#mid-spring twilights feel like this

[crazylittlejester]

What time of year I think the LU Links were born, except it’s based SOLEY off of vibes and also I’m insane

(and the times of year are based off the seasons as I experience them where I am on this planet)

Time: Late Spring, but the kind of late spring where it’s not too hot yet but all the flowers are blooming and it’s really pretty but also not raining a WHOLE lot. PERFECT picnic weather

Warriors: LATE Fall, ‘First Wave of Winter’; it’s not deathly cold yet and it’s still enjoyable to go outside, but there’s snow all around and everything has a soft warm feeling to it. It’s the type of winter you enjoy, when you’re not yet sick of it and playing in the snow with your friends, at ANY age, still makes you genuinely smile. No body calls it Fall because it’s literally December, but TECHNICALLY it is Fall

Twilight: Very end of winter/‘Is it Spring?’; That cold ass, wet week in March where they TELL us it’s officially spring and we all go outside and tell ourselves it’s warm even though it’s windy as fuck and just as cold as it was the previous day. Everyone’s miserable but because they slapped a label that said ‘spring’ on it, we’re all telling ourselves maybe we WON’T drop out of college mid semester and maybe life IS worth living

Sky: Mid Spring; it’s pouring outside but in a comforting way, and you know the flowers are coming soon, plus it’s finally starting to get warm. You’ve put away your winter coat but now you wear a rain jacket over sweaters everywhere

Wild: Early Spring; it’s foggy outside constantly and the earth feels kind of quiet. Things are starting to wake up and you can feel it

Hyrule: Mid Fall; it’s the perfect temperature to wear a jacket and run around and not overheat. The leaves are turning but haven’t fallen yet, and muddy dirt roads are perfect for exploring

Legend: Early, EARLY Summer; The calendar says it’s summer and the air is warm, but you don’t wish you were dead yet. It’s beautiful out, it’s swimming weather, it’s sunny and nice, and the flowers are still stunning. It’s the kind of weather you still associate with freedom despite being out of school for 5+ years

Four: Mid Winter/‘That One Week That Fools Us All It’s Spring’; always that one week in February where you’re like “oh okay, I can put away my winter coat” just to get absolutely murdered the next time you decide to leave your house because it dropped twenty degrees and snowed over night and you’re so mad about it you fall to your knees and scream in the snow. But Four was born during the one week it was nice

Wind: Mid Summer/‘That One Week That Makes You Think ‘Maybe It IS Socially Acceptable To KMS’; The type of summer heat that has you grabbing your friend by the shoulders and shaking them, begging them to promise you if you EVER complain about being cold ever again in your life that they’ll hit you with their car

[luimagines]

He Tries to Impress you Part 3

Masterlist

Part 1 Part 2

Part three will include Wild, Wind and Four

Content under the cut!

Wild

Wild knew that this stunt could get him in trouble. But if he could just angle himself correct while he was mid-air it was sure to impress you. He just had to set everything up quickly before the “responsible” ones could stop him. At best, it would be Twilight who catches him and he gets let off easy. Worse than that would maybe be the Old Man or the Captain. If Sky catches him and tries to stop him- Wild doesn’t think he’ll live down the shame.

Even if he knows the Chosen Hero is just as bad.

Wild sneaks off to set his plan up, trying to not catch anyone’s attention except yours.

You seem to catch on that he has something planned before Wild can even step away from the group properly. As any person with enough curiosity to travel through a strange purple portal, you follow him.

Wild takes out some rope, not knowing you’re nearby and begins his plans.

First he needs the rope to tie around the tree and hoist the blade into the air as the bomb goes off. Before it goes off Wild need to be on top of the bomb, ready to shield surf through the air and land on the other side of the nearest precipice where he can see the hints of something grand on the other side. 

You see Wild calculate and crunch the numbers in his head, letting inch by inch of the rope fall to the ground as he counts what he needs. You have no idea what he’s doing but you rarely see Wild as concentrated as he is now. It would be a shame if someone interrupted him. You at least want to see what he has planned.

It’s only when Wild pulls out the familiar blue bomb that you think that maybe you should let him knw you’re nearby.

“Looks like you’re planning something buddy.” You say casually.

It startles Wild just as you feared it would and he drops the bomb. You jump back, afraid that it would be set off but it doesn’t happen that way.

Instead, it sets off the rope that Wild was trying meticulously to set up all this time and it ties around his ankle. The price paid for his lapse in judgement. Even if it was only a moment. Wild had intended the rope to pull up a blade, but there’s no blade to pull up.

And given his unfortunate placement, it hauls Wild off of the ground and into the air.

As the figurative dust settles, you lower your arms, not aware that you even raised them and see Wild. Upside down. And pouting.

“Sorry.” You smile sheepishly. “I was afraid something like this would happen.”

Wild sees you and can’t help but feel defeated on the inside. And maybe a bit of bruising to his ego. So much for his surprise. “Hey... Come here often?”

You snort a little bit, waking closer. “I feel like that should be my line.”

“Yeah?”

“Of course.” You smile. “It seems like you hang around here quite a bit.”

“No.”

You laugh louder.

“Never do that again.”

“Ok, ok, how do I get you down?” You start looking around. You notice the sword he took out earlier and b-line for it.

“This is going to hurt, isn’t it?” Wild sighs, moving his arms to cover his head. “I know Twilight says I can be a bit dense but it’s not like I have a helmet at all times, you know?” 

“You can certainly be a bit kinder to yourself.” You mutter and cut the rope.

Wild sticks his hand out and springs into a flip so that he can land on his feet.

Your jaw drops. “...You’re do dramatic. Were you planning to do that the whole time?”

He wasn’t. “Yes.”

You give him a deadpanned look and roll your eyes. “Very impressive.”

Wild side eyes the cut rope. Was it? That wasn’t the plan.

“Thank you. I aim to please.”

Wind

Wind wanted you to think that he was the coolest. And that you would see him for the hero that he was and not listen to the other guys when they treat him like a younger brother. If anything he’s an older brother thank you very much.

He tied up the rope onto the mast and took a deep breath of the salty sea air. He missed this. It felt like he was home again. Only he wasn’t.

You let out a long breath and all but collapsed onto the railing next to him. “And you said you did this for your entire adventure?”

“Hm?” Wind looks over to you and your tired state. The sun had just about set and soon the stars would begin to blink into the black sky above. “Yeah. My home is mostly ocean so I had to sail a lot of place to get to where I needed to go.

You groan loudly. “I have no idea how you did it, Link. My hands hurt and I hardly worked today.”

You slide down and hold your hands out in front of you. Wind moves and slides down next to you taking your hands in his. They’re red and swollen. It looks like they had you on a lot of rope work today. 

That’s not how it should be done. Without the proper protection it can damage the skin of the hands- much like yours are. And wind would hate if your hands their soft feeling.

Wind frowns and begins to massage them a bit. “Sorry. I wish it would be easier on you... guys...on your guys. Not every one is cut out for sea life, I guess.”

You sigh, relaxing a bit. “I suppose. I think it would be very lonely if I didn’t have the group with me.” You bump your shoulder with his and smile a little bit. “Especially you. You make this worth it.”

Wind coughs a bit and turns his head up to the sky, hoping you don’t see him blush and think he’s lame. “Oh look! The north star is out tonight!”

You tilt your head closer to his and look up as well. “Which one?”

“Ok, so those three stars in the straight line are part of the lynel’s constellation, they form the tail. You go up one or two stars depending on the season and it’s the brightest star on top. It’s only seen on clear skies so it’s not necessarily used for navigation but if you follow that star you’ll always head north.”

“Hence the name.” You grin playfully. “But what’s the lynel’s constellation? I’ve never heard of it.”

“Really?” Wind turns to you in shock. How is that possible? Everyone he knows knows about that constellation. “Ok... so we follow those three stars from before and you follow the one that’s down to the right and the one that straight across to the left. That’s the leg and the body.”

“I don’t see it.” You frown. 

Wind bite his lip, trying to think of something else. “How abooutt... Ah! That one’s it called the Hero’s Light! Do you see it? That bright star over there with the four following it at the bottom.”

“...Yeah!” You cry out in glee. “I think I see what you’re talking about. So do you just have all these stars in your head then?”

Wind recoils, thinking that you’re about to think that it’s weird of him to know all of this and then some. “Well, I have to know where I’m going when I sail. the starts are the best way to figure it out. Each constellation tells a story and my grandma used to tell them to be and my sister Aryll as bed time stories.”

You shift and rest your head on his shoulder. “Tell me. I don’t see a lot of stars where I live. I don’t know any of this.”

Wind’s heart beats a little faster... but asked so nicely. “...Sure... Um... I actually didn’t think lynel’s were real until I met the group. The story talks about the fearsome beast that stood tall on a mountain of fire, sending bits of its flame n the towns for miles around. The beast was the only things ferocious enough to live on it.”

You pause. “..Like Death Mountain?”

Wind pauses, unsure about his next answer. In hindsight, you make a brilliant point. That’s probably what it was. “...Yes?”

“That’s really cool.”

“...I think so too.” Wind smiles and relaxes further. He has to continue the story after all.

Four

“So whhyyy did you call me over here?” You ask, joyfully suspicious.

Four coughs and scratches the back of his neck with his free hand. He suddenly doesn’t think that this is going to go as planned. Or at least it’s not going to be as special as he wants.

The package in his hands sits a bit heavy but it’s something he was working on for a really long time. At least a few weeks after he met you.

He wasn’t sure why, but Four really wanted your approval on his work. It hindsight it’s a really dumb thing to hang onto. Because his handy work has been acclaimed multiple times by the knights of his home, by the royal family and by people who come into his little shop from across the border.

But he needs you to like this.

“I just wanted to give you something.” Four admits, not even going to bother to hide his blush.

You beam at him and close your eyes with your hands held out in front of you.

Four had to physically stop himself from cooing. Any more of this and he’s going to realize why he wants your approval so badly despite it all.

Not wanting you to wait more, he pulls out the package and places it gently into your hands. He gulps a bit. What if this was a huge mistake? Why did he think this was a good idea? What if you hated it? What if you saw something wrong with it? What would the guys say if they saw this? If you showed them?

Your eyes open. 

Four’s hand go to cover his mouth as he restrained his need to bite his nails. You turn it over carefully and send him a blinding grin. “What is it?”

Four finds it in himself to smirk. “Open it and find out.”

You grin further and tear the paper at the seams, taking the little package out easily through the brown paper.

The pendent falls out and you gasp. It’s simple in design really. A small tree like pattern twisted from thin metal wires around a stone that Four had thought had looked pretty. At the time he had showed it to you and you mentioned looking nice in a necklace.

Four wasn’t sure why he kept it until he saw something from Wild’s Gerudo’s jewelry.

The chain itself was also easy to make as he’s sure he can do those with his eyes closed but he hopes that nothing catches. He would feel horrible if his necklace pulled on your clothes or your hair in the process. It happens at least once no matter how hard he tries with anything small.

“Oh Four...” You breath. “How much of this did you do?”

“A-all of it.” Four admits quietly. The blush from before comes on full force but he doesn’t care. “From the chain to the holdings. I didn’t make the rock though. I haven’t figured out how to do that just yet. When I do I figure it would still be cheaper to get the real things but as it stands-”

Four is rambling. Why aren’t you saying anything? Is there something wrong with it? Would you have preferred another color? He didn’t even ask! that would have been a better bet! Stupid! Stupid, stupid!

“All of it?” You ask breathlessly. “Is there anything you can’t do?”

You put it on without another thought.

Four stalls and repeats himself lamely. “....I can’t make rocks...”

You laugh and nods along. “How long did it take you do do this?”

Four blushes harder. “I stArted-” He clears his throat. “I started around the first month or so that we met. but I think you should have it.”

“I’m never taking it off.” You say proudly putting the necklace on top of all your layers. “Thank you Smithy!”

Four sighs of relief. Not bad. And the soft look on your face as you stare at his handy work makes it worth it.

[honeydewdelight]

Main 6 age headcanon (and some more)

In season 1 (moment of twilight arriving in ponyville

Rainbow Dash

18

Youngest of the girls

Also the one still working to get her dream job

She has a sidejob, managing the weather of ponyville, but she never sees it as permanent.

Does hyperfixate on the idea of becoming a wonderbolt, but hates studying and research

She does know a lot about the wonderbolts, but mostly the practical stuff like what they are currently up to, very up to date about their shows and schedule

When it comes to history and facts, she barely researches and can't retain any information about it

All of that aside, of course becoming a wonderbolt is her dream job and she does work towards it in her own way

Taurus♉

Born mid spring

Pinkie Pie

18

Has been working at sugar cube corner for a bit

Starting up her party plannerbusiness, it's going pretty well

Her dream is to keep working at sugar cube corner, but for her party planner business to take off and for that to be her main job

Wants to keep living at sugar cube corner, but know the cakes have been dreaming of having kids

She doesn't want to be in the way, and knows that one day she might have to move out to make room for the kids, so keeps her options open.

Cancer♋

Mid summer

Fluttershy

19

Close to Rainbow Dash in age since they went to school together

The show told us she's older than Pinkie

And I think thats the only age indication we ever got of any of the girls? (Please let me know if you know more!)

Flutter is a bit of a latebloomer so she started flying school a year later

Virgo♍

Born in early autumn

Rarity

21

Well into her fashion career

She should honestly be older by how much she's already been able to do

She's just a really hard worker and started out super young

Aquarius♒

Born in mid winter

Twilight Sparkle

22

Still in school, no sign of a career yet (if only she knew)

She doesn't actually have a plan or a dream job, as long as it has to do with magic

She does work as a librarian, but it's just something she stumbled into

She just has so many books, and people started to ask if they could borrow some

Twilight being Twiligh, she made a whole system for it and essentially became a librarian.

She's very nervous about the future, not knowing she wants to do

So she feels if she just studdies as hard as she can, it should all magically fall into place.. right? Right????!?

Gemini♊

Born in late spring

Applejack

22

Been working on the farm from the moment she was allowed to work

(does Equestria have child worker protection laws???)

Of course she's always been at the farm, but untill she was around 16 she was only allowed to do small tasks, always accompanied by someone older, just like applebloom now

She feels older but I didn't wanna make her much older than Rainbow Dash

Working at the farm is definitely her endgame, but she loves baking and has dreams to start selling more apple pastries at the farm. Nothing big, just as a fun little side hustle.

Aries♈

Born in early spring

[zuppizup]

Purgatory: Chapter 37 - Journey

Artwork by the amazingly talented @numptypylon

Summary: Almost three years ago, assassins came for Harrow. Callum was cornered, at her mercy and then… she let him go.The elf. He never even knew her name. She might be long dead, but Callum was determined to do as Harrow suggested. To reject the narrative of strength and instead embrace the narrative of love. To make a better future for all, humans and elves alike. But when he and Ezran stumble upon something hidden in Viren’s secret chambers, Callum realises he might actually be able to make up for the mistakes of the past. To make a real change, right here, right now. To free them both from their haunted past.

Pairing: Rayla/Callum

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences

AO3 Link: Purgatory

Callum woke the next day, warm and content to feel Rayla in his arms. Sighing softly, he pulled her closer against him, pressing his face into her soft hair, spread wide on the pillow they shared. He glanced at the light creeping under the curtains, trying to figure out what time it was from the diffuse grey light. It was so hard to tell in the Silvergrove though. The light always had this twilight-y feel to it. Somehow it always felt like the sun had just set or was just about to rise.

He knew they were supposed to get up early today, so they could be on the road with as much daylight as possible. The days were still short mid-Spring and Rayla’s parents seemed reluctant to travel at night, even knowing he was connected to the Moon and could see as well as them in the moonlight.

Rayla mumbled softly in her sleep, her fingers caressing his ever so slightly.

He probably should wake her, remind her to sneak back to her room before any of the others rose. This would likely be his last opportunity to sleep next to Rayla though. For the foreseeable future, at least.

And she looked so content and pretty. Peaceful.

Perhaps they had just a little longer…

Sighing contentedly, he pulled her closer, inhaling the soft sent of her soap as her hair tickled his cheek.

Just a little longer…

Read More On AO3 – Purgatory: Journey

[elsaellaelys]

I was lost in thoughts about Lana's albums and just realized that each one of them remember me of a different month. Like:

A.K.A Lizzy Grant is August, kinda warm with summer vibes but is also perfect for the autumn beggining.

Born to Die/Paradise version as March, trees getting greener and you start to feel nostalgic about last year's summer, already looking for your jeans shorts and light dresses in the closet.

