#or the heroes sword in t-p

[uncharted-constellations]

~You were just a kid too, huh~

Again, I refuse to make adult mm link edgy sorry.

[ma1dita]

hi can i get one ticket for the graveyard smash starring luke castellan with a 🍬 and 🍫? thank u!!

bury a friend

[STARRING: LUKE CASTELLAN x hephaestus!reader ; “I’ve just never seen you this mad before.” “Really? Now? God, you have terrible timing.” wc: 1.3k a/n: MDNI- human sacrifice, dubcon, outdoor sex, afab!virgin!reader, fingering, p in v, mentions of creampie, forced orgasm, errr... mentions of gore

monster mash-terlist

꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷

You were only supposed to fix his sword.

It started as a favor—you and him weren’t really friends but there weren’t many older kids at camp and word got out that the steel he brought cost him his quest, or so he says. Luke Castellan came back from San Francisco wanting more. A hero like him believed he only deserved the best, and who were you to argue? You were set on giving him just that, the best welder out of all of your siblings—you could be put to the test and do something remarkable for someone who might actually have a chance of being more than a forgotten memory to your godrents.

You’re so warm. He can’t get over it. Were all children of Hephaestus born with a fire to stoke? 

Your hands feel like fire under his grasp as he leads you to a forest clearing and you stumble—it’s hard to tell where you’re going when it’s dark like this but Luke says he won’t let you fall. He has your arms bound at your waist and perhaps you can’t fall if he isn’t planning on letting go. 

“C’mon. Right up there,” he mumbles, tapping your hip with a cold hand and leading you onto a manmade ledge in the middle of the empty space. Lanterns line the floor, dimly lit flames swaying in the brisk night air, and he’s still gentle in the way he helps you sit properly on the stone. 

He almost doesn’t want to do this.

“Luke? Do we have to do this?” you hesitate, laying back onto the smooth surface as he ties your limbs down with rope from the docks. The fibers rub your wrists and ankles raw, and his eyes almost glow at the sight of you struggling.

His new toy sits in a scabbard attached to his belt. Luke undoes the clasp, propping Backbiter against the wall of the platform near his knee and he starts to pace, muttering something under his breath, “Of course we do. It’s the only way—you need to understand,” Luke says hoarsely, “Tell me you understand.”

You nod. It’s not enough for him.

“TELL ME!” he roars, spit flying onto your cheek as he stands over you, aggressively shaking the front of your orange t-shirt. It was a late night—the sunlight of the summer solstice extending past dinner. No one’s going to save you out here. Luke only has a few hours to get this timing right, and you’re his only shot at this.

“I-I understand. I’ve just never seen you this mad before…” you whimper, pushing your head back against the rock to put some distance between you and the son of Hermes. 

“M’not mad,” he exhales, patting your head like one does a child, “I just need to do this. Say it’s okay.” A question bubbles up your throat, but before you can ask, he’s mounted himself onto your spread legs, pushing up the cotton of your drawstring skirt. Between fluttering eyelashes, you think you see him lick his lips—cold fingers traveling up the expanse of your thighs despite your hesitant cries, “Yes but Luke…I…I’ve never…please....”

“The less you struggle, the easier this will be. I’ll take care of you.”

You nod slowly. Goosebumps ravage your body before he does, soon probing past the floral print of your underwear as he presses his icicles for fingers into your heat, stretching, searching for something deep within you until you cry out, “Help!”

Luke smirks, having you writhing in the palm of his hand and gushing from your cunt at the foreign feeling. You’re a pretty one, a lucky find hidden away in the soot and steel of the armory. Always warm and kind, keeping company with your creations. You’re perfect, and exactly what Kronos wanted. A bright and innocent soul to turn the tides of his fate.

Everything is going to plan—he thrusts another finger into your cunt, spreading you wide and reveling at how warm you feel when he’s knuckle deep. Your mouth is agape in a pitiful moan as you try to tuck your face into your shoulder, feeling the heat pool at the bottom of your belly the more he curls his digits, twisting and turning until your eyes roll.

“Almost ready. Keep it coming, pretty girl. You’re the best, you know that?” he breathes, tracing his fingers over nipples that peak underneath the fabric of standard-issue orange on your chest. The color is acrid against the color of your skin—too bright of a reminder of why Luke has to make a deal with the devil. 

Your eyes widen at the feeling of his thick shaft tapping against your clit almost like someone knocking to be let in. Luke’s not asking for permission though—nothing will stop him from his mission to the Titan. You’ve just never gone this far, inexperience making your legs shake when he nudges them further, “I don’t….” You don’t want this, you want to say, and if you did…not like this.

His eyes are almost black in this light, staring down at you and waiting for you to fight back and say something to ruin his night.

He spears himself into you, straight to the hilt. You could swear you feel him in your lungs. Watching you choke on air with an expressionless gaze, Luke’s thumb rubs away the tear that rolls down your cheek. You decide to watch the stars instead, body jolting at his insistence as you sob into his ear, lips searing against his neck in a broken sound.

“I’m so sorry,” he mutters, tucking himself into your neck as he continues to slide in and out of your throbbing pussy, “So so sorry. Gonna make it better, okay?” The searing pain fades as he huffs into your skin, rutting into you like a sick dog. Blood mixes with your arousal squelching around his length. His cock is fatter than it is long, a heavy, pulsing thing that presses deep into your insides. Luke lets a moan slip past his lips, echoing your whines of desperation at the sensations your body is being put through. He can’t help it—you’re too good in all senses of the word. He bites down on your shoulder, smiling at the sound of your staggered wail.

The pleasure makes your brain go fuzzy, and guilt pulls at your core as you clench around him, unaware of what comes next, “Shit, you’re so tight. Cum for me. You have to.”

You don’t know what to say—you can’t string your feelings into a sentence, too wrecked by his cockhead bumping against your g-spot when he tilts his hips at just the right angle.

“I think I’m…No!” you panic at the rush of adrenaline racing through your body—bearing down and tensing and Luke is shushing you, still piercing through your belly as he reaches down and harshly rubs at your clit. You let go—your body is on fire and it’s all his fault. This is all his fault—he grabs your chin, “You like that? Feels good hmm? Told you,” he grits, pushing air through his teeth as he continues to rock into your warmth.

You’re boneless by the time he’s done and belly full of his essence—the shine of the moon reflecting in your eyes and Luke knows now that it is time. He tucks himself back into his shorts, picking up Backbiter from the ground and tracing it’s perfectly crafted edge against the soft of your stomach. 

“Is it over? You said the sword would work after…” The words die out as you shiver, an unfocused gaze meeting Luke’s dark one, void of any emotion and desperation you saw on the boy that begged for your services weeks prior.

“Gods, you have terrible timing. For what it’s worth, I really am sorry.”

He sinks the blade into you, straight to the hilt. The feeling is almost familiar—it’s so deep that it’s come out the other side, knocking against stone. Blood spills from your wound, the ichor spiraling and spreading into your best creation that no one will even know was yours—forging a weapon of mass destruction as you choke out your last breaths.

Luke sighs, shooting a prayer up into the stars for your soul. If you’re listening, he hopes you know he’s grateful you kept him warm.

꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷

ma1dita's monster mash is closed for requests but ongoing for the rest of october!

[t0rturedangel]

mp3,, 【ㅤ𝐍𝐎𝐖ㅤ•ㅤ𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆ㅤ】ㅤㅤ .⠀.⠀.⠀⠀𝐔 𝐊 𝐈 𝐘 𝐎⠀ ┊ c h a p t e r o n e

‿‿ ‿‿ ୨ ୧ ‿‿ ‿‿ .

﹙ㅤT H E E N Dㅤ﹚

ㅤㅤㅤ⠀𓈃⠀⠀🐑 ๋ ㅤMY HERO ACADEMIA x [𝗙𝗘𝗠] [𝗞𝗡𝗬] [𝗢𝗣] reader⠀⠀峠⠀

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤThe beginning that came from the end,, you attempt to kill Muzan only to end up falling to your death

⠀⠀𓂃⠀⠀‧ 🪽 ܸ ⠀⠀'' 2.4k words ,, violence , depictions of blood and oragns , not proof-read, might be a tad bit cringe

cover | next chapter | m.list

‿‿ ‿‿ ୨ ୧ ‿‿ ‿‿ .

ㅤㅤ•ㅤ" MUZAN KIBUTSUJI ! " you screamed, throat turning raw at the sheer hate that manage to leave your throat. That man- no that fucking monster. How DARE he infultrate the Ubuyashiki family mansion and think he'd be fine after. No. Now with the hashiras, you, Tanjiro and Lady Tamayo all gathering, drawing his pathetic ass into a corner you'll all kill him, draw him into the sun and watch as his body rithes in agony under the scorching heat- as his skin cooks and turns to ashes all with smiles on your faces. Thousands of years of fear, anguish and pain put to rest by your hands- Muzan would be no more. Hearing you scream his name with such loathing- such a hate that he's never heard of before, it drew his curiosity ( and he had time to spare... a lot of time to spare ) so he turned his head to your direction, watching as you drew closer- your katana ready to strike, a burning hatred in your facial expression . . . what did he do to piss you off so much ? it must have been incredible to draw such strife from such a young girl as you... and to run at him with such speed and a disregard for your life? You were either stupid or powerful. " [name] ! " Tanjiro screamed as you rushed forward, fear evident in his eyes as he chased after you, the hashira's following suit " DON'T YOU DONT KNOW WHAT HE'S CAPABLE OF! " the red head pleaded, terror spreading through his whole body as it lunged forward even more instincively " I DONT CARE! HE CAUSED SO MUCH AGONY. KIBUTSUJI. I WILL KILL YOU. I WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER TENFOLD WHAT YOU MADE EVERYONE SUFFER. ALL OF THOSE LIVES- MEN, WOMEN, CHILDREN! YOU'LL FEEL THEIR AGONY! " you screamed so loud you could feel your throat and lungs burning " sheep breathing, sixth form, peircing horn- charge! " with that, your body then lunged forward at an inhumane speed- ready to slice Muzan, you supposed all that hashira training really paid off huh. Just as you did, all of the other hashiras panicked, you could faintly hear them and Tanjiro yell out their breathing styles above the ringing in your ears as they went in for the kill too- but they werent close enough to get the first hit. You were. " I will make sure you die. I dont care if it costs my life! " You muttered- getting ready to swing your sword just as Muzan lifted his head- his red eyes peircing through your soul, but you didn't waver. You couldn't. You had people to protect. " it will cost you something more " the demon king smirked, enjoying as confusion that cracked beneath your rage- taking the opportunity to summon his blood demon art and use that falter of focus.

