#do you want a medal?? you SHOULD support your partners and your friends

[vorareromantic]

silly little vent in the tags

[lemotmo]

To me that deleted scene is such bullshit… wdym you’re letting buck “set the pace” when your middle aged adult man ass pitched a temper tantrum and abandoned him on the curb when he didn’t come out to his best friend for you 0.2 seconds after you kissed him (especially when you’re not even out to that friend either)

and then to have the audacity to agree to come to a bachelor party he planned and get annoyed when he asks why you didn’t dress up- something he had obviously told everyone else??

then to be an asshole to him when he wins a medal instead of being proud and supportive?? like a partner should be??

or maybe when you let him set the pace by making a sex joke out of him trying to have a serious conversation with you about the man he sees as his father?

he drives me insane and if the writers aren’t doing this on purpose to make him seem awful then idk how the fuck they got jobs in the first place bc if this is supposed to be making him endearing or giving me any good vibes then they’re doing awful at their job bc what???

but then again apparently people like that kind of shit or else we wouldn’t have this mass hoard of fans policing literal fan pages for not wanting to promote a shitty character over literally main characters with depth and complexity who have been on the show for almost 8 years 🙄🙄🙄

You made me laugh out loud with your descriptions of Tommy. LOL!

You're spot on though. I fully agree with all of this!

[forsakenoathkeeper]

I Am Alive (chapter 1/?)

Chapter 1: A Nurse for Androids

Deviant!Connor[RK800] x (fem!)Reader Rated M(18+) for canon-typical violence and gore, medical procedures, and graphic sexual content

Synopsis: You were a biomechanical engineer, a fancy way of saying that you repaired androids. After the revolution, you decided to move back to Detroit to offer aid as, essentially, a nurse. After stopping by to visit an old friend, you began to grow attached to his android partner.

Chapters • 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • more coming soon

You can also read on AO3 & thank you for supporting me ♥

"Lieutenant, this place is-"

Connor stopped himself when he caught the look Hank was giving him. It was something akin to a scowl, though his lip was a bit more crooked and his eyes were more annoyed than angry.

"Hank," Connor corrected himself. "This place is-"

"Can it," the detective groaned, knowing full well he was about to get criticized for living in a dump.

Connor caught himself smiling a little, despite the fact he had just been told to shut up. There was something oddly satisfying about getting on Hank's nerves, especially when it was over harmless things. 'Banter' was what it was called.

Hank had been sober since the revolution, and that was nearing six months ago. It was a little difficult for Connor to get a grasp on how that made him feel. 'Proud' seemed to be the word that came up the most in his searches. He was proud of his partner and wanted to congratulate him.

The older detective insisted 'I don't need nuttin' and 'don't buy me no damn gifts' when Connor suggested they celebrate. After some insistence, Hank reluctantly agreed to let Connor help him clean his house. It seemed to go hand in hand with Hank's new resolve: get your shit together, tidy up the place, buy some new fucking furniture.

"Isn't the point of this whole deviant thing to not do stuff for humans?" Hank asked, mopping the kitchen while Connor loaded up 'Hank's crap' in a box to be donated.

"I'm doing this because I want to," Connor insisted. He paused and turned to Hank. "We could test it? Tell me to do something."

Hank leaned against the broom, eyeing the android suspiciously. "Fine. Trim Sumo's nails."

Connor did not even break eye contact. "No."

Hank let out a howling laugh. "Smartass."

The android smiled and resumed what he had been doing. It all made sense, why humans got such a rise in telling people to fuck off, why Hank had no issue telling Connor to 'mind his own damn business' when he scolded him for his choice in food. Free will felt good. Connor had his own apartment, collected a paycheck. He went to work every day because he wanted to.

The doorbell rang and Connor eyed Hank first.

The lieutenant shrugged his shoulders. "Knock yourself out. Probably just some damn door to door salesman."

Connor trotted over to the front door. When he answered , he was greeted by a pretty woman, a few inches shorter than him, with a bright smile and beaming eyes. She had a curious demeanor: like she had knocked on this door dozens of times. Well, you had, it had just been a long time.

Before he could utter a word-

"Holy shit," you exclaimed through a wild grin. You had expected Hank to answer the door. But, a familiar face did instead. His hair was neatly trimmed with just a few devious strands fallen over his forehead, kind brown eyes and a squared jaw. Most guys grew out of their freckles. You were pleased to see that he did not.

His eyes flickered with confusion at the sight of you. It was to be expected, so you didn't overthink it.

Excitement overwhelmed you and you reached forward, wrapping your arms around his shoulders, pulling him down into a friendly embrace. He was frozen stiff in the door way, one hand still on the handle while the other hung limp at his side.

"God you got tall," you murmured happily into the space above his shoulder. You pulled back and looked into his confused eyes.

"Cole, don't tell me you forgot your best friend?" you teased. His head tilted slightly and his brow softened.

In the corner of your eye, you could see Hank approaching from the kitchen. When you saw the look on his face, your excitement settled down. He did not look like the police officer you knew growing up. His once clean shaven face was covered in a messy beard. His once neatly trimmed hair was long and shaggy. He had greyed a tremendous amount, likely from stress.

Yet, his kind eyes were the same as you remembered.

"Officer Anderson," you addressed him with a smile.

Hank didn't even have to ponder over who you might be. You were all grown up, sure, but like hell he'd ever forget the kid his kid spent most of his time with. He uttered your name with a sort of fondness that brought you right back to your childhood. However, there was something equally depressing in the way he said it.

"I am very sorry; but, I am not Cole."

Your eyes returned to the young man in front of you, the one you had just embraced. He offered his hand to you. You gawked up at him for a moment, processing what he had just said. It was then that you finally saw it, the solid blue LED on his temple.

Embarrassment flushed your face; so, you took his hand to try to drown it out. "My name is Connor and I am a detective with the Detroit Police Department," he introduced himself proudly.

"I - I'm sorry. That was very rude of me," you apologized, voice so much smaller than it was a few seconds ago. Connor didn't seem bothered at all by what had just occurred.

"Good to see ya', kid," Hank grunted. You nodded at him and forced a smile. Hank did not.

The older detective made a gesture, beckoning you inside. "Why don'tja come in..."

The android, Connor, stepped out of the way and you followed Hank into his living room. It had not changed one bit since the last time you were here: the same shaggy carpets and wrinkly old couch and faded recliner.

He had not said it yet; but, as you took a seat and began to process everything, you knew what was coming. Hank took a seat in his recliner and leaned forward, elbows on his lap. You felt your heart sink into your stomach and blood rush to your ears.

"Cole died, not long after you moved away," Hank explained. "This hunk'a'plastic is my partner." He motioned at Connor with a wave of his arm. "Sorry," he added on gruffly.

He had died... that long ago? And you had no idea... You had grown up, graduated college, lived through a quarter of your life already and Cole was... was gone, had been gone, long before he could experience much of anything.

"Hank - shit - I'm sorry. I came barging in here and-..." Hank waved you down, hoping to calm the storm that was beginning to brew. You continued, however, trying to settle the unease in your voice. "Me being here - it probably brought back painful memories. I should leave."

"Brought back memories, ya. Not painful ones," he replied, tone low, but sincere. "Less you count the time he fell outta the tree and broke his arm. You blamed yourself. So, I had two crying kids. Fucking hell."

His grumpy, yet playful tone, brought a smile to your face, and you choked out a laugh. "It was my fault," you giggled out.

"Yeah, well. That's a'right. He wore that cast like a medal," Hank replied with a soft smile, eyes looking off into nothing for a moment.

"I just wanted to say hi - check in on you guys," you explained, sniffling. You wiped some tears away before standing up. "I'm a mechanic - er, nurse - for androids. Moved back here to help, after the revolution - well, y'know. It's gonna be awhile before we can figure out a healthcare plan for androids."

"Sounds like you got a lot on your plate," Hank replied.

"Well, I'm glad to hear you're still a cop. I imagine you'll be hearing from me a lot - abuse cases, y'know?"

"I'm glad you made something of yourself," the older detective added on, fatherly tone catching you off guard. It forced a sincere smile to your face.

"I better get outta here," you breathed. "Oh! Uhm - here - in case you ever need to get ahold of me." You pulled a card out of your pocket and offered it to Hank before offering another one to the android. You avoided his gaze in the process, but he took the card eagerly.

"I'm mainly gonna be stationed at Thirium Clinic. They just opened a couple weeks ago. Lots of... well, battle wounds and-..." You trailed off when Hank nodding in understanding. Tensions were still running high, violent protests were inevitably going to continue for a very long time.

Hank yanked his wallet out of his pocket and tucked the card away.  In the corner of your eye, you could see Connor do the same with the card you handed him. "Thanks, kid. My cell never changed if you still have it."

"Good to know. Thanks, Hank."

"If we meet again, I hope it is under good circumstances," the android - Connor - stated. Your eyes landed on him, a natural response from trained politeness.

You tried not to be overwhelmed by the site of him. He looked like Cole - like Cole had grown up and matured into a handsome young man. His soft brown eyes and freckles clashed deliciously with his sharp jawline. His designers had even put texture in his skin around his mouth and along his jaw and chin, suggesting he shaved every morning. Most androids had flawless skin; but, Connor had visible pores.

"I hope so, too," you replied, forcing your eyes away from his face.

Did Hank know what Connor looked like? He said they were partners. Did Hank choose Connor? Was he made for Hank? Did Connor know what he looked like? You had lots of questions. But, none of them were even mildly appropriate.

"Hank, thank you for letting me bug you for a bit. It was nice."

He smiled a crooked smile. "Sure thing, kid. Now, get off my lawn."

You returned his smile and saw yourself out.

As soon as the door closed, Connor's mouth was open.

"Don't you apologize or any other dumb shit," Hank scolded him.

Connor's mouth made a quiet sound when he smacked it closed.

"Back to work," Hank groaned.

...

...

...

Luck had it that you saw Hank and his android companion less than a week later. It first came in the form of a text from the older detective.

'connor fucked up his hand you working?' was what it read. You replied with a simple 'yes' and two of Detroit's finest were walking through the sliding door to the Thirium Clinic.

When you approached them, Connor had a towel wrapped loosely around his hand, the cotton stained blue from all the thirium that had leaked out of him.

"Hope you didn't expect something fancy," you said shyly as you ushered the boys over to a booth. The place was clearly an abandoned grocery store turned medical office. They had not yet put up any real walls, just portable ones to give the illusion of privacy. Simply put, it was a shit show

Connor sat down and propped his arm on the chair's operating arm. You took a seat next to him, flipped on the hovering light, and carefully removed the towel.

"Really? Have you seen my house?" Hank barked.

You chuckled at that; but, the laughter died off when you exposed Connor's injuries. The sheeting - skin, if you will - was completely torn off Conner's right hand: his palm, the pads of his fingers, even a few inches down his wrist. The wiring was exposed, and you could already spot several that needed to be replaced. His hand felt stiff as concrete, further proving the damage you had feared.

"Shit," you cursed, spinning away from him in your chair to a nearby filing cabinet. You fished out some wires, and continued fishing until you found the right ones for his model.

Connor had remained quite still, you realized, when you came back around. You looked over his arm again, mentally preparing yourself for the path ahead.

"Aside from the obvious missing tissue and thirium loss, it's like nerve damage," you explained over your shoulder to Hank.

"Damn it, Connor," he grunted.

"Sorry, lieutenant," the android replied, intentionally robotic, but with the slightest smirk on the corner of his lip.

You had to choke down a laugh. "I'm glad it hasn't been hurting you, Connor. But, this might," you warned him as you set down the wires.

"I understand," he replied firmly.

He twitched a little when you plucked the first wire. For the rest, he managed to stay still. With how close you were, you could occasionally hear him let out a quiet, sharp hiss, so quiet that Hank was unlikely to hear it. You ended up replacing almost every wire that ran from his digits, through his palm, and down his wrist to the first joint bracket. Listening to him wince in pain never got any easier.

"Finally. Done with the wires," you breathed once the last one was secured. You leaned back and let Connor flex his fingers and twist his hand. He began to rotate his wrist around when you decided to stop him, gently cupping the back of his hand.

You did this all the time; but, you were faintly aware of heat blossoming on your cheeks as you held Connor’s hand. You silently scolded yourself, feeling a little too old to have a silly crush.

"Gotta patch you up, then a thirium transplant," you breathed.

Before it would adhered to an android and take on a skin tone, their flesh was pale, metallic, shiny and sparkly. It was also something between plastic and silicone, and had to be melted.

Hands were detailed, with corners and wrinkles, and much harder to get right than patching a wound on a thigh, which meant it would take a little longer. You had a handheld device that made it easier. It looked almost like a tattoo gun, and allowed you to carefully adhere it over the gaping wounds on his hand.

Normally, you had to ask your patients to be still. Connor seemed to be doing a great job of handling that without needing to be told. As you finished, you watched in awe as the flesh took on the peachy, light color of his factory default skin tone.

With a sigh, you set your tools down and maneuvered over to a nearby storage container holding bags of thirium. You wished one out and handed it to the detective. His levels weren’t low enough to require manual insertion. He could do it a more conventional way.

It was almost funny that androids were designed this way, that their only existing digestive track was to take in more blood. Keeping their thirium levels in the proper range was the closest equivalent they had to the need for nutrients.

Connor smiled gratefully as he took the bag from your hand. “That should be good,” you stated, trying not to feel so bashful beneath his gaze. “Let me know if anything feels wrong in your han-”

It was an unexpected door slam that shattered the moment. Some gasps sounded from the around room, You stood up and looked towards the entrance to see a severely damaged android limping in, a gun in his left hand and his right cradling a wound. He was wearing scraggily clothes that looked unfitting with his prim and proper haircut.

"I want an android doctor!" he demanded, the gun tight in his hand but pointed to the floor. His posture suggested he was scared to use it. However, that did not stop Connor from drawing his own gun.

"Wait," you hissed at him, pushing his arm down.

Connor uttered your name in a scolding tone as you stepped away from the chair and approached the injured android.

You took slow steps towards him, palms exposed in a display of yielding.

"S-stop!" he stuttered, shouting at you. Yet, he didn't point the gun at you.

"Hi. What is your name?" you asked him, not bothering to try and hide your nervousness. Everyone was staring at him nervously, patients near the door scrambling to get away from him.

He hesitated, looking at you with fear in his eyes. "T-Thomas..."

"Hi, Thomas," you replied, trying your best to steady your voice. "I'm sorry but all the nurses here are human. We came here from all over the country to help androids. You don't need the gun."

"No!" he cried out. "I don't want any humans touching me!"

Thomas was not just handsome, he was gorgeous. He had the type of pretty face people dreamt about and bright blue eyes. It didn't take a genius to determine what he was made for.

"Thomas, no one here is going to do anything that you don't want," you spoke to him, firmly. That was easy to say without fear, because it was the truth. "I promise."

You stepped closer, one foot at a time, and kept your eyes on his. You offered your hand and watched the fear slowly melt away behind his eyes.

"H-humans lie," he uttered, choked up, tears threatening to fall.

"I know. I'm sorry, Thomas," you replied quietly. For a moment, you had forgotten that everyone was still staring. "You're free now. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do. Thomas, I want to help you. But, before I can, I need you to put the gun down."

"I don't wanna go back," he whimpered. He didn't point the gun at you, but he held it as if to declare that he would use it to make sure that wouldn't happen.

"Are they making you work, Thomas? Your owners?" you asked, watching his face contort in agony. His LED was hidden behind his hair; but, when he turned his head, you could see it blaring red.

"They don't own you anymore," you said, firmly, anger shining through. "Please let me help you."

You stepped a little closer and, this time, he lifted the gun enough that it pointed at you. You almost could see down the barrel.

"It's okay to be afraid. I am, t-too, Thomas," you continued, lifting your hands a little higher. He was sobbing, now, fat tears falling down his cheeks, tinted blue from the stress. His hand, gripping the gun, was shaking.

"Y-you're going into shock from lack of thirium. Please, Thomas, please put the gun down and let me save you!"

His grip had weakened; before you could react, a hand came out of the corner of your field of view and grabbed the gun, effortlessly yanking it from Thomas' grasp. The android collapsed onto his knees in a fit of sobbing, clothing soaked in blue that oozed onto the floor.

Connor stood over the android, Thomas' gun now firmly in his grasp. When did he-? That fast... or had you just not seen him sneaking up behind you?

You brushed past Connor and joined Thomas on the ground. You offered your hand again and he stared at it for a moment. He gasped, once, then twice, before finally taking your hand. Another nurse was at your side in seconds and helped Thomas to his feet. The android was babbling on static, on the verge of powering down.

Connor watched you stagger away with the android, his thirium seeping all over you and staining your scrubs. You were still speaking to him in that gentle voice, ushering him to calm down. All the surrounding patrons had relaxed and continued on as they were. Connor was still holding the gun in his hand. It was covered in buildup, likely uncleaned for years; but, it felt heavy, definitely loaded with a full magazine.

He was so hyper-focused on you that he did not even notice Hank approaching. "You alright, Connor?" Hank asked, knocking the android's arm with his own.

"She's amazing," he replied quietly.

Hank laughed at his declaration. "Look at you getting all doe-eyed." Hank clapped a hand over Connor's shoulder and dragged him towards the door. "Come on, Tiger. With your track record, I'm sure you'll be back in here in no time."

...

...

...

Admiration, Connor realized, is what he felt for you. You were smart, independent, strong. He was impressed with the way you handled an agitated android. He was even more impressed by how much you cared about them. Or, maybe flattered was a better word? He didn't quite know. He just knew that he couldn't stop thinking about you.

"Earth to android," Gavin bellowed, snapping his fingers in the android's face.

Connor looked up at him with an unbothered expression. He was seated at his desk and Gavin, apparently, had been leaning over him, trying to get his attention.

"Watching porn in your head or something, tin can?" he suggested with a sneer.

"I was going over the case files, which happened to be far more important than your whining," Connor replied coolly.

Gavin slammed his hands on the android's desk. "There's still a score to settle. Test me, motherfucker," he growled.

"Sure. Name the game," the android replied with a small smirk.

"Quite the pair on ya' for someone with no balls," Gavin said through clenched teeth.

Connor glared at him slightly, a retort bubbling up in his throat. He did, actually. Without the function of human genitalia, but passable for a real pair, so to speak.

"Maybe if you called him by his name, he would answer," another detective suggested, delivering a harsh slap to Gavin's back as he passed by.

Gavin swung around and hollered at the passerby. "Yeah, when I'm fucking dead!"

Connor rolled his eyes and returned to the computer screen in his mind. He was looking at case files, actually. He just wasn't... thinking about them.

"Another human killed by an android. You'd know all about that. So, enjoy," Gavin declared proudly, dropping a file on Connor's desk. He could care less if Gavin spent the rest of his life hating his wires. But, another detective had... defended him? How... odd. But, not unwelcomed.

