#when i pulled fell reincarnation in heroes and thought 'he's hot' so

[felikatze]

Well to be fair every FE ship is weird. Robin can marry people that he brutally murdered in another timeline and would have do it would it not be for time travel. Same thing for Corrin. Byleth too. only Alear escapes this.

yeaaaaaahh i am not defending it

FE has other issues, and awakening is by no means perfect (*cough* blatant colorism *cough*)

corrin has their siblings, robin has... all that, byleth has marrying their students (who start as young as 14!) and i hear legendary tales of kaga's brainwashing fetish.

FE has weird fuckshit in it but in the end i do think the good outweighs the bad. the gameplay is fun, for one, the characters are charming even if the plots can be lackluster, and awakening in particular has an emotional core that compels me deeply.

won't stop me from wishing FE was better though!

[pla-teau]

WANDAVISION SERIES FINALE THOUGHTS

WHOEVER’S CUTTING ONIONS NEEDS TO S T O P.

hayward | i was one of the many few who really wished death on the man cause he’s just the worst. this man emptied his clip at two children. i’m glad jimmy was able to pull a fast one on this dick and that darcy hit him with the ice cream truck and very happy to see the man being taken away in cuffs.

vision vs. vision | while i would’ve enjoyed seeing them fight it out until one completely lost, it wouldn’t be vision without some philosophic conversation. it’s true vision fashion. he doesn’t fight unless it’s a last resort. he’s logical and can assess other means in which to deter a foe. truly enjoyed the scene and now i’m just curious as to where tf white vision yeeted off to after regaining the memories from hex!vision? some have speculated possibly wakanda since that is the place where he died. twice. i would love to see him possibly interact with shuri since she would’ve appeared in the memory montage that hex!vision provided him with alongside other events from infinity war.

agatha (aka not mephisto) | overall, i loved agatha as a character and i’m glad she wasn’t killed off by the end of the series. i know she was more villainous in the show but i’m glad they somewhat neutralized her even if it was by cruel punishment brought upon by wanda to keep her trapped in westview as a nosy neighbor. it keeps the door open for us to see more interactions between her and wanda. i’m also glad that she was the foe wanda had to go against. i know many (like myself) speculated mephisto would appear and be revealed but i’m happy i was wrong about that. this is the first entry into phase four and to spill out a big bad right away? probably not the best move. i know ant-man 3 is planning on introducing kang the conqueror so i wouldn’t be shocked if mephisto is used as a red herring to distract us from the actual big bad of the phase, kang the conqueror (while still keeping mephisto around obviously for future battles and possibly use him as a big bad down the road).

family is forever | i was sobbing when seeing the hex start shrinking down in the distance outside the boys’ window. i love that wanda and vision made the move to put them to bed as a way of saying goodbye so they wouldn’t have to see them disappear. i hope to see these same boys come back cause i think no matter what your theory was on them, viewers fell in love with them. if planning for young avengers, i cannot wait to see them be a part of it. given that these boys weren’t real and not actually wanda’s children, i think they’ll go the route that they’ll find each other even if not as a blood related family but reincarnations that know that wanda was their mother in one instance and see her as a mother figure (alongside their actual mothers, of course). i just love them and i really wish they stuck around but i know this won’t be the last time we see them!

wanda’s outfit | i love it and i think pays homage to her comic book costume while still fitting the aesthetic of wanda and the mcu. love the attention to detail and the pattern on her headpiece. someone on here also pointed out in a post how it resembles magneto’s suit and it makes me love it more because of that. in conclusion, this is the scarlet witch and she’s hot.

wanda and vision’s farewell | if i was sobbing at billy and tommy’s fate, i was wailing by the time these two started saying goodbye. we learn that the main reason vision was able to be created the way he was by wanda was because of the mind stone. while she is the scarlet witch, she was exposed to and enhanced by the mind stone that ended up becoming vision. like she said, it’s a part of her. he lives on in her and overall, this scene just cemented that these two are meant to be together. they are going to be that power couple in the mcu moving forward, together or apart. we know these two are meant for each other and have so much love for each other and will find their way back always. while they may change, the one thing you can bet your ass on is that they fucking love each other.

ralph bohner | the twist that no one saw coming - peter is ralph. it’s clear that he was being controlled by agatha because the moment monica took off the necklace, he woke up from her spell. a lot of people are swirling around to say that he’s probably woo’s missing person. we don’t know that and it’s something that’s left unconfirmed. while i would’ve enjoyed the reveal to be peter actually being peter from the x-men universe, i’m also happy he isn’t. yes there was a lot of fanfare and hope for this series to introduce the multiverse but in retrospect, it would’ve been too much to throw at us at the beginning of phase four. throwing in the multiverse right away would’ve taken away from the series being about wanda (separate point i’ll get to at the end). do hope to see evan peters in a future mcu project, though!

wanda’s story moving forward | i hope wanda becomes a sort of anti-hero for the future. this does set up her appearance in doctor strange 2 and i can’t wait to see what she does. while agatha said she’s destined to destroy the world and her power exceeds the sorcerer supreme’s, i hope the writers don’t make wanda into this villain that loses her logic because of extreme power. wanda has proven agatha wrong already by acknowledging the error in her ways. when she realized she was hurting the people of westview, she let them go and stopped hurting them. she learned that yes, she is hurting them without knowing so what she has to do is let them go. wanda has learned throughout her years with the avengers the consequences her powers can have on people. we know she’s never been trained by a witch and yes, that makes her dangerous with her chaos magic. the second post credit scene shows us that she’s determined to teach herself even if it’s through the darkhold. in seeing what she’s done and the power she holds, i think wanda will be this gray moral character. she holds a great deal of power, the most powerful being on the planet at the moment, and that can cloud her judgement at times. despite being an avenger, this show has really shown us that wanda is alone. while she was with the avengers, what have they really done? they kept her in check and helped her utilize her powers for good but then when civil war happened, she was detained and treated like a weapon of mass destruction. the avengers are clearly nonexistent and those that are around, haven’t bothered with her. i also hope that this new phase of marvel kinda tears down the original avengers and their actions because while intentions were good, not everything or everyone was perfect and there’s consequences. and i hope those consequences are shown through the main characters of this phase like wanda.

the complaints | while i loved this show so so much, i did have some issues. while i enjoyed that this show fleshed out more of wanda’s past, i’m sad that they didn’t confirm or at least try to make wanda jewish since they completely erased her romani roots from the comics. this goes back to my whole thing with representation which i’ve mentioned before in response to an article. while i love elizabeth olsen’s portrayal and care she has for wanda, a romani actress still should’ve been cast from the beginning. the least they could’ve done was at least make her jewish even if ever so subtly because that is the other half of wanda’s identity, even if it’s been retconned often. if they are never going to confirm her as magneto’s daughter in the mcu, at least honor that aspect of her identity if you’ve erased one major one already. representation matters and i wish they tried to do right by the character since they clearly paid close attention to other aspects of her comic book history and took a deep dive into her mental health. come at me for these thoughts but i’ll stand by them. another is just directed at the press for the show (i’m looking at you paul bettany). while fans went ham on the theories and marvel will do anything to misdirect you, i think there should’ve been a clear up from marvel about bettany’s claims of a big cameo coming in the series when it was about himself. i get you don’t want to spoil the show and the big surprises it may hold for the audience but still. i think there should’ve been someone behind the scenes or bettany’s publicist could’ve kinda told him to stop hinting at a super duper big cameo. yes, fans got carried away but i think when you’re doing press for marvel, it should be somewhat common knowledge that fans are going to analyze and try to figure out wtf is gonna happen. it’s fun theorizing, don’t get me wrong but when it’s gone the way it has for this show, i think it leaves a lot of people unsatisfied. i’ll admit i was being a clown thinking i’d see patrick stewart as professor x again since he’s an actor paul’s never worked with before and would be a huge fan service for the audience like in the mandalorian season finale. tldr; crazy fan theories comes with the territory. my final grievance actually has to do with the set up for monica’s engineer. i was also hoping we’d someone big or someone that could be big in the future, possibly it was a skrull at the end but the tone and way monica talked about it, i think it was underwhelming to see a character that we came not to care too much about.

final thoughts | overall, i loved this show and it was refreshing to see marvel embrace the magical side of their universe as it continues to expand. the cast was amazing. everyone in the cast and crew deserve awards because this really gave us a show about wanda. i think a lot of people lost that (including myself) with all the theorizing; goes back to my complaint about press for the show. it gave us a show that dealt with trauma and grief in a way we haven’t seen before in marvel’s cinematic universe. i’ll admit i didn’t care much for wanda as i did with the others but this show made me care for her a lot more and made me a bigger fan of her and vision’s story. it grounded itself in dealing with wanda’s grief and trauma in a new way while also exploring her character more. so i’m happy that we didn’t get a super big cameo or that the multiverse wasn’t confirmed because then the tone and attention would’ve shifted away from this story being about her. i hope marvel can give us shows like this that make us care about a character’s emotions and feelings rather than just how cool and badass they look in a suit. it was clear that the cast and crew made this with such love and care that had good storytelling and kept us on edge every week. i hope that marvel can show us these types of stories and ranges from characters in future movies as well.

