#next time I go into the field I'm bringing my good camera
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thedisablednaturalist · 1 year ago
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Whenever I hear that signature woodpecker pecking I fucking grab my phone and scan every tree look at this blurry ass motherfucker
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Pileated Woodpecker
Dryocopus pileatus
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vivwritesfics · 2 months ago
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Handheld Camera
Tyler's best friend and camera person screwing a member of Storm Par? More likely than you think
Warnings: smut, p in v, hate fucking I guess, sex tape, unprotected sex, possible pregnancy
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"What're you doing?"
The handheld camera was pointed at Tyler as he walked towards her. When he stepped forward, she stepped back, keeping all of him in frame.
It had been a good ride, and she had videoed all of it. Both rounds were on her camera, ready for to be edited and gifted to Tyler. He reached for it, trying to snatch it out of her hands, but she stepped back.
"Come on, Ty!" She said as she stopped filming and put the camera down. "These are gonna be gold when you're a famous bull rider."
That had him grinning as he wrapped his arms around her and led her back to his truck. He wasn't going to tell her that he was rethinking a career as a bull rider, that he was thinking of going to school.
She spent the night clipping up the videos, perfecting the audio and piecing them together. She could have posted it online, drawn more people to Tyler's name.
But she held back. That was a conversation for later.
A conversation that would never come. Before she knew it, Tyler was off to study meteorology and she was, well, left behind.
Left in Oklahoma, working in her parents cafe. She watched the sky as she wiped down tables, thinking of him. Did he miss her as much as she was missing him?
Of course, he came home in the holidays. But he wasn't riding, anymore. He just watched storms, chased them.
At first, she was reluctant to go with him. Why would she throw herself into danger like that? But it had never been easy, saying no to Tyler Owens. Not when he gave her that look that guaranteed fun.
On the first chase, she'd been too scared to do anything other than hold onto her seat. On the second chase, she'd had her camera out the entire time, filming the storm and Tyler.
He was so natural in front of the camera, his personality shining. An idea sparked in her head, one that wouldn't come to fruition just yet.
That came after college, when Tyler was home for good. He was a little lost in what to do next, wanted to do something meaningful with his life. A terrible time to bring up storm chasing on YouTube.
But then they drove through a town, so full of devastation. They stopped, helped where they could, but there wasn't much. Finding people and lost pets.
That was when the idea came to life.
"We start a storm chasing YouTube Channel. We live stream, take the footage for the streams, and clip them up into videos. Ty, we could make so much money." He opened his mouth to protest, but she beat him to it. "And that money could go towards helping people. People who have been ruined by tornadoes."
Tyler went to shake his head, but then he thought about it. "You'd handle the filming and the editing, and I get to just chase storms?"
A grin split across her face. "Exactly, Ty."
He pulled his bottom lip between his teeth, looking like some fucked up rabbit. "I'm gonna regret this," he mumbled and shook his head. "I have a condition."
"Lay it on me."
He stared at her, green eyes sparkling as he let his grin match her own. "I get to put my face on a tee-shirt."
***
Storm Par.
They weren't exactly trouble, more a nuisance. Always getting in the way of a good chase. It made for entertaining videos, if they were allowed to upload them.
They couldn't help what they captured on livestream. But that email she had received from a member of the Storm Par legal team had her editing the white trucks out of any clips she had before she uploaded them onto YouTube.
She remembered the first time she laid eyes on him.
Her camera was in front of her face, capturing footage of the storm to later use in the video. It was beautiful, something she didn't understand as well as Tyler.
But then she zoomed out, captured the storm with the wheat field beneath it. And the man in the hat and sunglasses. The tall man, who she could tell was scowling. He didn't even need to remove his glasses.
Ending the recording, she lowered the camera and looked at him. "Can I help you?" She asked, voice a little snippier than she meant for it to be.
He pulled his glasses off of his nose and let his expression soften as he looked at her. What was he thinking? What thoughts were turning over in his mind.
"You like storms?" He asked. For just a second, it sounded like a pickup line.
She looked down at her camera? "Like storms?" A grin crossed her face. "Oh, no. I record them because I hate them."
The sarcasm wasn't missed. It wasn't unappreciated, either. He stepped closer and tucked his glasses into the breast pocket of his white shirt. "I actually chase storms," he said. "As my job."
