#headwrap how to

[slimmestslime]

wimble(s)

[ishizzle]

I bet this new Andre 3000 album sounds great on shrooms...

[latriviata]

saw this last night and it was SO GREAT btw. for the dozens of people who don’t live in the uk, I believe NTLive shows in at least some US cinemas? Unsure about other places.

ncuti sticks h legy out real far

[magicdustsworld]

Skincare with husband!Sylus... that's it, that's the plot, nothing more.

“Stay still.”

“You’re poking my eye, Kitten.”

“I am applying the eye cream.”

Honestly, Sylus doesn’t know how everything came to this. He recalls watching you stand in front of the bathroom mirror, sliding on the fluffy headwrap which contains a pair of bunny ears. You claim that it’s your favourite but he thinks its ridiculous and it makes you look like an overpriced cartoon character (not like he’ll ever say that to you). Regardless, you had recently washed your face and your cheeks were dewy due to the toner you had sprayed, mere moments ago. But then your eyes met his in the mirror and thus, the fiend fell as a sacrificial lamb to the condemned sorceress.

He lounges lazily on the edge of the bed, head tilted back so you can reach him better. He has never been the one to succumb himself into frugal things like skincare, therefore, his knowledge of the products stems as far as a novice’s would allow (that is none). Lips pressed into a thin line, he keeps himself wordless for the time being and exhales a languid breath.

“Stop blinking.”

“It’s breathing.”

“Same thing.”

“Its differ—“

“No,” You seem to halt in your procedure. “You are being difficult.”

Sylus cracks open an eyelid, his carmine irises meeting yours. “You know, for a woman who claims to have married a grown man you sure treat me as a toddler.”

“Uh huh,” You tilt your head, narrowing your eyes slightly. “At least toddlers don’t argue when you tell them skincare is important.”

“They think its paint.” He says as a matter of fact and your eyebrow twitches, “Give them a dollop of your thing— skincare and they’ll bathe in it.”

You don’t rebuke him, don’t make the effort to grace him with a snide remark. Instead, you just twist the lid of a new container and smear a glob of cold foundation over his skin.

Instantly does Sylus recoil, his nose scrunching into a startled expression. “I didn't sign up for Witchcraft!”

“Night cream.”

“No, this is some new feature of your evol.”

You roll your eyes—concluding his dramatism would end once you complete your task at hand—and return to smoothen the moisturizer over his skin in deliberate softer strokes, letting your fingers linger for a second or two long. “Yeah, yeah, hold still.”

Unexpectedly, your husband does hold still. For once, Sylus truly listens and lets you take care of his skin like you wish to. Your hands move across his face like he’s something precious, something fragile to be cherished and hold onto instead of one of the most wanted criminals in the N109 zone. He was never the one to receive care, choosing to rather craft a path for him by himself. Therefore, here and now, with you pouring him so much affection—he almost wants to fall as prey to this domestic bliss.

After two moments of quietude, you wedge yourself back. “There, all done.”

Sylus straightens his posture, glancing at himself in the mirror. His skin seems luscious under the bathroom lights and when his finger grazes his jaw, he is taken aback due to the softness that greets him. He pokes himself again, astounded with the texture under the pad of his thumb—dragging it over his cheek but he is interrupted by the sound of your groan.

“Don’t touch your face without washing your hands.” You chastise but before he could take any action, you grip his wrist and bring it over to the basin. Turning on the faucet, the cool water runs down his palm. You move back and once satisfied with the hygiene, he turns it off. “Don’t wipe the moisturizer, sleep like that—glowing , radiant and peaceful as ever.” You pause a second before, “maybe you’ll dream about how annoying you are.”

To which, your husband merely smirks at your quip, “Impossible, kitten. I only dream about you.”

You groan—rotating on your heels to walk away but he seizes your wrist just in time, pulling you back so you collide with his chest. He leans down, stealing a soft kiss on your lips and you—you can’t help but oblige eventually.

Oh, Skincare? Sylus decides, would be his new favourite part of the day.

Inspired from Sylus’s 5 star memory trailer: magnum opus

[gweelczz]

“Roots and Remedies pt. 4”

Elias ‘Stack’ Moore x reader (Honey)

Genre: fluff with a hint of angst (just self doubt)

Warnings: None

Summary: The day has come yet, doubt is strong

CLARKSDALE, MISSISSIPPI — EARLY MORNING, BEFORE THE WEDDING

The sun spilled slow through the curtains of Honey’s room of her little house. Won’t much but it was hers, dust floatin’ in the air like ghosts mid-dance. Her red dress hung from the back of the door, glowing like blood and love, bold as a brass band.

Honey sat on the edge of the bed, fingers clutchin’ her headwrap. Her coils were free today, spillin’ down her back in tight, soft spirals. Her eyes were red, but she hadn’t cried—not yet.

“I ain’t… I ain’t sure I got it in me,” she whispered to the floor.

Annie, sittin’ in the rocking chair, stopped mid-stitch, thread hangin’ from the needle. She looked up slow.

“You say somethin’ stupid just now, Honey James?”

Honey blinked, shoulders tensed. “Don’t start, Annie—”

“Oh, I’m startin’. Don’t play like I didn’t hear you.” Annie set her stitching aside, stood, and crossed the room like a thundercloud. “What is it? You think Stack picked the wrong girl? That what’s got you twisted up?”

Honey’s lip trembled. “He coulda had somebody else. Somebody more… righteous. Less wild. Ain’t no preacher’s daughter, Annie. I run a shop folk cross the street from, whisperin’ devil this, devil that. I work roots, wear gold, pray over bones. I’m too big, too loud, too everything—”

SMACK

The sound cracked through the room, not hard enough to hurt but sharp enough to stop her.

Annie’s eyes were wet but blazin’. “Now you listen to me, girl.”

“You think Stack don’t know who you are? That man look at you like the Lord Himself dropped you from the sky, fat mouth and all. You think them mojo bags he wearin’ under that suit don’t mean nothin’? He believe in your power. He believe in you. If he trust you with his whole damn life, you better trust yourself with his heart.”

Honey’s breath hitched. “But what if I mess it up?”

Annie knelt in front of her, takin’ her hands. “Then you fix it. That’s what love is. Stack ain’t askin’ for perfect. He askin’ for you. And if you run now, baby… you gon’ regret it every time your bones remember the way he hold you.”

Honey let out a shaky breath… then smiled, just a little. “You gon’ smack me again if I say somethin’ dumb?”

Annie grinned wide. “Try me.”

⸻

SAME TIME — BACK OF BO CHOW’S GROCERY, OTHER PART OF TOWN

The back room was hot, air thick with flour dust and the smell of dried tobacco hangin’ from the rafters. A single bulb swung above them as Stack sat on a crate of potatoes, elbows on his knees, hat in his lap.

Smoke leaned against the wall, pickin’ at his teeth with a matchstick. Bo Chow paced slow, shirt sleeves rolled up, sweat dark under his arms.

Stack ran a hand down his face. “I ain’t nervous ‘bout Honey. I’m nervous ‘bout messin’ it up. Bein’… too much. Not enough.”

Bo Chow stopped. “She already know who you is. You think Honey don’t see past all that wolf growl? That woman see through you.”

Smoke chuckled. “Stack, the minute she laid eyes on you, she saw the whole damn future. And if you ain’t noticed—Honey don’t spook easy. She done seen ghosts, worked roots, and shut down a man twice your size just by talkin’ sweet. If she picked you, she meant it.”

Stack looked up, still unsure.

Bo Chow snorted. “You know what you are?”

“Here it come,” Stack muttered.

“You a mule in silk. Built to carry weight but don’t know how to wear pretty things without thinkin’ it ain’t yours. That woman love you, Stack. You wear that love proud. You walk in that juke joint tomorrow like you own the sun.”

Outside, Sammie sat on the porch rail, eyes steady on the truck out front, shotgun leaned casual across his lap. He didn’t say nothin’, but when Stack stepped out the back door, Sammie turned and nodded once, like he’d been listenin’ through the wall the whole time.

Stack stood a little taller.

⸻

The Smokestack ain’t never looked like this before.

Red and purple ribbons ran along the low beams, tied with gold bows, soft as honey on a biscuit. The old bar had been scrubbed ‘til it shined, candles set along it in empty liquor bottles that flickered like stars. Chairs were pulled ‘round in a half-moon facing the little platform that doubled as a stage most nights—but today, it was the altar.

Annie stood up front in a lavender dress trimmed in gold, hands clasped ‘round a small bouquet of wildflowers she picked herself from behind the smokehouse. She glanced back at Stack and gave him a quick wink, one eye still red from cryin’ earlier.

Smoke was standin’ proud next to his brother, sharp in a deep purple suit, tie clipped gold and straight. He leaned in and muttered low, “You breathin’ still?”

Stack couldn’t talk. Not rightly.

His fingers clenched and unclenched, jaw tight, but his heart felt like it was beatin’ outta his chest. Suit jacket buttoned clean over the mojo Honey gave him, sweat slick at his brow though the wind from the open windows cooled the room.

Then came the hush.

The doors opened slow, and light poured in like a second sunrise.

And there she was.

Honey.

A deep red dress hugged her curves, glistenin’ like garnet under the warm golden light, her 4c coils wrapped up high in a headwrap threaded with bits of gold that sparkled every time she moved. Her cognac eyes locked with his, and everything else disappeared.

Sammie walked beside her—tall, strong, quiet—his arm steady as stone under hers. He nodded once at Stack, then looked ahead again. He knew this was sacred.

Stack’s breath caught. His eyes burned. Lord have mercy—he was cryin’ before she even made it halfway down the aisle.

Annie whispered behind him, “Don’t you dare turn ‘way, let them tears fall. That’s love.”

Smoke chuckled low, “Ain’t no shame in it, brother. You get to marry Honey. That’s like winnin’ a fight you ain’t even had to throw a punch for.”

Stack wiped his eyes with the back of his hand but kept watchin’. When Sammie passed her hand to Stack’s, he said soft, “She yours now, boy. Treat her right.”

Stack nodded, grippin’ her hand like it was made just for his.

They stood up there in front of everyone they loved—Pearline, Grace, Bo Chow, Preacher Boy—and the whole juke joint turned quiet as Sunday.

The preacher, old Deacon Lyle with a crooked back and a voice smooth as molasses, looked between the two of them and said,

“Now I ain’t much for long sermons, but I know when I see the kind of love don’t come ‘round but once in a man’s life.”

He looked to Stack.

“You take this woman to be yours, through every fire and flood this world gon’ throw?”

Stack nodded, voice breakin’. “I do. And I will, every damn day.”

Lyle raised his brows, but he smiled just the same. “And you, Honey. You takin’ this man—who clearly been cryin’ like a newborn since you walked in—to be yours, come high water or dry well?”

Honey smiled through her tears. “Ain’t never been surer in my life.”

“Then by the power given to me by the Lord and this here town,” Lyle said, “I pronounce y’all husband and wife.”

The crowd whooped and hollered.

Stack pulled her close, kissin’ her like the war was over and they’d won. Her hands cradled his jaw, and he held her like he ain’t never lettin’ go.

Smoke slapped his knee, Annie tossed her bouquet in the air, and Bo Chow jumped clean out his chair.

Music kicked up wild, feet stomped, and the juke joint came alive.

They danced. They drank. They sang.

But Stack never let go of Honey, not once.

[atlaculture]

Hello!! Firstly, I love your blog, thank you so much for providing such useful and interesting information! Secondly, how was pirate culture in the Qing dynasty? Especially in regards to their clothes. I'd like to make an Earth Kingdom pirate oc, so I've been taking some inspiration from Jiang from the comics and Ching Shih, a famous pirate, but I'd love to see any information you could provide about this topic! Thank you!

What a neat question! The pirate culture during the Qing Dynasty was really interesting. Since I know I have a lot of historical fashion fans follow this blog, I'll show you the inspiration board I created first and then try to connect it to the Avatar world. If you're interested in the history of Qing era pirates or the greater context behind my clothing recommendations, you can click on the "Keep Reading" line.

So what might the pirates of the Qing Dynasty have worn?

Since Qing Dynasty pirates spent most of their time in the South China Sea and docked along the China-Vietnam borderlands--- both the Qing Dynasty and the Tây Sơn Dynasty had employed these pirates at different points in time--- they were likely a mix of Chinese and Vietnamese culturally, if not ethnically. Their clothing would reflect this, as well as incorporating fabrics and cuts that would be suitable for a tropical climate. In general, their wardrobe would be very Southeast Asian in style.

Since you seem to be designing a female OC, I figured I'd make a collage of clothing and accessories that a Qing Dynasty lady pirate might have.

Headwear

Khăn lươn (Vietnamese Women's Headwrap) - Used to keep hair neat and out of the way. It's like a halfway point between a turban and a hairband.

Khăn mỏ quạ (Vietnamese Women's Headscarf) - A bandana that Vietnamese women would wear over their Khăn lươn to shield their hair from the sun. It literally means "Crow's Beak Scarf", because the bandana forms a triangle shape at the front.

Mũ chữ Đinh (Vietnamese Military Officer's Hat) - Many Qing Dynasty pirates would offer their services to the Tây Sơn Dynasty (Vietnamese) navy. I can imagine some pirates wearing these hats as a spoil of war.

Nón lá (Asian Conical Hat) - A traditional hat that is commonly worn in Asia by any profession that labors outside. It's probably the hat most associated with East and Southeast Asia.