[seekingseven]

The Most Sincere Kind of Lie (Ch2)

Chapter 2 of my Linked Universe fanfic! Also available to read here on AO3 

┍━━━━ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ━━━━┑

The word fell off Hyrule's tongue so easily Legend flinched. He gripped the handle of the Lens of Truth a little tighter than before for a reason beyond his capacity to explain.

“Family?” The women questioned, lips parting when she saw the group of blondes standing behind Hyrule. “Oh goddesses above, come on in, the lot of you! I have soup on the stove and just finished furnishing the guest room. You all couldn’t have come in at a better time!”      

“...furnishing? What’s she talking about, ‘Rule?” Wind whispered as the Links filed inside.

“Oh yeah,” the brunet began, ushering his reincarnations into the living room, “people in my Hyrule don’t usually have beds or, uh, furniture in general. I think it’s because there aren’t that many lumberjacks willing to work in the nearby woods. The forests here aren’t too friendly, y’see.”  

“Weird.” Wind looked at Hyrule, a serious look etched onto his soft features. “You’re kind of weird, ‘Rule.”

“Thanks! I think you’re weird too,” Hyrule chirped.

Legend rolled his eyes. He was pretty sure Hyrule didn’t know what the word ‘weird’ ment. At the woman’s insistent urging the Links seated themselves at the dinner table, muttering to each other quietly as they did. Legend was the last one inside. He closed the door behind him and placed his sword and shield in the room’s corner with utmost care, electing to keep the lens with him before sitting down next to the traveler. Maybe over dinner he could come up with something -- food always had a way of waking him up. He was startled from his thoughts when Hyrule shyly tapped his shoulder.

“Take one, pass it down,” Hyrule said before handing Legend a stack of wooden bowls. “Oh, uh, do you want me to take that from you?” he questioned, pointing to the lens in Legend’s hand, “I can put it with your stuff, if you would like.”

Legend passed the bowls down as instructed, shaking his head at Hyrule’s offer and waving the boy away with his free hand. This Lens of Truth...there was a strange familiarity about it he just couldn’t place. He held it up to his face, oblivious to Time’s hardened stare or Hyrule’s shifting gaze, and tapped the rim gently against the table. Nothing happened. Was there some sort of spell he was supposed to use? He could almost taste the deja-vu on his lips, and its fickle and vague flavor was infuriating. Engrossed in his thoughts, Legend took no heed of the soup ladled into his bowl or the noisy, friendly conversation sparkling around the table.

“.... and after that we….”  

“....wow, Link, is that true? It must have been so terrifying...”

“....Ma’am, he’s a real fighter! Wind, tell her about the time he....”

“Sky! If you want more soup just ask, don’t take mine!”  

“...jeepers, sorry. I thought you weren’t going to eat it…”

Moonlight spilled in through the windows, glinting off the polished floor and the leather of Legend’s boots. The smell of hot, creamy soup hung heavy in the air, lingering still as the heroes worked through their dinner and the ungodly amount of poundcake offered to them.

A raspy, unfamiliar voice broke through the comfortable chatter.

“Oho, Link! We’re happy to see you again, young hero!”

Even though everyone knew who ‘Link’ was in this situation, no one could stifle the instinct to turn around at the sound of their name. Nine pairs of eyes landed on the grizzled old man standing in the doorway, who was draped in an orange robe and sported an impressive floor-length beard. The warm fire of good humor, seemingly untampered by old age, glinted brightly at the back of the old man’s eyes. Hyrule startled and blushed, standing up and bowing at the robed figure.

“Nayru, Din, and Farore be with you, sir. Thank you for opening your house to me and my family.” Hyrule turned towards the other heroes and gestured for them to bow as well, introducing the recipient of their formalities as the Wise Man of Saria Town. For the first time in hours, Legend found his attention completely diverted.

To him, there was no need for Hyrule’s introduction; the veteran could feel the magical expertise rolling off this old man in waves, and his greeting was all the more sincere because of it.

“Link, your affinity for formalities will never cease to amaze me. Hyrule is blessed to have such a polite hero. Now, sit down, gentlemen! No need to stay on your feet for a fossil like me.” Once the Wise Man saw his instruction followed to completion, he continued. “So, Link, this is your family? I must confess, part of me always felt like you were born from the dry dust of Hyrule Field in the kingdom’s most dire hour. What a crazy thought, is it not?” The Wise Man chuckled and prodded Hyrule’s chair with the blunt edge of his cane. “Would you care to introduce me to all these fine young men?”  

Hyrule laughed awkwardly, standing up and nodding once again.

“Of course, sir. This, as you know, is my family. That’s Wind and Four, they’re my little brothers,” Hyrule explained as he placed his hands on their shoulders, trying to ignore the sputtered protests and glares of indignation the two responded with. “These are my older brothers, Twilight, Wild, Warriors and Sky. Over there is Time. He’s my uncle.” Time’s chewing slowed. The hard muscles in his face softened ever so slightly.

“What a lovely, happy, healthy family, young hero! And such fascinating names as well. I would love to hear the story behind them one day. But,” the Wise Man said with a mischievous grin, “you didn’t tell me the name of the one with the red tunic and grumpy face.”

A titter went around the room and Legend looked up with a start. Why was he always the butt of jokes like these? Ugh. Well, it didn’t really matter. He was about to introduce himself on his own terms -- he was nobody’s little brother or uncle and wasn’t about to pretend to be one -- but the words died in his throat as Hyrule walked towards him. The brunet’s fingers hovered uncertainly above Legend’s shoulder, opting instead to carefully tuck a strand of pinkish hair behind the veteran’s ear.

A very odd feeling burnt in Legend’s chest.

“This is Legend, sir. He’s my best friend and hero.”

The hot feeling in his chest grew searing and scalding. Legend coughed loudly, trying to break the oppressive silence in the room and the harsh stares all the other Links were sending his way. What? He had no control over who the kid made his role model. Wasn’t his fault. He glared back as if to communicate these exact sentiments.

“It’s a wonderful thing to have a friend, Link. I’m very happy for you.” The smile in the Wise Man’s voice was audible. “But I must say, this young man looks a good deal like the Hero of Legend, at least from what I remember from the palace engravings...”

The clattering of utensils and mashing of food stopped. Legend fiddled anxiously with the Lens of Truth. He didn’t look up, pulling the strings of hair Hyrule had tucked away back in front of his face.

“Oho! I must be going senile. Forgive this old man, won’t you, gentlemen?” the Wise Man said with an intelligent grin.

Uneasy laughter broke across the room, and the Links started to clean up after themselves. Bowls and plates were stacked in the sink, which Time adamantly insisted he would take care of, and bedrolls were dragged to the upstairs guest room. Blond heads came and went, carrying things, chatting easily, thanking the wonderful missus for her cooking and hospitality. A cozy silence settled over the house as the thump of boots eased off and disappeared altogether.

Legend was alone in the darkened living room. The multitude of rings on his fingers twinkled in the moonlight, and his bracelet chinked quietly everytime he shifted. His soup and slice of pound cake, both untouched, sat forlornly on the table and silently envied the parental attention Legend showered onto the lens.

“Mr. Hero, there’s no need to be so shy! The soup is delicious. I would know, my daughter made it, and the guest room is warm.”

Legend’s head jerked up, surprised in part from the shaky voice and the familiar epithet, and bumped solidly against the brick wall he leaned against.

“Oh, uh, sorry. I was just thinking.”  

“I can see, my friend.” The Wise Man took a seat on the chair across from Legend, grunting softly as his weight lifted from his rheumatic joints. “Rupee for your thoughts?”  

Blue eyes flickered up from the floor and fastened on the wizened face of the Wise Man. There was a hard, insistent urgency behind them that could only be described as eerie.

“Sir, do you happen to be a mage?”  

“Mage? Why, how did you know?”  

“Hyru- erm, Link, has told me that he learned some very powerful spells from mages across the kingdom during his second journey. I assumed you to be one of them.”  

Bushy, white eyebrows flickered upwards in surprise. The Wise Man leaned on his elbows and stared at Legend with the acute, warm curiosity that comes with being surprised at an old age.

“You’re quite sharp, young man! I can see where Link’s admiration of you comes from. Do you wish for lessons? I can teach you much, but I must be upfront and say that the Life Spell is the only charm I cannot share with you. That is information privy only to those that bear the blood of the hero.”  

