#I kind of want to address him too but I'm tired lol

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Elastic Heart Ch 7 (Linked Universe story)

Summary: When Sky goes missing, the Chain scrambles to figure out where he is and what happened before it's too late.

(AO3 link)

First

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Hyrule Castle hardly felt like the safest place for any of the Links given most of their adventures, but it was as good a place to regroup and heal as any other. Although the entire group was well aware that the knights were useless, and the whispers of nobility hung close over their shoulders, the queen gave them as much privacy as possible and lent her best healers to their cause.

The next twenty-four hours were a somber affair. The heroes kept vigil at the beds of their fallen friends. When they weren’t fretting over them, they were wandering aimlessly, too forlorn for words and too anxious for rest.

It was late into the night after their return from the desert, and Time was staring into a fire contemplatively, his mind still trying to process everything. Twilight had already eased him out of his armor, which had been silently hidden until it could be cleaned of Sky’s blood. Somehow, despite all his experience, Time still seemed to be the least functional when someone was this injured.

How was it that in the span of four weeks he’d almost lost two of his boys? He still hadn’t figured out what had led to this, why Sky had been so terrified, so insistent that they leave, why he’d been apologizing with his dying breath.

There was just… so much. All of it was too much. The Shadow, Sky, all of it. Why had the Shadow taken his form and then spoken such words about Sky creating him? Was that why Sky had been so concerned with eliminating it himself? Some words about a curse, lies hissed between demonic teeth about how Sky had somehow made this mess?

Goddesses above… what had that thing convinced Sky? No matter what had started this… surely Sky wasn’t blaming himself for it?

That had to be the issue. Sky, sweet and soft, always in the background until he decided it was time to cause a little mischief… the boy had always been the least of Time’s concerns when it came to causing actual trouble. He’d always seemed the calmest, the most put together, the least traumatized, the most normal. Between that and his adoration for a sword Time would rather see at the bottom of Lake Hylia, the boy had never really been someone that Time had to keep a close eye on.

Yet here he’d been, taking on the weight of their journey himself and trying to leave the others behind. He’d nearly gotten himself killed for it.

Time had assumed the position of leader in this group and he’d nearly failed in recognizing when one of its members was in desperate need of help.

How long had Sky been spiraling like this? What had led him to this point? Had the Shadow spoken to him on the night he’d taken watch? Had it started before then? Did he blame himself for Twilight’s injury as well? What else was he hiding? What curse had the Shadow been talking about?

Time heard footsteps, and he turned to see the veteran walking morosely through the room, pointedly ignoring his leader. Twilight stood at the entranceway to the room sectioned off for their two fallen brothers, arms crossed as he watched Legend leave. When Time’s eye met his own, he said, “Finally convinced him to go to bed.”

“How are you holding up?” Time found himself asking before he could stop himself. He was worried for all of them, especially his descendant, who naturally took others’ wellbeing and protection as his own personal responsibility. They were all heroes, they all felt that burden, but his Ordonian made it his life’s mission to protect his loved ones far more than anyone else.

Not to mention Time had been doing a terrible job of checking in on anyone.

Twilight sighed tiredly. “I… would feel better if I were the one in the bed. It’s way worse just being the one helplessly looking on.”

Time would rather not relive the events of a month ago, but he knew what Twilight meant. It was the worst feeling in the world, being a child of destiny, someone who was so used to fixing all the problems, and being stuck in a situation where there was absolutely nothing to do.

“I know,” Time said simply, resting a hand on the young man’s shoulder.

“Cap’s still in there,” Twilight said quietly, eyes looking at the ground as his own emotions got the better of him. “I managed to get the rest out. Vet was the last.”

Time hadn’t even been in there since their arrival. Warriors hadn’t left the boys’ side. It was almost as if their positions were reversed from the last time. He wasn’t sure he should be happy about it or not. He felt almost guilty for not hovering the same way, but he’d been fairly useless last time. It would be better if he could actually help the others as Warriors had, but he’d spent the majority of the day in a daze, guided around by Twilight, who had taken the captain’s role in guiding and leading everyone else.

What an insane week this turned out to be.

“Get some sleep,” Time finally said, patting Twilight’s cheek affectionately before lowering his hand.

Twilight watched him uncertainly, biting his lip and nodding. He walked by without another word. The eldest Link took a steadying breath, heading into the room.

It was a fairly small chamber, with both beds’ headboards against the same wall. Time saw Warriors asleep in the chair between the two, scooted a little closer to Hyrule’s bed. The captain was dressed down in his undertunic and pants, scarf and armor set aside in his own quarters. Time pulled an extra blanket that was folded by the bedside and wrapped it gently around his fellow hero. Despite his attempt to be gentle, the captain stirred, one of the lightest sleepers in the group, and turned bleary eyes towards his elder.

“Go to bed,” Time said softly. “I’ll watch them.”

Frazzled and exhausted, Warriors let out a weary exhale, rubbing his face. Time thought better of his dismissal, recalling that the captain had checked in on him in the past, that he himself had just checked in on Twilight. He shouldn’t brush off the man just because he held himself together better than anyone else.

“It’ll… be all right,” he tried to reassure the man hesitantly.

Warriors stiffened, shoulders shaking, much to Time’s alarm. However, instead of sobs, he heard an amused snort. The captain looked up, eyes exhausted but somewhat alight. “You’re really not good at this whole emotional support thing, are you?”

Despite his own mood, Time found himself scowling mildly. “That bad?”

“Your tone isn’t reassuring at all.”

“I’m not used to saying things that…”

“That you don’t believe?” Warriors finished for him. “Me neither. That’s why I try distraction instead.”

Time huffed, looking between the two sleeping boys. They both looked so peaceful now. Not pale, not on death’s door, not desperate or begging for forgiveness.

He sighed heavily as his gaze returned to the captain. Not recognizing he was under scrutiny, Warriors had let his expression be more open, fear and worry pulling at him. He looked so damn tired. He’d seen this too many times. Time himself had seen the expression when Twilight had been dying.

Warriors was far more accustomed to this than any of them. And Time hated that.

The captain shifted to get up, but then he paused, staring at the bed. Time followed his gaze, watching with sudden intensity as their esteemed traveler scrunched his nose and twisted in bed a little, eyes fluttering open.

“Traveler? Link?” Warriors leaned forward alongside Time, his hand gently reaching for Hyrule’s shoulder.

The Hero of Hyrule blinked a few times, seeming to register his surroundings, and then he gasped, practically leaping into a seated position. Time immediately sat on the bed just as Warriors jumped forward, both placing steadying hands on the teenager’s shoulders.

“Sky!” Hyrule immediately exclaimed, squirming under their hold.

“It’s okay, it’s okay!” Warriors insisted, putting a second hand on the boy’s chest. “He’s here.”

Hyrule paused, panting for air, eyes wide and wild, before they settled on the pair. “He’s okay?”

Time and Warriors exchanged a look before the leader spoke. “He’s here.”

Hyrule huffed, eyes wet, and then he laughed shakily, tucking his knees into his chest. “I—I thought—I thought he—I—”

He laughed again, more nervous than before, entire body trembling. Warriors settled on the mattress beside him, arm wrapping around his shoulders carefully. Hyrule wasn’t the most comfortable with touch and usually didn’t engage in it, and neither Warriors nor Time were particularly cuddly men, but after everything, they all felt the need to stick close to each other. The traveler leaned into the hold, tears trailing down his cheeks as he continued to chuckle, his breaths quickly accelerating into something akin to panic and relief, a conglomeration of emotions crashing out of him in a fashion that he couldn’t control. Warriors held him tighter.

“We’re glad you’re alright,” Time said softly, his thumb tracing across the boy’s collarbone. “You scared us back there.”

“Yeah, what with the Triforce and all,” Warriors piped up, squeezing Hyrule a little more tightly as he smiled. “You sure did have quite the trick up your sleeve.”

Hyrule’s tearful relief evaporated in an instant, eyes widening with alarm. Time felt his own concern rise – did the boy not remember using it?

“It’s okay,” Time assured him. “We’re all heroes here, Traveler. We’ve borne pieces of the Triforce as well. I just didn’t realize one among us had carried the entire sacred relic. That’s quite an honor.”

“R-right,” Hyrule mumbled, looking at his knees.

“How are you feeling?” Warriors asked, brushing past the distressing topic.

“Where’s the Triforce?” Hyrule countered.

The elder pair glanced at each other again before answering honestly. “We… don’t know. It vanished once you’d finished using it.”

Hyrule watched them a moment, still and silent. Then he buried his head into his knees.

“We’ll find it,” Warriors assured him. “One way or another. Such an artifact stretches far beyond our understanding – it might have returned to your era.”

“I—I didn’t want him to die,” Hyrule said in a trembling voice.

“We know,” Time soothed gently, sliding his hand along Hyrule’s back. “We didn’t want that either.”

Hyrule glanced up at him, cheeks stained with tears once more. “He’s okay, right?”

Time swallowed. Sky remained quiet in the other bed. He pushed lightly on the teenager. “Get some sleep, Link.”

XXX

It was the middle of the night when Legend finally gave up on sleeping.

His mind was whirling too much. Watching Sky basically die right in front of him, watching Hyrule nearly kill himself with the effort to wish him back with the Triforce…

It had been entirely too familiar.

He thought he’d gotten passed that. He thought he’d learned to keep moving in spite of the shadows cast over him by his journeys.

Clearly he’d been wrong.

So the young hero, a veteran of more adventures than any of the others individually, found himself incapable of handling the situation. And he hated that.

Legend wandered the castle, ignoring the cold and uninviting stone all around him. His feet guided him back to the room they’d set aside for Hyrule and Sky. The candle in his hand flickered slightly at the draft in the cavernous antechamber, chilled now that the fire in the large hearth had mostly died down.

When he slowly opened the door, he wasn’t surprised to see someone holding vigil. Time glanced up to meet his gaze.

“Just wanted to check on them,” he said dully, not bothering to hide his reasoning. This felt so different from when Twilight had been injured – Hyrule had been in there constantly trying to heal him. They’d avoided the area to let him concentrate. It had been awful, but at least there’d been a thread of hope to work with. It wasn’t as if there weren’t healers here, but the words they’d been given were little comfort.

They’d needed rest. There was nothing else they could do.

No potion could heal someone who couldn’t drink it. No spell could be cast when the one who knew the spells was the one who was unconscious. And so they’d all just done the last thing they could do, the only thing they could do.

They kept them company.

They kept them company, and Legend simmered with grief, guilt, and unresolved emotions from so many years ago that he didn’t even know how to put words to them.

Time pat the empty chair beside him welcomingly. Legend was thankful for the invitation, thankful that there were no questions being asked. He shuffled over to the chair, watching Sky sleep before his eyes drifted to Hyrule next.

“Our traveler woke up earlier,” Time said quietly.

Legend turned to him, eyes wide. “He did?”

“Yes. I think he’ll be alright with some more rest.”

Thank the goddesses, he thought. He didn’t remember the Triforce being so draining, but Hyrule had used it to augment his magic and grant a wish, so perhaps it worked differently than it had for Legend all those years ago.

Time’s words hung in the air, and then there was silence. Legend’s candle held steady against the darkness, illuminating his face, but he had no words to offer. For a moment, as he watched Sky, it felt like he was holding vigil over a body, a mourner lost in time, adrift in a different Hyrule altogether, grieving the loss of someone who was equally displaced and wholly forgotten to this era.

His breath hitched in his throat. He swallowed hard.

The silence seemed suffocating, but he had nothing to say. Time shifted uncomfortably beside him, clearly trying to find the right words. Legend didn’t care.

Sky. Sky had… just like…

There was usually something to distract him at this point, some task he had to accomplish that made him move forward despite the emotions dragging him down. But this felt like the end of a journey, after his first one or after Koholint, where there was nothing left but the emptiness in his chest, the fresh wounds on his heart. He had no road to travel on, no home to go back to, no Zelda to talk to.

He just stared at Sky.

“I have confidence that the Triforce healed the worst of it,” Time said. “Though I do not know if he will fully recover—”

“He died,” Legend interrupted.

“Veteran… he’s right here. He’s alive.”