Đinh Tự (Vietnamese Women's Hat) - A giant, wide-brimmed hat made from dried palm leaves--- it's basically an Asian conical hat on steroids. Whereas the nón lá is relatively gender-neutral, the dinh tự is considered a feminine hat.

Tops

Yếm / Dudou (Vietnamese/Chinese Halter Top) - Fun Fact: Its original purpose was to keep the belly warm, as the stomach is the sea of chi!

Áo gấm (Vietnamese Tunic) - A thin overcoat worn over the yếm. It's often fastened with a sash.

Áo bà ba (Vietnamese Folk Shirt) - A lightweight shirt with slits on the side.

Suoyi (Chinese Folk Raincoat) - A cloak made out of local materials such as palm leaves and grass. It was also worn by laborers in Vietnam, Japan, and Korea.

Bottoms

Kangkeng Le (Thai Fisherman Pants) - They're from Thailand, but I've seen them worn in other parts of Southeast Asia.

Váy (Vietnamese Skirt)

Miscellaneous Speculation

Kiềng (Vietnamese Gold Necklace) - Traditionally, gold or silver Vietnamese/Chinese necklaces were solid rings of metal, rather than being composed of small chain links like European necklaces. I imagine a powerful Asian pirate queen would wear at least three kiềng necklaces.

Tattoos - Since Confucian cultures traditionally considered body modification (including cutting your own hair) to be a sign of rebellion and criminality, tattoos would be the perfect status symbol for an Asian pirate! For a uniquely Vietnamese look, you could try incorporating ancient Vietnamese (Dong Son style) patterns to your design. Alternatively, they could have "protection charm" tattoos on their body, to ensure that the spirits watch over them while at sea or during battle.

Cormorants (Fishing Birds) - Historically, the fishermen of China and Vietnam have trained these species of bird to catch fish for them. I think it would be really cool if your pirate OC had some bird companions.

Weapons

Going to lean into the Vietnamese influence for the weapons as well. Most Vietnamese weapons were heavily inspired by Chinese weapons, but with uniquely Vietnamese touches. Generally, these weapons tended to have more tapered blades, metal engravings with floral patterns, and rattan-corded grips with smaller guards compared to their Chinese counterparts.

Dadao/Trường đao (Chinese/Vietnamese Machetes)

Jian/Kiem (Chinese/Vietnamese Doubled-Edged Swords)

Changdao/Guőm truòng (Chinese/Vietnamese Two-Handed Swords) - Fun fact: These swords were really popular with Chinese and Japanese pirates during the Ming Dynasty, as well.

Niuweidao - I don't think there's a Vietnamese version of Oxtail Sabers. Anyways, I've discussed Zuko's trademark swords at length elsewhere. They're civilian weapons that look very pirate-y to me.

Who would the Earth Kingdom pirates be? How would they make a living?

It has been shown that their is a Vietnam analog in the EK, as I've posted about before. The Swampbenders have some Vietnamese inspiration, as well. So the main base operations for EK pirates might have been that EK village that Zuko and Iroh begged in. Maybe the jerk that Zuko stole the swords from was a pirate.

Considering that Froggy Swamp denizens and other Water Tribers would probably be marginalized by EK society, I think their would be good reason for them to become pirates. Especially since waterbending would obviously be a very useful skill to have at sea. Also, since the Northern Water Tribe is shown to be a bit sexist, I could see the surprisingly not-as-sexist world of EK piracy being especially appealing to the ladies of the NWT. As far as EK natives go, farmers and fishermen who've been displaced by the Fire Nation would probably also turn to piracy. Similarly, jaded or corrupt Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation naval officers might switch to piracy, as well. What drives a person to piracy would definitely inform their clothing choices and weaponry.

Like the real-life pirates of the Qing Dynasty, Earth Kingdom pirates likely have no real national loyalties. If you paid them enough, they'd be willing to fight for either the Fire Nation or the Earth Kingdom. You also have to pay them off to cross their territory unscathed. Pirates raid merchant and military ships alike. For refugees who could afford it, they likely paid pirates to smuggle them into Ba Sing Se. Pirates probably also smuggled goods between nations, as well as drugs.

I also think Earth Kingdom pirates would worship water-related spirits, like Yue (+ the Ocean Spirit) or the Painted Lady. Perhaps they'd lay out offerings to spirit alters they'd have onboard or even "feed" the offerings to the seas themselves.

The Greater Context of Chinese Qing Dynasty Piracy

Who were the pirates of the Qing Dynasty?

The pirates of Qing Dynasty were predominantly made up of former farmers and fishermen. During this period, population growth in China lead to land shortages and many farmers lost their land either from being unable to keep up with rising taxes or outright theft from corrupt officials. Fishermen turned to piracy when fishing could no longer guarantee their survival, especially with European pirates and colonial ships invading their waters. In general, extreme poverty drove people to piracy.

Also, Chinese pirates were surprisingly more accepting of female leadership than men from more "respectable" parts of society. This is due to the fishermen roots of many pirates. Traditionally, when a fisherman died, his wife was expected to take over his boat and crew. Also, the two most prominent patron Chinese gods of seafarers are goddesses, Guanyin and Mazu.

What did these pirates do?

Qing Dynasty pirates were a unique fusion of bandit, mercenary, and drug smuggler. Obviously, if you planned on sailing through pirate-infested waters, you had better pay off the pirates to be left unscathed. Otherwise, your ship was getting plundered.

Qing pirates also offered up their talent for violence to the highest bidder during times of war. In the 18th century, Imperial Vietnam would frequently hire and train up Southern Chinese pirates to assist their fleets during naval battles. Those who earned merit during these conflicts would even be granted official military titles. In 1857, the Chinese government would even employ these same South Sea pirates to take down the Portuguese pirates terrorizing their waters.

Finally, as Qing Dynasty piracy reached its epoch at the same time as the First Opium War, Chinese pirates participated in a lot of drug smuggling. As pirates have no loyalty, they had no issue serving as middle-men in the profitable European drug trade.

Where were these pirates found?

The South China Sea was the stomping ground for Qing-era pirates, particularly the Gulf of Tonkin. In terms of ports and towns, they tended to spend a lot of time in the border areas where China met Vietnam. Remember that these pirates offered their services to both Imperial Vietnam and Imperial China, so they didn't exactly have national loyalties.

[sixthstationinthewater]

A Hushed Moment with Scarabia

Finally had some time to write today :DDDDDD This is a little more than 1k for each boy. If I have more time I might try to tackle the other houses.

Kalim

Sun-kissed skin and fluffy white hair is all you can see, the sound of bangles lingering close to your ears. Warm, plush lips press to your cheeks, your forehead, your jaw, your neck. Soft fingers nestle into your hair, trying to be soothing or pleasant but accidentally pulling at strands with his excitement. You can’t help but giggle into the kisses, appreciating sturdy yet rounded forearms, wrists bound in gold, a sturdy chest and waist under your fingertips as your own hands trace up and down his upper half under his barrage, trying to meet his lips in kind when he presses them to yours briefly, before pulling away to continue his attack on the rest of your face.

“I,” a kiss to your eyelids, careful with the delicate skin.

“Love,” a kiss to the place just under your ear, where he knows you like it. The silk of his headwrap tickles your neck, and his earrings jingle playfully next to your ear.

“You!” An especially loud, plush kiss to your chin. A little wet, but emphatic.

He pulls back at last, half-straddling your stomach, looking down at you with satisfaction, as though his declaration had left a visible mark. You rather wish it had, but you’re instead arrested by how pretty Kalim is as you look up at him. Ruby-red eyes glitter, the sun in the arched windows falling on your boyfriend like a waterfall, sparkling and splashing on the white of his hair, the warm-tinted, dark skin, the gold of his jewelry and the white tattoos lining his arms.

Your hands absentmindedly run up and down his calves, the part of him most conveniently in reach as you look at up him, captivated. The muscles of his shoulders, his arms, his chest, and the layer of softness over them is charming, indicative of his character and endlessly pleasant to the touch. The weight of him on you itself is grounding.

The thing that grabs your attention the most is his grin, which he bestows on you willingly, his white teeth and cheerful spirit melting you further under his gaze. That same smile, you know, has weathered hard trials over and over in his life. And yet you can only recall a few times when his lips haven’t been lifted up, masking his deep-running struggles almost effortlessly. Your heart aches for how high his defenses go, and yet you feel honored to know that you’ve seen them brought down for you once or twice.

He looks at you with the same level of admiration that you give to him for a few moments, before looking you in the eyes and seemingly realizing how exactly it is that you’re looking at him.

“Is, er, everything alright? You’re looking very…thoughtful,” he asks, cheeks immediately growing a charming shade of pink, his grin growing lopsided and a little sheepish under your attention, but pleased nonetheless. The corners of his eyes wrinkle when he’s flustered, you note, and the shadows that showcase his dimples deepen as he tilts his head, waiting for your answer. He’s never been afraid of attention, but never has it been given to him so willingly. A gift of your undivided attention, interested in him only for him. A smile lifts the corners of your own lips, and you raise a hand to him languidly, your fingers nestling into his hair and ruffling it, teasing it back and forth, lightly massaging his scalp. He looked surprised for just a moment.

“Oh.” He blinks, and then you’re rewarded with the absolute pleasure of seeing him practically melt into your hands, leaning back into your touch without thought, eyelids lowering and his smile reviving blissfully on his face.

Using your hands in his hair as a gentle guide, you pull him down, careful not to tug on the thick strands, and he arranges himself on top of you, his upper body on yours like a weighted blanket- his chest pressingly firmly into your stomach, reminding you of the strength underneath his softness, his legs and lower torso on the cushions parallel to yours. His feet kick behind him absentmindedly, reflecting the constant thrum of energy under his skin. His chin lands solidly on your chest, looking at you with large, adoring eyes, his hands coming up to frame your waist, his thumbs tracing circles on your sides but his touch as respectful as ever. You lean into him until your noses almost touch, obsessed with your new findings now that his face is closer. His eyes trail to your lips, but he contents himself with closing his eyes to enjoy the soothing sensations you’re already giving him.

He has a tiny path of faded acne scars across his cheeks, almost indecipherable normally, between his own highly-expensive skincare products and the amount of vitamin d the time he spends in the sun gives him. The hand not petting his hair traces them lightly, and his nose wrinkles with the phantom-light touch, and a quiet sound, not quite a giggle, escapes him. He’s recovered from his momentary shyness, willing to absorb all of the affection you’re willing to give him in this moment.

He’s got the tiniest scar on his eyebrow, interrupting the hair there with pink skin. Another one makes itself known on his hairline hidden by his bangs. Another on the lobe of his ear. Gentle fingertips trace them, and he shifts slightly under your touch, realizing what you’ve stumbled across in your observations. He nestles deeper into you, and plants his face into your chest.

“I have a big one on my back,” he murmurs, his words half-muffled, his hands on your waist tightening incrementally. You hum, planting a kiss into the top of his head. It’s obvious what these marks would have come from, considering his history with assassination attempts.

“I’m sorry,” you coo, your hand still carding through his hair, and the other one moving down to stroke along his back, lighting on strong shoulders and the curvature of his back. You hadn’t known, but sadly it doesn’t surprise you. He makes a content mmmm sound against the plush of your chest, accepting your sympathy and appreciating your comforting touch, although notably not opening up any more about the memory. That one sentence has brought his walls low enough for a while. After a moment, you bring your hands down to cup his face, pressing another kiss into his temple and nudging his face up. “Can you look at me, sweetheart?” you murmur, and Kalim obeys, his eyes only half-open, drowsy and content. Smiling at him with love, you lean in to press a gentle kiss to each scar, a parallel of what he did for you earlier. One corner of his lips twitches up, conflicted at the feeling, and before he can stop to question, you press another kiss to his cheek, on smooth skin, and another to the corner of his jaw, one to his nose, one to the corner of his lips, your kisses going from brief and chaste to more plush and inviting as you tilt your head and put your lips on the unmarked earlobe, tugging just a mite, enough for his hands to tight at your waist and his inhales to come slightly quicker, a breathless laugh leaving him.

You bring your lips back to his, pressing against them briefly, teasing, and then pulling back. His chase yours, and it’s another few brief, barely there presses before you manage to get out “Kalim?” The next kiss is lengthier, and he’s noticeably distracted when he answers you.

“Hmmm?” His lips are warm and soft and endlessly enticing.

“I love you too.” His lips curl upwards against yours.

Jamil

“You’re so beautiful,” you ponder quietly. You sit on his bed, lounging casually on your side, your upper body leaning over the edge as you watch your boyfriend do his coursework. While he’s been focused, you’ve been skimming your eyes over every part of him you can see. His fingers and the tendons in his hand flex with every letter he writes, the movement captivating in it’s own right. His hands are rough and calloused from hard labor, but more arresting are the small, faded burn scars dotted on his hands- places where grease popped up from the pan, or where boiling water fizzled as he poured it in a cup. A few small lines cross over the backs of his hands and forearms- those, too, are scars lightened by time and careful skincare, but you know that they’re the marks of punishment from childhood, for an imperfect job done in service of his master. The motions of his hand lead your eyes up to the musculature of his forearms, then the pleasant curves of his biceps and shoulders. Your eyes linger there, imagining how it would feel to trace them.

