#presentation ruby

[mantra-repeated]

Gem presentation system

Pt: Gem presentation system :End pt

A presentation system like the beverage presentation system (Link) and the food presentation system (Link).

This is a presentation system where one presents their Identity (Gender, alterhumanity, orientation, chronosan, desirdae, etc) through a certain color(s).

Ruby | Citrine | Sapphire

Ruby: An individual who presents their identity through the color red.

Citrine: A individual who presents their identity through the color yellow.

Sapphire: A individual who presents their identity through the color blue.

Coined for day 4 of @page-of-void-mogai coin war event! with the prompt choose being gemstones obviously! Hehe-

Others can coin for this system, or if others show interest, I can coin more!

Mentions / tags: @presentationflag-archive, @radiomogai, @aspectsofidentity, @smilepilled, @rwuffles

+ @liomogai

Banner transcript: This term was made by an Endogenic. Anyone can use it however (So don't repost or recoin, ask before adding to wikis) :End Transcript

Written flag ids under the cut, same as alt text.

Ruby flag id: a flag made of seven horizontal stripes. From the top down, they are red, very dark red, dark red, bright red, desaturated red, very dark red, and red. In the center left is a round gem with a square facet cut, with the square in the center of the gem being a pale red. Clockwise from the top, the colors are desaturated red, red, bright red, and dark red. The gem is outlined in very dark red. :End id

Citrine flag id: a flag made of seven horizontal stripes. From the top down, they are yellow, very dark yellow, dark yellow, light yellow, desaturated yellow, very dark yellow, and yellow. In the center left is a round gem with a diamond facet cut, with the diamond in the center of the gem being a pale yellow. Clockwise from the top right, the colors are dark yellow, desaturated yellow, yellow, light yellow. The gem is outlined in very dark yellow. :End id

Sapphire flag id: a flag made of seven horizontal stripes. From the top down, they are blue, very dark blue, dark blue, light blue, desaturated blue, very dark blue, and blue. In the center left is a round gem with a triangle facet cut, with the triangle in the center of the gem being a pale blue. Clockwise from the top right, the colors are desaturated blue, light blue, and dark blue. The gem is outlined in very dark blue. : End id

[cupoteahatter]

Bistro Huddy more like BI-stro Huddy

[claraoswalds]

This is a brand new science for me, and I love it. The language of luck. 'Cause what is a coincidence but a form of accident? Two things bumping together unexpectedly. Like you and me.

[chikorra]

"The Lime, the Myth, the Legend" The return (??) of Oscar Lime🍋

[Sketch Idea below]

I realized I removed Ibis Paint a long time ago and completely forgor so I used the phone glitch to note the idea down lmaooo

[losers-clvb]

what friends are for ruby x female!reader

content: best friend!reader, college au, bisexual!ruby, unlabeled!reader, samruby mentioned (hooking up, there is no cheating here), smut (marking, finger sucking, fingering, dirty talk), inexperienced reader, reader's jealousy mentioned

word count: 4.4k

note: mommy ruby is here to take care of you (no mommy kink, though)

“Oh my God,” Ruby huffed, throwing closed the door to your shared dorm room.

You looked up from your laptop, frowning. She looked back at you with the biggest smile you’d seen from the girl.

“What?” You asked, though you weren’t all that surprised from her reaction. It wasn’t an unusual thing for Ruby to come back looking like she was floating on a cloud. You supposed that was what happened when you had a man like Sam Winchester touching you in all the best places.

“Sam…,” Ruby sighed. She climbed onto her bed, laying on her back to stare at the ceiling dreamily.

Jesus, you thought. She was never like this.

“Yeah, I know about Sam.” You breathed out, turning back to your homework. You had heard about every inch of that man’s body, down to the little freckle he had on his hip bone.

You were happy for Ruby, you really were. She’d been your best friend for longer than you could remember. You did everything together. Elementary school, middle school cheer teams, high school graduations. You were even each other’s dates to prom. Matching dresses and everything. Your classmates and families always teased you two, egging you both to “just admit you’re dating already.”

It got harder to deny the lesbian lover rumors when you realized your very real feelings for her. You hadn’t thought much about your sexuality. You liked who you liked and never acted on it, that was what mattered. It wouldn’t do any good to put a label on anything when you didn’t even have the confidence to tell your best friend that you were in love with her.

You still listened to her stories of hookups and dates gone wrong. You would chime in with little comments, ignoring the simmering jealousy in your chest. If Ruby noticed, she didn’t say anything about it.

“That man is a god in bed, babe.” Ruby smirked, turning to rest on her side. She propped her head up on her hand, looking directly into your eyes. “I squirted.”

You let out a little laugh and tried not to let it show that you were imagining what she had looked like in that moment.

“Hmm, that good, huh?” You smiled, eyes tracing over the curve of her lips.

You didn't mind Sam. He treated Ruby well. You knew she could be quite the little demon when she felt like it. He was nice to you, attractive, smart. There was just one thing wrong with him.

He got to fuck Ruby every night while you buried yourself in your blankets.

You should be the one tasting her. You should be able to know exactly which spot makes her moan the loudest. It should be your name that she’s screaming out when she comes. What gave Sam the right to all that knowledge?

“Fucking incredible.” Ruby practically moaned, falling on her back again. She bit her bottom lip, shaking her head while thinking of that moment again.

You squeezed your thighs together and looked away. Yep, that moan was getting stored away for later.

You could already imagine the things that would come to mind once you were able to squirrel away some private time.

Ruby down on her knees in front of you, lips coated in your arousal, her pupils blown beyond belief and it was all for you. She swoops her head down again, tongue flattening against your clit.

“Fucking incredible,” she moans and inches her fingers up your leg before pushing--

“Are you listening? Hello?” Ruby interrupted your thoughts, looking at you with furrowed brows. You nod, far too quickly for it to be natural, but it doesn’t matter. She’s already going back into her monologue about Sam.

“He’s just so hot.” She was pretty much growling as she spoke. “And his fingers! They were hitting the right spot every time. You know what I’m talking about, right?”

You rolled your neck, sighing at the crack of your joints.

“You know the answer to that.” You reminded her of your ridiculously miniscule love life. There were no partners, no random hookups, not even a good sext with someone on the internet. You had no interest in it, not when the girl you really wanted was now looking at you with her head tilted.

“I didn’t know if you’d kept some secrets from me.” Ruby teased, fully sitting up now. She pulled a pillow into her lap, leaning into it, closer to you. You scrunched your nose, smiling just enough to show a sliver of your teeth to her.

“As if I’d ever keep anything from you.” Your eyes dropped to her chest and lingered for a moment. The swoop of her neckline left little to the imagination, not that you had to use much imagination when it came to Ruby.

Being childhood best friends meant being very close. Most times that meant changing in front of one another, chests bared to each other. Sometimes it meant being tasked with taking erotic photos of Ruby for her to share with her lovers.

You called yourself a creep every time you used the imagery of her lace-covered body as fuel for your orgasms.

“Okay, fine,” Ruby laughed. “When you touch yourself--,” she held a hand up to your mouth opening in protest, “I know you do, don’t deny it. When you touch yourself and use your fingers, it feels good.” She said it like it was a fact she already knew.

“I don’t do that.” You simply replied, finally dragging your eyes away from her.

“I told you not to deny it.” Ruby’s voice was flat. She was tired of this. She’d always wondered why you weren’t open about your masturbation with her. You shared every other scrap of information, why not this? “No, you’re right, I do touch myself.” You forced your gaze to zero in on a word that, under the sudden attention being on you, was starting to look like an incomprehensible string of letters. “I just don’t do it like that.”

A beat of silence made you look up. You frowned at her look of incredulity, all parted lips and narrowed eyes.

“What?” You raised an eyebrow. It wasn’t like there was one way to get yourself off.

“You don’t “do that”?” Ruby scoffed. With the shake of your head, her mouth snapped shut into a frown. “Why not?”

“I don’t know.” You shrugged. “Just don’t wanna.”

“You’ve never even tried it?” Ruby pushed the pillow from her legs and shuffled to the edge of the bed. “Not once?”

“I mean, I did, once,” you fought down the blush creeping up, “but it didn’t feel good.”

Ruby frowned.

“How did you do it?” She asked. She said it so casually, like you two were talking about the weather. You pushed your brows together, the confusion evident on your face.

“What?” It came out as more of a scoff. You’d expected her to just drop the conversation as a whole, maybe with a little laugh. But not this.

“It’s not a trick question, babe.” Ruby looked at you expectantly. “How did you finger yourself?”

“I-I don’t know,” you were flustered now, cheeks burning, “I just did it.”

“Show me.”

You choked on your breath. What the hell?

