#thank you for your service lu boys

[jetpackgeneratedcat]

Some more watercolor boys!

[smittenskitten]

[links-in-time]

Sword and Dagger

This fic is for @mmelete and anyone else who wants to see some reconciliation and comfort between Legend and Warriors. They are two of my favourite LU boys and I wish they got along more in people's fics.

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"LEGEND!" Warriors voice rang out across the camp.

A smile curled the corner of the Vet's mouth as he continued adding wood to the fire. He managed to surpress his laughter. This was going to be hilarious.

The stomping of boots grew louder as Wars stormed across the clearing towards where Legend was kneeling by the fire. Something solid collided with Legend's shoulder, hard and fast. He dropped the last branch he had been holding and clutched at his arm. Looking down he saw the offending projectile. A squat brown glass jar filled with clear gel.

"Ouch!" Legend grunted, rubbing furiously at his new bruise. "What the fuck?!"

"What the fuck?" Wars echoed, turning the question back on Legend.

Around the clearing the rest of the boys couldn't help but stop what they were doing and turn their attention to this latest argument. Time let out a sigh and rubbed at his brow before turning back to his journal. Wild continued chopping vegetables for dinner. He hated it when the others were fighting, it made his anxiety spike and he would rather be literally anywhere else in the world when his brothers were at each others throats.

Four, Hyrule and Sky pretended to carry on with their own activities. Still keeping an eye on the argument about to break out by the fire. Wind was mercifully down by the stream, and hopefully out of earshot of the screaming match that had already begun. While Twilight was out on patrol.

"You arse! You put glue in my hair gel!" Wars bellowed, pointing accusingly down at Legend. His other fist balled and shaking at his side.

Time couldn't help but flick his eye up from his journal to Warriors. He also couldn't help the minute smile which crept upon his lips. Wars' hair, which was usually kept almost immaculate, was a mess. The left side was stuck down so flat it almost followed the shape of his skull. While the right side was stuck up in the air at odd angles. He looked like he'd been caught in a sudden gust of wind. Except there was no breeze. Only a livid scowl and the pointing finger which refused to leave its mark.

"You mean your hair CAN look even more stupid than normal?" Legend replied nonchalantly. His eyes remaining on the fire.

"You little shit! Now my comb is clogged up with glue and hair and I'm gonna have to get a new one, thank you very much! Not to mention what a pain in the arse this is going to be to clean out. What the hell man? What did I do to you?!"

Warriors continued to berate, oblivious to anyone except the object of his fury.

It wasn't really about his hair. Well, it was almost certainly about his hair. But Wars wasn't as vain as people liked to assume he was. Just because he was considered more handsome than most, didn't mean he was constantly preening himself. Sure he liked to look neat and presentable, but that was mostly from a life spent in the army. A soldier could be seriously disciplined for failing to dress correctly or for having scruffy hair. Every soldier was a representative of Hyrule itself. So heaven forbid that Wars always took care in making sure he was the best goddess damned image of Hyrule he could muster.

His real bug-bare was why Legend seemed to have singled him out for his pranks and jibes. Legend teased Wars for his good looks constantly. Not that Wars thought any of the others was less good looking than himself. Perhaps the Vet hadn't seen himself in a mirror for a while. If it wasn't his looks or his scarf, it was his military service, or his rank, or his loyalty to the crown. Legend could turn any trait of Warriors' into a snide remark aimed just right to get under the Captain's skin. Wars sometimes wondered if it was actually some special talent of Legend's. Like a little dagger specifically designed to be able to pick someone apart all the while laughing at them.

"Oh no, you'll have to spend some of that soldiers wage you keep bragging about!" Legend scoffed, batting the pot of gel and glue away from himself.

"What?" Wars shook his head in surprise. This was not the reaction he thought he was going to get. "Since when have I bragged about my wages?"

Wars finally looked around the camp at the rest of the heroes. Sky unfortunately managed to catch his eye and Wars latched onto his gaze.

"Sky, I don't brag about money, do I?" He asked furvently, still radiating rage and confusion.

"Um, well," Sky stammered, shrinking under Wars' intense gaze. "Not as such. But you're kind of the only one of us with an actual job."

Wars processed that for a second. He'd never considered soldiering to be a job, but it did come with a regular pay packet. So far as he could tell the only one of them who got payed for work was the Smithy. Four was an accomplished blacksmith with his own business. He had to make a decent amount of money for the work he produced. So that couldn't be the only reason Legend had singled Wars out. This couldn't be about money.

"Four has a job!" Wars pointed out.

"Hey, leave me out of this," Four stated firmly. "This is between you and Lege, figure it out without pointing fingers at the rest of us."

Four kept his eyes on the sword he was polishing, but Sky noticed they took on a verdent green hew as he spoke. He wanted to ask about it, but knew now was definitely not the time to be starting other conversations.

"Yeah Captain, why don't you pick on someone your own size!" Legend barked, drawing Warriors attention again.

"Pick on..? You're not that short!" Wars spat back.

"Oh so I am short, but not that short!" Legend retorted.

"Come on boys, please knock it off," Time groaned.

He tipped his head back against the tree behind him and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Your screaming match is giving me a headache. Plus I can't imagine anything living within a mile radius of this camp is thanking you either." Time said with a sigh.

"But he..." Wars began, but Time put up a hand to stop him talking.

"Legend, apologise for your prank," Time insisted, fixing Legend with his one eyed stare.

Legend flicked his gaze away to the ground, avoiding the Old Man's piercing eye.

"M'sorry," he grumbled under his breath.

"Right," Time nodded.

"Really, that's an acceptable apology to you?!" Wars scoffed.

"Wars, I'll buy you a new comb and gel in the next town we find. And in the morning I'll help you wash the glue out of your hair. Alright?"

Time turned his gaze onto Wars, who knew from the look on his face that it was going to be alright whether he liked it or not.

"Fine!" Wars turned on the spot and walked decisively towards his bed roll.

He picked it up and dragged it a few metres further away from the fire and set it down with a resounding thump. Wars quickly shucked his armour and his mail and tunic, before shoving himself under his blankets and all but throwing his head onto his pillow.

The rest of the Chain didn't hear a single peep out of their Captain for the rest of the night. Sulking or sleeping, no one had the courage to go and find out. At one point Hyrule asked Legend if he felt bad about how far his prank had gone.

"He deserves being taken down a peg every now and then." Was his response.

But even as he said the words, Legend felt no real emotion behind them. No truth. He'd taken a strange disliking to the Captain not long after they'd all met. He was rigid and calculating. Absurd in the attention he gave to his looks and infuriating in the way that he never deviated from a plan. Legend felt no spark of curiosity or adventure when he took a peek at Wars' aura. His magic felt strong like the rest of the Links, but it also felt tame and rigid. As though it had been pushed into a box which was too small.

Of all the Links in his company, Wars was the one he just couldn't figure out. And the one who reminded him the most of some of the worst days of his life. So he lashed out. Made jokes at his expense, played pranks he knew would get a rise out of the Captain, because it was a laugh. And what else was he supposed to do with someone who was as stiff as a board?

***

Time didn't get a chance to clean Warriors hair. Hyrule woke everyone up in the middle of his watch to the news that a portal had appeared not far from their camp. He'd felt the unique magical signature the moment it appeared and quickly ran to see what had happened. The dark swirl of black and purple bridged the space between two trees. A void deadening all light and sound around it.

Hyrule had hurried back to camp and quickly roused everyone. Unusually, Wars was the last man to finish packing his gear. And he was at the back of the line as they broke camp and followed Hyrule towards the new portal. While no one could see him, Wars attempted to flatten down the worst parts of his hair, but with little to no success. The glue had done a fine job and he'd worked it through so thoroughly with his comb, that it perfectly coated his hair. Forcing it into its current state. He let out a defeated sigh and trudged through the forest without taking much notice of his surroundings.

The shady woodland was soon replaced by the now familiar unsettling feeling of being pulled through a dark place. Wars had the uncontrollable sensation of nausia and dizziness which was concurrent with a portal jump. He was one of the few who suffered the least from time jumps, but he counted himself lucky. Wind and Four often verged on passing out after walking through a portal. While Hyrule could be left feeling dizzy and disoriented for up to an hour. Not helpful if there was danger waiting on the other side.

As the blackness faded away and the sickening sensations passed, Wars felt the bitter chill of icy weather biting at his skin. He looked up and had to blink twice before he believed what he was seeing.

Everything was white.

Everything except the red, blue and streak of pink hair in the near distance, which could only be Legend.

Wars grumbled, wrapping his arms around himself as he shoved his chin into his scarf. This was not going to be a pleasant day.

"Cap?" Legend howled over the rushing of the wind pelting his ears.

His hair flew every which way and he held onto his cap to prevent it being tugged off his head. His tunic whipped around his bare knees and he winced against the sting of the snow as it hit his exposed legs. Surely the Captain would tease him for not wearing trousers at some point.

The Captain! Legend suddenly thought with a jolt. Where in Din's name was everyone else?

"Captain!" He called again.

Wars wasn't very far away, but still Legend's voice sounded like a whisper rather than a holler. Squinting against the driving snow and leaning into the wind Wars trudged towards the colourful blob in front of him.

"I can hear you Legend. Where's everyone else?" He called in reply.

"No clue. They were right with us when we went through the portal."

Wars heard something about Legend not having a clue. (Nothing new there) And the portal.

"Great," Wars sighed.

This wasn't the first time the Chain had been separated by portal jumps before. Usually they were only split up by a short distance. They never settled on a plausible theory as to why this happened, though Wars had some pretty convincing ideas of his own. However, upon a quick scan of the surrounding empty countryside, Wars couldn't discern any other notable figures in the landscape. Legend and he supposed he himself, were the only dots of colour in an otherwise colourless world.

The snow storm showed no signs of blowing over and even tall trees had been mostly hidden by the onslaught of snow and ice. When Wars reached Legend, his next move would be to look for shelter. Hopefully the sour veteran would be cooperative enough to help rather than hinder Warriors efforts to keep them both alive.

"Looks like we got split up again. And we don't have Wild or the Sailor with us to contact anyone. We need to find shelter or we'll both catch our deaths in this cold." Wars said through chattering teeth.

Legend shuddered at the thought of just trying to walk through the thick snow around them. He could already feel the chill in his core as he pulled his hat down over his ears, and shoved his hands under his armpits to keep his fingers from freezing.

"Any suggestions?" He uttered, struggling to breath with lungs full of ice.

"Let's walk downhill," Wars decided, trying to think logically while his brain was telling him to just stop and get warm. "The cold will be less intense if we reach a lower altitude, and there's more likely to be shelter the lower we go. If we stay up here on the hill tops we'll freeze to death."

"Downhill it is then," Legend nodded.

Wars raised an eyebrow at how easily Legend had followed his suggestion. But he didn't dare question it unless Legend suddenly decided to have an argument about it.

"You want me to go ahead or behind?" He asked.

"You can cut through the deep snow easier than I can, you go first."

"Right."

"Plus, if you fall in a hole I'll know not to step there!" Legend snorted.

"Right," Wars said flatly.

So they began their slow slog down the hill. The wind was mercifully behind them, but still bitterly cold. Wars took a leaf out of Legend's book and pulled his old hat out of his bag. He tugged it tight down over his ears and tucked the end into his scarf so it wouldn't flap about. Wars could feel his steel mail freezing but there wasn't anything he could do about that now. His undershirt would keep it from touching his skin, but it wouldn't do anything to keep him warm. He just preyed they would find some kind of shelter and soon.

They walked for what felt like hours before the ground began to level out. The trees became a more frequent sight and though the storm was still raging, even a meagre tree cover was better than nothing.

"We could stop and make a fire here?" Wars suggested, looking about at the tall pines around them.

"Our stuff will just get wet if we stop here. We should keep looking for shelter. A cave or a cabin or something," Legend replied with a shake of his head. Though it could have just been from the cold.

"How d'you know there'll be one?"

"I don't, but... I'd rather keep looking than stop here and freeze. At least if we're moving we're keeping some sort of body heat." Legend explained.

"Me maybe, aren't you freezing?" Wars scoffed, eyeing Legend's bare legs which looked raw and red.

"Yeah I am, thanks for reminding me!"

"Sorry, I was just thinking you might want to stop?" Wars remarked.

"Because I'm small and fragile?" Legend snorted.

"What? NO?" Wars balked. "Because you're wearing less clothes and you're more likely to die more quickly of exposure than I am."

"It's not a competition Captain!" Legend hissed over his shoulder as he continued to walk in front of Wars. "Besides, I'm far more adaptive than you anyway. Who's to say who would win that competition?!"

"It's not a competition to see who dies first either Lege!" Wars sighed, hurrying to stay with the turbulent Vet.

Their argument died as they continued to walk through the snow covered forest. Icicles hung ominously from tree branches over head. Wind whipped through the trees, shaking loose drifts of snow. The only sounds were the howling of the wind, and their laboured breathing as the two boys marched through the snow drifts.

"Hut!" Legend exclaimed.

Wars head shot up at the sound and looked ahead. A squat wooden structure sat among the trees just a few yards away from them. Legend immediately took off towards it, with Wars only a few steps behind him. The veteran hero threw his shoulder into the door as he turned the handle, but there was less resistance than he had anticipated and the door swung open freely.

It was an extremely modest dwelling and it clearly hadn't been used for some time. There was a single cot in one corner. A fireplace set into the back wall and boarded up windows on the opposing sides.

"I'll be damned, maybe the gods do love us after all," Legend sighed, as he spotted a stack of logs in the corner by the fire.

Warriors quickly shut the door behind them and hefted his pack onto the floor beside the bed. His first instinct was to leave some kind of sign for the others telling them where they were. If this storm didn't break soon, the two of them might find themselves stuck for a while. If the others came looking, Warriors wanted them to find him and Legend as soon as possible.

He pulled out a pouch of berries Wild had picked for him and stared at it, turning the object over in his mind. The colour would stand out against the stark surroundings, but he doubted the juice would stick to the door of the hut on its own. Another thought wormed it's way into his mind and he groaned at how good his idea was.

Wars searched for his old pot of hair gel and found it in his pocket of useless objects he kept meaning to throw away. He opened the lid and was relieved to find it hadn't completely hardened. Wars crushed a few of the berries into the jar and mashed the mixture together with his fingers. When the gel-glue had turned a vivid pink colour, he quickly left the hut.

"Hey! Where are you...?"

Wars heard Legend say as he pulled the door open and quickly used his fingers to write on the outside of the wooden door. It was rough and untidy. But his makeshift paint did the job. The bright pink of the berries having the desired affect. Wars spelled out the quickest and easiest thing he could think of before letting too much cold back into the hut. After he was finished he quickly washed his hands off with some snow, closed the door and threw the jar of paint back into his pack.

"What was that about?" Legend asked incredulously.

Wars sighed contently as he saw the fire blooming into life behind Legend. But he swallowed before answering his question.

"I was leaving a sign for the others in case they come looking for us. Hopefully someone will be able to see it even if they don't notice the hut right away."

"Huh, that's actually pretty smart," Legend nodded, turning to throw some more kindling onto his tender flames.

"Did you just call me smart?" Wars jibed.

