#except I already had the flag's saved in my photos to color pick from

[bookwyrminspiration]

im starting a tradition

[rokutouxei]

the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart

ikemen vampire: temptation through the dark theo van gogh / mc | T | [ ao3 link in bio ]

The challenge seemed pretty simple: to try to befriend the university bookshop's most sour employee, Theo van Gogh. As a literature major with a boatload of book recommendations on her back, it ought to be a simple task indeed. But as she uncovers what lies between Theo's pages, the more she finds it harder to become closer to him without having to put the feeling directly into words. What can she learn from Theo about what it means to stay—and how can she teach Theo about what it means to let go? | written for ikevamp big bang 2020!

[ masterpost for all chapters ]

CHAPTER 2 OF 22

In a small house in the better neighborhood of the university, a young man is beginning to dream. He’s chasing the afterimages of a vision he’d caught, trying to see if he can get it down on paper. It’s scary, but it’s exciting. He’s prepared his materials—the canvas, the pen, the paint—and he’s closed the door, and opened the shutters, letting the morning light flood the studio-cum-library in their small, rented home.

Vincent holds the pen gently, like a prayer, in his hands, before beginning to sketch.

--

The thing with living in such a small university town such as this is that you cannot escape the inevitable.

And by inevitable, that means you know someone who knows someone, and everyone kind of vaguely knows each other in some way or another—through a club, or a shared favorite hang-out spot, or an extracurricular. Everyone is someone’s something by a degree or another.

She’s learned this in her first year at university, but the lesson’s about to be driven a little closer to home today.

She’s seated in the café as usual, annotating a book when Vincent approaches her, a small brownie in hand. It’s not the ones they serve regularly, cut on a smaller bit, and maybe it’s one of the edges or corners in the baking tray. “Can I offer you a little snack?” he asks, offering the plate in front of her.

Looking up at him through round-rimmed glasses, she blinks. “Oh? Thank you, but—what’s this for?” she asks, as Vincent puts the plate down on a free spot on her table. He takes a seat on the free chair next to her.

“Can I ask you a favor?”

Modeling isn’t exactly her forte, but Vincent insists that he doesn’t need a full-blown model for his project—besides, he couldn’t have afforded it, even if he did need one. He’s working on “something”—by the rumors in the art department, she assumes it’s for his thesis, his capstone project, but who knows?—and he needs a little help on the lighting. He’s working with some tricky fabric, draped down bodies, and he isn’t quite sure how it should come out.

“It’ll only take two hours tops,” he promises, “if you wouldn’t mind. It’s not nude or anything risque, I just need to be able to see how the fabric drapes accordingly to the light. I’ll treat you to dinner afterward?”

Here’s the thing—one does not exactly say no to Vincent. The university town is small enough as it is, and everyone knows Vincent because he’s a legend in the art department. You do not turn down the offer to be painted by a master, or at least that’s how the logic goes. But at the same time, Vincent is always sunflowers and soft smiles, and when he looks at her like that… the only thing that comes out of her mouth is “Of course I will!”

“I’m sorry this is all so sudden,” he says sheepishly. “I just had this idea a bit back, and I’ve been wanting to work on it…”

“No, it’s okay,” she replies instantly. “You’re always reserving my favorite seat for me anyway, and you’ve always been so nice to me. We’re basically friends now, and friends do this for each other, yes?”

Vincent’s eyes glow in a way you’ve never seen before, and it makes you flush a little. “Friends? Of course, yes, thank you so much.”

His shift won’t end in another hour and a half, so he treats her to coffee (“you didn’t have to!” “it’s on me, I swear!”) as she’s waiting for him. She picks up her beautiful, hardbound copy of 1800s English literature, now lovingly highlighted and with many flags at certain pages, and begins to read, scribbling notes on a separate notebook.

By 5:15 Vincent is ready to go, dressed out of his uniform and into his casual clothes, a sweater one or two sizes too big for him over a shirt and some pants. He calls out her name gently, hand leaning on her table.

And she stares.

Vincent isn’t her type—he’s a little too angelic for her liking, as she does prefer those on the more rugged side—but she won’t deny that he’s attractive. She had never seen Vincent in casual clothes before—she’d seen him hang up his barista apron at the end of shifts before, but never actually caught him go home—and she pauses for a moment when he arrives at her table.

“Are you okay?”

“Haha,” she says awkwardly, coughing her shock away. “Yeah, I almost didn’t recognize you, is all. Let me just pack up?”

She hadn’t expected it, but she should have—that her friendly local barista, the legend of the art department—is living smack dab in the middle of their small town, at the perfect distance to everything. In a house, too, not a small dormitory. It’s a beautiful one painted white with a small garden and a porch outside, a tree standing tall and providing shade on the house, and a small classic mailbox in front—it looked like a house that belonged in the suburbs instead of in the middle of this very schoolish town. She can’t help the small whistle of appreciation when they get there.

“Our father knew the landlord,” Vincent explains, as he unlocks the door. “So we get it rather cheaply. Careful of the landing.”

We? She catches the plural but doesn’t get to ask, as she enters the apartment and marvels at it. It’s not extravagant, but it’s still rather fancy, considering she stays in a small studio room. There are paintings hanging on the walls—Vincent’s, she assumes—and everything is in attractive, warm colors. What catches her attention, however, is the small framed photo on the side table by the sofa, of two boys on a swing, a blond one (Vincent?) pushing one with brown hair (a cousin?).

“Five and three,” Vincent says, by way of explanation. She’s about to ask him who the other child is, but Vincent interrupts her. “Do you need water? A break?”

They’d walked quite a bit from the café, after all, and while she had her bike with her, Vincent didn’t, and so she just rolled it next to her throughout the whole 30-minute walk. “No, I’m okay. Where’s your studio?”

Vincent beams. “Here, come.”

They walk down the hall and enter a door to the left, and the studio opens up to her. The wall on the right has a row of high bookshelves, all nearly filled to the brim with books on all sorts of different topics. The wall where the door is has a layer of corkboard attached to it, where a multitude of prints and photos and papers with scribbles and notes are pinned and strung together. Most of the room’s floor is covered in some kind of paper—newspaper, craft paper—to protect the wooden slats below. There are easels stacked at the far side of the room, but facing away, so she can’t exactly see what is on them. And then, there is the set-up for Vincent’s current project: an easel in the center of the room with the sketch of a woman’s figure; a white sheet draping from the ceiling to the floor, serving as a backdrop, in the far corner; a steel circle hanging by the ceiling, the kind people sit on; black craft paper laid on the floor below it; and on top of it, a small stool, a fabric in beautiful vermillion, and some fairy lights.

“Welcome to the studio,” Vincent says, guiding her inside. “Sorry for the mess, I was working this morning.”

“No, it’s okay,” she says, carefully stepping in. “It’s so interesting to see your studio, where all the magic happens.”

Vincent flinches at that, but doesn’t make any other comment about it. She contemplates if she has to apologize, but doesn’t know exactly what she’ll have to apologize for. “No magic here,” Vincent mumbles.

He asks her to get comfortable on the wooden stool and maybe get a feel for the fabric, as he sets up his camera. The plan was this: she’ll get into the poses he needs for his project, he will take a couple photos for reference in different angles, and then he will take her out to dinner.

The time passes rather uneventfully, and pretty quickly, because the poses aren’t entirely too tricky on her end. A raised arm here, a dangle of hair in this direction, a tiptoe towards this—Vincent is gentle in maneuvering her around and quick in taking his photos, and in an hour they’re ready. Vincent thanks her profusely for her help as he’s packing away, and she laughs as she says “Well, you’re treating me to food, so it’s paid work.”

“Dinner, yes, of course,” Vincent nods, putting the camera back on its place on the bookshelf. “I actually got my brother to save a spot at, erm, my favorite place, if you don’t mind? It’s Greek food.”

“Oh, that’s fine! I didn’t know you had a brother, Vincent.”

“I do, he’s the sweetest thing,” he answers with a beam of a smile, so much so that for a moment she falters about joining them for dinner. One Vincent was bad enough for her heart as it is, but two of them? That’s not good news is it?

Except, yet again, the rule of not saying no to Vincent applies, and so after a bit of tidying they’re already on the way to the restaurant. An actual restaurant, mind you, not some cheapo fast food that Arthur treats her to. (“This isn’t fair, you know? Just because I’m not in your menu of dateables and bangables doesn’t mean you treat me disproportionately to everyone else.” “Stop complaining and eat your McDonald’s.”) It’s a small one, admittedly, but most of the stalls in this town is, anyway. Vincent peers into the building and then pulls her in, inviting her inside.

Vincent pauses for a moment. “I’ve been told he has quite an… aggressive face, but don’t be afraid of him okay?”

“If he’s your brother, there’s no reason to be scared,” she says with a smile. For a moment she is looking for a twin puff of sunflower blond hair, but then, remembering the photos, she begins to look for an equally-fluffy brown mop of hair, and just at the exact moment she comes to the realization—

“Hondje?!”

