#but . its subtle differences that if you compared this to . maybe a similar event from earlier this year

[29121996]

. recovery rlly isnt linear ohh my god i live in delusion.

[maschotch]

hello I've been an on-and-off CM enjoyer(?) for a decade, with Hotch being my main area of interest… I just spent literal hours going through your blog lol. tbh it was exactly the kind of CM content I desperately wanted but had trouble finding initially (jfc the sea of x reader I had to wade through) anyway I stopped watching full eps at around S5, but I'm aware of how things go for Hotch and I'm v bitter about the missed opportunities. maybe a popular opinion in the fandom, but I've always hated how the Foyet attack was glossed over for example - my disbelief when I first watched 5x02 and Hotch just... shows up to work?? why'd they bother with such a major injury if its consequences were limited to one (1) episode years later, and even then the mental trauma was 99% ignored. no mention of meds/painkillers/recovery? nothing about "your scars are gonna look just the same"?? BUT that almost pales in comparison to all the other Hotchner things you got me thinking about, like his subtle aversion to fire or autistic traits or other facets of his character/relationships that are soooo tantalizingly hinted at but not expanded upon. I don't know the whole show that well so idk how Hotch fared compared to other characters but it felt like we got crumbs, especially since he was there for 11 goddamn seasons sorry this is so long but I've never talked CM to anyone before and you've made me love Hotch even more as a character, and now I'll have to further stew in my despair over him getting zero closure

i have similar issues with the show and fandom. the show looooves to traumatize its characters and then pretend it didnt even happen the second the arc is over. i understand its the nature of an episodic show like this (and i love that style for this show! i do!) but they could MENTION how hotch has scars (especially in season 10 when theyre all comparing scars on the plane) or how he needs medication (considering thats the only reason why they found foyet in the first place). foyet was the first big arc, so i understand why they needed to get on with it and bring hotch back to work by 5x02, but i wish they’d had an extra episode in between dealing with the team’s emotions about their leader being attacked (the way we kinda see them reeling from haley’s death and the potential of hotch not returning in 5x11 (or whatever the next ep after 100 is)).

no matter who your favorite cm character is, anyone can have the same complaint of them not following through about what undergoing these kind of traumatic events would mean for the characters. it’s definitely a sore point with criminal minds. especially because the only time they do it is when they want a character to leave (like gideon, blake, and kate). it fucking sucks bc there’s so much potential

and that’s where i feel like the fandom lets me down too. there’s not a lot of talk about it—mostly it’s just self inserts and shipping. there’s hardly any good character analysis out there, but that’s why i started this blog in the first place: if it doesn’t exist, make it yourself! (i would encourage you to do the same if you still feel this way. i talk shit ab the fandom all day but i still get so much positivity despite that from people who value the characters just as much but express it differently)

sorry for getting to this ask so late! maybe you’ll come across it eventually. if you do, let me know your other thoughts on the show/fandom! if youve seen more, if youve interacted more, or if you just have more to say!

[localbff]

Hello

been a while since i wrote here. so much has happened in between the months that came and i probably have a lot to tell by now. i'll try to dilute it all down one by one. each comprising of different events but similar to each other. doing these write ups can be very exhausting and still be rewarding in some ways. but writing about yourself feels like an ego stroke at times, also feel selfish and ridding yourself of any harm nor guilt you committed to things, especially people. it is cathartic to do this, but it takes a toll on you… personally -- it does.

i've uhmm and ahh'd so much into this and have since gone too much revisions and sentence structures, i cant be fucked and bothered to do more edits. i'll just let the my writer in me to do their thing and see where it all lands.

i wanna acknowledge how much of myself i lost in the fire. how much of myself i showed to people that i didn't keep in check. how so much of myself went unnoticed and ended up hurting those i love. i'm hurting as of this moment, and i think those that i hurt too, much worse than i'm feeling. at this point, my writing feels like a self-ridicule and untangling myself from past guilt -- i promise, it isn't. acknowledging what you are and what you were should feel at least comforting as you move forward, gradually, into a better state.

when you like someone, you do it in small gestures or you end up saying so much that all the words that come out of your mouth form only as a big blurb of bullshit. i gravitated towards the two, never conforming to a singular emotion. i kept my composure but all the love was begging to rush out of me in one single moment, wanting to express it all. i didn't notice the signs that i were being vague and that was one thing they disliked about me. i thought i had all the boxes checked, i guess i was naive of the fact that things were slowly starting to not look okay... it haunted me, and to this day it still does. then the realization settles in. there is no running from it now.

do not ATTEMPT to be me. or at least try to avoid becoming me. or maybe we're all the same… i try to look at myself back when i was 15 or 16 to compare and contrast them from who i've become now. so much has changed but remnants of my old self when i was sixteen still come out of me. i try to suppress it. our parents have fucked us up for so much that we couldn't identify them now because the horrors were subtle and discreet for us to notice. the horrors still persists and continues to do so until now. this is in no way vilifying our mothers and fathers and those that came before them, but you have to admit that the things did did to and for us is a spectrum of many things.

i'm not trying to rid myself of the guilt, i write this down as a message of acknowledgement and a slow realization of what i am, and to slowly turn away from it.

at this point, i start to think to myself in a readers perception of all this as i read it in a third person perspective, without any prior knowledge of what i'm talking about. maybe it was all about nothing and just bullshit? maybe i can relate to it? maybe its just fiction? or it really was about tidying yourself and coming out a new person with those mistakes behind them and just an ego stroke body of text?

maybe it's for something? or someone? it is for someone. i am a mess and i was a fuck up for hurting them.

you cannot miss a moment when it's detrimental to a person or a thing. so much of it i overlooked, the small dots started to become giant blackholes. now i feel like sinking into concrete and laying to rest.

i have to change, because i want to and i will always change -- for better or for worse. but i wanna be better. progress is nonlinear but we'll get to it. i'm so used to pain and loss i have nowhere else to go but a better state. and i hope you do too. i wish you well on your journey.

[iaintyourbro]

The Unknown Journey Continues

Part 1

I know it's been a while... but I've been going down a rabbit hole with @starlight-samurai regarding time loops, Jenova, Minerva, and more fun. So I figured I'd try to put it into one post to get the insanity out of my head. Everything in here is based on things we've found by either going through more obscure Ultimanias, learning more about Dirge of Cerberus and trying to decipher what the hell Jenova is by putting together various sources - including other Square Enix games - and how they handled freakishly similar scenarios.

Did you know there is a companion mobile game for it that was out on the good old flip phones? Did you know there was an online mode in Dirge of Cerberus only available in Japan, but had story elements that were not in the main game?

The sad part is, there's still so much to go through...

(I've also had various discussions with @ourfinalheaven, Manu, who doesn't have Tumblr, so here is her Twitter. and Somebody's Nightmare (here is her Twitter). So I wanted to tag them here, as it's much more fun to discuss these ideas as a group, since it'll only help you build on and strengthen your own ideas.)

Please be aware, there will be Spoilers for FFVII - Almost all Compilation titles, Xenogears, and NieR Automata throughout this.

So let's go on a journey where we explore what actually already exists in the compilation - including the idea of the whispers and timeloops - how Minerva may play into everything, and what exactly Jenova is capable of doing.

I asked Sesi if he'd ever played any of the NieR games, because he'd said something that made me wonder if they were going to take a similar approach. As a very, very quick high level summary: NieR Automata deals with a time loop type of idea. The androids will be rebooted and repeat the same things over and over again. This is broken when 2B is killed by A2 because she becomes infected with a virus. That being said, you have the option after Ending E to either erase all of your data and end the cycle OR you can try again. The Pods have a discussion, and one asks, "But won't they just do the same thing again?" and the other replies with "Maybe. But it could also be different this time."

Here's Sesi's message back to me when I asked him about this (cleaned up a bit since we were having a casual conversation over Discord):

Maybe I could just guess based comparatively on the Dirge storyline, because that was sort of SE's first flirtation with “robots and androids” since they’re all programmed and locked behind like task managers and shit that can shut them down. The story of the online mode for DoC that came out in Japan, we never got to see it, you’re basically an Android OC and you have to get to “the end of the level” and then essentially die, and a new one takes its place. This keeps happening until Weiss is essentially freed from being able to be task managed by the guys who are suppose to be able to control them and I know from tons of years with Square games that they’re verrrrry bad at differentiating their narratives they tend to just keep “ripping themselves off” so is it anything close to that?

Cuz if so I think I kinda know what you’re saying and yeah, I agree, I think with CC bringing in its poetic symbolism and LOVELESS, and DoC bringing back the cyclic nature of the lore, whispers, premonitions and future visions, proto-Materia and the perversion of this next cycle since the planet can no longer cleanse and protect itself and its will is weakening lesser and lesser to the point where it’s fate is “in a true sense of jeopardy This time essentially it’s all tied in together and sort of played as though it's a fated track; a cycle of events and something has hitched it, thus the whispers manifesting and Sephiroth's higher implied control over his destiny. Of course, even all that is just their new red herring game, but it’s definitely a part of the lore they want to play with, in order to go back and reMAKE the OG with the comp inserted from inception. Also gut punch a lot.

Time Loops

I was somewhat surprised to find out that this concept is NOT new to FFVII's universe. It's discussed in Dirge of Cerberus... probably one of the least played and least understood of the compilation. (Trying to sell a third person shooter with terrible controls to a market of mostly people used to turn-based combat wasn't going to go well.)

On top of it, we didn't even get all of it, since online mode was never released outside of Japan, and the Dirge of Cerberus Lost Episode was on Amp'd Mobile and Verizon flip phones back in 2006. Were you around for the cell phones in 2006? I had the ones on the list, and how somebody could play a game on those blows my mind.

Square has a tendency to reuse themes from their other titles. Probably one of the most blatant is the similarities between Xenogears and Final Fantasy VII. They were both being developed at the same time and a lot of ideas that didn't make it into FFVII ended up in Xenogears.

NieR

So how does this work? In NieR (both Replicant and Automata), you play the same path multiple times. Each time, it's slightly different depending on what side quests you did your first and second playthrough, but there's also other subtle differences throughout the story. In Automata, you get to play as 2B your first playthrough and 9S for your second. They follow the same path, but you get it from his perspective the second time and it reveals a bit more of what is going on. However, even with some slight differences, the main plot points stay the same and the ending result it also the same.

Then on your third playthrough, you wake up in the Bunker, and you're getting ready to go on a new mission. This time, though, 2B is killed and shit hits the fan. Things get crazy, you play as a new character: A2. In the end, pretty much everyone "dies", but you can choose to "reboot" and try again. You also can say you are done and let them all rest and delete your save data (the game gives you the option for both Automata and Replicant, and with Replicant, it actually leads to a new ending).

The striking thing for me is... There are certain events that will always happen, no matter what.

Fixed Points in Time

It's been years since I've watched Doctor Who, but there was something that stuck with me, and that was the fixed points in time. You can read about all of them here, but here's the basics:

Now, of course Doctor Who goes into this with much more detail and it's a recurring theme. However, as you read through that page, you'll probably find many aspects that have been used in various JRPGs that you've played. And Doctor Who most likely pulled some of the idea from classic Science Fiction novels. Each story puts its own spin on it.

How does this relate to FFVII Remake? Well, when they say that the major plot points will stay the same, it reminds me of this. No matter what, Cloud must fall into the Sector 5 Church, the Sector 7 Plate must be dropped, Aerith and Zack both must die, and Meteor has to be summoned, to name a few. So, with a time loop, those things would still have to take place in order to prevent a complete collapse of reality (at least in how Doctor Who uses it).

Therefore, the Whispers are ensuring that the Will of the Planet is followed.

One of the major themes in FFVII is that of loss. People die and they do not come back. Yes, other FF games do allow this to happen (FFX, FFXIII, FFXV), but VII is not those games. It was written with that idea in mind, that once a person dies, they, just like in real life, are dead and cannot be brought back.

I've previously written that I think they'll make us believe we are able to change fate, but we will eventually be slammed with the reality that we can't. That is because the planet has determined that certain events are fixed points.

Xenogears

Xenogears takes a bit of a different approach to the loop idea. Instead of repeating the same time period over and over, it has the characters reincarnated, and the same outcome happens each time: Elly dies. However, each time it's different. After all, they're in various time periods, in some cases thousands of years apart.

In all of the lives of Fei (who will have a different name in each time period) and Elly (who is always Elly/Elhaym), Elly will end up dying trying to protect Fei and the others. In one life, she is a religious figure at a totally not Catholic church, in another she's the wife of a scientist who was working to create children from nanomachines due to mass infertility issues. But she is ALWAYS with Fei, even if his name changes.

In her Mother Elhaym time, this is when Lacan (Fei) finally snaps. Though he's not fully aware of his past lives, he becomes aware, the anger consumes him, and he becomes Grahf. Fei is then reborn into the time period you play the game in.

There's a lot to unpack with this, so I won't go into it. Grahf wants to destroy God (Deus) because he thinks if he does, then it'll stop the suffering (his suffering).

If you do want to read more about Grahf, you can do so here, but it probably won't make much sense unless you've played Xenogears up to that point... Since it's much later in the game that this is all explained.

Lacan's desire was to stop the cycle of Elly always sacrificing herself for his sake. Though Grahf is not a perfect existence - he's not fully "The Contact", he sacrifices himself in order to let Fei move forward, and hopefully stop the cycle, by destroying the Deus system. (Elly also tries to sacrifice herself here, but Fei goes after her and stops her.)

Now, some people may think I'm saying that Cloud or somebody is going to do this in order to save Aerith or Zack (or his village or mom), but in FFVII if they do the loop method, I don't think Cloud, Tifa, Barret, and the others are aware of it. Most likely, it's only 'Sephiroth' and Aerith who are aware of it.

How this Could Be used for Final Fantasy VII

I'm stressing could because there's so many different possibilities on how they use this (if they are using this), so please, don't take this as fact. This is based on speculation based on what we know.

A time loop is a great way to explain away the differences in the story that we've seen: Biggs being alive, Wedge living for longer than he should have, etc. Since these are not major plot changes, they can simply say that this time it'll be slightly different... but your fixed points (major plot points) will remain the same.

It's a way to pull in some of the more obscure themes from Dirge of Cerberus and also play with the LOVELESS lore.

It could all simply be a big red herring and it's really just a remake of OG, but with the compilation tied together nicely... since it works much better when it's combined and not in 50 different games, books, movies, etc.

I don't think it's a "sequel" per say, not in the way I generally perceive a sequel. It's more of a loop of the same thing. The question is, when is the loop started and what will cause it to end? When will the planet (if it even is the planet) determine that it's good enough to begin moving forward?

JENOVA, Sephiroth, Genesis, and Minerva - Oh My!

Let's be real... Genesis isn't exactly the most popular character in the FFVII Compilation... but what if they make him one of the most important to the story? //Ducks as various fruits and vegetable are thrown in my direction//

I think what Genesis is probably most known for is his love of LOVELESS. He has the entire thing memorized and randomly says lines from it throughout Crisis Core. LOVELESS lore is still something I'm trying to grasp, so I am not going to comment much on it. Once I understand it more, I'll update this.

...And then this happens. The secret ending for Dirge of Cerberus, where Genesis picks up Weiss. Weiss, who has now been introduced along with Nero in FFVII INTERmission and is an optional ridiculously hard boss in the Shinra battle simulator in chapter 17 of the main story. There is some lore associated with the battle sim - so if you don't plan on beating it or you just can't, you can look up the pre-battle and post-battle cut scenes on YouTube. They're very short, but interesting. (I beat this asshole last night - it's a hell of a fight.)

....To Be Continued because apparently Tumblr won't allow more than 10 images per post now.... Next will be more on JENOVA and Sephiroth along with Minerva.

[twisted-leader-of-something]

As a Leona stan who has more brains than other Leona stans out there who likes him for being a hot jerk, I had alot of things to justify his behaviour and his lack of change. If you pay attention closely on his birthday SSR, Leona has a different behaviour compared to his usual vulgar attitude. He has a calm and normal tone in his voice and seems to be ok in talking about his family and the things he do, he answers them all with no problem at all, heck he even teases the MC.

Continuation 1: His behaviour on his bday gives off a different impression on him and is proof that Leona can be a decent person depending on his mood. Also, I found out in this story too that he and Farena had a 10 year age gap. Which is kinda messed up to think that he was being compared to his brother at the age of 5 or 10. Just the thought of it, I understand why Leona grew up to be bitter and pessimistic. Even on his Bday at home, he was treated like he aint supposed to be born.

Continuation 2: People always overlook the fact Leona was lazy and spares no effort in anything if it doesnt benefit him. Well it might be true, they forgot in his backstory that Leona did work so hard to prove he is just as important as his brother only to be shoved aside again and again. It had been that way to the point he possibly suffered from depression and becomes hopeless in life. He starts losing interest in effort and sleeps his pain away.

Continuation 3: He'd also become so close off to other people and treats them as either a nuisance or servants simply because the people in the palace outside his family, treat him like he is no important, so he treats everyone like he is no important to them. BUT, its not likely the case at all anymore. Despite being a jerk, Leona does showcase signs of kindness too albeit much more subtle.

Continuation 4: Its pretty evident on his Bday story how he treats MC well compared in EP 2 and 3. He becomes more proactive and starts to work at EP 5. He even provide some foods for his dorm mates at the Halloween event and even saves Jack. Leona has alot of good points in him despite being a jerk, the only problem is, that he has troubles moving on in life because he was stuck in the past, he refuse to open up to others because he thinks emotions are a weakness.

Continuation: Despite all this he still cares for his family, he just doesnt show it. He still respects his brother even if he is jealous of him. That somewhat makes him the opposite of Scar because Scar himself could never do that. Out all of the people who had a hard time changing, Leona is the one who is the hardest to change because of years of pain being compared by the people of his home. He can change, but its a milestone of change. Maybe not now but later on. Thats all sorry its too long

For Context, Anon is most likely referring to this part of my last post: 

I thought Leona in a similar regard to Vil, even after Chapter 2 because. . . Leona just. . . didn’t express he wanted to change or reflect on his past actions. And Honey, I have pretty bad depression, possibly on par with what Leona has, maybe even worse. And, I have younger siblings who have to live in my shadow at my middle school and they’ve told me it’s hard to fit into the model I’ve made being a teacher’s pet and overall good student the teachers favored highly.  But being depressed and living in someone’s shadow that does not excuse Leona from his actions. And, at the time, we knew nothing about Leona’s past besides that and how his attitude changed after Cheka was born. Depression is different from person to person but that’s not an excuse for trying to kill a fellow classmate, getting several people injured, throwing your dorm under the bus and taking no responsibility for it quite literally throwing in the towel the minute he faces issues, and not doing anything overall and making it other people’s problems.  Depression isn’t an excuse to be an asshole. Neither is being in someone else’s shadow.  And, until the Fairy Gala, Leona showed no true signs he had changed and care for anyone besides himself.  Sure, Chapter 2 hinted at Leona taking a hit for Savanaclaw by making a deal with Azul for Ruggie’s sake, once again to try to kill someone, and Chapter 3 kind of expands on that by giving out generally what must have happened. But honey. That isn’t much to go off of, and Chapter 4 kind overshadows that part with, well, Ruggie saying Leona’s only helping MC in destroying Azul’s contracts because he doesn’t want to deal with the contract he made with Azul anymore. So, imagine my surprise and happiness when the Fairy Gala shows that Leona cares for Ruggie, Grim and MC when he comes and saves the three when they’re in trouble during the event. It showed me that Yana and the staff at least kind of understood the side of people like me, who don’t like Leona because he treats others badly.   Do I like Leona? Not really. Still think he’s not a great guy, but I at least know he’s capable of being a decent being when he wants to be and now I can tolerate him, and with new information that has come out about him thanks to his birthday story, I can say I’m more on the fence with him then I was with him when I first read through his chapter.

 It's quite alright Anon! I think this sums about pretty my change in feelings on Leona, besides the fact I'm not a Leona stan at all.

I mean, I can understand where Leona’s coming from, to a certain degree. 

Your whole life is thrown to the side by others no matter what you do, and then once you’ve gotten used to that messed up way of life, your life kind of messed up by a single thing that isn’t exactly isn’t in your control. And, to the degree I can empathize with Leona with that. The circumstances are wildly different between me and Leona, but I think I understand Leona’s feeling of hopelessness and the depression he felt, and why he sleeps his life away. 

My depression is much different than his, so I don’t do the same things as him, but I understand his feeling of hopelessness, to an almost painful degree. I won’t get into the details of what happened to me, because I really don’t want to here since I don’t want this to be a pity party for me, but in essence, I think I felt what Leona did when Cheka first came into being. 

He felt he had no one now that Cheka come into being, because now he was, well, a spare for the throne. Since people already didn’t treat him right for something that wasn’t something he could control, Leona was most likely always in a pretty bad place, mentally. A part of him knew that he was in a bad place, but he dealt with it, because that’s what he knew. I think Cheka’s birth was a breaking point for him. He was living basically on something he knew wasn’t good, but trying his best but then Cheka’ existence came into being, and now Leona’s going to be treated worse.

I don’t think he blames Cheka for it, from how he treats Cheka, he’s just trying to push Cheka away because Cheka’s existence, unfortunately reminds him of his fate, that he’s basically a spare for a throne he’s probably not going to get. Leona pushes Cheka away despite how much Cheka love him because Leona is trying to protect himself for getting hurt again. Leona’s never hurt Cheka, and has more or less been nice to Cheka despite his hate for the cub, all things considered. Lions are known to kill cubs to take over a pride, but the closest thing Leona’s done to hurting Cheka is throwing Cheka away from him, to be caught by Ace and Deuce (which is kind of sketchy if it’s canon, but eh. I count it.). 

Which, is why Leona most likely jumped at the chance to go to Night Raven when he realized he had a chance to get out, and I think his time at Night Raven is actually very good for him. 

Leona, even if he is kind of a huge jerk, is away from the toxic environment that was his life, and is now genuinely respected by others for who he is. He has room to grow as a person without people pushing him down and degrading him, and in a place where his actions have next to no effect in the world. Leona clearly has people around him that respect him, like Jack and even his dormmates that respect him for who he is as a person (Not sure about Ruggie. After Chapter 2 I kind of question if Ruggie cares for Leona like he did back then). And, like Anon said, we are seeing Leona start to try to change, it’s subtly, but it’s there for sure. For one, in the main story, he’s more proactive than before, and showing he can be a leader and a decent being when he wants to be. While I’m not sure how long Leona has before he has the leave Night Raven, I’m happy for him at least he finally got the help he needed. It took an Overblot, but it seems Leona is learning to deal with his depression. And, that makes me happy. Still not happy he’s an ass to others, but I’m more okay with it now I know that reason behind it. 

From Leona’s character line, I think Yana might be going for The Tale of Two Brothers version of Scar and possibly leading into The Lion Guard version of Scar. I can’t prove why I know that Yana might do this or how she’ll do it, but based on Leona’s backstory, The Tale of Two Brothers version matches with our Leona right now. Leona is pretty troubled, like Taka was. But, I think after Leona has had his time with MC, he turns more into Askari more, making him a better person and then the kingdom sees him more as a figure that got the short end of the stick that made his way in life then an unwanted second prince.

I’ll all for it. But, I’d be interested in hearing Farena and his wife’s side of the story, as well. Purely just because I wanna know how they feel about him, too. Maybe Farena and his wife know something about Leona he don’t, and give us insight on Leona’s scar on his eye. 

[mxchowind]

Words Unspoken

Xiao x reader

Warnings: angst/fluff???

This is my second fic! I decided to go with xiao because he really appeals to me as of late and so baby too- ;; i changed up the reason to why he’s fond of almond tofu too for the content- anyways i hope i didnt write him too ooc- if i did, i apologise deeply,, enjoy!

He had known. 

Mortals were nothing but lights that faded away with the time’s span. He knew, of course. The ‘Mighty’ and ‘Illuminated’ Guardian Yaksha, names given to him that don’t mean a mere mora.