Ultraviolence can be September, summer just cooling down, perfect for leather jackets, long jeans and boots.

Honeymoon is June, you're just feeling it, catching a tan in the sun, getting ice cream, making sweet lemonade.

Lust For Life is the beautiful April's flowers, no but.

Norman Fucking Rockwell with July (my birthday and my favorite albun so you can relate). Sorry Thunder, that's when regatta's in the wind, just boating and relaxing with cherry coke, cause we're not drinking wine. And, oh! Summer rock! Listening to rock in mid-July!

Chemtrails Over The Country Club bringing me February vibes. Nice blue sky, nice sun, nice mornings and twilights, but still kinda cold. Just perfect.

Blue Banisters, October. Yes, autumn vibes, I feel it, don't know why. Again, leather jacket, boots but with short skirts and tights. Coffee, Gilmore Girls. I'm telling you.

Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Boulevard is May, it is! (Also, almost die everytime I write or say this title). The perfect meeting of Spring and Summer (I know summer start in June, but I'm sure they meet in May). You just mix all the albuns's vibes and somehow you have a brand new one. I'm in looove.

Just overthinking about the right thing.

[simwoman2002]

To balance things, if you want I've got questions for you too :)

Some of your favourite series (shows/movies/books, whatever works better for you)

Favourite animal + if you could, which one would you like to be

Looking back in time, are there important things to you that you wish you had done differently? (You don't have to say what exactly, just how it made you feel realizing that, if it changed with time, or anything else you want) (yes, getting all philosophical and introspective today, sorry about that)

If something's been stressing you, I hope things will get better and that everything will eventually work out <3

Ooh, thank you so much for the questions! 🥰💖

I'll just stick with TV shows and series since movies and books are really hard to pinpoint all of them 😂🤣 Some of my favorites would be Girl Meets World, Secrets of Sulphur Springs, Hawkeye, and Moon Knight. I recently finished watching Moon Knight and it completely destroyed me 😭😭😭

My favorite animal in terms of pets would no doubt be a dog, but as far as wild animals, it'd probably be a wolf. And in that vein, you could probably assume that I'd like to be a wolf 🤣 I know that seriously sounds like such a Twilight reference or something, but I promise that is not the case. I'm one of the few people in the world that has never seen it, and what little I've seen, I wasn't overly impressed to be entirely honest 😅😬 No hate to anyone that likes it, it's just not my thing. But back to the question! I would like to be a wolf because of how beautifully majestic they are and how they just form together and have such a beautiful family unit.

Yes. 100% yes. There are quite a few things in my life that I wish I would have done differently at the time. Like a lot of times I wish I would have handled things with more maturity or with more patience. A lot of the things I regret are from my early to mid teens, and most of the time I have to try to find solace and peace in the fact that I was a different person then and that I have had many experiences that have helped me grow since then. I guess part of growing up and part of life is being that less patient, more immature person, because nobody's perfect. Which is a difficult thing for me to accept sometimes as a hardcore perfectionist and as someone who has been told in the past that she's extremely hard on herself, lol 😅

Thank you so much for the well wishes 🥺💖 Things are getting a lot better, and I'm trying to get things done so that I can have some free time next week to write and relax a little 💗

I'll try to send you some questions very soon! 🥰 I have a hard time thinking of questions that I think will work because I always worry about making people uncomfortable for some reason 😂

[mikaharuka]

Hey, how's it going? So, quick little thing in regards to this post, I was figuring on asking for 6, 10, and 12.

Happy hunting!

Also, good luck on your WIPS

Heyo Salty! Thanks for the ask and sorry for the delay~ I'm finally getting around to clearing out my asks, so here I finally am!

#6 - "What work of yours is it most similar to?"

Apricity has a vague predecessor in this short 1.6k word (I know, shocking) fic I wrote 3 years ago during my short stint in the FE3H world - The Forsaken Throne. This was supposed to be my first multi-chapter fic... except real life got in the way, so I left it alone. This has that same sort of dream-like, eerie, sensory feel. Here's a bit of it:

As the years passed, the mysterious woods morphed into a haunted forest, the spring creatures fleeing and the delicate gardens shriveling as a frigid gust consumed all life in its path. An eerie violet frost clung to the castle as thorn-filled vines lined with deadly icicles scaled the walls of the castle and trails of black ice formed intricate sigils that decorated the courtyards. The interior of the fortress carried an oppressive aura, accentuated by the frosty air. The fortress itself was an ominous warning for all who dared to enter.

#10 - "Is your WIP an AU or canon-compliant? Either way, talk about any research you had to do, lore you had to make, or timelines you had to screw with to make it work. Talk about what makes your universe tick!"

Haha, this goes past AU into "almost original work" territory! You asked for it, so strap in for a wild answer, even though I simplified it!

The tl;dr - I threw out 98% of canon. I only kept superficial things like most character names/appearances, vague supernatural abilities, the general geographic setting of Forks/West Washington, most character relations, and a few superficial plot beats. But all of that is defined differently thanks to the fundamentals of this world.

What I changed... the biggest things, at least.

General Timeline - Canon Twilight took place in 2005. I pushed it forward to 2020 to do some interesting stuff and test out other challenges. Also, a certain C-pandemic isn't a thing in this world, but that's only out of sheer convenience. My one lazy act in this verse XD

The basic framework of the world - it is an Eastern one, inspired by what I grew up with and know (and seeing a bit of that reflected in my work was nice). Along those vein, a much stronger Asian-American presence and more diversity overall.

Vampire biology/lore/themes - this ties quite heavily into the framework bit, but I changed everything from surface stuff (no sparkling thing and they can eat human food, but get no sustenance from it), to fundamentals (animal blood doesn't cut it - they are very much human-blood vampires... and certain societal stuff but spoilers), and to the more ambiguous/sensual feel of the genre.

Magic (mystic) system - ties into the first point. The super short tl;dr is that there is cosmic energy (shakti) that pervades the universe and everything within. Non-humans are mystic by nature, some humans have more shakti than others and can become a mystic user (mantrika, Sanskrit for enchanter, or one who chants mantras, but can be used as a general 'magic user' term). Shakti influences space-time in a "soft fate" way (think... nothing is set in stone, but some outcomes are favored since they are more stable).

History and Lore - Most notably seen in Quileute history and lore/origin stories (totally wrong in canon), but also with when and how vampires and other mystic communities interacted with general human history, major conflicts, political status, and more.

Specific Backstories + Personality Traits + Relationship Dynamics - Although I changed backstories, a few traits, and dynamics to make sense with this world, I kept general plot beats for most characters. The four huge exceptions are Carlisle, Edward, Mina, and Mike.

In Mina's case, I kept her age/time the same (mid-1800s) and changed her human origin story because I wasn't ever going to do the Confederate thing. Also, I wanted her to show up earlier, so she doesn't join the Cullens in the 1950s, but in the 1800s itself. And her ability... she can subtly affect aura to make things more likely, but she's not OP-levels of directly changing emotions like in canon.

.

In Edward's case, I kept the vague concept of him and his human mother being caught up in a plague... except you see Salty? Canon Edward is dated to the Spanish Flu in 1918. You know how far back I moved him? To the Plague of the Justinian - mid-500s CE. Of course, his birth name isn't Edward - he changed his name (alongside Carlisle) when they showed up in the Americas. This part alone pretty much erases most his canon personality. I only kept the general premise of the mind-reading, but also changed the mechanics of how that worked.

.

In Carlisle's case, obviously he's older than Edward. I haven't 100% finalized the exact years he was human or what his exact turning story is, but you know where I pinned that guy? In the Late Roman Republic - 200-27 BCE. It goes without saying that his birth name is different... but it's already been mentioned in Apricity so far! Well, thanks to the worldbuilding, vampire biology, and timeline, Carlisle is very different. He is absolutely NOT parental in any sense whatsoever. He is very much fraternal/older brother-like. I could go on forever about how he came across as a mentor rather than parental in canon... and how strangely perverse it is for vampires (inhuman, queer concept) to be posing as a picture perfect nuclear family (very human, heteronormative concept), but I'll save that for another day. Just know that I went with "queer found family/siblings" vibes instead. With that said, though, he retains a decent number of his canon traits... adapted to this new world, in any case.

.

in Mike's case, he's still your standard human teenage guy in high school. Canon didn't give him (or the other students) much of a light, but canon Mike was entitled, manipulative, and just an all around asshole defined solely around Bella as most characters were. I was always planning on doing justice to the human students of Forks High, but Winter Light's Mike was the 100% winner of that. Not only did he end up becoming co-MCs with Beau and have his own connections and dynamics not centered on Beau so directly (but still influenced, because social connections are webs were everyone affects everyone else)... but his personality was a fun one to alter. He was a manipulative asshole who did stuff in canon... so I simply toned down those traits massively. So now, he's this super observant guy, is extremely quick on the uptake, can logic/deduce things really quickly, can subtly influence the odds in his favor, and has a hilariously petty/sassy narrative voice. However, he also has a defined family, personal circumstances, and is empathetic to a fault. He's kind of stoic on the outside and is the middle child of a well meaning, but huge family... so he's very used to prioritizing others instinctually, thanks to his loud siblings.

Well, I'll leave it at that for now, since I could go on forever lol

#12 - "How did you come up with this fic? Where were you/what were you doing when you thought of it?"

Oh no. You asked the one question that I could go on even longer about, than the previous question! HOWEVER... you're in luck :)

You very, very, conveniently left me another general ask that is closely related to this question. The umbrella question, even!

"Okay, so, this just came to mind for me, but I was actually wondering if you could tell us what originally got you into the whole vampire genre."

I'll spare everyone's time and quit while I'm ahead, before this post gets even longer... but I'll spill the beans when I get to that ask, since a number of people have asked me just how this whole "Vampire Brainrot + Twilight Rewrite + Winter Light Verse" thing even started.

So... stay tuned for that!

[tipsycad147]

The Herbs + Astrology of Samhain (Celebrating Lunar Samhain)

Alexis J. Cunningfolk

I am the hallow-tide of all souls passing, I am the bright releaser of all pain, I am the quickener of the fallen seed-case, I am the glance of snow, the strike of rain, I am the hollow of the winter twilight, I am the hearth-fire and the welcome bread, I am the curtained awning of the pillow, I am the unending wisdom's golden thread.

Song of Samhain from Celtic Devotional: Daily Prayers and Blessings by Caitlin Matthews

I love Samhain. I love the season of growing dark and increase of candle light. I love the thinning of the veil which helps each of us to travel between the worlds with greater ease. I love the possibilities of the future showing up in our dreams. I love the opportunity to set out a feast for the living and the dead. I love the smell of mulling spices and black candles burning. And I love the break from the busy outgoing energy of the bright half of the year to the welcome retreat of the dark. And I love Lunar Samhain, too!View fullsize

Of course, Samhain is only one holy day within the modern Pagan calendar (blessed be the Pagan love of celebrating the ongoing revelation of the sacred through all parts of the year). Within the modern Pagan wheel of the year there are eight major sabbats and each are tied not only the the earthly cycle of harvest and the mythological cycle of the God/dess/es (if that is your cup of tea), but the astrological wheel of stars. The eight sabbats are separated into two primary groups: the quarter sabbats and the cross-quarter sabbats. View fullsize

The quarter sabbats are the four equinoxes and solstices of the Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice, Autumn Equinox, and Winter Solstice.View fullsize

The cross-quarter holidays (also known as the fire festivals) fall between the quarter sabbats and include the festivals of Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasadh, and Samhain. While most folks are familiar with the fact the the quarter sabbats are observed when specific astrological markers occur, not everyone knows that the same happens for the cross-quarter sabbats as well. The cross-quarter sabbats are generally celebrated on fixed dates. Samhain, for example, is celebrated on October 31 each year. But, there is an astrological measurement for Samhain, too!

Samhain falls in the season of Scorpio. Scorpio is a fixed water sign which means it has a steady elemental energy that acts more like a place of energy than the passing of energy like at the quarter sabbats (which take place in the seasons of cardinal signs of beginning). The mysterious scorpion is a sign that is interested in the depths of any given matter, especially if it involves secrets, mysteries, and serious contemplation. When the Sun moves into 15 degrees of Scorpio or the mid-point of the sign, astrological Samhain occurs.  15 degrees Scorpio is the exact midpoint between 0 degrees Libra (aka the Autumn Equinox) and 0 degrees Capricorn (aka the Winter Solstice). Don’t you feel a bit more clever and magickally sophisticated understanding the astrological measurements to determine the dates of our beloved sabbats? 

In 2016, astrological Samhain is on October 30 which is delightfully close to the modern celebration of Samhain on the 31st. You should make sure to read up on the astroherbology profile of Scorpio to get a more in-depth understanding of the sign, season, and sabbat.

But there is even more fun to be had!

In college I was introduced to the celebration of Lunar Samhain and my Moon-centered heart was delighted. I was already excited to learn that I could extend the celebrations of my favorite sabbat to its traditional astrological date (which can be as far into the first week or so of November), but there was also a lunar celebration!

So when is Lunar Samhain?

I have seen Lunar Samhain calculated in two ways. The first is by finding the New Moon closest to the October 31 celebration of Samhain. The second way is by finding the New Moon in the sign of Scorpio which will be closer to the Sun’s position at 15 degrees of Scorpio. Using the latter calculation, in 2016, we’ll have a real treat, in that the New Moon closest to the Sun entering 15 degrees Scorpio will happen on October 30. Next year, Lunar Samhain could be as early as October 19 (using the first method) or as late as the New Moon in Scorpio on November 18 (which is my preferred calculation). 

Samhain is the traditional celebration of the New Year within Celtic culture and since the Celts considered both solar and lunar signs for their calendar, the New Moon at Samhain marked the true beginning of the New Year. 

I’ve celebrated the dual holidays of Halloween and Samhain for years. Halloween is a cultural celebration with fun community celebrations and I love dressing up on the 31st as well as getting together with my extended family of Pagan kin for spiritual celebrations. Lunar Samhain is when I celebrate with my smaller community of Pagan family to mark the new year, share stories of our ancestors, and cast divinations for the year ahead. Both celebrations feature a variety of herbs chosen for their magickal and ancestral significance. I've listed some of my favorites below.

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)

Rosemary for remembrance goes the old saying and so it is a useful herb for remembering and connecting to our ancestors. Magickally, Rosemary is a wonderful smudge for protection and clearing space for magick. Burn to bring good health for the new year and invite in vitality. Create a rosemary charm bundle to attract the Good Folk to you and mix with Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) to be able to see them. It is also a traditional incense to burn at funerary rights to honor the dying and the power of death as the great renewer of life. Rosemary, as with Mugwort discussed below, has an association with womyn’s culture. It is said that it grows in front of the house where womyn are in charge - I make sure to always have Rosemary growing in my front yard for that reason. A bath of Rosemary is an excellent way to prepare the temple of the body for a Samhain rite and help to awaken the long dormant memory to lost rituals of magick.

Blessed Thistle (Cnicus benedictus)

Blessed Thistle is an herb of Scorpio and a very protective herb one at that! The herb can be used in all sorts of charms and rituals for protection, warding, and making safe people and places. It is an herb of manifesting dreams into reality by creating firm boundaries and has an affinity for students both for its medicinal use for clearing brain fog and its magickal properties in awakening the inner spark of inspiration. Plant in gardens and keep in the home to protect against thievery, unkind spirits, and hexes. Use Blessed Thistle in rituals assisting spirits to move on from our realm into the next. It is an excellent uncrossing and hex-breaking herb. Blessed Thistle also bestows blessings as its name implies and can be used in healing work. In his Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs Scott Cunningham recommends the following ritual to call spirits: 

…place some thistle in boiling water. Remove from heat and lie or sit beside it. As the steam rises call the spirits and listen carefully; they may answer your questions.

Mugwort (Artemisia spp.)

As a profoundly magickal herb, you find Mugwort showing up again and again at sabbat celebrations. As a magickal herb, Mugwort brings on visionary states whether through dream or trance. Use it in dream sachets and visionary teas. The herb has a special affinity to womyn and womyn’s rituals and communities, especially in rites of Artemis. Use in charms to bring those who have acted violently towards womyn to justice and offer healing to those harmed. Remember, too, that Mugwort is an herb freed from the confines of womyn as gender making it delightfully disruptive to the gender binary. Wash your scrying mirrors and crystal balls with a strong infusion of Mugwort and Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) for consecration and blessing. Add it to traveling charms (including trance traveling charms) and use it in your shoes to protect against weariness. Burn as an incense when your home is threatened by impending danger or simply needs to have its wards reinforced.

