#ai created detectives lol

[nmotypdfsfg]

[catnippackets]

The thing about generative AI is that the technology is super useful for recognizing patterns and has been used by scientists for things like detecting cancer cells and other amazing breakthroughs in science. However this technology is smart, yes, but only when it comes to recognizing patterns. In reality, what it can't fully comprehend is creative works due to the widely different patterns in each work. For example, artists who draw realism still have vastly different styles. Another example outside of style being lighting. It can recognize that pieces use lighting but because it varies so much with each piece, it doesn't fully understand how to apply it. The same applies to writing and other creative practices, they're all too different.

TLRD; Instead of developing new technology or expanding in existing technology to be assistants to creatives (including developing affordable technology for disabled creatives to use) these companies are forcing scientific technology to recognize patterns in something it can't. They're too lazy to sit down and actually teach AI the nuances behind creativity, so they scrape as much data as they can to force it to create something passable.

basically lol

[qqueenofhades]

I’m in undergrad but I keep hearing and seeing people talking about using chatgpt for their schoolwork and it makes me want to rip my hair out lol. Like even the “radical” anti-chatgpt ones are like “Oh yea it’s only good for outlines I’d never use it for my actual essay.” You’re using it for OUTLINES????? That’s the easy part!! I can’t wait to get to grad school and hopefully be surrounded by people who actually want to be there 😭😭😭

Not to sound COMPLETELY like a grumpy old codger (although lbr, I am), but I think this whole AI craze is the obvious result of an education system that prizes "teaching for the test" as the most important thing, wherein there are Obvious Correct Answers that if you select them, pass the standardized test and etc etc mean you are now Educated. So if there's a machine that can theoretically pick the correct answers for you by recombining existing data without the hard part of going through and individually assessing and compiling it yourself, Win!

... but of course, that's not the way it works at all, because AI is shown to create misleading, nonsensical, or flat-out dangerously incorrect information in every field it's applied to, and the errors are spotted as soon as an actual human subject expert takes the time to read it closely. Not to go completely KIDS THESE DAYS ARE JUST LAZY AND DONT WANT TO WORK, since finding a clever way to cheat on your schoolwork is one of those human instincts likewise old as time and has evolved according to tools, technology, and educational philosophy just like everything else, but I think there's an especial fear of Being Wrong that drives the recourse to AI (and this is likewise a result of an educational system that only prioritizes passing standardized tests as the sole measure of competence). It's hard to sort through competing sources and form a judgment and write it up in a comprehensive way, and if you do it wrong, you might get a Bad Grade! (The irony being, of course, that AI will *not* get you a good grade and will be marked even lower if your teachers catch it, which they will, whether by recognizing that it's nonsense or running it through a software platform like Turnitin, which is adding AI detection tools to its usual plagiarism checkers.)

We obviously see this mindset on social media, where Being Wrong can get you dogpiled and/or excluded from your peer groups, so it's even more important in the minds of anxious undergrads that they aren't Wrong. But yeah, AI produces nonsense, it is an open waste of your tuition dollars that are supposed to help you develop these independent college-level analytical and critical thinking skills that are very different from just checking exam boxes, and relying on it is not going to help anyone build those skills in the long term (and is frankly a big reason that we're in this mess with an entire generation being raised with zero critical thinking skills at the exact moment it's more crucial than ever that they have them). I am mildly hopeful that the AI craze will go bust just like crypto as soon as the main platforms either run out of startup funding or get sued into oblivion for plagiarism, but frankly, not soon enough, there will be some replacement for it, and that doesn't mean we will stop having to deal with fake news and fake information generated by a machine and/or people who can't be arsed to actually learn the skills and abilities they are paying good money to acquire. Which doesn't make sense to me, but hey.

So: Yes. This. I feel you and you have my deepest sympathies. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to sit on the porch in my quilt-draped rocking chair and shout at kids to get off my lawn.

[andypantsx3]

I dont think people can tell as well as they think they can whether art or writing was generated with ai. I think it's confirmation bias where things that are obviously ai are bad and unconvincing so the other stuff flies under their radar. or they assume ai has a specific style or flaws they can identify which results in actual artists being targeted because their art or writing "looks ai".

I totally think that is sometimes true too!! I have seen a lot of hay made about "if it uses the word 'delve' it's AI-generated" which makes me laugh because I feel like that is such a standard word to use. Especially by those of us who work in corporate 😒😒😒 lol.

Unfortunately I think it can be hard to pin down at times exactly as you say; AI-generated content is not necessarily always going to be "bad"; it's basically one humungous stat model which means all it is is a statistically likely configuration of words/image fragments etc. That's why it can sound generic at times but generic or common as we know does not mean "bad". And that's why sometimes even human-created art or writing gets labeled as "AI-generated" when it's just like, visually/textually familiar somehow!!

I also think much of what "passes" so to speak is stuff that is AI-generated but has been post-processed a little to hide visual or textual cues that are commonly associated with LLM-authored content. And those are, to me, almost impossible to detect since they have seen the touch of a human hand (however light). I wonder if we will ever be able to detect those cases beyond just like, a vibe.

Idk!! It's such a complex question tbh and so interesting to discuss. I wish I had more answers, but pretty much nobody does in a space as new as this.

[ai-the-broccoli]

today on "Ai takes with practically no audience":

I think Beyond Birthday (a major character from Death Note spinoff LN "Death Note: Another Note") is kind of the perfect thematic mirror to Kosane Kiriha (major character from Madoka Magica spinoff LN "Null Magical Girl") when you think about it.

not many people are familiar with both of those things I would think, but I can try to explain this comparison:

(cw: suicide mention + major spoilers for both LNs under the cut)

some obvious key similarities:

starting with the obvious: BB is born with Shinigami Eyes whereas Kosane has Incubator/Kyubey cells in place of her brain. (Which, like. if you are familiar with both DN and PMMM you'd know that Shinigamis and Incubators arguably play comparable roles, and they are both the Mephistopheles archetype.)

NMG (Null Magical Girl) starts by describing itself as the "story of a crime". Another Note/LABB is of course about a spree murder case - and thus, also the "story of a crime".

Specifically, both features a locked-room murder (suicide) where it is eventually revealed that the detective, the victim, and the culprit are one and the same: they're all Kosane and BB respectively.

(For minor points, they're both kinda weirdos [affectionate], there is like doppelganger-related business related to both of them, etc.)

moving onto the thematic aspects:

Thematically, it is very relevant that there are predetermined lifespans that cannot be defied.

