#it feels a bit disjointed

[innerchorus]

Giving myself an overwhelming amount of feels right now because Zandeh knows that Hilmes is soft inside, and yet...

[flowercrowngods]

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5 | part 6 (these make one big story, you won't understand this part without the others)

day 07: free space a happy ending

Wakefulness embraces him so slowly and gently that Steve’s not entirely sure he isn’t dreaming when he sees Eddie lying next to him, watching him with an easy smile as his fingers tap out a slow beat on his pillow. Steve looks at him, blinking away the remnants of sleep, not quite daring to do anything more than that for fear of it being a dream after all, scared that Eddie would disappear if Steve reached out to touch. 

But then Eddie’s smile widens. “Good morning, sunshine.” 

Steve gasps a little and moves his hand to Eddie’s cheek, tucking a few strands of hair behind his ear, his breath hitching when Eddie leans into the touch. 

“You’re here,” he whispers, his gaze wandering over Eddie’s features, taking it all in and looking for any indication that this is a dream. 

Eddie hums. “And you’re pretty.” 

It hits him out of nowhere, the open sincerity in Eddie’s voice, the fondness in his eyes, the honesty in everything about him. The love, open and free now — or getting there, at least. It’s still so raw, though, so new, that Steve doesn’t know how to handle it yet. 

“Shut up,” he huffs once he’s caught his breath, rolling over to hide his face and the way his cheeks are heating up. He rolls right into Eddie's chest, though, and he's so warm, so close, smells so good that Steve wants nothing more than to bury his face in his neck and stay there for the rest of the morning. Or maybe the rest of his life.

The reflex to pull away is there. The urge to run and hide, to laugh it off, to freeze up and find something else to do, something to occupy his hands and stop them from reaching for Eddie. Years and years of muscle memory telling Steve to leave. 

But Eddie's arms come around him, holding him close and pulling him even closer. And Steve breathes him in, remembering that it can be okay. Remembering that they get a chance now. 

Remembering the words. 

What are you doing? 

Changing the world. 

So he tries that, too. Changing the world. He tries by winding his arms around Eddie, too, and breathing in again and again, learning that Eddie won't disappear if he does. 

Slowly, he dares to move his arms, stroking along Eddie's back in slow, gentle patterns, lulling himself into a safety he hasn't felt in a while. Maybe ever. At some point Eddie begins to hum, and Steve thinks that it's just another one of his audible smiles, inviting Steve and the rest of the world to join in if they're so inclined. But then he detects a familiar melody in the vibrations of Eddie's neck against his skin, and he holds his breath to find out what it is. 

His heart jumps when he recognises the song as one he used to listen to on repeat like a lovesick fool around the time his feelings for Eddie turned into something more, something better, something infinitely worse. 

It skips and he forgets how to breathe as he lets his hands travel over Eddie's back, slowly and tentatively daring to slip underneath his shirt and touch his skin. 

Eddie begins to sing, then, and Steve wonders if he's even been in love with him before, because nothing of what he's ever felt compares to Eddie's gentle, hoarse, sleep-rough voice as he sings Somebody to Steve, to their little bubble, or to the world outside. 

"I want somebody to share, share the rest of my lifeShare my innermost thoughts, know my intimate details."

He closes his eyes as he listens, focusing on the vibrations, on the warmth, on the closeness, on how this moment is everything he's never even dared to want. Everything so perfect that he couldn't even dream it up. 

Everything. You're everything. 

He needs to be closer still, so be buries his nose in Eddie's neck and breathes him in, tangling their legs, filled with a breathless kind of joyful bliss when Eddie's breath hitches, too, and he stumbles over the words of the second verse as Steve tries to climb into his skin. 

"I want somebody who cares for me passionatelyWith every thought and with every breath."

You have me, Steve thinks, pressing his lips to Eddie's pulse point. It's not a kiss, not quite. It's something deeper. It's a promise. 

Eddie's hands come up to hold him there even as his voice carries through the drumbeat of Steve's heart in his throat, running fingers through his hair, lightly scratching at his scalp, making him purr along to the melody. 

"But when I'm asleep I want somebodyWho will put their arms around me and kiss me tenderlyThough things like this make me sickIn a case like this, I'll get away with it."