“I- what?” he half-scoffs, pulling you out of your trance. He’s surprised by the sudden compliment, drawing his eyes from his notes and turning his head slightly to look at you from the corner of his eyes. His forehead wrinkles from perplexment, but he can’t hide the warm tint in his cheeks. You want to kiss the lines in his brow away. You want to kiss the marks on his hands. You have for months now, since after his overblot, messy and traught as it was, but to put it simply, you haven’t found the right time.

Your relationship is still in it’s early weeks- you couldn’t possibly overwhelm him with that kind of spontaneous vulnerability. The idea of a relationship he could call his own- private, exclusive to him- is still a new concept for him. As he looks at you, grey eyes observing you in his peripherals, the furrow in his brow melts as your compliment takes root, and he looks slightly pleased. He turns more, enough that he can look make eye contact, expression purposely innocent and eyes tensed in anticipation. He’s hoping for another compliment. “What makes you say that now?”

His adustment allows you to see his face better, and you don’t hide how your eyes move over him with the slow liquid movement of magma, taking him in with a observant, adulatory gaze. The skin of his upper body- what you can see of his collarbones underneath his hoodie, the skin of his neck and face, is smooth, nearly flawless. There’s the smallest mark just under his eye, a small, raised scar curving out from under his eye, moving towards his cheekbone. A reminder of the searing blot from months ago. It’s faded with time and care, as have the other marks of winter vacation, and that too, you find yourself eager to press your lips too. The warm tint of his cheeks deepens under your gaze, and the emotions in Jamil’s eyes begin to conflict; the heady pleasure of being pinned under his partner’s molten, appreciative gaze combines with the uncomfortability of being put under a spotlight, being the center of attention in even his own relationship. His expression becomes neutral as he becomes hotter to the touch, the red of his cheeks seeping into his neck and ears at your adoring contemplation, and when you make eye contact at last, he struggles to meet it, glancing away a few times as your expression seeps into him and overwhelms him.

“What-what are you looking at?” he asks instead, attempting neutrality or even indignance in the face of your inspection, and instead arriving at the tell-tale stutter of extreme fluster. As far as he can recall, he’s never been looked at this way in his life. Not with this level of care, or love- a yet unspoken feeling for his own benefit, you’re both aware, but a nonetheless obvious feeling- so tangible he can practically feeling it dripping out of you. It puts his heart racing with anxiety and butterflies alike, his instinctual need to pull away from others surging even as he suppresses it, trying to open himself up to this, to you. You’ve been nothing but kind and caring, and it’s his deepest wish to reciprocate the way he wants to, with nothing but patience and love to return to you, his heart in his hands as his only and most precious gift. The process is long, and slow, and you both have your own baggage to carry, and he tries so hard to help you carry your own burdens as you help him with his own. It doesn’t feel like enough.

Your patience is his own saving grace, as he struggles to allow himself to feel safe and indulged in this moment. Another flustered, hesitant glance into your eyes shows him your comprehension, your understanding of how he feels in this moment in a bright glimmer.

You close your eyes, the liquid warmth and deep feelings now hidden behind your eyelids, and his own heart aches with it’s absence, wanting you to open them again, keep looking at him, missing what he just had as soon as it was gone. He curses himself for being so emotionally illiterate, wanting to show you the depths of his own emotions for you. But then you open your eyes, the bubbling love tempered to a soothing ember of fondness and compassion, and look at him again. He meets your eyes with penitant, frustated eyes of his own, gratitude and appreciation shining in them, and his own admiration for you peeking out like the sun on a cloudy day.

You lean down towards him, your hair falling around your shoulders as you lean partially off of the bed. He tilts his head up to you in an echo, angling his head slightly, eyelids lowering as his lips part unconsciously, his arm a sturdy support underneath him as he raises himself to meet you. You put a palm on his cheek, fingers lingering on his jaw to steady him, as you smile at him from above, your thumb tracing back and forth on his cheek. You make eye contact with him again and find a mixture of devotion and apology in silver-grey pools. The corner of your lips tilt up again, and your lips skimming his- he smells like cooking spices and cologne and you can feel the warmth emanating from his skin- you answer his question. “You. You’re just…beautiful.” You feel a trembling exhale on your lips, and after that there’s not much to do beyond slot his lips properly with yours.

___________________________________________________________

Do NOT use my writing for AI

[tojisth3rdwife]

Kento was a man of details. He noticed the little things that others often overlooked, and his keen eye missed practically nothing. So when his gaze fell upon you, the most vibrant and captivating woman he had ever encountered, he made it his mission to attune himself to every nuance about you.

Your natural hair was the first aspect that captured his attention. Its luster, its scent, its curly texture—it fascinated him. The versatility you exhibited never ceased to amaze him; you effortlessly transformed your look, switching from bouncy curls to sleek straight strands, from intricate braids to elegant locs, and accessorizing with colorful headwraps or slicked-back buns. Just as your hair shifted, so too did you linger in his thoughts.

But that day… that particular day was a turning point. You strolled past his desk, your hips swaying gently in dark slacks that hugged your curves perfectly. You wore a fitted white button-up blouse that accentuated your figure, complemented by a floral yellow scarf tied at your neck—a vibrant pop of color that momentarily distracted him before his eyes were drawn back to your hair. Every spiral bounced with your graceful gait, and in that moment, Kento knew he had to say more than just “Good morning” or lament the struggles of quarterly report week.

He felt a surge of determination as he approached your desk, nervously tugging at his necktie. Kento wasn’t much of a flirt; in fact, he didn’t see himself as one at all. Yet, he hoped that the way your eyes lit up at his compliment about your hair was a sign that he recognized you as the beauty you were. You brought a much-needed vibrancy to the drab corporate office, and the thought of you occupied his mind daily.

He wanted nothing more than to know you beyond the confines of this place, and that day marked the first step toward making that a reality.

“I’d say I almost didn’t recognize you, but that would be inaccurate,” he said, leaning against the wall of your cubicle. You glanced up, and a spark ignited in your expression at the sight of him.

God, you were stunning. From the glow of your honey-brown skin to the shimmer in your large almond-shaped eyes, you radiated beauty. When you smiled, something tightened in his chest, but he maintained his cool demeanor, betraying nothing.

“Oh? What makes you say that?” you asked, your curiosity piqued. You turned in your chair, now fully facing him, and Kento felt a rush of adrenaline. This was dangerous territory.

“Because it just would be. You’re undoubtedly the most fashionable person here; I’d be blind not to recognize you,” he replied, noting how you leaned your head slightly as you listened, a smile playing at your lips. His compliment seemed to amuse you, evident by your playful eye roll and the way you shook your head in mock disbelief.

“Oh please. You can’t say things like that when you’re dressed like a Tom Ford model every day…”

You werent even exagerateing.

Kento Nanami stood over you, a vision of polished professionalism that made your heart race. His tailored dress shirt hugged his broad shoulders just right, accentuating the lines of his physique, while the crisp tan slacks draped perfectly over his legs.

The silk tie he wore added a touch of sophistication, its deep hue contrasting beautifully with his neatly styled blond hair that framed his face with effortless charm. As he moved, a subtle yet signature cologne wafted through the air, a warm and inviting scent that lingered long after he passed by. You found yourself captivated, entranced by the way he carried himself with quiet confidence, and every glance in his direction felt electric, igniting a flutter of hope deep within you.

Flattery was clearly one of your strengths, and Kento found himself reveling in the sweet praise that rolled off your tongue.

Your tongue…

Your lips..

Both were equally full and glistening, a decadent nude shade of gloss that he imagined tasted utterly addictive. As you spoke, his attention lingered on your lips before retreating back to your eyes, warmth blooming in his chest.

“You’re far too kind,” he said, a blush creeping across his cheeks as he briefly looked down before meeting your gaze once more.

Honey-colored irises met your deep mahogany, both shades swirling in a dance of unspoken desires. Kento had no idea how nervous he made you, how the sound of his voice, even from a distance, quickened your pulse.

“Can I just say, your hair is beautiful? It always is, but today…” He hesitated, almost revealing too much before continuing, “I’ve never seen a more elegant look on you.”

If you had known that a simple wash and go would finally draw the man of your dreams to you, you would have embraced this effortless style ages ago.

“Thank you, Mr. Nanami…” you replied, a blush creeping across your cheeks as you searched for the right words.

Each syllable that slipped from your lips was buttery smooth, but to him, the sound of his surname—caramelized and decadent—was like music. He wanted to hear it again, to savor it as he basked in the warmth of your presence.

“Kento, please. Just Kento,” he insists politely, but there’s an undeniable hint of authority in his tone—one that makes you feel as if calling him anything else would be a disservice. In that moment, you realize you’d gladly oblige him, surrendering to the quiet power he exudes.

The air between you crackled with an unspoken tension, and Kento felt a sense of exhilaration.

“Okay…” you reply, a smile breaking across your face as you look up at him. With the ice finally shattered, both of your minds drift far from work, caught up in the electric connection that now filled the air between you.

This was only the beginning.

[fandomfucker]

Beach Trip-The Judgment Day X Black!Fem!Reader

Request/Prompt: The Judgment Day with their girl on a cute little beach trip

A/N: Linked a picture of the bathing suit I had in mind, just pretend it comes with a matching headpiece.

Word Count: 2,692

Reader's POV 

Time off with all four of my partners in the Judgment Day was not something that happened often.

Luckily, this week happened to be one where it was planned out that the five of us would be going down to the beach for vacation.

Before we could leave though, we all had some last-minute errands to run. Well, mainly me and Rhea.

Sitting in the passenger seat of Rhea's truck, I happily listened to the booming sounds of her metal music over the speakers as I scrolled through Pinterest.

"What kind of nails are you gonna get, babe?" I asked Rhea, looking over at her as she hummed in thought.

"I'm thinking, like, black scales with like, a purple shimmer," She answered, briefly looking at me before putting her hand on my thigh and stroking her thumb up and down as she drove.

"Ooh, that'll be cute," I replied as I went back to scrolling through Pinterest for my own new nail set. It was vacation, and we liked to look good on vacation. You look good, you feel good.

"Do you know what you're gonna do with your hair yet?" Rhea asked me. Normally, outside of work, I try to wear my natural hair as much as possible, which isn't always the easiest when it's being grabbed by my opponents to throw me around in a ring.

"I'm thinking I'll kinda match with Damian and get bohemian box braids. I think he's getting his done tomorrow, but then I can wear that cute headwrap that my bathing suit came with!" I excitedly explained. Her grip tightened on my thigh as a smile graced her features.

"That'll look so good, sweetness. I can't wait to see."

"Oh!" I exclaimed excitedly. "And then, I can get my nails to match and since I'll be wearing my bathing suit like all week, they'll match everything!" The girl math was mathing and everything was coming together perfectly.

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

A few days later, the five of us Judgment Day members all sat in Rhea's truck as we drove down to our beach house for the week. It was right on the beach which was going to be perfect.

Rhea sat in the driver's seat as not only was it her truck, but also because she would get us there faster than if anyone else was driving. Dominik sat in the passenger seat, giving Rhea directions in between picking the music for us to listen to. I liked to stare out the window while I listened to my music so I sat behind Dominik's chair, with Damian next to me and Finn on his other side.

Damian scrolled through his TikTok, occasionally showing one of us a video as his free hand rested on my thigh, while Finn read whatever book he was currently obsessed with. He read them so fast I never knew what he was reading at any given moment.

It was only about an hour-long drive so we were pulling up to the beach-house in no time. As soon as I stepped out of the car I noticed it was weirdly secluded. There weren't any other places directly around us and the tall landscape blocked any possible views. 

Damian stepped out behind me, making his way to the back of the truck, and popping open the covered bed to start grabbing suitcases.

He handed me my duffle bag as Finn and Dominik joined him in unloading the truck. "How about you girls go ahead and go inside and start getting set up, okay?"

"Okay!" I shouldered my duffel bag, grabbing Rhea's hand on my way over to the stairs that would lead us up to the front door. 

Once at the door, Rhea punched the code into the keypad lock, hearing a small click before she pushed the door open. Stepping inside into a tight hallway, there was a small kitchen to the right with another little hall to the left. Going into the hallway on my right there was a bedroom on the right with a queen bed, right in front was a bathroom, and next to it a washer and dryer. At the end of that hallway was another bedroom, with two separate twin-sized beds.

Going back down that side hallway to get to the main hallway that led past the kitchen, I walked into the living/dining room and called out for Rhea. "Hey, babe? Are we all gonna fit in here?"

I noticed another room off to the side and walked into it, finding another queen-sized bed with its own private bathroom. There was a sliding glass door leading to the balcony on the far wall, with a matching door in the living room.

Noticing that the door was open, I walked out onto the balcony and saw Rhea leaning over the railing as she stared out at the ocean, the small breeze blowing her bangs to the side.

"Rhea?" She turned at the sound of my voice, making me smile as I saw the relaxation already hitting her. "Are we all going to fit in here?" I repeated my question.

"Yeah, we should," She moved away from the railing and gripped my hips as we stood there. "I was thinking that we'd take the master, Dom and Damian take the other queen, and then Finn could take one of the twins. He's the only one other than us that would fit and I booked the condo, so if I want a girls-only room to cuddle you all week I'm gonna have that." She smiled at me, so proud of herself for thinking of this situation.

I threw my head back as I laughed. If she wanted to keep me all to herself all week during the night then I wasn't gonna fight her on it. "Do the boys know about this arrangement?"

She laughed again, giving me that shit-eating grin, "Not yet."

I giggled as I heard the boys walk in the front door with the luggage. "Y/N? Rhea? Where'd you guys go?" We heard Dominik shout out through the condo.