Show me. Ruby’s voice rang in your head, filling your stomach with desire. You inconspicuously squeezed your thighs together.

“C’mon, we’re best friends, right?” Ruby tilted her head, pulling her bottom lip into her teeth. You saw the flash of mischief in her eyes, the same one that had gotten you two in the back of a cop car for skinny dipping at the age of sixteen.

“What--how--Ruby, I can’t.” You were stammering now, trying not to look at her.

“I just wanna help you. Can’t have my girl going unsatisfied.”

My girl. Jesus. She doesn’t even know what the hell she does to you. Or maybe she does. Maybe that’s why she’s doing this, why she’s climbing off of her bed and sauntering to the edge of yours.

Ruby gently curled her fingers over your laptop, placing it off to the side. She leaned onto her arms, hands flat on either side of your thighs. If it were any other person, you would feel trapped. Ruby? She was the hottest captor you could ever hope for.

“Let me see how you touch yourself.” Ruby purred, looking into your eyes, daring you to do it. She knew you weren’t shy but you were less intune with your sexuality than her.

She was the one who’d gifted you with your first vibrator. She’d been the first one to lose her virginity and had promptly called you with every little detail. It had taken an insane amount of begging for you to even tell her your celebrity crush.

You told her everything else. She didn’t know exactly why you were hesitant to share your horny thoughts with her, but she was starting to suspect your reasoning when she would catch your eyes lingering for just a second too long, or when the flare of possessive jealousy sounded in your words.

Ruby didn’t mind. She was possessive of you too.

“You really wanna see?” You asked, eyes wide.

“Isn’t that what friends are for?” She shrugged, slowly sliding her hands to the sides of your shorts. She tucked her fingers into the waistband, the tops of her manicured nails pressing firm against your skin.

You refrained from telling her that most friends, in fact, did not watch each other get off. You didn’t want to ruin this moment. This was a dream come true. Even if everything would go back to normal after this, with Ruby under Sam and you under your blankets, you would still have this to look back on.

You rested your hands over hers, both of you guiding your shorts and underwear down your legs. She caught sight of your panties, black lace with a little bow on the front.

“Are these the ones I picked out?” She asked, smirking. She knew the answer.

“They’re my favorites.” You smiled. They were, ever since that day when she’d pulled them from a drawer at the lingerie store. You two were there for her, picking out a set to wear for Sam, but the moment she laid eyes on the lacy black set on the mannequin, she knew it was perfect for you. You didn’t argue, wanting to please her in any way you could.

“Gotta spread your legs, babe.” Ruby tapped your knee lightly. You stared at her, unmoving until she shot you that sweet smile you loved so much.

You moved slow, pulling your knees up and apart. With another look at Ruby, you slid your hand between your thighs.

Usually, you would have worked yourself up, eased into rubbing over your center. You were nervous, making this entire situation that much more difficult. You immediately prodded at your entrance, wincing at the pain.

“See, doesn’t work for me.” You shrugged, snapping your legs shut and pulling a blanket over your thighs.

Ruby frowned.

“You didn’t even try.” She huffed.

“Yes, I did, Rubes.” You argued, avoiding eye contact with her.

“No, you didn’t.” She looked around the room, then back at you. You frowned at the smile pulling on the corners of her lips. “Let me show you how to do it.”

Once again, Ruby had you stumbling for what to say.

“N-no…you-what?” You stammered, blinking. You prayed you didn’t look too turned on.

Ruby ran her tongue over her teeth, looking up at you through her lashes.

“I just want to make sure you’re taken care of.” She made it sound so innocent, like she wasn’t asking to help make you come. You looked into her eyes, watching the swirl of brown get swallowed up by her lust-blown pupils.

“You take care of me every day.” You replied, soft and sweet. And she really did.

Sick? She was at your bedside with water and a bowl of soup, spoon-feeding you. Stressed? She massaged your shoulders and did what she could to help complete your assignments. Insomnia-ridden? She crawled into your bed, curling up against your back and stroking your hair until you were snoring softly into your pillows.

“Yeah, I know.” She tilted her head and shrugged. “So let me do this, too.”

You didn’t stop her from crawling onto your bed, or from settling in behind you, or from brushing your hair back from your neck.

“Can I touch you?” Ruby’s voice was breath into your ear, a sultry slur that had a shiver running down your spine.

“Always.” It just slipped out. You didn’t mean for your response to sound so… desperate. You bit your tongue to stop a defense from flowing out. Ruby always told you to stand by your words, which you never had a problem with unless it was with her.

She smiled into your hair and began to touch you. It was featherlight at first, just a ghosting of her hand over your thighs, hips, waist. Your core, already slick from simply imagining what Ruby would do to you, fluttered with the brush of her fingertips under your shirt.

“Is this working?” She whispered into your ear.

“Mhm.” You hummed. You don’t know why she even bothered to ask. She knew it was working, she knew what you liked, maybe more than you did.

“Good.” Another sigh of breath into your ear, but this time, a gentle kiss on your pulse point followed it. You leaned into it, feeling her lips parting, teeth grazing, tongue pressing.

A low whine squeaked out when her fingers pressed up against your hip bone. She let out a low chuckle, kissing down your neck.

Her hand creeped up your hoodie, making way to your chest. She paused at the feel of bare skin under her hand. She’d expected lacey cloth.

“No bra?” You could hear the playful smirk in her voice. You let out a shaky breath.

“Didn’t think I needed one.” You practically rushed it out. It was the only way to avoid your voice breaking when she cupped a breast, soft and gentle.

“Smart girl.” Ruby circled her thumb around the sensitive skin of your breast, teasing the edge of your nipple.

“Start like this,” she spoke into your ear like a sexy teacher, “slow, teasing,” she just barely brushed her thumbpad against the peak of your nipple, “work yourself up.”

You panted the whisper of a groan out.

“Mmm…,” she hummed, her eyes fluttering shut, “you sound so pretty, babe. You know that?”

You shrank into her, feeling the rise and fall of her chest pressing against your back.

“You always sound so fucking pretty.” She finally pressed her fingers on your nipple, earning her a moan muffled by your tight-closed lips.

Ruby shifted her attention to the opposite breast, giving it the same aching tease.

“I hear you, at night, when you think I’m asleep or too drunk to remember.”

Her words made you freeze. No. There were only a few times you dared to do it with her in the room. You always made sure she was sleeping first, always making sure she was taken care of before you took care of yourself.

“You think you’re quiet, but I always hear you,” she pinched your skin lightly. “Always.”

You tried to talk, to tell her you would try harder to be quiet, but her teeth grazed on your shoulder, cutting you off.

“What do you think about?” She licked onto the bite, observing the skin. It would bruise with time, leaving a trace of her when all of this was over.

“Noth-,” you began to answer before she landed a gentle smack on your thigh. You’d forgotten about that other hand, lingering on your hip.

“Don’t lie to me.” She warned, kissing your neck again. “I can read your mind, remember?” She said it so cheekily.

I can read your mind. She’d said it almost every day since second grade, when you two had watched some made-for-TV kid’s movie about a pair of telepathic best friends. Little-Ruby had declared it to be a direct parallel to real life, claiming you two were going to start reading each other’s minds. You played along for a few years, eventually dropping the joke sometime around middle school. Ruby never did.

“What makes you moan so pretty, baby?” Her words made you melt into a whimper, mouthing parting to let the sound pass.

“You.”

You’d expected some surprise, maybe a rough push and a yell about how weird it was to get off to the idea of your best friend. Just like she continuously did, she surprised you.

“I knew it.” She muttered with a grin.

“You… you’re not… mad?” You didn’t know how to ask it without it sounding pitiful. The anxiety and shock flooded the room, making Ruby frown.

“No, no, babe, I could never be mad at you.” She cooed, fingertip circling your nipple. “I can’t blame you. No one can resist all of this.” She joked, easing your nerves.

“Shut up.” You laughed. The noise morphed into a small gasp when she nuzzled into your neck, nosing against your shoulder.

“I do it too.” Ruby admitted.

“Think about… yourself?” It was a weak guess. You knew what she meant, but you didn’t have the confidence to say it out loud.

“Yeah.” She nodded, a sigh blowing air onto your skin. You furrowed your brows, angling your head to look her in the eye.

Her poker-face shifted into a wide smile, a laugh bursting from her. You blushed, forcing down your own laughs.

“You’re mean.” You looked down with a smile, chewing on the inside of your cheek. She was doing this on purpose, you realized. Lulling you into normalcy to help you through this situation. As always, taking care of you.

“I meant it.” Ruby continued her strokes on your breasts, tapping her fingers lightly on your sternum on her way back down. “I think about you, too.”

