#though honestly it was a bigger project than I thought it would be

[peaches-creek]

“That looks disgusting.” John grimaces.

“Your babies likes it.”

You were currently 5 months pregnant and eating cold broccoli with mayonnaise. These odd cravings just keep getting grosser and grosser to John but you know what they say, happy wife happy life.

“Are you sure that even tastes good?” He genuinely asks.

“I’m honestly not sure, it just itches the scratch.” You state.

He chuckles at that and gets back to doing the dishes. In the 5 long months that you have been pregnant, you have done close to nothing, especially when John’s home. You thought you would have the comfort of keeping up with busy work, but John has asked his mother to come over twice a week to “help out.” By helping out he means she comes early in the morning helps do laundry, cooks breakfast, chats with you for an hour, cleans with you, then leaves. Even when he’s gone it feels like he’s home. Usually because before he leaves he makes sure everything is taken care of, including house projects and groceries, he doesn’t want you getting any ideas.

“Alright, it’s time to go.”

“You still haven’t told me where we are going.”

“And I told you it’s a surprise.”

He helps you get your coat and then your shoes, your ankles have been so swollen and sore. No matter how long you sit with them up, they still hurt. You were pregnant with twins, so you were bigger than a person pregnant with one baby. And boy did it feel like it. You were always tired, always feeling like shit. But in the end it will be so worth it.

He helps you get into his truck and begins driving.

“We should really start to think about names.” You say.

“We don’t know the genders though, makes it a bit harder.”

“We could just make a good old fashioned list.”

“Yea, what are you thinking?”

“Maybe Tobias, if it’s a boy.”

“I think Josephine’s a good girl name.”

“I agree.”

He turns into a plaza, one that you frequent, it has the best shops in town, and the best hair salon, and the best nail salon. You wonder what he’s up to. He pull up to a parking space, right in front of the nail salon.

“I know your ankles and feet have been hurting, so I thought that maybe a professional would do better than I could.” He admits.your eyes start to well up with big fat tears.

“I’m gonna cry John, that’s so sweet.” You weep.

“You are already crying.” he laughs.

You reach over to give him a hug, though it’s awkward because of the middle console.

“I just love you so much.” You cry.

“And I love you.” He wipes your tears.

“Now let’s get you inside, we have to pick colors.” He says.

[qirongshusband]

⋆˚࿔ Daddy ? 𝜗𝜚˚⋆

MENTIONS - Smut, Public sex, FTM!Reader, Pussy eating, edging, fingering, stretching out, fucking your boss, daddy kink, praising, Imk if I missed anything!

· · ─ ·𖥸· ─ · ·

You were at work, organizing files and cleaning around your work desk. It was a mess from the amount of work your Boss, Toji, was giving you. You honestly wanted to quit that man give you no breaks and always put so much work on you. 'I swear. this dickhead puts all this work on me then doesn't give me a raise?' You thought in your head.

As angry as you were though you needed to keep your composure and stay calm, it was almost the end of the day and you figured you'd just talk to him after work like regular adults instead of yelling at him. Although you wanted too..you sighed finishing up with the organizing.

You noticed your co-worker, Gojo! You loved Gojo about how funny and chill of a dude he was. Who wouldn't? He's the only thing that makes working under Toji enjoyable, after all that man worked you to the bone. "Hey Gojo! You heading home?" You asked looking at him with a warm smile, he then spoke back in his normal silly tone. "You bet your ass I am, another second here and I swear I could just lose my MIND!" He joked chuckling softly he grabbed his bag that carried his files, documents, and work papers. "But yeah I am heading home, I'll see you tomorrow, L/N."

You sighed as you noticed he walked out the doors, you were finishing up as you finally finished, looping your bag around your shoulders you walked to Toni's office, he was still there as he obviously had to stay over until everyone was gone or until his own work was finished. You looked at him and became slightly nervous. You were sweating bullets..god how were you going to ask him for a raise? What if he fires you? What if he adds more onto your work? You brushed all those thoughts aside and begun to speak in slightly shaky nervous tone, "Toji, sir. I think I deserve a raise.. l've been putting on all of these extra assignments and projects with no break. And you still pay me the same."

He looked at you raising an eyebrow, he then spoke in a low tone, "you? a raise? Why should I?" He grinned slightly as he softly chuckled as he looked into your eyes before his attention turned back to his computer, he took a sip of his coffee, such an asshole of a boss. You wish you could get him fired. Your eyebrows slightly furrowed as your expression became a bit more stern and angry, "sir, as I just STATED..l've been working way more than my pay salary I dese—" he cut you off as he was barely looking at you or paying you any mind, "I heard what you said, but it's your job. Is it not? To listen to your boss." He said in a cocky tone.

You stood there. in shock..was he normally like this? You wondered. You then became a bit more agitated as you walked up to his desk slamming your hands on the table staring into his green eyes, you slightly blushed before snapping out of it..what was that? You've never had that reaction before but you then spoke once again in a bit more of an angry tone, "Just because you're my boss doesn't mean you otta be a dick. All I'm asking is pay me what I'm worth." He looked back at you into your eyes, he grinned once more before closing his laptop. "Hm..y'know, maybe you need to prove yr'self that you're worth such a pay."

You sighed as you then rubbed the bridge of your nose in annoyance, you then spoke in a frustrated tone. "And how am I supposed to prove myself more?" He then got up from his seat, standing up fully. He was much taller and bigger than you..you seriously needed to know his work out routine his body was so fit and.. snap out of it oh my god?! You watched him walk to the door closing and locking it, you raised your head asking "sir? Why are you locking the door?" You asked a bit curious on why he would do that. Were you in trouble? Shit.

"No, you aren't in trouble. I actually have a way you could prove yourself..maybe a promotion." Your eyes lit up as you then smiled a bit, "really? What is it?!" You asked with a bit of hope as you noticed his grin, he walked towards you as he slightly leaned down. "Are you good at pleasing men, L/N? If so..you'd be perfect. The position pays much more than your current one." Your eyes widened as you jaw hung open a bit..you shook your head and processed what he said. "By pleased..you mean..sex?" You asked with a slight blush on your face, sweating even more than when you first walked in.

"Correct," he said his face suddenly now inches away from his..he spoke but his voice was different..it sounded like desire and lust. "Are you up for the job, sweetheart?" He placed his large hand on the side of your face softly caressing it. You thought about it..sleeping with your boss for extra money? But you needed the extra cash. You were sometimes late on rent and this could help so you agreed, "fine."

"Good boy." He said as he then began to kiss you, it was deep and passionate, barely leaving any room for air he closed all gaps you could barely pull away. Every time the both of your lips parted he quickly smashed his against your quickly, you slowly but slowly then kissed him back..you felt yourself getting wet from this. Oh my god. Did you really enjoy this? You did..every second of it too. Obviously from the way you softly moaned his name through out the make our session you both had.

He then broke the kiss, looking at you..the state you were in. You were panting and whimpering slightly, Toji began to make his hands down onto your buckle before he then undid your belt pulling down your pants. His dick throbbed and got hard seeing the panties you were wearing..black laced panties barely hiding your folds, your wetness. "You're already this wet? Shit we wouldn't need lube at this point." You looked away embarrassed as he blatantly called you out.

He also undid his pants as he slid them down letting them drop to his ankles, his coco sprung free and you looked down eyes quickly widening at the length of it..?? No 9 inches. 9 fucking inches..you weren't even sure if that would even fucking fit. "There's no way that'll fit.." you mumbled your thoughts out loud as he smirked and chuckled, "oh it will. Don't worry doll, it will. I'll make it fit."

You blinked..wondering how he'd make that big dick of his fit..but you trusted him..you then spoke up. "um..sir, l'm a uh. I'm a virgin." You looked away embarrassed since your first time was going like this, such a weird and embarrassing way to lose your virginity. "Oh? That's fine. I'll take good care of you, Y/N." He said in a slightly gentle but low tone as he then laid you out onto his office desk, your legs hanging off of it. He slowly pulled down your black laced panties as he slowly leaned his face closer to your cunt. He slid a finger in with ease, he then latched his mouth on your clit.. you shuddered a little as your hips squirmed a bit..”ah..agnh..” you let out soft sweet moans that are like music to his ears.

He began licking and sucking on your clit while his teeth 'accidentally' bit on your clit. Toji slide another finger into your cunt as he then moved them in a scissoring motion. All of your pre-cum leaking onto his fingers, down to his wrist, and onto his arm. You were really getting this turned on just from him fingering you so your tight little cunt could take that huge cock of his. It wasn't your fault you were a virgin or that your cunt was so tight..he then spoke right on your clit sending vibrations on it, "already turned on from this? If I didn't know any better l'd say you've been wantin' this. Hm?"

"N-no! I just..l've never done this before." You said quickly as Toji continued to suck and lick your clit, his nibbling became more frequent as he kept on biting down on it. On purpose, it felt so good..him biting on your bud like that. You loved it, and you wanted more, "don't..stop. Please don't stop.." you begged him bringing a hand to the back of his head bringing his head closer applying more pressure. Toji slipped in a third finger and slid all three of them all the way in. He continued to finger you more as you felt Toji had found 'that spot' you didn't thing it existed and was just some excuse for pornstars to lose their shit too. Your legs began shaking as you felt close to a small release..you needed more wanted more.

"Ffuak..ah..mmh..more..more more more.., you begged him you kept begging babbling like a dumbass. You wanted to feel that sweet release for the first time, "Patient baby, I'll get there." Toji said as he stretched you out more then sliding his fingers out, "h-huh? Why'd you stop?..! was so close." You whined as you then pouted.. "didn't I tell ya' to be patient? Listen to daddy." He said with a sigh as he then brought his tongue to your hole, oh my god oh my god he was eating you out. He put his TONGUE inside YOU!! But holy shit it felt like fucking heaven..it felt so good. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head as your mouth was hung open, only thing coming out of that mouth of yours were sweet slightly loud moans. You wiggled your hips closer to him as you wrapped your legs around his head so he wouldn't stop.

Toji's tongue was big and long, it felt so slimy and a bit weird but it was amazing..you allow him to stop, he wasn't going to stop anyways even if you asked him too. He wanted to make your first time memorable just so you know no one could fuck you the way he does. So you come back crawling to him for him. Wanting you to desire him..His tongue moved in and out wiggling around your gummy walls. Your pre and slick juices getting on his face and into his mouth was such a turn on for him..especially the way your plush thighs were wrapped around his head..you felt a knot in your stomach that you needed to get rid of..

He put his fingers on your clit applying pressure before rubbing it in a circular motion. he went slow at first but then slowly went faster and faster. The pleasure was too much, you were letting out soft choked moans as you then squirted and came onto Toji's face, "F-FUAK! AH~!..MMPH..NGH..haah..ah..~" you moaned slowly as you laid against his desk, your legs slowly falling onto his shoulders. Oh but don't get tired yet..you aren't done. Oh no you're far from done.

"Getting tired on me that quickly, boy? Oh we aren't done, far from done." He said with a sly grin, that fucking grin..that grin he did always pissed you off but right now was different, it made you wet. Horny. Toji slowly spreads your legs as he stood in between them, admiring the view..your small curvy body. He began unbuttoning your shirt noticing that you were wearing binding tape, "am I allowed to remove this, sweetheart? Only if you're comfortable." He asked, he was being so sweet and gentle? You felt your heart flutter as you nodded your head with approval, be began slowly undoing the binding tape you previously had on, your body was completely exposed to him and you blushed looking away embarrassed, he placed his hand on the side of your face making you look at him, "don't look away, I want you to look at me the whole time, I want you to watch. Okay baby?". "yes, daddy." you said in a soft tone as you kept your eyes locked on him, "good boy. Such a good boy for daddy."

Toji plopped his big cock on your small cunt, it was so long the tip rested near your belly button, oh god..you were a bit nervous for this but you really needed the money..but it wasn't about that anymore was it? Was it also that you maybe wanted this? You desired this but you didn't realize? Fucking your own boss? Letting him fuck and rearrange your guts? Maybe. Toji grabbed your legs holding them together as he began to thigh fuck you, his cock also rubbed against your cunt and clit. You moaned and whimpered softly..the way his tip glided across back and forth on your clit felt so good. Feeling his warmth and how it throbbed and twitched with each small thrust..you grabbed one of his hands holding them. You wanted to be as close to him as possible and if this was one of the only ways then so be it. You needed it, you needed him. You desired everything about him, his big hands, his strong physique, handsome face, his cocky attitude, but also his sweet side.. was he hiding this side from you?

"T-Toji..ut'it innn..." you asked him sweetly, wanting his dick to fuck and stretch you out, if his fingers and tongue felt good then surely his dick had to be like heaven. "You sure about that, Baby? Don't wanna risk hurtin' ya." He said looking at you being a bit cautious, you nodded once more but he spoke up, "use your words..I need to know if you're actually sure." You whined as you then spoke up, "yes, I'm sure. I promise..” you said with a soft smile, you felt some warm substance leak onto my tummy..Toji came. He fucking came on you. "Oops. Sorry darlin. Your face is just so fuckin’ cute when you look at m’like that.” with a slight chuckle. He moved his tip at the entrance of your cunt. His dick slowly sank into your cunt, your walls quickly grasping onto it, his dick was barely in and you're already this needy? Jesus Christ.

He leaned down as he kissed your neck, tracing up to your jaw then back down to your neck going to your chest. He held your legs on his shoulders allowing himself to sink in all the way in those tight walls of yours..he was leaving hickeys and bite marks all over your neck and chest. You were going insane, you moaned and whined from how big his cock was..you were a virgin and his dick was huge. Not your fault your little cunt couldn't take it..so cute. He slowly thrusted into your cunt but going hard at the same time, it was driving you crazy.you moaned like a whore in church as you felt Toji's cock sink deeper into you thrusting in and out.. He then found your 'sweet spot' once again. He knew from the way your back arched and the yelp you let out, you quickly placed your hands on the nape of his neck scratching and gripping onto him for something to grab onto. "Oh? Is this it?" He asked teasingly just resting his cock there not even moving. What a tease. Such a meanie!! You whined and spoke out "nno..don't stop..why'd'ya stop?..please...daddy I need it." You said looking at him with sweet innocent eyes, you were desperate and needy and just wanted your daddy's cock- oops. I mean you boss's cock. All for the money, right?:)

"F-fuck! Yes! Ah! Toji oh my god!" "Don't stop. please.please..PLEASE don't stop oh MY GOD~! Ah..ah~!.AH! HNGH! KNGAH! AAH!" The shit you were saying to him drove him mad, he continued to pound into you like there was no fucking tomorrow. He didn't stop, he didn't slow down, he only went harder and deeper into your cunt as he reached your womb. You felt your body going limp but no matter, he hel as he fucked the shit out of him. "Gon' take it like a good boy, yeah? Yeah you are.” are." A bulge appeared in your stomach a bulge from his ridiculously big dick. He placed his hand over it pressing down on it so you could feel it more, the way he was so deep in you..it almost felt like a dream until you felt him cum inside you. "Hngh..ha. Ffuuckk." He groaned out, he filled your womb to the brim with his hot warm cum painting those pink gummy walls of yours white. He pumped his dick in you a few more times before pulling out and watching the cum seep out your cunt. You slowly closed your eyes panting heavily, you were so worn out and couldn't go anymore. He praised you for taking it so well and for being such a good boy for daddy, "you're such a good boy sweetheart..ya'know that? You took my dick so so well. Starting tomorrow you'll be my secretary, be sure to be in my office tomorrow morning. And it's okay if you can't walk..I'll let you cock warm me as you sit on my lap while I do my work." Toji said kissing your forehead, you passed out. Oh boy.. the day you were going to have tomorrow is going to be just as crazy like today.

· · ─ ·𖥸· ─ · ·

[hotdaemondtargaryen]

TOM GLYNN-CARNEY INTERVIEWED FOR VESTAL MAGAZINE.

REFLECTING ON YOUR JOURNEY IN THE ACTING INDUSTRY, DO YOU REMEMBER THE MOMENT YOU REALIZED YOU REALIZED YOU WANTED TO PURSUE ACTING?

"The moment I realized I wanted to pursue acting was probably when I was around 12 years old, in high school."

