the bridge and the height of the surrounding ridges will keep the water in there. Although a lot of Necluda is basically a goner, and the bridge on either end of Dueling Peaks is totally decimated.

So what did we learn?

All of Hyrule’s economy is fucked. Every major trading path--gone. It’s basically gonna breed even more ethnocentricism, and a bunch of wildlife and sources for food are gone. And not to mention the climate, that’s gonna be fucked too as years pass. Rito and Zora will probably be the most fine? Hylians are fucked though, we destroyed like five stables and basically every river setllement there is. Oh and that influx of water is gonna fuck with the fishes so Hateno and Lurelin aren’t totally out of it either!

Gerudo? Well good thing they’re all lesbians because they sure aren’t going out to woe anybody once those stone pillars holding the bridge give way to the new water levels. Gorons will actually not even know anything’s wrong if I’m being honest. Sheikah? Well that point by Eagus Bridge and Sarhasra slope is gonna connect into a river at some point so I guess they can be a fishing village now.

Oh an RAIN I didn’t even think about that, yeah people are totally gonna die. And if Ruta CONTINUES to pump water into Hyrule (because again, this is only from an INITIAL burst of the damn. Well...

Zora’s Domain will be gone within the year. Water levels will just continue to rise, probably take on Central Hyrule first, but then after that the Gerudo Canyon. Also if flooding in Zora’s Domain REALLY continue it would probably spill over and destroy Tarrey Town. So not good all around!

But I think the main takeaway that we can all settle with is that the Flower Lady and her garden are absolutely, positively, dead.

[wandaromanova]

Date Night

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x Fem!Reader

Warnings: cussing, sexual suggestion, that’s all!

A/N: hello! here is some fluff for y’all! hope you enjoy! happy reading <3

anon requested: Hi honey! I saw that your requests are open :)) I was wondering if I may please request a fluffly Natasha Romanoff x fem reader one shot, where she surprises the reader with a lunch date (reader has had a super stressful week!) and then convinces her to take the rest of the day off. Later on maybe Natasha starts dropping hints at their future together and later on in the week she proposes (maybe somewhere that has meaning to them) after a very romantic dinner. Thank you!! :))

Summary: Natasha convinces her girlfriend to take some time off of work. They end up having a date night unlike any of their previous ones.

Word Count: 3K

| masterlist | request rules/guidelines | wips |

please do not repost or try and take ownership of my work. reblogs, likes, and comments are always welcome. <3

Natasha stared up at the tall building with two bags of food in hand. She was about to surprise you with some lunch, considering you haven’t been able to take a single break the entire week.

Seriously, even when you were at home, you’d be working on paperwork or taking call after call from your company partners. You’d then go back to work the next morning and completely neglect your own needs, the only thing you’d focus on was anything work-related.

You were the CEO of a major telecommunications company and things have been super hectic around your office. You barely had time to breathe with everything that had been going on, so, Natasha thought that it would be a good idea to give you a nice surprise.

She made her way into the building and got into one of the fancy elevators, quickly tapping the button to the top floor and stood in silence, lively elevator music filling the small space.

When the doors opened, she walked out and was greeted by your secretary; Megan.

“Hi, Ms. Romanoff. Ms. L/N is just in her office working on some paperwork. She has a meeting in 20 minutes, though.”

Megan sent Natasha a friendly smile. The redhead simply nodded and mumbled out a small ‘thank you’ before opening the door to your office.

She was met with the sight of you hunched over your desk. The light poured into the tall windows in the room, providing sufficient lighting.

You glanced up from your papers at the sound of the door closing softly. Natasha smiled at you and held up the bags of food. Your lips turned upward at the sight of your girlfriend of five years.

“Honey, what are you doing here?” You asked as you got up from your desk, quickly making your way over to greet the Russian. You pulled her in by the waist and into a tight hug.

“I thought you could use some lunch. You haven’t been taking care of yourself and I’m here to change that.” Natasha mumbled into your neck as her arms rested on your shoulder, gripping onto the food she still had in her hands.

“Baby, you didn’t need to come all the way here. I’m fine, just been super busy lately is all.” You pulled back slightly and stared into green eyes.

“Yes, I needed to. I can’t just standby while you’re practically drowning in stress.”

Natasha got out of your embrace and made her way over to your desk, placing the food down and turning around, leaning onto the table with two hands gripping the furniture behind her.