“A lot?” You had your hand on her knee now, knuckles bending to grip down when her hand splayed across your stomach.

“Enough.” She shrugged. “You were my first crush-ah, second crush, first was Meg Ryan.”

“Meg Ryan.” You echoed at the same time, a breathless kind of sound due to her fingers ghosting against your inner thigh.

“Do you know how hard I come to the thought of you?” She whispered into your ear, nibbling on your earlobe to pull a whimper out of you.

Your chin quivered. It was a wonder your teeth hadn’t broken skin with how hard you were biting down on your lip.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” You mumbled, hooking your hands into the bend of her knees. You held her close to you while she traced lines over your skin.

“Didn’t know if you were into it. You’re kind of a prude when it comes to sex.” You felt her smile against your neck.

“I’m not a prude, Ruby. I just don’t sleep with the entire chem class.” You bit back jokingly. She laughed, chest rumbling.

It was a common joke between you two, started in your junior year of high school when some guy started to spread the rumor that Ruby had let your entire chemistry class take turns on her. Ruby’s defense, to his dismay, was to confirm the rumors.

“Getting more pussy than you, bro.” She’d called across the cafeteria before slinging an arm over your shoulders, waiting to laugh until you two were in the privacy of the hallway.

“You don’t talk about your sex life with me.” Ruby continued, slowly pushing your legs apart. Air rushed over your newly exposed skin, making you shiver.

“I didn’t want you to think I was a creep.” You watched her hand brush over your thighs. You sucked in a sharp breath when she hovered her hand over your center.

“For what? Thinking I was hot?” She laughed. Her fingers twitched in waiting. She still didn’t touch you where you really needed it.

“For wanting to taste you.” You forced a whine down. “Or to hear you moan, see what you look like when you come.” You didn’t know why it felt okay to lay it all out like this. Maybe it was her lips sucking a mark onto your neck.

“You really want to make me come?”

“Ye-,” you started to answer, but Ruby cupped her hand over you, curves of her fingers slotting against your folds. You choked on your words, your grip on her tightening.

“Maybe after this,” she hummed, lips grazing on the shell of your ear, “gotta take care of you first.”

You felt her swipe through your slick, gathering it up. She lifted her hand to eye-level, showing you the mess as if you didn’t already know how wet you were.

“After you tease that pretty little body of yours, you want to make sure your fingers will slip right in.” She brought her hand to her mouth, wrapping her lips around the two soaked digits. “Mmmm…,” she moaned.

You opened your mouth just like she wanted when her fingers drifted over. She slipped them in, letting you taste her saliva and the remnants of yourself.

“Good, isn’t it?” Ruby’s eyes were trained on your mouth as you sucked. You watched her expression as you twirled your tongue around the tips.

“If you aren’t as wet as you should be, just-,” she shoved her fingers deeper, making you gag, “-use your spit.”

She dragged her fingers out, now coated in your saliva.

“See? Now they’ll slide in, nice and easy.” She purred the last part, lowering her hand back to your folds.

Ruby toyed with you for a few minutes. Her fingers parted, rubbing up and down on you. You yelped out a whine when she pressed her thumb onto your clit.

“Ready?” She asked, swirling tight circles onto you. You nodded, trying to keep quiet enough to stop your neighbors from hearing. It’d be a shame if those lesbian lover rumors followed you to college.

She slowly pushed a finger in, just one. You tensed up.

“Shhh… just relax, let me make you feel good, babe.” She mumbled into your ear, pressing another kiss to your neck that made you melt.

You took in deep breaths, slow and steady, and Ruby started to move her finger in rhythm with your chest’s rise and fall. You felt the ridges of her knuckles running across your walls, pulling a soft hum from your throat.

“Y0u like me being inside you?” She spoke into your ear, sounding like heaven and hell wrapped in one. You closed your eyes, soaking it all in.

“One more.” Ruby warned softly before you felt the stretch of another finger going into you. You choked out a groan, your grip on her knees tightening.

“Good, good, you’re doing so good.” Ruby cooed, using her other hand to guide the rolling of your hips.

“Rube…,” you sighed, throwing your head back against her shoulder.

She smirked, kissing up your cheek. You got the hint, no need for words, and turned your head. Her lips brushed against yours, teeth pulling at your bottom lip. You were waiting for it, for her to kiss you properly. What you got instead made you gasp out a loud moan.

Ruby curled her fingers up, hitting a soft, spongy spot you didn’t know you had. Her lips curled up, pride swelling through her.

“Feels good, doesn’t it?” She mumbled, your lip still in her teeth. You whimpered, gasping up breaths of air that did little to ease the growing knot in your lower stomach.

Her hold on your lip loosened just enough to dart her tongue out, the tip of it tracing into your mouth. You decided to take charge, the teasing too much for you to handle. You shoved your face into hers, locking lips with her hungrily.

She made noise of surprise, but there was no hesitation. She immediately molded her lips to yours, like they were made specifically for this. Your mouths shifted against each other, jaws moving up and down as Ruby’s fingers moved in and out.

The air blowing from your nose was hot and fast, your heart racing a marathon while she moaned against you. You squeezing around her fingers, your tongue pushing into hers, it was enough to make her come, just from the sheer beauty of how well it belonged.

This moment was woven by fate, made to happen by a higher being than you or her.

She curled her fingers up again, repeatedly pressing against that damn spot. You broke away from the kiss to cry out, not able to keep your noises in any longer.

Ruby’s other hand found the back of your head, pushing your lips back to hers with a growl. She hummed into you happily when you tugged her knees up, caging yourself in with her limbs.

Tears pricked the corners of your eyes. You didn’t know anything that felt better than this. You’d been satisfied with your usual routine of using your vibrator until you came, but after this? You weren’t sure it would be enough anymore.

“You close?” Ruby panted out, smiling at the nod of your head. “Yeah, I know you are. I can feel your pretty little pussy tightening up.” She rubbed your clit with her thumb.

“Do it.” She encouraged.

You tried to hold back. You really did. You didn’t want this moment to end. It was too much, your self control had circled down the drain the moment Ruby spread your legs.

You came with a low, long moan, nails digging into the plush of her thighs. She groaned with you, mouthing at the side of your neck while she worked you through it.

When you stilled, she stayed inside you, not wanting to lose the warmth of your walls just yet. You panted out loud breaths, mouth parted, the edges of your teeth just barely peeking through.

“That’s how you do it.” Ruby said, breaking the silence. She kissed your neck again but didn’t make any move to get away from you.

You turned your head to her, a loopy smirk on your face.

“Thought you said you squirted.” You reminded her, a soft chuckle growing in your chest.

Ruby smiled back, that mischievous flare running through her eyes again.

“Guess we’ll have to try again.” She moved back in, lips brushing against yours at the same time her fingers curled up again. This was what friends were for, after all.

everything taglist : @littlesoulshine @sacr1ficialang3l @blossomingorchids @plasticflowersinahistorycemetery @mostlymarvelgirl @missus-ackles @tinas111 @ambiguous-avery

[claypigeonpottery]

an eagle and a hummingbird

[sundry-whovengerslocked]

Doctor Who "Rogue" memes

I've made memes. enjoy.

(contains slight spoilers)

firstly, ones that are more encompassing:

regarding the episode itself:

and finally, Captain Jack Harkness stages of grief:

[cursedthing]

.PLACES SKAURA SPOUSES IN YOUR HANDS

[jinxedruby]

Whumptober Day Thirty-One: Used as Bait

Featuring Legend and Warriors.

wow hi hello I finally DID IT I can finally rest Sorry for the wait! But here's the conclusion to days fourteen and twenty-seven (where Warriors and Legend fight some hunters in the woods), and the conclusion to Whumptober 2024! God I'm tired lol

Heads up for some major violence, injury, and minor character death (bad guys) in this one.

AO3

First part | <- Previous part | Next part ->

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

Legend’s knee throbbed with each and every step. He stifled the urge to groan or hiss, pulling his lips into his mouth and clamping them between his teeth. He kept one hand wrapped around the loaded crossbow, the other darting out to steady himself against every tree he passed. He wanted to stop and sit down the moment the adrenaline had worn away, but the hunter kept walking so Legend kept following.

A poorly-placed step drove a sharp thorn of fire up under his kneecap. He smothered a grunt against his closed lips, hopping on his good leg. He took the briefest of moments to lean against a tree, knocking his forehead against the bark and shutting his eyes. As much as he hated to admit it, he wouldn’t be able to keep this up for much longer. His knee, his throat, his head, every part of him ached and burned. At this rate, even if the man did lead him to Warriors, which Legend had begun to doubt, Legend probably wouldn’t be in any fit state to stage a rescue. Or body recovery.