"Really?" Her eyebrows shot up. This was before Storm Par and Tyler's little gang of chasers were really aware of each other. They knew one another was out there, getting in each others way, but not more than that. "Must be exciting."
"It is," he answered. "You get right up close to the danger."
"Is that all you do? Just chase them?"
He shook his head. "My team and I study them. We collect data on them to... help people." The way he said it, the way he paused. He knew he was spouting shit.
Before she could say anything more to the man from Storm Par (their hottest member, if you held a gun to her head and asked her), Tyler called her name. "We gotta go!" He shouted.
The man's eyes widened. "See ya, Storm Par," she said and saluted to him with just two fingers. She left him standing there as she ran over to Tyler's truck and climbed into the passenger seat.
They encountered each other on the chase, him staring at her through the window. Every time she pointed her camera at him, he looked back at the road.
Storm Par turned left at the fork in the road, and they turned right. Storm Par's tornado died, but theirs stayed strong. She buckled herself in and held the camera up as they drove into the tornado.
Storm Par parked up at the same motel they did. She locked eyes with him as she climbed out of the truck.
It was almost like he couldn't stop himself as he strode towards her. "You work with a bunch of cowboys," he said and chewed the gum in his mouth.
She released a flirtatious giggle. "Thank you," she said and blinked at him. His sunglasses no longer sat on his face and she could finally see his pretty eyes. They really were pretty. "You work with a bunch of stuck up assholes." She looked him up and down. "And you're the biggest stuck up asshole of them all."
Suddenly she was against the wall and his lips were against hers. The way she ran her fingers through his hair was almost feverish, knocking his hat from his head as he pressed his hips against hers.
"I can't fucking stand you," he growled out between kisses.
"I hate you too."
But he pulled her away from the wall and up to his room. It was nothing fancy, just a bed, a television, and a dingy bathroom. It was an exact copy of her own room, but that wasn't what she cared about at he threw her onto the bed.
That night was the first time they hooked up. He pulled down her jeans and discarded them on the floor, along with her shirt. She didn't even know his name as she rolled onto her stomach.
He grabbed her hips and held her up, thumb stroking over her skin as he entered her. That was sweet. The kisses he dropped onto her back were sweet.
But that was where the sweetness stopped. He snapped his hips against hers, setting a brutal pace. The bed beneath them squeaked, but it was drowned out by her whines and moans, her cries for more.
He grunted, tipping his head back. Sweat dripped down his face and his grip on her was bruising. She was loving every second of it.
Her legs spasmed, giving out ad she came. She clenched around him, the only thing holding her up being his strong grip. But he kept coming, kept burning the tip of his cock between her spongy walls.
But he was getting sloppy, his thrusts deeper, holding himself inside of her for longer. His breaths came out in short pants, spilling himself inside of her.
Breathless, he let go of her, let her collapse onto the bed. He fell down beside her, neither of them touching.
Her mouth was dry, throat somewhat sore as she looked at him. This wasn't how things were supposed to be post sex. She shivered as she shuffled closer, not close enough to touch.
"What's your name?" She asked, the question barely audible.
"Scott," he answered and shuffled back against the headboard.
The way he was staring down at her, she couldn't tell what he wanted. If he wanted her to get up and leave, or stay for a moment longer and tell him her name.
She was thinking too hard and too much, Scott decided as he scooted down the bed. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her against his chest. "This can't happen again," he said as she let her hand settle against his beating heart.
"No," she agreed, voice croaking. "It can't."
Spoiler alert, it happened again.
They weren't always after the same tornado, weren't always on the same chase. But every time that red truck pulled in where they were, Scott couldn't help the way his heartbeat quickened.
If they were chasing the same storm, they ended up in each others bed.
At first, it was just sex. Sex with cuddling after (because Scott knew she needed it). But it turned into something more when he sat there reading while she edited their videos.
"I've had an idea," she said one evening as she let Scott into her hotel room. Her camera was in her hand, held down by her side.
Scott's stomach dropped. "We're not making a sex tape," he immediately said as he sat on the bed and toed off his shoes.
Sinking into his lap, she wrapped her arms around him. "C'mon, Scott. I just want to get a quick video of how hot you look while I'm riding you. Just for the Scott files."
The Scott files. A collection of every time she had edited him out of their videos. The collection of angry faces had turned into him unable to hide his smile.
