#i still don’t know what i’m gonna do for the barcode. i may just order a temp anyway whether it’ll be here in time or not

[mamahoggs]

80% of costume stuff is ordering something online and then digging through your drawers only to realize you already have that thing. anyway i found this glove in with my tights

[aeternallis]

God, I want your optimism for KinnPorsche season 2... I wish it wasn't so hard to know that Jeff left BOC, even if I wish him the best. It hurt so much to see our Barcode cry like that..

Dearest nonnie, I have a rule in my life that I try to live by as best as I can and it's this: never talk/think in absolutes. You never know what the future may hold.

I'm still hopeful for a KinnPorsche Season 2 because the story itself is not over. If we never get one however, that's okay too, I personally like where the story ended and being a KimChay fan, I got my semi-canon happy ending. Lol All I really needed was some sort of confirmation that Chay would give Kim second chance; we got that, so I'm satisfied.

It doesn't take much to make me happy, alas~

But I also know that we were never going to get an announcement this year, considering as I've said before, there's so much emotional and financial baggage that went into making KinnPorsche, yknow? BOC needs to regroup for a bit and take on smaller projects, before they tackle KP again.

And there’s a few factors that I’m not sure people realize that needed to be considered before a season 2 could be announced:

The second part of the story has not been published yet. With Yok and Poi leaving DAEMI House (and all the baggage that came with these two, jfc), we don’t even know if they have a working script yet.

Money – this is a no brainer. KP—due to its production quality alone—was an expensive production to make. Mile and Pond will need to hunt down some good sponsors, and this takes time. It’s not that surprising that MileApo are doing all these brand events to get their names out there, both together and separately. The more their name are out there, the better chances they have of sponsors knocking on their doors.

Utilize the other actors – as much as it hurts to see Jeff and Build leave BOC, they needed to break up the pairings eventually anyway in order for the other boys to shine. The circumstances under how it happened were not the best (Build's situation being forced, basically), but it needed to happen either way. I won't be surprised if eventually, MileApo are broken up too. BOC wasn’t just made up of 6 actors, there were 16 of them originally. The other boys deserve a chance to shine too. Hell, maybe they can even pair up some of the boys; personally, it’d be interesting to see Barcode and Ta paired up for a drama, since they get along quite well in RL. I’m also very curious about the new recruits.

Future of the other actors - Build is a different story, but tbh, I’m not sure where the idea came from that Jeff is retiring from acting entirely? He’s mainly a musician who sometimes acts, not the other way around. He deserves to shine through his music, since it's obvious that it's his passion in life and he's wickedly talented. I’m sure if he’s interested enough in a project, he’d be willing to act again. KP was his breakthrough in getting his name out there, and Kim is very much a character he made his own; I can’t picture anyone else playing him, imo. We can only hope that if KP season 2 is ever a thing, he’ll be willing to take on the role again.

KP Copyright – at this point, we don’t know who holds the rights to KP. Is it possible BOC bought the rights from DAEMI House? Who knows, there’s a lot of logistics to muggle through, and this too takes time.

Again, I was never expecting KP Season 2 to be announced this year, but it doesn’t mean that there’s no hope for the BOC 2024 line up or BOC 2025 line up or whenever, yknow?

As for Jeff leaving and Barcode being heartbroken about it; don't let it get to you too much, they'll be fine. Jeff and Barcode are not KimChay, they'll talk it out (if they haven't already), and they're gonna be wonderful in Wuju Bakery, so let's support them on their current endeavors.

Finally nonnie, please disengage to the best of your ability. I follow Jeff and Barcode on twitter and ngl, I have them both muted right now. I also follow BOC, and they've been muted as well; I'm not checking the JeffBarcode, JeffSatur, or BarcodeTin hashtag either. A lot of the fans are still sad and that's valid and all, but it's not good for anyone's mental health when some people are posting BibleBuild and JeffBarcode images with Build and Jeff grayed out like they've died or something. Nor is it healthy that people keep posting the video of Barcode crying his heart out, jfc.

Honestly, it's disturbing and only creates an unhealthy feedback loop.

Take care of yourself nonnie, you'll be okay! <3

[boxboysandotherwhump]

Penny and Scamp chapter 3

875 newly named Scamp finally gets to reunite with his beloved other half when he and his Miss visit him in the hospital. 

Thank you so much @finder-of-rings for proofreading this <3

The whole guard dog concept was developed by the amazing @moose-teeth

Also Karen Renford is one of many amazing characters created by the awesome @ashintheairlikesnow

Taglist:  @eatyourdamnpears @whumpsblog (I hope I didn’t forget anyone)

CW: mention of arm amputation, mention of self-injury, Karen Renford mentioned, restrained to the bed

875 followed Miss Adelaide past the hospital's reception desk, still clad in black shorts and a white shirt. A shock collar sat tightly buckled around his neck.

It kind of felt like he was still wandering the facility halls except that the hospital bustled with life.  Nurses scurried over the floor, talked to visitors waiting in plastic chairs or leaned against walls. People holding flowers knocked on white doors and followed patients around. He nearly expected a handler to step out from behind one of them and drag him back into his cell.

Glancing at his owner’s back, he reminded himself that he wasn’t a trainee anymore. He was someone’s pet now. An identity beyond number and barcode. His name was Scamp and he belonged to Miss Adelaide Tormadosa. Together with his beloved. Penny.

A befitting name for his love, with his wild copper curls and a smile that would never let Scamp forget how lucky he was to be alive. If only Penny himself had an ounce of the luck he brought him.

Instead he ended up in a hospital bed robbed of the last shred of bodily autonomy and his right arm.  Taken away by a blizzard wrapped in human flesh. Karen Renford was a devilish force raging and tearing one's soul apart until she left nothing but a hollow ruin in her wake, held up solely by pillars made of barcode stripes and fear.

“Calm, now.” Miss Adelaide said and it was only then that Scamp realized how badly his hand shook on the hospital room's door handle.  Concern had wormed itself deep into Scamp's brain, traveled down to his lungs and nested in his heart, made it difficult to breath, to form any thought beyond:

Please. God please let him be okay.

But God didn’t listen to boxboys or dogs, after all, prayers were reserved for people. And Scamp already knew that Penny was as far from okay as he’d ever been before, during even their harshest of training sessions.

Miss Adelaide explained what had happened as they drove from the facility directly to the hospital. She’d told him that Karen Renford had ordered the amputation of Penny’s arm after he’d poured boiling water over it during domestic training. Why he did that was anyone’s guess. That Renford's order to cripple a disobedient boxboy had nothing to do with medical necessity and everything with punishment, however, was obvious even to Scamp.

Bracing himself, he took a deep breath and opened the door.

Golden rays of dying evening sun filtered through grey blinds into the small room. It painted golden stripes onto perfectly whitened stiff hospital sheets and fell upon Penny’s waxen face, setting his hair afire. A bleeding halo fanning out over white pillows. Scamp need no god if divinity incarnate lay here before his very eyes.

Miss Adelaide waited in the doorway as he stumbled towards the bed, knees nearly giving out.

“Hey, hi. I am here. I am here now.”

Scamp's voice shook even more than his fingertips as he traced them over Penny’s cheek, caressed a tiny cluster of freckles right over his cheekbone and ghosted feather light touches over closed eyelids. Penny’s long red lashes tickled his fingers but remained closed. Dark shadows had settled under them. His breathing was slow, in sync with the steady beeping of the vital-signs-monitor as he lay motionless like a doll.

Scamp bit his lip in order to keep it from trembling and turned to his owner, desperate for her help.

 “Why is he not waking up? Please Miss Adelaide. Please make him wake up.”

Something in her eyes softened as his voice broke and she nodded towards the reception desk with a smile. “I’ll go and get a nurse to come and check on him. You stay here.”

“Yes Miss.”  Even though being separated from his owner made Scamp’s stomach churn with unease, he was determined to obey and put a hand on Penny’s shoulder in reassurance, for his other as much as for himself. Penny’s presence grounded him as his Miss vanished down the hall, closing the door behind her.

Scamp's eyes were back on his beloved as soon as it clicked shut. Wiping tears from his face with one hand he began to gently untangle soft curls with the other, careful not to pull or twinge. 

The door opened right after he smoothed out the last tangle of unruly hair, and Miss Adelaide followed a portly short woman into the room. She carried a scanner in one deft hand and a tablet in the other. Silvery brown hair was held out of her wrinkly face by a loose bun and her blue eyes lit up with warmth as she spotted Scamp, who immediately tensed as she stepped closer to Penny’s bed.

“Scamp, behave.”

Miss Adelaide’s voice cut through the silent room sharp like a whip and made Scamp flinch like he’d been struck with one. A little whine escaped his lips while his eyes snapped from the nurse to his owner, who fixed him with an expression brooking no argument. Grinding his teeth, Scamp stepped back from the bed and let the nurse take his place. He watched with shaking fists as she put her equipment on the bedside table and pulled Penny’s blanket aside in practiced motions.

“Don’t worry,” she said, a knowing smile in her voice. “You’re friend’s gonna be fine. He’s just tired ‘n needs rest now.”

“What- How,” Scamp clenched and unclenched his fists. The urge to pull her away from Penny and the need to ensure that he was taken care of properly fought a war in his twitching muscles. Conditioned reflex collided with common sense. He swallowed his training down a sore throat and trusted in Miss Adelaide’s command to behave himself. “How do you know that?”

“Cause we have excellent staff,” the nurse said warmly.

The tablet lit up with the scanner's little beep and revealed Penny’s clinical data as the nurse scanned in his barcode. That was when Scamp saw it. A thick padded cuff was buckled around Penny’s fine boned wrist and fixed him to the bed frame. His other arm, or rather what remained of it had been wrapped in a thick blue cast barely reaching to his ribs. It looked unreal, wrong, as if a too tiny blue puppet limb had been attached to his body. Scamp vision swam at the thought of what was hidden underneath it. 

Behave. Obey Miss Adelaide and behave! The nurse will not hurt him.

The pain in his palms where short sharp nails dug in grounded him enough to help him stay planted in his spot behind the nurse. He was a crossbow pulled tight and frozen in place at the cusp of tension.

Miss Adelaide stepped closer, peering onto the bed. “Why is he restrained?”

“Oh that silly boy.” Concern shadowed the nurse’s face as she tucked Penny back in and petted gently over his blanket. “He ripped the IV for his pain medication out of his arm. We had to restrain him ‘n double the dosage to get the pain back under control.”

Heat swirled in Scamp’s stomach, crashed through his insides in sickening and searing waves as he pushed the nurse aside. Wide tear bright eyes searched his beloved’s sleeping face while he leaned closer.

“Why?”

Shaking lips found a warm forehead and planted tiny kisses onto pale skin. Little seeds of love he prayed would sink down and take root in Penny’s heart.

“Why?”

“We don’ know, honey.” The nurse’s firm hand squeezed Scamp's shoulder and an understanding passed between them that stopped his impulse to throw her against a wall dead in its tracks. The heat clogged his throat now, a heavy clump of emotion he couldn’t swallow down.

Withdrawing her hand, the nurse reached for the roller clamp on Penny’s IV tube. “But I’m gonna lower his dosage a bit so he’ll come to soon.”

Miss Adelaide stepped aside as the nurse moved towards the door and nodded her appreciation. “Thank you. One question before you leave. How long will it take for him to wake? I don’t have-“

“Between 30 minutes and two hours.” The nurse turned at the door frame, a knowing twinkle in her eyes as she caught sight of Scamp's worried expression. “I’ll bring you both some tea while you wait.”

“I-,“ Miss Adelaide began but the other woman had already hurried down the hall. Scamp watched his owner anxiously plop down onto one of the room’s plastic chairs with a loud huff. She fished a phone out of her coat pocket and muttered, “Never argue with nurses.”

Scared he’d somehow angered her already, Scamp began to count the freckles on Penny’s face. There were 68, exactly. He had memorized them all, traced every single one in the countless hours they had been trapped together in a white room, but he was too afraid to meet his owner’s eyes so he counted them yet again for lack of anything else to calm his growing nerves.

The nurse returned with two steaming plastic cups as he reached freckle number twenty-five, on the bridge of Penny’s nose.

Miss Adelaide, in fact, did not look angry as she plugged the cup from the nurse’s hands. A bit bored maybe, but not angry. A breath escaped Scamp he didn’t know he had been holding and he dared to ask for her permission to take the offered tea from the nurse.

Miss Adelaide blessed him with one of her pleased smiles as he bowed in a perfect 90 degree angle and mumbled, “Please Miss Adelaide, may I take the cup and drink?”

“Good boy. You may.”

It was just as he lifted the cup to his smiling lips that a low rasp made him swirl around and spill some of the hot liquid over his hands. He couldn’t care less about his scalded skin though, not when Penny’s brown eyes blinked up at him and a lopsided smile played around his chapped lips.

“Oh wow. The drugs they’ve got here are truly something else.”

A pale trembling hand reached up from under the blankets as high as the restrains allowed, the smile on Penny’s face faltered. “Or are you really here?”

“I am.” Scamp took Penny’s hand in both of his. “I am here.” The kisses he pressed to Penny’s knuckles were wet with tears. “I am here. I am here.”

