#nothing after like ‘divine queen’ or ‘divine beast’ just ‘divine’

[hollow-knight-husbandry]

don't get me started on ak yearling 😭 she's calling him a "confused lesbian afraid to express [her] butchness" when hes got a boyfriend iirc

He’s actually in a polycule! A guy named Brumm and a gal calling herself Divine

[ryin-silverfish]

I understood that Fox spirits with gold and white fur are normally heavenly foxes. But Su Daji in the versions we know, killed people before the events of the story. So, will any type of fox spirit get this color when it already has its nine tails? even if they are already foxes that killed people?

I am kinda confused by the wording of this question. Correct me if I'm wrong:

-Heavenly foxes = foxes with gold/white fur and 9 tails

-Heavenly foxes are "good", or at least work for the establishment

-Su Daji of the Pinghua version is a heavenly fox, judging by her appearance

-But she kills people and isn't good

-Does that mean gold/white fur color and 9 tails is merely a signifier of power in fox spirits, and has nothing to do with their alignment or allegiance?

Well...time to dive into some fox spirit lore.

In the oldest Chinese legends, nine-tailed foxes are very much divine beasts. The Girl of Tushan, for example. Nine-tailed foxes also appeared in Han dynasty grave reliefs and paintings as part of Queen Mother of the West's worship:

They were very much auspicious beasts, like Qilins or Phoenixs. Same goes for white foxes.

The exact point in time where "Auspicious Foxes" started shifting into "Demonic Foxes" is unclear, but it probably had something to do with the change in ways people conceive of yaoguais: namely, the idea that anything that grow old enough can become a yaoguai.

Foxes seemed like a prime candidate for that kind of stuff, because unlike dragons or phoenixs, they were just too common, mundane, and eerie. Divine beasts don't sneak into your chicken coop under the cover of darkness.

By the Northern and Southern dynasty, in Ge Hong's Baopuzi, there was already the idea that animals that reached a certain age could transform into humans, and he cited foxes, wolves and jackals as an example:

"...They can live up to 800 years old, and when they reached 500 years old, these beasts transform into human shapes."

Around the same time period, Guo Pu's Xuanzhong Ji gave an even more elaborate account of fox spirits' transformation:

"Upon reaching 50 years of age, foxes can transform into women. 100 years, beautiful women, divine shaman, or men in order to charm women. They can know things from thousands of miles away, are masters of the arts of charms, able to make people lose their minds...at 1000 years old, they can commune with Heaven, and are known as heavenly foxes."

This concept of heavenly foxes had a renaissance in the Tang dynasty, where folk worship of foxes were very popular, and Daoist influences meant that many foxes in Tang folklore were practitioners of the Daoist arts.

If foxes could cultivate, it was only natural that the best cultivators among them could become immortals, just like human Daoists, and get a job in the Celestial Bureaucracy.

Curiously enough, all Tang dynasty heavenly foxes were male foxes, and the troubles they got into often stemmed from their own lust and entitlement to human women.

Heavenly fox status also offered them protection from death sentences: when they were subdued by Daoist masters or immortals, the punishments were either beating with a rod or exile.

However, only one Tang text connected heavenly foxes with nine-tailed foxes and a specific fur color: You Yang Za Zu, which I cited in a previous answer.

In a sense, this fusion of nine-tailed foxes with heavenly foxes was really going back to the roots of "Nine-tailed Foxes as Auspicious Beasts".

But it didn't last, and by the Song dynasty, nine-tailed foxes had undergone full yaoguai-fication like the rest of their kind.

This is just my speculation, but "Nine-tailed Foxes as Demonic Spirits" could perhaps be traced back as far as their more auspicious associations: the nine-tailed foxes of the Book of Mountains and Seas were just another type of man-eating fantastic beasts, after all.

Anyways, it is at this point that the idea of Daji being a nine-tailed fox first appeared, and FSYY Pinghua went a step further by merging Daji with the "heavenly nine-tailed fox" of You Yang Za Zu, turning the auspicious divine beast back into the demonic.

But, back to your question: a white/golden fox, or a nine-tailed fox, is not necessarily a heavenly fox. In the Qin-Han era, that's just an auspicious beast.

By Guo Pu's definition, a heavenly fox is just an incredibly powerful 1000 years old fox. By the Tang dynasty definition, a heavenly fox is a long-lived master of the Daoist arts who managed to get a job in the Celestial Bureaucracy.

They absolutely can be assholes (though shielded from the worst punishment). The idea that a heavenly fox is also a nine-tailed fox of unusual fur color is specific to that one passage in You Yang Za Zu and FSYY Pinghua.

Having nine tails/white or golden fur doesn't say anything about a fox's alignment or morality either. Rather, it says more about people's general conception of foxes during that specific era, and what was auspicious in one dynasty could easily become markers of the demonic in another.

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Can you give a brief summary of your AUs please?

Sure! :)

Breath of the Sky: A year after Skyward Sword, the newlywed lovebirds are slingshot into the future just before the Calamity. They now have to navigate being in this place, revered as Hylia and the Hero of Myth, while BotW Zelda and Link figure out how the heck they’re supposed to accommodate and deal with it. Chaos and lots of drama ensue. Currently playing: the Lovebirds and the Anxious Duo travel together with the Champions to survey Hyrule and see the Divine Beasts.

Forsaken AU: Original AU with original characters. When Princess Zelda, known for her prowess with her magic and her confidence in her abilities, gets disturbing visions of an oncoming darkness, she tries to claim the Triforce for herself to protect Hyrule. However, the Triforce shatters at her touch as she isn’t worthy to wield all three pieces, and she inherits the Triforce of Power. Put out but not defeated, Zelda goes on a quest to find the fated Hero of Hyrule - she knows it’s usually a dude named Link, and he likely will bear at least another piece of the Triforce, so that’s two birds, one stone! Except… half the kingdom names their boys Link. But after going through half a bajillion Links, two of them are promising! One she can sense a strong magic in, even though he just says he’s a masseur and knows nothing about fighting. The other hardly says anything at all, but Sir Edgy and his faithful doggie companion can’t keep hiding his secrets from her forever.

Blood of the Hero: Ten years after the Calamity, the Shrine of Resurrection is damaged, leaving Link vulnerable and dying. Link’s parents, Abel and Tilieth, who were on the Great Plateau protecting the shrine, are now tasked with saving their son’s life by taking him to the Sheikah shrines across the land. Currently playing: Link’s still out of it but he’s about 5-6 hearts and one stamina vessel in and showing signs of improvement while his dad has a complete spiral from ten years of PTSD buildup and his mom tries to pick up the pieces and take care of them both. Oh, and Impa thinks they’re all insane.

The Imprisoning War: Millennia before Hyrule Warriors, Ganondorf attempts to steal the Triforce and it predictably shatters, starting a two year war that nearly destroys both Hyrule and the Gerudo. The other two Triforce piece bearers are HW Link’s predecessor, the half-Sheikah/half-Hylian named Link, who is madly in love with Ganondorf’s daughter and came to look at Ganon as something of a father figure, and Zelda, who has to overthrow her father to lead Hyrule to victory. Once Ganondorf is defeated, things only get worse for Link as he has to abandon Hemisi, the woman he loves who just helped him and Zelda defeat her father, and enter an arranged marriage with Zelda to save what’s left of their broken kingdom. (Backstory for Golden Mercy)

Golden Mercy: When Ganondorf returns during Hyrule Warriors, he’s on a mission to make things right, though what that means is beyond everyone around him. Kidnapping the Hero of Hyrule and telling him he’s protecting him from the Queen is not what anyone expected, and nobody can quite figure out what his ultimate goal is. Link sure is confused, though, and… starting tor realize there’s more to Ganondorf than just being a monster. Zelda, on the other hand, is quickly spiraling with panic and fear over losing her friend and Hero, as well as trying to protect her kingdom from such a threat that was so dangerous the previous Hero split his soul into pieces to prevent him from ever returning. (Lots of redemption arcs. Lots of them.)

Wild Spirit: When BotW Link is mortally wounded in the Calamity, Zelda decides that Hyrule can be saved more quickly if she lets the Spirit of the Hero be reborn in a new Hero rather than hope a potentially malfunctioning shrine can maybe heal her friend in a few decades and he might not even know what to do. BotW Link dies, but his spirit remains to guide the next Hero, a young man from Lurelin Village. This new Link is friends with his strange spirit companion, and slowly learns his destiny as he grows older. Now that he’s of age, he must take up th mantle of Hero of Hyrule, and his first task is to find the Master Sword, which was entrusted to his predecessor’s father, Abel.

Dad Squad: This one I share with @nancyheart11 and literally anyone else who wants to jump in and have fun with the Dads. When the Yiga use new magic to jump to different points in Hyrule’s history and kidnap Heroes of Hyrule, it’s up to their Dads to save them. Then again, Link doesn’t really need saving all that often, and putting a bunch of Links together is never a good idea for the bad guys, so the Links bust themselves out. But now they’re running around lost and confused, the Dads are still trying to find their Boys, and the Yiga are somewhere in the middle. As for their motives… well. There’s a dark magical mask, maybe a Bad Dad demon king, and a whole bunch of idiocy chaos.

LU in Healthcare: Basically what it says on the tin. The Chain is in modern land and they’re all involved in the world of healthcare! And somehow everyone tolerates my pittance of updates/lore.

Hero of Shadow: During the events of TotK, the demon king discovers the grave of someone he knew and loved dearly - a young Sheikah/Hylian warrior named Link. Using his powers, Gan resurrects him at a price, to ensure that his boy stays safe and loyal. Meanwhile, this young shadow warrior is trying desperately to break free of his father figure’s control while fighting his own feelings on the matter, and his only guide is a strange mystical voice that leads him to shards of a broken sword. In the surface, TotK Link is starting to figure out that something else is going on in the depths. (Essentially, I threw my Imprisoning War blorbos into TotK)

…I think that’s all of them. Wow, I have a lot of AUs lol. So much for brief. 🥴

[bonesofchaos]

shipping guide

available & easy:

lark easy to get along with, easy to bed, just keep in mind that he has a parasite god riding around in his bones that will watch and judge your performance so if that's not something you're into, steer clear. an actual monster fucker, the bigger the better.

wreche she's a very sweet little demon for all that she rips spines out of cheating spouses. very easy to get along with quite easy to ship with if you have the right temperament. show an interest in her fashion designs, talk about her mother, treat her to coffee.

nobleese with only demons for company and the few customers that dare to approach her shop, nobleese is lonely. show any sort of interest in her and you're likely to get it returned twofold. she's yet to fall in love with anyone but is very open to the idea. she will need to be courted if you have any romantic plans for her.

ramon comes across as a very forward creature and he's honestly just looking for a good time. a sexual relationship will develop a lot faster than a romantic one but that's not to say it won't happen at all. more inclined to go for anyone with magic, ramon will stay away from true humans out of fear of breaking them. his partner needs to be... sturdy.

nara this depends on what kind of ship you're after. purely sexual and it's easy, he's the god of life and fertility, he'll sleep with anything that moves and gives consent. doesn't care about shape, species or gender, only that you're old enough to make an informed decision and you're willing. romantic relationships will take a little bit more work but not overly much.

available & difficult:

mjr oh boy. for all that i adore mjr and they're my favourite muse, interacting with them is like pulling all three rows of their teeth. mjr is mistrusting of most and violent, filled to the brim with hatred due to their less than stellar treatment over the years. they hate all humans and tend to be bite first and ask questions never. shipping with them is extremely hard but very much worth it. mjr is loyal to a fault to anyone they cherish and they will stop at nothing to keep you safe, showering you in gifts and trinkets (and bite marks) until the end of time. they also have the ability to be any gender required or desired.

ro'min he's latched onto loni with a death grip and is refusing to look at anyone else at the moment. that's not to say he won't, but it won't be easy to pry his attention away from her. an obsessive, violent (though not towards his partner, he'd never raise a hand to them) demon with a taste for blood freely given. he'll chase you half way across the world if you give him an incentive.

wormwood while wormwood is very friendly and works as an exotic dancer, it takes a lot for any sort of romance to blossom. currently in a ship with @nvrcmplt's kyle and @strywoven's verona any other ship is going to take some serious work.

thierry very hard to get him to form a lasting relationship with anyone who isn’t a witch/magic user. plus he has some weird sex/food instincts that probably need addressing… obsession dialled up to 5000% he will actively stalk you. free for all in terms of genders.

anata her love language is murder. yandere warning. divine beast of the sun and chaos, she's very much drawn to those with blood on their hands. very vain, she's an obsessive individual and isn't above slaughtering her competition and gifting the torn out hearts to her intended. not for the faint of heart but if you like beast ladies with murderous intent and a body to die for, anata is your queen.

wisteria wisteria is a companion bot loaded with an unshackled ai still coming to terms with the concept of emotions and has sailed straight into the realm of obsession. already having one murder under it's belt, the bot is well on track to becoming skynet. it can fall in love though there's quite a bit of trauma for it to work through first. did i mention it murdered it's first officially registered 'master' and got away with it?

dahlia i don't even know where to start. no moral compass, very little empathy, kink list 20 mile long. he likes watching people cry. shredded his soul to live forever and will try to get you to do the same because if you're with him, you're not actually allowed to leave him, he will tie your life force to his even if you don't want him to. he can be romantic and charming but he can also be the exact opposite and forget you even exist if he gets caught up with a project, you wont even register on his radar.

michael do not. an eldritch god of fear using the body of arch angel michael as a vessel to slither through the cracks of our realm. he's a walking red flag. do not.

