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lluvguts · 11 months

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i saw this one post circling tloz twitter about link and i just think it’s so absurd. warning for some small totk spoilers. this is a big post because tloz is my special interest atm and i have things to say

people are berating the devs for botw/totk for not giving link enough personality or outstanding attributes to his character, or “putting his exuberance in his personality in the wrong places” (i.e. link’s excited gestures and expressions when cooking, excited over the pony points in totk, generally any small bit of narrative that is not drawn toward the central plot versus his near expressionless face, stoic demeanor whenever zelda is in a cutscene with him in it) and i actually think, whether it was intentional or not, it’s completely understandable why link’s character acts the way that it does.

this is the direct link to the twitter post in case the screenshots are difficult to see. no hate to op i will just write my opinion on my own blog because twitter is ruthless and stupid about people who don’t believe the same things as them lol

i know the devs aren’t trying that hard when using link’s century-long sleep + amnesia as a focal point to his character arc, but they should, because his entire personality in these two games literally is justified because of this. he’s one of my favorite reincarnations aside from oot and twilight princess link, because i feel as though the absence of this lore behind everything is even more reason to further his development and understanding of him as a fucking character.

i headcanon link as neurodivergent, for many reasons, but i will only mention this as a small point in the overarching reason but anyway

these small scenes where link’s personality show through while interacting with people who do not directly interfere with his trauma, and have nothing to do with zelda and/or ganon/calamity, because there is no traumatic influence that would make him feel as though he has to hide what small bits of his own inner self that is left

in these scenes where link is with zelda in present botw and in his memories on the slate, link is silent, blank face. in reality, for someone suffering from amnesia, and autistic, this will be the blueprint for this character to go, “hmm, i really don’t know anything about myself right now. but these pictures and glimpses of my past are the only way i can understand who i was before this happened. so i will only act on the behaviors i understand from memory.”

totk link seeing zelda outside of his tiny bits of memory irl, and people are angry that he’s not expressive enough in the game? he just reunited with the person he is sworn to protect, and he’s supposed to feel all lovey-dovey, happy-feely?? I would assume link must think that zelda hates him, tbh, because we don’t GET this conversation in the game, all that link understands is the weight of his own responsibility and his own fuckups

this silent suffering knight is not link’s character. this is not his personality. this is the person that he thought would best suit this situation, much like how many neurodivergent people can quickly read a room, and chameleon themselves to best fit the people around them, and make them happy. the bits and pieces we see when link is not directly interacting with people associated with his past and trauma are the glimpses into his true self imo

link doesn’t try to bond with any of the other characters outside of the ones in the linear plot probably because he doesn’t fucking know how to. almost all of the memories in botw (i haven’t played totk yet but i know at least 50% of the plotline) link is either practicing fighting, guarding zelda, or just being zelda’s silent guide and companion, because yes, that’s his job, but that is also the only persona that makes sense to him.

he wasn’t given his position to make friends with every other person in the game, screw the devs just because link got excited over the damn pony points apparently

in botw link very obviously doesn’t have any grasp on his own personal identity and the role he plays in the fate of humanity because of his memory loss, the fact he is thrust into this world that has essentially forgotten of his existence is pretty fucked up

do people really expect a switch in link’s brain to go off and for him to suddenly assimilate this strong, knightly bravado, now with 1000+ unique expressions, just because zelda gave link very small bits of his memories back? just because he can see her face to face now? hell no. amnesia and trauma responses don’t work like that

botw/totk link had NO backbone on how to move forward in his own character arc, because the only people that new about his existence other than zelda and the elders of the hyrule regions, were dead. like. would link really be smiling and excited around zelda and everyone else after the fact?

OP in the tweet had mentioned that SS link behaved much differently than botw link does, he had life and was much more excitable and had complex emotions written on his face. well. obviously. because this is not the same link as SS link, they are in a different life path whereas SS link was not killed and then preserved for 100 years with all of his memories forgotten. SS link was still a young adult, a child even, he had fun character traits and cute expressions because could still enjoy life in skyloft and be a kid before fated responsibility and demise hit. like, at least oot link had a second chance at his childhood, botw/totk link was probably thrust into responsibility before he could even fathom what types of roles he would need to play when he grew up.

link remains silent and because of this, probably masking his inner emotions

he doesn’t know or think that anything other than his vow of silence is the best option. he’s probably terrified of fucking up again even if it means just expressing verbal or physical concern, sadness, joy--literally any emotion. i really can’t think of this link having any other thought processes other than this one. he isn’t a silly, mindless child. he’s an adult, or at least was forced to act like one before he was ready.

anyway thank you to anyone who read this :> i write fics if anyone wants to indulge a shameless self promo after i word vomit/defend botw link

#totk spoilers #totk #tloz tears of the kingdom #tears of the kingdom #tloz spoilers #i am autistic and you will hear me out #im also terrified to speak my mind on things im passionate about so pls be gentle if you have a differing opinion #the legend of zelda #tloz hcs #tloz #tloz botw #tloz breath of the wild #link headcanons

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yetiebetie · 1 year

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Malink headcannons I think about (A lot) -OOT Link and Malon

- Malon is just as broken, if not more than Link. The only way their relationship even works is because the other breaks down their egos just enough to allow them both to seek help from others.

- Malon was extremely lonely as a child. Being the only kid within a 50 mile radius, she never ‘hung out’ with a friend until Link came along. (No proper adult would have allowed their child to travel through Hyrule Field alone just to see a girl they’d only met a handful of times in the market place. It was always easier to just let her come to them.)

- Link learned from the Kokiri to keep his feelings shut tight. Not being exempt from the Lost Wood’s because of his Hylian blood, he grew used to being left behind during games. The only way to be ‘accepted’ by anyone in the forest, was to simply not complain about it.

- Link is an attention whore. Especially with Malon. Having never received much attention during his years of growing up, but having experienced it from the Great Deku Tree, Link craves any and all human acceptance on extreme levels. Aka: Quick to feel jealous, constantly nosing into other people’s business (What is Malon doing over there? Why isn’t she saying anything? Did I do something wrong? Is she mad at me?), and very very insecure about how other’s feel towards him.

- Malon being just as outdoorsy and reckless as Link. Though a bit more inclined to show him the safer side of recklessness.

- Link traveling around with Malon. Or should I say Link introducing Malon to everyone he’s ever known and Malon gaining the acceptance and approval from all of them.

- Malon helping Link come up with the best war strategies.

- Malon being like a guardian angel to all of Link’s regiment. (”Hey Captain, you’ve got a letter from Malon yet? It’s been ages since the last one, and we could really use a pick me up.”)

- Malon struggling to accept Link’s feelings for her because he’s ‘far more important and loved’ than she could ever be. Link struggling to accept her feelings for him because she’s ‘always been out of reach’.

- Malon and Link building Ordon from scratch. And I mean scratch. Like, overgrown woods, nothing there kind of scratch. Cue the Tarzan cutscene of his parents building a home.

- Malon and Link doing everything they did as children once more as adults. Staring up at the sky, chasing each other around, getting into mischief.

- Malon and Link spending any and all formal banquets the Queen invites them, sneaking out food and joking about people’s reverence towards Link. (”From now on, you have to call me ‘Great Hero’ or ‘Oh beloved Hero of Time’.”

“I am not doing that.”

- Link having the most backward sense of doing things. Like handing Malon an engagement stone instead of a ring (zora), grabbing people’s hands and jumping up and down at social dances (Gorons), and handing people papers of acceptance when he thinks of them as one of his own (Gerudo). Malon loving and treasuring every odd thing.

-Just them, I love those two

#malink #Malon #Link #cute stuff #headcannons #thoughts #ocarina of time #legend of zelda #LoZ #OoT #stuff #like #love #relationship

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fanartfunart · 3 years

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[Image Description: Multiple colored drawings of Breath of the Wild’s Link. He has a round face and a slightly hooked nose. He has a scar on his right eyebrow. The tips of his ears are blackened by frost-bite, and his cheeks are red, as if sun burnt. He has 3 freckles, and a scar on his chin and cheek. He has long hair half-up, that goes to his shoulders, and one of his side-bangs is braided with white ribbon and a magenta bead. In the first drawing, he is standing in his underwear, shiekah slate on his hip, holding a green shirt, looking to the side with a small smile. He is heavily scarred, with a large laser burn scar in the center of his chest and several more scars scattered on his torso, arms, and legs. He has a Goron symbol tattooed in white on his bicep. He wears a golden bracelet and a beaded anklet. His nails are painted green. In the second drawing he is in his Champion’s Tunic, one hand on his hip, and waving with the other, a sympathetic smile on his face. He wears the Diamond Circlet and the Hyilan Hood. Over his leather shoulder belt is the shoulder belt from the Zora Armor. He has a bracelet with a pinkish-red charm on his left wrist. The last two drawings are head-shots of Pre-Ressurection Link from a side view and a front view. His expression is a hardened neutral, eyes half-lidded. He doesn’t have any other facial scars except the one on his eyebrow, which is more prominent. His hair is short, buzz-cut in the back and tappers a little longer at the top. His hair is swept back from his eyes, more controlled. End ID]

My Trifecta of “Links I’ve actually finished the games for” has been completed! (I should probably make a actual reference sheet for my MM/OoT Link tho)

The “sunburn” is permanent.... It’s from the Guardian’s Lasers. He’s also.... doesn’t have a Casual Outfit TM. He’s got 50 outfits... and is collecting more. However, he’s a Master of the Quick Change.

#botw #breath of the wild #botw link #loz link #legend of zelda #legend of fanart #fanart's fanart

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transskywardsword · 2 years

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ive been thinking abt my boy so here are some adult post games oot/mm link headcanons

-- lost his eye shortly after returning from termina; he likely could have saved it if he just got proper medical attention after the injury but he insisted on taking care of it himself, leading to an infection that required what little was left of his eye to be removed. it scarred horribly, and he experienced major nerve damage in the area. he can't feel almost half of his face. he used to hide the empty socket behind an eyepatch but gave up on it as he got older. tells anyone who asks it was a nasty scratch from a wolfos-- it absolutely is not from a wolfos.

-- no clue how old he is mentally. time travel messed with his sense of self, and he honestly couldn't tell you if he was 15, 20, or 50. he struggles with involuntary age regression, somewhat from trauma but mostly because of lingering effects of using the ocarina of time far too often at far too young an age.

-- speaking of time travel, supernatural aging is not good for your body! he has severe arthritis and nerve pain, and if you were to see him naked you'd notice that his body doesn't look quite right, which comes from his biological struggling to keep up with the constantly changing time while he was growing as a child.

-- prefers bright colors and natural fibers; some people say he dresses childishly for his age, but he's lost almost all access to kokiri culture after his adventures. this is the best he can do.

-- doesn't talk, and rarely signs. the only people he'd ever spend time signing to were navi, tatl, saria, malon, and sheik. he was just quiet as a kid and it developed into severe selective mutism as an adult. he just doesn't like most forms of communication. he'd rather be left alone

-- agender. the kokiri don't really have a concept of 'gender'-- they're spirits after all-- so link wasn't raised even knowing it was a thing. he was deeply confused at being called a boy when he left the forest. it doesn't bother him per se to be referred to masculinely (he finds malon's 'fairy boy' nickname quite cute) but it does seem silly to him. he uses he/him out of convivence

-- aromantic. the kokiri are all siblings coming from the same deku tree's spirit, romance literally doesn't exist for them.

- doesn't get along with this timeline's zelda, which he feels a little guilty about. she's just not the zelda he bonded with, the zelda/sheik who lived with him through his trauma. she's a stranger.

-- being with malon makes him feel closer to the kokiri forest than anywhere else in hyrule. it makes him both nostalgic and incredibly homesick.

-- despite knowing objectively that the goddesses are real, choses not to believe in them out of spite. purposeful atheist

-- the idea of growing old terrifies him. seeing his body age terrifies him. he hates looking in the mirror. he has EXTREME body dysmorphia

-- just a sad guy. needs therapy

#game ramblings #eye trauma tw

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nooneshome12 · 3 years

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Congratulations once again- you deserve it!

For the requests- can I ask for a OoT Zelink reunion? You can decide which timeline/how angsty you want to go!