"I called you pretty smart, you know, the same way seagulls are pretty smart," Legend scoffed, avoiding Warriors gaze.

"Right."

Wars shook his head and turned back to his pack. He pulled out his bed roll and set it on the floor beside the fire. Legend waisted no time settling himself onto it and rubbing at his legs to stimulate some warmth. Wars pulled out his blanket and pillow and some spare shirts to replace the one he was wearing. It would be wet with both sweat and snowmelt and would quickly make him cold if he didn't change it soon. Speaking of.

"Hey, um, Legend," Wars said tentatively. Hating himself for the next words about to come out of his mouth. "Can you help me for a minute?"

"Help you with what?" Legend groaned.

"I can't take my armour or my mail off, they're too cold to touch. Can you put some gloves on and help me?" He asked, trying to convey as much sincerity in his voice and expression as he could muster.

Legend let out the longest sigh Wars had ever heard. But still, the Vet pushed himself to his feet and crossed the cabin to where Wars stood.

"Well?" He asked impatiently.

Wars quickly found an old pair of gloves in his pack (not fingerless ones) and handed them to Legend. Although Wars had to point Legend in the right direction a couple of times, Legend quickly helped Wars take off his pauldron and laid it on the floor near the fire for it to warm up. His tunic came off with ease but his mail was more difficult. Legend managed to buch it up around Warriors shoulders, then got him to bed over and slid the whole shirt off onto the floor over his head.

"Well that's just insanely stupid!" Legend scoffed, as he picked up the heavy lump of clinking metal.

"It's saved my life more times than I can count," Wars retorted, trying to shake out his hair before rembering he couldn't.

Legend layed the mail shirt out on the other side of the fire and Wars wondered at the care which the Vet showed to something he clearly disapproved of.

"Why don't you just try not to get hit. Then you wouldn't have to wear something so heavy?" He proffered.

"Is that why you stopped wearing trousers?" Wars remarked in return.

"Touche."

Wars quickly undressed and pulled two clean shirts over his shivering body. He wanted to put his tunic back on as another layer, but that was pretty wet as well. The garment and his scarf, joined his armour by the fire and he settled for pulling a blanket around his shoulders instead.

Legend scooted along the bed roll slightly to let Wars sit down in front of the fire. The warmth hit him in a similar way to the snow. His face and hands tingled as his skin came back to life.

"Ahhh," Wars couldn't help the sigh which escaped him. "Nice work getting the fire going."

Legend looked at him sideways but decided not to turn the simple statement into an argument.

"Thanks, and you're welcome by the way, for helping you out."

"Thanks for that, I'm usually alright doing it by myself. But, I've known people who touched frozen mail before and ended up with the pattern burned into their skin by the cold." Wars explained, his expression turning pensive as his memories trickled into his mind.

"Huh, yeah that would suck." Legend nodded.

Legend finally decided to take off his hat and tunic and let them dry out alongside Warriors clothes. He found his own blanket and draped it over his knees. After that the pair fell into an uncomfortable silence as their bodies began to warm. They could hear the storm raging on outside their little bubble of calm, but the hut was fairly draft free. Plus there were enough logs to keep them going for at least a few days if necessary.

Wars didn't want to sit in silence. He'd hated the periods of his life when he hadn't been able to talk. Since being with the rest of the Chain he felt like he could speak his mind or his emotions freely, and without reprisal. For the first time in a long time he had almost felt understood, among other people like himself. But then there was Legend. The impenetrable wall of stoicism and spite. It wasn't that they just didn't get on, they were totally different people. And it was infuriatingly difficult for the two of them to see eye to eye. Two heroes of Hyrule, both forged though danger and courage to defend their kingdoms. A sword and a dagger, both deadly weapons, weilded in very different ways.

To Wars' great surprise Legend was the first to break their silence.

"I am sorry about your hair," Legend uttered. If not for their complete quiet, Wars didn't think he would have even noticed the teen had spoken.

"Then why'd you do it?" Wars asked, pulling the blanket tighter around himself.

"I dunno, thought it would be funny I guess. And it was kinda funny. But after that you were just cross and I knew everyone else would be cross at me for doing it. So, I dunno." Legend shrugged, turning his face away so Wars couldn't see his own confusion.

"Have I done something to make you mad at me for some reason? If I have it definitely wasn't intentional Legend," Wars questioned, searching Legend's posture for some kind of response.

"No, that's not..." Legend tried to push some words out his mouth. But his brain and his lips weren't complying with one another.

Why was he even trying to explain himself to the Captain of all people? He wouldn't understand even if Legend could organise his thoughts. He just knew he wouldn't. So why try at all?

"Forget I even said anything alright. You clearly don't know how to accept an apology."

Just like that Wars watched Legend's walls close in and his mask slip back into place. He radiated the energy of a feral animal, terrified something would come near him. Wars hovered beside him, torn between trying to comfort his friend, and dropping the issue altogether. The hero inside him couldn't bare to do the latter, so he grit his teeth and pushed on.

"Lege, do you hate me?" He asked softly, ready to take the answer he was anticipating.

That made Legend lift his head and face Warriors. A frown creased his brow.

"No, of course I don't hate you?" He said. "Why would you think I hate you?"

"I don't know, the relentless teasing. Hiding my stuff, the glue. You're constantly on my case. It's like you're trying to rile me up so much that I don't want to be with the group any more." Wars rambled on until he had said more than he meant to.

"You don't want to be with the group anymore?" Legend's frown deepend.

"No, I mean yes." Wars sighed, this was coming out all wrong. "Of course I want to be with the group. You boys mean the world to me. But I just get the feeling I don't mean anything to you. Or if I do it's not a good feeling. And that hurts Legend. Everything you do, I know it's little things and if they weren't so often I could brush them aside and maybe even laugh at them. But what you're doing to me, it really hurts. And I don't know why else you'd hurt me if you didn't hate me."

Wars closed his eyes and curled in on himself, his fingers dug into the blanket, knuckles turning while. He only realised he was crying when he felt a drop slip down onto his lip.

Legend sat stock still. He was so stunned he had to give himself a mental slap across the face and grab hold of the situation in front of him. The Captain, Warriors, their chief planner and strategist, his brother, thought he hated him.

"I don't, hate you," he said slowly.

Goddesses he was terrible with emotions. Turns out he was terrible at reading certain people too. Legend thought Warriors was all stoicism and army and, 'look at me aren't I so smart and better than every one!' How could he have got it so wrong.

He knew how.

Months of being hunted by royal soldiers haunted his nightmares. Days and nights spent on the run, accused of a crime he hadn't committed. A crime he was trying to stop for Din's sake! Shining steel and the sound of clinking mail made his skin crawl. Just helping Warriors take his off had sent him to the edge of reliving those memories. But he'd done it because his brother needed his help. Now he was hearing Wars doubted him so completely.

Legend was a difficult person to love. He knew that. He was all hard edges and scepticism. How Ravio not only put up with him, but genuinely loved him, he'd never know. The crazy merchant had latched onto him and never let him go. Ravio had opened his heart to the possibility that he could actually love and be loved in return.

"I didn't take to being the hero as easily as everyone thought I did," Wars said softly.

Legend raised an eyebrow, not at the words, but at the fact that Wars had spoken first. He was almost ready with a speach and everything. But Wars sounded like he was about to get something off his chest, and Legend was happy to hear him out.

"The war had just started. Cia's monsters were ravaging the lands. The Hero was on everyone's lips. And then the Hero was me. I was the one she was after. The spirit of the Hero lived inside me and she wanted it for herself. The lengths she went through to try and claim me, I shudder now to even remember it. I knew how to be a soldier. A Hero was something different. It's alright for a soldier to fail. That just means the enemy was stronger and better prepared than you. You can learn something from failing and do better in the next fight.

But as a Hero, you're not allowed to fail. You win or you lose and if you lose you'd better prepare for people to turn against you. When you're an image people cling to in times of dispare, you do everything you can to help and to live up to their expectations. I tried so hard to be everything people needed me to be. I hardly ever let myself think about what I wanted. Because it didn't matter. I had a job to do and that was all that mattered."

Wars paused and sighed, his chin resting heavy on his arms as they crossed over his knees. Though his voice sounded steady, tears slowly streaked down his face.

"I guess I still have it in my head that everyone needs me to be perfect. If I'm not, then I'm letting someone down. It doesn't matter how good a swordsman I am, or how many enemies I defeat. If I put a foot wrong, if I fail somehow, I fail Hyrule."

"I have a thing about soldiers," Legend sighed. If they were sharing he probably aught to do his bit. "On one of my adventures a guy called Agahnim accused me of kidnapping Zelda. He had some kind of hold over the soldiers and he made them come after me constantly. They put up wanted posters and ordinary Hylians saw me as the enemy who kidnapped their princess. I was on the run for months. Soldiers tried to grab me everywhere I went. I don't know if they had orders to kill me but they certainly weren't gentle in their efforts.

When you first showed up on this journey, for a brief moment I thought you were the enemy. The thing Hylia had sent us to fight. A knight gone rogue. I don't think I ever really got over that feeling. The idea that, at some point you were going to turn on me. So I kept you at a distance, kept pushing you away."

There was a brief moment of silence before Wars chuckled. He snorted a laugh as Legend shot him an incredulous glare.

"Sorry, I'm not laughing at you. That sounds like a nightmare. But it's kind of ironic," Wars tilted his head as the thoughts swirled.

"Ironic?" Legend parroted, utterly bemused.

"I had my fair share of betrayals during the war." Wars replied, his tone souring. "During one battle, half my troops turned against me. They called me a traitor, claimed the war was my fault. I had to-to fight men and women I had fought alongside for years. They gave me no choice. I still hear their screams.

So it's ironic you thought I was going to turn out to be a traitor. When I've spent most of this journey trying to convince myself that all of you won't turn against me at some point. None of you ever gave me reason to think you would, but the memories still haunt me. So when you push and you tease and you torment me, it feels like..."

"Like your fears are founded in something?" Legend filled in, the bottom falling out of his heart as he spoke.

"Yeah, and when the others laugh and join in with the joke. Sometimes it's hard to make myself believe they don't mean it." Wars paused and turned his body so he was facing Legend more directly. "I'm sorry I make you feel nervous Lege. If I'd known I would have done something. Changed my clothes, I would have lost the scarf, the armour. If it stopped you thinking I would turn on you, I'd have done anything."

"You're sorry?!" Legend barked a laugh. He could feel warmth behind his eyes. But he hoped he would be able to keep speaking before he started crying. "Cap, Wars, I never thought about how what I was doing would make you feel. I - I suppose I did a bit and watching someone like you, a soldier, make a fool of themselves made me feel good I guess. I suppose that makes me a terrible bully." Keep going, deep breath, almost there. "And I know I can't take any of it back. Farore knows I wish I could. But since I can't I want to say how sorry I am. I'm sorry I singled you out. I'm sorry I made you feel betrayed, and I'm sorry I made you think I didn't love you."

"You love me?" Wars frowned as he sniffed.

"Of course I do you big dumb idiot!" Legend smiled, as tears began to overflow down his cheeks. Damn it.

"Haha, that's really sweet of you!" Wars laughed, but the sarcasm was clearly received.

"Sorry, I'm not good at emotions," Legend shrugged. "But I do mean it. I love you, and all the boys, and I will try my very best not to let you feel hurt by my awkward nature again."

"You really do mean it, don't you?" Wars said slowly, searching Legend's eyes for any sign this was another joke of his. He just hadn't reached the punch line yet.

But there was nothing but warmth and sincerity to be found. Wars hard hardly ever seen the Vet cry. But that wasn't important, he was crying too after all. Legend had opened up to him. Explained himself at last. All the pieces slotted into place and at last Wars could see Legend for who he really was. A frightened kid lashing out in order to protect himself. A kid who had seen more horrors and been through more hardships than any of their brothers. Perhaps more than all of them combined. And yet he had enough love left inside him for all of them. Even for Warriors himself.

"I love you too Legend."

Wars dropped his knees and spread his arms wide. Legend sniffed back a sob and crawled his way into Warriors embrace. Wars wrapped Legend up in his blanket, Legend's sightly damp hair tickling his neck. But he ignored it. They were both hurting and it meant the world to both of them to be able to comfort each other. Legend clamped his arms around Wars' waist, his face buried in Wars' shoulder. The warmth of the blanket and Warriors body heat spread through his frigid limbs and kindled a fire in his heart.

"Let's never fight again," Legend mumbled after a while. He felt more than heard Wars laugh against him.

"Yeah, like that's ever going to happen!"

"Alright, let's never fight over anything stupid again," Legend corrected, wiggling out of Warriors death grip slightly.

"Right, nothing stupid," Wars nodded.

The motion drew Legend's attention to Warriors hair. He really tried not to smile. He really really tried, but it was just so stupid how it was all stuck up on one side, even after being stuffed into Warriors hat.

"Would you like me to try and fix your hair?" Legend offered, already afraid Wars was going to shut him down.

"How? It's going to take days of washing to get this out?" Wars sighed, deflating a little.

"If I brush it carefully, I can stop it sticking up like that. Then we can wash it properly when we're out of, wherever we are!" Legend insisted more fervently. "Ravio did something similar to me once after I accidentally burned his favourite scarf. He helped me get the worst out of it."

"But I ruined my comb," Wars groaned, remembering the matted clump which had been thrown on the camp fire.

"We can use mine," Legend offered. "We already need to buy a new one for you, what's one more?"

Legend and Wars spent the rest of the evening huddled together by the fire. Though the storm outside showed no signs of letting up, and they hoped the rest of the Chain had found their own shelter somewhere, their little cabin remained cosy. Legend was true to his word and dutifully brushed the worst of the glue out of Wars' hair.

After he was finished, Warriors hair felt softer and was no longer stuck to the side of his head or sticking up in spikes. As Warriors ran a hand through his hair, he could still feel clumps of glue against his fingers. But at least it was workable. The simple act of kindness and repentance Legend had shown filled his heart. Maybe things would be different between them from now on.

"What did you write by the way?" Legend asked, as he sat back down by the fire.

"Write?" Wars frowned.

"On the door of the cabin," Legend reminded him. "You left a sign for the others to find. What did you write? Some kind of code?"

"Ah, no. Not exactly," Wars uttered, cheeks flushing a little pink.

"A symbol?"

"No," Wars sighed, a symbol would have been a good idea. The triforce would have been easily recognised.

"Then what?" Legend prompted, giving Wars a nudge with his elbow.

"I was in a hurry so I wrote the first thing that came into my head," Wars admitted.

"Right, and that was?" Legend urged.

"I um, I wrote Link."

"Link."

"Yep."

... "It's a good thing you're pretty."

---

Once again this became so much longer and went so much deeper than I intended it to go. I should probably go to therapy instead of venting all my stuff into these characters. But therapy is expensive and posting fanfics on Tumbler is free! So you guys get to enjoy my therapy with me, yay!

(Cries internally)

If you want to read more Legend and Warriors then my fic Hobby Boys is much shorter and has way less angst!

[somer-writes]

another month passes by

farewell to summer AND WELCOME FALL (fucking finally)

CAMPERS! START! YOUR! ENGINES!

it's time for.......