To him, you meant the most. Though the man would never admit himself, or did he?

Time erased pain.

But never had it healed his scars. What a lie it has been. 

Xiao hid, from all that seeked. From all of the memories of you. To think, he was such a dense, foolish idiot- an idiot who loved you. And still do, he’d like to believe. 

-

Of course- out of all, tonight’s wind blows gently. He dislikes it, the tranquillity all resembles you too much. The gentle-living spirit you were- once. Upon his very wish Xiao finds himself asking, begging for you to come back.

But a replacement? He never asked.

Lumine’s arrival sure had people in favour, and people starts to dot and comment on how similar you and her are. Both spirits of freedom and love, supposedly that is said. He didn’t like that.

You were, and still are special, even if that no longer lingered in anyone else.

The ever so radiant smile of yours could warm any cold heart up, that, he has experienced first-hand. A dangerous adepti, they say? None of that was him in your mind. The time you two had spent together, under countless stars beneath the vast expand of skies, were always cherished by both. His eyes soften at the very thought of you- though sorrows come right after. 

Lumine is a different case, however.

All the times she tried to please him to get information- it’s different. The aura she gives off is nothing subtle as yours, and warm too. Your scent is much more pleasant to him, or perhaps just the thought of you brings a slight smile to his stone-cold face. Xiao could go on and on about you to anyone, really, but he won’t.

It pains him to think back to that eventful night-

When all was lost.

-

You had lived long enough to withstand- let alone, battles. But this one was quite the fate-changer. The one that left you in blood and tears, not your own but his. That desperate look on his delicate face- by Archons, Xiao has such pretty features you’d wonder he should like to be working in a tavern for the girls. 

All jokes aside, regret fuelled.

Of course, once again you decided to leave his field of vision, dealing with the terror of a creature on your own. Not that he disapproves, you were outright a swordswoman, gifted with the blessings of Anemo, like his own. Dealing with such small amounts wouldn’t be an issue normally, as you often received commissions. Only if you had known..

..when the reinforcements came.

-

‘‘Hey!! Are you even paying attention??’’

The small pixie screams in his ears, wincing in pain from the high-pitched voice she possesses. Expression stonic, the ravenette decides to ignore her fully. What was that? Flashbacks of what seemed to be thousands of years ago-

Then Xiao suddenly realises. It was when he lost you. 

Pain, pain, pain. Kill them, kill everyone.

Thoughts racing through his mind- it takes a while, and enormous strength to resist, before his eyes land on her. Lumine. 

‘‘What do you want? I don’t have time to spare for foreign travellers.’’ 

As cold as he blurts those words out, he means it. No, he cannot withstand the sight of them for any longer- the memories flooding back to his mind, no matter how much he tries to push away. It hurts, he wants someone to cling onto, and he knows, the only one to do it would be you.

‘‘We’re not looking for trouble! The boss lady said you know something about what is happening recently- we brought this!’’ Lumine chirps, handing him the freshly made Almond Tofu.

No, please. No. 

-

It was a breezy afternoon, the wind blowing past your hair gently, directing your way to him. Recently you discovered this new recipe- and couldn’t wait for him to try it out. As you hummed a tune, ever so lively, filled with life, Xiao waited for you patiently. You two were often sighted together on the top of Wangshu Inn, and you were said to be the only one who would make the Adepti smile, even if it was a little. It was true, your smile could brighten anyone’s day up, even the dangerous man. 

‘‘Xiao! Look!’’

‘‘Calm yourself first.’’

You gave an apologetic smile, before the brand new dish got shoved into his face. At first, he looked away- what new recipe might you have stirred this time? But the scent of said food filled his mind as you picked up the spoon, scooping some.

‘‘Have a try!’’

‘‘.. I have hands, too.’’

In all reality, he was embarrassed. Without a further thought he picked up from where you left off, and swallowed the tofu whole. It tasted- gentle. Almost as if you poured your heart into making such a dish. Its almond flavoured taste lingered on his tongue for a while more, before eagerly scooping another spoonful. 

You smiled. His facade was worn off, and Xiao right then was just Xiao. His duties forgotten, his raging heart calmed, and he was just Xiao, someone who longed for more and more time to be with you, and to have more of this delicious plate too. 

Your laugh echoed in his mind.

That was when he chose Almond Tofu over every other dish. It was because of you. Only if time allowed you two to dance in everlasting joy. 

It didn’t.

-

‘‘Stop spacing out!!!!’’

This annoying pest, the ravenette curses without fear. As Xiao turns his gaze finally back on track, he realises that you’ve been on his mind more than ever today. Why is that? Is it because he can’t stand people comparing you with Lumine- 

Never. You can never be compared with her. You’re- far more- dear.

‘‘So, Xiao, what would you do about this situation right now? The Moon Carver sent me.’’

Instead of being content to help, he turns his eyes away. 

‘‘I am no longer interested in being in contact with mortals. Go.’’

Any other day Xiao would give a gratified reply, but not today. You’re simply occupying his mind too much, perhaps this is it. He still wants to remember- 

Go away. Go away. Please.

Stop, stop it. Stop coming back. 

‘‘Geez, what a let-down!! Let’s go for now, Lumine,’’ At least that little thing knows what not. They took their leave in silence,

Just like you did. 

-

It rained.

It rained, as if the whole world cried. 

With blurred vision, monsters easily took you down no matter how much effort was made to struggle. That, he knows.

He wasn’t strong enough to protect you. He failed. 

Let alone, you were the last person he wanted to lose. 

Blood, blood, blood.

Blood everywhere. Blood coated you. Recalling, when Xiao turned around to see such a sight- his eyes widened in shock-

Don’t leave, please.

At least not yet, not when he didn’t make clear of his feelings-

But time was not his to command. 

His eyes, wet and stained with rain or tears, you do not know. The pain pierced through you like arrows, it hurts, but none is able to save you. The gash is too big, and deep too.

His hands. The ravenette’s hands are so gentle even under the harsh gloves. Carefully, he lifted you up from the ground, and it was him who spoke first. 

‘‘Don’t go, it’s a command.’’

You chuckled lightly before the voice faded into weak whimpers. His own voice was shaking, it pulled your heartstrings. 

‘‘You- you’re not even smiling, Xiao. Come on, at least give me a smile- whether it’s the last time i would see it..’’

How could he decline such a request?

Smiling was harder than supposed. 

Gathering all that was left in him- a smile formed. It was genuine. Something no one but you had seen- that was enough for you. To be the luckiest person to see his smile. It hurts. You wanted to see more, maybe you two would have a future together, and smile, always, then he could learn how to make Almond Tofu and take care of himself and-

Too much to wish for.

‘‘Xiao-’’

He silenced you. With his lips.

Had he known it was the first, and the last, you indulged yourself fully, sinking deeper into the sweet, airy kiss. The taste of metallic was awful, but what was even more- you didn’t know if he was crying, or just the rain.

‘‘You know.. I love you, Xiao.’’

So that was the word. 

Love. 

To think, how foolish he was- in love with a mortal. 

But he was, and nothing could change that. He loved you.

‘‘Don’t go, then. Don’t go.’’

His voice laced with desperation- he begged to the Archons, to someone, to save you. No one would, he knew. Before he knew, you went, quietly. 

You were gone.

Rage filled him. Putting on the mask he could feel power surging through every part of him- destruction. 

Kill, kill, kill.

The rest of the monsters advanced, but only ended in a bloodbath as he unleashed himself. That village was never heard of again in history. 

Throwing the mask away, Xiao leaned down, back to you.

‘‘I love you too, [Y/n].’’

[goosedawn]

linguistics pog????? :D :D :D i will admit I didn’t do as much thought into the aus/nz language changes as I really should’ve (mostly because my understanding of the regions is basic at best ^^’) and I am 👀👀👀 at your tags……….. if you have more thoughts I would be FASCINATED to hear what you say :D!!! -bio nerd anon

LINGUISTICS POG!!! YEAHHHH

my knowledge of linguistics is limited but its so cool and ur HELLA valid, australia and new zealand are pretty isolated so like. fair (relatedly, most of my thoughts are nz based, i cant really talk much abt australian linguistics) but basically i absolutely have more thoughts >:3c

also im assuming this is still in the context of how language could develop in @possiblyaperson03​‘s strangers on the internet au, so im just gonna clarify this is all purely speculation based on what we know abt the au and my own knowledge + lived experience :D

... i also just keep on going about language development in this au in general so i put it all under the cut :’>

tl;dr: australian and new zealand accents are likely to converge, but also might have a mix of different languages mixed into the way they speak, with pockets of non-english speakers. humans in australia and new zealand might not have as nuanced terms relating to giants, and may not have the same level of understanding regarding the giants language.

....... tl;dr TWO: wild humans might develop “alarm calls” that are shared with other human groups even if they cannot understand each other otherwise, and might even mimic giants. sign and written language could also become more prevalent in giant inhabited areas.

-

SO, in new zealand theres already quite a mix of cultures, although. yknow. colonialization ended up in a largely westernised culture/language, with english being the ‘main’ language, however nz sign language and Māori are also considered to be national languages.

nz accents specifically tend to be quicker and kinda. slur some words together, but that also depends on the location around new zealand. people who are surrounded by more Māori influences tend to draw out some vowels a bit longer, which ends up with a slightly different cadence.

im not really sure how to describe the aussie accent kshdfksjd but i think generally its a lot sharper than nz accents but also has more of a drawl, and some vowels are more drawn out/accentuated

i think it would be likely that australians and new zealanders would probably keep these aspects but depending on how much people cross between the two (in lieu of traversing elsewhere, and interacting with other countries) its more likely for the accents to converge.

however!! differing languages would also kind of. stick to how they sounded when they split, with the language spoken by immigrants not only sounding more accurate to the original due to shifts in language in their original location (due to simplification and dangerous situations) but also because of people wanting to preserve their culture.

in new zealand currently (especially in places with a lot of mixed cultures/immigration, in big cities compared to more rural areas) there is already a lot of mixing in terms of accent and language, and even more so with outside influences due to media and such

people do whats referred to as “accent matching“ which is basically changing the way you speak to match other people around you (psychologically, its kinda like mimicking other people so they are more likely to like you/become attached to you because you are similar to them) and so people mimic accents around them and thats part of how you pick up accents when you move to a new place.

so in an isolated space, with a variation of accents, how does that work? honestly i think it would be similar to how things are in big nz cities currently, and because its even more packed together with a whole variation of people who may not necessarily be english speaking is that something that may happen is a mix of language, with people dipping in and out of other languages based off of what specific cultural influences an individual is surrounded by.

this is something that can be seen in places like malaysia, where there is often a mashup of languages and cultures, resulting in a variance of dialects depending on geographical location, picking up some words from other languages depending on who your neighbours are (or at least. thats what i’ve been told by relatives from there, and have seen reflected in the way they speak- they tend to mix english with at least 3 different dialects of chinese as well as malay and indian words)

like i mentioned in my tags on the other post, nz already has quite a few pockets of areas where there are immigrants who either have trouble speaking english or rely on relatives/friends to interact with english speakers, and this is something that is likely to develop in this au as well i reckon. i cant comment on how this might work in australia though.

-

also, if isolated with little contact from giants, it would be unlikely for australians/new zealanders to develop terms relating to giants, or at least not terms similar to other countries. they might be more abstract or scientific, with less nuance due to less interaction.

its unlikely humans in australia and new zealand would pick up much accenting from giants and perhaps depending on how long it would be after The Event, may even not be able to say certain words/hear certain differences in giants accents as well!

However, it should be noted that young babies (like a few months old) are able to identify variance in human accents that children and adults cannot, because we learn what sounds to listen out for based on what languages and cultures we are exposed to, so technically we are biologically built to understand a variation of languages, but quickly learn specificity and thus lose that ability.

(RELATEDLY: if this was also true for giants, unless they were brought up around humans when they were very young it would be unlikely that they would be able to tell some subtle differences in human speech, FURTHER solidifying what you said about giants just. not being able to hear human intonation).

in terms of language in countries inhabited by giants, you mentioned that humans might have more simplified language and such, which could result in varying “alarm calls”, much like modern animals have now, which vary depending on where a threat is coming from (e.g. different calls for birds compared to land based predators) these might transcend other language like words, if there was a larger difference between geographical areas.

on top of that, some groups of animals also reciprocally respond to other groups of animals alarm calls due to both being pressured by biological and environmental threats, and i wouldnt be surprised if something similar developed between wild human colonies. humans are great at mimicking, so it could be possible that a series of animal-esque calls, or heck even calls mimicking giants could be something that is used.

furthermore, it might also be likely for some groups of humans to rely more on visual (signed or written) languages to symbolise things, especially if they dont get to interact with other groups, perhaps out of fear of being caught in large numbers. on top of this, having visual signals would be useful for not notifying giants of your presence if you need to be quiet.

warning signs and such would probably be developed pretty quickly, with certain groups maybe having defining features depending on what materials they have (maybe some groups burn warnings into things, vs others who carve the symbols in)

there might also be varying ways of referring to directions that are easier to identify quickly. OH in the alternate universe with wilbur having a guitar, maybe music could be used for communicating certain things also?? idk ive gone on long enough jkfhsdfjhsdf

- 

thanks for reading all the way to the end! if you got here i appreciate you!! 💛

[wisdomrays]

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS: What is the Role of Prophethood and of Prophets?

Prophethood is the highest rank and honor that a man can receive from God. It proves the superiority of that man's inner being over all others. A Prophet is like a branch arching out from the Divine to the human realm. He is the very heart and tongue of creation. He possesses a supreme intellect that penetrates into the reality of things and events.

Moreover, he is the ideal being, for all of his faculties are harmoniously excellent and active. He strives and progresses steadily toward Heaven, waits upon Divine inspiration for the solutions to the problems he faces, and is the connecting point between this world and the Beyond. His body is subject to and follows his heart, figuratively the seat of spiritual intellect, as does his heart. His perceptions and reflections are always directed to the Names and Attributes of God. He goes to what he perceives, and arrives at the desired destination.

A Prophet's perception, developed to the full-seeing, hearing, and thus knowing-surpasses that of all other people. His perception cannot be explained in terms of different light, sound, or some other wavelengths. Ordinary people cannot acquire a Prophet's knowledge.

By conveying the Divine message and guidance, the Prophets give us a limited insight into creation so that we can know some of its meaning. Without them, we would be unable to see or understand the true nature and meaning of things and events, or to deal with our surrounding environment. They also teach us something of God and His Names and Attributes.

Their first mission is to teach the reality, the true purpose and meaning, of this life. Since God is beyond our perception and comprehension, the Prophets have to be the most obedient, careful, conscious, and self-disciplined of people while performing their tasks. If they had not spoken in clear terms about the Creator, we could not think, know, or say anything correct about God.

Everything in the universe tries to exhibit the Names and Attributes of the All-Mighty, All-Encompassing Creator. In the same way, the Prophets note, affirm, and are faithful to the subtle, mysterious relation between God and His Names and Attributes. As their duty is to know and speak about God, they enter into the true meaning of things and events and then convey it directly and sincerely to humanity.

When we are in a new or unfamiliar place, we need a guide to show us around. This analogy applies to the role of Prophets. Would the One who created everything so that we might know Him not provide guides, in the form of Prophets, to inform us of His Names and Attributes and guide us along the right path? To overlook such a need would render the creation useless and futile, yet we know that God does not engage in such activities. Thus, it seems most likely that all people would be informed of such things by a Prophet sent to them by God.

The Qur'an is explicit on this point: For We sent among every people a Messenger (with the command): "Serve God and avoid evil" (16:36). But many people gradually forgot these Divine teachings and fell into such errors as deifying the Prophets and others or engaging in idolatry. We can see this in the deities of Mt. Olympus in ancient Greece, the sanctification of the Ganges river in India, and in many other places. Even accepting that there must be a tremendous difference between the original and the current form of many religions, it is quite impossible to understand the conditions that caused Confucius to appear in China and Brahma and Buddha in India. It is equally difficult to guess what their original messages were and to what degree they have been corrupted.

If the Qur'an had not introduced Jesus to us, we would not have an accurate idea of his life and teachings. Over time, priests (and others) mixed the truth of Jesus with ancient Greek and Roman philosophies and idolatry, attributed divinity to human beings, and anthropomorphized God. The Trinity is an obvious example. Perhaps Romne would accept Christianity as its official state religion only if the various pagan festivals, holy days, rites, and rituals were incorporated. Without the Qur'an's enlightening revelation, it would be very difficult to tell Jesus Christ from Adonis or Dionysus.

Considering that Christianity is relatively recent, and what the Christians did to their Prophet and their Book, we wonder how many other people fell into the same error. One reliable hadith says: "A Prophet's disciples will carry out his mission after his death, but some of his followers will later upset everything he established." [2] This is a very important point. Many of the religions we now consider false turned to falsehood, superstition, and legend over time through the deliberate malice of their enemies (or the mistakes of their followers), despite their possible origin in the purest, Divine source.

To say that someone is a Prophet when he is not is unbelief, as is the case with refusing to believe in a true Prophet. On the other hand, if the case of false religions is similar to that of Christianity, we should look at them with some caution and reserve judgment. We should consider what Buddhism or Brahmanism may have been in their true, original forms, as well as the doctrines attributed to Confucius or the practices and beliefs of shamanism. Maybe they still have some remnants of what they originally were.

Many once-pure religions have been distorted and altered. Therefore, it is essential to accept the purity of their original foundation. The Qur'an says: There never was a people without a warner having lived among them (35:24), and We sent among every people a Messenger (16:36).

These revelations declare that God sent Messengers to each group of people. The Qur'an mentions the names of 28 Prophets, out of a total of 124,000 (or perhaps 224,000). We do not know exactly when and where many of them lived. But we do not have to know such information, for: We did in times past send Messengers before you; of them there are some whose stories We have related to you, and some whose stories We have not related to you (40:78).

Recent studies in comparative religion, philosophy, and anthropology reveal that many widely separated communities share certain concepts and practices. Among these are moving from polytheism to monotheism, and praying to the One God in times of hardship by raising their hands and asking something from Him. Many such phenomena indicate a singular source and a single teaching. If primitive tribes cut off from civilization and the influence of known Prophets have a sure understanding of His Oneness, though they may have little understanding of how to live according to that belief, a Messenger must have been sent to them at some time in the past: For every people there is a Messenger. When their Messenger comes, the matter is judged between them with justice, and they are not wronged (10:47).

What about those who claim to have been sent no Prophet? Are they held accountable for their beliefs and actions? According to the verse quoted above, a Prophet has been sent to every people. There may be periods when darkness seemed to prevail, but such periods are only temporary. Nevertheless, there is the possibility that the Prophet's work was destroyed so completely by erroneous ideas and rites that the true teachings were lost. In such cases, people may have remained in darkness unknowingly or against their own will. Such people will not be punished or blamed for the wrong they may do, until and unless they have been warned: We never punish until We have sent a Messenger (17:15), for warning precedes responsibility and reward or punishment.

Muslim scholars have different opinions on this matter. For instance, Imam Maturidi and his school argue that no people can be excused, for there is enough evidence pointing to the One Creator to guide anyone to belief in Him. The 'Ashari school, referring to the above verse, argues that warning and guidance must precede judgment, and that people can be held responsible only if they have been sent a Prophet.

Others combine these two positions: Those who have not been sent a Prophet and so did not enter willfully into unbelief or idolatry are ahl al-najat (people who will be excused and so escape punishment and who, as God wills, may be saved). This position is based on the fact that some people cannot analyze their surroundings, penetrate to their meaning, or deduce the right course of belief and action. They first have to be taught the right way, given explanations and directions on how to act, and then they can be rewarded or punished according to what they do with the new knowledge. Those who willfully enter unbelief, fight belief and religion, or knowingly defy God and His commandments will be questioned and punished, regardless of how isolated they are.

[tartagilicious]

our future > gavin, mlqc

ok… here comes the actual birthday fic — happy birthday, one of my biggest comfort characters ever <3 I’ve grown to be so attached to him over the time I’ve been playing mlqc, and though I really can’t even put into words how much I love him, he just makes me feel so happy. I truly hope all of us can find someone that makes us feel the way, fictional or real. //w.c 2330 // not a request.

[toothbrush by dnce]

I’ve only ever met one person I would call truly noble. In the glint of his amber eyes, I've seen more kindness and effort for reform than I have in anyone else -- slowly chipping away at the person everyone had expected him to become to reveal the man he had always wanted himself to be.

My sentiment means very little compared to all that Gavin deserves, but, I’m proud of him. I know very little people that could make it out of such a deep hole, littered with familial and personal issues that even I don’t quite understand. And I thank the deities of fate every day for giving him the chances he needed to get through everything unscathed.

I watch my apartment door open to show his face, suddenly contorting in what I’d call a lost kind of surprise at the small group cheering for him -- as if something about a surprise birthday party doesn’t make sense. But it quickly fades to be replaced with a more familiar happiness, soft like in days of the past.

Yet, his smile is the only thing that remains unchanged in my memory. His spirit has since grown stronger, his body firmer, his sense of justice tighter -- but all of it still belongs to the same man that I have always known.

“Boss!”

Kiki had hissed my name thrice before I realised anyone was calling me that day, and as she smiled mischievously, I knew exactly what she was up to. She must have peered over my shoulder and--

“So, about Gavin.” She had pulled over a seat to sit next to me, in which I quickly clicked off the tab I was on and found something more work-appropriate. Party planning could wait until I was off of work, anyway.

Kiki startled me by asking, “It’s his birthday soon, isn’t it?”

Flashes of the tab I had closed out of flooded my memory, and stammering, I nodded.

“Y-yeah, it is. Why?”

“I think we should throw a party for him! Just as thanks for being so helpful with Miracle Finder, y’know?”

I thought for a moment, painfully aware of Kiki’s eager expression in the corner of my eye even as my mind screamed obscenities. The aforementioned plans held a certain weight in my heart, dragging my mind down with everything I'd be unable to do in the scenario of a party. But, in an effort to keep from having to expose those plans, I swallowed my complaints and agreed.

It’s better this way.

I dropped down onto my bed later that same day and groaned into the pillow, my brows furrowing as I cursed my inability to say no. This wasn’t the end of the world, surely it’d still spin regardless of how the day is spent -- granted that the things I planned to say to him that day aren’t pushed back too far.

That form of reassurance immediately failed to wipe the frown off my face.

Rolling over in a huff, I caught a near perfect glimpse of his gift sitting wrapped on my vanity, its bright and slightly messy packaging mocking me almost more than I could take. Oh, what a day to be reminded that what goes around, comes around.

Truthfully, the idea didn’t taste as bitter in my mouth the next morning. That didn’t excuse the nauseating feeling of anxiety it left behind, but it was progress nonetheless. I opted to keep my breakfast down and stow his gift away from my prying eyes.

It was the beginnings of a busy day, starting with countless bullets in my planner being scribbled out to make room for the new circumstances. The only thing that had remained unchanged was the guestlist, comprised of the close staff he was aware of on Miracle Finder and Eli. A part of my eagerness faltered looking at the rest of the blacked out page, but all I could do was hope that during our meeting, Eli, the first invitee, had what it would take to bring my spirits back up.

The bus was mostly empty on such an afternoon -- kids in school and adults at work. Yet, of course, a certain someone still somehow managed to show up.

I was broken out of my thoughts by a tap on my shoulder, the smooth yet irritating voice of its owner letting my heart sink a bit further into my stomach. Begrudgingly, I looked up at Shaw’s expecting eyes and sigh.

“The seat’s open, you don’t have to ask me.”

His similarly amber eyes peered down at me through lilac bangs, but his short observation session ended with a simple shrug. Shaw had very little problem plopping right down next to me as if we’d known each other forever, even adding the polite touch of music blaring from his headphones.

I stared for a moment, but shook off whatever thoughts had begun to creep into my mind and turned my attention back over to the open planner in my lap, the page depressingly blank. I couldn’t focus for what seemed like eons, but I looked up to realise that it may have something to do with the unwavering gaze trained on my face.

