#but hey enjoy it anyway maybe!

[danieyells]

"Lulu~!" Taiga called out cheerily as the doors to the VIP room were pulled closed behind him. Romeo glared up over the corner of one of his security laptops at the sudden intrusion, but he couldn't truly be angry at his underlings for letting Taiga in without question. No matter their factions, Taiga was Captain at the end of the day and they all listened to him. Except Romeo, of course.

"What is it now." He returned his eyes to the Eyes In The Sky on his screen, carefully monitoring the cameras for any foul play. Despite that he was paying close attention to everything happening, somehow what Taiga said next was a surprise.

"Ran out of cash again!" The boss laughed, throwing himself carelessly onto the couch nearest Romeo, as he snapped his head towards him with fury in his eyes. Taiga only grinned in response. "Gimme some more money and I'll pay you back, eeeh, before tomorrow morning!"

"Are you serious, you BTH!?" How Taiga's luck worked never really crossed Romeo's mind--he assumed it was part of his stigma or his pact--but he knew he was being honest about getting the money back to him eventually as Taiga always wound up with more than enough. It didn't make his frivolity regarding wealth any less annoying however. "How did you lose all of it!?"

"Gyahaha! If you keep yelling like that, your pretty voice's gonna get all raspy, Lulu!" As if paranoid, Romeo reached for the drink on the table. "You've been watching the cameras, you shouldn't have to ask me how I lost. That's just how gambling is. You win some you lose some."

"Why should I give you more money if you're just going to lose it all!?"

"Because you know I'll make it all back." He wasn't wrong. He always paid back what he owed, usually with interest Romeo hadn't even asked for. Taiga put his arms behind his head and made himself comfortable, watching Romeo try and bring some semblance of calm to himself before he started getting wrinkles. "You know I don't lose in the long run."

"And what happens when you don't." Romeo sounded tired. He returned his attention to the cameras, not wanting to be distracted. "What happens when someday you lose it all and I'm not there to give you more?"

Taiga rolled over, resting his cheek on his hand. His eyes never left Romeo's face. "All you've gotta do to make money in this world is get your hands a little dirty."

His sharp grin widened as Romeo cringed. "I'd prefer not to have to get dirty at all."

Taiga reached a hand out towards Romeo's scrunched brow, to which Romeo leaned far out of his reach, judging his filthy hand. "That's what you've got me for, Lulu." He took his hand back and smiled at him. It was almost gentle, as sweet a smile as someone as vicious as Taiga could manage.

"I'm here so your pretty hands can stay pretty and clean." Taiga crossed his arms under his chin, resting them on the armrest. "I made you a casino so people would hand you everything they've got for a chance at fortune, and so you could see people who judged you feel just as bad as you did when you lost everything. You've got me so you'll never lose everything again, not for long."

". . .and why do you do all of that?" Why do all of that for someone he fights and terrorizes and hurts and hasn't gotten along with for months, if not a year? Why do all of this, saying it's for him, then give him more problems? Taiga's sweet smile turned toothy again. It was still a little sweet even with the row of fangs in his mouth.

"I do all this so someday I come home--to my own place, not to this place--" Taiga scooched closer to Romeo, draping his arms over the arm of the couch to loll comfortably. Romeo glanced at him to make sure he wouldn't try and touch him again before returning his gaze to the EITS. "I come home, a mess of blood and shreds of someone else's life. And you look up and tell me to stop tracking blood on your floor."

Romeo blinked and looked back at his grinning captain. ". . .why am I there?"

"And I drop a stack of cash in front of you and you stop being mad for long enough to say 'good job, BTH. Your dinner's in the kitchen BTW.'"

"This little story of yours sounds one trip to Mortkranken away from me being KU."

". . .'Knocked up?'" Taiga cackled after giving the acronym a thought. "Gyahaha! I mean if that's all it takes to get you to sleep with me, we could go to Mortkranken right now and take the rest of the week off!"

"It's Sunday."

"It'll be a long week." Taiga rolled over again, and Romeo snapped at him for putting his shoes on the couch. He was ignored, as always. "You wouldn't be the one cooking, by the way. You pay people to cook and clean. With the money I give you."

"And the Institute?"

"Eh. Jin calls me if he needs something or someone dead. Sometimes I still help out because anomalies taste better than just about anything else I can eat."

"And what's the timeline for this little prediction of yours? If that WNP is in charge it must be a ways off."

"Not sure yet. Just making my plans for the future." The ideal future. One he won't want to abandon. It won't be this one, he's pretty sure. But it's nice to think about.

"And what exactly am I doing in this future?"

"Whatever you want, Lulu!"

"And you think I want to spend the rest of my life with you!?"

"I think you'll want the sure thing. And you and I both know I can be the sure thing. And I don't think anyone else will be able to afford," Taiga rubs his fingers together to emphasize the monetary meaning, "to give you the life you want without asking for anything in return."

Romeo watched Taiga silently, trying to banish a blush from his face. Taiga watched the EITS, occasionally criticizing the choices of customers, the behavior of dealers, and the casino overall, insisting Romeo make changes he knew he wasn't listening to.

The distant thought of returning to a carefree and wealthy life like in his youth, the only payment he had to make being that he would see Taiga every day, didn't sound bad at all. The only bad part(aside from that he would ultimately be relying on Taiga of course) was that it sounded like Taiga imagined him staying home all day.

He didn't particularly want to work hard--he would happily lean into the brand influencer lifestyle, or perhaps become a socialite and do nothing but attend parties and events(the thought of attending an Institute event and matching fake smiles with Jin for photos crossed his mind making his eye twitch--perhaps not that)--but he couldn't imagine himself not getting restless after a while.