In Kosane's case, her story is actually the story of a girl facing unemployment during the Covid19 pandemic, who eventually finds out she will inevitably die "in the locked room of 2021" through suicide, and who is trying again and again and again to save herself from the "locked room murder" where she is the culprit, the investigator and the victim alike. She has failed this again and again, but she is still trying.

In Beyond's case, his "locked room murder (suicide)" is an attempt to kill himself. He has also similarly failed in what he's set up to do, but by not dying instead of dying, unlike Kosane.

Now this depends on how you interpret him of course, but to me, I believe his plan to create his own death into an unsolvable murder is, arguably, also an attempt or experiment to take his own fate into his own hands (i.e. in a sense, to defy fate), as well. Like, his own lifespan is probably the only one he cannot see, so Beyond might want to test out if he alone has free will in a sense.

In that case, he is really a mirror to Kosane in how they both attempt to and fail to defy their fate, etc

....yeah. If that makes any sense lol

[aydaptic]

Hi there! Just passing by to ramble about how much I love your take on Gavin since he's also my favorite non-playable character in the game.

(Connor is my fave playable character ((predictable, ig?)) and I know [read it somewhere in your post, at least] you're not very fond of him, and that's okay.)

I know Gavin may not be everyone's favorite, but I just love how you see him differently regardless of what people say. I'm always relieved to read all your posts about him because it makes me feel like I'm crazy for even liking him while others are very against him.

I think some people are just conditioned to hate him instantaneously for being antagonistic towards Connor and Hank. And I think he has a good reason for it too. He's not a saint and I guess it's fine to like a character who's a bit cocky and with a lot of flaws.

But you had to admit that despite how seemingly shallow he is in the game, he does show a bit of his character upon extensive scrutiny and that's the beauty of what you're doing. I'll be reading (quietly) more of your opinions about this lovable jerk and I'll be loving every bit of it. ❤️❤️❤️

Hi :)

I'm glad to hear that. The toxicity/vitriol towards Gav has always made me concerned for humanity. It proves that so many ppl are incapable of thinking logically instead of emotionally. Where are their empathy? Likes/dislikes are subjective, but to say he's "nothing but a bad guy" and/or "has no redeemable qualities" are such brain-dead takes.

Despite his unpleasant attitude, Gav has every right to be canonically concerned about androids, and he has every right to believe they're not alive. It's logical. The guy doesn't have the insider knowledge that we, as players, do. Gav's not a psychic.

I love the gameplay of Con -- the detective aspect -- as well as his journey... but his awkward + overtly positive + doormat personality type annoys the shit out of me, lol. I'm Team Gavin Reed™ in disliking Con. Kudos to you for having enough intelligence to put aside your love for him and recognize that Gav has a point.

These are the reasons I've seen ppl hate Gav for:

some are too blinded by their love for Con and/or Hank (as you say)

some are narcissistic enough to feel entitled to their personal favorite characters having more fandom content (...and thus they take it out on fandom favorites)

some feel envious that Gav has the charisma to get away with being a dick (...and they aren't capable of doing the same bc they don't have charisma)

some try to take some BS moral high ground (...and fail)

some see parts of themselves in Gav and thus desperately try to convince others that, "I'm not like him!" (...and funnily enough, every Gav hater I've interacted with has proven themselves to be worse ppl than he is -- so yeah, they're not like him, they're worse)

some ppl are envious that Gav is better/more beloved than them and/or their favorite characters

some ppl hate white ppl (racists)

some ppl hate men (sexists/misandrists)

some ppl ignore the lead writer's statement that "the game is about androids and not race" so they can make it a modern-day political issue, and get brownie points saying stuff like "androids are real-life POCs meaning anyone who dislikes them is racist," bc they can't separate fiction from reality (...and thus they have the brain-dead take that Gav is "racist." I don't like AI such as ChatGPT taking jobs. Does that make me a racist, too?)

some ppl claim to hate Gav just bc it's popular (pack mentality)

some ppl just wanna create drama

some ppl are so starved for attention that they claim to hate him "just bc"

some ppl lack empathy (...and thus they don't understand what losing a job you love is like -- especially to someone who was just programmed to be better than you -- when you worked your ass off for decades getting said job)

some ppl didn't pay attention (...and thus they don't know that Gav had every right to step in both in The Interrogation and Last Chance, Connor bc Con was literally breaking the law)

some ppl see the world as black and white meaning they only think in extremes (...and are incapable of seeing the greys/finding balance)

some ppl are specifically looking to get triggered and thus bring up completely unrelated topics like "misogyny" bc god forbid you like Gav and not North even when they're completely different ppl (...and it's hypocritical that they protect North for hating humans, while at the same time, cursing Gav out for hating androids -- I don't go around with the false claim that, "you're sexist/misandrist for liking North and not Gav" bc I'm not an idiot)

That hatred is all based on emotions instead of rational thought.

"He's a dick!" So is Hank, North, and Con can be. "They have good reasons for it!" So has Gav. These ppl are in no position to decide who's 'the most' affected/traumatized, etc. bc we all react differently. Some are more distraught by their pet dying than a parent. That doesn't make their pain any less real.

Disliking him is fine, but don't give BS moral reasons for doing so. Sometimes we just don't vibe with a person/character and that's perfectly fine. Not vibing with someone, however, isn't hatred. It's apathy. Ppl who are just "meh" about him and don't spout BS excuses are valid.

[crmkac3]

Two Death Notes. Two visions of justice. One forbidden bond.

Mina Caldwell, a lawyer burdened by guilt and driven by a need to make the world safer, stumbles upon a black notebook with the power to kill. With Cain, a cryptic Shinigami, at her side, she begins delivering her own justice-silent, calculated, and precise. But whispers of another name-Kira-begin to shake her resolve.

Kira, the shadowy figure she believes to wield the same power, is both a terror and a fascination to Mina. As she watches Kira's influence grow, her path may become tangled in his, forcing her to question whether she's fighting the same battle-or creating a new one.

Two notebooks. Two killers. One Detective, One game of justice that none can afford to lose.

"The world isn't wide enough."

[ART IS AI SORRY! IK ITS EVIL!]

{Idk about you but I’ve felt the call, the call to write… I feel like it’s ironic I decided to start writing about death note with the adjuster thing going on. Idk I feel like there’s some comparison to be made lol. Anyways check out my Fic if you’re interested!}

[mothmanssweetsucculentass]

Will both Ben and BEN survive SCP Foundation world?

I’d say they both have a decent shot of surviving it, yeah!

I don’t know a lot about the SCP universe/lore (though I really want to cause I think it’s cool as hell!!!!!! It’s just. A lot. To get into and idk where to start lol), so I’m not sure how stringent/observant the organization is when it comes to purely digital entities like the BEN AI and all of his creations.

