#thank you for all the good times and so long hero ;_;)7

[deadsetobsessions]

Sea Cryptic! Danny AU- Pt.4

[Pt.1] [Pt.2] [Pt.3][Pt.5][Pt.6][Pt.7]

Danny was sitting in the back, his backpack obnoxiously taking up the seat next to him, when the door to the lecture hall creaked open near silently.

“What are you in here for?” Danny asked the guy who crept into class. He sympathetically took his backpack off the Seat of Shame and allowed the guy to sit down. Funnily enough, they had the same hair and eye color.

“Gen Ed. Undecided. You?” The guy grunted quietly back.

“Environmental studies. I’m Danny.”

“Tim.”

With the implicit understanding of two people in a required class they could not give less than two fucks about, Tim and Danny tuned back into the lecture. When the class was assigned group work, Danny looked over to see Tim softly snoring, head slammed down on the table.

“Tim. Wake up, dude.” Danny poked his shoulder.

“Huh? Class over?”

“Nah, we got group work. Discussion board.”

“Oh shit, thanks for waking me up. Wanna team up?”

Danny shrugged. “Sure. We should aim to post it in the middle so the professor doesn’t read our answers to the class.”

“Yeah, sounds like a good idea. Any idea what we’re talking about?”

“Kind of?”

“Good enough for me.”

——

Tim Drake kept seeing Danny Fenton around on campus.

“Danny! Dude, what are you doing?”

Danny turned, gloved hands full of crumpled trash. “Picking up after the student population, apparently.”

“Didn’t think environmental studies was that serious.”

“Global warming is very serious, you jerk,” Danny smirked at him, crossing the grass to put the trash into the trash can. “Reduce, reuse, oil shouldn’t be spilled in water and all that.”

“Basic stuff,” Tim grinned. Nice, he basically had a friend past Bernard now!

They were friends, right?

“And yet humanity fails to comprehend it. Incredible. Incredibly stupid that is.”

“They get it. Major corporations just don’t care.”

Danny sighed. “True that. You on your way to your next class?” He took off his biodegradable gloves off (nitrile and nylon, baby!) and chucked them into the trash.

“I’ve got free time, actually. Prof cancelled for his daughter’s surgery.”

“Oh, shit, that’s rough! You wanna go downtown and join the strike?”

“A strike? What for?” Even as he asked, Tim hiked his bag higher onto his shoulder, ready to go. They fell into step as the two left campus.

“Apparently, Quillan Pharma was doing some shady shit at their manufacturing plants. I think it’s like killing kids, and pouring toxins into the ground.”

“Oh, shit.”

“Yeah. Oh! Poison Ivy’s gonna be there!”

Tim blinked. He casted a sideways look at Danny. Sure he’s been here long enough to know… but it couldn’t hurt to check. “You know she’s an eco-terrorist, right?”

“Okay, but like… people suck sometimes. And all she’s asking for is like don’t kill the planet. And she doesn’t do that whole mind control thing too much anymore! The Sirens are so cool. Plus, one of my best friends at home might actually kill me if I don’t try to get her autograph. Poison Ivy is like, Sam’s personal hero.”

Tim snickered. “Yeah, okay. Mind if one of my friends join? His name’s Bernard.”

“The more the merrier,” Danny nodded. “Ooo! Hot chocolate. Want some?”

Danny bought three drinks as Tim trailed behind, texting Bernard.

“He said yes.”

“Cool! We should meet up somewhere before the drinks get cold.”

Well, Danny got the autograph. Tim got a new friend, and Bernard got a drink from his crush.

——

“Oh, you’re the glowing dude that Batman always talks about!”

Danny blinked, eyes scanning the wing-like cape and the yellow emblem on the hero’s suit. Danny was indeed glowing, stars and nebulas freckling across neon green skin, and glowing hair the color of a white dwarf star, tinged with the blue from his ice core.

“I… have absolutely no idea who you are,” Danny lied, like a liar. He’s found a surprising niche of entertainment in messing with the local vigilantes and he’ll be damned if he missed this opportunity.

He heard a snicker from the comm lines as Red Robin visibly brushes it off.

“I’m Red Robin. Why are you picking up trash?”

“Picking up after you humans, apparently.”

The both of them blink, feeling a weird sense of déjà vu. A moment of awkward silence passed before they both shook it off.

“Are you here to help? No offense, but the track record for you people is terrible.” Danny strode over and grabbed a bag. He opened it, and shook it at Red Robin’s face. “See? Batarangs, these odd bird looking ones, the R’s. Seriously, pick up after yourselves!”

“Oh, woah, can we have these back?”

Danny yanked the bag back before Red Robin could get close. “Pay me. These were incredibly tedious to pick up. Especially the batarangs. I mean, I even found a whole bunch of old rusted ones in the middle of the bay. What did you do, dump an entire bag in there from the air?”

Red Robin sighed and took out a wad of cash, with tracking fluid all over it. Danny grimaced, smelling the odd scent on the money. “That’s not real cash. It smells off. Are you trying to give me counterfeits because you’re broke?”

Red Robin gaped, oddly offended. “No! They’re real!”

“Doesn’t smell like it. It’s stinkier than the trash. Go get the one with the money, the litterer. Tell him I’ll be back the next full moon. I don’t want to talk to you anymore.” Danny grumbled, disappearing on the spot to watch Red Robin flounder with the stack of cash and the piles of dead bodies on the shore.

“What the fuck even is my life these days?” Red Robin wondered out loud, stuffing the cash back into his pocket. He looked over the plastic wrapped bodies and slumped, sighing.

Oddly enough, Danny felt a sense of sympathy. Well, he’s not getting paid for sympathy. He’s not getting paid at all tonight, actually. Danny flew off, plunging once more into the depths of the significantly cleaner waters, and used his ice to scoop out oil stains.

Danny glanced around and sighed. He had a lot of work to do.

——

“So you’re saying he’s like a werewolf mermaid fae child immortal god thing, right?”

Bruce grunted.

“B, what the hell are you smoking these days? You know drugs are bad, right? Do we need Superman to give you that PSA?” Jason snickered.

Tim, massaging his arms from having to haul an ungodly amount of dead bodies, grunted. He’s so similar to Bruce that it gave the people currently in the cave hives.

“He said full moon. I don’t think we can track him with regular stuff. The bugs kept shorting out.”

“Oh boy,” Dick sighed. “Don’t fall off the spiral cliff, Tim. You’ve got midterms to think about so no stalking the guy.”

“Yet,” Tim shot back, changing out of his suit.

Bruce grunted, setting aside a huge stack of cash.

[sappho-knight]

hi okay yeah vent blog time

read this from an interview with fushimi and hirasaka about the state of the light novel industry (https://originalnews.nico/388202)

yomi hirasaka may be leaving the industry. and i kinda don't want them to go but like i have no stake in his life except just being sort of a parasocial reader which he probably doesn't like (wow! expectations are scary) but also. i kind of. want him to continue writing. we don't get a lot of light novel writing like his any more in the industry... or maybe i'm not familiar with anything like his work.

i like the topics he brings up and the way he tackles them... his characters are very human... i'm infinitely jealous...

the way the industry sounds structured makes me realize like damn. i kind of want to be around people like that, too. and the way they think... uuuuuuuuu..........

he's really just writing something he wants to read! he really is doing that. i'm so jealous. i wish i knew what i wanted to read (lol) but also imagine the amount of freedom you're experiencing to be able to achieve that. haganai was an absolute banger in japan, so i think he's able to comfortably(?) retire on that money, and honestly thinking about bunny girl senpai being of the same genre/vein, to me it makes sense why these light novel authors, seasoned, are able to survive. same for fushimi and oreimo. they're really living out their best lives, i think...

some part of me feels upset because. goddamn. out of all the people i have a parasocial relationship with, it has to be a middle-aged author on the other side of the world, language barriers, who has a difficult time understanding people/characters like me (me!). and not like some vtuber that's trending right now that we can speak normally of. it feels like an incredibly isolating experience to want to get to understand the author -- maybe not even know him! but maybe, just a little? -- and figure out how his brain ticks so you can continue on that trend on 'his behalf'. if not for him, then for yourself, who wants to see his type of work grow.

i think it would be nice to write, release and consider short stories, like light novels, actually. maybe they're just regular novels/fiction in english. it's not like i've tried to understand a lot of the works under the fiction section. but at the same time, i can't wrap my head around what's the trending industrial model, either. ya books? parents in the us will have my head off the moment i start talking about sexual content. japan's content curation is infinitely more lax than main areas in the west, which is kind of a bust for itself (aka problematic af) but it's kind of also beneficial (aka we get to talk about and showcase really problematic ideas and origins of those ideas).

i don't want to see mainstream ideas that flood the western universe, goddamn. that's like, no got/startrek/wars/lord of the rings/twilight/stephen king novels. i want my momentary/cyclic and maybe intriguing facets of the industry. like whatever jay zhao is doing (iron widow) [but no, i'm not interested in her content either, i do respect it though] but like. all the time.

(or is it that like romcom in the light novel industry is vastly different from how we judge romcom in western society? but that can't be it. there's something very special about yomi's writing that we're losing from him leaving the industry, and i don't have the capability of knowing why. so losing him not only feels sore, it makes me feel helpless.)

i think, for sure, i don't really care about what yomi does after he leaves the industry. i think at best i care about his wellbeing, and that whatever prospects he seeks out next be well to him. i'm just struggling and trying to process my grief for what we lose from him leaving the industry, but from like a parasocial point of view. he's going to be a pillar of my writing journey, always, but that's not his fault and i don't think he should feel guilty for going where he wants to go.

i just really, really like yomi's work a whole lot.

[bakubunny]

a/n: i’ve written daddy!shota plenty of times, but i’ve never written about how it might have happened. so here’s a hc dump? there’s a lil smutty drabble at the end.

if this isn’t your kind of thing, pls just scroll and ignore.

tw: f!reader, daddy kink (obv), ddlg, mentioned age play, d/s dynamics, pet names: baby, babygirl, sweetheart, good girl

totally blindsided the first time someone whined out a shaky “daddy” underneath him in his early twenties. almost busted instantly. he knew daddy kinks were a thing, but that was something people joked about, wasn’t it?… at least that’s what he knew. he also knew he needed to hear it again, but shoved the thought away as the life of an underground hero took hold.

kayama was the one who called him out on it jokingly when she snickered and threw out an offhand, “okay, daddy,” in response to his being demanding and she earned a nasty glare. she proceeded to do that for the next week, and every time, shota had half a mind to shove her face into any surface he could find and fuck the attitude out of her. but he never did.

got absolutely shitfaced with some friends and drunkenly confided in kamaya as uncomfortable as it was. he wanted answers, wanted to know that he wasn’t some disgusting perv, and if anyone could understand, it would be her. while much more crass than he liked on the matter, she still had compassion.

thanks to kayama, shota soon finds places on the internet where real people are involved in “ddlg,” and a comfort settles in his chest knowing that what’s in his head actually exists.

there’s something that makes his body run hot seeing real people in innocent, frilly clothes, printed, childish panties, maybe an oversized pacifier between their lips, snuggling with the cutest plushies he’s ever seen…. he’s not sure what to make of that, and it takes time for him to figure it out.

by the time you meet shota a few years later, he’s figured out most of his likes and dislikes, he thinks. he’s considered or been in a d/s dynamic once or twice, but most of his “daddy kink” experience falls into “something i like to hear in the bedroom.”

he’s pretty perceptive and picked up that you might be that kind of person long before it came up. it’s in the small things - the way you get flustered with certain nicknames or a particular tone of voice, how much you enjoy it when he’s forceful or takes control, the way he can almost watch your brain short circuit with certain phrases, with how he insists on taking care of you, etc.

he’s probably not gonna tell you until you bring it up or it happens naturally; yeah, he wants it, but until you push him, he’s not the type to demand what he wants out of sex (or in general) in a romantic relationship because that takes work… and because most sex doesn’t involve romantic relationships for him.

when it does come out, there’s plenty of discussion. he’s open with you for the most part because he doesn’t see a reason not to be. no matter how hesitant you might be, he’s unfazed by anything you bring up; he’s been around the internet enough that he’s at least seen the whole spectrum - everything from “daddy is a nickname” to 24/7 dynamics heavy on age play.

the first time you let it slip and call him daddy is probably in bed. he’s just fucking you that good. your head is spinning and fuzzy at the same time. your voice is muffled by pillows or maybe you’re tucked into the crook of his neck, biting into his sweatshirt. it’s soft, hardly intelligible; in fact, you were desperately hoping he hadn’t heard you at all.

but shota’s hearing is sharp, and he knows that what just left your mouth sure as shit was not “baby.”

so he leans in, his lips grazing your ear. “what’s that, sweetheart?”