Perhaps he would find a creative outlet--get into fashion design maybe--or. . . .

He imagined himself doing what he does now. An unassuming front business hiding illegal activities. Perhaps he wouldn't have to handle the more sensitive things himself, in such an ideal world--Taiga would give him trustworthy people who would dirty their hands at his command--but the ones with debts would grovel at his feet and be at his mercy nonetheless.

The thought of losing everything again crashed the rising high of this shared daydream.

". . .There are no sure things." He finally sighed, trying to get a grip on what he'd missed on the cameras while zoned out. "Least of all with money. And gambling."

"Yeah, yeah." Taiga agreed, of course. Anyone in their line of work would have to know how fragile wealth and power were. "But do you really think I won't be able to make back what I'm asking for? C'mon, help your boss out~!"

"You already lost everything I gave you!" Taiga laughed and admitted that was true. Nonetheless, Romeo pulled his wallet out of his pocket and fetched a decent amount of yen to offer to him. "Your interest is double the total. Per day!"

"I'll give you triple by tomorrow afternoon!" Taiga cheered, hopping up and snatching Romeo's whole wallet and heading out the doors before he could do more than aim his rifle at him in protest. "Thanks, Lulu~!"

"YOU BTH, GET BACK HERE--!" Romeo yelled after him, slamming a fist into the table and starting to rise. He grit his teeth, hearing Taiga laugh through the slammed VIP room doors, but didn't want to abandon the cameras in case there was more trouble than Taiga out there. Tucking the intended loan away in his pocket, he watched Taiga exchange a large amount of his money for chips and make his way to a table and put a stack down and play. He cursed his name and resumed security, occasionally glancing at wherever he caught Taiga's red head, counting the chips as they increased with every win.

By the time it was time for him to take a break(watching screens all day would do terrible things to his eyes, for one thing) and a certain 'BB' had arrived to keep an eye on the cameras for him, Taiga had made enough to pay him back. His luck was the only somewhat reliable part of him.

He kept playing anyway, perhaps set on that triple repayment. Taiga didn't think of money as strictly as Romeo did--he made it, he threw it away, if he lost it the biggest problem was hearing Romeo complain, not having no money. Romeo envied that lackadaisical mindset. Once upon a time he felt similarly--money was something to be spent, and he would always have it.

Taiga had no problem getting money one way or another, even if Romeo wasn't fond of his methods.

If not for Darkwick he'd likely never have to borrow a cent from Romeo.

Taiga's little fantasy crossed his mind again, the idea that he was the closest to a 'sure thing' Romeo could safely get. Of a life as cushy and privileged as he could want, his only payment that he would have to deal with Taiga for the rest of Taiga's life(because he most certainly would outlive that buffoon.) Essentially the sugar baby of a yakuza.

Well, sugars didn't usually live with and care for the houses of their benefactors.

He'd jokingly called the imaginary future version of himself a housewife, but that was the closest thing he could imagine between them in such a scenario.

That Taiga would be his Blundering Thoughtless Husband.

He slammed his hand in frustration against the bar, cursing Taiga's name and finishing his drink before demanding the laughing Rui make him another.

"It really is good to hear about you guys spending time together again, though!" Rui chimed, sliding Romeo his spritz. He hadn't told him the whole story though, just that Taiga had taken his wallet but he had enough to pay. "It's like all's right in the world when you two are together, y'know? You were together when we all got here, so it doesn't feel right having you apart!"

Somehow that only made him feel more embarrassed. Him being with Taiga being right.

It had always felt right.

Taiga had also proved right about his gambling, passing Romeo his wallet and several stacks of ¥10,000 notes when the vice captain returned to Sinostra a little tipsy, before making his way to the depths of the ship where his own room was, complaining to one of his guards about being hungry again.

Romeo counted it once he'd returned to his own room. Exactly what had been in his wallet times three.

A shower and a lengthy bedtime beauty routine later, and Romeo lied in bed, drifting off after a long day.

He hated it when Taiga was right.

But he hoped Taiga might be somewhat right about a better future.

[lucabyte]

On autonomy, and what it means to be Obliged to Help.

Bonus:

[egophiliac]

so excited for Kalim to save the day by swiper-no-swiping this dip. you can do it! I believe in you!

god I hope this reads properly

[macksartblock]

he's okay

right..?

surely, he's okay...

[smilesrobotlover]

AO3

Next>>

Chapter 1- hello again

Link had made plenty of mistakes in his life. Some of them were small, futile, and had very little consequence. Others were big, dangerous, and almost unforgivable. He couldn’t count how many times he’d almost lost his life due to his own foolishness, how many times he’d upset someone he cared about due to his temper, or how many times he was met with scorn due to his own choices. His life was riddled with mistakes, all having consequences that affected him one way or another, with some being forgotten, never to be spoken of again.

That mistake he made… he thought it wouldn’t be serious, he thought it would be one of the few that were forgotten. Sure it was a serious mistake, but it was one time. Surely the goddesses would be merciful on him just this once, right? Surely they would forgive what he did. He understood it was wrong, he’ll never do it again.

He hoped that they would forget about when he made love at twilight.

It was a moment of weakness for him. The girl who he spent his entire adventure with, who stuck at his side, who saved him, who he loved, was dead. Or so he thought. He killed the demon king with righteous anger swelling within him, grief gripping his heart so tightly it physically hurt, wanting to kill the man who killed her.

