#as someone who grew up in a small town the only reason it took me till college to smoke for the first time is bc i had no friends

[justa-fanfic-writer]

Yandere Katakuri x Male Reader

Warnings: Yandere (duh), shit writing, male pregnancy-ish?

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Yandere Katakuri who. . . First met you when you were just walking around the town since you had nothing to do today, so you thought it'll be nice to have a walk around town, not after until you saw a particular red haired boy who looks like he was eating... donuts?

You were strolling around the town since you were still new, and you don't really know your way around, so you thought you might as well explore around but not until you heard some faint noise... it sounds like... someone is munching...? since you were curious where that munching sound was, you thought about going towards the sound since little ol you thought it would be a cute animal eating!

You walked faster to the sound since you had your hopes up thinking it was still a cute animal, not until it wasn't a cute animal... it was some random kid with spiky crimson hair eating what it seems to be donuts? he seems like he was... in bliss of some sort? It seems like donuts were their favorite food!

Your thoughts were cut off when he pinned you against the wall with a long Spear like trident around your neck. He Than spoke, "You saw it, didn't you?" You could feel and hear the anger and rage when he spoke. You were pretty scared, like c'mon, a sharp, pointy blade near your neck like ofc anyone would be scared AF you were almost about to try reasoning with him until you looked at his face and gasped the crimson Haired boy was ready to hear you call him a monster like how the others did and was about to stab you until you murmured softy that only he heard something that absolutely fuckin shocked him "what a cool mouth".

when he heard you spoke those words in your very mouth, his eyes widened in shock! You thought his mouth was cool...? Not disgusting? A curse? A pelican eel? A MONSTER???? He then looked at you again, still shocked, and took back his Spear like Trident back, and he then akwardly apologized. He started putting on his white and black patterned scarf, and you said in a nervous voice, "i-its okay..." And then there was akward silence there was tension still in the air and maybe a start of a new weird friendship? (I got lazy for the backstory here, bare with me here 💀)

Yandere Katakuri who. . . At first, he didn't fully trust you. I mean, come on, barely anyone even wanted to talk to him nor even think about going near him because they kept all called him a freak and a monster, but when you both got even closer he was... a bit happy he had someone to talk to, someone who cares for him, someone who would hang out with but as the days gone by you both were than became inseparable you both would always do everything together and at first Katakuri first saw you as a sibling someone to protect someone who he cares about more than anything but something changed than as you both grew older...

Yandere Katakuri who. . . Started to develop some feelings for you it was just small feelings not too much for him to notice it, but as the days went by he started to notice this weird feeling bubbling inside his heart and when he figured out he liked you in a romantic way he was shocked because he only ever saw you as a sibling! never as a romantic interest!

He full-blown denied that he like liked you, but when he actually looked closer... you were... pretty cute.

"WAIT NO! STOP THINKING THOSE THINGS. " he shaked his head to keep those thoughts away he only saw you as a sibling. NOTHING MORE NOTHING LESS, yes, that's right t-this feelings will go away y-yeah it will!

Surprise, surprised it didn't

Yandere Katakuri who. . . Is slowly becoming more touchy and possessive and even more obsessed with you day by day he holds your hand in public more often he always asks if you want him to carry you on his shoulder or want to eat anything and he'll immediately call the chef's to make you sweet goods you were kind of weirded out by this behavior but you just honestly thought nothing of it since you were practically his only friend, and you thought that he was just being insecure again and wanted to you to know that he will always be there for you and just needs your comfort and attention so you happily embraced this new him with with open arms!

Yandere Katakuri who. . . Took it in a wrong and thought you're letting him do this things to you since you LOVE him, right? R-RIGHT!? You wouldn't EVER think about LEAVING him because you happily accepted this.

RIGHT????????

Yandere Katakuri who. . . Had the courage to now actually confess to you and hoped you feel the same, and if you accepted it, then he is ABSOLUTELY ECSTATIC and will pick you up and give you a literal bone crushing hug!

but if you don't accept the same feelings well...

Seems like we're gonna have some problems...

Yandere Katakuri who. . . After you accept his proposal for you to be his lover, OH BOY, you're gonna have a field day for sure so better prepare for lots of cuddling and getting spoiled to the core because he will SHOW you that he will ALWAYS love you~<3

Yandere Katakuri who. . . Married you not too long ago, both of you said your vows, and before you two kiss, he encased the both of you in a mochi squared house since he is still insecure of his mouth and finally have the both of you in a passionate kiss that could make anyone gag on how sweet you two were

Yandere Katakuri who. . . Will let you have your freedom because he knows that if he cages you like a little bird forever, he will never have a TRUE real relationship with you and doesnt want that he wants to have a real and lovely relationship with you. <3

Yandere Katakuri who. . . Doesn't mind if you want children he would absolutely LOVE to have children with you~<3 its either you want some or he does.

[The end is so fucking random]

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I know this is kinda shit but... THIS IS THE BEST I COULD DO OKAY!?

[scenteddelusion5]

A Daring Creature - Part 4

Zestial x fem reader angel

Note: I at first wanted it to ba a longer chapter but I like the way it ended right here. I felt adding to it would make the sweet moment, like, POP less. If that makes sense?

Word count: 1462

PART 1 - PART 2 - PART 3 - PART 4

Two months went by, every other day did Zestial take Y/n out to explore the pride ring. The two grew closer and closer, he got enamoured by her antics and she started to appreciate his calm and stoic personality, even though she also liked to rile the demon up sometimes.

The new cloaked stranger that was always with Zestial did not go unnoticed by the masses. Demons either were too afraid to get involved or wanted to know everything about the girl, the latter of which were mostly fellow overlords.

It started to become more and more difficult to keep Y/n away from people like Alastor and Vox, avoiding them became a daily struggle. Zestial almost wanted to keep Y/n inside for a few weeks so the fuss would die out but after seeing how her face immediately lost her shine and became saddened, he scratched that idea. And thus they continued the hide-and-seek game.

And Zestial had to admit, he was pretty good at it. That was until one day the two were walking down the street and saw Alastor walking around the corner. Without a second to think, Zestial turned to two around to walk the other way, only to see Vox and Valentino on the other side.

He quickly grabbed Y/n by the arm and dug into an alleyway. If he remembered it correctly, he was pretty sure there was a backway entrance to Carmine's home there. Finding the door, they swiftly made their way inside without the overlords seeing them.

"I'm getting sick of having the hide every time we see one of them," Y/n complained, "I wish they would just leave me alone."

"I understand, however, we can not afford one of those finding out thy secret." Zestial straightened his own cloak.

"Zestial?" Carmilla walked into the little hallway. "It isn't like you to visit unannounced."

"Mine own deepest apologies Carmilla," Zestial greeted his old friend, "it was an emergency."

"I see." She looked Y/n up and down again, a hint of disapproval could be found in her stare. "Come in, now that you're here I would like to discuss something with you."

Y/n was about to follow the two overlords into another room, when Carmilla stopped her.

"I would like to discuss this alone." Her tone changed from disapproving to downright hostile. "Sit still and stay here, do you think you can accomplish it this time or should I call in someone to watch you like a pet?"

"I'll be fine," Y/n answered while gritting her teeth.

As soon as the two overlords made it to the office, Zestial gave the woman a glare. "Yond wast uncalled for Carmilla."

"It is true. You've been prancing this girl around town like a pet, showing everyone one of your weak links and for what?" She questioned, "we both know there would be easier and safer ways to go about holding up your end of the deal."

"I hast mine own reasons for doing this," he argued back.

"What reasons? Because of your deal you can ask anything of this girl, there is no need to butter up to her so she'll agree to spy on the heavens for you. She'll HAVE to agree!" She took a few breaths to calm down. "As long as you haven't decided why you are doing all this, I can't support you. I won't do anything against you but I can't risk my people's and my safety for a plan you yourself may sabotage."

"Carmilla, I greatly appreciateth thy concern and opinion, however, this is the way I hath chosen to handle mine own planeth." Zestial stood up and made his way to the door. "So thee and I shall not beest meeting eachoth'r for a some timeth."

"Unfortunately yes," the other overlord agreed.

Y/n had been sitting on a small chair in the hallway, brooding. How dare that bitchy overlord woman call her a pet? Who does she think she is? It's true that Carmilla was smart, strong, powerful and a badass business woman... But still, she couldn't just talk to others that way! ....Or maybe she could? Y/n was in hell after all, things like equality and basic respect for others didn't exist here, something Zestial had shielded her from.

Such thoughts plagued the angel's mind

If he had been walking through the streets with Carmilla, all if this wouldn't be happening... Imagining Zestial and the other overlord walking around, laughing, going on outings, it twisted Y/n's stomach. It was the unfamiliar, sickening feeling of jealousy.

That's when Zestial appeared back in the hallway with a scowl on his face, one Y/n had been able to draw out many times with her stunts. However, unlike before, she felt something heavy on her heart.

"Alloweth us wend." Zestial didn't give her glance as left the building, assuming the angel would follow him, which she did.

The two walked the streets in silence. Before Y/n had wanted to propose going to that lovely park with the flowers again but she was afraid their moods would just sour the good memories she had there. Instead she just looked down at the pavement and wandered behind Zestial aimlessly.

The overlord was barely paying attention to where he was going. All he could focus on were Carmilla's words ringing in his ears. It's true that all of this could be done easier but going around town with y/n was a good way to build up trust and a relationship with her. That he needed because, well because...

He needed it. He decided, not letting himself ponder further on the subject, too afraid of what he would find. Instead he noticed the unusual lack of disruption from the angel.

Looking back, he noticed Y/n. She was looking sad, hiding under the cloak and big hood. Zestial could barely see the girl's face. Had Carmilla's comment really bothered her so?

"Doth not beest bothered, Y/N," he spoke up, "I doth not bethink of thee as a pet. Carmilla was simply trying to behold out for me and becameth a did bite too hostile towards thee in the processeth."

"So, you aren't mad at me?" She asked in almost a whisper.

"I couldst never be angry with thee."

Y/n's face lightened up after hearing that. "Really? That's a very dangerous statement you just made there," she taunted.

"I am sure." Zestial had a small but sincere smile on his face. "I doth not maketh false statements."

"Alright then mister tall, dark and spidery, I'm taking your hat!" She jumped up and tried to grab his hat but was unable to reach it.

"Absolutely not." Zestial commented as Y/n made several more attempts to reach it, all of which the overlord was able to avoid.

"What's with the stern tone? I thought you just said you would never get mad at me?" She smirked.

It was truly a sight to behold, first the two were almost dancing around each other as the anger was trying to steal his hat and now she was on her tippy toes staring up at him. The sight made Zestial's heart beat faster.

"No one hast did dare to challenge me in such ways thee doth." Zestial blushed slightly. "Thou art a truly daring creature, Y/n."

"It's called banter." Y/n was swiftly able to snatch the hat off as the overlord had put his guard down.

"Banter?"

"Yes, banter." The angel was adjusting the hat, fiddling with the hem and turning it slightly. "Maybe you should buy a dictionary."

Zestial chuckled at the way his hat was clearly too big for her. "I owneth enough dictionaries."

"A modern one, I mean."

"Anon, thou art very much pushing it."

Having noticed how tired Y/n was, the overlord decided to bring her back home. They had a long day and he had to work on a few of his papers again. Zestial had to admit, he had been neglecting his duties a bit.

Zestial was sitting in his office. The old clock on the wall read 3 am. It had been a while since he had to work this late but it was the price he had to pay for his daytime outings. It did give him time to reflect on the eventful day.

"Edward." The overlord called upon his contractee.

The small demon appeared immediately. "Yes, sir?"

"How is Y/n faring?"

"She ate well and is now sound asleep," he reported, "would you like me to wake her up?"

"Alloweth her to sleep" Zestial sighed, "prithee wend out and buyeth a dictionary for me."

"A dictionary?" Edward mumbled to himself. "A particular preference? I heard the Store for Old Books and Testaments has acquired an old dictionary."

"No, I wanteth a modern one."

"A mode-"

"Yes."

"I'll see to it sir."

Part 5 - unfinished

I was finally able to work in the title!!!

Masterlist/Request guidelines

Taglist: @sirenetheblogger

[loving08]

Blue Sky

Damon Salvatore x Y/N

Summary: Is Y/N feelings for Damon gonna hurt her or will they have a happy ending?......

Part 1 | Part 2 |

Y/N walked into the boarding house and heard music blasting throughout the house, she furrowed her eyebrows and followed the path to find where the music was playing. when she entered the kitchen, she understand what actually was going on and just shook her head. with a smile on her face she asked "what are doing Damon?".

Damon looked up hearing her voice and smirked at her and said "what do you think I'm doing. I'm making breakfast so that I would not starved to death". Y/N smiled and sat down in front of him and said "and since when did you started eating real food to survive Mr. Vampire?". "Since you have been coming to have breakfast that is made by me Ms. Chuckles" said Damon looking at her. Hearing his nickname for her she let out a small chuckle and Damon smiled hearing her. It has became a routine for her to have breakfast with him.

Y/N lives in Mystic falls with her grandparents, both of her parents are at Edinburgh, Scotland, her real hometown. she wanted a different environment so her parents let her live with her grandparents and complete her schooling in Mystic fall. she came just a year after Stefan and Damon came into the town. Y/N knows what Damon and Stefan really are. since childhood she had been told that there's a different world and that is the Supernatural world. she has been told by her parents and family about Vampires, Werewolfs, Witches, Hybrids, Heretics and many more. she herself was a witch, a Rosewood witch. Living in a Supernatural world is dangerous but she was not worried about herself that much as firstly the Rosewood witches are very powerful even more than the Bennetts and they are treated as Royalty in the Supernatural world and secondly her and her family are very friendly, kind and sweet in nature, and that is known among every supernatural community. Her parents has always told her that to never judge someone before knowing them herself as she doesn't know what they have been through so she never made a conclusion or judged someone based on other thoughts and opinion, and maybe that was the reason she and Damon gets along so well, can be said as best friends.

When Damon came into the town, he had made himself a reputation that he was the bad guy, gives bad vibes and is a very evil and selfish person and everyone believed it. Y/N was the only one who didn't believed it, she always thought that he tries to portray to be the bad guy but the real him is nothing like that and as for selfish, isn't everyone selfish to a certain range. It was very frustrating for Damon at first, he wanted every single one to think that he's the bad guy, the evil one and everyone did believed him even his own brother did but not Y/N. He was not happy about it but as time goes on and as he started to get to know her he realized that it was her nature to treat everyone kindly and she's a good person with a beautiful heart. she was the first person who had looked at him warmly and treated him kindly without feeling any disgust towards him and he is forever grateful to her for that and as their friendship grew he become very close to her and protective over her.

Damon put the food in front of Y/N and arrange some for himself and sat beside her. Y/N took a bite of her food and said "Mmmm.... see that's why I always came here to have my breakfast, you makes the best pancakes Damon". He smiled at her and took a bite himself and asked "so what is today's agenda?". Y/N turned towards him and said "Bonnie called this morning and said that she still can't find out why Jeremy still seeing Conner so I'm going to her house to help her with that and Caroline said she and Stefan are gonna help practice Jeremy and Matt to defend themselves better. we don't want what happened yesterday to happen again. It is already hard to help everyone when they are in danger so it's better if they learn to defend themselves". Damon nodded his head and took their plates to the sink. Y/N turned to looked at him, and feeling eyes at him, he looked over his shoulder and at her. she continued to looked at him and asked "Are you alright...? Everything's okay with you?". Damon dries his hands and turned to face her with a questioning look . Y/N shook her head a little and said "Its just.....you didn't ask me about Elena, your first question would always been about her and her whereabouts but I have been seeing that you have stopped asking it for sometime now so.....".

Damon looked at her for a minute and pushed himself from the counter and walked towards her. He came to stand in front of her and tugged some hair behind her ear and said "Everything's okay and No I don't always ask about Elena so don't worry your little head about it" Y/N just nodded her head but didn't believe him, maybe they had a fight or something she thought. Damon would always question her about Elena this and Elena that and everyone was aware of his feelings for her. Thinking about this Y/N felt a little sting in her heart. Damon loves Elena and everyone knows that but what nobody know was that Y/N also love Damon not just as friends but more than that. she knew having feelings for him is wrong and so she never wanted to accepts those feelings and always denied them to herself but as she spends more time with him she realized she can't stop those feelings anymore so she never told anyone, keeping it one sided, even if it hurts her.