When the song ends, Eddie's words faded out, replaced once again by the gentlest silence, Steve feels raw. Vulnerable. Open and exposed. But he also feels safe, and loved, buried in Eddie's skin and held there, as though Eddie is just as scared of fading away as Steve is. 

He lifts his head just slightly, enough to meet Eddie's eyes – only to find that they're closed, an expression so serene like Steve has never seen before. Mesmerised and overflowing with affection, he reaches out to trace the line of his brows, down to his cheeks and all the way to his lips, where his eyes are glued for a second. 

The thought of kissing Eddie is right there. The opportunity is, too. But he doesn't. He barely dares to move as it is. But he does roll them over the rest of the way until he lies comfortably on top of Eddie, and tucks his head underneath his chin, finding one of his hands and lacing their fingers. 

"You've got him," he breathes eventually. "That somebody. If you—“ 

"Yes," Eddie says, his other hand finding its way to the nape of Steve's neck to play with his hair again. "I want."

"Good." It's lame; far from what he wants to say. From what he has already said last night. It feels like they're doing this backwards, starting with the I love you and catching up with the slow build-up afterwards. "Good. Me, too." 

"Good," Eddie hums, and there's that smile again that Steve can't help but mirror. 

They fall asleep again like that even though it’s already late in the morning; cuddling and holding and cradling each other, still trembling slightly. Maybe that's what changing the world will do to you. Maybe that's the bravery more than the love. 

Or maybe it's just Steve and Eddie. Steve and Eddie. SteveandEddie. 

I love you. 

~*~

It takes a bit for Steve to relearn loving Eddie. To not associate it with tragedy and sadness and a bone-deep loneliness that'll leave him breathless even on the best of days. 

It takes a while for Steve to learn a whole new kind of breathlessness, a whole new kind of aching when it comes to Eddie. 

And Eddie's not much better than Steve, pulling away when Steve wants him closer, swallowing his words and needing a second, third, fourth try until he learns that he gets to love Steve now. 

Years of unrequited love, or feelings unreturned, of words put out into the universe with no one to receive them, are not easily or quickly unwritten. But every time Steve's breath gets lodged in his throat and he wants to run away, Eddie is right there to remind him of what they can have now. Every time Steve tries to be a little less of who he really is, Eddie is right there to coax him out of his head with gentle touch and a lot of hugs. 

Every time Eddie starts to doubt himself and all the ways he makes Steve the happiest person on the planet, Steve is right there with the words he only has for Eddie. Words that don't get stuck anymore. Words that finally get a recipient. 

~*~

Their first kiss, the first real kiss, doesn't happen that first morning. They spend the first week only holding each other, barely wanting to let go, hiding their vulnerabilities within each other. 

Steve is worried about it at first, seeing Eddie so quiet, so reverent, lacking his usual cheer, his energy and snarky comments. He asks about it one night, ready to prove right that he isn't and can never be enough for him, that all he will do is steal the things that make him Eddie. 

Eddie stops then, lifting Steve's chin with a finger when he's too scared, too ashamed, too vulnerable to meet his eyes on his own accord. 

"Stevie," Eddie says, his voice so gentle that Steve immediately feels stupid for doubting. "I have loved you for ten years. I've had you for three days. Let me bask in it. Let me be unable to be myself with how absolutely and utterly overcome I am with the knowledge that I have you now. That I get to hold you. That I get to kiss you and keep you and... God. I'm not unhappy. I'm so much the opposite of that that I'm not sure there's a word for it. Other than devoted. Smitten. Bewitched, body and soul."

Steve wants to kiss him then. Almost does, with the way they're just staring at each other, breathing the same air —air that smells like Eddie now. In the end, Eddie just holds him, brushing a kiss to his cheek, his forehead, his temple, and whispers, "Let me bask in it." 

And so they do. 

Wayne called Eddie not long after with the words, "Chrissy just told me the wedding's off. Please tell me that means what I think it means." 

Eddie just blushed, reaching for Steve, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. "Yeah, I, uh. I finally talked to Steve."

There was a very loud cheer on the other end that made Steve laugh, falling into Eddie's side, holding him tight, a weight falling off his shoulders knowing that Wayne was okay with them. 

You know, I always figured it would be you. 

No matter what happens, you'll always be a son to me.