"Let's go," I whisper-giggled as I gripped Rhea's hands and tugged her back through the sliding door, the bedroom, and back into the living room where all three of our boys now stood, surrounded by luggage.

"Where should we put these?" Damian asked, gesturing around him. 

Rhea wrapped her arms around my shoulders from behind and hugged me tight to her chest. "You can put me and Y/N's stuff in there," she gestured with her head to the room behind us. "And your guys' stuff between the two rooms down the other hall." She smiled at them, albeit a bit passive-aggressively. 

"Wait, we're in different rooms?" Dominik asked us, his upset puppy-dog eyes appearing.

"Yep," Rhea popped the 'P', her accent unusually strong. 

"I want this one all to myself, "She squeezed me and kissed my cheek as my ears burned.

"Come on, seriously, Rhea?" Damian asked her, his voice seemingly deeper in his annoyance.

I could feel her nod my head against my ear.

Finn rolled his eyes, used to Rhea's antics at this point in the relationship. "Whatever, lads. We'll just have to have boys nights every night."

"Yeah!" Dominik agreed, sticking his tongue out at us mockingly before he grabbed his bag and walked back down the hallway to his room.

I played along with Rhea's wants and just shrugged at the two remaining boys who looked at us in disbelief. Damian scoffed before grabbing his bag and following suit, Finn right on his heels.

"They'll figure it out, right?" I asked Rhea, looking over my shoulder slightly at her.

"Yeah, probably."

"Good. Let's go down to the beach!" I excitedly told her, fully turning around to face her. 

She grinned at the prospect of me in a bathing suit, laid out in the sun, "Okay."

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

The boys, having heard we were going down to the beach, decided that while they were still upset, they weren't upset enough to not go down to the beach with us, and now stood sulking outside the bedroom door where I was finishing getting dressed, tying my matching skirt around my waist. 

It was a cute little orange two-piece I had found at a boutique near our house. The top was really just two little triangles of fabric to cover myself but it had come with a matching tied-up skirt and headwrap. And, it was covered in flowers which just made it that much cuter.

I fixed the headwrap, making sure all of my hair was covered without any weird-looking lumps sticking out, and then checked myself over once more in the mirror to make sure I had taken all the tags off and had the suit on correctly. 

Once I was satisfied with how I looked, I opened the door for a mock fashion show for my partners. 

Damian wolf-whistled at me as I did a small spin to show off the flowy skirt. Finn grabbed my hand and had me do another spin, lifting my hand over my head, to the enjoyment of my partners.

"You look so good, mami," Dom practically salivated as he stared at me with heart eyes. 

Rhea looked me up and down, her eyes briefly stopping on my nails before she got back up to my eyes. "You're right, sweetness. Your nails do match your bikini perfectly, good job picking out the color."

I beamed at the compliment and grabbed the edge of my skirt, lifting it slightly as I gave a small curtsey. "Why thank you, baby."

Damian came up to me, gripping my hips as he also checked me out, his eyes eventually landing on mine too, "Can I just say, with this beautiful complexion," he gently stroked his thumb down my cheek, "Orange is definitely your color." He kissed my forehead.

I blushed slightly as I smiled at him in silent thanks. "Okay, guys, let's go. I'm ready for some relaxation!"

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

"You know who I realized you look like?" Rhea asked me, completely out of the blue.

The two of us were laid out on the towels higher up on the beach while the boys threw each other around in the water, practically waterboarding each other while we watched.

I pulled my gaze from the book I was reading and turned to her, noticing her eyes were still closed underneath her sunglasses as she lay on her back, staring up at the sun. 

"Who?" I asked warily, not sure I would like the comparison.

"Orange Blossom," Rhea cackled.

I stared at her in confusion before it hit me. "From Strawberry Shortcake?!"

Rhea's laugh grew as I sat there in bewilderment before a laugh began to bubble up out of my chest. And then I was bent over laughing so hard I couldn't breathe.

Rhea herself had to sit up she was laughing so hard to keep herself from choking on her own spit.

The boys, having noticed our laughing fit when they looked up for their periodic check-up on us, began making their way up the beach to where we sat.

"What's so funny over here?" Finn asked us.

"She- she said- she said I-," I was laughing so hard I couldn't get a single sentence out. Rhea managed to sober up before I did and repeated what she had told me.

All three of them were sent into fits of laughter, after having to be shown who she was first.

"Don't get me wrong, you look amazing in orange. But, with the flowers I just couldn't not see it," Rhea cackled. 

I wiped away the tears of laughter that had formed in the corners of my eyes. "No, I totally get it. I don't know how I didn't see it before, oh my God."

"You know what? Just for that..." I trailed off and put my book to the side, hopping up and using all the strength in my body to pick Rhea up bridal style.

Her eyes widened as she startled but I had already fully picked her up and started running towards the water. 

"No, no, no, no, no! Y/N! Don't you dare!" She shrieked as we reached the water. I waded out to where the water reached the bottom of my thighs, about a foot below Rhea.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and clung onto me as she kicked her feet. "Oh, you want me to put you down?" I asked sweetly.

Rhea's eyes widened behind her sunglasses, "No-" She was interrupted as Damian came up behind the both of us and pushed up over, both of us toppling over into the water.

We both stood up spluttering as we watched him double over laughing at us, Dom and Finn on the cusp of the shore watching us.

Rhea and I shared a look before teaming up and each grabbing one of Damian's arms, dragging him further out into the water, him completely compliant as he laughed too hard to care what we were doing.

With unspoken communication, simultaneously, I jumped on Damian's back, sending him forward while Rhea yanked on his arms, further pulling him forward into the water.

Since we still weren't super far out into the water yet and I was on top of Damian, while I did hit the water, I luckily didn't go all the way under. Plus, Rhea caught me a little bit before I could.

Damian stood up from the water, the laughter now nowhere in sight as his annoyance was displayed clear as day on his face.

Small bursts of laughter exploded from me and Rhea as we tried to contain them, but the look on his face as water dripped down was too much. Any semblance of control went right out the window when Dom and Finn came up behind Damian and pushed him over into the water again.

Rhea and I clung onto each other for dear life as we laughed so hard we couldn't breathe, the boys keeping our laughter going by giving us a little show of performing wrestling moves on each other as they continued to fight and push each other into the water.

Eventually, this led to us playing chicken, another few feet or so deeper into the ocean. I was on Finn's shoulders with Dominik on Damians while Rhea played ref on the side.

"Go for his stomach, remember he's ticklish," Finn whispered up at me. 

"Got it," I responded, determined to win as I leaned down and we did our little handshake. 

Rhea looked at both groups. "Ready?" She asked Finn and me, to which we both nodded in response. She turned to Dom and Damian. "Ready?" They both nodded.

"On your mark, get set, go!" She shouted, waving her hand like a flag.

Finna and Damian began walking towards each other as Dominik and I both held out our hands for each other. As soon as he was within reach, I began tickling his ribs, watching as he began to squirm atop of Damian, who was struggling to hold him up as he moved. 

As a unit, Finn and I moved in for the kill. I pushed Dom backwards as Finn pushed Damian. They both fell back into the water with a large splash.

Dominik immediately came up out of the water shouting for Rhea, saying that we were cheating. I gave the three of them my most innocent look possible as Rhea looked over at us while we were accused of interference.

"Nothing there was against the rules, Dom Dom. Y/N and Finn won fair and square." She announced.

Dominik was clearly affronted as a look of hurt crossed his features. "Okay, fine." He threw his hands up in surrender. Then, in the blink of an eye, he grabbed Rhea's arm and dunked her into the water.

And let me tell you, Rhea was not happy when she came back up. The two of them got into a splashing match and continuously dragged each other under the water until Damian inevitably broke it up.

Finn bent down and helped me off of his shoulders, trying to not get my head any wetter than it already was, and the five of us walked back to shore together.

Apart from a day or two spent out shopping, the rest of the week was spent like this. Fighting each other in the water, sunbathing, Rhea and me cuddling long into the night while the boys grumbled and complained and cuddled each other in spite.

It was blissful, and the best week of my life. 

[0alix0]

veilguard armor slander №2 Helmets

ngl DA didn't really had super cool helmets but those we had previously were, at worst, just kinda goofy (mage cowls my beloveds) yet still believable for a dark fantasy setting

............ now, this garbage, on the other hand

okok i'll star with something more or less serviceable. nice colors and unique shape, but............... honey i love you but how the hell do you see anything in this???

one of the few helmets in the game that look like they can at least somewhat protect your head. YET the scale mail looks awful. straight up awful. it's too big. too thick. the blue feathers look idiotic and like they're held in place by a duct tape and hope, because no sane person would place them on the forehead and as a comparison, here's almost the same helmet in inquisition

the only somewhat good helmets belong to veiljumpers and (partially) minrathous. but even here we have problems like these horns. looks cool, ngl, but these horns are just way too large (they're almost intertwined with the bow) the other one is just woody

I actually liked the idea* of the headwrap BUT why doesn't it match the icon????? where's the golden jewelry that look like loop earrings? where's the golden chains(?) coming from that forehead pearl?? could've been great, unfortunately isn't, still one of my favorite helmets of the game

and as you can see the icon/3d model inconsistencies just go downhill from there this one isn't nearly as bad as some others but it's still sad how it lost its cool cape/hood the golden texture too! what happened bioware???? i know some people made fun of inquisition for being too sparkly but making everything look plastic-y is clearly not the way

i'll never shut up about how much bioware fucked up kal-sharok in EVERY direction

why are the colors completely different from the ones in the picture???

why so little chainmail??? why doesn't it cover her heck?? you have fabric/material physics bioware, it's not 2010, literally nothing can stop you from

and heres a problem you might've already noticed on previous pictures....

THE HEADSOCK HEADSOCK EVERYWHERE WHY??? yeah you have long hair but so what??? it has physics don't bullshit me as if you can't make it work cuz modders can or you could've just make more realistic battle-suited how about that, huh???????

.............................................i am at a loss of words ok, ok, this shit.... i never in my goddamn life would've guessed what setting it belongs to, let alone the game, let alone the faction IN that game (minrathous) why it so ugly? why is it blue and looks like a chewed plastic? what is that sigil in the center? how can you even see wearing it? why it's levitating? oh shit i'm sorry, apparently everything is levitating in Tevinter now, how could i forgot.........

and you know what i probably forgot some

[ezlo-x]

ive been wondering this since the raceswap

what are the differences between hylians, gerudo, and sheikah in you au? are they just ethnicities or are they something different?

Rabbits and Hares! They are from the same family but from different branches. Weather and environment are very much a cause of this, as are their different cultures. Hylians are the most branched out of the three, including the Northern, Central, and Southern Hylians. In these little drawings I make, I only simplify it as one Hylian culture. Gerudo, Sheikah, and Hylians fall in the human race category, unlike the Rito, Minish, Zora, and Gorons, non-human races (Koroks, Faries, and other sentient beings fall in the Spirit category).

Unique features stand out, such as ears. Gerudo commonly have long ears to regulate their bodies' temperature in the hot desert sun and the cold sandy nights. The Sheikah have lop ears, tbh I don't really have much of a reason why, I just really like how it looks and it helps the Sheikah to stand out from the others. Hylians have short, pointed ears.

Aside from facial features, Height is very different for each race. Gerudo is the tallest of the three, from the shortest being 6-7ft tall and the tallest being 9-10ft tall. The Sheikah's shortest height is 5ft tall, and the tallest is 7ft tall. Finally for Hylians their shortest height is a little bellow 5ft tall and tallest is 6ft tall.

Gerudo has darker skin pigmentation than the other two races. (Hylians can also, especially Southern Hylians, but I can't go much into detail about it because this post will be longer than it already is.) Gerudo hair colors range from orange (lightest) to red (darkest). Gerudo hair is usually textured, from curly to kinky hair. Many Gerudo wear protective hairstyles or headwraps to protect their heads from the scorching sun. The Sheikah hair colors only range in two colors: mostly white/grey and uncommonly black hair. The hair type of the Sheikah is most commonly thick and straight. Finally Hylians, hair colors range from blonde, brunette, to black. Hylians the most vast majority of hair types.

Finally eye color! Gerudo eye colors are hazel, light brown, or green. Sheikah eye colors are dark brown or bright red. Hylians are brown, blue, or green.

[scopophobia-polaris]

i love your oot stuff but I cannot imagine marie ever becoming sheik. even in the timeline where she canonically does so. her big forehead will not fit in that disguise 🥸

Hey you see how Sheik's bangs come out under his headwrap?

Bro trying to hide that massive forehead I did NOT make that up.

And also I think @parksrway can back my ass up on it

[seasgrimoire]

Samhain,

And how I'll be celebrating.

As a closeted witch & Pagan celebrating any sort of Pagan holidays was always a struggle. However, I've come up with my own way to celebrate with the things I already own.

Clothes.

Simply wearing the colors that represent Samhain, blacks, oranges, golds, and silvers. I already own many clothes with this color scheme, and since I won't be going trick or treating, I can even wear my skeleton pjs in honor of Samhain. I can put on jewelry in honor of deities like Hecate, Bastet, The Morrígan, and so many more of them! I can veil with a headwrap, a hat, or even a headband.

Food

There is no reason to make a big feast. Apple juice, apples, grape juice, and grapes can work the same way. It's the intention that will count. I can even use these as offerings during Samhain.