“Theo?!”

--

The thing with living in such a small university town such as this is that you cannot escape the inevitable.

It’s a silly thought. She even finds it rather ironic that that is the wise saying about making friends and getting to know other people in this university because running away is the one thing she wishes she was good at.

See, the first time she saw Theo, she thought, wow, this guy looks so insufferable. I can’t believe he works here, and I have to see him every week. This is the worst.

Until it isn’t.

She knew, the moment she made eye contact with Theo across the table in that homey Greek restaurant, that that event would change her life in ways she wouldn’t have—and couldn’t have—imagined. She just didn’t know how yet. Vincent was surprised that he didn’t need to introduce the two of them to each other, and with an irritated grumble, Theo had explained that she was a frequenter of the bookstore, taking a jab at her having no other friends and spending so much time around books instead. She quips back and says the reason they don’t have customers is that Theo’s face is enough to sour anyone’s day, and so no one but her comes anyway.

But Vincent is not the kind of person to have this happen, so instead, with a truce, his kind insistence, and irresistible smile—dammit!—she and Theo, instead, become friends. Good friends. Wait, no—they become begrudging friends.

But they don’t talk.

Theo doesn’t even give her his phone number.

No, they’re not friends. Not yet, anyway. Theo makes a show of only putting up with all of this for his brother, as he continues to ignore even the most cordial of texts like “thank you for putting a rush-order on my book!”, throwing insults back and forth with her in the bookshop. But eventually, both of them find a rhythm, a little liminal space of friends by circumstance and not by desire that they’ve agreed on.

That is until they begin the book exchange.

[trufflerabbit13]

Searching for Brothers: CHAPTER VII: The Red Haired Man and His Crew

CHAPTER 7 Word count: 1.9 k

THIRD PERSON P.O.V.

The blonde female tiredly sighed as she pushed her bloody umbrella into the sea water, washing off the crimson liquid that seemed to stain it.

She silently thanked that all umbrellas were waterproof. She was well aware that if it weren't, the cloth of the umbrella would absorb all the blood, and it'll be impossible to wash off.

As she opened the umbrella and placed it on the deck to be dried by the sun, she joined her partner that quietly sunbathed on deck.

The white-furred beast was stretched out under the sun, his muscles relaxed. Looking at him, you wouldn't think he was in a battle with a group of pirates mere minutes ago.

Using the beast stomach as a pillow, Clementine stared into the cloudless blue sky.

It's been already six months since she left her small island that she called home. Her first bounty of 40,000,000 berî has risen to 60,000,000 berî after she accidentally beat a marine Rear Admiral and a Commodore. Truthfully she wasn't sure how she did it.

As she recalled the memory, her eyebrows furrowed together in confusion.

<<FLASH BACKS<<

Clementine was quietly eating a small meal when her ship suddenly rocked, barely missing the cannon that was aimed at her boat.

She slammed her fork down with annoyance as she walked right out, eyeing the large Marine ship that floated in the distance. Anger by her meal's disruption, she furiously glared at the rowdy group of marines who had their weapons prepared.

Seconds later all of them including the Commodore and the Captain dropped to the ground like flies, their eyes rolled back into their head as they foamed from their mouth.

Clementine freaked by the action quickly escaped the 'battleground' leaving the boat full of unconscious marines to be later found, making the news.

==FLASH BACK ENDED==

The blonde female ran her fingers through the soft fur of Roki's while her mind was wandering off.

A gentle breeze made her hair fly around slightly, she closed her eyes in pleasure, a small smile gracing her features. But a sudden attack on her face made her blue eyes snap open in shock. She spluttered as a paper stuck to her face because of the wind. She quickly pulled the paper away and looked at it in confusion.

Her eyebrows creased as she realized what it was.

"60,000,000 berî, The Blue Angel," she quietly read as she looked at the picture of herself petting Roki.

She still was confused how someone was able to take her photo. She had been positive that she had finished off everyone on the boat, but somehow her picture still got leaked, and she didn't even notice it. And she couldn't help but be slightly disappointed.

She had always imagined her first Wanted poster to be fierce and badass so people wouldn't mess with her. But, the photo in her hand made her look frail and weak.

Clementine sighed once again and looked at the wanted poster closer. Because of this wanted poster, people underestimated her. Just because of a damn picture...

She slowly stood up and looked at her compass that was connected to a chain around her neck.

A few days ago she finally arrived in west blue. The last ocean she hadn't searched yet.

The blonde was getting slightly frustrated how she never was able to get wind of her brother's crew. At every island she stopped she would question people about the Whitebeard Pirates.

And every time she got an idea where they were, they had already departed. It was literally impossible to catch up to them with her tiny boat.

She pondered about her plans, her bottom lip getting tugged between her teeth as she used Roki as her pillow. The peacefulness made her eyes drift close, sleepiness beginning to overtake her. However, her eyes snapped open when she thought she heard voices from a distance.

CLEMENTINE P.O.V.

I sat up and looked around in confusion. The only people on my boat was Roki and me. So that means...

Somebody was either on the boat, or somebody was near our boat....

I quickly stood up, making Roki lazily open his blue eyes. Though he quickly became awake as he noticed my tense limbs, his ear twitching as he too picked up voices.

I quickly grabbed my umbrella that was already dried and scaled up to the crow's nest, leaving Roki on the deck. As I scanned the ocean, my icy eyes widened when I saw the largest ship I've ever seen near my boat.

My eyes narrowed when I noticed someone was also in their crow's nest, waving at me.

My eyes searched for the Marine's distinct flag. When I didn't see the familiar white and blue cloth, I relaxed slightly. I could see the black flag, however, it was too far to clearly see the Jolly Roger to distinguish what Pirate group they were.

Maybe this group of pirates won't be like those other bastards that I fought. Using my umbrella, I zipped lined down the rope that was connected to the crow's nest before landing on the deck where Roki quietly waited.

I patiently waited at the very front of my ship, my guard up, preparing to fight just in case.

As the ship neared, the Jolly Roger became more clear. When I was finally able to see it, my eyes widened as I nervously gulped. A skull with two red lines going through the left eye...

Which meant....

"AHOOOYYY!!! WE COME IN PEEEAAACE!!!!" A handsome middle-aged man yelled as he waved his arm wildly over his head.

I immediately knew who he was from his bright red hair.

As the ship neared, Roki growled threatening, but I patted his head in warning. I can't... I can never lay hands on his man.... And even if I tried, I would end up dead in a matter of seconds.

As I got a closer look at the man, the three scars going down his left eye became clearer.

There's no mistake this man is him....

"HEY~ DO HAVE ANY BEER ON YOU???" He screamed as he leaned against the rail of his ship. He had a goofy grin plastered on his face as he held a large keg of alcohol up.

I couldn't help but chuckle at his question. Crouching lowly, I jumped, aiming at the rail of their ship.

"Whoa!!!" The red-haired man yelled in surprise, staggering back as I stood right in front of him with a smile.

However, I quickly stiffened as I felt a gun pointed at me.

"Captain, don't you recognize her?!" A male with dark dreadlocks yelled as he pointed his gun at me, his eyes narrowed as he finger played with the trigger.

I glared at him but stayed still, not wanting to start a fight.

The red-haired man looked confused as he scratched his, "huh? What are you talking about Yasopp? Why would I recognize her?"

I sweat dropped at his reaction but didn't say anything.

But just as I was looking at the red-haired captain, I felt a presence behind me.

My eyes widened when I noticed one male sneaking onto my ship, a sword ready to attack Roki who wasn't paying attention because I had given him the okay earlier.

As he swung his sword down, I screamed.

"GET AWAY FROM ROKI!!!!!"

My eyes widen as everything around me seemed to stop. Then suddenly it changed. Everything around me started to move in slow motion.

The male who was swinging his sword dropped his weapon as his eyes rolled back into his head. Some of the pirates on the ship fell to the ground, their mouths bubbling as well.

The red-haired man was gaping in surprise, but he quickly recovered and grinned wildly. However, I could tell there was a certain glint in his eyes.

The others Red haired Pirates, on the other hand, were still standing behind their captain, sending me threatening glares with their bodies tense.

"Shanks," a tall man sighed as he smoked on his cigarette. As I looked at him for a second, analyzing his appearance, I quickly remembered his name, because of his hair color changed, I almost didn't recognize him. Benn Beckman, first mate of one of the men I considered one of the most powerful in the world.....

"She's the one we were talking about when she got her first bounty a few months ago. The lass from East Blue." The man states as he let out a puff of smoke.

A look of recognition appeared on the captains face as he slammed his fist into his hand, "I remember! The one with 40,000,000 berî!!!"

"Captain, actually it's now 60,000,000 berî. The Blue Angel, also known as the pirate and marine crusher," a portly man mumbled out as he ate meat off a bone, laughing loudly as his shades glinted under the sun.

My icy blue eyes moved over all the Pirates who looked at me in curiosity. I jumped off the rail, landing on the balls of feet as I stood on the deck of their ship.