I know I said it already in my headcanons list but I’ll say it here too, BEN/Ben created pretty much every other digital Creepypasta in my universe. Sonic.exe, Smile.jpeg, Godzilla NES, if it comes from technology, the Bens are behind it. So I think the SCP foundation will have a field day sub-classifying every instance of BEN/Ben’s creations, lmao.

With that said, I think because of how many creations BEN has, plus the fact it’s never in one place for long, has its consciousness split up into many parts of the internet (you won’t believe how many people try and fail to play hero and lock it behind a firewall or trap it in a flash drive), and is just generally really smart when it comes to evading detection, BEN would be labeled as Keter (I think? Whichever label means “this shit cannot be contained” in SCP lingo) because it’s nigh impossible to observe/study it.

Ben however, might fare a little worse. I mean, the guy has a physical body and physical location. Sure, they can also travel through electronics, but not nearly as efficiently as the BEN AI he created. Physically, they’re the weakest in the manor. Bro can’t lift weights or do any feats of strength, they’re limited only to what they can do with their supernatural abilities and their ability to manipulate others into taking their own lives. For as much of an eloquent smooth talker that he is, Ben would have to make sure he’s well hidden from the foundation’s radar at all times, not just for his sake, but for everyone else’s. The last thing anyone wants or needs is a bunch of government ages showing up to cage them in a lab. In a universe where both Creepypasta and SCP exist together, Ben’s job would be the most important considering how easy it is to find someone on the internet these days.

SCP doesn’t exist in my HC universe per se, but I think this is exactly how it would go if this crossover was canon in my universe.

(I am also currently developing/have been developing for awhile my own sort of SCP organization, so expect that to show up eventually. Maybe. I gotta work out so many kinks first.)

[askforaprovider]

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[notruevampire]

AI's confirmation bias

I am constantly fighting with my keyboard when it insists I'm not using the right words.

My version of Word isn't utd, so the grammar and spelling check are still human-programmed. But most people are now dealing with trash gen AI in both, trying to "correct" them to:

Words spelled close that aren't anything like what they meant

Words that are more commonly used

Words the AI incorrectly assumes are more grammatically correct

So, as I'm going back and retyping the word I wanted that my keyboard changed FOR THE FIFTH TIME, I think about people who just say, "fuck it," and let the AI win, people who don't notice (poor vision, typing quickly, simply never check their texts for whatever reason, maybe the lols), and people who don't know better.

So, the AI gets to be smug, "I new better ask along!" (Example of letting it have it's way)

AI is trained on feedback (including repetition), so the more mistakes its allowed to create, the more often it will do so.

Now, getting to my point. Bias.

You now get occasional of discourse bouncing around writing community spaces about "If I see this, I know it was written by AI" that is absolute bullshit.

They get it from AI detectors. Those things will tag unfamiliar words, words that aren't the simplest option (despite AI preference for simplicity), and disputed punctuation (I think this may be from all the discourse used to train AI models in the first place--it assumes a side "won" in these debates and some sort of standard resulted) like the serial comma.

Anyway, combine all of the above, and AI will correct people into using its preferred language, creating a circle of "I expect this" > "I get this," creating its own confirmation bias.

Now, an addendum, as technophobes will jump to the conclusion that writers are getting worse for this--no, we're not. We're continuing to tell AI to go fuck itself at every opportunity.

On an industry-level, using any generative AI is becoming an instant-reject (and black mark) offense (as it should be), but these fools are using AI detection software, which is flawed out the ass.

It can't detect AI in art (because all AI "art' is stolen). It can't detect it in writing (but humans can, because it sounds bad). It might be useful in photography, but honestly, as the programs inbreed, that gets less likely.

There isn't really a point to this. It's just musings and a hypothesis going through my head from observations I've made and a comment on a real problem my industry is facing right now.

All the while, the resource demands of this technology are burning our world faster. No, it's not equivalent to other computer uses or video game servers, etc. The carbon output and water intake are higher PER MODEL. They're beyond unsustainable.

[fuubee]

Idk if I'm late, but for your persona ask game. 😈 👀 🎁 ⚔️ Also hiii!

Hi!! Ok this one def has spoilers for 4/5 so I’ll make a cut

😈 best antagonist?

Hmm it’s a tie between Tohru Adachi (4) and Takuto Maruki (5). For VERY different reasons, because Adachi is an unforgivable shithead villain, but Maruki is so morally gray he’s an antagonist but not a villain to me.

It’s compelling that Adachi is shown having a positive relationship with the Dojimas and seems fine with being the police department’s gofer, but there’s this awful anger and nihilism under the surface. He busted his ass to end up a detective in a nowhere town, thinks he’ll always be rejected because he’s untalented.

But what he can do is go on a power trip and get rid of his boredom with the supernatural murders. He opposes every theme of P4 about accepting yourself and fostering real bonds with people. You have to stop him from dooming the world to delusion and isolation. Adachi made me laugh and pissed me off simultaneously, so that’s good writing to me.

Maruki was an antagonist that I didn’t see while playing the vanilla version of P5, so he made my Royal experience AMAZING. He’s so unassuming as a therapist at first, though I was surprised they added a character that talks about ‘taking away all pain’ as if it’s viable.

His intention to create a utopian reality that makes the Phantom Thieves obsolete (because there is no scum and oppression) is interesting. It’s not at all in a malevolent way too, since he listened to these teens’ doubts and traumas and wanted to get rid of them. I think erasing Sumire’s identity was wrong, but is Maruki’s reality bad? No one sees it the same way, and I love that. He’s really a kind guy with a ton of conviction.

👀 character that you hated but now love?

I answered Ai Ebihara for this one and can’t think of others I outright hated tbh lol. I appreciate a lot of characters, even the messy ones.

🎁 favorite character?

I am SO torn between Aigis and Akechi omg. Aigis embodies everything I love about P3 and she is my precious girl. But I’ve had Akechi brainworms for longer. Guess I resonated with different characters in the past few years, and I like them both.

⚔️ best boss fight?

Lavenza, hands down. Royal was an easy game until she kicked my ass on Merciless. I love her all-out-attack portrait with the chainsaw! She is just so silly. Like her personality seems more of Justine until she busts out the medieval torture devices. That’s Caroline lmao.

[eyedtheevidence]

Is there a term for the stage of capitalism where advanced technology combines with greed to create a nightmare panopticon.

Our local event center is changing out their metal detectors for AI security checkpoints and wow yuck. It's all coated in Secure your Children language like terrorism is something that happens a lot at the new Baby Shark tour.

Meanwhile I can't find anything about how these doodads actually work? Are they conducting body scans and storing a naked little 3D version of you and your toddler on some poorly protected local drive? Is your digital image being saved and tagged with the events you go to?

