#the legends have one collective brain cell

[panini-penguin]

Nate: Sara said it’s my turn with the brain cell.

Charlie: Square up, mate.

[ragnar0c]

Now that I have an sd card I also can finally export my eo5 guild card (❁´◡`❁)

Cleared the game last year, but using this an excuse to talk about them moreeeeee.

EOV guild Ragnarok is on mars so, they have no afilliation with the connected eo 2-3-4-EMD-X Ragnarok lore.

Elma- (Precocious voice) Snarky middle aged brouni. Merciful Healer.

Botanist who inherited her mom's flower shop and the debts that came along with it. Desperately trying to keep the shop afloat... Thankfully for Elma a noble, Lyra, becomes fond of visiting and buying flowers.

Lyra finds out Elma's plight, and offers her an invitation to her guild. Claiming that if Elma escorts her to the top of Yggdrasil, her kingdom will pay her handsomely.

Lyra- (Knightly voice) Passionate, and nice, not necessarily kind. Puts on a regal facade, but she's genuinely very lonely. Chain duelist, Called Astral Fencer. (Or something like that)

Okay so. Lyra is. Actually a liar. She frequented Elma's shop to recruit her ... She is not a noble, but WILL BE ONE once she reaches the top of Yggdrasil. Rumor has it any wish comes true atop it. Nothing will stop her from wishing she is a noble. Her bit is that she has to keep this a secret from Elma.

Plover- (Tomboyish voice) Lyra's hired hands. used to do street fights, a gladiator/ pugilist. Used to be a barrage brawler, is an impact brawler now. She's a little silly, but also still shares a brain cell with Elma. She is the common sense when Elma is tooo much of a hater.

Only in it for the money. Knows Lyra is lying but kinda loves how crazy she is for doing it. Would punt Elma into the sun... Might wanna kiss Lyra and that's why she's okay with her being dishonest.

Mysen- (Gentle) A Therian shaman (Divine Herald) with a special clairvoyance charm. The innocence to the Guild's sarcasm and lies. He's just my son. Hence his name.... He's probably 15...

Last two used to rival Ragnarok. A separate guild called guild legend. Joins the guild at the very end.

Javelin- (Collected) Brooding Masurao.... Blade master. Guy who spends the whole damn game rivaling Ragnarok just to realize he needs to get a new personality and join them in the 5th stratum.

Used to be in a rival guild, Guild Legend, with his wife. Anyway, his wife died and he hired a necromancer to travel with him to the top of yggdrasil hoping to use its power to ressurect her. Attempts to kill Ragnarok so no one gets in his way... he misses his wife.

Renge- (Calm) The necromancer, spirit broker, Javelin hired. Calm, cool, and even more sarcastic somehow. But unlike Javelin, he humors Ragnarok despite being their rival.

He tries to stop Javelin from hurting them... But never actually able to. He has feelings for Javelin and they cloud his own judgement. Starts Helping Ragnarok late 3rd stratum.

[annathesillyfriend]

August slipped away like a bottle of wine which mean it's time for another rec list! Marvel? Who's she? Tom Holland? We don't know him. As you will see, Top Gun men have taken over my life this past month along with Steve Harringtion (still haven't seen Stranger things but let's not talk about it). I hope you're gonna enjoy all these wonderful stories just as much as I did 💕 Have a beautiful September 😌😌

To all the writers - I love you and I appreciate you so much!

To all the readers - please, share the fics you read and love. The reblog really makes the change! It’s the least we can do to show our gratitude.

Also, please, mind the writers’ warnings!

🌞 BRADLEY 'ROOSTER' BRADSHAW🌞

the actress and the aviator blurbs by @greenorangevioletgrass

↳ collection of wonderful stories all about my favourite duo written by my favourite person ✨ i love every single one of them with my whole stupid heart :')

ocean in a seashell by @seasonsbloom

↳ one shot, 18+, what a stunning story it is, i am at a loss of words, please read it!

this fic by @bradshawsbaby

↳ one shot, 18+, mr bradshaw makes pregnant!wife feel good while making me lose all my marbles 🥵 i also highly recommend the whole rooster masterlist!

🌞JAKE 'HANGMAN' SERESIN🌞

silk by @siempre-bucky

↳ one shot, i've read so many jake fics this month (like SO many) but this one has decided to implant itself in my mind and never leave, i think about it at all times

and the truth of the matter is (i'll never let you go) by @fidogo

↳ one shot, 18+, definetly in my top jake fics, loved this with my whole being

king of my heart by @kyber-crystal

↳ one shot, jake really is the kind of my heart (body and soul)

butterflies by @almightyellie

↳ one shot, this makes me go AGHHH 😫😫😫 but like in the best way possible

do not disturb by @callsign-valley

↳ one shot, 18+, every single cell of my body is in love this with one

it's not me, it's you by @phoenixsbby

↳ one shot, I LOVED THIS!!!!!!

the last word by @sunlightmurdock

↳ one shot, 18+, don't we just love mouthy boys 👀

tommorow never comes by @purplevortexx

↳ one shot, i enjoyed this one so much!

i drive your truck by @wombtotombx

↳ one shot, this shit hurted 😫 but it's also so good!!

dime store cowboy by @//seasonsbloom

↳ two shot, 18+, a big yeehaw moment 🤠🤠

this fic by @seasonsbloom

↳ one shot, i just love that man so much

🌞ROBERT 'BOB' FLOYD🌞

of gym buddies and overlapping schedules by @priceof-freedom

↳ one shot, i loved this so much!!!

about time by @lovecraft

↳ one shot, 18+, the summary of this fic is 'bob gives you a compliment, you nearly give him an aneurysm' and if that doesn't make you wanna read it, then something's wrong with you 😬 SO GOOD

my love, forever by @robertcallsignbobfloyd

↳ series, i am loving this series so much 💕

sunscreen by @siempre-bucky

↳ one shot, dad!bob owns me

hair by @//siempre-bucky

↳ one shot, see above 👆👆

this fic by @//siempre-bucky

↳ one shot, i might be a little bit obssesed with bob and Kristi's work 👀

🌞MICKEY 'FANBOY' GARCIA🌞

take me by the heart, take me by the hand by @ae-gar-targaryen

↳ one shot, danny ramirez and all of his characters are meant to be somebody's boyfriend i swear

🌞BUCKY BARNES🌞

twisty by @musingsinmoonlightlibrary

↳ one shot, 18+, the summary alone has me losing it but the fic itself is even better 💕

for the first time by @jobean12-blog

↳ one shot, 18+, Jo, you bloody legend, this is so BLOODY GOOD

i need him like water by @pellucid-constellations

↳ one shot, get your tissues ready :')

drunk in love by @bethdutten

↳ one shot, 18+, reader can't keep her hands to herself and i can't really blame her

delicate by @mediocre-daydreams

↳ one shot, i loved this as much as i love the song it was inspired by 😌

🌞SAM WILSON🌞

i've got time, i've got love by @rodrikstark

↳ one shot, mannn i love this

🌞STEVE ROGERS🌞

...and i'm wearing tights by @ronearoundblindly

↳ one shot, 18+, no thoughts brain empty 🤤

🌞MATT MURDOCK🌞

neogenesis by @murdock-and-the-sea

↳ one shot, Vidra's back at it again making my heart melt :')

🌞PETER PARKER🌞

the favourite by @softspideys

↳ one shot, stark!reader, i don't know what is says about me but i live for stories likes this one 😅

🌞JOAQUIN TORRES🌞

middle by @fluffyprettykitty

↳ one shot, boyfriend!joaquin is just a dream

🌞TOM HOLLAND🌞

bound to you by @vendettaparker

↳ series, royal!au, the best word for this story is a masterpiece, stunning work!!

no shoes, no shirt, no problem by @heyhihellowhatsup0

↳ series, 18+, another banger of a story from Nicole, tom + a lovely island sound like a dream 🥰

this fic by @//sunshinehollandd

↳ one shot, the softest thing ever 🥺🥺

i see you by @luciwritesstuff

↳ series, social media au, this was so fun, i loved it 😁😁

🌞STEVE HARRINGTON🌞

i love you by @collecting-stories

↳ one shot, FHJSKGHJSRGKJHDHGLDFKJLIFJG

fools by @spencerrxids

↳ series, i just love stories that make my heart hurt

hidden keepsakes and i don't hate you, i just don't like you by @hellhue

↳ two shot, 18+, yes, that's all i have to say

dirty dancing by @nexusnyx

↳ one shot, biker!reader, this made me yell 😁

this fic by @sunshinehollandd

↳ one shot, dad!steve, i can't even 😫😫

wash day by @//sunshinehollandd

↳ one shot, 18+, okay when is my turn to wash his hair???

chain reaction by @custardcrazy

↳ one shot, so lovely 🥰

power trip by @silkscream

↳ one shot, 18+, yes yes yes

and i get this feeling in my chest by @upsidedownwithsteve

↳ one shot, jealous steve and some soft times 😌

🌞EDDE MUNSON🌞

june baby by @luveline

↳ two shot, single mum!reader, i haven't read part 2 yet but i am looking forward to do so, incredible story!!

[ao3feed-sidlink]

Ghost of You

Ghost of You

by ObakeAri

"Link knew the Sage wasn't his dearest friend...it wasn't even close. It didn't have Sidon's laugh, quips, or positivity that brought a smile during a Calamity."

Sidon wants nothing more than to reach out to his dear friend, to his beloved when they are separated miles apart. However, he must first learn to master the power of his Sage.