“Shaw?” I questioned, unable to keep a small smile from my face as his eyebrows suddenly flicked up. “Is something wrong?”

“Working on the bus? I didn’t take you for such an overachiever.”

I snorted, twirling the pen between my fingers absentmindedly as he took out a single earbud. “I guess a busybody like you wouldn’t know.”

“Care to tell this busybody what you’re up to, then?” He hummed and pointed curiously to the scribbled out block of text with his finger. I could feel the temperature in my face rising with each passing second, yet I tried my best to answer him regardless.

“I-I’m trying to plan for someone’s birthday…” I started, laughing awkwardly as Shaw retracted his hand with a teasing smile. “I just had to scrap some things, that’s the mess.”

“Nice, who’s the lucky guy?”

I’m instantly taken aback. “How would you know if it’s a guy?”

I could tell that my reaction had pleased him, and internally kicked myself when he chuckled.

“Is it going well?”

“...I think so.” I said, unaware that I had said this more to myself than him. “I couldn’t let him down for something so simple, anyway.”

Shaw’s teasing words didn’t come as I expected them, and when I looked up to see his smile, my actions staggered. He seemed suspiciously happy to hear about my lacklustre plans, but I didn’t let that get to me. I had an entire afternoon to worry about before diving into whatever was going on in that man’s head.

Though, at the moment, Shaw isn’t the one that should be capturing my attention.

Gavin stands in the entryway now with Eli and Minor on either side of him, actively being showered with wishes of a good birthday and positive comments alike. The man in the centre of it has a wistful smile curling his lips, growing almost imperceptibly wider as the seconds pass.

Though betraying him are his eyes, openly showing the contentedness that I had been hoping to see. A similar small smile appears on my own lips, yet I fail to recognise that my body’s mechanics are no different from Gavin’s.

At least he’s enjoying this.

I feel guilty and self entitled for even thinking in such a way, especially being the only one that the turn of events has inconvenienced. Everything has a right time, it just seems that tonight just wasn’t mine.

My chest grows hotter instinctively when I notice Gavin break away from the excited pair, as if my irrationality is trying to tell me he knows what I’m thinking. But, through everything, his calm and familiar smile comes to wash over me like a bucket of cold water.

“___~” Gavin drags out my name knowingly, the tips of his ears a buzzing red from all of the interaction. The nature of his smile is similar as he takes me into his arms, only enveloping me fully when I begin to laugh.

And, It may be my delusion, but his grip around me somehow seems a bit tighter than usual.

I settle gratefully into his shoulder as he begins to speak, though truthfully, I can’t bring myself to focus on more than a few words:

“Thank you.”

I feel accomplished to still recognise a similar glow in his eyes around an hour later, curiously following the homemade cake that Minor places down in front of him. The icing looping daintily overtop of it reads as a messy “Happy Birthday!”, and my heart swells when he smiles upon reading it.

Surrounded by the people I care about, my circumstances are momentarily forgotten. It really is the little things that count.

The night from then on goes up in a semi-chaotic flame orchestrated by Minor, who seems very determined to make this a night no one will forget. At one point, he even thrusts a noisemaker into my hands, to which I can’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of.

People begin to trickle out some time after the clock chimes midnight, passing me their thanks and Gavin a last wish before leaving. The quietness slowly returns to my apartment, but throughout all of this, I can’t help but notice that Gavin makes no attempt to leave with everyone else. It’s subtle, but the way he lingers around everyone tells me enough.

The only thing I don’t quite understand is why.

Then, I remember the gift in my nightstand. It’s been sitting there, alone but not necessarily forgotten, for a few days, abandoned with my original plans. But, if Gavin really does intend to stick around, then maybe I can still make good use of it.

True to expectations, Gavin says goodbye to the last guest while standing by my side. In the next moment, it’s only us left in the silent apartment, held together by nothing but the sounds of our breathing.

“Thank you, ___.” I turn to him when he suddenly speaks, and find myself startled by the gentleness his eyes possess. “Thank you so much for such an amazing day today. I might have said it last year, but I still want to be honest: so many things have happened since then, and it wasn’t until today that I realised that all of the good things that have happened to me, they’re because of you.”

An embarrassed tint bites at my cheeks. It’s not often that Gavin shares his feelings so openly, and I certainly hadn’t expected such an average experience to draw them out.

I smile. “My life changed for the better when you came back into it, this was the least I could do.”

It’s now his turn to grow shy at my words, and I can’t help but giggle.

“Here,” My laughter fades through my words as I wave for him to sit down on the couch. “I have one last thing for you, so just wait there.”

Gavin doesn’t refute like I expect him to, and instead, he does what I say. But, I don’t miss the tenderness in his gaze even as I turn away.

My heart beats in anticipation as I walk down the hall, almost out of my chest by the time I stop in front of the correct drawer. I’ve backed myself so far into a corner that even if I did want to chicken out, there would be no excuse -- so, I take a deep breath and wrap my hand around the small package, letting the scent of paper cajole me.

He’ll like it.

I repeat that sentence like a mantra as I hand it to him, settling beside him as he opens the box. A huge weight in my heart lifts to see the surprise and excitement in his eyes, and I internally sigh with relief.

“Though it doesn’t have a tracker in it or anything...” I trail off with a small laugh, paying homage to Gavin’s small but running white lie. “I still want you to look down at it and know that wherever you are, I’ll always be there for you.”

Gavin holds up the homemade ginkgo bracelet so it catches the light, its appearance reminiscent to the one he had given me when we first met again. Its charm is slightly bigger than mine, and the chain still faintly smells of the store it was bought from, but that doesn’t even seem to phase him.

“Thank you, ___.” His expression is so unguarded that I almost hesitate. “This is the most thoughtful gift I’ve ever received.”

My face flushes under his compliment, but I quickly pick myself up again and offer to help him put it on. He smiles appreciatively before dropping the small chain bracelet into my palm, holding out his hand.

My embarrassment turns into slight satisfaction when I clasp it around his wrist, my estimation in sizing turning out to be correct. Though, the glint in my eye is long forgotten when Gavin’s hand comes up to rest on the back of my head in a tender gesture.

Heat emanates from where he touches me, so, similarly, I let my fingers over his wrist linger for just a second longer. Painstaking moments pass where neither of us speak, until finally, his hand leads my gaze upwards.

His lips that land on mine remind me of a thousand memories at once.

Gavin tastes of brisk mornings spent in the music room, warm only due to the hot chocolate a curious senior had left for the girl who practiced there every day. He tastes of every compassionate word shared to me, between nights spent dancing in the sky and afternoons around Loveland investigating the truth -- of a unique comfort and familiarity.

It’s in these moments that I realise how much we’ve gone through together, and how much our future truly holds.

[tribow]

So I watched RobiHachi

This anime follows two characters who come together under sily circumstances in order to travel the galaxy to a promised land. (or I guess planet)

I love this show, I mean I wouldn't call it a masterpiece, but this show is very good. The first episode does a fantastic job introducing the characters with their different quirks and flaws.

This anime has a distinguished look to its world and characters that makes it more recognizable than some other shows. Very vibrant colors. Also a lot of the background music is excellent.

Robby and Hachi are the two main focus and their very different personalities make for some great scenes in whatever planet they show up in. However, these two have a dynamic that honestly wouldn't last. They need to bounce off other eccentric characters and the anime does a great job with that.

The villain character that's chasing Robby and Hachi is easily the greatest thing about this show. This guy has such a demanding presence from the moment he shows up and its so good. Everything that happens with the villain is golden and I would absolutely recommend watching this just to experience this character.

Anyway, remember how I described this as an "adventure comedy"? This anime isn't just a comedy. It has a story to tell and the comedy is often set aside to tell it. The story is actually pretty great though. There's a surprising amount of detail in this story and while some of it is blatantly foreshadowed, the more subtle twists caught me off guard. It has great setups and satisfying payoffs. I hate saying this, but most anime fails at this aspect in storytelling. RobiHachi's plot is unexpectedly all connected and there isn't really a wasted moment.

Alright so the negatives. This anime ruins some of its good moments. It'll have a great story event and then the following jokes undermine what just happened or make it appear the characters learned nothing. Also the characters can be uncomfortably rude sometimes. Robby's character is supposed to be very rude, but it crossed some lines for me and it at least made me uncomfortable. Some moments are also very lame, the maybe the characters didnt deserve that win, but they still got it. None of this is nearly bad enough to ruin the anime though.

RobiHachi can take on some dark tones too, but it won't dwell on it for too long. It's not a mature anime like Space Dandy. Speaking of which, RobiHachi and Space Dandy are similar, but I wouldn't compare them much. They tell MUCH different stories and are only similar in setting.

RobiHachi has a dub too, I only watched the first episode of it, but it's definitely a good one. However, the dub does change up a lot of the dialogue. It doesn't even change stuff for being too japanese, it just has these slightly different lines that makes everyone feel slightly different as characters. If you care about accuracy to the original show you might not want to watch the dub. Seeing everything that happens in english might be funnier for this anime though. The rude and vulgar attitude of the characters fits english way better so the dub is likely worth it.

I would certainly recommend this anime to people unless you absolutely hate perverted characters since Robby is one. (there's no weird japan underage-ness though). I had a pretty good time watching this anime. Again, not a masterpiece, but it's pretty good.

(Side note: The villain is one of the only characters I can genuinely describe as "aggressively gay")

[knifeonmars]

Capsule Reviews, February 2021

Here's some things I've been reading.

The Curse of Brimstone 

DC's New Age of Heroes books, emerging from the beginning of Scott Snyder's creative-flameout-as-crossover-event Metal, mostly constituted riffs on Marvel heroes like the Fantastic Four (in The Terrifics) or the Hulk (in Damage). The Curse of Brimstone is a riff on Ghost Rider. It's... uneven. The first volume is generally pretty good, and when Phillip Tan is drawing it, as he does the first three and a half issues, it's gorgeous and unique, when he departs though, the quality takes a nose dive. None of the replacement artists, including the great Denis Cowan, can quite fill his shoes, and the story gets old fast. Guy makes a deal with the devil (or rather, a devil-like inhabitant of the "Dark Multiverse" as a not horribly handled tie-in to the conceits of Metal), realizes it's a raw deal, and rebels. The characters are flat, lots of time is spent with the main character's sister haranguing him to not use his powers (it is, in my humble opinion, something of a cardinal sin to have a character whose primary role is telling other characters to stop doing interesting things), too many potboiler "I know you're still in there!/I can feel this power consuming me!" exchanges, a couple of underwhelming guest spots (including a genuinely pointless appearance by the old, white, boring Doctor Fate) too many flashbacks, and not enough of the action. There's potential in the classic demonic hero rebelling plotline and its link to the liminal spaces of the DC universe, forgotten towns and economic depression, but the wheels come off this series pretty much as soon as Tan leaves. The really disappointing this is that the series is clearly built as an artistic showcase, so after Tan's shockingly early departure, the main appeal of the series is gone and there's nothing left but the playing out of an obviously threadbare story.

Star Wars - Boba Fett: Death, Lies, and Treachery

I don't care much about Star Wars these days, and I think that most of the old Expanded Universe was, as evidenced by Crimson Empire, pretty bad. Death, Lies, and Treachery, is that rare Star Wars EU comic which is actually good. John Wagner writes and he's in full-on 2000 AD mode, writing Boba Fett as a slightly more unpleasant Johnny Alpha (who is like a mercenary Judge Dredd, for those unfamiliar) right on down to the appearance of a funny alien sidekick for one of the characters. The main attraction is Cam Kennedy's art though, along with his inimitable colors: this might be the best looking Star Wars comic ever. The designs are all weird and chunky, with an almost kitbashed feeling that captures the lived in aesthetic of classic Star Wars, and the colors are one of a kind. Natural, neutral white light does not exist in this comic, everything is always bathed at all times in lurid greens or yellows, occasionally reds, and it looks incredible. In terms of "Expanded Universe" material for Star Wars, this hits the sweet spot of looking and feeling of a piece, but exploring the edges of the concept with a unique voice. It's great. I read this digitally, but I'd consider it a must-buy in print if I ever get the chance at a deal.

Zaroff

Zaroff is a French comic (novel? novella?). It's like 90 pages and it delivers exactly on its premise of "Die Hard starring the bad guy from The Most Dangerous Game." It's pretty good. Count Zaroff, he of the habitual hunting of humans, turns out to have killed a mafia don at some point, and after miraculously escaping his own seeming death at the end of the original story, finds himself hunted by the irate associates of this gangster, who have brought along Zaroff's sister and her kids to spice things up. Zaroff not only finds himself the hunt, but he also has to protect his estranged family as they struggle to survive. Nothing about this book or its twists and turns is likely to surprise you, but I don't think being surprised is always necessary for quality. Zaroff delivers on pulpy, early-20th century jungle action, is gorgeously rendered, and the fact that Zaroff himself is an unrepentant villain adds just enough of an unexpected element to the proceedings and character dynamics that it doesn't feel rote. There's a couple of points, ones typical of Eurocomics, which spark a slight sour note, such as some "period appropriate" racism and flashes of the male gaze, but for the most part these are relatively contained. It's good.

Batman: Gothic

Long before Grant Morrison did their Bat-epic, they wrote Batman: Gothic, an entirely different, but then again maybe not so different, kind of thing. It starts off with what must be called a riff on Fritz Lang's film, M, only where that story ends with a crew of gangsters deciding they cannot pass moral judgment on a deranged child-murderer, in Morrison's story they go ahead and kill him, only for the killer to return years later to rather horribly murder all of them as a warmup for a grandiose scheme involving unleashing a weaponized form of the bubonic plague on Gotham City as an offering to Satan. Along the way it turns out that said villain, one Mr. Whisper, is a former schoolmaster of Bruce Wayne's, who terrified the young Batman in the days before his parent's deaths. It's an earlier Morrison story and it shows. Certain elements presage their later Batman work; Mr. Whisper as a satanic enemy recalls the later Doctor Hurt, and the cathedral Mr. Whisper built to harvest souls recalls what writers like Morrison, Milligan, and Snyder would do concerning Gotham as a whole years later.The art, by Klaus Janson, is spectacular. If you're familiar at all with his work collaborating with Frank Miller you'll see him continuing in a similar vein and it's all quite good, even when he stretches beyond the street milieu which most readers might know him from. There's one particular sequence where Janson renders a needlessly complicated Rube Goldberg machine in motion that manages to work despite being static images. The writing by Morrison though, is not their finest. The M riff doesn't last as long as it could, and Mr. Whisper's turn in the latter half of the story from delicious creepy wraith to a cackling mass murderer who puts Batman in an easily escaped death trap feels like something of a letdown from the promise of the first half of the book. Gothic is good, but not, in my opinion, great. It's certainly worth checking out for Morrison fans however, and I imagine that someone well-versed in his latter Batman stuff might be able to find some real resonance between the two.

Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters

For a long, long time, Longbow Hunters was THE Green Arrow story. It is to Green Arrow as TDKR is to Batman, deliberately so. Mike Grell wrote and drew the reinvention of the character from his role as the Justice League's resident limousine liberal to a gritty urban vigilante operating in Seattle over the course of these three issues, which he'd follow up with a subsequent ongoing. Going back to it, it certainly merits its reputation, but its far from timeless. Grell's art is unimpeachable absolutely incredible, with great splashes and spreads, subtle colors, and really great figure work. The narrative is almost so 80's it hurts though, revolving around West Coast serial killers, cocaine, the CIA and the Iran-Contra scandal, and the Yakuza, and it's hard to look back at some of this stuff without smirking. The story begins with a teenager strung out on tainted coke sprinting through a window in a scene that's right out of Reefer Madness. In the cold light of a day 30+ years later, parts of it look more than a little silly. The 80's-ness of it all doesn't stop with that stuff though, even the superhero elements smack of it. Green Arrow realizes that he's lost a step and has be to be shown a way forward by an Asian woman skilled in the martial arts (recalling Vic Sage's reinvention in the pages of The Question), and Black Canary gets captured and torture off-panel for the sake of showing that this is real crime now, not the superhero silliness they've dealt with before. The treatment of Black Canary here is pretty markedly heinous, it's a classic fridging and Grell's claims that he didn't intentionally imply sexual assault in his depiction of her torture is probably true, but still feels more than a little weak considering how he chose to render it.The final analysis is that this book is good, but it exists strictly in the frame of the 1980's. If you're a fan of Green Arrow, there are worse books to pick up, or if you're interested in that era of DC Comics it's more than worth it, but as a matter of general interest I wouldn't recommend it very highly.

SHIELD by Steranko

Jim Steranko is sort of the prodigy of the early Marvel years, a young guy who came up through the system, blossomed into an incredible talent, and then left the company, and by and large the industry, behind. He would go on to dabble in publishing, work in other mediums, and generally kick around as the prodigal son of Marvel Comics. This collection, of both his Nick Fury shorts in the pages of Strange Tales and the four issues he drew of the original Nick Fury solo series, charts Steranko's growth as an artist. The book starts off with Steranko working from Jack Kirby's layouts with Stan Lee's dialogue and writing, and Steranko might be the one guy in history for whom working off of Kirby's blueprints is clearly holding him back. The first third or so of this collection really isn't much to write home about, as Steranko is obviously constrained by someone else's style, and at the end of the day those early stories still read as somewhat uninspired pulp compared to the highlights of early Marvel. There are flashes though, of techniques and ideas, which foreshadow what Steranko is capable of, and when he finally takes over as solo writer/artist it's like he's been unleashed. He immediately has Nick Fury tear off his shirt and start throwing guys around over psychedelic effects. He writes out most of Kirby and Lee's frankly uninspired boys' club supporting cast, he makes Fury visibly older, wearier, but also so much cooler. It's the birth of Nick Fury as a distinctly comic book super spy.By the time he finishes wrapping up the previous writers' plotline with Hydra and Baron von Strucker, Steranko is firing on all cylinders. By the time it gets to Steranko's Fury solo series, he's somehow surpassed himself, turning in effects, panel structures, and weird stories which make the earlier installment about a suit-wearing Man from UNCLE knockoff and its strict six-panel layouts look absolutely fossilized.I can't recommend this collection highly enough for any fan of the artform, even if the stories themselves might not be everyone's cup of tear. It's truly incredible to watch Steranko emerge as an artist over the course of this single collection. The book itself has a few problems, it's not the most elegantly designed in its supporting materials and index, but the content of it more than outweighs that. It's great stuff.

[outerloop]

Porting Falcon Age to the Oculus Quest

There have already been several blog posts and articles on how to port an existing VR game to the Quest. So we figured what better way to celebrate Falcon Age coming to the Oculus Quest than to write another one!

So what we did was reduced the draw calls, reduced the poly counts, and removed some visual effects to lower the CPU and GPU usage allowing us to keep a constant 72 hz. Just like everyone else!

Thank you for coming to our Tech talk. See you next year!

...

Okay, you probably want more than that.

Falcon Age

So let's talk a bit about the original PlayStation VR and PC versions of the game and a couple of the things we thought were important about that experience we wanted to keep beyond the basics of the game play.

Loading Screens Once you’re past the main menu and into the game, Falcon Age has no loading screens. We felt this was important to make the world feel like a real place the player could explore. But this comes at some cost in needing to be mindful of the number of objects active at one time. And in some ways even more importantly the number of objects that are enabled or disabled at one time. In Unity there can be a not insignificant cost to enabling an object. So much so that this was a consideration we had to be mindful of on the PlayStation 4 as loading a new area could cause a massive spike in frame time causing the frame rate to drop. Going to the Quest this would be only more of an issue.

Lighting & Environmental Changes While the game doesn’t have a dynamic time of day, different areas have different environmental setups. We dynamically fade between different types of lighting, skies, fog, and post processing to give areas a unique feel. There are also events and actions the player does in the game that can cause these to happen. This meant all of our lighting and shadows were real time, along with having custom systems for handling transitioning between skies and our custom gradient fog.

Our skies are all hand painted clouds and horizons cube maps on top of Procedural Sky from the asset store that handles the sky color and sun circle with some minor tweaks to allow fading between different cube maps. Having the sun in the sky box be dynamic allowed the direction to change without requiring totally new sky boxes to be painted.

Our gradient fog works by having a color gradient ramp stored in a 1 by 64 pixel texture that is sampled using spherical distance exp2 fog opacity as the UVs. We can fade between different fog types just by blending between different textures and sampling the blended result. This is functionally similar to the fog technique popularized by Campo Santo’s Firewatch, though it is not applied as a post process as it was for that game. Instead all shaders used in the game were hand modified to use this custom fog instead of Unity’s built in fog.

Post processing was mostly handled by Unity’s own Post Processing Stack V2, which includes the ability to fade between volumes which the custom systems extended. While we knew not all of this would be able to translate to the Quest, we needed to retain as much of this as possible.

The Bird At its core, Falcon Age is about your interactions with your bird. Petting, feeding, playing, hunting, exploring, and cooperating with her. One of the subtle but important aspects of how she “felt” to the player was her feathers, and the ability for the player to pet her and have her and her feathers react. She also has special animations for perching on the player’s hand or even individual fingers, and head stabilization. If at all possible we wanted to retain as much of this aspect of the game, even if it came at the cost of other parts.

You can read more about the work we did on the bird interactions and AI in a previous dev blog posts here: https://outerloop.tumblr.com/post/177984549261/anatomy-of-a-falcon

Taking on the Quest

Now, there had to be some compromises, but how bad was it really? The first thing we did was we took the PC version of the game (which natively supports the Oculus Rift) and got that running on the Quest. We left things mostly unchanged, just with the graphics settings set to very low, similar to the base PlayStation 4 PSVR version of the game.

It ran at less than 5 fps. Then it crashed.

Ooph.

But there’s some obvious things we could do to fix a lot of that. Post processing had to go, just about any post processing is just too expensive on the Quest, so it was disabled entirely. We forced all the textures in the game to be at 1/8th resolution, that mostly stopped the game from crashing as we were running out of memory. Next up were real time shadows, they got disabled entirely. Then we turned off grass, and pulled in some of the LOD distances. These weren’t necessarily changes we would keep, just ones to see what it would take to get the performance better. And after that we were doing much better.

A real, solid … 50 fps.

Yeah, nope.

That is still a big divide between where we were and the 72 fps we needed to be at. It became clear that the game would not run on the Quest without more significant changes and removal of assets. Not to mention the game did not look especially nice at this point. So we made the choice of instead of trying to take the game as it was on the PlayStation VR and PC and try to make it look like a version of that with the quality sliders set to potato, we would need to go for a slightly different look. Something that would feel a little more deliberate while retaining the overall feel.

Something like this.

Optimize, Optimize, Optimize (and when that fails delete)

Vertex & Batch Count

One of the first and really obvious things we needed to do was to bring down the mesh complexity. On the PlayStation 4 we were pushing somewhere between 250,000 ~ 500,000 vertices each frame. The long time rule of thumb for mobile VR has been to be somewhere closer to 100,000 vertices, maybe 200,000 max for the Quest.

This was in some ways actually easier than it sounds for us. We turned off shadows. That cut the vertex count down significantly in many areas, as many of the total scene’s vertex count comes from rendering the shadow maps. But the worse case areas were still a problem.

We also needed to reduce the total number of objects and number of materials being used at one time to help with batching. If you’ve read any other “porting to Quest” posts by other developers this is all going to be familiar.

This means combining textures from multiple object into atlases and modifying the UVs of the meshes to match the new position in the atlas. In our case it meant completely re-texturing all of the rocks with a generic atlas rather than having every rock use a custom texture set.

Now you might think we would want also reduce the mesh complexity by a ton. And that’s true to an extent. Counter intuitively some of the environment meshes on the Quest are more complex than the original version. Why? Because as I said we were looking to change the look. To that end some meshes ended up being optimized to far low vertex counts, and others ended up needing a little more mesh detail to make up for the loss in shading detail and unique texturing. But we went from almost every mesh in the game having a unique texture to the majority of environment objects sharing a small handful of atlases. This improved batching significantly, which was a much bigger win than reducing the vertex count for most areas of the game.