“No,” Legend said firmly, feeling his throat tighten. He swallowed hard to fight it. “No. You don’t get it. None of you gets it. He didn’t just get hurt, he didn’t just fall. He died.”

They didn’t understand. They didn’t realize why they felt the way they did. Even he couldn’t truly comprehend it, but he knew why. He knew because it had happened before.

“The Triforce brought him back,” Legend explained. “But that doesn’t change the fact that he died. He died and none of you get that, he died, he died—”

Legend didn’t know when he’d lost the battle with his voice, when the tears had started to leak out, when the words had devolved into pathetic sobs, an admittance to a grief that he’d carried with him for years, a fresh wound and terror and horror that had ingrained itself into his soul.

Sky was one of his dearest friends. And he’d died.

He couldn’t even be angry at the Shadow, couldn’t even be curious as to what its words had meant, couldn’t even be worried about why Sky had left in the first place. All he felt was utter and absolute grief and loss.

Because Sky had died. They’d had to resurrect him. The others were caught in a confused haze of worry and fear, as if they were just watching an injured brother instead of acknowledging what had actually happened, instead of realizing that they should be mourning too.

Legend’s cries grew louder, inadvertently waking Hyrule. He didn’t notice. He couldn’t see it through his tears, through the darkness that engulfed him when Time pulled him into a hug.

XXX

Sky didn’t wake the next morning when Hyrule did. The others celebrated seeing one of their brothers slowly recovering, but the mood was certainly dampened by a lack of progress from their most injured. Wild found purpose in nourishing Hyrule back to health while Warriors started to fall into a field medic mode of sorts. Sky’s comatose state still necessitated care, though it brought a morbid curiosity in Wild – after all, he’d been in a similar state for a century.

Clearly the Shrine of Resurrection worked its magic to help sustain him. Sky had no such luck. His body still functioned as if he were awake, requiring sustenance, removing waste. He needed to be fed and cleaned, to be moved so he wouldn’t get bed sores, to be prodded to see if there was a reaction. It was a morbid affair, and it made Wild uneasy. He’d only been asleep for two days and it already felt like a century in itself.

Wild found it too disturbing to watch. Instead, he helped the others. He felt like he had to pull his weight somehow, had to blink the images of Sky’s broken body in Time’s arms. Hyrule slowly improving was something they could all latch on to. Warriors never seemed to leave Sky’s room, and Twilight spent a fair amount of time in there as well alongside Time. Occasionally Legend and Four assisted, but Wind was kept away, as well as Hyrule. Wild just couldn’t stomach the sight of the care his beloved friend needed. Whenever any of the boys lamented the situation, however, Legend would firmly and adamantly say that Sky was going to be fine.

It was strange, how confident he was. But with all his experiences, Wild had to wonder if he knew something of the matter. He latched on to the hope nonetheless. It seemed silly not to hope in a recovery, given his own history, but, well… that had taken a while. Sky didn’t have a century.

As the sun set on the second day, however, worry began to hover over them like a cloud heavy laden with an oncoming rain. After all, there was no way they could nourish Sky if he didn’t wake up.

“He’ll wake up,” Legend insisted when Four pointed this out.

“Assuming he does, that still doesn’t address the biggest issue,” Four sighed. “What if… what if when he wakes up, he tries to leave again?”

“He wouldn’t!” Wind argued.

“How do you know?” Four fired back. “He’d been running from us the entire time!”

Wild watched the exchange warily. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t wondered what had caused all of this in the first place, but it honestly hadn’t crossed his mind that it could happen again. He felt Hyrule shift uncomfortably beside him, and he turned his attention to his exhausted brother.

“You don’t think he wanted to leave us, do you?” Hyrule asked him quietly.

Words latched on to the champion’s brain, having first hooked in his mind when he’d heard them two days ago.

You don’t realize how terribly you failed.

This entire journey, Wild had been the failure of the group. Hearing those words had made him think the Shadow had been addressing him when he’d known, he’d known that it had been addressing Sky. But what failure was Sky responsible for? He hadn’t done anything wrong. Unless, of course, the Shadow was simply talking about Sky’s pursuit of it. But… Sky’s frantic attempts to argue, to silence it…

“No,” Wild answered distantly. “I don’t think he wanted to leave us.”

XXX

“It’s been two hours; we should move him.”

“I can do it.”

“No, it’s all right. You carried him last time. I’ll do it.”

What? What was… what?

Link felt impossibly heavy. His half-addled brain wondered if he’d become a sword spirit like Fi, made entirely of metal.

He was lying on something soft, he knew that much. He felt like he was sinking into it so much that he would never be able to get out.

Except he was getting out of it. Or, well, floating out of it. Flying? Was he flying?

Warmth wrapped around his back and shoulders, around the back of his knees. Two grounding forces, holding him steady in a vast expanse of nothing. He felt himself dangling and shifting in rhythmic motions.

Distant voices grew closer as the sound of creaking wood emitted beneath him in shuffles.

“Don’t spill it!”

“Oh, quit your fussing, Vet! Here, Traveler, just drink slowly. We kept it warm for you.”

“Are you guys done arguing? I have a story to finish!”

Grumbles. Sighing.

“Go on, Sailor.” That voice rumbled, buzzing in Sky’s ear with the warmth of a hearth and accompanied by a gentle heartbeat.

“So there I was, thirty bokoblins between me and my goal—”

“Oh boy, they multiplied again,” a voice remarked dryly.

“What are you talking about?”

Sailor. Sailor? What?

Link tried to focus, but he was being lulled back to sleep by gentle sways as if he were laying on a hammock on Skyloft.

“It seems each time you tell it more bokoblins appear.” There was that rumbling tone again, waking Link slightly, relaxing him and drawing him into a trance. It was so familiar…

There was a decidedly annoyed huff in reply. “Hey, I know what I’m talking about! Anyway, so there were fifty bokoblins between me and—”

Link finally pried an eye open. Then he blearily tried to do it with his other eye. Everything was so blurry.

The hammock he was on continued to sway gently. Back and forth. Back and forth.

“That’s impossible and you know it, Sailor!”

“Nuh uh, that’s what happened—”

“Sky?”

The swaying stopped, jostling Link out of his relaxed state a little more. He tried to look up, but he couldn’t muster the strength. However, his perception was finally piecing together an image in his brain, and he belatedly realized he was not, in fact, lying on a hammock.

Someone was carrying him.

Someone was carrying him, and the sailor was here. But not just the sailor. He recognized all their voices.

“Sky, can you hear me?”

The rumbling from before returned. The gentle, steady heartbeat had increased a little. Who was carrying him? Link tried again with all his might to move his head, to tip it back just enough to see above, to identify who was holding him. It definitely wasn’t the captain; the voice was deeper than his. That just left Time and Twilight.

It had to be Twilight, then. The man was freakishly strong, and Time would never—

“Here—move this—put him here, old man.”

Huh?

Link felt his world move as the person carrying him—Time—took a few steps forward. There was scrambling and shuffling of items, hushed whispers and excited laughs. Link felt something somewhat hard and warm rise up to meet his back as he was laid on top of something, and his head settled on someone’s lap.

A hand gently brushed his bangs out of his eyes before settling on his chest, giving it a soft pat. With his head facing towards the ceiling, he saw eight faces slowly come into focus, all encircling him like flower petals around its center.

He drank in the sight, having missed his friends so much. Twilight was the one his head was resting on, the one who had a hand on his chest and a reassuring, gentle smile directly over him. Time stood behind Twilight, a hand on the rancher’s shoulder, also watching him, though his expression was less warm and more concerned. To Link’s left were Legend, who quickly placed a hand on Link’s shoulder, Wind, who was smiling so brightly he outshone the sunlight, and Warriors, who had both hands on Wind’s shoulders as he leaned over to see Link more clearly. Hyrule sat a distance away towards Link’s feet, with Wild directly beside him and holding him steadily in a side hug, his face beaming. To his right, Four’s smile was genuine and trembling, his eyes glistening with tears. Link managed to get the muscles in his face to cooperate, and he gave a weak smile.

The group let out a collective sigh of relief, and then laughter echoed in the air. Link was bombarded by voices competing for his attention.

“We were so worried—”

“Our Traveler nearly killed himself to get you better, we thought we were going to lose both of you!”

“We missed you so much, Sky—”

“We really thought you were a goner! Like seriously, Vet was crying—”

“I was not crying!!”

“Are you feeling okay?”

Everyone hushed at the question issued by Twilight. Link watched them all, his smile fading alongside his energy. He took a deep breath, trying to piece everything together, his mind still too slow to process it all, and Twilight patted his chest again.

“It’s okay if you’re too tired to talk,” Twilight said softly. “We got you out of bed so you wouldn’t get bed sores, but now that you’re waking up, maybe it’ll be okay?”

Here Twilight directed his attention to Warriors, seeming to ask him if it would, in fact, be all right. The captain ruffled Wind’s hair, making the sailor giggle and step aside, and he drew closer to Link and Twilight. “Mostly. If he’s too weak to move, we’ll still need to do it for him.”

Link could hardly put anything together. But one sentence suddenly burned in his mind, registering and making him try to bolt into a seated position. His body refused to obey, and he barely had curled into his abdomen before his head flopped back on Twilight’s lap with a grunt.

“Easy, Sky,” Twilight soothed gently, pulling Link onto his lap completely with strong grips under his arms. Link settled his head against the elder’s shoulder, gasping for air at the exertion. “It’s okay. We’ll take care of you.”

“T-Traveler…” Link managed to scrape out, his heart racing.

Hyrule shuffled closer, sitting on whatever object Link had just been lying on earlier. He reached a shaking hand out to the Skyloftian, squeezing his upper arm. “I’m here, Sky. You’re okay.”

His grip felt so incredibly weak, even to Link’s addled mind. He felt his stomach drop.

He’d made it worse. Somehow, he’d made it worse. Hyrule had almost died because of him.

“I’m s-sorry,” he stammered, his eyes stinging with tears, his mind berating himself over and over and over.

“Sorry?” Hyrule repeated, confused. “Sorry for what?”

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for,” Twilight reassured him, his gentle voice relaxing Link’s body, even if his mind continued to whirl.

“Sky, we’re just happy you’re alive,” Four said quickly. “Please don’t—don’t try to do anything. Just stay here. It’s okay. You’re okay.”

“N-no,” Link protested weakly. “I—I need—I—it’s my—I can’t—”

His entire world shifted as Twilight lifted him into his arms and stood. “Shh, it’s okay, Sky. Come on, let’s get you back to bed.”

Despite his complete exhaustion, Link almost wanted to snap. He wasn’t a child, damn it. He had to tell them, he had to make them realize it was best to leave him here, he could recover on his own and then he could hunt—

Wait.

“Shadow?” he asked quietly.

“He escaped, as he always does,” Time said from somewhere to Twilight’s right. “He’s a coward.”

“Yeah, but the Old Man left him with a pretty good parting gift!” Wind piped in. “Arrow to the chest! And Champion got one in his eye too!”

Link wilted in Twilight’s arms. The Shadow was still alive, and he hadn’t even been able to land any meaningful hits on him. The others had to come rescue him. The others, who bore the brunt of his own stupidity and weakness, and who continued to do so.

He was too tired for this. Too weak to hold back his brittle mind and body’s reaction. Too spent to care that he was suddenly weeping.

It just wasn’t fair. Why did they have to suffer for him? Why couldn’t he get this right?! How did he just keep compounding upon his failure?!

“Sky, what’s wrong? It’s okay, we’re all okay, the Shadow didn’t get anyone except for you.” Wild hastily said as Twilight hesitated in lowering him, instead opting to sway back and forth calmingly.

He felt someone card their hand through his hair and wipe the tears from his cheeks. “Hey, it’s okay, Sky. Everyone’s safe, and so are you.”

Warriors’ words were both a blessing and a curse. Link was eternally grateful everyone was fine, but this just wasn’t right.

“I—I s-should’ve—should’ve—”

“Link.”

He snapped out his stuttering, surprised at hearing his own name for the first time in ages. He had long since stopped viewing himself as part of the group, but he’d been remiss to throw his name out for the world to hear when he’d realized he was in Twilight’s Hyrule.

