#sheik I’m looking at you too don’t think you got away

[llulabeee]

Ok I know there’s a lot of controversy about the collector literally being called the name of his species, but think about it. It’s like a human being named guy. He’s just some guy who is guy. It’s kind of the same thing

#sheik I’m looking at you too don’t think you got away #toh collector #I’ve thought about this for a while #guy fieri I’m also looking at you #inspired by him

[smilesrobotlover]

First| <-previous next-> (coming soon)

AO3

Chapter 7- The Meeting

The letter from Link has been haunting Zelda since she’s read it. She had planned to meet with the resistance in two days, and even moved her schedule around for it, but Link was demanding to meet with them now. It seemed that they would be here tonight, but Zelda was struggling to make time to meet them.

During the many meetings, it was all she could think about. How she was going to get to Telma’s bar, how she was going to disguise herself as Sheik, what she was going to say to Edmund and Amber. She was probably going to miss supper for this, but it was fine, this was more important than supper. She just wished that it hadn’t happened so last minute.

Goddesses, why couldn’t they wait two more days?

She didn’t pay attention to any of the meetings, anxious to get them done and to leave to get to the next one. She’d nearly fallen asleep countless times, and Edmund would discreetly wake her back up so she wouldn’t humiliate herself—which she was grateful for. She really wasn’t fit for any of this queen business at the moment, but there was so much to do, such little time.

As soon as the current meeting ended, Zelda found herself sitting in her chair, staring blankly at the wall instead of rushing to get to lunch. This was her only break, and she didn’t have the energy to move. Edmund didn’t move either, and he spoke to the nobles and representatives for Zelda as she stared. Soon the room was empty, and the two were left alone.

“Zelda,” Edmund started softly.

“It’s fine, Edmund. I just need a moment.”

Edmund stared at her. “You weren’t at breakfast.”

“No I was not.”

“You’ve missed breakfast these past few days.”

“I have.”

“And you’re about to miss lunch.”

“That’s fine.”

“And you look like death.”

Zelda gave Edmund an annoyed look and he leaned forward. “Zelda, you’re killing yourself. Why don’t you tell me everything that’s happening? Why don’t you let me help?”

Zelda continued to stare silently, not in the mood to argue.

“Look, I’m worried about you. I do… care about you. We were good friends as kids, and those memories I can’t forget. I want you to be taken care of, is that so wrong?”

Zelda stayed silent.

“You’re exhausted and you’re hungry,” Edmund continued when she said nothing, “I don’t want to think about how dehydrated you are. Just, come to lunch, take a break, and take care of yourself.”

“I can’t take a break whenever I want, I have too much to do—“

“Oh my Labryn, Zelda, the nobles can wait! They can wait for you! You need to take care of yourself first!”

Zelda sighed and stood up. “I’m not in the mood for this right now, Edmund.”

“When will you be in the mood? When you’re on your deathbed? I’m not wanting to wait until then!”

The queen didn’t respond and went to walk away. It was childish to not say anything, but she was too tired to argue. Too tired to think of something to say. She was just… so tired…

She reached the door and leaned against the wall, holding her aching head. She suddenly felt lightheaded and sick to her stomach. She heard footsteps approach her from behind and she gave Edmund a glare.

“Zelda?”

She huffed and reached for the door, but black dots appeared in her vision, and she felt herself begin to stagger.

“Zelda!”

Her stomach did somersaults as she began to fall, and soon she was surrounded by darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sun was beginning to set as Rusl and Link arrived at castle town. They moved quickly through the field, and Link could tell Epona was enjoying the free movement. She had become just as stir-crazy as he did after his adventure, so when she had a chance to move around outside of Ordon, she clearly enjoyed herself. When they arrived, they quickly got off their horses and headed into the town, trying not to take up too much space with their large animals. Normally, Link would let Epona roam free in the field while he did his errands in town, but after what he’s found out, he decided against it. It took a while to get to the bar; surprisingly the town was busy despite the day coming to an end, and people were always blocking their way, causing the horses to grow upset with the small space. Rusl and Link finally were able to tie their horses to a post near Telma’s bar where less people were at, and they hopped down the stairs and entered it. The bar was relatively empty, save for a few patrons who were quietly drinking by themselves. As usual, the place was dark and was only lit up by torches and candles scattered throughout. In the back, Telma and Auru were chatting at the table they all normally sat at, and Telma’s face lit up when she saw the two men, quickly burying them both in a hug when they got close.

“Link! Rusl! It’s so good to see you two!” She exclaimed, giving their shoulders a firm pat when she pulled away. Link smiled politely and let her lead the two men to the back table, where Auru was smiling.

“I figured you’d both be here tonight,” Auru said, ruffling Rusl’s hair as he sat down. “So what’s going on?”

“I’ll explain everything after Ashei and Shad get here,” Rusl said simply, fixing his ruffled hair.

“Hm, we sure they’ll be here tonight? This was pretty last minute.” Auru asked, leaning forward to look at both Rusl and Link.

“I know, I know it’s inconvenient but… it’s important,” Rusl frowned as Telma set down a mug of ginger ale in front of him, which he began to pick at mindlessly. “Me and Link found what’s been causing these disappearances, there’s no need to waste time anymore.”

Auru raised his eyebrows and he nodded knowingly. “Well then, that is quite important.”

Link nodded, staring at the milk in front of him—neither him nor his father bothered to drink anything. It was silent for a moment until Rusl awkwardly cleared his throat, catching Link and Auru’s attention.

“Well, we’re lucky you’re here, we won’t have to wait for you. You’re a lot harder to get a hold of than the others,” Rusl stated with a smile, and Auru gave a hearty laugh.

“Oh, my boy, I haven’t left castle town in weeks.”

“Did Sheik send you a letter?”

“He did. He told me to ask around castle town to gather information. It’s the only thing I’m capable of doing now,” Auru leaned back in his chair and stretched slowly, a pained expression on his face. “I’m getting too old for all this action.”

Rusl frowned and went back to staring at his drink. Link studied his father’s face, but it remained blank. When he really wanted to be, he was a master at hiding his emotions. There was a moment of silence again, being interrupted by Telma coming by to bring food for the two men, and Link couldn’t help but cheer softly.

“Oh goddesses, thank you Telma,” he said, already digging in, “I’m starvin’.”

Telma laughed and patted his shoulder. “I figured you’d both be hungry from the journey!”

“Aw, you didn’t have to do that, Telma,” Rusl chuckled slightly, and Telma lightly punched his shoulder.

“Oh, you hush, it’s the least I can do for my friends! Now eat up while we wait for the lovebirds to arrive!”

Link stared at Telma as she walked away, and he turned to look at Auru. “Are Ashei and Shad—“

“Engaged.”

Link’s mouth dropped. “Engaged? When did this happen?”

“A couple of weeks ago.”

Rusl and Link both glanced at each other in shock. Link knew that there was something going on between them, but after ten years, he figured that it was nothing.

“How did you know about this?” Link asked.

“They announced it when they stopped by,” Auru explained, gesturing with his hands. “I hang around here most of the time so me and Telma got to hear about it.”

“It’s about time,” Rusl scoffed, a teasing smile on his lips. “Those two were drivin’ me crazy!”

“No kidding! It’s a little late though. I doubt Ashei would be able to have kids at her age.”

Rusl’s face scrunched up. “What are you talkin’ about? She’s barely thirty! And you’re a fool if you think that Ashei and Shad would even want kids.”

“Oh come now, they’re good with kids!”

Rusl gave Link a look and he snorted. They both knew that they were terrible with kids. They could keep them alive, but they couldn’t keep them from crying. Auru rolled his eyes and waved his hand away.

“I just think it’s a waste to get married and then not have kids.”

“That’s an old way of thinking, Auru,” Rusl said, finally taking a sip of his ginger ale. “Some people don’t need to have kids. It ain’t our business what they want to do anyways.”

Auru scoffed slightly, but he didn’t continue. Link continued to eat in silence, not realizing how sloppy he was being. He was ravenous. He felt Auru watching him and he looked up.

“What?”

“You’re eating like a growing teenage boy. When was the last time you ate?” Auru teased slightly, and Link scratched the back of his head.

“It’s… actually been less than two days,” he muttered, giving Rusl a look. Neither of them ate dinner before searching the woods. They spent the next day sleeping and then the whole day traveling. Auru’s eyes widened when Rusl and Link remained silent, both having guilty looks on their faces.

“Neither of you have eaten in two days?” He asked, shocked.

“Maybe a bit longer than that–” Link muttered, and Rusl jabbed at him lightly.

“It’s fine—“ Rusl quickly said, but Auru shook his head.

“Eat that food Telma gave you, boy!” He commanded in a stern tone. Rusl quickly turned to the food and started eating it, looking like a guilty kid. Link snorted slightly and his pa glared him down. Auru patted his back with a satisfied look and leaned back.

“Must’ve been a crazy few days. What did Sheik have you do?”

“He wanted us to investigate a missing woman and Goron from Kakariko,” Link answered since Rusl’s mouth was full of bread.

“Ah, so that’s how you found it.”

Link glanced at Rusl who went back to staring blankly at the food. Auru picked up on the mood change and frowned.

“What is it?”

“We’ll explain when Shad and Ashei get here,” Rusl said quietly. Auru looked between the two and frowned.

“Alright,” he said, a worried look on his face as he stared at Rusl. It grew silent at the table again and the old man glanced up, his face lighting up. “Speaking of…”

Link turned around and saw Ashei and Shad walking to the group. Ashei looked annoyed while Shad smiled at the group. Rusl turned as well and shot up from his seat, marching towards the two.

“Hey! You two jerks!” He shouted, pulling them both into a hug. “You can’t just get engaged and not tell me!”

“Well next time, be here when we visit!” Shad teased, hugging him back. Ashei smiled slightly and gave Link a nod as he walked up to the two.

“When’s the wedding?” Rusl asked, his hands on the two’s arms.

“Don’t know yet, we’re just playing it by ear,” Shad answered, looking at Ashei who nodded.

“We’re in no rush,” she added.

“Well, you better have me as your best man, alright?” Rusl said with a smirk.

“My dear Rusl, I wouldn’t have it any other way!” Shad laughed. He glanced at Link and walked towards him. “And how are you doing, old boy?”

Link chuckled and gave him a side hug. “I’m doin’ fine. I’m happy for y’all!”

“Oh thank you,” Shad glanced at Ashei who was chatting with Rusl, a happy expression on his face. “I wouldn’t have imagined being with her, but here we are.”

“Love is a fickle thing, isn’t it?”

“Indeed it is.”

Rusl and Ashei walked up to the two. “Let’s sit down and talk, yeah?” Ashei started, “I want to know why you both were so intent on meeting today.”

“We can’t, not without Sheik,” Rusl sighed, sitting down. “He’s not here yet.”

“This has been eating me up inside, and you’re saying I have to wait longer?” Shad said lightheartedly.

Ashei pulled Shad down in the seat next to hers and gave him a look. “Sheik may be busy, this was pretty last minute, yeah?”

“So I’ve been told,” Rusl grumbled. Auru patted him on the shoulder with a chuckle, and the group started to lightly poke fun at Rusl. Telma came by with food and drinks for the couple that arrived, and she closed the curtains to give them privacy.

“Tell me when you start talking about what happened,” she said, “I still have work to do, but I’ll be sure to kick everyone out.”

“Sure thing Telma,” Link said with a nod, and the curtains were fully closed, leaving the group isolated from the drunkards that came to the bar.

“So… what did Sheik have you two do?” Link asked the couple, and they glanced at each other.

“Sheik told us to help investigate the disappearances with a captain named Hoz,” Ashei answered. “We really weren’t finding anything of importance though.”

“Ah, did you come here with him?”

“No, he was quite intent on continuing the investigations,” Shad jumped in, pushing his glasses up his nose. “That was the most focused soldier of Hyrule I’ve ever met.”

“It’s good, Hyrule needs more men like him,” Ashei said, staring at her drink.

“Though he was sort of a pain to work with,” Shad mumbled.

Ashei snorted. “He was. Everything needed to go his way otherwise he would implode.”

“... Does Hyrule still need more men like him?” Auru asked cheekily, and Ashei glared at him.

“Yes.”

Shad laughed slightly and sat up straight. “Yes yes, he was still good to work with. I’m glad that some soldiers are still trying to do their jobs.”

Ashei gave a knowing nod and took a sip of her drink as the others mumbled in agreement. The group started to chat about mundane things, how they were doing, how the families were doing, and what they had planned afterwards. Link was constantly looking over his shoulder, expecting Sheik to suddenly appear (which he did every time they met up), yet there was no sign of him. Rusl was getting more anxious as the evening went on, constantly fidgeting with his hands or pacing the small room, pretending to be observing the wall. Soon it became too late–the bar was fully empty as Telma closed it down and kicked out angry drunks, and the only area lit up was the back room where the resistance sat. Yet no sign of Sheik, and Auru finally let out a loud sigh.

“I don’t think Sheik is coming.”

“We just need to be patient,” Ashei said, “she’s a busy person.”

Auru frowned. “‘She?’ You think Sheik’s a woman?”

Ashei’s eyes widened for a moment, but she quickly recovered. “W-well, Sheik is just a mysterious person, that’s all. I uh… say she could be a woman… or… something.”

The group stared at Ashei who stared hard at her drink.

“And what makes you think they’re a woman?” Auru pressed, a teasing smile on his lips.

“What makes you think they’re a man?” Ashei snapped back, getting angry. Auru raised his hands defensively.

“I’m just teasing you. You just never get flustered like that!”

Ashei glared at him and started cursing under her breath in frustration. Shad cleared his throat, wrapping an arm around her.

“Well, it doesn’t matter if Sheik is a man or a woman, what matters is that they’re not here right now.” He glanced up at Rusl who was still pacing back and forth near a corner. “We should start without them.”

Ashei sighed and nodded, a defeated look on her face. Auru nodded as well and stood up to drag Rusl back to the table. Link stared worriedly at his pa as he sat down, his face drained of all blood as he stared blankly at the table.

“Goddesses, are you alright?” Shad asked, and Rusl waved his concern away.

“‘M fine,” he mumbled. The group didn’t seem convinced by that answer, but they didn’t say anything else.

“Well, Link, Rusl,” Auru started, “tell us what happened. What is taking these missing people?”

Link glanced at Rusl who was still staring at the table, and he stood up, deciding to lead the conversation.

“Do you guys remember the shadow beasts?”

The group all froze, staring at Link with wide eyes.

“Shadow beasts? You mean those horrible black creatures that plagued all of Hyrule during the Twilight invasion?” Shad asked, and Link nodded.

“Yes, I… me and my pa found one in the woods… two nights ago,” Link frowned for a moment, that night feeling ages ago. He continued, “I think it’s a shadow beast that’s gotten stronger for the past ten years. It’s what’s been taking these people.”

“Oh… Labryn…” Ashei muttered under her breath.

“How do you know it’s the cause of all these disappearances?” Auru asked.

“We–uh—” Link glanced at Rusl who was still unmoving. “We sorta… found out the hard way…”

“Oh no… did someone–?” Shad started, but Link quickly stopped him.

“No, no it’s ok. I was able to stop the abduction but… I think it’s pretty obvious that this… mutated shadow beast is what’s causing all the disappearances.”

“Ok,” Ashei breathed out, “so it’s one of those shadow beasts, a little mutated, but we know what it is now. We should go out looking for it, yeah?”

Link pursed his lips. “Yes, but… be warned. I fought so many of those things by myself back then–”

“Yes you did! You were marvelous with the way you slashed them with your sword!” Shad exclaimed, swinging his arm around as if he had a weapon. Link smiled but it quickly went away.

“Yeah, well… I fought this one, and it didn’t die no matter what I did, so… I think we should be careful. We can’t underestimate this thing.”

The group nodded.

“Alright, well, thank you for telling us Link,” Auru said. “No one in Castle Town described anything like that.”

“No kidding,” Ashei replied and Link nodded glumly. This wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t let such a thing live, he couldn’t help but feel guilty over it.

“Well, it’s late, we can discuss plans tomorrow, but in the meantime, I think we should all get some rest,” Auru stared sternly at Rusl and Link, “you two especially. I can tell you need it.”

Link smiled slightly and Rusl got up quietly, leaving the room in an instant. The group stared in shock as he disappeared behind the curtain. Auru looked at Link and pointed at where Rusl left.

“Is he alright?”

“I… I don’t know…” Link looked down, debating on whether he should tell them the details of what happened, but he really didn’t want to, and he didn’t know if Rusl would want him to. “He’s probably just tired… the uh… the shadow beast was… aggressive to say the least. I’m gonna go talk to him real quick.”

He felt everyone’s eyes on him as he left, and he glanced at Telma who looked worried, but she forced a smile when she saw Link.

“Did you all start the conversation without me?”

“Oh— goddesses Telma I’m so sorry—“

Telma waved his apology away. “I’ll make the others tell me. Rusl went upstairs, sweet pea.”

Link nodded and slowly walked up the stairs, his entire body suddenly feeling heavy. He glanced around at the secret upstairs inn, trying to remember which one was normally reserved for him and Rusl. He poked his head in the first room, finding Rusl laying on one of the beds, his hands resting on his face. Rusl flinched when he sensed another person near him, but he quickly relaxed when it was Link.

“Spirits, Link,” he chuckled, lying back down. Link smiled and sat down on the other bed across from him.

“Pa… are you…?” He started, but he stopped when Rusl glanced at him. Rusl’s face didn’t hold any annoyance, but instead guilt. He sat up and sighed.

“I’m ok, Link. I’m… sorry for how I was acting down there… I just…” Rusl paused for a moment before sighing again, resting against the wall. Link tilted his head

“What?”

“Oh… it’s not your burden to bear.”

“Well… I kinda already know why you’re upset so… hiding it from me is a fruitless effort.”

Rusl grinned slightly. “I suppose so… I just…. Ever since that night I’ve been feeling so… terrified every waking moment—no—even when I’m trying to sleep I’m terrified, I just—“ he stopped himself and rubbed his face. “I don’t know.”

Link frowned. “I know the shadow beasts would turn people into other shadow beasts, maybe you’re still feeling the effects from that?”

Rusl shrugged, a disturbed look on his face.

“You… also were almost eaten,” Link chuckled darkly, “that would traumatize anyone.”

Rusl smirked slightly, but it quickly went away, so Link continued.

“I mean… I know I’ve nearly been eaten myself. So many times. By giant plants, and a giant eel, and wolfos trying to tear me to pieces, and spiders, and I guess smaller plants too, plus another giant spider, and possibly a lot of other things and—“

Rusl’s face had grown more concerned the longer Link rambled, and he quickly tried to recover.

“I-I mean, I turned out fine! Maybe? I mean maybe I haven’t turned out fine but—but it’s fine! I’ve kinda gotten used to it, everything trying to eat me. Heh, it makes me wonder if I taste good. I mean Midna will definitely say that I taste good but, you know—“

“Link, I don’t need to know this,” Rusl interrupted him, though he almost seemed amused. Link blushed slightly and scratched the back of his head.

“S-sorry, that kinda came out.”

Rusl chuckled slightly, which made Link feel a little better. He observed his father’s tired face and frowned.

“Pa… you should get some rest.”

Rusl raised an eyebrow. “Doting and worrying is supposed to be my job Link, not yours.”

“Well, who did I get it from?” Link rebutted, and Rusl laughed.

“Correction then: doting is a parent’s job.”

“But I am a parent.”

“Not my parent!”

Link snorted and Rusl joined him in his laughter. It felt good to laugh after these past few days. Link sniffed and sighed, staring at Rusl’s bed.

“You should get some rest though, Pa.”

“You should get some rest too, Link.”

Link pursed his lips and looked down, shifting uncomfortably.

“Not as much as you.”

Rusl raised an eyebrow. “How much sleep have you gotten in the past forty-eight hours?”

Link clamped his mouth shut. “I… um… like… four…. hours…?”

Rusl smirked and gestured for him to come over. Link sighed and trudged over to him, the lack of sleep catching up to him. He rested against Rusl’s side while he wrapped his arm around him, and Link finally relaxed. It always felt good to be held by one of his parents. Being an adult, it didn’t happen as often compared to when he was a kid. Rusl started playing with the tip of his ear and he lightly kissed his forehead.

“I’m proud of you, Link,” he said softly.

“For what?”

“For becoming the man you are today. You’re a good person, determined, and kind. And I’m proud of you for it.”

Link smiled slightly. “But you and ma raised me to be that way.”

“Oh, we were only trying to nudge you kids in the right direction. Ultimately, it was you who chose to become a good person. Give yourself more credit.”

Link sighed and drowsiness began to get the better of him.

“Thanks. I love you pa.”

Sleep began to take over him as he heard his pa say one last thing.