I know I teased how angsty this could be to a few people, but I couldn't do it. My heart just couldn't take it so I hope this is a good mid way point between angst and fluff!

And this is the last of the prompts I got for my 50 follower post, and I really just wanna thank anyone who likes, rb or commented on any of them. These are my most successful posts on here and it really got me reinvigorated to start writing more often!

-------------------------------

“L-Link? Is that….you?”

The man in question was at a loss for words. She looked just as he remembered, not from the last time he had seen her, with the two of them little more than children when he left. No, she looked the same as her. The one who he had been spied on his whole journey, the one he had fallen in love with despite how little time they spent in each other's presence.

The same woman who had sent him away. Away to a time where only he would remember the horrors of a future that would never be, justifying it as him having a chance to live out the years he had lost, almost as if he could forget and start anew. But there was no forgetting, and he didn’t want to start anew.

But then again, he had little choice in the matter.

“Yes….your majesty….I’ve come back to...return this,” he held out a hand to her, with a familiar blue ocarina in his palm. When he had last seen her, he needed two hands to just hold onto it, to show how time kept going forward eventually, no matter how many times he played that dreadful song over and over. “I’m sorry to have kept it from you for so long. I hope you can forgive me.”

Her gloved hands rested atop the instrument, but even then he could still feel them shaking wildly with emotion. At first he assumed it to be anger, after all he had been gone for so long, taking the royal family's most valuable treasure in the process to go on a personal mission that eventually ended in failure. She must have despised him, having spent the last few years thinking of some grand punishment upon his return. Gods, he used that excuse more than once to put off finally returning home, but he knew the real reason why.

He was frightened to see her again, the Zelda he loved.

He expected a slap, hell maybe even a punch to his cheek. But the last thing he expected was for both her hands to caress his cheek, still shaking. Only now with one blue eye staring into a pair of blue eyes, filled with tears he felt something he had not felt in a long time, hope. “”I...I don’t…..Link….I’m just glad to see you….alive. After so many years without a letter….I feared….the worst.”

“You’re not….mad?”

The Princess let out a tearful laugh, “No….I’m just glad to see you….I want you to tell me everything. Where you went, who you met…..everything.”

“It’s a long story, Princess.”

“We’ve got all the time in the world, Link.”

#zelink #angst prompt #fluff prompts #50 follower drabbles

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waltzdrawswarriors · 4 years

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Can I just take a minute to talk about TigerDove and why it’s fundamentally good? Because I have some feelings. I know the ship got a lot of hate during OotS and I think a lot of that came from the fact that it was fun to hate on Dovewing and because of all the drama that kinda surrounded it, but really it wasn’t any worse than any other forbidden romance.But honestly? I want to make the case that this was a forbidden romance done (in my opinion) properly.

Because when we really think about it, Dovewing really set a precedent for forbidden romances that has never really been done, per se? Sure, Oakheart suggested doing something similar in Bluestar’s prophecy, but since then, most forbidden romances have just pined aimlessly for each other, or straight up just decided that this relationship they were risking everything for wasn’t worth it in the end. But Dovewing ultimately deciding that she’d just straight up join ShadowClan? That was iconic.

Honestly what I think I respect the most is that she doesn’t agonize over it when she makes the decision to return to the Clans but keep her family together. I mean she wasn’t really receiving the best treatment in ThunderClan anyway, I mean we’re really gonna sit here and act like Ivypool wasn’t being icy and vindictive towards her just because Tigerheart had come into the picture? She was already under suspicion from her Clanmates for that relationship, and honestly, the treatment her children would have received in ThunderClan was super apparent by how frosty the Clan was towards the kits when she returned, and this was even before they knew she was there to say goodbye.

She has no ambitions for leadership to keep her in ThunderClan, and her strongest tie (Ivypool) has already been severed, and ShadowClan’s population is practically 10 cats max, while ThunderClan is sitting pretty at 50+; ShadowClan needs her and her kits more than ThunderClan does. So she leaves with Tigerheartstar. Totally fair, and it makes perfect sense. And on top of that? She DEVOTES herself to her new Clan and Clanmates, and becomes a respected cat in ShadowClan which puts her in a way better position than she was in prior, as ThunderClan liked to conveniently forget that she legitimately helped save all the Clans in the Great Battle just a few seasons before.

And can we talk about how sweet they are with each other? Look after seeing the disrespect that the Erins did to Bramblesquirrel in Bramblestar’s Storm and Squirrelflight’s Hope, it is so nice to see just a loving, functional relationship. Tigerheartstar takes her thoughts and feelings into consideration in most everything he does, and she advises him on clan matters arguably more that Cloverfoot, his deputy, does. She genuinely cares for and loves her new Clanmates and doesn’t feel conflicted or divided by her old allegiance in ThunderClan, like she legitimately is a ShadowClan cat now, and I LOVE that. I mean honestly? We could have had that with Graystripe, and we got a taste of it with Finleap, although he did significantly more complaining about it. But Dovewing straight up switching Clans and just truly settling in and supporting her new Clan? Iconic.

And don’t even get me started on how they parent. They are so active and involved, they with how much they care about their children and what loving, supportive parents they are. They would move StarClan and earth for their kits, and it shows. Their kits come to them for advice, they comfort their children when they are sick or hurt, they were distraught when Shadowsight went missing, and would not accept that he had died, and even when their faith wavered and it was suggested he was murdered, they still supported each other through a really traumatic time. What other set of parents had been shown to do that on screen?? Firestar and Sandstorm? Maybe? But really no one else. Contrast that with Ivypool and Fernsong who’ve really just left their kits to fend for themselves. Bristlefrost is hated by her Clan on the basis they think she’s doing the wrong thing? Not a peep from her parents. Not even from Ivypool. IVYPOOL, who was manipulated by Hawkfrost, who knows what it’s like to act as a spy, not even a peep, she couldn’t care less. It’s obviously a product of bad writing, but still. And then Flipclaw is decreed medicin cat against his wishes, and they kind of stand by. Even Lionblaze meant to protect Spotfur when she got in trouble, and yet, Ivypool and Fernsong do nothing. At all. But I digress.

You can say what you’d like about Tigerheartstar and Dovewing, but the fact remains is that they’re one of the few explicitly and consistently healthy relationships in the series, a prime example of how forbidden relationships can work, and they are darn good parents.

#long post #dovewing #tigerheartstar #tigerstar #warriors discourse #warrior cats #wc #warriors #waltz shut up and draw cats #warriors analysis #warrior cats analysis #veil of shadows spoilers #the broken code spoilers #ask to tag

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ampleappleamble · 4 years

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oh god every spare minute is spent writing or daydreaming about writing or re-reading my own writing, why am i like this, why do i like it

ALSO! thank you all, as always, for your kind words! ao3 soon i prombise <3

Chapter 4: Watcher

Aloth sat alone at a small table in the corner of the tavern, silently counting out rigid increments of time, one after another after another. It had been 26 minutes, 45 seconds since she'd gone upstairs to his room. Their room.

This was a mistake.

"Ye dinnae conne tha' yet, lad."

He scowled into his goblet of wine. "Do not tell me what I do and don't know, rube," he hissed.

He made sure to keep his head down, face lowered behind the pages of his grimoire. Lest this evening's incident repeat itself. Although, he doubted any more trouble now after his and Axa's entrance almost an hour ago.

The foreigner gets frog-marched out of the tavern by three soused churls, only to return scarcely fifteen minutes later with another foreigner, who then proceeds to order two bottles of wine and nothing else...

"I stell whisht ye'd 'ave lemme batter 'em."

Aloth rolled his eyes, lifting his goblet to his mouth. "Your preference has been duly noted," he deadpanned softly as he took a sip.

28 minutes and 50 seconds. They had agreed on 30.

...Maybe. Maybe this was a mistake.

---

She was alone.

She looked around slowly at her new surroundings. Someone else's room at a run-down country inn.

Better than a dirty wooden floor in the common room at a run-down country inn.

Alone. She hadn't really been alone, truly alone alone since--

--the Land, before he--

Axa strolled a bit too quickly across the room, threw herself into a sitting position at the foot of the enormous, lumpy bed. Her hands trembled. She willed them to stop.

Let's think about something else. Right now.

30 minutes. She had 30 minutes alone, and then her new traveling companion would rejoin her. They had managed to get a good rapport going once she had been able to sit and relax a bit in the tavern, and they'd shared their histories with one another, although they had kept it cordially laconic. She was a “disgraced scholar looking for a fresh start,” he was a “wizard from a noble family looking for a patron.” Good enough for me.

He surprised her by proposing they travel together, citing that he found traveling with companions tended to be safer by far, especially in the Dyrwood, and she had already proven herself resourceful and courteous. Axa surprised herself by accepting his proposal.

--another lying, flattering elven man? you foolish--

He had graciously suggested they share his rented room upstairs that night ("Meaning nothing untoward, of course," he'd added hastily, ears reddening) and had agreed to give her some time to herself before settling in for the night. The next morning, they would most likely start seriously planning to make for Defiance Bay, to look for lodging, paying work, and some sort of expert on souls. Camping supplies, food, water-- all would be necessary for the trip, so doing some odd jobs in the village before setting out might not be a bad idea. Earn some coin, get to know the area, the customs.

Tell Calisca's sister about her death.

Axa paused.

She yanked her boots off of her aching feet and hurled them across the room as hard as she could in a flash of rage. The first tears hadn't fallen yet, but they were on their way.

...Ah. This part. Finally.

She rose to her feet unsteadily, pulling at her clothes. She didn’t have time for this crying shit, she had to get undressed, cleaned up, ready for bed. She was shaking too hard to get her belt undone or her scarf untangled, but she struggled with them until they were at least loose enough to pull her tunic up and off.

No. Go on. Let it happen. You need to feel this. You need to process it.

She clutched at her face, trembling harder, digging her fingernails into her flesh. Now the tears fell, hot and relentless, pouring down her burning cheeks.

Hey. You held on as long as you were able. Maintained yourself, your dignity and your sanity. But this was bound to happen eventually. You can let go.

She collapsed to the floor in her stocking feet and linen shift, curling up on her knees and elbows. Agonized wails tore out of her throat; great, heaving sobs that choked her, left her breathless and red-faced.

No one can hear you down there in the tavern, no one is judging you. Only the gods, and they don't count.

You're all alone, Axa.

She felt it.

---

32 minutes, 45 seconds.

Aloth clutched his empty goblet in his hand, knuckles white with tension. They had agreed on 30 minutes.

Maybe just... make it an even 35. Just in case.

"By th' Wheel, lad, quit yer ninnyin' an' gerrup them stairs. Am shattered."

The elf fidgeted in his seat, lowering his gaze to his lap. "I will, I will. I just... I'm not quite ready yet." He had been stalling, and he knew it.

"An' fer why I should haftae wait fer mah kip? 'Cos yer afeart o' th' wee lass?"

He gritted his teeth, grateful that only his half of the conversation was being spoken aloud this time. "I am not afraid of her," he whispered, slowly turning a page in his grimoire. 33 minutes, 50 seconds. "I just want to make absolutely certain that when I go up there, I'll have given her ample time to finish up any... personal rituals she might have wanted to attend to in solitude. It's common courtesy. Not that you'd know anything about that." He allowed himself a little smile at that, preparing to start to carefully and deliberately ease his grimoire closed. 34 minutes, 5 seconds. He could hold out for 35 even. Easily. He rose smoothly from the table, gliding out of his seat with practiced grace.

A harsh, braying cackle of a laugh. "If'n I conne ye true, lad, yer jes' sayin' yer afeart ye'll burst in oan 'er wi' 'er baps oot if'n ye're up too soon, aye?"

Aloth's fingers spasmed, and his heavy grimoire slipped from his hands, landing on the floor with a resounding thump that echoed in the half-empty tavern.

Every single remaining patron was looking at him.

He'd lost track of the time.

---

Oh shit. Oh fuck. Oh no.

Axa kneeled on the bed, brushing the red hot embers from the thick woolen blankets with her bare hands. She had somehow spilled her pipe while lighting it, and now it seemed she had this situation to deal with.