“Yeah.” Penny massaged gentle circles into Scamp's hands, unable to keep his trembling lips from smiling as he tried to lift his head from the pillows, straining closer to his love. His eyes were glazed with unshed tears and his warm voice shook as he teased.  “Only the real you is such a crybaby.” 

Scamp couldn’t help but snort, whole face lighting up.

“Well, look at that. One eye open and already cracking jokes.” Miss Adelaide had stood from her chair and stepped behind Scamp, one hand ruffling his black hair. “Your friend’s one tough cookie.”

“Yes.” Scamp puffed his chest out under the praise, beaming down at Penny with flushed cheeks. “I may be the muscle but he is the heart.”

Penny buried his bright red face into his pillow, unable to stop a smile from spreading over his face. “You sap.”

Neither him nor Scamp noticed Miss Adelaide’s mouth twist into a shark-tooth grin.

“I see.”

chapter2

chapter4

[chuckepisodes]

Chuck vs. The Helicopter Part 3

Chuck was sitting in his room getting ready for work when his sister came in  showing the news paper to him. "Did you see this?" "What?" "Did you know that Bryce was dead? " Chuck looked at the paper and slowly grabbed it from her. "No. No, I didn't." Chuck said pretending he didn't already know about Bryce's death. "Well, are you okay?" "I don't know. Um... yeah, I don't know. It's crazy. I, uh, I spent so much time hating him for getting me kicked out of Stanford, I don't know, really, how to feel, but it's hard to be mad at him now. " "I'm really sorry, Chuck." Ellie said looking at him one more time before walking out.

Back at work, Chuck and Morgan were discussing about a video game when Casey came up and grabbed Chuck. "You can't trust her." Chuck looked at him very confused, wanting to know what the heck he was talking about. "Big Mike!" the three guys said at the same time. "How's customer service training?" Big Mike asked. " Fine. " Casey said. "Super." Chuck said. " Glad to hear it. The better my employees, the less I have to work." " Very inspiring words, sir." Chuck said trying not to sound sarcastic. " Regular call to arms. " Casey added. "Well, go make 'em better. Show me you're assistant manager material." "Chop-chop! I got a nap in an hour." " Good-bye." Chuck and Casey said as Chuck dragged him along with him.

So Chuck started walking Casey around, showing him some things here and there. "So, uh, this is the hand-held scanner. Very expensive piece of equipment." "So is a stealth fighter and somehow I managed to fly that." " Right, uh, and the gun, you know, kind of works like a ... " "A gun?" “ Uh-huh. And it beeps when you scan the barcodes." " Well, if it screamed out loud, I'd be right at home." All of a sudden Casey took the scanner and held it against Chuck's throat. "I don't want you and Y/N to have any more private meetings with Sarah, hmm?”

"Um, is there... is there a problem?" " No problems, only solutions." "Well, that... sounds very much like the buy more customer policy that I've noticed you have some issue with."

All of a sudden a message popped up from Sarah on the laptop saying he needed to come see her and Y/N at Weinerlicious ASAP.

"And you know, uh... you know what I think we're gonna do about that? We're gonna do some role-playing, and work on that attitude of yours how about that? Hey, Morgan." "Hi, yo." Morgan greeted. " Ah, hey, there he is. There's my Johnny-on-the-spot. Morgan and Casey, you guys are gonna do some stuff. You're gonna be a shopper, and you're gonna be the sales rep, like you are. And, uh, I'm gonna talk to big mike and-and work on some stuff 'cause I know he's got other things in store." Chuck then quickly started heading out of the store, taking a quick glance back to make sure Casey wasn't looking.

Chuck then walked into Weinerlicious to find these teenage boys ogling Y/N and Sarah as they were getting their food ready. Chuck shook his head. Once they left he approached the counter. "So, Chuck, no private meetings with Casey today." "What? What is it up with you guys? " "Did he tell you the same thing?" you asked. "Right, of course he did. " Sarah said. "Hold on a second. Is something wrong?" Chuck asked. " The doctor from last night-- he was killed in an explosion soon after he left us. " "Wha-what? The doctor who was supposed to fix us?" you asked. "Tell me what this is." Sarah said pulling out a phone in a bag for the both of you to look at." "A... a nasty... NSA incinerator." Chuck started. " Special issue designed to eliminate all biological traces. That's what killed the doctor." you finished. "And guess who works for the NSA?" Sarah asked. " Why... why, why would Casey... " "He's a killer, Chuck. It's what he does for a living. He tried to kill us, and he'll probably try to do it again. Maybe it was orders. Maybe he didn't like the way Zarnow looked at him. " "Oh, that's nice. I feel much better now, Sarah. What am I supposed to do?" " You go back in there and you pretend like you know nothing. Go. You can do that, Chuck" " I know nothing. I know nothing, I... got it." "Be careful Chuck." you said. He looked back at you and gave you a small smile before leaving.

When Chuck went back to work it didn't take long for Casey to figure out he went over to see you and Sarah. So Casey went over to see Sarah himself. When Casey went in, it was only Sarah at the counter now since you were in the back getting some prep done. Casey and Sarah had gotten into a pretty big fight. You were hearing stuff being broken and thrown outside and just when you were about to check it out, Casey ran by you, opening the exit door at the back. You then went out to check on Sarah. "Sarah? What the Hell happened? And why did Casey just ran by me?" "Long story." she said out of breath.

It was time for the dinner. You were already over at Chuck's place, helping Ellie with the dinner and Devon helping out where he could. "Ellie I don't know why you are worrying about this dinner so much. She is just a friend of mine." you said laughing a little. "I know, I know, but this girl is obviously someone really close to you and you have always been like my little sister and I just want to make things perfect." "Well that's real sweet of you." you said smiling at her. All of a sudden Morgan appeared out of nowhere. "You know practice makes perfect. " he said. "How did you get in here?" You asked. " Uh, Chuck's window. Or, as I like to call it, the Morgan door." "I got to lock the window. I wonder where Chuck is." Ellie said. "I'm sure he'll be here soon." You said. Not knowing that this whole time Chuck was with Casey and they almost got exploded in a car by one of those bombs that killed the doctor.

Chuck finally did show up though, looking a little dirty. "Chuck! Hey! It's about time!" Morgan said. You were sitting with Sarah and looked over at Chuck and smiled when you saw him. But then were concerned when you saw him covered in dirt. You got up and walked over to him. "Chuck, hey. You okay? What happened?" "Yeah what happened Chuck?" Sarah asked coming up to him as well. "Why? You, uh, you surprised to see me?" Chuck asked looking over at Sarah. You looked confused looking between both of them. "Where's Casey?" " I don't know. Maybe he's having some car trouble." Chuck then put his arm around you and brought you over to rest of the group. "Everyone okay?" Chuck asked. Yeah, just a little hungry, dude. You're late. And dirty for my taste." Morgan said. "And Y/N's friend has been just nothing but mean to me. " Ellie said jokingly. "Look out for her. " Chuck said looking back at her. You were still very confused with what was going on. "So I'm glad everyone's getting along so well." you said. "Yeah, your sister is awesome Chuck." "Indeed." Devon said pointing at Sarah. " Hey! I've got an idea. Why don't we actually go out, huh, for pizza or something, someplace public, with lots and lots of people around?" Chuck suggested. " Uh, Chuck, I've been cooking all day. " Sarah argued. "Yeah, cooking pot roast, dude, which is my favorite." Morgan added. Chuck was looking extremely nervous and you had to know what was going on. "Chuck? Can I talk to you for a minute?" Chuck looked over at you and nodded. "Uh sure." "You guys get it set up and don't worry about starting without us. It will only be a few."

You then grabbed Chuck's arm and brought him up to his room. Soon as you closed the door you looked back at Chuck. "Okay. Spill. What is going on? Why are you being really weird around Sarah?" "Maybe because she tried to kill me and Casey!" "What?!?!" "Yeah with one of those explosive phones. There was one in Casey's car." "Oh my God are you okay?" you said sounding worried now and going up to him making sure there were no cuts or bruises. "I'm fine Y/NN. But now I'm fearing she may go after you next." he said grabbing your hands. "I think I'll be able to handle Sarah. So what do we do now?" "Go back to this dinner. Casey is going to be over very soon to help us out." "Okay. Okay."

You both then decided to head back down stairs before anyone got suspicious of what was going on. You went to go sit down beside Sarah and Chuck was on your other side. Ellie then began asking a bunch of questions about how you and her met, wanting to know every single detail. You and Chuck though were trying to remain calm and not make things awkward. There was then a knock on the door and Ellie went over to answer it. "Hi. I'm john Casey. I just moved in upstairs. I thought I might bring something over." he said handing Ellie over a plate of food. "Oh, come in. Chuck, you didn't tell me you're bringing another friend." Chuck then got up and approached Casey "Hey. Hi. Yeah. It totally slipped my mind that my friend, John Casey, was coming over, and we work at buy more together. Morgan, you know john from buy more. I was telling him we were gonna have a get-together and that, you know, the more, the merrier." Casey then leaned over close to Chuck. "You pull a stunt like that again, I'll kill you before she can. " Chuck then laughed out loud. "You kidder. " "Chuck, we're going to need another chair. " Ellie said. "Okey dokey." " You know what? I'm crashing the party. Maybe I should... I'll get it." Casey said following Chuck. You then looked over at Sarah real quick then back up at the guys. "I should go see if they need any help." you said quickly getting up and walking fast over to them.

You entered the room quickly and closed the door behind you, all three of you standing in a circle. "NSA ran a check on Sarah walker to see what we had... two years ago, she posed as a French diplomat. Infiltrated the inner circle of an arms deal. Killed the entire circle." " With a bomb?" Chuck asked. " We don't know. Her alias was Elaina Truffaut. They were poisoned. At dinner." "Oh God." you said. Ellie then opened the door. "Hey, sis... chair. Ta-da!" " So... thank you." Ellie said as Casey smiled and left the room. Ellie then turned to you. "Y/N your friend is amazing! I can't believe we haven't met her before! She's so great!" "Yeah.. she's unpredictable." you said. "Oh! And she made us a dessert!" "Dessert?" Chuck asked. "Yeah." Ellie said smiling and leaving the room. You and Chuck then looked at each other. "Oh, dessert. Dessert. Poison." You said. " Don't freak out." Chuck said trying to stay calm.

You then both ran. "Stop!" Chuck yelled. Everyone looked over at you both, confused. "We... uh, we didn't do a toast... yet. Which I... which I'll do right now. " Chuck then reached over for a glass of wine and you all did the same "Uh... so, I'd like to propose a toast. To my sister. To my sister, and-and to... to a meal that looks so great. And Devon, you're great. And Sarah. And Sarah for a great dessert. And to John Casey and-and his... and his... and his mini quiches, which are equally as great. And to Y/N for being the most amazing person ever and happy to have you in my life." he said looking at you. You looked down trying not to blush "And what about me, Chuck? For what? " Morgan stepped in. "And to Morgan for his great comic timing." " Thank you sir. " "Cheers." You then all clinked glasses. "Well, you know, that soufflé does look amazing. " Ellie said. "You're right, honey. I can't even resist. " Devon was about to dig when Chuck stopped him. "Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait." Everyone except you then looked at him, once again confused. "Who likes magic?" he asked. " I do!" Morgan cheered raising his hand. " I know a trick. " "Chuck... oh, Chuck, what are you doing?" Sarah asked. Chuck then grabbed the end of the table cloth, successfully pulling it off without anything flying or falling off. You raised your eyebrows, quite impressed and Chuck looked shocked that he actually did it. " Voila! " "Whoa, Chuck, that was... I knew you could do it, man." Morgan said. The candle began to slowly tip over, looking like it was going to fall over on the souffle. Casey then kicked the table making it fall on the dessert. Chuck started to freak out but grabbed a couple cloths then picked up the bowl carefully and brought it over to the bathroom, putting it in the tub and turning the water on, putting out the fire. "Chuck! Chuck, look, no matter how stressed out you are, it is never okay to murder a woman's soufflé? " Ellie said. "Um, you know what? Let me talk to him. Y/N too." They all walked out and Sarah closed the door and then pushed you both up against it. "Casey! Tell me exactly Casey said." " Nothing. Everything's okay." You said. "What did he tell you?" She asked looking at you both. " That you killed Dr. Zarnow and poisoned a bunch of French diplomats. " Chuck said. "They're blaming me for Zarnow? " She then pulled you both off the door and twisted your arms in a painful way. "If you're planning on hurting me, even to prove a point, I think you should know I have a very low threshold for pain. " Chuck said. "And you believe Casey? "Tell us about the French diplomats. " you said. "They were French assassins, and they were after me, but I got to them first. And you know what? I'm kinda glad that I did. Guys , do you really think that my name is Sarah? I never asked you to believe me. I asked you to trust me." She then paused. "This doesn't make sense. If Casey didn't kill Zarnow, then... " "What are you doing? " you asked. "I have to go right now."