“huh? n-nothin, jus’ feels go-” you’re cut off as your jaw drops and you moan.

shota angles his hips slightly, pounding harder into the spot that had you trembling and seeing white moments ago.

“c’mon babygirl, what did you call me?”

you whine. heat rushes to your cheeks. “no, sho st-stop, please,” you plead softly.

“if you wanna fucking cum, you’re gonna repeat what you said,” he growls. “you hear me?”

another hesitant whimper as you clench around his thick cock. shota grunts from the sensation and concedes, opting for a bit of encouragement.

his tone is soft and low. “i need it. let daddy hear you, baby.”

a shudder runs over your skin, your voice more akin to a broken sob. “fuck daddy, fuc-nngh, please don’t stop.”

shota’s heavy groan hits your skin as he pants, and you keen in response.

“that’s it. that’s my good girl, shit.” he presses soft, warm kisses into your skin. “say it again.”

if you’d like to join my tag list, let me know. ♡

gremlins: @arlerts-angel @dcsiremc @darkstarlight82 @bookcluberror @neon-gothicc @zazter-den @breadandbutter33 @i-literally-cant-with-this @rinalouu @stvrfir3 @r4td0lll @emmab3mma @aria-chikage @mhadabiandhawks4eva @yazminetrahan @doumadono @dreamcastgirl99 @maddietries @jazzafayesworld @karebear5118 @unofficialmuilover @cherriluvs35 @erensslut @ruu-https @hana-yuri @keiva1000 @katsul0vr @trickster-kat @ayeohoh-blog @dinomeow @flamgosstuff @mistressreaper @angelltheninth @anonymously-ominous @amberexe2 @hisconsistency @nanamisbigassschlong @223princess @honeeslust @naughtygobbo @acenanxious @blumoonwisteria @chaos-gem @levizonlywife @nuttyunknowndetective

[lokideservesahug]

For How Long!?!

Chapter 11: The Future

-°•°•°•°•--•°•°•°•°--°•°•°•°•--•°•°•°•°-

Pairings: Logan Sargeant x fem!driver!Reader

Warnings: Mentions od marriage and one mention of a child in a single sentence but that's it I think.

Summary: So what exactly happened after Y/N and Logan told the world of their relationship?

-°•°•°•°•--•°•°•°•°--°•°•°•°•--•°•°•°•°-

☆-☆-☆-☆-☆

☆-☆-☆-☆

☆-☆-☆-☆-☆

☆-☆-☆-☆-☆

Yourusername

Yourusername: The Greatest day of my life. Not only did I manage to secure the thing I've been dreaming of since I qas a kid, but also the love of my life asked me one of the most important questions ever.

I want to thank everyone at the Aston Martin Aramco F1 team from the analysts to the paint engineers to the assistants to the PR team. Thank you all for helping me reach the championship and letting me work with you. Well done on your amazing and ever zo hard work that without, I never would have be able to be remembered in the history books. 💚

And Logan, I have loved you ever since I met you all those years ago. You are the light of my life, the reason I keep going and truly the only reason I was able to stand up on that top step. I love you more than anything and thank you for further making me the happiest woman alive when you asked me the question with the easiest awnser in the world.

Liked by Logansargeant, Astonmartinf1, Oscarpiastri and 3,890,213 others

View all 213,674 comments

Logansargeant: I love you more than anything in the world. I love you so much and thank you for making me the happiest man alive by saying yes 💙

Oscarpiastri: Well done Y/N. Your skills on the track are truly amazing and I'm so proud of how far you've come from the tiny Y/L/N girl I first met years ago. And of course @Logansargeant, well done on finally getting the nerves to ask her. You two are great together and Good luck for a prosperous future.

↳ Yourusername: Thank you for everything Osc💚

↳ Logansargeant: Thank you man, it means a lot (and thanks for all your help in the proposal build up)

↳ User1: I am literally sobbing omd

↳ User2: Please I can't do this😭 My heart is so full

Astonmartinf1: Well done on everything Y/N, our hero 💚

↳ Yourusername: ILY admin!! 💚

↳ User3: AWWWW

User 4: I think I fainted ngl

↳ User 5: Literally same omd

Liamlawson: Well done mate. You had a great performance in the championship and put on an even better show at the LVGP. And well done to the both of you for finally getting closer to tying the knot.

↳ Yourusername: Thank you and shush Liam. There's no better time than both good things at once

↳ User 6: AYO🤨😏

User 7: Literally speechless

↳ User 8: Ikr. I can't even process this let alone fathom how to respond...

User 9: aiaoanznbsuzuz just woah. What a great way to end the Las Vegas GP

↳ User 10: IKR. LIKE I AM LOSONG IT

User 11: Romance but make it "the reason I keep going and truly the only reason I was able to stand up on that top step". YOIRE NEVER HESRIMG DROM ME BECAUSE I'M TO BUSY SOBBING MY HEART OUT

↳ User 12: Forget Romeo and Juliet, I wanst what these two have

↳ Yourusername: Yeah I'm ot a poet but Logan desreve she's form of appreciation from at least someone.

User 13: Awwww. Please stop. My heart can't take it!!!

User 14: So baby Sargeant coming when?

Liked by Oscarpiastri

↳ User 15: Captain of the Y/Ngan ship, Oscar is back again!!! Boy how I've missed you!

-°•°•°•°•--•°•°•°•°--°•°•°•°•--•°•°•°•°-

And with that, the series comes to an end :(. Now it is likely that I'll post a few extras but thank you all so much for the support on my first ever fan fiction!!

As always, likes, reblogs and especially feedback are always welcome!!

Taglist: @nikfigueiredo @mysoulispainted @leclercings @d3kstar @hiireadstuff @a-beaverhausen @nichmeddar @lozzamez3 @stinkyjax @littlesatanicassholebitch @insanedeathwish @a-disturbing-self-reflection @ems-alexandra @marymustdie @mehrmonga

[eyesofshinigami]

Brave

Rating: G

CW: None

Tags: Love confessions, fluff, so much schmoop

Prompt: From @sidekick-hero "Love is what makes you brave"

WC: 1812

Written for @steddielovemonth Day 7

Steve, admittedly, has done a lot of really stupid things in the name of love.

He hid so much of himself, what he liked, and who he wanted to be to make his parents love him. He was a perfect child, always seen but never heard, the perfect little trophy for his parents to put on display. He thought that was love for a long time. That it was performative, transactional. If he just did this one thing, surely they would love him, right?

Then, Steve forced himself to fit into a mold. He slid on a mask, played a part that was really easy to hide behind. People like Tommy and Carole seemed to love him when he was mean, when he looked down his nose at people they deemed unworthy of their attention. They would laugh and clap him on the back and keep him close, even if he knew deep down that it made him a little sick. And for some reason he still can’t fathom, it made other people love him too. Well, that superficial, surface kind of love where he was still seen as an object, an achievable goal. Be friends with King Steve and you’ll get something out of.

Transactional.

It wasn’t until Nancy that Steve really began to understand what love really was. He threw his whole self into loving her. In hindsight, maybe it wasn’t the smartest idea to go all in on something that he still didn’t really have a grasp on, but for the first time, it felt like he was being loved for love’s sake.

Until it wasn’t. Until Jonathon. Until the house. Until the world quite literally turned upside down.

Even with that falling apart, it opened up a whole new world of love for Steve. A new understanding to just what the word meant, the weight behind it when it really matters.

Love is protecting those that matter most. Love is staring down the mouth of a hell creature and still swinging even though your arms feel like jelly. Love is redirecting punches so that they don’t have to hurt. Love is diving into a murky lake into hell to help fix what someone else broke. Love is late night drives when you can’t sleep and the nightmares are too much. Love is admitting that maybe, just maybe, love looks a little different than what you expected it to.

Love is being brave.

All of these lessons, all of these people in his life that showed him that love can be so many things, if only you’re willing to give as much as take.

Which is why Steve makes a decision. It might be a bad one, but he’s learned that sometimes love means having to jump into the fray and trusting that they’ll catch you. He knows, deep down, that someone will, even if it’s not the person he really wants to.

“I’m going to do it. Tonight,” Steve declares that evening as he’s shelving movies. He’s working the late shift with Robin, but has plans to hang out with Eddie later. The very thought of it makes him flush, with happiness and nervousness in equal measure. “I’m going to tell him how I feel.”

It was a slow sort of descent, realizing that he loved Eddie. It started with their talk in the woods of the Upside Down, to pulling Eddie’s broken body out of that awful place, to helping him heal once they realized he might actually pull through. He was drawn to Eddie, drinking him in whenever they were together. He loved when Eddie was loud, or when Eddie was quiet, settled. The fact that Eddie trusted him with the different facets of himself blew Steve away. And Eddie listened when he talked. He listened when Steve talked about sports, or his newfound interest in carpentry thanks to helping Hopper fix up the cabin. He listened when Steve couldn’t sleep, or when Steve got scared about what the future was going to bring, now that it felt like maybe they could actually move on from the nightmare that is Hawkins, Indiana. Little by little, it made Steve realize that Eddie made him happy and maybe a little stupid. The good kind of stupid, the happy kind.

Robin turns to look at him, smiling softly. It’s her soft sort of smile, the one she only saves for him when he’s actually doing something for himself. “Good on you, bud. You’ve only been pining for him for months now.”

“You’ll have a pint of ice cream at the ready in case this goes south?”

“Sure, but I doubt you’ll have to worry,” she replies, rolling her eyes. “Now go find something to do before you pop out of your skin. I can see you sweating from here.”

He lasts about another twenty minutes before she lets out a gusty sigh. “Okay, you’re starting to make me nervous. It’s dead in here, why don’t you just leave and head over there now?”

Steve wants to argue. It’s on the tip of his tongue, but she’s right. If he waits any longer, he might just vibrate right through the floor. Once upon a time, he was good at this, smooth and suave and so fucking fake. It was easy to talk to people he didn’t care about, but this? This thing with Eddie?

It matters a lot.

“Okay, okay. Sheesh. I know when I’m not wanted,” he jokes, clocking out and heading out the door.

“Go get your man, Harrington! I expect non-explicit details in the morning!”

He waves her off and gets into his car. The drive takes about fifteen minutes, heading to the little house that Wayne and Eddie got as compensation for their trailer being confiscated for study. Steve’s just glad that Eddie doesn’t have to live in the reminder of where everything went down.

He parks his car and sits for a long, long moment, fingers tight around the wheel and his breath coming in harsh pants. He can do this. He can do this. He can be brave.

“Steve? What are you doing out here? I thought you had work,” Eddie calls from the porch. He must have been sitting out here longer than he thought if Eddie had come to find him.

Steve takes one more big breath before he heaves himself out of the car. “I did, but Rob sent me home. It was dead and she said I was bothering her.” He smiles, trying to ease the angry butterflies he feels building in his stomach. “You good with me coming now? I guess I should have called.”

