#but this one was so fun with the lighting and like shadows !

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

A Guiding Hand 1

No tag lists. Do not send asks or DMs about updates. Review my pinned post for guidelines, masterlist, etc.

Warnings: this fic will include dark content such as noncon/dubcon, age gap, parental neglect, depression, inference of self harm, and possible untagged elements. My warnings are not exhaustive, enter at your own risk.

This is a dark!fic and explicit. 18+ only. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Summary: your online academics are affected by your personal struggles but your professor won't let you give up so easy.

Characters: Raymond Smith, Lee Bodecker in the background

Note: surprise double chapters!

As per usual, I humbly request your thoughts! Reblogs are always appreciated and welcomed, not only do I see them easier but it lets other people see my work. I will do my best to answer all I can. I’m trying to get better at keeping up so thanks everyone for staying with me.

Your feedback will help in this and future works (and WiPs, I haven’t forgotten those!) Please do not just put ‘more’. I will block you.

I love you all immensely. Take care. 💖

You lay in the dim glow of your laptop, the screen saver swooshing back and forth, giving light to the dark. You’re limned it its idleness, in a similarly inert state. You blink, eyes dry and raw, your head pounding. Your back and shoulder pang with your inactivity as you lay on your stomach, neck twisted to one side.

Your vision is static and fuzzy, the air humming. You groan and drag an arm up, the effort alone like lifting a boulder. The world is distant and desolate. There is nothing beyond those four walls.

A chime comes from your laptop. You stare at the curtain, darkness along the borders. It’s night time already. Or again. You don’t know. You lost count of the hours, rather, days.

You roll over and peer at the abyss above. The ceiling is similarly shrouded in shadows, the corners clustered with darkness. Your head spins at the effort of your movement. Your tongue is starchy and sticky from neglect. You cough and sit up, nearly falling back against your pillow.

You don’t want to be awake. It’s so much easier to sleep. Nothing makes sense in your dreams but everything is awful in real life.

You push yourself to the edge of the bed and reach for the plastic cup of stagnant water. You sip from the brim and a slam brings you back into focus. Your hand shakes and you clack the cup back on the table, turning to watch the wall as chaos erupts on the other side.

“Goddamn, Irene, get off of me. I ain’t tellin’ ya again,” the holler rolls through like thunder. “Fuckin’ skank.”

Your eyes round as your ears ring. You cover them and back up to cower against the headboard. Your lip trembles as you hear a crash followed by the shatter of glass.

“We were having fun, sweetheart,” your mother’s desperate yawl comes over the patter of her feet, “don’t go so soon, please, baby.”

“Why you actin’ like a goddamn whore?” The man snarls and you hear your mother whimper. You sniffle as you fold yourself up and push your chin down against your knee, shielding your head as if it’s you taking the blow.

“I--” your mother snivels, “I just wanna love you, hon.”

You close your eyes. Lee huffs and stomps past your door, his shadow flickering beneath. He’s just another in a line of men your mother brings around; each one as angry as the last. It always starts the same; at first, they’re nice, then you hear how they change.

“I’m too damn tired and it’s too damn late. I’ll be back when you get your head screwed on,” he retorts and hits the wall, making you jump again as the springs of your bed squeak. “And you’re a goddamn mother... should know better...”

You crouch in fear, locked up as you listen through the wall. You hear him moving around as your mother begs him to stay. You press your hands to your ears so you can’t make out her words. The front door of the apartment snaps shut and quaver out a breath.

You wait until you hear your mother retreat, herself crying, and the clink of a glass comes shortly after. You wipe your face and lift your head slowly. You won’t be able to sleep, not with your heart racing like this.

It takes all your strength to crawl across the bed and put your feet to the floor. Your stench clings to your unwashed clothes. You haven’t changed in a couple days at least. You can barely remember the last time you left your room.

You sit down in front of your computer. The metal seat of the folding chair is hard and cold, even through your pants. You squiggle your fingers over the touchpad of the outdated laptop, as thick as a book.

The screen wakes up and you key in your passcode with one finger. The wallpaper comes up, the colours stinging your eyes, and you squint as you adjust to the glare. You tap on the envelope icon to open your inbox.

At least a dozen unread emails clutter the folder. Reminders and notifications automated by your obligations and inactivity. You scroll through and delete the messages telling you to submit your assignment and noting several missed tests. At the very top, the latest of the bunch, is from a person.

Your heart sinks as you see the name and the subject line. Professor Raymond Smith, Attn: Overdue Work. God. You clutch your head and your eyes tinge once more. You don’t have enough moisture to summon any more tears. Your head pulses and your eyes itch but you can’t cry.

You shudder and make yourself look at the screen. You hover your hand over the mousepad and make yourself tap. Just one quick touch and the message opens.

The professor greets you by name. You want to dissolve into nothing. It’s easy to just be a student number on a screen but now he picks you out of the bunch and you know exactly why. You haven’t logged into the learning site in a week or more. You haven’t been able to make yourself.

‘It has come to my notice that your last tasks have gone unsubmitted. As your instructor, I am obligated to check in to see whether I can expect these assignments to be submitted for grading. As well, I would offer any support necessary for you to do so.

Please respond to this email at your convenience so we might rectify this situation. You may also schedule a meeting through my calendar linked in my signature.

Best Regards,

Professor Smith’

You cringe. How do you explain to him that this always happens? That you’re just a failure?

This was supposed to be different, but just like everything, you blew it. You thought that you could make this work. You remember the day you got your acceptance; the program is manageable and you can do it all online. You thought you were getting better but your mom stopped refilling your script and you stopped caring.

You sit, blindly staring at the screen. For an hour, maybe more, caught between shame and sadness. You can’t just run away from another thing. You take a breath and raise your hands over the keyboard. It’s just letters on a screen.

Hi

Dear Pro

Hello Professor

I apologize for not submitting my work. I will not be able to complete this course due to mental health personal reasons.

Thank you.

You read and re-read. You guess it’s good enough? You don’t know. Whatever. Just another poor excuse.

You hit send and you peek at the time. You look at the original email. It’s a bit strange the instructor would email that late. You delete the email and go back to bed, hiding under the blanket. Typical, just another stupid idea.

📓

Your head throbs as you wake up. You’ve slept too much. Nothing different than usual but you haven’t left bed for more than a couple minutes at a time. Your skull feels ready to cave in and swells with each movement.

You get up, stumbling as you find your bearings, shuffling to your door and into the hall. You go into the bathroom. It’s a mess, like usual. Your mother’s clothes are on the floor and a man’s razor is on the edge of the sink. Is he here again?

You relieve yourself and flush, washing your hands then your face. You should probably shower while you’re in there. You lift your arm and confirm the need. You stink and your clothes are damp with your sweat.

You undress and crank on the faucet. You step into the grimy booth behind the counter as the water splashes down cold and slowly warms in the whining pipes. You shiver and let it cleanse you as much as it can.

You squeeze out some of the discount soap that smells like a hospital and scrub yourself as the air steams around you. You hear an odd creak then the plastic of the toilet seat hitting the porcelain tank. What the heck?

You grab the edge of the curtain and peek around it, smearing lather along the plastic. It’s opaque enough to blue your silhouette but not completely hide you. That man, Lee, belches as he holds his dick and pisses. He looks over and smirks.

“Ah, sorry, darling, didn’t know you were in here,” he chuckles and turns straight, leaning to brace the wall as he sighs, “goddamn, my balls are tight.”

You pop back behind the curtain and grimace. Ew. It’s not the first time you’ve had an awkward run in with one of your mother’s suitors, for lack of a better term, but no less jarring than any other. You shut off the water and back up, reaching past the other end of the curtain to grab the towel.

Something closes around your wrist and has you yelping. You cling to the curtain, staying behind it as Lee tugs on you.

“Don’t needa be shy, darlin’,” he tries to drag you out, “doubt it’s much different than your mama.”

You try to yank back but he’s too strong. You slip and barely save yourself as you grab onto the towel bar. You cry out, “let go! Please!”

He squeezes and you wince, pressed against the curtain as your knees buckle. Your soles are slippery on the wet tile. You whine and whimper, heart pounding in your chest.

There’s a knock at the door and he lets you go. You quickly pull free the towel and hide in the shower to wrap your body in it. You don’t think it’s clean.

“Everything okay?” The door groans with your mother’s entry.

“Ah, I’m just tryna piss and your daughter’s making all sorts of fuss,” he scoffs and flushes the toilet, “like she ain’t never seen a real man before.”

“Oh, Lee, you shoulda let her finish--”

“What’s the big deal, she was in the shower,” he deflects, “you know I ain’t her for that brat.”