It was only after the demon king was dead when he discovered that she was alright. When he saw a familiar silhouette among the light spirits, he couldn’t help himself sprinting towards her, pumping his exhausted legs to where she was sitting to just make sure that she was real. That she was alright.

And she was. She was alive and… well… different. The light spirits removed the curse upon her that turned her into an imp, changing her into a beautiful twilight princess. He remembered when he first saw her. She was tall, with such loving eyes that stared back at him, her hair tied in the front, and her face… His brain blanked when he first saw her, and he didn’t say anything. He just stared.

“What? Say something!” She finally broke the silence, with a familiar teasing grin forming on her lips. “Am I so beautiful you have no words left?”

It was her, she was real. This was the Midna he spent so much time with, the Midna he fell in love with, the Midna he wanted so desperately to protect because of all she did for him. He smiled a relieved smile, and hugged her tightly, crying into her shoulder. She wrapped her arms around him and cried as well. They were both alright.

Zelda arrived shortly after to be with her friend, talking about what happened and what should happen next. Due to Link’s injuries from Ganondorf, they decided to head to Kakariko where he could rest, and they spent a long time together.

When Midna and Link were alone, they would talk for hours, quietly so no one would know about her, and one night, they got a little carried away. They were sitting on Link’s bed at night, and they exchanged kisses, and they snuggled up next to each other, and kissed again. One thing led to another, and it turned into a huge mistake. After what had happened, Midna started avoiding him, whenever she saw him, there being a deep sorrow in her sunset eyes. Link didn’t know why she was suddenly acting like this, but he knew he was at fault. He should’ve stopped, he should’ve slowed down and got her off of him, he thought she wanted to do it, but clearly not. He was afraid he put too much pressure on her. He was just so happy that she was alive, that Ganondorf was dead, that finally he was able to have peace, and he wasn’t thinking. He tried to talk to her about it but she’d just brush it off, so he stopped bringing it up.

Finally, when Link was healed enough, Midna said that she needed to return to the Twilight Realm, so they traveled to the Gerudo desert, his heart hurting from having to say goodbye to Midna. She may not think of him that way anymore, but she was still a dear friend to him, and he still cared about her deeply. And though they could visit each other, it was always sad to see a friend go.

But sad did not describe the feeling he had when the mirror was shattered, with Midna gone forever. That feeling was sheer agony, the worst pain he’s ever had to endure in his life. It almost ended him, he almost changed into someone unrecognizable, and thoughts plagued his mind over it. Was it something he did? Was she that upset over that night? And what ate away at him the most: would she have a child because of that night? The thought of her giving birth without him being able to support her killed him on the inside. He felt like a complete failure, he hated himself, and he wished that none of it ever happened.

So he prayed to the goddesses to be merciful on him. Just this once. To not let Midna suffer because of his foolishness, to simply let that mistake be. He would never do it again. Just please… don’t let anything come of it… please…

Two years later had passed, and so did some of the pain. With help he was able to recover, his dear pa tried to reassure him that Midna didn’t leave because of him, that she still cared for him. It helped, even a little. And so he slowly began to move on from Midna, move on from that night. He never told it to anyone, hoping that it would be forgotten by him and the goddesses. No one else needed to know about the best and worst moment of his life. Though he did wonder, even though it hurt, if he had a child out there somewhere, a child that he could never give his love to.

But his question was answered one night.

It was pouring rain with distant thunder, and Link was tossing and turning for hours. He couldn’t do anything to get his mind to relax and finally sleep, so he let out a frustrated sigh and stared at the ceiling. Normally rainy nights helped him sleep, but for some reason that wasn’t the case tonight. He closed his eyes and let out another sigh. He knew it was better for him to stay laying down with his eyes closed, but being alone with his thoughts was almost maddening.

He listened to the pouring rain outside, the different sounds it made as it hit his tree house made him grateful that he had a roof over his head, and a roof over Epona’s head. Being wet was the worst feeling for him. He rolled over and tried to let the rain soothe him, and it almost worked until—

Thump thump thump.

He opened his eyes at the unnatural sound, sitting up and staring at his door, slowing his breathing so he could hear better. Did he imagine that? Who would be banging at his door in the middle of the night?

He flinched when there were three more loud thumps at his door, confirming that he did not imagine it in his half asleep state. He was wide awake now, and got up as his heart grew worried over who could be at his door. Was it Rusl? Was he alright? Was something wrong with his daughter? Or was it Illia? Was she alright? Though they rarely spoke anymore, she occasionally came by when she needed comfort. He reached for his door and let out a breath to calm himself, opening the door quickly.

But who he saw sent his heart into his throat.

It was Midna, she was standing there, a desperate look in her eyes. Her clothes were soaked as she stood in the rain, and the two were silent for a moment as they stared at each other.

Midna… after two years of accepting that he’d never see her again, here she was. She got much taller, almost double his height, her jewelry was more extravagant, but she herself, she still took his breath away.

Finally after a moment of silence, he finally found his words.

“Midna?”

Her breath hitched, and she shifted a bit, a bundle in her arms that he finally noticed. His heart stopped when he saw a child, no older than two, crying silently in her arms. He was clearly a twili, having bright red hair, dark blue skin, and black markings. He looked like Midna, but when he opened his eyes, it was without a doubt that they matched his own. Gray-blue eyes stared back at him in fear. For Din’s sake…

“Link,” Midna breathed out, “I… desperately need your help.”

Link stared at the boy in silence for a long moment, but he finally got ahold of himself. He took a deep breath and gave room for them to head inside.

“Y’all will get pneumonia if you stay out for any longer,” he said gently, gesturing to his home.