Sarah quickly walked out of the bathroom, taking out her keys. "Uh, I'm sorry. I have to go, but dinner was wonderful." She said walking by everyone else sitting at the table. "Gotta go! Be back!" Chuck said chasing after Sarah, you right behind him. "This has been great. Thanks." Casey said. following them out as well. " Uh... you're welcome." Ellie said confused. "Sarah, wait! " You yelled watching Sarah put on her jacket heading to her car. "You two stay inside. Do what I say." She said turning back to you two. Casey caught up and looked at you both. " Do you think we were wrong?" Chuck asked. All of a sudden you heard a shot and Sarah scream. You all quickly ran over to see her get tossed in a trunk. And the person doing it turned out to be Zarnow. "Zarnow? " Casey couldn't believe it. "Good to see you again, agent Casey. " He then shot a dart into Casey's arm. You jumped and Chuck grabbed you before having to let you go quickly when he saw Casey starting to go down so he went to grab him. "Oh, my god. " Chuck said. "Yep, we were wrong." Casey said.

[echoes-of-the-clockwork]

Book One: Death (Noctis x Reader) Chapter Twenty-Two

After learning of Ardyn's circumstances, Noctis filled (Y/n) in on their luck in finding what was hindering his abilities. Now, the boy was able to summon his weapons and so were the others. During the entire conversation, Prompto seemed to be nervous. Death picked up on his body language and eyed him with confusion. "Is everything alright, Prom?"

The sharpshooter continued to fidget as he scuffed the tip of his boot against the floor. He glanced between Noctis, Gladio, and Ignis before spilling his secret. He removed his glove and revealed the barcode on his wrist as he told her of how he was meant to become a MT. During their conversation, Prompto couldn't look (Y/n) in the eye until the very end when he realized she hadn't reacted. Lifting his azure eyes, he saw Death smiling. "Y'know, you're talking to a girl who died a hundred years ago and was resurrected twenty years later to become the Horseman of Death. If you think you're a monster, that makes me the queen of monsters."

Prompto had to admit her response was odd, but it did comfort him. His tense muscles relaxed as he secured his glove. "So, you don't think of me any differently?"

"All I see in front of me is the same smiley boy I met several months ago. You're still Prompto regardless of what is on your skin. And last time I checked, you're a Lucian just like your friends. It doesn't matter where you were born-the only thing that matters is what path you decide to take and right now, you're walking the same path as all of us because you chose to."

The blonde was moved by (Y/n)'s speech and felt a few tears escape his eyes. "Thanks, (Y/n)."

The Horseman smiled gently. "Just remember who you are and forget where you're from. Focus on where you want to go and you'll never be alone."

<-------<<<<<<<

An hour passed as the group searched for the Crystal. Morosely, they hadn't been able to find a single trace of the artifact and were forced to find a place to rest for a short while.

Inside another sleeping quarters, Noctis glanced in (Y/n)'s direction. "Do you think it's been long enough?"

Death knew what the boy was referring to and tilted her head slightly. "It's been an hour. I'm not sure how long the process takes when an immortal from this world is fused with a monster from the Inner Sanctum."

"Why the hell would he merge his body with a monster that would turn him mortal?" Gladio asked.

"I don't think Ardyn thought his plan through. He believes his willpower is stronger than the Wendigo's, but it seems he is wrong. Now, the creature is slowly taking over both bodies and will overtake his immortal one, making him easier for us to handle. He's powerful, but he's no longer immortal," (Y/n) replied as she sat down in the bed beside Noctis.

"Once Ardyn's gone, all we have to do is find the Crystal," Prompto stated. "And then we can go home!"

"Home is kinda in shambles right now, 'member?" Gladio said.

"We can rebuild it," Noctis proclaimed.

(Y/n) smiled as she leaned forward with her hands in her lap. "All we have to do is locate the Crystal and defeat Ardyn, then we'll be on our way out of this hellish place."

"Any idea where they would keep the Crystal?" Gladio asked everyone.

"The farthest place from the front door-the top floor. We need to find the central elevator and head to the top of the Keep," (Y/n) stated.

Suddenly, a familiar demonic chuckle was heard and Death jumped to her feet. Prompto swallowed nervously as he stared at the door. "W-What was that?"

"Ardyn-he's found us."

The boys hopped to their feet and summoned their weapons. (Y/n) approached the door and just as she summoned her scythe, a clawed appendage pierced the metal and grabbed her. The Horseman's scythe clattered to the ground as she was yanked through the hole in the door.

Death could feel her bones being crushed under the constricted hold Ardyn had on her body as he dragged her away from the boys. The claws ripped through her clothes and pierced her skin, causing (Y/n) to cry out in pain. She tried to use her deadly touch and disintegrate the arm, but her arms were pinned to her sides and she couldn't move her hands.

Ardyn dragged the Horseman around Zegnautus Keep before finally having to come to a stop because the Wendigo was gnawing away at his mind and body, forcing him to fight two battles at once. From the pain exhibited on the chancellor's face, she knew the Wendigo was winning. (Y/n) tried to free herself, but Ardyn's grip didn't falter as he fought the other worldly monster for control. Death knew this would be the perfect time to kill the hybrid and end both lives, but she was powerless in her current predicament.

The familiar sound of a blade ripping into flesh caught (Y/n)'s attention and she saw one of Ignis' daggers embedded in the hybrid's other arm. Then, she turned her head just as Noctis threw his father's sword and warped, slashing off the arm that held the Horseman hostage. The boy grabbed (Y/n) and warped to safety just as an ear piercing wail left the hybrid, forcing everyone to cover their ears from the frequency.

Once the monster ceased yelling, (Y/n) glanced at Prompto. "I'm gonna need you to take out the Wendigo, Prom."

"I thought you had to cut its head clean off in order to kill it," the blonde retorted.

"Not when it's sharing a body. Aim right for the head and fire."

"What is your stratagem, (Y/n)?" Ignis questioned as his dagger reappeared in his hand.

"Kill the Wendigo and allow Ardyn to have full control of the body. That way, his immortal status will vanish completely," Death stated, her scythe appearing in her grasp.

"Will that even work?" Noctis doubted Death.

"Once the Wendigo is dead, its blood will enter Ardyn's body and turn him mortal for a small time. In that time frame, we must kill him to end all of this."

"Whatever sends this bastard to Hell, I'm in," Gladio said.

Prompto swallowed nervously. "Does that mean..."

(Y/n) nodded. "Yes. We will have to sever his head from the rest of his body."

"Bastard deserves more for what he did to all of us. I'll be the one to chop his head off for what he did to Luna," Noctis growled.

"Let's get this over with," (Y/n) sighed.

"Right behind ya."

<-------<<<<<<<

Once Noctis, Gladio, Ignis, and (Y/n) ran circles around the hybrid, they were able to provide Prompto with the opening he needed. Raising his pistol, he aimed it at the Wendigo's head and fired. The bullet ripped through the monster's brain, killing it in a heartbeat.

"You have made a grave error," Ardyn chuckled as he swatted Gladio and Ignis away like flies. Noctis and (Y/n) stood with their weapons resting by their sides, exhausted from all the fighting.

Even though she felt her muscles screaming from the intense battle, (Y/n) stood tall with a smirk. "You seem so sure of yourself. It seems you didn't do your research, you foul monster."

"Oh?" Ardyn hummed in amusement. "What is the cause of such a boisterous expression in the heat of battle?"

"The fact that you fail to know the consequences when fused with a monster from the Inner Sanctum. Once one head of the hybrid is slain, the blood courses through the other portion of the body and grants the other head attached its powers and traits. Coincidentally, you fused yourself with a monster that is mortal. And now, you are mortal-an easy target to kill," (Y/n) responded, her smirk growing.

"Impossible," Ardyn growled. "Immortality cannot be overwritten by the abilities of such a foul creature!"

"It can if you're willing to give up your humanity to fuse with an atrocity such as a Wendigo. It's a fitting end for you."

Before Ardyn could retort, Noctis warped behind the hybrid and attacked. He drove his father's blade into the creature's neck, slicing through it with ease. Then, the head of the chancellor fell from the body and rolled before coming to a halt when it hit (Y/n)'s feet. She eyed the decapitated head before kicking it away. "I've never been so happy to see or kick a head on the floor."

"Aren't we all," Noctis said, dispelling his weapon.

"I think I'm gonna puke..." Prompto placed a hand over his mouth before running across the room and releasing the contents of his stomach.

"Is it finally over?" Gladio asked as he ridded himself of his sword.

(Y/n) nodded slowly. "Yes. All we need to do now is find the Crystal and return it to Insomnia. It'll be tough, but I know we can do it. Noctis will also be able to claim the throne and become the rightful king."

"With the city in ruin, our task has become quite strenuous," Ignis said.

"Once we return the Crystal and Noctis takes his place as king, the long nights will end. But, I fear Insomnia may already be suffering from large scale daemon activity. We'll need to be careful," Death exclaimed.

"Can't you just strike a deal with the Daemon King and ask him nicely to take the daemons out of the city? You know him personally," Prompto said as he returned.

"You make it sound so easy," (Y/n) huffed with laughter. "But no, that would only anger the daemons and put King Aeshema in danger. That's the last thing we wanna do."

"Our worries of the Crown City will arise when the time approaches," the tactician stated.

The shield nodded in agreement. "Iggy's right. Let's just find the Crystal and get as far away from this place as possible."

<-------<<<<<<<<

After finding the Crystal, another issue arose. The five had no clue how to transport it out of the Keep. With a bright idea from Ignis, they were able to contact Aranea's ship and take the Crystal to Hammerhead for the time being. The group knew the artifact would be safe there and it was the closest outpost to the city.

<--------<<<<<<<<

Several months passed and night was all everyone knew. The boys and Death were concocting a plan to head into Insomnia and deliver the Crystal, but the same issue kept their plan from proceeding. The city was crawling with daemons and they didn't have enough manpower to push through them without sacrificing lives. (Y/n) paced back and forth in Takka's Pit Stop before her eyes widened.

Noctis turned to his girlfriend with a hopeful gaze. "I know that look. What've you come up with?"

The girl smiled, meeting his gaze with a small bow. "The Four Horsemen are at your disposal, Your Majesty."

Then, three girls appeared behind (Y/n) out of thin air. Famine, Pestilence, and War walked over to stand beside their sister and greeted the boys that sat at the table. "We'll help in any way we can. You can count on us!" Famine cheered, smiling gently.

"We could use a break from the Inner Sanctum," War commented.

"Eos was also our home once. We desire for the rightful king to take his place, restore the Crystal, and return the light back to this plagued world," Pestilence added.

"We've got our plan. When do we leave?" Gladio eagerly inquired.

"We rest before departing," Ignis replied.

"Yeah, I'm still worn out from the daemon hunting yesterday," Noctis sighed as he leaned back in his seat.

"I hope this goes smoothly," Prompto worriedly said.

"We'll make sure of it," (Y/n) said, gesturing to her sisters. The blonde was more relaxed than earlier now that he was reassured and knew they would have a higher chance of succeeding with the help of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

[lordsicheng]

Something Special

One Last Bite Character Epilogue (2/3)

Kim Taedong x OC

word count: 2.8k

g: fluff

Taedong rummaged through the books in the house’s library to try and find something new to read, since he had already read almost every book inside. He crinkled his nose as he looked around the shelves and realized he might need a new book. Donghan’s girlfriend suddenly walked in to get a pen from the desk, noticing Taedong’s expression becoming irritated

“What’s wrong?” she asked as she grabbed the pen and looked at Taedong

“I may have read all the books here, I need new ones. Do you think ordering online is a good idea?” Taedong scratched his head as he turned to look at her

“Hmm, depends if the book you’re looking for is available. Why don’t you go out to a bookstore or something?” she said as she twirled the pen around her finger

“I don’t… know my way around the city…” Taedong looked down, making her raise a brow and nod as she crossed her arms

“Say, me and Donghan are going out tonight to find some nice art for our repainted room. Why don’t you come with us and go to the bookstore just next to the shop?” she grinned, making Taedong look at her with a lightened expression

“Really? I… I’d love to!” Taedong exclaimed

“I’ll lend you some money since we all know you are all broke for not actually doing any work.” she chuckled as she walked out the library, Taedong pouting and looking around the library as he noticed the interior was beginning to look too old

“This room needs repainting too.” he crossed his arms as he continued looking around

-

Donghan and his girlfriend looked at Taedong in a confused expression as he stood and grabbed on to the pole by the train’s doors as it moved, obviously his first time riding it as he tried to keep his composure and held on to not fall. The girl seated next to him looked at him as well and Taedong just gave a grin to show he wasn’t having a hard time when he obviously was

“How do you do?” Taedong gave a nod as he greeted, and the girl just looked at the other side, making Taedong embarrassed to even greet her in the first place

“Oh, our stop’s here.” Donghan’s girlfriend smiled as the train got to a stop and opened its doors, many people going out and Taedong getting bumped into as he almost lost her and Donghan

“Come here!” Donghan pulled Taedong’s arm as he dragged him out of the crowd and walked towards the stairs up

-

“Ah, one of my favorite places to go.” Donghan’s girlfriend smiled as she looked at the store she used to frequent, a small vintage art gallery situated along the streets of Insadong

“My girlfriend seems to have nice taste.” Donghan smirked as he put his arm on her shoulders, kissing her forehead and making Taedong roll his eyes and cross his arms

“Where’s the bookstore?” Taedong asked

“Oh, that one.” Donghan’s girlfriend pointed to a bookstore that had three floors, Taedong’s eyes widening in amazement

“We’ll meet you in an hour. Have fun finding a good book.” she said as she went inside, Donghan following her

“I’ll come over in a while to check up on you, alright?” Donghan said as he turned to look at Taedong, and Taedong just nodded and immediately went inside the bookstore

Taedong’s eyes were glistening from the number of books he had seen before his eyes, amazed by how many he could be able to read for the next several years. He looked around to find the non-fiction section, where he raised his head to find a book he might become interested in.

