#<- i think we're officially getting into that territory

[clowndensation]

now i don't know who irelin or strife are, so far be it for me to question why they think the way they do. but. you would assume that two dalish elves would, upon hearing about the return of two of their gods (gods who fought against fen'harel, who is currently causing so much trouble), express some sort of happiness or perhaps hope at what this could mean for the future of their people. "elger'nan and ghilan'nain were NOT known to be good gods" is like. not tracking. for me. personally.

[makeitmingi]

When Flowers Bloom In The Dark [Chapter 23]

Genre: Romance, Mafia!AU, Violence, Angst, Slow burn

Pairing: Hongjoong x Reader (y/n)

Characters: Florist!Reader, Mafioso!Hongjoong, Mafioso!Seonghwa, Mafioso!Yunho, Mafioso!Yeosang, Mafioso!San, Mafioso!Mingi, Mafioso!Wooyoung, Mafioso!Jongho

Summary: When you appeared and wept at his mother's funeral, Hongjoong found himself wanting to find out more about you. A regular girl, who owns a flower shop in his territory and has a relationship with the mother that he hasn't spoken to in years, why hasn't he ever noticed you before?

[Warning(s): 18+ for violence, use of weapons, smoking, alcohol consumption, slight gore, gang affiliation, tattoos and character deaths. Minors DNI. This is a work of fiction and does not represent the Ateez members in real life.]

Word count: 3.3K

To be honest, you didn't think Hongjoong would take your passing comment seriously. The second day of the week that you were supposed to go for work at the house, Hongjoong told you not to come for work. He wanted to take you out on a date.

"But I have work! Work for your house." You said to him as you sat in the car after he picked you up. You didn't have an 'issue' with going out on a date with him, it just felt wrong to do it on a work day.

"You're already in the car, just enjoy the date." He chuckled.

"I know and I'm not questioning that I'll enjoy what you planned but maybe I can convince you to detour to the house." You chuckled.

"Besides, weren't you the one who said that the garden is fine that you don't even need to come over that often anymore?" He reminded with a teasing smile.

"I said the garden was getting there, it's not there yet. You took me way too seriously." You scoffed.

"I always take what you say seriously." Hongjoong raised his eyebrows at you before turning back to focus on driving.

"So... where are we going?" You turned to look out the window, changing the subject to hide how flustered you were by his words. Hongjoong smiled, knowing he got a reaction out of you.

"You'll see. It's a nice place, don't worry." He assured.

"I'm not worried." You rolled your eyes. Honestly, you were happy to go anywhere with Hongjoong. But you noticed that the buildings were slowly disappearing and all you saw were trees. You realised that Hongjoong was bringing you somewhere in the countryside or just out of the city.

"The weather is great here." You smiled. Seeing that there were no cars, Hongjoong slowed the car down to put down the hood of the car, having put it up earlier when it started to drizzle.

"Wow." You took a deep breath, closing your eyes. The fresh air of nature was something you loved.

"We're not even there yet." Hongjoong reminded.

"Doesn't matter, I'm already loving it." You giggled. Hongjoong was relieved he chose the right place for your first official date. Okay, with help from the others.

"Now, we're here." Hongjoong parked the car within the gravel space and came around to open the door for you.

"Thank you." You smiled and got out.

"How did you find this place?" You looked at the little old house that was a little restaurant. It wasn't crowded and looked rather hidden. Plus, you didn't think a lot of people would drive out here for that.

"A magician never reveals his secrets." He winked and locked the car. After that, he guided you towards the restaurant.

"Reservation for 2, under Kim Hongjoong." He told the older lady, who came out to greet the two of you warmly. You assumed that she was the owner here. She nodded and led the two of you to a table right by the big open window.

"Is this seat alright?" She asked, looking up at Hongjoong.

"It's perfect." Hongjoong smiled at her with a bow of his head. He knew it was right when you just stood there, staring out into the scenary of fields and flowers.

"I didn't even know a place like this existed so close to Seoul." You turned to Hongjoong.

"We can come back whenever you want. It's good to get away from the city every now and then." He said, pulling the chair out for you.

"I'd really like that." You sat down and he took the seat opposite you. The lush fields, trees and greenery was amazing. You wished you could look at this forever.

"Here you go." The lady came back with menus.

"Are you enjoying the view, miss?" She asked, noticing how you could barely tear your eyes away to look at the menu.

"I am. I love it. You're very lucky to be able to see this everyday." You smiled at her. She chuckled and nodded in agreement with your words before leaving you and Hongjoong to browse the menus.

After choosing some appetisers to share and your individual mains, as well as some drinks, the lady came to take your order. You looked around the restaurant, the house was old but it was well maintained and cozy. It almost felt like you were eating in someone else's house and not a restaurant.

"I take it you're impressed?" Hongjoong tilted his head.

"I am. But you know, Hongjoong, I don't mind where we go. It's more about the company than the place or price." You said.

"Same for me." He smiled back. That was one of the rare times you openly admitted to like spending time with him, it was good, a progression in your relationship.

"Here is some bread and your starters." The lady placed the bread basket down along with the salad and chicken appetiser you ordered to share.

"Thank you." You and Hongjoong smiled.

"Dig in." He gestured for you to start. You took a piece of warm bread and broke it apart to eat.

"How is it?" He asked as he moved to serve you some salad before putting some chicken on his own plate. You nodded with a thumbs up as you chewed.

"Good to hear." He grinned and ate the chicken, taking a piece of bread as well. You picked up a fork to eat the salad.

"The salad is really good. The dressing is great. You should try some." You encouraged. Hongjoong shot you a suspicious look and made no move to put some salad on his plate. He could not be convinced that a salad was good.

"Here." You made a bite and put it on your fork, holding it out to him. Hongjoong blinked at the fork that you held out to him, not knowing what he should do.

"Oh, sorry! I don't know why I did that, I just acted out of instinct." You were about to retract your hand when he grasped your wrist.

"You're right, it is good. Sweet from the fruits." Hongjoong said as he chewed the salad, having just eaten off your fork.

"And don't apologise." He added.

When the appetisers were done, the lady brought your mains to you. As you ate a bite, you would look out at the view as your chewed. You didn't even notice Hongjoong staring at you with a soft smile.

"We can go there for a walk later." He told you, making you turn your head back.

"I'm looking forward to that." You grinned. Both you and Hongjoong offered the other person a bite of your food to share.

"Mmm, it is very good." You nodded as you wiped your mouth. This closeness, this peacefulness here reminded you so much of your lunches with Mrs Kim. It felt like you were with her again, sharing food with her while you relaxed and chatted. But you knew it wasn't her, it was her son.

"Do you think you'll ever live like this? Away from the city?" Hongjoong asked.

"As much as I love the view, I know the reality is that I can never be too far from the city. Convenience of things, work, it's better in the city." You sighed.

"Maybe a vacation house then? A place you can come to every now and then." He suggested and you hummed in agreement.

"What about you?" You asked back.

"If I were on my own, I'd probably feel bored. I grew up a city kid and like you said, with work, I have to be in the city. But if I had company, I don't think I'd ever want to leave." He smiled softly.

"It's peaceful and private." He agreed. Since you two were too full for dessert, Hongjoong got the bill after you were done eating.

"You're always paying, Hongjoong. You never let me pay." You frowned as he handed the cash to the lady.

"Because I want to treat you so don't worry about it." He replied, putting a hand on your head. The lady giggled at the interaction between the two of you. She walked you both to the door with you and Hongjoong bowing gratefully to her.

"Ah, I have to take this. Sorry." Hongjoong took his phone out of his pocket. You shook your head, he had no need to apologise. Work was work, it wasn't his fault.

"Miss, would you like to see the garden as you wait?" The lady came out, noticing you standing there waiting for Hongjoong.

"Yes, please." Your eyes lit up in excitement.

When Hongjoong hung up with a sigh, he turned around but realised you were no longer standing there. He heard your voice and walked around the side of the restaurant to see you there with the owner.

"Oh, a dryer compost." You said in amazement as you crouched down beside the owner as she showed you around her garden.

"Ah, no." You shyly shook your head, refuting whatever the owner was saying to you.

"Beautiful." Hongjoong breathed out, taking his phone out to snap a picture of you smiling as you looked at the garden, giving your full attention to the owner.

"Thank you so much." You smiled and bowed gratefully to the owner before walking over to where Hongjoong was.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you ended your call. I hope you weren't waiting long. The owner wanted to show me her garden and she's growing a lot of amazing vegetables." You rambled on, a little embarrassed that you were caught nerding out over plants. To you, it was totally unattractive.

"Nothing to apologise for. I'm the one who should be sorry for making you wait while I take a work call." Hongjoong smiled, reaching out to tuck a stray lock of hair behind your ear.

"It's not your fault. It's work. I understand that it's unavoidable. Are you needed somewhere?" You asked.

"Nope, they can handle it. I'm yours for the whole day." He grinned.

"Ah..." You looked away, embarrassed when Hongjoong said that he was 'yours'. Hongjoong chuckled, knowing he managed to get you flustered.

"A-Anyway, the owner said that there's a nice path through the safe area of the forest..." You trailed off, changing the subject.

"Let's go then." Hongjoong gestured for you to walk ahead. You waved to the owner for the last time and walked in the direction of the path, missing the wink that she sent Hongjoong's way.

"Is this boring for you? We can do something else." You turned to him as you both walked through the forest.

"(y/n), stop worrying. This isn't boring at all. Just enjoy yourself." Hongjoong smiled softly.

Honestly, Hongjoong didn't appreciate plants as much as you, probably no one appreciated plants as much as you. But he'll gladly accompany you just to see how happy nature makes you. He liked seeing you smile.

"Is that a mushroom?" Hongjoong asked in disbelief and pointed to the little caps that were growing around the tree branch. You nodded with an amused giggle.

"Is this the first time you're seeing mushrooms outside a grocery store?" You teased.

"Hey, not all of us are nature people." Hongjoong scoffed.

"I'm just teasing. Be careful not to go too near them though, I'm not sure what type of mushrooms they are or if they're poisonous. They seem to be damp with some sort of sap or excretion." You cautioned.

"Yikes, okay. I definitely knew that mushrooms can be poisonous." Hongjoong said, taking a step back.

"Shall we stop here for a break?" Hongjoong suggested as you both came to a clearing.

"Sure." You nodded. Hongjoong removed his jacket, laying it on the ground and patting it for you to sit. It felt sacrilegious to be putting such an expensive jacket on the ground.

"I don't mind sitting on the ground, Hongjoong. The ground is dry. You shouldn't dirty your jacket." You said, horrified.

"It's fine, (y/n). It's just a jacket. Besides, I've already put it on the ground." He said. You chewed on your bottom lip with uncertainty but sat down. Before he could sit on the ground, you tugged on his sleeve and made space for him to share the jacket with you. He shouldn't have to sit on the ground.

"There's more than enough space." You told him. Hongjoong nodded and sat down beside you, on top of his jacket. It was peaceful to hear the sounds of nature around you.

"Jongho would hate this place." Hongjoong stated with a chuckle, looking around the forest.

"Why?" You blinked.

"Don't get me wrong, he's fine with the plants but he's terrified of insects. Don't tell him I told you though. That's one of the only things he's afraid of." Hongjoong revealed.

"Jongho usually has such a tough demeanour. I never would have thought that..." You giggled.

"Most of them are afraid of bugs. Jongho and Mingi are the worst I think?" He recalled.

"I'm not the biggest fan of them but after working with so many plants and gardens, I've learnt how important some are to the plant ecosystem." You shrugged.

"Don't bugs just eat the crops?" He tilted his head.

"Not all. Like bees are super important to everything we do, they're responsible for pollinating. Worms are needed to make composts and to enrich the soil, they break everything down. And ladybugs are often added to gardens to help with pest control." You explained.

"Sorry, I nerd out over these things." You realised you were once against rambling.

"Stop apologising, (y/n). It's fine to be passionate about things. Plants and nature are your life. And I can see talking about them make you genuinely happy." Hongjoong assured.

"Yeah, it does. I am happy, right here, right now." You admitted. Hongjoong smiled softly.

"I'm glad." He replied. You leaned your forehead against his shoulder in embarrassment so he couldn't see you.

As much as you didn't want to leave, the sun was starting to set so you and Hongjoong decided to head back. He folded his jacket and placed it into the trunk of his car.

"Wow." You gasped at the sunset view that greeted you as Hongjoong drove.

"It's beautiful." You held your phone up to take a picture. Then you turned to take a picture of Hongjoong too.

"Did you just take a picture of me?" He chuckled.

"It's for the memories. You took a picture of me when I was in the garden with the owner earlier." You teased and Hongjoong choked, not realising that you saw him taking pictures of you. He cleared his throat and just focused on the road, not saying anything further. You giggled, knowing you manage to stump him.

"I know we've left the place and I'm supposed to send you home but I don't want to do that yet." Hongjoong admitted, turning to you when he stopped at a red light.

"O-Oh..." You were not expecting him to say that.

"I know we're both still a little full from lunch but what about getting some shaved ice?" He suggested.

"That's still food! But sure, I'd love to have some shaved ice." You laughed. Truthfully, you didn't want this date to end too. You liked spending time with Hongjoong, you always did.

But throughout this date, you still didn't learn anything new about Hongjoong. He still didn't share anything about him with you.

"We're here." Hongjoong announced with a smile. He looked at you just fast enough to see your somber expression.

"Are you alright? Do you want to go home?" He asked, worried that his excitement had made him selfish. You shook your head, smiling at him. But this time, your smile didn't meet your eyes.

"(y/n), if you're tired, I can take you home. We can do this another time." He assured.

"I'm fine, Hongjoong. Don't worry, I just suddenly fell into deep thought about something." You waved him off. He nodded, still not entirely convince. He opened the door for you into the little cafe, the waitress bringing the two of you to a booth seat in the corner.

As you looked at the menu, Hongjoong looked at you over the top of his own menu secretly, trying to read and gauge your expression. Did he misread this whole situation?

"Should we share?" You asked, unexpectedly meeting his gaze.

"Uh, yeah. Sure. You can choose the flavour, I don't mind anything." He shrugged, looking back down at the menu.

"Can we get strawberry, please?" You ordered with the waitress. She nodded with a bow of her head. The entire time, her eyes were trained on Hongjoong.

"Will you be cold without your jacket?" You asked, feeling like a blanket of awkwardness settled over you two.

"No, I'm fine. I don't get cold easily." He smiled, shaking his head.

"One strawberry shaved ice." The waitress came back, putting the bowl of shaved ice down. She placed one spoon and napkin in front of you then she smiled at Hongjoong as she placed his down.

"Stop smiling at me." Hongjoong frowned. He didn't even look at her but everyone at the table knew he was talking to her.