Activities

Keeping it simple! I'm a digital artist, I can draw any sort of Samhain inspired artwork with my original characters, I can print out pumpkin activity sheets, watch horror movies, light some candles or incense. Clean and cleanse my room. Or even crochet! All of these are low energy activities that I can do and don't require much to do. It's easier for me to find something more obtainable that I can do rather than make a list of all of these activities that require more physical output that I know I won't be able to do. Once again, it's all about the intention I put into doing these activities. That is what really counts!

Final Notes

Honestly, as someone who keeps on seeing all of these big celebrations, it gets really discouraging when you can't do what they can. That's part of the reason I was terrified to go into paganism fully because I knew I couldn't do these big things or have a large beautiful altar. But that's not what was required. It was just something optional. All I need is my mind and my own energy to be a Pagan. So I can celebrate with just a cat stuff animal in honor of Bastet if I so choosed. It's the intention that I'm setting that pushes me forward, not the presentation of it.

[kujiua-kun]

[MH || Redesign Lineup]

Last year, I wanted to rework my Monster High redesigns, but I never finished them, so here are the rough sketches/concepts for them. design/lore explanation under the cut!

Draculara - I mostly took inspo from lolita fashion with her, lots of frills, bows, and lace. I also wanted to give her a cute little bat nose and stuck with yellow being her accent color. I like to think my version of Draculara is a bit more ditsy and hyper, she also doesn't have full control over her powers so she does have a habit of switching to her bat form at inappropriate times.

Frankie - I mainly referenced G1 Frankie with a splash of G3, I know I wanted them to be multi-pronouned, She doesn't really care how people refer to her, so long as there isn't any malice behind it (they can tell). Frankie is also their preferred name, her real name is Eve, but she hates it, and being called it makes them uncomfortable for many reasons (Mainly having to do with their family).

Cleo - For cleo I mostly took from her G1 design. I wanted her to have this very "Old Hollywood" type of look, mainly with her headwrap and earrings, with a few modern elements. She has a very narrow view of fashion subcultures and tends to be very critical of other people's outfits, even if she's close friends with them.

Clawdeen - I wanted to give her, a more animal-esque appearance, so lots of extra fur, dog-esque nose, and digitigrade legs, that she magically manages to fit into heels! She's the tallest and most confident of the group, but she can also be very reserved when it comes to her own issues and has trouble opening up to others.

Abbey - Imma be honest with ya'll...she was a problem child. I had an idea for her going in, I wanted her to be a bit monkey-like with her features, but when it came to her outfit I had no fucking idea what to do. But I did my best to try and keep her outfit from looking like a copy of Clawdeen's. Abbey has a habit of being very direct, almost harsh, with people. Most of the time she doesn't mean to, she's just bad at wording things properly sometimes.

Lagoona - ALSO A PROBLEM CHILD. I tried to mix her G1 and G3 designs, I mainly referenced Betta Fish for how I patterned her skin and tail. Lagoona is a very sweet competitive person. She usually tries to have a positive and "look on the bright side" mindset, but sometimes tries to apply it when it's not needed.

Ghoulia - I wanted her to have this grunge-esque gamer girl vibe to her. Her outfit is supposed to be a bit withered and patched up (She also has a little virtual pet charm!). Ghoulia is mostly non-verbal with her communication, she tends to just point, grunt, or use head movements when she wants to convey something. While the ghouls and some staff have learned to communicate with her, and sometimes even interpret for her, it isn't common for students to take advantage of her not speaking, pushing her around to do their homework, cheat on quizzes, or just do anything they don't want to.

if you have any questions regarding my redesigns, you're more than free to ask!

[itsmistyeyedbi]

Your wish is my command @carriehobbs ! I'm making a separate post because this might be a long one lol.

I've talked about Zuri's feelings about marriage over here, so know that if she's getting married it's years into her relationship, with it not even coming up in her mind as something she and her partner can do until someone else brings it up. From the moment any type of proposal happens (there'd definitely need to be a conversation long before about what marriage would mean for her LI and how they'd feel about their relationship - otherwise her abandonment issues would flare up and the prospect would make her anxious) to the second she's walking down the aisle, she will be an emotional wreck.

She'd be so excited about getting married that the wedding planning would take a while - that level of emotion would make her take forever to even form an idea of what the wedding should look like. But whether she elopes or has a big wedding with all the fanfare, her outfit will be on point, always lol.

Eloping:

If she's eloping (which I think would probably be what happens if Morgan is her LI in twc), I think she'd wear something in her wardrobe. It would either be a slip dress with a shawl (I think that's what it is?) like the one on the left, or an asoebi dress she wore to one of her aunt's weddings on the right (asoebi translates to "family cloth", and symbolises unity and solidarity, so everyone who was her aunt's close family member wore dresses identical in colour and style).

Full On Wedding:

Traditional Wedding

If she's having a full on wedding, with a reception and ceremony and some cultural practices (and family flying over), she'd send her measurements to a designer in Nigeria that her family has been working with for years and a designer in Kenya that designed her father's wedding clothing (it would be hell trying to get this information out of Rebecca, but she'd be determined). There might end up being a lot of outfit changes, lol.

Honestly, I've been thinking on this for a while and I'm not entirely sure which culture she'd lean into the most. I think her Yoruba culture would be the main one considering her relationship with her grandma (Rebecca’s mom). Her relationship with her grandpa (Rebecca’s dad) is a lot more on the distant side, so her incorporating Igbo culture in her wedding is debatable. She doesn't have much family from Rook’s side, considering the fact that her grandparents had passed away long before he even met Rebecca, and his sister passed away when Zuri was still really young. Too young to even really remember her beyond what she's seen in pictures. But she'd want to incorporate his Kenyan culture in some way - I'm just not sure if that would include an outfit change or not.

So if she has a traditional wedding, she'd definitely have a slightly more modern Yoruba wedding dress with a gele (a traditional headwrap) and ipele (a cloth that's usually worn as a sash draped across one shoulder - she'd have it on her sleeve instead like it is in the picture), but the Igbo and Kikuyu (Kenyan) ones are a maybe

So the pictures of them are basically just me wanting to show what she would wear if she did lol - I spent too much time looking for them to not include them in this post. These are the dresses, respectively.

*If her partner has cultural practices that they want to have in the wedding, she'd stick with her Yoruba one so that there's enough time in the day for both. In twc, I can see Nate possibly having his Persian culture in the wedding. And if Farah had any desire to include union practices from the Echo World, Zuri would be so down and so excited to do them (but that may have to happen on the day of their white wedding since Zuri’s very human family would be here for this one).

Considering the fact that Zuri's extended family will be there, there will be money spraying. How comfortable each member of Unit Bravo would be being surrounded by people spraying them in money is interesting to think about lmao, Zuri would probably have to ask them to keep that part of the celebration short. I can see Farah loving it though.

White Wedding

I don't think she'd have a white wedding on the same day as the traditional one - it would be too stressful for her. This one would definitely be smaller, with mostly close friends - including some supernatural ones, Elidor, Tapeesa, and Unit Alpha are definitely invited.

Zuri's wedding dress would be an off the shoulder, mermaid (I think?) dress with a flower motif. Where the flowers come in is something I haven't completely decided on - having them on the dress can be really pretty, but be mistaken for regular lace if it isn't distinct enough. Having it on the train or veil instead is a possibility.

It would probably happen in a smaller venue than the one they had the traditional wedding in, and they could use the money they got from the spraying to fund it lol. Zuri's aunt's would not hold back in that regard.

[smilesrobotlover]

First|| <-previous next->

AO3

Chapter 8- A Soldier’s Visit to Faron

Link woke up to the sound of talking. He rubbed his eyes and looked out the window where the sun was shining through. He listened more carefully and recognized his pa’s voice speaking outside and he frowned. What was he doing outside? Link stood up and shuffled over to the window, looking out to see Rusl speaking with Auru. His pa’s arms were crossed, and a serious look was on his face while Auru had a more concerned expression. Rusl started speaking again and Link opened the window to hear him better.

“...I only wish I was stronger,” his pa said softly. Auru tilted his head.

“Rusl–”

“I know! I’m only human, I’m weaker than most of y’all but… I… he’s my son. I should be protecting him but… I can’t.”

Link frowned. Was he talking about him?

“Rusl, even a Hylian wouldn’t be strong enough to fight against a mysterious shadow monster. Be kinder to yourself.”

Rusl sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. “I know… I know… It’s just terrifying, you know? It’s terrifying to discover that you can’t protect your family. If that thing got closer to Ordon and took–” his breath hitched and Auru rested a hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t think about that. The beast did not get to Ordon. It didn’t hurt Uli or Colin or Rela or anyone.”

“It did hurt Link though…”

“Well, fortunately it didn’t hurt him too bad, right?”

Rusl shrugged. “Not as bad as me… But I don’t want him to have the responsibility of saving me. Not again.”

Link’s feelings grew conflicted. Was his pa ashamed of having to be rescued by him? Link supposed he understood to an extent. Since becoming a father himself, he’s wanted nothing more than to protect Kori and Midna with his life. If Kori had to save him… he’d probably be ashamed of himself too.

“That’s what you get for raising a heroic boy, Rusl,” Auru joked, and Rusl gave him an annoyed smile.

“It’s not my fault he turned out that way.”

“Oh shut it, of course it is!”

“No it isn’t, Link turned out that way because that’s the way he is.”

“Colin and Rela are the same way though, I think it is your fault.”

“Spirits!” Rusl lightly punched Auru in the arm and the old man chuckled.

“Oh c’mere,” Auru pulled Rusl into a hug, which he melted into. “It sounds like you two went through a lot, I’m sorry.”

From Auru’s large frame and Rusl’s smaller stature, it almost looked like a child hugging his father from Link’s perspective. It made his heart ache for Kori.

He prayed to every deity on the planet to keep him safe from the shadow beast.

The two men pulled away and started to head inside, and Link pulled away from the window as well, letting out a sigh. He knew it wasn’t appropriate for him to eavesdrop on such a conversation, but he couldn’t stop himself. To get his pa to open up about things that bothered him was like trying to pry a deku baba’s jaw open after it closed. But Link didn’t know if he regretted learning how Rusl truly felt about everything. He felt guilty, sad, and mostly confused from it all. He almost wished he was the one to be attacked by the shadow beast, that way his pa wasn’t hurt and traumatized the way he was. Link had dealt with far worse in his life; it would’ve been no different.

He finally went to close the window until he heard shuffling beside him, and movement from the corner of his eye caused him to nearly jump out of his skin. A person was turning around on the bed opposite from the other one Link was in, and Link backed up in shock. How in Din’s name did he not notice this person? Based on the clothes, he recognized the person as Sheik, but when he saw their face, his heart stopped.

It was Zelda who was staring back at him with wide eyes.

“Oh–”

Zelda felt her face and her eyes landed on her discarded mark and headwrap on the floor, and a string of curses from her mouth left Link more shocked. He didn’t know Zelda was even capable of swearing. Zelda scrambled for the clothes and nearly tumbled out of her bed while Link remained paralyzed. She finally stood up, her face covered up, yet her stormy-gray eyes couldn’t hide her identity. How did he not know?

“You—” he started, but Zelda stopped him.

“N-no… no I—”

“You– you’re—” Link’s mind was racing, and he was finally able to string a full sentence together. “What are you doing in my room?”

“Th-this was meant to be my room! I didn’t– you– I–” Zelda let out another cuss word which felt like a punch to Link’s face. She never acted in such a way around him; she was always so proper and polite. He ran his hand through his hair and stared at the floor with wide eyes.

“I don’t believe it– oh Goddesses you–”

Rusl burst through the door, interrupting the two.

“Oh Sheik! Link! Glad you’re both awake!” He said cheerily, leaning against the door frame. Link and Sheik only stared at him in shock. “Ya know, Sheik. You scared the living daylights outta me when you came in last night. You poor thing—must’ve been exhausted!”

Zelda and Link continued to stare in shock, and Rusl frowned.

“Is everything alright?”

“Yes, everything is fine,” Zelda—or Sheik—said breathlessly, before moving past Rusl towards the stairs. Rusl stared back at her for a moment before looking back at Link, clearly confused.

“What the heck happened there?”

“I… uh…” Link bit his lip, wondering what he should tell Rusl. Zelda had clearly kept this identity a secret for a reason—was it right to tell his father? “Uh… I was just surprised to see Sheik in here, that’s all,” he finally said, laughing nervously. Rusl stared for a moment before laughing slightly.

“Yeah, he must’ve been awfully tired, huh?” He chuckled, and Link nodded, forcing a smile. The two stared for a moment, Rusl’s smile fading more and more as Link’s fake smile grew bigger. “Well, Telma has some breakfast for us so… you can… come down–”

“Oh! Yes! Sounds great! Thanks pa!” Link said a little too loudly, and marched towards the stairs.

Breakfast was painfully awkward. Link couldn’t help but stare at Sheik, who looked terrified. She would glance at him and Link would look away, only for him to go back to staring at her. The others didn’t notice the tension between them, instead they were chatting happily with each other, unaware of the recent discovery Link made.

Did they know? Did Zelda want to keep it a secret from only him? Or were they just as oblivious as he was before? His mind wandered to Ashei, with their conversation about Sheik before. Did she know? She seemed to know about Sheik not being a man, but was it because she knew that Sheik was Zelda? His mind was racing as he thought about it, not paying attention to the other’s conversations.

