#while others need not appear

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 247

Danny grumbles, going limp as the Spirit plucked him up, holding him out like some sort of stray cat. Their golden eyes stared across him, white hair shimmering and bloodied feathers rustling as they tilted their head. 

“You sure he’s not somehow ours?” Bludhaven asks again, setting him down once more to circle. Amity laughs, wild hair the color of wheat fluttering in a non-existent breeze and portal pulsing like a heart as she rests a hand on his head. 

“Well darlin’, I am asking if you would be open to adopting,” the Spirit laughs, the sound as familiar as the birds outside his window in the mornings. “Well, I suppose I could always ask your dear sister Arkham-” 

“No no, I would be honored,” Bludhaven smiled a literally sharp grin, something mischievous and violent about it in a way Danny was slowly growing used to. “I’m just- look at the little ghostling! He looks like he could be from ours! My hair, your eyes… he’s just missing markings…” 

“Markings he’ll get once you give me an answer darlin’...”

“OH- Yes, of course! Sorry, I got whelmed there.” 

“You have been stalking your vigilante a bit too much there Blud.” 

[mr-ribbit]

ladies, do you hate shaving? you wish you didn't have to go through all that work before every date night? want to wear shorts or a swimsuit or just exist in public without it being a whole ordeal of exhaustion, self harm, and emotional stress? do you put yourself through hell solely to keep up the illusion that you have zero body hair? great news, we have a solution!

"is it to surround yourself with people who don't care about body hair?"

no!!

"is it to improve my personal stigma against body hair by accepting its beauty on others?"

no!!!!!!!

"does it involve me getting to stop shaving at all?"

of course not!!!!!!!!!! ITS AN INSANE ALTERNATIVE SHAVING PRODUCT! ITS MORE EXPENSIVE THAN RAZORS, TAKES JUST AS LONG, AND AND ITS WEIRD! BUY OUR HANDHELD LASER POWERED PINK TAXED MAGIC LEG SHAVING THINGIE FOR A MILLION DOLLARS!! USE IT TO GET RID OF THAT UGLY LEG HAIR YOU HIRSUTE FREAK! YOURE NOT NATURAL YOURE NOT NORMAL IF YOU DONT LIKE SHAVING THEN YOU *NEED* TO USE THIS BRAND NEW THERAPY WAX TWEEZER BEAM RADIATION BLISTER WAND PROCESS!!!! YOU HAVE TO CHARGE IT! IT'LL GET RID OF THAT HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HAIR WITHOUT ALL THE CUMBERSOME STRUGGLES OF HAVING TO SHAVE - THATS RIGHT, THIS PRODUCT GIVES YOU BRAND NEW CUMBERSOME STRUGGLES TO ADD TO YOUR ALREADY JAM PACKED MORNING ROUTINE OF SHIT YOU HAVE TO DO TO YOUR STUPID WOMAN BODY BEFORE YOU LET ANYBODY OUT IN THE REAL WORLD SEE IT

NOW WITH ESSENTIAL OILS

[turtleblogatlast]

Don’t think I ever quite said what my LGBTQ+ headcanons are for the boys, so these are my current thoughts! Always changing of course but this is what I feel most strongly right now.

[epicfirestormer]

What I love about Hellboy and Abe Sapien's dynamic in the comics is that, if you came into this blind, you'd expect Abe to be the voice of reason or the straight man to Hellboy's impulsive and hotheaded personality. But no, Abe is more often than not the crazy one. Hellboy would deal with fighting evil monsters and bad guys by just sighing and getting it over with, while Abe is going rabid over tearing the creature apart when he does get into a fight. Hellboy acts like it's a 9-to-5 job and will reasonably talk things out with a guy that had nearly killed him before, Abe acts like a madman in a slaughter house and his first instinct is to shoot first kill second and ask third. They're both insane, but on completely different levels.

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

Insane again thinking about Sonic and Tails

Everyone always talks about the ways in which Tails is dependent on or revolves around Sonic. We talk about the ways in which he's depended on Sonic to save him, the way he likes tagging along on journeys, the way Sonic has inspired him, the way he always maintains Sonic's plane, leaves his door open for him with place to rest and good food to eat

But we rarely talk about the ways in which Sonic is secretly dependent or reliant on Tails

In a large portion of the games, if Tails isn't straight up on the journey alongside him, Sonic has the security that Tails can communicate with him from afar, and Tails usually appears to help out at some point during one of Sonic’s solo journeys. He doesn't have to be without Tails for long

And we see what happens (especially in Sonic Frontiers and Sonic Prime) when Tails is inaccessible. In Frontiers, he wonders where Tails aloud is unprompted, wanting to find him. Sonic's other friends even convince him to bother with the secrets of the starfall islands because doing so may lead him to Tails. He wants to find Tails so Tails can make sense of what's happening. And in Prime, Sonic ends up scrambling without Tails around. Especially in Prime S1 while things make the least sense, he seeks out Tails first (and then later hopes variants other than Nine can fill Tails' role) because he trusts him. He trusts that if Tails is here, then he can just tell Sonic what to do (come up with a plan for him to execute). With Tails around, Sonic doesn’t have to worry about not understanding the situation because Tails can figure it out. Without Tails, Prime!Sonic often shifts between trying to handle things himself to the best of his knowledge while rolling with the punches, and deferring to someone he can trust as a smarter strategizer to tell him what to do (a role Nine fills most notably, but other characters such as Rebel and Shadow fill on the occasion).