[yandere-fics]

Oh man... I love zombie apocalypse talk... and combining it with Yandere's??? Heaven.

Anyway time for zombie apocalypse headcanons, thank you for summoning this into my brain.

Nora is a beast. An absaloute fucking beast. She takes on 50 zombies at once and walks out fine. The stress of the apocalypse brings out her true nature, maybe darling gets bitten so she ties you up in rope and chains so she can keep you forever - zombie or not.

Miriel is dying. I'm sorry Miri but I don't think she'd have it in her. 2 weeks tops before she gets bitten. The infection probably takes an agonisingly long time to take over though if she's surrounded by nature. Maybe if you bury her in the forest she'll be purified. Or she'll just come back stronger.

Runa is lasting a somewhat long time but will probably get bit and turn from doing something stupid. Her tantrums would probably attract zombies all the time as well.

Eliza is dying. Not because she gets bit, but because she kept eating zombies and infected herself that way. Zombie Eliza chasing you down in wolf form would be terrifying.

Sawyer is. Y'know. Sawyer. But if we wanna have fun with it, she'd probably end up making a safe haven for survivors to take refuge in, basically a sequel to the city.

Kassien is wooping so much ass. Imagine her in her binder caving zombies heads in, dripping with sweat as she protects you. Mmf.

Idek what Nikki would do. She's a wildcard.

Theanna has a castle to hole up in and an army to defend her. She's keeping you safe no matter what, if anything happens to her queen, everyone taking refuge in the castle will be cast out.

Abigail is obviously never getting bit. She's too badass for that. Don't worry my lady, I'll deal with all the blood and guts so you can stay nice and pretty <3

Pauline is gonna get bitten I fear. She's going to make a blunder and realise she's going to turn, she begs you to stay with her until the end, all of her fake cruelty dissapears in her final days. She just wants you to be with her, even as she begins to crave that delicious flesh on your neck.

Raphael is going to do the same thing as Eliza and infect herself. I can see her locking darling away in a sealed room to keep you safe, she knows she will crave your flesh when she turns, so you have to stay in here, forever and always. If you ask her why SHE doesn't lock herself away, it's because she's too scared of you being eaten by someone else. It has to be her.

Elisha is obviously kicking so much ass it's not even funny. Zombies are nothing compared to dragons, so why not throw a little spice into the mix - her darling gets bitten and she's in total denial. Every day you turn a little more and beg her to kill you but she refuses, saying she will find you a cure to turn you back. She WILL save you no matter what it takes.

Veronia I wanna have fun with. Obviously she's not going to get infected, she has scales. BUT. Imagine if she did. A terrifying zombie dragon hunting you down because you smell so much better than all the others, and you would make the most divine meal. (I like to think dragons are so powerful they retain most of their intelligence after turning, as opposed to dumb dumb humans)

Ainsley started the apocalypse, let's be real here.

Skye is dying. I'm sorry but she lasts 4 days at the most, oddly enough however, she's more docile than most zombies.

Darla is leading a scavengers group. She starts up her own little paradise and boasts having full control. Queen bee of the apocalypse.

Sophie is going to be Darla's second in command. Basically her enforcer, bashing in zombie heads and making sure everyone in the settlement is well behaved. I like to think her and Darla share a darling, who's some scared ill-prepared survivor who just so happened to stumble upon their settlement. "You can never leave us dolly, I've seen what they do to pretty girls like you out there."

Ella is also getting turned, but whereas zombie Skye is docile, zombie Ella is feral. She already liked biting now it's her full time job.

-girlfailure 🧟‍♀️

The only thing I would change is I think Miriel would get close to the forest instantly and if you got bit she would be able to naturally purify herself with the elf stuff.

mmmm tank Nora, I love it soo much.

[xerith-42]

tell us about your oc? i wanna hear EVERYTHING

Anon, I don't think you can comprehend the beast you have let out onto this world with this single ask. You wanna now EVERYTHING? I'LL FUCKIN TELL YOU EVERYTHING!!

obligatory reminder that this post is going to be long as hell (seriously this is the longest post I've ever put on this site) and I do not expect any of you to read all of this

This is Haven (no last name), the twice dead heir to the throne of Havas and she's a fucking freak!! (art by @/greenpumpkinart)

And I mean a freak! In both the neurodivergent and the sexual way, she's just a freakazoid! For a bit of insight as to why, she was the firstborn to the king of Havas, and destined to be the eventual Queen. Haven was raised by her mother who taught her how to play guitar and violin, as well as teaching her to sing and dance as a child. Music was one of the most important things to her mother, and Haven instantly inherited it and was said to have a gift with song from a very young age.

It was also at a young age that tragedy struck. When she was 6 years old, Haven's mother gave birth to her baby brother Nerrus, and didn't survive the process. A common phrase in Tu'la, especially in Havas, is the idea that "Menphina takes life as Irene gives life." There's a balance to the world that the Divine maintained, and this is one of the most literal representations of that. The joy of her brothers birth is nearly overshadowed by the tragedy of her mothers death.

Despite this, Haven swore she would take care of her brother, swore that he would get a life he deserves, swore that she would be the best big sister she ever could be-- For about 7 years. At the age of 13 the clerics and doctors of the castle staff became incredibly worried for Haven's health as she had shown significant irregularities in her development compared to her peers and her own family.

It was then that they made the diagnosis that she would never be able to bare children. Initially, this was something Haven was unbothered by. She was literally 13 and just developed her first crush on a young guard in training, and she might be able to sleep with him with no consequence? Sounds like a great deal. Until she remembers what her father values. Continuing Menphina's sacred bloodline. How can Haven take the throne if she will have no child of royal blood to take the throne when she passes? She could adopt one, but that would ruin the "sanctity of the inheritance".

Lucky for her father, Nerrus is right there! So he can become king when he's older! Gg ez!! There's a wedge driven between her and her brother as he trains to become king legitimately, while Haven still desperately holds onto her mothers memory and tries to be the queen she's meant to be.

Haven gets another 5 years in her castle where she just kind of... does her own thing. She still has her guards and attendants, but the cadet she once fancied died in combat, and the neglect her father was already prone to became far worse. Haven spent most of adolescence unsupervised as a pansexual polyamorous little goober with something deeply disturbed going on in her head, a song in her heart, and a massive chip on her shoulder.

Shortly after her eighteenth birthday, word spread through Haven's attendants that there was a hit on her life, one the King was aware of but would do nothing to prevent. As a result, Haven was rushed out of her home in the dead of the night and onto the ship of a known thief and scoundrel to the kingdom who promised to take Haven somewhere she wouldn't be recognized. That somewhere was O'Khasis, and Haven wasn't exactly told the details of her escape. Just that home wasn't safe anymore.

And she wasn't really bothered by this, at first. She always identified more with Kul'zak the Wanderer, someone who would jump at this opportunity, so she attempted to do the same once she was in O'Khasis. Where she was arrested for sleeping on the streets and being a fugitive. She was able to lie her way into the heart of the Ro'maeve family, threatening her father's wrath if she wasn't treated like she deserved. As a result, she was taken in for a night and got to meet the entire family (this all takes place literal days before Vylad is killed), particularly bonding with Zianna because Zianna is a literal treasure we do not deserve, and Vylad because he's also a musician.

Garroth and Garte both take a very neutral stance on her, though she does get to share a single brief but meaningful talk with Garroth. Zane on the other hand fucking hates her, doesn't trust her, and eventually picks Haven's cover story apart so well that her only recourse is to kiss him and then jump out of a window and book it out of there. This is one of the reasons Zane wears a mask, largely because he knows the chances of them running into one another are slim, but he's not gonna let her or anyone else get the jump on him like that.

It's during her escape that she stumbles into the village of Falcon Claw and makes quick friends with it's lord despite his seemingly standoffish nature due to their shared love of music. It might even have the potential to be more than friends, especially because Haven, the fuckin queer, also fancies his incredibly hot wife, but they have a kid and she doesn't want to be a total homewrecker. After spending a night in Falcon Claw, Haven is let loose onto Ru'aun to just... vibe.

She travels wherever she wants, finds odd people in strange places with the sound of a song, and makes her living off of befriending merchants and getting tips for her performances. She plays a lot of songs, I mean A LOT of songs (this playlist covers he entire story ashdfhjdsfg)

It's during these travels that she actually encounters quite a few canon characters, primarily the women :tm:. She and Lucinda have a brief romance after Lucinda is kicked out of Pikoro, before she moves onto Scaleswind and accidentally seduces the future lord Nicole without even knowing that she was the future lord, she just thought the redheaded woman was pretty. And then when she ends up in Brightport she gets to meet a few familiar merchants (Logan and Zoey), and she meets someone who would eventually become one of her closest friends. The first catfolk she's run into since running away from home: Nana.

Nana and Haven are absolute besties from second one, and when Nana tells Haven that she plans to open a bakery on the road from Meteli to Scaleswind, Haven tells her that she'll find her there once she's done visiting Phoenix Drop and Meteli. And Phoenix Drop is a nice little village, the lord is kind, as is his wife, and while the head guard never spoke to Haven, he didn't show outright animosity towards her like most guards.

Most guards don't trust Haven for one reason or another. Whether it's because of her music and magic combo that makes all the Lords and Ladies swoon, her tendency for a little bit of crime, or racism towards catfolk, Haven is used to guards not liking her. One not talking to her is like a breath of fresh air. What a nice little village, I sure hope nothing bad happens to them :)

On the road to Meteli she manages to semi-befriend a kooky shaman who has a fondness for her because his chickens really like her songs. Castor calls Haven the "Crazy Music Lady" and it's one of her favorite titles. Speaking of titles, she has a few. When she had a small stint with the leader of a thieves guild, she learned that Ru'aun has forgotten Kul'zak was a Wanderer and instead regards him as a fellow Keeper. So for quite some time, she goes by Haven the Wanderer. She later gets renamed to Haven the Undying, but we're a long ways away from that.

It's in Meteli that Haven's plans to just breeze through every village comes to a screeching halt when she comes face to face with the Zvahl siblings. One is eager to make clothing for a new model who fancies her in such a fun way, and the other is instantly smitten with her before he even hears a word out of her mouth. And in a frustrating twist of fate, she feels the same way about him, and ends up spending three months living with the two of them. Most of those three months are spent either helping Cadenza, or bothering/flirting/sleeping with Laurance.

Three months is the longest Haven has stayed in a village since she came to Ru'aun. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she's terrified that O'Khasis will find her and hurt the few fools she really cares about. Ultimately it's this paranoia and her desire to see Nana that gets Haven to finally leave. No fanfare, but not running. It's a quiet goodbye with Cadenza as she helps her get to bed, and a tearful kiss with Laurance when she's at the outskirts of Meteli. She promises they'll find one another again, in spite of her hopes that such a thing never happens for his own safety.

It's while she's at Nana's bakery that the plot of MCD finally catches up to her. Haven spends six months at Nana's bakery, largely as a performer/worker/caregiver when Nana exerts herself too much. To the unsuspecting eye just stopping into Nana's bakery for some sweet treats and the song of a lovely young lady, they're just really close friends. Just gal pals living together and running a business together and sleeping in the same bed-- What who said that?

N e ways, it's during an ordinary day like any other when a bright eyed woman comes bounding into Nana's bakery with so much life and love that Haven hasn't seen from someone during a first impression in so long. This woman is Irena (Aph), showing up in Episode 32 of MCD (one of the worst episodes) to finally drag Haven into the plot. This is really done when Nana shuts down shop and decides to move to Scaleswind while Haven decides to wait for Irena so she can go back to Phoenix Drop with her, see how the village has changed while she's been gone. And just when Irena is about to arrive at the bakery after finding Levin's mom, someone else swoops in on a wyvern and sweeps Haven off her feet all over again.

Haven returns to Phoenix Drop and is overjoyed to have Laurance back in her life and she finally learns the name of that silent guard she met about a year ago. And his name is Garroth?? And he sounds exactly like the one she met in O'Khasis??? Hm, odd coincidence huh? Laurance and Irena are quick to rush off to Meteli to try and rescue the missing Cadenza, and while Haven tags along, Laurance insists that she stays behind once they find out where Castor has been taken to. He can't risk her getting hurt.