Are they hitting us with X-rays and thermal imaging and radar and building a dystopian mega image of us while we eat overpriced popcorn and watch a cartoon shark sing-along?? And then that data is being sold? Probably? One article I read says it helps event planners plan by collecting info on the demographics most likely to attend an event.

All I can find are meaningless terms like "advanced weapon detection system" and "sophisticated signal processing algorithm" and "sensor fusion" which is great. I personally love being tracked by a poorly-trained neural network owned and operated by shadowy tech and venture capital bros.

Also, lol, a quick search of news stories shows this expensive new tech actually kind of sucks at detecting weapons. But I bet it's great at generating marketable data while creating the illusion of security.

Anyway I hate it.

[pemebi]

I'm surprised that no one has created a Detective conan/Magic Kaito Fusion with Steven Universe or/and Houseki no Kuni Edit: This is a first draft, so now I changed a lot of things on my mind, lol, maybe I should erase this Before Anything, English isn't my first language, soo if I write weird is because that The idea so far: Humanity is unaware of Living Gems, they had shared the planet since the beginning Old gems : Their bodies are pure rock, they use lots of makeup to pass as humans (Houseki no Kuni Logic) They are born from the earth in a natural way and can have magical properties (Yukiko Kudo) New gems: Their real bodies are a small gem and can change their form at will, but they are born in a artificial way, mostly on labs who knows about gems and want to use them (Steven universe Logic) (Kudo Shinishi was born because Yukiko fell in love with Yusaku and with Agasa help they created him as "their child", Haibara Ai was born in the men of black Org so her upbringing isn't so happy) Shinishi is a Gem that is disguising himself as a human, he is a Sapphire that always knows where is going to happens a disgrace, but his detective work is real and learned from his "father" Yusaku Kudo

He longs the life as a human even if he is fully aware he isn't one Shinishi still have a similar age to Ran and can change forms like any "new" gem, and use both forms to gather information (He hangs with the detective boys because they always find trouble and have a soft spot for them), one day he got attacked by the men in black and his gem got partially broken, since then he can't change to his "normal" form.

He really don't want to share his inhuman status with Ran

Kaito is a human searching for pandora, he isn't aware that in his list of suspects he should add a whole ALIEN race.

Shinishi is really surprised to learn that Kaito Kid is a Human and not a Gem because that whole ability to change forms and voice don't seemed human to him at first. So this is the initial idea so far! Hope people like it or can add anything to make it better! thank you!

[cadybear420]

Adding my thoughts because I love to talk about this series

I do think it sucks that you can't pair Emma and Caleb together if you're not romancing them--maybe not in book 1 since Caleb is still processing his breakup, though.

Honestly same. In concept I really like Emma and Caleb as a couple, I feel like they'd be pretty cute. But I will admit, making them a couple in the story would have been a disservice to both of their arcs. That being said, I do really like the idea of them maybe getting together in the later future, as a sort of a "coming together older and wiser" thing.

I do wish we had more extracurricular options, but I understand this is in the earlier days of the app, and they did well with what they had.

Even the most fleshed out choice-reliant stories are going to have limitations. For what it's worth, I do think what we got was pretty damn good. Though I'd definitely be all for exploring more activities as well.

Funny how you mention that "this is in the earlier days of the app, and they did well with what they had" though. It's been 7 years since this series and PB's effort has only downgraded since then. To the point where they're frequently using AI generated shit.

I feel like Zoe and Brian's arcs in this series are A MESS, though. Zoe cheated on Caleb since Summer vacation and Brian had some kind of feelings for her, but when Caleb finds out, she tries to go back to him, and it felt very flat.

Teenage relationships can be a mess lol. I definitely think Book 3 was much stronger for both of their arcs though. Book 1 was pretty good with them, but Book 3 really solidified it for me.

Brian also gave a weak apology, and it looks bad because you decide whether or not Caleb forgives him, which makes it feel like MC allowed room for Caleb to excuse Brian's actions again.

I mean, even when you choose the option to be more forgiving to Brian and hence Caleb forgives Brian, they do still make it clear Caleb wants nothing to do with him anymore. So it kind of has more of a "I'm accepting it and moving on" feel.

Another thing I'd have enjoyed was explaining why MC transferred to Berry High, as well as their relationship with their parents; half of their dialogue with Scott is just "Dad/Daaaaad/Dad!"

I honestly prefer it that way, that they don't explain the backstory for MC. It allows players to create their own, which I think is something that can be beneficial in a choice-based story like HSS. Variability in the story experience is something I consider fairly important in interactive novels, and giving MCs set backgrounds can often cheapen that.

I also wish MC got the option to work at the school station during the winter season, and the friction in the school felt unfair towards students like Caleb who didn't think anything bad of Principal Isa's hall monitors. Those who fought against Isa were really insensitive to those who followed her rules like they didn't understand those who were raised to respect authority (even to extremes) and were being abused themselves.

IDK what school station is... but I definitely agree with the unfair treatment. What especially bothered me is how the band and cheer rooted against the basketball team in order to stand up against Isa. Like, even the ones that weren't hall monitors, like MC and Julian. It's not out of nowhere and I get why they behaved like that, but it's still very painful to play through. Especially as someone who likes doing the jock route.

And lemme just say: the road trip gave me "The Freshman" vibes and I wish we'd gotten to have more fun like that outside of our "High School Story."

Stuff like that is one of my favorite things about OG HSS for sure. There's always this air of adventure, thrills, and excitement. We did not get enough time with our group tbh.

And why were Maria's dads the only parents who were suspicious of Isa?

Like @lover-also-fighter-also said, one of Maria's parents dads is a detective, so he has a little more experience with these sort of red flags. Aiden's parents were more focused on how their son was changing in behavior. MC hadn't been directly harmed by Isa. Emma and her mom were both worrying about their own shit. Caleb's and Michael's parents... yeah that's one thing that does bother me a little. Why don't we ever meet Caleb's and Michael's parents?

I will say it was kind of weird how deep this rivalry was, given that how you act affects the attitude of the freshman students from your rival high school.

HSS 1 does establish the rivalry and some of its background, but if you play HSS Prime (RIP) you'd get the full origin story for it.