“No one is expecting you to eliminate the Shadow by yourself,” Time said firmly. “We wouldn’t all be here if that was the case. Whatever has convinced you to think you should handle this alone, it’s wrong.”

The room suddenly exploded into sound, cutting off whatever argument Link might have had.

“Wait, you wanted to take on the Shadow alone?!”

“Sky, are you insane, I thought you were one of the smarter ones in our group, what the actual hell—”

“The goddesses wouldn’t bring us all together if we could take the Shadow by ourselves!”

“You could have gotten yourself killed, Sky, what were you thinking?”

“Enough,” Time interrupted the group. “Let him rest.”

Link felt himself being lowered onto the bed, and the blankets were tucked all the way to his chin. He saw the group surrounding the bed worriedly, some looking more annoyed than others, some looking scared, and some hurt and bewildered.

Link sniffled helplessly.

Wind immediately jumped into the bed, kicking off his shoes and snuggling in beside him. “I’ll keep an eye on him.”

Everyone agreed with words that Link didn’t bother to discern, and he felt Wind tuck himself neatly in between his right side and arm, resting his head on his shoulder. Link suddenly felt sore, but he didn’t protest.

“Aryll loves cuddling when she’s scared or hurting or doesn’t feel good,” Wind whispered with a smile. “I figured you didn’t want to be alone.”

Link couldn’t help the small smile that pulled at his lips. He bit back another apology in lieu of letting the sailor have a chance to help, and he closed his eyes, resting his cheek on Wind’s forehead and closing his eyes.

The world grew warm and heavy. Exhaustion pulled at him, allowing him to settle back into sleep, but just before its gentle embrace could take him, his mind jolted back to—

Bleeding. He was bleeding so much. A bone deep exhaustion dragged his mind away, but he clung desperately. This was a different kind of tired, a far too permanent sleep beckoning him.

“S-Shadow…”

He had to know. He had to be sure.

“He’s gone,” Time said. “He’s gone.”

He… he did it?

He did it. They were safe. They were safe.

He felt tears sting in his eyes, his heart fluttering. His mission was… over.

He’d finally eliminated Demise.

He laughed, he laughed in relief. His brothers would no longer be haunted by that demon. He couldn’t eliminate the wounds of the past, but he could prevent any in the future.

“What were you thinking?” he heard Time whisper.

It didn’t matter now, whether they knew or not. But he still… he still felt obligated to say it. “M-making… amends…”

He could never truly make up for everything. But at least now he could…

He could rest. Goddess, he could rest.

I’m sorry Zelda, he thought. He apologized to her over and over, to Groose and to all his friends on Skyloft.

He knew. In his heart, he knew.

This was his last mission.

“I’m… sorry,” he said aloud before directing the apology at those around him. Because he knew he was leaving them too, and he knew he would never get a chance to truly apologize for all the harm he’d caused. “I’m s-sorry. I’m sorry.”

I’m sorry…

The darkness pulled, and he drowned in it.

Link’s eyes snapped open. He’d—goddess, he’d—how—

Hyrule. He—he must have—

“Why?” he asked quietly, his voice little more than a whine.

“Hm…?” Wind perked up, already groggy, but his eyes were sharp as he looked at Link. “What’s wrong?”

Link couldn’t let this out on their youngest. But he couldn’t stop his raw emotions either, and before he knew it he was crying again. “Why?”

Wind watched him, eyes suddenly far older than they had any right to be. The boy held a gentleness and understanding to him, a sympathy and sorrow that intermingled, and he leaned down to hold him tightly.

“Because we love you, Sky.”

Sky fell apart completely, sobbing in his brother’s shirt.

[prettyboykatsuki]

✮ cw ; fem!reader, reader is a soldier, referred to as wife (they are engaged), domestic bliss, sfw

✮ wc ; 613

✮ a/n ; takes place before this drabble but it can be read stand-alone lol.

"If I ask you something, General," You say, voice tender as it is kind "Will you answer me?"

"Is there any reason not to?"

Your General. Your...fiance, is a kind man. Though he's frivolous, and lazy and hard to read. He is kind, you think, at the very least. That aspect of his character astounds you. Otherwise serious and wise. Knowledgeable to the point his logic is hardened like a shield. The General who can wield lightning. Your General, a man of high on honor, who has chosen to wed you for reason you cannot grasp even now.

Who doesn't not disrespect even once. As Captain, as solider, as wife. Only mirth in his eyes, when he addresses. Always what looks like love. Kisses and touches and gestures that feel like it. It might be silly, to seek this kind of verbal affirmation.

Kind. Easygoing. Playfully mischievous. All of that, and you're still so terrified to ask him. You open your mouth, only to close it. Shying away from your own vulnerability, from the possibility of a no. How devastating would it be, you wonder, to learn that this had simply been a misunderstanding.

"Maybe you'd think so," You conclude, sitting on the edge of your shared bed "If you heard it, you may not want to."

"What sort of question could trouble you this much, my dear?" He says, voice bordering on bemused. You look at your lap. Have you ever been so afraid? It's unlike you. You've fought many wars, won many battles. Among them, you have not feared pain nor death.

Perhaps. Perhaps, because it is not those things that you find your heart pounding. The finality of death and the burden of physical pain start feeling trivial. All of it feels so bearable in comparison to the ugliness of love.

You don't think you've ever been in love before.

Not like this, at least. You don't want to ask if he loves you. Any answer is too troubling. Still, you wish to know.

"Do you...well, I don't know - do you l-love me? Is what you feel for me love?"

"Do I love you?" He repeats, and your heart hammers so hard it makes you sick. What kind of cowardice has infected you? "Mm...I don't know."

You stiffen. The tears prick instantly as you soften your voice.

"I see."

"Love is too weak of a word. Something closer to adoration, or devotion. I do love you, but it's more accurate to say I adore you. I'm solely devoted to you," He says conversationally, like he hasn't just scared you to death "Love is love. It's more stifling than that." Jing Yuan concludes.

You turn to look at him, tear-struck and irritated. And the bastard is grinning, all lazy grin and bright golden eyes.

"You're awful," You say, readying yourself to stand and leave. But Jing Yuan is faster as he catches you. Drags you by your arms, looping his around your waist as he lays you on top of him "Let me go."

"I'm tired." He says back, closing his eyes. You turn frustrated in his arms. "Let's sleep."

"Jing Yuan. I will throw you out of my room. You scared me half to death!"

He laughs at that, opening his eyes to peer at you.

"Were you scared I would say no? How silly." He says, kissing your forehead "What other answer could there be?

"Plenty of them." You counter. Frustrated, yet relieved. Enough to bury yourself in his chest. He soothes you with his hand, palm splayed on your back. He laughs.

"Maybe to you," He says, whimsically "But to me there could only ever be one."

[odessastone]

NEW LIFEWEAVER AND SYMMETRA LORE BITS FROM "REBUILDING RUINS"

So I got my copy of Heroes Ascendant today and THERE WERE SO MANY GOOD LITTLE MOMENTS IN THIS STORY I MUST gush I MUST

So here are some new bits of Symmetra and Lifeweaver lore that we got! I bolded my personal favorite ones. 😚

(spoilers!)

Satya and Niran "grew up together" as friends, so they were friends in childhood too, not just at a teen or university age.

Apparently when Satya would get overstimulated and need recovery time, Niran would keep people away from their room and tell them she was sick so she didn't have to face anyone 😭

He also used to hang out and watch her practice her dancing for hours on end, without ever getting tired of it.

Satya considered (possibly still considers) Niran her closest friend.

Niran is late to everything (CALLED this one). He's even late for their meeting LOL

"He looked good. Satya almost wished he didn't." Bits like this are going to feed my Symweaver ass for YEARS

Satya is (still) extremely hurt by Niran leaving all those years ago, and perceives it as him having left her, not just Vishkar. She still misses him dearly, even though they've been apart for eleven years.

Speaking of which, being apart for eleven years means Niran was twenty when he left the Academy. For all you fellow fic authors out there 😊

Satya's autism is stated, full-out, no dancing around it or talking about being on "the spectrum". They flat out say "her autism" in a sentence. Cool!

One of Niran's first questions upon reconnecting with Satya is if Vishkar is mistreating her, if she needs help. Of course she denies this, but...

Niran can read Satya's emotions without her saying them, and even while thinking she's hiding them 😭 Several times throughout the story she's surprised because he cuts right through her stoic bullshit and gets right to how she feels about something.

The Architech Academy was really overwhelming for Satya, and it sounds like they made no effort to accommodate her needs. Unsurprising, considering they didn't accommodate Niran's, either.

Vishkar fiercely discouraged her from stimming, instilling in her a fear of looking "immature, or distracted, or rude, or strange".

She gave a speech at graduation, then had to spend a full week in bed afterward to recover from all the stress. And there was no Niran to guard her by then ☹

Even now, she finds many things about Vishkar overstimulating and uncomfortable, such as her uniform's fabric, and her living quarters.

Satya called Niran "Bua" way back when, possibly the first person to use the nickname for him. Partway through the story the narration (from Satya's POV) actually switches to calling him that, which is cute.

The Arcology seems to have uh, basically no real protection against attacks... Null Sector just shows up on a train and starts blasting lol. This is something I address in my fic The Light You Deserve, so it was kinda funny to see that I was right in predicting that.

She feels comfortable enough around Niran by the end to stim around him without realizing it (apparently she taps her fingers together and twirls her hands in circles, I guess kind of like flapping). She immediately stops and is embarrassed when he points it out, but Niran encourages her instead. She then uncertainly stims in front of him, growing more relaxed and confident as she lets herself do so (this had to be my favorite part of the story).

Toward the end they double down on Satya's belief that she can change Vishkar from the inside (girl....) but then at the VERY end, Niran suggests she look more into the founder of Vishkar and his ideals, and then says that "The Arcology will be delighted to have you". SHE MIGHT DEFECT TO THE ARCOLOGY IN CANON AND BE WITH NIRAN HHHHH AAAA sorry this was supposed to be an unbiased list I'm cool I'm cool

AAAAAA I'M NOT COOL I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

THIS WAS EVERYTHING I COULD HAVE WANTED IN A STORY BETWEEN THEM okay minus the random Null Sector attack tbh that was weird

Anyway the very last line says that Satya now has "whenever she needed it, a friend to return to". So they're definitely gonna interact more going forward!!

[wannaeatramyeon]

Hi, there it's so great to find an amazing writer who enjoys Lookism so much! Please keep at it, your HC's are so much fun to read! If it's not too much to ask for the boys like Gun, Samuel, and Vasco with s/o who is a foreign girl, a very capable fighter, and honorable in combat but outside the fight she is quite self-conscious and a bit naive.

Not me reading the first part of this and thinking you're being sarcastic af lol

Thanks for being so kind anon :') I'm glad you're enjoying it, I have SO much fun writing them and putting my stupidity out! Thanks for the ask! I had a little difficulty writing it.... this really isn't very good but hope this hits the spot.

Lookism with non S. Korean S/O

You're from somewhere vague and overseas. Scenario with your partner (Gun, Samuel, Vasco, Jake)

Gun

Your boyfriend was asking you to fight yet again. You're getting pretty tired of it.

You only moved to South Korea not too long ago and ever since he discovered you picked up your skills from overseas, all he makes you do is fight him. And he doesn't go easy on you.

What happened to dates? What happened to romance?

You thought your boyfriend was growing colder towards you, now always in his own head or just studying martial arts.

"...Gun?"

He peers at you over the top of his sunglasses. Your words are hard to say aloud.

"Do you ... do you not want to be with me anymore?"

"What makes you think that?"

"All we do is fight... Literally! I can't remember the last time you even asked me for anything else."

He pulls you into his arms, "You're actually challenging me. Do you know how rare that is? I'm more turned on than ever."

Samuel

You transferred from overseas after helping source partners to help grow Workers into the behemoth it is today.

Back in your field days, there wasn't anything that couldn't be solved with some violence, but your morals and fairness made you stand out amongst would-be enemies.

Even with the 3rd and 4th Affiliate President as your boyfriend, no one could deny your competence or throw around accusation of nepotism.

But you still had to get your head around the working culture in this country.

"Sammy, do I really have to call you Mr. Seo in the office?"

"Yes."

"Isn't that a bit weird? People have seen us together."

