#may continue this one later on

[adrift-in-thyme]

Day 25: Assumed Dead (First & Everyone)

Ao3 link

Cw for blood and injury

————————-

“Alright, even for me this dungeon is creepy,” Legend says, squinting into the gloom.

Wild nods in agreement. They’ve only been inside for a few minutes or so but already he can feel the hairs on the back of his neck raising. Something is off here, something is wrong. And no, it’s not the wall masters that catapult down toward their heads, or the redeads that line the hallways, though those are definitely disconcerting.

(As is Time’s mask that makes their haunting forms pirouette like the dancers Wild remembers performing in Castle Town before the calamity. He’ll add that to his list of “Things to Ask Twilight About Later.” Though from the look on the rancher’s face, he doesn’t have any more answers than Wild does.)

But this feeling that emanates from the cracks in closed doors and hovers in the rank air, it’s altogether different from the discomfort born of the other oddities and horrors this place harbors. It’s even different from the chill that had crept up his arms while traversing the Typhlo Ruins.

Because while nearly everything in here reeks of death and doom, there’s another presence, one Wild is surprised he can even detect. It’s faint, like the flutter of a barely beating heart, struggling to survive amongst the long deceased. And it’s not a malevolent presence at all. In fact, Wild feels strangely drawn to it, almost in the same way he felt drawn to his companions. Yet, it shouldn’t be here–it knows that, he knows that. It’s terribly unnatural, almost sickening.

The further they venture into the dungeon, the more certain Wild is that something warped and twisted has changed a fate for its own gain.

“Do you feel it too?” he mutters to Twilight when at last he can’t take the discomfort any longer.

Twilight turns from where he was gazing into the distance, a strange look in his eyes.

“I do,” he says, quietly, brows creased in a frown.

Wild shivers slightly. “I’ve never felt anything else like it. Have you?”

Twilight doesn’t answer for a long moment. His gaze wanders to where Time stands, discussing their next move with Four and Warriors.

“No. But I’ve felt something similar.” He looks back at Wild, eyes sharp, expression solemn. “It feels like a restless spirit.”

A restless spirit.

Wild ponders that as they continue forward. Obviously, Twilight has experience in that arena (another addition to his growing list of things to inquire about), but Wild has too. The Champions were all restless spirits after all. For a time, he was one too, disturbed and distraught even in his slumber by things he desperately needed to remedy. And still, this isn’t quite the same.

The Champions had yearned to finish their mission, and so had he (even if he hadn’t remembered at first). For some reason, he doesn’t get the feeling that this is unfinished business.

But he doesn’t bring it up again. There are other things to pay attention to after all, like the monsters that begin to attack from every direction. Besides, the cold, creeping dread has dulled a bit, whether from distraction or something far more concerning he isn’t sure. It makes it easier to function, though, so he’ll take what he can get.

Then, they find the cell.

It’s the last room in the dungeon, the one with the largest, most foreboding door and the lock to match the final key.

“The big bosses always hide out here,” Wind whispers as Time slides the key in and eases open the door. “But usually you’ll find a specific tool to deal with ‘em somewhere else in the dungeon. Weird that we didn’t.”

“Well, this dungeon doesn’t follow any rules,” Legend grumbles. “It’s all over the place.”

Wild can’t give much input on that front, but he definitely agrees that everything here is strange. And when they step inside, it only grows more so.

At first, he can’t even see his hand outstretched in front of him. But then the last hero enters the room and the door slams shut, torches flickering to life along the walls. The shadows stretch, driven back by their dismal glow, and Wild can make out the grime coating the ground and walls, the chains glittering dangerously along the far wall. And hanging from them, arms stretched upward, body slouched against the cold stone, is a man.

He raises his head when they enter, golden hair falling out of his face just enough that Wild can make out his eyes, bright and blue in the darkness. For a split second, they meet and that feeling grows a hundred times stronger.

“What the–” Legend mutters and Wild can’t help but wonder if he can feel it too.

Time steps forward. “Who are you?”

The man regards Time calmly, before letting his gaze roam the rest of the group. When he catches sight of the Master Sword strapped to Sky’s back, his expression changes just slightly, a break in his facade.