That’s not to say vertex count wasn’t an issue still. A few select areas were completely pulled out and rebuilt as new custom merged meshes in cases where other optimizations weren’t enough. Most of the game’s areas are built using kit bashing, reusing sets of common parts to build out areas. Parts like those rocks above, or many bits of technical & mechanical detritus used to build out the refineries in the game. Making bespoke meshes let us remove more hidden geometry, further reduce object counts, and lower vertex counts in those problem areas.

We also saw a significant portion of the vertex count coming from the terrain. We are using Unity’s built in terrain system. And thankfully we didn’t have to start from total scratch here as simply increasing the terrain component's Pixel Error automatically reduces the complexity of the rendered terrain. That dropped the vertex count even more getting us closer to the target budget without significantly changing the appearance of the geometry.

After that many smaller details were removed entirely. I mentioned before we turned off grass entirely. We also removed several smaller meshes from the environment in various places where we didn’t think their absence would be noticed. As well as removed or more aggressively disabled out of view NPCs in some problem areas.

Shader Complexity

Another big cost was most of the game was using either a lightly modified version of Unity’s Standard shader, or the excellent Toony Colors Pro 2 PBR shader. The terrain also used the excellent and highly optimized MicroSplat. But these were just too expensive to use as they were. So I wrote custom simplified shaders for nearly everything.

The environment objects use a simplified diffuse shading only shader. It had support for an albedo, normal, and (rarely used) occlusion texture. Compared to how we were using the built in Standard shader this cut down the number of textures a single material could use by more than half in some cases. This still had support for the customized gradient fog we used throughout the game, as well as a few other unique options. Support for height fog was built into the shader to cover a few spots in the game where we’d previously used post processing style methods to achieve. I also added support for layering with the terrain’s texture to hide a few places where there were transitions from terrain to mesh.

Toony Colors Pro 2 is a great tool, and is deservedly popular. But the PBR shader we were using for characters is more expensive than even the Standard shader! This is because the way it’s implemented is it’s mostly the original Standard Shader with some code on top to modify the output. Toony Colors Pro 2 has a large number of options for modifying and optimizing what settings to use. But in the end I wrote a new shader from scratch that mimicked some of the aspects we liked about it. Like the environment shader it was limited to diffuse shading, but added a Fresnel shine.

The PSVR and PC terrain used MicroSplat with 12 different terrain layers. MicroSplat makes these very fast and much cheaper to render than the built in terrain rendering. But after some testing we found we couldn’t support more than 4 terrain layers at a time without really significant drops in performance. So we had to go through and completely repaint the entire terrain, limiting ourselves to only 4 texture layers.

Also, like the other shaders mentioned above, the terrain was limited to diffuse only shading. MicroSplat’s built in shader options made this easy, and apart from the same custom fog support added for the original version, it didn’t require any modifications.

Post Processing, Lighting, and Fog

The PSVR and PC versions of Falcon Age makes use of color grading, ambient occlusion, bloom, and depth of field. The Quest is extremely fill rate limited, meaning full screen passes of anything are extremely expensive, regardless of how simple the shader is. So instead of trying to get this working we opted to disable all post processing. However this resulted in the game being significantly less saturated. And in extreme cases completely different. To make up for this the color of the lighting and the gradient fog was tweaked to make up for this. This is probably the single biggest factor in the overall appearance of the original versions of the game and the Quest version not looking quite the same.

Also as mentioned before we disabled real time shadows. We discussed doing what many other games have done which is move to baked lighting, or at least pre-baked shadows. We decided against this for a number of reasons. Not the least of which was our game is mostly outdoors so shadows weren’t as important as it might have been for many other games. We’ve also found that simple real time lighting can often be faster than baked lighting, and that certainly proved to be true for this game.

However the lack of shadows and screen space ambient occlusion meant that there was a bit of a disconnect between characters in the world and the ground. So we added simple old school blob shadows. These are simple sprites that float just above the terrain or collision geometry, using a raycast from a character’s center of mass, and sometimes from individual feet. There’s a small selection of basic blob shapes and a few unique shapes for certain feet shapes to add a little extra bit of ground connection. These are faded out quickly in the distance to reduce the number of raycasts needed.

Falcon

Apart from the aforementioned changes to the shading, which was also applied to the falcon’s custom shaders, we did almost nothing to the bird. All the original animations, reaction systems, and feather interactions remained. The only thing we did to the bird was simplify a few of the bird equipment and toy models. The bird models themselves remained intact.

I did say we thought this was important at the start. And we early on basically put a line in the sand and said we were going to keep everything enabled on the bird unless absolutely forced to disable it.

There was one single sacrifice to the optimization gods we couldn’t avoid though. That’s the trails on the bird’s wings. We were making use of Ara Trails, which produce very high quality and configurable trails with a lot more control than Unity’s built in systems. These weren’t really a problem for rendering on the GPU, but CPU usage was enough that it made sense to pull them.

Selection Highlights

This is perhaps an odd thing to call out, but the original game used a multi pass post process based effect to draw the highlight outlines on objects for both interaction feedback and damage indication. These proved to be far too expensive to use on the Quest. So I had to come up with a different approach. Something like your basic inverted shell outline, like so many toon stylized games use, would seem like the perfect approach. However we never built the meshes to work with that kind of technique, and even though we were rebuilding large numbers of the meshes in the game anyway, some objects we wanted to highlight proved difficult for this style of outline. 

With some more work it would have been possible to make this an option. But instead I found an easier to implement approach that, on the face, should have been super slow. But it turns out the Quest is very efficient at handling stencil masking. This is a technique that lets you mark certain pixels of the screen so that subsequent meshes being rendered can ask to not be rendered in. So I render the highlighted object 6 times! With 4 of those times slightly offset in screen space in the 4 diagonal directions. The result is a fairly decent looking outline that works on arbitrary objects, and was cheap enough to be left enabled on everything that it had been on before, including objects that might cover the entire screen when being highlighted.

Particles and General VFX

For the PSVR version of the game, we already had two levels of VFX in the game to support the base Playstation 4 and Playstation 4 Pro with different kinds of particle systems. The Quest version started out with these lower end particle systems to begin with, but it wasn’t enough. Across the board the number and size of particles had to be reduced. With some effects removed or replaced entirely. This was both for CPU performance as the sheer number of particles was a problem and GPU performance as the screen area the particles covered became a problem for the Quest’s reduced fill rate limitations.

For example the baton had an effect that included a few very simple circular glows on top of electrical arcs and trailing embers. The glows covered enough of the screen to cause a noticeable drop in framerate even just holding it by your side. Holding it up in front of your face proved too expensive to keep framerate in even the simplest of scenes. 

Similar the number of embers had to be reduced to improve the CPU impact. The above comparison image only shows the removal of the glow and already has the reduced particle count applied.

Another more substantive change was the large smoke plumes. You may have already noticed the difference in some of the previous comparisons above. In the original game these used regular sprites. But even reducing the particle count in half the rendering cost was too much. So these were replaced with mesh cylinders using a shader that makes them ripple and fade out. Before changing how they were done the areas where the smoke plumes are were unable to keep the frame rate above 72 fps any time they were in view. Sometimes dipping as low as 48 hz. Afterwards they ceased to be a performance concern.

Those smoke plumes originally made use of a stylized smoke / explosion effect. That same style of effect is reused frequently in the game for any kind of smoke puff or explosion. So while they were removed for the smoke stacks, they still appeared frequently. Every time you take out a sentry or drone your entire screen was filled with these smoke effects, and the frame rate would dip below the target. With some experimentation we found that counter to a lot of information out there, using alpha tested (or more specifically alpha to coverage) particles proved to be far more efficient to render than the original alpha blended particles with a very similar overall appearance. So that plus some other optimizations to those shaders and the particle counts of those effects mean multiple full screen explosions did not cause a loss in frame rate.

The two effects are virtually identical in appearance, ignoring the difference in lighting and post processing. The main difference here is the Quest explosion smoke is using dithered alpha to coverage transparency. You can see if you look close enough, even with the gif color dithering.

Success!

So after all that we finally got to the goal of a 72hz frame rate! Coming soon to an Oculus Quest near you!

https://www.oculus.com/experiences/quest/2327302830679091/

[mlpdestinyverse]

Chapter extension to: “Always There” Related: Loneliness, Early Days,  Breaking Point

In the aftermath of her family’s conflict, Daring Do breaks out of her reminiscing to the reality of seeing her child off. 

Feat. Monochrome

Story and Description Under The Cut

Two figures sat together, underneath the overcast dawn sky. The Ponyville train station was vacant in the early weekday hours. Daring Do and Monochrome had arrived nearly an hour earlier, to ensure that they would catch the first train available. However, only one of them would be leaving that day. A chill hung in the spring air, accompanying the grey clouds that desaturated the world around them. Daring had eased herself out of the far recesses of her mind, where she too often found herself time after time. Old memories were lingering clear as if they had only transpired within the past year. Happy memories. Bittersweet memories. Though now they were clouded by a layer of heartache. Ever so slightly she tilted her head towards her eldest child beside her, chancing a glance. But she only found a tight, unreadable expression as Monochrome focused on the wooden boards beneath them. Her violet eyes then apprehensively drifted towards the horizon. There, the train tracks faded into a thin point in the distance. At any moment she knew a city train would be rolling into the station. And even now, despite the acceptance, a heavy pit sat uncomfortably in her stomach. "You didn't bring a book..." The question broke the long, dense silence, almost startling Daring. Monochrome's gaze remained fixated away from their mother. After seemingly feeling her eyes on them, Daring watched them angle their head to finally make eye contact. It was a casual remark. But the mare could sense a second layer beneath it; an open question. Monochrome's gaze fell away. "You...always bring a book when you have to wait." Daring managed a small smile and shrugged. "It's a little hard to read when you're lost in thought." She admitted. There was a hint of a laugh in her voice as she spoke. She wasn't sure if it was for them, or for herself. Monochrome's brow creased, shifting their body to face her better. With the melting tension, it was as if they were jumping on the chance to give her their undivided attention. "What were you thinking about...?" Daring could tell from the hesitation in their voice that Monochrome was bracing themself for something. And with how quietly the weeks had passed since their last real conversation, even with Daring's assistance with moving preparations, she knew why. The elephant was right there. She wanted to promise them things were fine. But they both knew well that was far from reality. "I'm just reminiscing a bit...it's silly, but I guess this just feels a lot different from when you first moved out," Daring explained. Her smile saddened. "You won't be on the other side of town anymore...it'll be something to get used to." Monochrome nodded lightly to themself. "Yeah...we'll be miles apart." Their soft words hung in the air, bringing about another length of silence. "...I'll visit..." They assured quietly. But there was unmistakable uncertainty and guilt in their face. "I just..." Daring smiled. Weakly. Knowingly. "When she's not here?" Monochrome winced, immediate discomfort visibly taking hold. Daring couldn't help her shoulders from slumping at the confirmation. But of course she knew. It was near unspoken the moment Monochrome had chosen to plan and carry out their move while their mother and brother were away. Daring sighed, her eyes falling close as she leaned her head back against the station wall behind her. "....you can't be around her right now. And it feels suffocating to stay here after everything. I know...I get it." In the blackness of her mind, she could see bleary images. Old faces that had earned her own bitterness and ire once upon a time. She slowly reopened her eyes, staring up at the wooden boards of the station above her. "It's not like I never left home for similar reasons, you know...?" Distantly, even with open eyes, she could rewatch her household's conflict play out again from that doorframe. Fury and grief, regret and confusion, all contained in one room. Her wife had a good heart. She could never be compared to the discriminative, controlling caretakers Daring's own grandparents had been to her in her youth. But Rainbow Dash was flawed like anybody else. Including herself. Daring Do had solved plenty of puzzles during her treasure-hunting days, but one that concerned her family left her at a complete loss. It had taken her days to rack her brain, desperately grasping at some understanding over the drastic decision her eldest had brought before her. While Rainbow Dash's mistake had been immense, and Monochrome had every right to be as furious as they were, a single grievance couldn't possibly be enough of a catalyst to force them away from their own hometown. Daring originally had tried to convince them to wait a while longer, to break their winter-long isolation and at least attempt an open dialogue with their mother. But once she thought back deeper, analyzing every interaction and past event, a series of unfortunate memories began resurfacing. And then it clicked. They connected to one another, escalating unnoticed by her to the fractured relationship that now existed before her eyes. Sitting back up, Daring noticed Monochrome's eye silently - even uneasily - follow her. She offered a warm albeit tired smile. "Time to yourself away from your roots will be good for you. I know you'll do great out there." Daring averted her gaze, then, out towards the grassy field beyond the station, and then towards the mountains beyond that. She felt a sad laugh bubble out of her, and an ache accompanied it in her chest. "But I suppose now I'm just... wondering if I've really done all I could for you." Daring lowered her head and slouched, feeling a weight to her muscles. There was newfound uncertainty and shame in light of her realization; in only now seeing the long-term consequences of Rainbow's absence and the accumulated disappointments made in their foal's life. Why did she think a child could move pass each one? Why did she always assume Rainbow's heroism made up for any of it? To think she had convinced herself that she knew her foal better than anyone. And now she sat here, feeling like an oblivious fool. Daring squeezed her eyes shut. "I'm sorry if I didn't do enough...I've been so short-sighted. There were things I should've seen sooner. And if I'd done more, maybe you wouldn't be hurting now-" “It was more than enough.” Daring's head shot up just as she heard Monochrome's hooves clack from rising up to their hooves. Their green eyes were wide with disbelief and bewilderment. In seconds their expression grew intense, with Monochrome taking a heavy step forward towards their mother. "Nothing was your fault," they spoke slowly and firmly, staring intently into her eyes. They held her gaze, and Daring felt too astonished to look away. But it didn't take long for Monochrome's expression to soften, their eyebrows narrowing back. "You...were everything I ever needed." Daring involuntarily sucked in a breath. It took a moment, and a fluttering of her eyelids, to realize that tears were beginning to prick the edges of her vision. She quickly moved to swipe them away, and this time, a genuine laugh escaped her. "Shut up and come here..." The golden Pegasus didn't wait to wrap her forelegs around her foal's neck and tug them down into a snug hug. The way she felt them tense gave her the impression that she had caught them off guard. But within a few beats, Monochrome slowly and wordlessly hugged her back. A bump against her hoof had Daring pull away to look down at their momentarily forgotten third party. Tank's beady tortoise eyes greeted her, an affectionate beam spread across his wrinkly green face. It wouldn't have surprised her if it had taken him all this time to walk around Monochrome just to reach her. Resting his leathery head against her foreleg, he released a grunt up at her. Daring smiled warmly, kneeling down on her forelegs to meet his level. "Say, I can trust you to keep looking after our kiddo, right?" she playfully asked. As she expected, Tank nodded back earnestly, and that gesture somehow helped alleviate some of the worry that she couldn't bring herself to shake. Upon looking up to meet Monochrome's eye, she noticed the pale Pegasus quietly studying Tank. There was a subtle crease to their brow, one that had Daring frowning and opening her mouth to speak- -chik chik CHIK CHIK Returning to her hooves, Daring followed her perked ear to catch a new sight in the distance. As if on cue, the multicolored train released a sharp whistle into the air, piercing the morning atmosphere to signal all in its vicinity. Almost immediately, Monochrome had straightened their posture, and that serious demeanor Daring had grown accustomed to washed over them. It was vastly different from her memories of a far more timid foal, clinging anxiously to her leg. But if that wasn't an indication of how much they had grown into adulthood and changed, she didn't know what was. Strangely enough, time seemed to quicken. As the train grew closer, a few other ponies arrived at the platform, seemingly living closer or perhaps having less to pack. Within minutes the train was pulling into the station, and a conductor and porter were stepping out of its opened doors. "ALL ABOOOARD!" the older stallion bellowed. Daring went on to assist in handing over Monochrome's baggage to the young porter, who gave a friendly salute as she piled the luggage in the caboose. And as they stepped back from the train, creating a space for themselves away from the small few preparing for boarding, Daring willed time to slow down. Because now came the moment she had been dreading. How funny it was, to realize how much she herself had changed. A long time ago, Daring Do lived a life of few attachments, leaving her a hardened, fearless adventurer with very little that daunted her. Yet here she was, restless over watching her child head off on their own personal journey. "Write me when you're all settled, alright?" "Yeah." "And don't worry about your brother. I'll handle everything here." "Thank you." The two stiffly stood before one another. Daring searched her mind for anything else she could say during this last brief moment. There had to be more she could say. Surely there was some sort of advice or assurance to part with as their mother, to make up for where she had lacked. "See ya..." She jumped as Monochrome's hooves slid away, their body turning to move towards the sizable structure of the train. Her hoof shifted, wanting to reach out. Despite parting her mouth, no words formed. And so she forced her lips to press into a firm line. Soon, they would be out of her immediate reach, hours of travel away. But at least they would be happier. At the very least, a new life away from their family was what they wanted. Monochrome's hoofsteps stopped. Turning her ears forward, Daring stared quizzically at the motionless Pegasus. She would have thought that they'd forgotten something- In a flurry of motion and feathers, Monochrome galloped back and threw their arms around their mother, clutching her in an all-encompassing embrace. Their outstretched wings followed after, with black and white plumage enclosing the two of them, creating a warm barrier that blocked out any prying eyes or noise. Daring could only sit there, stunned and confused, before Monochrome gave her one last squeeze. Pulling back, they pressed their forehead against hers with eyes shut tight. "I love you, mom..." They gently murmured. Slowly, their eyelids rose. And there, Daring saw something somber, and anxious, and familiar in those soft, misting green irises. Emotions flooded Daring Do at that moment, realizing just how silly she felt. Taking in her foal in front of her, she let out a watery laugh while tears gathered in the creases of her own eyes. 'You dummy...putting on a tough face for me. You haven't changed after all...' Somehow she felt better, knowing Monochrome looked just as nervous about the move as she felt. It made her realize just how long they'd cherished each other's company, and how much they had relied on one another during times of unspoken loneliness. And even after all of her lamenting over her failures as a parent, maybe there was some merit, knowing her kid would miss her as much as she'd miss them. Daring cupped Monochrome's face in her hooves. The pale Pegasus leaned into her hold. She smiled fondly at them, pecking a kiss onto their nose. "I love you too, Momo." With that, she pulled the younger Pegasus into one final hug, one relaxed and comforting. It was strange how she was only realizing new details now. Such as how their height dwarfed her own, leading to a face full of chest feathers. With a teary sniffle, a laugh shook her shoulders. "Where in the world did you get your height from? Honestly...you used to be so tiny." A rumble of a chuckle sounded from Monochrome's throat. Pulling away, playfulness danced within their own eyes. "Who knows...unless there's something you're not telling me." Daring lightly rolled her violet irises, smiling. "That is not unveiled until book thirteen, honey." Monochrome smiled back and shook their head, just as the loud whistle sounded off once more. "LAST CALL! ALL ABOARD!" the conductor shouted. Monochrome planted a quick kiss on their mother's head, lightly nudging her temple with their muzzle. "I'll see you." "See you soon," she answered, giving a lop-sided smile as she motioned her head towards their carry-on bag. "And don't forget those dried peppered pears I packed you! Canterlot is a ways away." Smiling back gently, Monochrome reached down to rev Tank's enchanted 'copter, wrapping the leash attached to the contraption's strap around their hoof. And just like that, Daring was quietly watching Tank and her Pegasus board the train. They spared her one last glance, holding it for a second longer, before walking further into the car and out of sight. Once the doors closed behind the conductor, the steaming train picked up speed. Daring was left waving them farewell until the vehicle was but a speck on the horizon. Her heart felt worn. But now there was also warmth and, more importantly, hope. If she had learned anything from her own experiences, this was Monochrome's time to heal and learn far more about themself than their small world of Ponyville could ever offer. The well-traveled voyager in her wished them nothing but the best in traversing that unknown. And the mother in her was ready to support them however way she could. Daring Do wanted to believe with every fraction of herself that Monochrome would find what they needed to return and face this. She herself did in time, after all.

[aelaer]

Compare/contrast Benedict Cumberbatch’s portrayal of Sherlock & Strange?

Ah ha ha anon, you understand my propensity to write essays regarding basically, uh, anything that interests me. And character analysis for my favorite characters is definitely one of those things I can ramble about.

I’m going to assume you specifically want me to compare the two character portrayals with each other as opposed to the source material, so that’s what I’m going to do. This write up assumes all four seasons of Sherlock and all MCU films with Stephen in them as canon.

This topic is something I especially considered when writing the both of them in a crossover as they had to be two distinct souls despite their similarities, beyond their abilities. The two characters are very similar to the point that some folks have difficulty in distinguishing the both of them as separate characters. I saw this a bit when Doctor Strange was first released. Some writers from the Sherlock fandom tried their hand at writing him, and there was a lot of Sherlock bleeding through in a handful of the attempts I read. It wasn’t until I was head-deep in the MCU that I really noticed this myself, which goes to show just how similar they can be.

The similarities are easy: both very intelligent, masters in their chosen fields, arrogant, not always personable, are vain when they’re in a good headspace, and went through large moments of growth that reshaped some of their personality to overall make them better human beings.

It’s the differences that may be harder to figure out, and these differences also vary depending on what point of time in canon you’re looking at the character as they both went through life-changing events. Still, there are some core personality points that remain:

Stephen’s primary drive for knowledge is to achieve a goal. Sherlock’s primary drive for knowledge is for the sake of knowledge. While there is definitely some overlap (such as Stephen’s library of music release albums and dates, and Sherlock’s research into solving a crime), it seems to me that Stephen’s whole learning structure is built upon achieving a goal. Studying for his PhD and MD at the same time was all to enter the field more quickly so he had more time to hone his craft and become the best, and prove it to everyone. Going to Nepal and beginning to learn magic were all for the sake of curing his hands. We haven’t seen much of him after he pivoted his goal into protecting Earth and reality, but all the spellwork we see from him in Ragnarok, IW, and Endgame certainly seem to have been learned with that idea in mind. Sherlock, on the other hand, clearly likes studying things for the sake of knowing things. Unlike Stephen who has an achievement in mind before starting to go for it, Sherlock starts studying things before it necessarily becomes something that he knows for certain he will deal with. Take categorizing the 243 types of tobacco ash. If he came across tobacco ash in a case, I imagine that he’d be more than able to compare ash to the top 20 brands and find a match 99% of the time. While he may claim it is for a future case, you don’t do that unless you genuinely enjoy the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake. There is just no guarantee that it will be of any practical use in the future, while we know for certain Stephen’s research for his primary goals is to find solutions to problems both immediate (his hands) and imminent (bad things coming to bother Earth). (And this is one reason I consider Stephen a Slytherin and Sherlock a Ravenclaw, though both could have Ravenclaw and Slytherin as secondaries, respectively.)

Stephen is more interested in the praise, acceptance, and friendship of those he sees as peers and equals. Sherlock is decidedly less interested. This changes a bit through their character arcs, especially Sherlock’s, but let me see if I can explain this clearly. At the beginning of Doctor Strange, we see Stephen performing a surgery in front of residents (or med students, I don’t know), playing a music game with his assistant, and joking with his fellow surgeon. He asks Christine to join him at a dinner conference which is again, about his accolades. He likes getting the respect and admiration of his peers and those he considers friends, like Christine, straight from when we first meet him. When we first meet Sherlock, he doesn’t bother to explain why the ladder being green matters to Greg in the text. He asks for his name to be left out of the papers and definitely doesn’t do his work to impress the police force. If he was looking to get their admiration, he’d act a bit; we know that he can act. But he just doesn’t care what his peers (the police force) think of him at all. It’s not until John enters the picture that Sherlock starts showing off more by explaining his thought processes. Something about John intrigues him, and that grows exponentially when John saves his life at the end of the first episode. I’ve read fics where John’s described Sherlock as a peacock, but he really wasn’t like that until John came around, if the green ladder text and wanting to be kept out of the papers/public eye is any indication. Stephen, however, was most definitely the peacock. Stephen’s interest in acceptance pivots to the Masters of the Mystic Arts when he comes a student by his joking with Wong and Mordo. He’s interested in proving himself to them and gaining their praise and later on (I imagine) their friendship, though sadly we don’t have enough canon film time to see how his relationship with other sorcerers has grown since his first film. He’s likely conceded to the fact that his work is more secretive now, but for those in the know, he wants their acceptance and potential friendships. Sherlock’s bubble expands to wanting the acceptance and praise of maybe five people at most by the end of Season 4, but again, he’s not greatly interested in what his peers amongst the police force think. Wider praise and larger friendships has never been in the books for him. He’s completely content with the small group about him.