Y/N walked to the front door with Damon behind her and opened the door but turned towards him and said "I'll be at Bonnie so if you need something or even if wants to spends some time together come find me there and....umm... Elena she.... she's at her home that's what Bonnie told me so if you want you can go see her too" and without waiting for any reply from him she left the house. while driving towards Bonnie's house she thought about her feelings, she can't go on like this anymore, not only it was hurting her but it might become a problem later, she need to do something about it. A while later she reached her destination and parked her car, walked up and knocked on the door. The door opened and she looked at Sheila Bennett and gave her a small smile. Sheila Bennett did died a while ago using all her magic power to open the tomb and Bonnie was so miserable from that and Y/N felt very bad for so she requested her mom to do something. It was the first time Y/N has ever requested something like that so her mom agreed to her and pulled some strings on the other side so Sheila Bennett can come back and it worked. when Sheila came back, she thanked both Y/N and her mother for their efforts and for doing that for Bonnie.

Sheila gave a big smile to Y/N and hugged her and said "Hello my dear, Bonnie is upstairs waiting for you". Y/N nodded her head and walked upstairs, upon reaching Bonnie's room she knocked once and walked inside and looked at the grimoires and books all over the room and said "Goodness, What have you done to your room Bonnie". Bonnie looked up at her and let out a tired sigh and said "as you can see I was looking for the information we needed and I didn't realized I was making a mess, and when I did realized it, it was too late and now I'm not being able to clean it" and gave a sad pout.

Y/N laughed at her and said "that's why I told you to not to start on your own and if you do, ask Sheila for help because I know how messy you can be" and set some books aside. Bonnie looked around her bedroom and nodded knowing Y/N was telling the truth, she can be very messy if she want, then she looked towards Y/N and a smile formed at her lips, how everything has changed, before she always had to help everyone and had so much pressure on her and all her friends expected her to have every solution for their problems but after Y/N came nothing's the same, she would always help Bonnie with everything and that lessen so much pressure from her shoulder and she was thankful to her for that but that was not the moment they got closer, the day Y/N came to her house with her grams alive was the day Bonnie realized how much someone's heart and soul can be so pure and that was the day she started to think of Y/N as her sister.

Y/N looked up from the work and noticed Bonnie was lost on her thoughts and slowly she walked up to her and gently puts her hands on her shoulder and said "Hey you okay? you look a little lost there". Bonnie shook her head a little and said "Yeah its just... I was just thinking how everything's has changed, 2 years ago I can't imagine myself having a best friend other than Elena, or how I would have someone to depend on other than my grams". Y/N smiled at her and said "well my mom says whatever happens, it happens for a reason, so let's just hope good things continues to happen even in the future". Bonnie returned her smile and they both started to clean the room. After a while they both laid at the bed when Bonnie turned towards Y/N and said "so how was your morning?". Y/N looked at her and said "just like any other day, why?", "Ooh I just thought there might have something happened between you guys as you know, your breakfast date with Damon".

Bonnie was the only person who knew about Y/N feelings for Damon and its not like she wanted to tell her but it just happened, one day they were just talking when she had a slip up and at the end she had to tell Bonnie everything. Y/N rolled her eyes at her and said "It was not a date and..... its not like anything will happen between us, you know Bonnie that he still loves Elena and maybe he will always be in love with her", she let out a sigh and sat up.

Bonnie also sat up, turned her body towards her and said "sometimes I really think that your brain is full of nothing but trash" and rolled her eyes when Y/N let out a offended 'Hey' and said "What, its true, are you really that blind Y/N, don't you see the way he looks at you, when you walked into a room his eyes lit up like literally, and whenever he talks about you there's a sparkle in his eyes and gosh his voice, he always has a fond and a soft voice talking with you or about you that he never uses with anyone not even with Elena, not anymore". Y/N understand what Bonnie trying to say, hell even she hopes that's the case but she's afraid, she doesn't want to get her hopes up and later get it broken and feel the pain, that's something she doesn't want to experience at all.

Y/N turned to look at Bonnie and said "I know what you are trying to say Bonnie but I just...don't want to get my hopes up, if he has any sort of feelings for me, I want him tell me himself, I just don't want to get my heart broken". Bonnie nodded her head and took Y/N's hands and said "okay let's just not talked bout love life and find the things we need....hmm". Y/N knows Bonnie trying to distract her so she just nodded her head and they both get back work.

[mothdruid]

The Physics of Love- Part Two

series masterlist | prologue | part one | part three

pairing.

robert ‘bob’ floyd x afab!reader (nickname Nova)

word count.

2.8k

warnings.

kind of fluff, insecurities, swearing, mild sexual content, this content is meant for those who are 18 and older.

authors note.

bob did it! he asked nova on a date finally!! i figured since i'm writing this story so broken up, i'll upload it as a 'series' still, but it'll be more like an anthology. i've been best with writing a lot in concise order. so this is the best you're gonna get from me.

“How’d it go?”

Bob looked over at Mickey, a confused look on his face. Bob knew exactly what Mickey was talking about, obviously. He had told Mickey and Nat, but not the rest of their friend group. Who were all currently sitting at the table in Jake’s house.

“How’d what go?” Jake asked.

Bob looked away from Mickey, now realizing that everyone was focused on him. A rosy tint covered his cheeks now with the spotlight in him. Bob took his glasses off, setting them on the table. He ran his palms over his face, anxiety immediately starting to bubble. There was a reason that Bob didn’t bring up his dating life. It wasn’t that he didn’t have one, it was just limited in a sense.

He grew up in a small town in North Carolina. A limited amount of people lived there, and most other people his age weren’t interested in the things he liked. He kept to himself for the most part, not getting his first girlfriend until college. Which only happened thanks to the help of Mickey and Javy. That only lasted a few months, like every relationship he had been in. They all ran the same course in his mind. Meet, date, fuck, leave. It didn’t help that with college, it seemed like everything had a time limit on it.

“Bob here had a little date the other morning,” Natasha teased from the kitchen.

It was their monthly dinner night. The one night a month that all of them made sure to reunite. Since graduating college they had limited time together. They made sure to do this though, not wanting their friendships to rust and potentially crumble.

“A date?” One of Jake’s eyebrows lifted.

“No, it wasn’t a date,” Bob corrected.

“No?” Mickey asked.

“No.”

“Then what was it?” Jake questioned before taking a drink from his beer.

“I tutored someone,” Bob answered.

Jake looked at Natasha and Mickey with a certain look. Bob slipped his glasses back on before explaining more.

“Professor Coleman told me that he has a student that needs tutoring. Said he thought it’d be a good graduate opportunity for me, so I agreed to do it. And that student just so happens to be female, who needs help with a subject that I’m good at.”

"Ooo, I didn’t realize you were into the whole student teacher thing,” Jake quipped, smile plastered on his face.

“I’m no-”

“Oh, Professor Floyd, I need all this help, pretty please,” Mickey mocked. He posed outrageously a few times, trying to appear flirtatious.

Bob rolled his eyes, deciding that this was his own personal hell. Just as he was about to respond the doorbell rang. Bob quickly got up, heading to the door and away from the dining and kitchen areas. Even though he wasn’t in the room, he could still hear Jake and Mickey going on about Bob’s, apparently, new teacher student kink. Behind the door was Bradley and Reuben, Reuben holding two nice bottles of wine.

“Thank god,” Bob muttered.

“What a greeting,” Bradley said with a confused smile.

Bob shrugged not exactly sure what to say.

“Is Jake being Jake?” Reuben asked as they stepped in.

Bob closed the door behind them. He took the bottles from Reuben, allowing for Reuben to take his coat off.

“Mickey and Jake are bein-”

“Hey!”

All of them jumped a little bit. They all turned to see Natasha in the archway to the kitchen. She was leaning against the wall, arms crossed over her chest.

“What the hell took you two so long?”

“Well, Reuben took forever to decide on a wine.”

“Hey, you’re the one who said no reds,” Reuben chimed in.

“Yeah, cause reds are gross,” Bradley said.

All of them made their way to the kitchen. Bob was beyond thankful that Jake and Mickey had stopped their jokes about Bob’s tutoring. The dislike for red wine continued as they got into the kitchen. Natasha and Bob got their own glasses of wine while everyone greeted each other. Eventually, it was finally reinstated that Reuben was the only person who actually liked red wines.

“You guys are just so uncultured,” Reuben joked.

“Uh-uh, you don’t get to call me uncultured,” Mickey pointed a finger at Reuben, “my culture is very different from all of yours.”

All of them erupted with laughter. They all got settled, now only waiting for Javy to show up. It was going to be a little late for that, Javy informing them earlier about the last minute emergency that came into the clinic.

“Seriously, Bob, how’d the tutoring go though?” Jake asked after a sip of beer.

“It was, it was good. She’s bright, doesn’t give herself enough credit.” Bob explained.

“Freshman?” Bradley asked.

“No, junior,” Bob replied.

“A junior taking Physics two? Isn’t that a little late?” Natasha added.

“Woe, woe, physics two is what you’re tutoring?” Jake seemed shocked.

Bob took a drink of wine, silently thanking Bradley for making Reuben get a pink wine.

“Yeah, physics two to a geology major.”

“Isn’t that basically their whole degree?” Jake asked.

“No, bagman, it’s not,” Natasha’s tone was stern.

Jake put his hands up, not wanting Natasha to get upset.

“I didn’t mean anything by that, I’m just asking.” Jake was cautious with his words this time.

“Well, however much physics they need,” Bradley started, “Bob’s the man for the job.”

Bob smiled as they all agreed, toasting to Bob and his success with tutoring.

-

“Check?” You asked, pushing your paper towards Bob.

“Check,” Bob said, his fingers brushing yours as he grabbed your paper.

You leaned back in the chair, heat pooling in your cheeks, waiting to hear that you were wrong. Again.

The day had been long, two classes that morning, then study hall, and now tutoring. Your brain felt fried at this point. And optic equations weren’t really helping. The one thing that did seem to help was Bob though. Ever since exchanging numbers the two of you had been texting.

Was it as often as you wanted? No. But were you complaining? A little bit.

Ever since meeting him you wanted to know more. What was his favorite food? Movie? Where did he come from? Why for the love of god was he pursuing astrophysics for his masters?

No matter what the answers, you would show up to these meetings every week. They had slowly become the highlight of your weeks. Being able to watch Bob work, flipping through pages while writing down equations with no issue. It was oddly captivating, seeing his brain work at such a high level seamlessly. Like a super computer at work.

“Three is wrong,” Bob said, offering the paper back to you.

“Seriously?” You snatched the paper, looking the equation over again.

“Very,” Bob had a small smile on his face, soft wrinkles forming near his eyes.

You sat the paper back down, flipping to the page in your text book breaking down the equation. After pulling up the notes on your computer you another attempt.

“So, why astrophysics?” You asked.

Bob watched you try the problem again, not paying any attention to him when you asked the question.

“It’s cool,” Bob awkwardly answered.

Not a lot of people asked Bob about his interests, aside from Nat and Mickey. Hell, even when Jake asked him about things he got a little surprised. Obviously he was more than a little surprised right now. The cute girl he was tutoring was asking him about himself, how could he not be surprised?

Yeah, he had been texting you, but they were pretty surface level texts. Simple things like ‘when do you have class?’ or ‘hope you have a good day’, and even ‘do you want a coffee today?’. In all honestly, it was mainly you texting him and him responding with surface level answers. He just wasn’t exactly sure what to say or what to do. As much as he wanted to ‘shoot his shot’ as Bradley would say, he was afraid of scaring you off.

“Just cool?” You peaked up from your paper, “That’s it? No other reason?”

Bob noticed a little bit of a playful tone in your words.

“Yeah, kind of,” Bob said with a small smile.

“Well, what makes it kind of cool then?” You honestly just wanted to have a little bit of distraction while trying the equation.

“Space, stars, black holes, rockets, all of it. It’s just really cool.” Bob watched your pencil etch on the paper. “It’s just cool to learn about the things that are hard to understand. The intangible being somewhat tangible? I just want to understand it all more, help others understand it too. Kind of like you and geology.”

You looked up at Bob smiling.

“But geology is tangible,” you joked.

“I’m pretty sure there are things that you can’t touch in geology, like lava,” Bob said. He put his elbows on the table, reaching over to your paper, “Now let me see this.”

“Why, it’s probably not right this time either,” you offered him the paper reluctantly.

“Don’t doubt yourself,” Bob reassured you, taking the paper from you.

“Doubting is all I’ve been taught to do in this field.”

It was meant to come out as a joke, nothing more. But the way Bob face changed almost broke you. It wasn’t a big change, but it was still enough of one. A silence started to hang between the two of you. It felt as if your body was going to cave in on yourself, shoulders drawing closer together as you made yourself smaller.

“I’m sor-”

“Don’t apologize.” Bob’s gaze locked with yours, sincerity in his blue eyes.

“Being in STEM hasn’t been easy on me,” you let out a soft chuckle.

Bob sat there, staring, waiting for you to say something. He adjusted his glasses before you spoke again.

“This isn't anything towards you, cause you’ve been nothing but kind to me,” you crossed your arms and pulled them close, “but my life in STEM has been man after man telling me that this isn’t for me. No matter how hard I’ve tried, easy or hard the subject, it’s been a big fat you’re not good enough. It really starts to weigh on you after a while, why do you think I took physics so late?” The word vomit was followed with an awkward laugh, “Sorry, I-”

“I said don’t apologize, and I meant it,” Bob reached out, offering a hand to you across the table. “I know it might not mean much from me, especially because I’m not in your field, but you do belong here.”

Something had started to well up in your throat, tears pricking your eyes lightly. The muscles through your body started to relax. Your shoulder straightening out a little, arms not held so closely together. The soft shell you had created was dissipating, cracking at the seams. You reached out, taking his hand and focusing on the soft skin of his palm.

“I- thank you, but are you sure? I mean, I can’t even figure out optical equations.”

“Listen,” Bob’s hand squeezed yours, “I can only imagine what people have said to you, but they are all wrong. Like I said, you belong here, probably more than all those people who told you those things.”

His other hand came down to cover your clasped hands, provoking you to do the same. The two of you sat there for a moment, staring at each other and holding hands. You gave him a sarcastic ‘okay’ look, earning you a playful ‘I’m being serious’ look. The both of you broke into smiles while continuing to hold each others hands. A rosy color had started to appear on Bob’s cheeks.

“Have you ever been to the Cranbrook Institute of Science?”

The question took you a little off guard, but it warmed your heart.

“Everyone in STEM here has, but I’d be happy to go again,” you looked away for a moment as warmth filled your cheeks.

A bit of surprise touched Bob’s features, surprised by your answer. He thought it might be a long shot, asking you on a date, but he was hoping that after the last few weeks you’d be up for it. He really wanted to ask you prior to this session, but his nerves got the better of him. The possibility of tutoring becoming awkward would be the death of him.

“Are you sure? Because if you think that would make it awkward or anything, I don’t want that for you. And I don’t want it to seem like you have to come with me or anything. I promise that even if you say no, I’ll tutor you to the best of my abilities.” Bob’s nerves always made him word vomit.

“Hey,” it was your turn to squeeze his hands, “I’d be more than happy to go, especially with you, starboy.”

Excitement blossomed through Bob, the nickname making his heart ache. Most nicknames he earned were full of teasing, and maybe yours was to a degree. But he liked it. It felt personal, something full of love, something he wanted more of.

“Okay,” Bob said while nodding softly.

You squeezed his hands one more time before letting go. The two of you adjusted yourselves, sitting across from each other once again. A smile cracked across your face as you watched Bob adjust his glasses once more. There was a small grin plastered on his lips. He grabbed your paper once again, looking it over.

“Oh, and number three is right.”

-

It felt like your heart was going to jump out of your chest. Barely balancing on the balls of your feet on each step, you ran up the steps to your apartment. You had to tell your roommates immediately, they would get a kick out of it. Once you got to the door you punched your code into the keypad, hearing the tone of acceptance and unlocking of the deadbolt. You took your backpack off as you opened the door, setting it on the floor as the door closed.

The hard material of the door caught you, keeping you up straight when you fell back onto it. You rested your head back on the door, smile plastered on your face. You couldn’t stop thinking about it all.

The way he had looked at you. Those words coming out of his mouth with a type of shy confidence. Every time he had adjusted his glasses made your heart flutter. God, it was so fucking nerdy and you loved it. The seriousness that took over his face when double checking your work. It was the face you had been dreaming about for weeks.

The dreams had ranged from innocent to devious. Hand holding, cuddles, and coffee dates were some of the softer things, thoughts that lingered for hours after you woke up. Then there were the dreams that had you craving more. Hands on your hips, head between your thighs, and a sensation of being filled up. Those thoughts lingered for more than a few hours. Honestly, those thoughts never left your mind.

“You good?” A familiar voice asked.

You opened your eyes to see Mara and Alex staring at you. They were sitting at the kitchen table, books and laptops open with papers all over the place. You toed your shoes off before lugging your backpack to the table. It made a thump as you placed it on a chair you pulled out.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” you said, "a-ok.”