Eddie smiles, wide enough his dimples pop and Steve wants to feel them under his thumb. “Of course, Stevie. I’m still working on dinner, but you can keep me company.”

Steve eagerly follows him inside, feeling himself relax as he steps through the door. The place is always a little cluttered, a little messy; Steve loves it because it looks like people actually live here. The fact that he’s welcomed into this space makes him feel a little warm and gooey inside. “Thanks, man. What’s on the menu?” He’s babbling, he knows he’s babbling, but he can’t help it.

Eddie gives him a look but answers, “Just some spaghetti. Nothing fancy.” He heads to the stove and starts stirring a pot, the smell of it hitting Steve full force. “You okay? You seem a little off.”

He wants to brush it off, pretend it’s nothing. It would be so easy and he knows Eddie would let him. They’ve learned each other’s tells, when it’s time to push and when it’s time to leave shit alone. Just one more thing that Steve loves about Eddie.

So, no. He needs to say it. For himself, to let go of this thing that he’d been trying to hide for fear of it being yet another stupid thing he does for love. But his love for Eddie could never be that, even if Eddie says no. Eddie will still be his friend, will still love him, even if that love doesn’t look the way Steve wants. He doesn’t expect anything, doesn’t want more than Eddie can give him.

“Uh, well… actually, there’s something I want to talk to you about?”

Eddie nods and sets the spoon down, during the fire down as he turns to face Steve. “I’m all ears, Stevie.”

Steve nods, taking a deep, shaky breath. He can be brave. “Okay, so. Can you… let me just say it? Don’t say anything until I’m done, okay?” At Eddie’s nod, he continues, “Um, all right. So. Uh. Eddie… I’m… I like you. I like you a lot. Actually, I’m pretty sure I’m in love with you.” Eddie’s mouth drops and Steve has to look away, before his heart beats out of his chest and he gets sick from the way his stomach churns. “It took me a while to realize it, but I am. I just… I love you. I love everything about you. Even the weird, shitty parts that I know you don’t like, but they’re part of you, right? And I don’t… I don’t expect you to feel the same, or want me back. It would be great if you did, but like… it’s not why I told you? I told you because you deserve to know. To know that someone loves you because I can’t imagine not loving you anymore.”

There. It’s out there. Steve swallows around the lump in his throat and tries not to count the seconds as they pass. It feels like they’re beating against his ribcage, in time with his pounding heart.

Suddenly, there’s a hand cupping his cheek, gently turning his head until he’s looking at Eddie. The look on the other man’s face is soft, his eyes sparkling and the curve of his mouth small but so so kissable. “Stevie… baby…” The words are like a gut-punch, making Steve weak in the knees. “How could I not love you back, hmm?” Eddie chuckles, his thumb caressing the skin of Steve’s cheek. “Always the brave one of the two of us, aren’t you? I didn’t want to say anything because this… I didn’t want to lose this. If I was wrong, you know?”

“Me too,” Steve whispers. He’s afraid to break the bubble that’s surrounding them, like if he speaks too loud it will break and he’ll realize this was all just a dream or something. “Eddie…”

Eddie doesn’t say anything, he just pulls Steve in until they’re kissing, mouths moving against each other softly as they press closer.

It’s warm. It’s sweet. It feels like coming home.

Something settles in him as they kiss, as they touch and move together in this new way. He wants to cry. He wants to laugh. He feels like he could fly.

[lilislegacy]

I actually have my own little head cannons about percy and annabeth's own family, and I'm gonna share them for no reason other than being annoying <3

Percy and Annabeth have lived in unstable homes throughout their childhood; I truly believe that they got married in their early twenties after college

Annabeth hyphenated her last name! She becomes "Annabeth Chase-Jackson" because she loves the Jacksons and is a part of their family while also keeping her last name because she's THE Annabeth chase and it's iconic

I think that they always wanted kids together, but it was always a thought for the future, even when they got married and were busy with their careers

So yes, their first kid was a total surprise, but a very happy one

They were the first of the hoo group to have a kid

Their first kid's a boy (ik unpopular opinion), with blonde hair and green eyes.

I always imagined they'd named their kids something both unique and greek, with maybe a middle name after a lost hero? Giving the first name of a lost hero sounds painful, and also defeats the whole purpose of Sally naming Percy after the only greek hero with a happy ending. An example I like is Amycus Charlie Jackson. idk tho, something more normal makes sense too.

Amycus would probably be a stereotypical angel first child tbh

Because they had their first kid so early on, I think their second would be a couple years later, I think around 4.

They'd have a girl next, Daphne Zoe Jackson, with Percy's raven hair and Annabeth's gray eyes. She'd be a little more troublesome lol, but in a loving way!

I honestly think 2 kids are good enough but my heart says they'd have 3. He'd be a surprise baby, and on the younger end of the hoo group's kids (if not the youngest). I haven't thought of much characterization for him yet, but he'd get Sally's blue eyes for sure.

And they live a great life in New York, I'm sorry but they aren't moving to New Rome! Especially Percy, he's a New Yorker through and through

Annabeth works from home from time to time as an architect, mostly to spend more time with her kids, especially when they're babies.

Percy has a pretty chill job doing something in marine biology or marine vet, so he's there for the kids plenty too

Sally babysits the few times both of them are busy

Ya that's their perfect domestic life in my head hehehe >:)

thanks for the ask @littlesillyfilly!

i love all of these!!! super cute! i shall go through each one

1. same! some people think they don’t get married, but i hate the reasons why most people think that. as demigods, percy and annabeth didn’t grow up in a stable family setting. i think they would want that stability, and to do normal stereotypical couple things, because they crave as much normalcy as they can get.

2. another vote for the hyphenated name! that seems to be people’s favorite option

3. yes absolutely. they always have wanted kids. it’s not even a question in my mind

4. i agree, for some reason i’ve always had the hc that their first kid is either a total shock, or it takes a really really long time for them get pregnant. it’s one or the other 😂

5. completed agreed. honestly? i dont even know if many of their friends would have kids. i mean, frank and hazel, together or not, probably would i think, albeit much later than percy and annabeth. but i don’t know if i see anyone else having kids. i think its not super common amongst demigods, especially greek ones

6. absolutely 1000% agreed. i have always thought and said that their first is a boy with curly blonde hair and sea green eyes.

7. agreed! i like them doing a mix of things when it comes to names. and this is so funny because i always have liked the name charlie (after beckendorf) for one of their kids! it’s in my percabeth baby names list LOL. so i think i like their second son being named charlie, and then i have a girl name for their daughter that i love.

8. oh absolutely. first babies seem to always be so precious and sweet and easy. that’s how they get you. then the second one comes and all hell breaks loose

9. i agree that their second kid would come a few years later. they would need a hot minute to adjust. having kids as a demigod would be hard i think, but once they get the hang of it, they want more!

10. i absolutely agree that their next kid has percy’s black hair and annabeth’s grey eyes! personally, i always imagined it being another boy though. he is their charlie in my mind.

11. yeah, i think they would originally plan on 2 kids, but end up having three (if not 4🤭). and in my mind, number 3 is their girl! i’ve always imagined her with wavy blonde hair and blue eyes with a bit of green in them.

12. you are team percabeth living in new york? ok ok i like it. idk personally i feel like they would start out in new rome, for safety reasons. also having a community of demigod friends and family would probably be very comforting for them. but i definitely see them ending up in new york again! percy is absolutely a new yorker through and through!

13. aww annabeth being able to work sometimes at home would be cute. i can see that!

14. can i just say im so glad people are getting on board with percy becoming an aquatic/marine vet?? i’ve always been so alone in that thought, so seeing other people like it and agree with it makes me so happy!! he’d be sooo good at it! but yes, it’s a chill job so he can be around for the kids a lot.

15. sally and paul would love babysitting. 100%

i loved all of these so much and agree with nearly everything!! thank you for these!!

[sinfulpanda16]

Breaking The Ice

Shoto Todoroki x fem reader

A/n: Characters are aged up

You and Todoroki never argued. There's was never anything to argue about. He loved you and you him. You trusted him and him you. Throughout all those years you two have been together, from being boyfriend and girlfriend in UA to being husband and wife, fights have never been an issue.

Enji Todoroki has always been an issue though. He never approved of you in fact you're sure he hates you. Todoroki says he does not care what he thinks but there are times where it doesn't seem that way. Your huge fight was about that, the disrespect you get.

You both said shit you didn't mean. It sounds so cliché but its true. Anger is a powerful emotion that makes you do and say stupid shit. He called you a pain in the ass for thinking he sides with his father, and you called him weak for not being able to put him in his place. So, with that for the past two days there's been a thick atmosphere when you guys are together.

You guys are married and you work along side him at his agency. You're together 24/7. The tension was always there and neither of you did anything to break it.

Even the number 1 hero, Deku, felt so uneasy when he walked into Shoto's office happily only to be met with an atmosphere thicker than quicksand. Apparently, there's been a villain on the lose for the past few days and there's difficulty tracking him and taking him down. They need both you and your husband to help with the situation. You both agree and thank Midoriya and then go back to doing paperwork.

That night and for the last two its just been eating in silence for dinner, doing your nightly routines alone, and wishing each other a cold "good night" before falling asleep. How long will this last?

The next day, you both go off to work to finish your paperwork and then go out to patrol the city in hopes to capture this villain. There hasn't been any sightings of him for a while and the city has been growing restless for this. You yourself didn't like that this villain still hasn't been caught and is running lose like a dog. You're sure Todoroki also hates the situation as much as you do. You both don't say much to each other, but you've learned to read his face and body language.

Before long the sun begins to fall and the stars start to shine. You and Todoroki are headed back to his agency. You're walking behind him its officially been three days since you both had that nasty fight. You look up at him, his half red half white hair blowing in the wind and his broad shoulders moving back and forth with every step he takes. You miss him, you wish you could just go back in time and prevent this avoidance from ever happening.

You sigh and muster up the courage to tell him how sorry you are but before you could do anything he stops walking causing to you to stop in your tracks. You're confused why did he stop out of nowhere?

"Shoto? Are you ok?" you ask quite worried.

Shoto turns around to look at you. Your (e/c) eyes looking back at his. It's been a while since Shoto has seen them under the moonlight. He turns his full body towards you. "Y/N" he says apologetically.

Out of nowhere there's an explosion behind you. causing the city to cry and scream in fear. You both turn to look at the cause of the explosion. There he is the villain who's been disrupting the lives of the innocent. He's covered in straps full of bombs for weapons and takes a little one off his belt. He laughs manically and throws it a child who's crying in fear. You however, thanks to your speed, were able to get the child out of harms way and get him to his mother. Where they run safe.

That was a child! Oh, now he's in for it! You've always had hatred for those who harm children. You speed off toward the villain and begin to attack him with your strength. Todoroki caught on and also began sending ice attacks to the villain. You and your husband have always made a great team, you distract the enemy (sometimes land a few good hits) while he burns them up or freezes them or does both even.

You guys had things under control but the suddenly he disappears. An invisibility quirk! That's why he's been so damn hard to track! Now you break in a sweat. Invisible people have always been difficult to fight against they can easily attack out of nowhere. You stay alert and sure enough the villain sends a punch your way from behind, but you were fast enough to block it with a force field. However, the pressure from his punch sends you flying back and causes you to hit one of Todoroki's ice walls. You land on your back hard resulting in a crater being made in the ice and you falling unconscious. Your vision becomes blurry, and you fall down to the ground.

The villain groans "Stupid bitch." to your unconscious body and walks away.

Todoroki saw the whole thing happen with wide eyes. You laying down hurt brought flashbacks of his mother laying on the ground after his father hurt her. His damn father. He looked at the villain who's back was facing him. The villain had the same built as his father. Then he looks back at you. He hurt you and now he is furious!

