#watched twilight again for the first time since it came out

[harrowson--ford]

Oh forgot to post this here. Twilight au but cracked

[sskk-manifesto]

What a good episode. Maaaaaan

[girlinthebrightbluejeans]

And I am once again trying to recreate bella swan's eyeshadow look -__-

[powdermelonkeg]

TotK theory, do NOT read until you’ve beaten the Dragon Tears quest:

We never actually see the Golden Goddesses in past games. We see effigies of them, like the three Oscars flying into the sky in Ocarina of Time, or the three identical Hylian statues surrounding the Triforce in Twilight Princess, or the three pearl-holding statues in Wind Waker.

We meet their oracles in Ages and Secrets, and help those oracles get houses in Minish Cap. We meet their agents, the Twilight Princess Light Spirits, or the Skyward Sword dragons, or the three protectors of the Goddess Pearls in WW.

Even in Skyward Sword, we only see their symbols, despite being in the time arguably closest to them.

And now, in present day, when only Hylia is still worshiped, we have Dinraal, Naydra, and Farosh. And thanks to Zeldra, we know how they came to be, to an extent.

We know they used to be mortal.

We know they had incredible power.

We know they sacrificed it for something.

A big question that’s always burned me since Skyward Sword is why did the goddesses leave?

Hylia didn’t. She stayed to help, stayed to fight until her last breath, then was reborn to try it again.

It always used to strike me as particularly cold of them that they’d ignore their youngest sister, even with all the power they clearly had at their disposal.

But what if they literally couldn’t help?

To become an immortal dragon is to lose oneself. They wouldn’t have even been aware.

Of course, why would an immortal goddess need to become an immortal dragon in the first place? Don’t they have everything?

Here’s my theory.

In TotK, we’re repeatedly told that the Zonai, when they descended, were praised as gods for their powers. And we know the Secret Stones amplify that power.

Coupled with the fact that we never see any consistent portrayal of the High Trio—

I think Din, Nayru, and Farore were Zonai.

I think they’re revered as gods because they descended from the heavens, as the Zonai were said to have been.

I think that their powers involved the terraforming they did to the world to make it habitable.

I think that Demise lived on the surface first, with the malice, with the gloom, and that the golden trio stopped his conquest of the surface peoples by force.

I think they swallowed their secret stones to keep them from being taken by Demise, since we now know what someone with even a fraction of his power is capable of doing.

I think when they became dragons, the power they shed in their wake coalesced into the Triforce.

I think Demise, when he waged war on the surface peoples afterwards, emerged from the Depths.

I think that Skyloft was Hylia knowing that the sky has always been safe, always been out of reach, and repurposing the lowest of the Zonai isles to protect them. Even though we know the Goddess Statue was on the surface originally, we don’t know where the rest of the isles came from—the Hylians rose with the statue, but spread to the other islands.

And I think that Demise telling Link that Zelda’s form pales in comparison to the magnificence of her former self is referring to the youngest Zonai sister’s former appearance. Because what a downgrade it must have seemed to him to watch one of the most powerful beings in the world, the one that sealed him away, turn herself into one of his prey.

[skyward-floored]

Whumptober Day 28 - No-holds-barred beatdown, exposure, used as bait

CONTINUATION TO DAY 13 go read that one if you haven’t (or if you need a refresher it’s been so long lol)

Hi I'm still kicking <3 only three left after this, I WILL be finishing these, NO MATTER WHAT RAAAAAH. my goal is to be done before the 15th but we'll see how that goes. I'm going to try 😓

The prompts used aren’t the best, but they were the only ones that even vaguely fit lol. The third one doesn’t even come into effect until the very end. Also this was only going to be one more part. but. they kept talking.

Warnings: violence, injury, a handful of previous warnings from day 13

Day 13

ao3 link

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Sky and Warriors woke up at the same time.

Twilight stirred from his spot on the ground, having let his mind wander as he’d waited. His body still ached a bit, and it wasn't helped by his stint on the cold floor, but he sat up anyway as Warriors’ eyelids fluttered, and a squeaky moan came from Time’s back, Sky’s tail flicking. Twilight looked between the two, then went to Sky first, since strangely enough it seemed like he was waking up faster.

Legend sat next to Warriors, saying something to him as he woke, and Time watched the two with slightly narrowed eyes. He looked at Twilight as he walked up, flicking an ear as Warriors let out a disbelieving noise and Legend squawked angrily.

“Here,” Time said, carefully leaning over and sliding Sky off his back. “I’m going to go make sure Legend doesn’t bite him. And that the captain doesn’t stomp our veteran by accident. Or on purpose.”

Twilight nodded, and sat down next to Sky as his blue eyes flickered open.

“Easy Sky,” Twilight woofed as he moved a little, and Sky twitched his nose.

“Ow...” he groaned, and Twilight gave his ear a gentle lick. “...Oh, hey rancher... why’re you so big?” he asked blearily, squinting as he tried to sit up. His paws slipped out from under him though, and Sky stared at them in bewilderment, the expression honestly adorable on his furry face. He wiggled a few toes, and stared at the fur and claws, blinking in shock.

“Rancher?” Sky repeated in more of an alarmed voice. “What’s going on?”

“Short version? We all got turned into animals,” Twilight admitted, giving Sky a little push with his snout in order to help him sit up when he tried again. “We fell down here and all transformed somehow. You’re one of those cat things on your island, a... was it a remake?”

“A remlit,” Sky corrected, sounding a little calmer, but still disturbed. He studied his paws, and tilted his head back, trying to look at his ears and tail. “Huh. Just like Legend that one time. Those... women did this to us?”

“Yep, the creepy voice ones. Or something down here did, we’re not exactly sure. But it’s their fault somehow,” Twilight confirmed, and watched intently as Sky shakily stood up, paws trembling. “You feeling okay?”

“Yeah, I’m— yeah. This is just... weird,” he admitted. “I... this was dark magic, wasn’t it?”

“We think so, yeah.”

Sky frowned and looked around the dark cave, large ears swiveling, and both he and Twilight jumped as they heard a distressed whinny. Twilight whirled around, and saw Warriors attempting to get to his hooves, his legs wobbling underneath him.

“Easy Captain, don’t move too quickly,” Time warned, and Warriors snorted, tossing his head.

“Don’t ‘easy’ me, I’m not staying like this a moment longer than I have to!” Warriors said, nearly falling over. “Horses are fine, I like horses, but I don’t want to be one!”

“Actually you’re a unicorn,” Legend said helpfully, and Warriors huffed angrily as Time moved to his side, helping to steady him.

“Right. I’m a horse with a big pointy stick on my head. Wonderful.”

“At least you can stab things,” Legend continued, nose twitching in amusement. “You didn’t have a weapon before, and now you do. Besides, I think the horn really compliments your flowing locks.”

“I could almost say the same,” Warriors snorted. “Flowing locks indeed. Finally the mystery of the pink hair is solved. I wouldn’t have guessed a bunny rabbit would be the cause but you—”

“Now see here—”

“All right, that’s enough,” Time said with a sharp look at the both of them. “Captain, are you feeling all right? We all saw how rough that transformation was.”

“I’m fine,” Warriors mumbled, pawing at the floor.

Twilight glanced back at Sky, who was sniffing at the scratches on his side with a wince on his face. He’d managed to stand by himself though, and so Twilight moved over to Warriors, the captain’s legs still wobbling.

“Relax Captain, we’re going to fix this,” Twilight reassured, and Warriors made another annoyed sound, his tail swishing.

“So long as we don’t need opposable thumbs,” he said. Twilight sighed.

“We’ll manage, Captain. I know this isn’t ideal, but we’ll figure it out.”

“Easy for you to say, you’re used to having four legs,” Warriors said in a sharp voice, and Twilight flattened his ears in annoyance.

“I’m stuck like this too, Captain. Just because I’m more used to four legs doesn’t mean I don’t want my regular ones back,” Twilight snapped, his worry and fear at the whole situation abruptly bursting out. “Now if you’re done arguing with Legend we still don’t know where half our group is, so if you’re able to walk without falling over let’s get going.”

Warriors blinked, obviously taken aback, and Twilight turned away from Time’s frown and stuck his nose up in the air to sniff for any more familiar scents.

The faintest hint of one that wasn’t rock or cave smell wafted by his nose, and Twilight turned in a slow circle, trying to pinpoint it. He caught a bigger whiff, and gestured with his head.

“I think I found someone else,” he said, and Time hummed in a growly way.

“Are you guys ready to move?” Legend asked, looking askance at both Sky and Warriors. Sky hesitated, his legs still wobbly, but when he walked around in a small circle he was able to keep his footing. Warriors gave a curt nod, his legs looking steadier, and he didn’t look over at Twilight.

Twilight felt a little sting of shame, but he swallowed it back. He could apologize later.

“This way,” he said, turning into the darkness, and the others followed along behind him, Warriors’ hooves clicking against the stone floor.

They kept the pace slow, in respect for both small and unsteady legs. Twilight felt impatience simmer under his fur, but he knew he couldn’t just run ahead. He was currently one of their few lines of defense, and who knew how many monsters might be around down here?

Sky and Legend walked together beside him, Sky asking questions about being an animal, Legend answering as well as he could. Warriors was obviously listening in as well, and Twilight even noticed Time’s ear swivel back when Legend started in on ways he dealt with fights.

Twilight... probably ought to be giving tips as well, he certainly had plenty of knowledge to draw on. But he was intent on following the scent, keeping a nose out for any others, watching for monsters, and also looking for a way out. Legend could handle the crash course in being an animal.

What a disaster.

Twilight sighed and kept sniffling, trying to identify exactly who’s scent it was he was following. He stepped past a couple large rocks that glowed faintly green, and as the scent grew steadily stronger, Twilight suddenly paused, his stomach sinking. Even with the strange overtone to it, he suddenly knew exactly who’s scent he was following.

He bolted, leaving the others behind, knowing the source of the scent was close. Twilight turned a corner, intently sniffing, and sure enough a few moments later his paw bumped into a small, grey-blue creature.

Twilight froze, and lowered himself to the floor, almost not believing what he was seeing.

“Oh boy... champion?” he asked, nuzzling gently at him. Wild don’t move, unconscious, and Twilight gave his head a small lick. “Hey, wake up for me?”

A chirrupy groan came from Wild’s still form, and his eyelids flickered, blues resting hazily on Twilight’s face.

“Mm... Twi?” he mumbled, ears twitching. “Where... ow... why does my whole body hurt?”

Twilight winced. “Well, it ah... might have to do with the fact that you’re a squirrel.”

Wild blinked slowly, his gaze still bleary. He flicked his ears again, twitched his tail once, then jerked to his feet with a completely flabbergasted expression.

“A WHAT?!” he yelped right as the others all rounded the corner and caught sight of him. Legend took one look at Wild’s bushy tail before his face cracked into a huge grin.

“Champion you’re— you’re a squirrel!” Legend spluttered, then burst into uproarious laughter, looking at Wild with pure glee on his face. “That’s the best thing I’ve seen all day!”

“IT’S NOT FUNNY!” Wild screeched, his fluffy tail sticking straight up. He looked a solid mixture of offended and freaked out. “WHAT’S FUNNY ABOUT TURNING INTO A SQUIRREL?!”

“It’s hilarious, actually,” Legend cackled, wheezing as he fell backwards, nearly tripping Sky. “A squirrel! No wonder you’re such a hoarder!”

Legend burst into another peal of laughter, and Wild stumbled backwards, every bit of him tense. Twilight moved towards him, and Wild let out a panicked little chirp.

“Wild, it’s okay,” Sky said, and Wild twitched his nose as Twilight gently nuzzled his head. He could hear Wild’s tiny heart beating like a drum.

“Are you hurt at all?” Time asked, and Wild shook his head, his tail lowering a little.

“No, I’m fine. I just... no. Don’t like this.”

Wild swiped a paw over his face as his nose twitched again, and Twilight very firmly held back the urge to laugh. Now was not the time, even if Wild being a squirrel was admittedly... rather hilarious. At least on par with Legend being a rabbit.

Maybe Farore has a sense of humor.

“Hey, you’ve just gotta adjust,” Legend said as he gave himself a shake, finally getting ahold of himself. “Just think how it could be worse. You could be a bug or something.”

“But I’m a squirrel!” Wild chittered frantically, his tail whirling all over the place. “I’m tiny! I’m defenseless! I can’t even hold a weapon like this!”

“Wow. What a hardship,” Legend said in a deadpan. “Being a small mostly-defenseless woodland creature.”

Wild opened his mouth to retort, then slowly closed it again, staring at Legend like he hadn’t truly looked at him until now.

“Oh. Uh... you’re... a pink blupee thing?”

“A rabbit. We all got transformed, Wild, calm down. I’m sure we'll be able to fix it,” Twilight reassured, and Wild groaned, pulling his tail over his face.

“I hate this. No thank you. Nope.”

“Join the club,” Warriors sighed, and Twilight sat down beside the little ball that was currently Wild, giving him another lick. Wild uncurled a little, looking at Twilight with thinly-hidden panic in his eyes, and Twilight’s chest tightened. Wild rarely looked so rattled.

“You’re sure you’re not hurt?” he asked quietly, and Wild nodded.

“Just sore,” he said quietly. “That transformation was awful. Is... everyone else okay?”

“We don’t know. We haven’t found everyone yet,” Twilight explained with a sigh. “No sign of Hyrule, Wind, or Four.”

“But I’m sure we’ll find them,” Sky said hopefully, his large ears spread wide. “If nothing else I’ll be able to hear them with these big old things.”

Time chuckled, and Wild’s tail flicked around, the champion obviously still distressed. But he took a deep breath and sat up, determination in his eyes. Sky watched Wild’s tail swish around as he studied everybody’s animal forms, Sky’s pupils going wide, and suddenly shot out a paw to bap at it.

Wild jumped, and Sky immediately drew back, spouting apologies.

“Sorry! Sorry It caught my attention and I was just going to watch it but then I... I don’t know why I did that,” he finished in bewilderment.

Time let out a huff from nearby. “Instincts. Never know when they’re going to kick in. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve eaten rocks without thinking.”

Twilight wasn’t the only one who gave him a strange look at that.

Unfortunately none of them got to press the question, since right as Twilight opened his mouth to ask, a loud rumbling sound came from somewhere in the cave, the ground shaking under their feet.

Warriors stumbled, and Sky and Wild both fell over, the cave shaking so violently Twilight wondered if it was about to fall on their heads. He quickly positioned himself over the smallest members of the group, but the shaking abruptly stilled, and the cave went deathly quiet.

Then Twilight growled as a familiar voice suddenly spoke.

“You have all faced the magic and come out unbroken. You have passed the first stage,” the croaking voice echoed through the cave. “The second stage still remains. Survive and we will collect the chosen downstream at the crystal waters.”

“Good luck! I can’t wait for you to finish,” the other voice said excitedly, and Twilight saw Warriors flinch.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Legend growled, and Twilight saw Sky’s claws slide out.

“Return us to our normal bodies!” Warriors shouted, the whinny echoing off the walls.

“I don’t think she can understand you,” Wild pointed out, then raised himself to his hind legs, showing off the sword-shaped patch of white on his belly. “Here— RETURN US TO OUR NORMAL BODIES YOU CULTY FREAKS!”

There was no reply.

“I doubt she liked being called a freak,” Time said dryly.

“Yeah, probably not. But still. Rude,” Legend sniffed. “Guess we’ll just survive phase two then.”

“We need to find the others,” Twilight spoke up, unable to keep the worry from his voice. “Now.“

“She said we all survived the magic though, doesn’t that mean they’re all okay?” Wild spoke up, and Sky’s tail flicked worriedly.

“She didn’t say anything about other dangers, though.”