Connor opened the case file and took a breath that he didn't need.

...

...

...

Coincidences... Perhaps, a glitch in the matrix? Or just pure luck.

The very morning after patching up Connor, you were in line to get coffee with none other than Hank right in front of you.

"You stalking me?" he teased, hands shoved into his coat pockets and breath visible in front of his face. Most of the snow had thawed, but it was still too damn cold outside.

"Probably," you replied dryly. "This place is the only good place in town."

"Great minds think alike," Hank agreed.

It was your turn to order everyone coffees, so you had several on the way. You and Hank waited together, and even after he got his single mug, he still waited alongside you.

"Whatever it is you wanna ask, just ask, kid," he grumbled.

"Just surprised you got an android partner," you uttered, looking away from him nervously.

"I didn't like him at first. He grew on me, and he's a damn good detective," Hank answered, pausing to take a sip of his coffee. "Don't be embarrassed 'bout confusing him with Cole. I'm not oblivious to the way he looks."

You looked over to Hank, who looked oddly peaceful despite what he was saying.

"Those Cyberlife bastards knew he was gonna be partnered with me. I doubt it was an accident."

Your brow shot up at his implication. "Connor was made to be a detective android, then?"

Hank nodded into his drink. "Yep."

"Does he like being a detective?"

"I asked him that once, when he wanted to come back after all the... protests. He said his programming was gone, no more 'lines of code' telling him what to do... but he still wanted to solve crimes. All I can do is hope it's what he wants, and not choosing the path of least resistance."

"Me too," you whispered, far too fondly for your own good. Hank shot you a look; but, luckily, the barista came to your rescue and called out your name.

"Bye, Hank!" you hollered, rushing to the counter to grab your drinks and see yourself out. It wasn't entirely for selfish reasons. The clinic was waiting, after all.

[janeykath318]

Happy BIRTHday! (Shieldshock)

“I should have known your kid would insist on being born on our birthday,” Darcy groaned, clutching her husband for dear life during a contraction.

She’d gone into labor late in the evening of July third, and strongly suspected baby America wouldn’t arrive until the date showed July fourth.

“We’ve still got a few hours yet,” Steve noted, eying her with concern and excitement. She knew he was totally stoked for fatherhood, given how happy he’d been ever since they’d found out she was pregnant.

“I highly doubt he’s just gonna pop out in two hours,” Darcy observed skeptically, slumping against Steve to catch her breath as the contraction eased. “Much as I wish that would be the case. Jane’s kid was definitely the exception, not the rule.”

Jane and Bucky’s daughter had arrived with astonishing speed, and Darcy was deeply envious.

“Alright,” she sighed. “I think I’m good. Let’s get to the hospital.”

Picking up her bag, Steve helped her out to the car, mentally reviewing all the advice he’d received on supporting one’s partner through childbirth.

Meanwhile, Jane was relaxing in bed, half heartedly perusing a science journal while her husband attempted to distract her with kisses. Hearing a buzz from her phone, she reluctantly pulled back to check it.

“Darcy’s in labor.” She informed Bucky. “They’re headed to the hospital now.”

Bucky beamed.

“Another Fourth of July baby? How very Rogers of him,” he murmured. “Do they need anything?”

“Darcy says no and has ordered me to stay put and not pace around all night,” Jane reported, rolling her eyes at Darcy’s typical bossiness. . “She says Steve will keep us updated. I sure hope it goes okay. It’s impossible not to worry when childbirth is happening.”

“As I recall all too well,” Bucky agreed, remembering how scared he’d been watching her go through it a few months ago. “You were such a trooper, doll.”

“I’ll never forget the look on the doctor’s face when he told me I could start pushing and we had barely even got settled at the hospital,” she reminisced quietly, a smile lighting up her face.

Little Rebecca had been in a tearing hurry to enter the world, and Jane had been grateful for that. She’d heard horror stories of how long labor could be and was bracing for the worst, only for her daughter to arrive after only three and a half hours.

“She was impatient to be out and start sciencing,” Bucky said with a shrug.

Jane giggled and poked his shoulder playfully.

“You goof,” she said lovingly, leaning in to kiss him again.

Sharon and Sam received a similar text as they arrived home after a long mission.

“Looks like you’re gonna owe me, Wilson,” Sharon commented. “He’s gonna be a Fourth of July baby.”

“I’ll happily pay up,” Sam admitted. “I should have known Steve’s kid would do that. Is Darcy doing alright?”

“Yeah. But there’s a long way to go yet. First babies take a while, unless you’re Jane Foster,” Sharon sighed. “I’m dead tired, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep while we’re waiting for news.”

She kicked off her shoes and shed her jacket, wincing as her bruises were aggravated. It had been a tough fight, and she was expecting to be sore for a while afterwards, but they’d caught the weapons smugglers, and she was relieved to count it a success.

“Hmmm. Maybe a nice hot bath would help?”

Sam suggested, holding up her favorite bubble bath solution.

Sharon cracked a tired smile.

“Maybe. Will you join me?” She asked hopefully.

“Happily.” Sam assured her with a grin.

It was nearly seven the next morning when James Samuel Rogers finally made his appearance, screaming his lungs out.

Darcy winced a little at the volume.

“I guess he got an enhanced set of lungs,” she gasped out as he was placed on her chest.

Steve chuckled, even as his eyes filled up with tears.

“He’s beautiful,” he whispered. “Our son.”

“Oh, he’s definitely our kid,” she agreed. “He’s got my hair and your stubborn chin. Hey there, James, it’s all right. Mommy and Daddy are right here,” she said soothingly, running her hand along the baby’s tiny back.

Late that afternoon, baby James’s two sets of godparents arrived, eager to meet him. Steve and Darcy hadn’t told anyone the name yet, and greatly enjoyed the stunned expressions on Sam’s and Bucky’s faces when Darcy introduced baby James for the first time.

“Wow, Steve…..I don’t know what to say,” Bucky managed, giving his friend a big hug. “He’s pretty adorable.”

“We’re honored, man,” Sam added, in his turn. “Congrats!”

“Oh, he’s so cute!” Jane agreed, rushing over to Darcy’s side to admire the newborn. “He obviously inherited the Lewis hair.”

Darcy chuckled. Baby James had a thick head of dark hair just like her.

“Yup. But look at his little chin and ears,” she cooed. “Totally Steve.”

“I’ve seen that look before,” Sharon commented, shooting a sly glance at Steve. “He’s got that stubborn Rogers jaw.”

“I call it the jawline of Freedom.” Darcy said, winking at Steve. “He’s also got his dad’s beefiness. Nine pounds, six ounces.”

Sam whistled, Bucky smiled, and Jane winced in sympathy.

“Holy crap, Darcy. You deserve a medal. You better treat her extra special, Steve,” she declared, pointing her finger at the new father, who nodded seriously.

“I will. She’s my hero,” he stated, looking at his wife and son with a very besotted expression that Darcy referred to as “heart eyes.”

“Do they know if the serum affected little James?” Sharon asked curiously. That had been one source of concern for both Steve and Bucky during the pregnancies. So far, Rebecca had not shown to have inherited any super abilities.

“We don’t think so,” Steve said. “But I just wanted him to be healthy. I can tell you from personal experience, It’s no fun spending half your childhood in the hospital.”

He shared a rueful glance with Bucky, who nodded knowingly.

Darcy passed Baby James to an eager Jane to hold and tugged Steve close to her.

“Steve was great. He let me crush his hand and swear at him without breaking a sweat,” she said fondly. “And he told me funny stories about you two to take my mind off the pain.”

She grinned at Sam and Bucky, who only sighed.

“We’re glad we could be of use,” Sam said with a snarky grin. “What stories did he tell?”

“Oh, the one where Spidey webbed you two up,” Darcy revealed with a sly smile. “You got your butts beat by a teenager.”

“A teenager who can lift an elephant!” Bucky defended mildly, making cute faces at baby James, whose dark blue eyes were now open and looking around.

“Hey there, little guy,” Bucky said to him. “I’m your cool uncle Bucky, this is your awesome aunt Jane and your awesome aunt Sharon. Over there is your much less cool Uncle Sam.”

“Quit feeding the kid lies, Barnes,” Sam retorted. “We all know I’m the cool uncle. You’re the embarrassing caveman uncle who scratches his back with random knives and grunts a lot.”

Darcy, Jane and Steve burst out laughing. The ridiculous banter between Sam and Bucky was ongoing and provided a great source of amusement for their friends.

Next, it was Sharon’s turn to hold little James and she too, quickly fell under his spell.

“He’s just perfect,” she admired, gently touching one tiny fist. “Talk about a birthday present, huh?”

“You can say that again,” Darcy said emphatically. “The best,” Steve agreed, a tender smile on his face.

That night, after an exhausted Darcy had fallen asleep, Steve held his tiny son until the baby also succumbed to slumber. “Happiest Birthday Ever”. He thought, kissing James’s tiny head as he laid him in his bassinet.

“Happy birthday, sweetheart,” he whispered to the sleeping Darcy.

[nightswithkookmin]

RE JIMIN'S LOVE LANGUAGE

This is in response to questions I've received in my message box following my recent post on Jimin's love language. Ignore this if you've read my main post on this same topic- Or maybe not.

Also, I'm sorry about the Asks. I accidentally turned it off- AGAIN. Thanks for drawing my attention to it. I purple y'all.

What I meant by my last post was that, for us to understandJimin or even the rest of the members' love language, it is important we make a distinction between what is uniquely Jimin/the individual members' love language and what is their culture's or even the established and accepted practices within their group.

And on that, I said skinship is a cultural practice but also one of the group's adopted love languages. It is their way of achieving intimacy and bonding with eachother and as such they do not associate romantic connotations with it.

Thus, when they touch eachother in any way, provocative as it may seem to us, to them there is nothing romantic about it at all. So when Taekook, Jikook, Yoonmin or any of these pairs touch eachother, it is not with romantic intentions.

Why then does Jimlous and Jeonlous exist? For a myriad of reasons other than that skinship is romantic! Lol

I've explained previously, that JK and Jimin's discomfort with each other's skinship with the others often has to do with the lack of boundaries that is inherent in skinship rather than that they are actually jealous or see skinship as romantic. This is often true for Jimin.

With JK, his possessive nature very often amplifies his discomfort with the lack of boundaries but also because, out of the seven, he is the only one that had had a problem accepting and participating in the skinship culture within the group- well, him and Suga. It's taking them some getting used to.

But that wasn't because he was viewing skinship as romantic but rather because he was uncomfortable with affections and the overt expressions of it as is required of skinship.

That's not to say they do not or have not implied romantic intentions with their touches- there is nothing platonic about boners. Lol.

And any skinship that results in a visible sexual tension or arousal can no longer be deemed skinship- it's foreplay.

Jikook does skinship all the time like everyone else in the band, but often too some of those skinship crosses the platonic threshold into sexual foreplay- they ain't slick.

You just have to see the look on Tae's face when he noticed, through the view finder, Jimin caressing JK's thumb to comprehend that not all their touches are mere skinship.

That's one of the differences between Jikook and the other ships; Jikook presents a mutual sexual attraction towards eachother beyond the pubescent hormonal teen frenzy that marked their early formative days- god, those boys were so horny they could hump a tree to death. Bless them.

Mind you, I disregard any sexual innuendos that was present in Jikook's dynamics as well as any other ship's dynamics, if ever there was one, during that hormonal teen period of their lives. It was all something but nothing at the same time. They were all just being horny and gross teenage boys- Hashtag, war of hormones for real for real. Lol

All that that timeline taught me was, Jikook are freaky af and certainly don't see each other as brothers. CERTAINLY.

That being said, for a better understanding of Jimin's love language, a distinction must be made between love language and sexual interest. It will make sense in a bit.

Because Jimin's father is an affectionate person and this is the love language he has taught to Jimin, Jimin interprets any affectionate and kind act as a loving gesture. It is how he gives love, it is how he receives love.

He values kindness and compassion, selflessness, vulnerability, transparency, fairness etc.

Thus to show his love for you he will be kind to you, vulnerable with you, transparent with you, supportive of you and nurturing of you.

We see him being like this with all the members, even the staff and dancers too at times but more so with Tae and JK.

The question then is, how does Jimin receive love? What actions does he interpret as love? Easy, sexual attraction. Hear me out.

You see, because Jimin is a natural nurturer and he sees nurturing as a universal love language that everyone speaks or ought to speak, he requires his romantic love interest to distinguish between their platonic love interest and their romantic love interest.

To fulfill him emotionally, you would have to make him feel special, treat him differently from your friends, and let him know that you want him and only him.

Sexual interest is one way of distinguishing between platonic interests and romantic interests, and it flows from this that he not only requires grand gestures, or special treatment but that you flirt with him as well.

Hence his emphasis on flirting. He likes to flirt. He enjoys it. He's mastered it. He's a fucking pro at it- give him his medal.

Just to be clear, even though flirting is part of his love language, he has also adopted flirting as part of his idol persona and often when he is flirting overtly he is only doing it for the 'fan service.'

But that doesn't mean all of that is fan service. Sometimes it's blatant foreplay as I've explained above and if you can't tell the difference between his foreplay and fanservice- chileee, I can't help you.

I'm still traumatized by that Bon V 4 moment. Sweet Jesus, save me if they should keep this energy up!

It's important, at this point, to note that because Jimin is a nurturer, every decent human being can easily be compatible with him. I have said several times over my blog that Jimin is ship compatible with anyone and everyone- I ain't mad at that.

What it comes down to then is whom he prefers and whom he is choosing to make him happy and to fulfill him. I explained that choice and being able to be in charge of decision making and to make his own decisions is very important to Jimin because on his background.

And when it comes to love, it's no secret who Jimin wants. He wants JK and that's on Periodttt.

I explained that in the early days during Rookie King, he felt he needed to get emotionally closer to JK when he had an opportunity to talk and heal as a group- his personal was important to him.

In that JinJikook VLive when Jin was eating a lollipop in a provocative way he asked him to stop immediately but couldn't, for the love of god, tear his eyes off JK when JK ate his lollipop in a- I can't. Jikook!

Unless he is in his fan service mood or is being his slytherin slash whore of babylon self- bless him, often he would reject any attempt by anyone to flirt with him except JK.

And I keep reiterating this, flirting isn't JK's thing. It's Jimin's thing. The last time JK tried to this flirty- he cried. Lmho

Take that interview where the host moved closer to Jimin in a flirty way for example. Jimin leaned back away from him. In the popular words of Jimin- don't do that.

Then in this airport scene right here, where Suga and Tae tried to protect JM from getting mobbed (if video is missing check bottom of this post. I hate tumblr)

You could see Jimin moving towards JK. Now some may argue he was trying to protect the JK who seemed oblivious to what was going on but I beg to differ.

I just think Jimin was moving towards JK because that's his safe haven. That's the person he feels the most safe with. 'Jk will protect' 'JK is strong.' He felt threatened and his instincts was to fin that person whom he feels would and should protect him- and that person usually isn't very far away.

And no, I'm not being biased. It's just I can't in good conscience theorize and make wild assumptions about Jimin's emotional needs the way I would the other's because unlike the others, Jimin keeps showing us what he wants. Y'all are just not listening.

It is why I said, JK on paper seemed like the last person to meet Jimin's emotional needs. He didn't strike me as the ambitious type or the daring type the way Yoongi presented himself in early days. It is why I shipped Yoonmin or even Vmin.

And even in those ships, I didn't believe they were real. Suga was too emotional closed off and wouldn't

And as I explained, having been denied his ambitions, it's not a stretch to assume, Jimin desires an ambitious partner. One who loves the stage, loves their career.

But I feel, most people including myself underestimated Jungkook. As much as JK may not appear as ambitious career wise, he is one of the most passionate members of group.

His decision to join BTS was driven purely by passion, his decision to start GCF, get a tattoo and every other endeavor he's embarked has been driven purely by his passion. And passion is a variant of ambition.

Jimin pursues his ambitious and JK pursues his passions- they are the same in the same way. And I see why Jimin will tell JK they are one and the same. They are more alike than we think they are.

So yes, Jimin needs an ambitious partner but a passionate partner equally suffices.

What equally suffices is a supportive partner. One willing to sacrifice their ambitions or needs when it comes to it, to accommodate Jimin's needs. Jimin is very competitive in nature and hates to lose, we've been told.

And nobody lets Jimin win the way JK does. Nobody. It's funny, because VMin's dumpling fight took days/weeks to resolve. And Jikook's raining dat fight took a few hours.

What hit me about that tale as told by Jikook was JK going to Jimin to resolve their fight- another instance he let Jimin win. Tae loves Jimin but I don't see him sacrificing his ego and pride the way JK would for Jimin. I don't see any member doing that for Jimin quite frankly.

It is one way I see JK nurturing Jimin. Jk can be hard headed but there is a softness and a tenderness to him that's speaks to Jimin's love language.

I can go on and on about this topic, you know? Lol

Signed,

GOLDY

[vg-sanctuary]

Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling

Moonsprout Games - Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC - 2019

I don't like the core gameplay of 99% of all RPGs, but the ones I do like have been some of my favorite games I've ever played. case in point, Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling, a modern interpretation of the classic Paper Mario formula and an ideal example of indie developers adding to the legacy of a cult classic. its main feature is turn-based combat with action commands, like old Paper Mario or the Mario & Luigi series, and strategy in its intentional design and small health and damage numbers that goes way beyond "spam damage and heal every third turn, use mana items as needed". (in case you want to be 100% blind for your playthrough, past the Keep Reading link are some very minor spoilers: an item a specific cook can make after a side quest, some basic enemies, environments that are about halfway through the game, and the names of some medals.)