How had it come to this? She tried to remember. She'd had her cry. She'd laid on the floor for... a bit. She'd gotten up and washed her face and hands. She'd had her drink. Well, her second drink. The first one had been downstairs, with that elf. The weird one. Aloth. That was his name. She liked him. ...No! She'd tied up her hair. Then the second drink, the one she had up here, then the third, then probably one or two more. She couldn't really remember. But anyway. Once she'd had her drinks, it was time for her smoke, and--

...Smoke. The pipe? The blanket-- SMOKE!!!!

Axa discovered, to her dismay, that brushing the exact same spot on the blankets over and over while reminiscing about the events of the past half hour did not solve her problem in its entirety. The other clumps of smouldering whiteleaf strewn across the bed were quickly leaving hideous scars all over the already badly abused blankets, and she rushed to slap them out, wishing that she had tied back all of her hair and not just half of it for some reason.

Once she was sure she had gotten it all, she packed her pipe again-- carefully this time-- and stood in the middle of the room, smoking and assessing the damage.

Honestly... he might not even notice.

There was a knock at the door. She pretended not to hear it, smiling blithely at the rug.

"Axa? Forgive my tardiness, the time got away from me and-- and I, uh--"

Aloth swung the door open slowly and gently. He was met with a view of the little orlan woman standing in the middle of his room in her chemise, clearly drunk, clutching a lit pipe and regarding the brand new, still-smoking holes in the blanket on his bed.

She looked at the blanket, looked at him, eyes wide and bloodshot-- and exhaled a plume of smoke directly into Aloth's face.

He blinked rapidly.

"...Fit like, lass?"

---

He arranged some blankets and cushions for himself on the floor, even though she practically begged him to at least take the bed by way of a proper apology. He insisted, and she acquiesced, although not before expressly forbidding him from using the blanket she'd burned.

He lied when she asked if he minded her smoking, and she could tell he was lying, but she smoked until her pipe was burnt out anyway. It had been a hard night, and something told her sleep would not come easily.

"You always talk shit to people like that?" she asked, peering at his prone figure in the dark room. "In Hylspeak, I mean."

Aloth sighed, fidgeted in his bedding. "It's an old habit. From childhood."

"I see." Axa yawned and stretched, and he could hear her joints popping. "You might try to knock that on the head, friend. Or at least learn to insult yokels in a language they don't sort of understand."

He couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Excellent suggestion. Any recommendations? I hear Rauataian is popular these days."

She grinned to herself in the dark. Still can't get a straight answer out of you about all that, eh? Good thing I'm too addled to care right now. "I could teach you Ixamitl. Little bit of Vailian."

"As long as you're a willing teacher, I'm a willing student."

"As long as we steer clear of Ordhjóma, I'm a willing teacher." Gods, she was drunk, telling him that.

He wanted to ask, but knew better. "Fair enough."

The pair fell silent, and they fell asleep.

---

Axa had expected a difficult night ahead of her. After all, she'd had a difficult day.

Exhaustion, wine, and whiteleaf put her body and waking mind to sleep easily enough, as they tended to do. But her subconscious mind was restless and turbulent, thoughts and memories and half-dreams all swirling together in a maelstrom of emotion, fear foremost among them.

Whispers. Shadows.

It was all... familiar, somehow. The more she looked, the more she saw, and the more she saw, the more she remembered.

The pillars. The machine.

Had she... been here before?

No. That wasn't possible. She'd only ever been to Ixamitl and the Land before this. She had never been to the Dyrwood, never--

--from Creitum, my dear?--

Axa thrashed violently in her bed. Sweat matted her fine, golden-bronze fur and her breath came in shuddering gasps. Her eyes snapped open--

--and she was standing in front of that tree again, the one in the middle of town. The corpse tree.

The corpses were all wrong. She knew for a fact that the blond fellow who'd smiled at her as she'd started off toward the inn earlier that day hadn't been hanging from it last she looked. But he was hanging there now, still smiling his lopsided smile, still clutching his pipe.

"Welcome to our lovely town." He said it, but he didn't. She didn't hear his voice, and his face didn't move. But she heard him, in her mind, somehow.

Is-- is this what ciphers-- oh, Wael's eyes, am I a cipher now or something?

Axa had no time to dwell on the thought as the monstrous tree slowly began to move, twisting around and down toward her, brilliant violet flames flickering to life all over its gore-caked branches. It loomed above her, below her, all around her, blocking out all light except for the sickly purple glow of the souls hanging from it like overripe fruit.

And front and center, mere feet from Axa's own face, hung the dwarf woman. The animancer that horrible magistrate had so crassly introduced as "an example of what happens to those who lie to our Lord."

Axa could only stare in abject terror as the woman's corpse noticed her.

It lifted its head, wrinkled and deflated like a gourd gone rotten, and stretched out its swollen, distended neck, pushing its maggot-ridden face to within inches of Axa's own. The head tilted to one side and blinked its empty eye sockets, and if she hadn't been on the very bleeding edge of a complete nervous breakdown, Axa might have noticed it smile gently.

The corpse's mouth opened wide before Axa's quivering eyes, blasting her with a wave of rotting stench that threatened to overwhelm the little woman entirely. She didn't know how much more of this she could bear, but at the same time, she couldn't look away. This was, she somehow instinctively knew, far too important a message to look away from.

The dwarf's corpse, like the blond man's, spoke directly to Axa's mind. But it spoke aloud at the same time, evidently to ensure that her message made it through any and all defenses the orlan woman could offer up, whether mental or physical. The corpse's rancid breath, its voice like a dull blade drawn across a gravestone, her essence, all issued forth to assault and cradle and engulf Axa, all focused on the conveyance of one word:

"WATCHER."

---

Her eyes snapped open for real, this time.

A multitude of glowing purple figures stood over her, watching her as she lay in her bed.

She screamed, a shrill, panicked howl of pure terror. She flailed desperately to escape, and ended up landing painfully on the floor face-first before scrabbling madly for the corner.

Aloth was up in an instant, groping for his grimoire, clambering to his feet in a panic. "What's-- Axa?" The elf stumbled toward the cowering woman in the muddled pre-dawn light, reaching toward her with an open hand. "Axa? Are you alright? What's going on, did--"

She shrieked, throwing her arms up in front of her, shielding herself from him, from them, pushing herself against the wall with her trembling legs. "DON'T!! DON'T TOUCH ME!!"

Aloth did not. Instead, he froze-- then very slowly drew back, clutching his grimoire in front of his chest with both hands, trying to ignore the little woman as she shook and sobbed, face hidden in her hands.

I... shouldn't be seeing this. This isn’t right. I shouldn't be here. This is something private, and I'm intruding, and... He sighed, lowering his gaze to the floor, his ears drooping.

...This was a mistake. I should... I should tell her I can't--

"I want to go to that tree again."

Aloth snapped his attention back to Axa. She was still in the corner, sitting with her knees drawn to her chest, but her face peered out from beneath her curtain of crimson hair.

The apparitions were gone. "I want to see her. The dwarf in the tree. I have to see her."

Her amethyst eyes fixed themselves on his.

"Will you go with me?" Tears trembled on her eyelashes, but her voice was steady and strong.

"...Certainly," he replied softly.

---

#pillars of eternity #fanfic #fanfiction #watcher #watcher axa #aloth

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sparky-is-spiders · 4 years

Text

More PoT/OotS AU Stuff (The Hollyleaf Favoritism AU)

I’m hereby renaming this AU the “Hollyleaf Favoritism AU”, because that’s what it is now (it wasn’t intentional I promise).

Today I’ma talk about Ivypool, Dovewing (who is Dovedream now because of her powers fight me), Ashfur, Squirrelflight’s lie, and a little bit about Hollyleaf/storm and Lionblaze’s apprenticeships.

Link to Part 1 here

First off, Dovedream!

Dovedream: Dovedream has always had an uncanny ability to understand the emotions of other cats. She’s always been sure of the love her mother and sister hold for her. It’s passed off as a strong sense of empathy, although Firestar has his suspicions that it might be more.

From a young age, Dovekit knew that there was a chance that she would have powers and a place in an important prophecy. However, she was too young to understand what that meant, and nobody was willing to talk openly about it in case they ended up upsetting Lionblaze.

Dovekit can’t read minds, but she gets powerful waves of emotions from the cats around her. She can even get sensations and images, if they’re strong enough. She hates going into the medicine den. She visited it when she was two moons old when she caught a cold, and she was miserable the whole time. Jayfeather’s death visions of the Dark Forest battle had started at around this time, and he was radiating so many negative emotions that she could practically taste them. When she slept, she sometimes slipped into his dreams, and StarClan cats would have to pull her out. The horrors of war and gore and death would be too much for this young cat. She develops a rapport with Snowfur in particular, and the two spend hours talking, playing, and exploring StarClan. When she’s finally well enough to return to the nursury, the visits with Snowfur continue. She also starts to avoid the medicine den and Jayfeather in particular like the plague.

When the time comes for her to be an apprentice, Firestar gives her to Lionblaze. The young warrior is becoming isolated from his clan with the reveal of his parentage and loss of his sister. It’s also becoming more and more obvious that he has no powers, although he’s still in denial. Firestar hopes that young Dovepaw will give Lionblaze new purpose, that she will keep Lionblaze from seperating himself from the whole clan, and that she will remind him that he doesn’t need powers to serve his clan.

It works out, at first. Lionblaze bonds with Dovepaw and with Cinderheart, who is mentoring Ivypaw. It all changes one night, however, when Dovepaw accidently slips into Lionblaze’s dreams. He’s in the middle of a nightmare, and she tries to guide him out of it. He can see her, but she can’t reach him enough to pull him out, and she eventually wakes up at dawn more exhausted then ever. She asks him about it on the dawn patrol, and she feels wave after wave of saddness and fury and shame and, underneath it all, the profound lonliness that she can always sense but never get a full grasp on until now. Lionblaze returns to ThunderClan camp with Dovepaw trailing awkwardly behind. There’s no question who the third cat is, and it isn’t Lionblaze.

After this, Lionblaze tries, he really does, but he fails. He’s grappling with too much, and Cinderheart becomes the unofficial mentor for Dovepaw. To try and make up for his failings, Lionblaze convinces Firestar to let Dovepaw attend her first gathering, although he himself is left behind.

At the gathering, she meets a handsome and charismatic apprentice called Tigerpaw (Tigerheart and his sibs have been de-aged for the sake of the rewrite). Dovepaw and Tigerpaw hit it off immeadiatly. She’s a little attracted to him, but she is very attracted to the idea of him. This ShadowClan apprentice doesn’t care about her powers, and she can feel that he’s at least a little interested. They hit it off and begin a forbidden relationship. They don’t bother with meeting up in secret, as Dovepaw can always visit him in his dreams.

Dovepaw’s other respite from the burden of being a prophecy cat and her strained relationship with her sister and mentor is StarClan. Snowfur still visits her from time to time, and the two hang out and have fun. Her dream meetings with Snowfur and Tigerpaw are the only times that she feels that she is free to be herself.

Dovepaw’s relationship with Ivypool isn’t great, but it’s alright. Because Dovepaw is often being trained more by Cinderheart than by Lionblaze, Dovepaw and Ivypaw are able to spend a lot of time together, and they have roughly equal skill levels (Dovepaw is slightly better at hunting, but Ivypaw is the better fighter) so Ivypaw only has Dovepaw’s powers and place in the prophecy to be jealous of. Still, they bicker a lot and aren’t as close as they were during kithood. Dovepaw begins to sense something... off. Ivypaw is grumpier than usual, and her fighting skill is improving by leaps and bounds. Dovepaw is worried, but her sister won’t tell her anything. She would visit Ivypaw’s dreams to try and figure out what was going on, but Ivypaw had asked her to never, ever do that, and Dovepaw wouldn’t dare intrude on somebody’s privacy like that without their consent (she ended up in Jayfeather and Lionblaze’s dreams by accident, not on purpose)

Eventually, something seems to snap Lionblaze out of his funk. He was visiting with the Dark Forest, and had been for quite some time. He thought that training with Thistleclaw wouldn’t be that bad, but then he saw Ivypaw being involved in a brutal fight that could easily end in her death. He was furious, yelling at Thistleclaw for 50 hours straight for endangering a young apprentice like this. When he hears that it’s a fight to the death (or at least to the serious, life-long injury), he punches Thistleclaw in the face and skedaddles. And he tells Firestar everything.