"S-Sorry." She squeaked and ran off.

"Sorry about that." Hongjoong apologised to you, his gaze softening compared to when he spoke to the waitress earlier. You shook your head, it wasn't his fault and there was nothing for him to apologise for. He let out a soft sigh, with all 8 guys having good looks, you assumed he was used to it.

"Can't blame her. Maybe she was just entranced by your good looks." You tried to joke, picking your spoon up to scrape the side of the shaved ice to start eating it.

"You think I look good?" He smirked. Your eyes widened as he rendered you speechless.

"Like you don't know..." You mumbled, looking at the table as you took a bite. Hongjoong chuckled, finding your reaction endearing.

"Just eat the shaved ice. Stop making fun of me." You grumbled but that only fuelled Hongjoong's amusement even more. He threw his head back in laughter.

"Alright, alright. I'll stop." He stopped when he saw the slight pout on your face.

"The shaved ice is good." He hummed.

"Yeah, it's not too crunchy." You said, taking another bite. You realised that Hongjoong was moving the fresh strawberries over to your side for you to eat.

"Don't give all of it to me, Hongjoong. Have some yourself." You said, stopping his spoon with your own.

"It's fine. You enjoy it more than me." He smiled. But you were stubborn, taking a scoop of the strawberries and putting it onto Hongjoong's spoon, the bite that he was about to put into his mouth. He nodded in defeat and ate it.

After the shaved ice was done, Hongjoong (reluctantly) sent you home since you had to open the shop tomorrow. He pulled up to the driveway by your lift lobby.

"Thank you for today, Hongjoong. I had a really, really good time." You smiled gratefully.

"Glad to hear that." He returned the smile. But as you were about to exit the car, leaving the conversation at that.

"Wait, (y/n)." He stopped you.

"I didn't talk too much about myself today, which I know is the whole reason why we're dating to get to know each other. But it was only because I wanted to do it here." He confessed.

"What do you mean?" You blinked, sitting back down in the passenger seat.

"I need to tell you things. And if you decide to leave or run away from me, I wanted you to be able to run to your home." He said.

~

Series masterlist

[elliesglock]

alright so we back mofos. i deleted my original AMAZING timeline so we're gonna run it back with anotherrrr updated timeline!

2016:

everybody knows that i know paige met azzi before azzi met her. and it's very invisible string theory imo. paige met azzi before their official meeting at team usa. paige and azzi had an aau tournament that overlapped during summer in 2016. azzi is 14 and paige is 15. azzi is playing 2 grades above her age group in her aau league against paige's au team but she's not playing paige. there's a part in the full game video where it cuts to the sideline and we see big grinning cheesy paige watching the game. from what we know about paige and how she is with azzi, i think she had her eye on azzi. i mean in the part of the video paige is in azzi makes a play and it cuts to paige grinning and looking away all shy. the way her expression is makes her look like she's just seen her crush. and i think she literally did. she's picking at her face and having some nervous ticks in that portion of the video. so i said in my original timeline paige had a secret admirer thing going on. and i 100% stand by that. paige brings up in the slam interview that she knew azzi for 3 years (in 2019) so that timeline lines up with her first seeing azzi. now azzi doesn't remember this, therefore she says she met paige 2 years ago. and i just admire that so much 😭. she was focused on her game and paige was focused on her type shit. and the invisible string theory really comes into play when you think about paige REMEBERING THIS and it meaning so much to her. like that was the first time she ever saw her girl. i feel like she would've been completely transfixed by azzi and would've felt something she had never felt before and knewwww azzi was different. ugh my little baby soulmates i cry. it literally gives love at first sight. paige obviously doesn't talk to azzi i don't think until they meet officially in 2017 in the usa trials. do i think paige found her instagram and started stalking it? 100%. i just don't think she followed or liked any of azzi's photos until 2017 when azzi most likely gave her, her instagram. so essentially paige has been plotting on azzi for a total of 9 years since they were literally fetuses. no surprise there from p honestly we're not broaching new territory. imo pazzi have always been soulmates and meant to find each other. like the universe knew what it was doing putting them in the same arena, to find each other. it's always been on their side.

2017:

this is when they officially meet at usa. this is the time azzi remembers lol. i think paige initiated everything due to what they both have said. and if we think about how she already had a crush on azzi prior, it's not crazy to say she wanted to initiate conversation because azzi was literally her crush or at least someone she admired. i think p saw her again and was like oh yes that pretty girl that was at my aau tournament i've been watching her for a bit let's go make friends with her. plotting p yet again. this is just the first peg in her multi-step generational bag scheme. azzi very obviously was young and definitely had a shy demeanor to her. and she was not ready for the fireball that was about to be hurled at her face named paige. i think paige really did try talking to her which is why i don't believe p when she said that they "didn't talk very much off the court". but maybe azzi wasn't really feeling it and was standoffish and so that's why she said they didn't talk much. i also think they have a very shy, sneaky kinda vibe when they talk about usa. as if they were doing something then that they weren't supposed to. i've said in many of my analyses, paige and azzi talk about things sometimes like they know more than they're letting on. and they def do. i think they talk a bit during usa and maybe a little more....oop and then get on the plane to go home. now paige is not gonna let this opportunity slide and is still trying to slide her way into azzi's good graces. so ofc she's going to sit with her on the plane and yap her ear off. great rizz lil paigey you're doing amazing sweetie. i guess paige felt as though this was her BIGGEST bag bc i know azzi was SICK of listening to that girl. they've mentioned in their slam interview they got back home to minnesota and that's when they "really" became friends. which i can believe. i think they just went to see other more and started something. i've never believed they were just bsfs for a long period of time, i think they were IMMEDIATELY messing with each other as soon as they met. and i think it reallyyyyy starts when they get back.

2018:

i think they're still in that fwb kinda situation, but they're friends. they see each other quite a bit in 2018, their tournaments overlap and they have similar basketball schedules so they probs were seeing each their. i know it's a hot take but i think they were being sneaky around these meet ups and like kissing behind closed doors and maybe staying with each other and having...fun. im still conflicted on whether people knew or not. i'm sure paige and azzi told their friends they were messing around. i think paige is very much the type to talk about her all the time and im sure her friends knew ALLLL the details of what was happening between them. same with azzi but she's not as bad as a yapper so im sure some things were kept private. however i dont think their parents knew. their dynamic at this point def gave they were trying to be discreet and act like friends but were doing things private. and maybe it was a homoerotic friendship where they didn't feel as though the way they were being intimate they were just kinda having fun as friends? idk im not completely sure 😭 they def didn't subconsciously see each other friends though. they were flying back and forth seeing each other a lot, and also preparing for more usa tournaments so im not surprised it turned into what they had here. they were practically unable to separate 😭

2019

there's two weird shifts and one comes here, and one comes in 2020. they're, again, together ALLL the time in 2019. againnnn at the scene of the crime flying back and forth to be with each other. and these meetups def meant more than just a friendly encounter, they were coming to see other knowing EXACTLY what was gonna go down. in early 2019, azzi comes and watches paige's state championship game. and i'm sure celebrations were in order cough cough. that supportive aspect of their relationship has always been there even if they weren't technically dating. i use to think they were dating in high school just because of the sheer amount of times they spent together and went to support each other's big moments, but now i think they were just in a very committed situationship. i think it most likely would've been exclusive. they dedicated so much of their time together it honestly would've been hard to see anyone else. it's easy for me to say here that feelings are starting to develop/they are in love with each other, and it really sets up how they were in 2020. i mean these bitches are legit FLYING to see each other. at the big age of 16-17 years old 😭 azzi also tears her acl during this time and paige is there for her every step of the way. she prayed over her knee and carried her off the court. paige was in love with her im sorry. she was. and if these bitches try to tell you they were nonchalant and didn't have feelings for each other during this time THEY ARE LYINGGGGG. who fr carries their situationship off the court and then PRAYS over their knee. obv paige remembers how in love with her she was because she legit CRIES talking about it. feelings def were getting hard to ignore during this time, especially the way paige would've been taking care of azzi. their injuries always have the tendency to bring them closer and make them realize things. we've seen historically it happens. but anyway i'm sorry this is messy, they were def in love with each other but still in that messy kind of fwb arrangement.

2020:

hugeeeee shift. again. together all the fucking time. i mean paige legit quarantines with them. and i think it really shows her feelings for both azzi and her family. she 100% came to their house during that time for comfort. and she found solace being with azzi during such a rough time. they both had tournaments canceled, paige's high school career was over, they had to say goodbye to teammates, paige's graduation was lackluster. i mean it was just a sad time and i think it's so telling they spent it together. almost like nothing would be able to cheer them up like being with one another. i think most likely there were conversations about being together during this time. i think it would've been CRAZY not to considering they had no where else to go besides to bed with each other oop. i don't think they get together though, because paige is leaving for college soon and the distance would be something they've never experienced before. they've experienced distance but not as a couple yk? and i'm sure just being in a fwb relationship and being apart was still hard for them because they are love sick fools. so they don't get into a relationship. now you can debate me if there was some hard feelings. around this time i personally don't think there was. i think it was very amicable. paige also wins gatorade player of the year and they just go out and play basketball together a lot. it's very exclusively one another. like i was saying before they had no time for anyone else. who's paige realistically going to get with during this time? what she's gonna bring em back to azzi's house? like no 😭. all in all, they decide to stick to casual and remain the way they've always been. maybe there's convos about seeing other people to explore their options once paige gets to college. i could very much seeing that happening.

2021:

paige is in college, azzi's still at home finishing up high school. that casual relationship is VERYYYY casual because i personally think they were talking to other people and exploring their options with other people. im not the one to play into uconn anon shenanigans with paige being a player. that was not happening sorry to all who believe. was she probably talking to other people? yes. but nothing was done to intentionally hurt azzi and vice versa. they both mutually agreed to be in that kinda arrangement with each other in my mind. now considering they were both probably VERY much in love with each other but weren't admitting it, im sure this was a hard time for them. i don't think they were getting revenge on each other with other people tho thats stupid. they most likely hated being apart and both were in the trenches, but i dont think they were bringing up their feelings like they maybe should have. paige also makes her feels playlist around this time. and it's such a driving force in why i feel like they weren't together at this time, the bitch was in the trenches like cmon. nobody that has newly go into a relationship is making feels playlist saying "nobody is taking their baby" and "that should be me". which also brings me back into thinking that paige prob disliked azzi was talking to other people. ITS VERY NORMAL GUYS. they were young and feelings are hard and they also had A LOT of things to be doing. the song, "can't be friends" in her playlist is very interesting to me. simply because i think paige felt that way. she knew she couldn't only ever just be friends with azzi you know. and maybe this time apart showed her that. being with azzi all the time leading up to this, i think it distorted her ability to be able to see that being JUST friends with azzi wasn't enough, cause she was content just being with her yk. i definitely feel like azzi wasn't maybe coming to campus every so often and seeing paige. and they probably did hu with each other. that's what they knew guys. and i'm sorry i've said this many times but paige was 100% calling azzi her girl around this time. at the end of this year, azzi comes to uconn. this is when the lines get really blurred. after being apart for so long, i think the feelings creep on them and they inadvertently stop talking to people all together. maybe it's a conscious thing where they feel like they can't be so dedicated to someone like they are and feel good about talking to other people. they 100% were still getting with each other too. i think this starts the rough patch between them. i like to call it the great pazzi war. shots were fired and orphans were created lemme tell you. i think the feelings for each other and the dynamic they've made starts to become a little too much. and it creates riffs in their relationship. i think they're both tired of the whole casual sort of arrangement and it therefore makes them argue and have harder times, but they're both idiots who just won't say "hey im in love with you, let's just get into a relationship we both want it". this leads me to 2022.

2022

we bout on year 80 of the great pazzi war atp. messy ass tt's, some little spats, shady comments. now i think they start to get better this year for sure. i do think they argue and make each other mad and being the scorpios and libras they are they post petty tik toks. aaliyah and nika im so sorry you had to go through this. i always think about the outside tik tok azzi and aaliyah made during this time. IT WAS SO MESSY. it was exactly azzi saying eat that to paige. she put on her best outfit and posted to the pettiest song basically saying i don't need you and im not dealing with you cause im going outside tn. paige's phone im so sorry that you had to be typed on that vigorously that night 💔 i know paige was texting her like azzi take that down im serious don't go out come talk to me please im sorry!!!! pleaseeeeeee. now maybe azzi stayed strong maybe she didn't. but around this time they def were beefing a bit. but they fix it guys don't worry. i think they both get sick and tired of the arguing and decide it's best to just do what they know they've always should've done, and start dating. now it might be just them testing the waters, but it's a start damnit. i think about the repost paige did where she says "when your girlfriend cries when old people are sitting alone" and azzi's friends comment on her tt saying "gfs are on this app!". it just says to me they both immediately kinda knew what they were 😭. but paige is unserious she knows she was calling azzi her girl even when she wasn't. so it doesn't surprise their friends and them already start calling each other that. i think their friends were just happy they finally stopped playing around. and it was out of pure excitement they posted those comments.

2023-2024

now i've told yall i know they got together at the end of 2023. i think they did that testing the waters relationship for about a year before fully locking in. we get A LOT of things in 2023 too. but you can tell they are really in their honeymoon era after this leading into 2024. and now they're happily married we had an amazing summer together! kids on the way talk soon

[sungbeam]

BIRDS OF PREY — ten

nonidol!kim hongjoong x f!reader

living in gray areas of your city, out of the way of gangs and mafia territories, could only keep you safe for so long. it was only a matter of time before you began running into problems, or rather, problems began running into you.

▷ genre, warnings. nc-17, strangers 2 lovers, slow burn, mafia au, angst, swearing, mentions of alcohol, mentions of an injury, mentions of money laundering

▷ word count. 6.0k

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a/n: what was that line from matz? "wash it away, oh, make it rain now" or something... 🧐

CHAPTER TEN: A CONFIDENCE GAME

“WHAT DO YOU THINK the rain is washing away?” 

You and Sakura glanced up from her monitor screens over to where Yang Jungwon lingered by the window, peering out at the rain drumming against the pane. “What do you mean?” you asked, standing up to join him in looking outside. 

The lookout made a small humming noise, a dimple pressing into the side of his cheek as he did so. “It’s just that, y'know, rain is supposed to wash away the old and bring in the new,” he said, folding his arms over his chest with a shrug. “Wonder what the old would be.”

“Hopefully it's Strictland and the Lioncrest Society, if we're lucky,” Sakura murmured. Her fingers ran over her keyboard, creating nice, light clicking sounds. 

“Then maybe we could think of this as a good sign,” you said, but as soon as the words came out of your mouth, all three of you found something wooden to knock on thrice. 

A small chuckle filled Sakura's studio apartment and you exchanged amused glances with one another. 