Ancestral Herbs

What herbs these might be depend on your ancestral and cultural lineage. Rue, for example, is a sacred plant for Italian witches as well as Mexican curanderas. Elder is the Goddess embodied in Northern European myth. Kava is a powerfully sacred plant in many Polynesian cultures. Take some time to learn about the ancestral plants of your lineage. Decorating your altar with ancestral plants and consuming them in brews can be a powerful way to connect with those who have gone before. Working with plants at Samhain can be especially powerful when there has been ancestral trauma due to separation or forced migration - the names and stories that we might have forgotten or never known are never forgotten by the plants. 

Make sure to read the Scorpio Astroherbology Profile for even more inspiration for working with herbs and healing during the season of the scorpion. Cast some cards with the Samhain tarot spread and get settled in to the season of spooky. Wherever your revelries take you, I hope that you find yourself in midst of enchantment and wonder as the dark calls the song from your starry-hearted spirit.

[steveskafte]

WHAT SEASON I'M IN A lot of these days feel half-awake, like the long-suffering sunlight, shrouded or not, is shining too long for me. It takes quite some time before I adjust to having extra time on my hands. There's more brightness than I feel prepared to embrace. The shift from late winter into spring always seems like something should be happening, but my homeland is slow to wake up in the forests. I'll be down with the weeds soon enough, looking for the snow to fade and snowdrops to start blooming. Out by the ocean seems timeless, and clueless as to when, but I know what season I'm in all the same. Something about the shades of grey, colour of the ocean, overarching heart of the weather. The mood of mid-March is marching me on to sometime more inspiring. Pulling me back to warmer evenings and twilight, and wandering off to the drifting darkness again. I'll live a little in the brightness for now. March 16, 2023 Hampton, Nova Scotia Year 16, Day 5604 of my daily journal.

[little-waterboiler]

Linked Universe - Age Headcanons

So... based on the official age question post, I have decided to make my own opinions and headcanons of the boys known.

^^That's the post I refer to anyways.^^

So, going by that order:

Time: Mid to end thirties. Got no exact number but he's dad material. Will not elaborate.

Warriors: 21/22. Definitely Adult.

Twilight: 19. Likewise Adult, but younger adult cuz of the tags in that one Wolfie and Four post saying "I'll let you know you're not that much older than me", which also could be the usual overestimation of youth or simply not wanting the kid treatment Wind suffers.

Sky: 17/18. The age list I linked above said Twilight and Sky are close in age. But he is also still in older teenagers category. So...this.

Wild: (1)17. He is canonically AT LEAST 17 as otherwise he wouldn't be allowed to visit the Spring of Wisdom with his Zelda who had to wait for her 17th birthday to go there. And we know he went there with her...so 17. Cuz gotta keep the order.

Legend: 16/17. Older Teenager but also still teenager. Had way too many adventures (HC: started with nine). Let him be snarky and mature but also a teenager at times. Thanks.

Hyrule: 15/16. Though I feel more in the direction of sixteen cuz AoL says he's 16, I think. Correct me if I'm wrong though.

Four: 14/15. This is a young teenager. Second youngest of the group. I even estimate him more in the 14 of that listing cuz there's a four in it. He isn't an adult. Maturity does not equal age. His "don't call me kid" is understandable as a teenager especially who would not want to be treated like a child anymore and insists on more freedom and rights. But he is a teenager, a mature teenager, yes, but a teenager. Thanks.

Wind: 13. This one we actually learn in the Malon comics. He says almost 14 but that doesn't change he is 13 still currently. A babey™ that will curse, drink alcohol and stick a sword in your head if you dare touch his family.

[fismoll7secinv]

What if Nandor went for his ✨ glitter like in Twilight ✨ idea for a Halloween costume? What if Guillermo had to help him put it on? What if Guillermo got a freaking nosebleed because of his intense internal fight of 'I do not feel anything from it, I am fine' which he failed? What if Nandor could barely control himself because of the sweet smell of blood?

Haha, just kidding.

Unless? 😳

Ay lmao yeah I went and wrote that idea I had some time ago. Cw: blood, nosebleed, blood licking. Mutual pining at its finest. Guillermo in denial (and realising his feelings). My agenda of vampire’s eyes shining when they get Thirsty. My agenda of Guillermo’s blood smelling oh so sweet and tasty to Nandor. Also some twilight references but do not @ me for it, I don’t even know this series except memes and the 1st part. Crack turned hot. Is that a trope? Anyway

[AO3]

-----

“Guillermo. On Halloween this year I shall dress as the mainstream imagery of vampires known from Twilight!”

That was hours ago, and Guillermo already accepted that his master was set on the idea and wouldn’t give up on it this year. Thus, he spent a portion of his day on getting all the required elements for the costume, which turned out to be terrifyingly easy, as everything could be found on a special Twilight merch site with same-day delivery. He refused to think about who the customers were and what their motives for getting full clothes and characterization of Twilight characters could be.

It was already evening, and he was going around Nandor’s room during his routine cleaning when the doorbell rang. He put down the dust brush and went to the door, where a delivery man waited with a big box by his feet and a tablet with a pen already in his hands. Seeing how the person was not interested in any pleasantries, Guillermo signed the receipt and bid the silent man a polite farewell.

He assessed the box, bigger than he thought, then bent down to lift it, and went straight to Nandor’s room.

“Did you get me my Edward costume?”

Guillermo jumped up and halted mid-step, almost dropping the package in favour of grabbing a stake and pointing it to the attacker who came at him out of nowhere just after he crossed the threshold. He looked to his side at Nandor’s excited face looming over him, and he sighed.

“Master, don’t scare me like that,” or I could hurt you unintentionally, his mind finished.

Nandor didn’t pay attention to Guillermo’s words and quickly circled him, moving from his side to standing in front of him. He pointed at the package.

“Is that it?”

“Yes.”

As soon as the confirmation came, Nandor turned around with a swish, and marched to the other side of the room with one arm behind his back and the other springing up in the air, crowned with a fist and a single index finger pointing up.

“Then may the preparations begin!” he exclaimed, as if it was not just one person behind him but a whole army to command.

Guillermo followed just behind him and put the box on the floor. Not wasting any time, he took a spring knife out of his pocket, opened it with a quick movement of his wrist, then swiftly cut the tape holding the cardboard walls together. The top part gave up and the flaps opened to reveal just a bundle of simple clothes – trousers, shirt, and the coat which Edward wore when he revealed himself as a vampire to Bella.

Slightly shaking his head, Guillermo started taking the clothes out and hanging them on a chair nearby.

“Firstly put these on,” he turned to Nandor, holding lower garments in his hands.

“Then the glitter?”

“Yes. Then the glitter.”

Nandor grabbed his own trousers, fumbling with their front in order to loosen them so they could slip down, while Guillermo was still standing right in front of him like a clothes rack. Guillermo’s hands twitched, as his eyes ran franticly about and tried not to look at his master’s fingers playing around his front and heralding a stripping show, until he hastily put the clothes on the coffin behind Nandor and span around, away from the scene in front of him.

“Well then, I will go back to cleaning for now!”

He backed off several steps into the other side of the room, where he left his dust brush earlier. He wiped his hand on his trousers, suddenly uncomfortably sweaty, then reached for the brush and started energetically waving it around the trinkets on one shelf, almost knocking a few off.

“So diligent,” Nandor’s voice commented among rustling of the clothes, then soon turned into a hum to a tune which was almost certainly a song from Twilight’s soundtrack.

It was not long before Guillermo gave up on dusting and focused on putting the scattered objects in their correct places.

“I am a genius,” Nandor interrupted his thoughts.

“Yes, master,” he answered automatically.

“Humans will not even suspect that I am a real vampire. And if I feast on someone? They will praise me for my acting!” he exclaimed, finishing with a clearly proud “ha!”.

“That is… actually quite smart.”

A quiet growl came from the other side of the room.

“Why do you sound like it’s unusual.”

“You’re imagining it, master, I’m truly impressed.”

“Obviously you must be. You didn’t come up with this yourself.”

Guillermo shifted his attention to the wax which dropped on a holder from one candle, careful not to let it spill on the furniture and suffer more painful cleaning later. Suddenly, he felt air stir behind him in an unnatural way, as if something approached him quick and unnoticed. His hair stood on end.

“I don’t sleep,” Nandor’s voice murmured just behind his ear, lower and quieter than usual, blowing warm air on Guillermo’s skin. He froze.

“I am pale, only eat junk food, don’t like the sunlight… You know what I am.”

“Master, please,” tension left his body, and he sighed.

“Say it. Out loud, say it!”

Guillermo stared into the distance as if wanting to look straight at the camera for any kind of mental relief before going along with Nandor’s roleplay. There was no camera though, so his eyes fell on an empty wall.

“A vampire,” he squeezed out as if strangled.

“Nyihihi,” a goofy laugh resounded just behind him before the overbearing presence disappeared. Guillermo’s lips stretched slightly into a small smile. Maybe it wasn’t that bad.

“Now lubricate me with the glitter.”

Never mind, that was going to be a tough night.

Guillermo almost choked on air, quickly covering it with a cough, and remembering the body glitter gel he bought earlier that day and left at the opposite side of the room. He turned back to his master.

Nandor stood by the coffin, stripped naked to the waist and wearing only elegant navy-blue trousers. Guillermo’s eyes ran frantically about, switching between ogling the naked skin and looking literally anywhere else. After a moment, he finally cleared his throat, and slowly approached Nandor, glancing around the shelves in search for the bottles of the gel, and trying to calm the heat crawling on his face with the sheer power of will and distractions.

“Did you move the glitter, master?” he asked after checking that the bottle which was previously standing near the clothes hadn’t fallen down or got covered by the coat.

“I am holding it right now.”

Guillermo turned around and looked at Nandor’s hand, only now noticing that he was holding something.

“Oh, thank you, master.”

He took the offered bottle.

“You are very distracted today, Guillermo,” he heard Nandor’s voice but failed to determine if it sounded suspicious or worried.

“Oh, you know, all those preparations just tired me out,” he waived his hand dismissively, then started struggling to rip off the protection on the bottle.

“Are you worried that you don’t have a costume?”

“It’s okay, I will just pull something out from the loft, there is plenty of period clothes there.”

The unnecessary additional plastic protection on the cork proved to be tougher than he expected, so he pulled out his knife.

“Oh, I know! You could be my sun!”

The knife slipped on the side of the bottle and cut his finger. Guillermo hissed and pulled his hand back, accessing the injury and observing a red line quickly blooming on his skin. He put the wound in his mouth, so the blood didn’t stain anything.

“The whath?” he mumbled through his finger while looking up at his silent master.

Nandor was looming over him closer than before, eyes staring at his mouth. Maybe it was his imagination, but Guillermo couldn’t shake off the impression of his irises being slightly lighter than before.

“Master?” he pulled the finger out of his mouth, feeling a sense of anxiety growing somewhere inside.

Nandor finally blinked and looked back at him. He backed off and cleared his throat with a fist over his mouth.

“Uh, the sun. You know, vampires in Twilight shine in the daylight, but it’s dark outside, so I need a sun,” he paused for a moment. “Or a disco ball.”

“A disco ball?” Guillermo repeated in an incredulous tone, thinking he heard wrong.

Nandor gestured with his hand in the air, swaying it in an intangible way.

“I saw some pictures of Edward with a disco ball, so you could just go around with it.”

“Those were. Those were memes, master.”

“Memes?”

“Uh, just jokes.”

“What are you joking about?”

Guillermo shook his head, defeated.

“I think it’s fine, master, the costume is important, not the context. You can also use the light of the streetlamps as the sun.”

Nandor nodded with a hum.

“That is a good idea, Guillermo.”

He looked at Guillermo’s lowered arm.

“Is your hand okay?”

“Yeah, it’s just a small cut, it already stopped bleeding.”

“Then get to work!”

Nandor straightened up, presenting his chest to Guillermo.

Guillermo moved his whole attention back to the bottle. This time it opened easily, and the glittery, silver liquid got poured on his uninjured hand. He reluctantly reached towards Nandor’s collarbone, and started spreading the gel around it, the feeling of a rough skin and hair sending a prickling sensation to his fingertips. His mouth felt uncomfortably dry, and the room seemed to become unusually warm, as more gel was poured and more skin covered, glistening in the flickering light of the candles right in front of his eyes.

Suddenly, he felt a wet streak drip from his nose down to his mouth and chin. His hand automatically shot up to cover the spilling liquid, briefly withdrawing to let him glance at it and see dark blood smeared on his palm.

He cursed internally, among fighting an immense internal embarrassment for getting a nosebleed in such a situation. One of his hands kept covering his nose to stop the blood from dripping down and leaving stains, while the other was covered in the body glitter which he was not looking forward to cleaning off his clothes. He decided to either excuse himself or ask his master to take a napkin out of his pocket for him, yet no sound came out of his mouth as he froze just after looking up at the vampire in front of him.

He was met with a set of piercing eyes staring down at him fixedly, drilling into his soul and glowing brightly despite no light shining at them directly. Nandor was silent and still, intense focus on his face and small twitches of his sniffing nostrils the only movement on it. Suddenly, Guillermo couldn’t brush off the feeling of being a pray standing right in front of a predator.

His hand covered in glitter twitched towards a small bottle of holy water in his pocket.

“…Master?”

The already small distance between them suddenly vanished when Nandor shifted towards Guillermo in a blink of an eye. Guillermo clutched the holy water but didn’t manage to take it out, as he was quickly constrained by an arm which weaved itself around his middle and plastered his limb to the side, then roughly pushed him towards the taller man, making him yelp in surprise.

Before he managed to catch up on what was happening, he felt his chin get tightly grabbed and raised. He was suddenly faced with the other man, a very short distance between them, faces mere inches apart and torsos tightly pressed together. He couldn’t take his eyes off the glowing irises still fixated on his mouth smeared with blood. Guillermo observed, wide-eyed and with mind blank, as Nandor opened his mouth and dove down, then licked the blood on his face, wet tongue leaving a trail from his chin up to his mouth and nose.

He stopped breathing altogether, his whole body rigid and every muscle tight, his heart hammering so fast that he heard buzzing in his ears. The intense smell of iron filled his lungs, the saliva on his mouth and chin brought coldness to his skin, soon warmed by another glide of the tongue hungrily licking off the blood which still dripped from his nose.

Feeling dizzy, he reached with his free hand, and grabbed Nandor’s arm which held his face. The vampire released his chin, then shook off his grasp and clasped the wrist of his previously injured hand himself. He moved the palm towards his mouth and licked off the blood on it, before closing his lips around the wound on his fingertip, and sucking on it, making the wound open up again. A short sound escaped Guillermo’s throat, sounding awfully close to a moan for his own comfort, and luring Nandor’s shining eyes back to his own.

They locked gazes.

Nandor’s hand released Guillermo’s wrist and moved towards the human’s shirt, ripping it around the neck in a swift movement.

Suddenly, he hissed and jumped back, the skin on his hand sizzling as if burned. Guillermo looked down and saw his necklace with a cross which he wore under his shirt, now out in the open on his chest. He grabbed it with one hand, taking out the holy water with the other.

“Get out of here!” Nandor shouted.

The vampire stood several steps away, leaning on the table and covering his bloodied mouth with a hand, not looking at Guillermo.

“Go clean yourself, and don’t come back before that,” he growled.

“Yes, master!”

Guillermo backed off towards the door, not taking his eyes off of Nandor even for a moment, staring at his turned back. As soon as he was out of the room, he ran towards the bathroom, closed the door, and slid down to the floor. He touched his mouth with a shaky hand, feeling unbearable heat radiating from his face, waves of coldness and warmth coursing through his body in turns, and heart almost jumping out of his chest. The feeling of Nandor’s tongue and tight hold still fresh on his skin and vivid in his mind.

As much as he wanted to keep denying it, it was painfully obvious to him how far gone he already was.

He hid his face in his hands and groaned.

[luimagines]

How about the Reader calling out the Chain by their shared name to gian the groups attention? What would their reactions be? If this takes place after they realise they love you, how would they act to the reader calling them their name and not their title? Hope this isn't too much!Just curious about your input.

Masterlist

Let me tell you that I got excited to do this one!

I personally head canon that reader calls them Link when they're alone with them. Because it's still their name regardless but it wouldn't be fair to the others. Not to mention confusing if it slipped out.

But with the idea I came up with for this one?

Works out just fine. Hehehe

I wanted it to be after they realized they loved you like you said but as I started writing this I had to focus more on the action instead but I hope this is ok. It’s implied that they like you- or at least I tried to imply that. Who knows if it actually got across or not.