"Hey!" Todoroki says clearly adding anger to his tone. The villain turns to look back at him with blue eyes. The blue eyes that are the exact same as his father. A flashback of Enji Todoroki disrespecting you came back to Todoroki. That bastard!

"NO ONE!" he yells and sets fire on the villain's right arms causing the bombs to blow up, making the villain scream in agony.

Todoroki's teeth are gritted hard. "DISREPECTS!" he yells setting the villains other arm on fire causing the bombs on that arm to go off.

The villain is about to run away but Todoroki wastes no fucking time. With one final breath he yells at the top of his lungs "MY WIFE!!" and with that he sets the villains whole body on fire causing to bombs to explode on him.

There is smoke everywhere, the villain is still standing in it but not for long when Todoroki appears with his Ice and freezes the damn villain. The fucking villain that has hurt so many innocent people including his wife.

Then it's over.

You open your eyes and see that Todoroki has handled the situation. You sit up with a hurt head. The scenario in front of you shows just how strong Todoroki is. The whole scene was due to Todoroki defending you and speak of the devil there he is making his way towards you.

"My love! Are you alright?" he asks crouching down to holding you.

You lay you head on his chest "Yes, I'm ok don't worry" you smile. Todoroki smiles back at you before picking you up bridal style to help you get to the paramedics while giving you a kiss to your forehead.

Afterwards, you were able to go home from the hospital and Todoroki has taken good care of you the entire time. He's been treating you like you were royalty or something. Like, it's not that unusual but recently he's been acting like he would die if he didn't treat you like so.

He comes into your shared bedroom with a comb in his hands. He's smiling and sits next to you "I got it, now, turn around my love." You do as your told and he begins brushing your hair gently.

He continues to brush your hair for a while, both of you sitting in comfortable silence before you finally begin to speak. "Shoto, I'm really sorry about how I treated you the other day." you say causing your husband to stop.

You continue "You're not weak. That's not what you are at all and that is proven by how you handled that villain attack." You think about how you passed out during the fight, how maybe Enji Todoroki is probably right, and tears begin to fall. You speak with a shaky voice "Maybe your father-"

"No"

No? He repositions you to face him and holds both your hands. He looks in your eyes "Listen to me, I don't care what my old man says or thinks. I love you so much and if he never approves then he can suffer for all I care." He wipes away your tears before continuing to speak "My love, I'm so sorry for calling you a pain in the ass you are far from being that you're my beautiful princess, and I'm also sorry not sticking up for you the way I should've." The scene of you landing on his ice comes back to him. "Believe me when I say I will never let anyone disrespect you ever again. Ok?" You're shedding more tears but Todoroki smiles and wipes those away too. "You deserve the best my love." he say holding your face.

"Thank you." is all you say before you lean into him for a kiss to which he happily returns.

[violetrainbow412-blog]

Day 7: sharing clothes

Masterlist flufftober 🎀

Reblog if you liked it!

That night Spencer arrived at his apartment quite tired, to the point of wanting to go straight to bed.

He had to admit that splitting the rent for an apartment hadn't convinced him at all at first, however, with each passing month he felt luckier to have someone to keep him company and help him with household chores. It's not that the girl he had as a roommate took care of everything, but because she was a university student, she had more free time and Spencer repaid him for all the favors by being her walking library or even helping him study the topics for the seasonal exams, as a kind of win-win.

“Spencer?” he heard from the common area, just as he was taking off his shoes. Still wearing his socks, he walked across the carpet until he reached the door and opened it, looking at you on the other side.

"Yeah?"

“Hey, can you lend me a tie for tomorrow?” you asked sadly. He was surprised to notice that you were wearing a formal suit, very different from the carefree outfits you usually wore, and for a moment he imagined you as a member of the BAU. “I have to attend a conference and I must follow the code of etiquette and stuff, but I don't want to wear a dress”

“Yeah, I must have some around here,” he laughed, turning to rummage through the closet. Spencer was very organized, in a strange way, so it didn't take him long to find what you needed “Do you like this one?”

“It's perfect, thank you,” you exclaimed, taking the purple tie he was offering you between your fingers. You couldn't know it, but the soft purple fabric was almost new and that was why he had chosen it, so that you would wear the best.

“Do you know how to tie it?” he mumbled and from the awkward smile you showed him he assumed the answer was no. He wrapped it around your neck and gently pulled you towards him, managing to cut your breath. With one hand on each end of it he began to tie it, frowning and lightly pursing his lips as a sign of his concentration, until a nice knot was ready “Keep it like this and tomorrow you just slide it on, okay?”

“You're my hero,” you exclaimed happily, carefully holding the tie he had so carefully prepared “I made macaroni for dinner, do you want to join me?”

“Yeah,” he responded with a shrug.

The two of you had dinner together and after that you went to sleep, lacking the energy to stay awake any longer. In the morning you got up earlier than usual to get ready and in the process you noticed that your partner was walking around the apartment, moving here and there as if he were looking for something.

"What are you doing?"

“I can't find my scarf,” he lamented. “I probably left it in the laundry bag. Or so I hope"

“Take mine,” you offered kindly. From one of the drawers in your closet you took out a bright red scarf and extended it to the man, who hesitated whether to accept it or not “Come on, it's the least I can do. I don’t want you to catch a cold or we’ll have to quarantine you” you joked and then he finally took it.

“Good luck with your conference, take a lot of notes and if something is not clear, you can tell me”

“Good luck with your work too. Are you coming to dinner today?”

"I don't know"

“Well, either way I’ll wait for you,” you said kindly. Spencer responded with a smile and waved goodbye to you, making sure to adjust her scarf before leaving the apartment.

And that exchange was only the beginning for two closets to become, after a long time, practically one.

taglist: @navs-bhat @reidwritings @tricia-shifting14 @spencerslove @vivian-555@r-3dlips @rhiannonhippiegirl

[primus-why]

Another A/B/O AU...

... this time TFA!

Okay some rules this time are:

Alphas can mate with Betas to produce offspring-- with the exception of cross-factional pairs. And you will only ever produce the same frametype as the creators.

Betas and Betas can mate to produce offspring-- but again, they have to both be civilians or both be warframes. They will only produce offspring of the same frametype.

It's very rare for Alpha pairings to reproduce. Same rules above apply concerning frametypes.

Omegas are rare in that anyone can reproduce with them, and thus their offspring can be any frametype. Contrary to a popular myth, the sparkling's frametype is random and not automatically based on whomever the sire/carrier is.

Generally the majority of Decepticons are Alphas, and the majority of Autobots are Betas. A Beta!Decepticon or Alpha!Autobot is not rare but still pretty uncommon.

Omegas have not been seen for generations, and it's believed they've been wiped out. The deaths of Omegas on both sides is partially what kicked up the war, as it now became much more difficult to procreate. Especially for Decepticons, being mostly Alphas.

All mechs regardless of secondary status go through a reproductive receptivity cycle-- the horny time we usually call "heat" or "rut". (But since I couldn't think of a 3rd word for a Betas cycle, we'll call it "RRC" or just "cycle" across the board lol)

Surprise, surprise! Optimus Prime is, in fact, an Omega. He doesn't know that, though...

See, Omegas have been out of the picture for so long, they don't really teach about them anymore in the Academy. Obviously some folks like Ultra Magnus and Ratchet are old enough to remember, as are many of the Decepticons. But generally speaking, Optimus believes he's just a Beta with an abnormally persistent cycle.

Optimus' status is only known to a few-- thanks to the standard examination all new recruits undergo, only some of the older medics and Ultra Magnus himself were aware. The Magnus took great care to not place Optimus on the front lines whenever possible, as he did not want to risk the Cause losing something so precious as an Autobot Omega.

However, at the same time he did not disclose Optimus' status to anyone else-- he knew it would likely result in his peers treating him differently, or worse, the Council might vote to sequester him to a breeding center. No, Optimus himself couldn't even be aware-- Ultra Magnus was worried he'd fall prey to the old stigmas which claimed Omegas were inherently weaker or incapable. Perhaps that was hypocritical of him, since he had been avoiding using Optimus in battles, despite the young Prime being one of the most skilled and capable Bots at the Academy...

Perhaps that's why when the incident on Archa-7 happened, he took the opportunity to all but banish Optimus from Cybertron. Repairing space bridges kept him out of the direct line of fire; nothing ever seemed to happen all the way out there. What's more, Ultra Magnus wouldn't have to continue fabricating reasons why one of the Academy's top students was not being placed in more active roles. Optimus would also be spared the scrutiny of re-evaluation, wherein his status would likely have been disclosed to the Council and everyone in the upper ranks... as well as Ultra Magnus' favoritism.

Yes, Ultra Magnus had thought he was in the clear. The young Prime still had a part to play in the Great Autobot Machine, but not until things had quieted significantly. One day, Optimus would have the chance at a normal civilian life while their planet rebuilds, and Ultra Magnus would have the medics disclose his status so he could decide his own future without the pressures of wartime. For now, all he needed to do was ship the Omega somewhere, far away from prying optics, with a medic who could be discreet and a parting reminder to not be a hero.

... A lot of good that did him.

Some additional notes of who-is-what:

Alphas include*: Megatron, Sentinel Prime, Lugnut, Strika, Ultra Magnus, Bulkhead, Starscream, Blitzwing, Drift

Betas include*: Shockwave, Blurr, Bumblebee, Ratchet, Jazz, Blackarachnia, Prowl, Jetfire and Jetstorm, Rodimus Prime

*but are not limited to

[profounddefendorcrusade-blog]

Starlo apologist speaks again

this picture right here.. i hate it sm.

TIME TO DEBUNK EVERYTHIN', YEEHAW!

#1 Starlo's name is uncool on purpose might literally mean 'Starloser' It fits his character arc. In other words, he's not the cool, badass sheriff he pretends to be (he's not 'North Star'), but a kind, friendly farmer inside

#2 He definitely DOES care about Clover. Why else would he keep saying he's proud of them, praise them, believe in them, get worried about their safety, send them a warning letter, immediately run to check what's going on with them, get angry at Clover for not staying HOME (yeah he really did consider the Wild East their home) tell Martlet to bring Clover to safety, and jump at Ceroba to try and protect them? don't question the love of star daddy

#3 Undyne actually IS a badass. Starlo isn't. He's a softie who cares about pretending to be cool bc he's insecure, even when in a situation where he could die. He wants to be a hero. He wants to be SOMEBODY, not a NOBODY. Maybe he also cared about his own status more than his town, friends and family (which could be the reason he brought a bb gun). Or he just wanted to buy time so the others could hide. Now that I think about it, it's the latter. Why else would Dina say this in genocide after you kill Ceroba: "He was more of a hero than you'll ever be." That's the whole point of his geno fight that, and a lil bit of angst when roba finds him dying IT'S CALLED CHARACTERIZATION

#4 He kidnaps Clover bc they're a human. The only human who's ever set foot on the sands of the Wild East. He's obsessed with human culture. His whole life ARE westerns. Why? Whether it's the sense of justice cowboys represent, the exciting lives they live, or both, Starlo feels like he matters thanks to this nerdy interest, like he can contribute to his community

#5 i see Martlet as a big sis not a mom bc of how young she is, despite that one joke in bits & bites, but to each their own Star jails Martlet bc of the potential of the Wild East getting shut down. She did threaten to report them to Asgore and well... according to him, better safe than sorry. He even admitted he doesn't feel right doing it

#6 It WAS wrong of him to blame and attack Clover like that, all for his own status and ego (and to get his friends back) It's called a flawed character making a fucking mistake. Or did you expect someone perfect, with no room to grow and develop throughout the piece of media? Also, Clover is not an infant, they're a child. If it was meant to be a joke, it ain't funny bucko

#7 he either actually forgot about the fact he himself kidnapped Clover bc he wasn't in the right mindset (understandable), or purposefully ignored the information to avoid responsibility for his actions & shift the blame onto Clover (he IS flawed and thats more than ok)

#8 in neutral, he doesn't apologize bc Ceroba doesn't come and snap him out of his fantasy & mindset

#9 he did his best with the apology. you can't blame starlo. He's not very good with expressing himself and emotions in general (that he has been avoiding for so long via escapism; he also uses escapism to help Ceroba instead of talking openly with her)

#10 he doesn't know how the ceroba & clover interaction played out bc he was unconscious. Maybe he thought Clover had managed to talk her outta fighting. He says in true pacifist "Yall had a fight?? and the deputy won??" In other words he didnt know they had even fought. To add fuel to the fire, his bff just died and star, being the forgiving sweetheart he is, had wanted to give her a chance at redemption, but never got the chance to. He never got the chance to say goodbye, either.