Four days ago, you were tasked with infiltrating Dionysus, a club owned and run by the Lioncrest Society, a gang that dominated much of the east corner going south toward Sector 2. Two days ago, you and Sakura officially met Yang Jungwon, the lookout under Seonghwa's tutelage. Between that time and now, pieces had been moved into place and you were invited to interview at Dionysus tomorrow at noon—today was Friday. 

“Don't you have somewhere to be soon, Yn?” Sakura piped up as she turned toward you. 

You peeked over at one of her monitor screens and your eyes almost fell out of your head. “Shit, you're right,” you swore. Ryujin was going to murder you. 

“Oh.” Jungwon perked up. “That gala thing tonight, right? I can drive you to your apartment.”

You hustled over to the kitchen counter to grab your bag. “Thanks,” you said. “We'll see you tomorrow, Kkura.”

Sakura lifted a hand to wave. “Yeah. See ya!”

You and Jungwon left Sakura to her own devices, scurrying down the dark and winding stairway to reach the bottom. Though Seonghwa himself was a rather imposing figure, Jungwon was just the opposite—cat-like in nature, unassuming and extremely underestimated. He was intelligent and adept at his role, being an informant and “lookout” for his handler. The three of you were more alike than you originally thought and got along pleasantly well. Agreeing on strategies and emergency protocols were easy with Jungwon's and Sakura's combined experience, expertise, and skills. 

Jungwon pushed open the door at the foot of the staircase out into the next-door alley, glancing at you from over his shoulder. “You'll have to let me know what rich-people champagne tastes like tomorrow,” he teased. 

You let out a dry laugh. “Hah. Expensive or not, champagne is so ass, dude. Once I get this job, it'll be a glass on the house.”

“I'll hold you to it!” 

Rain spattered across your faces in fat globs, and there was so much of it falling into your eyes that you almost thought you were seeing a mirage. There was a car running idly in the alley you and Jungwon emerged into, their windows tinted black, but the passenger's side rolled down as soon as you and Jungwon were in sight. 

Jungwon was quicker to the draw than you, spine straightening. “Psst,” he muttered. “Captain on deck.”

So you weren't hallucinating. 

You squinted through the heavy rainfall and were certain you didn't hallucinate Hongjoong making a slicing motion across his neck. Not here. 

You nudged Jungwon with your elbow. “Not the place.”

His wide eyes shuttered as rain fell listlessly into them. “Oh, you're right,” he said, falling into a more relaxed, but still alert, posture. 

Jongho was seated in the passenger side seat of the sedan, quietly watching the surroundings, as well as you and Jungwon. 

“Hongjoong?” You stepped up to the window, holding a hand over your eyes as you furiously blinked rain out of them. “What're you doing here?”

Hongjoong leaned toward Jongho's side of the car. “Well, Jongho was bored—”

The man in question sent his superior an atrocious side eye, before that expression disappeared into his typical blank face. Though, you were sure it was a deadpan hiding in plain sight. 

“—so we're here to check on how things are going over here.”

“We just finished, sir,” Jungwon piped up and stepped beside you. “I was going to drive Yn home for her event tonight.”

Hongjoong's brows creased together in mild interest, and you shot Jungwon a look. “An event?”

“It's nothing—my friend invited me out to this charity thing for her work,” you said airily, flicking your wrist in nonchalance. “But we do need to get going or I'm going to be late.”

“We'll drop you off.”

You opened your mouth to protest, but the car chirped in response, the back door unlocking. 

You and Jungwon exchanged a glance. All your counterpart could do was shrug and wish you a good night. There wasn't any reasonable refusal you or Jungwon could make, especially with the head of the family. 

The leather of the back seat squeaked as your rain-drenched form slid into the car. 

Jungwon waved to you from outside the door and quickly ducked back into the dry shelter of the apartment complex. You shook off some of the rain on your jacket, skin, and hair, shoving your hands toward the front center console that now blasted hot air. The car was filled with the light notes of a woodsy moss, jasmine, and patchouli—nothing too intense, but rather a subtle caress for your senses. 

“You didn't have to come check up on us,” you said finally once you settled in. “Or drive me back. But thanks.”

Hongjoong gave a nod from the driver's seat, meeting your eyes briefly in the rearview mirror. “We were in the neighborhood.”

Jongho coughed, and you saw Hongjoong's head turn toward his copilot, but did not see his expression. 

This was the first time you'd seen Hongjoong or any of his commanders in a couple days. You all agreed it would be better to minimize being seen together while you were on this task, which fueled your incredulity that he had even appeared at Sakura's apartment. There wasn't any real reason for him to be here, but you supposed he could be anxious about sending fresh meat like yourself to perform a highly crucial task. 

You scratched the back of your neck and lifted your hand to wipe away the errant droplet of rain running down your forehead. “How's your injury, by the way?” you piped up. It had only been about a week since, but you hoped it wasn't bothering him too much. How much did bullet grazes like his hurt?

Hongjoong's eyes found yours again. “I'll manage,” he replied. “I've gotten more used to it.”

“More like Seonghwa hyung doesn't let him do anything physical besides walking,” Jongho muttered with a small snicker. 

You snorted. Seonghwa's stare from that fateful night penetrated the back of your mind, and Hongjoong's words to you—you’re beginning to sound a lot like Seonghwa—echoed in your ears. You wondered how everyone else was doing. There was certainly a part of you that missed working at the Shipwreck despite the brief amount of time you were there. “Better to recover faster than to drag it out,” you said. 

“Exactly.”

Hongjoong let out a sigh. 

It wasn't too long afterwards that Hongjoong slid the sedan into an empty space along the curb across from your building. Rain continued to beat down against the car's windows and metal frame, and you mentally braced yourself to make a mad dash for the entrance. 

“Sorry I couldn't get you closer,” Hongjoong murmured, half peering out at the weather and the other addressing you in the back. 

You yanked up your hood and hugged your bag to your chest. “No worries. Thanks again for taking me back.”

“Sure,” he said. He glanced back at you, and for a flicker, there was that man you were used to, the one who didn't run one of the big five criminal families. There was the ghost of a smile at the corner of his mouth. “Have a good night. Enjoy the gala.”

“No promises,” you said and shoved the car door open. 

Within two breaths, the door slammed shut behind you, and your watery, blurry figure disappeared out into the rainstorm. Hongjoong and Jongho remained in that spot for a minute after they were sure you had made it into the apartment complex. 

Jongho absentmindedly turned an empty shell casing around between his fingers, his gaze far off into the downpour. “I'm surprised you didn't ask more about the event, hyung.”

A short huff fell from Hongjoong's mouth, a scoff. He began to pull the car away from the curb to make the journey back to Hala Town. “Why would I do a silly thing like that?”

Jongho sent him a look that told him all that he intended to communicate, but the truth was, even if Hongjoong wanted to know who was hosting and where you'd be, he couldn't be there anyway. There was plenty of business that needed attending to tonight. 

Lim & Wang Investments was a run-of-the-mill, cookie cutter corporate machine located downtown. Like many of its steel and glass-plated neighbors, its crisp edges scraped the dark gray sky, towering above all the rest in an attempt to out-skyscrape its peers. You had only been to their headquarters building at the southern edge of Sector 1 a few times, and it was usually to accompany Ryujin to an event or see her off. You didn't see this building often, but that was because it was in the complete opposite direction to where you used to work on Fifth. (Not that you were complaining. How Ryujin could stand working as a secretary here of all places was beside you.)

The ballroom on floor fifty-one overlooked the drowning city far below. Rain pummeled the floor-to-ceiling windows even from this height, but at least someone had the bright idea to light this vast room with warm-toned lights. It at least gave the illusion of warmth. 

You lingered at a standing table off to the side, nursing a barely-touched flute of champagne while Ryujin's work laugh became ingrained in your ear drums. Your cheeks already hurt from the polite smiles you shot men in sharp suits, every introduction flying over your head faster than one could say Yo-ho, yo-ho, a pirate's life for me—

“Save me.” Ryujin barely stopped herself from falling flat against the table. The man she was just speaking to disappeared into the crowd, far out of earshot or range of witnessing the gravitational force exhibited on the corners of her mouth. “I want to die.”

You patted the back of her head in an attempt to soothe her. “Maybe I can sneak into the kitchen and find us a bottle of tequila.”

“Please,” she groaned and lifted her head so she could rub her temples with the points of her fingers. 

“You're getting a bonus soon though, aren't you?”

She took her own flute of champagne and dumped it down her throat with a grimace. “Yeah,” she said, nodding her head. “I hope. I don't know. Supposedly, my boss is giving out bonuses for the quarterly reports this time around, but we'll see.”

You pursed your lips together and gave her arm a light squeeze. “You've worked hard; you'll get one. You deserve one.”

Ryujin shot you a small smile. “Thanks,” she murmured. “And thanks for coming. Sorry you have to go through this with me. The guy who was supposed to be here—I haven't even seen him, but he usually keeps his word.”

“Usually,” you mused. 

“All men do is lie,” she replied airily. “I don't wanna be that kinda gal, but he did seem a little better behaved than all the rest.”

You leaned onto the table with your forearms, curiosity peeking through at the mention of the reason why Ryujin brought you here in the first place. “Is he another stockbroker?”

She shook her head, brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes. “No, he's a client or something. I've seen him around the office and he certainly doesn't work here.”

Your eyebrows shot up. “A client? I was under the impression he was our age.”

“Oh, he definitely is.”

Double wow. Double rough. He had to come from money then, or maybe he was connected with an officer within the company. 

You and Ryujin exchanged musings about a couple more things, excluding this mystery man, before she was called away by her boss. You settled at the table by your lonesome, happy with your half-empty glass of shitty champagne (that likely cost more than your rent) and shifting to watch the rest of the party. There were some partygoers who glanced your way, probably somewhat curious about the girl in the corner of the room whom nobody recognized from work. You didn't look rich either, despite how nicely you cleaned up, so you didn't come off as a wealthy investor, here to donate to charity. 

A small smile bloomed on your lips at the thought and you swirled your glass around idly. Imagine that: you as a wealthy heiress with money to spend and invest. Truly something of another reality. Did Hongjoong have enough money to pose as a wealthy investor? He had to, right?

“Is this space taken?”

You perked up at the sound of a new voice sidling up beside you. You fully braced yourself for a Finance Bro to appear, but startled at the sight of a silver Rolex, dimples in his smile, and a left eyebrow pierced by twin silver studs. Definitely not a Finance Bro. 

You shook your head, gesturing to the empty space where Ryujin had just been. “Oh, no. Go ahead.”

The newcomer didn't breach your personal space as he occupied part of the table. A waiter came by to deliver him a short glass of auburn-colored liquid, and your eyes couldn't help but follow it. 

He chuckled at your expression, tipping it towards you. “You look like you've seen a unicorn or something,” he jested. “It's just bourbon.”

“Oh, I know,” you replied and blinked out of your slight stupor. “I just… didn't realize they had any.” Incredulous, you drained your champagne flute and pretended it was the rich, caramel notes of your counterpart's beverage. 

“Trust me, they definitely do.” He shook his head, lifting the glass up to his lips for a sip. “You need something strong and decadent to get you through these things.”

You turned your gaze toward him again. “You're telling me this function isn't the highlight of your young adult life?”

He giggled at your sarcasm—giggled. It was a giddy, albeit charming sound. “Apologies, you're completely right. I should be flashing my profile around and networking” —he shook his head, dunking the bourbon back— “nah. I'm not one of them, actually.”

“Is that right? Then who are you?”

“Well, I've got the money,” he replied with a shrug. “They need to lure deep pockets to fill their own coffers now, don't they?”

You scrutinized the man standing beside you again. The subtle details screamed wealth, with the jewelry and touches of metal, the crisp silky suit, the posture. Though, he wore his dress shirt unbuttoned at the collar so unlike the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed investment stockbrokers with sharp ties and closed collars. His appearance was wealthy but also casual, something fresh off the yacht. In a way, it was beginning to make sense, but he couldn't have been that much older than yourself either. 

Then the details clicked. 

You tapped your finger against your bottom lip. “Tell me you know Shin Ryujin.”

He grinned, those dimples digging into the apples of his cheeks. “I do, indeed.” The man extended a hand out to you. “Bang Chan.”

You took his hand in a firm handshake, exchanging his name with yours. 

“Well, it's good to meet a friend of Ryujin's,” Chan chirped. “She was bragging all about you the other day, if I recall.”

It seemed you had been talked about a lot these days, but at least you got your answer. “Ah, right. You're the reason she baked me raspberry scones to convince me to come with her tonight.”

His brows lifted, a cheeky expression. “Raspberry scones,” he gasped. “I didn't know she could bake.”

“Use that knowledge how you will,” you shrugged with a small smile. “So where's your other half? I mean, Ryujin mentioned you'd be bringing a friend, too.”

Chan raised his head, his eyes surveying the crowd. “I definitely came with one,” he mused. His gaze swept past faces at a nonchalant pace, and his mouth bloomed with another easy smile when he found who he was looking for. “Ah, there she is.” 

He leaned toward you slightly so you could match his perspective, and you followed where he pointed toward. 

There was a young woman with the grace of a feline introducing herself to Ryujin. Her hair was silky and inky as the night sky, body clad in an elegant stream of black silk. Even from here, you could feel that magnetism radiate and draw you in; you wondered what it felt like to stand next to her like Ryujin was. 

“That's Yeji,” you heard Chan say beside you before he downed the remainder of his bourbon. 

You blinked. “She's gorgeous,” you admitted. “You sure she's not just a friend?”

He sent you a cheeky look. “Nah, we're practically siblings. Her brother would murder me anyway.”

“Understandably,” you murmured. Your gaze turned back toward your friend and Chan's friend. There were plenty of wandering eyes that chose to walk themselves over to the pair of ladies, but Yeji and Ryujin seemed to be in their own world. And if you weren't mistaken, you realized with a sly smile, that was blush tinting the tips of her ears—

“So what do you do, Yn?” 

You perked up, glancing over at Chan who leaned his forearms on the table, cheek pressed against his hand. “Oh, you mean for a living?”

He made a vague gesture. “Yeah, sure. For a living, for fun.”

Blood rushed to the back of your neck as you thought about the question. You were in a room full of people likely making six figures each, even the ones fresh out of college—in fact, the man you were speaking to must have had a net worth with a scary amount of zeroes. And who were you? A waitress at a bar, recently inducted into and working for a criminal organization. You weren't even technically a spy yet. 

“I work in the service industry,” you said, finally. Then you winced. “That didn't sound like how I wanted it to.”

You gave an awkward laugh, but Chan took that in stride. “No, I get it. Nothing to be ashamed about—”

“I'm a waitress,” you cut in. “Not whatever you were thinking.”