(Inspired by and based off "Secret Confessions of a Sage")

Words: 3511, Chapters: 1/4, Language: English

Fandoms: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M, M/M, Multi

Characters: Link (Legend of Zelda), Sidon (Legend of Zelda), Yona (Legend of Zelda), Riju (Legend of Zelda), Muzu (Legend of Zelda), Dorephan (Legend of Zelda)

Relationships: Link/Sidon (Legend of Zelda), Sidon/Yona (Legend of Zelda), Link/Sidon/Yona (Legend of Zelda)

Additional Tags: Love Confessions, Falling In Love, Fluff, In which Yona is the brain cells of the operation, based of "secret confessions of a sage" by Kennedy Homan, Sidon can't get his Sage Avatar to work and he is trying his best, Link is just a gay disaster, That's it, that's the point of the story, Dorephan is once again a meddlingly supportive dad, he can't help himself he just loves his children, including the ones he collects like candy

From https://ift.tt/LJTVPlf https://archiveofourown.org/works/48428410

[tiredassmage]

the many jackets and that one set of boots i must really fuckin’ like (i do) of cipher nine, lmao. base game - makeb edition.

if he starts collecting rifles like len did pistols, so help me, i won’t be able to handle the (lack of) inventory slots.

i’ll give you a ramble about them beneath the cut; that’s how these things usually go, right? xD (send help)

the red blade - hutta edition! fashion is an agent’s greatest weapon. agent gives me an excuse to dress them up from the second they’re born into the game and i milk it for all its worth. he needs to wear this jacket more often. he looks cozy in it. puts him in his thundershirt emotional support pirate jacket.

lightweight tactical - generalized home turf, lightweight ‘fit. glory to the empire and all that patriotic imperial officer jazz.

stealing theron’s jacket - he will inevitably actually steal theron’s jacket. eventually (and theron will steal at least half of his). but right now, he doesn’t know what a theron is. home turf overcoat good for getting caught in the kaas city rains and telling your enemies (hunter) that you have a better bitchin’ jacket than them. just a nice damn jacket.

for the resistance! - terror cell infiltration on balmorra. trying not to let sanju get himself killed. possible resurgence of the low-key comfy trenchcoat on makeb. when we need to look convincingly unimperial.

light armor stealth - “sir, your emotional support trenchcoat will not protect you from poisoned blades.” when i needed to put him in something a bit more physically protective than bubble wrap. a mask to open the tattooine arc because of suspected betrayal from the ghost cell contact. enough armor to feel not like a tissue paper unicorn on the frontlines of corellia, but not enough to turn him from a stealth operative into storming the bastion.

cold weather - the return of the king. alderaanian mercenary work. almost getting killed on hoth. the man, the myth, the legend, the return of one of his almost iconic outfits i had him wear way too much in his first playthrough. the outfit that made me realize he looks damn good in this green. (it’s a little unfair.)

casual - something a bit more off the job. something potentially for a defecting cipher agent. kaliyo drags him to bars and he has to look nice. kaliyo drags him to a lot of shit that doesn’t always go well, but at least he looks good dealing with it akdfndslfdsf.

belsavis - jostling with the bounty hunter for title of republic’s most wanted. orchestrator of prison heists. he’s not paying them in credits. smart ass, hard ass, nice ass. ahhem. (rip belsavis crew, he might’ve genuinely liked some of you if he hadn’t been ruthlessly using you to destroy a galactic conspiracy.)

sith intelligence - a little out of order. cropped up a few times as a dressier sort of uniform. good for play-pretending at more diplomatic aims on voss. bonus fact: he gets adopted by my emperor’s wrath post class-story to keep an eye on the bickering dark council. savosta is tired of their bullshit derailing the war effort and he is just one fuckin’ guy. him and tyr shaking hands about being done with this shit.

bonus!!!

imperial officer - i can’t keep a straight face too long. standard imperial officer affair. my brain is generating a generic bad guy (mustache twirling levels) imperial officer image every time i see him in this that just makes me crack. i’m still mad he looks good in this. i can’t take me or him seriously about it, but he looks good. and also putting him in the little cap shaves like 10 years off of him and then i get emotional about all of the damage the class story does and we don’t TALK about that sO. it gets to stay on the merit of i know this is something he’s worn at least once. nebulous interlude outfit. (the secondary color picked from this jacket not being black was INCREDIBLY jarring btw, it comes up this bright like red-orange thing and like holy facial hair of the emperor that was. hmm. that was a thing. that happened.)

[ask-the-almighty-google]

Successful Master-Padawan Teams Must Have The Following:

Two reasonably smart people who, if left to their own devices, could probably postulate a theory to solve world peace.

The aforementioned two smart people becoming dumb as a post in each others’ presence as their collective brain cells scatter to the four winds.

A somewhat uptight or straight-laced individual, either Master or Padawan.

A somewhat lax rule-breaker who understands the concept of street rules, either Master or Padawan.

At least one ghostly Lineage ancestor looking down from Force Heaven and shaking their heads at the calamity that is this new catastrophic pairing.

An individual that would kill a cactus by forgetting to water it, either Master or Padawan.

An individual who could be classified as a “filthy plant lover,” either Master or Padawan.

Complete and utter disregard for one another’s Chosen Lightsaber Forms all the while using one that somehow manages to complement the other’s.

At least one traumatic bonding story set during the early days of the pairing, though usually more than one.

A tendency to make the Council regret ever approving the match in the first place.

Successful Examples of Such Pairings Include…

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan

Obi-Wan and Anakin

Anakin and Ahsoka

Kanan and Ezra

Various Pairings Throughout Legends Content

Look, What I’m Saying Is That Dooku and Yoda Must Have Been The Bane of the Order’s Existence

[house-of-mirrors]

I wrote several paragraphs of review but my phone died suddenly and I lost it, so please take this shorter accolade of: your fanfic is excellent, thank you for writing it, please write more, the way you do dialogue for this clowncar of losers is hilarious, and I hope the very instant Fires is awake their coworkers Get His Ass about this whole adventure and never, ever, stop. Also, watching Irons briefly lose grip on the group braincell with the YOU ALL ARE NO FUN comment was incredible.

I have been sending your fanfic to all my friends every update, and it has been a great source of "This Your Man Business Associate?" material to bully my one Fires-Enjoyer friend over, so thank you for your service, I hope I have paid well for it through kudos, likes, and only-slightly-manic publicity.

I may get the sense to leave a more thorough review on ao3 when I get the time, but seeing as I'm likely to forget, I hope this passes enough for one.

Hope you have an excellent evening. May you be blessed with free time and perpetually cleared writers block, and may the keys rise to meet your fingers.

This is so very kind, thank you so much 🥺 😭 I have so much fun writing this fic and I'm happy that you have as much fun reading it.

Ajajksksksk the masters have one collective brain cell, they lost it sometime early in the First City and legend says Virginia keeps it as a mantle piece

Can the keys PLEASE rise to meet my fingers, I have hypermobility and braces only go so far (but this is so sweet, thank you, manifesting it)

I'm just. Aaaaaaaaa! Printing out this ask and holding it gently and hanging it on my fridge 💕going to be happy wiggling for the rest of the night and the next few days over this 🥰 I hope you have a nice evening too 💜

(I hope your Fires enjoyer friend is having a time. @thedeafprophet is the resident Fires enjoyer who inspired the original idea for the fic and their special boy Alex is such a good muse <3)

[sharpnothashtag]

The Good Ship CrushWay, Chapter 65 (part 1)

The scene unfolds as we hear the 3 admirals pass their judgment. Each character is seen in the receiving seat except Riker.

A1: For stealing a ship, you are sentenced to six months probation to be served out here, at command headquarters. You will act as the Board members' personal assistants for that time. You will be stripped of your current rank temporarily, serving only as Ensigns. Patrick: And what of Will Riker? What is to be done with him? A2: That is none of your concern. Patrick: Perhaps not, but I still need to know. A3: You are dismissed, Ensign TusNua. (Patrick does not move.) I said, "Dismissed!" Patrick: You may say all you wish, but I am not leaving until I know what will happen to Commander Riker and what has happened to him. Why did Headquarters fake his death? What is so dangerous about the Kaanor that you had to devastate those of us who are closest to him? A1: Do not test me, Patrick. I will throw you back in that cell to rot. Patrick: (indignantly) Do you really think the rest of Starfleet will let you get away with that? A2: WE (gesturing to himself and the other two admirals) are Starfleet. Do not forget that. Security! (Kai enters)Patrick: (as forebodingly as possible) You will hear from me again. (Kai takes him away forcefully until out of sight of the admirals. He loosens up and takes him down a side hallway. He pulls Patrick close.)Kai: Follow me. Patrick: (confused) Wha- Kai (VO): (touching Patrick, telepathically) Silence! (Patrick takes the hint and follows Kai closely through a maze of halls. Finally, Kai closes a door, and in this new room, a portal opens. Kai holds out his hand. Patrick hesitates, but he grabs Kai's hand. They are transported back to the burial grounds where Joy killed Brutus.)Patrick: What is going on? Kai: (revealing his face, he is Kaanori) I am The Keeper. Welcome back to my homeworld. Or, at least, a version of it. Patrick: You are Kaanori? Kai: Yes. Patrick: Host or spirit? Kai: I am a host. Or at least, as of your current understanding, that's what I most closely resemble. Patrick: Where--? Kai: (seeing all the questions he needs to answer, he gestures for Patrick to sit) Be comforted, friend. I am here to help. (Patrick sits.) Do you remember Mintaka III? Patrick: (it takes him a minute) Yes, vaguely. Kai: Welcome back. Patrick: Where are the rest of you? Kai: The generation you met? Long dead by now, unfortunately. What happened is--quite a story. Patrick: What happened? Tell me everything, Kai. Kai: Okay, Patrick. First, a question. How long ago was it when you were last here? Patrick: 5? 7 years? Kai: For us, it was 115 years ago. Patrick: What?! Kai: There was a tear in space-time. When you beamed down to help the observers, the hole tore a little further. My ancestors saw you as a god. Once you helped them, they began to evolve more naturally. Time passed very quickly, and within 20 of our years, you were a legend--a fable we told our young. Then, they came back. Patrick: Who? Kai: Time travelers. They said they wanted our assistance with research. We knew what happened the last time we saw a person come from the sky, so we wanted to help. (Kai winces. Patrick touches his shoulder instinctively.) I haven't told this story in a long time--I'd forgotten what being The Keeper feels like. (Kai collects himself) What followed was a hundred years of inhumane experiments. Some of us could fly, heal, destroy, transform. We could read each other's minds. These abilities would have been fine, but they came at too high a cost. Too many of us died in the process. We'd suffer through strange, painful surgeries in the day and grieve our loved ones at night. (Kai takes a moment. Tears running down his face) I died. And then I was back. I was in so many places. My brain swelled. It was so (reliving it) painful. I was afraid of everything. Every sound pained me. I stopped speaking. I used my telepathic powers to communicate with the others, and they did the same. They still wanted to help, even after the boh-GED took everything from them. Patrick: I thought the boh-GED were...was Q?