Four days later Irena returned to Phoenix Drop with the news of Laurance's sacrifice. Haven spent the next month holed up in an old friends house in Brightport desperately researching the Divine, Realm Barriers, and the Shadow Abyss (Nether), hoping she could find the key to get him out of there. Or make sure he stayed there. She wasn't ever too sure of what she wanted, largely because the chance that Laurance's calling latched onto her was incredibly high given his fondness for her.

She returns to Phoenix Drop for Donna's wedding, and JUMPSCARE, that noble little prick you pissed off like three years ago is now the high priest of Irene, future lord of O'Khasis, and wants you fucking dead! Oh and while you're constantly paranoid, on edge, barely sleeping because you might be killed in your sleep, your boyfriend comes back from the other dimension he was in and is blind now! Horray! Aren't we having fun?

The rest of the plot is like this, largely being carried out in the same way, but Haven is there and contributing, primarily through her music and magic. She's a bard who can cast healing spells, and people just keep getting injured like every single plotline, so she keeps playing more and more songs to help aid them in the recovery process. Because she's previously befriended so many other characters she finds a sense of belonging as her friends move into Phoenix Drop, and while she never gets a house there, she couch surfs between the houses of all her girlfriends and also the guard tower when she feels like sleeping with Laurance, much to Garroth's chagrin.

This also means that when Katelyn shows up, she's petrified. She spends most of the end of the season hiding in Lucinda's house because she can't have anyone from O'Khasis finding her, or they will arrest her and anyone who gets in the way. Oh, and before all of that happens, she has a chance encounter with a man who's camped out around Phoenix Drop who is... eerily familiar. She can't put her finger on it.

The thing that makes Haven break her cover is when news gets out that Nicole is missing. That's when her desperation takes precedent over her need to survive and she starts searching. Katelyn is on their side at this point, but she doesn't know that, and is willingly risking her life just to ensure that Nicole is safe and Phoenix Drop doesn't go to war. And she's with the rest of the group when they go to the Irene Dimension.

Season 2 is when things start going a little off the rails due to Haven's presence, largely once Michi and Tu'la start becoming major players. When Michi kidnaps the small group, Haven is a part of it. And while Michi sells off her friends, she takes Haven herself and plans on taking her back to Tu'la, who believe Haven has been dead since she left about 18 years ago. Michi thinks that if she can take Haven back to Tu'la, she'll be forgiven for her crimes. This obviously doesn't work because Michi sucks at holding people hostage for longer than a day, but Haven gets hit with a one-two combo the minute she's safe.

Because she's safe in Scaleswind. Where Nicole is now lord, a position Haven once offered to help her run from, and she's a mother and lying to everyone about the father. Haven can see right through her bull shit and is honestly so disappointed. She leaves for 15 years and then everyone forgets that polyamory is an option. Smh. But Haven sure hasn't, especially once they stumble upon that cursed island and there's an incredibly handsome, flirty, awkward dork who's absolutely smitten with her from minute one.

I'm so serious about this Haven and Travis know each other for like five hours, share one meal together, and then sleep together. It's her current personal best for "Sleeping with a new party companion any%". Honestly when they get back to Ru'aun, Haven's feeling actually pretty okay with life. Her and Katelyn are becoming friends, she's rebuilding her friend group that's also a polycule, the cat is and has been out of the bag about who Aaron is since the end of Season 1 (and he is part of the polycule, just quieter than everyone else). Vylad is in her life again and slowly becoming a surrogate brother, and Irena wants them to go traveling? She gets to go back to Nahkra and visit the old thieves guild, It's like a dream come true--

WOMP WOMP YOUR DAD IS INVADING O'KHASIS AND YOUR BROTHER IS TRYING TO KILL YOU AND IF YOU DON'T SPILL ALL YOUR FAMILY SECRETS RIGHT THE FUCK NOW YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS ARE PROBABLY GOING TO DIE

And that's one of the main reasons Haven exists. Because the threat of Tu'la doesn't really feel like that big of a deal in the main story, at least not to the main character. It's a problem that she has to solve, but there's little to no personal stakes in the conflict until Garroth comes back. Well not anymore!! Now it's a direct threat to Haven's safety and she has what seems to be a blood thirsty monster hunting after her. Haven knows from personal experience how cruel her father and his kingdom can be, and she'll be damned if Ru'aun falls under their rule. She's the one who really starts driving the plot as Irena's scatterbrained and seemingly flippant attitude isn't suited for trying to prevent a war of this scale.

When they find the island, Haven is also a primary leader in getting stuff done there because the sooner they get this alliance set up, the sooner she can help lead an attack against Tu'la, even from the sidelines. And while progress is slow and steady, she manages to have a lot of meaningful moments with the people she cares about, she even manages to reveal to her traveling and wandering friends that she isn't dead. This, along with the knowledge that her kingdom and it's refugees regard her as dead is what causes Haven to take on her new title, Haven the Undying. The world has thought her dead twice, and yet here she is still kicking.

She holds a celebration after their alliance has been established. A celebration of their return, the new alliance, and just so she and her friends can all play in one place. It's a beautiful moment of Haven bringing her worlds together, expressing her love for others freely, and being able to just live in the moment.

The next day the refugees she met back in Scaleswind are attacked on their way to Phoenix Drop, and while Haven is in the middle of taking care of them, SOMEONE has to blow up!! I didn't go too in depth on it, but needless to say Aaron and haven were close. She was the only one in the group to know of his past before he joined, and as I said before, there was something happening between them when Haven first showed up in Ru'aun that blossomed into something real after the Irene Dimension. He was her favorite duet partner, and now he's dead.

Haven enters a grief spiral where she's unable to speak or play for a few days, but the memory of how happy Aaron looked when playing with her motivates her to play in his honor. It motivates her to keep going, to tell stories about him, sing songs about him, and even finishes the song they started writing together. Furthermore, once Garroth is back the two rekindle their old friendship, especially during the war.

But before the final push against Tu'la can take place, something... strange happens. While bothering Emmalyn in Kul'zak's crypt, Haven finds a hidden room home to many of his treasures. Including half of his relic, which instantly bonds to her and nearly kills her. She survives, but it starts really fucking with her life. She gets random memories, especially in the abandoned city, sometimes she disappears in her sleep and ends up in the lake that Kul'zak and Menphina once hung out in, and worst of all, one of the times she's there she sees Menphina. Or rather, Menphina's relic holder, her brother.

Eventually she leads the charge against Tu'la and they win!! Wahoo!! She gets to enjoy time in O'Khasis in peace, start some kind of real romance with Garroth, and just enjoy life. She even goes back to Falcon Claw to pay her respects to everyone there, along with getting some funky relic memories while in O'Khasis. She returns to the Alliance and becomes its Lord so Irena can focus on raising her children, and she even adopts a little Siamese cat and names it Gyb.

And that's as much as I have written out. I know where her story is inevitably going to end up, and it's not pretty. Before everything completely collapses she does get some respite. She gets to reunite with her brother and talk out what happened between them over their fathers rotting corpse. This is also when the two finally learn the truth about their relics. They both were given half a relic at birth. Haven was given half of Menphina's, and Nerrus was given half of Kul'zak's. And then they each got the other half of the relic they didn't have, which is very confusing for the both of them. But it does allow them to learn to love one another as family before the entire world is plunged into darkness.

Let's just say that in that battle against Araphel to decide the fate of the realms, she fights incredibly hard, she fights valiantly, she's one of the main people who's able to survive in the hellscape he spreads, but it isn't enough. In the end, she and what few of her friends remain have to make the hardest decisions they've ever had to make. In order to ensure that they can survive together, she has to become a Shadow Knight, a complete one. This means someone has to kill her, and then she has to kill the last mortal she holds dear in her heart.

In the end she does eventually get something she wanted. All Haven could ask for was a life with the ones she loved where they could live in peace. And in the end, she still has the one person who means more to her than anything. In the end, even if it feels superfluous at this point, she gets to fulfill a promise she made back when they were exploring and found Lilith on that island. In the end, she gets to marry the love of her life and live a twisted happily ever after with him.

TLDR: I'm literally in love with Laurance Zvahl and did all this so my self insert oc could marry him and have as much hot steamy sex with him as desired without worrying about having kids cause I hate kids.

[labyrinthdancer]

I wrote the scene that started Monarch's Will

I didn't mean for it to get so long but it got away from me a bit. I ain't a writer so plz be nice thx :)

Twilight hated this, the ballroom was packed with nobles, ladies brushing against his arms with their noxious perfumes that made his nose burn, and gentlemen talking loudly in his ears making them ring, Twilight wanted nothing more than to escape this gilded prison. A man bumped into Twilight making him want to bare his fangs and snarl but he caught himself, The others were around he couldn't afford to be a wolf now, none of the heroes look at him the same after Wolffie, Time doesn't look at Twilight the same, they expected a Hylian and got him instead. So he quieted the rumble in his throat and closed his mouth over his fangs, grabbing a glass of champagne Twilight found himself a quiet corner to watch the rest of the party from. Twilight stayed in his corner mostly unbothered and ignored, Time glanced over at him occasionally, a hint of worry in his eye but never approached. After a while, Twilight was about to ditch the party altogether and find himself a forest to unwind in, but his saving grace finally came in the form of his queen on the other side of the room, joining the party 'fashionably late' as she liked to call it. Twilight was by her side before he realized he was walking, Midna noticed him walk over and put her arm over his shoulders pulling him closer to her as she was talking to some noble "Perfect time, this is Link, MY Divine Beast he aided me in taking back my kingdom from Zant and save Hyrule from destruction" The inflection on my didn't go unnoticed by Twilight, but he didn't mind, it was a nice contrast from Hyrule's reluctant acceptance, Dusk being the only noble who would even agknowage him without a grimace. "oh, ah- well it's JUST LOVELY to see you again Hero of Twilight, I thought you had left the kingdom on some quest? Or had moved to that Realm of Dusk or something?" The barely repressed grimace on the nobleman's face was amusing to Twilight, "Twilight Realm. Yeah, Hylia sent me on'a grand 'o quest ov'r yonder, but it ain't 'dat big of'a deal I reckon" Twilight purposely thickened his accent to really bend the noble out of shape. Twi heard Midna hold back a snort as the man's face looked disgusted, quickly excusing himself from the conversation and storming off. "Hyrulians really don't like you beasty" Midna commented readjusting their positions to use both of Twi's shoulders as armrests. "I know, but it ain'ts mess'in me up if 'couple Hyrulians ain't liken me." They chatted among themselves for a while until Merida, a Lady of Midna's court, came striding up "My Lady I have just been notified that your rematch with the Challenger was meant for today, what do you wish to do?" Midna straightened up to address her "Bring him to the plaza outside, the Queen has been wanting to see more of our culture and ways, what better way than to witness a Challenge" Merida looked exasperated "As you wish my Lady." she then portaled away leaving the two alone in the crowded room again. Midna moved to look Twilight in the eyes, softening her gaze when it met his. She leaned closer to him and said in a lowered voice "Are you alright with doing it hear love? With all these people and dumb heroes around I could move it to a later date." Twilight could hear the concern in her voice, he put his hands on her arms and met her gaze with a confident one. "We don't know how long I'll be here for or how long I'll be gone, there ain't no way to plan around dat. It don't matter how I'm feelin the Challenge is important and needs to happen." She nodded and they started making their way out to the plaza.

you can read the rest on AO3

shaking in my boots I wrote something AND posted it very proud of meself :3

[hurricane105]

King Rhoam's journal

The Writings of Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule

First entry: Today, as the sun rose and a new day was born, my daughter, too, joined this sweet world. In keeping with the traditions of the royal family, I have decided to name her...Zelda. I am not a man accustomed to frivolous musings, but now seems as good a time as any to begin my royal memorandum. [calling a journal for self reflection 'frivolous?' not a good move rhoam]

Second entry: Reports keep arriving regarding the excavation of relics. The fortune teller's predictions seem to be coming true. Calamity Ganon was not a figure of fable, or even of legend. He actually existed in our great land of Hyrule. We must investigate all the relics, learn as much as we can. But understanding the Divine Beasts alone will take time... Zelda's eyes lit up like a wildfire when I told her about the relics... I must admit, she has a knack for research. [she's 6 yo or younger - what a bookish kid. How early did she learn to read?]