"No, I'm your boss. You need to show respect and address me properly here."

"Oh... Do you actually not want anyone to know I'm your girlfriend?"

Samuel pinches the bridge of his nose, can't quite believing he's going to give in on this.

"Fine. You can call me Samuel,"

"What about-"

"Not Sam. Not Sammy. Samuel."

Vasco

You had agreed to meet in the park for a date with Vasco.

The first time you kissed him, he nearly jumped out of his skin claiming that wasn't how dating worked in South Korea. You found out later it was just his eccentricities.

Vasco texted you that he was running late when a group of guys start harassing you.

You threaten to call the police, but when they put their hands on you, you weren't left with many options.

"Y/N?!" Your boyfriend was staring at you in shock.

"No! Euntae, I didn't want you to see me like this!" you hide your bloodied fist from him.

"What! That was amazing!"

"Thank? you?"His compliment made you blush, you knew it wasn't what 'ladies' do but he liked it?

"Y/N! I thought people only had street fights in South Korea! Do they fight overseas too?"

Jake

You think this might be the first time Jake treated you to a meal. A job well done, he had said after you beat up some thugs who were harassing the girls.

Jake's often running off to god knows where to get god knows what done, leaving you to look after the street.

Is this the supposed Girlfriend Privileges? You having to fight in his stead? You reckon you're getting the short end of the stick.

You stare at the violently red pot of stew in front of you, with some unidentified vegetables floating around

"Jake...? What is this?"

"Oh! You've never tried many Korean dishes, right! It's kimchi stew, my favourite. Here." He spoons some into a bowl for you.

With your boyfriend's loving gaze on you, you had no choice but to take a sip.

"ACK!" you spit it out immediately and grab your glass of water to wash the vileness out of your mouth

Jake rolls his eyes at you, "You've got no taste" and takes his own mouthful.

"I know, I'm with you."

[bobohu4eva]

Good to You - Part 5

Characters: Idol!Baekhyun x Reader

Genre: Maid AU, fluff, smut

Warnings for this chapter: Explicit unprotected sex

WC: 4.1k

Tag List: @scentlacigarette @ltamiee @listxn

A/N: Last part y'all! (unless I decide it needs an epilogue lol)

Masterlist

The bliss of laying there together was rudely uninterrupted by his alarm, and you both groaned at the shrill sound. He quickly turned it off, and sat up, pulling you up out of bed with him. Once standing, his hand brought your face to his one more time, kissing you with a gentleness very different from the rough passion he’d shown you only minutes earlier. He pulled away too quickly, smiling again and then he finally started getting his clothes on for the day. 

You too started getting ready, and when you stepped in front of the bathroom mirror you groaned at the state he’d left your neck and chest in. In the past he’d left small marks here and there that were easy enough to cover with clothing or makeup, but this time, he’d left you with large purple splotches reaching from your chest, all the way up to your jaw. There was no way you’d be able to cover that, and it would surely stick around for days. 

“What is it?” He must've heard your reaction, and a second later he was standing next to you. 

His eyes widened when he saw the purple marks covering so much of your neck and chest, but he also had to fight back a smile. 

“Oh shit.” He let out quietly, now shamelessly grinning. 

“It's not funny! It'll be days till they're gone, what if someone sees me leaving here and gets the wrong idea?” 

His smile vanished, falling into a look of disappointment. You could see how fast his heart dropped. 

“The wrong idea? You still want to keep denying it, even now?” It came out sounding pained, confused.

“Denying what?” You knew you were playing dumb at this point, but you felt the confrontation you’d tried so hard to avoid coming at you now at full force. 

He sighed, running one hand through his hair. The inner turmoil was clear on his face, eyes squeezing shut for a moment before finally meeting yours again. 

“Really, y/n? We have sex, we sleep in the same bed, you let me kiss you and cum inside you but you still think people might get the ‘wrong idea?’” 

He was tired, defeated. You couldn’t remember ever seeing him look this upset.

 “That’s not what I meant.” 

“Then tell me what’s going on here, please, we can't just keep ignoring everything.”

You could see it clearly in his eyes, he was pleading with you, he needed you to give him some kind of confirmation, before he broke down completely. 

But you couldn’t, and he knew that, the desperate way you looked at him told him enough. You were begging him not to take this conversation where you both knew it was headed. He didn’t want to force you to talk about something you weren’t ready to talk about, but his own frustration was becoming too much. If you weren’t going to be the one to finally address it, he would. It had been too much, for too long, and he had to get it off his chest. Now that the last barriers had fallen, barriers meant to convince you both that it wasn't ‘real’, he knew he couldn’t keep acting like this was all normal and fine. 

“I care about you, a lot, and I know you care about me too, and not just because you work for me. We both know we like each other too much and not talking about it is making me feel like i'm losing my fucking mind” 

The way your lip quivered broke his heart even more. You didn’t have it in you to acknowledge it, you’d been pushing it away for too long, but now you had to, he left you no choice. He had a right to know, you knew it was cruel to do all of this with him without ever talking about what it meant. But that was the only way you’d been able to stay sane, by denying to yourself that he really liked you, or was attainable in any real way. Having him was impossible in your eyes, and you didn’t deserve it anyway, so you lied to yourself, until you were so deep in denial that his sudden admission made you go mute.

“Please, y/n. Just tell me that I’m not crazy, tell me you care about me the same way I care about you.” 

You couldn't stay quiet when he looked at you like that, imploring you to give him even the smallest semblance of hope that you might finally validate the undeniable feelings you two shared for each other. But the words were still too hard to form, and the tears came before you could form a proper sentence. 

You choked on the first sob, but eventually forced it out. “You’re right” 

The intensity of your crying made it clear to him that you weren't able to say any more, so he just wrapped his arms around you, letting your tears stain his shirt as he reassured you that everything was okay, that the two of you would figure it out. 

When even after a few minutes your tears showed no signs of slowing down, he started to talk again, saying everything he'd wanted to for so many months, finally admitting everything to you. 

“Contacting that company, and them sending you here that day, is the best thing that's happened to me in a really long time. You know you're so much more to me than a housekeeper, and I know I'm not just your boss either. I want you, I don't want you to work for me, I want you to live here and sleep in my bed and have sex with me because there's something real between us and not because I pay you, and you know that. I told you how I feel about you a while ago already, and I know it's asking too much and I could never be a good enough lover to you anyway, but that's what I want. I just want you to be mine.”

His words hit you like a tsunami after all of the months of denial, confirming both your wildest dreams but also greatest fear. The tears had finally slowed down a bit by the time he'd finished his confession, but words were still too difficult. When you were able to pull back enough to meet his eyes, all you could think to do was kiss him. 

“I'm sorry if that was too much, you don't have to say anything, if you aren't ready.” He said when your lips eventually parted. 

You shook your head, and after a few deep breaths, finally gathered the strength to speak again. “I've been lying to myself so much, I really didn't want to believe that someone like you could fall for someone like me, you're way too good for me, I don't deserve you at all.” 

“Whoa, what? Why would you think that?” Of all the reasons to deny what had been going on, he'd never once even considered that. The confused look on his face tugged at your heartstrings.

“I'm just some girl who showed up to help clean one day, and then never really left. But you, I mean, there's a reason millions of people love you so much. You could have anyone you want, and I'm just me.” 

Despite having the strength to talk again, you were still crying. The way you looked at him when you said it had a lump forming in his chest. Baekhyun had kept the tears at bay so far, but now, he too felt them spill over. 

You could feel his tears wetting your forehead as he held you again, your words bringing on an onslaught of emotions, none being good. To him, hearing you speak of yourself so negatively was gut wrenching. 

“You're so fucking wrong, I wish you could see yourself through my eyes, even if it's just for a little while, if anything, it's me who doesn't deserve you. I'll never be able to take you out to a movie, or a nice dinner, or even just a fucking walk down the street, you constantly have to worry about crazy people seeing you come in or out of here, my work schedule is an insane mess, I’m only ever going to make your life harder than it has to be, you deserve so much better than that.” 

You shook your head as best you could while buried in his chest. “You're crazy.” 

“I'm not crazy, I just love you.” 

Both of you tensed up, he hadn't meant to let it slip so soon, but taking it back wasn't an option, he knew he meant it. 

“You.. love me?” That one word stole your breath and left you wide eyed, staring up at him. 

“I- I didn't mean to tell you so soon, and you don't have to say anything back, but yeah. I love you.”  This time, those three words were barely above a whisper.

Both hands reached for his face, resting on his red cheeks, swollen from crying, as you took him in. He wouldn't meet your eyes, too embarrassed by his slip up, and too worried that you wouldn't say it back. 

“Baekhyun?” You needed him to look at you, and finally, he did. “I love you too.” 

The way he perked up at those simple words was devastatingly cute. “Really?” 

You nodded, smiling, and he just looked so happy in that moment, you wished you could burn it into the back of your brain for eternity. 

Once again, all you could think to do was kiss each other even more, in a feeble attempt to make up for lost time. But one question still plagued the back of your mind. 

“What happens now? Being your housekeeper and working for you, it just feels..wrong” 

He thought for a second, and then a lightbulb seemed to go off in his mind. 

“Marry me.” 

He blurted it out without as much as a second thought, but he didn't take it back. Instead, he started getting down on one knee, and the tears were back, trickling down your face even more urgently than before. 

“I mean it, no more working for me, what's mine is yours, all that, I just want you here with me. Fuck the household stuff I'll do both of our laundry I'll even learn to cook, and you can hold me to that. I don't have a ring but we can go get one, any ring you want I'll buy it, and then we can go to the courthouse. We can worry about everything else later.” 

The look of complete shock still very clear on your face made him swallow, nervous, as he went on.

“Ever since I was a kid I always thought I'd grow up to get married and start a family, but then I debuted and I just kind of learned to deal with the fact that that would never happen. But when I met you, you made it feel like I was finally getting a little taste of that. Whenever I come home and you're here smiling and waiting for me, it just feels so good and right and especially since we started sleeping together it's like that dream I had before debuting is actually possible, just barely out of reach, because you wouldn't let it go quite that far, until this morning. And for a while now, every time I think about that kind of life, coming home to a wife who loves me, maybe a few kids someday, I can only imagine it with you. You're the only one I want that with. You're the one I want to make my wife, if you'll let me.” 

He looked up at you, teary eyed, but hopeful, waiting for your response. 

You nodded, and eventually, a “yes” passed your lips. 

There was a part of you that was screaming to take it back, to say no to him, but deep down, you simply couldn't. You trusted him more than anyone else, and the more it sunk in, really, truly, loved him too. Not only that, but he loved you. Of course marrying so soon was kind of stupid, and everything else was terrifying and uncertain, but if you had him, you knew you'd figure it out. You'd been staying at his place for long enough, you knew him well, and there wasn't a single ounce of doubt within you, that he would be anything less than the best husband a girl could ask for. Baekhyun was the sweetest, loveliest, funniest, warmest person you'd ever met. He felt like home. Of course you would marry him. 

It was almost laughable how dramatic it all was in the moment, but the way you both smiled and laughed while he stood up and kissed you just felt right, and you knew that was where you were supposed to be. 

“I can't believe I asked you that, and I really can't believe you said yes, what the fuck, that's so cool. I love you so much.” 

By now you were smiling so hard it was starting to hurt your face, but you couldn't have cared less. He kept peppering kisses across your face, each one paired with another “I love you”, until he finally pulled away enough to get some air. 

“You're gonna be my wife, my lovely, beautiful, caring, super sexy wife.” 

You could never get sick of his smile, it lit up the room so effortlessly, banishing any negative feelings to hell, making it impossible for you not to smile back. 

“Let's go get a ring.” He said. 

“But don't you have-” 

Fuck. 

You both realized at the same time, that he was already almost an hour late for work, and the ring would have to wait. For a second he considered ditching again, but two days in the row would be hard to forgive. 

Luckily he was already dressed and pretty much ready, so all you said was ‘go’ and another ‘I love you’ before basically pushing him out the door, as he kept his hands on you as long as possible, insisting on one more kiss before he left. 

Now alone, you played it all over again in your head, and again, and it still almost felt too good to be true, but now you knew that it wasn't. There was no more denying it, hell, you were gonna marry him. And you couldn't have been happier about it. 