[osamu-jinguji]

My favorite books in Feb-2023 - #14 The Brain: The Story of You – October 6, 2015 by David Eagleman (Author) Locked in the silence and darkness of your skull, your brain fashions the rich narratives of your reality and your identity. Join renowned neuroscientist David Eagleman for a journey into the questions at the mysterious heart of our existence. What is reality? Who are “you”? How do you make decisions? Why does your brain need other people? How is technology poised to change what it means to be human? In the course of his investigations, Eagleman guides us through the world of extreme sports, criminal justice, facial expressions, genocide, brain surgery, gut feelings, robotics, and the search for immortality. Strap in for a whistle-stop tour into the inner cosmos. In the infinitely dense tangle of billions of brain cells and their trillions of connections, something emerges that you might not have expected to see in there: you. This is the story of how your life shapes your brain, and how your brain shapes your life. Review Nature "An ideal introduction to how biology generates the mind.... structured around crucial and wide-ranging questions, saturated with per- sonal and social relevance. And Eagleman’s answers are consistently clear, engaging and thought-provoking." Brian Eno "David Eagleman's wide-ranging roundup of the current state of knowledge about the brain is concise, accessible and often very surprising. It's a strange new world inside your head.” Stephen Fry "David Eagleman’s The Brain its an astonishing read. On every page there is a revelation so fantastic as to make one gasp. It would be impossible to take in if we didn’t all possess that impossibly extraordinary thing, a brain. Eagleman comes closer than anyone to solving the mystery of how to find the self inside the grey electric mush between our ears.” Ruby Wax "David Eagleman makes it easy to comprehend the most complex collection of cells in the Cosmos - our brain. If neuroscience had a rock legend this would be him.” About the Author David Eagleman is a neuroscientist at Stanford University, an internationally bestselling author, and a Guggenheim Fellow. He is the writer and presenter of The Brain, an Emmy-nominated PBS/BBC television series that asks what it means to be human from a neuroscientist's point of view. Eagleman’s research encompasses time perception, vision, synesthesia, and the intersection of neuroscience with the legal system. He is the author of many books, including Livewired, Sum, Incognito, The Brain, and The Runaway Species. Dr. Eagleman appears regularly on National Public Radio and BBC to discuss both science and literature.

[raymondebidochonlifechoices]

To summarise:

The title of the episode is The Jughead Paradox, that is to say: The Writer(s)’ Paradox, and, hoo, boy, there’s quite a bit of that!

On the outskirts of Rivervale lies a dead body. This will turn out to be Jughead’s. Or, rather, a Jughead’s. Fine, it’s Jug Serling’s aka Narrator!Jughead’s.

Much like the writers, the Vale’s characters have no regard for continuity. Previously deceased Archie, Toni, Reggie and Nana Rose, come back to life. Everyone believes the events of the last 4 episodes to be simple nightmares. If only.

Jughead, in particular, dreams of an explosion in Archie’s room and wakes up in said redhead’s garage with his feet dirty. He gets back to his and Tabitha’s apartment thinking he sleepwalked there.

He’s back to teaching at RHS and is having first day jitters: he keeps reliving moments from the show’s pilot. Daytime hallucinations are a symptom of paranoid schizophrenia, unhelpfully informs him not!dead!Ben Button.

Dr Curdle Jr, the great Bughead connoisseur, informs Betty of Jug Serling’s cadaver and, thus, of the existence of a second Jughead.  Betty, who in this universe is engaged to Archie, and is about to share her life and his one brain cell, does not believe the good doctor.

Jughead, however, does. He visits the morgue, where he (aka writer!Jughead) and Jug Serling (aka narrator!Jughead) meet: time stands still and so does my heart!

Dr Curdle informs Jughead that his double’s cadaver was found in the Lonely Highway, which is quite a generous term for that muddy dirt road leading to Fox Forest.

Among narrator!Jughead’s effects, Jughead finds a Rivervale comic book with Barchie getting married on the cover. It reads: America’s Typical Teenagers. I’m tickled!

Jughead reads through his comic book collection of Riverdale and Rivervale (that he doesn’t remember acquiring) in record time. Then, in typical Jughead fashion, he makes the rounds to inform everyone about it.

He starts with Tabitha, who declares that she remembers everything she read in the Riverdale comics but as happening in the Rivervale universe. This is indeed a paradox, since Tabitha wasn’t in Riverdale 7 years ago … Oops!

The biggest paradox, though, is not how the events of the Dale play out differently in the Vale but that they apparently play differently for each character! I mean, no one comments on Jason’s death except from Cheryl. Double Oops!

Dale!People also appear to have forgotten what happened recently in the Vale (see above: nightmares) but this does not become a point of discussion when confronted with Jug’s comic book knowledge. As Jughead said: it’s counterintuitive.

S1 Reggie makes an appearance, because there is no universe where Reggie does not seek out Veronica.

Teacher Jughead spends his time investigating, because there is no version of Riverdale where there are actual classes.

Everyone talks in this universe, including Jason, but not Kevin. The shade!

Imagine you’re an actor. You get a job in Riverdale. And your line is: “I’m sorry Mr Jones. The Philosophy of Parallel Universes was checked out years ago and never returned.” This is the stuff Emmy Nominations are made off. No?

Everybody is teaching at RHS, including Dilton Doiley and Ethel Muggs. This only serves as affirmation that the Vale is, indeed, an aberration.

Dilton and Ethel explain your basic parallel universe theory to noob Jughead.

Apparently, parallel universes are supposedly copies or mirror images of the prime universe. Except in the case of Rivervale. Of course. I don’t know why I expected differently.

Everything was set off by Hiram’s bomb. OMG! THE SHEER POWER OF HIRAM LODGE! The man. The mobster. The creator of Universes! What a legend.

Stop trying to figure out the secrets of the universe, says the character (Dilton) who’s researching parallel universes in his spare time. Oohh, is that academic rivalry?

A bunch of anomalies appear. More and more dead people come to life. The Black Hood kidnaps Jason Blossom.

Who the hell is the Black Hood, asks Betty who read Jughead’s comic books just the previous day and should have already known the answer.

Apparently, it’s a fair question, because in spite of his comic book knowledge, Jughead himself doesn’t know who the Black Hood is, although he uses said comic book knowledge to locate Jason at the Whyte Wyrm. Wait, what? 

Surprise anomaly: he’s Clifford Blossom.

Jughead doesn’t question Hal’s presence either, although He. Has. Read. The Comic. Books. Le sigh …

Reggie is a comedic duo all by himself.

For someone previously completely unaware that he was living in a pocket universe, Dilton Doiley has some nerve posturing about documenting a prime and pocket universe collapsing in real time to the person who made the discovery of said parallel universe in the first place. That little bitch! He was not going to share credit with Jughead, was he? The punishment for lack of academic ethics in Rivervale is death. Hmmm ... maybe there’s merit in saving this universe after all.  

Both universes will be destroyed unless Rivervale ceases to exist by reproducing the moment of its conception (aka the explosion), says Ethel. Jughead decides that if anyone is going to explode while making out, that’s gonna be him. Maybe he though a different kind of explosion?

He dumbs Ethel and goes out to find Veronica. 

Archie what are you doing here, asks Archie’s best man who skipped Archie’s wedding to make out with Veronica.

Meanwhile, Archie has killed her and is about to off Jughead too. There’ll be no Vughead on Archie’s watch.

Everybody has daddy issues in Riverdale but no one quite like Archie Andrews. Yikes! On the other hand, Archie thinking that a whole universe would be created just for him, actually tracks!

Archie supposedly knows everything about Rivervale because he was there at the moment of its creation. Betty Cooper, who was also there, miffed because she was not being informed on anything, shoots him in the head.

Jughead and Betty are one Hiram, one chunk of palladium, one curse and one Jughead writing in the garage short to accurately recreate the confluence of forces that gave birth to Rivervale but that doesn’t stop them from seizing an opportunity to make out.

It took Archie 4 episodes to come back from the dead but Narrator!Jughead was up in no time! Your construction worker/palladium miner/football coach/war veteran/firefighter could never!

Bughead are interrupted by Jug Serling (aka Narrator!Jughead) who tells them all about unravelling the great mysteries of the universe(s) while stuffing himself with burgers at The Great Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe in the Sky. That’s why, he says, he was resurrected and he came back. The how remains unclear but let’s use our imagination!

Come with me and you’ll be in a world of pure imagination sings Gene Wilder Narrator!Jughead, who has dreamed of expanding out of all the autobiographical stuff and into TV writing. Imagination is the power source to maintain Rivervale without harming Riverdale, says Narrator!Jughead. It makes sense: everything in this show so far has been a huge stretch of my imagination.

Writer!Jughead is to be secluded in order to rebirth the Vale using his trusted Underwood, keeping that universe alive by constantly feeding it stories, while Narrator!Jughead and Betty will set off the bomb. The writer lives a solitary life after all. Oh, the Symbolism! Oh, the Bathos! The Riverdale writers clink their champagne glasses and get ready for another bout of social media trolling.

Betty sees the opportunity to possibly snog Narrator!Jughead and agrees.

Jughead lives to his reputation of being a talented writer by resetting Rivervale without detonating any bombs.

Although no one is supposed to remember him, Ethel pops by the Bunker to bring him some burgers, because why not …

Unfortunately, unlike in the Vale, in the Dale the story isn’t written by Jughead, so not much improvement is to be expected: the bomb goes off. No barchie are harmed during this. Jughead’s hearing is another story.

Toffee has reluctantly left Pop’s Great Chock’lit Shoppe in the Sky for the Vale Bunker. Cats have nine lives, after all, and, yes, some of them are parallel. She’s slurping milkshakes while editing Jughead’s manuscript. She’s gonna put things right.

[suffering-and-happy-about-it]

FUN! (Shattering the Time, Part 3.)

Description: A long time ago, a peaceful state ruled over the Lanes of Zaun. Yet one day, the protector was murdered by his rival and Lanes had gone to shit ever since, leading to the establishment of an independent Firelight base just out of Zaun. But this peace was to come to an end soon with old friends coming back, rising from the dead, and getting killed.

Part Summary: Every now and then, Ekko asks you to train with him for a bit. This offer always brought an enormous amount of distraught and pain in the form of your past, yet it was always filled with something sweet.

A/N: Name of the chapter inspired by Vince Staple's "FUN!".

Word count: 5.4K

Masterlist: H E R E |  Ekko’s playlist: the boy who shattered time

Credit for the screengrab goes to the amazing and showstopping Arcane Animators, writers, all of the creators, Netflix, and League of Legends.

The sounds. It was always the sounds. Rarely would it be scenes distraught you as much as auditory stimuli did. You've learned to know the Lanes through auditory cues for the most part - the metallic rumbling of iron pipes, hissing of leaking steam, Enforcer's steel boots walking the stone paths, yelling at the market, begging and crying, shots, chemtech machinery administering chemicals into its owner's veins... There were a lot of specific sounds connected to the Undercity, but there was only one that would bring you to your knees each time without fail.