Of course there's also the earlier mentioned way in which Tails takes care of Sonic as well. I'm sure Tails isn't Sonic's only friend that he could crash with, but it's Tails who goes to such lengths to open his arms for him. If Sonic wants to crash in an actual house, if he wants to eat his favorite food, if he just wants to hang out, or if he needs help, Tails's home is open to him, accommodating his every need.

In my eyes, Sonic is the one who is surprisingly codependent here, who flounders a bit when everything goes to shit, Tails is nowhere to be found and can't be contacted, and there's no one else that can help him make sense of things. He takes Tails with him on so many journeys, even in games like Colors, where Tails largely follows behind Sonic while Sonic does a lot of the physical work. Tails doesn't need to be "useful" to tag along. He likes having Tails around, he wants Tails around. When Tails can't go with him or it's something Sonic should go alone for, he can always communicate with him and hear his voice from afar. And I'd argue there are more examples than Sonic Prime that may demonstrate Sonic trying to find someone to fill Tails' role the first chance he can get when Tails isn't around and can't be contacted.

The conclusion here is that a lot of people talk about Tails being dependent on Sonic or revolving around him, but they truly are partners. Sonic wants to be around Tails at this point perhaps as much as Tails always wants to be around Sonic. The two are strong together, they fill each other's gaps in ability. They both feel more secure when the other is around, and they rely on each other's presence. They are each a comforting existence to the other in similar and different ways.

[animaginaryartblog]

[Image ID: Two versions of the Sonic Unleashed logo. On the left is the regular logo. On the right, the colors have been inverted and the "un" has been scratched out, leaving it as Sonic Leashed. /end ID]

[Image ID: Two colored sketches on a plain background, with a straight black line dividing them. On the left is a drawing of Dark Gaia looming over an unaware Chip. Text on the top and bottom reads: "Dark Gaia awakens and divides the world (literally), while Light Gaia is reduced to an amnesiac dog creature, Chip."

The drawing on the right depicts a monstrous version of Light Gaia, eagle-like with yellow eyes and three sets of green wings. It looms over Pretzel, a version of Dark Gaia reduced to a small, cat-like form. Text reads: "Light Gaia awakens and unifies the world (via brainwashing), while Dark Gaia is reduced to an amnesiac cat creature, Pretzel." /end ID]

[Image ID: On the left is two drawings of Sonic the Werehog. One has him with a menacing snarl, clawed hand reaching for the camera. Wisps of purple rise from him. The next is him smiling and giving a friendly wave, while a green heart rises beside him. The caption reads, "Dark Gaia turns Sonic into the wolf-like werehog. It doesn't look like Sonic, but it's still him inside."

On the right is a similar pair of drawings, this time of Sonic's Light Gaia form. In the first image he smiles brightly, waving. In the second his smile turns menacing and his eyes glow yellow, while yellow lightning bolts surround him. The text reads, "Light Gaia turns Sonic into the lion-like hedgecat. It looks like Sonic, but inside is something else." /end ID]

[Image ID: On the left are drawings of several of the human NPCs from Sonic Unleashed. Nagi, a young girl, looks mischievous; the ice cream man has his head down with despair; and Professor Pickle's assistant has his arms crossed and an irritated expression on his face. All are colored purple, with glowing pink eyes and pink wisps above their heads. Text above reads, "Under Dark Gaia's influence, people become depressed, sullen, and antisocial." Smaller text over Nagi's head adds "(Or just mischievous ig)". Text on the bottom continues: "Some people, like Pickle's assistant, are possessed by Dark Gaia, while others (such as Pickle himself) are left unaffected."

On the right is a mirroring drawing of three NPCs. Nagi's sister Rudi yells angrily, the ice cream man grins maniacally, and Mr. Pickle beams enthusiastically. All are colored red, with glowing yellow eyes and lightning bolts around their heads. Text above the drawing says: "Under Light Gaia's influence, people become cheery, domineering, and mob-like." Smaller text over the ice cream man's head adds: "(ice cream man never gets a break)". Below the picture, the text continues: "While some, like Pickle's assistant, are unaffected by Light Gaia, many, such as Pickle himself, are fully possessed." /end ID]

[Image ID: On the left is two drawings of Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Whip posing together. In the first they are beaming happily. Text above the drawing reads: "Sonic travels the world with Chip, aided along the way by his closest friends..." In the second drawing Sonic and his friends are sweating nervously as Professor Pickle's assistant stands behind them in a-pose, eyes glowing pink. Below the picture, the text continues: "...and working to free unfamiliar allies from Dark Gaia's influence."