“wow, vg-sanctuary posting about a game that's not even two years old at time of writing? and it's an RPG? are you not a retro/legacy blog anymore? who are you and what have you done with the writer?” I still am a retro/legacy blog, mostly, just this time I thought I'd share something that its developers still get money from, and whose developers aren't mega corporations. and I just beat it, enjoyed it, and really felt like writing about it because it still doesn't have the popularity it deserves even after that puppet guy on YouTube talked about it. not that this post is going to reach any significant number of people, but still. I'll write about some more indie games sometime in the future. (and indeed I am writing about another RPG and you better believe it has a lot to talk about.)

anyway, Bug Fables starts with a brash little bee called Vi and a polite and honorable beetle named Kabbu wandering into an explorer's guild and not having a partner to join the guild with. they reluctantly decide they're going to fight together because companionship is a requirement for this guild, foiling off each other and sometimes off their third friend Leif, a blue moth they find in a cave, for the whole game. every character has a distinct personality and all the party members get some valuable character development through a side quest, which I really liked, but I'm no connoisseur of RPG stories. while I'm on story, people that come here looking for a well-made world will get what they want from the many optional lore books hidden around the world.

the plot becomes more complex and compelling as the game continues, though it generally lets gameplay take the spotlight. which is great, because the gameplay is also mostly great. about a third of it is doing puzzles on the overworld using the abilities of each character to move forward a la the Mario & Luigi series. they generally make use of whatever your newest overworld ability is, and some areas early on have inaccessible things you have to come back to, sort of like a Metroidvania except it isn't required to do this for progression. some puzzles take longer they could because they involve using Kabbu's horn to repeatedly fling an ice block many times over a distance. it's never egregious, but it could have been faster if the guy would use his arms. this is a minor caveat and not a majority of the game.

a lot of people probably don't know how the combat for this or Paper Mario works, and it's really important to Bug Fables, so I'll explain that here. it's turn based, which is typical, but basic attacks and skills need you to time a button press to do as much damage as possible. you can also time a button press when an enemy attacks to take less damage. Paper Mario and Bug Fables also both have medals instead of other equipment that give characters higher max HP or a new skill, for example. you have limited medal points and stronger medals require more points.

this is going to sound like a lot, but any RPG's combat will sound like a lot if you try to detail it in a single paragraph. the game introduces these things slower than I am here. in Bug Fables specifically, the character standing in the front of the group does one extra damage but is more likely to be attacked, and you can pass turns from one character to another in exchange for that character dealing one less damage (which is a lot because basic attacks only deal two damage by default). certain enemies can only be hit by certain attacks; some enemies fly, so Kabbu can't hit them until Vi knocks them down with her beemerang. not a typo, beemerang. and many of Bug Fables' status effects have upsides -- being paralyzed reduces damage taken everything by one, poison has many medals that make it a good thing, and being asleep heals the sleeping character every turn. there are others that are straight up bad things, though, and usually don't come until later. all of this adds up to even small encounters having strategic depth, which is great, and if you don't feel like small encounters you can just avoid them. skills that would typically be relegated to one character, like healing and support skills all going to one, are instead split between party members to make decisions more difficult in a good way. there's also a lovely medal that instantly kills any enemy the game deems too easy for you, sort of like in Earthbound.

I figure I spent more time doing housekeeping like cooking (simple A+B=C or A-becomes-B crafting), buying items, and arranging medals in Bug Fables than in any other RPG, which is because it was designed that way. by the way, cooking recipes start hidden, but a foodie at each restaurant will share some strong ones for free, which is a big help early on. anyone who's played The World Ends with You (i.e. me) will be spoiled by its excellent quality of life: no consumable items and you instantly heal to full after every encounter. it makes items seem like a ridiculous formality that RPGs only still have because they've had them for years, but in Bug Fables any item that isn't simple healing -- a lot of them aren't simple healing -- has great strategic use, and the exact way you spend your medal points can determine whether you win or lose any fight, especially bosses. for example, one character having one extra damage for two turns when they typically only do two is pretty important, especially when they use an attack that does multiple hits, and having it in item form saves valuable medal points and skill points. part of that time was kind of a waste, though, because I generally had one set of medals I use for multiple enemies and one I use for single enemies like bosses. being able to save loadouts would have helped a lot. I would like to compliment Bug Fables on allowing you to restart any boss with different medals without having to repeat cutscenes, and commend it for letting you do-over your level up bonuses late in the game when it starts to matter.

it's not like spending a lot of time on strategizing before fights is strictly mandatory. I was mostly playing on hard mode where enemies have more health and more difficult attacks, and mostly with a medal called Hard Hits that makes all enemies deal one extra damage in exchange for extra money after each fight. it can be less difficult if you'd like, but it's never mindless; even if you're doing a strategy that manages 20 or 30 damage (again, a lot in this game) in a single turn, it takes effort to choose your medals to do so much damage and actually play the strategy out in combat. the combat strategy is the best part of Bug Fables, and it makes each fight almost like a puzzle. I've typed some form of "strategy" six times so far, which is fair because it's the best part of Bug Fables. don't let it put you off, though, it's RPG combat strategy, not chess-like or RTS or something, so if you've enjoyed any other turn-based RPG it should be easy to get used to.

it's also worth mentioning the ample side content. each chapter of the game unlocks a handful of side quests, some about trading, some about combat, and almost as many bonus bosses as main bosses. you're allowed to fight them fairly early on, and a few become available after the final boss that are actually a bit harder than it in classic Paper Mario fashion. basically, if you like Bug Fables, there's a lot of it to play. there's even a trading card minigame because of course there is. it's fairly fleshed out, too, and unlike the one in Chocobo Tales the animations between turns don't take six years. the reward for the whole card side quest isn't something that's important for combat, so you can skip it if you don't like it; I didn't especially like it so I think that was a great decision on the developers' part.

rewards for some of the other side content, though, are so good it's kind of a wonder they can be completely skipped. it doesn't make the game harder to not have those skills or medals, but they are some of the best in the game and undeniably really useful. they make great side quest rewards in that sense, but it's important to know for the people that usually wouldn't do side content. I don't know if that's a common kind of player, but just in case. (this game's 100% achievement has been earned by a sky-high 5.9% of players on Steam. usually it's more like 2% or less. the point is none of the extra content is overly obtuse.)

I will complain about the forced stealth sections though. and be astounded that they fixed the main issue with them in the last stealth section. these are minor caveats and take well under an hour total unless you're really, really, really bad at sneaking, but they bothered me when I got to them. I mean, I understand why they're in the game, I understand why Zelda has them, but I didn't really like them. the main issue for all but the last stealth section is that there's no vision cone or other indication that "if you stand here they will see you" or even an opportunity to recover from mistakes which are incredibly important for playable stealth. the last stealth section does have a vision cone and does have an opportunity to recover from mistakes, which is a great step up. I would like to use even more italics to remind you that these sections total less than an hour of gameplay. Zelda: Breath of the Wild's forced-ish stealth was much worse than this.

I don't know where else to put it, so I'll add here that the soundtrack is great and the graphics are perfectly Gamecube-y and the sprites capture the cuteness of Paper Mario really well, even though they're, you know, bugs. each environment is distinct and themed well, and each one’s music matches well. I really wish I knew how to talk about music because there are a lot of different songs in this game that work well for what they go with. boss music sounds intense and boss-y and appropriate for each boss you're fighting, the not-music hits just right, and everything else feels good. some songs use Nintendo 64 MIDI instruments, which I loved. and the bee boss music has a synth that sounds like bees buzzing.

anyone that likes RPGs -- and even some people that don't -- will probably enjoy the story and strategy that make up the excellent Bug Fables. it goes beyond being a homage to Paper Mario and becomes its own thing entirely, though its roots are obvious from the art style. not that this takes away from it -- Paper Mario is a great legacy, and this manages to be even better. for all its little bad things there are a dozen great ones. I admit I haven't played the classic Paper Mario games, but this made me want more -- I guess I'll have to go back while I hope for Moonsprout Games to continue forward.

[softlyjiminie]

black swan | two.

⇢ pairing(s): professional dancer!park jimin x figure skater!reader.

⇢ word count: 4K.

⇢ rating: 16+, mature.

⇢ genre: angst, eventual smut, fluff, e2l, fake dating!au, corrupted idol!au, dancer!au, figure skater!au.

⇢ summary: a life of skating was all you’d ever known, your heart craving the feeling of ice beneath your feet and the light brush of cool air against your skin under thousands of sparkling lights… what a shame, if only you’d known that one night, one accident could rip you from the life you’d grown to love, leaving your career in the unsteady hands of the prince of ballet, park jimin.

⇢ warning(s): please read for this chapter! angst, taetae on the verge of tears, angry joon, soft jungkoo, yoongi cursing and emotional distress rip.

⇢ author’s note(s): hey everyone!! chapter two is finally here, im so sorry for the delay :( i had a run in with t*mblr and they were hiding all my works from tags! it should be okay now so i hope you like <3

⇢ previous | series masterlist | next

taehyung sits quietly as he watches the tea cup to your left, lose its steam— the heat fading like the light that usually emanated from you. eyes falling to his lap, the skater’s fingers curl in the paws of his— joon’s... black sweater as a guilty feeling settles in his chest. his fingers were itching to reach out and take hold of your hand, but taehyung knew that you would only push him away, locking yourself behind a door and falling away into an empty shell. part of him was glad that you wouldn’t let him touch you; in fear that he’d break you again just like that day on the ice, whilst the other half missed his best friend, whom he’d drown in his arms and fond touches. he missed his YN.

taehyung was grateful that namjoon didn’t mind your affectionate relationship, how tae’s large palm would settle on the small of your back or how his lips would brush against your cheek or your hairline. it was something that gave you both comfort, and namjoon understood that— after all you had been there for each other in the darkest of times while the man himself was studying in the US. nonetheless, taehyung was restless. he needed to know if you were okay, he needed to hold you to tell you it was going to be okay.

but you were too far gone in your own little world, trapped in your chair that was tucked away in a corner by your old fashioned TV (in which he’d begged you to  replace because he hated the static noise it made on certain channels), watching old performances of yours on vhs from when you were younger— you’d switch to your laptop from time to time to watch more recent ones. the chair had become your safe space, since you refused to walk around on your new crutches, all motivation lost with the end of the skating season approaching.

taehyung was worried, really worried.

he knew you ate less, a tired grey tint to your skin casting a shadow over your usually glowing tones. he knew because he’d brought all the teas and pastries you loved to snack on, with each of them growing cold. “please eat baby,” the boy tries, quietly prompting you to take a bite of the cream puff he’d brought this time. “just a little.”

you tilted your gaze from the tv to your partner, irises dull and heavy with an unimaginable amount of sadness. the expression read no, causing taehyung to frown sadly but he perked up as your lips twitched in order to speak. “toe loop, ina beaur.” you whispered, as the latter’s eyes fell to the screen behind you where your younger self followed the streams of classical music into the moves that trickled from your drying lips.

your partner slumps in his seat, defeated and heartbroken as you turn back to the screen, solemnly. “please... just eat something YN. it’s been days since joon or i last saw you—“

your fist slams down on the table where your pastries sit, jolting the china teacup taehyung knows that you love. he lurches forward to steady it, although his heart beats rapidly and he flinches at your sudden actions. “would you eat?” your question burns at your lips with a dark poison that stings your friend. “would you eat if everything you knew and loved had been ripped from you because of one stupid accident? i don’t think so.” you know better than to scold tae and put the blame on him, but anger at the world and your situation burns brightly behind your logical senses—clouding you’re judgement. “what if all you could do is sit and watch, sit and watch, sit and watch until your mind went numb? could you focus? breathe? eat? sleep? no! so stop asking me and leave me alone.”

you regret your words as soon as they’re said, turning back to your tapes as tears brim in the corner of taehyung’s treacle eyes. he withdraws from you completely, dabbing at his eyes quickly to rid then of  his salty tears as the front door to your apartment opens and closes. namjoon steps through, carrying rustling bags full of essentials that you might need. your friends have been good to you, so good but you can’t help but be mad, be sad and hurt.

your best friend stands abruptly to help his lover put away the groceries, tucking cans and jars away— while hiding his soft whimpers. but namjoon is not a fool, the elder can feel the thick cool settling over the room as he tilts his head towards taehyung. “are you okay, love?” the blonde asks lowly, tilting his gaze between yourself and his boyfriend, immediately sensing that something is wrong. “what happened?” he says louder this time— as if he’s trying to gain your attention too.

“nothing, baby—we...” tae whispers quietly, clenching his fists and unclenching them. he’d always hated conflict between three three of you, he was too sensitive whilst you and joon were head strong and stubborn. “it’s nothing...”

“are you crying?” the elder slices through taehyung’s words as smoothly as a butter knife— making you flinch in your seat at his rough tone. your coach was never one to get angry, his temper was often cool and calm but one poke of the wrong button would start something you didn’t want.

“n-no joonie-!”

“what did she say to you?”

guilt trembled in your grip, hating that you were the reason taehyung cried, the reason that namjoon was angry. for goodness sake, YN, you were friends and this is how you were treating them? joon mutters to the younger about packing up his things before turning his steaming attention to you. thick arms and firm palms sink into the arm rests of the chair, making your gaze turn to your lap. the thing about kim namjoon is that, in away, when you were in the wrong— he made you feel like a child for doing so. “this is the last straw, YN,” he scolds, running a hand through the thick of his dyed hair. “tae and i have tried to be there for you, tried to support you in this time but all you do is push us away.” the anger that bubbled in your chest before has faded to a dull sense of hurt, mad at yourself for paining your friends. “it’s been weeks and you haven’t attended a single physical therapy session, we’re afraid that if you don’t— you’ll never skate again. we all know that’s not what you want, YN. so get your shit together and we’ll be back when you do.”

taehyung appears in the doorway leading to your bedroom just as his boyfriend ends your lecture. you feel your own tears burn in the corner of your eyes at the ultimatum you’ve just been given but swallow them down as your best friend gives you a weak smile. namjoon makes a non-committal grunt, prompting his lover to scurry out of your now open, apartment door. “think about what i said,” he mumbles, tone much softer now.

they leave not long after, leaving you to think about your choices— just as the award ceremony appears on screen while younger you wins her first olympic medal.

there’s a quiet knock at your door, just two days later. part of you hopes it’s taehyung as you hop over on your crutches— but you know namjoon better than that, you won’t get to see them until your coach sees that you’ve made some improvement , he was pesky and annoying like that. you also know that it’s to give each other some time to get ready to apologise, you for upsetting tae and joon for being so harsh. your friendship had always worked like that.

“noona, are you there?” you recognise jungkook’s voice from the other side of the door, struggling to open it with just one hand  while you use your other to cling onto your crutches. it’s been hard, but you’re slowly learning how to use them better, joon would get a kick out of it for sure. “noona— oh!” the cherry haired boy beams brightly as you swing the door open, a matching hue adding further warmth to his melanin rich skin. “you’re here.”

the younger skater is wearing a heavy, oversized sweater despite the warming spring breezes that carry cherry blossoms outside, and black combat pants and matching boots to complete his outfit— his signature large backpack hangs loosely over his shoulder as he stares down at you, being at least half a head taller than yourself. “kookie,” you breathe, hugging him instantly. his sweet, floral scent brings comfort to your racing heart almost instantly as you bury your face in his broad chest. “what are you doing here?”

chuckling quietly, jeongguk pushes you back into your apartment and closes the door behind you both, being careful not to knock you off your unsteady feet. once you’re inside, he fully wraps his arms around you and buries his nose into your neck— finding comfort in your own simple vanilla scent. yourself and the boy always had something unspoken flickering in the air between you, ever since he’d joined your company at seventeen (there was only a year between you both, and jungkook had been a novelty skater until then). your partner always joked that the boy was into older women, whilst you argued that you both admired each other or found one another’s presence highly comforting.

nonetheless, you would be a fool to say you hadn’t noticed how nicely jungkook had grown up since joining you at namjoon’s agency but you could never make your feelings known, not when you were both well known competitors.

“ah— well, namjoon hyung sent me. he said you’d need a fresh face to keep you company...” the younger mumbles, sending shivers down your spine at his proximity. being the sweetheart that he is, jungkook mistakes your shiver for something of pain and guides you to sit on your small fabric couch, pressing a shy kiss to your hairline with burning cheeks as he pulls away. “is it alright if i use your kitchen, i brought some ingredients to make us— i mean you... some dinner!”

“knock yourself out, kookie!”

he nods appreciatively, moving off to your kitchen as you turn back to your tapes, watching over more of your older performances. this time, it’s one from an event just before your first olympics— crisp in quality allowing you to see your skating more clearly. you remember the day that yourself and taehyung qualified for the south korean team, the joy you felt put into every competition since then but now you looked on them with a forlorn expression, wondering what you did wrong? were your movements sloppy? did you bring taehyung down? why did your legs look like that when you jumped?

jungkook fumbles with a frying pan not far from your left as he cooks the meat, a question passing from between his lips that you miss due to lost focus. “hm?” you blink once and turn to face the boy. “what was that?”

“i-i was just asking how you were!” jungkook stammers as his doe eyes catch yours, he blushes deeply, almost as red as his hair before his gaze drops to the broth he begins to serve for the two of you. “unless...of course... that’s a dumb thing to ask...” he bites his lip, dishing out a healthy portion of meat into either of your bowls as he makes the meal look presentable. jungkook places both of your bowls onto a tray before bringing it to your coffee table with a set of chopsticks. “forget i said anything, eat up!” he concludes, taking a seat by your side and handing you your meal.

you smile to yourself, scooping some of the noodles into your mouth and humming at the salty taste. “it’s fine kookoo,” you comment warmly, wiping at your mouth. “i’m just... feeling a bit out of place, not myself... you know?”

the boy only nods, falling silent in favour of watching a younger version of you skate across the ice on screen. the pair of you sit quietly for a while, nothing but the sounds of bowls and chopsticks clanking together, and ice on skates resonating throughout the room. “you’re triple axels were always my favourite,” jungkook whispers before your figure even tumbled into the move, piqueing your interest just a bit. “you were how i leaned to do them.”

“how did you know that was next, though?”

jungkook blushes, setting his dish on the coffee table and thumbing his knuckles shyly. your heart warms at the gesture, causing your smile to broaden. “i-i watched you at the olympics... i’d never taken skating seriously until then so i used your routines to get better, good enough to qualify at the same company as you...”

you fall into yet another silence after squeezing the boy’s hand appreciatively— the red hue to his cheeks only darkening. the cherry haired skater excuses himself to the bathroom and in that time you decide to clear up as a thank you to him for keeping you company. the kitchen is only a short walk, you only have two dishes to carry, it should be fine. except it’s not, like a baby giraffe you are still unsteady in your feet— taking steps without your crutches has proven to be difficult, especially with an armful of kitchenware. if you could just make it to the doorway, at least. at least then you’d know, you weren’t completely useless.

but your concentration slips as the unused muscles in your leg choose this moment to  seize up and suddenly you’re falling to the ground. ceramic bowls clatter against your hardwood floor, smashing into pieces while you use your hands to brace for impact— one that doesn’t come. warm arms encircle your waist, jungkook having returned just in time to stop your fall, and pull you closely into his chest. you can feel your body tremble from fear, from anger at yourself for thinking you were even near ready for something like this— so you end up crying before you notice.