Even now, as you lay dreaming in your bed, the sound paralyzes you. Your body tensed up, muscles strained to burst, hot tears running down your cheeks. Your brain likely realized it's not much more than a simple night terror, but couldn't do anything. The sound travels down your ear, tingling it. Droplets of water dripping down from the cavern's ceiling, falling onto the rocky, wet, mossy, and muddy ground, that was the sound to bring you down to your knees. It wasn't always like this, of course. This sound only affected you this strongly in the still of the night - during the day, you'd squirm and furrow upon hearing it, but you'd realize it's just water. As soon as there were no people around and the sun set down, that was when droplets of water falling to the ground turned into all the memories and demons inside your head.

Your dream? It wasn't a dream if you'd have to be honest, neither was it a nightmare or a night terror, as you dubbed it. It was a collection of memories and events that shaped your life. Memories you tried to bury deep under time and time again. You've never succeeded. The demons found you in the still of the night, sat on top of your chest, and let you suffocate until you'd see the dream to its end.

The dream always began the same - cold creeping up your skin, seeping into your bones and flesh, darkness cutting off all vision, and water drops dripping from the ceiling. The place was moist, thanks to the neighboring underground lake; the water ran down the walls, and seeped through the ground, making the air cold and heavy. It was very humid. The only source of incoming light was the dim lights lit up the neighboring room dug into the cave system; it wasn't a natural cave, beams and metal constructions were supporting the ceiling. Looking back at the layout of his laboratory years later, you concluded it was either a former mine that caved in or an old lab, which he overtook after it was abandoned. There were numerous abandoned buildings in the Undercity, you and the other kids even turned one into a lair.

You were locked behind rusty steel bars. If you'd give it a proper kick, it would tear from the wall - but you weren't strong enough to do that. You were just a little, horrified girl cowering in the middle of the cell, crushing your old teddy bear between her fingers. Your head was buried on your knees as you shivered, attempting to find at least a bit of comfort in the dire situation you've been in. The teddy bear helped. Not much, but it did. The formerly fuzzy guy had seen better days - one of his little plushy limbs was missing, and the button that used to represent his eyes was torn off. It was muddy and wet, just like you. You've remembered better days too, even though when thinking about your life before the cell felt like a bittersweet fantasy. Was it even real? For how long were you locked up in his lab? Weeks, months, year tops? And yet, everything that came before this had faded, making you unsure whether it was even real. How old were you? Four? Six? Recalling a precise timeline of anything that came before Vander was almost impossible - it was a long streak of blotchy faces, unspecific events, and feelings; mostly dread and despair, that was.

The first event you recalled clearly was the first riot - the one when crimson smoke billowed on the bridge connection between Piltover and Zaun, blurring everyone's vision. Sounds of struggle and scrimmage could be heard everywhere, eruptions and screaming accompanying it. As you stood there, the teddy bear in your hand, you couldn't move - with your eyes open wide, you waited for your parents to wake up. They've laid on the ground, still holding hands as rigor mortis set in, watching the sky; your knee was bruised from how your dad dropped you when something hit his head. As their bodies laid in a pool of fresh, dark red blood, it wasn't hard to conclude neither of them was waking up anytime soon. As a Zaunite child, you've seen dead people before - you realized what 'being shot' meant. And yet, you couldn't move an inch. As an adult, you could positively assume people didn't even care who they were beating up by this point in the riot - whether it was an Enforcer, a Zaunite, adult or adolescent, friend or foe, they didn't really care. The riot failed. Pilties were on their way to suppress the last fighters and re-establish the domination over the Undercity and the Zaunites knew they wouldn't get a chance like this for a long time. They were desperate. Disappointed. Furious.

It was then that the man found you. Steel clacking on the stone pavements resonated closer and closer - the Enforcers were about to emerge from the smoke any moment now, looking for survivors. Some of which, probably horrified women, elderly, and children, would get aid; resisting rebels regardless of age or gender, however, would be shot on sight. The panic made your breath shallow - that was when someone's long, slender fingers grabbed your shoulders and made you turn at them. It was the man, the man whose name you never learned. He looked funny, you remembered. He was tall and tendinous, his limbs almost too long for his body. He was bald and most of his face was covered with a mask - the same one he carefully put over your nose. Right after, the stranger started examining you, as if to see that you weren't hurt. Rest assured, your good health was the least of his concerns. From an outsider's point of view, it could be perceived as a thoughtful, almost caring gesture coming from a stranger to a child who newly found themselves to be an orphan. The funny man was raising your hands, letting them fall back to your waist, inspecting your skin (whether for wounds or possible infections, you weren't sure), inspecting your eyes, snapping his fingers next to your ear (startling you), and then, turned you around as if he was looking for something. When he was done with the inspection, the man nodded to himself and mumbled under his breath. - "That will do, yes." As he stood back up, he lowered his head to you and offered you his hand. Without a word, you accepted, following him into a part of Zaun you've been to - away from the screaming, from the smoke, from the smell of blood and Enforcers marching over the bridge. Back then, you still trusted strangers. You were a fucking child, you couldn't know better.

He'd led you through a nicely looking part of the Undercity. This part of the city, closer to Piltover and the Sun Gate canal, wasn't actually as tarnished as the part you lived in. You could feel sunshine on your skin warming you up, what a strange sensation. Remnants of children playing around the nearby sewage outfall could be seen - toys lying around, wet footprints on the stone and in the sand. The riots clearly caught this part of the town off-guard. And hidden under this nice place... Was the cave. First, he fed you and gave you something to drink - the entire time, he sat opposite you, watching you with a frown. Not a word was spoken, not even when he led you there. Into the dark, wet corner behind bars. Since you were a good-willed idiot in nature, you believed he was perhaps trying to find someone who'd know you or that he was preparing you a room to actually live in. Minutes turned into hours, hours into days, dripping of water was the only sound you could hear. Plink. Plink. Plink. The man would come to check on you sometimes, feed you irregularly, and always leave you a bottle of fresh water so you wouldn't die of thirst. You felt like an unwanted pet... And it wasn't even the worst part. That came when he started taking you out into the actual laboratory.

If your memory served you right, while your parents never had much, they always prioritized caring for you, ensured you were clothed appropriately, and that your stomach wasn't grumbling; their occupation in a chemtech factory wasn't much, but it provided for the family. When you weren't at school, you were out wandering about with your friends - it wasn't a bad childhood by any means. This man ruined it all. The first time he'd led you out of your cell after weeks of just observing you, noting down your vitals in a chart was exciting. You asked if he got you a room or something, which earned you a confused glance. He didn't answer, just sat you down on a cold iron table and strapped you in with leather belts, pulling the pressure gauge on your left arm. After he ensured you couldn't move, he disinfected your elbows. That was when your child brain realized you're not getting a room. You won't even see the sun again, most likely.

The first time he stuck a needle inside you, tears rolled out of your eyes as you tried begging him to let you go. The man ignored your whining for a bit before he punched the table you laid on, looking you directly in the eye. "Stay silent, child." - The scientist uttered through gritted teeth. Just like you never learned his name, he'd never cared to learn yours. - "You're disturbing me at work. Quit whining." - The terror you felt had you gasping for breath as you looked around, watching the poisonous green liquid traveling through the tubes... Until it reached the needles stuck inside your elbows. The moment it entered your veins, you could feel coldness rushing through your veins - until the chill turned into fire, burning everything it met on its way. The pain was so great you remembered very little from what was happening. The pain clouded your perception of reality for what could be weeks - the scientist would scoop you off the ground in your cell, regularly administering the liquid to you, measuring your vitals before carrying you back. The entire time, you were in pain; by that point, you didn't bother with screaming or crying, watching as the bruises on your elbow became darker and darker. Sometimes, you could feel droplets of blood leaving the small injection spots.

The man didn't give a single fuck about your well-being. Your state was nothing but a mere complication to his scientific studies. He even praised your detachment from reality, calling you his greatest test subject. None of the previous ones endured such hardships without flinching or resisting. As he whispered the praises, you could feel something was different - your palms grew heavy, ice-cold, and animated. The madman watched the new development with batted breath, immediately scribing everything down; later, when you could take a look at your hands, you learned that metallic particles started covering your skin. It wasn't just any metal, though, it wasn't immovable at all. It was almost fluid, shelling your skin from something. It looked and felt strange. You watched as your fingers moved when you gave them the order, but it didn't feel right; it was as if you watching a robotic arm repeating your movements.

This development, however, earned you a muffin. Singular, meager, crusty muffin and a cup of hot chocolate. The scientist also started bringing you a whole lot more food, and this time, it wasn't just leftovers - real food, like fruits you'd only see on the market or fish, meat, and real potatoes. He was fattening you like a pig for slaughter. His endeavors, whatever he attempted to achieve, were fruitful - in the next few weeks, the sentient living metal covered both your hands up to your elbows, spreading a strange tingling sensation through both limbs. As you looked down, you realized it wasn't the metal, but poison-green flames indulging your palms. The scientist was thrilled upon this discovery, immediately taking notes. - "He'll be enthralled upon this discovery, this is... Wonderful. Simply wonderful." - He mumbled under his breath.

From that point on, you weren't living in perpetual darkness anymore - you learned you could induce the flames anytime you wished to, watching it with childish fascination. The flames were so pretty; ranging to every imaginable shade of green, they danced on your hands and livened up the room. The fire wasn't warm, it was cool, actually. The sensation felt chilly on your skin, making you giggle. Your last day inside the cave started as every other - waking up in a merely lit-up place, the ice-cold ground hard under you. You were so tired and hungry. The madman came in the nick of time - to your surprise, however, he wasn't bringing any food. In fact, he looked saddened as he offered you his hand, just like the day you met. It didn't make you happy to accept the gesture, but reluctantly, you accepted, picking yourself off the ground. - "The teddy." - The man gestured, making you look at the toy lying on the ground. You've never taken it with you when he dragged you to experiment on you. "Would you allow me to look after it?" - He asked, making the frown on your face deepen. With even bigger reluctance, you bend down to pick it up, offering it to the scientist. He hadn't said a word but nodded as his thumb smoothed the dirty plush. Only now, around twenty years later, you realize you were supposed to be dead in the few following hours. The scientist wanted memorabilia of his most brilliant experiment. That fucker planned on killing you.

As usual, he bound you to the metal table, ensuring the straps were tight enough - and as usual, he put the pressure gauge on your arm. This time, however, something was different - the way he smoothed your hair horrified you, even more so when his thumb soothingly caressed your forehead. It was then that you noticed the scalper in his hand; as you said, Zaunite children learned to recognize death and violence very early in their lives. You'd cry and beg, but you were too tired for that; too starved and tired to even attempt it. Instead, you watched the scalper with irregular breaths, trying to stop your bottom lip from trembling. Soon, it'll be over. All the adults often said it was better to be killed - that they'd rather die than press on living this shitty fucking life in Zaun. Being a merely five-year-old child, you started to understand this sentiment - the cruel reality of Zaun. One fairly quickly realized that the only valuable currency in Zaun was pain and death.

