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shuinami · 9 months

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Jess and Hobie: their defining strengths + their weaknesses

I had a thought about Hobie while I was writing, have been thinking about Jess for a while and then this post about Miguel came out and it made me kind of want to yap. I'll only talk about Hobie and Jessica here because I'm biased + Peter & Gwen have been talked about a lot + I linked a post about Miguel + Miles & Pav have simpler, more obvious flaws that basically come down to youthful naivety.

I also find it really interesting that their flaws are basically opposites, Hobie's comes from "inconsistency" whilst Jessica's comes from stubbornness. And again, both these flaws come from their greatest strengths.

TL;dr

Jess' defining strength is her resolve when it comes to fighting for what's right and tussling with destiny but it causes her to have a one-track mind, even if it comes to dedicating herself to something wrong (from being misguided).

Hobie's defining strength is his optimism (e.g. anarcho-communism) but the extreme difficulty of pursuing those ideals and the struggle against systems can bring that optimism to a breaking point, causing him to be inconsistent or, more directly, to give up.

I think people forget that Jessica's pregnancy is by design and not just a 'feature' of Jessica Drew as a character. She was deliberately chosen to be represented in this stage of her life and I think it is so important to her character, even if it's not in the traditional way that pregnancy is typically portrayed as in media.

I think her pregnancy shows the kind of person she is: most obviously, it's cold, hard evidence that she's a bamf who takes care of spidey business even while pregnant.

More importantly to me, though, there's an implication that, as her universe's one and only spidey, she has been the one to save the day and been the change she wishes to seek, effectively enough that she feels comfortable bringing a baby into the world.

Unlike someone like Peter, she does not make the choice between bringing her child to work with her or leaving them behind. She just has to do what she needs to do to make sure her kid is safe, there's no failing for her. During her pregnancy, it's always going to be a matter of life and death. Jess is well aware and, instead of shying away from action, she's just committed to not making those kinds of mistakes. To get over her losses. She's going to take charge of her own world's destiny as she has always done and she's going to make sure it's good.

Her strong allegiance to Miguel's ideas is her most glaring flaw to us as an audience because A. we're seeing things through Miles' eyes, she's standing in the way of him saving his father and B. we know that Miguel can't be right about canon events - we know they wouldn't make the movies as bleak as that.

Of course, taking a step back from our perspective, it's also a flaw because she is being antagonistic to a teenager as a grown adult. It might make her seem cold and harsh.

However, Jess was the one to vouch for Gwen, to take her in, even though Miguel didn't want her to and they could have left things up to the web of destiny. Jess trusts her own capabilities but she doesn't trust the world to be kind. She doesn't assume Gwen can handle things just because she can, either. On top of being sympathetic, I think her dedication to being the change she wishes to see is why she accepts Gwen as a student; she trusts that a young girl can make the world a better place too, it's not a thing where she wants to micromanage everything. She just wants to know the multiverse is in safe hands. That's her "great responsibility".

The only reason she is following the anti-Miles agenda is because Miles, as far as she and anybody else in-movie knows, is jeopardising the existence of every universe (insidiously via the holes). Maybe, in another position, say, a bright-eyed teen who mainly worried about high school and puppy love, she would be more willing to risk things, to see how it goes.

She's not in that position though. Her world that she felt confident she had the power to keep safe has been made uncertain. One day, it could just go poof, along with her baby, and she wouldn't be able to stop it in the moment. If she makes the right decision now, if she doesn't make a mistake, she can prevent it. It's understandable that she's going to do whatever it takes to prevent anomalies.

What was the canon event chosen to represent her?

Her version of the moment from "The Final Chapter".

It comes from a story that largely focuses on Peter's personal life before spiralling into action to make up for a mistake that has made Aunt May fatally ill. In the panel, Spider-Man is trapped under machinery with the cure - the thing that will absolve the mistake - just out of reach. As the lair is flooded, drowning is imminent.

Against all odds, though, Spider-Man pushes past what should have killed him and rises to the occasion, with the thoughts of saving Aunt May and refusing to have a repeat of Uncle Ben.

"I won't fail you. No matter what - I won't fail."

Jess has had to handle her own fate as well as her world's. Now that the multiverse is involved, it's not going to stop at her own universe. She has to stop this. She won't fail. As per the dialogue between her and Gwen in ATSV, she's made a mistake before (by getting too close to someone) but she tells Gwen "I got over it". Sounds so savage in the moment but she still gives Gwen a chance to make her own situation right before letting her get kicked off the team. Helping Gwen in spite of the anomaly would be a mistake if she couldn't handle this.

And when the Spot gets away and Miles enters the picture? The gloves come off. It's tempting fate at that point. Jess' no mistakes mindset pushes her to even prepare to roll up on a teenager.*

Her greatest strength is her resolve - I mean, hell, she doesn't let even pregnancy slow her down when it comes to saving the world - but it causes her to be stubborn and leads her down a misguided path.

*By the end of the film, she seems to be questioning Miguel's method, though. On top of the fact that BTSV is obviously going to end on a good note, I think Jess' fight against destiny is going to have her come around in the end as Miles is doing the same thing.

Onto Hobie:

I luv luv luv Hobie as much as everyone else, he's definitely my favourite but I feel he has his flaws too (which tend to make me love my faves more lol).

In fact, I think he says what they are when we first meet him, though they are veiled as jokes.

I find that the audience tends to position him as a perfect distillation of anarcho-communism at its best. I think the teen spideys see him in a similar light; they see him as effortlessly cool & charismatic, a wise mentor figure ("use your palms" + his play fighting with Pavitr featured him taking on the stance of a boxing trainer as Pavitr tried to punch his palms) but he's not like the adult adults - he's relatable, he's cool, he's anarchist, he's not always on their case like Jess and Miguel.

He neither calls himself a hero nor a role model... but he is the perfect hero and role model, right? He's the best! He's the only one who's looking out for Miles and, when Miles is getting chased down by the entire society, what does he do?

He... quits.

Wouldn't that perfect hero we all believe him to be swoop in with his cape, know exactly what to do and save Miles, the underdog? He can't have possibly known Miles would manage against the society and, if he knew it was possible, then why wouldn't he lend a hand? He didn't drop off the watch in Miles' dimension, he gave one to his bestie, Gwen, likely in the scenario that she wanted to quit or got booted because 'it [didn't] work out'.**

I think Hobie's major flaw is his lack of consistency, as he famously said himself.

He has a strong moral code - he believes in the right things for the right reasons... but communism and anarchy are pretty much impossible to properly/entirely employ in a system that is consumerist, capitalist and authoritarian. He riots, he fights, but it's never over. London isn't free. In my experience, people with strong moral compasses tend to have issues with themselves because they hold others to higher standards than most and hold themselves to even higher and impossible standards (think Diane from Bojack Horseman).

One of the first comic panels I encountered of Hobie was him getting real with Captain Anarchy about losing morale because, despite killing President Ozzy Osborne, the face of fascism in his dystopia, nothing changes. He wasn't able to save the world like a hero in a movie or like a proper role model. He 'failed'. When you give your everything and nothing changes, no matter how optimistic, clever or read-up on theory you are, it can be hard to keep going.

And what is chosen as his defining canon event?

His version of Spider-Man quitting in "Spider-Man No More". Rather than being fed up with the world antagonising him as 616 is, Hobie is done with an antagonistic world.

The Hobie/Spider-Punk that has been built up externally, as far as I understand, would never give up. He'd keep raging forever and ever because that's the cool thing to do, because it's the heroic thing to do - because it's the right thing to do.

But under the mask, he's just a teenager, imperfect as any other.

He's still a Spider-Man too. Before the bite, he was another lanky black boy in racist-af, peak National Front, send-the-blacks-and-the-Asians-back, '70s England. He's a nerd, as evidenced by his ability to build such a high-tech watch, especially as a teenager who wouldn't have had access to anything like it until joining the society, meaning he had to pick it up quick. And I'm to think he didn't have any Flash-esque characters in his life? "Come out of it."

As Spider-Man with the mask on, he yells to the rooftops; as Hobie with the mask off, he mumbles and whispers. Sure he looks cool now but people don't tend to come out of the womb as Spider-Punk. On top of that, he's still so young and surely has plenty of room to grow.

I believe he joined the society in earnest, optimistic that he could help the multiverse but eventually reached his limits with actively facilitating death and trauma, with saving the multiverse not meaning freedom in his own universe, with being shackled to the web of destiny. I'm not convinced he made the watch in one day; I think he had been planning on quitting for some time and was waiting for the right moment (as he also wanted to support Gwen because friendship is important to him). That's why he tries to dissuade Miles from joining but, when he does leave, he doesn't go out in a riot, he doesn't even leave knowing that Miles has people on his side other than him. Hobie just quits.

I think his greatest strength is his optimism (his anarcho-communism & adamance about "love, joy and freedom" as per the un-permitted performance art pieces in his montage) but he's smart and he's been through shit - he isn't naive like Pavitr or Miles - the great heights of that optimism lead to intensely low lows.

**(I don't really see why or how he would have been able to predict everything that happened in the chase. I know that the watch is set to 1610 but if Hobie believed Miles would make it out of 928 and get back to 1610, would that not be things 'working out'? Or did he predict that he would get to the go-home machine but was the only one who considered that he would be sent to the place his spider came from. Why? And why wouldn't he set the watch to 42 if he knew Miles wouldn't be in 1610? I feel like the 1610 on the interface is just there to be there and that Hobie gave Gwen the watch so she could have the freedom to leave 65 if she wanted to, in the event that she quit the society because they captured Miles or because Miguel kicked her out as Jess kept warning.)

#i luv them #atsv spoilers #across the spiderverse spoilers #across the spiderverse #jessica drew #atsv jessica #hobie brown #spider punk #atsv analysis #shui meta

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sqirtle · 1 month

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Hello! Your isat siblings au is very good and now has me wondering about how stuff like Sif's wish might play out differently since they're not so horribly isolated. How do they end up thinking about discovering that they're an Islander if they've grown up more constantly reminded of their memory problems (the people who taught him vaugardian are people he's still living and traveling with)?

Unrelated but brain still whirring, do you think the way Sif and Bonny end up joining the party would end up looking different?

i explained the islander thing a few asks ago, but its because nille noticed they were! nille was also a teen when the island dissapeared, and, in the game, shes the one who taught bonnie how big of a deal it was! so of course she'd know. she's from the northern coast, after all :3 (im still figuring out sif's wish btw)

about how they meet the party, though! i was writing that scene just a few days ago, so i'll put that under a readmore :3

"It's fine, we're fine, Bug-"

Bonnie pushed weakly at Siffrin's arms, a pout in their face, "You keep saying that, but you look like crab, Frin."

The cloaked one sighed, "Language."

Bonnie huffed. Siffrin smiled.

He stared at the road ahead, and fixed Bonnie's position so they wouldn't fall, and continued walking.

It had been days (weeks? close to a month? he'd lost count and despite all of his "progress" he still couldn't bring himself to ask Bonnie for help with this one) since they'd had to run from Bambouche, and while he liked to think himself a capable adult, the sudden change to traveling on his own after living comfortably with Nille and Bonnie for almost a decade, now, had thrown them for a loop.

They were hungry, tired, and stressed. He had managed to keep Bonnie fed well enough, but he didn't risk staying anywhere for too long, fearing the curse catching up to them.

Catching up to him, and leaving Bonnie alone, like it had caught up to Nille. Catching up to Bonnie-

He tried not to think too hard.

His legs shook with every step. Bonnie was not too heavy for them to carry, of course not, but they were exhausted.

He set them down.

“Frin?” Bonnie asked, tilting their head.

“Break time.” He stated, slumping down next to them.

Bonnie nodded easily, laying their head on his shoulder, “Do you think.. that we will find a clean town?”

Clean town, dirty town… That’s how they’d taken to differentiating curse affected towns from normal ones. Bonnie had come up with it.

They were yet to find a clean town.

“Maybe. But only after tomorrow, Bug.” There was no use promising a certain date, but wording it like that was kinder, he thought.

“You think so?”

Siffrin smiled. “Yeah, for sure, Bon.”

He'd just had to make sure to word it differently, next time.

Then, suddenly, out of the corner of their eye...

They rested there for a few minutes. The forest was not quiet, as wind was picking up, making the leaves rustle loudly.

A sadness. Paper type, by the looks of it.

They hurried to stand so they could pick Bonnie and run, but…

Three people were fighting it.

Well.. fighting it seemed like a stretch. It looked like they were struggling against it, in Siffrin's personal opinion.

Really struggling. One of them was K.O.’d, the other looked like a rock type, and the other…

He swallowed. He looked at Bonnie, who was dozing off in his arms, and made a decision.

"Bon, hey," he nudged them, and they turned to him, "Stay here for a sec, I will be right back, okay?"

Bonnie blinked, and nodded, their eyes full of trust.

Siffrin smiled, patted their shoulder.

Then, he lunged forward.

"AH!!" One of the strangers exclaimed, and fell back in surprise. He ignored him, and attacked the sadness with their favorite attack, and exclaimed:

"Knife to meet you!" as they attacked.

He fell on his feet, the sadness poofing behind him, and he huffed a shaky breath. He then turned to the strangers, an easy smile on his face, "Hello," he waved.

They stared silently for a few seconds.

The one in the middle- a girl- smiled wide, and reached forward to grab their hand, "Hello! Thank you so much for your help!" She beamed.

Siffrin jolted a bit from the sudden contact, but smiled back, "It was, uh, it was no problem!"

One of the other two who were hanging back, an older lady, nodded along, "Yes, thank you." She said, looking out of breath, "That sadness..."

"Was tough! Really tough!" The other person exclaimed, "I could barely get a hit in!"

"Good thing I took it by surprise then-" Siffrin said, turning back his head to look for Bonnie, "I- nice to meet you, really, but-"

"Wait, wait, wait!" The girl said, not letting go of his hand, "Quest! We're on a quest, to stop the king's curse!!"

Siffrin turned back to her quickly at that, "The... curse? Like the freezing?"

"Yes!" She beamed, "And you seem strong! Won't you join us?"

Siffrin blinked, gaping a little, "Me?"

"Yes, you!" The girl insisted.

"I-" They paused, thinking. If they could help them... then, Nille...

"Okay, I'll help!" He said resolutely.

The man behind the girl put a hand on her shoulder, "Mira! Won't you introduce us?"