You were only a month in your new job and you loved it, being able to read books and at the same time arrange them. There was just something about being surrounded by books that calmed you and you adored every single genre you were able to read. You were carrying a pile of books as you walked a few steps backward a bit to go to the non-fiction section where you accidentally bumped into Taedong who was looking for a book for himself, causing some of the books to fall off from the top. He noticed them fall and immediately grabbed a couple of books and helped you situate them at a desk nearby, his eyes ending up staring at you as you fixed your hair and put the books aside to arrange them by genre

“Thank you.” you smiled and nodded as you took a glance of him and turned again to organize the books

“Y-you’re welcome.” Taedong said as he stood up straight, still looking at you. You noticed his gaze intact to you and looked at him, trying to figure out if he needed some guidance

“Are you looking for a certain book?” you said as you wiped your hands on your long skirt, looking around the area before looking back at him

“I…” he suddenly stopped, making you give a confused look as he tried to look at a book that was behind you at one of the shelves

“D-do you have ‘Hiroshima’ by John Hershey?” he asked, making you look up in wonder to try and remember where the book was located at until you had the idea it was somewhere on the shelves behind you, looking around and finally seeing it as you grabbed it and gave it to him

“Here you go. A classic.” you grinned

“Thank… you…” he said as he looked at the book

“Hmm, are you into books about wartime?” you beamed as you looked at him

“I… I do…” he nodded as he looked up at you, and you turned a bit to look at the desk to find another book

“Here, try this one. It’s a book about some soldiers who survived World War II.” you handed the book to him and he grabbed it in no time

“Ah, I was alive in World War II…” he mumbled, making you raise a brow in confusion and look at him

“Excuse me?” you asked

“I mean, I saw a movie! About World War II…” he chuckled awkwardly, making you open your mouth and nod to his words

“I see. Have a fun looking for more books.” you smiled as you grabbed the pile of books again to walk away

“Wait!” he called out following you, making you turn to him

“Yes?” you gave a smile

“Can you recommend me some books from the…” Taedong looked around to find a certain genre

“Romance section…?” he said as he turned to look back at you, making you chuckle a bit

“Romance?” you repeated, and he just nodded

“Hmm, alright. I’ll just put these books to the counter nearby and I’ll be right with you.” you beamed as you walked away to the counter to ask your friend to cover for you a bit since a customer asked for your help, Taedong not able to hide his shy smile as he turned to go to the romance section of the shop

“Alright, romance…” you put your hands on your hips as you looked up at the shelves in front of you, Taedong again staring at how cute you looked when you were serious

“Ah, this one!” you exclaimed as you grabbed a book on one of the shelves and handed it to Taedong

“The Notebook?” Taedong raised a brow as he looked at the book

“One of our best sellers.” you nodded, making Taedong confused

“Have you read it already?” you looked at him

“N-no. But I’ve seen the movie.” Taedong gave a small smile

“The book is better. Oh, and this one too.” you grabbed another book from the side and handed it over to Taedong

“Eleanor & Park…” he mumbled

“Teens love this one. I find the story to be adorable.” you chuckled, looking at Taedong as he eyed the two books you gave him and looked at you

“A-are there any more? Like, for adults…?” he shyly asked, making you widen your eyes in surprise

“Oh, you mean… with those kinds of scenes? I mean, like Fifty Shades of Grey?” you turned to look for the book

“Wait, no, I mean… something a bit more of a realistic story.” Taedong snickered, and you gave a sigh of relief as you thought he was asking for a book that had some pretty rated scenarios

“You had me there. Hmm, most romance novels do have some rated scenes on them, but I’ll try to suggest you ones that have minimal.” you smiled as you turned, making Taedong follow you around to find more books to read

After a while, Taedong was already bringing a basket full of romance novels, making you applaud yourself as you thought you did a great job of helping someone out at work. You went over the counter to scan the books for payment, Taedong not able to take his eyes off of you as you worked

“Hey, did you find anything?” Donghan asked as he arrived the bookshop and walked over to Taedong

“Ah, yeah… I kind of went overboard.” Taedong grit his teeth

“Overboard? What, did you get like, five books or something?” Donghan chuckled as he crossed his arms

“More like 18 books about love.” Taedong mumbled

“WHAT?!” Donghan snapped

“No, please, let me explain” Taedong shushed Donghan as he dragged him to the side

“Excuse me for a moment I’m just gonna talk to my brother over here.” Taedong smiled to you, and you nodded as you tried to find the barcode on one of the books while scanning

“Donghan, I think I found someone I like. She loves books! And she’s really pretty.” Taedong whispered, turning his head to your direction

“Taedong, that doesn’t mean you have to buy 18 romance novels to get her attention.” Donghan rolled his eyes as he looked at you and then back to him

“I know, but I couldn’t help it. I wanted to suddenly spend time with her.” Taedong grinned as he suddenly got excited

“Well if you said so, I should’ve asked my girlfriend to stop time for you to be able to hang out with her longer.” Donghan shook his head and chuckled

“Donghan, please, just this once that I’ll read all her suggestions and then try to make a move.” Taedong pleaded as he clasped his hands together, Donghan only able to look at you again before turning to Taedong

“Fine. I’ll use the card, but you better explain to her if she shrieks.” Donghan sighed as he grabbed the credit card from his wallet and walked over to the counter

“Hi, I’ll pay for the books.” Donghan smiled and nodded to you

“Alright. Would you like to pay with cash or card?” you asked

“Card.” he said as he handed the credit card to you

“Thanks, man.” Taedong said as he nodded and pat Donghan on his shoulder

“Thank you for coming! See you again… what was your name?” you said as you handed the paper bag of books

“Taedong.” he grinned as he grabbed the bag from you

“Taedong. Ah, it’s been a while since someone bought these many books… Anyways, hope to see you again soon!” you smiled as you gave the gentlemen a wave as they walked away

“See? She hopes to see me again soon!” Taedong whispered excitedly to Donghan as they walked

“Don’t get your hopes up.” Donghan shook his head as he gulped

-

“110 DOLLARS?!” Donghan’s girlfriend shrieked as she looked at the receipt of the books Taedong bought while sitting on the kitchen stool

“Umm….” Taedong looked away, making her look at him with a horrified expression

“Taedong, I asked you to buy a couple of books to read, not eighteen books to make your hormones explode!” she complained as she put her hands on her hips

“I’m sorry! It’s just that…” Taedong scratched his head as he looked at her

“What? Give me one good reason why you bought these many books.” she clicked her tongue a few times as she tapped her foot impatiently

“Taedong’s got a bit of a crush on someone in the store.” Donghan walked into the kitchen as he smirked and stood next to his girlfriend

“Ooh, a crush you say?” Yongguk widened his eyes as he turned from cleaning the kitchen counters, his attention diverting to the topic

“Idiot, go back to cleaning.” Taedong scoffed

“Tss. As if I’m the one who blew a hundred dollars on useless books.” Yongguk gave a stank eye as he turned to continued to clean the kitchen

“Just, please explain, Taedong.” Donghan’s girlfriend looked at him in annoyance

“Okay, so I met this girl at the bookshop and I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. It’s like, time stopped as I stared at her. She was so graceful, adorable, helpful, beautiful…” Taedong said as he looked up in wonder as he thought of you the moment you were seen from his eyes earlier

“Looks like you’ve fallen in too deep.” Donghan chuckled as he leaned on the counters

“I have.” Taedong nodded and smiled widely

“Taedong, how can you expect me to forgive you for spending this much money which I earned? You should get a job.” Donghan’s girlfriend crossed her arms

“I got an idea! Why don’t you apply for a job at the bookshop?” Yongguk chimed in, making everyone look at him

“For once, Yongguk, you’re making sense.” Donghan laughed

“I’m serious. He did say he wanted to spend more time with her.” Yongguk shrugged

“Sounds like a good idea. Taedong?” Donghan’s girlfriend turned to look at Taedong

“Um, wouldn’t it be weird if I see her immediately again tomorrow? Wouldn’t she get the wrong idea if I just act as if I needed another book?” Taedong worriedly said as he walked back and forth the kitchen counter and the dining table

“But you’re asking for a job, not another book.” Donghan raised a brow

“Don’t worry, we’ll go with you tomorrow night.” Donghan’s girlfriend said

“Okay…” Taedong nodded as he turned to walk out of the kitchen

“Oh, and Taedong.” she called again as she scanned the receipt

“Yes?” Taedong replied as he turned

“Make sure you read the damn books to get a hint of what romance is like.” she said without looking at him, making Taedong look at her awkwardly as he turned to go out of the kitchen and to the stairs to his room

“Where’s Hyunbin?” Donghan asked as he turned to look at Yongguk, who was rearranging the things on the ­­counters

“He said he was meeting someone. A girl, if I’m not mistaken.” Yongguk shrugged as he cleaned

“How come you’re the only person here who hasn’t tried their luck on finding someone?” Donghan’s girlfriend raised a brow as she looked up to look at Yongguk

“Well maybe girls can’t handle my straightforwardness?” Yongguk raised his shoulders as he turned to the two before he continued to clean, making them just chuckle in return

-

Taedong took a deep breath as he stood outside the bookshop and looked at you through the clear glass door, Donghan patting his back to make sure he was calm

“Just go in, ask if they’re hiring, and try to talk to her with only that topic in mind.” Donghan smiled, pushing Taedong towards the door as he opened it and walked inside. You were busy writing some inventories by the counter as he slowly walked over to you, becoming nervous as he felt his palms become cold and sweaty

“H-hi.” Taedong greeted, and you raised your head to give a small smile

“Oh, hello, Taedong! Gimme a sec.” you said as you turned to put the notebook away

“She remembered my name!” Taedong thought loudly

“So, what can I help you with?” you asked as you looked at him

“Um, I… read ‘The Notebook’ last night…” he scratched his head and shyly smiled

“Oh, really? The whole book? That was quick.” you chuckled as you crossed your arms

“Yeah. Um, anyways… I was wondering….” he paused, you raising your brow in curiosity

“Are you guys hiring? For like, any position here…” Taedong cleared his throat, you giggling in response as you covered your mouth and looked back at him

“I’m not sure. But I’ll ask the manager when he comes tomorrow morning.” you nodded

“Oh, okay. Anyways, thanks.” Taedong gave an awkward smile

“Is that all?” you said as you put some books to the side for inventory

“A..are you free tomorrow night? For like, um, coffee… dessert… dinner…?” Taedong asked gawkily as he looked away

“I’m working overtime tomorrow, Taedong.” you admitted as you looked down

“Oh, um, okay. So I’ll just go now…” he nodded and turned to slowly walk away

“But I’m out in thirty minutes, if you can wait.” you called, making his face light up a bit as he slowly turned to you again

“R-really? I mean, oh, I see.” Taedong shyly looked away, making you chuckle at his cute reaction

“There’s a café that’s two stores from here. You can wait for me there, if you want.” you smiled

“I can wait.” he grinned, unable to contain the excitement in him

[airbuilder7]

A year of weight loss: December 2016 to December 2017

I’m very pleased to say I’ve lost 22 pounds (172 to 150) from this date one year ago. Thoughts and graphs below the break.

Just after Thanksgiving 2016 was the tipping point. Family photos were going up during the week, and I was dissatisfied with how my stomach was visibly round under my shirt. 

There wasn’t an epiphanic ping of realization; it was more of a longstanding, growing dissatisfaction and grim determination settling in. However I was feeling, I was simply not going to accept it any longer. It felt like there was a slab or blob on my midriff that didn’t belong there, and I was worried that if I let it sit there too long I would adapt to that feeling as normal and baseline.  

I weighed myself for the first time in a while on December 1st, 2016, and was jolted to see I was above 170 (172, specifically). A few weeks later I bought my fourth Fitbit (a Charge 2) in a Verizon deal when my old cellphone died. I bought a Fitbit Aria scale to go with it a few weeks into 2017 because there was a New Year’s deal.  

As an engineer, it was fortifying to get information on what was happening, and see the numbers go up and down, and see a cause and effect between calories in, calories out, and weight. It also helped that my body and I could remember being at my goal weight in the 150s in May 2014, during college when I rode my bike every day and did karate three to four times a week.  Then I started my job in November 2014 and began sitting eight hours a day. 

Since it’s an engineer’s job, essentially, to obsess over numbers and trends, and having Asperger’s intensifies obsessions, I knew going in that I would have to carefully monitor my obsession over this particular set of numbers, at risk of unhealthy consequences. I’ve found myself at times staring intently, for minutes, at the trendlines on the graphs and the progression of the numbers. What I didn’t expect was the excited, vaguely-unhinged, highly persuasive voice that would remark, with all the inflection of a great idea (since it’s my voice), “You know what would make the graph change even faster! Not eating!” And I would go “Whoa buddy” and explain why that was an absurd, unsustainable idea, because thermodynamics. But I might have had a problem if I wasn’t already on alert about Staring At The Numbers, and if I hadn’t already read about the sorts of thoughts that other friends have had. Because, it’s your voice.