Grinning, she pushed him down onto the bed. Scott held her hips as he looked up at her, the camera already in front of her face. The red light flashed as she began moving her hips.
Scott squeezed her hips but gave nothing away on his face. So, she put the camera down and unbuttoned his shirt.
He laid there, let her work. She unbuttoned his shirt and let it fall open. Grabbing the camera, she held it in front of her face once again, filming herself dragging her nails down his chest.
Throwing his head back, Scott let out a throaty moan. She caught it all on camera.
She opened his trousers and freed him. Scott sucked in a breath as she wrapped her fingers around him. The camera stayed focused on his face as she pumped her hand once, twice and then released him.
His eyes flew open and he glared down at her. But it was short lived. She put down the camera and began stripping off. The moment she grabbed the bottom of her shirt, Scott reached for the camera and held it up, capturing her as she stripped.
She was gorgeous. Scott already knew that, but this he wanted to keep forever.
Dropping her underwear, she reached for the camera once again. "Give it," she said and snatched it away from him.
Sitting on his lap, she concentrated the camera back on his face and ground against him. "Fuck," he breathed and reached for her hips. "Please, cowgirl."
Cowgirl. When had he started calling her that? It had started as an insult, she knew that much. But she loved it. Lifting her hips, Scott positioned himself beneath her and she sank herself down onto him.
Scott sucked in a breath. The camera was trained on him as she began to move. He gripped her hips, helping her to keep a steady rhythm.
She tried to keep the camera trained on Scott as she rode him. But it kept dropping, and it took her a moment to get it focused back on his face. But Scott took the camera from her hands. He put it down on the bed, pulled her to lay against him, and took charge.
The camera kept recording on the bed. It didn't capture much, and the audio wasn't as clear as she wanted it to be. When Scott came, throwing his head back, the camera just about caught it.
***
"Have you got yesterdays footage?" Tyler asked as he walked into her motel room.
Folding her arms over her chest, she grinned as she looked at her best friend. "Yesterdays footage, huh?" She asked and cocked her eyebrow. "What do you want with that?"
Tyler held his hands up in defence, but he was grinning. "Just science, I swear," he said quickly.
Just science and Kate was how she read it. Ever since they'd met Kate, Tyler had requested more footage than he usually wanted to see. But she didn't mind. Tyler was a lonely guy; she was going to do anything she could to help him get some.
"Yeah, it's on my laptop," she said and pointed to her desk.
Tyler walked over to the laptop. He opened the lid and typed in her password (of course he knew it, it was the same password as their YouTube Channel).
The laptop took a moment to load up. It was old, and she was putting a small fund together to get a new one, a better one for video editing. Her editing software opened, the screen blank for a moment.
But then the last thing she was working on, the last video she was editing, came up on her laptop.
"What the hell is this?"
She turned on her heel. There it was on her laptop screen, the video she had taken all those weeks ago. The editing process had been slow, since Scott would watch over her shoulder, start kissing her neck and pull her onto the bed.
Tyler looked back at her. He knew the face on the screen, the man that was staring at the camera as he moaned. "Is that Storm Par?" He asked. "Are you sleeping with Storm Par?"
She swallowed. But then she steadied herself, holding her head up high. "So what if I am?"
Tyler shrugged his shoulders. "Sleep with whoever," he said and clicked out of the editing software, minimising the screen. He didn't need to be seeing that. "As long as he's good to you and you're not getting hurt, you can sleep with who you want."
She released a deep, relieved breath. Hiding all of this from Tyler had been no easy task. She'd almost slipped up, almost mentioned something 'she and Scott' had seen the night before.
Tyler opened his arms and she fell into them, holding her best friend close. "He's not hurting you, is he?"
She shook her head. "He's good to me, Ty," she mumbled and shut her eyes. It felt so good to be in Tyler's arms again.
Neither of them were aware of how late her period was.
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goldenamaranthe-blog · 9 months ago
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Hazband 2: Band AU
Buckle Up, Buttercups. This is gonna be looooooooooong.
-"Insider Bands" playing on VH666 streaming services on a computer monitor / TV screen sitting on the desk against the far wall-
Charlie: (laying on her belly on her bed and chewing her nails like a cartoon goat chews through a field of grass as she watches the TV)
Riff Rascal: Alright, dudes, dudettes, non-duders, and rock-aholics! That was Simple Plain's newest single "Why Are We Kids?!". Coming up next, our guy, our big shredder, our big bad-
????: Dammit, Riff!!!! Just get on with it!!!