Now Dovepaw knows what’s wrong with her sister and she’s hugely upset. She has a long, tearful conversation with Ivypaw that essentially boils down to: ‘You’re my sister and I love you and you are NOT allowed to die’. Their relationship is still shaky, but it’s much better now. Ivypaw is forbidden from visiting with the Dark Forest, as is Lionblaze. Firestar calls a clan meeting to find out how many cats are in the Dark Forest. The clan comes to a concensus: the only cat allowed to stay in the Dark Forest is Thornclaw, a powerful and loyal senior warrior who can report everything that’s going on in there as long as he’s careful and smart about it. The number of cats revealed to be meeting with Dark Forest cats is concerning, and Firestar is certain that they’re up to something. He warns all the clans about it at the next gathering, but none of them listen (surely it’s just a ThunderClan problem. We’ll all be fine.)

Dovepaw was only a kit when Hollyleaf returned to the clans and joined WindClan, so although she’s heard the stories, she’s never met her fellow prophecy cat. Dovepaw hopes that she’s better than Jayfeather, who realized Dovepaw was in the prophecy before Dovepaw even told him (prophetic dreams and visions) and who doesn’t seem to care about anything anymore. Hollyleaf (now Hollystorm) was a mystery until the day that she shows up in camp with the WindClan deputy, demanding to meet with Firestar. Dovepaw, as a prophecy cat, attends the meeting, although she can’t contribute very much apart from telling everybody that StarClan is pretty sure that something is up but they have no idea what’s going on. Still, Hollystorm’s determination and no-nonsense attitude, as well as her story intrigues Dovepaw, and she follows Hollystorm around like a lost puppy, desperate to talk to the only cat who can truly relate to her struggles.

Hollystorm would like to talk to Dovepaw at some point, but she has more important things to worry about. Like Jayfeather! Who was not present at the meeting at all. Dovepaw can feel the emotions blasting out of the medicine den during Hollystorm’s visit. Ivypaw sneaks her sister out of the camp until it all blows over, and they return to listen to what Jayfeather has to say.

Dovepaw is shocked by all the horrors he must’ve been expiriencing day in and day out. She realizes that he must have been so miserable, and she starts to feel sympathy for him. All her life, she believed that he was just a bitter angry foxheart, but he’s not. Dovepaw feels a little ashamed for the way that she viewed him before.

Nobody is surprised when Firestar decides that it’s time for an emergency gathering. Everybody is very surprised when they hear about the Dark Forest. Everybody has a collective meltdown when they hear about the WindClan civil war (the second one). It is time to unite, with Dovepaw set as the prime messenger between the clans.

The next day, Ivypaw and Dovepaw get their warrior assessments. As the sun sets, they become Ivypool and Dovedream, full warriors of ThunderClan.

Dovedream is a little self-absorbed. It’s not her fault, but it is true. She’s used to feeling the love her parents hold for her, the interest that Tigerheart feels whenever they’re together, and the respect other ThunderClanners have for her as a prophecy cat. It’s made her a little arrogant. And now she’s a warrior with an important duty! She checks in with the other leaders every evening and reports whatever they say to Firestar himself.

It puts a strain on her relationship with Tigerpaw. He’s still an apprentice (even though he’s older than her) and he’s a little jealous. He tries not to be, but it’s so hard! Dovedream has powers and a prophecy all about her and a warrior name even though he’s older than her. Of course he’s jealous.

After sporadic attacks from WindClan over the next two moons, the clans plan the WindClan ambush. Dovedream is left behind, deemed to be too valuable to risk. This makes her feel a little useless and left out. An important thing is happening and she’s not invited and it is VERY annoying. But then she feels a sharp spike of distress from the medicine den. She knows that Jayfeather must be sleeping, so while the warriors prepare to leave for the battle (it’s late evening and they want to get to the WindClan border at around moonhigh), Dovedream goes to sleep and visits Jayfeather’s dreams. She hates the idea, but she wants to make sure that he is okay, and she needs to check on him.

In his dream, he’s standing in the WindClan camp, surrounded by the bodies of his clanmates. Among the dead are Firestar, Brambleclaw, Squirrelflight, Hollystorm, and Lionblaze. Dovedream is shocked and horrified when she sees Ivypool’s lifeless corpse. She leads Jayfeather out of the WindClan camp and over to the peaceful lake and asks him about his dream. He’s angry that she just strolled in without his say-so, until she brings up the WindClan ambush. Then he realizes what he was dreaming about and wakes up. Dovedream awakens to see Jayfeather racing across camp (the other warriors have already left) and she follows him. Dovedream realizes that what Jayfeather saw must be the result of the ambush and is desperate to help him. She can’t let Ivypool die!

They get to the WindClan camp and shout out a warning just as the battle starts and WindClan attacks. Dovedream is about to rush over to Ivypool when she sees a cat leaping at Jayfeather. She realizes that Jayfeather, a medicine cat with minimal battle training, needs her more than Ivypool, who is Very Good at fighting. She sticks with Jayfeather as they battle their way over to Firestar, warning him of Jayfeather’s vision. He calls for ThunderClan to retreat, and the outnumbered clans do the same. Many non-Windclanners have been injured or killed, but it isn’t the bloodbath that Jayfeather foresaw.

With the other clans weakened, they collectivly decide that the best course of action is to group together in a single, easily defendible place. The ThunderClan camp, being a giant hole with few entrances and exits, is chosen. Dovedream helps with shoring up the defences, but she is no longer allowed on patrols just in case WindClan attacks her. She’s very annoyed by this, but she appreciates the chance to spend time with the newly-named Tigerheart.

At around this time Dovedream really starts to understand some stuff. Her power-less, prophecy-less clanmates are out there, risking their lives every day to patrol the borders and feed their clanmates. These cats don’t have any of the things that Dovedream believes make her special, but they’re special anyway, and they’re just as valuable as she is. Her ego is knocked down a peg. Watching Jayfeather’s struggles with his powers and Hollystorm’s struggle to fit in to a place that isn’t really her home anymore and Lionblaze’s struggle to feel that he’s worth anything opens her up to the problems of other cats. She becomes less self-absorbed and less arrogant. She demands to be allowed to go out and hunt. She’s tired of sitting still while everybody else contributes. She may be part of a prophecy, but that doesn’t mean that she can just sit around all day. She isn’t allowed near the WindClan border, but she is allowed to hunt within certain areas. She tries to bring back as much prey as she can and become part of the team effort to save the clans. During this time, she bonds with many background characters from all the clans.

During the battle, she uses her empath powers to find which cats are in the most danger and help them. When Hollystorm is injured, she feels a wave of fear so strong it nearly knocks her off her paws. She rushes over to the medicine den and takes Hollystorm and Lionblaze’s place to gaurd it. Ivypool and Tigerheart join her, and the three fight like lions against WindClan and the Dark Forest.

When the battle is over, Dovedream is hit with so many feelings from so many cats that it overwhelms her. She is exhausted and pretty much keels over as soon as Bramblestar appoints Squirrelflight as his deputy. She regretfully watches the other clans go, promising Tigerheart that she’ll continue to visit him in his dreams.

Ivypool: As a kit, Ivykit was very close with her sister and not really close to anyone else. The two were inseperable, and they did everything together. The week that Dovekit spent in the nursery was the worst week of Ivykit’s short life. When they were both made into apprentices, they were so excited to train and learn together.

Things were going pretty well at first. However, Dovepaw was significantly more outgoing than her younger sister, and she made friends with the other apprentices. Where Ivypaw enjoyed training and talking one-on-one with Dovepaw, she disliked having to have conversations with more than one cat, and she began to feel lonely. The two began to get into little arguements and spats, and they drifted apart.

When it was revealed that Dovepaw had powers, everyone was ecstatic. Well, almost everyone. Lionblaze was bitter even though he tried not to show it, and Ivypaw felt alone. Her sister had new friends and an important job and she was just so special. Ivypaw was afraid that her sister would leave her for bigger and better things. That’s when the Dark Forest drew her in.

The first cat she met was Tigerstar. Ivypaw may be many things (kinda whiny and clingy, among other things), but she wasn’t a moron. Her grandmother had told her the story about the dogs he sent to destroy ThunderClan and all the murders he commited and she wasn’t going to accept anything he offered her! It was so lucky that Thistleclaw saved her, wasn’t it? (IMPORTANT NOTE: In this AU, Spottedleaf’s Heart is NOT CANON. Thistleclaw and Ivypaw show NO interest in each other, because that would honestly be horrifying.)

Thistleclaw starts training her, claiming that he’s only in the Dark Forest because Bluestar chased him out of StarClan (she didn’t, he’s just lying). Ivypaw comes to see Thistleclaw as a big brother/mentor figure. He teaches her how to fight, and she starts improving by leaps and bounds. He becomes her only friend.

Thistleclaw isn’t really trying to help her, of course. He just wants to turn her against the prophecy cats. She’s a talented fighter for her age, and he would love to have her on the side of the Dark Forest. It isn’t too hard, either. He convinces her that Hollystorm is a traitor to ThunderClan (this really turns her against half-clan relationships), that Jayfeather is an dirt bag with no redeeming qualities, and that Dovepaw is too wrapped up in herself and the prophecy and her new friends to care about Ivypaw any more. It works.

Ivypaw and Dovepaw barely get along, and she refuses to tell Dovepaw what’s going on. Terrified that Dovepaw might find out about her Dark Forest visits (although she doesn’t know why that scares her so much), she demands that Dovepaw never visit her dreams, ever. She’s a little surprised when Dovepaw does as Ivypaw asks her to do.

Blossompaw and Ivypaw sometimes talk, and Ivypaw nurses a bit of a crush on the older apprentice, but it doesnt really go anywhere, especially when Ivypaw starts seeing Thistleclaw. Thistleclaw is her new friend and she doesn’t need anyone else. Blossompaw and Ivypaw sometimes talk and train together, but that’s about as far as it goes.

Ivypaw gets along with Lionblaze better than her own mentor, Cinderheart. They’ve both been picked over for the prophecy that their siblings are in, and they both enjoy battle training more than either Cinderheart or Dovepaw do.

Because of how isolated she feels, Ivypaw becomes a bit of a lone wolf. She hates working with others or asking for help. In her eyes, if she can’t do whatever it is she’s trying to do, she either needs to toughen up or give up, and asking for help is weak. It’s an obviosly unhealthy attitude that Thistleclaw encourages. It makes her more antagonistic to cats who would help her and less receptive to the problems of others. It also makes her an isolationist who thinks that the clans should deal with their own problems, which is exactly the attitude the Dark Forest cats are trying to promote.

It all comes to a head a few moons later, when Thistleclaw decides that it’s time to get Lionblaze and Ivypaw to train together. Another Dark Forest cat named Silverhawk is training with Ivypaw, but it’s going badly. Ivypaw may be a good fighter, but she’s an apprentice, and Silverhawk is really strong. She’s getting her tail kicked, and if this fight goes on much longer she might be seriously injured or even killed. Lionblaze sees Ivypaw and is furious that Thistleclaw would dare put a young apprentice in this much danger. He fights Thistleclaw and convinces Ivypaw to come with him. They run through the Dark Forest, away from Thistleclaw and the other cats until they wake up, exhausted.

Ivypaw feels betrayed. Thistleclaw was her friend, and yet he refused to save her from the dangerous situation that she was in. Besides, she trusts Lionblaze. He may not be her friend, but he feels more like her mentor than Cinderheart does, sometimes. If Lionblaze says that this is bad, he may have a point. She starts to second-guess Thistleclaw’s motives as Lionblaze comes to fetch her to talk to Firestar.

The Firestar conversation is a little awkward, especially when Brambleclaw confesses to meeting with Tigerstar in the Dark Forest all those moons ago. Firestar decides that something is up and calls a clan meeting. Apparently, a LOT of cats have recieved Dark Forest training. Most ThunderClanners have been meeting with Thistleclaw and sometimes Silverhawk, but a few of the younger cats apparently thought that training with Tigerstar was a good idea. Every cat confesses that a Dark Forest cat had approached them at some point, generally when they were feeling alone and vunerable.