My hand reached for my hat making all the Pirates except the red-haired man tense and reach for their weapons.

Ignoring all of them, I took my hat off and placed it on my chest before bowing lowly in front of the man.

"Akagami no Shanks, it's an honor to meet you after all these years," I cooly greet, my head still down, "twelve years ago, you saved my little brother from getting eaten by a sea king. Thank you."

I lifted my head and placed my hat back on my head, stoically staring at the Red Haired Pirates who were gapping at me.

"T-Twelve years ago...?"

"She's from East Blue right?"

"Younger brother... That means..."

"EHHHHH?! LUFFY HAS A SISTER?!" All of them screamed, excluding the one man who was smoking his cigarette with amusement.

Red-haired Shank's eyes were popped out his sockets as his mouth dropped to the ground.

"No way, you're Luffy's sister! Wait that means you're Ace's sister as well!!!" Shanks yelled in shock and awe.

I slightly smiled at him, giving him a small nod, "I'm Clementine, Ace's younger sister, and Luffy's older sister." I stepped back up a little and jumped onto the rail, sitting on it.

The man with gray hair who was smoking earlier threw his cigarette bud into the ocean. Benn Beckham, the Red Haired Pirate's first mate, Shank Le Roux's right-hand man....

Such an interesting man....

"You aren't biologically related to Ace or Luffy are you?" Benn questioned as he placed a new cigarette in his mouth, taking a long puff from it.

I nodded my head as I dusted my skirt off slightly, "none of us are related, we shared sake together, declaring the four of us as siblings..." I froze for a second when I realized what I said.

My lips tugged up into a fond smile. Four, huh...?

"Luffy has one more sibling?" Shanks questioned, looking even more surprised.

My eyes sadden before I placed a neutral look back on. "I used to have a biological older brother by a year, but he got killed by a Tenryuubito."

All the pirates that were still conscious and listening to our conversation narrowed their eyes, some of them even sending me a look of pity.

However, I was surprised when Shanks didn't look at me with pity and just smiled at me, his teeth getting flashed.

"You're pretty strong! You have Haoshoku Haki, it's impressive. Dahaha!!!!!" He harshly slapped me on my shoulder.

I wasn't expecting the hit, my mouth dropped open in shock at the force as I tipped back.

Oh no...

[rosegardentwilight]

Satisfied Chapter 4

Satisfied Summary: Fate must hate her or her so called good luck had run out. What other explanation was there to the course of events that would collide with her life that would bring her to Adrien Agreste’s Wedding? Rated: T Pairing(s): Marichat, Adrienette, and Adrien/oc Word count: 2.4k ish for Chapter 4 Also read on: fanfiction, AO3

[1] [2] [3]

A.n- And here's the next chapter. Just wanted to thank you all for the feedback I have been given and hope you continue to stand with me in the story. If you're interested in being my beta just hit me up, I'm still looking for one. Italics are flashbacks.

Chapter 4: Helpless

Adrien stood stone still flowers in his hand in front of the apartment door. It was strange that he battled countless villains and still had his palms sweat at the thought of visiting his girlfriend. Despite being gifted in the looks department, most girls wanted to date him because of his money, status, or to get to his Dad. Amelie hadn't asked for any of that. If he was honest with himself, there were moments that the redhead made him feel alive. That he could unleash certain parts of his Chat behaviors, and she wouldn't only accept it, she would embrace it. This was new territory for him.

He found his courage and closed the gap between the door and his body and gently knocked. He could hear shuffling within the apartment which increased his nerves. They were supposed to go out to a new coffee place today, he hadn't texted her that he was on his way.

The door swung open to reveal Marinette, whose face was covered in what he assumed was flour. It seemed that the apple hadn't fallen too far from the tree.

"Hey Marinette."

She couldn't bring herself to tear her eyes away, it was complete. After a couple days of frustration and who knew how many cups of coffee, the project was complete. She wouldn't change anything about it, the dress had her own "Marinette" flare to it. After her project got approved, she would get a chance to create this masterpiece by the end of the semester.

A knock on the door caught her attention, but she couldn't move. It wasn't like she was expecting anyone to visit, it was probably one of Amelie's friends. When the knocking persisted, Marinette didn't have much of a choice, she couldn't keep them waiting. She was expecting a delivery or the neighbor who needed to borrow some sugar. Adrien Agreste holding a bouquet of flowers was one of the last things she envisioned.

"Adrien?" She felt her breath hitch when her eyes traced down to the purple lilacs. "What are you doing here?" This was the first time that she had seen him since fate had brought them into one another's lives again. It wasn't that she was avoiding him, it seemed that they had conflicting schedules which prevented the meeting.

"I stopped by to see Amelie." His eyes jumped from her face to the purple flowers. "They're too much aren't they. I walked into the store, and I saw these,"- His cheeks burned after Marinette reached out her hand on his arm to calm him.

"They're beautiful Adrien." The gesture caught them both off guard and she pulled her hand as quickly as she had extended it. She needed to calm herself before she revisited the girl in middle school that stumbled over her words.

"But just so you know, if you want to impress a girl like Amelie, her favorite are roses." Her eyes drifted to the floor, fighting the blush brewing. Of course, out of all the choices that were available at the flower shop he had to pick her favorite. She believed that with every gift came a message and if he only knew what those purple lilacs meant.

"Thanks," he offered a friendly smile and their eyes connected.

"I'll put those in water," she offered. He gently held out the flowers without hesitation. Electricity seemed to jump from his skin to hers without a word having to be said.

"Adrien! Are those for me?" Marinette retreated to the kitchen to tend to them, if she left it up to her roommate the flowers would only die faster.

It was weird seeing him here visiting Amelie, they had gone on a couple dates, but every time Marinette secretly hoped it was their last date. Whether that made her a bad person she had yet to decide, but regardless the sight of Amelie kissing Adrien sent her straight to her room.

"I see that you took my advice about the flowers." Marinette cursed mentally, after all the time they had been friends, it wasn't supposed to be awkward between them anymore. Adrien was with Amelie now, and she was happy for them, but it was too soon. It would be her life that after all her feelings got stirred up again that the model would get together with her roommate. She had her opportunity and passed on it. This conversation shouldn't be any different than with an acquaintance on the street...except it was Adrien. His emerald eyes made her knees weak every time that he looked at her. She couldn't help it.

"Yeah, I really appreciate it." An awkward silence fell between them when it hit her that he was still standing in the doorway. Her feet couldn't move faster as she stood back to let the model inside.

"I'm glad," she replied. She didn't know what was worse, stuttering beyond belief around him, or making her replies so short that she couldn't mess up the conversation.

"Are you doing some baking?" Adrien pointed to where the flour in question would appear on his own face. Marinette's hands flew up to her cheeks, but she was sure that the damage of the blush was already done.

"Yeah, I'm making some chocolate chip cookies for one of our floor mates old Mrs. Petit. She had a tough week and I thought I would make these to cheer her up."

"You're always thinking of others, it's one of the things I lo-like about you." Marinette's brow rose at the stumble but didn't have the courage to call him out about it. You could love your friends too, she loved Alya and Nino but that was more as sister and brother than anything.

"I would kill for one of your Dad's croissants." Adrien sighed leaning against the outside kitchen counter. The blue-eyed girl smirked, one thing that didn't change was how Adrien felt for his pastries.

"I could put in a good word for you. I know people," She teased. It was strange to talk about her parents like they were celebrities, but their bakery had grown in popularity. They had to sell the old store to move to accommodate the new business.

"You would do that for me?" The blonde placed his hand on his chest in appreciation to play along. Her smile grew further and the two bursts into laughter. They hadn't had anything like this since senior year of high school.

"You know Marinette, we should get coffee sometime, catch up. I want to hear all about your school…as friends of course." This time the red color tinted the tips of his ears and all she could do was stand there. Why now?

"That sounds"-

"Oh Mar-Mar, good you won't believe what just happened." Her excitement was enough to entice the girl. She was surprised that she hardly noticed that she was there with Adrien in the room holding flowers for his girlfriend no less. It wasn't that her roommate was a bad friend in any aspect she got distracted easily, and the fact had put a slight strain on their friendship. Amelie didn't give Marinette a chance to respond, "Bellamy just texted me, turns out I owed him a favor and he wants to collect." Marinette's stomach churned, she had an idea where this was going, and she didn't like it one bit.

"Oh really? What did he want?"

"I kinda promised him that he could have a date with you." Memories of her time with at the zoo when she agreed for Alya to go on a date with Nino. Now she understood her best friend's frustration; although they were happily together now, Alya still gave her grief. Amelie had different taste in guys than she did, and if she thought this guy would be perfect for her, that was a red flag within itself."

"Not going to happen." It wasn't even because she had no interest in the guy, but her workload and her secret life of Ladybug wouldn't allow for it. Hawk Moth wouldn't stop attacking Paris because she was on a date.