On the right is two drawings of Sonic, Blaze, Shadow, Rouge, and Pretzel. In the first Blaze and Shadow stand menacingly while Rouge holds the purple Chaos Emerald. Sonic is behind the group, palms up and an awkward smile on his face. Pretzel stands near his feet, looking annoyed. Text above the picture reads: "Sonic travels the world with Pretzel, aided along the way by distant allies..." In the second drawing the characters all look to the side with varying expressions of concern and anger as Tails appears behind them, eyes glowing yellow. The text continues below: "...and fighting to free his closest friends from Light Gaia's control."

/end ID]

[Image ID: On the left is a drawing of Dark Gaia facing Super Sonic. A png of the Gaia Colossus has been inserted behind Super Sonic. Text above reads: "Super Sonic faces Dark Gaia with the help of Chip and the Gaia Temples." Smaller text next to the Gaia Colossus adds, "I ain't drawing that."

On the right is a drawing of Light Gaia facing Dark Super Sonic and a dragon-like Pretzel. The same png of the Gaia Colossus has been cropped to cover Light Gaia's back and the tops of its wings. Text above reads: "Light Gaia, empowered by the Gaia Temples, is challenged by Dark Sonic and Pretzel." Smaller text adds, "Also Pretzel turns into a dragon."

/end ID]

[Image ID: On the left, text reads: "Chip selflessly embraces his destiny. Alone, Sonic is helpless to stop his sacrifice." Beneath is a drawing of Chip waving goodbye with a sad smile. In front of that is a drawing of Sonic looking down at Chip's bracelet in his hand. Below the drawing, the text continues: "Sonic is stripped of his new form, and both Gaias are sealed away, continuing the cycle."

On the right, text reads: "Pretzel selfishly resists her fate. With new bonds, Sonic saves her from her sacrifice." Below the text is a drawing of Pretzel, hunched over and looking up with a frightened scowl. In front of that is a drawing of Sonic in Twilight form, a mix of the Werehog and the Hedgecat. A purple and red yin-yang symbol glows over his chest, and the purple Chaos Emerald is in his hand. He looks up with a hopeful expression. Blaze stands to the left, a hand on Sonic's shoulder as she smiles at him, while Shadow stands on the right, arms folded but looking back at Sonic with a faint smile of his own. Farther back Rouge stands with a hand on her hip, eyebrow raised as she makes a snarky comment.

/end ID]

[Image ID: On the left, text reads "Blaze is not in Sonic Unleashed. At all. Not even mentioned." Below is a drawing of Cream, Amy, Cheese, and Tangle. Cream holds a stack of posters in her hands, and Amy has her hand on her shoulder as Cheese puts some of the posters up on a pole. There are four posters visible on the pole. The first is an image of Blaze smiling, with writing saying, "Have you seen her? Now you have." The next is a stock image of Blaze with the word "missing" written above. The next has the word missing written on the top, followed by a photo of Sonic Rush for the Nintendo DS. Writing beneath says, "x 3 SEGA please". Finally, there is a poster of Blaze and Marine at the end of Sonic Rush Adventure, with text written on top reading, "Bring her back!" In the foreground, Tangle kneels on the ground, one poster spread out under her hand while she clutches another in her fist, shaking it at the sky.

On the right, text reads: "Blaze is a main character in Sonic Leashed. She kicks Sonic in the head and sets a fish on fire. And that's awesome." A drawing shoes Tangle, Amy, and Cream all cheering as Blaze stands in the forefront, smiling self-assuredly and surrounded by an aura of flames.

/end ID]

You can view this as one long image on my DeviantArt.

I have returned from The War (my recent Stardew Valley addiction) just in time for Sonic Day. May I present to you: this thing. I had the idea that it would be funny to make little "infographics" for my needlessly convoluted role swap AU, with the addition of Blaze being the punchline of each one. Naturally I then sunk way too much effort into it. And then I didn't post it for over six months. Whoops.

If you aren't familiar, this is a summary of my old Sonic Unleashed roleswap fic, Sonic Leashed. You can read it on Archive of Our Own (my personal recommendation), Fanfiction.net, or DeviantArt. It has two completed sequels (or a sequel and a sidequel, rather), and I've nearly finished drafting the third. The writing quality increases with each installment and Sonic Unleashed fics are a dime a dozen, so if you'd rather skip right to the Colors rewrite you can consider this your primer. maybe. I'm not the boss of you. bye.

