#but also please share any ideas if you guys want to/ have em!! and feel free to honk my clown nose if you see any blatantly incorrect stuff

[kiyterra]

How did the kids got adopted in Civilian Bruce AU? Cause, excluding Dick, they all were involved with Batman first, Bruce second

ok SO

basically dick becomes nightwing first, and he did it for his parents, because he has a bleeding heart and a drive for change, and also because of bruce.

bruce is always on site helping victims of attacks in the aftermath or sometimes even when the bad guy is still around. one time, it gets bad and he gets caught in fear toxin, and he goes home to a worried alfred and dick.

"i'm so sorry, dick. i was so scared. i was so scared i wouldn't come home, i was so scared you would be all alone, i'm so sorry. i never want you to lose anyone again, sweetheart,  i never want you to hurt like that again."

and dick just. kinda loses it because he hates so much that bruce is putting himself on the line, and dick is doing nothing. by this time hes already grown some, i'd say he would be around 18 when he makes the choice to become nightwing. i feel like he would have a lot of anger, especially so since he has no outlet as robin in this au, so he pushed everything towards gymnastics and martial arts. bruce understood his son's need for a release so he approved of it, not knowing that dick would eventually put his training towards becoming a vigilante.

for nearly 10 years, dick had watched the man, who took him in at his lowest point and helped him slowly start to heal, work late hours pulling shifts at local hospitals, attending galas to raise money, getting hurt being in places he had no obligation but every want as a bleeding heart to be, and he just. wants bruce to take a break. he wants to be the reason his dad can take a break and take care of himself and not worry about gotham. he just doesn't consider that HE will always be bruce's number one priority, that he would always be the person bruce would drop everything for should dick ever need him.

and thats the biggest irony because dick doesn't realize that until he's already into the vigilante business and ended up taking his little brother with him, who bruce had adopted after the kid has tried to steal the tires off one of his mercedes benz.

tim comes along after bruce connects the dots towards the drake's neglect of their son, and the kid comes around to the manor more often than he stays at his own home. after a legal battle and eventually janet and jack drake's passing, tim is officially adopted.

bruce happens upon cassandra when she first enters gotham after running away, and she's distrustful but instantly feels an odd sense of calm near this man who spent time with her and worried for her and knew sign language/ was willing to learn just so he could understand her in a way she was comfortable with. he insists checking up on her and she wants to keep coming back, so she does, and cass joins the family.

a few years earlier than in canon, a child is left on bruce's doorstep, who proclaims he is bruce's son, damian al ghul wayne. his mother, talia, has been impressed with bruce's conviction and his want for knowledge when he had been investigating the healing properties of the lazarus pit, but was ultimately disappointed by his lack of a taste for necessary violence. so after eight years, talia was reminded every day by her son's ever-changing face of who his father was, and how different it was the life bruce led. she did not truly want the life of an assassin for her son, so she sent him to gotham. its a rocky start, and damian had still received training and a sense of arrogance, but also a deep longing for open affection and approval that he finally receives from bruce and the rest of the family.

[shuniverse]

don’t talk ,, b.c

🧷 requested by anon !! hope I did ur ask justice 🫶 also, requested tag for @mimussyy !!

🎐 family issues and angst ;; lots of cursing/swearing ;; hurt/comfort ;;

;;

“baby you should really try talking to em again.”

he refers to your family, with whom you haven’t spoken to in ages.

your mother, especially.

as a child, and as an adolescent, your mother was never someone you turned to.

always shunning you, turning you away when you need help with something, any sort of guidance.

but when she did give you attention? it was always to degrade you, tell you you’re clothes, hair, interests, the things you wished to pursue in life, that they were all stupid and ridiculous, that they would never get anywhere in life.

you didn’t think of them again until you saw a post your mother made of your parents on a trip with your siblings. it had filled you with a sense of jealousy and sadness, which your ever so observant boyfriend noticed.

“chris.. you know how they treated me. they made me not wanna LIVE. I can’t exactly forgive all they did.”

“baby girl, I know they’re bad, but maybe they’ve matured now, maybe now that they see how successful you are, maybe they’ll understand, and want to rekindle the relationship.”

you sigh, looking up at your boyfriend from where he’s standing next to you on your barstool. “channie, I don’t think that’s such a good idea..”

he pouts slightly, resting his chin on your shoulder. “c’mon baby, please? for me? and hey, I’ll be here if it goes south, alright?”

you lean your head on his, and he plants a kiss on your cheek.

“alright,” you start, much to your internal protest, “I’ll do it.”

;;

much to your surprise, you find yourself in your car on your way to your parents home.

you groan to yourself. that handsome guy you call your boyfriend is sure as hell lucky you love him.

stopping in a parking spot close to his house, you throw your head back against the headrest with a thunk.

I’m really doing this.

jesus, chan. you’re one pretty guy. lucky for you.

you huff, undo your seatbelt, grab your bag and keys, and get out of the car, and walk the longer-than-you-thought distance to the front door.

with what feels like sloth speed, you move your finger to the doorbell.

you wait, until finally, after what feels like ages, your father opens the door.

he gives a small smile.

you give a nervous smile in return, and a small wave. “hey dad.”

“hey, kid. long time no see.”

he opens the door wider, to let you in.

you chuckle. “yeah, been a while, hasn’t it?”

your father gives a short laugh, and you stop as you see your mother in the kitchen, seeming to make good. she hasn’t noticed you yet, as if she ever wanted to.

but you set your past aside for the time being, and walk to the kitchen island.

you take a deep breath, and speak to the woman who made your life feel like hell for 17 years for the first time in three years.

“hey, mom.”

she halts her hand chopping on the board, and turns to look at you, her eyes widening.

“oh.. hey, hun.”

you share a stare at each other for what feels like eternity, before your father snaps you out of your state.

“hey, uh, we got snacks ready. you want some snacks kiddo?”

you nod, looking at your father with a small smile.

you sit together on the couch, making small talk and watching tv while munching on some snacks.

until, you feel the mood ruin.

your mother steps into the room, holding bowls of pasta.

macaroni to be specific.

fuck. that’s your favorite.

she hands you a bowl with a tight lipped smile, and hands a bowl to your father with an accompanied kiss to his head.

she sits in between the two of you to eat her own noodles.

it’s awkward silence now, neither one of you knowing what to say.

until your mother opens her mouth.

“so, uh, how are you, hun?”

you turn to look at her. “I’m fine, mom.”

“how, uh.. has your life been? what do you do?”

“well, I have a boyfriend and we’ve been together for four years, I’m working in the art industry and making good money, and-“

“art? see, I told you that wouldn’t get anywhere.”

god. not even a minute in?

“it’s getting me places, mom, and I said I’m making good money, my boyfriend makes good money too and he’s actually the leader of a band-“

she cuts you off with a laugh. “a band? huh, never knew you went for downgrades.”

this only fueled your anger. you couldn’t help but raise your voice. “mom, he’s anything but a downgrade. he takes care of me, he’s super sweet and probably the most handsome and caring guy I’ve ever known.”

she scoffs. “I bet it’s just so he can fuck you, that’s all guys want. especially from sluts.”

your eyes widen. “what the fuck did you call me?”

your dad looks at you wearily. “kid..”

“no!” you practically yell, and swivel your attention back to your mother. “god you are such a bitch. you were NEVER there for me, you always degraded my shit, you NEVER made me feel welcome in my own fucking home. I never felt like I could talk to you, but you expected so much from me. why? so you could use me as a slave? as someone to lean your troubles on? that I never fucking wanted? I knew coming here was a bad idea. you just can’t keep your damn mouth shut about me can you?”

she gawps at you, before standing up and huffing. “I don’t see what the problem is. we both know you’ll end up coming back in the end, you’ve always needed me, you’ve never been one to cut people off.”

“like you know! you were never fucking there for me! y’know what? fuck you. fuck you and your bullshit words when we know full well that I’m more successful than you, that I don’t fucking need you. I’m so done with this, im so done with YOU.”

“you don’t mean that.”

“yes, I fucking do. fuck you mom. dad?”

he looks at you, not knowing what to say.

“I advise divorcing her before it’s too late.”

and with that, you give your mom one final look, before stomping towards the front door, grabbing your shit and getting ready to leave, before you feel a hand grip your arm, you turn your head.

it’s your mother.

“if you leave, you’re never coming back.”

“good. have a nice life, bitch.”

you release your arm from her grip, and walk out the front door, and slam it shut, walking to your car and immediately pulling out and driving home.

on the way there, your rage turns to stress, and tears start slowly streaming down your face.

as soon as you pull into the parking lot of your apartment, you trudge up your stairs and barge through the door, making your boyfriend flinch from his spot on the couch.

“oh hey love what’s-“ as soon as he sees you with tears falling down your face, he gives a sympathetic smile and stands up, opening his arms. “c’mere princess.”

you rush into his arms, practically jumping on him, and he sits down, holding you in his arms as you sob into his neck.

he sighs sadly, kissing your neck as your body wracks itself with sobs and cries.

he runs his fingers through your hair, and finally, after what feels like forever, you lift your head up, and sniffle.

chan gives you a sad smile, gently caressing your cheek with his thumb. “baby.. what happened?”

you pout, holding onto his forearm as you recall what happened. he listens to your words intently, leaving kisses on your hand as he watches you with kind eyes.

he sighs once more. “my love, I’m so sorry.. I shouldn’t have made you go see them.”

you shake your head. “it’s ok, it’s not like you knew my own mother would call me a slut.”

he gives a sad pout. “why would she even call you that?”

“well, I told her about you and how great you are, and she basically said I was only with you for sex, especially sluts, gesturing towards me.”

“aw, baby I bet she’s just jealous you have better and more sex than she does.”

you giggle. “yea, bet she’s mad you’re hot and dick me down like she’s never felt.”

he shakes his head, gently rubbing your waist. “you’re silly, baby girl.”

you kiss his forehead. “so are you, channie.”

he gently cups your face, and you lean forward as he catches your lips in a gentle kiss, and you lovingly sigh, wrapping your arms around him.

he pulls away after a bit. “my pretty baby.”

you giggle again, kissing his nose. “can we take a shower, channie? I’m tired.”

he kisses your shoulder. “of course, baby girl.”

he stands up, holding you as he walks to the bathroom.

you sigh against his shoulder.

he may be a lucky guy, but you’re even luckier.

;; 🫶

AHHH THIS TOOK ME SO LONG AGDHHDHE

hope you enjoyed!

[vviolame]

FOUND FAMILY PROMPTS 💌 ;;

feel free to use! (dialogue and scenarios)

please tag me, i wanna see what you do!!! 😽 vviolame 23’

“i love you, i hope you know that.”

“i love you in a kind of way that’s kinda hard to explain.”

“wanna go for ice cream?”

“do you still like oranges?” (or any other food uhghshsh)

“hey, do you remember-“

“hey, dad?- sorry-“ (IM WEAK)

“hey, mom?- sorry-“ (IM WEAKER)

“oh that’s so cool!” “you want me to teach you?”

“you’re like.. like, my safe place.”

“could I sleep on your lap?”

“can I put my head on your shoulder?”

“hey, would you mind if I took a quick shower?”

“i will never let that happen to you again.”

“anyone even tries to get near you? they’re dead.”

“yo, what flavor of slushee do you get?”

(bad ending) “you’ve never had a slushee.”

“your shoes look a little small..”

“are your feet tired?”

“i can carry you.”

“you know what’s thicker than blood? chocolate.”

“hello? do you know what fun is?”

“it’s okay, I’ll be right there with you.”

“you wanna make cookies?”

“oh, dude. you have no idea.”

“where are my socks?”

“you don’t know how to do laundry?”

“dude, when did you get so good at laundry.”

“i can help with the dishes”

“hey- are you safe?”

“where are you?”

“do you need me to come?”

“I’m coming to get you.”

“I’m so glad to be away from there..”

“oh, also, i saw this shirt I thought you’d love,”

“okay, just breathe. I’m right here.”

“you don’t have to deal with that here.”

“i know you’re scared, but you’re home now.”

“you guys are the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“it’s like a weight got lifted off my chest.”

“this is so weird.. It’s so calm here..”

“you’re not mad?” “why would I be mad?”

“do you mean it?” “of course, I’ll never lie to you.”

“you trust me?”

“i trust you.”

“can I trust this?”

“oh my god, you look so good.”

“knock ‘em dead.”

“hey, what kind of cereals do you like?”

“i love you guys.”

“I’m declaring, movie night is tuesday.”

“yes, or course.”

“do you need more shampoo?”

“here, use my phone.”

“didn’t think I’d ever enjoy a car ride, until you hopped in my passenger seat.”

“huh, partner?”

SCENARIOS 💌 ;;

• they wake up from a nightmare, and go to their person (or people) for comfort, and after some calming down, they both (or all!!) fall asleep cuddling.

• they ask their person to go to the gas station late at night.

• they get hurt (fall, bike accident, cooking burn, ect.) and try to patch it up themselves, but get found and person b (forcibly) (but gently forcibly) patches them up.

• (adult/teenager and child) it’s bring your kid to work day, and they make a bet to see who slips up in their act of “this is my child” first.

• painting their eventually bought house together.

• sharing earbuds

• brushing the others hair

• reading them to sleep

• humming them to sleep

• setting up matching halloween costumes

• them all huddled up by a fan on a hot day

• learning recipes from each other.

and that’s all I have in me 😮‍💨. again, please tag me !!!!!! i would love to see all of your lovely lovely work!!!! thank you for reading !

(image via @you2onlyme on tiktok)

[ikemen-trifecta]

can I get a coffee with genshin or obey me! characters reacting to their s/o coming out as asexual on top? /lh

Here you go~! Your order served with extra whip cream, some chocolate drizzle, and a cherry on top!!!

I had so much fun writing this, and I hope everyone reading this loves it too!!! :D And remember~ you all are valid!! <3

Enjoy!!! <3 ~ Mod Astraea!! >:3

————————————————————————————————————————

💖⚠️caution!! It’s super sweet!!!⚠️💖

Coming Out as Asexual to the Demon Brothers!!

Lucifer: 

Would be super understanding! 

“Thank you for sharing this with me MC. I love to know more about you.”

He will ruffle your hair and any anxiety you had inside of you away with a sweet smile on his face

As long as he gets to spend time with you and have you by his side, that is all that matters <3

“Your very presence is so soothing to me. Now come closer, I want to hold you.”

After you told him he would be extra careful to make sure you were comfortable with anything he did, even gentle touches to brush a strand of hair out of your face, or to get a bit of food on your cheek. 

“(y/n) you have a bit of cream on your cheek…may I?” 

NOT TO MENTION HOW SWEET HE WOULD BE <3

“Please, tell me all the ways that you do wish to be touched. I'll give you my undivided attention.” FELL TO MY KNEES AT WALMART

Would be so respectful of your boundaries~ the epitome of a gentleman!! 

Mammon:

“Oh! Y-ya are? That’s pretty cool…” 

You can tell from his facial expressions and how he’s stuttering he has absolutely no idea what that means 

After you explain it to him, he totally accepts you!! 

To him, head rubs and holding hands means everything <3 EMPHASIS ON THE HEAD RUBS 

And he would never give those up for anything in the world! He feels like a million Grimm every time you pat his head!!

And now that you’ve told him he feels so special!! He’ll be all like (y/n) told me…ME!! 

If someone tries to make fun of you for your sexual orientation, expect him to run to your defense and go into attack mode!!

“No one makes fun of my human, ya hear me!? If any stupids act mean to you, I’ll give 'em’ a piece of the Great Mammon!” 

It makes the “I was y/n’s first!!!” jokes so funny though ashdjksl

LIKE “mAMS PLEASE-”

Leviathan:

“Do you…still like me?” Poor baby is worried that he may not be good enough T-T

“Of course I do!! You cry out and explain, “I don’t feel sexual attraction at all, and I just never want to have sex in general. I love you lots Levi!! Thiisss much!!” You extend your arms out by your side as far as they can possibly go, which immediately puts a blush on his face.

His worries fade into happiness, and when you ask how he feels about it he goes, “I d-don’t mind at all! If it means I can still play games together all day with you and do the things we love together, it doesn’t matter to me in the slightest!”

He adds with a slight blush while glancing over to the side, “I mean that’s normie stuff anyways!! I’m comfortable like this with you!” 

He’s also over the moon that you trusted him with this and told him!! <3

Would gift you little pins like the ones adorned on his shirt with the Asexual pride flag!! So you can match with him too hehe

Shows you characters who are also asexual!! He would want you to feel represented, and you guys would also head canon characters together that you feel are asexual too!!

He thinks the way you say, “that’s me!!” when watching a show with an asexual character and your whole face lights up is the cutest thing ever! Levi knows exactly how it feels to see someone like yourself in the media, and how big of a comfort it is! 

This also opens up to squealing over kins together <3

Satan:

“Okay, that’s cool. We don’t need to do anything you're not comfortable with. I’ll show you how much I care about you in other ways. It’s your sexuality and it’s part of you…and I love every part of you.” 

You almost have tears of happiness in your eyes!! “Satan that was so sweet…”

“Oh, hush you,” he says with the biggest blush on his face

He’ll honestly be so proud of you for coming out because he knows it’s not easy! 

AND YES IN OTHER WAYS HE SHOWS YOU LOVE~ HE DOES INDEED <3

Because is there anything better than sex? Yeah, a really good book! 

He will read a lot about it and educate himself on the topic as much as possible!! Best ally ever <3

And he will read to you while you lay your head on his lap <3

Asmodeus:

If you were nervous about telling him cause he’s the Avatar of Lust - don’t be!!

He will immediately cup your cheeks and pepper your forehead with kisses~!

"Being with you makes me happy and I can see every day how happy you are with me! That’s all that matters (y/n)!" 

Would buy you pride flags and make his own with cute designs with the colors to support you!! 

THE MOST ROMANTIC GESTURES IN THE WORLD

He will adorn his bathroom with divinely scented candles and rose petals to bathe together with you - only if you’re comfortable with it!

Lots of self-care with him~ face masks, bath bombs~ you know it!

Oh and of course massages are a must!! It makes him feel close to you <3

Also, if you’re open about being ace, he will totally paint your nails white, black, and purple and make them look beautiful! 

He will constantly let you know that sexual feelings aren’t everything, and that there is so much more than that! He will always reassure you that he is there to give you love and affection~

“I will always be ready to give you so much love! Nothing will ever change that hon~”

Beelzebub:

You know all too well that Beel loves his food! So, you know just what route you should go with this! The cake analogy!! 