She blushed, "Right! I'm Mirabelle, I'm immune to the King's curse! He," She pointed to the man, "Is Isabeau, and she," She pointed to the lady who was still catching her breath, "Is Madame Odile! What's your name?"

Siffrin smiled, "I'm Siffrin- and I have my little sibling with me back there," He pointed back to the bushes with his thumb, and took a step back, "I'll uh, be right back?"

Mirabelle's eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Oh! Oh, uh! Sure!"

He quickly ran back to his sibling, trying to calm his still racing heart, "Bonnie, you can come out now." He said, pushing aside a bush.

Bonnie's head popped up behind it, "Was that a sadness?" They asked, "I heard people. Did we find a town?"

Siffrin ruffled their hair, making them groan playfully, "No, but I did find some nice people who say they're gonna stop the freezing."

Bonnie stood up, surprised, "REALLY?"

He smiled, "Yes, really! They want us to tag along, what do you think?" He asked gently, already knowing the answer.

"CRAB YEAH!" Bonnie exclaimed, excited, "Nille- she- she's gonna be okay!!!" They smiled a toothy grin, relieved.

Siffrin nodded, patting their shoulder, "Yeah, yeah."

He took their hand in theirs, and walked back to Mirabelle's party. They ignored how tired they felt, and gave everyone a easy smile.

Chin up, Siffrin. You've got a sister to save.

#sqirtle.art #isat #isat siblings au #isat spoilers #isat au #isat act 3 spoilers #i think. i cant remmeber #isat siffrin #isat mirabelle #isat isabeau #isat odile #kinda idk #isat fic #in stars and time #isat bonnie #isat act 4 spoilers #isat act 5 spoilers

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daenerysies · 3 months

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It absolutely gets me that the whole thing about Rhaneyra putting her siblings to the sword was made up by Otto, Rhaenyra did nothing to indicate that she would; Alicent just fixated on it like- how do they forget that they literally pulled that crock of shit out of thin air? 😭

it gets me too, especially show-wise. the only time rhaenyra shows any bit of fire against her siblings is during the driftmark incident, where it is blatantly obvious to anyone with a brain that she was bluffing when asking for aemond to be sharply questioned. granted, should she have done it? no. is she also a mother trying her best to protect her kids? and not being a super uber-perfect person in the process? yes to both. this is yet another change from the book i don't like, considering alicent demands luke's eye in retribution first, and rhaenyra retaliates against that rather than starting it.

i'm also adding some significant points that make no sense in the greater context if alicent truly thought her children's lives were endangered; which is how she actively antagonizes rhaenyra. in both medias. she raises her children to hate rhaenyra, to view their nephews as inferior and subhuman to them due to their blood, she instills fear for their lives as a part of their everyday activities, she tells her children that aegon will be king no matter what (which is treason, so she doesn't seem to care that badly about her children being found out as participants of those efforts). she does not act like someone who believes her children are going to be murdered once rhaenyra ascends the throne. it's why i can't take her stans seriously. none of her actions make sense in the grand scheme of things. she purposefully makes an enemy that is (TO HER) capable of cold-blooded murder. what terrified mother would do that?

there's also this fetish for infantilizing and victimizing alicent and co. otto manipulated her when she was a teen, which is a fair take. otto was also ostracized from court for TEN years. ten years with minimal to no contact with alicent. she is no longer a child during that time, she is a grown woman with four children to raise and a perfectly good brain to use. we're not shown or told once that rhaenyra *ever* showed an ounce of violence towards her siblings, and at most, she was indifferent to them. it is stated, however, that during that time skip alicent bullied and harassed rhaenyra, to the point where she abandoned the capital to have peace of mind and safety for her own children. still not the actions of a terrified mother (she also wasn't manipulated into doing any of that; it was all of her own accord because she hated that rhaenyra was afforded more freedom and leeway than she was).

what's more, there is minimal, if any, precedent that rhaenyra would be forced to kill her siblings to secure the throne. viserys was only the fifth targaryen king, not exactly enough time to really establish any killing family as a basis. maegor is the only one to have done so, and he's reviled for it even up to the current timeline. it is even thought that his death was the consequence of kinslaying. it's not normal. there has technically been some sort of succession crisis for almost all the rulers up to this time: aegon the uncrowned and maegor, rhaena and jaehaerys, baelon and rhaenys, viserys and rhaenys/laenor. there are, once again, many ways for aegon, aemond, and daeron to renounce their claim to the throne (night's watch, kingsguard, maester); but that would take away the power alicent and otto wanted to have, so not an option.

i wouldn't even consider daemon that much of a threat if rhaenyra had ascended peacefully. they've changed his character significantly in the show, but daemon explicitly states in fire and blood that they need to find a peaceful way to end this dispute, and not resort to fighting dragons versus dragons (a line they gave to rhaenys in the show) because it would only end in disaster. he doesn't resort to any brutality until after the first blood is drawn by the green's.

basically, it's just another ploy, a 'red herring' if you will, to distract from the true reason why rhaenyra was usurped (and hook, line, sinker; it's working fantastically for some in the fandom).

#hotd #hotd critical #f&b #rhaenyra targaryen #pro rhaenyra #team black #anti team green #anti team green stans #anti alicent hightower #anti alicent stans #faye answers #anonymous

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beesmygod · 2 years

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i had the most unbelievably frustrating conversation the other day over the complete failure of modern criticism to recognize the most basic forms of misogyny, especially in mainstream media, and how the inability to recognize these things was leading to a death in entertainment for young women that wasn’t regressive or insulting to their capabilities. the attempt to rehabilitate “twilight”, a novel in which the protagonist (who i am told has no personality or interests, outside of getting attention to boys, on purpose in order to act as a proxy for the reader) must choose between her family, her future, her dreams, her wants, and her desires or what her boyfriend wants, is an example.

“lore olympus” has drifted significantly from its original central contrived plot revolving around persephone maintaining her virginity (?!) so she can keep her college scholarship, but the original concept appeared to offer the female readership a choice: either stay in school or become the 19 year old object of sexual obsession of a man nearly 3x your age, which is good, because he will take care of you. the protagonist is a waifish, weak, emotional, perpetual victim of the world around her who needs men to com rescue her from even the mildest of situations.

inexplicable cult classic “jupiter ascending” revolves entirely around who she should marry. she does absolutely nothing in the entire movie except get shuffled from set piece to set piece as she must choose whether to marry the heterosexual buff dog man or the effeminate villain. tbh all of these properties are very similar to me in my head; they fail basic sniff tests but are gobbled up by masses who, i had thought, were more capable of discerning these concepts.

the inability to escape properties with these elements contributed significantly to my downward spiral as i became a teen/adult. there was a dawning horror that the number of avenues for success on my own were being deliberately made unavailable to me in order to keep an entire half of the population indebted to the other. that the expectation was not that i would get a job out of school, take care of myself, maybe meet someone along the way, maybe have a kid if it works out. i was supposed to get a degree, as a joke i guess or just to waste my time since i wasn’t REALLY supposed to get a real job, and then immediately i would be used as childcare/a live in maid because my interests were secondary to those of the man i was expected to marry (im also bi so that added another fun twist to it lol). my 20s and 30s were supposed to be used on children and taking care of my husband. this realization made it feel like i was trapped in a box that shrunk and shrunk and threatened to crush me under the pressure from all sides to be something i couldnt even comprehend people wanted to be.

pointing out the existence and proliferation of what, to me, are extremely basic concepts to reject as a feminist, causes people to launch into a type of defense that feels like it comes from another planet. accusations of puritanism, censorship, being the actual misogynist, etc. i dont know how to explain to people that pointing these things out, LIKE I AM DOING IN THIS POST LIKE THIS LEVEL OF DISCUSSION, is not a call for it to be banned or removed or changed or whatever. the purpose of bad art is to discuss it and learn from it. we’re supposed to dissect it and why it came into existence, not stomp out anything that isn’t flawlessly progressive.

if i didnt have anything to complain about i’d get bored lol. how is a critic supposed to criticize without criticism, you know.

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thegurlwhoisntthere · 4 months

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Okay, so I can’t believe I’m writing this, the Maribat/Daminette fandom has me by the throat so, here we are

There are a lot of fics where Damian comes to Paris and they click and he gets the Black cat miraculous for various reasons, and also a lot where Marinette goes to Gotham with generally the same outcomes, but what about a fic where Damian and his class go on a trip to Paris before Hawkmoth first attacks.

Like, he’s 13 and forced into this trip because the fam wants him to experience more than just being a vigilante and he hates it. His school has a program with Marinette’s, so at the beginning of the year they pack up and plan to spend two weeks in Paris.

This trip just so happens to coincide with when Master Fu is looking for his new Ladybug and Black Cat (y’all see where I’m going with this?)

In this Au, Adrien makes it to the school sooner and misses Master Fu because he’s testing Marinette. Adrien still gets to go to school, because he deserves happiness, but he’s able to get there the first day, and so avoids the whole gum thing that make Marinette hate him, but also sees what Chloe does to Marinette which really changes his initial perspective of school. He would definitely be a temp hero later, but he gets to enjoy being a normal rebellious teen.

Anyway, so Adrien Misses Fu, so who’s going to be the Cat? Well, Damian’s school pulls up at the same time Adrien would have.

The class stops to do a head count and give the general speech of why they’re there in front of the school and Damian’s planning on slipping away because he’s 13 and thinks this is all a waste of his time. He thinks that if he can make it back to the hotel without anyone noticing he’ll be able to make an argument that they forgot him and that he should be allowed to go home (can you see where I’m taking my inspiration from?). Unfortunately for him, Fu sees this and does his test (the fall). All his classmates don’t do anything because they’re from Gotham and are suspicious of everything (and also it’s Paris and they don’t want to be scammed) and the teachers don’t notice. Damian, however, does notice. He considers leaving anyway because it’s not his problem, but he’s been Robin for almost 3 or 4 years at this point and, contrary to what some people might say, has grown a lot. He would feel guilty and maybe even a little unworthy of Robin if he didn’t stop for 2 seconds to help this old man up.

It goes quite similarly to how it did with Adrien, he helps Fu up, but gets caught and can no longer run away from the class.

Basically, this au is a “what if Damian was The Black Cat from the start?”

I have a lot more ideas, but here’s just a few:

Damian isn’t Chat Noir, but I haven’t looked up any cat related names that he could be yet.

As the cat, Damian acts a lot more fun than he normally would allow himself. He’s not Chat Noir level, but this is the first time in his life where literally no one knows who he is and is monitoring his behavior, nor does he have anyone’s expectations on him for who he should be.

He’s initially annoyed with Ladybug, because she’s so clearly untrained, unconfident, and unprepared, but then she comes up with the plan that shows what she could be capable of, and the speech and he might have a crush, but brushes it off as grudgingly respecting her

He 100% plans on training her and their partnership is more equal than what the show portrays it as, because one of my main problems with the actual show is that chat noir, despite being her partner is often shoved aside and given the sidekick role

Damian doesn’t tell his family what’s happening. As far as they’re aware, Paris is fine. Normally he would have, but he had no time until after the fight and he really enjoyed being the cat that he’s like “I’ll tell them later” which keeps being pushed back.

At the end of the trip he somehow talks his family into letting him actually transfer to Paris so he can stay as the cat

He is baffled that this works, but they are all so happy that he’s taking an interest in something other than Robin and Superheroing that they jump on letting him before realizing that it means he’s gonna be in Paris for months.

Dick is sad about this later, so is Bruce and Alfred and the others, but he’s the most vocal about it.

Damian is also baffled that they haven’t figured out what’s going on by now and as everyday passes he gets more and more annoyed by the fact that his so called family of detectives have realized that he’s decided if they can’t figure it out, he’s not telling them.

He has not figured out that magic is preventing knowledge of this from leaving Paris and even if it didn’t, Magic is protecting his identity.

He acts annoyed by Plagg, but he actually loves him so much

His cat outfit is still fun with the ears and tail, but it’s a lot more elaborate and has a utility belt and a lot of hidden things

In fact, because it’s so elaborate, Marinette’s boring suit only stays for the first time she transforms. Once the fight finishes her little fashion designer brain can’t stop thinking about it and comes up with a new design after consulting Tikki.

Of course, she only has the idea of the costume down, because by the time they finalize it, she sees the news and has her depression moment, so the first time she wears it is when she saves Alya.

Due to this first change, her outfit would constantly be changing throughout her time as Ladybug, as she learns more about fighting and what she’s comfortable with, as well as what’s actually possible with magic and the miraculous.

By the end of the year her firs are going to be crazy (wait till she finds out she can change her actual eyes (both color and the pupils and-) hair colors and length)

She will eventually bully Damian into making some changes but he’s generally happy with the first design.

They also know each others identities a lot sooner because Damian actually knows the benefits and his cold logic is able to cut through a lot of her anxiety.

It still doesn’t happen until at least the second season tho.

Y’all I have so much more, but this is getting long and I’ve got things to do so tell me if u want more or feel free to add your own ideas!!!

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stylesispunk · 8 months

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TIME CASTS A SPELL ON YOU, BUT YOU WON'T FORGET ME | CHAPTER 1

Joel Miller x f!oc

chapter 1: 'Til the sound of my voice can haunt you

series masterlist | next | masterlist

summary: Fifteen years ago, amidst the filling of divorce papers and the broken promises of a happily ever after, the world collapsed. Amidst the ruins of cities and the remnants of dreams, Joel's search for his ex-wife began. No matter where he turned, the woman who had once loved him held him captive, a presence he couldn't escape.

Word count: 1,6k

Warnings: tlou spoilers, guns, angst.

the story's main idea is based on the lyrics from "Silver Springs" by Fleetwood Mac,

a/n: Hello, this is the new fic I'm working on now. Just for reference, the story develops from the events in ep 2 of the show because I'm rewatching it and I had to start from somewhere. I really hope you like it, if you do, please comment, reblog, and share your thoughts with me, my asks are always open (please be kind). I love hearing from you guys and I'm really excited to see how this story goes and share it with you. If you want to be added to my taglist, you can tell me. Happy reading 💌

Since the world had ended and transformed into a desolate scenery full of horror, blood, grief, and loss. Joel had witnessed the changes in people, and what they were capable of doing to survive. He, himself, did horrible things to be where he was now, and he often asked himself if she did the same. What could have been if they had been together that fatal night? Would they still be together? Would Sarah still be alive? Those were the things persisting in his mind.