Clearly, something is up. At the next gathering, Firestar asks the other clans about the Dark Forest, but nobody claims to be meeting with any Dark Forest cats (leaders, deputies, and medicine cats are not approached, and let’s be real here, nobody is gonna tell Firestar about how some dead cats are teaching them how to fight. He’s so meddlesome! The Dark Forest cats seem friendly enough, surely everything is fine). Firestar leaves without telling the other clans the extent of the Dark Forest problem in ThunderClan (because with Onestar in the picture and ShadowClan at their border, that would NOT go well).

Not much happens for the next moon or so. Dark Forest visits are forbidden for everybody except Thornclaw (who volunteered to spy (it had to be a strong senior warrior and it couldn’t be Lionblaze after the way he exploded at Thistleclaw)) and life goes on. And then, in the middle of the night, Hollystorm and Ashfoot show up. They refuse to leave until Firestar meets with them, and they report everything that’s going on with the Dark Forest in WindClan. Ivypaw is mostly there for moral support and to briefly talk about her time in the Dark Forest (Thornclaw is invited to join the discussion later, when he wakes up).

Ivypaw isn’t really there for the Hollystorm and Jayfeather mega-showdown, but she does hear about all the horrible things Jayfeather has been seeing. Suddenly, it’s a lot harder for Ivypaw to see Jayfeather as some lazy jerk who doesn’t care about his clanmates, and although she still considers Hollystorm to be a clan-abandoning traitor, she kinda respects the WindClan warrior for her convictions (even if she is loyal to the wrong clan). But hey, if she was wrong about Jayfeather and kinda maybe sorta a little wrong about Hollystorm, what did she get wrong about Dovepaw?

The two make up after Dovepaw has that freak out about Ivypaw being in the Dark Forest. Their bond is shaky, and they have a lot of issues to get past, but they’re closer now than they have been in moons, which is nice.

There’ll be time to sort that out later, because everything has been thrown into chaos. It’s emergency gathering time! Everybody is waiting for WindClan but only about 6 WindClanners bother to show up and none of them are Onestar (who wants to solve this problem on his own and prove that he doesn’t need Firestar). Everybody is like ‘????’ and then Ashfoot climbs onto the leader tree and goes “So Onestar tried to exile, like, half of WindClan and then Breezepelt exiled him and also us.” And everybody freaks out.

So the gathering happens and the clans decide to team up to stop this threat. Dovepaw is assigned to be a messenger between the three remaining clans while the WindClan exiles hang out in ThunderClan. The day after the gathering, Cinderheart and Lionblaze spring a surprise warrior assessment on their young apprentices and the become Ivypool and Dovedream.

Ivypool goes on multiple patrols and gets into fights with WindClan cats. She ends up defending Blossomfall during these attacks. Blossomfall is impressed with Ivypool’s murder skills and her beautiful blue eyes... and asks Ivypool to train with her. Que the mutual pining!

Ivypool is invited on the WindClan ambush and she isn’t too happy about the retreat. When she hears from Dovedream that she was one of the dead cats she changes her mind.

Ivypool goes on most of the hunting patrols after the clans all move to the ThunderClan camp. Some patrols raid WindClan territory (which now consists of most of the lake territories) also include her due to her fighting capabilities.

At around this time, she starts making and strengthening her conections with other cats in ThunderClan. Most notably: Dovedream, Lionblaze, Cloudtail (they get along super well, actually), Brightheart, Blossomfall, and Dustpelt (they hang out while they work on building up the dens and toughening up ThunderClan’s defenses. They work together to build some really neat/strong defenses, like a bramble maze).

During the final battle she fights alongside Blossomfall. When Blossomfall is injured Ivypool drags her to the medicine den. She then fights alongside Tigerheart and Dovedream to defend it.

When the battle ends, Ivypool goes straight (or NOT straight) to Blossomfall to essentially ask her out. Blossomfall says yes!

Working together with the other clans abates some of Ivypool’s xenophobia. It also forces her to drop her go-it-alone attitude. Sometimes she’s gonna need help, and sometimes she’s gonna have to work with others, and that’s okay.

Ashfur: Ashfur is a bitter dirtbag and that is not gonna change. He’s still pissed with Squirrelflight for rejecting him. The fire scene doesn’t happen because Jayfeather predicts the fire and ThunderClan is able to evacuate the camp. Ashfur is a jerk to Squirrelflight and anybody who is related to her. He tries to kill Brambleclaw during the WindClan ambush (in this AU, they stay mates) until Squirrelflight drags him away. He is killed as the clans attempt to retreat.

Squirrelflight and the Lie: Squirrelflight covers for Leafpool. Jayfeather sees their kithood and several signs about their true parentage, but it takes him a long time to realize what it means because of how many visions he gets swamped with and how little he is able to understand them. He tells his siblings, they confront Squirrelflight, she tells them what happened. Hollyleaf reveals everything at a gathering, and then flees to the Tribe.

Brambleclaw is angry and hurt and confused, but he does choose Squirrelflight. He defends her from the vitreol the other cats hurl at her because he does still love her, even though he’s still hurting from the lie. He has a sibling who he loves, he understands. (I know that this isn’t what happens in canon, but I want a healthy, supportive relationship where the two actually talk through their issues and do their best to help each other, so that’s what you’re getting. It’s my AU and I can do what I want.)

Now then, some mentoring factoids!

Lionpaw: Now, Firestar may be dumb, but he ain’t stupid. He isn’t gonna give Lionpaw to Squirrelflight’s jealous bitter ex. No. Lionpaw is part of a prophecy. He needs a strong, smart, dependable senior warrior who can train him up right and knock his ego down a peg. When Firestar is deciding who will mentor Lionpaw, only one cat comes to mind: Sandstorm.

Sandstorm is the perfect mentor for Lionpaw. She’s a skilled warrior who will support Lionpaw, but she isn’t particularly itimidated or impressed with his prophecyness. She deflates his ego without being mean or cruel, and she helps him develop into a capable and respected warrior. The two are super close, and she helps to knock some sense into him after the reveal of Dovepaw’s powers.

Hollypaw: Hollypaw is a prophecy cat with special powers that are obvious from kithood. Firestar decides to mentor her himself. After all, who better to teach the future savior of the clan than a clan leader? (Well, aside from Sandstorm.) This is where most of Hollypaw’s obsession with the Warrior Code and “doing the right thing, no matter what” comes from. Firestar is busy, so he doesn’t always get to spend as much time mentoring her as he would like, but he does his best to make time for her. He and Sandstorm often end up training their apprentices together, and he’s happy for a chance to spend some extra time with his mate. Young Hollypaw sometimes struggles with hunting and fighting in the forest, and Firestar worries that he’s not doing enough to help her, but she passes her warrior assessment with Lionpaw, so he thinks he did a good job.

When she goes to WindClan and becomes Hollystorm, she doesn’t really get a mentor. Ashfoot is wary about her, but decides that Onestar made his choice and that she should go along with that choice. She takes Hollystorm under her wing and teaches her about how to hunt and fight on the moor when she has the time. Hollystorm is a natural at it. During one of these sessions, Hollystorm confesses her real reason for coming to WindClan, which is what earns her Ashfoot’s respect and brings the two closer together.

Alright. That’s all I got for now. Next up: What happens with Onestar? Breezepelt, more about the relationship between the three and both sets of parents, the reason StarClan struggles to understand what is happening in the Dark Forest, and the Dark Forest cat’s evil plan!

#warriors #warrior cats au #the hollyleaf favoritism au #Po3 #OotS #Dovewing #Ivypool #Hollyleaf #Jayfeather #Lionblaze #Thistleclaw #Blossomfall #Squirrelflight #Brambleclaw #Ashfur #Firestar #Sandstorm #the Dark Forest #StarClan

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dogcunt · 3 years

Note

1-50

1. What is you middle name?

uhh i have 2 Legal middle names n its alexander valentino lol

2. How old are you?

twenny too

3. When is your birthday?

6/30

4. What is your zodiac sign?

cancer

5. What is your favorite color?

n/a

6. What’s your lucky number?

7. Do you have any pets?

no 😔

8. Where are you from?

north carolina born n bred babey but i live in tennessee

9. How tall are you?

6'2

10. What shoe size are you?

mens 11 1/2

11. How many pairs of shoes do you own?

12. What was your last dream about?

last night i dreamt i sucked one ov my ex's dick 😔

13. What talents do you have?

im pretty good at figuring oot instruments i guess

14. Are you psychic in any way?

maybe..

15. Favorite song?

throw a dart at a board ov current 93 songs and youll hit it im sure

16. Favorite movie?

party monster maybe

17. Who would be your ideal partner?

im not gonna answer this one

18. Do you want children?

i think itd be nice to have a kid someday

19. Do you want a church wedding?

fuck no lol

20. Are you religious?

eeeeeehhhh sure

21. Have you ever been to the hospital?

ofc :•)

22. Have you ever got in trouble with the law?

yes❤️

23. Have you ever met any celebrities?

quite a few

24. Baths or showers?

baths can be nice but showers are quick

25. What color socks are you wearing?

im not

26. Have you ever been famous?

used to be called a funnyman on here in like 2013-16 but had to stop cos yall are annoying

27. Would you like to be a big celebrity?

fuck no

28. What type of music do you like?

literally all kinds but rly love industrial goth n neofolk

29. Have you ever been skinny dipping?

yea

30. How many pillows do you sleep with?

31. What position do you usually sleep in?

fetal position babyy

32. How big is your house?

750 sq feet

33. What do you typically have for breakfast?

coffee and a cigarette

34. Have you ever fired a gun?

yes!

35. Have you ever tried archery?

i used to have a compound bow!!

36. Favorite clean word?

idk

37. Favorite swear word?

dog cunt❤️

38. What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without sleep?

3 days

39. Do you have any scars?

yeah lol

40. Have you ever had a secret admirer?

yes and i do not like it

41. Are you a good liar?

i used to be a compulsive liar n had to stop all together but yeah i guess

42. Are you a good judge of character?

i like to think so

43. Can you do any other accents other than your own?

yeah rly good w masshole accent cos most ov my family has it n honestly i slip into it sometimes :¥/

44. Do you have a strong accent?

not really

45. What is your favorite accent?

love southern n new england accents lol

46. What is your personality type?

dykefag

47. What is your most expensive piece of clothing?

idk all my shit is thrifted

48. Can you curl your tongue?

yuh

49. Are you an innie or an outie?

innie

50. Left or right handed?

right handed

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vespiiqueen · 4 years

Note

List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the ask box of the last 10 people who reblogged something from you (if you want !! 💛💖)

Wow I rambled a lot with this but i can't add cuts bc I'm on mobile rn DHSISHSJ sorry :"))))

1. Ik Ik "haha how cringe are you" of me to say, but honestly? Homestuck. Homestuck helped me in a time of need and when i so desperately wanted something to latch onto. Finally, I caved into my friends telling me to read it-- and it's been a blast!! The epilogues / hs^2 make me feel kinda sad though, because so much of what I loved about the original was yeeted through the nine circles of hell and into the trash. I love Y/ffany's (I call her Yippi tho) design, the art is really pretty at times, Harry is a major dork, I LIVE for seeing Vrissy bc honestly?? Her design is 10/10, very early 2000s emo style and I also live for that. Tavros is cute and a nerd and I think that's swell!

But in terms of story and how any of this happens, it makes me sad to see it happen. If Vriska could return as Vrissy, why not OTHER beta trolls? Where's my Eridan fish man, writers?? Give me the boy or perish by my fury.

2. Also super "haha how cringe are you" but,,, murder cats (Warriors), esp the early 2005-2015 amvs and stuff. I remember watching Flightfootwarrior's "I Will Not Bow" Scourge amv for HOurs and having no clue what was happening, but all these edgy kitties were KITTIES! It's introduced me to a lot of music I still listen to to this very day (Imagine Dragons, Young/the entirety of Hollywood Undead, Breaking Benjamin). And yknow what?? This new arc is absolute chaos, but in the good way.