Stephen is on the extrovert side of the Myers-Briggs scale,  and Sherlock is on the introvert side. This slightly differs from his comic book self here; comic book Stephen is much more introverted. MCU Stephen isn’t a huge extrovert, but is obviously fully comfortable surrounded by people and being the star of the show, as seen by the beginning of the film. He’s fully content to do activities that are known as more “introverted” such as reading, but a love of reading doesn’t mean one is automatically an introvert. He doesn’t strike me as a personality that would get exhausted when needing to deal with people for longer amounts of time, as I’ve known the introverts in my life to be. Stephen is simply content both alone and with others, and when with others, he likes to show off from time to time. Sherlock, on the other hand, isn’t interested in the attention from the wider world and making friends. All of his preferred activities don’t involve other people and he definitely finds the idea of having to deal with people and societal norms tedious. If he’s showing off, it’s to impress a specific person as opposed to entertain a crowd. And unlike Stephen, I could see Sherlock being exhausted by parties and generally avoiding talking to most people, while Stephen, so long as he’s with a group with similar interests, could definitely talk about it for some time - whether it’s neuroscience or even the same music tastes.

Stephen is more sympathetic than Sherlock. This is not to say that Sherlock lacks sympathy, but as a detective he really has to have a cold detachment to the victims in order for emotions not to override his ability to do his job. This detachment is vital for surgeons as well when operating, and at the beginning of Doctor Strange Stephen could be considered too far in the cold detachment realm in selecting his patients, thinking about his record rather than if a procedure would be in the best interest of the patient due to health risks. This changes immensely with the loss of his career and his new path in life. I think the sympathetic tendencies of both characters can be best seen in how they deliver bad news to strangers:

The Sherlock screencap is from Season 4 Ep 1 (I wanted to select something after the hiatus and Magnusson so I had him after his growth). He’s telling a couple that their son tried to surprise them but ended up suffocating to death by accident. That look isn’t rude, but it’s very by-the-book, delivering the facts with very little emotion. Stephen is from Infinity War, before going through the Time Stone and whatever mess he dealt with in there. He’s telling Tony, not too long after meeting him, that the Time Stone comes above the lives of all of them, he and Peter included. The emotion that comes out on top is a grim determination, but even delivering this news, I would not say that it lacks sympathy. It’s a “this is how it has to happen; I’m sorry” type of emotion. The sympathy in his expression expands exponentially after the Time Stone, but canon hasn’t confirmed just how well he got to know the others. Was he just browsing through and pressing the “forward” button to view futures, or was he living through possible futures? The films haven’t told us yet. Hopefully we get clarification at some point. But that’s why I chose this screencap as opposed to the more obvious Time Stone scene. I think there’s further examples of their levels of sympathy such as Stephen’s reaction to the zealot he killed. One thing they are equal on in sympathy, though, is when it affects someone they care about. Sherlock is incredibly sympathetic to John after his loss, and the care Stephen shows to the Ancient One as she’s dying is very poignant.

Now there are also differences in their physicalities that Benedict does a fantastic job of portraying, such as the subtle shaking in Stephen’s hands in several scenes and Sherlock’s own hand gestures that vary completely from Stephen. They also move differently, and they move differently depending on their moods. He’s done a phenomenal job of distinguishing the two characters through physical motion alone.

Thanks for the interesting ask, anon.

[yoongisbars]

Your Name Here: ____. | JJK

summary: Studying the Fae always seemed like a great idea, and it was-- You just didn’t count on that particular being to be so... Captivating. His face definitely helped his trickster ways. Maybe that’s how you fell for the oldest trick of all: “Give me your name”.

pairing: fae!jjk x elf!reader (named) genre: fantasy au | fae!jungkook | fairy!jungkook | fluff | one shot | strangers to lovers word count: 18k cw: very subtle smut if you can even call it that  note: me, the biggest copycat of all but also not !! this was my 2018 XMas gift to @gguktarts​, and since i HAVENT HAD THE TIME TO SIT DOWN AND WRITE QOO (i am so sorry life is v hard at the moment) -- so asking for some permish, as an apology for not posting for two weeks straight: here y’all gooooo

The forest was vast, clear, and prospering. Its canopy was dominated by walnut, pine, and cedar; their leaves and branches allowing just enough light to pass down for a flood of mushrooms to claim the branch and twig loaded ground below. Thick vines dangled from every tree, and a range of flowers, which desperately tried to avoid the shadows, were a welcome change in the otherwise brown and green landscape. A variety of noises, mostly belonging to small creatures, brightened up the forest and added to the trickling sounds of a gentle river stream.

You trekked your way throughout it, wary of your steps, but already knowing the path like the back of your hand. It was a long walk from the house to your destination, but it was nothing compared to the travels you made to get to where you are now. And frankly, it was worth it. The discoveries you made over the past few months made your journeys a total success. It all started when you lived in Everwind. 

The city home to Elves was forged on the bottom of a mountain. It was erected there due to the healing properties the mountain had, which was of great importance to your people. It was a graceful place. Ceramic rooftops, maple wood walls and a frozen waterfall gave Everwind an enchanting air. It was known for alchemy, carpentering and jewel crafting.  For 125 years you grew up there alongside your best friends, Lorelynn and Jackson. Eventually, Lorelynn moved away with her family to Roseshire due to business reasons. It was another elven township, settled at a grotto. Roseshire prided itself with their advances in medicine, alchemy and herbalism. From previous visits, you found it stunning, like Everwind, similar in its architecture and nature, but with a deeper and stronger connection to magic.

You and Jackson were left as a duo who then decided to travel for research and study once you turned 180 and 200 respectively. He stuck by you, though being of noble bloodline and birthright, since he preferred a much calmer life than that of a noble elf. You were drawn to the study of different beings and creatures, and witchcraft, and it was that interest that led you to the village of South Vale. Located on the edge of a glade the village is home to various magical creatures like Dwarves, Elves, Fauns, Witches, Mermaids, etc. The village’s main pride was an ancient water source, which natives believed was the source of their prosperity. Though it was just a village to most, with its oak wood rooftops and walls, and luscious gardens, South Vale’s atmosphere wasn’t like any other. Their main economic rise was due to their blacksmithing. Alchemy and animal training were of their better scholar activities, but their biggest strength is rare herbalism. You took especially to alchemy and herbalism. It was here where you met a much older witch, who was the one to guide you in your witchcraft studies. She was your mentor, and you were very grateful for it.

By the time you were 195 years old, you heard word of Lorelynn’s engagement to a Roseshire Elf named Yoongi who, from what you knew, was a medical student with a thrive for alchemy and herbalism, much like yourself. You had made note of that for when you met him, have something to bond over. It wasn’t usual for Elf folk to get engaged and have weddings, but with Lorelynn’s fascination with the human traditions of marriage, she needed a grandiose event like such, to proclaim their love further.

So, she ended up having a wedding in Everwind, since the waterfall “would make for the perfect ceremonial portrait backdrop”. You and Jackson decided to arrive a few days early to Everwind, in order to catch up and help with what she needed in a timely manner. You met Yoongi and he acclimated well with the temporary reunion of the trio. It wasn’t until after the wedding that you found out that Lorelynn wasn’t living in Roseshire anymore. She had moved about a year prior with Yoongi to Glistening Woods, where he tended to the locals in his medical clinic, and Lorelynn set up her bakery. The move was originally because she had apparently fallen victim to a strange allergy to Fae Dust. The mention of such was a first, and especially the fact that she would be visited by Fae, constantly being pulled tricks on. You envied such contact, but not the allergies, however. Fae were creatures you had yet to encounter, yet to study. They were so rare to find, that it was a small shock to discover the existence of Fae life in Roseshire.

A quarter of a century later, your mentor, well-versed in foretelling paths, insisted that your destiny lay in Glistening Woods, deep within the Silver Forest. It was of great importance that you went there, so she said, and maybe settled there for a period of time in order to progress on your studies. With no other explanation, and not ever once doubting your mentor, you and Jackson set foot once again in travel, heading to Lorelynn’s new home in Glistening Woods. After arriving the first day, you decided to drop by the bakery, as you heard all the way from various travellers that “If you’re heading to Glistening Woods, make time to stop by the Flour Pot”, which of course was the name of your elven friend’s bakery, and it seemed to draw in a lot of clientele. It was there that Lorelynn offered to put you up at her house, to avoid having to pay pesky prices at inns or struggle to find a personal lodging of sorts. So long as you and Jackson helped around the house and the bakery from time to time, of course. Not that either of you minded. A helping hand in exchange for baked goods and shelter? It was a better deal than any lodging could offer.

Of course, you only told Lorelynn that your reason for coming to these areas was for study, which was true, but when you found what your mentor meant by progressing your studies, it far too much to explain to Lorelynn, at least not yet. She would absolutely have you at the stake if she knew what you were up to. If she knew the reason, she had been getting a more sensitive nose was not due to just a dusty house… 

Deep within the woods, after months of walking through it, searching for whatever it was that your Elder Witch meant, you found it. A mushroom circle, deep within the forest, where four Fae seemed to gather almost every day. You now spent most of your days coming near the circle, studying them. You were enthralled. By their ways, their personalities, their clothes, their looks. Specifically, the looks of one of the four Fae. They obviously knew you were gawking, studying, but they didn’t see you as a threat, so they let you continue. Even sometimes trying to show off just for the sake of tampering very slightly with your studies.

While you were caught up in the moment staring at the youngest looking Fae, you ended up making eye contact for the first time, something you avoided constantly. He winked at you, sending flutters through your stomach and forcing you to end your studies a bit early. You hastily packed your things, leaving only the small offering of sweets that you have now accustomed to bringing every time you visit, as a thank you for allowing you to study them for hours.

On the way back out of the forest, you felt a… presence. It wasn’t threatening so you paid no mind to it, since your thoughts were elsewhere. Back to that Fae who for a split second you locked eyes with. How dare he wink? How dare you get all red in the face and nervous in the stomach? He was just an attractive Fae, they all were, but… By being lost in your thoughts of him, and only paying attention to your steps below, you failed to look forwards before bumping head first into something. With a step back and a sharp glance up, you noted it wasn't something, but rather someone, and not just any someone… But a Fae… That Fae… You had only ever seen him from a distance, and he was still beautiful, but from this proximity, he was sculpted like a God. He had both soft and sharp facial features, his black hair a playful mess, his expression was about as curious as a rabbit. He had a glow to him, warm and inviting, but his mischievous orbs quickly reminded you of who he was, of what he was. And you couldn’t fall for it. The sly grin spreading on his face meant he knew what you had realized. You felt your face slowly burn at his never-ending stare as he towered over you, and for the first time, you felt small.

“Hello,” He let out slowly, his voice smooth and enticing. “you’re leaving rather early today.” So, they noticed… He noticed and had to come all the way over here to let you know.

“I have some responsibilities to tend to.” You didn’t really know what to say, but you didn’t want to let him know you left because he made you nervous.

“More important than studying me? You hurt my feelings.” He snickered, there was a glint in his eyes you couldn’t place. It made your knees weak. He raises an eyebrow at your silence, you forgot to answer. “I’ll let you get to them then. I look forward to another chance like this. And another of these.” He pulled out a piece of sunflower bread you left behind as offering, took a bite of it, and gave you one more wink before turning into nothing but smoke and Fae dust.

Flustered, you made your way out of the Silver Forest and back to the outskirts of Glistening Woods. The woodland was settled along the banks of modest rivers and is truly an extraordinary marvel. Its elegance is only matched by the backdrop of a majestic Silver Forest which helped shape the city to what it is today. The climate this forest brought was of great importance for its fauna and flora, but it was also influential when it came to architectural designs as most buildings have been built with both materials and stylistic shapes of the forest.

You could see the outline of Lorelynn’s house as you approached it. From the outside the house looked old, but wonderful. It had been built with oak wood with mahogany wooden decorations. Large, octagon windows let in plenty of light and have been added to the house in a very symmetric way. The building is shaped like a circle, partially surrounded by glass overhanging panels on two sides. The roof is high and rounded and is covered with red ceramic tiles. Two small chimneys sit at the side of the house. The house itself is surrounded by a gorgeous garden, including various trees, bushes, flowers and a pond. While about to enter, you are met with Yoongi, dressed and ready to go to his clinic.

“Hey, Yoongi. Off to work?”

“Oh, hey Rowen. Back so…” He stopped mid sentence, and you could hear a sniff. He opened the door behind him and motioned for you to follow him. You didn’t hesitate, but you started to get a bit nervous. Inside, the first floor is equipped with a huge kitchen and two bathrooms, it also has a modest living room, two bedrooms, a roomy dining area, and a study. Yoongi went up the stairs to the newly added second floor. It was a bit smaller than the first, but part of it hangs over the edge of the floor below, creating an overhang on one side and a balcony on the other. This floor has a slightly different style than the floor below, as it only has two bedrooms, one bathroom and a study. Several small windows let in just enough light to the rooms below the roof. Your room, thankfully, owned both the study and balcony. Which is where Yoongi ended up taking you. He stepped in first, but let you go into the study deeper before closing the door behind him.

 “You found the Fae.” His words caught you off guard, but you should have expected them. “The ones by the mushroom circle in the forest, correct?”

“Uh…” Before you could begin to formulate any kind of excuse, Yoongi brought his hand up in pause.

 “Don’t worry. At least now I know why Lorelynn’s been having allergies lately. Though this is the first time I can smell the dust, were you really close to them?” He spoke, as if already knowing about the many times you went. Which was now obvious.

“Only one got too close, I guess I have residue of his departure.” He nodded with a small ‘hmm’.  But a question did arise in you.

“Actually, I thought Lorelynn said that you guys moved here because there were no Fae in these parts… How’d you know about the mushroom circle?” Your question caused him to exhale heavily and put a hand on his neck.

“Well, I lied to Lorelynn about it. Everwind is the only place with no Fae reports whatsoever, but she didn’t want to go back. This was the next best thing, since there are not many here. She doesn’t know that though. So, I simply put up a protection spell to prohibit Fae from entering property grounds, but they never leave the forest from what I’ve gathered. So, it’s okay for her to wander around the city. But now…”

“Oh… I’m sorry. I’ll try to keep the dust at bay even more diligently from now on.” With that, you casted a quick clean up spell to eliminate the specs of Fae dust you have brought in today.

“Thank you, but I do fear that if one got close to you... Nothing, I should get going now then.” He shook his head in dismissal and made his way out of the study, before stopping to add one more thing. “Oh, and Rowen? Be careful with them… Don’t fall into their tricks.”

You gave him a curt nod, if there was anything to know about Fae, is that they are sly tricksters and con artists. “You got it. Have a good shift!” He knocked once on the door and saluted you before leaving.

You put your hands through your curls as you let out a breath. You needed to be more careful with what you were doing. And not only you, but Jackson too. You figured you should shower and change out of your Fae intoxicated clothes. You had already casted the spell, but you can never be too sure. 

Now being sure that you were 100% clean, you headed out for the Flour Pot to meet up with Jackson and Lorelynn, you were hoping you were still on time for the surprise today. From the outside the bakery looked cosy, clean and cheerful. Large and small stones and marble details make up most of the building's outer structure. As you enter the bakery through the hardwood door, you're immediately welcomed by the smell of fresh baked pastries. It's as enchanting inside as it is on the outside. The walls were bright and gave a feeling of serenity. Rounded wooden beams support the upper floor and the variety of flowerpots attached to them. The Flour Pot draws in an alarming number of clients from all over, surely based off 50% Lorelynn’s charm and 50% her undeniably delicious pastries, which often leads to exciting stories. When you were first traveling to Glistening Woods, you did hear rumours about this bakery being famous, and judging by the warmth and joy radiating through the bakery, it's probably because of that.

Lorelynn and Jackson were both hard at work on the counter, decorating a batch of cookies. Even though they were busy, they managed to welcome you warmly. The bakery was surprisingly empty, besides an elder human couple, sitting by the window sipping on tea and sharing a lemon cake; and yourself. You sat on a stool in front of the counter, reaching quickly for one of the newly decorated cookies. Often your hand would have been swatted, but miraculously not today.

“What’s the occasion?” You asked as you munched on a classic chocolate chip cookie. Soft baked, her specialty. “You never let me eat them like this.”

“Well,” Lorelynn spoke’s busy hands and eyes never left her cookies. She was a lazy elf… She only turned to magic the moment she realized she could use it to do all the pesky chores she often hated. But when it came to her baking, the only magic allowed was that of her own skills. Jackson moved out of that side of the counter, cookie also in hand, plopping down on the stool next to you.

“Today my ‘sons’ are visiting.” Both you and Jackson nearly choked.

“Say what now? Sons?” You were flabbergasted.

“Since when do you and Yoongi even have kids?” Jackson was in disbelief.

“Calm down. They were at the wedding. And they’re obviously not my sons, it’s just a playful thing. Back in Roseshire, there was this lovely human couple of noble bloodlines, and they had two sons.” You did recall spotting a few humans at the wedding, and a small hazy memory of Lorelynn being hugged by some young boys. “Once I moved away, the couple and their sons would often come over and visit, always stopping by the bakery. I’ve basically watched them grow for almost 50 years,” Her cheerful composure became sombre with what followed next. “but being of this bloodline, they age slower than normal men, but much faster than elves… they don’t look a day over 20.” A soft chuckle escaped her. “Now they travel the world, learning new cultures and broadening their horizons.” That sounded interesting, they sounded interesting. You wondered what places they’ve been to, the things they’ve seen. You had yet to know them and already envied their experiences.

“Oh, right. The kids. Where were they this time?” Jackson spoke what was on your mind.

“That’s a good question. Usually they never know where they’re going until they get there. Free living, I guess. We’ll find out when they get here.” Lorelynn shrugged. What a free-range life…

As if on cue, two good looking young men walk into the shop. You could place them from that one time from seeing them at the wedding. Lorelynn was right, they were men now. “Ah! My boys! Welcome back home!” Lorelynn explained quickly removing her apron to go over and hug both boys warmly. They were quite excited to see her as well, noted in their big smiles and cheers. Lorelynn brought them over, mumbling something about how much older they’ve gotten, they look a few years older than her. She said 20 earlier, but you’d say they look between 24 and 25. You suddenly worried over Lorelynn getting attached to these humans, only to watch them die before her. A thought you put away tight in the back of your mind, never to be reached again.

“These are the boys I was telling you about. Rowen, Jackson. Namjoon, Hoseok.” Lorelynn pointed at each name respectively. The deep dimpled one, Namjoon, smiled and greeted first, Hoseok followed, quickly proclaiming to call him Hobi if you pleased. The cute nickname seemed fitting to his energetic self, so you obliged.

“I knew Lorelynn and Yoongi were tiny, but I didn’t expect to see another small elf.” Hobi cocked his head to the side both in confusion and playfulness. It stung but it was true. The three of you were rather… Short in elf standards. Lorelynn and Namjoon both elbowed Hobi gently, but Namjoon seemed to be holding in a laugh. He may agree. Ignoring this, you started.

“It’s been a while. Lorelynn was telling us about your travels. How were they?” You inquired quickly after all introductions were made. Namjoon was the first to speak, while Hoseok eagerly devoured a cookie Lorelynn offered. His eyes gleamed, perhaps those were his favorite.

“Well, we’re used to going to different places where there is usually a large concentration of only one race or species, this time however, we ended up in a village where a lot of different ones coexist harmoniously, something we hadn’t experienced yet. It was interesting to see how their interpersonal relations developed differently to those in concentrated areas.”

“Oh, sounds a lot like where I’m from. Where was it exactly?” Your interest slowly was deflating. Especially when Hobi confirmed.

“South Vale.” Muffled by cookie crumbs, but still understandable. It was a bit of a letdown. You already knew everything there was to know about South Vale. But now you can place Namjoon’s face from somewhere other than the wedding. You recalled once going to meet the Elder Witch and a man was exiting her dwelling. You wondered what he might be doing there, but that question did not serve purpose right now.

“Oh, yeah. That’s what we’re from!” Jackson exclaimed. He grew to love South Vale and prided it like a native. “Did you visit the Library there? It’s one of the best I’ve been to.”

“Indeed, we did, and I agree. It was greatly vast. I would have spent most of my stay in the library, had I not been eager to discover and experience more in person.”

“I mostly enjoyed the food, it’s really something else. But no matter where we go, nothing beats Lorelynn’s cookies.” Hoseok spoke cheerfully, and you could tell Lorelynn’s heart was swollen.

After a nice chit chat, you understood why Lorelynn loved these boys so much, what wasn’t to love about them? They radiated joy and familiarity, you hoped to get close to them soon, and learn more about their other travels. The boys presented Lorelynn with a South Vale native plant, a pale pink succulent. Succulents were common over there, but you hadn’t seen any here. Lorelynn adored it and quickly set it up nicely on the counter. They had to leave to go put away their things back home and get some rest after their trip. Namjoon said something about wanting to organize his field journal of creature behaviour, and as soon as they set foot outside the bakery, you jumped and followed suit. The thought that he’s probably met Fae before and had note on them invaded your mind, maybe he could lend you some advice.

“Namjoon, wait up.”

“Hm?”

“You mentioned something about a creature journal. Have you encountered Fae?”

“I have. Why?” His expression wrote suspicion, but you made nothing of it.

“I was just curious. I also study different creatures, but I hadn’t been exposed to Fae at all. I wondered if one day I could look at your journal and see your findings?” Your eyes were eager, and he found it amusing.

“Hm, past tense.” Hmm? “Sure, next time we stop by, I’ll make sure to bring it along. However,” His tone shifted to that of a warning. “Be very wary of Fae and their tricks, the ones in these parts… They’re fond of wordplay. Be safe.” Like Yoongi, he seemed to know you’ve encountered Fae.

“You know, I really can’t believe I’ve met three short elves in my lifetime.” He chuckled, and with that he and Hobi marched on with that, not before Hobi waved big and shouted, ‘Nice meeting you, Rowen!’

A few days passed, and you made your way to the mushroom circle with Jackson. He hadn’t gone in a while and said he missed watching them play. You of course didn’t hesitate to let him join you, especially with both Yoongi and Namjoon’s warning still fresh in your head. And maybe if you went accompanied this time, that Fae wouldn’t come near. In your bag you carried your journal, some water, and snacks for both the Fae and Jackson. He gets a tad hungry whenever he must walk such a distance. And jealous that the Fae got more treats than him, so to shut him up for the day, they seemed fitting. Already halfway to the checkpoint, he was complaining about hunger. His snacks were already in danger.

When you reached the bush you fancied, you and Jackson plopped down, ready to set up your study session. After getting comfortable for the long hours to come, you grab your journal and start onlooking. However, only three Fae were present… That Fae wasn’t around. For a moment, you felt disappointed, and even questioned if you wanted to stick around. But you set that thought aside, you were here to study the Fae, not just that one.

“Hm, I wonder where the other one is… It’s not like him to be absent.” Jackson mumbled to himself, he seemed to side eye you, waiting for a reaction. As if he knew what that Fae stirs inside you. An oddly inviting smell of smoke came from behind both of you. And a voice not belonging to either of you spoke.