“I love you too, my son.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zelda awoke with a jolt. She was in her bed, her heavy dress was replaced with a lighter one, and her daughter was reading a book by her side. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, startling Amber.

“Mother! You’re awake!” She exclaimed, closing her book. “We were so worried!”

Zelda looked around the room, confused. How long has she been out?

“Father came to me and asked me to stay by your side! I hadn’t left once!” Amber continued. “I’ve just been reading this book about birds, I’m hoping to find one to match the birds Hylians used to ride, but so far none of them have been big enough…”

“Amber,” Zelda rubbed her eyes, still feeling exhausted. “Where’s your father?”

“He’s in meetings right now, he said he’ll come by to see if you’re awake!”

Zelda groaned and rubbed her face. What had been happening while she was out? She hated not being in control of everything.

“I hope you’re alright,” Amber added quietly, and Zelda glanced over at her. She had a worried look on her face, and she couldn’t help but smile.

“I’m fine, thank you for watching over me,” Zelda said with a smile, and Amber beamed at the praise.

“I’m so glad mother! Do you want me to fetch you some supper? It’s a little late but—“

“Wait, how long have I been asleep?”

“Oh! Um… a few hours.”

Zelda tried to hide her frustration, and she turned away as she groaned. She didn’t have time for this. She still needed to meet with the resistance! If she didn’t leave now…

Amber gasped as Zelda started to get out of bed, ignoring the vertigo that assaulted her.

“Um… mother? Father told me to make sure you stayed in bed a-and—“

“I’ll be fine, Amber,” Zelda grumbled, but she knew she wouldn’t be. It didn’t matter though, she needed to be somewhere.

“But… father said…” Amber’s voice trailed off, and Zelda heard another person enter the room.

“Zelda,” Edmund’s voice called out, and she sighed. Great.

“Father!” Amber hopped up and ran to him. “Mother’s awake! Do you want me to get a meal for her?”

“No, I already sent a maid to do that, my dear. You go get yourself to bed.”

Amber nodded and looked back at Zelda. “Goodnight mother.”

Zelda smiled slightly. “Goodnight Amber.”

She lingered for a moment, her mouth agape, but she finally turned away and left the room. Edmund and Zelda remained silent, both staring intensely at each other. Finally, Edmund let out a huff and started to walk forward.

“I’m glad you’re awake,” he said, “I brought you something.”

Zelda frowned. “What is it?”

Edmund sat down on the bed with her and handed her a little box. She carefully opened it to reveal a chocolate orange. She blinked several times, wondering if the lack of sleep had finally caught up to her and that she was hallucinating it. But the smell hit her nostrils, and she lightly traced the chocolatey edges.

“I remember you loved these things as a kid,” Edmund muttered, a nostalgic smile on his face. “I always hated them, but I did enjoy eating one slice with you whenever you had them.”

Zelda couldn’t help but smile as she grabbed a slice of the chocolate. She glanced at Edmund and her smile dropped slightly.

“How do you know I still love these?” She asked, and Edmund took in a quiet, deep breath.

“Do you?”

Zelda looked down and put one in her mouth. The chocolate instantly melted as it hit her tongue, the sweet flavor mixing with the tanginess of the orange rewarding her taste buds, and she couldn’t help but close her eyes in satisfaction. She hasn’t had one of these in years.

“It seems you still like it,” Edmund chuckled. Zelda opened her eyes and turned away, embarrassed.

“Yes,” she mumbled. Edmund hummed and leaned back, resting on his hands.

“I’m glad.”

Zelda turned to look at him, his mustache lifted up with his smile. “Why’d you bring this to me?” She asked.

“Oh, I figured you’d need an energy boost. Chocolate does wonders for that,” Edmund reached for a slice. “May I?”

Zelda nodded and offered one to him. He took a slice and bit into half of it. His face scrunched up in disgust and he covered his mouth. “Eugh, I still don’t like it.”

Zelda smiled and almost let out a giggle. “That’s quite a shame, they’re so delightful.”

Edmund grinned and stared at the uneaten slice. “I probably should’ve put the full thing in my mouth, now what will I do with this?”

Zelda stared at it for a moment, and before she could even think, she plucked it out of his hand.

“Can’t let it go to waste,” she said before putting the rest of the slice in her mouth. Edmund looked surprised but his expression softened into a pleasant smile. Zelda looked away, her face flushing slightly, and she picked at the remaining chocolates. “Thank you for this Edmund, that was very thoughtful of you.”

Edmund nodded. “Of course. I… I just want to help out.”

It grew silent between the two—any feeling of contentment was gone in an instant. Edmund picked up on Zelda’s discomfort and he let out a sigh.

“Why won’t you accept my help?”

Zelda glanced up at him. Where an accusatory and bitter tone normally was, this time, there was just curiosity. He was trying, it was only fair that Zelda tried as well.

But could she trust him?

It was kind of him to try to help her, but was he trying to manipulate her into trusting him? She remembered her father always showering her mother with gifts whenever he did something to upset her. It was always a way to regain her trust. Was Edmund trying to do the same?

“Listen, becoming the king of Hyrule hasn’t been an easy transition for me,” Edmund started, his back turned to Zelda, “Labrynna gives its power to the king, but here in Hyrule, all of the power goes to the queen.” He let out a breath while Zelda remained silent. He’s never told her this before. “I admit I’ve felt…. Emasculated as a result, and I’ve been acting childish because of it. For that I am sorry.” He glanced back at Zelda, an almost worried expression on his face, but Zelda stayed quiet. “But, I feel useless. I feel like I’m being used for my connection to my family, and that I’m nothing more than an object to your people and… I suppose that’s why I’ve been… frustrated about you keeping things to yourself. But… looking at you now, I’ve grown more worried than upset. You’ve overworked yourself so much to the point that you collapsed. That’s not a good thing. I suppose I… I just want to know why you’re so intent on doing everything yourself, when I’m here to… help you.”

Zelda stared at him for a moment, his emerald green eyes never leaving hers. For once, Zelda couldn’t find her words. She knew she should try to communicate with him—he was being so open with her, but why? Was he trying to worm his way into her life? Or was he being genuine? He’s never taken the time to sit down and talk to her about things, but then again, Zelda never gave him the chance. Did he deserve her to try to be open as well? She turned away, emotions running rampant. She couldn’t cry, it wasn’t queenly to do so, but she was so tired. She took a deep breath to control herself.

“I… I don’t know if I can trust you,” she finally said softly. She felt Edmund shift beside her.

“Why?”

“I–I’ve watched my father strip my mother of all her power. He took everything away from her, ruled Hyrule as a tyrant, and took control of every aspect of my life. It doesn’t matter if Hyrule gives the power to the queen, the king can take over and I can’t let that happen again. It’s happened to me twice now and… I just… I–” She hiccuped slightly and she rubbed her exhausted eyes. It was quiet as she once again tried to take control of her emotions, and she glanced up at Edmund, who looked horrified.

“I had no idea,” he finally said. “I always– I know we didn’t see each other a lot but… I didn’t know…”

Zelda sniffed and sat up straight. “My father did a good job at hiding it. And he made sure I hid it as well.”

Edmund gave her a sad look. “I’m so sorry. I…” He grew silent for a moment. “... thank you for telling me. I’ll leave you be. A maid should come by with food for you.”

“I-I can’t stay I need to–”

“Zelda.” Edmund gave her a firm look. “I…I ask that you give yourself rest and proper nourishment, please.”

Zelda stared for a moment, remembering the resistance. “I can’t. I still need to meet up with—“ she stopped herself and Edmund raised an eyebrow.

“With… your friends that are taking care of the disappearances?”

Zelda pursed her lips. “Yes.”

“Perhaps I can meet with them in your stead.”

She shook her head quickly. “No I—“ they didn’t know that she was the queen; if Edmund came instead, they would figure it out, even if one already knew about it. And she certainly couldn’t tell Edmund about Sheik. Frustration was apparent on Edmund’s face, and he sucked in a sharp breath and stood up.

“So are you just going to keep pushing yourself until you die? Sure, you may not trust me, I understand that. But you have representatives, diplomats, nobles, even guards that could go in your stead! Why can’t you utilize them?”

“Edmund. I. Can’t. A-at least…” Zelda looked down, her eyes going back and forth between the chocolate orange, the bed, and Edmund. He did have a point; she couldn’t keep going on like this. She really could end up dying from her neglect, which would be an awful thing for Amber and for the resistance. But she knew no one could help the resistance with the disappearances. She had to take care of that herself. But… perhaps with everything else…. Goddesses, she hoped she wasn’t making a mistake. “Could you… just take care of the meetings tomorrow? I must deal with these disappearances on my own.”

Edmund’s expression softened and he nodded. “I’ll take care of them.”

Zelda smiled. “Thank you.”

“Will you… visit Amber before you leave anywhere?”

Her lips parted and she nodded. Edmund nodded back, and for the first time in years, there was a mutual understanding between them. Edmund hesitated for a moment before finally turning to leave. Zelda was left alone, and she contemplated everything that had just happened.

She collapsed after a meeting and slept through the entire day. Her daughter stayed by her side while Edmund took care of the rest of the day. He brought her chocolates and they had a conversation that didn’t result in them fighting. They opened up to each other… and now…

She sighed. She needed to meet with the resistance, that was her first priority. Hopefully it wasn’t too late.

She wasted no time to get into her disguise, despite her exhausted body and rumbling stomach. Just as she was about to sneak out, she remembered what Edmund asked of her.

“Will you… visit Amber before you leave anywhere?”

She sighed. She’s been a terrible mother to her own daughter, not spending any time with her despite Amber desperately wanting to. If the resistance needing to meet up tonight hadn’t been about the missing people, she probably would have been tempted to stay. Maybe spend time with her family, her daughter, and try to be the mother Amber deserved. But she knew this was important; it had better be important. She needed to take care of this, and she needed to find the missing people so that Hyrule would be safe for Amber. If the resistance found out important information about the disappearances—like where the missing people were—she would personally go to rescue them herself and eradicate any threat that came in her way. This threat would come to an end, Zelda would make sure of it.

But it meant she would be gone for a while. So she didn’t know when she would see Amber again.

Zelda quietly snuck into Amber’s room, her daughter curled up in her bed, clutching a bird stuffed animal to her chest. She brought her mask down and walked up to her daughter, emotions going through her once again. Her sweet little Amber, growing up before her very eyes, and she was missing all of it.

Her hand brushed against Amber’s temple and she began to stir. She looked up at her mother and furrowed her brow.

“Mother?”

Zelda’s breath hitched and she helped Amber sit up.

“Amber,” she started, “I know… I know I haven’t been the best mother, but I want you to know that I love you with every fiber of my being.” Zelda pulled Amber close and hugged her. “I love you so much.”

She rocked her back and forth, Amber clinging to her tightly. Despite her dry eyes, Zelda found tears forming, and she had to choke back a sob. Amber however wasn’t hiding her crying, and she felt her tears soaking into her clothes. She finally pulled back, wiping away a tear on Amber’s cheek and rested her forehead against hers.

“I promise I’ll try to be better,” Zelda whispered, pecking her on the forehead, and she stood up, walking towards the door.

“M-mother?” Amber called out.

“I’ll be back,” Zelda promised. “Just stay here with your father and focus on your studies. I… I love you.”

“I love you too…”

Zelda’s heart hurt more than her aching body as she turned away. How many times has she turned her own daughter away? How many times has she brushed her off when Amber reached out? She ran out, her frustrations over herself giving her the energy she needed to escape the castle. How will Amber view her when she grew older? Would she resent her the same way Zelda resented her father? Would she feel unloved by her own mother? She stopped as she reached the entrance to the courtyard, looking back at the castle. She was panting heavily, sad and angry tears finally pouring down her face.

It didn’t matter what her father tried to do to her, Zelda never felt worthy of being queen. She didn’t feel worthy of anything in her life. Especially her own daughter.

Amber deserved a better mother.

For a moment as she stared at her castle, she thought she saw Edmund watching her, but his supposed silhouette went away in an instant. She turned away, her head hanging, and finally marched to Telma’s bar.

It was late, she didn’t know how late it was, but it was late enough for no one to be out in the streets save for a few guards. Sheik’s stomach was cramping terribly, and her throat and tongue felt like sandpaper. She almost wished she stayed behind to eat the food Edmund got for her, but she knew she couldn’t let the resistance down. She leaned against a wall catching her breath, her hand rubbing against a box in her pouch. She didn’t know why she grabbed the chocolate orange Edmund gave her; she supposed she couldn’t leave it behind. She continued onward to Telma’s bar, feeling that it was a much longer walk than what she remembered. She normally went through the dungeons to reach Telma’s bar, but from how she was feeling, she didn’t have the strength to go that way. As if to prove her right, her knees nearly buckled as she went down the stairs, causing her to stumble into the door. She pulled back and blinked harshly trying to clear her head. She took a deep breath to calm herself and she went inside. The bell rang loudly through the empty bar, announcing her presence.

“Sorry, we’re closed right now,” she heard Telma call out from the back. The barmaid poked her head from the curtains and her face lit up. “Sheik! Well, it’s about time you got here, honey!”

Sheik awkwardly shuffled forward, allowing herself to be hugged by Telma.

“S-sorry I’m late,” she mumbled, not caring if Telma heard her or not.

“Oh… it’s not me you should apologize to. The others have already gone to bed, save for Ashei and Shad— well… actually it’s just Ashei,” Telma laughed slightly. Sheik was disappointed that the others had already gone to sleep, it was much later than what she hoped for, but she was slightly relieved that Ashei was the only one awake save for Telma. Though Sheik had tried to keep her Royal identity a secret, Ashei had found out about it. She had to admit, it was nice not having to hide everything from one person. She could at least confide in her with everything that has been happening.

“My, you look terrible,” Telma continued, eyeing Sheik worriedly. “Here, let me whip you up something real quick—“

“Oh, no you don’t have to do that—“ a loud grumble from her stomach interrupted her and Telma raised an eyebrow. Sheik looked down, embarrassed. “Apologies.”

“You’re alright sweetheart, just head to the back and I’ll get you some soup.”

Sheik nodded and walked to the back where she saw Ashei and Shad sitting next to each other. Shad was asleep, his head against Ashei’s shoulder, while Ashei had her arm wrapped around him. She had a pleasant smile on her lips as she watched him, until she looked up, spotting Sheik.

“Are you going to sit down, or are you going to keep watching us like a creep?” She asked, and Sheik straightened.

“A-apologies… I didn’t mean to stare.”

“Don’t worry about it, yeah?” Ashei glanced at Shad, then back at her. “I wanted to stay up to wait for you. I knew you’d get here eventually. He was intent on staying up with me, but I guess he couldn’t do it.”

Sheik smiled despite Ashei not being able to see it. “I’m sorry I came so late.”

“You’re fine, but what happened? Why did it take so long for you to get here?”

“I…” Sheik didn’t want to talk about her fainting today, nor about her lack of sleep, food, and water. “I’ve just been very busy.”

Ashei studied her for a moment. “Are you alright?”

Sheik looked up at her, and simply shook her head. “I’ve been very busy,” she repeated.

“Labryn… Zel—Sheik, you can leave this to the rest of us. You don’t have to help us every second, yeah?”

“I know, but I’m tired of sitting here not knowing what’s going on. Not actively trying to better my kingdom.”

Ashei shook her head. “You can’t do everything by yourself. That’s why the resistance is here, to help Hyrule.”

“I know… I know… I just…” Sheik sighed. Goddesses she was exhausted. The two grew silent until Telma came in with a bowl.

“I could only make some broth, I hope that’s ok, sweet pea.”

Sheik felt herself beginning to drool and she gratefully took the bowl. “This is wonderful, thank you, Telma,” she said. Telma gave her a soft smile.

“Of course honey! That’s why I’m here, to take care of my friends.”

The word “friends” stuck with Sheik, and she looked down at the bowl, her emotions running rampant once again, though her eyes were finally too dry to cry again.

“Now, if you two will excuse me, I’m going to head to bed myself.” Telma turned to Ashei with a teasing smile. “Unless you need me to carry him to bed of course.”

Ashei gave her an annoyed smirk. “I can do that myself. Thank you though.”

The barmaid gave a hearty laugh. “Alright, good night you too. And Sheik? I have some water on the table for you. Take care.”

Sheik glanced at the cup on the table, her thirst becoming unbearable.

“Thank you,” she said again, and Telma turned away, leaving the two women alone. Sheik glanced around, eyeing Shad cautiously, and Ashei caught on.

“Don’t worry, he’s out like a light.”

“But what if he wakes up and sees me without my mask?”

“Then I’ll knock him back out, yeah?”

Sheik chuckled softly and pulled her mask down. Though it wasn’t filling, the broth was amazing, and the water made her feel much better than before. She sighed as she drank the broth, feeling relief run through her body as she finally got nutrients in her body. She glanced at Ashei who watched her worriedly, and she looked down.

“How was Hoz?” Sheik asked.

“Oh, he was fine. Quite determined to find the missing people. He’s a good man.”

Sheik smiled slightly. “Indeed, he is. What did Link and Rusl need?”

Ashei’s breath hitched. “They found what’s been causing these disappearances.”

Sheik gasped and nearly dropped her bowl. Though it was exactly what she had hoped for, she was still surprised that it actually happened. “What is it? What’s causing it?”

“Link thinks it’s a shadow beast.”

Dread instantly filled Sheik’s body. Memories of the beasts breaking through her castle and slaughtering the guards came in at once, and she clenched her fists. How…?

“We hope to make a plan to hunt and kill it, but according to Link, it’s gotten powerful over the past ten years, and it won’t die so easily.”

Sheik swallowed hard and nodded. “I see… any… any news on the people?”

Ashei shook her head sadly. “No, they only mentioned the beast I’m afraid.”

Sheik slumped slightly. If it was a shadow beast taking these people then… they probably weren’t alive anymore. She remembered watching Zant turn her guards into shadow beasts before her eyes, even those who weren’t personally cursed turned when beside them. Even her own parents turned into creatures of darkness…

Were the people dead? Or had they turned into shadow beasts, doomed to be mindless monsters until they’re put out of their misery? Sheik didn’t know. But if that were the case, wouldn’t they have known about the resurgence of shadow beasts? Either way, Sheik was having a hard time being hopeful about the fate of the missing people.

“We’re going to be doing a lot of planning tomorrow,” Ashei continued, “I don’t know when we’ll head out, but if you’re wanting to come with us, I suggest you get some rest, yeah?”

Sheik looked up at Ashei who had a firm expression on her face. Sheik had grown tired of everyone telling her to rest, but with the food and water in her system, she couldn’t fight back the sleepiness.

“Alright,” she mumbled before standing up, staring at her empty bowl confused.

“I can take care of that,” Ashei said, and Sheik set it down awkwardly. “We can talk more tomorrow, yeah?”

Sheik nodded and dragged herself up the stairs where several rooms were hidden. Her eyes were barely open as she tried to find a room to go in. She typically took the first room, so she opened the door and threw her head cover and mask off, closing the door behind her which left the room in total darkness. She stumbled over to the bed closest to her and fell asleep before her head could even hit the pillow.

#smiles writes #love at twilight #I miss Kori :( #dw he’ll be here probably in the next chapter #twilight princess #gosh I LOVE the resistance #they’re so fun #oh Zelda … #how much I love exploring your character that I made up #I should really put a summary so that people will see this and know what my fic is about #but I guess they could go to AO3 to see the summary #hm #hope you guys like it!! #Edmund is going to therapy #/hj #now it’s Zelda’s turn that poor woman #and poor Amber #AGH I poor everyone

[ariel-seagull-wings]

LOULIYYA, DAUGHTER OF MORGAN

@hamlet-macbeth-othello

@softlytowardthesun @adarkrainbow @natache @grimoireoffolkloreandfairytales @professorlehnsherr-almashy @themousefromfantasyland @the-blue-fairie @tamisdava2 @faintingheroine @princesssarisa @angelixgutz @amalthea9 @allthegoodbobdylanlyricsaretaken @thealmightyemprex

(A folktale from Egypt)

ONCE THERE WAS a king and his wife who did not have any children. One day the queen prayed to God, “Oh God, my God, who hears my prayers, be kind to me and grant me a child. I will name him Yousif.” She made a nadr: 

“If I have a child, I will make three wells and fill them, one with honey, one with butter, and one with rosewater.” 

Time passed. One day went and one day came, and she became pregnant. She had a boy whom she called Yousif. 

The king and his wife almost flew with joy. One year after another, Yousif grew up, and he was going to school. 

With time, while the king was asleep he heard a hatif saying, “King, fulfill your pledge. Fulfill the pledge that you owe.” 

This happened three times. Every time the king forgot. Yousif became ill. 

They got him all the kingdom’s doctors and the sheiks. No one could cure him. Finally they said, “Maybe there is an unfulfilled pledge. Think! Have you made a pledge, king?” 