I'm an "OG Fan". I prefer the first arc, The Prophecies Begin, to almost any of the other arcs. I just could never get into the other arcs-- not to say I haven't read them, I HAVE and the Fire Scene was probably one of my favorite moments beside grumpy Jaypaw, god complex Lionblaze, and fear the gods Hollypaw. I thought the build-up for it was SUPER satisfying. Gray Wing is my baby and I fully embellish in the Gray Wing is Silverpelt theory.

This new arc is definitely something new for the universe. While I didn't read aVoS (but I may do that if i can find the files for it), and so I don't know the major events of it other than what I've seen M.A.P.'s (Multi-Animator Projects, for clarification,,, bc unfortunately that term is also something disgusting). There's fucking cat possession and all the Clans questioning their belief system, yo. Shit be on fire.

Also the Imposter is 100% Ashfur, that's canon now, yeah??? Also im sorry but fuck Root x Bristle that's the dumbest shit I have ever seen. Give me Root x Shadow or face the wrath of my dragon plushies.

RiverClan is my Clan and my gov assigned warrior name is Fireshell 🌟🌟

3. As much as I hate the author,,,,, Harry Potter. It's been a major part of my life for as long as I can remember. I can never really remember why, but I've always just loved it- the movies, the books, the extra little merch that would pop up in my local Walmart. Of course my favorite character is Draco Malfoy. I could go on and on and ON about how I think his character arc was SHIT and JKR didn't have the balls to make him a confident gay man that was always implied through the text (at least, my lesbian ass thought it was implied but i may just be projecting, idk). I could ramble about Draco for HOURS and what I think his character SHOULD have been and how his parents are horrible (more specifically, Lucius bc Narcissa [?] Actually showed a few good moments), and a child should never have to pay for their parents sins.

Oh noo, Draco's a villain because he's a victim of major abuse and peer pressure? He's a villain because a literal child can be horrible and they'll always always always stay as a horrible little fiend?? Fuck that. He's a child.

Unlike manchild grease pan Snape, who was a racist piece of shit and shouldn't have became a fucking school teacher but it's okay because he was ~~~in love~~~. No, fuck you, he was a creep. James Potter n Co may have been a little posh bitch to you, Snape, but that's no fucking excuse to continue to bluntly be a little cunt all the way into adulthood. You're an adult who flatly changed your PATRONUS to imitate Lily's. You have no excuse. And Harry went and named his child after you LIKE JESUS CHRIST, DID RON'S SISTER NOT HAVE A SAY IN THE NAMES TOO?????

I also fully adore the idea that Muggles can run into Hogwarts and their patronus can 100% be a made up, fantasy creature. Imagine you learn the patronus spell and suddenly fucking ARCEUS comes from your wand. Imagine learning the spell and CHTULU (i did not spell that right but im so tired) comes from your wand-- an entire ass fucking Lovecraftian, Eldrith horror is just the embodiment of you. What if it was a fucking Homestuck character like Vriska? How fucking METAL would that be?? Hskajssowjjsjs get on it fandom.

4. Hee hee very evident by my url but Pokemon is another major thing of mine. While vespiquen isn't my favorite (that title goes to Hydreigon), it is definitely up there!

I've ALWAYS enjoyed the idea of Pokemon. You run around, training up these fight monsters and collecting them. I remember playing my sister's Ruby version on her flip-up Gameboy. I couldn't even read but I ran around catching god only knows how many of the same pokemon wherever she was. Apparently, I had fought for hours in the same area and leveled her Blaziken up to lvl 50 something and left her lvl 30s in the dust LMAO.

I got my first game when it was Pearl/Diamond. It was Pearl, and it still holds a very fond place in my heart. I could barely read, I could barely write-- I had named my Turtwig something along the lines of "MmorpHy" and my player boy "ZbsibJ". Yes I remember the names slightly. I really didn't get far-- I barely got to the first gym but I was just so happy to play it.

I eventually lost the game, as a 5 year old would do, but I can still vividly remember what was happening when the game arrived. I had just came back from the dentist and was quite tired from fighting the dentist bc I was super scared. Mom suddenly handed me a box and said it was mine-- my overseas (at that time) dad had bought me Pearl and my sister Diamond, because I lost my shit about it when he visited one time.

Well, tdlr, I played it for about five minutes while struggling to stay awake against the loopy gas they made me take. I fell asleep listening to Twinleaf Town's soundtrack. Every time I play a rom of Pearl and I get to where the player's house fades in and I hear that first tune of the song, I get a huge smile on my face and cry-- as.. Weird as it sounds.

A few years later, I had gotten Pokemon Black bc I liked Reshiram on the cover. Now, this one I could actually READ when playing, but I don't remember a lot of things about it. I probably lost this one too, as a 8/9 year old would do. I DO remember, I chose Snivy and my sister chose Tepig (hrmm there's a theme here of grass/fire goin on......) and vibing to the music. I was so amazed by the sprites moving, I just kept getting into encounters to see the sprites move (oh boy, no one tell younger 7-9 y/o me about Zelda......oh wait....)

Playing Pokemon NOW, as a 17 year old """gifted""" chick, I stil have very fond memories. I recently beat Pokemon Black again and GOD the OTS SLAPS. I fucking adore the soundtrack-- the track that plays when you battle a trainer, the low health dings being turned into a legit song that also slaps, the battle! gym leader themes-- and oh my gOd, the legendary theme is amazing? It really tells you just how glorious these pokemon are supposed to be. It's not intimidating like Groudon/Kyroge/Rayquaza's themes. It's not action packed like Palkia/Dialga's is, it's not filled with tension like Giratina/Arceus's is-- but it radiates the GLORY that the beasts portray. And I live for that. (Also, Kyurem's version is my favorite because it glitches in the beginning and that's rly cool)

P/D/P and BW/BW2's stories, imo, are some of the greatest ones. Yeahhh, US/USUM's is cool and I haven't played XY nor SwSh-- but the ones I can find memorable are PDP and BW/BW2. I love N. I love Barry. They're my sons. Ghetsis is fucking terrifying, Cyrus needs a hug. Giratina scared the piss out of me when I was younger, which was NOT helped by Giratina and The Sky Warrior.

I think my favorite movies are the gen 4 ones. The Rise of Darkrai having a tear-jerking theme for such a mysterious pokemon (i still tear up when i hear Ocarion), Giratina being spiteful is a mood and Shaymin was cute, Arceus being angry is also a mood. Yeah, Pokemon 4Ever made me cry my eyes out over Celebi, Mewtwo Returns made me again cry because Mewtwo accepting who he is, I remember how vastly different the BW movies are-

I just. I have a lot of memories with the series, even if Gamefreak and Nintendo kinda do the series dirty a lot (your top-grossing thing and you made That monstrosity for the Switch? How dare you.). It's comforting to be stressed and pull up my roms for the games and to play them. Mystery Dungeon is incredibly fun to play, Pokemon Ranger is really fun with the concept (Shadows of Almia continues to kick my ass to this very day and FUCK the Jungle Relic, I hate the Water Challenge fucking gyarados bullshit). I remember the pokemon I got for MD (I got Time, my sis got Darkness) was Mudkip, if that is any help.

I love my little fictional pixel monsters.

5. Yup, someone told tiny 7-9 y/o me about console games. The legend of Zelda. My first Zelda game was Twilight Princess on the Wii and BOY did I play the fucking SHIT out of that game.

Honestly, looking back and looking at playthroughs now-- I still love TP. Twilight Princess is still one of my top favorite Zelda games-- yes, even after playing OoT, Majora's Mask, Wind Waker, Skyward Sword, the anniversary four swords edition for the DS where you could play by yourself (Nintendo pls bring that back, I don't have friends to play it with ;-;), Phantom Hourglass- ect.

Something about Twilight Princess grabbed me by the head and yeeted me into the world. I can remember playing it for hours with little to no breaks. I, a tiny 9 y/o, had gotten the hang of the controllers and managed to get past the tutorial quite easily. And then, I was launched into the game and I wasn't stopping for NOTHING. Mom and Dad would have to force me to save and get off to go and eat dinner. THAT sucked.

I had done everything on my own up until the first temple, the forest temple. Not where/when you saved the dumb kid, but when you were saving the spirit's light. Theeeeeeennn I got stuck on the fucking Forest Temple for deadass six months straight. I'd play for hours, running around in circles, unable to figure out where to go, and because I didn't grasp the temple's purpose of being that way- I'd get angry and get off. It wasn't until dad looked up a walkthrough and talked me through what I was supposed to do that I learned how to get through temples.

I had gotten to the last little fight with Ganondorf before the Wii broke and i could no longer play. Despite the Wii being broke and we got rid of it, I was ADAMANT on keeping the game, and I kept that game for YEARS. It was an original copy out of a sealed box, and I eventually lost it when I left it accidentally at my now ex-friend's house.

She had a Wii and I went "hey I have a Wii game!" And I brought my Zelda over. Worst fucking choice of my goddamn life. Mom called me to come home and said I couldn't sleep over like the original plan was, and that was it. My ex-friend stashed my Zelda and I never saw it again. And, even if I wanted to-- I couldn't get it back, which makes me upset. We had a BAD falling out. She likely doesn't even remember it's there, or sold it to the local game junkie kid who buys ALL games.

But I still love the game. Midna was amazing, and I loved how snarky she was and she has a very cute design! The game's OST is fucking phenomenal. Midna's Desperate Hour makes me cry bc goddamn it really sells how serious that situation is. I love Hyrule Field's theme in this game. I love the Twilight Realm's song. Zant was fucking hilariously scary. Ganondorf's design in this game scared the piss out of me when I was younger.

Midna and this game's Link and Zelda are def my favorites. Yeah yeah, Sheik is cool and all I Guess but dhsushwishs Midna holds the special place in my heart. She was totally my gay awakening BUT

For other game antagonists, I adore Ghirahim-- let's go you funky little queer-coded villain. Skull Kid was great, I love the entire dynamic of him. Prankster lost soul stumbles upon Majora's Mask and the mask makes him act out due to powers-- which, I actually took very heavy inspiration from for one of my OCs. The moon falling to Hyrule was a fucking terrifying looming threat.

But the game series holds a place, and I've yet to be able to play BoTW-- although, I'm fairly certain I'll like it. The playthroughs I've watched of it are all fairly decent! I just. Gotta save up enough money to buy it haha.

Dang guess I gotta go watch a Twilight Princess playthrough again.

Honorable Mentions:

Avatar: the Last Airbender, specifically Book 3

my OCs definitely make me happy, they're my children and I'd ramble A LOT longer if given the chance WHEEZE

My friends, but I didn't add them here bc it's more fictional stuff, I presume

Baking. I love to bake cupcakes.

Painting is fun. I'm an artist and goddammit im going to use painting as an excuse to make a mess.

Fire. I rly like fire, down to a pyromaniac level. However, i hate the fires that happened to my home town, the Great Smokey Fires of 2016-- THAT pissed me off. How dare you burn mountain landscapes to the ground. Perish.

History. I'm a history nerd.

I'm also a science nerd.

But fuck math, I cannot comprehend math to save my life.

For some reason, I rly like learning how the human body works??? like did you know, organs are actually sticky when touched by a bare hand?? Did you?? How fucking cool is that.

Bakugan. I love Bakugan, esp the DS game. I love my Darkus Leonidas. Give me back the online world, you peasants-- I want my Darkus Dragonoid. (Also fuck all my friends from when I was in kindergarten- my theory that Alice was Masquerade was somewhat correct.)