"I was performing in a production of Shakespeare's Macbeth at the Royal Exchange in Manchester."

"I saw older actors and wondered what their "proper" jobs were outside of the theater."

'When I asked one of them, they said': — "No, this is my proper job. This is what I do."

"I didn’t know people could do that."

"From that moment on, I knew that this is what I wanted to do as a career."

YOU'VE DONE MULTIPLE SHOWS AND MOVIES IN THE DRAMATIC GENRE. WOULD YOU EVER BE OPEN TO DOING OTHER GENRES?

"Absolutely, I'd love to explore new genres in the future."

"I'd love to give comedy a go."

"I think that would be a good challenge."

"It’s difficult because timing is crucial delivering a joke at the right time can feel almost mathematical."

"But I think that good comedy actors don't see it that way at all."

"It just comes naturally to them."

"I'd love to give it a shot."

"I'm also interested in doing biopics, bringing real-life stories to life."

"Chet Baker and Gene Kelly, in particular, would be fascinating characters to portray."

"But I'm open to any interesting projects that come my way."

HOW DO YOU CHOOSE THE ROLES YOU TAKE ON? ARE YOU DRAWN TO A PARTICULAR TYPE OF CHARACTER OR STORY?

"Honestly, I'm drawn to anything that makes me feel uncomfortable and pushes me out of my comfort zone."

"I seek out roles where the character feels distant and challenging."

"I like to test myself and see if I can bring such characters to life."

"If a role feels like something I might struggle with, that's exactly what I want to tackle."

"I often joke that these challenging roles might be my downfall someday." [laughs]

CAN YOU SHARE ANY INSIGHTS INTO HOW YOUR CHARACTER, AEGON II TARGARYEN, ENVOLVES IN THE UPCOMING SEASON?

"I found it fascinating to delve deeper into Aegon this season because there's so much more to uncover about him."

"In the first season, we saw quite a two-dimensional view of Aegon—not due to Ty Tennant's portrayal, which I thought was fantastic, bringing a lot of vulnerability and teenage angst to the character."

"When I took over, the time frame was too short to really explore Aegon's complexities."

"This time, I've had an extended period to sit with the character and dig into his deeper layers."

"Playing a character experiencing profound grief is always a challenge."

"I'm lucky enough that I've never gone through anything like that myself, so I had to imagine it as vividly as possible."

"This season, Aegon is shown as more of an empath than a psychopath."

"It becomes clear that he has the capacity to love, feel, and grieve."

"There are so many comparisons between Aegon and Richard II."

"People are saying Aegon is cold, calculated, and evil, and while he's certainly done horrible things—I'm not justifying any of those—it's important to note that, rather than being a straightforward villain, he's a crumbling tragedy."

HOW HAS YOUR APPROACH TO PORTRAYING AEGON II CHANGED FROM THE PREVIOUS SEASON TO THE NEW ONE?

"There’s definitely a continuation of the drama and theatricality from season one."

"It's huge, rousing, and intense."

"I've seen episodes one to four, and they are just unbelievable, especially the battle scenes — you can't get any bigger than that."

"This season, though, there’s also an element of humor."

"At some point, they called Aegon 'the Magnanimous,' and it was important to bring some levity to his character."

"Aegon has just stepped into the role of King and is trying to figure it all out."

"We're at a point where he’s found a spring in his step, enjoying this new responsibility and purpose."

"He’s also got a lot of power now."

"Power can go to people's heads and make them crazy."

"It was nice to explore his boyishness and playfulness, as it gives his character more depth and leaves room for growth."

WHAT WOULD YOU TELL PEOPLE TO GET THEM ON TEAM GREEN?

"I don’t think I need to persuade them—obviously, we’re the best."

"But if you really want to see why, this season is packed with surprises that will make it clear."

SINCE THE SHOW IS BASED ORIGINALLY ON BOOKS, IS THERE A SPECIFIC BOOK YOU'D LIKE TO SEE BROUGHT TO THE SCREEN AND FOR YOU TO BE A PART OF?

"I'd love to see a film adaptation of Douglas Stuart's book Shuggie Bain."

"Another great choice would be The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell."

"It’s a collection of beautiful and heart-wrenching short stories, and each one could make a compelling film."

"Looking at my bookshelf now, I see a lot of books on Bob Dylan, David Bowie, and Paul McCartney—mostly singer-songwriters."

"I also have a lot of poetry. I'd love to see a biopic of Patti Smith."

"That would be incredible."

YOUR CAREER HAS TAKEN YOU TO VARIOUS FILMING LOCATIONS AROUND THE WORLD. IS THERE A SPECIFIC LOCATION YOU HAVEN'T BEEN TO YET AND WOULD LOVE TO BE THE BACKDROP FOR A POTENTIAL FUTURE PROYECT?

"Oh, that's a good question."

"I think somewhere that’s a hybrid between beautiful rolling countryside and the coast."

"A place that offers both stunning landscapes and the sea."

"On your days off, you could go for a swim or hike through the mountains."

"I’d love to work in a scenic and peaceful location like that."

SOMETIMES, ACTORS WHO PLAY 'VILLAINS' CAN GET AN ADVERSE REACTION FROM SOME FANS OF A SHOW. WHAT HAVE YOUR INTERACTIONS BEEN LIKE?

"I've been very lucky."

"Many people have approached me with kind words about my portrayal of Aegon."

"It's a challenging task to humanize someone so seemingly poisonous."

"Fortunately, I haven't had negative encounters with fans who can't differentiate between the character and the actor."

"I think we're in a different phase in society now."

"When Jack Gleeson played Joffrey, there was less social media presence, making it harder for audiences to separate the actor from the character."

"Today I think we are a more technologically advanced community, with more behind-the-scenes and a better understanding of the distinction between actor and character."

"I think people have copped on. I hope that's the case, anyway."

YOU'VE COLLABORATED WITH RENOWNED DIRECTORS LIKE CHRISTOPHER NOLAN. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM THESE EXPERIENCES?

"Doing Dunkirk was my first significant experience on a film set."

"I really didn't know where to start."

"The canvas was completely blank."

"And it was just such a gift, a pinch me moment that I was able to learn from some of, if not the best filmmaker in the world."

"It was overwhelming."

"And I had to remind myself to be present and soak in everything like a sponge."

"Chris's patience and the support from the rest of the cast were invaluable throughout."

"We were all in it together, especially us young lads who were new to such a big production."

"We learned and grew together during that incredible experience."

IN THE KING, YOU PORTRAYED A HISTORICAL FIGURE. HOW DID YOU APPROACH BRINGING THIS CHARACTER TO LIFE?

"When portraying a fictional character, there's often more freedom because there's no definitive blueprint to follow—even if they're written in a book, they're still fictional."

"You can infuse your own understanding and personality into the role."

"However, there’s added pressure when it comes to a historical figure because you're portraying someone real."

"I never let that pressure overwhelm or hinder the process."

"Instead, I took the character as presented and focused on doing my best with the role."

A NEW HUNGER GAMES MOVIE WAS JUST ANNOUNCED, SPECIFICALLY A PREQUEL FOCUSING ON HAYMITCH'S STORY, AND MANY FANS ARE EAGER TO SEE YOU IN THAT ROLE. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT?

"No way, that’s the first I’ve heard of it! But I'm incredibly flattered that people would like to see me on screen again."

"If all goes well, I'll fight for my life in the Hunger Games!" [laugh]

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE SHOWS DURING YOUR DOWNTIME?

"One show I watch repeatedly, and it never gets old for me, is the UK version of The Office."

"The humor is very relatable and comforting to me."

"I even laugh just thinking about it. It's one of those TV shows when it finishes, you're like: — “Oh no! What do I do with my life? I miss the characters already.” [laugh]

"I also enjoy the US version of The Office."

"Besides that, I'm fascinated by farming documentaries."

"Shows like This Farming Life on BBC are incredibly calming for me."

"And I have to mention The Great Pottery Throwdown — I'm a bit of a pottery nerd, and that show is brilliant!

WHO ARE SOME CREATIVES YOU WOULD LOVE TO WORK WITH IN THE FUTURE?

"The list is long."

"Firstly, there are directors I'd love to collaborate with again, like Chris Nolan and Sam Mendes, with whom I've had some of my best experiences and whom I consider friends."

"I'm eager to work with them again."

"Then there are filmmakers like Andrea Arnold, Yorgos Lanthimos, Greta Gerwig, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Ruben Ostlund, all of whom I admire and would love to collaborate with."

"When it comes to actors, there are many I admire as well."

"I plan to work with individuals who challenge me, from whom I can learn, and who are dedicated to their craft."

"I appreciate those who find joy and humor in their work because life is short, and it’s important to enjoy what you do."

LASTLY, WHERE DO YOU HOPE YOUR CAREER WILL HEAD INTO THE FUTURE?

"It’s more of a feeling than a checklist of achievements that I aim for."

"I understand that feeling because I can almost sense it in advance."

"It’s difficult to articulate—it’s a mix of happiness, creative fulfillment, diversity in roles, consistent challenge, and pushing boundaries."

"I aspire to transform and lose myself in characters."

"Equally important to me is collaborating with inspiring individuals whom I can learn from and grow with."

"I also value the freedom to select projects that resonate with me personally."

[lassieposting]

So on the back of my headcanon about the Prototype more or less raising CatNap, I've been watching someone play Project Playtime for the first time, and I'm fucking yelling

If you play as the monster, the Prototype literally teaches you (as Huggy Wuggy) how to hunt. He's the one giving the tutorial instructions.

And honestly? The vibe I got from that "interaction" is that Prototype likes children. More than that: Prototype is good with children.

Project Playtime takes place in the intervening decade between the Hour of Joy massacre and the start of the main game. Based on the fact that Huggy needs the Prototype's guidance, it's probably fairly early in that period - he's not used to hunting for himself yet. So Huggy here is a monster with limited intelligence - he's the most 'animal' experiment we've seen, though he is still able to write - and the soul of a child.

And the Prototype tailors his lessons appropriately. Like, I trained to work with kids, and he uses essentially the same approach I would to teach a young or special needs child a new skill.

Simple Instructions: what Prototype is teaching Huggy here is, at its core, strategy and tactical thinking, and that's a subject he seems to understand well and know a lot about. A more intelligent experiment - like, say, young CatNap - might ask a lot of questions, and Prototype could probably give them long, in-depth explanations of why doing X thing prompts Y response or why Z tactic is useful. But Huggy isn't on that level, so Prototype keeps his instructions and explanations short, concise and easy to understand.

No Guesswork: Huggy, described as having only "sufficient" intelligence post-transformation, likely has limited capacity for complex thought. Where CatNap might be encouraged to think ahead for himself and suggest problems that could arise, Huggy would struggle. So Prototype gives him all the information he needs: here are the ways the humans will try to avoid or harm or mislead you, and here are the ways you can fight back. He even points out little tips that might seem obvious, like listening for the breathing of a hiding worker, because he knows that might not occur independently to Huggy.

Positive Reinforcement: When Huggy successfully incapacitates a human player, Prototype laughs and praises him, treating a potentially upsetting conflict like a fun game. Once Huggy has gotten rid of all the human players and won the match, Prototype tells him he did a good job and that he can rest now.

The Bad News Sandwich: One technique I was taught for dealing with young children is that when you have to give them upsetting or disappointing news, sandwiching it between two good things limits the distress it will cause. And Prototype does this twice with Huggy:

[Praises Huggy for catching a player and putting him in the food chute] [warns Huggy that the other players could try to rescue their friend] [offers a way to stop them doing that]

[Praises Huggy for clearing out the factory] [tells Huggy that more humans will return] [reassures Huggy that for now, he can rest and relax]

Anyway. Prototype taught at least one child-aged experiment to fend for itself and defend the factory: confirmed. And so, scenarios I'm now picturing with Prototype and little CatNap: this

I'm also 👀👀👀 at the fact that like. While it's directly stated that while his main motive for having the experiments attack the Project Playtime workers is to stop them making more creatures, he's got a secondary motive in that he's using the Bigger Bodies mascots *to gather food for the smaller toys*. The larger toys may have become hostile towards the smaller, weaker, "prey" toys, but the Prototype seems to be at least trying to provide for them, albeit in the only fucked-up way available to him.

Anyway I just think that's really interesting considering he's been implied to be the game's ultimate Big Bad. I think there's more to him than we've been told

[pxgeturner]

fifinnj ikn.

where.

where he.

hm. overstimulation-

you feel your in-the-spotlight boyf fade away. he reminds you that he is very much there for you (actor!finnick x not famous!reader in a current-day!au)

an. ok. mer my love, I tried hard you gotta understand 😭. I had a plan. but it ended up not like raw sex how I wanted but more making love. yeah that's it. the main sex scene is so lovey dovey. I hope that's okie. it's what my brain wanted ig. I'm so, so glad I'm finally getting this to you. I hope you love it like I do.

ALSO. to the person who asked "where's my baby finnick???" I hope you're satisfied because this is a bigger piece than I've written in a long time.

warnings: bits of angst, smut 😇, cumming at the same time (we <3 a man w good timing), public sex (under the table), teasing, oral (f!receiving), finnick's smirk

wc: 2k

Lately, finnick is never home. that’s a lie, he comes home to sleep. finnick is never home at any time when he could actually see you. he goes out to the shoot, hangs out with his friends, and comes home whenever he likes. whenever you try to sit him down for a meal, his agent calls, or his manager, or the producer of the project, or the director, or the costume designer, or his friends.

you can’t say the love is gone, you still have little moments of affection. him kissing your temple as he slips into bed, him kissing your hand before he walks out the door, making breakfast together on the few days he doesn’t have to go in too early. 

you know he loves you, and that once filming comes to a wrap, romance will resume to normal. But you feel so lonely. 

…

“want to go to a dinner party?” you roll your eyes at him, continuing to polish your toes, perched on the tub ledge.

“no way in hell would katniss willingly throw a dinner party. And peeta would never make her.”

“it’s a haymitch and effie soiree.” 

“oh, so it’s a soiree now?”

finnick lathers shaving cream with the kabuki brush & bowl set you got him for christmas last year. “you know effie,”

“i'm surprised you’re inviting me,” you say with a bittersweet honestly. he sets the brush back into the bowl, turning to you.

“sweetheart,”

You sigh, “you’re just so busy lately, finn. It’s like strictly work and friends for the past couple of months.”

he kneels on the bathroom tiles, you internally shiver because he’s getting his robe dirty. 

you arch your brow at him. 

“we need this, right?”

“you don’t. you don’t need me. you don’t need anyone... i need you, though.” your eyes start to sting and your throat closes up a bit.

finnick springs into action, gently grabbing your hand that’s paused on the nail polish cap “baby, baby, you don’t need to worry. it’s you and me.” he kisses the knuckles, transferring shaving cream onto your hand. he looks up at you with those sea-green, puppy-dog eyes. "be my date tomorrow night?"

he ate you out that night. down right making out with your pussy. every swipe of his tongue felt like an apology. so sweet, sugar-coated, he was making up for lost time. it was like he was telling you he loves you through your cunt. which felt so absurd a thought when you had it, you laughed out loud. that was the only time finn came up for air, “what? has it been that long? have i lost my touch?” he mocked worry. you told him you got distracted, and to up his game; which he did. you lost count of how many times he made you cum. 

you roll over, wanting to bump into finnick, feel his warmth. you landed on cold sheets instead of your warm boyfriend. so you got up, put on the robe finnick left on the floor and made yourself some tea. 

you’re starting to hate weekends. finnick’s job makes him work around the clock, and this place was finn’s place before it was your together place. you wish he moved into your place, that way you could look around and see memories that didn’t just involve him. 

you put on this green maxi slip dress tha finnick loves on you and a white fur you found at a boutique a few days ago, some big hoop earrings and a green onyx ring. the door opens. finnick. you two are going to be so late for dinner, he still has to get dressed. He pops his head into the bedroom. he’s already dressed.

his jaw drops into that cheeky face he makes. “babe, you got all dolled up for me? you’re so lovely.”

“can you for once say something that isn’t at all smug?”

“something,” he flourishes his arms. 