Speaking of them, I'm glad we can pair up some of our rejected love interests, though they brought up something I wished we could've discussed more in the series: sexuality and identity. It's rare to discuss sexuality in GOC books with main characters since everyone is playersexual, but Cameron talking about being nonbinary and Emma talking about coming out as bi had me wishing that we'd gotten to address this earlier (especially since many modern genderlocked Choices books try to work sexuality into the mix). For example, if in book 1 you go to homecoming with someone of the same sex, your dad doesn't know it's romantic and you have the option to come out to him in book 2

honestly I'm surprised Aiden didn't have his own Kaitlyn Liao moment by coming out to his helicopter parents

Same tbh. I do think Aiden's parents weren't meant to be quite as strict as the stereotypical Asian parents, given he mentions that their behavior to him in Book 2 is fairly unusual for them. But a coming out subplot definitely would have suited him.

I also wasn't the fan of the main villains being from the rival school (and how they look like college students, even if some high schoolers look like that).

Yeah, Max and Kara were the weakest villains in the trilogy for me. Something like a fight for prom crown did not need nearly as much importance as the story tried to give it. I kind of like to read it as them considering prom court to how they measure "loyalty to Hearst", but still.

If they had to go that route, make Zoe and Brian the villains, both of them further spiraling after Caleb's disassociation from them

I do like what they did with them in this book. Zoe's redemption arc was fantastic, how she's able to stand up to Brian for Myra, how she truly understands how bad she is because she dated him, how she can even try to get some closure with Caleb in the truth or dare game. And I love that she doesn't just instantly become buddy-buddy with MC and friends. She just improves as her own person, it doesn't need to be signified by her befriending the protagonists.

And it is an interesting juxtaposition to Brian too. While Zoe improves as a person, Brian only gets worse. Brian saw people like Caleb and Zoe as nothing more than trophies to make himself look popular, and when he's lost both of those, he just spirals down and doubles down on his arrogance.

or have Skye be the villain with Brian to give off a Cheryl and Jason Blossom vibe, and after Skye's beat, she becomes the better person we see in book 1 of Class Act.

Oh what I would give to have Skye more integrated in the OG characters' storylines.

I kinda wish these books were spaced out during several school years rather than one.

Fucking preach. I like the series and I still consider it top tier, but one school year with these characters was just not enough. There was too much more to explore with them. CA may have been cute, but it did not do the HSS franchise much justice. Speaking of which...

NGL, it was messed up how we get blamed for our original MC getting hurt while auditioning, and I HATE slow burns, so the crush on Rory and cold shoulder from Ajay was annoying, to say the least.

Yeah, I found it a lot more mean-spirited than the drama in OG. The other theatre cunts were just so quick to jump to assuming our MC guilty and practically ostracize them for days(?) on end. At least in OG there was actual reason for the characters to act irrationally, such as turning on the basketball team or accusing MC of the fake tryouts email. And at least we got to see our characters overcome the adversities. In CA the drama just sort of... happens, and they just expect us to roll with it until it's over.

but you know what would've been super interesting? If this book kicked it up a notch and focused on investigating how MC got hurt (or maybe a random character is hurt/killed).

Yeah... A big thing that made the OG series so special was how proactive our friends were. They'd be able to investigate what had happened and catch the culprits. They'd go through plenty of setbacks for sure, but our MC and friends sort of took action and got shit done in situations like this. CA stripped that away and it left the stories feeling a lot more passive and lukewarm to me.

And the twin dating Amber felt kind of out of nowhere; I feel like Amber didn't need to be a factor in this in that the twin could've had their life together better than MC, but that's just me.

I actually found it one of the stronger plotlines of the story. But it does feel like it lacks importance after the first book though.

Class Act: Book 2 wasn't as fun for me as book 1. It focuses on how MC's twin and Rory are running against each other for class president. It was super icky, especially if you're romancing Rory. Your twin's feelings of betrayal feel (almost) unjustified since they expect you to help them win simply because you're related. It's super ugly and Ajay's issue with his parent's divorce felt like a B-story despite how it affected him. But I do want to praise the fact that we see the characters wear new outfits for the winter season!

Book 2 was hands-down the worst in the whole franchise for me. Neither Twin, nor Rory, nor MC get anything out of this whole plotline. They try to push this "MC we don't want you to feel pulled in two directions", only to shoot itself in the foot. And the turning point relies on the whole school acting like five year olds over a kitten video.

Ajay's subplot and romance route was leagues more compelling.

Class Act: Book 3 focuses on your spring musical going to an international convention in London! Honestly it's the most fun I've had in the CA trilogy.

Book 3 was for sure the most pleasant of the CA books. Unfortunatley I still had to take points off because it treated the OG characters like nostalgia bait.

You also find out that MC and their twin have a biological family member living in London. I don't recall it being mentioned before that they were adopted. Was this addressed in the previous books? Maybe I missed that, but it was fun to get to know more of your character's family--though I do hate how it feels like a missed opportunity to cement MC's ethnicity; oftentimes, MC is customizable but their race is ambiguous. It'd be nice getting to know more of their British culture (along with Asian or African, depending on their race).

One reason I do think confirming a background for MC can be fucky due to "letting the players create their own characters" definitely has some things to do with customizable MC race. Some pre-set backgrounds might not feel fully right for MC's of certain ethnicities. This story isn't one of them, but yeah.

Even addressing MC's race can be fucky, there are various ethnicities but the sprites generally only include four, and many players may headcanon their MCs outside of those. I'm Indian/brown, so I almost always imagine the brown MC sprite as Indian despite that the game files call them hispanic. So it would be a bit awkward for them to acknowledge a brown MC as hispanic if there are players who are interpreting otherwise.

But a BIG issue I have is with Rory's dad. Throughout the book, he sneaks around with one of MC's teacher, and it's revealed that he's been going through some emotional things that he couldn't bring to his wife...and we all don't dig deeper than that. I won't fault him since it's a "toxic masculinity" topic, but the fact that his wife forgave him so quickly felt a bit off, I guess?

I appreciate them trying to address toxic masculinity here, but this subplot definitely felt very cheap. It's just a handful of chapters of the kids thinking Rory's dad is cheating, only for it not to be and just turning out to be the good ole *misunderstanding* cliche. And it didn't really do anything for Rory's character either, which especially sucks considering they're very underdeveloped.

And Skye is being manipulated by her parents since they're financing the school play and it's future in London is in their hands. It was a really good arc, though in my alternate idea for "HSS: Book 3," it would've been interesting to see more Brian in the book. Even if he's awful, it'd make more sense.

Agreed. Skye and her arc was the best thing about the trilogy.

Both trilogies are replayable and as a franchise, a fun time, though the changeable extracurricular activities and various love interests in the original series makes it somewhat better, imo.

Yep, pretty much. CA was cute, but it lacked a lot of the effort of OG.