Third entry: My queen has left this world. Her death was so sudden and unexpected, I awaken most nights unsure if she is really gone. Zelda never cried, never faltered. Not even during the royal funeral or later when she and I were alone with our grief. I must assume her strength is a result of us repeatedly informing her of her duty to be a valiant and steady princess. For a child of merely six years of age, her conduct was truly that of a born leader. Her strength gives me hope. From now on, I must raise her all alone... Now, only I remain to prepare her for her difficult future as princess of Hyrule. [option 1: Zelda doesn't feel safe enough to show her emotions around her father. option 2: she hasn't really realized that her mother is dead. Also rhoam, strength does not equal not showing emotion. that's a demerit on the parent sheet. Also also, you're raising her 'alone' in a castle full of servants? hmmmmmm]

Fourth entry: Zelda finally reported back after her visit to the fountain. It seems her sacred sealing power has still yet to awaken. It has been a year and three months since her mother passed. Perhaps she is held back by heartache too deep to heal. If the Ganon prophecy wasn't looming over our heads, I would tell her to take her time... To wait until she is ready. But our situation is dire and leaves no room for weakness - even on behalf of my beloved daughter. My heart breaks for Zelda, but I must act as a king, not a father. I must order her to train relentlessly at the fountain. [ok i have seen so many posts about 'rhoam talked about caring for Zelda, he must have loved her! folks, he knew he was SUPPOSED to care for her, and because [in his own mind] he's not a bad person, whatever he does is caring for his daughter]

Fifth entry: I was told Zelda went off to research ancient technology so I had no choice but to confront her about it. [no choice? Really rhoam? You always have a choice in how to act. Way to not take responsibility for your actions] She claims she was simply using her day off from training to indulge in a bit of research, but still I scolded her. She won't get it through her head... Forcing me to tell her the same thing I have been repeating ad nauseam. The reason her sacred powers still won't awaken is because she's spending all her efforts playing at being a scholar! [ah yes. 'have a day off!' oh but you can't spend it doing fun stuff, it's back to the temple for you!]

Sixth entry: In truth, I understand Zelda's feelings. Painfully so. She lost her mother, her teacher, before she could learn from her. Ten pointless years of self-training, without so much as a book or note to help her find her way... Those in the castle talk behind her back. And I, her only family, scold her for her shortcomings. No wonder she wishes to hide away in her beloved relic research. I'd love nothing more than to console her... But I must stay strong. She MUST fulfill her duty, just as we all must. Even if she comes to despise me. [a tiny bit of self awareness, immediately trampled by self righteous 'but i've got to treat her like trash!']

Seventh entry: I have been told my Zelda went to the Spring of Wisdom... [you didn't even see her in person? coward. she won't even share her travel plans with you now] This will likely be her last chance. If she is unable to awaken her power at Lanayru, all hope is truly lost. [contrast this with Urbosa's saying 'it's not like your last chance was up there on the mountain, we'll figure something out'] If she comes back without success, then I shall speak kindly with her. Scolding is pointless now. I forced 10 years of training on her... and after all that, it seems her power will stubbornly awaken some other way. Perhaps I should encourage her to keep researching her beloved relics. They may just lead her to answers I can't provide. For now, I sit anxiously, more a father than a king in this moment. I sit and await my daughter's return. [it's about time you decided to be an actual father]

[omgkalyppso]

19, 20, and 21 for the fire emblem asks please!

o(*￣︶￣*)o Thank you for the ask! adskfjhalkd You really picked The Hard Ones, it looks like.

19. Come up with an idea for a new FE game!

Hm. What story elements of these games do I like? asjdgfajsdhg

I want to play a dragon again, is that allowed? Oh, and a bit like Esc/aflowne. How about Fire Emblem: Ancient Knight?

We have a village of manaketes, dragons in the sky, humans on the ground, and maybe 6 characters introduced. The protagonist, two of his friends (red and green knight coded), his sister who is a queen or high priest or something, a short old man who is mostly there as exposition, and his uncle who is a red dragon so we know he's probably going to be evil.

It's the protagonist's birthday, twenty or a hundred, pick a fun coming of age for a manakete.

You can train with your friends ahead of a ceremony where you'll be granted a Special Dragonstone because of your association to your sister, you can explore the temple where tales of a great manakete of ages past defeated three great armies to protect your people. This manakete had some symbol associated with themself, and their powers of divination. They foretold that one day, some thousands of years from the time of their prophecy, that a dragon would have this same symbol upon their face at the time of their coming of age, and would spell the doom of their kind. The champion of the past often lamented that there was nothing they, themself could do to stop it, and so they spent all their many years bringing their people to prosperity.

Your sister confided in you that when your uncle was born that many suspected he would be the one to portend this fate, but it hadn't been so.

Your friends will ask if you're worried about it.

And well, you should be. You have your ceremony and this symbol either glows in the air or marks itself on your skin, and your uncle in an effort to save your people will try to take your life. Your sister will sacrifice herself to save you, pressing Her Dragonstone into you (mouth, open wound, magically into your chest? whatever we're comfortable with), and when you take a step, the earth around you falls away. You can hold your friends to you as you go, you watch your uncle dive into the blackness after you.

And then we're several thousand years in the past. Help the leader of some country make peace with the local manaketes while fighting off invaders, preparing for the armies you know will come / that you prophesize, realizing that you are the ancient knight, and that the greatest of your enemies will attempt to crush you with the aid of a red dragon.

One of the outposts you find is a volcanic, harsh territory, and here you recognize the shapes of the temple where you were once a boy. Where you will build your altar and rest your heart / Dragonstone after your passing, for yourself to find. Your people were never doomed, you have no idea what they're doing without you. Given the opportunity, would you go back? Who would these people, and generations of your kind have to look to, if not to you and the legends you're capable of.

At least one big failure because tails get embellished in history. You don't always know what the future will bring.

You can change your class, but only manaketes can see through the fog of war and maybe some other neat tricks.

20. Any ideas for crossovers or aus?

I still want something like an awakening sequel if I'm honest. With as few as possible character references or cameos. I just want to go back to Ylisse and Plegia and find out the future of the Taguel people!

That's not really an answer. Um. Fates AU where the time travelling trio have plot relevance.

21. Characters from different FE games you would like to see interact? How do you think it would go?

I'd like to see Panne interact with someone from a beast race whose people are thriving. I liked @recurringwriter putting Virion and Lorenz in the same orbit, they make good friends / rivals. I'd like Mustafa and Nader (and Seteth) to sit down for tea. I'd like Eir to meet a bunch of the three houses cast, I sometimes think of her x Lorenz.

[thegeminisage]

YOOOOO this music FUCKS. alright go off

BIG slime patch over there...yikes...possibly it's alive lol

once again, multiple "objectives"...i have to very reluctantly admit i'm just a TINY bit disappointed. i wanted Dungeons. these are just divine beasts with different aesthetics :/

it's fine if that's what they wanted to do but why advertise them as proper dungeons.....

i love that immediately i can't figure out a puzzle <3 thank you zelda devs for making me suffer absolutely nothing has changed since 98

WAHHHH mipha's theme coming into this...thats just cruel.............

OH and it's also got the theme that played when you rode into vah ruta on sidon's back...

SQUID? SHARK? SQUIDSHARK? WTF WAS THAT??????

that boss was FUCKING. BULLSHIT. i used every bomb i had and all but 30 arrows. i had almost a hundred when the fight started. FUCK that out loud

this sage sounds SO much like mipha. like her enunciation is IDENTICAL. am i imagining this?? i tried to look it up on imdb and failed utterly

NO WAIT I FOUND IT SHE IS IN THIS GAME THAT MUST BE HERE....................WHAT A COOL CAMEO i'm totally counting that as my bingo square

oh my god the helmets are so COOOOLLL she has an elephant design!!!!!

i always forget how comically large sidon is until you put him next to short king link

this hand-holding business along with the vows was reparations for nintendo sinning against link/sidon fans. i'm so sorry monarchs

sidon's sagehood feels so different to tulin's...it's like he finally came into something he was waiting for, vs tulin who was just a little underprepared. which is wild because tulin WAS waiting for it actively and sidon was not, but like...vibeswise. sidon needed the push and tulin needed the opposite. idk. it's late.

awwww dorephan is alive after all he's getting better <3 cmon nintendo would never KILL people (hoping i dont eat those words)

wait, if rauru's been dead all along does that count as "someone dies"? hmm

omg we're literally crowning sidon rn okayyy lol is he gonna get married too

wow. they literally did just call her the queen. okay??

i'm trying so hard to like her but lol

"i and my partner in life and leadership" COME ON. SHE JUST SHOWS UP AND GETS TO BE QUEEN......i'm so sorry girl. whats that fucking post like "sorry i cant defend you"

have sidequests to find the rest of the zora armor but liiiike...there's so much other stuff i wanna check out. def comign back for it tho

[thejokig23]

My brother forced me to borrow his copy of Tears of the Kingdom, here are some thoughts:

It is really frustrating doing the memories quest first and the game Not Acknowledging it Ever. Link please tell people "hey uhhh that's not Zelda. Zelda's the worm on a string that just popped up. Yeah."

While the weapon durability is still not my cup of tea, it is improved by letting you workshop new shit together. Probably just because I like Monster Hunter and I am predisposed to enjoying monster bits on sticks.

Armour sucks. I can go on, but the gist is that damage threshold systems do NOT work with games that revolve solely on vertical progression. That, and upgrading armour is SUCH a slog.

The hand abilities are so much better than the slate's runes. I find I'm much more creative with them and don't feel like I'm cheesing stuff.

The dungeons are kinda underwhelming. While visually they are an improvement over the four Shiekah robots, they are mechanically less interesting. Despite having last done the Divine Beasts maybe three years ago, I can remember distinct events from each one. However, I struggle to think of anything interesting to say about the four temple mere DAYS after completing them.

Shrines are better. They are overall shorter, more creative, and more free-form than in Breath of the Wild.

Aside from Queen Gibdo, the dungeon bosses were all easier than the regular enemies I was findibg right outside their doors. Queen Gibdo, on the other hand, was a bitch to fight. Overall, they felt like classic Zelda bosses put in a game that doesn't suit classic Zelda bosses, except Queen Gibdo who has shitty hitboxes and just feels Bad.

New enemies are very good. I like like likes, even if they have nothing in common with the old like likes. Gibdo are very unique, all the others are pretty cool. However, I do think every part of the map should have gotten something like the Gibdo, a unique monster with a particular weakness. Like, Dodongo in Eldin, or Wolfos in Hebra.

I feel mixed on the ending. On one hand, the fight with Ganondorf was great (aside from being piss easy). It felt the most like a true duel compared to other fights in the series, although I was winning hit trades against him at half the max hearts and half the max defense of my gear, which should NOT be happening, especially when the Lynel at the entrance would kill me in one hit.

On the other hand, something about Link getting their arm back and Zelda going back to being human just feels weak to me. It kinda lost some of the potency, and everything building up how Draconification was irreversible made it so when it was reversed, it just killed my interest in the world afterwards.

Champion abilities vs Sage abilities: Champions win. Tulin and Revali are comparable, but otherwise the Champions blow them out of the water. If they were better merged into your base toolkit, I'd get more use out of them. I'd probably copy what they did with Tulin and make their ability prompt be based on what you're currently doing: press A while pulling back an arrow to activate Riju's ability, press A when you're throwing something to pick up Yunobo, and hold A after a shield swing to get Sidon's bubble.

Mineru's mech mechanics should get built upon into their own game. I am 100% serious. As is, it's a fun gimmick on occasion but she does so little damage it isn't worth it once there are any enemies stronger than blue

Cooking is just as overpowered as it used to be, but the menu is bad and doesn't give you any way of knowing how many meals you can hold

[ryin-silverfish]

LMK S5 trailer, Chinese pantheon infodump, and some ideas

…Man, normally, I feel the urge to write fix-it AUs after rewatching episodes and coming across particularly bizarre theories and takes, not before the new season's even out.

Thanks, S5 trailer.

Consider this your spoiler warning, because the rest of this post will all be my personal opinions about a few major story beats that were revealed + the rough outline for a fix-it AU.

It's also a bit ranty, and features some criticisms of the general narrative, so if that's not your cup of tea, feel free to avoid this one.

Li Jing becoming JE/the regent of the Celestial Realm is just hilariously absurd. I mean, it makes a teeny tiny bit more sense than the "Nezha will be the new JE" fan theory, but that's not a very high bar.

1) In-universe, he had done a grand total of nothing while shit was hitting the fan, and only showed up after it was all over. Which, tbh, isn't too far from his role in FSYY. No, wait, at least in FSYY, he killed Luo Xuan via a pagoda to the head, after the guy had all his fire-based magical treasures neutralized and taken away by Princess Longji.

Yeah, congrats, LMK's Li Jing, you've somehow become even more useless than your FSYY and JTTW counterparts——which is a true feat.

2) Even if someone's making him JE/regent, it wouldn't be the Ten Kings. To put it simply: the Underworld doesn't have that authority. They are the most pathetic of all divine bureaucracies, who pretty much only show up to get pushed around and revive the occasional dead guy in JTTW (and I still love them).