“very funny, finn. and this isn’t for you, it’s for me. I haven’t seen out friends in a while and i want to look nice.” that's mostly true, although you did actively decide to wear his favorite color.

“ah, yes, of course.” he slides up next to you in front of the vanity. 

“how are you ready?” he grabs one of his cologne bottles.

“you know i have a change of clothes for every occasion in my trunk. and i'm not ready just yet,” he shakes the bottle slightly.

“ah, yes the travel closet. how very crazy rich asians of you.”

“i'm the real-life peik lin.”

…

being at effie and haymitch’s was like fresh air after holding your breath. typically, you didn’t need anyone else to feel alive. but, you don’t know anyone at your new job, and you feel kind of aimless. you’re not sure if you’re going in the right direction anymore

peeta nudges you, “how’s work?”

you fidget with your ring. “new things are always an adjustment.”

a warm hand lands on your thigh. you look at finnick, he smiles, squeezing your thigh. 

“you’ll be fine, once you’re all settled, you’ll knock their socks off.” katniss smiles at you. 

“effie, did you hire a new chef?” 

“why, yes i did, dear! of course you are the one who noticed, you always have had the best test!” she giggles, “aside from me, of course!” you were relieved effie took your bait. You want to focus on something else other than yourself. 

“doesn’t my sugar look absolutely divine?” finnick quips as he starts bunching up your skirt. a chorus of agreement comes in response. by the time someone resumes conversation, he has your dress piled at the bend of your hips. his fingers dance his way over to your clothed sex. immediately, he presses a finger right on your clit. it sends a jolt through you at you sit up a little straighter. 

peeta gives you a look that says everything alright? And you give him a gentle smile back. 

“hey sweetheart,” haymitch asks, looking at you. 

“mm, mmm?” finnick’s making circles around your clit making you dizzy.

you try extra hard to listen to what he says, “i know you said you’re doing that day job but how’s your passion treating you?”

“fashion is a tough industry to get into, let alone do right.” hopefully your voice doesn’t betray you. 

finnick tucks your panties to one side and slips a finger inside. you yelp, mouth closed. 

“you alright, sugar?”

“bit my lip while chewing.”

“aw, baby, you have to be more careful,” patronizing ass.

finnick teases you on an off throughout the night. actively at least, he keeps his finger inside of you for the rest of the meal. Every now and then you’d purposely clench around it, to spur him on. sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. 

on the ride home, you sat scooted as close to the window as possible.

“you are cocky,” 

you look at him, he’s smiling, big and proud. “low,”

“and sexy?” you glare at him. what a pompous boyfriend you have. 

“...yes.” you roll your eyes. 

he holds your hand, “you looked so sexy tonight, baby. i couldn’t resist.”

“that was the first time i’d seen them in months!”

“aw, did you not have fun, sugarcube?”

“i did, but damn you finnick, why does everything have to be a spectacle with you?”

“but you did such a good job of being discreet, babe, there wasn’t any spectacle tonight.”

you let out a small giggle. 

“i’m trying to make everything better, baby.” you hold hands the rest of the way

…

Your boyfriend follows you into the apartment, practically nipping at your heels. He gets his hands on your hips, tugging you back into his chest. He nips and sucks at your neck, hands roaming. 

“You’re so impatient,”

“You’re so tempting.” he picks you up fireman style, carrying you over to the bed. He slips the dress off of you. 

he’s everywhere. your neck, chest, tummy, thighs, kissing your body up and down. yesterday, sure he had your legs shaking and you forgiving him, but today he’s loving you in the way he used to. In a way that has a piece of your soul click back into place.

you arch your back into him, finnick eventually settles on you chest, kissing, nipping, sucking, squeezing. loving you without words. he takes a quick moment to rid himself of his pants, literally smothering himself in your gorgeous tits.

“finn– finn– what are you doing?” you laugh. 

he comes back up. he takes off his suit and rips his shirt. “i’m doing what needs to be done so i can love you and this beautiful fucking pussy, doll.”

You look at him, eyebrow cocked “so my pussy is more beautiful than i am?”

“you are the sum of your parts, baby.” he runs a hand through your hair. “it just so happens that you have the most exquisite pussy.”

“then why aren’t you touching it?” you test him. he slips a couple of fingers into you without missing a beat. 

“what were you saying, sugar?” he rubs up against your g-spot. “c’mon you were about to say something.”

“just- just, finn–”

“it’s okay, sugar, I got you baby, I know what you need.” he slips his fingers out, and you whine. but he doesn’t leave you much room to complain, pushing himself into you. 

oh. my. god. he hasn’t felt this good in so long. trying to stay in control during this hell of a month is torture. during the time you two have been together, he hasn’t taken on any projects. well, there was that one time he was brought on as a late-stage producer when one dropped out. but that wasn’t nearly as time consuming as acting was. finnick never noticed how isolated he is during a shooting period. other than the occasional fling with a co-star, he really didn’t have any sort of relationships. but know he has you and you are such a delicious little distraction. but honestly, celibacy does not suit him. 

initially, he thrusts into you slowly. he wanted to savor this, but you’re just too good. and it’s been too long. and he missed this pussy. last night was just a taste. he’s prepared to keep you here all fucking week if he has to. he lifts your torso up, slipping a pillow under your hips, and as he lays you back down, he kisses you. 

“I missed you,” you breath into his lips.

“i’m right here sweetheart. I’m all yours, I’ll be forever yours, my girl.” he kisses your temple, making a trail down to your breasts. “fuuuck,” he says before taking a nipple into his mouth. he has never (and I mean never) loved a pair of breasts more than your tits. they are goddamn perfect. no one could tear him away from you. if you’d let him, he’d spend an entire day under one of you (his) pajama shirts, his face to your chest, it would be the best day of his life. his hands squeeze your hips. the way you pussy-- it’s fucking glorious. he wants to cum, he wants to cum so bad--

“finn,” you feel him twitch, 

if you keep saying his name the way you are, he might just explode. “finn-finnick!” he has a thumb on your clit. he needs you to cum first. You always cum first. It’s his rule. you're tugging at his hair. And your gripping him like a vice. “finn, please,”

“there’s my good girl.” 

just in time. You two arch into each other an finnick bottoms out in you, losing himself in your warmth. and as he collapses to your side, and you give him your cute little sleepy smile, he thinks one thing. 

I'm so serious about keeping you here all week. he decides that he’ll let you nap for half an hour. he collects supplies, food water etc. and emails your work that your amazing boyfriend has set up a surprise vacation and will be gone for a few days.

you wake up to the sound of an alarm and a nip at your thigh. 

[sugar-omi]

I need to know… for science… if when merman!Cove turns human, does he end up naked like Ariel in the Little mermaid?

ANON.... THE GASP I JUST GASPED pls i immediately started imagining it and i had to stifle a laugh 🙈🤭&lt;3 anyway this spiraled but i hope this answers your question 🫶🫶 somehow i think i contributed more to your research than you asked for but were thinking (projecting much naeomi? LMAO /lh)

i got another ask before this one for (innocent) mer!cove hc's, it can be found here: ["merman cove headcanons"] related: ["D&D headcanons for OL1+2"]

tags : Suggestive + crack, drabble

+ NSFW under the cut, monster dick? jfc i never thought i'd type that out....., monster fucking (implied/ment)

synopsis : merman cove when he turns into a human. and a bit on what's under his clothes/scales.

well... i would like to tell you no but yeah yeah he is

cove keeps a "sash" around him, so when he wants to shift, he just ties it around his waist until he puts some pants on

(i imagine he has some fins around his hips perhaps? so he keeps it across his chest. at least keeps it there so it doesn't interrupt his swimming)

omg, imagine you plan to meet one day, and cove thinks he has enough time to run into the beach house and put on some pants before you arrive

so he shifts and starts going to the beach house but then, in the corner of his eye he sees a figure clad in your favorite color and-

it's you. wide-eyed, open-mouthed, and you're so obviously flustered

cove is frozen (a mistake)

and when you glance down, blinking owlishly, does cove yelp and dives back into the ocean....

well... needless to say i think you might need to reschedule n cove will see you in like 7 to 8 business days 😬😬

ofc it's before you're dating so cove is freaking the fuck out

for a bit after that, you meet at whatever location you've decided on until cove can stomach seeing you at the beach again <3 poor baby

i had no intention of talking abt his dick but... I must. and someone will ask anyway right? (im projecting n justifying myself LMAO)

+ in his mer form:

of course we got the typical slit in the tail whatever blah blah if you've read mermaid smut before you alrdy know

(im realizing how many.... interesting. fics i've read... no one say ANYTHING<//3)

his dick is so pretty like this but also so intimidating

because cove is so much bigger in merman form than he is in human form, although he's still impressive then.

anyway, cove's dick has the same gradient as his ears

the base is a deep blue-purple color, the tip of his dick is the same flesh tone of his tan but it has more of a purple undertone <3

now the shape

oh lord...

it's fat.

but to start light... his dick has a nice curve, and don't worry! its not a fight to put in kind of fat, but he has a knot of sorts though...

i wouldn't say it grows n you're stuck together like in a/b/o fics, but it is a small feat to pull out (this is the moment I realized imma end up writing a mer!cove smut fic 💀)

i was going to say he has a piercing down there, but i take that back. he does have ridges though on the underside of his dick

they smooth out the closer you get to the tip, and honestly, they are most prominent around the base

+ in his human form

it's normal!

well... if you ignore the way he's a bit thicker than the average man

(especially at the base, although it's not as prominent as his 'knot')

also that he still has the ridges on the underside of his dick...

other than that it's basically the same as a humans!

at least it's not as girthy as in his mer form

your finger tips can't even touch in his mer form, at least in his human form you're...

well you're closer than before <3

of course, he still has that sweet curve. and if anything, it's a bit more prominent since you aren't being stretched out n overpowered by this huge merman 🧜‍♂️

length is this the same 6-6.5 inches though <3

actually i take that back... I think in mer form, he's around 7 inches

if you're worried abt where all that dick is gonna go, dw a good couple inches is his 'knot' so just don't catch him during mating season and you're okay<3

speaking of mating season....

oh man i didn't even think abt it but he's feral

i think mermaids/sirens release a pheromone during sex, no matter what, but during mating season it's stronger

it's just to calm their partner and make them more relaxed. during mating season, though, it also becomes more like an aphrodisiac

and he's releasing more of these pheromones during this time, a more subconscious thing that otherwise he could control normally.

and ofc, unless you're not worried abt it bc you can't get preg, take some type of birth control potion, or want it. cove's one goal is to breed or mate you

if you're unmated, full expect cove to claim you during this time. now i'm not gonna say smth about biting your scent gland or some shit, but i do think it's like some kind of ritual shit

i imagine its something like cove adding a drop of your fluids (spit, blood, cum) into the special ritual juice and drinking it, then when you wake up next you find a matching "tattoo" on you and cove

or if you're basic (or a masochist) then yeah we'll go w the biting thing

besides that need to claim you, he wants you so bad

to fill you up, to fuck you dumb on his cock, and please you...

he just needs you. but he really does try to hold back, especially since if you're not a mer-person than you probably couldn't handle how rough mer-people can be during heat.

okay i...i think i'm done

excuse me while I reevaluate my existence after wtf i just wrote🫡

[autisticlilith]

Something that always struck me about this 'fight' is that it felt really one-sided. Not because the Raven Beast is bigger, but because she's also way more aggressive. We see throughout the show that Eda in her Owl Beast form acts mostly on instinct (and her inner beast, once she starts talking to it, seems to just be hungry or cranky most of the time). We don't get much insight into how Lilith copes with the curse (like none at all after this), so this is going to be a lot of inference.

Off the top, I would like to reiterate that Hayley Wong has repeatedly asked that nobody repost or edit her art without permission. I'm going to be referring to stuff from the boards in this post, so here's the link if you want to look for yourself.

So, in this episode, Eda and Lilith are both angry—specifically at Gwendolyn, and with good reason. They both end up turning into beasts due to a combination of that anger, stress, and the fact their mom thought she was "helping" by taking away their medication.

But here is where they differ. Eda was angry about the current situation: her mom refusing to respect her choices, and causing unnecessary harm to her all day. And Luz even joined in. As Eda says, she has a right to be upset, though I don't think she meant to lose control over the beast.

That's just what happens when she reaches her limit. And she knows her limits, she's been dealing with this curse for 30 years!

Meanwhile, Lilith has been dealing with the curse for... a few weeks, at most? Unless you count dealing with the guilt of cursing Eda as part of that. We see that she's quite unaware of the effects of the curse, as she experienced some symptoms for the first time this very day. She essentially gets told to take an elixir if she starts feeling stressed, and then is left in the house to stew in her guilt and insecurity all day.

Gwen's lukewarm greeting, and the realization that she's paid consistent visits to Eda over the years, is enough to send Lilith into a downward spiral. She starts stress-eating ice cream, and makes cruel comments about King's dad abandoning him (a clear case of projection, and I don't think he really internalizes it after this episode, but seriously that's no way to talk to your 8-year-old nephew), and unfortunately the only voice of reason around is Hooty. Well, he tried.

I want to note here that she doesn't cry. She mopes, she complains, she gets rude and cynical; these are all things we've seen her do before. But she doesn't allow herself to honestly express her feelings, her wants and needs. What's she gonna say? "Hey Mom, can you please pay attention to me?" You can't just ask for things like that. And she's a grown adult, she's more mature than this. She was the head of the Emperor's Coven, for Titan's sake. Didn't she get enough attention there to last a lifetime? And didn't she learn how to repress all her useless emotions and craft a perfect persona to hide behind until she could no longer tell the mask from her face?

She realizes she's indulged her worst thoughts a little too hard when the feathers start popping up, and goes to take an elixir and calm down...

And there are no elixirs.

And she panics. She has no coping strategies for this. She doesn't even know what's going to happen to her, only that it's going to be really, really bad.

It has to be terrifying, and painful... and maybe, just a little bit deserved? This is the fate she forced upon Eda, after all.

We don't see any signs that she damaged the house after she turned, unlike the havoc Eda caused back in The Intruder. King runs to get help, because Eda or Luz would know what to do better than he does, and Raven Beast Lilith seems to pursue him, but she's not after him. She goes after Eda directly. There is no distraction (King also notes that light glyphs had no effect on her), there is no behaviour that can be explained as animal instinct. There is a violent, visceral anger, and instead of addressing its source, she flies out there to take it out on Eda.

This is why I don't buy the interpretation that Gwen started favouring Eda only after the curse. By that point, Lilith was an older teenager almost out of the house, and it's completely reasonable for the parents to be focusing more on the younger kid with a new mysterious illness. I think Eda was always the favourite, or at least got more attention in ways that made Lilith feel overlooked. Part of it was that Eda got in trouble more, whereas Lilith was usually quiet and well-behaved, so everyone just decided that Eda needed more help (which she didn't necessarily want) and Lilith needed none. Lilith got very good at needing nothing. So good that instead of talking to her sister about their impending duel, she decided to curse her in the dead of night instead. And then to keep it a secret until she found a way to undo it, because she never wants to upset anyone or cause a scene. And then to give 30 years of her life to an evil man's crooked system for nothing—less than nothing, she's only going to realize later.

Lilith's breakdown isn't about the fact Gwen is paying attention to Eda again. That's just the trigger for a lifetime of repressed emotions bursting to the surface all at once, and it's been coming for a while.

The Owl Beast seems to be mostly defending herself. At a few points she tries to flee, but the Raven Beast catches her. The Raven Beast is malicious, with exaggerated expressions of rage and what can only be described as cruel glee when she inflicts pain. This seems to come out of nowhere... but only if you haven't been paying attention to Lilith.

We know what Lilith is like at her worst. It wasn't even that long ago she threatened Luz's life in order to capture Eda. All while convinced that she was doing the right thing. She doesn't even have that shield now. She doesn't have much of anything, really, except her sister who refused to leave her out in the cold even after everything she's done. And this is how she repays that trust...?

We also know that Lilith wasn't in control of her actions as the Raven Beast. But that doesn't mean the beast was just doing beast things. I believe it was acting directly on Lilith's intrusive thoughts. Hurting Eda was her greatest shame, and the idea that she could do it again is a constant fear that she has. Unlike Eda, who has long been seen by others as a monster and had to fight her internalized shame about it, Lilith considers herself a monster while everyone around her is unaware of her inner turmoil. She's afraid of herself; she thinks her feelings are ugly and violent and unmanageable. And so that's what they became.