You pant and lean against the wall, veins coursing with adrenaline. Your mother grumbles as they leave. You feel the draught of the open door and warily sidle out from behind the curtain. You gather your clothes and check that the coast is clear and find your way back to your room.

You pull on a fresh hoodie and your least dirty pair of sweats. You need to do laundry desperately. You need to do a lot of things. Your computer bings as if to agree with that sentiment.

You sit down at the table and stare at your laptop. The folding plastic thing has barely enough room for that and your notebook. You sigh. All you do is sigh. Everything is just a disappointment. You have nothing but trash around you and you fit right in.

You open the lid and login. You could watch that play through of the new fantasy game you can’t afford. Or you just break that damn thing. You have an email.

You don’t click on it right away. Instead, you scroll through a subreddit on an obscure television show you streamed on Youtube. All the posts are years old and the place is dead. If you’re good at anything, it’s avoidance.

Finally, your anxiety knots tight enough for you to do something. You close your browser and open Outlook. You make a strange noise as you see the response to the email you sent days ago. Or by your estimation. You scratch your neck until the skin burns.

You work at deleting the spam from your inbox before you’re forced to face the Re:

You click and read with trepidation. Again, the professor addresses you by name.

‘I understand that you are dealing with personal obligations. Considering how far we are in this course, I would like to allow you the opportunity to complete it successfully. If the current workload is too much, we can discuss alternatives to meet the learning objectives.

I would prefer that we have this conversation face-to-face. If you would like explore your options, please use the link below to meet with me on Tuesday at noon. Please confirm here and I look forward to meeting and speaking with you then.

Also let me know if I can do anything else.

Professor Smith’

You want to melt into nothing. You want to evaporate from existence. You want to just keel over and die. How embarrassing!

You want to delete it a forget. You want to say now and through everything away. You want to go back to how you’ve always been. You want to be a slug in the dirt. You want to stop hoping because it only ever ends like this.

But you can’t. You hit the trash button but then you can’t help but stretch your fingertips between CTRL and Z. The message reappears and you read it again and again and again. It feels like this is the moment. This is the big decision you make; is your life always going to be like this or are you going to try?

You hit reply.

‘Thank you, Professor Smith. I will meet you on Tuesday. I appreciate your understanding and I will do better.’

Your eyes blur as you move the cursor over the little arrow. You take a breath and tap your fingertips. That’s that, then.

[omaano]

SW Hades AU Status Update

I wanted to make a dedicated post about what I’m currently working on for the Star Wars meets Hades AU that looks more consistent than just sharing bits and pieces whenever I’m tagged in a Last Line Challenge. Because what else do I have but the poly sketch requests and this AU for my weekends? (If nothing else I know that the Hades AU has got me XD)

For now Obi-Wan and Maul are stuck at the same stage: they are both lined, have their base colours down as well as the two adjustment layers of coloured lighting.

I suspect if I were ever to get through the agonozing few hours of shading Obi-wan’s face it would be mostly smooth sailing from there. The problem is that there are at least 2 - if not 3 - separate stages where the shaded face looks like I have no idea what I’m doing, and you need to get through the whole thing before it really comes together 😅 on the other hand Hades 2 has a lot of the directional shading I might need for his character art so that might help to get me there.

It also needs to be said that Obi-Wan comes with the extra disadvantage that is the entire background behind him. I’m really hyped to line it finally, it is quite a challenge, but at the same time I’m slowly coming to the realization that I have no idea how I will colour it. Hades backgrounds are so so pretty and full of details and gorgeous colours, and while I’m not delusional enough to think I could match that on first try… I still wish I could, you know? At the same time I will have to erase or recolour a lot of my lines, which will hurt quite a bit, I imagine. I’m so bad at killing my darlings 😅 also I hate laying down flat colours. I just find it very difficult to immerse myself in that process, while lining and shading can have their flow.

I had covered up so many lines and details in Maul’s spider parts it’s a miracle I didn’t cry XD However, tips on grouping my shadows and allowing the shape to speak for itself and the details in them are very helpful and on point.

Worrying over writing dialogue for them is also not as far down my to-do list as I wish it were. I have a good enough idea for a quip for Obi-wan, but Maul? He’d need a whole melodramatic rant of his own XD

Aphra has gotten some new lines and I had fixed the satchel I had forgotten the last time I shared the rough sketch for her, thanks to the new character art for Hades 2! Seeing Odysseus and Hermès’s updated looks were great helps here, so I might as well move on to lining her, and finally adding another female character to the roster on top of Ahsoka!

And then there is the biggest update on these little guys below! I will need to clean up the ones I had drawn for Cobb and Boba (and Din) well over a year ago, but with these my version of chtonic companions are done, and thanks to @lesquatrechevrons I have a full list of keepsakes for each character as well. I’m not very good at drawing these little tchotchkes (I say with Rex’s blaster right there LOL) but I hadn’t been very good at lineart or cell shading when I started this project either, so through forced practice I’m determined to change that :D

(It’s not a screwdriver under Boga, it’s one of Cody’s antennas. “It will grow back, don’t worry,” he says as he snaps it off his pauldron and hands it over to Din. Rex backs him up on that one without question. They can't lie for shit but trolling the shiny is their thing.)

Additional fun fact: the reason why I’d picked up the chtonic companions concepts was because I’d been poking at minor details in the background behind Maul (aside from the Chaos doors), and I started adding credits and recoloured nectar to the corner (before I realized that they wouldn’t be visible once the character interaction comes up oops), and I tried to figure out to whose keepsakes Maul would react favorably. I also mixed up companion dolls and keepsakes, so that’s why the Ahsoka doll came to being (I also forgot that that one belongs to Rex, and not Ahsoka herself but uh… they are close enough that they should count by proxy anyway. It’s not Obi-wan’s cup of tea and that should be enough!). Also bless @mapleowl18 for suggesting Lil Soka as companion for Rex ❤️

So this is the current state of this AU project right now. I have my lists and notes, a few scribbled pose ideas in my sketchbook for Sabine (she might be next, unless Bo and her Nite Owls make a comeback), Satine and Omega (with Batcher), as well as some angry scribbles and question marks for Quinlan (who has apparently made his way back into this AU even though he didn’t get a little icon of his own originally orz), and Obi-wan The Second that would stand with Cody post reunion, but I cannot make that one work for now 😅

[yesihaveaobsession]

POV: Alastor and Angel Dust decide to play with the reader (you) who was a hunter in their past life

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Angel Dust: (bored) Hey, Al. You ever, like, summon a hunter on the spot?

Alastor: (with a sinister smile) A hunter? My dear Angel, I have conjured all sorts of beings, but a hunter, you say? Why, that sounds delightfully chaotic. Do you have someone in mind?

Angel Dust: (grinning mischievously) Nah, just thought it'd be a fun little experiment. What do ya say? Up for a challenge?

Alastor: (eyes gleaming) Always. But let's make it a bit more... theatrical, shall we?

Angel Dust: (excited) Oh, I love me some theatrics! What do we do?

Alastor: (stands up, adjusting his coat) How about a little light show? Flicker the lights, create a bit of a spectacle. You know, the usual summoning ambiance.

Angel Dust: (giggles) Got it. (starts flickering the lights)

The lights flicker dramatically, casting eerie shadows around the room. Suddenly, a door slams open, and Y/N bursts in, brandishing a handful of salt and looking very annoyed.

Y/N: (breathing heavily, looking around) Who the hell did this?! I swear, I hate everyone in this place!

Angel Dust: (laughs hysterically) Oh my god, it worked! Look at you, all ready to kick some ass!

Y/N: (glares at Angel Dust) You think this is funny? (throws salt at him, making him recoil)

Angel Dust: (yelps, dodging the salt) Hey, watch it!

Alastor: (chuckles) My, my. It seems our little experiment was a success. Welcome, dear. I do hope you won't hold a grudge against us for this minor inconvenience.

Y/N: (crosses her arms, glaring at both of them) I swear, if you two try anything like this again, I'm bringing out the big guns. And Alastor, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

Alastor: (bows slightly) Noted, my dear. Though I must say, your entrance was nothing short of spectacular.

Angel Dust: (grinning) Yeah, you sure know how to make an impression. So, what brings you here, besides our little prank?

Y/N: (sighs) I was trying to relax. But thanks to you two, now I'm on high alert. Great job.

Alastor: (smirking) Well, it's always good to stay vigilant. Especially in a place like this.

Y/N: (rolls her eyes) I hate everyone here. Seriously.

Angel Dust: (teasingly) Aww, you know you love us. Just a little bit?