But there had been Tess, his partner in crime and the only person he had allowed himself to care about. She had been there. Yes, in the past, because grief hung over Joel once again.

Joel found himself in a state of disbelief, taking a moment to remember Tess, losing his partner in crime and confident made him feel cold and gray like a storm cloud passing inside his body. It felt like karma, as if those words that escaped from Emily’s lips years ago were becoming a reality.

She would never let him escape, and he would never be able to escape from her constant torture.

After a few minutes, he decided to go back to Ellie to their campsite. Ellie was in the same position as when he left. He didn’t utter a word to her, opting just to take his backpack, throwing it over his shoulder, and walking forward. He was avoiding Ellie and Ellie was avoiding Joel. The air felt heavy and full of tension. There was nothing left to do, and Joel had to learn how to live with another scar.

Joel blamed Ellie, but he also blamed Emily and her curse.

“How much longer?” Ellie asked, breaking the suffocating air.

“Five-hour hike,” he simply answered.

“We can do that ” the teen said as a matter of fact.

Once they were out of the woods, back on the route. Their situation didn’t change. Joel was leading the way in silence and expecting the same gesture in return from Ellie, but he knew damn well Ellie was going to break the silence at any moment.

“You know what?” she said.

Damn, this kid and her questions, Joel thought.

“What?” He asked, exasperated.

“Back in the woods, when you were there doing, I don’t know what,” she started. “I dug into your backpack.”

“Why would you do that?” Joel’s tone contained a lace-on anger.

“Food,” she confessed. “But that’s not the important.”

Pushing aside his exasperation, Joel forced himself to look at Ellie.

“I found this picture” she continued, digging into her jacket pocket to grab the picture and holding it for him to see. “Who is this woman?”

Joel's heart skipped a beat once he saw that picture. He had placed that photograph inside his bag a long time ago when he realized he would never find Emily. But he couldn’t find himself to throw it away.

And what a time for her to return to his life, he thought, looking up to the sky as if she was there.

Joel cleared his throat, his voice rough from emotion. "Wife. She was my wife.”

Ellie's gaze remained fixed on him.

“What happened to her?” she asked, cautiously.

“We got divorced a week before this.” He answered, avoiding Ellie’s gaze.

Ellie just nodded, not pushing him anymore. She knew that some stories were painful to tell, and Joel's history was undoubtedly filled with such moments.

As Joel and Ellie kept walking, silence came back. She knew Joel was a man of few words, and Ellie often struggled to find the right words to say.

Ellie's voice, soft and filled with empathy, broke the silence that had settled between them.

"Joel," she said, her eyes searching his face for any sign of emotion, "I'm sorry for bringing up the past for you”

Joel turned his gaze back to Ellie, her concern touching him in a way he hadn't expected. He smiled, trying to give her some kind of reassurance.

"It's alright, kid," he replied, his voice soft. “The past is part of our story; We can’t pretend it didn’t exist.”

Ellie's eyes brightened with understanding, and for the first time since their paths had crossed, a sense of mutual comprehension blossomed between them. In that fleeting moment, they shared a silent agreement.

But once again, Ellie broke the silence.

“You should have your picture back,” she said, giving the photograph back to him.

Joel contemplated the photograph in his hand, its edges frayed from years of handling. It was a distant dream now. His gaze lingered on the faded smiles captured in the picture, and he put it back to where it belonged.

"Thanks," he said softly, with a faint smile.

Joel didn’t want to admit it, but Ellie’s presence didn’t feel like a total burden to him. It was actually bringing him a sense of peace and purpose in life as if he was healing from the wounds the past life placed in his heart years ago. From the day he lost Sarah, and from the day he made Emily run from him. He had carried her as a ghost in his thoughts and in his heart.

His thoughts lingered back to those days for a few moments, the lingering touches and sloppy kisses, the sound of Emily and Sarah's laughter echoing through their house, the one he had once called home.

Joel's thoughts were interrupted as he realized Ellie was still there, walking beside him. Her presence was a reminder that he wasn't alone in this world, that he had someone to protect and care for once, even when it was just a “mission” for him.

"Did she die?" Ellie asked, glancing at him.

He hesitated for a moment, searching for the right words. " I looked out for her, but I failed.”

“Sometimes we do things that haunt us later." She said, carrying an undertone.

Joel's gaze drifted back to the horizon. "Yeah, kid. They sure do."

Night had fallen, and the dark had enveloped Joel and Ellie. It was eerily silent, broken only by the rustling of leaves in the breeze.

“Okay”, Ellie broke the silence “I know I said we could manage the five-hour hike, but I'm tired.”

"Alright, Ellie," he replied, his voice low and weary, "Let's find a safe place to rest for the night."

They continued walking, searching for a suitable spot to set up camp. The world around them was a haunting canvas of shadows and shapes, capturing the eerie silence, keeping them alert and on edge in case of an unexpected sound.

And then, in the middle of this foreboding night, that haunting voice made a comeback,

“Stop there.”

That voice.

Recognition cut through the darkness like a knife. It was her voice, the one that had haunted him for years. Joel's heart began to race, and disbelief washed over him.

Joel's heart ached with longing. He couldn’t believe it.

He turned and what his eyes saw opened a door he had locked protectively.

When the hopes of finding the love of his life were long gone, the world put her in front of him again.

"Em," he said, his voice laced with a hint of vulnerability, he took a cautious step forward.

Her once-warm eyes now held a cold gaze as they fell upon Joel. Recognition flashed in her eyes, but her posture didn't waver. The gun in her hands, still remaining there, pointing at Joel.

"I looked for you everywhere that night " he whispered, raising his hands in surrender.

Emily's grip on the gun tightened, and she took a step back, putting distance between them, reflecting the same years of detachment between them.

“Did I allow you to talk?” she said, her voice filled with anger.

“Holy shit,” Ellie said, astonished. “Your wife”

Emily swiftly turned her head toward the teenager, her gaze piercing.

“Ellie” Joel muttered, attempting to be cautious.

“Shut up!” she gritted at Joel; her voice devoid of any softness.

At that moment, the woman standing in front of him was not his Emily, but a ghost of hers. At that moment, he didn’t feel the need to hold her. At that moment, the memory he had held of her for the last fifteen years dissipated.

Joel took advantage of Emily’s little distraction and swiftly placed a knife through her throat. He smirked, making up a barrier to hide his true emotions.

"Just try to hurt my cargo," he warned, "and I'll end you."

Joel's jaw clenched, and his grip on the knife tightened, as he stood there holding her by her back with the knife against her throat, their prior grievances about their story hanging heavily between them.

Emily smirked back; her defiance undeterred. "Don’t act so rude” she spitted, “I wasn’t looking for you” Emily added, her voice filled with resignation at the end.

Joel's grip on the knife slowly lessened, and he stepped back, releasing her. His emotions were a tumultuous storm inside him.

“I told you that you would never forget me, Joel Miller” she affirmed, after all those years.

At those words, Joel’s gaze didn't waver, but the mask he had worn for so long was cracking. He couldn't deny the truth in Emily's words, he had never truly moved on from her.

With a heavy sigh, Joel turned away from Emily, his thoughts a turbulent whirlwind. The encounter had reopened old wounds

Joel sighed and looked away from Emily once more, his thoughts a whirlwind. The encounter had rekindled old wounds. He had never forgotten her, even when he tried to bury her memory, and this unexpected reunion was tainted with tension.

As they stood face to face in the same place after a lifetime of separation, both of them knew that the future ahead was uncertain.

Had fate really brought them back together?

tag: @joeldjarin

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ginarickys · 1 year

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after 48+‎ hours of trying to encompass what it is about holmesbury‎ that works so well without venturing too far into‎ my personal bias toward them,‎ i think the best thing about‎ them is what they mean for each other’s lives.‎ long post ahead.

enola’s biggest distinction is that she’s self-sufficient.‎ from the very beginning,‎ she’s known her own abilities,‎ and she’s known that she wanted to remain independent.‎ independence‎ ≠ loneliness,‎ however,‎ and that was a lesson she still needed to learn.‎ her story with tewkesbury was never about her sacrificing her independence to be with him,‎ it was never about enola herself changing.‎ it was about her accepting that love didn’t hinder her independence or her strength.‎ at the end of the first movie,‎ enola refuses his offer to stay with him because she’s essentially refusing to sidetrack her own desires.‎ she also refuses him because,‎ at the time,‎ she wasn’t ready to accept that both of these things could coexist.‎ this is so representative of how to be truly independent and what makes enola so different from characters like sherlock by the end of the second film.‎ she’s learned that she can be with someone and still be her,‎ no change necessary,‎ and immediately puts it into practice because that’s who she is.

it’s not only important that she didn’t have to change to be with tewkesbury,‎ but‎ also that he grew as a person from being with her.

most people might look at the circumstances these two met under and insist that enola parallels disruption in tewkesbury’s life,‎ but it couldn’t be more obvious that she represents a necessary change. when he’s first introduced,‎ tewkesbury is a boy trying to outrun the politics of his family.‎ becoming intertwined with enola means accepting the unconventional,‎ the things he never saw growing up the way that he did.‎ enola is strong,‎ she’s a fighter,‎ and he’s‎ never just looked at her as a girl that he loves.‎ he’s looked at her wit and her courage,‎ and albeit chaotic in the moment,‎ it’s what tewkesbury needed.‎ he needed to meet someone who didn’t need to be saved,‎ and tewkesbury didn’t have to change because of that,‎ he just needed to be willing to accept it.

they propel each other,‎ as well as counter each other,‎ and their relationship not only teaches them something new,‎ but makes them stronger because of it.‎ the fact is that they’re one of the of the most accurate teen romances due to how they showed each other something new.‎ seeing enola act so ooc,‎ getting jealous of seeing tewkesbury with another girl,‎ conveniently ending up on the same path as him,‎ all of it makes sense for someone who’s trying to deny that she’s fallen in love. it doesn’t dim that she’s a capable young woman,‎ it simply makes her more human. tewkesbury basically admitting that he loved enola on three separate occasions because he’s never known someone like her makes sense for a boy who’s been exposed to something new,‎ and found himself needing more of it.

this goes as far back to the first film.‎ the scene where tewkesbury is shot and enola is overcome with emotion.‎ her tears,‎ her vulnerability are what make them so real.‎ he brings out the side of her that has no qualms about crying,‎ or about being open. in that moment,‎ the two of them truly became tethered to one another.‎ it also reinforces that tewkesbury has never downgraded enola and her capability.‎ he’s never treated her like this thing that needs to be protected,‎ even if he does view her as delicate,‎ and is still so reluctant to hit her while they’re in the carriage before the two of them have their first proper kiss.‎ they parallel back to this scene in the second film when tewkesbury once again checks to see if enola is okay.‎ him knowing that she��s capable has never stopped him from worrying,‎ or chasing her down whenever she’s been gone for too long.

he doesn’t do it because he’s her keeper. he does it out of love. he wouldn’t do anything that would consciously hurt enola, even knowing how strong she is,‎ because of that love.‎ enola will never be like any other woman,‎ she’ll never stop persisting once she’s set her mind to something,‎ and tewkesbury will never be able to truly hold her back. he has no desire to.‎ he sees enola for who she is and he loves her all the same.

their separate worlds are essentially what make them work so well.‎‎ their inclusion in each other’s lives,‎ whether accidental or purposeful,‎ exposed them to things they both needed,‎ and added to their strength as characters.‎ enola has a man that she loves,‎ that loves her,‎ and she didn’t have to stop being herself for that to happen.‎ tewkesbury has now become more responsible and faithful to his duties,‎ but he’s still a lover of flowers,‎ and a lover of enola,‎ and all of those things get to coincide.

their relationship is all about growth and healthy change. it isn’t as simple as a “she hates every boy but one” trope,‎ nor is it simply sacrificing enola’s strength, or her reducing her as an individual just so she can conform to her male love interest.‎ they’re both their own characters,‎ with more differences than similarities,‎ but the love that they share is genuine and that doesn’t make them less of anything. that makes them better.

#in short:‎ they’re soulmates #enola holmes #enola holmes 2 #enola x tewkesbury #lord tewksbury #holmesbury #millie bobby brown #louis partridge

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amoranp · 2 months

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Nerd talk (🤢🤮) p.1

Male gaze on Ellie (and other female characters)

I want to talk about how the character is sexualized by men who call themselves "fans" of tlou. And how I would cut off my own hand to prove that I'm sure it's only men who make these disgusting montages. How do I know that? Because all the women who like Ellie (think she's a pretty character, whatever) like her the way she is in the game. Dirty with blood, telling men to fuck off and being our beloved angry lesbian. That said, you can see the difference in the way men look at her and how they'd like to see her, they change her body, her face. Just to make her look "feminine" (in a totally disgusting way). And they also mainly use images of a pre-teen Ellie (14 years old) in sexual images. The point is this: men don't see a female character as something strong, capable, with an interesting story. They see them as something they can masturbate to and be weird about. And that's why when a female character isn't created in a sexualized way, they get so angry. Because, for them, that's all women in stories, films and games are good for, to be seen as something only sexual. Anyway, I've written a lot and I haven't even got to the point of heteronormativity and homophobic people.

*I know that not all men think like that and are disgusting like that. But unfortunately in the gaming universe, they are the majority 🤗

(Yes, my English must be shit, pay for a language course if you don't like it. Bye 💋)

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heart2beom · 1 year

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2. how to get fired

SYNOPSIS a romcom office series; in which you're a huge romantic at heart but the shitty men you attract leaves you with countless failed relationships. then, you meet choi soobin. in an elevator. he isn't interested in you, he finds you annoying, and he clearly has zero respect for you, so why the hell are you so bent on making him like you?

AUTHOR NOTE the way im literally killing my engagement by delaying my posting time so early on in this fic..tsk tsk. whatever, at this point, im writing this for fun

previous | masterlist | next

Your history with men: long, futile, possibly traumatic -- which, you guess, is more reference of the ends of your relationships, but besides the point. The most important of all, of course, is how all of the men you've dated liked you more than you did them.

You don't mean to brag, really, but despite those relationships ending, it always starts off incredibly well. By making the first moves -- subtly to not risk a man's toxic masculinity hurting his ego, you get a guy right there, right under your fingertips.

It's worked for years, after trial and error, trial and error, your N.U.T strategy, originally developed in your sophomore of high school, has proved to be successful in all regards of getting a man.