There was a sequence in the storyboards that was cut from the episode, presumably for time, where Gwendolyn tries to use a beastkeeping spell in order to communicate with her beast-daughters. It proves completely ineffective, so she goes to plan B, which is just trying to talk to them like a normal person (also in the boards, Gwen summons firebees to lift roof tiles for her to walk on, which I'm glad got changed to the tiles themselves being flying creatures. it's less distracting). There was something really affecting about watching her try to do things her own way one last time before finally admitting that she's failed the both of them. It painted the picture of this whole family who never talk about anything that's difficult or painful.

Then the scene plays out the way it does: Gwen's words get through to Eda, and allow her to finally face the beast and have an important revelation about herself.

And Lilith? Well, for all the violence she just showed, she breaks down in tears the second she is shown loving care.

When they've changed back, her anger is gone. There is no sign of the monster; there is only a sad, lonely woman who hasn't allowed herself to cry in so long that she almost forgot how. But she's safe now, and she's seen, and she's allowed this healthy expression of emotion. She collapses in the arms of her mother and sister.

After this, Lilith and Gwen had an off-screen conversation, where Lilith admitted she was the one to curse Eda, and decided that she was going to move back home. I could write a whole other post on that first point, but we've reached the end of the episode. I think a major reason why Lilith wanted to stay with mom and dad instead of with Eda is because she's afraid of hurting Eda again. Any time the curse acts up, she becomes a danger to the people around her, but especially to Eda, because of how much of her energy and guilt and shame has been focused around Eda over the years. She needs some time away while she figures out how to deal with the curse, to recover and build up her own identity. And of course, to build the relationship with her parents that she needed as a kid. Better late than never.

[wings-of-ink]

I'm excited for the new update, writing a book its self is hard and your attempting to write a IF which is like a book but so so much more complex! You should be proud of yourself and pat yourself on the back for how much you have written. To think about a comparison The Hobbit is made up of about 95 000 words and you have currently written about 237 000 words in the span of only a few chapters at the moment! It's honestly mind blowing how much IF creators write. Keep working hard and give yourself a pat on the back!

Putting it like that does really boggle my mind. Like, I know it's big but the scope is getting more insane to me as it becomes real. I've read other IFs that were over a million words and I always thought, how. I think I get it now, lol. I don't know how big this project will get, it may be close to that though.

I'll take your words to heart, Anon, I really appreciate them. I find a lot of joy in doing this and I'm pleased with it. *pat, pat, pat* ^_^

I had no idea The Hobbit was less than 100k words. I would have bet money that it was much bigger!

This is where we are sitting with chapter 4 included:

[wasyago]

some rambles about gillion trans headcanons and other stuff

im realizing that i write these posts because i have no one to talk about riptide with, so this is like a monolog that is meant to be a dialog? sort of? the point is, the thought process is unpredictable and this is just everything that goes through my head and not like a structural point or anything and some things are random and not uhhh pretty(?). i dont even know why im writing these disclaimers, no one cares probably?

anyway. so, if gillion was a trans man, how would that work?

did he know from the young age, before the elders even, that he was a boy? was it just an obvious thing for him and his family? was he loved and accepted? and when the elders took him away, did they accept him as well? did they even see him for a kid/a person he was, or did they only think about the prophecy and didn't care what gender The One was? when gillion got older, did he get his top surgery inside the walls of the palace without anyone questioning him or looking down upon? or did he have to sneak out? probably definitely not sneak out, im not sure gillion ever left the palace or seen the world outside much. did he even get top surgery?

that's an interesting question to me actually, because if tritons (in this campaign at least) hatch from eggs, do females even have bigger boobs? technically no, right? do they even have boobs? i mean, they do have chest muscles and stuff, but do they have nipples? the one time i drew gill without a shirt i didn't draw him any, so im gonna say "no" for now. sorry im huge bore when it comes to these types of questions, i don't even know why actually... is it weird?

uhh what was i talking about... so i guess yeah, if female and male tritons don't have that different of a body structure, gillion probably didn't even need a top surgery to begin with. and maybe he didn't experience much in terms of dysphoria, which honestly? good for him, he had enough going on already...

but if gillion wasn't trans before the elders? if he was fine with his gender, he was only five after all, he had better fiveyearold things to worry about. what happened after he was taken away? was it his own realization, just at an older age?

or was it forced on him by the elders? (its definitely a darker concept and would be out of character for the elders, but as an alternative universe I think its interesting as well). because "the chosen one", the hero of the prophecy, the one who will decide the fate of the world and who will protect the undersea, in the eyes of the elders could've only be a man (if they were misogynistic). and when they come to this family and they see a 5 y.o. girl, what can they feel except disappointment? they will try anyway though, because what are they supposed to do? and if they need a man for a prophecy they will get him one way or another...

again, a darker concept, and i think i like it like an au better than a headcanon for the main campaign. because it's ooc and brings up slightly different topics from the original.

at the end i think i wont headcanon gill as trans? (although who knows, maybe I'll come around eventually, we'll see) maybe as nonbinary or a secret third thing though. gillion to me doesn't feel like a "man" man, his gender is "a guy" i don't know how to explain it hdgsbbs (maybe im just projecting idk o_o)

I love it when people hc him as trans tho, its very sweet!!!!!!! and i believe he does have the top surgery scars in the official art? so like, pop off king lets go???? (actually i just checked and no he doesn't, but im gonna think he does anyway)

im a little scared to re read this post and i think i'll delete it later probably, but uhhh yeah... again, just rambling and thinking out loud (not out loud but you get what i mean. writing all this down or drawing something really helps me to think and figure things out, so that's why)

[the-heaminator]

11 for england, and anyone you fancy alongside >:)

11- "You're going to regret that." :D I went less feral than last time and forgot this in my drafts for a few months enjoyyyyyyy

(please comment por favor.)

(TW gore, cannibalism, romes shitty parenting)

Why did he have to fight?

Rome had named him Antinous, no one called him the name his mama gave him. He had all but forgotten it too, trying to find it was like slogging through a deep mire and it was not worth the trouble.

He hated fighting on orders. He had no choice though, he would not be fed if he lost, and he couldn’t stand hunger as well as he should do. Rome said his mama had spoiled him rotten, that was what he was told, but now he was strong because of it. Yet he always felt bad attacking that scrawny little runt from Britannia.

He was so small, and because he could never win, he was never fed, grown smaller, madder. Less and less human by the day.

And thus it repeated, it was growing impossible to lose against him, small, blonde and feral, all sparrow bones and gnashing teeth with very little substance behind it, Rome had tried and to an extent succeeded in civilising him. He had failed with the runt.

The thing still bared its teeth when scared, or angry, they were sharp little things, he looked like he carried illness, it was not hard to fight him, he was small and weak, and utterly battered by hunger.

Yet a mad little thing, it was a head and a half shorter than Antinous, but older, allegedly at least, practically a mute because his Latin was not good and was beat if he spoke in much else, he tried not to look at its eyes for too long.

Mouse had a brother, taller, stronger and older, but only barely, the runt only spoke with him in hushed whispers. He could beat the bigger one with ease too, neither had been given names yet, they had only been here for a short time, but long enough to be named surely?

 Rome could not be that indifferent to their existence, that was not wise, to ignore his most recent charges would be foolish. But as of yet he called the smaller one runt, because he was more mouse than man, a creature, afraid and skittish, ready to bite and snarl at the slightest touch.

Rome was watching now, he took some type of joy in watching them fight, he already knew the winner of course, it really was impossible for Antinous to lose, the runt could barely hold his gladius correctly and looked ready to collapse out of fear and exhaustion, Antinous was good with a gladius, the sword came from his people and all, he knew how to wield it.

It was insulting how little the runt even tried against him honestly, bared his belly and let Antinous do his worst, no doubt he would escape and go off to lick his wounds in the dark later. Like a frightened little puppy.

He hated such cowardice, he was not going to have his half-bred bastards to be cowards and weaklings, rolled over and took the blow, if he thought it would get him any amount of pity he was wrong.

It wouldn't, not if he was here, he could not afford to raise cowardice or pity. Antinous hated it for something different, he couldn’t bring himself to hurt him if the runt couldn't bring himself to fight.

No no no, he would not have this.

He almost squeaked when he was lifted from his side like an unruly little creature, there was some improvement in him, Rome noted, very little, but there was some. When speaking to him, he no longer snarled and just stayed quiet. Good, he had to learn obedience or he would not survive in such a world.

“Boy, why do you not fight?” He did not expect much of an answer, he only spoke his barbarian language readily, but he got an answer in Latin. Slow and heavy like cold honey.

“H-Hungry, no food.”

“You will only be fed if you win.” Flat, be all and end all “Antinous can attest to that.” 

Rome  turned over to him, blank-eyed and covered in mousey blood, he still needed training, and yelled “Don’t you, boy .” There was menace beneath those words and he almost bolted, he did not want to be here to witness whatever Rome was about to do to the mouse. But didn’t. He was not a coward.

“He can fight and is fed. You need to stop being a coward and fight." Rome knew it understood very little of what he said, too scared and starved and ill to even try. Once more he set him down to fight. Barely sinking into the sand under his feet.

He went in for the blow, and paused halfway through, no, he couldn’t. The mouse was standing now, but barely, a head shorter and so much thinner, how could he fight someone so much weaker than him? He had a heart yet, and it screamed at him that this was not right.

 So much weaker, it wouldn't even be good training for him. He could spare him. He could, he should, it was not worth a death, dying hurt, regenerating hurt more. And you needed food to regenerate. He was always utterly starved after he had to regenerate, and the mouse had no food.

He would be more starved than before, and then he would lose more fights, and then he would be fed less, and over, and over, and over….

It was not right, no.

But orders had to be followed or he would end up on the wrong side of the sword, he was not noble enough for such a thing, to die for someone like that, some thing rather, orders would have to be followed, it was best to not think of him as a boy, and think of it as a creature. He had fought many animals, this would be no different.

Thrust the sword and tore a hole, slashed and cut at his skin, his gladius went through like a hot knife through butter, he knew it would be easy, it always was. Yet it was always a surprise how little substance the mouse seemed to have to him, paper-thin skin and sparrow bones, no fat and barely enough meat to feed a stray mutt. Blood spilling onto the sand, and both of them wrinkled their nose, even Rome had to admit blood should not smell like that, dipped his fingers in the hole, and tasted the blood, it tasted wrong too. Human blood should taste like iron. This tasted bitter. Already rotting and he had been dead barely a moment.

Rome knew the boy could have spared it he knew that, but his mutt would not be falling with such a pathetic creature, he was better than that

   Yes. The mouse was pathetic, Antinous would keep telling himself that, over and over in his head till he believed it.

But it didn’t feel good, bile in his throat and a shiver in his hand. He felt powerful, yes, but the feeling made him ill and light-headed. Was this what being drunk with power felt like? How did Rome like this? It frightened him.

It was an odd feeling, terrifying, intoxicating, a dizzying concoction. Rome looked at him like he was a dog, his dog.

To make up for it today he decided to share his hard-won food with the runt once he was revived, Rome would not be pleased, but he would not kill him for it, hopefully.

Rome knew the boy lived for praise, like a dog, he didn’t often have to punish Antinous, a pat on the head and some food tamed him, a simple creature. He wouldn’t rebel, standing off to the side, covered in blood with a haunted look in his eyes. No matter how strong he was you could only be as ruthless as your heart let you, and the boy was still soft inside.

Looking down at the dead little mouse, gored through the abdomen, called Antinous over, forced him to look down at what he had done, his power “You will do great things, boy.”

“As you say, Master.” He could hear him swallow thickly, he didn’t cry, he was not a child.

He continued, staring down at the runt’s body, decaying faster than it should "You should have no place in your heart for pity, especially not for the weak.” 

He could see the boy wrestling with his mind, mouth slightly open before snapping shut again and thinking longer, fingers entwined and wringing, it wouldn’t wring out the blood, it had started to crust, mouth open again, Rome wanted to see if the boy was stupid enough to try and speak.

And he was, it was not his brightest moment “Forgive me, Master, but why do you make me fight the mouse, he is not well and if he keeps dying he will only get smaller and weaker. Why do you not feed him.”

Still soft in the mind. He looked at the child coldly, and then to the bleeding corpse on the ground. 

Always such a sight to see the small one heal, he was so fast, decaying faster than most, skin rotted fast and fell off in thick black clumps, blood dried and flies swarmed almost at double speed. Brittle bones bared themselves before he started to stitch himself back together, faster than the others too.

Flesh over his bones wove like a loom, thinner and weaker. But alive.

Painfully alive

He didn’t have it in him to get up and curled up in a pained little ball instead, licking his wounds surely, if he was to act more beast than man then he would be treated as such.

It made Antinous feel a little sick, to see the little thing shiver and suffer solely because he was just following orders, because he was too scared to do otherwise.

Rome’s eyes were cold “He is weak, yes, and he is sick, but why be soft with such a thing.” He was looking directly into Antinous’ eyes, “Would you rather he suffer now or suffer forever, finish him off now and he will not have to live like an animal.”

Antinous could feel Rome’s hand on his shoulder, it was a gentle grip yet.

“Besides, he is more animal than human, he is not like us. You are not like him. Pity is for the weak. Are you weak?”

He could feel the grip on his shoulder tightening, he could taste blood and he didn’t know why, swallowed thickly, he should not be afraid of his Master, but he was.

Rome could see the thoughts whirring in his head like a storm, “Then why don’t you name him?”

“Do you think he warrants a name, do you think he is enough of a person to deserve one.”

He felt his cheeks flush red, he should have kept his mouth shut…but well…he had already started to talk, what harm would a bit more be?

“Yes. He does. Sir.”

Rome did not expect such disagreement, not out of Antinous of all people, tightened his grip on the boy's shoulder till he heard him hiss in pain, he could draw blood, but chose against it, spoke so close to his ear that Antinous could feel his breath on his neck.

“Then what would you like to call him?”

Antinous had not genuinely given this thought, he hadn’t expected Rome to humour him, and now he was at a loss for words. Rome dug his fingers deeper into his shoulder, Antinous could feel the skin puncturing, it would have healed rapidly too, had Rome not kept the wound open.

Between the pain, he managed to hiss out “Ask him about it, Master, ask him his name.”

“He does not speak to me, if he wants to play a mute then why should I coax him out of it.” He withdrew his hand, Rome could see the blood stain his shirt.  “He is mine as you are mine, and did I ask for your name?”

He did have a point there, a nasty little point it was, but a point nonetheless.

“You did not.”

Rome was looking through him, he didn’t know why.

"You will regret asking that. Boy." His eyes fixed somewhere behind Antinous.

"Regret what?"

He found out when a sword bit into his throat and the world faded to black, the last thing Antinous saw were eyes greener than they should be.

Greener than any gemstone, any leaf, and they were as mad as they were green. Hungry

Antinous knew he had let his guard down, but could you blame him, he had thought he had disposed of the mouse, it hadn’t even tried to fight, he was now. 

To Rome fighting wasn’t the right word, attacking, desperation perhaps, he had indulged in human flesh  plenty before, the feeling of warm flesh under your fingers, blood pooling and desperate writhing was a feeling you could not match. But this was different.

Simply put this was gluttony, animalistic gluttony, the mouse gutted Antinous barehanded, holding up his heart to the sun like a spoil of war to Mars.

                                    Before biting into it.

Oh, the sweet joy of satisfying hunger left to fester for too long. He made such a pretty noise with his sharp little elbows buried in Antinious' chest. Rome would like to remember that sound. 

[caseylicious]

Hey! I have no clue if youre taking requests or not but. i love your writing and I was wondering If we could get a ROTTMNT Donnie x Reader who has hanahaki? It can be as angsty or as fluffy as you want it to be! i love your writing!! and I cant wait to read more!🐢✨

The One.

Summary: How does Donnie react to the reader with hanahaki?

Character: Donnie.