#11 just bc starlo's an adult doesn't mean he can't have these flaws/behaviors. Every individual is unique. Starlo is deff deeply insecure and most likely autistic, too. Please think about that in the future, thank you

my current feelings can best be described by good old Axis

[bakubabes-tatakae]

Welcome to that special time of year, Fluffvember 2023. 💞 Your girl is gonna be doing both ends of the spectrum this year. These are going to be closer to drabbles just like last month to make sure I can get them all out. 🥰 If you want to be on the Fluffvember taglist then please let me know. I'd be happy to add anyone to it. 🥺

If you don’t want to see the Fluffvember fun then blacklist the tag: #bakubabes fluffvember

Now take a peek at what’s to come in a couple of weeks. 👇 If the date looks like this then that means that the piece is in the queue and waiting for your viewing pleasure. I’ll link them here as they release as well.

Day 1 - Ichigo Kurosaki || Bleach || "Your hands are warm."

Day 2 - Kai "Overhaul" Chisaki || Boku No Hero Academia || "Pinky promise?"

Day 3 - Kotarou Bokuto || Haikyuu || "You matter. A lot. You matter so much to me. Never think you don't."

Day 4 - Natsu Dragneel || Fairy Tail || "Don't say that. I love every second spent with you."

Day 5 - Asta || Black Clover || "Your heart is beating so fast right now."

Day 6 - Rin Okumura || Blue Exorcist || "Don't doubt yourself, honey."

Day 7 - Gaara || Naruto || "Your hugs are nice."

Day 8 - Luck Voltia || Black Clover || "You feel like home to me."

Day 9 - Shikamaru Nara || Naruto || "You'll be with me, right?"

Day 10 - Toya Todoroki "Dabi" || Boku No Hero Academia || "You're cute when you're jealous."

Day 11 - Yato || Noragami || "This is a good look for you."

Day 12 - Zuko || ATLA || "We'll always have each other."

Day 13 - Kazutora Hanemiya || Tokyo Revengers || "Come taste! Tell me if I need to add anything."

Day 14 - Katsuki Bakugou || Boku No Hero Academia || "I'm just glad you're okay."

Day 15 - Megumi Fushiguro || Jujutsu Kaisen || "I'd accept you any way you are."

Day 16 - Manjiro "Mikey" Sano || Tokyo Revengers || "You have a little ice cream on your nose."

Day 17 - Asuma Sarutobi || Naruto || "Is that my shirt?"

Day 18 - Naofumi Iwatani || Rising Of The Shield Hero || "I came as soon as I heard."

Day 19 - Shoto Todoroki || Boku No Hero Academia || "I'm sad and I demand cuddles."

Day 20 - Levi Ackerman || Attack On Titan || "Thanks for being here with me."

Day 21 - Nozel Silva || Black Clover || "I'll keep you safe."

Day 22 - Renji Abarai || Bleach || "I love you more than I did yesterday."

Day 23 - Satoru Gojo || Jujutsu Kaisen || "You're my family too."

Day 24 - Eren Yeager || Attack On Titan || "I'm not letting something as simple as that separate us."

Day 25 - Magna Swing || Black Clover || "Stay as long as you want."

Day 26 - Sasuke Uchiha || Naruto || "Wow, I really can't speak, huh? Must be because of how pretty you look."

Day 27 - Yuuji Itadori || Jujutsu Kaisen || "You're not obligated to do this you know?"

Day 28 - Zora Ideale || Black Clover || "I'd shout it from the roof if I could."

Day 29 - Tomura Shigaraki || Boku No Hero Academia || "You're welcome to stay if you want."

Day 30 - Ban The Undead || Seven Deadly Sins || "I'm not ever leaving you."

©️2023 bakubabes-tatakae, please do not repost/modify my works without my permission, please do not use my works as ASMR without my permission

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hello Lady Raven! How do you do? I hope you're having a good day.

I was looking stalking at your blog when I saw your post which contained a world map of the game. This made me really curious: what informations do we have about the countries, kingdoms and other lands that appear in the map? Specially the Land of Dawning, Sunshine Lands and Kingdom of Heroes. Does the world of Twist have other lands that do not appear in the map? Are the shaftlands some sort of Twist Europe (as in; a bunch of countries that signed a agreement to be sort of unified)? And what is that big empty land north of the shaftlands?

I'm really curious about the countries and their cultures in the Twist world, I feel like we don't really have a lot of info on them, and as someone that really loves geography and history, that makes me a bit sad 😂.

I hope you're healthy, thank you for your time!

Oh, the map from this post?

Hello, hello!

Unfortunately, I don’t think I’m able to compile ALL lore we have on all available countries, cities, and towns into a single post (especially when there’s a lot of other questions that have also been posed + need answering in your ask). That’s way too large of a scope for a single post. I did compile lots of food/related lore here if you want to take a look, as I find the food and food customs in a region say a lot about its culture and history. (Plus, I’m just very interested in food!)

If you’re curious about each location, you can find the bulk of information yourself in related hometown events—however, tons of lore tidbits are also dropped in non-hometown events (ex: Floyd talks about land training camp in the second beans day event), voice lines (ex: Dorm Uniform Leona says that in his home land, scars are seen as signs of bravery), and vignettes (ex: In Jade’s School Uniform vignette, Kalim talks about how serving very sweet tea is a luxurious way to welcome guests to your home in the Scalding Sands). There’s lots out there if you’re willing to search for it!!

Please be aware that we haven’t visited most of the areas on the map, so we are still missing a lot of information on them. The Land of Dawning, Sunshine Lands, and the Kingdom of Heroes are particularly lacking in information. They’ve been mentioned offhandedly every so often. Platinum Jacket vignettes feature the boys visiting the National Museum of Art in the Land of Dawning, and there are sometimes bits of lore which mention these lands. The Mermaid Princess that strengthened the bond between merpeople and humans married a prince from the Sunshine Lands, I believe. In his Broomquet card, Idia says there is a place called “Hydra Valley” in the Kingdom of Heroes (which probably is a reference to the place Hercules defeated the hydra at). Finally, Crowley went with Idia’s parents to the Land of Dawning with to discuss important matters yet to be explained to us. The Land of Dawning is also referenced in a call for evacuation in book 7.

The map you see above is definitely incomplete. We don’t see several vital spots marked even though we’ve visited them: the City of Flowers/Fleur City, the Scalding Sands (and Silk City), Clock Town, Fairest City, the Land of Swords, Dawn City, and more. Heck, the continent that contains Briar Valley isn’t even labeled but somehow Briar Valley itself is. We cannot tell if this is even the entire world map or just a portion of it, since Lilia describes “a land to the east”/the Land of the Crimson Long, but the most eastward locations depicted seem to be the Queendom and the Afterglow Savanna. I definitely feel like there has to be more to it than what we currently see.

I would caution against saying that “[TWST location] = irl location” as even though there are oftentimes strong parallels or inspirations drawn between the two, they shouldn’t be conflated for one another. TWST often forms cultures of its own or borrows from many inspirations to create these places and to present them to us. Comparisons can be made, but let’s remain cautious to not veer too much into that since there’s no clear 1:1. For example, the Shaftlands could be interpreted as “twisted Europe”, but not really because the area often considered “twisted Britain” (which is a part of Europe) is seemingly separated and located on the other side of the map. And then you notice that this “twisted Britain” has a collection of islands that very much resembles irl Japan, an eastern country. So… in essence, sure, the City of Flowers/Fleur City resembles Paris, Fairest City feels very European and German, and Harveston is a blend of Nordic inspirations, but at the end of the day, they’re their own thing.

We don’t know what the land right above the Shaftlands is as of right now. For all we know, it could just be even more of the Shaftlands since the country seems to be a large expanse of land with variable weather depending on the region.

[the-fluff-piece]

Hiya, I’ve only just found your blog and I love your work🥰 would you mind writing a bit of a drama (i’m a drama queen🥲)? I’ve been thinking some misunderstanding like zoro being (unintentionally) popular with girls but one being extremely clingy to the point people, as well as the fem reader, think they are a couple. Female reader gets jealous and sad and Sanji comes to comfort her and Zoro sees that and gets the wrong idea and becomes jealous too. But they somehow find out the truth and blah blah romantic stuff confessions etc. I know it’s ridiculous but I live for the drama🥺 thanks in advance and i will understand if you don’t want to do it but I love ya anyway xx

Hiya dear reader,

Thank you for your kind words! I'm happy that you like my style!

I'm sorry it took so long, but I didn't want to post something unfinished XD I hope you don't mind me setting it before the time skip, I think water seven directly after enies lobby is a great location.

Drama is always good and that's a great setup - LET'S DO IT (got a little longer)

👉 masterlist stories

👉 masterlist headcanon

here's

Zoro has no fucking clue

You defeated CP9 and returned together with Robin to Water 7, where the crew got the chance to heal and relax for a few days.

Together, you really showed it to the world government! Well, mostly the big hitters in the crew. Zoro saved you when it came to fighting, not that you minded it. Whenever you were in danger, you knew that he would show up and defeat whatever marine captain or sea monster was trying to kill you.

When you got the key and released him and Usopp from the cuffs, he flashed you a heartmeltingly handsome smile and proceeded to partake in the absolutely ridiulous sword duel that destroyed half the building - and than he fought against thousands of marines.

He really deserved a break. And a thank you. You had been aimlessly wandering through the streets of water 7 to find something for Zoro, a gift to thank him. And maybe show him how much you like him.

Eventually, you decided to get him a Magnum bottle of sake, enough for his big thirst. It was something he absolutely would love.

Pleased with your purchase, you walked back to your temporary shelter in water 7- but your heart almost stopped. You were already so attuned to his appearance, that you could have picked out that green hair in any crowd - Zoro was here. And he seemed to be moving fast. Trouble? That meat head always managed to find a fight, you better help him out.

The gathering crowd slowed you down almost immediately. You squeezed through to see Zoro fighting with some guy, who was no match for the formidable swordsman.

Putting on a real show, Zoro played with the amateur, who poked helplessly at the air as Zoro effortlessly moved around the battlefield. Drinking in the "Oh!" And "Ah!" From the surrounding crowd, a cocky smile spread over his face.

With his two swords crossed, he finally attacked and struck his opponent down with one blow.

The crowd cheered - a very female sounding cheer. You noticed a lot of girls streaming to him. They clung to his arms and praised his strength- what was going on?

A girl shouted: "He got the pantie thief! He's my hero!" In a ridiculously high pitched voice and ran towards a grinning Zoro.

Pantie thief - of course. You rolled your eyes and waited for the crowd to dissipate. And you waited, and waited. One of them seemed glued to Zoro's arm, giggling and throwing her long, blonde locks around.

"Hey Zoro, let's get back to the others" you tried to get him to leave with you.

"Nah. this girl here will thank me with some booze! Just go back without me." He waved you off while the girl promised him all he could drink.

Rolling your eyes even harder, you went back to the crew at the galley-la building and informed them of Zoro's absence.

"Good riddance!" Sanji muttered past his cigarette. "Want an éclair?" He offered, almost in the same breath but with suddenly heart-shaped eyes.