ㅤㅤ•ㅤyou froze. everyone did. for a moment- just a fleeting moment before you looked down- body twitching and eyes widening. A vine... a spear-like vine was piercing you through your stomach- suspending you up in the air. " [NAMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE] ! " you could hear a scream.. maybe it was multiple... fuck... were you going to die? here? after everything... you didnt want to die... lifting up your head to turned it to see Tanjiro not too far away from you- panic, terror, rage and regret swirling in his eyes... those eyes... they were the kindest eyes you've ever seen.. and you were glad they were the last ones you'll see " ... I'm sorry... Tanjiro.. please- dont give up " you croaked out, throat raw from the screaming you previously did and the agony of blood rising up it to escape " NO! no no no no no- [name]! Dont say that- I'll save you! You'll be okay " He yelled- trying to comfort you in any way he could, but he before he could do much else the ground below you opened up... in fact- you swore it opened up beneath everyone but.. why was there people down there? they looked like humans... wouldnt the demon king want you to be around demons? so that they could devour you? " how pathetic " Muzan scoffed " you all thought you could corner me? I'll make sure you all go to hell! " and just like that- the spear tore right out of your stomach and you fell into the opening- eyes still on Tanjiro as he fell too " [name] dont worry! I'll defeat muzan and we can live peacefully! I pro- " he was cut off.

ㅤㅤ•ㅤThe wind around you thrashed your haori and hair about- you were falling, you could gather that much, but to where? Your death presumeably. The screams and gasps of pedestrians below you caught your attention... what if you land on one? You could hurt someone- come on! get a hold of your limbs girl! You have people not to crush, focus on protecting people- endure the pain. With a long but sharp breath, you managed to gather enough oxygen to use one breathing form " total concentration... water breathing, sixth form ... whirlpool " you had managed to twist your body to you were facing the ground- noticing all of the scared people staring at you.. some of them had children in their arms, covering their eyes, other people had their hand to their ear. odd. But you couldn't focus on that- with one swing of your katana you managed to swing your sword down-- already expecting the contact with the ground to still be rough but not rougher than first expected. What you DIDNT expect was for water to actually appear out of your katana, your eyes widened- but before you could properly question it: you landed on the floor- face down, a grunt of agony escaping your mouth. Fuck.. you finally made it- the floor! Sweet mother of Buddah, you can rest your body now. Finally, your eyes closed- already accepting your death as the world grew darker and darker. " I'm sorry.. Tanji..ro.. Ino..ske.. Zeni-- tsu... Ne..zuko.... Mister Gyiuu... Gen..ya.... everyone-- please, def..eat Muzan and s-stay safe "

‿‿ ‿‿ ୨ ୧ ‿‿ ‿‿ .

ㅤㅤ•ㅤThe pedestrians screamed as they saw the young girl fall onto the grouned- some stunned by her display of her quirk before falling. Mother's immediately covered their children's faces, trying not to traumatise their children from the horrific sight, elders covered their mouths- not able to take their eyes away from the pints of blood spooling into the road from the girl's stomach. A few brave young adults wobbled over to her body- staring at her pained expression, noting that she was breathing but extremely slowly, almost deliberately but they didnt know what for. " OH MY GOD- H-HER STOMACH " one of the people who were brave enough shrieked, horror on her face as she covered her mouth to prevent vomit from escaping. There on the floor- the girls stomach was spilling out, alongside her other organs, spilling out like she was an animal in a slaughter house- no care for her body or how it was left. " DOES ANYONE HAVE A HEALING QUIRK? " a male, presumeably the first girl's boyfriend, called out- shielding his girlfriend from the view once again. An older lady, in her late thirties, nodded and walked over- dropping to her knees near the child, trying not to gag or puke at the state of this girl's body- instead she covered her mouth with one hand and scouped the girl's guts up and placed them into her body before starting to use her healing quirk on her, while the older woman was disgusted she knew that what she was doing was saving a life.... and... she's dealt with things grosser than this- she's a mother, and she'd be damned if she let this child die right now. " Can someone call an ambulance? police? a-anyone! " the woman cried, staring up and luckily a few people nodded " we already called! They said someone will be here soon! " one of the crowd's people replied, worry and terror in their face and voice.

ㅤㅤ•ㅤ" Do not worry everyone! Why? BECAUSE I AM HERE! " All might grinned from ear to ear as he run up to the crowd of people, expecting to meet a villain or ingured hero as he got alerts of multiple calls to emergancy services and as he was close to the location- he took it upon himself to arrive. Everyone gasped, turning to stare at the number one as he approached- many of them called for police, an ambulance but the NUMBER ONE HERO just showing up? Out of no where? He smiled, finally at the end of the crowd " What has happened here? " he asked, his signature smile never leaving his face- staring at the crowd as a way to give them a sense of safety " a child- a girl s-she fell out of the sky and she's really bleeding! Someone is trying to heal her but their quirk isnt strong enough- please All Might! You need to help her! " one of the pedestrians pleaded, worried- staring up at all might " she looked so young! Poor thing- who could hurt a child like that? " another person cried out, others mumbling in agreement. " Ah- I understand, please leave it to me! " All might smiled and walked deeper into the crowd, eyes widening in shock as he looked on at the sight infront of him. A girl, no older than fourteen, just laying there- unconcious as she bled out through the stomach- her body involuntariny twitching, the woman next to her pressing onto ther stomach as she used her quirk to the best of her capabilities.. that was, until she noticed all might, stars practically shining in her eyes. She quickly stopped her quirk and lifted your body up as best as she could " ALL MIGHT! Please you need to help! I'm trying to heal her-- but I cant do much " which made the man nod. He quickly dissmissed the lady as politely as he could before scouping the child up- looking at her odd clothes and the wound in her stomach. She needs immediate care!

ㅤㅤ•ㅤAll might found himself flying through the air- an unconcious, dying, child in his arms- he found himself questioning just how this child could get so hurt. BUT! Now was not the time to worry about her prediciment ... well rather how it came to be- but to reach the best hospital for her care. He paused on a roof top, coughing up some blood- knowing he didnt have much longer in his hero form- briefly he scanned the child in his arms, brows furrowing 'how did a child get this hurt? Who would hurt something so innocent and weak?' he worried, before shaking his head- all those questions could be answered later, right now he needs the hospital! So he began to fly through the sky again- jumping from roof to roof until he finally reached the hospital... and his grand entrance brought a lot of attention- paparazzi noticing his presence and immediately began to take pictures- 'All Might!? Who is this girl?!' 'Is she your daughter?' 'Is she a new hero?!' questions were shot at him left and right as he tried to enter the hospital to get you help. All might was about to excuse himself when a doctor shoved herself inbetween All Might and the paparazzi, " EXCUSE ME. Please leave! Cant you see he has a severly ingured child in his arms! Do you have no shame? Leave! " The doctor scowled, yelling at the crowed while All might silently thanked her, walking into the hospital. " Pardon? Can you please help this child? She was found in the street- bleeding out! Someone was able to stabilise her for a little while but it wasnt enough! " at his call, several nurses rushed over- all scared and immediately taking you from his arms, yelling and screaming about 'life or death' and to get a certain female doctor for the surgery- placing you on a stretcher and taking you into a surgery room, one of the first nurses that managed to rush over went over to All Might "Hello, firstly- it is an honour having you here at our hospital! Secondly, do you know the girl's identity? Unfortunately we dont have the time to look through the files for it and we were hoping you knew" the number one hero shook his head, almost disapointed for not knowing "Unfortunately not..." "that is completely alright! We can figure it out after the surgery!"

ㅤㅤ•ㅤnow All might had a chance to calm down, well slightly- there was still the possibility that a child will die today because he wasnt quick enough. He sat down on one of the chairs outside of the surgery room, elbows on his lap- head in hands as he contemplated the possibilities that could have led a FOURTEEN year old, to such a prediciment. Maybe it was a villain attack? but what villain would attack a child? maybe their parents owed depts? maybe they were taken hostage? but wait... didnt one of those people say she fell out of the sky? how was that possible? He needed answers, but the only one who knows them is the very child in surgery right now! CHRIST. He needs to breathe, worrying isnt going to do anything...

‿‿ ‿‿ ୨ ୧ ‿‿ ‿‿ .

TAISHO   ┈┈   ERA

ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ 💬ㅤsecrets !! [NAME] & TANJIRO

⸻⸻⸻⸻

[NAME]　₎ㅤ[name]'s haori is an off white colour with a pattern of [favorite colour] flowers that respemble clusters of blossoms, with thin stems and branches extending outwards- it is a beautiful haori given to her by her grandmother, before final selection!

TANJIRO　₎ㅤTanjiro wishes he could tell you how much you meant to him more, before you were taken away.

⸻⸻⸻⸻

[redrosesandcharmingsouls]

I also wanna point out that Rhaenyra’s council of advisors on Dragonstone are all men. She’s had 6 years to build a model of change on Dragonstone which should have reflected the change Team Black thinks she would have brought to Westeros but she just didn’t?

When the War starts and Rhaenys, Baela and Rhaena join her around the table, it’s not because Rhaenyra values women or sees their potential as advisors and politicians. it’s because she needs them, their dragons, the Velaryon fleet, resources they can gather her and their men and swords. And the twins only join to stand wordlessly next to Rhaenyra’s sons, to smile at them and make them feel important.