When Baekhyun finally arrived on set, not even the annoyed faces of the staff and his band mates could bring his mood down. He went right up to his friends and started hugging them, still smiling, as they looked more and more confused.

Junmyeon was the first to speak up. “What took you so long? Where the hell were you yesterday? Why are you so happy? Are you on drugs?” 

Once he'd given everyone a hug, he looked back at their baffled faces, still grinning like an idiot. 

“I'm engaged.” 

“You're what?” Chanyeol was never really the best at keeping quiet in situations like these. 

“I'm serious.” 

“You don't even have a girlfriend?!” 

That was when Sehun connected the dots, eyes going wide before laughing out loud, almost crying from his amusement. “I fucking knew it!” 

The rest of the men still stood there stunned and confused as Baekhyun just stood there with a big silly grin on his face, and Sehun had fallen to the floor from how hard he was laughing. 

“Knew what??” At least two of the others said, almost in unison. 

“He's marrying his maid.” 

They looked at Baekhyun, expecting him to argue such a ridiculous claim, but instead he nodded happily. 

“Is he serious..?” Chanyeol still didn't buy it. 

“She's not working for me anymore now, obviously, that would be super weird, but I asked her to marry me and she said yes!” 

“And you're sure that's a good idea?” 

“Positive.” 

The others were still skeptical, sure, but they hadn't seen their friend look so happy in years, and at the end of the day, that was what mattered. If he thought this was the way to go, they'd support him. 

Luckily the shoot went by quickly and they ended up back on schedule by the end of the day, and Baekhyun had never been more ready to get back home in his life. 

You too had been waiting anxiously for his return, and when he came back on time rather than an hour late as you'd expected you were overjoyed, running to the door and wrapping yourself around him before he even had the chance to close it again. 

“Did someone miss me?” 

“Are you kidding, those were the longest 8 hours of my life.” 

He chuckled, “mine too, baby, mine too.” 

His lips were on yours again in no time, his hands on your thighs keeping your legs wrapped around his waist. Holding onto him like this, he felt so nice and strong, an anchor for you, your biggest source of comfort. You never wanted to let go. His body was warm and firm and his lips tasted like home, so much so that you whined a little when he inevitably pulled away.

“Do you want to go pick out a ring?” His forehead was pressed to your own, still holding you up. 

You pouted, “Wanna stay like this.” 

“Okay my love, whatever you say.” 

He walked you both to the couch, sitting down with you now on his lap. You couldn't get enough, hands feeling up his chest and shoulders, kissing him with greed and urgency, all of which he returned. 

You two had had sex before, of course, but this was nothing like those other times. Just getting to kiss you and touch you without any restrictions made everything so much better, and neither of you had even started getting undressed yet. Just the feeling of having you on his lap straddling him, kissing him and touching him for no other reason than that you wanted to, nearly made him cry with joy. 

“You're gonna kill me, fuck, you're so perfect.” 

“Take me to bed,” you whispered in his ear, and he let out a soft moan before standing up, walking you both to his room. 

You were quickly laid down on the bed, hands impatiently tugging at your clothes until they were mostly gone. 

Baekhyun had always been… orally fixated, to say the least, and he was almost unreasonably excited to finally get his mouth on you the way he's been craving for months. His hands made quick work of your underwear, sliding them off before he placed his face right between your thighs.

“So pretty.” He mumbled, moreso to himself, as he stared at your most intimate area, making you squirm and whine for him to just get on with it. 

Instead, he attached his mouth to your inner thigh, sucking a mark onto the soft skin, before doing the same again, and again.

“You have no idea how many times I've imagined this, how fucking bad I've wanted to do this the last few months.” And then, ever so softly, he pressed his lips to your clit. 

Finally, it seemed, he was done teasing you. His tongue slipped its way between your folds, eagerly licking up your wetness, before enveloping you in his mouth completely. And fuck, was it good. 

Too good, almost. He didn't hold back one bit, devouring you with unmatched enthusiasm, moaning into your pussy unabashedly. Within mere minutes, he had you teetering on the edge, ready to cum in his mouth. Your hands were tugging on his hair, probably a bit too hard, but he was too busy to give a shit. He'd probably let you scalp him if it meant he got to stay between your legs. 

Once he’d figured out what made you whimper and pull his hair the hardest, he didn’t stop, not even when you started to fall. 

The first orgasm was like an electric shock, shaking you physically, mentally, hell, probably even spiritually. As he brought you to that first peak you twitched and writhed, broken up versions of his name falling off your lips along with moans and gasps. 

Once it was over, your thighs tried to close around his head, willing him to give you a break, but his hands just pulled your legs back open. He pushed you through the over sensitivity, straight into the build up of another earth shattering orgasm. 

He didn't want to hear anything coherent from you, and you gave him exactly what he craved. You were a mess, desperate, sweating, completely under his spell. His tongue by itself was enough to have you almost crying, begging for more, so when he pushed two slender fingers into you, you nearly screamed. 

It was too much, his mouth, and now his fingers, pushing in and out as his tongue stayed flicking your clit, sucking it past his lips every now and again to see how crazy he could make you feel. And before you even had time to fully realize where he was taking you, you were cumming again. 

Once again he rode you through it, only  pulling away when the overstimulation made you twitch so intensely you nearly kicked him.

His face, when you could finally see it again, was beaming at you, mouth and chin wet with your arousal. “You taste so fucking good.” 

His smile grew when you made grabby hands at him, and he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before moving back up your body, his hips now resting between your own. 

You tugged on his clothes, just now realizing how completely dressed he still was while you were only left in your bra. His lips pressed themselves to yours, and his hand snuck behind your back, undoing the clasp until you were fully nude, and finally, he got up to strip himself as well. 

When he was finally between your thighs again, he was naked as you, and you felt his hardness between your legs. 

“Y/n, baby.” The hand that wasn't propping him up was on your face, and the way he was looking at you stole your breath. “I love you, so, so, much.” 

Before you could return his words, his hips were pushing forward, and he was inside you. The whimper you let out was music to his ears, but he needed to hear something else. 

“Look at me.” Your eyes met his. “Say it, tell me you love me.” 

You tried to get the words out, but they got caught in a moan when he started to move, slowly rolling his hips. 

“Fuck, please.” 

His words broke the trance, and finally, you said it. “I love you, Baekhyun.” 

His lips were on yours again, and now, you didn't ever want them to leave. You just needed him close, as close as humanly possible. Your legs wrapped around him, hands on his back pushing him into you, even when your chests were already completely flush. 

You too felt how different it was, having sex, without any holding back, knowing that you loved him and he loved you. With every push into you, a moan fell from your lips, which he swallowed with his own. He somehow felt warmer, heavier, even more irresistible than you could've dreamed of. You wanted to melt into him completely, feel every inch of his body against your own, no matter how impossible that might be. This was heaven, it had to be. 

He was just as affected, so much so, that he felt himself start to lose control far too soon. 

“Fuck, baby, I'm gonna- I can't-” 

You looked at him, his eyes squeezed shut as he tried to hold himself back, but when your hand reached his face he opened them again. 

“I love you.” You told him, again, and that was all it took. A few more thrusts and he let go, taking you with him as he fell. 

You both stayed there, heavy breaths slowly mellowing out as the high faded away. Neither of you wanted to move, but the sweaty stickiness of it all finally had him rolling off of you. 

His arm was slung across his eyes, and he was just smiling so big. 

“I love you.” He said, and then again, and again, like a mantra, until your head rested itself on his chest, and his lips found your forehead. 

His love for you, and your love for him, felt so certain, like something you could almost reach out and touch. It washed over you like a warm blanket, and you layed there, using him as your pillow, with one of his strong arms securing you in place. And just like that, you both drifted to sleep, dreaming of all the wonderful things you'd do together, for many, amazing years to come. 

Fin

[aihoshiino]

See, I feel like I’m disappointed in chapter 143 in a different way, because it just seemed…off.

What made the ending of 142 so good, imo, was how effectively Ruby cut through the sense of childish indulgence that Aqua/Goro has treated her with since she was Sarina. She made perfectly clear how serious her feelings were and left him with no options to delay, or deny, or minimize the truth of her feelings. She clarified the situation down to a binary - yes, or no.

Or so I thought.

Cause apparently it took only the slightest hint of resistance on Aqua’s part (not the emo stuff he spouts later, but the genuine gut-feeling reaction of “you’re squeezing me too hard”) to make her fall back on his indulgence of her. She’s just a silly kid again.

And from that point, it felt to me, the tension was lost. The Goro roleplay didn’t help the tone, either. The ideas Ruby and Aqua bounce back and forth off each other are fine, good even, but the words and tone just feel incorrect. Honestly, it feels like it might even be a lost-in-translation thing.

And Ruby works her way back up to the kiss, but her strongest persuasion was the one she ended 142 with. Like, it’s almost outright bad drama that the words that got her to the kiss she wanted were weaker than those she started the conversation with.

This ask really helped me to click into something about 143 that bothered me even if I couldn't put my finger on it at the time, but you're right - Ruby undeniably puts this tension on the table and demands he address it in a way Aqua can't avoid and then Aqua… immediately avoids it. The diffusion of this tension is even framed explicitly as a joke.

Not only is it unfair to Ruby, because it once again reduces her to a gag character for half the chapter, but it's largely unfair to Aqua, too. The idea of him being avoidant to things that make him uncomfortable is absolutely not a new one and as a flaw for him to have, I think it's interesting, especially since it's one that he shares with Ai. But within the larger context of the Movie Arc as a whole it's part of a much bigger trend of him being an extremely passive and under-reactive character, even to things he is both present for and should be affected by. As a lot of other people have pointed out, the story makes a point of showing him as one of the shocked reaction faces at the ed of 136 only for him to literally vanish within the space of one second in the break between that and 137. In theory, I really like that the Movie Arc has largely centered Ruby and tried to focus on developing her but in practice, it just feel like both Aqua and Ruby have been left out to dry.

I'm hoping that finally having the whole arc together in front of us once it's done will alleviate some of its issues (I went from hating Tokyo Blade when it was running to now considering it one of my favourite arcs) but I'm finding really hard to imagine Akasaka somehow sewing all this stuff together. Ultimately, I'm willing to see this arc out because there are characters and ideas in the story I'm still invested in but. I'm so tired, dawg. I kind of just want this arc to be done lol

[nandorsjansport]

why are the wwdits writers/showrunners always so weird about the show and nandermo.... i too am getting kind of tired of all the horseshit. And why are they constantly addressing nandermo in so many interviews etc if they're apparently not interested in pursuing it? Like idk, if it were me, and i was in the middle of writing a will-they-won't-they plot, I'd be being incredibly coy and vague about it, rather than flat-out denying or confirming it. Idk if that's standard procedure for tv show writers discussing their shows, but if it's gonna happen in the show (or not), I would want to learn about it by actually watching the show, not from some random press junket. And vehement denial in an attempt to throw you off the scent also just seems stupid as hell as a strategy for keeping people in the dark. Like people are just gonna give up on the show if that's their strategy!

All that aside, does anyone else feel somewhat rankled by a show having lots of queer characters in it but you almost never get to see them do anything queer... i feel like shows nowadays seem to want accolades for having queer characters, but then they never get shown doing anything queer on-screen, like for example literally just kissing someone. it's all off-screen or referred to, but almost never shown. call me crazy but i want my gay characters to be able to express gay love on screen!!! that gets my goat tbh. but maybe that's just me! anyway i'm gonna keep watching bc laszlo is hot and im obsessed with him. (everyone else is hot too, just to be clear.) but im just... tired lol.

[chickensarentcheap]

I don't think they're particularly ready for that talk, but they know they have to have it. His sobriety is extremely important for them to have any kind of a real future together. In E2 he was still drinking. In every scene when he got home, there was beer in it. I'm not sure she'd even be willing to work with that. I think she would rather he just stay clean and sober altogether because he was in a very unstable place with his addictions when they met. It didn't stop her from falling in love with him or wanting to be with him, but I think they both realize that something lon- term can't be successful if he goes back to old habits.