✨SOMERS DODECANNUAL MONTHLY BEATDOWN✨

september edition

SEPTEMBER 👏 WORD 👏 COUNT 👏: 50,058 WORDS TO Ao3

CURRENT 👏 WORD 👏 COUNT 👏: 927,728 WORDS ON Ao3

THE GOAL OF 1 MILLION IS WITHIN REACH!!!

(my mental health allowing)

WORKS (new/continued in September): 32!!!

MOST POPULAR: Memento Mori

IN REVIEW: ah september, the season of sickness. sicktember 2024 was a fun challenge! it was my fourth month long writing challenge completed in the past calendar year AND since joining this fandom. on top of the daily one-shots, we celebrated our dear and lovely @rebornofstars birthday this month! i wrote the boys having a spitting contest as a gift for bee! also, i continued Memento Mori, the sequel to Burial Rites (reader discretion advised)!

and speaking of burial rites! i used Barnes & Noble's publishing service to print a hard copy of my fic!

my father is reading it. pray for me.

UPDATES: i am was not planning on participating in whumptober 2024 as ive done 3 whump challenges in the last year! my brain could use a little breaksies. i might write for some of the prompts but we'll see! but fuck that i see prompts and i have a little cutesy chew toy blorbo who needs to be drawn and quartered out of love so fuck it

i will be using the AI-less prompt list for whumptober!

also! im finally free to participate in the @lu-community-write-a-thon starting 10/1 at 12 am PDT!

new works/chapters may be delayed whilst i handle some irl stuff, recharge, and play ECHOES OF WISDOM! im having such a fun time with it. old school zelda my beloved <3

ive also been playing pokemon violet and the new famicom detective game as of late. so many purple themed games.

i wish all of you a happy fall!

as always! ty so much for all the support!! i love reading all your comments, reblogs, tags, and whatever else! thank you everyone who reads, kudos, bookmarks, or comments on fics!! ily!!!

[invisibleraven]

Imagine your OTP saying I love youto each other five times without the actual (romantic) meaning of it. + if one time they say it right

Peterpatterlina

Julie wasn't sure she was breathing as she waited for Mr. Brunner to return her math test. Calculus had never been her strongest subject, and this test was a big one-so she had reason to be nervous.

"Hey," Reggie whispered. "You'll do great, I just know it."

"If I do it's only because you tutored me," Julie replied.

Unlike Julie, Reggie excelled at math, so when he heard she needed help, he was happy to offer his services. It got him out of his house in the afternoons and neither of them mentioned how Ray slipped him a few bucks after each session.

The tests were handed back and Julie turned hers over with trembling fingers. Preparing to see a sea of red when she looked. But... as she looked it over, there was almost no red there. And a big fat 82% on the top.

"Oh my god!" she shrieked, turning and shoving it in Reggie's face. "Look!"

"Told you that you had this," he said with a smirk.

"Because of you," she replied. "Reggie I love you."

He grinned. "Love you too Jules. Now let's get to lunch. Your treat."

2. Luke stuck his tongue out of his mouth as he worked on his latest song. It was almost perfect, but the bridge was giving him trouble.

"Need a hand?" Julie asked from her spot besides him on the couch. They had both been absorbed in their own song, hanging out in her garage as they often did, not needing to talk, just swap songs when they needed to.

"Yeah, this bridge is killing me," Luke replied, handing over his notebook. "You?"

"Nah, I'm good," Julie replied, humming the tune to his song, making little notations along the margins regarding tempo, then came to the bridge part. She then started writing, scribbling madly and Luke had to sit back in awe as she made something work that had flummoxed him so badly. "How's that?"

Luke looked it over, and then a wide smile split his face. "Molina I love you and your beautiful brain."

She smiled back. "The feeling's mutual. Now let's see if we can fix the chorus."

"Wait, what's wrong with the chorus?"

3. Reggie slipped through his window, creeping around the house and then jumped on his bike, taking off towards Luke's house.

Sure it was late at night, but Luke barely ever slept, and honestly Reggie knew he wouldn't either if he stayed at his house. Not with his parents going at it like they were. Plus Luke had offered Reggie a place to go any time he needed.

Thankfully it was a short bike ride, and he quickly stashed his ride in the back yard, so as to not piss Mrs. P off. He knocked against Luke's window where there was still a light on, and Luke opened it up, giving him his infamous boyish grin.

"Hey Reg. Hop on in."

Reggie grinned, hoisting himself over the ledge, and threw off his leather jacket. "Thanks. The folks were re-enacting World War Two in the living room, I needed an out."

"I told you, any time," Luke replied, sitting himself back on his bed. "You wanna cuddle or the sleeping bag?"

"Cuddles please," he said, shucking off his jeans as Luke killed the light. Climbing in beside Luke, letting himself be pulled into those arms of his. "Thanks Lu. Love you."

"Sweet dreams Reg."

4. The applause was still ringing out as Julie and the Phantoms left the stage, the four of them beaming as they entered their green room.

"That was legendary!" Luke whooped as he launched himself back onto the couch.

"I can't believe we actually did that!" Reggie exclaimed, rubbing his face with a towel.

Alex was buried in Willie's arms but shot them all a pleased smile, even as it looked like he was ready to doze off then and there.

"Guys... we just played The Orpheum," Julie exhaled. "We could go real places from here."

"To the top boss!" Luke grinned, but then noticed Julie's watery eyes. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"It's just... I wish my mom was here for this."

The boys immediately got up and gathered her in a hug. Giving her all the support they could, even if they could never replace her mom. Julie sniffled and hugged them back. "Love you guys so much."

"Love you too boss," Luke replied.

"Forever and always," Reggie echoed.

5. Julie fluffed her hair in the mirror, and applied another layer of lip gloss before exiting her room. "How do I look?"

Reggie gave an exaggerated whistle while Luke pretended to use an imaginary camera, causing Julie to blush as she waved them off. "Thanks guys."

"Where you going Jules?" Reggie asked.

"Hot date," she replied, packing up her purse. "Dinner and a movie, but felt like making an effort. I really like this guy."

Luke felt a churning in his gut at that, sharing a look with Reggie. They had both discovered they had feelings for Julie long ago, and each other. But they had decided to not butcher their friendship and the band, the would keep their feelings to themselves.

Now it was coming back to bite them.

"Alright, I'm gone. Don't wait up!" Julie called at the door. "Love ya!"

"Be safe!" Reggie called.

"Have fun!" Luke added.

The door closed behind her and the boys shared another look-the sentiment clear. Fuck.

+1. Luke and Reggie decided to wait up-they both knew neither of them would be able to sleep until Julie got home.

But of course, neither of them could stay focused on any one thing either. Songs were all full of longing and scratched out phrases about unrequited love. Books got rifled through and tossed aside. Games were distracted button mashes.

"How long has she been gone?" Luke asked.

Reggie glanced at the clock. "Hour tops."

"Fuck," Luke said, tossing his head back onto the couch. "We gotta tell her Reg."

"I know," he replied, thought it was a mere whisper. "I think we might be too late though."

"Too late for what?"

They turned and saw Julie standing in the doorway, make up streaked down her face, looking much less jubilant than she had when she left.

"Julie!" Luke exclaimed coming over to hug her. "What happened?"

Reggie rushed to give her a wipes so she could clean her face, embracing her as she trembled in their hold. "Do we need to kill this guy?"

"You'd have to get in line," Julie snorted. "He seemed so nice online and then he was an arrogant, racist jerk in real life so I kicked him in the balls before I left."

"Good on ya boss," Luke chuckled.

"You deserve so much better than that waste of space," Reggie added, directing them all to the couch.

Julie sighed, relaxing back into the cushions. "I know, but every guy I like is either a jerk, or into someone else or..."

"Or?" Luke asked.

"Or it's more than one person. Both of whom I love like crazy, neither of whom I can be with because it will ruin everything," Julie finished, though her words were muffled from where her face was buried in her hands.

"Julie..." Reggie started, looking at Luke who nodded at him. "Julie, you know that they love you back right?"

"And not as friends, not as a sister or bandmate," Luke added. "Head over heels, hearts on our sleeves, completely gaga in love with you."

"Really?" Julie asked, lifting her head, looking hopeful. "You never said-neither of you!"

"Well neither did you!" Reggie replied, then laughed. "We're all idiots."

"We wasted too much time hung up on what ifs and maybes and worries," Luke said.

"We have lots of time left," Julie replied. "I love you both, you both love me..."

"And each other," Reggie piped up. "So what do you want to do about it?"

"Turn on a movie and see where the night takes us?" Julie suggested.

"We can get a pizza, since I doubt you ate," Luke added.

"Sounds like a perfect first date," Julie replied.

From then on out, they knew that every time they said I love you, it meant in the way they had always hoped, even if Alex claimed they said it to excess some times. But they never got tired of saying it, hearing it, and most of all, feeling it.

And they had a lifetime to do just that.

[adanima]

10 BL People That I Want Carnally

Tagged by @vegasandhishedgehog, thanks for tagging me!

(This is gonna be less than 10 because my watchlist is unfortunately short)

Vegas Theerapanyakul (KinnPorsche)

Yes, yes, I know. I'll give everyone a moment to recover from the shock.

What can I say? He's insane, he's a murderer, he's a plotter and a schemer, he's five thousand red flags wrapped in a beautiful silk shirt, like a monarch butterfly or something. He's also a big pathetic crybaby who will breakdown if you give him a hug. The magnitude of my want for him is unspeakable. Out of anyone on this list, this guy right here is the one I'm most likely to be rabid dog about.

(And to put everyone out of their anticipation - while Vegas is very much included in this list, Pete is very much not. As for why, I refer you to this post by @kissporsche et al.)

Yu Ziyuan (Mo Dao Zu Shi)

The MILF of all time. BAMF wielder of the most BAMF spiritual weapon. I would let her do so much to me. I would do so much for her. *dove cameron voice* I could be a better boyfriend husband than him. (Although, let's be honest, that's not a hard bar to clear.) Yu Ziyuan, Madame Yu, I am at your service.

Ramil (Vampire Project)

Yes, I know we only have a 3.5 minute trailer but that's all I need to know I want him. A vampire with hypnosis powers that looks like Boun? That's an absolute yes, please.

Todd (Not Me)

Ugh, look at him and his big teary eyes in an emotionally fraught scene.

Now, I must confess - I have not watched Not Me (yet! it's definitely going to happen one of these days). But, I've seen enough gifsets of this bad boy to know that he is one big red flag which is way more than enough to make me go 👀

Plus, I've seen where (I assume) he lives and I'd make a move on him just for the chance to be played around with in that pool, iykyk

SamMon (GAP)

Blatantly stealing this entry from vegasandhishedgehog's post: "I just want whatever is going on right here." Literally. No notes.

And that's a wrap! Tagging @lu-sn @chalkrevelations @nev-ertheless3 if you're interested!

[totallyking]

i want to just go ahead and do this and im assuming this is about f/o not my s/i since we r literally the same person ykyk? cool. also i LOVE carebears my baby blanket is literally a 2005 carebears comforter.

long post under cut <3

❤️ - my love language is touch and gift giving! Luigis love language is acts of service and quality time :))

🌈 - im more likely to sit with him while he cries. a lot of times you dont need your problem solved you just need to let it out. and when you have a lot of stress like Lu does then you find that you have to do it often

☀️ - i am NOT athletic at all! im actually disabled and struggle to do much athleticism. My s/i is much LESS disabled but she still experiences fatuige and gets left out of adventures a lot. Luigi however is extremely athletic and honestly hella acrobatic

🌧 - Im more of a pessimist honestly. i try to see positives but its a lot harder than youd think. Luigi keeps me optimistic, though.

🍀 - Luigi is much more optimistic. opting to see the good in people rather than whats actually there. sometimes you have to keep him realistic and know when its time to walk away from someone or something.

🌙 - My dreams are hard to remember honestly (thanks aphantasia) but i know hes been in my dreams at least once. and even if i cant remember what happened i woke up feeling really giddy heheh

💞 - it was decently recently. ive loved him since i was a child. my mother used to always pick him in multi-player mario games (while i was a peach fan) and i grew pretty attached to him. but recently ive become obsessed and ive been obsessed with f/os before but this felt different. getting past the honeymoon phase is always the hardest but i think ive managed it! Id have to credit M&L: Dream Team with my infatuation with him rising as a kid :)

🧁 - The boys celebrate their birthday on the same day just one party. but its never a big party cause it stresses out Lu and if people dont show up he gets sad. The people hes friends with are just so BUSY! But something small just a friends and family party..

🌻 - We end up sharing a good ammount of friends! it didnt start that way being a princess makes it hard to have actual connections with people. so when you start to hide that you can actually make friends. but luigis friends are nice. the entire gang is super accepting too.

💫 - i dont have many things to wish for. When i make wishes they seem to get out of hand (much like wishbear herself) but to wish for anything would be that his flowershop would take off. its just a little hole in the wall next to his brothers shop for their plumbing business.

✨️🌈 care bears themed prof/ovember ask game ! 🌈✨️

tenderheart bear ❤️ - what's your love language? what is s/i's love language?

cheer bear 🌈 - how do you cheer s/i up when they're feeling down? are you more likely to want to solve their problem, or help them feel out the negative feelings?

funshine bear ☀️ - are you athletic at all? what about s/i? are there any outdoor activities you like to share?

grumpy bear 🌧 - who's more of a pessimist -- you, or s/i?

good luck bear 🍀 - who's more of an optimist -- you, or s/i?

bedtime bear 🌙 - tell me all about the craziest dream you've had about s/i!

love-a-lot bear 💞 - what moment made you realize that s/i was "the one"? be as detailed or vague as you want!

birthday bear 🧁 - how do you usually celebrate s/i's birthday? do you throw them a huge party with all their friends, or do you prefer to keep it between the two of you?

friend bear 🌻 - do you and s/i share a lot of friends, or do you both have separate friend groups you hang out with?

wish bear 💫 - if you could wish for one thing for s/i's sake, what would it be?