Alex raised an eyebrow, Mara smiled and shook her head.

“Spill,” Mara said.

“Did you guys fuck in the study room?” Alex asked.

“Oh my god, no. Alex why-”

“Tell, now.” Mara demanded.

“I may or may not have a date on Saturday,” you smiled and put your hands flat under your chin, jokingly showing your face off.

“Fucking finally, it’s been weeks since you two started whatever this is,” Alex explained, “the slow burn was becoming too slow for my taste.”

You stuck your tongue out while flipping Alex off, moving over to the cabinet for a glass.

“Where’s it at?” Mara asked in a cheerful tone.

“Cranbrook,” you answered, pulling the water pitcher out of the fridge to fill your glass.

“Of course,” Alex chuckled a little.

“What?”

“It’s just a little,” Alex paused for a moment, “nerdy.”

“Says the one who took your last date to an arcade.” You stated.

Mara laughed and agreed with you. You made your way back to the table, moving your bag from the chair and sitting down.

“It’s a different nerdy and you know it,” Alex said.

“It’s a smart nerdy,” Mara added.

Alex rolled her eyes at the both of you.

For the rest of the night you three sat at the table, working on homework and scrolling through tiktok on occasion. You had explained everything to them, the way he asked you and the time you’d be meeting with him on Saturday. Mara and Alex had been teasing you ever since you started your tutoring sessions. They had both convinced themselves that he was the one for you, so they made sure you looked your best on the day of.

tags:

@wkndwlff

@thedroneranger

@callsign-sprout

[stardancerluv]

Past Follows Like a Shadow

Part Nine

Summary: A stranger pays Reader a visit.

Notes/Warnings: language & angst. Decided to give that particular moment to reader to flesh out the bit that is making this AU.

❤️s, reblogs, comments, feedback are always welcome!

Stretching, you pulled your blanket aside. You honestly, didn’t know how to feel with all you knew now. You are still glad that you left.

The metal screeched and groaned as you pulled the shower curtain to the side. A good, hot shower would do you good.

******

You made yourself a bowl of cereal. You debated what room to work on. Not knowing what got into you, but after seeing Gator like that, you decided that you’d go and grab the ingredients for some oatmeal raisin cookies. They could bake while you worked on a new room.

*****

There was a faint hush of whispers, you glanced behind you. There were a few looks followed by the lingering look aways that got you. Even after all this time apparently, you still held their interest. Looking back at the raisins, you rolled your eyes.

It gave you more then enough reason to be relieved that you left. If you still held their interest, you could only imagine what would have happened if you had stayed.

Grabbing a brand you used to prefer, you tossed it into the basket that held the other ingredients.

Your eyes grew slightly when you had to move around someone. Your stomach lurched when you realized that someone was Mary Sue. Attempting to move around her, she stepped once more into your path.

“Hope, you’re not sticking around for long.”

You blinked. “Why? Afraid, Gator might pay me a visit.”

If only you knew, the evil thought blossomed in your mind.

A short, shrill laughter broke from her bright pink lips. “Nah, I just want our town to have such trash in it. You best be gone before the new year.”

You smiled. “Can’t promise anything.”

Moving around, you bumped and finally moved past her.

******

“Oh? I see she got the best of you.” Roy spat out.

“Well, I really didn’t want to hurt her or her daughter.”

“Fuck that.”

The look of disgust that came over his father’s face, made his stomach lurch.

“You should have just grabbed her. She’d be here by now.”

He gritted his teeth. She was the only one who had ever gave him any type of love.

“I bet when she gave you that shiner your balls shriveled. You keep on striking out huh? I thought you were supposed to be a winner.”

“I am. I am.” Suddenly, he felt small. It made anger grow. “I will get her next time.” He snapped back.

A sharp chuckle came from him. “Doesn’t look like that right now, boy.” He made a disagreeable sound.

******

Flour dusted your counter, an abandoned wrapper from the butter stick sat nearby and a few boxes of raisins were open waiting to be folded into the dough.

You eyed the wooden spoon, perhaps you should just stick to that. Glancing at the clock on the wall, it was getting late. In case, he did stop by you wanted these done.

With a click and snap the hand-mixer was ready. You squeezed the handle, it whirled to life. A smiled crossed your face, grateful it still worked.

So far the dough was smooth, all the dry pockets were disappearing. These cookies were going to be great.

Ahhhh! A wet splotch of dough kicked up and smacked into you. Ugh. You put down the mixer.

“Damn it.” You screeched out.

With a wiggled your hands as you stomped up the stairs to change your shirt. Auntie’s voice admonishing you, rang in your head for not using the wooden spoon. You couldn’t stop but rolling your eyes.

You tore open the bedroom door, it clanged on its hinges and stormed in and hurried over to the dresser you were using to grab a fresh shirt.

Then you paused, your heart stilled. Why had your door been closed. Slowly you turn. A scream is ripped from you. In some kind of sludge, symbols were etched over your bed. Your eyes grew. You ran from the room, somehow you tumbled down the the creaking and whining stairs. Reaching into your pocket you took out your cell phone. It fell from your hand. It tumbled and fell in front of you. You fell to your knees and snatched it up.

Blurry eyed as tears of fear filled your eyes, you called Gator.

“Miss me?”

“Get your ass over here right now.”

“Tulip, calm down. If you want me so badly you will have to ask me nicely.” His chuckle filled your ear.

“Fuck that. Get over here.“

*******

Knots of unease filled Gator.

“Boys, there is something I gotta attend to.”

There was a couple of chuckles and snickers. He made a face.

“Mary Sue, pulling on your short chain?” One of his deputies remarked.

He slid them a look as he walked past. He pulled on his vape. He exhaled as the glass doors slid open and he walked through.

Turning the knob, the heavy metal burst through his speakers. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel in time with the erratic beat. The smoked swirled around him as he drove. The edges of mouth hung low.

What the hell could have been happened to you. There was something underlying in your voice. It did not sit well with him.

He tugged on the visor of his cap before getting out of his truck and tucked the vape away.

Oooooaaafffff. He barely, was below your steps when you came running out and into his arms. But he stood firm in the gravel barely crunched as you launched yourself against him.

“What is the matter?” He wrapped an arm around you.

*******

The mixture of peppermint, crisp aftershave and the sweet tobacco never felt so comforting. Your heart calmed sometime later.

You looked up at him. His hand came up and cupped your cheek, his thumb caressed it. “Someone broke into the house.”

You felt him go still. “What?”

You nodded. “They scrawled a message above the bed.”

“Show me.” You saw his jaw twitch.

You swallowed, nodding. “Ok.”

The steps once again creaked and groaned as the climbed up them. You trembled, “Above the bed.”

He nodded.

“That mother fucker.” You heard him shout and you backed up. His boots pounded against the floorboards. “What does that mean?”

“It’s..it’s…Celtic for adultery.”

“That fucker is going to pay.” He snarled, you saw his face twist before be moved on to the top of the steps. He turned. “Wash that shit off the wall. I am going to handle this.”

He then clattered down the stairs and you watched as he disappeared out the door.

@keerygal @delikaitxx

[fairysylveon]

THEY'RE DONE ✨

my borderlands OCs: an eridian fanatic / eridian weapon replica manufacturer, a former FPS e-sports champion turned vault hunter, and a disillusioned guardian who bears resentment towards eridians for his lack of purpose following their extinction

(& their dog)

+ bonus: jensen's body at various key stages. he's been muscular from young adulthood due to being a dahl marine (lost legion combat medic).

[+ I just didn't want to edit the base too much bc this ref already took me way too long lmfao]

some bonus info under the cut!

JENSEN: ((33, he/him)) vault hunter, unofficial researcher, & traveling salesman who specializes in making extremely accurate replicas of eridian guns to make them more widely available to the public. carries his wares in a modified eridian fabricator. a former lost legion combat medic, his obsession with all things eridian began when he met the watcher and was invited into the vault of the sentinel alongside zarpedon and the rest of her soldiers. aka my new favorite gary stu. an accomplished researcher, especially due to his guardian companion's insider knowledge, he could probably teach tannis a few new facts and theories, but at the very least he could keep up in a discussion with her

MIKEY: ((26, he/him)) the biggest name in the competitive scene for his game of choice, he grew bored of being the best, and longed for a real challenge. (he would probably be a borderline zer0 kinnie if zer0 wasn't a real person in universe lmfao) so he traded his mouse and keyboard for a sniper rifle and set off to do the improbable: open vaults. (and try 360 no scopes in real life. so far he's only managed to fall on his ass) says things like "newb" and "ggez" when he kills someone.

THE DESERTER: ((predates the landing at nekrotafeyo, he/him, less frequently they/them)) formerly "the archivist", his initial purpose was keeping written records of key historical moments in eridian history. most of their work was destroyed preceding the wipe of eridians from human memory. when the extinction came, he was supposed to stand vigil alongside the watcher and record one final record, though it was to be hidden within a vault. he couldn't watch them all sacrifice themselves, however, and abandoned his post, making his new name the last thing he was ever given by his creators. now, lacking a purpose and growing irrational resentment for being abandoned by their creators, they travel the galaxy with an eridian fanatic, and drip feed him information (can't be TOO forthcoming, he's still an irritatingly cryptic guardian 80% of the time)

RIPLEY: ((adult skag approx 3-4 yrs, female)) simply a baby. very tame and docile towards allies but violently protective. presumably domesticated and selectively bred for her small stature and lack of pointy spines. was abandoned by her previous owners for reasons unknown, and jensen discovered her starving on the outskirts of a town on pandora. likes belly rubs. knows the word treat so you have to spell it out around her unless you want her to lose her mind.

[topguncortez]

The Mighty Have Fallen | Prologue

Masterlist | next part

synopsis: Sports & Boys had been the only thing on your mind until everything changed in an instant.

word count: 900

warnings: cursing, description of gruesome injuries, car crash

The rain seemed to be coming down in sheets, which was a rarity for Los Angeles. Y/N was hardly paying attention, sitting in the back seat of her parents SUV, texting rapidly on her cell phone. She was half pissed that the softball game got canceled because of the rain, but she was more mad that her parents wouldn’t let her ride home with her boyfriend, Jesse. 

“Bun, I know you’re-” 

“Don’t call me that,” Y/N huffed, cutting her father off. He was going to try and play the good guy, give some justified reason for not letting her go home with Jesse. He would probably even use the rainfall in his favor, since ‘california teens don’t know how to drive in the rain’. But he was wrong, her mother was wrong, they were both wrong. Jesse grew up in Oregon, and certainly knew how to drive in the rain. Y/N had turned 18 two months ago, and was set to graduate high school in less than six weeks. She had already signed to go play division one softball at the University of Texas in the fall.  To Y/N, her parents seemed to be struggling with the fact that she was no longer their little girl. She was an adult, and hell she wanted to be treated like one. 

“Leave her be, Frank,” Y/N’s mother, Miranda spoke up, “She wants to act like a brat about not leaving with that delinquent.” 

“Jesse is a good guy!” Y/N argued. 

“Then why have you been skipping practice!?” Miranda turned in her seat to look at her daughter. Y/N narrowed her eyes at her mother, and crossed her arms over her chest, sitting back in her seat. She knew the next words out of Miranda’s mouth was going to be about how hard they both worked to put her through St. Andrew’s, pay for all the softball necessities, and take time off of work to go watch her play. It was the same spiel every time they fought. 

Miranda and Frank did work hard to be able to provide the best for their daughter. They came from next to nothing, growing up in a small, desolate town in the midwest. They had met when they were both at CalPoly, Miranda studying nursing and Frank studying journalism. Frank currently worked for the Union Tribune as a sports writer, and Miranda at the local hospital. Frank took Y/N to as many baseball and softball games as he could, making her fall in love with the sport even more. 

Their family wasn’t extremely wealthy by any means, but they lived comfortably. Y/N had been lucky to get a scholarship to St. Andrew’s Preparatory School, which had one of the best softball teams in San Diego county. It put her one step closer to achieving her dream of playing D1 softball. 

“Miranda, I think she’s allowed to be upset about the game,” Frank spoke and his wife  huffed, sitting back in her seat and crossing her arms over her chest. Poor Frank, he had gotten lucky to get a daughter who was almost exactly like her mother, from the looks to the attitude. He sighed, “This dang rain! It just will not let up!” 

“Do you think we need to pull over?” Miranda asked. It seemed as though they were the only car on the road at this point in time. 

“No! I just want to get home!” Y/N yelled. 

“You are not the one driving, young lady, so can it!” Miranda scolded her daughter. 

“Ugh! Does anyone ever listen to me!” Y/N threw her hands up. 

“Alright, I have about had it-” Miranda turned in her seat again, as Frank shouted. 

“Miranda, turn around, please- Shit!” 

Miranda had barely turned in her seat as Frank swerved from hitting something, no, someone, in the middle of the road. Y/N put her hand on the seat in front of her to brace herself from hitting it. The breaks squealed as the car spun out from the rain, and into the lane of oncoming traffic. Miranda let out a scream, as Frank tried to correct the spin and stop the car. Something that sounded like a cry for Jesus Christ filled the car, as Y/N’s eyes locked on the headlights coming towards them. 

— — — 

Y/N couldn’t remember much as the car finally came to halt after what seemed like forever. Glass covered her body as she blinked her eyes open. Her cheek felt cold and wet, and her hands reached out, feeling hard metal beneath her. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, but she realized the car was upside down, and she was laying in the spot where the sunroof was once at. Her breath started to pick up, as the sound of a blaring horn filled her ears, and the coppery scent of blood filled her nostrils. It made her nauseous. 

“Mom? D-Dad?” She called out to them, seeing two bodies in front of her, neither one moving, “Mom! Dad!” Y/N cried louder, and tried her best to reach for them, but something had her body pinned, “Mom!” Her voice cracked, “Oh my god. . . Oh my god!” Y/N looked around the car, trying to pull herself free from whatever had the left side of her body pinned. She couldn’t feel her left hand, she wasn’t even sure if it was still there, “Help! Help me! Someone!” 

The crunch of footsteps on the glass caught her attention. She looked up the best she could as black boots stood in her line of sight. Y/N jumped a bit as the person put his hands on the ground, and then laid himself down on the ground. 

“H-help?” Y/N said softly. There was a chuckle, and the last thing Y/N could remember seeing was a pair of red eyes looking right through her.

♰ taglist form

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[legacyshenanigans]

Before I carry on with my regularly scheduled content, I wanted to do a post about one of my old jobs haha. Years ago I used to be a cleaner in a gambling hall in the small town I grew up in, and I swear to god I didn't get paid NEARLY enough to deal with the disgusting stuff I had to deal with. 🤣 most of folk that would come to the hall regularly were honestly VERMIN lmao. Yet they'd treat US like WE were the vermin, and I absolutely HATED my time there, but at that time I had no choice. It was horrible place to work. Here is a list of some GROSS things I remember from working there 🤣🤣

1. There was a number of toilets around the place, and quite often some of the toilets would be out of order, yet some of the customers were SO FUCKIN LAZY and couldn't be bothered walking to a WORKING toilet that they would just ignore the OUT OF ORDER signs on a toilet door and use it anyway and would have a shit, which, you guessed it, I would then have to deal with 🙃

2. There was a time I got into an argument with a woman. The place was quiet one day, REALLY quiet, I had JUST cleaned one of the toilets, And some regular alcoholic woman then went into that toilet a couple of minutes after I'd cleaned it, I saw her go in there, and then saw her come out like a minute later, and she clicks her fingers at me and says "Someone has had a shit on the floor in that toilet, and then smeared it all over the wall, it's disgusting!" So I looked at this fucking woman and I said "I have JUST cleaned that toilet..And you are the only person who's been in there since I've cleaned it..If I go in there and there's shit on the floor and walls, YOU are the one who just did it" and we had a HUGE argument in the middle of the hall 🤣🤣

3. The mens toilets were disgusting, but the women's were always worse believe it or not, women would stick their used fuckin jam rags to the toilet seats, or the toilet doors, or the toilet walls, even though we had sanitary bins in there. Which I then had to PEEL off peoples used pads and dispose of, also used tampons that would get thrown onto the floor or against walls..

4. In the men's toilets, it was a very regular occurrence that someone would pour the chemical cleaning liquid out of the toilet brush holders and piss into them, then put the toilet brush back into their piss..

5. I would often find drug related things in the toilets, Spoons, lighters, needles ect.

6. Used condoms were also a very regular occurrence in the toilets. I once even found a tied condom that had a plum in it and had shit on it, so I can only assume someone had shoved a plum in a condom up their asshole then took it out at the gambling hall for some fuckin weird reason lmao.