"YES" you shouted, hungry for some kind of comfort after Zoro just trotted off with a blonde haired beauty.

"Stupid mosshead!" You cursed as you angrily shoved the sweet treat into your mouth.

"Yes he is, if he did anything to you I will kick that guy to the moon!" Sanji chimed in.

"No it's okay." You muttered and continued to mope for the rest of the evening.

Hardly able to sleep, you heard Zoro stumble home at dawn, throwing himself into a corner and snoring almost immediately.

You hoped that it was done with that - until the next morning. You heard Sanji shriek in delight as the door opened: "Such a sweet beautiful girl, did you come to see me, my lady?"

You didn't hear the reply clearly, but a high female voice cooed something and you heard a loud thud as Sanji's body hit the floor, an expression of total horror on his face.

The girl from yesterday pranced past you as you knelt down next to the cook.

"It's horrible..." he hoarsely whispered, seemingly near death, "she's bringing the mosshead breakfast. That beautiful lady..." his eyes closed as he sighed the last half-sentence and with it, his will to live (for the moment).

Hot jealousy surged up again. You stomped to the table, where luffy was sleep-eating heaps and Zoro gingerly unpacked a giant sandwich, seemingly made entirely out of meat.

The blonde bimbo had parked her breasts on the table and watched Zoro with a dreamy expression as he wolfed down the sandwich, splattering sauce all over the place.

"Do you like it?" She asked in a melodic voice.

"Yeah, thanks" Zoro answered with a full mouth. He seemed very content. That ass.

She didn't leave afterwards. In fact, she basically moved in immediately, either hanging on Zoro's arm or sitting close to him, watching him with heart shaped eyes and complimenting his every breath.

She eventually informed the somewhat irritated rest of the crew that her name was Silk (while throwing her silky hair around) and that she stayed with Zoro. Since she didn't actually do anything bad and Zoro didn't seem to mind, everyone accepted or ignored it.

"Come on, snookums, it's so crowded here, let's go out" Silk tugged at his arm. "I know a great liquor place!"

"Yeah why not" he lazily followed her as she maneuvered him like a tugboat.

"Snookums?" you stared after them in disbelief.

Nami, meanwhile, died of hysterical laughter.

"Didn't think that a girl could tame him that much. He's totally whipped!" she laughed and slapped your back while you didn't understand the world anymore.

The sake you bought was still in your bag, still untouched. Maybe you should bring it back to the store.

It was evening, Zoro and his girl weren't back yet. You found yourself so irritated that you couldn't sleep, just like Sanji, who sat at the table and poured himself some wine.

As you sat next to him, he silently passed you a glass as well. He somehow managed to get from perfectly coiffed, full of energy and dressed to the nines to unshaven and disheveled in the course of a day.

"I know why I am upset...but what is it with you?" You ask him.

Two bloodshot eyes stared back at you.

"I can't believe Marimo...that filthy brute, with no style and no interest in women has a...a..." The end of his sentence was too much to bear for him, instead he took a nervous gulp of wine.

"And she's so....soo...prettyyyyy" he dragged out the last word like a pre-schooler in a tantrum.

You gently tapped your glass against his: "to us" you whisper.

"To...us?" He half asked and half repeated and he smiled.

One glass turned into two glasses, and like that the bottle was gone. Your only topic: how much Zoro and that girl sucked.

A new bottle was opened, and another. Soon, you didn't find enough things to hate Zoro for anymore, so instead you moved on to different topics. Sanji told you about growing up in the restaurant while you told him a few stories of your own. After the third bottle was emptied, you were both pretty drunk, and you didn't really remember much anymore.

You drifted off to an uneasy sleep, full of Zoro how he made out with the girl named Silk. How they had children and generally shoved their happiness into your face.

"Oi, wake up. Y/n, wake up!" You heard Zoro's angry voice above you as he tapped you with his foot.

"Wha...let me sleep marimo" you answered, swiftly adopting Sanji's language and inflection.

As you opened your eyes, the swordsman's towering frame took up your entire field of vision. With his crossed arms and grumpy expression, he looked intimidating as hell.

You stretched and realized that you had slept on the floor, leaning against Sanji, amidst a lot of pillows. Sanji must have brought them during the night to make you more comfortable. Now that's a man!

When you moved, Sanji's head fell into your lap, still sleeping, and he immediately began purring like a kitten. Zoro grabbed him by the collar and shook him awake.

"What the fuck YOU think you're doing?" He bellowed at his sleepy crewmate.

"Go and have your nosebleed somewhere else, you pervy cook!" He said as he threw Sanji down again -hopefully immediately regretting it because Sanji answered with a fiery kick.

Not even 5 minutes awake and already near a fight, you decided to crawl away to safety and make some tea.

As you set down with steaming cup in hand, you spotted the blonde girl coming towards you, wearing the same clothes as yesterday. Demonstrably, she sighed and commented "what a short night" showcasing her disheveled hair with a pout.

"Uh-hu" was all you could manage.

"You are his crewmate, are you not?" she asked, "how can you live with that manly man on one boat and not fall for him?"

"Yeah, it's a mystery" you answered sourly. If she only knew that you did - and he didn't care.

She continued to talk about something, but you decided not to listen. Instead, you focused on the fight going on outside now, where Zoro and Sanji shouted insults at each other.

"You hurt her feelings! I cannot ignore that!" Sanji screamed. "FLAMBÈ SHOT!"

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, STUPID COOK!" Zoro answered among loud clashes.

Your head was aching too much, there was too much noise. You excused yourself and went outside - away from the fight - and sat at the pier. It was calm here. Just faint noises of fighting were in the background.

You thought about how childish those two were, always fighting about something. But you were one to talk, you were childish as well. Zoro or Silk had no way of knowing that they hurt your feelings. At least Zoro deserved an open apology. And his sake.

You sighed, already playing the conversation in your head. The waves crashed against the pier, it was really calm.

Too calm.

When you returned to the building, both Zoro and Silk were gone.

Sanji was at the stove, making breakfast.

"Zoro stormed off" he said flatly. "And Silk-chan followed, of course."

They didn't return for the whole day. Dusk came and there was still no sign of them.

It got late, evening turned to night and Zoro was still gone. It was time to have a talk, to let him know how you felt, and to clarify where you both stood. You packed the sake to finally give it to him and be the friend he deserved.

You made your way through the bustling streets of Water 7 once again, aimlessly walking and hoping to find Zoro. It was a lively city with people sitting outside and laughing late into the night. You didn't see the green hair anywhere, maybe they've gone to her place.

Your feet have taken you away from the people in the streets to side alleys, where everything was calm and dark. There were lots or piers looking out to the water where crews loaded and unloaded goods.

With relief, you spotted Zoro sitting on a wooden barrel near the water's edge, alone now, with an empty bottle of sake beside him. His expression was more somber than before, and he seemed lost in thought.

Taking a deep breath, you approached him, determined to have the conversation you had been avoiding. As you got closer, Zoro looked up and met your gaze, and you could see a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"Hey," you said softly, taking a seat beside him. "Mind if we talk?"

Zoro blinked and then nodded, a serious look on his face. "Sure, what's on your mind?"

You swallowed the lump in your throat and decided to be direct. "I am really happy for you, Silk seems to really like you." You paused, unsure where to go next.

"And I hope you're happy with the cook" he snorted.

"What?" You asked, surprised.

"The cook. And you. I wouldn't have thought..." His voice trailed off and he took the bottle again. Remembering that it was already empty, he threw it into the sea with a sigh.

"That goddamn cook with his nice words..." Zoro mumbled angrily.

"I am not with Sanji, silly" you told him.

"But you slept together...! On the floor!" He stuttered.

"We just fell asleep, nothing more." You said.

"I...I'm not with Silk either." He rubbed his head, "in fact, she was kind of unnerving."

"Than why be with her for days?" You asked.

"You know, it was nice to be appreciated for once. Silk gets it. You always call me stupid or silly." He shrugged.

"You stupid mosshead, everytime I call you stupid I mean that I like your stupid!" You rummaged in your bag for the Sake, "it means that you're adorable and cute and so, so unbelievably, awesomely stupid! And I do appreciate you. You save me all the time. I bought this for you, as a thank you" You gave him the extra large bottle of Sake.

Zoro's brows furrowed as the gears started turning in his head. "I didn't realize... I mean, I didn't think...why did you never say so before?"

"Don't know. You never really cared about anything besides swords and fighting." You shrugged.

"I...I do care, I just...I'm not so good with words." He held the bottle in his hands like he didn't know what to do with it.

He swallowed and looked at you. "You know, I think you're stupid, too. Really silly. The silliest person I've ever met." He laughed and you chimed in.

You felt a rush of relief and happiness wash over you. Maybe Zoro wasn't as clueless as you had thought. Perhaps he had his own way of expressing his feelings.

"Just to be sure...stupid means I like you" He whispered and invited you to sit with him. When you hopped on the barrell, he put his arm around you.

As you sat there by the water's edge, the two of you talked late into the night, sharing stories, laughter, and sake. The noise of the world around you faded into the background as you discovered a deeper connection with Zoro, one that went beyond the chaos of battles and adventures.

And in that moment, you realized that sometimes, the most meaningful conversations happened not in grand gestures, but in the quiet moments shared between two people who cared for each other deeply.

-----

Epilogue (because I don't want to leave Silk's character as the only evil female catty villain)

Zoro and you eventually made it back to the company house and shocked everyone, first and foremost poor Sanji, with your new found closeness. It would be a long road until you could say the l-word to each other, but whatever your now relationship was, it was good.

It would still be a few days until you could sail from water 7 and you enjoyed the commodities of the city, walking through the busy streets, window shopping.

A store with beautiful cloth caught your eye and you entered. You looked at the exquisite goods when you heard a shop clerk approach "can I help you?"

"No I'm just look-AHHH" your voice and face must have derailed when you found yourself looking at an equally shocked Silk. A moment of awkward silence followed where you saw that her eyes were swollen and she looked really tired.

"Uhm, hi Silk, how are you?" You stammered.

"You know. Not so good" Silk looked unnerved. "What do you want?"

"I didn't know you worked here" you were caught off guard. But now that Zoro was with you, the anger against her seemed childish and mean.

"I'm Sorry if I was mean to you before" you said, surprising the girl, "I was unfair."

"No, don't. I was...overreacting, too. I'm sorry" She said thoughtfully. "He didn't stop talking about you. Really annoying, like he was hung up on you. That's why I was so pushy" Tears pooled in her eyes again.

Helpless, you tried to comfort her.

"Don't...he's just a stupid, stupid man" you told her.

"I know. That's why I liked him" she said, voice breaking.

You guessed that you weren't the best person to comfort her now, so you decided to leave.

"I'm Sorry. I should go now" you said.

"Yeah. Bye" She forced a smile and waved.

[sinimake]

Johnny Cage: The Defender of Earthrealm Documentary Film

Individual interviews with other Earthrealm Defenders.

SCENE 7 TAKE 1 CLAPPERBOARD SHUT

Kung Lao: what's like having Johnny as a friend? *heaves long and deep sigh* Where do i start?

—cut—

Raiden: Johnny? He's alright but there are some ... moments ... where you deeply regret having him as your friend.

—cut—

Kenshi: *the shot shifting so it looks like he's looking at the camera* Johnny Cage is egotistical, narcissistic, insufferable bas—

Kung Lao, off camera: —why are you asking him? All he talks about is Johnny!

—cut—

Kung Lao: one time, i asked him why he always sleeps through lessons and he replied me "Because it's iconic".

—cut—

Kenshi: so i can read minds and the thing—

Cameraman: you can???

Kenshi: —the thing is one time, we are sitting in a mission briefing and all he had in his head was the song WAP. Mind you, not even the full song. Just the chorus part playing nonstop. repeatedly.