[school-in-london]

20231125 10TH ANNIV. TOUR [TOKYO]

■ DJ: タイラダイスケ

Yuno / Fall In Love

Los Retros / Someone to Spend Time With

Kurt Vile / Gone Girl

The Arcs / Sunshine

Fonteyn / Girl on a Motorcycle

Hovvdy / True Love

Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard / On the Kill Again

Sam Blasucci / Sha La La

Big Thief / Forgotten Eyes

Primal Scream / Star

Daddy Freddy & Horace Andy / Dirty Money Business

Stimulator Jones / Need Your Body

OGRE YOU ASSHOLE / 真ん中で(from 浮かれている人twilight edition EP)

Janelle Monáe / Lipstick Lover

Cleo Sol / 23

Ami Faku & Gallo Remixed / There's Music in the Air (feat. Black Coffee)

Vampire Weekend / We Belong Together (feat. Danielle Haim)

Benny Sings / Pyjamas feat. Remi Wolf

lola coca / The Map

- ■ DJ: 遠藤孝行

Little Simz / Point and Kill (feat. Obongjayar)

Wu-Lu / Scrambled Tricks

Twin Peaks / Dance Through It

The Last Dinner Party / Sinner

Peace / Happy Cars

CAROLINE POLACHEK / Bunny Is A Rider

DEAN / Love (feat. Syd)

Dua Lipa / Houdini

Tame Impala / Is It True

Blur / Music Is My Radar

Water From Your Eyes / Out There

The XX / On Hold

The 1975 / Happiness

The Strokes / Brooklyn Bridge to Chorus

The Cribs / Men's Needs

Bloom Twins / Drunk & Loud

Thee Oh Sees / Die Laughing

Mock Media / Modern Visions

- ■ DJ: 村田タケル

Deadletter / Line The Cows

Water From Your Eyes / True Life

The Psychotic Monks / Post-Post-

Thank / Trouble Cube

Fat Dog / King of the Slugs

HMLTD / The End Is Now

Black Country, New Road / Dancers

boygenius / Not Strong Enough

Arlo Parks / Weightless

Emily Yacina / Gleaming

The Drums / I Want It All

Computerwife / Vacation

Royel Otis / I Wanna Dance With You

cumgirl8 / llc

Current Joys / Dr Satan

Lifeguard / 17-18 Lovesong

My Bloody Valentine / Nothing Much To Lose

Protomartyr / 3800 Tigers

bar italia / my little tony

Treeboy & Arc / Box Of Frogs

Italia 90 / Funny Bones

- ■ DJ: タイラダイスケ

Dehd / Bop

The Strokes / The Adults Are Talking

Dominic Fike / How Much Is Weed?

SuperJazzClub / Cameras

Watch the Ride & Nia Archives / Mash up the Dance

Miso / Emotions (feat. Lil Cherry)

Mura Masa / Whenever I Want

The Postal Service / Such Great Heights

Romy & Fred again.. / Strong

Troye Sivan / Rush

salute / Joy

Disclosure & RAYE / Waterfall

Jorja Smith / Little Things

PinkPantheress & Ice Spice / Boy's a liar Pt. 2

Eliza Rose / Better Love

bed / Kare Wa

Confidence Man / Angry Girl

Nirvana / Drain You

The Beatles / Tomorrow Never Know's

The Stone Roses / I Am The Resurrection

- ■ DJ: 遠藤孝行

LCD Soundsystem / All My Friends

Blur / Tender(Cornelius Remix)

Arctic Monkeys / 505

Hosegirl / Option8

Yuck / Get Away

Hole / Celebrity Skin

Courting / Flex

THEE MICHELLE GUN ELEPHANT / Danny Go

The Libertines / Don't Look Back Into the Sun

Equal Parts / lying Down

Ash / Burn Baby Burn

Bleachers / Modern Girl

Elvis Costello / Pump It Up

Catfish and the Bottlemen / Emily

Alvvays / Pharmacist

Ride / Chelsea Girl

- ■ DJ: 村田タケル

The Hazmats / Wondered

Yard Act / The Trapper's Pelts

Porchlight / Noel

Moin / Melon

Yo La Tengo / Fallout

Horsegirl / Anti-Groly

bar italia / worlds greatest emoter

bar italia / Polly Armour

bar italia / Punkt

Tramhaus / Karen is a Punk

shame / The Fall Of Paul

Double Virgo / No Sweat

Doss / Strawberry

Sextile / New York

Crack Cloud / Image Craft (Live in London)

Model/Actriz / Amaranth

black midi / John L

The Lounge Society / Last Breath

The Murder Capital / Return My Head

Moreish Idols / Chum

Pet Shimmers / Mortal Sport Argonaut

Exlovers / Moth-Eaten Memories

Italia 90 / New Factory

The Wake / On Our Hnoeymoon

The Cure / Jumping Someone Else's Train

HighSchool / Only a Dream

Courting / Famous

Tramhaus / Beep Beep

~Ending~ bar italia / Friends

[brokentreeonline]

We're All Going To Die from Stefan Hunt on Vimeo.

We’re All Going To Die takes on the simple task of exploring the meaning of life. Through colour, imagination, humour and fart jokes, Director Stefan Hunt asks you to look at the what ifs, the why nots and the oh wells that might flash before your eyes when paid a surprise visit by Death. With your internal monologue played by Jared Jekyll and Death played by Hugo Weaving (The Matrix, Lord of the Rings), you’re prompted to get existential whilst grinning from ear to ear during this independent short film of fantastical weirdness.

The film is an adaptation from Stefan Hunt's illustrated book 'Were All Going To Die' and part of a multimedia extravaganza of that same name that was launched in October 2017. The project uses death and art to empower its audience to fear less & live more. "Years ago I was crippled by fear. Reminding myself that I'm going to die has changed my approach to life. It's the most powerful force to live by." says Hunt, who independently funded this project alongside a successful Kickstarter campaign.

A huge thank you to everyone who has been part of the journey. Let's keep kicking fear in the balls.

For more information visit - wereallgoingto.com Official book available here - wereallgoingto.com/book

Director - Stefan Hunt Producer - Yingna Lu Director of Photography - Campbell Brown Editor - Stefan Hunt Man - Jared Jekyll Death - Hugo Weaving Production Designer -Ian Kanik Art Director - Mohini Herse Art Director - Courtney Covey Costume Designer - Christina Bouzios Costume Designer - Rosa Spring Voss Hair and Make Up - Katy Clucas Hair and Make Up - Lisa Mangion Sound Composer - Jonny Higgins Casting Director - Felicity Byrne Unit Production Manager - Maren Smith Unit Production Manager - Nicole Hofstädter 1st Assistant Director - Stuart Beedie Stunt Coordinator - Mark Duncan (TwinStar Stunts) Stunt Rigger - Neal Horton Production Assistant - Olivia Carolan Production Assistant - Yasmin Blake Production Assistant/Reader Emele Ugavule 1st Assistant Camera - Joel Eames 1st Assistant Camera - Sid Tinney 1st Assistant Camera - Tim Keith 2nd Assistant Camera - Luke Tysoe 2nd Assistant Camera - Chris Moore 2nd Assistant Camera - Rhavin Banda BTS Jack Shepherd Wardrobe Assist - Amber Theron Gaffer - Mat Wilson (Focus Film Lighting) Gaffer - Steve Schofield (Lumen Arty) Best Boy - Nathan Grant Best Boy - Richard Hawkins Best Boy - Charles Gray Key Grip - Chris Davies Sound Recordist & Boom Operator - Martin Demian Stills Photographer - Sam Shepherd Locations Services - Emelie Fagerman and Alex Intihar from Search Party Locations Online Editor / Colourist - Matt Fezz VFX Supervisor - Matt Fezz VFX Supervisor - Matt Campbell Storyboard Artist - Amber Theron Graphic Designer - Sam Shepherd Designer - Hui Ying Kao Designer - Courtney Brookes Animator - Andrew Khosravani Animator - Michael Chen Post Sound Supervisor - Jonny Higgins Voice Over Recordist - Rob Hughes Voice Over Recordist - Simon Lister VO recorded at Nylon Studios Special Thanks to; Paper Moose Crater Studios Mrs Nina Tattoli Vanessa Marian Helena Rosebery Southern Cross Cameras Australia Stef Smith Matt Pike Whitney Oliver Alexandra Kent Adam Benton Liam Riley Ant Pawley Kei Yokokawa Williams Management Andrew Wilkinson (Sydney Prop Specialists) Alt.vfx

[huggybug]

omg pls do more of the jack instagram edit w the random pics i’m obsessed

your wish is my command anon! part one

hughes day <3

yourusername

liked by mattboldy, brendan.brisson and others

yourusername go little all-star🥹

fanuser the behind the scenes content >>

fanuser is y/n an nhl wag all-star??

yourusername duh

brendan.brisson cuddly jack

lhughes_06 nice sweater

yourusername i picked it out

quinnhughes_ of course you did

yourusername i can find you one too q! you really need some help in that department…

trevorzegras weekend’s getting crazy

yourusername behave😐

jackhughes thanks for tagging along

yourusername anytime my dude!

alexturcotte hair could use a wash

yourusername

liked by brendan.brisson, trevorzegras and others

yourusername look at my hot boyfriend !! also sorry boys for crashing your training (twice)

colecaufield the snacks were enough of an apology

lhughes_06 why.

yourusername gotta give the people what they want lu!

fanuser y/n i am begging on my hands and knees, PLEASE MORE NTDP CONTENT

yourusername you guys know i got u!

yourusername

liked by mbeniers10, cam.york and others

yourusername from the vault pt. 2

fanuser COLE AND ALEX CONTENT

fanuser why isn’t it all cole😟

yourusername i’m actually jack’s girlfriend, not cole’s!

quinnhughes_ top quality

yourusername thanks q i try my best🥰

jackhughes again, not in 50% of these

trevorzegras @.alexturcotte we look good

alexturcotte drool worthy

yourusername

liked by brockboeser, tysmith.14 and others

yourusername that’s my man🤤 (thank u ty for the endless supply of jack pics)

tysmith.14 glad to be of service

jackhughes baby… why the second one

yourusername ur so cute🥹🥹

fanuser y/n has all the dev’s working for her already? sounds like queen wag behaviour to me

nicohiscier team wag?

yourusername do i have to send orange slices with j now?

yourusername

liked by lhughes_06, patrickmoynihan_ and others

yourusername swipe for j’s reaction when he realizes this means insta posts 4 life

jackhughes you can’t even do a normal post for this?

yourusername i loooove u jacky

quinnhughes_ finally

mbeniers10 wedding szn about to be crazy

lhughes_06 took him long enough

fanuser IVE NEVER BEEN THIS EXCITED FOR A STRANGER’S ENGAGEMENT

fanuser the content we’ll be getting😵‍💫😵‍💫

yourusername plenty of alex, trev, cole pics will be posted ;)

fanuser QUEEN WAG !!!!!!

alexturcotte congrats, glad you’ll be there to torture jack for the rest of his life

yourusername love u alex

trevorzegras MRS HUGHES

yourusername 🥹

[things-arent-what-they-seem66]

At the bottom of the cave Charlie was shaking Lucifer to see if he was okay.

Charlie: Lu, Lu, can you hear me?

Lucifer groaned: That dirty traitorous asshole! And all for some dusty lamp.

Charlie curled up on herself, there didn't seem to be a way out of here.

Charlie: I don't want to die in here Lu.....

Lucifer: We won't Char I promise. We'll figure something out.

Lucifer picked up the lamp, there was something written on the side. He rubbed it to get it clean and it started to glow and..... Laugh?

Smoke came from the lamp, it was purple in color and in that smoke was a woman.

Emily: Oh! Ten thousand years will give you such a kink in your neck. Well hello there! My name is Emily and I am at your service master.

Lucifer: What? Master?

Charlie only shrugged.

Emily: Yes! I am Emily an all powerful Genie! Since you have rubbed my lamp I am obligated to grant you three wishes.

Lucifer couldn't believe his luck: Any three wishes I want?

Even Prince Adam?

Emily: Well, there are a few rules. Like no wishing for more wishes. Three is all you get. No exchanges or refunds.

Emily came over to Lucifer and places her arm around him: Rule number one! I can't kill anyone, so please don't ask. Rule number two! I can't make anyone fall in love with anyone else. And rule number three! I can't bring anyone back from the dead. Trust me it's just gross, I don't like to do it.

Emily floated away and Charlie couldn't help but admire the genies beauty.

Emily: So other than that, you can have anything.

Lucifer and Charlie shared a look and he smirked.

Lucifer: Rules? Like limitations? Some powerful Genie, can't even bring someone back from the dead. Come on Char, I bet she couldn't even get us out of this cave.

Emily stood in front of them: Umm, Excuse me, did you rub my lamp, did you wake me up, did you bring me here? And now you're walking out on me? I don't think so you're getting you're wishes pal so SIT ON THE RUG!!

Lucifer and Charlie did as she said and Emily used her magic to fly them up and out of the cave to a little oasis.

Emily: There! How's that mister!

Lucifer: Thank you, now about my three wishes.

Emily: I'm sorry three? You are down by one!

Lucifer: I never actually wished for us to get out of the cave you did that on your own.

Well Emily felt silly: Okay you bad boy, but no more freebies.

(Aladdin AU)

*Alastor the chief advisor of Queen Sera waited for a pimp named Valentino to meet him, standing by Alastor was his assistant Vox, a man who had the ability to hypnotize people which Alastor used to hypnotize the Queen, thankfully Valentino arrived*

Alastor: You are late.

Valentino: A thousand apologies Lord Alastor.

*Valentino bowed and Vox glared at the slimy pimp in disgust*

Valentino: Is this the cave?

*the men men stood in front of a cave that was shaped like a tiger’s head, it made Alastor think of Prince Adam’s beloved pet tiger Lute who would bite anyone who made the young man uncomfortable*

Vox: This is the Cave of Wonders.

Cave of Wonders: Who disturbs my slumber.

Valentino: It is, Valentino.

Cave of Wonders: Only one may enter here, the Diamond in the Rough.

Alastor: What are you waiting for? Go on.

*Valentino slowly approached the cave and when he stepped in the mouth closed crushing Valentino leaving blood and guts everywhere*

Vox: Great, another failure.

Cave of Wonders: Seek me out the Diamond in the Rough.

*the royal guards chased a short blonde young man clutching a loaf of bread with a slightly younger woman running alongside him, they were Lucifer and Charlie, a brother and sister who had to steal to survive*

Lucifer: All this for a loaf of bread.

Captain of the Guards: I will have your hands for a trophy.

*Lucifer ran until he found Rosie, a woman who was friends with their mother, who pulled them into her home until the guards went away, when they Lucifer and Charlie left they sat down while Lucifer tore the bread in half so he could share it with Charlie, but they saw a pair of homeless children who needed food more than either of them did*

Lucifer: You can have this.

*Lucifer handed his half of the bread to the older child*

Charlie: You can have mine too.

*Charlie handed her half of the bread to the younger child, it was another night without food, but the children being fed was more important, Lucifer saw a crowd gathering, it was a princess named Lilith riding into the city seeking the hand of Sera’s beloved son and Prince Adam in marriage*

Guy #1: Another Princess for Prince Adam to reject.

Guy #2: Why doesn't he just pick someone?

Lucifer sighed, Adam was the Prince Heaven, Queen Sera's only child after her husband the King passed away when Adam was still in diapers.

The children from before ran out into the street.

Lilith: Ugh! You little brats!

She went to whip them and Lucifer ran out and took the whip to his arm.

Lucifer: If I were as rich as you, I would be able to afford some manners.

Lilith: Out of my way!

She kicked him into the mud.

Lucifer: Look Charlie! It's not every day you see a horse with two asses!

Everyone laughed.

Lilith glared: You're nothing but a filthy street rat. You'll die a street rat and only your flees will mourn you!

The palace gates closed as Lucifer charged them.

Lucifer: I don't have flees..... Bitch. I hope Prince Adam rejects you.

-

A few hours later and Princess Lilith was storming out of the room.

Lilith: GOOD LUCK MARRYING HIM OFF!!

Sera: Leaving so ...... Soon?

Lilith had some of her dress missing as she stormed out.

Sera: Adam.....

Adam was sitting by the pond with his pet tiger Lute.