  Other miscellaneous observations: 

My exercise increased somewhat. I began doing Kempo in September 2016, after a two-year break from doing Tang Soo Do karate at Virginia Tech. I went/go to kempo two or three times a week, on Monday or Tuesday and Thursday. I added in rock climbing and yoga at Earth Treks with some consistency on Wednesdays and Sundays. And every now and then, if I don’t feel like climbing, I run for half an hour (~5k ) on a treadmill. The key was adding in an activity on Wednesdays/weekends in addition to kempo. The Monday/Tuesday flip-flop flexibility of kempo classes and self-driven aspect of climbing and yoga attendance gives me rearrange room for social activities during the week. 

It all really started with four chicken fingers in January. I’m a picky eater. I’m not about that quinoa. I usually had seven, but after staring at the serving size and my Fitbit’s calorie meter, I was like “But what if I only have four?” The immediate counter-reaction was “But what if you’re still hungry??!” And the counter-counter was, “Well, then we make some more, duh.” So I had four chicken fingers. They looked miserably few on a plate, so I slid them to a small teacup plate. I ate, and stared at where the chicken fingers used to be. I had some tea, and some water, and waited. I felt hungry, and then gradually not-hungry, and went about my evening. I had less post-meal sluggishness. So I proved to myself that four chicken fingers, versus seven, was survivable. My next step was to go from two peanut butter & jelly sandwiches for lunch to just one. Given how calorie-dense modern food is, you tend to need less than you expect.  

I did not think in terms of “diet” because a diet feels like a temporary restriction you endure to meet a short-term goal. This is more of a wholesale readjustment of expectations for wants and needs.

I bought a food scale to measure how much peanut butter and jelly I was putting on my sandwiches. Because a) I really am that neurotic of an engineer and b) to make good decisions, you need good data. I don’t limit myself to a specific amount in the moment when using the scale. I’m gonna enjoy my damn sandwich. But knowing how much I’m actually eating is helpful in gauging afternoon snacking or spotting long-term trends.     

I do not and cannot recommend this as any sort of plan, but I had colds during the first and third weeks of January 2017. (See labels.) Coupled with day-by-day tracking on my scale, this proved to me at the very beginning that my weight could change, and rather than let my weight pop back up into the 170s, I recovered from the colds without regaining the weight I lost. I think I was able to do this because my body used already-excess fat cells for fuel. If I had been at a static weight at the time, I would have wanted to make a V on the graph.     - Setting a mid-course goal of 160 was instrumental. It was a basecamp that allowed me to develop and monitor habits and check in on how I was doing, while not feeling like I was “only halfway there,” (whooaaa, livin' on a prayer). I met a good goal in its own right (12 pounds!). If I'd dragged myself to reach 160, that would have indicated a correction was needed. But if I met 160 and felt like I was on a sustainable course, I could keep the momentum going to 150. That increment also felt achievable, because all the ads say “lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks!” And I certainly wasn’t planning to do this in two weeks.

A consistent way of weighing yourself is critical, because otherwise you might lose your mind. I weigh myself each morning after using the loo but before drinking any water; water is eight pounds a gallon, and two glasses (16 oz) is a pound. This gives me an artificially low weight for the day, but it’s consistently low. If you’re inconsistent with the order of things, you’ll wonder why you’re not losing much weight. It’s actually fascinating to see on the graph: on weekends my weight seems to drop. Why? Even though I might be out partying and drinking later on Friday and Saturday nights, I also sleep in later on Saturday and Sunday mornings. The extra sleep time means more natural dehydration, which results in lower weight. Be sure to hydrate fully once you have your measurement!  

Your body will happily gain two pounds over a day or two, but then require a week and a half to lose it. This makes sense, because in the first 50,000 years or so of human existence, weight loss was an emergency situation. Breaking even was a hunter-gathering caloric victory, and not feeling hungry for a week was a rare, glorious occasion reserved once or twice a year for festivals. 

This then requires an odd sort of balancing act, because you have to stress your body enough (through exercise and fewer calories) that it digs into its own reserves when you need energy, and you essentially eat yourself alive. But if you put too much stress on the system, it goes into BREAK GLASS mode and restricts your metabolism to conserve resources and ride out a starve. You have to surreptitiously edge away at your fat-cell count while keeping your body in a LALALALA EVERYTHING’S FINE mode. Enough sleep helps with that.

To stave off the AAAHHHHHHH and maintain sustainability: discomfort is ok, misery is not.

To help with this, I devised the Tea Test: if you’re feeling hungry around 9:30 or 10 in the morning, or around 2:30 in the afternoon, have a cup of tea and busy yourself with something. If you poke your head up an hour or so later from your work, that hunger was probably just a habit-signal and discomfort that you can ride through. But if 20 to 30 minutes later you find yourself hungry again, or unable to concentrate, or irritable, then you actually are hungry and need energy. Have something to eat you dumbass, for heaven’s sake.

The Fitbit's calorie deficit amount may require tinkering to your own situation, depending on your discomfort/misery ratio and goal progress. I initially started out at a -500 calorie deficit for a day, and bumped it to -750 in May when progress stalled. My nominal -500 deficit was likely closer to -250 or so, taking into account calories and activities that aren't countable. I also recently learned that nutrition labels are allowed to be off by 20%! Increasing to -750 nominally probably gets me to -500 actual when all is thermodynamically said and done.  

The multi-year picture of my weight record is a fascinating look at a) Fitbit’s increasing quality control and b) my need to see numbers for progress versus internal intuition, apart from the peaks. (Those peaks felt like the float switch in a toilet reaching its limit: “OK, that’s enough!”)  My first two Fitbits died on their own. I regularly wore my first one in the shower, just like my sport watch. Fitbit’s 2014-2015-era ad material promoted wearing the Charge 1 in the shower. They’ve since removed that claim. I take my current Charge 2 off when I go swimming or use the shower, which perhaps explains its current longevity. My third Fitbit died when I forgot to do this and jumped from our sailboat into the Bay on a hot summer afternoon.

More worrisome (?) is the way my numbers pop up when I’m away from my scale or can’t monitor intake with a barcode. I had hoped by this point I would be able to realize, “ah, that’s enough” for a meal or a day after a year of readjustment. This is not the case, as evident by the way the graph pops up after visits home or during the current holiday-party season. 

[stephicness]

What are your thoughts on a fan theory that all the events of episode prompto only happened in Prompto's head and weren't real? (Is it safe to discuss the episode now?)

Well, on my blog it is, at least, but I’ll tag for spoilers just in case. c: Because I REALLY want to talk about this theory because, to be honest, I’m really close to agreeing with it. To an extent, I mean, since Episode Prompto was an odd one in my eyes.

So spoilers ahead, because we’re talking EPISODE PROMPTO! Read below for my rambling!

So to me, this idea that Prompto had this all running through his head can be really plausible, I think. Of course, Square can pretty much tell us that they changed up Prompto’s story a bit to fit with his own episode, but honestly? I don’t buy it that much. Episode Prompto is a DLC that Tabata and the others KNEW they wanted to happen, just as they knew they wanted Episode Gladiolus to talk about him running off in Chapter 7, and Episode Ignis to discuss just how in the world Ignis was blinded. I like to give Square credit, and perhaps it might be too much credit, but I will when I say that Episode Prompto should be more well-thought out than we all assume.

Like, for me, and I’ll level with you here, I didn’t like Episode Prompto as much as I could have because it was so odd to me. Literally. Wandering through the snow after mysteriously finding a new outfit, stumbling upon an MT base where Verstael is trying to conduct an immortal experiment that turns him into a sentient version of the Very Hungry Caterpillar, and Aranea miraculously finding Prompto in a period of about two days/less after meeting Noctis and the others in Tenebrae and sending them on their way to Gralea? Perhaps it’s me being overly analytical, but Aranea isn’t THAT good at tracking someone. In a snowstorm. In, again, less than two days or so. Because by train, you can probably make a trip across a country (which I personally assume is about the size of Europe, more or less) in about a day if you really didn’t have any complications. Sans, of course, Ardyn appearing and Gentiana blessing Noctis with her icy presence.

Needless to say, ALOT of things didn’t add up in Episode Prompto, more than they actually did. They of course try to give us the bonus Episode Prompto stuff nevertheless though, like the outfit and the Lionheart gun too (which is super cute by the way…!).

But that’s where this whole fan theory comes into play: There’s so many weird things in the Episode that we can only assume that there’s something FAR more intriguing about just a Metal Gear wannabe DLC. One of the only real ways that can explain EVERYTHING in this DLC is by the fact that it is, in fact, a dream. An illusion that Ardyn conjured up to make Prompto relive the guilt about being an MT, to unravel himself and become the monster he was truly destined to become.

AND HERE’S A BUNCH OF REASONS WHY. SO KICK UP A SEAT BECAUSE THIS POST IS GONNA GET LENGTHY.

1) How the hell did he end up in the middle of the snow? Without any help? In a few days?

So the time frame of FFXV is super weird because we’ve got moments where they’re riding on a train, they’re suddenly stopping in Tenebrae, and those sorts of fun and merry things. So we never really get a rough timeframe of how long it took the boys to travel from Altissia to Gralea where the keep was. But we know for a fact that a good majority of the boys’ traveling is done by train. If you want to go in the comparison of the empire being about the same size as maybe Russia just for relativity sake, it takes you about seven days of train traveling to get across the continent to Gralea, give or take. (Again, this is all just speculations and guessing). Either way, they’re VIA train, at one point by car too with only one major stop to restock in Tenebrae. Beyond that, we pretty much see them make an almost continue train ride to Gralea.

Prompto, however, was thrown off the train just outside of Tenebrae, probably meaning he was traveling with the boys for about 2-3 days already before he had an early departure. He’d have to catch up with Noctis and the others in about 2 days or three after spending about two to three days dealing with the Verstael situation in Episode Prompto. BRINGING IN MATH HERE, but that means Prompto would have to make up that distance at approximately 150 MPH on a snowmobile to catch up to a train going about 80 MPH. Again, in about 2-3 days to catch up on a snowmobile while also taking in account breaks, nights to rest, and getting around obstacles that a snowmobile might not be able to traverse through. Mountains for example? It’d be hard for him to do, no matter how cool he was in Episode Prompto running down a mountain on a snowmobile as it was. Possible, but highly unlikely too.

2) How did Aranea find Prompto so quickly after dropping everything in Tenebrae?

It strikes me odd that we find Aranea suddenly in Episode Prompto because wasn’t she helping in Tenebrae to get people out of the burning manor and escape from the daemon outbreak from the city of Gralea? Why would she immediately drop whatever she was doing to go help out a blond-haired kid that conveniently was there to help her stop a mad scientist from making himself into a human centipede with robo-lasers? To me, I find it hard to believe, considering that she, for one, only met Prompto once direction for about two days to help Noctis go through a dungeon, and maybe a few times within Chapter 8 when she appeared before them all in a mask. (or when she again dropped in and beat up Noctis, again in a mask). She didn’t even acknowledge Prompto throughout most of the Myrtlewood dungeon, I think, so why give a damn about Prompto being lost?

It’s good that we saw Aranea there, but if you think about it, Prompto would probably imagine her the most out of anyone else to save him. He can’t imagine Noctis, Ignis, or Gladio saving him because they’re gone by then, and he already felt like he wasn’t good enough for them. Cor as well wouldn’t be someone Prompto would imagine helping him because Cor’s a Lucian. He doesn’t know anything about the MTs. Aranea, however, does, since she’s a commodore in the Niflheim Navy and someone strong enough to kick Prompto’s ass into shape and help him. He respects her enough to want her aid, but also knows that she wouldn’t push an MT away after working with them for so long.

3) Why did Verstael turn into a goo boy?

From what I remember about Episode Prompto, Verstael was making a machine infused with daemons and humans that would act as his vessel to basically become something more powerful than the Astrals themselves. He was obsessed with this god-like complex of his, which we all can understand seeing how he behaved in his conversation about Lunafreya in Chapter 3 of the base game. He wanted her alive because she could communicate with the Astrals, basically acting as a conduit for him to discover what makes the Astrals so strong. So he made the machine to become some god-like beast.

But why was he turning all gooey anyways? Why did he have to die in order for him to trigger the machine? When he approached Prompto, he radiated dark energy that he was becoming a daemon, turning into a monster. Half of his face was messed-up, after all. But these kinds of traits of daemofication while still alive never happens unless they DIED at some point. If he wanted immortality, he could have just gotten Ardyn to turn him into a daemon like he did with Iedolas and Ravus. Unless Verstael was the first, I mean. This only adds onto the fact that perhaps Verstael was dead and immortal as it was? It’s odd to me that if he wanted to become immortal, he could have easily just struck a deal with Ardyn to become a daemon pet. Instead, he was infused to a giant worm? Why? Why go through all that trouble when daemification and infusing a daemon into something is possible? Verstael is a smart man and knows how to get stuff done, so the trouble he went through to turn into a goo boy, die, get infused with a worm, and get blown up is pretty cray to me.

4) What’s with the flashbacks and paradoxes? 