Midna smiled and a relieved tear rolled down her cheek as she slowly moved inside. Link got dry blankets, ignoring his thumping heart. The child was cautious around Link as he tried to dry him off. He stared at Link with confusion and awe, his mouth agape as the rag Link was using to wipe him down slid off his head. Link paused when he noticed his left arm covered in bandages, and he gave Midna a look, but she did not return his gaze, she just stared at a corner in the room.

“What’s your name, little one?” Link tried to ease the pressure, being as gentle as he could with the child.

The kid looked at Midna, then back at Link. He had fear in his eyes, Link could tell.

“You’re safe here, I promise… What is your name?”

The child looked down, and it took a moment for his sweet little voice to speak up.

“Um… Kowi,” he mumbled.

“Kori?” Link repeated, just to make sure he heard him right. Kori nodded and Link smiled. “That’s a lovely name.”

Kori smiled, dimples that matched Link’s appearing on his cheeks, only making it more obvious that he was his own. “Tank you, uh,” he looked up at Midna and she gave him a reassuring look. “Whasis… youw name?”

“I’m Link.”

“Nink? Um… tat’s a— um— nowvwy name.”

Link chuckled at the little boy trying to speak. He barely understood him, but it was the cutest thing in the world. “Thank you.”

Kori nodded and rubbed his eyes. “Mommy towd me stowies ‘bout Nink.”

“Really?” Link looked over at Midna, who continued to avoid his gaze. He sighed and returned his attention to his arm. He reached for the bandage but Kori froze and pulled back. His eyes were full of fear again. “What happened there?”

No one said anything this time. He looked at Midna and stood up.

“Midna… What’s going on?”

Midna closed her eyes and finally looked at him.

“It’s… He’s…”

“My son?”

Midna looked up with shame written on her face, and Link’s anger quickly went away. She shouldn’t be ashamed…

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, returning to Kori’s injured arm, “let me clean this, ok?”

He finished drying off Kori and changed his bandages as gently as possible. Kori stopped talking, only his soft cries and the sound of the rain against the roof was heard. As Link cleaned and redressed Kori’s arm, he noticed that it was a nasty wound, a slash mark trailing up his arm, and from the looks of it, it was fairly new. Who could’ve done this to a child? Kori whimpered and pulled back as Link tried to clean it.

“Sh, it’s alright Kori. The pain is only temporary,” he said gently. He wrapped up the arm and gave it a slight pat. “See? All done! You were brave, little one, good job.”

Kori sniffed and rubbed his eyes again, and Link frowned as his tired little eyes looked back at him. He didn’t know if Twili ever slept, so it must’ve been a Hylian thing for him.

“Here, let’s get you a nice place to sleep, ok?”

Kori watched Link as he set up a comfy bed made of blankets, gesturing for Kori to sleep in it. The boy stared for a long moment until Midna got up and nudged him towards the bed. With his mother’s reassurance, Kori wobbled over to the bed and laid down. Link grabbed his goat plushie Billy and stared at it for a moment. He knelt down next to the bundled up boy and handed the plushie to him.

“This is my friend Billy,” Link bounced the plushie around with Kori watching, amused. “He always gives me comfort when I need it.”

Kori shyly grabbed Billy and snuggled up against him. He closed his eyes and smiled.

“Tank you,” was all he said before he fell asleep.

Link smiled at him, he was a sweet little boy. He stood up, and the heavy situation returned to him. He walked to where Midna sat, still and unmoving and took a deep breath

“Midna… I,” he started, trying to think of what to say to her, trying to think of something to keep the conversation going, just trying to talk to her again, but all he could muster up was, “Hello again.”

Midna stared at him for a moment before smiling.

“Hi,” she said quietly.

Link pursed his lips and decided to get everything off his chest.

“Clearly my actions have hurt you Midna, and I’m so sorry…. I’m so sorry about that night. If I could take it back I would!”

Midna’s expressionless face changed to confusion.

“What?”

“That boy… he’s ours… because of what we did…. And I’m so sorry… I know I hurt you and I wasn't there for you when you had him and I’m really sorry and I should’ve stopped and–”

Midna raised a hand to stop him, standing up and stepping closer to him.

“Link, do not blame yourself for what happened that night. It… wasn’t your fault alone…”

“Alone?”

Midna sat down, her head hung. “I didn’t do anything to stop it either… I knew that I needed to break the mirror, and I tried to keep my distance from you but… I didn’t. You didn’t know what I was going to do.”

Link stared ahead, not feeling any form of relief from that. He still felt confused, guilty, and almost sick to his stomach.

“Did that night mean anything to you?” He asked quietly.

Midna stared at him, her mouth slightly open.

“It meant everything to me.”

“Then why did you break the mirror?”

Midna looked down. “You know why. Deep down you know why. You saw what happened when Ganondorf went through the mirror, you saw what happened when Zant found him,” she sighed and sat back down. “Shadow and light cannot mix.”

Link looked over to where Kori, his son, laid asleep.

“Clearly shadow and light can mix,” he said quietly. Midna said nothing and rested her head against her hand. She looked exhausted, both physically and mentally. Link wanted to help her, but a few more things bothered him.

“How did you get here Midna?”

“I can't say. It must stay a secret.”

Link nodded, he figured that was the answer. Now for a more important question.

“What happened to his arm?”

Midna buried her face in her hands, her exhaustion more apparent. Link walked close to her and rested a hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, hey, It’s ok, he’s safe now. I’m sorry for upsetting you.”

Link stayed by Midna for a while, rubbing circles on her back. After a moment, she sniffed and opened her mouth as if to say something, but she was interrupted by a sudden shiver.