Legend screwed his eyes shut tight until he saw stars, shoving back the nagging voice. He opened them again, took a quick breath that hurt his throat just like every other inhale, and pushed away from the tree. He peered around it to ascertain the man’s location before hobbling after him once more. The moon hung large and bright in the sky, palely illuminating Legend’s path. The shade of the woods still hid some bumps and roots in the ground that Legend occasionally stumbled over, but the moon provided enough light that he could tail the man at a safer distance.

A faint, low din pricked at Legend’s ears. He slowed, softened his steps as much as he could in order to strain his hearing. The din grew louder as he followed the hunter, enough for Legend to make out the sharp s’s and t’s of speech. His heart thudded against his ribs. The hunter must have heard the voices too as he suddenly picked up the pace, muttering something under his breath. Legend didn’t speed up, electing to stay low and move slowly, switching from following the man to following the sounds of voices. The speaking stuttered into silence, a sharp yell rising above it.

“Hey, it’s me, it’s me!” Legend heard the hunter shout. A moment passed, followed by a different voice responding. The hunter replied and conversation ensued, but Legend couldn’t make out any words, only scattered syllables. The din of talking resumed. Legend picked his way through the forest, keeping a close eye on his surroundings for movement or the glow of a fire.

“...st someone got something,” a voice ahead of him said. He crouched slightly, knee protesting at the action. He sank his teeth into his lip and ignored it best he could, slinking from bush to bush.

A snort punctured the air. “Yeah, the others did. You three are the only ones that came back.”

At least four of them. Legend mentally filed the information away.

“Yeah, because that guy is a trained swordsman!” a new voice called angrily. “I thought we were too far out of the way for knights!”

“We are.”

“Clearlynot, I watched him take out four of us like it was nothing!”

“We’re plenty far from Castle Town, he’s not a knight!”

“How would you know? You’ve been sitting on your ass this whole damn time-”

“In any case-” a third voice cut in loudly, silencing the brewing argument, “-he’s not a threat anymore. Let’s all just take a breath, alright? No need to be going at each others’ throats.”

A few begrudging grumbles of assent responded. Legend stiffened, mouth dry. They were talking about Warriors. A brief wave of despair washed over him at the man saying Warriors wasn’t a threat anymore. Legend tightened his jaw before his mind could spiral with every horrible scenario it could conjure. They used present tense when referring to the captain. Which probably meant he still lived. Legend took a slow breath, blinking quickly. He refocused and shuffled forward. The low drone of voices resumed, snatches of inconsequential conversations drifting past him. A branch of a bush rustled as it scraped along his arm and he winced at the sound. The hunters made no indication of having heard and he forced himself to continue forward. He still couldn’t see the light of a fire, navigating only based on their voices. The closer they sounded, the tenser he grew.

He very clearly heard one of them clear his throat. Blood rushed through Legend’s head and fingers, aching in his knee and throat. Any second, he expected a man to come around a tree just ahead and spot him. Every second that it didn’t happen only left him feeling more wound up.

He poked his head around a bush. A man sat on a fallen log only a few paces away, back turned to Legend. Beyond him stood two men before short stacks of cages, the moonlight glimmering off the metal of the bars. Legend risked leaning out just a bit farther to get a better lay of the land. Two more men sat on the ground at the right edge of the small clearing, chatting idly. Legend slowly ducked back behind the bush. Five hunters. Five, and his state could hardly be called fit to fight. His head spun. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, rubbing his brow. He’d need to think about this. He couldn’t charge in, he’d be caught or killed immediately. If he just knew where they had Warriors…

Staying as quiet as possible, he carefully peered around the bush again. Now that he got a better look, he could see the two men checking each cage. The cages were made mostly of wood, only the front of them having a metal grate. The night made the insides of the cages dark with shadow and difficult to see. Legend couldn’t tell if any of them even contained anything. Only one cage rose above the men’s heads, the others varying sizes of medium and small.

A little whimper pricked Legend’s ears. It rose to a soft cry that sounded feminine. One of the men sighed and moved to a cage that barely reached his knee. He gave it a swift kick, a watery yelp mingling with the crash of metal and wood.

“Quiet,” the man demanded gruffly. Another small whimper rose from the cage before falling back into silence. Anger bubbled in Legend’s gut.

“Getting kinda late, isn’t it?” Legend’s eyes flicked over to one of the men sitting on the right. “Should someone look for the others?”

“We can wait a bit longer,” the one sitting with his back to Legend said, voice clear and loud from the proximity. “If they don’t get back soon we’ll take what we have to the couriers.”

“We’d better get good money for that swordsman,” one of the men before the cages grumbled.

A man on the right barked out a hollow laugh. “Doubt it.”

“Why?” The other man by the cages turned his head, revealing his profile. Legend recognized him as the hunter he had followed.

“’Cause he just turned into an animal.” The man on the right pointed to a small cage at the edge of the stacks. “A very normal one, at that.”

The hunter Legend had followed picked it up, tilting it back to peer inside. He snorted. “That… yeah, alright.” He shook his head and set the cage down with a thud. Half behind the other cages. Legend’s eyes widened slightly.

The men continued to talk but Legend unconsciously tuned it out, gaze fixed on what must have been Warriors’ cage. His heart thudded against his ribs, picking up speed as a plan hastily whipped together in his mind. Carefully, he turned away from the hunters and silently moved deeper into the woods. After what felt like a safer distance away, he began circling around the edge of the camp. He caught glimpses of the men or the cages through the trees. He used those brief glances to guide himself around behind the cages. The stacks of cages formed a makeshift wall between him and the men, since the backs were solid wood. He moved closer, gaze darting between the cages and the two men seated at the edge of the clearing. They were the only of the five men in line of sight of where Legend needed to go to reach Warriors’ cage. Legend stalled behind a tree, skin alight with nerves. He swept his gaze across the cages, the trees, gauged the distance between himself and Warriors, trying to figure out a way to get to him without the hunters spotting him. He chanced another look at the men.

Their spots at the edge of the clearing sat bare. Legend blinked, stared, a mix of dread and impatience churning in his gut and making him feel nauseous. He glanced around himself, half-expecting to see the two men sneaking up behind him. But the woods around him stood empty. He returned his gaze to Warriors’ cage, jaw set in determination. Whatever the reason the men had moved, he couldn’t miss his chance. He loosely fastened the crossbow to his belt to free his hands. Steeling himself, taking a steadying breath, he hurried out of the cover of trees.

His heart crashed about in his chest. Adrenaline buzzed through his veins as he closed the distance between him and the little cage. He continually tossed glances about, making sure the two men hadn’t made a surprise reappearance. His knee burned from the half-crouch and quick pace, pain radiating down his shin and up his thigh. He gritted his teeth and pressed onwards.

After a few more steps, he reached the cage. He dragged it fully behind the other cages, staying low and hidden. He turned it around, ducked down to look through the metal grate.

A large bundle and black and white lay in a heap at the back of the cage. Legend narrowed his eyes as he fiddled with the cage’s latch, trying to get a better look. Royal blue fabric stood starkly against the monochrome, a little scarf wrapped around the animal’s neck. The bundle moved, feathers rustled. A small black head lifted, a little tuft of fluff at the crown reminiscent of the captain’s hair shifting at the movement. Blue eyes blinked open and drifted across Legend’s face. Legend could have laughed with relief, instead giving a quiet huff.

The bird’s – the captain’s – beak opened, Warriors’ voice coming out in a soft croak. “Collector…?”

Legend quickly pressed a finger to his lips, eyes darting around himself. He glanced down at the latch again, figuring out to squeeze the metal loop and slide it out of place. He pinched a bar between two fingers to pull the grate open.

Footsteps pounded behind him. He didn’t even have time to reach for his sword. Arms wrapped around him, yanked him back. His damaged throat turned his yelp into a hiss as hands twisted into his tunic and hair, dragging him around the cages. He wrenched an arm free, swung a fist blindly. His knuckles grazed across a whiskered jaw, not nearly hard enough to do any damage. Then the man seized his arm again, wrapping his own around it and holding him by a fistful of his tunic. He struggled futilely against the two men as they wrestled him away from Warriors and around to the other three hunters. They twisted him around as he fought against them. He aimed a wild kick up towards one, dug his nails into the flesh of one of the arms holding him. The hand in his hair yanked back harshly on it, forcing his head back. An arm locked around his throat, the bruised flesh burning at the contact. The arm tightened, not enough to cut off blood or air, but enough to threaten him into falling still.

The hunter he had followed strolled forward, a dark grin on his face. “You really think I didn’t hear you following me, kid?”