“I’ll manage, it’s kind of my job.” You let out a small giggle, rounding the desk and sitting on your chair. Natasha turned in her spot as you patted your lap.

“Come on, let’s eat the food you brought. I have a meeting soon so we gotta be quick.”

Natasha walked toward you and sat in your lap, your arms circling around her waist. She opened the food and laid out the plates of Thai food.

Natasha fed you and herself. You both sat in silence, simply enjoying each other’s company.

Occasionally, Nat would mimic an airplane or train noise as she moved the spoon closer to you, laughing as she abruptly shoved the utensil into your mouth.

After fifteen minutes had passed, you looked at your watch and sighed. You had another meeting that would probably be ridiculously long for no reason.

“I’m sorry sweetheart, I have to get going. I have a meeting in five.”

You moved to get up, but Natasha refused to move off of your lap. You raised an eyebrow at her, the redhead giving you a stern look.

“Take the day off.” You shook your head in protest. You couldn’t take a day off, not now at least.

“Honey, you know I would if I could, bu-“ Natasha immediately cut you off, pressing her lips against yours before pulling back quickly.

“You can though. You’ve been working more than necessary! Please, it’s not even a full day off, it’s half a day.”

Natasha gave you the best puppy dog eyes and pout that she could, knowing how it affected you. Of course, she ended up winning.

“Fine, fine.” You muttered out, leaning forward and pressing a button on your desk-side phone, paging Megan, who sat just outside your office.

“Yes, Ms. L/N?” Your assistant’s spritely voice rang through the phone.

“Megan, could you please clear the rest of my day? I’m taking the day off.” You heard some shuffling on the other end of the phone before the woman replied.

“Okay, your schedule has been cleared and your meetings have been rescheduled to tomorrow.”

Natasha, who could faintly hear the other end of the conversation, smiled triumphantly and placed a soft kiss on the side of your neck.

“Thank you.” And with that, you hung up and returned your attention to the beaming redhead in your lap.

“You never play fair.” You mumbled against her cheek as you placed a gentle kiss against her skin.

“All is fair in love and war, moya lyubov (my love).” You rolled your eyes at the Russian while holding back a smile.

She got out of your hold and stood up, grabbing both of your hands and forcefully pulling you to your feet.

“Let’s go! I know a few things we could do today.” Natasha spoke seductively and sent you a little wink before grabbing the trash on your desk and throwing it away in the small trash can you had under the table.

You watched with a wide smile as she waltzed toward the door, making sure to sway her hips a little more, exaggerating the movement. There was an extra spring in her step that caused her red locks to bounce with each movement.

She turned her head around when her hand was on the doorknob, smirking at you.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“Are you coming or not?”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“I have a feeling I will be soon.”

•❅──────────────── ‎⧗ ────────────────❅•

4 hours later

You laid in bed with Natasha by your side, her head resting on your shoulder with an arm around your torso.

After hours of love-making, you guys had finally gotten to relax. You both just stayed there in each other’s arms, appreciating the moment.

“Honey?” Natasha spoke, breaking the silence.

You tilted your head to look down at her, the redhead already staring up at you as you hummed.

“Have you ever thought about what you want your future to look like?”

This wasn’t the first time you guys have discussed the future. You’d both mention small tidbits of your aspirations and goals, but never went too far into the details of it all.

“Well, first starters, you’re definitely there.” Natasha smiled up at you with bright eyes. It absolutely warmed your heart to see her so full of joy.

“Really?” You nodded your head and kissed her forehead, the redhead briefly shutting her eyes as your soft lips met her skin.

“Really.” You pulled back, brushing your nose against hers. The redhead placed a hand on your cheek, as connected your foreheads.

“Well, I see you in mine too. Maybe we would end up leaving this penthouse and buy an actual home together.”

You nodded with a wide smile. The thought of buying a property with the woman you adored had you giddy.

“Yeah, definitely. Then maybe we could have little rascals of our own running around. We could find a surrogate or maybe even adopt if you’d want to.”

Natasha felt like she was going to melt into a puddle of love. The thought of having children to raise with you filled her with more joy than ever.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“I’d love that.”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

The moment was cut off when a loud yawn tore through your body, promoting a little giggle from your girlfriend.

She cuddled closer to you, her arm tightening around your body with a smile on her face.