This, I feel, is one of the bigger pieces of evidence to why Episode Prompto can be a dream theory. Things get really strange with Noctis trying to kill MT-clad Prompto, with Prompto reconciling with his younger self, with Pyrna appearing, etc. ESPECIALLY PYRNA. Because it was said that she had died when Lunafreya died, of grief at that. How is it that the dog managed to wander around when they were supposedly dead? They may be an Astral dog, but they still had an actual minimalistic form. We see that they too can die in the Omen trailer, despite that being a dream too. But still, even the Astrals can be killed somehow – just like how Eos was killed during the whole Lucian royalty are half-astrals theory. Why did these memories and illusions come trick him? Stress-induced hallucinations? A drug injected into him without us knowing? How? It’s odd to me, but most people assume it was an Ardyn mind-trick. He was there, as we see at the very end of the DLC, but why nearly freeze your immortal dick off just to mess with the broken child?

And most importantly – and my favorite detail about this in why Episode Prompto might be a dream theory – 5) How come Prompto wasn’t burned in Chapter 13?

We see at the very end of Episode Prompto that he’s strapped to the torture device and is just hanging there, not doing much and out of his change of clothes by now. Odd that he’d be redressed, but we see Noctis and the others come up and run to him to help Prompto. But later on in that chapter and during some of the Episode Prompto cutscenes, Prompto has that barcode on him. I believe there was a picture (Photoshopped or nah?) that showed that he had done something to his code. But still, those are not burn marks nevertheless, if that picture is real or altered. If they were burned, they be almost like something Ignis has on his face, not red and swollen looking like that, I don’t think. Yes, we get the option to say no to burning Prompto, but still. That barcode would have seen some pretty bad damage on it if Prompto clawed it off, burned it off, anything.

Instead, we see only the mark from when he was the restraint mark on his wrist from perhaps struggling to break free, or from hanging there limply. Fishy that there isn’t any other injuries on him, even after Episode Prompto. That mark over his nose isn’t there during the DLC, the injuries on his wrist aren’t during the base game. For the most part, the injuries that we know of besides you burning off his barcode are all injuries from the base game.

And most importantly, I bring this up too: During Episode Gladiolus, his ending was him walking with Cor to get back to Lestallum to meet the others, right? We see his resolution and ending, his reward and success for completing his task. How come at the very end, we only see Prompto hanging there in that prison? He’s not riding to Gralea to return to Noctis. We don’t see him get kidnapped by any of the Imperial Officers or Ardyn either. We only see Prompto. Trapped. Imprisoned. Why? After all we saw in Episode Prompto, how come they left out the major plot hole that we wanted to know: HOW DID PROMPTO GET TO GRALEA?

Well, with all of those details, wouldn’t it be logical that Prompto never left Gralea to begin with…? That Ardyn had him relive the psychological torture of Verstael and his insanity in hopes of Prompto turning against Noctis? We even know from the Versus XIII plotline that Prompto was initially supposed to betray Noctis during the point where he reveals he’s Verstael’s son. That was Prompto’s crisis point in the initial game, and he was going to turn on Noctis during Versus XIII. Perhaps Ardyn used these mind-tricks to try swaying Prompto to do so during XV. Perhaps he wanted to see their friendship break apart.

That, and Ardyn humming that Chocobo theme at the very end of Episode Prompto. Prompto only ever hummed that with Noctis and the others. How would Ardyn know that Prompto sings that too unless A) he’s a super mega-stalker (which I wouldn’t put it past him to be) or B) he knows Prompto’s mind and secrets and saw the memory of Prompto having sung/hummed that before. Ardyn knew Prompto’s mind more than we really thought, I feel.

So yes, I actually really do agree with the dream theory idea for Episode Prompto because alot of it is strange to me. But even if it all actually did happen, this theory is a fun one to ponder on. c;

[emphasisonem]

I would absolutely love to see your take on this: “hOOOoooOo shit, so you’re the older sibling my best friend always talks about hahah wow tHEY NEVER BOTHERED TELLING ME YOU WERE THIS HOT” au

Title: Catch Me a Catch

Summary

“James, you-” Steve stammers, face flushing as his brow furrows. “You’re- you’re Bucky?!”

“I am,” Bucky replies, taking a sip of his drink, curious to see if checking Steve out ahead of time is going to backfire because the blond looks equal parts surprised and annoyed.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Steve cross his arms over his chest, and yeah, maybe Bucky should have thought this plan through just a little bit more.

“Wait,” Becca’s eyes dart between the two of them. “Did you just call him James? Do you two know each other?”

In which Becca desperately wants to introduce her friend Steve to her brother Bucky, but it turns out that the two of them have already met.

So, this isn’t quite the prompt, but I like the way it turned out and I hope that you do too! Thank you for the request!

“You’re coming to my birthday party tonight, Rogers, and I don’t want to hear another word about it.”

Becca glares down at him, bright red lips pursed tightly together. Steve knows that look well, knows there’s not a chance in hell that he’s getting out of attending this party no matter how much he’d rather spend Friday night curled up on his couch in sweats and watching Netflix.

Steve sighs, shoving the last of the newly released books into the bottom shelf of the display case he’s been working on, and pushes himself up. Becca’s nearly a foot shorter than Steve is, but with her hands on her hips, and that glare that follows him up, Steve knows better than to underestimate her.

“Becca,” Steve sighs, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans and kicking at the ground. “You know parties aren’t my scene, especially parties at clubs. Plus, I’m broke. All the money I make here goes toward tuition and art supplies; you know that.”

“Rogers,” Becca huffs, an amused smirk curling across her lips. “It’s an open bar for most of the night. Besides, I want you to meet my girlfriend and my brother. I know you’d probably rather wander through the city streets sketching or whatever it is you do in your free time, but you are coming. You might even have fun. And I really think you and Bucky would get along.”

“Oh my god,” Steve groans, running a hand through his hair as he grabs the empty cardboard box at his feet and heads toward the back room of the bookshop Becca’s parents own. “Beck, you need to chill out. Your brother sounds like a cool guy, but just because I’m bi and he’s gay doesn’t mean we’re gonna have some instant connection or whatever.”

“Yeah, well, you should have thought about that before telling me you haven’t been on a date in over a year, Steve,” Becca chuckles, following her friend. “You’re my friend now, and I just want my friends to be happy. And if I can also make my currently-single brother happy? Well, two birds, one stone. Come on, you’re totally his type, and he’s a good guy. Not quite as handsome as you, but most people I know find him pretty darn attractive.”

“Look,” Steve sighs, setting the cardboard box down by the rest of the recycling. “I will come to your party. I will have a few drinks. I will meet your girlfriend and your brother and be friendly. But only on the condition that you stop meddling.”

Becca squeals, throwing her arms around Steve’s midsection and hugging him so tightly that he grunts. For such a tiny little thing, Rebecca Barnes is awfully damn strong.

“All right, all right,” Steve chuckles, pushing the young woman back gently. “You’re going to break my spine and I’m not done shelving for the day.”

“Thank you, Steve!” Becca exclaims, releasing him from her hug, gripping his hands and squeezing gently. “You won’t regret it!”

And then Becca’s bouncing back to the register, leaving Steve alone to wonder about how vaguely ominous the brunette’s parting words had been.

Becca’s gone for the day to get ready for her party, and Steve’s nearly finished with his closing rituals when he hears the bell above the door tinkling gently. He just manages not to groan aloud at the idea of a customer coming in five minutes before closing, and he’s glad he does because it turns out to be his favorite semi-regular.

“I’m so, so sorry,” the dark-haired man grins, breathing heavily as he brushes a stray strand of hair behind his ear. “I know it’s almost closing time, but I got held up at work and I gotta get a present for a party. I know exactly what I’m lookin’ for; I swear I’ll only be a second.”

Steve just stares for a moment, trying to remember how to speak. Usually the man’s longish hair is hanging loose to his shoulders or swept up into a messy bun, but he’s clearly cleaned up for the party he’s attending. He’s not in his usual ratty jeans and layers of hoodies and jackets. Instead, snug, dark wash jeans hug his long legs and muscular thighs, and a polished black peacoat is what’s keeping him warm. His face, usually graced with a five o’clock shadow, is clean-shaven, and his hair is braided back away from his face. Steve’s breath actually catches a little at the sight before him.

“That’s-” Steve finally manages to reply, smiling at the man. “That’s fine, James. I’ll, uh, I’ll just be here when you’re ready, okay?”

“Thank you so much, Steve,” James grins, stormy eyes sparkling as he strides into the shelves, disappearing from view. Steve slumps forward, hands against the counter as he breathes in deeply. He wishes he’d just told Becca about the cute regular - it might have saved him the awkward attempted set-up with her brother- but then he’d have to deal with her interfering with his love life while he’s on the job.

“You doin’ all right, pal?” Steve starts at the sound of James’s deep voice laced with amusement. “You look like a man on death row.”

Steve huffs out a laugh, grabbing the book from the other man’s hand and scanning the barcode. “I’m all right. I have to go to a party tonight too, and I’m just bracing myself for my friend’s attempt at playing matchmaker.”

James grins, handing Steve some cash, and Steve nearly shivers at the feeling of the brunet’s fingers brushing against his own. “Well, you never know. Might not be so bad. And I can’t really imagine anybody’d turn down a guy as handsome as you are.”

“Hah,” Steve rubs a hand against the back of his neck as he hands James his change and fumbles the book into one of the plastic bags they keep at the register. “Thanks, I, uh, we’ll see I guess. Enjoy your evening, James.”

“You as well, Steve,” James winks, then disappears out the front door, the bell ringing hollow in Steve’s ears as he watches him go.

Steve sighs, moving to the door to flip the sign from ‘Open’ to ‘Closed’ before locking the door and heading to the break room to grab his coat.

Bucky’s standing at the bar with Becca and Wanda, sipping on a vodka tonic when Bookstore Steve walks in, looking absolutely stunning as always. He’s changed into darker jeans and a navy sweater that hugs his gorgeous frame perfectly, and Bucky can’t keep from admiring him.

As soon as Becca’d told him about her new coworker, Steve, Bucky had decided he needed to check the guy out for himself, since his baby sister has a tendency to exaggerate a guy’s greatness if she thinks Bucky might be interested. Of course, knowing his sister’s schedule made it very easy to pop in now and again when she wasn’t around, and when he’d first seen Steve, Becca’s description of him as a “blond demigod with eyes as blue as a clear May sky” suddenly seemed like an understatement instead of the most dramatic thing he’d ever heard.

And, yeah, Bucky now has roughly twenty unread novels stacked around his apartment, but each of those books has given him a chance to chat with Steve, to get to know him a little better, and he has a really good feeling about the shy, polite, surprisingly sassy blond.

Bucky turns back to the bartender, signaling for another drink so that Steve won’t see his face right away. He knows the moment Steve arrives because Becca excitedly introduces him to Wanda (whom Bucky adores because he’s never seen Becca so happy) and then there’s a tug on the sleeve of his red button-up.

“Steve,” Becca shouts over the music. “This is my brother Bucky. Bucky this is my friend from the bookstore, Steve.”

Bucky turns, a wide smile on his face as he extends his hand. He’s not sure how he manages not to laugh at the stunned look on the other man’s handsome face, shaking his hand and telling him what an absolute pleasure it is to finally meet him officially.

“James, you-” Steve stammers, face flushing as his brow furrows. “You’re- you’re Bucky?!”

“I am,” Bucky replies, taking a sip of his drink, curious to see if checking Steve out ahead of time is going to backfire because the blond looks equal parts surprised and annoyed.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Steve cross his arms over his chest, and yeah, maybe Bucky should have thought this plan through just a little bit more.

“Wait,” Becca’s eyes dart between the two of them. “Did you just call him James? Do you two know each other?”

“He’s a regular at the bookstore,” Steve replies, eyes narrowing as he glares at Bucky. It shouldn’t be getting Bucky hot under the collar, but the intensity in that gaze has Bucky’s head swimming a bit. “And you only ever came in when Becca wasn’t around. Were you trying to check me out without your sister knowing?”

“And, I believe that is our cue to dance, darling,” Wanda purrs, grabbing Becca’s wrist and dragging her away from the two men. She smiles at Bucky over her shoulder and winks, and Bucky grins gratefully in return.

Steve’s still glaring at him, but Bucky just smiles and says, “Can I get you a drink, Steve?”

Steve blinks, then studies Bucky carefully before replying, “Yeah, okay. Any lager they have on tap is fine.”

Bucky orders the drink, handing it to Steve and the motioning for the man to follow him to a quiet corner of the club.

“All right, so,” Bucky smiles apologetically. “I know it’s maybe weird that I never told you I was Becca’s brother. But I was curious about you; the way she described you, you seemed too good to be true. And she mentioned that you were very skeptical of set-ups, so I didn’t want to blow my chances right out the gate. Especially once I started talking to you and figured out that you were not only unbelievably handsome, but that you were also a really nice guy.”

Steve’s biting on his lower lip, clearly trying not to smile as Bucky pauses.

“Go on, James” Steve urges, blue eyes warming up considerably as he bumps his shoulder against Bucky’s. Bucky likes that gaze and the way Steve’s fighting a losing battle against his impulse to grin.