Y/N: (glares) No. Not even a little bit.

Alastor: (laughs) Well, in that case, we'll be sure to keep things interesting for you. Until next time, my dear hunter.

Y/N: (mutters) Next time, I'm bringing holy water.

Angel Dust: (mockingly afraid) Ooh, scary! Can't wait!

The lights flicker one last time, and Y/N storms out, leaving Angel Dust and Alastor chuckling in her wake.

[myscenic]

Pairing: haunted house actor!park jisung x male!reader

Genre: fluff, strangers to ??

Warnings: bad lol

Word Count: 1.6k+

Synopsis: y/n's friends wanted y/n to rest and stop studying so they took y/n to a haunted house. y/n carelessly got lost in the haunted house alone, he was very afraid of monsters and ghosts, so he didn't know what to do.

☠ Note: it's 2am and i can't sleep so i quickly wrote this to kill time, and its for something for yall to read while you wait for jeno's fic :) this is really short like a drabble, the plot is fast and not that detailed.

y/n sighed as he looked over his notes one more time. finals were coming up and he wanted to make sure he was as prepared as possible. his friends often told him he studied too much, but school was important to him.

there was a knock at his door, pulling him from his thoughts. "come in," he called. the door burst open to reveal jaemin, mark, and haechan with wide grins on their faces. "we're taking you out today!" jaemin declared.

y/n raised an eyebrow. "out? i need to study-"

"nope, you study wayyyy too much!" haechan cut him off. "we're going to break you out of your bubble for a bit of fun."

"fun? what did you have in mind?" y/n asked warily. he trusted his friends but their ideas of fun rarely aligned with quiet studying.

mark smiled mischievously. "we're going to the haunted house at the amusement park!"

y/n blanched. "the haunted house? but it's supposed to be super scary..." he had never been a big fan of anything too frightening.

"exactly, that's why you need a break. it'll be a good way to take your mind off school for a while." jaemin gave him puppy dog eyes, knowing he'd have a hard time refusing.

y/n hesitated but eventually caved with a sigh. "alright fine, but if i have nightmares i’m blaming you guys." they whooped in victory, pulling him up from his desk.

as they walked up to the entrance of the haunted house, y/n gripped jaemin's shirt so tightly his knuckles turned white. jaemin laughed and pried y/n's fingers away gently.

as they drove to the haunted house, y/n felt his nervousness grow. what if it was too scary? he wasn't really one for jump scares. but he knew his friends meant well, thinking a change of pace could do him some good.

"relax, it's just people dressed up. none of it is real, you know that," jaemin reassured him. mark rolled his eyes fondly. "and you call yourself a man of science, not believing in ghosts."

they made their way deeper into the haunted house, the rooms getting creepier with each turn. y/n was practically clinging to jaemin by this point, jumping at every small sound.

y/n took a deep breath to steady his nerves. "believing and not being scared are two different things. let's just get this over with." haechan cackled and slapped him on the back. "c'mon let's go!"

around the next corner, a costumed actor with a chainsaw came roaring towards them. y/n screamed and scrambled behind jaemin, clutching his shirt so tight he worried it might tear. even jaemin seemed a bit startled by this one.

the actor chased them down the hallway for a bit, the chainsaw revving loudly, before disappearing around another corner with an evil laugh. y/n's heart was pounding so hard he thought it might burst out of his chest.

"you okay?" jaemin asked with a sympathetic smile, prying y/n's fingers loose again. he took a few deep breaths to calm down. "y-yeah, let's keep going."

they proceeded into a dark maze area next. eerie lighting and sound effects abounded as they tried to find their way through. but every twist and turn seemed to reveal another ghost or monster jumping out at them from the shadows.

the group continued cautiously making their way through the dark maze-like halls of the haunted house. y/n kept as close to jaemin as possible, not wanting to get separated from the others.

as they turned a corner, a hideous monster creature suddenly dropped down right in front of them from above with a roar. y/n let out a blood curdling scream and instinctively bolted away in fear, losing sight of his friends in the dim lighting.

"hey y/n, wait!" mark shouted after him but it was too late. panicked, y/n ran blindly down some twisting passageways, having no idea where he was going in the disorienting maze like structure.

his heart was racing a million miles an hour as he whipped his head around frantically, searching desperately for any sign of his friends or an exit. but there was nothing but darkness in every direction.

"mark? jaemin? haechan??" he called out, his voice shaking with terror. only his echo answered back mockingly. he began hyperventilating, the utter isolation and uncertainty spiking his fear to an all time high.

y/n stumbled blindly through the darkness, whimpering in terror as every small creak or groan threatened to stop his heart. he just wanted out, more than he'd ever wanted anything in his life.

how could he have let himself get separated? what if he was trapped in here forever, completely alone in the endless maze of horrors? y/n gripped his hair tightly, feeling completely overwhelmed with panic and dread.

rounding another corner, a ghostly figure suddenly phased right through the wall with an eerie wail. y/n shrieked and fell backwards in terror, scrambling backwards until his back hit a solid surface. shaking violently, he curled up into a ball and broke down sobbing.

the actor paused, taken aback by such an extreme reaction. most people just jumped or screamed, not full on crying. feeling bad, they knelt down and gently touched y/n's shoulder. "h-hey, it's okay, it's not real."

y/n flinched at the touch, eyes squeezed shut. slowly opening them, he was met with a concerned face framed by fluffy black hair, mask in hand. "you're really scared, huh? i'm jisung, i work here. what's your name?"

as jisung led y/n through the remaining haunted areas, every sound and movement had y/n grasping onto jisung's hand even tighter. jisung gave it a reassuring squeeze. "it's okay, i've got you. just stay close to me."

trying to catch his breath, y/n shakily replied "y-y/n...i g-got separated from m-my friends..." jisung nodded in understanding. "well don't worry, we'll get you out of here. deep breaths, you're safe now."

they turned a corner and came face to face with a gruesome corpse prop. y/n yelped and buried his face against jisung's arm with a sob. jisung wrapped an arm comfortingly around his shoulders. "shh, it's okay. i'm right here with you."

he began gently rubbing y/n's arm in soothing strokes. "take some deep breaths. you're safe with me, i promise." his calming voice and tender touch slowly helped y/n's erratic breathing start to steady.

emerging from the darkness of the haunted house, y/n could finally see jisung clearly in the moonlight without his mask. and his breath caught in his throat - jisung was stunning, the most gorgeous face he had ever laid eyes on. plush pink lips, sparkling eyes, soft black hair that looked so touchable...y/n thought he must be dreaming to encounter an angel like this.

as they walked, jisung continued holding y/n protectively against his side, occasionally whispering gentle reassurances. the fear began to melt away under jisung's caring attentions. by the end, y/n was still alert but no longer trembling violently.

"there, see? we made it through," jisung smiled as they exited. the ordeal had left y/n exhausted but also strangely comforted by this new presence. he felt a connection forming with the black haired boy who had saved him from his panic.

just then, jisung turned to him with a smile, opening his mouth to speak. but before he could get a word out, a familiar voice rang out: "y/n!!"

he turned to see jaemin, mark and haechan running towards them, relief and worry on their faces. "you made it out!" jaemin exclaimed, pulling him into a tight hug. "we were so scared when you took off like that."

y/n hugged them back, grateful but also a bit disappointed that the moment with jisung was interrupted. he glanced back to see the black haired boy watching with a shy smile, hands in his pockets.

"i, uh, actually ran into a person in there. he helped me find my way out, his name's jisung," y/n admitted sheepishly as his friends finally released him. jaemin turned to jisung with a grin. "thanks so much for saving our scaredy cat friend here!"

a light blush colored jisung's cheeks at the praise. y/n couldn't help but gaze at him softly, already smitten by this unexpected savior and his kindness.

y/n turned back to jisung, mustering up a shy smile of his own. "thank you...really, for everything. i don't know what i would've done without you in there," he said gratefully.

jisung rubbed the back of his neck, cheeks pinking up again. "it was no problem, really. i'm just glad you're feeling better." y/n was struck again by how kind and beautiful his savior's face was.

an idea came to him then. "at least let me treat you to dinner, to say thank you properly." jisung hesitated, not wanting to impose. but y/n insisted sweetly, "please? i’d really like to."

those soft brown eyes were impossible to say no to. jisung laughed softly. "alright." they shared a smile, something blossoming between them in that moment.

y/n turned back to his friends. "wanna hang out at the park until jisung's shift is over? then we can go get food." they all readily agreed, interested to get to know their new friend as well.

a couple hours passed in a flash of games, rides, dinner and jisung's delightful company. all too soon, it was time for them to go home. but y/n had other plans.