[sincerely-sofie]

Ohhhh, Anon's perfect apple ask is now giving me blessed imagery of Dusknoir cutting apple slices into bunny shapes. Maybe for Opal, maybe for him to show off, either way.

The soft, the dexterity, the GENTLENESS after such a prolonged period of violence he had undergone. Opal called him her gramps for a reason, after all.

(Referencing this post)

Hey how does it feel to have given me a prompt that had me tearing up all throughout the process of drawing it because of how unbearably heartfelt and endearing it is?

[keirientez]

band au rahhhhhhhhhhh

[nelkcats]

Summer Camp

Fighting ghosts had caused his grades to drop, to the point where some were barely passing. That's why Mr. Lancer recommended him to get a tutor or attend a remedial course, something Danny considered quite absurd, how was he going to be able to get away from Amity without it getting destroyed?

Jazz didn't seem to find it absurd at all, and despite his complaints, the halfa ended up at "summer camp" to boost his knowledge or something (Sam and Tucker seemed pretty sure they could handle the ghosts on their own while he was gone), at least, they had an activity about stargazing, for which Danny was grateful.

In the camp he found someone just as bitter as he was, but strangely excited. "Jason Todd" was grumpy about attending and having to be away from his family, but he was excited to learn new things. Danny found it endearing.

They both ended up becoming friends, and reminding each other of the things they were missing. At the end of the camp, it seemed that life had returned to the eyes of the tired halfa. It was during his last night at the camp, when Danny was showing the boy the stars, that Jason kissed him.

Unfortunately they didn't have much time left so they decided to keep in touch and send each other letters. Each headed to their respective city with a smile on their faces. The happiness Danny had earned was gone as soon as Jason's letters stopped coming.

He checked the Gotham newspapers with curiosity and was furious as soon as he saw the news of Jason (sweet, nerdy, and rude Jason) being killed in a fucking explosion. He flew at full speed until he found his grave, and helplessly began to cry. Whether he was angry or sad, he didn't know.

Ectoplasmic tears fell on the grave and unknown to the halfa, they were absorbed by the body. When Danny noticed that the tomb was beginning to glow the same toxic green he knew he couldn't help but feel hopeful. But it wasn't enough.

He didn't know if it would work, but on instinct he drew ectoplasm directly from his core and propelled it into Jason's tomb, hoping it would help. Danny wondered if he was breaking a rule in the Realms but he didn't care.

When he heard his friend's weak heartbeat (Boyfriend? Lover? He doesn't know, they never put a label on each other) he began to dig up the dirt around the grave, but before he could finish, time stopped and Clockwork looked at him with a frown. His mentor looked annoyed, but strangely comprehensive as he directed him to the Clock Tower.

[genericaces]

more rambling about a s5 au: lindsey comes back for a redemption arc to act as legal counsel for angel's team. this ostensibly gives gunn a reason to opt out of the lawyer operation, but he does it anyway because he doesn't trust lindsey not to fuck them over.

lindsey acts as a moral foil to gunn, who comes to believe his necessary contribution to the team (since he's no longer their only lawyer) is being the defender of the group's principles while working at w&h. they frequently butt heads while working on a case, but eventually develop a begrudging respect of each other's respective strengths.

this hostile-to-friendly-rivalry arc is tested when it comes out that w&h was responsible for some demon problem that's been plaguing gunn's home community. gunn has, unbeknownst to himself, been somehow contributing to it while working at w&h; lindsey knowingly contributed to it when he was last working there as a lawyer. lindsey is forced to confront who he was, while gunn is forced to confront who he’s becoming.

since he was involved in the project, lindsey uses his insider knowledge to help come up with a plan to fix the problem. they execute it, something goes wrong, and lindsey risks his life to ensure the plan goes off successfully. he expects congratulations and a pat on the back from gunn, but gunn isn't interested in absolving lindsey's sins (or his own), and their warming relationship freezes over.

at some point, gunn lets himself get taken by the senior partners in an effort to deal with his guilt over various lapses in judgment/perceived moral failures. during their rescue mission to the holding dimension, lindsey stays behind in gunn's place so he can escape, assuring gunn that he's the lawyer the team needs right now. their mutual arcs culminate in lindsey rejecting the idea that redemption is done for recognition, and gunn rejecting the idea that guilt/self-punishment is inherently redemptive.

eventually after being busted out by illyria, lindsey is there to empathize with gunn about losing parts of yourself (body, mind, and/or soul) to w&h, relationships to power when you've grown up without it, and what it means to live with the consequences of your actions. both of them reflect on the nature of redemption/forgiveness/intent as they grapple with how to own up to an appropriate share of the blame.

[bananafishdepression]

Life is so unfair there are so many shitty shows out there with a dub and Banana Fish never got one and its been 6 years now

[the-judicial-assistants-notebook]

not enough discussion about the gavins' complicated relationship with feminine-coded/beauty products, i don't think.