2. He has been referred to a therapist where they are. But in Vienna. And he's willingly accepted that he definitely needs it and it will help him being able to move on from what happened. That being said, he really thinks Esme needs it too. That she has her own PTSD that she isn't addressing, but really should.

3. They began noticing stuff in Dhaka when they were sharing that hotel room. Just his little OCD tendencies and liking things very neat and tidy and orderly. The way she wraps herself up in all the blankets and sleeps with just the top of her head and toes showing. his snoring, her talking in her sleep lol. Just to name a few things lol. How she's very much bright and bubbly from the time she gets up. Very chatty. And well, he's not lol

4. They've had some light conversation about hey, we both consider this very serious and we're committed to one another and making a home and a future together. There's been passing mentions of perhaps marriage and having a kid or two. They haven't put a lot into those discussion, but it's on their minds and theyre thankfully on the same page

5. He's nervous. Not about having them with her. He has no qualms about her about being the mother of his kid(s). Just about being a father again and not wanting to 'fuck it up' a second time. He's nervous. About being the guy he was back then.

6. He loves just how 'right' it feels. Being with her. Not tiring of her. Wanting her around him constantly. Loving the sound of her voice and her laugh and seeing that smile of hers. He just enjoys HER as a person. And he's never had that level of comfort with someone. Or that kind of trust where he allows himself to be open and vulnerable.

7. Like Tyler, things just feel 'right' to her. And things felt 'right' to them in Dhaka, which is why they allowed themselves to even become 'involved' instead of just pushing each other away. Esme loves seeing the different sides of him. The ones that exist outside of mercenary life. He's softer with her. The way he speaks, the way he looks at her, the way he smiles. How even as he recuperates, he wants to take care of her and protect her. He's quickly become her best friend and she trusts him wholly and completely. She can tell him anything. Ad he makes her feel safe and protected. Even if he's still not one hundred percent. She just likes being with him. She likes him as a person. And he makes her feel loved and respected and even worshipped.

@tragiclyhip

[starrtoon]

I did NOT know that they had that kind of person on team with the Poison episode 😬😬 yikes.

I feel like there are a LOT of things that I could go on about it over (ya know...about the blatant blasphemy everywhere in it). The sympathetic lucifer story, the twisted Eden backstory, the angel's being Like That (I mean I guess you can look at it like "Some Christians act this way towards people because they think being Christian makes them better than others" but there is a better way to address that than the way this show is)....I fear that the day will come that they use a God/Jesus character and paint Him in a poor light while uplifitng Lucifer. I'm not sure if I would be more angry about that or sad/worried on behalf of the creators of the show.

I can see what feels like wasted potential in the more original aspects of the show. I feel like it could have been so much better if she had taken the original ideas/characters and the idea of redemption/forgivness and then placed them all in a fictional separate world that didn't include, as you said, the obvious blasphemy. I enjoy the music, the animation/art style (granted the pilot's animation was preferable).

....I feel like they were just trying to make St. Peter look like a stereotypical youth pastor. And one of the songs says "It'll take time to cover my vast multitude of sins" and I can't help but be like "that isn't hOW thAt WORKs"

I appriciate your response. It's good to see a lot of my thoughts were shared. I have difficulties pulling myself out of things when I get pulled in, so I've had some time to really think about the things that COULD have been good and the things that take away from it as a whole, what I'd have done differently, etc.

I've just taken to praying for the people who have worked on it and hoping they have the decency to not put "God" or "Jesus" on screen in the next season and make them awful. (Though I guess I did KNOW that they couldn't proceed with the show without taking a lot of things out the the Bible and twisting it around).

(I won't bother ya anymore with it btw. Some of it did just genuinely baffle me & I appriciate you taking the time to respond too me <3)

I'm sooo getting tired of media making satan 'misunderstood' lol. it got old fast, and there are some people who actually try to say the show is accurate 😭 I saw someone claim that it's true that satan wanted best for humans and that was why he was kicked from heaven. they clearly never read the Bible seeing that satan wanted to dethrone God.

yeah I could see they're trying to criticize Christians who basically do whatever they want (being hateful and evil in a different way) but still think they're going to heaven. but like you said, it coulda been done better than the show did lol

ikr, it had so much potential. and I do admit a few of the songs get stuck in my head from time to time, especially when a clip of the show appears on my tiktok FYP lol.

they probably took some doctrines from catholicism for that line XD don't they believe people will still go through some trails to pay for their sins even if they're saved? uhhh purgatory? lol

no problem! and oh gosh, yeah same, I hope they never add God/Jesus in it 😬 thankfully from the intro, it made it look like multiple angelic beings were technically the 'gods' who created earth. I'm sure they'd get a 'helluva' lot of backlash if they actually put Jesus in it.

also I don't mind if you wanna share more thoughts on the show or anything else. even if I take a while to answer asks, my ask box is always open 😊👍

[deathsbestgirl]

Saw your tags-- agree w/ your thoughts! :DDD

I put my fleshed out ideas... somewhere? in an additional post; but I meant (and didn't say very eloquently) was that Mulder's trauma is psychological while Scully's was physical. We see him on more mental collapses over the series than Scully, whereas her arc revolves around her bodily autonomy being violated. Both are tragic; but Scully was given something back for everything CC took away from her (abduction = coma to have a goodbye from her dead father/peace, Melissa died = led her to Emily to give Scully autonomy over her daughter's peace, infertility = IVF = failure = confronting her own scientific reluctance in Amor Fati arc = alien ship healing = journey's end in all things = miracle pregnancy, etc.) Whereas Mulder's tragedies has no good thing to come from them EXCEPT closure for Samantha (his mom's suicide will always weigh on him, and his dad's "hi son" in Anasazi was butchered by Mulder learning about his Nazi dealings in Paper Clip, etc.)

Scully is able to seek help, stability, and normality regardless of her sufferings (even going to therapy when her mental health in untenable); Mulder, however, collapses far too easily without his dilapidated quest (until The Unnatural-Closure.) His trauma is psychological: being too late or too frozen or too incompetent to help others (Max in Fallen Angel, Samantha pre-show, his parents' deaths, Scully's abduction, her cancer and chip control, missing his son's birth, etc.) And his torture in S8 was never addressed, he was competently replaced by Doggett (who had a great solve rate), Scully would have been a good parent without him, Skinner/TLG advocate for his replacement (silently), etc. He had to suffer another loss-- his job, his files, to get a modicum of peace... and even that was robbed by his fear of his child's paternity. And he missed his son's birth (while Scully suffered another physical trauma with Reyes, so both had an awful time of it.)

Their tragedies are incomparable; but Mulder isn't hit hardest by physical violence while Scully is, hence her abduction/infertility being a pillar of trauma for her. For Mulder, it's psychological failure that haunts him the most.

Went on a long-winded spiel there, but I tried to consolidate it all down! :DDDDDD

thank you for this message !! so i tried to start it last night, but honestly was too tired to continue trying lol my issue isn't that i disagree with you at all, but the whole discussion ended up bringing out my anger toward the show 🤣

so i'm finding it hard to talk about their characters in the context of the show when i'm mad about the writing choices.

because. in oubilette (i love this episode), they give a minor the space to have such intense emotions after she'd been kidnapped, raped & abused. and it's SO frustrating that they make scully just bury it. i guess we can assume that because we see her go to therapy, she may go more than we see. and i think you're right to credit her more stable family background for how she's able to heal. but i just don't think being abducted for three months & having no memory and later learning you were medically raped when she was terrified to do any kind of therapy that could help her remember.

so i just don't think she ever dealt with it well, she internalized and tried to bury it and just move forward. or rather, she dealt with it by working on the x files with mulder. cuz maybe she'd eventually get some answers when she was more ready. and she'd already dedicated herself to him.

which i think is another part of the "problem" for me. because they did this with scully, and the way the show is continually about mulder's trauma, i think it just pisses me off. and like. i just can't be sure these were decisions the writers made intentionally, to be part of her character (which when i rationalize it, scully doesn't want to be weak in front of mulder, become another reason for him to feel guilty, another reason for his quest. she's strong & rational and he needs her to be okay. she wants his trust & his pride, to feel worthy. not necessarily because of anything mulder says/does but because of her own psychology & issues...) or if they were lazy & GA worked with what she had as they focused her on mulder.

ANYWAY. all this to say both of their traumas are so so bad. his lead to so much pain, abuse, estrangement and his beautiful beautiful empathy. i think i just care more about scully's because we actually ~see much more of mulder's. half the cases are about his trauma. the whole show is about his trauma. and scully's, i have a harder time talking about because medical rape is too real & scary. losing children is heart wrenching & tragic. the assaults she suffered from obsessive, crazy men are a very present fear for women. we lose people to cancer all the time and it's worse than i could ever put into words (which that aspect of cancer is more about mulder) and i just don't think a lot of that can get better exactly? it's things that stay with you even if you had a loving, stable family, even if you've "worked through it" & "healed" & manage to move forward. there isn't really a choice when a child involved. and there isn't really a choice when you're the one left behind. (not good choices anyway)

(and gods it's so frustrating the way they suck at communicating directly. they really do know each other so well that they can understand so much with looks & touches because they've learned how the other's mind works, though, clearly only to a degree because neither of them can truly fathom how the other struggles when they're abducted & there's nothing they can do except waiting & looking & praying & just doing what they have to as life keeps going because that's how the world works. BUT COMMUNICATING MATTERS. they can't rely on the other just ~getting it, because clearly they can't always get it lol)

(and oh god there's something here about the way mulder is so self sacrificial that any bodily harm that comes to him doesn't matter. and there's also something about the loss of autonomy scully faces repeatedly...)

[zorlok-if]

Not sure if you already addressed this, but how assholey/evil can Zorlok get?

I'm all for playing the kind or sarcastic but devoted demon companion and all, but the evil side of me really just wants to ruin Tommy's life.

I don't know if you know of the anime Jujutsu Kaisen, but the way that they have the demon companion being genuinely evil (with zero redeeming qualities) and the only thing stopping them is this poor kid that made a desperate and irrational decision is like my favorite thing.

(I'm also all for the hell hound always foiling Z's evil plans to make Tommy suffer.)

FYI, I don't hate Tommy lol. I hope that this dosen't come across as mean spirited I'm really interested in your story.

This doesn't feel mean spirited at all! And I'm honestly debating this myself. The main debates for me are what evil actions or temperaments am I inclined/able to include and what would add too many branching elements to the story (at least in this initial release)?

With respect to Tommy, you can fuck with him in two main ways, subtly sabotaging him and being really openly antagonistic, as you'll see in the demo. There's a lot of potential to just screw up his life and make him as miserable as you may feel (but keep in mind that you don't act in a vacuum, characters won't just ignore how you interact with others; if they can discern what you're doing, they'll react accordingly).

Outside of that, morality and how societies/people define evil and good are themes of this story. I want to include evil options so that concept can be explored, but if it's something I'm really uncomfortable writing I won't include it. We'll just have to see what those options end up being (I don't know if I can give solid parameters beyond "pretty damn evil"-by my standards-without spoiling plot points/character interactions).

But, to provide at least one vague example, you can play as exceptionally self-serving and cruel with no respect for human life, actively destroying/ending/altering people's lives as early as chapter 2B. Plus, the motivations for actions will often include evil options—like befriending someone because you like them, because you can't help but be polite to people, because you want to manipulate them, or purely because they can help you get ahead, etc.. These all play out similarly in the moment but with slightly different flavors (and potential consequences down the road).

The biggest thing for me at this point is I don't want to stray too far from the main plot (that being—Z is in a pact with Tommy solving mysteries and fighting people). People have talked before about strategizing how to get Z's memories back or forcing Tommy to reverse the inciting action, but I want to make it clear, that can't happen for a while. That's the main plot, so if you break out of the contract or regain your memories too soon, this story's over, now you're in a new one which I just don't have time to write rn. (Not really related to your question, lol, but just something that came to mind.)

So idk, I'm not sure if I've answered your question fully so please let me know if I haven't. I'm quite tired and I'm struggling to think linearly rn lol.

Also, I've heard of Jujutsu Kaisen but I haven't watched it and I have absolutely no clue what it's about (like I cannot discern the plot or even the main concept based on the stuff I've seen). Would you recommend it? It sounds cool just based on what you said.