7. Shitty and pissy underwear left on the floors of the toilets was also another extremely regular occurrence in both the men's and womans toilets.

8. A woman on a mobility scooter once tried to fuckin run me over because she screamed at me and told me one of the gambling machines owed her money and I told her I was just a cleaner and didn't have the keys for the machines and told her to go and find another memeber of staff. 🤣

9. One time I went out to the back area to go to the skip room to dispose of some bin bags, and there was a woman having a shit in the doorway of the establishment...Which I had to clean up..

10. One time someone had taken a shit SO BIG that it wouldn't flush, and guess who had to go in there with a fucking stick and break it up..

11. I had some man ask me for a lighter, and I gave him my lighter to use, and when I went to hand it to him, he grabbed my hand and bit me, istg 🤣

12. I was in the men's toilets cleaning in there one day, with a sign on the door to say it was being cleaned, but some guy came in as I was cleaning the urinals and whipped out his cock and waggled it at me while laughing. 🙃

There's so many more things. Honestly. But there just a few...Thats why I fucking hated my job lmao.

The police were ALWAYS getting called because some fucked up thing would happen there on the reg, can't lie though, working there hardened me 🤣

[canyonkingdom]

the seven seas of rhye

Fear me you loathsome, lazy creatures

Broomskingdom is located in between two rich mountains, surrounded by rich land perfect for agriculture. Away from the mountains were seven seas, only seen by the view of the queen's castle. The peasants racked their backs in the fields, their arms sore for picking the wheat.

"I hate this job." one grumpy peasant grumbled.

"It's not like you have a choice, Cap." another one lectured.

I descend upon your earth from the skies

While the poor straddled the economy of the kingdom, the rich stood up high.

Queen Jin lived in a larges castle that ascended high than a man on his second trip. Gold accents tattered the beige walls elegantly. Her smile could make millions fawn.

Her orange gown flowed when she walked, blonde hair blowing through the air. Her beauty shined with a single touch of the corner of her lips. When she reveals herself to the kingdom, they all cheered. A peep of her voice can cause stampedes.

I command your very souls you unbelievers

"Helly," the queen called out to her most trusted adviser.

"Yes, your Majesty?" Helly hastily made his way to the room, where his eyes were planted on the queen, sitting on her throne glittering in jewels.

"I want you to go on a journey."

Bring before me what is mine

She looked over the window. "There."

The seven seas of Rhye

-//-

Helly missed the old town in the kingdom. Where he grew up, where he learned, where he stayed. If he hadn't been appointed personally to the queen, he would be in the fields.

And he missed his old friend.

"Rhye? She must be out of the gutter!" Bruner slurred as he took another downing on his booze.

"I know, right? But I am the queen's advisor for a reason. She trusts me with everything." Helly said, sipping his cup of booze. "We do have a... shady history with Rhye."

"Like the seven seas thing?"

"Yeah." Helly answered.

"It was like a full blown war over some seas and we lost it, right?" Bruner asked, looking for clarification.

"Yeah... our queen's father fought that war and he was panned on so badly-"

"He jumped off the roof of the castle."

Helly paused. "Yeah."

Bruner grabbed the bottle and chugged more booze in his cup. "That's brutal, man. I can't imagine having to deal with my kingdom against me-"

"That's history, Bruner." Helly said.

"Well, you're still going on that journey, right?"

"...Yes. It's mandatory."

Bruner's eyes sunk.

"Safe journeys then."

He was on the brink of tears. Maybe he was just drunk or truly wallowing in sadness.

"I promise i'll be back alive."

-//-

"I want revenge, Helly."

The queen rasped, his hands wringing her staff tightly.

Helly's eyes watered to his cowardice. "That feud was years ago, your Majesty. It seems pointless to continue this-"

"I don't care." she replied coldly.

"... I can't do this alone."

The queen faced her advisor, looking at the ground as he stood parallel to her throne way above. Her eyes were soulless and devoid.

"Then have someone go with you."

Helly's eyes lit up. "Who?"

"I realized you are too scrawny to go in this conquest." the queen said. "So i'm tasking some people to protect you on the journey."

Helly smiled.

"Come back tomorrow morning and i'll show them to you."

-//-

Tomorrow morning came and Helly was presented with three individuals who were way taller and stronger than his small frame. He felt terrified by their presence.

"This is Poli." the queen pointed her hand to the person wearing a shiny tinted blue suit. Poli smiled at Helly, which seemed to terrify him more. "He's alert and strong. He can protect you in dangerous situations."

"O- okay..."

The queen walked up to another man in a red suit. He looked significantly more chiseled than Poli and he was towering over him. "This is Roy. He is the brawn. He will crush anything that physically halts your journey." He looked more soft and kind than Poli.

"And lastly, this is Amber." Helly was relieved that there was a girl, not only because they looked less terrifying, but the way she held a straw briefcase in her hand. "She's an amazing healer. She can heal all your wounds in a matter of minutes. Her briefcase contains all he medicine and chemicals she uses."

Helly wondered how the queen got them to be here, or where they came from in the first place, but he forgot about it when the queen stepped down and walked up to the door. She turned around and looked at them, smiling.

"One o'clock you should all be here."

She grabbed the door handle.

"And one more thing,"

Helly's ears perked up.

"Serve revenge."

Helly's small smile didn't waver. "Yes, your Majesty." the newfound team said in unison. In a few hours they would be gone.

-//-

i love making copious amounts of aus

amirite

[brendathedoodler]

I'm gonna ask about AS Four, but more specifically, please tell me about Shadow? I'm so curious how he plays a role in Four's adventure here

I’m happy to elaborate!

Shadow takes the place of several others. He takes on Impa’s role of giving Four help and direction, but acts as a closer companion by traveling with him most of the time. He also acts like the next gen champions in that he helps Four get to the divine beasts.

Shadow first spawned into existence when Four fell to the guardians, springing up as the calamity’s soldier. He exists to torment and mock an already devastated land, and for the first few years that’s exactly what he did. He’s done horrible things, burned towns to the ground, stalked lone travelers who dared walk alone at night, destroying the crops that people needed to live off of.

The thing is, Shadow wasn’t really a person then. He was merely a puppet on strings, following his task as it was assigned. Dot took it upon herself to try and sever those strings, wanting to stop her people from suffering as much as she could.

Slowly Shadow went from a simple tool to someone who could think, feel, and respond to the world around him. His reign of terror shifted to something more mischievous. Instead of trying to hunt lone travelers at night, he simply tries to scare them.

As his connection to the calamity grew weaker, he became more independent, until there was just a small thread connecting him to his original source. This was something Dot couldn’t sever on her own, so she decided to try and talk with him.

He disliked her at first, furious that she’d dare imply he’d betray his creator, but time passed and he began to see her as a friend. She talked about the beauty of the land and its people, and he spent time traveling and exploring. He fell in love with the world, and fell in love with the idea of being alive, of being a person. He severed that last tie himself, and agreed to help her stop the calamity when the hero woke up.

If he woke up. 100 years was a long time to wait.

When Four did wake up, the first thing Shadow set about doing was finding something to help him get down from the plateau. By the time he found the glider and arrived to say hi to Four, Four had made decent progress and all of them were currently arguing over what color the tower should be. He showed up to see it glowing green, then blue, then red, then green again, then red, then violet, then green (again), then blue, red, blue, red, blue, GREEN, blue, violet-

Shadow gets to the top of the tower to see them all smacking their slates together on the middle pedestal like it’s some sort of angry bumper cars game. There’s lots of hair pulling and shoving involved. All of them are arguing. The only person wearing anything more than underpants is red, who got the warm doublet. Shadow has to process the fact that there’s four of him and also what they’re all currently arguing. He’s half tempted to just float away.

Anyway they eventually notice him and draw their weapons (which consist of two boko bats (Red and Green), a hammer (Blue), and a boko bow (Vio)). The tower was left on blue.

He does manage to explain, and Dot uses some energy to inform them that yes, she trusts him, and he’s there to help. They reluctantly agree, and Shadow joins the party.

After terrorizing the people for a decade, stories have been passed about him, so whenever they go into a town, he hides in their shadow (usually Vio’s, but sometimes someone else’s). He helps them with where to go, and assists in getting them onto the divine beast. He also tries to help them practice when they’re combined, usually by settling little disputes or helping with decisions that could end with him splitting. He can’t help in shrines, though, which is another reason why Four avoids them at first (the other reason being that he’s forced to be combined, which is difficult at first).

Another big thing Shadow does occurs later in the journey. They’ve defeated the first divine beast, but it was a close battle. They freed the spirit of the champion (somebody they hadn’t known well to begin with) and Blue gets the power from Vah Ruta, though it’s something they all have access to as Four.

Anyway, they decide they need more practice being combined, but after that near defeat they’re all stressed and prone to arguing. Shadow suggests they explore a little to relax before they work on teamwork. A break could really do them some good.

Anyway, they end up at Gerudo town.

Being too far apart from one another causes them a lot of emotional distress, but so long as they stay in the same map zone they should be fine, so they agree to stay at the desert for awhile.

Green goes off and kills some moldugas (for fun and for profit). Red and Blue get Gerudo vai clothes (and don’t tell the others how they’re getting into the town). Red does some quests for people in town and impulsively spends all their money on arrows, then sells all their molduga guts and buys more arrows (much to Green’s frustration). Blue meanwhile scams some random guy out of several pairs of boots and immediately gets them dyed blue so nobody else will use them.

Vio? Well, he goes exploring and ends up at the Yiga’s camp. He stays hidden, but Shadow gets caught. The thing is, since he’s a fragment of the calamity, the Yiga are 100% on board with following him. They believe that his words are the words of their master, and Shadow absolutely plays along. He ends up ‘capturing’ Vio, and then claims that he’s “convinced this fragment of the hero to join the side of darkness!” and the two end up ‘ruling’ the Yiga clan together (but in reality are working to take it down from the inside).

Anyway, when the other three go looking for Vio they end up uncovering this, and the whole scheme is blown. They do manage to take down the leader of the Yiga though, and end up blowing the entire place up. It’ll be awhile before the Yiga are able to retaliate, which is good for them! With that all done, they proceed to the next divine beast (Vah Naboris).

At the end of the quest the four split up, teleporting to the divine beasts. They fire upon the calamity, and then teleport to the castle to regroup, combine, and fight it once and for all. Shadow tries to help, but is near useless in the fight. It’s up to Four and Dot now.

In the end, they win. Exhausted and battered, but victorious. Shadow knew that the end of the calamity would mean his source of power dwindled, but he expected to vanish completely. Shadow made sure to say goodbye as the calamity fell.

But he didn’t vanish, not completely. His energy was drained, but he did not die.

Nowadays he spends most of his time resting in Four’s shadow, only partially conscious but able to use his powers to speak with him mentally (much like the colors do when they’re combined as Four). Exiting Four’s shadow and using his physical form is exhausting, but he does it when he has the energy. Blood moons still occur despite the calamity’s defeat, and Shadow gets a burst of power from it. He always utilizes it to spend time with Four, and it’s become something they both look forward to.

Shadow tags along during Four’s next adventure with the chain, but Four hasn’t mentioned him to the others yet.

[countrymusiclover]

10 - The Original Coffins

Part 11

Gemini Runaway

@dragonixfrye

Typing away at the phone number my cousin Jo had given me in case I ever wanted to talk with her and not use magic I pressed the phone to my ear. “Jo, it’s me. I understand if you are busy or something. But I have a magic question and you’re the only witch I can trust. Call me back when you can.” Hanging up the phone I heard footsteps coming up the stairs meaning it must have been Klaus.

He has been bickering with Stefan Salvatore after he had stolen the coffins that apparently held his remaining family members. But nothing had really happened in getting their safe return. Walking out of my room I followed him into the hallway seeing that his hands were clutching into fists at his sides. “I’m in no mode for company, Raelyn.”

“What happened this time? Maybe I can help you instead of threatening anyone in this town who actually knows where they are.” I offered thinking that the reason he couldn’t find them was because they were using another witch.

He ran a hand through his hair slumping his shoulders thinking for a moment. “It could be possible, Raelyn. What exactly do you have in mind to help me?”

“Simple locator spell. I used your blood since you are holding your other siblings. Since they share the same blood of your mother with you I’ll be able to find them.” I responded walking past him drawing a small dagger that I had used to cut my palm to do spells and one of the maps, gesturing for his palm once I placed the map on the bedside table in my bedroom. “Give me your hand please.”

He extended his hand where I held it over the map wrapping my fingers around his siphoning some magic from him. He winced slightly watching me turn his palm open, slicing the knife across allowing the blood to drip onto the map. “Why are you helping me exactly. Normally I have to force people to help me but you, you’re willing why?”

“Like I said once before, if anyone came after my brother I would probably do the same thing you are doing now shhh I have to concentrate…” I replied telling him to be quiet, needing to focus on the spell. “Ahsorum dolusantum infidictus.”

The blood moved across the map where I breathed out needing to remember the illusion spell so we could see where the blood stopped. According to the map the blood had stopped in a place that was referred to as the Bennett cemetery. “The bloody witch line!”

Klaus grumbled, making me send him a look mumbling another spell. “Hey, remember who is helping you here, Nikky. Phantamogriphiia decorum…Voye a sa fille.”

The bedroom around us disappears so when I opened my eyes once more scanning my gaze around the room hearing someone coming into the abandoned house that has a bunch of candles and witchy markings on the walls. Klaus steps beside me taking my hand is his. “What took you so long?” Damon appeared from behind the corner.

“You’re little witch is more powerful than I first thought.” The raven haired vampire responded walking over to us.

Klaus rolled his eyes at him. “Hiding behind your witchy friends. And in squalor, no less.” He suddenly grabbed his head screaming in pain meaning that the dead witches were using their magic on him.

“Klaus - ohhhh!” I called his name before I suddenly felt some pain shoot through my head making me drop on my knees.

“Freaky witch.” One dead witch spoke.

Another spat in my ear made me groan, bending my head on the ground. “A witch without magic is against nature.”

“Insulting a bunch of dead witches... Not smart. I made the exact same mistake first time I came in here.” Damon teased the hybrid.

Klaus stumbled to his feet glancing my direction hearing me moaning. “Well, you know the funny thing about the witches is that living or dead, they care about their own. A hundred dead witches have a thousand living descendents…” He grabbed his head again when the flames around us grew.

“Urgh stop it…Klaus!” Cried covering my ears with my hands begging him to shut up.

He rose to his feet grunting through his teeth causing the witches' voices to finally die down. “And I have no problem killing every last one of them if I don't get my coffins back. As we speak, my hybrid friend is prepared to end the Bennett line.”

“The Gemini Coven is coming for you little witch!” I heard another witch declare making me start crying in fear, finally feeling the pain completely disappear. Lifting my head upwards I gasped dropping my hands.

Klaus dropped down on his knees brushing blonde hair from my eyes, cradling my cheek in his palm. “Rea, Rae, sweetheart I’m sorry. I didn’t think they could hurt you here…Now. Please... Show me the coffins." He lifted his gaze up to the ceiling quietly asking the dead witches who made the coffins appear.

I attempted to stand on my own two feet but I swayed feeling dizzy. Luckily Klaus caught my body falling into his chest. My fingers gripped the gray material of his Henley shirt. “I know you didn’t mean it, Woah…urgh sorry.”

“What did I say about you apologizing to me, Rae. Can you walk with me, love?” He asked wrapping one arm around my waist where I felt something coming from my nose but I didn’t think it was anything. “Here we are. Where's the fourth? Show me!”

Damon shrugged his shoulders at us. “Well, ehh, here's the thing. They can't. It's not here.”

Klaus asked in a growl. ”What did you do?”

He explained. “Well, Bonnie gave me the head's up. I mean, I didn't have enough time to get all four, but I did have time to get one.”

“I will tear you limb from limb. And only then, when you are a writhing mass of blood and flesh, will I rip your heart from your chest. “ Klaus moved forward threatening the vampire, leaving me to lean my weak body against one of the coffins.

“Sorry the deal is off if you kill me.” He warns him simply.

Holding myself up on my right elbow I grunted, shifting my gaze in their direction. “Boys, can we do this the civil way possibly. I mean yes Damon if you did something like this to my brother I would do what he is doing right now probably too. But at this point it seems we can do this another way.”

“What do you mean like a deal over dinner, little witch.” Damon scoffed in my direction knitting his brows at me in confusion. “Is your nose bleeding?”

Raising my freehand up underneath my nose I drew it back seeing red on my finger tips. “Crap…I’ve never done this spell this long before.”

“We’re heading home now. See to it that your brother shows up at my house later. We can discuss a deal otherwise I will hunt for all eternity.” Klaus vamped over to me wrapping his arms around my waist whispering in my ear. “Take us back, Raelyn. You’re done.”