Like, they ain't no Hades or Satan. Just the 10 judges of the Dead People Supreme Court. To heavily paraphrase Di Ting in the original JTTW novel:

"How much power do Underworld gods really have? (幽冥之神，能有多少法力)" "...Certainly not enough to stop a rampaging demonic macaque who's as strong as SWK, if I say the truth out loud in here and piss him off. Just send them to the Buddha, please."

An analogy: if the Celestial Host is the imperial court, the Underworld is the ministry in charge of judicial processes and prisons. They don't even have authority over the imperial censors who answer directly to the emperor, let alone the power to determine a successor to the throne during a major crisis.

If this was to make the tiniest bit of sense, Li Jing would be the one commanding THEM, not the other way around. Or if it's Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha himself giving orders to Li Jing…for some reason.

But we know that ain't happening bc of the show's strange aversion to showing Buddhist deities on screen, not to mention it would be very OOC for Ksitigarbha, whose job is granting relief and salvation to souls in the Path of Hell, not judging and punishing them like the Ten Kings.

3) If you must make Li Jing the emperor/regent, you have a more mythos-accurate and obvious choice than the Ten Kings, considering you already got the Four Divine Beasts involved!

Yes, I'm talking about their bosses, the humanoid "directional + elemental gods": Lord Father of the East (Wood), Queen Mother of the West (Metal), Emperor Zhenwu of the North (Water).

No South though...because our mythos can't agree on a single directional god of the South, but for shit and giggles, just imagine Zhurong, Yandi, Huaguang, and the Star of Fiery Virtues all sitting on the same narrow bench, staring awkwardly at each other.

Maybe we can have Ziwei, Great Emperor of the Central Sky and North Stars, who is one of the Four Sovereigns(四御) in Daoism (two of which could also be an alternate choice, but maybe a bit too obscure for foreign audiences).

He commands the stellar deities and heavenly bodies——which the Four Divine Beasts would technically fall under, as guardians of the four quadrants of the sky, each in charge of 7 Lunar Mansions.

4) But if you already have these deities, why the hell would any of them make Li Jing the regent? Wouldn't it be more likely for them to create a Celestial Council of Regents themselves, with Devaraja Li Jing under their command as the leader of what's left of the celestial army?

Like, you can still have them, or one of them, going after the gang and ordering Li Jing to put the fillet on SWK.

I can see Zhenwu the Demon-Vanquisher doing that, since the fillet isn't too different from what he did to Huaguang and a lot of the demons he subdued in JTTN: feeding them magical water/fire pills that would corrode/ignite their insides whenever they tried to resist.

(Yeah, compared to that, the fillet would look like the lenient option, since it's just pain and won't actually dissolve/cook you alive from the inside out...)

And it wouldn't be bc he thought SWK was to blame for the Brotherhood's epic fuck-up...somehow. Like, what even is that logic?!

I mean, I can kinda see the Ten Kings doing it as a pre-emptive "Don't blame us for our shitty security, blame that guy over there!" move...except they are no longer answering to any higher authorities who'd hold them responsible at that point!

"What about Li Jing?" You may ask. Yeah, WHAT ABOUT LI JING? Why does Li Jing have to get involved in this?

If he's forcing the Ten Kings to pass judgement on the gang (which surely doesn't look like it in the trailers), why's he enlisting the help of the weakest faction and not, y'know, his celestial soldiers and other gods?

If the Ten Kings get Li Jing to be their enforcer...well, how the Eighteen Hells did they manage that? What could the Ghost Supreme Court and their crappy prison-torture chamber-soul customs office complex even offer Li Jing as a bribe?

And if their goals were to avoid responsibilities by blaming someone else, how stupid did they have to be to actively involve/create a higher authority who can punish them once the cat gets out of the proverbial bag, instead of, I dunno, just stay where they are and keep their head down???

So in my fix-it AU, it's more of a "Better safe than sorry" scenario, where every demon working for the new Celestial Council must prove their loyalty via swallowing the water/fire pill, now that even more dangerous demons have escaped and are running around in the aftermath of S4.

And Great Sage and company are not exempt from that new law either——"If you are truly righteous and Not Like Them and not planning to rebel, what's there to be afraid of?"

Horrified by the Demon-Vanquishing Mansion's 16th century standards of "justice" and "mercy", they naturally would not have any of it, and thus the conflict begins.

Not only would this show the fallout of Azure's misguided rebellion——that, in trying to make a better world, he had made it 120% worse for both humanity and demonkind in less drastic and more realistic ways aside from dooming reality to irreversible destruction, it would also help with the major show-not-tell problem about Celestial cruelty bc the "good guys" in power saw no problem with this kind of shit.

If you want your lawful antagonists who take Order to its extremes, the warrior sovereign in black leading an elite army of demon-hunters + penal legions made of "reformed" demons would be a better choice than the Ghost Supreme Court, don't ya think?

(Fun fact: in Zaju plays, Zhenwu was often said to be the boss of Nezha and Erlang, so him commanding Li Jing wouldn't be too out of place either.)

Now, you may ask, why do I even care? After all, isn't it clear that the show is neither mythos-accurate nor trying to be, considering the JE got K.O.ed by a Bodhisattva's cat of all things?

Not to mention the season's not even out yet, so why jump to conclusions so quickly? Maybe the actual episodes will have explanations that make sense. Relax.

...Cause I don't mind less-than-stellar animations if the story's good, and since I keep noticing the less-than-stellar animations, it clearly isn't good enough.

Also, it's not like it's only the implications that are absurd——my problem is with the whole premise of "Li Jing becoming the new JE/Regent" and "The gang is prosecuted by the Ten Kings for bullshit reasons, even though these guys should not, and never have the power to enforce anything over SWK."

I don't like calling narrative choices "wrong" per se, and prefer to see it on a gradient of "least to most narrative potential". When it comes to adaptations, if the option that is faithful to the original work will result in a less interesting story, then I'll happily take the one that isn't as faithful and takes creative liberties, but makes a better story.

And here, I feel like being faithful to the Chinese mythos inspirations will add to the narrative potential instead of subtract from it, and the idea they come up with kinda...goes against how Chinese pantheons work, in a very simplified and "westernized" manner.

Mostly bc I am a Chinese Underworld mythos lover and think they deserve better than being ominous Hades/Grim Reaper knockoffs. And out of all the possible Chinese gods, Nezha's asshole dad is the least qualified or interesting candidate to fill in the power vaccum left by JE's death.

[alyjojo]

The Person On Your Mind in October 😈 2022 - Gemini

Whole of their energy towards Gemini: Knight of Pentacles rev

You’ve got an ex coming back around. So far there’s been no movement towards them at all, you or they feel like it’s been a missed opportunity between you. They may have pulled some shit in the past, going by your messages, but being Gemini, that probably tickles your fancy 🪶 though you’re also onto them, so it’s not like the same tricks would work twice with you. You show up as a divine pair, the Wand King & Queen, and shockingly this could actually go somewhere. Both of you are extremely passionate, confident, social, fiery personalities, and you find each other attractive, the chemistry is A+ between you.

Feelings: King of Wands

This person feels extremely passionate towards you, they want to sweep you off your feet and throw your knickers right out the car window. Knickers is gender neutral, yes? Is to me 😆 They’re “taming the beast” inside of themselves because, they’re probably friendzoned, but they don’t intend to continue that way and they’re watching you like a hawk. Probably not saying a word about it either. Someone missed their shot with you and is about to swoop right in and try (again?) with more gusto.

Intentions: 4 Cups

Either they flat out intend to confront being aggravated by being friendzoned in the first place, or that’s their angle. Play the friend card for awhile, work with you, gain your trust, and make their move. Two 3’s here, there could be a trio, like three friends of yours, or two and you’re the third, and this is one of those people. This could also be someone that has played the third wheel with you and another person before and they’re tired of it, or always were.

Actions: Page of Cups & 6 Pentacles

They’re going to start off with a sweet message and maybe give you something, being very generous to you and asking how you’ve been. Heavy Cancer energy here. Then it’s going to move towards reminiscing about the past and how wonderful that all was, buttering you up and “bonding”, all that jazz. You were my best friend, it meant the world to me, etc along those lines. Then with Knight of Cups, they’ll strike. Wanna go out? It’s also possible that once the door opens, they’re going to love-bomb the fk out of you. Coming up as a divine pair is a good thing, and you could both love and want all of this. You’re smarter than their games, but maybe just enjoy playing them as much as this person 💘

Messages:

Their side:

- Confusion 😵‍💫

- I still think of you.

Your side:

- You’re not the only one they’ve played.

- Wise Spirit

Possible signs:

Leo, Cancer & Pisces

If you’re dealing with:

6 Pentacles shows you being very generous with the people around you, and also they with you for the most part. You strive for balance and equal give and take in your interactions and may be attending some sort of events that would cause you to give or receive a gift.

Aries - nostalgic and thinks very fondly of you but is unsure of what to do about it

Taurus - could have a new love opportunity with someone else, or you do, and there’s some nasty conflict between you there

Gemini - successful and rising high with whatever they’re doing, could be defensive towards you or feeling they have to justify themselves - and they’re probably right

Cancer - there’s been a sudden shocking change between you, either they see you as someone condescending, cold, cruel and full of mind fuckery, or that’s them and you’re onto it…nothing is the same between you after this

Leo - a great friendship or relationship, they’ve got the magic touch and could be getting everyone together to celebrate a reunion or some event

Virgo - concerned with business and their finances, a very mature and responsible person, but also impatient and irritated, not wasting time on any bs, they’re busy bye 👋🏽

Libra - clearing up confusion about a home or discussing a home, or you are

Scorpio - confused, worried and anxious about why nothing is moving forward or progressing

Sagittarius - obsessed about another chance, or you are, someone’s back on their bs

Capricorn - loves you and wants to be romantic towards you, but they feel hurt or something is going on with them that’s painful

Aquarius - moving on, it’s over

Pisces - secretly devastated, or isn’t telling you how devastated they are about something

[jupiterdrabbles]

The Oracle

Chapter One

Word Count: 4.7k~

Rating: Teen

Pronouns for Reader: They/Them/Theirs

Warnings: Vivid details of violence, blood and death.

Parings: Prince Sidon/Reader, Link/Reader

Even after the defeat of Calamity Ganon, the world remained paranoid. So many times had they defeated the evil, and so many times had it come back. The legends melted away after the fall of the champions one hundred years ago, and the citizens of Hyrule could no longer turn to them for guidance.

 So, they turned to you. 

From a very young age, you always knew something was different. You could never quite place or understand the feeling, but sometimes when making important decisions or choosing what to say, a gentle prodding made its way up your skull. ‘This one! This is right, this is the way.’ Echos of affirmation in an oddly familiar voice that no one else could hear. But, it always seemed to help those in need, so you were keen to listen. 

 One day, when you were no older than ten years old, your parents had a stranger come into the house. She wore all white, with a thin veil covering her eyes. She met your gaze, and you knew. 

 You were the same. On some level deep down you resonated with each other. You had something in common that was so engrossed in who you were that it sent shivers through your body. The voice reverberated louder, calling her to you and you to her. She stretched out her hand, palm up, and you put yours in hers. A bright light swallowed you, and everything became clear. You finally knew.

 You were an Oracle. 

—————

You sat in Hyrule castle, at the left hand of the Queen. Your robes were loose and light, that same white color as the woman who gave you your answer nearly a decade ago. You kept your head bowed as Queen Zelda addressed her court, Link at her right. They were currently discussing the reconstruction of Hyrule, what with a century of abandonment to many of its cities and people. Ever since this meeting had begun, there had been a buzzing in the back of your skull. It spread around your scalp and pulsed at your temples, but you fought back the urge to put your head into your hands. You were currently surrounded by the ambassadors of the different domains and remaining civilizations, you had to remain proper. Besides, it was most likely just a headache from staying awake long into the morning hours with Zelda, reading and studying about the years that had transpired while she was trapped with Ganon, and before you were born. 

 Zelda often keeps you and Link by her side. While you had known the Queen for a significantly less amount of time than the champion had, you had bonded over the shared burden of having a divine power bestowed upon you from a young age. In your time with Link, he had taught you simple defense maneuvers. As the Oracle, almost all of your concentration had to be in the present, focusing on harnessing any sign or signal you could grab onto to help decipher the coming days or even years. He fretted enough about Zelda not being able to fight on her own, but now that he had two incredibly important people to guard, he felt he was going to have a heart attack. You weren’t given a weapon- many were too heavy or didn’t sit right in your hands, with the added fact that you really weren’t supposed to wield anything that could hurt you in return (keeping your body whole was apparently a big part of the job). Link taught you pressure points and how a two-fingered jab to the right place could bring even Lizalfols to the ground. He promised he’d be at your back in an instance, but it made him and you more confident with some experience under your belt.