“noona, baby please don’t cry,” jungkook lets the pet name slip without realising, clearing the broken shards away with his foot as he sinks to the floor with you in his arms. “it was an accident... you weren’t ready yet...” he coos into your hairline, kissing it gently as he tugs you into his chest.

you feel suffocated, trapped at home and trapped in the mindset that you’ll never be a skater again but jungkook is jungkook, he knows you more than you might have let on— dressing you up to leave the house and taking you to the one place that might soothe you.

the rink.

jungkook’s sweater swaddles you to warmth as you watch him enter the rink from the stands. it’s eleven pm and you have no idea how he got the keys— especially when namjoon closes early on a sunday. your finger tips are cold so you slip them underneath the sleeves, tucking your nose under the collar of the black cotton fabric as it heats up your cheeks and remind you of what it’s like to be in koo’s arms.

he waves at you from down below and truth be told your heart stops for a second before the younger skates to the middle of the rink. you don’t even know how he managed to get the music playing and the lights set up just for him, but jungkook has always been good at everything so you don’t put it past him. the song you recognise as  ‘wild’ by troye sivan fills the empty rink and the hairs on your skin prickle with familiarity— a song you had used in your first ever competition with taehyung. it shakes you a little, in a meaningful way, to know that jungkook went to the depths he did to learn from you and develop his own style of skating— one of gentle touches but locked down movements. he was everything and then some.

‘been a while since i’ve been a fool, for you...’

just as the high not ends, jungkook takes off, leaping into a perfected quadruple axel that you didn’t even know he’d learned to do. he loops four times in the air but lands a little shaky, they were a risky move and very rarely completed in competition but seeing that he’d taken your signature move and completed it better than your own abilities makes you smile. with a spark in his eye he mouths the words of the song to you ‘leave this blue neighbourhood, never thought loving could hurt this good,’ as he extends his right leg behind him and twirls across the ice.

this easily allows the boy to adjust his position into a camel spin, his legs parallel to the ice as he falls in tune with the lyrics before pivoting. you remember the routine and it’s every element, tracing them in your head as jungkook executes them perfectly right into the climax of the song, he’s perfect— maybe even better than you. nothing going wrong as he falls to the lower ice for a hydroblade, finger tips just brushing over its surface while he sweeps past.

‘you’re driving me wild, wild wild,” your mind drifts away with the music— convincing you that the younger skater is better than you, hes clean and sharp and— what do you have on him now? a pathetically broken leg with you unable to stand on two feet. you barely realise when the song ends and jungkook has made his way to middle of the rink to close because you’re too distracted with the emotions that clog your throat and tears that litter your galaxy eyes.

you cry, pathetically because what else is there to do.

the younger looks up from the ice, lose long sleeve shirt is littered with sweat from his exertion but he pays no mind as he noticed your tears. they shine under false light while jungkook kicks off his skates as fast as humanely possible because he hates the way your tiny body shakes as if you’re cold, he hates how your soft cheeks dampen and how you’re going without his hold for far too long. dashing up to the gallery with only socks to warm his feet, the young skater slides into the seat beside you— immediately pulling you into his heated embrace.

“baby,” he coos gently, cupping your head as you whimper into his neck. “please don’t cry, not anymore...”

you clutch at his shirt with the finger tips that peek through the sleeve of his jumper. “i can’t...it hurts not to be—be on the ice with you, that’s where I—“ you cut yourself off as a sob crawls from between your chapped lips, you crave the tight squeeze of leather skates on your feet and the cold beneath your arms, they would console you more where jungkook couldn’t.

throat burning with heartache, you nuzzle further into the boy and let him toy with your hair. “i think you should go to physical therapy noona,” jungkook whispers quietly, as though not to startle you. “you’re hurting not being out there, i see that...but if you don’t try and heal— you’ll never get back on your feet.”

jeongguk is annoyingly wise for someone  just below your age, so you nod and lace your fingers with his— tracing over the small tattoos that paint his knuckles, silently agreeing to his plea. you let him drive you home that night, clinging to him as he carried you through the door of your apartment.

he doesn’t leave, sliding into bed with you as he holds you close— comforting you once again.

“son of a motherfucking bitch,” you mumble through gritted teeth, as you attempt to step back up and down from the false steps yoongi (your physical therapist) has set up for you. he’s more of a dance therapist than anything, but his exercises are well known in your industry  for rehabilitating skaters and namjoon did say he would get you the best. the pain subsides fairly quickly, unlike the months prior when you had first started with yoongi but you’ve learned well and gotten better— even making up with your coach and best friend.

“yes ma’am?” yoongi answers from a whiles away, causing you to chuckle whilst deciding to sit down for a break. you wipe the sweat from your brow and take the bottle of water that your therapist hands to you, gulping it down to ease your ragged breathing. “you’re doing so much better than when you first came in.” you look to yoongi as he sits next to you, a short ish man (compared to jungkook, taehyung or namjoon) but still taller than you, with warm brown hair and honey eyes along with a gummy smile that makes your heart melt. he’s strict on you, but also caring in the smallest of ways— he knows your limits but when to push you too and has helped you make a pretty fast recovery.  “you’re even laughing more.”

you push at his shoulder, watching the hair fly from yoongi’s face despite his bandanna. “i laughed before!” you defend yourself with a smile.

“barely! i’m just saying, that i’m proud of you YN-ah. i’m glad you came to me in the end, it’d be a shame to see such talent go to waste.” his voice is smooth, not as deep as tae’s but soothing enough, your smile still falters at his words while he locks and unlocks his fingers, staring at the ground.

“you make it sound as if you’re leaving me,”

yoongi looks up at you with a cheeky smile, but his eyes remain slightly dimmed. “well, technically i am...” he sees the confusion on your face as your brows push together.  “an opening came up for a dancer who’s pretty big in the states and over here too, he’s korean so his fan base is large over here and—“

“but you can’t leave me!” you practically yell, shocking both yoongi and yourself— he couldn’t go just yet, not when you were so close. “i’m almost fully recovered and if you leave? a-all my progress could come undone and i’ll never get back on the ice, let alone back in time to train for the olympics!” you feel the familiar emotion of panic bubble in the pits of your stomach, tightly gripping onto yoongi’s wrist as if he’ll disappear into thin air.

the older boy puts a hand over yours, looking to you fondly. “you know that’s not what our end goal is, we want you back on the ice remember?” he reminds you calmly but you slip free from his grip anyways— feeling defeat settle heavily over your heart. if yoongi left now, there’d be nothing for you to work towards and no physician would compare to him. “besides, i already talked namjoon into letting me bring you with me...” you perk up at his words, eyes lighting up brightly at the thought of not being separated this far into your progress. “figure skating is like dance for the ice and your leg is strong enough for you to move on it in that kind of way...”

you figure yoongi is right, it’s not like you hadn’t danced— ballet lessons were almost necessary to become a figure skater, aiding with the grace and light movements you needed. if yoongi was offering you an opportunity to use dance to get back onto the ice, who were you to pass it up. dance therapy would advance her recovery much faster than your regular routine.

yoongi can tell your answer by the look of joy on your face. “so is that a yes? you’re coming with?”

“of course it is, asshole... you should’ve lead with that!” you scold him playfully, pushing the older boy with a roll of your eyes.

a feeling of hope settles, comfortingly amongst your bones— this could be it....

this could be exactly what you needed.

⇢ taglist ! ( comment, like or dm to be added! )

@periminkle​  @ggukkieland​   @aishots​ @ownthesunshine​ @codeinebelle​ @taeass​ @trviahope @singular-itae​ @preciouschimine @yoongismykink @idiakh @honeyspillings @kimsdior @chimshoe95​ @cypherft-v @tangledsparkles​ -@ultraanonymousey @rjsmochii​ ​  @thenoblr 

[evajellion]

2020 vidya ranking: #1 Bug Fables The Everlasting Sapling

You already knew that I was going to tell you that this was the best game I had played last year.

Imo, this should have been indie GOTY back in 2019, but whatever, I guess I should explain why I ranked this one at the top.

Back in 2004, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door was released. I had sadly missed out on getting the original game on the Nintendo 64, but I was nonetheless very excited for the sequel. I got the game, still have my copy even years later… aaaand I got confused in Rogueport Sewers because I was a dumb eight year old, but I swear I picked up the game a second time. Got through all of the chapters, and had fallen in love with the game.

I loved the characters, the battle system, the story, the chapter progression, the cooking system, even the hidden lore and the amount of side quest scattered throughout the game. I even cried. It was the first time I had cried over a video game.

I wanted more, but then, Nintendo didn’t do it again. Sure, Super Paper Mario had a fantastic story, and a lot of people treasure that game the way I do TTYD-- I wouldn’t even mind if the series stayed in that direction. After that though?

Well, Sticker Star happened and stripped away all of the things I loved. Two similar games and one spin-off followed after that. Needless to say, me and several other fans of 64, TTYD, and Super weren’t happy about it. Seemed like I would never get another game like the one that was so dear to me ever again.

Cue me finding Arlo’s video about a cute little game called Bug Fables, just around the summer time. It had come out in 2019 and had been in development for some time by an indie studio. I was skeptic, but at this point I wanted anything-- besides, I actually love insects.

And after the first two chapters, which were a bit bland, I found it. I found the game I had been looking for. I was so afraid that this would be another Mighty No. 9 or Yooka-Laylee, but Bug Fables was anything but. Sure, it took inspiration from Paper Mario with its gameplay structure, but saying that this game is “just Paper Mario” doesn’t do it justice, because game can stand tall on its own.

I loved just about everything here in the same way I loved TTYD. Characters (except for two), the battle system, the story, the chapter progression, the cooking system, the hidden lore and the amount of side quest-- and there was even more than that.

“Gee what did Bug Fables have that Paper Mario didn’t?”

More than one super boss

A card game

Three party members in battle at a time

An entire side quest chapter that you can miss

An in-game randomizer

Higher difficulty settings

FREE DLC

Actual quality of life improvements

And finally, a villain who doesn’t just get a mere slap on the wrist as punishment for their actions. It’s one of the things Super did far better than TTYD because Beldam being let off scott free in the ending always pissed me off as a kid. The final boss is less ham-fisted in general too.

You have three characters at all times-- they’re your only party members and the only ones you need because they’re all perfectly balanced: Kabbu, Vi, and Leif. The third of which you won’t even meet until a bit into the first chapter. You don’t have to worry about wasting turns by switching your members out in this game.

The story starts off simple with the team of three collecting artifacts for Queen Elizant II, who seeks the Everlasting Sapling for an unspecified reason. About half way through the game and into the fourth chapter, the tone of the situation begins to shift, as the wicked wasps from the Wasp Kingdom also seek these artifacts for their lord.

This game doesn’t skimp out on being accurate to bug details either, there are little nods to how things work in real life, which is something I always appreciate. There isn’t really a dull moment in the story or a second where you feel stuck, because with the amount of Medals you get, there are plenty of strategies you can play around with.

Bug Fables is also… surprisingly dark, which perhaps isn’t unfitting of a game inspired by Paper Mario, given the direction TTYD and Super would get into. I can’t really spoil anything in regards to that, because much like with Three Houses, I would rather someone experience that themselves.

In terms of the flaws in this game, I can only think of two. One is regarding a terrible Flappy Bird game that’s required for 100%. It just shouldn’t be there, or at least be easier on the eyes.

The other is that this game suffers from having too many characters, when only four of them get actual character arcs: The main trio and the queen. You have some characters that get more fleshed out in side quests such as fellow team members or NPCs, but I feel like other “major players” suffer in the process.

Neolith is a big one. Cute nerdy moth who just exists as exposition for the artifacts and is a part of Kabbu’s backstory, but he never really does anything besides that, which is disappointing because he’s very cute. I would have loved more lore to him and Kabbu’s past, maybe a future DLC quest can solve that!

Your “rival team” also suffers a bit in this department. The team leader, Mothiva, is a snooty diva who never properly gets her comeuppance or realization that she needs to stop making everything about herself. I guess that’s the point, to give that vibe similar to old Pokémon rivals. But we’re supposed to believe she’s an official couple with her partner; Zasp, who just seems to simp for her in a one-sided way. Perhaps this could also be fixed with another DLC quest.

The worst of the bunch is Kina, Maki’s overly protective and possessive sister to the point of it being creepy. Unlike Mothiva, who is your rival, Kina is supposed to be a supporting cast member, yet she has even less likable traits. She stalks her brother and constantly wants to be with him, gets upset at the idea of him needing space, threatens a small caterpillar character-- you could remove her from the story and it changes nothing. There’s not even a backstory reason for her to be the way she is.

Mind you-- these are very minor nitpicks that don’t really bog down the game. Some may say the main villain of the game suffers from this as well since he shows up halfway into the game, I personally think he was handled perfectly, because you can piece together his motivations and backstory through lore.

Speaking of lore, I hope with so much in this game, that we end up getting a sequel. There are so many questions left unanswered, so much more I wanna know about! 

Other than that thought? The trio of Kabbu, Vi, and Leif and their story is just about perfect. I can’t thank Arlo enough for introducing me to it, and I think this game will catch on more in the future since Chuggaconroy said he was playing it on Twitter, and Fatguy just completed his LP of the game.

I think… we’re entering an age where we should start expecting this level of quality from indie developers more often. This game didn’t feel like an indie game, it felt like a grade a RPG. Which is funny, because that’s what Paper Mario used to be.

God speed, Paper Bug devs. Keep up the good work in the future, thank you for bringing back a feeling I thought I’d never experience with a video game again. I know it sounds cheesy and stupid, but that’s.. just how much Paper Mario effected me back then. Even now, it inspires the books I wanna write, and it’s safe to say Bug Fables did the same.

By the way, can I talk about how delicious some of the food items look in this game? This is insect cuisine, and even I would eat these.

For recap on what the other games I had played this year were, just so you know how Bug Fables topped ‘em:

2. Fire Emblem: Three Houses

3. Animal Crossing: New Horizons

4. Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town

5. Super Mario All-Stars

6. Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and The Blade of Light

7. Final Fantasy VII

8. F-Zero

9. Star Fox

10. Puyo Puyo Champions

[anachronisims]

New posts resume tomorrow, so refresh on all your favorite cave-dwellers’ plotlines in the ultimate tldr catch up post!

When the last snows melted and it was safe to travel again, six couples set off in search of a perfect place to found a settlement of their own.  They could not believe their luck when they stepped over a the crest of a hillock and saw before them the lush, rich river valley upon which they would soon bestow the name “Meraki.”

After passing a large meadow with wild berries and evidence of recent animal activity, when the group found six caves at the foot of the next hillock, they knew this was their place.  They spent the next few weeks chopping down trees, settling into their new cave homes, and working together to create some common amenities at the Fishin’ Hole.  Then, their new lives began in earnest...

Tammuz:  “Howdy, neighbor!  How goes it today?”

Kimba:  “Oh, you know, the usual.  Working in the garden, trying to pull forth some food from this sparse and spotty terrain.  We’re going to need to start thinking about storing food away for the winter if we’re all going to stay healthy and strong.”

Tammuz:  “Huh.  Yeah, I guess summer probably is ending any day now…”

Lehabim:  “Yeah, I’ve got this whole five-year plan for expansion.  We fill out the area here around the Fishin’ Hole with some huts, get ourselves out of these caves and everything, then start spreading out towards that meadow we passed when we came in?  There will be plenty of space for the next generation and any newcomers we can attract.  Which we will, because Pallu and Junia are going to spread our reputation as a strong, prosperous place to settle far and wide!  It’s as easy as child’s play, when you think about it!”

Lehabim:  “Hey, so, you’re trying to be like, a shaman now, right? Like, tell us all this mystical shit from up in the stars and whatnot?”

Noel:  “Yeah, I mean, a little bit of what’s in the stars, a little bit of what’s in the trees, like that sacred bloodleaf tree there on the island in the middle of the Fishin’ Hole.  There’s a lot of ideas out there about why this is all happening, where Meraki and the rest of the world came from and who moved mountains and dug rivers and why we walk and talk and do what we do all day long.  I just love talking about this stuff, I could go on and on all day!  ALL DAY!”

Lehabim:  “If you do, you know, get in touch with the spirit world, you think you could ask them if they know how to make this bread stuff? That guy Pallu has been talking about it ever since we got here, it’s like he’s absolutely obsessed with bread. I think half the reason he’s trying to become a trader is so he has an excuse to run away from home and look for this mythical village where they supposedly make it. It’s supposed to be warm and filling and kind of soft but also solid enough to hold other food in it?”

Noel:  “Oh my stars, that’s absolutely THE most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard!!” Lehabim:  “I know, right?!  But. Seriously, though, if you get in touch with the spirits, ask them for me. I’d love to beat Pallu to it… if, you know, it turns out it’s real.”

Nadii’ya:  “Good morning, Kimba!” Kimba:  “Hallooo, Nadii’ya! Sleep well?” Nadii’ya:  “Honestly? I’ve been better.  Maybe it was something I ate?  I threw up this morning.  Got any ideas?”

Kimba:  “Oh, well, it definitely might have been something you ate, but that’s not the only explanation.  You might have… you might be pregnant, new friend!  The best medical science available today says that it happened because you WooHooed. You did WooHoo, right?”

Nadii’ya:  “Uh, yeah, of course.”

Pallu:  “Did Stachia tell you her idea about giving special medals for acts of val -”

Nadii’ya:  “Let me stop you right there.  The proper reward for someone who, say, slays a boar that has roamed into the village, is to let them keep the carcass.  They risk getting gored to death to protect everyone, and then what? The village splits up the boar and hands the hero a shiny rock for their good deed?  No way.  The one who saves the village should be rewarded with the boar, they and their family should get to feast!  Why is this so difficult to comprehend?”

Pallu:  “Well, but, I mean, that’s what the boar-slayer signed up for. Protecting everyone, not feasting on a boar.  When they do the job, why should not everyone share in the feast?  Isn’t that how a community works?” Nadii’ya:  “But I could have hypothetically died!!!!!”

Kimba:  “I can see it both ways. On the one hand, you, as the warrior, are risking certain death for the benefit of the entire community, and as such, you feel like the reward should be equal to that risk.  On the other hand, Death is all around us, all the time, and we pretty much are all subject to certain death with every step we take.  We made a community to ease the burden of living with this knowledge, to share our many burdens and attempt to ward off Death as best we can.  Life is short, and why should we not all share its bounties as fully and fairly as we share our burdens?”

Nadii’ya:  “…Kimba, you’re not going to die from kissing a boo-boo. Some of us are sharing the burden of death a little more than others.”

Tammuz: “So, you’re a carpenter, eh? That means you work with… wood?”

Gandu: “That’s me, the wood master of Meraki! What can I do you for?” Junia: ::loud eyeroll::

Gandu: “So, you know my partner, Junia -” Junia: “Hi!” Gandu: “-she’s going to work on finding this village that makes this amazing drink out of wheat that makes you feel like the king of the world and makes everybody friendly.  Isn’t she great?”

Rubati:  “The reason we must light fires every single night is to protect us from dangerous animals, and also, from the spirits of dangerous animals, which can cause us even more harm!  There’s a wolf-like beast with extra scary horns that likes to terrorize Sims at night and disturb their sleep, but it’s completely terrified of fire!  Isn’t that great?”