Once again, Legend bit back the words fizzing at the back of his throat. Now wasn’t the time to throw around his title and history for the sake of a few gasps and raised eyebrows.

“I actually wanted your opinion on something. What do you make of the magic imbued in this lens?” Legend placed the Lens of Truth on the table’s mahogany surface. The moonlight bent and twisted around it, leaving only a blackened, artificial shadow in its wake.

“Hm.” The Wise Men took up the lens in his spidery, liver-spotted fingers and stared at it with a fascination that rivaled Legend’s. He turned it over in his hands and held it up to his eye. A curious, pained look etched itself onto his face -- the same expression of confusion and vague familiarity that Legend had felt. “It is certainly dark magic. But the curious thing is that it does not give off any aura of malice. How strange.”  

“I noticed the same thing!” Legend exclaimed, the tiny muscles in his neck straining from the sudden, unexpected swell in volume. “What do you make of it?”  

The Wise Man smiled and looked up at the veteran, placing the lens back on the table. The magenta handle shimmered smugly despite no light falling on it.

“I’ve only read about artifacts like this,” the Wise Man began, “never seen one myself. My first guess would be to say that it was either enchanted by a light-magic mage with a proficiency in dark magic, or that it is a companion piece to another magical item.”    

This was new information. While Legend had been able to guess something along the lines of the Wise Man’s first statement, the second one held the meaninglessness foreign knowledge usually did. His eyebrows furrowed together.

“Companion piece? I’ve never heard the term before.”  

“Do not shame yourself for your ignorance. Such artifacts are extremely rare, and information about them even rarer. Take it as this, you showed me a feather, and it could either be that of a seagull or the Thunderbird. It is more likely to be the former, but it is more interesting to postulate the latter.” Something within the hero twinged at the last example. He rolled the salty, bitter feeling against the roof of his mouth and back of his throat, swallowing it and before it could divert his attention. “The concept is simple, however. Two artifacts that complement each other in origin, magic type, and usage may, when combined, temporarily produce something greater than the sum of their parts. It’s a “hit or miss” phenomenon, as Link likes to call things. Artifacts are rarely built to be companionable, and when they are, it is often a matter of chance. But it is fun to think about, is it not? For example, a magical lens and, say, perhaps a portal, if they were companion pieces, may create a portal to a dimension between dimensions -- to a place that is both hypothetical and real at the same time. A lucid, living vision of the most sincere kind of lies.”  

A portal, hmm.

A portal.

A portal!

Legend vaulted over the Wise Man, leather undersoles of his boots shrieking as he sprinted across the room and towards the corner where his inventory sat. The poor thing was utterly unprepared for the waterfall of affection Legend was about to drench it with. The hero cooed at his beloved artifacts and dug through the bag, eyes peeled for one item in particular.

A-HA!

There it was!

Pulling it out triumphantly, Legend held it in the air and grinned at the Wise Man. The old man’s eyes went wide -- whether from surprise or residual shock from Legend’s outburst it was impossible to tell -- and the hero sprinted over to his side.

“Sir, take a look at this.” Legend said as he placed the Magic Mirror on the table, just adjacent to the Lens of Truth. The moonlight caught on the reflective surface and scattered across the ceiling. “This mirror serves as a portal to the Dark World. Do you think…”

Legend’s hands trembled with excitement. The Wise Man’s eyes were even wider than before, clear and bright, and stared at the two artifacts with hushed amazement. The two sorcerers looked at each other with stupid, child-like smiles on their faces.  

WHAM !

The upstairs door swung open and slammed against the stone wall behind it. Four and Wind shouted something unintelligible before quite literally tumbling down the stairs, their attempts to find some sort of footing a perfect exercise in futility, and landed in a bruised lump on the floor.  

“Hiya, Legend!” Wind exclaimed as he wiggled out from underneath Four.

Legend glared at him with fury fit to kill. The sailor shifted his gaze to the Wise Man as he helped Four get to his feet, a roguish grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“Uh, ‘xcuse me, mister, but do you have any whipped cream?”  

“Cream? Well, I believe my daughter keeps some on the bottom shelf. Are you hungry, gentlemen? There is plenty of leftover soup.”

“No thank you, sir,” Four said as he swung open the cover of the cupboard and handed a jar of cream to Wind. “We just need it for something very important. Sorry to bother!”

The two tiny heros ran up the stairs just as loudly as they’d come down, giggling riotously as they slammed the door behind them.

“Those boys are so precious, are they not?” The Wise Man mumbled wistfully.

“Sure. Now about these artifacts…”

“Oh, yes. Indeed. I know an ancient fusion spell that would merge the artifacts together if they are indeed companionable.” The Wise Man’s fingers, trembling slightly from a combination of rheumatism and excitement, fastened around the mirror and lens. He mumbled a soft incantation under his breath, then overlaid the two artifacts and pressed them against each other.

A deep tremor shook the floorboards. Legend’s heart beat faster, thrumming in time with the magic’s heartbeat, jumping and bursting and screaming and pressing against the pale bones of his ribcage. He could feel the monsoon of magic raging around them, tearing at his hair, his skin, at the air he breathed in and the thoughts he was thinking. It was happening--it was happening! The whole world shone and sparkled and squealed under the weight of the magic; Legend’s vision frayed under its sheer force. A crimson flush dusted his face and his knuckles stuck out of the white skin of his hands. Light -- golden and grey and ashy and crystalline -- burst from between the Wise Man’s fingers and splashed on the walls. The world contracted and wailed and shook all at once.

And then it vanished. The light swallowed itself and the magic retreated into the ground; the Wise Man pulled his hands away only for the Lens of Truth and Magic Mirror to clatter obstinately on the table top.

“...perhaps not.” Legend grumbled.

The Wise Man smiled and shrugged, the orange silk of his robe catching on the last few rays of magical light. He turned to Legend with a smile on his face. “Ohoho! Well, I suppose that this is the result of looking for the Thunderbird in a sky full of seagulls and swallows. Now, get yourself to bed, young man. I cannot have Link worrying about his self-proclaimed “hero” in the morning.”

Legend scooped up the two artifacts with the angry resignation of a disappointed father. He walked softly up the staircase, waving to the Wise Man before he closed the door behind him. To say that what had just transpired was disappointing would have been the understatement of the century. Idly fidgeting with a ring on his pinky, Legend glowered at the sea of Links sleeping three to a bed. He angrily picked his way through the sparsely-furnished guest room. A wonder that there were enough beds for them after all. It was the least Hylia could do after that ridiculous little prank of hers.

The disgruntled veteran found a spot beside Hyrule and Sky, who were presently curled up against each other. He placed the two artifacts on a tiny nightstand, balancing them on top of each other to save space, and settled onto the bed. A stray beam of moonlight shot through the window. The smell of soup and sweat hung in the air, tinged with the sugary aroma of cream.

Cream?

Legend turned around. He almost slapped a hand to his face to hold in his laughter. Oh goddesses. Oh goddesses. Legend turned red from the held-in snorts and giggles, staring at the scene in front of him with bulging eyes. Hyrule’s ears, hair, and hands had been generously showered with whipped cream. His lashes were covered with so much that it dripped onto the bedsheets in fat clumps. Four and Wild’s retribution for being called “little brothers,” he assumed.

There was never a moment of peace around these guys.

The last vestiges of his mirth dissolved, and Legend settled back onto the bed. He balanced himself on the thin sliver of mattress Sky and Hyrule had left for him. His muscles sighed with relief. His mind buzzed with a thousand thoughts of what could have been. What if it had worked? What would he have seen? What did the Wise Man mean when he said that the two artifacts could have created a portal to a dimension between dimensions? To a place that is both hypothetical and real at the same time?

What was the lucid, living vision of the most sincere kind of lies he could have seen?

He shifted his weight to the other side, reaching out subconsciously to grab the artifacts. Maybe he would send them a goodnight glare before dozing off...

His hands scraped the nightstand surface and came back with nothing.

Wait.

Where...where were they?

Legend jolted upwards, his movement rocking Hyrule and Sky’s sleeping form. Where were they? Where were the artifacts? Time was going to kill him. He was going to kill him. Where had they gone? Legend’s heart beat faster. He squinted through the darkness and swiped his hand again on the countertop.

One of his rings dinged against something metallic. His fingers reached out and fastened around the handle of a mirror.

Nearly fainting with relief, Legend pulled the Magic Mirror towards his chest.

Wait.

That wasn’t the Magic Mirror.

Moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating the object of Legend’s scrutiny. It outlined the edges of an elegant hand mirror with a metal rim the same golden color as the Wise Man’s magic, diamond barbs adorning the top, and a massive reflective glass set in the middle.

It looked a lot like the Magic Mirror, whatever it was.

And it also looked like the Lens of Truth, just a little…

Wait.

Wait.