Yes, the names silly, albeit best to remember you were a teen, but changing the acronym would mean changing the magic...the steps work! It's simple really, because it goes like the following:

N = NAME rule: repeat his name as much as possible (higher success rate with aegyo)

A week after the blonde had joined the team, Chaewon already decided to use him as an excuse. Inviting everyone to dinner on tuesday, because apparently it was to celebrate blonde's one week anniversary at the job. Apparently.

Beomgyu was the one who first started the dinner after work thing and everyday, you remember to sleep hating the man for leaving this legacy behind because even when the asshole left, it continued on, to your dismay. Chaewon was apparently his successor, because she had taken the role of pestering everybody about work dinners the moment he left.

Hanging out with your colleagues after work was such a bizarre thought. Not only was it a direct violation of your strict Separate Work Life from Personal Life policy, it was unnecessary. When she first invited you, you wondered if there were genuinely psychos who would go out of their way to hang out with people that remind them of work.

You didn't have to wonder for too long. Coincidentally (not) enough, the psychos were all around you. The entire office would frequently go out after work with the exception of you and Mr. Geuk, your manager. Who was never really invited in the first place.

"Hey! Fake blonde!" you shouted out to your colleague, who you found was in the elevator. Which really seemed to be the only place you could talk to him.

This time, different to before, he had acknowledged you and reached out to press a button. You expected it to close so you hurried your pace towards the elevator, but it didn't, it stayed open.

A bloom of proudness spread across your chest, was you mentally preparing to got through with N.U.T so incredibly powerful he already got effected? It truly seemed like it.

When you walked in, you looked over to him for a bit. Until you broke into a little smile. "Hey, thanks for—"

Your sentence was interrupted the minute your eyes fell onto Chaewon's figure, the back of her little bob right in your face.

She turned to you to give a little thanks — which you assume is about the elevator being left open. You just nodded, shamelessly taking the credit.

But when she turned around to face the closing elevator, you lightly scoff. If he didn't see Chaewon behind you, he would've let the elevator close like normal, meaning N.U.T wasn't powerful enough to transcend human capabilities, it was a shame.

It was also incredibly awkward. Your proudness deflated and the elevator still going as slow as ever.

"Y/N, do you really not want to go out with us today?" Chaewon suddenly spoke up.

You don't know why you took the time to pretend like you were thinking about it since her back was facing you, but you did anyway. "Sorry Won, just can't."

She turned herself to you again. "But why" she drawled, pouting.

"You know...you know how busy I get..." you lied, making sure to avoid eye contact.

But it didn't help you out too much. Chaewon figured you'd lie, as she just exhaled, knowing you wouldn't budge on your policy. Maybe the lie would've held up if you haven't been audibly complaining in the office about how you have nothing to do, practically every other week.

"It's a small get together, right?"

You looked at the person next to you, then you and Chaewon looked at each other, than back at the blonde, both of you clearly being startled that he spoke.

"Um, yeah. Yeah! It's just the people at work at some old diner and stuff."

"Well, I'll be there then." he said, to which Chaewon froze, then frantically nodded, smiling ear to ear, no sign of her previous sulky face, telling him the details of...whatever, you weren't listening really.

You only stood there, with your hand tightened on your bag as you let your thoughts go far too deep. You know Kim would've asked him out to the dinner, she invites anyone and everyone — with the exception of Mr. Geuk. You figured from that information alone that the blonde initially rejected the invite.

So the sudden change of heart baffled you, it left you confused. It wasn't like she added any new inciting information; she just asked whether or not you were coming.

Which you emphasized you weren't...and like a bulb lit up above your head, you've solved the mystery in a matter of seconds.

The elevator had reached the lobby floor, the elevator door open, exiting a hurried blonde.

You've figured who the blonde was by the one week of observation — he wasn't an easy man. But by this interaction alone, you'd concluded who he was -- a savage, an evil, annoying preppy little blonde.

So, you did what you promised to never do — turn into a psycho.

You ran to catch up a little to Chaewon, who was only a few steps ahead of you.

Before she could say anything, you interrupted with an inhale, then an exhale, giving up your life long policy. "I'm coming too." you said, dropping the bombshell.

"To...?"

"To the after work dinner, of course."

It was silent, for a bit as you both stared at each other.

"Oh, cool!"

You were most definitely hoping for a more enthusiastic response, but that was forgotten quickly.

Which is how you found yourself grumbling, as you had your arms folded holding a storming grudge, sitting right across of the blonde, dimpled, gigantic, ass. You made sure to push Sunghoon out the way to get the chair right in front of the little asshole, to which the silver haired rolled his eyes at.

There was a need bubbling inside your gut, a need to destroy the blonde…and also find out his issue with you. Other than you planning his doom, which, he doesn’t know about. He shouldn’t know about.

You had Chaeryeong, who was practically five seats away from you, squeezed in the tables corner, very confused, practically asking you hurd of questions with her eyebrows. You tried to make her understand but alas, you're no expert in transmitting information without using the art of the tongue, and it was getting awkward with everyone looking between the two of you, so you just shook your head at Chaeryeong in a way of saying 'not now'.

Which was simple enough for her to nod, and hesitantly tune back into the conversation with the rest — being Chaewon the bob cut, Sunghoon the idiot, Jaehyun the hot douche, Sakura the cool one, and Yunjin the intern. You figured the conversation wasn’t so hot to jump yourself into.

In the duration of the team dinner, you found it extremely hard to start up a conversation with the man across from you. He was right there, why did it feel like there was a literal gigantic wall between the two of you? You snapped yourself out of it by shaking your head, you were getting distracted and discouraged.

You had to follow up with N.U.T, no matter what.

"Hey!" you said chirply. You made sure in front of him, you slightly slammed your hand on the table, which, thank goodness, finally caught his attention. He smiled a little tightly, but it was a smile regardless.

Which you completely forgot to plan ahead of time, you were expecting him to ignore you again -- you even mentally prepared to make a scene and throw a drink at his face.

"Hi!" you said again, as a form of a greeting this time.

"Hey, Y/N." he replied.

And, as a direct result of your lack of planning, this was your first strike of crisis. Your head was blank, trying to search for names to match up with his face but the only thing popping up was, sickly, fake blonde.

Your faux confidence was deflating all the more, nervousness cracking a little more through the facade. "Hi, uh,"

His brow perked up, the polite smile he put up, dropped. Completely.

And so, your brain went into full red emergency blaring mode. "Hi So..hyun?"

His expression was far from impressed.

You had it in there somewhere, it was in there. "Soo...hyung?" you said again with the ends of your lips trembling.

"Um, my name is—"

"No!", you yelled out of impulse, which proved to be a mistake since it caught the attention of the entire table.

"What happened?", Chaewon asked, worried.

"Nothing, nothing. I was just—"

"She shit her pants." Jaehyun interrupted, which then shifted the entire table's focus on to him. He shrugged. "I don't know, she looks constipated."

"What? Nope, no, I'm not going to engage with this when we're in an out of work setting." you raise your hands in surrender then drop them, "Seriously, guys. It's nothing, continue talking about Die Hard...or something."

"Nobody... was talking about Die Hard." Chaeryeong said, which you figured was out of instinct. You glared at her, and thankfully she took the hint quickly as she made an 'O' shape. When she weirdly carried their not Die Hard conversation again, you and the blonde were made sure to be excluded.

You turn your full focus on the guy, seeing that a subtle pout was formed on his lips as he looked at the group, looking like he wanted to desperately join in. You sighed at the site; he was pitiful.

You composed yourself preparing to take one last shot. "It's Soomin right?"

"Soobin. It's Soobin." he said, cattier than earlier.

"Ah..." you nodded, your brows knitted together. "Are you sure? I clearly remember manager calling you Soomin!" you were digging yourself a bigger hole the more you talked, but no matter how many times you tried, you couldn't stop yourself from talking.

"You silly goose, you're trying to prank me! Just a warning though, I'm not the biggest prank fan." you said awkwardly following that up with a chuckle.

And to that he had his brows deeply furrowed, to which you respond with a dropped smile.

"Me and you, S-soomin," you said the name hesitantly, gulping felt like you were swallowing down shame. It was painful, incredibly painful. "Soomin, I just know we're going to be very good friends. Me and you," you point to him then back to your face. "A couple of best friends."

He didn't respond to that, rather just nodded, then refocused his attention on a totally irrelevant, not Die Hard conversation that was happening beside you both.

You had to take your shot or giving up your policy was going to turn out to be a complete waste. So, you cleared your throat, "Or perhaps lovers." you said under your breath.

He heard. Oh, did he hear. He snapped his head to you, again, with the same raised brow.

You gave him a quick smile, your eyes wandering down to the surface of the table as your lips kissed your teeth in embarrassment.

This was harder than you imagined.

But thus, you learned a new, valuable lesson. N.U.T wasn't fool proof, sometimes, a step might fall through, and when that happens, you need to remind yourself that human beings are diverse creatures—men are diverse creatures.

One step might not work, or can't work, but it didn't guarantee your complete failure. In fact, you had two more steps—frankly, better steps.

U = UNEXPECTED TOUCH rules: little touches, as unexpected as possible

Its been a few weeks after the Soomin incident, and you've learned to build up your relationship with the blonde in hopes of making the second step not be abrupt. So far, you've been ...failing. You don't even see him in the decade old elevator anymore! It was getting bad.

"So, what? Your nutting plan isn't working anymore?"

You snapped your focus from Soobin to the girl behind the desk you were leaning on, Chaeryeong.

"First of all, keep your voice down!" you hissed. "And second of all, it's called nut because I used to really like nuts in high school. It has nothing to do with nutting."

"For some reason, I'm having a hard time believing that." she said, then you rolled your eyes, shifting your attention back to the distressed blonde on a call.

"It's kind of funny though, if you think about it." you mumbled, reaching for the oatmeal cookie jar.

"Nutting? Not really."

"Oh my god Chae," you groan looking back at her again, "I'm talking about Soobin!"

Her lips make an O shape in realization, as she rests her forearm on the desk. "What's funny about him?" she whispered.

"How he's completely avoiding me." you mumbled as you noticed him getting up from his chair, heading to what you think would be the printing room.

"Okay, I have to go. Give me a high five for good luck." you quickly said raising your hand, Chaeryeong raising hers to slap yours, completely out of loop.

Then off you went, with a cookie you don't want in your hands, speed walking to catch Soobin in the printing room.

And thankfully, you weren't wrong. You noticed his back hunched over the printer.

"Want some help?" you asked, to which he turned around. You expected to see a horrified expression with the way hes been avoiding you, but he just had a small smile as he nodded.

Chaeryeong's high five...you have to thank her later.

"It's not printing for some reason. I have no idea why." he mumbled, stepping back to make way for you to take a look.

"Well..." putting your hands on your hips, you looked at the printer. The one thats been here since the building was founded. The thing is, no one knew how to make it work, it was spontaneous. It worked, then it didn't.

But you weren't going to tell Soobin that.

You put your free hand on his shoulder, looking directly into his eyes. "Soobin—hey look, I know your name now!" your changed tone was that of excitement but Soobin was left confused. So you cleared your throat, your voice deeper. "Soobin, I am so glad that you reached out to me. With courage like yours, I'd think you were an ex veteran. And I feel like, through this interaction, we can be the great friends that I promised you we would be. And maybe, something more—"

He pushed your hand away from his shoulder. "I was just asking for help with the printer?"

"I was just asking for help with the printer" you mimicked him in a mocking tone, you'd like to look back and believe this was your way of bantering. But he definitely didn't think so, with his face scrunched up at the impersonation. You shrugged. "Soobin, this is a bonding moment between two colleagues. Maybe friends, maybe two flirting buddies—"

"How are we anything more than colleagues?"

"Hey, what's going on here?" you looked at the door to see Sunghoon poking his head in, then you rolled your eyes.

"I just needed help with the printer." Soobin said pointing with his thumb to the back.

“Oh, that thing?", you glared at the boy in hopes of sending him a signal to shut up, but alas, it was no use. He just gave you a weird look back before continuing. "If it doesn't work, it's not going to work. You're better off with the printer in the manager's office."

"Ah, I didn't know that. Thanks."

You cursed under your breath as you saw Sunghoon walk away through the glass wall.

"I was about to tell you that. But you interrupted me." you said holding up a forced smile.

“You know I have, like, a hundred clients on hold? You completely wasted my time on purpose!"

"Okay, let's calm down. Hear me out." he raised his brow, waiting for you to continue. "Having a good relationship with your colleague is proven to be important—"

He rolled his eyes, as he dropped his hands to his sides, preparing to walk away.

"Soobin, look—"

"I would like it if you called me Mr. Choi from now on." he said coldly, turning away to leave the printing room.

And that was that. This man officially hated you.

"Don't you think it was too easy for him to hate me? I only stalled for what, three seconds? And suddenly I'm wasting his precious time?" you sulked, staring down at your cup of coffee.

"What's stopping you from hitting him with nut's final blow?" Chaeryeong asked, then tilted her head. "Nevermind, probably a restraining order."

Like a light bulb switched on once again, you turned to face Chaeryeong. "No, but you're right. The last step is the most impactful." Chaeryeong shook her head to stop you from continuing, which was a failed attempt.

"Hear me out, okay. It could reverse his dislike for me, like I'm not even trying to make him fall in love with me anymore, I'm just trying to not make it awkward working next to him. Frankly, I'm really thinking for the team here, It'll be good for the work environment."

"Right." she drawled, narrowing her eyes at you as she took a sip of her coffee.

"If you don't believe me, watch." you said, getting up from your chair, keeping your head up high, as you walked out of the break room.

You found Soobin still sitting at his desk, using the computer. Everybody else was either in the break room, or outside eating lunch, but he was just there.

Looking at...hedgehogs?

When you squinted your eyes to see the search more clearly, you found it was 'hedgehog pet food'. It was odd, but you smirked to yourself as you slowly approached him.

You had material for your last step.

T = TAKE INTEREST rules: in his interests

"Hey." you breathed out. Soobin jumped a little, immediately closing the hedgehog tab. Then, he spinned his chair around to you, collecting himself.

"I'm so sorry for earlier today, you know, wasting your time and stuff."

His eyes widened a bit in shock, then he cleared his throat, holding up a smile. "Oh. Well, thanks for apologizing."

You nodded. "Yeah, you know, I just get so weird at work when I don't get enough sleep. My hedgehogs keep me up at night, it's a nightmare."