Riff Rascal: Yo, sorry, boss lady! Coming up next, we have our expert in all things metal and shredding, Axel Steelgrave, conducting a super secret, super exclusive interview with one of Hell's latest and greatest! Stay tuned!
Charlie: (whines and plasters her face into the comforter) Fuck! I really messed up! I shouldn't have released that album, guys! What if Vaggie doesn't like girls outside of the metal scene?! Then I'm just the creepy, stalker, pop diva who messages her on Sinstagram every once and a while! And likes all of her posts! And comments on each picture! And-
Razzle: (trying to finish polishing Charlie's hooves after a full pedicure and hoof care) Baap?
Charlie: So? It was only ever mentioned once in a tabloid that she was once in a poly ship with a man and woman before. Nothing set in stone. Who listens to tabloids anyway? She said she was a lesbian in her last interview with Angel Metal Monthly.
Dazzle: (brings up a wide array of nail polishes) BaaaAaaAp?
Charlie: Yes! She messages me back almost immediately after every message I send her, but that doesn't mean the's interested in me. She hasn't been online in a week! (rolls over and flops onto her back, covering her eyes with her arm) Not since Katie Killjoy did that whole news segment on my new single music video and album.
Dazzle: (painting Charlie's hooves in a deep red hue called "Wicked Sinister") Baaaaaaap. BaaaAAaaap. Baap. (clicks his hoof in a way that's supposed to look like a sassy finger snap and blows heated air over the paint)
Razzle: Baap! (scowls) Baaap. Baaa. Baap!
Charlie: Thanks, Razzle. No, Dazzle. I really don't think this is some kind of rebound. I really started liking her during the Battle of the Bands gig over at the Jackpot Hotel and Casino. She was the first person who didn't openly laugh at me being there even though I was the only pop singer there.
-VH666 blares back with a heavy metal guitar riff-
Axel Steelgrave: Hey, good evening, everyone. How's it going? Tonight, we have a very special guest. (camera pans out to show Vaggie sitting next to Axel in an interview chair) Lead singer, guitarist, and rocking girl, Vaggie the Steel Vagina from Fallen Angels.
Charlie: WHAT?!?!?!?!?! (crocodile death rolls around in her excitement and falls out of bed, completely wrapped in a burrito, and worm crawls over to the TV) RAZZLE!!! DAZZLE!!! TURN IT UP!!!
Razzle: (salutes) Baap! (grabs the remote and turns up the volume)
Dazzle: (sad bleats as he looks at the mess of nail polish everywhere) baaaaaap.....
Vaggie: (trying not to snarl at the name) It's just Vaggie, Axel.
Axel Steelgrave: Oh, sure. Sure. Well, thank you so much for taking the time to come and see us. Not gonna lie. We were shocked to hear that you were coming out with a new single so quickly.
Charlie: (plasters her face to the screen) New Single?!?!?!?!?!
Vaggie: (blushes slightly) Well, I figured after hearing the Princess's new album and call-out, I should work on a reply.
Angel: (from behind the camera man) You wouldn't have had ta write and record a whole new song and music video if you just sent 'er a video of you jacking it all week! I've never heard dat vibrator work so hard in its life! I swear I smelled smoke last night!
Charlie: (squeals, gasps, and shrieks all at once and falls backwards)
Vaggie: (jumps up from her seat) Angel! What the Fuck?!
Axel Steelgrave: Well, well, well, I guess that answers my next question. I take it this new single is going to be good news for the Princess?
Vaggie: (still steaming as she sits back down and tries to compose herself) I know you have the video on hand. Why not play it and let the fans see for themselves?
Axel Steelgrave: I couldn't have said it better myself. (to the camera) With that being said, let's take a look at a sneak peek of Fallen Angel's new single: "Dear, Charlie - For Somewhere Better".