Rhaenyra isn’t a feminist and she wasn’t trying to change any woman’s lot in life. Rhaenyra just wanted that ultimate power for herself and there’s nothing wrong with that. There is nothing wrong with Rhaenyra OR Alicent as women craving power in the society they live within but I wish the writers and team black supporters would stop demonizing Alicent for it while praising Rhaenyra for the same thing. Framing Rhaenyra as some kind of a maverick and hero of the ages when she wasn’t that. Like Alicent or not, she was a better politician than Rhaenyra and she always was. Even as a teenager. Could be because they have different fathers, both are deeply flawed men and both doomed their daughters to the narrative respectively but Otto raised Alicent to know that she couldn’t navigate the world on privilege alone, so Alicent has had to use her brain and her words to work within the oppressive system she was born in. While Viserys always bailed his daughter out and coddled Rhaenyra to the point where it screw her and she makes these massive stupid decisions with the expectation that father and her family name will always be enough to turn the tide in her favor.

At the end of the day, Rhaenyra was a mediocre ruler. She was almost as lazy as Aegon. Can we all admit as team black or as team green and that color in the middle that fleeing to Dragonstone for 6 years and not making her presence a constant thing at court was S T U P I D. It was lazy. It was shortsighted. She expected things to just be presented to her while doing none of the work needed and in the end she fucked around and found out in a big way. On Dragonstone she had the opportunity to build a Kingdom for herself that could’ve reflected a change she wished to bring to all of Westeros. She should’ve been politicking her ass off and built a reputation in the 6 years that she ruled over Dragonstone but she sat on that Island comfortably and complacent. She did not show in any reasons why she should be Queen over Aegon’s King. If it was a question asked of her could she herself even answer with anything besides it’s her birthright and her father said she was to be Queen and he never wavered?

Even with all of Daenerys’s flaws and her failures, Rhaenyra is no Daenerys. She had no desire to liberate women. She saw no importance in the smallfolk.

Anon ,im so sorry i didnt answer earlier but i genuinely dont know what to add other than yes.

Honestly you do you and i respect that but i you have publish it on an account of yours i will reblog it to DEATH.

[rottenpumpkin13]

Responding to the Zack/Seph friendship thing as an ask because I have no idea how shares work and the comment space isn’t long enough :P

But as fun as that idea is- that Sephiroth didn’t do it because Zack reminded him of his dead friends- I honestly think it’s because he just couldn’t relate/was too distressed from everything else happening. I know CC happened within the span of like… five years? Maybe? And I’m not sure how all those events line up in the timeline but regardless, I think it’s mostly because Zack was young, a couple years younger than Sephiroth, and Sephiroth mostly became friends with Angeal and Sephiroth because he felt they could understand him, since they were also part of a similar “project” like he was and- I believe this played a HUGE part- he thought them to be the closest to his strength level. I think him being so far superior to everyone else in every way was what caused him to be separate and that was something he was very aware of, and now there are these two people who are almost as good as he is and so he knows they’ll treat him as an equal rather than as a hero, idol, or something surpassing a human.

While Zack was also undoubtedly strong, I don’t think Sephiroth ever viewed him as a friend, he just viewed him as Angeal’s student and probably didn’t feel like they could ever be equals. Because as much as I don’t think Sephiroth ever wanted to be different, I think he still had a good degree of arrogance nonetheless. Deep down he knew he was better, and he knew what that entailed, including always being set apart from others unless they were in the same league he was. There’s an argument to be made that Zack DID at least reach the same level as Genesis and Angeal did by the end of CC, but Sephiroth probably already had a notion of what Zack was like and his perception of him never changed even as Zack progressed.

Of course the events happening in the game probably didn’t help, so to that agree I do also agree with your assessment of why Seph and Zack never got closer. I mean his best friends basically both died and now he’s left alone again, and prior to that it doesn’t seem like Seph really knew Zack beyond just as Angeal’s student so they never had time to bond when things were alright, and afterwards Sephiroth didn’t have the will to befriend someone else- who he never saw as an equal, who he always thought was weaker- who would also likely die. If these two people who he thought to be on par with himself died, why would this weaker person serve as a decent replacement?

I have my own qualms with Angeal and Genesis- particularly Genesis- and how they treated Sephiroth, but in Sephiroth’s mind it was enough that they were willing to spend time with him and treat him like a human, regardless of the fact that they were closer to each other than they’d ever be to him. Great and now I’m sad about Sephiroth all over again 🥲 the poor guy really had nobody. It’s no wonder he went crazy. Actually it’s a wonder he was a good person for 25 years before he snapped, most people would’ve gone full Homelander a lot earlier.

Sorry for the rant, it seems like the question riled me up a bit 😅

I'm going to put myself in Sephiroth's shoes and say the emotional and mental exhaustion he endured from everything that happened in Crisis Core—from the training room, degradation, desertion, the Genesis War, Angeal's death, and then Nibelheim—would be overwhelming. If it were me I wouldn't have the energy to relate or form friendships with anyone after that and wouldn't want to, and things like that would be the last thing on my mind. That last post was just a depressing thought I had at *checks watch* wow it's late. I think it was the trauma and exhaustion from everything rolled into one blunt that finally got smoked at Nibelheim.

Though I do think Sephiroth cared for Zack in some way, part of that definitely had to do with seeing a bit of Angeal in him since Zack inherited his sword and all. I can't say it better than @altocat did in this post, but the signs were there.

And I'm going to politely disagree with Sephiroth being arrogant. I don't see him as someone who cares about status and being equals with someone or not. He was thrust into a position at a young age and grew up naturally isolated at the metaphorical top, but I don't think that made him arrogant at all, and if anything this isolation fueled the loyalty and devotion he had towards the few friends he did make. I also see Sephiroth as someone who doesn't open up to people easily. We know he knew Angeal for years before Crisis Core when they were young teens—and if you want to add context from Ever Crisis, this would be right after the Rhadore mission where all that happened, so Angeal's (and Genesis's) friendship came at the right time.

I would say Zack's did too, but again, plot context is key, and Sephiroth was already going through so much in CC. Also, kind of like you said, there's the relatability aspect and the age gap, but I personally don't think it was because Sephiroth saw Zack as inferior to him in any way.

[idalenn]

Lillian Kyo - Lore Details

Thank you so much for giving me an opportunity to talk @elliewiltarwyn!! One day I'll write my way to some of these.....someday.

Under a read more because it's, uh, long.

--B A S I C S--

Name: Lillian Kyo

Nicknames: None given, unless you count "hero" and "kit" (though that last one is a bit of a Gridanian slur)

Age: Late twenties in ARR, just considered early 30s by the end of Endwalker. Stormblood takes up a good chunk of this time. (She's a year younger than she should be: Seat of Sacrifice and time spinning out of control because of Elidibus/The Crystal Tower/the flow of time between shards cause her to miss a year on the Source. The Scions' bodies sure don't, though)

Nameday: 16th Sun of the 1st Astral Moon

Race: Keeper of the Moon Miqo'te

Gender: Transwoman. Will never outright state so

Orientation: Pansexual, though more in theory than practice

Profession: Member of the Conjurers' Guild, member of the Botanists' Guild (on indefinite, and unpaid, sabbatical). Warrior of Light and current holder of the Soul of the White Mage

--P H Y S I C A L     A S P E C  T S--

Hair: Grey as storm clouds. Starts off short and unkempt in ARR, growing to her shoulders in Heavensward where it stays that length until Stormblood where she quickly learns combat and longer hair do her no favors. Once Temulun cleans it up, it goes to about neck length. However, Lillian has no experience in maintaining the Xaela-influenced appearance, so she keeps the general shape but leaves the beads, complex braiding, and oils out. She keeps this look until her story's end.

Eyes: a soft golden hue, often called "piss yellow"

Skin: a brownish-grey

Tattoos/scars: Oh boy. Lillian's most noticeable set are the ones across her face, the edges of her face, and striping her throat in service to some purpose others can't discern - the result of attempting facial feminization before the events of ARR with a knife, a hot flame, a basic grasp of healing magic, and a book on anatomy she could barely read with diagrams interpreted increasingly wrong as the night went on. The end result was mostly a success, though.

Other than those, she collects several over time. Notable ones include burns from dragon fire, being impaled on Zenos' sword at Rhalgr's Reach, being skewered on his sword again later but - unable to pull it out - instead pulling her body away so it cut it's own way out, and another across her front from shoulder to hip in their final fight (somewhat mitigated by a timely application of Benediction)

Healers can take a lot of abuse. No tattoos though.

--F A M I L Y--

Parents: Being a Keeper of the Moon, she has no knowledge of her father. Her mother, however, taught her child what she needed to survive in the world beyond the reach of the tribe knowing the day would eventually come where she'd walk that path and explore the wide, open world. Not seen since the day of Lillian's leaving.

Siblings: Grew up among a litter of siblings in which she was the youngest of all. Hasn't seen a single one since leaving the tribe.

Grandparents: The closest person to a grandparent was her Elder Mother, whom she much respected and loved and continues to be a source of inspiration. Taught Lillian the ways of the Conjurer and of faith in Menphina and the elementals. Likely found the same fate as the tribe.

In-laws and Other: Scions count, right?

Pets: Scions count, right?

--S K I L L S--

Abilities: Being born and raised in the wilds of the Twelveswood have made her specially attuned to the elementals to the point that she's often confused for a Hearer. While naturally a Conjurer/White Mage, the events of Rhalgr's Reach encouraged her to learn from Lyse in putting on some muscle and to take on pugilist training.

Hobbies: Dancing, but moving in general. Tribe life didn't allow her much freedom to dance in general and she was never allowed to take part in the rite of passage other girls enjoyed in which they sang and danced to a certain enchanting tune. Enjoyed playing the flute while living with her tribe, but hasn't done so since leaving.

--T R A I T S--

Most Positive Trait: Will always try to seek the best possible solution to any given problem, even at cost to herself.

Most Negative Trait: The most petulant woman you'll ever meet in her worst moments; absolutely taking pleasure in your pain. Uses the idea of "the logical choice" and removing herself from emotions as a defense mechanism, simultaneously confuses the believed results of these choices with the "greater good".

The decision she makes in Ktisis Hyperboreia is THE nail in the coffin for Meteion's outlook on life.