Flaming, cutting pain overwhelmed you when the tip entered your body. You've started to say your goodbyes, hoping you'd see your mom and dad again. On the back of your head, there was this wish the scientist wouldn't prolong killing you. The man seemingly emphasized with you to one degree or another. Quickening your death was the least this scientist could do for you. Some diety must've been watching over you on that day. The spirits said that it wasn't your time yet, you were to live. Lab's door busted open. The scientist stepped aside, the scalpel in his palm aiming at the newcomer. This was unplanned, you realized; the newcomer wasn't invited.

Before the madman said anything, the incoming person knocked the scientist to the ground, punching him with a war cry. Stifled skirmish filled your ears, muffled swearing and punches, soon joined by moans of pain. Those belonged to the scientist. The stranger properly fucked him up. As the young man stood up, he breathed heavily, presumably watching the scientist squirming at his feet. Then, as if lightning struck him, he turned to you - his palms undoing the leather straps, words of comfort leaving his mouth, smoothing your hair and cheeks here and there. His touches made you cry - each gentle touch was filled with care and tenderness. He wasn't there to hurt you... He was saving you. Whoever he was, his actions gave you a new life, far away from the cave. And he was... Breathtakingly beautiful. You couldn't recall much detail other than his bright brown eyes and gentle smile, tears in his eyes as he picked you to his arms, carrying you away from that horrible place. He was mumbling something, but you couldn't understand a word. As you always did, you tried to look at his face - right then, the dream ended, as it always did.

Gasping for air and drenched in cold sweat, you were finally allowed to wake up from the nightmare - the cave was long gone, the only water dripping around you were droplets of rainwater after a quick summer shower. You were safely in bed, according to your clock, your watch ended just two hours ago. Great, you sighed, laying back down for a bit. Your body and head ached, and your palms trembled as you drank a glass of water to calm down. The strange sentient metal was still covering your right hand, up to your shoulder. These dreams always took you back, making you re-live it all. Each time Ekko would ask you to set out with him, the dream was bound to come the next time you'd go to sleep. Were it late at night, you'd slip on your sweatshirt and walk over to his room, joining him in bed.

Watching the metallic liquid spread on your hand, the flames soon followed suit. Letting it cool your hand, you sighed and put the glass down too harshly. It didn't break, but the bang was audible. You never tried searching for the mad scientist. Ekko offered this many times, but you didn't feel like accepting the offer - if Ekko caught a whiff of the guy's identity, he was sure to be six feet under within hours. That fact alone was as scary as assuring. How many other people ended up in that lab? How many suffered? Were there more mutants like you? What exactly were you?

Whatever the answer was, you didn't feel enough at times. The people who saw your 'abilities' with their own eyes, mainly when you lost control of your emotions. A few people saw your skin cover itself with the metallic shell, bursting ablaze. Those amuck were rare, but it pained you to admit it happened. Each time it did, the same cycle of questions followed suit. What was that? Can you do that deliberately or were you just 'losing control'? Will you hurt them if they get you angry enough? Have you killed anyone before? Yes. The answer to the last question was yes. It's not like you planned it - it all sort of... Happened. You and Ekko watched Benzo and Grayson getting mauled by Deckard - you were both running for your fucking lives when the seven Enforcers encircled you. You've tried negotiating with them at first before you just... Let go, letting yourself get lost in the flames for the very first time.

All you remembered was that the Enforcers tried to fire their arms at you, and two of them even tried to catch you with their bare hands; you were just a teenager, what could go wrong? Everything. You couldn't recall what exactly went down - when you woke out of the trance, Ekko was shaking your shoulder, screaming your name. The ground under you was scorched, the stench of searings, burned flesh, and gunpowder almost overpowering the Grey. The Enforcers didn't make it - their bodies were thrown on the ground in a pool of blood, some of them had their limbs twisted in the wrong direction, and... A hole in the middle of their chests. That was where the pools of blood came from. At first, you were afraid something bigger had attacked you and tried to tell Ekko you had to run away. Some kind of monster just ravaged these seven adult men, you weren't safe. Ekko, however, shook his head and took your palms to his - they were still covered with the liquid metal, but there were blood and chunks of... Without warning, you started to choke on your own vomit. As other people started to gather around to look at what caused this, they stared at you in shock - a twelve-year-old girl overpowered seven Enforcers on her own. The blood on your hands was damning evidence. The people weren't furious, just curious... And scared. Ekko gripped your hand and forced you to run even faster, leading you to the sewage system under Zaun.

The dream reminded you of who you truly were. The man from your dream, the one who saved you... You never learned his name. You wished you did. Until this day, you promised you'd repay his kindness if you met him again - no matter how he learned about the scientist and his experiments, he saved your life. Except for his eyes and smile, you couldn't recall any semblance of his face, so finding him was impossible; therefore, your brain proceeded to project Ekko's features onto his face. You've asked Vander about his identity, but he'd never seen your savior either - they'd only met once. Vander never met the stranger again. Whoever he was, his legs led him right to the Last Drop. It was dark when he frantically kicked on Vander's door, curling you onto his chest firmly. The pub had just closed, no way Vander already left. As the old innkeeper opened the door, he wanted to send the man to hell... Until he saw the malnourished, fragile little girl in the man's arms.

As the stranger carefully put you in Vander's arms, he watched your body with horror. Your skin didn't look healthy, your hair was messy and stuck together, your cheeks were hollow, your limbs were flabby, and your formerly pink dress was muddy and bloody. Where did the mysterious savior fucking find you? - "Take care of her for me, yeah?" - The stranger whispered, smoothing your head for the last time before he took off, disappearing in the dark alleys. Vander's horror rose when he realized how bruised and impaled your elbows were. Usually, he'd let his patrons stick around for a bit as he'd clean up the local; not this time. Not wasting a second, Vander saw them all off before he walked to the attic to wake Vi up. The two girls he'd found marveling the bridge as the riots died down were living with him for seven months, they were good kids - he was sure she'd help him with accommodating you; meaning they'd give you fresh clothing, and prepare you a tub of water and something to eat. She also had a sister who could be approximately your age. It was hard to determine how old you were precisely, but you couldn't be much older.

She did just as Vander predicted. The girl took things slowly, talking you through everything she was about to do. As you fully woke up, the panic overtook you, letting the flames burst around your forearms. The duo watched you with genuine worries before Vander approached you, putting his palms on your shoulders. - "Breathe in and out for me now. In and out. Attagirl. Keep the flames within for now, kiddo, 'kay? We're here to help. Whoever did this to you isn't here to hurt you anymore. You can trust us." At first, Vander swore you'd only stay in the Last Drop until he'd see you recover a bit. A lot of people lost their children during the riot, so there surely would be some couple who'd taken you in. The infamous innkeeper already looked after five little nuisances, he didn't need a sixth. Well... That didn't turn out to be the case. It was a grueling process to start trusting people again. It took you months to open up to Powder, of all people. The girl might've been a bit energetic, but overall, Powder was the sweetest kid Vander ever met. Even though what she saw and had been through, her outlook on life remained positive. And even though that fact, it took you months to tell her about how much you liked her crayons, asking if you could borrow them.

In Vi's case, you started talking around her soon after Powder - regarding Vi, however, you only used yes/no/maybe. Making you truly communicate took Vi additional weeks. It was her who nicknamed you 'Duckling' - even though you barely spoke, you were always sure to be hot on her heels, following her around. Before first talking around Mylo, Clogger, Vander, or even Ekko, you took at least half a year. Until then, you only used expressions and non-verbal signals. But the moment when Ekko made you laugh for the first time? You never forgot it. All three of you (Powder, you, and Ekko) laughed so hard your tummy hurt. The longer he was around, the more lively and mischievous you started to become - in a sense, Ekko truly saved you.

It was around then Vander realized you weren't leaving anytime soon. All the kids he took in accepted you as a part of their little family, mainly Powder and Claggor. The rest of 'his' kids normalized having you around, and taking care of you even though they often whined about how annoying you were (mainly Mylo, that was). You became a family. And Vander wasn't as cruel as to simply tear you apart from all the people you felt safe with. And so, he had a sixth 'little brat' on his hands.

All it took was to call out Ekko's name or to look at him and he'd never leave your side even if the Devil was about to drag you down into the deepest pits of hell. Sighing, you let the flames burn out and shook your palm as you let the metallic feeling be replaced by the softness and warmth of your skin.

You had no idea about what the man had done to you or what were you capable of, but it changed your whole life. When you got into your soft, weak spot (something you let only Ekko see now and then), the thing you hated the most was that you weren't even a fucking human being. What were you? What the fuck did the man make out of you? If you couldn't be one as a whole, could you be at least a silhouette? Something reminding a normal human being so closely and yet being unnoticeably different? You'd like to think so.

Sighing, you managed to climb out of bed and search for some fresh and elastic clothes that could still be considered very comfortable; you weren't interested in any skin-tight bullshit since that was something for Ekko and his hitman squad. Walking through the settlement with a sports bag hanging on your shoulder, the people smiled at you and greeted you, reminding you of the fact that none of them could know. And those who did have already forgiven you - for them, you were always a full human being even if you didn't feel that way at times. It was the people reminding you that you always have your place in the colony, whether your brain was telling you otherwise.

You found yourself a spot between your local youngsters - there, you put down the tray with your breakfast and listened to various freestyles they dropped. Truth be told, Ekko was into music a big time. And whoever was interested to share this passion was not only encouraged, but greatly appreciated too. Ekko loved to spend the evenings with them sometimes (taking them out of the safe walls of the colony) and walked a small group to a horrendously tall building up north that overlooked both Piltover and Zaun. There, they sat and did whatever until the very morning. He encouraged you, many times, to come with, but you never really got the balls to do so. As was said previously, you were the more reasonable, people and emotionally based leader while Ekko lived for rebellion and rule-bending or breaking. Sometimes, he could be also the worst to deal with, since anyone could punish him for overstepping the rules.

That was also where he found you, shoving your mashed eggs down your throat while moving in the rhythm of Calum's verse. He didn't interrupt you straight away; he just leaned his shoulder into the doorframe and watched you. Since the first moment he saw you that morning, Ekko knew you either didn't sleep or couldn't sleep well. Your hairstyle was messy to put it nicely, there was no spark in your eyes and the bags under them were visible from all the way there. He also knew that he needed you to make him feel successful before heading off to the Zeppelin dock in Piltover. Sure, you were surely letting him win most of the time, but it felt good... Meeting someone who could either beat Ekko in a fight or someone who had the same strength he had. Never, ever since you trainer for the first, had he had a feeling that he can simply beat you. You were possibly the most powerful Ekko came across. He had the smarts and the raw power, sure, but it was nothing compared to the arcane inside your body.