-Video cuts to some random point in the music video where Vaggie is standing in black leather skirt that has the leather ripped into strips in a hoola-skirt style, black halter tank top, thigh high leather heeled boots, and black fingerless gloves, holding and shredding a guitar. Angel is a pink, fabulous gay disaster on drums while one set of hands works a keyboard.-
Vaggie: (singing) We'll ignite. Still dreaming wide awake. On the hunt for "Somewhen brighter". Pull me close now, and I'll dream until my dying day. Till we create a new "Somewhere better". The promise of a life. Like a thousand suns inside my broken heart. I can see through your eyes. And embrace the flame that guides me through the night.
-Video Cuts back to the interview-
Axel Steelgrave: (freaking out excitedly) Wow! That's quite the statement! Good on you, Steel Vagina!
Vaggie: Vaggie.
Axel Steelgrave: Before we end this exclusive, is there anything you want to say to the Princess in case she's watching?
Vaggie: (Face falls briefly as her eye widens and a blush colors her face) Oh.... (shakes her head to compose herself, looks into the camera, and makes a telephone gesture) Call me~
Axel Steelgrave: (laughing) Alright! You heard it here first, folks. "Dear, Charlie" will be available on HellTunes tonight at midnight. Thank you all so much for tuning in. And, as always, stay rocking.
Charlie: (finally managing to unravel the blanket and sitting on the floor with a bright red blush) C-Call.... Her.... She wants me to call her... (jumps up and down like a teenager in a bad "not another teen movie" while holding Razzle and Dazzle's hooves) SHE WANTS ME TO CALL HER!!!! (pauses) How?! I don't have her number!
-DING!-
Charlie: (dives for her phone on the floor and opens a new Sinstagram message)
FallenAngelVaggie: Hope you got a chance to watch "Insider Bands" tonight. Talk to you later? Maybe over coffee? XXX-XXX-XXXX
Charlie: (takes a deep breath) SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
Vaggie: (leaning against the wall of the VH666 studio, holding her phone against her chest, and taking a long drag of a cigarette)
Angel: Hey! I thought you were quitting! (yoinks the cigarette and plops it between his lips)
Vaggie: Dammit, Angel! I said I'd be done once my case is empty! (digs in her pocket and pulls out an angelic steel cigarette case) It still has four left! I haven't even lit up in nearly six months!
Angel: I know! Proud of you for that. That interview rile you up that much that you gotta wreck six months of hard work?
Vaggie: Ugh! (slams her back into the wall) You think Charlie got the message?
-squeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!
Angel: (looks up at the sky towards the Morningstar Mansion where it looks like fireworks are going off on one of the balconies) Oh, I think she got it~
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mrs-santoss · 2 years ago
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Love at First Sight - Neymar Imagine - Chapter Six
Summary: 
Y/N is scared to fall in love. She fell once, and it was a nightmare. She can't risk it again. But, this lucky boy manages to steal her heart, but unfortunately, manages to break it at the same time. What will Y/Ns decisions be?
Chapter 1 , Chapter 2 , Chapter 3 , Chapter 4 , Chapter 5
All the medical staff ran up to Neymar. I stood there in my place not being able to move an inch. Someone bumps my shoulder while running to him, bringing me back to my senses. I ran up to him. He was laying there in pain, tears falling from his eyes. It was a very heartbreaking view. I couldn't even examine him a just stood there looking at him, holding his hand. "Is it bad? Do I have to stop playing?" he kept asking, looking up at everyone. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see Kylian, motioning for me to speak with Neymar.