“… and she just picked it up!” Rusl exclaimed, his hands gesturing in front of Link’s face, interrupting his staring. “I tell you, that girl was born to fight. We should start teaching Kori some sword fighting too, right Link?”

Link glanced at his father, then at everyone else staring at him.

“W-what?” He muttered, and Rusl raised an eyebrow.

“I was just telling them about Rela, and her first sword-fighting lesson! Kori is ten now, I think it’s about time he started learnin’ too!”

“Oh! Yes, right,” Link quickly said, going back to watching Sheik. Rusl continued to stare at him, the others doing the same.

“Uh, is everything alright, old boy?” Shad asked, looking between him and Sheik.

“Oh—“ Rusl adjusted himself in his seat and pointed at Sheik. “He just broke into our room last night and scared me stiff. I’m sure he must’ve shocked Link this morning.”

Link saw Ashei worriedly turn her head to Sheik, who remained unmoving.

“Oh my goddesses, Rusl,” Auru groaned, “did you take the first room? Sheik is always the one in there!”

“Since when did we have room assignments?” Rusl argued.

“It’s an unspoken rule! Sheik takes the first room. I take the third one, Ashei takes the second and Shad takes the room across, and you and Link take the room in the back!”

“But they ain’t labeled!”

“That’s—ugh, boy…. That’s why it’s unspoken!”

Sheik got up abruptly as the two argued and left the bar. Link stood up as well and followed. He had so many questions for her, and he wanted answers. He found Sheik right outside the bar, and she didn’t look surprised to see Link.

“Link,” she started, and he stopped right in front of her.

“Zelda.”

“Don’t… ah…”

“Oh—right. Sorry. Sheik,” Link pursed his lips and the two sat in silence. Every question he had was gone in an instant. It almost saddened him—they worked well together during the twilight invasion, yet their relationship was never strengthened. Zelda wanted him to be a knight and to be a representative for Hyrule, but Link didn’t want to be stuck with nobles doing useless things; much less being some trophy for the people to gawk at. It put a strain on their relationship, and he didn’t expect to be speaking to Zelda ever again.

Then again, they’ve been speaking for a while now, yet he didn’t know.

“Sorry my pa took your room,” he finally said.

“Oh… it’s alright.”

Link smiled awkwardly and nodded. Sheik nodded back. There was silence again between the two, and Link cleared his throat.

“So… Sheik. What—um—why?”

“Why what?”

Link huffed and ran his hand through his hair. “Why? Why didn’t you tell us? Why are you doing this? I just… I’m curious…”

Sheik’s brows furrowed together and she looked down. “I just… wanted to do more for my kingdom.”

Link frowned. “But you’re the queen. You do more for Hyrule than anyone else!”

Sheik shook her head. “Not enough.” She sighed and sat on a box, rubbing her eyes. “During the twilight invasion, I felt… helpless. I couldn’t do anything for anyone. I was a prisoner in my own home, and all I could do was trust you. I just… I never want to be out of control like that ever again. I want to personally save Hyrule myself if it were to come to it. I felt that… as Sheik… I could do that. I wasn’t a queen anymore I-I felt more like… I don’t know… a protector. I feel like I can actually make an impact doing this.”

Link gave her a sad look and joined her on the box, staring at the door that led to Telma’s bar. “You don’t give yourself enough credit,” he started softly. “You did so much during the invasion. You… you kept Zant from slaughtering everyone in Hyrule. You saved my life and you saved Midna’s life at your own expense. You helped me defeat Ganondorf,” Link looked up at her, but she didn’t meet his eyes. “I couldn’t have saved Hyrule if not for you.”

“But… I couldn’t do more—“

“Goddesses, Sheik, I thought you gave up your life for Midna’s! I thought you died! What more could you have done?”

Sheik finally looked up at him. “I don’t know.”

“Good!” Link crossed his arms and sat up straight. “Now you know. You’re good enough!” Link felt his face flush at the corny message, and he turned away. The two were silent again; the sounds of laughter and bottles crashing were the only sounds heard. Link let out a sigh and turned to Sheik again. “I can understand though, wanting to do things yourself. I guess if I had to give orders and then sit there and wait for it to get done, I’d lose my mind a bit too.”

Sheik looked up at him, and though he couldn’t see her expression well, he did see a glimmer in her eye.

“I’m glad you somewhat understand,” she said.

Link hummed and nodded, and he pursed his lips. “So… why didn’t you tell the resistance?”

“It defeats the purpose of a secret identity, doesn’t it? I can't go around saying that I’m the queen when I… look like this,” she gestured to her outfit. “If they knew that I was not on the throne, they’d probably think me to be lazy.”

“Well, you’re not. You’re a good queen.”

Sheik’s eyes had more of a smile to them from that. “Thank you.”

Link gave her a smile. For once, they were having a pleasant conversation. No evil trying to destroy the world, no enemies needing to be defeated, and no heart broken from a love supposedly killed. They were just two people. Seeing Zelda as Sheik, he saw her in a different light. A simple woman who was trying.

“How did Kori come to be?” Sheik suddenly asked, and Link’s eyes widened. The resistance only met Kori a handful of times, and he didn’t think about how it would’ve affected Sheik. She and Rusl were the only ones who knew about Midna. Rusl found out about Midna’s return, but Zelda never did…

“Uh…. Well… I don’t know what you’re asking specifically but… Twili’s bodies aren’t too different from ours,” he mumbled.

Sheik’s face flushed slightly and she shook her head. “T-that’s not what I meant.”

Link cursed in his mind and laughed nervously. “Oh! Well… sorry.”

“No no, I should’ve been more specific. I meant… How is Kori here? Midna destroyed the mirror, there should be no connection to the twilight realm.”

“Oh… well…” Link stared at the ground, watching bits of dust move with the light breeze. He let out a sigh. “I have no idea. One night, Midna came to my door with Kori in her arms… and now he’s here.”

Sheik studied his face for a moment. “Is Midna still here?”

Link paused. Should he tell her that Midna visited whenever she could? Would Sheik feel left out if she knew that she only visited Link and his family? Did she even care? He didn’t know how close the two were during the invasion; he knew they were acquainted before he came along, but Midna didn’t seem to like her in the beginning. In the end, they were more like allies than friends. But was he wrong?”

“She… visits,” he finally said, and Sheik’s saddened look made him regret saying it.

“I see,” she whispered.

“I-I’m so sorry. I didn’t… you guys… I didn’t know you were friends and—“

“We weren’t,” Sheik said bluntly. “I suppose we never were.”

That stung slightly, hearing that about Midna. He wondered why she wouldn’t tell Sheik about everything, but he shouldn’t be surprised. If Kori never got hurt in the twilight realm, she probably would’ve never come in the first place.

“If it makes you feel any better, she never came back for me,” he started in a cautious tone, “she came back for Kori.” Sheik gave him a confused look so he elaborated. “I don’t know if you remember, but he has a scar up along his arm,” Link traced his forearm to show where the scar was, and Sheik watched carefully. “Apparently, when he was two, an advisor hurt him because… he was scared Kori would doom the Twili. There’s only one female Twili, and she’s meant to give birth to the heir, who will also be a female. But Kori… not only was he a half Twili, but he was a boy. And… They hurt him.” Link frowned. It was difficult saying it all out loud. The familiar rage that he thought he moved on from began to bubble in his chest, and he had to clench his fists to control it. If he ever met the Twili that hurt his son…

“So… you didn’t know about Kori?” Sheik asked, and Link nodded.

“She knew he wouldn’t be safe in the twilight realm, so she found a way back to Ordon. I still have no idea how she’s going back and forth though. She refuses to tell me, but I think she’s afraid of another invasion happening and… destroying the mirror to be a waste.”

Sheik nodded, but she still had a sad look in her eyes.

“Look, Sheik, she’s very secretive. Only my family knows and that’s ‘cause my pa knew her and… she’s never made herself known to anyone. So…. Yeah…. And she’s never left Ordon either.”

Sheik looked down at her fidgeting hands. “I see…”

Link frowned, the silence entering their conversation again. They sat for a long moment, until Link had an idea.

“You know, Sheik… I’m sure Midna would love to see you again.” She looked up, giving him a confused look. “If you ever wanna… I dunno… turn into Sheik and visit Ordon… We’d love to have you. I make great pumpkin soup.”

Sheik stared at him with wide eyes, before turning away with a small laugh. “I might… take you up on that offer,” she said softly, and Link’s heart swelled. They smiled at each other, and Sheik looked like she was about to say something, but they were interrupted by the door opening. Ashei poked her head through the door and gave the two of them a look.

“Is everything ok out here?” She asked.

“Yes, Ashei everything is fine,” Sheik said, giving Link a look. “He… sort of found out about… me…”

Ashei sighed. “I was afraid that was the case.”

Link glanced between the both of them. “So you did know about her?”

Ashei nodded. “Don’t know if you remember when we were investigating the rogue Bulblins, but our queen here got herself injured. It’s kinda hard to take care of an injured person with a mask covering their mouth, yeah?”

Link shrugged. “I guess so. It certainly explains a lot.”

Sheik nodded awkwardly and sighed. “It was difficult for me at the moment, but I am glad that I didn’t have to hide my true identity from at least one person. But now I guess it’s two people.”

Ashei made a face. “I have a feeling the rest of them will be finding out soon.”

An annoyed sigh escaped Sheik and she nodded. Ashei shrugged and gestured to the bar with her head. “Come on inside, yeah? We’re going to start planning.”

Link and Sheik stood up to follow Ashei inside, but Link stopped Sheik before they headed inside.

“You ready to save Hyrule again?” He asked, his fist hanging in front of her. She stared at it for a moment, then nodded, bumping his waiting fist with her own.

“I’m more than ready.”

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

“Kori! Pay attention!”

Kori looked up at Rela who had her wooden sword resting on her shoulder. She glared at him, one hand on her hip and one foot tapping impatiently in the Ordon spring water. Kori glanced at his own wooden sword, pouting at his aunt.

“Rela, I don’t wanna do this.”

“Shut it! You’re old enough to learn sword fighting, and my pa ain’t here to teach you. So it’s up to me to do it!” Her sword was swung to the ground and she held it up against Kori. “There’s a monster out there in Faron woods, so we need to be able to defend ourselves and Ordon!”

“Isn’t that why Colin and Beth and Talo are here though?” Colin and the others had been patrolling Ordon, searching for any dangers that could threaten their home. Kori didn’t quite understand what was happening; no one told him anything when he asked. His pa and grandpa left to castle town before he had a chance to think, so he was staying with his gramma, confused about what was happening.

“Colin may need our help if we are attacked,” Rela started to argue, marching back and forth as the sword swung in her hands. “If we’re able to help them, we’ll be heroes! Isn’t that what you want Kori? To be a hero?”

“Not really. I just wanna be a farmer,” Kori said simply. Rela groaned and rolled her eyes.

“Why are you being so boring?”

Kori felt a sting in his heart, but he ignored it. “I’m not being boring! I just… I just wanna play with my toys!”

“Well too bad! Now, block this attack!”

Kori gasped as Rela swung her sword at him. He quickly brought his own up and staggered back as she hit it. He glanced at his sword, then glared at Rela.

“Don’t hit it so hard!”

“You need to block better! Stand your ground!”

Rela swung at him again and he squealed as it smashed against his own. Rela got closer to him and he started to run away, but Rela quickly stopped him.

“Don’t be a coward! Face me!”

“Rela, you’re so much bigger than me! I’m scared!” Kori pleaded, but she only charged at him again. She knocked into him and he fell backwards into the water. He gasped and looked up to see Rela swinging down onto him. He quickly brought his own sword up and was barely able to block it. Scrambling to his feet, he clumsily blocked a few more attacks. Kori grew more focused with each attack, planting his feet so he could stay unmoving in the sparring. She hit his sword a few more times until Kori slipped up, and Rela’s smacked his arm. Kori squealed in pain and dropped his sword, holding his aching arm.

“Ooooow! Rela! You hit me!” He cried, tears forming in his eyes.

“Oh you’re fine. This is why we train with wooden swords, so we don’t end up killing each other!” She took a step forward, her arms crossed. “If it were the real deal, you would’ve lost your arm.”

Kori huffed angrily at her. “I’m telling Gramma!”

Rela’s eyes went big, her tough demeanor dropping instantly, and she quickly jumped in front of Kori as he went to leave the spring. “N-no no no! Please don’t tell my ma! I’m so sorry Kori!”

Kori ignored his aunt’s begging, trying to push past her.

“Wait! Kori! We can play with our toys now, ok? We can do whatever you want! In fact—here!” Rela grabbed Kori and put her sword in his hand. “You can hit me back! Just please don’t tell my ma!”

Kori glared at her as she kept grabbing his arm, then he bit her hand. Rela shrieked and pulled her hand back, giving Kori a horrified look.

“You bit me!”

“Well you said I could hurt you back!”

“I said you could hit me back, not bite me!”

Kori crossed his arms and turned away. “Well you wouldn’t stop grabbing me! I’m tired of playin’ with swords! I’m going back home!”

Kori marched through the water, feeling Rela’s glare at the back of his head. He suddenly felt water splash onto his head, and he gasped as his clothes and hair got fully drenched. He spun around at Rela and snarled at her.

“What? You were wet anyways,” Rela said.

“That’s it!” Kori screamed as he charged at the Rela, and the two started to grapple and become tangled with each other. Rela was much older and stronger than Kori was, so she easily pinned him down, but he kept biting her hands which caused her to pull back.