Reader: GENDER NEUTRAL

Relationship: CRUSH

Warnings: Mentions of puke/vomit, Development of depression(?), Negative comments towards oneself, Death.

A/N: I am so sorry for the long wait dearest. Hanahaki.. a disease that I find so beautiful yet so tragic. My favorites of everything. Though if we were to think realistically? I'm sure half of our generation's population would perish to such a thing. Also, I'd like for you as the reader to choose your own flower which you sadly cough out. Since I'm unsure to what flowers represents unrequited love and heartbreak. So sorry if it isn't long enough </3 sorry if the plot is kinda wacky, especially with the ending,, sorry if it seems lazy </3 Now wondering if people still read this stuff. Now with that out of the way, please as always do enjoy.

As always! Please, Enjoy 💐

[ If you have any constructive criticism or corrections for any of my English do let me know! :) ]

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 💐

Hanahaki Disease is a fictional disease where someone begins coughing up flower petals because they have unrequited feelings for someone. The flowers can grow in the stomach, lungs, or heart, though it is traditionally in the lungs. Hanahaki Disease is a painful, slow disease that often develops over months, if not years, and begins with coughing up a few petals, and grows in intensity and pain until the victim is coughing up entire flowers, at which point the disease has reached its final stages. If not treated, the disease is fatal.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 💐

You've had a crush on Donnie for long time. It honestly.. was quite shocking when you found yourself falling for a turtle out of all things, but hey. We don't judge here. April introduced you to the brothers and wow. It's not everyday you can tell someone "I'm going to go hang out with four giant turtles! Later!" It was a strange thought, Donatello? What about him was so interesting for you to feel like this? but you chose to embrace this warmth.

Recently, Donnie has been working on something big. Or at least, that's what he claims his amazing project to be. Nobody had any idea what it possibly could've been due to either disinterest or for how secrecy about this operation. Only you knew about it, which made you feel special.

"Y/N, I need your opinion on my excellence." Donnie spoke aloud for you to hear, snapping you out of your trance. You were on top of one of the spare chairs in his little laboratory. Which in your opinion was the most calmest out of places. The other brothers were just.. too much. No offense to them, just.. sometimes it was too much for you to handle. You could let yourself relax in this purple tinted room. You glanced from your hands then to the purple-coded mutant. "H.. huh? What?" Quickly taking notice of your lack of focus, he smirks. As a iron claw from his shell reaches out to pull your spinny-chair closer to him. "I just need your opinion on something. Nothing too big, could you do that?" You nodded, giving him a little smirk. "Is this about your spectacular project Don?" He rolled his eyes, "Of course it is Y/N. This has to be my biggest project yet." "Even bigger than Shelldon?" You nudged his shoulder gently as he was rummaging for what he wanted to show you. "Well.. obviously not, but it's up there." He then turned toward your direction as he pulled out two metallic boxes. One in a dark magenta and one in his brand of purple. One of them was more shinier, due to the hue. However the other seemed more aesthetically pleasing. With carved pictures of lavender on the cover. What did Donnie want to ask? "Which box looks better? The Magenta one or.. the purple one?"

You tilted your head a little, "This is your big project?" "I can kick you out of my lab y'know." You chuckled, mumbling a short apology before looking between the two.. thinking just for a second or two before pointing at the purple one. "That one. That's definitely the one." Donnie snickered quietly, rolled his eyes placing the boxes away. "Alright then, the purple one. Why that one necessarily? Why is that one.. The One?" He watched as you stretched and adjusted to put one leg on top of the other. He opened his mouth about to say something, assumedly to catch your attention, before you interrupted him. "Well.. purple is your color. It's special. It represents royalty, nobility, luxury, and power! Almost everything you are..." .. "But.. well y'know, because I like flowers.." For a moment there was silence, before he smiled out of satisfaction. His smile in a way made your chest feel warm... "Well, I'm flattered you feel that way. And yes, of course I'm luxurious in my craft. My creations powerful and mighty as I design them to be..." He leaned a little closer to you unknowingly. You felt your cheeks feel warm as you quickly looked between him and the floor. "Can I at least know what's this whole project is about?" He shrugged, "Wish I could, but I have to wait for the right time to take action..." You watched as he trailed off. Your hand slowly grabbed ahold of a simple wooden pencil, tapping the metal table one. "Don? What's up?"

His eyes trailed up, to make eye contact with you. ".. If I were to give this to somebody, what color do you think they'd like?" You blinked quietly, looking up at him "Well.. it really depends on the person..." He chuckled for a moment, glancing away from you. Bringing up a hand to scratch the back of his neck. "Well that's why I a-" He was quickly interrupted with Leo running throughout his room, "Don- Say- what do I do if I somehow broke.. shelldon?" ... "Again-?" Donnie quickly got up frantically, "How did you manage to break him again?!" "More or so malfunction- Not my fault-!!" "Leo!!" And off he went, running out of his lab to go fix his creation with Leo. You were left by yourself, as you quickly shoved your head into your hands. Why did you word your reason like that..?! God, that was so embarrassing. You bit the inside of your cheek suffering for a couple of minutes. Before the thought appeared in your head, ... What was he going to say?

That was only a couple months ago, you decided to ignore it. But it just kept bothering you... alongside the burning flame inside of you for one person, Donnie. What started as a small thought then slowly developed into something bigger throughout your mind; almost like wildfire. Your feelings somehow just came at once when you were around him. When you felt his fingers rub against yours when he reached for his toolbox, when he spoke to you, when he gave you the littlest of attention, his smile. The thought of Donnie alone danced through your mind, a duet just for the both of you.. oh how sweet that was...

That was until you've noticed how he acted around April. At first you ignored it, April and Donnie were strictly friends. If not at least platonic... right? You weren't insecure of yourself that much. You felt that you and Donnie were at a good point in your friendship to consider the both of you as close. But watching them laugh together made you upset. This was normal, there was no need for you to feel like this... but April was closer to him more than you were with Donnie, you don't really know how they met. They could've known each other since they were kids, they could've been secretly together without you knowing- now that was just foolish.

At first when you saw April around Donnie, you felt a small nab at your gut. At first it was simple jealousy. The jealousy you feel when your crush shows more interest in another person. You though that, surely this feeling would pass. It wasn't important, this was something you could most definitely overcome.. but as each week passed, you felt something building up in your gut. Until you saw Donnie showing off that special little box infront of April.. Wasn't that your special secret? Why is he showing her? No- Stop it. They're just friends. That didn't mean anything- your train of thought came to an abrupt stop when you suddenly felt the urge to puke.

You pushed yourself into your bathroom, quickly slamming the door shut. You frantically made your way to the sink, which was alone a whole struggle. Your vision was hazy, you were warm, everything just hurt. The stabbing that once was tolerable became a distraction, which soon became a jab into your throat. You couldn't breathe. Were you choking? You didn't know, you just desperately held onto the sides of the sink and coughed out whatever you could... You already felt like you were fighting for your life. What the hell was stuck in your throat? And finally, something came out. You gasped for a breath of fresh air. You could breathe.. it was only when you looked down you saw something truly horrific. "..O.. oh my god..."

Petals. You stared in horror to the petal and blood mixed vomit in the sink. How? How was this possible? There was no way that actually existed... You went to your local pharmacist to get a diagnosis just to be sure and you were right. You were diagnosed with the Hanahaki disease. They said that you were already so deep in this sickness. The only way to get rid of this disgraceful disease was to have a surgery performed on you, but that would mean to risk losing all your feelings for Donnie. You couldn't possibly do that, you'd rather sit in your own suffering than to forget how you felt for Donnie. So that's what you did. You tried to keep your distance, but April just kept bringing you to the lair. You could've said no, you could've avoided this whole mess together. Yet something inside of you kept telling you to go. Maybe it was the thought of Donnie or to avoid suspicion, you didn't really have a clue what it was. Nonetheless you kept going down, and seeing Donnie. You tried to look okay, but you struggled. Donnie was sure to notice, especially with the fact the pain that was in your lungs soon changed how you acted around them.

You always were somehow able to excuse yourself when it got bad though. It was a simple system of running to the Hamato bathroom when nobody was noticing. You felt ashamed of doing this without nobody knowing.. but what would Donnie think? You had nightmares of him becoming scared of you. You didn't want him to force himself to feel anything just for you to become better. You didn't want to act out on them any of them, but how could you not? You were in pain... Sooner or later this disease would win the fight and destroy you. You feared death, but.. Donnie... You just wanted was best for him. Even if he didn't ask for it, your insecurity clouded your line of thought. It clouded any consideration that maybe April, Donnie, anybody was worried for your mental being. How you felt. But that didn't matter. Soon your sickness took over your ability to move your arms, your legs, it hurt to even get up.

Your dear friend April stood outside your bedroom door. She had a spare key to your house, you just trusted her that much. Before this whole mess you two were inseparable in school... she was a kind girl, determined, perhaps had more in common with Donnie... No wonder he gave her his attention. "Y/N! Ready to go see the guys?" You quickly turned your head to the door, .. right. You were going to go see them. "C- coming..! Just have to put on my.. uhh.. shirt." "Well hurry up, don't want to keep them waiting!" Grabbing the graphic tee, you gulped. There were thorns blistering through your forearm, flowers dangerously close to blooming. You couldn't wear a shirt. You swiftly grabbed a sweatshirt, forcing it on. It stung to even rest properly in it as tears swelled in your eyes as you let out a sniffle. "Y/N? Are you cryng-?" It hurt to do anything... You lip quivered. This was pathetic; embarrassing. You couldn't do anything! April knocked on the side of your door, why was she even here? Was she mocking you? "Y/N, are you oka-" "Why are you even here?! Just leave! Get out-!" You quickly fell to your knees, covering your mouth one hand. As the other held tight to your stomach. You stayed like that for about a minute or so before you heard the door close. Once you've confirmed it was actually closed and locked, you immediately dropped to your knees and coughed out blood. Flower petals dropping from your mouth, mixed with blood. A burning agonizing sting filling your throat as you cried. She was gone. You pushed her away.. over what? Some stupid crush you have on a turtle?

A couple weeks passed as you chose to isolate yourself from the outside world. You just laid in bed, feeling vines grow inside of you. As the vines creeped through your bones. It was agonizing... was this how you were going to die? Laying in bed? Perhaps this was more preferred. Nobody needed to see what you have become. You felt like a monstrosity.. vines and leaves growing through your skin. Mixed-in with blood.. And besides, you were in the comfort of something familiar, your bedroom. God... how pathetic you were. At least Donnie wouldn't have to see you like this.. right?

... April knocked on the side of Donnie's lab door, watching Donnie turn to her. "Yo Don, could I talk to you?" He nodded, turning away from her to focus on his project. Letting her sit in the spare chair as she quickly spoke. "Do you know what's up with Y/N? They've been acting off lately." Donnie came to a pause, slowly glancing towards April. "No, I don't know what's wrong with them. Do you know?" April shook her head with a frown. "Last time I saw them, they seemed upset. I tried to leave them alone for a week.. but I don't know. I'm just worried." as they both sighed. Donnie crossed his arms letting the little claws from his battle shell continue on with his project for him. "I.. see. Have you tried calling them? They usually answer right?" April nodded, pulling out her phone to look at. Scrolling through her contacts before pressing on one with your name. "I've called them recently, they didn't answer. They always answer.." Donnie hummed, soon getting off his chair. "Well.. I have no clue what could possibly be keeping them away from the phone. I could try going out myself to see them. Though I can't guarantee they'll answer me." "Wait, before you go? Take this." She quickly walked over to Donnie, dropping a key into his hands. "It's their keys.. uhm, how do you plan on getting them to talk?" and Donnie sighs, pulling out the same box shown months ago. "I think now would be a good time to show them this." April quickly noticed what it was before nodding firmly, before she watched his battle shell become a jetpack. Flying him out of the sewers and towards your apartment.

You laid in your bed, feeling the moonlight hit your skin. You felt yourself fade away so very slowly. To see Donnie would be a curse.. or would it be a blessing? You didn't really have a clue how you'd feel anymore. It hurts to think about him. You sort of accepted your fate to end like this. Wherever you stepped, there was a loud crunch. Whenever you spoke, there was a tight squeeze around your neck. The petals always became more horrific, covered in blood and bone. You were fine dying like this though. Feeling yourself break down into nothing but flora. You could feel your last breathe coming, god this hurt-

"Y/N! Are you home!"

You heard a loud banging against your window. Your eyes widened in horror begging to any existing force that it wasn't who you thought it was.

"It's Donnie, my brothers and April were worried about you." ... "I was worried about you, can you please come out and talk?"

As you opened your mouth trying to get a word out, you suddenly felt your body burn. This may have been the worst pain you've ever felt throughout your whole illness. You couldn't even say anything, no matter how hard you tried. As your heart ached, the vines and thorns only became tighter. Stabbing into your muscle and popping veins. You choked on your blood and the thorns stabbing into your throat. Donnie panicked when he heard you whimper as he quickly attempted to break through your window. You shut your eyes tightly, wishing for this pain to go away. The last thing you hearing was the window shatter and fall to the floor. Donnie fell to the floor, quickly getting up. Only to be horrified to what he saw. It was your body, flowers bloomed out of your skin. He watched as another flower bloom out of your mouth. "Y/N..? Oh my god-"

He rushed to your side, looking at your pale skin.. He knew immediately what this was. This was Hanahaki, the deadly love disease those who were unfortunate enough suffered from. The realization itself was horrifying, alongside with your dead body. It was unsettling how a few seconds ago, he heard you choke on your blood and whimper, just to only then see your peaceful body. In your bedroom out of all places, you looked like you were asleep. He almost mistaken this to only be a bad dream, but he knew it wasn't. He felt a tear roll down his cheek as his breath stuttered. Donnie gently took out the box he had in his shell. Slowly looking down at it, the purple box had flowers engraved on the sides. A painful match to the flowers wrapped around your body, he slowly opened it as a butterfly flew out. Specifically in your favorite color, watching it glow and fly around before landing on the flower coming out of your mouth. As he fell to his knees, holding onto your frail delicate hand tightly. As he sobbed your name, mourning you. For never being to tell you how he felt. For how he loved you, and how you were The One so dear to his heart.

[starwarsmum]

Day 9 of the Maribat BioFamily September prompts! This one is Ransom 😊

@maribat-calendar-events

Marinette thought that the universe was being pretty unfair. It wasn't like she had been walking around Gotham, alone, and talking to anyone and everyone she came across. Well, okay, maybe it was a little like that, but she was Parisian and she believed that a little kindness went a long way, so she wasn't going to ignore the people she interacted with. 

And she was meant to be meeting up with Steph, but she had received a text to say she was running a little late because of a bank robbery so she didn't have a choice but to wait. The fact that she had headed to a coffee shop for a quick boost should be seen as responsible - she knew she would be struggling after staying up too late, so she went to get caffeine to keep herself alert! 

She just should not be blamed for the fact that Mr Freeze decided that particular coffee shop to come to. Hell, even villains need a caffeine fix, right? But apparently her picture had been making the rounds in Gotham because he had taken one look at her and recognised this as his next chance to extort a billionaire. 

“Listen, you know I'm not, like, Bruce Wayne's kid, right?” Marinette said, fiddling with the ropes that was binding her wrists. She had definitely turned on the tiny foreign kid act, flinching whenever one of the goons came near her, so they had tied her up much more loosely than they should have. She had already succeeded in freeing her hands and was rolling the rope to use later.

“But you are connected to them, are you not,” Freeze said, and Marinette couldn't think of a way to refute it without lying. He took her silence as acquiescence and decided he was safe to monologue. “Do not worry, child, as long as Mr Wayne pays me for your safety, you will be returned unharmed.”

“And if he doesn't?” She asked quietly, injecting a little fear into her voice. She was silently undoing the (admittedly loose enough to walk) rope around her feet, leaving it looped around them so that if he turned around all would seem the same. He didn't.

“You will still remain unharmed, but I cannot allow you to go home,” he said, and Marinette relaxed minutely, until he continued. “Perhaps you would do nicely in a cryotank, like my darling wife.”