“You’re heroes.” His voice is hoarse from disuse, lips chapped and bloody.

“Yeah, and what’re you?” Legend retorts. “The final boss?”

The man looks at him for a moment, then lets out a snort of laughter. Wild starts at the unexpected sound.

“Do I look like the final boss?” His expression shifts again, quick as a flash, falling back into the grave solemnity of before. “But you should leave before he comes. He was expecting you.”

“You were the bate.” It’s Twilight now. He’s regarding the man with a guarded look, hand clenching and unclenching at his side.

Something flashes across the man’s face, come and gone faster than Wild can identify it. He flashes a bitter grin.

“Unfortunately, yes. If he hadn’t had need of such a thing I likely wouldn’t be here now. Though he’s attempted to find other uses for me in the meantime.”

Wild frowns. Several things aren’t adding up here–the story, his appearance and clothing (why does his armor look like a combination of Time’s and Warriors’?), his imprisonment, and now this. It feels as wrong as the rest of this dungeon has.

“What do you mean?” He asks.

The man’s gaze flicks to him, startling in its intensity, but before he can answer, Sky speaks up.

“He’s one of us.”

His voice is hushed and constricted with a mixture of disbelief and horror. The heroes turn almost as one to look at him, standing off to the side, the Master Sword in hand, angled toward the man. A faint glow of red emanates from the handle, and he quickly lowers it before it can sear into his skin.

Silence reigns in the room for a long moment, broken only by the agonizing sounds of the man’s ragged breathing.

“Is it true?” Time asks, at last, skewering the man with a piercing look.

The man meets it without hesitation. “It is. That sword was given to me by the goddess herself and I wielded it in my final battle.”

“Sorry–” Legend shakes his head, “–but it sounded like you said final battle.”

“Yes, that’s correct.” The man’s lips lift in the slightest of smirks, and Wild is struck by how similar he looks to Warriors in that moment. “I’m supposed to be dead.”

The statement hits the room with the force of a bomb. Wild takes an involuntary step back as everything begins to click, pieces to a puzzle he isn’t even sure he wants the answer to coming together to portray a dismal picture. But before it can become a clear picture a new voice emanates from the shadows, sending shivers down his spine.

“Hylia’s precious little hero speaks the truth. He is indeed supposed to be dead. I had need of him, however, so with just a bit of dark magic…I brought him back.”

The darkness swirls around and groups together, and the familiar form of the Shadow emerges from it. He grins, all sharp teeth and red eyes, as the heroes rush to pull out their weapons.

“It’s wonderful, really, that you’re all here. Too bad that you’re going to have to die.”

He unsheathes his sword, leaps forward, and the room erupts into chaos.

“Champion!” Time calls as Wild ducks beneath swinging blades, trying to help box the Shadow in. “Get him out!”

It takes a moment for him to realize he means the hero who is still slumped against the wall. It takes him even longer to realize that bars haven’t come down over the entrance as they normally do.

Strange.

“Got it!” He calls back, changing direction and rushing toward the man.

His head has fallen forward toward his chest and raises it when Wild approaches.

“So, is your name Link to?” He asks, ducking as a deku nut soars over his head.

The man nods, but his attention isn’t on niceties…or the oddities of having nine other people with his name.

“Your friends,” he says, voice fainter and more gravelly than ever. Whatever spurt of strength seeing the other heroes had provided him is quickly fading. “—You need to help them.”

Wild shakes his head, glancing over his wounds. At this proximity, they look much, much worse than they did from across the room. Old and new bruises pepper every bit of visible skin, blood coats large portions of his clothing and hair. One arm is at an unnatural angle, as though his captors broke it before locking his wrist in the shackle. And when Wild leans in, he can see the exhaustion evident in his eyes. It’s a wonder he’s even still conscious.

Yet, he’s still more worried about nine people he’s never even met before.

Oh yeah, he’s definitely a hero.

“They’ll be fine,” he says, desperately hoping even as he says it that he’s right about that. “Right now, I need to get you out of here.”

It takes some finagling–and a whole lot of yelling–but with the help of Warriors’ fire rod (or…really Legend’s fire rod) he manages to break the chains. The man sags against him, with a groan, and Wild has to shift to account for his weight. Then, they begin their limping progress toward the door.