Nodding my head I shut my eyes and the next time I opened them we were back in the bedroom but I still felt woozy and tired. Laying on my back on the bed he came over to my side sitting down. “The Bennett witches know about my Coevn, Nik.”

“I’m sorry you got hurt because of me…once again.” He muttered gazing down at me longingly. My blonde hair was sprawled out on the pillows and he could hear my heartbeat in a calmer state then moments ago.

Blinking my eyes I sat upright a little while my hands remained resting on my stomach, not sure I heard him correctly. “Did you just apologize to me?” He avoided my gaze giving me my answer making me smile seeing that he was slightly embarrassed. “Oh my gosh you did. And here everyone thinks you are the big bad hybrid.”

“Don’t go telling people that Raelyn or I’ll compel you to do something you’ll regret.” He teased me lightly with a smile.

Waving my index finger in his face I fully sat up so we were so close our noses could touch if he moved an inch closer to me. “You can’t compel a witch, remember silly.”

“No but I can do this.” He vamped slightly forward pushing me onto my back throwing my hair in front of my face.

I giggled moving it out of my view seeing that he was hovering above me now and we were still close like we were before. Raising my hands over my head I laid them on the pillow frozen looking at him like this. “Klaus!….”

“Don’t test the wolf in me, Ms, Lame. You won’t be able to beat me.” His blue eyes were brighter than I had ever seen up until this moment. He had a kind smile on his lips that made it almost impossible to not grin as big as he was.

I smirked a small grin testing this playful side in him that I had yet to see come to the surface so I was going to enjoy it for as long as possible. When he was happy it made all my fears disappear and made me forget that I was on the run from my entire family of witches. “And what would you do to me hmm?”

“Now you're insisting on a challenge, love.” He leaned his head down to mine where my heart quickened thinking he was going to kiss me until I felt his hand move to my sides beginning to tickle me on my hip and I couldn’t run away since he had me pinned between the bed and him.

I pushed my hands against his chest trying to squirm out of his grasp but I wasn’t trying as hard when I heard a beautiful laugh come from his lips. “Klaus…no…stop. I can’t handle….being tickled. Nik….Niklaus!”

“Do you cave yet?” He asked, making our eyes finally lock onto one another.

Pushing my hands against his chest I gently shoved him off scooting upright onto the pillows behind me. “Yes I cave. I’m going to get my revenge one day.”

“Oh I’ll be pleased to see you try, Rae.” He flopped down on his side of the bed placing his hands behind his head smiling until he heard a noise from my stomach. “Have you eaten at all today?”

Shaking my head no I pulled my knees underneath my butt shifting my body so that I was facing him. “Don’t take this as a weird question but could I see you in your werewolf form sometime. I've never seen a werewolf up close before.”

“You’re avoiding eating to ask me that question, Raelyn. I care about your well being.” He sat up straight scolding me.

Throwing my hands up from my lap a little I huffed not seeing the problem. “So no, I haven't eaten today. Can you answer my question please since I helped you possibly get your coffins back?”

“This is what is going to happen, love. We are going to get you something to eat and then we will talk about your offer.” He rose to his feet offering me his hands pulling me to stand. “So what do you want for dinner?”

“Are you saying you can cook too?” I question him.

“I can but I prefer to use vampire compulsion instead.” He responded back to me. “Now are you going to be picky about this because I have told you before that I don’t mind doing whatever I can to make you happy.”

Tapping my fingers on my arms when I crossed them over my chest I told the hybrid in front of me. “Boneless Buffalo wings would be good.”

“Done.” He turned on his heels about to leave but he spun around striding up to me leaning down where I blushed quickly thinking he might try to kiss me like we almost did on our first date. Yet he kisses my forehead instead before leaving the room. “Thank you for helping today. I don’t have many allies.”

“Neither do I.” I called out, making him halt in his tracks.

He glanced over his shoulder at me, sending me another smile in my direction. “From this day on we can look out for one another, Raelyn. I’ll see you later at dinner with the Salvatore’s.” When he had left the room completely I glanced around the room hearing my phone go off on the desk so I picked it up.

Flipping through the device there was a text message from the phone number Jo had given me but it didn’t make sense since she was enjoying her life away from all her Coven drama. I didn’t expect her to come find me. “I’m coming to Mystic Falls - EL…..that doesn’t seem right.” Locking my phone screen I tossed my phone down knowing I needed to find another outfit that didn’t have light blood on it from doing magic.

Comments really appreciated ❤️

[skyward-floored]

Whumptober day 14 — failed escape

Not me making you think twice about barely-mentioned manga characters, nope. I’ve had this one written for weeks, for some reason it just went fast. Nice for me! I’m tired

Ao3 link

Warnings: blood, injury, kidnapping, one small bit with throwing up

————————————————————

Four awoke to a rattling noise, the ground swaying under him, and an absolutely raging headache.

His head throbbed and he cracked his eyes open with a wince, looking around. A small beam of moonlight shone into what he could just barely make out as the inside of a wagon, a discarded barrel the only other occupant besides himself.

The floor under him suddenly gave a jolt, and Four groaned, the back of his head giving a sharp pulse of pain.

He made to reach up and feel his head, but a coarse rope rubbed against his wrists, his hands stuck behind his back. A couple wiggles proved his ankles were the same, and Four felt his heart start to beat faster.

A muffled voice came from outside the wagon, and the floor jolted again, harder this time. Four let out a hiss of pain and squeezed his eyes shut again, trying to think. He’d obviously been kidnapped, or something of the sort, but he was having trouble remembering what had led up to this happening.

The talking from outside grew louder, and Four made out a few muffled words, and a laughing voice said something about checking on the gang’s bargaining chip.

Wait. Gang.

Four carefully sat up, swallowing down the nausea that roiled through him at the movement, and took a steadying breath.

He sort of remembered now. The heroes had ended up back in Four’s own time, close to Hyrule Town, and he’d gone to pay a quick visit to his grandfather before talking to the princess. He’d shrugged off Twilight’s offer to come with him, and he’d been not even halfway to the forge when his head had flashed with pain and his vision had abruptly gone black.

Leading him here, tied up in a wagon with blood matting his hair.

Four took a deep breath, and tried to calm down.

Okay. I’m traveling in a wagon to an unknown location after being kidnapped by unknown men. I don’t know where the four sword is or any of my other gear... and nobody will realize I’m missing for at least another day.

Four groaned in annoyance.

The wagon suddenly lurched to a stop, which sent his head knocking into the wall. He let out a pained grunt as his head throbbed, and the back of the wagon creaked open.

A shaft of lantern light fell across him, and Four flicked his eyes towards the man holding the source of light.

He was, to put it nicely, nothing much to look at. Greasy-looking hair paired with a short beard that would’ve maybe been dashing on someone more put together. A mishmash of leather armor pieces and poorly taken care of clothes, not to mention the sneer on his lips that truly completed the kidnapper look.

There was something familiar about his eyes though, even narrowed with hatred like they were. Four studied him intently, trying to figure out who he was as he stepped into the wagon.

And then it hit him.

“You’re from Jago’s gang,” he realized, the gears in his head turning.

He and the other knights had put the gang leader and several of his cronies behind bars several months ago, shortly before ending up on his current journey. The hyrulean knights had been working on tracking down the remaining few members before Four had left, but it hadn’t been the top priority.

They hadn’t thought they were much of a threat.

The man sneered and spat to the side, stepping fully into the wagon as Four carefully reached down into his boot for the small knife he always kept inside.

“You bet your bandana we are. And we know who you are too, pipsqueak,” he drawled, and Four blinked back the rising ache in his head as he slipped the knife out. “The precious son of the head knight. Best friends with the princess. S’posedly a hero.”

Four watched him steadily, and began to work at the ropes with the knife.

“You’re our ticket to getting our cap’n back,” the man said through gritted teeth, “you got him locked up, we’ve been waiting for an opportunity to get ‘im, and get you. And now we’ve finally done it. We’re finally getting our cap’n back.”

He grinned, and Four stiffened as the man leaned in and whispered in his ear.

“Of course, that isn’t to say we can’t have a bit a fun with you first.”

Four kicked him in the face with his newly freed foot.

The bandit yelled and lurched backwards, and Four jumped to his feet, shoving past him and leaping out of the wagon. His head spun at the movement and he nearly fell over, but he stumbled onwards anyway, angered shouts ringing out behind him.

He was in the middle of the woods somewhere, not ones he was immediately familiar with. Either his head injury was scrambling his brains up too much for him to find his bearings, or he’d been taken out a long way from home. Plus it was pitch black out here, the trees blocking nearly all the moonlight from reaching the forest floor.

Not to mention his still-tied hands, which along with the head injury, made balancing much harder than normal.

His stomach lurched and Four nearly fell against a tree, swallowing down the bile that had suddenly risen in his throat. Another shout rang out from closer behind him, and Four stumbled onwards.

He needed help. Maybe he could find a minish portal, there had to be one in these woods. He could just barely feel the faint warmth of the Picori’s magic around him, which meant there were some minish here somewhere, but it was just too dark for him to easily find one of their portals.

His foot suddenly caught on a tree root, and Four cried out as his head hit the ground.

His vision went white for a moment and he gasped, trying to breathe through the sharp pain in his head while he desperately tried to get his body to listen to him.

Come on come on, get up Link get up get up—

A hand suddenly grabbed his tunic neck and yanked him upward, Four nearly gagging at the pressure on this throat.

He heard someone cussing and someone else snapping back at them, and opened his eyes just in time to see a fist connect with his face.

Four reeled backwards, but another hand was fisted in his tunic, and as blood trickled down his face, Four looked dazedly up at the man who he’d kicked. He was glaring down at Four, face twisted in anger, as a small line of blood dripped from his nose.

“Stupid brat,” the man hissed, and raised a dagger up to Four’s neck.

“Don’t kill him! We need him to get Jago back!” Another man shouted, and the first man snarled and threw Four back to the ground.

Four’s head blazed as he hit the dirt, the world swirling around him as he pried open his eyes. His stomach lurched, and he barely managed to turn his head enough to vomit into the grass and not on himself.

“Why don’t we just kill him now and bust Jago out?” the first man hissed, and Four barely heard him through the high-pitched whine in his ears, “we could do it without him, and he’s right here. Let’s just kill the brat!”

“No, this is the best way to do it,” the second man snapped, elbowing the first. “We’re guaranteed to get everyone back with this plan, you know we’d lose a few men if we broke in and tried to just bust everyone out.”

Then he shook his head and stepped forward, planting a solid boot on Four’s chest.

Four let out a pitiful wheeze, and the man smirked. “Besides. We just have to keep him alive. It doesn’t matter in what state.”

He put more of his weight on Four’s chest, and the smithy let out a whimpering cough, ribs aching and head spinning to such a severe extent he could barely tell which way was up.

The man leaned down, and Four saw pure malice spark in his eyes.

“And there’s a couple things I’d like to pay him back for.”

[leggerefiore]

Taking your local folk god mate from his mostly isolated village into a human, a species whom he despised, dominated the city was probably not the best idea. Emmet was clearly tense in the modern clothes you had dressed him in. His fluffy tail and ears were disguised by his illusions, but you could almost sense his tail swishing back and forth behind him. He walked close to you, eyes watching for any unfavourable actions by passing people. It felt ridiculous.

When was the last time he left his village? Had he ever? The village was mostly his and his brother's descendents, so everyone was extremely comfortable with him. The ending of your past life had failed to give him any reason to shift his opinions on humans, too. “… You never stop watching shows about them, and I do believe someone left an offering in the form of a book about the history of locomotives,” you explained to the younger twin god as you both approached the station. A cool autumn wind blew around you both, stirring leaves from their trees and onto the ground before you. Their colours were gorgeous. “I come here often, too, for foods we don't have in the village,” you reassured him.

“I don't like it,” he whined, “Our shrine here is small and useless. It's next to the station, for safe travels. I refuse to answer any human's prayer.” You knew that much from the looks he gave out of town visitors of your main shrine. The smaller one here was run by Zoroarks who moved here in the past for better work. Ironically, next to where a train station ended up. Something both fox gods had become obsessed with despite their repeated denials. He needed to visit here regularly, for the more disconnected Zorua and Zoroarks and for moving past his tense history with humans. You were human, too, after all, and he managed to love you. (Though your research into that long passed history was quite odd. He and Ingo seemingly decided to settle down and begin repopulating their species, and somehow your past life happened to be a person they encountered.)

You have down the shrine maiden at the small temple, and she came bounding out. Her excitement was palpable as she gazed at Emmet. Suddenly, she bowed and greeted him, “Most respectable Lord Kudari, thank you for coming to visit our more humble temple!” You giggled as he tilted his head. A hand carefully landed in her head to pet her. Emmet giggled at his great-granddaughter. “Emi, aren't you already a century old? You know verrrry well you don't need to be formal with me!” She quickly grew flustered and stood up straight. You sighed. How many foxes would you meet that had aged well over normal human life spans and still looked so young?

After a quick exchange of tea and time, you both continued you on your way to the station. Emmet stared at the empty tracks with a hum. “They're powered by electricity instead of diesel,” he commented, “It's part of the reason for their speed.” You smiled at him. Humans made him uncomfortable, but the shrine visit seemed to calm him. His bloodline never moved too far away, the tradition of returning to the village something deeply respected. When a train pulled into the station, his grin grew wide. He murmured the model and date of its first use aloud. You sighed.

Lastly, you brought him to a café as the sun began its descent from its place in the sky. He ordered a strawberry parfait, while you took to your favourite desert. His enjoyment of the day only increased as he dug into the multilayered desert excitedly. “Is the city that bad, Em?” you asked him after he made it halfway through the sweet. He hummed for a moment before resting his head in his hand, glowing gold danced just under the silver. His disguise barely there. “Humans pray for the strongest things,” he commented, “They mock our descendents who believe in us and refuse our cultural obligations. Here is not so bad because of all our children who remain.”

Your server returned with an awkward smile. “Ah, someone was offering to pay for your order, but I wasn't sure you wanted to take it,” she spoke nervously, hands fiddling with her apron. Emmet smiled at her brightly, telling you all you needed to know. “Heehee, you reeeeeally want my brother to bless your marriage, don't you?” he giggled. She looked to the ground in shame. “Your offer is kind,” he continued, “He blessed your marriage without hesitation. He's proud.” She let a relieved breath, “Thank you, Lord Kudari. I'll still pay, as it was nice seeing in person. You as well!” She gazed at you kindly.

On your walk home, you finally felt curious. “If you could theoretically move to the city, why do you remain here?” you wondered out loud.

“It's been my home for centuries,” he countered, “We became mates here first and established it with Ingo all that time ago. Children left to find their mates and returned after. It grew big. Humans hated us because we were Zoroarks, and therefore untrustworthy. It's continuing to exist and thrive means everything to me.”

How oddly romantic, you felt. Even Emmet had an attachment to things for common reasons. You have no idea why you were ready for him to announce it was where he first fucked you.  “That's… very sweet of you, Emmy,” you held his hand as you entered the village gate, “… I've grown attached to it, too, I'll admit. Its nostalgic quaintness relaxes me.”

“I enjoyed our trip today,” he pressed a soft kiss to your cheek as you stopped in front of the shrine, “I still don't like humans, but being with you is always fun. It reminded me of why I loved you, and how much I missed you. Yep! I'll be a better mate this time around.”

“Will you stop dropping Patrats off at our door?"

“Nope! That's how I show my love.”

You sometimes regretted staying with these goofy gods.

[zarvasace]

salad of heroes

The most mediocre-effort Everyone Meets minific you will ever find. The Links are coming together! Wow! It's the beginning of an adventure and everyone is so stoked! (you can guess who's less enthusiastic)

Disability AU, 8421 words, AO3 link here. No particular warnings. Except for the fact that I didn't even read over this a second time.

---

When the clear sound of portal magic rang out from behind Link, he sighed and covered his eyes for just a moment with his hand. Really? Again? Portals? 

He whirled around when someone stepped out, right onto his bedroom floor.

The man stared at Link, his right eye hidden by a leather patch, his left wide and a familiar shade of bright blue. He wore light armor, though the design made the back of Link's neck prickle, as did the markings on the man's face, just under the eye patch. 

"Link?" the man asked, his voice rapidly shifting from shock to surprise. 

Link frowned. 'Do I know you?' he signed, hoping this man somehow knew the language. 

The man's face crinkled in a reluctant smile. "It's been a while for me, yes, though not as long for you. I'm Mask." He added the sign name Link had given him to make it clear, a mixture of the signs for 'mask' and the letter L, since his name was also Link. 

'Mask,' Link repeated, blinking in shock. 'You grew up.' 