[ehlnofay]

A woman pauses over the wares sold by the Khajiiti merchants camped outside Danstrar to ask with no small amount of perturbation, “Whose children are those?”

Efri glances up to check she’s talking about them – as if there’s a whole host of other children around she might be referring to. The woman is standing over the rug Tsradaro’s laid out their most intriguing trinkets on – she has one clawed hand on the lid of a little palm-sized casket, one of the boxes of pretty-smelling oils. (If the strange woman is getting to buy one, then Efri’s jealous. She doesn’t have any money, and she’s not allowed to use those sorts of things for free, no matter how nice the perfume smells. Normally she doesn’t care about rules like that, but the caravan is being very nice and the things they sell are their livelihood, so she follows them without much complaining.)

The woman is looking at her and Sissel, clustered with Khasir around the firepit. Efri and Sissel are hunched over the steaming-hot fish on a dish, away from the pan of spitting butter. Efri says brightly, “We’re our own children.”

“We found them in the wilderness,” Taz puts in quietly, fingers running up and down the handle of the axe laying at eir side on the blanket, and Efri nods in agreement. (She likes Taz, even if ey talks barely more than Kazari or Shirri-la. A lot less if you count all the things Kazari and Shirri-la say that the others translate for her. Ey’s calm and quiet and has let Efri touch eir axe, so ey’s good in her books.)

“Exactly,” she says. The woman looks no less perplexed or concerned. Efri squints and tells her, “I like your beads.”

(She does. The woman’s got a string of them, pretty coloured glass, stretched across her breast between her hangerok brooches. Most of them are a fiery orange-red, the same colour as her hair.)

The woman looks down at the beads she wears as if she forgot about them. “Oh,” she says. “Thank you.”

Efri abandons the fish – not like she can do anything with it, it’s too hot to touch still – to shuffle across the laid-out rugs and join Tsradaro at her display. “Are you going to buy any fabrics?” she asks the woman, and then before there’s really time to answer she turns to Tsradaro. “Did you show her them? We’ve got some really pretty silks and things. Nice patterns. I wanted to make a dress with them but Tsradaro said no, they’re for selling.”

The woman’s eyebrows – bright-bead-red – meet in the middle of her forehead. “Do you… help sell things here?”

“She is a born patterer, that one,” Tsradaro says smoothly. Her whiskers twitch. “And yes, they’re for  selling – and yes, Tsradaro already gave you money for the dress you have, she isn’t going to give you fabric for a new one. She is not quite so open-handed.”

Efri curls up her fingers to rub the stitching of her sleeve. “Fair enough,” she acknowledges. “And it’s nice. But that green one is so pretty.”

“Hm.” Tsradaro is grinning with her eyes a bit; she hides it fiddling with the display of the wares on the rug in front of her. “If there is a bolt-end left over, you can have it for a scarf. Now shoo. You are distracting the customers.”

“And you’ve abandoned the fish!” Khasir calls. When he grins, it’s with all his teeth, sharp-edged and sparkling. “This one cannot do it all on their own.”

There’s only one customer, and the fish is still steaming, but Efri gets the hint, so she blinks her thanks and hurries back over to the fire.

“We’re doing all three?” she checks, looking at the numerous pots and pans Khasir’s rigged up over the flames. (She bought three cod with the money they gave her for dinner. That’s certainly not a fish she and Sissel and Kazari ever caught from their tundra creek – they’re so much bigger than she could have imagined, and it took all her strength to haul them back to the camp. She had to carry one of them in her arms because it didn’t all fit in the little sack she brought.)

“Yes,” they say emphatically, poking at something in one of the pots. “So hurry up.”

Because she’s helpful, Efri does. She squats down next to Sissel, next to the dish, and takes up the knife. She cuts off the head – it takes a fair bit of hacking – and the tail, because Sissel hates that bit, and cuts the fins out as well. She cracks some of the bones there by accident; Sissel picks them out with her fingers. Then, sticking her tongue out in concentration, she runs the knife right down the middle, jerking the blade through the bones. It isn’t going right through the bottom like it did with the fish they learned to butcher from the stream, but she more or less gets it eventually; cuts away the chunks of bone, and is left with two beautiful fillets.

Well. Beautiful might be a bit generous. But they’re edible – surely that’s the most important thing.

“Told you I knew how to debone a fish,” Efri says triumphantly.

Khasir glances up over the flour they’re tipping into a hanging pan. “You do,” he agrees amiably, and for a moment Efri thinks he’s being nice, but then he cracks another smug little grin. “But not well. The pin bones are still in.”

Efri frowns. She can’t see any bones. It’s filleted fine.

“Let me,” Sissel says, and peels the knife out of her hand. Efri frowns again, harder, but lets her.

Her irritation is only compounded when Khasir finds nothing to tease about in the way Sissel carefully slices the bones away and strips the skin of with a few neat, if unpractised, cuts. “That’s not fair,” she complains, mulish. “Sissel’s basically a genius, of course she’ll get it right.”