Pallu:  “I cannot wait until I know how to make bread, holy ogres.  Mushrooms are just pretentious dirt.”

Stachia:  “Can I just say, I’m so so so so glad we all found each other and became best friends?  For months, the only Sim I had to talk to was Pallu, and, creator knows I love him, but he can be such a bore sometimes.  Can you imagine?  Endlessly traipsing through snow and forests, crossing rivers and mountains, and just ‘bread bread makeouts bread woohoo bread bread bread,’ constantly.  At least now that we’ve established a home, he can leave and go look for it and I can have some peace and girl talk!”

Saphir:  “Hey, love, guess what!”

Lehabim:  “You want to make out with me?”

Saphir:  “Well, yes, but also, Stachia asked me to be in the hunting party she’s putting together.  We’re going to start making trips to the meadow and bring back loads of food for the whole village to share.  Isn’t that a great idea?”

Lehabim:  “Sure… kinda wish I’d had it, to be honest.”

Tobiah:  “Hey!!!  Hey everybody!!  Look what I caught!!” Nadii’ya:  “I curse this pole to the depths of this Fishin’ Hole for ever and all time, may it never see the light of day or feel the breath of a cool breeze or do anything but rot into nothingness in the mud and the muck amongst the fish it so thoroughly refused to catch.”

Lehabim:  “Do you think I should make a pact with a demon to consolidate power?” Saphir:  ::record scratch::

Tobiah:  “Wait a second.  Special wheat drink.  Beer?  Are you talking about beer?”

Pallu:   “Are… ‘beer’?  Are you saying you know how to make the special wheat drink?”

Tobiah:  “I mean, more or less.  We had wheat fields all around our homeland, and you basically just take some wheat and seal it in a jug with some water and let it sit for a while and then you have beer.  It’s really not that complicated.  Anyone can do it in their own cave.  And the longer you forget about it, the better it ends up being!  It’s kind of perfect for me, lol”

Pallu:  “And this information has just been inside your head this whole time?”

Tobiah:  “I suppose so.”

Pallu:  “Did y’all make bread back there, too?”

Tobiah:  “No, no no no.”  

Tobiah:

Tobiah:  “But we did hear rumors of a village that did.  We were planning a raid on it right before Nadii’ya and I left, actually.”

Pallu:  “Did… did you find out where it was?”

Tobiah:  “Of course.  I was a Raiding Party Commander back home.  It’s actually not too far from here, now that I think about it.  Want me to give you directions?”

Rubati:   “WooHoo is weird, right?  Like, so strange how we get in the bed and you put your censored bits with my censored bits!  Is it weird, or is it just me?”

Noel: “So, like, WooHoo, amirite???”

Tobiah:  “Everybody, look how pretty!”

Gandu:  “Not really the most interesting thing going on at the Fishin’ Hole right now, bud…”

Tobiah:  “I think it’s just a little bit rude of Saphir to proposition Noel right there in front Kimba.  I mean she’s literally right there.”  

Junia:  “Why would that be rude?  Noel and Kimba both know that their partnership isn’t based on exclusively WooHooing each other.”

Tobiah:  “Sure, Nadii’ya and I feel the same way.  But that still doesn’t mean I’d want to SEE it happening, right in front of me!  Saphir’s not being brave, she’s being brazen!”

Junia:  “Hold on, how is it all Saphir’s fault?  It takes two to woo, boo.  If Saphir’s being ‘brazen,’ Noel’s being just as bad.”

Tobiah:  “Everyone expects it of Noel, but Saphir should know better!”

Junia:  “Do you hear yourself?  Of course we expect it of Noel - so does Kimba, you idiot!  She knew he was a major horndog when she decided to partner with him!  This is just the way things are!”

Kimba:  “I heard you were talking about me?  Don’t talk about what you don’t know about, Tobiah.  I don’t need anyone else to defend me, and I DEFINITELY don’t need to be protected from Noel.  So butt out.”

Tobiah:  “All I did was - ”

Kimba:  “Butt.  Out.”

Tobiah:  “Every time I see your face, it makes me angry all over again!  Just stay away from me!”

Kimba:  “Then why did you even come here?!”

Tobiah:  “Because… because… to support… because… birthday… Noel… Gaia… UGHHH just leave me alone!”

Noel:  “Everybody looking??”

Tobiah:  “Stop! Standing! Next! To me!!!”

Tobiah:  “Oh, Chipmunk, Dada’s sorry about tonight.  I’m not proud that you saw me like that.  When you’re older, maybe you’ll understand.  Sometimes sims have so many emotions at the same time that they don’t realize what they’re doing or saying to other sims.  I don’t want you to get the wrong idea.  Ms. Kimba is really a very good sim, but it makes me so confused and frustrated to think… you know what, I’ll tell you when you’re older.  Just be nice to Ms. Kimba whenever you see her, okay?”

Linus: “Okay, Dada.”

Gandu: “Did you know the Creator made me attracted to all brown-haired Sims, and that’s like, half the village?  Turns out I want to make out with just, like, everybody.” Rubati:  “…Interesting… everybody?  I never thought about kissing… everybody.”

Gandu:  “Sometimes it can be hard to tell another Sim you want to kiss them, especially for a Sim as shy as you.  Maybe it would help if you could feel like you weren’t really being yourself.  Like, you’re from the Green Eyes lands.  From what you’ve told me about it so far, you were raised not to kiss a lot of different Sims.  So just pretend you are a Sim who isn’t from the Green Eyes lands.”

Rubati:  “But… my eyes ARE green, Gandu.”

Tammuz:  “I was having the most interesting dream, I was on a date - with you, of course - and I was - I mean, we were - running after a deer, and it kept darting this way and that, and then it reached a stream and I couldn’t make the jump across it but Ga- you could, and the deer was getting away and you were telling me to come on and jump over but I couldn’t, I just couldn’t make it over.”

Lehabim:  “Saph, I’m really really sorry about before, I didn’t mean to make you think I want to rule this land with an iron fist - or any fist at all.  I want this to be a place where Sims want to come and live their lives and I think I’m the one with the best ideas to make that happen, and I know with you by my side we’ll make it happen together, and I don’t ever want to do anything to hurt you or scare you.”

Kimba:  “Have you tried summoning the dee- spirit with music?  Noel is always talking about how powerful the magic of music is.”

A Voice on the Wind: ♫ Spirits, Spirits, in the trees ♫ please come out and talk to meee ♫ I have needs and you have powers ♫ If you help me I’ll give you flowers ♫ Spirits, Spirits in the trees ♫ let me indebt myself to theeeeee ♫

.

T̲̟͔͍͙̘͖ͣ̽͒h̩̣̱͋ͧ̈ͪͨͨ́̚i̩̜̗͔̖̮͎ͣ̃̂̆͊̀̆ͮ̀s̞̯͕͍̟͎̞̦̓̓͋̀̽̐͑ ̭̳̲̲̿ͧ͊̌ͮͨc̥͈̼̺̎̇͑ͨͬ̑o̗̲͕̘ͥͫu̲̝̩͊͆͊̔ͫ̓̌̀l̦̟̭̍͌͐d̙̑͊ ̮̟̠̼͊̈̊͊ͣ̓ͧ̀b̻̲̺̝͂̂ͥ̚ͅḛ̲̮̗ͦͥ̓̿ ͈̞̯̗̭̠̬ͬͩ̊̈́̍͌̿̄f̼̹͚̲̐ͧ̍̑̽ű̹͔͑ͭ̓n̫̰̣̈ͩ̽̐̾͆

.

Noel:  “Everybody, I have to warn you to be on the lookout for ogres, or demons, or any other evil spirits of the forest… I don’t want to point any fingers - so I won’t tell you which person not sitting at this table tried to summon the supernatural today without help from me or Rubati… and so it probably wasn’t successful, of course.  But.  Just in case.  Be on the lookout, and come get me immediately if you see anything out of the ordinary.”

Dan:  “Lehabim of the Golden Eyes, the sound of my true name cannot be heard nor comprehended on this mortal plane.  Suffice it to say that I am the one who can make all your dreams come true, so long as it pleases me to do so.  Do you want riches?  Unfathomable riches?  I can make you so prosperous your mind would explode.  Power?  Dominion over this forest and all its minor creatures, dominion over your fellow sims, even unto Death itself?  Speak it, and we shall see whether I want to make it so.”

Lehabim:  “I mean, that all sounds really great, and I’d love to talk over my ideas for the village with you, but, seriously, what do I call you?  It feels weird not having a way to address you.”

Dan:  ::huff::  “Fine.  You may call me Dan.”

Lehabim:  “Dan, can I ask you something?  Are there really ogres in the forest?  It would be a huge help if we knew exactly what threats to be on the lookout for.”

Dan:  “Ogres, elves, tomatoes, toh-mah-toes.”

Nadii’ya:  “Do you ever wonder if you’ll be able to remember all the names of the new babies?” Tobiah:  “Probably.  Eventually.  I mean, I really only need to know our kid’s name at first, right?  I’m sure I’ll pick up the rest in time.” Nadii’ya:  “…what if we have twins?” Tobiah:  “Uhhhhhh.  Then, uh oh, I suppose.”

Pallu:  “So, which one is this, again?”

Stachia:  “Darah.  I think Darah.  I think we decided if you always do everything for Darah, and I always do everything for Hasrah, then we’ll never get them confused.”

Pallu:  “Right, right right right.  Okay.  Darah for Daddy and Hasrah for Mommy.  Makes sense.  We’ve got this, Stach.  We each do a diaper, we each do a cuddle, we each put one down for a nap… they’ll be toddlers in no time.”

Tammuz:  “Thanks for being here, Japhia.  I didn’t even know how much I missed you.”

Nadii’ya:  “Look at you!  How did you fit inside me?!  You look like a Linus.  Your father missed the whole birth, so he doesn’t get a say.  And I say, you look like a Linus.  Hello, Linus, who’s the biggest baby to come out of the tiniest mommy?  You are!  Yes, you are!”

Noel:  “Kimba!  You’ve done it!  You’ve birthed the most perfect bundle of perfection I’ve ever seen!  Can I name her?  Please, pretty please?  I promise you’ll like what I pick!”

Kimba:  “Ok, wha-”

Noel:  “GAIA!  The mother of the world!”

Kimba:  “That’s a lot of pressure to put on one little baby, Noel.  You sure?”

Noel:  “Gaia!  I can feel the Creator whispering it in my ear.  Gaia, the first goddess. Gaia, the progenitor of the entire future. Gaia, the mother of all simulated life.“

Kimba;  “Yeah, you’re right, that’s no pressure at all, love.  I’m sure she’ll turn out just fine.  Gaia it is, then.”

Saphir:  “Tziviah, shhhhh shhh shhhh!  Time for sleep, little doe!  I’ll be right here next to you the whole time, and when the sun comes up, we’ll start your first day on this crazy plane of semi-existence!  I have so many things I didn’t even know I wanted to teach you!”

Rubati:  Literally WHAT have I gotten myself into??

[ao3bronte]

Mamma Mia AU [Part 6]

READ PART 5 HERE!

Take A Chance On Me

Six months later...

Never in her wildest dreams did Marinette expect to be sitting where she is now, dressed to the nines in one of her own highly sought after designs. Having just released her very first collection, M by MarinetteDesigns, at the beginning of December, all of her custom made prêt-à-porter fashions were flying off the racks. She’d even had to hire another seamstress just to get through the backlog of formal wear commissions that she’d received ever since Alya’s BuzzFeed friends set up her social media accounts and started repping her brand all over their articles and personal posts.

But more on that later.

At the moment, Marinette is sitting at a huge, zigzag communal table under the glassed-in rooftop patio on top of a boutique hotel in Le Marais, clapping her hands and cheering as the two people she never thought she’d see together emerge from behind closed doors hand in hand. Jagged Stone performs an epic guitar solo from the platform as Luka picks up his new bride and spins her around, grinning like a maniac.

The wedding itself is a completely bombastic affair with celebrities and the like sneaking here and there to avoid the paparazzi. Marinette feels like a kid in a candy store as Luka’s guests file in left and right, most of them artists and bands she loves to listen to. And his bride, of course, doesn’t have much of her family along for the wedding. The media backlash from her mother’s empire had been outlandish, especially in Japan, but she’d ended up fitting right in with most of Luka’s ragtag group of friends in Los Angeles. With the help of her new husband and their support circle, she’d risen above the controversy and won the Olympic gold medal in fencing, bringing honour to herself for the first time in her life.

Sporting a gorgeous red rose tattoo on her upper arm, Kagami Tsuguri Couffaine turns around and gives everyone that trademark smirk of hers, welcoming them to their reception. Luka can’t keep his hands off of her, his eyes practically bulging out of his skull when she plunks her leg up onto the chair she’s supposed to be sitting on and demands he take her garter off with his teeth. The partygoers roar as Luka does just that, emerging victorious with a red and navy strap of fabric hanging from his canines.

Satisfied with his performance, Kagami calls all of the single and unmarried ladies attending her wedding to the platform and waves her rose and orchid bouquet over her head for the traditional toss. Hoping to avoid the pitying glances, Marinette pretends to be completely consumed by her emails and ducks her head in the hopes that no one will notice her. She would have been successful too, had it not been for the exchange of raised eyebrows and playful glances between the bride, the groom and a few other savant attendees.

“One, two, three!” Kagami cries, launching her bouquet into the air. Like a missile locked on a target, it somersaults right over everyone’s heads and thwacks an unassuming Marinette straight in the face, knocking her right off her chair.

“Oh my god, Marinette!” Alya squeals, laughing as her best friend spits petals from her lips. Everyone is cheering as Marinette slowly stands up and waves the bouquet above her head, blushing with embarrassment.

“I don’t even have a boyfriend,” she shakes her head, still smiling despite not having a plus one by her side. She’s long accepted the fact that she’s going to be on her own for good and surprisingly, she feels better for it. Acceptance is the first step, after all, and Marinette has been going to so many weddings lately as an honoured guest for designing the wedding and bridesmaids dresses that the blank space at her side hardly bothers her any longer. She’s even started working on tuxedos!

Way, way down the table, Marinette tries to ignore the ghost from her past crowding the open bar with Nino and the rest of the boys. She’d said hello politely but otherwise avoided him, if only to keep a tamper on her feelings; even though her love has long withered down to smothered embers, Marinette wants to be careful to avoid the winds of change that would flare those feelings in her soul.

The food at Luka and Kagami’s wedding is fantastic and the music is even more so. After the first course, Luka invites everyone up to form a mosh pit as Jagged plays a brand new track off his upcoming album and Marinette is absolutely thrilled to bop around, screaming at the top of her lungs with her hands in the air. She’s as free as a bird and the gorgeous, rock star inspired dress she has on leaves little to the imagination as she sways and shakes to the music. Alya catches it all on TikTok, much to Marinette’s chagrin, and captions it: ‘What a catch! 🎣 How is my girl still single?!’

After, everyone takes a breather and sits back down at the table, its decorated surface filled to the brim with food served family style on colourful, mismatched platters. Marinette loves the boho aesthetic of the different multi-hued plates and napkins, the discordant textures and silverware already inspiring another collection for her fashion line. She digs into the huge heaping of pasta that Alya had plopped onto her plate and laughs along with her girlfriends as they eat the night away under the Parisian lights.

As the main course is being cleared from their tables, the wedding band begins to play and couples slowly but surely leave their tables for a tour of the dance floor. Alya jokingly offers a ‘samba-à-trois’ with her and Nino but Marinette laughingly declines, prefering to watch and take photos of her friends while they’re enjoying themselves. She’s got a knack for capturing the perfect shot and Marinette is just about to turn back towards her table to edit them when someone calls her name.

“Marinette!”

No matter how many months and years pass between them, he’ll always stop her in her tracks.

“You look beautiful tonight,” Adrien compliments her breathlessly, a sheen of sweat on his brow. He’s been dancing with the boys, hauling them up in the air on his shoulders as the party throbs around them, “I mean—you look beautiful always! It’s just—uh, tonight you look...especially beautiful.”

“Thank you,” Marinette responds, desperately trying to keep her voice even. She can’t help but transpose the black mask over his features as he runs his fingers through his messy hair, his cheeks flushed from exertion, “You look...handsome yourself.”

“Th-thank you!” he stutters, looking strangely unkempt for someone who always seems to have it together, “I just—um. Do you want to dance with me?”

He offers her his hand and she stares at it, the technicolour lights casting shadows on his upturned palm, “I...thank you for...um, offering but—”

“Please,” he beseeches her, his eyes blown wide, “I’ve missed you.”

Marinette gulps, her throat tightening against the emotions rekindling in her chest, “I’m…”

“Just one,” he says, taking a small, tentative step towards her, “And if you...if you don’t want to see me again after, I can do that.”

Her heart clenches. Tikki punches her thigh through her skirt.

“Just one,” she says eventually, placing her hand gently overtop of his. He grasps her like their lives depend on it and Marinette is suddenly thrust back to the days where their entwined fingers meant the difference between defeat and victory. He slumps with relief and pulls her towards his chest, resting his other hand on the small of her back.

And they dance.

Her heartbeat skips with every step as they sway to the music, lost in their own private orbit of things left unsaid. Adrien can’t keep his eyes away and she can hardly catch his gaze without burning up, finding it far easier to stare at the knot of his loosened tie. Somehow, they drift closer and closer until his lips are a hair’s breadth away from the crown of her head and Marinette can feel the warmth of his body coming off of him in waves, setting her skin on fire.

“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you,” he whispers, his words barely there, “When I left after the wedding...I knew it was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made and I’d do anything to take it back.”

Marinette trips a little, stumbling into his chest, “Adrien—”

“I’ve been meaning to tell you everything but Alya told me you blocked me and I...I wanted to respect that. So I’ve been waiting six months to tell you what I should have told you all those years ago,” Adrien’s voice wavers,  “I’ve loved you since the day we first fought together. The problem was, at eighteen, I thought I loved the idea of freedom more.”

“I was wrong, though. I was so, so wrong and I’ve spent the last four years of my life regretting every second. I’ve transferred to TU Delft to finish off my graduate degree so I can be closer to home. I want to come back on the weekends to fight by your side again and repair our relationship, but only if you want to. I just...I know I’ve been an awful partner and an even more awful friend so I totally understand if you never want to see me again but...I thought I would just try.”

Marinette swallows, fighting the tears that prickle at the corners of her eyes, “I’m sorry, Adrien. But I...thank you for the apology.”

He makes no move to let go and neither does she, “It’s...it’s okay. You’ve been doing so well on your own. I just want to be closer though, in case something happens. The Netherlands is only a few hours away by bus.”

The music slowly wanes and Marinette steps back, averting her gaze, “I guess it’s time for dessert.”