Legend snarled. He lashed a boot out that the hunter easily skipped away from with a laugh. The arm around his throat squeezed and he choked. It loosened again a moment later so he could breathe. Reflexive tears stung in his eyes. He silently cursed himself. Of course. Of course, the hunter he followed must have quietly told the others about Legend and they’d made a plan. He put Warriors’ cage in an easily accessible place on purpose and Legend wanted to kick himself for falling for the trap so easily. The two men had vanished because they’d seen him coming and he felt like an idiot for not questioning it more.

“So he is alive,” another hunter said, moving closer. “How the hell did he survive that fall?”

A familiar clicking sound made Legend’s blood run cold. A hunter loaded one of the glass-tipped bolts into his crossbow, moving toward Legend as he did. “No idea, but this kid’ll be worth a fortune alone.”

“Oh?”

The man leveled the crossbow at Legend. Legend started struggling against the hunters holding him again, heedless of the arm tightening around his neck. He felt the light weight of the moon pearl on his chest. It worked to change him back before, it should work again, but he didn’t know if the bolt wouldn’t work at all and if the men would just decide to kill him in that case. The hunter squeezed the trigger and Legend flinched.

The bolt slammed into his stomach, glass ball popping open. A bright yellow flash filled his vision followed by the immediate, familiar sensation of shifting forms. Pain roared through his knee as the ligaments and cartilage shifted and stretched in spite of the damage. The same happened in his throat and a harsh yell ripped from it, only making the burning worse. The sensation ended as quickly as it began. Before he could even think to move, a hand wrapped around his rabbit ears and lifted him straight off the ground. Pain speared through his head at the harsh pulling and he yelped, squirming, trying to scratch the arm holding him.

“A pink rabbit?” a hunter exclaimed with delight that made Legend’s skin crawl. The voice laughed, the sound muffled weirdly by the hand around his ears. “There are hardly any rabbits left! Goddess, he’s big, too.”

“He’ll be worth a fortune, alright.”

“We could even haggle with this one. Lot of these creatures start to look the same after so many, but this one’s special.”

They continued talking as the man holding Legend swung around, carrying him toward the cages. Legend kicked and thrashed, panic flooding his senses. The moon pearl would kick in, right? Any second now, right? The cage the man brought him towards looked small. He didn’t want to find out what would happen if he transformed inside a confined space, he really, really didn’t want to find out. He struggled to scratch the hand holding him, kick at the arm, anything to stall for time. But the man held him at arm’s length, he couldn’t reach any part of him with his stupid little legs. The man crouched down, unlatching one of the cages.

Something jerked in Legend’s gut. His blood roared, fire screeched through his wounds as his bones and muscles shifted again. The man, suddenly holding a fistful of Legend’s hair instead of ears, shouted a startled curse, reeling back. Legend yanked his one crossbow bolt out from under his belt. Holding it like a knife, he jabbed it against the man’s leg, hard enough to break the glass ball. The man vanished with a yell in a puff of smoke and a flash of yellow light. Something small replaced him that Legend didn’t bother to look at, lunging to his feet. He ripped the loaded crossbow off his belt as he whipped around. The other four hunters gaped at him, some already starting to move. He zeroed in on the one that had shot him, yanked the crossbow up. He fired his final bolt into the man’s chest. The man stumbled and transformed into a squat creature with a squashed face and little horns.

The remaining three hunters all charged forward at once. Abandoning the crossbow, Legend threw himself to the side. Dirt shoved up under his fingernails as he desperately used any purchase he could to scramble to his feet. He lunged out of the way of the hunter that reached him first. The hunter streaked past him, cages crashing and toppling as he ran headlong into them. Several gasps and shouts rose from within the containers as they fell. Legend’s knee screeched as he struggled to run. He dragged in a haggard gasp, reaching for his sword. It raked along the scabbard as he drew it, the muscles in his forearm aching. The two hunters bore down on him and he hobbled to the side, crossing his sword across his body. One hunter delivered a strike to his blade that sent him stumbling. The second man attacked just as quickly. Legend barely moved in time to block the blow. He parried another attack, desperately searching for an opening to strike. Every time he saw one, he didn’t move quick enough to take advantage of it, slowed by his wounds and fatigue.

Legend caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye, where the big hunter had careened into the cages. He tried to look, nearly caught a blade in his arm for the distraction. He blocked one swing, ducked under another. He wrenched his sword around, carving a slash along one hunter’s middle. The man grunted and stumbled back. Just as Legend started to move to attack the other one, a dark mass appeared to his left. His heart leapt into his throat, he frantically tried to move. Something heavy crashed into his calves, sweeping them out from under him and sending him sprawling.

He tried and failed to catch himself, the back of his head colliding with the hard ground. It felt like a spike driving through his skull, hot pain searing through his brain and blurring his vision. The fairy must not have fully healed his head from the fall. He struggled to move, frantically trying to gather his wits and sit up. A boot connected with his wrist, knocking his sword from his grasp. Another came down on his chest, forcing a wheeze from him and pressing him flat against the ground.

“Turn him back before he gets any ideas!” a hunter from somewhere to his right shouted.

“No, we gotta figure out how he turned back to a human in the first place,” the one pinning him down replied. He shifted more weight onto Legend’s chest, the collector’s ribs creaking beneath it. “How’d you change back?”

Legend mustered up a scowl. His eyes darted around as he looked for his sword. As he did, his gaze fell on the large cage just beside him. He could just make out a hulking figure huddled at the back of it. Intelligent eyes met his own, and the figure shifted forward. Even more weight crushing against his sternum snapped his attention back to the hunter.

“Tell me,” the hunter snarled, “if you want to keep your miserable life.”

Legend didn’t trust his throat to support his voice to any capacity. But he didn’t need to speak in order to glare daggers at the man. The man’s expression darkened. He shifted his foot upwards along Legend’s chest. The toe pressed into Legend’s throat and a surge of fear coursed through him. He thrashed, bent his legs and reached for his boot.

A familiar shout pierced the air. A flurry of black, white, and blue vaulted from outside Legend’s field of view. It collided with the man’s head in a mess of feathers and talons. The man yelled, reeling back and swatting wildly at the bird, at Warriors. His boot twisted away from Legend’s throat as he did. Legend sucked in a painful gasp, jammed his fingers down his own boot. He grabbed the knife hidden there, yanked it out, and plunged it into the man’s calf. The man roared, stumbling off of Legend. Legend shot away from him the second that he could. He scrambled to his feet, staggering a little. Warriors scratched and pecked at the hunter’s face, the streak of brilliant blue feathers on his wings flashing in the moonlight. The shock of Warriors’ display began to wear off on the other two hunters, the men refocusing on Legend. Legend took a step, desperately casting his gaze about for his sword. His knee gave out from under him, sending him crashing into the large cage beside him. He hissed at the pain, fingers curling into the holes of the metal grate. Something large moved next to him and he flinched. His head snapped up to see the hulking figure in the cage again. A beat passed. Legend made a snap decision.

He lunged for the cage’s latch. He fumbled with it for a second before managing to unlock it. Just as he began to pull the cage open, two arms wrapped around him and hauled him back. A yelp died in his throat, heart exploding in his chest. He threw an elbow back, trying to catch the hunter in the face or the stomach. He thrashed but the man didn’t flinch or slow, only moving to restrain Legend more securely.

A roar rose from the large cage. The door banged open and the figure charged out into the open. It appeared to be some cross between a deer and a lion, four hoofed legs and a feline-like head. The man-turned-beast charged for Legend and the man. The man hesitated for a moment, hanging onto Legend as if to use him as a shield. Then he seemed to think better of it, hurling Legend to the ground with a curse and diving to the side. Legend scrambled out of the way, the beast streaking past.

As Legend struggled to his feet, he caught sight of his sword laying in the grass. He hurried toward it, nearly toppled over as he stooped to grab it. As he straightened again, sword in hand, a sharp yelp struck his ears. He stiffened and whipped around in time to see a hunter finishing a swish of his sword through the air. Warriors sailed away from it and toward Legend, black and white feathers fluttering in his wake. He hit the ground in a crumpled heap and fell still. Blood roared in Legend’s ears. He hobbled towards him, knee burning fiercely.

A shout rang in his ears, the beast having successfully rammed one of the hunters and sent him flying. Another scrambled to get away from its rampage. The third strode toward Warriors’ motionless form. Legend quickened his pace, desperate to reach the captain first. The hunter moved faster than Legend, sword drawn and raised to strike. A fresh wave of adrenaline rushed through Legend, pushing the pain of his knee to the fringes of his awareness. He broke into a sprint, head pounding with each step. He reached Warriors in the nick of time, scooping the bird up off the ground in one hand and wrenching his sword up with the other. The hunter’s sword crashed against his, sending a jolt through his arm. He shoved the hunter’s blade back to give himself enough room to stagger a few steps away. He half-turned away from the hunter, keeping one arm curled around Warriors to hold him against himself. Chest heaving, he lifted his sword defensively between him and the hunter.