"I did. I have a wife and a farm." Mask looked proud of himself. "And before you ask, I don't know what that portal was. I didn't particularly want to leave, though I'm not too disappointed I came here. It's good to see you again."

'You, too. Your eye… your face and armor. What happened?' Link had some idea, but didn't really want to put the thought into words. This older Mask was strange. Familiar, but changed, and Link didn't really know how to react. 

Mask winced and waved a hand. "Let's leave that for another time. I think I feel another portal coming, you might want to get your things."

With a reluctant nod, Link turned back to his bookshelf and put his book down. He'd been looking forward to that. Oh well. 

Armor, a note, and one packed bag later, Link and Mask stood in front of another portal, identical to the last. 

Mask held out his hand. "Let's not get lost."

Link nodded his agreement and took his hand. It was much larger than last time they'd gone through a portal, but familiar nonetheless. Together, they took a step into the blackened magic, leaving Warriors's castle behind for new vistas. 

That new vista happened to be the edge of a small town in the forest, just outside a rough-hewn fence next to a sturdy tree. A young man with another rather familiar face, not to mention strange facial tattoos, stood on the other side of the fence, frozen with one of his hands on a goat's horn. 

No, Link realized, his only hand. 

"Who are you?" the young man asked in accented but understandable Hylian, taking a step back. His goat bleated but followed him. "Do I know you?" He directed the question towards Mask, looking over the armor. 

"I… don't think so," Mask answered, shooting a glance at Link to double-check that neither of them had ever met the kid. Link shook his head. 

"Well, who are you?" 

Link winced, but decided to try the signing anyway. Maybe the kid knew it. 'My name is Link, I'm the general of the Hyrule Army.'

"No, you're not," the kid said, narrowing his eyes. At least he'd understood. "I know the general, and he's not you. Is this a joke?"

"What's your name?" Mask asked, and oddly enough, the kid relaxed a fraction. 

"Link."

Link snorted. 'So is mine. And his. Are you a Sacred Hero of Light, by chance?'

The new Link still looked wary. "I'm the Hero of Twilight, yes."

'Then that's what we'll call you,' Link said. 'Twilight. I'm the Hero of Warriors, so I suppose my name is Warriors.' 

"Warriors," the new Link tried. "That's a mouthful. I'll call ya Wars. And you?" 

"I'm the Hero of Time." Mask sounded resigned. "I think we're on another time-traveling journey, gathering Heroes for some reason. You're probably meant to come along."

The newly dubbed Twilight looked them over. "You did just pop out of a portal. I guess I can believe you, maybe. Prepare for adventure, huh? I can do that."

He put away the goats and invited them into his house, which was built up on the sturdy tree, oddly enough. It was a cozy place, if a bit rustic for Link's taste. Warriors's taste. He winced. That was a mouthful. 

"Not to pry," Twilight said from his loft. He glanced down at the two of them sitting awkwardly at his table and started to climb back down. "But why don't you talk, Wars? No judgment. I went through a period of mutism, myself, not that signing worked too well with just the one hand." That explained the fact that he knew sign language, even if it was still a bit confusing why it was the same sign language. 

'My voice doesn't work very well,' Link—Warriors, he should remember that—signed so Twilight could see. 'It's easier this way.'

"I'll take your word for it." Twilight pulled a sword belt on over his shoulder and concluded with a backpack. 

Mask, now Time, stood up. "May I ask about your arm?"

"Reindeer ate it," Twilight answered easily. 

Warriors and Time exchanged an odd look. 

"Sorry," Twilight said after a second, laughing. "I get that question a lot. I was born without it, as far as we can figure."

Time cracked a smile. "Then I'm sure you have a lot of ridiculous answers."

"Of course I do. So where are we going?"

Warriors shrugged. Before he could get the chance to say anything, though, he heard the sound of a portal to his left, near the front door. He sighed. 'We don't know.'

Twilight frowned out at the portal. "I'm a bit hesitant to leave. Monster attacks are increasing, and I'm one of the only ones who can do anything about them."

"I don't think we have a choice," Time told him. "Though… it is a bit of a coincidence that the same thing has been happening at my home."

'And mine,' Warriors said. 'More than coincidence, now.' 

"Well," Twilight sighed, "maybe this will help that, then. How many more Links are there? I'm familiar with stories about the Hero of Men."

"As am I," Time agreed. "Perhaps he predates us both."

Twilight shifted on his feet, still staring at the portal. "I'm not familiar with the Hero of Time, though."

"Not all stories are meant to be passed on." 

'That isn't ominous,' Warriors said, though he couldn't blame Time. 'I know of three or four others, at least.' 

"Then I guess we just need to get going." Twilight nodded. "Meet these other Heroes."

Time held out a hand toward Twilight. "We've been holding hands. The portals are a little… disorienting."

Though he hesitated for a moment, Twilight nodded and took the hand. Warriors grabbed Time's other hand, and together they walked into the next portal. 

The first thing Warriors registered was the wind chill. His scarf blew around his body, and he shivered against the wind. On Time's other side, Twilight let go and rubbed at his head. 

"Disorienting? Yes. Ugh."

Warriors winced in silent apology and shielded his eyes with his hand to look around for their next Hero. 

Sure enough, another sandy-haired young man faced away from them, tending to a small garden outside of a colorful building. He didn't seem to be bothered by the wind, despite it whipping his hair around. 

"Hello?" Twilight called over the wind. 

The new presumably-Link didn't look up. 

Perhaps the wind was too loud. Warriors took a few steps forward and waved within the new kid's line of sight. 

Three seconds later, Warriors found himself facing the bright blue sky with the kid on top of him, a dagger pressed to his neck. Hey. The kid was good. And not entirely a kid, he looked a bit older now that Warriors could see his face. 

"I don't know you. Who are you?" he asked, his voice a little louder than it needed to be, with every consonant clear and precise. 

Warriors couldn't respond with his arms trapped beneath the kid's weight. He sighed and mouthed the word instead. 'Link.' 

"Yes, I'm Link. I asked who you are."

Twilight got up closer, and the new Link tensed, turning his way, but Twilight just spoke. "He's Link. And so am I. And so is he." 

The new Link squinted at him. "Say that again."

"We're all Link. We're all Heroes, from across time, we think."

"Heroes," the new Link echoed. He thought for a moment, then got off of Warriors. "I hope you don't mind if I prove that claim." 

"How do you plan on doing that?" Time asked, his arms folded. 

The new Link looked them over. "Come with me." He turned to go. 

Twilight offered his hand to Warriors, who took it to stand up. He rubbed at his neck. 

'He's talented,' Warriors signed, and Twilight nodded his agreement. 

The three of them followed the new Link around a few buildings and up to a cave. They hesitated, but let him lead them inside. It wasn't a very big cave, but was lit well with natural vents and shielded from the wind. The new Link went right up to the altar at the far end and picked up a sword. A very familiar sword. He turned to face them, blade gleaming. 

"Okay, I believe you two, now," Twilight muttered. "That's the Master Sword." He wasn't the only one with a reaction. Time scowled, and Warriors looked at it with reverence and wariness. 

The new Link waited a moment, looking them over with the sword in his hands. "She says you're actually Heroes. Hm. That isn't what I expected to find today." He lowered the sword and smiled. "In that case, it's nice to meet you. I'm Link, though you knew that, and I'm the Hero of the Sky." 

"Then we'll call you Sky," Time said. "If that's amenable to you. We've been picking up nicknames according to our titles."

The newly named Sky frowned slightly. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" 

It was the second time he'd asked for someone to say something again. Warriors raised a hand for attention and tried something else. 

'Since we're all named Link, we've been picking nicknames that match our hero titles,' he signed. 'So yours is Sky.'

Sky brightened. "You know sign? That will make this go much more smoothly." He put the Master Sword back on the altar and signed, too. 'I can't hear very well.'

'Really? I don't speak very well, but I can hear. You do speak well, though.'

"Thank you." Sky signed as he spoke. "I've practiced a lot. I must admit I'm still confused, though—if you're all Heroes… are you from the surface? Are there other people out there?"

"We're from across time, actually," Time said. Warriors decided to interpret, and Sky smiled at him. 

"Across time." Sky nodded. "Not the strangest thing to have happened to me, by far. This almost makes sense. So what are your nicknames?" 

After a quick introduction, and the start of a few sign names based on first impressions, Sky picked up the Master Sword again. He took them to where he'd been working before, and left them outside so he could go pack. 

Warriors listened to the slightly awkward conversation Twilight and Time struck up, but didn't contribute. He was a little busy thinking about the timeline—just how many Links could there be? He knew of at least two more, if he really did recognize Twilight and Sky's eras. At least two, possibly three, if the Hero of Men was someone new. Hopefully, the Master Sword would make it easier for them to convince anyone else that they were for real. 

As soon as Sky returned, a smile on his face and the Master Sword on his back, another portal opened in front of the small group. 

"Shall we?" Time asked, offering out his hands. 

Warriors took one, Twilight took the other, and Sky took Warriors's other side with only a little confusion. And in they went to another portal. 

This was going to be a long day, wasn't it? 

The world warmed up quite a bit on the other side of the portal, and Warriors's boots hit the wood of a very small boat. Around them, the small dock on the beach looked abandoned. 

The boat honestly barely fit the four of them. The five of them. This time, the kid in front of the portal watching them come through had sun-bleached blond hair and a sword already in his hand. When he saw Warriors, though, he dropped the sword and ran up. 

Warriors shook off Time and Sky's hands to catch the kid in a hug, laughing. Man, he was heavier than before. That seemed to be a theme. 

"Link! Hi! Hey, you didn't change a bit! How are you?" The sailor stepped back to let him use his hands. 

'I'm fine. We're apparently gathering a bunch of Heroes from across time, wanna come with?' 

"Of course I do! What great timing, too, I've been getting bored." Warriors kept up the interpreting so Sky could follow along. 

Twilight interrupted. "Uh, how old are you, kid?" 

The sailor turned on him with a glint in his eye. "Fourteen, and a Hero twice over, so shove whatever ideas you have about 'too young' overboard to drown, landlubber."

Warriors laughed again, and Twilight looked like he didn't know whether to be offended or not. 

"Two adventures?" Sky asked. "Why two?" 

The sailor shrugged and picked his sword back up to sheathe it. "World needed saving twice, I guess. Or… whatever that second one was. There were definitely ghosts."

"I had two, as well," Time said. 

"Hold on." The sailor put his hands on his hips and looked Time over. "I know you."

Time almost smiled. "Everyone does, apparently."

"I don't," Sky said brightly. 

"You're the kid! Holy—" The sailor pointed at him. "You had two adventures, and your face, and your stupid smile! You're him! You got old."

"I'm not old," Time protested. "Just older. You're still insufferable." 

Twilight raised his hand to break it up. "Hey, kid, what's your Hero title? That's where we've been getting nicknames, we can't all be Link."

That successfully distracted the sailor. "I guess not. I'm the Hero of the Wind. What's yours? Hey, what happened to your arm?"

"I'm Twilight. And I ate too many lemons as a kid."

The sailor, Wind now, laughed and slung up a backpack. "Good one. I didn't eat enough lemons as a kid." He lifted up his left leg to showcase the leather and black-painted wood that extended past his knee. He hopped a few times to keep his balance before putting it down. "So who are the rest of you?"

"Sky, apparently."

'Warriors.'

Wind squinted at him. "I don't know that sign, it's been forever."

Sky helped out. "Warriors."

"That's a long name."

"Wars is a good nickname for the nickname," Twilight supplied. 

Wind laughed. "And it's pretentious, just like him!"

'I'm right here,' Warriors pouted. He was getting attached to the name. 

"Call me Time," said the last of them. "We don't know where we're going or how long it'll take, or even how many Heroes named Link there are. You still with us?"

Wind nodded resolutely. "Yep. There's a portal behind you."

"Of course there is," Twilight sighed. "They always seem to appear at the earliest moment we're ready. Time for another."

As had become practice, they grabbed each other's hands and abandoned this era for another. 

Warriors knew of at least one more era, one more Hero, perhaps two… yet he doubted it was the only one they still had left. 

The other end of this portal was actually nice. Late-afternoon sunlight filtered through the broad leaves of tall trees, and the air smelled sweet, with just a hint of sourness. 

This Link sat on the ground by a row of pea vines, piling picked pea pods into the skirt of his tunic. He looked up at them, noticed the Master Sword on Sky's back, and sighed up at the sky. 

"Really?" he yelled, loud enough to startle some birds from the trees and make Warriors jump. "I finally get to settle down, and you assign me more?" 

Warriors exchanged a look with Time, a bit worried.

"Uh… hi," Wind tried. "Is your name Link, too? What are you the Hero of?"

The new Link dumped the peas into a bucket with more force than necessary. "Yes, I'm Link. Everything and nothing. What world-ending calamity is there this time?" 

"We don't know," Time said. "You're not alone in your frustration, but I don't think there's much of a choice."

"Of course not," new Link muttered. He grabbed a cane laying on the ground that Warriors hadn't noticed and used it to push himself to standing. Then he grabbed the bucket of peas and turned to the house. "Come on. Who are all of you?"

Wind took it upon himself to introduce everyone. "I'm Wind, because I'm the Hero of Winds, and I lost my leg when a shark smelled my blood and ate it. That's Twilight, his arm disappeared into an interdimensional portal and he never found it." Twilight choked on laughter. "That one's Time, he's old,  he ate too much grapefruit and lost his eye. And Warriors, but you can call him Wars, his voice sounds weird now so he doesn't talk." Warriors rolled his eyes and signed thank you as sarcastically as he could. "And finally, that's Sky, he, uh… he has the Master Sword."

"I noticed," new Link said. "That's the only reason you're not burnt steaks right now." He used his cane as support, but didn't lean on it as heavily as Warriors had expected. 

Sky, who'd been following along with Warriors interpreting, spoke up. "I'm deaf."

"Ah, so that's why he's been signing the whole time." The new Link turned at the steps to the house to face them. "The goddesses really like their broken Heroes, huh?"

'Don't say that,' Warriors frowned, signing sharply. 'None of us are broken.'

"I am. Six adventures will do that to you."

"Six?" Twilight burst. "You're joking. We've just been on one or two. Is that an injury, then?" He gestured to the cane. 

The new Link snorted. "Wow. Yeah, it's been six, and I thought I was done. And… no, it's not an injury. I just go through weeks where everything sucks, and every time, the normal gets a little worse. Just got off an episode yesterday, actually, so. Look, when we go in there, do not buy anything, it's all overpriced."

"What?" Sky asked aloud, a beat later. 

"You'll see." Link opened the door and headed into the house. He set the bucket of peas on a table. "Come on in, I just gotta grab my stuff. Dumb adventuring stuff." 

Although Warriors had an inkling of what he'd find in the front room, the volume really shocked him. Every available surface past the hallway that led to the kitchen had something on it. The sheer volume of stuff ranged from creepy-looking masks to bottles of milk to magic items with… yep, tiny purple bunny ears. 

"Captain Hero!" a voice said, far too close for comfort. 

Warriors let out a shocked noise and jumped. 

"It is you!” said the short person next to him, wearing a long purple robe with his bunny-shaped hood pulled up. He, too, signed as he spoke, though his signs were messy. "Wow, to think, you came to visit me this time! And you brought friends! Still wearing your scarf, I see, very chic, I have some scarf pins over here you might like. Are you—"

'Ravio,' Warriors tried to interrupt the tirade. 

"Does he just know everyone?" Twilight whispered to Time behind him. Time made an I-don't-know noise. 

Ravio kept going, walking backwards farther into the room. 

'Ravio!' Warriors signed again, yelling as best he could with sharp signs. Ravio finally stopped mid-sentence. 'That guy back there is the Hero you wouldn't stop talking about?'

"Oh, yes, he's very good at what he does, believe me. Six adventures, you know?"

"We heard," Sky said, with his voice and hands. "It's quite a lot. Are you Link's friend?"

"That's me, yep, Ravio at your service. I'm the proprietor of this shop and everything in it is for sale, only the most reasonable prices for the friends of Captain Hero."

"That's a Farore-damned lie!" The new Link—he still didn't have a nickname—limped into the room with a different outfit, sturdier boots, and a lot of jewelry. "Your prices are awful."

Ravio put a hand up to his chest for a moment. "You hurt my feelings. Of course you're all getting discounts!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." The new Link shooed Wind away from one of the piles of jewelry. Warriors would bet that Wind had already taken some, dirty little pirate. "You have free run of this place while I'm gone, so don't trash it. And don't"—he got up close to Ravio—"let my garden die like last time."

"I'll do my very best," Ravio promised. "You have places to be."

"Wish I knew what those places were." The new Link stood straight in front of the group. Warriors noticed a weird patch of pink in his otherwise-blond hair. "People call me the Legendary Hero, which I guess makes my name Legend." 