Let me know what you think!

Boys under the cut! Reader is right below!

***

The forest was quiet.

Really quiet.

It was the kind of quiet that naturally set the group on edge for any possible ambush attacks as your traversed through the green and you all tried to keep your ears open for anything that would have given your invisible enemies away.

It was paranoia at it's finest.

But that was fine. You were fine. The group was fine. You all just had to be quiet for a little longer until you all reached the end of the forest and could breath a little better.

At least that's what you were telling yourself.

For a moment you could see a clearing, thinking it was the out- you remember how nice it was to finally some of the sunlight with the leaves and branches blocking it.

Letting your guard down for the fraction of a moment was admittedly your first mistake.

Your second mistake was not immediately whipping your shield over your head to block the blows when you heard the familiar twang of a bow string.

Multiple arrows hit your group all at once. Like an avalanche of piercing blows raining down upon your group. Most of them avoided getting hit- thankfully- and were quick to spring into action.

You saw Wild take a shot and you were sure that Warrior was shot as well but you were too preoccupied with the protruding sticks in your leg and shoulder blade to take account of any more injuries your boys may have sustained.

This wasn't ideal but you could still move and you could still fight. You had a potion in your bag that hung by your hip and you were prepared to take more damage now that the fight had commenced.

When the raining arrows dispersed, the group scattered to take down the approaching monsters.

You were no exception.

With your sword now in hand and shield properly equipped, you ran toward the first of the lizalfos that broke the tree line.

You cut it down as fast as your injuries would have allowed you and you spun around as a second one dashed by your side, hoping to cut in a blind spot.

For every monster that you felled, another came to take its place and it kept you stuck in one area, unable to disengage and help your friends as you heard struggle with their own hoard of monsters.

Suddenly a piercing, sharp and throbbing pain entered your hand and you drop your sword at the contact. You're forced to jump away from an opportunistic swing and you looking down to see how an arrow has gone completely through your hand.

Not only have you lost your sword, your main hand is out of the question as well and there's not much you can do to assist or fight back in this state. There's still two lizalfos in front of you and it's not hard to gather that they know you're vulnerable now.

It's not looking well for you.

Somehow, this massive roar, from a beast you've never heard before, thunders through the forest. It's close to you and you can hear it approaching.

The monstrous call sends the two lizalfos away from you and you take a breath before trying to find the quickest get away point to avoid getting any more hurt than you already are.

But then you see it.

The origin of the call and your feet freeze mid step.

It's massive and you have no idea what it is.

It has the body of a horse with black and white stripes colored all around it's whole being. It had arms like a man and a head like a lion's and it's coming right for you.

You start running away and somehow snap the arrow from your hand from the long side so only the flint head is left. It send another electrifying shock up your arm and you cry out from the pain. The pain is enough to nearly trip you over and from your periphery you see the beast raise it's arm and twirl a weapon from it's hand. It's spinning too fast for you to properly see what to is but it's also massive and looks heavy and he's about two seconds from throwing it in your direction.

You're forced to keep running.

"I need help!" You scream and take a sharp left to try and throw off his aim. It doesn't work from what you can hear behind you. "I'm gonna die!"

No one answers your call.

In fact, you don't see any of them anymore. If you paused for a moment and tried to hear past the blood pounding in your ears you know you'd probably hear them fighting. But you can't, so you don't and you feel the absolute horror of your situation dawn on you and freeze your veins.

"HELP!" You scream again, trying to take as many turns as you can.

You're getting tired.

"Someone help!"

Someone! Anyone!

The thundering gallops of the beast has stopped but you can still hear it's spinning weapon. Actually it sounds likes it's-

"LINK HELP ME!"

A rope hit the center of your body and the weights you thought you saw wrap around you in both directions, tying your arms and legs together roughly and tight enough that you know it's cut off circulation.

You feel a weight travel upwards before you hit the ground and can barely feel the hit on your head when it runs out of rope.

Your world goes black.

Wind

Wind was lucky enough to not get hit at all when the attack first came.

He sees Wild get back up and rip his arrow out of his torso and Warrior takes the arrow out of his tunic in a similar manner, not actually getting pierced by it.

Wind feels the adrenaline begin to kick in the second the monsters break the tree line.

Everyone scatters to take the creatures down and he’s no exception.

The monsters seem to be normal this time around and he’s glad. He takes a second to take a deep breath and scans the horizon trying to figure out exactly where everyone went.

Time and Twilight are close to each other, fighting nearly back to back as they takes down all the monsters around them in quick succession.

Legend and Hyrule are behind him, not fighting together but near enough where they’re in each others line of sight. 

He doesn’t know where Wild went off to and he can’t see Warrior even if he hears him grit out his frustrations just beyond the tree line.

Sky and Four and also no where to be found and he has to stop what he’s doing when the next monsters jump at him.

Suddenly a new monster roars and it’s not one Wind is familiar with. He’s beginning to feel the nerves of the battle sink in and he hopes that the others have enough experience under their belt to deal with the new threat on the field because he doubts he can do anything about it.

“HELP!”

That’s you. 

Wind glances over his shoulder and sees nothing. He gulps and tries to finish off the bokoblin as fast as he can to get to you. With a quick prayer, he hopes that the new creature isn’t anywhere near you and that this battle ends faster than usual.

“Someone help me!″ You cry again and Wind grits his teeth, striking the bokoblin as hard as he can. With a familiar cloud of purple smoke surrounding him, he dashes in your general direction.

“LINK HELP ME!”

Wind slows to stop despite his better judgment- completely being overtaken by the frozen fear in his veins.

You’re asking for him. He needs to help you. He doesn’t know where you are. He doesn’t know where to start. He doesn’t know how he’s going to do this.

He sees Wild dash off faster than what should be possible into the forest and somehow finds it within himself to follow him.

Hyrule and Legend are quick to follow the trail to where the monster has to be and pass him in no time.

What he sees freezes him a second time. 

Wild on top of the monsters back- something that Wind has never seen before- you’re trapped and captured, completely wrapped up in rope and blood and there’s something- multiple somethings- sticking out of your body.

Legend doesn’t hesitate to break out of his funk first and blast the creature with his magic rod to hell and back.

Hyrule follows his lead and attacks the beast with a flaming spin attack, aiming for the monsters knees and underbelly.

But you’re not moving through all of this.

In fact, it looks like you’re not reacting at all.

You’re completely unconscious.

Wind takes a breath and grips the hilt of his sword tighter. He knows that you’re both young- but seeing you held up, bloody and wounded, like a flag over the monster’s weapon- makes him see- if only for a moment- how young you really are.

And he’s pissed.

Wind charges the monster without any second thought and goes for the same tactic that Hyrule had. Getting on his knees, he slides under the beast and cuts the entirety of the underbelly. With the four of them attacking the monster, Wind hopes that they can get you the help that you clearly need.

It still drags on though and Wind is in a bit of a loss at what to do make it end faster.

You’re bleeding.

You’re hurt.

You could be dying.

He couldn’t get to you in time.

He grits his teeth and attacks with more ferocity- as much ferocity that he can muster and tries to go as deep and damaging as he can.

He loses himself in the movements and the battle. He forgets about Wild- about Legend- about Hyrule- and when the monster finally dies- it catches him off guard.

But the universe seems to want to do him a favor.

He’s right under you and you fall on top of him and into his arms. He places you as gently as he can onto the forest floor and slips his blade under the ropes, snapping it upwards to cut them. With the pressure gone, he works on getting you out of there.

Hyrule at some point ends up next to him and takes out your multiple arrow shots, healing you as he goes.

But there’s more damage to undo than Hyrule is capable of healing.

Wind looks over you and tries to look over your person without moving your body wrong and injuring you further. He sees your bag and opens it, reaching his hand inside to pull out the potion you were saving.

He feels like he could cry but he’s not entirely sure what causing it.

Wind uncorks it and begins to administer the potion over your wounds just as Wild unleashes a fairy over you.

Both begin to work their magic and Legend takes it upon himself to pull Hyrule away before he passes out.

“What was that thing?” Wind blurts, watching you intensely for any change in your demeanor.

“A lynel.” Wild replies. “A strong one too. Are you hurt Wind?”

“No. I’m ok.” Wind clenches his hands against his pants.

After a minute of waiting, the fairy leaves, doing all that she can for you and heading the other way.

He can’t see the potion outwardly fix anything else and Hyrule’s magic has been tapped out.

They’ve used all that they can the heal you and yet you’re still not waking up.

Out of the corner of his eye he sees Legend pull Hyrule away from you entirely- trying to keep him from healing you further and risk passing out. It annoys Wind because he wants to see you be better but he takes one breath to calm the pounding in his ears and he can still hear the others fighting.

“Wind.” Wild says. “Stay with them, ok? Be with them when they wake up.”

“Alright.” Wind moves closer to your side and crushes your hair out of your face. “Go help the others. We’ll be here.”

Wild pauses but nods and ushers Legend and Hyrule away- leading them back into the fray to help the others with the last of the monsters.

Your clothes are bloody and caked and beginning to harder because of it.

But you groan.

Wind lets the tears fall from his face and collapses onto your chest. 

“Link?” You ask and raise your hand to drop it onto the head of the person.

“I’m here.” Wind’s voice cracks but he doesn’t pay attention to it.

“Oh Wind...” You pat him. “Good. Good. You’re here. You came.”

Wind thinks to the amount of time he’s wasted just standing by in a panic but doesn’t let you know that.

“I came.”

“Everything hurts Wind.” You whimper. “Did I almost die?”

“Don’t say that.” He snaps. “You’re fine. Ok?”

“Ok.”

“Good.” He looks up at you. “You’re going to be ok. I promise”

“Ok.” You close your eyes and keep your hand on his shoulder. “I trust you.”

He’s gonna leave your side for a while.

Legend

Despite the monsters around them and the arrows that have pierced the group in multiple ways, Legend was sure that this wouldn’t last very long.

But then he hears the unmistakable roar of a lynel.

Which isn’t... ideal but nothing the group (or himself) hasn’t handled before.

It was a bit harder now but again- shouldn’t last long.

“I’m gonna die!”

Legend whips his head in your direction. The words to tell you to stop being dramatic right on the tip on his tongue until he realizes that he doesn’t see you.

Which means that you’re farther away than he thought.

Which means you’re also a lot louder than he thought.

Which means- well- you mean it.

Legend doesn’t think twice.

He kills the monster in front of him with a solid swing and b-lines toward you- fully intent on coming to your rescue.

 “HELP!”

To his left he sees the lynel and stops dead in his tracks. He didn’t realize it was as close as it was, not can he figure out what happening exactly but-

“LINK HELP ME!”

It’s in the same direction the lynel went in.

The lynel is heading in your direction.

And you’re already in trouble.

Legend doesn’t hesitate to activate his peagsus boots and charges after the monster. The moment he catches up, he swings his blade deep into the beast’s side and watches in horror, as it turns to face him and holds your bloodied body up high and laughs.

Or at least the lynel equivalent to a laugh.

Guilt rips through Legend’s system and he’s forced to grit his teeth and bare it. Your hits look bad and he’s at fault for not reaching you sooner.

He trades his sword for his magic rod and fires everything he can at the monster, trying his hardest to both keep his distance and avoid hitting you.

It’s instantly not looking good.

Legend is tiring out quicker than he thought he would and the monster doesn’t look any worse off than when he started this song and dance.

Luckily, or maybe not so luckily, Wild comes charging in with his flame blade and spin attacks against its knees.

The lynel buckles for a moment and Legend takes a risk.

He fires at the monster’s paw where you’re being held and watches as the ropes around you catch the flame. You drop in seconds and Legend dashes to get you out of the way- not seeing or hearing Hyrule run up behind him and take his place in firing against the lynel.

Legend grabs you and drags you across the battle field, trying to shield you with his own body and hide you against the surrounding bushes so that the lynel doesn’t think of going after you again.

He reaches in your pocket where he know you stash your potions and prays that it’s there.

When he finds it, he doesn’t waste any time in getting to work its magic on you. He tries to take stock on your injuries. the arrow in your hand, your back and your leg. The massive hit on your head and the multiple cuts you’ve gained just by existing in this point in time and your previous fights.

Your clothes are a little singed thanks to him but the flame hadn’t actually touched you.

Legend breaths a sigh of relief.

One less thing to worry about.

He... doesn’t have any other potions and he wasn’t the one to carry the fairies this time around. There’s little else he can do on his own now. Hyrule can come can heal you and the idea kicks him into high gear.

He stands. “HYRULE!”

“WHAT?!” The Traveler snaps back.

“Heal them!” He may be begging a little in his voice. “This is bad!”

Hyrule pauses momentarily and jumps out of the way of the lynel’s back swing. “Take over.”

Legend nods and jumps back into the fight. Wild had been holding his own, somehow managing to get on the back of the beast and strike it where he couldn’t fight back. Unfortunately it moves the lynel to buck and kick wildly, not giving Legend any chance to get closer to attack without the risk of injuring himself in the process as well.

But he’s pretty tapped for magic as well... 

Screw it.

It hurt you.

Nearly killed you.

It has to pay.

Legend takes his sword and spins it in his hand. He takes a steadying gulp of air and moves in.

At first it’s a lot of dodging flying limbs and simply nicking it where he can. 

But Legend begins to get impatient and the monster doesn’t go down in the burning heap of flame and destruction Legend wants it to.

So he decides to take a page out of Wild’s book.

With a hard kick to the creature’s belly, Legend grabs a fist full of its mane and hoists himself on the side. Wild has done some damage on the monster’s back but it’s still fighting and doesn’t seem to be going down with that alone. Legend takes his sword on one hand angles it to properly plunge the blade between the lynel’s shoulder and neck.

He puts his whole weight onto it and nearly pushes Wild off of the monster in the process of trying to go as deep and damaging as he can.

He pulls it out and strikes it again in a similar manner.

And again and again.

And again.

And again.

It’s still not enough.

Legend roars himself as his rage and anger fully encompasses him.

He drops his blade off of the side of the beast- not intentionally- and grabs his magic rod once more.

His magic has replenished itself somewhat but it’s not enough- he knows this- he doesn’t care.

With a battle cry harsh enough to scare even the mightiest of warriors, he fires all that he can at the lynel’s head and doesn’t stop.

Soon- perhaps too soon for Legend’s anger to be satiated- the monster finally collapses for good and disappears into the familiar purple smoke.

Both Wild and Legend fall to the ground without the body to hold them any more, Wild with a little more fan fare than Legend.

With reason.

Legend sees you beyond the smoke and he can somewhat register Wild shaking his shoulder to get his attention and his attempts to get him back onto his feet but it’s all in vain.

Legend passes out.

Hyrule

“LINK HELP ME!”

Hyrule’s heart freezes in place and he whips around to where he hears the call.

It’s your voice, he knows it anywhere but it’s never been a source of panic for him. So this is new. You almost never use his name, their name, the name and in any other situation he would think of you trying to get the groups attention but-

He didn’t even think it was possible for you to sound like that. 

So panicked and shrill, borderline a blood curdling scream followed by silence.

His blood goes cold and he thinks you’re calling for him... And he’s not there to help you...

He doesn’t know where you are or where to begin looking for you but he ditches the fight in front of him and sprints to where he can only assume you are. Hyrule tries to be as light on his feet as he can, pushing himself to the fastest he can be without tripping over himself and eating the dirt.

He reaches the clearing once again, where the attack started and gulps down as much air as he can manage.

He doesn’t see you. 

Sheer unadulterated terror grips his whole body and he runs to where he thinks he saw you go.

He calls your name and takes a look around the clearing, trying to see through the trees and the foliage to no avail.

“No...” He whines and gulps again to clear his throat. “Where are you? Don’t do this to me, please.”

Hyrule takes off running again, trying to retrace their steps and get to where he thinks the tracks lead you but he’s not making a lot of progress.

There’s a second roar.

He heard the first one but he wasn’t in a position to do something about it until you called for him. It’s his only hint and he runs toward the sound without thinking ahead if only to help you in your time of need.

Hyrule breaks through the tree line and nearly runs face first into the side of the weirdest colored lynel he’s ever seen. He takes only one second to compose himself before he charges up his magic and unleashes his fire spell, spinning against the beast and cutting into it as much as he can. 

In the time it takes for the spell to die out, Hyrule can here Wild join the fray and see him just beyond his flying hair line, as he jumps on top of the beast and begins hacking away.

“This from your Hyrule?” He yells up at his companion.