--L I K E S--

Colors: Different shades of greys and blacks with splashes of blue. The white associated with healers and White Mages does not appeal to her.

Smells: Overpowering floral scents. Lillian uses these to keep herself sweet-smelling in place of showering (unless forced) until Shadowbringers. Also enjoys the aroma of burning and ash in small amounts.

Textures: Woolen clothing and thick, inflexible metal plates. The heavier, the better.

Drinks: Spiced strawberry wine

--O T H E R    D E T A I L S--

Smokes: Not at all. The colored smokes of Radz-at-Han are appealing at first, but she can't be around them for too long or her eyes start to water.

Drinks: None at first, but she picks up the habit during celebrations at the end of Stormblood, which becomes a bigger problem at the end of Shadowbringers as she tries to cope with being a woman out of time and seeing how much the world has progressed and how much she's lost (The resolution of the Bozja conflict, peace with those formerly known as the "beast tribes", the twins' comatose bodies being carried off back to Sharlayan by their father, Y'shtola's being taken by Matoya to better care for her, etc.) By Endwalker she's thinking about picking up a glass of water and tasting wine before she knows what's happening.

Drugs: Not a whole lot of interest.

Mount Issuance: Unicorn babbyyyyyyyy

Been Arrested: Charged with regicide and, later, heresy; they didn't stick.

---------

For tagging (apologies if you get double-tagged by me) the OCs I haven't seen yet are @zoroarkthief @viiioca @candycryptids @sylaurin @reconditerune @amalthea-felsblood @arinaxiv @dreadwyrmz and YOU reader for making it this far!

[nyarlathotep-thecrawlingchaos]

Can I just say.

The thought of Zoro asking Mihawk for a fight keeps being funny as shit in the context we were given if you look at it for long enough. Like, of course, his dream and goal aside, perfectly understandable even if not very smart as of now given the power level difference, but it is understandable in the sense this might be his one chance because Mihawk is RIGHT THERE.

BUT ALSO. The thought of reader just being with the Strawhats at that moment and just having this 😥 expression and just kinda scooting beside Mihawk and hushedly going "Sir? Sir- Please- He's had a good couple concussions lately and he's currently under the effects of alcohol- Please don't-" BECAUSE IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT YEAH- THIS MAN- DECIDED TO CHALLENGE MIHAWK- AFTER GETTING QUITE THE HITS TO THE HEAD FROM BOTH THE BUGGY PIRATES (Passed out -> Hit the deck -> GOT PUT INTO A FUCKING WHEEL OF FORTUNE AND SPUN RIGHT ROUND BABY RIGHT ROUND and even the Chop Chop Canon problem if you wanna add to it) AND THE BLACK CAT PIRATES (Fucking knocked out with a bottle -> THROWN IN A WELL -> Later in battle if you wanna add to it) AND THEN. THEN HE STARTED DRINKING AT THE BARATIE'S MEAL AND THEN ALSO SHOTS WITH NAMI AND STUFF. I JUST- I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS ALL GETS DISREGARDED FOR PLOT CONVENIENCE BUT P L E A S E I'M CRYING 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂. Just Reader being the babysitter friend with Nami doing shots and anxious drinking and acting nervous, Usopp going "I don't even think there's any alcohol in this it tastes just like candy" DRINKING A WHOLE BOWL THAT IS CLEARLY ALCOHOLIC and then ZORO- JUST ZORO- And at this point they're just like "Mr. Hawkeye Mihawk plz just slice me like sashimi and be done with it God please I'm so tired I just want a BREAK I JOINED A COUPLE DAYS AGO W H A T IS GOING ON-"

Zoro, drunk af and more than mildly concussed: "hey. HEY YOU. YOU WITH THE FLUFFY HAT AND THE GIANT SWORD. *hiccup* YOU'RE MY HERO FIGHT ME—"

Mihawk: "rofl this is going to be HILARIOUS"

I mean his little smirk says it all—

Meanwhile reader is just:

[theophan-o]

Jurko Bohun and romantic Cossack heroes from the writings of Juliusz Słowacki (1809–1849), one from the major figures of the Polish literature

Fragment of an article by Tadeusz Bujnicki (b. 1933), Professor of literary studies from the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, specializing himself in the Polish literature from the 19th century, and in particular - in Henryk Sienkiewicz's writings and their reception in the modern Polish culture. In his study he sums up the results of research of various scholars, showing us, to what extent H. Sienkiewicz was inspired by the Romantic tradition and the writings of Juliusz Słowacki (Beniowski, The Silver Dream of Salomea, Żmija):

My imperfect English translation (quotations from the novel "With Fire and Sword" in Jeremiah Curtin translation):

The syncretism in using patterns, typical of Sienkiewicz, often makes it impossible to clearly indicate the sources of his inspiration. Moreover, the writer often brings together a “bundle” of various inspirations in one character. Bohun is undoubtedly such a “synthetic” hero. Researchers noticed in him the features of Sawa (Beniowski, The Silver Dream of Salomea), Semenko (The Silver Dream of Salomea), and Hetman (Żmija). Bohun embodies the Romantic Cossack myth, he is a “fairy-tale” character and a type of “tragic lover” who is separated from his beloved by a social barrier and hostility. He is a steppe knight, a romantic lover and a hero of (epic) songs: Blind minstrels sang songs of Bohun […] Who he was, whence he had come, was known to no man. This much was certain, — the steppes, the Dnieper, the Cataracts, and Chertomelik, with its labyrinth of narrows, arms, islands, rocks, ravines, and reeds, had been his cradle. From childhood he had lived and communed with that wild world. […] Among nobles he knew how to be a polished cavalier; among Cossacks he was the wildest of Cossacks. In knightly company he was a knight; among robbers, a robber. […] He served the steppes, the whirlwinds, war, love, his own fancy. Bohun is distinguished from the “rude leaders” and “the whole robber herd” by his rich emotionality and the fierceness of extreme emotions. Like Semenko from The Silver Dream of Salomea, being in love with “Laszka”, he can be cruel as a Cossack ataman and gentle in his feelings (Semenko’s words “I have scared the little bird” correspond to Bohun’s behaviour towards Helena in Horpyna’s cottage). They both have similar “leadership” ambitions. Bohun boasting to Helena (“I will […] give you half the Ukraine; for though I am a Cossack, not a noble, I am a bunchuk ataman. Under me are ten thousand men”), repeats Semenko’s words: “I was [...] brought up to be a hetman, not a peasant”. Bohun, despite the cruelty of his actions, the ruthlessness of revenge and savagery, is portrayed in the novel as a harmed person who does not deserve the reader’s condemnation. “The beautiful ataman” arouses sympathy as a tragic lover whose revenge drives him to Khmelnytsky’s camp.

Source: T. Bujnicki, Wpływ Słowackiego na Sienkiewiczowski obraz Ukrainy w Trylogii, [in:] idem, Trylogia w kontekstach, Kraków 2019, p. 141-142.

Another piece of "Bohunologia":

@pomarlisko, let's talk about Juliusz Słowacki;-)))

I don't know, how it is possible, that there was hardly nothing about all these connections between Słowacki and Sienkiewicz on my blog before...

[tickly-trashcan]

Fandom List!

My fandoms are ordered from A-Z, although not every letter has a fandom for me, and I’ll occasionally update if i get into a fandom. Please use this as reference whenever you’re sending me prompts or commissioning a fic from me!

If it’s bolded it means I’m either hyperfixated on it or dying to write for it!

If you want me to write a fandom that isn't listed on here, feel free to send me an ask or a DM! For commissions, I'm willing to write for fandoms I'm not as familiar with, so just let me know! :)

A - A Court of Thorns and Roses Series ~ Arcane ~ Assassination Classroom ~ Attack on Titan ~ Avatar the Last Airbender

B - Baldur’s Gate 3 ~ Beyond the Boundary ~ Bungou Stray Dogs

C - Cookie Run: Kingdom

D - Darling in the FranXX ~ Delicious in Dungeon ~ Demon Slayer ~ The Dragon Prince

E - The Empyrean Series ~ Epic: The Musical

F - Fruits Basket ~ Fullmetal Alchemist

G - Genshin Impact ~ Ghibli* ~ Gravity Falls

H - Haikyuu!! ~ Heartstopper ~ How to Train Your Dragon

L - The Legend of Zelda* ~ The Legend of Korra ~ The Lunar Chronicles Series

M - Madoka Magica ~ Miraculous Ladybug ~ My Hero Academia

N - Nimona ~ Ninjago

O - Ouran High School Host Club

P - Persona 5

S - She-Ra ~ The Song of Achilles ~ Soul Eater ~ Spiderverse Series ~ Spy x Family ~ Stardew Valley ~ Stranger Things ~ Sword Art Online

T - Toilet Bound Hanako-Kun ~ Transformers*

Y - Yuri!!! On Ice

*Please specify which installment/game/movie you want in your prompt!