The king and the queen remembered their promise. Immediately the king ordered that three large wells be dug and lined with china tile and filled to the top - one with honey, the second with butter, and the third with rosewater. 

And he dispatched a crier to announce in town, “Oh God’s people, people of this town, he who wants honey, butter, and rosewater should come tomorrow to the king’s palace.” 

That was it. With the appearance of the morning star, everyone in town was rushing to the king’s palace. This one carrying a saucepan, that one carrying a wash tub, and this one and that one! They clustered around on the three wells, and almost immediately they were empty. After a short while there was nothing at all. A while later, an old woman came leaning on a cane. She had three cans on a tray which she carried on top of her head. When she found that the wells were empty, she took out a little piece of sponge and began sponging the drops off the walls of the wells. After a very long time, she had hardly filled her three small cans, and she turned back to go home. Now the king’s son, Yousif, was playing with his ball. He threw his ball like this-and it hit the old woman. She fell on the ground, and everything was spilled. 

Yousif ran to her and said, “Never mind, old mother. I am wrong.” 

The woman answered, “With what can I curse you? With what can I curse you, son? You are too young. I am going to curse you with Louliyya, daughter of Morgan,” and she left. 

He went to his father and mother and asked them, “Who is Louliyya, daughter of Morgan?” 

They answered him, “Son, you are too young. You should have nothing to do with these things.” 

Everytime he asked someone, the answer was, “You have nothing to do with these things.” 

Finally an old servant said to him, “She is a beautiful girl that you have to find yourself.” 

That was it. He went to his mother and father and said, “Prepare rations for me. I’m going out into the world. I have to find Louliyya, daughter of Morgan.” 

When they heard this, their hearts sank to their toes. They kept on crying and imploring him, “Don’t do this, son. Stay away from her. No one has gone to find her and come back. We have no one else but you.” 

He answered them, “It is no use.” 

He finally took a horse, food and water, and some money and left. 

He kept on moving from God’s countries to God’s peoples. One town carried him, and another town put him down, until the inhabited part of the world ended. He kept on traveling in the desert. 

After a while, he saw dust coming from a distance. It came closer and closer. He looked to find a ghoul coming toward him. The moment the ghoul was by his side, he greeted him, “Peace be upon you, father ghoul.”

The ghoul answered, “Had your greeting not preceded your speech, I would have devoured your flesh before gnawing on your bones. What do you want?” 

He answered, “I’m looking for Louliyya, daughter of Morgan.” 

The ogre said, “Son, keep on going. You will meet my brother. He is one day older than I am and a year more knowledgeable.” 

Yousif kept on going until he saw another cloud of dust, larger than the one before it. It came closer and closer, and finally when the ghoul was next to him, he said, “Peace be upon you, father ghoul.” 

The ghoul replied, “Had your greeting not preceded your speech, I would have devoured your flesh before gnawing on your bones. What do you want?” 

He replied, “I want to know how to reach Louliyya, daughter of Morgan.” 

The ogre said to him, “Keep on going. Ahead you will meet my brother. He is one day older than myself and a year more knowledgeable.”

He kept on going until he met the third brother. He was much larger and much more fearsome than the first two. Yousif said to him, “Peace be upon you, father ghoul.” 

The ghoul replied, “Had your greeting not preceded your speech, I would have devoured your flesh before gnawing on your bones. What do you want?” 

He replied, “I want to know how to reach Louliyya, daughter of Morgan.” 

The ghoul said, “Ahead of you you’ll find my sister, and she is the only one who can tell you how to reach her. When you get there, if you find her with her red chicks around her and her hair combed and groomed, don’t you dare say a word or make her feel your presence; but if you find her with her hair messed up and her green chicks around her and her breasts thrown over her shoulder you can talk to her, for she is going to be in a good mood.” 

Yousif left and kept on going and going. 

When he reached the ghoula’s house, he hid and peeped. He saw that her hair was well groomed and her red chicks were hopping up and down around her. He did not say a word and remained in his place. 

After a while, about sunset, she messed up her hair and started catching her red chicks and eating them. 

She let out her green chicks from the pen and threw her breasts behind her back and started singing. Yousif tiptoed behind her. The chicks saw him and shouted, “Somebody’s coming!” but she was singing so loudly that she did not hear them. 

Of course she was in a good mood. When Yousif reached her, he suckled each of her breasts once. She shouted, “Ahhh, now you are my ‘milkson.’ You suckled my right breast, you became like my son Isma‘Aeen; you suckled my left breast, you became like my son ‘Aabdel-‘Aal! What do you want?” 

He said, “Louliyya, daughter of Morgan.” 

She said to him, “Why, son? You are too young to die.” 

Even if his head was against a thousand swords, he insisted and said, “Never! I have to find Louliyya, daughter of Morgan.” 

She said, “Well, take this ball and this racket. Hit the ball with the racket, and wherever the ball goes, you follow it. They will take you to the place you want to go.” 

That was it. Yousif got back on his horse and struck the ball with the racket. 

The ball flew into the air, landed on the ground, and kept on rolling. Mounted on his horse, Yousif followed it. 

He kept on hitting the ball and running after it, hitting the ball and running after it, hitting the ball and running after it. 

Hit and run, hit and run, hit and run, until finally he found himself in front of a huge palace in the middle of the desert. 

This palace was high, high, high; it had neither windows nor gates. He went around it, and finally he saw one small window at the top of the palace. 

As he stood wondering about this palace and thinking who it might be who owned it, he saw a huge dust cloud coming from far, far away. 

He heard a dog barking and a big commotion. He hid himself behind a big boulder and peeped out. He saw an ghoul much larger than all the ghouls he had met. 

The ghoul came to the palace and shouted, “Oh Louliyya, daughter of Morgan, let down your long hair and take your father the ghoul  away from the heat of the hills.” 

Yousif saw the little window open, and out of it appeared a young woman whose beauty was indescribable.  Glory be to the creator for his creation! 

She swung her hair out of the window, and it came down until it reached the ground. Her father the ghoul climbed up on her hair. 

Pull, pull, pull, he was up there. He got in, and the window was closed. When he got inside, he asked her, “What have you cooked for us today?” 

She said, “Such-and-such,’’ and served him what she had cooked. 

He ate, and after that he rested his head and went to sleep. Now to whom do we return? 

To Yousif outside! He kept himself hidden until the morning of the following day. 

The window opened, and the hair was let down from it, and the ghoul climbed down on Louliyya’s hair. Yousif waited until the dust disappeared. He came out of his hiding place and shouted, “Oh Louliyya, daughter of Morgan, let your long hair down and take Yousif, for whom you have been predestined, away from the heat of the hills.” 

The window was opened, and he looked up and saw her looking down. When she saw him, her heart softened for him; she fell in love with him. She said to him, “What brought you here? Get away with your skin still on your body! For if my father sees you, he will kill you and drink from your blood”’ 

He said to her, “Before I go, lift me up, and I will tell you my story.” 

She swung her hair out, and he climbed up. He told her his story from hello to good-bye and said to her, “You are predestined for me, and we must get back to the house of my father and mother. We must escape from here.” 

She said to him, “Escape to where? The distance we could cover in a day my father the ghoul will cover in one step.” 

As they were talking, they heard a big commotion and heard her father shouting, “Oh Louliyya, daughter of Morgan, let your long hair down and take your father away from the heat of the hills.” 

She was frightened and said, “What a catastrophe! My father the ghoul is back. Where shall I hide you/! Where shall I hide you/!” 

She transformed him into a pin and pinned it on her chest. 

When her father came up, he asked her, “What took you so long?” 

She said, “Nothing; I was just in the bath.” 

The ghoul started sniffing around, saying, “I smell the trace of a human not of our race.”

 She said to him, “There is nothing.” 

He looked all over the place and did not find anything. He asked for his food, and after he had eaten, he went to sleep. The following day the ghoul left as usual. 

As soon as he was gone, she pulled the pin out of her collar; it became Yousif. 

She said to him, “We must go now!” 

She got some henna and tinted everything in the house with rose coloring. She overlooked only one thing, the tambourine. It hid from her underneath the sofa. She took her comb, her sewing needle, and her mirror, and she went out with Yousif. 

When her father the ghoul returned, he started calling “Oh Louliyya!” 

Nobody answered. 

“Oh Louliyya!” 

Nobody answered. Finally, when he became impatient, he started calling on everything in the house. “Oh chair!” 

The chair said, “She is sitting on me!” 

“Oh bed!” 

The bed answered, “She is sleeping in me!” 

“Oh bathtub!” 

The bathtub answered, “She is bathing in me!” 

Finally the tambourine started dancing and singing. 

“Tumm ti dum, tshshsht, tshshsht, Tumm ti dum, tuu, tuu, Yousif took her and flew! Tuu, tuu, Yousif took her and flew.” 

That was it. The ghoul heard this, and he went mad. He got his dogs to sniff around, and they flew after them. 

Now we return to whom? To Yousif and Louliyya. They kept on going until they finally saw the cloud of dust coming from afar. 

It kept on getting bigger and bigger until it blocked the sun; it was just like nighttime. Louliyya took out her needle and threw it back over her shoulder. Immediately it became a field of thorns. 

The ghoul and his dog went right through it; the thorns pierced their feet. The ghoul kept saying to his dog, “Pluck out, my dog, and I’ll pluck out with you. Pluck out, my dog, and I’ll pluck out with you.” 

Meanwhile Yousif and Louliyya were far away. 

After a little while the ghoul drew very near to them again. Louliyya threw her comb back over her shoulder. Immediately the comb became a thick hedge of bamboo. 

They got lost in it. The ghoul kept saying to his dog , “Chop down, my dog, and I’ll chop down with you. Chop down, my dog, and I’ll chop down with you.” 

Yousif and Louliyya got a little bit farther away from them. Again the ghoul drew very close to them. Louliyya threw her mirror back over her shoulder. Immediately it became a lake. 

When the ghoul got to it, he and his dog started drinking it. The ghoul would say, “Drink, my dog, and I will drink with you. Drink, my dog, and I will drink with you.” 

They kept on drinking and drinking and drinking until they exploded. Before the ogre died, he threw some pins at them. As soon as the pins struck them, Louliyya became a she-dog, and Yousif became a lark. 

He flew away. Louliyya kept on going until she reached Yousif‘s parents. She lay down in front of the doorstep and kept on barking. 

No one paid any attention to her. 

Yousif kept on coming back and hovering over the house and singing, “How are you, how are you, Louliyya, in the house of my father and mother?” 

Louliyya would answer back, “Over me is dust, underneath me is dust, just like a dog’s place of rest, Yousif!”

One day Yousif's mother heard her saying, “Yousif.” 

She and Yousif‘s father had become blind from crying over their son. She asked the dog, “What did you say?” 

It repeated what it had said. Yousif‘s mother took her inside and made a bed of straw for her in the stable.

The following day Yousif hovered over the house singing, “How are you, how are you, Louliyya, in the house of my father and mother?” 

She answered back, “Over me is straw, and underneath me is straw, just like a mare’s place of rest, Yousif.” 

Yousif‘s mother heard this, and she said to herself, “Something must be the matter with this dog.” 

She took her upstairs and put her in a room with a bed with silk sheets and covers. The following day, when Yousif hovered over the house singing, “How are you, how are you, Louliyya, in the house of my father and mother?” she replied, “Over me is silk, and silk is underneath me, just like a prince’s place of rest, Yousif.” 

Yousif‘s mother was listening this time. She heard the whole thing. She entered the room and called the dog to her. It went to her. She kept on feeling its body and caressing it with her hand. 

As she was passing her hand over its head, she found three pins pierced deep in it. She pulled them out, and immediately, with the omnipotence of the Omnipotent, she became a beautiful young lady again. 

She told Yousif‘s mother and father about all that happened, how her father imprisoned her, how Yousif came to her-everything that happened. She said to them, “Get me some sugar, and I will get Yousif back.” 

“How?” they asked her. 

She answered, “Just wait and see.” 

The following morning Yousif came back hovering over the house and said, “How are you, Louliyya, in the house of my father and mother?” 

She said, “I have some sugar for you,” and she put her hand with granulated sugar in it out the window. 

The lark perched on the palm of her hand to have some sugar. Ooops! She caught it! She found three pins stuck in its head. As soon as she plucked them out, the lark-with God’s omnipotence-became Yousif again. 

He went and embraced his father and mother; their sight was restored by God’s will. 

Yousif and Louliyya got married! The celebration lasted for forty days and forty nights. 

They lived in stability and prosperity and begat boys and girls.

Now toota, toota, the tale is over. Was it sweet or dragging? If sweet, you owe a song, if dragging, you owe a story.

#arabic #egypt #fairy tales #folktales #folklore #fantasy #literature #maiden in the tower #magic flight #rapunzel

[inumbrapugnabimus-maybe]

🟦🟧

thank you so much for the ask!!

I decided to answer the second one first since talking about OCs might take a while…

Rambles (and art!!) under the cut :)

I have a few different answers to this one! I definitely draw Legend from linked universe the most, but my favorite to draw is Link from Skyward Sword (both his normal design and his linked universe one)! But that is just when it comes to faces! My favorite outfit to draw at the moment is ALTTP Zelda’s!

and now on to the dreaded topic of OCs… I have a LOT. Some are connected to a loz au I’m sort of working on every once in a while and the other’s are from an original story that’s been fermenting in my brain since middle school… their designs aren’t finalized and neither are their personalities for the most part. I guess I’ll tell you about some from each?

ok! Here are Zelda and Link from my au! (These designs are months old and I’ll probably redo them completely at some point)

I don’t have much of the plot and personalities determined yet, with the exception of Zelda’s. She is pretty young and naive at the beginning, and is pretty timid too! She has to grow out of herself a lot and once she moves past her shyness she has a fiery spirit and a strong sense of joy at discovering the world around her. She is also a menace. You’d almost think she’d have the triforce of courage, but she still wields wisdom, though in a more decisive, instinctual way (almost like she is just following her gut) Sheik is a disguise she uses partly to hide from Ganondorf, and partly because she wants Link to think of her as someone more than the scared little girl he rescued a year earlier. Link, on the other hand, I have no idea how to portray. Much like Ganondorf in this au, his personality eludes me. I do know he is a bit grumpier and pretty serious, and has travelled all his life.

I don’t want to write too much, but I do have a lot of ✨thoughts✨ about them, if anyone is curious!

and as for my actually original OCs, I don’t have any good examples of their designs…

I don’t want to describe the entire plot, so I can’t explain most of the characters at all XD

my main villain however (tho he’s not exactly a villain), I can talk about! So the story is set in a sort of fantasy sort of medieval setting but the poor guy (I haven’t figured out a name for him yet) got sealed away for centuries… he used to be the chieftain of the nomadic tribe that dominated the island they live on, but centuries later with a king on the throne he is a bit out of place! (and also furious about losing everything he knew and loved) His main motivation is revenge against those who (to him) usurped his power and killed his wife and their yet to be born son. He is not at all aware that he is in the future and the very usurpers he seeks to destroy are his own descendants.

personality-wise, he’s a little out of his mind, and has a very sharp wit. He is very barbaric and a bit wild, but carries himself like a king. He has a lot of traits of the classic cool and calculating villain, but his main motivation is the love for his family twisted into a primal rage. When he’s angry he becomes hysterical and tends to speak almost softly, almost laughing, before exploding into anger.

oh, and he’s not exactly human anymore. He’s at this point, and through no fault of his own, basically sentient black mist that can talk and change form. He chooses to stay in the form of his human self however, but looks less so the more he gives up what humanity he has left.

he’s probably my favorite part of the story tbh.

ok! That’s it!! Hope I didn’t dump to much info about my OCs; I wasn’t sure how much to share…

#Again #sorry for infodumping #It’s what I do best #Oh and I also have this linked universe Frozen au… #But I highly doubt anyone wants to hear about that XD #It’s mostly a joke that went too far #Ask game #My art

[guideoftime]

📼

A memory of younger days. Verse: Guide of Time. Age: 10 second time around. Location: The Castle.

   The worst thing about the timeline being reset, Sheik thinks, is not being able to move his body like he wants to. It’s weird, being shorter than you remember, your limbs a bit too small, your muscle gone. It’s like having phantom limbs in a way. The scars Sheik had were gone, the proof of the trauma he went through with Ganondorf was gone, and he just–he doesn’t know how to function. The Princess’s response when she looked at him was I’m sorry you remember. Sheik isn’t. Why should either of them be? So that no one could remember the Hero of Time? No, she doesn’t want that, but Sheik is glad that they remember him. Remember what he did. What they went through. 

   He’s careless with his own body, he makes mistakes. Thinking his body is longer than it’s supposed to be, heavier than it is. He’s thrown himself too far, jumped not far enough. He’s broken bones, scratched himself up good, he’s tired. 

   Sheik actually hates being this small again. 

   Impa is gone, the Castle Soldiers look at him with pity, with distrust, with confusion. They don’t know what to do with him, they don’t want to chase him away either. It’s like having a small child who's homeless just hanging constantly around the Castle with no directions on what they’re supposed to do about it. Which irritates Sheik. His emotions are more uncontrolled like this, too unpredictable. 

   And as a result, he gets a bit mouthy. The first time one of them hit him back for it doesn’t actually surprise him. The second time one draws their sword is. Sheik fought back, a fight actually breaks out and he gets himself hurt in the process. Being unable to move how he wants, the soldiers being bigger and stronger than him. It’s no surprise they got one up on him and managed to draw a sword across his back. Though, given the look on their Lieutenants face when they came rushing up on them–they’re in more trouble than Sheik is. 

   Not that the lecture he’s getting from the Princess is any better. 

   He’s choked down a red potion before being thrown into the garden with her, a place that she apparently seems to still spend a lot of time in. She’s too young to do Royal work, so the King probably puts her here just to have her here. Somewhere out of the way. Impa spent a lot of time here with her before, Sheik knows. That tree beside them had been one she had climbed before and gotten them both in trouble for. More Sheik than the Princess. 

   He knows he’s causing trouble for her, knows that she’s angry, knows that she doesn’t know what to do about him. Does that make any of it any better? No. Does that make his heart hurt less standing here in front of her? No. His family took an oath, and Sheik right now is the biggest problem the Royal Family has. 

   But is mind is so loud and his body is so frustrating and he just hates that he can’t stop constantly being afraid. 

   Everytime he looks over his shoulder he expects to see a flash of green, a pair of eyes watching him, the sound of screaming. 

   It’s like he can’t breathe. 

   “Would you rather have Impa here?” He asks, because he can’t stop his own mouth from digging himself deeper into the pit he’s just continuously falling into. A pit, a void, a shadow that is swallowing him up. His mind is already sure of the answer she’s thinking but he just wants to hear her say it.

#sapientiiae #▴ — the shade / facts. #▴ — path / guide of time #▴ — the eye of truth / asks.

[transmascnaotoshirogane]

blame

hi @transzeldas >:) Wars angst Wars angst Wars angst- ao3 link; here! uh, cw for major character death. i apologise, time kins

This is all his fault. It’s his fault. Link rushed over, shield in hand as he made his way to the child on the battlefield. The kid has a name—he’s called Link, too—but Link has taken to calling him Second. Because he’s a second Link! … The joke makes nobody laugh and Link even pity laughs at his own joke. Link covered himself and Second with his shield, turning to the younger. He’s hurt, a lot, and—does the human body actually hold this much blood in such a small person? Nevermind. Link whistled, catching the attention of Impa and a group of nearby soldiers, who immediately rushed to his aid. Link took another glance at Second, frowning. I should have never let him run off without me.. “Get off me.”Second mumbled, sticking his sword into the ground to attempt to lift himself up. “Stop it.”Link frowned, picking Second up. He then turned to Impa. “Cover me. I need to get him off the battlefield.” Once he got confirmation that she would cover him, Link stood up. “Put me down—” “No. We need to get you off the battlefield, Sec. You’re hurt pretty badly.” “I can still fight!”Second struggled, huffing when Link simply started walking. Link held Second with one arm, his other holding his shield. Link shouldn’t have left Second alone. He’s so stupid and irresponsible.. What made him think that was a good idea? He saw the horde before Second ran off! Link shook his head, quickening his pace. Almost there.. Link tripped—he tripped, dropping Second in the process. The smaller one let out a scream of agony, while the older one had a terrified look on his face. “Shit—Shit, Sec are you—” “Link!” Link glanced up, watching as the two royals headed his way through the battlefield. Sheik was the first to make it over, kneeling down next to Link and eyeing Second. “What happened?” Link took a breath. “I made a dumb choice. He got hurt. I need to at least get him to the allied base..” Sheik nodded, picking Second up himself and standing up. “You tripped. Are you alright?” “It’s just my ankle. I’ll be fine.”Link stood up, ignoring the dull pain. “I’ll cover you.” Sheik nodded, starting to head to the base. Link picked up Second’s sword off the ground, quickly following with his own sword in hand. His ankle hurts more and more with each step he takes, but it doesn't matter. He has to make sure Second is safe. He has to. This is his fault, after all. Link and Sheik continued advancing—Link cutting down many enemies that got in their way. The pain…it’s becoming a bit overwhelming. “We’re here.”Sheik muttered, hurrying over to put Second down with the medic. Link sighed heavily, wincing a little and lifting his foot up to release the pressure. “You should get that looked at, you know.”Zelda spoke up, causing Link to jump. When did she get there?! “Relax. It’s only me.”Zelda laughed softly, then frowned. “You need to go to the medic. Now. We can handle this.” “Your highness—” “It’s not a request. It’s an order.”Zelda crossed her arms. She hates saying things like this, but Link knows she won’t budge now.. Reluctantly, the captain stumbled his way over to the medic bay. “Idiot.” Link jolted slightly, looking down at Second who was laying beside him. “Sec! You’re awake..” “Course I am.”Second huffed, trying to force himself to sit up. After two failed attempts, he lay back with a huff. “I’m not stupid, pretty boy. You’re blaming yourself, hm?” “...Sec. I shouldn’t have let you out of my sight, of course it’s my fault! You could have—” “It’s not your fault.”Second crossed his arms, looking away. “I bit off more than I could chew, alright? Don’t…blame yourself.” Link went quiet again, nodding. After Second received no response, he grabbed onto Link’s scarf and tugged. “You’re not going to keep blaming yourself, are you?” “Ack—No. I won’t. Promise.” “...good. Now, get your damn ankle checked. I think it’s broken.” “What, do you have the ability to see my bones now?”Link joked, nudging Second. In return, the captain received an eyeroll and a lighthearted “shut up”. …just because the kid was right, doesn’t mean he needs to know.