"I think I need to go now, guys. Work on your verses, alright? I'll listen to them later." - With a gracious smile, you got up and waved in Ekko's general direction for him to know that you're on your way. That was also when Calum dropped a question so simple and yet so daring that it made you almost drop your tray. "Did Ekko finally get the balls to ask you out? Doesn't happen often that you'd leave the colony with him." - This made most of the boys look at him, you could even a quiet whistle coming from one side of the table. Most of them were either looking around or looking directly at you. With a snicker, you put the tray back down and looked Calum right in his eyes. - "What makes you think Ekko even wants to ask me out, hm?" "Look at the guy looking at you. Last time you walked by us when I and him talked, he zoned out and watched you walk away." "Well, that's none of your business anyway, is it?" - You asked, ruffling his hair and leaving the table finally. In a few seconds, you caught with Ekko and ran right outside. The weather was nice, the sun was shining and the air smelled sweet. Your favorite kind of a day; a safe one.

Traveling to your final destination took you at least an hour and a half since mostly, you had to climb through many levels of the severs, avoiding being seen. Catching one of you would be bad enough for the colony, but catching both leaders at the same time? Sure, there was no doubt in your mind that your people were capable of surviving and continuing without you two around, but still; you liked to play it safe. Ekko, not caring about safety too much, understood that and agreed to go with you in the more time-consuming and harder way.

Walking into one of the old factories, just a few blocks away from the one that was blown on the night Vander died, the memory took you over again. Inhaling, you looked around and let the bag go with a loud bang. You wanted to forget so hard, you wanted to forget everything connecting you to the Lanes and this part of this city, yet the truth was that the horrors resurfaced on your brain quite often. Sure, you haven't seen Vander dying, and neither did you witness what happened inside the "Crab" building, as you all called it back in the day, but it was a horrendous sight. As soon as you saw the flames and heard Silco's men nearby, Ekko grabbed your hand and tugged it so hard that it set you both in motion; that night, you saved his life just as he saved yours. As you blinked again, Ekko got you out of your trance by gently shaking your shoulder.

"You okay?" "Yea, yea, yea." - You sighed and looked around the empty space. - "Just remembered the old days when us and... They used to play here." "Vi was never playing." - Ekko smirked, setting his own bag up on one of the walls, taking a sip of his drink. - "She was always aiming for the face." - At that, you started laughing. It always felt good to find one good memory amongst all the bad ones. - "You're laughing, but can you even imagine how many times did I have to listen to Benzo's and my parents? You can't imagine, man." - As he said, still smirking, you could hear the familiar metallic clicking, throwing you back to another memory.

Ekko and Powder used to love this game, especially when you spent your evenings at the Arcade. To explain it all, Ekko loved watches and the concept of breaking the time ever since he was a kid. He was a specialist when it came to repairing old clocks, pocket watches, and other items that were supposed to say the time. Usually, they had one-on-one training on the shooting range. Powder stood on the far end with a fake pistol in her hand and Ekko was supposed to reach her with his foam sword before the time on his pocket watch runs out. Those were the rules - Powder was learning how to shoot properly and Ekko was working on his flexibility. It was always fun to see and there was no determination which one of them is better. There were days when Powder won every single one and the opposite. Sometimes, it was more of a game-to-game matter. Either way, it was amongst Ekko's favorite childhood games. And now, when you were all grown up, he only practiced this with you... Since both Powder and Vi were dead for a long time.

"Are we doing this again?" - You mumbled as Ekko lowered himself to pick up a rusty pipe off the ground, leaning it into his shoulder. In the meantime, you checked your clothes and stretched your limbs a few times to make sure you won't fuck up any of your muscles. "Come on, you love it." - Ekko mumbled, licking his lips as he stepped a bit closer to you. At the same time, he let the watch go until it hung on its chain, making the metallic chipping of the chain almost hypnotic as it rung in your ears. - "And every time you'll get me, I can do this." - With a quick motion, Ekko caught his pocket watch in his palm again, pressing a side button. To mimic jumping back in time, he walked back with a few over-dramatized steps; that made you snicker again. - "And we start over again. I can't lose, you know that, right?"

"I'll kick your times over and over again, even if you keep jumping back in time." - Mimicking him, you walked a bit closer too, lighting up your whole forearm with the poisonous flames. - "Doesn't matter how much you try." "Is it getting hot in here or is it just me?" - The young man asked rather flirtatiously, licking his lips again as he filled the empty space between your bodies. It wouldn't take much for you to touch chest to chest at that point. - "What about a bet to make this a bit more exciting?" "Sure, Ekko, you're up." "If I manage to beat, no matter how many times obviously, you owe me a kiss." - Looking into your eyes, he smiled even more and waited for what you had to say about it. For the first time that morning, your eyes had sparks and life inside of them. This made you amused. - "Whatcha betting on?"

As usual, Ekko was sure you'd make your bet focused on something entirely different. Usually, when he asked for such a win prize, you betted on him taking care of the colony's toddlers in the kindergarten for a week straight... Needless to be said he has done that many times. What also needed to be said was that Ekko didn't always bet on favors like kisses and such - sometimes he just asked you to spend your time with him when he worked on his watches or to come freestyling with him and the kids (whenever they were inside the walls). Yet this time, your bet made him scoff and show you his teeth in a broad smile. - "If I win, you owe me a kiss and a bottle of beer when you come back, how does that sound?" "You got yourself a deal, missy." - And with that, Ekko turned on his heels and walked to the other side of the enormous hall. For you, it was an unbreakable promise - he betted on it, so he had to come back from the risky Zeppelin operation and buy you the damn bottle. The thing you were most terrified of was that one day, the troops will come and tell you that Ekko was killed in action. That would be something you knew you wouldn't be able to go through. If he'd die, a huge part of you would die with him.

Watching him walking back, you shook both your forearms and let them light up, consumed by the flames. Ekko, hearing them, turned his head back and smiled daringly. For him, this was one of the most beautiful sights ever. The flames, no matter how dangerous they were, looked magical and magnificent... Especially on a woman like yourself. With another exhale, you let a circle under you lighten up, letting you levitate in that certain area. Arcane was a mysterious, incredible thing to possess; yet there was not a single moment in which you could able yourself to forget how dangerous it could be. Setting steady in his position, Ekko turned to face you, letting the pocket watch fall down as he let it dangle.

From a second to second, there was a sudden mood shift - from best friends (more appropriately "almost lovers") to two people who had the same goal; defeat the other one. For a second, your eyes traveled down to Ekko's watch before you smirked, getting ready. It didn't take Ekko long before he started running towards you - which was also the exact moment in which you fired your first ball, dodging to your far left as your feet touched the ground again, leaving a trail of scorch on the ground. With ease, Ekko rolled out of the fireball's way, and before you could blink, he was on his legs; this time, he almost haven't moved out of the second ball's way.

Looking in your face and on the amount of focus inside of it, Ekko knew you weren't playing around. This was happening in real-time - you weren't sparing him anyway. Each of your balls or touches could leave an ugly burn on his body... He knew so because it had happened before. To surprise the both of you, since there weren't any regular flames, the burns weren't leaving any sort of scar behind - but they still hurt like a motherfucker. Jumping on a nearby wall and moving himself to the upper floor, you lost Ekko out of your sight. Making sure you're calm, you sharpened your eyes and ears as you moved around; since you used the dashing quite a lot, the entire floor was soon to be filled with scorch marks. Marking a movement on the second floor, you fixed your gaze to it and with an amused grimace, you sent a whole bunch of flames that way. At that moment, you were sure you got Ekko; until the next second, when the man circled your throat with his pipe gently, making you fall back to the ground. Kissing your cheek (which you'd call cheating in a way), he let you go and prepared back to his position on the other side of the hall. - "1:0." - Ekko shouted at you, letting his watch go once more.

It was hard to tell how long did you spend doing the same thing over and over again, but you were sure as hell tired at the end of it. Sure, Ekko was burned here and there, but he got more serious ones just a few years ago. Now, he was pinning you down with his pipe (gently so you wouldn't exactly the chance to hurt yourself) and waited for you to give up. The score was 6:6, this being the last training match of the evening. What he didn't count with was the fact that you still possessed healthy limps - so when he felt a kick to his shin, he looked rather surprised. Catching air, Ekko fell flat on his ass and caught the spot to his palms because it was one damn fine hit. It hurt like hell.

"We never established I only have to use Arcana. Hope you know that." - With light coughing, you slid down to sit on the ground and tried to calm yourself. Yes, you knew Ekko wouldn't let you be harmed by his notorious rusty pipe, but there were moments when it pressed your whole throat with more strength than you hoped for. Weirdly looking hematomas were sure as hell coming your way. And if signs of strangling weren't enough, you also bumped your knuckled when you bashed too far up your left. - "By the way, I won." "Because you kicked me to my shin." - Ekko mumbled with pain, letting his leg go. - "I would never expect you to do that." "Yea, but generally, I think it's better to bite the tip of your nose." "Bite the tip of my nose? What?" "Listen, I went through all my options before I kicked you. I chose the least painful one, you should be thankful." "Thankful for a huge-ass hematoma right on my shin. That's a really funny thing to say, mis..." - Before Ekko finished the sentence in its entirety, you caught his chin in your palm and kissed him lightly. As you moved a bit away from him, you looked into his eyes. Both of you were sitting on a cold, concrete floor; you were sitting between his legs spread wide.

The emotion inside his eyes softened almost immediately as he rose one of the corners of his lips, bumping his forehead to yours. It didn't take him too long before stealing another kiss... And another one with his palm holding the small of your back. "I'm so nervous about today." - You whispered honestly, hugging him as you put your head right on his heart, listening to its beating with your eyes closed. Again, the whole moment felt inappropriate, unreal, and almost forbidden. It was too nice to be true. Ekko breathed in heavily, moving the hand to your shoulder and gently smoothing your hair with his other palm. Smiling sadly, Ekko kissed the top of your head. - "I mean, I know you're good at this, but you've never planned anything of this size before. What if something goes wrong? What if Silco knows and you won't be coming back?" "Hey, listen. I think you're freaking out a bit too much, alright? I promise I am coming back to you, even if I'll only have to stare at you like a creep for some time now. There's nothing to be nervous about." - Cradling you and closing in his legs wrapped around you, Ekko just closed his eyes and held you for a bit, enjoying every stimuli and emotion running through his body. - "There's anything that can go wrong."