Legend nearly squealed when the realization hit him. He kissed the rim of the mirror with all the blush and tenderness of a love-sick farmboy.

The artifacts were companionable.  

It had worked.

IT HAD WORKED!

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[cheeseeatingtrashmonster]

Can This Time Be Any Different?

Written for​ @felixmonth day 11: First Kiss

Alternate title “Binaries”

-Not every force in the universe has a polar opposite. Most don't, in fact. But there are a few binaries that exist in balance with each other, weaving the fabric of the universe with their give and take.

Life and Death.

Black and White.

Order and Chaos.

Luck and Misfortune.

Creation and Destruction.

Long ago, a few powerful magicians learned how to unbalance a few of these pairs. They could shape the world around them.

But there were always consequences.

-

"Who are you?"

The voice made Nino jump. He turned around, but he didn't see anyone in the darkness of the Paris rooftops.

"I'm, uh-" Nino looked down at his superhero outfit. "Red Luck."

A shadow darted around and over the roofs until someone in dark black with large, glowing eyes was crouched on the chimney above him.

"You're my other half."

Nino took a step back to see the stranger better. All he could make out in the moonlight was his outline; hunched shoulders, thrashing tail, points of hair in the shape of cat ears.

"Who are you, then?"

He dropped in front of Nino, standing to his full height. "I'm Black... Tiger."

Nino tried to suppress a chuckle. "You sticking with that?"

He shrugged. "Let me know if you come up with something better." He kicked backwards at the chimney, but misremembered how far back it was, and fell on his butt when it didn't catch his weight.

"Catastrophe sounds like a good name for you," Nino said, biting his lip not to smile.

He glared at Nino for a second, then cocked his head to the side, considering. "I hate why you suggested it, but I actually love the name. My power is to destroy things. It seems appropriate. Plus, I like puns."

Nino smiled. "I'm glad you like it, Catastrophe. So, what's this 'other half' stuff about?"

"We're partners. We're here to balance each other, protect each other."

They would grow to learn that protection comes in many forms.

-

Ladybug and Chat Noir are two points on a spectrum. They represent the far ends of the extremes. But in reality, they're just two souls, saddled with burdens bigger than they can be expected to carry.

-

"You missed patrol last night," Red Luck said when Catastrophe bounced into his field of view.

"I'm sorry about that. I lost track of time. I was researching. Researching us, actually."

"Us?" The two started running their patrol route, checking dark alleys and other trouble spots in the city as they went.

"All the Ladybugs and Chat Noirs before us. Did you know, we're actually reincarnated? We were destined to have these miraculous. They were ours before, and will be ours again after we die."

"Reincarnated? Like, past lives, and getting a new body, but the same soul each time?"

"Basically. And it sounds like our personalities change a bit each time, but some core piece of us is tied to our miraculous."

"That's so cool!" Red Luck wrapped his arm around Catastrophe's waist to swing them across a gap between roofs too wide to jump comfortably. "What else did you find out?"

Catastrophe pulled away from his partner a little more quickly than normal when they landed. "Not... not a lot. Bits and pieces."

"Super cool, dude. Let me know if you find out anything else that's cool about past-us."

"Of course."

-

Every Ladybug and every Chat Noir have fallen in love with each other. Every pair has the same two souls, at the core, so it's only natural that they would find each other again, love each other again.

-

"Why did you do that?" Red Luck demanded, pressing his Lucky Charm, a towel, against the gaping wound in Catastrophe's upper leg.

"Because I love you, you idiot!" he hissed.

Now that they knew they had lived the lives of heroes before, sometimes Felix or Nino could feel a sense of deja vu in their interactions. Not deja vu, exactly. It felt more like a memory.

In this case, a battle had gone poorly. One had tried to sacrifice himself for the other. They had both barely escaped with their lives.

"Well, I love you, too, jerk!" Red Luck shouted back.

Like falling into a memory.

-

Felix had done thorough research on his many pasts and those of his partner's. The pattern, the painful truth, had made itself apparent after a while. Once he saw it, he couldn't un-see it. After that moment, his only goal was finding a way to exit this loop and save them both.

Or, if he couldn't do that, to save his partner.

-

"Are we really doing this?" Catastrophe whispered. His arms were wrapped around himself, and he was biting his lip.

"I'd really like to," Red Luck said. "I love you. I want to know all of you, and I want you to know all of me."

"And... then what?"

Red Luck blinked, eyebrows drawing together and bunching his mask. "And... and then we can be together. In or out of the mask."

"Then I have something to tell you, first. We can't-" He cut himself off, drawing in on himself tighter, smaller.

"What?" Red Luck held out his hands, and Catastrophe snatched them up, squeezing tight. "You can tell me anything, ask me for anything."

"I don't think you'll like this, though." He glanced up from their hands, meeting Red Luck's eyes. The look he received gave him the courage to speak. "I don't want to kiss. Not on the lips. Anything else, I'm okay with." He gave a tiny smile. "I'm looking forward to what 'anything else' turns out to be, actually." He squeezed Red Luck's hands again. "Say something. Is that too much? If you want to think it over, we don't have to reveal tonight. We can wait until-"

A flash of pink light cut him off.

"Hi," detransformed Red Luck said, taking Catastrophe's hands again. "I'm Nino Lahiffe. I love you. If not kissing is something you need, then we won't kiss."

Catastrophe took in his words for a minute. This was Nino. Nino loved him. This time, the echoes of their past selves served to amplify his feelings. He was loved. He was full of love to give to this man. And every past Ladybug and every past Chat Noir had loved each other. The weight of loving millennia worth of Ladybugs was overwhelming and beautiful.

He dropped his transformation.

“Hi. I’m Felix Agreste. I love you. And your love is more than I could ever deserve.”

Nino stepped forward and slowly lowered his face until their foreheads touched. Their eyes closed, their breathing intermingled, their noses brushed each other.

And it was as beautiful as every time before.

-

Somewhere along the line, something had happened to the two souls known as Ladybug and Chat Noir. This was because their souls were both committed to one side of a different polar pair: Good over Evil. And Evil had found a way to hinder the pair.

In simple terms, it was a curse.

-

“Do you know, last night I had another nosy book club lady ask why she’s never seen us kiss?”

Felix set his coffee and Nino’s tea on the nightstand of Nino's dorm and crawled into his bed, appreciating the warmth that always came with being in Nino’s arms. Nino's classes didn't start for another hour, and Felix's were almost done for the day.

“As if that’s even the oddest thing about us,” Nino muttered, burying his face in Felix’s sweater.

“Do you regret agreeing to it?”

Nino felt Felix tense. He pulled back, blinking sleepy eyes at him. “Agreeing not to kiss?” Felix nodded. “Nah. It took some getting used to, or whatever, but there are so many other ways we show we love each other. I would give up the world to make sure you feel safe and happy and comfortable with me, dude. I would just plain give up the world for you.”

Felix slid to sit up against the headboard and reached for his coffee. As he lifted the cup, the lid popped off and the cylinder of the cup squashed in on itself, forcing hot coffee up and out of the cup, onto Felix's hand.

Felix swore and scrambled out of bed, quickly running to the bathroom down the hall to soothe his hand with cold water. “If I can stay strong enough, you will never have to give up anything for me again," he whispered, knowing Nino wouldn't hear him.

-

From the moment the curse went into effect, one of the duo, in each incarnation, would be plagued with bad luck. The only thing that could break the curse was their first kiss. The longer the cursed partner went without that kiss, the worse their luck got.

But each first kiss only banished the curse until they were reborn.

-

Felix hadn't expected this. The pit in his stomach told him that he should have expected it. But he hadn't, for some reason.

"Dude. An answer would be nice."

Felix's eyes snapped back to Nino kneeling in front of him with a ring in a box in his hand. He couldn't speak. He couldn't breathe.

Nino must have seen the panic in his eyes because he set the ring on the coffee table and sat next to him on the couch. "You can say that you're not ready yet. That's okay. I'm never going to have a problem going at your speed."

Felix covered his mouth with one hand and gripped Nino's shirt with the other, not caring that it would wrinkle. He turned into Nino and sobbed.

"I'm sorry," Nino whispered, his arms circling Felix. "I thought you wanted this, too."

He couldn't bring himself to tell Nino that it was all he wanted. He couldn't bring himself to say that the moment he had moved to kneel before him, he could see their life together and their future. He couldn't bring himself to say that if he had all that, if he let himself have what every other Char Noir had taken for granted, there was no way he wouldn't slip up and kiss him.

All Felix could manage was, "I'm sorry."

Their whispered "I'm sorry"s continued until late in the night.

-

Felix, like every Chat Noir, would do anything to protect his Ladybug. When he found out about the curse, he was given a new purpose in life.

The curse must die with me, he decided.

-

Seconds after Nino woke the next morning, he knew something was wrong.