She wasn't sure but out of the corner of her eye, she saw Adrien's body relax at the words as if he was as against the idea as she was. He was the protective type when it came to his friends, she told herself because that's all they were, friends.

"Do it for me?" The green-eyed girl started to bat her eyelashes as her lips turned into a pout.

"Amelie, she said she didn't want"-

"I'll do it." It wasn't her constant asking or her whining that had won the raven-haired girl over, it was the knowledge that if she didn't say yes that it would continue. Besides what could one date hurt, the worst thing would be that she would waste a couple hours of her life and never see him again.

"What?" Adrien and Amelie replied in unison except in very different tones.

"On one condition, it won't be till after finals." It was easy to keep her head on straight when it came to this considering there were no feelings involved towards this guy. School and saving Paris took priority over everything else for the next two weeks.

"Marinette you don't have to do this." The blonde's words were lost at a squeal leaving the Redhead as her fingers typed furiously on her phone.

"No taking it back, I just texted Bellamy." She threw her arms around her roommate in delight. "Maybe if you two hit it off we could double. Wouldn't that be amazing Adrien?" Before he could answer Marinette cut in.

"Let's not get too carried away. It's just one date." She could feel the heat from his stare on her skin. She understood his concern about the situation, but they weren't fourteen anymore, she could make her own decisions.

"I think I'm going to go." He couldn't bring himself to watch the rest of this train wreck to unfold.

"But Adrien, I thought we made plans for this afternoon."

"On the way here, I got a call from my Father, I have to go in to do some photos for a magazine." There was a certain level of guilt that flooded through him. Excusing the times where Paris needed his alter ego, he never had to lie to her before. The thought of going to lunch with her was too much for him to handle, but if he told her the truth it was bound to start a fight.

Amelie took the flowers from the blonde and hugged them close to her body.

"Are you sure you can't get out of it?" She ran her hand down his chest playfully, but Adrien didn't allow his body to react.

"You don't know my Father." He threw a glance over at Marinette to find her eyes already glued to him. "Sorry," for a moment he didn't know who he was apologies to. Marinette for the antics of his girlfriend, or Amelie for bailing on their plans.

"Text me when you get off." She leaned in for a kiss, but Adrien moved his head, so her lips landed on his cheek instead.

He found his eyes wandering back to the raven-haired girl, he only wished that he could read the various emotions flashing over her face.

"Sure." His words lost any confidence that he meant to carry. "Bye Amelie...Marinette." Her name seemed to linger on his tongue longer than he was used to. The fact only caused the urge to leave to increase.

"What was she thinking?" He huffed. He needed to blow off some of this energy that was swirling inside him. his first instinct was to change to Chat and spend the night jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Plagg emerged from his pocket and circled around his owner.

"What do you mean?"

"To set Marinette up with some guy that she barely knows, he could be dangerous or hiding something."

"Says the guy running around in a black leather in his spare time." The Kwami's comment was met with a harsh glare.

"That's different and you know it." Adrien snapped back in annoyance. If Plagg thought he was winning points in the cheese department, he was mistaken. He did know the combination to his safe after all.

"It sounds like you're jealous." The comment caused the model to take a step back in shock. Usually his interactions with the black cat were mild teasing at best, but this was different.

"Jealous?" He parroted fighting the urge to grit his teeth. He was Adrien Agreste, the face on most billboards in Paris, he couldn't be…

"I'm just acting as a concerned friend, Marinette didn't want to go, she said so herself. Amelie basically trapped her into it."

"Didn't she agree to go?" The kwami was wondering if he was listening to the same conversation.

"You didn't see how she reacted when Amelie told her. Trust me, I would be doing her a favor if…" His voice trailed off as the corners of his lips tilted up in a Cheshire smile.

"Where are you going with this kid?" Plagg had seen that smile on hundreds of Chat Noir's before, a horrible idea was coming.

"Wouldn't it be a shame if Chat Noir"-

"No." The kwami didn't even give his chosen a chance to finish. He would have gone along with any other plan Adrien had, but this was suicide."

"Think about it, this guy could be a creep, I'll just stay back and watch and if she needs me then I'll step in. I need to know that she's safe." Plagg rolled his eyes trying to decide how much Camembert to demand. If Adrien was one thing, stubborn was the word that came to mind.

"And what if she has a good time?" Adrien's jaw tightened at the words. That couldn't be possible, he had a bad feeling from the moment that his girlfriend mentioned it. He was doing the right thing, he was the superhero after all. He had a sense for these things.

"Not possible." Plagg shook his head back and forth. Humans were the strangest creatures.

"If you say so." The answer was enough to put the blonde at ease. This conversation would be put on the do not discuss, and not another word about it would be breathed.

"Plagg, claws out."

[sasspotatodoesthings]

Ranking of the Assassin’s Creed main games

A personal ranking of the main story games of the Assassin’s Creed series. I will be putting ten eleven twelve spots, as there are ten eleven twelve games (one being released soon), and I will just leave the spots open and move them around as I play the games. Please note that I strive to get 100% synchronization so any optional stuff that isn’t necessary does affect my opinion.

Updated: 12/25/2020

Warning: There is spoilers, cursing and opinions below.

12 - Assassin’s Creed: Unity - This game took the longest for me to complete. Literal years to finish. I can’t even remember when I started playing this game (I’m guessing somewhere around late 2017 or early 2018, since I finished III in 2017 and finished Rogue not too long after that) but I had about 70% already done when I picked it back up these last couple weeks and powered through it as much as possible. What really ruined the game experience was the co op missions. I’m shite at the games, so I’m not going to actually try to play with other people. Soloing each of those three times to get all the armor was a nightmare. I’d much rather play the first game again because at least its shorter than this one. The controls are a bit buggy and because the free run system changed, I definitely had a hard time adjusting to it. I didn’t have many opinions about the clothes and weapons, and I never even took much of a look at the color options. Overall game time: I actually don’t know. It doesn’t record the time in game like it has in previous games, but it records it through the Ubisoft site, and mine didn’t sync up I guess. I’m assuming it has a similar game time at Black Flag, so maybe around 60-70 hours? It’s hard to tell because I’ve been playing it off and on for like 2-ish years with loooong breaks in between.

11 - Assassin’s Creed - Fuck this game and its monotonous game play. Fuck its collectibles and not being able to ride horses ANYWHERE. Couldn’t ride my horse in the open fuckin fields or I’d get chased by guards. God dammit I hate this game so much. I hated it so much, I had to take a year break halfway through the game. I hated it that much. Altair is the blandest character in this series and yet they don’t let go of him until Revelations. Even then, there’s still some stuff about him in later games. Altair was a boring character and I didn’t want to hear about him after this game. Overall game time: I don’t fucking know because I can’t find where it would be listed but this game sucks anyway so fuck it. Who cares?