And as they move forward with his rapidly deteriorating charge on his shoulder and the clash of weapons deafening in his ears, Wild has to admit that it’ll take a miracle to get them all out of here alive.

[stemmmm]

more people gotta try this shit where bill has not improved and will not change but he's just chilling so its fine probably. its great

[orcelito]

It is Now

My birthday 😌

I am now 27 💃

[callmehere-iwillappear]

REF SHEET JUMPSCARE

fun facts/context/things that didn't fit on the sheet under a read more!

raph's chew stim necklace was a gift from mikey. he goes through them like once a month MAX

mikey's 'more sensitive to mystics' thing isn't necessarily plot relevant just a fun tidbit. he gets it from draxum's side /hj

donnie is officially the older twin now HOWEVER prior to the invasion they didn't know which of them was and would have some completely arbitrary criteria or competition (a la rock paper scissors) to decide every time someone asked. the criteria was different EVERY time and ONLY made sense to them

one time after witnessing this draxum tried to tell them who was older and they both chewed him out. it's not about who's actually older it's about the PRINCIPLE

in this canon the invasion took place aroundddd six months after shredder round two

i REFUSE to believe donnie wouldn't build his techbo/other tech stuff that got destroyed again. he would NOT solely use mystics you cannot convince me. my reasoning for why he did in the movie is that he was too focused on trying to bring back shelldon to worry about his other tech stuff

SPEAKING OF SHELLDON. idk that it'll come up in the fic directly so basically: donnie spent a while trying to bring him back and wasn't able to during that time, and then... didn't give up exactly but got super discouraged and 'took a break' from working on him

'took a break' aka saying he would get back to it but not actually doing that because he refused to admit he was really just scared it would end with concrete proof that it wasn't possible. at least this way he doesn't know for sure that shelldon is gone forever (even if he also doesn't know for sure that he isn't)

schroedingers shelldon basically

and then the invasion happened and everything went to shit. shelldon is still sitting in donnie's lab somewhere though -- he luckily didn't have any parts donnie needed for the portal that he couldn't get from something else

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

man, your art is always so shaped. *eats it*

you drew human wally so adorable!!

ALSO

i LOVE reading tags on your art. so many thoughts i simply MUST imbibe. thank you

slowly (and Emotionally) breakdancing in my room over this ask <3<3<3

[ro-sso]

thinking about all the forms of magic MC has used, just suddenly as if they are fully trained. also the lack of magical tools used feels weird? Like we got a rune ward for rune carving, and a shadow seeker vacuum, a fragment of aideens light and a bottle of aideens tears but these all do... nothing? We dont use the rune wand to help channel energy, or rune-work outside of that one questline.

idk if it's just me but with some of the more recent late-game quests it feels as though MC has suddenly become adept in magic after training in the Sun circle (& doing minor work in the lightning and moon circle). It feels quite... offputting but that could just be me being weird

[lemurious]

Victor Hugo pulls no punches while writing about the Spanish war in 1823.

"the spirit of liberty and of novelty brought to its senses by bayonets; principles slaughtered by cannonades; France undoing by her arms that which she had done by her mind. "

"Thus is war, made by humanity against humanity, despite humanity, explained."

"They fell into the alarming error of taking the obedience of the soldier for the consent of the nation. Such confidence is the ruin of thrones."

Reading Les Miserables (well, listening to it while crocheting ;)) has been thoroughly enjoyable, including all the digressions so far, and has made me think more deeply about social issues than I have in a long time. One step away from a new special interest in late 18th-19th century France...eek I don't have time for another one 😅

[agirlinthegalaxy]

Something I see frequently is fans wanting characters like Elle Greenaway or Nathan Harris to return as unsubs in Criminal Minds, which. I'll be completely honest, I hate the idea for a lot of the suggested characters because it feels so undeniably tragic and hopeless that someone will inevitably become a killer, even if they don't want to become one. Yes, a lot of the unsubs have some kind of tragic backstory, but the thing is that they're still awful people (excluding very very few). I feel like having previous characters return as the unsub paints this picture that you're unable to break the cycle of violence or that you're destined to become a monster, which is just such a honestly tragic message, especially for a show that's already pretty dark.