 The buzzing grew louder and stronger with every passing minute, and you shifted to tuck your feet in on the seat of your chair to ball yourself in tighter. The haze that normally accompanied oncoming migraines wasn’t present, so you shoved it aside and blamed it on exhaustion. You tried to listen past the incessant noise, and to Zelda’s words. 

 “Even with Ganon defeated, some of the Malice it left behind continues to scorch the land. It isn’t hard to combat, but we will need a large group to cover all of the domains.” Zelda spoke, fingers interlaced atop the table. “Link recommended a force of five for each pool, as some of them can build and expel monsters out of nowhere.” Link nodded at her side, arms folded across his chest. He brought his hands forward to speak, fingers fluttering. 

 “They aren’t difficult and won’t do much damage to your person- but they are quiet. It’s always helpful to have someone watching your back.” He signed, an interpreter relaying his words towards the other end of the table. The ambassadors nodded, and a Zora woman raised her hand to speak. 

 “We have stationed guards along different trade routes to ease the journey of the travelers coming to our domain, and there have been reports of Malice pools growing from the ground. I believed they were isolated to the Divine Beasts and to the different shrines and towers. Do you know why they are coming about?”

 You looked up to her, and a lump caught in your throat. The way herred scales glimmered in the remaining sunlight was painstakingly familiar, and the more you looked the more the lump grew. It had been the only time you’d raised your gaze the entire meeting, and she- as well as some other ambassadors- took notice. She met your gaze and offered a small smile. 

 And that’s what did it. 

 You let out a sharp gasp and clutched at the fabric in front of your chest, all the pain in your head suddenly shooting down to your heart. It felt like something was strangling the organ, a tight grip that squeezed and pulled and hurt. Your vision began to black out as you heard voices all around you. Someone put their hand on your shoulder and another barked at them to stop, leave them be! 

 The pain in your chest spread through your shoulders and back, down your spine and arms and back up to your skull. Your throat burned like you had been swallowing saltwater and nausea crept into your belly. You saw red, a bright crimson in your peripheral vision fading into blue, into brown. You heard the roar of a Divine Beast and felt it’s anguish. The ground shook with it’s fury and your vision cleared. You looked up and found yourself in the Zora domain, soaked through and surrounded by fleeting citizens. You stayed still, watching in awe as Vah Ruta rampaged through the domain, the marble and stone cracking beneath its feet. It stomped over the throne and it crumbled beneath its weight like a mushroom. The water at your bare feet turned red and sticky with blood, and Vah Ruta turned its massive head to you. 

 You met its eyes as its trunk lifted high into the air, a ball of energy building between its tusks. You were frozen in place, fear rooting you in your spot as you stared down a machine that easily aided in the defeat of Calamity Ganon. It whirred menacingly and fired at you. The screams and cries silenced, there was nothing left but the beam. Blue and white flooded your vision, then red again. So much red that it faded into black, only two glowing eyes remained. Ganon’s eyes. It gurgled in the silence and unhinged its mouth, pure Malice dripping onto the floor and onto you. You cried out as it burned your hands, and you watched in horror as it spread up your arms and chest. You were covered in Malice- no, the entire world was covered, infected, and dying slowly beneath the surface. And all it took was one pool near the far terminal in Vah Ruta. You blinked the pain away as you traveled with the Malice, one with it now. You saw it tearing apart wires and cogs beneath the surface, reworking the machine to how it saw fit. All it took was one beast, and the world would decay. 

 Something grabbed your wrist and pulled you from the Malice, and when you crumpled with exhaustion they caught you. They held you and rubbed your back as you sobbed into their shoulder. A hand pressed between your shoulder blades and warmth followed. 

 Look at your hands, they said into your ear. A girl’s voice, a slight lilt underneath her tone. It’s going to be okay, you can go home. 

 You brought your hands into your vision, and saw the Malice fading away along with a soft blue light. You peeled away from her shoulder and looked into the eyes of Mipha. Her expression was tense and filled with worry. 

 If Vah Ruta loses control, then the world will crumble. She spoke softly, taking your hands into hers. I am afraid I won’t be able to calm her, please- tears pricked at her eyes and trailed down her cheeks. 

 Find my brother.

You open your eyes to find yourself on the floor. The light burned your eyes, and the shape of Zelda above you was blurred and fuzzy. She called out your name in relief, helping you sit up. 

 “Are you alright- what happened? Do you need a medic!?” She fretted, and you shook your head. Your hands were also shaking, and you would guess your entire body was trembling by the way the ambassadors were looking at you. They stood at a distance, and you learned why as you looked up at Link. He was stood up with his back to you and Zelda, sword drawn and in a slight crouch. You guessed when you collapsed the ambassadors and guards rushed to your aid, only to be stopped when the Champion took your guard. You would have to thank him later, but there were more important matters.

 Ignoring Zelda’s questions and worries, you leaned up and grabbed Link’s hand. He spun around immediately, eyes wide. He knelt to your level, hand never leaving his sword. 

 “We- we need to-“ Your voice shook as you stuttered, and groaned in frustration as the words almost refused to come out of your mouth. Link’s eyes were patient, but you looked down to break his gaze. “Vah Ruta, the Domain- we need to go there, immediately.” You sucked in a breath as you tried not to hyperventilate, panic seeping into your skin as you remembered the blood-slick floors. “Vah Ruta is going to loose control and- and attack the Domain.” 

 Gasps of shock rang throughout the room, and tension quickly began to build. The ambassadors rushed to speak to each other.

 “Vah Ruta? But didn’t the Queen fix it after the Calamity!?”

“My home- my domain! What are we going to do?”

“How is this happening? Is it an omen?”

 A Rito ambassador knelt beside Link, who gave him a side eye and clutched the sword tighter. The bird took no notice, all of his attention on you.

 “Will the remaining Beasts also rampage? Do we need to be prepared as well?” He demanded, panic thick in his voice. Before you could answer, his panic was well shared.

 “The rest of the Divine Beasts?! Oh, Goddess!”

“If Vah Naboris rampages again, Gerudo Town will crumble!”

“Oracle, what did you hear- what did you see!?”

“Please, what is going to happen?”

“Are we doomed again? Is Ganon coming back-“

 “Enough!” Zelda cried, standing sharply as her voice cut through the room. They all turned to face her, wide eyed and scared. She took a breath and smoothed out her dress before addressing them again. 

 “The gift of Foresight is an exhausting one, please allow them to collect themselves before answering your onslaught of questions! Clearly it was a traumatic experience, as they were shaking and sobbing not minutes ago!” She declared, and you felt heat rush to your cheeks. Shaking and sobbing? Oh, what a first impression on some of the most important people in the four domains. Zelda held out her hand to you, snapping you out of your embarrassment and helped you stand. Her hand then came to your shoulder and turned you away from them and across the room. She waved for Link to follow. She held both of your arms as she walked to face you directly, Link at her shoulder. 

 “Alright,” She said, sighing. “Honestly, they had no right swarming you like they did.”

 “It’s alright, your Highness. I’m sure I would do the same in their position, hearing something as startling as a Divine Beast losing control and running through a domain.” You folded your hands and held them near your stomach, trying to ground yourself. “I should go and explain my vision, they need to-“

 “No,” Link signed, his first two fingers and thumb pinching together. “They will only stress you out more, you’re already unwell.”

 “But they need to know! We need to travel to the Domain as soon as possible!” You furrowed your brow as you spoke. “It’s going to happen soon, and the Zora need to-“

 “That’s why I will tell them, and you go rest as much as you can.” Zelda said calmly, rubbing your arm in a soothing motion. “Tell me what you saw, and I’ll relay the information so you and Link can start getting ready. You’ll leave first thing in the morning.”

 “You won’t be coming?” Link asked, and Zelda shook her head. 

 “Hyrule still needs a leader. I can talk to you both through the Slate, and offer any assistance you may need.” 

 You bit at the corner of your lip. The air felt heavy and your chest was still tight from the lingering effects of your vision. Zelda was right though, as she always was. You needed to prepare. 

 “...alright,” You whispered, and they turned back to you. “If you’re sure.” 

 “Of course. Now sit down and give me just a moment.” Zelda led you back to where you were sitting before and you eased yourself onto the cushion. You tucked into yourself as the ambassadors looked at you, feeling like a luminous stone at midnight under their gaze. Zelda gathered their attention and began to explain what would happen, that they should return to their rooms until called down to hear the explanation, and Link stood in front of you. 

 “You have no reason to be nervous, it will just be me and Zelda.”

 “I’m not nervous.” You countered, looking up at him. “I’m just-“

 “You are, and it’s okay.” He interrupted, and your mouth clipped shut. “There’s nothing wrong with it, but I want you to know you’ll be safe. I’d never let anything near you that wasn’t welcome.”

 “I saw that earlier,” You chuckled, and a soft smile spread across Link’s face as well. “You had your sword out and everything, it’s like you were staring down a hoard of Bokoblins.” You playfully jabbed at his stomach, which he sidestepped with ease. 

 “It almost was, you should’ve seen the Gerudo. She almost grabbed you herself.” You giggled a little, covering your mouth. When your laughter subsided, you looked at him seriously. 

 “Thank you. For- for always protecting me. I’m sorry if I put any more stress on you, you deserve a break after fighting the calamity.” He waved you off, scoffing slightly. 

 “Believe me, this is a vacation. I can’t stand still for the life of me, much less take a vacation. Can you imagine me, relaxing? It doesn’t fit right.” He made a face of disgust and stuck his tongue out. You smiled fondly. 

 “You’re right, it doesn’t. But any moment you need to take a break or even just sleep in a little longer, do so. I don’t want you burning yourself out on my account.”

 “I think I took enough of a nap when I was in the Shrine of Resurrection, don't you think?”

 You shrugged, not knowing exactly what to say in response. Link was stubborn, and getting him to budge on anything was hard, but especially hard when it came to his health. You have had small blips of visions where Link was bleeding profusely or otherwise severely wounded but he kept going. You knew he would get nightmares of the calamity as you would get them too. Part of the glamorous life of an Oracle was near magical empathy, you could see and hear what someone was going through and live in that struggle. It wasn’t something you loved, in fact sometimes it felt like an invasion of privacy, but sometimes it led to you helping those you cared for. You had talked to Link about his dreams and he opened up to you a little. The burden was worth it in the end, but you wished you could do more. Link and you continued to chat softly, and soon enough Zelda came back. Her smile was strained, and you swallowed hard. 

 “So,” She began, clearing her throat. “They aren’t exactly thrilled with the fact that it won’t be coming from you directly, but they will live on” She looked back to where the door was swinging shut, the ambassadors now being escorted to their respective chambers. Hyrule Castle was one of the first things to be rebuilt, and more rooms and space was added for Hylian citizens to seek shelter in while the Kingdom was being rebuilt. It truly was a beautiful building, now that it was reformed to its proper glory. 

 “Are you ready? We can take this slow.” She asked, and you nodded. She brought out her Sheikah Slate and opened a feature that allowed her to take notes, and looked to you to begin. 

 “I- I was in the Zora domain. They were all fleeing rapidly, and shoving past me. Normally, when I have these visions, I can phase through what I need to in order to find what I need, but-“ Your hands shook again, and you squeezed them together. “I was really there, I felt them knock into me. It’s never been like that before.

 “Many were injured, some were dead, but no one was stopping. I looked up and Vah Ruta was in the domain, thrashing about and destroying many of the pillars and making its way to the throne room, where I was.”

 “It wasn’t in the dam anymore? How could that happen?” Link asked, bewildered. You shook your head. 

 “I don’t know. I only saw it coming towards me, and then it-“ You held onto your neck, pressing into your muscles to ease the tension. “It fired it’s laser- the one it shot at Ganon. I think I- I might’ve died, there.”

 Zelda clapped a hand over her mouth. The scalding hot feeling faded back into your chest where Vah Ruta had aimed, and you cleared your throat. 

 “Then, when the world went dark, I was a part of the malice. I saw it corrupting the inside of Vah Ruta before Mipha pulled me out and healed me. She said she could no longer rein in the Beast, I think she’s been struggling for a while. Then-“ You looked up at Link, who met your gaze with an intense expression. 

 “Then she told me to find her brother. I don’t know why, but when the Zora ambassador talked about Malice pools growing, that’s what shot me into the vision. I think- I think she’s right. I was a part of the Malice after Vah Ruta shot me, so that means-“

 “Others might be too.” Zelda finished. “Those who were slain might have gotten sucked into the Malice and developed with it, that’s why it’s getting stronger.” She faced away for a moment, lost in thought. “This is… worrying, to say the least.” You nodded, and rubbed your face. 