At first, when you start explaining how some people like chocolate and vanilla, he lights up and starts engaging intensely with your explanation 

And then when you tell him, “so basically, I’d rather eat cake than have sex!!” he immediately understands!!

All the talk of cake makes his stomach growl

“MC, would you like to go get cake with me?” to which you happily go out on a cake eating date with him!!

You grin and just KNOW you have to tell him about all the garlic bread memes 

And surprise surprise~ he loves them 

“There’s nothing better than eating food with you. It tastes even yummier when we’re together and fills me up in another way. There’s no better feeling than this.” :D

Belphegor: 

"That's fine, I still love you (y/n), it doesn't change a single thing."

CUDDLE SESSIONS CUDDLE SESSIONS

Belphie is so down to just cuddle with you! 

Sometimes he would like to rest his head on your bare tummy/thighs because he’s big on physical touch and it makes him feel close to you

And your heart!! Whenever he rests his head on your chest and hears the sound of your heart beating it makes him feel so warm and fuzzy

After telling him, you two lay on soft blankets together, hands intertwined. It’s so quiet and comfortable, and just as you think to yourself that this couldn’t get any better, Belphie mutters out in a sleepy voice, “I want you by my side forever and always…” Truly the magic words for this tranquil and enchanting moment shared between the two of you <3

[festivalsofmargot]

Hi, I absolutely adore your writing and I think you're really good at it. I can always picture things clearly while reading your fics, and your dialogue and descriptions never come off as clunky, they're just very natural and flow-well together. So, I was wondering if I could ask for a few writing tips? I want to contribute to the fandom a bit more, but I'm worried my writing is terrible. "is this too much dialogue? Is this slice-of-life conversation too boring? Why am I switching between past and current tense multiple times in the same sentence? Should I write in first, second, or third person", etc. Do you also think things like that when you write, and if so, how do you overcome them? I don't have anyone to share my writing with, so it's difficult to get another perspective on if something is worth posting or if I should re-write it altogether. I'd appreciate any tips you might have, but please don't feel pressured to answer or anything :)

😭😭😭 namiusedbubble... absolutely I'm down to geek out about writing with you! (And thank you so much for taking the time to tell me you enjoy my writing. ❤)

Now buckle up, because when I geek out, I geek out bruh. I've definitely put down too much, but I'm glad I'll have a post to remind myself why I love writing at least. 🥰

If you don't have the time or desire to read all this, I don't blame you lol. Main thing I want to say is I've creeped on your page and read your 'When they have a crush on you' post and by all means... please keep contributing to the fandom!!!

"You took your time getting there; you are on the solid ground of the other shore and we did the crawl along with you. We're willing to listen to anything you have to say. Now go ahead, get wild." - Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones

Also, excuse my potty mouth 😗

Believe me, I have the exact same worries as you. The EXACT same. It happens with each one of my fics, it really does. Every time I'm nearly finished and proofread it for the hundreth time, I'm always hit with "This is boring as shit, who the fuck's gonna want to sit through this? I'm such a moron, this sentence makes no goddamn sense. The fuck was I even trying to say here? How did I miss that?? My writing is getting worse every day? Epic." and so on and so forth with me swearing at and berating myself lmfao.

I'll tell you why we keep switching between past and present tense multiple times in one sentence. Because our brains are lil assholes that's why. But getting the idea down is the main battle. Let every draft before your final one be awful, don't be afraid to get more of your ideas down. Our sentences can be pretty horrendous getting them written out for the first time. I think I proofread my stuff at least ten times. And just when I think I'm good, I sleep on it and look it over one more time the next day. And I still have typos and present tense sentences in my past tense story.

Some people are prodigies and can get these beautiful stories out like it's nothin'. I've accepted I'm not one of 'em. I don't have talent, but I do have tenacity!

When it comes to first, second, or third person, go for the one that flows best for you rather than the one you think you should do. I'm usually able to tell which one is best when I get a good writing momentum going. Say I was aiming for first person, but when the ideas are pouring out I find myself writing in third person instead, I'll drop first person and go third person. Anything that'll let me get my stuff down. Even if you do write in two different persons without thinking, you can always go back and fix it. There's no rush, you have all the time in the world. 🙂

I like second and third person the best because I can describe what all the characters are feeling rather than just one person's point of view. First person will have a lot more mystery. I've been digging second person because I feel like it really connects the reader to the fic. Plus I like hyping you guys up lol. 😊

When it comes to worrying about the content of your writing, believe me when I say, it will itch someone's scratch. There's an audience for everything. Some people want the slowest of slow burns, some people want hot and heavy and dirty, some people want aimless slice of life bits, and some people want quick, nice, and fluffy. Our writing won't be for everyone, and that's perfectly fine. I'll say it again, THAT IS FINE. We're still worthy!

Sure, sometimes your content will get in front of the wrong people. And they might even feel the need to say something shitty to you. Fuck 'em. Whenever I get attacked, I watch those reacting to hate comments videos on youtube. You're never alone when it comes to putting up with shitheads online.

I love writing because I have a scenario stuck in my head and I need to get it down. I'm not satisfied with it only living in my head. Once I'm done, putting it out there for anyone else to stop by for 5 minutes and check out is just a bonus. If people don't like my style or structure, oh well. I like it, and let's face it. I'm the only person that my writing and little fandom posts will be with years and years down the line. If you've made something you personally want to keep coming back to, you've won.

-

Here's where I get technical if you're still interested haha. When it comes to how I personally like to write, this is what I think about. You do not have to vibe with any of this! This is just a lil peak into my mind teehee:

Actions and mannerisms are everything, no matter how small, maybe the smaller the better.

I realized I really like reading about the little actions people do when I first read The Wolfman by Nicholas Pekearo (RIP). If there's a writing style I want to capture, it's this guy's. Combining cutesy, romantic content with his gruff prose is my biggest writing goal in life. I have no idea why this sentence is stuck in the back of my head whenever I write, but it has been for years now. "I palmed the quarter, stuffed it into the pocket of the shorts I wore to bed, and moved the ashtray with my foot." Like why... why tf is that sentence stuck in my head???? I just really liked the way he wrote it. He kept it simple, I could picture it clearly, and I felt like I could see a bit of the character's personality in it. Just from how he mentioned he moved the ashtray on the floor with his foot, I felt like it told me a bit about him and how he moved through the world.

Keep dialogue short and sweet. Did it feel natural when I said it out loud?

I'm not one for huge monologues or super eloquent Pride and Prejudice love confessions. The less that's said, the sexier. Probably my all time favorite, most haunting dialogue line comes from Dragon Age: Origins, when our Warden is talking to Zevran before the final battle: "Whatever happens... I love you." "Cruel to the end." 😦 aight, DA writers. I see you, and I'll be seeing you in my dreams for the rest of my life gah dayum.

Give the reader more credit

If you don't know how to write something, don't worry! People can put things together on their own. Just from reading "they kissed", we can easily picture a bunch of different ways it's going down: what their hands are doing, how their mouths are moving, the sounds that they would be making... we're smart, imaginative cookies. Don't fret if we don't picture it exactly how you do 😉

K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid

The writing advice everyone has heard a million times. No need to find the prettiest words or metaphors. The basics can get the job done. (Especially with romance, in the end I just wanna read about people kissin' and touchin' and stuff.)

Don't be afraid to start over

Let's say you wrote the most beautiful sentence of your life, but it makes no sense with your story. Get rid of that shit. I know it's scary and you want to find a way to have it fit because you're super proud of it. Nope. Put it aside and save it for another story. Even if you've spent hours, days, months, years on something, you're allowed to get rid of it and start over like it never happened. It's all a part of the process.

Just write, pussy

I say this to myself all the time. Writing is one of those things that I can't get better at unless I do it. You don't have to post a thing. Just write. I cringe so hard looking back at my first fanfics from my Haikyu!! fandom days. But dammit! I had a blast writing those in high school lmfao. And that's really what matters, that you enjoy yourself.

[artsykidwolf-2000]

Ok ok I have decided to open back up my requests to do Final Fantasy requests due to Rebirth coming out recently. I will open up to other fandoms but most likely just a few (don't wanna overwhelm myself again)

I will have rules for this bc I don't like doing REALLY nasty stuff. I see enough as is... besides it's fun seeing wholesome lovey dovey bs or a good fight every once in a while.

Below will be the rules and fandoms and feel free to give me prompts/ prompt ideas as long as they're not complicated. I also do headcanons. I also listed my Original story characters below and what race they are. I'd be SO HAPPY if you guys would get excited for em.

REQUESTS & RULES

Rules

Be nice and don't come after me if your prompt/request is not finished within the timeframe you thought it'll be done. Just be patient.

No nasty prompts! Keep it to very minimum. I will do blood, weapons, fights etc etc. no gore unless it's like a severed arm in a fight or something idk. I will do just about any gender/sexuality (within reason, no complicated ones)

Keep your requests to one or two at a time. Don't spam me with a lot of ideas. I know you're excited but also tell me WHO you want so it's also easier.

I'll do characters as long as it's APPROPRIATE. Some of these characters are/maybe are under age/close to 18 yo. Only wholesome like for them (no nasty, fights/sparring are an exception.) Under age/close to 18 and questionable characters that I've listed are marked by this color

I will do request for my own OCs too. Either with other characters or a headcanon to get to know them better. I'll put the people in mostly ship them with in the list to give a jump off. OCs are this color

I'm giving a small list BUT I have a link to my introduction post so you know what fandoms I'm mostly into/I know if you have a different request.

Below are the Request characters I can do. Feel free to ask about my ocs/original stories if you want. I also linked my introduction post. Please Like and Share!

Requests

Final Fantasy

FF7 (ages as of remake/rebirth)

Cloud

Aerith

Tifa

Barret

Red 13

Yuffie

Vincent

Sephiroth

Zack

Angeal

Genesis

Cid

Andrea Rhodea (yas queen)

Madam M

Chocobo Sam

Kait Sith

Raven Fujiwara (around age 30 as of FF7 RM/RB)

Seraphina (Seri) (younger sister to Sephiroth by blood relation, above age 21 as of FF7 RM/RB) (Is 7 years younger than Sephiroth)

FFXV

Noctis

Prompto

Ignis

Gladio

Cindy

Aranea

Luna

Ravus

Ardyn

Cor

(I don't necessarily have a lot of specific OCS for FFXV but I mostly use my common OCS)

Weiss (Ardyn's daughter I made, is over 21 yo, this version is if she was freed before Noctis' birth/around when Ardyn was freed)

Kingdom Hearts

(most of these characters are canonically under aged/below 18 so this area is a bit iffy) (mostly basing age off as of KH3)

Sora

Kairi

Riku (he is 18 as of KH3 from my research)

Aqua

Ventus

Terra

Org 13 (Xion and Roxas)

Luxu (within the game he is in he seems to be around 18 ish but eh idk)

MoM

Foretellers (in the same boat as Luxu, idk going off looks)

Vanitas

Ansem SOD

Ansem the Wise

Xehanort (depends on which)

Eraqus (depends on which)

Below are characters in Golden Hearts and Silver Stars Story

Katherine Hearts (is 18 as of KH3, is a guardian Keyblade wielder) (Braig/Xigbar is her dad)

Ayla Hearts (is the mother of Katherine and Neon Hearts) (is from the age of fairytales, same boat as Luxu but not the body stealing part) (from a different world)

Neon Hearts (is 25+ like Isa and Lea) (is a Keyblade wielder and is a special case)

The Guiding Stars (most are of age but I'll list names and mark accordingly) (Mystral, Sten, Zolt, Eira, Nina)

Below is the OCs for the story KH: Rewritten

Venus (is not a part of the Hearts' story) (is from the age of Fairytales) (Keyblade Wielder and knows potion making) (was a part of the Unicornis Union and liked Luxu, she soon time traveled to Radiant Gardens where she met Braig) (Chosen Dandelion)

Poppy (Venus' BFF) (A part of Vulpes Union, a Keyblade Wielder) (also got time traveled to Scala Ad Caelum, met Eraqus and Xehanort, now resides with Eraqus as his partner) (Dandelion)

Juno (is a boy) (Venus and Poppy's friend) (Anguis union member, Keyblade wielder) (got time traveled to the time before Xehanort's birth/when Scala ad Caelum was new???) (maybe he's Xehanort's father who knows~) (Not a Dandelion)

★★★★★★★

Last Pegasus (My Comic)

This is mostly OC territory BUT I am making a comic for them. It should be out by summer (I hope...) (I also use these guys as my normal OCs bc I love them so much.) Feel free to ask about the races too. I'd be happy to explain. I'm also happy to explain Guardians too.

I have listed who is under age but mostly everyone is over 20+ unless otherwise. Not all are listed bc they're either OCs I need to work on OR don't have names but have ideas for em.

Races: Yoitzens, Scavens, Al'bineans, Sirens, Drakens

Katerina Wolfe (middle child, Twin of Flash) (next in line to be the Guardian of Freedom)

Flash Wolfe (aka Felix) (we all know this MF hehehe) (next in line for Guardian of Power) (shape shifts)

Terri Wolfe (engaged) (2nd oldest) (next in line for Guardian of Bravery)

Ally Wolfe-Cornelius (is married) (first born) (next in line for Guardian of Protection)

Ava Wolfe (youngest, has no tattoo) (unknown future)

Gavin Pravus (adopted brother to Wolfe fam) (3rd oldest) (next in line for Guardian of Balance but since is Uncle is Banished he has to figure out on his own)

Daphnes Wolfe (husband to Marina, father of Wolfe fam) (King of Yoitz)

Marina Wolfe (wife to Daphnes, mother of Wolfe fam) (Queen of Yoitz)

Laurence Wolfe (uncle, brother of Daphnes) (Guardian of Freedom, Leader)

Viktor Cornelius (Ally's husband)

Atla (Laurence's wife) (Guardian of Bravery)

Julius (Guardian of Protection and a Military officer of his country)

Ma'ato (Guardian of Power and protector of dragons)

Athena (Guardian of Knowledge, deceased)

Leonardo Pravus (Guardian of Balance, The Beast, Uncle to Gavin, Banished)

Scarlett Harrison (Flash's BFF, is a sky draken from the southern island of Furor) (she also has a family of brothers with her mom and dad) (she middle child)

Reynard (6 tailed Fox, Messenger God, Husband to Azura) (was once mortal) (acts like an uncle to the Wolfe fam)

Celene (Terri's fiance)

Forrest, Du'Fous(Doofus), and Roc (Flash's Friends and members of the Black Fangs)

Azura (Goddess of Memories, loves to rhyme) (lives near the Tree of Songs) (Guardian goddess of the Tree of Songs)

Morgana (Goddess of Dark Magic, whereabouts unknown)

Titania (Fae mother, Goddess of Light magic) (whereabouts unknown)

Modig the Gryffin (Guardian Deity of the Amber of Bravery, Golden Gryffin)

Cordelia the Siren Mother (Guardian Deity of the Sapphire of Protection)

Zergos the Elder Dragon (Guardian Deity of the Ruby of Power, in deep slumber)

Pharos the Great Phoenix Mage (Guardian Deity of the Emerald of Knowledge)

Unera the Great Mother (Goddess of Magic and Unity, asleep in the Tree of Songs in the Oasis)

Byrus the Great Beast (God of Creation and Destruction, asleep as a Statue in the Beast's Grotto, location unknown)

Faaldir the Wandering Wolf (the Wanderer God) (Grandfather of Urion and Faafnir) (Giant Grey wolf)

Urion (Wolf partner of Kat, Twin of Faafnir) (Grandson of Faaldir) (large Snowy Grey wolf)

Faafnir (walf partner of Flash, Twin of Urion) (Grandson of Faaldir) (reddish black wolf)

[gloomzi]

RULES ☆

key:

italicized if it's a preference

asteriks if there is a note at the bottom with further context

what i will write :3

canon x canon, canon x reader (if you send a request and want your reader to have specific attributes, tell me, or i'll make it as neutral as possible), canon x oc for friends

readers of any gender (request specific pronouns please! neos, any pronouns, he/they, she/they, whatever floats your boat! if you give no pronouns and no indication of a gender for your reader such as f!/m!/gn!, i will default to they/them or dm you if you're off anon)

queer relationships, het relationships*, polyamory, monogamy, open relationships

dom, sub or verse readers/dom, sub or verse canon characters

most kinks are okay (including stuff like blood, impact play and weapon play) so feel free to get specific in my inbox

neurodivergent or disabled readers (if it's something i'm unfamiliar with i will do research and try my best, but please feel free to leave me pointers in your request to help me!)

oneshots, short series (think 2 or 3 parts), drabbles, headcanons

what i wont write :3

no rape (dubcon is on thin ice), drugging, abuse*, yandere, pregnancy, pedophilia, student/teacher (even if its a college student) or large age gap pairings

nsfw for underage characters

no scat/piss/emeto, no cnc

no comfort works for csa/sa, self harm or eating disorders (writing this would probably trigger me, sorry)

long x reader series

further info :3

you must be +18 to request nsfw or interact with nsfw content (you will be blocked if i catch you breaking this rule)

i wont write verbal/physical abuse between the main pairing but i wouldn't mind doing it as something the reader or the canon character have dealt with in the past (whether that be from a parent/ex partner/friend doesnt matter, you can specify in the request). if the canon character has been abused in their source material i will also include this ofc.

i wouldnt mind writing stuff like codependency or like kill for each other type shit, but there's a fine line between like. guy who kills somebody in defense of their partner bc it makes sense for the story/their character (think characters like adrian chase for example) vs making a character who doesn't rly kill people do that bc then it comes across more ooc and sometimes even yandereish...if that makes sense.

please give me an idea of what you want in a request, don't just send "character x reader" (give me a scenario or at least say like "fluff with [insert character]").

im not the fastest writer unless im really excited about a prompt, please be patient. thanks to adhd i can be a bit of a procrastinator, but if you sent a request please feel free to ask for progress updates (just give me the specifics of what you asked for so i know it's yours). depending on how busy i am irl, if i have writers block and how many requests i have, writing might go faster or slower.

i'll try to do things first come, first serve, but if somebody sends in a new idea that really excites me i might write theirs first even if yours came before theirs bc i have adhd brain and i can write things faster when i'm rly hyped about em

erm idk if anyone cares but im a self shipper so yeah perhaps fics with my f/o's will deranged (in a loving way), if you want a list of my f/o's for those concerned with stuff like sharing, here is a list of mine, i don't mind sharing tho <3 my content is aimed towards selfshippers and i wouldn't wanna exclude anyone who shares so much love for the same lil guys as me

some characters i wont write x f!reader/m!reader for, please check this list before requesting (this is not an issue with any straight/bi/other interpretations of these characters, it just has to do with my comfort level and how i interpret that character)

like i mentioned before, i have adhd and i am specifically unmedicated at the moment, which means sometimes i'll write a lot more of one fandom than the others i'm into. this does not mean you can't request a different fandom! i will always be multifandom, i will always love my past fandoms, it just might take me a bit longer to write your request.

at the end of the day i just wanna keep things fun, writing has been a hobby of mine for over a decade now, so pls try to be kind to me and i'll be kind back! if any of these rules are unclear just send me an ask and i'll try to clarify!