“I’m not a genius,” Sissel says, “I’m just better at this than you,” and she smiles when Efri giggles despite herself, a quick flash of teeth.

Khasir has Sissel do the rest of the fillets. They let Efri watch the way they fry up the batter – just flour in a pan of spitting butter and sizzling herbs, a little bit of egg put in to help it all bond. When it’s cooked all golden, smelling delicious, he levers it quick as a wink off the flat pan and into the covered dish he’s keeping them warm in while they wait for the rest of it all to be done. Efri asks to cook a griddle-cake herself; Khasir laughs at her.

They’re a bit of a bastard.

They do let her stir the sauce for the fish, though – hung a little bit higher than everything else so it can simmer with lower heat. It smells nice too. Sissel’s almost done with the third fish by this time. (She’s a lot faster than Efri was; it’s probably for the best that she do most of the filleting.)

Efri looks up and across the camp. There’s two different people now at Tsradaro’s display – one standing, one kneeling to get a better look at all the things. Shirri-la has come out of the tent, and she’s sitting with her tail curled around her feet on her cushion next to the wares. Kazari’s still in the tent, Efri thinks. They’re tired – helped carry most things as they travelled this last stretch of journey to Danstrar in order to give the nag a break, so now they’re resting. It’s only fair. In a week or so they’ll all split off from the caravan, strike out across the frozen terrain for Winterhold, and they’ll really need the energy then.

Just a bit further away, the red-haired woman is standing. Efri’s not sure if she bought something or not; she doesn’t look like she’s looking to buy anything now.

“That lady’s looking at us,” Efri tells Khasir, her brow furrowing.

Khasir glances over so quick Efri’s not even sure if she saw it right; they make a guttural tutting sound over the batter in the pan. Tch. “People do that,” he replies, deliberately nonchalant.

Efri bites her tongue. “They shouldn’t,” she complains. It’s uncomfortable, to be stared at. It’s rude, to stare.

(She feels a bit bad, even though she didn’t do anything wrong; because the woman seemed uncomfortable with Efri and Sissel being with the caravan, and maybe if they weren’t, Khasir wouldn’t have to be stared at while they cook dinner.)

“Perhaps,” Khasir says. He flips the batter. “But they do.”

“Done,” Sissel says, holding up a dish full of neatly filleted fish.

(Efri says, “How.” Both Khasir and Sissel ignore her.)

“Chop it up small,” Khasir tells her. The jewellery in his nose glitters as he shifts over the fire. “Then – Efri, mix it in with the sauce. No, not – smaller than that, dran khrassa! So all can eat.”

Sissel slices the fish into little bits. (Efri would have cut them into tiny strips, to get back at Khasir for being bossy, but Sissel is more forgiving.) Efri takes the dish, tips it into the saucepan, begins to stir.

“If we were in Elsweyr, Khajiit would stare at you,” Khasir says. He takes the flat-cake off the pan. “They would say, who let these bald children run around unsupervised?”

Efri chuckles, but she feels pensive. Her face screws up. “But if we were in Elsweyr,” she says, “even if they stared at us, they’d still let us buy from their shops and all.”

Khasir sighs, long and low. They lift the lid off the dish. “Efri,” they say, with unexpected patience; “This one understands that you are a child who has just discovered injustice. This is new to you. It is not new to us. Khasir knew before he travelled here that he would be treated poorly.”

“But it’s not fair,” Efri replies, agitated, her fingers bony and twitching on the handle of her spoon. “It’s not fair to do both. They can keep you out or they can stare, they can’t keep you where they can’t even see you and then still come to look anyway.” She keeps looking, without quite meaning to, in the direction of the red-haired woman. She keeps glaring. She hopes it scares her off.

“Mm,” Khasir says, unimpressed – but faintly amused, she thinks, which is kind of annoying but also kind of good? “Well, you can tell the people who make the laws so, have them forbid wrongful staring.”

Efri, mixing, considers this. “Sissel,” she asks, “can you write a message to a jarl?”

Khasir cackles. Sissel scrunches up her face. “Well, you can. I doubt they’d read it.”

That’s one idea gone, Efri supposes. She’ll have to keep thinking.

Khasir does not allow her time to keep thinking. “Another few minutes and that will be perfect,” they say, nodding to the pot she’s stirring, and they take their griddle-pan off the fire. Then they pause, look at Efri out of the edges of their bright greeny-gold eyes. “This one will own, it has been much easier with you as companions. We did not have to wait for the grocers and fishmongers to come out to trade on their own time, or forage for ourselves if they did not.”

“You just don’t want to do your job,” Efri says. Tsradaro said Khasir hunted but he’s barely hunted at all while they’ve known him, only just at the beginning.