It made his eyes sting again, but he basked in the moment and in the knowledge that Wayne was on their side. Always has been, always will be. 

"You better come here on Sunday, and bring Robin and Chrissy, too." 

"Robs and Chrissy?" Eddie asked. 

"Oh, you're in for a treat. I'll see your asses on Sunday, boys." 

And with that, he hung up. Steve immediately went to call Robin, hopeful and giddy with Wayne's implication, knowing that Chrissy was Robin's person just like Eddie was his. 

"She loves me," Robin said, on the verge of tears, and Steve joined here right then and there. "She's– Steve. She's so– She... God!" 

"Yeah," Steve laughed at the ceiling above his bed, grinning because Robin sounded so happy, not even caring that she didn't have the right words for it, because he could hear Chrissy laughing in the background, too. Laughing and saying hi to him and interrupting Robin's ramblings and groans and giggles with kisses that always left her dumbstruck for a good two seconds each time. 

When the call ended, he went right back to the living room, where he and Eddie started watching Pride and Prejudice before, and fell right on top of him with a happy, happy smile. 

~*~

It happens at Wayne's, exactly one week after Eddie showed up at Steve's in the middle of the night. One week after the phone call. One week after I love you. 

It happens in the soft glow of the fairy lights Steve and Eddie helped him put up years ago. I happens after Wayne hugged him tight once more, after he pulled Chrissy to the side and promised her that she's still his kid, that he still loves her, and that he's happy to see her smile like that. After he promised the same to Robin.

It happens when Wayne's inside to refill their drinks and Chrissy and Robin are caught up in each other that they're blind and deaf to the rest of the world. When Steve turns to find Eddie looking at him with the softest, gentlest expression. 

"Eddie," he whispers, leaning in to rest their heads together, lacing their fingers and stroking his thumb along Eddie's palm.

"Yeah, baby?" 

Baby. It fills him with butterflies, with the urge to scream, to shout from all the rooftops that he loves Eddie, and more importantly, that Eddie loves him back! Baby. Baby.

"I love you." 

"Hmm. I love you more." 

No, you don't. Just longer. "Can I kiss you?" 

He can feel Eddie's little gasp before he leans in even closer, rubbing their noses together, cradling Steve's face with his free hand. "Please," he whispers. 

And Steve does. He captures Eddie's lips, pouring into it everything he feels and more. Sealing the promises he's made and all the ones he's yet to make. The promises to love and cherish Eddie. To be brave. To be there. To stay and keep and bask. 

It's nothing like their first kiss all those years ago. There is no question behind it this time. Only declarations, only promises, only the beginning of a shared future. 

And there are many, many more after this one.

🌷🤍🌷 THE END 🌷🤍🌷

tagging: @sexymothmanincarnate @mcneen @livsters @eddiemunchondeeznuts @abstractnaturaldisaster @steddie-as-they-go @hyperfixationgoddess @goodolefashionedloverboi @stxrcrossed186 @eddiemunsonswife @bidisastersworld @ghost-ly-s @romanticdestruction @walkingaftermidnight07 @anaibis @rainydays35 @mightbeasleep @sunfloweringstories @korixae @tuesdaycats @totoroinatardis @ilovebookshowboutyou @musical-theatre-gay @theluckyalien @copingmechanizm @srra @changelingbaby @sassygoop @obsessivelyme @r0binscript @hardboiledleggs @estrellami-1 @bisexualdisastersworld @space-invading-pigeon @swimmingbirdrunningrock @y0urnewstepp4r3nt @oxidantdreamboat @spilled-jar @phirex22 @littlemsterious @captaingigglyguinea @animecookie95 @sharingisntkaren @haluton @littlemsterious @animecookie95 @suddenlyinlove @bisexual-bilingual-biped @jinx-nanami @makewavesandwar @scheodingers-muppet @morcantinon @hexdbog @homosexualhomocide13

god i can't believe it's over. i thank you, every one of you, who cheered for me, cried with me, screamed and yelled at me, and stayed with me throughout this past week. i have no words right now other than thank you 🤍🌷 and i hope this is okay

[avnasace]

( 5.1 archon quest spoilers )

so it was really up there right on his helmet this whole time huh... big fuckin abyssal star... for like 2 years...