Warriors whistled softly to himself, walking on the path alongside Time. They need to get some more firewood. A simple task, but… Time had tagged along anyways. Not that Warriors is really complaining, it could be worse. Legend could have tagged along. “How’s that ankle of yours feeling?”Time spoke up, tossing a glance at Wars. Warriors blinked once, twice, before tilting his head in confusion. “Huh?” “Your ankle. How is it?” “Um. Fine, I guess? Why?” Time seemed to roll his eye, sighing. “Warriors. I thought you’d pick up on it, but you haven’t. So I need to—” Time stopped, his ear twitching. Wars smiled to himself a little. Second’s ears did that whenever he heard something.. He misses that kid. He hopes he’s okay.. But, now Wars is focused.. He can hear something moving nearby. It’s not any member of the chain—Wars can recognise all of their footsteps, how light they walk, how fast they usually walk…he memorised it all. This…is not good. Time and Warriors shared a look, grabbing their swords. …and then they panicked. Hordes of monsters closed in, blocking easy ways out. Guess we have to cut our way out… Now isn’t that familiar? “We’ve gotta be careful. We’re already a man down.”Warriors muttered. It’s mostly to himself. Time shot Warriors a look. Time…he’s been on edge ever since Twilight got hurt a little while ago. Twilight is still in recovery, and Time won’t be okay until his pup is. That’s fine—it means Time will probably fight harder just to get back to Twilight. Warriors let out a breath, grabbing his shield and getting to work. He cut down the weak ones with ease, and faltered a few times with the stronger ones. He’s doing well, though. Or, uh, he was, until a particularly fast lizalfos jumped over him—knocking him down in the process. And man, it hurt, and he let out a yelp as he collided with the ground. Warriors struggled, his eyes fixated in front of him. Time is fighting too many monsters at once.. He has to—He has to get up! Time needs him, he has to get up. He has to. It’s his fault people keep getting hurt, it’s only right that he helps.. Get up. Wars groaned, trying to push himself back up. He can’t afford to be like this, not now.. He can’t afford to be useless! Time stumbled, visibly, and let out a loud groan when a dinolfos took a hit at his face. There’s blood running down Time’s face, now. It’s a lot. Time can’t land a hit, and it takes every blow he gets. …Time isn’t being quick enough, he can’t block the attacks. Wars stumbled up, eventually, and grabbed his sword. He started rushing towards Time, breathing heavily. Time took one more hit, from a Moblin, and.. He fell. Time fell to the ground, bleeding and unconscious. Wars simply started running faster, cutting down anything that got in his way. Wars skidded to a halt beside Time, letting the remaining monsters flee. They aren’t his concern. Wars winced, trying—and failing—to pick Time up off the ground to get him back to the others. Time’s breathing is shallow and Wars can barely even tell if he’s still alive or not… Well, until he checked his pulse. His heart stopped, and he desperately searched for Time’s pulse but— He doesn’t have one. He must’ve bled out too fast, or maybe he got a brain bleed? He knows it’s possible, he had a fellow soldier die from his brain bleeding after getting hit by a bokoblin one too many times.. “Time. Time wake up.”Wars frowned, hyperventilating a little. “Time?” … It’s his fault. He should be quicker than this. …this isn’t fair.

#ravio writes #ravios linked universe tag #linked universe #lu #linked universe warriors #lu warriors #linked universe time #lu time #linked universe second #lu second #major character death #linked universe fic #lu fic #captain oblivious #idiot father #wars angst wars angst wars angst

[airplanned]

Trill AU part 4

Sad times on the bridge, and I get to write technobabble

***

Part 1

They hurried down three corridors before Zelda said, "Does it seem strangely quiet to you?"

It did.  In the dim light, Link was trying not to ask himself the obvious question of where everyone was.  He made a sorry attempt to explain it.  "It's late and this deck is all personal quarters."

"But no one's reporting to emergency stations but us?"

So of course they turned the last corner to find a body on the floor. 

Ensign Bogts.  Zelda checked his pulse and rolled him over while Link popped open a nearby locker and pulled out a tricorder.  She took it out of his hands before he could start taking readings.  Lifting an eyebrow, he let her rudeness pass. 

"He's...fine?  His vitals are all normal."

His body did look relaxed, his face at ease and his chest softly rising and falling.

"He just passed out here?"

Her eyebrows pinched together as she continued to scan.  "He has an abnormal delta wave pattern.  It looks like a kind of artificial sleep."

"Is everyone on the ship like this?"

She looked up at him in concern.

He swallowed, looking down at Ensign Bogts as all the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. 

"So why not us?"

*

The bridge crew was passed out at their stations, and Link went straight to check the commander's pulse where he was slumped back in his chair.  Ensign Xik had fallen out of his seat at ops, and Zelda stepped over him neatly to take his seat.  "I should be able to get main power up," she said.  Link headed for the con, removing Lt Tate from his chair as gently as possible and laying him out on the floor.

A low hum built under their feet and the lights blinked back on.  Link took a relieved breath and pulled up a status report.  

"I have thrusters," he said.

"Bringing the main engine back online."

"We need shields and sensors."

"Give me one...you've got sensors."

He immediately ran a sweep.   "Sensor report coming in."

"On screen."

It was as if a sheen of oil was draped over the ship, a shimmer of green and pink dancing like the northern lights.  Zelda pulled up an image on her console and turned the whole thing so he could see.  It was as if the ship had run into a flat sheet, dragging it with them until it wrapped around the ship's nose and trailed behind them.  "It's giving off delta wave pulses.  That's what's putting everyone to sleep.  At a higher amplitude it could have knocked out main power.  Probably when we first hit it."

"We're caught in a net," he said.

She nodded.  "It doesn't look natural."

He turned back to the con.  "Let's not stick around and find out who caught us.  Can we get the shields back up?"

"Raising shields."

The lights went out.  The gentle, omnipresent rumble of the floor stilled as the engine shut down again.

Link tried to bring up a status report.  "Well, that didn't work.  Main power's back out."

She sighed.  "Bringing it back online."

Lights turned back on and they both held their breath, waiting for power to fail once more.

"No sudden moves," he said.

He checked the sensor's image of the phenomena.  "If we use minimal thrusters, it looks like we can back out of it."

"Decrease thrusters to quarter power."

That made it slow going, but there wasn't really a rush.  He eased the ship back, back, watching the power read outs and the sensor image on the side of his console.

"Down two degrees," she said, and he adjusted course, hissing as the edge of the net caught around the port nacell, sending a tremor through the ship.

They froze.  He let the net settle, then tried again, pulling up and forward, only to strain against part of the net draped over the saucer section.

"It's tightening," she said.  And sure enough where before it looked like they were dragging an inanimate sheet behind them, that sheet was now tangled, adhering to the hull.

He lifted his hands from the console in surrender.

Zelda had out her tricorder again, this time running it over herself.  "I think it's the symbionts."

"Their brains aren't affected by delta waves."

"They must be keeping us conscious."

Link looked down at his terminal, running through his options.  Then he narrowed his eyes at her. 

She straightened.  "What?"

"You come aboard and the ship gets attacked by something that doesn't affect bonded Trills."

Her brief anxiety melted into annoyance.  "You think I did this."

He gave her a blank stare.

"Why would I do this?"

"Handing over a Federation vessel could be profitable.  Risky.  But you've gotten away with worse."

She folded her arms over her chest, giving him a scathing look.  "Everyone on board is asleep and you're still going to pretend that it was me that gave away the defense codes."

"Only two people knew those codes."

"That's right.  And of those two people, one of us vanished in the night.  The other stuck around and cleaned up your mess."

"The mess of my dead body?  That mess?  Tell me, how much blood was there?  Did you cut Fi out yourself or did you get someone like Groose to do it for you?"

Her change in expression was subtle--a barely noticeable stiffening, a faint drain of the color in her cheeks. She looked horrified. Haunted. She turned away, and tapped out some new controls on the console.

"What are you doing?"

"There's no point explaining myself to you."  Her voice shook.  "You're..."  Her fingers faltered.  She covered her mouth with a hand and took a shaking breath.  "You're just going to torment me until whoever comes to collect us shows up.  You're just going to blame me for everything you've done until I feel like I'm going crazy."

Link frowned.  When a tear skipped down her cheek he started to panic.

"Wait."

She shook her head, her trembling hands back at work.

"Zelda."  He reached for her, and she jerked away, spinning to glare at him, her arms gripping the console as if ready to run, her jaw set in a way that looked so much like Sheik--Sheik when she tried to look threatening to hide her fear.

He lifted his hands in surrender, searching her face.  

He couldn't see the lie.  He'd never been able to see the lie.  

But it must be there.  Right?

"What...what do you think happened?"

He didn’t have to specify when, which of the many incidents in their shared past was at the forefront of both their minds.

She stared at him for a long moment, gathering all her righteous indignation to power herself through her speech.  "Ravio vanished.  Everyone searched for days.  We didn't know what had happened.  And then suddenly...Suddenly the defense grid just dropped.  And one little shuttlecraft flew past.  Up and away toward the warship.  What I think happened was that Ravio sold us out so Fi could return to Trill."

Return to Trill.

He stared at her, shaking his head over and over as if that would make it stop.  

He had to fight to find his voice.  "Tetra sent Ravio a message to meet at tower 2.  She said she had good news, and he thought...  He was looking out the window, and the door opened behind me and I saw your shape in the reflection of the glass.  And then you shot me in the back. I woke up four months later in an asteroid mining facility in a different host. It took me days to get news and by then it was too late."

"Tetra never sent you any message."

"Ravio didn’t cut a deal to go back to Trill."

Her eyebrows pinched together.  "Fi wouldn't have survived for four months without a host."

"Yeah, but Pipit was a hot mess of a host.  It was an unstable bond.  He started off in a comma and then he was confused and panicky for more than a year before he calmed down.  He'd think it was the wrong year, that he was the wrong host.  He had disordered episodes for the rest of his life.  He lost time so often that four months is nothing."  Link caught himself.  "I say all that with love.  He went through a lot."

It startled a croak of a laugh from her.

And then they were staring at each other again.  

"I would never have killed you," she said.  “Please don’t make me think about his body.”

He quirked a sad smile.  "I want to believe that."

"I want to believe you, but...that might be me who wants that. It might be someone else.  Someone younger. Less wise. Someone who still looks at you and feels..." 

Warmth lit in his chest, and he hated it and loved it, and maybe it wasn't so messed up after all that he wanted so badly to trust someone who had hurt him so thoroughly.

"Yeah," he said.  "That about sums it up."

They stared at their consoles.  She wiped her eye with her wrist in a way she thought was discreet and he thought was endearing.

Carefully, he asked, "What's your next plan?" and gestured at the tricorder.

She cleared her throat.  "The EM pulses from the symbionts neutralize the delta waves, so if I can adjust the deflector beam to the same frequency modulation--"

"--With a wide enough confinement beam, we can neutralize the delta wave net."  He was already on it, his fingers flying over the console.

"We need to lower the power so we don't cause another blackout."

"It we adjust the--" 

Something dinged on his console.  Proximity alert.

He shared a look with her, trying to tell if this was the moment she'd shoot him again.  It was that same fierce look to protect herself, and who knew what that meant.

Another ding, and her voice turned tight as she said, "They're hailing us."

"Putting them on screen," he said.

A pair of Trils stared back at them.  "Oh," one of them said.  "We were wondering how you had power, but this makes sense."

Link tried to sound calm as he said, "This is the Federation Starship Naboris.  How can we help you?"

The Trills scoffed.  "I don't think you're in any position to help anyone."

Part 5

#Zelda #my fic #Trill AU

[maybanksslut]

imagine Peter Hale comforting you

Requested by @imperialpirates

Warnings: a little angst

You tried your best to stay quiet, as small sobs escaped your mouth. You were crying at school, yet again. And the reason? The boys from beacon high. They were always laughing at you, pushing you around. And despite the fact that you tried to ignore them, they somehow always got to you.

You felt something tighten in your stomach, and the small sobs became violent sheiks of your body. Why did everyone have to pick on you? The tears streaming down your face didn’t slow down, and the sound of the shaky breaths you were taking filled the room.

You felt lonely. There was never anyone by your side to support you. What had you done wrong? After a while, your breath slowed down, an the river of tears stopped. You just sat there in the undisturbed silence.

“Y/n? What are you doing here?”

Well, turns out, the silence wasn’t so undisturbed after all.

You slowly turned around, you hands slightly shaking, only to see the one and only, Peter Hale. The person you’d always had mixed feelings for. He was, after all, one of the main ‘bad guys’, according to Scott.

“What does it look like I’m doing?,” you sobbed quietly. “I’m crying.”

“Yeah, obviously” he scoffed. “But why?”

You turned around again, letting out a sad laugh. “Why do you ask? It’s not like you care”

For a moment, Peter was quiet, and all that could be hear were your breathing. You suddenly became very aware of his presence, and just wished he’d go away.

“I do care” he mumbled, stepping a little closer to you. You could now feel his hot breath on your neck. “Was it the boys again?”

Feeling flustered over his near presence you just croaked out a small: “yes”

You felt Peter lightly take your hand in his. He turned you around so that you were facing him, looking deeply into your y/e/c orbs. For a second, you thought, no, hoped, that he’d kiss you, but he didn’t. Instead he said:

“You shouldn’t listen to them”

A small laugh left your mouth, as you glanced at Peter. “You really don’t think I know that? It’s easier said than done”

“Actually no, it’s not,” he stated. “You just have to believe me when I say that they’re not worth your tears. Because you’re so much more than what they say about you. You’re beautiful, y/n, and all you have to do is believe that.”

His words cause tears to fill your eyes once more, but this time they make you smile, too.

“I can try”

This time, Peter smiled, too, and when his hand touched your cheek, some kind of electric wave washed over you. You couldn’t help but think that maybe, just maybe, he wasn’t as bad as everyone thought.

#Peter hale #teen wolf #peter hale x reader #peter x reader #teen wolf fanfic #teen wolf x reader #peter hale x you #Peter hale x y/n #teen wolf fanfiction #peter hale fanfic #teen wolf imagine #peter hale imagine #requests are open #imagine #gif imagine #stiles x y/n #stiles stilinski #scott mccall

[livinthatfantasylife]

Take Care                        Chapter 1

For the past few years, there had been rumors of a mysterious figure who'd look out for wandering travelers, tales of people getting ambushed by monsters and guardians, only to wake the next morning at the nearest Inn or Stable and any wounds bandaged and taken care of. From near every nook and cranny, the tales spread of a benevolent and gentle creature, and yet, none have seen their face.

The rain beat heavily on Link's body, only serving to make the pain his body felt worsen as he attempted to will the power to get up. He'd fallen from climbing after getting caught in the rain. The already hard to grab on to rocks becoming slippery, and his already tired body finally losing the little stamina he had left. It had only been a month since he'd woken up from his long slumber, and it seemed that he'd already be returning without even stepping foot into Hyrule Castle or even defeating a single Devine Beast. He felt groggy from sleepless nights, hunting for shrines to get stronger and helping others in every way he could. It was the least he thought he could do for leaving them to suffer all these years. He needed to stop Ganon; every fiber of his being told him he had to, and the suffering he'd seen of others told him he needed to. Yet, here he was, eyes blurry and head pounding, slowly losing all consciousness and once again failing the people of Hyrule. He felt the cold bite at him, like being trapped under the ice's surface with no way out. He couldn't die, not here, not yet; the people of Hyrule depended on him. They didn't deserve to suffer for another hundred years. But by the goddesses, he felt so tired, even breathing was taking great efforts. He was so cold, so tired, sleep seemed so welcoming. He couldn't even hear the rain anymore; The blurriness and burning sensation in his eyes were the only things that reminded him of the pouring rain. He saw the dark sky light up in a flash through blurry eyes and felt the rumble underneath him. Lightning, just his luck. Finally, he felt the last bit of strength leave him and allowed himself to relax. The people of Hyrule could wait just a few minutes, right? He'd only rest for a minute, then he'd get right back up. Yeah, just a minute. He'll get up and find another way of getting to that shrine at that mountain right after resting. Then he'd head to Kakariko Village to the statue of the goddess and use the shadow orbs to make himself more resilient. He'll need to head back to the Zora Domain to help Prince Sidon with Vah Ruta. All that. In just a minute. The icy cold rain made his body numb to the point he couldn't even feel his aching muscles; he actually felt pretty nice at that moment. It was like drowning in honey. He let his racing mind ease, let his tired eyes close, his stuttering breath slow, and let his cold, frigid body relax. The ground was cold and hard, but he wouldn't be resting long, so it would do for now. He'll be up in a minute; Hyrule won't have to wait long. Just a few minutes.