Khasir barks a laugh, tipping his head in acknowledgement. With the air of one conferring a great and shameful secret, he replies, “This one does not like deer stalking in the snow.”

Fair enough; Efri nods seriously. She’s never hunted deer but it’s probably difficult, especially in the snow. She stirs the sauce, the lumps of fish buffeted by the flat of her spoon, the smell making her mouth water.

She glances up at the cloud-blanketed sky. She asks, “When we’re in Winterhold, can we write a message to you?”

Khasir tilts their head further. “You can try,” they say. “But Khajiit may be too fast for the couriers. It may never arrive.”

“We’ll try,” Efri decides; when she glances as Sissel, she sees her nod. “We’ll figure out a way. I want to hear about where you go after!”

“About what other strays we find on the road?” Khasir jokes, but his smile is wide and shiny, nose scrunched up with it so whiskers flicker over his eyes. He leans over, takes Efri’s pot off the fire. “Good.”

Efri grins, even though they’re not looking and can’t see it.

“Go get Kazari,” they command, lifting the lid of the dish and moving one of the still-hot flat-cakes to a plate with their fingers. “This one will get a plate ready. He has to take over for Tsradaro, so he’ll eat quickly.”

Efri salutes (a habit she picked up from an Imperial courier they traded with on the road – she thinks it’s funny) and marches towards the tent.

(The food, when they eat it, is delicious.)

[skyward-floored]

does Hyrule stay at Sky's? how's their first meeting go? what's he think about Sun?

- hero-of-the-wolf

@hero-of-the-wolf He does! Sky and Sun are better equipped to keep supers that are in trouble safe for more long-term—Malon does what she can, but her place isant as safe since Legend and Twilight are in active duty. And for someone like Hyrule who’s a bit high-profile and actively being hunted down, it’s safer for him to hide out with Sky.

Hyrule thinks Sun is really nice, though he does have to adjust to that. There’s a part of him that thinks she’s almost too nice, and it takes time for him to get past that.

And as for Hyrule and Sky first meeting—

————————————————————

Link was helping Malon wash dishes when he heard a knock at the back door.

He was expecting it, but he still froze at the sound, as did Malon. More knocks rang out after a pause, a series of taps and heavier knocks that almost made a song. They finished with three small taps, and Malon relaxed, looking at the door.

“Is that him?” Link asked, and Malon nodded, setting the last plate down and drying her hands.

“It is. Are you all ready?” she asked with a somewhat worried look. Link couldn’t help feeling warm at the concern.

“Yeah. I gathered my stuff earlier, I just have to grab my bag.” Link didn’t mention how he didn’t really want to leave, but he knew he had to. It was safer for everyone this way.

Malon’s house was just a way station, and with the manhunt currently going on for Link, it was dangerous for him to stay here too long. Especially since Wind and Four were already hiding out here. Link definitely didn’t want to put them in more danger then he had to.

Malon moved to get the door, but was cut off by Legend skidding into the kitchen, rushing for the backdoor with a more eager face then Link had ever seen on him. He nearly flung the door open, and smiled at the man standing there, who had an equally wide grin on his face.

“Hey Ledge,” he said, and Legend let him give him a hug as he stepped into their house and greeted Malon.

And Link couldn’t help but stare.

The man (Link had forgotten the name Malon had told him, which he felt bad about) looked fairly normal aside from his dark clothes; slightly shorter-than-average build, hair somewhere between light brown and blond, blue eyes that were piercing, but warm.

The thing that caught Link’s attention though, and that was decidedly not normal, was the large crimson wing coming out of the man’s back.

And even stranger was the remains of another beside it.

Link felt sudden bile rise in his throat as he looked at the ruined nub, his wonder at the normal wing soured by the sight of the other. It wasn’t disgusting to look at, it was just... horrible because he knew what should be there. Something inside of him screamed for him to fix this, but he couldn’t heal something that wasn’t even totally there anymore.

And even worse, while he didn’t know what had happened, he knew who must be responsible.

Could the man even fly anymore?

He must have felt Link’s gaze on him, and the man turned, giving him a smile that made Link feel strangely warm.

“And you must be Link,” he said with a grin, holding a hand out for Link to shake. Link took it, and wished his own hand was bigger as they shook. “My name’s Sky. I heard you need a place to hide for a bit?”

Link nodded, feeling strangely shy. “Yeah. Malon said here wasn’t safe enough.”

A shadow crossed Sky’s face. “She’s right about that. Nowhere much is safe. But me and Sun have a few tricks up our sleeves— you may have quite the hunt after you, but we’ll keep you safe, I promise.”

He patted Link on the shoulder as he spoke, and Link felt a little better about going off with him. Malon had said she trusted Sky completely, but confirmation of his kindness was nice.

“I have to ask though...” Sky added, and Link turned back to him. “How on earth did you get out in the first place?”

“Wind helped me. And Four. And Legend, and Twilight and Malon. They all helped,” he answered, and Sky looked confused for a moment.