[yashley]

no but fearne and morrighan leaving the feywild as creatures of impulse who never once questioned how their primal instincts could be inherently violent but they step foot outside of their world and suddenly experience such a crisis of identity because… why am i like this? and why does it bother me so much now?

[lemm-moxx]

Raaaah another ref sheet for art fight of a T.U.A employee

[thebreakfastgod]

The car is a tool. A tool that is useful in specific situations. Even in a world where driving is not the dominant mode of transportation there will still be some middle distance trips where its the best option. They're not supposed to be fucking everywhere. They are good for certain situations, but it is the structuring of the US American transportation system entirely around the car that causes so many collisions, pedestrian deaths, pollution, and a million other issues. Sometimes online when people are talking about these things I will see someone will say that the REAL problem is PHONES, and there needs to be harsher punishments for offenders like suspending licenses. But in a country that basically requires both a phone and a car that is a short-sighted "solution" that is not going to actually help anyone. US driving laws are essentially designed to be broken, so distinguishing between "criminals" and other drivers is functionally useless. Cops can follow you around for 5 minutes and find some kind of driving infraction to pull you over for, which is most frequently used to racially profile Black people. Even if you could magic away all distracted driving, pedestrian deaths and car crashes would still happen at extremely high rates because it is the physical real-life infrastructure that exists which causes these things to happen, not individuals who may or may not be paying enough attention. Over 50% of car trips are a distance of 5 miles or less. The necessity for every person to have a car is artificial, and was created. It is absurd to expect every single person to independently operate their own high speed machine and be perfect in constantly pay attention, especially when road design itself encourages high speeds and considers pedestrians an obstacle to moving as many cars as possible as fast as possible. Multiple running representatives in my area have "traffic calming measures" as part of their platform, everyone fucking hates traffic! The solution to these problems is to use these tools for when they're ACTUALLY FUCKING USEFUL! and stop centering EVERYTHING AROUND THEM!

[trashcatsnark]

*Makes tea* Omg, can we please get your thoughts on the dlc and THAT ending?

ABSOLUTELY

Suffice to say, spoilers and a very long post, I am a verbose whore Ngl this is coming fresh off finishing it all last night, so my opinions may still be settling in a little bit and I also had to play it in more spread out sessions than I usually do with games.

Firstly, on a just a technical level, for me personally as someone who started playing at launch, finished all the endings, and had like 700+ hours in the game before Phantom Liberty was even announced- to me it felt a little out of place, granted might be because I jumped into on the tail end of an almost finished save. So, maybe for folks who started new runs it flows a bit better.

Like getting a dedicated credits listing as if the game is over after the decision at the orbital station just to cut back to Johnny going Wait, V, you're still dying!

It's a little strange, I understand you wanna give full credit to the Phantom Liberty specific team but also, was that really the only way to transition V out of the space station?

Songbird, I'm mixed on, I don't hate her but I don't love her like I think the game wanted me too. She feels a little... pushed on V for my liking. Like early on, it really felt like CDPR rattling a barbie doll at me and screaming at me to think she's the coolest thing in the universe and she's alright. I get why she does the things she does, I get that she is a narrative reflection of V, that her and Solomon honestly are meant to mirror the V and Johnny relationship.

The ideas of betrayal, the idea that the person who's trying to save you, and wants to save you the most is the very one who's gonna be your end.

I like that component for sure, like honestly, to the surprise of no one- the biggest things I got out of it was related to SilverV I also really do love Songbird's connection to the Blackwall and the way it's eating at her, I love those touches and when at the Orbital station you link with her to like- release Blackwall pulses. Very cool, still feel like there's more there to sink our teeth into, but very much liked the Blackwall in particular coming back.

My first impulse and choice was to side with Songbird, because even if I didn't love her like CDPR wanted me to, I did feel some connection to her through her being in similar situation to V and just being desperate to survive and live.

That said, it is disappointing that Songbird is... another person who was just lying to V in hopes of getting what she wanted. I get the desperation for survival, but it did feel like Hey, what if we did it again?

Like- that's what the game is, just over and over. I love it, but the game is V gets a lead, goes full steam ahead in trying to save themselves, and oop- someone was lying and V gets kicked right in the fucking teeth. Again. Again. Again. Again.