"Wait, you have hedgehogs?" his brow perked up.

Again, you nodded, that time with a smile of achievement. "Mhm, yeah. People say from time to time, 'oh it must be so easy', and I'm just like, go get yourself a hedgehog first." you were getting in character as you talked, arms folded.

“No, exactly. People think it's so easy!"

"Oh my god, wait. You have a hedgehog too?" you asked, fauxing disbelief, slack-jawed.

"Yeah, I do. Only one though. I heard its hard with multiple." he said.

"It is." you mouthed which earns you Soobin's light chuckle, his eyes morphing into crescents.

"Hey," your brows perk up at him speaking up. "I'm sorry for you know, getting mad at you. You were just trying to be friendly—"

"So, here's what I'm getting. Everyone with the exception of me, is betting on Soobin not falling in love with Y/N by the end of the month?" you heard Yunjin say, very loud and very clear.

Your eyes widened as you looked at Soobin, who was very confused, back to Yunjin, who was walking backwards, facing Chaewon, Jaehyun, Sunghoon, and Sakura. They were just coming in from outside, holding the lunch they promised to get.

When Yunjin turned around, she stopped at her tracks, looking at Soobin who had now stood up from his chair, then you, who was already standing.

You inhaled then exhaled, your arms crossed as you bit down on your bottom lip.

"Shit." you said under your breath.

"So...so what I'm hearing is that you made up this stupid plan—"

"It's called nut." you muttered.

"You know that's not helping you out, right?" he scoffed, turning around to the side to quickly run through his hair.

Soobin had publicly embarrassed you by giving you a 'we need to talk', and making you follow him like a child to the printing room. Which, isn't known to be a friend to privacy.

He was practically scolding you right in the open, the glass walls showing the scene to employees outside.

"Look, I don't know how they found out. I only told this to Chaeryeong."

"The receptionist? Are you insane? Of course it'll get out if you tell the receptionist at work!" he hissed, then he exhaled, his shoulders dropping a bit.

"Was this, like, your way of hazing me? Be honest."

Would this get you out of trouble? You weren't going to admit that you did this to plan his doom.

Or make him think you did it because you liked him.

You finally nodded. "Yeah. Its like a tradition. We even did it to Yunjin when she first came."

"You bet on her falling in love with you? By the end of the month?"

"Yeah. People do this type of hazing a lot in sales." you lied. "I'm surprised you haven't heard of it."

"Well, that's weird. Because it's quite literally against the rules." when he saw your eyes widen, and your composure breaking, he continued, "Hazing is qualified as harassment to HR."

And then, boom. The final blow.

"Ah. I see!" you squeaked, your anxiousness reaching an all time high. "Well, good thing this was just friendly, you know, games." you said as you quickly headed to leave the room.

"I'm going to report you to HR." he said, as you reached out for the door knob. You spinned around, with hands on your hips, and a trembling smile. You took a deep breath in.

"You know what's so great about this country? Freedom! And rights! You have the right to report me to HR, and—and seriously, I commend you for it. So, you know, good luck." you said, then turned around to the door, a curse slipping out your mouth.

Then, you turned around to face Soobin again. "I would, though, like, appreciate it if you didn't. But, you know, your choice." you corrected your earlier statement, chuckling awkwardly.

Soobin only gave you a tight lipped smile, one that highlighted his dimples. Which just confirmed your doom.

You finally walked out, stomping to the break room. You needed to know how everyone found about this.

Everyone's gaze fell upon you when you walked in, the mood being tense.

"He's reporting me to HR." you finally said, breaking the silence.

"What? Wow, you bothered him that bad?" Sunghoon said.

"Oh my god, is she going to get fired?" Yunjin added. "Before me?"

You rolled your eyes, pulling out a chair to sit down, your energy was at a complete low. Your attention snapping to Jaehyun, who was chewing his fried chicken loudly.

"Can you close your mouth when you eat asshat?!" you snapped.

"Jesus—alright, alright." he said putting his wing down.

"Y/N, I don't want to say I told you so, but I really want to." Chaeryeong whined, flailing your arm around. You glared at her, but nod to give her permission. You definitely deserved it.

"I told you so." she whispered, which earned her Chaewon's shaking head in disapproval. "What? It felt good, if anyone's wondering."

“I think I can go convince him not to report you." Sakura spoke up.

You shot your head up to Sakura. "Wait, seriously? Oh my god, you're a genius—a mentee has to practically obey their mentor. Thank you so much Kkura, you're seriously the best."

She lightly laughed. "I mean, I'll try. I don't know if it'll actually work."

You blowed her kiss, mouthing a thank you, pouting at how cool she is.

"So, when exactly are you guys going to makeout?"

And, the moment was ruined.

You flipped off Jaehyun, to which he responded with sticking out his tongue immaturely. But then that reminded you of the reason you came here in the first place and your face soured.

"Wait, how did you guys know about the bet? I mean, it wasn't technically a bet—how did you guys know?"

Chaewon spoke up this time. "You told us. At the diner a few weeks ago. You don't remember?"

You shook your head, brows knitted as you slowly tried to recollect the memory.

"God, you must've been really wasted."

In conclusion, you caused your own downfall.

For the rest of the week, you tiptoed around your manager. Especially after Sakura informed you that Soobin wasn't budging. You don't know what you thought it would do, Mr. Geuk was known to be spineless, he wouldn't fight for you to stay if HR determined that you had to leave. But you weren't in the position to risk anything, so you really tried to suck it up.

Mr. Geuk was easy, but exhausting to please. Another week went by, and every minute felt like you would be called up to his office and told about your termination. So, you went back to the break room, to prepare a plate of tea and a sandwich—you truly were a slave at this point on.

When you walked to approach his office, the tray in your hands, you heard yelling. Then immediately, the door burst open with Soobin coming out. He gave you a quick glare, but then went on to ignore you. When you saw him go, you hesitantly walked in the office.

"Mr. Geuk? I prepared you some food, I know the job gets hard." you said smiling, putting the tray on the small coffee table.

"Ah, thank you. You didn't have to, but thank you." he said smiling to you.

You walked over to his desk slowly. "What happened with Soobin?"

He sighed. "I really thought I'd get another you, but I think now I've just come to appreciate your skills a lot more." you raised a brow, waiting for him to continue. "He's a horrible salesman!" he yelled throwing his hand up.

"Way worse than Chaewon. He's driving all our clients away!"

"Ah..." you said quietly. "Are you thinking of... firing him?" you asked with a glint of hope. It was low of you, but if he was gone, that meant you weren't going to get fired. Of course that would make you attempt to bite away a smile.

"What? No! I mean, I wish! But we don't have the resources to go through another hiring process." he said, groaning as he spinned around in his chair. "Fuck, did you see that little brat? Stomping out when I gave him just a little more hours as punishment!"

You sighed. If the manager wasn't going to fire him, that meant Soobin was going to stay. You had to do something.

"Boss, don't scold him too much." you reluctantly mumbled.

"Huh?" he sneered. He stopped spinning, facing you now.

"I mean, he's practically a rookie. I wasn't the best when I first started working here, you know? He just needs a little guiding, I promise. Just... lay off the hours." you bit your bottom lip, "Pretty please?" you clasped your hands together, pouting.

He exhaled, shoo'ing you away. "Alright, alright, I'm trusting you. Go back to work."

You nodded, a smile forming at the ends of your lips as you exit the office.

You looked to find Soobin, but he wasn't at his desk. So, you tried the next best thing.

The printing room.

"What are you doing?"

Soobin was, once again, hunched over the printer. This time, poking the inside of it with a pen. When he turned his head to see you, he rolled his eyes, ignoring your question.

"That's a lot of attitude for someone who's bad at their job." you blurted.

"The manager told you." he concluded, sighing. You nodded, your arms folded, smugness overtaking your pose.

"I'm trying to fix the printer." he said, turning back to it.

"With a pen?" you asked in disbelief. "Hey, if you're doing this to impress Mr. Geuk, don't, it won't work."

"What? Seriously? So, what will? I can't get stuck with unpaid overtime this week." you didn't respond, choosing to stay silent, to which he responded to with a groan. "Look, I'll—I'll drop the HR complaint. Just tell me how to get the manager off my back, you're clearly on his good side."

You bright up, walking over to him now. "We should make a deal first."

He cocked his head to the side when you snatched the pen from his hand and took a sheet of paper from the printer. "A peace treaty, let's make a peace treaty." you corrected yourself, writing the title Soobin & Y/N peace treaty.

"Also, permission to call you Soobin?" you asked tilting your head, still holding the smug smile.

"Yeah, yeah whatever." he mumbled.

All there is to say, was that once again, you managed to dig yourself out of your own hole — successfully.

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helgafolk618 · 3 months

Text

Hilda and Jo: Together Again

(aka another fanfic idea i had even though i should be working on erikafolk)

"Everything's changed, hasn't it?"

"Yes. But it's the way of the world for things to change. It wasn't for nothing. We'll always have our memories of this place."

"But that's all it is! Memories. Our house is gone. The mountain's gone. Our life here's gone. And now... Now you're gone too."

...

Rewatching the episode "Together Again" in Adventure Time: Distant Lands and finding out about the scrapped storyline for Hilda E2E8 "The Fifty-Year Night," I had a tearjerking idea for a Hilda fanfic.

Johanna dies during Hilda's late teens. What caused her death? Who knows! One thing is certain though: Hilda will never see life the same way again.

Sure, she still was the same fearless, adventure-loving girl; but her motivations for her love for adventures changed. She kept adventuring more than ever in order to distract herself from having the time to even think about Johanna. She still had David, Frida, Alfur, Twig, and all of her wonderful friends, but often she wonders how long will she live for until she dies and gets to join her mother.

It didn't help that Johanna's body disappeared. Her own daughter couldn't even meet her as a ghost.

More information:

In her adult life, Hilda became a naturalist and explorer, authoring several books about her exploits around the world. She's becoming to come to terms with her mother's death. She thought, this is what Johanna would want her to do.

Until one day, she discovered strange, magical creatures, "Skuggers" she called them. Bearing a striking resemblance to a certain fae entity, these creatures have immensely powerful illusion magic. Also a very peculiar oddity with them: they're always sighted with seemingly random individuals who just died. Hilda found out the pattern: Skuggers always look for the remains of fairy-human hybrids. Just when Hilda was getting over Johanna, she saw this as an opportunity to finally get closure about her mother's whereabouts.

She said goodbye to her friends and acquiantances back in Trolberg, only bringing Twig along for her quest to find out more about Skuggers. Although, all her attempts failed because, well, hard to fool a being capable of supernaturally fooling your very senses. After weeks of failure, she was gonna head back to Trolberg when she finally spotted a Skugger, not too far from the wall, bringing a bag of bones; it seemed like it was going somewhere. Hilda and Twig followed it discreetly and discovered a fairy circle in the mountains that was hidden by the Skuggers' magic. Unfortunately, at this point, they were found out and the Skugger sprinted along the mountainside, with Hilda and Twig chasing it. Who did those bones belong to? It seemed like she was finally gonna figure out where they stash all those fairy-hybrid remains. She's gonna see her mother again.

And then she fell.

Very high.

She landed with a thud.

And then she died.

In her final moments, she saw shadowy silhouttes, and then a very strange, colorful, yet familiar environment, before blacking out.

Years has passed. Hilda rose up from the ground and saw that she was transparent and skeletal. She was a ghost! Her tombstone was even there! She thought she was buried at St. Guglows, but a quick turnaround revealed gigantic mushrooms, jade-colored rocks, and a flock of white woffs in the air. She was in Fairy Country!

Turns out, Phinium and Lydia saw Hilda dying and "abducted" her with the watchtower, but it was too late to save her. They hid her body in a very remote place in the isle, where no one but them could find it.

Hilda saw that the entire island is in darkness. Shouldn't the sun never set in Fairy Country? To be honest, she also didn't expect a lot of jury-rigged radiotowers, skyscrapers, and roads. What happened to the fairies?

Yeah, Fairy Country as we know it has been transformed by years of mad science and old magic, thanks to Victoria Van Gale. She assumes de facto control over all of Fairy Country and dubbed them the territory of the "Republic of Van Galea". The Skuggers were her personal inventions, meant to exploit the island's properties where what you see is what people want to believe they are.

Those remains? Skuggers use the ghostly forms of fairy-human hybrids in order to power their illusion magic. They're locked up somewhere in the watchtowers.

Try guessing who else is a certain half-fairy ghost there... ;)

And you know how Hilda reacted to all of this? The fact she died prematurely, the fact that her friends thought of her as missing for years, the fact that Victoria Van Gale has messed up the Fairy Isles beyond belief?

She simply lit up with joy and thought, "I get to see Mum again!"

(The burden of those questions will come to her later).

#hilda #hilda the series #hilda netflix #hilda fanart #hilda fanfic #hilda au #hilda johanna #helgafolk fanart #helgafolk fanfic #hilda together again

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bokettochild · 2 months

Note

came back wrong sounds like a very wild thing

and maybe twi could have obedience? something about wolfie and training could be angsty.

If no one suggested that one for Wild, I wanted to do it anyways LOL

Since I already posted Day 4 elsewhere, I'll give you Day 16 personally <3

Rating: Teen

Wordcount: 8,047

Summary: Coming back changed the Hero of the Wilds, and he's known it for a while. he's not sure how much changed, although he's happy to let Zelda and Purah try and find out. He does know though that there's a certain sort of power that lurks under his skin now, one capable of many things, but it comes with one great disadvantage: he doesn't know how to make it stop once he's started to employ it.

(This is set in the Inner Hero AU, so there are references to the other fics of that series, so consider this your warning!)

It’s no great secret to anyone in Hyrule that there’s something Wrong with their hero. Since the shrine of resurrection, he isn’t what those who once knew him remember, and even those who’d never met the him from Before can sense that their hero isn’t exactly like the rest of them. Most of them accept that oddness as just another quirk or some such, just something intrinsic to Link, the weird kid who wanders the kingdom and somehow is also the hero that defeated the Calamity.

The Zora accepted it as a change brought by time, much as their own selves have all become altered in the hundred years since last they saw him. Maybe they know too; maybe they’re just too polite to say, but they never fuss about it.

Zelda knows though. She’s told him plainly that she knows he’s not what he used to be. He’s still him, she assures, because she knows the smile he spares for his mounts and recognizes the little habits he’d never have suspected she’d caught before the Calamity occurred. He’s still him, she says, but he’s More now too.