His grin was teasing. “I don't know what you're talking about. I was about to say waitressing,” he insisted. “But I mean, I'm sure it's hard work. People can be fuckin’ assholes, so you must have infinite patience or something. Takes a lot of guts to put up with people.”

You couldn't tell if it was supposed to be condescending; you were always used to people tiptoeing around the subject of your job when they found out you weren't trying to make it big or go to medical school or whatever other options people strived for. It was strange how living a little life could be so counter to the ideal. But maybe you weren't giving this guy enough credit—his words and attitude didn't seem to be patronizing. 

“That's one way to put it,” you said with a chuckle. “I'm just in the progress of getting my degree, so one of these days you might see me running a joint rather than being run.”

Chan's eyebrows lifted in interest. “If you ever need an investor” —he gestured to himself— “I've got the pockets.”

You let out a laugh. “Sure, I'll give you a call or something.”

“Well, won't you need my number for that?”

Ah. There was that telltale stir in your gut that said I told you so! Perhaps you were thinking too much into this; he could just be asking as a hopeful friend. Either way, it wasn't like you disliked chatting with the guy. He was pleasant and… cute. A disarming amount of cute. 

(Dimples—why did the guy have to have dimples?) 

Well, his smile was cute, but it was almost too charming. It wasn't like Hongjoong's—

Now, wait a minute. 

“Was that too much?” Chan's voice became sheepish, near bashful. “I thought I was being smooth about it, but if I made you uncomfortable in any way…”

You shook your head. “No, it's okay. I will admit,” you said, “it was pretty smooth.”

He bit his lip through a smile. “Hey, I mean, if you're not interested then that's cool, too.” He raised his head and hand to flag down a waiter. “Why don't I get us both a bit of bourbon?”

“I can't possibly say no to that.”

He flashed you another grin and let a waiter know that the two of you would like something from the kitchen. Chan called out a thanks as they left, and he opened his mouth to say something to you when a loud tune erupted from his jacket. 

There was a flash of exasperation across his features as he slipped his phone out from the inside pocket of his blazer. His dimples dug into his cheeks as he checked the caller ID. “I'm so sorry, it's my boss. I have to take this.”

He had a boss? “I get it; it's all good.”

His expression was apologetic as he stepped aside and pressed the phone up to his ear. 

You curiously stared after him, his back facing you. If he had a boss, that meant he had a job—so what did he do to make that much money? If he wasn't a stockbroker like eighty-five percent of the people present, then there were only so many other possibilities left. 

You wiped away the deeply thoughtful crease in your forehead as Chan made his way back over to you. He seemed less than bothered by whatever his boss must have said to him. “Everything alright?” you asked. 

Chan nodded, replacing his phone back into its pocket. “Yeah no, all good. Just a couple updates about a new, ah, merger.”

“Merger,” you parroted, leaning your chin onto your fist. “So what do you do for a living, Chan?”

He smiled. “This and that. We'll call it acquisitions. Really boring stuff, actually.”

“I'm sure it is,” you said. The metal studs in his brow glinted sharply in the light, and his smile never faltered. 

To Hongjoong, petrichor—gritty, metallic, heady—smelled a lot like blood. With the troves of rain that had washed over the city recently, the streets were flooded with that viscous, nostalgic scent. They were veins and arteries, pulsing with the lifeblood of this place. And Hala Town was its heart. 

It made for the perfect night to excavate the dead, or what should have been dead. 

“I can hear the final nail in my coffin,” Yunho muttered as he cupped a hand around the shell of his ear. “You hear that? Bam! Here lies Jeong Yunho; cause of death: Park Seonghwa.”

Hongjoong didn't hold back a roll of his eyes as he tugged the dark beanie over his head. “If I knew you were gonna be a diva about this, then I would have brought Jongho.”

“Jongho would still give you an attitude, just in less words,” San chimed in, sticking his head between the two front seats of Hongjoong's car. “Arguably, his judgment would be worse.”

There was a pause, then Hongjoong nodded. “Yeah, and I did drag him out yesterday…” To see—no—check up on your progress. 

“Don’t tell me you're getting attached now,” Yunho said, purposely deepening and flattening his voice to mimic Seonghwa's deadpan tone. 

Hongjoong grunted. “We have work to do,” he said and shouldered his way out of the car. 

His two accomplices for the night snickered as he left, then swiftly joined him out into the chilly winter night. Their breaths materialized before them in light puffs of air, illuminated only by the eerie glow of a nearby streetlight. While Hongjoong liked to call all of Hala Town his home, the center region would never not make his spine tingle with dread. 

Central Hala Town was as occupied as the rest of it, but it was a far cry from their home along the wharf. There was a reason Hongjoong chose to pick up the base of operations and move it somewhere far away. This was where Strictland reigned through terror, and tonight, the mausoleum of that ill-begotten past would be pried open. 

If anything might give them a hint as to who remained of Strictland now or where they could possibly be or what they were planning; it would certainly be the remains of their stronghold. 

It was no wonder Seonghwa was yet again uninformed of Hongjoong's whereabouts and activities. 

This street in particular used to be a hub of activity. It was lined with large, office-like buildings on either side; lots of windows, rooftops that nearly touched… but inside, they were completely hollow, carved out to become the throne and operating rooms of a despot. Residents of this particular Hala Town neighborhood became superstitious about this street—the land was watered with blood and chained with ghosts. The old shells of the Strictland stronghold remained just that, shells. 

Hongjoong strode up to an entryway on the side with Yunho and San flanking him. In the cold, quiet night, a stray dog's howl echoed. 

From his pocket, he withdrew the only key to unlock every newly installed padlock on every door and window to these buildings. It was shiny and silver, small, threaded through with a small chain. 

The breath in his lungs froze for a moment as he inserted the key into the lock. The padlock gave way with a metallic schick. 

“Have one of your men watch this door,” he muttered under his breath, tucking both the key and padlock into the depths of his jacket pocket. 

Yunho lingered behind to send out a command, and Hongjoong and San took their first steps into a tomb. 

This building was the northwestern-most along the lane. This floor was much like the others, empty, save for the occasional pieces of furniture anchored into the floor or against the wall. All weapons and ammunition that could be of use to Ateez was taken; everything else was largely undisturbed. 

Hongjoong stalked across the floor, ignoring the intense twisting sensation in his chest. He wasn't the only with memories here, but he was the highest officer amongst his inner circle. It was how he got so close to Lee Yunseok in the first place, and knew his movements, his face… Yunseok wasn't too keen on hiding his face from the public. He had money and power, and no one could touch him. 

Even when Hongjoong became his judge, jury, and executioner, he only put a bullet between his eyes. 

“Cap'n?”

Hongjoong reached the door on the furthest end of the floor. “Yes?”

“You haven't said anything,” said San. 

He glanced back. Yunho had finished making his call, and the door behind him was shut. His counterparts made their way to him now, expressions set in careful neutrality, but he knew them too well for that. 

“I'm fine,” Hongjoong replied, clearing his throat and unlocking the next door. “I just hate this place.”

“You're not alone,” Yunho murmured from behind him. His eyes wandered around the space as if seeing ghosts drift along the cement floors. 

The three of them traversed the span of another building before climbing up a set of steel stairs. The rattle of metal echoed within the stairwell, their bodies spiraling up to the highest level. The topmost floors were reserved for high-ranking officials in the organization. Lee Yunseok himself had an office here, but it was largely just for show. He had a penthouse in an upscale building at the southernmost tip of the territory—it was essential that Hongjoong killed him on this soil, and not Sector soil, but Yunseok having shelter so close to the border required some planning to draw him out. 

Hongjoong's own office—well…

The three of them broke out onto the landing of the top floor. It was a ghost town of opened doors, cabinets and drawers left gaping open, the floors drenched in knick knacks and papers. When Ateez took over, many of these higher officials were either killed in battle or got away. It was usually the lower ranking soldiers who turned their Z's into A's. 

“What should we be looking for, Captain?” Yunho asked as they hustled down the hall toward the office at the end of the hall. The unmarked door at the end was the headquarters for Lee Yunseok's second in command, a shrewd, meticulous man named Jung Joonseo. The man couldn't fire a gun to save his life, but if anything, Hongjoong could count on at least one dead man who could tell a tale for him. 

Hongjoong shoved the door open. “We're looking for anything with names, dates, locations, and numbers. Something that could tie Strictland to living people or documents, any property and assets that remain in their name.” 

The three of them tore through the desk and filing cabinets, each of them taking a box of files to pour over in one corner of the office. 

This was something that should have been done long ago—something to flush out the rats hiding in the walls. But three years wasn't as long a time as one may think. There was a running list of things Hongjoong had yet to complete; by every measure possible, he was as fresh as they came. But he was made of steel. 

His past mistakes could and would be resolved. He would keep his people safe, his family safe. There were those counting on him. 

The minutes ticked by. Files were flipped through, vision strained. 

Hongjoong devoured each document with greedy abandon, his eyes scanning and his mind recognizing the information presented. He could remember this—and none of it was helpful.

“We should call in reinforcements,” San murmured at last. Three hours had passed and it was swiftly reaching the early throes of morning. 

Hongjoong put his fingers against his temples and rubbed them gently to ease the growing migraine. “No,” he responded groggily, “we can finish this. There can't be much left to go.”

Yunho and San exchanged glances. “Why don't we haul some of this stuff back home then?”

“No.” He shook his head, then closed his eyes as he rolled the kinks out of his neck. “No, we can't leave without a lead. Seonghwa will actually kill me.”

An amused snort. “Since when have you ever listened to Seonghwa hyung?” San chuckled. 

“Only when he gets slightly homicidal.” 

“Touché.”

That was enough to boost morale for the next bout of searching. Hongjoong continued to rack his brain for what he could be missing. When Ateez took over, there were plenty of properties and assets that they claimed from Strictland ownership. All of the useful ones, at least. As well-prepared as most touted him for being, Hongjoong didn't have a plan for all the rest; he only took the ones he wanted. 

He expected a paper trail or clues… But this was the dead he was talking about. He was digging up ghosts, and ghosts didn't leave trails. People saw them, but they could never explain their existence. 

From his pocket, he felt his phone vibrate with an incoming notification. He pulled it out, the screen illuminating his face. 

you: got the job

The corner of his mouth pulled upward. Never doubted you, he texted back. He had half the mind to ask you how yesterday's gala went, but stopped himself. 

As he shut his phone off and tucked it away, the distinct feeling of eyes made him glance up. Yunho and San wagged their brows at him expectantly; everything they wanted to say had been said. 

Hongjoong sent them a look, and they all resumed their work.

The box he had in his lap was a mishmash of assorted documents, ranging from electricity bills for this building to spam mail from local accountant agencies. Perhaps this was a dead end, even if he didn't want to admit it. 

When he reached the bottom, there was only one document left. He picked it up with a sigh, eyebrows scrunching together as he skimmed over it—there were numbers. There were numbers, dollar signs, and an address that wasn't in Hala Town. 

His heart rate picked up into a gallop. “What was the address for the Kidult Company?”

Yunho was quick to the draw. “Somewhere on 32nd Avenue, Sector 3—why? What did you find?”

Hope, that cruel thing, curled into his stomach. There it was on the document: 1724 32nd Avenue, Sector 3. This electricity bill was dated a little over three years ago, which meant Strictland used to own that building. When was it sold to the Chois?

“Can any of you find proof of a bill of sale for a property at 1724 32nd Avenue—”

Thunk! “Ow!” 

Hongjoong and Yunho's attention whipped over to the desk. San emerged from beneath it, furiously rubbing the back of his head where he had collided with the underside of the table. 

He hissed. “God, I fucking hate this office,” he muttered, eyes drifting down into the shadows he had crawled out from. His movements slowed, and his head cocked to the side. “Anyone got a set of lock picks?”

The other two scrambled over to San's position, knocking over stacks of papers and boxes on their way. There, hidden within the darkness beneath Jung Joonseo's desk, was a silver keyhole embedded into the wood backing. Hongjoong fished around in the inner lining of his coat and handed over a slim package. 

San picked the lock, the metal scraping around the insides of the mechanism with careful precision. When they heard that telltale click sound, he withdrew. 

A panel of the desk backing drifted open; it was a hidden safe. 

Giddy as a trio of school boys, they dove in. There were some fake passports and identification cards—all of the identities were useless now—cash, and a small journal. 

The journal, however, became something far more valuable when it was opened. Hongjoong recognized Jung Joonseo's scrawl on the pages in the same color of ink, type of pen, and line width. There were dates on one side, dollar amounts in the middle, abbreviations and phrases on the far side. 

It was a personal ledger. 

“Why in all Hell would Jung keep his personal shit here of all places?” San wondered aloud. “What do these phrases even mean?”

“It must be related to the work he did here then,” Yunho suggested. “But then why wouldn't he put it in his billion other ledger books?”

Hongjoong began to slowly flip through the book in search of dates around three years ago. “Because it was all off-book. He didn't want anybody, not even Lee Yunseok, to know what was happening.”

As he got closer and closer to the end of Strictland's reign, the plus signs and dollar amounts kept growing. A thought pricked at the back of his brain as he scrutinized the pattern. 

He paused, glancing up from the ledger. His eyebrows lifted as if he was almost impressed with Jung Joonseo. “He was stealing money from Strictland right under everyone's noses.”

a/n: who can you trust in this biz?

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[rileys-battlecats]

micaclan tumblr dash simulator

☁️ the-fluffiest-puddle follow

I cannot believe the things my friends talk me into. on an unrelated note where can you hide a baby coyote

#puddletalks #seriously where did they find that thing #and WHY did they keep it??

(3 notes)

⭐️ larkstar-unofficial follow

if you catch prey and eat it before bringin anything back to the clan i'll kill you on sight <3 many such cases, unfortunately

🌠 larkstar-official follow

Laureltail I know this is you. I've told you twice now to delete this blog. Meet me in my den this evening, we're having a talk

⭐️ larkstar-unofficial follow

chat i think im going to die tonight

#remember me #never forget my sacrifice

(24 notes)

🐆 speckled-trees-and-autumn-leaves follow

people looove to ask me "oh birchspeckle tell me the future, will the clan thrive this greenleaf, will i find a mate that loves me" but then the SECOND i tell them the exact time and date of their death suddenly I'M the bad guy?? like ok sweaty you're the one that was after forbidden knowledge you don't get to be choosy about what you learn

#justmedicinecatthings #seriously they get so upset when they learn this stuff like. how do you think i feel? #i just gotta sit on this information forever? im not allowed to vent?? #this is why i never hang out in the camp smh

(1 note)

🐦‍⬛ muddy-paws follow

anybody else finding the torment relentless

(0 notes)

💊 owlpounce-official follow

This is your reminder to stretch before partaking in any strenuous activity! The best way to stay healthy and happy is to take steps to avoid being hurt in the first place. Stretching first may seem like a waste of time, but I promise it's much better to spend a few minutes stretching your legs before hunting than to spend a few days in the medicine den recovering from a pulled muscle!