10 - Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey - (This is gonna be long, sorry not sorry.) I played as Kassandra! This game is just a complete monster all on it’s own. I actually made a bullet point list about the things to mention here and I haven’t done that for any of the other games. Major talking points about this game. It’s just too big. The map is too big; there are too many weird, small locations to visit; there are too many tiny fetch quests, too many kill quests. I miss when there was a map with like, maybe 20-40 extra places to visit and some side quests. Most of this game is filler, if you’re trying to 100%. And because the world is just so large, the fast travel points don’t actually help. I could have a quest point that is a minimum of 500m from any kind of fast travel point. That’s not really any help. Along with the large map, some exploratory areas are just too big. The forts are a regularly occurring type of location in the game. These tend to be huge with something like 20-40 bad guys in them. Every time I happened to come upon these, I would groan, save, and then slug through it. Of course, when you have that many baddies, you think it should be easy. But no, it’s just another tedious task because instant assassination is no more! If you happen to do enough damage or the baddie is a low enough level, you can instant assassinate. But if they’re an elite or brute, you’re out of luck. Another major downer for people is the general rpg-like feel of this game. Origins, I think anyway, handled the rpg element much better than Odyssey. Origins gave you an established character, Bayek, and you did not get to change his character in any way. You play as Bayek. Odyssey, however, gives you dialogue and moral choices. They try to give you a half established character and then you take over from there. So you can either try to make decisions you think would align with Kassandra/Alexios, or you can make decisions on your usual play through of an rpg. This was definitely a bad way to handle this game. I think it would’ve been much better if they had given us little to no dialogue/moral choices. Like, for example, for one of the Tales from Greece DLC quests, you help find Barnabas’ daughter. You try to convince her to leave her mother’s farm to join you on your ship with Barnabas. She declines, which is reasonable as she wants to care for her family farm. Weeelllll, with out any kind of input from me, Kassandra burns down the farm and tries to play it off as helping the daughter in the end. I was horrified that the game just did that for me without at least giving me the choice. And these aren’t the only kind of choices that suck. The romance options! They are all basically one time flings that you seduce with a few flirty sentences (what is this, the Sims?) and then they most likely will join your ship. Now it was amusing at first to bang anyone who would let me, but then it got a bit frustrating. Why couldn’t I have a solid relationship? I just wanted to pick someone and date them the whole time and have cute scenes together. Why are they so many women romance options and little men options? I mean, I am a straight woman, but I will romance who I want in games because fuck it, am I right? And the one male romance option I did genuinely enjoy was a bit of a let down, cause it was between two brothers. See, I helped two brothers and I noticed a could romance them both. Now, dummy me I guess, romanced them both and then hoped maybe a little menage a trois would happen. Nooooooo, I couldn’t have both at once, and because I had slept with both of them before at separate times, I couldn’t even get to choose one later! Let me have the threesome cowards. You put statues with dicks everywhere and let me sleep with almost anyone. Give me the threesome. Also, about romancing anyone, did you know you can romance the leader of the big bad at the end of the game?? I sure didn’t until I got to that point. I did it for the shits and giggles but really what reasoning is there behind it? She’s someone who you previously trusted and was previously betrayed by. You never show ANY romantic interest in her before the very end of the game. Like it doesn’t make any sense for them to smooch. Talking about the cult, why are they sooo boring? Except for the few that are integral to the main story line, all the side cult member are boring looking and don’t have interesting reasons for being in the cult. The Order members from Origins were 100x more interesting. They had reasons for being part of The Order. They had interesting character designs. I just wish the cult members had been more like the members in Origins. Uh let’s see more points to hate on the game. I have no idea if this was a problem for other people, but fairly often, characters dialogue would overlap. It didn’t bother me much, as around 100 hrs I started skimming and skipping dialogue. I know this was definitely a problem for others: my game kept freezing and crashing. Comparing my last save time and my time on the Uplay site, I lost about 2 hrs and 20-ish minutes from freezing and crashing. The armor is this game is either subpar or down right ugly. I liked the armor upgrade system in Origins because the armor naturally fit with Bayek and his setting. Where as Kassandra could be running around in Athens wearing Spartan armor because the was made me the most powerful at the time. Now, I realized super late into the game that you could basically change the outlook of your armor to look like any piece you had looted to that point. But, like, why even have the ugly armor to begin with? Ships are a thing. Almost like Black Flag ships, but not quite as good. I’m not sure why they didn’t just recycle the ship system from Black Flag, but they didn’t. The ships feel so much slower and clunkier, and the upgrades start feeling like they do nothing when you get into the higher ones. And in certain parts of the sea, it’s crawling with pirates that aggro you almost immediately. I just wanted to get to that island that was like 1000m away, but I guess I have to battle some pirate ships now. And to finish off for the main game: Layla sucks major ass and I hate her as the modern day protagonist. So, my parents happened to have bought the seasons pass version of Odyssey when they got it for me for Christmas, so that means I got the play some AC DLC for the first time ever! Wooooooo.... yeah I wish this wasn’t the first game I played the DLC for. I’m gonna talk about the Fate of Atlantis DLC first. I didn’t really enjoy this DLC. It starts off with a disturbing scene of Alexios/Kassandra/Deimos torturing a man for information. It made me uncomfortable. I can handle most stuff that make people squeamish, but this one got me, boys. Elysium, which is basically heaven, is very pretty realm and pleases my aesthetic. But, the Isu guards there drain my adrenaline and I am a very heavy user the the adrenaline. About the prettiness of Elysium, Odyssey can be very beautiful. I never did take pictures in Origins, but I did once for funsies in Odyssey, and then I just kept taking more when I thought the scenery was pretty enough. I am pretty proud of some of the photos I took. It’s not much, but one of my pictures got 27 likes! Now back to the Isu! I absolutely adore that fact that all the Isu are taller than Kassandra. Most often, Kassndra is taller than everyone, excepting elites and brutes. But all the Isu were taller than Kassandra and that made me want to fuck them. Ubisoft, stop being cowards and let me fuck the gods, especially Hades because he gives me big MCU Loki vibes and I wanted that, so bad. To get away from fucking Isu gods, Ros, a dog later to be revealed as Cerberus, is Persephone’s dog that wanders around Elysium and I was always delighted to find him hanging out somewhere. I’m pretty sure I even took  a “selfie” with him, as much as you can take a selfie in this game. Persephone gave me a real hard moral choice that I did not enjoy making. She made me choose between my grandfather, or a spy I previously helped infiltrate her own army. I did not like making any choice at all. If I could have, I would’ve just booked it and never looked back. I don’t really have much to say about the Underworld. It’s hell. I wanted to fuck Hades bad. That’s about it. I don’t have much to say about Atlantis either exCEPT HOLY SHIT THE FINAL BOSS IS A FUCKING NIGHTMARE I WAS FREAKING OUT THE WHOLE TIME HOLY SHIT. Ahem- anyway the boss was scary and I was having a mental crisis trying to beat it without actually dying in real life from fright. Fate of Atlantis DLC done, woohoo! I don’t have much thought for The Hidden Blade DLC. It was short and sweet. I didn’t mind getting locked into a straight romance and having a child. I’m a straight woman and if a game gives me the choice to marry, have a child, and still be an adventurer, I’m gonna do it. Finished basically all of it in a day and that finished off the whole game. Boy was it a relief to finally beat everything. Overall game time: 133 hours and 45 minutes to beat the main game with one part of The Hidden Blade DLC done, and 167 hours and 55 minutes to beat the DLC, excluding the one part from The Hidden Blade DLC. Now if you count all the time I lost from crashing, it’s 170 hours and 16 minutes.

9 - Assassin’s Creed: Revelations - By this point, I’ve played three of the games in a row and I was very tired of playing Ezio. It doesn’t help that this game is basically II and Brotherhood but with smaller features added. Also, the colors you could dye your clothes SUCKED. Overall game time: 22 hours and 25 minutes. It felt longer than that and I was surprised to see this was the shortest time so far. Thank god though because I did not like this game.

8

7 - Assassin’s Creed III - Writing this as the credits role. So, heads up, I’ve played this game before so I knew some things that were going to happen, but I forgot most of the game. I’ve read that a lot of people hate this game and I can see why, especially if it’s the first game you play of this series. The game changes quite a bit from the previous games. It has a new free run system, the running is a little more fluid, new weapons, new side missions, etc. I’m giving III a huge bonus for changing the old system in the hopes of something better... it’s not completely better, but better none the less. The downside to all these new things is that they are buggy as hell. The running can be amusing sometimes, but it is a horrible experience if you need to catch someone or stay within a certain distance. The side missions are also super buggy. Many times the icons do not appear on the map (and they tend to be in the areas that the viewpoints do not open up) and just seem not to work entirely right. Currently for one of the delivery requests, I have all the items and I can find the guy I need to turn them into, but can not talk to him for whatever reason. (If you know how to fix this, please tell me because every method I’ve tried hasn’t worked). This may be fixed after the credits, but I think I’m going to have to live with 99% synch and move on to Rogue. To bring up the viewpoint thing again, the viewpoints do not cover the whole map and you manually have to clear up parts of the map, which sucks. Thank god they didn’t do that again. Moving on from game play points, I’ve seen a lot of hate for Connor, which I personally don’t understand. I don’t love Connor, but I like his stoic character who showed moments of true kindness and sadness with friends and family. This review is getting to long now so I’ll just stop here and add more once I complete the game as much as I can. Also, fuck any of the naval stuff. Complete bullshit. Overall game time: First time (2013?) 41 hours and 55 minutes. Second time (2017) 38 hours and 33 minutes.

6 - Assassin’s Creed: Rogue - Well. It took me forever to finish this game, mostly because you can only play so much of the same game. So this game was nice. All of it’s little connections to III, IV and Unity is fun to see and connect the dots. Seeing Shay ultimately shaping what Unity will be was such a great thing to me. This game was such a breath of fresh air. I was sort of dreading having to do anything with ships since III is a disaster and IV had its mistakes, but I was pleasantly surprised. Except for a few ship related missions, you can almost completely avoid sailing. Of course I didn’t because I need to 100% this game. Still pissed I technically didn’t 100% III because of a god damn glitch. Naval related stuff overall was much easier than previous games, including the legendary battles. I took out the first three legendary ships in one try and took down the fourth one on my second try. I had actually planned to use a whole day to beat the legendary ships but I very happy I didn’t have to do that. The game itself is very short, with only six sequences that hold anywhere between two to five memories. That’s the shortest a game has ever been in this series. But they pad the game with millions of locations to explore and millions of collectibles to get. Even though over half of my time spent playing this game was getting collectibles, it was fun. One thing I really enjoyed was Shay’s outfits. This is the first game where I like almost all of the main character’s outfit options. I particularly enjoyed the arctic explorer outfit. I also really liked the Templar outfit you got after defeating the epic legendary ship. This was a good game and in the future, I could consider playing it again, along with II. Overall game time: 31 hours and 55 minutes.

5 - Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood - It wasn’t a super bad game, but it was basically II with some new things and now you’re only stuck in one place. Also guild challenges. Fuck those guild challenges. ALSO. There’s that mission where you get the apple and can lay waste to the guards in your way, but it uses your health to harm them... and the optional objective is don’t lose any health. Fuck you Ubisoft. Or the mission where you destroy Leonardo’s war machines. Those sucked. The only good thing about this game is the colors you can dye your clothes. Those. Those are good. Overall game time: 35 hours and 3 minutes.