[clambuoyance]

Favorite Superboy villain (if you have one, if not then favorite sb comic) and a plotline you think had a lot of potential but should have been written better

idk about villain (maybe black zero or he's not technically a superboy villain but his fight with cyborg superman was cool.) buttttt in terms of potential i think a lot of sb comics are filled with half-baked ideas that never get to see full fruition :P

i think my favorite is hypertime probably because 1) i liked seeing all the diff kons (into the konverse....) esp robin!kon <3 and 2) seeing him confront Paul and Black Zero and grapple with the darker aspects of himself was neat. I liked seeing the powers Kon could possibly gain in the future and he's just so <333 in that arc. It's been a long while since ive read it tho so i could probably go into more depth if i reread 3) also around this time he's been feeling very down and so seeing yj ask about his whereabouts and mickey cannon being like "i didnt realize so many people cared about him" made me go aaaaaah and later kon asking clark if he came back to the right reality was so interesting to me. i think this arc presents a really neat struggle with belonging and knowing ur place in the universe and it was like yeah <3 he belongs in this reality he is so loved <3

i think my other favorite is him in the whole apokolips arc between his solo and yj. i liked seeing him and his conflict with tim finally reach its climax and him having to deal with the fallout and consequences it has on his friendships w all of yj really, however i was pretty disappointed to not actually see an apology scene between tim and kon even if i think the yj team reuniting chaotically was very in fashion for them

and the whole sins of youth arc in general was cool :0 it gave me the "All I got is who I am!" line so <3

Some other things i liked was the whole peter pan thing ofc --there was a couple issues where he gets trapped in a place and they try to do a lost boys thing but didnt commit (but i have a fic idea thats got one page written about this).

i kinda liked most of his arcs in general, from the beginning with him learning to be a hero in ROTS to him trying to make a name for himself and messing up a lot along the way but continuing to try anyways. but like i said, i think if these emotional arcs could go One step further or allowed to delve into some of the darkness of these arcs or didnt fall back onto tropes his solo would have been stronger.

for example, during the cadmus era of his life, i would have liked to see more exploration of the fact he's back in the place that made him and now have him working for them. or in the hawaii era, they could have gone into how he could have had friends his age at school but got thrown into a wack ass love triangle. in general, the hawaiian issues could have been treated with more respect as well. they also introduced silver sword, but it didn't go anywhere i feel like T-T

also for the kon in smallville plotline i think it would have been cooler to see kon struggle more to be a regular person but his rebel streak keeps taking over

sorry this was all over the place i literally could talk about it for hours which i dont have time for so i just kinda spouted random things <3

[sentient-softdrink]

I LOVE DMing . I especially love making npcs and role-playing them, so here are some of my characters I really liked :3

•There was a king of a flying island that would decide everything through gambling , betting and sheer luck(its like their belief and the island is flying because of that, doesn't matter) he had a bald streak in his head and a really dumb t shirt(because well betting) and I made every decision as him by using a coin which was pretty fun

•An elf pickle merchant called Uncle Ivan(based on the pickle brand, yes) who was so old he would die outside of his home forest , but he sold said forest to humans many years ago to start his company and so he can only survive inside his house which has a single tree from that forest (he loves his half elf son dearly )

•A band of traveling Pirates/performers who would do almost anything for profit(their ship doubles as a stage for their show)

•an artificer who are a rising star in a cult (bug devil, also doesn't matter) because they conducted research that helped increase their power dramatically. They have pieces of metal stuck in their skin, and their main spell is heat metal (they don't have any fire damage resistance, but that's the only attacking spell they know). Later on, they start using magic hands that are coated in molten iron for more fire power (and actually get that resistance :p)

•A former hero who was crippled, and so she joined the bug cult to heal. Started out with 1 hand and in a wheelchair, later on MANY ARMS ! MANY LEGS!MANY SWORDS AS LEGS AND ARMS! (like a sharp centipede centaur)

[open-hearth-rpg]

Open Hearth Video Roundup - May 10, 2024

Welcome to the weekly Open Hearth Gaming video roundup!

Today’s roundup includes videos from our “May the 4th Be With You” mini-con, plus the games from our regular calendar that we play every week, and anyone is welcome to join the fun! If you'd like to play in games like these, join our Playabl community and click on the "Calendar" tab to sign up for upcoming games. To browse our entire library of session videos, please visit our YouTube Playlists page. To hear our recorded sessions in audio-only form, please check out our Playing at the Hearth podcast.

Open Hearth Gaming Calendar

Trail of Cthulhu: Fearful Symmetries: Arc Two (Session 9) Lowell Francis runs for Alun R., Paul Rivers, Sherri, and Will H The group returns to Oxford following events at Mathers Hall and the dedicated of the Dunwich font. But they have to contend with fallout from those events, leading to Dr. Whitewood finding himself involuntarily committed. The others meet with various allies and maybe allies as they prepare to deal with Portmore and his fascists. Richard invokes the power of dreaming to aid the doctor in his convalescence, before Whitewood makes a break for it...

Hearts of Wulin: Three Mountains, One Heart (Session 1) Lowell Francis runs for Eliot, José Feito, Kevin M, and Sherri Start of a new short, fantastic series for Hearts of Wulin, leaning more into elements of xianxia, cultivation, and mythic destiny. We do character creation for the first half and then meet our four heroes on the road as they travel to a convocation of the sects from the three holy mountains.

Hearts of Wulin: Three Mountains, One Heart (Session 2) Lowell Francis runs for Eliot, José Feito, Kevin M, and Sherri Our heroes encounter friends, allies, and strangers as the arrive at the convocation for the three Cultivation Societies. But there are hidden dangers here, including a brother/sister duo involved with monster hunters, a fox spirit sibling, and a dragon in human form with a stolen heart.

Hearts of Wulin: Three Mountains, One Heart (Session 3) Lowell Francis runs for Eliot, José Feito, Kevin M, and Sherri The heroes regroup to consider what they've learned, but also try to recover from the previous day and deal with their own personal business. Our Fox Spirit discovers more than he bargained for when he tries to extricate his sister. Misunderstandings occur and cosmic heartbreak is sung out. Heartless finally makes her way to the dragon, but she may be too late...

Girl by Moonlight: On a Sea of Stars (Session 5 of 5) Donogh runs for Ian, Matthew Doughty, and Sabine V. The crew step through the time portal to recover an Engine lost long ago…Commander Crenn’s Janus. But tensions are high and the pilots’ growing independence is only stoking the fire of discontent!

Urban Shadows 2E (Session 3) Cale P runs for Brandon Brylawski, David Miessler-Kubanek, Kae, and Steven S. Our cast recovers from the friend-napping, as additional entanglements appear on the horizon. Miss Mash temps a mortal. Red done with Percival, and shares (almost) all. Morgan and Dancy share a moment of recovery.

Eotenweard: The Growing Dark (Session 1) Alun R. runs for Casey T, Daniel Kušan, Matthew Doughty, and Paul Rivers We meet Althea the Saxon Hunter, Winifred the Celtic Mystic, Seren. called 'The Black', a Christian Sword of God, and 'Dawn', a Fae wrapped in a mortal seeming. Despite their differences of culture and belief, or even mortality, they have been brought together by their Gods and Supernatural Patrons as Eotenweard...Heroes given Gifts with which to defend the innocent and defeat the Darkness that grows across the Old North. Their footsteps have been guided to the village of Torhaven, in Saxon Bernicia, which shows signs of slow decline and death. There's crows mobbing a falcon and conspicuous spider webs...then, hospitality, an unexpected interruption, and signs of 'poison' that lead them to a dream made real...

Eotenweard: The Growing Dark (Session 2) Alun R. runs for Casey T, Daniel Kušan, Matthew Doughty, and Paul Rivers As morning breaks Seren the Black rises early to loudly praise God while Althea seeks out the Priest of Woden who interrupted the previous night's meal. Meanwhile, Dawn goes to meet Tar, the sheep herder whose behaviour he found suspicious. After a disturbed night of dark dreams, Winifred looks for Althea in hopes of some solace, but instead Althea is assaulted by a manifestation of the Darkness that stalks the village. There's a sobbing maiden comforted, an overgrown Roman watch tower, and unquiet spirits from long ago. Then...a dark warren infested by spiders, crow spirits, and a dangerous threat before a confrontation in the Lord's Hall...and the betrayal of a frightened innocent...

Girl By Moonlight: Divine Engines (Session 11) Lowell Francis runs for Ethan Harvey, Patrick Knowles, Sherri, and Tyler Lominack Our protagonists undertake an escort mission with little preparation or intelligence. They desperately fight a trio of Leviathans, but even once they've delivered their charges to the location, they must still battle their way back...which leads to strange events.

Godkiller (Session 1 of 12) Donogh runs for Madelancholy Discover the Cradle, a failing land of hungry and capricious gods, where Walang Tao - rebellious scribe of the Cloister takes their first steps as Godkiller - confronting the cruel Little Slaughter.

Imperium Maledictum: 3 Cycles from Retirement Lowell Francis runs for Alun R., Dom, MadJay Brown, and Sabine V. We do setup, safety discussion, patron creation, and character creation for our short series of Imperium Maledictum, a TTRPG of WH40K rogues and agents.

Imperium Maledictum: Plausible Deniability Lowell Francis runs for Cody Eastlick, Keith Stetson, MadJay Brown, and Rich Rogers We do set up, safety discussion, patron creation, and character creation for our short series of Imperium Maledictum, a TTRPG of WH40K rogues and agents.

Star Wars Saturday

Fellowship (Session 10) Rich Rogers runs for Cody Eastlick, Greg G., Steven Watkins, and Tyler Lominack The fellowship discuss a member's problems, welcome a new ally, and make a horrible discovery.

Stars in the Dark: Stars in the Dark II (Session 8) Anders runs for Marc Majcher, Mark (they/them), Rich Rogers, and Steven Watkins Let's You and Them Fight - In the final episode of this season the crew tries to shift the blame for the bombing from themselves to the Pykes.

Star Wars Saturday Special Edition

Murder in the Jedi Temple Lowell Francis runs for Alun R., José Feito, Sabine V., and Will H A one-shot murder mystery for our Star Wars Minicon. The Jedi Temple on Devoc is a place for the lost, fallen, and broken. There the Jedi Council dispatch those who have come too close to the dark side, who have had their faith broken, or struggle to maintain contact with the Force. You are one of the Jedi sent there to recover, but the serenity of this place is about to be broken by a murder. Can you and your fellow recovering Jedi find the killer before they strike again? Inspired by and reskinned from Rosewood Abbey.

Before the Sith Lowell Francis runs for Casey T, Sabine V., and Yi A Star Wars Saturday long game which reskins Before the Storm (from Pelgrane's Seven Wonders Collection). Our heroes regroup at Decorum Base awaiting the forces which will be coming soon. An army of Dathomiri Nightsisters and Force Zombies, led by a fallen Jedi Jaydis Cheybe. Against them are the remnants of those who quested to find Khyber Crystals-- with these they may be able to summon Force Ghosts to counter the Force severing Cheybe and her legions have inflicted on countless Jedi. The heroes wait, struggle with their personal turmoils and question one another for perhaps the last time... (This was a double-session, and we had a hiccup in the second half which meant I had to split that video.)