[gillianthecat]

blurry Tap with his beautiful smile

Fahlanruk - episode 6 Trashwatch:

~ I really like this opening credits sequence and the theme song. The montage looks like an interesting show!

~ Ok. Getting tired of this cute boy page stuff

~ Sher's drinking is getting pretty concerning. I still can't tell if it's going to be shown as a problem to be addressed or if the show is testing it as fine.

~ I think LITA and all the analysis I've been doing of it has made me more bothered by stalkery behavior than I was last week. It doesn't feel out of place in this show in the same way, I'm just more sensitive.

~ Tap is so adorable. His shy little smile.

~ I like this girl, she's an assertive flirt without being a creep about it. (A line many shows find difficult to manage with their female love rivals.) But poor Ping 🙁 Oh I see! Tap stops and looks guilty as soon as Ping sees him, lol.

~ I continue to love Sher's dancing.

~ 💙PingTap💙 This whole silent scene is legitimately wonderful, actually, if too brief a time with them.

~ Ooh, insight into Sher and Prince's codependency thing.

~ Poor Gear. "Another friend." Is Prince oblivious, uninterested and pretending to be oblivious, or interested and scared?

~ This poor girl. She just wanted a nice date with a cute guy and then his two friends show up at their table and proceed to get wasted. Lol, and then the cute guy is upset about them leaving him along with her. Although maybe she'll get a fun night out of it after all.

~ ☹️ heartbroken Ping 🥺

~ Oh! Tap couldn't go through with it! He's in love back, even if he doesn't know it yet. Hooray for Ping! Sorry your night was disappointing, assertively flirty girl. Hope you find other cool people to sleep with, you deserve it.

~ Who is this guy spying on Fah in the showers and then gossiping about it? (Creepy, btw) Should I recognize him? I don't care enough to go back and check.

~ Oooh, hints of Sher's (tragic? angsty?) backstory!

~ Damn. Sher is really in a punching mood these days.

~ Ooh and the mysterious bearded man appears!

~ More Anna! But at what cost? (The cost is that she hangs out with the creepy gossips.)

~ Wait WHAT?! Is Tam really scheming like that? Or is Sher making this up for some reason? Well, planned or not it did get mysterious bearded man's attention. What a weird family.

~ Lol, they didn't even need to change the wound makeup on Sher/Tam's actor. Convenient. Also, is dabbing at bloody wounds with a q-tip a thing outside of dramas? Is it universal medical practice? Or at least Thai medical practice? I dunno, it seems generally inefficient to me. 🤷🏻‍♀️

~ I was so distracted by musing about wound tending that I forgot to look for insights into mysterious bearded man. Let me go back. Ok. He and Tam sit very close and stare longingly at each other for 15 seconds. That's all we get. So I'm guessing history, mutual pining, some real or imagined obstacle? Exes? Friends who are scared to be more? Family enemies á la Romeo and Juliet? The people demand answers!

~ Tap has such a lovely smile.

~ Oh! An ex! I have to say that was my favorite theory. And a name! Hello Chama.

~ And legitimately mysterious. A disappearance, ooh. Oh wait. He has amnesia?! And a house full of paintings of Tam?! This storyline has gone full soap opera. None of this makes sense, but sure. Let's go with it.

~ Jesus, how many people were spying on Fah in that bathroom?

~ But I don't understand why Fah didn't just go home? Is the gym floor his favorite crying spot?

~ Ah, parents's bad example is the tragic back story, the reason Sher is afraid to love and be loved. Ok.

~ I kind of appreciate the actors lack of commitment to making these ads feel realistic or natural in any way.

~ "Being nosy makes people crazy." Thesis statement of the show? I honestly cannot begin to parse what this show is trying to say about prying and gossip.

~ Gear, baby, walking off to hide behind a wall because you accidentally confessed to your crush. I love it!

~ Next week: More drinking (seriously, what is the show trying to do with this?), the return of the white towel as Ping gets to gently caress Tap's feverish naked body, and Ping worries that his crush is obvious.

I'm not really taking about Sher and Fah because I don't have much to say that I haven't already said. The bones of an interesting story are there, and some nice moments, but sadly this particular execution still isn't working for me. They don't bother me anymore, I just kind of half zone out for their scenes. Really I'm in it for PingTap at this point.

[thedeviljudges]

I'm that anon who sent that tdj ask.😅 (This one is more detailed and updated than the previous one)

I was just talking about Gaon's parents house. Actually I don't think Gaon's apartment was his parents house at all. Because,

1) The apartment is in the slums. I don't think Gaon's parents were that poor or liked to have a house in slums. (I'm not looking down on slums. But I really don't think Gaon's parents were fond of the idea of having a house in a that kind of atmosphere)

2) I think they had their house in upstairs of their little restaurant. Because I've seen that kind of things a lot. (This is just my opinion lol. Just a silly one I guess)

3) The apartment is small. It's not enough for 3 people. Only one room is there (and it's not even a proper room)

The other thing I'm wondering is, where Gaon stayed after his parents death? I mean, if they lost everything, according to my silly logic, they lost their house too. So where Gaon stayed after that? I thought about that place being a orphanage because he was 16 and still a minor without a guardian. I don't think he stayed with Soohyun either. Not his relatives too (maybe he did? There's a possibility) not Min Jungho either. Because I don't think he met Min Jungho right after his parents death. (or did he? I don't exactly remember at what age Gaon met that professor) So I'm just assuming that he stayed at least some time in an orphanage or maybe he was wandering in slums (but then how did he go to school? I'm not familiar with how people wandering slums go to school)

I also think Gaon did a lot of part time jobs (this one sounds obvious right?) And earned some money, then rented that apartment. Or maybe he bought it after few years.

What do you think? Is there any possibility of happening these things? And if you have any different scenarios, please tell me (only if you don't mind) because I'd love to know more and more about what others think about this drama.

This is what I sent in the previous ask. (But this ask is more detailed than the previous one) I just finished the drama recently and got so curious about Gaon's story. I know we got what happened to him, how he coped with that (by rebelling). But we didn't got how he suffered. He's such an interesting character. No matter how many things I assume that happened to him in the past, I never get tired..I'm not into kdramas either. The devil judge is my second kdrama. Maybe that's why I'm so curious about everything? Idk. But honestly, I want to know more about Yohan and Gaon and the whole drama itself. I'm just afraid that it will become a obsession. But can't let go of them.

And I searched about fics for this series and found that there are more than 500 fics. I don't think I'll be able to read all of them. But can you recommend me some good ones. Idc about the trope as long as it's good.

Sorry for this long ask. I'm just happy that I've found your blog. It's so interesting and love your url too. I should find more posts about tdj so that I can understand more.

Feel free to ignore this. It was all my assuming, nothing more. Only tdj writer knows everything lol.

To answer your question about whether gaon’s house was the one he grew up in with his parents—it’s not. In the scene with soohyun talking about him not wanting to move out, he says, “it’s the only place that reminds me of my parents.”

So to address each part:

I don’t think they grew up that poor but more than likely, lower middle class/middle class. Yohan mentions that gaon’s father lost his fortune to a con-artist. Now fortune is relative to who’s talking, so that could mean a life savings and that number means different things to different people. Regardless, it could also be possible that they moved to the area gaon now resides in after they lost everything.

I do love the idea that their restaurant and house was connected. You can tell that food is a huge part of gaon’s life. It’s the way he connects with people (and generally, that’s how it is in most cultures, too). His parents clearly loved food enough to open a restaurant and teach gaon how to cook well.

Relates back to what is said in the show in ep. 1, that gaon’s current residence is not where he grew up.

As far as where gaon stayed after his parents died, is really anyone’s guess. I was going to suggest maybe min Jungho as a friend of gaon’s parents, but I actually used a translate app to see if there was any reference to him in his character description in the script books. So actually, min jungho met gaon directly after his parents died. He served as a lawyer for the underprivileged.

Also, I do find it very interesting that the translation mentions him being hot-tempered??? Idk if anyone wants to translate the original, just let me know.

But anyway, it’s more than likely gaon ended up at an orphanage or temporary housing of some kind. There’s no reference to when he started working and the time between then and getting into law school so it’s fandom interpretation. So it’s highly plausible, as you suggest, that gaon worked until he saved up for his place and put himself through law school. I actually wouldn’t be surprised if somehow, some way, min jungho got involved in paying (through Sunah?) for his schooling, especially if they both planned to use him the day he graduated.

For fics, I do have a fic rec tag!!! You can find it here: https://thedeviljudges.tumblr.com/tagged/the%20devil%20judge%20fics

Also anything by @themostglorioushour, @godotismissingx, @technitango, or anyone i've added to that tag. i know im missing ppl bc idk their tumblr handles. 😭😭 i'm not good at connecting social handles with ao3 handles.

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

Hey y'all! So, for just under a year, I've had a review for the Season 6 finale of The Good Doctor sitting in my drafts. There's barely anything, and I've never had the motivation to get around to it, so I'm going to do a really quick one here. I'll try and do a more in depth one with that draft in the future, but the finale season (😭😭💔) premieres in a couple of days, and I want it out before then. I'm super busy and tired so I don't have the energy for the full thing lol, so here's just something to ease my mind.

I'm sad to see Danny go :(. I'm glad he's doing what's best for him and that he's not mad at Jordan (because yeesh I understood him but that hurt me, hurt on all sides lol), but I'll miss him </3. Maybe one day he'll come back :') (although in current context I doubt it buuut you never know). And poor Jordan too 😭.

Also thank goodness Jerome and Jared are okay xD. I mean okay is a relative term here but yk. Anyway, I'm so glad they're okay we went through enough this episode 😭❤️ xD.

AAAHHHHH PARK AND MORGAN ARE BACK TOGETHER!!! WHOOO YAYYY FINALLYYYY!!! They took their sweet time huh xD. Like, the show lol. Still, they're gonna be a family together :'DD I'm so happy. They're adorable, I love them <33.

:OO Andrews is quitting! That's wild tbh. I mean good for him, and Dalisay too, but dang xD. Brave move man, lol. You better hope it works out xD, with her I mean. But nah, I'm happy for them :DD.

Iirc Lim and Glassman were with the patient who couldn't move or was almost brain dead or something like that, and I'm so glad they found a way to help her improve :'). I'm proud of them <3.

I don't remember who was on the case with him but I remember Asher's patient's father (I believe) died and I felt so bad for him 😭. Poor Asher :(. And poor the guy's family! They just kept doing heartbreaking things this episode xdd. Also the little Asher and Jerome moment at the beginning of the episode <33 my lovelies.

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH SHAUN AND LEA HAD THEIR BABY :'DDDDD!!! I'M SO HAPPY FOR THEM HOLY CRAP 😭😭❤️❤️❤️🥰🥰😭❤️😍🤩🥳🥳🥳🥳❤️. AND THEY NAMED HIM STEVE AARON AAAAAHHHHHHHH 😭😭😭😭😭💔❤️❤️❤️❤️!!! I'm not okay thank you very much <333. I love them all so much :'))).

Also VOEIAMPFWNIAH GLASSMAN WHY. HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME. I MEAN I KNOW WHY BUT SIRRR 😭😭😭💔💔💔 I DON'T DESERVE THIS!!

Y'all can't/don't believe how much I'm stressin. Again, I do not deserve this xd.

Anyway but him sending the gift was so cute 😭😭😭💔💔❤️❤️❤️. But just aUOAGH he was SO CLOSE TO GOING INNNN-

Once again, I don't deserve this <3.

xD But seriously, even if the hat part made me SAD, I loved the whole storyline <33. And I am so glad Glassman sent a gift xd. They'll make up eventually :')). It would be absolutely WILD if they didn't, and it will be pain until they do, but I'm sure they will lol.

Anyway!! There was a lot of drama between people this season (though there always has to be), and sometimes it was stressful, but I really enjoyed this season. There were so many great moments and I just love all these characters so much <333. And let's not forget the new characters!! Danny and Dani (I still find it absolutely wild that they never addressed that btw lol) were icons, and I was sad to see both of them go but they were really good for their time on <3. They were both super unique and I also loved seeing a disabled character in Dani :D. Her journey helping Lim with her own journey was amazing, and I kind of relate as a disabled person <3. And Danny was also super great, it was nice to see him stick to his reasons and decisions a lot. For a one season character he was really complex and I like that :)). Also his relationship with Jordan was great <333. It was also wild to see Kalu return this season lol!! It took some adjusting (though I enjoyed that time too) but I love having him back :DD. I love all of these guys so much and I can't wait for next season <333.