4 - Assassin’s Creed: Origins - Took me about a month and a half to complete this game. It’s very different from the previous game titles and I can definitely see why some people wouldn’t like it. I went into it knowing it would be different and I genuinely enjoyed the game. Just as a heads up, I’ve only got 97% synchronization and I’m not totally sure what will get me to 100%. There’s no definitive list of what to do to 100% the game. I’ve read from some people that you need to do all the hippodrome races and arena fights, and I’ve read from others that you don’t. I’m not going to do the races because they’re garbage and not fun. I’ve finished one of the arena’s fights and I just don’t really want to do the other so I think I’m fine sitting at 97%. Now, this game is very different from previous games. Origins is more like an rpg, but not really. There is like, a bunch more exploration areas. Maybe somewhere between 150-300? I’m bad at estimating but it is a lot. There are side quests too. There wasn’t many side quests in previous games, but including the main quests with the side quests, I did a total of 129 quests. There is a lot of gameplay and exploration. Not much of a challenge, though. If you don’t select the auto-level enemies to your level, you reach a point where you’re about 5-10 levels above the area you’re in because all the landmarks and side quests give you xp. At that point, many enemies are 1-3 shots depending on your weapon loadout. There are a couple of locations early in the game that for some reason have higher level enemies than the area calls for. For example, in Alexandria, you should be around level 12-16. Enemies will be around that same level range. Except, there is one location in the middle of Alexandria that has about 5-6 enemies that are above level 20. Now, it’s easy enough to just come back later when you are also that level, but when I was exploring the area, I had no idea they’d be that level and immediately got killed because my weapons did nothing to them. So that wasn’t fun. The game has couple more “challenging” locations if you do them at the right level. Similar to Black Flag and Rogue, Origins has some legendary battles. This time it’s elephants. The are four different elephants, and one them is actually two, like the ship battles from Black Flag and Rogue. The first couple were a bit of a challenge for me because I wasn’t the cap level and I didn’t have a strategy figured out yet. I saved the double elephants for last because I thought they’d be super hard like the double ship battle from Black Flag. However, before I fought them, I reached the level cap, upgraded my best legendary weapons, had a strategy, and also got multiple level points in skills that would boost my bow and arrow and sword damage. The double elephants actually ended up being the easiest at that point. One thing, though, was around 40-ish hours in, my game randomly lost about 7-8 hours of progress. I lost about 3 large map areas of exploration, 6 levels and 10-20 quests. It made me pretty angry and it took me a few extra days to get back to where I was before lost the progress. Aaannyyywaaayy, enough about that. Bayek is a nice character to play as. He is a serious, dedicated, loving man who can have moments of humor. I loved his relationship with his wife Aya, and I was sad to see them mutually decide to break up at the end of the game. They clearly still cared for each other even after deciding that their paths were not going the same way. Sometimes I would have a very similar mind set as Bayek and it would be pretty funny when I would make a comment and then a couple moments later he’d say something along the same line. And, of course, it was interesting to see the origin stories of The Creed of the Assassin’s. I don’t know if I’ll ever actually play this game again but I enjoyed my experience with it. Overall game time: 82 hours and 22 minutes counting the extra time that I had to make up for lost progress and 75 hours not counting the hours I got from making up the lost progress.

3 - Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate - So it’s been about five months since I finished Unity, and I actually beat this game like maybe a week before updating this. I think it’s because the game didn’t have any credits for me? I don’t know why I didn’t have credits, but I just didn’t. Anyway, wow, what a breath of fresh air, after the nightmare that was Unity. This game takes some elements I wasn’t too fond of in the previous game and improves them greatly. The fighting style of wailing on enemies until you get upgrades to one shot is easier to handle. It also looks way more fun. Evie and Jacob just move so fast when they’re throwing punches and shooting people, it doesn’t feel like I’m taking all that long to kill the baddies. The associate quests were fun and simple, they didn’t require much thought or effort. The main game was also on the simpler side compared to previous installments of this game series. Jacob and Evie were fun characters, I never really got tired of them. The main sequence memories were mostly on the short side, so the game felt like it passed in no time. The only long part was getting all the collectibles, which is unavoidable to 100% the game. All the upgrades and weapon choices were fun to choose from, and it was always cool to get a new weapon that drastically did more damage. Having a gang that slowly got better as I upgraded them, and that would back me up in fights was also super fun. There really isn’t anything that should change from this game. If I changed something, it’d probably be the romance between Evie and Henry Green, also named Jayadeep Mir. It felt kind of forced, and really, romances are always boring in Assassin’s Creed. Anyway, fun game, might play again one day. Overall game time: 37 hours and 37 minutes.

2 - Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag - It’s been a couple years since I’ve played this game, so it’s very possible this will bounce around in my list as I play the later games, but I remember enjoying a good part of the game. It was nice to have some variety, especially in the form of PIRATES. Some of my favorite parts were sailing to no where specific and singing shanties with my crew in my suped-up ship. Which brings me to the bad parts of the game; the ship missions. Honestly hated any story/side mission that involved my ship, especially if I had to be sneaky. I’m in a giant ass ship trying to remain in this circle filled with other giant ass ships looking for me. So yeah, fuck that part of the game. But even though it’s been awhile, I remember enjoying this game. Overall game time: 66 hours and 50 minutes.

1 - Assassin’s Creed II - Thank the gods for this game. This is a good goddamn game. Ezio is a fresh breath of air after Altair and being in Italy is honestly great. Upgrading the villa he lives in is great. Leonardo is great. Venice and it’s carnival is great. Only thing that sucked was the Ezio didn’t kill the goddamn Spaniard and then has to chase after him and his offspring in the next game. All in all, my favorite game so far. Overall game time: 28 hours and 37 minutes.

So the game(s) I need to play:

Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla

[katrandomtiger]

We’ll Meet Again

Listen. I don’t know either just take it. Read it on AO3

Jack is visiting his grandma in Kentucky when he learns an important lesson about listening to your elders.

Warning: It’s got ghostys. 

Visiting grandma Lori in the middle of butt-fuck nowhere Kentucky was most definitely not at the top of Jack’s to do list. It wasn’t that he didn’t love his grandma, oh no, he adorned the woman, it was just that spending the first week of summer vacation at grandma’s house with mom is not a 17-year-old boy’s favorite thing to do.

Jack sighed melodramatically as he hefted the last of their suitcases out of the suburban. His mom had, of course, decided to take everything but the kitchen sink with her making the unloading process more difficult than it needed to be. Slowly, he slogged up the driveway to the front door of the house.

Grandma’s was just what you would expect from a small rural town, a well-cared for lawn and garden, and a pristine looking house from the 50s. Against the sides of the house were flower beds that were almost choked with ornaments; pinwheels, signs, flags, and most notably was a rather terrifying cement gnome statue that had been sitting by the steps for so long that the paint had almost completely been weathered away. His name was Herbert.

The garage was packed with grandpa Jeff’s old tools and workbench. Cabinets that lined the plain plywood walls were covered in vintage collectables and filled with out-of-date chemicals and potting soil. An old stove sat in the corner next to the cabinet of assorted junk. Grandma’s van took up one half of the floor while the area grandpa’s truck once took up was now occupied by an ancient grill, the picnic table, and an assortment of lawn chairs.

Jack trudged up the stairs and into the kitchen where his mom and grandma were already gossiping as they started supper. Names of people he had met maybe once in his life were being thrown around as he dumped the luggage into the guest room and collapsed onto the couch in the living room. He listened to their banter before he finally fell asleep.

--

A figure watched the blond boy walk up the driveway. Brown eyes skimmed over the familiar broad shoulder and gold hair. A tear escaped as the figured turned from the window and walked into the kitchen.

--

The trip was going better than Jack had anticipated. The trio had spent the day a few towns over shopping in various clothing stores and shopping centers. They met up with one of Lori’s old friends and Jack was treated with some high quality old lady banter over lunch. The women folk had ended the day with a few bags stuffed with their treasures and Jack had also come away with more than a few items for himself. He was inevitably dragged off to church and a meal at the golf course that he was hard-pressed to say was ‘ok’ before they finally returned to grandma’s.

Jack collapsed on the recliner as soon as they made it in the house and pulled out his phone, desperately sending Terry and Russell pleas to save him. He was met with sarcastic replies and a gif of a man running out to his car and running face first into the door. Jack snorted before sending sad face emoji’s and opening a random puzzle game app.

“Jack, we’re going to Carroll’s house,” mom called from the kitchen.

“OK,”

“You coming?”

“No,”

“Jack.” His mother drawled his name in a warning tone causing Jack to sigh.

“I’ll walk down in a few minutes, I need to finish a couple things, ok?”