“I wonder where I am, it really isn’t like me.” You turned around to see that Fae crouched down behind you with his elbows on his knees and his chin resting on his hands. “Hi.” His tone was puckish, your face getting hot, Jackson was spooked. With a hand on his heart he let out an exasperated breath.

“I know you like pulling pranks and playing tricks, but damn it, don’t give me a heart attack, you lil’ pixie!” The Fae enjoyed Jackson’s reaction, but you noted the glint of annoyance at the word ‘pixie’ and pleaded the Gods for this Fae not to give him a heart attack for real this time… The Fae ignored Jackson’s remarks and continued.

“So, this is what you do, day after day? Just sit here and take notes? Tsk, not even a favourable view of us.” He would speak to you, but his eyes and mind were elsewhere.

“It’s a respectful distance, I can see what I need to see from here.” He nodded at your answer and turned to Jackson.

“What about you, boy? I only ever see you come here to eat. Don’t you study us as well?” The Fae’s remark stung Jackson a bit, but in all fairness, he was right. Jackson only came to eat most of the time.

“Hey, that’s not true! I also came here to study…”

“Study what? How to continuously move your jaw up and down?” It was during their bickering that you noted that the Fae kept moving his fingers in an odd way, stealing glances from your journal ever so often. You looked down to discover why he seemed puckish in the first place. He had been tampering with your notes this whole time with Fae magic. Words were replaced, pages were missing and out of order, and a dumb drawing of what apparently seems to be him with his tongue out was now left on the page. You fumbled through the journal infuriated, months of study, altered and ruined.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!” He simply cackled in a way that made your stomach boil. You were supposed to be enraged, but why did this Fae’s mischievous way of laughing sent flutters to your heart instead? The Fae laughed hysterically, rolling on his back and snapping his fingers, only to turn into a puff of dust and smoke. You looked over to the other three Fae, who had been watching the whole scene unfold. They were in on it, by the way they were also laughing. They all turned to smoke and dust one by one, almost simultaneously. Was this their way of getting back at you for leaving early last time? That dumb Fae… You mumbled and grumbled, annoyed as you put away your things.

“Sheesh… What was that all about?” Jackson uttered as he got up and stretched his back. “I didn’t expect them to leave so soon, also didn’t expect that pesky thing to come bother us.” You shot daggers at him, almost instantly, but you quickly composed. Why did his insult to the Fae annoy you? You were already set to go but remembered to leave the sunflower bread behind.

“Really, you’re going to leave them offerings, after that? After they did what they did? You’re getting soft for them, Rowen.” He snickered as he avoided the elbow you threw at him and headed out.

“Don’t leave me behind!”

The following weeks were more of the same. You’d either go study the Fae alone or with Jackson, but often ended up striking conversations with that one Fae, he would now always come to you once you reached the bush. Sometimes now it would just be him at the mushroom circle, waiting for you. Though he was quite impish, you found yourself growing to enjoy his company, dare you say, a friendship was building between you. You still weren’t on speaking terms with the other Fae, but they would wave hello and goodbye whenever they saw you in the woods. You felt lucky. Going from only glancing from a distance, to now being bothered and welcomed by them. That one Fae still made you a bit nervous however, especially when you noticed that Yoongi’s spell wasn’t as strong on the second floor as it seemed to be on the first. Either that or this Fae was just strong… You started to notice that some of your things would be misplaced. That went on for a few days, but you didn’t mind. As long as you always found everything and cast a cleaning spell to remove his dust, it was okay. Sometimes the dust got to Lorelynn before you could get to it, and her allergies had gotten a bit worse. Yoongi would worry, but he knew how much you were taking care of the dust, so he didn’t mind much, if by the end of the day there were no dust laying around, and nobody found out that it was because of that Fae coming here, it was all fine. 

One day, however, enough was enough. Your rings and crystals… Not only were they misplaced, but after searching high and low all day you realized, they were missing… Simple tricks were okay, but downright stealing what was most precious and vital to you, that was crossing many lines. You were hunting this Fae down, and getting back what was rightfully yours.

The path to the mushroom circle didn’t seem far this time, your enraged self got there rather quickly. Still a bit at a distance, you could already make out the four Fae. They were playing with your crystals, trying them up with twine and twigs, to make them look like a crown of sorts. They seemed to be playing as Royals due to their exaggerated and fine movements, which led them to laugh at each other. The broad one wore the biggest crown, sitting atop a large rock. Even though it was just for play, he deemed authority, he was clearly the elder of the four. The other three, including that one Fae, were dancing and clapping to please their ‘King’. You almost forgot why you were here, almost forgot you were mad, you were captivated by their youthful and playful essence, clearly ensuring they were as Fae as Fae could get.

“Hey!” You shouted over at them, a bit louder than what you wanted. The young Fae looked over at you, and his expression turned into one of excitement. He disappeared from where he once stood and appeared before you. Taking your hand in his and dragging you over to the rest of the Fae.

“Come, come, we’re having a party of sorts! We have treasures!” Treasures?

“You mean my crystals and rings?” You knew where the crystals were, atop the head of the ‘Fae King’, but your rings… They were nestled on every finger of that Fae. Your heart was a mess again when you realized your hand was in his and he wore all your rings.

The eldest Fae, their ‘King’, was the first to speak. “Thank you for lending us your crystals.” He bowed his head slightly with a snicker. The other two Fae followed suit with their own thanks. The crystals were now the least of your worries, as they looked fantastic in the crowns made for them. Now they really felt magical.

“You’re welcome… So long as I get them back, it’s okay.” You nodded, taking your hand from that Fae’s as you noticed it was still tightly secured in his.

One of the other Fae spoke, his voice deep. “Of course, you will get them back, we were going to send our youngest to put them back where he found them after we were done.” 

The smallest Fae out of the four chimed in. “But we can’t promise you anything about your rings… He’s grown too fond of them.” Your eye twitched.

“I need my rings.” You turned your gaze over to the Fae towering over you. His arms crossed and eyes avoiding your stare.

“No, you don’t.”

“Yes, I do.”

“No.

“Yes!” Your shout caught him off guard, his eyes finally meeting yours as he realized you weren’t playing.

“You really aren’t that keen on fun, are you? Here.” He started to take off his rings, with an expression you couldn’t make out, but it stung you a bit. He hesitated a bit before giving you a ring in specific, but he still gave it up. You took this as his preferred ring and decided to… let him have it.

“Keep it. Before I change my mind.” You saw his expression change back to the excited one when you first arrived, he quickly slipped the ring back on his pinkie. It suited him well. You stayed with all four Fae, getting to know them. The smallest Fae stood next to you, giggling.

“For the second time in my life, I’m taller than an Elf.” He burst out into laughter and they all followed suit… You sighed, fully knowing your height was going to be the butt of the joke every chance they got from now on.

As time passed by, you and Jackson bonded with all four Fae whenever you had the chance to. You could now cross reference your notes with their facts, hoping that they weren’t playing tricks on you again. As the time passed, you and that Fae grew closer and closer. You still didn’t quite accept that he made you a nervous wreck, that his eyes caused your knees to weaken. You couldn’t accept that this mere Fae could make you feel so small. One day, as you were leaving the circle, the Fae decided to walk with you to the edge of the forest, a newly found habit of his which you didn’t question. Though he made you tremble, you couldn’t help but enjoy the attention.

You get the feeling that since you are now both aware after months and months of getting to know each other, that you aren’t a threat to one or the other, that it is time to finally know each other’s names.

“So,” you started, a knot already forming in your throat, what if he didn’t feel safe yet? “What’s your name? I feel weird not knowing what to call you besides ‘boy’.” He chuckled softly; poking his tongue on his lip before responding.

“Jungkook. My name is Jungkook, Kook for short.” He smiled, looking forward.

“Jungkook… Kook. Nice.” You nodded.

“Mhm. And I believe it is now time for you to give me your name.” There was a glint in his eyes you didn’t understand.

“Rowen.” You were dumb, you were stupid, and it wasn’t until Jungkook guffawed in disbelief that you realized just how dumb you really were. You gave him your name. You fell for the one thing everyone warned you, wordplay. You were now bound by name to the most mischievous and impulsive Fae you’ve ever met, and you’ve only met four.

“I can’t believe you actually fell for it! YOU WEREN’T SUPPOSED TO GIVE ME YOUR NAME! YOU’RE A WITCH, YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO KNOW THIS!” Those were the last words he managed to get out before fully turning into unstoppable laughter. You weren’t even halfway back to the edge of the forest, and you were now nameless. Because of your dumb self wanting to know his name…

“Phew, I have to go take care of something, have a safe walk back.” He turned into a puff of smoke and dust with one last laugh. You sighed in disbelief… This could only happen to you, for falling for this stupid Fae, stupid Kook…

With shrugged shoulders you made it out of the forest and back to the house, the walk felt longer this time, what with being alone and losing your name and all. Your shoulders fell even more when you saw Lorelynn outside, waiting for you. As you got closer, you realized her eyes were watery and puffy, her nose was red, she was allergy ridden, all due to the letter she had in her fingers, dripping with Fae dust… Oh no…

“So, you met a few Fae… and gave one of them your name?” Was the first thing the stuffy nosed elf said. “I overheard Namjoon giving you advice. He could have warned of anything, but he chose: don’t fall for wordplay; and that’s exactly what you do.” She blew her nose into a tissue. 

“I know, I’m dumb…” There was no other way around this, you were just dumb.

“Wow, you really fell hard for a Fae, huh?” She handed you the letter, which was obviously from Jungkook. “Here, it’s a name-binding contract. A warning, really. You’re officially his plaything, though I would dare to go as far as calling you his slave.” She sighed. “Yoongi told me about everything, including the spell.” At least you’re not the only 0ne in trouble. “Apparently, it's only been working on our floor, and now with this new dilemma… Just be wary of the name-binding consequences. And try to keep him at bay…” She motions for you to follow her inside. “Come on, you’re on cleaning duty. That dumb letter has gotten dust everywhere. And I might as well learn about the Fae, so you’re also on teaching duty.” You followed her up to your study, casting a cleaning spell almost every step of the way, can never be too sure anymore.

“Is he cute at least?”

“Shut up.”

It had been a few days since you gave up your name and you hadn’t seen its new owner; however, you’ve noticed he’s been around and fully using your name because lately some of the spells, charms and incantations that you’ve practiced with ease, are now suddenly… not working as they should. You were downstairs in the living room this time, since Jungkook shouldn’t be on the first floor anyways, you felt better off practicing there. You had placed Sage Incense, a Silver Spell Candle, a bowl of Sea Salt and a Chalice filled with water on the coffee table. You drew your circle, then lit the incense and the candle, and meditated for a few minutes while the sage filled the room. You held your hands over the incense and said, “with air I cleanse myself.” You let the smoke twirl around your fingers for a few moments. Feeling the cleansing properties of sage immerse you. Then you held your hands above the candle and said, “with fire I cleanse myself.” Visualizing the flame burning away anything unwanted within you. You took the sea salt and crumbled it between your fingers, gently rubbing it on your hands, and said, “with earth I cleanse myself.” Then dipped your hands in the water, again gently rubbing your hands, and said…

“With water I cleanse myself.” Another voice overlapped yours. Jungkook. He sat Indian style on the Lazy Chair, elbow on one knee, chin in hand, eyes on you. And that fluttering smile.  How was he even inside? How did he break through the barrier spell? To your knowledge, the spell didn’t reach the second floor due to it being a new addition and Yoongi forgetting to correct it, but Jungkook had only been around in his diminutive state, from what he had told you. But now he was in full form, on the First floor. The forbidden floor. Oh no…

“What are you doing here?” You quickly blurted out in surprise.

“Well, visiting, of course. Haven’t seen you in a while.” His expression turned confused, as if you didn’t know he was coming over. Which you didn’t. This was completely unannounced, but that wasn’t the point of the question.

“No, I mean, what are you doing here, the First floor?” His smile turned coy.

“Ah, you mean the protection spell? Yeah, that doesn’t apply to me anymore.” Your spine went cold. He stood up, picking at his finger. “You are safe to come into the first floor, I own your name, therefore, I’m safe to come in also.” He gave you a sly wink, and then shrugged. “That, and the fact that Lorelynn has a lot of Fae inviting plants both inside and outside of the house, it’s stupid to be honest with you. The spell gets cancelled out due to the plants and the contract. Had there been no plants, maybe I wouldn’t be allowed in, but who knows. Too late now, anyways.” He walked towards you, with a questionable glint. “Why is there a protection spell against Fae, exactly?” He towered over you, causing panic. He liked having this power over you. Even though he was ten years younger, he asserted dominance over you.

“I’ll explain later, but really you have to…” You stopped mid sentence, already hearing Lorelynn’s steps up the entrance path. “Shit. Follow me.” You grabbed his arm and practically yanked it from its socket as you dragged him up the stairs and into your room. You close the door behind you and usher the Fae boy to stay quiet. Pressing an ear to the floor, you listened to Lorelynn’s movements, what was happening downstairs. You kicked yourself for not doing a quick cleaning spell the moment you heard Lorelynn sneeze, subsequently followed by a ‘Rowen...’ Shit, shit, shit.

“Listen,” You started to whisper to Jungkook. “you need to go, now. Even though Lorelynn already knows of you, she would be absolutely enraged if she found you here, she’s severely allergic to Fae Dust, which you leave around every which way! It could complicate my living arrangement here…” His eyes widened in alarm, he did not know of the allergies prior or what his presence could imply.

“Oh, I’ll leave now…” The both of you looked over to the door after hearing Lorelynn’s steps coming up the stairs.

“No time, you poof, more dust. In the closet.”  You quickly shoved him in and closed the closet. He tried his hardest to stay still, quiet and not drop any dust.

Lorelynn knocked and opened the door to your room, looking a mess of confusion and death. “Whose turn was it to clean the house this week? Was it me? Did I forget again? Or did you go play with the Fae?” Her stuffy nose interfered with her pronunciation.

“Nah, it’s mine, and I was out with the Fae. I left some of my spell stuff downstairs but came to get something else, so I could get to it properly.” Truthfully, it was your turn. You had already cleaned the house, though. But forgot to do it again with the presence of the Fae, she just didn’t need to know he was there. She nodded in understanding but waved you off.

“It’s okay then, I’ll do a quick one while I get some medicine.” Yoongi had conjured up some herbal medicine for whenever the allergies took over, for now they were the ones that mostly helped her control the allergies, but it was only a temporary fix. She proceeded to go downstairs, and you closed the door after she left. You waited a few moments before releasing the Fae from the closet. You let out a sigh and dragged him over to your study, casting a cleansing spell in the room behind you.

“Well, I’m starting to understand why the spell to keep her allergies controlled, but it makes no sense with all those plants.” He sat on top of your desk, confusion on his face. At least he was trying to understand.

“If I didn’t know about them, then Lorelynn had a much lesser chance of knowing they’re inviting plants. That spell was put up by her husband because of her allergies to Fae dust, to keep the house at bay from exposure, and to keep Lorelynn away from knowledge that Fae lurk these areas, at least until he found a cure for her allergies.” Explaining this, you heard the bedroom door, meaning Lorelynn was there again. You forced the Fae boy under the desk with a swift motion and sat at it. Causing him to be face to face with your thighs. You didn’t know this, but this proximity was causing a little bit of Fae dust to fall off him, which he was trying desperately to control.

Lorelynn waltzed into the study, feeling better, but still looking much like death.

“So, I meant to ask, if you and Jackson would be willing to help me with a big order. A Dwarven wedding requested cake and an array of cookies, and I need to get on it quickly. The day after tomorrow, please?” She practically begged, but she knew you’d agree. A Dwarven wedding, you got to help in? Definitely.

“Of course! Count us in. Lorelynn,” She started to get a red nose again. “I think you should go rest a bit, wait until the medicine takes full effect before prancing about.”

“You’re right.” She was already stuffy again. As she left, she sneezed on last time, throwing out another cleaning spell as reflex. “Sorry…” 

After she was gone, you moved away from the desk, and a blushing red Jungkook crawled out of it. Seeing the situation firsthand, his mischievous ways seeded for a moment, taking into consideration that you need this living arrangement for your research, to be near him. That’s what he understood. He stared at you for a moment, and you noticed a glint in his eyes. What it meant; you had no idea.

“I think I’ll go ahead and leave now, see you soon, Rowen.” Before he turned to smoke and dust, he gave you another signature wink.  As a response, you casted a cleaning spell upon his disappearance. In his diminutive form, Jungkook decided to go ahead and scout the area, something he was never interested in doing before. It was a long time since he, or any of the Fae, had been in contact with species besides their own. He had now travelled as far as Lorelynn’s house, where Rowen currently lived at, but knowing he isn’t really supposed to be there, he decided to find where she works. He quickly gathered that it was a bakery, and the famous bakery by that. Once he found the Flour Pot, he was quick to scan if there was any spell like at the house. To his luck, no spell, but plenty of inviting plants. Another plus were the sweets, giving it was a bakery. He found the loophole, and Lorelynn wouldn’t be able to protest if she found him. Having this information, he seems its only fair if he drops by the day of the big order to help out.

It was the day you and Jackson would help Lorelynn with the Dwarven Wedding order. Lorelynn chose to work in the bakery the day it’s usually closed, to be able to concentrate on the order with no distractions from customers. You arrive early, even earlier than Lorelynn, eager to be able to participate in preparing goods for dwarves. You reviewed the list of cookies they wanted, and headed to the kitchen, looking for Lorelynn’s Cookie recipe book to get the ones you needed and prep the kitchen with the ingredients for the first cookie recipe to make. There was a total of 8 kinds of cookies, 125 cookies each, at a total of 1,000 cookies. What an event it should be. While reading over the recipes, you heard a noise in the pantry. Was it a mouse? You went over to the pantry to check, opening its doors and revealing none other than Jungkook. Covered in flour. With a mixing bowl on his head. You resisted the urge to scream. “What in blazing hell are you doing here?”

“I’m here to help with the big order!” You quickly opened your mouth to refute, but he put his hands up and spoke first. “There are a lot of inviting plants here and no spell to say otherwise. There shouldn’t be a problem with me here.” A loophole. He found a loophole. Along with many of the other ones he keeps finding for everything.

“Jungkook, please. I need you to leave. This is a very important day, an important order. I know you want to help, but today is just not that day. So, pleas…” Oh no, not again. Like last time, you didn’t have enough time to make Jungkook leave, before Lorelynn arrived. You heard her and Jackson opening the door. So, without a thought, you pushed the tall Fae, back into the pantry, along with yourself. For who knows, what reason.

“I just thought it would be fine…”

“SHH, us elves have superb hearing, shut up.”

You heard Lorelynn and Jackson made their way into the kitchen, and for your unlucky self, Lorelynn starts sneezing immediately. Her annoyed mutters grew rapid, as now she had to prep the kitchen and deal with food with an unexpected allergy. You both remained quiet, trying not to breathe loudly, to avoid detection. You suddenly were very aware of the fact that Jungkook’s chest was practically pressed on your face. The pantry fit one person fine, but two? The proximity between you started to quicken your heart rate, and by being so close to his chest, you noted that his was going a mile a minute as well. You looked up, only to be met with his eyes. He had been staring for a while, his eyes piercing through your soul. You could have sworn he was leaning into your face, that is until the dark pantry was suddenly filled with light when its doors swung open. Jungkook, for reasons unknown to you, and maybe even to him, blew out flour onto the face of the poor bakery owner.

“SURPRISE!” He shouted. You wanted to die, but probably not more than Lorelynn did. Blinded by the flour, she brought up her hands to wipe it off her face. Only after was when she realized, the Fae in her midst. You were anticipating a scream by the face she pulled, but it quickly turned into a sneeze. You and Jungkook exit the pantry as Lorelynn tries to compose herself, letting out an exasperated breath.

“So… This is that Fae?” She was blowing fumes, even though she spoke calmly. Jungkook didn’t even give you time to explain the situation.

“I am one of the Fae, but yes, I am that Fae. Jungkook. Nice to meet you, Lorelynn.” He quickly shifted his attention and waved his hand over to the other figure. “Hello Jack.” What?

“Hey Kook.” WHAT? Since when were Jackson and Jungkook on a nickname basis? And since when do they even know their names? It stung a bit that he quickly told Lorelynn his name, when you had waited months for it. But that was an irrational moment, put away quickly.

“Why is the Fa- Why’s Jungkook here? Why? Why are you here? Oh, ugh.” In her panicked interrogation, she reached for her nose. “Oh no, I’m already starting to get clogged up.” She casted a quick medicinal spell to be able to breathe, backing away from Jungkook, and casting a cleaning spell while she was at it. And there began her whining. “I never use magic here, this is upsetting… Rowen.” Whining like the stupid child she often was, but she had every right to.

“I am only here to help, I swear.” He put his arms out in defense, by now he had already taken off his mixing bowl hat, so he could be taken a bit more seriously. But Lorelynn wasn’t buying into it.

“No, you’re not, you’re here to play your Fae tricks and mess up my business.” She crossed her arms and plopped down to the floor, lips pouting out. You sighed, Jungkook needed to go.

“Jungkook, please. I was practically begging before they got here, you need to go.” A disconnect could be seen in his eyes, he had an expression you had never seen him do before, and it… Hurt.

“But I’m being honest, I genuinely want to help.” At the end, he scoffed. He couldn’t believe you didn’t believe him. And you still didn’t. Before you could respond. Lorelynn had already gotten up.

“Alright.” It seemed like she heard something you hadn’t. “You can stay. But in the back. No messing with the order. I will let you help in ways that would require your help, other than that, you are to be sat in the corner. Got it?” Her words were directed at Jungkook, but you felt that the consequences would be yours, her stare said it all.

You take Jungkook over to the back, bring a chair along with you and placing it in the corner. You breathe in deeply, looking how to make these instructions clear.

“You heard her. I need you to stay put, at least until the order is done.” You grab his hand, squeezing it firmly, hoping to pass on some understanding to him. “This is a really important order for Lorelynn. You cannot do anything to the goods being baked, or the tools used to make them, and that if you manage at least that, I will have Lorelynn bake your favorite snack.” His tense expression from earlier softened.

“I understand all of this, I wasn’t here to wreak havoc, but okay. I’ll stay still.” It hits you that all this time, he was in fact genuine, and not trying to play Fae tricks. Not knowing what to say, you simply nod and back away. “Thank you, Kook.” Heading back into the main workstation with Lorelynn and Jackson.

“Why’d you change your mind?” You asked Lorelynn, as she pulled her hair back and washed her hands, preparing for the work of a lifetime.

“He reminded me of when Hoseok and Namjoon wanted to help me when they were kids. He spoke with a child’s genuine interest.” Oh. She picked it up before you did… You were never near enough kids, or any to be honest, to know that, let alone that the same logic applied to Fae, or to Jungkook in any case.

For the rest of the evening, everything went about peacefully, as it should. The goods were not tampered with, and neither were the instruments and machines used for their preparation. Occasionally Jungkook would start to play a few tricks but only neither of you were dealing with the goods. He would fling flour, icing and glitter when he had the chance, never missing an opportunity. For the most part, he was calm. Helping in the way Lorelynn required it by bringing him a spoon with batter and having him taste test occasionally. This helped keep him in place and help Lorelynn get accustomed to having a Fae around, which you all realized that would be their new fate. The only problem being whenever Kook liked a sample, he would shake off a little bit of dust. Which is why he was mostly kept to the back of the room. After a busy day. The order, at least the cookie part, is complete. Lorelynn and Jackson left the bakery, leaving you and Kook behind, but not before she prepared some of his favorite sunflower bread, for behaving today. A peace offering.

“Wow, Lorelynn really is a good baker.” Fae dust immediately dropping has he took his first bites. “Remember to cast a cleaning spell after I leave.” He looked over at you with widened eyes and snickered.

“She is, and I will. I always do, or at least try to.” You shrugged. You both stayed quiet, but not an awkward silence. It was enjoyable, especially since you were both having your fill with the sunflower bread and a few of the error cookies left over.

“I’m sorry for today. I didn’t realize you sincerely wanted to help.”