“Let’s get some rest.” Natasha’s words were slightly slurred, the exhaustion of your previous activities hitting her.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“Yeah, so we can have energy for a round two.”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“Yeah right, more like round ten.”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“Go big or go home!”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“Go to sleep, idiot.”

•❅──────────────── ‎⧗ ────────────────❅•

5 days later

It was a Saturday night and Natasha had practically forced you to not go into work.

Usually, you would go into the office on Saturdays, despite having the day off, to get some extra work out of the way, but your girlfriend was extremely persistent.

So now, here you two were, getting ready to go out for a date night. You had to admit that this was a good idea.

You couldn’t remember the last time you and Nat had gone out on a date; it was a rarity with how busy you both would be majority of the time.

You walked out of the bathroom after brushing out your hair, your heart racing at the sight of your girlfriend clad in a simple black body-con dress that hugged her curves in all the right places paired with a cute, black blazer.

She straightened her hair and did her makeup just the way you liked it.

You stalked over to the woman who stood in front of the full-body length mirror, wrapping your arms around her waist from behind and placing a soft kiss onto her cheek.

“You look gorgeous, baby. I’m so lucky.” Your eyes raked over her figure through the reflection of the mirror before meeting her green ones.

“Thank you, but I’m the lucky one. I swear, if we didn’t have reservations, I’d rip your clothes off and take you right here.”

Natasha’s voice came out husky when you kissed the side of her neck. You sucked on her skin lightly and went to leave a mark, but the Russian turned around in your embrace.

“No marks, not until after dinner at least.” You let out a small whine, pulling her front against yours tightly.

“Oh come on! It’s not like we haven’t ditched our reservations for dinner before. I miss you.”

You tried to go for her neck again, but she flicked your forehead. You stared at her with a look that screamed ‘what the fuck was that for?’

“Don’t give me that look. I’ve been looking forward to having a date night for months. We aren’t missing this. Let’s go.”

•❅──────────────── ‎⧗ ────────────────❅•

Two hours later

Natasha had taken you to one of the best restaurants in New York. You weren’t one for fancy places, you were more of a ‘let’s order takeout and watch tv’ kind of gal, but Natasha absolutely loved luxurious dining experiences.

When you both arrived, the waited immediately escorted you both to the most private table in the house.

The table was set with candles and rose petals were spread across the tablecloth. You were blown away, seeing as the table overlooked the city.

Natasha pulled your seat back for you, placing a soft kiss on her cheek as you sat down. You watched as she rounded the table and sat in the chair across from you.

Her skin was golden as the candlelight brightened up her face, accentuating her green eyes beautifully. She had a cheeky smile on her face and wiggled her eyebrows at you before looking at the menu.

Of course, the redhead ordered the best wine the restaurant had to offer, immediately asking for a bottle of the alcohol.

You two talked about anything and everything over the course of the dinner. You had to admit, this was probably one of the best dates you guys had ever been on, besides your first one, at least.

As you both finished off your meals and were given the check, you noticed that Natasha couldn’t seem to sit still.

She was tapping her fingers against the table anxiously as she gnawed on her bottom lip. You placed your hand on top of hers, stopping the insistent movement.

“Is everything okay, baby?” You asked in concern. It was really unlike Natasha to be nervous, especially during date night.

She was usually relaxed and content whenever you both had time to spend out together.

The redhead sent you a reassuring smile and flipped her hand over, intertwining your fingers before bringing your conjoined hands up to her lips, kissing the back of your hand.

“Never better, hon. Come on, there’s somewhere I want to take you.”

Natasha placed her credit card into the bill holder and waved down a waiter and shortly after, you both walked out into the cool New York air, hand-in-hand.

•❅──────────────── ‎⧗ ────────────────❅•

Your eyes lit up when you noticed where your next destination was; Central Park.

You had always loved the park. There was something so beautiful about the scenery and the usual liveliness of the area that brought you so much peace and comfort.

Natasha led you towards a pond that was located in the heart of the park and you immediately recognized which one it was.

The redhead stopped in her tracks on top of the tiny bridge that hovered over the pond.

“Do you remember this spot?” She asked you as she turned around to face you, hand still linked with yours.

“How could I forget? You took me here on our very first date to feed the ducks, which completely backfired.” You let out a laugh at the memory, Natasha’s cheeks turning red.

“I wouldn’t say it backfired…” The redhead mumbled shyly which only made you laugh harder.