And I understood we weren't gonna get a magical fix it ending, but it is frustrating to be like- hey, wasn't it fun when the VDB betrayed V? Or when you found out Evelyn lied? Or when you finally found Hellman and all he gave was a hospice recommendation? Or when Hanako finally hears you out but only if you kill her brother and even then lol not really you're still gonna die? Or when Alt says oh btw you're still gonna die?

What if- we did it again?!

And in a similar vein, I really loved a lot of aspects of the Tower Ending (I believe it is?) where you side with the FIA.

The conversation with Johnny in the AV is fucking beautiful. That alone was worth all my money. Him saying that he feels more at peace than he ever has before, I still fuck- I love the way they play up that even in endings where Johnny doesn't necessarily agree with V's actions, he's just happy they're gonna survive. He's at peace with dying again, he's at peace knowing this time it means something to him. He died before his ideals, so convinced when he stormed Arasaka Tower that when he died in the flames it'd mean something, it'd fix something. Only to come back and find that despite everything having changed, nothing really did. He died and the world just moved on. But this time, him going means V gets to live, he gets to go out knowing (at least believing, hoping) that by doing so they'll get to live on, they'll get to fight another day, and can go away content knowing that he'll be leaving the world just little bit better of a place- because V will still be in it.

Got emotional there, my bad.

That said, beyond that component.... more of the same?

Like, it's the Devil Ending. Reskinned, revamped- but it's Devil Ending. V sided with the shadowy secretive shady corporation/agency, underwent extensive medical treatment, and oop- turns out none of your friends were worth a fuck, now deal with the consequences!

And like, I don't know, I do find the idea interesting of V no longer being able to have like combat implants and physically just not being the same, the idea of them being forced into trying to carve out a normal life after everything is actually pretty neat.

But it still feels like a reskin to me.

I also really just don't like the way CDPR tries to illustrate bad ends by making V's friends/love interests worse people? Like don't get me wrong, I can completely vibe with the idea that A) they'd have some grievances with V siding with FIA or Arasaka and B) that after two years of not knowing what happened to V, they would've moved on in some capacity.

But do they have to be like, mean?

Like Panam going full scale, don't answer the call, have Mitch tell you to fuck off. I was in a coma???? Like, I know she doesn't know that, but also maybe listen??? Like that feels like yeah, her character hasn't developed at all, she's still incredibly stubborn and won't even hear you out.

And River selling police secrets for Randy's rehab, so he's in a guilt spiral, so he just... can't meet up??? Like legit, CDPR, honey- what the fuck is your fascination with ruining this man's life? Literally, one of if not the only LI who can canonically die??? Or go to jail???? Like, what did River do to you????

Judy moving across the country and being married, I don't have inherent beef with, I think that does make sense for her character- that said, convo still feels weird, like the whole "please don't ruin this for me" like I'm sorry??? V literally nearly died for you several times and murdered for you several times and has been so nice to you- but you just assume they're gonna show up at your door and try to ruin your life? Wow, great to know what you think of me....

And of course Kerry is just busy with his career, that said I did find it kind of funny/in character that V calls and the first thing Kerry wants to do is talk about himself. Like, yeah, that's Kerry. But also, like again, the dialogue heavily implies that when he makes the bare minimum offer of hey... maybe we can hang out in four months, that no- you probably won't, it's bullshit.

Like, it just sucks because I really love all of these characters and feel like they do genuinely have love and affection for V, but this constant- oh nope they're all abandoning you, oof, pull on any ending that isn't Star or Sun is just.... frustrating and really undermines it and honestly reinforces that V's best friend and the one person who cares for them most is fucking Johnny.

Vik selling out to Zetatech also sucked ass, don't do that to my ripper- but hey, at least he made five fucking minutes for V. Even if he spent trying to convince them he's happy and eventually they will be too.

Misty I loved seeing again in the ending- though I don't know why, maybe it's just me- is her VA suddenly doing a harley quinn impression??? Like that kind of Boston(?) accent she suddenly has in the DLC for .... no fucking reason? That said, even if I'm sad to see her go, I am happy she's finding her peace, though kind of wish there was a "can I go with you?" option, because- V literally doesn't have a home anymore??? Maybe someone should help them.... not be homeless, that'd be cool. Maybe my V wants to go to the old forest in Poland too???