"Ney? Are you in...are you in pain?" He looked at me for a second before answering, I could tell he was trying to say something else to me, but couldn't because of other people being around. "No, meu am--no, ma'am, I'm okay. Don't worry" Neymar couldn't continue his game, It would only make the injury worse. All the medical staff members looked at me, waiting for me to give my final verdict. I had to agree with them on this one. Neymar had to leave the game because of his own good. "Unfortunately, you have to leave the game, Ney....mar"
"No, no, no, no, I only need to rest for a few minutes, I'll be fine" "NO YOU WON'T, BEBÊ. IT'LL ONLY GET WORSE, I CAN'T LET YOU RISK NOT PLAYING ANYMORE BECAUSE I LOVE YOU" He looks taken back by my sudden outburst. I couldn't tell if he was mad at me or not, it looks like he forgot about the pain for a second. We put him on the stretcher and carry him inside. As soon as we were out of the camera's sight, I looked at him. "Ney, I'm sorry about that. I'm just really scared something will happen to you right now." "It's okay, amor. It just caught me by surprise. You do realize the whole STADIUM probably heard you calling me "bebê" and telling me  you love me, right?" "I knoww, that was an intense moment, alright? I didn't think it all the way through. I'm sorry." "It's okay, bebê. People are going to find out at some point anyway" We reach the ambulance and place Neymar inside. I go with him as his girlfriend, since my part as a medical staff on the field is done. _____________________________
"Can I see him now?" "Yes, you can, ma'am." I knock on the door and open it slowly, Neymar is laying there looking at me smiling. He seemed okay. According to the doctor, he had a small knee injury that's supposed to heal in a week. While I was waiting for the doctor I went through my phone, scrolling on different social medias. Our team has won the game, I was happy about that. All the other news were about my interaction with Neymar on the field earlier. There were photos of me holding his hand, cupping his face.  There was an actual video of me yelling "...because i love you" going viral. I guess our relationship has been discovered. "Hi, bebê. How are you feeling?" I kiss him on the cheek and sit on the chair next to him, holding his hand. "Hi, meu amor. I'm feeling much better now. Did you see whether they won the game or not?" "Yes, they did, Ney. Congratss!"
"Oh, thank god. I was worried about it." "There are also videos of us about our moment on the field earlier, I think they know." "That's okay, bebê. Honestly, It doesn't really make a difference for me, I love you the same either way. Besides, I can kiss you at work whenever I want now." he winks at me. "About that... I'm sure the coach will talk to me about it tomorrow. He will give me a list of things of how to keep our relationship professional at work." "Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'll still kiss you." "You're crazy." I chuckle at him. "Says the woman who accidentally announced our relationship to a whole crowd at a stadium while trying to yell at me." "Heyy!!! Not everyone heard it., that's physically impossible for me" I smack his arm lightly. He was messing with me. 
Neymar gets discharged from the hospital after a few hours. I decide to stay over at his place for a couple of days so I can take care of him, so we drive straight to his place.
__________________________
Our relationship going public was the most stressful thing I've ever went through. I was already a part of social media for my close friendship with the guys. I was a part of a lot of Neymar's and Kylian's compilations of funny videos. Now, I'm also a part of Neymar's and Bruna's compilations of loving moments videos. Bruna is Neymar's ex-girlfriend. They were in a relationship for a very long time, so they were a very famous couple in Brazil especially. This never really bothered me at first, probably because we were still a secret at that time, but now, it's completely different. I get a lot of messages from people comparing me to her or asking me to break up with Neymar or telling me to kill myself. I only spoke about this to Neymar once. He assured me that he doesn't care what everyone thinks and that it will get better over time. It didn't though. It only got worse. Now, I'm photographed everyday at work or I'm chased by the press at every restaurant I go to with my friends. I was going through a hard time.
The worst part about all of this is how Neymar has been acting recently. He seems to always be in deep thoughts, he's not that flirtatious as he used to be, he rarely invites me to stay over at his place. Even our fun nights as a group with Kylian are completely forgotten. I'm pulled from my thoughts by a waving hand in front of my eyes. I look around me and I realize I'm sitting on the field with Kylian chatting. "Are you still here? Hello? Y/N?" "Yeah, yeah, yeah! Sorry" "Y/N, you should talk to him about this. You look more stressed each passing day. This is not good for you." "I know I should, but I'm just scared of what his answer will be. He's been completely different since our relationship went public. Has he said anything to you?" "No, not really. We don't hang out together, the three of us, like we used to anymore. I admit that there's something going on for sure, but you're the only one who can find out." "I know" I say as I lower my head looking at the artificial grass under me. I feel Kylian's arms around my shoulders, he kisses my head. "Hey, whatever happens, I'll always be your friend. I'm always there for you" "Thank you, Ky. I'm so grateful for you." "Awww, thank you, crazyy. I'm grateful for you too." ______________________________________ I knock on the door a couple times before Neymar opens it. He looks surprised to see me and not very excited. I decided to stop by his house after work, he left before me and I didn't have a chance to talk to him. "Hi, can I come in?" "Yea-yeah, of course, Y/N." he leads me to the living room where he was staying before I knocked on the door. He was watching a movie, it was on pause. I sit on the couch and motion for him to sit close to me. "Ney, you do admit there's something different about us these days, right?" He looks scared to answer, he scratches his neck constantly. He sighs before he answers. "Yes, there is." "Do you have any idea why?" "Yes, I do." "Do you think you're being fair and honest by not sharing it with me, because I personally don't think I'm doing anything different?" I speak in a soft voice, I always speak in a soft voice during these kind of intense conversation. I find raising my voice very unhelpful. "No, I'm not. I should talk to you about it."