Butterflies & Hurricanes Donogh runs for Madelancholy, Rich Rogers, and Steven Watkins In their last season on Tatooine, friends Matthias, Bonn, Gwyn & Quell make each other promises they can’t possibly keep. With the encroaching Empire, dreams of rebellion and family trouble will any of them be able to realize their dreams?

Hit the Sith - Save the Galaxy Alun R. runs for Marc Majcher, Rich Rogers, Steven Watkins, and Will H We meet Garik, an Agent for the Rebel Alliance leaving his analyst desk for his first field assignment; Urto Gha, the Weequay Bounty Hunter, who has joined the Rebellion after becoming sickened by Imperial offers to hunt Jedi; Katakat Ekop, the Nautolon Tech (and pilot) whose family crossed the Empire one time too many; and Veth Oddriss, a naive Young Twi'lek with an as yet unfocussed connection to the Force. They evade a TIE fighter patrol as they seek to stop the assassination of Gam Zagno, the Ugnaught labour organiser who can help them thwart an Imperial plot. There's an angry overseer, a canteen riot, and a Dug with a blaster...then, an ancient battleground where Jedi and Sith clashed, remnants of ancient technology overgrown by jungle, a shot at Grand Moff Tarkin...and a last minute double cross...

Pasión de las Pasiones: Esa Cantina Sucia Y Vieja Puckett runs for Jo Lene, Marty, and Steven S. On a backwater planet in an even more backwater town, there's a dirty old bar that doesn't allow droids, but is apparently fine with...laser swords? Things get complicated. Fast.

Silent Falls

The Station Donogh runs for Elle and Mark A doomed train is inching towards Silent Falls. Seven passengers wait in the eerie station, each of them carrying a burden. The ghosts of the station feverishly attempting to escape their murder. One person on the train knows more than any others, about the dark secrets the town and its people hold.

Off-Calendar Highlights

For the Queen: Prequel to Hearts of Camelot: Prince's Bride Madelancholy runs for Alex C, Jonn, and Noctua A For the Queen playthrough, introducing us to characters that will appear or be mentioned in the upcoming Hearts of Camelot: Prince's Bride series.

Hearts of Camelot: Prince's Bride Madelancholy runs for Alex C, Jazy, Jonn, and Noctua We are introduced to Sir Roderick and Perin, brothers tasked with escorting their brother's betrothed to the sacred site; Princess Llurywenn, the beloved joy of her people, sent to marry the heir of the neighboring kingdom, people she has not seen since childhood; and Riesling, the familiar disguised as his master Alacritus, the great magister with plans of his own.

Hearts of Camelot: Prince's Bride (Session 1 of 7) Madelancholy runs for Alex C, Jonn, and Noctua Riesling, as Alacritus, gains the ire of the head of the princess's retinue as they make preparations to leave. An apprentice of Alacritus's order joins the retinue, much to Riesling's surprise and dismay. On their journey to meet with the princess's party, the Escavalons are attacked by a forest beast, magical in nature, and discovers one of their number has knowledge and skill previously unsuspected. A slight detour to Llancarfan Abbey becomes unavoidable. Watch as we build on the characters created in Session 0 for Adrian Randall's Arthurian-themed hack of Hearts of Wulin.

Trophy Dark: Cordially Invited, Part 1 Madelancholy runs for Jim, Marty, Merilee, and Shane The crew was tasked with finding the employer's daughter who fell in with the wrong crowd - nothing could go wrong going undercover and attending an exclusive masked ball on a luxe private island, right? Right?? Michael Van Vleet's Dark incursion, based on his Popcorn playset.

Trophy Dark: Cordially Invited (Session 2 of 2) Madelancholy runs for Jim, Marty, Merilee, and Shane Deals and drugs are the most normal things happening on this weird island, as guests are beckoned downstairs and become part of a grander ritual - of transformation, of...THE EGG.

[astraeus-moon]

@melchinafan Sorry for the late ish response I feel kinda sick so it took me a while longer to organize my thoughts. Also here we fucking go apologies for no read more sins I am on mobile

And no I haven't seen those ign articles! More canon info to add to my hordes! And Jacob :( sad baby girl. I'll probably post those (The screenshots of the new info)  later for easy access for others

Your point on all 4 of heros being effected makes me wonder if Grave lock girls magic has sort of an area of effect or if the alpha vampires magic is a double edged sword in positively affecting the heros

And ooooo I didn't know there were other blood remnants that came in dif forms makes me wonder if they are somewhat similar to the alpha vamp remnants bc I think i remember it being mentioned somewhere the vial also had psychic residue?? Could not be I'm just losing it but eh. And the psychic residue perhaps being in the blood/body? And that's why it alters you?

And yeah I agree! I think that we don't carry them into the fight just to crack open the door and sort of wave a red flag at a bull sort of way

And then when the alpha vampire dies we get the remnant imbued with a bit of that vamps specific magic

And yeah perhaps using the skulls almost a psychic lockpick if those chosen had been imbued with some of the alphas powers (referring to the trickle down effect you noticed, Vampire mlm is a concept that will be lodged in my brain now)

The biggest one for Bellwether not giving a shit I believe was a piece of dialog that said like "once we get out of here do you think they'll drop a nuke on this place" which made me laugh bc I audibly went just like resident evil grqt2h3 which despite some of the negative reviews comparisons to other games the lack of resident evil with vampires is making me laugh (I mean it in a positive way I'm very attached to RE)

Plus I don't think a privately funded not so small military/mercanary group is gonna lose sleep over a "few" civilian casualties (especially not when you can write em off as vampire deaths when it comes down to it)

Yeah I agree! One of my main grievances was I wish that side quest/mini bosses got more diversity and watchers idk if those are miniboss types as I think they go down p easy (but like I said can't/haven't played the game so I could be wrong) they seem closer to the mutated cultists than "true" vampires

And totally get you on lore one of my other favorite games is destiny 2 and holy shit the amount of environmental storytelling/lore is so strong they have a fan run website to compile it all so I totally get you.

And ooo I'm always looking for new games to watch/obsess over so I'll have to check it out

And yeah unfortunately the people I watched wernt too into grave lock collecting and the only 100 locations video I've found doesn't play em in full

And yeah with Addison I won't spoil it but holy shit he was the worst one too me I wrote out/expanded on the house of Echos mission so I was rewatching and it ended up being 4k words but also it was woof. I almost wish they swapped the order of the map start out in the second way with the other 2 then work into the 1st area for the hollow man

Yeah my sort of interpretation (both in how I'm writing and general fun) is that his Ravens outlines + his guns lock on are from that eye but a fun thing I had was giving them all like the way things are highlighted blue for you to grab some of the psychic residue as most of the psychic energy we see (barring layla) tend to be a pale blue - teal(?) Ish color and it was just funny to me that the highlights for important objects were similar

I agree with vampires probably having night vision as they are supposed to be a sort of apex predator so night vision fits with the whole can't go in the sun.  It does make me wonder if Jacob would run into issues in direct sunlight with that eye time to invest in sunglasses my guy

And yeah I hadn't considered the psychic spaces as like stronger spaces where the trance is louder, bc in my thoughts I think the trance is a seperate but adjacent magic thing to what turned them into vampires

It definitely seems like the magic sort of got them all or bolstered abilities in some way and come on we both know that devs def smart enough to crack teleportation lmaooo necessity is the mother of invention and all that. But I do think that magic and science go hand in hand (destiny 2 is so great for that reason aswell because so much of what looks like magic can be kinda turned into science)

I think Remis ult is pure video game but healing it would make sense if it gave out a sort of opposite end of the spectrum vampire healing and helped you regenerate by like tapping into that magic that's settled in you or the vials/remnants

yeah we don't know how the healing actually works as you don't regen health unless you find medpacks which leads me to believe you do have to needle and thread it up instead of magic video game heal as explained in dishonored or prey

And yeah I'm assuming vamp regen at best at worst, you should uhhhh probably got get that looked at bud and yeah blood as fuel is a good idea even if it was connected or disconnected

And yeah the tissues, I'd imagine a wash cloth would be slightly more useful than tissues but eh and yeah sort of a gunk goop dripping thing (ie Eris Morn from destiny with her hive eyes)

And yeah! I think to be a bloodbag/sin eater it also I think is slightly voluntary(?) As the sin eaters are like that. And the blood bags seem pretty eager so maybe the most devoted cultists get turned into em

And yeah I'm uncertain bc I remember for one of the missions Jacob has a line like "but slitting the throat of your neighbor to get in." Or smth like that it's been awhile

And yeah vampire mlm, and yeah definitely maybe the more sacrifices brought in = higher chance of getting turned

I think it's a bit of both as we see with the alphas they were all real shitty people beforehand and yknow being willing to kill others to further your own gain definitely fits under "bloodsucker" (derogatory) in my mind lmao

And I think that's why Jason got away was bc hes not a bad person and was rather selfless hence but still also perhaps shaped by the intent of the person giving you magic (jacobs raven, laylas telekinesis which is something other higher up vampires can do as weve seen with the sea) But also made to shape you're own natural abilities remis healing, devs gadgets :) especially in those latter two cases where they wernt forced really to have the powers

The slow boil is soooo intresting to me bc like where were they? Like in the nests psychic spaces and just coming out to feed plus with the size of the alphas I think that'd kick up a fuss

I think probably a but of both, as drug trials/medical research like aevum was doing was bound to test on mice at least and upon observing the effects may have worked there way up to humans but huge fucking claw marks are probably vampires especially from what we've seen they are extraordinarily wasteful with animals perhaps both as food and ensuring surviving humans can't get it

And birds + animals disappearing evokes a similar feeling of when animals tend to dip before natural disasters because there senses and instincts are so much stronger than ours but also vampires killing them because they couldn't go after people yet

also lmao yeah like idk where tf they were going with that like was the plan to eventually move out of redfall or use it like a home base or smth bc you kill the animals and the people you're gonna have to start eating each other

And yeah I have to imagine at least one cultist was wincing and didn't voice it but was very much like aw come on guys

And yeah! Idk if it's ever explained if vampires exclusively have to eat blood/meat or can eat other things aswell

And oh my God don't get me started on the impacts of introducing a fuck ton of apex predators into your ecosystem and food chain not to mention if other animals mutated and are breeding. Like just removing Wolves from Yellowstone was enough to fuck over the ecosystem I can imagine something on this scale plus the probably intense growth from the decomp rates of bodies.. anyone in an environmental science field would be tearing their hair out (specifically my own redfall oc whose a park ranger is not having a great time with that)

You would have to build ground up essentially as trying a top down approach would fuck up the few remaining secondary and primary consumers (obligatory environmental science rant over)

They all def do the trance def is giving hive mind vibes aswell as a removal of emotional/rational thinking makes me wonder if the blood trance heightens base instincts/hunting drive or aggression like with animals being aggressive and shit being fucked

And oh def, bc each of the bosses has there own space but the nests aswell which makes me wonder if vampires have their own allegiances or a nest is like a pack

And yeah hindsights 20/20 and yeah fears a hell of a motivator and cults pray on scared lonely people with no other options and yeah in too deep

I haven't! Unfortunately I haven't watched a dev playthrough and there's not too many multiplaythroughs on YouTube but I'll inform you if I come across any! And as for rough speculation on mothman physique(?) I think leathery makes sense from someone as logical as dev since it glides so it being similar to a bat or moth it almost makes me think of point pleasants.. intresting... statue of the mothman to say the least...