“Here let’s get you into some dry clothes…” Link said, noticing how she was still sopping wet.

Link quickly dried her off and offered some of his clothes, even though most of them wouldn’t have fit. He was somehow able to find something for her to wear that would fit her large frame, and when she was dressed he sat down, waiting for her to explain herself.

“I…. I hoped that nothing would come of that night,” she finally said after some silence, “because if something happened, then leaving this world behind would’ve been nearly impossible for me to do.”

“But something did happen.”

Midna nodded, not looking at him. Link sighed, the goddesses weren’t merciful to him. His prayers were not answered. He wasn’t there for Midna, he didn’t watch his son grow up, he wasn’t there when he said his first word, when he took his first step, when his true personality began to shine through. To Kori, Link was a stranger, not a father. And Midna had to raise him all by herself. A lump in his throat formed and his stomach felt hollow.

He should’ve stopped that night.

“As princess of the twilight realm, when I’m supposed to have a child, she should be a female, so that the monarchy can continue. I’m the only woman in the Twilight Realm, I’m not sure if you knew that.”

Link tilted his head. He did not know that. It would explain why he’d only ever met male twili besides Midna, and why the only female was the ruler. It almost reminded him of the Gerudo, which was rumored to be a tribe of women except for the one male born every one-hundred years.

“When I gave birth to Kori,” Midna continued, “he was a boy, and he wasn’t fully Twili… that ended up scaring some people. They thought that he was going to bring destruction to us.”

Link’s heart sank. She didn’t have to say, he knew.

“They hurt him.”

“I’ve been trying to find a way back here so he could be safe… but as soon as I found a way… he… got hurt badly by my advisor.”

Her breath hitched at the memory, and Link grabbed her hand. She smiled at him, a small but genuine smile.

“He’s safe now. You both are,” he reassured.

Midna stared into his eyes for a long moment.

“I missed you Link.”

He sucked in a breath. He’s missed Midna more than anything. He wanted nothing more than to see her again, to talk to her again, to tell her about all of the things he’s experienced. But now that she was here, he didn’t find anything to say. He didn’t make a move to hug her, to cry, he just felt… awkward. Midna’s smile went down when he said nothing, and she gently rubbed his hand.

“I know I hurt you, and it’s not right of me to ask this of you but… I was hoping that Kori could stay here… he’ll be safer here, with you.”

“Safer here? Yeah I would never hurt him, but I can’t say the same for the rest of Ordon. How do you know that everyone here will accept him? How do you know that they won’t be scared of him too?”

Midna leaned in closer. “Because they’re your family Link, you have a better influence over them than I over my people.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“Just because I’m the princess doesn’t mean they listen to me all the time. It’s complicated but clearly I couldn’t do anything to protect him from my advisors. Your family loves you, they trust you, they’ll try to understand you.”

Link listened for a moment, but pulled his hand away when a heavy realization plagued his mind.

“Midna… we’re not married.”

Midna raised an eyebrow. “So?”

“I don’t know how it is in the twilight realm but having a child before marriage is a sin here. I know my pa wouldn’t hurt Kori, but…” fear gripped Link’s heart at the thought of Rusl’s reaction towards Kori. He swallowed hard and shook his head. “There’s a lot of problems here, Midna.”

Midna looked down and chewed on her lip, thinking.

“I… I know… I know there are a lot of problems but… I can’t let him stay in the twilight realm.”

Though he felt like Ordon wasn’t safe, Link understood why the twilight realm was more dangerous. As a half Hylian and half Twili, Kori really wouldn’t be safe anywhere. He’d probably be labeled as a monster all his life because of who he was, especially after the twilight invasion. Link let out a breath and stared at his sleeping son.

“I understand…”

Midna stared at him for a moment while Link stared ahead, avoiding her gaze. She scooted a bit closer to him and tapped his shoulder lightly.

“Hey, I’m not going to let you deal with this alone.”

Link looked up at Midna, a sliver of hope forming within him.

“We both made the choice that night, Link, neither one of us should deal with it alone,” she got closer and stared into his eyes while Link’s heart thumped against his chest. “We’ll raise him together.”

They stared at each other for a long moment, and the past two years separated withered away for them. When they were together now, it was almost as if they were never apart.

“I can't abandon the twilight realm, but I’ll try to visit whenever I can. I just need Kori to be safe.”

Link looked down and their clasped hands, then at the sleeping child. An overwhelming feeling of protectiveness came over him, and he nodded. “I understand Midna… I promise I’ll keep him safe.”

Midna smiled. “I knew you would. Trust me, I wouldn’t ask this of you if nothing bad happened but—“

“Don’t worry about it. I’m his father, he’s my responsibility now.”

Midna stared at him for a long moment, then she leaned in, Link’s heart nearly jumping out of his chest. He wanted so badly to show how much he missed her, he wanted to scream to the heavens on how happy he was to see her again, but… he felt too much pain for it to be perfectly fine, and he turned his head away.

“I’m sorry Midna… there’s a lot more we need to talk about.”

Midna let out a sigh and smiled.

“That’s fine, I’m staying for a while anyways. Let’s talk.”

[luck-of-the-drawings]

!!! FLASHING LIGHTS WARNING!!! [IM NOT FUCKIN AROUND!!]

REACHED THE CUSP OF 'THIS MAY NEVER BE ABSOLUTELY FINISHED N IF I DONT SHOW IT NOW, IT WILL NEVER SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY.' SO HERE, A PROJECT IVE BEEN ORBITING AROUND UHH SINCE 2021 OR SO.