"you guys go on ahead, i’m gonna walk jisung home," he said simply. his friends shared knowing grins and catcalls as they departed, leaving the two boys blushing in the night. could this be the start of something truly special?

[last-starry-sky]

Kate, consider this: making out with a girl to get Simon’s attention. Naturally, he gets possessive and drags you away. Then you get weirdly jealous over how he’s tasting another woman’s lips when he kisses you 🤪

warning - listen, i am painfully heterosexual 💀 but do i enjoy a toxic scenario between two fundamentally broken people enough to get over it? hell yes.

[MDNI - reader/f!oc (I guess? she's written very vaguely so have fun with that) - nothing nsfw, just some drinking and kissing. I wrote it more that Simon becomes jealous, reader doesn't plan it, sorry. maybe some spice if you want a part 2???👀]

You don't understand why he's mad.

He's the one who led you on for weeks. Texting and calling at all hours, which you answered promptly (like a moron), only to be suddenly left unread? You understood he was military, but there was only so much you could swallow.

You'd cared for him too. Stuffed his massive frame and all his stuff into your tiny car when you picked him up from the airport, given him a place in your house to rest and unpack his bags, too, if only for a few days. You expected the newfound closeness to also push him to become, you know, closer to you. But it's like every ounce of your desirability evaporated once you gave permission for him to stay.

Whatever, you think as you get ready to go out after work. He’s not even there. It's his loss really. If he's going to treat you like a hotel, then he can enjoy the lumpy mattress in the spare room alone.

You have all this pent up energy to let off and a whole night to do it.

The cub is nice and busy: filled wall-to-wall with bodies on the dance floor and the bar. It’s dark and hazy, enough to see your drink in front of you, maybe a face if you really tried, but no one is here for that. You’re here to melt into the crowd stuffed into the little brick building, get drunk and maybe have a little anonymous fun.

You’d just managed to squeeze a spot in at the bar, the bartender mixing up your drink quickly in front of you before jetting away. Shame, you think as you spin your ice cube with the pretty fruit skewer. He was cute.

“Hey!” A woman's voice says behind you as she slides into the stool next to you, her hand on your back. “Mind if I sit with you?”

Oh, you think, she’s cute, too. A sparkly gold dress that matches her eye shadow hangs off her frame as she rests her head in her hand. You can tell she’s been dancing her heart out. Sweat beads at her hairline and neck, making her sparkle even more in the dim light.

“Go ahead,” you say, leaning in so she can’t hear you. “Need something to drink? Water?”

She laughs a musical laugh as she catches her breath. “Buying me a drink already? You move fast.”

You nod, a new boldness growing from all the disappointment you’ve been shoving down since Simon set fire to your expectations.

“I have a tab,” you tell her as she pulls her stool close enough to touch your knees. She’s signaling for the bartender before you have the words out of your mouth.

You order another drink each, falling into easy conversation once the music changes from a thumping rave to slow and melodic. You talk about your lives, jobs, the reason you both came out tonight, all while you carefully tiptoe around mentioning the man staying at your house.

“You wanna know why I sat by you?” She says, finishing her second drink.

You shake you head and stir your own drink with the skewer, cherries falling down into the alcohol.

“You looked sad,” she says reaching out to hold your wrist. “Pretty girl like you? Didn’t want you to sit at the bar all night. Wanted to see you smile! Get out there and dance, be happy, you know?”

You feel a blush creep over your cheeks. You look down to where she’s touching you. It’s innocent, but something about her look says she wishes it wasn’t.

Might as well tell her now.

“I . . . I invited this guy to stay with me and he turned out to be a total ass,” you blurt out.

She reaches out immediately with both arms to pull you into a hug.

“Oh honey, I’m so sorry,” she says smoothing her hands down your back. Her words are soft and sweet in your ear. “Guys can be so dumb sometimes,” she says pulling away, her hands trailing down your arms to hold your hands. “That’s why I don’t even bother anymore. Wanna dance?”

You nod again, a small smile mirroring hers as she pulls you away from the bar.

Her hand is on your back as she leads you onto the dance floor. The crowd is gathering again now that the music has picked up tempo, but her hands casually draped on your hips tell everyone else to give you space. You like it. She’s warm and energetic, already swaying to the music. You thread your arms over her shoulders nervously. This can’t be any different from dancing with a guy, right?

“Relax,” she says leaning in to your ear. “Not gonna bite.”

You nod back. She pulls away until you’re nose to nose.

“First time?” She asks with a tilt of her head.

You nod again. She pulls you into closer, until your hips are flush, breasts pressing deliciously together, your faces only a breath apart. You can feel how wide your eyes are.

“”sokay. Just lean your head on my shoulder. I’ll lead.”

You do as she tells you. Closing your eyes as she rocks both of your bodies to the beat. You enjoy it. A spore of a thought lands in your mind to ruin it, though: what if Simon hadn’t been such a distant prick? Could this have been you and him? Would he have even come out with you?

You feel a vibration in your pocket as she slides her thigh between yours. You whine at the contact, not even registering the next text that comes through for a full minute. You sluggishly pull away, pulling your phone out as you do. You give her a sheepish look as you check your lock screen.

It’s Simon.

You sigh and fall back into her waiting arms. You don’t want to answer him. You have a sinking feeling he's just gotten back to your empty house and now he's trying to crawl back to you, apologizing and begging for a crumb of pussy like before. You don't want that though. You want to stay here, in the arms of someone who gives a damn about you, who makes you feel good.

"Your guy?" she asks, more mirth than disappointment in her voice.

You nod into her shoulder. You pick your head up with another sigh. "I should answer him back," you shout over the crowd.

She flicks her head back, indicating the front door, before leading you through the wall of bodies off the dance floor.

She holds your hand until you walk out into the chill of the night. The crowd of smokers looks back at the both of you before turning back, minding their own. You pull away to look at your phone. Another message from Simon had come through. Before you can unlock your phone to read them, she grabs your hand again.

"Hey, I-" she says snuggling up to you, hands circling your hips again. Her slinky dress can't be keeping her very warm. "I had a great time with you, so, no pressure, but if your guy is still being an ass-" You let her pull you flush to her body, your heart pounding in your chest. "you can come back with me tonight," she whispers before pecking a kiss on your lips.

Neither of you pull away. You do forget about the phone in your hand and the plans you'd made almost immediately. Silently, you press back against her lips, your hand coming up to rest on her neck.

You can taste her lip gloss as you kiss her, nothing but plastic and chemicals, but it makes your head spin. It's almost sweet, how chaste the two of you are. Standing outside of a bar, her shivering and moaning, as you hold one another and share a long goodnight kiss.

Your phone vibrating in your hand knocks you back to reality. This time, you hold it up to your face, and your phone unlocks into your messages automatically.

where are u? gone out? want to talk. outside. give u a ride home.

You hear unmistakable rattle of your car (you've been meaning to get that noise looked at, honest) as it pulls up behind you as you read the last message. A chill rolls down your spine.

trying to make me jealous? get in the car. bring your friend with you.

((OKAY I HAVE TO END THIS NOW BC ITS BEEN ROTTING IN MY DRAFTS FOR AGES BYE))

[averlym]

no one would notice if i ever vanished // if bodies could sustain // this never-ending army // like blood pumping through a vein

(click for better resolution!)

:OOO hello. anyway since these are all posters i'd have in an ideal world or smth and i'd like to store the high res versions somewhere,,, here's the google drive folder for them? hehe ''

close up!

[yourqueenb]

I’m salty about this for multiple reasons.

1. Because I don’t think everybody should be screaming at Mal. They were getting overrun by the Ancients. Maybe his plan wasn’t exactly well thought out, but it worked and everyone is fine.

2. Mal apologizes to Nia immediately, yet MC still hasn’t gotten one for his comments to her? Maybe it’s just me that feels this way, but I think that’s honestly what I need to start fully enjoying his route again. We’ve had some nice moments with him, but they all ultimately still feel hollow to me because there’s been no acknowledgement of whatever underlying resentment he obviously feels towards MC and none of how her suffering being diminished and ignored made her feel either

[may8elle]

sweet as sugar, lethal as poison

[aroanthy]

revolutionising the world w my nanami video essay someday i promise you guys. in the meantime this is a playlist of daise approved utena video essays if you even care. i have um’d and ah’d about including the clear and sweet aou analysis series bc i think it’s wonderful in so many ways but do disagree with the fundamental read of the movie so. ehh. my general rule for including something on this playlist is ‘the analysis must be considered, somewhat original, something that i either agree with or think is valuable to keep in mind’. if there was less ‘the series isn’t as good’ and half-reaching at what my interpretation of aou is, then that aou series would probably be on here. i do recommend it but it just doesn’t feel right to have it on here sorryyy

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Smth fluffy with Four and... how about Hyrule, for the writing prompts? Maybe they go exploring together or smth.