Also, also- Delamain, more of a true friend than any of the love interests in that ending. Picked V up, got them booze for them and Vik, helped them catch up on news, said they missed them, and were happy to see them again. Fuck yeah, Delamain.

But uhhh, overall, I think my opinions are there are some interesting and fun things within the DLC, some fun concepts that I definitely wanna play with in my fanfic. Some solid fucking SIlverV content. But like narratively and story wise- it's just alright. It's nothing ground breaking, I don't feel like the game needed it, I don't feel like it "fixed" the game. I think people who got into Cyberpunk 2077 through Phantom Liberty and praise it as what "saved" the game- just like Cyberpunk 2077. Like, cause the DLC is more of the same, like it's fun, it's a good time but it's the same narrative structure we've had times 3 within the main game. It's like if I eat a sandwich, and CDPR said "Hey, I know what will go well with that-" and handed me a third of the same exact kind of sandwich. I don't dislike it, I liked the sandwich, a lot- but also it doesn't complement or add to it like a side dish or a dessert might to a meal. It's a just a bit of the same- maybe it has a slightly new condiment on it, but its overall the same.

Like I said, this might change if/when I do a full replay of the game and can handle doing it as like a full run rather than kind of tacking it onto the end of another save. I think that might help with making it feel a bit more a part of the story.

But I think I'd still land in the same overall space of, it's was alright- some parts I loved more than others, and if this had been in the base game, I'd probably feel very different because Reed and Songbird probably wouldn't feel as sprung on V to me.

All that said, I also do feel a bit more confident and secure in how I'm gonna implement it into my fic- which is gonna mean heavy rewrites which should be fun. So, I definitely got a little something to sink my teeth into.

[seiwas]

conversations on love #3 (gojo x reader) lil snippet sneakpeak!

Print photos aren’t as important anymore when cloud storage spaces are just as–if not more–accessible, but Gojo is admittedly sentimental despite every front he puts up to hide it. 

He’s kept every single gift you’ve given him and camouflaged it as decoration in his office, and the family drawing 10-year-old Tsumiki made is still folded between the pages of a self-help book Yaga gave him when he first decided to teach. 

When every moment is experienced so vividly, seen through a muddle of infinite energies, there are those he wishes could stay still—ones that take up space to remind him: ‘this is real, it happened, and because of it your life is irrevocably changed’.

For the longest time, Gojo has kept a photo hidden, locked away in the drawer by his bedside as if keeping it there means the memory will stay guarded forever—untouched, unspoiled, unruined.

It becomes clearer to him then, by the look in your eyes and remembrance soft-spoken, that what good is a photo unseen? 

What good is a love unwitnessed?

[bunnyscar]

Fears

As soon as Link and Zelda were well enough to travel, they left Castle City with Impa. According to her, they would take less traveled roads on the way to Kokiri Forest, in the hope that Ganon would be less able to trace them that way.

The group spoke little on the drive out of Castle City, each wrapped up in their own thoughts. As Zelda watched the city outskirts slowly falling behind them, her heart ached, tears springing into her eyes. It was not as if she were leaving forever. If she could master her power and learn to defend herself, then she could return.

But somehow she knew it would not be the same. As a child, she had believed her home was invincible, a haven of peace and happiness, that no one there would intentionally hurt another. When she was older, she had realized not everyone was that kind, but even in college she had chosen to see the best in others. Now, however, this belief had come crashing down. Ganon’s men had put cracks in that belief when they infiltrated the university and wounded Link, and the attack on the lab had torn it down completely. Darkness had entered her little world of light. And she was afraid the darkness would swallow her.

She turned away from her window and glanced at Link, who sat at the other end of the car’s backseat. He gazed out his own window, silent and thoughtful. What would he think of leaving Castle City? Would he call it home like she had, or would it be a relief for him to be gone? 

Link broke into her train of though by asking, “The Kokiri forest, how far away is it?”

“With our route, we should make it in three or four days,” Impa answered.

“Is it far enough away from the City?”

“It will do,” Impa said, “until you’re both fully recovered. The forest is dangerous enough that Ganon should think twice about entering it, but for us it’s a good hiding place.”

“Dangerous? I thought you were taking Zelda there to be safe.”