The hunter gave a rough, exasperated sigh, hand tightening around his sword. Only then did Legend register him to be the hunter he’d followed. “You are way too much trouble, kid.”

Legend scowled and lifted his sword a hair higher. The man lunged. Legend stepped to the side to dodge the first swing. He kept Warriors hugged to his chest as he returned the blow, careful to keep his body turned so the man couldn’t hit the bird. The hunter pressed the attack, forcing Legend back. Each step reminded Legend of his wounded knee. He struggled to ignore the burning pain, but he’d been ignoring it for over an hour. Not even the adrenaline could repress it very much anymore. Even so, he sidestepped, parried, attacked. He scored a hit across the man’s arm. The hunter slashed across Legend’s leg in response. Legend darted back from a swing. He unconsciously landed on his bad knee. It gave under him with a sharp ache, sending him stumbling. The hunter leapt forward. Legend tried to recover, moving while horribly off-balance. His knee twisted beneath him. He fell one way, the hunter’s sword sliced in the other. He felt the blade carve a jagged line along his chest before he felt the pain. He staggered to one knee as a feeling of fire burst from the wound, licking at the harsh edges in his flesh.

The hunter followed up with another attack that Legend narrowly blocked on its path to his throat. He followed the force of the blow onto his side, sending the hunter stumbling from the lack of resistance. His shoulder collided with the ground and he swung. The tip of his sword tore deep gashes across the man’s shins. He shouted, hobbling back. Legend rolled, trying not to crush Warriors, and shoved himself to his feet again. The wound in his chest burned in tandem with his knee. His vision blurred. He bit back a cry, legs feeling cold and farther away from his body than should be possible. He limped through the sensation, sword raised in a trembling hand.

The man recovered and charged forward again, albeit more unsteadily than before. Legend watched the swing come toward him, moonlight glinting off the blade. He skipped to the side at the last second, pushing all his weight onto his good leg. The man overshot, frantically tried to recover. Legend drove his sword through the man’s side before he could.

Legend wanted to vomit from the sound of flesh and muscle giving way to his blade. The hunter gasped wetly. Legend yanked his sword free before he could think about it. The hunter screeched, curling around the wound and collapsing to the ground. A shaky exhale passed across Legend’s lips as the man writhed weakly, groaning in pain. He unconsciously tightened his hold on Warriors as he lifted his sword again. He only glanced at the man once to aim before plunging the blade through the man’s heart to put him out of his misery.

He took a short breath and forced his focus elsewhere, turning away from the body. The pain of all of his wounds combined gave him a very easy distraction. He abruptly found himself on his knees, face screwed tight as fire danced through his body. Shakily, he lowered Warriors to the ground. The captain stirred weakly and Legend let out a breath of relief. He glanced up just to make sure they weren’t in immediate danger. One of the two remaining hunters lay motionless on the ground some distance away, a couple limbs twisting at odd angles. The beast fully occupied the attention of the last one, the man running every which way to avoid its ferocious attacks. Legend returned his attention to Warriors, reaching toward his neck for his moon pearl. He didn’t know if Warriors could take a potion as a bird or not. But forcing him to change forms when Legend didn’t know his injuries wasn’t a very good option, either. Even so, he pulled the moon pearl from around his neck and reached into his pouch. Better to have both out, just in case. He dug out the potion he’d tried and failed to take earlier, setting it down beside the moon pearl. He pursed his lips, glancing between the two items. Then a particularly sharp pain speared through him.

He hissed, lowering his head into his hands. His chest burned as he lifted his arms, his head ached from the resulting flinch, so did his knee and- goddess he just wanted it to stop. But, of course, he couldn’t drink a potion because his throat hurt too much to even speak, let alone swallow anything. He wearily shifted from his knees to sit down, suddenly so exhausted he thought for a moment he might pass out right then and there. He hesitantly swallowed to test and that nearly sent him into a painful coughing fit.

“Collector?” a voice murmured.

He blinked, forcing his eyes to focus again. Feathers rustled as Warriors shifted on the ground before him. The bird stiffened suddenly, letting out a hiss. Legend reached toward him haltingly, unsure what to do. His eyes darted across Warriors’ form, trying to figure out the issue. Warriors moved like he was trying to sit up and Legend carefully helped him. He’d noticed it when picking him up earlier, but the captain was surprisingly light for being larger than Legend’s head. Then again, Legend had never held a bird before. As Warriors got settled with his talons under him, Legend noticed how his right wing remained splayed out beside him, not folded against his body like the other. Legend found himself staring at it, at Warriors in general. He recognized the kind of bird Warriors had become. A magpie, he thought they were called. They’d roost in trees in his uncle’s orchard sometimes.

“Oh, thank the goddess,” Warriors sighed, looking up at Legend. “When you went over that cliff, I thought…”

Legend pursed his lips and looked away. Before Warriors could say anything else, Legend nudged the potion toward him. Warriors eyed it for a moment, somehow managing to frown despite having a beak instead of a mouth.

“You’re blee-”

Legend didn’t let him finish the thought, shoving the potion toward Warriors. When Warriors parted his beak to speak again, Legend gestured roughly to his throat, gingerly tugging down the collar of his undershirt to more fully reveal the bruises that must have been there. Warriors’ eyes widened.

A shout and loud crack stole their attention. Legend’s head snapped up to see the beast on its knees before a tree, dazed. The last hunter darted out from behind the tree with a laugh. He must have tricked the beast into running headlong into it. As the hunter moved, his gaze fell on Legend and Warriors. His eyes darted across them for a moment before moving behind. His eyes widened then narrowed. He’d seen the body. He started toward them and Legend’s stomach dropped into his gut. He wouldn’t survive another fight. He couldn’t even stand anymore, as his knee sharply informed him when he tried.

“The cork, Collector, help me get out the cork!” Warriors called.

Legend’s gaze darted down to see Warriors unsuccessfully trying to pull the cork out with his beak, only managing to rip chunks of it out. Legend quickly yanked it out with his fingers and tipped it forward. Warriors dipped his head into the bottle, beak snapping as he drank the red potion. He glanced up to see the man having already crossed half the distance toward them.

Warriors yanked his head out of the bottle, gave his wing a couple experimental flaps. Seemingly satisfied, he spun around toward the man, wings spreading to take flight. Before he could, Legend snatched up the moon pearl and pressed it to Warriors’ back. Warriors yelped as his body abruptly stretched and shifted. The little scarf around his neck grew to full size, tumbling down the back of his green tunic. He ended up on his hands and knees, remaining stunned for a moment.

“That works, too,” he said. Then he lunged to his feet, grabbed his sword from its sheath, and charged forward to meet the man.

His gait seemed unsteady, but even so, it could hardly be called a fight. The moment Legend realized Warriors’ victory was inevitable, he slouched down, vision doubling and dimming. Goddess, he was tired. He didn’t realize he’d been tipping to the side until Warriors caught him, calling his nickname. Legend’s eyes fluttered open, Warriors’ concerned expression slowly swimming into focus before him.

“Hey, hey, I don’t have a fairy,” Warriors said, voice echoing slightly. “You have to get up, we need to find the others so they can help.”

Legend started to nod but stopped as his gaze drifted past Warriors. The beast had begun to move again, giving its head a light shake. Legend still held the moon pearl in his hand, fingers tightening around it. He took a breath, struggled to draw himself up with Warriors’ help. He lifted the moon pearl so the captain could see it then pointed toward the beast. Warriors turned to follow the gesture. His eyes widened, stunted words of shock halting on his tongue. Legend gestured with the moon pearl again, tugging on his pink hair when Warriors turned back. Warriors stared at him blankly for a moment.

“Your hair is pink,” he said.

Legend scowled and weakly swatted him. He pointed to the beast again, it now having stood up and turned toward them. He tapped the moon pearl to his hair. He resisted the urge to smack Warriors again. Realization dawned on Warriors’ face.

“It’s human like us,” he murmured. “Is that it?”

Legend bobbed his head only once, his skull pounding too much for anything more than that.

“And this is the item you used to turn me back just now,” Warriors concluded, pointing to the moon pearl. Legend nodded again, more weakly, as the desperate energy that came from trying to make himself understood drained from him.

“Okay.” Warriors dug around in his pouch for a moment before withdrawing a roll of bandages. He held them out to Legend, the other hand also held out palm-up. “I’ll go change him back. You put pressure on the cut in your chest in the meantime. We don’t need you losing any more blood.”