Link woke up feeling warm, the surface underneath him soft. His body felt relaxed; he nearly went back to sleep before remembering where he'd been initially and sitting up like he'd been struck by lightning. Immediately he felt the pain in his stomach and moved his hands to wrap around it, his hands meeting bandages. He let out a wince at the pain, eyes shutting tightly. Then hearing the quick steps approach, he quickly snapped them open and turned his head to the sound source. "Master Link!" Paya? Here? Where was he? "I'm so glad you are alright. We were so worried when we saw you unconscious on that horse!" He was on a horse? "But after we got you and your stuff off, it ran off!" He didn't have a horse; why was he on a horse? How did he even get on the horse? Did he wake back up and tame a horse? Why did he tame a horse? How did he tame it? He doesn't remember a horse? The confusion on his must have been very apparent because Paya's face went from relief to worry and finally to panic. " I'm so sorry! I shouldn't be rambling so much; you just woke up!" She brought both her hands up and covered her face, though the redness of her ears was still very visible. Link took the time to look around the room he was in; it was the Inn in Karkariko, which explains why Paya is here, but he still wasn't sure how he got here. Did he tame a horse and not remember? If so, why did it run off after dropping him off? He was interrupted from his thoughts by the grumbling of his own stomach, now it was his turn to be embarrassed. Paya peeked through her hands and spotted Link's embarrassed face looking like his stomach had just exposed to everyone his deepest secret. She brought her hands down and instead covered her mouth, eyes full of worry. "That's right, you've been asleep for a whole day and a half, you hadn't woken up at all, so you haven't eaten anything in that time." He didn't have the heart to tell her he hadn't eaten anything proper for much longer than that and risk giving her a heart attack. He stayed quiet as she rambled about how worried everyone was. " It is strange that you were already bandaged when you got here and that your horse ran off after it brought you here." Wait, he was already bandaged when he got here? Now Link was even more confused. He looked down at his bandages and noticed that they didn't look like standard bandages. They had a slight blue tint. Now that he thought about it when he sat up earlier and after the pain had subsided, he recalls a cooling sensation where the wound was. They actually felt really nice right now. But who bandaged him if it was already there when he arrived? He knew for sure it wasn't himself; he hadn't brought any with him in the first place. "It's not strange at all!" Both Paya and Link jumped at the new voice and turned their heads to the door at a near breakneck speed. A sheikah girl stood at the now open doorway, dressed in typically sheikah wear and long braided hair reaching all the way down to her mid-thigh; that was all Link managed to observe before his eyes immediately zeroed in on the tray of food in her hands. Vegetable soup and honey bread with a cup of tea, he felt like he would cry tears of joy; it smelt so good he felt like he'd been blessed. The sheik girls must have noticed his intense stare, but he was too hungry to be embarrassed about it. The newly entered sheikah girl giggled, " I won't keep you waiting longer, dig in, hero!" She placed the tray down on his lap, and he wasted not a second before digging in. The girls giggled at his eagerness before engaging in their own conversation. Misha sat on another bed, and Paya remained seated at the end of Links'. Paya and the other girl, Misha, talked about how Misha had only recently arrived back to Karkariko to help her older brother run the Inn. Paya and Misha had apparently been great friends before Misha had left to learn more about medicine and food. Link had only been half paying attention until Paya asked, " so what did you mean it wasn't strange when you walked in?" That was a question Link also wondered and decided he should probably also eat slower before he chokes. Misha smiled at Paya, " I'd recognize that horse anywhere, giant horses are very rare after all, and there's only one person I know who owns one." She looked off to the side with a dreamy expression. "Really? Who?" Paya tilted her head to the side in confusion, wrecking her brain to think of anyone she could think of that could tame such a huge horse. She'd initially believed it was Link, but Misha's wording and that dreamy, distant look at nothing told her otherwise. Misha looked back in surprise, "you don't know?!" Now Link was even more confused; he was on a giant horse? He'd never even seen one of those, and if he did, he definitely doesn't remember. Misha looked at Link and noticed his lost expression. She sighed and smiled sheepishly. "I suppose I should start at the beginning." "For years, there has been a travelers tale about a supposed "guardian angel" who watches over anyone who finds themselves in trouble on their journey. People who would fall unconscious from an ambush form Yoga, guardians, every kind of beast and every time they'd wake up at the nearest village or Stable with their wounds bandaged and their items safe and nearly untouched." She appeared to get lost in her retelling of the tale, eyes filled with stars and cheeks red with admiration. "I've heard the rumors about them in passing, but how are you so sure it was them?" Paya asked. Misha looked away, embarrassed and nervous, "ah-ha, well, you see- on my way back to Karkariko Village, I may have, maybe, taken a wrong turn and ended up... Running into a... Guardian..." Misha leaned back with her eyes closed tightly, bracing for what was to come. " A GUARDIAN?!" And there it was. "Misha! You said you had no trouble on your way back!" " And I didn't, really. I mean, I was saved!" That dreamy look returned with a sigh, "oh, Paya, you should have seen them," she stood up quickly from her seat on the bed, fists raised and clenched in a faux fighting stance. "There I was, a lost maiden hoping to take a short cut to return to my dear Sheik people!" She spoke dramatically, emphasizing her words by clutching one hand to her chest and placing the back of her other hand on her forehead with her eyes closed. " Next thing I know! Bzzzzzzt! I feel a point of heat aimed straight at me; I look through the trees and see the guardian look straight at me! Blue slowly turning red!" Link had long finished his food, his attention now on the Sheik before him as she rather impressively retold the events. He wondered how long she'd been waiting to talk about it. " I felt the fear freeze me in place, unable to look away, and yet overwhelmed with the urge to run as fast I could!" She stilled her body and went completely rigid, yet she kept that starry look in her eyes. "I could only stare a the charging white beam, it was so bright, and I knew it was too late run. BUT THEN a figure runs in front of me, their tall, dark figure blocking out the light of the beam and snapping me out of my daze!" She widened her stance, lifting one hand up as if guarding with a shield, her smile wide and confident. "It happened so quick, I waited for the beam to hit me, my eyes closed and my hands in front of me trying to shield myself in any way I could," she mimicked a scared and nervous stance before spring back to a guarding pose, she brought the hand that assumably had an imaginary shield and swiped it forward, mimicking a perfect parry. "I felt the wind from the blast as they hit the beam right back at that mechanical abomination! I barely had time to process it as the machine was trying to recalibrate itself to aim again before I was effortlessly thrown on to the back of a giant horse! When I looked back, I saw them charging straight at the guardian before I was too far to see what happened next." She finished dramatically, flopping onto the other bed and panting heavily. She certainly had a talent for storytelling, that's for sure; both Paya and Link were hung on every word the whole time. " And then what?" Paya asked, looking intrigued and in awe. Misha sat back up and smiled apologetically, " not much; I was stuck on the horse for awhile since I couldn't just jump off while it was moving. Eventually, it stopped near the road to Karkariko and let me down, and then it just ran off." She sighed, " I was originally worried that my savior hadn't made it," she turned to look at Link with a smile, "but seeing you come in with that horse, now I know they're just fine." "Well, I'm glad you were saved; I'm still upset that you hadn't told anyone what happened." Paya scolded. "Hey, I already knew it was a dumb idea to wander off the trail so late at night. I didn't need other people reminding me!" Misha huffed. The Link was confused, less than before, but still. There weren't a lot of people who could step to a guardian and survive, even less who'd do it for a stranger. They even went through the effort of bandaging his wounds before sending him back. "Oh, by the way, I washed that cloak you had on when you were brought in," Misha turned to the side and picked up a folded up cloak before leaving it on Link's bed. "We should probably let you rest, come on Paya. " Misha motioned for Paya to follow. Paya's eyes rose in realization before looking back at Link, "Oh my! I'm sorry we've kept you awake, Master Link!" She bowed her head low, "we'll let you get your rest! Goodnight'" she sputtered before leaving with Misha. Link looked out the window; it really was late in the night. How long had he been out? Wait, didn't Paya said he'd slept the whole day? That's too long! Link scrambled to get out of bed, his muscles screaming at him and his exhaustion threatening his legs to give out; the cloak fell to the floor.  Link hurriedly searched for his things, spotting them at the corner of the room. He moved to get to them, nearly tripping over the dark cloak. He properly balanced himself and look to his feet where the cloak was now slightly wrinkled. Misha mentioned he was wearing it when he got here; he lifted the cloak up, unraveling it in the process. It was huge! The bottom portion pooled onto the floor as he examined it. The fabric was soft on the inside but sleek outside (most likely to keep from getting wet and cold). It was a dark color; shining it in the light revealed the outer portion had a gradient from blue at the top to purple at the bottom, the inside was a soft pastel yellow. In short, it looked cozy. Link lifted it above his head to see more of the details on the outer portion. The hood portion had a starry pattern, the clasp was unique; one side possessed a crescent moon shape while the other was shaped like the sun. He lifts it higher to look at the bottom, something falling out of the cloak in the process right near his feet, a crumbled piece of paper. He folded the cloak quickly and scooped of the paper. Placing the cloak back on to the bed, he smoothed out the paper. A note? Written neatly in black ink, though slightly faded, it read: "Take better care of yourself, hero."

#x reader #male reader #link legend of zelda #link x reader

[pyraffin-drgo]

All Heavy interactions in Poker Night at the Inventory.

For you to interpret however you wish.

Video Version

(They have [bootleg movies] in your country?) "I like movies, yes." (Yeah, like what? [Lists movies]?) "No. My favorite are The Dirty Dozen and the first twenty minutes of Rocky four."

(We can talk Tetris?) "Hmmph. Tetris is baby game." (Tetris Attack keeps it hood!) "Why does everybody think I love this Tetris? It is just stacking!"

"[To Strongbad] Tiny Heavy." (What is it?) "Do you get the nightmares?" (I get the jibblie nightmares. [Describes silly nightmare, shivers].) "I am talking about the visions of endless suffering. Dead doctors everywhere. Spy can not be found. (No, but that sounds like the Jibblies.) "I do not like these 'jibblies.'"

"Strong and bad. How is boxing career?" (These. Are. My. HANDS!) "I was boxer, once. In school. We have to either box or learn to herd goats." Silence, looking concerned. "I am not good with goats..." (Too much information, man.) "At first, I do not like punching other boys... But then I learn to love it." Punches his palm menacingly.

(Find any rare drops lately?) "I do not understand." (When you get a kill, you get a present?) "When I get kill, I get honor of team." Smile drops. "Sometimes... I also get nightmares. A man does not go home to his wife and children." (So, no loot?) "Oh! You mean hat! Yes, I love hats! Sometimes, I get these. They are the best."

(Hey, Heavy. You know any hot Russian spies?) "I hate spies." (But you gotta have the inside line on some deadly minxes.) "You want hot spy?" (Am I not wrestle man?) "I have friend who gets you a hot spy. (Get em on the two-way, man!) "His name is Pyro." (Tycho, to Strongbad: The spy is hot because it is on fire.) (Oh...)

"[To Tycho] What do you do with life?" (Me?) "Yes. What is possible with tiny, frail body?" (I occupy myself with simulations... of various kinds.) "What is these?" (Struggles to explain.) (Strongbad: He lives in his parent's basement.)

(So, is there a Mrs. Weapons Guy?) "No. Sasha is my only love." (Sasha kills people, I presume?) "No." (Oh?) "WE kill people."

"[To Strongbad] Maybe you and I box?" (I can't risk my beautiful face, it's the franchise.) "We spar. For fun." (I don't think so.)

"Strong and bad. You wrestle? With mask?" (No, I'm a wrestle man, not those hack wrestle-LERS.) "Not like Iron Sheik?" (No, Iron Stake is a LER.) Heavy nods. "Hmm. This is too bad."

(So how long you been with those Team Fortress fellas?) "I do not understand." (The game's been on Steam for like 3 years. I imagine there was some audition process?) "Ohhh! Yes, I understand! I kill many men VERY quickly." (Excuse me?) "I kill record number of soldiers, and I am commissioned to join RED team."

(Mr. Weapons. I am in the market for a new firearm. [Specifications].) "Hmm, for you I do not recommend minigun then. You know, there is this fast baby man that annoys me greatly with shotgun." (Oh! Oh! What are the available options? I'll spring for leather!) "Da, this is good for you. I suggest Force-A-Nature." (I'll tell them [shop owner] Heavy Weapons Guy sent me.) "It is no need. I know guy."

"I will make hat from you, little bunny." No reply from anyone. A reference for the player to the Max hat in TF2.

"You look familiar, bunny." (How closely do you follow the Manhattan Crime Blotter?) Also a reference to the hat, Tycho then takes over conversation.

(If I need someone snuffed out, what's your going rate?) "Five hundred thousand U.S. dollars." (Steep.) "Cash." (You can do it discreetly?) "Sasha... not so discreet." (That's fine.)

(How did you guys hear of the inventory?) "My engineering friend brought me one night."

(This reminds me of the time Artie Flopshark rigged an entire poker tournament to pay off his loan shark.) "I know of this. This is respectable profession in motherland." Conversation is stolen by Tycho.

(This reminds me of [story]!) "I am reminded of time Engineer kill my entire team." (Damn Heavy, that's... heavy. Sorry to hear that.) "I search entire base for him. He tries to kill me with turret and mini turret, but I crush his toys like they are made of paper." (Sounds like crappy toys.) "Then I find him. Hiding by teleporter. I take his gun away from him. He tries to hit me with wrench! Hahohoh! So I take wrench away from him. I take his wrench and shove it down his throat, all the way down to the handle." (Christ!) Heavy laughs. "Then I rip off all his fingers one by one!" He talks while laughing. "Lets see you build toys now!" He breaks out in laughter. "There's blood- everywhere! And- he's crying!" More laughter. "I think he cries out for mother, but- but-" Crumples over laughing. "The wrench is stuck in his throat! And it sounds like-" Makes choking motions and noises then laughs. "Is this not the funniest thing??" (Horrified looks) (Head shakes slowly.) (That's some bleeped up bleep, man!)

(How about you, Heavy weapons? I'm guessing you're a vodka guy?) "Peach Bellini. But bubbles can give me headache."

(Mr. Weapons, how do you like your line of work?) "It is good. There are many benefits." (Oh! Like a free pass to snuff out bad guys or a waffle bar?) "Both. And full dental."

(I wonder if this dump is haunted.) (I hope so! Roughing up who can't die is fun!) "...I do not like ghosts..." (It's okay, Mr. Weapons. I have [extensive experience]. I can handle a few ghosts.) "...You will take care of ghosts for me?" (You bet cha!) Heavy nods at him. "I like you, tiny rabbit."

[Story including a union] "I am union. RED local six fifteen." (You guys unionized?) "Eh. It was necessity for group medical."

"Tycho. This sweater, is special equipment?" (No, standard issue.) "You have no class specific head gear?" (Got a motorcycle helmet that protects from 100% of UV rays.) "This sounds beneficial."

(Why do you keep calling me 'Tiny Heavy'?) "You are Heavy. Tiny. No? You are RED team. You have killing gloves of boxing. You earn these for being great killer! You should try out for RED team." (Hmm. Guess I could join your team of ruthless killers and lame hat wearers and watch you get grenaded by 8 year olds.) "You will take many bullets before dying I think."

(Hey, Heavy. I just finished [Russian fantasy book]. Ever read it?) "No." (Oh. What's your favorite book?) "I prefer war." (Ah, War and Peace. Tasteful.) "No. Just war." (Art of War?) "Nyet." Silence. "I like 'Tsar Hunger' by Leonid Andreyev. You know this?" (...No.) "Is classic."

"You have hands like young girl." (I keep them shits moist.) "...So you are more of sneaky, stabbing type?" (In an extreme circumstance, I guess.) Heavy looks at him suspiciously. "I keep my eyes on you." (No, no no- I wasn't implying that-) Heavy looking at him angierly. (Shit.)

(Ever listen to music while you work?) "Yes! I just buy new walkman." (What gets you in the killing mood? Icelandic death metal?) "I just get Huey Lewis tape. Keeps spirits up on battle field."

"[To Tycho] You have woman?" (Not with me) "She is pretty?" (Yeah, cute, glasses, red hair.) "She has the red hair??" (No, Heavy! She is not on the other team! Don't have to kill her!) "No. But I love the red hair!" (Well, you can't have her, either.) Re-used image of Heavy looking at him angrily. (Well, maybe we can work something out.)

(Hey, Heavyman. You think you can 'take care' of the King of Town for me?) "I can assassinate king, yes. It is expensive, though." (By take care of I meant sneak in and shave off half his mustache.) "I am not best at sneaking." (Confront him in a dark alley then?) "This is better. That way blood wash away in rain."

(You have any interest in moonlighting?) "WHAT? I am not moonlighter!" (Just a little work on the side with Sam and me beating up goons!) "Oh. I can not do this." (C'mon it's fun and free!) "No, I am sure it is." (Then what's the problem?) "I have non compete." (Ah, yeah. Lawyers.)

(All these aces reminds me of [weird dream]. You have any weird dreams, Mr. Weapons?) "I sometimes dream that I am killed. There is blood everywhere. (Tycho gives him a weird look) But then I wake up and I realize this is ridiculous! Nobody can kill Heavy weapons guy! (Riiiight...)

"[To his chips] This is good Solider. This one is good Doktor. You are demolition man."

"Saaaandvich, sandvich, I love you sandvich!" (Would you like someone to order you some food?)

"Blue man." (Tycho.) "Tycho. What college do you go to? You are educated, no?" (Actually, no.) "No?" (I studied at Gygax Polyhedral if you catch my drift.) "I do not. This is good school?" (Uh. The best.) "I went to Soviet College of Mines, Farms, and Science. I have PhD in Russian literature." (Do you.. use that in your work?) "More than you think."

"Tiny Heavy, who is your favorite to kill in war?" (Those discount three-pack green helmets.) "To kill spy is glorious thing! How about you, Max? You are killing type." (My favorite enemy? Like asking me to choose between my children!) Heavy laughs. "You crack me up, little bunny!"

(Hey, Hefty Bag, you ever play video games?) "Just one." (Oh yeah?) "It is called-" (Tycho: WoW?) "Nyet. That is not popular. It is called 'Where's an Egg'." (Strongbad: I love Where's an Egg!) "Where's an Egg is as big as Tetris in homeland."

(Concerning your firearm, whay caliber we talking?) "Big." (What, we talking 300 Weatherby Mag here?) "Bigger." (50 cal, whereabouts?) "Bigger than 50 caliber. They are hand made custom tool cartridges with classified diameter." (Why's that?) "So enemy canmot use ammunition. But Sasha can chew through theirs." (Diabolical!) "I think so." Nods.

(Alright, big pretend killer man. Tell me the most awesome story you have with plenty of senseless violence!) Heavy thinks. "When I was boy, I was at camp, being trained in many ways of combat." (Assassination camp for kids! This is gonna be good!) "There was sparrow sitting on fence. Snow falls quietly around me. Without notice, another boy jumps from behind tree and kills sparrow with throwing knife. The boy runs away." (And then??) "I pick up sparrow, and hear his last breath before digging him tiny grave..." (Tycho crying) (Max silent) (That's not even a little bit funny, man.) Heavy shakes his head solemnly. "No..." Sits back. "It's not."

(So, what do you do for fun?) "Clean Sasha. Use Sasha... Clean Sasha again." (Proper maintience is crucial.) "I also collect old coins." (A fellow numismatist!) "Which I melt down to make custom bullets." (Of course.)

"I am hungry for sandvich." (Then order a sandvich, man.) "Oh, I can not have sandvich! I become unstoppable killing machine!" (Yeah, maybe order a water.) "Is best."

"You wear blue sweater." (All the time.) "What are you?" (Haven't we went over this?) "You are not Scout. Maybe very tricky blue Spy? Maybe... new class?" (I can use a keyboard to sabotage your entire team, steal your intelligence, and have your sister delivered to my doorstep in one afternoon. Yes, I'm a new class.) Heavy, shocked, "This is true??"

(Hey, Heavyman, what's your living situ-aysh?) "I live in RED barraks. Is nice. There is foos table." (How about taking a room in the house of Strong?) "There is vacancy?" (First you'll have to dump the current person in your room.) "This is enemy?" (He won't put up much of a fight.)

Hope you enjoyed, spent most of the day copying all these down. The non-Heavy lines are paraphrased for shortness. Heavy's are full, how they are in game.

#long post #tf2 #team fortress 2 #heavy #tf2 heavy #heavy weapons guy #poker night #poker night at the inventory #neat

[captainkurosolaire]

Hellfire

He sighed before chunking his lance one again but this time a molten chain burst forth connecting in and allowing him whenever he missed to retry like a harpoon. The demon tried advancing past it finally just now recovering only to feel the heat of his soul's singe off, it was like running away from a chasing sun. Cowardly out of range and drawing at the portal this travesty was taking place he began succumbing all the soul’s he could nab to advance. Gark had to stop his persisting advances, to start grabbing the wounded bodies of his comrades and putting them into a close pile near the Lalafell and Bard. “You could both be helpful.” Peaking over and seeing a sheep in the corner dozed off with a sheet of carpet. “Or you three.” Saying with a grumble, too old to deal with bickering at the children to be responsible for anything. Sheik Sphere out of them at-least retracted his own passion to help work on getting them pushed back away in a safer zone. Gark then chased down with an almost retired heroic strut. Placing his lance into the bottom of the floor with a crashing thud. “Done yet? Got your fill?”  He’d show no disinterested care; he bloated up and was even more enhanced. “I was told, I beat you, I got my collective hands on Merlwyb’s socks. That’s all I’m here for. GRADE-A LIMITED EDITION!” Aiming his lance, “I take no honor in this.” Silv’a clapped back, “You should really be more cautionary for who you’re fighting. I’ve defea-” Right as he began monologuing he’d be hit with a high speed lance into his gut. “You were better off not talking.” Gark, said with hyper-ambers he looked villainously with an overwhelming power resonating.  “Careful… Like handling a newborn…” Gark worked on trying so desperately not to overdo it, as a volcanic flame burst, “Forty-five percent.” The harpoon chain allowed him to channel enough flame, feeling the building intensity all the demon’s pores sweat everything was unfathomable this.. Was like being burned by something draconic. He’d in desperation have to dismember and sever his own head and throw it across the room and lob it, only second’s after his remaining body was extinguished into crumbling ash flakes, everyone else in the room sweated up and ran blistering fevers.  He burned through the floor of the estate all the way through until there was a crater hole showing the basement far beneath. Gark reached over and grabbed a pillar and used his mighty Roe strength towards a weak spot to finish knocking down the foundation and quell his own embers. Most of the floors were designed to be prevented from going through with the veil but Gark overdid it. “Ahhh shit, Ears, is going to be mad. You made me do this! I swear if I don’t get my reward... I’ll meet you in the underworld and torture you in every eternity!” He shouted with actual lunacy. Advancing any reopening wound to be cauterized over his own flesh, every injury he sustained. Underneath a tiny peak of his chain mail was burned marks of endless scars that were like at that point practically tempered scales from consuming over him. Hyper-regeneration from all the additional damned souls were having to be reused but it took a lot less thinking he had transcended, noting firsthand now, that he couldn’t ever afford to ever get touched by that man again… Otherwise that meant pure death. Gark wasn’t unused to such an easy task. He far surpassed his Half-Brother and while he became the Original Founder of the Goldbrand, this Gark, who carries his legacy in last namesake only, remains well of honor. Taking full joining aside the vigil of the fiery peaks of his homelands and vanquishing to prevent souls from entering the realm of the living. This Tormented Plane’s ordeal wasn't impressive. The Hellsguard made their lives off this pesky Trial.                           (Previous) << (Voidal Relics) >> (Next)

#creative writing #The Immortal Age Saga #ffxiv #dark fantasy #tw:violence #Hellsguard #Gark #Quartermaster #Silv'a #Tales of the Goldbrand

[pastelsandpining]

Santa Tell Me (New Love)

The eighth prompt in 12 Days of Christmas by @zelink-prompts​, the prequel to prompt seven here

Prompt List

Words: 2419

Summary: Zelda finds a friend in the little forest boy who claims to be the Hero of Time. 