“It’s not that dangerous if you know where you’re going. The danger is in getting lost,” Impa replied. “My people the Sheikah have long researched the forest and found out some of its ways. As long as we’re careful and stick together, we’ll be fine. Besides, some Sheikah have even found fairy fountains that heal wounds.”

“Fairy fountains, huh,” Link muttered, raising an eyebrow, obviously unimpressed.

“Yes,” Impa said testily, starting to get annoyed. “Or do you doubt my people’s trustworthiness?”

Link looked like he wanted to say something sarcastic, but he thought better of it and kept his mouth shut.

“I’ve never been out this way before,” Zelda commented, trying to fill the uncomfortable silence that followed. “My parents took me sometimes to Lurelin Resort for vacations, but other than that I haven’t seen much of Hyrule. It’s a little exciting to think about seeing the forest. You must have seen a lot of places, Impa.”

Impa nodded. “I have seen a lot of Hyrule, mostly on research trips.”

“What about you, Link? Have you been outside of the city?” Zelda asked, turning to him.

Link hesitated, glancing out the window again. “Well, since I grew up in Gerudo Valley...yes, I suppose so,” he said slowly.

Zelda glanced at him curiously. Perhaps his coming from Gerudo Valley should not have surprised her, since he spoke and wrote their language so well, but he looked nothing like a Gerudo with his blonde hair and fair skin. And furthermore… “Aren’t all Gerudos women?” she asked in puzzlement. “I thought that they only gave birth to boys every 100 years or so.”

“Yes, that’s true of the Gerudo race. But just because I grew up in that area doesn’t mean I’m actually one of them. There’s a trading town at the edge of the desert, a place where several races meet to trade with the Gerudo women. I grew up in its slums.”

“The slums...did you have parents?” Zelda asked softly.

“I don’t remember them. I was an orphan and earned a living as a thief. Ganon found me in the slums and offered a place in his organization, promising that I would never have to want for food or shelter again. It seemed like a dream come true, and at first it was everything he promised. Until the training began. Then it was hell.” He shuddered involuntarily.

“You didn’t mention this before when we asked you about the organization,” Impa interjected, glancing at him with a frown.

Link shrugged. “Didn’t seem necessary.”

“What was this training?” Zelda asked hesitantly.

“Some of it was combat training, some of it was stealth training. And then there was...curse training.”

“Curse…” Zelda felt a shiver of fear crawl down her spine.

“Ganon’s curse magic, to be exact. It’s dark magic and acts as a sort of poison, spreading throughout the body and destroying it from inside. How fast it kills a person depends on his resistance to it, and some people can even build a tolerance for it.

"The curse training was so we could use weapons imbued with his magic. But members of the organization who were like me, orphans or homeless who had been picked off the street and only joined out of desperation, often failed this training. We couldn’t build up enough tolerance. The ones who passed the training and became Ganon’s important officials were often hardened criminals he recruited. People like those who attacked the lab.”

Zelda shuddered. In her mind, she could see Link’s crumpled form on the floor that first time he had been attacked in the university’s lab. She remembered vividly the agony in his face, the anguished moan, the blood seeping from his side—she shook her head, trying to clear those images. How many times had he been through that pain?

“So you never passed this training, then?” Impa asked.

Link shook his head. “Never. I’ve always been quite weak to it, even more than the others….”

“Yet Ganon’s men didn’t try to use the curse magic on you this time when they attacked the Purah lab?” Impa asked pointedly. Link did not answer. “If they knew you were weak to it, why didn’t they use the curse on you?” Impa pressed.

Zelda glanced anxiously at Link, whose only response to Impa was a slight crease in his brows. “Well, he wasn’t cursed, and we made it out alive, so that’s what matters,” she said lightly. Impa frowned deeply, but asked no more, and the three fell into silence, each absorbed in their own thoughts once again.

It was true, the attackers could have killed Link much faster if they had used cursed weapons, but none of Link’s wounds had been cursed when they treated him at the hospital. Either Ganon’s men had decided to use regular weapons, or somehow the curse had been healed. But neither of those options seemed very likely.