—cut—

Kung Lao: You want me to list positive things about Johnny? How about we start with negatives? *bringing out a thick notebook named "Times JC wronged me" and starts flipping through* You got time, right?

—cut—

Kenshi: The only positive things about him are his bank account, and sometimes he looks good in skin-tight clothes. That's it.

—cut—

Raiden: Sometimes he likes to cause problems on purpose. That's the most positive and lightest thing about him.

—cut—

Kung Lao, still flipping through the notebook: ... he once called me fat for eating my 8th pancake ...

—cut—

Kenshi: Johnny talks in his every waking second. The only time he's not running his mouth is when he's sleeping. But then he snores, so it's like an auditory torture 24/7.

—cut—

Raiden: One time, Johnny spiked the tea pots in the cafeteria with vodka and everyone in the Academy was drunk in various degrees for whole day.

Kung Lao, off camera: It was kinda funny tho!

Raiden, chuckling: Yeah, it was. Master Xu was complaining about headache. He didn't know what was happening so he kept drinking the tea, getting even more drunk and— *pauses and the smile on his face slips off* —and then he was bedridden for three days becauss of alcohol poisoning.

—cut—

Kenshi: He's a fucking loser. I don't know why he bothers flirting with people.

Kung Lao and Raiden, at the same time: It's not like you didn't put him on all answers to Fuck, Marry and Kill.

Kenshi: THE POINT IS he needs to stop flirting with people.

Kung Lao, peaking over the camera: He means other people.

—cut—

Raiden: One time, Johnny invited three of us to his house, but once we got there, he locked all doors and windows and made us sit through his 26 hours long movie marathon.

—cut—

Kenshi: what I'm trying to say is if you run into Johnny Cage on the street, turn the other way and run.

—cut—

Liu Kang, smiling serenely at the camera: Johnny Cage is a hero. Though he may not yet know it.

Cameraman: ...

Cameraman: Thank you. I think that was the first nice thing anyone said after four hours of shooting.

END OF TAPE

[syndxlla]

best friends don’t look at each other the way we do

A low stakes, high reward and self-indulgent Zelink fan fiction. Canon-compliant. Takes place between both and totk

Chapter Six: This is Home

Read chapter five here

My masterlist

Song: Run To You by Leah Michele

Summary: Link is brought on to investigate a new strange monster plaguing the farmers in Hateno. He is faced with a new type of post-traumatic experience he doesn’t expect to have.

Warnings: canon-typical violence, suspense and horror, PTSD, squint and theres very base-line sexual content, GRAPHIC descriptions of animal mutilations!

Word Count: 3.5k words

Authors Note: I didn’t update for two and a half months and said “lemme give you guys the best chapter yet” (imo). Thank you for being patient with me. I restarted school, closed one musical, opened and closed a 30 performance long run of another musical and literally fell in love with a man 16-years-older than me in that time lol. Also I wrote this in one sitting and I’m starting chapter 7 now 🫡. Its unedited be nice.

Also please do not make fun of me for using a Leah Michele song for this chapter its so good and it works really good so just shut up. Kloveyoubye

The summer starts to get hotter. A week passes and nothing changes, neither of them ever address the hand holding, Link is fixing the hole in the roof and Zelda is reteaching herself how to fix a clock, an activity she originally learned at the age of seven. Everything is so normal, the sun starts to set a little later, and the fireflies have started hatching.

Link never really thought he would end up in a position to do housework. He tried to get Bolson to fix the hole before Link bought it, but it would take a certain number of wood piles and when Link went out to get them he got a little distracted. And by distracted he means ending the sandstorm in the desert caused by the Divine Beast. It just got put on the back burner, and now here he is, using basic tools to hammer in new shingles. He wipes his brow, his shirt off again. He takes a look at the hammer in his hand, thinking about the savage Lynel sword that same hand has swung.

The passage of time is weird.

Maybe he does want to go back to work. Going from Demon slayer to roof repairman in two and a half weeks is a little jarring.

He hears a groan of frustration from inside the house, and makes his way inside, where it's much cooler.

“Everything alright?” He asks, looking at the girl who’s hunched over the kitchen table.

“No, this is absurd.” She slams the machine on the kitchen table. “I can’t remember how to do the most basic thing in engineering ever.” She frowns.

Link chuckles and places a dirty hand on her shoulder as he walks past her. He moves to the water basin and wets a cloth that he wraps around his neck. “I don’t know the first thing about that stuff, so you have me beat.” He shrugs. “Man, what I would give for an hour at Lurelin right now. Or better yet a weekend at Tabantha. I bet the weather there is a comfortable 60 degrees.” He sighs. Trying to slyly put the worm in Zelda’s ear about a possible trip.

Zelda groans, “I agree. I don’t remember it getting this hot.”

“This is just the beginning, wait until it’s the midsummer festival.”

“A festival?” Zelda’s face lights up.

Link nods, “It’s something they started about thirty years ago. It’s right here in Hateno. People from all parts of the kingdom will travel for it.” Link drinks some water, leading against the counter at the hip. Zelda makes special effort not to admire how his obliques curved. “There’s music and dancing, it’s quite fun. I was invited last year as a special guest. The “chosen hero” or something like that.” Link shrugs.

At that moment they hear a sharp knock on their door. It startles both of them. Link moves to answer it, setting the rag and cup down.

“Dantz, what is it?” Link says as he opens the door to a distressed farmer.

“Master Link, so good to see you,” His voice is shaky, “I didn’t know who else to go to.” Link listens more intently, Zelda even stands. “Two more of my cattle have been killed. When I heard you were back in town I knew you could help me. I don’t know who—or what—is killing them, but it's not a moblin. It’s something darker.” He’s speaking a mile a minute.

“Slow down,” Link stops him, “When did this happen?”

“In the night, I came here as soon as I could. They were covered in something… unnatural. Please, Link.”

Link turns back to look at Zelda. “Stay here.”

“What? No. I’ll come with you!” She moves to him and Link stops her. If this is anything like what Cado saw at the castle, he didn’t want her to be anywhere near it.

Link completely turns around and puts his hands on her shoulders, “Zelda, you cannot.” He stays sternly.

“Why? You don’t have to baby me. I can help you.”

“Zel-“

“I’m better! Please don’t leave me-“ Before she finishes the sentence she’s falling back down, like she was going to faint again. She had gotten herself worked up and now her heart was weary again. Link catches her before she falls, her knees knocking together.

“Oh, Goddess.” Dantz says. “Should I help?” He asks and Link snaps, telling him ‘no’ a little too forcefully.

“Zel, come on, let's get you to bed.” He wraps her arm around his shoulder. “Dantz, I’ll be there within the hour. I’m sorry.” Link says in a calmer tone.

“I understand, Link.” He nods and turns to leave.

Zelda can’t get up the stairs and Link picks her up, carrying her up to her room. He places her in bed as she starts to cry.

“Hey, hey it’s okay.” He brushes her hair out of her face. She takes his hand.

“No. It’s not.” She replies. “Stop telling me it’s okay.” She groans. “It’s ridiculous that I can’t do anything without this happening.” It was the second time this week.

“I have to go help them.” His hand is held back by her, but she eventually lets it go.

He turns to leave her, pulling his green tunic over his messy hair, and getting ready for combat. He isn’t even anticipating a fight, but he wants to be ready. He puts his gloves on, and straps both his sword and shield to his back. He even gets his bow ready because he has no idea what it might be. It sounds serious.

It’s the first time he’s been entirely suited-up since the castle. He forgot how natural it feels. He forgot how much he felt like himself.

Zelda has gotten up and stands at the railing of the loft. “Be careful.” She says in a weak voice.

Link looks up at her, he wants to stay here with her and hold her and let her know that it's going to be okay. “Please rest.”

He walks out the door.

The cattle are lying dead in the corner of the pasture. Flies buzz around them. Dantz and Link examine the scene, a pit in both their stomachs.

“What could it be?” Dantz asks.

Link crouches down, getting a closer look. The gunk is a deep maroon color, almost like malice but thinner, almost like a glossy serum as opposed to a thick slime. Link takes a risk and touches a bit of it that was strewn across the grass, rubbing it between his fingers. It didn’t seem to hurt him the way malice did. He sniffs it, it’s rotten and foul. He gags almost immediately. Link wipes his hand off in the grass.

“I’ve never seen anything like this.” He admits. “And I’ve seen a lot.” This was only confirming his worst fears.

“The other ones that were killed were left like this too.” Dantz explains, “There isn’t even any meat taken out of them, only their eyes are gouged out.” He points out.

“Whatever is killing them is doing it for sport.” Link stands back up and folds his arms. “This is bizarre, I must say.” It was starting to be late afternoon, he still had a few hours of sunlight. “What did you do with the other ones that were killed?” Link asks.

“We tried to clean them up and butcher them for food. But the meat inside was rotten, like it was poisoned under the skin.”

Link hears a giggle from behind them and turns around to see the two daughters of the rancher watching them from behind a post. When he catches them staring they both hide.

“How old are your girls?” He asks.

“Siva is eighteen and Catli is sixteen.” Dantz replies. “They are my pride and joy, I can’t let anything bad happen to them.”

Link advances towards them, “Girls.” He smiles, charming as ever. They both sneak out from behind the post, sheepish and giddy. The older steps forward.

“You’re the hero.” She puts her hands behind her back. Link nods.

“Can you girls show me the edge of your property?” He asks, wanting to test a theory. They both happily nod and start to lead him, he notices especially how Siva looks at him as she walks by. She was very agreeable: long, dark and curly hair and alluring eyes. He follows them. They take him past the fence and through the forest, the younger chatting and asking questions about his quests and whatnot. He just smiles and nods, answering with basic “yes’” or “no’s”.

Link’s theory starts to prove right, he sees a set of two acorns on the ground, then a pair of two foot tracks, and eventually, at the end of the property, where two songbirds lay dead at the bottom of a tree, both covered in the same strange goop. Whatever this is, it’s looking for things in pairs. Like two sisters.

Link would never imagine putting these girls in danger, and would send them home in about an hour or two when it started to get dark, he just wanted to lure out whatever was killing with a pair.

He sat down at the base of a tree, and listened as the girls talked themselves up, clearly competing with one another for who can be the most impressive to the hero. Link decides to let them have their fun, it’s not like he was getting this attention from Zelda.

Zelda.

She’s all he could think about. He listens to the girls for a full hour, but doesn’t comprehend a word they’re saying because all he can do is think about the woman he left at home. He wishes he hadn’t left her home, she’s probably sad and lonely. Or maybe she isn’t, perhaps she’s enjoying some alone time. He doubted it, though. He was sure she was fuming at him for just leaving her, for going in such a rush. Proximity can cause problems, maybe this was good for them.

Link must have zoned out because all of a sudden the younger sister was gone, and he was left alone with Siva. This was dangerous territory.

“Where did your sister go?” He asks, clearly uncomfortable.

“Oh! I told her to go get her tapestry to show you! Of course.” Siva says in a tone that was a little too flirty for Link’s liking. She sits next to him, facing him. Link knew the look on her face, and he knew he should stand up and put an end to whatever was about to happen. “Because you know… now we’re alone.” She sighs and leans in.

Stop. Stop. Stop. He tells himself but doesn’t move, he lets her place her lips on his.

Link is not an experienced kisser. He’s had a few drunken nights in the last three years where he ended up in a Gerudo’s bedchamber or a stable-workers hideout, and while those were all agreeable experiences, he’s never actively sought them out. It was always nice to get the tension from his journey off, though.

Link makes the mistake of kissing her back, and she’s sighing into his touch and he’s pulling her in. Being alone with a woman he’s been in love with for three years and not being able to touch her or talk to her the way he wants to has left him with a lot of pent up energy, it felt good to get it out.

Link puts his fingers through her hair, and starts to kiss down her jawline and neck and she’s letting out the prettiest little sounds.