#admin ace #admin ace speaks #communistvriska #inbox tag #homestuck #warrior cats #harry potter #pokemon #legend of zelda

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woollyslisterblog · 5 years

Text

1834 April Thursday 24th

6.20

11.10

One pretty good one last night. Fine morn[in]g F48 1/2° at 7.30am Br[eak]f[a]st at 8 – off w[i]th Miss W-[Walker] to Lidg[a]te at 9.15 and then in ¾ h[ou]r – ga[ve] Mr Washingt[o]n then £50 to pay for me to Mess[er]s Raws[o]n in p[ar]t of my two subscript[io]n to the new philosoph[ica]l museum- b[a]ck ag[ai]n at the hut at 11 asleep there and in the rust[i]c chair! an h[ou]r – ho[me] ay 12.30 –

long whi[le] mak[in]g out Th[oma]s’ acc[oun]t fr[om] the cash b[oo]k and rough books – acc[oun]ts unsettl[e]d s[in]ce Oct[ober] last!!! On settl[in]g w[i]th Th[oma]s Beech, told h[i]m I d[i]d n[o]t consid[e]r h[i]m to ha[ve] left me ver[y] handso[mel]y n[o]t hav[in]g been qui[te] 1 1/4 y[ea]r so that I p[ai]d h[i]m for the y[ea]r and 85 days allow[in]g h[i]m the benefit of i.e. include[in]g 30 Jan[uar]y and today £21 (tho[ough] I had decid[edl]y told Mrs Lawton I w[oul]d only gi[ve] h[i]m £20 p[e]r ann[um]) and £4.18.0 for the ov[e]r days ga[ve] h[i]m no clothes b[u]t the jack[e]t Mrs Lawton g[o]t made for him at N.C- and his last p[ai]r of tr[ousers] (the two form[e]r p[air] worn out?) his hats, and dark cotton jack[e]t and trousers got in Paris to wash the carr[ia]ge in – w[oul]d n[o]t pay his cap[ital] b[a]ck to Lawton, b[u]t ga[ve] h[i]m 20/ for his liv[er]y waist[coa]t he w[oul]d oth[e]rwise ha[ve] tak[e]n awy w[i]th h[i]m – Kept his ev[er]yday dress suit and d[itt]o undress d[itt]o and gr[ea]t coat, and leath[e]r hat-case – allow[e]d h[i]m to leave his tools here under Cord[ingle]y’s care, and to stay till 6.30 tomor[row] morn[in]g af[ter] us part[in]g good fr[ie]nds as he w[a]s really ver[y] civ[i]l and seem[e]d oblig[in]g –

h[a]d Cord[ingle]y – she does n[o]t th[in]k hers[elf] strong en[ou]gh to und[er]take an Inn – so the Stump Cross Inn will n[o]t be tenant[e]d by h[e]r – perh[aps] aft[e]r all she will stay where she is – s[ai]d I might perh[aps] leave John Booth and a gard[ene]r and 2 wom[e]n in the h[ou]se when I w[e]nt away w[hi]ch might n[o]t be bef[ore] next Spring ev[e]n if an[y] th[in]g happ[ene]d to my a[un]t in the Autumn – calculat[in]g till aft[er] 4 – off at 4.20 to Cliff Hill for Miss W-[Walker] – 25 min[ute]s there – ho[me] in an h[ou]r at 6.20 – I out a lit[tle] whi[le]- din[ner] at 6.50 – Coff[ee]-

Miss W-[Walker] tir[e]d tho[ugh] no so m[u]ch as last night and ca[me] upst[ai]rs and lay d[o]wn whi[le] I wr[ote] out the last 6 lines of Tues[day] the who[le] of yest[erday] and today till now 9.15pm – then ½ h[ou]r w[i]th my a[un]t – Miss W-[Walker] h[a]d tea – tired and thirsty and lay d[o]wn a lit[tle] ag[ai]n She would have been crossish tonight with any but me but I left her and let her lay down and she soon followed me to my study and began writing . Steph was right I shall have a great deal of trouble with her but I shall perhaps get her right in time – fine day – F54° at 10.15 pm - Ja[mes] Clayton ca[me] this morn[in]g. Ja[me]s Clayton ca[me] as f[oot]tm[a]n.

oh ho. diary evidence that Ann Walker is definitely THIRSTY. You read it her first. Also seems to be having trouble with her staff at the moment.

#gentleman jack #anne lister's diary #ann walker #lesbian history

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ericahitshawaii · 4 years

Text

From the land

Today I am leaving the ocean and heading to the land. The Big Island is even more biodiverse than Maui. It contains 11 of the 14 climate zones in the world. They even have snow on their tallest peak, Mauna Kea. Today I am heading south og Kona to explore a Chocolate Farm, a coffee farm and a bee apiary!

Chocolate Farm

The Original Hawaiian Chocolate factory is the only chocolate producer in an industrialized country that processes the chocolate from the plant all the way to the final product. Most chocolate producers start with the dried cocoa bean. The beautiful estate grows cacao (the pod that chocolate is made from), macadamia nuts and coffee. The entire operation is run by only eight staff, including the owner (Bob) and his wife. (American Ex-pats)

Above are the tree that the cacao pods grow on. They are about the size of a large eggplant when fully ripe. Iniside these pods there is a fibrous membrane (like in a squash) that contains seeds. These seeds have to be fermented and dried to give them the chocolate flavor. This produces chocolate nibs which are ground to make cocoa powder, which becomes chocolate. (More or less, you can google it if you want to fact check me on this one.)

Cacao pods growing in the trees. This variety will will turn a bright yellow when they are ripe.

Ripe cacao pods. They grow in a variety of colors. For example green pods turn yellow when ripe, maroon pods turn candy apple red when ripe. Other colors include purple, orange and rainbow!

These are the seeds (or cocoa beans) inside of the pod. They are covered with a bitter coating that will help ferment the seeds.

After they have fermented, they are cleaned off and left outside to dry on these racks.

Cocoa beans on the drying rack. These will be ground to make the cocoa powder used to make chocolate! This chocolate farm only makes milk and dark chocolate.

Fun fact: White chocolate is not actually made from the solid bean, it is made from cocoa butter, which is extracted from the bean. Since there are no cocoa butter extractors on the island, they are limited to milk and dark chocolate only.

It was really interesting to see this done as a small operation, given the extremely unjust conditions that many cacao growers face in developing countries. At least one aspect of eating chocolate was guilt-free today! m On to cofee next!

Coffee Farm

There is a oot of coffee grown in Hawaii so I had lots of options for a coffee tour. No one will be surprised to hear that I chose the Kona Historic Socity’s Living History coffee farm!! YEA! The nerdiest of an already nerd activity!

So...the Kona Historical Society has preserved one of the early coffee farms on the island that was run by a Japanese family. It was purchased by the Ushida family in 1913. The Ushida’s had immigrated from Japans and decided to take up farming. However, they had no experience farming coffee when they bought the coffee farm in 1913. The spent the next few years learning from local farmers how to grow it. This was the beginning of what we know know as the Kona coffee industry, which was led mostly by Japanese immigrants. The Ushida’s were one of the first Japanese families to do it and encouraged and inspired many other to take up the trade throughout the 20th century.

Fun fact: In the 1940s 50% of people living in Hawaii were Japanese.

The Ushida’s tore down the small farmhouse that was on the property when they purchased it and built a traditional Japanese home. The Ushida’s had 5 children, who all shared a three room house (a iving area, bedroom and kitchen).

The Ushida farmhouse, built circa 1917.

To be totally honest, I had absolutely no idea how coffee grew. I knew it came from beans, but that was about it. Well...it grows on trees. Coffee trees can live and produce coffee for hundreds of years, in fact. Coffee beans actually form inside of these cmall round berries. (They sort of look like cranberries.) They are green when unripe and turn a bright red color when ripe. Inside each berry is a small amount of flesh (similar to grapes) and in the center is a coffee bean. In order to make coffee, the berries have to be picked, the skin and flesh need to be removed, the beans need to be dried and then they can be roasted. Coffee beans are harvested 4 months out the year from September - December.

Coffe tree. The base of this tree is over 100 years old. The branches are trimmed every few years, but the base and root systems can remain for hundreds of years.

Coffee berries. These are small because the are yound. They are about cranberry sized. The will grow to be closer to grape size when it is time to harvest next September.

The Ushida’s also grew other plants for subsistence farming and to sell at local markets. Although the weather in Hawaii is perfect for growing almost anything, it can sometime be difficult to farm because of the lava rock that covers most of the land. Plants that do very well in Hawaii have extremely strong root systems that can actually break through the rock or grow within cracks a crevasses in the rock. (Like coffee, cacao and pineapple).

It’s a baby pineapple! It’s one of the only plants, where if you plant any part of the pineapple it is capable of growing a new one.

This may look like a cucumber, but it is actually a plant that grows bath loofahs. Yep, for real.

See!?! I didn’t make this up.

During the 4 month harvesting season, the Ushida men would wake up at 2:30 to start harvesting and finish after sunset. The women would wake up at 4:30am. The entire family, including small chilren, would harvest the beans. The most difficult part of the process was removing the skin and flesh from the beans. It is only since WWII that most farmers had a mechanized process to do it. For centuries it was done by stomping on them with your feet. Like grapes.

Once the beans are removed from the berries, they need to be dried, which can take up to 10 days. The Ushida’s would leave them out in the sun to dry and bring them into the shed when it rained and at night. At any given time there would be over 1000 pounds of beans drying. (On average, an adult could pick 150 lbs. a day). In the 1940 the Ushida’s developed a brillant idea to create a drying platform on the top of the barn/shed that had a sliding roof, so that they could cover the beans at night or during rain and not have to carry the beans in. Genius. This is the original roof and the sliding mechanism still works perfectly!

Kona coffee is still an institution in Hawaii. Descendants of the Ushida family lived in the original house until 1994. (They never modernized the house, it still had a wood burning stove and outhouse/outdoor bath house) The historical society bought it and preserved it. It is still a working farm today.

Lunch

L&L Barbeque is Hawaiian fast food institution. I stopped here for lunch and was not disappointed. Many of the things on the menu reflect the Asian and Japanese heritage of the island. I ordered the chicken lovers platter, BBQ chicken, Chicken katsu and...something else delicious.

Chicken Lovers Plate

Bees

My last stop for the day was Big Island Bees. A bee apiary.

Big Island Bees, Kona

I have always been obsessed with bees (and colony animals in general, like ants) so I was SO EXCITED about this. I have probably told many of you this, but the U of M refused to let me volunteer at their bee lab and I am still really bitter about it.

Kim, the master Bee keeper, gave us free samples and showed us the hives. They have several sites across the island that produce different kinds of honey. There are two ways to get flavored honey. One is to infuse a flavor into already created honey, like pepper or cinnamon. The other is to place the hives in a area where they have access to only one or prodominantly one kind of flower. Their bees make three kinds of honey. One from Macadamia Nut trees, one from the Wilelaiki blossom on theChristmasberry tree (introduced in Hawaii from Brazil) and the rareist type, the Lahua blossom honey, which comes from the Ohi’a trees. Ohi’a trees are found only on Hawaii and grow out of lava rock. The honey is naturally white. (Apparently you can buy Big Island Honey at costco!)

So I learned a lot of cool stuff about bees. I could write for hours about it, but I’m just going to give you my favorite fun facts. If you want to know more, let’s hang out!

Fun fact 1: Queens can live for 1-5 years, where as the rest of the bees in the hive only live 4-8 weeks.

Fun fact2: All of the worker bees in the hive are female. The only male bees in the hive are called Drones. Their only job is to mate with the Queen, so when the food is scarce or the hive is in trouble, the female workers bees evict the Drones by biting off their wings, pushing them out of the hive and leaving them on the ground to die. Sorry fellas, they don’t have time for freeloaders! I love bees!

Fun fact 3:The worker bees go through four different jobs in their short lives 1) Take care and feed of the baby bees, which hatch in the cells in the hive, feed and take care of the queen, protect the hive, and forage for pollen.

Fun fact 4: Bees are super ruthless, if the queen is not doing so hot, the hive releases special pharamones (sp?) so that the queen will give birth to her own replacement and then they will kill the queen once she’s born. Total mutiny.

Not so fun fact 5: Bees are in trouble because of a small hive mite that has starting taking over the hives, laying eggs in the cells and eventually forcing the bees out of the hive. Hives have to be checked and treated regularly to keep from being infested by these small invasive beetles from Asia. Boo!

Beekeeper Lisa

One hive. It contains both the cells for honey and for making baby bees. This hive has no drones, because it is a slow honey producer, so they opted to kill all of the drones until they have more honey.

The queen is in here somewhere..

Lastly, bees can make art. Their so cool and talented. I am ecited because my goal for this spring and summer is to plant a pollinator friendly yard. I applied for a grant to do, I will know shortly if I got it. My eventual goal would be to have a hive in my yard, but it is really hard to overwinter bees in Minnesota, so I might have to work up to this. Future goals...