It wasn't that Felix wasn't in bed. Felix was an early riser.

It wasn't that anything was missing or misplaced in the bedroom, from what he could see.

But something was wrong.

Nino pulled on a hoodie over his pajamas and went to the kitchen. The snow outside was bright and fluffy. The kitchen was semi-clean. The living room was cluttered (mostly with books).

The coffee maker wasn't on.

It hadn't been used at all since the day before, judging by the cool heating element and dry, clean pot.

Nino didn't try to lie to himself that Felix was probably out getting coffee from the place down the street. He started looking for the note. Because of course, Felix would leave a note before running.

He found it on the end table next to the couch, on a copy of Felix's favorite book, under the box holding the ring.

The note was brief. It explained exactly nothing. Felix was gone because he proposed, and Nino would bet almost anything that he wasn't coming back.

Nino sat on the couch and ran a finger around the edge of one of his earrings. What had gone wrong? Weren't they soulmates? Literal, reincarnated soulmates?

He didn't cry, because he knew the story wasn't over.

-

Bad luck has a purpose in life. But too much of it, like too much of anything else, leads to a miserable life.

-

Felix had taken very little with him when he left. By the time he had gotten out of the country, he had even less, having been mugged.

He was alone. All he wanted was Nino. And the only thing he couldn't have was Nino.

He set up a small shop in a small village and performed small acts of magic, making a trade as a run of the mill magician. He was known for his efficiency and tendency to accrue injuries while he worked.

He was known for being lonely.

-

Nino tried to move on. At first, it was to spite Felix. He boxed up all his things and donated or recycled them and looked at the empty spaces with a mixed feeling of pride and anger.

Then he tried to move on because he knew Felix was doing what he thought was best for his Ladybug, because he knew Felix would want him to try.

He never seemed to reach some magical point where it didn't hurt that his Catastrophe of a man was gone. Without his other half, he was still a person unto himself, full and complete. Light is still light in the absence of shadows. But that doesn't mean the light doesn't long for the dark.

He was lonely.

-

Felix's apartment building caught fire three times. He got every cold that went around the town, no matter the precautions he took. His identity was stolen. He broke bones from small falls, he was robbed, mugged, his store vandalized, he got parking tickets no matter how careful he was.

And every moment, he missed Nino, his Ladybug, his partner, Red Luck.

None of it was enough for him to return to Nino. None of it was enough to make him ask for the kiss that would save him.

But some days, it was enough to make him stare at his phone, the number in place and his thumb hovering above the “call” button.

-

Nino was picking his son up from the school bus when he got the call.

“Mr. Lahiffe?”

Like that morning when Felix was gone, he just knew.

“Yes. Who is this?”

The caller stated his name and the hospital at which he worked.

“You’re listed as the emergency contact for one of our patients.”

The backpack he had taken from Jean, his son, slid out of his hand and fell into a snowy puddle.

“Dad?”

Nino scrambled to grab the bag, slinging it over his shoulder. He grabbed Jean’s hand and started walking faster, listening closely to everything the hospital worker said.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Nino hung up and immediately ran his hands over his face, shoving his glasses out of the way.

“Was that about the man with blond hair?” Jean asked. He was in the kitchen, drying his backpack with the good kitchen towels.

“How do you know about him?” Nino asked, taking the backpack and emptying its contents on the table so he could properly wash it. He thought he had gotten rid of every physical sign of his Chat Noir years ago.

“Aunt Alya has pictures of you with him. She hides them when you come inside.” Jean started setting up his homework. “Are you mad at him?”

Nino considered this.

“I don’t know.”

“Is he okay?”

“I hope he will be, soon.”

Nino didn’t tell “Aunt Alya” why she needed to take Jean for the night, possibly longer. She didn’t ask, either, which surprised him, until he saw himself in a mirror. He looked like a man who was haunted.

-

“You know you shouldn’t have come,” Felix said when the door to his hospital room creaked open. He didn’t open his eyes.

“You know,” Nino said, walking over to sit on the bed, facing but not touching Felix, “you never said why you wouldn’t let me kiss you.”

Felix’s eyes still didn’t open. “We’re cursed.”

“Yeah, see, I started doing some research of my own after you ran off like a scaredy cat.” Nino felt the smallest bubble of pride when Felix’s lips twitched into what was undoubtedly a smile.

“And what did your research tell you?”

“If you die without breaking the curse in this incarnation, you won’t come back next time.”

His silence was all the confirmation Nino needed. Felix had known this.

“You were going to leave me to be born again and again without my partner and pair.”

“I was going to let you live without this curse.”

“Look at me, Felix.”

His eyes opened. They were glassy with tears.

Two heartbreaking syllables.

“Nino.”

“I’ve been waiting for this call for years. Since I started researching what could have made you think you needed to leave.” He shook his head. “No. Since the minute I knew you were gone.” Nino held out his hand. “Will you come back and stay with me?”

“Nino.” The name was like water on his dry lips. “If I stay, you suffer.”

“I’ve suffered more these years without you than any lifetime I’ve been the one cursed.” He shifted closer. “Will you please come home, Felix?”

He closed his eyes and took Nino’s hand.

“Will you do something for me first?”

Nino couldn’t tell whose hand was shaking harder.

“What do you need?”

Felix opened his eyes and pushed himself up until he was sitting with his forehead against Nino’s, their noses brushing and breath intermingling like it had the night they revealed their identities.

“Kiss me, Nino.”

And the curse was broken.

Until next time.

-

Felix moved in with Nino and Jean as soon as he was released from the hospital. Nino was nervous about the two of them meeting, but Jean accepted another father into his life with joy. Within a week, one of his favorite activities was reading with Felix. Within a month, he turned to Felix in the middle of one of their reading times and made him an offer.

“When Dad adopted me, he said I could call him Nino forever if I wanted, or wait until I was ready to call him Dad. So if you’re ready, I’ll call you Papa, or if you aren’t, I’ll keep calling you Felix.”

Felix looked to Nino where he was practicing on the piano. He knew Nino could feel his eyes on him because he started smiling, but he never looked over at them.

“I’m ready for you to call me Papa,” Felix said, “if you’re ready for me to call you cuddle-bug.”

The sound of Jean giggling and demanding that Felix call him “stink bug” exclusively, combined with Nino repeatedly playing the wrong notes while laughing at them was more than enough to convince Felix he had made the right choice.

Being with them was the right choice.

-

"I knew you'd come back," Nino whispered a few hours later, pulling Felix's glasses from his face and tossing a blanket over him where he slept on the couch. "You always have."

-

This was why the curse was so effective.

It could not end.

Because they could not be apart.

[codyswritings]

Reliving Summer

Brunswick Farms. Finally, a place to rest and get away from this snow. It was a little eerie how it was abandoned, but at this point, Ruby figured it was better than nothing.

They entered the farmhouse, and were greeted with silence. The inside looked just as abandoned as the outside, with dusty old furniture, broken, boarded up windows, no sense of light anywhere. 

“Well, it’s not pretty, but it’ll do for now.” Qrow commented, taking another swig of his flask.

“At least we’re finally out of that snow.” said Blake, rubbing her arms to keep warm despite wearing a coat.

“You’re telling me!” Maria agreed, already making her way down a hallway across from the entrance.

“Where are you going?” Yang asked.

Maria looked back and answered, “To find myself a bath.” and left of her own accord.

“We should all try and find rooms.” Qrow suggested. “It’s gonna be a long night.”

Everyone broke off in search to find their rooms. A farmhouse this big had to have a lot. Thankfully, they were right, and they each managed to find their own to sleep in. After a nice, hot shower, Ruby was grateful to finally be able to get some rest. Though, she was sad their weren’t any bunk-beds this time.

She was also upset she couldn’t sleep. So much happened in such a short amount of time, it was hard to push it all away. Ozpin and Salem, the Gods, immortality and reincarnation, so much was shown at once the moment Ruby spoke Jinn’s name.

The relic stood on a nightstand beside Ruby’s bed, emitting a soft blue glow like its own personal night-light. Ruby kept her eyes on it, watching it, wondering exactly what the final question she should ask be.

Salem was immortal, there was no beating her. Ozpin lied to them with no plan of attack. The most important questions she had were already answered. What else was there?

A knock on the door broke her thoughts, “Ruby?” Yang’s voice called from behind.

“Come in!” Ruby answered, shifting over to sit on the edge of her bed.

The door opened, and in walked the rest of her team, closing the door behind them. Yang, Weiss and Blake stood around Ruby, eyeing the relic.

“Have you thought about what to ask it next?” Weiss asked.

Ruby took a moment, “No.” and hung her head low.

“Well, if you ask me,” Yang spoke, crossing her arms, “I think we should it what to do with Ozpin.”

Ruby shot her head to protest, “Yang...”