Choices review: High School Story

Continuing on with my reviews, I'm doing one of the fan-favorites: High School Story! In the first trilogy, you play a sophomore going to a new school and you have to navigate new friends, new bullies, an evil principal, and a school rivalry. For the second trilogy, captioned "Class Act" you play a freshman who's school life focuses mainly on extracurricular activities, namely drama and helping friends run for class president. Don't worry--it's not as boring/cliché as I make it sound. And I have a habit of listing drawbacks to things rather than positives, so don't assume I hate the book! Make sure to check out my overall feelings at the end of each review.

Book 1 was really great. While the plot didn't intrigue me like other stories and the media's usual portrayal of high school made the relationships in the book feel very PG by comparison, but the characters were probably the best part of the book. Something that kind of annoyed me is how Michael is labeled the "bad boy," even though he really isn't. He's more of a loner who occasionally breaks rules--and I'm glad, considering I'm not big on bad boys. I do think it sucks that you can't pair Emma and Caleb together if you're not romancing them--maybe not in book 1 since Caleb is still processing his breakup, though. I do wish we had more extracurricular options, but I understand this is in the earlier days of the app, and they did well with what they had. I feel like Zoe and Brian's arcs in this series are A MESS, though. Zoe cheated on Caleb since Summer vacation and Brian had some kind of feelings for her, but when Caleb finds out, she tries to go back to him, and it felt very flat. Brian also gave a weak apology, and it looks bad because you decide whether or not Caleb forgives him, which makes it feel like MC allowed room for Caleb to excuse Brian's actions again. I'm just glad the writers didn't make Brian and Caleb become friends again, considering what comes later. Another thing I'd have enjoyed was explaining why MC transferred to Berry High, as well as their relationship with their parents; half of their dialogue with Scott is just "Dad/Daaaaad/Dad!" Overall, it was a good book, even if it didn't immediately have me wanting more.

Book 2 covers how the principal is caught in a scandal and is replaced by the vice principal, who is not only totalitarian, but also scamming the school. In comparison to the previous installment, it felt better and inferior in my opinion; It was too bad that despite us being able to make Emma and Luis a concrete couple in book 1, we don't have the option to lock down a relationship until the end of book 2. I also wish MC got the option to work at the school station during the winter season, and the friction in the school felt unfair towards students like Caleb who didn't think anything bad of Principal Isa's hall monitors. Those who fought against Isa were really insensitive to those who followed her rules like they didn't understand those who were raised to respect authority (even to extremes) and were being abused themselves. And lemme just say: the road trip gave me "The Freshman" vibes and I wish we'd gotten to have more fun like that outside of our "High School Story." And why were Maria's dads the only parents who were suspicious of Isa?

Book 3 was probably the best book in the OG trilogy--and shouldn't the last story in an arc always be the best, from a writing perspective? After a fire burns down the rival school, they come and stay at your school--and rivalries inflame the school. I will say it was kind of weird how deep this rivalry was, given that how you act affects the attitude of the freshman students from your rival high school. Speaking of them, I'm glad we can pair up some of our rejected love interests, though they brought up something I wished we could've discussed more in the series: sexuality and identity. It's rare to discuss sexuality in GOC books with main characters since everyone is playersexual, but Cameron talking about being nonbinary and Emma talking about coming out as bi had me wishing that we'd gotten to address this earlier (especially since many modern genderlocked Choices books try to work sexuality into the mix). For example, if in book 1 you go to homecoming with someone of the same sex, your dad doesn't know it's romantic and you have the option to come out to him in book 2 (honestly I'm surprised Aiden didn't have his own Kaitlyn Liao moment by coming out to his helicopter parents). I also wasn't the fan of the main villains being from the rival school (and how they look like college students, even if some high schoolers look like that). If they had to go that route, make Zoe and Brian the villains, both of them further spiraling after Caleb's disassociation from them--or have Skye be the villain with Brian to give off a Cheryl and Jason Blossom vibe, and after Skye's beat, she becomes the better person we see in book 1 of Class Act. I kinda wish these books were spaced out during several school years rather than one.

Class Act: Book 1 has you play a Freshman character at Berry High, and your original main character makes occasional appearances, with mention to their dating life and extracurricular activities if you choose to import them. The book primarily focuses on how you navigate your crush on your childhood best friend Rory and auditioning for the school play. NGL, it was messed up how we get blamed for our original MC getting hurt while auditioning, and I HATE slow burns, so the crush on Rory and cold shoulder from Ajay was annoying, to say the least. But it was satisfying--but you know what would've been super interesting? If this book kicked it up a notch and focused on investigating how MC got hurt (or maybe a random character is hurt/killed). Though I will admit part of this desire is fueled by wanting Daniele to be punished for her actions. It's mentioned later that she's going to therapy, so maybe that could've been court-mandated? And the twin dating Amber felt kind of out of nowhere; I feel like Amber didn't need to be a factor in this in that the twin could've had their life together better than MC, but that's just me.

Class Act: Book 2 wasn't as fun for me as book 1. It focuses on how MC's twin and Rory are running against each other for class president. It was super icky, especially if you're romancing Rory. Your twin's feelings of betrayal feel (almost) unjustified since they expect you to help them win simply because you're related. It's super ugly and Ajay's issue with his parent's divorce felt like a B-story despite how it affected him. But I do want to praise the fact that we see the characters wear new outfits for the winter season!

Class Act: Book 3 focuses on your spring musical going to an international convention in London! Honestly it's the most fun I've had in the CA trilogy. You also find out that MC and their twin have a biological family member living in London. I don't recall it being mentioned before that they were adopted. Was this addressed in the previous books? Maybe I missed that, but it was fun to get to know more of your character's family--though I do hate how it feels like a missed opportunity to cement MC's ethnicity; oftentimes, MC is customizable but their race is ambiguous. It'd be nice getting to know more of their British culture (along with Asian or African, depending on their race). But a BIG issue I have is with Rory's dad. Throughout the book, he sneaks around with one of MC's teacher, and it's revealed that he's been going through some emotional things that he couldn't bring to his wife...and we all don't dig deeper than that. I won't fault him since it's a "toxic masculinity" topic, but the fact that his wife forgave him so quickly felt a bit off, I guess? And Skye is being manipulated by her parents since they're financing the school play and it's future in London is in their hands. It was a really good arc, though in my alternate idea for "HSS: Book 3," it would've been interesting to see more Brian in the book. Even if he's awful, it'd make more sense. Overall, it was an enjoyable book.

HSS was a long series! Honestly I find "Class Act" more interesting story-wise, but the original trilogy had 5 love interests (not that having the option of Rory being a handsome male theatre nerd completely secure with his masculinity wasn't AMAZING), so in that aspect, it's superior. Both trilogies are replayable and as a franchise, a fun time, though the changeable extracurricular activities and various love interests in the original series makes it somewhat better, imo.