#PSA #selfcare #safe practices

(15 notes)

🍐 having-a-peary-good-day follow

I don't want to name any names, but I feel like we as a clan have an issue with delegation of labor when it comes to the care of our most vulnerable members. Watching the kits is all well and good, but as the only current queen in the nursery right now, I find myself doing so much repair work for the den walls all by myself. Nominally, our apprentices ought to be doing much of this work, but quite frankly, our 'paws simply don't have the necessary experience to fix the more delicate areas, and I have ended up redoing much of their work myself. This isn't to disparage our apprentices, they've been doing their best, but I have ideas as to how we might better address these issues as a clan.

Keep reading

#genuinely I think we could be doing this so much more efficiently #like I understand that the 'paws need the learning experience #but not at the cost of our kitten's warmth and safety #you know? #and that's not even mentioning the elder's den

(7 notes)

💫 swooping-hawk-rising-star follow

fffksnkd. Ssssssksdjsj,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,h

🪷 white-tipped-tail follow

You ok, Hawkpaw?

💫 swooping-hawk-rising-star follow

COYOTE PUP ON MY KEYBOARD

#HELP

(4 notes)

🦊 foxjaw-official follow

The dawn patrol spotted bear tracks this morning just past the northeastern border, near the old hemlock tree. The tracks were old, and did not lead into Micaclan territory. Be that as it may, remember to remain on guard, and to travel in groups of 3 or more until it can be confirmed that the bear has not remained close by.

#PSA #patrol reports

(15 notes)

🏞️ gullys-tuft follow

Why is Sandleap retching into the bushes

#should i really be asking? #do i even want to know?

(2 notes)

🌸 resting-on-your-laurels follow

gonna stuff a frog inside a squirrel for my morning meal. surf and terf

🌸 resting-on-your-laurels follow

dont do this

🔥 embers-and-sparks follow

you can't tell me what to do

🔥 embers-and-sparks follow

dont do this

🏜️ pocket-sand follow

It can't be that bad!

🏜️ pocket-sand follow

dont do this

#the texture #its so bad #i dont want to waste prey but. i dont think i can swallow this #not pogchamp

(13 notes)

—————————————————————————

[lostwysteria]

(Part 17.

We're getting close to the end of the Nice arc. This part covers episode 3. It is also the longest so far, I think. I am excited for the next bits. I think i did good with episode 4. Just an FYI, I SUCK at fight scenes. So I tend to gloss over them. Also. Love the fact that in episode 6, Enlighter basically called Yang Cheng a broke ass bitch.)

Masterlist

“They killed it! Nice is now ranked 12 and Wreck is officially in his redemption arc. Homemaker jumped to rank 300 and even Moon went up ten ranks.” Miss J. Said to herself in satisfaction. She loved it when her plans panned out. Now on to making it to the top 10. She set her sights on Firm Man.

…

Nice was trembling as he washed Lin Ling’s hair. The blood came out easily from the silky strands. The wound wasn't serious. Just bled a lot. As head wounds tend to do. He was careful of the scab.

“I’m fine.” Ling reassured again after Nuce was done.

“What if you weren't, though?” Nice asked shakily, eyes wide and filled with unshed tears.

“Oh, darling. Come on. Let's go get into bed. Wreck's waiting for us. Today was long for all of us.” Ling cupped Nice's cheek and caught a stray tear with his thumb. 

He let himself be carried to the bed and be placed between the two other men. Nice clung to him and Wreck wrapped his strong arms around them both. They fell asleep like that, wrapped in a cocoon of comfort.

…

The next few days were spent indoors, to give the impression that they needed time to recover from the trauma. And that they were ‘working through’ things with Wreck.

In reality, Ling and Wreck were settling Nice down. He had been so high strung after. Even Moon had stopped by to check in. She had been huge in helping to distract the now ranked 12 hero. It didn't help that his powers were growing with just the three gained ranks. They were buzzing under his skin like angry bees. Funnily enough, though, his OCD hadn't gotten worse. 

Ling had politely put earbuds in and blasted some American metal music to drown out Wreck, wel, wrecking Nice in the bathroom to help burn off some of the energy. If Ling tried to leave it sent Nice into a panic. Thus the earbuds and American music.

He’d gotten a decent start on a fluffy, crocheted blanket that could engulf all three of them while Wreck took care of Nice. He had been blushing the whole time, of course.

Moon had died laughing over the video call later. She had been pissed no one had remembered to tell her what had been planned. In recompense, Ling now had to video call her twice a week. 

She had put her own name in his, Nice, and Wrecks phones as ‘Crash Out Queen’. A video of her suplexing Nice after Ling’s ‘kidnapping’ had gone absolutely viral. 

It had the added bonus of killing the rest of the NiceMoon ship. It had cemented firmly in the ‘siblings that lived to mess with each other’ territory in most people's eyes.

People found it cute that despite their romantic relationship failing, that they could settle into a familial dynamic.

Her ranking had gone up as well. People were impressed that she could suplex like that. It proved that she was physically strong and not just a pretty face.

…

“So. You want Nice to go after Wolf Girl, so he can hopefully break into the top ten spot?” Homemaker asked as he looked up from his blanket project. Wreck was sitting next to him with an arm around his shoulder. He was looking at Nice and Miss. J at the table in front of them. 

“Basically.” She agreed.

“That will mean having to move floors.” Nice grumped. “This was just starting to really feel like a home.”

“Look at it this way. We can get rid of that fucking statue.” Wreck threw in his ten cents. Nice perked up at that. “Better view from up there, too.”

Homemaker thought about how the tower worked. The top 50 heroes lived in it. Ranks 50 to 21 lived on the ‘lower floors’. Ranks 20 to 11 lived in the ‘middle floors’ and 10 to 1 lived on the highest. X, as number one, had the highest and largest floor. The ‘bottom floors’ were the public offices and operational. There were basement floors that acted as the private Operation floors. The floors were also inverted. It went by rank. The ground floor was still just that, but the first floor was at the top.

He couldn't believe he was about to say something so corny “Anywhere is home if you guys are there.” Homemaker told Nice. 

The other hero started purring so loud and hard in pure joy that he was visibly vibrating. Wreck let out his own low growly rumble in pure pleasure at that. Miss. J whipped her head over at him with narrowed eyes. The ‘what the fuck?’ clear in her gaze. She got out her phone and sent a message to someone before putting it back. 

“Any more objections?” She asked.

“None from me.” Nice said placidly, purr clear in his voice.

“Nope.” Wreck followed.

“More space means I can have a bigger herb garden.” Homemaker shrugged.

“Having you around was the best decision. I expected a fight.” Miss. J said bluntly. Homemaker grinned.

“I’ve been told I am amazing at preventing arguments before they even start.”

…

Nice, Homemaker, and Miss. J were standing in front of a drainage pipe. Nice was looking vaguely disgusted. 

“Yeah. I can see why getting to her would be a … bit difficult for Firm man.” Nice said delicately.

“Yeah. The people believe that Firm man will always stand tall…” Homemaker started.

“Which is great, unless…” Nice picked up.

“You need to crawl.” The two finished in unison. Wreck was laughing in their earpieces. He was waiting in a van not far, in case he needed to step in. Miss. J was always looking for opportunities.

Miss. J started explaining what Wolf Girl had been doing with her little comics. Wreck started choking on air for some reason.

“Are you okay, love?” Nice asked.

“Yeah. Just maybe realized something. Holy shit.” Wreck said, strangled.

Little did they know that he was looking at his larger than average canines in his phone's camera. He then went to the bookmark for chapter one of ‘Fangs and Claws’. The catboy Nice and wolf-hybrid Wreck fanfic by Shut Up and Dance. He muted the coms and started half laughing and half crying. “Oh my fuck. No god-damned way. Holy shit…” 

He swore off fanfic for the foreseeable future. He did not want to know.

…

“We may need a medic down here. I helped out a small timer and he attacked me after. I may have put him into the wall. Allegedly” Nice said sheepishly over the comms. 

Homemaker boggled at that. Who would even think of attacking his charge!?

Miss. J sighed.

…

“Miss. J, what is my current position?” Nice asked urgently. Homemaker went ramrod straight. Something was off.

 She did and was shocked. “Your current position is at the top of Hero Avenue!” 

She and Homemaker sprinted to the car and started booking it to the location. They heard the explosion.

“Nice? Darling, are you alright!?” Homemaker asked, mentally checking the Thread connecting them. Nothing seemed wrong.

“I’m fine, Sweetheart, I am looking for an exit, though.” He reassured him.

…

“I’m making my own exit.” Nice said after a few minutes. 

Wreck had exited the van a few minutes ago and was hidden, ready to jump in at a moments notice. Miss. J and Homemaker were on foot, running to the epicenter.

They arrived just as Nice broke through the concrete. People started cheering. They started cheering even more once they spotted Homemaker.

“Look! It’s Nice and Homemaker!” 

“My mom said they were a couple. Like her and dad!”

Homemaker blushed at that.

“Go! Before she hurts the kid!” Firm man said, straining under the weight of the statue. 

Homemaker himself was straining not to jump in himself. A child was involved. 

“She’s not going to hurt her. She's not going to hurt anyone. Not even that.” Nice pointed at the statue. “Am I right, Wolf Girl?”

People were really paying attention now.

“She’s here to tear down your facade and reveal the real you. The man that saved her years ago. The man she gave that red scarf to.” Nice explained. 

Firm man was in shock at that.

“She wants to set you free from the burden you now carry always.” Nice finished.

Wolf girl took off her mask and revealed a rather pretty young woman underneath. 

Firm Man was crying now and thanking Wolf Girl for giving him strength. His tears hit his boots and then they shattered. He was freed.

Unfortunately, that also meant the statue was too much now for him to bear. Nice and Wolf Girl rushed to the now kneeling hero to try and help. 

Homemaker felt his power surge once the statue fell on all three. He sprinted forward and started lifting. Panic was flooding his system. He felt someone rush over as well. It was Wreck. They felt the statue lifting. The tree of them lifted it together. Firm Man and Wolf Girl cleared the danger zone as soon as they could. They would be no help.

People were going nuts over Nice, Wreck, and Homemaker working together.

They were being cheered on like crazy.

Miss. J was saying something, but they didn't care. The three were focusing on the statue and each other.

[starberry-cupcake]

Welcome back!! I hope you're doing well and, if not, I hope my silly ramblings can make your day somewhat better, like the wildcats used to say: we're all in this together ♥

previously, in harrowcita del 9:

this happened

for those of you recently tuning in, this is the tag of all the ramblings

also, I'm officially in the sixth house now, palmolive can't stop me

CHAPTER 46

we're back inside the emperor's bolthole, which is infested

this is what happens when you have a lyctor orgy without the proper protection

gideon is doing her very best to fight the infestation of herald bees swarming and attacking her

she's in harrow's feeble small kitten baby body, so she's dying a lot

I'm gonna try to represent this visually

gideon keeps apologizing to harrow for getting her bits chewed off and her insides pouring out

and puts emphasis on things she wants harrow to remember

"I saw it eat your thumb—these details are important, so keep up with me—and your thumb was back in the next half minute"

"Child, that bee smashed you"

"I touched your intestines, which is usually what, fourth date"

me:

so, gideon takes off harrow's excess bones, which are no use to her, and goes further into the emperor's infested bolthole, where she finds mercygirl

mercygirl thinks gideon is harrow at first and, turns out, she was the one who stabbed her

these lyctors istg

can't trust any of them

mercygirl thinks harrow should be grateful that she stabbed her

and she was aware that harrow had "stuffed the soul of the cavalier in the back of her brain"

NOW WE'RE GONNA GET INTO SOME TERRITORY THAT MAKES ME GO ABSOLUTELY BERSERK, SO BEAR WITH ME

I NEED TO GET MY NOTES BACK FROM MY PREVIOUS RECAPS FOR THIS

she asks what happened with gideon's eyes and, as we have seen in the previous gideon-centric chapter, gideon's eyes are in harrow's face atm, if memory serves

"You're not her—she isn't driving you—but you have her eyes. Why? When they showed me your corpse I didn't think to check the eyes"

"I thought I knew what you were, though I didn't want to believe it..."

now listen, we're starting to tie some loose ends and some of those loose ends are linked very closely to my previous theories

I have been considering the Commander Wake is Gideon's Mom and Has a Personal Connection To Gideon The First and Is The One Connected With The Harrow Notes In Canaan AU for a while now

I need to link the specific recaps where I said this because I need to be transparent about where my brain was at

Evidence A, Evidence B, Evidence C, Evidence D

there's probably more but those are pretty clear

I swear to god if I was right about this I'm gonna screencap my own recap and put it here when the time comes

I've been marinating this one for months

I actually forgot how much of that I had written down in the recaps until I re-read them

mercygirl says that she thought the commander was a bad girl workaholic who put business before family, that she made her "the dolls" and she must have "played silly buggers with the emission" and that "gideon was on her tail"

"And then Gideon ruined everything. Then the commander ruined everything. Then you ruined everything. This could have been over eighteen years ago"

apparently gideon the first was "obsessed" with the commander, which accounts for some of the notes harrow read

I'LL GET BACK TO THAT WHEN WE GET TO THE SLEEPER, MY THEORIES CONTINUE

mercygirl starts calling gideon all sorts of names, including mutant, and keeps being bothered about her eyes

"Lipochrome. Recessive. You are the evidence. He lied to us...and you are all the proof I needed" "Cytherea would have known as soon as she looked at you"

is gideon the first gideon's dad??????? I mean, I always though he might have Something with the mom but my money was on gideon being made through science rather than Traditional Means

I mean, having lyctor genes in some way would account for gideon being a demigod, something I said with those words when I was reading gideon

also, remember when not!dulcinea told gideon she was prettier than the other gideon?? because I've never forgotten

mercygirl confirms that gideon the first was sent to kill gideon's mom

who, according to mercygirl, would have hated to be called a mom

mamá luchona intensifies

all of which aligns with my theory very nicely so far

she calls gideon more names, including "abomination, you heresy, you failed ambition nineteen years too late"

gideon reacts not wanting mercygirl to touch her instinctively

man, my theories are RIGHT THERE to be fully connected I'm BITING THE DESK

but there's no time for any more talk because mercygirl is trying to kill gideon in harrow's body

but she is stopped

she is shot

by not!dulcinea

but I don't think this is not!dulcinea, I previously mentioned her maybe being used by someone, not sure if it's possession or being used or what's going on but I don't think this is her

I thought about gideon the first being the one to do it but if he wanted harrow dead, I'm not sure he'd save gideon now

not!dulcinea says "with a tone that wasn't" hers: "goodbye"

gideon ends the chapter with "what the fuck is going on?"