“Honey, you ended up getting attacked by pigeons because you were holding the bread. You walked me home covered in bird shit and your clothes were absolutely torn apart.”

You were practically crying from your laughter and you felt Natasha’s hand heating up in yours.

“It wasn’t funny! I really liked that outfit.” Natasha pouted as your laughter died down.

You placed a kiss onto her pouty lips, her frown quickly replaced with a bright smile.

“Anyway, I took you here because this is where our first date was which obviously resulted in us dating.”

You nodded your head at her words, deciding to remain silent when you noticed she had more to add.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“And, well… this is where I want our last date, as girlfriends, to be.”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

You felt your heart sink at her words. Was she breaking up with you right now? It didn’t make any sense! She didn’t ever show any indication that she was unhappy or wanted to leave you.

However, before you could completely break down, Natasha let out a shaky breath, and it was then that you noticed how shaky her hands were.

“Y/N, All my life, I never thought that I’d find love. After all of the things that the Red Room had taught me and forced me to do, I never believed that love was in the cards for me, but then I met you, and everything changed.”

You stared at Natasha curiously. This definitely didn’t sound like a breakup. So what was she going on about?

“I never ever thought that one day, I’d find someone that I’d want to spend the rest of my life with. I never thought that I’d ever want to buy a house and build a family with another person, but god, I’m so fucking happy that I was wrong.”

Your eyes watered when the gravity of the situation finally sunk in. Your thoughts were confirmed as Natasha let go of your hand and slowly bent down on one knee in front of you, reaching her hand into her blazer pocket, revealing the small velvet red box that had been tucked away in the material.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“Baby, these last five years have been the best years I’ve ever had, and it was all because of you.”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

Your hands flew up to your mouth as a gasp escaped your lips. There were tears in your eyes as she revealed a gorgeous engagement ring to you.

“Y/N, I want you, every day, for the rest of my life. Will you make me the happiest woman in the world and marry me?”

Natasha’s voice was unstable as she tried to hold back her emotions, but that went out the window when you frantically nodded your head in agreement.

“Yes!” You whispered out in shock. Natasha looked up at you with a wide smile.

“Yeah?” The redhead asked for confirmation and you let out a small chuckle.

“Yes, of course, I’ll marry you! Is that even a question?” Natasha grabbed your left hand shakily and slid the ring onto your finger.

You were both crying at this point. You didn’t care that you were both stood in the freezing cold, in the middle of Central Park.

All that mattered was that this was going to be the beginning of the rest of your life with the woman you loved.

Suddenly, Natasha stood up and picked you up by the waist, twirling you both around.

Honestly, you were surprised she didn’t stumble, considering the fact that she was wearing such high heels. Luckily for you though, she didn’t fall.

You were both laughing like maniacs when she finally stopped spinning. You were like two teenagers in love without a care in the world.

You leaned down, still in her arms, and kissed her passionately.

You could feel all the love and adoration she had for you through the kiss and you prayed to God that she could feel just how much you felt for her too.

When Natasha disconnected the kiss, she placed you gently onto the floor, your arms immediately going around her neck, hers securing themselves around your waist.

“We’re getting married?” She asked in disbelief. Natasha genuinely couldn’t believe that you said yes, even if you never gave her any indication that you would say no.

“We’re getting married.” You reassured her, kissing the tip of her nose, practically melting as her nose scrunched up adorably.

This definitely wasn’t what you expected the night to be like, but you wouldn’t change any detail about it for the world.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

You were going to be Y/N L/N-Romanoff.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

And that was a name you were going to carry around proudly.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

ㅤ

───────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ──────────

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[catchmewiddershins]

Haikyuu Hugs pt 4:

FUKURODANI

Bokuto Koutarou:

THE ONE YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR

THE BEST HUGGER IN THE ENTIRE SERIES

THE BIG MAN HIMSELF

He is the absolute KING of hugs, let me tell you

If you want hugs, he's got you, 900%

All you have to do is hold out your arms and your face will be buried in his chest before you can say Hoot

When he wants hugs he'll stare at you and blink a bunch to get your attention

Or sometimes he'll pout at you, or rest his head on you until you notice

Before we get into the pillow qualities of this man though, let's discuss his hug technique

The kind of man who you can go to when you’re scared, and he’ll wrap you up and whisper reassurances and loving words to you because he is whipped 

He can pull off ANY SORT OF HUG

Lying down? Head on chest or thighs, you can fall asleep as he plays with your hair or wraps his arms around you

Sitting down? You can sit on his lap, or drape yourself over his shoulders, or he'll drape over yours!