“One of the strongest there is!” Wild yells back. He screams your name a second later and pulls at the beasts mane in fury. “It has them! They’re unconscious! Oh my god, that’s a lot of blood...”

Hyrule blinks and runs around the beast, avoiding all the flying hooves as it attempts to buck Wild off of it’s back.

He almost sobs when he sees you.

You look awful.

There’s a unmistakable arrow through your hand, one in your back and one in your leg and your back is covered in blood. By the looks of it your hands are beginning to turn purple and the ropes appear to be strangling every inch against you.

You are also, very much unconscious.

He missed it. He didn’t to you on time.

BUT he can still get you out- he can still heal you- he just needs to get you away.

He takes a few steps backs, doing all that he can to aim this right if the monster would stop moving for just a second.

Out of the corner of his eye, just as he launches the astral sword, he sees it. 

A shadow.

His sword flies through the air and impales the beast in the wrist that holds you captive but it’s not enough to let you go. Granted, Hyrule’s a little glad that it didn’t since he only now realizes that if you were to fall, there’s no one to pull you out of the way and away from the hooves.

But the grip loosens somewhat and you’re beginning to be lowered to the ground without the monsters consent.

It’s a start.

The shadow for its part rushes forward and past him, sinking into the massive shadow of the beast. Nothing appears on it’s back where Wild hold on with wild abandon but it shows on its back on the forest floor.

Hyrule runs toward you, and manages to get a grip on the ropes around you before your ripped away with the monster’s backswing.

The momentum knocks him off of his feet and he watches as Legend comes up next to him at fires his magic rod at the monster’s head.

He sees the shadow get up, as if it was riding the lynel and takes a long and thin line, ramming it into the lynel head’s shadow. The beast howls and yells as if the injury was real and Wild is finally forced to jump off as well unless he was taken down as well. In its agony, the beast lets go of the the ropes holding you and you flop uselessly on the ground where you land.

With his heart in his throat, Hyrule runs toward you, grips your shoulder and tries to pull you away from the beast and the fight.

He can see it, the shadow, fighting where the monster cannot reach.

Legend and Wild are quick to join him, letting the lynel deal with the problem on its own and the three of them take care of your injuries. Wild is quick to deal with the multiple arrows while Legend cuts off the rope restraints around you.

Hyrule doesn’t know where they planned on taking you- but he’s never known monsters outside of his Hyrule to try and take captives.

He can’t fathom why they would want you.

As soon as Legend gets all the ropes cut they scramble to get the pressure off of you and Hyrule doesn’t hesitate to let the flow of magic go through him.

Between his astral sword and his flame attack, he’s beginning to feel a little drained but he can’t afford to let himself slip. He can feel the multiple cracks and dents and damage done to your skull from the hit it had taken and he’s afraid of what it might mean when you wake up... if you wake up... please please please wake up...

Hyrule gets jolted back to reality when he feel Legend’s hand on shoulder, violently shaking him. It was enough that it startled him into stopping the spell and Hyrule’s head clears a little. “Wild has a fairy- slow down.”

“I have to-” He gulps and tries to get the flow of magic going again. “I have to make sure they’re ok. They got hurt so bad Legend- I can’t-”

“But don’t kill yourself trying to fix them! We still need you too!” Legend shakes him again and pulls him away, creating the window Wild needed to take over and uncork the fairy bottle.

Hyrule whines and he barely registers your name leave his leaves.

The sounds of battle continue in the distance and the trio (well, Legend and Wild) are reminded that there still monsters about and friends that could very well also need help.

“Hyrule, get them out of here.” Legend stands and grips his sword in his hand. “And no more magic. Just wait for us to finish and get them to some place safe.”

“Ok.” He gulps and he gently tries to place his hands under your head.

Hyrule moves slowly and unsurely. His head feels light and he knows he may have over did it. He tries not to let Wild or Legend see it but if he’s being honest with himself then he can say that Legend can read him like an open book and he’s a horrible actor.

He tries to stand and misplaces his step but shoves Wild when he goes in to help him. With his other arm, he hooks your knees and picks you up with added help of his power bracelet. 

He’s tired now.

“Got any idea of where I can go?”

Legend and Wild hiss and share a look. Hyrule turns around and sees the shadow hop away from the now dead body of the lynel before merging with his own. Hyrule’s heart stops momentarily before it points to the direction just beyond him. 

He doesn’t saying anything and follows its lead, trying to get from his friends as fast as he can and into the safety that only distance can provide right now.

He’s never seen a shadow quite like this one before but if it’s concerned about your well being then he’ll let it slide for now. Maybe the others will know something about it when he asks them later?

Right now, he needs to not trip and pass out and he needs to take care of you.

He thinks he can manage that.

Sky

Sky didn't know what to think about the forest around him. It seemed to be just as the same as all the others but there was admittedly something in the air here and he didn't know how to make heads or tails of it.

Suddenly it all goes still and he's quick to pull his shield over his head and duck down. He hears some of his comrades cry from the unexpected shots that rain over them but he focuses on you and how you've been hit.

He doesn't have the time to register anything else before his muscle memory throws him into a fight and he's forced to strike any and all lizafos in his path.

He knows the group can hold their own, he knows that you can hold your own- so he's hoping that your hits were only minor.

He fights as he normally would and is pleasantly surprised by the ease of it. If only if it weren't for their sheer numbers that comes against them.

But then he hears the roar.

It takes a second to get past the initial panic of uncertainty- it's not a call from any monster from his Hyrule and there's nothing substantial that he can compare it to.

But he's traveling with this group for a while and he now knows what it is even if it's a little later than his instincts should have figured it out.

A lynel.

He take a large breath to replenish himself and turns around from the newest fallen monster.

Someone is going to have to go deal with it.

He hopes it's not him.

But then he hears you scream.

You're too far away to make out what you're saying but it's frantic and fearful.

Sky wastes no time in running in your direction and trying to make it to your side before anything happens to you.

"Someone help me!" He hears you cry.

He pushes himself faster.

"LINK HELP ME!"

He trips on a root.

Flashbacks take over his mind momentarily before he pushes himself up and begins to feel his heart pounding faster than any fight driven adrenaline could provide. He can't fail to save someone a second time.

His breathing is beginning to feel labored but he can't risk this.

Sky gulps whatever air he can afford to take and begins running.

The lynel from the before roars in victory just as Sky breaks through the tree line.

It's worse than he could have.

Not only did you clearly take multiple shots from the earlier strike but they've somehow captured you with a rope that looks too tight to be without consequence and as you swing from the motion of being picked up, Sky catches a glimpse of the back of your head, where one of the weights rests.

Blood.

Sky feels his hands clench and he raises the Master Sword skyward instinctively, calling upon the holy beam to fire it at the beast.

It does the damage but the beast doesn't go down.

Nor does it let you go.

Enraged and without much forethought, Sky charges and does not hesitate to strike when the beast is still trying to recover from the blow.

Sky strikes against the beast's back to keep on the ground for a moment longer before slicing off the hand that holds you. It falls to the ground with a subtle thump before the monster manages to snap beyond the pain and jump away from him.

The blood falls from the wound like a down pour and lynel roars again in pure anger and hatred, glaring directly at Sky for the audacity to strike against it.

Sky couldn't care less, in fact he welcomes it.

He's quick to jump over your body and place himself between you and monster, rage fueling him beyond every breath he takes.

The lynel jumps and reaches for its own sword now that it's been limited to one armed weapons.

Sky raises his blade skyward for another beam and watches in satisfaction as the beast fails to block it and takes the full damage.

Wild jumps into the fray and fires what he can at the lynel before turning to Sky. He takes a moment and pauses, glancing at the disembodied paw, the blood, the massively harmed lynel and eventually spots you as you lay on the forest floor.

"Get them the help they need." Sky snaps at Wild before he can question anything. "Leave this one to me."

"How did you even manage this?" Wild drops his bow and takes out a knife, cutting away the ropes that bind you.

"Holy blade."

The lynel roars again and stands to face Sky head on once more.

But it's injured before it can even try.

Legend and Hyrule come out of the woodwork and fire at it with all the magic they both can produce in a flurry of blows.

Sky can feel the beginning's of relief seep into his system and it alerts him to how tired and spent he really is- enough so that he knows that if he continues to push it, he might not be able to breath properly for a while.

But he can't bring himself to care, you're still hurt and the monster that caused it is still standing.

He can go on a little longer.

Just a little longer.

He grits his teeth and charges while the lynel is distracted, slicing across it's shoulder blade and using the momentum and purchase he finds when the blade gets caught on the bone to heave himself onto the monster's back.

The lynel can not longer stand and falls to its knees, weakened further more by Legend and Hyrule's efforts.

When Sky feels the lynel shift forward, he thrust the Master Sword in front of him and pierces it through the head, growling animalistically when he sees the blade come out the other side.

The monsters explodes in a familiar purple smoke and he braces himself as his feet hit the ground.

With a gulp, he holds his breath and runs back to you with Hyrule and Legend close by.

It appears that Wild had given you a potion (or three) and was trying to get you to slowly sit up. Arrows gone.

"Ow... My everything hurts." You sob and try to keep from moving.

Sky collapses next to you and lands harshly on his knees. "Oh thank Hylia you're alive."

"Hey Sky." You try and move your arms and eventually settle for entangling your finger into the back of your head. "Oh, ok, ouch, that's worse. What happened? What was that thing?"

"Lynel." Hyrule moves to your other side and lets his magic flow through his fingers. "The big horse like cat thing? We call them lynels. Tough to fight and to beat. They are typically to be avoided."

You sigh in relief from his healing spell and Sky narrowly avoids doing the same thing.

"I hate them." You mutter

Sky coughs up a laugh and tries to hide from the others how much he's actually spent- you need more attention right now. "We all do."

"Is it dead?"

"Sky made sure of it." Legend juts his thumb in his direction and the way you blink and look his way, makes Sky feel more bashful than he should.

"But it was huge!"

"Well Sky was pissed so safe to say it didn't matter."

"Legend." He says in warning.

"You know I'm right." Legend smirks.

"Are there still monsters?" You sit up fully now and shake some of limb free from whatever you must be feeling.

"Technically " Wild hisses. "But you're done. Hyrule, Legend, let's go get the others. Sky, make sure they don't go back in the fight."

The you're no good to fight either does not go unnoticed in Sky's eyes.

"Fine." He spits and sits a little closer to you.

The other three run off back into the forest and away from the two of you.

"I'm sorry." Sky blurts.

"For what?" You tilt your head. "You killed the thing, right?"

"Yeah but-"

"Then there's nothing else to do."

"I didn't- I wasn't fast enough." Sky bite his lip and turns his head to look the trees instead of into your eyes. "This could have been avoided entirely."

"No offence but I doubt that." You roll your eyes and rest your head on his shoulder.

Sky stiffens at the contact and chances a glance in your direction.

"I'm tired."

"Time will kill us if he finds us both asleep." Sky mutters, even if the idea is really tempting right now.

"I think we've earned it." You reply. "Time can bite me. I like... almost died... I think I should nap time compensation."

Sky wraps his arm around you before he can chicken out and tries not to think to much on your second sentence. "You sleep then. I'll keep a look out for more monsters."

"You'll protect me?"

"With my life."

Time

Time was quick to pull out his sword and shield, taking refuge behind it as the arrows rained down upon him and the group.

He saw Wild take a shot in his side and he heard Warrior curse under breath as he drew out his own weapons.

Time took a breath and charge at the first monster who was brave enough to show its face. He trusts the boys to take care of the hoard as they approach and continues to fight. Somehow, the group disperses and they're not back to back anymore.

He's not sure if it's a good or bad thing just yet.

Somewhere in the distance he hears you shout and out of concern, Time buys himself enough to look behind him by kicking the monster in front of him in the chest and sends him flying.

Time doesn't see you.

Time grits his teeth and tries to finish the beast in front of him as fast as he can because that cry... did not sound good.

Time hears a thunderous roar and feel his blood go cold.

It's not native to his time or Hyrule but he's seen one from his time on this journey, he can recognize it now, and he knows this is trouble.

A lynel.

He turns to try and find where it's coming from but there's too many lizalfos and bokoblins for him to deal with before he can go anywhere else.

His blood in pounding in his ears and it's hard for him to hear anything beside it and his own laboring breaths.

He can hear the creature arrive in the middle of battle, sees it in his periphery and he tries his hardest to disengage to go deal with the higher threat.

"HELP!"

It's you.

Time's heart plummets and he runs from his fight into your direction, hoping to get there in time.

But he doesn't know where you are and the monsters are still running rampant.

"LINK HELP ME!"

Ice is dunked over him and there no way to prepare his for the absolute terror that courses through his veins when he hears your voice nearly tear your throat apart. It's enough of a shock that he actually comes to a dead stop not willing to accept the reality of what just happened.

He's never heard you scream like that.

Not to mention that you're calling him and are crying for him to come to your rescue. He can't fail you.

He run, sprints and tackles anything that tries to get in his way. He sees the lynel throw its weapon and turns his head just in time for it make contact with you.

It wraps around you in a practiced and fluid motion and he can see one of the weight hit you in the head.

You fall and lynel runs toward you, picks you up by the rope and holds your now unconscious body up in the air like a trophy before it turns around to run away.

"NO!" Time gives chase and shoots the beast by its knees to get its attention. "GIVE THEM BACK!"

The lynel doesn't seem to be at all effected by the shots but it does turn around to see what the deal is.

Time keeps running toward it. He's not entirely sure how he's going to take this behemoth down but it has you, has hurt you and now it has to pay.

Again, not that he has any idea of how to do that.

Luckily, he's not the only one who heard your call and Wild wastes no time on jumping on top of the monster and begin attacking it from behind. Time's sure that Twilight would have something to say about that later but he'll let the cub have this one if he succeeds.

Hyrule and Legend come out of the woodwork nearly at the same time, each firing their respected types of magic at the beast.

Time's heart plummets again when they come close to hitting you.

"CAREFUL!" He shouts without any restraint in his voice.

Time is terrified for you and admittedly... he's a bit at loss at what to do.

But he refuses to stand by and do nothing.

With Wild and Legend attacking what they can, Time follows Hyrule example by taking out his sword and begins hacking away at the beast.

He trying to avoid anything having to do with your side and even slides under the beast with his blade held high, slicing the entire underside of the creature.

This one is stronger than Time remembers them being and only vaguely recalls when Wild mentioned about their colors having meaning. All he knows is that he needs to get you out of here and fast.

The window of opportunity opens just a sliver and Time forces his hands in to rip it open all the way.

The lynel refuses to let go of you even as it's fighting against the boys and trying to trample Time as he thinks.

In one solid movement he arcs his sword behind you as you swing down and he cuts the lynel's hand up to the wrist. The beast lets you go out of shock and Time dives toward you as you fall.

He catches you and rolls, crying in anguish when he gets a bruising kick to his back.

Even if he's almost certain that his back should have been broken by that kick, he rolls away from the fight even more, fighting the weights off of you to free you from the ropes.

"Are they ok?" Hyrule shouts from the sidelines.

"NO!" He shouts back without much thought, focusing more on how the blood, your blood covers almost the entirety of your back and how your hands have begun to turn a little purple.

"Head injury and circulation has been cut off from multiple limbs! Three separate arrows in their back, leg and hand." Time shouts and tosses his weapon to the side. He takes out his last fairy and uncorks the bottle, letting fly over you and begins to work on taking out the arrow while you're unconscious, only marginally hoping you won't wake in the middle of it if only to avoid the pain.

He's more than upset with himself.

Not only is your life in danger right now and he can't immediately fix the problem, but he didn't even know you got hit in the initial contact. Time begins to blame himself even if he knows it's stupid and tries to project his feels to the real culprits.

You don't appear to be waking up any time soon and Time feels an all encompassing rage descend over him.

He stands and picks up his weapon, turning to the beast as the boys are begin being flung away from it.

He moves his arm in a circle, trying to loosen up his muscles before he attacks.

He takes a breath.

And he charges.

He manages to get in the monsters blind spot and impales his blade deep with its side.

The lynel roars and turns to face him, but Time keeps his grip on his sword and is pulled in the spin instead. As the monster realizes that Time is still where he can't reach keep, it keep turning, jumping and bucking to get Time away from it but he holds on.

As the beast tires itself out, Wild comes back and fires a well aimed arrow in the lynel's eyes and it bursts into a blue cloud and out of existence.

Time growls at the lack of action and instead throws his weapon at the nearest monster that comes through. It bursts into another cloud on impact and Time finds that it still doesn't quell his absolute rage.

"Link..." He hears you groan.