And then he starts to think about Zelda. The sounds Zelda would make, the feeling of her hair intertwined in his fingers, how her lips would feel against his…

Zelda.

Zelda.

“Zelda.” He sighs, and then Savi is pulling away.

“Hm?” She asks, and Link is dazed and confused, thinking with anything other than his brain. He doesn’t know how long they were kissing because suddenly it's much darker outside, and if Dantz caught them like this, Link would be the one hunted down and killed, not whatever monster is out there.

Link immediately feels stupid, this was a rookie mistake. He shouldn’t have let it happen.

“What?” He responds to her, and then out of the corner of his eye, he sees something run behind the tree. “Shit.” He jumps up. “You need to go. Right now.” He pushes her back towards the house. It wasn’t far, she’d be okay. “Please don’t tell anyone about this.”

She nods, also remembering their reason for being out here. She runs back home and Link shakes his head, trying to refocus. He sees it again, it’s fast, moving from tree to tree, but further away. Link grunts and starts to slowly follow it. He isn’t sure if it saw him. It’s tall, and it’s dark. He would guess it’s a Moblin by its size but it's much too fast to be a moblin. Perhaps a wizzrobe? But he could hear its feet on the grass. Link starts the stalk, prowling towards it like a predator.

He doesn’t think it knows he’s following, because he’s able to follow it halfway up Madorna Mountain before he accidentally steps on a branch that snaps loudly. Again, a rookie mistake. Link was out of practice, rusty. He silently curses himself for that. The beast turns around to look at Link, but he’s able to hide behind an oak tree. It was still a little light out, and the lights from down were getting smaller and smaller as they worked their way up the mountain.

Link stayed vigilant. It’s been a long time since he’s had to fight a new enemy, and he wasn’t sure how powerful this was going to be. It gets quiet, he doesn’t hear it move. Even with Link’s impaired hearing, he had a knack for the details, but not today, not now. A cricket chirps but it’s silenced halfway through its sound. The wind goes still. A cloud covers the moon.

He girds up, and moves from behind the tree to keep following it, but he’s met with a horrific sight.

The creature is standing there, about six feet away from Link.

It startles him. He’s met with a feeling of dread.

It’s tall, probably seven feet. It’s hunched down, a humanoid-sort of beast that looks like a shadow covered in the same maroon gloop as the animals.

Link freezes up, he is paralyzed with fear because he knows exactly what it is.

He knows who it is.

It opens its eyes, those awful, yellow, glowing eyes. He chuckles at Link and it fills his skull. It wasn’t quite human, like it was a pile of goo that was regaining its strength and slowly rebuilding itself into a human. Into a phantom.

They stare at one another, his laughter taunts Link. Link can hear his heartbeat in his ears. His palms start to sweat. He is met with the images of three weeks ago. The battle, the castle, the evil.

Ganon.

Or at least some form of him.

He doesn’t move, he just laughs at Link. The boy swallows, and he wants to run, but he rolls his shoulders back.

“Courage and Bravery are two different things.” Zelda’s words ring in his memory.

He grabs his sword.

The Master Sword unsheathes with a light ring, and it glows in the darkness.

In an instant, the monster is screeching and howling like a Lynel and melting away from the light of the sword. The pure power of the holy blade made the beast slowly melt into the ground, like an ice cube in the desert. It covered its eyes, and screlted into the forest, echoing no doubt into town.

Link walked closer to it, waving the blade, spinning it in his hand until the creature was completely put away.

Whatever that was, it isn’t very strong. It will surely get stronger, though. Link had a feeling this was not the end of it. It left behind a puddle of goop. Link’s stomach dropped when he realized why it was killing for sport and in pairs of two. It was probably seeking Him and Zelda. Unable to differentiate what living things were hylian and what was cattle or animals. The stealing of the eyes surely had something to do with it regaining its strength, but what?

How did it know to come look in Hateno already?

After sheathing the sword and thanking the Goddess, Link took a moment to bury the secretment. He still felt sick to his stomach. Why did he freeze up like that?

Maybe that final battle had more of an effect on him than he thought.

He heads home, explaining to Dantz what had happened and what he saw, sugar-coating it a little and just saying it was a ghost. Link wasn’t sure how long it would stay away for, but hopefully long enough he could talk to Impa about it. Clearly the Master Sword was protecting him. He made a special effort to avoid Savi.

When he gets home, he drops his equipment off, pulling his gloves and boots off and leaving it all in his little corner downstairs. He pulls his shirt off. He would sleep out with Epona again tonight, he would need to to avoid the nightmares. His Mare had that effect on him. The feeling of safety and home.

Zelda was asleep, snoring lightly in her bed. He stayed quiet and went to sit at the table, grabbing a baked apple to silence his rumbling stomach. Guilt washed over him as he remembered what he did today. Savi came onto him, but he knows he shouldn’t have let that happen. He was ashamed of his conduct.

The laughter of the phantom rang in his ears. Flashes of its grin and glowing eyes projected in his mind. He felt ill.

Link disassociated. He sat at the table for three hours and it went by in minutes.

What snaps him out of it are the screams of terror he hears from upstairs.

His mind immediately jumps to the worst possible situation. He grabs the master sword and sprints upstairs. He sees nothing but a scared girl, crying from a nightmare.

“Zelda, what is it?” He asks, setting the sword town and running to her. He kneels by her bed and takes her hand. “I’m here, what’s wrong.” He whispers.

“You’re here?”

“I’m here.”

“B-but. The guardian, it got you. It killed-”

“It was just a nightmare, it wasn’t real.” Link reassures her. “I’m here, breathing, alive as ever.”

Zelda shakes her head, she’s clearly so traumatized that she cannot differentiate dream from reality anymore, she probably thinks him saying that is the dream.

“Here, feel.” He grabs her hand and places it against his chest where his heart is. “Feel that?” He asks, “Bum-bum. Bum-bum.” He whispers. “That’s my heart. Its pumping, it's beating.” Zelda sobs and he pulls her into his chest. “It’s okay, I got you. I’m here.”

He holds her for a moment and then stands up, “I’ll get the stool if it will help you sleep.” He turns to go.

“Stay with me.” She asks, tears wetting his collarbone.

“I’ll be right here, I’ll grab the stool.” He says.

“No, stay with me.” She says, and gestures to the bed.

“What?”

“Please. I cannot sleep without you by my side. I’m too afraid I’m going to lose you again.” She sniffles.

“Zelda I can’t-“

“Why?” She asks. “Because of decorum? Because I’m royal? Because you don't want to get caught?” She picks up her hands ‘None of that matters anymore’ she signs.

Link nods, “Are you sure?”

“Please.” She pleads.

Link moves back to her, trying to control his racing heart. Zelda scoots over to she’s closer to the wall, and Link carefully crawls into the covers of the bed. There wasn’t a ton of room, there would be no way for them to lay in the bed without being in full contact. “Is this okay?” He asks as he pulls the covers up.

She nods.

“Hold me?” She asks.

Link looks at her and it takes every ounce of his self-control not to kiss her. He nods and lays his head down, his chest facing up. He pulls her into his chest, wrapping his left arm around her shoulders and his right arm over his stomach to her waist. She tries to control her breathing, and it gets easier as their hearts begin to sync up.

Link wants to cry too, because this is the safest he has felt in a hundred and three years. This is the most at home he has ever been. He mentally-pinches himself because he’s sure he’s dreaming. But he doesn’t wake up, in fact, he starts to fall into the deepest sleep he’s ever had.

Every muscle in his body starts to relax, his eyes get heavy, and the scent of the girl on his chest fills his dreams with images of fairy forests and gentle ocean waves and the time of day when the sun moves into twilight.

This is home.

[cosmerelists]

Support Groups that are Needed in the Cosmere

[Spoilers throughout!]

Sure, Kaladin has invented therapy, but where are the highly specific, timeline-blind, Cosmere-spanning support groups that our heroes desperately need? Support groups like...

1. "My Parental Figure Tried to Murder Me and all I Got was this Stupid Trauma."

Vin: You grow up thinking your mom tried to kill you, but it turns out she was just spiking you to be controlled for an evil god. Vin: Not better. Charlie: Oh man, that's horrible! My dad just sent me to an evil sorceress he thought would kill me because I was just that embarrassing to him. Wax: My uncle, who raised me, tried to blow me up with my own butler! And that was just, like, the first murder attempt. Shallan (sweating): I really thought there'd be more "and I killed them back" by now.

2. "Kin-Killers Club Support Group"

Wax: Kin-Killer's...Club? Shallan: I thinks someone thought the alliteration would be jolly before realizing that this group probably shouldn't be. Raboniel: Some would claim that "kin-killing" must be specifically a blood relative, like a daughter, rather than a spouse. Dalinar: ...should I go? Wax: No, no, I think wives definitely count as family! Vin: How do we feel about in-laws? Father-in-law? Brother-in-law? Shallan: Hey, it's all trauma. Kaladin: What if you didn't kill your brother exactly but you feel like it's definitely your fault and the guilt eats you alive? Wax: Yeah, nixing the jolly alliteration was definitely a good idea.

3. "I Did Not Enjoy Being Enslaved"

Kaladin: I think, for me, the worst part was that by the time I had fallen that low, I kinda felt like I deserved it. For not protecting people. Kaladin: I think that's why I kept my slave brands for so long. Rlain: I never thought I deserved it. None of my people did. Crow: Hey, why is this group's name in the past tense? Some of us are STILL enslaved to the big stupid dragon, you know!

4. "Dead Brother Gang"

Kaladin: Uh, Shallan? Is it awkward to have me here? Shallan: Eh, it's okay. Narratively, I got over you killing my brother really quickly! Shallan: Sorry he killed, like, all of your friends. Kaladin: I think that's trauma for a different support group. Shallan: Ha ha yeah! I've been to so many it's hard to keep track. Jasnah: If the two of you are finished, perhaps the rest of us could also talk about our deceased brothers now? Llarimar: Uh, is it okay if our brother died but then later came back to life? His death was still, like, very sad. Marsh: Of course. Even brothers who don't remain dead can be grieved. Marsh: ...Sometimes they manage to annoy you more.

5. "Horses Suck So Much--Why Doesn't Anyone Else See It?"

Kaladin: ... Vin: ... Kaladin: Vin: ... Kaladin: I really thought we'd get more people. Vin: Me too!

6. "Killed Off For Another Character's Development"

Evi: I know my death gave my husband such a powerful backstory but...it would have been nice to be in the main narrative. Vin's mom: Hey, at least you got a name. Parlin: It sucks, but it must be nice that you were grieved, at least! Parlin: People are like, why was Parlin even a character? Kelsier: (sighs) Yeah, our deaths may help the main character grow...but at what cost? Evi (low voice): Are we sure he qualifies?

7. "I Really Thought That Guy Was Cool and then He Almost Murdered Me and I Felt Kind of Stupid"

Vivenna: Turns out you CAN'T trust mercenaries, even if they seem jolly. Shallan: Some men who bring you jam and bread are...bad. Siri: Even nerds can be evil. Hrathen: Sometimes the crazed, violence-prone, deeply unstable underling you think you can control for your own purposes turns out to be crazy, violent, unstable, and murderous. Vivenna: ... Shallan: ... Siri: ... Hrathen: What?

7. "Wronged By Hoid"

Kelsier: Ugh, that jerk. Punched me in the face. Sigzil: Abandoned me in the Bridge Crew. Not to mention that I have to run forever now, thanks to him. Jasnah: "Wronged" is perhaps strong, but I will say that he is not the ideal boyfriend. Riina: That son-of-bitch kicked me off of a perfectly fine planet! Amarem: He was quite rude to me, once. Or many times. Hoid: It's all so true. I get myself into SO much trouble sometimes. Hoid: Is there any greater victim of Hoid...than Hoid himself? Kelsier: YOU CAN'T BE HERE