Ocarina of Time, post-game, child timeline(???)

Zelink-mas 2020  l  Masterlist

The Princess of Hyrule was bubbly and bright, and she felt like she could take on the world. She wanted so badly to go on a grand adventure, to escape the walls and locks of the castle and explore the kingdom she was set to rule over one day. How did she know what was best for her people if she never met them? But her father wouldn’t hear a word of it and Impa wouldn’t let her try. Little Zelda was forced to instead play by herself in the courtyard. She liked to pick up sticks and pretend to fight, and she liked throwing crushed up leaves and berries into a water filled hole to make potions. She liked to fall in the dirt and scrape her knees. 

She did not like practicing the ocarina.

“But you promised!” she whined, tugging at the arm of her caretaker. “You said you’d teach me how to be Sheikah!”

“I promised to teach you Sheikah ways,” Impa corrected as she stuck the little blue instrument into her hands. “But not today, little princess. You haven’t practiced in weeks, and you promised your father you would.”

Zelda huffed and gripped the tear-drop shaped piece of wood tighter. 

“But it’s so boring!”

“You’ll have to do many boring things in your life as queen,” Impa replied, ruffling the cap that covered her hair. Zelda scrunched up her nose and, defeated, brought the ocarina to her lips. It was drilled into her where her fingers should go as she played a set of scales to warm up. 

The three note melody her family named after her (or, rather, after Zelda in general) came naturally, and she played it twice before stealing a glance at Impa. She didn’t look satisfied, so Zelda huffed and turned around to face the window instead. There was her father, sitting on his throne while speaking with a man—a man she’d seen a few times before. He was tall, and his eyes seemed to glow with an evil that made her nervous. But her father wouldn’t listen to her when she tried to tell him that he scared her.

“How did you-“

A ruckus followed Impa’s unfinished question, so Zelda turned with furrowed eyebrows. Stood before her was a boy no older than her, dressed in green with a sword by his side. She stumbled a little backwards. He resembled the forest boy from her dreams a little too perfectly to be real. And yet something about him felt so familiar.

“Who..?” she started to ask, but the boy dropped to a kneel in front of her.

“Princess,” he greeted, his voice shaky and quiet. “I’m Link. I.. I’m the Hero of Time, I think.”

Zelda blinked. She’d never heard of such a thing, but he sounded too serious to be joking. But despite everything she’d felt within the past few weeks, she was unconvinced. 

“How can you be something without knowing it?” she asked, placing her hands on her waist. 

“You’ve gotta believe me!” the forest boy pleaded. “Ganondorf’s gonna get the Triforce and take over and destroy the world!”

So, the Hero of Time was here, as nothing more than a child, making the claim that her dreams would come to pass. As ridiculous as it probably sounded to Impa, it shook Zelda to her core. But her father didn’t believe her, much less a little kokiri boy. She was running out of ideas.

“Prove it,” she challenged, holding the ocarina out to him. “This is the Ocarina of Time, an heirloom of the royal family for generations. Play something only the Hero of Time would know!”

Link took the instrument from her hands and raised it to his lips. Zelda pulled at the sleeves of her dress in anticipation, shifting on her feet. What was she expecting him to play? Would he be able to play? If he could, how would it prove anything? 

Her lullaby was being played back to her.

“How..? You--you heard me playing it!” she accused, taking a step back. It was the only explanation, it had to be.

“You taught it to me! Right here! Don’t you remember?”

He looked so crestfallen and scared. He was as small as she, yet he spoke as if he’d seen war. If he really was who he said he was, then… he had. And he was there to warn them.

“Tell me everything,” Zelda demanded, holding her head a little higher. 

“Princess--”

Zelda looked over to Impa and whispered a soft “please”, then shifted her gaze back to the little kokiri boy. 

Link was hesitant, but he retold everything he could remember. He told her that she sent him to retrieve the spiritual stones, and he pulled the Master Sword, and that Ganondorf had followed him into the Temple and touched the Triforce, sealing him inside of the Sacred Realm. He told her how he woke seven years later to Hyrule in disrepair, with Ganondorf as the new king. He told of the temples and the destruction, and how he was forced to travel back and forth in time to undo all the King of Thieves had done. By the end of his story, Zelda was on the verge of tears. It was her plan that caused such a downfall--the very same plan she’d wanted to share with him as soon as he appeared before her.

“We have to tell my father,” she said, spinning to face Impa. “Please.”

Impa too was hesitant, but Zelda wiped at her tears and grabbed Link’s hand, pulling him towards the entrance to the castle herself.

“Princess-” Impa called again, but the little princess was determined. Ganondorf was leaving just as they entered, and she felt Link’s hand tighten around her own. But she couldn’t stop now. She had to make her father listen if there was any hope at all.

Just as she’d expected, her father was dismissive. He wanted to write it off as a childish nightmare, but Zelda forced Link to recount everything he’d just told her. The king remained unconvinced, but he looked a little bothered and she could work with that.

“Zelda, it is very immature to get this little boy in on your fantasies,” he scolded. “I cannot arrest the Gerudo king on the account of two children, not when we’re so close to mending the split caused by war.”

“But you heard his story! The Hero of Time said he fought Ganondorf himself!” Zelda argued, stomping her foot.

“Your little friend snuck onto the castle grounds unpermitted, so I would hardly deem him trustworthy. Unless he can prove that he is who he says he is, I will not take action.”

Link lifted the ocarina to his lips again and Zelda waited anxiously for the three note lullaby to hit her ears--but it never came. 

“I’ll pull the sword again,” Link declared, standing up as straight as he could. “I’ll travel to Gerudo Valley and find Nabooru--she’s a Sage and she could tell you everything Ganondorf has planned!”

“I will not send a child to that desert-”

“Then take me to the Temple of Time,” the hero challenged. 

The king looked hesitant once more. He scratched his beard as he looked between Link and his daughter, and Zelda tried to look as serious as she could manage.

“Link’s story is exactly what I saw in my dreams. You know daughters of the goddess can have pro.. prost-”

“Prophetic,” Impa supplied. Zelda nodded once.

“-prophetic dreams because you said mother had them too!”

“I cannot take you into the Temple of Time,” the king said, slumping back into the throne. “If you really are the Hero of Time, then there’s no telling what pulling the sword will do. But I will look into this. If I find nothing, then the two of you will be in very big trouble.”

Link didn’t look happy, but Zelda would take it. She was admittedly too scared to keep thinking about it, and any action her father took would be better than none.

“Promise?” she asked her father, stepping up to his throne and sticking out her pinky.

“I promise,” he replied, wrapping his larger finger around hers. He wiped at her cheeks after that, and Zelda leaned into the comfort of her father. She didn’t want to lose him too. 

Link was allowed full permission into the castle after all that had transpired. Zelda met up with him any chance she could get, and they would run around the courtyard together with sticks and matching bruises. His stories sounded far less scary when he acted them out before her, and Zelda often stole Impa’s headband and pretended to be a Sheikah named Sheik--just like the other Princess Zelda he spoke so highly about. 

Their courtyard playdate was interrupted when a figure passed by the window. The Gerudo king had arrived in chains, and Zelda grabbed Link’s arm and pulled him out of view.

“What’s going on?” he asked, but Zelda pressed a finger to her lips and snuck towards the entrance so they could hear what was happening. There was a lot of yelling, but she heard her father condemning him for plans of overthrowing the monarchy.

“--guilty of treason of the highest measure. For the crimes you have committed, you will be taken to Arbiter’s Grounds and executed.”

Zelda nearly tripped over Link as she stumbled backwards. The Gerudo king was being led their way. His eyes, burning with hatred, settled on her and Link, and he ripped himself free from the guards’ hold. Ganondorf reached for her with hands twice her size and she bit her tongue to keep from screaming. She tried to think of what Sheik would do, but she hardly got a chance before Link was in front of her, his kokiri sword pointed at the King of Thieves’ hands. Ganondorf laughed, a deep, evil sound that shook her to her core, and the guards took hold of him again, and he was dragged away, still laughing. 

Link turned around and wrapped her in a hug, and Zelda, still shaking, grabbed his shirt and closed her eyes. The yellow eyes of the Gerudo king would follow her into her nightmares, she was sure of it. 

In the following week, her father held a ceremony to acknowledge and thank all of those who saved Hyrule. 

Link and Nabooru, who’d acted as an inside source, were gifted with titles of honor and medals of service. Zelda too was awarded for her wisdom and insistence, but she didn’t think she deserved it as much as the other two. It was her fault Link had gone through all he had to begin with, and she didn’t think she could ever shake that feeling of guilt. But the party afterwards helped to lift her spirits, because her father told her she could have as many sweets as she wanted, and she could stay up as late as she wanted. 

“We did it!” Zelda cheered, once she’d found Link in the crowd. People were gawking at him and asking questions, but she threw her arms around him anyway and they landed in a pile on the floor, giggling like crazy. She could hear Impa in her head, scolding her about how improper and unladylike she was acting, but the princess didn’t care. A war had been avoided, and she made a good friend in the process. 

A friend who took her on adventures around Lake Hylia now that there was no threat, and protected her from any monster that tried to show its face. He took her to Lon Lon Ranch, where she met Malon and Epona and rode a horse of her own. He took her to Zora’s domain, where she met the little Zora princess who looked too interested in Link for her liking, and he took her to Goron City (under the supervision of Impa) to meet Darunia. 

But their time together was short lived, because their courtyard playdate took an awkward turn when Link held out a handful of colorful flowers and told her he had to go. He looked so sad, and she wished she could squeeze him tight until his sadness was gone.

“I lost a friend,” he explained, avoiding her gaze. “Every kokiri has a fairy, and I lost Navi when.. when I was sent back. I need to find her.”

She wanted to ask if he had to go. She wanted to beg him to stay here and find another fairy. But even as a selfish child, she could tell how much had been taken from him and she didn’t want him to hurt more than he already had. She would be a bad friend if she didn’t let him go.

“Will you come back?” she asked as she held the flowers tighter. 

“I’d never leave you behind,” he answered, giving her a shy little smile that made her cheeks burn.

“Do you promise?” she questioned, sticking out her pinky. 

“I promise,” he replied, wrapping his finger around hers. Zelda hesitated for a moment, but she leaned forwards and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.

“You better not break your promise, or I’m gonna be really mad at you,” she said as she pushed him away and looked at the ground.

“Just watch! When I come back, I’ll be your knight and we’ll get married,” he replied, wrapping her in a hug. Zelda giggled and held him tightly, because she wouldn’t be seeing him again for a very long time.

“You’re gross!” she declared, but the little princess liked the idea, even if she didn’t know the full story of what a marriage involved. They were too young for that anyway, but Impa told her later that love had no age and that souls that were meant to be together would find each other again in time. 

She didn’t know the word for what she was feeling when he left the courtyard for the last time. He looked back at her with a wave, but she couldn’t find it in her to raise her arms. They felt heavy and tired. She spent the first few months in naive hope, waiting in the courtyard and playing the ocarina as if her songs could bring him back. She held onto Impa’s words and onto the matching medals they had, and she came to question herself if she did indeed love the little boy from the forest. 

Perhaps when she saw him again, she would tell him properly.

#zelink #baby zelink #soft children #ocarina of time #oot zelink #christmas prompts #zelink prompts #they are babies #they should get to be happy but no #no link gets to go be traumatized again

[patandpran]

Feeling Alive - A MarkxKit Vampire Au

Mark walks Kit home from class every night but one night Mark isn't there. Padbok takes this opportunity to threaten Kit again but something or someone saves Kit...

Aka the Mark!Vampire AU that only Kylie @wjmild, Violet @kimmonv and I will enjoy. Written partially as a thank-you to Violet for my gorgeous new header!

Kit had always been afraid of the dark but thankfully he had Mark at his side to make him feel safe. Mark was an annoyance to say the least - an adorable annoyance - but Kit was happy to have someone to accompany him home after his late night classes.

That’s how Mark and Kit had met in the first place. Pha had always been the one to walk him back to his dorm but when he suddenly disappeared, Kit dreaded his evening classes as the campus was practically empty at such hours. It creeped him the hell out - not that he was ever going to let anyone know that.

Kit had been walking home one night where it was particularly dark when Mark stepped into his path. He had heard about Mark, Wayu’s best friend, but had never met him in person before. Kit was immediately startled by Mark’s presence but something about Mark made him feel completely at ease. Kit wasn’t the type of person to trust others quickly but Mark seemed to be an exception to that rule.

Mark had introduced himself and insisted on walking Kit home now that Pha was not around to do so. Kit was suspicious of Mark’s intentions but considering how pushy the younger man was, there was not much Kit could to argue the arrangement.

So here they were. They had their nightly routine of Mark waiting outside of Kit’s late night classes and chatting his ear off until he safely delivered Kit to his dorm building. Mark was outrageously flirty, annoying beyond belief and he never stopped talking but Kit would have to be blind not to recognize how attractive Mark was. Plus, an even more embarrassing part of Kit found Mark kind of charming and loved the attention he was getting from Mark. Kit had never experienced someone being so forward about their feelings before and it was kind of addicting.

Kit had started to look forward to Mark picking him up so the one evening when Kit walked out of his class and didn’t find Mark waiting at the picnic table or stairs as well, he noticed just how disappointed he felt. Had he been too mean to Mark? Had Mark suddenly found some other person to aim his affections at? Had he been reading too much into their interactions all this time and Mark was just being a Good Samaritan?

Sighing, Kit adjusted his bag strap on his shoulder and tried to remind himself that Mark had not been in his life for very long. He could go on without Mark. It wasn’t like Kit needed him anyway. There wasn't anything wrong or unsafe about him walking alone on his own.

Kit pulled out a set of earphones and put them in his ears, queuing up a playlist that would hopefully make him feel a bit better. He felt ridiculous for sulking so much. It wasn’t like him. What had Mark done to him? It made Kit feel pathetic.

With music blaring in his ears to accompany him on the journey to his dorm, Kit set off. The moon was high in the night sky and thankfully the stars were quite bright that evening as there was not much street light. Kit tried to ignore how dark it was by focusing on the melody of the music that was blasting in his ears. He hummed along and quickened his pace.

Kit suddenly felt as if he was not alone. The hairs on the back of his neck raised and he looked around to see if his suspicion was correct. He yanked his earbuds out so that he could survey his surroundings more attentively. Kit’s heart began to race as he looked around him and saw that there was no one in sight. Kit was alone but he still had a stark feeling that he was being followed.

“Hello?”

Kit called out to the darkness. There was no response that followed so he chalked it up to his paranoia. He decided that it was best not to continue to listen to music and increased his pace even more. Sweat sprouted on his brow as he continued on his way.

Just as he was passing by an alleyway, someone tapped him on the shoulder. Kit held in a sheik as he whipped around to see who was interrupting his journey home. There was a part of him that hoped it was Mark catching up to him but instead he saw someone who made his heart sink: Padbok.

Earlier that day, Thanu had met up with Kit to borrow some more notes to make sure he was ready to return to class and despite Padbok’s earlier threats to stay away from Thanu, Kit had gone ahead and ignored him.

Despite the fact that Padbok had already attacked him, Kit puffed up his chest and demanded, “What do you want from me?”

A sickly grin spread across Padbok’s mouth. “Someone that looks as cute and innocent as you shouldn’t be wandering around the streets at night like this…. alone.”

The emphasis that Padbok put on the word ‘alone’ sent shivers down Kit’s spine. The taller man looked down at Kit and Kit took a few steps back before responding, “I think you should leave me alone.”

This just made Padbok look even more amused. He began to stalk toward Kit, backing him into the darkened alleyway. Kit wanted desperately to stand up for himself but Padbok had already back him up against the cold brick wall. Kit winced and balled his hands into fists, desperately wishing he had the courage to fight Padbok. The issue was that he didn’t want to make the situation even more dire by riling Padbok even more by trying to fight back.

“Why couldn’t you just listen to me, Kit?” Padbok growled in a low tone.

Just like the first time, Padbok wrapped his hands around Kit’s neck and Kit tried to react. Unfortunately, it seemed like Padbok had come alone this time so Jack did not know to warn Mark about the attack. Where was Mark when Kit needed him the most?

Kit could feel his airway closing as Padbok pressed down harder, coiling his long fingers even tighter around Kit’s neck. Kit started to feel faint and lose consciousness due to the lack of oxygen and felt his knees grow weak. With every last remaining amount of strength, he tried to claw at Padbok’s hands but it did nothing to help his situation.

Just as the darkness started to close in, Kit thought he saw something move across his vision at an inhuman speed. His vision was too blurry to distinguish what it was but a moment later, he felt the tension on his neck release and he fell forward, his wrists hitting the pavement. He was too disoriented to tell what was going on but he heard a groan that must have belonged to Padbok a few feet away from him.

Before Kit could figure out who or what had saved him, he fell unconscious.

++++++++++++

Kit slowly opened his eyes and his throat was extremely dry. He breathed out and it sounded slightly like a wheeze but he felt strong enough to push himself up into a seated position against the headrest of the bed he was sitting in. It took him a moment to realize he was in a room he didn’t recognize.

“You’re awake.”

Kit’s attention snapped to a darkened part of the room. Out of the shadows, Mark emerged, a concerned look on his face. What was odd about the whole thing was how Mark was keeping his distance. He never interacted with Kit without being a close as humanly possible. It confused Kit greatly but maybe he was just being respectful.
 “Is this your room?” Kit wondered, running his hands along the sheets that seemed like they had never been slept in before they were so crisply folded, aside from the spot where he now sat.

“Yes.” Mark explained, his voice somewhat shaky. “Sorry. I don’t know your room number or I would have brought you to yours.”

Kit surveyed the room and found that there was little personal possessions around the space. It was all very minimalistic. Kit turned his attention back to Mark and asked, “What happened to Padbok?”

Mark’s brow furrowed deeply. “Don’t worry about that. He got what he deserved.”

“What does that mean?” Kit asked and suddenly brought his hands up to his throat where Padbok had injured him. He suddenly remembered just how emotionless Padbok’s eyes had become when he was choking him and wondered if Mark was right about Padbok.

Kit let his hands fall to his side, “So… you were the one that saved me or did you just find me?”

“Saved you is a bit of a dramatic way to put it.” Mark mused, leaning against a wall. “I’m hardly a hero.”

“Some people would call you one.” Kit muttered shyly, his gaze falling to his palms which he saw were covered in scratches and dried blood.

“Heroes don’t let the ones they care about get hurt.” Mark explained and Kit’s breath hitched at the response.

He had never seen Mark look so serious before. In fact, it was almost chilling. Kit somewhat missed the annoying and lighthearted side of Mark that he was used to.

“You don’t owe me anything, Mark.” Kit answered. “It’s not your job to keep me safe. I can handle it myself.”

“I don’t know if I would call what was happening in that alleyway ‘handling it’.” Mark shared.

For some reason, this pissed Kit off. He blurted out in frustration, “Well, if you had been there after class then no one would have had to ‘handle it’.”

The room became ridiculously silent. Kit wished he had not said anything. The last thing he wanted was to reveal to Mark just how much he cared about him. He didn’t want to embarrass himself like that.

“I’m sorry, Kit.” Mark’s voice sounded broken somehow, the guilt dripping from his every word. “I was…”

“You were what?” Kit spat out, looking up at Mark with an intensity that scared even him. “Flirting with someone else? Walking someone else home?”

Mark’s gaze dropped to the floor and the silence in the room grow even thicker. Kit couldn’t believe how he had let himself be drawn in by a playboy like Mark. All the flirting, the stolen kisses, it all meant nothing. Mark didn't care about Kit. He cared about the chase. The game of it all.

Kit still did not feel well enough to leave but he needed to be alone so he pushed himself off of the bed and made his way to Mark’s bathroom and slammed the door.

“Kit! Don’t!” Mark cried out but Kit ignored the protests.