And yeah woof the scientists sure as hell are doing some malpractice although I'd admire arkanes commitment to fuck the rich with them being consistent enemies.  And yeah sorry this got Hella long

[aeoki]

Phantom Airship - So I Raced Through The Sky: Chapter 9

Location: Ancient Ruins Characters: Ritsu, Hiiro, Aira & Tatsumi

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ< Ten minutes later. >

Mayoi: ………….

Ritsu: “Being immovable like a mountain, huh.”

“In actuality, you don’t intend on budging at all, do you? It’s not a bad idea to wait for your friends to arrive.”

“But even if they do come, someone has to put their life at risk in the end, you know?”

“You’ll leave the troublesome tasks to someone else and you’ll hide behind them – I think it’s questionable that you’d still call yourselves friends despite that.”

Mayoi: T-That’s not what I’m intending to do at all…

Uuu, but objectively speaking, it’s the same, huh. There hasn’t really been anything that I’ve ever done for “ALKALOID”.

As long as I wait patiently, they’ll come and save me. It’s no wonder why I’d end up with those selfish thoughts.

Ritsu: “...*Sighs* I didn’t think the hero candidate that appeared before me would have such low self-esteem.”

“You might be fine knowing the people around you accept that part of your personality, but you might get abandoned one day, you know?”

Mayoi: I–I’m aware of that.

But I can’t be positive in this situation and I don’t know what I should do…

Please tell me. How can I summon the courage to take on this trial?

Ritsu: “Dunno. That’s got nothing to do with me.”

“But let’s see. How about failing in a game world? Unlike reality, this place is more lenient even if you use your full strength.”

Mayoi: ? Ritsu-san, how do you know this is a game?

Ritsu: “Hehe. You said it yourself – you won’t die even if you fail in this game world.”

Mayoi: Uhh, I suppose that’s true…

Ritsu: “See? Try taking a step forward.”

“You can do something even without the help of your friends… If you can manage that, then you’ll be of equal standing to them, right?”

Mayoi: …I guess you’re right. If it’s a game world, then I, too, can…

Hiiro: Mayoi-senpai! Don’t rush things!

Mayoi: Hiiro-san…?

Aira: Ehehe, we finally found you! So you were in here all along ♪

Tatsumi: Our apologies for being late. You’re not alone now.

We’ll team up as “ALKALOID” and take on the “Monster’ Island’s” trial.

Mayoi: So you were all together… How did you find me here?

Hiiro: Right. Tsukasa-kun’s NPC told us at the village.

Aira: You can clear this island’s trial if you obtain the “legendary sword” in these ancient ruins, right? Then, let’s do it togethe–

Mayoi: P–Please don’t stop me.

Aira: Mayo-san?

Mayoi: I’ve finally realised that this is a trial aimed for me.

I’m a cowardly person… There’s something I’ve always kept secret from you all, so I must show my bravery here…

Tatsumi: Secret…? Hmm, were you hiding something from us, Mayoi-san?

You’re saying you’ll atone for that by taking on this trial on your own?

Mayoi: Yes. After “SS” ended, I received a job from Anzu-san.

She told me there will be auditions held for a “shuffle project”, so she’d like me to take part…

But I’m afraid of acting in front of others! To this day, I still haven’t given her my response!

Anzu-san was kind enough to select me, but at this rate, I’d just be putting her and the “P Association” to shame.

I didn’t know what I should do…

I don’t have any confidence in myself and I’m scared of acting. But if I decline the audition, then that very decision might affect “ALKALOID” as a whole.

I’ve been full of self-hatred and worry these past few days.

But if – just if – I could summon the courage to change myself, then I want to try. That’s what I thought, somewhere in my heart.

So can you allow me to take on the trial in these ancient ruins…?

Tatsumi: Mayoi-san…

Hiiro & Aira: …………

Mayoi: Ehehe… Have you perhaps come to hate me because I’ve dishonoured you all?

I understand. Not only have I hogged a job from you all but I’ve also brushed aside your goodwill

But if I were to take hold of your hand here…

If I were to rely on you all again, then I don’t think I’ll have the confidence to continue being a member of “ALKALOID” in the future.

Aira: That’s not true, Mayo-san. I’m causing everyone heaps of trouble too.

Mayoi: What…?

Aira: I don’t think you know this but I was having a pretty hard time with my own trial. If it weren’t for Hiro-kun and Tattsun-senpai saving me, I think I would’ve had to leave halfway through.

So if you think you won’t have the right to be in “ALKALOID” unless you clear this trial on your own, then…

I’ll support your challenge. I’ll watch over you!

Don’t worry even if you fail or cause us trouble. Let us watch you take on the challenge – show us how brave you are!

Mayoi: Aira-san…

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ← Previous Chapter ᠂ ⚘ ˚⊹˚ ⚘ ᠂  Next Chapter →

[whenimgoodandready]

What is funny? Is it a joke we tell? A mere coincidence? Or a ironic twist of fate that makes us question life itself? Sometimes what’s funny to someone may not be so funny to someone else. The monkey is one of the most funniest animals in the world, but it’s also known as the wisest. The Monkey Miraculous represents honor, instinct, swiftness, and playfulness. It gives the user the power to make other peoples powers malfunction so as to have the user have a high advantage to defeat their opponent. Kim was gifted with this miraculous to save the heroes when the chips were down (“Party Crasher”). Fitting since he’s the lovable jokester. However, with this kind of power given to a villain, it’s not funny. Just who and what can they use it for? Let’s see:

*Derision-In the past couple of eps, we saw that Marinette Dupain-Cheng had trouble saying “I love you” to her boyfriend Adrien (“Perfection”), but finally talked to her friends about it (“Migration”). Despite that progress, what is still keeping our poor pigtailed protagonist from saying those 3 little words!? To answer that! Let’s go waaaaaaay back to “Miraculous B.C” (“before Césaire”. You’ll see why I call it that)

(memory flashback harp music plays)

꒰ఎ✨Back in the 8th Grade, when everyone looked the way they did in that quick flashback photo of “Reflefta”, Bunhead Marinette had a crush on, I sh*t you not, Yellow/Red Hoodie Lê Chiê’n Kim! Yes! That Kim! The obnoxious sporto! The guy that challenged people to stupid dares (“Timebreaker”), insults animals (“Animan”) and bullies his classmates (“Origins Part 2:Stoneheart”). That Kim! Course, Bunhead Marinette was too in love to notice these flaws and even her best friend White Sweater Socqueline Wang thought it was ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous! (this is why I called it “Miraculous B.C”). Remember Soc? The “Other” Ladybug who runs the art store (“Jubilation”) who helped the new dynamic duo with her supplies (“Kwami’s Choice Part 1:Transmission”) and even our OG heroes too (“Perfection”). Yeah! She was our Alya stand-in. Bunhead Marinette invites Yellow/Red Hoodie Kim to the local swimming pool to confess her love to him there and Chloe (same as ever) convinces Yellow/Red Hoodie Kim to prank Bunhead Marinette as his declaration of love. Unfortunately, it did a number on her…….a real bad number! The rest is all ancient history✨໒꒱

(memory flashback harp music plays)

Back in “Miraculous A.C” (“after Césaire”), Adrien takes Marinette to the local swimming pool for their date and she starts having panic attacks from her last romantic encounter there and it almost gets her akumatized as “Panic”. Almost! Our girl kept her cool once again! Strike 3! Monarch! You.Are.Outta herrre! You stupid Butterfly Boy! He tried to do that the first time making her “Princess Justice” (“Ladybug”). What would that have looked like!? A blindfolded villainess holding a scale, wielding a sword and wearing a tiara that forced people to tell the truth!? Puh-lease! The second time was “Unmasker” (“Exaltation”). Let me guess, a fully covered up villainess that only has their face exposed so as to show that there are “no secrets” and magically removed whatever face shield a person had!? C’mon! Now here, it’s “Panic”!? Idk what they would’ve looked like, but I’m assuming her power would be to make others run and panic like crazy. Phffft! :P. Doesn’t Monarch know he can never ever akumatize our girl!?😏

After Kim gives Adrien and Ondine the brief history of “Miraculous B.C”, they call him out on his awful stunt and it gets worse when Kim foolishly mentions how hot Chloe is, in front of his own girlfriend, then he gets annoyed by them not having a “sense of humor” and is akumatized as Dark Humor, with the power of the Monkey Miraculous (his given miraculous), that makes him shoot arrows of randomness at people causing them to pull cruel pranks on innocent civilians. His second akumatized form and, appearance wise, it’s sh*t! It’s basically just an inverted coloring of his Dark Cupid look with the addition of his swimming goggles on! Monarch wasn’t trying again was he?🙄 He couldn’t have at least given him a dark jester suit or something!? Ugh! Obviously, judging by what I just said, I prefer his Dark Cupid look. His power was the only effective part about him cuz it did screw up Ladybug’s “Lucky Charm” power, but she made it work. He’s not as quick as our buginette is😏.