He came back different.

Purah and Zelda have looked into it, with his permission. He's sat and watched his girls sit with their head’s together over tests and papers and results as they try to understand how he’d changed. It’s nice, in a way. He's not very involved and, in many ways, he feels as though they forget at times that he’s able to hear them and the clinical way they refer to their study of him, but it’s not with any ill intent that they do so. In fact, it’s sort of nice to slip into the background of their minds and watch them at their most natural, see their bright smiles and hear them talk over each other and cut each other off in their excitement as they come to similar conclusions

He treasures the time spent up at the tower above Hateno, He treasures the time where he can simply exist as he is beside those he cares about, watching them bustle about doing what they love while he can finally rest in peace, knowing that his work is done, that nothing calls him out and that he can linger there as long as he pleases, without guilt. He can see what he was denied; Zelda’s joy, her eagerness, her freedom, and enjoy his own as well.

It’s good.

Returning to the rest of the world though, he’s always reminded again of how illy he fits among them. Magic has faded from the land of Hyrule, but he is steeped in it. Those around him walk with only the slightest bit of the power of heaven in their veins, yet his body overflows with magic that seeps out of the cracks left by his death. Zelda has compared him to the broken pottery he leaves across the kingdom, cracked and damaged by his adventure, and from those cracks, the power that twisted up with his own to bring him back from the brink now ekes out into the world, twisting and strange. Hylians aren’t meant to understand the feeling of Death’s touch, she says, eyes solemn and wary, lip pulled between her teeth as she’ll scan his face for signs of pain or sadness at her words. He knows she means well to do so, but he understands, and there’s really no need to be sad over such a thing.

He’s not normal, but it’s not their fault, and as they still accept him, still treat him with kindness, he feels little hurt for the changes that occurred to bring him to their sides. It’s a sacrifice he’d make again, even knowing what it will do. Watching Hyrule flourish in the wake of the Calamity, watching their victory paint the world anew in life and prosperity for their people, it’s worth dying and being pieced together again for, even if what holds his once drifting soul to his broken body is a magic no one can explain to him.

Life is good as long as he learns to hold back the worst of the magic, keep it tamed and keep his temper in check, which is hardly any struggle around most people. There are a few, certain people who drive him crazy and make him want very much to do things a hero ought not, but he holds himself back, and when Zelda really wants him to test himself, to see how much he can restrain the twisting Thing that has become part of him, she’ll challenge him to deal with those people. Really, they make it a game, so even if those people do drive him mad, seeing Zelda beam and mumble to herself at what they’ve learned from such encounters makes it worth it.

For her, he’d do anything. After all, he’s already died for her, what worse is there?

Well, as it would seem, leaving her behind for the sake of undertaking a new journey is worse. She’s happy in Hateno, capable of defending herself with both her magic and the archery her family is renowned for across the ages. She’s not as good as he is with a bow, but it’s a near thing, and he has no doubt that one more trip to Rito village, one more study session with Tulin and Teba, is all it will take before his princess can out-do him with his own preferred weapon.

Even knowing she can handle herself just fine doesn’t make leaving her behind any easier though. He’s still not sure how he’d managed, but he had. He had and he’d stumbled across the other heroes, joining them in their quest. It’s not perfect, not by any means, they’ve found peace in their new team. While there’s still some settling and sifting to be done before they click together like a real team, they are getting there.

He may have thrown a wrench in that process though.

See, since meeting the heroes, his magic has been rather well behaved. None of them rub him the wrong way, and while he isn’t exactly friendly with them all, they’re not the sort of people who push his boundaries or upset him either. He can co-exist beside them, and in many ways they remind him of the champions. He’s not sure how Time would feel knowing that in many ways he makes the cook think of Chief Urbosa, but he thinks Twilight might get a laugh out of being compared to Daruk. Of course, not everyone has similarities to the champions; Warriors isn’t like anyone he’s met before and he doubts he’ll ever meet anyone like him again, but it’s there for the rest. It's mostly just small things; they are, after all, their own persons, but finding something familiar to define them with makes approaching and working beside them easier. Four possesses the same quiet strength as Riju, Legend the certainty and experience of Teba, and Sidon’s wit and charm peeks through the traveler’s smile at times. Using what he knows about other people, about those he knew before, he can navigate the group with some decency. There's hiccups and there’s snags, but fortunately, they rarely if ever involve him, and never his magic.

Until now.

He sits back and tries to learn when he finally realizes that the others have magic spilling out from their cracks as well. Warriors is fire and Twilight is rich earth, Somehow, Legend is the force that quiets both, and despite a harsh outwards demeanor, the man holds a surprising amount of sway over the group as a whole.

In many ways, Legend reminds him of the Zelda from Before. There’s a potential for something bright and warm and rambling, something that would flourish if left alone and free to its own will, but like his princess, the vet restrains it for some reason or another. Duty drove Zelda, and he thinks something similar leads the vet, because no other factor has yet appeared. It’s there though, that warmth and light, mixed with a strength that is regarded and respected even if it isn’t followed. Legend is no leader, but his word has power, and they all listen to what he has to say in regards to what it is that they face. Not only that, but the vet’s magic is a twisting, free thing that is embraced and clung to by those in their gathering.

Warriors and Twilight seek its peace, and Sky urges it forwards with bright smiles and open arms as he somehow slips past the thorns of trailing magic to get at the hidden blossoms beneath. Time, in his own way, accepts it, although he does little with it. Wind seeks it, and Hyrule, whether the traveler seems to realize it or not, has tuned himself to it.

Wild may be clueless as to how people work normally, but he can understand magic. He can see how Hyrule’s flickering and dancing light embraces the magic of the veteran, and while he doesn’t grasp where the older ones do, he does linger and bask in it.

Wild doesn’t blame him. Legend’s magic feels like safety, like the goddess statues across Hyrule, the ones that quiet his soul and the twisting of his mind to grant him peace and rest even when he’s at his worst. Hylia, they say, is a goddess of Life, so it’s natural that her light would ease or even erase the darkness of Death. He's not sure how Legend’s magic echos that of the goddess, like the moon reflecting the suns rays even once the bright star has faded from view, but he welcomes that warmth and light all the same.

Losing that light affects them all. They are, after all, all beings of light, so losing the source that travels with them, having it snuffed out or hidden, leaves all antsy and ill at ease, and he doesn’t blame them. He still doesn’t appreciate Hyrule’s approach to fixing it though.

They’d talked, and maybe he'd let his own worries and insecurities spill over. Maybe he’d not correctly portrayed what he thinks he’d seen in the face of their brother when the vet had had Claims explained to him, but what really bothers him is how quickly his words were cast aside, how quickly Hyrule had returned to twining his magic with Legend’s own, laughing and chatting like nothing had happened and he hadn’t tried to tie down a ray of light itself.

He’s seen people try to tame light, bend it to their will and force it to linger rather than shine over the world as intended. His princess was never meant to stay locked in a castle, hidden in dark rooms to pray for power she wasn’t allowed to seek on her own terms; to find within herself what had always been. Seeing her free now, riding where she will and doing what she wants, he sees that light realized, knows the same could be found if Legend is allowed to do the same, as he’s expressed wanting. Light doesn’t belong to anyone after all, but to everyone, although they can’t hold it or keep it. Legend feels the same, at least with their group, and he wishes Hyrule would understand that.

The problem is, he’s not sure how to talk to vet about it.

Twilight, Warriors, Sky and Hyrule all feel free to approach, but Wild has never had anything with which to connect himself to the vet, no foundation for a friendship. They're such different people, and he’s not so blind as to have missed how the vet recoils when his own magic flares and hisses along the edges of the others in camp. His magic, the twisting, festering, darkness of it, entwines with Zelda’s like second nature, both dimming each other to the point of being null. In contrast, he lacks the familiarity with the vet to do the same, and instead, Life’s light flickers and hides when he loses control of the darkness of Death.

He wishes it wasn’t so, but it is.

How does fire that burns and earth that tends to smother have such a way to twist up with light, yet the un-named otherness of his own soul can’t find a harmony of its own?

“Wild, hey, focus.”

He shakes himself, staring up at Twilight where the other is standing next to him with a worried look on his face. “Huh?”

“You good?” The rancher asks, “you drifted out again.”

It wasn’t a memory, but it strikes him that he has, in fact, been sitting here unmoving for the last twenty minutes or so, and that’s probably just a bit worrying to the others. “Yeah, just lost in my head.”

The man frowns, settling himself down slowly on the loam underfoot so he’s sitting at Wild’s side, dark stare searching over him as though for an injury of some kind. “Anything on your mind?”

Does he tell? He can’t help the way his eyes drift to where the vet and captain sit back to back by the fire, Hyrule so close his knees are almost touching the vet’s as they face each other and chat, busy at work with their sewing and magic even as the captain writes what’s probably a report to his princess. They look at peace, somehow already over the latest hiccup of their group and already resettling into place as though it never happened, as though the subject of Claims never came up at all. How can do they do it?

He shakes his head. “Just thinking is all.” The doubt on the face of the other is soothed with a smile, dark gaze softening at the sight of flashing teeth. “Not memories or anything, I promise.”

“If you’re sure...”

“I am,” he says again, chuckling slightly for extra good measure. “At worst, I’m a bit homesick, at best, just confused, and considering this is me,” he laughs again, watches the face of his brother relax into one of those easy smiles they are al so used to, “I’m pretty sure that’s just normal.”

A heavy hand claps down on his shoulder, squeezing slightly, and despite the lingering concern in the rancher’s face, he is smiling. “If you’re sure. Remember though, pup, I’m here if ya need me.”

“I know.” He smiles in return, but beneath, his magic seethes just a bit. Twilight is great, Twilight is amazing, Twilight is there if he needs something and always offers a shoulder to lean on, and he’s incredibly thankful for that. But the rancher is also against the idea of using most magics, and despite the fact that he knows Twilight would never resent them for their own use of the stuff, his choice being personal preference rather than a hard belief about it in general, it does still mean he’s rather...ignorant, at least when it comes to magic. He can’t help here, and he probably wouldn’t even understand half of what Wild would need to explain. No, because unlike certain people, he doesn’t have a mastery for teaching. Good grief, he wishes Zelda was here, or even Purah, they could explain this mess to him, and maybe help him find a solution. He’s good at fighting and exploring and making things, not magic. He’s not qualified for all of this!

At the other side of camp, he sees Wind sit up abruptly, eyes scanning the world around him, wary. He's not the only one either, for Warriors is grabbing his sword as he scans the trees, Legend’s ears are flicking about, seeking something. He doesn’t feel or see or hear anything though, and it’s only when he sees the fiery glow of Hyrule’s gaze on him that he realizes he’s lost control again.

His magic really doesn’t do any of them any favors, does it?

He needs to gather it up again and tuck it away in a neat little box, watch guards relax again as the heroes puzzle at the sudden disappearance of whatever they’d felt or thought they’d sensed. Warriors gets up and starts patrolling the camp, leaving his own magic twisting here and there, like a spider casting a web, but predictably, he finds nothing to indicate that they are in any danger, even after he and Twilight have checked the forest around them.

Honestly, the longer they look, the more he wants to shrink in on himself and just... bang his head against a tree or something.

He feels like a threat to those he cares about, and they have no idea, because they don’t know it’s him that makes them jump to an alert and drop what they’re doing to instead prepare for a fight.

It’s worse in a fight though.

The next time they’re on a battlefield, Warriors leading the charge with Time and Sky, Legend and Four covering their asses and darting around the field to take out the threats that creep up upon the others, it slips loose. The problem is that it’s his monsters they’re fighting, recognizable by the fact that they’re not nearly as horrific to look at as the creatures from nearly all the others’ eras. He knows them, and they know him, and its sort of his habit when fighting in his own world, where the likelihood of other people being around is basically null, to just... let go.

Magic surges around him, a twisting, snapping thing that creeps and twists and twines over and around the enemies, driving them into a state of frenzy at the threat of something, something that their senses can’t pick up, but their souls can feel all the same; feel creeping over them, ready to snatch, to grab, to destroy. Death is scary to the creatures that aren’t familiar with its touch, and even those that act as it’s messengers tremble when the focus of Death is turned from their prey and onto themselves. The bokoblins run about attacking anything that moves, including each other, and it makes sweeping in and slaying them so much easier than if he was just fighting like the others do.

It helps that the monsters have come to know to associate the creeping presence of Death with his face, and they know, even before his sword slips across their throats or through their chests, exactly what’s coming. The ones that have met him before, brought back by red moons and dark malice, only fear it more with experience, and it’s sort of...satisfying, unleashing it all and watching the enemy panic, half knowing what’s coming to them and the other half unaware but just as panicked.

Once they’ve all fallen though, there’s always one little problem, one he’d sort of forgotten about.

“What the heck is this?” It’s Legend calling out, eyes wide, stance wide, sword gripped in one hand and fire rod in the other as his gaze flicks across the field; searching, looking. Similarly, Warriors is staring about with that glinting look in his eyes, teeth bared, and ears pricked back, a dragon ready to surge out and rip something apart the moment it reveals itself. All the heroes are still looking about for the final threat, and Wild-

Wild can’t control the magic.

It happens, sometimes. If he leans into his magic, he can’t tame it so easily. It’s like a particularly eager stallion; plunging ahead no matter how he leans back in the saddle or tries to turn the creature off course, turn it, slow it, circle until its energy dies and it listens to him again. Magic isn’t an animal he can slow down though, and despite their efforts, neither he nor Zelda have found a way for him to get it under control by himself. They just have to wait until it calms of its own accord, for now. Purah said she’d try and help him find a way to control it, since it’s his, it's part of him, so reasonably he should be able to control it, just like a limb, a muscle, another part of himself physically. Zelda says it’s because it’s still new, still unfamiliar, still something he’s adapting to, so he’s still learning how it’s part of him, like a pup discovering its own wagging tail, although far less innocent because puppy tails don’t have everyone around you preparing to fend off a death blow.

Warriors snarls something he can’t make out, something that has the twisting darkness around them surging back in kind.

Wild isn’t trying to threaten, he swears. If anything, there’s something in the magic, in himself, that hears the dragon’s threat and eagerly bounces forwards in response. Now is not a good time though, in fact, it’s probably the worst of times.