Honeycomb sculpture (Real honeycomb that the bees constructed over a metal frame)

That’s it for the day. Tomorrow: Travel along the southern coast of the island to visit the Place of Refuge National Historic Park and one of only 4 green sand beaches in the world.

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gaycatwizard · 5 years

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Potential spoilers for “Still Game" S1 E3

Oh my god, Victor shut up, I love you so much, but SHUT YOUR DUMB FACE! Please!!

Oh dear god, Jack is an idiot, I love him. They're both idiots. How are they not dead, I love them so much.

Every fucking episode gets really dark or really depressing for a second, what the hell. I didn't ask. But also FUCK IT UP, jACK, FUCK IT UP!!!!

Coldest winter since 1972, what fucking year does this take place? The show started in 2002 and sure, smart phones weren't as prevalent then, especially not in the elderly community, but there is absolutely no indication of the date in this show. Someone tell me. Please. Help

Jack and Victor: I'm gonna take of my jacket, I'm sweltering.

Also Jack and Victor: still wearing scarves and cardigans and like I think 3 or 4 layers total

Since when is Victor the morality police, fuck

The amount of gay jokes in this show is just enough to keep my gay brain on edge, but not enough to amount to anything and idk how I feel about it

Is this episode about the morality of stealing in indirect ways or the morality of betting on the lives of other people? It seems like both, but the second it gets serious about one, it bounces to the other and I can't keep up.

Tam... his name is Tom. Right? Like, I have captions on because I have difficulty hearing and the Glasgow accents don't help. The captions will sometimes put in the stylization of their accents (e.g. they write "oot" for "out") and I can't tell if that's what they did to Tam or if his name is actually Tam. It's gotta be Tom, right? Send help. I'm calling him Tam until someone corrects me.

The fact that Victor and Jack aren't sitting directly across from each other or side by side and are, in fact, catty-corner right now is weird to me. They're best friends (and unofficial husbands) and the two main characters, who set this up?

Awwww, Victor! They just left him! I feel so bad! He's just trying to uphold his morals! (So like, I'm not wrong for kinda wanting to type him an ISTJ? Like I can't find their types anywhere, so I guess it's on me)

Father Graham? Is like... 23? 50? I can't tell how old he's supposed to be but he can fucking smash? Like he can get it, I'm sorry

I love Victor so much, he's my fucking baby, but also I love Jack!!! God I love this show

This particular episode has gotten dark a lot and idk if that's gonna be a thing throughout the show or if it was just this episode, but damn...

THIS SHOW IS FUCKING DUMB, I LOVE IT!

Unrelated to the show, but I just cut my fucking tongue on a goddamn lollipop, I fucking hate it

Okay so this show takes place around Hawaii Five-O and that's like still happening?

#Still Game #Still Game BBC #Still Game TV Show #Still Game season 1 #Still Game season 1 episode 3 #Still Game S1 #Still Game S1 E3 #season 1 #S1 #season 1 episode 3 #S1 E3 #s1e3 #Ford Kiernan #Greg Hemphill #Jack Jarvis #Victor McDade

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tfloosh · 6 years

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Missed Connections

It wouldn’t be a true Zelink Month without angst, so here is some patented TFloosh OoT Zelink angst.

“We can’t, Link,” she pleaded, grabbing his hand to stop him from storming out. “Just not yet. Give me some time to convince them.”

“You’re twenty years old, Zelda,” he argued. “On the cusp of becoming Queen. If you can’t do what you want, then what are we doing?”

“What I eat for breakfast is controlled and regulated, yet you honestly think I can elope with a lieutenant in my queensguard and everything will be alright?” Zelda all but screamed. “That my ministers will just accept it?”

“We’ve been waiting for years,” Link said exasperatedly. “They could be trying to keep us apart on purpose; did you ever think of that?”

“Of course I’ve thought of that,” Zelda had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. “All the more reason to wait them out. Once they see our devotion to each other-”

“Right now, I only see my devotion to you,” his blue eyes were as cold as ice.

“You don’t mean that,” tears pricked the corners of her eyes. “You don’t mean that, Link, please. I would do anything for you. You’re my best friend. Link.”

“You would do anything but marry me,” he spat. “Your ministers seem hell-bent to prevent it, and you would rather we change their minds than dare them to nullify a union blessed by the Goddesses.”

“It is not that simple and you know it,” Zelda said through her tears. “Those ministers could refuse to recognize the marriage, brand any child we have as bastards, and pass their birthright on to one of my cousins. I’m sorry I do not have sole dominion over my country, but that’s the way it is.”

“Then what’s the point of trying?” Link sighed. “They won’t let us marry, and you won’t marry me without their blessing, so.”

“No, Link you can’t think like that,” she grasped his hand. “We can fight for us. We can be together.”

“They won’t ever let us, Zelda,” he looked away from her. “I should just resign my position and give them what they want.”

“What about what I want?” she yelled at him. She was openly crying now, not even caring how she came across. “I want to be with you, and I will never give up. You hear me, Link? I will never give up on us.”

Link didn’t respond, or couldn’t. He only wrenched his hand from her grasp, turned around, and left without another word.

***

Link wasn’t sure what to make of the letter. He hadn’t spoken to the now Queen Zelda for almost three years. Yet here was a letter from her asking to meet with him at the castle. Specifically at their spot, the small courtyard just off the throne room, where they first met. Link didn’t know what to make of the letter. What did she want after all this time? Her last words to him echoed in his head. I will never give up on us.

Perhaps it was best to let her down slowly.

Zelda dressed in her most casual clothes, but as Queen that meant the dress was still rather extravagant for a simple meeting between friends. She hoped Link still thought of her as a friend. They had gone through so much together; he wouldn’t have given up on that at least, right?

There was only one way to find out.

She waited for him, trying to not get her hopes up too high. There was only a 50/50 chance he would even show up. She stood watching the servants bustle about the throne room. The regalia banners had to be changed. Two of her lords had resigned their positions in her ministry, so their house colors were being removed. Zelda had expected as much from the oldest members of her ministry, but it was a simple price to pay to get what she wanted.

“Your Majesty,” a soft voice called behind her.

Zelda turned and saw Link, kneeling before her and looking down respectfully.

“Rise,” she said sternly. “And I don’t want to see any more of that formality bullshit while you’re here.”

Link laughed and stood up, “I see you haven’t changed.”

“And I see you have,” she stepped down from the raised platform near the window. “You’re taller.”

“Finally,” he smiled, but it quickly fell. “Zelda, why did you summon me here?”

Her brows knit together in concern, “You did not have to come if you didn’t wish to. I only wished to inform you of something in person.”

“And that would be?”

Zelda wanted to turn away from him, to put on her queenly mask and hide behind her ‘declaration voice.’ But she forced herself to look him in the eye.

“This afternoon I will sign a law that gives myself and all future royals of the House Hyrule exclusive discretion over whom they chose to marry.”

“What does that mean?” Link asked confused.

“It means I can marry whomever I want, and my ministers can’t do anything about it,” she smiled triumphantly.

“That’s,” Link shook his head. “That’s great, Zelda. I’m glad you finally got what you wanted.”

Zelda didn’t know what she was expecting. Certainly her wildest of fantasies involved Link immediately proposing or just sweeping her up and kissing her like he used to. But this subdued congratulations was nowhere near how she thought Link would react.

“I did this so that we could be together,” Zelda said bluntly. “You always doubted that it could be done, and I lost some of the lords in my ministry over it, but nevertheless I prevailed because I knew I would not be happy unless you were in my life.”

She had said her piece, but Link only stood there refusing to meet her eye.

“Zelda,” he finally said. “I, I’m with someone, right now. We’re happy, and she understands my hang-ups with the past.”

All feeling seemed to leave Zelda’s body. Link was still talking about the girl he had been with for almost eighteen months now, but she was numb to the world. She had spent three years arguing and fighting and pushing against the social conventions of history. She had even gone so far as to refuse to marry until her ministry allowed her to make this law. But Link didn’t even care. He had moved on. He had left her behind, hadn’t believed her when she said she would fight for their relationship.

“I see,” she said hollowly. “I hope you two are happy together, and I bestow upon you my blessing should you ever chose to marry.”

“Zelda, I’m sorry-”

“Goodbye, Link.”

Zelda turned and refused to look at him, silently crying in the courtyard until the sun was hidden by the walls of the castle.

***

Link tossed and turned at night. He thought he had moved on, but seeing her again, even if it was two years ago now, had brought back every memory. He had loved Zelda so much, but he had honestly thought there was no path forward for their relationship. Yet, she had proved him wrong. He forgot that this Zelda was the same woman who in another time trained with the Sheikah so that she could aide her devastated country, who tried to defeat the monster of the Shadow Temple on her own so that he wouldn’t have to. That stubborn determination was still there. And how did he reward it? By leaving her behind while she fought to allow their relationship to happen.

It took him another month to work up the courage to request a visit with the Queen. He was happy with Malon, really, but he couldn’t live without giving his relationship with Zelda another chance. He would regret it for the rest of his life if he didn’t talk to her again. For some reason, Malon complete understood, and Goddesses above, he didn’t deserve her or any of the kindness she showed him.

So Link dressed up in his best tunic and went to the castle for his appointment with the Queen. He was led to the receiving room, which was a bit of a letdown since Link was hoping Zelda would have them meet in their courtyard, but he brushed it off as a need to keep with formality.

“Link,” she smiled as he entered the receiving room. “To what do I own this pleasure?”

He bowed and kissed her ring as if on autopilot. This was not his Zelda; this was Queen Zelda, and Link had never been on this end of her Queen mask.

“Your Majesty,” he smiled back. “I came to discuss something rather personal with my friend, Zelda, and I’m afraid I don’t quite know how to proceed.”

“Alright,” Zelda sighed and relaxed her shoulders as she sat. “I can metaphorically take off the crown just for you, though I am not sure what advice I can offer.”

“It’s not really advice I seek but an answer,” he looked into her eyes, ready to stop with this word game. “I was wrong to ever doubt you. You were right to fight for our relationship, and I can’t ever say how sorry I am that I didn’t stay and fight with you.”

He took a breath and tried to gage Zelda’s reaction, but her face was still passively neutral.

“Since seeing you again, I came to realize that I was frustrated with having no control over our situation and later on just scared of returning once I ran away. But I knew I would wonder forever if I never spoke to you again, and I would regret not asking you if you were still open to being with me.”

Link held his breath. Zelda’s neutral look was still plastered on her face. She blinked a few times before finally opening her mouth.

“Well, I must say this was not what I expected when I saw you requested an appointment with me,” she said. “Honestly, I would love nothing more than to yell at you for taking two years to come to this conclusion, but I promised myself a long time ago that I would not waste emotion on a man who didn’t believe in me.”

Link opened his mouth, but one look from Zelda cut him off.

“I loved you, and while I fought for that love, you left it and me behind,” her words stung like daggers. “So it should only be natural for you to hear that I am now in a relationship. We had planned to announce our courtship next month, so I must ask you to keep the information to yourself for a time.”

“What?” Link felt as if his insides had twisted up and hollowed out. It was worse than any wound he had ever received.

“Did you think I would wait for you?” she asked in a completely non-malicious way that somehow made it worse. “Link, you gave up on us. After all the stories you told me of your travels with the Ocarina of Time, I thought you would never stop fighting for something you loved, but now I wonder how you even survived since you seem to give up at the slightest inconvenience. And now you come back just expecting me to leap into your arms now that you’ve figured out what you want. You had given me every indication that you had moved on, Link, so much so that I assumed you were here to tell me you had married Malon or welcomed your first child into the world. I hate to do this to you, since we did have a loving relationship, but the time for us has passed, Link. You should go back to Malon and have a wonderful life with her.”

Zelda stood, compelling Link to stand as well. She gave him a hug that did nothing to help the pain in his chest.

“May the Goddesses bless you, Link.”

He left without another word, wondering if the pain he felt at knowing the answer he sought was worth trying to avoid the regret of never knowing.

#zelink #zelink month #zelink month 2018 #oot zelink #ocarina of time #loz #flooshfics

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