[emily-mooon]

Nancy Wheeler the shoujo manga protagonist you are what with your love triangle and everything about you my pookie <3

[diathadevil]

Gets this out of my head like the sleep deprived maniac that I am.

Make of these headcanons what you will.

[mallevsmaleficarum]

alright, since all important faculty members are evil, maybe augefort is the bbeg for senior year

[samarecharm]

geniunely not trying to put words in ur mouth im geniunely asking: what do you actually like about persona 5? from all ur rants im just wondering why you didnt drop the game bc it seems (again, im not trying to put words in ur mouth) that it simply not for you? i geniunely have not felt any of the issues you bring up outside of the writing ones and i cannot tell if i'm just easily pleased and not good at discerning what a good game is or we simply have dif things we enjoy in a video game. i hate getting tone across text but im asking out of geniune curiosity im not trying to attack your opinion (;-;)

Nah, i dont feel like ur attacking me, and I hope u dont feel the same when u see my complaints! Lmao. In my defense, I am replaying the game for the first time after completing my first file back in 2020, so alot of the faults i kinda shrugged off in my first playthrough are now glaringly in my face now that I no longer have the confusion and interest in learning the main story to keep me occupied. The game is clunky all the way through, and at some times, even frustratingly so.

But despite that, i do like this game. Alot! Its probably one of my top games ever if im being honest!

This ended up way longer than I intended, so im putting it under a readmore to keep the post short on dashboards

If i had to describe what I liked about the game in the simplest way imaginable…I think I would say, I like how the game makes me feel :) I like the music. I like the vibe. I like the immersion from city to city, and I like the premise! I like the characters and I like the connections you make with these characters! As im replaying this game, i am most excited to see Akira and his comments about the world :) i like hearing everyones voices, I like their little interactions in Mementos, and I like seeing them fight!

P5 is the first game I played in the series; its the game that introduced me to SMT in the first place! And it (smt) is a series that my longtime best friend LOVES and never thought hed be able to share with me! It is a game i keep very near to my heart; it has influenced me in ways i did not think would happen in the short couple of years since i first finished it. It genuinely keeps me awake some nights thinking about the world this game has created, and I think that is a testament to the impact its had, be it good or bad.

The joke about wishing theyd make a persona game that was Good is that despite all of its numerous flaws, the games manage to snatch your attention and pull you in anyway. Imagine if they made a game that had all of those things that i mentioned I loved, but done Right and executed Properly?? Where I got to have a story that made sense and didnt need to be spoonfed to me (in like an HOUR of dialogue and scenes; an HOUR!), and characters that talked and bonded beyond the tiny snippets of interaction theyre allowed to have in mementos? Combat that let me use PERSONAS i liked instead of BUILDS that stop me from getting instakilled throughout the entirety of the endgame, and a Persona building mechanic that didnt feel like I was shooting in the dark looking for possible fusions that end up not even being useful in the endgame.

Ive mentioned it before, but I complain so much bc I have seen what a good p5 game looks like, and its Strikers almost to a T. Combat is still your typical warriors-esque style combat, but it is at least different from the turn based strategy of the main game. Characters talk to each other freely, they hang out and comfort each other in a way that feels more connected that the base game. Strikers implements the ability to see ALL possible fusions with ALL registered personas, not just the ones in your Stock, so you can fuse easily without having yo consult a guide. The story feels like it makes SENSE with antagonists that feel morally grey and sympathetic. Genuinely, alot of the complaints for p5 I had were almost immediately rectified in this game.

But please also know that the praises I sing for this game is only bc of the groundwork laid by p5 and the world it created. Thats what I like about this game, that it had such a captivating premise and cast of characters, that a DIFFERENT company was able to hit the ground running with them. P5 had alot happening in that game, but i think what it had most was potential. The effort put into this game is astronomical, and the possible connections you can outright MISS if u arent paying attention was worth the money and time to implement; even if it meant that it could be considered a waste of resources to higher ups.

Books and games and part time jobs???!! Silly little cutscenes that add nothing to the game PLOTwise, but define and flesh out the personality of your protagonist. There was alot of love put into this game, and its evident by the fact that we have NOT seen a new persona game released; they bank on existing titles bc they are unwilling to make a game like this from scratch again. They dont want to ‘waste’ resources on good voice acting and a complex, overarching story; they dont want to waste money on scenes a player may never see, on routes a player may never get to experience. Making a game that gives u even the slightest bit of freedom means more money in programming and detailing that freedom. This has been an issue for a WHILE, and its a miracle that the gaming landscape had space for a colossal title like p5!

I complain bc I want better, and I do not think that is inherently at odds with my love of this game. In b4 im told to get good; ive played on hard and tested out merciless (its NOT fun, im making godbuilds again and its boring 😞). Its not the most accessible turnbased rpg; theres no colorblind modes, and the affinity system is convoluted and overwhelming. Combo moves are hard to keep track of and it can be incredibly frustrating to see your turns being skipped or seeing characters take extreme technical damage without understanding WHY it happened. The fact that they KNEW the game was desperate for qol improvements by the time royal came out, and instead of updating the base game to have those improvements too, they just pushed the royal edition out for people to play instead. It sucks! Customers and fans deserve better than being forced to shell out money for a game they already played !