Hyrule’s eyes are turned on him, harsh and just slightly scared, like they had been in the inn room. Still, the other hero darts to his side and, under his breath, unable to be heard by the others past their own panic, the traveler hisses at him. “Can it, champ.”

“I can’t,” he hisses back. He’s trying, but he’s fighting against a part of himself that he still can’t understand, and he’s not sure how to bind it back when it’s strong, only when it’s just beginning to peak out and is just the slightest of strains. Now it’s a howling force he can’t keep back, and all attempts are failing badly.

“Are you trying?” The embers in those eyes are flickering, but Hyrule’s voice isn’t harsh so much as straining, worried. The gaze of the traveler is trailing over the rest of their group, aware of their panic and doing his best to try and quell the source, but unwilling, Wild realizes, to reveal it. Hyrule has no interest in exposing him, just making him turn it off.

The problem though it he can’t. “Yes! It’s not working!”

Some very harsh words slip from the tongue of the other, but it’s not hylian. It’s not fae either, which he’d recognize, but something smoother and less lilting. Legend would know it, but he doesn’t. He doesn’t suppose it matters either.

Flames rise against his darkness, a raging force that shrieks and screams. Hyrule’s ears are pricked back as far as they can go, too many teeth glinting in the fading light of the setting sun, light that sets his face aglow as magic surges in a silent battle around them, one that has Warriors tensing, Twilight balking. Wild can feel the wings of the dragon flaring, the lash of the tail, can almost see the rise of the wolf’s hackles. There’s a crackling energy around their chosen hero, a surge of light from their vet, shields rising against the unseen threat, but Hyrule’s magic surging against his own, lashing and licking along the darkness in a roaring flame that reaches to consume and destroy, has his full attention.

He doesn’t try and fight it. Hyrule is pushing back what he can’t handle himself, but the boundaries thrown up around his own power, boxing it in and forcing it back, won’t last, and he knows it. The strain is clear on his brother. He’s not sure how strong his own magic is, but the color is draining out of the traveler’s face, his breath quickening as the whipping and shrieking of the fae’s magic pushes back against the hiss and shadow of Death, steadily pushing it back and bottling it up within some confines the traveler must have forged himself, because it’s not just tucked back into the spot within him that he usually pulls it from. The hand on Hyrule’s sword is turning white with the effort of actions unseen, but he sees the guards of the others lower, sees the strain flow out of their shoulders as, at long last, the magic is bottled up and away, still writhing and twitching, but unable to break free.

Honestly, it’s terrifying. He didn’t know Hyrule could do that.

The traveler sags beside him, breathing hard as he stumbles, but when he reaches out to catch his brother, Hyrule stumbles back. “No, just....” dark lashes flutter and Hyrule’s lips are slightly grey, “Don’t.”

So, he doesn’t.

Not too far away, Legend is creeping up into the space of their captain, voice low and wary, like he’s approaching a spooked animal, and like any other time in the past, the moment clarity returns to eyes the color of holy flame, Warriors is dropping his sword and grabbing ahold of his brother, hunching over him as Legend sighs and let’s himself be clutched close, huffing words the rest can’t hear but which have short little ears twitching slightly out of their pricked back position.

Similarly, Twilight is checking in with the rest, reaching to touch, to self-assure. Clapping Wind’s shoulder and brushing against Four. Time reaches out to the rancher first, but the touch lingers, both comforting each other and themselves before turning to Sky, who’s sheathing the Master Sword and happily accepts the worry of the others, assuring with a smile and a light nudge to Twilight’s shoulder, eyes bleeding warmth that Wild envies. None of them approach the captain, but Legend calls something to them, huffing and half laughing past the arms wrapped around him, an promise that all is well as his magic soothes twisting scales and quells flames.

The warmth of Life surges, like a balm, around all of them. Legend’s reach touching the rest even despite the fact that they seem as blind to his efforts as they had been to the source of their previous fear.

“You alright, boys?” Time asks, Twilight at his side as the both move to the sides of their wildlings. Their leader’s eyes linger on Hyrule, and when he reaches out, the traveler lets himself sag against the man’s touch.

Hyrule doesn’t like touch, Wild reminds himself, trying to excuse the denial he’d faced at a similar offer. Only Time seems exempt from that rule, and it’s probably only because of the fairy magic that lingers faintly over the other, the remains of an old Claim resting about the edges of his magic to mark him as something not quite fae, but treasured by them all the same. If the traveler reaches for that magic, he doesn’t say anything, and Time doesn’t seem to notice either.

“I’m okay,” he answers honestly. The worst effect his own magic had had on him was fear at not being able to control it; not the overwhelming terror that seemed to grip the others that they would fall victim to it.

Twilight’s eyes linger on him shortly, but drift away after, apparently accepting his words as truth and determining that the others, still shaken and, in Hyrule’s case, trembling with exhaustion, require his attention more. Still, the rancher grips his shoulder briefly in passing, assuring himself and offering brief comfort to the champion in the process.

It’s nice, but as he moves away, leaving their leader and his mentor to tend to the exhausted half-fae, he can’t help but watch the others. Specifically, his gaze trails to where Warriors is sagging against their vet, making the smaller man stumble with a cut off laugh as he pats broad shoulders, magic still twisting and entwining with flames as easily as though they’re naught but harmless air.

Life pours across the group of them, a heavy weight that settles across their shoulders with the grace and warmth of a cat climbing up to greet it’s master, its presence a comfort that he wants so bad to catch ahold of and nestle into, like he once had curled at the base of goddess statues when his own power wouldn’t quiet, letting the power of Hylia soothe him when he couldn’t do it himself. He wishes there was a goddess stature here too, because as much as Legend reflects that same power, his arms are rather full of their captain, and the hold of gloved hands in red fabric says that he won’t be free for at least a while more. Not that Wild could ask anyways. He and Legend aren’t close to begin with, asking for the same welcome as is granted to the dragon that has slowly been tamed to his brother’s presence isn’t realistic by any means. Still, it’s easier to hide the writhing presence bottled up by force when he’s slinking closer to the source of comfort in their camp, so if he settles closer to the vet and captain than he normally would that evening, after finishing with making dinner, well, Hyrule’s the only one who really seems to take notice. Warriors is distracted with teasing their sailor, and while Legend’s dark gaze lifts to greet him as he moves over, the man says nothing at his choice of seat, just keeps eating his dinner quietly.

Hyrule is staring, a warning look in those eyes when they’re on him, but worry when they turn to the veteran. He doesn’t say anything from where he’s slumped against Time though, across the fire and picking at his food. The traveler is exhausted, and reasonably so. The others don’t know why, so it’s natural that they’re worrying, and the cave dweller hasn’t elected to explain himself either, so they probably will continue to do so for a good while.

Despite the camp-fire between them, Hyrule’s magic, weak and tired, has still managed to entwine with the vet’s. Legend answers back with flickers of his own power to the embers that scatter themselves at his feet, assuring and fond, even if there’s confusion in the flicker of his ears, the twitch of his hands and the gaze of starlit violet that turns from time to time to meet faintly glowing embers.

Wild doesn’t dare try and sneak his own flickering, snapping power out to try and reach, knowing far too well what the reaction would be, but also wary of the escape of the still writhing power that surges against the wall of flames raised around it.

How Hyrule bottled back his strength, he doesn’t know, but it feels dangerously like a weak seal; like golden power meant to keep back evil. He isn’t sure of a lot right now, but the idea of that makes him uneasy and definitely bothers him. He’s not a monster or demon that needs restraining by holy power, but the fact that he’d failed to hold himself back enough that Hyrule would feel the need to take such measures at all is just as pressing a pain to his pride and soul as the action itself.

The magic holds though. His soul doesn’t creep and screech against that of the others after that. Doesn’t even surge when his emotions run hot. If anything, it thrashes within its confines, but it doesn’t escape to twist like a net around those he considers friends and brothers. Unfortunately, that also means that it doesn’t emerge when faced with enemies either.

The next time they’re in battle, this time against something Legend calls a ‘gleeok’ and which he desperately hopes will never appear in his own world, he somehow can’t summon his own magic at all. It’s there, he can feel it, but trying to bring it out, even just the smallest amount, proves to have no results. Every prod, every call, every little hiss of his soul to push and pull and just get his magic to respond, has it only thrashing more, wild within its confines but not breaking past them.

His sword plunges and stabs, and the heroes around him do the same. Warriors is a whirlwind of power and ferocity as he charges in head on, the vet’s magic raising in a shield and Hyrule’s own likewise surging across the field in strikes that leave their foe howling and screaming in anger, flames licking across the ground in response, but his own power can only beat at the bounds created around it. He can’t break them, but he’s trying. He’s trying and surging, biting his lip with focus to the point he knows there’s blood trailing across his face from his own efforts and not any wound dealt by the dragon like monster they’re pitted against, but it isn’t working.

He hisses as a tail rises up to thrash at him, drops and rolls to avoid the impact of it hitting him, all the time pushing at the seal on his own magic in a valiant attempt to summon it, only to still be met with no results. He could ask Hyrule, if the other wasn’t on the other side of the enemy and currently absorbed with trying to stop the head firing at him with flames that surge and lick around a magic shield thrown up at only the last of moments. Still, with the amount of effort it took to raise the seal on his power, he doesn’t know if the traveler could even summon the strength to undo that same work, not when he’s so busy currently trying to avoid getting killed.

It’s driving Wild mad though.

Before, he was the knight of the princess who had the power to topple an army of lynels. He'd lost some of that to Death, but in return had been granted something he’s used like second nature since, letting it ruin and destroy and tear apart and terrorize anything and everything that dared rise before him as he’d worked across the kingdom in an effort to rescue the one who’d called him back out of Death’s hold. He can’t control it once it’s free, but he’d at least been able to employ it before, and being without it in the first time in his memory has a fear he hates bubbling up from within, anger surging at the bonds of magic to snap and hiss and cry with a wildness he hadn’t known he possessed.

He wants free. He wants to unleash the wildness he’d been named for and let it at the very least leave their foe cowing, if only slightly, as the imminence of its own fate is made clear to it.

He can’t.

He can’t because Hyrule bottled it, and he hates that.

Not Hyrule. He doesn’t hate Hyrule. The traveler had done him a favor by rendering him tolerable for the others to be around again without leaving them straining themselves to understand the threat they’d felt slipping about them. What he hates is the bounds of the seal closing in around him like the walls of the shrine he’d woken within time and again, aching pains all over from half healed wounds that had been strained over and over by efforts to push free from a prison of stone. The shrine had felt as though it was closing in on him and keeping him sealed, leaving him only to awake and fight and pass out, water filling his lungs and straining his body as he’d tried to escape from his confines only to fail yet again.. He’d healed long before he’d escaped, and since letting on the truth to Purah (but not Zelda, he could never tell her about that), she’d started looking into why it had kept him so much longer, but so far, they have had no results. Still, the feeling of being trapped, sealed, shut off from his own strength, it drives him mad. There’s a writhing and snapping, a hiss and a scream, a howling of something in his soul as it tears at the bonds.

Slowly, they give way.

It’s like a dam breaking. Just a crack, then a hole, then the rest comes crumbling down and, from the other side of the battlefield, he hears Hyrule’s breath shudder, catches ember eyes rising, wide and terrified. And then he’s free.

His magic sweeps like a fierce current, a mighty wave, a shadow that plunges over the field and has the gleeok before them screaming, turning its heads for a source of the threat it feels, and thus missing the approach of the captain who’s own surging flames rise beside the shadows, a pulsing, pounding force as the man severs a head and sends it falling towards their waiting leader, who dispatches the thing before the creature can do more than cry out in pain. Writhing darkness twists, twining and trapping and sharing the feelings that only moments before had overwhelmed him; now wrapping themselves around their foe and leaving it frenzied and panicked as the rest of the heroes, despite their own obvious awareness of the new presence, surge forwards.

In a strange way, he thinks the flames and scales of the captain are surging stronger as well, pushing back with a hiss against his own magic, one he can’t help but respect, power surging away to let the older man take charge and wreak havoc on their foe while he focuses instead on keeping it on edge. The captain’s magic isn’t stronger than his, but it’s not something he has a wish to reckon with either, and like so many times before, he finds that even the twisting of Death finds something to admire in the lashing of the war hero’s own power.

Their foe falls quickly after that.

Once the gleeok lies dead, dissipating into black and purple smoke and leaving only the barest remains, he feels able to breathe again.

The others though, are not. Wariness marks their features, save Hyrule who looks so, so tired; desperate and weary as though the idea of trying to push back the force of their brother yet again, especially after it had somehow broken through his last attempt, is a far worse fight than the creature they’d just felled. In a way, Wild thinks it must be, because trying to push it down himself is far more a struggle than simply felling something tangible and mortal that fears it.

This time though, there’s a surge of another magic, a familiar one, one that pulses and creeps, seeking, against his own. It recoils, as if by instinct, but still presses back against his magic, not pushing so much as following, and light against crypt like darkness which has him looking up in time to catch the gaze of indigo eyes that have lifted to focus on him, sharp and piercing.

Legend’s breath shudders, lips pursing. He knows now.

Wild tries, tries so hard, to make his face do something, say anything to indicate that he’s sorry, he’s trying, he really isn’t doing this on purpose. It’s hard though when something warm curls up inside of him. It's not his magic, not the cold death touch he knows and has learned to view as an extension of himself. It’s a steady gleam of warmth, not harsh and burning like Hyrule’s, not fierce and violent like Warriors’, but a gleam of light rather than heat, one that curls around some innermost part of him, like it’s wrapping around his very heart.

Legend’s eyes glint curiously, stars blazing within.

The vet’s feet step towards him.

Hyrule whips around to stare, something on his lips and magic surging, throwing up walls and shields and warnings- protective, wary, guarded, begging. The urgency that flings itself at their vet has the other stumbling slightly, but not stopping. Their traveler looks like he wants to scream, ember gaze trailing between them, panicked, worried, wary.

Wild tries not to let it bother him. Hyrule is just worried for their vet, their light, his friend. If Zelda trailed into something he felt was a risk, something that made his senses recoil as violently as his power makes the others do, he’d feel the same way, he knows it. Still, the wariness of his brother isn’t helping anybody right now.

“Wild,” the same low, even tone that the man uses to ease Warriors own of his own head rises to play in his ears, “what’s going on?”

He opens his mouth to answer, but no words come to mind, just a panic, a wish to assure, to apologize.