“Ruby, he lied to us! He signed us up in a war against Salem, and she can’t even be killed!”

Though they both didn’t like it, Blake and Weiss had to agree. 

“You saw what Jinn showed us.” Blake added. “And you heard what Ozpin said.”

Ruby hung her head again. She understood her team’s feelings, she felt them too. She was angry, and confused, and sad at the same time. How can they fight someone who can’t be beaten? How can they trust someone who constantly lied to them? Ugh, it was all so frustrating!

Weiss must’ve known what she was feeling, as she sat next to Ruby on her bedside, and wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder.

“I know it’s not easy to comprehend, Ruby, so maybe you can ask the relic a question that doesn’t...” she glared at Yang, “...deal with immortals and Gods.”

Yang could only look at her boots.

“What kind of question should we ask it?” Blake wondered, kneeling down to eye-level with the relic.

“I’ve got one.” Uncle Qrow’s voice took their attention. Of course, he was drunk again. Pushing himself off the doorframe, Qrow stumbled and slurred, “How about you ask it why I spent my life... following a pathological liar. Or, how about why that liar... lied to me? OR...”

“QROW!” Ruby exclaimed, standing up from her bed. Qrow stopped in his tracks. The small leader sighed, “I know you’re all angry. I am, too! But this is something I need to think about! So, please, let me think.”

Every went silent. Qrow sighed, “Do whatever you think is best, kiddo.”

Ruby turned her attention to the relic, taking it in her hands. After a deep breathe, she spoke the name, “Jinn.”

From her hands, the relic floated, stopping at the center of the room. From the blue smoke, the blue beauty Jinn appeared, just as coy as before. “My, this is a surprise! I haven’t been summoned this before! So tell me, what knowledge do you seek?”

Ruby took a moment to think. If she couldn’t ask about Ozpin or Salem anymore, than maybe... “Jinn, you can answer any question.”

“Correct, little one. As long as it’s not about the future.” Jinn crossed her arms.

Ruby’s hand hovered above her chest, her eyes locked on her cape that was neatly folded on the nightstand behind her, next to where the relic was previously. “But you can show the past.” she brought her attention back to Jinn.

“Of course.”

“Than...” it was now, or never. “Can... you tell me... what happened to my Mom?”

The mood in the room skidded and crashed. Everyone was shocked, Yang, Weiss, Blake. Qrow’s flask fell from his hands, crashing to the floor with a clink and a thud. “Ruby...” was all he could say, before everything went white.

“Ruby...?” he called out into the void. “Ruby!” but nothing was there, until a wall of blue smoke ascended around him. After a moment of clarity, Qrow finally began to see where he was. He recognized the wooden structure, he recognized the kitchen, he recognized the furniture and the pictures...

And he recognized the white hood. “No...”

There, standing at the center of the living room with Tai, was Summer Rose.

“Mom?” Yang said in a state of shock. It had been so long since she’d seen her and Dad together.

“Do you really have to go?” Tai asked in concern.

“I’m sorry, Tai, but Ozpin needs me on this mission, and you and Qrow need to look after our daughters.”

Qrow was frozen. Summer was there, right there. He instinctively went to reach out for her, but pulled back remembering, even in his drunken state, he couldn’t touch her.

Tai sighed, lowering his head. “I don’t like it. I should be there with you.”

Summer placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, and smiled. “I know, honey. But you’re needed here. Besides, Yang needs to make sure you and Qrow are kept in line.”

They both shared a good laugh. Qrow actually forgot what her laugh sounded like. It nearly brought tears to his eyes.

When they calmed down, Tai only put his hands around her shoulders and said, “Just... be safe, okay?”

Summer smiled, “I promise.” and they both embraced. They would’ve stayed in each other’s arms forever, had Yang not ran in.

“Mommy! Mommy!” the little blonde in the orange t-shirt and pigtails shouted in excitement, a little Ruby behind her looking nervous. Yang was still, taken aback by how young she and her sister looked. But other than that, “I remember this day.”

Breaking away from Tai and crouching to look at her daughters, Summer asked, “What is it, sweetie?”

“Ruby wants to show you something!”

Summer’s eyes lit up, and her attention was on her littlest one, “What is it, Ruby?”

Yang’s heart strings were suddenly being tugged, “No...” she didn’t want to see it again.

The little Ruby, in her own red t-shirt and black skirt, held a piece of paper in her hands. She looked nervous, as if she was afraid her Mom wouldn’t like it.

“It’s okay, Ruby. You can show me.” Summer assured her, giving Ruby a smile neither Qrow nor Yang had seen in so long.

With a whimper, Ruby held out the piece of paper to her Mom. Summer accepted it, turning it over to see what it had. When she saw, she gasped. It was a drawing of her, and Ruby... together, with the words, “My Hero” written in crayon. 

To anyone else, it would’ve looked crude and sloppy, bu to Summer, it was a masterpiece. One that brought tears to the Super Mom’s silver eyes.

“Oh, Ruby... it’s beautiful. I love it.” she brought her daughter in for a hug.

“Can-can I be like you, Mommy?” little Ruby’s voice tugged at Qrow and Yang’s heart even more, like they were being ripped out of their chests.

“Of course you can, my little petal. And when I get back, I’ll make you all the cookies you want!”

Ruby gasped, her little eyes lighting up with joy, “Really?!”

Summer separated from her daughter, “Yes, sweetie. I promise!” she then looked to Yang. “And you, Yang...” she placed a gentle hand on her daughter’s head. 

Yang didn’t want to hear it again. “Please, don’t say it, Mom.”

“Promise me you’ll look after your little sister, for all your days. Remember, you’re my sunny little dragon, and Ruby is your treasure.”

“Don’t worry, Mommy, I’ll be the strongest dragon ever!” little Yang exclaimed, pumping her arms up like a champion.

Those words brought Yang to her knees.

“Yes, you will!” Summer giggled, and brought her beloved, laughing children in for a group hug.

Another cloud of blue engulfed the world, and Ruby found herself in a field. Only... the field was black, littered with... Grimm! 

Ruby suddenly jumped at the sound of a beowulf’s roar, turning around to see it hovering over her, standing on its hind legs ready to strike. Whether on instinct or habit, Ruby went to reach for her scythe, but stopped when she saw a white blur zip past her, cutting through the beowulf like a knife through butter.

The Grimm fell in half, joining the pile, and standing tall, her own scythe in hand, was Summer Rose. Qrow watched his former teammate walk past with such confidence, it was almost scary. So many lay dead at her feet, and she barely had a scratch on her.

An army of Grimm stood before her. Beowulves, Ursa’s, Nevermore’s in the air, boarbatusk’s. It didn’t matter, in the end. As they charged towards the Silver-Eyed Huntress, Summer continued her stride, not a shot of fear evident on her face. She didn’t care how many there were, they would all fall.

To Qrow, watching Summer fight again was like reliving the past. It was as if he was there with her again, as teammates, as partners. The way she sliced off an Ursa’s head, jumped up into the air and manage to cut off a Nevermore’s wing so it crashed into a group of three beowulve’s, and spun on her back like a dance move to use her scythe to slice apart any Grimm that dared to get close... 

For Yang, watching Summer only reminded her of Ruby. The way she moved, the way she fought, the way she smirked in the face of danger. Watching her Mother use her own scythe as a spear to chuck into two Beowulve’s and an Ursa, and somehow manage to dodge every oncoming strike around her like a cat, and then use that Grimm spear to flip herself over to smash it into a charging boarbatusk like a Grimm hammer...

It was like watching a ghost.

A number of Grimm still remained, and Summer found herself swarmed. With no other option left, she decided to bring out the big guns. Flashing her eyes open, just as the Grimm were ready to pounce on her, Summer’s silver eyes flowed, and a flash of light engulfed the area around her. When the light dissipated, all that remained was black dust, floating in the air, forgotten. Summer confidently walked through the darkness, stopping directly, coincidentally... in front of Ruby.

For Ruby... watching Summer... was the hardest thing to do. This was her Mother? This was Super Mom? A Silver-Eyed Warrior? Feelings of pride, of sadness, or joy, and sorrow, they all fought inside Ruby the same way Summer fought off the Grimm.

Summer phased through Ruby, the smaller Huntress never taking her eyes off her Mother, as she confidently made her way down the trail. A puff of smoke appeared in the distance, and in its place, was a massive cave.

Not a second later, the blue smoke took Ruby inside the cave, following her Mother. No source of light shined aside from the entrance, but the deeper they went, the darker it got. After a long trek inside, something rumbled. Ruby, startled, jumped when she heard a deep, menacing growl from the darkness.

That was when the eyes opened. Ruby gasped, watching those all-too familiar yellow eyes dart up high into the air, followed by a menacing claw just barely missing Summer as it stomped its way into the ground. From the darkness, Ruby could finally see what awaited her Mother...