Sera: Adam! Adam! Oh confound it Lute!

Adam: Oh Lute was only playing with that spoiled princess Lilith. Weren't you girl? Hehehe.

Sera did not look impressed.

Sera: Adam my dear, you know the law, you have to get married-

Adam: To someone of royal statues I know. But mom if I do get married one day I want it to be for love.

[afictionalwhore]

Little Miss Perfect

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A/N: I have so many plans for this bad boy that’s been sitting in the back of my mind for a hot minute now after a conversation with @jadequeen88. Thank you bby for reading over this!

T/W: dubcon/noncon; religious references and religious guilt; cheating

4.5K words

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There wasn't much at all in your little town in the middle of Nowheresville: population just over 300. The nearest Walmart was at least a twenty minute drive over to the next town, but you had a Dollar General Market to do your weekly grocery shopping. There was a school that ran from pre-k all the way up to high school, where you graduated from with a senior class consisting of a grand total of sixteen. The Dairy Queen down the road from your high school did best in the region, thanks to bored, local high schoolers on Friday nights. Your town also boasted the birthplace of the state's governor years ago, but no one remembered him, having three other governors since his last term. Despite the dullness of everyday life, you were happy. You had grown up best friends and high school sweethearts with the most respected boy in town: Natsuo Todoroki.

Of course, your quaint little town also had a church, as any well-to-do Southern town would. The church was like any other Southern Baptist affair, pristine, white, and much too large for such a small town. A long hallway behind the sanctuary led to a few classrooms, a choir practice room, and a stairwell to the basement. In the basement were the kitchens, a few more classrooms, and a large empty room where church events were held that doubled as the town’s community center. This was where bingo nights for the elderly members of the community were held, and the occasional baby shower or wedding reception could be held there. Pastored by Enji Todoroki, or Brother Enji as the town lovingly referred to him, the church congregation contained essentially the entire population of your small town. Even the local alcoholic your town was very hush about would make his way to Christmas and Easter services. 

Being Natsuo's sweetheart, volunteering at the church was naturally what kept your what would otherwise be boring life busy. There was always something to be done, be it a simple cleaning of the sanctuary or helping cook for the elderly's monthly bingo nights. Not only were you Natsuo's sweetheart, but you were the town's darling, working dutifully every Sunday by Natsuo's side with the church's children. You were a natural, studying early childhood education at a small, private Christian-based university just a few hours away where Natsuo had earned his pastoral ministries degree, aiming to take over the congregation when his father retired. The old ladies of the community constantly hounded you about when you and Natsuo would get married and give the church a baby to dote on. 

"After I graduate," you would say with a smile, dusting your flour-covered hands off on the aging pink apron that had to be from the 1950s before setting a timer for the hawaiian roll sliders in the ancient oven in the church’s basement kitchen. “I want to work a little, give back to the community before becoming a full time mom.” 

This was the only thing you dared fight Brother Enji on. Natsuo, two years your senior, had already been graduated for a year, and Enji had been adamant that you go ahead and marry after he had graduated, as eager as the old women that whispered to each other during bingo nights for you two to continue the Todoroki line. 

But you would not falter, stating that while you had every intention to marry Natsuo and sign your life off as a Todoroki, the least Enji could allow you was your education. You had dreamed since childhood of teaching at the school where you and Natsuo attended elementary together. You loved children, giving your all to the church children you worked with multiple times a week, but you were not at all ready for your own. You were just barely twenty-one years old; Natsuo a young and hopeful twenty-three. The thought of having children now scared you and Natsuo both. It scared you more than saying “no” to Enji.

You may not have had the loftiest goals of your small graduating class, but you were sharp and knew that education was not something Enji would take lightly. Surely, Enji wanted an educated woman as his first, and perhaps only, daughter-in-law, seeing as Shouto was likely to move across the country for college and never come back, and Fuyumi had no intentions of marrying. Touya, Enji’s oldest son with piercings and tattoos as numerous as stars in the coal dusted skies and his hair dyed black to match, was another situation entirely. 

Everyone, Touya Todoroki included, believed that he would have left by now. Touya had tried to leave, fleeing to a state university the moment he had graduated from your pitiful high school. Unsurprisingly to you and the rest of the congregation, Touya, with his undeclared major and runaway attitude, had been swept up in the party lifestyle of state school fraternities and quickly failed his way out of college. Brother Enji had been swift to bring him back home, ashamed and embarrassed at the congregation’s whisperings about what Touya had done to the Todoroki name. So here he was, Touya Todoroki, local rebel and stain on an otherwise perfect Christian family, begrudgingly coming to Easter service, listening to his father preach and watch his perfect brother, Natsuo, clean up the mess he had made of the family reputation.

You were there, naturally, front and center and practically glued to Natsuo’s side, in your pretty pink Easter dress. The pastel flowers decorating your dress seemed to float down the modestly lengthed skirt. Touya felt his blood boil, watching perfect little you with his perfect little brother listen intently to whatever biblical nonsense his father spouted off. He stretched, his suit feeling hot and tight, as though he were trying to discreetly scratch an awkward itch. You shifted in your seat, leaning slightly more into Natsuo, blissfully unaware of Touya’s hot gaze from the back row. 

Touya knew the routine, after a brief sermon to the entire congregation, his father would send you and Natsuo off to take the children to children’s church and youth group. You and Natsuo rose from your seats in the pews after Enji's final blessing on the children, your pretty skirt twirling with you as you spun to face the children. Your smile was as bright as a porch light on a Southern summer night, and the children flocked to you like little moths. They clung to your skirt and pulled you towards the door while the older kids trailed behind with Natsuo. Natsuo stood straight, as though he were a shepherd and you were his most beloved lamb. 

Touya made eye contact with his brother as you made your way down the aisle to the back of the sanctuary where he sat with Shoto. Natsuo looked at the older Todoroki with pure disgust and hatred, as though willing the gray ice of his eyes to freeze Touya to death on the spot. Touya broke the stare with his brother only to find that his bright aquamarine eyes met your own round ones just in front of him. Your brief surprise at his presence quickly melted into pity, a sad smile gracing your face, before you were swept out the door by the children.

The anger rose in Touya as you and Natsuo disappeared with the children out the back of the sanctuary. His blood boiled so hotly he felt he may burst into flames in the middle of Easter service. Before he could stop himself, Touya found himself rising from his seat. He needed a smoke, a drink, the floor to open up and swallow him down to hell like his father prayed it would. He just wanted out of the damned sanctuary. Shoto, who was feigning sleep beside Touya, cracked his eyes open to give Touya a quick glance, quirking an eyebrow in a silent question, “where are you going?”

“Bathroom,” Touya hissed. Touya knew Shoto could see straight through the outright lie, both of the youngest Todoroki's eyebrows now raised in further silent interrogation: "really?" Touya dipped his head below the back of the pew in front of them and mimed a cigarette. Shouto shrugged and closed his eyes again. Lucky for Touya, Shoto cared just as much about their father’s godly ramblings as Touya did, perhaps even less. Who would he snitch to that Touya had slipped out of Easter service for a smoke? If Shoto weren’t at least decently scared of their father, he may have even joined Touya.

Touya left the sanctuary and strolled down the hall towards the back entrance of the church, in no immediate rush to get back to his father’s sermon. He had almost made it to the back exit doors when he noticed a flash of pink fabric rustle down the stairwell to this left, accompanied by the graceful pitter-patter of your low heels against the hard stairs that led to the church basement. 

Touya didn’t mean to follow you. He really did mean to go out for a smoke. But he couldn’t help but overhear what was unmistakably your sweet, soft voice comforting who Touya guessed was one of your and Natsuo’s youths, egging him forward to eavesdrop and hoping to catch something he could one day use against you.

You and the girl from youth, a high schooler Touya would have to guess, finally arrived at an abandoned classroom in the basement.

See. There's nothing to worry about,” Touya heard you say. “If you want, I can get rid of it for you. Just go back to Natsuo and the others before they get suspicious.”

“Thank you so so much,” the girl sniffled. "But what about you?"

“Easy,” you laughed. Touya could hear your perfect smile in the gentle laugh. “Just tell them I had to stop by the restroom if they ask about me.”

"I wish I were as perfect as you," the girl said. Touya thought he would vomit.

"Nobody's perfect," you laughed. Touya thought he'd get a headache with how hard he rolled his eyes. How much more cliche can you get?

The loud scraping of the chair against the tile floor signaling that you were leaving broke Touya from his thoughts. Lucky for him, the basement hallway was dark with plenty of shadows for him to jump into as the youth girl made her way back to the stairs to join the rest of the youth. 

You had decided to stay behind for a few moments, examining something in your hands that the high schooler had given to you. When he was sure that the girl had gone back upstairs, Touya left his shadowy hiding place and slipped into the room, slamming the door behind him and clicking the lock.

You jumped up out of your seat at the sound of the door, turning quickly with a rustle of fabric and throwing your arms behind you to hide whatever it was that you were holding.

“Whatcha got there, doll?” He cocked his head to the side, as though his question were from an innocent puppy. The fire in his eyes and the smirking tugging at his face proved he was anything but.

“Oh! Nothing,” you stammered, stepping back into the table behind you as Touya stalked forward towards you.

“You sure about that?" he smirked.

It was as though the chairs parted themselves to make way for Touya.

"Drugs maybe? Ya know, if it’s weed you’re after, you can just come talk to me. I’ve got good connections still and can hook you up better than these high school wannabes. Maybe I could get ya something a little stronger even?”

You blushed at Touya’s insinuation. Your blush grew deeper, a perfect Georgia peach flush, when you realized the closeness between you two. It was the first time you got a good look at Touya. He was handsome, as all the Todoroki boys were, but there was a sharp edge to him. While Natsuo was handsome in the way that a freshly fallen snow is beautiful, Touya’s beauty resembled that of broken glass: dangerously sharp, potentially harmful, yet mesmerizingly beautiful.  

"No, it's nothing like that," you said, lifting yourself up to sit on the table in a pitiful attempt to escape him. His fierce blue eyes staring you down made you uncomfortable at the least. 

Touya didn't notice that he had reached you during his small speech until he was towering over your smaller frame, and you were scrambling to get away. You had to bend your neck back to look up at him. Touya felt a surge of power over you. This was the first time that Touya felt you were actually beneath him. Touya had gotten a taste of dominance over you, and it was something he wanted to savor and make last as long as he could.

Touya wasn’t obsessed with you in the sense that men like him typically obsess over pretty girls like you. Sure, Touya was a man with various unsatisfied needs, and he had thoughts of dreams of kissing you, of fucking you senseless. But his feelings for you went beyond just wanting to fuck you. Touya absolutely hated you and everything you represented. You were the exact opposite of him. You were actually wanted into the family by his father. You were loved by everyone you met. You were perfect, something that Touya could never begin to hope of being.

What Touya felt for you was something he’d never felt for anyone. Touya hated his family just as much if not more than they hated him. He hated your whole godforsaken town as much as they hated him. But you were different. The rage Touya felt towards you paled what he felt for his family or your hometown. He was used to being looked at like he was worthless, less than, a stain on the otherwise spotless community, and he was content with this. But you, with you perfect ways and perfect heart, never looked at him with that disgust, instead your eyes were filled with pity everytime they fell on him. Touya wanted you hurt just as much as he was hurting. He wanted to ruin you and your perfect world, and watch the pity in your eyes turn into a hate that rivaled his own. 

Touya grabbed at your wrist behind you, causing what was in your hands to clatter onto the table and bounce on the floor below you. Keeping you firm in his grasp, Touya looked down to see a pregnancy test on the floor: positive.

“Is that yours?” Touya inquired, his mouth pulled into a sneer that caused your stomach to twist with disgust.

“No,” you flatly replied.

“Okay,” Touya mused, mocking. “So if it’s not yours, then it’s the girl that just left’s?” 

“Why does it matter to you, Touya? Who are you to judge her?”

“I don’t care what the young slut does in her free time. Or should I say, who she does,” Touya laughed more at the discontentment in your face than at his crude joke. “But I know a lot of people who would care. Number one being my dad.”

“Don’t, Touya. Please don’t say anything.”

“Would you let that poor girl shoulder the blame herself?” Touya’s brilliant blue eyes were burning into yours, causing you to freeze like a deer in headlights. “Or would you help take up her cross? Isn’t that what a good little Christian girl is supposed to do? I guess you’re not really a good Christian girl though, what with all the lying and secrets. Does my brother even know about this?”

“No,” you dropped your head to break Touya’s stare. “Nobody but me and you know.”

“What are you going to do to keep it that way?”

“Touya, what do you want from me?” Your voice trembled at the thought of how Touya could wreck your reputation with just the slightest slip of his tongue. “There’s nothing I have that you could want.”

“You have so much I want and you don’t even fucking know it,” Touya growled. 

A feeling of dread rooted in you at the drop of Touya’s voice. You looked back up at Touya with wide doe eyes, blushing under his intense blue gaze. As Touya gripped your smaller wrist in his large hands he realized the one thing he wanted to see in your eyes more than hate—fear. Touya could feel himself growing hard at your fearful expression. 

Touya pushed you down onto the table so your legs dangled awkwardly off the edge and grabbed the fabric of your skirt and lifted up, exposing your white lace panties.

“What are you doing? Touya!” you exclaimed. 

“Oh lace? What a sweet surprise; though I think black would suit you more,” Touya said, ignoring you. 

“What’re you doing? Touya! Stop!”.

“You don’t want me saying anything do you? You said there’s nothing you had that I wanted. Well that’s a lie.” Touya smirked at you while pulling down your panties. “I want to wreck this sweet, perfect pussy. Now just stay still. You’ll feel so good.”

Touya hadn’t meant to take it this far. He had only meant to scare you a bit. But seeing your fearful eyes wet with tears threatening to spill over and ruin your perfect makeup was too much for him to continue holding back. He realized in that moment that his hate for you was just a sad attempt at burying the admiration he held for you at standing up to his father about marrying Natsuo so soon. He wanted to be the one to take you. You were going to be his, not Natsuo’s, but this would be the only chance he would get at having you. Touya wasn’t going to pass up that opportunity.

Touya’s long tongue flicked out against your newly exposed cunt, licking up and down from your tight hole to your sensitive clit, getting you sufficiently wet from your own growing and betraying arousal and his spit. The ball of his piercing rolled against your clit. You jumped with a small yelp and pushed your hips against him to get away, which he mistook as a sign of pleasure.

"Don't hold back, doll. I know you feel good." Touya said. You could feel his smile against your heated flesh.

You didn’t feel good, not at first. His tongue felt slimy and foreign. You weren’t used to being spread open, and your legs felt like they were going to cramp at the angle Touya had you pinned. You felt dirty, especially as you began to relax and enjoy the sensation of Touya’s tongue against you.

As the wet noises from Touya drinking in all you had to offer increased in volume, you found your hips bucking up not in an attempt to push him away but to draw him in more. Touya slipped a finger into you, and you gasped, having never been filled before. You felt like a harlot, but the pleasure Touya was giving you overtook the guilt.

“Touya, please,” you begged, praying for Touya to finish soon, that he would take your pleas as a begging for him to stop. You mostly prayed for forgiveness.