As the gaming climate gets more and more hostile and unbearable, I think it is good to look at your games critically, and understand why products come out subpar. Persona 5 is a fun game that has a nice cast and an interesting premise, but it is ultimately tied down by its refusal to build on existing building blocks regarding its combat, and it insists on having insulting and downright out of character dialogue and scenes to appease the audience its designed to be targeted to. It is easy to forget sometimes that queer ppl are infact NOT the prime target of these games, its cishet gamer bros from aged 16 to 40 who will laugh at homophobic comments, who drool over a 16 yr old girl with a 16 yr old mindset and a grown womans body, who need to be placated with constant sexual comments to deal with a convoluted story that will inevitably make zero sense until its laid out for you before the literal end of the game.

Its bad. Its good. Its so shallow and its unbelievable that they thought having the plot twist make ZERO sense until they showed CUTSCENES of YOUR character discussing Goro and his connections to the metaverse for endgame SHOCK VALUE was more important than just having your team be smart and piece it together over time. Its shit. Its literally amazing. It let you FUCK your teacher ??????????????what the FUCK. They also let me shoot a god in the face w the best looking ult persona in the world so i can ignore that shit. And ultimately that is how i got through the game. Lol.

[completeoveranalysis]

[3]

COMPLETELY RUDE OF THEM TO DO THIS

TO HAVE LAVA LAMP TALKING TO HIS FATHER ON SCREEN, FULLY VISIBLE, BUT TO FRAME THE PANELS DELIBERATELY SO WE CAN’T SEE WHICH SYAORAN HIS FATHER IS? 

TO TEASE US LIKE THIS??

Horrible. Just so mean.

Or… OR IS THIS A KIND OF A BACKWARDS CONFIRMATION?

CLAMP have been selling the idea that Lava Lamp’s father is Li Syaoran from Cardcaptor Sakura for a few chapters now. They’ve dropped numerous links and connections and WANT us to think that.

BUT THEN, IF IT WAS ACTUALLY TRUE, THEY WOULD JUST SHOW HIS FACE, RIGHT?

They’ve already DROPPED this information. We already THINK it's Li Syaoran. So there would be no need to hide his face any further. 

UNLESS IT WASN’T TRUE. 

UNLESS THIS IS NOT LI SYAORAN.

UNLESS THEY’RE CONTINUING TO HIDE THE IDENTITY SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE IT WOULD GIVE AWAY THE FACT THAT THIS ISN’T LI SYAORAN. 

And am I jumping to conclusions? Yes! Yes always! Welcome to the Jumping To Conclusions Blog at Tumblr Dot Com. But you’d think that even if this was just another version of Syaoran, he’d look relatively identical to what we’d assume to be Li Syaoran. They could just show his face and we’d still assume we knew who he was, even if it was wrong. 

DO YOU KNOW WHAT THEY WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO GET AWAY WITH SHOWING?

MIS-MATCHED EYES. 

THERE WE GO. CRACK THEORY TIME. This is the only reason I can currently guess for why they’d still be hiding Lava Lamp’s father’s face. 

It is adorable and extremely appropriate that Lava Lamp has the same style of shirt as his Mysterious father, especially when they’re completely side by side at the bottom of the page. How they’re so so very similar in name and face and identity and personality and fate, but even in just the shirt you can see ever so slight visible differences differences that are not eyes and are in fact shirt specific decorations.

ALSO, very fun choice that they’re talking about Sakura here while also being surrounded by cherry blossoms. It’s very Dream World coded, even though we see the supports of buildings in the background, so it’s probably not actually a dream. I...

No wait I was about to say we don't ever see buildings in the dream world, but that's not true. Watanuki sees them all the time. Hmm.

WELL, putting that aside also, this is possibly just a nice detail about where they live, and possibly a nice thematic link to the fact that they’re currently talking ABOUT Sakura’s dream visions. 

I’m also desperately trying to recall if the transition into a flashback (the black borders around the page) is usually accompanied by those swirls of white in the edges? Is that a new detail or am I just looking too closely? 

It’s the eternal mystery. 

[the-acid-pear-art]

Okay I get why ppl draw this guy so much now he's a joy to doodle.

[todayisafridaynight]

sequel to this cause Uh Oh !!!!!!!

[allisonreader]

I don’t know what this is, where it came from, what its purpose is. It’s supposed to be a time loop piece to put up for the Chesterton challenge for the prompt repetition; which it definitely fits, but why all the sewing? I’m writing it, but I couldn’t tell you. It became derailed from the first word and thinking of the phrase “a stitch in time”. So here we go, my sewing heavy time loop musing? Story? I’m not sure what to call it.

All I know is that (as @melliabee and @lover-of-the-starkindler know) it came after sharing fic recs and having read a fic dealing with time loops. So vaguely and indirectly those two mentioned inspired this in an extremely roundabout way as I still don’t know what this is.

But anyways, this is my piece for the Chesterton Challenge for the prompt repetition. (As repetitive as this note is getting, the writing piece below will be more.) @inklings-challenge

Time loops and sewing 🧵🧵🧵

Stitch, stitch, stitch. 🪡_ _ _

The needle goes into the fabric and is pulled out again and again. 🪡_ _ _

Into the fabric and pulled out. 🪡_ _ _

The same motions over and over.

The pull getting shorter each time a new stitch is made. Until a new piece of thread is started and the process starts a new, with the stitches continuing.

All working to create something; whether it be practical, decorative or somewhere in between. Connecting past and future.

There’s a reason that the phrase a stitch in time is brandied around.

Sewing and time have more in common than you might think. Both deal with fabric/material that can wrinkle, snag, tear, rip, ripple, gets stuck, fold up on itself, and can be seen to be linear.

But let’s talk about the snags, the hang ups, getting stuck sewing in the same place.