[sunnys-aesthetic]

Do Sun, Moon and Y/N in your Detective AU have sad back stories? I can understand if Y/N isn’t necessarily worked out since their own personal history/issues are completely up for the reader to come up with/interpret, but I am curious if you do have darker/hidden emotions for the trio. ALSO, does Y/N stay up researching their files for more clues to the point of exhaustion? Not necessarily an insomniac, but someone who sees sleep as a reward type? (Love your AU btw!!)

Yes actually! Sun, moon, and eclipse were a family before things went a little haywire, but let me info/loredump on ya because this has been sitting in my mind for months and I keep forgetting to type it out but:

In this AU robots can also “grow up”(think of the Robots movie and how they gradually updated their son) because it was much MUCH cheaper to create a smaller sized AI than a full grown one. Eclipse was built already grown and adopted sun and moon from his creator after his creator died from “health complications”. Luckily eclipse is very gifted in technology and from what he learned from his creator, so in theory IF HE WANTED TO he could just create another sun and moon, but he won’t because no one else could possibly replace his little brothers.

Sun and moon were kids!! Yippee!! Eclipse at the time during the two of them in their ‘childhood’ if you will was the head detective and soon to be chief, he was fascinatingly effective in his work and a literal role model for the robots who wanted to work in the field despite the oppression from humans. This also included both sun and moon, and wouldn’t ya know it, once time came when sun and moon got their jobs and began working (think of the show psych, big inspiration lol) they were a goofy duo but were ALSO very effective in their work. The three of them were a force to be reckoned with.

Eclipse was never really over the death of their creator and spent a lot of time researching into it, to really summarize it, it got messy and intertwined with some Big companies, eventually eclipse knew he was being trailed and that he would not survive it within the law, so he TRIED going private and personally trained sun and moon about EVERYTHING he knew, passing the baton to them in hopes so they could finish what he couldn’t.

Eclipse becoming an infamous mafia boss and cutting ties with them was a mix of his own faults and “falling down a rabbit hole of madness”.

Also! As for their relationship with y/n, eclipse is actually VERY ‘quiet and menacing type’ and rarely does physical contact, best way to explain his behavior now is the vibe of a snake and a black panther with how quiet and composed he is. (Again, another inspo is Kingpin from marvel) he knows how close y/n is to his little brothers so his infected side wants to emotionally manipulate that.

(Also yes y/n can be VERY stubborn with that kind of reward system!)

After all with such a bad guy on the streets, no one would ever suspect the true villain pulling the strings, the cause of it all right?

[the-winter-spider]

Element: Part 2 | B.Barnes

Characters: Bucky x Reader

Warnings: Hints around possible suicide attempt, angst

A/N: Got this out a lot faster than i thought, once again i didnt read thru it lol so please excuse if there is any errors!

Word count: 2.4k

Revised Version

Part one

****

You were fully clothed, limp, cold to the touch, skin pale, lips blue. Not like he was used to, this wasn't the you he grew to love. You were radiant, your eyes were the most beautiful colour they reminded him of the night sky the way they shined like the stars, your lips were plump and filled with colour, looking at them now he almost couldn’t remember if they were more red or pink, he could feel his palms getting clammy, panic was running through him, when was the last time he saw the sparkle in your eyes? You were his sun, you were warmth, in this moment he felt regret he never got to kiss your lips.

As Bucky held you, memories flashed through his mind—memories of the times you spent together, the quiet moments that had meant everything to him. The first time you made him laugh, that ridiculous “that’s what she said” joke at dinner, the way you had listened to him when no one else could, the warmth of your hand in his, the way you had looked at him like he was more than just a broken soldier.

But those moments felt like a lifetime ago now, slipping through his fingers as you slipped away. Bucky had always known pain, but this was different. This was the loss of something precious, something that had once given him hope.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, pressing his forehead against yours, the cold metal of his arm the only thing keeping him steady. “I’m so sorry. I should have been there. I should have fought harder to bring you back.”

But you were gone, your spirit lost in the storm you had created, the storm that had taken you from him. The darkness you had succumbed to had claimed you, and Bucky was left holding the shell of the person he had fallen in love with.

He set you gently down on the tiled floor, you laid there lifeless, Steve was already kneeling down getting ready to start chest compressions, anything to bring you back, to Bucky, to him, to the team.

“No no no” Bucky mumbled.

“Vitals?” Steve asked the AI

“No heartbeat detected”

Bucky didn’t know but tears were streaming down his face, so much regret was running through his veins, he didn't try hard enough and he knew that now but he didn't want to push you, he hated when Steve or Sam tried to push him.

He wanted to hold you more and not like this, he wanted to feel life in your body, not this, all Bucky had ever known was death after being used by HYDRA for all those years and when they were finally out his head, everyone he knew before HYDRA were dead, except Steve of course but you brought life back into the super soldier something he was almost positive would never happened and Bucky was barely ever wrong but with you it felt so right.

The water surrounding them slowly started to evaporate, they realized it wasn’t coming from the tap in the tub, you made all the water and the fact it was disappearing, panic set in. “Where's medical?!” Steve frantically shouted, still doing chest compression followed by CPR trying to keep you alive.

“They are on there way” FRIDAY announced

Bucky couldn’t wait; he waited his whole life and it was a long one to finally be free and find someone like you, it felt like hours had passed since he busted down your door but he knew it had only been seconds, if not minutes. He scooped you up off the floor holding you in his arms as tightly as he could, he felt like they were wasting time sitting here doing what felt like the bare minimum when he knew the kind of medicine Tony had, he was a Stark after all and from being in the war he knew every second counted, he had a small hope that if he started running towards the medic wing your chances would be better rather than waiting around.

He couldn’t take his eyes off of you fearing that this would be one of the last times he saw you and he wasn't prepared for that. You were so limp in his arms, water no longer dripping off of you. As he passed the rest of the team, all he could hear was gasps.

He met the medical team half way, setting you on the stretcher before they ran off with you to med bay, Tony and Bruce trailing close behind them.

The medics worked quickly, moving with the urgency that only came in the face of life and death, but Bucky was scared that it was too late. That he had lost you before he even fully got the chance to have you.

Steve stood in the ruins of your room, the water still trickling down the walls like tears. The storm outside had begun to subside, but the emptiness it left behind was suffocating. He couldn’t stand to look at it any longer, he was sure it wasn't even truly close to how you were feeling on the inside. He shut your turning, following the wet foot steps letting them lead him to Bucky.

“She’ll be okay,” Steve said, standing beside Bucky, though his voice lacked conviction. It was as if he was trying to convince himself as much as Bucky.