There you have it folks! The reason why Marinette Dupain-Cheng is the insecure, anxious, elaborate planning, schedule memorizing and creepy stalker that she is for the past 4 seasons, why she went from a “Heart Thinker” to a “Head Thinker” and why she struggles with her relationship with Adrien. It’s.All.Kim’s.Fault! If he hadn’t pulled that creepy crawly prank, Marinette would’ve been happy and with a boyfriend! Marinette didn’t wanna repeat of blinding moving forward with a guy and so she became a research freak and that way she’d be more careful and not fall for any more tricks! It’s no wonder why she didn’t fall for Cat Noir upon first meeting! He reminded her too much of her first failed crush! Then again, if Kim hadn’t pranked Marinette, that would also mean none of the events in the show would’ve happened either. There were good moments and breakthroughs that changed the whole shtick of things that slightly changed the status quo. Whoa! Talk about your “butterfly” effect! Badum-tish🥁. In Miraculous B.C, before our golden boy and aspiring journalist came into the story, Chloe dominated the school (even outside of it) with an iron (and nail polished) fist and everyone, including the staff, was too afraid to stand up against her. Poor Marinette, before gaining confidence with the Ladybug Miraculous, was a complete doormat to Chloe’s neverending bullying (sighs sympathetically), but not Socqueline! Thanks to her and her Kung Fu fighting, she prevented Chloe from publicly humiliating Marinette. Sadly, it also got her expelled 2wks before graduation. Sorry Soc☹️. Now we know why Marinette became fast friends with Alya. She’s just as bold and assertive as Soc! That’s good cuz we need someone to keep Marinette grounded and encourage her to be brave. Kim didn’t mean any harm though. He just can’t see when a joke crosses the line. The real person at fault was actually Chloe who orchestrated the whole thing and Kim fell for it hook-line-and-sinker cuz of his crush on her (“Dark Cupid”). Luckily, he grew out of it and moved on to someone better (“Syren”). Thanks to Ondine, he got character development and even apologized to Marinette. Thank you, Kim! He finally got the wise aspect of the monkey! Adrien was pissed af when he found what Kim did traumatizing Marinette and for the second time, almost committed murder! (“Jubilation”). Adrien, I know what he did to your gf was wrong and it’s why she can’t say “I love you”, BUT THIS IS NOT THE WAY TO GO! After Kim turned over a new leaf, Adrien confronted Chloe to do the same, but as you’d except, the b*tch said “No” cuz she only cares about herself. Oh Adrien, if you couldn’t convince her to change (“Despair Bear”) and mean it (“Queen Banana”) or have the heroes give her a chance by officially giving her the Bee Miraculous (“Malediktator”) and teach her a lesson about being a better person by taking it away from her (“Battle of the Miraculous Part 2:Miracle Queen”), what makes you think she’ll see the error of her ways herself!? Chloe is a notoriously entitled b*tch who thinks she can treat everyone, mostly Marinette, as if they’re lesser for “fun”! Nobody can convince anyone that they can redeem Chloe! (remembers being spoiled by “Revelation”) OH SH*T!

[hurricane105]

This art wouldn't leave my brain until I wrote a mini fic for it. Thanks to @silentsafflina for beta reading and helpful suggestions!

T rating, 1400 words, angry!Zelda and simp!Link

The Test

Zelda's knight was awful.

He was at his usual haunt outside her door. She could imagine him, and that alone grated on her nerves like nails screeching down a chalkboard: that blasted Sword on his back, standing straight and still, his face empty of life.

The perfect soldier.

In comparison to his model example, she was hunched over her desk in her robe, squinting at her notes in the candlelight. Her fingers were still stained with the mix of guardian grease and ink that she could never fully remove. She should be sleeping at this hour, but instead she was continuing to disappoint everyone by sneaking in some research.

Not that she could get any rest, with such a paragon of virtue standing guard.

How dare he be so perfect! Was he trying to make her life even harder? Showing off how easy it was for him to do everything he tried, while she struggled and scraped for even crumbs of success?

Yesterday he had the nerve — the absolute nerve! — to fight off some monsters, and then use the hem of his shirt to wipe sweat off his face. Of course, he had intended to show off his fine abs, so Zelda had stared in the opposite direction until he got the hint that she would not be fawning over him. And then today he had been drinking water and let some dribble down the column of his throat like some elegant god — not that she had watched each drop slide down beneath the collar of his tunic.

She'd like to see him fail at something — lose his composure, say something he didn't mean, find himself in a no-win situation. Especially if he lost to her — that would be delicious. She'd shove him against a wall and kiss him, because what could he possibly do? Push her back? Stand there, as immovable as a statue?

It wasn't that she wanted to kiss him. She was just checking to see if he would do anything to prove that he was not a perfect hero. A case study.

Zelda yanked open her door. Link watched her. She hadn't even startled him.

Insufferable.

She speedwalked down the hall, hearing Link trail behind. Because of course he couldn't bend the rules even a little and let her walk more than the regulated six paces away from him. He probably wanted the difference between his success and her failure made even more obvious from their juxtaposition.

UGH.

She flung open the door to the garden. Walking through it as quickly as she could without breaking into a run, she turned the corner, and waited.

Like clockwork, Link followed her around the corner. She grabbed the front of his stupid royal guard's tunic (how dare it make him look so hot, it's outrageous) and shoved him back against the wall.

His eyes widened, enough that she could see it even in the dim light.

Hah! She startled him this time. It was the first time she'd seen his perfect guard persona crack, and she took a moment to savor it. He was all wide eyes and slightly open mouth and with the breath knocked out of him, he's looked almost vulnerable.

Perfect.

She dove in, pushing her mouth against his hard enough that he would know she meant business, that this wasn't some mistaken little peck. He was warm and soft, nothing like the cold, hard statue she expected.

His hands settled on her shoulders, and she was fully prepared for him to either slide away against the wall, or shove her away. He didn't do either.

He melted into her and swiped his tongue on her lower lip. She let her mouth open, both shocked and curious. And then he tugged on her lip, like he wanted her, like he couldn't get enough. He kissed her like she was precious, like she was someone with worth.

She couldn't have that.

She stepped back so abruptly that Link lost his balance and stumbled forward. "What. Was. That."

"A kiss?" He sounded like he thought it was a trick question.

"You gave me a pity kiss."

"A p—?" He shook his head. "No."

He looked around them, like he had only just noticed they were out in the dark. Like he was so caught up in kissing her—pity kissing her— that their location hadn't registered.

Of course that would be his plan. Get her off balance, gaslight her, then make it even more obvious how much of a failure she was compared to him.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "There's no audience out here, you know. You can be honest. Just admit that you think I'm a failure—"

"—I don't—"

"—and that my schedule only having four hours of prayer a day shows how lazy I am—"

"—Princess—"

"—and that a proper princess doesn't have stained fingers from working on Sheikah tech—"

"—no—"

"—and that my habit of studying every plant and animal I find is really quite childish. It's okay, it's nothing I haven't heard before. I can handle it. Just tell me what you were thinking."

She lifted her chin and waited.

Link looks like he accidentally swallowed a bug. "'Finally.' That's what I was thinking."

It made no sense. Why was he spouting nonsense? Maybe she pushed him into the wall hard enough that he hit his head? Or— a worse thought hit, hard enough to make her eyes sting with anger. "I asked for honesty, not mockery."

Link pushed a hand into his hair. "I mean that I like you. I like hearing you talk about science and Sheikah tech that you understand but I don't, and I like going places with you, and you're fun to be around."

Maybe she somehow wound up with a concussion. Or maybe she never left her room in the first place, and she was dreaming. She pinched her arm, and it felt real, but that wasn't a guarantee.

She frowned at him. "If — and I do mean if — all those things are true, why don't you talk to me? Most of the time you're doing a convincing imitation of a brick wall."

"You didn't like me. I tried to be unobtrusive."

She didn't know that he knew words like unobtrusive. "But you don't like me. I don't have the Goddess power."

Link looked baffled. She'd seen more expression from him in the last ten minutes than she had in the entire time he'd been her knight. "So? That's not what makes you Zelda."

Clearly he was deluded. And, well, she wouldn't let him just suffer with mistaken ideas. "Using the Goddess power is the only reason I exist, the only reason I'm of worth."

"We wouldn't have a steady supply of stamina elixirs if you hadn't discovered what conditions stamella shrooms need to be grown in. And Vah Naboris would still be shocking anyone except Urbosa if you hadn't figured out that electric issue. Aren't those reasons just as good?"

He was listening when she talked about her work? He noticed what she did, and didn't hate her?

And he was right, she led the work on both those projects. Maybe she did have worth outside of her bloodline. Maybe it was okay that her fingers were stained with ink and Guardian grease. Maybe it was okay that she spent most of her prayer time thinking about how to get all the Divine Beasts to communicate with each other.

Maybe it was okay that she wasn't perfect.

Link rubbed the back of his head and gave her a tiny, shy smile. She glanced over his awkward posture, watching the way his eyes wouldn't meet her own before flicking away. He wasn't the stolid soldier she expected — he kissed her like he meant it, and that was definitely not in his list of responsibilities.

Maybe he wasn't so perfect either.

"Well. I'm not perfect, but you're not either."

"Okay?" He said it like it wasn't a surprise, like he already knew.

"For one thing, you need to kiss better. You said it wasn't a pity kiss, but that's all I got from it."

His eyes widened, and then he smiled, suddenly looking soft and approachable. "Can I try again?"

Zelda reached for him. "Practice makes perfect."

uhhhh new hyper fixation? Time will tell. Got obsessed with how Teopyon on bsky renders AND their rendition of zelink, so I decided to try it out. Happy with the results! I'll probably do more pieces in this painterly style going forward.

Zelda wants to kiss her champion and her champion is surprised by this turn of events.