If you’re using the sewing machine sometimes it’s not always immediately obvious that you’ve caught up on something; until there’s a whole pile of thread under your fabric, getting thread jammed up through the needle plate, tangling everything up and potentially needing scissors and removal of the needle plate to fix the problem.

Not so for hand sewing.

By hand, built up thread is most likely intentional unless you weren’t paying attention and were stitching in the same place, but being an easier catch as soon as your attention returns. None of the thread the same place as it builds up.

Time loops are much the same. There are some that you enter and everything seems fine at first, but once you realize that something is wrong, then you realize how big of a mess that you’re in. That your situation might require scissors and the removal of the needle plate.

Other times you don’t catch what’s happening right away, but the build up is less. Your attention is drawn to what’s happening sooner. The solution is not always as large.

And other times again you know exactly what’s happening. You want it to happen. You want it to happen again and again. You are purposefully repeating your stitch over and over, creating your build up purposefully before moving on.

Slight differences between each time. Each cycle never truly being the same, though it feels like it. The uneven stitches are being laid, but just because each stitch is uneven, it doesn’t mean that something isn’t being created that’s beautiful or has hidden strength.

Teaching you a lesson if nothing else. Sewing and time loops will both teach you just as many lessons as the other. Both feel like they go on for forever but both do eventually come to an end, leaving you shocked that the project or loop is finally finished.

For sewing you simply pick up another project and go again, though I’ve never met a person who wants to figure their way out of a time loop again. Not unless they’re the one to start the loop in the first place.

🪡_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The fabric folds and creases.

The needle goes in and out, in and out. Pull. Watch the stitches being laid. One stitch, two stitch, around and around.

A satin stitch here, some backstitching here, maybe some chain stitching for added interest. Still the needle goes in and out, just like time goes on and on, even if it repeats itself.

Time loops are like thread in a tangle, knotting up on itself and being a pain to loosen its loops out of the knots.

Be careful, the fabric of space time can rip and tear. Stitch it up carefully, you don’t want it to fray.

When fabric frays it will keep fraying depending on exactly what type of material you’re using. Some fabrics won’t fray. A knit generally doesn’t fray, but it can unravel. Woven material is what frays, some more than others. It depends on the fibres used and how it was woven together.

The right needle helps go through the material properly.

It’s all about using the right tool when needed. Sometimes you need something more specific than the generic works for most thing tool. A ballpoint/stretch/jersey needle works best on knits and stretch. The needle will push beside the fibres instead of through them like a sharp needle will.

Sometimes you have to test to find out what that right tool is. The right tool will make the job easier and help you finish the job quicker. There’s less of a struggle that way. But it will still take time to do things right.

🪡_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The needle goes in, the needle goes out, a stitch has been formed. The process repeats. Needle into the fabric, needle out of the fabric.

With a needle and thread the stitches can gather the fabric. Tight folds making there be a greater volume of material in a smaller place.

A time loop of its own kind. A repeating process to get a similar result. Though never quite the same from one to the next.

A stitch here, a stitch here; to gather as you go or to gather all at once. Both ways having their own difficulties. Both having their benefits.

Gathering can even be done by machine.

Two rows of stitches side by side, pulling the threads of both. But beware if one thread breaks, you can come close to losing it all. The strands of time can be just as fickle if you’re not careful. Pull the wrong one too hard and you could end up stuck permanently or with the wrong spot to stop or simply starts it all again.

The needle goes in, the needle goes out, the stitch is formed, push the fabric close. Knot the end of your thread and begin again.

🪡_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Stitch, stitch, stitch. A stitch in time and all that, you know dear?

The needle goes into the fabric and out.

In and out, sometimes in different movements, but there’s always going into the material and the needle being pulled through until it’s out.

Repetitive, soothing, traditional. A constant that changes, but is always needed in some form.

Time is much the same. Repetitive, following patterns, a constant that changes. Day in, day out. The same activities day to day, week to week.

A time loop in constant motion. Drudgery unless it’s made to be more.

Haven’t you guessed it by now? Different but the same. New but old. Stitching all along, talking about time?

Well, maybe you need a few more rounds yet. I’ll still be here stitching, waiting, changing the same, because time has similarities to sewing.

I won’t be the one to unravel the mysteries of the greater universe, that’s for a higher power than me. I’m just a person who sews, watching and passing the time as I move my needle through the material.

[impishnature]

I know I’d been a long time since you wrote for gravity falls but if you ever did I think I would actually scream. Your fics were such a highlight of my day and it was always a pleasure to read them, even the unfinished ones were such a joy to read.

Oh thank you! I'm glad they were a highlight for you c: I don't know if I will ever go back, maybe I'll get the buzz again but at the moment if I were to write anything I think it'd be Stranger Things.

I planned out an entire maze runner au with friends but I don't even know if I'll ever write it ^^;; I've gone back to being a lurker/reader myself haha! Maybe I'll just put up my rambling plot notes.

But I will never say never to GF. Special place in my heart for bringing me some awesome friends. c:

Weird how time flies. I got to know one of them through them drawing fanart for one of my fics. Which was... I don't even know how long ago now? @sightkeeper how long have we known each other now? Anyway what's even weirder is that it's now already been almost a year since we met up in person. I travelled to Canada to spend 2 weeks with a bestie that I'd have never had known if not for GF. Like that's breaking my brain a bit. Or maybe it's because it's almost 2am and I should probably be sleeping haha!

[sweetandglovelyart]

It’s a little bit late for Valentine’s Day but here’s the reveal of my cursed Kirby crack ship as promised: it’s Dyna Blade/Captain Vul and I envision their relationship dynamic as being like Donkey and Dragon’s relationship dynamic in the Shrek movies.