Mom shook her head before grabbing her jacket and making her way out to the garage. Jack listened for the van leaving the driveway before bolting upright and making his way into the bedroom where he proceeded to dig through the mess in his suitcase.

“Where the hell- AHA!” Jack exclaimed as he pulled out his headphones. He flipped them around and turned the power on as they synced the Bluetooth to his phone. The headphones beeped softly before music began blaring out of them, Jack paused it before meandering out to the kitchen. He walked over to the ancient looking radio that sat on the baker’s rack next to the counter.

For as long as he could remember, even before grandpa passed away, the radio played in the kitchen almost 24/7. The only exceptions were when a lot people were over, when the TV that sat below it was on, or at bed time. Even when they were in the living room watching TV or when they left, the radio stayed on.

Jack glanced out the window that sat over the sink to see if the van was gone, even when he was younger, grandma would warn him not to touch the radio, if anyone turned it off she would go right behind them and turn it back on. That was just the way it was.

He shrugged to himself before hitting the power button and sliding his headphones on. Jack worked his way around the kitchen, tidying the table, washing the few dishes that had collected by the sink, and hunting down his travel mug (it was in the garage). All the while, not noticing the fog building in the corner.

After a while Jack went back to the bedroom and took off his headphones. He ruffled his hair as his stepped out into the living room. It was dead silent apart from the windchimes ringing out front. All the lights had been switched off, leaving the dying sunlight to light the house. Jack stopped abruptly; something wasn’t right.

He stood in the doorway a moment, unease working through every line of his body before he noticed something sitting on top of the TV that hadn’t been there before. Cautiously, he stepped forward picked up the ancient cardboard picture frame. Two men in WWII uniforms stood with their arms wrapped around each other, their features were obscured by age.

Static from the TV broke the silence, the silver light from the screen was suddenly the only source of light in the house. The radio squealed from the kitchen before crackling to life. Jack dropped the frame as he spun around to face the kitchen doorway.

“~We’ll meet again, Don’t know where, Don’t know when~”

“Hello?”

“~ Till the blue skies, Drive the dark skies, Far away~”

“Grandma?”

“~They’ll be happy to know, That as you saw me go, I was singing this song~”

“HELLO? ANYBODY?” Jack’s calls bordered on frantic, he didn’t dare move from his spot in the only bit of visible light.

The light in the china hutch flickered to life before a horrendous screeching flooded the room, forcing Jack to drop to the carpet with his ears covered. He closed his eyes tight and yelled in pain before he passed out.

“~Next take, Billy, have the trumpets stand at uh- uh- at 37 as well as uhh- in the introduction~”

The sudden lack of harsh noise brought Jack back to consciousness. Jack laid there a moment, unwilling to open his eyes until he heard shoes shuffling past him. He looked up hesitantly only to find the room around him in brown and white, like the vintage photo. A man in slacks and a dress shirt stood in the archway between the kitchen and living room.

“~E 30000 211 take 11~”

The man was beautiful. Dark skinned, goatee, perfectly brushed curls, and a wicked grin curling his lips. The man’s face softened as another person stepped out of the bedroom. The new arrival was barely colored by the browns of the room, something about him was familiar. Jack stared wide eyed at him; he had no face.

“~I found you just in time, I found you just in time, Before you came my time, Was running low~”

They turned to each other and the darker man smiled as he slid an arm around the other’s waist and slowly pulled him into a dance.

“~Now you’re here, And now I know just where I’m going, No more doubt or fear, I’ve found my way~”

Jack watched in fascination as the two shuffled around the kitchen to the sounds of the ancient radio. He slowly stood and followed them into the room. The kitchen was different than the one he remembered, it was smaller, the carpet had been replaced by laminate tile and the appliances were even older than what his grandma kept. Jack glanced at the corner and dread filled his chest; the radio was the same.

“~For love came just in time, You found me just in time, And changed my, Lonely life that lovely, Lonely life that lovely, Lonely life that lovely day~”

The world twisted under Jack’s feet, the walls warped, the painting over the table seemed to melt down the wall, the only thing not affected by the sudden corruption was the radio. The dancers continued across the rolling floorboards as Jack scrambled across what was left of the floor, wood splintered and broke under his feet as he ran for the radio. He managed to grab the counter just as the floor dropped out from under him.

Desperately holding on for dear life, he looked over his shoulder to where the dancers had been only to see the darker man in the corner sobbing over the bloody corpse of his partner, a gun in his hand. Jack scrambled up the cabinet when the man spotted him, an inhuman scream escaped his throat as he fired at Jack.

Blood spattered Jack’s vision and he dropped into the void below, he fell for what felt like an eternity before he landed with a thud in the middle of the living room again, the radio still playing. He shot into a seated position and frantically patted himself down, checking for bullet wounds.

The radio crackled as the music warped and cut out. Jack hesitantly stood and tiptoed back to the kitchen, fear coursing through his body. The fog that had been building in the corner spit static and buzzed when Jack poked his head through the doorway. Jack jumped and stared wide eyed as the fog contorted into a semi-human shape, hissing pitifully as it went.

Sinatra sputtered back to life on the radio as the figure approached him. Jack stood frozen in fear as the foggy creature wrapped a gaseous arm around his waisted and tugged him closer. He couldn’t make out the song through the ever-warping speakers of the radio.

“J-Jaj-Jaaaaaaaaahhhh- CK-,” the creature spit as it forced him into step with the nonexistent tempo.

Tears spilled down Jacks cheeks as he was dragged through whatever dance the thing was trying to do. He shook violently in its arms, trying to keep in step for fear of the repercussions. They made their way around the kitchen until they were back by the radio.

“J-Jaaaaahh- C- Ck- ieeeee,” it screeched, “L-l-oOOoo-vve yOooU. S-s-sooorrRyyy,” a staticy sob burst from the cloud, “FffforrgiVe g-gaabbi?”

Jack gawked at it, trying to understand it’s words, before he nodded jerkily, “Y-yes, I forgive Gabi.”

The fog screeched again and Jack found himself face to face with the dark man. His body was slightly transparent and his legs disappeared below the knee. Tears ran down his face as he gripped Jack’s arms and pulled him into an embrace.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Jackie. Jack. I love you. It was an accident. Jack, I’m so sorry,” the man repeated over and over, burying his face in Jack’s hair.

“I-it’s ok,” Jack stuttered, awkwardly patting the man’s back, “I forgive you. I’m sure your Jack forgives you too. You should go to him. Please, go.”

The ghost pulled back after a moment and looked him in the eye, “Thank you.”

The room blurred and Jack woke up on the floor in front of the TV. The house was quiet and the kitchen light was on. He crawled out to the kitchen to turn the radio back on, only to find it was gone. A small carving of a barn owl with two rings around its neck sat in the radio’s place.

Jack stood and picked up the carving and turned it over, reading the inscription on the bottom.

Jack Morrison & Gabriel Reyes ~ 1954

He slumped into the chair next to him and rubbed his eyes. After a moment, he got up and put his shoes on before heading out the door to Aunt Carroll’s house.

[rosegardentwilight]

Satisfied Chapter 4

[Prev]                                                                                                    [next]

M version is here (A03)

T version is here (FF.net)

Summary: AU- Fate must hate her or her so-called good luck had run out. What other explanation was there to the course of events that would collide with her life that would bring her to Adrien Agreste’s Wedding? Inspired by Satisfied from Hamilton.

Adrien stood stone still flowers in his hand in front of the apartment door. It was strange that he battled countless villains and still had his palms sweat at the thought of visiting his girlfriend. Despite being gifted in the looks department, most girls wanted to date him because of his money, status, or to get to his Dad. Amelie hadn't asked for any of that. If he was honest with himself, there were moments that the redhead made him feel alive. That he could unleash certain parts of his Chat behaviors, and she wouldn't only accept it, she would embrace it. This was new territory for him.

He found his courage and closed the gap between the door and his body and gently knocked. He could hear shuffling within the apartment which increased his nerves. They were supposed to go out to a new coffee place today; he hadn't texted her that he was on his way.

The door swung open to reveal Marinette, face covered in what he assumed was flour. It seemed that the apple hadn’t fallen too far from the tree.

"Hey, Marinette."

She couldn't bring herself to tear her eyes away; it was complete. After a couple of days of frustration and who knew how many cups of coffee, the project was complete. She wouldn't change anything about it; the dress had her own "Marinette" flare to it. After her project got approved, she would get a chance to create this masterpiece by the end of the semester.

A knock on the door caught her attention, but she couldn't move. It wasn't like she was expecting anyone to visit, it was probably one of Amelie's friends. When the knocking persisted, Marinette didn't have much choice; she couldn't keep them waiting. She was expecting a delivery or the neighbor who needed to borrow some sugar. Adrien Agreste holding a bouquet of flowers was one of the last things she envisioned.

"Adrien?" She felt her breath hitch when her eyes traced down to the purple lilacs. “What are you doing here?” This was the first time that she had seen him since fate had brought them into one another’s lives again. It wasn’t that she was avoiding him, it seemed that they had conflicting schedules which prevented the meeting.