I'm not opposed to characters reappearing, but I'd much prefer that if those characters appeared again that it'd be in the vein of them having undergone some kind of healing and growth and be able to find themselves some kind of peace and satisfaction in where they are in life. Let them reappear, but don't transform them into monsters but a symbol of the healing and growth available to survivors and the other characters.

[kirstielol]

remember in like may or some shit when i reblogged that post about how this summer's going to be the best summer ever, and it's turned out to be probably the worst summer ever :/

[youremyonlyhope]

why won't my brain shut up why won't my brain shut up why won't my brain shut up why won't my brain shut up

[koushirouizumi]

Digimon Adventure {Franchise} + Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning {Movie} ~ 2012!TAICHI YAGAMI & (Ramen chef)!Daisuke Motomiya Serving (as Friendly)! [+bonus Vmon!] {DigiGift! (Official Art) From HERE} {"DigiGift" was a series of official revival artworks originally released one at a time on/around the 1st of every month featuring various characters from various Digimon anime!} April 2024's calender image was the very first featuring Taichi Yagami's full design from "The Beginning" film in near-full outside of being seen in initial previewed clips of the 1st minutes of the film!

Though it's not clear if this kind of scene would take place during or after the film, one can imagine where it might be placed in context with the later story! ("The Beginning" canonically takes place in 2012; Taichi's age should be around 22~ by Kizuna, and, 23-going-on-24 by "The Beginning"'s timeline!) Daisuke, who is always listed canonically as 2~ years younger exactly with no variation, should be around 21-going-on-22!)

I NEVER WANT TO HEAR THAT DAISUKE+02 CHOSEN WOULD SERIOUSLY """KEEP HATING""" ADV CHOSEN GROUP LONGTERM + OFFICIALLY EVER AGAIN

[fivekrystalpetals]

this story doesn't exist for me beyond this point in Retrace 92:

everyone is back home safe, the world is saved and they have another tea party, The End!

[wayward-sherlock]

Karen Wheeler was one of the many people that Joyce Byers helped during her days working as a domestic dispute center volunteer (Mike was often brought along and got introduced to Will, Joyce’s shy son)

years later, after the sudden death of Joyce (due to a super-villain related attack), Karen and Mike show up at her funeral. Karen tells Will that Joyce changed her life and got her out of a toxic marriage and saved the family that she wanted.

Mike sits in silence with Will as they both mourn the amazing woman that Joyce was. they’ve stayed connected throughout the years, if only virtually, but Will still feels like Mike knows him better than anyone (except for the fact that he’s spiderman). it’s why he lets Mike comfort him at the gravestone of his mom.

[gemkun]

anonymous said : Mr. Ratio, I have an embarrassing problem. My teacher told me I’m not allowed to take notes in class to study later. He said if I really pushed myself and cared about my studies I should be able to memorize the lesson without needing notes to review later. Is he right?

      ⸻       ❝   your   teacher   would   benefit   revisiting   the   education   system.   what   an   antediluvian   belief.   ❞   even   his   desk   ,   possesses   a   great   deal   of   notes   ,   bearing   a   myriad   of   annotations   towards   his   current   project.   ❝   revising   is   essential.   our   memories   atrophy   if   we   do   not   exercise   consistent   practice   ,   and   as   such   ,   topics   will   slip   from   our   grasp.   it   is   an   inevitable   fact   ,   that   from   this   point   onwards   ,   you   will   face   frustration   as   you   cannot   recall   what   was   said   earlier.   ❞   steepling   fingers   ,   alabaster   obscures   only   slightly   ,   where   empty   eyes   remain   fixed   on   the   asker.   granting   complete   and   utter   attention   ,   towards   a   raised   issue   that   concerns   him   vastly.