Adrien swallows, loosening his tie further, “Right. I...um, I’ll talk to you later?”

“Sure,” she says, finally glancing back up at him. He looks wrecked, for lack of a better word, “Maybe you can tell me how your studies are going?”

“Oh!” Adrien’s expression immediately brightens, his smile near blinding, “Yes! I’ll tell you anything! Everything! After dessert! We can talk!”

Marinette can’t help but smile a little, his fumbling antics so unlike the Adrien she knows. He’s unmasked in front of her, the Chat Noir she has always known and loved, “Nino’s waving at you.”

She points over his shoulder and Adrien turns, catching a glimpse of Nino, Luka and about ten other guys all hooting and giving him questioning thumbs up. He smiles and gives them an enthusiastic nod in return before turning back to Marinette, “I’ll find you after dessert, okay?”

“Okay,” she agrees, watching him scamper off towards his friends. Alya is on her not a second later, her arm draped around her shoulders as they walk back to their seats.

“Well? How did it go?”

Marinette shrugs, “We danced and I asked him about his studies.”

Alya skids to a stop in her tracks, “That’s it?”

“Well, he said he was sorry too,” she says, walking out from under Alya’s arm as she continues walking, “And then the song ended and we’re going to talk about his classes after.”

“I swear to god, that idiot!” Alya stomps her foot and storms away towards her husband and the rest of the boys.

~

The cake is cut, the lights are low and the party is about to truly kick into high gear. The wedding band is replaced by one of Los Angeles' best DJs and Marinette stays out of the fray for the time being, taking a break from the action. She’s responding to commision requests when the song that had just been playing slowly dwindles and the crowd starts to scream.

“Speech!” a familiar voice cries and Marinette’s head yanks towards its source so quickly it cracks, “I'm gonna make a speech, everybody!”

Standing on the wedding platform with his tie nowhere to be found, Adrien raises his glass of champagne in one hand and holds the microphone to his lips in the other, “First of all, I just want to make a big shout out to the bride and groom for hosting an amazing party! Santé!”

The crowd cheers and drinks with him, buzzing seemingly with anticipation. An electric current tingles down the length of her neck as something tells her that everyone clearly knows something she doesn’t.

“And secondly, I want to thank my friends for helping me try and win back the love of my life. Hey, Marinette! I’m still free! Take a chance on me!”

Hoisted from the platform to the dinner tables, Adrien begins to strut as if on a catwalk, "To the most beautiful, talented woman in the world! I'm gonna do my very best to get you back, if you let me try. I wanna be the first in line to your heart."

The entire party cheers him on. Jagged Stone plays the opening chords to the wedding march on his electric guitar.

"I know I kind of screwed up,” he averts his eyes for a moment, his cheeks burning as her jaw clunks to the floor, “But if you change your mind and need me, just let me know. I’m going to be around more often and...well, put me to the test. I won’t disappoint you ever again. I’m all yours.”

He pauses in front of her, microphone still in hand, “We could go dancing or go for a walk or anything, really. Just as long as we do it together. You’ve got to know how much I want to win you back and...and when I close my eyes at night and dream, I’m always dreaming about you! You have to know that I...I can’t let go of you. Of us. Of what I left behind.”

“Please Marinette,” he reaches out to her just like he had earlier, his palm raised and at the ready. Marinette feels like dying and flying all at once.

Her heart pounding, Marinette takes a shaky breath and raises her hand only to hesitate, her fingers curling with indecision. Her mind is racing and fuzzy and between the wolf whistles and the intensity of Adrien’s gaze, Marinette finds herself feeling something in her chest she hasn’t felt in four long years.

“What do you say, M’Lady?” Adrien smiles with a hopeful shrug, “Will you take a chance on me?”

“I…” she trails off and somehow, her arm is moving on its own accord. Should she listen to her mind and turn him down? Or should she listen to her heart and find love once more in the arms of the man she’s loved for years and years and years.

Well, there’s only one choice here, isn’t there?

“Yes,” she whispers, a sweet benediction, “Yes!”

Clasping his hand, Adrien hauls her up with supernatural strength onto the table and tosses the microphone into the crowd. There’s a horrible feedback noise as Nino catches it against his tuxedo but nothing matters anymore except the smile on his face and the joy in her eyes as he wraps his arms around her waist and presses her flush to his body, “Why did I ever let you go?”

“Because you were an idiot,” Marinette responds and Adrien throws his head back and laughs. Here I go again, she thinks as she soaks in his contagious joy as the crowd screams around them. How could she resist him, especially after a confession like that?

“Can I kiss you?”

Marinette inhales sharply, “How could I resist?”

“Is that a yes?”

“Of course it is, you silly cat.”

Adrien bends down and presses his lips against hers just as the fireworks ignite in the background, bathing the glassed-in rooftop deck in hues of vibrant reds and golds. Marinette gasps as he runs his tongue along her bottom lip and she pulls him ever nearer, basking in his warmth as she grabs handfuls of his hair. She devours him longingly as he explores her body with his roaming fingertips and Marinette feels the dam of her desire breaking, overflowing with desperate, relentless love.

“I’m never going to let you go ever again," Adrien murmurs against her lips before diving back in and kissing her again, grabbing her by the hip. She feels delirious and suddenly they’re both smiling, giggling like school children because finally, finally ! They could be together! No matter what, four years or twenty, no span of time can truly keep apart true love.

READ PART 7 HERE!

[sharinluna]

Love and Producer(MLCQ) Kiro Kiss Date Translation

Copy pasting my translation from Reddit.

Kiro's Kiss Date is a future karma but the timeline of the date is assumed to be during chapter 12 before Kiro announces his retirement. So I'm posting my translation based on KR text. I translated about 80% and tried to keep to the original Korean text as possible, but took liberty to paraphrase some sentences to make it sound more natural in English.

Also, MC’s name is Yōurán because that is the unofficial default CN name.

Star Cluster Date

I underestimated Savin’s work as Kiro’s agent. It was just as, no, harder than my job as a producer. I went over the schedule again, checking each item with my finger one by one.

Yōurán: 9:30 is rehearsal, then we have to try on the stage costumes, then to the concert… oh no! I screwed up!

Kiro: Screwed up what?

Just then Kiro slided next to me and glanced at my notepad, then he sighed in an exaggerated manner.

Kiro: How cruel, Yōurán! You didn’t even give me time to eat!

Yōurán: That’s why I yelled “I screwed up…” But we still have time to order some takeout…

Kiro: But I was looking forward to a lunch you cooked out of love!

He pursed his lips and began to torture my conscience with puppy eyes. In the yellow light, his eyes looked even more pitiful. He must have practiced making that face!

Yōurán: All right, all right… Today is late, but how about tomorrow?

Kiro: That’s a promise. I knew you would care for me! I hope you become my one and only agent from now on.

Yōurán: Savin will be upset when he hears that…

Although I said that, my heart was fluttering. If I could continue being Kiro’s agent… My thoughts went back to the day Kiro barged into my house in the middle of the night to ask me about this.

Kiro: For real! Just for a week!

I wanted to help him of course, but I couldn’t readily accept this kind of offer right away!

Yōurán: But… I have never worked as an agent before, do you really want me to? You must know other people who are more experienced in this job.

Kiro: But there’s no point if it’s not you.

I couldn’t say no to his insisting. Truth was, I was also eager to accept this offer.

Yōurán: Okay, I’ll do it.

As soon as I answered I heard a yell through the receiver. I began to feel excited as well.

Kiro: Great! Get ready because I’m going to your house in 30 minutes!

Yōurán: What, now?! What’s all the hurry?

Kiro: There was a change of plan, my friend wants to start practicing tomorrow. Why else would I bother you like this in the middle of the night?

Yōurán: But like you said, your schedule is tomorrow… why do I have to start tonight?

Kiro: To get to know each other more intimately, of course. For an entire week we have to be the best of partners sharing our daily schedule from meals to transportations.

Wait, was this also part of an agent’s job? So, I have to stick to Kiro every moment of the week?

And he really took me along everywhere he went for the following week. But I did little to manage his schedules as a celebrity. It felt more like I was getting to see his world that I have never seen before.

Even without my clumsy help he was already the perfectly radiant sun. Whether it was rehearsals or social relations, he managed his affairs meticulously. I doubted whether he needed me as his agent in the first place.

Yōurán: You can manage yourself just fine without my help, right?

Kiro: Don’t lower your worth like that.

His answer was serious. I could faintly smell his sweat that still remained from his rehearsal as he came closer. His voice lower than usual surrounded me. I could feel heat emanating between us.

Kiro: I wouldn’t know what to do without you.

Yōurán: But I didn’t do anything…

Kiro: You’re next to me, that’s all I need.

Kiro: Do you think it’s childish, wanting to show only your best side to someone you like?

He looked softly at me. Underneath the light his eyes were like honey, sweet and profound.

My head was filled with his words “someone you love”. I couldn’t find my voice, so I shook my head to tell him that no, I did not think it was childish. Which he must have found funny because he laughed out loud. His hair tickled my neck as he shook with laughter but I couldn’t push him away.

Kiro: Haha, look at you all worked up.

Yōurán: It’s because you’re suddenly being all mushy…

Kiro: Then, get used to it from now on…

He pulled me into his arms and his continued confessions conquered my ear, defeating all coherent thoughts left.

Kiro: I love you… I love you, Yōurán… I love you the most in the world…

(like 好きだ in Japanese, 좋아하다 in Korean means “like”, but it can also mean “love”. So Kiro and MC are repeating the same word but the meaning slowly changes from “like” to “love”.)

His hand was supporting the back of my neck, preventing me from escaping the sweet whirlpool that I was slowly drowning in. My hands landed on his shirt after not knowing where to go, and his palm covered them warmly.

Kiro: If I ever leave…

He was whispering next to my ear, but I felt like I could hear him from a thousand miles away. I hugged this sensitive, lonely soul without knowing what would happen in the future.

I knew that his “leaving” meant something serious, but I felt like I should inquire like everything was normal.

Yōurán: Are you leaving the country again? How long are you going to be gone this time?

A short pause passed, then he resumed his playful way of talking.

Kiro: Yes. I’m going somewhere very, very far, and will be gone for a very, very long time. You’d better not sob your heart out for me because you miss me. (He is saying “sob/sniffle” but in the sense of “crying like a little kid.” I don’t know which is the most appropriate, sob? wail? bawl? sniffle? whine?)

Yōurán: I’m not going to! I’m not a child!

Kiro: But I’m going to.

Kiro: So, will you promise me? That you won’t forget me if I’m gone.

I had so many things I wanted to say to him, but I had to accept that there must be a reason he was like this. So I nodded firmly, then he laughed lightly and our foreheads touched. It somehow felt like a farewell.

Since that day, he never once brought up anything about “leaving.” It felt like I was worrying for no good reason. I didn’t know where the “somewhere very far” was, nor did I know how long was “a very long time”.

Two days later, I heard him talking to someone on the phone in the dressing room. The voice was him, but I’ve never heard him sounding so cold like that.

Kiro: …………more time……... ………after I leave…………

The way he spoke reminded me of what he said earlier, and I couldn’t ignore it. My head told me to walk past, to not concern myself with this. Everyone has a side they don’t want others to know, and Kiro was no exception. But concern that was growing bigger in the silence made me go toward the door.

While I was hesitating, the door – which turned out to be unlocked – pushed open by itself. Kiro hurriedly ended his call when he heard me. His face was calm just as always.

Kiro: What’s up? Are they looking for me?

Yōurán: Umm… no, I was just…

My eyes landed on his phone before I could come up with an excuse. His eyes followed suit and glanced at his phone, then he gave a sigh full of meaning and approached me. The sharp way he held himself made me take a few steps back, but I couldn’t escape the flick on the forehead.

Yōurán: Oww!!

Kiro: It’s bad habit to eavesdrop on people.

Yōurán: I wasn’t… I was just passing by and happened to…

Kiro: That’s not good either. I can tell by your face. You heard everything right?

Yōurán: But I really didn’t….

Kiro: That was classified information. What should I do with you now?

Yōurán: I will never tell anyone!

Kiro: You’d better, or else…

His always bright and cheerful eyes narrowed to emit a threatening atmosphere. I was suddenly reminded of the “You know too much, I’ll have to kill you.” scenes in movies. I felt a shiver in my back.

What was he hiding? What did this have to do with his “leaving”? Was he in this willingly? Or did he get caught into this without a choice? If the latter was the case, he must be facing a really difficult predicament. What should I do to help him then?

Having reached this thought, my desire to help him get over this drove away my fear. Making my decision, I spoke from my heart.

Yōurán: Your phone call… does that have to do with your “leaving”? If you could let me help…

…then could you stay? Instead of going someplace far away from here?

But my words were interrupted by his sudden burst of laughter.

Kiro: Hahaha! You got it very wrong!

Yōurán: But you said something about leaving on the phone…

He laughed even more harder when he heard my words. He laughed so hard that tears were hanging on his long lashes.

Kiro: That was my line from the new movie I’m going to shoot. I was acting as an emotionless killer. I was practicing on my own, but I had no idea that you were listening.

Yōurán: And the classified information thing…?

He motioned exaggeratedly to be quiet. The icy atmosphere was long since gone, everything was warm and bubbly again.

Kiro: Shh… Of course it’s classified. It’s not even announced to the public yet! Savin won’t let me hear the end of it if he knows. So you have to keep it a secret!

So everything was concluded as his impromptu prank.

Yōurán: You should have told me earlier.

Kiro: Sorry, sorry! But you should have seen your face! I just had to tease you a bit.

Yōurán: Thanks to you, I’ll probably get “The Best Reaction Award”.

Kiro: Then I, Kiro, will award Miss Chips “The Best Reaction of the Year”!

He went along with my bad joke in a witty way.

Before I could say anything further, he removed the pendant from his neck. One could immediately tell how much it meant to him. His lips held the silver pendent, giving it a kiss, then he continued his speech.

Kiro: Will Miss Chips kindly come up to the stage to receive her award?

Then he placed his pendant on my neck like it was a medal. His fingers brushed the sensitive skin on my neck and I held my breath. I thought he would take the necklace back after he was done joking, but he clasped the chain and stepped back.

Kiro: Keep it safe for me while I’m not around.

Yōurán: Wait! This necklace means so much to you! I can’t have something like this!

Kiro: That’s why I’m putting it in your care.

He stroked the pendant with utmost care, a forlorn look appeared on his face for the shortest moment.

Kiro: I’ll have you again when I come back.

I didn’t know whether he was talking to the pendant, or to me whose hand was still caught by his.

And did my heart feel like it was being teared apart because I knew he was leaving? Or was it something else?

My one-week experience as Kiro’s agent was about to end. And the show was about to start. Kiro did his best to ensure that this show was perfect. The show started at night, but he'd begun preparations since morning. He was always ready to help the staff with a welcoming smile.

Under the spotlight, with the stage and music, he will always be a star. But seeing him like this only made me fear more about his leaving.

If Kiro the sun leaves, what should they do – the crowds cheering for him under the stage?

What should I do?

My thoughts were thrashing and turning as I listened to his music. I clutched the bouquet for him tighter.

What stance should I take when I give this bouquet to him? As his one-week agent? As his ardent fan? Or….. as Yōurán, who doesn’t wish to see him go.

Before I could find the right answer, the show ended with thunder-like applause. The audience kept shouting for an encore.

Kiro: Do you have anything to give me?

I held the bouquet out to him, my hands still shaking from all the excitement. He was smiling tenderly like always, but his eyes held so intense an emotion.

Kiro: The flowers are really cute. But that’s not what I want.

Yōurán: Oh, don’t you like them…?

Kiro: I like them. But what I want right now is…. you.

He reached his hand out and pulled backed the clothes hanging above me, and trapped me inside the narrow space.

His bangs brushed my nose as the abrupt kiss landed on my lips. His tongue pushed inside roughly and hastily. I put my hands against his chest but couldn’t find it in me to push him away.

I could hear the fans shouting for an encore not far away, but their din faded out in my ears. All I could hear were us breathing heavily. Our breaths entangled drinking in each other, and I was out of oxygen. I felt dizziness and couldn’t think anything. I could only open my mouth wider and thirst for more like a fish out of water. He held himself while checking my response, then moved in deeper to meet my craving. It felt like my every cell was getting infected by him. I couldn’t keep myself from getting closer to his body, wanting, asking for more.

We forgot that we were at the backstage with the crowds waiting behind, until we heard his friend looking out for him.

Friend: What about Kiro? Where is he? He was right next to me just a moment ago.

Yōurán: They’re looking for you!

He released me reluctantly, then he leaned down to kiss the pendant on my neck.

Kiro: Next time, it might be you who have to find me. No matter how far and long I’m gone, it’s up to you to find me.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Yōurán(MC) already knows that something's going on, but she chooses to go along with Kiro and pretends that nothing wrong is happening. But they both know that their time together is about to end soon. 

[player-1]

Union X update 9/3 (Spoilers)

Oh boy, time to let some steam out... And major spoilers and speculations are below, so tread carefully.

STOP SAYING VEN IS THE MURDERER! HE IS NOT GUILTY BY ASSOCIATION! HE IS THE VICTIM! THE BLOOD IS NOT ON HIS HANDS BY DEFAULT, DARKNESS WAS THE ONE WHO TOOK STRELITZIA’S LIFE! HE JUST HAD THE UNFORTUNATE CHANCE OF BEING IN THE WRONG PLACE AND AT THE WRONG TIME!!

Alright, rant’s somewhat over, let me explain a few things...

Given Darkness’ information with the Book of Prophecies, and with the famous phrase “And the Darkness will triumph and Light will expire”, it used Ven as the Trojan Horse in order to ensure their survival in the Worlds beyond (more so like a double standard, but I’ll explain that later). But of course, there’s a few key factors to consider...

1. Why would Darkness kill a Union Leader? Wouldn’t Ven being a Dandelion have the same effect as ensuring its survival? Because being a Union Leader assures the person the privilege of keeping their original memories of the past. If Ven was a Dandelion on its own, he would have his memories erased regarding the War, and under the Leader’s watch, they may destroy Darkness in its path before it made it out of the data world. And on that note, Ven might even reject Darkness as a regular Dandelion regardless. 

2. If Ven had Darkness with him, wouldn’t Ava be suspicious?  Of course, since Darkness works as a completely separate entity and uses Ven as an unassuming vessel of sorts. And with a Keyblade like Missing Ache, a powerful three-tier in fact, it would be odd for an eleven-year-old like him to possess at the cusp of the War. But on that note, we now know that Darkness took the form of Ava to trick Ven into going to the abandoned warehouse, where both the Player and Strelitzia went into. And given their striking similarities (more so the default Player), it would be easy to assume some kind of mix up...