CHAPTER 47

we're back at canaan au and it's time to perform an exorcism

harrow has a new note

I've been connecting those notes to gideon's mom possibly commander wake (as linked above)

the latest note continues to add to my theory

"end of the line. falling. oxygen can't last the distance and won't redirect power from the payload. instead I will make you watch every moment as I get the last privilege you cannot enjoy you bygone son of a bitch. I hope you're both as sorry as I am."

I still think this is gideon's mom because that's how she died, I mean, she got to the ninth in a suit without air and gideon still had some, allegedly

I've been thinking that one of the two people involved in the situationship triangle described in the notes was gideon the first, and that maybe the other was dr reverend emperor john

he's the most likely to be a bygone son of a bitch, so maybe I'm right

so, if harrow connects the notes with the spirit that's haunting her

and I'm connecting them to gideon's mom....

what if it's her that's haunting harrow?????

I mean, Waker

I NEED TO STOP GETTING INTO THEORY TANGENTS

anyway, all of the ghoulie ghostie friends are getting together for a sleepover exorcism

I didn't use this when I should have, back when the different aus were going by, but here it is

real!dulcinea says "Pal always said I'd be the death of him. And I was..."

he died being a weenie but he's not all the way dead, so it's fine

harrow questions why everyone wants to help her but everyone's totally fine with all this, for different reasons

real!dulcinea is "horny for revenge" (that's a tshirt for the seventh girlies right there)

protozoa is there because duty is his full personality

abby is really grateful to be asked to help (she also really likes tombs, very lara croft of her)

magnus loves his wife

ortus wants a redemption arc and now has a polycule

martita is behaving better than judith

abby asks harrow if there's anything she can remember from the slasher waker sleeper to try to pinpoint who tf it is

there's a suit, blood, a gun and gideon's sword, which is the only thing harrowcita recognizes and doesn't know where it comes from

my money is on gideon's mom, commander wake, probably also the woman in the shuttle poster that harrow saw but didn't recognize back when she met camilla

I'M PUTTING MORE CHIPS IN MY BETS EVEN IF I GET NO MORE INFO RN

harrow is very interested in how abby and magnus make it work as a married couple who are also a necro and a cav

I wonder why she's so interested

anyway, everything goes to shit on the exorcism

like, it goes really, really badly

group project off the rails bad

I mean, they didn't even have blood

apparently the spirit is also tethered to an object out there (the sword??????? possibly?????)

and she (she's a SHE) is pretty much invincible and shooting everyone and performing parkour while she's at it

harrow says camilla would be impressed, which is the highest praise

the sleeper waker slasher potentially gideon's mom (but not sure because it hasn't been confirmed yet) calls harrow by her name, but in a way that sounds like she's never said it before

she says it like a curse, which maybe means she knows, to some degree, how harrow was made????

she's basically doing whatever she wants over here, shooting ghosts, punching ghosts, throwing them around, regenerating, not bleeding, pulling guns out of thin air

I mean, ok, we got it, calm down lady

where was this energy when it was time to kill the emperor

she says there's "no magic" there and that "she's been doing this for years"

she wants harrow, so she can kill her and use her body to "finish it"

WHICH MAYBE MEANS KILLING THE EMPEROR???

OH MAN I DO WANT THAT TO HAPPEN

BUT NOT AT THE COST OF HARROW

also, mrs potentially gideon's mom, even if harrow dies, there's also gideon in the body right now so, it's a bit crowded atm

maybe find another way to kill the emperor

use not!dulcinea instead, if you can get the current tenant to leave

the chapter ends with: "ortus cleared his throat"

MAN, I HOPE HE DROPS SOME POETRY LINES, WE SURELY NEED THAT

and that's it for today!!!!!things are certainly heating up in the emperor's bolthole!!!! see you soon for the next installment, fingers crossed for my theories!!!

[inchidentally]

Inchie we need your words of reason again 🙏 Newer fans have bled over from other hockey rpf and keep crossing lines 🫥

babe idk how wise I am ?? at all but I'm a firm believer in using common sense about rpf. and I haven't personally seen the stuff you're alluding to but! I've seen posts referring to it and I heard smth about another ship suffering a containment breach… so can't hurt to throw my 2c in as well ?? idk?

tl;dr that landoscar is NOT the ship for you if you 're going to try and force it to be "real" in a l*rry way*. this ship adores the real life friendship without having it compete with the guys' other many friendships - and we do NOT hate women and women partners or pretend they're beards/fakes/conveniently open relationship. and we absolutely do NOT push rpf outside of fandom. you'll get blocked/reported if you do. this is NOT the space for you to find your next "omg what if they're actually fcking" ship. Lily and Oscar are basically forever, Lando is rightfully loving his life sharing his beautiful body with people, and the fan fiction for the ship is staggeringly amazing so we're very very happy w the status quo <3

and we do NOT share rpf content with Lando, Oscar, anyone in F1, the families - basically if they're not someone you know solely in fandom, you don't share rpf with them. again, you will not find support for that here.

I "officially" joined landoscar fandom around Silverstone 2023 and these have been the hard lines taken for as long as I can remember and from all of the OG people in this fandom. esp from people who've been here since Oscar's Alpine tweet bc landoscar is unique in not having led with a PR image and we've all gotten to see every nervous, stumbling and authentic progression of their partnership and friendship along the way - at no point feeling the need to cross the boundary between fic and reality. it truly is charming and intriguing and rewarding as it exists in reality!

as far as the 'why' essay I'll drop all that where it can be ignored easily aslfgjalgf

like I said - landoscar has always been the exception of no one ever slipping over into trying to "make it real" in large part bc Lando and Oscar don't do the PR bromance/fake gay/fan service stuff which !reminder! is content in other ships I absolutely eat up and is 100% targeted to me but !! I'm also aware is connected to a lot of inappropriate fan behavior from ppl who blur the lines between amusing PR content and reality. trust me, I had to basically abandon carland0 which was my very first f1 ship bc to this day - fully out in the open - I see casual misogyny thrown around about Rebecca and ppl truly loudly thinking Lando and Carlos - who have always referred to each other as brothers and who laugh at the "gay" stuff they do precisely bc it's not real - genuinely fcked and/or dated. I will never care enough about an rpf ship to willingly encounter that shit on a regular basis. I know there's a lot of good ppl in the ship who don't engage in that stuff but I have such a hard line about wag hate that it's not worth it for me.

ironically or maybe because of, Lando and Oscar are the only drivers to NOT engage in playing gay for laughs BUT also who hit multiple progressive bullet points in things like discussing romance and dating in gender neutral terms and not making a big deal out of consuming or discussing queer media etc. they actually walk the walk in not pushing gender identity or sexual orientation on hypotheticals or on each other. they also don't do any macho/tradmasc behavior with each other or even bro-ey stuff like rough-housing or loud, aggressive humor (nothing wrong with loud bro stuff tho as long as it doesn't veer into toxic territory! I come from hockeyblr originally so it can be really sweet!)

and landoscar is also the exception in that we all ADORE Lily and have zero interest in trying to erase her let alone anyone be hostile toward her. in straight people culture they're basically already married and that's how they were when landoscar started as a ship! a lot of us have regularly made posts similar to this for newer fans to remind them that Lily (and whoever Lando ends up with as a steady partner) are NOT pawns in an rpf game. Lily is a real human woman with a real life relationship with Oscar and while no one is obliged to engage w wag content, respecting her existence is the bare minimum expected.

the last point I should make is that there's a very clear difference for instance on my blog where I see fanservice ship content about say charl0s or frand0 or n0rtrell and lose my mind over it and love it etc. but then there's Alex or Rebecca or Pietra on my blog! bc I can have fun without erasing women or losing common sense!!

whereas whenever I post stuff about a friendship that rly does make me Feel Things and write my insane essays, it's bc of what the relationships verifiably are and not what they aren't. Max F truly has a complexity and level of depth in his relationship with Lando that is unique and special to each other's lives. in the same way, Lando and Oscar truly do have a particular charm and fondness for each other that's made them approach each other unusually tentatively and slowly - while also having such intense blushing fondness as well as a uniquely intriguing maturity to their professional partnership. this stuff is fascinating and those two examples in particular swim around into all kinds of social/emotional territory.

in ways that do not require conspiracies and fan theories of them fcking or dating to make them compelling.

(and tbh the fact that Lando has some form of "crush" on a lot of handsome men and subconsciously/consciously "flirts" is absolutely fine to enjoy... as long as none of it gets outside of fandom.)

and the fan fiction for landoscar is truly TRULY staggeringly prolific and immensely talented so that's where we go for imagining them in any other type of reality <3

*do not get mad or whatever abt this - if you did or still do just want to ship l*rry privately then whatever but that's the like terrible gold standard for horrific real life repercussions of taking rpf seriously and why fandoms should never ever allow that to happen. there's no debate about that.

[thecertifiedboykisser]

Aglaea and ratio have wayy to many similarities to not be related in some way. Or atleast be from the same planet.

(Date of this being made is November 19th 2024 at like 11pm MST so no trailers have come out yet and I have seen zero leaks.)

Helpful visual i will be referring to:)

Starting of, the hair clip plant thing is the same for both of them, Aglaea just has two, probably because she holds the flame of romance. The sandles are similar styles. Though Aglaeas just seem to be more elegant and regal while ratios seem like just regular sandles. Both are gold and have some accessory to them.

There eyes, oh boy, it's not very clear here but if you go to the short on the hsr channel, you can see Aglaea has the same 'eyeliner' looking stuff but yellow and sparkly. Both eyes have some sort of heterochromja. Veritas has central while Aglaea has split.

Now, to a more subtle thing, the patterns. Both have themes. Veritas has his owls to represent wisdom and knowledge and stuff. Aglaea has plants and the leaf looking patterns.

This is where I'm getting into real life mythological to look into some of the symbolizem stuff, Aglaea is covered in gold and generally is painted in an ethereal kind of way. The mannequins are for the most part looking up at her in an almost like she is. Above them. The real life Aglaea is the goddess of beauty, splendor, glory, and adornment (don't quote me on that that's just what I found) it fits with how the character is portrayed.

Now, the stuff circled in blue is similar patterns, it's a swirl going in, and both of them have it complimenting their own themes. It's probably something we're gonna see with more character coming out.

Now this might be a stretch but the way they talk seems similar aswell

Both from official drip marketing, they read, to me atleast, the same. The language seems similar. But ratio seems more modernized while Aglaea seems more old fashioned (it literally says O,) and I think that's because of the IPC. Now this is treading into HC territory, but it is plausible.

Ratio probably sounded more like Aglaea when he first left his home planet for the intelligencea guild, which I do think they have some contact with Amphoreous if not very little. But as he was around people who spoke more modernized, he developed that too.

This is mostly just me pointing put there similarities and feeding into my thoughts that were finally gonna get ratio lore in 3.0

Especially since, in penacony, he was more of a support to aven than his own arc, especially since he wasnt released during penacony. I think he was made for amphoreous and penacony was just to get his character a little bit better and have some more connected threads to the new plant than just Black swan.

[nientedenada]

Five Skyrim Lore Facts You May Not Know!

And unlike some of the clickbait videos on Youtube, these ones are absolutely true. Let me address some of the most common lore confusions I regularly see. As a Listicle, because why not? (It's easier than writing out long lore posts.)

The Blades never served the Mede Empire. Martin was the last Emperor they served. They then devoted themselves to looking for a new Dragonborn and working against the Thalmor. Titus Mede I created a new organization called the Penitus Oculatus, which handled all intelligence and security for the Mede Dynasty. The Penitus Oculatus has been the official Imperial organization for more than 175 years, while the Blades have been an independent force. It makes the Mede decision to outlaw the Blades a lot easier to understand if you know they weren't their employees at all. The Blades were loose cannons they couldn't control.

Ysgramor didn't destroy the snow elves. The stories about Ysgramor say he and his 500 Companions showed up in Skyrim, killed or sent the snow elves into exile, took all of Skyrim, and then wandered over to pick fights with the neighbours. In reality, the Falmer weren't completely driven from Skyrim till the reign of King Harald, thirteen generations after Ysgramor. In the interim, there was a whole Dragon cult and war, culminating with Alduin being flung through the time wound. It's a long period. The real Ysgramor definitely clashed with his snow-elf neighbours but he's accumulated the stories of hundreds of years around his mythic name.

The Companions haven't been a Nord-only organization for a very long time. You might think that a bunch of warriors venerating the legacy of Ysgramor and his Companion would be Nord only, and that was probably true way back in the First Era. But by the end of the First Era, the Companions had boasted both a Redguard and Elf (Altmer or Bosmer) Harbinger. Cirroc and Henantier are some of the most famous Harbingers in the history of the Companions. We're in the Fourth Era now, so if you're playing a non-Nord, you're following in a long tradition by joining the companions. (As is Athis.)

The Imperial Legion didn't win back most of Cyrodiil in the Great War. People often ask why Titus Mede II agreed to the harsh peace of the White-Gold Concordat after his army had destroyed the Dominion army in Cyrodiil and taken back the Imperial City. But that's not what really happened. The Legion destroyed "the main army". Other Aldmeri armies are mentioned in Cyrodiil. After Red Ring, the Dominion still occupied Anvil, Skingrad, Bravil, and Leyawiin. "The Great War" doesn't say that any of these cities were liberated. Put those territories together and you'll realize the Empire never got back its coastline or the Niben river. Titus Mede made his deal while the Dominion still occupied half of Cyrodiil. Maybe he could have won if he'd pushed on, but his decision is a lot easier to understand with this context.

The Bretons Don't Worship Talos. This is one of my favourite lore bits to explain. Talos is not a god in TES II, Daggerfall, though he is a historical figure, Tiber Septim. He's only introduced as a god in Morrowind. So, a lot of people assume that he's been retconned into the Breton religion, like he was into the Nord/Imperial religions. This is not true. In both Morrowind and Skyrim, the book Varieties of Faith in the Empire does not list Talos/Ysmir as part of the Breton pantheon. They worship the Eight (and sometimes Y'ffre, Magnus, and Phynaster), as they always have. Tiber Septim is an important historical figure whom some Bretons regard as one of their own, but he isn't an official god. I love this tidbit because it makes the White-Gold Concordat absolutely brilliant. One remaining province, Skyrim, gets all upset while High Rock wouldn't care. Cyrodiil is presumably somewhere in the middle. It's a perfect way to drive a wedge among the provinces. (Hammerfell's left the Empire, but for the record, they don't worship Talos either.)