“Stop biting me!” She yelled.

“Well stop pulling at my hair!” Kori yelled back as she tugged at his hair. The two wrestled for a while longer until they were interrupted.

“What are you two doing?”

The kids stopped and looked up at Uli who was glaring at the two. She was panting and her hands were balled up, a fire in her eyes as she watched the two kids. The two quickly scrambled to their feet, staring at her guiltily. Uli relaxed a little, then glanced at the bridge past Ordon worriedly.

“You kids aren’t supposed to be out here,” she scolded, walking towards the two.

“We’re still in Ordon,” Rela sassed, but she quickly straightened herself out with a glare from Uli. “I-I mean… you said we had to stay in Ordon so… we are still… here… in Ordon.”

“No, you’re staying in the village itself. We’re not gonna be out by the spring or by Kori’s house, ok?”

Rela and Kori glanced at each other.

“Why?” Kori asked, trying not to sound rude or sassy.

“Because it’s too far from the others. If something were to happen, no one would know. Now come on,” Uli gestured to the village with her head, and Kori and Rela quickly followed.

“I hope you two have done your chores,” Uli started as they walked past Kori’s home, “it’s pretty early in the morning, is it not?”

Rela gave Kori a worried look, then looked down guiltily. “Um…. We did some…”

Uli sighed. “Why did you do some and not all?”

Rela huffed and jogged in front of her ma. “Because! I know there’s a monster out there hurting people! It attacked pa and Link! I just want to make sure me and Kori are strong enough for when it attacks again!”

Uli stopped and gave Rela a sad yet proud look. “Rela, it’ll be fine. Your pa and Link are taking care of it, while Colin and the others are protecting Ordon. You don’t have to be responsible for our safety.”

“But—“

“I know you’re excited to use your sword techniques your pa taught you, but it’s not enough. For now—just—focus on your chores, ok?”

Rela pouted and glumly walked to her house, her head hanging. Kori stood by his gramma, leaning his head against her leg. She chuckled and ruffled his hair.

“Did you do your chores today, Kori?”

Kori pursed his lips. Rela had lied about them doing some of their chores. They actually did none of their chores. But unlike Rela, Kori was a horrible liar.

“N-no… we didn’t do anything,” he mumbled, but then quickly added, “I mean, I didn't do anything! Rela did though!”

Uli gave him a soft smile. “You don’t have to cover for Rela, dear. I know she was lying.”

“Oh…”

Uli let out a loud sigh and rubbed her head. “Go and do your chores dear, luckily there’s not a whole lot for you to do since you’re not at home right now.”

Excitement swelled within Kori and he nodded. He heard his gramma giggle as he ran to the home, barged into his room, and ran past Rela who was grumbling to herself. He quickly picked up his area in his grandparent’s home, plucked the weeds in the gardens, and collected the ripe fruit, though there wasn’t a lot. There wasn’t much else for him to do—he couldn’t help Fado with the goats since he was too small, and he couldn’t clean up his home since he wasn’t allowed in there. So he started to wander around Ordon, watching the villagers go about their day. He couldn’t help but focus on Coro, the man who started staying with Fado. Kori had rarely talked to Coro before, and the man’s carefree attitude and animals that hung around enticed him. But Kori was too shy to approach the strange man—he didn’t know how Coro would react to him.

The best way for Kori to learn more about Coro was to sneakily follow him around Ordon. It was always easy for Kori to stalk the humans in Ordon; their round ears didn’t pick up on sounds like his and his papa’s did, so he followed the man around for a while without being noticed. He watched Coro simply sit by the pond for a long time, talking to his funny bird pet who chattered to him back. Smaller birds floated around his head, and even nestled inside it, and the cuccos trotted around him. Kori wondered if birds generally liked him, and how he could make birds like him as well.

Kori’s stalking didn’t go unnoticed forever, however, and Coro spotted him hiding behind a bush. The two made eye contact, and Kori ducked for cover, but it was already too late.

“Uh, hello,” Coro called out awkwardly, and Kori shyly popped up from the bushes. Coro smiled gently and gestured for him to come closer. “No reason to hide, tiny guy.”

Kori looked behind him and shuffled over to the strange man.

“Hi,” he greeted quietly, and the parrot resting on Coro’s knee squawked a greeting back. Kori jumped at the sudden sound and Coro chuckled.

“Trill, you don’t need to be that loud,” he said.

“Sorry,” the bird squawked, not any quieter than before. Kori giggled slightly and held his hand out to Trill.

“Careful, he might peck at you,” Coro warned, and Kori drew his hand back, giving Coro a guilty look. Coro reached up and gently grabbed the smaller birds in his hair and offered it to Kori. “These guys are much nicer.”

Kori smiled and offered his hand again, and the tiny bird peeped, hopping into it. Kori giggled at the tickling feeling of its tiny feet against his palm and gently stroked its little head.

“That one is named Chickie,” Coro started to explain, “he was born not too long ago.”

Kori’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“Yep! His family is here somewhere,” Coro started digging around in his hair, pulling out different tiny birds from the nest on his hair and showing them to Kori. He made a whistling sound and the birds floated over to Kori and landed on his arms and head. Kori froze, feeling the tiny talons lightly digging into his skin. Coro chuckled again. “They’re friendly! Don’t worry.”

Kori grinned and watched the birds hop around, giggling as they tickled him when they moved.

“Yeah, Trill here is nice enough, but you need to be careful. He can be a little aggressive if you freak him out,” Coro explained, petting Trill gently. “He’s had so many people steal from him, he has to be aggressive, you know?” Kori nodded seriously. “Apparently, a few years ago, some green guy kept stealing his lamp oil and red potion, no matter how many times he fought back! Can you believe that? What kind of horrible person steals from a bird?”

Kori nodded again. His pa always taught him to not steal, so he knew to take that very seriously. One of the birds flew back to Coro’s nest-hair so Kori allowed the others to return as well.

“Um, thank you for letting me hold your birds,” Kori mumbled, and Coro grinned.

“Of course! It’s easy to be scared of animals, especially birds, but I always think we should be more understanding of them. It’s best to learn young, anyway!” Coro lifted the smaller birds to his hair and gave Kori a look. “So… if you don’t mind me asking, tiny guy, what exactly are you?”

Kori thought for a moment. “A Twilian.”

Coro frowned. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that. Well, it’s nice to officially meet you, tiny guy.”

Kori nodded excitedly. “My name is Kori.”

“I’m Coro.” He offered his hand to Kori and he gingerly took it, letting Coro shake their hands. Coro pulled away and went back to petting Trill. “Do you like animals, Kori? I assume that’s why you decided to follow me.”

“Oh! Yeah, I love animals.”

“What’s your favorite animal?”

“I love kitties.”

Coro smiled warmly. “I think I saw kitties by Sera’s shop, did you see them?”

Kori nodded, but a sense of dread entered him when he thought about Sera. He hadn’t seen the kitties in a while.

“That’s good, they’re so cute and tiny,” Coro continued when Kori didn’t say anything. “But I’m more of a bird person myself. I forget how great the cuccos are here in Ordon.”

Kori nodded again and looked around him, spotting Rela who was stomping around the village. They made eye contact and his aunt began to angrily stomp towards him. Uh-oh.

“I think cuccos are misunderstood creatures,” Coro continued to ramble, not caring if Kori was paying attention or not. “As long as you respect them, they respect you. That’s why you should always treat animals with respect. Because respect is a two-way path and—”

“Kori!” Rela shouted when she got close enough and put her hands on her hips, glaring at him. “What are you doing? Shouldn’t you be doin’ chores?”

Kori glanced at Coro who was still rambling about animals. “I got them all done! There wasn’t a whole lot since I’m not at home right now.”

Rela huffed and said a bad word under her breath. “W-well, help me with mine so I can get done!”

Kori scrunched up his face. “I’m not gonna do your chores! You have to do them yourself!”

“But what will you do? You’ll be sooo bored.”

Kori gestured to Coro who finally stopped talking and was observing the two kids. Rela squinted her eyes and faced him fully.

“Weren’t you the guy who came here crying like a baby?” She sneered.

“Yes,” Coro said simply. “And if you saw what I saw, you’d be crying like a baby too.”

Rela seemed surprised at the response and she turned away, her arms crossed. “Well, Kori needs to help me with my chores so we can hang out—”

“No I don’t!” Kori shouted.

“Yes you do! You still need more training!”

Kori groaned. “We’ve been training all morning! I don’t want to do that!”

Coro glanced between the two. “Training? For what?”

Rela gave him a look but once again faced him. “Training to protect Ordon of course!”

Coro’s eyes widened and he nodded slowly. “Ok.”

“So I need to get done as soon as possible so we can keep training and—” Rela’s eyes widened and her hands shot up to her head. “Oh no! The swords!”

Kori raised an eyebrow and Rela suddenly grabbed his hands, pulling him away from Coro.

“H-hey, wha—Bye!” Kori called out to Coro, and the man waved back. “Rela! What’s going on?”

“I left the swords at the spring!” Rela cried. “They’re gonna get ruined in the water! And pa will be so mad if he finds out I left them soaked!”

Kori tried to pull free from her grip, but she was too strong. “But we’re not supposed to go to the spring!”

Rela stopped and spun around to face Kori. “We won’t be gone for too long, ok? We’re just gonna grab them and come right back! But I need to get those before they’re ruined forever!”

Kori frowned but was immediately grabbed and pulled behind Rela again. The two sprinted towards the spring, Kori feeling more and more anxious as he looked around the forest. Every bone in his body was telling him to leave and that he wasn’t supposed to be there. But he continued to follow Rela, not wanting either of them to be left alone in these woods. They made it to the spring and Rela sprinted to the water, grabbing the soaked wooden swords.

“Thank the spirits I remembered these!” She said, relieved. “Hopefully they’re not ruined…”

Kori stared at the wooden swords and sighed. “Can we go back now? We’re not supposed to be here.”

Rela rolled her eyes. “Ok, yes we can go.”

The two kids started to leave the spring, but Kori heard a strange noise. He frowned and turned his head to hear it better. It sounded like the trotting of a horse. He found himself wandering closer to the bridge, and he spotted something walking towards him and Rela.

“What is it?” His aunt asked, but Kori was frozen. Whether it was of fear or anticipation, he didn’t know, but he couldn’t move his eyes off of the moving figure. As the figure got closer, he recognized it as a rider on a horse, and he got filled with excitement.

“PAPA!” He shouted, running across the bridge and towards the horse. But as he got closer, he realized that the horse was not Epona, and the man riding the horse was neither his grandpa nor his papa. He stopped dead in his tracks and stared at the strange man with wide eyes, and the rider stopped, the five other horses and men stopping as well. The man stared back at Kori, his green eyes observing him. Rela caught up to Kori and quickly got in front of him, glaring at the man.

“Hello,” he greeted, “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

“What do you want?” Rela spat, and Kori was surprised at her hostility towards an adult.

“Easy now, me and my men are just investigating some disappearances,” he explained. He hopped off his horse and took off his helmet. The man had brown hair that stopped beneath his chin, and Kori noticed his delicately pointed ears that labeled him a Hylian. His tan brown skin made his emerald eyes stick out and his mustache was curled up in a gentle smile. He bowed his head slightly with his right hand over his heart. “My name is Hoz, I am the captain of the Hylian guard. I just have some questions I need to ask the villagers near this area. May I speak with the adults there?”

Rela puffed her chest and crossed her arms. “You can speak to us.”

Hoz stared at her for a moment, then glanced at the soldiers behind him. “Uh… I’d prefer to speak to an adult. Where are your parents?”

Rela frowned. “We can speak just fine!”

Hoz began to look around, noticeably uncomfortable. “Right, well, is your village just down the trail?”

“I’m not telling you!” Rela yelled.

“Yes,” Kori answered softly. Rela spun around and shot him a glare while Hoz smiled warmly.

“Thank you. It’s quite a long walk isn’t it? Would you kids like to hitch a ride on my mount?” He gestured to his large speckled horse, but Rela quickly shook her head.

“My parents told me I shouldn’t ride with strangers.”

Hoz chuckled and bowed his head again. “Understood.”

“Hey now! You can’t go to the village!” Rela hopped in front of him as he started to move, pointing her wooden sword at him. “We’re on high alert right now! There’s somethin’ out in the woods, so me and Kori are here to keep it safe! You got that?”

Hoz’s eyes widened at the wooden sword and he gently redirected the sword and started to walk forward. “I promise we mean no harm to your village—”

Rela repointed her sword at him. Hoz took a deep breath and moved it again.

“We’re just investigating some disappearances and—” Rela insisted with her sword once again, and he gave up on moving past it. “Whatever information your parents may have will be useful for the protection of Hyrule.”

Rela squinted her eyes and Kori heard the soldiers behind Hoz groan.

“Will you just move, you little brat?” One of them called out, and Hoz shot them a warning glare.

“Listen, we don’t have time for this,” Hoz sighed, rubbing his eyes. “You said there was something in the woods, correct?”

Rela squinted her eyes, not saying anything. Kori walked up to Hoz and the captain glanced at him.

“I think my papa was attacked by a monster,” he said softly, and Hoz’s eyes went big.

“What monster?” Hoz asked, kneeling at Kori’s level.

Kori shrugged, staring at the ground. He heard more footsteps and he looked up, noticing Colin jogging towards the group.

“What’s going on?” His uncle asked, eyeing the soldiers with a threatening glare. Hoz stood up and gave him a slight bow, looking relieved.