Standing? He'll hug you straight on, facing you, arms at your waist. He'll hug you from behind, a protective weight at your back, resting his chin on your head.

He has a habit of squeezing you to him, arms round your shoulder blades

His arms are SO BIG and he's SO BEEFY and PLEASE getting hugged to his massive, warm chest is a DREAM COME TRUE

The CUDDLE MASTER

And finally, my magnum opus, the ultimate Bokuto hug:

If you see each other after a while, he'll run to you, especially if you run to him, he'll squeeze you to his chest and hoist you into the air with a joyous laugh, spinning the both of you around before slowing, holding you close as he sways you, humming softly in your ear

Ah that felt good to get off my chest man do I long to hug this man~

Washio Tatsuki:

Tall + Intimidating looking + Strong, silent type? You know this man gives good hugs

Very warm, very safe, like a tower with the insides of a fluffy blanket

Honestly? He’s pretty quiet, not too into loud and exuberant hugging or whispered conversations, but he is so good for comfort cuddles

Anytime you need sheltering from the world, or you’re just tired and stressed, you can go to him and he’ll hug you when you relax, sleep, or vent to him

He’s an incredible listener, he loves to lie on the sofa with you on his chest as you talk about anything

He’ll stroke your cheek or hair, or rub circles on your back with a soft smile

I actually think that, once you’ve been friends or in a relationship for a while, that he’d get a little clingy, once you’re close

He seems to have this stony, blunt, stern face that he shows the world, and that is who he is, but he also really cares for you and he wants to make sure you’re ok, and he will approach you for hugs if he can sense that something is up

Sometimes he’ll hug you to him and he’ll muse quietly over some things he needs to do, or something he’s working on; only short sentences but that’s all he needs to convey his meaning, lulling you to sleep with the low rumble of his chest

Once you fall asleep he’ll press a kiss to the top of your head and whisper ‘I love you’

Sarukui Yamato:

When I tell you that there is SO LITTLE on this man’s personality-

Anyway, I am taking the very very little we see of him and running with it so-

~ahem~

He really loves giving you little kisses while hugging you!

There you’ll both be, standing around, and before you know it he’s got you pressed to his chest, dotting your cheeks, nose and brow with tiny kisses, short, sweet and loving

He does longer kisses too! He’ll press a kiss to your lips mid-embrace, holding it for a little just so you can feel how much he loves you

He’ll do the same if you’re cuddling while laying down, just kiss your face or hands without pulling away for a while

His favourite thing to do is rest his face against your neck or collarbone, letting his lips linger against your skin, not fully kissing it but feeling it, loving the contact between you

He trusts you with his problems, and will sometimes come to you when stressed or annoyed, and vent to you a little while your fingers run through his hair, a feeling that he finds incredibly reassuring

He’s also a fiddler, he’ll fiddle with your hair or clothes or fingers while cuddling, or he’ll paint patterns on your arms with his fingers, twisting fabric into whorls as you cuddle

Akaashi Keiji:

Ah~ another beautiful character! There are far too many of these in this show, it’ll be the death of us all 

Regardless - I think Akaashi began a little more uncomfortable with physical contact! He didn’t jump straight into the hug life, but stepped in gradually, yet once he became comfortable oh you’ve unleashed a monster

Akaashi prefers to be calm, collected and polite around others, so it is with you that he unwinds the most

He absolutely adores laying with his head in your lap, letting you play with his curls as he gestures emphatically towards the ceiling while describing his day and how the team is doing

He’s a sway hugger too, he’ll rock you gently from side to side as you embrace, one hand firm at your back or waist

He has a habit of making little sarcastic comments while you hug too, things about what his teammates or other schools have been up to

He gets a little touchy at points, brushing his hands past your arms or shoulders while you work, or using you as a head rest - casual contact for the win here

Considering his habit to overthink, he’ll seek you out whenever his thoughts begin running too wildly

At his point he’ll curl up in a blanket with his head on your chest, talking out his thoughts as you whisper to him - he finds your presence to be the most calming thing in the world

He likes to kiss your hands too, before embracing you - he has this little thing he’ll do

He’ll offer you his hand, and when you take it he’ll press a kiss to your fingers, or the back of your hand, before sweeping you towards him and wrapping you in a hug

He then begins laughing, and he has the most enchanting giggles - they range from quiet to full on snorting, but all of them are some of the beautiful laughter you’ve ever heard

Konoha Akinori:

In all honesty, Konoha is really hard to characterise - I have like... two routes I could go down and I can’t choose... So I’m going to throw in elements of both! Enjoy!