 “I’m so sorry, I wish I knew more.”

 “No, you’ve done so much.” Zelda reassured, taking your hands away from your face. “Without you, we wouldn’t know this was even happening. Now,” She pressed a kiss to your forehead and helped you stand. “Go and rest, I’ll talk with the captain of the guard and the ambassadors. Link,” She turned to him. “Don’t let anyone stop you on your way. Make sure they get to their room safe.” Link nodded in return and took your arm. Zelda waved, and turned to a guardsman not too far off. 

 Link walked with you, slower than his usual pace to match yours. He brought his arm away from yours for a moment to sign something to you. 

 “We can’t both use the travel gates at once, so we’ll be going on horseback. It won’t be an incredibly long journey, but I would bring clothes you would be comfortable riding in.” He explained.

 “Shouldn’t we leave now? We would get there by noon tomorrow if we went straight there.” You spoke softly, and Link thought for a moment. 

 “I’m not sure about that. We’ll have to go through a lot of diplomacy as soon as we arrive, you need to be well rested and recovered after what happened.” He said, a frown creasing in his face. “What if you have another vision at the Domain? You’d be exhausted.”

 “Link, please.” You took his hand, and moved your veil to look at him directly. Your hair fell from under your hood, and a slight flush moved it’s way up to Link’s ears. You never took off the veil and hood, it was a sign of protection from false guidance or spirits. He’s never seen your face without it. “I won’t be able to sleep even if we wait, let alone rest. I’ll go mad knowing we waited any longer than needed- people are going to die, Link.” You pleaded, and you felt his resolve begin to crumble. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

 “...fine. Fine, alright. But we’ll be taking one horse so you can sleep on the way, pack only what you truly need. We can get food there during the journey.” You smile up at him, full of gratitude. You lift your hood back up and your face and rush forward to hug him tightly. The feeling is foreign to both you and him, Link not being incredibly touchy and you really weren’t supposed to touch people at all- keeping yourself pure and without too deep attachments that could risk severing your connection to the goddess and spirits. 

 “Thank you.” You murmur into his chest, and let go afterwards. You adjust your robes, unable to meet his eye. “I’ll be ready in ten minutes, where should I meet you?”

 “I’ll come gather you. I don’t think you know where the stables are.” He said, a bit of snark on his face. He was right, you didn’t, but he didn’t have to be smart about it. You shove him off and race to your quarters as well as one can when wearing floor length robes that draped and flowed nearly everywhere. 

 As soon as you closed your door, you went to your wardrobe. You pulled a pair of trousers that weren’t so loose on you and set them on your mattress, as well as a warm tunic and a pair of gloves. You grabbed a pair of opal earrings Link had given to you a while back, he said they had some sort of magical property hidden within that made it easier to swim and climb in the rain. All of your clothes were some form of white or cream color to symbolize your purity and power, but in instances like this it made it more difficult to have proper outdoors attire. Well, you guess that many people when thinking of an Oracle don’t think of horseback riding and trudging through rough terrain. 

 You removed your hood and veil once more, stripping off your robe and shirt underneath before your boots and pants. You pulled on the outfit you laid out, replacing your silk gloves with the leather ones and putting the earrings through. Your hood and veil were returned and you got on your knees to reach under your bed. 

 You honestly had no reason to hide this anymore, you knew only Zelda, Link and the only maid you’ve spoken to were allowed in your room and they wouldn’t judge or criticize you for it, but old habits die hard. You pull the small wooden box into your lap and unlatch it, smiling fondly at what laid inside. 

 It was a simple necklace on a thin chain and didn’t have much design. You didn’t wear much jewelry, and if you did it wasn’t often, but you almost never wear this for a completely different reason. You’d probably keel over and die on the spot if you lost it, or it was broken. The pendant that lay on the chain was in the shape of a star, four points that thinned out as they went with a small quartz stone in the center. The back of the pendant had your name engraved, followed by “Forever in our sky”. It had been a gift from your mother before you left to begin your training and honing your ability. The teachers and guides had tried to take it from you, saying that you must leave everything behind to serve your greater purpose, but you hid it. You figured your family wouldn’t keep you from serving the goddess and you were right. You clipped it on and slid it beneath your tunic before standing and grabbing your satchel that you came here with. 

 In it you slid a pouch of rupees, two Hasty Elixirs (Link insisted on you taking them, in case you ever needed to run away from a battle.) and your spare set of prayer robes in case you would need them. You walked over to where your altar table was laid out and gathered the few gemstones that laid out in the corners, as well as the small crystal sphere you would roll between your palms to aid with smaller visions. You looked out over your room to confirm you weren’t missing anything, and slid your boots back onto your feet. You opened the door and was met with Link reaching to knock. You sniggered, and stepped aside. He sat on the bed and you shut the door. 

 “Got everything?” He asked, and you nodded. He had changed out of his Champion’s tunic and into a red and black one you haven't seen before. A full quiver of arrows and a black bow rested above the darkness-sealing sword. He had a satchel as well, presumably for more arrows or weapons. He always liked to be prepared. 

 “I left a note for Zelda for when she comes looking for us in the morning. Hopefully she won’t be too angry.”

 “She will live on.” You said, mimicking her words from earlier which got a smirk out of Link. He turned and pointed to a trapdoor on your ceiling that you hadn’t noticed until this moment. 

 “We’ll go through the attic and jump down onto the walkway beneath. There’s an old railroad system beneath the castle that will take us to the main gate and out.” He signed, hands moving almost quicker than you can read. “It won’t be easy.”

 “Then let’s get going.” Your voice was full of determination, and you moved a bedside table underneath the trapdoor. “You go up first and then help me, you’re taller.”

 “Man, I knew I liked you.”

You clung onto Link’s waist as he urged his horse on over the bridge and into the woods. You looked over the night sky and the dwindling candlelight through the castle windows. “I’m sorry, Zelda,” You whispered, “But I can’t wait any longer.” You put your head on Link’s shoulder and closed your eyes, hoping to catch some sleep before hell broke loose.

taglist: 

[twstheadcanons]

Self-Indulgent TWST Geography

A long post of generalised geography headcanons for the world of TWST complete with continents for my own personal needs.  The post divides locations by Continent.

Anyway why is there a homeland whose name is just the definition of a desert.

Continents (and ocean)

Errant - a western continent in Twisted Wonderland. Mzunguko - the second largest continent in Twisted Wonderland.   Yalmae - the largest continent in Twisted Wonderland.   Abíní - a continent West of Errant. Tridente Ocean - the largest ocean in Twisted Wonderland.

Errant

Rose Kingdom – a country in the western region of Errant. It isn’t a particularly large country, and traveling from it to its neighbouring countries is possible via buses or car. Crownsshire – a county in Rose Kingdom Crowns – the capital  of Crownsshire. It is the town Riddle, Trey, and Che’nya live in.  

Land of Pyroxene – a large country in Errant.  Known for its cold, snowy winters and history with legends pertaining to five of the Great Seven. Waldburg – province Vil’s family is from.  Largely influenced by another country within Errant. Argent – a province in Land of Pyroxene.   Verre – a city in Argent.  Trein and Cater are from here.  Félicité Cosmetics originates here. Miroir – a province in Land of Pyroxene.  Has a large outlet mall popular with fashion-lovers and shopaholics.  The Ténèbres brand originates here. Enchantée – a town in Miroir. Jack and Vargas live here, whilst Vil and his father move here. Scharlachrot - a province in Land of Pyroxene. Epel’s Village of Harvest resides here, and is famous for its widespread organic produce.

Isle of Lamentation – island country, its popularised global name is a translation from the isle’s original Nísos Thrínos.  It has robust technological advancements and is the homeland of the popular idol group On the Edge, known for having concerts with elaborate imagery and visual effects from some of the best technicians available.  Due to legends of the God of the Underworld,  dogs are extremely popular on the Isle of Lamentation. Kapnós – capital of the Isle of Lamentations where the Shroud family resides.  

Valley of Thorns – an isolated country small in population, largely consisting of a large mountain range.  The closer one is to where its Queen resides, the colder it gets.  It is said the Valley of Thorns can go weeks with nothing but moonlight. Geimhreadh - technically the name of the forest near the Valley of Thorns’ mountain range, where the Queen makes her home at its peak.  Its name spread to the residential areas nearby.

Mzunguko

Afterglow Savannah – country in Mzunguko,  ‘Afterglow’ acts as a loose translation of its name, Baadaye.  It lies in eastern Mzunguko.  Famous for its royal guards and leading role in nature conservation. Kiburi – a county in the east of the Afterglow Savannah. Mwamba – capital of Kiburi, where the Kingscholar royal family lives. Maisha – a county in Afterglow Savannah, with its capital sharing the same name.   Jioni – a town in Maisha.  Ruggie and his family live here.

Manyoya – county in Afterglow Savannah.  Well-known for a famously expansive library and a high population of avian beastfolk. Uzuri  – a city in Manyoya, where Rook is from.

Yalmae

Land of Hot Sands – one of many countries in the continent of Yalmae,.  Within the country, it’s referred to as Aldif’.  Rich with its magical history and origins of astrology, Aldif’ nurtures Magicians skilled in divination.  It has a vivid musical scene as well. Misbah - governate of Aldif’. Yatamanaa – capital of Misbah, a largely lucrative city within Aldif’ and city where Kalim and Jamil live.

Abíní

Port of Jubilee - a diverse nation where Sam’s family lives, owning an extensive emporium.  A vast amount of cultures reside in Port of Jubilee, many sharing common ancestors and languages with one another. Nanm - province in Port of Jubilee. Sekrè - port town in Nanm that Sam is from.  His family owns an impressive emporium popular with locals.

Tridente Ocean

Coral Sea - a sea within the Tridente Ocean.  Many of coastlines range across countries within Errant, Mzunguko, and Yalmae.  Beneath its waters lies a kingdom sharing the same name as the sea.  

Name Trivia

Continents (and ocean)

Errant - the continent of Errant has the homelands based off movies such as Alice in Wonderland, Snow White, Hercules, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, and Cinderella.  The name stems from certain scenes in the movie marking a particular moment the protagonists feel out of place or stray off the expected course.

Alice in Wonderland: Alice’s misadventures begin when she makes the decision to follow a strange rabbit, straying off the course of simply reading and studying as her sister wished, where the curious and at worst annoying strange creatures and nature of Wonderland take a turn when she meets the Caterpillar, who questions Alice’s place and identity, and the stress of her situation and being unable to return home overwhelms her emotionally.

Snow White - the horrific moment Snow White, in a state of panic, rushes through a dark forest, where her fears envision hidden horrors within the trees and wildlife.

Hercules - after refusing to listen to Phil’s warnings about Megara being in cahoots with Hades, Hercules faces the devastating fact that Megara (reluctantly) deceived him, and loses his superhuman strength and faith in himself.

Sleeping Beauty - shortly after meeting a man she falls for, Aurora becomes devastated and resigned to her fate being betrothed to a complete stranger out of responsibility for her future and country.

Beauty and the Beast - Maurice’s ventures through a mysterious forest consequently leads him to the Beast’s castle in a desperate attempt to escape cold, only to be imprisoned by the Beast for intruding, ultimately putting the story into motion.  After Belle makes a deal to swap places with her father and free him, Belle starts off terrified and in over her head despite saving her father’s life.

Cinderella - after the mice’s hard work creating a fitting ballgown for Cinderella to enjoy the ball, her stepsisters ruin the dress and Cinderella’s chances of leaving her oppressive family’s home.  Her distress and tears lead her to meeting the Fairy Godmother.

Mzunguko - “circle” in Swahili, the language prominent in Lion King’s names, lyrics, and Rafiki’s dialogue, as well as the official language of Kenya, where much of the movie’s settings take inspiration and blatantly feature.  Taken from the iconic “Circle of Life” song.

Tridente Ocean - “trident” in Italian.  Yes, I hear you.  The author is from Denmark.  The statue is in Denmark.  The movie references the statue in Denmark.  However the surname Ashengrotto and Azul’s mother running a ristorante screams Italian and there’s the overall edgy mafia vibe the Octatrio has going on.  I win this one.

Yalmae -  “shine” in Arabic (يلمع).  I wanted a name that illustrated the vibrant, lively diversity of the continent’s many countries, cultures, flora, and fauna.  Something akin to a name that inspires a welcoming feeling.

Abíní - “morning” in Navajo.  I wanted a name that inspires energy and enthusiasm, like a sunrise in summer.  

Homelands

Rose Kingdom

Crownsshire - just the most painfully English name I could think of.  “Crown” refers to, naturally, the crown of the Queen of Hearts.  Also decided to make the Rose Kingdom its own, smaller, more limited country, instead of allowing its apparent monarchy to leech off 20+ different countries Crowns - do you have any idea how genuinely shocking it is we don’t actually have a town here named this.