Time turns around and catches you attempting to sit up with Legend's and Hyrule's help. Hyrule has his spell flowing from his fingers over your form and you blink away what confusion you can.

"Where am I? What happened?" You place your hand to the back of your head and gulp. "Is everyone ok?"

Time sighs in relief, his anger almost dissipating on sight.

"Hold on. What's your name?" Legend places a hand on your shoulder.

You answer.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" Hyrule raises up three fingers.

"Se-seven." You frown and squint. "That's not right."

"No. No it's not." Hyrule sighs. "That's it for today then, right? They've got a pretty bad concussion. We need to keep them awake for a while. Arrow wounds seemed to have healed nicely though."

"Anyone have a potion?" Legend yells into the atmosphere.

"Some of us are still fighting!" Four shouts back.

"Help the others." Time says. "I'll get them out of here. I already used my fairy on them so anything else may have to wait."

"You already used a fairy?"

He nods.

"Time..." You look up at him. "Where were you?"

Your words strike him through the heart and he kneels next to you, trying not to look you in the eye and burst into tears.

"Time?"

He picks you up without another word and nods towards Hyrule and Legend.

They take the hint and run back towards whatever fighting is still happening.

"Are you ok?" You place a hand against Time's cheek. "I thought I heard you but you were really far away."

"I'm fine." Time answers, gripping you a little tighter against him.

He's not fine.

But he's gong to make this up to you. He swears it.

Four

Four was stuck in his own head when the attack happened.

He was lucky enough that he only received a quick cut to his cheek before his instincts kicked in and pulled his shield over his head.

He heard multiple people around him grunt but was immediately throw across the field by a lizalfos kick to his chest.

Four pulls his sword from behind him and wasted not time to strike back.

There was no more time or opportunity to even think as he was quickly swarmed by the hoard of monsters. Four has at least four monsters in top of him, trying to knock him down to size and keep him on the ground but Four wasn't going to go down so easily.

Wind comes up from the side and knocks two of them down from behind, giving him a quick wink as he rushes to fight against the bokoblins that have entered the scene.

Delighted by the help, Four does a spin attack to knock the other two down when he hears something that makes his blood go cold.

A roar.

A monstrous being has now entered the battlefield and Four hopes that he can help knock out the lesser monster while the others take on the lynel.

Four makes the executive decision to leave it to the more experienced of the group to take care of it. He can work on lessening the numbers so that they can concentrate on the larger one.

But then he hears something that makes his blood go cold.

"Someone help me!"

It's you.

You're panicking.

You're in trouble.

Four takes a breath and moves his head around his immediate area. He tries to calm his heart before he all but spirals into a panic so that he could properly help you.

Where are you?

"LINK HELP ME!"

What was once ice turns to stone in his veins instead before he dashes in your direction.

Forget the monsters right now.

You need help.

You called for him.

All previous thought of taking this with well calculated decisions vanishes out of the proverbial window.

Any thought of taking calmly has gone out the proverbial window.

It's just the thought of you in danger, waiting on him to rescue you.

His coarse takes him right in the path of the lynel.

He sees you, captured and held high like some victory trophy and absolutely coated in what can only be your own blood.

Four makes the downright stupid decision with all wild abandon to throw his sword as hard as he can at the monsters face.

It makes contact and sinks deep.

But it doesn't kill the creature.

When the creature doesn't let go of you either, Four is nearly shaking with the amount of restrained fury he has yet to release.

While the beast in injured, he sees Wild come up from the tree line and fire multiple shots right where his sword is, making hit after hit and the creature jumps back-

Right into Hyrule and his flaming spin attack.

Four runs toward the lynel, no longer caring for his own safety and ignoring how he doesn't have another weapon out.

The one thing he does have though is his favorite pocket knife- so he decides once again to make a very stupid choice.

Time will have an aneurysm should he ever learn about this.

Four jumps from the creature's knee when it dips down and grips onto the mane to hoist himself up. In one swift movement, even as the creature has gone blind at this point and is constantly taking damage from both other boys, Four pulls his legs up and wraps them around the arm of the beast and climb up to where it's holding you.

He grips the rope with one hand and holds his knife with the other and begin to work his way through the material.

It takes a few panicked seconds but the rope is freed.

With one end still being held by the lynel, it spins you around until you hit the ground with a dull thud. Four drops after you as soon as he sees you're freed and manages to catch you somewhat from hitting the ground at full force- even if his plan was to use his body as a pillow.

His arms wrap around you instantly and together he rolls you away from the fight and away from the lynel's trampling hooves.

He gulps when he lets go of you, taking quick inventory over your injuries.

He's quick to reach into your pocket and pull out the healing potion he knows you have and opens it. Legend runs toward the two of you with a fairy in a bottle and tosses it in Four's direction.

The lynel is still standing to the side and Legend nods to Four before activating his pegasus boots and runs to help slay the monster.

Four takes out your arrows and lets the fairy go to heal your wounds in whatever way she can. He moves over and picks up your head when the fairy moves away, placing it into his lap and opens your mouth with his thumb on your chin.

Slowly, he pours the potion, being as careful as his shaking hands will allow to not choke you with it.

He feels stunned.

You were always on top of everything.

Always coming to their aid instead and always seeming to know what to do next. It's something he's always loved about you.

But the one time you need him them, where were they?

How did he they let you get so hurt?

"Am I dead?" You groan and Four will ever deny crying when you look up at him. "Oh, hi Four... did we die?"

He snorts, it's wet a little unbecoming of him but he doesn't care. "No, but you gave it your best shot."

"Huh..." You shift and are immediately met with all the injuries that haven't been healed yet. "OH! Oh no! Not dead! Defiantly not dead! I'm in too much pain to be dead!"

"I'm sorry." Four says out of habit.

"Not your fault." You groan and roll off of him. "Is the thing dead?"

Four looks up and sees that yes, in the time that he tending to you the trio had managed to kill the lynel.

"Yes."

"Good."

Wild then runs up to you both with a very familiar sword in his hand. "This is yours I believe."

Four stands and takes it before something can happen to the resident Champion. "Thank you."

"You have quite the arm." He comments. "That went deep."

"Four's super strong." You say in your pained delirium. "Like SUPER super strong. I bet he can pick you up."

"Ok, we need to get you out of here." Wild fights the smile that threatens to appear when Four blushes..

"Please." You whimper.

Four takes pity on you and picks you up as gently as he can manage. "The others are still fighting..."

"I'll let them know where you went." Wild winks and dashes off to finish the last of the monsters.

"Four?" You gulps and try to get as comfortable as you can. "Thank you."

"Every time. I promise."

Twilight

Twilight had a suspicion that something was going to happen the minute the forest had stilled of natural sound.

He gripped his sword and held his shield at the ready just in case.

A part of him felt a little silly but he knew better than to ignore the gut feeling. It came with his heightened senses and he wasn't about to toss away hard earned lessons because of falsified paranoia.

The attack came as he knew it would and he was quick to put his shield over his head, pulling Wind under him as well to avoid the barrage of arrows. Some of the others weren’t so lucky, he knew instantly by their calls of distress but was forced to fight the minute the monsters stepped into the light. There was no way for him to check how badly the others would have been hurt except for when he would eventually pass them on the battle field.

He lost himself in the motions- muscle memory doing most of the work in his case as he took down every lizalfos and bokoblin in his path.

Then he hears it.

The mistakable roar of a lynel.

He groans at the very thought of it. With more theatrics than he’s willing to admit, Twilight cuts down the monster in front of him and makes turns around to go fight the beast, leaving the lesser monsters to be dealt with by the group.

“I’m gonna die!” He hears you scream.

His heart stops and what was once a brisk jog turns into a full out sprint in your direction.

“HELP!” Your voice picks up in intensity and Twilight urges himself to go faster, to meet you before the beast can.

Twilight jumps over a line of bushes just in time to see you run down the trail- blood already trailing down your back and dripping off of your hand.

He sees the lynel stop for a moment before releasing its weapon.

“LINK HELP ME!” 

It makes contact and it stops you in your tracks, capturing your limbs together and causing you to fall. He runs over to in tandem with the monster but he’s not fast enough to catch the lynel while in full gallop.

While a scream tears through his throat, Twilight wishes momentarily that you were sticking near Epona at the start of all this (and therefore him) instead but he gives chase without much thought in any sort of plan to save you.

With a quick whistle he calls for his horse and she comes running without any hesitation. Twilight sets himself up during the run and jumps on Epona’s back. He’s quick to move and direct her after the monster and pull out his bow in favor of his sword.

His shots cause the monster to roar once more in fury and it stops to face the upcoming opponent.

Twilight growls with just as much intensity and keep firing, urging Epona to run around the beast, in a circle to avoid any full on hits. 

The lynel takes the blows with little thought and steps back, dropping you the process and charges at Twilight.

He’s not quick enough to get out of the way and is forced to jump off of Epona less she fall on top of him and crush him.

Epona does take the brunt hit of it and does in fact fall over. Twilight gets to his feet as fast as he can and takes his sword out again. While it takes a moment to breath from colliding into another creature, Twilight asses the damage.

Epona for her part gets up and dashes quickly off to the side and away from the monster. He knows that she’s hurt but with the lynel turning around to face him, and Twilight does not miss the way the lynel glances at you in the process, he doesn’t have time to go and check on her.

Instead he jumps in front of you and swings his blade with all his might at the offending creature as it makes it way over to you.

It howls in angers and does so once more when Legend comes flying in through the foliage and blasts the beast directly in its face with his magic rod.

It gives Twilight a window of opportunity and a bit of breathing room now that the lynel has changed targets... for now.

He spins on his heel and kneels by your side, cutting into the ropes that surround you and tear them away from your body. He gulps a bit at the multitude of arrows that protrude from your flesh and he idly wonders if it was from the first attack or from the battle field.

The lynel throws Legend off  of it and Twilight turns around once more to charge at the monster, using his own momentum against it to jump on its back as he stabs as his blade as deep as he can manage into the beast. The monster roars once more and begins to buck with Twilight holding on by the hilt of his blade and the mane of its fur. 

This is a familiar sensation to Twilight and he moves his body to compensate for the added motion to stay on.

From on top of the beast, he sees Hyrule and Wild join the fray and grins as feral as he’s willing to show as back arrives.

Wild is quick to follow his lead and jumps next to him as the monster bucks and also begins to whack the beast. Twilight manages to pull his blade out and repeats his earlier motion, urging his sword with all of his strength to go deeper and do more damage.

Luckily, Hyrule has spotted you and has rushed to your aid with Legend on his heels while the lynel is being handled.

Wild chitters angrily at the fact that lynel still stands and he hops off to begin firing as many explosive arrows as he can at the beast.

Never mind that Twilight is still there.

But he’s a good shot and Twilight focuses on staying on top and keeping his blade within the monster as it jumps back and back and it eventually cornered by a small cliff side.

For one moment everything stills, from either the creature tiring itself out or from Wild running out of bomb arrows but Twilight takes the moment for what it is and once again pulls his blade out.

With one final push, he plunges it back into the monster at a higher spot and feels only marginally satiated when he see the tip peak out on the other side of the lynel’s face.

It disappears into the typical purple cloud and Twilight narrowly misses a sharp rock on the way down. Wild runs to him and gives him a hand.

“Were you trying to blow me off?” He raises an eyebrow at the younger hero as he catches his breath.

“You stayed on didn’t you?” Wild pats him on the shoulder and gives him a once over. “You’re fine.”

“They’re not.” Twilight looks in your direction and runs over.

Luckily, Epona stands over you as well, relatively unharmed except for the few scratches on her side. Twilight sighs in relief at the sight of his horse still standing tall. He’ll have to go easy on her for a few days, maybe a few weeks but she’ll just fine after some tender loving care.

You on the other hand...

You groan and finally open your eyes by the time he reaches you. “I did not do so great that time.”

“Well at least you’re not dead.” Legend rolls his eyes and helps you sit up properly.

“What happened to...” You pause and look up at Twilight, concern and horror filtering over your face. “What one earth happened to you?”

He blinks and furrows his eyebrows. 

Then he looks down.

His pants are coated in the monster’s blood and it’s traveled all the way up to his naval- but that’s not what it looks like.

“Rancher, were you pissing blood or something?” Legend stares at him in the same amount- if not than a little more- horror as you were.

“Twilight...” You start and frown, only now looking between them all with a little more clarity in your eyes. “Did that thing cut off your-”

“It’s not my blood!” He’s quick to reassure you. “Not my blood.”

“Twilight took a lot of stabs to the creatures back.” Wild answers for him. “Since he was riding it then it drips onto the pants.”

“It does look like he needs to be checked though.” Hyrule bit his lip. “Are you alright?”

“A bit winded but more or less unharmed. You?” He wipes the sweat from his brow and tries to ignore the way his pants are beginning to dry.

“More or less the same.”

“Everything hurts.” You groan and flop back onto the earth. 

Twilight smiles slightly at the sight and takes a large calming breath. You’re going to be ok.

Warrior

“LINK HELP ME!”

Warrior’s blood goes cold.

Multiple instances of fallen soldiers and allies alike flash over him a cold panic and his feet move before he even has the chance to register what he’s trying to do or where he’s even going. 

There’s a recurring mantra in his head that circles around like sirens in the dead of night. 

He can’t be late. He can’t fail. It all falls on him. He has to win. He has to save them. He can’t lose.

He’s forced to duck down in a flurry of rushing limbs and flying fabric when he nearly crashes into the monster head on.

Warrior doesn’t hesitate to raise his sword and slash the underbelly of the beast, still lost in the programming of muscle memory. He only comes back into hiself and the present when- after a few minutes of fighting this things without much damage being done to it- Wild comes from behind and fires as many arrows as he can in quick succession.

The surroundings clear up a little more and Warrior rolls out of the way to not be stomped on.

He looks up with wide eyes and forces to get back onto his feet.

He’s not back in the war. There’s no army or fallen soldiers that are gasping out their final breaths.

Until he looks up.

Warrior sucks in a breath when he finally registers your hanging form. You’re soaked in your own blood and there’s arrows sticking out of you that clearly couldn’t be dealt with at the time. Not to mention the ropes around you have been turning your hands and fingers purple.

Legend joins in the time he’s been stuck staring at you and has begun to fire as much magic as he can at the beast. “WAKE UP PRETTY BOY! WE’RE NOT DONE HERE!”

Warrior snaps back into action- the anger that dripping into his system slowly gets him worked up into a frenzy. At first he merely attacks like he would any other monster because he doesn’t want to believe that you’ve been bested by this creature. Nor the possibility that you’re injured beyond repair. But the more he attacks and the more he’s focused on trying not to injure you further- he’s hitting harder, slashing deeper and aiming for any all vitals that he can reach.

Somehow, in his rage, he’s managed to get him under the lynel and spins his blade to slice the legs as many times as he can before the beast is forced to fall from the damage.

Warrior is so lost in himself that he never noticed Hyrule arrive and successfully get you away from the lynel.

Legend breaks away to help Hyrule with getting the rope and arrows away from your body- leaving the stronger lynel with Wild and Warrior. 

While the two of them get to work their magic on healing you, Warrior notices belatedly that there’s more free space to work with when fighting so he takes advantage of that.

But he miscalculates.

In one false move that Warrior tries to duck away from, a rogue hoof comes up when the creature tries to stand again and it nicks Warrior right above his eye, sending him flying away form the beast.

Warrior ignores the blood that’s pouring into his eye and gets up nearly as quickly as he went down.

Wild for his part has noticed the change in energy and has jumped away from the lynel to settle for more ranged attacks... And to get away from Warrior...

Warrior rams his blade into the monster, tilting it upward to slice as high as he can reach into its massive neck.

The lynel has weakened to the point where lifting its limbs has become a tedious and strenuous task. 

Warrior takes advantage of this.

He does not notice Wild leave him either until the lynel disappears in a violent explosion of purple smoke.

He stands there, chest heaving and arms trembling- the weight of his rage and adrenaline leaving him stunned when the object of his aggressions is gone. He snaps his head up in a violent fashion to see Wild, Legend and Hyrule stand over you, magic pouring over them in waves.

He runs to you and has to be restrained by Wild when he nearly runs all of you over. “How are they? How bad was it?”

“Are you ok?” Hyrule asks instead, just turning in time to see Warrior coated in not only the creature blood- but having his eyebrow swollen and red- his own blood weeping down the side of his face and into his tunic and scarf.

It’s uglier than he’s ever going suspect without a mirror. 

“Are they dead?” Warrior asks again.