First of all, this guy is really fun and teasing and his hugs reflect this

Another sway hugger, but not gentle swaying, but happy swaying, almost like dancing, you can tell he’s happy as he swishes you around within his clasps, laughing all the while

He likes to flirt a little too as you hug, both hands at your hips and his words a breeze by the shell of your ear, words of affection and admiration for how wonderful you look today

He likes to be the big spoon, and will hug you from behind constantly - he loves to have you laying on him, or to rest his head on yours or your shoulder, humming a small tune 

He actually enjoys giving you massages too! His fingers are long and dexterous, and dig perfectly into the knots that the muscles of your back form after a long day, moulding you into a relaxed puddle like a vat of kinetic sand

On the flip side, he harbours several insecurities over his supposed lack of outstanding talent, being the ‘jack of all trades’ and not having a specific ‘thing’

Some days this will hit him hard, and he’ll come to you - lay down his head and close his eyes

He knows you’ll feel his hurt - and nothing cheers him up like your reassurances that he is good enough and that every person with one talent needs an all rounder to back them up and that he’s more useful in the long run

It reassures him, and he smiles as he soaks up your warmth - knowing that he is master of one thing and it’s loving you

Anahori Shūichi:

He’s so sweet and excitable! 

Such loving and enthusiastic hugs from him, because you are his whole world

He will squeeze you to his chest with the utmost abandon and give you little kisses all over your face

He does puppy eyes when he wants a hug

When you first became close, he was often a bit nervous to approach you if he wanted a hug

But over time he became more comfortable... and adorably clingy as a result

He’ll always back off if you’re not in the mood - but this man wants his cuddles

CHAIR CUDDLE KING!

Oh what’s a chair cuddle? Only his favourite hug in the world

The BEST hug you can give him is one where he sits in a chair (preferably a massive, squishy armchair) and you sit on his lap and let him cuddle you

Facing towards or away from him he loves it, just having his arms around your waist as you watch something together

He also loves to sit in your lap, if you’ll have him, either as a joke or sincerely

Just this man... he loves the cuddle

Woollen blanket levels of snuggleeeeeeeeeee

Please stroke his hair he loves it

Komi Haruki:

Another energetic boy (this poor team’s coach rip)

He loves you

Like really loves you

And he wants to tell you that over and over again!

While he hugs you he will definitely whisper sweet nothings into your ear and tell you he adores you

Cuddles all day, cuddles all night!

Will cuddle you in his sleep, like you’re laying in bed and you wake up in the middle of the night for whatever reason and he will be snuggling you so hard

One arm thrown over you and his nose at your neck and he’s so happy there that you’d feel really bad moving him

Also definitely headcanon he’s warm

Not open oven Bokuto warm but...

In a room with a log fire in the corner on a winter’s day warm

Very cozy and comforting, also very sweet with you

Will tell you about the funny parts of his day while hugging

Onaga Wataru:

He’s less enthusiastic than some of our previous boys for sure

But that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t love you just as much

I’m feeling sappy tonight so honestly? You are his everything

But headcanon! I don’t think he’s the best exactly at speaking his emotions

Oh he cherishes you with everything he has but he’s relatively quiet and finds it hard to express all that sheer emotion with words

In his mind, letters don’t cut it - how can a mere human mouth fully express the depth of the heart’s devotion? His love is more than words it’s colours and feelings and everything he associates with you and he is not (in his mind) eloquent enough to tell you

But he wants to

So? Hugs

When he hugs you this man puts his all into it

His squeeze is the perfect tightness, not too weak, not too tight

When his arms wrap perfectly around your shoulders, he tries to push all of his feelings into the hug

He wants to transmit his love for you through the physical contact

Long hugger definitely, he can hold you for hours

Will DROP EVERYTHING to hug you if you ask - no matter how important, you are first

Sturdy hugs and frame as well, just a good hugger