Warriors nudged Wind for his attention and signed in small gestures. 'And you called me pretentious.'

The new Link gave him a flat look. "Warriors, right? That's because you are."

'Me? Pretentious? You'll eat those words, jewelry boy.'

"Jewelry boy, wow, how creative. I'm truly insulted. Where do we go from here?" 

Twilight pointed to behind Legend, where a portal swirled into existence. "That's how it's been happening."

Legend sighed, turned around, and marched right through the portal. 

Wind grabbed Warriors's hand. "Wait up! Bye, Ravio!" 

"Bye for now!" 

Warriors snatched Sky's cape, Sky took Twilight's hand, and Time grabbed Twilight's furs. One by one, connected, they went through the new portal. 

"Ugh, these portals are awful," Legend said on the other side. He clutched at his head. 

"They're a bit disorienting, I admit," Sky said, "but they seem to affect us differently. I'm not getting headaches."

"Where's the new Link?" Wind asked, spinning around in a circle. They stood in a red canyon, wind whistling through, carrying heat. "Helloooooo?" he called, hands cupped around his mouth. 

Time put a hand on Wind's shoulder. "We don't want to call undue attention, Wind."

'Honestly,' Warriors said, smiling briefly when Sky spoke his words so people could hear them, 'We might not need to worry about that. Every portal so far has led us right to the new Link, alone and with convenient timing.'

Legend grunted. "That's not suspicious at all."

"I assume it's the goddess's doing," Sky said mildly, looking around. 

"My point still stands."

Warriors rolled his eyes and inspected the canyon. It was true that this portal didn't put them right in front of a Link, as has happened every other time. Maybe it was the end, and they'd gathered all of the Heroes. In that case, there would be a threat, something to fight, wouldn't there? 

"I know this place," Twilight muttered. "The Link here is feral, and I mean that as both a good and a bad thing."

"Feral?" Time asked, an eyebrow raised. 

A boy in a blue cape landed on Time's shoulders, knocking him onto his back and making everyone panic. 

'Attacked again,' Warriors said, not really intending anybody to see, but Sky laughed. 

'Sorry,' Sky signed. 

'No harm done. Hopefully it'll be the same here.'

"How did you steal it?" the new Link asked with a growl, holding a glowing yellow spear dangerously close to Time's chest. His blue cape hid his head, but Warriors could see a good array of supplies held on his person, despite the odd lack of a pack. 

Time raised his hands. "Steal what?"

"Don't play dumb. The Master Sword. How did you even survive the seal? Or the woods, for that matter?" 

"We didn't steal the sword," Time said, trying to stay calm. 

"I don't know if she could be stolen like that." Sky approached, his hands raised in peace. "We aren't a threat to you or the people here. We're being pulled through time to find a lot of other Heroes. You're a Hero, aren't you?" 

The new Link paused, then nodded once. The spear pulled back a few inches, but Time didn't take the opening. 

Sky hesitated. "If you said something, I didn't catch it. I don't hear very well, and I can't see your face with the hood."

After another second, the new Link took a hand off of his spear to yank his hood back around his neck. Warriors was first struck with the length of his hair, and how tangled it looked. He winced. Then he noticed the scarring across the Link's face, focused on the left side of his jaw. It was awful scarring. 

"I didn't say anything," the new Link said. "I'm going to need proof that you aren't Yiga." 

"Yiga?" Wind asked in confusion. 

"Imposters," Twilight answered. That's right, he said he knew this Link, didn't he? Why wasn't there some kind of reunion? The new Link's eyes passed right over him, though Warriors thought he saw a hitch. 

Legend groaned in exasperation. "Nayru's nose, I'm so done with this. Look, Link, the goddesses don't let you say no to these things. We're all Link, hooray, just get off of Time." 

"That doesn't make sense," the new Link said, though he didn't seem too sure. 

"There's only one thing that makes sense in this Farore-forsaken world, and that's that nothing makes sense. Get used to it." 

Warriors sighed. 'Lay off of him, Legend. Is this what six adventures did to you? Made you jaded beyond belief?'

"You bet they did," Legend snapped back. 

Twilight tried mediation next. He stepped in Warriors and Legend's lines of sight. "Look, we don't know how long this is going to take, and it's getting dark, apparently time moves the same no matter which era we're in. Sky, would you draw the sword?" He mimed the action, which Sky understood. 

Carefully, and making eye contact with the new Link so as not to scare him, Sky pulled the Master Sword off his back and held it out flat. In his hands, and in the growing sunset, the blade glowed with an eerie, peaceful blue light. It lit Sky's face, and he smiled as he looked down at it. 

Warriors remembered how the sword felt in his hands. Part of him wanted to run up and take it again, but he crossed his arms instead. Sky respected its power, that was clear. He was the ideal wielder at the moment, not Warriors. 

"The blade only glows in the hands of a healthy Hero," Twilight said, and it appeared that the new Link knew that already. He nodded slowly and stepped off of Time, who sat up. 

With the tense atmosphere dissolving, Wind perked up again. "So, what's your name? Link, obviously.  We all are. I meant, what's your Hero title? Those are where we're getting our nicknames, since we can't all be Link. I'm Wind! That's Warriors, and Sky, and Twilight, and Time, and Legend. I think he's a bit of a jerk."

"Hey!"

The new Link smiled, just a little. It pulled higher on his right, opposite the scar. "It's not official or anything, but… I'm the Hero of the Wild."

"That makes sense," Wind said diplomatically, looking the now-Wild over. 

"So what's going on?" Wild asked, keeping his spear out. 

Warriors stepped forward so that Sky could see his interpreting better. 'We don't know. The portals are just dropping us off in front of Links who happen to also be Heroes.'

Thankfully, Wild understood him. How odd was it that all of them so far knew sign language? Sure, Warriors taught both Time and Wind at different points, and Sky was deaf, but… It was a mystery for Legend, Twilight, and Wild, now. It made things easier on him, but it still felt strange. 

"That's… weird."

"You need to pack for a journey. Where do you keep your things?" Time asked. 

Wild shook his head, hair flying. "On me. I have everything I need, though…" He unhooked a tablet-shaped item from his belt. It lit up with blue and orange light, and he poked the light. "I would have stocked up on more rice had I known I was going somewhere with… there are six of you."

"We have our own rations," Legend said, less grouchy than before. 

"Rations?" Wild looked up and frowned. "While I'm around? Never. When else will I get the chance to show off my cooking skills?" 

"You can cook?" Wind asked brightly. 

"Yeahhhh…" Wild trailed off, his eyes lifted. "What's that?" 

Warriors turned around, and Time sighed audibly. 

"It's our next portal. Come on, everyone, grab onto each other."

Wild ended up on the end of the line between Time and Twilight, who smiled encouragingly down at him. 

"The portals are a little rough, so hang tight."

"Rough?" Legend asked, caught between Warriors and Sky with his cane tucked into his belt. They headed into the portal single-file. "More like, these portals are a bit—"

His words were swallowed by the portal, and Warriors shook his head, towing Wind along behind him. 

The next world was very, very dark. Warriors couldn't see a thing, but he could feel Legend drop to sit on the ground, and he could hear the portal brushing out of existence. 

"Everyone made it through?" Time asked, lowering his voice. The way it echoed, the chill in the air… Warriors imagined this was a cave. 

A small chorus of affirmative noises bounced around the room. 

And an unfamiliar voice—well, more unfamiliar than the rest of these people—spoke back, young but firm. "Who are you? How did you find me?"

Legend snorted from his place on the floor. Despite Warriors trying to hold onto him, he ripped his hand away and, from the sounds of it, stood up. "Link, meet Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, and Link. We're all Link. We're all Heroes. Why is it so Din-damned dark in here?" 

A spot of glowing orange lit up the space, illuminating Legend's face first, then Sky and the rest of them. Sky let out a breath, hand over his heart, and turned around. 

Standing in the dim light with an impressive ruby-and-silver sword in one hand and long staff in the other, the new Link had dirt on his face and rubbed into his clothes. Warriors could barely tell that his tunic was green. Despite the weapon, his posture was relaxing by the moment. 

"Not like the darkness changes much," the new Link said. Warriors looked a little closer, realizing at the same time that Twilight did. 

"You can't see," Twilight said aloud. 

The new Link's face hardened. "Is that a problem? If you're looking for me, you think you would've known that already."

Legend, of all people, answered. "We're not from here. Of course it's not a problem, we're all messed up somehow. Short version because I don't want to be here all day: we're time traveling through portals, nobody knows why, we keep finding more Links. Who knows when it'll end. You're the latest, chances are you'll be yanked through the next portal, too.

"You can call me Legend. I've been on six adventures, and I can mostly walk most days because my body hates me. The feeling is mutual."

"Oh." The new Link blinked, then sheathed his sword at his side. "Nice to meet you, then. I think."

Behind Warriors, Wild pulled out a torch and lit it, brightening up the cave that much farther. 

"Well?" Legend snapped into the silence. "Introduce yourselves, everyone, he has to know your voices."

"You can do that?" Wind asked in awe. 

The new Link snorted. "I would be stupid if I didn't memorize voices. And monster sounds."

Warriors couldn't pretend to know what being blind was like, but he thought it would be very hard to live the kind of lifestyle this kid obviously did. How had he survived? He was either very skilled, or very lucky. Possibly both. 

"My nickname is Sky," Sky said next. "I've been on one adventure, and I have the Master Sword." The name-drop didn't faze this new Link at all. Had he even heard of it? "I'm deaf, so if you need to talk to me… you don't happen to know sign language, do you?"

The new Link made a face, possibly one of confusion. "What is that?" 

"A way of speaking without sounds, using hand gestures instead. If you need to talk to me, then, perhaps find someone else."

Warriors realized then that he'd never really be able to communicate with this Link. Not directly, anyway. He'd always need an interpreter. That was a little bit depressing, he was starting to get attached to all of these crazy people. 

"Okay," the new Link agreed. "I can do that." He leaned against the wall. 

"I'm Twilight. One adventure. I'm missing my right arm a bit below the shoulder."

The new Link turned his head slightly in Twilight's direction. "You have dark magic on you." 

Twilight scowled, the markings on his forehead folding. "What? No, I don't."

"You do," the new Link insisted, though he didn't seem bothered. "But you're clearly still divinely blessed, so whatever it is, it's not a problem."

"I don't have dark magic," Twilight muttered, but Time took over. 

"You can call me Time. I'm the oldest of you lot, so far. Two adventures, myself. My right eye is missing, but my left one works just fine."

"You're the one wearing armor," the new Link said. 

"Yes. Good ears."

Wind went next, just as excited as he'd been the rest of the time. "I'm Wind! I think I'm the youngest so far! I got my left leg chewed up, but I have a wooden one now, and it's not hard to get around."

"Really? That's neat."

"It is so neat, I'm glad to be able to walk. I've had two adventures, maybe two and a half? Depends on how you read the second, it did all sort of happen in a dream, but I got a sword and Linebeck out of it, so…"

"A dream?" The new Link laughed. It was a nice sound. "That's weird."

"And I'm Wild. One… yeah, just one adventure, if you could call it that. I guess my thing is that I have some pretty heavy scarring on my side. It's not really an issue."

"What kinds of scars?" the new Link asked. At least he seemed to be getting comfortable with them. Warriors wondered when the next portal would open. 

Wild shrugged, holding the torch high. "Burn scars. Sort of."

Warriors felt his heart beat a little faster—it was his turn, wasn't it? It seemed like it. He wasn't nervous, he just… thought his voice sounded awful, and didn't particularly like letting people hear it. Sky nodded at him, and Warriors knew that if he chose to sign, Sky would speak for him. It was nice, to know he had someone to do that if he needed it, and Sky's voice was very calming. 

But, at the same time, if this Link relied on voices that much, he should at least know what Warriors sounded like. It wasn't a bad idea for the others to know, either, just in case. 

Warriors sighed and opened his mouth. "Wa-arrio-rs." Stupid vowels. They took way too much air and never came out right. "Ta-alking i-is h-ha-ard." 

The letter H was the worst. He wrinkled his nose and cleared his throat. His voice now always came out scratchy, broken, and a little painful.

"You can talk?" Wild asked in surprise, and Legend turned around to blink at Warriors, too. Sky smiled encouragingly. 

"Ba-arely-y." Warriors frowned and switched back to sign only. He hoped that the way his face flamed wasn't visible in the dim, warm light. 'It can be painful. I don't do it often.'

Sky nodded. "He says it can hurt," he said aloud for the new Link's sake. "So he doesn't do it often. He uses sign language for the most part, which apparently everyone else knows already."

The new Link smiled, but a little sadly. "Don't strain yourself for me. That's everyone, isn't it? Seven other Links and Heroes, wow. Do you think there will be more?"

"Maybe," Sky said. "I know stories about one before me in time."

"I do, too," Time added. 

"I guess we'll have to see." Legend paused. "Or not, whatever."

The new Link snorted. "All right. My turn. I guess… you can call me the Hero of Hyrule. That's a bit of a stupid name, though, isn't it?" 

Legend shook his head. "Nah. We all have stupid names. That one is Warriors."

'Hey.'

"I'm Hyrule, then. I've saved two Zeldas, so I guess that gives me two adventures. I can see a bit of dark and light, and can tell where bits of magic are, but mostly I just use this." He wiggled his staff. "I think that's it?"

"Aaaand," Twilight sighed, "right on time, there's a portal. Will we get a break?"

"Maybe once we've gathered all the Links we need to." Time took Twilight's free hand, and they formed a chain again. 

Wind took Warriors's hand, and Legend took Hyrule's at the end of the line. 

"Portals are rough," Warriors heard Legend mutter to Hyrule. "You have more magic than I do, you might get sicker than me." 

"Thanks for the warning," Hyrule whispered back. 

And with that, the group of Links, now eight strong, passed through yet another portal—

—into chaos. 

Wherever this was, it was rapidly becoming dark. Even where the sky was light, the large trees blocked it out. In the forest clearing that they emerged into, Warriors counted somewhere around a dozen monsters, ones he recognized as being from across time. Many of the Heroes had already picked up weapons to fight. 

Behind him, it seemed like Legend's warning about portals and sickness was well-founded, as Hyrule immediately pulled away to run to the side and dry heave. He didn't look very good. Legend went to help him, meeting Warriors's eyes as he did. They nodded. Despite their differences, they both had experience, and they both knew the intended plan. 

Warriors stood his ground in front of the pair, tugging out his sword in preparation. None of the monsters had come this way yet, but it was only a matter of time. 

As usual, Wind fought like a whirlwind, using his size and maneuverability to his advantage. He was used to fighting with a group, which was more than could be said for the rest of them. Although they tried, Time more successfully than the others, they didn't work together very well. Warriors wanted to shout out orders for them, but his throat hurt already, and while shouting tended to come out clearer than normal speaking, they wouldn't even know how to follow the orders. So he stayed quiet and let the train wreck happen. 

Out in the melee, one figure stood out—a kid who was somehow managing to use a sword in a wheelchair. It wasn't like any other wheelchair Warriors had ever seen, and when he caught a better glimpse of the kid, his face set into hard lines. This had to be their latest Link, with that blond hair and ferocity. And he couldn't walk. 

Still, he seemed to be doing just fine. Better than most of the others, actually. It looked like a standard sword-and-shield stance, except the shield hand had been modified to push the wheelchair wheels around. He was doing a good job adapting to the others, though they didn't adapt very well to him. 

There really weren't that many monsters, from Warriors's experience. He knew that Wind and Time, at least, were different, usually only finding monsters in packs of less than five or six. It seemed like most of the others were the same. It only took about a minute to clean up the group. 

"Thanks for the help," the new Link said slowly, looking them all over in confusion. He did not put his sword away.  "But can I ask where you're all headed? There aren't many travelers this way, especially not ones as prepared as you."

"Excuse us the rough first impression," Time said for all of them. "You're Link, aren't you?" He sheathed his large sword obviously. The others caught on and put their weapons away, too. 

Warriors followed suit, glancing behind him for a moment. Hyrule looked all right, now, and so did Legend. They stood up together. It sounded like Legend was telling Hyrule what was happening in a low mutter. Warriors nodded at them, then joined the loose circle that was forming so he could interpret for Sky again. He was finding that he didn't mind that job. 

"Who else would I be?" This wasn't working. The new Link was far more suspicious than he should be. 

Wind apparently agreed. He interrupted Time by shoving him aside. "What the old man is trying to say is, welcome, new Link! We're all Links, Heroes, from across time apparently. We don't know where we're going or what we need to do. There are so many of us and you're the latest!" 