The warmth curled around his core flickers. Light, pure, unaltered by death-touched power, presses around him. The vet steps closer and then, like stepping before a goddess statue, he feels the surge of his own magic quiet. The rest of the heroes ease, looking about in confusion for the threat they’d felt a moment before but there’s nothing there. Nothing that isn��t twisting and twining, muted by light that itself is dimmed to their senses in an echo of his own quieted power.

Hyrule is gaping.

Legend is just looking utterly confused, stopping only a pace or so away, ears flicking between a curious forwards tilt and a wary press back against his skull. Violet eyes search his own, flickering golden with power that’s familiar, that’s safe, that’s Hylia’s hand in a gentle caress to quiet his own soul and tame the Wrongness that came back binding him to the body that ought to have perished a hundred years ago.

The vet sighs, eyes slipping closed and shoulders sagging with the motion. “The heck, champ...” He doesn’t say anything more though, just raises dark eyes to stare, something crooked in the smile that’s offered to him, tired and weary but bright like the magic that pulls his own inwards again and eases it back where it belongs; nestled beside his heart and twining and twisting, crackling at the edges but not in ire as before. No, he reaches, and despite the twitch of the vet’s brows, the warmth of holy magic answers with a press that his own grasps and clings to.

He shouldn’t grab, try to grasp, shouldn’t set off the same ire that Warriors has triggered before, but with the alternate option being to scare the wits out of his brothers, he thinks Legend might understand.

“You good?”

He nods, and this time he actually means it. “Yeah.”

“Good,” Legend shakes his head, that weary little smile still on his face. “Honestly, you guys...”

“Sorry.”

“I should have seen it coming,” violet glimmer, twinkling oddly as they catch his own, the glow of the shrine still lingering in wild blue. “Just don’t make Wars and Twi lose their shit, ‘kay? I’m not keen on dealing with that again.”

He promises he won’t.

He doesn’t either. Yes, he trails after the vet as the other moves back to the rest of their group, but he’s wary of leaving the immediate presence of the power that quiets his own. Still, he doesn’t get in the way of their usual post battle arrangement. Doesn’t get in the way when Warriors drapes himself over the smaller hero with a huff, soul still seeking the presence it had felt before but finding naught of the force that surged alongside his own. He doesn’t deny Twilight’s wary check over as the man seeks injury among their group, or Time’s verbal call for them to report on their condition.

Injuries are treated, and camp is made. Hyrule’s eyes are burning into the back of his head, gaze confused and magic seeking, pushing, looking for that presence he’d strained so much to contain before, yet finding silence in it’s place.

He doesn’t stray far from Legend for the rest of the evening, but by morning, he’s got the courage to risk it, and it’s like he’d never released the terrible creature within to begin with.

Even so, all this doesn’t mean that, next time that they make camp, Legend doesn’t have questions. Ringed fingers catching his arm and the vet’s steady voice calling to Time that the two of them will do a quick round of the area to check for threats are his only warning before being dragged out of earshot of their brothers and having an answer demanded of him. Legend has questions, and while he doesn’t have answers for all of them, he does his best to give them. He owes that much after the trouble he’s caused.

The vet’s pinch of his brows, tired sigh and sinking shoulders are becoming quite familiar. “So, your magic is death-touched, and you scare the shit out of others with it.”

“Yeah.”

There’s something between a scoff and a laugh that puffs out from the chest of the other. “Dragons, wolves, fairies, now Death herself, good grief.”

“I’m sorry.” He’s not sure why, but he feels he ought to say it.

There’s the smile again, Legend’s shoulders shaking and pink hair swishing as he shakes his head once more. “Not your fault, champ. Magic’s screwy, and if there’s anything I'm learning with y’all, controlling it’s always a pain in the arse.”

Still, he feels awful for adding to the mess that the vet is already caught in.

“Okay,” a clap of the hands and a lifting of glittering stars to focus their light on him, “here’s the deal. Your magic quiets around holy magic. I have holy magic. You need it to shut up, you can come to me, but for the love of all holy, please, I am begging, do not mess with the captain, and whatever your beef with Hyrule is, don’t get me involved, deal?”

He blinks. “Deal. I wasn’t...I-” it takes a moment, but the vet waits, although his foot taps the ground as he does, nervous maybe, or just impatient. He can’t tell. “I know better than to mess with the captain,” he finally manages. “Hyrule... we’re working on it.”

“Good,” Legend sounds, “but again, I don’t want a part of it. Whatever tiff you two have, settle it yourselves. If you need help with your magic, I’m here, but I don’t stand for funny business, comprendo?”

He blinks.

The vet rolls his eyes, sighing. “Do you understand?”

“Understood.” He wishes people would just speak Hylian to him instead of switching mid conversation.

“Good. Now, anything else I should know?” And it’s not harsh, it’s not cold, its’s said with the tilt of the head in a way that almost reminds him of Wolfie in their early days, that same half-amused look in dark eyes as the one that had followed him as he’d acquainted himself with a new world, freshly brought back into it. There’s nothing more to share though. Not for now, but he promises to tell if there’s anything he thinks of. Legend accepts that answer too, nodding and setting out again to continue their patrol.

He doesn’t get it, but he supposes that’s not the point. How the vet handles the nonsense they throw at him, he can’t fathom, but that he does at all is a blessing. They may laugh and jest about sharp tongues and scathing remarks, but the vet has the patience of a priestess to handle all of them, and he’s thankful for that.

He came back wrong, twisted and death-touched and terrifying to those who don’t understand why he is the way he is. It's not fun to explain and it’s tricky to live with, but at least he has a way to control it, even if it does mean asking for help. Still, he doesn’t hate it. His magic is a tool to terrify and harm the enemy, and he values that tool. He doesn’t cherish it, doesn’t adore how it affects those he cares about, but he’s glad he has it. He's glad he has it and he’s working to understand it, to control it.

Maybe having someone who understand these things, who knows magic because he’s steeped in it and has lived with it forever- not just unlocked it in a moment of desperation and without proper guidance to master it- will help. Who knows, maybe he can learn something from the vet, maybe even something help Zelda! That would be nice! Being able to return to her and teach her even just the smallest bit about her own power- help her in the way she’d begged the goddesses for, the way he’d wished he could for all the time he’d spent at her side unable to offer more than protection- it’d be nice.

Magic is weird, but maybe, maybe, he can get a handle on his Weirdness.

At the very least, he can make it shut up now when he needs to. So that’s a start!

#the inner hero au #asks and answers #linked universe #linkeduniverse #lu wild #lu legend #lu warriors #lu hyrule #lu twilight #febuwhump2024 #febuwhump #ketto writes #my inability to conclude things neatly is BLEEDING through in these fics lol

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deadboyswalking · 2 years

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Pro Hero! Class 1-A's most popular demographics and just some thoughts about them

Pinky: mass appeal. Pretty much everyone loves her, but she's especially popular with pre-teens because of her bubbly, fun attitude and physical strength.

Froppy: most popular with children BUT unsurprisingly beloved by people who live near the coasts, where she usually works, because of her rescue capabilities and no-nonsense but kind demeanor.

Ingenium: most popular with people in the 20s-50s demographic. He's not great with young people (somewhat stiff personality) but his competence, dedication, and compassion are widely respected. Old people also like his proper behavior and he has a large, thirsty contingent of female fans in their 20s because of how hot he is under the helmet.

Uravity: super popular with teenage girls in particular as many see her as a role model, especially those who also come from low-income backgrounds. She also has a large fan following from the martial arts community and often assists in demonstrations at martial arts schools.

Tailman: His largest following is martial artists of all ages and he likes it that way. Older senseis in particular highly respect him, especially his adaptability and creation of new styles to accommodate his Quirk, so he regularly gets invitations from all over Japan and other countries known for martial arts (like China and Brazil) to come learn and develop new fighting techniques.

Chargebolt: huge popularity with little kids for his friendly, goofy demeanor and cool Quirk. As someone with a very difficult to control Quirk that took him until he was 19 or 20 to fully master, he visits kindergartens and elementary schools regularly to help newly-manifested kids control theirs. Also has a sizeable following among gay men for his good looks.

Red Riot: mass appeal. He hits vitually every demographic with ease and the public adores him. He is considered "Husband Material" by many and receives legions of marriage proposals. He keeps every gift and drawing kids send him and he is known for being very kind and patient during and after rescues. His dedication towards chivalry has paid off in the form of being one of the most consistently popular heroes in Japan.

Anima: most popular among animal rights activists, environmentalists, and animal lovers of all kinds. As a hero who communicates primarily in JSL, he also has a lot of fans in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities as well as among people with speech disabilities.

Sugarman: he has a small but dedicated group of fans in the crossover community of "guys who like baking" and "guys who like bodybuilding."

Tentacole: HUGE popularity among people with mutant-type Quirks. He's not primarily a battle or rescue hero so he doesn't get a lot of attention from the media, but his recon skills and rock-solid temperament are unmatched and are often the thing that changes the tide of a difficult battle to favor the heroes. Other heroes speak very highly of him, so he has been getting increased media attention lately. The day he went on a talk show and took his mask off on-air broke the internet and led to a national conversation about discrimination against people with mutant Quirks.

Earphone Jack: she deliberately flies under the radar as she primarily works underground recon. She has a small fan following who try to spot her every time she re-surfaces in the background of a larger battle that requires her offensive capability. There is a massive online conspiracy theory that the hero Earphone Jack and popular solo punk musician Kyouka are actually the same person.

Cellophane: popular among teenage boys and young men. Women like him too, but his laid-back and sarcastic personality meshes well with younger guys. Surprisingly huge group of lesbian fans for the same reason, especially his dry humor. Everyone wants to be his friend and his interviews are always hilarious.

Tsukuyomi: really, really popular among goths, punks, and other alternative-types; basically, anyone who feels like an outsider, especially kids who are treated as villainous because of their Quirk. He gives talks about Quirk assumptions and mentors a lot of at-risk teenagers in his spare time. His serious and reserved demeanor makes it difficult for the general public to connect with him, but his bravery and humility make up for it and he is generally well-liked and well-respected as a hero. Dark Shadow has entire Instagram accounts dedicated to it, as does Tsukoyomi's soothing, sonorous voice.

Shouto: his demographic is solidly adults in their 20s-50s. His battle prowess is nothing to joke about and he is a hero who primarily faces the most dangerous villains Japan has to offer. He is also unfathomably hot, so his good looks have a huge fanbase of their own, especially among young women and teenage girls. Something often said about Shouto is "the camera loves him, the microphone hates him" and interviews are not his forte. His extremely blunt and quite awkward personality puts old people and kids off him, but his dedication and compassion during rescues usually change his naysayers’ minds. He is certified as a field medic and, controversially, is a major advocate for both villain rehabilitation and for heroes to have more accountability for the way they treat others behind closed doors. His characteristically blunt "It literally doesn't matter how powerful a hero is if they're beating their kids at home" soundbite has swayed a lot of people to his cause.

Invisible Girl: does not have a fanbase and does not want a fanbase. She works extremely dangerous undercover and espionage missions and virtually nothing is known about her by the public except that there's a hero registered as "Invisible Girl." Every student and teacher who knew her at U.A. is sworn into secrecy and they often go a year or more without hearing anything from her.

Dynamight: unexpectedly, his single biggest, loudest, most dedicated demographic is pre-teen girls. We're talking feral little bastard girls who growl at the other kids and get into trouble at school. Let's be clear: this is not a crush situation, he's just like their god or something. Other heroes, like Cellophane and Chargebolt, tease him about being Great Explosion Murder God-sama, but he personally thinks it's funny and secretly likes his unhinged hellions. Other than them, his next biggest demographics are teenagers and young adults for his good looks, unmatched combat skill, and intense, unforgettable personality. Even as a mature adult, he's not very good with young children (he often scares them even by accident), and old people and the media find him rude and unlikeable. The public is surprised when he begins speaking regularly, intelligently, and very seriously about the importance of stopping Quirk-hierarchies in schools and society in general as they lead to bullying and discrimination for those treated as lesser (like Quirkless people) and psychosocial and personality issues for those treated as greater (like himself). Related to this cause, he is the face of the growing group of heroes who want to stop using the ranking system. In general, the public doesn't quite know what to do with him as none of the facets of his personality and causes seem to line up for anyone that doesn't know him personally.

Deku: mass, international appeal. His warm, kind, enthusiastic personality and natural empathy makes him extremely popular with civilians, even if his crybaby status never went away as he got older. He is seen as the face of modern Japanese heroics and usually represents his country at various hero conferences around the world. Though he has the most powerful combat-oriented Quirk among Japanese heroes, his power is so great that most of the time, he only gets called out for the most dangerous situations outside of his regular patrols. If needed, other countries also call on him to help in their own situations, so regretfully, Deku has to leave most smaller and medium incidents to other heroes so he can be available for the biggest problems. While he’s on-call and waiting to be summoned, Deku works in the control room of various missions as a gifted combat strategist and Quirk analyst, often working as a consultant for hero team-ups and match-ups against villains. However, his many fans and friends are also increasingly worried about him as he never seems to take days off or time to himself; he has unwittingly and embarrassingly sparked a national debate about work-life balance for heroes, especially as his mentor essentially worked himself into the ground trying to be everything to everyone everywhere at once. This debate led to a new labor law requiring heroes to take mandatory, regular vacations, work a reasonable number of hours per week, and have frequent check-ins with a therapist to prevent mental burnout. As a person, Deku also gained great admiration for the op-ed he published supporting Dynamight’s cause against Quirk-hierarchies, admitting the truth about One For All and his prior Quirkless status in the process.

Grape Juice: widely despised except among men who self-identify as “incels.” By his early 20s, his hero license has been suspended multiple times as credible accusations and eyewitness accounts of sexual misconduct are brought to light and he is currently facing permanent revocation of his hero status, multiple lawsuits, and possibly prison time. Many heroes are expected to testify against him, including his co-workers at the small, unpopular agency that took him on after graduation when no one else would as well as all of his former classmates (including a modulated voice testimony by the elusive Invisible Girl) and retired hero Eraserhead.

Creati: her intelligence, leadership skills, and bravery make her an incredibly popular hero among the public at large. She is also stunningly beautiful, which definitely doesn’t hurt her public perception, and she has many admirers all over Japan. Despite this aspect of her fanbase, she is seen as an exemplary leader among heroes and is highly respected by all demographics, particularly women.

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