(@tempestraccoon @artisticgamer @luckybyrdrobyn)

This developed into a whole freaking fic, so here you :)

(AO3 link)

With a new world to explore, the team had split to cover more ground and get a better understanding of where they were. Four and Hyrule had paired up and were spending some amicable time chatting and wandering the forest before it slanted downward into a gorge, rock replacing soil, mossy stone replacing trees, and a mist overtook them quickly. When they reached the open maw of an enormous cave, Hyrule immediately pulled out a candle, lighting it with a flick of magic.

Four stared at the cave hesitantly, glancing back at the mist that encased them. The world around them was lost in hazy white. "We should inform the others before we go too far."

Hyrule shot a cheeky grin over his shoulder. "What's the matter? You scared of a dungeon?"

Four pursed his lips, mildly annoyed. He wasn't scared, thank you very much. He just wanted to be sure everyone was informed. Communication was important in--

"Hey!" he shouted as Hyrule wandered ahead, heedless of his statement. "Ugh, fine, wait for me!"

The fog seeped into the cave alongside the teenagers, reflecting Hyrule's candlelight. It danced and swirled, creating false movement that made both of them jump, though it was clear Four had a bit more apprehension to him than Hyrule did. When the traveler giggled at Four jumping once more, reaching for his blade as the fog teased him again with its motions, the smithy grumbled and marched forward blindly, smacking face first into a stone wall.

"You okay?" Hyrule asked.

Four rubbed his nose and felt the cool, damp stone. "Yeah, but we're either walking in circles or this cave isn't actually a dungeon."

Hyrule squinted, moving his candle forward a little bit. As he glanced around the space, Four noticed cracks in the walls, water dribbling lazily along the paths they created. Then he smiled.

"Wait!" he pushed Hyrule away from the wall and pulled out a bomb. "I have an idea."

He lit and tossed the bomb quickly, and both heroes grabbed their shields to protect themselves from the blast after taking a few steps away. The explosion rocked the cave and shoved the fog out of the space, giving them a clear path ahead through the jagged hole Four had created. The water dripped more heavily now, and the two walked ahead side by side. A pressure difference between the cave's entrance and the dungeon proper blew out Hyrule's candle, and their faces were lit with the glow of multicolored crystals, radiating the space in an enchanting splendor. The pair smiled as one and rushed ahead, original mission forgotten.

The entrance to the dungeon was enormous, with high stone ceilings and stalactites and stalagmites creating pillars that served as canvases for the reflective light emitting from the pools of water in the area. A waterfall was at the far side, spraying the area with mist.

"It's a water temple!" Four breathed with wonder.

"What are we waiting for?" Hyrule exclaimed with a laugh, grabbing Four's wrist. "Let's go!"

"Wait we need to find the next door--"

"I see it, it's behind the waterfall!"

Hyrule reached into his adventure pouch and pulled out an entire raft, tossing it onto the water and hopping aboard before dragging Four. The pair attempted to steer the little raft with their hands, but the current of the waterfall was too strong, so Four slipped his flippers on and dove into the water to push the raft while Hyrule cheered him on and assisted as best he could.

As soon as they'd cleared the waterfall, the current stopped pushing against them and instead pulled so harshly Four nearly lost grip of the raft entirely. Hyrule hastily dragged him aboard as the entrance behind the waterfall quickly turned into a water slide, leaving both boys yelling as they slid with a speed Four didn't even want to fathom.

The tunnel swiveled back and forth, pushing the raft nearly onto the walls entirely as they splashed back and forth, making their way to the bottom. Eventually it ended in yet another waterfall, sending the boys flying off Hyrule's raft and straight into the frigid depths.

Four's flippers allowed for him to move briskly, grabbing Hyrule and dragging him to the surface just in time to see a snakelike water monster with teeth the length of Four's hands speeding towards them. Four yelped, pulling Hyrule with him as he desperately searched for the raft. Instead, he found a singular small island made of stone and made a beeline for it as the monster attracted more similar looking friends, all snapping at his heels.

The boys crashed onto the island, one of Four's flippers caught the eel's teeth. The smithy let out a yell, and Hyrule dug his blade into the eel's forehead, making it release his friend. The pair panted for air as the remainder of the beasts swirled the island just out of reach.

"Now what?" Hyrule muttered as Four examined his thankfully undamaged flipper. The room was eerily lit, bathed in red light from crystals in the walls and the earth below. It stained the water a murky burgundy color and outlined the silhouettes of countless amphibious beasts.

"These dungeons usually have themes," Four surmised, rising and looking around. "The entrance had lots of colors, for instance. This room is only red. Maybe there's something from that?"

"Fire!" Hyrule said with a clap of his hands.

"Traveler, we don't always have to set things on fire," Four deadpanned. Honestly, the freckled teenager was worse than Wild sometimes.

"No, look!" Hyrule pointed up. Four followed his finger and traced around the large area, spotting four stalactites with single candle chandeliers hanging from each. The candles were unlit.

Four's smile matched Hyrule's. "Okay, fire it is!"

Hyrule focused, his eyes glowing mildly in the darkness as he thrust his sword towards one of the chandeliers, sending a fireball towards it. It hit the stalactite just above, and the traveler huffed a little.

"It's so dark," he grumbled. "Let me try again."

Four watched him hesitantly. "Traveler, doesn't that spell take a lot of energy?"

"It's only four candles," Hyrule said dismissively.

"Yeah, which means you have to cast it four times, assuming you hit it the first time," Four noted. "We should go back and--"

Four stopped mid sentence with the grim realization that they couldn't go back. He couldn't swim against that current while pulling Hyrule along.

Great. He shouldn't have gone along with this... but he had to admit his curiosity was piqued at this point. He just wished he'd been a bit more prepared for it.

"What if we make our own fire arrows?" Four suggested. He grabbed five arrows from his quiver and placed them on the ground. "Use your spell to light the tips and then we can fire them at the candles."

Hyrule brightened at that. "Okay!"

With a brief moment of concentration, he swung his sword once more as it sent a blaze of energy outward.

Four realized his mistake just before the spell made contact with the arrows. Hyrule quickly recognized the issue immediately afterward.

The arrows were a sad little pile of ash with a black spot burnt into the stone.

"We need less fire."

"Yeah."

The pair was silent as they pondered the dilemma, and Hyrule snapped his fingers. "What about the candle? We can light the arrows with the flame from the wick."

Four smiled in delight. "That just might work!"

With that, Hyrule pulled out his candle and lit it carefully. Four crouched down to light the tip of an arrow, which slowly warmed before flames licked at the wood around the stony point. Four aimed hastily, the flames moving quickly up the shaft, and let the arrow loose.

Just a hair too short.

Biting his lip, he tried again, and this time the arrow flew true. Both heroes jumped and laughed with glee. Hyrule aimed next, his arrow managing to hit the candle while Four lit the opposite one.

Four's chest bubbled with excitement as they worked together. He was used to working as a group, but it was literally with himself. This was filling a void he didn't even realize he'd had.

He supposed he didn't realize how lonely being his own companion could be. He'd had Ezlo on his first journey, at least. But here he didn't just have a companion, he had an equal, a fellow Hero of Courage.

He was suddenly grateful they'd stumbled onto this place.

With the final candle lit, the room shuddered, and the water around them drained down to the stone at the bottom. The volatile fish flailed helplessly, and Four and Hyrule eagerly jumped down and eliminated them with their swords. Hyrule retrieved his raft, stuffing it back into his pouch, and the pair looked around for clues.

The entranceway to the next room became apparent when they turned to look back at their little stone island. The base of it held an open doorway, with stairs leading downward.

Hyrule raised his candle while Four grabbed his lantern, and the pair walked down a spiraling staircase together. The red glow of the previous room faded, leaving them with their respective lights to guide the way.

"I missed this," Hyrule commented. "Adventuring isn't all about just fighting monsters, you know? It's about discovering things and figuring out puzzles!"

Four had to laugh at that. "My adventures were usually kicked off by something, rather than looking for puzzles to solve. But I have to admit, they are fun."

As is the company.

"I wonder when we'll find the compass and map," Four thought aloud.

Hyrule waved a dismissive hand and trilled his lips. "We'll figure it out, don't worry."

Four shot him a flat look, but any response from him was interrupted as they entered a new room.