Legend dropped the moon pearl into Warriors’ waiting palm and took the bandages. Warriors lingered until Legend began to unroll them before nodding curtly and hurrying toward the beast. As Legend slipped the bandages through the tear in his tunic to press against his chest, he watched Warriors speak briefly to the beast. Then he touched the moon pearl to the beast’s forehead. Hooves morphed to hands and feet, fangs receded, the head narrowed, and soon enough, a very tired-looking bearded man knelt in the beast’s place. He blinked, lifting his hands and turning them over before his eyes. The corners of his eyes crinkled as he chuckled in relief. He looked up, firmly grasping Warriors’ hand in thanks. Then he pointed toward the other cages. Warriors gave a nod, leaving the man in order to go open the cages. Legend counted the beasts that Warriors freed and his heart sank. Only five or six. Dozens more had been reported missing from the town.

As Warriors transformed the others back into humans, the first man staggered to his feet and made his way over to Legend. Legend watched in a sort of daze as the man approached him, half his focus going toward keeping himself upright, the other half trained on keeping the bandages pressed to his bleeding chest.

The man knelt down before him, catching his gaze and holding it. “I can never thank you enough, son.”

Legend blinked. He lifted a hand to flap it weakly. The man chuckled and caught it, holding it much the same as he had with Warriors’.

“No need for modesty,” he said, beard shifting as he smiled beneath it. Even if Legend could speak, he was too tired to formulate any kind of response.

Time slurred as Warriors helped the remaining captives. He returned to Legend, the worry lines in his brow blurry in the collector’s warbling vision. He knelt down before Legend, reaching out again to help steady him. He said something about wrapping Legend’s wounds and Legend just nodded, focus drifting somewhere out of reach and refusing to return to him. He hissed as Warriors wound the bandages more properly around his chest. The captain stood and asked him something at some point, but Legend couldn’t quite hear him anymore. The lack of response apparently answered his question, the captain kneeling back down. He gently grabbed Legend’s wrists and turned around, guiding Legend’s arms around his neck. Somewhere in the back of Legend’s mind, he thought he should protest, but the exhaustion outweighed his shame by a long shot. He shuffled forward as much as he could, so, hardly at all. Warriors made do, reaching for Legend’s legs. His hand closed around Legend’s knee and Legend hissed, pressing his forehead to the back of Warriors’ neck. Warriors’ said something, his hand shifted higher so it didn’t grip Legend’s knee. Then he stood.

The change in equilibrium filled Legend’s head with vertigo. He closed his eyes, fighting back nausea. Gravity bounced slightly as Warriors began to walk. Legend felt vaguely aware of the small group of people they’d saved walking with them. But with his eyes closed, the exhaustion leapt forward and clung to him like sap. He thought he heard Warriors saying that they’d find the others, they’d be okay. He sagged against Warriors’ back with a sigh. He couldn’t really open his eyes again anyway, the exhaustion easily winning the half-hearted fight. He trusted Warriors’ words and finally let himself drift away into sleep.

[dandelionjack]

torchwood s2e10 from out of the rain + doctor who s26 the greatest show in the galaxy

[kkglinka]

If the huntsmen academies are summer schools, with active classes between spring and fall, which is what we see on screen vs off the cuff convention panel answers; and three of the characters are 17 and one 15, with established birthdates; yang is the oldest member of team rwby, and turned 18 during the semester break, hence her comment to her father about being an adult.

Likewise, ruby turned 16 in early fall. If legal ages of consent are similar to the usa and europe, she would have enough autonomy to travel on her own. Blake turns 18 during middle winter in samus/anima but high summer in menagerie. Meanwhile, weiss was still 17 in late winter/early spring, which is why jacques was able to legally control her.

[claraoswalds]

DOCTOR WHO (2005-)

[swampsiren-piratefairy]

In 73 yards, the woman following Ruby is, metaphorically if not literally, her abandonment issues manifest. And Ruby spends a lifetime pushing people away and distancing herself from them either because of the blurry woman (as in the case of Kate and Carla) or through her own behavior (as with her boyfriends). And after a lifetime of abandonment, she is brought back to the beginning and finally sees herself clearly. Older Ruby sees herself with love and, in an act of love, is able to warn her younger self and break the cycle.

This is such an insane episode. We’ve not seen this kind of intense focus on a companions flaws and trauma in a long time and I don’t think ever without the Doctor to bounce off of or to serve was a voice of reason. This is just Ruby. Taking a lifetime to see herself with love. It was incredible I’m going to be talking about this for years.

[lovelyprincessn64]

Pokemon Day event

🎉 Hello Pokemon trainers new and old, it's that time of year just like every year in the month of the day that Pokemon was born every year trainers and fans celebrate to remember the nostalgic times of growing up with Pokemon however this year I got something special for trainer.

Welcome to the Pokemon request event in this event you can request any nostalgic things about Pokemon including crossovers overall I do hope you enjoy the nostalgic feeling. 🎉