“It’s alright. I’m a Fae, so mistrust is normal.” Mistrust…

“It’s not that I didn’t trust you… This was just important, and I couldn’t risk it.” Your shoulders slumped down. You should have known, should have felt his sincerity. But because of your various encounters and tricks, you couldn’t bring yourself to fully believe him. So, when Lorelynn noted he spoke true and let him stay… It hurt. You were supposed to know, you know him. But just how well do you know him?

He put a hand on your back and let it stay there. “Apology accepted.” He looked over at you with soft eyes and a smile. Your face started to burn again, as it had gotten used to doing whenever moments like these transpired, especially now, when you were practically wrapped under his arm.

“Y’know, I like spending time with you. And I think the rest might start liking it too.”

“Well, I’m glad. I like having you around too.” His soft expression became mischievous in an instant. “I like owning you too.” Your shock caused him to burst into laughter, give you a sly wink, and turn into a puff of smoke and dust. Not even allowing you a defense, or even a goodbye. You scoffed, and chuckled. What a Fae. You cleaned up thoroughly and headed back home.

The next day you and Jackson were asked to man the bakery front while Lorelynn was finishing the wedding cake in the back, just in time for the order to be picked up. You secretly wished for the order to have been a delivery run as well, just to catch a glimpse of the event.

The months to follow were simply just of you and Jackson going to study the Fae, which had now turned to be more of a hangout session rather than studying. Now you knew that the eldest one was named Seokjin, but you all called him Jin for short. Speaking of short, the shortest of the Fae, was Jimin, who constantly mocked your height being an Elf. And the deep voiced Fae, Taehyung. Jungkook hijinks were more prominent now around the house since he was partially allowed to be there, it also helped for him to grow bonds with Lorelynn and Yoongi. 

Most days the bakery was visited by Hoseok and Namjoon, where they would vividly tell you about their many travels and experiences and invited you to in the future tag along with them to see what new horizons you may find. Over these months you grew to enjoy everyone you’ve met in your time living here.

Jackson, Lorelynn, Yoongi, Namjoon, Hoseok, Jin, Jimin, Taehyung… and Jungkook. Not all were connected to each other, but you were connected to all, and that filled your chest up with some sort of pride. Hopefully one day, everyone could integrate.

One day, you were sat at the Flour Pot, going over and comparing creature notes with Namjoon. His knowledge on creature and racial study was impressive as it was immersive, and you felt slightly ashamed that your findings were lacking, but you thought not much of it, until he reached your extensive chapter on Fae folk.

“Uh, Rowen… Things here seem a bit out of place.” He raised his eyes towards you, ridden with confusion. Ah, right. You had forgotten what had happened long ago.

“I’m sorry. Jungkook did Fae magic to some pages while on a study trip. He never bothered to fix them.” With a heavy sigh, you flipped through the pages, trying to find anything salvageable. The only thing you came across, was his simple yet characteristic self-portrait. It was quite endearing, no matter how falsely annoyed you may have gotten.

The noble let out a chuckle. “Should have casted a spell on it before you got too close.”

“Yeah… I might have pictures of the notes on my phone, but I highly doubt it. Worth checking though.” Your fingers worked on the screen as you spoke, eyes scanning the gallery in search for any of your pages. Instead, selfies of Jungkook, and pictures of a rather annoyed Rowen, taken by him, flooded the screen. Your cheeked reddened as you kept scrolling, he looked quite stunning in the images. Putting away the phone, you commented on your misfortune, but were quite fond of your new findings.

As three months turned to five, you had taken a job over at Yoongi’s clinic, where the both of you would discuss herbalism and find new mixes for medicine and such, he was mostly interested in the rare herbalism you had picked up in South Vale, and you were eager to unwrap that knowledge and present it to him. Jackson discovered a passion for baking, and while he would still go with you on your ‘studies’, he would mostly find himself working at the bakery. Both of you figured that by helping and working at Lorelynn and Yoongi’s respective businesses, it was a good way to give back to them for having put you up. Especially now with the whole Fae ordeal.

Jungkook would now spend his time in your study, often helping with the herbs you worked with whenever he notes some are lacking, by nourishing them, instead of being out in the woods with the rest of the Fae, and you would spend your free time at the mushroom circle with them. Other days there would be no sort of contact between the two, which left you feeling empty, but it was understandable, he was a busy Fae, and you were a busy Elf witch. Lately though, he’s traded his mischievous hand for a helping one. He takes care of some plants around the house, finds misplaced things, and even helps in the creation of new recipes for Lorelynn’s bakery, which have been getting popular, becoming weekly favourites.

Of course, in order to be spending time in the bakery, Jackson suggested; in a protective and humiliating manner, that Lorelynn make him wear a hazmat suit. Just for allergy prevention purposes. And maybe a chuckle or two for himself, since he was seemingly getting slightly jealous of all the attention the ‘pixie’ took from his best friends. Attention that was once his. Truly, they did get along, but they bickered like an old married couple.

Whenever Jungkook wasn’t helping at the bakery, he made time to play pranks and cause a bit of havoc in the house, but it was mostly rare now. He then since stopped messing with your name, but still very much enjoys pointing out that he owns it and therefore owns you.

One of the days that Jungkook was busily helping Lorelynn, he struck up a curious conversation.

“So, Lorelynn. You’re married to Yoongi, right?” The semi muffled voice came from the suit.

“Well, you’re quite observant.” She responded with sarcasm, a new habit of theirs.

“Funny.” His eyes rolled in time with the dough. “I just want to know; how did it happen? What was the marriage ceremony like? What is the Elf way of union?” He spoke with genuine interest.

“Well, funny you should ask. Yoongi and I had a human wedding for our ceremony.” A soft smile of nostalgia spread across her face, remembering that special day.

“Oh,” This came as a surprise to the Fae. “Why human and not Elf?” Lorelynn snorted at this remark.

“Because Elves don’t have weddings, silly. Our marriages are concealed through the act of sex. And in that case, I think Yoongi and I are pretty solid that we’re married.” The curious Fae reddened up, thankfully hidden in his suit. “I just wanted a big celebration like I’ve seen other races do, and a human-like wedding was the easiest to pull off.”

“So, if your kind doesn’t have a wedding, how do you show off that you’re married? Is it something you announce or...?” If he was interested before, there was no word to describe what he was now.

“Well, with Elves, you can see it in our eyes and hear it in our voice. Depending on how you look at it, it’s convenient, really. Instantly people know that you’re married, and to who.”

From the back of the kitchen, Jackson chimed in. “Well, if you ask me: it’s an inconvenience. What about Fae?”

“Whenever Fae ‘marry’ we get matching marks on our bodies. In a way, it’s like your voice and eye thing, you just know.”

From then on out, the conversation slowly turned into a comparison of Elf and Fae differences, Jungkook giving small thanks as to Lorelynn and Jackson’s easily distracted minds.

One night, he was in your studio, sitting on your desk, watching you work your magic as he was accustomed to now. While caught up chatting the night away, the moonlight peaks into the room, catching your face, causing your usual elven charms to skyrocket for him right then and there. You noticed he stopped talking so you looked up at him, only to catch him staring at you dearly, but instead his eyes ended up catching you. Caught in his gaze, unable to escape, you felt under a microscope, yet you remained still. He started to lean in slowly, like when he did in the pantry long ago, but there wasn’t any flour in this scenario. No sneezing Lorelynn’s to walk in on you. Not to be disrupted in the locked room. Just the two of you. And before you knew it, his lips landed on yours, gentle at first, but slowly becoming greedier, and to your surprise, you met his actions. You were in a daze, and he seemed to be in one too, as the Fae dust would not stop pouring off him. In the time that you knew him, and the other Fae, you had never witnessed so much dust. 

Unknowingly to you, it started to seep through the floorboards and reach downstairs to where Lorelynn sat in the living room, enjoying a cooking show. But her enjoyment came to an end, once the dust landed all over her and her allergies kicked into overdrive. You and Kook pulled away from each other as Lorelynn’s sneezes broke the sound barrier, only to begin laughing at what you had caused, both blushing tremendously.

“I don’t think a cleaning spell is going to help her after this one…” Jungkook laughed to himself. “Or the rest to come.” That second part sent shivers down your spine, because you desperately wanted more. “Does this mean we’re dating?” He asked softly in between breaths.

“I think so.” You say, might as well. This is your fate now. He smirked, and his tongue peered out just a bit.

“It’s good to know you’re mine in more ways than one.” In a matter of seconds, you were both consuming each other once again, with a passion neither of you knew you had.

After that, it wasn’t long before the other three Fae found out. And of course, they wanted to celebrate this union. Jungkook had quite the tongue, and you knew it well. You were outside in the garden, helping Lorelynn plant some new flowers she got. She wanted to ‘spruce it up a bit’ now that a Fae was visiting often. She had run inside to get another bag of potting soil, she would have been able to summon it, had it not been for Jungkook hiding it. Speaking of him, he was well on his way leading all the Fae over to Lorelynn’s house, and he took to using the fact that he owned your name, to be able to have his friends pass on to the property. You were in a coughing fit the moment all four Fae popped up at once, because of the amount of dust. 

“What are you all doing here?” You asked hurriedly, not knowing when Lorelynn would burst outside.

“They’ve come to celebrate our kiss union!” Jungkook exclaimed as they all gathered in for a group hug. Cheers throughout. Panic started to set in. The Fae were gathered here, screaming at that, when Lorelynn could come out at any given moment. You begged them to at the very least turn into their diminutive selves and fly off. And they did so. The first part at least. You shouted at Lorelynn to not come out when she was nearing the sliding door, because of bees, and she was deathly scared of them. So, she just watched as you chased down these “bees”, shooing them off. After the Fae got their fun, they yielded and went back to the woods. A solution for Lorelynn’s allergies needed to be found before they could just all wander into the property like this…

Over the next few days, you and Yoongi got to work, trying to come up with a cure for Lorelynn’s allergies. After 1 week of testing and inventing, the both of you gave up the medicinal aspect, and opted for something creative. A mask of sorts, to cover her nose and mouth area. This one, however, would have a magic thread, just to fully prevent Lorelynn breathing in any Fae dust. This took another week to perfect, and after finishing it, with what you hope was 100% secure, you decided to bring Lorelynn and Jungkook in to test it out. 

You, Yoongi, Jackson, Jungkook and Lorelynn all were gathered in your studio.

“So, I just put it on?” Lorelynn asked, answering herself by putting the mask on.

“Yes. Now, Rowen: cast a cleaning spell.” Yoongi ordered, and you followed. Making sure the room was perfectly clean. “Good. Okay, Jungkook: take off the hazmat suit.” Jungkook did as instructed, and now we waited. There was a little bit of Fae dust, not the amount he usually exudes normally, due to him being nervous.

“Does it work? I mean, I’m not sneezing.” The elf looked at all the faces in the room.

“Hard to say, there’s not enough dust.” You scratched your head, thinking of what to do.

“I’m trying really hard guys, there’s just nothing worth dusting about.” The poor Fae kept straining himself to dust.

“Well, what caused that dust storm the other day? She was practically in a coma.” Jackson questioned, perplexed.

“Really? You want them to start sucking the life out of each other again? We barely got rid of that dust last week!” Lorelynn’s exclaims made the blushing Fae suddenly start to drop some dust. With that, a thought sparked within you.

“I’m going to need you guys to leave for a while.” You started to point them out the door of your study, Yoongi didn’t want to risk his in case the mask didn’t work.

“But what about testing…”

“Just trust me.”

After a vigorous make out session with Jungkook, enough dust was swirling through the room to cause Lorelynn another near death experience. You called over for them to come over. Lorelynn was the first to walk in, with the mask on. Yoongi and Jackson followed suit.

“We were gone for 2 minutes and you managed to pour out all this? Kookie gets rather excited with kisses, eh?” Jackson poked an elbow at the Fae, the two often threw jabs at each other, always with their constant bickering, but you knew it came from a good place. Now, it was time to see if the mask worked.

“Okay, Lorelynn. The room is supposed to be a toxic zone for you right now. Take a few deep breaths to see how you do.” Yoongi spoke, he was quite hopeful this time around.

 After five large inhales on Lorelynn’s behalf, there were no allergies. The mask was a success!

“FINALLY! I can breathe!” She screamed overjoyed; she had been liberated from the dust. So long as she wore the mask, she would be fine.

Over the next few days; you supervised party planning. Namjoon and Hoseok were going on another trip earlier than expected, due to family matters. But knowing them, it would probably be extended once they set off, so you all agreed on sending them off properly. Not only that, you all had to celebrate the success of the mask too, which involved inviting all the Fae over, for all to meet. Months ago, you only hoped for this to happen, now it was becoming real. All your friends, together at once.

Hoseok and Namjoon were the first to arrive, curious to see the mask and meet the Fae that they had heard so much about. You knew it was all a bluff now. When you pieced it together, your mentor telling you where to find your destiny, seeing the boys; specifically, Namjoon; in South Vale, the warnings of wordplay, it all made sense now. Your mentor really was an all-knowing Elder Witch.

The boys quickly go over to hug their Elf mother who bore her allergy mask.

“So, this is what’s helping you survive the Fae dust? Outstanding.” Namjoon commented.

“Yeah, and I can see why.” Hoseok started to pat at his arms, already catching dust on his clothes.

“See that? That would have had me in my room, sneezing my insides out.” Lorelynn was very much excited about being able to walk around her house freely again, even if she had to wear a mask most of the time. She says she doesn’t mind since it accentuates her eyes. Whatever works. “And that,” She pointed at Jungkook just walked into the living room with Jackson. “Is the main source.” The Fae rolled his dark orbs at her.

“Hello,” Jungkook spoke at them, but he walked towards you, who was standing near them, and grabbed your hand tightly. “I’m that.”

“Hello, That. I’m Hobi, nice to meet you!” He extended his hand out, and Jungkook shook it with his free one.

“And I’m Namjoon. It’s good to see that now there can be peace between Lorelynn and Fae.”

“It is, only that there’s only peace with me. The rest, that’s another story.”

And as if on cue, three puffs of smoke and dust appear outside the door, and knocks are heard. Since the spell still hasn’t been lifted, they can’t come in unless Jungkook directly invites them, which when he motioned the door opened, the Fae could waltz in freely.

“HELLO!” Jimin, the small Fae cheered, his eyes becoming little crescent moons. A small gasp could be heard from Lorelynn’s mask. You guessed it was because of Jimin’s cuteness.

“Nice to see everyone!” Tae walked in quickly after, going to greet Jungkook and you first.

Lastly, Jin made his entrance. “I forgot what it was like to be surrounded by other species after so long… I missed it. Hello, everyone.” Jin closed the door behind him and quickly acclimated himself to the party. They were all acting particularly civil. This was odd. Until they spotted the owner of the house, she was easy to single out because of her mask, even though she was trying to hide behind Yoongi.

“Wow, I didn’t think after Rowen, we’d ever see another small elf, but there’s two more.” Tae was the first to act.

“Wuah, they really are tiny, but what about that mask, the poor thing can only be around us if she wears it.” Jin teased.

“C’mon, take it easy on her.” Jungkook tried defending, but to no avail.

Jimin sparked up in laughter. “A tiny elf with a Fae allergy? That’s hilarious- wait.” He got really close to Lorelynn, Yoongi stepped in front of her instinctively. “No, don’t worry, I’m not going to do anything. She just seems… Familiar.” Yoongi moves away a little, but still wary. Lorelynn’s eyes are the only thing visible to Jimin, yet they stirred something in him.

“Is your name common among your people?”

“No…” Her eyes darted around.

“Did you live in Roseshire?” Jimin took a step further, in awe. Lorelynn nodded, something in her eyes said that Jimin also seems familiar.

“YOU’RE THE ELF KID WITH THE SOCKS, AREN’T YOU?!” Jimin suddenly hopped and pointed at her, face utterly in shock. Everyone jumped as well, spooked from his actions.

“STOP IT, NO I’M NOT.” Lorelynn practically mimicked him.

“YES, YOU ARE!” Within seconds he was gone and back, sporting one of Lorelynn’s fancy socks on his head, laughing loudly. “Those allergies were never real, don’t you remember?” Lorelynn furrowed her brows and crossed her arms. “I gave them to you for smacking me with a book!”

“I THOUGHT YOU WERE A FLY! HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW IT WAS YOU? And what do you mean you gave them to me?”

“It was a punishment. It was meant to only be temporary… But you moved away before I could even revert it! And I never found out where you went anyways, but now that we’re here.” Jimin snapped his fingers in front of her face. “There, now you can take off that silly mask.”

You and Yoongi just stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. The allergies… were magic. It took you and Yoongi creating a one of a kind magic mask, to find out that with the presence of the Fae, the allergies could have been cured with one fucking snap. Fantastic.

“You guys went through all that trouble for the longest time, for all your efforts to be undone with a single snap.” Jackson whispered and snickered into your ears. “Yoongi looks so defeated after this.” He did look… Tragic. Well, at least now Lorelynn can breathe as the rest of the world does, but you are never getting those two weeks back.

The rest of the evening went on as planned with no allergies and loads of fun.  The Fae would go around playing harmless tricks that caused a laugh every now and then, Lorelynn and Jimin would bicker about the past, Jackson bothered Yoongi over not solving the allergy sooner, Jungkook stayed by you close, holding your hand firmly whenever anyone but Yoongi and Lorelynn got near you. Whenever any guy gets near you, actually… 

At the end of the night, Hoseok and Namjoon decided it was officially time to say goodbye. Lorelynn was a mess, even though they reassured her several times they would come back. Yoongi, who looked so small next to them, seemed like a sad father bidding farewell. It was almost comical, but you also grew to like, no, to love theme, so it was a bit sad for you as well, but you were mostly excited for them. You know when they returned, they tell you all about their royal cousin’s wedding and the new places they surely would visit. After the boys had gone, the Fae trio decided it was time for them to leave as well.

“Today was fun, thank you for having us.” Jin started.

“Yeah, thank you. Though we do have one request before we leave…” Tae, followed by Jimin, started to lead on what you were planning on asking.

“The spell… May you remove it?” Jimin directed his gaze at Yoongi, they know who put up the spell. “We’d like to visit, some other time.” His smile spread, and eyes landed on Lorelynn this time. It seems like she will be his target, yet again.

Yoongi sighed, knowing that once he removed it, he’d too fall victim to one of the Fae, and going off by how the night went, it seemed that he was Jin’s victim. Jackson was Taehyung’s plaything the whole night, so it goes without saying that he will also be fully pranked. And, obviously, you had Jungkook. But now, as Yoongi moved his hand with a swift motion, you were all doomed, the four Fae had full invitation to come inside the house.

“Thank you,” Jin bowed his head only slightly. “You will be seeing us quite often.” He winked.

“Better hide those socks, Lorelynn.” Jimin sneered at the Elf girl.

“Stop touching my SOCKS!”

One year later…

           Ever since the Farewell party for Hobi and Namjoon took place so long ago, the house has never been more… busy. Yoongi had removed the spell, as requested by the Fae, which caused them to now freely go to the house whenever they wanted. Be it to just hang out and have a nice time, or… wreak havoc. Things started off slow. Jimin would occasionally sneak into Lorelynn’s sock drawer, not doing much, just moving them out of place, mismatching them, poking a few holes in some. Nothing too much. But then it grew into magically placing them where she could not reach. Last week she was dangling from the chandelier in the living room because she used a step stool to try and get it, but then Jimin got rid of the step stool under her and watched as she screamed. She was fine, though, he also magically tied her hands to the chandelier while she was trying to rescue her socks.

           At first, Jin would mess with Yoongi using notes. He would leave random start-off jokes in one place for Yoongi to find, and then the punchline somewhere rather inconvenient, like in his sandwiches for example. But that then turned into Jin sneaking into the room in the middle of the night in his diminutive state, whispering a random pun into Yoongi’s ear, and then proceed to laugh like a broken windshield so loudly, even Lorelynn would freak out.

           At the beginning, Taehyung would try to set up pranks meant for you, but Jungkook would quickly diffuse them, either by undoing the prank, stopping it, or putting misplaced things back in their place. After seeing how he would not be allowed to prank his Fae brother’s beloved, he moved onto Jackson… Jackson faced the worst of it. Tae would just unplug his phone from charging at first and lock it for a while. But then… He decided that playing with Jackson’s consoles, switching and deleting save files from games, finishing games before Jackson did and then rewriting that save file, was a much better way to spend his time.

           Of course, it wasn’t all bad, the Fae’s also had their good times. Seeing as they got attached to each one of them, they not only pranked them on occasion, but mostly helped their elf whenever they deemed it so. Jimin would help Lorelynn with the garden, and her various plants in the house and bakery, and replaced Jungkook as the pastry tester. Jin would keep Yoongi company in the clinic whenever things got too stressful and helped around with menial tasks that would otherwise interfere with Yoongi’s work if it got too busy. Taehyung had a separate Memory Card for Jackson’s console that he didn’t mess with and was used to play games together.

And you, you had Jungkook. He did strike a prank every now and again, but it was rare now. He mostly helped you out by tending to your herbs and protecting you from random pranks from any of the other Fae. His time was spent mostly in your room, cuddling up to you, making you nervous, kissing you, teasing you, etc. You were always doing couple stuff for the most part now. But even after a whole year, you were still putty in his hands. And, he still owned your name.

Eventually Hoseok and Namjoon returned and a Welcome party had awaited them at the bakery. They shared their stories about the weddings and tales of a Vampire town they went to afterwards, you made note to ask more about it later, hoping to visit soon. Hobi and Joon’s arrival now meant that the Fae had another two victims to torment. And sadly, for both the humans, they quickly were invaded by all four Fae almost every week, but they all became buddied up with each other through the hi-jinks.

One day, Jungkook showed up in your room, urging you to come with him. He had a picnic basket filled with different finger foods and pastries that he had requested Lorelynn to make prior. Due to his excitement, you went with whatever it is he had planned. “It’s a really beautiful spot in the woods, you’re going to love it.” Were the words that piqued your interest for this exclusive date. 

After all the time you spent wandering in the woods, you would have thought you could never have missed a place quite like the one the Fae took you too. Then again, these lands were his home, not yours, and you were as thankful as ever of having him by your side.

It was an open cave, from where the water from a resounding waterfall fell to connect with a river. Light came from the top, which you guessed has exposed to the continuity of the forest and that dwelled within. Birds swooped in from time to time, nudging their heads against the water and taking away their food for the day.

Near the centre, on a sort of islet surrounded by the streaming water, stood an elder willow, its whip-like arms swaying in the breeze as smaller, glowing creatures danced around it. Jungkook grabbed your hand and led you towards the willow. There he laid down the blanket and basket, motioning for you to sit down, so he could rest his head atop your lap, a habit he picked up a few months ago that caused the right kind of stir within you

Whatever attention you would have normally given to your surroundings vanished much like it always did when he was around, his presence enough to render you dull in seconds even after all this time. His doe eyes grabbed your attention first, like usual, warm and enchanting and speaking so many words left unsaid. His cheeks were your favourite shade of rosy, and his lips quivered by a corner. Your hand stilled the gentle caress it offered his locks when he scrunched his nose your way, mischief glazing over his features.

“You know,” he spoke, voice twice as velvety, “it’s been a year.” You hummed in confirmation, very much aware of how long your relationship had shifted those 12 months ago. A shy smile inched its way into your lips when you remembered the first night you kissed, the hunger behind it after every stroke, and the scalding touch that left you restless the few nights after.

“I'm well aware,” you answered, trying to shoo away unnecessary thoughts in whatever efforts to keep the innocence of it all. Though, he was never one to help in that department.

“One year since you've been all mine.” Before you knew it, his head had left your lap, and your back met the petaled floor, breath hitched and cheeks undoubtedly red.

If you didn't know any better, you'd have guessed he read your thoughts, the resurfaced memories and feelings. But you knew he could read your expression like his favourite book, every detail already engraved into his memory. It was very much the same to you, though the tightening of your stomach didn't quite let you function - neither did the leg he raised to separate yours, nor the now pupil-consumed eyes that practically ate you on their own.