A Grimm dragon.

The beast let out a menacing roar, while Summer readied her scythe, and her eyes started to glow. Ruby watched the whole thing as if it were in slow-motion, her Mother and the dragon charging, head-to-head, in a battle of light and dark, when her Mom’s Silver Eyes bathed the cave with light.

It took a second for the light to dissipate, but once it did, Ruby was left confused. She was... back in her room? Her team and Uncle Qrow with her?

“Wh... what happened?”

Jinn answered, “I showed you what happened.”

While Ruby was still overcoming her confusion, Yang was the first to speak, tears still running down her face, “What do you mean?! That can’t be it! You have to tell us what happened!”

Weiss and Blake were too shell-shocked to say anything. Qrow was left staring at the floor, still trying to come to grips with what he just saw.

Jinn answered, “I can’t show you what happened, because that’s all there was to show, and since you’ve already asked your third and final question, I’m afraid I have to leave now.”

And just like, Jinn disappeared into the relic, an angry Yang darting for her, “NO! YOU CAN’T JUST LEAVE US LIKE THAT! SHOW US WHAT HAPPENED!”

“Yang...?” Blake went to reach for her partner, now on one knee in a crying fit.

“Show us... please...” was all Yang could say.

Weiss turned her attention to Ruby, who hadn’t moved since they returned. She looked so... confused, broken. The red-headed Huntress had this look on her face Weiss couldn’t figure out.

“Ruby?” she carefully stepped towards her partner, just as Blake did for Yang. “Ruby? Are you okay?”

Ruby’s thousand yard stare scared Weiss. Where there was once the happy-go-lucky leader and friend she knew, now there was this... broken, speechless little girl, who couldn’t even form words, as tears ran down her face, and suddenly, the walls Ruby had kept up for so long, suddenly broke down, and she collapsed into Weiss’ arms.

Weiss could do nothing but hold her partner, as close as she could. Blake could only do the same. Qrow could only stand there, watching his nieces break down in front of him, unable to do anything, but pick up his flask... and take another swig.

[pocketseizure]

The Marriage of Lanayru, Chapter Ten

The Marriage of Lanayru

Ganondorf and Zelda arrive at an understanding, and Midna approves.

This chapter concludes the story. Thanks for reading!

2,400 words ☆ NSFW ☆ (Also on AO3) (Story Tag on Tumblr)

* * * * *

Hundreds of years of fighting, and thousands of voices silenced. Proud kingdoms and mighty peoples vanished without a trace. Sandstone worn away by sharp desert winds, and marble pillars crumbling under the creeping feet of moss. This was the legacy he left behind – a sluggish and pervasive entropy. Was the blame for this slow demise his to shoulder, or was he a cog in an unfathomable machine grinding everything that fell under its lethargic treads to dust?

The vengeance Ganondorf sought had already been enacted by the cruel passage of time. Hyrule was trapped in a spiral of destruction, and he could not extricate himself. With the Triforce of Power at his command, the world could have been his, yet still he stayed. Was it responsibility that anchored him to this terrible place, or was it resignation? Was it simply that this was all that remained to him? Or was the magnetic pull that made it impossible for him to leave something deeper, something more primal?

What if, in ten thousand years, everything in this land fell to the elements? Would there still be a princess? Would a hero still defend her? Would there still be a monster, forever denied the mercy of death as it stalked the foundation of a ruined castle?

All of these doubts fell away when Zelda touched him. Despite his reservations, he allowed her to bring him to this tower, and when she asked to see the most vulnerable part of himself he had willingly exposed it to her eyes. She caressed the wound that would not heal, and the lightness of her breath on his tainted skin woke something within him that he had almost forgotten he possessed. May Din forgive him, he wanted to take her as she stood before him, her eyes as blue as the still water of an oasis under a clear sky. She cried out to him in desperation, lamenting that the history of her kingdom would never change. This truth was so deeply engraved onto his own skin that he could not help himself. He kissed her, and then he couldn't stop.

"I want you," she breathed into his mouth, her words sweet on his tongue.

Her body was strong and lithe, yet her skin was softer than a sigh. The way the ripe buds on her breasts stiffened under his hands made him want to take them in his mouth and worship her glory with his tongue, but her lips held him captive. If he kissed her for every hour of the remainder of his life, it would still not be enough, so great was his desire. When she guided his hand across her smooth belly and into the valley between her legs, he marveled that he could touch something so lovely and inviting. His cock throbbed within the constriction of his pants, swollen with the need to feel her. As she grasped him within her palm, he almost lost control, and he came dangerously close to climax as he moved himself against her. She was hot and slick on his fingers, and he knew she was ready for him.  

When he first came upon Zelda, lying so still and pale on this very bed, he had not foreseen this as a consequence of his decision to allow his Triforce to pass into her. He was granted a limited yet piercing access into her mind, and he had been so enraged by the hero's self-righteous ignorance that he abused this connection, possessing this woman's body and seizing her magic. He had been shocked at how easily the holy golden light had come to her hands, even though it was his will that animated her movements and summoned her power. Was it his own body that was somehow impure? Had he been defiled at the moment of his birth, his golden eyes and rounded ears denying him the right to the sacred forces so easily commanded by Hyrule's princess?

These thoughts flowed like a muddy subterranean current under the bedrock of Ganondorf's mind as he positioned himself above Zelda, but it was too late to worry over the meaningless concerns of purity and pollution. If the legends were true, she was the reincarnation of a goddess, but in this moment the women underneath him was greater than any divine being in this world, and he wanted her with a longing so fierce that he would have died if that would please her.

Zelda gently pulled him closer, and then he was inside her. She was so warm, and so wet, and so tight around him. He could feel himself growing even harder, every inch of his cock so sensitive that he could barely stand it. The sensation of her slender fingers caressing the thick muscles of his back augmented the bright flare of his lust. If he moved as he wished, it would be over.

Ganondorf lowered his head to kiss the side of Zelda's neck just under her ear. Her skin smelled like the white flowers that once bloomed in the castle gardens on summer nights, filling the humid air with their delicate fragrance. She was everything he ever wanted, all of his fantasies made real. She was wisdom and grace, but she was also beautifully herself, and she was guiding him deeper into her with every impatient touch of her hands.

He began to move, and soon she joined him in a perfectly balanced rhythm. Every thrust was a chorus of pleasure, every breath a magnificent crescendo of wanting. He could feel her beginning to achieve her climax, and so he took her as close as he could, leading her right to the edge of her desire. His body was at its limits, its every particle tightly wound and vibrating with the anticipation of release. All it would take was one final push – and then Zelda came, crying out his name as her inner walls clutched his cock. The feeling was unbearable, and he lost himself to his joy as his seed spilled into her.

He returned to himself to find that she was kissing his beard over and over, her lips like the featherlight brush of wings. He covered her mouth with his own, tasting her while he was still inside her, the last tremors of their pleasure shooting through his nerves and lingering on his skin. For the first time he felt comfortable in his body. Perhaps he had finally returned from the realm of eternal Twilight. He had set out to destroy this woman, but she had saved him.

"How was it?" he asked her, breaking the kiss. "Is this how the legend of Hyrule's princess is supposed to play out?"

She laughed as she gazed up at him with her brilliant eyes. "Now that it's come to this, there's something you should probably know about me," she said. "I wasn't born as Zelda, and I was never supposed to be a princess."

A chord of understanding began to resonate within Ganondorf's heart. "If you're not a princess, then who are you?" He slowly pulled himself out of her body and lay down next to her before gathering her in his arms.

"When I was a girl, my name was Lanayru," she answered, her head resting under his chin. "I was the daughter of the Duke of Faron. He loved the lake he would always cross on his way to Hyrule Castle, so much so that it became my namesake. I grew up on an estate between the ocean and the forest, and I thought I would spend my life there. It was an idyllic childhood, but I always wanted something bigger, something more. I should have been careful what I wished for. I wasn't exaggerating when I said this kingdom is falling apart. When the king was assassinated, my father assumed the throne, and I became a princess. He fell to a conspiracy shortly thereafter, yet here I remain."

"But I'm not a Zelda," she continued. "The scions of the true line of the Hylian kings are known by their golden hair and boundless optimism, and I have neither. I was given the name 'Zelda' to legitimize my position, but ever since I took up residence in this castle I was compared to what I should be, always unfavorably. I'm too old for such things now, but the insults still sting. If my court is to be believed, I have no more right to be here than you do."

"Then I was misled," Ganondorf said, smiling as he kissed her hair. "I thought I'd made a conquest of Hyrule's princess."

Zelda kissed his neck, her lips cool on his skin. "You're an imposter too, you know. You were supposed to be Ganon. You were supposed to be the calamity that brought my people together, but here you are warming my bed. What will become of Hyrule?"