[cerosin-bis]

Eyyy Cero!! I know I'm prolly a decade late by now but i wanted to pop in and say that you shouldn't stop writing your thoughts on Ghost or any other characters, it's not your fault that fandom comes up with wild bias and take the wrong turn. I don't think you need this anymore in your askbox but i think the whole idea of a married ghost or whatever actually came from him telling those shitty ass jokes to Soap in alone mission to which fanbase refer to as dad jokes for some reason even though Ghost calls em little army humor. Basically led some people to think that he has wife and kids 😭😭 for the life of me especially when someone said ghost seems like a normal guy outside the military.

If you are up for it, please share your thoughts, as i enjoy your takes (you're one of the few that i actually read tbf) !!

I am also a decade late replying to this I apologise!!! 😭 Honestly by now I'm less "afraid" of sharing my thoughts on characters, don't worry. It was the case at the start because very popular characters in very suddenly active fandoms can be a touchy subject.

I'm really detached from most of the community that is heavily into MWII as I mostly just create MW19 stuff (though I mostly play MWII by now. I have just under 300 hours already lol). I'm blissfully unaware of how most people interpret the characters and I am not only fine with this, I also want it to remain like so.

I sort of feel like I've said (almost) everything I wanted to say especially about Ghost. I absolutely love the character like for REAL, but I don't think I have anything new to bring. I think he's a freak with major issues, but he's not inherently a bad person. and he has fantastic, actual dark humour. Maybe one day I'll find the motivation to draw my og ship ghostsoap. maybe. one day. For now other people are doing wonders on that matter.

[izabellwit]

🤡😈🎢✨🎶🍦💖🎯👀✅💔

im sorry im sending so many of these feel free to ignore some if you already got em <3

these answers got kinda long so dhjfgj under the readmore it goes!!

🤡What's a line, scene, or exchange you've written that made you laugh?

Hunter manages to shove all the junk into one corner and make the start of a fairly presentable bed in the other corner by the time the human re-arrives in the Boiling Isles and throws open his door hard enough to smack it against the wall.

“You took my advice!” shouts the human, at the top of her lungs.

“Hiiiiii,” says Hunter, hands over his ears. The human takes a deep breath. Hunter closes the door in her face. “Byeeee.”

(From this fic!!)

There's a lot of lines I've written over the years that make me laugh, but Hunter and Luz as a funny sibling duo…. Every time I reread this fic I giggle at this scene. 

😈 Has there been a point in a story where you did something just to be playfully mean to your readers?

OH ABSOLUTELY there's a few lil ones… I think the one I do most often is namedrop other fandoms/charcters? This happens a lot in my KH fics. Like I'll have a TWEWY reference or character show up for like one second and then never again. Just for funsies and also flavor and also bc I love twewy. 

Sometimes I will also set up scenes specifically to make readers think the worse happened/some guy died or whatever and then it gets revealed its something funny instead. I do that a lot too djhsfgkj

🎢Which of your fics would you call your wildest ride?

LABYRINTHS OF THE HEART. I love all I've written but nothing will ever come close to Labyrinths. It was freshmen year of college and stuff was happening irl and that fic just. Went places. I had so much fun with it.

✨Give you and your writing a compliment. Go on now. You know you deserve it. 😉

AAAA. UM. Oh god. Uhhhh I think I do pretty well with characterization / character voice? Also a lot of my fics I write for me and im always very happy with them… they are exactly what I wanted to read. Does that count??

🎶Do you listen to music while you write? What song have you been playing on loop lately?

YEAH. For certain fics I'll make a whole playlist, even! As for a song on loop.... this one! Inkpot Gods by the Amazing Devil never leaves my brain haha

🍦What's the sweetest fic you've created so far?

Ohhh gosh. Okay so its either Klee meeting the knights of Favonius or Hyakkimaru and Dororo comedy fic hjdfgkjgh

💖What made you start writing?

Oooo I gotta think about this one... hmmm, I think, I've always been a daydreamer and as a kid I used to be annoyed I couldn't "reread" my daydreams like I could my favorite books?? so I decided I just had to write them down eventually I think jhdfkgj

Of course in my mind before i could write down my ideas I had to actually get GOOD at writing (kid brain. My logic is silly, write whatever and whenever u want, u do not need "skill" to get started but ANYWAY) that's also how I started writing fic, for writing practice!! And now years later I'm still at it haha

🎯Have any of your readers accurately guessed major plot points? Care to share which?

Oooooh, a lot of readers in Labyrinths guessed the final plot point, which is that Varian will become the moondrop… most of my fics don't tend to have major twists though, I think…? There's one other fic I've written that has a HUGEE twist, but it hasn't been revealed yet and no one's guessed it yet, so ;)

👀 Tell me about an up and coming wip please!

i have a player and xehanort on the island fic in the works (exploring his possible childhood, character study and legacies kinda thing), and its still veeeeeery rough draft (like. basically still just notes) but I do have this exchange!!!

-do you think they’ll like me?

-who?

-the friends from my dreams. I’m not— do you think they’ll like me anyway?

-of course.

-but how do you know? What if they don’t? What if— what if I go out there and no one—

-he stops. He doesn’t know where he was going with that.

-silence. And then his teacher leans forward, and holds him close. I love you, they say. I love you very much.

-that isn’t what I asked.

-but it's my answer. They press a hand to his head. You’ll understand, one day. 

✅ What's something that appears in your fics over and over and over again, even if you don't mean to?

The above exhange: "i love you / that isn't what I asked / but it is my answer" has actually shown up in a few fics! It's a common theme I guess u could say... its a conversation that means something to me and I think it is changed slightly by the context of every story, so I keep bringing it in jhdfgkj

Other things that crop up a lot....Found family for sure! Uhhh the phrase "rolling the thought like candy on [their] tongue" shows up a lot without my meaning it too djhfgjkh

Oh!!! Honey!! Honey shows up a lot. I think honey is fantastic. Did u know it lasts forever? Also it has great medical properties--Anyway I think you get the idea haha

💔 Is there a fic of yours that broke your heart?

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27801085/chapters/68061658 hehe

Anyway. The woods whispering fic may be completed but I think about the fucked up found family relationships in that fic 24/7. The moment i posted the last chapter i had to stare at a wall for a bit haha

[alphagirl404]

An Impulse Decision: Chapter 27

AO3

Fanfiction.net

Happy Valentines Day! Here’s some Heartbreak!

<-Previous Chapter Next Chapter->

Bonus: Lovely Fanart of Fledge in a Skyknight Uniform 

****

Chapter 27: Shattered Innocence

Another quiet grunt came out of Fledge as Karane further treated the cuts resting on Fledge's face. Gorko had been kind enough to help out by sharing some herbs he found in his travels. The group was currently at the base away from Eldin Volcano. Right at the spot where the group of Knight Students arrived when they first landed in this region only around a week prior. It was hard to believe that a short amount of time had passed what with everything they'd been through.

Once they made the grim discovery of the shattered Loftwing Statue and found others that were also destroyed, the group opted to get Fledge far away from the volcano, especially the Fire Sanctuary. After making sure they were safe, Pipit offered to search around to see if there were any remaining Loftwing Statues. The Mogmas volunteered as well, some going with Pipit, while the rest went off on their own. Fi herself even went off to search the area.

Link kept his eyes on his remaining friends, more so on Fledge, as he treated the wound on his arm Ghirahim inflected with his dagger. Something he insisted that he did himself. Any attempt Karane tried Link rejected, believing that Fledge was a bigger priority. Not once did Link take his eyes off of his friend. The younger teen remained quiet as Karane treated him, staring blankly into space with a unreadable expression. Seeing someone as kind as Fledge all battered, bruised, and...maimed...It left Link with many unpleasant feelings in him. Half of it was directed toward Ghirahim. The other half was directed more… internally.

"Drink this," Karane handed the bottle of Red Potion to Fledge. "It'll prevent infection. And hopefully, it'll keep your internal injuries stable until we…get back to Skyloft…We should try to conserve our potions so save some for Link."

"I don't need it-"

"Yes you do," Karane cut off, giving Link a stern look.

Fledge drank a bit out of the bottle, making sure to leave enough for Link. Karane gave the bottle to Link. He took the bottle and barely took a small sip from the bottle.

"Drink all of it," Karane gently, but firmly commanded. Link hesitated to do so.

"Please Link…" Fledge's pleading eyes were enough for The Hero to drink from the bottle. It was the most emotion showed in the boy's eyes since leaving the Fire Sanctuary.

"Since now that's handled, I have something I think belongs to you, Fledge." Gorko opened out his pack. Pulling out was the orange hat that went with Fledge's Knight uniform, along with the sword and his pouch. "I found these right outside the Fire Sanctuary entrance. Right where you were...taken. Figure you may want them back."

The Goron placed the items back in Fledge's hands. One by one Fledge each of them back onto him.

"Thank you…" Fledge said in a monotoned voice.

Gorko nervously rubs his head. "Look…I'm sorry I wasn't able to get that guy off of you. Maybe If I had gone with you instead of sitting on my butt I could've helped-"

"It's not your fault. There wasn't anything you could've done..." Fledge assured the Goron.

Link's head turns away from Fledge when he says those words. The Goron was not at fault for what happened to Fledge, but Link sure as hell got an idea whose fault it was, other than Ghirahim's.

Footsteps caught the group's attention. An uneasy Pipit approached them at the same time Ledd & Cobol dug up.

"Well?" Karane spoke up.

"They're all destroyed," Pipit stated grimly.

"You're serious?"

" 'Fraid he is." Ledd confirmed. "All the statues on our end are nothing but rubble."

"Every single one of 'em!" Cobal added.

That same moment, Silva, Bronzi, Plats, and Guld all dug from below as well.

"Tell me you guys had better luck," Karane said to them.

"Then I'm afraid we got bad news. The statues we found are all destroyed as well," Silva confirmed.

Fi flew right back to everyone. She appeared disappointed which did not settle everyone's nerves.

"My search for any remaining Loftwing Statues had failed. All statues in the Eldin region have been destroyed by Ghirahim's magic."

Pipit let out a frustrated growl. "That psychopath really wanted to get the last laugh..."

"So…We're stuck here then?" Fledge uttered.

"Not necessarily, Master Fledge," Fi said to him. "While all the statues in Eldin are destroyed, I can still sense that the ones in Faron Woods, and Lanayru Desert remain intact. The only way we can access them is that we make our way over to one of those regions by foot. I suggest we go to Faron since it is the closest region to here. Although, the travel from here to there may take at most several days."

"Then we should get going now."

Link moved to his feet. He only got a couple of steps until someone blocked his way. Much to his surprise, it was Fi of all people that stopped him.

"Master…It would not be wise for you to travel given your current physical and especially mental state. I highly recommend that you and your friends spend the remainder of this day resting."

Gorko stepped forward. "I'm going to have to agree with your…friend here, bud. I can get one look to see that you and Fledge went through a lot."

"I can see it as well," Ledd stated in agreement. "I don't know what went on in there, but judging by what Silva & Plats told me, and how orange boy looks, I can only guess it wasn't anything pretty. Maybe you should call it a day, pal."

"But we need to get Fledge back to Skyloft! Fi, you said that Fledge could have a concussion, broken ribs, bruised lungs, and maybe more injuries! We need to get him treated!" Link insisted.

"The red potions should keep Fledge's internal injuries stable. We have more than enough for a few days. We just need to be extra careful," Karane shared.

"And I don't think any of us are in a good state to travel through uncharted territory right now," Pipit turns in Link's direction. "The last thing we need is to make things worse. I think it would be better to spend the rest of the night regaining our strength. Get our heads cleared."

Link spent several seconds thinking it over. His upper arm still feels sore from the dagger, his body feels sore from running around, fighting, and whatnot, and the mental strain going on within him. Not to mention his friends did not seem to fare any better. Especially Fledge. Maybe a night of recharge is what they need right now.

"Alright. We'll call it a night…" Link declared.

"That is most splendid to hear. As thanks for helping many of us here, we'll allow you to stay with us for the night!" Guld proclaims.

"You have a place?" Pipit inquired.

"Yep! We set up a little colony at the base of the mountain. Away from the lava and whatnot," Silva explained.

"We also have some food if you need it. And get this? Those hot springs I mentioned? There's a whole bunch of them near there! Perfect to relieve the stress off you guys!" Ledd shared eagerly. "But if you want something cooler, there is also a small normal lake nearby as well."

"And to make it better, there are no monsters anywhere near it, so it should be safe for you," Guld added as well. "We are all happy to welcome you all as our guests! Your Goron friend can come if he wants."

"That mighty kind of you guys!" Gorko exclaimed happily, turning to Link. "I think you and your pals should take their offer, bud."

The green-clad hero glances at his tired friends which cemented his decision. Turning his head back to the direction of the Mogma's direction, all he said was "Lead the way."

****

Down at the base of Eldin Volcano was where the rocky terrain that makes up the region blends in with the grassy woodlands of the area outside. There lies a clearing on hillside terrain. A fairly large lake resided at the bottom of the hill. Not too far away lay a cave. The area around the clearing appears to be secluded.

The group consisting of the four Knight Students and Goron arrived at this location. Behind them, Eldin Volcano towered above. From this point, the volcano appears to be smaller than what the group had grown accustomed to. They were quite a distance away from the mountain. Something was preferable at the moment.

The small group of Mogma's accompany the humans dug from below.

"Well, here we are!" Ledd announced.

"Welcome to our humble abode!" Silva added. "What do you think?"

"Looks like a nice secluded place," Karane turns to Link. "You think so, Link?"

"Y-Yeah. Yeah, it does," Link responded, keeping his head in the line of direction where Fledge is. Throughout the whole time since leaving the mountain, the younger teen had remained quiet. Hardly once did he even look at Link throughout their walk.

"It's also quiet here too. Makes it easier to hear any intruders," Pipit observed the clearing. "Is it just you guys or are there more Mogmas around?"

Right at that moment, several dozen of Mogmas all dug from below. Few of which the group of humans the students somewhat recognized from their first visit to Eldin such as Kortz, Merco, Nackle, and Zanc.

"Welcome back you guys!" Merco greeted them.

"How was your latest expedition? Do you find anything good?" Zanc asks.

"Eh, just more Ore and Amber. I swear they're more common than the good stuff. But we did bring back some familiar faces!" Ledd gestured to the group of humans.

"I remember you guys! You didn't know what a Bomb Flower was," Kortz commented.

"And I gave you those Digging Mitts!" Nackle excitement quickly diminishes when further examining the humans. "But…you all don't do as well as you did last time. What happened?"

None of the knight students responded. Pipit & Karane looked at Link seeing if he would say anything. No words came out of Link's mouth. All he got was an uneasy expression when Nackle said those words. They hurt even more when he turned to Fledge, who still had that spaced-out look in his eyes.

"They um…ran into some trouble within the deeper part of the volcano," Silva spoke up upon seeing the nervous looks. "We're letting them stay with us for the night."

That answer seemed good enough for Nackle. "Fine by me! Anyone that can take down those red creeps is more than welcome here!"

Two more holes appeared right at that moment. Two Mogmas that the quartet have never seen before showed themselves. They were about the same size as the other Mogma's but seemed to be slightly slimmer. One had greenish hair styled in a ponytail. The Second Mogma had short chin-length hair that appeared to be bluish and was carrying something wrapped in cloth on their back.

"Look who finally made it back! You all sure took your time," The Green-Haired Mogma spoke with a feminine voice.

"Did everything go alright?" The Blue haired Mogma, who was also a female, said as well.

"There were some…bumps, but these folk right here helped us out," Silva directed to the quartet of Knight Students.

"Who're they?" The Green-Haired Mogma raised her brow.

"These are the humans I told you about, hun!" Ledd answered her. "This here is Link, Pipit, Karane, and Fledge. The Goron right here is Gorko. They had some trouble up in the mountain. We offered to let them crash with us for the night. That's okay with you?"

"As long as they don't cause any problems, they're more than welcome too! Any friend of my husband is a friend of mine!"

"We appreciate that, Miss…?" Pipit said to her.

"Call me Mala. Whenever Guld here isn't around I'm in charge of the colony. And if you haven't figured it out, Ledd here is also my husband."

"Everything here went well while we were gone?" Guld said to her.

"If they didn't, you wouldn't have left me in charge now would you?" Mala answered with sass.

"Ho ho ho! You do a fine job at keeping the colony afloat. I am more than happy to name you my successor should my time come!"

"Don't go quitting on us yet, old man. You still have at least another decade on you!"

"Aw shucks…" Guld bashfully responded.

Silva moved on over to the blue-haired female Mogma. The pair nuzzle their noses together with big smiles on their faces.

"You did okay down here, my gem?" Silva said to her.

"I'm doing okay, dear. Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?"

"Right right, of course," Silva directed the knight students' attention. "You guys. This is my wife, Lapi."

"It's nice to meet you," Lapi greeted

"Nice to meet you as well," Karane responded politely.

"Bronzi & I got captured by those red monsters in the volcano. Would probably be still stuck there or probably took a dip in lava if it weren't these guys," Silva explained to his wife. "I of course was grateful, but Brozni here tried to swindle them, even when they were looking for their friend."

"Then your human friends have my eternal gratitude." Lapi directed her eyes to the humans. "How can I repay you for helping my husband and his brother?"

"Just letting us stay here to rest is enough, thank you," Pipit assured the Mogma.

"I'll be more than happy to help you out in whatever way I can!"

The wrapped cloth on Lapi's back started shifting on its own. The top of it unwrapped itself. A small Mogma head with hair like Silva's popped out.

"Papa?" The Tiny Mogma exclaimed cheerfully.

"Yes, Toopa. Papa's home," Lapi told the small Mogma. The mere mention of her father was enough to make the little Mogma squeal with excitement.