“Do you know how many books I have to read now?” Bucky asks, liking the way Steve laughs. “Not that I mind; I love books. But, really, you’re the only reason I’ve been coming into my parents’ shop so often. My mom’s been makin’ fun of me about it for weeks now.”

“Is that right?” Steve questions, a gentle finger trailing up and down Bucky’s arm as he smiles, eyes darkening when Bucky shivers.

“That’s right,” Bucky answers, voice firmer and surer than he’d anticipated. “And I think maybe you should let me take you out sometime. Because I’m pretty sure you think I’m cute too. And you can call me Bucky, you know. Most people do”

“Oh, you’re pretty sure, huh?” Steve chuckles, leaning down to whisper in Bucky’s ear. “Because, I’ll be honest, cute’s not really the word I think of when you walk through the door of the bookstore, Bucky. Rugged? Sure. Sinful? Absolutely. Sexy? Definitely. But not cute.”

“So, is that a yes?” Bucky’s a little breathless as Steve’s nose grazes his cheek when he pulls back. “Let me take you to dinner?”

“That’s a yes,” Steve smiles, threading his fingers through Bucky’s and tugging him forward. “Now, what’s say we join your sister and her girl on the dance floor? I’m sure she’ll think it’s an even better present than the book you got her, given how adamant she’s been about me meeting you.”

Bucky knows he’s grinning like a fool, like a lovesick middle-schooler, but he can’t bring himself to care as he nods and lets Steve drag him onto the dance floor and pull him close.

“I told you,” Becca grins at Wanda as the two of them sway to the music. “I’m the best matchmaker of all time.”

Wanda rolls her eyes with a smile. “Truly, dear, your skills are positively occult.”

“Hey now,” Becca tugs Wanda close, lips brushing against Wanda’s mouth as she laughs. “Be nice to me. It is my birthday, after all.”

“And you got exactly what you wanted,” Wanda replies, kissing Becca sweetly as she wraps her arms around her girlfriend’s neck.

“I did at that,” Becca sighs happily, smiling when she catches Bucky’s eye, and giggling as her brother winks before he goes back to chatting animatedly with Steve.

Yup. Matchmaker extraordinaire. Becca should add it to her business card.  

[liftingmylfe]

targ et

T@rget 🎯 tips y'all! Straight from T@rget LP! Pay attention! 👀👀👀📝📝

So y'all want some tips for the store with the red bulls//eye🎯? We’ll have I got some tips for you, straight from the horse’s (AP) mouth. Now remember this guide may not be true for every single target but from all the one’s I’ve worked at as AP (6 so far) I can say with certainty that most follow the same layout/ pattern when it comes to camera placement. Note: I want to apologize if this “guide” is super lengthy and all over the place. I’m literally typing everything down as I remember so it is a bit jumbled and mixed up

   🎯 So for cameras, again its important to note this may not ring true for all stores but has been from my viewpoint. Electronics is always fully covered! Health and beauty is hot or miss with full coverage but NYX, NO.7, Soap and Glory, L'Oréal, PIXI, the eyelash display, nail care (not nail polish but like the nail tools and tweezers) and expensive shampoo, men’s razors have always been covered. Home/ bedding usually never had any cameras there except for in vacuums which will always be covered since they’re the biggest booster pushout item. In toys the only camera is usually pointed to the lego aisle and that’s it. Clothing will have cameras scattered throughout mainly focusing on teenage clothing, activewear, and swimsuits. There’s never any cameras in market and school/office supplies since AP doesn’t really care about that stuff since most of it isn’t super high value. However this is only true of the still cameras. The store will always have between 4-7 PTZs that can move around and go into places without still cameras like market or bedding. However the cameras are only moved when an actual person is in the office to move them. Otherwise they’re usually focused on the area with the most high theft. Example the electronics PTZ will most likely be facing like the console aisle that holds the games and controllers.

   🎯 Now let’s go into the type of AP the stores have. There are 4 levels of AP here:

          1) There’s the TPS who is uniformed and stands at the door to act as a deterrent for the majority of their shift. TPS cannot perform apprehensions by themselves. If the TPS is in the store by themselves and they notice someone is stealing they will attempt to burn them into dropping the merch since they cannot stop them. TPS can only receipt check merchandise that isn’t in a store bag. If it’s all in plastic bags- no receipt check. All in reusable bags?- no receipt check.

           2) The next level is APS, who is your undercover position. Their role is to fiddle around on camera, watching any suspicious people and to go out on the floor in plainclothes and follow people around. APS can perform solo apprehensions as well as calling TPS to aid them in apprehensions.

           3) Next level is APTL which is basically the same as APS but has more responsibilities and is held more accountable for how the team performs.        

           4)Final level is ETLAP, the big guns. They’re in charge of the entirety of the store, ensuring everything is safe and the merch is protected. They focus on both internal and external equally. Note: not every store has one of each position. Some stores might not have a TPS or APS and only have an ETLAP. Other stores might have 3 TPS and 2 APS etc etc.

   🎯Now onto apprehensions. Obviously we need all 5 steps in order to perform an apprehension. We can’t do fitting room stops so if you go into the fitting room and leave we can’t stop you. However, if you have visible merchandise on your person we can stop you. Example:/ you conceal headphones into your jacket pocket. You go into the fitting room. We can’t stop you. However, you exit the fitting room and a portion of the headphones box is visible we can stop you. When doing apprehensions usually the person performing the stop will go outside and wait for you to exit. Once you go through the doors, aka pass all points of sale, AP will step in front of you and ask you to follow them. We are allowed to go hands on and if you fight the cops will definitely be called. If you come in and see TPS at the door and as you leave they’re missing they might just be outside ready to apprehend. If you have someone waiting in the car they should be able to see whether someone is waiting outside or not. If you already know you’re about to get caught, I’d run out of the fire exit. We can’t make fire exit stops so just run the fuck out and don’t stop until you’re blocks away.

   🎯Now back to cameras and methods: Clothing is tricky. There are of course cameras there, however it’s almost impossible to find clothing once it’s stolen since they’re all over the place. The only way we know clothing has been stolen is A) We watched them steal it with our own eyes, or B) They left the fucking tags. This chain isn’t supposed to use removable tags on clothing since it makes it unappealing so the RFID will be inside the price tag. DO NOT FREAKING LEAVE TAGS. Bring an exacto knife or nail scissors in your handbag and cut the shit in half and take it with you!!! Fitting rooms are hit or miss. Some places are extremely strict and keep the rooms locked and will count the items before you go in. Others don’t have anyone over there and all the doors are unlocked. Scope yours out to see how secure the fitting room is over there. If there is an associate there, they are supposed to stop you from bringing any non clothing items into the fitting room.

   🎯Moving on… So there’s cameras over NYX, but you still want it? Well if your store uses those push dispensers you are in luck. Basically the push dispensers will push another product back out after you select one. This shit is so hard to review on camera. Also the smaller it is ex/ eyeliners and lipstick the harder it is to spot on camera. If you want something bigger, say a PIXI face mist and they don’t use push dispensers? Take it from the back of the display. We track known thefts by camera movement. If the front product doesn’t move it’s nearly impossible to find. That being said, remember the cameras are above not below or to the side. NEVER TAKE AN ITEM FROM THE TOP SHELF. We can see exactly how many of each box there are signs the camera is pointing down towards it. The best place is the bottom shelves since the top shelves cover most of the products aside from the front ones.

   🎯Now continuing, if you’ve shopped here before you might have noticed the yellow security tabs on some makeup such as eyelashes and razors. These will make the doors go off. If the doors go off and you have only bagged items they are allowed to check regardless. Now you don’t want to leave packaging behind right? Just rip that sucker off and leave it somewhere not in beauty or electronics (bedding or behind paper towels is ideal). We can’t identify what was stolen with only the yellow tab so you should be all clear as long as you were being cautious. Another thing: the sleeve or take two put back one method is so god damn fucking hard to catch on camera so utilize that as best as you can in cosmetics.

   🎯Personally, I would say utilizing self checkout is one of the absolute worst methods. Never ever ever use anything other than cash if you opt to choose this method since we can run cards district wide to catch activities in other stores as well as previous activities in that store. Self checkout is also always overseen by an attendant who is trained to spot theft through either ringing everything up and leaving without paying, passing merchandise over the scanners without actually scanning it, and sticker swap where you use a different barcode for an item. I would say you’re 10x more likely to get caught using a self checkout method. Now we probably won’t catch you the first few times but we will continuously build cases. Sticker swapping is hard to get all 5 steps on so we normally let it run until we can get all five steps. Just don’t do SCO it’s way too easy to track. There are people not on the scene whose job it is to track sticker swapping and send us reports to help us find these cases. If you’re going to sticker swap, do it with similar items. Want a pair of $50 headphones? Swap it with a $10 headphones. Never swap with target brands like heyday though. We will know those aren’t heyday headphones. The camera that you see isn’t accessible to us in the office. The cameras are gonna be above you on the ceiling, looking down so we can see every item you scan and check if it matches up or not. If you bag and go, the light at the top of the self checkout turns red. Once the attendant realizes someone didn’t pay since only they can remove the transaction before some else can use it, they will inform AP and we can see exactly who scanned it.If you were lucky enough to not have been spotted by AP during your visit but are found out later, our best face shot is usually gonna be the exit shot which isn’t the greatest quality at times.

   🎯We normally base repeats on certain features like hey does this look like the guy that pushed out toys last week? Nah the hairline is different. Go crazy with the disguises. Wear a wig, cover up existing tattoos or apply temporary realistic fake ones. Contour your nose, wear glasses or take them off. Change you body shape through different trips by wearing tighter/looser clothing. Make sure each time you visit you look like a completely different person and we usually won’t piece all the thefts together. The way you dress is very important. If you dress shabby/ look homeless we’ll watch you. A group of young people? We’ll automatically watch you. For stores near colleges ex/ Mississippi state if you wear a college shirt well usually watch you for a bit cause young people are easier to catch and more likely to steal. Dress maturely and like you have money. But don’t overdress cause you’ll still stand out. Dyed hair stands out to us and lots of tattoos or piercings. Guys with hats and sunglasses and backpacks automatic watch. Your purse is very important! No totes EVER. Always use a structured purse if you’re going to conceal and make sure it’s normal sized.

    🎯Now for pushouts. Pushouts are very iffy, it all depends on luck and your store layout. You can get away with a lot more using the pushout method, and they usually won’t notice until right when you leave so don’t come back after a long while when pushing out and wear a disguise!!! We catch repeat pushout subjects super fucking easily so don’t do it often.

   🎯Now let’s talk about after the theft. We do write reports about thefts that we find happened due to stuff like empty packages, noticing items are missing from the counts, customers or associates giving us pointers. If we find an empty package but there’s no camera in the area we don’t write a report since we don’t know who stole it. If someone pushed out a cart of groceries but it was all in reusable bags that you can’t see inside of we literally cannot write a report since we have no idea what you took since there’s no cameras. Even if we have one selection out of the entire cart full of stuff we will write a report. Police reports are written for known theft of between $26-$75+. Each district has a different minimum when it comes to police reports. Police also usually don’t take shoplifting reports to seriously if it’s after the fact. If you’re driving, please park far away. Like in a different shopping strip far away. If we get a plate you are screwed since it makes it so much easier for us to identify who you are.

   🎯So electronics. Not the wisest move, but if you must make sure you bring the items forward on the peg after you take one and do not fucking take something from the top. If it’s in a boxleeo protector you need an s3 key to open it but leaving the box behind is pretty damn evident. Note: if you use tools (s3 key or magnet) or any kind of weapon is seen on you (razor, scissors, gun etc) the cops will be called immediately so be cautious when using tools. If you’re a minor and you get caught we have to call your parents no matter what and they have to come. If they don’t we go to the police since we can’t release you due to liability issues.

    🎯Let’s talk about behaviors now. Don’t be an idiot. We obviously don’t catch everyone. I’d say we only catch about less than 2% of theft that occurs. As long as you’re being cautious and keep up a good appearance you should be fine. Don’t cart build, putting lots of high dollar merch in the cart is an instant red flag. Don’t look down every aisle or look up at every person that walks by. Innocent shoppers shop mindlessly, they don’t pay attention to every person that walks by. Its also weird to go to different areas of the store sometimes. Most people getting groceries aren’t gonna stop by for electronics so don’t bring unnecessary attention to yourself. If you look nervous, are sweating and it’s not hot, have red cheeks it might raise some flags, especially after we have someone service you. We do have rfid target stickers that we stick on high theft merch. The stickers will always be visible. Again, cut through it or simply peel it off. They will make the doors go off. If you’re unsure if anything has manufacturer rfids inside ex/ plan b, buy something cheap like $10 wireless headphones and when we check you at the door we’ll just dismiss it. If you walk out and you beep but you didn’t buy anything we won’t even acknowledge you at the time, but we will go back and review to see what you did. Try your best not to beep as you go out. If someone beeps and they don’t turn around we usually research to see what they did. Sometimes when people beep and they turn around I won’t even check them because the innocent thing to do is turn around and be like ??? Why am I beeping? Do you need to check me?