She decided that she didn't have time to wait for someone else to come and save her. She waited a handful of minutes before asking in the most frightened voice she could for the bathroom. The villain grunted at the henchman standing closest to her and he hauled her to her feet. She made sure to shuffle as though still bound even though the rope had vanished into her hands as she stood.

As soon as they were out of sight of the others, Marinette span on her heel and slammed her fist into her guard's solar plexus. As he doubled over, gasping for breath, she slipped an arm around his neck and tightened into a stranglehold. The combination of her two attacks meant he put up very little resistance and she was soon a free agent. 

She took a moment to activate the homing beacon in her shoe’s sole before weighing the ropes in her hands. Her mind whirring as she thought about the room she had just left, she tied a knot in the end of the longer rope and swung it around experimentally. Pleased at the weight, she dragged the thug she had knocked out into a hidden corner and got to work.

_ _ _

When Marinette's beacon activated, Damian had been doing a workout in the cave. When he heard the alarm blare, he assumed Tim had been half asleep at a coffee shop and picked up by the Riddler or Scarecrow again. Honestly, the man was only slightly bigger than Damian and quite clearly an easy target.

The moment he saw that Marinette had activated her beacon, he felt an icy calm settle over him. He hardly remembered suiting up but he could feel his heart hammering against his ribcage as he shot along the streets on the R-Cycle. The warehouse that she was apparently held captive in was quiet, which instantly made him panic.

He didn't wait for backup, merely grappled onto the roof to see if he could find a discreet way into the building. When he slunk in through a skylight, he felt relief wash over him as he saw Marinette, standing unharmed in the centre of the room. He dropped silently into the room, approaching her with caution, and finally caught what she was saying.

“...unhealthy. I didn't stand for it when Hawkmoth tried to excuse his behaviour as ‘love for a comatose wife', and I won't stand for it here. If she's sick, she should be in a hospital. The world is made of both creation and destruction, what you are doing flies directly in the face of it,” she ranted, hands on her hips.

Damian finished his approach and placed a hand into Marinette's shoulder, meaning to convince her to leave. But he should have announced who it was because no sooner had his hand made contact with her shirt than she had stepped backwards and executed a half turn that ended with him on the floor.

“Da- Robin, what are you doing here?” She shrieked, dropping the arm she was gripping to allow him to get back up. He glanced towards Mr Freeze, who was sitting on the floor, his cold suit unmoving. Whatever Marinette had done to him, he wasn't going anywhere until someone moved him.

“We were alerted to an abduction,” Damian said, tone amused now that he knew she was okay. She gave him a sheepish smile and he resisted the urge to pull her close. “Did one of my associates already come by and free you?”

“Oh, um, maybe?” She replied, grinning cheekily up at him. He bit back an exasperated sigh and called for backup, wondering how on earth they would explain it if word got out that the newest Wayne associate had freed themselves from a kidnapping.

“How did you get caught up in this mess?” He asked eventually once Red Hood had appeared to drag Freeze away. As she recounted her tale, he couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him. He tried to explain himself before she became annoyed, but he could see the frown line in her brow. “It is just that Drake is often abducted from coffee shops and held for ransom - I did not realise it was a genetic trait.”

[upsidedownsmore]

Ohhh! I found you from your giveaway but I remember seeing your Hollow Knight x Warframe crossover and thinking it was really cool :D Love your art and thanks for the giveaway :D

Thank you so much!!! I'm really glad you like my stuff and participated in the giveaway!! :)

I was actually working on hollowframe Qorvex when I saw your ask, so here's a wip screenshot of where it's at currently! Lot's of background shading and coloring to do still but it's coming along nicely

Anyways sorry about this but I'm gonna hijack this ask to talk about hollowframe for a bit under the read line cause now I'm in a real reminiscent mood lol just bear with me

This hollowframe project really has gotten so much bigger than I thought it ever would when I first started. It really was just an idea for a longer term project to keep myself drawing during my pandemic slump in 2021. It's really hard for me to believe that it's been two and half years since I started lol.

At first they were just gonna be simple like this

and then I kinda just kept adding detail and color and

now it's like

lol

For the longest while I tried to be as style accurate as possible to challenge myself with character design elements and techniques. That provided me such a good wealth of practice and the reception to it was crazy.

Once I had caught up to the most recent frame though I started abandoning full style accuracy as I pushed myself to practice more advanced styles and techniques while waiting in between new frame releases.

It's honestly such a cool feeling being able to trace a lot of my art progression within a single project, as silly as a cross over like this can feel like at times lol. It's so funny how hard it is to explain to people outside of the fandom how important hollowframe has been for me and the development of my other projects, I legit don't know where I'd be at without this thing and that is such a wonderfully absurd but awesome feeling

Anyways sorry again for hijacking your ask! I guess it's just still such a surreal thing to meet people online who are familiar with my work lol. Thank you!! :)

[manyblinkinglights]

anytaur quarstion

Sorry im doing this thru a submission instead of an ask bc i want bigger text limit and also to insert images... clarity and allat. i hope thats ok...

Recently i got an actuual headset for vrc so that i could Physically Become the Beast of my Dreams. your rig is everything to me and makes me so so happy. ive wanted this forever. i cant thank you enough for this. main thing im having to fiddle with now in specific is forefoot pickup! didn't make much sense to bother with it back when i was desktop only but having tried it now with actual real hands, the whimsy is impeccable. hands still feel a bit weird though, and im almost certain i messed with something i shouldnt have in trying to set it up, so I thought it might make sense to ask you abt it considering you designed the system and probably have more insight! I'd try for figuring it out myself thru trial and error, but i am very new to vr and having to go in and out to tweak and rebuild avatar versions seems disastrously tiring. and i dont think i'd have much luck trying to fiddle with unity through a vr virtual desktop @~@ time is money....i miss unemployment...so I hoped this could expedite some of that trial+error+rebuilding time. maybe. god. longass preamble over.

point being: in the recent (~6mo ago...) setup videos you did, i feel like the "A" pose you got for your sample models is generally more "A" shaped than what my beast has procured. This may be on account of my beast being quite lanky and having long as hell forearms and quite short shoulders and upper arms. in addition, by default, just moving them down on the global y axis like on the script instructions, the SenseHand receivers end up in a weird position compared to the paws, atleast based on what i think i am picking up from the script instructions. image below.

please ignore the shit ass weight painting/distortion for the paw im new to doing 3d models, im honestly just impressed this thing exists at all.

anyways in the image (front isometric) the right paw (viewer's right not model's right) is set to the values you recommend in your setup video, and the other one is unchanged from default rotation just as a baseline i guess.

Anyways my real question boils down to: what might you recommend to focus on in tweaking forefoot pickup? would rotating thigh and/or shin pickups to better match an "A" pose make sense? Should I move the SenseHands on X axis to be more better "Held" like it says in the instructions? is it ok if the sensehands fall into the floor from "A" pose?

regardless, thank you for your time, dedication, and willingness to share both. this project has been living rent free in my brain ever since i first saw the vrc horse speedrun on youtube (exactly what i had been looking for after god knows how long looking around) and desperately checked your youtube page to see what else you'd been up to. i think that was around or just before when the LittleKitty port video was recent or new, so it's stuck with me for atleast 2 years and i hope to still interface with this rig for many more years to come! please dont feel pressured to a response either lol, i understand if you dont really have a good suggestion or answer. im sorry if i overwhelm you with wall of text. here is an image of the beast in action to hopefully warm the spirits MUCH LOVE!

[zestrya]

Siblings Rivalry

The Kamisato siblings were nothing less than perfect, or at least, that's what the rumours around the college said, by now you were aware that one should never trust such rumours mindlessly, especially since after being stuck between the Kamisato siblings themselves a number of times, you were now sure that their "perfection" was nothing but a rumour that people senseless spread.

pairing:: ayaka kamisato x gn!reader; ayato kamisato x gn!reader

cw:: none; colege!au, fluff.

notes:: have been with this idea rotting on my head for months now, grr, but ayaka gave me strength to post it now.

Ayato and Ayaka

— one would say they got along well, quite like a perfect family

— but those who knew the both of them for a bit longer would know that couldn't be farther from the truth

— being the type to argue over petty things, the both of them could be considered to be insufferable (by thomas's words)

— you on the other hand would rather say that they were simply... annoying

— usually they make both you and thoma pick sides, fuming in rage if you both try to keep things balanced

— ayaka choose you the strawberry frappe, but you'd much rather have the unnecessarily expensive expresso ayato recommended, wouldn't you? choose a latte, the mildness could be a nice change of pace

— ayato invited you to a business party, but oh my, ayaka's concert is on the very same day! actually you have a group project reunion that day, so sorry

— honestly, at times you just wished they wouldn't make things so much bigger than they actually are

— still, when you end up having to actually choose one side, be sure to make up to the other later, okay? or else they'll sulk for a whole week and it can be quite the headache

— they have a very good team work though

— years of playing pretend did make them learn about it better than anyone

—they're very good at keeping their potential rivals at bay by maintaining your schedule packed full

— when that doesn't work they can just make threats with a polite smile, scarily enough, it always seem to work

— but even with all that they're really good friends

— they try to make you feel at ease with them even if your upbringing is different from theirs

— if you ever feel burdened to accompany them to a party, they'll be sure to not insist

— instead, why don't you recommend them a place where the three of you could go together?

— ayato and ayaka will do anything in their power to make you feel better, and with the kamisato in their name, believe me, there's not much they can't do

— the siblings care greatly for both your wellbeing, so let them take care everything, won't you?

Ayaka Kamisato

— the sweet himegimi of the kamisato clan

— the very definition of purity, many may say

— you also believed in it before you got to know her for what she is

— your first encounter with her was with a theater piece you were participating under venti's urging

— “i won't let them use my work unless you participate as my muse” his smile gave away how amused he felt with the situation, even when he despised the thought of sharing works about you with someone else

— with much arguing venti let you off the hook of acting as a protagonist, instead playing the protagonist attendant

— the kamisato would play your original role instead, acting as your master and the center of the stage

—she helped you during all of the trainings with immense patience, you even felt bad for her

— but she was enjoying it far more than acting alone as usual, it was like having a real friend for the first time

— the training went by fast and when it finally came to the show day you felt as if you'd panic

— but then ayaka, like the saviour she was, took you hands in her and saying you'd do good and to just look at her if you, didn't know what to do

— and it surprisingly worked, the kamisato covered for your every mistake with perfection and no one seemed to notice

— after this you thought you'd never see her again, after all she was one of the most popular girls around the college

— but one day you just found her waiting for you in front of you class, deep blush painting her expression as she asked if you wanted to be friends with her

— heart attack! the only response you could offer was a quick nod, being as flustered as her

— when you accepted, she took your hands with the brightest smile you'd ever seen, quickly dragging you to get acquainted with her other friends

— she was still quite shy even after months of friendship, but she was surprisingly clingy with you

— everyone warmed up to you quite quickly, especially thoma, who instantly understood that his best friend may have a little crush on you

— days with her lean more on the calming side, her attitude reminding you of a curious kitten at times

— you get reminded really often of how she made part of a higher class of sorts whenever she was amazed by a simple coffee downtown or some hobbies of yours

— that however was kinda cute, since she was always eager to try anything with you

— thoma always tried to help the girl with her helpless flirting skills, setting up dates or ways to make her earn some points with you

— expect lots of hot pot parties upon thoma's urging, all of them who end in a sleepover on one of your houses

— but your obliviousness made the both of them speechless

— she'd invite you to every single show she was participating, at times even inviting you to watch her brother model and badmouth him

— she was really happy to just spend time beside you, but please, notice her intentions quickly

— she may not be able to maintain her perfect facade for long if you start to spend much more time with those she acknowledge as rivals

— and honestly, she fears so much you'd disapprove of her after she argues with someone you're friends with

— for now though, she'll be happy enough with hand feeding you with the highest class cakes and pastries she bought especially for you

Ayato Kamisato

— you wonder to this day how you even got friends with him

— you got acquainted with him considerably later than with ayaka, with reason too

— he's in his last year of political science, a major quite know for the growing animosity between it's students

— he got interested in you after he saw his own little sister wandering too much around someone, a little curiosity of sorts

— he dropped by one of your hot pot parties by chance to talk with thoma

— but the way his eyes sized you up the whole time he was there gave his intention away, that is, for ayaka and thoma at least

— being too intimidated by his presence you didn't even dare to look at his face the whole time

— after that uncomfortable first meeting you could only hope he wouldn't come to you, demanding you would get out of ayaka's life

— however the older kamisato head seemed to function in strange ways

— the next day he just appeared in front of the college with a luxury car, saying he wanted to talk with you

— you know, like a mafia boss

— and of course, you, scared shitless, ran like your life depended on it, leaving an utterly confused ayato there

— fortunately the misunderstandings were solved the next day while thoma poked fun at you for your reaction

— the friendship between you bloomed quite easily, as, despite his appearance, ayato was the friendly kind

— however he, differently from ayaka, couldn't seem to hide his diamond spoon nature

— if ayaka's curiosity for new things was cute, ayato's felt condescending

— he'd spew shit like "oh, so that's what common people usually eat"

— excuse me, sir? he said such things as if he didn't mix the most disgusting things into his drink daily

— though ayaka saw him as a rival, he wouldn't say he loves you, yk, like a liar

— dude has been seeking you out the whole day with that dumb lovestruck gaze of his

— also, the way he'd just nonchalantly give you expensive gifts at if it was nothing

— “it just made me remember of you, nothing much” this diamond encrusted locket that cost at least 7 months of a normal wage worker..? sure, if you say so

— honestly, man's whipped, he's just afraid to admit it

— don't take him wrong though, he'll try to pursue and do things right, just wait until he can calm his mind down first

— also, please, let ayato spoil you, he's not that good phrasing his affection for you, so intead let him show you off otherwise

— dressing you prettily/handsomely and taking you to a dinner night

— talking about unimportant things until the break of dawn

— he's way too fond of your presence, too bad you can't seem to notice it, don't worry though, for he has enough patience

— and otherwise, some dirty tricks to keep you bound to the kamisato's could work too

[bokettochild]

I'm back.

This was for Mother's Day, but I had another thing out that day and couldn't finish this one in time. Then rewrote this one. then merged the drafts, then had to adjust things, but here it is and now Violet's Mother has a name :)

I hope you enjoy!

(Full fic below the cut if you want to read it here and not on Ao3)

Violet's Mother

  There are incidents and then there are Violet Incidents.  

  There are other kinds as well, Four supposes, but those are limited in their types and usually just fall under the bigger category of ‘incidents’, since most of those situations only happen once. 

  One could debate that the Violet Incident has only happened twice, others might agree that the thing in the bar that hasn’t let Warriors and Legend look each other in the face since was something else entirely. Four, however, finds it easier to classify it under the umbrella of ‘Violet Incidents’ which he and Wind have agreed are any incidents that involve Legend pretending to be a woman in order to save someone’s ass. 

  In hindsight, they’re kind of funny. 

  They’re even more funny when he doesn’t have to do anything except stand there. Legend does most of the work honestly, and they follow along. Wind has played a part of course, always backing up Legend’s stories or feeding the vet what information he needs to make a believable performance, but Four has been blessed with only having to perform two simple tasks, and between Vio and Red, they’re quite easy: cry, and cling to Legend the moment the vet comes within his view. 

  Okay, so maybe the first time they hadn’t been planning on that, but they were genuinely overwhelmed, tired, and fighting a migraine, so clinging to the vet had been the most wonderful thought in the world at the moment because he was warm and safe and they could hide their eyes for a bit in his shoulder and just breath for a moment while he held them. The second time was definitely acting though, although Red still enjoyed it. Red always enjoys when they can trick someone into hugging them. 

  Not that it’s tricking if Legend did it of his own accord, but still, Red likes feeling like he’s had something to do with it, so they let him. 

  There are side effects too, in Violet Incidents. Legend and Warriors are always so tired looking when it’s over, and the vet more often than not spends hours afterwards just staring at nothing for a while, looking done with the world in general until he eventually passes out and curls up against whomever he’s sharing a bed with that night. 

  Not Warriors though. Never Warriors. Warriors and the vet avoid each other when these things happen. 