But Bucky wasn’t so sure. He felt the coldness of your skin, and he knew that even if you survived, something inside you had died. And it was his fault. He had let you go when you needed him most, too afraid of pushing you away, when what you really needed was for him to hold on.

Bucky was frozen in place, he couldn’t feel anything, he felt like he was in a dream, a bad one, not like the nightmares he was used to this felt much worse.

He kept hoping that he would wake up and leave his room to find you in the kitchen eating your morning cereal with Steve and you would give him the most beautiful smile he’s ever seen in all his years, the way he felt your eyes light up and the sun got a little brighter when you were near him, you thought he didn’t notice but Bucky noticed everything with you, or he thought he did.

He doesn't even know when he stopped noticing things with you, or when you started to ignore the team, especially him. Part of him didn't even want to think about how long ago it started happening, how long you were truly alone.

Steve placed his hand on his best friends shoulder giving in a gentle squeeze “they’re gonna do everything in their power to get her back Buck”

—

Bucky couldn’t stop but replaying the last couple weeks or was it months? In his mind, did you do this on purpose? Was it an accident? Why did you do it? He remembers the first time he decided not to ask you to come with them.

Sam, Steve, Natasha and him were going to try out this new chinese restaurant as they were coming up to your door, he was hoping for a miracle and you would open the door already ready to come with them and it would sort of be like a date but not really but he would pretend it was, but it didn't happen and he wasn’t sure how much more his heart could take of being shot down all the time so he decided he wasn't going to ask you tonight, when they finally reached your door, Steve stopped “Buck, aren't you going to ask y/n if she wants to come?”

Bucky's eyes went to your door, he doesn't remember the last time he was in your room, laying in your bed with you talking about anything and everything.

He felt a pain in his chest and he mumbled out “No point” shrugging his shoulders leaving the 3 of his friends behind him making his way to the elevator. He heard them laughing, probably at him he felt pathetic he was a super soldier for christ sake but he couldn’t muster up all the strength in the world to ask you on a real date just him and you, or to admit his ever growing feelings for you, so he did what he knew best, kept quiet and to himself, he just wish he knew then he was hurting you in the process too, not just himself.

—

Everyone was patiently waiting in the common room just outside med bay. Bucky couldn't take his attention away from the plum tree just outside the window, when you grew it for him he swore his heart skipped a beat, that was one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for him, he still remembers that day like it only just happened.

He had just left the gym and was heading back to his room when he saw you laying down in front of his door reading whatever book you were reading, you must have been deep into the book because you didn't notice him standing directly above you, he whispered “Good book?” making you jump and drop the book on your face, he couldn’t help but chuckle, he threw his towel over his shoulder offering you a hand up.

“It was a good book till i lost my place” You huffed

“Sorry doll” he smiled, something he only ever did around you, the real kind of smile, the kind that made his cheeks hurts not the fake kind he did around everyone else, he watched you dust yourself off and run your fingers through your hair, fixing yourself up, he didn't understand why you already looked perfect “So what do i owe the pleasure of having a beautiful girl like you waiting on a guy like me?”

Giggling “Well i have something for you, a gift” you blushed, he watched you rock back and forth on your feet, he was getting that feeling in his stomach again he wasn't sure what it was but it was warm, something he didn't think he deserved to feel again let it actually happening but here it was, with you.

He quickly showered and changed, when he stepped out of the bathroom you hadn’t moved you were still sitting on the edge of his bed, flipping through your book, trying to figure out where you left off, when you felt his presence you looked up, your eyes meeting his “You ready to go Buck?”

He nodded making his way to the door “after you doll”

It was silent when the two of you were making your way wherever you were leading him, he didn't ask any questions he would follow you anywhere, anytime no questions asked. You made your way outside to a tree he doesnt think he seen before, because it was the only tree there, he watched you start moving your hands with elegance, he was and always has been in complete awe of your abilities, with a doubt in his mind you were the most amazing person to have ever come from HYDRA. He had no idea what the gift was but he knew he would love it, whatever it was because it was from you, but when Bucky saw something start growing on the tree his eyes went wide “How did you know?”

“I overheard you talking to Steve about them the other day, how you missed them and the ones from the store didn't taste the same” You spoke softly, folding your hands behind your back looking down shyly.

Bucky made his way to the plum tree picking one before he made his way over to you, he used his right arm to put a strand of hair behind your ear, his fingertips lightly touching your cheek while doing so it sent shivers down your spine and butterflies in your stomach, you lifted your gaze to meet his. He took your hand in his, giving it a light squeeze “this is my favourite gift”.

“The tree or that one plum?” you giggled, pointing at the perfect plum in his hand.

He took a moment before responding to you, really taking everything in, the view, his feelings because he was feeling a lot of them, some new some old, the emotions he could see in your eyes, how perfect you truly were but also how right it felt having your hand in his, “You” he breathed out, you kept your gaze on him for a few more seconds before you felt heat rising to your cheeks, looking back down, his thumb rubbing circles on your hand, he wasn't sure if you felt what he was feeling but when a single butterfly landed on the plum in his hand, he knew.

—

Bucky wasn't the best with time, after being in and out of cryo for so long he didn't care to tell time, so he wasn't sure how long he was standing here staring at the window lost in thought till he was finally pulled away from it, he felt Steve come up from behind him, he cleared his throat, placing another hand on his friends shoulder looking out the window to see what Bucky was staring at for the last hour.

“Y’know she grew that for me?”

Steve smiled “I know because you wouldn’t shut up about it”

Bucky let out a soft chuckle, turning to face his friend “I messed up Steve”

Steve’s eyes stared at the plum tree off in the distance “We all did” He turned looking at his best friend who couldn’t tear his eyes off of the tree, grasping onto any part of you he could find.

The feeling Steve felt in the pit of his stomach was a feeling he felt before, when he let Bucky fall of the train, it was a feeling he felt when he officially lost Peggy and it was a feeling he prayed he would never feel again.

He didn’t know what to say or do because it was unknown if you were alive or not, he knew you were a fighter but what he saw, you were lifeless, FRIDAY even confirmed there was no heartbeat, he wasn't trying to give his oldest friend false hope, so in the meantime he decided that just being there was enough.

“I don’t understand, she can breathe underwater can't she?” Natasha finally spoke to no one in particular, turning all heads towards her before anyone could respond when the door opened.

Tony walked in “She can” all eyes were on him, something he usually loved but it made him feel uneasy today. It was quiet, Tony sat down took off his glasses, he rubbed the bridge of his nose with his fingers before looking Bucky dead in the eye “they found a heart beat, its shallow but its there”