Ganondorf stroked Zelda's back as he considered her words. He could not tell her that he already possessed a Hyrule that she would never see, a Hyrule that now existed only in his memories. His Hyrule had been destroyed, and when it fell her Hyrule had been created. At first he did not know whether he intended to crush this kingdom or claim it as his own, but he had come to see that Hyrule belonged just as much to him as it did to her, even if neither of them had any legitimate claim to it. With his very existence he challenged Hyrule, and because of his existence it was reconstructed.

"If I'm not Ganon, then what am I?" he asked her.

"Perhaps you were, once. The Sword of Sages seems to have separated Ganon from your body, but you still carried it with you through the Twilight. Now that you've brought it back, it's free once again. Maybe it will possess someone else this time," Zelda explained. "Maybe it will possess me," she added in a smaller voice.

"Would you like that?" Ganondorf found the idea strangely arousing.

"I suppose a hero would need to defeat me," Zelda responded as she trailed her fingers along the stiffness forming against her thigh.

"It would be an honor to face you in battle," Ganondorf growled, leaning forward to kiss her.

"Hey, did someone mention needing a hero?" a voice broke into the room.

"Midna!" Zelda gasped. She grabbed a pillow to hide herself. Before she could stop him, Ganondorf jumped off the bed and made straight for the mirror framing a glowing image of Midna's face.

"How dare you!" he roared. "Cross over into this world and I will give you something worth watching."

"Calm down, big guy. I just opened the connection. I was worried about Zelda." She scowled at him. "As I should be."

"How very like you to lurk in the shadows."

Midna shrugged. "You see some interesting things from the shadows. For example," she smirked as she glanced down to his waist, "they certainly don't make them like that anymore."

"You infernal woman, don't think you're safe just because – "

Zelda coughed, and Ganondorf and Midna whipped around to face her. She had managed to dress herself, and she threw Ganondorf's shirt at him. He caught it and pulled it over his chest.

"Zelda!" Midna beamed from the mirror. "It's good to see you in one piece. Your hair's a little messed up, though."

"Oh, I..." Zelda hurriedly ran her hand back from her forehead.

"Just kidding. It looks like you two are getting along, so I'll leave you alone. I think I figured out a solution to your pig problem, so get in touch when this swine leaves, okay?"

"If you have something to say about Ganon, you will say it in front of me," Ganondorf demanded.

"It has nothing to do with you. You've already caused enough trouble, don't you think?"

"It's fine if he's here," Zelda interjected, laying a hand on his arm.

"Listen," Midna said as she rolled her eyes, "I think you two have other matters to attend to at the moment, and I'm not too terribly interested in talking to people who aren’t wearing any pants. I just wanted to say that I heard about what happened in Kakariko this morning."

A troubled look crossed Zelda's face. "How...?"

Midna waved her hand. "You never tell me anything, so I talk to Telma." She laughed at Zelda's shocked expression and continued. "Anyway, if Ganon has showed up again, just send it here. We Twili have enough magic to keep it out in the Twilight wastes. In the meantime, Link is getting restless, and maybe this will give him something to do."

"This is preposterous. You just want to keep the boy with you," Ganondorf spat at her.

"Maybe I do. And who can blame me? I have good taste, unlike your finacée."

"Midna." Zelda raised her voice. "Could we have this conversation later?"

"Right, right. I get it." Midna grinned. "I'll give you some privacy and, you know, let you get back to it. But you!" She pointed a finger at Ganondorf. "Don't think you're off the hook. I'm watching you. From the shadows, boyfriend."  

Midna's image winked out. Ganondorf's shoulders slumped, and he allowed his shirt to fall open. Zelda exhaled, and he shot her a glance.

"After all the trouble I went through to get you undressed," he grumbled.

"Oh sweet Nayru, did you just make an actual joke?" Zelda tilted her head, and the corner of her mouth lilted upwards in a grin. "Will this night get any stranger."

Ganondorf walked to her and began unbuttoning her shirt. "I hate that woman, but I'm glad to have her assistance."

"Her assistance?"

"In taking care of our pig problem, as she put it."

Zelda covered his hands with hers. "Our problem?"

Ganondorf raised his eyebrows. "We're getting married in a week, aren't we?"

"I suppose we are. That was an excellent strategy, if I do say so myself."

Zelda laughed, and Ganondorf pulled her to him. Hundreds of years of Hyrule's past weighed heavily on his every thought and movement, and as long as he remained here he would never be able to fully cast off this burden. His fury would always live within him, as would every name of his fallen comrades. Hyrule was vast, however, as was the world beyond its borders, and somewhere the descendants of his tribe lived on. If this woman, clever and wise as she was, could shine light into the darkness of the road ahead of them, then so be it. He understood that their relationship would be difficult, but he had never been one to back down from a challenge.

"Will you take me, then?" he asked her.

"Gladly," she answered. "It will be an adventure."

He kissed her then, and she opened her arms to accept him.

[kobaltwolffiction]

Discourse

“How do you propose we make this work!?” Link huffed, getting impatient with Zelda’s new excuses.

“I cannot give you an answer to that and you know why!” she cried, crossing her arms and shifting her weight from one foot to the next.

“I’m starting to think you’re having second thoughts about us.”

Zelda fell silent, her face scrunching in a look of pain and anger. “How could you say that to me? After everything we have been through…”

“And you only remember part of it.”

“So this is my fault? What does that have to do with our situation right now?”

“No… it’s just I feel like I have waited a lot longer to finally be with you, and now it’s more impossible than ever!” Link slammed a fist on the bench, scaring a bird away.

Zelda continued to stare down at him, her ears feeling as hot as the midday sun.

“Why is it that your father, the ONLY one who believed us and helped stopped the Seven Year War from happening altogether, doesn’t like me enough to allow us to marry? We’ve been best friends for years. I can’t court you in secret any longer… You said it yourself. Soon you’ll have to start meeting other noblemen in town, and then what am I?”

“Link I do not love you any less than I have since I discovered my feelings for you. I would do anything to be with you!”

His frown deepened. “Except go against your father’s wishes? Or run away with me?”

Disgusted, she hissed, “Are you joking? You knew what you were getting yourself into by loving me. I am the only heir to this throne. Leaving would send my people into a disarray and cause an upset full of distrust towards the royal family. There is no one to replace me. Believe me when I say I am doing everything I can.” She started to cry, unable to fight through her frustration.

Link sighed, realizing his words were becoming very selfish. “I know, I know.” He stood to hug her as she curled up under his chin, staring off into the garden greens. “But if your father won’t give us his blessing because I am not of noble birth and you have a year left to find a husband, what am I to do?”

They stood in pained silence for a while, realizing what everything was coming down to.

Link finally broke the quiet, saying, “I just want you to be happy, and I know betraying your kingdom and your father for me would ruin you.”

“But I am happiest with you!” she protested, pulling away to look him in the eye.

“You were meant for bigger and better things than me, Zelda. Maybe this just isn’t right.”

Her heart began to shatter, waiting for him to say the final word, but all he did was reach down to kiss her one last time, his tears mingling with hers.

Zelda covered her sobs in her gloved hands, listening to his footsteps fade.

The couple saw each other few and far between over the next few months, having a tough time finding words to express their remaining attachment to one another. Eventually their relationship became more professional as Link found some ties with the Hyrulian army, determined to serve his country in whatever way he could, but as soon as Zelda began to court a nice man from the upper class, his face became an even rarer sight in the castle.

The once inseparable duo grew apart, trying to establish their own lives without each other, yet always wondering what could have been.

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A/N: JUST KIDDING I DID FINISH THE THING ON TIME. I just made a short one for once.

I know, I know. I’m sorry this one is frustrating. I love the notion of true love (and believe in it) and the idea that the true, original Link and Zelda are reincarnated to find each other in each life and find a way to be together in one way or another, but I wrote this one wanting a fight between them, to see what it would be like for them to simply not work out for once, and who better than to pick on but OoT Zelink, the ones basically confirmed (in a way) (maybe idk) to not have made it in the end.

Don’t worry, if I ever get to the OoT story I’d like to write someday, I found a way to work around the pairing with still being able to make TP Zelink cannon without some weird, distant incest thing. The Hero’s Shade just had to throw a wrench in everything didn’t he?

Also one last tangent on true love. I believe it exists and that there is someone out there for everyone who was meant to be married (based on vocation and God’s plan. Don’t worry I won’t go off into a religious rant, it’s just what I believe). I have a hard time with divorce (to me should be last, desperate resort) but I know sometimes it’s necessary and what about death? I also believe some people were meant to love more than one person in their life through marriage (NOT cheating.)

Jeez my note is almost as long as the story. Anyway, I promise no more break ups during ZELINK week of all things. Am I disqualified since they technically aren’t a couple at the end of this? :0 oops