[fru1t4fr0gs]

You and Me - Chapter 9

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Avenger!Reader

Summary: The battle in Wakanda begins. You and Bucky meet a talking raccoon. You lose everything, and then you gain it back, only to face another loss, one that can't be undone.

Warnings: 18+ Minors DNI: Violence, Mention of Nightmares, Swearing, Angst, Seriously guys, this chapter is angsty, Bucky gets blipped, Reader is Tony Stark's kid (we make the timelines work because we are in charge), Death (Tony's canon-compliant death at the end of endgame), Please let me know if I forgot anything!

Author's Note: Whoo, this one was a doozy! After this chapter, we're officially going to be moving into FATWS territory. As always, thank you guys so much for all the love you've given this story! Comments and feedback are always appreciated!

-

“Are we supposed to bow?” Bruce asks awkwardly, standing beside you near the back of the quinjet as the door slides open.

“Of course you are.” You say, feigning shock that he would even think to ask. “He’s a king.”

When you step off of the jet and Bruce does bow, you can’t hold back your snort of laughter. The look you receive could cut glass. Worth it.

Your eyes instinctively scan the deck, and it only takes a moment for you to find him. He’s already moving towards you, every step filled with purpose.

“Is that a new arm?” You ask in lieu of a greeting, eyes widening with surprise. He just smiles, wraps it around you, and kisses you like he’s thought of nothing else since you first got on the jet with Steve, Sam and Natasha.

You have absolutely no complaints. Your hands move up to tangle in his hair, kissing him back just as hungrily, just as passionately. He lifts you a few inches from the ground, arms tightening around your waist as he deepens the kiss.

“Do you think the honeymoon phase will ever end?” You hear Steve ask Natasha behind you. “They’ve been married for a year.”

“I think it’s sweet.” She says, as Bucky’s teeth scrape against your bottom lip. Your gasp causes him to pull you even closer, and he lets out a quiet groan into the kiss. “If not a little…graphic.”

“Okay, you horny freaks. It’s been two days.” Sam says, exasperated, and you finally pull back from each other. He’s smiling at you, and you’re smiling right back at him.

“Missed you.” He says, and you laugh.

“I’ve been gone for forty eight hours.”

“A very long forty eight hours.”

You kiss him again as he sets you back on your feet, less heated than before but just as loving.

“Wanna go save the world?” He asks against your lips.

You shrug, mischief dancing in your eyes. “Sure. I’ve got some time.”

-

-

You must have been fighting for hours. Or days. Maybe weeks, for all you can tell by this point.

You and Bucky fight alongside each other with a shocking seamlessness, your movements as in-sync on the battlefield as they seem to be everywhere else. You dodge an attack with the perfect timing for him to knock the alien down. You shoot something behind him over his shoulder before it ever gets the chance to reach him. One of you runs out of ammo, and a mag is tossed and caught before you even have to speak. Anything that comes your way doesn’t survive long, and you would be incredibly proud if you weren’t so unbelievably exhausted.

“Hey, Bucky?” You eventually shout over the sound of gunfire.

“Yeah?” He doesn’t take his eyes off his next target, taking the next alien that comes your way down in a single shot.

“I think I might be delirious. No super stamina and all. Did a talking ferret just try to buy your arm?”

“Not a ferret.” The animal snaps, firing his own gun at a group of aliens nearby. You wish you could say you’ve seen weirder. You wish you could say you’ve seen weirder today. “Why? You tryin’ to get it? Bet I can outbid you.”

You use the butt of your gun to knock another attacker down, grateful for the endless hours of training that just might be the only thing still keeping you on your feet.

“Four hundred.” You say, unsure what currency he was talking about earlier but deciding that humouring this exchange might be kind of funny.

“Five!” He yells back, excitement and glee coating his voice. 

“Hilarious.” Bucky says, and you don’t have to look over at him to know he’s rolling his eyes. You snort as you reload your gun.

-

-

The fight ends like a thunderstorm, chaos trickling down into a calm sprinkle, and then nothing. By the time the endless stream of attackers stops, you’re nearly falling to your knees with exhaustion and leftover adrenaline.

You talked to Bucky once, about war and battles and exactly how they work. He told you that, when you win, you never really know that you’ve won until it’s all over. There’s usually no cheering or confirmation about it. No one shows up to stamp a sticker to your shirt that says “Congrats! You killed more of them than they did you! Go home, winner!”

Now that you’re living it, you realize how eerie the feeling is.

Before you know it it’s just you and Bucky in the forest, bruised and battered but alive.

You all find each other and begin to regroup. Steve is only a few feet away when you lean on Bucky, head dropping onto his shoulder. You’re both bruised and battered and bone-tired, but you’re still standing.

“Fuck. Battle sucks.” You mumble, voice muffled by the fabric of his sleeve. “Do you think we won?”

“We’re alive. That’s something.” He says, kissing the side of your head as his hands begin to move over your body. You groan, grabbing his wrists and pulling them around your waist instead.

“Check me for injuries later.” You say, squeezing him tighter. “M’fine. No bullet holes or missing organs.”

He makes a soft noise of protest, but gives in. His arms wrap around you gentle but firm, and you sigh.

And then your body jerks. A bolt of fire shoots through your nerves, and you almost scream.

It’s never been this bad before. You’ve never had the serum effect you like this before. The worst sense of oncoming danger has always been, at its worst, a sharp tingle. This feels so deep that it’s pain.

Bucky feels you jerk, pulls you back to face him with panic in his eyes.

“Something’s wrong.” You say, but you don’t need to.

His flesh hand goes first.

You feel the lightness on your arm, and when you look down to see him disintegrating, you choke.

“Bucky? Bucky? Bucky?!” You say, reaching to grab at nothing. Your hands move to his shoulders. His face. Anything you can possibly reach but it’s no use. None of it is any use.

Bucky Barnes disintegrates in front of you in less than three seconds.

“STEVE!” You scream, and you feel him turn too late. Run to you too late. By the time he reaches you, you’re on your knees and patting at ashes like you might be able to pull him from the earth.

“Bucky, baby, no no no. Bucky come back!” You demand, and you’re in too much of a panic to even feel Steve grab your arm. He’s gone. He’s completely gone like he never even existed at all and you can’t lose him you can’t not after everything oh God you can’t breathe-

All this time. All of these horrible things you’ve gone through, both together and apart. He was always going to still be there. Winter Soldier or not, he’s the strongest person you’ve ever known. And now he’s just gone. How the fuck is he just gone?!

Steve says your name. He sounds scared. You don’t even register it. You’re still clutching at the ashes, your mind scrambling to think of any way you might be able to bring him back and finding nothing-

You don’t even realize that you’re disappearing too.

And then, darkness.

-

-

It feels like a thousand years and a single second all at the same time.

One moment, you’re clawing at the ground, trying to dig your husband up from the cloud of ash he vanished into. The next, you’re blinking your eyes open to dappled sunlight spilling in through the canopy above you.

Your first thought is that it looks beautiful. Everything is green. Vibrant. Alive.

Arms wrap around you, pulling you back into a firm and familiar chest, and you try to blink the fog from your eyes as you begin to register the world around you. The forest floor. The bruises still on your body from the battle that… just happened. You were just fighting, and then you were with Bucky, and then…

“Hey, hey, are you okay, doll? What happened? Are you alright?” The deep voice in your ear sounds like it’s coming from underwater for a moment, but you’re quick to recognize it, and the sound of it alone makes your muscles instinctively begin to relax.

Clarity comes to you like whiplash.

Bucky. Bucky.

You spin in his arms, maneuvering with your enhanced speed faster than you ever have before, and look right at him.

He’s here. He’s right here. Alive.

“Bucky?” Your voice sounds hoarse, hands reaching to his face like he might disappear again.

He looks just as panicked as you are, but a portion of his surprise might be purely from the near-crazed look you’re giving him.

“I’m here. Are you okay? What happened?” He repeats, and your hands are all over him. Face, chest, arms, just making sure that he’s still here. Alive. No longer ash. No longer gone.

He responds to your frantic touches immediately, metal arm wrapping around your waist and pulling you into his lap as his flesh hand slides into your hair. He holds you to him, and it’s only then that you realize how hard you’re shaking.

“I’m here, doll. It’s okay. I’ve got you.” He says it like instinct, and it takes you a moment to realize that it is instinct. He’s trying to talk you down from a nightmare, in the same way he has a thousand times before.

He doesn’t even remember that he disintegrated in front of you. That it wasn’t a nightmare. It really happened. It just happened.

You want to tell him that, to make him understand exactly why you’re freaking out, clutching at any part of him you can reach just to make sure he stays solid, but your reunion is quickly cut short.

A portal opens in front of you. And suddenly, it’s time to fight again.

-

You don’t know what the hell is happening.

It’s chaos. All of it. You can barely even register that you’re most definitely on a different fucking planet, which is most certainly one of the weirder things to have ever happened to you.

But you can’t  freak out about that, now. You can just fight. And fight you do.

You shoot. You punch. You kick. You use every ounce of your depleted energy to attack anything and everything in front of you like you never have before.

And then you feel it.

Right. Then left. Through that one group, behind that rock.

“Cover me.” You say, knowing Bucky can and will hear you even over the sound of shouting and gunfire, and then you take off.

You dodge blades, knock enemies down before they even notice you’re there, and with Bucky behind you you’re not hit by a single blow before you’re tumbling into a crevice between boulders.

You wheeze as you hit the dirt, overestimating the length of the drop and landing on your back hard.

When the dust settles, and you manage to wipe it from your eyes, you’re looking up at a face you don’t quite recognize. You do, however, recognize the suit.

“Red Guy. Hey.” You say, still a little dazed. You haven’t seen him without the mask before, but now young eyes look down at you in complete shock.

“Airport. In Germany.” You try to explain, still on your back, still winded. “You shot me with the…” you make a gesture with your arm out, mimicking how he fired the sticky stuff at you.

He nods, and you realize that he recognized you the second you fell in front of him. Okay, a little embarrassing.

Even more embarrassing is the sound of a perfectly executed landing behind you, the smooth sound of boots hitting the dirt making your own landing probably look like that of a flailing blind dog.

Hands are suddenly on your back, scooping you up and pulling you to your feet. Bucky. You can feel him behind you, and you almost turn to face him before your eyes fall on the man to your left. The reason that new instinct called you here.

Your eyes find Tony Stark’s. He’s not wearing his helmet.

The battle rages around you, and you’re frozen in place.

The last time you saw him, he tried to kill Bucky. So intensely, and with so much rage, that you nearly died in the crossfire.

A part of you thought you would never see him again.

This is not the time or place for uncomfortable family reunions, but he hasn’t moved and neither have you. All you can think is that there is no way, that in the middle of a battlefield, that a silence should be this loud.

“Thanks for the watch.” You say, raising it awkwardly in front of you, but you don’t get another word out before he’s hugging you.

He hasn’t hugged you since you were brought back from Romania, when he found out you weren’t dead. But even then, there was a bit of restraint. A little awkwardness. A little tension. You had purposefully dropped off the map and shacked up with a man he considered to be a serial killer, after all. This time, he’s not hugging you like a comrade or a friend. There’s no hesitation in this. He’s hugging you like your dad.

And it might be the strangeness of it all, the unfamiliar feeling of warmth and comfort that this hug holds, but you hug him back just as tightly.

“I’m sorry.” You breathe, and you don’t know what you’re apologising for. It’s not for Bucky. You will never apologize for loving Bucky. You know that and he knows that, too. But it’s for something. For the distance you kept between the two of you all of these years, even before he knew you existed. For refusing to fully let him in when he did know who you were. Hell, you’re even apologizing for robbing him years ago, the day he found out that he was your father. The day everything changed.

“Don’t say that.” He says, and you almost start crying. “Don’t. Just…I’m glad you’re okay.”

You choke on something that might be a sob. He holds you tighter. And maybe it’s the two years apart. Maybe it’s how much you realize now that you missed him, but you open your mouth to say three words you never thought you would say to your father.

He beats you to it.

“I love you, kid.”

Your heart twists in your chest, and you almost say it back. Almost.

But then Pepper is there, landing in her own suit next to you, and Tony is letting you go as she hugs you too.

“This is so weird,” You say with tears in your eyes, emotion rocking you to your very core. “I just woke up. I think I missed something.”

She laughs, and she’s crying too.

You all pull back from each other, your strange little family standing between boulders while a battle rages on nearby.

You have to get back to the fighting. Soon. And yet your eyes fall to Bucky behind you, then back to Tony. You wonder if you’re going to have to diffuse a fight, or jump in front of a laser, or-

He drops a hand on Bucky’s shoulder. It’s a strange, fatherly gesture you never thought you would see. A lot of firsts, today.

“Family dinner is on Sundays.” He says simply. Casually. Though you can still hear the crack in his voice, like he might have been on the verge of crying a minute ago, too. “Don’t be late. And no crazy hypnosis-induced violence allowed in our house. Pepper likes it clean.”

He takes off, flying back into battle with one last look at you. Pepper follows. Red Guy - Spider-Man, you think you’ve heard - looks like he’s about to say some sort of goodbye, before he awkwardly opts for a wave and a smile, and then takes off.

You and Bucky look at each other, and for a moment there’s so much hope for the future you think you just might explode.

You plunge back into the battle with a renewed vigor.

-

Thanos’s army vanishes, and you know you’ve won.

But now you sit in front of Tony Stark, as his skin begins to pale and his eyes lose the light in them.

Everyone else watches the army fall. Bucky watches you. You watch your father.

Peter speaks to him. Pepper speaks to him. And it’s when she tells him that he can rest, that you’re all safe, that you break. Something inside you truly and completely breaks.

“No.” You say, definitive. Stubborn. Pleading. “No. No, you can’t.” He doesn’t respond, but his hand sits atop of yours on his chest. The metal of his glove is cold. You’re being selfish. You know it. But too much is unsaid. You just woke up, and you feel like you’ve missed too much.

“Don’t go. Please.” Your voice catches on a sob. “Please. We…we’re not done. There’s too much we haven’t… you can’t…”

But he’s fading. Fast. And all of those things that need to be said, all of those memories yet to be had, vanish from your grasp like the rest of Thanos’s army.

“I love you, dad.” You whisper, and his hand squeezes yours once before it goes limp.

You fall back, and Bucky is there, arms wrapped around you like an anchor.

You let him hold you. Let him take you home. But you leave a part of yourself on that battlefield that you don’t think you’ll ever get back.

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Taglist: @vicmc624, @saucysasha2035, @iyskgd, @intothesoul, @capswife, @otterlycanadian

[lemotmo]

Going to be interesting for sure. I can't wait!

Q. I must admit I'm super curious about how things are going to look with no Bobby and no Bobby/Athena. What in the world do they do with Athena? I do find it interesting that ABC appears to have been against the decision but didn't step in and stop it. Feels like there's more to the story than we know. Based on the Upfronts ABC seems to be Buddie and the core 4 all the way. We're officially in new territory.