Silva took the Mogma into his hands, and hold them close. "That's right, Kiddo. Daddy's home. Were you good to mommy while I was away?"

"I good!"

"She was," Lapi confirmed with a smile.

"Good to hear that!" Silva turned his direction back to the quartet. "Allow me to introduce my most precious treasure. My daughter, Toopa! Toopa, these are friends of daddy."

"Hi!" Toopa waved enthusiastically to the group.

"She's adorable," Pipit complemented

"Why thank you! I'm sure she appreciates that" Lapi beamed.

"How old is she?" Karane asked.

"She just turned a year old. Her digging claws haven't grown in yet. I say she's got at least another few months before she starts digging on her own. Until then she has to stick by either me or her mom," Silva explained.

Little Toopa looks at the humans. Her eyes landed on Link, who had been quiet since leaving the mountain. The baby Mogma seemed to be interested in the boy's tunic.

"Emerald!" Toopa blurted out.

"I'm sorry?" Link stared at the baby Mogma.

"Emerald!" Toopa pointed to Link's tunic.

"Oh right! We've started teaching her different types of gems recently. I think your tunic's color reminds her of the Emerald gem," Lapi explained

"It's pretty! Like emerald!" Toopa added.

"...Thank you." Link muttered.

Toopa moves her sights to Pipit's yellow tunic. "T…Topaz?"

"Yeah, Topaz! Just like your name, kiddo," Silva told her with encouragement.

The baby glances at Karane's light green tunic. It took her a few minutes to conjure up her answer. "Jade!"

"That's a good answer!" Lapi responded.

Fledge was the final person for Toopa to look at. Minutes passed by in silence. Her face warped in confusion. It looks like she was struggling to find her answer.

"Amber…Ruby?" The baby Mogma finally answered.

"Amber ruby?" Fledge parroted in confusion.

Silva grew a grim look, moving Toopa's direction away from Fledge. "I think she's referring to the, uh…stain."

"Oh…right." Fledge knew that Silva was referring to the bloodstain on his chest caused by Ghirahim. A little child like Toopa would probably not know that.

"Goodness…" Lapi softly breathed out once she saw the bloodstain. "You don't look so well, dearie? Does it hurt?"

"It's fine now. Don't ask me how but it's healed."

"Fledge here had a rough time on the mountain. Think you can help him get cleaned up?" Silva said to his wife.

"Of course. There's a nice secluded spot at the bank of the lake nearby. I think it would be a good spot for you," Lapi mentioned.

"It's not far, is it? Do monsters hang around there?" Link questioned with urgency. Considering what happened last time, Link was not keen on the idea of Fledge breaking away from their group again.

"We haven't seen any one of those monsters around here since we settled a few weeks back," Mala insisted. "If it helps, we do routine patrols just to make sure."

"I haven't seen any of those monsters linger by the lake. And it takes about two minutes at most to walk over there so it's not even far. Your friend will be fine I promise," Lapi insisted.

"Are you okay with that, Fledge?" The orange-clad teen nodded in response to his green-clad friend. "Alright then…"

"If that settles if you would follow me, dearie…"

Link kept his eyes on Fledge as Lapi led him away. Anxiety within him rose when he could no longer see him as indicated by his ever-so-increasing heartbeat. So fast it was starting to get sore in his chest. Fi noticed Link's high anxiety

"Master, if you're concerned about Master Fledge, I can assure you that Grahime-... Ghirahim is nowhere within this region. Given the state you and your friends left him in, it is highly likely we won't be encountering him for a while. There are also no traces of monsters in the area." Fi can feel Link's Link's rapid heartbeat still go on. "...If it will help you relax, I will keep my guard up. If I sense even a small presence of Ghirahim, or any monsters, no matter where they are I will alert you immediately."

Link whispered a 'thank you' to her.

"Any places you think these guys can sleep, hun?" Ledd inquired from his wife.

"There is a cave nearby. Might not be comfy but it should be good enough. Make yourselves at home!"

****

The walk to the lake did not take very long as Lapi promised. The lake itself was big. Not as big as Lake Floria but bigger than Skyloft's Lake. Smaller odd-looking birds with flat round beaks were…floating on the surface only to fly away once the human & Mogma arrived at the banks. The funny-looking birds let out some quacking noises.

"Here we are!" Lapi announced. "What do you think, dearie?"

"It looks nice…" Fledge responded quietly.

"That I can agree with you. We call this place Cephla Lake. This lake here cemented our decision to make our colony here. With it being so close to the volcano, the water here is at the perfect temperature! See for yourself!"

Fledge crouches at the edge of the bank to stick his hand in the water. The water was not too cool but not too hot either, like the bathwater in the Knight Academy bathroom.

"The water does feel nice…"

"Exactly! A perfect place for you to clean up!" Lapi exclaimed happily.

Fledge's eyes hovered all over his upper torso "Yeah. I better get to work at that…"

"If you permit me, I can clean & patch up your tunic and some of your accessories for you."

"You can do that?"

"I've been doing this long before Silva became my husband. Treasure hunting is not a clean job for us Mogmas. You be surprised how dirty it can be. I had cleaned out my fair share of stains from whatever bags we used, blood included from mishaps. Not to mention how frequently they needed to be patched. Silva said I'm the best at it. It won't be any trouble for me."

The hat on his head, the sword on his back, and the pouch on his side was the first thing Fledge took off his head and placed on the ground. The next thing he took off were his gloves and bracers. All of which he placed near the Mogma. With all of those off, Fledge moved his hands on his tunic. Slowly, Fledge removed his scarf, then his knight tunic. Small grunts escaped from him, no doubt soreness from the pain, as he took them off. It took him several minutes before the knight tunic was fully removed. Fledge's upper torso was now bare to the world.

Including the scars inflicted by Ghirahim's torture.

While she did try to hide it, Fledge could see the shocked expression on Lapi's face. The Blue haired Mogma seemed to want to say something about it but then stopped herself. Fledge gave his scarf & tunic to the Blue Haired Mogma.

"Take care of them. Especially the scarf. It's dear to me…."

"I promise." Lapi reached into a pouch of her own, pulling a rag. "This should help you clean up. Do you need anything else from me?"

"No…Thank you."

"Alright. I'll give you some privacy, but I'll be nearby. If you need anything, don't hesitate to shout for my name."

With the tunic, scarf, and everything else in her hands, Lapi moved away from the area, leaving Fledge alone. He moved close to the bank, placing himself on both of his knees.

The sixteen-year-old dipped the rag into the water. Slowly he rubs the rag on either his chest, arms, and head. After a bit he would dip the rag back in the water, cleaning out the dirt, grime, and…blood and then resume cleaning. A process that he had repeated several times. As he rubs the rag against wherever it made contact, Fledge's eyes were glued to the lake's surface. Doing his best to avoid making any sort of eye contact with his upper body. No matter how hard he tried, he failed once he moved the rag over his face again. Enough courage was built up for him to look at his hand.

The wound caused by the knives Ghirahim used to pin him, now healed into a scar thanks to the full awakening of Din's Fury, resided on the center of his palm, and directly on the back of his hand. Fledge used his other hand to gently stroke it only to be reminded of the identical scar on that hand. All he could do was simply…stare at them. Both hands trembled as he remembered events that occurred just mere hours ago. The sharpness of the knife lodged in his hand. The feeling of the cool hard metal. The pain it caused when Ghirahim shoved the knives into both of his palms. And the feeling of being trapped and unable to free himself as Ghirahim did as he pleased with him.

Fledge caught sight of his reflection staring back at him in the water close to the bank, getting a clear view of his face. Bruises and cuts remained on his skin. And his usually combed hair was now all messy. All of those were nothing compared to the current state of the left side of his face.

Fledge's still trembling hand hovers over the pointy tip of his right ear. Instinctively he did the same to his left one to feel the tip of it. He never felt the pointy end, only the ragged edges. He remembered how slowly Ghirahim was cutting it off with his burning hot knife. His hand then moved over to the diamond scar. Ghirahim was even slower when placing this one. Fledge's throat still felt sore from the agonizing screams he let out when the searing hot knife carved into his face. Ghirahim inscribed the diamond in the manner Fledge would see others back at Skyloft do to Pumpkins during Annual Fall Festivals. The only difference was that it was an innocent fun activity. This here was plain torture.

"A token of the time we spent together!"

Ghirahim's cheerful words echoed in his head loud enough to make it sound like he was there with him, causing Fledge to dart his head around to make sure the Demon Lord was nowhere to be seen. Those words haunt his head and will more than likely will for the rest of his life.

The sixteen-year-old return his gaze upon his reflection when he noticed the scar of the final wound Ghirahim implemented on him, bringing his hand over to it. The wound that was on his chest. The wound Ghirahim created by driving his sword into his chest.

The wound that killed Fledge.

Not to torture, not to knock out, nor not to incapacitate, but to kill him. This was not like Pipit's situation back on the Sandship after the battle with Tentalus. While he was on the brink of death, there was the chance to bring him back which Karane did. For that short, yet long, time however Fledge was dead to the world. He can remember the feeling of taking his last breath, and his heart stopped beating. There was no chance to bring him back. Had not been for the miracle of Din's Fury that would have been it for Fledge. Awakening the full potential of the Goddess of Power's Essence within him is the only reason he was still living. Yes, Fledge did give himself up, and he was alive now, but that didn't take away the fact of how terrifying it was to him and Link for that matter.

Link…Goddesses, Fledge can't even imagine what he went through in there. He could still hear the despairing scream Link gave out when Ghirahim stabbed him. Followed by Link holding Fledge, begging him to stay awake right before dying in his arms. The desperation in both Link's voice & face is something that will stick with Fledge forever.

Fledge darted his red eyes onto all of the scars plastered on him. Eyes went to the scars on his ever-trembling hands, to his sliced left ear, the diamond scar, and then the fatal wound on his chest. Each breath he let out increased rapidly the more his gaze lingered upon them in the reflection of himself in the water.

A frustrated yelp came out as Fledge hastily dunked the rag Lapi had lent him into the water. He used it to try to wipe off the scars on his body in a desperate attempt to get them off. To not want to be reminded of the torture. To not want to be reminded of his death. Despite his best attempts, the scars will not come off. Unlike the dirt & blood, all of the marks left are embedded into his skin. Marks that are permanently a part of him. A constant reminder of the tortuous several hours he was held as Ghirahim's prisoner.

The surface of the water let out ripples when Fledge's hand smacked it, letting out a frustrated shout when he realized that he cannot wash the scars off. An urge to throw something popped up so Fledge grabbed the nearest rock he could grasp on and threw it to almost the other side of the lake. That did not satisfy him in the slightest. Many emotions whirled in him like a vortex. A combination of anger, frustration, sadness, and…even grief. So many emotions went through him. There was only one way for him to express them.

A wail of despair broke out through his mouth. Not loud enough for Lapi, or anyone hanging around the colony to hear but it was loud enough to express the pain Fledge was going through. Fledge leaned forward hugging himself, breaking down into a combination of hyperventilating & crying. Tears pour down from his eyes like a faucet as he continues with each cry he lets out. Occasionally he would pause to suck in some air then resuming back into his crying fit. Everything that had happened throughout the past several hours had finally hit him. And it hit him hard.

Never in his entire life had he felt this powerless. Never felt so scared. The last time he came this close to this feeling was the day his mother died. Even that wasn't as close to what he was feeling right now.

Unbeknownst to Fledge, someone had been watching him.

Despite his friend's assurance, Link went over to check on Fledge. He couldn't take another minute of Fledge being out of his sight. When he arrived at a close enough distance he saw Fledge attempting to clean the scars off of him, watched him throwing a rock amazingly across the lake, to finally letting out his wail. Watching Fledge in a crying mess, looking so vulnerable...Link's heart broke at the sight.

Link wanted to run over to Fledge. To hold him. Hug him tighly. Tell him that he was going to be okay. And yet…his feet guided him in the opposite direction.

They kept on going until he was in the cave that the Mogmas had shown them. Pipit, Karane, nor Gorko were nowhere seen, leaving Link in solitude. He sluggishly removed the Master Sword & Sacred Shield off of his back, letting them drop onto the ground. Link sat right down, arms wrapped around his legs he pulled close to his chest, blank stare glued to the ground.

Guilt and shame grew inside him when his mind went back to the image of Fledge at the lake bank. Never had ever seen someone in such great despair, and this coming from someone who had seen a lot of death in his life. The wail that Fledge let out was a sound that Link would never forget.

Link could recall the look in Fledge's eyes when they all got out of the Fire Sanctuary. Normally, there was always a sense of wonder in the boy's eyes. A sense of sweetness & gentleness that always lit up. This time they were...empty, numb, and damaged. In the years Link had known him, he had never seen that type of look in Fledge's eyes even on his bad days.

Link could also not forget the anger in Fledge's eyes when he was beating down Ghirahim. Never had there ever been so much darkness in the teen. Link would have never figured that a gentle person like Fledge would be capable of that much fury. Part of him was certain that Fledge was going to kill Ghirahim, not that Link would blame him if he did. Seeing that level of rage on Fledge gave Link chills. Ghirahim had really pushed Fledge farther than anyone could have imagined.

There were no words to describe the anger Link had against the Demon Lord. How evil does one have to be to put a sweet boy such as Fledge, who never even hurt a fly, through all the torture? All of that was not the actions of a person. It was that of a monster filled with nothing but pure evil. How long did Ghirahim torture Fledge? Was it right after they left? Did it go on until Link arrived at the chamber? How much suffering did Fledge had to endure? He truly did not know nor did he think he wanted to know. There was one thing that Ghirahim said that stuck with him.

"I have to give Little Fledge credit where it's due. There's a spark of fire in his heart. I never expected that from a frail boy. And for the amount of screaming he did, your friend didn't tell me anything I wanted to know. Not one single peep no matter how much pain I inflicted on him. I for sure thought he would squeal. It would seem I may have gotten the wrong idea about him. But I'm a big enough person to admit when I'm wrong. I can see that you have his complete undying loyalty. Albeit misguided loyalty."

All that pain Fledge had went through and he didn't tell Ghirahim any information. That more than likely included the Gate of Time back at the Sealed Temple. That made sense. Why else would Ghirahim try to torture information out of him, other than the fact he was a flamboyant sadist? The words 'complete undying loyalty' repeated in his mind in the same manner Ghirahim had said it. Fledge never said anything to the Demon Lord even after going through that agony. Link wasn't sure if he should feel proud or not. Hearing that phrase brought Link back to what would've been Fledge's final words, hovering his hand over the now dried blood handprint on his cheek.

"I …I didn't want to be…responsible…for…hurting you again…you, my…my…b…brother…"

Brother…Fledge saw Link as a brother, the same way he saw Pipit. Hearing such a revelation as that was enough for the tears to stream down from Link's eyes, followed by sobs echoing off the cave walls.

He considered Fledge one of his closest friends, but the fact Fledge saw him as a brother… Goddesses, how could he fail to see it? Link had always felt protective over the boy since the day they officially became friends. Always let him sleep in his room whenever Fledge had issues sleeping in the days after his mom died, or whenever he couldn't sleep in general. Always stick to anyone who would dare bully Fledge, even taking blows from Groose if he had to. And always willing to help him. Of course, Fledge would come to see him as a brother, yet Link didn't realize that. Even when he made that promise to Fledge to never let anything happen to him…

"I may've been the one to stick the blade into him, but you lead him here. You put him in this position. All of this is your fault…"

As much as Link did not want to admit it, Ghirahim was right. Brothers are supposed to protect each other yet Link couldn't do it for Fledge. Link never should've left him alone. His instinct told him it was a bad idea and yet he ignored them. Now Fledge was paying the price for it.

Link lay on his side, curling himself up in a fetal position while his cries continued escaping from his mouth. In a way, he was mourning. Not mourning the loss of the loved one.

Link was mourning the loss of Fledge's forever shattered innocence.

"I did this to him. It's all my fault…I'm so sorry, Fledge."

Link remained where he was weeping until his eyes grew heaving. Slumber overcame him as the last of his tears trailed down.

****

A cool breeze feels upon his skin. When he opened his eyes he saw himself back in The Sky riding upon Epona. The day was beautiful, the weather perfect enough to go flying. On one end he could see Pipit & Karane flying on their respective Loftwings who wave right as they flew away. The other side was none other than Fledge who waved as well, giving his kind smile while he too flew away.

"Link? Hey, Link!"

Link turned his head back to see his best friend Zelda on her bird, Tetra. Dressed in the attire she wore for the Wing Ceremony. Her blonde hair flowed elegantly in the wind, her beautiful blue eyes shine back to him, and his favorite thing, her sweet smile that always made him feel warm inside.

"Today was amazing. Watching you win the race and performing the ritual together…I'll always remember this. It really was wonderful."

Link smiles back at her. "Thanks…I'll never forget this day too. And…you were amazing as Hylia."

A small hint of blush painted the girl's cheeks. "You know…Link…There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about…"

"About what?"

"I-I like-"

A bright flash suddenly blinded the pair. Both of their respective Loftwings started screeching hysterically. When the light died down, the sky had gotten darker. The teens were able to see a large black tornado right in front of them. The biggest they'd ever seen.

"What is that?!" Zelda yelled.

"A tornado! We gotta move!" Link responded with urgency.

They tried to move their birds away but the tornado's winds kept pulling them in.

"What's going on?!"

The winds of the tornado increased, whilst sucking down Zelda on her bird. It grew strong enough that Zelda was knocked off Tetra, falling below.

"LINK!" Zelda cried out as she plummeted down.

"ZELDA!"

Link tried to guide Epona down to Zelda but the tornado's winds knocked him off his bird, leaving him falling as well. Link searched around for his friend. The sky seemed endless as he kept on falling. Finally, he could see Zelda below him barely within an arm's reach. Terror was written on her face.

"Link, help…!" Zelda called out to him, reaching out both of her hands

Link reached out his arm. "Grab my hand!"

Alas, Zelda fell at a faster speed no matter how far Link held out his arm. She continues to fall further and further away from him. The Imprisoned showed itself, opening its massive jaw wide open right below the teen girl.

"Zelda!"

"LINK!" She cried out in fear right before the monster consumed both her and Link into darkness.

Link made a hard landing on the ground. The first thing he noticed was that he was dressed in his green tunic, armed with the Master Sword. The room was an endless black void. Eyes darted around trying to find Zelda. Nothing was seen.