“But have I been yours?” He added, an odd choice of words for the moment you were sharing.

“Well, have you?” You asked, a bit confused really, flustered all the same.

“I thought about that for a long time, but it always led back to you being mine. I’m changing that today.” He reached a hand into the basket that had been left untouched and pulled out what seemed to be a note. “I give you this.” You took it in your hands, unfolding each crease carefully. Inside, only one word was written. ‘Jungkook’. “I give you my name, as I have yours. Bounded by name. Forever.” He spoke softly, throwing in his signature wink that set your heart aflame that one day in the forest.

“Do you plan on keeping me then?” you asked, voice more of a whisper because of the lack of distance between you. His raised eyebrow would have been more prominent to you had your eyes not been too keen on observing his lips.  They curled into a lazy smirk, and all you wanted to do was bruise them with your own. He could feel it in your heartbeat, both your nerves and your excitement, when he answered.

“Yes, permanently.” he said, eyes too dark and devastating you dared not doubt him. “You'll never belong to anyone else, but me.” As if to seal the promise, his lips came crashing down on yours, a tug of war between softness and greed. It seeped desperation and ardour, heat spreading everywhere until it became too much, and far too little.

Whenever he pulled back it was with a bite, only to continue with his tongue until he tasted every part of your mouth with his own, grunting against your gasps and trying to blurry the line between where you and he began. You could feel the dust leaving his skin in streams, coating everything it got in its way, though you paid no mind to it.

It was when he shifted to kissing elsewhere that it got too much, his skin too far away from your own to your liking. Sometime along the way, your garments were lost to the water along with his, and nothing stopped you from becoming one for as long as time allowed. Soft, feverish touches turned scalding and heady, sounds drowning out even the rush of the water farther in the cave.

You were thankful to have put up a sound locking spell, as well as a glamour wall around you to keep the privacy - really, the last sane action you committed before losing yourself to him. It wasn't like you minded at all, high on the ecstasy of his strokes and the playful kisses he managed to give during the process. You were absolutely drenched in the dust before you knew it, each shift of his hips sputtering more around your body, your hair, your face. 

By the time you came down from the high, your skin glowed the faint lilac light the Fae dust had turned into. What a way to celebrate your first year. He rolled off gently to lay beside you, gazing at you with pure innocence that would betray what had happened just moments ago.

His breath hitched suddenly, and he brought his right wrist to his face. Simultaneously, you felt an odd but pleasant sensation creep up in your left wrist. Mimicking his actions, you saw as a simple dark outline of a crescent moon slowly appeared on your bare wrist. Your eyes went to Jungkook’s wrist, to see the same moon appear on his. He looked at his wrist and yours with a softness in his eyes. But what were these markings?

Finally, his eyes landed on you. A soft smile made its way to his lips as he spoke.

“I’m glad to know we’re bound together in more ways than one, love.” Bounded?

“Oh?” And then you heard it. Your voice. “Oh.” You… We are married. “These markings?”

“Symbols of our union. We’re bound in both the Fae way and the Elven way.” He really brought you here to get married, and your dumbass didn’t even realize you were doing so.

“I mean, it’s beautiful. I simply forgot that Elves got married by… doing that.”

“What?” His content expression shifted a bit.

“No, I mean, I’m glad we’re married! I just forgot, since Lorelynn had a human wedding and all, it slipped my mind.” You reassured him that you were okay with this, and you really were. The only problem now was… How to tell your friends?

“Well, I’m glad we’re married too. Now I need to go to Fae City and speak with the Queen. I just need to report that I’m leaving the group because I married out of race and then we’re good to go wherever we please. You should come with me, of course.” Wow, it was all such a bureaucratic procedure. And going to Fae City… That’s something most people only dream of.

“Then we’ll go to Fae City. But I need at least a week to figure out how to tell everyone we’re married. So, give me one week, no surprises, no showing up unannounced, for one week. And then we’ll meet with everyone and head on to Fae City.”

By your words, excitement spread across his face. “Deal. One week.” You nodded happily. The plan was set. You’d tell your household, you’re tell the rest, and you would go. It would be a simple task, and you could handle it in a day or two. You and Jungkook continued to enjoy your date, finishing off the basket, and cuddling under the elder willow.

You arrive at the house after your apparent wedding at the grotto. Before this, you stopped by a store and bought some very dark spectacles, avoiding eye contact with anyone and not speaking a word. Likewise, you walk into the house with your eyes hidden and mouth sealed. You also got a bracelet to cover up that new mark on your wrist. You really were Jungkook’s wife now, huh?

Unfortunately for you, Jackson, Lorelynn and Yoongi were all in the living room, playing a board game of sorts. Oh no…

“You’re back early, wanna play?” Jackson was the first to notice your arrival. “What’s with the glasses?” You wrote out words in the air. ‘I have a killer migraine. I’m also feeling a little hoarse, so I’m going to rest my throat.’

“Oh, I have a nice herbal blend for that, you’ll be fine in no time after you drink it.” Yoongi suggested and panic went through you. Lorelynn got up quickly in the direction of the kitchen.

“I’ll prepare it and bring it to your room, go lay down or something.” She stopped in front of you, you felt a quick assessment of the situation. She brought a hand up to your forehead, and your panic subsided. “You’re awfully sparkly. No fever.” The first part was a whisper inside your head, a point being made: telepathy, and the suspicion in her eyes raised the hairs at the back of your neck. The second part was discretion. You hoped she didn’t figure it out, but if she did, you knew she’d keep quiet until you talked. You went upstairs, took off the spectacles, and dove right into your bed face first. A few moments later, Lorelynn walked into your room and you heard her put down the cup of tea on your night table and leave the room with a ‘Feel better.’ You needed a week. You would tell them before the week ends. And then you will go to Fae city. You will do it.

The week went on, hiding your eyes and voice, drinking herbal blends that left Yoongi dumbfounded because you were ‘still sick’, and speaking only through magic words that appear in thin air. You spent most of the week hiding in your room, due to the ‘sickness’, avoiding any contact that could reveal you were now a married woman.

Jackson, Lorelynn and Yoongi were all starting to suspect. The latter was absent, when Lorelynn and Jackson were downstairs at the table having breakfast. You figured you could grab a quick bite and come back, giving out another excuse about being sick. So down you went, with your dark spectacles magically secured on your face, to avoid any mishaps.  You reached the kitchen and noticed the pair at the table, giving them an acknowledging nod, but speaking nothing whatsoever.

“Feeling any better?” Jackson asked first.

“Or are you going to speak only through magic now?” Lorelynn added.  ‘No & No’ appeared behind you as a response.

Meanwhile… Jackson and Lorelynn had their own private conversation.

“She could just be using telepathy if she were actually sick.” Jackson texted Lorelynn. “Actually.” ‘We could be using telepathy; this is much quicker.’

‘Yeah, I know. She’s been hiding her eyes and voice for so long… You don’t think?’  Lorelynn’s eyes widened, matching Jackson’s.

‘No… Really? I’m going to make those spectacles fall off.’ Immediately Jackson looked over to you, and suddenly started to strain. ‘Huh, they’re… not coming off? You try.’

‘What do you mean they’re not,’ At that, Lorelynn tried too, meeting the same fate. ‘I CAN’T REMOVE THEM EITHER, THEY’RE BOUND BY MAGIC. THIS BITCH!’

‘THEN DID SHE ACTUALLY-’ Jackson’s telepathy was interrupted by a sudden puff of smoke and dust.

A Fae figure stood in the middle of the kitchen, bearing with him a huge bouquet of flowers. “GOOD MORNING, DEAR WIFE-O-MINE. ARE YOU READY FOR FAE CITY?!” Jungkook screeched. Your spectacles fell off on their own. You had forgotten you had to tell them, you just kept hiding it, ashamed.

“WIFE?!” Lorelynn and Jackson both shouted at once. Lorelynn was clearly faking, she probably knew and was just letting you do you. You couldn’t even answer anything as they both quickly got up to look at your eyes in awe. Lorelynn was quick to check Jungkook and noticed his wrist so she went to inspect yours to be met with the bracelet. “Really? This too? Y’all got married and didn’t say a damn word.”

“Didn’t Rowen tell you?” Jungkook asked, his excitement quickly deflated at the realization that you had not mentioned your union at all, but was mildly interrupted when the plethora of Fae and Royal blood humans swarmed into the house and kitchen shouting cheers of celebration. Of course…  Jungkook took your previous deal literally, as Fae do. One week, and we’ll gather everyone. They caused such a commotion that even Yoongi was awakened from his slumber to join the festivities.

Shamefulness, guilt and regret washed over you like a tidal wave as you laid eyes on the momentarily crushed soul that was Jungkook. Mouthing a small, but sincere ‘I’m sorry’, Jungkook gave you a nod, and the purest smile of understanding before responding ‘It’s okay.’ You’d talk it through with him eventually. It’s not like you weren’t excited for it, anyways. He knew that.

After explaining to everyone that you had been married for a week, and apologizing for not saying anything about it, the celebration went on. Jackson was the one hurt most of all, feign of course. 

“I’m your best friend, I could have been your Man of Honour. The disrespect. Our friendship is ultimately over.”

“Really? You wanted to be there, holding my hand, while I had a fucking?” You whispered to him, only with him would you be so crude. His brows furrowed, and his nose crinkled in disgust.

“I forgot that’s how our kind does that… Our friendship is reinstated.” He rested his elbow on your shoulder, a classic move since you were the smallest.

“Hah, same. And I thought so.” You smiled, winning this round of many bickering that have come and gone and have yet to happen between you.

 Everyone left after roughly an hour, since it was a workday for most elves and humans, and the Fae had to go man their post at the mushroom circle, lest they completely abandon it and get scolded for it again. You all said your ‘see you soons’ and went your own way for the day.

           Jungkook stayed downstairs, while Lorelynn was busy helping you pack your bags upstairs.

           “You knew, didn’t you?” You asked, breaking the silence that was overwhelming the room.

           “I knew the minute you walked into my house covered in Fae cum.” You almost choked on her words. FAE CUM. “I asked Jungkook a long time ago what happens to Fae Dust when Fae have sex because I noticed a slight change in colour with the dust whenever you guys kissed.” So, it was obvious… dumb.

           “Why didn’t you say anything? You let me go on hiding this, thinking I was completely keeping it hidden.” You put away the last few things you needed to pack in a hurry, already nervous again.

           “I wanted to see how long you kept it up and how long it took Jackson and Yoongi to figure it out.” She smirked. “It’s about time to go, isn’t it?” She handed you the small travel bag with your essentials. It was indeed about time to go. The two of you were not a hug-and-kiss type of friendship, so goodbyes were always sorted with a quick jab at the other. “The least you can do is not show up in front of the Queen in Fae Jizz, be respectful.” Before you could respond, the Elf dashed out of the room, you could hear her footsteps rushing down the stairs. You left it at that, sighing, and headed downstairs to where your husband awaited, with his own bag, rather small. 

Jungkook was gleaming, excited for the next step on your journey together, both your journey to Fae City and your journey in life. He took your hand as you approached him, slightly trembling with excited nerves.

“Are you ready, love?” His eyes darted all over your face as he bit his lip eagerly. This was a moment he longed for.

“As I’ll ever be.” You gave him a small squeeze and nod in confirmation. You were ready. To go to Fae City, face the Queen, and start your life with Jungkook, wherever it took you.

You were back deep within the woods with Jungkook, only this time it was for nothing related to the grotto. Well, technically. You had carefully passed way beyond the mushroom circle, down a hidden path bound to Fae City. Jungkook knew the way like the back of his hand, but for you, like the grotto, this was new territory. You almost doubted why you were going so deep, why you were venturing so out of the way, but you knew that the entrance to Fae City had to be hidden.

Jungkook comes to a stop in quite likely the most ominous spot in all the forest.

“Well, this is it.” He squeezed the hand that was entrapped in his for the entirety of the walk.

“Fae City?” You asked dubiously, there was nothing there. The area looked bleak and depressing, too dark and humid, not like anything you had imagine.

“The entrance, yeah.” His eyes stayed forward and then landed on you. “I have to go in first and wait for you on the other side. It can be overwhelming for non-Fae.”

“Oh, okay.” Your voice betrayed you, nerves hitched.

“Don’t worry. Just wait a few seconds before you follow me in. I’ll be right on the other side, I promise.” He kissed your fingers in assurance. You simply nodded, he had a way of calming you down in ways unknown to you, but fully appreciated. He let go of your hands carefully and walked ahead, giving a small nod back at you before disappearing completely.

As he said, you waited a few seconds before following him. A few seconds that felt eternal in this dark, musky and foggy swamp-like place, but still you took your first step, and then another, and another… Until you saw it.

You advance forward through the glistening portal hidden deep in the forest among a layer of fog. You're immediately met by a vibrant, soothing world that welcomes you. A gentle breeze touches you gently from the lush and thick forests in front of you as the rays of a blueish sun warm your skin. Perfect conditions in a perfect world and a sense of excitement takes hold of you. A barrage of the senses takes over as you begin to take in every element of this world you can.

As promised, Jungkook was standing right there. He chuckled at your awe as you took in Fae City. It was unreal, but it was real. You were there. It felt like a dream. The colors were bright, yet soft. The air was crisp and gentle. The sun… Blue, yet it shone with such brightness that not even your yellow sun could beat. You never would have guessed, never would have imagined, that this was what Fae City would be. You were enthralled. “I told you it could be overwhelming.”

You spent that week in Fae City, getting to know what Jungkook’s life was up until now, the places he went to, his culture. Everything a Fae was about, you learned and kept engraved in your mind forever. The visit to the Queen was short. Jungkook simply had to present you and report that he would now be leaving their group due to marrying out of race. His report was marked with the royal seal and archived, he was now free to roam wherever he wanted, for as long as he wanted. He now belonged to you, and not his Queen.

So far, life has been great. You never imagined that giving up your name to a Fae would change your life the way it did. If you had to do it all over, you wouldn’t change a thing. Months after having gotten married and reported to the Fae Queen, Jungkook and you had settled into Glistening Woods semi permanently. You moved out of Lorelynn and Yoongi’s house and moved into your own that was acquired through your and Jungkook’s savings. With a little help from Lorelynn, Yoongi, Hoseok, Namjoon, Jin, Jimin and Taehyung, you managed to furnish your house entirely, which otherwise would have been a hassle. You had a two floor, three-bedroom house, like Lorelynn’s.  You were quick to invite Jackson to live with you and he obviously accepted. Wherever you went, he followed. Destined best friends. The remaining room was a guest room which often became Tae’s since he would visit and stay over quite often. The rooms you and Jackson abandoned in Lorelynn’s house quickly became shared rooms for Hoseok and Namjoon, and Jin and Jimin, whenever they needed to stay. Lorelynn liked to call her home the Hotel because of how many of you had stayed over time.

            You were sitting on a bench outside your porch at night, drinking a warm cup of tea before you went to bed. You heard the front door open and close behind you. A kiss landing softly on your forehead revealed who it was. Jungkook took a seat next to you, admiring the night sky. Moments like these, silent and unassuming, were the important ones. They made you realize just how lucky you are.

           “So,” Jungkook spoke, a smile toying on his lips. “I think we should try for a kid soon.” These sudden words almost caused you to choke on your tea. Almost. You turned a serious gaze to him, as he waited for a response.

           “Elves stop craving sex after children.” The Fae’s eyes opened wide and his jaw dropped slightly to a small ‘o’. After blinking and nodding a bit too quickly, he spoke again.

           “Yeah, we should wait a bit more before we have children, we’re still newlyweds and all.”

           “Waiting sounds good, yeah.” You nodded in agreement, both of you chuckling at shared inner thoughts.

 After finishing your tea, the both of you headed back inside and into the bedroom where once again, you would bind yourselves together in lilac marriage.

-end-

[rock-n-roll-refugee]

Ultraviolence~Chapter 1

I had to rewrite this because I forgot to save it... shoot me

PART 2 OUT NOW ON MY PAGE (I’m too lazy and dumb to link)

Peter Parker x Villain!Reader

A/N: This is something I wanna try, and I know I suck at writing and sticking to one project so let’s see how well this goes. And if y’all like this please let me know I feed off your complements :( also idk what The Hand is, i know its from Daredevil, but I'm just using it randomly. sorry

warnings: a lot of swearing lol, violence, blood

If you watched A Clockwork Orange you would know that the storyline follows a madman’s twisted descent into normality. Substitute Def Leppard for the old Ludwig Van and you have the tragic story of (Y/N) (Y/L/N). 

She had many similarities to the infamous Alex Delarge in which they both are mentally deranged and crave that sweet taste of violence. (Y/N) also took part in somewhat of a gang, but it wasn’t like Alex’s droogs. It was more of an ancient organization of assassins than a gang, but nonetheless, she was on the wrong side of the law. The organization was called The Hand and she was taken in by Bakuto, the leader, when she was only four after her father killed her mother and abandoned a very young (Y/N) on the streets. Her father was a rouge member and destroyed his family so he could escape for himself. Or at least that was the story she was told. Bakuto took her in because he saw potential, or maybe it was just her superhuman powers, for she had the ability to manipulate the elements into any weapon of choice making her an excellent weapon for The Hand. 

~

It was a typical mission, take out a corrupt entrepreneur who had got caught in a bad situation with some bad people. It was a task that she had preformed many times over many years, but today was different. It was her first solo mission. 

“Its in and out. Simple as that.” she whispered to herself.

She scaled the building, it was a large villa on the edge Lake George in New York. It was magnificent and it all came from dirty money. The atmosphere gave her a boost of confidence and she decided, why not have a little fun? Unlike the rest of The Hand, she always liked to spice up her assassinations with a little flare. Just like her idol Mr. Delarge, she was always one for the dramatics. A lot of her inspiration came from her favorite movie, as you know, is A Clockwork Orange. However, this was the only film (Y/N) (Y/L/N) has ever sense there wasn't anything to compare to. She smuggled the film into base, knowing she was forbidden to view films from the outside, and that it would disrupt her training, but it was her only memory with her previous family. Her father would watch this movie and to her mother’s dismay, she watched it along with him even though it was a movie very unsuitable for young eyes. What should be considered an awful memory according to Bakuto was something of comfort for (Y/N). Unlike most, she sympathized for Alex Delarge, and even though he was meant to be an evil “anti-hero”, she was able to relate to his strife.

She was lost in her thoughts when she heard the front doors open and close. She snuck to a new hiding spot and watch guests flow into the mansion. There was a corporate celebration being held tonight, and what better way of sending a message than in front of maybe hundreds. The hours passed and it became gradually hard to stay hidden due to the vast amount of party goers. She was ahead of the game however and was prepared for this situation. She changed into appropriate attire for the event, which was a black camisole dress layered with a mesh long sleeve dress with gold embroidery, which was provided to her. She slipped on the obligatory heels and joined the party, waiting for the right moment to strike. 

~

“I don’t understand Mr. Stark, why did you have to bring me here again?” Peter whined at Tony as the exited the car. 

“Kid, if you want to be involved with Stark Industries you need to know how to go to things like this.” Tony said waving off Happy. 

“Who is this guy anyways?” Peter said trying to keep up with Tony

“This guy is a pretty big investor in my company, and it would be rude of us not to go. He’s kind of a jackass though.”

They maneuvered their way through the crowd, shaking hands and greeting unfamiliar people. They finally found a place to stand, to be greeted by yet more money sniffing mongrels wanting to stuff their greedy hands into Tony’s pockets. Peter slouched over getting bored after only 15 minutes and waiting for this event to be over. He groaned and Tony rolled his eyes and sighed. Peter’s eyes began to scan the room for something slightly interesting, when he caught a good look at her. His posture suddenly improved grabbing Tony’s attention. He watched Peter drool over the (Y/H/C) haired girl in the black and gold dress, watching every move she made.

“Quit drooling kid and go talk to her.” Tony demanded. Peter’s eyes went large.

“Wha-what do you mean Mr. Stark?” Peter stuttered looking back from her and Tony.

“You really aren’t subtle.” Tony said face palming, “quit groaning and go over there. Gives you something to do rather than bugging me all night.”

Tony nudged Peter in her direction and he slowly and awkwardly waddled over to her. She stood in a pretty empty part of the party with her arms crossed, just staring blankly into the crowd.

“he-hey” he said softly

She looked at the nervous boy with her eyebrow raised, 

“hi” she said easily dismissing him

“um... so... cool party right?”

“right.” she said giving only a sliver of attention the the boy. Her attitude gave him a weird boost in confidence.

“So, what’s your name?” He asked throwing her off guard.

“Uhhh...” she was preparing to go unnoticed and not talk to anyone, so she didn’t even bother coming up with a fake name. She frantically scanned the room for ideas. She looked over to the bar and saw the bartender pouring a drink for a partygoer,

“Scotch...” she muttered, “Scotch uhhhh...” 

She then saw a man walk by wearing a brown leather jacket,

“Leather?” She said unsure.

“Scotch Leather?” Peter asked

“Yeah...” she said mentally face palming.

He began to burst out laughing as she joined him laughing nervously.

“I’m so sorry, I know that’s your name and its very rude of me to laugh, but no offense, that sounds like a stripper’s name.” He said as she scoffed. She realized the humor in it and began to laugh hysterically with him. 

Hours went by, and the two just talked and laughed about everything. As night fell, they heard a glass being chimed, attracting everyone’s attention. The host, and (Y/N)’s target stood up in the front of the room. 

“That’s my cue” she said to herself.

“Sorry what?” Peter said no catching what she was saying.

“Oh, I said I need to use the restroom.” she said putting down her glass of water, “It was nice meeting you Parker.” 

Peter smiled victoriously and marched back to Tony.

“You were over there for a while. How’d it go?” Tony whispered as the host began his speech.

“Amazing! She's smart, and pretty, and my age too!” Peter told him ecstatically.

“Did you get her number?”

“Crap.”

~

She had changed back into her previous attire and snuck onto the roof where she had a good view of her target. She tied her hair up into a tight bun and slipped on her mask. She had to use her full face mask due to the fact that she walked around the party for a while and enough people saw her face to be able to show it. She groaned at the suffocation and begrudgingly stuffed her head in. It was musty and smelled like sweat, and the connected goggles were scratched up and foggy. The one advantage was that her identity was completely hidden and she looked pretty freaky. She adjusted her suit, which was an all black bulletproof suit that went up to her neck, and cargo pants and boots over the suit. 

She reached out her hand and a chunk of metal melted from a bare pipe and flew into her hand, shaping into a katana once it touched her palm. she peaked through the skylight at the target, still rambling on.

“...and to all those who have been a part of my project, I’d like to thank and for the profits, we are making more than we anticipated, so I am making a proposal for the next...” 

He droned on for a long time, but she had to wait for the perfect moment. She wanted to make her first solo mission something to remember. 

She cut a hole through the skylight and swiftly hopped down right behind him, barely making a noise when her feet touched the floor. She went unnoticed until she stood up behind him. She was merely a shadow, and barely visible, but what caught everyone’s eye was the gleam of her sword. The crowd audibly gasps at the intruder and a frightened murmur is heard throughout the room.

“I know, I know. These new plans are ambitious, but trust me I have a plan to initiate a...” he says, as a reply to the gasps and murmurs.

The assassin smirks under her mask as the host turns around confused as to why the crowd looked frightened, and the moment he is face to face with her she sheaths her katana deep into his heart. The people in the crown scream and run frantically out of the building. She chuckles knowing the scene looks almost like renaissance painting, her and the target dead center, his eyes rolled back into his head, and the frenzy of the guests scattering the ironically serene and exquisite room. It was almost poetic and how she wished she could get a snapshot of the moment. She twisted the sword making the man scream out in pain and retracted her sword, taking one last look at the magnificent scene and scurrying off.

“Hey Peter?” Tony asked, not looking directly at him

“Y-yeah?”

“Do you have your suit on you?”