Sooo yeah!! I absolutely loved this episode, it was so dramatic and so good. I'm so excited for the next season!

This has been my review for. . .

The Good Doctor, Season 6, Episode 22: Love's Labor

I loved it, it was such a culmination of the season. I'm scared of the drama but also so excited for it, and everything else about next season. I'll be back then for my review of. . .

The Good Doctor, Season 7

See you then!!

[perexcri]

Percyyyyy I am a crying mess on the floor. My son! My poor poor son. Even in this universe he cannot escape the shadows.

(Why did the Ministry have that thing in its basement/cellar?????)

This puts a Lot of the first parts into context 😭 Will trying So Hard to not use Too Much magic—as well as being unable to help himself using it around Mike.

‘It was guilt, and it plagued him up the stairs to his room even with Mike’s arm around his shoulders, hanging around him like a cloak he could never shake off. It didn’t help that his best friend was right next to him all the way up the stairs, and for several hours, before the shadows finally took him in their arms into the realm of dreams, he faced the stone walls and felt only wave after wave of guilt and despair. This was all his fault, and there was nothing he could do; everything was broken, and there was no way to put it all back together.’ Ow ow. Written too well! Even before I read your author’s note I could tell that this was somewhat an allegory for depression because I Felt this whole section of the chapter and especially this paragraph. (I’m so sorry you were feeling so low while writing this I understand what its like. I hope you are feeling better now, and if not I send you sunshine and good vibes and hot tea!)

‘I meant it when I said always.’ Michael stabbing me in the heart ow I’m face down on the floor in tears.

I wish they will be able to escape even though I know they won’t. They just,,, deserve to be happy. But that happiness is likely far off for them:((

As always you make magic with your words! I hope you’re having a wonderful week!!

i apologize for the tears Vee T_T please accept these hearts as my humblest and sincerest of apologies 💜💜💜

ooooh yeah and the shadows in the basement cellar - i think my original intention for that was just to have them represent kind of what i think (in a lot of ways) the upside down represents in the show? like to me, the upside down in the show kind of works as this metaphor for things below the surface of a typical small american town that emphasize its seedy underbelly, like the upside down is literally these things that are poisoning the town yet most of the town refuses to address. idk if that makes sense (i just woke up and am very tired lol) but i guess i kind of wanted it to show in this fic that the ministry isn't being entirely truthful and that they, like any other institution in this setting, are potentially doing a lot of harm that nobody is really addressing. they have secrets like everybody else despite the fact that they want to act like they're above it all

ahh but i'm so glad it's helped put the first couple of parts more into context!! i love when stories are told non-chronologically specifically because you find out the context for certain scenes much later, so it makes me happy to know i was able to write something that did that T_T

and ahhhhhh thank you friend!! i am feeling much better, but i will always accept sunshine and hot tea from others :] i'm both sorry that it could be relatable for you to read about (because yeah dealing with that is Not Fun), but i'm also glad you could find some understanding in it?? idk something something "we read to know that we are not alone" something something

AND OH MY GOSH WAIT THE ALWAYS LINE - i added that thing very last minute (by my standards at least, which means it was mid-afternoon when i added it and i posted this chapter at night aksjflkdjsal), so i'm glad you liked it!! i thought it was a nice addition, but also painful considering,,,well. you know.

yeah the inevitability of everything is weighing heavily upon these two right now T_T there's just one chapter left in this part, and i think you can already tell what's gonna happen. i did tag this fic as angst with a happy ending for a reason, though, so please just bear with me through the pain!!

Vee your words mean the world to me :] 💜 i hope you're having a great week too, and i am sending you lots of warm soup!! 💜💜💜

[zoe-oneesama]

I'm interested in the Lila exposed au about your akumasona. What's that?

For those who don’t know my OC (self insert) akumasona Zoe Rapporte (The Enchanted Florist), but her family owns a flower shop that is pretty successful - think “This florist does the arrangements at the Grand Paris and for High Profile Events” - so she’s mildly acquainted with Adrien from some of those events. Maybe not friends, but like when you frequent a coffee shop so much that you learn all the staff’s name and they all remember you.

So Lila is not above dropping lots of money to sell her lies (hello Gabriel Collection Fox Necklace) and one of her lies to her mother is that Adrien is her boyfriend. And what boyfriend doesn’t send his lovely girlfriend flowers, especially one as well off as Adrien Agreste? And really, as long as his name is on the card when her mother accepts them at the door, that’s all that matters, right?

So Zoe takes note that once a week this prissy girl with a bizarre hairstyle comes in to place a rather pricey bouquet order under Adrien’s name and has it delivered to the same address that’s on the credit card bill - doesn’t take a genius to figure out this delusional weirdo is pretending a celebrity is sending her flowers weekly. It’s a little strange because Zoe could’ve sworn she saw on TV that this chick had done photo shoots with Adrien before and based on his Instagram she was his classmate, so it’s kinda concerning that she’s going this far to burrow her way into his life. Still, she’s dropping quite a bit of coin and it’s really none of Zoe’s business, yeah?

But then imagine there’s a class event - maybe a dance, maybe a teacher’s appreciation week, maybe an alumni reunion - that needs our favorite class representative and her deputy to order a large amount of flowers. And Adrien, ever desperate to do his part, takes it upon himself to help with the budget. And maybe Nino decides to come for no particular reason lol.

So the four walk into the Rapporte Flower Shop and Adrien is so excited to introduce his friends to one of the familiar faces from his VIP world. And he’s just so exuberant as he brags about his friends and is so wholesome and different from the put together boy Zoe would briefly meet at those stuffy events that this surge of sisterly affection makes her completely forget her usual “none of my business” attitude. She’s got to let him know what it going on behind his back, especially if there’s a chance that he has no idea what kind of girl “Mlle. Rossi at the fifth story walk up” was.

And who knows? Maybe this was a misunderstanding, a weird arrangement Adrien had with his secret girlfriend to make sure she gets exactly the type of bouquet she wants? Zoe recons she’s had stranger requests. Welp, no better way to clear the air than to just ask.

“Hey Adrien, you know there’s this weird girl that comes in once a week and has flowers delivered to herself under your name?”

Adrien paused in his rant about Nino’s music mixing skills (having already left Alya puffing her chest in pride and Marinette a red puddle of embarrassed goo) to stare blankly at Zoe. “I beg your pardon?”

“Oh yeah.” Zoe leaned into her palm, looking way too relaxed considering what she’d just dropped on him. “For, like, the two months at least. Always has us address her card ‘Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder, Ma Belle, from Your Loving Boyfriend Adrien Agreste’.”

“What the heck?!” Alya exclaimed from beside Nino who’s jaw was dropped in disbelief. “That’s crazy messed up. Adrien doesn’t even have a girlfriend, what does this psycho think she’s doing?!”

“Right? I don’t know who she thinks she fooling. What kind of boyfriend needs to sign his full name?”

“It is pretty weird.” Adrien said, rubbing his neck in discomfort. “But it’s not the strangest thing a fan has done. It’s not that big a deal, right?”

“Dude.” Nino started, staring at his best friend in mild horror. “Just because you don’t know this girl doesn’t make it ‘no big deal’.”

“Oh no.” Zoe pipes up again. “He knows her.”

“What?!” All of Adrien’s friend’s exclaimed. Even Adrien looked a bit shook by her admission.

Alya zipped over to the counter, leaning dangerously close to Zoe’s remarkably unfazed face. “What do you mean ‘he knows her’?! How do you know that?! This sounds like a creepy fangirl but you’re telling me she’s actually in Adrien’s life?!”

“I should say so. I mean, it was even on TV that she was modeling with Adrien and she’s made a few appearances on his instagram.” Zoe brought out her phone, casually thumbing open Instagram. “I would’ve just ignored it, but if she’s going around pretending she’s dating Adrien then he has the right to know.”

“Modeling with....and you said on his instagram...?”

“Are...” Marinette piped up, voice dripping with trepidation. “Are you talking about Lila?”

“Marinette,” Alya gave her friend a withering look. “Just because you don’t like her doesn’t mean you can just accuse her of-”

Zoe cut her off, flashing her phone screen at the group to present a photo, having found the image she was looking for: a brunette with a straight fringe and her forelocks in twin tails leaning possessively over an uncomfortably smiling Adrien.

“Yes, Mlle. Rossi! I’d recognize that crazy hairstyle anywhere.” She turned the phone back to look at it herself. “Pft, Adrien, what’s with this caption? ‘Lila insisted I take post this picture?’ Yikes, man, learn to say no.”

Alya waved her hands in front of her, eyes scrunched closed in disbelief. “Hold up, hold up, hold up. You have GOT to be getting this twisted. Lila wouldn’t do something that like this, that’s just...wrong!”

“I mean, this is definitely the girl I was talking about.” Zoe said slowly, raising one eyebrow at Alya’s response. “And Rossi is the name on the bill. What exactly am I ‘getting twisted?’“

“Because!..Because Lila just wouldn’t!”

“Yeah!” Nino shouted from behind her, shaking himself out of the stupor this whole situation left him in. “She said she wasn’t into Adrien like that!”

Zoe snorted. “And you believed her?”

“W-well yeah, why would she lie about that...?”

“You guys are so cute. And definitely need to watch more True Crime shows.”

“What-?”

“Sorry Adrien.” Zoe lofted over Alya’s shoulder, cutting off another defensive quip. “I know she was your friend. I just wanted to make sure you knew.”

“Ah, no, she’s not really- I mean, I’m not that surprised to be honest.” Adrien offered weakly.

“It sounds right up her alley.” Marinette growled, fingers digging into her crossed arms.

“What...” Nino and Alya turned to their friends, confused and anxious. “What are you talking about? This..this is Lila we’re talking about!”

“The same Lila who got Marinette expelled?” Adrien stated, face grim and tired.

“That was rescinded, it wasn’t her fault-”

“The same Lila who sent everyone in Adrien’s contact list picture of her kissing Adrien?” Marinette ground out, aggravated.

“I mean, that was weird, but I’m sure she didn’t mean-”

“The same Lila who got my bodyguard and Natalie in trouble with my dad?”

“Or maybe the same Lila who stole Adrien’s dad’s book and threw it in the trash?”

“She did WHAT-?!”

“I-I fished it out for you!”

“Wait is that how you knew about Lila-”

“Wow.” Zoe whistled, again cutting the group off. “What a class act. Sounds like a great friend you got there, Adrien.”

“Oh trust me.” Adrien growled, eyes never leaving Marinette who steadfastedly refused to look at him. “After this we’re NOT friends.”

Alya held her head with one hand, staring at the ground. “Wait, wait, this...this can’t be right, Lila isn’t...she wouldn’t do this, she wouldn’t, she’s...cool! And nice! And-! She just can’t!”

Zoe cocked her head toward’s Alya, leveling her with a patient stare. “Well, then what is she doing?” Alya looked up blankly at her, prompting her further. “The truth of the matter is that Lila Rossi comes in once a week, and has been for at least two months, buying flowers to be delivered to her own address (which I know because it matches up to the address on the card with her last name on it), but dictates that the card say it was sent by Adrien. If she’s not faking that Adrien is sending her flowers, what is she doing?”

“I...I don’t...” Alya floundered. They were just supposed to order some flowers, how did the day turn like this?!

“You’re an investigative reporter, right? What’s that old Sherlock Holmes saying? ‘Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth’?”

Alya leaned into Nino, staring out at the shop, searching for something to make some sense. She thought Lila was nice, was her friend, was everyone’s friend! But this stunt with Adrien...what does it even mean...?

Everyone looked towards the employee door as footsteps could be heard approaching. A moment later Tama, Zoe’s younger sister, stepped into the shop, pausing at the door when she realized five pairs of eyes were staring at her. She looked over the customers, taking in Marinette’s slight glower, Adrien’s tight jaw, and Nino and Alya’s devastated posture.

“Soooo, are you here to buy some bouquets?”