Every generation has a new beginning

2. The ghost of maiden's peak

3. Legends of Arceus

4. Fakemon

5. Hunting shinies (Disclaimer please do not send certain shinies that are too difficult to color.)

6. It's been 3,000 years

7. Heart of Gold

8. Pikachu wedding

9. No you're not the one

10. Trainer OCS / Pokemon OCS

11. Sun and Moon

12. Black or white

13. Types of contests

14. My dream to become a Pokemon Master

15. Sylveon day

16. Choose your starter

17. Happy 10th birthday

18. Goodbye Ash Ketchum

19. Eternal happiness from Ho-oh

20. Blue as Sapphire

21. Soul of silver

22. Pikachu wedding

23. I'll be the best you will see

24. Lonely mimikyu

25. Cute Ash

26. Gamble at game corner

27. Got to catch them all

28. Summoning Lugia

29. Mewtwo Strikes Back

30. Happy birthday Mewtwo

31. Roads of victory

32. N's room

33. Red as Ruby

34. Mystery Dungeon

35. Crystal Onix

36. Pink Island

37. Bye-bye Butterfree!

38. Alola forms

39. Ultra beasts

40. Crystal Beauty

41. Any type of Pokemon prompt

42. Spin-offs

43. Pop stars

44. Possessed Dawn

45. Damn it Rotom

46. Shadow Lugia

47. Gardening with Gardevoir / trainer

48. Training to get stronger

49. Mythical / legendary Pokemon

50. Snapping pictures

51. Flavors of pokepuffs

52. Jelly filled Donuts my favorite

53. Ranger school

54. Don't talk to Hypno

55. Safari Zone

56. Traveling through regions

57. Golden Sudowoodo

58. Pearls with diamonds

59. Malasadas Mania

60. Work at Pokemon cafe

61. Nightmares of Darkrai

62. Old chateau

63. Sundae dress

64. Nurses of joy

65. Trials

66. Mallow's stew / or it could be something else of food of your choice

67. Mew cakes

68. Jirachi summons meteor shower

69. Pokéathlon

70. Waiting for Jirachi's return

71. Team rainbow rocket

72. Muddy Mudkip

73. Hall of Fame

74. Crossovers

75. Poketoons

76. Meet Red at Mount Silver

77. Daycare days

78. Better with Platinum

79. Drawing with Tracy

80. Never ending hunger

81. Berry Harvest

82. I'm so cold

83. Ninja Ethan

84. TMs sucks

85. Popplio Squad

86. Pokemon memes

87. Sword or Shield

88. Fallen Leaf

89. Melody from Meloetta

90. Erie Cemetery

91. Moo moo milk

92. Raticate's death

93. Cubone's sorrow

94. It wears the skull of its mother

95. Scarlet with some violet

96. AUs

97. Indigo disk

98. Detective Pikachu

99. Galar forms

100. Crown tundra

101. Isle of armor

102. We're blasting off again

103. Regigigas

104. Get out

105. Mega Evolutions

106. Lake of Rage

107. Destiny bonds

108. Snorlax in the way

109. McDonald's with Pokemon

110. Avoid black sand

111. Stairs that lead to Arceus

112. Metal hunger

113. Zombie Pokemon

114. Fan games

115. Jackass rivals

116. Two sides of Lillie

117. Narcissistic mother

118. Lava cookies

119. Diglett stampede

120. Darn that Meowth

121. Tea with Treecko

122. Z moves

123. Thinking of a nickname

124. Curse of the nine tails

125. How to cook Pokémon

126. Exploring the burnt Tower

127. Green as Emerald

130. In the flower fields Shaymin awaits

129. Examining fossils

130. Dreaming with Pokémon

131. Pokemon as humans

132. Raichu's pancake delivery service

133. Pikachus vs Teen skull dance competition

134. Destiny Deoxys

135. Virus Groudon

136. Kimono girls

137. Seasons of Deerling or Sawsbucks

138. Jewel of life

139. X & Y

140. Teenage Pokemon series

141. Too cute: Pokemon (Esquirebob)

142. Make a mon out of you

143. Movieunleashers

144. Dr Sylveon

145. Be aware of the side effects of rare candy

146. Out in the Reign

147. Ditto disaster

148. Wild Oranberries

149. Lavender Town

150. Concept Pokemon designs

151. Jigglypuff draws

152. Pokémon 2000 movie

153. Hypno's orphanage

154. Disguise as a Team Rocket grunt

155. Poke parodies

156. Knock offs

157. Pokemon smile

158. Mister donut pokemon

159. Collection of badges

160. Twilight wings

161. Scientifically accurate pokemon

162. Pikachu gets rabies

163. MAD rejected Pokemon / any MAD episodes that has Pokémon

164. Made of dead Pikachu

165. Robot Chicken Pokemon episodes

166. Pokemon fever

167. Dream world

168. Lavender Town

169. Mismagius Rayquaza

170. Pokemon Fusions

171. Addicted to trash

172. Secret base

173. Pokedolls

174. Gigantamax

175. Pika Chew

176. I have a Charizard bitch

177. Eevee evolutions

178. Zubatman

179. You don't have enough money to train me!

180. Rusty (he's from Dorkly fan made Pokemon series called Rusty red)

181. Peanut butter the god of Bidoof

182. Bidoof's Big Stand

183. Pokemon amie

184. Kraft mac and cheese Pokemon

185. Dreams of Cresselia

186. Pokemon products

187. Mochi mayhem

188. Baskin Robbins ice cream pokemon

189. Castelia cones

190. Hogging nuggets

191. Gardevoir goes to the convenience store

192. Elite Four

193. How to train your Dragonite

194. Fairy nightmare

195. Are you a boy or a girl?

196. Help I have turned into a Gengar

197. Curry cook off

198. The Great Pokescape

199. Resort house

200. Something about Pokemon

201. Gardenia and the Old Chateau

202. Corrupted Aquamarine

203. Purple poison

204. Pokemon Park

205. My Dear Friend Electrike

206. Battle Tower

207. Arceus Chronicles

208. Battle Frontier

209. Hex maniac

210. Strange House

211. Forget about the Lunar wing, Stay here with me…

212. Drowsy is a criminal

213. Monster Lusamine

214. Poke flute

215. Distortion world

216. Revisiting Pokémon

217. Build-A-Bear X Pokemon

218. Let's go Pikachu

219. Let's go Eevee

220. Trainer classes/ranks

221. Gimmighoul coins

222. Pikachu with balloons

223. Hotel themed Pokémon

224. Badges

225. Hungry Hungry Hippopotas or Hippowdons

226. Great Canyon

227. Ultra Necrozma

228. Beauty swimmers

229. S.S Anne

230. If May wore blue instead of red

231. Berry juice

232. Shiny leafs

233. Everything blue

234. I thought it was just a regular Apple!?

235. 3 of connoisseurs

236. Poke Cats / Dogs

237. Dragons hate fairies

238. Toughest Scottish girl

239. Poke mart

240. Loyal three

241. Pokemon Center

242. Hoping it hatched shiny

243. Baby Pokemon fight

244. Unlucky bug catcher

245. Creepy Giratina summon

246. Catching bug competition

247. Silver's change of heart

248. Lake Trio

249. Evolving into a beautiful Swanda

250. Musical theater

251. Slowpoke tails

252. Furfrou haircuts

253. Squirtle gang

254. Pokemon Redraws

255. Pokemon Sinners (it's Pokemon fan horror by made Mr. Prinz)

256. It's not always Pikachus and Butterflies

257. Don't Catch Em All

258. Unown

259. Van Gogh style Pokémon

260. Pikachu's surfing waves

261. Poke puff picnic

262. I Choose You

263. Pokemon sweets paradise

264. Don't trust litwick

265. Wally got lucky

266. Battle against Wally

267. Alkadabra Alkazam

268. Failed Mew clones

269. Holiday hijinx / specials

270. Ice cream man Giovanni

271. Bitchy Whitney

272. I choose you to die

273. Going through hoops

274. Can you go with the ferris wheel with me

275. When night falls the Clefairies come out to play

276. Celebi event

277. The Boy that hides behind a mask

278. Poisonous Rockstar

279. Sunken ship

280. Pokemon ships

281. Training session with Lieutenant surge

282. Delta episode

283. Poke blocks

284. Pikachu's Lament

285. Holiday themed Pokemon

286. Artist Smeargle

287. Tapus

288. I'll be worthy in your spotlight

289. The little Primaeina

290. Oceanic operetta

291. You're the worst father I ever had

292. Iris as champion

293. Color swap scenario

294. Loyal 3

295. Scariest monkey I've ever seen

296. Pink glitter vomit

297. Haunted Library

298. She sleeps in her room of Dreams

299. Garden shop

300. Gym leaders

301. Poffins of choice

302. Luxury in a luxury ball

303. What is wrong with you Guzma

304. Officer Jenny

305. Underwater diving

306. Iron Island

307. Forms of Castform

308. Karate ranks

309. Hoping to win a lottery

310. Trying to act tough

311. Pokey hoarder

312. Robot Pikachu

313. Playing at Diglett's cave

314. Torchic eats Fried Chicken

315. Emmet eating cup noodles while his big noodle wants a bite too

316. Electric Yellow

317. Champion Lance week

318. Dressed as their Pokemon

319. Tea party with shiny Geodude

320. Calm mind

321. Food based Pokemon

322. Spooky version of Pokemon

323. Trainers with nation flags

324. You received an egg

325. Oh the egg is hatching

326. Who is your rival?

327. Pokemon Clover Edition

328. Metal princess

329. All grown up Pokemon trainers

330. Fashion show

331. Sky battles

332. Pokemon with a gun / sniper rifle

333. Stupendous cake

334. Descendants of trainers

335. Nerdy Pikachu

336. Kanto side

337. Pokemon Journeys

338. Colonel Sanders plays Pokemon

339. Astronaut trainer of your choice

340. Farfetch knight

341. Burger King with Pokemon

342. Black dress Gardevoir

343. Duchess Pikachu

344. It looks sick

345. At the beach

346. Queen of combees

347. Sailor crew

348. Rockstar Pikachu

349. Some Pokemon just don't like baths

350. Crossovers options of your choice

351. Walking with Pokemon

352. If a flame of it's tail goes out it dies

353. Starter Squad

354. Gladion meets his father for the first time

355. Unfair Trade

356. The Unseen Side of Poké Rangers

357. Pop star Pikachu

358. Ball guy (it's a character that wears a Pokeball with a face acting like a mascot or something from Pokemon sword and shield)

359. The Eevee with many dreams

360. Shadow Pokèmon Redemption

361. Whispering Woods

362. Healer's touch

363. Trapped in a Pokemon body

364. The Silent Siren of the Sea

365. Pokemon University

366. Ghosts of Pokemon past

367. Dances with Whimsicott

368. Japanese city with Pokémon mew flying

369. Chansey's Lullaby

370. Thief in the Safari zone

371. Journey to Jigglypuff's Dreamland

372. Mythical Moon

373. Stolen starters

374. Coping with loss

375. Princess of crystal

376. Companion Forever

377. Heroic Hurdles

378. Elemental Traps

379. Magician's Pokemon

380. Uncharted Territory

381. Capture with care

382. Eternal Floette

383. Ash Greninja

384. Dark Ash

385. Lumiose city

386. Johto side

387. Galarian forms

388. Pokémon Legends Z-A

389. AZ Florges

390. Don't fall for Mindy's scam

391. Project voltage Pokemon x Hatsune Miku

392. Rival Showdown

393. Underwater Expedition

394. The thrill of victory

395. Pikachu's Party Planning

396. Saving the stray

397. Dystopian Pokemon

398. Butt face make farts aButtface McFartsalot

399. Fanarts of mashed pokemon

400. Is this the last Journey?

401. Birthday Zapdos

402. Banana chocolate Umbreon

Disclaimer: Unlike normal requests you can only request of the theme of the name along with the prompts however if it doesn't it just you there are other request events or just send a normal request.

Also feel free to make prompt suggestions to suggest for me to add even on upcoming ones or suggest ideas.

One last thing please read the rules before requesting.

Link to the rules: https://www.tumblr.com/lovelyprincessn64/683136525548093440/rules-no-pornography-no-gay-pair-no-lesbian?source=share

[tomoleary]

Gil Kane - TV Cartoon Presentation Piece Illustration Original Art (undated) Source

Maybe Ruby-Spears

[mwagneto]

73 YARDS WAS IMPORTANT LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO