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galeorderbride · 2 months

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The Forest For The Trees - Fic Request (Gale x F!Tav)

A Gale smut piece requested by one of my OG readers @meglet1. Thank you so much for the request and for being you in general!! I seriously hope you like what I’ve written for you <3

18+ MDNI (This is SMUT/tags below)

Summary:

After Tav is nearly killed in a fight at Rivington Beach, Gale lets his fear get the best of him and a new couple spat ensues. Leading to a peaceful resolution :)

Tags: PiV sex, semi-public sex, inappropriate use of mage hand, oral sex (m and f receiving, including some choking), words of praise/encouragement, creampie, fingering (vaginal & anal), multiple orgasms, self-indulgent, some references to Tav having body issues.

Word count: 4.7K

Mind the tags, everyone. Fic below the cut:

“I decided to choose you and live, then you go off and almost get yourself killed!”

Gale wasn’t the type to air out his issues in front of everyone, but this time, he couldn’t shake the nervous energy off. Panic and anxiety of balancing on an uneven precipice, powerless. Just days ago, he chose to stay with Tav instead of doing as Mystra commanded him, deep in that haunting colony, where the Elder Brain resided and, because he decided to live, remained a threat to the entire Sword Coast.

Less than an hour ago, he and Tav returned from the beaches of Rivington with their companions. Running into a gaggle of rival gangs ready to slaughter each other. The guild, run by the infamous Nine Fingers Keene, and the new recruits of this Stone Lord everyone was talking about. Gale cared little for whose alliance went where. Not when Tav had decided to intervene right in the middle of things, doing her best to settle scores and ending up having to fight both of them.

In the crossfire, Tav was hit with an electrified weapon, a hammer imbued with thunderous damage effects that nearly killed her with the impact against her spine. Knocked down, she spent the remainder of the fight unconscious, no one having time to revive her until they’d finished the fight. Across a landscape of crime syndicate corpses, Gale watched with intensity as Shadowheart struggled to revive her. The image of her near dissolved heartbeat still aching within him, harsher than the orb. Gasping for breath at the last second when he thought he lost her forever.

She’d regained balance quickly, the powerful healing of Selune now imbued within Shadowheart’s fingers, even if she hadn’t quite gotten to admit it yet. Tav was walking normally, a little fatigued but nothing more than that. Which gave Gale the opportunity to stop being worried for her welfare and be upset instead.

“Do you know how close you came to death? How much I worried Shadowheart wouldn’t revive you? All for a bunch of criminals who would’ve cared for the dirt under their boots more than you!” Gale exclaimed as he paced around the hay shed at their camp outside Rivington. Tav followed, arms across her chest as she tried to contain a frustrated sigh.

“I wasn’t trying to get all of them against us. How many times has convincing people to cool their heads worked on this journey? Times we never expected! I didn’t think this would be an exception,” she replied, her voice soft but assertive in her own defense.

“That’s what happens when you expect things to work in your favour! We can never assume anything is an absolute certainty, and I’ve been saying this from the beginning. I know it’s in your nature to stick your neck out for people, but do recall that I gave up on what might be the heaviest task of my life so I could be with you!” Gale continued, letting his panic get the better of him.

Tav’s eyes widened, now no longer trying to placate. “Don’t you use that against me! My encouragement to have you stay with me is not a blank check to use against me when I do something you dislike. I asked you to stay because I love you! And I had no intention of starting a fight today, nor did I plan to end up in the state I did!”

This was around when the rest of the camp began to hear them arguing. Frigid looks turned their way by Shadowheart, Karlach and Wyll. Eyerolls and mischievous scoffing from Astarion. Jaheira simply shook her head and mumbled ‘young love’ under her breath. Gale pretended not to hear it.

She looked at him with such offense, eyes dotted with the threat of tears from his fury. Any motivation to be cross with her slowly waning each time his eyes met hers.

“I love you too! Which is why I’m so off put by what happened to you. I don’t want to see you putting yourself in danger and disregarding forethought! I don’t think you understand just how much I can’t—”

Gale didn’t finish the sentence, brought on by a fear that he’d overwhelm her in saying such an intense thing. They’d confessed their love in a spur of the moment, when the culmination of all they’d been through was knocking at the front door. Emotions were high, and while he meant every word he said, he didn’t want to cross a line and compromise the start of a wonderful thing with Tav. Deep down, he’d loved her from the moment he saw her, and each day he got closer to admitting that out loud. Precisely why he reacted with such fear to what happened at the beach.

Tav crossed her arms, an expression of seriousness he’d never seen before. Well, not directed at him.

“Can’t what? Don’t let this be the time you don’t use your words, Gale. Because I am this close to storming off,” she said, pinching her index finger and thumb together in an impatient motion.

“I can’t…live without…you,” he said, his voice starting loud and then slowly quieting as he completed the sentence.

The two of them stopped short, silence washing over them as his words sank into both their minds. Memories of their first night together flooding back, when he showed her everything he could offer. A beautiful experience in the Outer Planes, where their souls entwined within currents of raw weave. Expressing their new love in countless ways, too many for one evening, but they did all they could. Loving, tender, but despite it all, not real. Not bodies together, the physical exertion of passionate, violently yearning intimacy. Just what Gale became tempted with after he spoke those long awaited words, as the anger melted from his system and replaced itself with carnality.

There wasn’t time for Tav to respond. Astarion cut in with his usual mocking tone. “Would you two get a damned room? Your voices are grating and I’m trying to enjoy a nice glass of wine I stole from Last Light.”

“I knew that bottle was familiar!” Jaheira cried out, no longer paying attention to Gale and Tav.

Tav sighed, bothered by the chiding of their companions. She felt on the spot, watched in all the wrong ways. Gale gently grabbed her arm.

“Come over this way,” he demanded, short and impatient. Quite possibly the briefest she’d ever heard him speak.

He pulled her away from the camp, a short but fair distance from their companions. Clusters of bushes and broken trees began to fill the space as he brought her forward. The sun was setting above them, hues of paradisiacal magenta and orange above them, beaming through the shaking leaves. Tav didn’t have much time to gaze upon the natural beauty, for Gale led her as if running to safety.

“Gale, where are you taking me?! You’re pulling too much, I’m going to lose my balance,” Tav questioned.

A few seconds went by, Tav’s curiosity getting the better of her as she’d never seen him so flustered. Trees surrounded them, but not enough to block the bustling city lights of Rivington on one side and the fire of their camp on the other. Voices of Karlach and Lae’zel talking could still be heard from the distance they stood. Tav had never been to this side before, but Gale had a way of making her feel safe no matter where.

“Come here, love,” he said, his arms moving to hook around her waist as he pushed her gently against a large tree.

She had little time to take a breath before his lips were on hers, soft but with an ardent passion once resting in bubbling irritation, now sprouting into lust. Their bodies pressed together, hips against hips as Tav began to melt into his wandering touch. Her knees nearly buckled when his index finger grazed the ridge of her jaw, tongue caressing her own. Temptation to run her fingers through his wondrous hair was too great, that strange sensation of a near death if she didn’t, silken texture on her skin enough to forget about everything they argued about.

But his words hung loose in her mind, and she pulled out of the kiss for a moment. Their faces still centimetres apart as she whispered, “I can’t live without you either. I’m sorry I wasn’t careful.”

Gale rubbed his nose against hers, that playful, breathy grin plastered on his face. “Let’s just look out for each other, alright? It’s so easy to get ahead of oneself, and I love you too much to watch idle by and pray you know the risk. You are a powerhouse of might, my love, but neither of us is invincible.”

“I know, I know,” she said in a hushed tone, so whisper thin the crickets chirped louder. Night fell fast, unburdened by clouds and blanched with a sea of stars. Everything was perfect, a moment in time that both of them longed for since their first time together. Opportunities never coming soon enough as their arduous adventures took precedence over everything. Now was the time, when the sky’s darkness masked them from the rest of the world’s troubles.

Gale answered with peppering kisses down Tav’s neck, shivering at the supple softness against such a sensitive area. For the first time since before Mystra, he wanted something purely physical—mortal. Covered in the finite flesh of his new love, giving pieces of themselves as a simple reminder that they remained alive. He’d forgotten the lure of that desire, powerful and impossible to satiate without going the full way, being as close to Tav as humanly possible.

Cracked bark scratched the itches of Tav’s back, pressed ever harder with each kiss from neck to collarbone. Desire budding at the touch points of her body; at the tip of her breasts, the heat of her ears, the tingling between her legs. Those parts growing more swollen with want when she felt the brush of his palms around her waist, fingertips dipping under the hem of her shirt to tickle her lower stomach. They were like teenagers sneaking around behind a schoolyard, eyes darting back and forth to make sure no one saw them enjoy each other. A thrill long forgotten on both sides.

“Gale, won’t someone hear us? We’re still close to camp,” Tav said between laboured, lustful breaths.

“With all we’ve been through, I highly doubt they care. But to ease your anxieties,” Gale replied, waving his hand to create a violet purple dome around them, “A silencing spell.”

“Perfect,” she said.

With a quick maneuver, Gale unclipped the belt of her wrapped shirt, slowly folding the fabric over her shoulders. He took his time, relishing in the pull of cloth from skin, little reveals each second until she bore herself bare to him. A maroon brasier remained, almost black under the moonlight and slipping low. Enough to catch a glimpse of her nipples, begging to spring free from constriction. Meanwhile, Gale spread her longer shirt across the ground, using clothes as a makeshift bed—if not to remedy the future ache of his knees. He unwrapped his robes as well, left only in a white, linen shirt and trousers.

He could hardly concentrate, the beauty of Tav under the moonlight too transfixing to not stare upon. Fitted perfectly in her under clothes, the rise and fall of her chest teasing him without trying. Watching like she didn’t notice, but she did, and began to strip for his pleasure. Removing the straps of the bra first, slow against her shoulders, the perk of her breasts peeking out before the clasp snapped free. Gale stood before her, watching with a subtle grin.

“You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, Tav. Do you know how much? How I ache to the point of fever when graced with your presence?” He asked, voice dark with lust, a gruffness she didn’t hear when in the Outer Planes.

“Even as I am? No magic or beautiful strands of starry weave around me? Surely this can’t be as exciting as that time,” she said, not intending to be self conscious, but failing to keep that in check. Not a goddess, not a higher being in the form of a body, but just herself. Scars, blemishes, bad angles and all. Mortal in all the wrong ways.

“As you are is more than anything the weave could offer. Having you naked under the moon like this is a memory embedded in my mind for eternities to come,” he said, stepping over to her to help unbutton her pants. He ensured his fingers touched every part, no matter where, and his breath against her neck warmed and cooled.

“Oh, my, you give me no chance with words like that,” she said.

Between bountiful, romantic kisses, the rest of their clothes were discarded into the flattened pile. Too impatient to go somewhere with room to conjure a full bed, absorbed in the embrace of each other as they fell into the fabric. Tav straddled his waist, lowering down so she could still glide her tongue against his. Never wishing to part her lips from his for the rest of the night. Craving the push of his hands embedded in her skin, down her spine and over the hill of her ass, ending with a firm squeeze.

Not a single part of her didn’t feel something. Her nipples gliding against his chest hair, hardening them in seconds with the playful tingle at the tips. His hands finding purchase, amused enough to spank the right cheek with a hard enough force to have her yelp giggle and yelp out loud. And that irresistible grind of his growing erection pushing against her core, hastier than himself, simply begging to push into that tight, unoccupied hole. Just the beginning, and yet she already preferred being together like this, fully in tandem with each other, nothing but their beating hearts and heated bodies.

Eventually, both of them needed to take a breath, locked in a heated make out for a time they lost count of. Tav lifted her body up, back arched in pleasure as Gale followed teeth-first. Biting, sucking, licking her nipples, each side deserving of his equal attention. Delicate moans grew into hot, heavy woes of passion, caring little for noise control with the purple dome of silence above them. Saliva trailed down her breasts, her wizard so lost in the ecstasy of tasting those pink, round buds. Hugging her in his arms, moving his cock against her to feel the head getting wetter with her slick.

Tav whispered in his ear, fingers tangled in his hair, “Perhaps I should get into danger more often, if this is the consequence.”

Gale chuckled, muffled by the slide of his tongue around her earlobe, “No need. Should you want my services, all you have to do is ask. Nicely. With a very eager ‘please’. Now, I am on the precipice of sliding into you this instant. But I’d have you come first.”

Hands firm on her ass, he pushed her forward, legs buckling over as he laid down. Angling himself so her core hovered over his face as he continued, “On my mouth, darling.”

Unable to contain her giggles, she adjusted her legs to straddle the sides of his face. Too gradual for Gale as he grabbed her hips and pulled her down. Tav gasped from the heavenly sensation, his lips and tongue all over her pussy in seconds, nodding his jaw up and down to stimulate her slit with his stubble. His tongue moved with expert precision, letting Tav take control of the pace as he moaned into her cunt, slurping and sucking at her as if drowning himself in her essence. There wasn’t enough lip biting and stifled moans in the world to keep her from building up to a snapping orgasm, inch by inch as she swivelled her hips around his face. His nose jutted against her pubic bone, mouth focused entirely on her swollen clit, pushing her down to ensure she wouldn’t move away. Even as her inner thigh muscles shook with pleasured tremors.

Tav stuttered out, “Holy fu…ck…Gale, I’m s-so close. Keep going, keep going! Now, yes, now!”

At that point, she was using any superlative her blurred mind could conjure. An orgasm flowered within her, strong, hot and never felt in a very long time. She clawed his hair under her legs, twitching hips riding out a wet climax, dripping into his beard. A taste he’d never get enough of, buttery and sweet on his tongue. He’d be happy to suffocate under her in a bid to have her finish again.

Coming down wasn’t an option, continuing to flick his tongue against her clit even as her muscles relaxed. Sensitivity stung at her pussy, sharp hits of pleasure shining through with each feral moan he made. A sound so enticing, she melted for him, allowing his hands still on her ass to push her further forward, rear completely up. Behind her, he snapped his fingers, figments of magic beckoning around her in a light blue glow. Tav could barely pay attention, lost in the feeling of his tongue lapping at her cunt. Until two fingers pushed into her entrance, filling her quick but smooth in an electrified vibration. A mage hand, finger fucking her from behind. Taking her to a place of impossible pleasure, no choice but to let go.

As Gale sucked at her clit, muffled words came from below her, “Does that feel nice, my love? Can you cum all over my face again? That’s it, let the hand fuck you, good girl.”

“Gods above, Gale, I’m so sensitive! But fuck it feels so good!” She exclaimed, whimpering with each buck of her hips against his mouth, the hand following every angle so not a centimetre pulled out. Pumping into her tight walls, angling in just the right direction to have her shaking for a second climax.

“Let me help you even more,” Gale said, motioning his wrist to command the mage hand to push its thumb at the entrance of her asshole. Prodding in and out, gently easing in enough to thrust in the same rhythm as the fingers, slick sounds of sex invading her ears. She gasped at the hot tightness, cunt thoroughly stimulated in every way. It was perfect, hitting every spot just how she liked, and some she didn’t know existed. Gale was simply eager to please, laughing slyly as he felt her orgasm again.

Tav quaked at her second finish, overwhelmed with searing ecstasy. She cried out, “I can’t take it anymore, please! Too—too sensitive.”

The mage hand vanished with her command, easing the pressure of overstimulation palpating in her veins. Gale couldn’t resist one, soft kiss on her clit before letting her move off of him. Without her body to focus on, the ache of his rock hard cock snapped into awareness. Precum dotting the head, so stiff he feared it might break at the gentlest touch. Proven wrong when Tav brought her lips down to the tip, licking off the salty cum. Giving him a taste of his own medicine as he shivered in sensitive rapture. Both of them had a tendency to get carried away, as what was meant to be a simple tease with her tongue led to her taking his cock into her mouth. Using her hand to pump at the bottom of the shaft, too big to go all the way down.

Choking and sucking sounds filled the air as Gale writhed under the mercy of her mouth. Running her hand up and down his bare thigh, hypnotized by the lusty song of his satisfied whimpers. He wanted to tell her this wasn’t necessary, he enjoyed seeing her enjoyment. But as her throat coated his cock, he was rendered speechless. More so when she bobbed her head up and down, moaning through her nose as he gently joined her by fucking her mouth. Small, quick thrusts in fear of hurting her, but enough to make his calf muscles strain.

Spit and precum doused his cock as she lifted him out of her mouth, a raunchy ‘pop’ sound coming from her lips. Gale’s shaken, pleasured sighs covered the forest, stimulated by the cold air kissing the wet surface of his raised erection. Tav fawned over how it glistened, her core pulsing and tightening with the silent beg to be filled. Surely, she’d pass out if he wasn’t inside her immediately.

Gale exhaled deeply, shaking his head with unfathomable joy. “You will be the death of me. That felt…so good. I don’t even know how to describe it.”

She smiled, failing to contain the blush on her face. How she loved to know he was already satisfied. “We’re not done yet, my love.”

Her leg hooked back over his waist, straddling him again. This time, angling the opening of her cunt right against the desperate head of his thick cock. He looked so beautiful below her, gleaming with sweat and rosy with anticipation. Fingertips tickling up and down the sides of her thighs. Gods, when he laughed, that lusty chuckle of boiling desire had her foolish in his arms. She chased that sound, easing down on his cock until he bottomed out inside her. The stretch and slick of her walls fluttering around him forcing a high pitched whimper from her. Clit shuddering at the sensation of little hairs against it, nearly orgasming right there. Never had she wanted someone so much, craved another’s touch in a way she didn’t know was possible until meeting him. Everything about him was magnificent.

“Moan for me, love. I want to hear your every sound as I fuck you,” Tav demanded, locking her palms on his chest as she began to ride him. Fast, fervently, hips bucking back and forth so good he obeyed instantly. Husky, sultry, moans and even guttural growls with each grind of her pussy against him.

One hand stayed on her thigh and the other kneaded at her breast, his thumb flicking and pinching her nipple while her languid movements continued. By now, he could see when she was close, biting down on her lip to concentrate as she ignored her aching muscles. More warmth and wetness dripped along his cock. He nodded to her, let her use him as a toy for her own pleasure, moving pieces of hair from her face at the same time.

“Let me see you cum again, please. That’s it, ride my cock like that. So wet for me, I can’t believe it. Keep going, yes, very good. You’re doing so well,” he said, words of encouragement coming with his thumb moving to her clit. Rubbing the spot he learned she liked, just a little assistance in getting her over that impossible edge.

Tav’s body cramped up as she squeezed onto his cock, crying out Gale’s name as her third climax ripped through her lower half, felt even at the tingling peak of her breasts. He could’ve done anything in that moment, came anywhere he liked, and she’d be fine with it. Her orgasm all the stronger as she pictured being covered in him from face to pussy. A debauched mess on top of clothes, fully vulnerable to him.

Seeing her above him brought his own release closer. Unable to wait as he pulled her torso down to kiss her hard, pushing his tongue into her mouth with reckless abandon. Tav yelped playfully as they kissed, paralyzed by the ecstasy of being fucked into. Sore, sensitive and hedonistic, she relished in the hard thrusting and the heated touch of their perspired bodies together. Wishing this would never end but craving his release inside her at the same time.

She left the kiss to whisper in his ear, biting his earlobe, licking at him, “Finish inside me. Please, I want it so bad.”

“Oh, gods, Tav I’m going to—right…ah!” He groaned out the unfinished sentence, his impatient cock spilling inside of her tight hole. He pulsed within her, feeling his spine arch as he experienced likely the greatest orgasm he’d ever had. Reaching his entire body, lasting longer, an addicting taste of eternal paradise. Tav’s soft whimpers the final touch to the most wonderful feeling.

She moved off of him, laying flat with her legs open. Gale still felt trickles of desire in his stomach, not enough to get hard again so quickly, but enough to lean over her thoroughly fucked cunt. His breath warmed her skin as he caressed his tongue along her clit, letting his index finger rub her cum-filled entrance as he did. All she could do was wheeze, too tired for a full moan but adoring the feeling of his mouth on her again. He was gentle this time, careful not to bring out the growing soreness. No, he just softly licked, kissed and sucked at her clit, stomach sinking with carnal intrigue as he watched his cum dripping out of her. He wanted to mark his territory, give her one more orgasm to be certain she knew she was his. Even just a little one.

Tav concentrated with the full power of her exhausted mind, feeling herself ready to climax once more. She couldn’t believe how skilled he was, moaning his name out again as he pinched her lips together, pushing her clit further into his mouth. That, mixed with the amazing sensation of his cum inside of her, was enough to inch her into that little release. Her fingers clutching his hair, pulling slightly as she came for a fourth time. A tiny bit more of his seed poured out of her as she relaxed.

“Perfect,” he said, leaving her core and moving to lay beside her, “You are amazing. I can’t believe you’re real sometimes.”

Tav smiled, cuddling into the crux of his shoulder, “I should be the one to say that. No one’s ever been so attentive to me. And by the gods, I have never finished that many times.”

“Oh, my love, I am excited to inform you that wasn’t even all I can do. If I had you in a bed, with a private bathroom, different corners of the room to take you in; you’d have at least six, I’d make sure of it,” he replied.

“In that case, we must find an inn as soon as possible,” she replied, kissing his cheek as he scooped her body closer to him.

They cuddled for a few minutes more, letting the cool, night air dry their sweat-drenched bodies before returning to camp. Hand-in-hand, eyes doled with the fire of new romance and the comedown from lovemaking. What began as the rising moon, evening pink with sunset, had transformed into deep night, pleasantly dark and glinting with fresh, sparkling stars. Neither of them wished for a conclusion, but sleep beckoned and they had no idea what might happen tomorrow. Tav only knew that she’d refrain from taking too many risks, as now she’d become a fool for someone else entirely.

Gale and Tav agreed to share a tent tonight, and from now on. First, she went to the smouldering fire to grab a piece of sunmelon and her water canteen. The rest of the camp now silent as everyone retired for the evening, except for their most nocturnal companion: Astarion. Who had returned from the other side of the woods, pallid complexion brighter than usual, a sign that he just fed on an animal.

“Good hunt?” She asked, finishing off the last bite of her sunmelon piece and throwing the peel in the fire.

“Never as good as the real thing, darling, but enough to tide me over. Perhaps I should’ve saved some for you, tired little adventurer,” he replied, brow raised in that cheeky expression. Always present when he was about to take the piss out of someone.

“Fruit and water will suit me fine. Goodnight, Astarion,” she replied, turning to head for Gale’s tent.

Astarion spoke as she walked away, “By the way, remind your wizard to maintain his silencing concentration. If I’m going to hear your debauchery, I’d rather hear it from the beginning and not halfway through. Goodnight, Tav!”

Tav cleared her throat, swallowing down her growing embarrassment as she walked to Gale’s tent. Knowing fully well what kind of teasing she’d endure the next morning. For now, she would simply sleep in Gale’s arms and deal with the rest as they came.

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yunwangja · 2 months

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undercurrents | yn’s council

masterlist

character descriptions !

y/n

after a failed relationship that traumatized her, she decided that fangirling is better than actually falling in love

her ex broke up with her saying they got “tired” of them and they’re not a match

she felt nothing but insecure in the relationship, her ex was always disappointed for her not “living up” to being a girlfriend

“you should be less demanding” or “you should be more ‘happy’ when we’re together” or “you’re too tense (said annoyingly)”

the final punch was “you’re not acting like a girlfriend”, and “you’re not cut out to being in a relationship”

since then, she’s coped by liking guys that are “out of her league”

she actually liked them anyway though

but never actually romantic !! always an admirable and happy crush

that’s why when she was invited to a volleyball match by samu, she noticed oikawa right away

but someone else found her interesting ;)

is not completely weird with tooru, she can be aggressive lol but in front of him, more of a shy fan

and tooru responds well (wholesomely) to yn

uni student

goes to yuu for diabolical plans

goes to yams for advice

goes to osamu if she needs a peptalk

osamu

calm, except for when he’s with his twin ,,, or stuck in a room with noya

more like a … yn handler

tolerates her; but he’s also the one who keeps her in check and makes sure she’s not going insane

in the first place he has no idea how people knew he had a twin because he never told that to a soul

as per his bio, tsumu is an extra character who pursued vball professionally and didn't go to univ (so diff from kuroo's team since they're all in univ as well)

former volleyball player but chose to go to univ after they graduated high school

good friends w bo since high school (but both got busy and spent some time apart when univ started)

always says yes to eating out for the food

especially when yams bakes cookies

sometimes he uses the lamest excuse to act “sad”

samu: it rained today… that’s depressing

yams: OKAY COOKIES FOR YOU (he knows, he just loves to bake for his friends)

yams

a very good friend of yn from her first day in uni

a yn protector at all times !!!!!!

he will not use violence but will instigate nishi into doing so

in this smau, he has no background of being a vball member

yn’s kindest adviser

would bake cookies whenever his friends are down or stressed

noya

loves to be painfully cringe

50% because its funny, 50% because it gets on his friends nerves

a yn protector !!!!

will use violence if that’s what it takes

the most annoyed one when yn has a new “crush”

yn: there’s this guy-

SHUT UP

so watch his reaction when she got a crush on oikawa <3

also has no background of being in the vball team

note: these are how i envisioned them to be when i started forming this smau. but along the way, there might be times their personalities may shift a little and/or expand more. just wanted you guys to take note of this in case i forget some of the details i wrote down here or make something along the way that might not be written here. idk, in my past smau i thought about this a lot so i wanted to say this lol, but rest assured the core of their personalities will be consistent throughout !

taglist: @lvtilzs @rarararararq @iamfontenlos @kurooswifeyy @secretsunsetsociety @kagsnumnine

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dearladynightmare · 1 year

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Good day my friends! Today I want to share with you my very well-considered theory about Hordaks “defect”. This idea really makes sense to me which is why I use it canonically for my comics (especially the next one). So, if you are interested in how I spent my nights, not able to sleep because of this head-canon, GO AHEAD! ;)

While watching the show I noticed some inconsistencies according to what Hordak said about his defect and how Horde Prime (HP) dealt with it. But what exactly do we know about his defect? Well, he told Entrapta that he was a clone of Horde Prime, that he had been his “top general” but he a had a defect in his cloning. So Prime declared him worthless and sent him to die to the front lines.

When I rewatched that episode I was confused. Horde Prime had a top general? Horde Prime himself chose a “worthless” clone to be his top general??? A clone who’s not even worth to have a name?? Later we found out that Prime does not distinguish between his clones. None of them was special in any way. Their only reason for existence was to serve HP. The clones also don't have fixed positions or tasks. You can follow this thesis well following Hordak. One time he stands at Prime's side, one time he is a guard in the corridors, one time he is a sentry on Etheria, ... It doesn’t matter to Prime - They doesn’t matter.

My first explanation was that Hordak just made the “top general” story up. A story he was telling himself to feel less worthless. An attempt to ascribe value to himself and in the eyes of Prime. And to give meaning to what he was doing on Etheria. It seemed simple – to simple. So, I thought what was if Hordak told the truth? And now hold on my friends!

Hordak wasn’t like the other clones. He had something which made him special – his defect. And I am not talking about his physical health problems which we were able to see in the show (I`ll come back to this later). I am talking about Hordaks ability of independent thinking and slight resilience against HPs mind control. Sounds weird but pls hear me out!

After Hordak returned to HP, his story could have ended. Prime wiped his mind and Hordak should have been like all the other clones. He should have been unable to remember who he was and his complete past on Etheria. But his story wasn’t over. From that time Hordak showed us that Primes mind control does not really work on him. And I have proof!

1. Prime is barely able to see Hordaks thoughts

Primes wasn’t able to see his thoughts right after their reunion. He seemed to wonder and came closer to touch Hordaks face. Then it worked. Later Hordak started to question everything, he was thinking about Entrapta, the first ones writing, She-Ra, the rebellion and was able to keep all those thoughts from the all knowing- all seeing Horde Prime, even if he was standing right next to him. Even if Hordak shouldn’t been able to remember any of those things in the first place.

2. Hordak remembers things without even trying

Before Hordak noticed that he had forgotten something he already remembered things without trying. For example when he met Catra on the corridor and called her by her actual name and not little sister like all the others.

3. Only Hordak was able to fight the mindcontrol

In the show we see various characters being controlled by Prime. But no one was able to resist as much as Hordak did (and he sometimes didn’t even try). Catra was the first to fall victim to the control. she could only defend herself when the chip in her neck got damaged, and even after that she was barely able to. Later, many other protagonists became victims, without the capability to defend themselves. In the end, even Micah was under the control and would have killed his own daughter if Glimmer wasn’t stronger than him. The mind control was stronger than his fatherly love and the fact that he was a mighty sorcerer!

Fact is, even if the controlled characters stood in front of the person they loved the most, they weren’t able to fight the control BUT Hordak (who only exists to obey Primes orders) found the lil first ones writing and went all like “ENTRAPTA! MY TINY WIFE!” ... Well kind ofxD

He also refused Primes orders when he met Entrapta back on Etheria again. He recognized her and wouldn't hurt her. He let her run off! And don't forget when Prime wanted him to get disposed of her. Prime ordered him personally to get rid of her, and he refused! BETTER he turned against him.

And tbh I don’t think theres a difference between a clone under mind control or an controlled Etherian. After all, the clones also had their own personalities, as we were able to see from Wrong Hordak.

And if all that is true, it is possible that Hordak really was a top general of Prime. Maybe HP recognized that Hordak is “smarter” than the others. Maybe he has used Hordaks feature at the beginning and gave him the post as top general. Maybe in form of a consultant? But we know Prime and we know that he wanted to control everything. And maybe he started to question whether he really wanted to grant Hordak this worth. He created a very own “security gap” and so he got rid of Hordak. Of course he didn't tell Hordak about the real reason why he wanted to get rid of him. He just told him that he was a defect! Hordak wasn't aware of what his actual defect was (that he was special) until he started to experience his body betraying him.

Which leads us to his obvious health problems! But what are they if they are not the original defect? Hordaks body turned out to be very weak. He made himself an amour to hold himself together (btw I think that’s very impressive since he’s „just“ a clone, it shows how smart he was!) because his body was betraying him. Well I noticed sth Wrong Hordak said and showed us. THE NUTRIENT-RICH AMNIOTIC FLUID. Remember? When he cooked together with Glimmer he said “True nourishment comes from the favor of Horde Prime, also from nutrient-rich amniotic fluid.“ After that, he showed off an ampoule of this green liquid stuff that we've seen often in the show. Soooo since I´m sure that HP has better things to do than share his rare food with his clones I think they also ate things like ration bars BUT this green liquid seems to be most important to Horde Primes species… He himself is treated with it and even a “simple and worthless clone” like Wrong Hordak is equipped with it. It´s a property he carries with him, so it must be important. Maybe important for their state of health??

If that’s true… and I think it is… Hordak has had a massive lack of an indispensable substance his species requires! And that over years since he has been parted from Prime! No wonder he was doing that horrible! This would explain why his state of health got worse over time and why he no longer had green eyes. His own technologies helped him for a long time but soon failed. If Entrapta had not been there, to make him a new suit he probably would have died or sth.

But even Entrapta's technologies could not entirely help him. At least not enough. Not until he returned to Prime, because Prime had no trouble healing Hordak. It was Prime's technologies that Hordak needed, so why did he throw Hordak out when his defect was only a thing that HP could easily cure? So the physical defect was just a concomitant symptom of years of neglect.

In the end there’s one question left: Why did Prime accept Hordak into his ranks again if my theory is right? Why would he take Hordak back if he was able to resist the mind control. Easy. Horde Prime is an arrogant and selfish dumbass. He was sure that after all that happened he must be the one Hordak loved the most. He decided to watch and test Hordak and his faith (when he asked him to kill Entrapta). He wanted to see him suffer. And he knew if Hordak wasn’t faithful he could easily get rid of him. But he decided to play that sick game… and he lost because Hordak chose to break the chain of abuse.

So that’s it. My theory about Hordak! Thank you so much for reading! I really hope you enjoy!💜

#hordak #entrapta #she ra entrapta #she ra netflix #she ra 2018 #horde #horde prime #theory #headcanon #hordaksdefect

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mouldymp3rotations · 4 months

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0624-010

Hi, sorry i'm late again, I had a few other things to do, and I ended up forgetting about this month's rotation lol (also i wanna point out that this is the DIXième rotation \m/)

This month, I had made a poll to let vk tumblr chose for me which rotation from my 20th anniversary would be up next. Here are the results :

First of, I wanna say thank you for voting ! I was absolutely expecting to not get even 10 votes on this lmao. Thank you for participating in my little experiment eheheh.

As usual : Song titles link to individual mp3 file download

All 5 songs can also be downloaded together in a zip file from the link at the bottom

So here what I had in reserve for Deathgaze, Dir en grey, Gazette, Mucc, and Soroban :D

DEATHGAZE - Dies Irae

I did not realized this, at the time, but I literally got introduced to deathgaze with their very first release... which was with their original line-up, which is also how I got to discover Hazuki and how I also got introduced to lynch. with their first release too :D

Dies Irae was released on 294036224052, in 2004 (the whole thing is worth listening ♥)

youtube

Dir en grey - Obscure

A fucking classic. I said in the previous entry that I originally didn't like dir, so this one came after I gave them another try. I spent my last year of high school listening to this song in a loop in between moi dix mois songs lol

Obscure was on Vulgar, released in 2003 (which also is still in my top dir album ! I also still think the original version is superior to the 2011 version, but that's me :3 )

youtube

(sorry that's the only one that doesn't require signing in apparently)

GAZETTE - The $ocial riot machine$

Now, I gotta be honest, i happened to lose interest in gazette very fast, as they are one of these bands that the visual is more interesting than the music to me. Today, I think they are a good base to get into visual kei, they were back in 2004 too, even if they were babies :D But between 2004 and 06, I was also looking for heavier faster songs, and this song here scratched that itch (ngl it surfed on the wave pop is dead created lmao)

The social riot machines was found on the album Disorder, released in 2004

youtube

MUCC - 我、在ルベキ場所 (ware, arubeki basho)

HAAAA this song is still so very effective on me. Mucc went all over the place, and I like some of their songs from all their eras, but I think their early 2000's is my favourite. Actually I think ware arubeki basho might be my favourite mucc song. Anyway you should listen to mucc ! Mucc is also the opposite of band like the gazette, to me, cause i spent a loooooooong time listening to them without even knowing what they looked like except for Yukke lol (and even then, if he hadn't his blond bowl cut............)

And I just learned that ware, arubeki basho was a single released in 2003, before being on 是空 (zekuu), later that year.

youtube

(wow i had not watched that in.................. 20 years lmao)

そろばん (soroban) - -RAM-

Soroban is a band only me knows...... ok no lol. But i knew them before Yumehito went to Ayabie (two thumbs down tbh) I also spent the longest time with only that song from them because, in 2004, I didn't realize how fucking indie visual kei was and I wanted more soroban, but all I got is that soroban is the japanese word for an abacus... i ended up finding their (really short) discography years later and was almost disappointed that -ram- is their only song sounding like that (the rest is good too, actually, just less heavy and more kawaii i guess)

-ram- was the A-side of the -RAM- / オレンジ手紙初回限定盤 (-RAM- / orange tegami) single, released in 2004 (orange tegami is also a very good song !!)

and I can't find -ram- on youtube (there's the 2006 re-recording i didn't know existed though) so here :

zip file with all 5 songs HERE ♥

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victoriaspriing · 9 months

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2023 writing gif-making round up

Rules (adapted for fic, gifs, art, etc.): Share what you made this year! It can be works you posted to Ao3, Wattpad, Tumblr, or anywhere else! You can share everything you made or just the projects you're most excited about.

I was tagged by @swearphil! thank you sm renee <33

Hii!! so 2024 is right around the corner, happy new year yayay. Actually, if I think too much about it I think I'll start crying cause like what do you mean we're less than 42 hours from staring a new year?!! 2023 doesn't feel real tbh time in general doesn't feel real but yeah anyways I'll save that convo for another time. I'm here today to reflect on all the gifsets I've made throughout this year, which let me add, has been A LOT. I'm going to start by sharing some fun stats (yes renee I'm copying you <33), and then I'll do a fun top 5 of my fave gifsets, and to finish it off I'd also like to use this to shout out some of my fave people and creators on this hellsite cause you all made my 2023 so much better and I love you all for that <333

fun statistics:

In total I made 61 gifsets in 2023

57 are heartstopper (not surprised)

3 are 911 lone star (mostly tarlos)

1 are dan and phil

In august I made 20 gifsets, which are the most gifsets I've made in a month this year

In may I made 1 gifset, which is the month I made less gifsets this year

6 of the gifsets are song lyrics edits

3 of the gifsets are heartstopper comic edits

31 of the gifsets are scenes from heartstopper

6 of the gifsets are heartstopper compilations from s1 and s2

top 5 gifsets from 2023 (in no particular order)

that one dnp gifset: I think most people know that I was and still am a big dan and phil fan, and that I spent most of my teenage years obsessing over them and giffing them and only them. Well, they went on hiatus and they stopped having a big impact on my life util they decided to come back and ruin my life again (in a good way). This gifset was the first time I giffed them since like idk 2019/2020, and it does mean a lot to me :') it's not really about the concept and the coloring, I chose this one to be apart of my top 5 for sentimental reasons, and I think that's valid.

give your friendships the magic you would give a romance: once again, sentimental reasons. when I read this quote on loveless it just spoke to me in so many levels. One of the things I love the most about heartstopper is the importance they give to friendship and I just had to make something that highlighted that and I think it turned out super good.

I think nellie loves him: well, now I think I snapped with this one akdhjahak I just love it so much. the coloring.. the heartstopper tv scenes with the heartstopper comic scenes, like chef's kiss, just perfect. of course this is not an original idea so I'd love to thank @rose-nobles for inspiring this gifset <33

mr. ajayi loves museum dates with his grumpy bf: and just like that we are back to sentimental reasons ahdhkas. well, this was one of the first gifsets I made when season two came out and it blew up. I've never had that many notes on a gifset, and honestly I think it's well deserved cause the coloring is good and I had finally just figured out how to sharpen gifs, so yeah love that for me.

I'm bi actually: I had so much fun making this one. the amount of bi coded elements and colors I included on this, I WAS ON A MISSION. the fact I made the font wobbly hsjgdjaka, I love love this gifset.

a little shout out to my faves (I hope you all have an amazing 2024)

@swearphil ☆ @barrowsteeth ☆ @narliee ☆ @cafecdramin ☆ @heroeddiemunson ☆ @nelsonnicholas ☆ @curlyhairedprince ☆ @wylanvannecks ☆ @aimeegbbs ☆ @indimlights ☆ @jelloandsugar ☆ @perrieedwards ☆ @imogen-heaney ☆ @thatwasthenightthingschanged ☆ @klinejack ☆ @birthdaysentiment ☆ @seeleybooth ☆ @sonseulsoleil ☆ @taraolssons ☆ @immortals-malec ☆ @parissquads ☆ @rose-nobles ☆ @itwasmagic ☆ @perccyjackson ☆ @naomismcpherson ☆ @neverfindmegone ☆ @charlieisverybored

Okay I think that's it, I'm so sorry if I missed someone. I'm also tagging everyone that wants to do this, just say I tagged you in it <33

#tag games #this was fun

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surely-galena · 1 year

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ToT Main Story 9 Commentary/Thoughts (Part 3)

[1] [2] [3]

This is the final part and I will be including some longer thoughts (and my bingo card) at the end! I've purposely stayed away from other people's episode 9 posts while I write this up (notably Zak and Sam's) so their thoughts don't influence mine, but I am definitely looking forward to seeing if the feelings/concepts I'm picking up align with what other people are thinking. Heads up that the commentary here is going to be slightly out of order so I can push my longer thoughts to the end.

Ohhh. Okay, this got me. Marius was literally physically attacked and no one (except Vincent probably) has genuinely cared enough to ask about Marius the person and not Marius the suspect/informant. I'm really glad MC chose to ask this question rather than let Luke interrogate him right off the bat. And the fact that Marius is surprised also speaks so much as to what he was expecting... I did not think I would be getting treated to good MariRosa today.

(He went down to the NSB office... alone. Marius...)

Vincent's back on the case again, I see. Truly, what would Marius do without him?

This bit confused me. Didn't Luke only tell MC about his illness in his first anniversary card? Am I missing something from the timeline here?

And hey, more details about the incident. The fact that Luke contracted the illness during his treatment and that the drugs were suspected definitely point toward NXX influence.

Longer Thoughts Incoming, Here We Go

All right, first thing. This scene on its own doesn't say much. It's when combined with the other things I've picked up on that it feels... a little off?

I don't know if I've spent too much time with fanon!Luke or if I've simply been reading too much into it, but episode 9 Luke feels different. He's really aggressive this time, which is nothing strange, we've seen Raven before, but it also feels like he's relapsing into keeping MC/Rosa in the dark? (It's not quite that, either, I'm having a hard time putting the exact feeling into words.)

That scene with Julian where Luke is trying to push him into standing up for himself? It was well meaning, but gosh was it tense -- especially with the lack of communication with MC. No wonder she felt the need to step in and help.

There's a lot of fist banging on tables and harsh sentences from Luke, a lot more often than usual (to Julian, to Skye, to NXX members). It's a good reminder of how scary he can be, but it also provides massive whiplash from all the fluff we've been getting recently.

Additionally, Luke's interactions with the other NXX members (notably Marius and Artem) feel more distant. Like they're potential enemies, not coworkers/teammates.

I also think it's possible all of this is because Luke is getting desperate. He's getting worse, the meds are doing less and less for him, and he knows he's running out of time. Despite this, he's still alive. He's still able to change his fate -- or at least he hopes he is -- but to chase after his goals, sacrifices have to be made. He can't afford to dawdle or spend time not getting to the point, because time is slipping through his fingers and he needs to do as much as he can before he's entirely done for.

Basically? I think Luke is becoming increasingly stressed and he's (either consciously or unconsciously) taking it out on everything happening around him. The only people he's been truly open to in this episode are Aaron and MC herself. He's beginning to close himself off, even to MC (*points to the final scene with him covering her eyes and talking about lying to her*). Physically, he's not fine, and mentaIly, I don't think he's doing okay either, and that is concerning.

Okay, now onto the second major detail that has been nagging at me. These are from the final scenes as example excerpts, but is it just me or have the NXX been weirdly hostile to each other throughout this entire episode?

In one of the earlier scenes (after Marius speaks with Tyson), Marius runs into Luke. The conversation sounds like fairly normal NXX team banter, but Marius' demeanor is strange:

"But when [Marius] gives Luke a side glance, his eyes reveal a sense of sarcasm and coldness, completely different from his tone." (Main Story 09-01)

I'd assume this is because of the recent NSB action regarding Pax, the press, and the NXX Team's investigation. Luke is a potential weakness in the NXX Investigation Team because he belongs to the NSB. But after all the team building events MC put her heart and soul into, this is honestly kind of tragic. For them to fall apart so easily, because it was only ever her who glued them together.

(I know @roshie-writes has mentioned something to me about the NXX team falling apart, but I didn't know it would be so soon, or be so abrupt. Not like this...)

Not only do Luke and Marius have some kind of under the surface conflict, we have Luke and Artem who have a much more overt kind of conflict (i.e. Luke pushing for Skye's guilt and Artem being Skye's attorney). I've got to say that this is really interesting because we've never had Artem and Luke on opposite sides before. It's always been Artem vs. Marius or Artem vs. Vyn. To have Luke be isolated because of his association with the NSB (and potentially his illness) is an interesting story move (even if it hurts the found fam enjoyer within me).

Considering we're passing off the lead role to another boy after this, MC will no longer be tagging along with Luke in the next episode. This means that while Luke and Artem are on opposing sides of the conflict, MC has the advantage of being middle ground (because, y'know, they're all in love with her).

Even so, this part surprised me:

It's not out of character for Artem to prove MC wrong. What stands out is that he usually does it kindly. This is a laugh that MC knows to be directed to an opponent, and it hits harder when they're work partners. If there is anyone Artem can expect to be an ally, it's MC. But not in this case. Not now, when tensions are so high.

Then we have Vyn, who's being, what? Switzerland in all of this? In this episode he existed to have one conversation with MC, along with the absolute boldness to take it in front of his mystery guest. You do you Vyn, we love our behind the scenes guy doing suspicious things as usual. Notably he hasn't chosen a side yet, and neither has MC. We know that MC will follow her heart, and that Vyn will always look out for MC in his own way (which is true for all the boys), but it might be interesting to keep an eye on him as we head into Main Story 10.

I know the ToT main story can get pretty heavy, but this one was more emotionally draining than I thought it'd be. I'll have to see how it all connects before making a proper judgement about how much I liked it, but overall I'm glad we gained a lot of new info (and more questions to delve into later).

Here's my bingo card for the episode. I was so close to a bingo, but I got to cross off many boxes anyway!

#tears of themis #okay now I'm off to read sam and zak's posts I am so curious to know what you both thought

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angst-king · 5 months

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More than anything pt 3

(Okay surprise surprise, I know i said pt 2 would be the final part but....Tiktok gave me inspo and I couldn't ignore it any longer. So here's this, its short but it makes the story feel complete. Sorry for the rambling, without any further ado. CW mention of starvation, suicide attempt and self harm)

Ever since the horrific night Lilith had come back home, she had been haunted horribly by the memories. Any time she walked into their bathroom she would be flashed images of golden blood splatters dripping down the walls. Or see him lying lifelessly in the bathtub. There were times when seeing his bandages and scarred arms made her shudder and her heartache. She was also learning the extent of Lucifer’s depression. That he had starved himself for most of her absence, that he had some of his hair missing because he would tug at it from stress. Then there were the nightmares about what happened to Charlie. She would wake up to him sobbing and yelling in his sleep for the beings in his night terrors to leave his daughter alone, or how it was his fault.

What had she done?

Lilith knew that to an extent his back sliding this hard was not fully her fault. She didn’t know this would happen, yet she felt responsible. She went back to picking up her side of things though this time it was considerably less than before since Lucifer had gotten things organized. Today had been different, she couldn’t stay in the house too deep in thought about everything. Guilt and regret were consuming her. So she spent most of the day using her musical empowerment abilities and attended meetings with Lucifer although she was much quieter than before.

Lucifer took notice of his wife’s hesitancy towards affection and silence. It worried him, he knew he had scared her the night Charlie and she had come home. He knew she looked at him differently. She shied away from hugs at times though she checked in on him regularly. They needed to talk, they were supposed to do it once Lucifer had recovered from that night. Even if he hadn’t fully healed both mentally and physically, he couldn’t stand by in ignorance when something was clearly wrong.

As they walked home Lilith stopped in their garden looking at the flowers. She always loved them, it reminded her of Edan, even if she didn’t always have the fondest memories of her ex, it was where she had met the new love of her life. There was a solemn expression as she brushed her hands through a cluster of Modana lily flowers. The soft sound of clouds rumbling and rolling brought Lucifer’s attention to the sky before a rain droplet hit his nose. One droplet turned into two, three, five, to a sprinkling, then a downpour. With a sigh Lucifer opened his wings, extending one to raise above Lilith’s head acting as an umbrella to shield her from the rain.

Lilith sighed as the rain fizzled out the fire-like movement of her hair, though furrowed her brows when the rain suddenly stopped. Looking up she saw the wing over her head, biting her lip as tears rolled down her cheeks.

“How can you love me after everything I’ve done?” She inquired through a trembling voice, facing away from her husband. There was a moment of silence before she had received her answer.

“Because you chose me, through everything you have been through with me, you chose to stay. As you had said before we fell ‘From the beginning of time, from Edan to heaven and hell, I choose to stay with him’. You chose me regardless of what options were in front of you. You chose me even through uncertainty, you chose me even after my brother tried to beat you into leaving me. You chose me….”

Lilith remained quiet as she took in his words, staring at the flowers before her until a hand reached her face. Gently guiding her to look at her husband still out of shame and heartache she couldn’t.

“I almost lost you because of my selfishness, Lucifer…”

“But you came back, my Lily flower.”

His hand lightly brushed the tears staining her cheeks as he smiled at his wife.

“What king would allow his queen to bare the weight of the rain alone, while he bathes in the gentleness of the sun? A King who treasures his queen would brave the storm with her until the sun returns.”

His wings retracted allowing the downpour to soak them both, but neither cared, This seemed to strike a cord in the queen, a smile pulled at her lips as she nodded. Lucifer reached towards the collection of Modonas plucked one, and gently placed one in Lilith’s hair. Something he would do back in the garden of Edan, giggling Lilith ducked down and kissed her husband passionately. Not caring about how hard the rain was coming down or how cold it got, she just wanted to feel his lips on hers again. She wanted to feel his body pressed to hers again. She wanted him, deeply and wholly she wanted her husband, her king, her Judas.

#king's fanfic #king's hazbin fic #lucilith #hazbin lucifer #lucifer angst #lilith angst #hazbin lilith #lilith morningstar #lucifer morningstar

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mimilind · 9 months

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A Magical Classmate - Part 3

Pairing: Draco Malfoy x Reader

Rating: T

Chapter Word Count: 1900

Parts: [ < Previous Part ] [ Next Part > ] [ Masterlist ]

Full story: [ AO3 ]

You attend a post-exam party and dance well into the night. You drink too much and Drake becomes chatty.

3. Circle of Friends

Flashing lights interrupted you and a police car appeared. When the cops began to question you about the incident you realized Drake had already left.

One policeman collected the knives as evidence, and when he put them in plastic bags you clearly saw there was no blood on either.

Had you imagined the drop on Drake’s cufflink?

After taking your names, the cops drove away in the direction the bikers had gone. They said since nobody had been hurt, and the crooks hadn’t stolen anything, chances were slim it would amount to much unless they found them and could prove the knives were theirs.

On the way home, Catrine, Andreas and you talked about Drake. Where had he gone, and why?

“Perhaps he was afraid because he used karate on the bikers,” said Catrine. “I’m sure that’s illegal.”

“Not if done in self-defense,” Andreas objected.

“Maybe he didn’t know that.”

Neither of you knew where he lived or had his number, so there was no way to know. You hoped he had gotten home safely and that he was alright.

The next day, you were relieved to see him enter the lecture hall looking perfectly fine. Today his suit was dark gray with pinstripes.

“Where did you go yesterday?” Catrine asked.

“Home. I was just very tired and figured you guys would be safe on your own with the police there and everything.” Before she could ask more, he changed topics and began to talk about something chemistry related and the upcoming midterm exams, and didn’t stop until the lecture began.

In the afternoon, he joined your lab station. “Do you need a lab partner?”

You nodded eagerly. “Yes, thank you.” You guessed he probably chose you to avoid an interrogation from Catrine, and made sure not to mention yesterday’s event in case you scared him away.

During the lab, you looked closely at his hands. There was no blood on the cufflinks now, even a drop, and not a mark on either hand. When he wrote in his notebook you saw part of his palm, and noticed a thin, white line across one. An old scar and obviously nothing to do with the recent fight.

No, you must have been so shocked and scared your imagination played a trick on you.

The following days everyone spent studying vigorously in their respective homes, you included, and hence you didn’t see Drake again until after the last exam. You gathered outside, discussing the questions and trying to estimate whether you had made a decent result. You also discussed where to go that night for the traditional post-exam party.

Catrine as usual suggested the dentists’ pub, and after some talking back and forth it was settled. It was the cheapest place after all and one of the few student pubs that had a dance floor.

When you arrived, Drake was already at the bar with a gin and tonic in hand, talking to Catrine and another girl from class. This time he wore marginally less formal clothes: a black suit and no tie.

You joined them with the intention to buy a cider when you saw a notice that tonight’s special was Red Bull and vodka for a very good price.

“Try it,” said the bartender. “You’ll be dancing all night.”

You liked the sound of that and bought one.

It was strong, and not as good as pear cider, but it did invigorate you.

Martin and his new boyfriend arrived, and Andreas shortly afterwards.

“Let’s dance,” said Catrine and led the way. You emptied your drink and was about to follow when you saw Drake hadn’t left the bar.

“Won’t you come?”

He hesitated. “I don’t know the steps.”

“There are none.”

“No steps?”

“No, it’s not like a waltz or anything, we form a circle of friends and everyone just improvises.”

A gleam of interest appeared in his eyes. “A circle of friends? Alright then.”

You joined the circle and let the rhythm pull you along, swaying your body, moving your feet, doing all your favorite moves – the ones you had learned in front of the mirror a long time ago and knew made you look your best.

Drake stood still at first, observing Martin like he took mental notes, then he began, moving with a natural grace you instantly envied, but you figured it was probably due to his martial arts training. He had picked the right person to imitate; Martin was the best dancer among you.

Drake’s fluid movements made your heart beat fast, and not only from the exertion of dancing.

You took breaks to refill your drinks – more of the same for you – and with each one, the ambience became more cheerful. Drake looked like he had the time of his life, and you were glad for him; he normally was so serious.

The pub was crowded and you became warm and rosy. Soon everyone was in their t-shirts, except for Drake who for some reason always wore button shirts with long sleeves. But he opened the top buttons, exposing an enticing triangle of pale skin, accentuated by a thick silver chain around his neck.

If only you could touch him.

You edged closer. “You dance well,” you said in his ear, raising your voice over the din.

“Beginner’s luck.” He grinned, then his eyes trailed over you. “Nice shirt.”

You felt a pleasant twinge. It was a tight garment that accentuated your figure – was he checking you out? The mere thought made your heart stutter.

You danced on and there was no limit to your energy. The Red Bull worked wonders. However, the next time you went to get one, you discovered you were out of money. Did you buy that many already?

“Want another?” Drake asked. He had followed you to the bar and leaned against it as if to steady himself. You were not the only one who were fast becoming more than tipsy.

“Sure!” You loved free stuff, drinks included.

You stumbled on the way back but Drake supported you. Despite your drunken state his touch gave you butterflies.

More dancing. You sang along to the lyrics and he laughed at how out of tune you were. Not unkindly.

He opened another button and you admired the sight of more heated, dewy skin. He seemed to look at you too.

He bought you another drink.

The dance floor was becoming empty and Catrine and the others had disappeared. You didn’t know what the hour was and didn’t care.

More drinks. Drake and you slumped over the counter, giggling together at something you didn’t quite recall what it was.

You impulsively patted his cheek. “You’re such a nice guy.”

He smiled sentimentally. “Glad you think so. Used to be a bad guy.”

“Probably went around karateing people, yeah? Can imagine. Is karateing a word?”

“Dunno. What’s karate?”

“Your sport. That you used when we were attacked.”

“Right. Yeah, I went around karateing people and was pretty much a jerk. Want another drink?”

“Thanks. You were badass when you scared those bikers. I’m impressed.”

He grinned proudly. “Always was a decent duelist.”

You finished your drink and rested your cheek against the counter. Just relaxing a bit.

Suddenly you stood near the exit. The music had silenced and someone was sweeping the floor. How did you get there? Where was Drake?

A girl looked kindly at you. “Need help?”

“No, I’m fine,” you lied, struggling to walk steadily as you went out. The night air was cold and woke you up a bit. The world reeled.

You found your bike and fumbled with the lock, dropping the key twice. You felt sick and threw up in a flower patch. On the third try you managed to unlock the bike.

“Are you alright?” Drake sounded concerned.

Relief filled you, mingled with embarrassment. You hoped he didn’t see you vomit. “I’m fine. I thought you had gone?”

“I went out to pee.”

His admission made you realize he was equally drunk as you. Chuckling, you climbed the bike and would have fallen if Drake hadn’t caught it.

“You shouldn’t ride this. Where do you live?”

“The other part of town. It’s alright.”

“Don’t; I have plenty of room and live nearby. You can crash at my place.”

Drunk or no, in a million years you wouldn’t have turned that offer down. “You sure? That’s nice of you.”

“I’m a nice guy. You said so.” He looked pleased at that.

You led the bike along with him.

“I had fun tonight,” he said. “More fun than… can’t recall when, actually. Must be way back.”

You yawned, glad for the bike to lean on. “Me too.” Then you had to stop and throw up again but Drake didn’t seem to mind. He held the bike until you were done.

You went on.

“Great thing, friends,” he resumed. “Never had them before. I mean, real ones. Decent ones. Ones who weren’t just tagging along because I was… who I was.”

“Mm-hm. You’re royalty then?”

“Not quite. Well. I suppose you could say… kind of like royalty, where I come from. A good name. Old blood. That sort of thing.”

You weren’t used to this chatty version of Drake and wished your head had swum less so you could pay attention.

“Poor you,” you said. “Everyone needs friends.”

“Yeah.” He nodded with emphasis. “But don’t feel sorry for me. I was a jerk, like I said. I deserved all I got.”

“I don’t believe you. You’re too nice to be a jerk.” You tried to give him a hug but the bike was in the way so you settled with a friendly pat on his arm.

“Thanks.” He patted you back.

You were both smiling to yourselves when you continued.

He stopped in front of an elegant gate. “We’re here now.”

“Right.” You stumbled on the marble stairs. Again he steadied you.

It was a beautiful apartment, very fitting for someone as neat and well-dressed as him. The combined kitchen and living room had a crystal chandelier hanging from a ceiling far above, and there was a persian rug on the floor.

You found the bathroom first of all and made good use of it. As you washed your face, the cold water sobered you a little. You couldn’t find any toothpaste so you tried to clean your mouth with just water.

When you returned, Drake had put a spare mattress with a green pillow and duvet next to his own bed – also with green sheets.

“You like green, eh?” You flopped down on the mattress, unabashedly easing your pants off. You usually slept in t-shirt and underwear.

“I do.” Drake did likewise and unbuttoned his shirt, exposing a white tank top.

The sight of him in only a tank top and underwear swiftly took away your sleepiness. He had such a perfect body. Why did he hide it?

“You should wear sleeveless more often,” you mumbled. “Suits you. Is that a tattoo?”

His cheeks colored and he put a hand over his forearm with a guilty expression. “Just an old… uh. Anyway, time to sleep. Night.” He quickly slipped under the sheets.

“Night,” you returned, burying your nose into the pillow. It smelled good.

Before you knew it, you slept.

A/N:

Cue, awkward morning…

This chapter may or may not be inspired by an actual event… the author admits to nothing and has no regrets. :)

Parts: [ < Previous Part ] [ Next Part > ] [ Masterlist ]

Full story: [ AO3 ]

#draco malfoy #draco malfoy x reader #draco x reader #draco #harry potter #harry potter fanfiction #university setting #fanfiction #fluff #feel good #draco x you #draco malfoy is nice #muggle reader #tom felton #A Magical Classmate #Mimi Lind

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celestemagnoliathewriter · 1 year

Text

All That Remains, Ch. 1 and 2 Notes

I wrote a fic for the @regulusblackfest and I have been DYING to talk about it since I finished it a month ago.

Author reveals came today so now I can gush all I want! Since I wasn't able to post about all my chapter updates or plans for this fic, I thought to write posts to tell you all about how this fic came to life, and notes behind what I did in each chapter. I'll do it in twos. Below is a moodboard I created for the fic to give you an idea of what I was thinking (visually) as I created it.

This story came out of a desire to see Regulus in a thoroughly, morally grey way. Regulus, to me, is often (mis)characterized as this poor little meow meow who has no agency, or he's just immature and misguided, and underneath he has a heart of gold.

He does have a heart, feelings, and wishes, but he makes a lot of morally questionable to morally reprehensible decisions. My goal in writing this work was to make a darker character like Regulus more sympathetic. You may not like him - you probably won't, to be honest - but you'll root for him.

Chapter notes below (there are spoilers, fyi)!

Chapter 1 - la recherche commence | the search begins

I chose a prompt in which Regulus's partner becomes pregnant. To do this in a way that felt faithful to his characterization, I had to give Regulus some motivation to find a girl. His parents want him to marry and he's got the idea to choose his own bride. He thinks it will be easy.

A line to capture his previous thoughts on women:

She was familiar enough, having spent his childhood growing up along other pureblood children, but as she was always with the other girls, he never needed to pay much attention to their feminine nonsense.

Regulus is purposefully written as a misogynist, and it's not a good look. He's a) a baby boomer, b) a pureblood in elite circles, and c) the son of a family that cares about continuing the line, which only matters through the male line. He's a chauvinist, but one who thinks he's in the right, because he's parroting the tradition of generations before.

A commenter wrote, wondering how Regulus could be so clueless about girls, when he's got 3 girl cousins.

He starts talking to them and it's really awkward. He gets one word responses, awkward responses, or skittish girls. He makes a list of potential brides, like a pro/con list.

Having female relatives is no guarantee of success in treating women nicely, fairly, or even knowing how to talk to them. He's arrogant and assumes he doesn't need help.

But he's also fragile. He's just 17, playing adult games, and wounded from a lifetime of being compared to Sirius. Regulus struggles with his ineptitude and wonders what Sirius would do.

He ends the first days of his search in frustration.

All That Remains, ch. 2 Notes

Chapter 2: le devoir avant le plaisir | duty before pleasure

It astounded Regulus that the girls around his age were less willing to allow him to court them, but the girls from the minor pureblood families, and the younger girls, seemed to understand the privilege they were receiving by being singled out by him.

In this chapter, we see Regulus trying to narrow down who he's going to court and it's not going well. All his conversations are one-sided and he struggles to figure out why.

This is the chapter that I began some world-building. This was a huge experiment for me, putting Catholicism this blatantly into a fic, but I was inspired by both the work of @artemisia-black and @green-and-grey-kenaz to bring this to life.

Thus I've got Regulus having a good old time on the organ, musing on his lady troubles.

Regulus's new friend/thorn in his side, Maia, gives him a reality check, and I start showing off her personality. In the previous chapter, she's not afraid to tell him what she thinks or argue with him.

She's no saint, either. This is one of the lines I give her: “You are the last wizard I’d want to spend my life with, and that includes Muggleborns.”

She doesn't say Mudblood, but there's a clear hierarchy in her mind that Muggleborns are different/worse. She's not necessarily outwardly bigoted but there is prejudice there. It's one of the reasons why Regulus becomes attracted/intrigued by her. He's never going to go for a blood traitor - think Blaise Zabini's comment in HBP that he wouldn't touch a blood traitor like Ginny, no matter how attractive she was. Same deal for Regulus. Maia's not a blood traitor, but she's not outwardly terrible.

The last thing we see in the chapter is Regulus thinking about his Dark Mark. He's not regretful that he joined the Dark Lord but he DOES wonder what his future bride will think of the tattoo. It sets up an uncomfortable tension that will continue throughout the story.

To read the fic:

#regulus black #all that remains #marauder era #my ocs #sirius black #house of black #noble and most ancient house of black #regulus arcturus black

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ninjahiccups · 1 year

Text

The Songbird of Asgard

Chapter 6: Fond

AO3 link OC Insert version Previous Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Word Count: 6.5k Warnings: None, other than it becoming clear that I hc Heimdall as demi okay byyyeeee

-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Blurb: Your next task is to accompany Heimdall to Svartalfheim to have the dwarves repair the relic recovered on your most recent search. You end up working, Heimdall ends up with an internal struggle until it hits him. --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Double posting because this ended up too long again. I'm actually not happy with how these next two chapters came out, buuuuuuutt it's been too long, so I'm moving on lol

Heimdall's legs carried him up the familiar hill, to the place he spent far too much time at now.

You weren't singing yet, your lyre was the only music coming from your spot. You caught sight of him and smiled warmly. He could feel how relieved you were that he chose to stop by after your last conversation, worried that you may have overstepped. Which you did, but Heimdall didn't feel the need to complain.

You closed the notebook in your lap, taking your eyes away from him for just a moment. When they rose once more, you found Heimdall sitting next to you, instead of in his usual seat across the fire pit. You did your best to contain your surprise from him, and to ignore the spark of warmth his proximity brought. It was strange to you; so far Heimdall had avoided you for days after you said or did something that challenged his way of thinking. This was the only time he ever moved on without delay. A part of you hoped that maybe, just maybe, you were starting to ease the stubborn distrust and distaste that kept him at arm's length from everyone. Now if only you could curb that arrogance of his, but that was a completely different hurdle.

"Finished a bit late today, did you?" You asked, switching to a tune he liked. He never said which songs he liked, but you had learned which ones eased his stress after so many visits.

Heimdall scoffed, resting his elbows on his knees. "You can thank Baldur for that. The imbecile hurled himself off the wall to win a bet and I had to scrape his ragged 'corpse' off the ground."

You chuckled, "Yeah, that sounds like him." He had a reputation for doing reckless and insane things for the smallest reasons. It was sad, watching him do terrible things to himself just for the off chance that he would feel something. Whenever you breached the topic with him he shut down and refused to address it. He clearly didn't want to share his thoughts on the matter.

Your companion said nothing as the lyre strings filled the air with calming notes, lulling you both into your own little reverie that no one else could disturb.

Heimdall was doing it again. He was accepting your company.

He didn't care, he decided.

Yes, that was his decision. He didn't sleep for a second the night before, after he dropped you off at home, pondering exactly what he was doing. Finding a "friend," devoting time to them for absolutely no reason other than he felt like it. It was so absurd, yet he kept doing it over and over again, and each time he did it became less absurd. He was coming around to the idea of…just spending time with you.

Was that so bad?

His duties still came first, and that was something he would never forget. That idea was ultimately what convinced him that he should have no quarrel with his wanton choice to indulge himself in your presence. He was the watchman, first and foremost. His purpose was to serve Odin by protecting the realm that rose above all others. Even so, he had some time to himself, and what was the difference between spending it alone and spending it with someone who kept him on his toes? In the end, this was the most productive and enjoyable way to use his free moments.

He could do whatever he wanted, so long as his work came first.

His mind wandered, this time to his earlier emotions rather than his thoughts. A rare act for him.

After you left him alone he paced around atop Gulltoppr for at least a couple hours. Regardless of how much he chastised himself for slipping, for letting himself fall prey to useless relationships that served him no purpose, he was still left with a lingering satisfaction. It was something he hadn't experienced before, at least not because of another person. He had similar feelings when he was reading, looking over Asgard’s plains from the wall, returning home after a day of hard and meaningful work. It wasn't quite the same, though. It was more potent, but just as comforting.

What was that?

"What are you doing?"

Heimdall's question was left unanswered. He returned to the present and glanced at you, keeping his eyes forward. "Does it look like I'm doing anything?"

"No, but you certainly are. The pensive look on your face tells me that." It was merely a fact, said with no taunting or mischief. You really had gotten to know him, hadn't you? Somehow he didn't mind.

"Just thinking," he replied.

"Thinking?" Your hand flies to your mouth in mock surprise. "That can't be, you never do that!" You had to hold in an impish cackle when he sat up straight just to send you his nastiest sneer.

Heimdall boasted, "If I recall correctly there have been plenty of occasions where I've done more thinking than you."

"Not really, you just let the foresight think for you, and that's not the same."

His teeth clenched in annoyance. Odin had said similar things before, so he couldn't in good conscience refute that. "Do you have to be this insufferable?"

A giggle. "I'm just wondering if you might have learned something last night, hmm?"

He wasn't willing to admit that he did. Something that would be invaluable if it weren't so risky. At the sinking feeling in his stomach he found that he just would rather not tell you that your efforts were in vain. "Yes. That you’re the worst," he settled on.

"Oh, come on. You mean you weren't thinking that you should try that more often? To…see beyond your foresight?"

Again, a glare. This one incredulous.

"Okay, yeah. That was a terrible line, but my point still stands."

Heimdall rolled his eyes. You were still so adamant that his foresight was a hindrance. "My foresight sees plenty."

He felt the shift. Subtle, and hidden from the surface, but he picked up on it. Disappointment. You may have presented the subject as a jest but you were really hoping he saw value in "turning off" his foresight when it was overwhelming. "Aaaaaand you missed the point. Even though it was right there." Your hand gestured to the empty fire pit in front of you, plopping back into your lap sluggishly.

Before he could help it he felt the discomfort creeping into his chest. Gods, why did he react so strongly? It was so much that he dropped the confidence just long enough to be sincere for a moment. "I'll use it again if I need it," he replied softly. He hated how weak it sounded, but the flood of appreciation and the loss of your discontent overpowered it quickly.

You smiled, much more at ease. "Good. I'm glad it helped."

Said with care. Genuine, selfless concern for another, even after they hardly showed gratitude for it. It was still mind boggling how foreign it was. Not in a negative way, for once in his life. While that thought was in his mind he felt something else from you. Fondness. For him.

It made him speak without forethought. "Thank you."

Heimdall almost jumped at the choking stutter you spat out, looking like the wind had nearly blown you off the bench. "Excuse me?!"

Heimdall rolled his eyes and sighed, giving no indication that he was just as thrown off. "You can never again call me dramatic after that reaction."

You held back laughter while you babbled back, "I-I have never heard you say that before! I can't even tell if you're serious!"

"I never lie, you know that." Again, said without a thought behind it. Damn his impulsive tongue.

You looked down, smiling brightly to yourself. This was it, you thought. This was what it was all for. These little instances where there was no need for him to look at every detail with such a critical and condescending eye. All it took was kindness that he could never find. It almost felt like an honor to have torn down his barriers enough to make it so. "Wow, Heimdall. Now I'm really starting to think you like me."

He couldn't help but snicker. As foolish as the statement was, it made something stir in him. The same thing he'd been battling since last night.

It was something he'd had enough of for the time being. "So, you're trying to hide things from me now?" He questioned while pointing to your notebook, changing the subject before he could get lost in his head again.

You pursed your lips at the book. "No, I'm just not sure about this song."

"The piece you were playing? I haven't heard that one yet. Was it something you heard and you're not sure if you're good enough to recreate it?

"No, smartass. It's one I wrote."

Heimdall's brows raised. "Another?"

"Yes, I've written a bunch. This one is…" you trailed off, not sure how to describe it. "I don't know, it's just different."

He couldn't help the curiosity after that. "Then put it up to the ultimate test. Let me hear it. If I don't like it then you know it's terrible." Said like a haughty lord who was reluctantly listening to the gripes of peasants.

You scoffed at him. Nonetheless you complied, adjusting your grip on the lyre and bringing out the melody.

You were right, this one was different. Not as serene and quiet, but more mysterious. Something that would fit nicely with getting confused by one's own mind and wondering where their head was going. Even so, it was still a relaxing piece, just more…hypnotizing.

Your voice joined in. The lyrics were the jumbled mess of nonsense they usually were, but still added that extra level of beauty that no other had matched. He refused to say as much, but your knack for making every song you played into something magical was quite impressive, even to him.

The short excerpt stopped. "I don't know, it's not what I usually do. What do you think?"

Heimdall chuckled, so light that you almost missed it. The songs you always played never got old, and now you would have even more at your disposal? He was suddenly giddy, so pleased that you would keep him on the edge of his seat in the most calming way possible. You were truly a gifted musician. "Turning out to be quite the songbird, aren't you?" he mused.

You saw the smile he wore, how soft it was paired with the admiration in his sparkling eyes. It left you incapable of maintaining eye contact. Your music helped him relax, that much you knew. It was seeing proof of just how much he enjoyed it that made you want to pick the lyre back up and sing again, just for him. You desperately needed to see this pleased grin more often. Your eyes returned to his as you muttered, "I like that a lot more than 'stray.'"

He agreed. A much more suitable title for you.

Bird's wings and a squawk sounded, breaking the content isolation. Huginn landed on the bench across the fire pit.

Heimdall shoved the moment aside. Duty called, and it was well established how much more important that was. "Back to work, then."

You stood with him, a bit disappointed that he moved on so quickly, but you couldn't blame him. Neither of you could keep Odin waiting. Holding your lyre and notebook up to the raven, you requested, "Huginn, do you mind helping me drop these off at home before I report to All-Father?"

The bird stared at you for a moment, almost like it was insulted that you asked. It cawed again in half-hearted agreement.

"I'll meet you there," you said to Heimdall.

"You certainly will."

He wasn't sure why he felt compelled to confirm it. Or say anything at all.

Heimdall waited in Odin's study until you made your entrance, stepping up to his desk while Huginn landed on his usual perch. Odin was still looking down at the papers on his desk, ignoring all others for a few more moments. You took a second to glance at Heimdall and gave him a smile, one that he returned eagerly.

An exasperated squawk rang through the study loud enough for Odin to acknowledge the raven. "What, Huginn?" He sighed, sounding every bit like an exhausted parent. Once the bird spoke again the All-Father looked between the two younger gods awaiting his orders, seeming suspicious. He then waved a dismissive hand at his pet. "Later." He didn’t elaborate on exactly what the bird was trying to say, moving on from its offended chirps without a second thought.

"No spelunking or combat today, you two." He retrieved the cracked orb you found in Niflheim from a bookshelf behind him. "I've been experimenting with this piece here and it can definitely be fixed. All it'll take is some materials and bifrost." The old god opened one of the drawers in his desk, pulling out a pebble of silver metal and holding it out to you.

You took it, brow furrowed with bemusement. "It seems like ordinary metal. How is this going to repair it?"

"It's ordinary metal for now. But thanks to my investigating…" A wrinkled finger pressed down onto the ore in your palm, blue and pink light of bifrost seeping out from the point of contact. Both you and Heimdall could feel the magic being transferred from Odin and into the metal, remaining once his hand withdrew. For a moment you practically held a physical manifestation of bifrost between your fingers until the energy escaped and dissipated before your eyes.

"I discovered that certain ores can contain and blend with bifrost if handled correctly. It all depends on the metal, which I'm certain our friends in Svartalfheim will be able to figure out right away. You'll be going there, asking them for the appropriate material, and using bifrost to seal them together." He nodded to Heimdall, "Which you'll be doing as soon as they get what you need. I'd rather you take care of it there than take several trips back to Asgard until we find something that works."

Heimdall bowed with no hesitation. "An excellent plan, All-Father."

You, however, returned the metal to Odin's desk with a frown. "With all due respect, All-Father, why do you need me to go? It sounds like Heimdall can take care of this himself."

For whatever reason Heimdall felt a mixture of pride at your recognition of his abilities and dejected that you were risking not going with him.

"A couple reasons. Main thing is insurance. If at any point you feel the binding magic within this sphere become unstable, stop the process immediately and return to me. And…" he glanced at Heimdall. "You're popular around here. The dwarves should be happy to help if you take the lead." An insinuation that Heimdall was feared in Svartalfheim. Based on the rebellion Sif had mentioned once, that made sense.

Odin wrapped the core of the artifact in cloth and handed it to you. "No dallying, we're too close to bringing this tool back from destruction to start now."

Huginn enclosed you in the vortex of ravens. With Odin gone, you wasted no time. "Can I expect you to behave yourself while I do all the talking?"

Heimdall rolled his eyes. "Can I expect you to pay attention and not get swept up in the mundane sight of Nidavellir?"

A shrug. "Looks like we'll both be let down." You had learned how to handle Heimdall quite well. This may have been the first time you'd get to look around a new realm even if he was with you for it.

When the ravens parted, Huginn flew off to a high branch. Where exactly, you didn’t bother to follow. Your sight remained on the mountain in front of you, intricate patterns and scenes carefully carved into the surface. Paths leading to outcrops littered the mountainside, all skillfully crafted by the dwarves. Even with the bustling industry the tropical nature of the realm still made itself known, framing the mountain and every hut, workbench, and shop with lush green trees. It was such a far cry from the dust bowls and closely chaperoned gardens of Alfheim, or the flat greenery of Gladsheim that you had grown so accustomed to. The smell of burning coal burned your nose and the clunking of heavy machinery brought life to the air. The warm sunlight filtered through the winding leaves above the round square that you were dropped in the middle of, turning the light into a welcoming yellow-green. You spun around as you took in the sights. Everything was so new, even if a lot of it was artificial.

Heimdall watched you with amusement as he strode towards the largest workstation at the edge of the square. "Don't get too distracted, now. We have work to do."

You were not dissuaded by him. "Oh, come on. This is probably the most pleasing sight we've gotten since we started looking for this relic."

A fair point, he said to himself while a dwarf in a white shirt and stained apron scurried to him. "L-Lord Heimdall! We've been expecting you," he greeted nervously, his brown cap almost sliding off his head when he bowed too quickly.

Your fascination with the environment had to be cut short. Heimdall had been there for a meager minute and he was already about to push his metaphorical weight around. You returned to his side just as Heimdall, while brushing stray ash from his tunic, drawled, "I am aware. Yet I don't see anything that we need. What is your excuse—"

You leaned down a bit to look at the dwarf that was only about two-thirds your height. "All-Father may not have been specific enough for you to supply us right away. Let me apologize for that by explaining what we need," you interrupted with an air of professionalism. The dwarf was blatantly confused by it, his eyes flicking between you and Heimdall like he only had seconds to memorize your appearances before you vanished. You weren't sure if he was more surprised that you had the bravery to interrupt Heimdall or that Heimdall let you interrupt him.

The dwarf adjusted the thin monocle framing the bridge of his wide nose as if he needed to get a better look at you. "And you are, my lady?"

You gave him your name, then continued, "I promise I'm much more personable than my associate here." Your smile was sincere, though Heimdall was irked at the milquetoast insult directed at him. "And what is your name?"

"Oh…I am Halvar, the overseer of this establishment where we sort, distribute, and store the assets that All-Father requests." Despite the condescending sneer Heimdall was giving the dwarf, Halvar relaxed at the gentle sound of your voice. "It is a pleasure to meet you, my lady. What was it that you needed?"

You held out the blue sphere for Halvar to examine, keeping close enough to yourself to communicate that he did not have permission to handle it. "We are looking for an ore that can mend this relic without compromising its abilities. It needs to be capable of holding bifrost, which Heimdall will use to combine them."

Halvar stroked his chin in thought. "I see…that is quite an exotic order. Receptive to magic, soft enough to be malleable, has a low melting point…I have some ideas, but we may need to run some tests to narrow down our options."

Heimdall growled back, "You're the overseer, yet you do not even know which of your stock would work? Are you sure you're qualified for this?"

The dwarf shuddered at the implication that Odin would hear about his shortcomings. "N-no! I mean, I know enough about the ores we have, it-it's just—"

"Ignore him," You intervened again before looking over at Heimdall and muttering, "Heimdall, shut up." The god scoffed at you while you reassured Halvar that you had faith in his knowledge. Among the fear that made a home in Halvar's mind, Heimdall could feel a miniscule hint of shock.

Halvar, much calmer with your comfort, said, "Well, we have plenty to see inside the storeroom. If you follow me I can escort you."

"If you wouldn't mind."

"Why, of course!" Halvar replied a bit too enthusiastically. "I'm happy to be of service, m'lady."

Heimdall almost sighed, seeing the same eagerness to follow your every whim that the servants in Asgard had, solely because you chose to spare them of the treatment befitting their status. As pathetic as ever.

Halvar lead you towards the ginormous circular door into the mountain down the path from the square, moving fast enough that he wouldn't hear Heimdall lean over to you and whisper, "A few soft words and he's like a loyal dog," with an unimpressed glare boring into the dwarf's back.

"Oh really? It's almost like being nice to people makes them like you, huh? Maybe you should try it." He only replied with a mocking exclamation of shock, making you chuckle. The dwarven workers around you stared, wondering why the cruel Heimdall they feared so much had seemed to be fine with the sass.

You were stopped in front of the door that was well over ten times taller than Thor. Halvar signaled his crew to open the gate, the anxiety returning when he turned to Heimdall and said, "It will take just a moment to open."

He was right to hesitate. The statement was enough for Heimdall to complain about, which was unsurprising to you. "You knew we were coming. Why would you not have it open already? All you're doing is wasting our time."

Halvar had an explanation — the wildlife could get antsy in the area and it was not ideal to have them exploring around Odin's preferred merchandise — but you gave him no chance. "Honestly, Heimdall, I don't get why you're so upset about a door."

"It isn't the door, obviously!" He lectured. The dwarves nearby noticed the lack of anger and insults. "It's the principle of the matter."

You sarcastically parroted, "'It's the principle,' he says."

"Yes, the principle! All-Father gave them ample warning of our arrival and it is not a surprise that we wouldn't find what we need in one of the dilapidated, second-rate shops outside of Nidavellir. Saving the trouble of waiting would have been respectful of our time."

You weren't really listening to his rant, knowing his impatience was not justifiable. "It seems to me that your 'principles' are stupid."

Heimdall sighed in annoyance, not bothering to change your mind. When he looked away he caught a few dwarves staring at you in dismay. He shot them a warning glare, silently commanding them not to eavesdrop. They practically tripped over each other trying to leave his line of sight.

The gates finally opened and the rumbling cogs and bolts were silenced. Halvar waved you inside the torchlit tunnel into the mountain. It opened into a huge room with a hole dug out of the roof to let the sunlight into. The branching paths were so numerous that it was overwhelming, leaving you wondering how anyone could keep track of where everything went. Some tunnels held tracks for metal carts that were connected to the plentiful mines within the mountain, others went to rooms that held crates and barrels, tools and safety gear, and spare parts for maintenance. The view from the entrance was so vast that you couldn't see the other end, the darkness of the cave swallowing up anything that wasn't directly under the skylight. Your eyes ventured up to see stairs and ladders going into higher rooms, several stories of them. It was a wonder that the dwarves working there didn't get lost in all the caverns they had to traverse while manning the storeroom.

"This is incredible!" You exclaimed, twirling around to find every detail and tuck it away in your memory. "How is something this massive made in the first place?"

Halvar continued through the dark portion of the entrance and toward the sunlight, grinning at your enthusiasm. "Ah, that's quite a story, my lady. My forefathers were the founders of these caves, drawn here by the rich—"

"How interesting," Heimdall droned, reminding Halvar that this was not a tour.

Halvar shrunk away from him. "Oh, yes, of course, my lord."

You shot Heimdall an irritated glower, moving to lightly slap his shoulder. He dodged it, of course. "Pretend he isn't even here, Halvar. We don't need him yet."

Heimdall showed how appalling the statement was with his expression, prompting you to smirk while you followed Halvar towards the sunlight. From his right he could feel the confusion of other dwarves, locating the source. An entire group of them had stopped to gape at him, all wondering the same thing.

How did you get away with that?

Heimdal asked himself that, snarling at the dwarves to remind them that he did not suffer fools lightly. Worse yet was that he was more angry at them for doubting his prowess than he was at you for giving them a reason to. He wasn't mad at you at all, actually, despite the annoyance being your fault. Maybe if you were still in Asgard, alone and far from others, he wouldn't care. But this was business, and your friendship was nothing compared to his duty to Odin. Bringing whatever antics you used to kill time was not to be tolerated.

He ignored the feeling of other dwarves questioning him while he stalked over to you. He stopped short, the sight stunning him.

The skylight. You were beneath it now, having followed Halvar while he recounted the founding of the storeroom. The warm colored light landed gracefully on your hair, illuminating the strands and gracing them with a golden halo. Your eyes, ever brilliant, shined even brighter with the light illuminating your curious gaze. The smile you wore was full of life and joy, the manifestation of the gentle and kind soul underneath. He could have sworn you were glowing in this setting.

You really are a beautiful woman.

Wait.

Heimdall shook his head and grit his teeth. No distractions, not while he was in the process of completing a very important task for the All-Father.

Halvar finished his tale and directed the two gods down a specific tunnel, with you gleefully following him. Heimdall caught up to you, intent on voicing his disdain for your casual behavior at such an inappropriate time. As soon as he was next to you and your eyes landed on him, all the frustration melted, and he couldn't control himself before he smirked at you lightheartedly. "Need I remind you that we are here on business?"

"Heimdall," you pleaded, slightly exasperated, "this may be the only time we don't have to traipse through snow or fight off ogres while we work. Don't you want to have at least a little fun?"

"Your 'fun' isn't welcome right now." He regretted the harsh tone as soon as he saw the hurt pass through you. "I much prefer keeping it elsewhere," he added quickly.

You paused, contemplating that statement, then nodded. "Alright, if you insist." You sounded too smug to him. Underneath that joking facade, he read something else. You were flattered, it seemed. Like you didn't mind that your friendly habits remained between you two.

He didn't feel the need to discourage it.

Heimdall intended to be stern and domineering, determined to criticize you whenever you were too friendly. It was just his thoughts that were a problem. They were so intrusive then, words and ideas popping into his head before he could regulate them. All of them had to do with you. Every single one.

He'd grown quiet as Halvar presented different metals to you and let you test magic on them, keeping his distance at times. He just looked at you, and it was when something made his gaze loiter for too long that the rogue thoughts would occur. When you were standing before a mine cart full of stones that glowed blue, he watched you, in awe of how the light danced across your features. Later on Halvar brought them to a forge to melt a piece of ore that you considered a worthy candidate. The heat rushed out of the furnace he opened, the hot air blowing back your tresses and making them flutter in the breeze. He watched every strand flit across your face. After that metal was deemed inappropriate for your purpose, Halvar guided you to a crate of a rare resource, freshly mined and still covered in soot. Heimdall tracked your fingers poking at the metals, staining your fingers with black dust. You wiped them off on your waist, and Heimdall's eyes were trapped in that spot, admiring your frame and the curve of your back until you walked away.

He watched you go until Huginn cawed at him. The insolent bird had been staying closer than usual.

No matter how much he forced himself to focus and stay alert he kept drifting back to you, telling himself how gorgeous you were in the torchlight, or how sweet your voice was, or noticing how soft your skin looked, or how enticing your laughter was…

You had found a potential ore to use, one that passed all other tests and shouldn't interfere with the complex binding spell the relic created. All you needed was for Heimdall to see how it reacted to bifrost. "Heimdall," you called without taking your eyes away from the ore. "Can you test this out for me?"

Heimdall was too lost in thought, examining the gorgeous proportions of your profile.

"Heimdall?"

The second attempt shook him out of his mind. Your amused smirk was the first thing he registered. "Not even paying attention, are we?"

He didn't answer. He didn't want to, still wondering why he was so distracted.

The ore passed the bifrost test, and you deemed it would react well to the existing magic. He took the lump of ore in his hand, a rainbow glow emanating through his fingers. When he opened his hand the once black stone was a mass of swirling blues and pinks. Halvar was excited by the new idea, despite the fact that he knew Odin wouldn't give them any time to explore it. The dwarf bounced off to the forge to melt the ore and mend the crack in the relic.

"You've been quiet," you said once you were ignored by any surrounding dwarves. "Something on your mind?"

Heimdall shrugged, pretending that he didn't have the slightest clue what you were talking about. "I can't say any of this has managed to keep me entertained."

"Oh really? You seemed much more interested earlier, when you were whining."

"I do not whine."

"It sounded like whining to me."

Heimdall taunted back, "You have no right considering how much you whined when I wouldn't let you pet Gulltoppr after I dropped you off last night."

You harrumphed, "That's different. You were just being a jerk."

Heimdall laughed in triumph. The sound brought a wave of confusion through the bystanders. Every single dwarf within earshot was aghast that Heimdall showed not an ounce of viciousness or annoyance, and even looked content. He promptly reminded them who he was with a single scowl that sent them running.

Once again his mind went on a tangent fueled by you. His eyes went to your ear, where the gold cuff decorated the cartilage. He remembered the first time he saw it. He liked it, and considered taking it if he was given permission to kill you. This time he didn't consider having it for himself, or think about how it matched his picky taste in trinkets. All he could think was how nice it looked on you, how it brought out the highlighted strands among the hair around it.

His thoughts were interrupted by the gradual build up of anxiety coming from you, evident by your fingers fidgeting with your sleeves. "Is there any particular reason you're staring at me?"

"I'm not." Technically true, he was looking at your jewelry specifically, not your person.

You sighed. "I've mentioned this before, Heimdall. Your eyes glow. It's hard to miss."

Heimdall replied by rolling his eyes, using that to indicate that his denial stood strong. The nervous tension in you remained.

"Are you angry with me?" Said in a whisper so that no one but him would hear.

Heimdall almost scoffed. "Have I ever had a problem with voicing my anger in the past?"

A shrug. "No…but you don't always have such an intense look on your face, which makes me think you're upset."

He had no idea how to explain himself while hiding the fact that he didn't really have a reason.

"If it's because I'm being too chummy in public, I can stop."

Stop? Stop doing the things you always did? Go back to that quiet, meek form of yourself that held back the flame he found so amusing? The idea itself felt like blasphemy. "Don't," he choked out, biting his cheek afterward. He still couldn't figure out how you managed to loosen his tongue.

A glimmer of hope peeked through the fear in you. "You aren't mad then?"

It was then it clicked. You weren't scared that he was angry. You were afraid that he was ashamed of your friendship. It made sense. He'd made it abundantly clear to everyone in the realms that the only part of him they'd see would only be his fiercest front, and no less. No one should forget his deadly skills, his lack of hesitation when it came to expressing his power. That was exactly why he chose to remain professional with you when he was called to action. Hearing that it made you think he was ashamed, though…He didn't like it. There were so many people he was ashamed of associating with. Thor, his sons, the mortal inhabitants in Gladsheim, the idiotic einherjar that were just barely smart enough to take orders, dwarves that he intimidated on Odin's behalf…but not you. You were the last person he would be ashamed of. The only person he could do more than tolerate, the reason this entire trip to Svartalfheim hadn't been a complete drag that drove him to the brink of unreasonable violence. If you thought he was ashamed, then there would only be one place — your little hideaway in Asgard — where you would continue to be yourself and show that fiery temperament of yours.

The iron will to remain professional he had forged began to bend and crumple. "I'm not upset," he said after a few moments, struggling to sound as neutral as possible.

Even the indifferent sounding confirmation was enough, banishing the fear that you had crossed a line and broken his trust. "Really? Hmm…you definitely would have been if this was happening months ago."

The mischief he heard convinced him that abandoning his decision was worth it. There you were: the one that made things so much more lively. Why did he want to push you away again? Really, it was much more worthwhile to punish anyone who was foolish enough to think he was any less of a god when your friendship showed. Why punish himself for it?

His duties still came first, of course. But the opinions of anyone that wasn't Odin? Well, he never cared in the first place, and why would he start now?

He covered his rapid withdrawal with a confident smirk. "Well, we are still forced to tolerate each other. I've chosen to spare you my wrath for the time being."

You felt your stomach flip, knowing his words were more cryptic than they seemed. "To my understanding, you just said that you really have started to like me."

"The stupid language thing again," he mumbled under his breath. "You're wrong, actually, I despise you entirely."

You laughed, the wonderful sound like little bells. "Don't worry, I despise you too." Implying that you were speaking his "language," obviously. He chuckled at how ridiculous it sounded coming from you.

The conversation would sensibly end there, but Heimdall felt the urge to say a few more things — things he fought the urge to say. He wanted to emphasize that his declared hatred for you was sarcasm despite that you clearly knew it. He just hated the idea of you thinking there was even an ounce of truth to it, that his hatred for you hadn't long since passed and been replaced by…this. Whatever this was.

You snickered again, making him realize he had started gawking at you again, this time in plain view. "That reminds me. If you aren't angry, then what is it?"

He didn't know. He couldn't consider it either. The forge Halvar was working on grew brighter with rising flames. Their light highlighted your eyes and accentuated the forms of your face, all while warming your skin and adding color to the hair he was more and more tempted to reach out and touch.

All he could do was look at you. In that moment you were so, so breathtaking. It was the first time he'd ever been so entranced by someone.

You're beautiful. He wanted to say. He fought it. So what? When did appearances ever matter? Why did he feel the need to say something so foolish and worthless?

Something inside him had the answer: it wasn't your appearance that made you beautiful.

He lost the battle. His mouth opened. The phrase was working its way through his tongue.

A hardy guffaw broke the scene. Halvar returned with the orb, hooting and hollering about his handiwork. "Lookie here! It's like it was never broken in the first place!" He held it out for you to see, much more inclined to show you rather than Heimdall. There was no exaggeration in his declaration, however. The sphere was as good as new, and there was no sign it was any less functional than before. If anything it felt more stable now that the magic was properly contained.

"That's amazing!" You cheered, asking how he managed such a feat on an object as delicate as that artifact.

Heimdall tuned out. There was one persistent thought in his mind, and it was taking all of his strength to drown it.

He established that he liked you the night before, and he accepted as much. Now it was starting to sink in.

He didn't like you. He was fond of you. Very fond of you.

Huginn's black eyes never left him.

#Heimdall #heimdall god of war #gow heimdall #heimdall x reader #songbird of asgard #Heimdall finally says the thing (tm)#god of war

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hopefulatrocity · 1 year

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From The Ashes: Chapter 1

If you would like to be added to a taglist for this story, please let me know!

Note: This is a short part. The next one is finished(just needs editing) and much longer, I swear. I just wanted to give a bit of context for how Pheonyx ends up at the farm. Also, wanted to introduce my last minute addition of Kismet! If you’ve ever had a hound or a pitbull, he is the epitome of both. Absolute goofball but serious when it comes to tasks. Pheonyx isn’t good with people(you’ll find out exactly why later) but he spent a lot of his childhood helping Hershel with his patients. So, I felt it would be remiss if he didn’t have a pet of some kind. Do not worry, I may not have the whole story written but THE DOG DOES NOT DIE. Animal deaths referred to in the TW are for hunting and the three feral dogs that attack them before Alexandria.

Series Trigger/content warning: Homophobia/transphobia/biphobia, zenophobia/racism/sexism(Merle), age gap romance(11yr difference. Pheonyx is 28, Daryl is 39 ), sexual assault/rape, child molestation, canon character deaths, body mutilation, child abuse, torture, hunting, smut 18+( P in V, unprotected sex(please practice safe sex!), creampie, breeding kink, rough sex, marking/biting, oral sex, sub/dom undertones), animal deaths, scars, blood, corpses, depression/anxiety, body dysphoria, religious trauma, menstruation mentions

Chapter Content Warnings: Angst, scars mention, slight transphobia from parents, top surgery, dysphoria

Prologue Part 2

*2 weeks before Outbreak Day*

It was shortly after 8pm when Pheonyx finally opened the door to his tiny apartment. Normally, he would be home before five but he wanted to make sure everything was squared away at the shop before he left for Atlanta the following morning. 2 years of planning was finally coming to fruition.

In less than 72 hours, he would be getting the lumps of fat removed from his chest. No more binders. No more top dysphoria. He could finally feel at home in his skin. The tattoos covering his skin had been the first part of that. Covering the scars that were constant reminders of devils in his past. The surgery would be the last part. Pheonyx was grateful, to whatever higher power there was, that he only had top dysphoria. Sure, he’d love to have been born with the parts that would allow him to be considered “biologically” male. It would have saved a lot of pain and heartache from his childhood. Over time, though, he had grown comfortable with what he had going on below the belt. Which is also why he chose not to take hormones. Every trans person’s transition was different, and this was the path he found happiness in.

Pheonyx sighed, tiredly, and dropped his backpack next to his packed suitcase and acoustic guitar case. Too tired to be bothered with packing, he was grateful that he had the mind to pack it the night before. He could hear his neighbors arguing upstairs and the sounds of sirens pierced through the shut windows. Despite the noise, his apartment felt too quiet. The missing sound of happy whimpers and nails clicking on dirty tile wore at his heart. Pulling out his cheap flip phone, he dialed his sister’s number. As usual, she didn’t pick up the first time he called. He shut the phone and waited. 5…4…3…2…1… The phone buzzed in his hand. Maggie was quite predictable sometimes. He flopped down on the couch and pressed the green button.

“How is my boy?”, Pheonyx asked.

There was a melodic chuckle on the other end, followed by his sister’s strong southern accent. “Well hello, Nyx. Good to hear from you. The farm is good. My classes are goin’ well-”

“Maggs, I love you but my boy spent hours on a plane today. He might have been doped up on Benadryl-laced cheese but I need to know he’s not traumatized. I feel guilty that I couldn't get him room on the same flight as me. Stupid breed laws, I had to go through a third party airline.”

A door shut in the background, one Pheonyx knew from memory. He could just imagine Maggie shutting the old screen door on the white farmhouse and heading out onto the porch. “Kismet is fine. He’s already peed on every tree in the first acre. And has already tried to break into the chicken coop twice. Literally scared an egg right outta Hillary Fluff.”

A deep laugh rumbled through his chest. He could already see his goofy, bluetick coonhound/pitbull running around the fields and causing havoc. His mutt had the stocky body of a pitbull, all muscle and brick head, but the speckled color of a bluetick coonhound. The dog was crazy. The smarts of a hound with the spastic energy of a pitbull. He was a happy-go-lucky dog and the light of Pheonyx’s lonely life. A shade different from when he had found him as a skinny puppy behind the tattoo shop. The poor thing was skin and bones, covered in scars. The pain in Kismet’s eyes was one that Pheonyx saw in the mirror everyday. He found kinship in the bundle of fur. And from that day forward, they were glued to each other.

Maggie continued, “He’s asleep in the living room right now. You might have to fight Daddy for custody when you head back home next month, though. Gave him the full vet treatment. Shots, nail trim, ear cleanin'. They fell asleep on the couch together, and he’s been spoilin’ him all day. ”

Pheonyx slightly tensed at the mention of his stepfather. “Speaking of Hershel, how are he and mom doing about the whole surgery thing? I know they’re the ones who offered for me to stay but I still remember the first time I mentioned it. Mom just cried for the whole call. And Hershel just kinda exploded.”

There was a pause before his sister responded. “They’re set in their ways, Nyx. Both are of the mind that God makes no mistakes. That by changin’ your body, you’re throwin’ insult to the Lord. But they love you. I’ve been showin’ them those studies and articles you send me. That seems to help with the misgenderin’ and deadnamin’. Haven’t heard them do either in almost a year. They would prefer you not have surgery, but they want you to be happy. It took them a while to get used to your tattoos too. Once it’s over with, I feel like things will get better.”

Even though she couldn’t see him, Pheonyx nodded, “Yeah. I think so too. For me too. I’m just- Maggie, I’m just so happy this is happening. It feels like everything that has happened has been leading me to now. I don’t know if I would have the courage to do this, if I had stayed in Georgia. Don’t get me wrong, I miss you guys. But I couldn’t heal there. Here, I have friends.”, he heard his sister sniffle on the other line and tried to break the tension, “Hell, I can have hookups without worrying about Hershel or Beth freaking out about premarital sex.”

The joke hit home and Maggie chuckled, “Speakin’ of hookups, you got anyone special in your life currently? And I might not be able to see you but I know you’re rollin’ your eyes at me, mister. I’m knee-deep in my senior thesis. I need to live vicariously through your love life.”

True to her words, he rolled his eyes and put his feet up on the coffee table in front of him, “No. Just a couple shitty hookups. I went to a street fair with my boss, Zane, last weekend. Saw one of those psychics there. Really cliche with the purple headwrap and crystal ball. The whole nine yards. Told me that my soulmate would make an appearance soon. I asked for a description and she vaguely said he would be ‘a dark, gruff man with a streak of blue that carries a bow’. Also, said something about us having the same marks but I’m not sure what she meant by that. So, if you know any dark, mysterious archers. Let me know.” He laughed, not knowing that an emotionally-stunted, bowman–with eyes of Georgia blue and matching scars–was closer than he would have expected.

Prologue Part 2

#daryl dixon #daryl dixon smut #daryl x oc #twd fanfiction #twd daryl #twd #daryl dixon x trans!OC #daryl dixon x omc #daryl dixon fanfiction #daryl dixon x trans!reader #daryl dixon fic #daryl dixon romance #The Walking Dead #from the ashes

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jupote · 1 year

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Chapter One: What happens when a man is away from his bed for too long

Archive Chapter 2 ->

The nine of them were currently in Four's Hyrule, relaxing in the living room of his forge. Four's grandpa had been very welcoming of the eight heroes, inviting them to stay as long as they wanted to. The monsters in this world weren't very close to civilization so the chain spent most of their time resupplying, taking on the occasional task, or running errands for Four. Four, who they were greatly encouraged to leave alone when he was in his workshop. They abided by that rule since they didn't want to piss off the guy that fixed and repaired their damaged gear. There were two people you never wanted to piss off: the one who fixes your shit, and the one who cooks your shit.

When the time came for the chain to leave Four's world, the shortest Link gave his grandpa a tight hug, making the older man promise to take care of himself. Legend found the interaction disgustingly sweet, reminiscing about when he would do the same with his uncle. He had offered to go last through the portal with Four, allowing him to spend a few extra minutes saying goodbye.

"Smithy, it's our turn. Are you ready to go?" He asked as the second-last pair of Links went through the portal.

"Yeah, just give me one second." Four reluctantly let go of his grandfather as he said that. As Legend walked to stand before the portal he could have sworn he heard Four hiss out, "you better behave or I won't cuddle your ass for a week."

But it couldn't be, there was no one else around them? Maybe he was just hearing things.

Four, finally done saying goodbye, joined Legend at the portal. "Bye grandpa! Love you! Take care of yourself, old man!" He called out one last time before they stepped into the portal.

Jumping through time was no less disorienting than when he first did it all those years ago. His vision still swam and he still lost his balance, ending the time traveling trip on his butt every single time.

When he was finally stable enough to process what was happening, he noticed that everyone was looking at him. He raised an eyebrow and gave everyone an unimpressed glare. "What's everyone looking at me for? I tried getting him to hurry up but I wasn't going to force him to go through the portal." He defended himself, assuming that's why everyone was staring at him.

Hyrule raised his hands in mock surrender, giving him a bright smile. "Well, the world is full of magic but no one else has a world this rich in magic aside from me. And look around us, this forest is way too green to be mine. The only other person I can think of that's drowned in magic is…" he trailed off, looking at Legend for him to finish the sentence.

"...me? We're in my Hyrule?" He asked, jumping to his feet. He looked around the clearing they were in. Even with the sun barely in the sky he was able to recognize it as the little area he, Ravio and Sheerow often had picnics in.

The resident Link, happy to finally be home after months of world switches, was quick to start leading the way out of the dark forest and to his home. At least, I hope I still have a house to return to. Knowing Ravio, he rented it out to some strangers already. He wouldn’t be surprised either, it’s happened at least 3 times now. That’s his house, dammit, not an inn! Warrior, the ever present thorn in his side, made himself right at home on Legend’s right side. The warrior teased him about being a bit too excited to be home, asking if he had a special lady waiting for him at home.

“You could say that, sure,” he teased back, thinking about Sheerow. That counted as having a lady waiting for him, right? Instead of deterring him, it seemed to only add fuel to the fire as Warrior started asking what her name was. Legend chose to ignore him in favor of listening to the argument behind him; he could hear Twilight and Wild arguing over something stupid, as was typical for the pair. The subject of their argument today was about fishing, it seemed, and the most efficient fishing methods. Wild was adamant about using bombs and bare hands, while Twilight advocated for a fishing rod. Twilight was right, but everyone knew Wild was too stubborn to listen to reason. In fact, he doubled down on his opinion when he noticed it agitated almost everyone around him.

In the rear of the group was Time and Sky, who were entertaining Wind. He was telling tales of his adventures. Again. Despite telling the same story over and over, he always managed to put a different spin on it to make it seem new and exciting. This time, the spin was how he barely managed to save his crew from a vicious storm. At the front was Legend leading, with a careful eye trained on Hyrule. Legend would keep him by his side with idle chatter, answering questions about whatever he had questions about, offering trinkets to play with, or some snack to eat. If he somehow managed to slip away, Four was there to reel him back to the group. Even when he wasn't paying attention, flitting between the different groups and entertaining himself, Four always noticed when Hyrule wandered too far away from him and was there to grab his sleeve and drag him back to Legends side.

While he was happy to be back in his own world, a world he knew by heart, he was desperate to get back to his house. He loved the chain, they were his brothers in arms and he trusted them with his life, but nothing could compete against the warm arms of Ravio and the sweet songs of Sheerow. He urged the group to walk faster, gaining multiple complaints from everyone. No one argued too hard though, everyone understood the urge to get back home as quickly as possible. Soon they were all but storming into town, causing a brief amount of panic to the stall owners setting up shop. If it wasn't for Legend leading their group, the poor owners would've thought they were raiders and alarms would start ringing.

He briefly waved or smiled at whoever greeted him, legs transitioning from a brisk walk to a sprint. Their concerned shouts and worried calls didn’t register in his head. All he could hear was his heart thumping, ready to burst at the idea of being able to see his best friend again. Once they were safely in town, the other eight Links slowed down. Without Legend there to nag them they had no reason to keep the brutal pace, some even stopping to look around the stalls that were starting to open. Legend’s house was getting closer and closer, and all too soon yet not quickly enough the front door was in front of him. Vaguely, he noticed he left his group behind but a quick glance over his shoulder showed that they were just down the road, conversing with one of the stall vendors. They would be just fine, no need to interrupt their conversations and call them over. Besides, they can ask the residents for directions if they get lost.

Throwing open the front door, he looked around the room. It was almost exactly how he left it, if a little bit messier. He grimaced, but figured Ravio had forgotten to clean up after himself for a little while. He half-expected to look on the floor and see Ravio bemoaning about retirement being boring, or giving life advice that he himself should be taking. The sofa was where it's always been and the chests were still as overflowing as he left them. Actually no- Legend was pretty sure that chest in the corner had a more sizable load in it when he left…

Ravio’s favorite rug was still in front of the fireplace, and Sheerow’s perch was still on Legend’s old desk, the wooden furniture unrecognizable under all of Ravio’s magic and non-magical belongings. He had told Ravio he wanted his desk back one of these days, though he knew Ravio had completely taken it over. He was never going to be able to use it again.

"Ravio! Sheerow! I'm back!" He called out, walking over to his couch and setting his gear bag on it. It was heavy, and he wanted to swap out some of his items for stuff better-suited for his adventure. Honestly, if he knew he'd be going on an adventure at all, he would've taken his Ring of All's Luck or even his Pouch of Spike Traps, not his Ring of Blues Dye and the Bracelet of Feathers. His sword stayed in its scabbard on his back; he can comfortably leave himself gearless but even in the safety of his own home, he could never leave himself completely defenseless. You never know, he justified to himself. You can never be too careful.

His house was quiet, with no greetings from roommates, human or animal. The quiet was almost too quiet. With how naturally loud both his roommates were, it was incredibly suspicious. Ravio always greeted him from wherever he was in the house and Sheerow would fling her tiny body into him when he got through the door. "Ravio, Sheerow! You home? I brought some company with me this time, hope you don’t mind!” He yelled out, getting worried. Could he be sleeping? Is he out? Legend snickered to himself as he thought that. Ravio is too much of a homebody to go out if he wasn't forced to. But that thought brought more concern. If he really was sleeping, he must've been dead tired to not hear Legend coming home.

He could hear noises from outside getting louder, most likely his pains in the asses brothers. They were getting closer, they should reach his house within the next few moments. That is if they didn't get distracted along the way. He left the door open for them and started making his way to the shared bedroom, getting more and more concerned the deeper he got. Ravio was sleeping really heavily today. What did he do yesterday that made him so tired?

As he moved into the hallway, he froze. The walkway was a mess, a complete disaster. Pictures were on the floor with their frames broken, glass forming a thin coat over the wooden floorboards. The curtains were half torn off their rods and were even ripped in some areas. He glared at the mess on the floor, carefully stepping over the shards so as not to break them up even more. Ravio would never leave the house a mess, especially since he knew Link hated messes being where messes weren’t supposed to be. Just as he got to their bedroom he heard a loud crash and harsh yelling.

“Get off of me!” Was that Ravio’s voice? It had to be.

“I haven’t done anything! I haven’t left my house in days! How are you even here?!” Ravio again. Who was talking to him? Ravio never invited people over, nonetheless people who were so blatantly rude!

“Stop moving you traitor scum! You’re under arrest for-”

“Let! Me! Go! Link, help me!" At that, Legend jolted and reached for the door handle.

“Silence traitor! Anything you say can and will be used against you in the order of court! Soldiers! Contain this filthy traitor, make sure he can’t call for backup or get loose. You, go make sure the hero of the land doesn’t interrupt us.”

"Captain, he's struggling too much."

"Then knock him out!"

"Don't you take another step closer or I'll-!"

A metallic thwap followed by a heavy thump followed. And then silence. It wasn’t until he heard Ravio's yelling come to a stop did he swing the door open, the heavy wood slamming against the wall as he threw it open. With his hand white-knuckling his swords' handle he took stock of the situation.

Standing around Ravio's body - he was only unconscious, surely he wasn’t dead - were four unknown, Lorulean soldiers. Two of them held noticeable swords on their sides, one held a spear and the last didn't seem to have a weapon on them. The spear holder and one of the swordsmen were currently holding Ravio's body by his arms and legs while the second swordsman started heading his way.

At the sight of his best friend's body, he could only see red. His left hand whipped up to his scabbard to grab his sword's handle, the metal whistling as it cut through the air. The blade had barely left its protective casing when the last swordsman started making their way to him, the others moving faster to make their escape.

"Quick! Get the traitor out while you fend off the hero!" The biggest, unarmed supposed leader ordered.

Legend grit his teeth as the fight with the soldier started. Hyliadammit! His house was supposed to be safe, that's why he left all his gear in the living room! If he went to get it he could have a fighting chance!

Looking down at Ravio, seeing his friend's lifeless body being manhandled by a bunch of strange soldiers, he knew he couldn't leave. The sight was quick to put a stop to any thoughts of leaving. There was no way he was leaving Ravio by himself for any longer than he already has.

Legend raised his sword to block the incoming blade heading for him and rolled away from the incoming kick, closer to his dresser. He raised his sword again to retaliate but is forced to adjust quickly, instead blocking another incoming stab. He grabbed one of the drawers from his dresser and threw it at the enemy, using the brief distraction to wildly stab at the enemy. The battlefield got more dangerous as now clothes covered the floor, making it harder to find stable footing.

Legend was fucked. His enemy was just as good, if not better, than he was. He was so strong that the hero couldn’t keep half of his attention on Ravio while fighting him. Usually with his world's soldiers, he could keep half of his attention on something else, but not with this one.

No matter how many times he tried putting himself between Ravio and the soldier, the soldier always managed to wedge himself in between them again. It was a painful battle. Not because he was getting hurt - he didn’t even care - but because he could see Ravio being dragged away and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He was trapped in this fight. The soldier almost danced around him, their sword a flexible extension of their arm as they managed to twist it to get to areas that should've been difficult to get to for any normal fighter.

The soldier was relentless. They would attack with their free arm and feet while their sword was occupied with distracting him. If that wasn't enough, Legend could barely get any hits in without leaving himself open. His blocking wasn't fast enough to keep the soldiers' strikes from finding purchase in his skin. For every shallow strike Legend managed to get in, there were three more coming straight for him.

Somehow - Legend will blame it on his distracted eyes trying to see Ravio - the soldier managed to surprise him. They had spotted his wandering eyes checking on Ravio and used that against him. They purposefully eased up on their attacks for a few turns before suddenly striking at his blind spot. Legend grunted, slipping on one of his shirts, making him fall to the floor hard. The grip he had on his sword loosened and then disappeared as his body fell, lost in the mess of clothes and debris. The soldier took advantage of this, their cold, metallic headpiece being one of the last things he saw before he was knocked out. He looked over for Ravio, an apology for being too late just barely on his lips, and dropped unconscious.

—

It could have taken minutes, or hours, before he came to. He heard multiple voices shouting with worry and he felt his body being picked up. The back of his head throbbed with pain that he was quick to protest to, a displeased groan leaving him. The throbbing didn't stop until he was set down on something soft. Hands gently laid on his stomach before the cool, refreshing feeling of Hyrules' healing magic covered him. Cuts and bruises he hadn't felt before closed up, taking away the pain they brought with them. The pain in the back of his head also went away, leaving behind a barely-there ache.

The voices around him slowly started pattering off, being replaced by sounds of footsteps and furniture being moved. Legend gave himself a few seconds to collect himself before opening his eyes and taking a look around him to see who and what was where. Hyrule sat right next to him on the ground, face set in complete concentration as he focused every blip of magic on injuries he couldn't feel. Even though he felt fine and healed, he let Hyrule work a little longer. He wanted to put off everyone's worry for just a few more seconds. Looking around his living room - that's where he'd been taken - he noticed that he'd been laid on the couch. He could only see Wind, Wild, Sky and Hyrule here with him. Wind and Wild were looking at his overflowing chests, commenting on what he could be hiding in them. Sky was looking at Sheerows perch, giving it looks of interest and confusion. He didn't see anyone else but he could hear voices down the hall, coming from his room.

He let out a frustrated sigh and sat up from the couch, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. Hyrule was the first to interact with him, giving him the softest look he's seen on the boy. "You okay, Legend?"

Legend didn't answer, instead bringing up his hands to dig his palms into his eyes. He could feel the burning of tears gathering in the back of his eyes, threatening to fall down if he didn't put an end to them. His right palm burned slightly, likely a side effect from how tightly he was holding his sword earlier.

"Did I heal all your injuries? Did I miss anything?" Hyrule asked, sitting heavily on his ankles. There was still a steady stream of healing magic coming from his hands as he asked this, magic being wasted on something unimportant when it could be saved for someone else who needed it. For Ravio.

He didn't have time to answer the question before Wild and Wind spoke over each other trying to greet him.

"Legin’! Yer up!"

"Are you okay? We rushed over as soon as we heard-"

"-tha locals talkin ‘bout how they saw ironed idiots stormin’ yer house a few whiles before we got ‘ere!"

"So we followed their directions but when we got to your house we heard fighting so we went to your room and-"

"-t’ere was a vier in yer room stan’in over ya but ‘ey fled out tha window ‘fore we could stop ‘im!"

The two suddenly stopped talking, their loud questioning being replaced by gentle yet firm scolding from Sky. He didn't want to take his hands away from his eyes, already imagining the wide-eyed looks of curiosity and guilt the two were giving him. What was he supposed to tell them? He got in a fight and lost? He failed to protect the one person important to him?

By the time the burning in the back of his eyes went away, he could hear the rest of the group convening in the living room. As he lowered his hands he had to take a few seconds to blink the blurriness out of his eyes. Everyone was looking at him with different emotions on their faces, mostly varying degrees of concern and worry. They were all so honest with their concern that he had to look away.

"What happened? When we got here you were on the floor and someone was jumping out the window." Warrior asked, pure confusion on his face. "They kind of looked like one of your soldiers, but slightly different."

Legend huffed out a sigh, putting on his mask of annoyance. He could wait until he knew Ravio was safe before he started panicking. "I came home and it was too quiet. Usually Ravio or Sheerow would make a fuss anytime I came home but neither greeted me. I walked through the house, saw the hallways were a mess and thought something was wrong." As he talked he stood up from the couch, stumbling for a moment before righting himself. He waved off Time’s helping hands and grabbed his gear bag, checking to make sure he had everything he needed.

He continued explaining what happened as he walked to one of his many chests, opening one up and combing through the items within. "I went down the hall, heard Ravio and others yelling, and busted down the door. Got in a fight and-" he cut himself off. He knew he lost that fight, they knew he lost that fight. So why was he so hesitant to say it out loud?

"And your opponent got the best of you?" Time guessed. Legend nodded, not turning around as he threw some magic rods in his bag. The only sound in the room was Legend shuffling through his items.

"What happened to Ravio? Didn't you say he was in the room too? When we got there it was just you and that soldier," Warrior asked, finally breaking the silence.

Legend grit his teeth and he aggressively shut the chest and moved to the next one. "They took him. Said he was a traitor to the crown or something." He harshly spun around and pointed an accusing finger at Warrior. "And don't even think about agreeing with them! Ravio's a hermit that barely leaves the house. The only thing he's a traitor in is backstabbing me in a game of cards!" He defended against an unsaid argument. He knew how Warrior got at the mention of traitors and he wanted to curb that thought before it could take form.

Warrior was quick to raise his hands, surrendering immediately. "I wasn't going to say anything! You trust this Ravio person so I would hope they aren't any kind of traitor."

"Yea, Cap'ns right Vet,” Twilight drawled. “Y’all know an' trust Ravio, so we trust that that there’s a good fella too. We'll help you get 'im back." He set a comforting hand on Legend’s shoulder, hoping to himself it was actually comforting.

He huffed and sagged under the hand, weight he hadn't noticed suddenly being lifted off him. "I know he's trustworthy, I wouldn't have married him otherwise. I don't know how the soldiers even knew he was here. He's dead on paper, there's no way they could've known he was here or even get here in the first place.”

The group went quiet as everyone let his words sink in.

"You're married?!" Hyrule gasped out.

"An’ here I thought the ol’ man was the only with one of them shackles!" The rancher folded his arms with a smile.

"Pay up Wind,” Wild told him flatly, holding out an expectant hand to the sailor.

"What?! Ya fucker, ya should be payin' me!" Said sailor shouted in retaliation.

"Actually you both should be paying me. I called it months ago,” Four groused.

"Like hell y’did, ya mop licker!" The sailor spat back.

Legend could feel a grin threatening to spread across his face as he watched the chaos unfold. He knew he should be relieved in the fact that he could count on them to make a bet over something so random but he couldn't bring himself to feel the humor in the situation.

"You guys are telling me you never noticed the gold band on his ring finger?" Four asked, tilting his head.

"Oi 'scuse me, 'ere we s'pposed to tell one gold ring apart from the twelve othas 'e wears?!?" Wind cried, gesturing wildly with his hands in exasperation.

"It's pretty obvious that's a wedding ring."

"I'll make it pretty obvious that you-!"

"Boys!" Time interrupted with an impressive glare. Wind and Four immediately stopped arguing, though they shared a look that said the argument wasn't over. They would definitely be continuing it at a later date. "Legend,” Time started again, “Do you have any idea where they could go? Where could they be camping?"

Shaking his head, he let out a huff of frustration. "They shouldn't know anything about this area. Those soldiers aren't from the Hylian military. I don't know where they could go or how they even got here. I was planning on going through the woods and combing through everywhere to look for them." He offered his half-assed plan. He knew it wasn't the best but he didn't have anything better.

Six identical looks were thrown in Wilds direction, all seemingly to convey the same message. Said hero noticed the looks and threw up his hands in mock frustration. "Fine! I'll go get him! Twilight, come with me so I don't get mauled to death by the beast." Wild dramatically huffed, making his way out the front door. Twilight followed after the wild hero, giving a mock salute as he went.

"Could you get something for Wolfie to smell?” Four asked. “Something Ravio would use often? That way the wolf has a fresh sample to follow his trail." Four glanced around the room, as if trying to find such an item himself.

"Not a bad idea, smithy. Legend? Anything here fit the bill?" Time followed the littlest Links lead, his eye doing a quick sweep of the room.

Legend looked around the room, barely needing to think as he spotted Ravio's favorite, purple cloak. He never went anywhere without the thing, claiming Legend’s world was much colder than his ever was. He usually took it off in the house as Legend tried keeping it warmer than the outside, even if it got a little uncomfortable for himself.

Setting his gear bag on the floor he walked over to the cloak, taking it off the coat hanger and holding it in both hands. "He wears this almost everyday, Wolfie could use this to find him." Just as he said that, Wild walked back in the house with Wolfie in tow. Legend held a grimace as he thought of all the dirt he'd need to clean up when this was all over.

Wind excitedly looked at Wolfie before looking around with a confused face. "Where's Twi'ight? Ya took 'im out with ya, didn’cha?" The sailor asked, trying to get a look out the door.

Twin expressions of panic painted Wild and Wolfie's faces, the two sharing a look of 'what do we do now'. Legend took pity on them, letting out a scoff. They really need to work on their excuses. "He probably had to go take a piss. I bet he'll catch up when we get to wherever they're holding Ravio," he lied. Just because he's saving their hides doesn't mean he can't make it a little embarrassing.

Wild quickly caught on, giving an enthusiastic nod. "Yeah, Twilight really had to use the bathroom so he went to go find one. He said that he'll catch up as soon as he finds one."

The excuse seemed to satisfy Wind, the kid not pressing further. With no one else making any comments, Legend held the cloak out for Wolfie to sniff at, squatting down so the wolf had better access to the fabric. Wolfie seemed to glare at him before digging his nose into the fabric.

As Wolfie memorized the scent, conversation slowly started to fill the silence. Legend first heard Sky commenting on the bird perch, asking what it was and why it was there. "That's Sheerows perch,” he replied. “Ravio had it commissioned when we agreed for him to permanently live here with me. Sheerow doesn't use it often though, only when she's told to go there or trying to get some extra treats."

"Who's Sheerow? You mentioned that name before too," Hyrule asked, leaning against the couch as he recovered his magic. Legend felt himself unconsciously soften as he saw the boy recovering, grabbing a mana recovery potion and holding it out to him. Hyrule gratefully took the bottle and drank half of it, offering the rest of the potion back to Legend.

Legend shook his head and gestured for Hyrule to keep the bottle as he answered the question. "Sheerow is Ravio's bird. He brought her with him when he moved to Hyrule. Sometimes we use her to send messages to people far away and keep in touch with distant friends but mostly she's just our pet, a part of the family." Legend looked out the window, feeling like he could almost see the small bird making her way back to the house.

"I just hope Ravio sent her out before all this happened. She's so small, anything could've happened to her if she was here." It was a hopeful and naive wish but he wanted to hope she was still alive for a while longer.

"What kind of bird is she?" Sky asked.

"I'm not sure. She's small and white and can sing some nice songs. I think she might be some kind of sparrow? I've never asked, though."

After the brief questioning, the rest of the time was spent in comfortable, if somewhat tense, silence as they waited for Wolfie to get the scent. When he seemed to memorize the scent, the wolf began making his way to Legend’s room. Legend carefully folded up the cloak and packed it into his bag. Ravio will want it when they meet up with him.

"You guys go through the door, I'll follow Wolfie. I don't want you guys to break whatever's left of my window," Legend grumbled, following the wolf into his bedroom. The group thankfully listened to him and made their way out the front door, some quicker to leave than others. Legend followed Wolfie as he jumped out the window, immediately taking off into a run when the wolf did so. They didn't bother waiting for the other Links to catch up, going top speed as Wolfie followed the smell.

—

It's been a few minutes, possibly longer, and Legend could feel himself tiring out, his stamina taking a beating it hasn't taken since his last adventure. "Are we- we getting any closer?" He huffed out, feeling his lungs starting to burn. Wolfie let out a deep woof and slowed down, putting his nose to the ground once they came to a complete stop. They’d run so fast that they ended up losing the rest of the group, trees and greenery obstructing their view from the rest of the team. They couldn't even see the town anymore, it was just leaves and brush surrounding them from all angles.

“Fuck- hopefully they catch up soon," he muttered as he checked behind them, seeing that they left the team behind. "Are we close to where they’re keeping him?” He asked again, watching the wolf as he circled around the area they were in a few times. The wolf nodded its head, giving a quick glance in a direction before looking at Legend. It was almost as if he was asking him to wait for the others. He took a deep breath before shaking his head. “No Twilight, we can’t wait for the others to catch up. We’ve already wasted too much time with me getting knocked out and needing to be healed. They’ll catch up when they catch up. Now can you get a move on? Who knows what they’re doing to him while we sit here, waiting for the others to catch up.” He urged the wolf to hurry up, taking one more deep breath as he saw Wolfie getting ready to sprint again. We’re almost there, Ravio, wait just a little longer.

They spent another few minutes running at full tilt, occasionally slowing down so Legend could catch his breath. It’s not like this is his first time going at full speeds but dear Hylia, why was he so winded all of a sudden? Wolfie came to an abrupt stop, making Legend almost run right into his furry behind. Just before Legend had the chance to yell at the wolf he heard voices. Familiar voices.

“Yes Captain, sir!”

“Is he still out?” The captain asked.

“He’s no use to us if he’s sleeping. Go get water and splash it on him. We need the traitor awake when we take him in for trial.”

“Are you questioning me, soldier?” Even from back in the trees, Legend could hear the dark threat behind his words.

“Why can’t we just kill him here Captain? The bounty says wanted dead or alive. They won’t even know he was alive if we bring in his dead body.”

“No Captain sir! I’ll get the water right away, sir!”

Legend didn’t realize he was shaking until Wolfie leaned his head against Legends knee, causing Link to look down at him. He forced himself to breathe, unclenching his fists that had unconsciously formed at his sides. "You see those ones in the middle? They’re the ones that took him. That one in the very middle is the leader and those two back there were the ones that knocked him out. I can’t see the one I fought but I bet he’s around here somewhere, no doubt walking the perimeter." He mumbled, making the note more to himself than to his furry companion.

The soldier that the captain ordered was quick to grab a water skein and hand it to the leader. He unscrewed the lid and dumped the contents on Ravio, roughly waking up his counterpart with a sneer. Ravio jerked awake, breathing heavily as he tried figuring out where he was. The conversation they had was too quiet for Legend to hear, but judging by Wolfie tensing up and letting quiet growls out, Legend could only assume it wasn’t the greatest topic.

Legend thought their group was taking too long. They should’ve caught up by now, or at the very least Wolfie should be able to hear them coming up. If they didn't get here soon then Legend was going to get Ravio back whether he had backup or not. He must’ve had a look on his face that gave away his intentions as Wolfie let out a low whine, gesturing behind them with his head.

The resident Link let out another huff, just barely keeping himself back from yelling. He knew it was the stress of his counterpart being right there but not being able to immediately go and save him was making him act like this, but Wolfie didn’t deserve his anger. “I can’t just sit here and wait for the others to get here, Twilight! You can go wait for the others but I'm going in there, whether I have backup or not!" He whisper-yelled and glared at the wolf. Did he know he was being unreasonable? Absolutely. Was he going to stop? No way, not until Ravio was safely back in their house and his team wasn't however far away they currently were. Wolfie looked like he wanted to snap at him but held himself back with far more self control than Legend thought he had. "You can yell at me all you want. Later, when I get my husband back. Now are you going to help me or not?!" He hissed out.

The wolf before him stood there for a few seconds before slowly dissolving into the shadows, leaving a kneeling Twilight in its wake. A kneeling, pissed Twilight in its wake.

"Now y’all listen,” he growled. “I'll help ya ‘til the rest all get here, but don' you think I'll be forgettin’ this. You oughta wait ‘til the rest get here-'' Twilight cut himself short when Legend threw him a side glare. He rolled his eyes and kept going, ignoring the look. "You oughta wait ‘til they all get here, but I see how much Ravio means to ya. I'll help ya outta this here conundrum, but in exchange, you watch yer language around Wind. Every curse word he's learnin’ on this journey ‘s been from you," he scolded, giving Legend his disapproving stare usually reserved for Wild, Wind and Hyrule.

Legend smirked, getting out his strength and stamina rings. He did one more analytical look around the camp they were at to make sure he wouldn’t be missing any enemies. "If you didn't want him learning curse words from me, then you shouldn't have put me on babysitting duty when I was tired."

“It’s called third watch, not teach th’ kid curse words duty, Hyliadammit!”

“Yeah, yeah, call it whatever you want. Now hush boy, I’m scouting.” From what he could see based on his watchful look, along with the three soldiers, there were four more further back: three more spear holders and another sword user. Ravio was dead center in the camp next to the campfire, hands tied behind his back and legs tied together. He appeared to be disoriented and scared, but he was conscious, and Legend could only hope the soldiers didn’t give him a concussion when they knocked him out. He relayed what he saw to Twilight who he could see was already eyeing the enemies like they were his next meal. Legend quickly told his partner the plan, not wanting to get between the wolf and his prey.

"You go over that way and I'll go over here. On my mark we'll circle them and begin the attack. Since you're the fastest, you try to get Ravio out of there as fast as possible. I doubt they'll have any problem using him as a hostage to make us surrender. While you do that, I'll go and distract them so they're focus is on me, leaving you enough room and time to get out. Once you get him to a safe area you can join back. Got it?" For, not the first time, Legend was glad he had the most experience in adventuring. His experience is what let him be able to come up with such a quick plan.

There was barely any time for Twilight to answer when they both heard the sound of shrubbery being jostled in the distance. They twirled around, swords in hand to defend themselves if necessary. No way, did they circle around and get the jump on them?!

"Legend! Twilight! There you two are! You two took off before any of us could-" they heard a voice yell from behind them. They both turned, bodies tensed as they tried telling their new member to quiet down. Their quick thinking wasn't quick enough, all three of them heard the sound of the enemies calling out for them and telling them to come with their hands up.

"Who goes there?! If you're here to get the traitor back then we'll have no choice but to kill him here and now!" They heard the captain shout.

"Wild, you're such an idiot! Twilight, screw the plan, we don't have the element of surprise! You attack and I'll get Ravio out! Wild, be the distraction!" He barked out, quickly grabbing his Fire Rod from his bag to make the fireballs stun the farther enemies.

"Legend wait!-" Twilight tried yelling out but it was too late. The fiery orbs flew out of the rod and sailed over the nearby soldiers, hitting and stunning the four soldiers further away from the center.

Twilight grabbed his shadow crystal and was soon covered in darkness, his form shrinking and gaining mass until Wolfie stood in his place. Wolfie immediately jumped into the fight, snarls ripping out his throat as he bit at the sword-wielding soldier closest to Ravio.

"It's an ambush! Men, prepare your blades! Don't let them get to the traitor!"

Legend threw the Fire Rod back into his gear bag and grabbed his sword with his left hand, getting into a fight with the captain who had a weapon this time. It was a decorative yet dull looking sword but it was sharp enough for what he needed.

"Wild! You're good at crowd control, take care of those in the back! Wolfie, what we agreed on!" Legend barked out orders, not looking back to see if they were being followed. He locked the captain in a standstill and used his leg to give a powerful kick to his chest, sending the leader backward and into the dirt.

Legend swiftly pivoted and grabbed Ravio's arm, using his momentum to swing the other over his shoulder.

"Soldiers, the enemies obtained the traitor! Don't let them get away!" The Captain ordered.

"Wolfie, cover me!" Legend screamed.

The Captain and Legend shouted at the same time. It was a race of who was faster, the soldiers chasing Legend or Wolfie throwing himself against them and using his massively fluffy body as a shield.

Legend heard the sound of a bowstring being released behind him, and felt something hit his back. He grunted, the sharp prick of pain being blocked out by the adrenaline rushing throughout his body. Legend ran to the edge of the clearing and sat Ravio against a tree trunk, reaching behind him to rip the arrow out of his back. Luckily it wasn't deep in his back, but it was deep enough to pull a hiss from him. He threw the stick off to the side as he carefully used his sword to cut the ropes off Ravio's wrists and ankles, not wanting to accidentally nick the other.

"Link…! Is that really you? You're back?!" Ravio exclaimed, throwing his arms around Legend as soon as his arms were freed from the ropes. Legend winced, flinching away from Ravio as he pressed against the wound on his back. Ravio slowly let go of Legend as he flinched away, looking away as Ravio gave him a look. He looked down at his hands, brows furrowed as he saw something on them. "Link you're-"

"Stay here Ravio. The rest of my group will be here soon so stay here until they come." Legend cut him off, already knowing what Ravio saw. He could worry about healing later, he'd drink a healing potion soon. "I'll come back for you as soon as I know it's safe."

"But Link, you're-!"

Legend didn't give him time to respond, giving his forehead a quick kiss before jumping back into the fight. He made sure to enter the clearing from a different area than where he exited, not wanting to take any more chances with Ravio's safety.

Wolfie had done a good job holding the soldiers back from getting to Ravio, even managing to redirect them and hand some off to Wild. Wild was holding one of his giant lightning claymores, spinning in circles and using the enemies armor against them. The soldiers would freeze in their tracks and fall down, staying frozen for a few moments until the electric currents left their armor.

Wolfie, while his teeth barely penetrated the thick armor, used his body to slam against the enemy. Legend joined to help him, figuring Wild was able to handle himself. It's not because he was pissed off at him or anything for blowing their cover and the obvious advantage they would have had, if Wild wasn’t so obnoxiously loud. He'd never let his emotions get the best of him like that. Besides, he wasn’t foolish enough to stand close to an electrified weapon.

Legend threw himself on the ground as he felt a presence behind him, just barely dodging the sword aimed for his neck. He rolled over and glared at the newcomer, seeing that they were the same soldier he had fought in his house. Legend gritted his teeth and flung his sword so harshly that his body jerked from the force.

The soldier brought their arm up and blocked the blow, returning with a strike of their own. Legend ran completely on instinct, ducking and reflecting anytime he couldn't find an opening to strike.

The game of attack and defend continued for a few minutes until Legend saw movement out the corner of his eye. He couldn't focus on it for too long though, needing to quickly dodge an incoming strike aimed at him.

"Stop!" A loud, brash voice yelled over the area. Legend stilled, sword kept raised to quickly attack if needed. The soldier did the same except he couldn't see which direction they were looking in, unsure if they were looking at him or just had their head facing him. He spared a quick glance to see who yelled, not entirely surprised to see Time with the rest of the group. He was pleasantly surprised to see Sheerow perched on his pauldron. She started flapping her wings, looking like she was about to take off but was stopped by Time holding a hand in front of her.

"I have a letter sent by Queen Hilda herself! In the letter she states, ‘Ravio, her loyal servant, is and has hereby been cleared of any and all crimes! Any who are to attack him for past crimes are to be punished by imprisonment until death.’" Time declared, holding up a rolled up paper. He leveled the leader with a hard glare, almost daring him to refute his words.

The captain spluttered and stomped over to Time, grabbing the letter and examining it. Legend could practically feel the man seething with rage as he studied everything from the words to the seal on the paper. The captain shook for a second before picking his head up and holding it high as he addressed his men. "Soldiers, we're retreating! Queen Hilda has ordered us to return to the castle so we shall go along with accepting any punishment she gives us!" He called out, rounding up his men.

Legend didn't stay long enough to see if they really were retreating, turning around and immediately running back to where he left Ravio. He crashed through the bushes and only stopped long enough to see where Ravio was. When he spotted his counterpart he immediately ran and threw his arms around him, holding the other tightly to his chest. It was like a light went out as all the sounds and sights of the world faded away, being replaced by a loud, static silence. His focus was entirely on Ravio, reassuring himself that Ravio was there and alive and I wasn't too late and everything hurts but I have him, I wasn't late, he's safe and the team took care of those soldiers and I don't have to worry about them.

It took a few seconds until reality faded back into focus and when it did, it felt as if someone dunked him into a freezing river. His heart was thundering in his chest and, despite the sharp prickling of cold, he felt sweat dripping down his back. He didn't notice Ravio's gentle hands running through his hair or Sheerows tiny claws digging into his shoulder. The sounds of his group talking around him and Ravio's words of reassurance didn't even register to him until he actively tried understanding what was being said. It took him even longer to realize he was shaking with tears running down his cheeks. "R-Ravio I-I-I can't…" he gasped out, the air feeling heavy in his lungs.

"Link, look at me love. You're okay, I'm okay. We're both okay. We're both alive. You saved me just in time. Thank you, Link. I knew I could count on you to save me again." Ravio said all of this with a gentle smile on his face,

Without his cloak, Ravio looked so small; his hood usually made every expression he made look mischievous and fiendish. Without it, he looked so honest and sincere, giving Legend no choice but to trust him.

"But I left you and you got hurt again because I wasn't here to protect you,” he blabbered.

Ravio furrowed his brows, giving him a calculative look. "Link, you think I got hurt because you weren't here to protect me?"

"Last time I left someone, they got hurt. And- and I never saw them again." And suddenly he wasn't a seventeen year old Legend. He was a nine year old Link watching his uncle die in the castle halls. He was fifteen year old Link saying bye to Marin for the last time on the beach in front of her house.

Ravio softened immediately, bringing Link back into the hug and squeezing him tight, as tight as he knew Link needed to ground himself. "Oh, Link! Just because you weren't there doesn't mean it was your fault. We've talked about this before. Their deaths weren't your fault. You were just a kid. You were a kid, and only a kid. You weren't a hero, you didn't even know what the Triforce was! You were a kid living with his uncle until you were forced to grow up."

Link set his head on Ravio's shoulder, tense muscles relaxing as he soaked in the words. Vaguely he felt Ravio mouthing something and making a motion with his hand but he didn't care enough to figure out what he was doing. He dug his head into Ravio's shoulder, mumbling something against his shirt.

"What was that?"

Link moved so his mouth wasn't pressed against Ravio's shirt. "I have to protect you."

"Why?"

Legend didn't want to admit why he thought that. Ravio would be honest-to-Hylia pissed if he knew. "Because… because you're married to the hero and my job as both the hero and your husband is to protect you." While that was true, it wasn't the whole reason.

"That's really sweet Link, but what's the real reason? Nothing about being a hero or needing to protect me. Why are you beating yourself up so much?" It seems like Ravio knew too and saw right through Legend.

He hesitated before finally spilling his thoughts out. "When we first met, you came to me for help. And when I was in Lorule, I found your diary. The way you talked made you seem like such a coward, and-and I know you're not!" He hastily added, leaning back so he could show his honesty. A negative side effect to the movement was looking at Ravio's face directly. But instead of the anger he expected, there was only honest understanding and realization.

"You made yourself seem like such a coward and that's what I figured you were,” he continued to confess. “Even though I've seen you be brave and fearless yourself, I've always seen you as someone who needs to be protected and taken care of."

Ravio was silent. Legend looked away from him, not wanting to see his expression. It was only when he looked up, calmed from his initial panic, did he remember his teammates. He didn't see them around where they were, so he could only assume they had gone back to town without him.

"You're not wrong, I'll always be a coward at heart,” Ravio chuckled. “But I can protect myself, Link. I fought with that Captain friend of yours multiple times, I can fight if I need to. I was just taken off guard, nothing you or I could have predicted." He took one of his arms off from around Legends shoulders and shook the sleeve back. "Plus, I wasn't a complete sitting cuccoo. I had something planned."

Wrapped around his wrist was a silver bracelet, welded to a perfect fit. "Is that the escape bracelet I made you?" Legend asked in surprise, noticing the runic engravings on the metal.

"The one and only. Too bad I haven't been able to test and see if it works, someone keeps saving me before I get the chance to use it." He joked, giving Legend a teasing look. "You don't have to worry about me so much, Link. I can protect myself. And when I can't, I always have this trick up my sleeve to save me." He took his other arm off Legends shoulders, grabbing his cheeks to give his forehead a kiss. "Now let's go home so you can introduce me to those friends of yours." He paused, looking down at his hands as he thought about something.

"Please tell me you have your home ring on you. I don't want to walk that far," he begged.

Legend smiled, glad that they were able to talk about this. He could feel that Ravio wanted to talk about it more but was holding back for his sake. "The house is a bit of a mess. Those soldiers really didn't care what they were doing." Legend grimaced, remembering the state he found the house in. Ravio groaned, letting his head drop onto Legends' shoulder.

"Hyliadammit!"

–

Legend laughed. Despite the tension in his muscles and the pulsing in his back, he felt much better. Just before he activated the home ring, he let a quiet gasp out. "I almost forgot, here. I thought you'd want this back as soon as possible." He said as he stuck a hand in his gear bag, immediately feeling the coarse outer fabric of the cloak. He pulled it out in one fluid motion, the fabric billowing in the gentle breeze.

“My cloak!” Ravio gasped, and was quick to retrieve it and throw it over his shoulders. “Oh, Link, thank you! But why did you crease it?!” He threw his arms around Legend, holding tight as the teleportation activated.

It had been less than a day since then, afternoon transitioning to evening. Legend and Ravio had gotten home safely and had started to head inside when their bodies realized just how beat up they were. When the rest of the Chain returned to their home, they were greeted by the sight of the two lying on the floor of their living room, bickering about who had to get up to get the healing potions. Needless to say, Hyrule was not happy with either of them. He scolded them as he healed their injuries, almost yelling at Legend as he took care of the arrow wound in his back. Luckily it hadn't gotten infected, his only saving grace.

The team helped around the house, throwing out ruined furniture and going out to buy more. It was during one of their supply runs that Wild approached him while he was cleaning the hallway. Everyone, save for Legend and Wild, had left. Since Legend was the most injured out of everyone they left him behind while Ravio gave a tour of the town. Wild had volunteered to stay behind, claiming he wanted to help clean.

"Luckily Link introduced me as one of his traveling friends when I first moved in. That way the villagers don't get suspicious when I don't go out often." Ravio had said as they were leaving.

"Hey Legend… I wanted to say I'm sorry,” the Champion said.

Legend was sweeping up the glass shards from the hallway, thick gloves on to pick up the larger shards. Next to him was a broom and dustpan to pick up the smaller, finer shards his fingers wouldn’t be able to get. To be honest, he was still upset at Wild, whom he told as much. "I won't say it's okay or that I forgive you, but what you did put us in danger. I'm not saying I did anything better, but I had a plan." He kept his back to Wild, keeping himself busy with cleaning up the floor.

Wild was quiet as he said that, staring at his back. "I know it was stupid, but you two had completely left us behind. I wasn't sure if you would do it again since it looked like you were about to start running." He paused. Legend could only guess that he was awkwardly fidgeting with his fingers.

"How did you guys find us?" he asked after a beat.

"That bird, Sheerow, dive bombed us as we were leaving your house. She seemed frantic and had something tied to her leg. Hyrule said your writing was the closest to his so he read the letter. After that she started flying so we followed her. Since I'm the fastest after you and Wolfie I offered to go ahead and find you guys. I wanted to tell you to wait since they were right behind me but…" he trailed off, both of them knowing what happened next.

Legend finished picking up the large shards of glass and threw them in the garbage, grabbing the broom so he could start sweeping. As he did so he turned around to face Wild. "I'm still mad at you. You helped us but you shouting as soon as you saw us could've killed someone. You're lucky those soldiers weren't quick to use Ravio against us."

Wild huffed, his frustration showing. "What did you want me to do?! I didn't know the enemy was right through the trees! The least you could have done before taking off was shout that you were going to run!"

Legend felt his anger quickly rising. It was one thing that he didn’t forgive Wild, but it was another that he was starting to make an argument about it. “You could've quietly called out to us, or signaled! Whistled! There was no need for you to yell when we were right in front of you!"

"There was no need for you to run away from the group! You could have waited for us to get out the door and Twilight could've led us to where Ravio was! We could've helped as a group and avoided the situation entirely!"

“Well I’m sorry I care about someone!” Legend screamed. “Maybe you’ve forgotten how precious the lives of others are, seeing as how you ran away instead of defending your friends. Look how that worked out for you! So pardon me for caring more than you ever could!”

Wild froze, eyes wide in disbelief. "You take that back right now, Veteran.” His expression shifted to a much darker, more threatening glare. “Take that back!" He seethed, fists shaking at his sides.

“I thought Knights were trained to have more tact, but I’ve been wrong before. I guess it was only a matter of time before you failed, huh? I suppose it all makes sense now!” He dared to laugh in Wild’s face, arms outstretched to his sides. “You can’t do anything right. I bet you needed even more help defeating Ganon the second time too, didn’t you?!”

"Why? Ghosts of your past haunting you? Jealous that I managed to keep someone dear to me safe?" Legend sneered, dropping the broom with a clatter.

“Shut the hell up!” The look in Wild’s eyes was as dangerous and as feral as his namesake now, but rather than scare him to silence, it just fuelled Legend further.

His silence spurred Wild forward into another lunge, but he was prepared this time. He side-stepped and punched as hard as he could, finding his mark. Wild nearly fell over as he staggered, bringing a hand up to his mouth only for a moment before charging again, aiming for Legend’s legs. He tried to hop, but it was no use, Wild was so much faster. Legend toppled to the ground again, this time hissing in pain when the freshly-healed wound fully reopened. He tried to kick, but Wild had his legs pinned down with his left leg, his right one across his hips so he couldn’t wriggle away. Desperately, he threw a fist but Wild caught it, and promptly bit his arm again with far more force than the first time. Legend screeched, trying to rip his arm away. In an act of desperation he used his other hand to grab a fistful of Wild’s hair and tugged. It worked. Wild released his arm with a yelp, tilting his head back with the pull to try and mitigate the tension. Legend pulled even harder until Wild was no longer putting weight on him, and only then did he let go to properly shove him. He didn’t give the champion time to recover, launching at him and pinning him down. He raised a fist, and–

He really should have seen it coming but almost without warning, Wild lunged at him. He was unarmed - they both were - but Wild had the clear advantage from that momentum alone. He collided into Legend’s chest and kept going, sending both of them to the floor. The air in Legend’s lungs whooshed out in surprise from the impact and he coughed, just barely managing to raise his arms to cover his face. The arrow wound on his back, just barely healed and hanging together by thin scabs, pulsed as his back smacked the floor. The force of their fall knocked over the garbage holding the glass as he felt something sharp cut into his leg. He hissed but managed to ignore the pain in favor of blocking a punch, jerking his knee as hard as he could in retaliation. His knee found its way into Wild’s abdomen, making the other hiss in pain. However, the Champion was relentless, his fists changing to clawed hands in favor of scratching. It took him a moment to realize Legend’s shirt fabric protected him too well, by then he switched to using his teeth.

“OW!” Legend screeched before rearing his knee back enough to land a full, proper kick. The attack finally dislodged Wild and sent him flying backward. “Did you just bite me?!” He pulled his sleeve back and checked his arm.

“Take. It. Back.” Wild growled, bouncing on the balls of his feet, clearly planning out his next assault. Legend scrambled to his feet, spreading them apart and bringing his loose fists up near his face in his own readied position. His arm stung, his back was tingling, and he could feel something dripping down his leg, but at least the skin of his arm wasn’t broken.

"Legend and Wild! What in Hylia's name has gotten into you two?!" Time yelled, his booming voice startling Legend and making him look up. Twilight ran at him and forcefully ripped him off of Wild, Hyrule dropping to kneel beside Wild. He had a split lip, but that was the worst of the damage that Hyrule could find. Approaching Legend, he discovered bleeding bite marks and his back wound had reopened. He frowned and sent a small burst of magic at both of them, not being able to do much aside from close the actively bleeding wounds in fear of draining too much magic. Aside from some bruises and cuts from rolling around in spilled glass shards, neither were too physically hurt. Emotionally, on the other hand, was an entirely different story.

Neither of them said anything, not wanting to get themselves in more trouble than they were already in. Legend shook off Hyrule's arms and went to his bedroom, already knowing Ravio would follow him and give him a talking-to. His fight with Wild ruined any progress he made on cleaning, the garbage being tipped over and glass once again spilling into the hall evident by how each step taken resulted in a quiet crackling.

Time tried keeping them in the room (he assumed Wild was leaving the room too. Not that he was in the right mind to care) but was silenced as someone said, “let them cool off. They’ll tell us when they’re ready.”

Once safely by himself in his room, he fell face first into his bed. It wasn't even moments later when he heard footsteps walking in the room and felt someone sit next to him.

Aside from shuffling as the person got comfortable, it was tensely quiet in the room. It was a few long moments before a familiar gentle voice spoke. “Link…”

Legend huffed and turned his head to look at Ravio. His cloak was still on but his hood was lowered, letting Legend see his disappointed and confused look. “Earlier today when we went to rescue you, Wild - the blue one with long hair - had shouted at us, and it alerted the enemy that we were there. I had to come up with a new plan on the spot to save the situation.”

“Ravio, don’t. I already know.”

“What happened?” He asked, still quiet and gentle.

"And what did you say?" He sighed. He smiled fondly, all too familiar with the hotheaded nature of his spouse, but his brows remained furrowed.

“That’s a reason to be upset,” Ravio agreed, “But not a reason to start a fight, Link. I know you have more patience than that.”

“Yeah, well, just after you all left, he came up to me and apologized. I said I appreciated it but I was still mad. He got mad, asked why, I said why and it devolved into an argument.”

“A simple argument wouldn’t turn into a fight that bad. What really happened? What did you do?”

Legend groaned, throwing his face back into the bed as he was forced to remember the horrible things he said to his teammate. “We said some…" he cut himself off with a sigh, knowing that he was the problem. "I said some things I shouldn’t have and it escalated. But! In my defense, I tried keeping calm! I really did this time!" He threw his hands under him and used them to push his upper body up, looking over at Ravio. He was fighting a small smile.

At that, Legend let his arms go slack, dropping himself back onto his bed. The springs bounced for a few seconds from the sudden force of Legends body hitting it. He twisted his head, looking at Ravio again.

"I brought up some of his trauma. He didn’t like that, and attacked me right after…”

“You know why he attacked you, right?” He asked gently.

“Because people don’t like it when you bring up their trauma,” Legend sulked, already used to - and tired of - having this conversation.

“And what do you do when you provoke someone?”

“If anything, he provoked me! He kept saying I should’ve waited, but I didn’t know if you were even alive!” That unfortunately wasn’t the answer Ravio was looking for. Legend was given a glare, making him huff. “You give them space and apologize to them,” he corrected glumly.

Ravio smiled and brought a hand to Legends head, giving his hair a gentle ruffle. “Are you calmed down now?” He asked, eyeing the visible bite marks on his forearms.

Legend followed his line of sight, seeing the bitemarks for the first time. “I forgot that fucker bit me. Twice, actually. He has some sharp teeth. Makes sense though, he is the wild hero,” he mused.

“Let me look at your arm and your back, I doubt that tussle showed that arrow injury any mercy. Afterwards, you’re going to help me clean this room and we’ll come up with a reason to tell your team why you fought your teammate. When we’re done with that, you’re going to tell me how you plan to make up with Wild. Deal?” Ravio held a hand out expectantly, using his other to reach into the bedside drawer where they kept their spare first aid kit.

Legend handed over his arm, letting out a defeated sigh. “Fine.”

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