As if summoned, a monster’s howl rang through the tunnels, and everyone stiffened, heads turning toward the sound.

“Wild, Legend, on Twilight’s back, Sky, you sit on Time, we’ll save the most time,” Warriors said quickly, and Legend helped Wild scramble up onto Twilight’s back, Sky carefully moving to sit on Time’s. “I’d... take one of you, but I don’t know how steady I can keep myself.”

“I’ve got them,” Twilight reassured, noticing the frustration on Warriors’ face. Warriors met his gaze, and Twilight lowered his head, ears flicking down. An apology for earlier.

Warriors looked at him a moment, then nodded back, apologizing as well.

Twilight breathed out, a little of the nauseating emotions rolling around in him easing a bit. He may be tired, cold, hungry, in pain and worried, but that was no excuse to take it out on Warriors.

They needed to work together to get out of this mess.

They all rushed off, Warriors having trouble going at a pace much faster than a walk, but pushing himself anyway. That had been a victorious sort of monster cry, and they didn’t have time to waste. Even if Warriors kept tripping on his hooves and barely catching himself.

“So,” Wild said after a minute, and Twilight flicked an ear to show he was listening. “How come you and the old man are wolves while the rest of us are... everything else?”

“I was wondering that too,” Legend spoke up. “...I still think it’s beyond unfair.”

“I don’t know why,” Twilight admitted. “Your form says something about your person, they reflect your spirit... or it does in my case. Even though the circumstances are weird, I’m guessing it’s the same for the rest of you. I guess mine and Time’s just happen to be similar.”

“And I’m a squirrel,” Wild grumbled, and Twilight sighed.

“Yeah. Squirrels aren’t so bad though. They’re hardy, smart, good at climbing, jumping... besides, we can’t all be unicorns,” Twilight pointed out as he hopped over a rock, and Wild and Legend both let out small huffs of laughter.

“I guess not. Still pretty strange there’s so much variety,” Wild hummed. “I would’ve guessed we’d all be wolves.”

He was quiet for several seconds, and Twilight turned his attention back to navigating through the dark cave.

“...Wait a second, if our animal forms reflect us, and Legend is a bunny—”

“Don��t you dare finish that thought.”

Wild chittered out a laugh.

His amusement faded when another snarl echoed through the caves though, and Twilight exchanged a glance with Time, trotting even faster. If anyone was hurt because they couldn’t get to them in time, Twilight didn’t know what he would do.

The green rocks increased in frequency around them, the darkness of cave a bit less intense. Twilight could hear water now, and regular grumbles and snorts that sounded like monsters. Time caught Warriors when he tripped again, and they all ran down the sloping passageway.

They turned a corner, and Twilight’s eyes went wide.

An underground stream flowed in front of them, wide, but fast, water a crystalline blue so bright it looked unnatural. More of those green rocks were scattered in and around the water, and though Twilight couldn’t see colors the best as a wolf, he could tell the mix of them was rather pretty.

But more important than the water or rocks was the group of moblins on the other side, one dragging a motionless deer behind it, another trying to bat away something running around by its feet.

“Hey!” Wild shouted, and leapt off of Twilight’s back, rushing over to the stream and attempting to hop across the rocks. His paws skidded on the slippery stone, but he managed to hang on and keep going. Twilight barked for Legend to hold on, and jumped into the water, quickly swimming across.

The water was achingly cold, but Twilight ignored it and Legend’s small squeak of dismay, paddling as fast as he could. The current wasn’t too fast for him, and Twilight leapt onto the shore right as a moblin kicked the small figure at its feet, making it squeal in pain.

Whoever it was went flying, and Twilight lunged for the moblin, teeth bared. Legend clung to his fur as he bowled the moblin over, and Twilight heard Time snarl as well, a different monster screeching in pain.

The disgusting tang of monster blood got in his mouth as he snapped at the moblin, but Twilight didn't let go until it let out a dying gurgle and went limp. He raised his head, watching Time struggle with his own moblin, Sky trying to help where he could, and also saw Warriors hurriedly trying to cross the water beside Wild.

Nobody had reached the moblin dragging the deer by the leg though, and Twilight whirled towards it, leaping at the beast with his fangs bared.

It saw him coming, and dodged his lunge to its neck, Twilight’s teeth closing around its arm instead. It snarled in anger as it dropped the deer, then raised a large club above its head, eyes glinting maliciously. Twilight knew he wouldn’t be able to move in time to avoid it, but then Legend leapt off his back, attaching himself to the moblin’s face and scratching and kicking at it furiously.

It screeched, and Twilight bit it on the wrist, making it drop its weapon. The moblin gave its head a violent shake and Legend went flying, but the opening was what Twilight needed to leap forward and finally bury his teeth in its neck.

He heard a splash behind him, fear ratcheting into his throat, but he couldn’t let go until the moblin fell still and it was stubbornly refusing to do so.

Come on, die already! Twilight thought with a snarl, abruptly twisting his head to the side.

A sickening crack rang out, and the moblin finally fell still, its tongue lolling. Twilight felt a lurch in his stomach at the more violent instinct he’d given into, but he swallowed it back and spat blood from his mouth.

He turned back to the water, and felt a quick flicker of relief as he saw Time standing over Legend's limp form, viciously attacking anything that came nearby. There were only three moblins left now, and Warriors was attempting to handle the other two, Wild goading them on and distracting them while Warriors attacked with his hooves and horn.

Which just left the question of where Sky and the other animal had gone.

Twilight whined anxiously, looking around the bloody shore for any sign of them. There was a lot going on, but he was sure that he would’ve noticed one or the both of them being hurt.

Twilight suddenly saw splashing, and he hurried over to the water, ears pricking as he saw a lithe shape struggling towards the shore, Sky’s large ears visible beside it. Twilight leaned way out, prepared to jump in if necessary, and when both heads dipped below the water, Twilight quickly splashed in and gently snatched them both by the scruff.

He dragged them to shore and set them down, then frantically sniffed the both of them, Sky's scratches reopened, the other animal's tail bleeding.

“Are you two okay?” Twilight barked urgently, and the lithe, creamy colored animal nodded shakily as he scooted closer to Sky.

“I’m good,” Wind’s voice chirped tiredly from it, turning his head so that Twilight got a good look at the swirl of blue on his head and back. “Or good enough. This... is so weird.”

“Yeah,” Twilight agreed, then turned his attention to Sky, the poor remlit panting with exhaustion in a soggy heap on the ground. “You good buddy?”

“Give... me... a sec...” Sky coughed, a shiver running through him.

Twilight nodded, and glanced back at the battle just in time to see a moblin charging for them, eyes crazed.

Wind squealed in alarm and Twilight leapt to intercept the monster, snapping at its neck. Somehow it managed to dodge the attack, and abruptly slammed its club into his side, making Twilight yelp in pain.

He was knocked to the ground, but despite the pain he got back up almost instantly. The moblin was running for Sky, and a feral snarl escaped Twilight as he leapt back at the moblin again. This time he managed to knock it off-balance, and Twilight and the moblin went sprawling to the ground, snarls and the snapping of teeth ringing through the cave as they struggled.

Twilight ignored the sharp ache ringing up his side and focused only on taking down the moblin that had been charging for Wind and Sky. It gave as good as it got, and Twilight was already scratched and kicked and sorely aching when the moblin suddenly raked its claws into his muzzle.

A sharp sting ripped across his face, and Twilight yelped in pain as he reeled back, tears welling in his eyes.

“Twilight!”

Something snapped in Twilight, and despite the sharp pain, he lunged back in again, snapping ferociously at the moblin’s neck. He clawed and tore and shook the monster under him, and it wasn’t until something pressed against his side and shouted his name that Twilight realized the moblin had gone still, and it was silent in the cave once more.

Twilight stumbled back, panting as blood dripped from his face and mouth, staring at the ripped-up moblin below him. It was barely recognizable, and bile rose in his throat, shame and disgust slamming into him. Something suddenly butted gently against his side, and Twilight wearily raised his head, seeing Time looking at him with alarm in his eye.

The older hero was gently supporting him, and Twilight wondered why before he suddenly realized his legs were trembling.

“I’m okay,” Twilight said finally, sitting down with a whine at the pain in his side and face. At Time’s incredulous look, Twilight huffed. “Seriously, I am. Nothing’s broken, just bruised, I can tell.”

“Bruised ribs are no joke,” Warriors said as he walked by, but he didn’t stop to bother Twilight about it further. He was making his way over to the deer, who was still lying ominously still on the ground. Legend at least had stirred nearby, but he looked a little dazed, a paw held close to his chest.

Fear lurched through him and Twilight struggled back to his feet, Time still supporting his side, and he walked slowly over to Legend and the deer.

Time didn’t further question his injuries, but Twilight could feel his gaze on him as they made a brief detour for Twilight to wash some of the blood from his mouth.

I get it old man, you’re worried.

Twilight swallowed, the taste of blood still in his mouth.

I am too.

They made it to where Warriors had gone, and Twilight sat down with a huff, the others all gathered around in a loose circle. Twilight looked around at them all, bloody, disturbed, weary and damp, and lowered his head down to rest on his paws.

Are we anywhere close to getting out of here?

Twilight breathed out slowly, and tilted his head to look at the deer, a light brown and with a few speckles of pale green scattered around on his back and face. Warriors knelt beside him, and gave the deer and Legend both as much of a look-over as he could.

Wind scampered past, his feet making little paps on the floor, and he sniffed at the deer, then looked fearfully at Warriors.

“Is Hyrule okay?” he asked, fur still a little damp.

“Yes, Hyrule is okay,” a voice groaned, and Twilight turned to see the deer raise its head, blinking dizzily. “Ow.”

"Traveler!" Legend and Wind said at the same time, both looking relieved.

“Careful,” Warriors warned, but Hyrule shifted around anyway, moving like he was going to stand up.

He immediately toppled over when he tried, his hooves going everywhere, and Wind let out a sympathetic little noise. Hyrule blinked, attempting to correct himself, and when he failed, stared up at the near zoo standing around him.

“Um. So why do I have four feet and feel like I got doused in dark magic?” Hyrule asked, sounding surprisingly unconcerned. “Also... why’s there a unicorn just standing there?”

“That’s me,” Warriors said grumpily, and Hyrule blinked.

“Oh. Okay.”

“Weird cult ladies, we were dumped in a cave, dark magic stuff,” Legend summarized from where he'd moved to sit beside Sky, and Hyrule nodded, accidentally hitting his antlers on a rock.

“Ow. Yeah... I remember now. I thought I heard Wind when we fell, and I got up to go find him, but then I felt all that dark magic and blacked out,” he reported with a scrunch if his nose. “And now I’m a... deer?"

“Looks like it,” Warriors said, and Twilight heard the grim smile in his voice. “Welcome to the hoof club.” Hyrule looked around, then blinked, staring at the eclectic pile of animals gathered near Sky. "...Is that rabbit wearing a vest?"

Warriors snorted out a laugh, and then attempted to give Hyrule a crash course in who was who, and also how to walk with hooves. While they stumbled around, Twilight took the opportunity to look around at everyone else, making sure they were all still accounted for. Time was beside him still, a few scratches on his leg, some blood staining his muzzle. Legend and Wild were huddled beside Sky, trying to warm him up while Legend nursed his injured paw, and Wind and Warriors were cheering Hyrule on as he tried to raise himself up on wobbly legs.

That meant the only one missing now was Four.

Twilight looked at the stream, remembering the croaky voice’s mention of water. The exit must be somewhere near here if they were going to be... collected, but they couldn’t leave without Four.

Where could he be?

“...okay, so I know Twilight and Time are the wolves,” Wind said, and Twilight looked back to see him moving to sit next to Sky as well. “Wild’s... a thing? Furry thing?”

“A squirrel,” Wild sighed. “And Warriors is the unicorn, Sky is the cat thing I forget the name of, Legend is the rabbit,” he said with a snicker, and Legend glared at him. “And you're a... I actually have no idea what you are.”

“He's an otter,” Legend said grumpily, attempting to tie his vest into a sling with one arm. “They swim around and eat clams.”

“What’s a clam?” Wind asked.

“Shellfish.”

“That’s not very nice of him,” Hyrule said as he wobbled over, and Wild and Wind joined in on his laughter while several of the others rolled their eyes.

“Enough goofing off, we still need to find Four,” Twilight spoke up, and everyone turned to look at him. "And any ideas on how we're going to deal with these witches or whatever they are?"

"We head downstream and see what happens I suppose," Time sighed. "Our smithy must have heard that message too, he’ll know where to go."

"He could be hurt though," Wind chirped worriedly, rubbing a paw over his whiskery cheek.

"And what if he was unconscious somewhere and we missed him?" Legend added.

"Twilight or the old man would've smelled him though, wouldn't they?" Warriors pointed out. "Twilight's been looking for scents this whole time, surely he would've gotten some sign of him."

"Wait, what if he got turned into a fish or something?" Wind suddenly gasped, looking at the water. "What if he's down there and—"

"Quiet!" Sky suddenly shouted in a croaky voice, his wide ears held out.

All of them went silent, and Sky swiveled his ears around, looking ruffled, but a little less like a drowned rat as he carefully sat up. Twilight pricked his ears too, and for a moment, all anyone heard was the noise of the stream rushing by, and blood and water dripping softly from wounds.

Then Twilight heard a pained cry so soft he could barely make it out.

"That was Four," Sky gasped, obviously able to make it out better than him. "He... wait."

He pricked his ears, and then his eyes went wide.

"I can hear those women, they have Four!"

Twilight jumped to his feet, biting back a whine of pain as his side sparked angrily. "Then we need to go help him, come on!"

“We can’t just rush in there without a plan,” Warriors whinnied, stomping a hoof. “Rancher you’re injured, Hyrule can barely walk, Sky practically drowned, we need a plan if we’re going to be able to—”

“Then I’m going by myself!” Twilight snarled, and whirled around and took off, ignoring the others’ shouts and cries to come back.

Twilight’s paws pounded against the stone as the others’ voices faded behind him, every step sending a jolt up along his injured side. Blood was drying on his face, sticky and uncomfortable, but Twilight only ran faster, listening for any more signs of Four.

He knew he would need the others’ help. He knew he wouldn’t be able to take them on by himself, and Twilight especially knew he was being incredibly stupid by running off alone.

But he didn’t care.

Every moment could matter for Four.

[ghoulfuckersincorporated]

So, in addition to a preview of the Norm one-shot, I've got this look at part one of a long-form two-shot that's been sitting in my drafts since I was about halfway through my first run of the show. I have a (now quite old) ask that fit the vibe of it perfectly, and I've been whittling away at it when the inspiration strikes. I still have quite a bit of work to do on it, including edits, as I'm predicting a final length between 13k-15k words. Could end up more, as I'm really terrible at this sort of estimation, but I wanted to let everyone know I'm still hard at work in the smut mines even if posts have been light lately. Please enjoy a preview from this upcoming Cooper Howard/The Ghoul piece:

Faim Pour Deux

Pairing: Cooper Howard/The Ghoul x Female Reader

Warnings: smut (18+), angst, drug use, jealousy, mild violence, age gap, sexually rusty old men, amateurish strip teases, nipple play, fingering, dry humping, reader not-so-subtly trying to tempt Cooper to fuck her until he snaps.

"Why don't you get a little more comfortable, darlin'?" Cooper asked, his tone brighter now, a step closer to the normal, cocky timbre you'd known him to have, but still soft as the patter of the rain on the dilapidated roof as he gestured to your unzipped vault suit. "Hop up and take that off for me."

You didn't hesitate to follow his instructions, though you struggled to figure out how to back up off of his lap as your feet dangled off the floor. Cooper offered no assistance, sitting back to watch you slide yourself backwards towards his knees, your cleavage spilling out of your undershirt as you pushed yourself with your hands. Once you found your feet, cheeks already hot from your fumbling dismount, you toed out of your boots before clearing your throat, hands coming up to your navel to grab at the cool metal zipper where it hung, half-undone.

"Take a couple steps back so I can see all of you."

This command took you somewhat by surprise, but, again, you obeyed, double checking the floor behind you before taking two steps back, avoiding his eyes. Rethinking your approach, you grabbed your left sleeve by the wrist in your right hand, tugging it awkwardly to free your arm, jerking the tight material down over your sore bicep in a rather unsexy move before twisting to repeat the move on the right.

Twilight was quickly turning to night, and the few chem lamps you'd set up only provided enough light to see well a few feet in front of you. Shyly, you stole a quick glance his way, struggling to make out any details at this distance, save for the shape and slight glint of his flask as he lifted it to his mouth and took a long draw off of it. His entire upper body was almost completely shrouded in the deepening shadows, but you could see those eyes, sunken deep into that face, glittering darkly at you, trained on you.

"Slowly, now." came that rough voice once more, slightly muffled by the back of his hand passing over what remained of his lips. "Gimme a little show."

You felt your face instantly flame up twice as hot as it had been, your already fluttering heart shifting up another gear into a full-on thunder. You had no idea what he meant—undressing itself wasn't enough of a show? Were you supposed to sing and dance while you did it? Recite US Presidents?

A handful of heartbeats passed, and you realized you were hesitating, but the ghoul in the corner didn't say anything. Your focus shifted, warily, back to removing your remaining sleeve, choosing to work it down from the shoulder instead, this time, focusing on the "slowly" until you could figure out the "show" part. After a few moments, you'd worked the top half of the grimy vault suit down to your hips, letting the arms hang loose at your sides.

If Cooper objected to the way you were going about things, he kept quiet about it, which would be uncharacteristic. He sat, still staring at you, reclined back in the chair as he reached for something else on the table beside him. The familiar sound of a shaking Jet container filled the air as you grabbed the stained, barely-mended tank by the hem, peeling it over you head, leaving you in nothing but your now sad, ratty bra above the waist. The hiss of the canister buzzed down your spine as the material passed over your eyes, giving you goosebumps as you looked to him once more, feeling drawn to that gaze. Your hands moved back to your waist to push the garment the rest of the way down, brushing across your soft abdomen on the way.

The ghoul interrupted you, wordless, his mouth fixed in a sort of pucker as he held the hit of Jet deep in his lungs. He snapped quickly, sharply, his free hand raising up off of the scuffed chair arm, his sewn-on index finger pointed to the ceiling, drawing a series of tight, quick circles with it. You'd seen that gesture before, you realized, feeling that squirming feeling in your gut again. Quickly, you turned to face the door, your back now pointing at your companion.

The feeling of his intense stare still burned into your back, but knowing that, at least for a moment, he couldn't see your face, couldn't read every single thought and emotion off of your like he seemed to so often be able to, let you breathe slightly easier. The arousal that simmered between your thighs was rolling into a boil as you pushed your rear out, back towards him, bending forward ever-so-slightly at the waist as you slowly, slowly rolled the increasingly restricting suit down over your buttocks.

You could swear you heard him sigh in the dark.

Shimmying until the entire garment hit the floor, pooling around your ankles in a faint cloud of dust, you stepped out of it as delicately as possible, sliding it beside your bag with your foot. As you straightened back to your full height, you decided to turn and face him, making eye contact as he took another hit from the inhaler, setting it aside as he leaned back fully into the chair. He tilted his head sideways at you, studying you for a few quiet seconds.

"Let your hair down." he said, voice strained with exhalation.

It took a moment to wrestle your hair down from the old elastic that kept it out of your face, but when the tendrils tickled down your back at last, it made you shiver, your body tingling.

The old man was silent for several seconds, looking you up and down with an expression that was tough to decipher. You'd almost begun to worry that he didn't like what he was seeing before one of his hands snaked down from the arm rest into his lap, palming at his crotch visibly. The other hand extended towards you, that deadly trigger finger crooking towards you commandingly, his gaze never leaving you.

"C'mere, kiddo."

[kimi240302]

Losing Game

A/N: Before you read this story, be aware I am from Germany and can't write a bit of English. That's why I'm sending this through an app that translates it for me.

A/N2.0: In this story, the characters are all a little older.

A/N3.0: After this part will come the epilogue, so please stay strong. Hopefully it will be worth it! Also, I have to thank you for all the notifications, as well as the great comments.  

Summary: Y/N Swan tries everything to keep her promise to stay away from Demetri Volturi. But can you stay away from the man fate bound you to?

Demetri Volturi x Female!Swan!reader

Part 3 of Daylight Masterlist 

Words: 2,6k

Main Post / Twilight Masterlist / Request list / Playlist 

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There's darkness in the distance From the way that I've been livin' But I know I can't resist it

- David Kushner 

"I still don't really understand why we're going to Volterra. It's just a small town in Tuscany. Why not go to France or......" "Mallorca!" Grinning, Y/N shook her head, knowing full well that Mick and Mara would start arguing again, as they had so often lately.

Tired, the young girl let herself sink more into the airplane seat, turning her head away from an annoyed groaning Mara, who mumbled to herself in a low voice, " I knew that shit would come from you." Mick, who had heard this, sat up straight in his seat, put his hands on Mara's seat, pulled himself up and slapped her, very gently, on the back of the head. Upset, the young girl turned around. "Are you out of your mind!" Mick rolled his eyes. "Don't be a drama queen. That was nothing more than a gentle pat, to the back of your head." Mara narrowed her eyes and slapped Mick against his forehead. Taken aback, the latter fell back in his seat. "Children, please. There are other people on this flight and our teacher is looking too!" Y/N looked at her two friends, amused. "He started it!" grumbled Mara. "You insulted me first!" "When are you two going to admit you're into each other, anyway?" The young Swan raised one of her eyebrows and looked back and forth between Mick and Mara in turn.

The two people in question first looked at each other, blushed, and then were looking anywhere but in each other's direction. Mara crossed her arms in front of her chest and scowled, turning her gaze to Y/N. "I don't take comments from someone who can't control their own love life." Still grinning to herself, Y/N watched as Mara put on her headphones and closed her eyes. After glancing back at Mick, she saw him looking out the plane window, lost in thought, and knew this school trip was going to be interesting.

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Lost in thought, Y/N turned her head to the window, where she looked at the clouds while putting on her headphones. Immediately, the young girl relaxed as the sounds of her favorite song poured from them. But even her music did not help to displace the lingering sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Her class teacher had heard that the somewhat smaller city of Volterra, in Italy, was one of the best cities when it came to art. Because no matter where you wandered or looked, the small town had its own story to tell, and it was in the form of art. So it was a done deal for her art fanatic of a teacher that her graduation trip would be to Volterra.

Y/N had to admit that what she had seen of the city, which was not much thanks to Bella, she really liked. But she didn't want to go where Demetri was and so the young girl hoped to get through her class trip in peace without any incidents and preferably without meeting any of the Volturi. Since her teacher hadn't gotten any more tickets for the castle tour, which was partly Y/N's fault, she could even play with that thought very hopefully.

But if Y/N was honest with herself, something deep inside her hoped to see Demetri again. Since their night together, the young girl had noticed him several times in the distance. However, each time the vampire had disappeared again just before she reached him. So Y/N could not even be one hundred percent sure whether Demetri had really been standing there or it had just been a fantasy of her mind.

Another thought that had come to her while thinking longer told her Demetri wanted to prove something to her in this form. The vampire wanted to show the young girl how much she missed him, how much she needed his closeness and his touch, and Y/N couldn't deny it. She missed him, more than she had ever thought possible and if Y/N could, she would tell him that he had won, that he could stop. But she was too stubborn to cave in and too loyal to break the last of her promise to Bella. Even though it was long gone, Y/N clung to the fact that Demetri was the one who always came to her, not she to him. Which, if you said it out loud, was complete bullshit, which is why Y/N never said it out loud.

Lost in thought, Y/N let her fingers run over the various books on the shelf in front of her. The young girl had been in Volterra for a day and had decided to isolate herself from the others. She couldn't explain it, but with each step she took on the streets of Volterra, an invisible sling seemed to tighten more and more around her neck. It felt wrong to be here and not to go to the castle and tell Demetri that she was in the same town as he was, right within his reach. The young girl had to literally force herself not to go up the stairs of the castle and run straight into the vampire's arms.

The only solution Y/N saw was to distract herself. She had hidden herself in a small library on the outskirts of the city to search through the shelves. Because in times when Y/N didn't know what to do, when reality became too serious for her and the problems too complicated, she found support and protection in the realities that her books created.

Smiling, Y/N stopped at an decorated spine, grabbed it, and pulled out the book. The light blue color of the book was faded and starting to fade in some places. Gently, Y/N's fingers slid over the cover of the book, looking fascinated at the black embroidery of rose vines. Carefully opening it, she skipped a few pages and began to read the prologue's ornate Italian script, which still shone in contrast to the yellowed page.

"I keep learning new things about you, la mia bella."  Startled, Y/N winced, dropping the book as she did so. "Demetri..." Breathed the young girl after she turned around. Smiling, the vampire looked at her, bent down and picked up the book from the floor. "Libraries, I have a feeling this is a scene we should both be familiar with."  He held the book out to Y/N, which she only looked at for a moment without taking it.

"What are you doing here?" Y/N asked in a trembling voice, immediately regretting her question. After all, Demetri lived in the city where she was a stranger, an intruder. Raising an eyebrow, he looked at her with amusement. "I live in this city. Probably the better question is, what are you doing here in Volterra and did you mean to tell me you were here?" She opened her mouth to answer him. But no sentence came out, so she closed it again.

"Y/N?" Demetri lowered the book and took a step toward her. Y/N raised both hands and shook her head, taking several steps backwards. "I have to... my class is probably looking for me already." With that, she turned on her heels and fled the small place.

However, Y/N did not get far. Demetri, who had stood rooted to the spot in the store for a moment, had caught himself again, overtook her and pushed her into a hidden alley, where he pressed her against the wall. His eyes were almost shining and his anger was written all over his face, making Y/N sink slightly into herself, as far as Demetri's firm grip on both of her shoulders would allow.

"When are you going to stop running away from me! When will you stop trying to hide what we both know you feel the same way I do!" Frightened, the young girl winced and whimpered. "Demetri..." Angrily, he applied a little more pressure to her arms, which Y/N answered with a face contorted in pain. "You're hurting me and scaring me." Her voice barely noticeable and if Demetri wasn't a vampire, he wouldn't have heard her. Disappointed in himself, he let go of her, almost as if he had burned himself on her skin. Demetri backed away a few steps as he ran his hands through his hair in frustration, cursing softly in ancient Greek.

The vampire turned to his mate, just dropped his hands from his hair to his sides and looked at her sadly. He felt powerless and defeated for the first time in his immortal life. "I just..." his voice broke off as he searched for the right words. "I just want to know if I should give up Y/N. I just want to know if I should let you go." Briefly, he looked at the ground, took an unnecessary breath that helped him get his nerves under control, and took the retreating steps forward again. Y/N stood, unable to move, still leaning against the wall. She had tears in her eyes that threatened to stream down her face any second.

Y/N had only ever thought about how she was feeling in this situation and never what Demetri was going through with this whole thing. Seeing him like this now and knowing that it was her fault broke her heart.

Carefully Demetri embraced the face of the woman he loves and automatically put his forehead against hers. "Tell me, is it worth continuing to fight or should I release you and disappear from your life?" Y/N clasped both of Demetri's wrists with her hands to find support. Her tears flowed, as silent cries of despair down her cheeks.

"I promised my sister." Her grip on both wrists tightened as her voice trembled more and more.

"What exactly Y/N. Not to be free? Not being able to make your own decisions, not being able to love, not being able to be happy? She's denying you what she has with Edward because it would be with me. Because it is me who is the villain from her point of view and she knows that you are loyal to her, which means you would never break your promise, no matter how unhappy that makes you. That's the power your sister has over you."

Demetri released his forehead from hers and looked into her eyes again. Gently, his fingers began to brush the tears from Y/N's cheeks. "The Volturi could be so much to you Y/N. Your friends, your allies, your supports, or even your family." He paused, making Y/N look closely into his eyes so she understood how much truth there was in his words. "I could be so much more. Your confidant, your lover, your husband, your forever. You just have to let it happen, you have to let your love for me happen." Y/N's tears grew more. "What if that's what scares me." "Everyone is afraid of what they don't know. Y/N you don't know what it feels like to be loved or what it's like to exist outside of your sister's shadow because you've lived in just that for too long."

Y/N broke eye contact with Demetri, loosened her hands and lowered her gaze. She didn't know what to say, she was confused and conflicted with her inner self at the same time. If she left with Demetri now, she would never see her family in Forks again. If she chose Bella again, she might lose Demetri forever.

For Demetri, however, her silence and distant behavior, was answer enough. In despair, the vampire closed his eyes and looked away. As he did so, he too removed his hands from her face. Y/N's gaze went up as she felt a breeze.

Demetri was gone.

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For a few moments, Y/N stared silently at the spot where Demetri had just been standing. Her tears began to become threefold as her mind understood what had just happened. The young girl dropped her face into her hands and could no longer avoid her bitter sobs. As she tried to get her breathing under control, her legs gave out from under her. Slowly, Y/N slid down the wall behind her. Once on the ground, she pulled her legs to her chest to regain some balance, but the tears only increased. The young girl became aware that she had lost the man who meant more to her than anything else.

She was aware that she had no one to blame but herself. Demetri had given her more than one chance to go with him, to be with him, and yet her loyalty to her sister, to whom she really meant nothing, had destroyed everything.

The young girl didn't know how long she had been leaning against the wall crying, but when she arrived in her room she knew it must have been a very long time. Mara and Mick were both sitting in the room the two friends shared, taking turns trying to reach Y/N on her cell phone. When they saw their friend, they both jumped up from their seats and approached her.

"Where were you Y/N?!" Mick placed both hands on her shoulders, forcing Y/N to look up at him. "We were worried about you you can't..." Mara who was standing behind Mick and was about to scold her best friend, dropped silent.

Y/N wrapped her arms around Mick's middle and began to cry again bitterly. "I lost him." She cried into her friend's chest. Startled, he hugged her back tightly and glanced over at Mara. The latter looked as startled as he was and pointed to the bed. Mick nodded, unfastening his and Y/N's arms to lift her up and lay her in the bed. There she immediately buried her face in the pillow while her hands clawed into the covers. Mara laid down on Y/N's right and pulled her into the middle, which Mick saw as an invitation to lie down on Y/N's left.

They both looked at each other and silently made the agreement to ask tomorrow what had happened and what exactly Y/N meant. Now they both just took her in their arms, turned out the lights and were silently there for their best friend.

With an aching head, Y/N was the first of the three friends to wake up in the early morning hours. Carefully, Y/N released herself from the arms of her friends and stood up. Smiling, she watched as Mick automatically reached for Mara and pulled her close. Which she returned with a hug and burying her face against his chest.

Quietly, the young girl tiptoed to the balcony door, which she carefully opened to step out into the fresh air. Outside, she sat down in the armchair that was identical to those on every other balcony in the hotel. With her eyes closed, she stretched her face toward the rising sun and breathed in the fresh air.

Y/N opened her eyes, however, startled when a shadow and a breeze flashed past her. Confused, she stood up and walked to the railing of the balcony, only to feel the breeze behind her again. Immediately she wheeled around and faltered. With hesitant steps she walked towards the table next to the armchair where she had been sitting a moment ago and grabbed the book where she was sure this had not been lying there a moment ago.

With a sigh, Y/N settled back into the chair as she recognized the light blue cover, with the rose vines embroidered on it. However, this one was not faded and still well intact. Y/N opened the book cover and faltered. With trembling hands, she took the note that had been placed there and read through it.

"To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all"

Confused, Y/N looked back at the book and closed her eyes sadly, for she had the uneasy feeling she was holding her goodbye gift in that moment.

This book is the property of Demetri Volturi, it was written in ink.

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@twilightlover2007 @ssnapsaurus @xxx-wounded-angel-xxx 

@ms-sasa @elissanatok @helen06dreamer @animequeen454​

@svtbpbts

[grabby-smitten]

Message in a bottle

Subjects: Merman!Rafayel x F!Reader

Word count: 675

Content: Short blurb, a bit angsty, graphic description of drowning and the sea. Not edited and no beta.

You still remember the day you saw him for the first time and how your lungs burned as water entered your body. There was no way of getting out from under the ruthless power of the waves crashing on the surface.

The struggle to keep your mouth and nose shut was clear in your mind, then your body refused to float as if the cold liquid was pulling you down faster and faster… and when you thought there was nothing more to do… he appeared from the depths of the ocean.

From the darkness, a giant creature swam against the current. The angered waters were nothing more than a breeze for it, and you? You truly believed at that moment that you were hallucinating. At least trying to give yourself a peaceful goodbye, right? Your mind machinated a beautiful thing that came to your rescue and was pulling you toward the surface.

You remember, even if you were about to pass out. At that moment, when his hand touched yours— your mind suddenly cleared.

He was there in all his glory. A man but not a man. A siren? A triton? A merman? You still don’t know what he was but he had saved you.

You remember his words. His voice broke through the deafening noise of the waters. It was like nothing else was between you and him.

“You called me… finally…”

But you couldn’t understand then. Mind clear but your body was not under your control. Too cold to move, too tired to get even one breath in.

Rafayel was not ready to feel his chest constrict in pain and then a sudden pull followed by an unexplained urgency to attack him out of nowhere.

He remembers how he knew he had to go, to swim, to reach… something? Someone? without questioning it, he was there in an instant. Never in his life has he ever felt like this.

And there you were, a single human female being dragged to the bottom of the ocean by the currents. Your small fragile figure, barely noticeable in the darkness but for Rafayel? You were like a lighthouse guiding his way.

In that moment, when his eyes landed on you, he knew what all those feelings and sudden urges meant. He also knew this was his fault. After all, the sea was only trying to please him. The sea was just innocently fulfilling its duty to its king… by bringing him his missing piece.

Once he broke out of the water, concern clouded his mind. You seemed conscious but something wasn’t right. The spark he felt when he connected with you was diminishing slowly. His mind went a thousand miles in the blink of an eye, trying to understand why were you fading in his arms. This was not supposed to happen.

He couldn’t lose you the same moment he got you. He refused to believe that. His fingers gripped you tightly as he made his way to the shore.

Twilight gone, the darkness of a stormy night surrounds you both. Your eyes barely open as Rafayel drowned in anguish as his fragile human slipped from him.

“Damn it, plea-please… don’t- just don't…” his hands moved frantically over your pale face, all color drained away by the freezing air.

Rafayel understood two things in that situation. One, he would do anything for you, and two, humans were not meant to live underwater.

You don’t know how you are alive right now, watching the sunset at the same beach you were found. But you know what you saw and you know he was out there.

So again, for the hundredth time since you woke up here on this same beach, you threw a glass bottle at the ocean. You watched the waves carry it away as the wet sand got in between your toes and hoped he would receive it this time.

All the bottles carried the same message… you were gonna wait for him. Right in this same spot. Every day for the rest of your life.

Message in a bottle is all I can do. Standin' here, hopin' it gets to you…

Message In A Bottle (Taylor's Version) by Taylor Swift

[justinspoliticalcorner]

LATROBE, Pa. — When fascism finally went mainstream in America, it came hawking a $60 made-in-China Bible and shadowed by a 50-foot American flag braced by construction cranes — and it opened with a story about Arnold Palmer’s private parts. I’d driven nearly five hours into and under the Allegheny ridges of Western Pennsylvania — up and down slopes that got steeper each mile with the volume of Donald Trump flags and yard signs that proclaimed “I’m Voting for the Convict 2024″ — out of a sense that the decline and fall of American civilization has reached a depth that I needed to personally bear witness. It was a fever dream — maybe I could find words that have eluded everyone else. Just six days earlier, Trump came to the Philly suburbs and turned a supposed town hall into a 39-minute dance party as his deeply confused crowd watched a once and wannabe future U.S. president sway awkwardly to Sinead O’Connor and Luciano Pavarotti or look utterly frozen in the bubble of his 78-year-old head. And yet when the alarm goes off the next morning, it’s still Groundhog Day in America, an election with a 50% chance of the music-trance guy winning. Something both incredibly momentous and weird is happening at the same time. Now, the sun was nearly setting over the runway at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport. With the most consequential U.S. presidential election since 1860 just 17 days away, about 3,000 to 4,000 of the most die-hard MAGA Trump fans who weren’t exhausted by the campaign and the GOP candidate’s frequent visits to Steelers’ country had been waiting for hours on a sunbaked tarmac. They’d let out the obligatory whoop for the obligatory flyover of Trump Force One, and then finally the man tasked with bringing their country back was on the podium, filtered by bulletproof glass. Donald Trump’s red meat of mass-deportation camps and R-rated attacks on his opponents would have to wait. Monday’s DJ was now Saturday night’s comedian, with his cult as captive audience. What started out as an obligatory shout-out to Latrobe’s famous native son — Palmer, the late great golfer who brought the sport to your TV screens in the 1960s — went on for five minutes, then 10, then 12. What started as a nice but meandering tale about Palmer’s working-class roots grew into a stone silence during long detours into stuff like types of golf club shafts as the tale grew increasingly instead about Trump — about how his own power and wealth allowed him to claim friendship with this great man. You are standing in the twilight wondering if this could get any stranger when of course it did. The man who bragged in his first campaign that he could shoot somebody on Fifth Avenue and people would still vote for him now wants America to know he can tell a penis joke with the cameras rolling and still get elected as the 47th president. [...] So I came to Latrobe to try and write the 72-point headline that the Times editors can’t — “PHALLUS-JOKE MAN AND DANCING FOOL COULD LEAD THE FREE WORLD AGAIN” — and to scream at the top of my lungs from the bluffs overlooking this tiny airport that this would-be emperor telling the shower story is actually wearing no clothes. Who will shout that Trump’s “closing argument” is the melding of his increasingly public breakdown with how that might lead to an all-too-real domestic war of midnight raids and armored personnel carriers against the fiction of an “Occupied America”? Ironically, Trump’s endless Arnold Palmer bit seemed part of an effort Saturday night to prove that the rambling candidate is not “exhausted,” something that his own aides reportedly said after several recent interviews were canceled. But the Republican nominee — kind of like Madonna’s “Sex” phase and shock photos when her 1980s were ending — also appeared to sense that he needs to get more and more outrageous to get attention, after numbing America to his Hitlerian language that immigrants “will cut your throat.”

Will Bunch at The Philadelphia Inquirer on Donald Trump's Latrobe rally (10.20.2024)

Will Bunch wrote in The Philadelphia Inquirer about Donald Trump’s fascist insultfest in Latrobe, PA in which he infamously obsessed about Arnold Palmer.

[izzypaawz]

i was made for lovin’ you baby — bella swan x fem!reader [part one]

pairing: vampire!bella swan x afab!fem!reader

word count: 1.3k

full fic category: smut, fluff & angst

full fic tags: vampire!bella, human!reader, vampires can imprint, bella imprints on reader, jacob didn’t imprint on renesmee, awkward bella, bella saves readers butt, attempted violence warning, implied attempted sa [doesn’t happen, and nothing graphic is mentioned], unfaithful bella [to edward], supportive alice, bella watches reader sleep, so does edward, consensual rough seggs, cunnilingus, fingering, vibrator, gentle sex, top!bella swan, bottom!reader, no use of y/n

summary: you meet a beautiful woman in the library one day, and she takes an immediate liking to you. you can’t help but notice that she acts a little… strange.

note: i just wanna say i haven’t read the twilight books but i have been a fan of the movies since before breaking dawn pt1 came out! so if i say anything wildly inaccurate to the books pls don’t hate me. the vampire imprinting thing i know is inaccurate its just an au. also first chapter is from bella’s pov!

♡₊˚ 🦢・₊✧

Amongst the utter chaos that surrounds raising a half-vampire daughter, Bella can often find it hard to keep up. Her not-so-little girl is already almost as tall as her, and she hasn’t been on the earth for more than a few years. She isn’t always the best mother, at least from her own point of view — Edward reassures her otherwise on a daily basis, but it’s his job to say nice things to his wife, isn’t it?

Still, there’s one thing she knows she does right. And that is making time to go to the small public library in Forks every week, with a little scrap of paper clutched between her fingers. Scrawled across the papers in a neat script are Renesmee’s book requests for the week, and Bella is happily bound to her duty of picking the books up for her daughter.

Bella’s own mother would have tossed four year old Bella the car keys and sent her to the library herself.

Well, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration. But not much.

First, she heads to the horseshoe shaped desk where the librarian sits. The French tips on her nails tap away at the keyboard, a sound that would be almost silent to everyone else. But to Bella, she might as well be hammering away on a typewriter. “Just a moment, dear,” The librarian mutters when she notices Bella approaching, not so much as glancing up from her computer screen.

Bella gives a noncommittal hum in response and adjusts the strap of the tote bag on her shoulder as she glances around the library. It’s just as empty as it usually is when she pops in on a Thursday afternoon, but there’s something… Different. A scent in the air that she can’t quite place. In her time as a vampire she’s grown used to smelling humans all the time, to dealing with the faint copper scent lingering in her nostrils whenever they’re near. But this smell is much more… sweet.

“What can I help you with?” Bella forces her attention back to the librarian when she hears her voice.

“Um, I just have some books to return,” Bella mumbles. She struggles to concentrate on something other than that smell as she opens up her tote bag and pulls out the stack of Renesmee’s finished books. The girl is a quick reader, easily getting through five a week.

“Did Renesmee enjoy her selection this week?” The librarian questions as she reaches across the desk and takes the books from Bella. She checks them for damage, flicking through the pages to search for wear and tear, before setting the books to the side. The librarian knows fine well that Renesmee would never damage a book, the girl cherishes them far too much. But she still has to at least pretend to check.

“Yeah,” Bella gives a distracted nod as her golden eyes flicker around the room again. “Definitely.”

When the librarian finishes processing the book return, Bella finally abandons the desk to take a walk around the library. She pretends she’s searching the shelves, glancing between Renesmee’s paper in her hand and the books neatly arranged around her. But she can’t concentrate. She has to find the source of that smell before it drives her insane. She can feel her fingers twitching at her side, like they want to reach out and grab the scent in the air.

As an elderly lady with short white curls and pale, freckled skin passes her, Bella attempts to be subtle about leaning just a tiny bit closer and taking a sniff. Nope. She just smells like the posh perfume lingering on her soft blue coat, and hard candies.

Bella leaves the woman behind in the romance section and follows the aroma, as though there is a physical trail leading her towards the source. There is only one other person in the cramped library, a woman stretching up on her tiptoes to reach a book on one of the higher shelves. Being so close to her, the scent is now almost suffocating. Bella licks her lips and makes a beeline for her.

She swallows down the nervous lump in her throat as she approaches the woman. Part of her wants to offer to get the book for her, but it’s not like she could reach it, even if she took a running jump. Could she just climb the shelf? She’s pretty good at climbing these days… No, that would be weird as hell. So, she glances around for a moment before finding a stool and humming in victory. In a few long strides, she picks up the stool and carries it over to the struggling woman, feeling quite like a knight in shining armour in that moment.

“Here,” Bella clears her throat to get her attention. Her breath catches when the woman turns around to face her. She’s stunning. Bella thought the Cullens — and some of their friends — were the most beautiful people to walk the earth, but this girl… God, she could put the most gorgeous vampire in the world to shame. It makes her feel incredibly nervous all of a sudden, almost speechless. She only manages to force some words out when she realises she’s just standing there staring like a creep. “I, uh…” Bella whispers uselessly and holds the stool out. “You were, um… You couldn’t reach, so…”

“Oh. Thanks,” The stranger’s lips turn up into a sweet smile as she takes the stool from Bella. Bella thinks she might faint. The girl’s warm fingers brush against her own icy ones for just a moment when she hands the stool over, but it’s enough. Enough for a deep, twisting pain to settle in Bella’s heart — so brutal it ignites the memory of how her chest felt right after her nightmares when Edward left her. Bella gasps as her head spins and her gut clenches unpleasantly. A concerned furrow dips the stranger’s brows as she watches Bella. In that soft voice, she asks, “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” Bella parts her lips, lets out a shaky exhale and takes a step back. That one step away from the girl makes her feel like she needs to throw up. Her mind screams at her to close the distance again, to stay close to her. What the hell is going on? Her heart feels as though it might tear in half if she places another foot in the wrong direction. “Yeah.. Uh, you’re welcome…” Bella mumbles before turning away, ignoring the ache in her stomach as she leaves the stranger behind and rushes out of the library.

She heads straight to her car without Renesmee’s books and slams the door behind her as she flops into the driver’s seat. Burying her face in her hands, she takes a shaky breath — for the first time since becoming a vampire, not including when she fakes it around Charlie. Her whole body feels as though it is on fire, like she might explode at any moment.

Despite not being in the same building as the girl anymore, her sweet, sweet scent still lingers in Bella’s nose as though she’s right there. It makes a puddle of drool form in her mouth as her mind strays to a dangerous place. If she smells so good, she must taste absolutely divine—

“Fuck,” Bella hisses and smacks the steering wheel with the heel of her palm. “God damn it. Don’t think like that!” She continues to scold herself and let out muttered strings of curses as she starts the car up, the soft purr of the engine doing nothing to drown out her thoughts while she pulls out of the car park and speeds down the street. Desperately trying to put as much space between herself and that girl as possible before she marches back into that library and does something she regrets.

She’ll have to take Renesmee out for ice cream to make up for not getting her books…

[megs-mostly-past-random-fandoms]

Don't Over-Do It

Based on this request: Could you write a fluffy imagine for the Volturi with the reader being Marcus descendant, Aros mate and Janes best friend? The reader tends to overwork both in her job and by working out. The Volturis are far to protective to let her continue like that.

Here you are, lovely! *Familiar Characters are NEVER mine.*

Fandom: Twilight

Warnings: mentions of passing out and forgetting to eat. Some light fluff.

Pairings/Characters: Marcus Volturi x fem!descendant reader (familial), Aro Volturi x fem!reader (romantic), Jane Volturi x fem!reader x Caius Volturi (platonic, soul-siblings)

Marcus had never thought he'd have any  descendants. He never knew if any of his human family had continued on the family line. But then he met you and immediately saw the bond between you and him. And not just him. You had several other bonds within the Volturi including the silver bond of soul-siblings with Jane and even Caius, and the golden bond of true mates with Aro. To say Marcus was happy to have a connection to his former life would be an understatement. There was just one problem.

       You were a perfectionist and somewhat of a workaholic. You would work and work until everything was just right. It didn't matter what it was, work, hobbies, or even exercise. You were determined to do it right and you weren't going to stop until it was perfect. Aro, Marcus, and Jane hated that. It wasn't that they didn't want you to succeed, but they hated seeing you overwork yourself. 

They all tried to get you to slow down, especially Aro. He hated seeing his mate exhausted all the time. Though, his approach to this was to turn you sooner rather than later. You fought him on that. Aro wasn’t afraid of much, but he was terrified of losing you and even more afraid of your temper. It made Caius laugh to see Aro nearly cower under your intense glare every time he mentioned turning before you were ready. But all amusement faded from the four vampires when you finally over-did it.

You were taking out your frustrations on a punching bag one evening after working on a work task for hours. The ever-watchful Jane and Demetri stood in the corner keeping an eye on you when it happened. Mid-jab, you suddenly stopped and collapsed in a heap on the floor. Jane was at your side in an instant while Demetri raced to get kings. 

You were vaguely aware of arguing voices when you woke a few hours later. “Aro, you risk irreparably damaging your bond if you turn her without her permission. You know this,” came Marcus’ low voice. “I agree with Master Aro,” Jane grumbled, almost too softly for you to hear. You could feel the tension in the room, so you decided to try and speak up.

“And if either of you does that, I will personally rip your arms off and put them back on backwards when I wake as a newborn.” Aro was sitting next to you a split second later. “Cara Mia, you worried us,” he crooned as if you would forget you just threatened him and Jane. “I realized that. I’m sorry.”

“As loath as I am to agree with Aro about, well, anything outside of trials,” Caius stated, “I believe he and Jane may be correct in this case, Y/N. You cannot continue on like this.” You glanced between their faces. They all looked more worried than you’d ever seen them. A soft sigh escaped you. It wasn’t the first time this had happened to you, but the first they had experienced it. The whole situation was frightening since you were so fragile compared to them.

“I’m sorry I worried you all,” you relented, “I-It was always drilled into me that I had to be perfect. Nothing was ever good enough and I guess that’s carried over into adulthood. I’m not ready to turn yet, but I will try to take it easier. I’ll set break alarms or let Jane drag me away from my work more. I-Is that okay?”

“I don’t like it, but if I never have to experience this fear again, I suppose I can accept this for now,” Aro relented after a few moments of silence. Marcus stayed silent since he was simply there to ensure your bonds stayed intact. He was concerned, of course, but your bonds with the others were far more fragile for now. 

“I still agree with Master Aro,” Jane stated, concern still painting her angelic, childlike features. Caius rolled his eyes at the two of them, but you could see he was feeling the same way they were. “Very well, but if this happens again, I don’t think even Marcus would disagree with turning you.” Marcus merely nodded in agreement when your eyes met his.

“Sleep now,” he suggested only for your stomach to let out the loudest growl he’d ever heard. You felt your face heat up at the noise that betrayed the fact that you hadn't eaten very much that day. Marcus laughed, “Perhaps food is in order first.” You nodded slightly, prompting Jane to rush out. Caius and Marcus followed, but when Aro tried to get up, you gripped tightly to him. 

“Stay?” you asked in a soft voice. “Of course, Tesoro.” He settled back and let you cuddle into him. “I really am sorry,” you whispered. You felt Aro place a kiss to the top of your head. “I worry for you, Y/N. I cannot lose you.” You nodded against his chest, feeling your eyes start to drift closed against your will. Aro chuckled. The last thing you heard before you let sleep pull you under was,  “Sleep, my love. I will be here when you wake.”

(I hope you like it!)

Forever Tags: @fizzyxcustard @supernatural4life2022 @asgards-princess-of-mischief

Twilight Tags: @awesomebooklover17

[ghoularaki]

baby's breath | 7

↠  summary: Merely by coincidence, Erwin, your father's former friend had crossed paths with you again after nearly a decade. He offered solace once finding out you were struggling with not just school, but your home life as well. His home he shared with another one of your father's friends, Levi, became a sanctuary. Though, the more you came over for study sessions, the more they wiggled themselves into your private life. And like baby's breath, they weeded themselves in so deep you couldn't uproot them.

↠ word count: 5,939

↠ pairing: levi ackerman x reader x erwin smith

↠ genre/warnings: angst, smut, modern au, DARK CONTENT, yandere, daddy kink, forced infantilism, pet play, age gap. NSFW (omorashi, slight feederism)

Playing it safe, within the time you were allowed to sleep on the couch, you dared not go forth with your plan. And thank god you didn’t since Levi got into the habit to come down stairs a couple times in the night. This was how you learned how much of an insomniac Levi was. Most nights he would leave you be and would make his tea. Though last night, he sat on the couch like he did over a week ago. Or at least you thought it had been. Time passed so differently here. All you knew was July quickly approached with the temperature rising.

A routine had been set. During the day Levi watched over you while Erwin kept up the facade of a professor. The couple days he came home late you quickly learned wasn’t because of paperwork, but taking Levi’s place to ‘keep people in line.’ Curiosity ate away at you to know what exactly they did behind the scenes. Though, for your sanity you didn’t ask questions.

Levi’s previous threat of you not being Erwin’s first stray never left your brain. How long before you were to be discarded like a broken doll? Or was Levi lying out of his ass to keep you in line? Try as you might, you couldn’t stop the questions swirling around your head. Even if they sent you in a frenzy, you wanted to be prepared for anything to happen.

But, surprisingly, everything lulled. Your head had gotten significantly better. You barely had any headaches now and you were able to watch the TV in small doses. Despite feeling better, you refused to let the two of them know how much better you were. Feigning weakness to feed into Erwin’s want to baby you and to have Levi get off your back, you played dead like a possum.

Sun slowly slipped down the sky like an exposed yolk. Twilight crept into the living room where you sat, observing Levi making dinner for you three. Over the course of the week or so you were recovering, you were able to eat at the table. When Erwin would come home late into the night, Levi let you sit in your own chair. Skeptical of him, you tried to subtly side-eye him, but he easily caught it.

“You’re not a child,” He had said.

His words were true, though you didn’t really believe him. Levi sure did treat you like a incompetent child. Especially when he let you eat by yourself he made a comment not to choke. You had gripped your plastic fork (he wasn’t stupid enough to give you something you could actually hurt him with) to conceal your rage. Maybe he said it to get under your skin. It only served to vex you more that it had worked.

Fiddling with the TV remote, you watched the cartoon displayed on the screen. So lost in thought, you almost didn’t hear the sound of the locks being turned. Head shooting up, you watched Erwin walk through the door, suitcase in hand. Exhaustion was apparent on his face.

Toeing off his dress shoes inside the mudroom, he walked further into the home. Walking past you, he didn’t even acknowledge your presence. Perplexion physically formed on your face. Turning your body on the couch, you watched Erwin’s hunched, broad shoulders move towards his office. Glasses slipping off his face, from deep in the room you hear him throw them onto his desk.

Locking eyes with Levi, the man didn’t offer you any resolve, going back to stirring the food in the pan.

“Make yourself useful and set the table,” He called out to you.

Still confused, you followed the order, not wanting to ire the other man in the house. The couch creaked as you got up and shuffled over to the kitchen. Heart in your throat, you walked past Levi to reach into the cabinet. When everyone was awake, the men kept them unlocked. What really could you do with Levi breathing down your neck.

Opening the cabinet, you reached for three plates.

“Only grab two.”

Those simple words had anger grip you. You always forgot when Erwin was home what little autonomy you had, vanished. Sure, Levi had beaten and raped you, but at least he didn’t touch you since then. If anything it seemed he avoided any skin contact.

Moving your fingers to take the dishes, you clutched them in your hands and went towards the table. The resilient, but the stupid part of you wanted to break the plates and pierce Levi in the side of his throat. He could never touch you again, but his hands will be imprinted on you for a lifetime. You wanted to scar him as he did you.

You placed the plates on the table.

Sliding one at the head of the table and then one at side, you went to the drawers to grab cutlery. Forks and knives in hand, you repeated the motion. You did the same with the cups.

Standing in the middle of the dining room, you waited for an order. Unease settled in your gut. The routine had been broken. Erwin always acknowledged you when he got home and Levi never let you touch the dishes. Something bad was going to happen to you. They couldn’t have known your plan already, could they? You were only joking when you thought Levi could read your mind.

You tried to muffle your stuttering breaths. Nostrils flared, you stared at the ground with watering eyes. A panic attack about to overtake you, you wanted to vomit. You weren’t even here for more than ten days and you were on the verge of insanity. Such a small part of you wanted to go back to the old days where you considered the men father figures, but the bigger part wanted to slit their throats in their sleep.

Shutting down, you sucked in your tears and disassociated.

The burner flicked off with a click and Levi pivoted to look at you still staring at the floor. A haunting blank expression spread on your visage. He snapped his fingers in front of your face and you barely registered it. Slowly you looked up at him.

“What the fuck is up with you?” He gruffly asked, brow furrowed.

You shrugged, looking very similar to the petulant child he frequently called you. He opened his mouth to question you further, but Erwin lumbered into the room. His expression steely.

Still ignoring you, he grabbed his plate and put a hefty amount of the food onto the plate. With the filled water pitcher at the table, he poured enough water, it almost spilled over the brim. Following his movement, Levi grabbed his plate and put a significantly less amount.

“Princess, come.”

Beckoned like a dog, you hesitantly stumbled closer. Gently, Erwin placed you on his lap. Tugging you closer, you sat until your back was flushed to his front. Entangled in his form, you felt so tiny, so weak. One arm slung across your waist, the way his bicep flexed against your side, you knew Erwin’s strength. Like Levi, he could easily crush you.

Stabbing his fork into his food, he elegantly brought it up and wrapped his lips around it. After one bite, Erwin put his fork down and turned you around slightly. Grabbing the nearly spilling cup, he brought it up to you.

“Can you do me a favor and drink this all for me?” He posed it as a question, but you knew a demand when you heard one.

Gulping, you dared to ask, “Why?”

Blithely smiling, he said, “I can’t make sure my little girl is hydrated? We have to make sure you get better as quickly as possible.”

Uncomfortable, you squirmed and then hissed when his hand dug into your side. For some reason, your eyes bounced to Levi who watched on, eating his food without a care. Suspicious, you go to take the glass from Erwin, but he jerked it back and tsked at you.

Dropping your hands, you let him put the cold glass to your lips. Shuttering, you willed away the memories begging to surface. You were no longer in the basement, you were no longer in the basement, you were no longer in the basement.

Not realizing how thirsty you were, you swallowed half of the cup before trying to pull away. Erwin followed your head.

“Uh uh, drink all of it.”

Clenching your eyes, you wrapped your hands around his wrist to stabilize yourself. Quickly you consumed all the cold water that laid heavy in your stomach. Once the cup no longer sat on your lips, you gulped any air you could.

The glass clinked around the table. Rubbing your side as encouragement, Erwin poured more water into the cup. More nervous than ever, you tried to claw at the arm digging into your ribs.

“Have your tantrum now because I won’t tolerate it soon enough,” Erwin’s tone pierced you.

He had gone back to eating. After a couple of bites, he offered you some. Stomach already full from the water and anxiety, you turned away. Though he quickly gripped your jaw and forced you towards him. Hands free, you attempted to slap his wrist away. His fingertips squeezed your mandible until your mouth dropped from the pain. Shoving a forkful of food into the cavity, he loosely cradled your jaw to make sure you chewed.

Glare strewn across your face, you ground the food and swallowed. “I hate you.”

Erwin brought another forkful to his own lips and stared you down as he chewed. He looked at you as if you were a toddler throwing a fit. A simple, blank expression rendered you on edge. Those deep blues analyzed your very being. Tearing you apart to a molecular level to see what made you tick.

Unnerved, you kept your hands curled in your lap. Stabbing more food, Erwin brought the food to your lips after his bite. You tried not to think of you sharing saliva with the man. Throughout dinner, Erwin didn’t take a sip of his drink. Erwin kept feeding himself and then you until three-fourths of the plate was empty. The water left stagnant in the cup.

Pausing in his eating, he went for the cup again and went towards your lips. If you drank the water, you surely would explode. Already full, you felt the tickle in your bladder telling you you needed the bathroom.

“E-erwin I can’t. I’m full,” Instinctively, you put your hands up to stop him.

The hand on your hips snaked up to grab your hand and forced your head still. “Don’t make me hurt you.”

You wanted so badly to cradle your head, his hand right where your healing wound sat. Sniffling your resolve, you dropped your hands and parted your lips. Cold glass touching you again, you tried to float away from the kitchen to somewhere, anywhere but here. Tipping the cup forward, you forcibly swallowed down all the water.

Your throat bobbed as you drank all you could. Once the very last drop sat in your stomach, you coughed and tried not to gag. Placing a hand over your mouth, you breathed through the nausea. Water pouring into the cup once again had a shutter running through you.

Erwin rubbed your back as you hunched over. He went back to eating. Once you calmed down, he tried to feed you once more. You were so full, you couldn’t take anymore or you would actually throw up.

“Please,” You pleaded. It fell upon deaf ears.

“Eat.”

Blatantly sobbing, Erwin took the opportunity to shovel the food into your mouth. You had no idea what warranted him being so cruel to you. Did he really find out you stole his glasses screwdriver? And if so, why won’t he tell you why he’s punishing you now?

Spiteful, you go to spit the food at him, but he slammed a hand over your mouth. His large hand encompassed all over your lower face, even your nose. Smothering you, you still refused to swallow. With a free hand, his fingers massaged your throat triggering your reflex. Ingesting the food, Erwin released you.

Cradling your stomach, you sagged into Erwin, in pain. Your stomach stuffed to the brim and pushing on your bladder, you felt the need to go. Fear gripped you as you had an inclination he wouldn’t let you off that easily.

Taking the last bites of food, the man reached for the glass. Already knowing what was going to happen, you thrusted yourself from his form and jumped from his lap. If you drank anymore you would pee yourself. Not being able to handle the humiliation of doing that again in the span of less than two weeks, you struggled.

Easily, he spun you in his lap so you were back to chest. His elbow held down your body as he tipped the glass in your mouth. His other hand pinched your nose so you had to imbibe every last drop. Digging your nails into his forearm, you tried to shake your head, but you were immobilized.

Once the glass sat on the table again, you coughed and gagged. Erwin engulfed your face once more and forced your head into his shoulder. “You throw any of it up and we will do this all over again.”

He let you settle until your tummy stopped flipping. Levi at this point got up and cleaned up dinner, not saying a word through the whole thing. Plates clattering in the sink made you jump. Staring at the ceiling, you tried not to focus on your stomach pressed down on your bladder.

Deeming you ready enough, Erwin picked you up quite awkwardly. He lifted you with just the arm wrapped around your waist, feet dangling. Like a child carrying a disgruntled cat. Taking you into the living room that Levi already sat in, Erwin placed you in the middle. The coffee table had been moved to the side and instead there was a mat with a paw print pattern. The paws were raised. He had your body sink on the mat, your knees taking the brunt of it. Under it, laid a puppy pad.

Fuck.

Kneeling on the mat, Erwin came to squat in front of you. He grabbed your hands and placed them on your knees.

“This is punishment for what you did to Levi.”

Your head sprung up and you seethed, “I already was punished.”

“That wasn’t punishment, that was Levi unable to handle his emotions,” Levi clicked his tongue from somewhere within the room. Erwin continued, “I have been lenient with you since you were injured, but you clearly are well enough considering you poked your nose in stuff that isn’t yours.”

Moving your focus to Levi, you snipped, “Snitch.”

“Not my fault you’re stupid enough to think I wouldn’t tell Erwin,” Both his face and tone flippant.

“Oh yeah I forgot how you’re his bitch—”

Levi’s face turned thunderous, but Erwin promptly slapped you. He barely hit you with any of his strength for the sake of your head. The action still had you reeling as your gaze dropped.

Gripping your jaw again, he kept eye contact. “Don’t squirm or go to the bathroom for an hour and then you will be forgiven. You will be given one warning. Don’t make me repeat myself more than once.”