As for Link, he refused to say anything about what had happened in the Purah lab, even to Zelda. When she had asked, all he said was that he wasn’t ready to tell her, that he needed time to think. Though she had wanted to tell him he could trust her and didn’t have to carry his burdens alone, she had instead dropped the subject. If he needed time to think, she would give him time. And when he was ready to talk, she would listen.

When they finally stopped for the night at a small cabin, it was midnight. They drove off a ways from the main road to get to the cabin, but Impa said it was a safe house, and they were less likely to be seen by Ganon’s spies here than if they stayed at a motel. It was dark inside, since half the lights did not work, but they could see it was a one room building with a loft above, a kitchen area to one side, and a couch and fireplace in the living area. After a small supper, they each wearily said goodnight and headed to bed. Impa and Zelda took the two beds in the loft, while Link situated himself on the couch. 

Though he was weary and his head was aching, he could not sleep. He raised his left hand, and stared at its back, even though in the dark all he could see was its vague outline. He didn’t need to see, though, to know that the brand was still there, the mark that he’d received when he first entered Ganon’s organization. The symbol of a horned beast devouring a flame. For several years, that symbol had been stamped in his mind, the mark of who he belonged to, the chain that bound him to his master. And yet….this hand had glowed with golden light in the Purah lab. This hand had saved him and Zelda.

Link knew. He knew very well that he now had a piece of the triforce and that it had activated at the lab. He knew he should tell Impa and Zelda, that they could help him learn to use it, that he should use it to stop Ganon. Yet fear and confusion paralyzed him. Why him? He had not been born with this triforce as Zelda had, and the only explanation was that it had chosen to manifest itself in him. But why? He was no hero, he was a criminal, a thief, a murderer. It wasn’t right for him to hold such power. It had to be a mistake. 

Such were the protests he made in his mind, though deep inside he knew was just afraid. Afraid of what the Triforce would mean. Though he’d decided to defeat Ganon and stop his crimes, though he’d promised to himself he would protect Zelda, Link still feared his former master. He would go fight Ganon if he must, he had firmly decided that, but part of him wished that someone else would step up and take down Ganon. If Link had the triforce, however, that meant he was the hero. It was no longer a personal fight to protect his friend, but a fight to protect all of Hyrule. And that thought terrified him.

Slowly Link clenched his hand and let it fall back down to his side. He would have to tell Impa and Zelda soon. But not yet, not yet….

Previous

[hikayunas]

the selection of animals in promised blood is really good for a lot of reasons, but something i've always liked was the fact that the animals even fit together when you look at their real-life diets.

as apex predators, tigers have a wide selection of prey on their menus -- but most notably, will snack on monitor lizards (closest thing to dragons), snakes, horses when they can get their claws on them, and potentially even bats (given the overlap of range between flying foxes and bengal tigers, i'm not sure why a tiger wouldn't eat a bat if it managed to snag one.)

a very common predator for a lot of bat species worldwide? snakes.

given all the talk of killing each other for "food" in futatsugi...it all sort of just clicks together well, i think.

[designernishiki]

I feel like I liked yakuza 5 a lot more than most people for some reason

[whyeverr]

It only took three nights of night biking to bring this week's skill maxing ambition to fruition.

He's still an absolute noodle of a man, but he's undeniably fit. Lean and mean, or something. Surely more than capable of twelve whole push-ups.

[just-beyond-ecoust]

pressure machine (album) by the killers x bj

in another life / s8ep22 / pressure machine / s8ep22 / in another life / s8ep22 / in the car outside / s8ep6 / in another life / s10ep17 / in another life

[jacobglaser]

My mum asked me about Bluesky so I think it's officially gone mainstream. If any of you are over there let me know I guess!

[kiisuuumii]

guys !!!!!! i had a dream last night !!!!!!

[andresylupin]

went to the cinema yesterday to see The Name of the Rose, which I had seen only once before, like ten or twelve years ago, and it was such an incredible experience to rediscover that film, and since i was in the mood i decided to start watching the new adaptation that came out a few years ago as a tv series and. it's a different experience for sure. i'm only 25min in, so i'm not really forming an opinion just yet, but i'm having thoughts. (also Michael Emerson is here, as the abbot, which surprised me because based on what i know about the character, it doesn't seem to require that "little freak" vibe that emerson has, but i am glad to see him there!)

also i have never read the original novel, which i'll rectify in the very near future.