“You close, baby?” Touya asked. You nodded, despite having no idea what you were close to.

Touya inserted another finger, curling them against your wet, gummy walls as his mouth enclosed around your throbbing bud. The sound of your panting and the wet slopping noises coming from between your legs felt too loud. It was all you could hear along with the pounding of your heart.

You felt a twisting in your gut as Touya’s finger quickened their pace. It was like a knot forming deep within you that was threatening to break, stretched too taunt at your tensing muscles. Touya lavished you in sweet praises as he continued eating your dripping pussy, humming against your clit how good you taste.

That was all it took for the knot to break. Touya finally released his grip on your thighs to allow your legs to close tight around his head. Your inner muscles sporadically twitched around Touya’s fingers, attempting to milk him. Your vision grew hazy, and you couldn’t hear anything outside the distant voice of Touya egging you on as you rode out your very first orgasm on his face.

When you had finally come down from your high, you noticed Touya supporting your legs as they trembled around his head.

“Did you feel good?” Touya asked, sickening smirk still plastered on his face.

You only had the energy to nod.

“I guess you aren’t so perfect after all. I mean look at ya, doll, cumming all over your boyfriend’s brother’s face.” Touya chuckled as you turned away, face burning in shame.

How could you face Natsuo? As you turned away from Touya a poster of the Ten Commandments mocked you. You had no hope after breaking the seventh, “Thou shall not commit adultery”. You began to cry at the thought of betraying Natsuo. Even if it wasn’t originally by choice, you were still, in your mind, an adulteress. Never being one to keep your own secrets, you feared that you were also breaking the ninth commandment, “thou shall not bear false witness”, through lie by omission. 

“So is she keeping it or what?”  Touya’s unexpected question brought you out of your self loathing.

“What?” you replied, not understanding what Touya was referring to, brain still foggy from your first orgasm.

“That girl. She keeping the baby? Or is she ya know?” “I don’t know,” you slowly said.

“Would you keep it?” Touya pressed.

“Yes, of course,” you replied in your perfect godly manner, despite just having your boyfriend’s brother’s face buried in your cunt while Easter service continued in the sanctuary above.

“Even if it were mine?” Touya asked, taking you off guard.

“I don’t know what you—“

Before you had time to question him further, Touya had pressed the tip of his cock into you.

“No no. Touya please don’t. Please.” You cried, trying to piece together when he found the time to undo his pants.

You had already given away so much of your body away to Touya and felt yourself growing sick at the thought of Touya taking away what you and Natsuo fought to save for marriage.

“Now I know it’s big, much bigger than my fingers, but you’ll get used to it.” Touya grunted as he pushed himself to the hilt, hips flush against yours. You gasped at how full you felt, and your muscles squeezed around his cock at the larger intrusion, sending shivers down his spine. 

“Hey, hey. Just relax,” Touya said. “Didn’t I just make you feel good?”

You cried, fat tears rolling down your cheeks, as Touya fucked into you, his thick cock hitting every nerve. You clutched at Touya’s arms, nails digging into his tattooed skin as you tried to find purchase. The stretch to accommodate Touya burned and the slap of his skin against yours stung. With each heavy thrust, the head of Touya’s cock knocked on your cervix, as though he were the beloved asking to cum in. 

Eventually the pain subsided into pleasure and your sobs quieted into sniffles before turning into soft moans. Your tears had dried, leaving your makeup remarkably intact.

Touya pressed a hand against your mouth in an attempt to muffle the noises spilling out of you.

"I bet you thought your first time would be perfect, didn't you?" Touya punctuated the thought with a particularly hard thrust that had your body jerking like a ragdoll. “Bet you thought your first time would be with Natsuo. Slow, soft, perfect love making, right?” Another rough thrust that would have thrown you off the small table had it not been for Touya’s other hand holding a fast grip on your hips to keep you pinned 

You answered with a sniffle and moan, and turned your head away from him to hide your tears.

“Well, princess, we don’t have the time for that shit,” Touya laughed, noticing the fat tears threatening to roll down your flushed cheeks and effectively ruin your makeup.

"I may not be perfect, doll, but I'm still pretty good, right?"

You turned your head back to Touya, blushing furiously at the hungry look in his turbulent eyes and hating yourself for how your body had reacted to his touch. The knot in your stomach was forming again, making you desperate for release. Touya laughed as you involuntarily pulsed around him, your body’s traitorous attempt at pulling him in deeper. 

"Just hang on, doll. It'll be over soon." Touya leaned down to trail hungry kisses along your neck and jaw, nipping here and there at the modest amount of exposed flesh on the top half of your body.

You whimpered at how cool Touya’s wet kisses felt against your heated skin. With no real strength in your body, you weakly wrapped your arms around the back of Touya’s neck, desperate for something to hold on to as you and Touya quickly approached your ends.

As his thrusts lost their rhythm and became more desperate, Touya’s hand left your mouth to join its twin at your hips. Touya lifted your hips slightly, giving himself deeper access into you. The new angle had your head spinning and you cried as you felt the knot once again threatening to break.

“Just like that, doll,” Touya chanted as he rolled his hips into yours, pelvic bone hitting against your clit with each roll of his hips. Your warm, wet walls squeezing around him in waves like an earthquake had him toppling over the edge, spilling hot white into you, causing you, in turn, to follow him off that ledge.

Touya laid his heavy body over you, propping himself on his forearms so as not to crush you. You took a moment to regain your breath before reality came crashing down on you.

Touya assaulted you, and you enjoyed it. Touya took away your first time, and you let him. You didn’t fight him back hard enough. You didn’t want to fight him back. You fucked your boyfriend’s brother and loved it.

You started crying, kicking and beating at Touya to push him off of you. 

“Get away from me!” you cried. You sat up painfully straight and clutched at the fabric of your dress at your chest.

Touya chuckled seeing you act like a feral kitten. He tucked himself back in and fixed his pants, acting like nothing had happened. 

“You better hurry up before Natsuo asks where you were. You’re smart I’m sure you’ll come up with some lie, you perfect little sinner.” Touya winked and pressed a gentle kiss to the top of your head before exiting the room to join Shoto back in the sanctuary where their father was sure to be finishing up his sermon, leaving you to sit in confusion at what had just transpired between the two of you. 

You wept.

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[chalkrevelations]

So, Episode 7 of Word of Honor, and where to start? No, I’m kidding, I know exactly where I’m starting, which is with some recognition of what a great job this show does of developing 98 percent of its multitude of characters, because the first two things I’m going talk about this week aren’t even Zhou Zishu, Wen Kexing OR Wen Kexing’s thirst (AKA, the three main characters of the show).

Well, I guess I’m really starting with the usual warning – this is a re-watch and so there are SPOILERS here, not only for this episode, but for most of the show. Scroll away and come back later if you’re trying to watch all 36.5 eps unspoiled.

SO, I mean, come on. Of course I’m starting with the Smartest Man in the World, who has finally shown up in this episode, and I’m reminded once again what an actual cinnamon roll, too good for this world, Cao Weining is. He’s maybe the single completely good character we meet  – even Chengling wants to burn down somebody’s house at one point because he’s mad. But Cao Weining is almost too good to be true – and yet, there he is! Living his best life, being good, eating good, falling in love, and refusing to let his beautiful, clever, fierce girl’s neuroses come between them. I love him, y’all. And not just because he instantly falls in love with A-Xiang when he happens to see her beat up a bunch of drunk bro assholes in the inn where he’s having a quiet little lunch by himself before she storms into his life like a purple whirlwind. But let’s do think about this from his perspective, yeah? And let’s remember it as we watch the progression of their relationship, as we wait for the revelation we know is coming, and as – many eps down the line – he learns the truth of her. Cao Weining’s first experience of A-Xiang is someone who’s brave and capable, who defies outsized odds to come to the rescue of those in need, who doesn’t allow women and girls to be abused, who expects proper behavior from the representatives of the jianghu, and who is absolutely fearless in demanding just treatment and never even thinks to be intimidated when she faces unfair censure from an authority figure. This is the girl WKX raised, y’all. This is a girl who embodies everything Cao Weining has been taught to believe in as a cultivator. And this is the girl Cao Weining sees every time he looks at A-Xiang. Maybe, just maybe, this is the truth of her, and Cao-dage sees and understands it from the very first time he spots her, and anything else he’ll learn about her is really extraneous. (Hmm. I wonder what other relationship we’ll eventually end up seeing that kind of dynamic in, where someone truly knows you and believes in you, so everything else is unimportant?) Also, Cao Weining tells A-Xiang she’s very beautiful, and how many people do you think have ever told her that before in her life? He asks why he would want to fight and hurt her, and how many people – particularly men, given where she grew up – have ever told her that before? He buys her lunch – twice, because the first round gets cold. Remember a few episodes back, when WKX asked her who the second cutest person in the world was, and she responded that it was someone who would buy her a meal? Well, here he is. For bonus points, it is hilarious how badly WKX responds to Cao Weining’s very existence after ZZS points out the pair of them having a toast at the same inn that WKX and ZZS have stopped in WKX has dogged ZZS’s footsteps into. Poor Cao Weining doesn’t even get the shovel talk – although to be fair, he doesn’t get the full-court Ghost Valley Master press, either, so WKX must have been holding back somewhat – he just gets told to get out, before WKX grabs A-Xiang by the ear and delivers some scathing commentary on her taste in men, like he didn’t immediately fall for some rando who was tits out, drinking himself to death in the gutter.

ANYWAY, from the Smartest Man in the World, we’re going to move to Han Ying, My Beloved, who we see interacting with the Five Lakes Alliance again, this time in the person of Gao Chong, leader of Yueyang Sect and host of the upcoming Heroes Conference, da-ge of the 5LA. I had honestly forgotten we got to see so much of Han Ying this early on. What strikes me here is that this is a guy who I actually could believe is the second-in-command of Tian Chuang at what is it? 21 years old? When he’s doing his job, and ZZS is nowhere around for him to make pining puppy-dog eyes at, he’s focused and determined and a bit forceful and somewhat threatening and, frankly, appropriately arrogant for the job he’s been sent to do. He’s also wearing a cloak with a mini-Collar of Evil. He comes off as, dare I say, a capable leader of an assassin organization and a guy who’s able to do a proxy flex for his boss without looking completely ridiculous - which puts him one up on Duang Pengju, omg that asshole, and also makes me feel a little better about how I want ZZS to wreck him (or I guess, technically, him to wreck ZZS, because I’ve never seen a character (except Marcus Flavius Aquila, THANK YOU for your service, Channing Tatum) who put off such subby service-top vibes. WHY is there not more Han Ying/ZZS on AO3, fandom? I thought better … worse? … better? … of you.) When Gao Chong claims the Glazed Armor is a myth, Han Ying basically calls this older, respected zongzhu a liar and gets up in his face before refusing a dinner invitation and sweeping out in his mini-Collar of Evil with a credible “PAH.” My boy has layers, y’all.

What else? We start out the ep at Luo Mansion, a wedding scene, and I’m struck by how the Ghost Valley colors match traditional wedding colors, here. I’m thinking about how A-Xiang’s wedding dress won’t be red (and I think green was more common during the Tang dynasty?) although all the decorations will be, and I’m thinking about how we have this wedding as a book-end to that wedding, and I’m thinking about how it’s interesting that a girl who was raised in the Ghost Valley and protected by the Department of the Unfaithful meets a man who’s going to be so faithful to her in the same episode as this wedding with/of the dead. Ghoul, who’s one of the attendees from the Ghost Valley, also remarks that the red makes him hungry, so there’s a meat reference to throw into the thematic basket, I guess. (Also, hey. Ghoul is played by the same guy who’s Sun Yongren in Killer & Healer.) Lovelace (ugh) briefly menaces one of the Department handmaidens before Luo Fumeng shows up, and I think she’s Yun Zai or Hong Lu, one of the two maids that A-Xiang rescued from him, although I’m not positive, because her hairstyle is so different and hides a lot of her face, here. So, we’re all attending the “wedding” of Mu Yunge, the apparent fuckboy who got got a couple of episodes ago as bait for Ao Laizi when Changing Ghost got his hands (briefly) on the Danyang Glazed Armor. We did see a brief scene with Yunge in the last ep, when he woke up tied up in bed, being menaced by someone who appeared to be his dead lover – who hanged herself while pregnant with their child – but turned out to be Beauty Ghost using a face-masking technique similar to ZZS’s disguises. In the interim, Ghost Valley has kidnapped 10 cultivators as his wedding party, and – this is the important plot point – that includes Deng Kuan, head disciple of Yueyang Sect. We get to see some of Beauty Ghost’s ruthlessness here, as she carries in the dead woman’s memorial tablet draped in a red cloth – how’s that for some foreshadowing (my f’kn HEART) – to set it down in the “bride’s” place before Yunge is forced to bow three times. (Dead girlfriend was a Mo from Broken Arrow Manor, and I … am not sure if that is significant or not. Is she possibly related to Mo Huaiyang? Does anyone know which sect is associated with Broken Arrow Manor?) Beauty Ghost also kills two of the 10 “guest” cultivators for talking without permission as she explains the next event to them – cage match. Only one of them gets to get out alive. Deng Kuan, the best of them, apparently, pleads with everyone to not let themselves be divided, but we can all guess how this is going to go. I guess maybe he’s the other completely good character we meet, but he sure is a punching bag. He ends up the last man, sort of, standing, as he kills the final other person in self-defense, but not before getting stabbed, and he goes down and is out for the count.

Meanwhile, cut to Zhao Jing and Shen Shen drinking and gossiping at an inn on the way to Yueyang. Shenshen – Shenshen – continues to bemoan Chengling’s uselessness, and also talks about the torture the other Zhang family members underwent just in time for Chengling to overhear in the hallway, so thanks a lot for even more trauma, Shenshen. Zhao Jing is so sad about it all, y’all. He’s just so very very sad, can we just stop talking about it, Shenshen, because you’re making him sad, and he’s just going to let Da-ge figure it all out, OK? Uh-huh.

Fourth plot thread of the episode is ZZS skulking around, following Chengling, trying to convince himself that this kid is safe now that he’s turned himself in to gone to live with the 5LA, even as ZZS spots Tian Chuang spies in the ranks of the Yueyang disciples and among the dumpling vendors on the streets outside. ZZS follows the dumpling vendor, gives him a code phrase and almost gets his head taken off by a Scorpion blade for his trouble, before stabbing Dumpling Man in response. WKX picks this exact moment to wander back into ZZS’s orbit, taking the chance to flirt as Dumpling Man spits up blood and dies in the alleyway, because of course he does. WKX tsks, accuses ZZS of being cruel, and quotes some poetry about fair faces and poisonous hearts, which - like all of his poetry - has a double meaning, because which of them is he really talking about, ZZS or himself? ZZS notes that WKX is openly wearing the (Danyang) Glazed Armor because of course he’s looking for trouble, but WKX loosens his stays and clutches his pearls and replies that he couldn’t possibly be looking for trouble – him? Philanthropist Wen? He’s not a merciless killer like ZZS. Whereupon ZZS finally says out loud what he’s been clearly thinking since he started going on about what an awful person he is in the LAST EPISODE, which is why the hell don’t you stop following me around, then? There’s some more flirting, and WKX continues to follow ZZS around, and ZZS takes note that WKX is obviously flaunting the Glazed Armor out in the open, and then there’s a little sleight of hand when Famous Pickpocket Fan Bu Zhi, oh noes! Steals WKX’s Glazed Armor right off his belt when he isn’t even looking! before WKX continues to follow ZZS around, conveniently into the same inn where Cao Weining and A-Xiang are having lunch. After WKX attempts to chase him away, we discover Cao Weining has had his wallet stolen. WKX deploys his Sadness Eyebrows to convince ZZS to turn over his wallet to pay for Cao Weining’s and A-Xiang’s lunch. ZZS – who does an admirable job of refusing for a bit – finally caves, and WKX orders lunch for everyone, on ZZS. Now all we need is Chengling, because the fam is not complete without Goldbean.