  They have good reason to. Twilight, once he knows what these incidents are (aka, after the second one) has taken to teasing them incessantly, and encouraging the rest of them to do the same. The rancher seems to take extreme pleasure in being able to make the knight flush and sigh and Legend brighten like a tomato and start snapping at him with only a few simple words. And Time never stops the rancher. If anything, he leaves the situation alone. Well, after asking Warriors in a teasing manner if the vet was going to be his step-mother, which earned their leader a twisted ear and granted them the beautiful sight of their old man getting scolded. 

  Other than that particular time though, most of them know better than to push those particular buttons. Sure, Hyrule grins and giggles and Wild laughs his fair share in the moment, but the lot of them have the good sense to not tease the quartet involved. After all, Nayru only knows when the day may come when they may be the one in need of the vet’s acting skills to save their ass, and none of them want to give the other any reason to think saving them would be a mistake. 

  Except Twilight, but Twilight's already had his turn, the whole thing being born from Legend trying to cover their asses and draw attention away from the feral rancher. For that reason, Twilight seems to not worry about needing another save, and it’s only Legend’s frequent threats to muzzle him that keeps the rancher in any ways at bay. 

  Honestly, he didn’t think the man was such a tease! 

  As for themselves, Four doesn’t tease the vet. No, goodness knows if the others all knew how many times he’s been in a market or village trying to handle something and got mistaken for a child, they’d never let him live it down. Legend’s covered his ass countless times in those incidents, assuring that he won’t tell if Four doesn’t about how many times Violet and her mother have had to make appearances throughout time so that Four doesn’t get dragged off by some worried adult who thought they found an abandoned or lost kid. 

  By now, they can’t even count on both hands how many times they’ve had to call Legend “mom” to get out of some sort of trouble. A random village in an era they couldn’t place, a street at night heading back to their inn, a forest lane outside of a town while they were scouting ahead. Legend’s saved their ass so, so many times by pulling out the mother act since that first time in the captain’s era. 

  The era they are now in. Still. 

  The incident at the bar was only a week or so ago. After it had been over, the captain and veteran had been only too eager to leave the town, find the stalfos encampment and take it out. Not that it had actually been that simple; fighting stalfos is more dangerous, arguably, than fighting the average monster. First of all, stalfos have no blood, so there’s no way to guess if they’re infected. Secondly, stalfos screams have the capacity to temporarily stun most living beings, which had meant that all of them, minus Wild, had been at a disadvantage. Hyrule and Legend had poured every ounce of their magic into holding temporary shields around the rest of the heroes, and that had negated some of the damage, but only so much. Fortunately, their being in a forest meant that the chances of fairies lurking about was greatly increased, and most of their injuries had been healed within moments, only light bruising and some muscle soreness remaining. 

  Unfortunately, fairies can’t do much of anything for magical exhaustion. 

  Their magical users have been dragging since as a result, and although Hyrule has recovered somewhat, their vet has not, and according to the traveler, that would be due to the fact that Legend’s magic stores are uncommonly low, and he’s been drawing more on his magical core than is healthy. 

  That’s probably why, after they got the letter asking them to come to castle town, Warriors insisted on all of them stopping to rest at an inn before he went to see his princess. 

  That’s where they are now anyway. It’s their first morning back in Castletown and Warriors is already fussing with his clothes, hair, and armor, pulling himself together while simultaneously looking like death warmed over (those stalfos really got a lot of damage on the man) as he struggles to both drink his coffee for the morning and get ready. 

  Time, sighing, crosses over to help him. “Her highness will understand if you can’t be there first thing, captain, don’t push yourself.” 

  Warriors makes some noncommittal noise into his mug before settling it down and returning to attempting to buckle on his pauldron with hands that shake far more than usual. 

  Their leader bats said hand to the side, buckling the thing on himself. “Warriors, breathe.” 

  “I’m breathing, Sprout.” 

  “While not doing anything else.” 

  One perfect brow arches as royal blue eyes fix their leader in place. “So, no sitting, standing, laying, moving, shifting-” 

  “You know what I mean.” Comes the returning sigh, Time looking entirely done. 

  Wind, sitting beside Four on one of the beds, giggles, leaning over to whisper to them, “Time did this all the time to him during the war.” 

  “Time?” They can’t exactly believe that, but Wind nods, smirking as Wars does the same at the leader who cuffs him over the head for his impudence. 

  “Yep. The things Mask would get up to,” the sailor giggles, “they make Violet Incidents look tame.” 

  The room as a whole pauses, and the eight heroes within turn to stare at the sailor. 

  Legend, blessedly, is still asleep in their second room, and according to Hyrule, shows no sign of waking for at least another couple of hours. Magical exhaustion, the traveler had assured all of them, nothing to be too worried about, although the sooner they could find a potion to help restore the vet’s magic, the better. 

  “A what incident?” Twilight, because of course it’s Twilight, asks, grinning that troublesome smile that usually only gets turned on their captain but now focuses its full strength on Wind, even as Warriors drops his head into his hands and sighs. 

  The sailor chuckles, well aware, Four thinks, of what he’s doing. “A ‘Violet Incident’.” He explains. “An incident where Four has to pretend to be Legend’s and Wars’ daughter.” Their definition is different, but Wind spares them that. Or tries too anyway. It doesn’t work. 

  “So, the one earlier this week…” Hyrule’s eyes flit to Warriors, smile apologetic but eyes glinting. 

  “Four wasn’t involved in that.” Sky points out, not exactly helpfully. 

  Warriors’ head hits the wall. 

  Twilight snickers. “Yeah, that was all our vet and the captain.” 

  “Well aware!” 

  Even they can’t help but smile at the man’s misery. Warriors hasn’t looked at or talked to Legend since it happened, with the sole exception of checking in on him after the battle was over, when Legend had nearly collapsed the minute the last monster had fallen. Even then though, Warriors was a flushing and awkward mess and Legend himself was all too eager to assure the man he was fine, just tired, no the blood wasn’t his so please for the love of Hylia go bother someone else!  

  Four can’t say they’ve ever seen Warriors move so quickly. 

  “That,” Wind proclaims, folding his hands in front of him like Dot does when she’s trying to look dignified, “also qualifies.” 

  “How?” Comes the responding question, but of course Wind already has an answer because the true definition is based on the vet’s suffering and not Four's own. 

  “Because all ‘Violet Incidents’ require Legend. If Legend saves your ass by pretending to be someone’s mother and or wife, it qualifies.” And there’s the real definition. 

  There’s a short pause, during which most of them exchange glances, but then Sky asks what seems to be on the minds of all of them. “Then if the deciding factor is Legend, why are the incident’s named after Four?” 

  They glare. 

  “Four’s fake name?” The skyloftian corrects. 

  “Because,” Wind answers, shrugging, “Legend doesn’t exactly have a fake name. I mean,” and yes, the sailor’s grinning at Warriors, but the captain can’t see so it’s not like Wind is going to be held accountable for it, “other than Missus Taylor.” 

  “I regret telling you my last name,” Warriors groans, dragging a hand over his face as though he no longer gives a crap how he looks. Honestly, they’d be shocked if that was the first thing in his mind right now. 

  “You have a last name?” Hyrule breathes, startled. 

  “Everyone in my era does,” the captain explains, “there’s too many people to not. It gets confusing without. Now,” he claps his hands and turn to the rest of them, eyes dead and face almost Time’s disapproving glare, “we have other things to be doing today than speculating on what Legend’s ‘fake name’ should be.” The man stumbles just a bit while saying that, and Twilight chortles just a bit at the sound, earning him the full force of the captain’s stare, which, for once, actually does nothing. Still, the man continues. “Her highness has asked that I report to Hyrule Castle to explain… recent developments-” 

  “Meaning the news story about his marriage.” Hyrule whispers to Sky, just loud enough that the rest of them can hear.  

  Except Wars. Either the captain doesn’t hear, or he chooses to ignore it, because he just keeps speaking. “-and give her a progress report on our investigation. Time,” he turns to the man in question, “if you could come with me?” 

  “Of course.” As leader, the old man will need to be there to act as Warriors’ back-up and fill in anything the captain may or may not miss. Wars is good, but his focus is more analytical. Time may have noticed something outside of the captain’s report that he thinks will be important, and even if he hasn’t, having someone there to back Wars up is probably for the best. 

  “Twilight too,” their captain adds, turning to said rancher with a look that borders very closely on ‘open your mouth I dare you’. Their rivalry, or whatever they have between them, has always been interesting to watch, and while they’re closer to Twilight than the captain, in this case, they would take Warriors’ side, no questions asked.  

  After all, they suffer too when Twilight brings up ‘Violet Incidents’, and he’s been doing it frequently. 

  Still, that doesn’t exactly explain why the rancher needs to come. “Me?”” he asks, “why?” 

  “Because there’s a stack of paperwork sitting on my desk that is entirely existent because you can’t keep your teeth to yourself,” the captain growls. “If I have to suffer because of you, I’m dragging you down with me.” 

  “Sounds fair to me!” Sky chirps, pausing in doling out the breakfast Wild had made them. “What about the rest of us?” 

  Warriors’ face lightens dramatically as he turns from the rancher to Sky, smiling just a bit, still tired but genuine, at the younger knight. “You six are free to do what you want. I’d like to ask for as little chaos as possible, but knowing you lot, that’s out of the question. Still, maybe with the farmers out of the picture, civilized behavior has a better chance of prevailing.” 

  “I’m right here,” Hyrule teases, kicking his legs lazily as he perches on the other bed in the room.  

  “You,” Warriors grins, close enough to reach over and ruffle the traveler’s hair, which he does, “aren’t a farmer. You’re a feral little gremlin, but you also know how to not draw attention to yourself, which is really all I’m asking here.” 

  “So, we can do whatever we want,” the traveler surmises, “as long as we’re not caught?” His eyes glint wildly. 

  “And as long as you don’t break any major laws,” Warriors agrees, which seems to be a very loose request, but they can only imagine what Time and Wind have done to Wars in the past for his standards to be so low now, “then yes.” 

  They’re not even sure how to feel about the fact that Sky smiles at that. They don’t have time to figure it out though, because Warriors turns from musing Hyrule’s hair to stare at them and Wind, hand dropping to the bag at his belt for a moment before pulling out a smaller rupee pouch, not unlike their own. “As for you two,” the captain announces, “I have a request.” 

  Oh? What could the captain want? 

  The pouch is handed to them. Not tossed, handed; Warriors watching that it reaches Four’s hands carefully before he continues speaking. “Take this, and when Legend wakes up, because Nayru knows he’ll refuse to sit still until I get back, go out on the town and have some fun.” And then, to follow up while looking Wind dead in the eye “tame fun. Remember, vet’s still exhausted.” 

  They blink up at him. “Are you asking us to babysit Legend?”  

  The mere thought is laughable quite honestly. Legend, out of all of them, is the one least in need of someone to make sure he’s taken care of or behaving. Wild and Hyrule may be survivors, and Time and Warriors may be leaders, but Legend is a veteran, and he’s been doing this longer than any of them can imagine. Trying to tell anyone that the vet needs someone to keep him out of trouble is like… well honestly, they can’t think of anything more absurd than that. 

  Fortunately, that doesn’t appear to be what Warriors means, the man shaking his head at them with a small smile. A real, tired, but fond smile. 

  It’s the realest kind of Warriors smile, Red thinks. 

  “No, of course not. This is,” the man pauses, considering his words, “this is me trying to pay Legend back, in a way. I can’t do it by myself, but I know you two probably feel the same way, so I’m asking you two to handle it while I take care of things at the castle. Does that make sense? Take him by the market, grab lunch together. Tell him it’s on me.” 

  That’s... Pretty generous. More so when they open the bag and see how much is inside.  

  “Holy shit!” Wind starts, whipping up to stare at the captain. “I thought you were broke!” 

  The man laughs, reaching over to ruffle blonde curls. “I was, in Legend’s Hyrule, because I hadn’t been paid in months. Arty sent this with her summons though.” 

  “This is your paycheck?” 

  “A fraction of it,” the captain smiles, lopsided and warm. “I get paid pretty well, being a soldier and a hero and all.” 

  “I wish we got paid,” someone sighs, playfully dramatic. 

  They kind of wish they did too, but they’re pretty sure the only reason Warriors is, is because he joined them by assignment of his princess, unlike the rest of them who kind of just went through the portals of their own accord when they appeared in their eras. They’re not complaining though. Since Warriors is technically on assignment, when he’s paid, he’s often been the one to foot the bill for things like inn rooms, potions, and supplies, citing it as “mission expenses” which he’ll be paid back for later. 

  It works for them. 

  “So, will you do it?” They forgot he’s still waiting for an answer. 

  Wind, however, has not. “Sure thing, cap’n.” A playful salute joins the words, and they mimic it because, why not? “We’ll do our best to give the vet a great time!” 

  “Good,” another hair ruffle, and then one for them too, “I knew I could count on you two,” the captain beams. 

  They’re not sure how they feel about the warmth that blossoms up inside them at the sight. 

  “What about us four?” Wild protests, playfully offended. 

  “Us Four,” they correct, pointing to themselves. Time is the only one to chuckle. 

  Ah well, one day they’ll get the joke. 

  “The rest of you,” Warriors answers, straightening up, and goddesses does he look regal when he’s standing at his full height, all made up to go to the castle, “are to stay out of this.” The man’s brow furrows, disapproval and judgment clear and making Green want to smile. “I don’t trust you to not tease the vet about why I’m thanking him.” 

  Which is fair, all things considered, what with all the teasing from Twilight. Again, most of the others know better, but only when it comes to Legend, and Warriors can’t escape it, so it would make sense he’s wary about what it’s like when he’s not around. 

  No one contests it though, the three eldest depart without a hitch later that morning. Shortly after, Sky and Hyrule decide to head off into town to pick up some more potions and explore the area. To their surprise, Wild seems more interested in staying here at the inn, organizing his inventory and taking up nearly all of one of their two inn rooms to do so. 

  That’s okay though. They head to the other room, Wind on their tail, and sit and discuss where to go until Legend eventually blinks awake. 

  The vet, true to the captain’s prediction, has no intention of staying in. In fact, he seems pretty ticked that he’d not been included in planning the day with the rest of them and that he has to be filled in after nearly everyone else has left. He’s also ticked at himself for sleeping in, but Wind doesn’t let that last long.  

  Wind, bright, sunshiny Wind who everyone knows Legend has a soft spot for, quickly diverts Legend’s attention by telling him that they want to go to the market and could he please, please come with them? All the other adult heroes are busy and while Four can, no one will believe that Four’s not a kid. 

  Once upon a time, they would have had some words on that topic, but in the wake of the Violet Incidents, there is now overwhelming proof that Wind is, tragically, correct. 

  “Fine,” Legend agrees, looking away from Wind’s pleading gaze (which can out match even Red’s somehow, quite amazingly). “Let me get dressed first at least, kiddo, yeesh.” 

  Wind waits exactly as long as it takes for the vet to throw on the rest of his clothes before grabbing ahold of the man’s hand, and then Four’s own, and all but dragging them to the door. 

  They laugh, and Legend chuckles just a bit, holding onto his hat as he lets the youngest of their group direct him out of the door and towards some street or another. 

  They have to remind themselves that Wind used to live in this world, for a short while, and does, in fact, know where he’s going. They’re not going to get lost. 

  And they don’t. Wind leads them to the market, and while Legend seems skeptical at first about spending a day “just shopping and having fun” he accepts it eventually, mostly after they convince him that Warriors is paying and there’s not anything else for them to do. 

  They do have fun too. Legend apparently has never tried doing this before, but between their own efforts and Wind’s, they manage to take the elder hero about the town to a few shops and stalls. The bookshop is their favorite, and Legend’s too, or so they had thought, but once Wind takes them to an odds-and-ends store they know in an instant, and are quite right, that it has the vet’s full attention faster than anything off the battlefield.  

  Somehow, from there, it becomes a contest. They don’t exactly say as much to each other, but Wind and Four are competitive, and it’s only natural that they begin to make a game out of who can find a place that will make Legend’s eyes blow the widest or smile tilt just a little more towards genuine. 

  It’s fun. Not just the competition, but just… spending time with Wind and Legend.  