Malon came up beside him and whispered something in his ear that banished the confusion, momentarily at least. It came back in full-force when Wind came into the kitchen though, and Sky’s face went pale when Four followed after.

“Dear Hylia... you were right, they look just like him,” he breathed, and Wind and Four gave each other a hesitant look.

“I guess Malon told you about us?” Wind asked quietly, and Sky nodded, swallowing thickly.

“Not everything, but... yes.”

“Okay, enough of that, on to business,” Legend said loudly, skipping over the uncomfortable conversation that doubtless would have ensued if he hadn’t interrupted. Link had noticed Legend didn’t like talking about where Wind and Four had come from very much. “Link, do you have all your stuff?”

“I grabbed it for you,” Four said before Link could answer, and handed him the small bag of personal items he had. Link smiled at him in thanks, and Four beamed.

“Is there anything else you need?” Sky asked as he gave himself a shake, and looked at the small bag Link held. Link shook his head, but then Malon stepped forward.

“Actually I put a couple things together for you,” she admitted, and handed Link a bag. It was bigger than the one he was holding, but was still small enough to be easy to travel with. There was even a nice strap on the back that would make it easier to carry.

Link peeked inside, and saw the toothbrush he’d been using, along with a clean set of pajamas, and some other clothes as well. There was a blanket too, and space for his current bag to fit inside, and even more stuff, but Hyrule couldn’t see the rest of the contents very well through the sudden blurriness of his vision.

“Thank you,” he whispered, and Malon gave him a quick hug.

“Of course, honey. There’s one thing I couldn’t put in your bag though, and that’s an open invitation to come back as soon as it’s safe,” she said with a smile. “You’ll always have a home here.”

That almost made Hyrule break down crying, but he knew they didn’t have time for that, even though his heart nearly burst with the words.

A home.

Link merely wiped his eyes and nodded at Malon, hoping she understood.

She smiled again, and Wind and Four scrambled forward to hug him before he left, the two of them yanking Legend in too. He grumbled, but patted Link on the shoulder before breaking off again.

“It’s not like we’re never going to see him again, he doesn’t need all this fuss,” he said with an eye roll, and Link smiled. Legend was prickly, but Link had grown to like him. Plus a part of him agreed— if the goodbyes drew out too long he knew he would end up crying.

“Bye Link,” Four said, and he and Wind drew back from the hug.

“Twilight said to tell you goodbye too, and that he wished he could be here,” Wind passed on, and Link nodded. “Stay safe Hy—I mean Link. And, um... Sky?”

“Yes?” Sky asked, and Wind looked suddenly awkward.

“I uh... I guess I just wanted to say I’m glad Link is staying with you,” he said, giving Sky a look Link couldn’t decipher. Link also had a feeling that wasn’t everything he meant to say either, but Wind didn’t continue.

Sky looked at him and Four for a moment, a saddened look in his eyes, but he quickly banished it, and turned back to Link.

“Alright. Sounds like we’re heading out,” he said, voice slipping into one more serious. “We’re going to take a roundabout path to get there so nobody will be able to track us—it’ll take longer, but it’ll also keep suspicion off of Malon’s house, which is kind of the goal here.”

Sky handed Link a dark jacket with a hood, which he slipped on before pulling his new bag over his shoulder. It wasn’t as good as a super suit, but the ensemble made him feel ready for anything.

“Don’t use your powers unless necessary,” Sky added, then took a deep breath, his face screwing up as his wings moved.

The normal one somehow folded in on itself and disappeared into Sky’s back, but the ruined one remained. Link really didn’t know how Sky’s powers worked, but he guessed that Sky couldn’t retract that wing due to the damage it had taken. And even though he hadn’t really moved it, Sky’s face was lined with pain, pain that took several moments to fade.

He noticed Link watching him again, and gave him a small smile, pulling the ruined remains of his other wing flush against his back, and pulling a jacket overtop it. It neatly hid the ruined appendage, and Sky looked back at Malon and everyone else one last time.

“Goodbye everyone.”

“Bye Sky,” they all replied quietly, and Malon obviously couldn’t resist giving him and Link both one last hug.

“Stay safe out there. Let us know when you’re home,” she said softly, and Sky nodded as he hugged her back.

“Will do. Come on, Link,” he said as he pulled back. “Let’s get going.”

He opened the door, and Link looked back one last time at the people who’d helped get him out of the miserable life he’d been living, given him safety, and were his family in another life.

Wind and Four gave him little waves, and Link waved back, before turning and following Sky out of the door and into the cool night air.

[luck-of-the-drawings]

I SEE YOU I WANT TO; SEIZE YOUR B R A I N I'D LIKE TO;

P U T I T IN MY H E A D

[spark-circuit]

hello The Stanley Parable and Not For Broadcast enjoyers. is this anything.