He turned on the tap and splashed water on his face, hoping that he might be able to catch his breath and recenter himself somewhat. Out of the corner of his eye, Kit spotted a laundry basket where a shirt had been discarded. It was drenched in blood to the point that Kit’s jaw dropped. How had Mark lost so much blood and was still standing?

Kit threw open the door and stalked toward Mark, “What the hell happened in that alleyway, Mark?”

“Kit. Keep your distance. Please.” Mark scrambled backward, terror in his eyes. “I’m serious, Kit. Stop.”

“Why was your shirt covered in that much blood, Mark?” Kit demanded, pointing to the bathroom. “What did you do to Padbok? I’m a medical student. I know that someone doesn’t look that much blood without consequences.”

“I…. just, please, let me explain!” Mark called out and Kit shook his head in disbelief.

Once again, Kit advanced on Mark and Mark tried to get away. They played a game of cat and mouse for a moment before Kit finally was able to corner Mark. Kit put both hands on either side of Mark, blocking his escape. Mark turned his face away, wincing and thrashing as if he was in pain just because of Kit’s proximity.

“Kit.” Mark choked out. “Get. Away. From. Me.”

Kit noticed that the wounds on his palms from the pavement had opened again and blood was trickling down his hand. As a drop hit the floor, Mark’s nostrils flared and his eyes popped open, his pupils wide. There was a wildness about the way that Mark was looking at him that both terrified and fascinated Kit.

A low growl came from Mark and just as Kit was about to back away, Mark took Kit’s bleeding hand in his and turned Kit’s wrist toward his mouth. Mark had kissed them there before Kit sensed this time was different. He could hear his heartbeat thundering in his ears and watched in shocked stillness as Mark opened his mouth to reveal a set of pointed fangs.

Instinctively, Kit yanked his hand from Mark’s grasp and stumbled backward, his mind reeling at what the hell was going on. There had always been something different about Mark but Kit had obviously not realized how different.

As Kit put distance between them, it was as if Mark got a handle on himself again. He shut his eyes and shrunk to the ground in a crouch and covered his mouth with his hands. He looked as if he had betrayed himself and Kit was shocked to find himself sympathetic to Mark’s situation. Mark looked beyond horrified with his actions but Mark had no idea how to comfort someone in this kind of circumstance.

Plus, he couldn’t help but still be incredibly drawn to Mark. Kit sat down to the ground as well and waited quietly, keeping a good distance between them as Mark seemed to regain his composure slowly. The shaking stopped and Mark opened his eyes, looking more guilty than Kit had ever seen a person before.

“I… I didn’t want you to find out like this.” Mark murmured and he looked as if he was about to start crying. Could a creature like Mark even cry?  “I… I understand if you never want to see me again.”

Kit didn’t know what to say. There was no script for something like this. He didn’t know how to navigate it properly but there was a question he needed answered immediately: “What happened to Padbok?”

“I… got carried away.” Mark explained. “But don’t worry, I didn’t kill him. I was able to get you both to my car and I dropped him off at the hospital. He’s going to be fine and he won’t remember anything.”

“Won’t remember anything?” Kit repeated in a daze. He was relieved that Mark had not killed anyone though.

“I can erase the memories of my… victims.” Mark shared, his words dripping with embarrassment.

A worried thought shot through Kit’s mind and he blurted, “Have you ever erased my mind?”

Mark looked at Kit with such sadness that it broke Kit’s heart. Mark muttered, “I never want to hurt you, Kit. That’s why I always feed before I see you… but today I got delayed which is why I wasn’t there when you got out of class. When I finally got to campus, you were gone but I followed your scent to that alleyway and when I saw Padbook, I just lost it.”

Kit’s eyes widened at Mark’s honesty. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He murmured, “So… you feed every night before you meet up with me so that you can… be close to me?”

“I know it sounds so weird and perverse.” Mark answered, looking beyond ashamed. “This isn’t something I chose. A few years ago I was attacked and I was given the decision whether to change or die… I was an idiot kid! I should have died but… I’ve tried to make the best of it.”

Kit felt himself relaxing into wrapping his head around what he was heading. Mark continued on,  “I don’t kill people… I take just enough to keep me going, erase their minds and send them on their way. The worse that usually happens is that people have to take some extra iron pills for a while. I’ve tried to keep under the radar, to keep my distance from people but Wayu encouraged me to try to get back to normal… so I applied for university and when I got in, I took all evening classes for obvious reasons… and then I met you.”

“What do you mean?” Kit wondered why this was an important part of the story.

“You changed everything again, Kit.” Mark explained, a smile on his lips. “I met you and everything just clicked. I felt something again, when I hadn’t felt anything but emptiness in so long. I had floated through life ever since my change…. but you…”

It was as if he couldn’t properly form the thought so Kit whispered, “What, Mark?”

Mark looked up and locked eyes with Kit. “You made me want to start living again.”

Without a second thought, Kit crawled toward Mark and threw his arms around him, pulling him in tightly. The swell of emotion that filled Kit because of Mark’s words had blocked his better judgment but he didn’t care anymore. He trusted Mark with his life, even if Mark was likely the most dangerous thing that he had ever encountered. The whole thing was a ridiculous paradox but Kit no longer cared. All he wanted was to be near Mark.

Mark felt stiff at first in Kit’s grasp but he quickly relaxed into the contact. Mark breathed in and nuzzled his nose into Kit’s hair before pressing his lips to Kit’s neck. Kit was momentarily shocked by just how cold Mark’s kiss was but the thought disappeared as Mark continued to trail kisses down along his collar bone, along his arm and down to his favourite spot: Kit’s wrist.

Kit’s breath hitched as Mark kissed his wrist, the most vulnerable spot on the human being aside from the neck. The realization sent thrilling chills down Kit’s spine. Mark dropped another kiss on Kit’s wrist before looking up at Kit through thick lashes, “I love that spot the most because I can feel your heartbeat.”

At that, Kit surged forward and captured Mark’s lips in his own. The whole situation was ridiculously intoxicating and they both seemed to be getting lost in it all. They slowly sunk to the floor, wrapping each other’s arms around each other once again as they continued to kiss.

Kit was about to deepen the kiss once again, when one of Mark’s fangs pierced his lip and Kit pulled away in pain. Kit brought a hand up to his mouth and winced and Mark muttered, “Oh, shit. Sorry.”

Kit couldn’t believe how ridiculous the situation they were in was. He began to laugh and couldn’t help but fall into a complete giggle fit, still in Mark’s arms. “This is… beyond insane.” Kit remarked, shaking his head.

“Welcome to my world.” Mark beamed fondly at Kit and brought one hand up to cradle Kit’s cheek.

“I can’t believe I’m becoming a doctor and my boyfriend is a creature that has to feed on the blood of the living.” Kit shared, an amused smile on his lips. “Seems kind of backward, doesn’t it?”

Mark’s eyes grew wide. “Your boyfriend?”

Kit narrowed his eyes at Mark. “That’s not seriously all you took away from what I just said.”

“I call it selective hearing.” Mark expressed.

“Don’t Vampires have really good hearing?” Kit lifted an eyebrow.

Mark frowned slightly, “I don’t like using the ‘V’ word. I’m not into labels.”

“And yet you liked when I accidentally called you my boyfriend.” Kit answered.

“You can’t take something like that back, Kit.” Mark pouted and Kit couldn’t help but find it adorable.

Kit rolled his eyes. “Fine. We’re boyfriends. Happy?”

“Ecstatic.” Mark responded, dropping another kiss on Kit’s lips. “You know, when you first kissed me, I wondered if you were like me…”

Kit was confused. “Why?”

Mark’s eyes danced with mischief. “Because you bit me.”

“MARK!” Kit cried out and balled his fists up and battered them against Mark’s chest.

“No matter how hard you hit, Kit, you’re not going to restart that heart of mine.” Mark shared, an amused look on his face.

Kit let out a frustrated huff before looking up at Mark, “You have to promise me one thing though.”

“Anything.” Mark didn’t miss a beat.

“Don’t make me walk home alone ever again.” Kit stated, his tone serious.

“I think I can make that commitment.” Mark promised and pulled Kit in close again.

Kit rested his head against Mark’s chest and was somewhat surprised when he couldn’t hear a heartbeat. There was a lot that Kit figured he was going to have to get used to but it was more than worth it….

…For when he was with Mark, Kit had never felt so alive.

#gen y #gen y the series #markkit #mark x kit #thai bl #my writing

[diaryofabeautyfiend]

Small Time Witch (11)

STEVE

In the dim light of morning the Avengers returned from battle. It was messier than they had planned but the job was done. In the coming days there would be debriefings and meetings. Raised voices. Things to clean up. Steve couldn’t think about that right now.

Adrenaline seeped from his muscles and as they relaxed he felt sore. He peeled off his suit letting it pool in a heap at his feet. Steam from the shower filled the room. He didn’t test the water before he got in. It stung and turned his skin red but it melted away the last tendrils of the fight.

He was hoping you would be in his bed waiting for him. On the ride back he thought of burying his cock in you and just falling asleep that way. You must have been in your bunk. Knowing you’d be up soon he texted you to let you know he was back safe and passing out. He didn’t say it but he hoped to wake up next to you. He was asleep seconds after his head hit the pillow.

LOKI

He woke up in a panic searching for his phone. The sun was up and he just knew any moment a mad soldier would kick in the door and turn his face into ground meat. The text from Thor came just after dawn. Since he had not been bludgeoned he guessed they all went to bed.

He started drifting back to sleep when you began to stir. He smoothed your hair and kissed the top of your head. You leaned into his touch pressing your body into his.

Mornings with you were as close to his version of perfect as he could imagine. You draped yourself over him like armor to protect his most vulnerable parts. Armor he would wear proudly into any battle. He kept saying his mother’s words over and over hoping they were true. “She’ll come around” He couldn’t live on hope though. It wouldn’t sustain him. He hugged you tighter knowing that soon you would be in the arms of another man. He felt like he was losing everything though you were never really his to lose.

YOU

Morning found you still wrapped around Loki. Even in his sleep he looked pensive. The man never relaxed. Though, when you held him, his face was a little softer. The usual hard line of his lips was more lax. You could see the fullness of his bottom lip. You traced it with your finger. He didn’t move.

He loved you. You felt it all the time now. He made no effort to reign it in. The weight of his feelings made you feel heady like the night you drank Thor’s liquor. The fact was though you did not have the capacity to trust someone with your heart. To say love has burned you is an understatement.

There was your first love Bobby Myer. That unfortunate incident got you removed from school. Your friends wouldn’t talk to you. He spread a rumor that you had VD. It was awful. Then there was your boyfriend in college. Ethan. He was thoughtful and spoke about books like they were his lovers. He listened to indie rock and only drank coffee ironically. You were head over heels for him. Then you caught him sleeping with your roommate. That shock wasn’t an accident. You heard he still has a twitch.

The last was Andrew Kale. He was your best friend Jennifer’s brother. He was also possessed by the demon who killed your family. You were told that, when the family unleashed him, Hellphyr had already taken over and Andrew was deceased. You loved him so much it consumed you. You trusted him and he betrayed you. They both did. You promised yourself that you would never again fall that hard. Now look at you. You are in the same place with Loki that you were with Andrew. When you said you couldn’t trust Loki with your heart you really meant to say you didn’t trust yourself.

You knew Loki would worship the ground you walked on. You could feel it in how he made love to you. He wanted to take you apart and know every centimeter of your body. You could see yourself living somewhere impossibly sheik with a couple of kids. Twins probably though you weren’t sure why. They would be scary smart and only communicate telepathically with each other. You would be happy but so tight knit that you wouldn’t have use for outsiders. You would probably die on the same day. He wouldn’t allow himself to go on without you.

Steve on the other hand, you knew you could love Steve. He’s strong and dependable like an old pickup. He was sweet and kind. He had endless patience for you. And, let’s face it, he fucked you like it was his job. He’s really great at his job. You imagined having children with him. He’d probably want a bunch. You would never feel like an outsider. You would always be surrounded by family. You’d have a warm home always full of laughter.

Your fantasies aside, you had to do what was right and safe for you for right now. Getting lost with Loki wasn’t the best path for you at the moment. You both knew it. You had so much healing to do.

You stayed holding him for a few more minutes then decided he likely needed the rest. It was getting late and you were starving. You got dressed and set out to find food.

Nat and Wanda were chatting with a few people in the cafeteria. They saw you and waved you over.

“How did it go?” They didn’t seem beat up so you assumed well.

“Not bad. Clint broke Cap’s no casualty rule.” Wanda explained.

“He had to save Sam. There was a sniper ready to unload on him.”

Wanda held her hands up to yield, “I’m not saying it wasn’t warranted.”

“Is Steve still asleep?” Nat asked

“I’m assuming. I didn’t stay in his room.”

Wanda knew where you were. You changed the subject.

“Well I guess I get to go back to payroll. It’s been fun but, I have to say, way too much excitement for me.”

“Speaking of which, you had better be ready. Tony and Steve are going to ream your ass for that little stunt you pulled.” Nat warned.

“I got the job done. Besides. Loki was with me. Between the two of us I was quite safe.” They both shrugged. Just then Tony spotted you.

“You! Come with me. We need to talk.” He pulled you aside and unloaded on you.

“We have protocols for a reason. Stupid move killing your comms.”

“Tony I...”

“No. That was the last mission you’ll go on with us if you can’t follow simple protocol. I told you before. We cannot protect your ass. I know you are powerful but you are also powerfully stupid. Not only did you endanger your life but you put Loki’s life at risk and ours. We’re a team. We look out for each other. Am I clear?”

“Crystal.”

“Good. I don’t like fussing at you like that. With all that said though, you’re an electrical engineer. I can use you at Stark Industries. I’ll pay much better than SHIELD and you’ll be doing a lot less grunt work.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“What’s to think about?”

“Lay off her Tony.” Steve’s voice warmed you to your very soul.

“Oh yay. Capsicle to the rescue. I expect an answer by end of business today, Y/n.”

You felt Steve’s arms sliding around your hips. He kissed you below your ear and whispered, “Hi.” A shiver ran up your spine. When you turned around to kiss him you saw his lip was split and his cheek was bruised. You frowned and touched his face. “What happened?”

“It’s nothing. I heal fast.”

“So I suppose you’re here to fuss at me too.” He tilted your head up to look at him.

“I wasn’t happy. I’ve been thinking about punishing you all night.” You smiled and your cheeks warmed.

“My my, Captain. I did not know this side of you existed. I’m intrigued. How do you plan to punish me?”

He chuckled a little rolling the many possibilities through his head. “I told you you wouldn’t be able to sit for a week. You disobeyed direct orders. That’ll cost your sweet ass at least two weeks.”

You kissed his too sore lips. He didn’t mind.

“I have to go to a debriefing. Shouldn’t take more than an hour or so. I need you to be in my bed when I get back. Be naked and ready. Make yourself wet. Think of your Captain when you fuck yourself with your fingers but don’t cum. All of your pleasure is mine.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“You had better not disappoint me.” He pulled you in for a deep kiss. His lip re-split spilling the copper taste of his blood onto your tongue. You squeezed your thighs together to relieve some pressure. He felt your body shift so he wedged his thigh between your legs. He contracted his muscle hard and rigid against your heat. You could feel an orgasm building. You moaned in his mouth. “Not yet, Princess. I’ll see you soon.” One more kiss on the forehead and he left you there panting. You just about ran to his room when you heard Director Fury’s voice behind you.

“Y/l/n! Why was there a letter of resignation with your name on it handed to me?”

Fucking Tony. This ought to take a while. You wondered how punished you would be if you were late.

#steve rogers fanfic #captain america x reader #marvel witches #mcu x reader #loki laufeyson #loki x reader #marvel #steve rogers x reader #captain america smut

[so-i-dont-forget-again]

So I Don’t Forget Again: A Breath of The Wild fanfiction

Entry 97: Gerudo Town

 There’s all sorts of different women in the town. Gerudo, Hylians, Rito, Gorons, travelers, reporters, merchants, and so much more. Not just the people but the shops and services are varied too. Inns, bars, clothing shops, jewelry shops, food stalls, spas, library, there’s just so much! By far this has got to have been one of the liveliest places I’ve been. Everyone is so kind here too! It’s also much cooler here than outside. Small canals flow throughout the entire place. There are plenty of trees that provide shade. I just love it here!

Many people but the Gerudo especially compliment me a lot. They, like everything else here vary. Some people call me cute or adorable, some say I have a strong figure, some really like my eyes, but everyone always says that I look especially cute when I blush which always happens after they compliment me. I wonder why I never got compliments like this not in my Gerudo outfit? Maybe I act a little differently when wearing this and that’s what people like or make them notice me? Oh! They also found Bossa Nova to be cute too!

As we were passing by a Jewelry shop, we met the distressed owner. Turns out she needs flint to do her work but due to sandstorms becoming much more violent lately she hasn’t been able to get any. I gave her some of mine since I had gotten so much from the little mining I did at Death Mountain. As thanks she let me pick something from her store for free. While deciding she taught me about the different properties of gems is utilized properly. Like how Amber increases defense, Opal helps improve your speed in water, Topaz resists lightning, Sapphire keeps you cool in the heat, Ruby keeps you warm, and Diamond can resist Garidan attacks. She even gave me some demonstrations on how they exactly do this. I found it all so fascinating I ended up writing it all down on a separate piece of paper. She helped me refine my note taking too. It was all so beautiful and amazing I really wanted all of them, from rings to necklaces, earrings, bracelets, circlets, and so much more. I ended up trading the raw gemstones I had to get more jewelry. They were just too pretty and useful to leave behind! I also had to get some for Bossa Nova too! He’s used to Zora Domain’s cool climate and not this heat, so I equipped a pair of sapphire bracelets on his hind legs. I got a lot of Sapphire stuff since we’re in a desert though since I’m in town I’m not wearing them yet.

I’m not exactly sure how this happened but I ended up talking to a woman about the different cuisine of different places. She said that the height of Gerudo food was a drink called a ‘Noble Pursuit’ that can only be gotten at ‘The Noble Canteen’. I think I’ll check it out after beating the Divine Beast.

I had spent a long time exploring the place, it’s just so big and there’s so much to do, but I did come here for a purpose. It turns out that there’s a place where people can freely meet the chief if there are any problems. Of anyone she must know how to get to the Divine Beast.

She looks similar to Purah, young with and air of maturity to her. She is Riju the Gerudo Chief. Buliara her bodyguard stood beside her telling me to not come close and to state my business or leave. Right away Chief Riju spotted my Shika Slate on my waist and asked for my name. After telling her my name I stated why I came here. Buliara scoffed at me saying only a Champion could do such a thing but they were all dead. It was then the Chief recalled something her mother told her. When the Calamity happened, Princess Zelda had a fallen swordsman placed into a deep sleep and the name of that man was Link. Buliara added that the man was also said to have carried a legendary sword which I do not possesses. The sword was called one which could seal darkness. The Chief added that the princess supposedly hid it deep in a forest. Though because of my name and the Sheiks Slate by my side there was a chance that I am him. Buliara then exclaimed that I’m a voe. The Chief said that since I’m a Champion, I was friends with Lady Urbosa, and since I’m here to help them deal with Naboris, we’re allies. As long as I stayed a woman within the walls of the town then I was still a woman and allowed to be here. She then explained the situation. The Divine Beast Vah Naboris cloaks itself in a massive continuously expanding sandstorm, hurling lightning at any who approach it. It’s fast too, even if one would try to avoid it they would likely be consumed by the choking sand or struck down by light. As soon as she had asked me for help Buliara interrupted, saying that a stranger could not be entrusted with such an important task. She then said that I could possibly prove myself by retrieving the stolen Thunder Helm an heirloom passed down from Chief to Chief. It is the only thing that can deflect the powerful lightning. The Yiga Clan had stolen it soon after Vah Naboris started causing trouble. The Yiga Clan have their base hidden away in the Gerudo Highlands, the snowy cliffs right next to the desert. The leader of the soldiers marked on my map where they found the hideout to be, and also mentioned that they did send someone to do some scouting, but she hadn’t returned. I had to prove myself first by fighting and beating their top-ranking soldiers before they would tell me anything though. It served at good practice.

I believe it best to avoid fighting there. It’s their base of operation there will be so many enemies, so I need to be careful. For now, I’ll get some sleep at the inn while I wait for the sun to start rising.

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#loz #botw #loz botw #legend of zelda #breath of the wild #legend of zelda breath of the wild #link #wild link #botw link #breath of the wild link #fanfic #fanfiction #botw fanfic #botw fanfiction #loz botw fanfiction #loz botw fanfic #breath of the wild fanfic #breath of the wild fanfiction #sidfa #so i don't forget again #soidon'tforgetagain

[hyliangrace-a]

oh, i ended up spending so much time on this, but - it’s done ! it’s far from perfect but i’m pretty satisfied that there’s a visual guide to my idea of hyrule, post-seven years war. & now, god help you all, i’m gonna talk about it lmao. click here if you want to see a full-sized version of the map, but i’m also gonna put it under the cut in this post with the original map for comparison, & go on for a bit about how hyrule has, in my interpretation, changed under zelda’s rule.