  They play a few games (learning in the process that Legend’s a crack shot at the archery booth), visit more than just a few shops, which, surprisingly allow them to mess around a bit. It’s Legend who suggests they pop into a costume shop, “for fun” and though they don’t buy anything (well, they don’t, but Legend certainly does), the three of them do have a lot of fun trying things on. 

  Honestly, they’ve never seen Legend smile as wide as when they were in there. Messing around, playing, being silly. For someone who can’t meet Warriors eyes after pretending to be his wife, Legend is surprisingly open to dressing in even the most ridiculous of outfits. 

  “You should see the ones I have at home,” the vet chuckles, wriggling back out of a pumpkin costume that Wind had dared him to try on. Four has no clue why the thing exists, but Wind had begged to take a photo to tease Twilight with and the vet had happily obliged. 

  Wind eyes sparkle as his picture prints out and he looks it over, but more so as they look up to their older brother. “Really? What’s the craziest one you have?” 

  The fact that Legend has to pause and think, and then checks himself each time he tries to answer, definitely says something. In the end though, the vet shrugs, smiling as he accepts the next ridiculous costume that Four hands him. “Quite frankly, I don’t think I could name just one. They’re all pretty bizarre.” And he promises, when they ask, to let them see sometime. “Probably not until we’re at the ranch though, or my house.”  

  Still, that’s better than nothing. 

  “Can I take photos of those ones too?” Wind asks, readying his picto-box for another picture, this time with Four as the smithy finishes pulling on the silly hat he’d found in one of the boxes around the shop. 

  Legend laughs, bright and clear and hilariously squeaky. “Sure, sailor. Whatever makes you happy.” 

  “Well in that case-” and whatever dastardly thought the teen has is cut off by the sound of his stomach, making the younger flush slightly. 

  Legend’s face softens just the slightest bit, smile more a smirk now, but the usual one, not the mean one. It’s Legend’s normal playful-face. “Shall we get lunch next then?” 

  “I think,” Four corrects, “that would be ‘brunch’. I know you haven’t eaten anything yet at least.” 

  “Two gremlins pulled me out of the inn before I had the chance.” The words are delivered with a tweak to their ears that makes Four squeak.  

  They leave the shop shortly after. Legend had found a bunny themed outfit that he claimed was “too Ravio not to buy for him” and so they’d visited the counter briefly. The man there, an elderly fellow, smiles at them as he rings them up, handing over the outfit with a wink. “It’s so nice to see a lovely family like yours in here. Do come again!” 

  They don’t think anything about the fact that he gives them a discount either, a bargain is a bargain as Legend always says, but then they reach the restaurant that Wind’s been insisting is “the best in all Castletown!” and they’re met with a similar sentiment, although this time in far more familiar phrasing. 

  “How lovely,” the lady at the front greets as the two smaller heroes drag Legend inside, the vet still smiling just a bit, “welcome in, folks!” And then she does the most infuriating thing and leans over to look him and Wind in the eyes, smiling condescendingly at them. “Have you two brought your mum in for our Mother’s Day special?” 

  And, well… they kind of have. They didn’t know there was a special of course, but once again, a deal is a deal and while Legend isn’t exactly their mom… 

  It doesn’t really matter. Especially not when someone at another table looks around and spies them, and immediately starts waving. “Hello there, Missus Taylor! Hello Violet!” 

  Green, internally, groans as they are recognized. Fortunately, Red takes the forefront and waves back, smiling shyly to the lady at the table and earning a soft coo in return. 

  “Missus Taylor?” The greeter starts slightly, standing up straight and looking Legend in the face, all surprise and chipperness even as the vet flushes a bit and tries to offer a smile. “Why, it’s an honour, madame! Your husband has done so much for all of us! Please, wait just a moment and I’ll get you a table as soon as possible!” 

  As soon as possible, it would seem, turns out to be within a few minutes, during which Wind and Four share a look and agree as one to apologize once there aren’t so many eyes on them. 

  This was supposed to be a day to make up for Legend having to play this role, not another Incident. It would seem, however, there’s not much chance of escaping these sorts of things. 

  “Should we go somewhere else?” Wind asks, glancing up at the vet as the lady from the front comes to lead them towards the back. 

  The veteran looks exhausted, but he shakes his head. “It’s not the end of the world. You said the foods good, right?” 

  It’s telling that he doesn’t complain more. 

  They make a note to make sure and pick up some magic potions before leaving- No, to stock up on potions to keep on hand. Maybe if Legend’s magical core is in better shape he will be too, and they owe him at least that much after what he does for them. And since apparently paying him back means taking up the role again, they kind of owe him even more now. 

  The place is nice at least. It’s rustic and charming, and checkerboard tablecloths are spread over little wooden tables throughout the room, stools set around and flowers sitting in centerpieces all around. They’re all made up of roses right now, with little decorated place cards that say “Happy Mother’s Day”.  

  The place is stuffed full, and there’s not much room between the tables, but they’re given one in the back, out of the worst of the bustle and shouting between patrons. They’d guess the table is probably kept aside for special guests, and for once, thank the fact that they’ve been mistaken for Warriors’ wife and kids because apparently the man has enough celebrity status to be given VIP treatment without a second thought. 

  “You’re right, this place is pretty nice,” Legend observes, still smiling that tired, but real smile as they settle down and the server assures them she’ll be right back to get their orders. Legend’s smile and Warriors’ have the same qualities these days, warm and weary, but genuine, and they’re glad to see it even if they do wish it was the bright and playful thing from the costume shop. 

  “Wars used to bring us here when the war was over,” Wind informs them, glancing over the carefully hand-written menu that’s been left on the table. 

  “He did?” 

  “Yeah,” the sailor glances around absently. “They were still trying to figure out how to send us all home, so in the meantime he took Time and I, and a few other friends, here to have dinner. The food is the best.” 

  “Any recommendations?” And there’s the playfulness they were hoping to see.  

  Wind grins right back, cocking his head on one side as he considers. “I know I’m always partial to the sea food dishes, but knowing your taste…” they’re not sure if Wind closes his eyes in thought as a conscious action or not, but it’s really kind of cute, “I think, this will please you.” And the sailor points to the listing for some sort of rich stew and savory bread that’s on the menu. 

  They take a look for themselves and when the server comes back they all have their orders, although Legend is the one who makes them, since apparently he is, once more, their mother today. 

  On Mother's Day. 

�� The irony is sort of killing them, and Vio is having trouble not making them smile. 

  It gets harder still when the lady taking their order smiles and tells them that their current Mother’s Day special includes a half-off meal for mother’s and a free dessert. “Kids under ten eat free as well!” 

  And well, a deal is a deal, right? And Wind did say it first! 

  “I’m eight!” Red pipes up, “does that mean I count?” 

  “Yes, of course.” The woman beams at them, and then glances up to Wind expectantly. 

  The sailor flushes, mouth opening- 

  “My big brother is fourteen!” Red continues. Because yes, this is, in a way, a slight vengeance against the sailor for getting them involved at the market in his world. To cover a theft no less. By pirates, as Blue was only too frustrated to hear. 

  Their whole thing before being known as a hero was that they handled pirates, and knowing they aided in a raid, in any small way, triggers just the slightest bit of frustration with the most outspoken of their facets. 

  “Alright then!” The server chirps, and then recounts their order, offers Four another adoring and extremely condescending smile, and then heads off to the kitchen. 

  Legend chuckles. “Really F-”  

  “Violet,” Wind corrects softly, glancing around warily. 

  The vet pauses, checking himself before nodding and repeating, now corrected, with what he was going to say. “Really, Violet, you aren’t going to let your brother eat free?” 

  Dang, if Legend slipped form his role, he really must be tired! They’ve seen him play their mother half-asleep and with his eyes shut! 

  They, however, are perfectly capable of staying in character, which is definitely why they stick their tongue out at the sailor. Definitely. 

  Legend laughs, soft and warm, and shakes his head. “You two. I don’t know what I’m going to do with you.” 

  It’s honestly such a mom thing to say that they’re not sure if the vet is acting or being serious. 

  And hey, they weren’t exactly planning on acting during their meal, but also, they aren’t exactly? Red is sort of just taking the lead and rather than being reserved as they normally would be, they just sort of… let themselves be silly. They let themselves drop the mature adult facade and be a kid because, hey, Violet is supposed to be eight, right? They can act like a kid and no one, not even the vet or Wind, will think twice of it! 

  And Wind is doing the same thing. The sailor isn’t trying to act like an adult either, or prove himself, and, even though they’re sort of supposed to be here to help the vet relax, it kind of feels like they’re the ones getting a break too here. 

  Well, until some kid starts insulting the vet. 

  “Who are you?” It’s some child from the table next to theirs, watching them with wide eyes and a little pout of thought on their face. The boy would almost be cute, they think, if not for the haughty look he keeps shooting at them. 

  “I’m Violet.” Red answers back, and barely contains a giggle because, hey, that’s what Blue used to call Vio when he was mad at him! 

  The other boy glances over at the vet and sailor, who are currently looking up at the wall decor around them and exchanging thoughts on it.  

  Artists. They’re not sure what they expected.  

  “Who are they?” 

  “That’s my momma and my big brother.” They’re almost tempted to complete the nonsense and name Wind as their big sister, but apparently the sailor is about as well known in this time as its own hero is. 

  The other child smirks. “That’s your mom? She’s tiny!” 

  Considering the child’s own mother- or who they presume to be his mother considering she’s sitting with him- is a very tall and muscular looking woman, the kid does have a bit of a point. Still, as someone with a height problem themselves, they’re not about to accept someone mocking their mother- er- brother. “She is not!” 

  “Is so.” 

  Are they really arguing with a child? 

  Yes, Blue declares, yes they are. 

  “Well,” they cross their arms as they stare down the distance between their two tables at the other child, “that’s just because she’s compact awesome.” An excuse that their father has murmured many a time in teasing tones to them, usually while tugging their hair, but which they’ve grown sort of attached to. 

  The vet spares them a short, very confused, glance. 

  The other child, the boy, glances at the vet again, staring for a very long while before shaking his head. “No.” 

  “She is.” They tilt their chin up just a bit, flashing a grin.  

  “My mom is cooler.” 

  Excuse? 

  “Not possible,” they smirk, “my mom can fight a lynel.” 

  “My mom’s a soldier.” 

  “My mom fought Ganon.” 

  “My mom fought Cia.” 

  Okay, now this kid is really getting on their nerves. It’s not even that they have anything against the woman seated at the other table and happily chattering with some other adults. They’re sure she might be an amazing person, all told, but something inside them is insisting- nay, demanding, that they not allow this slander to stand. 

  “Well, my mom can do magic.” 

  The other child’s eyes widen just a bit, glancing at the vet who is subtly watching them with a look of confusion on his face. Heck, even Wind is staring, mouthing a silent “what are you doing?” to them. But they’ve taken the steps and they’re not exactly about to let a child best them. Or insult the vet.  

  Said child, however, seems to hold similar convictions, looking back at them with a scowl on their little face. “Nuh uh.” 

  “She can,” they grin. “She can make plants bloom and die and she can talk to animals.” They have seen the vet do stuff like that after all. “And,” they continue, smirking as they look down their nose at the kid (and should they really be feeling so satisfied they can look down on a child?) “my momma can use holy magic.” 

  “Prove it!” Comes the little terror’s squeaking reply. 

  They scowl back. “Why, can’t your mama do magic?” 

  The pout on the child’s face would imply that no, their mother is not, in fact, capable of that. 

  Four grins. “Oh. Well, that’s okay. Can your mama sing like a bird? Mine can.”  

  The kid glances up at their mother, who’s deep laughter rings over the restaurant as she continues talking with another woman. He very much doubts the woman sings very sweetly. Oh, she may have a nice voice, but it’s not siren song quality. 

   “My momma can.” They continue, sitting back on their stool and grinning wider. “She sings like an angel to help us all sleep. And my momma gives the best hugs.” A little boney, to be sure, but the few times the vet has hugged them, usually while acting, it came with the overwhelming weight of his magic settling over them in a protective barrier. That was one of the two reasons they’d so eagerly climbed into his arms during the first ‘Incident’. The second was exhaustion and a migraine, but the magic had helped that too. They’re being honest though. In this group, it’s rare to get a hug from the others. Except Wind, but Wind is a kid and they feel responsibility when hugging him. Legend’s hugs don’t make them feel responsible for someone, they make them feel like it’s okay to not be responsible for a little bit. 

  “She really does,” Wind pipes up, apparently deciding he’s getting in on this now. “It feels like all scary stuff just melts away when our mom hugs us.” 

  They’re not sure if they’re imagining the flush on the vet’s face or not as Wind beams at the man. Regardless, though, the vet coughs softly, a silent request for them to leave the situation alone. 

  As proved in the past, many, many times, they are not good at following orders. 

  “Our mama makes stuff for us too. She fixes all our broken things and shows us how to do it too, so we can know stuff.” 

  “And she-” and well, they kind of just wrack their brain for every single thing they can think of that they like about Legend, or things that he can do or has done, and they watch the other kid’s pout turn more and more prominent even as Legend’s face turns progressively more and more red. It’s almost a game, again. Wind is grinning and they’re smiling back, and while there’s a third competitor here, that competitor is clearly losing as the two young heroes go back and forth trying to see who can make the vet flush the darkest with their praises of him. 

  And maybe, this isn’t exactly what Wars meant about showing Legend their appreciation and thanks, but it’s the thought that counts, right? And maybe the soft little smile the man hides behind his hand means that the vet does appreciate it, even if he’s all flustered by how they express their thanks. 

  There’s no audience this time, which makes things easier. There’s no crowd of people watching and judging. In the moment, there’s only a mere child to stand against and speak to, but it feels like the best performance they’ve ever given. Well, other than their treachery, but that was all Vio and this one is more Blue and Red.  

  It’s a pity, they mourn to themselves, that more people aren’t witness to this particular act. That they can’t share the flushing face of their big brother and the pout of the child and the grins on the faces of Wind and themself with all of the others. They think Warriors at the very least would enjoy seeing it. And Hyrule too, Hyrule loves to praise the vet. And Sky, Sky would love nudging Legend with one of those grins as he watches the other hero flush, teasing softly and telling him that it was all true and he shouldn’t get embarrassed, only to earn a kick under the table or some such response from a most likely wordless hero. 

  The only audience they have, instead, is the mother of the other child, who looks up after a moment, smiling at them and then turning to Legend with something warm and kind. “Somebody’s been making an impression on her little ones,” she compliments, warm and rich and sweet and so kind as the vet starts to look at her. Her smile is bright and even for her size she exudes a sense of warmth and safety as she winks at their vet. “Sounds like you're doing a great job there. Your kids love you very much, don’t they?” 

  The vet, somehow, flushes deeper, even as Four and Wind make a point of loudly agreeing with her that “yes, she’s the best mom ever!” and “she’s awesome!” even as the vet reaches a hand to rub at the back of his neck in that familiar nervous tick that they all have. 

  “I try.” 

  “You’re doing great.” The woman laughs, “Miss?” 

  The vet starts a bit, and they’re not sure how he somehow pulls a name out on the spot, but he did that for them too. “Kit.”  

  “You’re doing great, Kit,” the other mother praises, winking, and then turns back to her own child and reminds him to turn around and eat his meal. 

  Their own meal arrives shortly after, but Legend’s face is so busy hiding in his hands, ears burning red, that he doesn’t seem to notice until the younger heroes are very nearly through with their food. 

  He denies it all later. Won’t talk about it, won’t hear a word about being “touched” except to roll his eyes and call them touched in the head, all while another flush settles over him at the mere thought. 

  When Warriors asks how it went though, they tell him. They may or may not take especial pleasure in recounting the compliments and the flushing and the “other mom’s” encouragement, but it draws another of those real smiles to the captain’s face, earns some rich laughter and trembling shoulders as blue eyes lift for the first time in forever to settle on the figure of their vet, sitting across the room and working over his sword. 

  When they glance back though, following the captain's gaze, they’re greeted with the sight of Legend smiling softly to himself, flushed, but they can tell somehow that he’s pleased. 

  All in all, they’d call their mission successful. 

  And on Mother’s Day of all days too. Even Warriors can’t deny the humor of that.