Then he started hearing voices

"I thought you were looking for Zelda? Wow, you're an even lousier senior knight than I thought. I'm not surprised, given that it's your fault she's missing in the first place." Cawlin's words from Link's encounter with him in the Lumpy Pumpkin echoed.

"Looking at you, I fear the goddess is mistaken in her choice of agents. If this failure is any indication, you have no hope of defending Her Grace from those who seek to assail her." Impa's harsh words from the Earth Spring followed.

"This whole mess was your fault in the first place! If you couldn't help Zelda before, what makes you think you can help her now?" Finally came Groose's booming voice.

Link did his best to ignore those harsh words. No matter how much they cut deep they were not true at all.

"Why bother ignoring those words?" Ghirahim stood right in front of Link. "They all speak nothing but the truth."

The only response Link gave was slicing his sword through Ghirahim. However, the Demon Lord vanished in a cloud of smoke. As Link searches for him, he can hear Ghirahim's voice bounce through the air.

"I understand the truth can be a hard thing to listen to sometimes. But at some point, one must face it. Your truth, Link, is that you are no hero. I don't understand what Hylia thought when she picked you. Heroes are supposed to protect people, correct? So far you seem to fail to do so." Ghirahim's voice trailed into a deadly silence for several moments. "...How can you protect Zelda if you can't even protect your friends?"

Ghirahim's mocking tone rang off from behind Link. Turning his body, Link struck the sword into his target. Determination quickly painted horror on his face once he saw that the sword didn't strike Ghirahim.

For the blade of the Master Sword was lodged directly into Fledge's heart.

"NO!" Link quickly pulled the sword out, throwing it onto the ground. Gently, he lowered Fledge to the ground, cradling him in his arms. "Fledge! I…I didn't-...I'm sorry!... Stay with me!"

'L-Link…" Fledge croaked as blood trailed from his mouth, placing his hand on Link's cheek. More blood pours out of his hurt-filled eyes like tears. "You…You promised me…You were my…brother…Why…Why d-didn't you…p…protect me…?"

Fledge's head limps to the side. His hand slid down, leaving the bloody handprint on Link's cheek. A small puddle of blood grew around the boy. Eyes remained open but were lifeless.

"Fledge! Fledge, wake up! Please! I'm sorry! Say something!"

Link shook his friend's body to generate a response to no avail. Link holds the boy close, burning his head into Fledge's chest. Sobs bounce through the air.

"As I said before…" Ghirahim's voice broke through. "How can you protect Zelda if you can't even protect your friends?"

Hesitantly, Link lifted his head to be greeted by another grisly sight.

Karane's body leaned against the pillar from Koloktos' chamber. A large red gash pointed across her chest. Blood had been trailing down from that, and the cut on her cheek from Scervo.

Across from her lies Pipit on his side. A puddle of water surrounded him, indicating he was submerged in water. There was blood trailing from the side of his head. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until Link discovered the bloody stump where his arm should be. The blood coming out mixed into the water puddle.

In between the pair was Zelda herself, donned in her white dress, lying on her stomach. Large splotches of blood covered the white fabric. The dress was also torn, exposing parts of her body, including the blood. Everywhere to her hands, arms, legs, feet, sides, back hair, and her sweet soft face, blood was painted on there.

All three of his friend's eyes were wide open but were devoid of any life. The blood poured out from them and trail down to merge with Fledge's blood pool. Link saw his reflection on the pool's surface. Then he looked at his blood-covered trembling hands.

"You will bring death to all who follow you…" Ghirahim's voice echoed softly around Link.

"No…Guys no! NO! GET UP! PLEASE WAKE UP!" Link's heartbreaking cries for his friends rang off through the black void again and again.

"Wake up…WAKE UP!"

****

"Link, wake up!"

A gasp let out from Link's mouth as darted up. Hard breathing echoed off the walls of the cave he was back into the same rhythm of his hard pounding heart. Sweat plastered on his skin. Seconds passed when Link realized he was back in the cave. When his sights went to see Pipit & Karane, alive and well is when he was able to relax a bit.

"Take it easy," Pipit instructed smoothly

"Deep breaths. Take deep breaths," Karane coaxed gently.

It took minutes of deep breathing, along with listening to his friend's gentle encouragement for Link to finally calm himself down. Link pulled his legs close to his chest, resting his head on his knees. Silence lingered in the air between the three. Pipit & Karane waited to see if Link would say something. When it was clear that he didn't intend to do some they did.

"You okay, now?" Karane asked Link.

"I…I think so. I must've fallen asleep…It was just a nightmare."

"Didn't sound like 'just' a nightmare," Pipit added. "We were finished looking around when we noticed we haven't seen you for a bit. Gorko said he saw you walk in so we decided to check up on you. That's when we heard you screaming bloody murder. We thought you were getting attacked."

Link lifted his gaze to meet his eyes on the same level as his friends. "I was flying with Zelda as we did after the Wing Ceremony before Ghirahim's tornado knocked down. I tried to grab her when The Imprisoned showed up and it got dark. I heard voices, then I saw Ghirahim taunting me. And then…" Link paused, sucking in a breath. "I saw Zelda, you both, and Fledge…You were all dead. Your blood was on my hands. I know it was just a dream but…Hylia, it felt so real."

Fi exits out of the Master Sword, sitting on her knees to be at Link's level. "Master, it is normal for one to experience a nightmare such as that after experiencing a traumatic event. I can only speculate that…what occurred in the Fire Sanctuary Chamber may be the reason."

"That…might be," Link uttered glumly.

"Yeah…we were hoping you would talk about what went in there," Pipit mentioned.

Link looked away from his friends. "I don't want to burden you with this."

"Link, We've already told you this. You're not a burden to us. We're always happy to help you out as you do for us. You're our friend, and friends help each other," Karane said.

"Bottling up your feelings is not going to help you," Pipit insisted firmly. "Trust me…I know."

Karane gave Link a pleading look. "Please…Let us help you. Just tell us…What happened?"

Link was quiet. The last thing he wanted to do was to recall those horrible events that occurred within the chamber. All he wanted to do was forget all of it. But his friends seemed determined to hear what happened. Taking a deep breath in, he adjusted himself, crisscrossing his legs so he could properly sit.

"Ghirahim…found out about the other Gate of Time," Link revealed to the couple, both of their eyes widened in shock. "He doesn't know it's at the Sealed Temple but he knows it exists. I can guess he took Fledge to try to get him to say where it is. Fledge didn't say anything…That psycho tried to...torture it out of him but Fledge still didn't told him about it. All that pain he never gave in. Ghirahim then tried to get me to tell him. I refused and that's when he showed me what he did to Fledge. Bragged about it even. Ghirahim then gave me an ultimatum... I tell where the Gate of Time was, or let him kill Fledge."

For a few seconds Link kept his gaze on the floor. Pipit & Karane sat still waiting for him to build up the courage to give a response.

"What did you do?" Karane finally said to him.

"I-I tried to think of a way to get Fledge out of that spot. No way I was going to give him or Zelda up. That's when…" Link choked back a sob. "...That's when Fledge…gave himself up."

"What do you mean by that?" Pipit's voice quavered, not liking what Link was saying.

"...Fledge sacrificed himself so I wouldn't have to be forced to pick, and keep Zelda safe. Ghirahim… struck his sword in Fledge's chest, right in front of me. Fledge…died." Tears streamed down Link's eyes as he explained in his shaky voice.

"What…?" Pipit expressed in disbelief.

Karane could also not believe what Link had revealed. "Are you sure? Not every sword to the chest is fatal. Maybe all that blood loss only made Fledge faint-"

"I have his blood on my face!" Link hastily pointed to the bloody handprint. "I watched him take his final breath! I felt his body go limp! I couldn't hear his heartbeat! I held onto him as he DIED IN MY ARMS!" Link's blaring words boomed off the cave walls. Karane & Pipit sat still in silence as Link let out a few sobs.

"So, that comment Fledge made about taking a sword to the chest, and Ghirahim killing him was…true?" Pipit inquired.

"Master Link speaks the truth," Fi confirmed with conviction. "I…I felt Master Fledge's vitals deplete. For a short time, he was indeed dead. The only reason he is currently alive was only thanks to the full potential of Din's Fury awakening which revitalized him."

"Farore, Nayru, Din, and Hylia…" Karane covered her mouth in shock.

"Link…I-...That must've been horrible for both of you," Pipit stated in horror.

"That's not the only thing that hurts. Right before he…died, Fledge called me his brother…" More tears escaped Link's eyes. "He saw me as his brother. Never once did I ever consider that he saw me that way. Even...Ever after I made a promise to him that I would keep him safe."

"Back at the Cistern?" Karane guessed.

"It was farther than that. Much farther," Link trailed off. "It was a few weeks after his mom's funeral..."

****

10 years ago…

"Give me back my scarf!"

Six-year-old Fledge attempted to grab his scarf that was being held hostage by a seven-year-old, slightly taller Cawlin. The midnight-blue-haired boy held the scarf high enough for Fledge to barely reached.

"Why are you getting so worked up over a piece of fabric, pipsqueak?" Cawlin taunted.

"It was my mom's! She gave that to me!" Fledge pleaded as he try to grab the scarf.

"Big deal. It's only a dumb scarf. Besides…Not like she's here to take it back."

Fledge again made another attempt to reclaim his scarf. The result ended with failure when Cawlin shoved the six-year-old to the ground hard enough to land on his back. Tears were on the brink in Fledge's eyes as Cawlin stood over him with a smug expression.

"Aw, are you going to cry?" Cawlin waved the scarf tauntingly above Fledge. "Who are you going to cry to? Not your mom that's for sure. You can't tattle on me to her anymore, pipsqueak. You're a little orphan runt. That means no one can help you!"

"HEY!"

Cawlin and Fledge turned in the direction of the loud voice. Marching towards Cawlin was a seven-year-old Link.

"What do you want, twerp?" Cawlin asked with an annoyed tone.

"Give him back his scarf!" Link demanded.

"Or else what?"

Link responded by giving a hard kick to Cawlin's shin. Hard enough for Cawlin to let out a yelp, dropping the scarf so he could tend to the impacted area. Link reclaimed the blue scarf in his hand.

"Now buzz off and leave him alone!"

"...Fine."

Link watched Cawlin limp away and kept his eyes on the boy until he was out of view. With that taken care of, Link directed his attention to Fledge who was still on the ground.

"Are you okay?" Link said in a concerned tone as he offered his hand to the younger boy. Fledge nodded his head as Link helped him back up. "Here's your scarf!"

"Thank you…" Fledge took his scarf.

"Does Cawlin always do that to you?" Link questioned as Fledge put the scarf on his shoulders.

"Sometimes…When he does, usually I tell my mom, and she gets him to say sorry, and he backs off for a while. But since she's…gone, he can pick on me whenever he wants, and I have no one to help me."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I'm an orphan. Orphans don't have families. They're alone."

"You're not alone! You have me! I can help you!"

"You…you would?"

"Of course, I would! You're my friend!"

Fledge stared at Link in complete bafflement. "You see me as your friend?"

"Why wouldn't I? You're nice. Fun to hang out with. And I like talking to you. So does Zelda, and Pipit. We all see you as a friend."

"You do?"

Link in agreement. "Friends look out for each other."

"So if Cawlin tries to hurt me again, you'll get him to stop?"

"I, Link, swear to protect you from Cawlin, or anyone who tries to hurt you. I promise I won't let anything happen to you. No matter what."

"Really?"

"Really, really! You won't ever have to deal with anything bad alone ever again!"

****

"…And since that day, I've always looked out for him. Over time, I started to see him as a brother. Not once did I even consider him seeing me the same way because I didn't think he did…Some brother I turned out to be, huh? Brothers are supposed to protect each other, and I couldn't even do that. How can I be the hero Zelda needs if I can't keep my friends safe?"

"You are a good hero, Link!" Pipit asserted.

"Really now?" Link responded bitterly to his honorary brother. "You almost lost your arm to a Deku Baba, nearly crushed by debris, and almost drowned!" Link moves his gaze to Karane. "You got grabbed by Moldarach and Tentalus, Koloktos almost killed you, and Scervo almost sliced your face off! And now Fledge…" Link looks away from his two friends. "...Fledge is traumatized. Ghirahim said the reason he was even in that position was because I brought him here, that it was my fault. And you know what…he was right. Fledge almost died…all of you almost died because of me."

"Link, stop! Ghirahim is wrong! Don't you dare say that!" Karane cut in strongly. "Take it from someone who speaks from experience on this topic. I know it seems easy to blame yourself. You keep thinking 'If only I could've done something differently. If only I could've stopped it somehow…' Easy to believe when you look back. But the truth is, there was nothing you could've done at that moment. What happened to me & Pipit at those points was not your fault. And what happened to Fledge was Ghirahim's doing, not yours."

"That doesn't change the fact that you all went through that because you were helping me…"

"We had plenty of chances to back out, you even gave us the okay to leave after we dealt with The Imprisoned but we didn't. You know why?" Link's eyes move back to Karane's direction "Because it was OUR choice. Mine's, Pipit's, and Fledge's. We all chose to help, and we chose to stay even knowing what we were getting into. And look, we're all still alive, aren't we? What happened before doesn't matter because what matters now is that we're still here. I'm still here, Pipit's still here, and Fledge especially is still here. Isn't that what matters now?"

Karane's words race through Link's head. There was enough clarity in them for Link to finally see the truth that he refused to see. This whole quest that he had set out on was originally meant for him to walk alone. He never asked for help out of fear of them getting hurt. Yet, his friends defy destiny to join him. To help him help Zelda. They could have backed out at any time they wanted, most definitely after seeing The Imprisoned but they chose to stay.

Link would be lying to himself that he wasn't worried at some points about his friends getting hurt. A part of Link was glad that they were willing to help. Looking back at what he went through he could've imagined how he would've dealt with all of those challenges by himself. Probably would've been more dangerous for him now that he thought about it.

There was still one thing on his mind that was bothering him.

"You…You have good points. Looks like you can still talk sense into me," Link acknowledged with dry humor. "But…What about Fledge? What do I do?"

"You need to talk to him," Karane put it simply.

"Can I? Would he even let me? I promised to keep him safe and failed. He didn't look at me throughout the walk down here. Goddesses, he probably never wants to talk to me again…I let him down, big time."

Pipit's expression grimace. What Link said was similar to what Fledge had shared with him on the day of the Wing Ceremony when Fledge confessed to Link about Groose taking his bird. Right now it was all deja vu except this time the roles were reversed with Link being the one worried about what Fledge would do. Taking a deep breath, Pipit made it his turn to speak.

"Link, let me tell you something," Pipit paused briefly to give Link the chance to put his attention on him. "The day of the ceremony, after you left to find Epona at the waterfall, Fledge was worried that you were mad at him for not telling you about Groose stealing your bird. Mad enough for you not to be his friend anymore. I and Zelda told him that you wouldn't do that but…"

****

Pipit led Fledge into the Dining Hall at the Academy. They had spoken to Zelda who went off to help Link find his Loftwing. The Dining Hall was empty, even Henya wasn't around, leaving just the two of them. Pipit guided Fledge to one of the tables.

"How're you doing, Fledge?"

"Alright…" The younger teen responded meekly.

"Try to relax. You've been through a lot this morning."

"But…What if they can't find Epona in time? What if Link has to sit out the race?"

"Link & Zelda will find Epona in time. They're a good team." Pipit affirmed. "Why not I make some tea for you? I know that usually helps calm you down."

"That would be nice…"

Pipit went into the kitchen section to brew up a kettle of tea which took several minutes to make. When it was ready he took an extra few minutes to clean up out of courtousey for Henya. The elderly woman doesn't like it when people leave a mess in her kitchen, especially around a picture that she had hung on the walls of a teen girl that Pipit had no idea who was nor why Henya had it up there. Pipit took the kettle, along with two cups for Fledge & himself to drink out of after he was sure everything was cleaned. A new sound caught his ears when Pipit returned to the Dining Hall. The sound was that of someone crying.

Specifically, Fledge crying.

The sixteen-year-old rested his head on the table, arms crossed in front of him. Soft cries came out of him. Pipit can only deduce that everything that had occurred throughout the morning was now catching up to him. Placing the kettle and cups on the table, Pipit went to his friend's side to try to comfort him.

"I screwed up...I let Link down, big time," Fledge whimpered.

"Hey... You didn't do anything wrong. It'll be alright. Everything will be fine, I'm sure!" Pipit rubs Fledge's shoulder to try to soothe him.

Fledge lifted his head, showing his tear-stricken face, taking a sniffle. "What if it doesn't? What if Link can't compete? What if he loses because of this? What if…What if he doesn't want to be my friend anymore?"

Fledge buried his head back in his arms, emitting more sniffles and soft cries as Pipit tried to soothe him.

****

"...That look on his face. I know you were understandably frustrated about your bird, but Fledge…He felt awful about the whole thing. Fledge was...terrified that you would stop being his friend. I don't think he would hold this against you. He cares for you that much, Link."

Link remained silent even after Pipit concluded sharing, rubbing his face. Now he knew that it was unfair to take out his frustration of his missing bird on Fledge, but Goddesses Link didn't mean to make Fledge fear him ending their friendship. Looking back at that moment knowing what Pipit told him made him feel even worse about how he reacted when Fledge confessed. Honestly, he did not know what to say.

And Fi sensed her Master's uncertainty.

"If I may, Master Link." All eyes turned to the Sword Spirit. "When we were in the chamber back at the Fire Sanctuary with Ghirahim, I got a reading of Master Fledge's senses. He was in great pain, yet despite all that, there was only one thing on his mind." For a brief moment, it appeared Fi struggled to…not cry before regaining her stoic expression. "...Your safety. He was more concerned with your well-being than his own. Any ill will he may have towards you I did not sense even once. Even now I do not sense it. Master Link, what you are feeling is normal especially after dealing with a traumatic experience such as that. That feeling is akin to that of Survivor's Guilt. You believe it would've been better for you to have taken Fledge's position. But do you think Master Fledge would want you to experience the pain that he had endured?"

No one utter a word to one another once Fi finished speaking.

The sound of digging caught the group's attention. Bronzi climbed from below the dirt.

"Hey um…I wanted to let you guys know that we're planning on eating dinner soon. The others said all of you, including your other friend, is more than welcome to join us." Bronzi scratches his neck nervously. "And…I also wanted to say sorry for trying to swindle you guys back in the Fire Sanctuary. And no, I'm not apologizing because Silva made me. I…I didn't realize how serious you're whole looking for your friend thing was until I saw him. I take full responsibility."