“Hello my good sir, my name is Hoz. I am the captain for the Hylian guard.”

Colin's eyes widened and he nodded. “R-right, of course,” he turned his attention to the kids and grabbed Rela. “What are you doing out here? You’re supposed to be in the village!”

“I left the wooden swords in the spring!” Rela defended herself, gesturing to them.

Colin rolled his eyes and turned to Hoz. “I’m so sorry about my little sister and nephew, they’re not supposed to be out here.”

Hoz waved his apology away. “It’s no trouble. I’m just glad that…” he gave Rela a look, then cleared his throat, “I’m just glad that I can speak with an adult.”

Rela made an offended noise and Colin pushed her behind him.

“Of course! What do you need?”

Hoz straightened his posture and cleared his throat. “These men and I were requested by Queen Zelda to find information on disappearances that have been happening throughout Hyrule. I just wanted to ask if you knew any information on this.”

Kori watched the gears in his uncle’s head turning. Were these disappearances what Barnes was talking about? Colin ran his fingers through his hair and nodded.

“Yes, actually I think I do.”

Hoz’s eyes widened and his polite demeanor dropped instantly. He ran up to Colin and grabbed his arm. “You do? What did you find?” Colin leaned back slightly and Hoz quickly jumped back. “A-apologies. I just… I’ve been searching for a while and haven’t found anything.”

Colin smiled nervously. “I understand.” He glanced at Kori and Rela, then looked up at the captain. “My pa and brother were attacked by a monster a couple of nights ago.”

Hoz stared for a moment, almost looking disappointed. “A monster? Is that it?”

“It‘s not an ordinary monster,” Colin looked back at Kori and Rela again and stepped closer to the captain, speaking so softly that Kori could barely hear him. “Do you remember the twilight invasion, with the black beasts roaming Hyrule?”

Hoz’s eyes widened. “I do remember. They stormed the castle. I could’ve lost my life if Zelda had not surrendered.”

Colin nodded and Rela gave Kori a confused look, hoping he knew what they were saying. Kori almost wished he didn’t; black beasts roaming Hyrule… it sounded terrifying.

“My pa and brother were attacked by one in Faron woods a couple of nights ago. It could still be here, or it could’ve moved around,” Colin continued, looking around at the trees nervously. “But it’s what’s taking these people. I don’t know what it’s doing to them, but it can’t be anything good.”

Hoz nodded and smiled at him, resting his hand on his shoulder. “Thank you, young man. For once, we actually have a lead now!” He turned around to his men and nodded, gesturing to Faron. “We’ll investigate these woods, the rest of you should remain indoors—“

“No no no, wait,” Colin moved in front of Hoz, stopping him in his tracks. “I don’t think you should go hunting for it. It’s… it’s dangerous.”

“I know,” Hoz said, “I fought several of them and I don’t think I ever killed one. They were always revived before my very eyes.” Hoz glanced at the children. “But I think me and five other men can handle one.”

Colin shook his head, once again stopping the captain. “My older brother fought and killed hundreds of them. He couldn’t even defeat this one. It’s more dangerous; you need a plan.”

Hoz frowned. “Who is your brother may I ask?”

Colin fidgeted slightly and pursed his lips. “He—he’s the hero of Hyrule, sir.”

Hoz stared blankly, then he let out an exasperated sigh. “Alright.”

“I’m not lying!”

“I didn’t say you were lying,” he quickly defended, but his tone didn’t convince Colin. Kori’s uncle gave him a glare, clearly using his taller height to try to intimidate the man, but the captain didn’t waver. “Look, I know a hero of Hyrule existed during the twilight invasion; who else would’ve saved Hyrule if not?”

“Then what’s your issue?” Colin pressed, and Hoz finally began to shift uncomfortably.

“I–I… It’s nothing,” Hoz let out a sigh and looked around. “Show me where this monster was spotted. Me and my men will take care of it.”

Colin pursed his lips, the gears turning in his head as he thought of what to do next, but he finally relaxed and started moving towards Faron Woods.

“It was by a house in front of the caves where it was first spotted,” he started to explain, Hoz following on foot. Kori glanced at Rela who started walking with Colin, a determined look in her eye as she clutched her wooden sword. “It moved around as my older brother and pa fought it though, so I can’t promise it’s still there.”

“That’s quite alright, we can make do,” Hoz said, an excited gleam in his eye. The group was silent as they marched through the woods, and they stopped right outside a house. Kori had seen this place before, but he never visited it. He wondered if Coro lived here.

“Well… Uh… here it is,” Colin said awkwardly, gesturing to the home. “Faron Woods in general is where it was, but this place is where they found it.”

“Fascinating,” Hoz muttered, his eyes fixated on the home as he walked towards it. “Men, look around and let me know if you find anything.” He turned to Colin. “You may return home if you wish. We’ll handle this.”

Colin sighed and nodded, turning to Kori and Rela who stood watching. He began to nudge them back towards Ordon, keeping them from moving away from him.

“You two should’ve gone back home,” he scolded, his hand never leaving Kori’s back.

“But I want to help fight a monster!” Rela protested, but Colin shook his head.

“Trust me, Rela, you are not ready to fight this monster,” he said, a nervous look in his eyes. “I don’t know if these guys will be ready to fight it either….” Colin’s voice trailed off and he stared at the grass with a thoughtful look in his eyes. Rela grumbled and crossed her arms, glaring at the grass as well. Kori only stared ahead, spotting the Faron spring coming into view. But as he got a better view, he noticed something that made him freeze in fear.

A large, black creature stood out from the bright, colorful spring. Arms hung awkwardly on its back as it paced the holy waters, and it turned to the group, with its yellow teeth being the only visible facial feature. Kori felt Colin’s hand grip on his shirt, and he was slowly pulled backwards away from the beast.

“What are you doing?” Rela yelled, annoyed, but Colin shushed her, his eyes never leaving the beast. She squirmed in his hold and Colin gripped her tighter.

“Rela, stop moving!” He hissed, his voice shaking slightly as they backed away.

“Let go of me!” Rela began to shout louder, and Colin quickly put his hand on her mouth. The black beast began to move closer to them, moving just as slow as they were. Rela squealed as she was muffled, but it turned into a gasp when she noticed the monster. The beast got low, and Colin let go of the two, shoving them back towards where Hoz was.

“RUN! NOW!” He shouted, and Kori’s adrenaline spiked, causing him to sprint. He fell behind Rela quickly, and he felt like he wanted to sob, but Colin kept nudging his back. He heard crashing behind them, but he didn’t dare look. He saw Hoz who looked startled at the sudden action, and Kori gasped as he tripped over his own skirt. He felt Colin lean over him protectively, hugging him close to shield him from the monster. Kori twisted his neck to look behind him, and he saw the beast snarling down on them, black spit pouring out of its mouth. He curled into Colin who had his sword drawn, but his uncle was shaking uncontrollably.

“Good goddesses!” Hoz exclaimed, his own sword being drawn. Kori heard the men let out a battle cry as they charged the creature, and Colin finally scrambled to his feet with Kori in his arms. He was looking behind his uncle as he ran, and saw the black beast swatting away the soldiers as if they were annoying flies. Some of the soldiers who were hit got back up and ran away, soon leaving Hoz alone to fight the beast.

“Get back here, you cowards!” Hoz yelled as he dodged a swipe from the creature, and Colin reached Rela who was crying. He set him down next to her and gestured to the house.

“Hide yourselves in there, ok? I’m gonna go help him,” he said quickly before giving the two a quick hug. Kori felt himself freeze up again as he watched Colin run towards the monster distracted by Hoz. He didn’t know what to do; he was too scared to move. He just wanted his papa.

Rela grabbed his arm and ran into the home, trying to move the boxes in front of the door while Kori stood there shaking. She shifted the home around to the best of her ability, straining to move the heavy boxes to the door.

“Kori, help me!” She cried, but Kori couldn’t move. Rela was only able to move a couple of boxes to the door, with a chair under the handle, and she finally pulled Kori into a cupboard, hugging him close as they stared wide-eyed in the darkness. Kori heard the muffled shouts of men along with roars from the monster. He cried quietly with his head against Rela’s, the sounds becoming agonizing to his long ears. It felt like hours that they were in the cupboard, fear of being found making Kori feel sick, but it eventually went silent. He glanced up and stared, straining his ears to hear something, anything. But it was silent.

“What is it?” Rela whispered, her voice shaking. Kori continued to listen, and he screamed when he heard loud banging on the door. Rela slapped her hand on his mouth and the two whimpered and shook as the banging continued. Kori curled further into Rela, trying to keep himself from sobbing. There was one more loud bang, then a crash of Rela’s makeshift barricade, then groans from two men.

“Rela? Kori?” The two heard Colin call out, and they scrambled out of the cupboard, ramming into Colin’s legs. Colin melted to the floor and hugged the two, a sigh of relief escaping him. “Thank the spirits,” he muttered in Rela’s hair.

“W-what happened?” Rela asked after pulling away. “Did you kill that monster?”

Colin sighed and shook his head. “No, but we led it away.”

“One of my men distracted it further into the woods,” Hoz continued to explain, staring anxiously out the door. “Glad to know that they’re useful for something.”

Colin gave him a look and stood up. “Shadow beasts are terrifying, give them more grace.”

“They are terrifying,” Hoz growled, stepping further into the home. “I fought them when they first invaded the castle ten years ago. I know how they work and what they are. But it is my duty to protect Hyrule, and it is their duty as well!” He turned away in a huff and looked outside again while Colin remained quiet. “I will not give them grace. If they didn’t want to be soldiers of Hyrule, then they should’ve stayed in the comfort of their home.”

Colin sighed and stood up. “Well, we’re not safe here. Let me take my sister and nephew back to Ordon, and I’ll help you chase after it.”

Hoz’s eyes widened and he nodded. “Very well. These young ones do not need to see such action.” He gave them a sympathetic look.

“Yeah, I saw a shadow beast when I was about nine,” Colin muttered, ruffling Kori and Rela’s hair. “It’s terrifying… I know it.”

Hoz hummed. “Yet you still came to my aid when my own men abandoned me.” he let out a chuckle. “You are the bravest man I’ve ever met.”

“O-Oh! W-well… I don’t know about that,” Colin laughed nervously, beginning to nudge Kori and Rela out the door.

“No, without a doubt. Your courage exceeds most of the soldiers of Hyrule! Have you ever considered joining the guard?”

Colin let out a sigh and drew his sword, watching the trees with unease as Kori and Rela stuck to his legs. “L-look, there are more important things right now.”

“Right,” Hoz cleared his throat and walked out of the house, his own sword drawn. “Let’s get these children home, then.”

The group quietly walked through the woods; despite it being light out, Kori couldn’t help but feel the danger of a shadow lurking in the corners. He kept his eyes sharp, looking for anything that moved. They reached the Faron spring and Kori hugged Colin’s legs tighter. It was uncomfortably silent, but from a distance, Kori heard the sounds of screams. Hoz seemed to pick up on it as well, and he looked around him, a worried look on his face. Colin and Rela seemed none the wiser, however, and they continued onward. A snap of a twig filled the air, and he felt Colin tense as a horse burst through the entrance with a distressed whinny.

“Penelope!” Hoz called out, and stopped her from charging, attempting to calm her down. But right behind the horse, a soldier came running before falling to the ground.

“C-captain!” He cried, and he screamed as he was pulled away. “Help me!”

Hoz ran to him, but he slipped from his fingers as the large shadow beast lifted the squirming soldier. Kori gasped when he saw other soldiers inside its abundant hands—one having two uncomfortably squished together. The shadow beast observed the soldier, but its gaze turned, and it fully faced Kori. Though it had no eyes, he could practically feel its gaze burning through him. He whimpered and hugged Colin tighter. Were they going to die?

The shadow beast dropped the soldier in its hand and charged at Kori. He let out a scream as Colin grabbed him and Rela and attempted to dodge the beast. They were successful in not being trampled, but the beast’s hand snagged Kori, and he laid in between the monster and Colin. He was frozen while laying on the ground, too scared to move and too scared to cry as the beast faced him again. It went in for another charge, but Hoz scooped Kori up and ran out of the way. Kori didn’t comprehend that he was being lifted onto the horse that charged through, and the captain dragged Colin and Rela to the horse as well.

“Young man, get to Castle town, tell Queen Zelda and King Edmund about this. I’ll hold it off.”

Colin climbed onto the horse with Kori in front and Rela behind, and he frowned at Hoz. “I can’t just leave you!”

“You must protect these little ones.” Hoz turned to see the shadow beast recovering from its second failure. The soldier it dropped earlier charged at it, and Hoz turned back to Colin. “What’s your name, young man?”

“I—Colin, sir.”

“I’ll never forget your courage, Colin. Now go! Tell her Highness about this!” Hoz hit Penelope’s behind and she took off running. Kori turned behind him to see Hoz draw his sword, facing the shadow beast with his one remaining soldier, the others remaining in its hands. Kori faced the front and let out a sob, wanting so badly to go back home to his stuffed animals with his papa and mommy holding him. Colin’s arms wrapped around him and he gave him a small peck on the head.

“It’ll be ok, Kori,” he said, his voice shaking as the horse ran through the woods, the trees looking like a blur of green and brown. Kori closed his eyes, praying to the light spirits and goddesses of Hyrule that he’d soon be waking up in his home, with this nightmare behind him.