Fisting your hands until your nails bit into your palms, you weighed the outcomes of behaving or not. Erwin didn’t leave any room to fuck up, he didn’t even say what would happen if you were unable to do the punishment. Plus, the mat already hurt your bare knees.

Exhaling to steel your nerves, you whispered, “Okay.”

Stroking your cheek with his thumb, he reminded you, “No squirming or going to the bathroom for an hour.”

At that he departed from your form. A spectacle in the middle of their living room, the men ignored you for the movie playing. Back facing the screen, you could only guess what entertained them from sounds alone.

The want to wiggle plagued you. Your body already ached from your overstuffed tummy and the grooves of the mat digging into your skin. The pain was minimal, but it itched at you. How you wanted to curl in and hug yourself. The need to vomit still hadn’t passed. Spine straight as a pole, you could only assume his command not to squirm included not moving from where he positioned you.

From where you sat, you watched the men sit on the couch. Bare of you, Levi and Erwin sat at the same couch. They were on opposite sides with no indication of it being for any bad reasons. Levi didn’t seem like the type to cuddle or touch in general. Erwin was a man of poise. If he craved touch, he didn’t seem to be the type to make it apparent. Well, in a normal context.

Here, in this house, he could reign down all his desires on you as he pleased. No different than a man of faith finally led a stray. No longer ignorant and free from his charm, Erwin held no respect for anyone but himself.

Your focus stayed on the space in between them. If they were going to ignore you, you would do the same. Channeling your willpower, you refused to cave. Despite Erwin’s command, you could sense he wanted you to fail. To embarrass yourself as you did Levi.

Resting his cheek against his fist with elbow sat on the arm of the couch, Levi glanced at you. From your peripheral, you saw him leisurely drinking in your form. If you weren’t so stubborn, you would have snapped at him that he’s enjoying this. He must be. You were like this because of him, because of Erwin.

Erwin huffed out a laugh at the TV. Clenching your fingers even tighter, your skin pinched between your nails. You hoped you would bleed. Your thighs started to cramp from being in the same position for who knows how long now. Every second passed slowly, like in molasses. The sticky residue had you wanting to stretch your legs.

Tiny divots imprinted into you. You didn’t know what made you more angry, the mat having pawprints on it or Erwin picked it because of that. Maybe it’s Levi who did since he did have an infinity to call you a bitch or a dog. How much did they have this prepared?

While lost in your thoughts, you felt a small wetness begin in your panties. Instantly you clenched your thighs and stood up straighter. Alright so trying not to pay attention to your bladder didn’t help you at all. Now you were very conscious of it. You didn’t know if that made it better or worse.

Instead of the sting in your knees, your brain flooded you with the ache in your intestines. With it in the forefront of your mind, you wanted to move. When you clenched your thighs, your knees moved slightly causing the sharp edge to dig in your cartilage. Subtly as you could, you shifted to get some sort of relief.

Somehow Erwin caught it.

“First and only warning, Princess.”

Luckily Levi made no comment to tempt you. Steeling yourself, you bit your lip. Still refuse to give the men the reaction they wanted, you didn’t stray from the space in between them. With no idea how much time had passed, you didn’t know how much longer you had. You regret not counting in your head the seconds. Sure, it would have been agonizing, but at least you knew when to give up.

Time sat like this, unmoving like your quivering form. Your toes started to curl in on themselves from the stretch. Squeezing your lids, the cramps in your legs, back and now your feet almost broke you. Laying on the couch for almost a week didn’t help with your stamina.

Body coiled tight like a violin string, your bladder screamed at you. It laid heavy on your other organs. More dribbled out of you and you wanted to screech. Why of all days did your own body betray you? Were you no better than an untrained puppy? Most adults couldn’t even go without a toilet and yet you were here, almost peeing yourself no better than a child. You seethed and scolded yourself for not being stronger.

“Times up, sweet girl,” Erwin’s voice pulled you from your stupor.

Head springing up, you stared at him as if he was lying. Even with those words, you didn’t get up. In this position for so long, your body crystallized. Erwin got up from the couch to get closer to you.

“Can I go now?”

“Go ahead,” He smiled down at you.

Relieved, you raised on your knees to get up slowly, but he clamped a hand on your shoulder and forced you back down.

Confused, you tried to pry away his enormous palm. Slumped on the ground, you were no longer on your knees but your legs to the side of you, your hip digging into the rim of the mat. Your fingers worthlessly scrambled against his to pull them backwards.

“I didn’t move, let me go!”

“I don’t remember saying you could use the bathroom, just not to squirm or go unless you wanted a harsher punishment.”

“You freak,” You barked and raised your hand to punch him in his dick.

Before you could, Levi came behind you and stopped you before you made it worse for yourself.

“Let the poor girl go, Erwin. Honestly I really don’t want to clean up the mess,” Levi sounded exasperated.

Nodding, Erwin let you go and you scrambled away from him. Your legs were pins and needles, stinging as you awkwardly stumbled into the bathroom. No different to a fawn finding its footing.

Behind you, Erwin huffed at Levi that he was merely teasing you. You could almost hear Levi rolling his eyes at the taller man.

Ripping the door open and slamming it closed, you really wish the bathroom had a lock. Finally on the toilet, you let yourself sag until your chest was at your knees. Stuttering breaths erupted from your lungs. The stress of today weighed on you. Muffling your sobs, you refused to move, not caring your panties and shorts hung around your ankles. The ache persisted in your tummy.

The door opened and shut a lot softer than when you shut it. From the barely there footsteps you assumed Levi joined you. Tilting your head up with a tearful glare, his expression stayed stoic.

“Do you need help?” His eyes look at the toilet paper.

Scoffing, you grabbed it yourself, “Don’t fucking coddle me.”

At that, he crossed his arms and leaned against the door, trapping you with him. Realizing how exposed you were, you finished your business and shoved your clothes over your pelvic bone. Getting up from the toilet, you reached behind you to pull the band over your butt. You refused to let him see you naked ever again. Even if it killed you.

Going to the sink, you stared at each other from the mirror. Flicking the water on, you squirt copious amounts of soap in your hands. Vigorously scrubbing, you let muscle memory overtake you as you watched Levi like a prey animal. Water rushing filled the empty silence.

“You’re not doing it correctly.” Pushing himself off the door, he stood behind you.

Wrapping his arms around yours, he took your hands in his. Compared to Erwin’s hands, his seemed almost delicate. Long, slim fingers with slender palms but still littered with calluses. His nails were well manicured, but you could tell he’s a man that used his hands often. Despite this, his still engulfed and cradled yours.

Gently, with his chin over your shoulder, he washed your own hands meticulously.

“Didn’t I say not to coddle me,” You muttered, too tired to actually fight.

“I don’t think you are in the position to tell me what to do,” His voice tickled your neck.

Still staring at him in the mirror, you spoke, “I forget that’s Erwin’s job.”

“I know what you are doing. Knock it off.”

Properly scolded, you looked down and watched how the warm water washed over you both. Hands thoroughly cleaned, Levi released you to let you both respectfully dry your hands. Finished before you, Levi grabbed your annoyingly pink toothbrush and just as annoyingly strawberry toothpaste tube.

The mirror shut with a muffled pop. Confused, you watched on as Levi squirted a hefty amount of toothpaste on the bristles. Wetting it under the water and flipping it back off, his left hand grabbed your jaw and massaged it open. Scared of a repeat of only mere hours ago, you try to tilt your head away. Levi was quick to redirect you.

In the mirror, he placed the toothbrush into your mouth. At first you thought he’s going to gag you, but instead he gently brushed your molars. Eyebrows twisted in perplexion, your eyes go cross-eyed as you stare at the brush in your palate. Memories of your first day trapped here ran through your head. The whole reason why you were punished. He must have been testing you. To see if you would be stupid enough to repeat the same mistake.

This time you will keep your teeth to yourself. For now.

Through the mirror, Levi didn't drift from your mouth. Extremely thorough with each tooth, he moved from one side to the other. Foamy, strawberry flavored drool spilled from your mouth and down onto the sink.

You whimpered at the sticky saliva paint on your chin. Levi paid no mind to it as he pinched your jaw to open your mouth further. With dexterity, he moved to your upper row of teeth, scrubbing away any imperfections. Too tired to really fight, you wrapped your hands around his forearms.

“Spit.”

Listening, you bent over and spat the toothpaste into the sink. Bringing you back up, he spoke again.

“Open, tongue out.”

Warmth filled your face. His words in different context sounded so lewd. His face didn’t portray how his words sounded. Reluctantly, you let your tongue lull out. Hand still on your face, he simply brushed your tongue.

Going deeper into the cavity, you gagged when he hit the back of your throat. He paused, but continued on. He kept the same pace with your tongue, attentive. The brush went too far and you gagged again.

“Spit,” he repeated.

Still queasy from earlier, you gladly did. If he kept hitting the back of your throat, you were going to throw up and you didn’t want him to brush your teeth, again.

Not moving from you quite yet, he rinsed off the brush and put it with the others in the holder. Hands on your shoulders, Levi spun you around slowly. Your grip on his forearms loosening. Grabbing a cloth, he wet it under the water and brought it to your chin. Gently he wiped away any residue.

“Messy,” He absentmindedly commented.

Levi finally let his arms drop. Locking gazes with you once more, he seemed to be… pleased.

The thought had fire sit in your chest. You didn’t want to ever make that man content or pleased with you. The mutual hatred kept your sanity not snapping like a thread. But you couldn’t handle more, so you let it be. Picked your battles.

“Come.”

Pulling completely away, he opened the bathroom door and expected you to follow. Dejectedly you stayed behind him. Instead of taking a right, he went to the left, further down the hall. Right where your room sat.

Pretending to be scared to go back inside and a little spoiled, you grabbed the hem of Levi’s shirt. “Wait!”

He stopped and glared at the hand tugging at him. “What?”

“I don’t want to go back in,” You mumbled.

“Too bad. Erwin spoiled you enough.” Levi grabbed the hand on his shirt and tugged you further down the hall.

You stumbled a little at the pull, but stayed silent otherwise. A tiny smile flinched on your lips before you snuffed it. You dared not look anything but dejected, Levi could sniff out when you were lying like a damn bloodhound.

Light footsteps carried you until you hit your bedroom, nothing out of place. The cage door open, waiting for your arrival. Firmly, Levi brought you to the cage and stuffed you inside. While going in he covered the wiring so your head didn’t hit the metal. There was no need to injure you further.

He closed you in and locked you inside with a snap of the key. The same key you kept seeing. One a bolder, safer night, you will go looking for the source of it. It had to be your ticket out of here.

Crouched at the door, Levi observed you, eyes squinted. “I know you’re up to something, whatever it is, stop it. Erwin only played nice because he’s worried about your concussion worsening.”

“I’m not up to anything,” You glared back. Liar.

“We’ll see about that. Don’t come crying to me when your Daddy beats your ass black and blue.” And with that, he withdrew from your cage and left you alone. He flicked the lights off and shut the door.

Finally alone, you crumpled into a ball and grabbed one of the plushies. Muffling your cries, you sobbed and sobbed until there was nothing left. Hours must have passed as you no longer heard the TV and the light in the hallway didn’t creep into the dimly lit room. Your stomach no longer hurt, at least some of the food digested. A spiteful part of you never wanted to eat again.

No sound bellowed in the house.

Not even the creaking of a bed above you. Patience sure was a virtue, but so was persistence. You couldn’t handle one more night here than needed. Plus Erwin and Levi—well at least Erwin—would think you would be licking your wounds too much to try anything.

Tearing yourself from the blankets and stuffing holding you down, you turn behind you and grab the teddy bear. Sitting up further, you dug your finger in the hole and found the screwdriver still in there. Relieved, you shakily smiled with a quivering exhale.

Shuffling over to the lock, you squeezed your fingers through the gaps and twisted the lock closer to you. It would have been easier if you could get your hands in between the bars, but alas.

The hooked metal strained against the wires. Your fingers pinched the actual lock while the hand with the screwdriver shimmied the shaft far enough inside. Ear close to the mechanism, you listened carefully for clicks. You didn’t even know if this would work, but you could only hope and pray. Pray to any god or deity listening to hear your pleas.

Lids closed, you twisted and turned the screwdriver. You were scared of it not working, but you were more scared of the tiny tool breaking inside the lock. Pushing away the thought, you focused harder. You spun and pulled, spun and pushed, spun and pulled until….

Click. … Click, click, snap.

Springing up, you stared at the lock and tugged on it. It came off. Holy fuck, it came off. Pulling the lock out of the hinges, you threw it behind you on the blankets and pushed open the door.

In disbelief, you numbly crawled out of the cage and further into the room. Learning your lesson, you were more aware of your footsteps. Still crawling to the door, you placed your ear against the slab of wood. The house was still barren of sound. Not even a breath.

Cautiously, you twisted the door and peeked your head out to see nothing in the dark, looming hallway. Now or never, you slipped through the crack and crouched upwards. Low to the ground, you took soft, slow footsteps. Passing the hallway that led to the stairs, you never let it out of your view until you efficiently crossed by it.

Exhales heavy in your chest, you dared not breathe until you were out of its line of sight. The opening into the living room, had you gently release some tension. You stopped at the archway and put your back to the wall, your body facing the living room. Peeking a head out, there’s no one on the couch nor in the kitchen. Safe—for now—you tip-toe ran towards the mudroom.

Kneeling at the small table, you quietly pulled the drawer open and grabbed the flashlight luckily still there. Closing it just as gently, you make sure no one stood behind you. Still in the clear, you got back up and raced towards the hallway window that faced the neighbor’s home.

Crouched at the window, your hands sweaty and clamped around the flashlight, you prayed for someone to be awake. With shaking hands, you turned behind just to be precautious and then stopped stalling. Flashlight in hand, your thumb went to the button at the bottom.

You clicked it on.

Hushed and under your breath, you said, “One. Two. Three. One… Two… Three… One. Two. Three.”

With each number you flicked the light on and off. Three short bursts of light, three long bursts, and then three short ones again. You prayed you were doing it correctly.

“S. O… S.”

You repeated this five times. Not wanting to test your luck, you stopped after the fifth time. In the abyss of the night, the only indicator where the neighbors home was the porch light on. Your eyes focused on your reflection in the window. Chills had your skin raise and you whipped around to see no one.

Trusting your intuition, you were out of time. On a time crunch, you go back to the table, careful not to let your anxiety cause you to get sloppy. Placing the flashlight where it was before, the draw shut with some resistance. You snarled at the wood to fucking work.

Tears bubbling at the apprehension, it finally closed. Heart in your ears, you raced back to your room, not leaving your crouch. You were able to make it to your door when the sound of someone moving sent you in overdrive.

Not daring to look behind you, you slipped into the crack you left and closed the door gently. A soft creak had your shoulder hunch to your ears, but you didn’t dwell on it.

Crawling to your cage, you shut the door and fumbled behind you. Grabbing the lock with slippery hands, you shoved your fingers in between the bars and made sure the lock’s front faced away from you. Snicking it closed, pounding footsteps lumbered down the stairs.

Erwin’s coming.

Twisting around, you plunged the screwdriver into the teddy bear and shoved it in its place. The footsteps went towards your door. Terrified, you threw your head onto the plushies and cradled it to your chest. Tossing a blanket over you, Erwin quietly opened your door.

Clenching your eyes closed, you prayed he wasn’t as perceptive as Levi. The man didn’t come fully in your room. He stood at the doorway before closing the door again. His footsteps went back down the hall and up the stairs.

Your lungs whistled from how long you trapped oxygen in your alveoli. Despite the terror, you grinned into the stuffed animal you hugged.

You did it. You fucking did it.