Link gave a tired, yet gentle look at the Mogma. "Don't worry about it. It's all in the past."

"Alright then…I'll leave you guys be." Bronzi was about to dig back under until he stopped himself. Something was clearly on his mind. "Your friend. He's…he's lucky to have you guys."

Bronzi dug back underground. The air around the cave was quiet only to break when Link suck in a deep breath.

"I'll…I'll go see Fledge."

"You want us to come along?" Karane offered.

Link shook his head. "I need to talk to him like you said. And it's something only I can do."

"I believe that is a wise choice, Master Link." Fi went back into the Master Sword

"Good luck, Link," Pipit said supportively.

Link stands up. Pipit & Karane keep their eyes on him as he exits the cave. The sound of Pipit's tired breath caught Karane's ears when their friend left their view.

"What's wrong?"

"I…I don't know how Fledge managed to not kill Ghirahim. Not that I encourage that, it's just…" Pipit places his fingers on his temple. "Farore, if it were me in Fledge's place, or I was Link's position and I saw what Ghirahim did to Fledge, Link, or Goddesses forbid you…I would've asphyxiated that monster, or worse..."

"Well, you know what I did to Tentalus so you can figure out what I probably would've done."

"I'm aware, don't worry." Pipit could still recall the shocking detail Link & Fledge give on how Karane brutally incapacitated Tentalus. "I think we wento easy on Ghirahim. How did Fledge have the strength to spare him after going through all that?"

"Fledge has a big heart. I guess that's why Din picked him. Having the strength to spare your enemy. I don't think I could do that."

"You think Fledge, and Link will ever be fully okay after this? I've never seen either of them this shaken up. Even when they lost their parents."

Karane holds her boyfriend close, giving a gentle kiss on his temple. "I don't know. They may not be fully the same. There is one thing I do know. Whatever happens, we'll be there for them when they need it."

"Link will always have me to count on. I made that vow since he lost his parents and I intend to keep it till I die. That also extends to Fledge. They're my brothers for life."

"And by extent, mine as well."

Pipit glances up at Karane lovingly, giving her a quick peck on her lips with a sweet smile on his face. Silently they prayed for things with Link, and Fledge to be okay.

[starlitshitposter]

Through the Narrow Gap: Ch. 1

-----Hey guys, so I'm writing a novel and thought I'd share the first chapter here. I am taking constructive criticism but also I am my own greatest menace do with this information what you will.-----

The streetlamps glowed with their sickly yellow buzz, anything underneath them becoming a monotone pale smudge. The air was sticky and cool, but this came as no surprise. The humidity in Kentucky is ridiculous in the summer time. All the joys of humid air did not pass over any of the residents of the the tiny western Kentucky town. Eli could feel her hair getting frizzy as she walked the quiet roads. The silent houses staring at her with invisible eyes, all the sound fading away in a near supernatural fashion. Save for the sound of purring circling her feet.

Cream Cheese, I love hearing your sweet little voice, but could you please quiet down?”, Eli asked the darkness. As if the little cat understood her, the purring faded into the silence of the night.

Finally she heard the sound return to the fields next to her, accompanied by the sound she was expecting, and knew all too well. The gentle, turbulent rumble of Sam’s pickup. He would know what to do, he would know what’s going on, grumpy as he may be. She crossed the grassy field, the wheat stems and sawgrass blades parting around her legs. A faint smell of chicken wafted through the air, garnering an expectant meow out of Cream Cheese.

Eli thought it surprising that the streetlamp still worked, after all, the war took out the vast majority of the grid. Someone must’ve got a generator working and was back feeding the lights. Only two months ago the idea would have seemed laughable. But memories and reminiscing did nothing to put food in her stomach, or to feed the little siamese cat that she thought the world of. One reliable friend in a darkened world.

As she skulked closer and closer to the dusty red truck, she was hit with a last minute pang of anxiety. She hadn’t exactly parted with Sam on the most amicable of terms the last time they saw each other. But still he was here, so hopefully some part of him still wanted to help. Maybe some part still viewed her as a friend. She quickly quieted her thoughts as she approached the cab. Sam’s short blonde hair had grown out into a shaggy mop laying on his head, a scraggly beard spread across his chin, and his playful eyes had sunken in to his skull. The look of someone aging too quickly.

“Evening Sam”, Eli squeaked into the dark cab. She wasn’t good with conflict, and certainly wasn’t any better with apologies. “I.. I know we didn’t exactly leave on friendly terms the last time we met but-” Sam cut her off, “Eli, there are so much more important things now than petty drama. I didn’t come here for an apology. If I was angry, I wouldn’t have showed up. I’d have left you as food for the wolves.” A sob choked its way out of Eli’s throat, she didn’t think this was relief she could feel, and it was so much better than she could ever ask for. “Hop in loser, that is unless you want me to leave you to become dog food?” Graciously accepting the offer, Eli crossed in front of the truck, settling into her familiar spot in the passenger seat, Cream Cheese purring and nestling into her lap. Trundling along the dusty gravel roads was cathartic, Eli could feel herself becoming more and more at ease, the tall unharvested cornstalks whipping past the mirrors like whispy fingers grabbing at the edges of the truck. Sam’s grandparents always told stories about the cornfields, about the feral children who lived in them, the no-see-ems that nested there, and of course, the vicious coyotes. The coyotes were the only believable part of the story, but it was still something that was fun to ponder.

It was about another 20 minutes until they reached the lakeside cabin where Sam spent his summers, swimming in the lake, cooking with his Granny, and of course, toting around their friend group for sleepovers and pool parties. These fun summers seemed such distant memories, nothing like that could ever happen now, cruel governments hell-bent on destroying each other robbed these experiences for good. She cast a sad glance at the pool as they passed it, which had become overrun with green algae, a derelict reminder of youth.

As they passed through the front door, it almost felt like the wooden porch was wrapping around her, the tiny cabin inviting her in, as a friend after a long time away. It still smelled of buttery sweets and faintly of Granny’s perfume as they made their way into the living room and plopped down on the couch. The flatscreen still sat there as a black mirror, another constant reminder of how the world had changed. Sam got up and started lighting kerosene lanterns, soon the flickering orange glow of the flames was providing enough light to work with. Cream Cheese had made her way to the loft, contently napping on the old mattress.

“Can I get you some water? Maybe some food?”, Sam asked. As much as she didn’t want to accept the handout, the pain she felt in her stomach at the thought of food made her accept the kind gesture. This was Eli’s first meal in days after all. Sam returned from the pantry with a can of green beans and a bottle of water. He pierced the can with his pocket knife, and set it atop one of the lanterns to warm up. The water felt soothing as it made its way down to her stomach, calming the dryness and thirst that, until now, she hadn’t realized was building up over the past week. “I.. I thought you were dead”, Sam said. Eli forgot for a moment the circumstances surrounding their meeting. The warmth in his voice and the kindness in his touch made her nearly forget how messed up the world was right now. The knowledge that Sam had thought about her enough to worry sent a sharp pang of guilt deep into her gut, ripping like a knife.

“Sam, I don’t know what to say. I never meant to hurt you but at the same time I was hurting, and you were near. You got caught up in my anger.”, Stifling a sob, she continued, “I had just lost my mom Sam. I thought I’d die of grief before I ever had to worry about hurting anyone. Please. Please forgive me..”

“I never condemned you Eli, there’s no forgiveness to be had, because I never held any of it against you. You can see I care. I picked you up and was just thankful to have my best friend back. Hopefully we can put this behind us?” 

Eli was relieved by these words. She didn’t understand how she could hurt someone so badly and not have it held against her. Dumb luck she guessed, and the goodness of Sam’s Heart. He’d suffered loss too. His Granny was one of the first victims of society collapsing. Killed because she couldn’t access her medications or doctors any more. Looking at her furniture and her cabin saddened Eli, knowing she’d never hear Granny’s voice calling them in from the pool, or telling them to shut out the lights during sleepovers.

“Get some rest, Eli. We’ve got work to do tomorrow”

Eli was confused but didn’t even argue the point, instead she made her way up the same wooden ladder Cream Cheese had gracefully bounded up, and laid down on the mattress next to the small creature, and drifted into sleep.

[hotch-stufff]

Surprise, Surprise

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x F!reader

Warnings!: there are no warnings, im not telling you a single thing. It's a surprise. Just read and find out ;)

Also, as much as I love him, Jack does not exist in this story, wasn't really sure how to write him in.

Author's Note: I'm so sorry that I haven't written in a while, I have had no inspiration and my bf dumped me so... ya'know that was nice. Anyways, finally getting some inspo, hopefully I will be writing more. Hope you guys enjoy this one :) Also, the mood board is mine, but the images are all from pintrest.

Word count: 1.4 k words

This is an emotional roller coaster

------------

You couldn't breathe.

You couldn't move, or speak.

Your knees gave out as you fell to the floor, sobs racking your body.

You felt arms wrap around you, but it didn't help. You were suffocating. He was your air, and he had just been ripped from your lungs. 

He was gone, dead.

Your husband.

The love of your life.

Aaron Hotchner was dead

* * *

You don't remember anything after the doctor uttered those words. You don't remember Rossi picking you up and holding you. You don't remember the sad glances, the tears shed by your teammates. You don't remember the car ride to your now empty shared apartment. You don't remember lying down and sobbing into the pillow for hours.

No, you only remember the pain. The unbearable pain of loss.

He was gone. Really gone.

You cried and cried for hours on end. Until you had no tears left to shed. 

Then you just lied there, staring at the wall, gripping his favorite shirt in your arms, remembering every little moment with him.

And it hurt like hell just thinking of everything you did with him. The day you met. Your first kiss, your first date. The day he proposed. Your wedding. Every little thing. 

And you wouldn't be able to do anything else. You wouldn't have kids with him. You guys had just talked about having a baby just the other day. He wanted one so bad. 

You shouldn't have waited.

Because now, now he was gone.

* * *

The next few days were a blur. You found yourself with home-cooked meals overflowing your fridge. A team member at your house every night. But it was all a blur.

All meaningless without Aaron.

The funeral was coming up. You didn't make any arrangements, you asked Rossi if he could handle it and he quickly agreed. 

He had taken care of finding the casket, picking a place, and finding a burial site. Everything. 

The only thing you had asked for was a closed casket.

You couldn't handle looking at him.

* * *

On the day of the funeral, the girls all came over to help you get ready. 

"Alright y/n, do you have a dress?" Penny asked as she walked out of kitchen.

"In the closet." You croaked. Your voice being hoarse from the crying and lack of speaking for the past two weeks.

"Okay I'll grab that, and shoes. Jj is going to make you breakfast and Em is going to do your hair okay?" You gave her a sad smile and a small okay.

Penny quickly walked back your hallway as Em began pulling your hair back in a low ponytail. You felt the tears begin slipping down your face once again.

Jj saw as she walked back in the room with a bagel and coffee.

"Oh sweetheart." And the dam broke. They comforted you the best they could. But they couldn't even imagine what you were going through, because he was gone.

* * *

The funeral was a blur. It seemed like everything was these days. 

It was a beautiful service. You don't remember much. Lots of hugs and 'sorry for your loss's.

It had gone quickly, and soon you found yourself in Rossi's living room. Everyone but the team had left, you sat alone. The rest were in the kitchen cleaning up.

You didn't move from your spot, sipping your wine.

Everyone walked in, and found spots around you.

It was silent. Not a single word was spoken.

"I'm taking a leave of absence." You spoke.

6 pairs of eyes shot to you, but they couldn't say they were surprised.

"It's just too much. I'm not ready to come back." Your voice was quiet. Rossi was the first to say anything.

"Take all the time you need." 

* * *

And you did. You spent about 3 months in that apartment, alone and sad and heartbroken. 

But you realized that Aaron would never want you to live like this. And you really needed to be able to pay the bills.

So after those 3 months, you gave Rossi a call. He had become until chief since you had left, and he instantly accepted you back to the team.

You were slowly getting better. 

Each passing case a distraction. 

Each one fixing you just a bit more. 

Each one giving your life a purpose, a meaning again.

And you felt better. You stopped crying yourself to sleep. You stopped sitting in silence for hours on end. You stopped crying every time you thought about him.

But you still visited him every week. You still thought about him everyday. You still wore your wedding rings, refusing to take them off.

But you were better. 

* * *

A few more months went by and you started going out with the team again. You spent more time with them. Almost every weekend. And you were somewhat okay.

And it wasn't until about 8 months after his death did your world come to another crashing halt.

You had been called in to the BAU, not entirely sure why, but you came in none the less. 

You figured it was a case, but Jj hadn't specified on the phone, which was strange.

You had walked up to the conference room, and were surprised to see the whole team sitting there ready to go. 

"Hey guys, do we have a case?" You asked, but Jj sent you a sad look causing you to grow worried.

"Y/n, you should sit down for this." You had no idea what was going on. What on earth was happening. "Peter Raymond recently resurfaced, and was taken into custody this morning about an hour ago. He resisted arrest and pulled a gun on an officer. He was shot and killed." Your heart hammered in your chest. He was gone. The bastard who killed your husband was gone. Rossi stood walking towards Jj.

A pit grew in your stomach, there was more, something you didn't know.

"8 months ago I made a decision that greatly affected this team. Aaron Hotchner received substantial injuries from the wounds he endured, but his surgery was a success and he was airlifted to an unknown location. His identity was changed in order to keep him safe. But he is alive." 

You couldn't believe your ears. He was alive. Alive? 

Your eyes shot to the door and there he stood. 

Aaron Hotchner. 

You couldn't breathe. 

You couldn't move or speak. 

He was alive, you should be ecstatic.

But you only felt anger.

Your eyes shot to Rossi.

"How dare you." You whispered out, surprising the team. You weren't an angry person, you never yelled at your teammates. But you, you were seething. "How could you do that. You knew he was alive and yet you let me suffer. You watched as I cried day and night. You watched as I let myself go, as I lost myself." You shook your head in anger.

Aaron stepped forward reaching out for you, but you shook your head.

"Dont touch me. Don't fucking touch me." You felt the tears fall down your face. Again. "You left me. You're dead. You're gone. Y-you left." You were shaking and crying and once again Aaron reached out for you, but this time you let him.

He brought you into a crushing hug, holding you like you had begged to be held for months. 

He was here, really here. You could smell and feel and see him. He was really here.

"Y-you bastard. You left me." You whispered desperately as you cried into his shirt. 

The team was quick to disperse. They too were mad at Rossi, and they wanted to reunite with Hotch. But they left you be, at least for now.

Aaron pulled back slightly, looking down at you.

"Sweetheart I'm so sorry. I wish I didn't have to. But he would have killed you and then he would have killed me." He had tears running down his face as well now. But you were so angry at him.

You pushed him away.

"I could have gone with you Aaron. You could have gone into witsec. You didn't need to fake your fucking death Aaron!" You yelled at him. you couldn't even believe you were eating this conversation.

"Y/n please, I'm so sorry." You were mad yeah, but you were so overwhelmingly relieved that it overpowered your anger. "I missed you sweetheart." He whispered out and you broke just a little bit more.

"You bastard. Y-you stupid man." You pulled him back to you and slammed your lips together. "You stupid, stupid man." You gasped out between kisses. 

"I know, I'm so sorry. I love you." He stated after you pulled away.

"I-I love you too." You were sobbing at this point.. "Don't ever do that to me again." He nodded, leaning in to kiss you again.

And you kissed your husband.

Because he wasn't gone. 

He was right here.

And god did it feel amazing to have him back

------------

Thanks for reading! Requests are still open, so ask away! Currently I'm only taking requests from my prompt list, which is right here! School is starting up soon though, so i may not be writing very often, but i will definitely try! Anyways, if you would like to read more of my work, here is my masterlist.

[hmslusitania]

Paint it Black

@evanbucxley @arrenemris you guys wanted petty, jealous Eddie stuck in an elevator with Taylor during the blackout, right?

Eddie Diaz has been involved in his share of awkward dinners.

This one takes the cake though. It starts with him showing up at Buck’s loft by himself, and Buck opening the door with that stupid puppy-dog confused tilt to his head that makes Eddie want to do something drastic.

“Where’s Ana?” he asks.

“We broke up,” Eddie says. “Figured it would be weird to invite her to dinner after that.”

“Oh, I didn’t know,” Buck says, which yeah, Eddie knows because Eddie hadn’t told him yet. “I’m sorry, man.”

Which makes…one of them.

The night gets worse when Taylor shows up with her latest story of her investigation into – Eddie misses the details, but he’s discovered that Taylor’s voice somehow is at the exact right pitch that he can’t quite hear it most of the time. Weird how that works.

Buck, bless his fucking heart, feels none of the tension in the loft. Or if he does, he doesn’t react to it. He stays chipper and upbeat and positive and doesn’t comment when Eddie and Taylor trip over each other to help him with making dinner or pouring drinks or to sit beside him on the couch while the food cooks.

But, like, the spot on the couch beside Buck is Eddie’s spot, and if it’s not Eddie’s it’s Christopher’s.

And Eddie…loses the fight.

Taylor’s tiny, and for just half a second, he entertains the utterly absurd idea of just picking her up and moving her, but it flits out of his head almost as soon as it arrives. It’s quickly followed by an unfortunate realisation that it must be easy as anything for Buck to just pick her up and move her when – which is then immediately erased by the second-hand memory he acquired from Captain Mehta that Buck had been able to just pick Eddie up and toss him into the engine like he was a sack of potatoes – which –

He’s saved when dinner is ready, but he feels Taylor’s eyes on him the whole way through the meal.

Annoyingly, they end up leaving at the same time. Buck and Eddie have a shift in the morning, and Taylor has a story to cut before some deadline or other. Eddie would rather not walk out with her, would rather not share the elevator with her – he briefly considers legging it for the stairs but they’re at the other end of Buck’s floor and the elevator is right there and it would be absolutely blatant what he was doing – but if the alternative is knowing she’s staying the night at Buck’s, he’ll deal with the elevator.

They’re both quiet while the doors slide open, the soft whisper of the brushed stainless-steel brushing against the dust guards the only sound besides the simmering mutual animosity between them. They step into the elevator, which smells vaguely of Pinesol, and Taylor presses the button for the ground floor with a shiny lacquered red nail.

The doors close again and the shimmering, irritable silence fills the space. No elevator music in Buck’s building, which is probably for the best.

“So,” Taylor says as the world’s slowest elevator descends. “Is it personal or are you just jealous?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Eddie says. The elevator has faux wood panelling, not mirrors, so he can’t tell if she’s looking at him or if she’s staring straight ahead like he is.