This new room was smaller than the previous, but had a taller ceiling. The crystals here glowed bright blue, and there were holes in the ground where water would spout out with enough pressure to create a geyser that nearly reached the stalactites. When Four traced up the geyser's path, he saw handles hanging from the stalactites just above them. The room had multiple platforms, most of which were far out of Four and Hyrule's reach, and the floor was littered with what looked like lily pads and little glowing stones of different shapes. They almost looked like kinstones!

"Well... water's the theme for this room, I guess," Hyrule surmised, staring at the geysers. "But I wonder what the end goal is?"

"I don't see an exit," Four commented as he glanced around the room. "I mean, there are platforms, but..."

He trailed off as his eyes hit something that looked eerily familiar. It was a symbol in the opposite wall, carved in and glowing bright blue. It consisted of two parallel lines pointing straight downward before angling together to join at a point.

The point had a key hole in it.

"We're looking for a key," Four breathed, his mind buzzing with all the ideas that were floating through it. What was that symbol? Why was it familiar? How were they going to find a key when there were no treasure chests in the room? Did they miss something in the previous room?

"Maybe one of the levers reveals a chest?" Hyrule suggested, staring at the geysers.

"Let's see," Four offered, walking towards one of the geysers. He placed his shield over the hole when the water settled and waited. When the pressure built up and the geyser returned, it shot him into the air with a yelp. He did his best to maintain his balance, excited and terrified all at the same time, and was satisfied when he felt even on his feet. Reaching up, he stretched his fingers to grasp the lever...

Only to realize he was too short to reach it, even with the help of the water geyser.

Hyrule laughed. "Need a hand?"

Four's very sour response was cut off when the geyser settled, sending him falling to the ground. Hyrule ran over to try and catch him and only succeeded in serving as a cushion as Four landed directly on him. Both teenagers groaned, slowly disentangling themselves from each other just in time to roll out of the way as the geyser returned.

When the water subsided, Hyrule pulled out his own shield to emulate Four's previous action. The smithy simply huffed, crossing his arms and watching as Hyrule was blasted into the air. The traveler reach and managed to curl his fingers around the handle, and when the geyser disappeared, Hyrule maintained his hold, preventing him from falling rapidly and also yanking the lever downward.

For a moment, nothing happened, and then all the holes in the floor gurgled, water slowly rising out of them. It started to flood the room, and Four looked around wildly for a place to climb. There were still those elevated platforms--

Oh, wait, the lily pads were rising too! Those gems on them had to be useful for something.

Of course, the real concern was whether the water was going to continue rising and they'd have to flee into the stairwell so they wouldn't drown.

Four began to worry when the water reached up to his chest, and he called for Hyrule to let go so they could get out of there, and then the bubbling from the holes suddenly stopped.

"Each lever is for a different water level," Hyrule explained from where he hung, pointing to the platforms. "Look! You can push the lily pads to the first platform!"

With a relieved sigh, Four slowly waddled through the water before giving up and just swimming. Putting his flippers on made the venture much faster, and he started tracking down lily pads. But it soon became apparent that they weren't just floating pads, but had stalks attached that would only stretch so far.

Some of the pads wouldn't reach the platform. And the platform had lily pads as well, with some gems matching the ones on their level.

"Okay," Four parsed out. "This platform has a purple and a red stone, and they're cut a certain way. The main level has purple, red, orange, green, and pink."

Hyrule finally let go of the lever, tucking in his legs to land smoothly in the water. Immediately, the water began to recede.

"Wait!" Four shouted, but it was too late. The room dried out, and the geysers returned.

Hyrule and Four both sighed. This might take a while to figure out.

Or it might take multiple people to pull levers.

Four shook his head. He'd cross that bridge if need be, but he'd rather not. Not if there was another solution. Most dungeons were designed to be solvable alone.

Well. Mostly. Sort of.

The pair spent the next five minutes figuring out which lever did what and how they could use it to their advantage. There were three in total, one on the left, one in the center, and one on the right. The one on the left brought the lowest level of water, center brought highest, and right bright medium. The geysers didn't come when any lever was activated, and it would only stay that way while Hyrule was actively hanging off it.

It was a good thing there was two of them. Four would have definitely had to split to solve this room. Hyrule would have had to figure something else out entirely.

The real issue was trying to match the stones with whatever platform was closest based on the stalk length. It quickly became apparent that not only did they need to match the color, but also the shape - certain stones fit together. The red created a handle, the purple a stalk, the pink and orange were the biting edge of the key, and the green slid overtop the blade end of the purple stalk. At least, that's what Four had managed to figure out. He was fairly good at matching stones together, after all.

Hyrule worked on which water level to choose while Four ascertained how to fit the pieces together. Together, the pair managed to finally get the key assembled, and Hyrule finally fell into the water as Four swam to the last destination. The water drained out of the room, and all that was left was to go to the symbol.

Hyrule flexed his fingers, rubbing his hands against his tunic as Four shivered a little from being completely soaked. "That took a bit of work, but it was fun! I'm glad you were here, that would have taken forever to solve by myself."

"You figured out the water levels," Four pointed out with a smile. He wasn't going to admit that he was grateful for other reasons, but he did feel compelled to remind the traveler that he was just as good at these puzzles as Four.

Hyrule shrugged sheepishly. "Let's figure out what this leads to. Do you think it's a boss key? Maybe this is a mini-dungeon."

Four had to admit, he was starting to hope it was. They didn't have food provisions, and it felt like it had been hours since he'd last eaten. Still, he was willing to continue on this adventure with his friend.

The pair walked to the wall, and Four slowly inserted the key into the symbol, gently pushing it along so it slid into place.

The wall shuddered and split right down the center of the symbol, pulling it apart and revealing the next room. As Hyrule and Four entered, the wall slammed shut behind them, making both jump a little before they tensed with anticipation.

This had to be a boss room.

The area consisted of multiple stone islands that shifted, rising and falling above the water level. The only island that remained stagnant was against the opposite wall, and it was entirely taken up by an enormous purple clam shell that was closed. A single, solitary lever hung from a stalactite in the center of the room.

"So is the boss in the water, or in the shell?" Four whispered.

"Guess there's only one way to find out," Hyrule noted, stepping ahead.

Four sighed and followed, examining the surroundings to see what they could use to their advantage. The clam shell opened slowly, making both heroes freeze, and Four felt his heart stop for a moment.

Was that Sky?

Someone who looked just like Sky was lying motionless in the clam. Had the boss monster gotten hold of their friend?

"Sky!" Four called out, rushing ahead and skipping over multiple islands as Hyrule yelled after him.

"Smithy, wait! We don't know if--"

Hyrule's words were drowned out in the echoing chamber as Four called out again to get their brother's attention. How had Sky gotten down here? Had he solved all the puzzles only to get defeated at this point? What was that beast doing to him?

Where was his companion? Sky had gone off with Warriors! Where was the captain?!

Four finally reached the stone that had the clam and then he felt his stomach lurch in realization.

Sky's legs, which were hidden from a distance, weren't legs at all.

They were a white tail.

"What in the name of--" Four choked back the rest of his exclamation when Sky's eyes snapped open to reveal nothing but blood red staring at him, and he let out a hiss with sharp teeth.

"Four, get away from it, that's not Sky!!" Hyrule shouted. "It's a shapeshifting beast, get out of there!"

Four leapt off the platform and gasped as the island he landed on slid into the water. The beast pulled itself out of the clam shell with unnerving speed before dragging itself into the water. Four felt his heart jolt knowing he was in the monster's element and had little chance in fighting it while in the water. At leas the could swim a little faster with--

His world lurched as the beast grabbed him by the leg, its claws digging into him as he let out a scream of pain. Then it lurched again when its squealed and released him and he was yanked out by his tunic. Hyrule was on his raft, bow in hand as the beast pulled an arrow out of its arm. At least it now held very little resemblance to Sky aside from its hair and facial structure. The fangs, claws, red eyes, and fin left very little doubt that it was not, in fact, their friend.

But what if it was Sky?! What if something had changed him, had made him into a beast?! If Twilight could use shadow magic to turn into a wolf, what could stop something else from turning one of their brothers into a monster?

Hyrule fired off another arrow, which the beast swatted easily with its tail before tearing after them at a speed that made Four want to scream. An island erupted up beneath them, beaching the raft and saving them temporarily as the beast backed off and circled the land. When it tried to breach the surface and pull itself ashore, Hyrule loosed another arrow, making the beast hiss and retreat.

"Smithy, you have to snap out of it!" Hyrule yelled. "It isn't Sky!"