[lieutenantfloyd]

Love is a mystery | Robert "Rosie" Rosenthal x reader

Word Count: 841

Summary: With Harry’s help, Rosie finds old hobbies and new love in post-war New York.

Warnings: Mentions, of war, implied ptsd and depression, talk of marriage and pregnancy.

Authors Note: I honestly don't know where this idea came from, but I think my brain needed something a bit fluffy after watching all nine episodes of Master of the Air in two days and crying the whole time. [This is based off of the portrayal by the actors in the Apple TV+ series. I have nothing but wholehearted respect for the real life individuals and situations portrayed.]

Read on AO3

In the months following their return stateside, Crosby takes a trip to see Rosie. During a nice casual lunch, he spends far too long dancing around the fact that Rosie is visibly not okay, and eventually suggests that getting back into things he enjoyed before the war will greatly help his readjustment.

Rosie briefly considered placating him with an "I'm fine, really," but he only nods, unable to lie to Crosby. 

The truth is Rosie hasn't slept one full night since his first at Thorpe Abbotts and he gladly accepts shaky hands and reddened eyes over the twilight memories of what he saw and those he's lost.

Yet, after a night of particularly bad insomnia, he takes Crosby's words to heart and heads to the library. The pen trembles against Rosie's calloused hand while he fills out the library's card application, but his voice is steady when he asks the pretty librarian for recommendations.

He's too distracted by your shiny, kind eyes to notice how you recognize the distant look in his own. contrarily, You note in your diary that night how you couldn't tell if it was sympathy or his easy charm that made your heart race wildly while suggesting some classics and mysteries that should keep his mind busy.

-

"you need to get out more, Rosie," Crosby states in a letter one day.

It just so happens that during a now routine trip to the library, Rosie notices a half-hidden flier for an Agatha Christie book club pinned to the community board.

A week later—spurred onward once more by Harry's words—he pulls himself out of bed, has a shower and shave, and attends the meeting.

The cracked glass of Rosie's brown leather watch allows him to see he's half an hour late as he ascends up the small steps in front of the building.

Designated meeting room C is quiet and mostly dark as he pulls the handle. He's three solid steps inside the door when the room's sole occupant looks up at him—you, that same librarian with those same eyes.

He barely has half a mind to choose one of the provided refreshments—a cup of black coffee dangerously close to room temperature—before sinking into one of the many empty seats. The weary but logical part of him says that this is a waste of time, but the remnants of his fun-loving side tell him that he's got nothing to lose.

He takes a sip of coffee and sinks further into his seat.

While exchanging kind pleasantries, you retrieve a well loved copy of Why Didn't They Ask Evans? from your envelope handbag. Rosie quickly follows suit and slips his own newly bought but already dog eared book out of his leather coat pocket.

"So you liked it?" you inquire with joyfully clasped hands and a voice filled with breathtaking earnestness. After nearly choking on a hefty drink of coffee and his fluttery nerves, Rosie lets a bashful smile slip past his defenses.

Ninety minutes pass completely uncounted before Rosie steps back out onto the snowy, bustling New York City streets. He quickly shuffles home, tossing his coat and book onto a chair before dropping down onto his bed. He intends to return the items to their rightful place after a short rest, though the book will find a home on his bedside table after he spots your number jotted on the inside corner in loopy, flowing handwriting.

-

Spring is well in bloom when Rosie and Harry see each other again. 

Rosie spends the following two days giving the Crosby family a tour of the best sights and eats his hometown has to offer. 

Their third evening in town has Crosby swaying his young son to the music flowing through the jazz bar while covertly helping Rosie draft his proposal speech. You and Jean are sat within arms reach, though you both pay the boys no mind as you're fully entranced by the music. The night winds on, and the draft becomes a full, completed speech. They share a coy laugh as Rosie slips the notebook back into his vest pocket, knowing that if all goes right this moment will find its way into Crosby's best man's speech.

In this smoky bar just past dinner time, they both accept that they aren't the same men they were before the war. They’d seen a hell no words could ever describe, and yet the world somehow kept turning. They escape to the bar soon after, where Harry tells him that he'll soon be a father once more. Rosie offers his congratulations and jokes that he won't be far behind. The bar is dim, but Crosby still catches a glimpse of the lighthearted playfulness returning to his friend's eyes.

You and Jean coo and fuss over the baby as the men say their goodbyes. Through an especially tight hug, they make each other a silent promise to keep holding on. If not for who they were before but for who they are—and what they have —now.

[vodika-vibes]

Hi, darling~ I'm back again with request #6!

I was going to stop at 5, but then I felt bad for leaving out Kix. So, this one is for him, with an aquamarine, at twilight. Who better to give some healing love than our beloved medic? He's got that weighted blanket charm

Please and thank you 💚💚💚

@the-bad-batch-baroness

First Choice

Summary: Kix is a man in love. He just needs to make her see it.

Pairing: Clone Medic Kix x F!Reader

Word Count: 622

Prompt: Aquamarine - Healing Love

Warnings: Reader's parents are bad. Not abusive, just bad.

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni @imabeautifulbutterfly

A/N: I hope this is close to what you wanted and I hope you like it!!

“Bad day, Bluebird?” Kix asks as he props his feet up on her desk, an easy grin on his face as he watches her start in surprise, and then glare at his boots.

She pushes his boots off her desk, “No shoes on the furniture, Kix. Honestly.”

He laughs and props his feet up again, “Come on, bluebird. That wasn’t an answer. What’s got you so down in the dumps?”

She glares at him, her pen tapping an annoyed rhythm out on her desk, before she sighs, “You know how I was supposed to meet up with my parents today?”

“Yeah. It was a whole big thing, you were so excited.” Kix scans her face, “Didn’t go well?”

“Well, I don’t know.” She pauses, “You see, they never showed up. Again.” She clenches her jaw, and then slowly relaxes, “They commed, after the fact. They decided to go visit my brother instead.”

Kix exhales slowly, “Oh, bluebird. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.” She focuses her attention back to her work, “I’ve never been anyone’s first choice…I don’t know why I thought they’d start now.”

Kix winces, and drops his feet to the floor, “Come on, cyare. That’s not true.”

“No. No it is.” She won’t look at him, “You know, they never even came to my college graduation. My sister had a piano recital, you see, and they had to be there-” Her voice cracks, and she presses her lips into a thin line. “I’d like to be alone.”

“Absolutely not.” Kix slides his chair closer, “Alone is the last thing you need right now.” Carefully, he plucks the pen from her unresisting hands, and he spins her chair so she’s facing him, “There you are.”

“Kix-” She has tears in her eyes and she looks even more upset than when he first came into the room.

“You’re my first choice.”

She blinks at him, and then she scowls, “I’m not. You don’t have to lie-”

“Hey,” He presses his hands against her cheeks, “You’re absolutely my first choice.”

“I’ve never been anyone’s first choice. Ever.” She counters, “Why should you be any different.”

“Because I love you.”

She blinks at him. Once. Twice. Three times.

“What?”

“I love you. I’m in love with you. From the top of your head to the tips of your toes.” Kix says, “Have been since the day we met.”

“That…doesn’t make any sense.” She mumbles, “No one-”

“Yeah, well. My name’s Kix and I’m legally no one.”

She blinks at him, and then scowls, “That’s a terrible joke.”

“Not joking. About any of it.” Kix gently, very gently, slides her off her chair and onto his lap, “Let me show you. Let me prove to you how I feel.”

“How do you intend to do that?” The tears have faded from her eyes, and her voice is hushed.

Maker, he loves her so much.

“Like this.” Slowly, giving her time to back away if she needs to, he presses his lips against hers in a chaste kiss. And, when she doesn’t pull away, and in fact, curls her fingers into the thick material of his blacks, he deepens the kiss. 

When she kisses him back, Kix is pretty sure that his heart is going to explode in his chest. “So,” He murmurs, once he breaks the kiss, “Believe me yet?”

“...I’m starting to.”

“Well then, I’ll just have to kiss you until you definitely do.”

And, well, if his Bluebird’s parents got a picture of him kissing her, as well as a long message thanking them for breaking her heart, because he’s going to make sure that they’ll never have the power to do that again-

Well, that’s no one’s business but his, now is it?

[violetasteracademic]

A Court of Twisted Fate: Multi Chapter Elriel Fic

Summary:

After nearly losing both her sisters once again, Elain Archeron decides to take the growth of her powers into her own hands. Things may not be going as she would have hoped, but when the Crown is stolen, it is finally time for Elain to serve her court and show her family what she can do. The search for the Crown winds up being a job for the seer and the shadowsinger, the male she has fallen for but barely spoken to after an unrequited wish for a kiss. Azriel has been careful to stay away from Elain, trying his best to follow his High Lord's orders. But as they are forced to work together to protect their court, his resolve begins fading more quickly than he can manage. As they search for the Crown, they become trapped in a castle of treachery, vengeance, and twisted fates. If they cannot find their way out of it, they risk becoming lost there forever, or killed. And if they can't keep their hands off each other, they might finally have to face the mountain of obstacles standing in their way at the home that awaits them.

Warnings: Eventual smut and spice

Chapter One Preview: 2,006 words

Elain

Elain Archeron gritted her teeth as silken shafts of sunlight broke through the heavy veil of twilight. She could not tell if it was morning mist or sweat that clung to her lashes as she panted, suddenly overwhelmed with urgency as the light warmed her skin.

No one questioned her on the mornings she departed the river house hours before dawn, claiming she had to start on her work earlier and earlier as the roster of Velaris citizens whose gardens she tended to grew longer and longer.

It was all true enough. She had grown close to her ever-increasing number of gardening clients. Many would often stop to chat and let her know how the blooms were faring as she strode arm in arm with her sisters, Nyx cradled on one of their hips, through the streets of Velaris. This made her story quite believable and easily accounted for.

What she lied about was exactly when she started her workday. And what she was doing in the early hours of the morning. So early the blooms still slept soundly, not yet ready to stretch awake in the sun and be tended to.

Once the first light broke across the horizon every morning, anxiety gnawed at the edges of her mind. She was always a little bit terrified that someone might decide to come check on the townhouse garden one morning and find her there, eyes closed and waving her hands along the ground like a madwoman.

Focus, Elain, she chided herself. Focus.

She listened. She watched. She felt.

The worm she narrowed her sight on came closer and closer to the surface, and Elain readied her small garden shovel.

Velarian earthworms were fully regenerative. She knew that getting it wrong, that being off in her timing and accidentally slicing the poor creature in half would not kill it. But still, it poked little holes in her heart to do such harm. That, and it was another sign of her failure.

Elain’s vision had always worked in peculiar, specific ways. One being that it worked at a distance. Whether it be the distance of time or location, Elain had never been able to see what was right under her nose. Another was that she was not able to control what visions came to her. She had no say in what she saw and when. She could often easily find information when asked but… everything else came in fits and starts, with no rhyme or reason to it.

There were so many things she should have been able to prevent since gaining her sight.

Her father’s death. Briallyn infiltrating the Blood Rite, nearly killing Cassian and Nesta. Nyx, Feyre, and Rhys and their brush with death. Azriel…

No. She would not think about Azriel. There were far greater risks that she needed to be able to detect other than her own bruised heart. She had survived such a thing before, and she would survive it again.

The safety of her court and her family was what mattered most.

So many threats… she wondered if they would ever stop.

And so, she practiced with the earthworms. She tried to cast her sight into the ground and watched as they wriggled their way up.

Time continued to be the issue. If she tracked a worm, and dug her shovel to find nothing there, she had no way of knowing if it was because that worm had not even been born yet and was hundreds of years into the future, or if it was a smaller, slighter miscalculation. For all she knew, she wasn’t seeing anything with her power at all. She may have spent every morning staring at the ground, imagining worms that were merely a product of her desperate mind and in no way an indication of her power.

There was no one to teach her. No one to help her. No other seers that could offer guidance or help her understand.

The answers she had found in the library at the House of Wind yielded disappointing results. Seers where historically kept in the employ of kings and queens and High Lords, treated as oracles. Kept hidden from the world and doomed to a life of predicting the future for anyone who dared ask. Seers, it seemed, lived solely for others. The stories and legends never once seemed to focus on the life of the seers beyond their servitude.

Did they have wants and wishes? Did they dream? Did they… fall in love?

Or had they lived nothing more than a shell of a life? A ghost, a vessel. Watching so many lives and futures unfold over and over again in their minds until they entirely lost sight of the fact that they once were someone. That they, too, had a heart that beat.

Elain heard so many heartbeats. How long until she could no longer determine the cadence of her own among the chorus?

And while she could not confirm it in her research, there didn’t appear to be any indication seers predicted or tried to affect their own future. They simply answered what they were asked. Elain had found that to be true of her own power so far. When Feyre asked her to look for the Suriel, or when Azriel asked deeper questions about Vassa and Koschei, she was able to find the information they asked for without any prior knowledge of how to do so. It was intuitive to find what others needed.

And yet she had questions of her own that needed answers.

She wanted to protect everyone she had ever loved from harm. She wanted a life of her own. A choice in where her life would lead.

And somehow, when she tried to guide herself in the solitude of this garden, she always drew up empty.

She stared at the ground. She tried to feel the worm move as she touched the earth.

Please, she begged silently. Please work today.

She dug her shovel deep into the earth, her eyes pinched closed.

She crumbled the soil in her hand, her lungs stilled in her chest.

Elain slowly peeled her eyes open, her heart hammering and thudding.

Please.

The soil broke down into smaller and smaller sediment, until it all fell from her hands.

Empty.

She bit back a sob as tears began to prick her eyes.

Elain gripped her small shovel and began digging furiously in the soil, desperate for any sign she was close. That she was getting somewhere.

“Please,” she cried aloud this time. Her cheeks heated as she tried to swallow her anguish. She tossed the shovel aside, digging with her bare hands into the earth. She dug and dug until her fingers grew raw and aching. She could not stop the torrent of tears that had broken free from her eyes.

Empty. All of the dirt- completely empty.

She pressed her lips into the crook of her elbow to muffle a heart-piercing scream.

Her hair suddenly began to lift from her face and shoulders, blown this way and that as a cedar and night chilled mist scented wind rushed in. She stiffened, quickly reaching to brush the wet tears from her face. But she halted just in time, realizing her hands and dress sleeves were so thoroughly coated with mud and soil that trying to clear the wet trails staining her cheeks would only serve to make matters worse.

Elain tried to slow her breathing as Azriel appeared before her, eyes boring into her own.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. She was too shocked to see him.

She had to stop herself from falling into that old habit of trying to read him. To see and feel all the words he kept hidden behind that stone cold demeanor. The thoughts tried to rush forward and flood her mind regardless of her attempt to squash them. The slight dilation of his pupils. The tightening of his jaw. A quick, near imperceptible flare of his cobalt siphons.

She shoved the thoughts away. Tried to bury them in the earth beneath her hands, then straightened her back and lifted her chin indignantly.

“What are you doing here?” She couldn’t stop her eyes from drifting to his mouth as his lips pursed.

“I could ask you the same thing,” he replied coolly.

An ice-cold chill sluiced through her stomach, and her skin paled. She wasn’t ready to tell anyone about the work she had been doing in an attempt to master her powers.

She could have sworn a flicker of guilt flashed across Azriel’s eyes before he said, “I’m here for you.”

The words washed over Elain and the tips of her ears nearly caught fire. Her heart thrashed against her ribcage so violently she was certain Azriel could hear it.

Breathe, she commanded herself. Breathe.

She hadn’t been alone with Azriel in months. Her breath halted as he stepped closer, his eyes darting across her face and down to her hands. To the holes she was digging before she broke apart.

I’m here for you. Was he…

“You are needed at the river house immediately,” he clarified.

“Oh.” The icy water sloshing around Elain’s stomach turned solid, and she dipped her head to hide her mortified flush.