“You either hate me on a personal level, because I’m me or something,” she says. “Or you hate me because you’re in love with Buck.”

Eddie gets as far as a spluttered, indignant, “I am not in love with—”

And then the elevator lurches. Stops. The lights flicker and then die. The emergency lights do not kick on.

“Well that’s comforting,” Taylor says, dry.

Eddie pulls out his phone. Usually, it’s still connected to Buck’s wifi by the elevator, and the connection’s gone. So it isn’t just the elevator.

“There’s a button in here that calls the fire department, right?” Taylor asks, pulling out her own phone and shining it at the elevator panel. She presses the button that should connect them directly to the department, and nothing happens.

“Depending on how wide the power outage is, it might have knocked out dispatch,” Eddie says.

“Great,” Taylor says. “You’re a firefighter, you can get the doors open, right?”

“With a Halligan and a fully functional shoulder?” Eddie asks. “Sure.”

She huffs. “Do you think it’s just this building or wider?”

“How would I know?” Eddie asks.

“So helpful, thank you.”

“What do you want me to do, Taylor? Use my magical powers of divination to figure out if we’re in a building-wide, block-wide, city-wide, county-wide blackout?” Eddie snaps.

He can’t see her face in the shitty half-light of their respective phone screens, but he hears her roll her eyes.

“It’s because you’re in love with him, right?” she asks.

“For fuck’s sake, Taylor, I’m not in love with—”

“Because he’s in love with you,” she interrupts as though he hasn’t spoken. Eddie’s heart stops. “It’s weird, I’ve never really had to vie for someone’s affections before. I can’t say I’m a fan, but, see, he thinks you aren’t an option.”

“He told you this?” Eddie asks and hopes to God his voice sounds normal because it does not feel like it.

Taylor snorts. “He didn’t have to. Do you guys have any idea what you’re like when you’re around each other? It’s obvious to anyone who even meets you in passing, and I know both of you and have a journalism degree. It’s not difficult math.”

“Then why are you dating him?” Eddie asks, swallowing back the lump that’s just jumped into his throat that feels suspiciously like his heart.

“Because I like him,” Taylor says. “And because I like a challenge.”

Before Eddie can say anything rude about Buck being worth more than a challenge to someone, she sighs.

“I’d say you’re going to have to fight me for him, but it’s not going to be much of a competition,” she says.

“You really think my chances are that bad?” Eddie asks and he hates how sad he sounds, even to his own ears.

Taylor doesn’t get a chance to answer before Eddie’s phone lights up with a picture of Buck and Chris together and Buck’s name in bright letters. In the sudden illumination, he sees the annoyed, resigned expression on her face.

“That answer your question?” she replies, and Eddie answers the phone.

“Hey, did you make it out or are you stuck in the elevator?” Buck asks.

“We’re stuck in the elevator,” Eddie says. “No idea what floor. Maybe three?”

“Cool, don’t go anywhere,” Buck replies and hangs up before Eddie can ask where, exactly, they might go.

An awkward silence hangs in the elevator in the wake of the phone call.

Until, finally, Taylor says, “For what it’s worth, if I had to lose to someone, at least you’re as pretty as I am.”

Eddie is still searching for some kind of response to that – coming up absolutely blank – when the elevator doors slide open. Buck, illuminated by a headlamp, waves at them and pockets his keys.

“You have an elevator key?” Taylor asks while Buck pulls her out.

“Fire marshals and captains get ’em,” Buck says. “They’re standard across production lines.”

“Fire marshals have to give them back,” Eddie points out.

“Eh, when I was a probie, we got an elevator rescue and Bobby told me to go open the doors, and so I stood there trying to pry them open for like five minutes before he walked up to the elevator panel and unlocked them with his key,” Buck says. “Chim and Hen laughed at me for about a month every time we got near an elevator. So when I did my turn as fire marshal, I may have made a copy.”

“Of course you did,” Eddie says. He rolls his eyes and is grateful for the darkness so Buck can’t see exactly how fond he must look.

Taylor catches him, though, and for a tense second, Eddie thinks she’s going to say something about it. But Taylor Kelly is a lot of things, but “quitter” isn’t one of them. It might not be a fair fight, and the outcome might be rigged in Eddie’s favour, but he understands then that she’s going to make him fight for it. Fight for Buck.

No worthier fight, really.

“We should check in, see if they want us on shift early,” Buck says, already pulling his phone out to text or call Bobby.

“And I should go investigate,” Taylor says. “I’m sure my station is missing me.”

“Okay,” Buck says. “Do you want my headlamp for the stairs?”

“I’ve got it, but, thank you,” Taylor says. She stretches on her toes to kiss him goodbye – much more thoroughly than she had when they left Buck’s apartment. She arches an eyebrow at Eddie once she’s let go of Buck and Eddie narrows his eyes right back. “See you boys later.”

She flips on the flashlight on her phone and waltzes off to the stairs.

“We should tell all my neighbours to stay inside,” Buck says.

“Sounds like a plan,” Eddie says, shooting a text to his abuela and Chris to ask them to do the same. He doesn’t know yet if the blackout’s reached their neighbourhood, but it’s a better policy.

“So what did you and Taylor talk about while you were in the elevator together?” Buck asks in between knocking on his neighbours’ doors to announce LAFD please remain inside your homes.

“We, uh, came to an understanding,” Eddie says.

“Oh! Good,” Buck says. He pauses. “What about?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Eddie recommends. He nudges Buck with his shoulder and gets a grin in response. “Let’s check in with Bobby and see if they need us or if they recommend we just stay inside and stay safe, too.”

“No one I’d rather weather a lockdown with,” Buck replies, as if the second she stepped into the stairwell, Taylor also disappeared from his head. “Well, except maybe Christopher.”

Eddie laughs, and thinks in Taylor’s direction, may the best person win.

[staticscreenwriting]

HOME // Bucky Barnes

Request: Could you do a Bucky Barnes imagine where he blips but the reader is pregnant so when he comes back he meets their daughter? If not that’s totally understandable and I hope you have an amazing day/night 💕

A/N: Look, I love writing angsty Bucky. But I also love writing happy Bucky. Hope y’all love reading this ♥  Likes, reblogs, comments are all much appreciated.

Join my taglist here! [additional note: I am German. Sometimes I get the tense wrong or make mistakes. I am useless when it comes to punctuation. Go easy on me, please.]

Thanos being defeated was not the end of it all. It seemed like it. The grand heroic solution to all problems. The ultimate test before things got better. Before they got easier.

That was a lie.

Bucky looks across the vast area of the Stark’s estate as people, all dressed in black, mourn the loss of a dear friend, an idol, a husband, a father.

That word sends a wave of anxiety and fear through him. He knows he can’t run forever and really, he doesn’t want to. He just doesn’t know how to deal with — everything. How to be the man he needs to be. How to step up and not fuck this up.

Sometimes fear makes you do stupid things, really stupid things. Like avoiding the love of your life because you are too afraid of what she might think of you.

His eyes find (Y/N) as she leans against a tree, lips pulled into a sad smile as Sam rambles about one thing or another next to her. This isn’t right. Sam shouldn’t be the one cheering her up and trying to get her to smile. It should be him. If only he wasn’t such a coward.

People don’t talk about these things though. They only talk about those that had been gone now being back again. They talk about the joy of being reunited but not the fears, the sadness, the disappointment — and they sure as hell don’t talk about the guilt.

The guilt of coming back after 5 years to find out you missed so many important moments in the life of a child you never knew you had.

His eyes wander down towards the little girl holding on tightly to her mother’s hand. She has his eyes, his dark hair, his lips. She’s a spitting image of his younger sister. A Barnes through and trough.

Every time he looks at her his heart beats out of his chest in a way he’s never felt before. When they say that the love for your own child is an instant emotion, they are not wrong or exaggerating.

The moment he came back from oblivion and first laid eyes on her, it felt like his heart had known her all his life. He wanted to hold her and shelter her from all the bad things the world might throw her way. Wanted to kiss her little nose and read her stories and sing her silly little songs. He hated singing but for her, he wanted to do it. Just because that’s what dads do.

But fear is one hell of an emotion and above all, it’s terribly convincing.

He’d never had a particularly good example of a father. It was different times then. Different ways of raising your child. Fathers weren’t meant to show affection, they were meant to enforce rules and order. How could he ever be good at this? He doesn’t have a single clue how to do any of this.

And then there’s the fact that he’s left (Y/N) alone to deal with all of this. Every first has been forever taken from him. First breath, first cry, first word, first steps. Every little thing.

Would she resent him for it? For not being there when it mattered?

So he ran. He came back and he ran.

She doesn’t deserve this and neither does (Y/N). They deserve so much better.

“ It’s time Buck. “ Steve speaks up as he leans against the porch railing next to his oldest friend.

“ Are you still sure about this? “ Bucky asks, not taking his eyes off of his girls. His stomach feels like he’s swallowed a bag of bricks. Life was supposed to be easier after Thanos. This isn’t easy. This is just scary. And sad.

“ That, “ Steve says and nods his head towards (Y/N) and the girl “ that’s your second chance. I gotta take mine. “

Bucky turns to look at his friend trying to figure out what to say next but coming up empty. What do you say to that? Steve deserves to be happy. He deserves to be where his heart always has been. Does it mean Bucky thinks it’s the right choice? Not necessarily. But he understands. Had it been him and (Y/N) he would’ve crossed time and space to be with her.

Which is ironic to think because now all he does is avoid her. Because that’s the coward he is.

“ Alright let’s go. I’ll grab Bruce you do — whatever you gotta do. “

He dares to send one last look towards (Y/N) and this time she’s looking back with a soft eye and a timid little smile on her lips. None of which he is deserving of.

Steve let's go of Sam, parting with one last friendly slap on the back before turning towards Bucky.

Bucky's throat feels dry and rough and while his head is swirling with words he wants to say, none of them really make it past his lips. He's known about Steve's idea for a few days now, has had time to let it settle and come to terms with it. It still breaks his heart but sometimes that's what you do for the people you love. You support them on their path to happiness even if it hurts you in the process.

"I'll miss you," Bucky finally manages to say and he wraps his arm around his friend's shoulder. "You'll always be my brother."

"I know. I'll miss you too. But I know you're in good hands." Steve responds and lets his gaze wander towards the house, no doubt talking about (Y/N) and the kid.

"Promise me something, Buck." He says as he pulls away.

"Anything."

"Talk to (Y/N) and get to know your daughter. She's a Barnes through and through. And she loves you so much, they both do. Let them. Love 'em back."

"Kid doesn't even know me," Bucky murmurs, nervously glancing at the floor.

"What? You really think that? Buck, all we did for the last 5 years was try to keep your memory alive. For us but especially for her. We showed her pictures and videos and (Y/N) told her so many stories. She knows you and she loves you and for the first time in her life, she's living in a world where her dad is alive and present. Go, be with them. You guys need each other."

He's right. Of course, he's right. Steve has this fantastic ability to be right when it matters.

“And don’t do anything stupid until I get back!” Steve adds, making a small smile appear on Bucky’s face.

“How can I? You’re taking all the stupid with you. “

They embrace each other one last time before Bucky whispers another “I’ll miss you” and Steve tells him that “It’ll be okay, Buck”.

And then everything happens so fast. One moment he’s living in a world where his best friend is by his side and a minute later all of that has forever changed.

Bucky wipes his eyes with the back of his hand one last time before looking at himself in the mirror. He knew this moment was coming, Steve told him. He had time to come to terms with it and yet it’s a completely different situation now that it’s done. Parting with the only family you’ve ever known breaks your heart in ways you’ve never known are possible.

As he steps out of the bathroom something solid crashes against him and as he looks down, a pair of identical blue eyes stare back at him. He’s not been this close to her since he found out about her, keeping her at a distance. To protect her.

His arm was made to kill how could it ever hold a child and keep it safe?

She stares at him for a moment before a small “Hi” falls from her lips. It’s shy and timid and adorable and all Bucky wants to do is cuddle her to his chest and never let her go.

He doesn’t get the chance though as another little girl rushes past them and calls out to his daughter to follow her which she does.

“Who is that?” Bucky hears Morgan question.

“That’s my daddy, but I don’t think he wants to see me. Mommy says he needs time but —“

He doesn’t hear the rest of her words as the girls round the corner and get swallowed by the sounds of the other guests still mulling around sharing stories about their fallen hero.

But it’s enough. He doesn’t need to hear more. Those words are enough to rip his heart out of his rib cage, crush it up into a million little pieces, and spread it in the winds, never to be able to be put together ever again.

“Hey have you seen — oh Bucky are you okay?”

He doesn’t deserve her tenderness, her kindness, and her care, and yet she still exudes the same love she’s always held for him. Love he was never deserving of from the beginning.

It doesn’t matter at that moment though, who deserves what and who doesn’t. He’s too caught up in the breaking of his own heart. So he falls into her arms as silent tears slowly but surely make their way down his cheeks.

“She thinks I don’t want to see her.”

“Who does?” (Y/N) says as she gently combs her fingers through his long hair.

“My own daughter. “

(Y/N) pulls away slightly, holding onto his shoulders and looking deep into his eyes.

“Are you ready to talk about this now? Ready to stop avoiding me ?”

Bucky only nods and lets her lead him outside past the guests and down to the lake where it’s quiet and serene and life seems to slow down a little. She keeps holding on to his hand, his vibranium one, as they settle on a bench facing each other.

“ I missed you, Bucky.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It wasn’t your fault.”

He’s been told those words so many times and it’s still hard to believe in them. Even when he knows they’re true. There will always be a hint of doubt since him. Always.

“I don’t — I don’t want her to think I don’t love her. Or want to be with her. I do love her very much. More than I have ever loved another person, including you, and you are my everything. I’m just overwhelmed and — and scared.” He admits. It’s the first time he says those words to anyone but himself. It feels good. It feels right. But it doesn’t take the fear away or the guilt.

“James, she knows you love her. Not a day went by that I didn’t tell her how much her daddy loves her and wants to be with us. And it’s okay to be scared. I was scared and I only had to deal with a baby, not an opinionated 4-year-old. It’s okay to be scared but you can’t let the fear hold you back. You’re the bravest man I know. You laugh in the face of danger. What changed?”

“Stakes are higher this time. What’s losing my life compared to ruining my daughter’s?”

“You’re not gonna ruin anyone’s life, Buck.” (Y/N) exclaims and softly pets the side of his face. She’s always been so gentle with him. Such a contrast to the touches he was used to.

“I don’t know the first thing about being a dad. Mine wasn’t a very good example. I have been trained to kill, to cause pain. My arm is a weapon.”

“Your arm has shielded me from bullets and harm so many times. It’s held me close at night and wipes my tears when I was sad. Your arm is only a weapon if you use it like that. And all the other stuff, that’s not you anymore. You know this. “

He can see the treads now welling in her eyes too and it makes his heart twist and constrict in many painful ways.

“And I left you alone during all of it. Missed the last 4 years of her life and the entire pregnancy. How am I gonna make up for that, for leaving you alone?”

It feels like once he’s started talking he can’t stop. All his fears and worries flow from his lips like tidal waves in an ocean. Crashing against the shore of truth.

“You didn’t leave us Bucky. You were taken from us. We never blamed you for that. I know you wanted to be there. I never doubted that for a second. Look, I had 9 months to come to terms with my fears, you didn’t have any time to face them. I get why you are freaking out but uh — it’s time to step up. You know what makes a good dad? Being there when he can be. Showing he cares. Can you do that?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I think I can.” Bucky promises and smiles a smile of content. One of hope. His fears and his guilt aren’t gone. But maybe if she believes in him and Steve does, maybe he can be the man and the father he needs to be.

“Good. We really do love you, Buck.”

“As in present tense?”

“Of course. We never stopped. Now can I ask one more thing of you?”

“What’s that?” In the end, it wouldn’t really matter. Whatever she asks he’ll do it. For her, he’ll do anything.

“Can you kiss me? I’ve been waiting for 5 years to finally kiss you again. I can’t hold out much longer. “

He grants her not one kiss, not two. In fact, he loses count as they get lost in many many loving kisses. Maybe, Bucky thinks, soulmates really are a thing. Maybe there are people on this earth meant to find each other. Meant to go through hardships together and still find their way back to one another in the end.

Whatever one chooses to believe in. Bucky is certain she is his person in this life and the next and through whatever might come their way.

He’s sitting on the big red couch in (Y/N)’s apartment, nervously fumbling with the tassels on one of the throw pillows as his eyes wander around the room. There are so many pictures, hung on the walls and placed on side tables and shelves. His child’s entire life up to now, caught on film for him to relive if only in his mind.

There are pictures of him too. One of him and Steve in the 40s, laughing and leaning against each other in support. (Y/N) always said it was one of her favorites. “You’re so happy in it. That’s how happy I want you to be all the time.” She’s told him once.

Next to a picture of (Y/N) and their daughter is a picture of him. He’s sure it’s placed there deliberately. To remind everyone he is a part of this family, even when he wasn’t there.

He is here now though. The next picture put up will be one of all three of them.

The front door opens and a melody of voices echoes through the place. (Y/N)’s laughter and the sweet giggle of his little girl. It’s his favorite sound in the world, he decided then and there. Nothing will ever compare.

The girl rushes into the room then comes to an abrupt stop in front of him.

“Hi,” she says in the same small voice as she did at the Stark’s house. Only this time Bucky doesn’t just stand and stare at her, unable to move or speak.

This time he holds out his arms and speaks up.

“Hi, I — I'm sorry it has taken me so long. I don’t know what I was thinking. I love you, Darling. Can I hug you?”

She doesn’t say yes or no, doesn’t glance at his vibranium arm with hesitance of fear. She falls right into him, wrapping her little arms around his neck and cuddling into his chest. It feels like this is where she belongs, like this is where she was always meant to be. Like his arms were made to hold her and never let go. And maybe, Bucky thinks, maybe they were.

“I love you too, daddy.”

He liked being a sergeant. It’s a title that has always filled him with pride. It has nothing on the title of being a dad. That one means so much more. Fills him with a pride and love he’s never previously known.

For the next few moments, he gets lost in the feeling of holding his child. A perfect little girl who is part of him. The good. Only the good. It all comes together in her. No nightmares or guilt or fears. Only love. So much love. He holds her close to his heart, wishing he could’ve done this when she was just a baby. Feel her heart beat in rhythm with his. He places little kisses up and down her small face. On her chubby little cheeks and her cute bottom nose, making her scrunch it up and let out soft giggles.