"Heroes from across time?" the new Link repeated, visibly thinking as he looked up at all of them. "I suppose you look like it. That's a very faithful reproduction of the styles from the Skyloft era," he added, gesturing to Sky, "but why are you even here?" 

"We're not sure," Twilight said. "But I don't know if there's any doubt you're one of us. The portals have been putting us right in front of the Hero of the era. Does the Master Sword ring any bells?" He gestured, and Sky took the cue to draw the sword and hold it out, as he'd done before. It lit up softly. 

The new Link eyed the weapon. "That's the Master Sword?"

"Have you never used it?" Time asked. "I think we all have, at one point or another."

"I didn't," Hyrule piped up from behind Warriors, who turned to let him and Legend into the circle. "You mentioned it, Sky, but I didn't use it. I had other swords."

"So everyone used the Master Sword except for him and me?" The new Link sat back at their nods and shrugs, crossing his arms. "Hey, kid who didn't use it, either, what did you use instead?"

Warriors raised a silent eyebrow. Kid? New Link was too small to be more than ten or twelve, although he did act more mature. 

Hyrule stood up a little straighter. "My nickname now is Hyrule, I guess, because I'm the Hero of Hyrule. The best sword I ever had is the Magic Sword." He pulled out the ruby-and-silver creation Warriors had noted earlier, and kept it pointing carefully up. 

The new Link pushed himself forward a bit to look closer. "Wow. That's very intricate. The enchantments are surely nothing to scoff at."

"They're not," Hyrule said cheerfully, and Warriors almost shuddered. "What sword did you use on your adventure?"

"Adventures, plural. I had two. This is the Four Sword." He set it across his lap, and the golden hilt only highlighted the differences between it and the Master Sword still held by Sky. 

That made both Time and Twilight perk up, just a little. 

The new Link glanced over at them. "You've heard of it?"

"Only in stories," Time told him. "There's only one known wielder of the Four Sword, at least in my time."

Twilight nodded. "Mine, too. You're the Hero of Men, aren't you?" 

"Yes. You have stories? Weird. But if you're all choosing nicknames based on titles, please don't make mine Men."

'What nickname do you want, then? You have one chance,' Warriors said with a small smile. 

The new Link matched the smile, but his brows lowered. "I don't know sign language very well, I just began… teaching myself recently. How far apart are we in time? Do the signs really translate?"

Warriors shrugged. He didn't know. 

"Either it's magic," Legend said, "or languages are ridiculously stable, unlike literally everything else. He asked what nickname you do want. You believe us about the time traveling, then?"

"It isn't the weirdest thing to have happened to me," the new Link said dryly, to understanding laughs and nods all around. "So sure. What are all of your nicknames, first?"

Due to the lopsided circle they stood in, everyone keeping watch over everyone's shoulders, they just introduced themselves in order—Time, Twilight, Wild still with some hesitation, Sky made sure to mention his deafness again, Wind said he lost his leg to a chu attack, Legend, Hyrule again, and Warriors, who got a translation from Sky. 

When the metaphorical torch passed to him, the new Link put his Four Sword away, twisting over the back of the wheelchair. He turned back around. "On occasion, I've been called the Hero of the Four Sword, and that's probably the best of them. So I'll be Four."

"A number?" Wind asked incredulously. 

"It's not like it's stranger than being called Time. Or Hyrule."

"You have a point."

"A new portal should be showing up about now," Time said, looking around. "They've been quick about it."

Everyone waited a few seconds, but no portal appeared. 

"Are we done, then?" Sky asked. 

Legend sighed and rubbed at his forehead. "There are nine of us, oh Din. How is that even going to work?"

'We need to figure out how to work together,' Warriors signed, with Sky echoing again. 'That fight just now was a mess.'

"Was it?" Twilight asked, genuinely confused. 

"Teamwork is hard, but it's necessary," new Four told them seriously. "It's getting dark, though. Maybe we should find a place to set up camp."

Wild agreed. "This seems like a good spot. I can make the fire. And something to eat."

"Let's assume we're staying here for the time being, then," Time said, his voice carrying authority that Warriors knew hadn't been there however many years ago. 

He smiled as Time gave out a few directions, getting people moving and setting things up. Nobody was quite comfortable with each other yet, though Warriors could see a few friendships forming already.

Wild pulled firewood and kindling out of nowhere, then a pot and food out of the same place. Twilight helped him chop up some vegetables, managing perfectly well with only the one hand, though he did things a little differently. 

Legend and Hyrule took a lap around the clearing's perimeter, talking quietly. Although Warriors had worried somewhat about Hyrule's ability to get around, he was fine, sweeping his staff in front of him to feel out where rocks and trees were. At some point, he climbed a tree, picked off a bunch of leaves, and dropped back down to run his fingers over them. 

Wind and Sky, at Time's direction, pulled over a few dead logs to use as seating. Wind went on about a giant octoroc, signing only most of the story. Sky looked lost, but amused nonetheless, and managed to ask a few half-relevant questions that sent Wind careening down into other rabbit holes. 

"Captain," Time called from across camp, and Warriors turned right around. "Watches?"

Ah, good plan. Warriors nodded and dug in his bag for a notebook and a stub of pencil to do some familiar math. He sat down on one of the settled logs by the fire and began. 

He was very glad Time took charge, actually. Time was very different from Warriors's memories of the bratty kid he had been, and though they were virtual strangers now, Warriors could still see Time's good heart. If he was being entirely honest, Warriors was a bit intimidated by this group. A few of them were kids, but they had an edge that screamed survival. Legend was young, too, but clearly wanted to do things his way. Twilight was independent, too, and Warriors wouldn't soon forget the way that Sky had attacked him on their first meeting. He'd only known most of them for an hour or two, at most. They didn't know him, they weren't soldiers. So while Warriors knew a lot about how to run a group, and how to deal with the logistics, he didn't know how to organize this group. He mentally thanked Time for taking the initiative. 

Once bedrolls were arranged awkwardly around the fire, and once the smell of cooking food began to fill the air, the atmosphere relaxed. Hyrule sat by a log, weaving together the leaves into a pattern that looked just as interesting as it probably felt. He spoke with Twilight, who'd been banished from the cooking once it started to simmer. Wild wouldn't leave it alone, though, and answered Wind's questions about it with surprising patience. Legend criticized Warriors's watch plans, which was especially annoying because most of what he said was right, and they both knew it. Four got right into learning a few more signs from Sky, both of them sitting on blankets near the fire. 

"Um, everyone?" Wild said, standing in the middle. He held a wooden spoon in his hand and seemed a bit nervous when all the attention moved to him. "I like food. I mean, I'd like it if you all liked the food, too. If you don't like something or are allergic to whatever, let me know, or I will find out another way. Um, anyway, all that to say, food! It's here! I don't have a lot of dishes, though…"

With a snort, Twilight got up to help him distribute the skewers and cups of rice. Warriors was pleasantly surprised by how good it smelled and tasted. 

"Okay," Wind began once dinner was well underway. "So, the true story of how I lost my leg. It was a dark and stormy night…"

[maybebecomingms]

dry-ish january

January 19, 2024

I have a very much on-again, off-again relationship with alcohol. (TW if this is a tough subject for you.)

I grew up with alcoholic parents, developed a fondness for beer before I ever went to school, and sometimes partook with them before I graduated high school. My best friend in college was 4.5 years my senior, and I spent much of the summer following my freshman year at her house in a small mining town where there's not much else to do but drink. She didn't have a car, so I'd wait for her outside while she got the goods I wasn't yet old enough to buy myself.

We threw a joint graduation party 3 years later and didn't drink or provide alcohol. Our mental health wasn't great and we knew it wouldn't help. So we just... didn't, and hadn't been.

I met the man I would later marry (and divorce) the following year, and my habits slowly changed again. He drank regularly, so I started to as well. I could never drink as much as he did without feeling like absolute garbage, so I made it a point to have at least 3 sober days each week. If I could manage to have just one or two on the other days, it might not be so bad.

But it was never just one or two. It was usually four or more. As I became increasingly more uncomfortable with the reality of my life and the impossible expectations placed on me, taking three days off each week became more and more of a challenge. Meanwhile, I got involved in mental health care and routinely lied to my providers about how much I was consuming.

I'm a sucker for any sort of temporary challenge, and would give it up for periods of time. I did at least a couple sober Lent seasons. And I did Dry January sometimes, too. It wasn't easy - my ex would sometimes act offended when I declined to drink alcohol on random days throughout the week. When I took a break for weeks on end, you'd think I was purposefully harming him.

I've always been acutely aware of the risks of excessive drinking. I've seen folks die from alcohol-induced dementia, and liver failure. It's not pretty. My parents and all their friends were party animals, and many of their friends have died from substance use. Besides alcoholism, I have family history of heart disease and diabetes. My dad died of heart failure at only 58 (10 years ago next month), and I know his drinking played a role in his death.

Cutting way back following my divorce wasn't as easy as I had initially thought it would be. I couldn't stand my living situation with my old roommates, and up until only a couple of months ago, I was working a job where I was treated unbelievably badly every single day. While I wasn't routinely downing 12+ drinks a week like before, I still routinely felt a "need" to cope by drinking.

This time, I decided to do Dry January a little differently. I decided I will not drink *at home* over the course of this month, or while alone. If I was out with friends and it felt okay, maybe I'd have a little. But the ONLY acceptable reason was to enjoy something that tastes good while socializing - it could not be to cope with any sort of bad feelings.

To my surprise, it's WORKED! And it's worked so well. In years past, I would do it, but it felt like it took an incredible amount of control and self-restraint. Like I was white-knuckling it the whole time.

It hasn't been like that at all. I honestly haven't thought about it much - besides the ways I have been feeling better. I haven't missed it. It's felt like the opposite of a need to control. More like a release.

I don't think I'll ever be someone who would be able to tell you I haven't had a drink in years. I don't think I even want that for myself. I like to share a cider with a friend, and I'll probably always want the option. But now it's finally just that - an option that I can enjoy on occasion. Or not!

[mixchronicles-futureboyfriend]

Dear Future Boyfriend – I Do… No Seriously, Forever I Do!!!

Some girls grow up dreaming about their wedding day. The white dress, the perfect groom, the Coming to America rose pedal walk way. “She’s Your Queen To Beeeee”… yeah, I am not some girls. Not that I don’t like cute dresses, handsome men and beautiful flowers.  It’s just I kinda never thought I’d get married (don’t worry neither did my mother).  While other girls made wedding collages and fantasized about their perfect day, I cringed on the inside and faked it on the outside. Yes, yes, I cannot wait to be stuffed into an oversize Cinderella dress, with a 10-foot train and a 20 lb. veil for 5 to 10 excruciating hours while my feet throb and my face hurt from flashing a 32 teeth megawatt grimace… I mean smile.  Definitely sounds like a dream, hosted by Freddy Krueger.  Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t cynical because I didn’t think I was marriage material.  I absolutely am. Actually, I’m the finest, most exquisite… the Vicuña of marriage material. It’s just I didn’t really see the point.  Well… that’s not true. I did understand the importance of having one sole emergency contact and not rotating it amongst your three best girlfriends depending on who’s in town. I also understood the possibility of dying alone in one’s home only to have your corpse eaten away by your 12 disloyal cats. No, the reason I never thought I’d get married is because I didn’t make marriage a priority.  When I visualized my life, marriage just didn’t matter.  Of course, I dated and even thought I was in love a time or ten, but I could never see me with that person long term. I was emotionally nearsighted. Actually, I might have been legally blind.  Well, that was until 2020.  When the world was on lockdown and people were fighting in their local Walmart over toilet paper, I was at home snugging with my doggie and wine, ready to ride out the wave of the pandemic.  But as the weeks passed, my wine ran low (kidding it never ran low) and the waves continued, it was actually a check-in call from my 70-year-old dentist that changed my perspective.  One evening, this kind man took a break from a family game of Scrabble to give me a call.  While laughing with his loved ones he grew concerned because he knew I was somewhere alone and single (and probably drunk).  At first, I thought, “Aweee that’s so sweet,” but then instantly I became troubled. As a single woman I could never clear the dinner dishes and enjoy a friendly game of Scrabble with my family.  Mainly because my family consisted of one small dog, but mostly because I’m a horrendous speller (yes Google helped me with that word) and my dog refused to play with me.  It was at that very point, Future (Current) Boyfriend, I knew it was time to find you. 

So how does one find their soulmate or at least someone to go enough of the distance with to qualify for a tax break?  Not sure, but at that point I knew it was time to try.  If the world was coming to an end, I decided I wanted mine to end with a special someone.  Finally, it was time to take dating seriously.  So, I did what any serious dater would do… I updated my Bumble profile.  It had been a while since I’d last been on the site so I needed to refresh my pictures and suspend my disbelief that only unemployed mactors (model/actor – both words used loosely) looking for a part-time relationship and a full-time crash pad, were the only men left on the site.  It was time to get back into the depressing dating cesspool pool of La La Land.  With an open mind and very low expectations I began swiping and to my surprise it took less than a week for me to be sitting across from you, Future (Current) Boyfriend.  Maybe it was your smile (when you dropped your mask), or your laugh, or the way you looked at me, or looked out for me, or perhaps it was your Midwestern roots and the way you stood up when I stood up, or that you asked about my wants, or shared your intentions, or when you suggested I try the bread, or when you ordered me another glass of wine (which is my love language btw), or when you walked closest to the street so I didn’t get mowed down by a truck or a car or a drunk kid cruising the PCH on a scooter, or maybe it was the conversation we shared overlooking the ocean, or the call to your aunt to tell her about me, or when you took my hand and said, “you have old lady hands” and then I laughed and you laughed and we laughed until the sun went down and the moon came up...  Actually, I’m not sure when or why or how and honestly, I don’t care because what I do know is that somewhere in that epic 6-hour first date, despite a pandemic and freezing weather (thank you global warming), I decided I didn’t want this to end.  And thankfully neither did you.  So we kept dating… and dating… and dating until we were both madly in love. And for the first time in my life I thought, “I want to get married.”  Well no, actually that’s not true. What I really thought was, “I want to get married to THIS man!”

We were together less than a year in when you, Future (Current) Boyfriend suggested we take a trip to Hawaii for my birthday.  Despite only a few months of dating, I just KNEW you were going to propose.  According to LA standards, 3 months is equivalent to a decade in relationships. People marry divorce and remarry in less time than our courtship, and I was growing impatient. You have to understand, after writing well over 100 SOS messages to My Future Boyfriend, I’d finally found him. I knew this was the real deal and I was ready for us to begin our happily ever after together. Before leaving, I’d spend weeks shopping online. I wanted The Perfect Outfit to go with My Perfect Proposal from My Perfect Boyfriend.  And as expected, you did not disappoint. After a spa day filled with pampering, you whisked me away to the most luxurious hotel, with an ocean view and tiny mints on our pillows. As we stood on the balcony to enjoy yet another sunset my heart quickened, “Omg it this is just like our first date. He’s gonna pop the question right here.  Damn, I really should have moisturized these old lady hands…” Instead, you cut my fantasy short, reminding me we had dinner reservations in 30 mins.  No worries, I’d been preparing for this moment for months. Faster than a Beyoncé costume change on the Renaissance tour, I was ready to go. Fully glammed in 5-inch heels, with a white summer dress, sporting a subtle (not subtle) train, I hopped in an Uber with My Perfect Boyfriend and headed to a Perfect Dinner for My Perfect Proposal.  But there was no proposal at dinner. Actually, there was no proposal that night at all. The food at that 5-star restaurant was so horrible a homeless man turned his nose up at it. Our after dinner stroll was abruptly interrupted by a downpour of humid island rain. And my beautiful white summer dress was quickly tied into a knot (by prince charming himself) to keep the subtle (not so subtle) train from dragging down the muddy streets. As I sat in a plastic chair replacing my 5-inch impractical heels for hot pink plastic sandals the vision of my Perfect Proposal began melting away, alongside my eyelash glue.  Did I make this all up?  You suggested a simple birthday trip and here I transformed it into some Hallmark proposal.  And now I was left soggy and disappointed with no ring or fiancé.  But you know what I love about you Future (Current) Boyfriend?  It’s that you are your own man. You sniffed me out way before the dinner and decided if you were going to propose to me, but it would be on your terms. And that’s exactly what you did.  A couple days later with no fancy, horrible dinner, no heels or trains, no eyelashes or gimmicks, we took a hike to a waterfall. We held hands and laughed, we picked flowers and shared a lunch, you made fun of my old knees and my inability to swim, and then you asked if I would be your forever best friend… and just like that first date I fell in love with you all over again.  So Future Boyfriend, Current Boyfriend, Fiancé, Husband, Forever Best Friend thank you for FINALLY showing up and allowing me to close this chapter. But more importantly, thank you for the new one that I get to begin with you.

xo,

Mix