3. So what does that have to do with anything? If Ven wasn’t supposed to be a Union Leader, or even a Dandelion himself, why did Darkness pick him?  Because he was alone. Because he didn’t have anyone to call a true friend. Because he doubts his strength as a Keyblade wielder and a Union Leader. He was shut off from the world, possibly by force, and raised oblivious of the Keyblade War itself and the burden he inadvertently carries.  All of that was possible because Darkness saw a lonely little kid and twisted his mind to believe that he may never get the love and support he wanted, that he can only trust his own shadow and his own heart.

-“The one who answered was a boy with short, wavy golden hair and a tendency to look at the ground. He was so quiet that it was hard to imagine him fighting with a Keyblade.“ -“You two know each other, huh? Must be nice; I’ve always been on my own.” -Ephemer had never seen this boy Ven. Many Keyblade wielders he would at least recognize by face, and would usually hear stories of the truly exceptional ones, but Ven fit in neither category. (Unchained X light novel, pg. 125) Ventus: "Wait. Keyblade wielders fighting each other!?" Ephemer: "Didn't you read the book, Ven?" Ventus: "I did, but...I guess I didn't realize what it meant." ~~ Ventus: "I disagree." Brain: "Whoa, Ven. When did you grow a spine?" Ventus: "This is serious. I don't like the thought of wielders turning their weapons against each other." (Union X Mission 846: Pride Shift) The Union Leaders and Dandelions knew about the rising tension leading up to the War, or in this case, everyone in Daybreak Town knew about the War coming.  All except for Ven. He never considered it a possibility that wielders would turn their weapons against each other, fighting for Lux and not against the Heartless itself. For all he knew, everyone was just going about their missions like nothing even happened...After all, that’s what the Keyblade was for, right? Fighting against the Darkness?

But without Darkness (the entity), he never would’ve gained the Keyblade in the first place.  

Notice how Missing Ache is mostly connected to Dark Medals? If the Keyblade is a physical manifestation of the heart, than that defines their relationship: Darkness coming into contact with a pure Light like Ven’s, and taking care of the rest of his potential. It’s that kind of control that will eventually make Ven doubt himself, doubting his strength and his potential to make any kind of friendship apart from the Union Leaders. 

And even if he lost his memories in the Birth by Sleep timeline, it still had a lasting effect on Ven. -Xehanort tearing his heart apart because of Ven’s incapability of using the forces of Darkness...Because Darkness is an entirely separate entity. The same reason applies on why Darkness/Vanitas was able to survive on his own while Ven was forced to heal with the help of another heart (Sora). There was never “two halves” of Light and Darkness, there was only 1/4 of Light and 3/4 of Darkness. -He reacts negatively to any sort of criticism, and even goes into shock at the motion of a Keyblade raised at him (see BBS novel ch. 11 for more info (it also mentions his love of sweets, btw)), but he also hates the idea of Terra and Aqua holding back their strength, automatically assuming that he’s weaker than both of them.   -And even with the four years living in the Land of Departure with Terra, Aqua, and Master Eraqus, he never closed the gap between friend/student to brother/son-figure. Even with his amnesia, he remained distant of their compassion, never opening up to them in an honest, loving manner...

Darkness thrives on the idea of controlling someone weaker than itself. Daybreak Town, no matter its grandeur and charm, is a dog-eat-dog world, and it made sure Ven know that truth from the beginning.  Friends and partners will abandon you when you fulfill your purpose. The weak will die alone and the strong will crush the weak like bugs. Opening up your emotions and true feelings will make you weak, and people will take advantage of you because of it. The only thing you can trust is your own shadow and the weapon you carry in your heart.  Darkness and Light are one and the same, one cannot live without the other. They are brothers until the end of time, experiencing and feeling the same things and the same emotions. Where you go, I follow, so even if you think that you are alone, I will always be by your side forevermore. And because of me, you would’ve never made new friends (that will eventually leave you), you never would’ve been in the seat of power (that will eventually crumble around you), and you never would’ve seen the Worlds come into fruition (Light will eventually fade, and the Darkness will consume). You are my Light, I am your Darkness, and without me, you would’ve been dead long ago. Darkness as Vanitas wanted to keep that control, even after they were separated by Xehanort. He also didn’t fight back against Xehanort because, as the abuser became the victim, he had no idea to react. Xehanort made Vanitas weak because of his own power and his own skills of manipulation.  Even if he didn’t remember entirely, his dark heart grew colder at the thought that, even without his darker half, Ven can still live a proper happy life. He’s furious of the idea that Ven can live without him, that they can’t share that same happiness, but also avoiding the cycle of doubt and eventual betrayal caused by his hand. But Darkness isn’t inherently evil, it’s just stuck on the logic of “There is no true happiness, where there is love is betrayal, where there is friendship is abandonment, nothing is truly happily ever after...“. And because of that fact, he let Ven watch Darkness take Strelitzia’s life, hoping to find the Player and save them from the War, because life doesn’t give you second chances that easily.

In a way, that would make Ventus believe that her death was entirely his fault (since he accepted Darkness as a part of himself, ie. guilty by association), that all he will do is hurt people, and possibly his new friends. And he may believe that, as long as he’s all alone with his shadow, no one will get hurt, no one will betray him, and the cycle will just repeat on and on and on.

On a sidenote, KH3 Vanitas pretty much describes their relationship to the core: -I’m the piece of Ventus that was taken away, and you’re the piece Ventus needed to be whole again [Sora]. So why shouldn’t you and I look exactly the same? (Taking the appearance of someone Ven can trust, ie. Master Ava and Sora) -You define me, Sora, the same way that Ventus does. We are brothers who, together, make a greater whole. (Light/Darkness duality) -But I am darkness. And I do stand by your side, I’m the shadow that you cast. How much closer could I be? -Ventus: But I didn’t ask for this. To be sifted apart, nice and neat. We should be free to choose. Not just light, not just darkness. We decide what we are. Vanitas:  But...Ventus, I did decide who I am. You see? Ventus: And what you are is darkness? Vanitas: What I am is darkness. Ventus: ...Okay.

All in all, Darkness/Vanitas decided that he should exist by his own nature, meant to be the opposing force against Light. But at the same time, Ven decided that he should be defined as a person, not a puppet stuck with the strings of fate. And in the light of the new Worlds, he could abandon the weak and innocent child he was in the past. But as Vanitas’ final words tell him, what I am is Darkness, you can’t change Darkness in its truest form.

(Also don’t ask me on where Ven’s Chirithy fits into this, I honestly have no idea. For all I know, they may or may not be aware of Darkness’ control on Ven, so we’ll just have to wait and see in the next KH arc.)

TL;DR: 

[thesevenseraphs]

Bungie Weekly Update - 4/2/2020

This week at Bungie, we look towards Io. So, you’re a few weeks into your seasonal journey. You’ve cleared the EDZ Bunker of Fallen, and have been taking the Hive to task on the Moon. You’ve reclaimed The Fourth Horseman, and maybe even completed its catalyst. So, what’s next? Tuesday, the final Seraph bunker will open on Io. New Seraph weapons and seasonal mods enter the mix, giving you more options to build your monster-killing machine. Later in the month, Guardian Games will kick off some good old-fashioned Guardian rivalry, accompanied by the Grandmaster Nightfall difficulty. This week, we’ll be parsing through some feedback we’ve been seeing since the season launched, and discussing next steps for emblem stat trackers.

FOCUSED FEEDBACK

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been watching the conversation about Season of the Worthy, and more specifically Trials of Osiris. We wanted to walk through the topics we’ve been exploring and give some basic thoughts on what we’d like to approach in the future. Some items below may be addressed in the coming weeks, but other may take a season or more to tackle. We’re having meetings and discussions daily to determine the best course of action. In the meantime, it’s important to us that you know your voices are heard.

Card Rewards

We’ve been discussing feedback around a lack of incentive for players to go Flawless. We understand that some players have found the first few games to be more lucrative, which we’d love to shift to the later games. Early card token farming, as some would call it, is something that we are very interested in solving. We want to make sure that every Destiny player who wants to play Trials has something to show for it at the end of a weekend.

Additionally, we’ve seen feedback that the Flawless chest isn’t comparable the rewards associated with grinding out Nightfalls. This is something that we’d love to improve upon. There are quite a few ways we could approach this, and we’re currently discussing what would be the best for Trials in the long run.

Disconnections

We’ve been investigating an issue that prevented us from enabling rejoin options when Trials first launched. The short version: A player’s score could reset if that player left and rejoins the match. Since we’ve resolved this issue, we are currently planning to enable rejoin in Update 2.8.1.

Additionally, our teams are continuing to investigate the rise in error codes since the launch of the season. This is one of our top priorities, and we’ve made some progress in identifying the issue. What’s left is developing a fix and testing it. We want to take the appropriate time here to avoid introducing any further issues into the game.

Fair Play

We’ve seen reports from players that have encountered cheaters in Trials over the last few weekends. What follows is a quick update on what we’ve been doing to improve your experience, and what we’re discussing internally for future improvements. To restate the note in the intro, some of these items may not be addressed for some time, as we’re in early conversations, but we wanted to give you an update of what’s going on behind the scenes here at Bungie.

Our anti-cheat is not as “visible” (by design) as some security products. However, we regularly detect and remove thousands of malicious accounts from the PvP ecosystem.

On the front lines we continue to implement new anti-cheat improvements during patch releases (we don’t include these in the patch notes for obvious reasons), and are always investigating new approaches as cheat developers adapt to our latest tech.

Many of the cheats you may find in the wild already have detections and countermeasures deployed or in development, with work being done constantly to keep them updated against new threats. Because cheat developers don’t stop, we know we have to keep working to improve these systems.

Note: This is a tricky line to walk, as we don’t want to punish any innocent players that may consistently have high stats due to extreme skill, game bugs, or game logic exploits which Bungie considers our fault.

We are working with our platform partners to identify ways in which we can further strengthen our security.

We are investigating ways in which we can let you know when your reports have resulted in a permanent ban or a temporary restriction.

Additionally, we wanted to give a few tips on information that helps us during our investigations when processing reports from the “Report Suspected Cheating” contact form. Important Note: Do NOT post any of this information publicly. Not on Reddit. Not on the Bungie forums. This information should only go in this specific form. Here’s the information we are looking for:

Display name of the “known good” player. Is this you? A friend of yours?

Display name of the suspect(s) and any other identifying info you have (clan name, Steam ID, etc.)

Explain what suspicious behavior was observed.

Note the platform the behavior was observed on.

Provide a link to the Post-Game Carnage Report (PGCR) on Bungie.net.

And if possible:

Give us links to any video evidence. This could be a YouTube video or archived Twitch stream with timestamps, a clip, or a video you have recorded and shared via a public sharing service. (Sorry, we can’t connect to your private Google Drive or OneDrive to view a video).

I know that some of you out there may find the statement of “We’re listening!” to be a repetitive cliché of community management, but the first step toward taking action is to listen. We’ve been collecting your feedback and looking to fully understand the root of the perceived issues that are being discussed by players in the wild. Your voice is important to us, and helps us as we walk the path to what’s next in Destiny 2. We’ll be sure to keep you updated on our plans as they become more concrete, and we thank you for your continued feedback on the game.

Speaking of the future, let’s talk about Stat Trackers.

BACK ON TRACK

At the beginning of the season, changes were introduced to stat trackers to give players more ways to express their achievements in Destiny 2. We introduced weekly Seasonal and Lifetime trackers, and these were completely optional to those who might want to have a clean emblem. With this overhaul, previously featured trackers were removed. Players were quick to highlight this as a pain point, which we’re eager to address. This week, we have a list of the stats we’ll be bringing back in Update 2.8.1, which is coming later this month.

Seasons

Career

Forge Completions

All of the Trackers below are hidden if their value is zero:

Season 8 Season Pass Rank Earned

Season 9 Season Pass Rank Earned

Number of Tier III encounters completed in the Reckoning

Fractaline Donated

Menagerie Completions

Heroic Menagerie Completions

Kills of Haunted Forest Terrors

Deepest Branch of Haunted Forest Cleared

Completed Branches of the Verdant Forest

Revelric Light triggers during the Revelry

Candy Collected

Recipes Baked

Account

Career

Heroic Missions Completed

All of the Trackers below are visible on their class:

Kills as a Sentinel Titan

Kills as a Striker Titan

Kills as a Sunbreaker Titan

Kills as a Arcstrider Hunter

Kills as a Nightstalker Hunter

Kills as a Gunslinger Hunter

Kills as a Stormcaller Warlock

Kills as a Dawnblade Warlock

Kills as a Voidwalker Warlock

Crucible

Career

Gold Medals Earned

Longest Glory Win Streak

Total Valor Resets

Iron Banner Rank

Gold Medals Earned in Iron Banner

Iron Banner Bounties Completed

All of the Trackers below are hidden if their value is zero:

Wins in Trials of the Nine

Flawless tickets in Trials of Nine

7th column Medals Earned

Annihilation Medals Earned

Undefeated Medals Earned

We Ran Out of Medals Medals Earned

Ghost in the Night Medals Earned

This Crown is Mine Medals Earned

I Made This for You Medals Earned

Kills in Crimson Doubles

Kills while under the effects of Iron Burden

Destination

Career

Kills of Final Bosses in Escalation Protocol

Available on Mars and Escalation Protocol Emblems

All of the Trackers below are available on Luna Emblems:

Completed Nightmare Hunts on Master Difficulty

Pit of Heresy Solo Flawless Completions

Gambit

Career

Infamy Rank Resets

Raids

Career

Prestige Leviathan Completions

Available on Leviathan and Guided Games Emblems

Prestige Eater of Worlds Completions

Available on Eater of Worlds and Guided Games Emblems

Prestige Spire of Stars Completions

Available on Spire of Stars and Guided Games Emblems

Strikes

Career

Nightfall Challenge Completions

We understand that there may be a few stats that are still not present that you’re interested in returning. To be clear, we have a hard cap on how many stats can be listed on emblems, so we want to make sure we have room to grow in the future. Please continue to give feedback on what you’d like to see, and we’ll keep you in the know of what our plans are.

UNDER THE MAGNIFYING GLASS

No stone is left unturned when Destiny Player Support is on the case. When issues begin to trend, they disperse troubleshooting articles, but also dig deep to diagnose the issues. This is their report

HOTFIX 2.8.0.2 

On Tuesday, March 31, we released Hotfix 2.8.0.2 to the world. While maintenance was underway, we incorrectly noted two items in the 2.8.0.2 patch notes:

A fix where bunker upgrades on the Season Pass are only unlocked on one character.

A fix where the first weekly clear of a Legendary Lost Sector won't award a powerful drop.

These issues were not fixed in 2.8.0.2. Fixes for these issues will be available with a later update.

CURRENT KNOWN ISSUES

While we continue investigating various known issues, here’s a list of the latest issues that were reported to us in our #Help Forum:

We are continuing to investigate increased WATERCRESS and NEWT errors.

We have identified an issue with the Felwinter’s Helm exotic helmet that allows players to emit a detonation impulse that blinds and weakens enemies on any kill. We have disabled this Exotic until a fix can be deployed at a later date.

We are investigating reports of players who have their emblems blacked out completely with power appearing as 0 in the Roster tab of the Director.

The Level 32 PDS upgrade can only be used to clear the Bunker by the character who unlocked the EDZ Bunker.

Rasputin’s Daily Seraph Weapon can only be claimed on the character players were on when Rank 92 of the Season Pass was unlocked – this cannot be claimed on other characters.

The Cloak of the Exile Trials armor is not glowing properly when going Flawless in Trials of Osiris.

Defeating an enemy with the ranged Celestial Fire Warlock melee ability does not trigger the Warlord's Sigil perk on the Winter's Guile Exotic gauntlets.

The lore piece "By Thy Tongue Be Damned" is not properly unlocking for players.

For a full list of emergent issues in Destiny 2, players can review our Known Issues article. Players who observe other issues should report them to our #Help forum.

[lesbianrabbithole]

How getting engaged changed my views on Marriage

Since I can remember I’ve always said, to anyone who wants to hear me, that I don’t want to marry and will never have kids. I never questioned it. Why would I question something that felt like an unavoidable truth for me? It wasn’t until I got engaged, and started planning a wedding, that I realized how much I did want all the things I had sworn time after time I didn’t. The white dress (well, it’s more a pantsuit with a cape. I’m still a tomboy lesbian), the huge reception, the awkward speeches, the religious ceremony. The uncles getting drunk and embarrassing themselves on the dance floor. Fights about who to cut from the invite list, and resigning yourself to overpaying because everybody would get mad if you don’t let your cousins take a +1. I would look up venues, card designs, dresses. And get more and more excited. It was then that I had to question myself. Did I really never want a wedding or did I trick myself into not wanting one because I’m gay? I know my mom won’t jump with happiness when I tell her I’m getting married. I know she will go, she has always supported me to the best of her limited ability. But I also know she would pass out at the prospect of inviting any of my uncles and aunts, my distant cousins or my grandmother. “What will people say?” “Keep your private life private, nobody needs to know your business.” Did I never dream about a catholic wedding before because I didn’t want to get married; even though I’m a devoted Catholic as most Latinos are. Even though I wear a gold cross necklace every day, a San Benito (Saint Benoit) medal bracelet in my left wrist and still pray every single night before going to bed. Or was it because I know I can’t have it, even if I wanted to. More and more, I’ve started to realize it’s the second. And I’ve had to remind myself every single step that my love deserves to be celebrated too. It sucks to realize how much society influences us, even without us realizing, even when we don’t want it to. But at least, now I can fight against it. I know I shouldn’t seek validation from outside sources, but it’s hard not too. Every time my mom tenses up when I mention my fiancée or getting married within earshot of anybody else, it cuts a little. In the same way, every time my fiancée BFF tells me all about how she can’t wait for us to get married, or every time one of my friends reminds me that I better make her my maid of honor, I can’t help feeling happy. The first step is always accepting ourselves. And I do. I have for a very long time. I consider being a lesbian a fundamental part of who I am. it’s not only about who I love. I think being a lesbian, colors every one of my interactions and perceptions of the world. From what I read, what I watch, to how I relate to other people. I am out to all my friends and coworkers. To my parents too. But I have never say anything to my extended family. I’m not that close with them so it has never felt necessary. But I don’t want to feel like I’m hiding. Because I’m not ashamed of who I am. And I’m not ashamed of my relationship or my partner. Quite the opposite. She is quite the catch. I would love to brag about it. One day, I will. I guess I should tell you why I got engaged if I thought I didn’t want to marry. Well, that was before I fell in love with someone that lives in the United States. If we want to build a life together, one of us has to move eventually. We’ve decided it will be me. And when that moment comes, I will have to marry her. I mean, there are other options. But getting married is the “easier” one, as easy as the complicated American immigration process can be. And is the one that makes sense to us, because we are sure of our commitment to each other. For a long time, we didn’t worry about that. Neither of us had any interest in getting married or moving from our hometowns. We were, are, perfectly happy doing long distance. Then our 5 year anniversary together came, after a lot of talking and discussion I told her I was willing to move one day. We started making plans to get married. We got engaged in a romantic trip to Italy with some of our friends there to celebrate with us. Still then, after getting engaged and walking around with a ring on my finger, I thought we would probably just go to a courthouse and do the paperwork. No-fuss. Then we started talking. “Maybe we can do something small. A destination wedding so both our friends can attend and it will be just a few people.” The more we planned, the more excited we got, the bigger we wanted the wedding to be. That was almost 3 years ago, and in that time we’ve seen some of our friends and family, mostly hers, get married. I can’t help but feel jealous. Not of the process itself, but of how it’s a given people will want to be there for them. I sometimes think about each one of my family members. I don’t want you to get the wrong impression. My family is traditional and catholic, but they are extremely loving and supportive too. I honestly don’t think any of them would scream at me or think I’m going to hell or anything extreme like that. They may comment about how they never imagined I was gay, even though I’m over 30 and have never had a single boyfriend, or they will say how youth nowadays doesn’t follow traditional roles. But I know, I’m a 100% sure they will still love me. They will gossip, for sure. But I don’t really care about that. I care about my mom and how she is still ashamed of me being gay, even if she hides it under the guise of “privacy”. I’ve been engaged for almost 3 years now. And the wedding is still pretty far away. But when the time finally comes I’m going to invite my distant cousins and their girlfriends, my aunts and uncles. My grandmother and her noisy old friends. Some may get scandalized, my mom will have a fit, for sure. But I actually think a lot of them will be happy and even if they are not, the first step to showing the world lesbian love deserves to be celebrated, is for me to believe it too. Twitter / Patreon /AO3

[eleonorebirk]

IronHusbands

Fictober prompt 8

Fanfiction Fandom (Pairing): MCU (IronHusbands)

Rating T

Warnings: Tony’s PTSD

 “Can you stay?” Tony dearly wanted to ask. He might put on a strong front about what he’d gone through in Afghanistan but he actually just wanted to lock himself away, pretend nothing existed apart from the two of them. Just curling up with his honeybear had always made him feel better, made him feel safe, ever since their time at MIT. He could really use that now.