The ground shuddered, indicating that the island was about to disappear. Four took a breath, focusing, and pulled out a bomb, nodding at Hyrule, who followed suit. The pair drew the beast out so it surfaced and threw bombs just as the island vanished beneath them. The blast pushed the raft away a good distance while also throwing the beast back with a shriek.

"The only way we can fight that thing is by drawing it to land," Hyrule said, looking around for the other islands.

"The land doesn't stick around long enough to do that!" Four argued. Then he glanced upward. "Wait--we need to figure out what that lever does, but there's no geyser or way to get to it!"

"Leave that to me," Hyrule said with firm resolve, eyes narrowed in determination. "We just need to steer it that way. I'll cover you, but you'll have to push the raft."

The two looked at each other a moment, a silent question passing between them. Four nodded. He could handle it. Slipping into the water, he started to steer the raft with as much haste as he could muster, slipping his power bracelets on to help him. Between the two items they moved almost as quickly as the beast.

Almost.

The creature started to gain on them just as they reached the center of the room. Hyrule crouched down, arrow nocked and ready, but Four called out to say they were approaching. There was no way they were going to be able to linger in the center, so whatever trick Hyrule had up his sleeve he had to pull it while they were moving.

The traveler glanced upward, calcualting the distance, and put his bow and arrow away. He took a deep breath and leapt, magic pushing outward as he flew high into the air, grabbing hold of the lever just as the beast snagged Four's leg once more. Four yelled and kicked, trying to pull himself onto the raft when the water started swirling, pulling both him and the beast in a whirlpool that had begun to form. Four grew both dizzy and nauseous, adrenaline making him try to keep track of where the monster was, to the point that he lost sight of his own surroundings until he slammed into one of the islands that had risen up.

Groaning, he held onto the island for dear life, shoving a hand into his pouch to find his grip ring so he could try to scale the slippery stone. The beast screamed as it tore by him continuously, trying to reach him with each successive pass. Four eventually started to climb, coughing out water and choking out, "Don't let go!"

"Are you okay?!" he could barely hear Hyrule, but the words were clear enough in his ringing mind.

Gasping for air, Four managed to drag himself to the top of the island only for it to sink, plunging him into the whirlpool once more, though this time, the water had seemed to have gotten shallower.

Ah. Because there was a giant endless pit in the center of the room now.

Swimming frantically, he and the beast both barely managed to escape falling into the hole, leaving them floundering on the stony ground that was revealed. outlines of islands that had been rising and sinking were apparent now, and Four scrambled for one, tripping over his flippers as the tailed beast tried to drag itself towards him.

Well, at least they had managed to beach the creature.

Groaning, Four finally made it to the island as it rose, holding his leg that had now been injured twice. Blood was oozing out of multiple cuts, some deep enough to make his stomach mildly queasy. He pulled off the flippers no longer needing them, and looked up at Hyrule, who was watching him worriedly.

"I'm fine!" he called. "Just don't let go! This is the only way we're going to be able to fight it!"

Hyrule nodded, his eyes still worried, but his face was set in stone.

Four readied himself, drawing his sword and shield as the island fell, taking him with it. The beast was awaiting him, pushing its torso into the air with its tail as it snarled and reached out for him with its claws. He deflected a blow with his shield, reaching in to attack it before getting smacked away by its tail, which was surprisingly limber despite its thickness.

And goddesses above, it hurt.

With the wind knocked out of him, Four took too long to recover as the beast half dragged, half slithered its way to him. He yelped and pulled out a bomb, but he was cornered and would either blow himself up in the process or run right into the beast's clutches.

This was getting out of hand. He needed Hyrule's help.

Well. What he needed was an extra fighter.

He was outmaneuvered and he knew it. He could either shrink down to try and be harder to reach (and probably get squished in the process) or...

Gritting his teeth, he squeezed the handle of his sword tightly, feeling the magic activate. His mind screamed, his body felt suddenly too tight and too loose, his sternum felt like it was being ripped in half twice over. Rage at the monster, worry over whether it truly was a shapeshifter or not, logic telling him to focus on the moment, and a desire to protect Hyrule and get them out of here split into pieces, becoming overwhelming voices driving him insane until they separated entirely. The beast quadrupled in appearance, magic sealed the tears in his very being, and the four colors stood in the original hero's stead, glaring at the beast with equal measure.

Blue growled, swinging his his blade at the beast's arm as Red flinched a little, looking away from its face. Vio watched the monster move as Green charged ahead as well, aiming for its other arm.

The beast flinched back, overwhelmed and caught off guard. Blue let out a laugh. "Yeah, take that you asshole!"

"Does it even have one...?" Vio wondered quietly before shaking his head. "We need to corner it."

"We're absolutely sure it isn't Sky, right?" Red asked in spite of edging a head, blade at the ready.

"Trust the Traveler!" Green said as he circled around to get behind the monster.

Red nodded and glanced up worriedly at said Hero to find Hyrule staring at them with wide eyes. A different worry crossed Red's face and then he shook his head.

"Let's go!" Blue shouted as he charged once more since Green and Vio flanked the beast. Its tail whipped around to knock Vio back only for Green to leap on top of it and stab into it. The beast shrieked, distrated and aiming its claws for Green just as Red bashed its arm away with his shield while Blue cut into its skin, only to find that its flesh was much thicker than expected. The beast flailed even more, screeching, knocking Green off and flinging Vio across to a rock island just as it rose, knocking him out cold. Red called out to his companion, but Green waved him off.

"Not now!" he said. "We need to kill it before it can hurt anybody else!"

"Pin it in place!" Hyrule called from where he was. "Bring it beneath where I am and pin it in place!"

The three immediately knew what the traveler had in mind and nodded with smiles. Blue led it first, cutting and tucking himself to roll and avoid a counterattack. The beast's tail whirled, stopping by Green's shield, even though it did make the hero stumble. The three slowly started to corral the beast towards the center of the room, careful to dodge islands as they moved. Eventually, Green looked up and smirked.

"We got him!" he said to the other two. "Now keep it here!"

Red thrust his sword forward to make the beast hiss and recoil a little, only for Blue to yell and land a cut on its back. It pivoted in place, trying to keep the three at bay, and Green called, "Now!"

Hyrule let go, pulling out his sword. He tucked his legs above his blade, and just as Blue drove the beast away just a hair, Hyrule's blade sank into its spine with a clean slice, the sound of steel cutting to bone whirling around the room as the water had before.

The world stilled for a moment and then the beast collapsed. Hyrule rolled off, pulling out his blade in a swift motion.

"HELL YEAH!" Blue yelled, bumping elbows with the traveler. "That was a great move, Traveler!"

Red smiled encouragingly before rushing off towards Vio. Hyrule stared at the four, baffled, and then ran after Red just as the other two Colors did. Water was already pooling, filling the room back up as the beast disintegrated into dust. Red quickly pulled Vio off the ground so he wouldn't drown.

"Okay, but how--?" Hyrule asked, pointing at all of them. "What?"

Green sighed as Blue helped Red prop Vio against the wall. "The Four Sword is able to, well, split us into four people. It's... uncomfortable magic, but it has its uses."

"Wait, so are you, like four people or are you..." Hyrule stopped mid question, shaking his head. "You know what, never mind. Let me take a look at him."

Pulling out his raft, he motioned for eveyrone to get aboard just as the water started reaching their knees, and then he knelt by Vio. Letting his hands glow, he hovered them over Vio's head, and the purple clad hero started to groan and move a little.

"Did we win...?" he slurred.

Blue smiled. "Yeah."

Vio's gaze shifted to Hyrule, and he stiffened a little. "Oh. Hi."

"Hi," Hyrule greeted with a smile beforelooking at all of them. "So... wait... if one of you is injured, does that mean you all are? Because the rest of you..."

"We'll have a headache when we rejoin," Green explained. "But it looks like you cleared up the worst of it, anyway."

"Thanks, Traveler," Red said, face beaming. "You're always so willing to help, we really appreciate you."

Hyrule flushed, a little embarrassed and not sure how to take the compliment, and Green took that as a cue.

"Come on," he prompted, reaching for his sword. The others nodded, mirroring him, and before Hyrule could blink the four were one once more.

Four groaned, a little woozy, and Hyrule immediately helped him sit on the raft.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Four nodded, swallowing bile. His thoughts were going to be a disaster for the next day or so, but he'd live. He felt too big and too small, too whole and too broken. He hated splitting.

Movement distracted him, and he blinked the blurriness away in the distance to see the clam shell that held the beast moving aside. Pointing it out, he let Hyrule steer the raft towards the island as they saw an exit glowing in the wall.

"No prize?" Hyrule huffed.

"Wait, I think I see a chest!" Four said, just as eager as Hyrule to find something after all that headache.