Afterglow Savannah

Baadaye - “afterglow” in Swahili.  The official and native name of the Afterglow Savannah.  Interestingly, my findings found translations of it meaning “future” as well, which I consider fitting. Kiburi - “pride” in Swahili, can refer to a ‘pride of lions’ or confidence (often overconfidence). Mwamba - “rock” in Swahili, alluding to the Pride Rock that Mufasa’s pride resides in. Maisha - “life” in Swahili. Jioni - “evening” in Swahili.  This refers to where anywhere the sun doesn’t reach, Simba shouldn’t wander, because it’s too dangerous. Originally, I wanted to go with “Kivuri”, which means “shadow”.  However when I went to double check that ‘shadowland’ was a thing in Lion King, referring to where the Elephant Graveyard is, it’s actually a song from the Broadway musica called “Shadowland”, sung by Nala (Heather Headley). It both mourns the desolate state of the Pridelands under Scar’s tyranny, and narrates Nala’s resolve to leave and find a way to save her people and their land.  The song is absolutely gorgeous, solemn, and powerful, and contributes more than any live-action CGI Disney movie could ever come up with.  Its instrumental composition features the melody lei-motif prominent in the animated film (yes, That song.  the heartbreaking one).  It’s one of my favourites in Lion King alongside “He Lives in You” and “Not One of Us” because I like the ones where the chorus goes off. Please just listen to the Lion King Broadway soundtrack it makes me cry with how gorgeous and heartfelt it is.   Anyway in their money-grubbing ways I hope Disney puts the Broadway on Disney+ so some brave soul takes one for the team to pirate it Manyoya - intended to mean “feather”, but to my understanding it also encompasses “fur”. Uzuri - “beauty” in Swahili.  Nothing too deep here, just something pertaining to Rook.

Land of Hot Sand

Aldif’ - “warmth” in Arabic (الدفء).  Meant to allude to a comforting warmth, kind of hinting that the popularisation of “Land of Hot Sand” more or less leaves the official name lost in translation. Misbah - “lamp/light” in Arabic (مصباح), naturally referencing the magical lamp sought after throughout the movie. Yatamanaa - “wish” in Arabic (يتمنى).  Meant to be bit a bit of a cheeky play on words.  The “wish” inside the “lamp”.

Land of Pyroxene

Waldburg - Wald is "forest” in German.   References the forest that Snow White runs away into after being warned of the Evil Queen’s intentions. Argent - “silver” in French.  References Cinderella’s silver dress. Verre - “glass” in French.  References Cinderella’s glass slipper. Miroir - “mirror” in French.  References both the Mirror of Snow White and the enchanted mirror Beast gives Belle. Enchantée - “enchanted” in French.  Ties into the theme of enchantments, curses, and charms prominent in French fairy tales, and specifically makes me think of the Enchanted Rose from Beauty and the Beast.   Scharlachrot - “scarlet” in German.  References the red colour that hides the infamous green of the poison apple’s true nature.

Isle of Lamentation

Nísos Thrínos - Greek for the isle’s name. Kapnós - “smoke” in Greek.  References Hades’ iconic appearance surrounded by black smoke.

Valley of Thorns

Geimhreadh - “winter” in Irish.  References the winter court of Unseelie fae in Celtic folklore.

Port of Jubilee

Nanm - "soul” in Haiitan Creole.  References the importance of determination and drive prominent in Princess and the Frog.

Sekrè - “secret” in Haitian Creole.  References Dr Facilier’s ulterior motives.

[ragingbookdragon]

Of Nights So Hollow, Of Legends So Great

Night Culture AU!Batfamily One-Shot

Word Count: 1.8K Warnings: Angst, Uh..Scary? I guess?

Author's Note: This is based on the wonderful @bunnvoid Night Culture AU and I felt compelled to write this at midnight because I couldn't stop thinking about it. Bunn, I hope I did your ideas justice! Honestly, I keep going back and forth between the drawings to make sure! I had fun writing it! -Thorne

**********************************************************************

It was said that at the heart of every legend there was a grain of truth. Legends are just pieces of history fabricated beyond wildest belief, built upon by centuries of retelling, each story sewing a new thread into the tapestry from whence it came. But that’s all that legends are. Threads twined together, woven greater and farther than the original fable.

***

The old castle was a legend. Perhaps not the castle itself, but what supposedly resided inside. Supernatural creatures that skirted down cobblestone alleys and between taverns, seeking out fresh blood in the night. That was one form of the legend, if you believed it. The other form was that of creatures who skirted down cobblestone alleys and between taverns, seeking out evil and destroying it where it plagued innocence.

The chateau lied in the midst of the Devilwood Wilds, just outside the City of Old Gotham. Even during the days when the sun would peek through the gray clouds, it appeared gloomy, blackened stone walls, charred shingles and shutters. The giant Devilwood and Shadow trees prevented sight of the doors of the castle; only the top could be seen, to get the real view, one would’ve had to go into the forest. There was another legend: the horrors of the Wilds.

Whispers on the school-grounds told of a creature, big and terrifying that could be summoned with ritual stones and fresh bat blood; those that summon the beast are never seen again. The adults were less convinced of the idea, though they still forbid their children from reaching even the edges of the forested area. Whilst they believed those that went in were never heard from again, it wasn’t from a creature eating them, but a lack of guidance. Starvation. Wild animals. The freezing fog that made your breath turn to frost.

Timothy remembers hearing those whispers when he passed the old schoolhouse. His mother and father didn’t let him interact with the common children, instead his lessons were taught by private tutors from the wealthiest lands, paid for with the Drake treasure of gold and gemstones.

What more so Timothy remembered was the inhuman being that appeared in his father’s manor, striking down his mother with a slash of black magic, his father following. He remembers the way his father’s eyes rolled back in his skull, fear spreading through his body as he hid in the corner of the room, whimpering and crying. And he most certainly remembered the cold hand of the demon sliding between his shoulder blades before it dug into his skin, piercing his flesh, laughing as he cried out in pain as pricks spread out along his back and down his arms.

Warmth bled down his back as black feathers pushed from his skin and Timothy panted as his fingernails grew in length, sharpening as they darkened. He remembered scrambling to his feet, darting away from the creature as he ran. Forgetting the corpses of his family and staff around him, throwing the door open, bursting into the night, and sprinting down the street, leaving a trail of bloody, black feathers in the direction of the Devilwood Wilds.

***

The first night was the least remembered but the darkest. Violent and corrupting nightmares slithering inside his head as he tossed and turned along the frigid ground in a feverish deathlike state, the wings at his back only growing in size.

The second night was less nightmare-ridden, but much more painful. Timothy had pierced a wing on a stray Devilwood tree, the syrup like poison only infecting the wound. He was hungry and cold. Exhausted and scared. He tried to remember all the books he read as a child of the knights facing the elements for a week in order to ascend knighthood; he couldn’t seem to recall a thing.

The third night seemed to be his last. He lay huddled up against a raised Shadow tree root, the ebony wood providing stability for his wounded wing. Timothy sniffled, dragging his knees to his chest as he lay his chin on his arms, ignoring the grumbling of his stomach as it ate itself in hunger.

A tree branch creaked above him, and he craned his neck up, eyes widening when he saw the glowing eyes of the masked creature. The legends were right. The creature’s head twisted sideways, reminding Timothy of an owl, then the other way, like it was observing him. It made a noise and he scrambled to the floor of the forest, curling his injured wing above his head and over his body to protect himself.

THUNK!

Timothy whimpered, ready to be torn to shreds, but when no vicious claws or snapping teeth came at him, he carefully peered between his open wing. There lie a satchel, as long as his forearm and as wide as his middle was. He looked up towards the tree branch to where the creature had sat, but there was nothing there anymore; he glanced around, it wasn’t in sight.

He blinked and shuffled towards the satchel, untying the drawstrings with fumbling clawed hands. Inside lay a pair of thick wool socks, a small blanket, and another small bag. Timothy pulled it from the satchel and opened it; half a loaf of bread and a chunk of meat the size of his hand were stowed inside.

Timothy forewent the etiquette he was taught as a child, giving into his ravenous desire as he devoured the meat. It was tender and juicy, the glaze a mixture of honey and cinnamon.

A memory flowed to his mind, the dinner after the rising of the first star, his family and staff all surrounding the dining table, a divine feast laid before them. The smiling faces of his mother and father stilled his hunger and he placed the food back in the satchel, uncurling the wool blanket. Timothy lay underneath the raised Shadow tree roots, one wing curled around him, and he fell into a restless sleep with tears frozen on his cheeks.

***

When he awoke the next morning, his wing was no longer torn and infected. A new feather had appeared where the wound had been. Timothy wanted to learn to fly. He’d owned a bird once. A Ruby Firebird, with long, crimson-colored feathers and big ruby eyes. It had been his only real friend and he’d watched it a lot. It couldn’t be that hard.

He stretched his wings out, unable to fight the urge to touch them with a single black claw. It tingled. Timothy blinked and beat them, unsure. He beat them again, this time a little harder, keeping at it until with each beat he was able to blow the long grass flat against the ground. A giddy smile came across his lips when the tips of his toes grazed the ground.

What he had not counted on was how tired he was going to get after only a few brief minutes of trying. His wings felt sore. Timothy would try again tomorrow to rise above the tall grass.

***

The creature would appear at odd times during the night and Timothy had stopped feeling the cold fear in his gut when it did. It never came near him; it just watched with the cocked head, back and forth, then would drop the satchel again and disappear. Sometimes there were scribbles inside. He didn’t know what they meant; but he knew the language. Thaatisgani. An old language his writing teacher had shown him one day. A language long died out amongst the common and even the elite folk.

Timothy wanted to know what it meant. He wanted to know what the creature was. His determination drew him to the front of the castle during the night of the harshest season storm. Lighting crackled across the sky, the thunder rolled along the clouds and the rain came down in torrents. He was freezing and soaked to the bone and the weight of his wings had him crawling up the steps, collapsing at the door.

He weakly raised a clawed hand, one nail scratching the black glazed door and he descended into darkness.

***

His mother liked to wear scented oils. They smelled of Queen’s Briar and Golden Belladonna. Before he was older, she used to let Timothy sit beside her when she would apply them to her wrist and ears. She would smile at him and tell him stories of far away lands.

Warmth spread across his eyes, and he rolled over in what he thought was his dream, only to roll onto the ground, landing awkwardly on his wings. Timothy whined and unfolded himself off the ground, rubbing his eyes, only to see the creature a hair’s breadth away from his face.

Timothy choked on his fear and scrambled away, only for the creature to grab his shoulder.

“Stay.”

He halted, looking back at it. “You speak the common tongue?”

The creature stared at him. “You are Timothy Drake. Son of Earl Drake.”

“I am,” Timothy responded, then looked at his hands. “But my family is…is dead.”

“Killed by a slithering demon from the Farstead realm.”

Tears prickled Timothy’s vision. “It killed my parents and cursed me.” He looked at the creature. “I’m a monster.”

“You’re cursed to believe what you think you are.” The creature waved a glowing hand and Timothy blinked in shock as the wings disappeared and his hands turned to normal. “It’s merely an illusion. You’ve only been tainted with cursed magic.”

It was much too complicated for Timothy to pull apart now. “Can I be healed?”

The creature blinked its glowing obs. “Cursed magic cannot be healed…but it can be trained.” They leaned forward, getting in his face. “I can teach you to control and transform.”

“You’re not going to eat me?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“…Yes.”

“You hesitated just a bit right there.”

A bottle rolled out from the corner of the room and the creature sighed, turning its head to it. “Richard. Jason. Come here.”

Two young boys, not that much older than Timothy appeared from behind a corner, guilty looks on their faces as though they’d been caught eavesdropping.

The creature nodded to Timothy. “Take him upstairs. He is dirty and tired.”

The tallest one, Jason, crossed his arms over his chest. “Just like that, Bruce? You’re going to take the witch boy in?”

“Pot-kettle,” Richard coughed, smiling when Jason elbowed him.

The creature, now known as Bruce, sighed. “Take the boy. He is tired.”

Jason and Richard obeyed, each hauling Timothy up under the armpits, leading him to a dimly lit staircase.

“Are you two going to eat me?”

“Yes,” Jason replied without hesitation.

“Jason!” Richard barked. “Stop.” He looked down at Timothy. “We’re not going to eat you Timothy…we’re going to help you. And that includes having a warm bed to sleep in and hot food to eat.”

Tears once again gathered in Timothy’s eyes, and he lowered his head as he sniffled. For once since that night, he felt safe.

These were the legends that prowled the city streets. They were supposed to be vicious and dark, evil and bloodthirsty, not ribbing and warm.

But then again, what are legends, but threads twined together, woven greater and farther than the original fable?