But he also knew that Rhodey’s superiors had to be getting impatient. He’d looked for him and stayed with him until he had been cleared to be flown back to the US, now they had to surely want to send him on his next mission. So Tony just smiled, reassuring Rhodey that he was fine. 

He knew how much his career meant to Rhodey. He wouldn’t want to do anything to jeopardize it.

~*~

“So the armour’s working well for you?” Tony checked.

“Of course,” Rhodey replied. It was Tony’s work, he did not doubt that it worked perfectly. “What about you?” He nodded to the arc reactor. “Did you find a solution?”

“Yes, it’s all fine now. Nothing to worry about.” He was fine now. JARVIS had done the calculations, his arc reactor was working fine and, more importantly, no longer poisoning him.

He still couldn’t quite shake the fear and desperation at learning his arc reactor, the only thing keeping him alive, was killing him. And then there was the message from his partner, calling him his greatest creation.

He wanted to spend time with Rhodey, peaceful and without outside interference. Then, perhaps, he would be able to talk about it all.

But they didn’t have time for that. After he’d asked for Senator Stern to be the one to present their medals, he’d learned that he’d be deployed right afterwards. He could try to use their current good will to get them to delay but he was worried that it could make others resent Rhodey or damage his career. So be put on a brave front. “So, have you heard about our medals?”

~*~

Tony had to still his shaking hands. He’d thought that after beating Killian, after his decision to destroy all suits and have his arc reactor removed, he’d be doing better. But he was still waking up from nightmares, still struggling with panic attacks. He considered asking Rhodey to stay with him for a bit, to relax together and perhaps he would listen to him when he talked about... everything. About the invasion, about what he’d seen on the other side of the wormhole.

But should he really ask him to stay? What if he didn’t listen, like Bruce did? What if he dismissed what he’d seen, like Steve and Natasha did? No, better to just remember what it had been like to fight side by side with his Rhodey and to enjoy their calls.

~*~

Tony slowly stepped into the destroyed remains of his penthouse. He’d only just returned from the compound and from retiring from the Avengers. He looked around. It had all changed so quickly. It wasn’t just his home that got destroyed but also his team. And JARVIS. His son was dead.

His son was dead and no one else seemed to care.

“Shit, Tones.”

Tony whirled around, not having heard (or expected) Rhodey. His friend was also looking around. “What are you doing here?” Tony asked.

Rhodey gave him a look. “I’m here to check on you and see if there’s anything you need.” Then he glanced at the walls, the ceiling. “And to pay my respects for JARVIS.”

Tony swallowed. “Thank you.”

Rhodey came closer. Slowly, so as not to spook Tony, he rested a supportive hand on his shoulder. “Of course.”

“Can you stay?”

“As long as you want me to.” 

~*~

When Tony woke after they had beaten Thanos, it was already afternoon. He smiled slightly when he realized that Rhodey was in bed with him, holding him. They’d had to fight apart yesterday, their suits’ abilities similar enough that they had bowed to the necessity of supporting two teams of heroes. After their victory, after their return to the tower, they’d just needed to reassure themselves that the other was safe and well. At some point, they must have fallen asleep, still fully clothed, still laying on top of the duvet. “Can you stay?” he whispered, “or will the Air Force demand your return?”

Rhodey opened his eyes, startling Tony who’d thought him still asleep. “I can stay. I will stay.” He cupped Tony’s cheek. “I told you, I’ll stay as long as you want me to.”

“I always want you to stay,” Tony admitted softly.

“Then I’ll never leave your side again.” Rhodey learned forward to seal the vow with a kiss.

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Miraculous Ladybug au: Brokenhearted Part 1

Based on this (post)

(Thats right I wrote it. Please let me know your thoughts)

It had been a few weeks since Adrien had heard that Marinette had started dating Luka. The blond model felt odd about the whole situation. On one hand, it felt like him and Marinette were now closer than before. The black-haired designer didn’t seem so on edge around him, they were able to talk, able to work on homework together, it was nice.

But something ached within him whenever he saw her go to Luka. The blue tipped hair musician would be waiting for her afterschool, a smile on his face as she ran to him. She would hug his neck and lightly kiss his cheek. Then they would go off, he didn’t know where they would head off to, he never asked, it was never his place to ask.

Adrien decided to be happy for her, she seemed happy and Luka was a good guy. He would support her, he would smile and wave as he watched them leave. Then he would get into the car his bodyguard would drive him around in and go do the activity he had to do for his schedule.

______________________________________________________________________

It wasn’t much later when he found out Ladybug had a date. Chat noir knew she would never intentionally tell him that. Their personal lives were personal, despite his constant prying in the past. They were fighting an akuma, he hardly remembered what the akuma’s gimmick even was all he could remember was his red clad partner frustrated exclaiming how she was gonna be late for her date.

The black cat hero thought he had simply misheard her at the time, there was an akuma, and it was clearly stressing her out. That was his reasoning for it, denial is an amazing way to deal with shock, until it is clear it can’t be denied.

“In a rush my lady? Have date you are late for?” Chat noir prodded, his Cheshire smirk hiding his fear that he might be right.

Ladybug looked at him, the look of frantic panic, as if she was trying to think or say something. Like a mouse with its tail caught in a trap. Chat noir knew he had hit his mark. His smile vanished from his face as he looked down. Ladybug tried to speak.

“Chat noir…” the sound of his name felt like another nail in his heart.

Love shouldn't be selfish, and having Ladybug’s pity would only make it worse for him. Through sheer will he forced his smile back on his face.

“It is fine My Lady… or should I keep it more professional?” Chat noir questioned, keeping his playful tone as steady as he could.

Ladybug’s look of worry faded as she saw the cat’s smile. It seemed that she had bought his farce, or perhaps in her rush, she didn’t bother to delve into it deeper.

“It is fine Chatton, I am still your partner after all.” She smiled at him, unaware that her kindness continues to nail in the fact that the love of his life was out of reach because of someone else.

Ladybug left in a hurry, leaving Chat noir waving and smiling till she was out of sight. As soon as she was, he dropped to his knees, clenching his heart. It felt as if someone had stabbed him with a blade of fire. The burning agony of heartbreak coursed through every vein.

After a few minutes, he calmed himself. He stood up, wiped his tears out of his eyes and headed home. He knew he couldn’t go home angry or distraught, what if Hawkmoth akumatized his Miraculous? He couldn’t risk it. If he felt his emotions go out of control, he would need to transform, it would be the only way to stop himself from losing control.

_____________________________________________________________________

Another month past and things seemed to stabilize for Adrien. He was a good friend to Marinette, sure she and Luka were going on double dates with Nino and Alya, but he still had time to spend with his friends when he wasn’t busy. He stopped needing to transform to deal with his emotions.

As Chat noir, his flirting had changed to more of a way of teasing his red clad partner, see how she was doing. Apparently, her date had gone well, she had a steady boyfriend, much to the cat hero’s aching heart. He kept himself calm, after all, if Ladybug is happy, he should be happy. He thought maybe he should start trying to go out with someone, maybe being so transfixed on Ladybug has made him miss out on a girl in his life.

_______________________________________________________________________

He dated Kagami for about three weeks before she dumped him. The blond model had tried his best to be a good boyfriend to the prodigy fencer and for a while. The break up was unexpected, and he honestly took it better then he thought he would, but her words still haunted him.

“We are done Adrien.” She stated calmly, no hint of emotion expressed on her face.

“What? Why? I thought we were doing great?” Adrien asked in disbelief.

The fencer poked his chest with her finger, her eyes staring right into his.

“I hate being second Adrien, whether it is in fencing or in love. I am no one’s silver medal.”

She left him standing there speechless. He tried texting and calling her for a few days but she didn’t respond, he was pretty sure she blocked him. He texted his friends on what to do. He briefed them on the situation. Nino, Marinette, and Alya took him out to go ice skating to cheer him up. It was nice, the four of them hanging out, he had forgotten all about the break up and enjoyed himself, until Luka showed up. Adrien seeing Luka appear and Marinette eagerly leave his side to skate up to the musician. It hurt, as soon as he saw them kiss it was enough for him to call it a night. He told Nino his stomach was acting up and went into the bathroom.

He felt more pain seeing Marinette with Luka then he did with his break up with Kagami. How did that make any sense? He told Plagg to transform him as he punched the bathroom wall. He finally realized what Kagami meant. He was in love with Marinette, that’s why it hurt, that’s why Kagami broke up with him. She knew that he had feeling for the blue-eyed designer. She could tell.

He left the building as Chat noir, texting Nino that he went home and to thank them for the fun night.

_______________________________________________________________________

Adrien tried dating other girls after this, he became kind of an unintentional playboy. He had a date every week, and each one with a different girl. Each girl getting their heart broken, since Adrien didn’t want them to be lead on when he realized he wasn’t romantically interested in them.

Each girl getting their heart broken, and Hawkmoth taking advantage of it. Ladybug was getting sick about hearing about Adrien the playboy.

_______________________________________________________________________

Adrien went face first into his bed. He really screwed up. His Kwami tried to console him.

“Adrien, you are blowing this way out of proportion. I don’t think it was that bad.” The black cat kwami tried to assure him.

“I kissed Marinette. I kissed my friend, Marinette! I kissed MY FRIEND MARINETTE WHO HAS A BOYFRIEND! I am a terrible person!” Adrien exclaimed.

“Well… yea. Yeah you did do that. But she didn’t slap you… or insult you. She just… walked away with a stunned expression.” Plagg trying and failing to comfort the teen.

“She already thinks I am a playboy! I don’t even know why I did it. She was trying to comfort me. She was being a good friend! And I kiss her. I am scum!” Adrien muffled into his pillow.

“Maybe you should transform Adrien, just to avoid… a you know what.” Plagg mentions as he nervously looks around.

“Whats the point….” Adrien dismissed. The poor blond felt awful, but fate was on their side, as it seemed Hawkmoth had akumatized someone else already. Plagg managed to get the sad lump out of bed to help him get out. Surely fighting the akuma will help get his mind off of this minor hiccup.

_______________________________________________________________________

Chat noir arrived through his room window faster than any other time he hurried home. He transformed back into Adrien and he was frantic. He had finally figured out who ladybug was. It all made sense and it was tearing him apart.

“Marinette is Ladybug?!” Adrien exclaimed in shock.

The black cat kwami was still spinning from the sudden de-transformation. “What?”

“Marinette is Ladybug!” Adrien repeated.

Plagg felt his heart sink, the kid had finally figured out the truth. He could see it in his eyes.

“Adrien…”

The blond turned to the Kwami.

“You knew! You knew this whole time! You knew through this whole ordeal who she was!”

“What was I supposed to do? I couldn’t tell you! I wanted to, but I promised to keep it a secret. Because that’s what Tikki wanted! I wanted to tell you, but I also… didn’t want you hurting more then you are now.”

“That ship sailed a while ago Plagg.” Adrien commented with biting sarcasm.

Adrien took several steps away from Plagg. Taking a calming breathe.

“How did you even figure it out?” Plagg asked, his tone softer, his curious nature taking hold.

Adrien turned to him, his head hung low.

“When we were fighting the Akuma, Luka was in danger.”

“The musician boyfriend of Marinette?”

“Yea. He almost got hurt. Ladybug saved him.”

“Okay… but she saves a lot of people…”

“It was how she looked Plagg, that was the look of someone who wanted more than anything to save the person they loved. The look I always have when I protect Ladybug. Ladybug was in love with Luka.” Adrien explained.

“How could you know that for certain though, maybe Luka was two timing.” Plagg tried to optimistically point out.

“Believe me, if he was, Alya would find out and have gotten to him months ago.” Adrien countered. “So, the only explanation, is that Marinette is Ladybug.”

Plagg frowned as he watched the boy’s heart break again.

“It makes to much sense Plagg…” Tears were streaming down Adrien’s cheeks.

Plagg felt horrible, why couldn’t he have told him before? He could have spared the poor boy so much pain if he did.

“Plagg, transform me.” Adrien commanded suddenly, holding up a piece of cheese for the cat kwami. For the first time in Plagg’s life, he didn’t want the camembert.

_______________________________________________________________________

An old man was sipping tea and watching a late-night talk show when he heard a tapping on the window. The man whispered for a small turtle creature to hide as he went to the window. He opened it to see Parisian hero, Chat noir knocking on his window.

The old man opened the window and let the boy in. The blond teen closed the window and told him the truth.

“You want to quit?” The old man stated in surprised.

“Yes… I need to, for the sake of Paris.” Chat noir answered.

“But ladybug needs you.” The old man said with a worried tone.

“Ladybug needs a chat noir that isn’t another heartbreak away from becoming an akuma. Fu, please take the ring back. Give it to someone who deserves it. Have ladybug decide.” The black cat hero insisted. He then handed him a letter.

“Give this to her for me.” Chat noir spoke softly. “Claws in.”

_______________________________________________________________________

Ladybug arrived at Fu’s residence several days later. He seemed to have been expecting her.

“Fu, I think something has happened to Chat noir! I had to deal with two akuma on my own. He hasn’t responded to my calls, he would at least send a message or his kwami to help….” Ladybug stopped raving as soon as she saw the old man walk over to a mysterious black box.

He opened it to reveal the cat miraculous.

“He gave up his miraculous.” Fu spoke, solemnly yet firmly as he picked up a letter next to the box. He handed it to her. The letter was addressed to ‘Buggaboo.” Ladybug opened it and read the letter:

Dear Ladybug,

If you are reading this, then you know that I have given up my role as chat noir. It is selfish of me to do this; how could I leave you like this? I know those thoughts are crossing your mind right now. I am sorry for being an awful partner, always getting in the way, always having the villain incapacitate me, control me, use me against you in some weird way. Though you have never said it outright, I know you would tell me I am wrong. That is one of the reasons why I love you.

The true reason why I write this, is because I can’t handle it anymore. I am in an emotional flux that is sooner or later going to result in me getting akumatized. I have been playing it off as best as I could, but I can’t keep playing this game anymore. If the cat miraculous got akumatized, it would be over.

I leave the ring in your care, pick a good replacement for me. Maybe that musician with the dyed blue tips, he seemed cool enough to be chat noir. Be safe my lady.

Signed,

Chat noir

Ps. Have a nice life princess.

Ladybug felt her heart get crushed as she read every word. He knew who she was? Was he suffering that much? Chat noir was in love with her, yet he put on a brave face for so long just so she could be happy.

“Fu… who is Chat noir?” Ladybug questioned, trying to keep her voice steady.

“Why are you asking Ladybug?”

“Because… that silly kitty left his ring here… I need to give it back…” Ladybug spoke as her eyes watered.

______________________________________________________________________

Marinette did calm down after some time. Fu had refused to tell her, for the sake of their safety. She hated that, she begged tikki to tell her but still got no answers. She just needed to forget about that cat for a bit, maybe he will come back after a few days, who knows. What she needed to do was focus on school. She would worry about this after school today.

“I can’t believe he did this! Adrien was happy here! Sure he was acting a bit weird, but he didn’t deserve to get pulled out of school!” Nino was upset.

“Nino what’s wrong?” Marinette asked, wondering why everyone in class looked gloomy, even Chloé was surprisingly downtrodden.

“Adrien got pulled out of school. His dad is putting him on lock down. No phone, no internet, no anything. Adrien managed to tell Nino all of this before he got his phone confiscated. Apparently, Adrien’s grades were not up to his father’s standards.”

“That’s ridiculous! How is that fair!?” Marinette questioned, sure she had a bit of an awkward time with Adrien a few days ago, which she still feels very conflicted about, but he definitely didn’t deserve this.

“It isn’t fair, and if we try to talk to him, his dad said if he sees any of us set foot on his property, he will send Adrien to New York.” Nino stated the worst bit of news.

Marinette felt horrible, her former flame and friend now unable to come to school. She could only imagine what he was feeling.

_______________________________________________________________________

“Are you sure you are okay with this Adrien? You were the one who was insistent on going to school in the first place.” The fashion mogul inquired as he looked at his son.

Adrien lowered his head.

“I don’t want any more distractions. You were right. I don’t need to go to public school.” Adrien answered.

His father could tell that this wasn’t the real reason, but he did not need to concern himself with it. This would make it easier to keep him safe. He wouldn’t need to worry about his son becoming collateral damage in an akuma attack.

“Very well. If that is what you want. I’ll have Nathalie schedule your lessons for next week.”

“Thank you.” Adrien said hollowly as he headed out of his father’s office door.

He slowly made his way up to his room. He closed the door behind him and laid on the bed. He was completely alone.