The chest was white in color, intricate carvings embroidering its surface, and the pair squeezed together to open it, eyes wide with eager curiosity.

There was a manuscript made of violet crystal, notes carved into its shimmering surface.

"A melody?" Hyrule reached into his adventure pouch and pulled out a flute, glancing at the tablet for a moment before hesitantly playing notes. He stumbled over a few as Four listened, and then the smithy pulled out an ocarina and tried it as well.

"I wonder what it does?" Four asked as Hyrule continued practicing. He looked around to see if the exit was visible before realizing the bright light was just coming from a hole far, far above them. How were they going to get up there?

Sighing, he glanced back and nearly jumped out of his skin as he screamed. Hyrule immediately stopped playing and whirled, only to be met with the same sight.

The beast was back. But now it looked like Hyrule, and its reddish eyes were a soft pink, its face calm and placid, its posture demure and curious.

Four added shapeshifters to his list of most disturbing things I've encountered. As if his mind wasn't spinning enough.

"The melody pacifies it!" Hyrule realized. "Smithy, this is our ticket out of here!"

Comprehension dawned on Four, and he hesitantly reached forward. The world spun dizzyingly as his brain panicked over only having one arm reach forward and not four, and he shook his head to rid himself of the feeling. Hyrule steadied him, watching him worriedly.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked softly as the beast cocked its head to the side curiosity, Four's own face staring back at him.

"Yeah," Four answered shakily. "It's... not something I usually like doing. Splitting, I mean. It's... a lot."

"No kidding," Hyrule acknowledged. "Is that why you haven't told anyone?"

"Champion knows," Four remarked.

Their conversation was interrupted as the shapeshifter moved a little, growing tense. Hyrule put his flute to his lips and played again, and the beast settled.

"Can you take us to the surface?" Four asked the creature.

Hyrule's beastly mirror image smiled and wiggled to face the entrance back to the boss room. It dragged itself gently to the water and slid in before looking back at them.

"Do you think you have to play the entire time?" Four whispered through the corner of his mouth as he gave a hesitant thumbs up to the beast.

"Maybe one more time for good measure," Hyrule threw back with a nervous laugh.

After ensuring the sea creature was indeed pacified, the pair gingerly slipped into the water. The beast wrapped an arm around each of them and swam swiftly, tearing downward into the gaping maw that sucked the water out before. Four and Hyrule glanced at each other through the water, holding their breath and trying not to panic, but then light started to shine as they zipped through the hole. A kaleidoscope of colors danced before them as they passed walls littered with glittering crystals of varying hues, and they quickly breached the surface.

They were back at the main entrance room, the waterfall crashing behind them.

"Thank you," Four said. The beast hummed and sank back into the water.

"All that just to learn how to charm a sea monster," Hyrule said softly. Then he sighed and smiled. "At least it was an adventure!"

Four huffed out a laugh. Yes, he supposed it was. But there was still one question that lingered in his mind, and no doubt was in Hyrule's as well as the pair exited the cave entirely.

"Smithy! Traveler!"

The pair jumped and looked ahead to see that the mist had cleared, revealing Sky and Warriors heading their way.

"Oh, did you find the cave too?" Warriors questioned as he approached them, sharp eyes scanning for injuries. He lingered on Four, probably immediately noticing the blood stains on his leg and head.

"Yeah!" Hyrule nodded, though his excitement wasn't quite as bright as it had been when they'd entered. "Wait, did you guys find it too?"

"Alongside a vile creature, yes," Warriors remarked. Then he clapped Sky on the back. "Sky managed to land the killing blow."

The realization snapped into place with resounding clarity.

"It takes the form of whatever defeats it," Four gasped.

Sky tipped his head to the side. "Huh?"

"It's a shapeshifter," Hyrule explained with a wave. "Did you guys find the melody?"

"Yeah!" Sky immediately answered. "The sea people love it!"

"The--who??"

"There's a whole community of them up the river," Warriors said, motioning with his head and smirking. "You should've seen Vet's face. Come on, we'll show you. Smithy... are you able to make it that far?"

Four let out a laugh, relieved that everything was finally making sense. "Yeah, I'll be fine. You two lead on."

Sky lingered a moment longer, clearly also noticing Four's injury, but when the sword smith gave him a reassuring smile, the skyborn knight nodded and walked alongside the captain. Hyrule and Four stood in place for a moment before glancing at each other.

"Thanks for the help in there," Four said softly.

Hyrule smiled brightly. "We're all heroes, Link. You were amazing."

Four laughed. "Well, come on, if we stand still any longer Sky's gonna start fretting."

The brothers walked ahead, their next adventure awaiting them.

[ride-a-dromedary]

Half-formed headcanon that the previous Archdruid Halsin replaced was the one that advised his village's council and elders when he was an elfling. Maybe he was even from a similar branch of the High Forest originally, so he made the trek to visit their specific areas when his grove was situated closer.

He would make time when he wasn't busy to speak to the village children and learn their names and show them little tricks and give blessings and share stories and lessons with them. He became much like another adult in the community - a teacher and a guiding hand, but special because he only came around once in a while. It became pretty routine of them all (Halsin included) to anticipate his visits even though they weren't incredibly frequent. There would be excited little whispers on the breeze and giggles in the rustling bushes when he was expected, his telltale shadow stretching on the forest floor, the lot of them hiding underfoot and impatiently waiting for business to be finished so he would come out to play with them.

His visits became farther and fewer in between as Halsin got older due to needing to focus on things elsewhere, until he was eventually unable to come anymore, and was replaced by another druid in his stead.

Halsin years later reflecting back on him and thinking to seek the druid out again to be trained under his guidance after Halsin reaches his maturation epiphany, since he had nothing left keeping him in High Forest. Solely because he remembers looking up at that man and thinking: "I want to be like him when I grow up". So why not give it an attempt? And - on a wing and a prayer - with only a vague idea of where he might still be situated, he packs up and pursues.

[mehamang]

it's been a long time since i was so excited and impatient for episodes of a drama to drop as i am with alchemy of souls and i'm seeing quite a few people feeling like this and it makes me so happy. i love when so many people come together to obsess over one thing specifically one show it's so fun

[gonersgoners]

remember when i said over a year ago that vegapunk's arc would start revealing even more of sanji's power and potential and how hard that was worrying me? yeah

[autistic-shaiapouf]

JUPITER, BRINGER OF LIGHT, KING OF GODS

[averlym]

" just...come here. just sit here with me" (...that one scene from princess momonoke, click for better resolution)

[vampiresuns]

having a tav that's a Lloth-sworn life domain cleric of a noble background who before getting yeeted into the nautiloid was a sacrificial priestess (gn) during one of the cycles of Drow society and had their own altar and temple under their care, means Solune would have the most insane however many minutes they spent interacting with Minthara and I am obsessed about it. As far as I'm conceptualising it, I'm thinking of Lloth as extremely Ungoliant-like. Goddess of hunger, goddess of wanting and consumption, goddess of excess and exuberance, goddess who unmasked the hypocritical gods of starvation, guilt and purity into a society that cherishes a certain kind of clarity about the double standard they impose. For Drow are evil for their wars and their wanting and their taking, but those other people with their other gods kill, warmonger and enslave with no regard and no self-awareness, calling the indignation about receiving scraps from a bunch of silent, unrepentant gods, "guilt and shame". There is violence in denial and her Children will not suffer it.

In the season of Life, they do not sacrifice the unwilling. It is taboo. The only sacrifice that matters is the desire to be devoured and destroyed by the things you love the most.

And Solune sees Minthara and is like fucking finally, someone rational enough to get what I'm going through, that they're losing their mind that their life was taken from them and if they become this other thing, if they transform, if they do not remain Luxe Solune Mizzmyrra, Life Knife of Lloth, they're never going to be able to be reintegrated into that life. They will die away from home, from their temple, from their (first) spouse, from their mother and their siblings and there won't be the day when they too succumb to the knife, when it is time, when the day they no longer feel hunger comes.

And then the parasite gives them an in into Minthara thinking she was raised from the darkness into a FALSE GOD? One thing you do not do is steal from Lady Lloth, and oh my god, there could've been a time, a chance that existed only in ignorance, of Solune lending a hand to Minthara but this to them is unforgivable because Solune is genuinely a good friend to their friends, but if you keep peeking into whatever mindset nobility and religious authority has given them it's like realising your friend is a cesspool of "what the actual and everliving fuck", and when the knife of the morningstar priestess comes down on Minthara it won't be with love but with absolute rage, grief and disgust and I will be thinking about this for evermore. Thanks, I'm not well