He wasn’t here for her. Not in the way she had hoped. Not in the way she needed.

He was here to retrieve her. That was all.

Foolish. Foolish. Foolish.

“Alright,” she said, brushing the muddy soil caking her hands on her skirts.

Azriel extended a scarred hand to help her up, and she briefly considered not taking it. The last time their skin touched she had nearly gone out of her mind with desire. She had pushed him. Like a woman possessed, she wanted… she needed him to keep touching her. And he…

Well, he hadn’t wanted to.

And he stayed far away from her ever since.

She stared and stared at his hand. Despite her deep embarrassment and shame over how terribly she had wrecked her friendship with Azriel, she could not wave him away.

She knew what it meant to him. She knew how it hurt him when others turned away from his hands. She would not let her own insecurities damage him. She took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders, and placed her palm in his.

For a moment, there was a warm familiar spark that had Elain’s skin briefly humming. But Azriel tensed, tightening his grip on her so tightly that she winced and pulled away.

“Sorry,” he murmured, not meeting her gaze. He briefly rubbed his neck, unable to hide a slight grimace.

“It’s fine,” she replied, rubbing her palm and trying not to show her utter devastation. “I can get up on my own. I…” her voice caught in her throat. “I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable around me.”

She began to push herself off the ground, dusting her dress as well as she could as she moved.

“Elain, that isn’t…”

“It’s fine,” she said again as she waved her hand. “Just give me a moment to clean up.”

Azriel nodded tightly. Elain tried not to let her heart sink right into the ground as she began to smooth over the unsightly holes in the ground with the toe of her slipper. Anxiety sank its claws into her mind as Azriel stood stiff muscled behind her.

She hated herself for making him so on edge.

Although she had clearly misinterpreted the meaning of it, she knew that what she and Azriel had shared together was special. The peace and comfort they used to find in each other… that was not imagined. It was real. And maybe… maybe with time they could have it again someday. As friends.

Once she stopped loving him.

Once he could stand being alone without fear she would try to cross another line.

Time. It just needed time. Her garden, her powers, her friendship with Azriel… time would improve it all.

Click here to read the rest of chapter one on AO3!

[skyward-floored]

Swapped (part 2)

Incredibles au power swap pt. 2! Checking in on some of the other boys, who are... struggling lol.

Part 1 | Next

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Hyrule woke up feeling cold.

A shiver went through him as he slowly came back to awareness, the cold feeling sinking into his very bones, and he wondered why whatever he was lying on was so hard and uncomfortable.

Why did his chest hurt? Why was he so cold? He hadn’t woken up like this since...

Since...

Panic smacked into him, and Hyrule‘s eyes flew open, his heart thudding as he looked around. He took in the unfamiliar walls around him, piles of rubble and dirt, and right as his heart began to pound with fear, he saw Time waking up, a hand held to his chest.

Hyrule sighed in relief, and carefully sat up himself, immediately feeling better. If dad was here, he wasn’t back on the streets, or... worse.

But... that didn’t really answer the question of where he actually was.

Before Hyrule could try and figure it out though, someone let out a panicked gasp. Hyrule jumped and turned around, and saw Wild sitting on the ground a few feet away, looking on the verge of hysterical.

“I’m— I’m slow,” Wild choked out, and Hyrule blinked in confusion as he watched Twilight stumble to his feet beside him, a hand held to his head.

“Wild, it’s all right,” Twilight said, taking a step, then yelped as he somehow went running across the room and straight into a wall. “Ow!”

“You took my speed!” Wild wailed, and Hyrule stared, watching as Twilight tried to get to his feet, but fell over again when his legs went too fast for him. He did a quick glance around the hallway, not seeing anyone else apart from his two brothers and dad. If he had to guess, the rest of his family was probably blocked off by the wall that had collapsed.

...Which had collapsed because of a weird explosion that had also knocked them all out. Right. Now he remembered.

Time properly sat up and looked at Wild and Twilight, his face creased with concern... and a little pain, Hyrule thought. Wild stopped yelling when he saw their dad move, but he still looked panicked, and it seemed like Twilight was afraid to move, his expression confused and fearful.

“Boys what is going on?” Time asked, and Twilight wrapped his arms around himself.

“I don’t know, I woke up and couldn’t hear barely anything and then Wild started yelling and somehow I have his speed and I can’t turn into a wolf,” he said rapidly, clutching at his hair.

“And now I don’t have anything!” Wild added, looking on the verge of tears.

Hyrule blinked, and an even colder feeling ran through him as he digested that. It looked like the explosion had done more than just collapse the wall and knock them out... it had also messed up Wild and Twilight’s powers.

...were they the only ones?

Hyrule quickly drew on his own powers, just to reassure himself nothing was wrong with them. He tried healing first, summoning a blue glow to his hands, but then the icy feeling that had been with him even since he’d woken up suddenly intensified, and Hyrule‘s stomach lurched.

The blue glow was the wrong color.

He tried again, more frantically, but the blue continued to be the wrong color, cold instead of the usual warm, and ice began to spread out from where Hyrule sat, only increasing his panic. Trying to shield brought up no results either, and Hyrule drew desperately on the strange cold power he could feel inside of him, trying to make it heal, to make it shield, do anything it was supposed to be doing.

All he could produce was ice.

Hyrule gasped, trying to stay calm, but not succeeding in the slightest at keeping back the wave of panic that was crashing over him.

What was happening? Anything he tried just kept turning into ice, shielding didn’t work, healing didn’t work, his...

His powers were gone.

The one thing he’d been able to rely on his entire life.

Hyrule felt his breath pick up, his heart pounding as more ice spread out from him. He wouldn’t be able to shield people anymore, protect himself and others from danger, he couldn’t heal, he wouldn’t be able to do anything if he or anyone else got hurt, all he could make was ice and ice and ice—

“Hyrule,” a voice said, and Hyrule looked up and saw his father had joined his side, a worried look on his face.

“Dad— I can’t— I can’t get my shield up,” Hyrule managed to choke out, clutching at his hair. “And my healing, it’s not working, it’s just ice—”

“Hyrule calm down,” Time reassured, holding out a hand.

“Why— why is it doing this, I— wait, don’t touch me! I’ll freeze you!” Hyrule choked as his father kneeled beside him, and Time ignored his words, taking his hands in his own.

They felt... warm.

“Hyrule, I’ve dealt with Warriors’ powers more times than I can count, you won’t freeze me. Calm down,” Time continued, and Hyrule’s brain stuck for a second on the phrasing. Warriors’ powers? “Focus on reining them in. It should be like your own powers, just a little different. Relax.”

Hyrule sucked in a deep breath, thinking slowly through Time’s words and trying to do what he said. He carefully pulled on the strange powers he had, trying to make the cold ease back and stop escaping from him like a leaky faucet, and the ice began to slow in its spread.

Encouraged by the results, he focused a littler harder, and the ice stalled as he took in more deep breaths, finally tamping his panic down to something more manageable. The ice had stopped, and he felt a little less cold as his hands stopped glowing.

The lack of warmth in his middle from both his powers was still terrifying, but Hyrule thought he could... work with it now.

...Maybe.

Hyrule let out one last shaky exhale, and Time squeezed his shoulder, Hyrule leaning into it and feeling much calmer.

“...thanks Dad,” he sighed, and Time nodded.

He stayed next to him for another few moments, letting him continue to calm down, but then Twilight yelped again, and Time drew back with a sigh. He pulled his hand off of Hyrule’s shoulder, but as he drew back, Hyrule let out a startled squeak.

Everything below his father’s elbow was missing.

Time jumped, a truly shocked look on his face, but before he could do anything, his fingers flickered back into view like they’d never been gone at all.

Hyrule and Time both stared at them, and Hyrule watched as Time’s arm abruptly faded out of view again, appearing and disappearing at random.

“You... have Legend’s invisibility?” he said hesitantly, beginning to get an idea of what might be going on, and his father slowly nodded, staring intensely at his hand. Whatever he was trying to do didn’t seem to work though, and he sighed, standing up and helping Hyrule stand as well.

“It looks like it. And you have Warriors’ ice, and Twilight has Wild’s speed,” Time said, and winced as Twilight tripped and landed on his face. “Twilight?”

“Fine,” his son called back weakly, and Time led Hyrule over to where Wild was still sitting in a mild panic.

He patted the both of them on the shoulder, looking into their eyes for a moment, then walked over to Twilight. Wild looked nearly as shaken as Hyrule felt, if not more, but he merely leaned against Hyrule’s arm, Hyrule leaning on him in return.

Looking at how unsettled Wild appeared, Hyrule wasn’t sure if he’d prefer having the ice he currently had, or the nothing Wild seemed to posses.

“Come on Twilight, you can stand,” Time said as he walked away, and Hyrule and Wild both watched him. Twilight was sitting up, but he still looked afraid to move, his face anxious. “You can do it.”

“I’ll just trip again! Why am I so fast all of a sudden? I don’t want Wild’s speed, I can barely hear anything like this or smell anything and I can’t turn into a wolf!” he said rapidly, and Time slowly helped him up.

“I believe our enemy decided to test something on us,” Time said, and Hyrule thought back to what the voice on the intercom had said. That would explain the test subject thing. “And if I'm right... somehow he switched around our powers.”

“But that’s not possible,” Wild spoke up as Time carefully guided Twilight over to them, “you can’t just... switch powers! That’d be like me and Hyrule randomly switching heads!”

“Well somehow he’s done it,” Twilight grimaced.

“And we’ll probably have to stop him to get our proper powers back,” Time sighed, watching as his fingers disappeared from view again.

Hyrule looked around at his family, more then half of them missing from the room, Twilight pale with anxiety, Wild still unhappy about being slow, random bits of their father occasionally disappearing from view.

This... just got a lot more complicated.

Wild looked at Time’s arms, watching as they randomly faded in and out of view, and a grin suddenly stretched across his face, wide and mischievous.

“Dad, did you get both of Legend’s powers?” he asked, and Hyrule and Twilight both turned to look at him as well, Hyrule unable to stop his smile as he realized what he meant.

“I have no idea. And even if I did, I’m not testing it right now,” he said dryly, and Wild and Hyrule both made disappointed noises. “Sorry boys. We need to focus on fixing this mess.”

“Have you tried to contact anyone yet?” Twilight asked, and Time shook his head, pulling out his communication device.

“That’s what I was on to next. I think it’s safe to say everyone’s powers got messed up, so it’s unlikely Artemis is going to come find us.”

“Unless whoever got her powers does,” Wild pointed out, and Twilight shook his head.

“I doubt it. We can barely control the ones we got. I mean, if I’d gotten intangibility, I don’t think I would want to test it by trying to walk through a collapsed wall.”

Hyrule winced. That was a good point. It probably wouldn’t end well if whoever got Artemis’s powers couldn’t use them very well, and accidentally came back in the middle of the wall.

Time busied himself with trying to get his radio working, and Twilight did his best to help him, his leg jittering so rapidly it blurred a bit. Hyrule looked back at Wild, his brother looking miserable, then ignored the urge to shiver as he drew his knees up to his chest.

Why did Warriors’ powers have to be so cold? He thought his uncle had said that the cold didn’t even bother him, why was Hyrule so freezing?

Why couldn't they just be straight-forward like mine?

Hyrule sighed and glanced back at Wild again, frowning when he saw his expression had dimmed even further while he watched Twilight’s leg jitter rapidly in place.

“Are you alright Wild?” Hyrule asked, and Wild shrugged, making the face he made when he was trying to appear unbothered.

“Yeah. I’m fine. You’re... kinda pale though,” he said, looking over Hyrule. "You okay?"

Hyrule shrugged, trying not to look as shaken as he still felt. He knew Wild probably just wanted to help, but he was pretty sure if he thought about his switched-up-also-missing powers too long he’d cry.

Wild somehow read his expression though, and after a moments hesitation, put his arm around Hyrule’s shoulder, giving him a little squeeze.

“It’ll be okay,” Wild said. “We’ll figure it out, Roolie.”

And for some reason Hyrule believed him, the words like a warm blanket on his still-shaky nerves. He near-immediately relaxed, and Wild looked at him in surprise as he leaned on him more, before realization flirted across his face.

“Oh. I got Mom’s,” he said, and Hyrule looked at him weirdly.

“Huh?”

“I got Mom’s powers. You know, she has her whole horse-soothing voice she uses, it’s really good at calming down horses and other animals. I... guess it also works on people?” Wild said hesitantly. “At least I think that’s what that was.”

Hyrule blinked, not sure how he felt about that. But for some reason the thought didn’t seem too worrying, so he shrugged, and set his head on Wild’s shoulder. He was nice and warm, and helped chase away some of the chill.

“Guess so. We’ll have to find a horse so you can test it,” Hyrule murmured, and Wild let out a quiet laugh.

A sigh caught their attentions, and the two looked over at Time and Twilight, both of their face grim.

“No luck,” Time said as he put his radio away with a frown. “It's being blocked. Looks like we’re on our own for now.”

“We should try and find the others then, right?” Twilight asked. “Because not to underestimate us right now, but uh... I don’t know if we can take on this scientist guy in the state we’re in.”

“I could,” Wild said with a bite to his voice. “I’m going to punch that jerk right in the mouth for taking my speed.”

“We were all headed for the top floor when we were ambushed, we’ll continue heading that way,” Time decided, rolling his shoulder. “The others will doubtlessly be working their way that direction as well, so we’ll try to meet up with them on the way. Are you all good to go?” he asked, looking at Twilight and Hyrule especially.

Hyrule nodded, and Twilight glared at his feet, then sighed.

“Yeah. I can walk.”

“Good. Let’s get going then,” Time said with a nod.

And as he took a step forward, he was suddenly doused in shadows.

Everyone jumped, and Hyrule stared as the shadows grew smaller, condensing most intensely by the floor. He had a brief moment of panic before he recognized what the shadows meant, and he froze, exchanging quick glances with his siblings.

The shadows faded away mere moments later, and a small, one-eyed rabbit was left sitting dazedly on the ground.

Hyrule, Wild, and Twilight stared.

Then Wild fell to the floor laughing, and Hyrule bit his lip to stop his own from escaping, the rabbit that was now their father twitching his nose in alarm. He shouldn’t laugh, he really shouldn’t, but Time was so small, and fluffy, and seeing his father as a rabbit of all things was just...

Hyrule couldn’t help his giggle, and Twilight knelt beside Time, their father swiveling his ears in his direction and giving him a wide-eyed look.

“Are you, um, okay Dad?” Twilight asked, his mouth twitching, and Time blinked once or twice, before letting out a rather squeaky sigh.

“I’m fine. Come on, the sooner we fix this the better,” he grumbled, voice slightly squeaky, and began hopping in the direction they’d planned to go in.

Wild finally stopped laughing, though it was a close thing when he saw Time hopping determinedly across the floor. Twilight followed after their father, and Hyrule and Wild trailed behind, Wild still letting out an occasional giggle.

"I guess that answers the question of whether he has both of Legend's powers," he snickered, and Hyrule shook his head in disbelief. This day couldn't get any weirder.

Twilight lifted Time up to sit on his shoulder after only a minute or two of walking, their father's face surprisingly grim for a rabbit, and Hyrule glanced at them, anxiety still churning in his stomach.

He still felt a little shaky and unsure from the shock of his powers being gone, worried for the rest of their group, and Time being a mostly-defenseless rabbit only added another layer to that. But Wild seemed confident, and Twilight and Time were both putting on brave faces, so Hyrule decided he would be too.

They could do this. They’d stop the scientist guy, and make him fix this.

Screwed up powers or not.

And Hyrule kept telling himself that, even when Twilight lost control of his legs again and smacked into a wall mere moments later.