[sister-dear]

Whoever your favorite Link is, do headcanons for them, please and thank you

sdflsadfj More? You are too kind. ❤

My fav is Sky, but Four, Legend, and Wild are all up there with him so...

Four Headcanons!

Disclaimer that my headcanons for Four probably shift and change the most out of any of the Links depending on what I’m wanting out of a given story.

Four still lives with his grandfather at the forge. His dad was in the picture for a time but it was brief and they never got very close. He has a very good relationship with Grandpa Smith.

Very private. He’ll be friendly or at least pleasantly social with people, but it takes him a long time to actually warm up to them. Dude has excellent customer service skills; he knows how to read a room.

Trades constant, ruthless short jokes with Dot. They’re as bad with teasing and shit-talking each other as Wind and Tetra. Dot is taller than him but not by much.

The vast majority of his community loves and is supportive of him. I go back and forth on the degree to which his colors are public knowledge, but at least a few members of Hyrule Town are aware of them and are friendly towards whichever part of Four happens to walk through their doors.

Closet gremlin

Being separated for as long as he was during Four Swords meant the colors became just individual enough that when he re-merged it did not go smoothly. He had to relearn how to walk, talk, eat, everything. Immediately post adventure he was completely bed-bound, relying on soft foods, and barely communicating. It took intense therapy to get him back on his feet, which Dot made sure was provided to him. Grandpa Smith was his primary caretaker and so played a large part in his recovery; it’s part of why they’re still so close. Eventually he recovered the ability to split, which helped significantly. It meant he could split up to work out the problem when his colors started clashing instead of getting sucked into his own head and locking up.

All of that recovery took a minimum of two years, probably more like three or four. So for this to work and him to be ~17 by the time of LU he’d have been about 13-14 on his second adventure. Younger than I think the actual characters of the canon manga and game were meant to be, but imo it works with the art style of the game.

Grandpa Smith knows the colors as individuals and considers all of them his grandsons.

Can sometimes get lost in his own head if the colors are having a strong disagreement or he’s otherwise having a bad mental health day. It usually reads as kind of dazed/out of it/stumbly to those around him

Quite comfortable in crowds, royal court, high society, society in general.

Dislikes cats

Little gay man. The individual colors might have differing sexualities and genders (heck, he’s young enough for all of that to still be changing and developing) but they are all attracted to boys to at least some degree so Four as a whole identifies as gay.

Violet’s first crush was Shadow, and at least some of those feelings carried across to Four. At the very least he considers Shadow to have been a friend.

Nothing will make Four pull his hair out faster than people doing things they shouldn’t to their weapons. To him, smithing is an art form. Four takes the care and quality of all of his companions’ weapons very personally. 

Four is something of a jack of all trades when it comes to weapons. He isn’t just a sword guy; he’s perfectly capable with a bow and quite likes bombs. His fighting style involves lots of rolling and dodging and redirecting momentum. He just can’t afford to take as many direct blows as someone bigger.

When at home, Four can and does split into his component colors all the time in order to get more shit done or just give himself some mental space. When he needs to settle himself mentally into one body, he usually turns to smithing. It’s one of the few activities all of the colors love equally. 

Protective of Sky, who is something of a kindred spirit. They’re usually the first to notice if one of them is having a bad health day, though Four tends to put a lot more effort into hiding his bad days than Sky does.

I headcanon that the boys all met up in pairs first, then those pairs joined up before finally coming together in one big group. In that little scenario, Four met Twilight first. He was Minish size and Twilight was a wolf, so they knew one of each other’s secrets from the start. The reciprocity of that appeals to Four, as does Twilight’s level head, so he began to trust Twilight a lot faster than he usually would with someone.

Will get up to shenanigans with Hyrule, Wind, and Wild. Those four are all definitely still teenagers, and sometimes you just gotta try out whatever hairbrained scheme your buddies have cooked up this time.

Moar: Wild | Sky | Legend | Hyrule | Warriors

[isolemnlyswearpevensie]

16th Avenue | Edmund Pevensie x Reader

Warnings: Mentions of drugs and alcohol

Time/Era: Modern AU, Aged 19

Word Count: 2k 

Summary: A midnight adventure in which the only things available to Y/N and Edmund are limited cell service, saved Spotify playlists, and Y/N’s 15-year-old hatchback. 

Request: Hi! first I wanted to say that I love your stories, I discovered them recently but I already read them all, and then I wanted to know if you could write an Edmund x Reader based on the song I Think He Knows by Taylor Swift, thanks!

A/N: Basically a small town AU where two kids in their late teens are trying to find entertainment one late summer evening. 

masterlist | narnia playlist | read on ao3

Edmund laid in his bed with his phone held above his face, staring blankly at the illuminated screen. He read over the messages he shared with Y/N L/N, a girl he had met at university a few months before he moved home for the summer. The conversation, in his opinion, was rather flirty, but it teetered to close to the line between friendly teasing and romantic advances for Edmund to know for sure.

His room was sticky with heat, making all the warm air stick directly to his skin. He yearned to go swimming or at the very least take a shower, but running the water at half-past midnight would surely wake his entire family.

Moving back home for the summer seemed like a good idea at the time; he could save money, see his little sister, and spend a bit of time to himself. But, as time passes on, Edmund yearned for the freedom of his newfound adulthood and life away from his family. 

Y/N proved to be a saving grace in that aspect, as her family lived a few towns over from Edmund and she owned a car. It wasn’t a very attractive car, but it had a sunroof, large hatchback trunk, and an AUX cord, which is all you really needed. She always kept a few snacks and blankets in her backseat, too, so the car (which he learned was called Comet,) served as a little oasis in the boring world that was home. 

The brown curls on Edmund’s head stuck to his forehead in a thick layer of sweat; the August heat was proving to be too much for Edmund’s body. So he laid, duvet pushed in a heap at the foot of the bed, and overthought the texts. His finger teased the power button as the heat lulled him closer to sleep. 

That was until Y/N’s typing bubble popped up on the screen. Panic surged in his chest and he shot up from his bed to pace around the dark room. His only source of light was the screen of his phone, which made his face appear slightly blue due to the screen. 

pulling up in 10. be ready. 

Edmund looked down at his appearance; the skin of his bare chest was moist from sweat and his boxer briefs clung to his toned thighs. 

are you crazy? My mother will kill me if they knew I was out at this hour. 

The metal box fan clanked in the corner as if it were a washing machine full of tennis shoes. 

so? we’ve been over this. you’re 19, not 9. loosen up, pevensie. 

Edmund took a deep breath before dressing himself in as lightweight clothes as possible and packing his backpack. He never packed heavily, but he grabbed some headphones, a phone charger, a flashlight, a pack of gum, and a sweatshirt. It was doubtful that the sweatshirt would be needed, but it could potentially be used as a blanket for the two to lay on, or rolled in a ball to form a pillow. 

The door to Edmund’s room squeaked loudly as he opened it, making all of the muscles in his body tighten. He glanced at his sister’s door and breathed a breath of relief when there was no movement behind it. All he had to do was make it out the door without being noticed. 

“Ed?” Lucy’s voice sounded through the darkness at the exact moment Edmund’s hand came in contact with the front doorknob. 

“Lu,” He responded nearly frozen in place. 

“Where are you going?” The bag of pretzels in her hand crinkled. Ed mentally cursed himself for forgetting she was a midnight snacker. 

“Somewhere,” He pulled the door open with a single movement of his arm. “Do me a favor and don’t tell?”

She popped one of the pretzels and chewed it completely before responding. “Tell me where you’re going and I might consider it.” 

“I’m going out with Y/N, there are you happy now?” 

Her eyes widen and she smiles, “Like, on a date?” 

“No, I don’t think so. We’ll probably just drive around and chat.” The headlights from Comet shine through the open door and blind the two siblings. “Promise not to tell?” 

“I promise! But really, Ed, you better lock her down. The good ones never wait,” 

Edmund nods, shutting the door before half-jogging to get in the passenger side of the hatchback. 

“Pevensie! I thought you were going to wimp out on me when I saw you staring into the darkness with the door open.” She looked over her shoulder to check for cars before making a U-turn. 

“Oh, yeah, I was talking to my little sister. I had to convince her not to tell my mother,” Edmund forced a chuckle. 

“Your sister still lives at home? I thought she went to that one uni in, like, Scotland?” The crystal hanging from the mirror swung side to side as Y/N steered. It was oddly mesmerizing. 

“That’s my older sister, Susan. I’m talking about my younger sister, Lucy. She’s 17.” 

Y/N made a small “o” with her mouth and nodded. “It must be nice to be in such a big family, you guys all sound so close.” She pulled the car onto one of the main roads, which was completely empty at this hour. The thrilling feeling of spontaneity settled in Edmund’s stomach and any reservations he had about coming faded into existence. 

“Yeah, I guess it’s fun. That is until you realize my mother has a bad case of empty nest syndrome and has her heart set on keeping me inside the entire summer,” 

“Is that why you are only ever able to hang out past midnight?” 

Edmund chuckled for real this time. Something about Y/N’s constant teasing made his heart fly in the most carefree way possible. 

“Yeah, I have to sneak out the front door so she doesn’t see me, her 19-year-old son, leave the house without permission.” 

Y/N gasped, whipping her head to look at the boy. “How dare a 19-year-old leave the house without Mummy’s permission! Are you trying to give Helen a heart attack?” The two erupt into laughter, making Y/N grip her faded steering wheel cover even harder.

 “Come on, Dj Ed, why aren’t you playing music?” One of her hands found the AUX cord and threw it onto Edmund’s lap. He stares at it for a second before connecting his phone. “Play the playlist we listened to last time, I liked that one.”

The street lamps on the road became less and less frequent as they continued to drive further into the country. Edmund had never been in this direction before, at least to his knowledge; It was always hard to distinguish places at night. Y/N, however, was very familiar with where they were going. Living in such a small town, Y/N had ventured out as soon as she got a driver’s license in order to find any smidge of entertainment. That was when she found 16th Avenue. 

“Where are we going?” Edmund asked at last. He had to speak loudly over the music blasting through the speakers. 

Y/N made a left turn down a pitch-black dirt road, which appeared to be more of a ditch than a street. It was in the middle of two very large fields, one wheat, and one corn, which were illuminated by Comet’s headlights. It looked like the setting of a horror movie and seemed as though a monster was going to jump on the car at any moment. A nervous feeling filled Edmund’s lungs. 

“Welcome 16th avenue, Ed.” Y/N’s happy tone made her companion relax a bit. Not a lot, but a bit. 

“It looks like some possessed scarecrow is going to run across the road at any moment,” Edmund half-joked, fiddling with his backpack strap. 

Y/N giggled and pulled off the road and into the wheat field. The crops had been parted previously, it appeared, so there was a little path big enough for the hatchback to squeeze through. 

“Why would there be a possessed scarecrow? This town is much too boring for paranormal activity.”

The path soon widened into a large circle clearing and Y/N parked the car. Before turning off the engine, she opened the sunroof, rolled down the windows, and lowered her seat. 

“Lay your seat back, Pevensie,” Y/N instructed before getting out and opening the trunk. Edmund obeyed and watched as she circled the car to return to the driver’s seat. 

“Tada,” She bent her knees so she was laying back and her shins were resting against the steering wheel. “16th avenue, my favorite place ever.” 

“The stars are so bright out here,” Edmund gazed up in wonder at the twinkling lights above. Canis major was perfectly visible through the roof. 

“I know, it’s so far from the city so there’s no light.” Y/N turns her face to admire Edmund in the moonlight. 

Half of his face was dark, but the part of his skin that was visible was smooth and blemish-free. Y/N’s eyes traced the curve of his button-nose to his sharp jaw. It appeared angular and strong, but Y/N couldn’t help but think how soft it would be to touch. His eyelashes batted beautifully against his rosy cheeks and the freckles that dusted his nose matched the constellations above. Edmund moved his head to match Y/N’s gaze, a blissful smile tugging at his lips. 

“Do I have something on my face?” He mumbles, having felt Y/N’s eyes trace every visible piece of him. 

“Other than your cute freckles and strong jaw? Nothing,” Y/N spoke before she overthought her words. Tonight was about adventure and risks. 

Edmund’s already heat stained cheeks darkened, his smile growing. “Cute? You’re the cute one,” The warm summer breeze whistled in through the windows and rustled their hair. 

“Not even, not when you have a face like that and a body like-” She gestures towards his lying form. “-that.” Y/N’s eyes followed the lines of his legs and up his torso. She wished she knew that body as well as she knew her own.

Edmund seemed to take a breath, “You took me all the way out of town and into a wheat field to call me cute, is what you’re saying.” His bashful smile turned cocky as he quirked his head upwards.  

“Well, yes and no. I brought you here because I was tired of waiting.” Y/N sat up and turned so she could see Edmund. He followed suit quickly. 

“Waiting for what?” 

“To finally see what’s under that attitude of yours,”  

Ed swallows the lump in his throat and scoots a bit closer. It wasn’t much closer, due to the center console, but it was enough to make the point. 

“There have always been sparks between us, you can’t deny that, Ed. So, I brought you here to chase them. The sparks, I mean. I want to chase them with you, if you want to, of course.” Y/N’s eyes never left Edmund’s as she spoke. 

“God, I want to. Fucking hell.” 

Edmund leaned over the console to capture Y/N’s lips in a well overdue kiss; the kiss the pair had been dreaming about for months. The warm air stuck to their bodies as they held each other the best they could. Y/N’s hands ventured into Edmund’s messy curls and his thumb rubbed into her thigh. Y/N felt him smile into the kiss and move the hand up her leg. 

Y/N thanked the universe that they were in the middle of nowhere as she climbed over to join Edmund on the passenger side of the car. 