  ❝   individuals   each   have   their   varied   learning   approaches   ,   but   our   minds   are   a   tool   that   must   be   sharpened   and   polished   to   maintain   their   prime   condition.   dismiss   your   teacher   and   his   words   ,   he   clearly   fails   to   comprehend   this   critical   truth.   continue   to   review   where   necessary   ,   and   discover   the   best   technique   that   suits   you.   ❞

[splatattackz]

i have so many qsmp fic ideas <- no confidence to write them 😔

[newervegas]

okok sleep deprived BUUT i think i have the j//jk verse figured out so far!!!!!!

three clowns atm!! shiori (g*ojo), minako (t*oji + ch*oso) and kanna (n*anami) !!!!!!! 🌸💕

minako is g/ojos older sister (by a few years she graduated college and was in her first year as a teacher in ye olde flashback era of when g*ojo and besties were in school) she was married and thus and still into today she uses her late spouses surname mizuhara.

shiori is either n//aoyas twin but they weren’t really close as kids and aren’t close now so there isn’t much to that?? (or maybe they were but now its strained due to yk succession who gets to be heir i am not quite sure about that yet!! oo it would give s//uccesiion but make it j//jk OO!!!!!) ORR she’s the older sib of m*ai and m*aki?? and still candidate of heir (?) in that as well?)

BUT ANYWAY..!!!! she was an old classmate of g/ojo and the besties (was maybe in either his year or n/anami and kannas year?) AND BESTEST BUDS. its giving childhood sweethearts to lovers yk? CUUTE.

fast forward t*oji passes….ish. right she and him after they grad they raise her nephew together (he even has a room at her apartment they’ve been SUUPER married but never got together what gives yk?? ILL EXPLAIN 💀) so her career skyrocketed (as an actress?? model? both????) and so things got busy BUUT like they’ve baaasically been living together and raising two youngins (minako and t*oji have a daughter aya <3) they hang out like ALL THE TIME……. and yet not married 💀

(but i mean thats not to say they’ll never yk *giggles* shes taking a year off of to help out and support m*egumi at his first year with goj 🥀🤧 SUPER MARRIED PARENTS!!) theyve alsoo been very invested the last decade or so with getting two of their besties together ever since n*anami said he was interested in her since like forever and never told them about it but swore to never tell her about it so theyve been trying to subtly *wheeze* set them up 🥀🤡

WHICH LEADS ME TO KANNAAA so she’s the granddaughter to the principal of the k*yoto campus and she transferred to tokyo so not to have the rep as “principals kid” (she still did alas 💀✨🤧) and possibly get special treatment bc shes related to one of the administrators. her curse technique she uses (its like c*assia in r*ogue trader-ish seeing emotions, curses and resonances as colors and swipes of paint and swipes of a paintbrush !!) and its helpful as she is a psychotherapist these days for sorcerers !!!!!!! 🌸 very much on the outside cool and collected “has her stuff together.” meanwhile that mask hides behind a hot mess teehee <3 also parties a lot chronic partner drags shiori to all of her after parties and galas and suggests kanna “tags along” so she can party 🥀😌 the girls are thriving!!!!!!!!

she didn’t think anything of nan and in fact likely didn’t even know he existed let alone has had a childhood harbored crush on her 🥀💀 ……. and then they reunite when they’re set up together in ep9 TEEHEE (everyone (g*ojo and shiori) cheers they’re brains for suggesting she aid them HUUUGE) she had planned only to be there for the exchange event and then go back to things buuuut teehee n*anami like kanna fell HARD (everyone’s thrilled especially g*ojo and shiori ndjxxh) and thus decided to take a transfer to be in t*okyo HEHE.

SO GOLDFISH BRAIN their curses!! minako (dream walking/weaving), shiori (pied piper if i make her an actress she doesn’t do musicals or play instruments UNLESS there’s curses in her midst bc she can control them and people in the vicinity with her ability (like meat puppets 🥀🤧 BUUT if i made her a model people already would expect her not to sing so i mean it would be convenient??) and kanna was listed earlier!!

(also when g*ojo and shiori finally DO get together everyone was like ????? we thought you both already were?? and they were like 🥀🧍‍♀️🧍👁️✨😶🫨)

BONUS TRACK VERSION: so nan and kan begin as more of a fwb but it doesn’t last im thinking bc teehee <3 BUUT not before shiori stopped by kans place for something and noticed…… something of nanamis there 🥀💀 (like a tie or jacket of his or something yk?) BUT THE WAY SHIO BOLTSSSS TO DELIVER THE NEWS very had to be ✨ so normal ✨ around them lest ye aforementioned parties are made aware that they know 🌸💕🫨🥴