“I stopped by to see Amelie.” His eyes jumped from her face to the purple flowers. “They’re too much, aren’t they. I walked into the store, and I saw these,”- His cheeks burned after Marinette reached out her hand on his arm to calm him.

“They’re beautiful Adrien.” The gesture caught them both off guard, and she pulled her hand as quickly as she had extended it. She needed to calm herself before she revisited the girl in middle school that stumbled over her words.

"But just so you know, if you want to impress a girl like Amelie, her favorite are roses." Her eyes drifted to the floor, fighting the blush brewing. Of course, out of all the choices that were available at the flower shop he had to pick her favorite. She believed that with every gift came a message and if he only knew what those purple lilacs meant.

"Thanks," he offered a friendly smile and their eyes connected.

"I'll put those in water," she offered. Adrien gently held out the flowers without hesitation. Electricity seemed to jump from his skin to hers without a word having to be said.

“Adrien! Are those for me?” Marinette retreated to the kitchen to tend to them if she left it up to her roommate the flowers would only die faster.

It was weird seeing him here visiting Amelie, they had gone on a couple of dates, but every time Marinette secretly hoped it was their last date. Whether that made her a bad person she had yet to decide, but regardless the sight of Amelie kissing Adrien sent her straight to her room.

"I see that you took my advice about the flowers." Marinette cursed mentally, after all the time they had been friends, it wasn't supposed to be awkward between them anymore. Adrien was with Amelie now, and she was happy for them, but it was too soon. It would be her life that after all her feelings got stirred up again that the model would get together with her roommate. She had her opportunity and passed on it. This conversation shouldn't be any different than with an acquaintance on the street except it was Adrien. His emerald eyes made her knees weak every time that he looked at her. She couldn't help it.

"Yeah, I appreciate it." An awkward silence fell between them when it hit her that he was still standing in the doorway. Her feet couldn't move faster as she stood back to let the model inside.

"I'm glad," she replied. She didn't know what was worse, stuttering beyond belief around him, or making her replies so short that she couldn't mess up the conversation.

"Are you doing some baking?" Adrien pointed to where the flour in question would appear on his face. Marinette's hands flew up to her cheeks, but she was sure that the damage of the blush already gave her away.

"Yeah, I'm making some chocolate chip cookies for one of our floor mates old Mrs. Petit. She had a tough week, and I thought I would make these to cheer her up."

"You're always thinking of others; it's one of the things I lo-like about you." Marinette's brow rose at the stumble but didn't dare to call him out about it. You could love your friends too, she loved Alya and Nino, but that was more as sister and brother than anything.

"I would kill for one of your Dad's croissants." Adrien sighed leaning against the outside kitchen counter. The blue-eyed girl smirked, one thing that didn't change was how Adrien felt for his pastries.

"I could put in a good word for you. I know people," She teased. It was strange to talk about her parents like they were celebrities, but their bakery had grown in popularity. They had to sell the old store to move to accommodate the new business.

“You would do that for me?” The blonde placed his hand on his chest in appreciation to play along. Her smile grew further and the two bursts into laughter. They hadn’t had anything like this since senior year of high school.

“You know Marinette; we should get coffee sometime, catch up. I want to hear all about your school…as friends of course.” This time the red color tinted the tips of his ears and all she could do was stand there. Why now?

“That sounds”-

"Oh Mar-Mar, good you won't believe what just happened." Her excitement was enough to entice the girl. She was surprised that she hardly noticed that Adrien was in the room holding flowers for his girlfriend no less. It wasn't that her roommate was a bad friend in any aspect she got distracted easily, and the fact had put a slight strain on their friendship. Amelie didn't give Marinette a chance to respond, "Bellamy just texted me, turns out I owed him a favor, and he wants to collect." Marinette's stomach churned, she had an idea where this was going, and she didn't like it one bit.

"Oh really? What did he want?"

"I kinda promised him that he could have a date with you." Memories of her time with at the zoo when she agreed for Alya to go on a date with Nino. Now she understood her best friend's frustration; although they were happily together now, Alya still gave her grief. Amelie had different taste in guys than she did, and if she thought this guy would be perfect for her, that was a red flag within itself."

"Not going to happen." It wasn't even because she had no interest in the guy, but her workload and her secret life of Ladybug wouldn't allow for it. Hawk Moth wouldn't stop attacking Paris because she was on a date.

She wasn't sure, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw Adrien's body relax at the words as if he was as against the idea as she was. He was the protective type when it came to his friends; she told herself because that's all they were, friends.

"Do it for me?" The green-eyed girl started to bat her eyelashes as her lips turned into a pout.

"Amelie, she said she didn't want"-

"I'll do it." It wasn't her constant asking or her whining that had won the raven-haired girl over; it was the knowledge that if she didn't say yes that it would continue. Besides what could one date hurt, the worst thing would be that she would waste a couple of hours of her life and never see him again.

"What?" Adrien and Amelie replied in unison except in very different tones.

"On one condition, it won't be till after finals." It was easy to keep her head on straight when it came to this considering there were no feelings involved towards this guy. School and saving Paris took priority over everything else for the next two weeks.

"Marinette you don't have to do this." The blonde's words were lost at a squeal leaving the redhead as her fingers typed furiously on her phone.

"No taking it back, I just texted Bellamy." She threw her arms around her roommate in delight. "Maybe if you two hit it off we could double. Wouldn't that be amazing Adrien?" Before he could answer, Marinette cut in.

"Let's not get too carried away. It's just one date." She could feel the heat from his stare on her skin. She understood his concern about the situation, but they weren't fourteen anymore, she could make her own decisions.

"I think I'm going to go." He couldn't bring himself to watch the rest of this train wreck to unfold.

"But Adrien, I thought we made plans for this afternoon."

"On the way here, I got a call from my father; I have to go in to do some photos for a magazine." There was a certain level of guilt that flooded through him. Excusing the times where Paris needed he alter ego, he never had to lie to her before. The thought of going to lunch with her was too much for him to handle, but if he told her the truth, it was bound to start a fight.

Amelie took the flowers from the blonde and hugged them close to her body.

"Are you sure you can't get out of it?" She ran her hand down his chest playfully, but Adrien didn't allow his body to react.

"You don't know my father." He threw a glance over at Marinette to find her eyes already glued to him. "Sorry," For a moment he didn't know who he was apologies to, Marinette for the antics of his girlfriend or Amelie for bailing on their plans.

"Text me when you get off." She leaned in for a kiss, but Adrien moved his head, so her lips landed on his cheek instead.

He found his eyes wandering back to the raven-haired girl; he only wished that he could read the various emotions that flashed over her face.

"Sure." His words lost any confidence that he meant to carry. "Bye Amelie...Marinette." Her name seemed to linger on his tongue longer than he was used to. The fact only caused the urge to leave to increase.

  "What was she thinking?" He huffed. He needed to blow off some of this energy that was swirling inside him. his first instinct was to change to Chat and spend the night jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Plagg emerged from his pocket and circled his owner.

"What do you mean?"

"To set Marinette up with some guy that she barely knows, he could be dangerous or hiding something."

"Says the guy that runs around in black leather in his spare time." The Kwami’s comment met with a harsh glare.

"That's different, and you know it." Adrien snapped back in annoyance. If Plagg thought he was winning points in the cheese department, he was mistaken. He did know the combination to his safe after all.

“It sounds like you’re jealous.” The comment caused the model to take a step back in shock. Usually, his interactions with the black cat were mild teasing at best, but this was different.

“Jealous?” He parroted fighting the urge to grit his teeth. He was Adrien Agreste, the face on most billboards in Paris; he couldn’t be…

“I’m just acting as a concerned friend, Marinette didn’t want to go, she said so herself. Amelie trapped her into it.”

“Didn’t she agree to go?” The kwami was wondering if he was listening to the same conversation.

“You didn’t see how she reacted when Amelie told her. Trust me; I would be doing her a favor if…” His voice trailed off as the corners of his lips tilted up in a Cheshire smile.

“Where are you going with this kid?” Plagg had seen that smile on hundreds of Chat Noir’s before; a horrible idea was coming.

“Wouldn’t it be a shame if Chat Noir”-

“No.” The kwami didn’t even give his chosen a chance to finish. He would have gone along with any other plan Adrien had, but this was suicide.”

“Think about it, this guy could be a creep, I’ll stay back and watch, and if she needs me, then I’ll step in. I need to know that she’s safe.” Plagg rolled his eyes trying to decide how much Camembert to demand. If Adrien was one thing, stubborn was the word that came to mind.

“And what if she has a good time?” Adrien’s jaw tightened at the words. That couldn’t be possible; he had a bad feeling from the moment that his girlfriend mentioned it. He was doing the right thing; he was the superhero after all. He had a sense for these things.

“Not possible.” Plagg shook his head back and forth. Humans were the strangest creatures.

“If you say so.” The answer was enough to put the blonde at ease.

“Plagg claws out.”