[extraordinarilyextreme]

Crown Prince Li Kaiqing, Chen Ji, and Fushui

MAJOR spoilers for 《骊歌行》 Court Lady (2021)!!! This is just me blabbing about my feelings.

so we all knew that Crown Prince (CP) and Chen Ji (CJ) were gonna be BE cuz they have historical prototypes. after Chengxin was executed, Li Chengqian grieved for a long time, refusing to attend court and also building a shrine for him in the palaces.

well, even with that knowledge, i still cried like a little baby at the end of the drama. there’s not a single un-sad 感情线 in this entire show, but i really do think that the mess of these three is tragic.

before we dive into the mess that i’ve become, a huge round of applause to Li Zefeng for his amazing portrayal of the Crown Prince—the good-intentioned, sort of foolish boy that we first meet and then later the wide-eyed, paranoid, remorseless man. and of course similar props to Wang Yizhe’s two roles of sweet Chen Ji and scheming Fushui (and Sun Langlang for voicing them! Wang Zhi’s VA!).

so as i’ve already said, CP is really a whole different person after CJ dies. and the contrast between CJ and Fushui (FS) is very plainly evident: CJ dressed in pale white-blue, FS mostly in grey-black; CJ kept his hair loose, FS wears a bun (or hat, when he rises thru the ranks); CJ is a lowly palace entertainer, FS is well-trained in combat and medicine (and ends up as Senior Imperial Physician, somehow); CJ was terrible at weiqi, FS is good at weiqi but pretends to be bad at it. CJ was targeted and subjected to rumors, but no one dared question CP’s relationship with FS—because CP was in so much grief after CJ died, how could anyone bear to do that to CP again? even though FS was absolutely the one that everyone should have removed from CP’s side immediately…

when CP and CJ first meet in episode 7, CP is kind of a typical princely character: he’s kinda entitled, the world is his, his future is bright… and i firmly believe he 一见钟情 because while CJ still treated him with courtesy and respect, it’s obvious that CJ didn’t expect or want anything from him. and this continues in episode 9, when CP is trying to clear his thoughts by the riverside and runs into CJ who is fishing: CP brattishly orders CJ to stay and keep him company, and CJ is honestly more confused than anything as to why the freaking Crown Prince of the country wants to spend the whole goddamn day here. of course, it’s because CJ represents a freedom for CP: here, the Emperor won’t compare him to Prince Zhou or Prince Han; here, the Empress won’t admonish him over and over again; here, there’s no scheming advisors who try to curry favor with him. here, as CP tells CJ to use, it’s just “you and I” without care for rank or formalities.

(but also the death flag in episode 9 was atrociously obvious LOL with CP promising “I will make you a grave” to CJ’s absolute terror. on-the-nose. still made me sad later on, so that’s that i guess. in any case, the episode ends with a 定情信物 whereupon CP gives a jade from his belt to CJ.)

CP watches CJ perform (as he is an entertainer from Prince Han’s mansion) for the first time in episode 10, and we see it again in episode 12, episode 16, and episode 17. based off 《三国演义》Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the lyrics are as follows:

大丈夫只患功名不立 A great man should only worry about not gaining fame and honor/

何患无妻 Why worry over not having a wife/

舍生忘死报恩住 Leaving behind life and death to repay my Lord/

忠肝义胆待友朋 Treat my friends with righteous loyalty/

我要做有血性的英雄 I want to be a hot-blooded hero/

为义而生 To live for righteousness (loyalty)/

为义而死 To die for righteousness (loyalty)

CJ plays the main role of Zhao Zilong (Zhao Yun), and he helpfully compares the story to a game of weiqi in episode 16.

“A gambit [sacrificing insignificant pieces to protect the significant ones] is what Zhao Zilong did in the Battle of Changban. In order for Zhao Zilong to save A Dou, he couldn’t save Madam Gan. So, Madam Gan committed suicide. Isn’t Madam Gan a gambit?”

to which CP responds: “Thank goodness you are Zhao Zilong, and not Madam Gan.”

CJ: “The Crown Prince regards me as his soulmate [知己]. Even if in the future, the Crown Prince were to sacrifice me as a gambit, I would be willing.”

CP: “What are you saying? You and I are friends. No matter what happens in the future, I will never treat you as a sacrificial gambit.”

(so, like, death flags everywhere! 知己-mention! and, c’mon, i think for CP’s consort to be jealous/insecure is a little bit justified considering the amount of times CP has CJ perform this piece with a line like “Why worry over not having a wife”.)

backing up for just a moment before everything goes to shit, other notable events are CP finding out his wife is pregnant in episode 13 (but he spends the day fishing and then cooking the fish with CJ at the riverside, and they walk off with arms draped around each other’s shoulders), CJ hurting his leg after climbing a cliffside to pick red flowers after CP mentioned his wife loves the color red most in episode 14, and finally CP leading a blindfolded CJ to a new house just for him to tick off another romance-y trope in episode 15.

CP: “Didn’t you say you didn’t have a home? So I bought you this little estate. When you fall in love someday, have children, and have a great career, this will be your home.”

(the point is they’re both still kind of in a honeymoon phase right now, tho it ends quickly in episode 16 when our FL Fu Rou warns CJ against being so close to CP—but CP is a little bit too idealistic right now, a little bit too stuck in his blissful fantasy, a little bit foolish. foolish, and incompetent, and unable to protect the people he loves bc he unwittingly endangered them to begin with.)

of course, things come to a head in episode 17 when CP’s wife tells her sister about CJ, leading to the Emperor eventually finding out. but while that’s happening, CP goes to see CJ at the estate he bought for him.

CP: In the future, I won’t come here anymore. Therefore, let’s put aside differences for today and be friends like we used to. We will never have those kinds of days again.

CJ confesses he’s going to leave Chang’an: I want to learn swordsmanship well, and become a wandering hero, feeling at home wherever I am. When the Crown Prince becomes Emperor in the future, I can help you take care of bad guys along my journey out there. This will be my way of helping the Crown Prince to keep the empire stable.

CP gives his dagger to CJ: This is not a reward, but a gift for my friend who is about to leave. In the future, whenever you look at it, it will be like looking at me.

CJ: A gift from my soulmate. Chen Ji will definitely take good care of it.

(for ppl who’ve watched Qing Ya Ji, the parallel to Zhongxing and Fangyue here killed me. but there’s also a parallel within the show itself near the end when Fu Rou gives the Emperor a collection of scrolls and explains that the late Empress hoped that he would treat her writings like he were seeing her—one of Court Lady’s many confirmations that CP and CJ should be read as a romantically by paralleling it to visible, het relationships. ALSO, CP has CJ perform Zhao Zilong again right after this conversation, like a last nail in the coffin.)

so the Emperor finds out in episode 18 and angrily orders CP to kill CJ himself, lest he be stripped of rank. Fu Rou warns CJ, but he refuses to escape.

If I run away, the Crown Prince will not be able to fulfill the Emperor’s order—what would happen to the Crown Prince? […] Life and death are not the most important things; the most important thing is to stay true to yourself.

and so CJ unsheathes the dagger CP gave him.

The Crown Prince regards Chen Ji as his soulmate, Chen Ji also regards the Crown Prince as his soulmate. ‘A man of service dies for the one who knows him.’ (An upright man can die for his soulmate.)

CJ quotes “士为知己者死” from Sima Qian’s 《史記·刺客列傳》Records of the Grand Historian, tho if you’ve watched Winter Begonia, it should probably also look familiar.

CP pushes aside the soldiers who’ve accompanied him on the journey to CJ’s home, but it’s too late: CJ took his own life, using the weapon CP gave him, in order to protect CP.

the chorus of Lu Hu’s 《万里》 Ten Thousand Li plays as CP staggers toward CJ’s lifeless body.

呼吸，想着你, When I breathe, I think of you

在梦里，在心里, In my dreams, in my heart

怪完相遇，怪自己, After I’ve finished blaming that we encountered each other, I blame myself

别离，痛彻心扉！Farewell, my heart is broken

(this is a song from the OST we hear multiple times with the other couples in the drama—and we also see many couples by the same river that CP and CJ would fish together by. i think, like, all the couples associated with this song except our main one have a BE…)

in CP’s immense grief, he has the weiqi pieces from his last game with CJ glued to the board, never to be moved again, and he has the flowerbed outside flattened. we get our callback to episode 9: “Chen Ji has no family. I promised him that if he died, I would make him a grave.”

CP doesn’t meet FS until episode 37, but what the Emperor says in episode 19 about Chen Ji is what really makes the whole thing a tragedy.

You must be cautious when choosing friends. He would only have misguided you.

and that’s the thing, the Emperor isn’t wrong!!! it ultimately truly is the Crown Prince’s love for Chen Ji that destroys him. his love for Chen Ji ruins him, ruins the imperial family and threatens the dynasty as a whole. because when Fushui shows up, a man who shares Chen Ji’s face, the Crown Prince trusts him unconditionally—it’s the Crown Prince’s desperation to see any small part of Chen Ji again that leaves him vulnerable to FS’s manipulation: CP forgets who he truly is. because how could a man who looks like Chen Ji ever betray him?

CP is thrown from his horse in episode 37, striking his head upon a rock.

he wonders: Chen Ji, have I also died? Did you come here just to pick me up?

(but of course it’s FS, who was actually going to kill him but the soldiers arrived too quickly.) they meet officially in episode 38.

CP: I thought I was going to die. Dimly, I felt someone approach me—he wanted to save me. I originally thought it was Chen Ji who couldn’t bear for me to die, so his spirit appeared. I didn’t expect that it was you.

FS remarks that CP has brought up “Chen Ji” several times already; immediately, he understands that this is a weakness to exploit.

CP basically throws a temper tantrum in episode 39 when he discovers he will have a permanent limp from now on. (idk if it was an intentional parallel, but CJ also had a limp after falling from the cliffside in episode 14.) FS is the only person that CP allows to approach him, and FS gets him to eat grilled fish (which is apparently CP’s favorite food—how much of the people we love do we carry with us?)

FS acts innocent: I really am bad at lying; as soon as I lie, you see right through me.

it’s everything CP wants to hear.

CP tells him: When I fell off my horse, and was on my last breath, you came to my side and encouraged me to continue living. I’m now crippled and in despair, but you talked sense into me to eat grilled fish. Everything that has happened—if it were Chen Ji, he would also have talked sense into me, encouraged me. Sometimes, I feel that you are Chen Ji, just with a different face.

(obviously it’s the same face for us tho cuz he’s played by the same guy. but anyway, when FS comes clean about everything in episode 51, he mimics the words CP says here.

I am not Chen Ji. I, Yang Fushui, came to your side to find an opportunity to take revenge.)

back to episode 39, FS says he doesn’t want to be “another Chen Ji” because he doesn’t want to die so young—he’s afraid of death.

CP: I guarantee you that I won’t let anyone harm you. What happened to Chen Ji will never happen to you.

(and it’s true! FS gets away with so much goddamn shit because CP’s wife doesn’t dare criticize FS, and even the Emperor doesn’t after knowing what it’s like to see his son in such heavy grief. CP’s wife thinks this is her chance at making amends; she felt real remorse after CJ died, and honestly that line from It’s Quiet Uptown sums it up best: “If I could trade his life for mine/He'd be standing here right now/And you would smile and that would be enough.” a shame, of course, that CP was FS’s freaking main target. nobody wants to repeat the tragedy of Chen Ji, so no one questions Fushui.)

but, like, FS isn’t truly even that subtle—it’s just that CP is so blinded by his love for CJ. from episode 46:

CP: I have taught you for so long, but you’re still terrible at playing.

FS: I am doing it on purpose. Only if I play poorly, will the Crown Prince be willing to continue teaching me.”

CP: Even you put on an act before me? […] You are the person I trust the most. Don’t lie to me.

(太子，你醒醒吧!)

so FS successfully sows discord between CP and his brother Prince Han; the Empress passes away (always sickly, but her illness was very much exacerbated upon seeing her beloved sons turn on each other); CP’s wife kills her own sister in what she believes is a beneficial political move for CP; Prince Han’s wife is wrongfully executed; Sheng Chujun is killed and silenced too after he discovers FS’s plans. CP stages a coup against Prince Han. (the man who looks like Chen Ji must only want the best for him, right?) FS gets away with everything and goes to visit CP in prison in episode 51.

AND HERE! HERE! FS is supposed to kill CP; that’s been his goal from the very beginning. CP hasn’t eaten for days in the prison, but FS shows up with a grilled fish and CP eats without a second thought that it could be poisoned.

but. FS has been at CP’s side for so long now. he’s orchestrated CP to lose everything. there is nothing left that CP could give to him but the mere fact that he’s still breathing.

in episode 49, FS poisons Lian Yan’er and Yan Zifang is obviously upset on behalf of blissfully ignorant, head-over-heels Ma Haihu.

FS: I will kill whoever gets in my way.

YZF: What about someone you love? If it was someone you loved, you would be just as ruthless, right?

FS: It is human nature to be greedy and selfish. Where does love come into play? This question—you’ve asked the wrong person.

(but FS’s expression changes. someone he loves? he’s startled, he looks afraid.)

FS ruined CP’s life; and at the same time, gave CP reason to live again. CP started playing weiqi again, his relationship with his wife improved; he started smiling again. there was a passionate fire to him that he never had before (this was his second chance to do everything right, to protect the people he loves!)... the kindling, unfortunately, was his trust in Prince Han and his parents. from episode 39, FS comes in and sits down next to CP after CP trashes his room during his tantrum.

CP: Do you know why I treat you differently from other people?

FS: Because I remind Your Highness of your friend who already passed away—Chen Ji?

CP never stopped loving CJ; he loved Fushui, because he never stopped treating him as Chen Ji. after the failed coup against Prince Han, CP smiles in prison in episode 51 when FS visits him.

CP: It was fate who made us each other's soulmate [知己]. [...] If you can continue living well, I wish that you live your life to the fullest, with both smiles and tears.

how can Fushui bear to take the Crown Prince’s life when he’s received nothing but unwavering trust from him? when he explains who he truly is, when he calls CP foolish for trusting the wrong person, FS is on the brink of tears. his mouth trembles, his breaths shake. when the poison begins to take effect, and CP agonizingly reaches for him, FS takes his hand—just as CP gripped CJ’s lifeless hand so long ago, just as CP reached out to the person he thought was CJ when he fell from his horse. FS takes his hand, sobs, and gives him the antidote.

(Consort Yan’s eunuch is, of course, outraged.

Yu He: If you can’t bear to kill him, then I will!

Fushui: I forbid you. [...] He has nothing left to lose. I forbid you from killing him.)

so, we have the Crown Prince, ruined by his love for Chen Ji—and Fushui, who both took and freely gave the Crown Prince’s life back to him. it’s a love story; it has always been a love story.

and finally, FS gets Ma Haihu killed in episode 53. he picks up the comb MHH carved for Lian Yan’er (a 定情信物!), and when he speaks, ends up telling the story of CP and CJ as well.

There was a woman who sacrificed her life for your bright future. You only needed to enjoy it, yet you took the road of self-destruction.

and then he remembers what CP said to him in the prison in episode 51.

CP: If, in this world, fate truly exists, then so do the hearts of men.

FS remarks now: If you have a heart, you will be easily hurt, or even lose your life.

heartless Fushui, who kills without batting an eye, who nearly upturned the entire Tang dynasty, who doesn’t know of love. in the end, he couldn’t bear to end the Crown Prince’s life.

so, yeah. these three broke my heart. i really wonder what Chen Ji would say to the Crown Prince when they see each other again at last in the afterlife. what the Crown Prince would say to Chen Ji. how violent love can be. what it means to live in someone’s memory. or maybe they would return to the river and spend a long day fishing together again.