   🎯Hidden cams: Bulls/eye does utilize hidden cameras. If you notice an aisle has no visible camera but something is out of place in the ceiling it’s probably a hidden camera. They can see through the tiniest hole. A weirdly placed vent or miscolored ceiling tile is usually a dead giveaway there’s a hidden camera. Not all stores use hidden cameras though since most only get like 2 and they usually use it to spy on employees in the back for internal theft.

   🎯DO NOT hit  the same thing repeatedly! Fixed cameras can be moved if we think they’d be useful covering something else! If we notice an insane amount of like nail polish theft we can move say the NYX camera over to cover the nail polish.

That’s it. If anyone has any tips not mentioned feel free to add! Also if you tag this or reblog this outside the community I will find you and kill you 🔫😉.

HAPPY LIFTING!

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I love you

liftingwiccan

All of this basically tells me not to lift at T@rget. If someone reads this and thinks “hell yeah I can lift at t@rget now” y’all are stupid. The length of this post alone tells me there’s far too much at stake.

[echoes-of-the-clockwork]

Book Two: Famine (Prompto x Reader) Chapter Eight

"How're we supposed to break this thing?" Prompto asked Aranea, who was stalking around the cage.

"By using brute force." The ex-mercenary conjured her lance and jammed it into the bottom of the cage. She put all her weight into breaking the mechanism projecting the barrier. When her lance didn't even create a scratch, she clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Damn..."

"Stand back," (Y/n) feebly said as she slowly climbed to her feet. "I'm going to try magic again."

"You're just gonna end up fried again," Aranea retorts. "You better leave this to us."

Famine shook her head. "No. Let me try again."

"(Y/n), you can't!" Prompto protested, placing his hands on the barrier.

Aranea grabbed ahold of the boy and dragged him away from the prison. He tried to break free from the woman's grasp, but she kept a strong hold on him.

Once (Y/n) saw they were a safe distance away, she held up both hands and laid them against the barrier. "Astrals, please let this work." The moment the cage detected the building mana in her body, it shocked her. She gritted her teeth in pain, pushing through it and desperately tapping into her magic. She managed to use a powerful electrical wave before she felt her heart stop. Her body collapsed just as the electrical current discharged and short-circuited the high-tech prison.

The barriers deactivated and Prompto swiftly dashed into the cage. He fell to his knees beside (Y/n)'s body and gathered her into his arms. When he noticed she wasn't breathing, his breath hitched in his throat. He placed a hand against her cheek, brushing aside a few golden strands.

Suddenly, the Horseman inhaled sharply and her eyes flew wide open. One of her hands shot out and desperately grasped the air as if she was looking for something. Prompto grabbed her hand and held it against his chest. "(Y/n), just breathe. I'm right here."

She inhaled and exhaled deeply before her breathing returned to normal. "Never been electrocuted to death before... Damn, that was painful..."

Prompto lowered his head with a relieved sigh, nudging his nose against her cheek. "Thank the Six... That never gets easier."

"I'll say," (Y/n) laughed. "What's the point in being immortal if you can die for a short amount of time and still experience all the pain?"

"You're only one who could casually talk about death."

"Yeah, well, it's part of the job description."

The facility's automated voice speaks again, silencing the two.

Target detected. Capture and retrieve immediately.

Arena grips her lance in preparation for battle. The dormant magitek troopers along the wall of the room awaken. Several Ice Bomb daemons also appear.

Commence capture and retrieval of compromised unit.

"That doesn't sound good," (Y/n) murmurs. Prompto continues to hold her in his arms as he helps her to her feet. She reluctantly broke the embrace and summoned her blade. "Time to take 'em down."

"Let's do this." Aranea rushes ahead to clear the way. Following her out of the room and down a hall, Prompto and (Y/n) find themselves on a platform overlooking a cargo bay. A snowmobile sits below by an exit out of the facility.

The Horseman's eyes become slitted when she sees the exit slowly beginning to close. "We don't have a lot of time. Better make this quick."

"I couldn't agree more," Aranea said, readying her lance as the platform becomes swarmed by Snaga and Alberich daemons. Aranea and (Y/n) work together to help Prompto get past the enemies. Once the assailants were dealt with, they made a beeline to the cargo bay and the awaiting snowmobile.

Moving down the staircase at the end of the platform, the trio still have to get past a cargo bay filled with magitek troopers wielding guns. A MA Veles magitek armor and any remaining daemons were amongst the adversaries awaiting them.

They ran through the throng of enemies, avoiding the ones they could in order to reach the exit in time. When they reach the snowmobile, Aranea shoves a map against Prompto's chest. "Head there-We'll catch up later." She glanced towards (Y/n). "Gonna need your help, Horseman."

"Gotcha." (Y/n) raised her sword, launching an enormous fireball at the approaching adversaries.

Prompto takes the map and glanced between the two women. "But what about you both?"

Aranea conjures her lance as she's confronted by an Ice Bomb and a Snaga. "I said we'll catch up."

"But what if y-"

"Just go!"

(Y/n) looked over her shoulder, smiling at him. "We'll be fine, Prompto. Be careful out there."

Prompto nodded with a quivering lip, reluctant to leave her behind. He hopped on the snowmobile and started the vehicle. He took off down the tunnel, leaving (Y/n) and Aranea behind to deal with the daemons and magitek troopers.

"Let's show these bastards how it's done," Aranea smirks.

"Bet I can slay more of them," (Y/n) grins smugly.

"Making bets, huh? I like you already."

The two swung their weapons as they leapt into the horde of daemons and magiteks. Famine charged her sword with lightning and released it. A wave of lightning pulsated through the enemies, paralyzing many. Then, she switched elements and used fire to kill all the daemons and machines that had been affected by the shockwave. She glanced around at the numerous of bodies before they vanished. "Completely forgot to start counting."

To her left, Aranea had taken down the remaining magiteks while the stronger daemons remained. "Stubborn, aren't they?"

"They're strong, but they won't last long." The Horseman sliced down a small group of daemons before moving on to the ones lagging behind.

"Let's take 'em out!" The ex-mercenary shouted. She outstretched her hand and (Y/n) took it. With her strength, Aranea gave Famine a boost with her lance. She jumped into the air, casted a powerful ice spell with her blade, and froze all the enemies in the area. The older woman used her lance to shatter all the daemons, killing them instantly with a single blow.

(Y/n) nimbly landed beside Aranea, admiring their work before the bodies disappeared. "How many did you get?"

"Lost count," she confesses. "You?"

"Forgot to start counting," Famine admits. "Seems that was the last of them."

Aranea searched the cargo bay for another snowmobile, but couldn't find one. "We'll need to find a way to Decratom Haven."

"I know someone who could help." (Y/n) placed her fingers in her mouth and whistled. Out of thin air, her black and white steed-Limos-appeared in front of them. The horse neighed and nudged her muzzle into Famine's cheek. She laughed at the ticklish sensation and scratched the side of her neck. "Good girl. You ready for a trip through the snow?"

Limos nodded her head and allowed (Y/n) to mount her. She guided the horse over to Aranea, who was baffled and amazed at seeing the horse suddenly appear before her very eyes. She offered the woman a hand and she accepted it. With a strong tug, Famine was able to hoist Aranea onto Limos' back. She dug her heels into the steed's sides and she took off down the tunnel.

"How're we gonna get through the doors?" Aranea questioned, seeing the exit was sealed.

"With a little magic." (Y/n) held out her hand and created a large fireball. She hurled it towards the metal doors and watched as the flames ate through it, creating a hole large enough for them to pass through.

Limos jumped through the hole and exited the facility. She neighed jubilantly before running full-speed ahead down the mountainside. She kicked up snow as she jumped over may obstacles in the way. While threading her fingers through her horse's mane, (Y/n) stared up at the darkening sky. "Light is losing against the dark. If this continues, all of Eos will be shrouded in darkness very soon."

"With the Oracle dead, there's no one left to fight off the Starscourge," Aranea commented. "We better get used to the darkness."

"Let's just hope there's another way to fight it."

<-----------<<<<<<<<<<

After nightfall at Decratom Haven, Prompto waits for Aranea and (Y/n) by the campfire. In his hand was an open can of food. He takes a few bites before chuckling weakly. "Almost as good as what Iggy used to make." He sets the can down and glances around the empty haven. "Well, at least it's quiet for a change."

A moment of silence passes before he pulls the sleeve of his jacket up to reveal the barcode on the back of his wrist. He grunts and grits his teeth, then begins frantically trying to scratch the barcode away, trying to purge it from his skin. Unfortunately, it doesn't work. "Dammit!"

He looks into the fire, reaches down, and picks up a burning stick. He looks down at the barcode and begins lowering the stick toward it. He holds the burning wood above his barcode and begins breathing heavily. He fought internally and decided to burn the brand.

Before he could press the wood against his skin, fingers wound around his wrist and prevented him from burning himself. "What were you planning to do, Prompto?" A stern yet gentle voice chided him.

The boy glanced up and met (Y/n)'s scolding gaze. "(Y/n), I..." He hangs his head, unable to answer.

"Don't tell me you thought that would work," Aranea stated. The blonde looks up at her as she took a few steps towards the campfire. ""Prompto," right?"

The ex-mercenary sits down beside (Y/n), who took the stick out of the boy's hand and tossed it back into the fire before sitting down and tucking her knees underneath her.

"You could at least look happy to see us," Aranea scoffed, trying to lighten the damp atmosphere.

(Y/n) silently moves her hand from his wrist to his hand, entwining her fingers with his gloved ones. Prompto just looks down, saying nothing to either of them.

"I ran into your buddies in Tenebrae," the older woman stated, catching the marksman's attention. "You've got 'em worried sick. They even asked about your little girlfriend."

Prompto looks back down, ashamed at what he was. (Y/n) sighed through her nose and placed her other hand on top of his, encasing it between both hers. "I can't imagine what you're feeling right now, but you must know the others care deeply about you."

Aranea nodded in agreement. "She's right. You gonna go see 'em or what?"

After a brief moment of silence, Prompto finally speaks. "I... I can't." The two women stare at him as he goes silent for another moment before continuing. "I can't. I'm not like them. I was born here-in Niflheim. All this time and I've never told them. And that's not even the worst part. I wasn't born into a happy family. I was made-created in some laboratory. The entire reason I exist is to make Noct and all of them miserable. How could I possibly see them? They'd never accept the real me."

The older woman smiles. "You spent all that time driving around together and you still don't know what kinda guys they really are. In case you forgot, your princely pal and I weren't always on such friendly terms. But you know what? He put all that aside and asked me to make sure you were safe."

"He did?" Prompto raised his head slightly.

"Think he'd do that for someone who "makes him miserable"?"

(Y/n) couldn't help but smile. "I may have joined your group late, but I saw how close the two of you were along with Gladio and Ignis. Trust me, I've had my fair share of misery and I can tell you're not a source of misery."

The sharpshooter's mood seemed to become slightly upbeat after hearing (Y/n)'s soothing words. He wanted to ask about the guys and wondered if they were safe. "Is everybody okay?"

"All things considered, I guess. Sounds like they've been through a lot since you left, but they're still dead set on getting to the capital," Aranea answered.

"Hope they make it."

"They'd have a better shot with you two around." She eyed both Prompto and Famine.

Curious as to all they talked about during their rendezvous, Prompto asked her another question. "Did they say anything else about me?"

"Not that I can recall."

"Right..."

"His Highness was so worried about you he could barely speak, but don't worry-I whipped him into shape."

"So... he doesn't hate me after all."

(Y/n) felt her heart breaking at how far he has knocked down his own self-esteem and his bond with his friends. She had so much she wanted to say to him-wanting to scold him, comfort him, cheer him up-but she had no idea where to start.

Aranea slowly gets to her feet, eyes locked onto Prompto's hunched over form. "Look-I can tell you want to get back together with them. So why not let them know?"

She begins walking away when the boy speaks up. "You think they'd let me back? After all this?" She stops and turns back toward him. After a brief silence, Prompto speaks again. "And even if they did let me back, I'd probably cause them nothing but trouble. I don't know how I could live with myself..."

The Horseman couldn't stand listening to him anymore. She grabbed his face in her hands, forcing him to look at her. "What you learned in that facility should have nothing to do with how you've lived your life up to this very point. You claim you're a "thing" when you're really the one and only Prompto Argentum. I saw all those copies in the lab, but none of them were you because there's only one of you. You worry about what others think and never what you think. You've been trying to please others for so long you've forgotten about yourself completely."

(Y/n) inhaled deeply before continuing. "For once in your life, think about yourself and forget what anyone else thinks of you. You're Prompto Argentum, for Etro's sake! You're a cute, funny, and an amazing person and there's no one else like you. You're also the boy I've fallen in love with."

Her words left him speechless. His bottom lip quivered as tears built up in his eyes. They cascaded down his cheek one by one as he could no longer hold them all at bay. He threw his arms around her, burying his head against her chest. He cried, holding her close. (Y/n) smiled peacefully, wrapping her arms around his head and cradling it gently against her chest as he cried. The two fell over on their sides, arms still locked around one another.

Aranea couldn't stop a smile from spreading across her face. "I'm going after that new model in the morning. You're in good hands, kid." With that, she leaves.

Once Prompto had finished crying tears of joy, he immediately fell asleep. (Y/n) kisses the top of his head, threading her fingers through his soft locks. "Goodnight, Prompto."