Hyrule turns his magic to Warrior standing up and making room for the soldier to take his place on the ground. “No, but they’re not waking up after a potion, a fairy and my magic.”

Warrior doesn’t think twice about kneeling on the dirt and takes your hand reflexively. “Do we have anything else?”

“They took a bad hit to the head, it’s all on them now.” Legend places a hand on Warrior’s shoulder and sighs.

There’s a moment of silence amongst the group, the sounds of the others fighting still nearby. “They’re going to need help. We’re not done here.”

Whatever relief Warrior might have felt at the new of your being stable is quickly dashed and once replaced by the need to rain absolute hell fire on the enemy.

“Someone needs to stay with them.” He finds himself saying.

“I will.” Hyrule gulps, letting the spell drop at last. “I think I’m tapped out my magic for a while anyway.”

“Then rest and don’t push yourself either friend.” Wild nods and runs off. “Take care.”

“Watch over them Traveler.” Warrior doesn’t look his way and grip his sword as tightly as his fists can manage. “We won’t be long.”

Legend and Hyrule share a look as Warrior runs after Wild searching the nearest monster to fall victim to his anger.

He can’t be late. He can’t fail. It all falls on him. He has to win. He has to save them. He can’t lose.

Wild

Wild growled, pushing himself up from the ground and ripping the arrow that had lodged itself into him out of his side.

He couldn’t feel it anyway- it was his scarred side.

With practiced ease, he takes out his bow and fires it at the first monster he sees. He knows that the others scatter as quickly as the monsters break through the tree line to take them down.

He searches for more numbers that aren’t being dealt with immediately. 

Not seeing any, he runs for higher ground and jumps into the biggest tree in the area, striking at the bokoblins more so than the lizalfos.

Bokoblins are the easier enemy to deal with- he tells himself. Lizalfos have obnoxious armor that can be difficult to get around- not to mention they’re smarter and faster. So the group will need to spend more of their attention on the lizards from hell than the easier enemy.

They’re annoying but Wild makes do.

But as he gets lost in the moment and the mission- he hears it.

A lynel has appeared on the battle field.

Being in the group long enough has allowed to learn that he’s only one of few that know what it is and how to deal with it.

He steels himself and jumps down from the tree- eager to get rid of the threat and help his friend through the thick of it.

“I need help! I’m gonna die!” Wild’s head snaps to the left, just barely seeing the lynel run in the same direction of your voice.

Wild’s voice gets caught in his throat and he sprints as quickly as he can after it.

It can’t get to you. There’s no way the universe would allow this to happen. He can’t let that happen.

“HELP!” He hears you cry again.

It’s once again to his left and runs toward you instead of the lynel, not even bothering to try and hide the absolute panic on his face.

“Someone help!” You yell and he’s too focused on honing in on where you are exactly to even worry about where the lynel is in comparison.

He ends up somewhere in the middle, you to his left and the lynel to his right.

He see the whole thing happen- not even registering the power level of this particular monster when he sees it.

The lynel stops and lines up its shot 

“LINK HELP ME!”

It lets go and you collapse onto the forest floor, blood slowly beginning to pool by the back of your head. He didn’t even get the chance to answer you- you’re out before you can even see him there.

But the lynel still charges forward and Wild knows he can’t let it get to you regardless.

He runs toward you- not where near as quickly as the lynel but he shoots his trusty bomb arrow at its feet before it can get to you- watching in twisted satisfaction when the monster is instead flipped over you and lands directly on its back on the other side of the clearing.

He runs to you, looking over his shoulder to see the lynel jump to its feet again, now raging at a different level than before. He takes a short sword out of the shiekah slate and cuts the ropes around you, using the bomb rune to blast the creature again when it tries to run back over to you.

The blast doesn’t send the monster very far like the first one but it still buys Wild enough time to get the last of the ropes off of you and pick you up.

Legend comes in from he side lines and fires at the beast like there’s no tomorrow. Wild’s psyche breaths a quick sigh of relief at the appearance of back up and he tries to find a decent place to put you as he goes to deal with the monster.

It’s only when he’s putting you down- hidden behind some bushes and branches, does he see your other wounds- the arrows and he almost sobs at the sight. He thought it was just the hit from the lynel but you’re losing more blood than he thinks he can keep up with. Wild takes out the fairy and unleashes her, whispering to her to check your head first while he deal with the the arrows.

He doesn’t know if she can understand him as much as the koroks do (it wasn’t a fairy from his Hyrule) but he sees that she somewhat understands. He takes care of the one through your hand first and worries about splinters for a moment before someone smacks his hand away.

“How about you go help Legend?” Hyrule doesn’t  snap but it’s not necessarily a friendly tone at the moment. “I’ll take care of them but Legend can’t fight that thing on his own.”

Wild looks up and belatedly sees Legend try to dodge the strikes of the high level lynel instead of actually hitting the monster.

Wild takes one more look at you and your blood on his hands and nods to Hyrule. He doesn’t hesitate to run toward the monster and jumps on its back as its distracted.

He holds on by its mane and takes out his frost blade freezing it in place before unleashing as many blows as he can get with his knights claymore.

Legend however, somehow misses the memo and fires his fire rod at the lynel- getting rid of the effect of his own blade.

Wild doesn’t pay too much attention to it.

He switches to his thunder blade and strikes the beast right behind its head.

The shock knocks him off of its back and he lands harshly on his own back before shooting multiple bomb arrows at the monster. Legend goes for more ranged attacks when he sees the kind of artillery that Wild is unleashing on the monster and wants no part of it.

Wild gets his shots to strike the lynel in the face, going for more blood than he thinks the lynel even has- but all he knows is that the beast has to pay.

He stays close to the lynel, using as many flurry blows as he can get it, switching between the frost blade and his thunder blade as they both charge up and as many bombs as he can get going at once for the beast to fall.

He falls into a pattern and knows the monster very well after just two minutes of this. It’s from his Hyrule and Wild feels a small part of him shrivel in guilt at something from his world coming after you.

But that just means he’ll have the honors of getting rid of it.

Despite Wild’s obvious pattern of weapon switching and bomb usage, the lynel isn’t any wiser to his moves and continuously takes the damage that Wild is giving out- not even having the chance to strike the young hero. 

Legend at some point in all of this has moved away from the battle entirely and has joined Hyrule in healing you, even if it’s only to shove a potion down your throat.

Wild gets lost in the motions, enough so that he even trips over himself and falls face first in the monster’s loot.

He grabs it out of habit before sprinting over to where he knows he hid you.

You’re just beginning to wake up.

“Link...” You call out. “Where did you go?”

Wild bite his lip and drops to his knees next to you, gripping your hand with shaking hands. He looks to Hyrule with a silent question.

“They’ll be ok.” He says in a quiet voice. “Took a bad hit to the head and the arrows could have been better but nothing vital was damaged and they should be ok with some rest and time.”

Wild nods and sighs with relief.

“Link...” You blink your eyes open and look around you. “Oh hey... Everything hurts.”

Legend snorts and crosses his arms. “It took a lot of magic to get you to this point again.”

“I’m not dead?”

“You gave it your best shot.” Hyrule shrugs with an awkward smile on his face. “But we love you too much to let you go like that.”

Wild chuckles quietly and feels the shakes travel from his hands to the rest of his body until he’s sure it looks like he’s vibrating instead. His whole nervous system is fried but you’re ok- you’re alive. Wild thinks he can cry.

“Cool. Cool. Thanks.” You sigh and rest your head against the forest floor again. “Glad I’m not dead.”

“We are too.” Wild laughs a bit louder and it’s wet and quiet but you hear it.

You smile in response.

“Wild here is especially happy about it. He pretty much took on the lynel all by himself.” Legend lets out a breath. “It was a tough one. What was wrong with t? Was it infected like the others?”

“No. Just strong.” Wild shakes his head and lets go of your hand to brush your hair gently away from your face. “It was my Hyrule- I’ve fought a few like those before.”

“Dang...”

“Lynel...” You try the word on your tongue like slow molasses flowing through a jar. “I hate them.”

“Yeah...” Wild laughs a little louder again, a little more genuine- adrenaline leaving his system and leaving him tired and drained. “We all do.”

You’re ok.

He’s ok.

It’s ok.

[biaswreckingfics]

To Be Replaced: Part 2

Pairing: Baekhyun x Reader

Genre: Angst

Word Count: 3.4k

Previous Chapter

For the next few days, every time you see Baekhyun, his face is buried in his phone. He spent the majority of his free time working on his line, setting up meetings with investors, and doing everything he could to make sure his and Maya’s designs were perfect. You were proud of him but also worried about his health. His lack of sleep and self-care concerned you, so you were relieved when you finally got him to agree to having a relaxing day together.

You thought the two of you would spend the day being lazy around the house, binge some shows, and either cook or order takeout. You figured it would be a good way for the two of you to relax together... Of course, you didn’t expect Baekhyun to completely ignore his phone during the day either. He had calls and emails to answer, and you expected that… What you didn’t expect was for him to have his face buried in his phone the entire day.

Finally, you sigh and pause the show he had wanted to watch and ask who he’s texting. You give him a little bit to respond, and when he doesn’t, you turn your body towards him and watch him type away on his phone. You ask a second time, and it’s like he doesn’t even hear you. You weren’t even sure he knew you were in the same room as him at this point.

You turn your head and glance around the room, trying to decide if it was worth it to keep asking or if you should just let it go. Debating, you knew it would bug you for days if you let him get away with ignoring you during the time you were supposed to be spending together, so you know you have to say something.

You turn back to him and poke his cheek, finally getting his attention. “I’ve been talking to you… Who are you texting so furiously?”

“Oh, it’s Maya. There was a problem with one of our fabrics, but she figured it out.”

Ah… That would make sense why he was so invested in his phone. Letting it go, you let him finish what he needs to do and go inspect the food you had in the kitchen. You didn’t really want to cook, and it looks like you didn’t have enough ingredients to make something delicious anyways, so you leave the kitchen and head back to the living room.

“Hey, do you want to get takeout instead? We don’t really have anything to eat.”

Baekhyun pauses mid text and looks over at you with a slightly guilty look on his face. “Didn’t I tell you Maya and I were going to go get dinner?”

You blink a few times, almost sure you were in a sudden state of shock. “No?”

He hums in thought for a moment. “I swore I did… Well, I want to thank her for fixing the fabric mix-up.”

“Wait a minute… You made the plans today? Even though we already had plans together?” you feel annoyance quickly filling you at the thought of him ending your day together halfway through it. Also, he couldn’t remember if he told you something that he literally just decided to do not even five minutes ago?

“I figured you’d be okay with it… We can have dinner tomorrow.” Baekhyun says as he shrugs like it’s not a big deal.

You try not to let it show, but you are hurt by his actions and the lack of care towards your plans… However, you knew this was important to him, so you would let it go, just like everything else.

“…Oh…okay.”

He walks up to you with a smile and gives you a quick peck on the lips. “I’m gonna go get ready for dinner. You should order yourself some food, though. It’s not good to skip meals.”

You silently watch as he walks toward your bedroom with a noticeable spring in his step. Suddenly, you didn’t feel hungry at all, but you pick up your phone and text Sehun to come over for dinner, anyway. Baekhyun was right. You shouldn’t skip meals.

You hang out on the couch and listen to Baekhyun hum as he gets ready. You try to ignore the hurt you were feeling about the sudden change in plans and how happy he seemed at the thought of getting dinner with Maya. Whether to celebrate a fabric mishap or not.

After what feels like forever, you hear the sound of your apartment door opening, and you glance up to see Sehun entering with bags of food. You quickly jump up to help him carry everything, completely used to him walking into your apartment unannounced.

“Thanks for coming over…” you say as you set the bags on your kitchen counter.

“Yeah, it’s no…”

When Sehun trails off, you look up at your friend’s face and see him staring over your shoulder in confusion before he glances back down at you with a questioning gaze. You turn to look at what had caught his attention and see Baekhyun grabbing his keys and wallet from the table before looking around the room to see if he had everything.

It wasn’t his actions that Sehun thought were weird. It was his appearance. Baekhyun was… decked out to put it slightly. He had on an all-black suit with matching dress shoes, and his hair was tousled artfully like you’ve seen on him a million times… He looked like he was going to an award show, not a dinner with a… business partner? …Now, you understood why it had taken him so long to get ready.

“Did you have a schedule today?” Sehun asks in a weird tone.

Baekhyun pauses his actions, finally taking in the fact that Sehun was here and the two of you were standing there watching him.

“No. I just have some business for Prive to attend to.” Baekhyun decides he has everything he needs before coming over to you and giving you a quick kiss on the cheek. “I don’t know when I’ll be home, so don’t stay up and wait for me.”

With those words, Baekhyun quickly takes off towards the front door and leaves without so much as a goodbye to the two of you. You look over at Sehun to see him glancing around the apartment in confusion.

“Am I in the twilight zone? Why does it look like he’s going to MAMA, and what does he mean don’t stay up late? It’s 6 pm. How much work does he have to do?”

You turn away from the apartment door and lean your elbows on the counter with a sigh. “He’s going to dinner with Maya. She apparently fixed a mistake with fabric… I don’t really know to be honest…”

“Okay… but why is he dressed up like that, and why are they going to dinner over fabric? Also, how long does dinner take?”

You take in Sehun’s questioning state. You were curious about all those things too, very curious in fact, but why was Sehun so worked up about it?

“What’s wrong with you?”

Sehun looks at you in surprise. “You’re not curious about all of that?”

“Well, yeah, I am… but you seem even more worried about it than I do.”

Sehun sighs and turns to begin unpacking the food he brought over. “I just… They kept pulling this shit on tour too. Always going to dinner, always staying out late, and working on Prive. You would think this was a project they were launching from the ground, but it’s not. Baekhyun already has all these connections, so why does it seem like they are doing so much?”

You chew on your lower lip as you take in Sehun’s words. Hearing how much time Baekhyun and Maya spent together and knowing Sehun sees it enough to pay attention to it was bothering you, but you didn’t want it to. You didn’t want to question Baekhyun because he had never ever given you a reason to doubt him before. However, you didn’t see the need to go to dinner over something small like fabric being fixed, and you certainly didn’t see why he had to dress so nicely for it.

“They’ve been texting each other constantly… and today, the two of us were supposed to spend time together, but he… Well, you know…” you trail off and indicate everything that just happened with a wave of your arm.

Sehun hums in thought while he searches your face. A moment later, he shakes his head. “She’s harmless. Ignore me. I’m just making something out of nothing. I’ve only ever heard them talk about designs and other fashion crap, so don’t worry about them.” He holds a food container up in front of your face to distract you. “Here, I got your favorite noodles.”

You grab the container from Sehun, but your mind is still with Baekhyun and Maya. You hadn’t realized how much the two communicated, and it surprised you it was enough that Sehun took notice of it. That Sehun was questioning it…

Over the next week, your communication with Baekhyun drops to nearly zero. Usually, when Baekhyun was at work, he was constantly texting you every chance he could, but now it was just short one-word answers he would reply with. When he’s at home, it’s no different. He spends most of his time coming up with designs or being busy on the phone with Maya.

You try not to let it bother you and to be the supportive girlfriend he deserves, but you can’t help it. It definitely bothers you. You couldn’t even remember the last time you and Baekhyun had a conversation that wasn’t interrupted by or about Maya. Not only that, but you were worried about him. It was like he was being consumed by this new line.

You glance towards the second bedroom that Baekhyun had dubbed his office and come up with an idea, or a reattempt at an old idea. Getting up from the couch you were currently sitting on, you make a beeline for Baekhyun’s office and feel grateful that he left the door wide open.

You peek into the room and find the man in question with his head down on his desk. You knew he wasn’t sleeping from the way he was sighing to himself, so you tiptoe until your behind his chair and slowly let your hands fall onto his back. He jumps at the sudden contact but relaxes once he figures out it’s you.

You slowly rub his back until he sits up, and you begin to work on his shoulders. His head falls forward as you give him a much-needed massage.

“Babe… I think it’s time you take a break… You seem exhausted.”

“I’ll do whatever you want as long as you don’t stop what you’re doing.” He mumbles in a daze.

You knead a little harder as you already plot a way for this to be an advantage to you. “Anything I want, huh?”

He lets out a soft laugh once he hears your tone. “Whatever you desire, love.”

“So many things come to mind when you say that… but I already know what I want.”

“What’s that?” he asks lightly. From the sound of his voice, you can tell he’s almost zoned out from the conversation.

“Take the night off from work, and let’s have a little date night at home…”

You feel him tense up, and you know he wants to protest, so you stop him before he can. “Please, Baek… You’ve been working nonstop since you came home from tour. You’ve barely even had time to rest… One night. That’s all I’m asking.”