It’s strange to be the man he is and act so gently with another human being. But it feels so right.

His eyes find (Y/N)’s across the room, filled with tears though this time they are happy ones. With an outreached hand he beckons her over and pulls her onto the couch and into the hug.

This is right. Nothing has ever felt this real. This happy. This perfect.

His girls cuddle into him with nothing but love filling their hearts. This is the life he wants, the one he has always wanted. The life he fought for. The life he will never stop fighting for.

Steve was wrong. They aren’t his second chance.

They’re his only chance.

His destiny.

His family.

His home.

TAGLIST:  @stayherefor-evermore  - @booksb4looksstuff​ - @captainofallfandoms - @charmed-asylum​

[mercurygguk]

what a man gotta do? | kth

genre; established relationship au, fluff

pairing; kim taehyung x female reader

summary; what a man gotta do when his girlfriend is insanely adorable when she’s drunk and doesn’t take no for an answer?

word count; 2,488

warnings; mentions of alcohol, a tiny bit of swearing, just soft tae and oc being a cute ass couple that i really adore

a/n; saw a text quote on tumblr, my brain popped an idea. this is it. also, i know nothing about gaming, so if anything i’ve written doesn’t make sense, just ignore it lol. please love it a lot and enjoy!! ps. please tell me what you think, thanks x

There is something so oddly pleasing about having the entire apartment to oneself on a Friday evening. Taehyung has been looking forward to this evening for a week and it is finally here. An entire evening for himself with his gaming console, his friends in his headphones and a big bowl of popcorn beside him. It’s quiet in the apartment as he sets up his gaming spot, fluffing the pillows and setting them up nicely on the couch so he can sit comfortably for the next many hours of nonstop gaming with his bestest friends.

The reason for his night alone is because his girlfriend’s (you) best friend just got promoted to a higher rank in the law firm she works at. She then went on to invite all her friends out for drinks which, of course, included you. Taehyung had fought to keep in his excitement when you had told him of your plans a week ago. You had eyed him down then, noticing the small exciting smile forming on his lips as he listened to your words carefully as if he actually cared. He was just overly excited to finally be able to have a gaming night without interruptions. And it’s not that he wants to sound ungrateful or like he enjoyed that you weren’t at home. He loved spending his Friday nights cuddled up with you, hell, that was his favorite Friday nights. But he’s only a boy, really. And a boy has needs. Gaming needs.

So he walks to the kitchen with a pep in his step as the microwave finishes with a loud ping! He pours the popcorn into a bowl and heads back to the couch where his gaming spot has been set up to perfection, everything in place and ready for him to have a relaxing night of games. He sits back in the mountain of pillows, sighing in content as he places the popcorn beside him before grabbing his headset. He sets it atop of his head, checking the sound and mic. Seconds later there’s an incoming call from his group of friends. 

He picks up with a grin on his face. “Hey guys!”

Seokjin gasps from the other end. “What the hell? Got a night off from the wife?”

Taehyung scoffs and rolls his eyes playfully, a small smile on his lips. “She’s out for drinks,” he explains, “best friend got promoted.”

“Em got promoted?” Jimin then asks, just now hearing about the news of his long-time crush.

A smirk appears on Taehyung’s face. “Yeah, like a week ago. She didn’t tell you?”

Jimin falls silent at his question. Taehyung wants to tell his best friend to get out of his misery and just ask the girl out. He’s a hundred percent sure she’d say yes within a heartbeat. In fact, when Em is here visiting you and Taehyung, she talks about Jimin more often than she’d ever admit.

“Just ask her out already!” Seokjin groans annoyed, causing Jimin to tell him to ‘fuck off’. Taehyung grins, having missed gaming and talking with his friends like this. He saw them a few days ago in person which was nice too, but gaming with them is just so different and fun. It’s been a long time since he has had the opportunity to game for an entire night with Seokjin and Jimin.

“Well,” Taehyung captures the attention of his two best friends, “shall we get started?”

And that’s how the next three hours pass. There’s bickering, arguing because Seokjin didn’t manage to cover for Taehyung which caused Taehyung to get killed. “Come on, hyung! You were supposed to cover for me!”

Seokjin sighs deeply on the other end, calming his temper. “You think I’m a mind reader? How was I supposed to know you’d-”

Taehyung’s phone starts vibrating in his pocket. He pulls the phone from his pocket to look at the caller-id. Your photo flashes across his screen, the wide smile on your face on a snowy day in December. A photo Taehyung snapped one day before Christmas, a day you had dragged him outside and into the snow. The first snow in Seoul in years and you had been so happy that you couldn’t stop smiling, so Taehyung saw it fit to snap a photo of you with his vintage camera which he had brought along.

“Hyung, one second,” he cuts off Seokjin’s rambling, removing his headset to answer your call.

“Hey babe,” Taehyung greets who he thinks is you. He stills, confused as Em greets him back in a rather serious, tired-sounding tone. “Oh, hey Em, did something happen?”

Em sighs deeply. “____ is drunk off her ass. Can you come get her?”

Drunk of her ass? You haven’t been drunk off your ass in months, which is why you being drunk so drunk right now doesn’t come as a shock to him. It’s been a while since you went out drinking like you’ve done tonight, so your body has gotten used to not fighting alcohol. Taehyung runs a hand through his dark black hair, removing it from his eyes.

“Yeah, sure, I’ll come by. Where you at?”

With the information from Em, he hangs up and grabs his headset to put it back on. “Hey, guys, I gotta go.”

Jimin sounds like an unsatisfied child as he whines. Taehyung can imagine the pout. “What? Why?”

“Em just called,” he tells his best friend, “____ is drunk as hell. I have to go get her.”

Jimin mutters an ‘oh’ and so does Seokjin. They tell each other goodbye before Taehyung is shutting off his gaming console and heading for the front door. He grabs a coat from the closet in the hallway, throwing it over the white t-shirt and the green unbuttoned flannel he’s wearing. He jumps into a pair of boots and grabs his keys before heading out of the apartment. 

“Shit,” he swears under his breath as he steps outside, into the cold air of January. He takes long strides towards his car, getting in and turning the key in the ignition. The heat is immediately turned on before he pulls out of the parking lot, heading in the direction of the bar Em told him you’re at. “One night,” he mumbles lowly to himself as he slowly drives around the parking lot behind the bar to find an empty spot, “one freaking night.”

The bar is filled with people, some drunk and some just barely tipsy. The aura in there is happy, void of any worries these people might have on regular days. Taehyung skims the darkness of the bar, trying his best to spot you in the crowd. Soon enough his eyes zoom in on Em who’s waving at him. He glances to her right side, spotting you sitting there with your head resting on Em’s shoulder. You look like you’re passed out and Taehyung immediately finds himself worrying a bit more than he originally had. You never pass out, you just always end up being a slur who laughs a bit too much at anything you find funny in the moment.

“Hey,” Em greets Taehyung. He nods at her in a greeting as he stops in front of them, immediately squatting down to be at your level. He reaches out, brushing your hair out of your face. You look at him, eyes blank and unfocused as you take him in. Thank god, you’re not passed out, just closing your eyes for a few seconds for a short nap.

“Hi baby,” Taehyung coos, thumb brushing across your cheek. You smile sheepishly, a very soft and drunken smile. Your boyfriend has to stifle a laugh as you almost fall over as you sit up. He catches your shoulder with his warm palm, steadying you as he tries to catch your eyes with his own. “Wanna go home?”

You nod, not muttering a simple word other than a low hum as he helps you to your feet. You’re leaning against his chest, cuddling into the warmth of him as he talks to Em for a moment.

“Thanks for calling,” he tells her. 

Em nods with a grin and pats your shoulder as if to say goodbye. “Get her to bed,” she smirks, “she’ll have one hell of a hangover tomorrow.”

Taehyung chuckles and nods in agreement. He bids Em and your other friends goodbye before leaving the bar with you cuddled up against his chest. You’re stumbling alongside him, finding it rather difficult to stand on your own two feet.

“Baby,” Taehyung softly calls, “could you use your legs for a second? You’re way heavier when you’re not cooperating, you know?”

You mumble in response, nuzzling your body even closer to him. “I wuv y-you,” you hum, smiling with your eyes closed as you hug him tightly. The man holding you up can’t help but laugh at you, his heart swelling twice it’s size as you drunkenly confess how you feel for him. Even though he already knew that. Good thing it’s love confessions and not some other kind of confession that slips from your drunk mind.

Taehyung struggles to get you into the passenger seat but he manages. He helps you take a sip of the water bottle Em had gotten for you at the bar. Your head falls back against the headrest of the seat, eyes still closed and lips moving on in another round of mumbles and humming. Taehyung buckles you up before moving to his own seat behind the wheel. He glances at you as he ignites the car. You’re really a sight to see right now. Completely unfazed as you sit in a weird position in the passenger seat, your head lulling from side to side because you have absolutely no control over it at the moment.

“God, you’re drunk,” Taehyung sighs deeply, “let’s get you home.”

If Taehyung thought getting you in the passenger seat was hard, then he had another thing coming. Getting you out of the passenger, however, is a completely different ordeal and then getting you inside the apartment building and into the elevator was probably more exercise than Taehyung has ever done in one day. Ugh, he really hates going to the gym.

The front door is soon unlocked and you’re back home in the warmth of your shared apartment. After the elevator ride up, it’s almost as if you’ve sobered up again. You’re walking better, still holding onto Taehyung, but walking. You’re blabbering now, talking about how you and Em had tested who could drink the most shots in 30 seconds and who could chug a beer down the fastest. Taehyung listens with a small smile, shaking his head in amusement because this is so very much unlike you. But he’s happy you had fun with your friends.

“Oh, you should’ve seen the way I chugged down those shots,” you laugh, plopping down onto the couch as Taehyung kneels down to take off your shoes. “Em could not catch me at all!”

“I’m sure you were ace, baby,” Taehyung hums, grinning now because you’re way too cute when you’re drunk. He’s not even mad that you spoiled his gaming night because you’re too drunk to get home by yourself. This is a sight he would’ve hated to miss out on.

“My head hurts though,” you mumble, frowning. Taehyung matches your frown as he glances up at you while unclasping your heels from your feet.

Once your shoes are off, he gets back up. He cups your cheek, brushing a stray eyelash off it with the pad of his thumb. “Just gonna get a makeup wipe and some pills for your headache, okay? I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere.”

You nod, smiling up at him. He pecks your forehead quickly before heading for the bathroom. Taehyung glances back at you to see you sitting there silently, wiggling your bare feet and hugging a pillow to your chest. He chuckles as he enters the bathroom to retrieve painkillers and a makeup wipe to clean your face. A few minutes after rummaging through the cabinets and the drawers, he exits the bathroom and heads back to you. He stops in his tracks when he notices you’re gone from your spot. He skims the living room, not finding you anywhere. What he does find though is something he hasn’t seen since he was like eight years old. Right there by the dining table behind the couch, you’re currently putting up a blanket fort, a wide grin on your face.

“Baby,” Taehyung catches your attention right away, “whatcha’ doing?”

You smile, looking back at the project you’ve started. “What does it look like I’m doing? It’s a blanket fort!”

Taehyung steps closer, nodding. “I can see that.”

It doesn’t take long for you to finish setting it up before you’re grabbing pillows from the couch, throwing them inside the blanket fort. You’re way too good at this. Something tells Taehyung that you’ve made a lot of these as a child. You emerge from the fort to motion at him, beckoning him to join you. “Come on,” you insist.

Your boyfriend looks at you as if you’ve lost your mind, when really, you’re just tipsy as hell. “____, shouldn’t we just go to bed? I mean, this is-”

“Just get in the fucking blanket fort.” 

Taehyung’s eyes widen as you stare back at him with hard eyes. “Alright,” he puts his hands up in surrender, painkillers in one and a makeup wipe in the other, “I’m coming, I’m coming.”

The hard stare turns into a wide, content smile and Taehyung seriously thinks he’ll get a whiplash from how fast you can switch between facial expressions. You’re already inside the blanket fort when Taehyung stands in front of the opening to it. He squats down, looking inside. It did look insanely inviting and cozy in there. You pat the spot next to you on the blanket, still smiling. Taehyung sighs as he knows you won’t give up until he’s inside your blanket fort. You really don’t take no for an answer.

“You’re lucky you’re adorable,” Taehyung shakes his head before crawling inside the fort, plopping down beside you. You lay on your side facing him with a grin. “I haven’t been in a blanket fort since I was eight.”

You laugh, reaching for his hand, intertwining your fingers. “Then we must make blanket forts more often.”

[dickwheelie]

real quick before pride month ends I wanna post this thing about jon being bi that i've kind of been trying to write for months now. I think I've finally managed to articulate how I feel about jon being bi and how I feel about being bi, and this is very much a melding of the two. a lot of this is very specific to me and I can only hope other people find it interesting, and maybe some of you out there will share some of my experiences. anyway please enjoy, and happy pride all <3

___________

He supposed that there must have been a part of him, deep down somewhere, that had always known. That was how it worked, wasn't it? Something in his DNA, or a hardwired part of his brain; it must have been in there somewhere, all his life.

But of course, in the world he was raised in, he'd never had much of a chance to investigate that sort of thing. Before he went to uni, all he knew was that men liked women, and women liked men, and there was a small group of people somewhere else, off to the side, who did things differently. A strange, exotic group of people that had nothing to do with him.

Uni had been less of a wake up call and more of a gradual rise to consciousness, a slowly dawning awareness that most of the people around him were, in fact, members of that strange group that did things differently. And they were all perfectly ordinary; not exotic at all. Many of them were like him; they went to the same classes, the same pubs, studied the same subjects. He remembered once, in his first year, speaking to a woman he'd sat next to in class for half a semester and being shocked when she mentioned, off-handedly, that she was trans. All he could think for the rest of class was, I had no idea.

He also remembered the first time he'd ever considered that he, himself, might actually be one of these people who did things differently. The thought had never really crossed his mind, despite the fact that he was surrounded by them, and that he felt at home with them, somehow, more than any other group of friends he'd had before. It was shortly after he'd met Georgie, when they were friends but not yet dating, that she was sitting with him in a pub and pointed out for him all the people in the room she thought were cute. She pointed out a couple men, and then a few women, and then someone whose gender was entirely a mystery to him. And then she'd asked him, what about you? And he had looked around the pub, at all the various types and shapes and colors of people, and he'd pointed out a few women, and a couple men, and a handful of people whose genders were a mystery. It was easy, he realized then. He hadn't even had to think about it. It had been there, somewhere deep down, all along.

He didn't tell Georgie right then, but later, when they were together, he'd confess that that was the moment he'd realized. Georgie laughed, kindly enough, and told him she'd been surprised herself. I hadn't pegged you as queer, she'd said, but when you said it I thought, of course he is. I know how to pick 'em.

Which got at one of his problems, post-realization. He wanted people to know, to be seen as part of that group that was once so strange to him, but for the most part, people just . . . couldn't tell. He dressed a certain way, and spoke a certain way, and though he'd never been the most masculine person in the room nobody ever suspected he was anything but a hundred percent straight.

And it . . . hurt, in a strange way. He'd look around at all of his loud and proud friends and classmates, people who dyed their hair and dressed in fantastical outfits and spoke in particular ways, people who you couldn't mistake for anything but who they were, and he would feel somewhat apart from them. Compared to all of their colors, he felt very grey.

He made attempts at flirting with men, but he had never been very good at that sort of thing and none of them seemed to notice. It didn't help that he knew, no matter how good he got at flirting, there was a part of that scene he'd never really belong in. By then he'd discovered that about himself, too, though strangely it was less of a revelation. He supposed some part of him had always known about that, as well.

His attraction to men, he found, was rarer than women, which might have been why he hadn't noticed it for so many years. It wasn't that he disliked men at all, he just found them harder to trust. With men there were certain expectations, of masculinity, of sexuality, of language, even, that Jon couldn't even begin to fathom. It was just easier, with women. He liked the way they spoke, and how they moved their hands as they talked, and all the various ways they'd wear their hair. He wasn't the sort to kiss many people, but when he did get the chance, he liked that their lips were soft and that they often smelled very fragrant.

Of course there were exceptions to all of these things, but in general, he found he was more comfortable with women. He worried, for a time, that perhaps he had internalized some sort of heteronormativity from his youth, that maybe liking men was just a frightening discovery about himself that he was still trying to process.

But liking men didn't frighten him at all. Maybe some men intimidated him, maybe he didn't feel entirely comfortable with some of them, but the idea of liking them was . . . it was nice. It made him feel sort of warm, when he thought of it. He'd daydream sometimes about kissing someone with a beard, or a larger hand holding his own.

He never got the chance to do anything like that in uni. He wouldn't get the chance for many years. Instead he sat quietly off to the side, in his grey little corner, hoping that someone would see him for who he was. It was, he would be the first to admit, a poor way of going about things, but at the time he wasn't sure what else to do. The idea of changing his wardrobe was already too much for him, let alone marching around with a flag in his hands. He wished there was some kind of secret code, known only by those who were like him.

Then he left uni, and suddenly all the colorful people he'd been surrounded by were gone, and the backdrop of his world felt as grey as he was. And that was fine. He was an adult now, he didn't need reassurance or external validation. It was fine.

He was working in research when he met Tim, and suddenly there was color back in his life. Tim was like the people he'd gone to uni with, loud and proud, with the hair and the clothes and everything else. He began to feel that strange longing again. I'm like you, he wanted to tell Tim, have you noticed? Can't you tell? He said nothing, of course. It would be weird to say something, and probably inappropriate.

But then a day came when Tim just . . . asked him. They were getting drinks with a few other coworkers and Tim leaned over and pointed out the bartender. He's cute, right? he'd asked. Are you into guys?

And he hadn't known it could be that easy. But it was. It was the easiest thing in the world to reply, Yeah, I like men. Women, too. And yes, he is sort of cute.

It was easy, but it felt unbelievably warm to say aloud.

It didn't change anything, not overnight. There was still that underlying greyness he felt, that invisibility, when he was on the train or standing by the copier or ordering from a restaurant. But with Tim, and then Sasha, and much, much later, with Martin, he felt noticed, and known.

He never did end up marching around with a flag, or changing his wardrobe. Instead he carried it with him constantly, in the feeling in his chest when he saw a pin on someone's bag and in the way Martin looked at him and in the way his coworkers laughed when he made dry little jokes about liking only two things.

Which made sense, didn't it? After all it had always been there, deep down. It had always been his. And it wasn't going anywhere.