[elvensorceress]

In the Darkest Time of Year 


Rating: Teen / ~30K / complete / 911HW2021: Free Choice


banner by the most best wife @daisyssousa 

It was a farm like this one where he almost died. The earth collapsed, buried him underground, and tried to swallow him whole. There was no light, no air, no way for anyone to descend and save him in time.

He tries to never think of it. It was too close. It was in the past and he’d survived. There was no reason to remember.

But everything here smells the same. The soil and manure. The livestock animals. The decay of dry, fallen leaves. The putrid, stagnant puddles of irrigation water. The mold and rot clinging to flooded cornstalks that have died and been left standing too long after being harvested. If they were harvested at all.

There’s too many similarities. It’s too easy to feel like dying.

The far off distance has a sinister glow of wildfire. The other teams are working to put out flames before it continues to spread. The air still carries smoke but the ominous waning moon is hanging over all of them, visible even through dark clouds and the remnants of daylight.

Every minute the sun descends, red and blue emergency lights from gathered vehicles grow brighter. They illuminate the peripheral edges of the massive field, but have no help of shining light on all of it. The maze is too vast. There’s no GPS. No radio contact. No cell service. It’s a dead zone.

It’s how people get lost here.

The corn maze stretches for endless acres. Nearly sixty of nothing but those plants carved in winding, convoluted patterns and pathways. The farm boasts one of the largest corn mazes in the world. A sea of dense rows, and as soon as someone dares to venture into it, the horizon is lost. No shore. No land. Nothing but empty stalks.

Those drying stalks can be twice as tall as he is.

“Look, cornfields are sketchy as hell,” he remembers Buck’s voice, his warnings on their drive here. “There are all sort of stories about wolf-like creatures that live in cornfields and hide in between stalks and shadows. Their breathing sounds like wind and irrigation pipes. They shapeshift and kidnap children. Or they kill and eat them. Plus corn has to be planted super close together so they can pollinate and produce viable grain so things hide in those tight rows. And corn grows way taller than people. The average can be twelve feet, but the world record for a corn stalk is forty-five feet tall. If you go into a cornfield, you can’t see anything but the corn. You can’t hear anything because all the sounds get muffled. Of course people get lost in corn mazes. Some don’t come back. People see things near cornfields. Red eyes in the shadows. Creatures that are skeletal and move in ways they shouldn’t. You can feel weird energy. There are so many things wrong with massive, monoculture crops. They’re living structures. It’s alive. They’re terrifying.”

His voice was strained, frightened, and no one had paid it any mind. There hadn’t been anything to fear.

It’s not that Eddie puts any stock in exaggerated stories like that. None of it is true. As much as people like to make up tales and pretend they see things that don’t exist, this is merely a farm. No one is going to die because of a field of grain crops. Even one people refer to as Hell.

No one has died here. Injuries have been minor. Everyone has been examined and tended to. Last he heard, they flooded the northern fields and the water will spill downward and collect in the center, and the fire is all but contained.

There are no ghosts. Or mythological monsters. There are no corn wolves, no creatures that shapeshift and eat children, no murderous supernatural phenomena coming to attack. No matter what anyone else says or believes. He’s not afraid of urban legends and folklore and tales made up fae creatures.

The brain plays tricks when emotional, when exhausted, when stressed or frightened or traumatized. It doesn’t make any of it real.

But Buck is still missing.


(continue reading on AO3)


tags below 💕

@ashavahishta  @oneweirdcryptid @ellelans @loveyourownsmiilee @captain-flint @arrenemris @phantomqueenmorrigan @oldsouldreamer85 @fleurdebeton @rosefairyirl @holydrogo-n @free-byrd @insaneoldme @oatflatwhite @favouritealias @idealuk @racoonsa @reallysmartladymariecurie @mansikkaomenabanaani @ethicalconflictdiaz @mikereads 

[cloudninetonine]

theres a lot of dynamics to sort through and not too many ships have been explored (cuz the story is still in its beginning more or less, duh) but heres some i have so far

chaotic (player) + normal but chaos enabler (hyrule)

completely unaware theyre basically a couple (player + hyrule)

elusive chaotic dumbass duo (also known as dumb + dumber) (wild + player)

collective braincell (hyrule + player + wild)

hot and cold (take a wild guess lol)

LEGEND AND PLAYER SHIP WILL NOW BE REFERRED TO AS HOT AND COLD, YOU CAN ALL ARGUE WITH THE WALL I LOVE THAT TITLE SO FUCKING MUCH!

Completely unaware that they're already a couple 😭😭😭😭😭 THAT'S SO CUTE!

DUMB AND DUMBER YES YES YES! I LOVE THAT NAME FOR PLAYER AND WILD JUST AS MUCH AS THE HOT AND COLD ONE! I'M LITERALLY GONNA CRY IT'S PERFECT!

AND THE COLLECTIVE BRAINCELL, THIS IS PERFECT! (Hyrule always has the brain cell, btw)

[ao3feed-sidlink]

Ghost of You

Ghost of You

by ObakeAri

"Link knew the Sage wasn't his dearest friend...it wasn't even close. It didn't have Sidon's laugh, quips, or positivity that brought a smile during a Calamity."

Sidon wants nothing more than to reach out to his dear friend, to his beloved when they are separated miles apart. However, he must first learn to master the power of his Sage.

(Inspired by and based off "Secret Confessions of a Sage")

Words: 3511, Chapters: 1/4, Language: English

Fandoms: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M, M/M, Multi

Characters: Link (Legend of Zelda), Sidon (Legend of Zelda), Yona (Legend of Zelda), Riju (Legend of Zelda), Muzu (Legend of Zelda), Dorephan (Legend of Zelda)

Relationships: Link/Sidon (Legend of Zelda), Sidon/Yona (Legend of Zelda), Link/Sidon/Yona (Legend of Zelda)

Additional Tags: Love Confessions, Falling In Love, Fluff, In which Yona is the brain cells of the operation, based of "secret confessions of a sage" by Kennedy Homan, Sidon can't get his Sage Avatar to work and he is trying his best, Link is just a gay disaster, That's it, that's the point of the story, Dorephan is once again a meddlingly supportive dad, he can't help himself he just loves his children, including the ones he collects like candy

From https://ift.tt/LvmBNOz https://archiveofourown.org/works/48428410

[braceletofteeth]

Ten characters I fell in love with in 2021

I really wanted to do this when I saw it for the first time, but told myself to wait at least a week. If no one tagged me, then I'd do it anyway. But a few days ago, an ANGEL, @adithemadfangirl, did it <3 I was SO happy, thank you so much, darling! <3

*This list is in no particular order. It'd be too cruel to ask me to rank them.

1. Yoon Jongwoo (Strangers From Hell)

He's so small, it's like having a cute little bunny in the palm of your hand. Except this one can, wants to, and will kill you.

He's confusing and deceitful, but I'd be lying if I said it doesn't make me love him even more.

2. Yook Dongsik (Psychopath Diary)

THE LEGEND. Makes you think he's an ordinary clown but then you find out he's actually the owner of the circus and all the clowns wanna BE him, BEFRIEND him, or KISS him on the mouth.

(A true inspiration. Has the most satisfying character development of all time).

3. Eve Polastri (Killing Eve)

Beautiful mess. I want to sit back and watch mesmerized while she does normal stuff, like chop some onions or smother someone to death.

4. Ryu Sooyeol (Bad And Crazy)

Facial expressions are A+. He's a good son and a good wife.

Also mentally ill (to add some spice!).

I've only had this wimpy detective for a month, but you can pry him from my cold, dead hands.

5. Shintarō Midorima (Kuroko no Basuke)

60-years-old-grandpa trapped in the body of a teenager. Nerdy and grumpy. Makes you covet his respect more than his affection.

Even his superstitions are endearing.

6. Lee Dongsik (Beyond Evil)

Has anyone that met him not been marked for life?

7. President Gu (Life)

The last decent bussinessman standing. Could make an empire out of nothing, out of absolute chaos. He commits fully. Wanna get on his way? Better have an alphabet worth of backup plans (because he sure does!).

... He's also thoughtful and kindhearted. Much more than you'd think :(

8. Oksana Astankova/Villanelle (Killing Eve)

I missed her voice every day for weeks after I finished Killing Eve. I could hear her accent all the time and never get tired of it. She's the one I have the most of a good time with, doesn't matter where she's at or what she's doing.

Everyone is underdressed in her presence.

She made some mistakes but memory is a funny thing haha, I don't remember any of it ?? :)

9. Seo Inwoo (Psychopath Diary)

Pathetic. Main cause of his own problems. Has Family Issues (as in his whole family is a fucking issue). Has the cutest crow laugh. Usually calm and collected but all his brain cells check out when his hand is held by another man.

Heinous, horrible individual, in serious need of jail time—but not for too long, because then I miss him :(

10. Seo Moonjo (Strangers From Hell)

Annoying. The reason why I know petnames in eleven different languages.

Made a home in my head, infests it with weird thoughts like a parasite. Never leaves; therefore, I'm never alone.

[Honorable mentions:

XI. Luke Brandon (Confessions of a Shopaholic)

I was on my extended Hugh Dancy Era when I came across this guy. I would say his name and no one would know who the fuck he was.

He tries to advise poor people that are being fooled by rich assholes. He's a lawful good that cares deeply about things like "honesty" and "credibility". How could I resist?

XII. Lee Yeon (Tale of the Nine-Tailed)

Gave my favorite fox (Tomoe) a run for his money.

I love how he keeps getting dangerously attached to a lot of people despite his 'I don't give a shit' personality.

Extra points for having a cool sword.]