He sighs before nodding. “You’re right. I need a break…”

He straightens up and turns his chair around to face you. Wrapping his arms around your waist, he rests his chin on your stomach to look up at you. “Plus, I’ve missed you…”

You run a hand softly down the side of his face with a smile. “I’ve missed you too…”

You get Baekhyun to follow you to the kitchen, and the two of you search for a good meal to make. Once you’re both satisfied with what you find, you begin prepping the meal and get ready to cook.

At least, that’s how it started out. In the middle of chopping up some vegetables, you glance over at Baekhyun and see him smiling at his phone. You ignore it the first time, even the third time, but once you notice Baekhyun has completely stopped helping you make dinner and is instead smiling at his phone, your heart drops.

You were sure it wasn’t work because you’ve never seen him smile at his phone for work. You didn’t think it was the EXO group chat or his friends because he never would stay glued to his phone when the two of you were together for them. Which could only mean one thing… He was talking to Maya.

Baekhyun suddenly lets out a loud laugh, startling you and making you knock some carrots to the ground. You sigh and bend down to pick them up, trying to decide if you even want to try to keep his attention right now.

“What’s so funny?”

He looks over at you in confusion before he remembers where he is.

“Maya sent me a pubg meme.” He tells you before waving his hand. “You wouldn’t get it, or else I’d show it to you.”

Feeling your shoulders drop, you bite your lips at his words. Baekhyun loved showing you stupid memes, especially about what he was interested in… Apparently, now he has someone else to share them with?

“I thought you and Maya only talked about fashion stuff?”

He shakes his head and looks back down at his phone. “We talk about everything. We actually have a lot in common. She’s a really cool girl.”

You ignore the twinge his words cause in your heart, but before you can say anything, his next words have you completely shutting down.

“She’s happy you’re making me take a break, and she thinks your little date night idea is cute.”

Your little date night idea… You mentally scoff. Why did the words sound so condescending all of a sudden?

“Right… Do you think you could actually help me with that little date night idea?”

Your eyes fall to the meat he has yet to season, and his own follow your stare. He jumps once he realizes he hasn’t done a single thing to help you and gives you a sheepish smile before muttering a small apology.

The next half an hour is filled with Baekhyun joking with you, filling you in on his past week, and overall, remembering you were still in the room with him. (Yes, you were being bitter.) He did his best to ignore his phone through cooking and even through dinner, but his eyes slid to it every time there was a ding… and there were a lot of dings.

Once it’s time to settle down and watch a movie, you choose a movie that you and Baekhyun had both been wanting to watch and settle down on the couch next to him. You lay your head against his shoulder and begin watching the movie, but it doesn’t take long for you to feel slight movement beneath your head.

You look over at Baekhyun’s other side and see him responding to a text from Maya. You mentally sigh and sit up, putting your focus back on the movie in front of you. Though, now your attention is derailed because you keep seeing Baekhyun texting from the corner of your eye.

“Wow. That was crazy.” You suddenly say, pretending you’re talking about something that happened in the movie. When he doesn’t even hear you, you try again. “I can’t believe the sister did that.”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah.” He mumbles in agreement, even though what you’re saying has no relevance to the movie whatsoever.

Hurt and disbelief flow through you once you realize Maya has somehow come in between your date night again. That Baekhyun couldn’t even give you a couple of hours of his attention…

“Baek…” you wait until he acknowledges you. “Are you even gonna watch this movie?”

He looks up at you and blinks before looking at the tv. “Oh, I already watched this.”

You open and close your mouth a few times in a complete loss of words. What did he mean he already watched this? When? …Why? The two of you talked about watching it together when it came out…

“You’ve already seen it?”

“Mhmm. Maya and I needed a break the other day, and we both wanted to see it, so we watched it… but you can keep watching it. I don’t mind.”

You bite the inside of your cheek and try to keep the anger you feel in check. All you can do is laugh in disbelief and frustration. Of course. Of course, he watched it with her.

After the anger comes the sadness and hurt. The two of you were supposed to watch it together. He wasn’t supposed to go and watch it with someone else… It felt like Baekhyun was totally disregarding your feelings. Not just about the movie, but about everything at this point.

You sit in silence for another ten minutes before you get up. Your interest in the movie or watching Baekhyun continue to text Maya was long gone. You walk away from the couch without a single word to Baekhyun, and if you were honest, you don’t even think he noticed.

You trek into your shared bedroom and immediately start getting yourself ready for bed. You didn’t care how early it was or that you didn’t say anything to Baekhyun. You were just completely done with the day and wanted nothing more than to crawl under your covers and hibernate, so that’s exactly what you do.

You lay there and try to slip into a different reality, but your mind can’t escape from Baekhyun or Maya. It was like you wanted to torture yourself and replay every word and moment over and over again. This goes on for 20 minutes, and the only reason you can escape the continuous hell is because you hear the doorknob to the bedroom door turn.

You hold your breath and open your eyes to see Baekhyun slowly opening the bedroom door. He creeps in, taking in your covered form with a frown.

“Why did you leave?”

“I’m just tired, that’s all.”

He studies your face for a moment before crawling into bed with you. A part of you wants to turn away as a small form of punishment, but the other part of you just wanted attention from your boyfriend.

He wraps his arm around your back and drags your body toward him without any help from you. He pulls you close until your face is buried in his chest, and he brings his chin down on top of your head. You feel him adjust to kiss the top of your head before settling back down again.

“I’m sorry… I should’ve waited to watch the movie with you.”

You sigh. “Baekhyun, it’s not just about the movie… I’ve hardly seen or spoken to you in a week, and your face is always buried in your phone… That’s not okay…”

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” He immediately says while squeezing you tight. “I should’ve given you more attention, especially tonight when you tried so hard to give me a relaxing day… Do you forgive me?”

You ignore him because you aren’t entirely sure if you’re ready to forgive him yet, but Baekhyun knew how to always get his way. He nuzzles into your neck, and you feel his lips brush against your skin.

“Do you forgive me?”

“Okay, I’ll forgive you…” you quickly relent before he goes for a ticklish area, though the words seem meaningless at the moment.

You feel him smirk against your skin before he suggestively says, “Good… because you can have all of my attention right now if you want…”

“Baek…” you whine, definitely not wanting to give in with how he’s been acting lately.

He pushes you onto your back and crawls on top of you, pushing his legs in between yours. “Let me make it up to you, baby…”

Tagging: @gyukult @marovekian1 @making-me-blush @softforqiankun​ @sebootyforlife​ @nothingbutadeadesceane​ @cardtak​ @brie02​ @jungkooksworld18​ @insta1010​ @suhappysuho​ @purple-bell​ @sorrowinblood​ @softysuho​

[mermaidsirennikita]

Could you do a ranking of Kleypas books you have read?

Sure! A lot of my lower/mid books are kind of jumbled because it’s hard for me to rank things outside of like my top few. I’m saving a lot of her older novels for later this year.

1. Dreaming of You—best hero and heroine, favorite progression, Derek Craven is king

2. Devil in Winter—maybe the definitive “he’s a slut but he’s our slut” book

3. It Happened One Autumn—one of the best uptight needs wild books I’ve ever read

4. Married by Morning—love a Leo Hathaway. When he makes her tell him she wants him to touch her pussy, I do die

5. Marrying Winterborne—Rhys Winterborne is hot. He’s really hot. He’s so hot. He’s hot.

6. Devil in Disguise—a soap opera of a novel and the superior memory loss Kleypas book, I love fanservice. Also, the rare historical 69

7. Devil in Spring—Gabriel St. Vincent thinks that wanting to tie a woman up during sex is extremely scandalous and I do think that’s funny considering who his dad is

8. Suddenly You—a very good “I thought he was a sex worker and he’s actually my boss” novel, though the ending is a little rushed

9. Tempt Me At Twilight—I have issues with this one but I find Harry to be HILARIOUS. What a scammer

10. Seduce Me By Sunrise—tbh would be too 5 but the problematic shit kicks it down. But I do adore the love story between Kev and Win so fucking much. It’s like Wuthering Heights but not tragic?

11. Mine Till Midnight—similarly would be ranked higher but Issues. However I do find Cam’s obsession with being rakish sometimes irritating. Amelia is great though.

12. Worth Any Price—this one had some really hot content but it also had a problematic backstory, so we kick it down

13. Secrets of A Summer Night—a very good romance novel that isn’t quite exciting enough for me, but we love wallflowers

14. Scandal in Spring—see above, but lower because Simon Hunt FUCKS and Matthew is…. Less so

15. Love in The Afternoon—I do not actually like most epistolary novels and I found the conflict in this one weak

16. Lady Sophia’s Lover—good heroine, less into the hero as he seemed to be a standard strait laced type

17. Cold-Hearted Rake—kind of just okay in the love story part but when Rhys Winterborne kinda sexually threatens Kathleen (he was mad okay. I defend my husband no matter what) and asks if she wants a “bit o’ rough”—SHIVERS

18. Devil’s Daughter—honestly boring, I do not care about West becoming less fun in order to marry a single mom

19. Someone to Watch Over Me—the inferior amnesia book, could’ve been fun but didn’t go far enough

20. Chasing Cassandra—kind of cold for me; didn’t feel the connection between the leads

21. Hello Stranger—offensive (in the first iteration) and boring, love that the heroine was named Garrett but that’s basically it

[sunshinekidz]

To Find You

Chapter 1

Word Count: 1.3K

Genre: Soulmate AU

Pairing: Chan X Female Reader ft. Felix & Stray Kids

Chapter Warning: Mentions of cheating, infidelity

Note: Idols don’t come in until chapter 2

You were exhausted, both mentally and physically. Ever since graduation, you have been applying to various places, hoping to land your dream job. Unfortunately, your knowledge and experiences were deemed “unfit” for many positions. But you never gave up. And finally, through an intense morning battle of traffic and terrible weather, you managed to attend an interview. You were soaked through as you ran from the bus stop to the corporate building with an upturned umbrella. It was definitely not a good start to the day.

Unbeknownst to you, the interviewers were impressed by your strong sense of determination, as many have cancelled due to the weather. Without too many follow up questions, you were hired.

Work was demanding, but it was worth it. There is an end goal to it after all. The times where you would splurge on a cute shirt or on a new album from your favourite group, you needed some sort of funding. And of course, that post-graduation trip that you dreamed of for so long.

You did your best to save up, working hard to strive for financial independence. All those extra hours at the office were not just to impress your boss. Every time you see the digits rise in your bank account puts a smile on your face. But you also needed a break. It was just a matter of when.

That evening, you decided to go on a scavenger hunt for the places you would like to visit. Scrolling through your laptop, you looked up all potential locations for your ideal solo trip. You were so immersed in your research, reading through pages after pages of information. You also looked up the maps to the destinations, walking yourself through the streets as if you were really there. After several hours, a particular location came to your attention.

Ayers Rock.

Very interesting.

You clicked into the link and looked over the contents.

“A massive stone in the heart of Australia…”

You were overwhelmed by its symbolism and beauty, so much that a dull ache suddenly formed in your chest. How long has it been since you last felt the tug of your heartstrings? This time, it felt as if they were morphing into something majestic. Was it some sort of longing? Or a heartache? You were unable to decipher the strange sentiment.

The last time your heart fluttered was during your university days. Your love story was a dreamlike beginning. Akin to the cherry blossoms on a spring day, they bloomed ever so beautifully. Spring then merged into summer; the warmth and clear skies of a mid-July afternoon nurtured your soul.

You made frequent trips towards the beach, emerging yourself within the essence of the gentle waves. They washed away your doubts and worries. With your hand in his, you remembered heading towards your favourite spot, chasing after the disappearing sun. The moments before twilight, at the golden hour that painted the sky a wondrous gradient. You have always loved sunsets.

Once the colours of the leaves began to change, so did his feelings for you. Summer faded to autumn, leaving the glow of a September afternoon forever locked away in your memories. The coldness of a November evening set the unfortunate twist of fate.

You headed in the direction of his apartment one evening after your classes. He was busy revising that week, in preparation for finals. Being the considerate girlfriend, you got him dinner and some of his favourite snacks.

You knocked on his door, eager to see him again. But the person who opened the door was not the one you expected to see, nor was it the person you ever wanted to see.

She was in a white dress shirt - HIS shirt, that fell over her lusciously smooth thighs, as if it were a dress. It was your favourite shirt on him, the shirt that YOU bought for him.

She was pretty. With those large eyes and a body that many envied, she was someone that you never dared to compete with in the matter of looks. Just her appearance and demeanor made you feel utterly useless and inferior. Her hair was tied up in an effortless messy bun with a few strands stuck to her face. Her skin was supple and glowing, as if she was engaged in a rather VIGOROUS activity just moments ago. You could see the smeared lipstick along with blotches of purple that formed on the right side of her neck.

“Who are you?” she asked after giving you a condescending once over.

“I should ask you the same question.” you replied coldly. You did not want to assume the worst, although your gut feeling steered you towards that direction. You could feel the tears prickling at the corner of your eyes.

“Uh, I’m his girlfriend.”

You ignored her. “Is he in there?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“It’s indeed my business, because he’s MY boyfriend.”

The girl bursted into laughter. “Your boyfriend? Please. He would NOT be caught dead to even be seen with you.”

“Babe, is there something wrong?” It was his voice in the background.

“Nothing much, just some random girl claiming that you’re her boyfriend.” she replied.

You heard the faint pattering of footsteps towards the front door. Before you could react, HE was at the door. His hair was oily and a mess, as if he had not washed them in ages.

And of course, he was shirtless. You caught the faint smell of cigarettes and liquor coming from his apartment. He never smoked before. Nor did he ever drink to that extent.

He froze when he saw that you were the one at his door.

“So she’s the reason why you’re avoiding me.” Your voice was on the verge of cracking. Thankfully, you managed to restrain yourself from breaking down in front of him, in front of her, in front of THEM.

“Y/N, what are you doing here?” His expression was cold. You have never seen that side of him before. The feelings of warmth and affection have disappeared completely. His eyes no longer held that spark for you. He seemed so far away, so distant, as if you two were once again strangers.

“I thought you were studying, so I got you dinner. I guess that’s no longer needed.”

“Y/N-"

"Forget it. It's over. We're over."

You threw the bag at him and ran. You ran as quickly as your legs could take you, away from his apartment, away from him, away from them.

Your throat felt like it was on fire by the time you slowed down to a walking pace. The chilly weather of late autumn pierced through your thin clothes. You should have worn an extra jacket. Unfortunately, you were too busy thinking about him to even care about yourself.

A sudden gust of wind was followed by a collection of fluttering whites. It was the first snowfall of the year.

They said that if you confess to someone, or if you are with someone on the day of the first snowfall, you will stay together for a long time. But life is full of mishaps and ironies. To you, that first snowfall was the end of your relationship. A relationship that barely made it through the final season of the year.

At that moment, you realized how fleeting your relationship was with him. It was that superficial perfection that rendered it to be delicate, so delicate that a slight gust of wind could tear it apart.

The wind picked up intensity as the sky ruptured. Snowflakes descended, covering the path before you with shimmering crystals. Winter has begun.

[fragranceofdarkness]

top 5 colors of the sky <3

in no particular order

- the deep dark blue of late nights. its like 3 am and everyone else is asleep and youre staring at the stars. you arent tired even tho you really should be. youre more awake than youve ever been before . everything is calm and you feel safe . something like #030414

- soft muted pink, the kind found in sunsets when the clouds feel like cotton candy and the sky is rich with colors and it feels so warm like a blanket . reminds me of summer and warm and good times . something like #944a55

- dark grey, the kind that comes with storms . its raining and youre inside listening to the rain on the window. its mid afternoon and the sun should be out but its hiding behind the clouds and what light makes its way through is soft and weak . theres thunder and lightning and its soothing . something like #191c24

- bright blue, the kind on sunny days. when theres a few scattered clouds dotting the sky and its warm but not too warm and theres a slight breeze. its when spring is turning into summer, when you can spend afternoons outside sitting underneath a tree reading a book perhaps and you have no responsibilities and life is good . something like #4e7be6

- dark blue, not quite as dark as the first. this ones more of the twilight blue, right after the sun sets. its a bit brighter because the sun, although its set already, is still lighting the sky a bit, but it never lasts long. it lingers in the sky for a moment, the brief transition between day and night . when you see it you wonder how the days passed by so quickly already; no matter how many times you see it it feels new to you all the same. something like #00205b

~ send me top five '_____''s !! ~