A. I agree that there's likely more to the story than we know or are going to know. You are correct that if ABC genuinely was against the decision they would have and could have reversed it but they didn't (even though networks usually aren't going to want to step into making decisions like for a show if it can be avoided). The rumor of Peter wanting to work less but not take a pay cut seems logical to me given the way the death was written. They gave themselves an out hoping both sides could reach an agreement and when they couldn't the death became permanent. No one is the bad guy here. I get Peter's side of that and I also get ABC's side of that. The business of making this show is expensive, and I said when the renewal announcement came out that part of why I think it was made so late is because Oliver, Ryan, Aisha and Kenny all got new contracts that came with raises, making the show even more expensive. ABC is all in on Buddie and the core 4 so I think the focus was going to shift a bit anyway this coming season.

I know it upset some people when I said that the show ABC was promoting was not the show Tim was delivering week in and week out. ABC never promoted or pushed this show as the Peter and Angela show. If you came into this show based solely on the way ABC promoted it Bobby and Athena would not have been the pairing you were familiar with. Yes Bathena were part of it but Buck and Eddie got the majority of the promo once ABC acquired the show. Look it was fair criticism to say that Tim needed to spread the storylines out more. I think a lot of the time Tim used Bobby and Athena as story crutches. He gave them 85% of the story focus, and frankly the numbers probably closer to 90% for seasons 7 and 8. Storylines that stretched out over multiple episodes a season. And they got several of those a season. Everyone else got bits and pieces of plot but no real storylines. Buck's sexuality 'storyline' lasted one episode. Bobby and the Amir nonsense alone was stretched out over multiple episodes. The Hotshot nonsense from this season got 5(!) episodes of focus. It was a problem and it was fair to say so. No one wanted Bobby gone. It will be a different show without him, and will probably take a period of adjustment when they return for season 9. But things like this can also breathe new life into other characters and the show, and that's not a bad thing. It's an ensemble show that Tim never treated like an ensemble. Tim treated it like the Peter and Angela show along with their supporting cast. And not having the crutch of Bobby and Bathena to give the majority of the focus to hopefully forces him to actually have to tell storylines for his characters (although I still mostly want Tim to fuck off to the spinoff and leave this show alone). I'm not sure how they work Athena back into the 118 mix. The show reestablished her friendship with Hen and Karen and also gave her a new friend in Maddie last season. So my guess is that's what they will do with her initially. Hopefully they will also bring back May and Harry. I know in fanfics she and Buck have a mother/son dynamic but that's not the relationship they have within the actual text of the show (yes she cares about him and vice versa but they're not written the way Buck and Bobby were) so I think most of her 118 interactions will be with Hen and Chimney and their spouses, at least at first. They will find a way to work her in though. And I'm sure she will still also have the focus of the opening arc for season 9. Yes things will be different going forward for the show, but I'm kind of excited to see the change up. But I fully admit that I will probably still find myself looking for Bobby in episodes next season. It will be an adjustment or sure.

Thank you once again Nonny!

Yeah, fully agree here. Ali and I talked about some of this before and it makes so much sense.

I remember all the Buddie promo before season 7 and I was over the moon, because we had NEVER seen anything like that before for Buddie. It felt like suddenly there was a real possibility of them going canon.

I do think they have been planning for Buddie since the beginning of season 7, but as usual with Tim, he veered off the path and started experimenting.

I agree that Tim put too much focus on Bathena. Both opening emergencies (7 and 8) all about Bathena? What was that? 6 episodes in total? Followed by the Hotshots arc that was also heavily built up around Bobby, the Amir and cartel storyline, Bobby's mom suddenly popping up, Athena's story about the cart cop, Athena's story with the new rookie... it was simply too much. Something HAD to change.

I would have preferred it to be something with Bobby retiring or something, not actually getting killed. But that rumour Ali talks about? The one where Peter wanted to work less without taking a pay cut? That actually makes sense and would explain so much of all the messy chaos that happened afterwards. Tim is simply really bad when it comes to sudden changes he wants or needs to make.

But I am aware that it's only a rumour right now and we'll probably never know the full extent of what went down behind the scenes.

At the end of the day, I know that no one watching the show wanted Bobby dead. He is one of those universally like characters and Peter is definitely a universally liked actor. I've loved him since his 'Sports night' days.

Bobby was the 118 dad and just like everyone else, I will also be expecting to see Bobby pop up in those first few episodes. It will be so weird, knowing we'll never get a Bobby scene again. 😭

But he's gone now and we'll all have to adjust to the new dynamics this will bring to the show.

Just like Ali, I'm really curious to see how they'll go about that. I wonder how they'll integrate Athena into the 118 stories. I'm excited we'll get to spend more time with the Wilsons and the Hans. And the Buckley-Diaz family of course. 😋

Judging by the Upfronts and how much they pushed the Buddie questions, plus the fact that the Ryliver interviews are still coming out to this day? Something big is coming for Buddie as well in season 9. 🤗

I'm intrigued and excited to see what the new season will bring us.

Heads up! For anyone who is giving me the shifty eyes for reposting Ali's updates instead of reblogging. Read this.

Remember, no hate in comments, reblogs or inboxes. Let's keep it civil and respectful. Thank you.

If you are interested in more of Ali’s posts, you can find all of her posts so far under the tag: anonymous blog I love.

[hackedxy0x]

The perfect way to end the buddie arc this season should be something simple yet effective.

I don't think that there will be time for them to go canon or for a verbal feeling realization, but they also have to give the fans some confirmation that we're getting there next season.

The simplest solution (in my opinion):

Eddie goes to rescue Buck and Ravi, but ends up trapped as well. Buck and Eddie have a heart to heart about Eddie potentially going back to Texas, but the building is collapsing even more and they aren't sure they're going to make it out. Eddie eventually grabs Buck's neck and leans their foreheads together for comfort. There's a pause, them soaking in the closeness. And we get a lip glance from one of both of them.

Something breaks the moment, but we get a confirmation that we officially strayed into romantic territory.

[stardust948]

hello! can you please say more about the kiyi is ozai's daughter theory? I'm kind of obsessed with it

#1. The math

Zuko was banished around 13 and crowned Firelord at 16. The Search takes place a year later which makes four years in total. Ursa was banished before Zuko, so let's say that happened about a year or so before the Agni Kai, which makes five years at minimum.

When we meet Kiyi in The Search, she's about 5 years old.

Ursa could have been in the very early stages of pregnancy when she was banished. The earliest you can tell is two weeks after conception.

#2. Firebending

Neither Ursa nor Ikem are firebenders. But at five years old, Kiyi can already melt through steel doors.

I know this could be written off as "She's Avatar Roku's great-granddaughter that's why she's so powerful" but Roku is not the only powerful firebender. it's heavily implied on the show that Ozai is the most powerful firebender even without Sozin's Comet.

#3. Genetics

Zuko and Kiyi look nearly identical to each other. And which parent does Zuko resemble the most?

(Ozai and Zuko parallels image is from Cansu @azulabeloved on Twitter. Other images are from the comics, show, and official art. )

In conclusion, I think it's highly plausible that Kiyi is Ozai's daughter. This gives all of the family a more interesting dynamic.

Ursa having just escaped her abusive husband, now has a child that looks identical to him. But this time, she can raise her without his toxic influence.

Zuko and Azula receive a glimpse of what could have been if they had a normal family. This would be particularly hard on Azula.

Ozai has another daughter he didn't know about and may never met.

And Kiyi who is at the age to start questioning what happened to her father. This ties Kiyi to the story more instead of being the "perfect replacement" child. She may even be the one to sneak to Ozai's cell to get answers instead of Zuko. But now we're getting into fanfic territory.

So yeah, 100% believe Kiyi is Ozai's daughter.

[d0eteeth]

Now that the forbidden fruit has been mentioned in tmagp 19 and we're officially in bible metaphor territory, I like to think ink5oul's snake tattoo maybe signifies their transformation into an avatar somehow? Like their fall from Grace (get it their name is Grace)

[kariachi]

Figuring out the territory size needed to support a Weyr

We already decided on this blog that we're having dragon-feeding numbers of an average of one cow a week (to account for rankers eating several cows and chromatics, especially small ones, eating many smaller-than-cow livestock) so we're going to use that for our 'how much space/care do you need to feed a derg' number.

We're also going with an estimated riderpair population of 500, based on the numbers we can work out from the Atlas of Pern, and we determined a minimum Weyr population of 4756 here, which we'll round up to 4800.

So, we need a minimum just to feed the Weyr of enough space to provide the equivalent of 26k cattle and food for 4800 a year.

We're going to work out cattle space required using this calculator, figuring a fair pasture quality and low-to-middling rainfall , to account for the range of pasture options across a territory. Since a lot of what the dragons will be eating is non-cattle that produce larger numbers of offspring (such as goats, sheep, pigs, and presumably wherries produce larger numbers) we'll be nice and assume we need the space that 3/4 of the above number would take up (since providing that in just cattle would likely require nearly double the number to start with, and the other options have numbers ranging from twice to eight times as high for the fuckers we know this info for). So we're looking at finding the amount of pasture needed for 19,500 cattle, assuming a forage yield of 550 and a utilization rate of 35%. Since these are the numbers offered, we'll assume keeping that number is our monthly goal and see if we can get the cow-calf pair and yearling numbers to have an average of about that. Again, to account for higher offspring number opportunities.

So, we're looking at, I'm gonna say about 80k acres of pasture to keep the critters to feed the dragons for the year.

Now, in medieval times it apparently took about 12-16 acres to for a peasant to feed his family, average number of children for landed peasantry seems to have been, we'll call it 2.5, add a pair of grandparents to account for, ya know, the family structure of the time... Average out our acreage to 14, divide by 6.5, get 2.15 acres of land per person. So we're looking at 10,320 acres to support to humans of the Weyr.

But, we also have to support the people supporting the Weyr.

Numbers to work with-

I'm seeing 78% of adult men involved in farming in medieval Europe, so we'll go with that

Also seeing about 25 acres being farmed per farmer in the period? At least the early end, which it's Pern these fuckers don't have their shit together

And we'll bump that up to 30 to account for livestock space, since I don't think those numbers were accounting for that

With that number we can assume one farmer can feed 13.9 people. We'll round that down to 13, leave the rest to account for trade and such

Supposedly 300 head of cattle is doable per person so far as management, so we'll use that for our livestock numbers just in general

So, just to raise the livestock going to the dragons we're looking at about 87 people. We're also looking at 344 people to support the humans of the Weyr. So, total of 431 people needed to support just the Weyr.

We would need another 15 people to support them, and it just sort of carries on like that. So instead we look at full populations and what they need in total.

We're gonna roll with the numbers we have in the linked post, just for the sake of ease, and say that abled, working-age adults make up about 56.5% of the population. Half of those would be women, so our working-age men account for 28.25%, and with 78% of them being farmers, that's about 22% of the population feeding the other 78%.

(Note, these are just 'official' numbers, women and children were also helping out, but bear with me I've only got so much to work with and, it is Pern.)

So, we're gonna leave the Weyr and the people feeding them out of these numbers and just try to figure how many folks we would be talking, at minimum, to support themselves, the rest of the pop, and the fuckers feeding the Weyr. So, using ((((X*3.54)+X)+431)*2.15) as our equation to figure out how many acres we would need given any singular number of farmers, where the given number of farmers is denoted as X, alongside a simple (X*30) to denote how many acres these farmers would be able to work...

We get 46 'civilian' farmers working 1376 acres to support a population of 640, and the Weyr by extension.

Of course that's a pure minimum, which pretty much exactly fits our 'one farmer can feed 13.9 people' estimate from before. If we adjust our numbers to reach our goal of each 'civilian' farmer feeding 13 people...

We get 51 farmers working 1425 acres to support a population of 663, plus the Weyr.

But that's just looking at food, let's consider it from the perspective of everything a riderpair is gonna need. The best number I can find (that isn't just 'this is how many fuckers worked under them') for how many people were actually directly needed to support a knight places it at about 17, so we'll assume it takes 17 adult civilians to ensure a riderpair in kitted out. We'll just say the lack of metalwork gets rolled into the need to supply firestone.

Assuming 500 riderpairs, that's a total of 8500 people to support them. We'll remove the fuckers feeding the dragons and 39 folks feeding specifically them, because we already account for that in our math, for a total of 8374 people. We've got about 2160 workers in the Weyrs, not including fuckers specifically tending to children, so we can remove that from our total for 6214 civilians needed to support the riderpairs of a Weyr.

But then if we're considering the riderpairs, we need to consider the rest of the Weyr. For the sake of that, we'll add a third again to our number there, running with the assumption that the folks are supporting each other so most of the support from outside is in the form of goods, often communal. We won't remove anything for farmers here, just to keep my numbers erring on the side of caution. So, with this, we're looking at a minimum outside folks needed to support the Weyrs of 8079. If we include all the fuckers feeding people, then we're talking 8205.

To work out this, we're going to add another equation ((((X*1.28)-X))+431). This should give us the abled, working-age male population (again, bear with me) plus the folks directly feeding the Weyr. We're aiming to get that number to 8205 at minimum. Gonna be quite the thing.

At minimum, using these numbers, we instead get a total of 27,765 farmers, working ~272k acres, to support a population of 126,484, plus the Weyr.

The good news is, at that point there are enough civilian farmers that each one is only really feeding about nine people.

Those people would require an estimated 298 acres of space all on their own, just to live and work, but that could likely be mitigated with the whole 'living in caves' thing, you'd lose a good chunk of needed land space to that.

Now, if we remove the 'abled men' part of things (change the '1.28' to a '2.56'), that changes things dramatically.

We instead get a minimum number of 4984 'civilian' farmers, working 49,576 acres, supporting a population of 23,059 (plus the Weyr) who would need an estimated 55 acres of land to live and work on.

Of course the most accurate number is likely between these two, especially with most people's work likely only partially going towards the Weyr. Afterall, there are Weyrfolk to handle their daily things. So, let's get an average there. '1.92' to slip into that equation.

With that change, we get a low-end population of 38,794 being supported by 8450 farmers working 83,408 acres. You would need an estimated 92 acres to house them all.

And I think that's about as into this as I wanna get, I've been 2-odd hours on it already. But, our basic results here-

Minimum Space/Population to Support a Weyr Options

All Non-Farmer Abled Adult Men- Pop: 126,484; Space: ~350k acres

All Non-Farmer Abled Adults- Pop: 23,509; Space: ~140k acres

About Half Non-Farmer Abled Adults- Pop: 38,794; Space: ~173k acres

I don't know what actual populations we're dealing with with Pern or I'd poke at more things, but as it stands, have at.