I'm tagging @softneomirotic @somebodycallixii @mangodelorean @jentonic @smiley-wookie and @chhagiya if any of you guys haven't done it yet and would like too <3

[championofsanghelios]

Linked Universe Story - “Rescue”

“...this is getting out of hand!” Legend’s voice snaps across the camp, startling most who had fallen asleep awake. “Twi and the Old Man left three days ago! Three freakin’ days! And we’re still sitting here, waiting for them like they’re going to come back!” “Will you relax?” Four sighs by the camp-fire, drinking from his water-flask. “Shouting isn’t going to help anything, it’s just going to make everyone grumpy in the morning.” “I just worry, Okay!?” Legend breathes out through his nostrils, dropping down next to him. “They aren’t usually away this long.” “Wars said he’d go out and have a look for them.” Four tries his best to assure him, though he doubts it will work. “Maybe he’ll come back with something...” “I hope so.” Legend, though not comforted by that general suggestion, can’t lie. “They better be okay.” . . . ELSHWERE - SEVERAL MILES AWAY . . . “...” Time groans, his head spinning, both literally as well as figuratively. He opens his eyes slowly, the light and heat of a fire being the first thing he’s aware of. He could make out the faint sound of snoring, and a quick turn of his head reveals the source....all 20 of them. “...” Bokoblins, all of them laying around a large fire, fast-asleep, having filled their bellies with goddess only knows what. Time himself was hanging upside down from a tree-branch, the ropes from Twilight’s satchel had been used to string him up. He looks about as best he can for any sign of the other Hero, but finds nothing until his eyes catch sight of something in one of the Bokoblin’s hands. A familiar black pelt, that of a small wolf, which Twilight always wore over his shoulders as a cloak. There were also several other items of his strewn around the place, all of which didn’t help to ease the rapidly building panic in his gut. Had they killed him? Were they all, equally, in the processes of digesting him? The thought terrified him, as well as made his blood boil. How dare they. How fucking dare they! Suddenly his priorities were changing. Originally he had planned to find Twilight and get out of there, but now that his fate was uncertain, he’d added “massacre these little bastards” to the list. Now then...how was he going to get out of here? . . . IN THE FOREST . . . How long had he been running for? It couldn’t have been long, the sky was still clear and dark, the moon hadn’t risen that far since he last looked up at it. Right now he was conflicted more than anything. Part of him felt awful for leaving Time behind like he did...but there was no chance in hell that he’d be able to fight through all those monsters in his condition. He’d already tried to transform into his canid form, it would have certainly made thing easier, as he could have followed the scent trail the two of them left back to Camp, however...he was wounded. When they had been ambushed on the road, he’d taken an arrow to the left shoulder, something that would normally be of no consequence, but right now his satchel was back there...and he wasn’t going to risk looking for it amongst the sleeping devil pigs. ...no he had to get back to the camp. Sky and Warriors would know what to do... ...if only he could find his way back. He had to, because there was going to be a point soon where one of those little blighters would awaken and using it’s collective brain-cells notice that one of their captures was gone. That and Time was still back there...if they discover he’s gone, they might just decide to kill him for their food instead. He comes to a stop as he enters a clearing, leaning against a tree to catch his breath. He was pouring with sweat, and his wounded shoulder which had been painful before, was now verging on excruciating. The pain had spread down through his arm, and left hand, and it hurt to look at, let alone touch or move. “...shit...” he says as he breathes, something else which was getting much harder as time passed. “...ow.” His tunic was torn at the shoulder, blood soaking the area around the wound dark red. Oddly enough one of the few thoughts that doesn’t concern his current predicaments is how he’s going to remove those stains later on? Suddenly a sound occurrs among the trees, the snapping of a few twigs, followed by the sounds of boots on grass. Twilight turns on the spot quickly, his eyes squinting as the flame of a torch appears between the vines and branches. “...wh-...who’s there?” he makes a pathetic attempt to confront whoever it is. “...co-come out.” Warriors steps out into the lunar light, his face melting into one of horror as he sees him. “...Twi...” “...Wars?” Twilight’s eyes narrow, he wasn’t sure if he was halucinating or not. “...is that you?” He takes a step forwards, which turns into a stumble. Warriors drops the torch the ground, it’s flame extinguishing when he catches him in his arms. “Twi! What happened to you!? Where’s the Old Man?” “...back-...” Twilight moves his good arm, gesturing weakly over his shoulder. “...back there...b-Bokoblins ambushed us...” “...here.” Warriors says, reaching down to his belt and removing a bottle of healing elixir, he uncorks it and holds it up to Twilight’s mouth. He drinks it slowly at first, but as it’s effects inevitably take hold, some of his strength returns. “...just drink that. It should help you.” He inspects the wound on his shoulder, letting out a hissing sigh. ���You idiot. Why did you snap the arrow-shaft. It’s going to make getting it out a nightmare!” “...sorry.” Twilight finishes the last of the elixir, looking at him. “I should have thought about that as 10 miniature devil pigs tackled me to the ground.” “Well it would seem the first thing to recover is your temper.” Warriors huffs, shaking his head. He then goes to move. “Come on, we better get up off the ground.” “Nah...” Twilight shakes his head slowly. “You’re quite soft...I could go for a nap here.” “Are you serious!?” Warriors snips, before getting up anway. “Time is in trouble! I need to help him!” “There are at least 20 of the little bastards back there.” Twilight hisses, as much as the elixir had helped to get rid of some of the swelling and stopped most of the bleeding, the arrow-head was still stuck in his shoulder...which would make wielding a Sword nigh-on impossible until it was removed. A trip to Four he was not looking forward too. “...you can’t go in there alone, they’ll just overpower you as well.” “Just you watch me.” Warriors says, reaching over his shoulder and taking out the Master Sword. Twilight’s eyes widen at the sight of it. “Where did you get-” “-took it from Wild’s lean-to.” Warriors says, eyeing the blade with an element of trepedation and nostalgia. “...figured he wouldn’t mind me borrowing it whilst he’s partying with the Zora.” “...that doesn’t change the fact that you’ll be outnumbered.” Twilight shakes his head again. “You’d be better going back to camp and getting the others-” “-since when did you ever give up so easily?” Warriors eyes him incredulously. “Usually you’re game for anything, especially when one of our own is in danger.” “Don’t question my priorities!” Twilight suddenly snips. “If I wasn’t wounded I would have turned wolf and tore those little fuckers to peices. But right now, I am no fit condition to do that let alone lift a sword...and I’m sure as hell not going to let you go in there alone and potentially take my place.” “...” Warriors stares at him for a second, the look in his eyes said it all. “Wars...” Twilight calls to him as he suddenly takes off on his own. “Wars! Get back here, you’re not going to-” He hisses again as he paces forwards after him. Clutching at his shoulder, he curses under his breath. “...damn it!” . . . ELSEHWERE . . . “...come on...” Time mutters to himself, having tried, for the thrid time, to get the ropes bound around his legs to come free. Bokoblin’s weren’t the smartest of the creatures, so they hadn’t bound his arms together. “...how tight did they-” -growl- He freezes as he hears that sound, slowly he looks ahead of him to see one of the little buggers had awoken, and was now staring at him. Something stupid takes him over at that point, and he finds himself speaking before he can process the words that come out of his mouth. “What are you snarling at you little shit?” he says, flinching when he realises what he’s said. Normally he abhored swearing, and had given a few admonishings to the others because of their language, but right now he couldn’t help it. He was angry...no he was livid. As far as he was aware that little swine and it’s friends had eaten the closest thing he had to a son. He wasn’t about to let it go without at least a few harsh words...followed by a gutting. “...go back to bed.” “ajdhfgrdk!” the Bokoblin let’s out a loud squeal, and the Hero watches on in horror as one by one, all of the others jolt awake and leap up onto their feet. The one holding Twilight’s pelt, throws the object onto the fire as it awakens. “sjehsheufvu!” “...oh shit.” Time mutters to himself as he sees one of the charging at him with a club flailing. It barrels through the others, sending some of the flying in either direction, one even lands on the fire, screeching as its backside singes. “...” He closes his eyes as it reaches him, bracing himself for the strike, though it doesn’t come. -Swipe- -Thud- Time cracks one eye open in the silence that follows. He finds Warriors standing between them, the Master Sword in hand. The head of the Bokoblin that was about to attack him was now rolling away under him. He looks back up, his eyes narrowing. “Where the hell did you get that from?” “Glad you’re okay, Sprite!” Warriors replies, bringing the blade around and cutting the rope holding him up through the middle. “...you’re welcome!” Time hits the ground with a thud, and against his best efforts, the groan he lets out as he sits up, sounds as old as he feels. He kicks the ropes off of his ankles and gets up, only to stumble as the blood rushes from his head down to his feet. All around him there were Bokoblin’s being cut in half, or beheaded. One even stumbles past him, it’s innards hanging out of it’s front, before collapsing face first into the fire, erupting in a ball of flame. He reaches up to his forehead, applying pressure to his temples in order to calm himself and stop the world from spinning. When he finally does come back to his senses, the turns on the spot, only to find that Warriors had slain every last one of the monsters, all of them laying, in various states of mutilation, around the clearing. “...that was easy.” Warriors says, standing in the center of the space, leaning on the Master Sword like a crutch. He takes in a deep breath, only to fall onto his backside against an overturned boulder. “...peice of cake.” “Are you hurt?” Time slowly paces forwards, stepping over one of the dead swines. He drops down onto one knee as he reaches him, placing his hand on his right shoulder, looking him over. “...no injuries?” “I should be asking you that.” Warriors says, a small smile on his face. “...but you seem to be unharmed.” “Only thing that’s wounded is my pride.” Time sighs, looking about the camp. “...Twilight was with me when we were ambushed...I don’t know if-” “-he’s okay.” Warriors sits up a little, sensing his worry. “I ran into him a little ways into the forest. Seems he made a run for it.” Time visibly sags in relief, before dropping down just to his right. “...Thank Hylia for that...” “When you didn’t come back after the second night...Sky and I started to get worried.” Warriors says, his head coming to rest against Time’s left shoulder. “He went up North towards Kakariko, whilst I came down this way...I’ll need to ping him on Wild’s slate when we get back.” “It was stupid...” Time shakes his head, thinking back on the whole ordeal. “I thought we could cut our journey time in half by taking the road we did...if only I had known-” “-Oh don’t start with that.” Warriors says, cutting him off. “What matters is you are both okay- well. Twi has a little arrow head stuck in his shoulder, but other than that he’s himself...I gave him some healing elixir before I came to find you.” “...then we’d better get back to him.” Time says, turning his head to look at him. When he doesn’t get a response, he nudges him with his shoulder. “Come on, you can’t fall asleep here.” “I have been out all day looking for you two...” Warriors says sleepily against him. “I’m taking a 5 minute nap...” “Wow.” a voice suddenly speaks to the right. Time glances over to see Twilight emerge from the tree-line, his hand over his left shoulder. “...he actually did manage to kill them all.” “...i told you...fuzzball.” Warriors mumbles, his eyes closing. “Are you alright?” Time asks, only to happy to put and arm around the other Hero when he drops down next to him. “I was worried there for a while. I thought maybe these creatures had made a meal of you.” “I don’t think I’d taste that good anyway.” Twilight snorts, letting out a groan when the Old Man kisses him on the forehead. “...Hey...stop that.” “Never do that again.” Time says firmly. “Do what?” Twilight eyes him suddenly. “I didn’t do a damn thing.” “Not you.” Time shakes his head. “I was talking to myself. That is officially the last time we take that shortcut.” Twilight, despite himself, manages to laugh out loud at that. . . .