( this gets long. like, really long. like, over 4,500 words long. read at your own risk. i’d say i’m sorry, but i’m really not. & fuck drawing water features forever. )

first thing’s first - the map !

( apologies for the giant watermark underneath it all but i’ve had my shit stolen before & i’m not enthused at the idea of having it happen again. clicking it open in a new tab should make it bigger if the link above doesn’t work. )

so, it’s slightly bigger than the original map which is featured in the game, haha. here’s a comparison of the two, actually, with my map over the top of the original so you can see what’s been changed or added & where. i’ll talk about what got added & why in a bit, i want to speak just about the actual map, first.

i did my best to keep the main locations of hyrule as specified in the game in the same place, & i think did an okay job, tbh ! my biggest nitpick was just how many dang cliffs & rockfaces there are on the original map. i know they serve a purpose in-game, which is completely fair, but they limited worldbuilding a little by making the map so small, so i took some liberties. not with every cliff, of course - i kept some in the southwest to keep the border between gerudo valley & hyrule field intact, & kept the ridge the river runs through - partly for the sake of continuity, & partly because i’ve always loved the fact that falling into the river in the valley washes you down to the lake. expanding them into a new area was fun, too, because at least then they go somewhere, rather than just locking you in to a certain place.

my main point of contention, to be honest, was the giant rockface in south hyrule field. again, i understand why it was there, but, come on ! so i ended up just doing away with it all, letting it lead a path to two new areas i’d like to work into zelda’s canon. the map just fades out in certain places, too, particularly the gerudo desert, so i ended up expanding that a little more & having it lead into the cliffs above lake hylia - the river already runs from the valley to the lake, so why not have more of the desert lead into the mainland ? the mountains, too, got their range expanded, because they just seem so ... small, in canon, when they aren’t being used specifically as dungeon locations. i’d say the only place on the map i didn’t expand in some way is that little gap between zora’s domain & the kokiri forest - the forest is so hemmed in & the domain is literally inside a mountain, hidden behind a waterfall, so i was happy to just let that be empty space. if you manage to climb over the cliffs surrounding the domain, or break through the treetops in the forest, you get a view of the ocean, & that’s that !

it was fun to look at the maps of the games that came chronologically before this one & see how the position of things in hyrule change, but i’m kind of glad that there was only the three before ocarina of time, because the mountains alone move across the map at their leisure, good god. there was a bit of freedom in it, too, because in zelda’s canon timeline, the gods are going to flood hyrule anyway, so i could make whatever changes i wanted because it’s all gonna end up underwater & unseen in the end - plus, it meant i could add in more mountains to take up empty space on the map, because the hylians have to flee somewhere to escape the flood, & i don’t think the peak of death mountain could hold them all. most of the new locations were inspired by the minish cap, more than any other, so i’m going to start at the top of the map & move down to talk about them.

i always loved royal valley & the royal crypt in the minish cap, to be honest. it was spooky & cute, & i’m surprised it, or a concept like it, hasn’t made much of a comeback in later zelda games. the royal family’s tomb being in kakariko village never bothered me much as a kid ( other than the fact their headstone gets utterly destroyed & you get assaulted by what we can only assume are the zombies of previous hylian rulers ??? & then it’s just left open for anyone to stumble in & possibly loot slash get murdered by said zombies ??? actually, y’know what, this bothers me a lot more as an adult, what the fuck - ) but kakariko was a village founded by the sheikah, originally for the sheikah, so i did always find it a little strange that at some point, a ruler of hyrule went ❛ that’s cool, you do you, but make space for us in your graveyard. ❜ i know the history between the hylian royal family & the sheikah is implied to be murky ( thank you, shadow temple ) but that’s a meta for another day, so i’m not gonna go into too much detail, but it’s still something that sticks out as strange to me. call it the sheikah continuing to guard the royal family in death or whatever, but, hm. weird. anyway !

the point is, after the seven years war ends, zelda decides that what originally belonged to the sheikah should be given back to the sheikah. kakariko village was opened up to non-sheikah by impa prior to the rise of ganondorf, & that’s her perogative & not something zelda would ever dream of interfering with, but that applies to the living, & those who die within the village deserve to be buried in the same place. it takes time to get around to the rebuilding of hyrule castle & its’ town, but when it’s time to plan for it, zelda chooses to utilize the abandoned valley which lies behind the castle as the new home for the royal crypt, but not solely for that ! she establishes & sponsors a university on behalf of the royal family, with special consideration going to the preservation of hylian history ( a lot was lost in the hyrulean civil war prior to her birth, nevermind the seven year war following that so quickly, & we can see in other zelda games, such as twilight princess & breath of the wild, historical preservation within hyrule is ... terrible, to say the least. of course, it will all be washed away when the goddesses flood hyrule, but fuck, at least she tries. ) the university also covers a range of other subjects, but history is the one zelda takes an active interest in, & she spends a lot of time with scholars who specialize in it. the royal crypt lies at the very back of the valley, the university being closer to the castle, & then ... watch this space ! i’m likely to add more things to areas around the map in the future.

hyrule castle & hyrule castle town i’ve left in the same spots, pretty much - i imagine the castle is rebuilt to be something like the one we see at the bottom of the ocean in wind waker, but i intend to put my own spin on that, too. zelda wouldn’t be focused too much on getting a castle up agaiin ( i’ve mentioned in a thread before that two years post-ganondorf, she is still sheltering at impa’s house in kakariko village, as rebuilding for the civilians is her main priority, & whilst i haven’t figured out exactly how long that lasts for, it’s a safe bet to say a good few years ) & she definitely wouldn’t want to be living anywhere especially y’know, grandiose & opulent, if her people were still struggling day to day. the castle town bounces back better than ever, expanding a little more to the left over time, but that’s a gradual thing. no real change except a distinct lack of redeads, which is always a bonus !

death mountain & its immediate surroundings, i was happy to leave as they are - it’s marginally wonky in place compared to the original map but it’s not a severe drift from canon, so lets just pretend it sits a little more to the left, shhh. it’s a volcano built into a mountain with a network of caves both inside & adjacent to it, plus a place of worship built into the heart of it, & you can’t really go wrong with that, so i focused on all that empty space beyond them left on the map. minish cap came in clutch again, because by fuck, did they have a mountain range, so i ended up dipping in to it for the names of this one. the gorons are clustered at the forefront of the mountain because everything beyond their city has been mined to the absolute death by those who came before for its resources, & abandoned by the same in turn, but they still send patrols to make sure it’s fine. 

there’s a story of how, before the gorons settled into the mountain, a man of great strength climbed the mountain alone to make his home within it - he faced eruptions from a then-hostile death mountain, fought off the creatures who called the range home & weren’t fond of sharing, & forged on to what was said to be the edge of hyrule itself. it wasn’t, not quite, but it was far enough away from the central provinces of the kingdom that the mountains became capped with snow, contrasting the temperate mountains to the west. the story goes that the adventurer decided to call the furthest reaches of the mountain home, & singlehandedly carved out what would become the beginning of the mines, in order to gather materials for his forge. it’s been disputed whether said man was hylian or goron, as the biggoron family claim lineage from him, but the mountains he once inhabited are named for him now, & are one of the places zelda hid whilst on the run & masquerading as sheik - despite the extreme temperatures playing havoc with her & nearly killing her, it’s one of the harder to reach spots in hyrule, so it provided a measure of safety that other places could not. melari’s hold lies in the northeast, but the cold spot on the mountain travels further south than would be expected, resulting in a cold spot - the ice cavern - to the north of zora’s domain.

real quick, fuck zora’s domain. there was no way to make the water feature coming from here look decent, or properly portray the types of cliffs it’s surrounded by, so please don’t judge it too harshly. at the end of ocarina of time, zora’s domain is still said to be frozen, but recovering from the curse ganondorf placed on it, which, great ! i’m gonna say, i could be completely off here in how it works, but i wanted to change things up a little, so if i am, i don’t mind that much. i like a bit of artistic license. also, if we can have literal fish people, a genderless species made of rock, children who don’t grow up in a magical forest which horrifically warps those who don’t belong, & a giant fucking overworld field where the skeletons of what look like fucking children come out to fight you at night ? i’m okay with this reckoning being off a little.

so, eventually, zora’s domain unfreezes. i personally imagine, as ganondorf’s power ebbed from hyrule, that the process started slow, until one day, it wasn’t. it’s said that zora’s fountain is the source of all water in hyrule, with the domain lying under the mountain it rests on top of, & a few secret passageways here & there, which is fine, usually - the fountain never froze, just the domain beneath it. that becomes a problem, though, when the magical freeze put in place by ganondorf wears off, & the excess water from the melt ends up flooding the domain. not a problem from those who live within it, with the zora being essentially amphibian in nature, but when that excess water begins seeping out into the fountain, through cracks in the mountain, through the entrance granted to those affiliated with the royal family ? that all goes over the fountain, down the sleepless waterfall, through the river, & that river completely bursts its banks. the water level of the river rises significantly, washing away much of the path previously taken by those who wished to go to the domain on foot, causing minor flooding in hyrule field as it travels downstream, & resulting in the waters of lake hylia rising when the overflow reaches it, hence the lake being larger in my version of the map. the rebuilding of a path to zora’s domain ends up becoming one of the earliest projects zelda undertakes as queen but it’s a bit of a logistical nightmare for a while, considering that, with princess ruto ascended as a sage, zora’s domain is now in a succession crisis. does it have much bearing on zelda’s life ? not especially, but i thought it was a nice bit of worldbuilding, so here it is.

kokiri forest, the lost woods, & everything within doesn’t change much. with the dark magic vanquished from the forest, & the great deku sprout able to thrive, the forest continues to grow, & overgrow. it’s still dangerous to outsiders to go within, still dangerous for anyone to enter the lost woods without a fairy companion to guide them & save them from a grim fate, but the children of the forest do grow somewhat braver about stepping out from their home to see the rest of hyrule. it never lasts long - not all of the kokiri are as brave as link was, after all, & hyrule is so vast compared to what they’re used to - but it sparks their curiosity & their desire to explore hyrule which eventually trickles down to the wandering koroks.

the area to the south / southwest of the kokiri forest is entirely my invention. as i said, in-game, it’s just cliffs to hem you in & prevent you from breaking the boundaries of the world, but there’s none of that in roleplaying, so i just … did away with them entirely. part of this is lake hylia not being as hemmed in by these walls as it is in-game, opening up into a new river & streams which travel through the south & southeast. crossing this river leads to three paths - take middle path, & you may find yourself in what’s known as the rito village. now, i’ll say here, i know that the rito don’t technically appear in hyrule until after the great flood, when the zoras somehow sprout wings, but nintendo’s strange decisions don’t change the fact that there are many wonderful people in the zelda rpc who play rito characters with crossover verses that let them interact with those who play characters in other parts of the timeline. in order to better facilitate interactions with these roleplayers, i decided fuck it, rito village in ocarina of time. canon can be easily bent. if, however, i’m writing with someone who wants to adhere to strict canon, then it’s just other hylians who live within the village, & rito is just the name chosen for the village, with no connection to the as-of-yet-unevolved race, just a nice little coincidence. regardless of who lives in it, though, the village & its name are fixed here in a southern woodland, with the village nestled amongst the hills within.

cross the bridge to the south & take the third branch in the path, you’ll find yourself inside the bremen woods. i honestly haven’t got much to say about the bremen woods here, but it’s not because i don’t have ideas for it - i have another headcanon brewing concerning myths, fables & fairy tales within hyrule, because … i am just that type of nerd. about eighty percent of my blogs before this one involved fairy tale characters in some way. it is, as the kids say, extremely my shit, & i’d like to tie the bremen woods into that, so i’m going to save what i have to say for that headcanon, but don’t worry. it’ll probably be a lot smaller than this one. ( thank god, i hear you say. i know, i know. i’m still not sorry. )

cross the bridge, then, & take the first branch in the path, & you better have a sword with you. the castor wilds are a lawless place, which is fitting for the corner of the world where the last remnants of ganondorf’s forces lie. any that weren’t killed during the restoration of the kingdom were beaten back to the edge of the world, & it’s not a friendly place. the last of the monsters shelter in a run-down settlement known as dragmire’s hold, the last place where those who sympathize with the king of evil can speak freely, & it’s murder to get to. the entrance to the wilds is a marshy swamp, thanks to the run-off of lake hylia, but if you manage to get through the mire, the land begins to dry out until you reach the hold, where the earth struggles to bear fruit & it seems the grass refuses to grow. it is, in a few words, fucking grim, & as a result, the go-to place for banishments within the kingdom. zelda isn’t a fan of harsh punishments, but she’s no fool, not anymore, & she won’t abide those who plot to throw the kingdom back into chaos, be it in service of ganondorf, or their own selfish natures. it’s rare that anyone actually finds themselves wandering the castor wilds, unless they actively choose to adventure there, but it is a very good threat, considering its reputation as the land where the devils live.

jumping across the map entirely, we come to the cliffs of coroa to the left of lake hylia. another spot on the map which is notorious for being hard to reach, the cliffs are an inviting challenge to those who want to boast of their climbing skills & durability. if getting up the cliffs doesn’t kill you ( & there is a very real possibility that it will, especially if you fall, ‘cause this water ain’t soft ) the journey down might do it instead, & that’s if you survive your trip at the top. there has been rumours of a great treasure hidden away in the cliffs for years, though the debate on what it might be was pretty intense, if you got into it. for a time, some thought the legendary blade rested within the cliffs, & only those who could brave the rockface would be able to lay a hand on it; others argued that it contained more mundane, but still desirable, treasures, such as a great haul from a band of thieves, left behind when they were hunted down by the crown, growing only more valuable by the minute. some, with sense, said that the only thing atop the cliffs was certain doom for the morons who tried to make their way up them. the truth ? there’s nothing up there. sometimes, cliffs are just cliffs, & those who try to scale the ones facing lake hylia truly are fools. the gerudo people, however, had the right idea of how to get to them.

again, another aspect of canon i was happy to leave as it was. the gerudo desert is a vast, harsh swathe of land, continuously assailed by sandstorms, bordered to the north by what is called ❛ the great sand sea ❜ & to the south by the haunted wasteland, & it’s not hyperbole. spirit guides appear to those who seek the temple of the goddess of the sand, but very few have ever made it through the wasteland if they enter in pursuit of something else. one of the few who did was the gerudo heroine, ashai. a well respected warrior amongst them, ashai was the younger sister to the exalted rishika, the chief of the gerudo at the time, & one of the first to vow to conquer the wasteland & see what lay beyond the storm. though her sister cautioned against it, as tales of people becoming lost in the wasteland were not uncommon, ashai was a headstrong young woman, & she could not be swayed. she took with her a party of twelve, & in time, three returned to tell their story. ashai had forged a path through the ever-shifting sands & left it well enough marked that her companions were able to find their way back. it’s said that some succumbed to madness during the journey, tormented by the ghosts of the wasteland, whilst others fell ill whilst they traveled, choking on the sand which gathered in their lungs. seven of them made it through the wasteland to the valley which lay beyond, but ashai had grown sick during the crossing, & knew she would not make it back. instead, she spent the time she had left exploring the valley, & found a way through it to the peak of the cliffs of coroa. the legend says that is there she died, watching the sun rise atop the cliffs, speaking only of her sister, & her companions laid her to rest within the valley, which her sister then named in honour of her. whilst the gerudo are happy to let those who have proven themselves attempt the journey to the desert colossus, no outsiders are permitted to walk the valley of ashai, where a shrine was built for its namesake - it is considered sacred to them, & the journey to pay respects to ashai is now part of the trial given to those who wish to become chief of the gerudo, should the bloodline of the previous chief die.

that covers just about all the main areas & landmarks of hyrule, i think, so to move on to the last thing, the various settlements, villages, hamlets you see across the map. hyrule is a big place. yes, quite a few of the races are localized to certain areas, & yes, it’s entirely plausible the hyrulean civil war could have decimated the population, with the seven years war exacerbating that problem, but hyrule field just looked so … empty, once everything else was finished. so, rather than stick to a number of locales i can count on one hand, i threw a few more settlements across the map to try & make hyrule feel more like a real kingdom. not to breath of the wild’s extent, of course, but just something a little more than what was given. all those who survived the fall of hyrule castle town apparently fled to become refugees in kakariko village, which was opened to all by impa, which is fair, but i imagine as the world returned to something close to normality, & families started growing again, the village would quickly find itself overwhelmed. as queen, zelda would make it a priority to make sure none of her subjects go homeless - she knows all too well that struggle - & so she would begin a program to make sure there was enough villages or townships for every one of her subjects. those who volunteered would be given a set amount of money & plots of land across hyrule to build a home, which zelda would then personally visit to inspect, to make sure her people were thriving.

there’s little to say in detail about them all as of right now, as i’m still fleshing them out, but i have a few basic ideas. most of the settlements were named after the first to attach themselves to the project, but the names have the potential to evolve over time. they certainly won’t retain the hamlet / settlement status, that’s for sure. the offer wasn’t restricted to hylians, either - any other race in the land was free to join, though only a small number of gerudo accepted it, the others preferring to stay in their homes & travel as they need. ciela’s settlement was the one spearheaded by the gerudo who accepted zelda’s offer, hence its proximity to the valley. a lot of young men volunteered to go to this settlement, but zelda was happy to let ciela make her own call, & many were knocked back - only those with what ciela deemed viable skills were allowed in, & still, it’s very much a female dominated settlement, but it is thriving under her leadership, & blossoms into a successful village as time goes on. lon lon ranch is, well, lon lon ranch. with funding from the crown, talon was able to take on more staff & expand it at his leisure, but it is one of the very few places in hyrule which has stayed constant over time, & he was quite content to keep it that way, & zelda content with his decision. 

to the south of lon lon ranch lies damia village, the largest of all the settlements from its inception. led by a fearless young man who gave his name to the village, it is a hub of activity which could rival hyrule castle town. with damia came many like-minded people, all eager to forge their own path in the world & prove themselves as he had, as he had been part of the group which volunteered to help beat back the remnants of ganondorf’s forces. many of the families within damia village are the families of soldiers who work at the castle & it has gained a reputation for being a village full of strong, capable, trustworthy people. arborwood, which lies further to the south in a more rural location, is an outlier in that the one who volunteered to lead in this settlement didn’t wish to put their name to it - they didn’t want glory, just a place to call home where they could finally live in peace. arborwood is an agriculturally focused village, filled with farmers & those who possess green thumbs. a lot of trade is done between arborwood & all the other villages - everyone in hyrule became proficient at growing & hunting their own food in the past thirty years, as was necessary to survive, but it’s nice to have a place to get food from which specializes in high quality meat & crops. why hunt rabbits, when arborwood can provide venison ? 

last but not least, lynna’s hamlet, which settled at lake hylia at the request of the owner of the lakeside laboratory. as he was getting on in years, he wished to find someone to continue his work, & so specifically requested that any like-minded hylians settle close to the lake so that he could impart his wisdom & let them take over. he got quite a few more people volunteering than he bargained for, be they scientifically inclined, interested in cataloguing the history of lake hylia, or just desirous of a change in scenery. the smallest of the new settlements, lynna’s hamlet never truly flourished the way others did, but the buildings were never empty - as time went on & people began to move elsewhere, it became a popular spot for those who traveled the land to rest at when they came to the lake, with a very successful inn eventually being run by the lakeside, its doors open to any who wished to visit.

it’s not a lot of worldbuilding when it all comes down to it, compared to other things, but this is something that i’ve wanted to do for a long time. as i’ve mentioned in the section regarding the bremen woods, more headcanons are likely to follow regarding places on the map & how they change & evolve as time passes during zelda’s rule, but for now, there’s this ! something which makes hyrule feel less empty than what it was before, whilst still respecting canon, somewhat which was the goal all along. if you’ve made it this far, holy shit, go outside & feel the sun on your face. it’s been eighty-four years - but i can’t thank you enough for reading ! at least next time, the headcanon won’t be so long. i hope.

#⌜ ❛ ʏᴏᴜ ʙʀɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʜɪsᴛᴏʀʏ & ʏᴏᴜ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪᴛ ɪɴ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴏᴡɴ ᴛᴇʀᴍs. ❜ ⌟ ✦ ( headcanon. ) #( eight. eight pages & 4700-odd words of rambling in google docs #i can't believe i spent so much time on this oh my GOD #but it's done !! it's one am & i'm going to bed but i have to get this out into the world before i go #tomorrow i swear i'll get more actual roleplaying done but for now have ... eight fucking pages of THIS i guess #if this is incoherent please let me know good god )