"Why aren't you....are you unsure about your feelings?" I know if the answer to that question is "yes", that would totally break me. But, I need to know, I can't continue like this. "Y/N, you're an amazing person. I adore you as a person, okay? You're this soft and sweet person that I'm being a dick to like an idiot. I've been avoiding this conversation because I was afraid." I pause for a moment. I'm forcing myself not to cry. I can't cry in front him, I can't cry in front of anyone. I don't need to continue this conversation anymore to know where this is going, but I still want to ask him why. "What made you feel like this... is it something I did?" He looks at me defeated and cups my cheeks, looking straight into my eyes. "NO, no , no, god, no. You are an amazing person, you have the biggest heart, everything about is lovely, don't try to find the flaw in yourself, please, because you can't find a single one." he pauses for a moment before continuing. "Ever since our relationship went public, I've been seeing a lot of videos about my past relationship. She's become a part of my everyday life from all the videos and the long messages of people wanting us back together, I swear to you, I haven't spoken to her since the day I broke up with her, but, It's about my feelings. I realized I'm not over her yet, I can't be with someone as good as you and still have feelings for my ex girlfriend. All I'm asking from you is just time, can I have some time, can you please not hate me?" I was speechless. I could've been anything. Anything, but this. I swear to you, I heard a crack from inside of me. I studied medicine for almost a decade and I've never heard of this possibility. I could hear my trust, my love, my happiness, our innocence crack. 
"I just... I just.. I never believed another guy when they told me that I'm the most beautiful woman they've ever seen, but...but I chose to believe you." "No, plea-" "I guess beauty isn't all it takes, love at first sight isn't a reliable theory to find your soul mate. I guess, it's my fault for...for jumping into it too quickly? I mean, we could've avoided this, we could've stayed friends." "We still can stay friend-" "No we can't, meu am-Neymar" I guess it's an instinct of mine to call him that. I need to get used to it. I hate this part. "Why not?" "I can't do that. I don't have the strength for that. Maybe, you can move on from this in a day, but, me, I'm not like that, it takes time for me to get used to your absence as my partner." "Y/N, I'm confused. I'm fucking confused. I'm not saying I don't love you. The way you make me feel is..is magical, but, I still have something left from what I've gone through for almost ten years with that other person. I can't just erase that in an instant." "You don't have to do that Neymar. I never asked you to do that. But, your way of coping with this was to avoid me. That's not a good sign." We pause and look into each other's eyes. I guess this will be the last time we will do that. I will miss this. I will miss this the most. A tear rolls down his cheek, as does mine. "I guess I'll see you at work...mr. Neymar" "Don't do this" "Please take care of yourself, okay?" I reached over to kiss him and stopped, this was an instinct move. I guess he wanted to do the same before he realized. I smiled at him, that's all I could give him. I got into my car and drove. I drove for four hours before I stopped in the middle of an empty road. How am I going to heal from this? This is worse than last time. Last time I was cheated on, I only had to work on my trust issues. But, now, I have to work on my whole being.
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fantasticharmonymiracle · 3 months ago
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Let me say that I have infinite respect for @thelastaerie for providing us with a ton of fantastic and masterfully written fics about Kay and Marc's love story, truly. However, the entire fandom needs to be true with themselves and realise that if Freier Fall was irl Kay would never, EVER even consider getting back with Marc.
Let me elaborate:
Marc was definitely in love with Kay especially towards the end of the film but that doesn't mean he loved him because he never made the effort, as we know, and never saw Kay as his first choice. He technically was Plan B in case Bettina, which she did, didn't take him back. As romantic as we want to paint it, it doesn't put a good foundation for yet another toxic fling almost fifteen years after.
Also, very problematic is the fact that Kay pursued Marc in a questionable way like in the woods. I didn't hear any consent being given for that hand job or whatever happened (haven't seen the film in a while) and also, Kay clearly saw that Marc was basically married and with a baby on the way. It's not ethical at all to go after a taken man, regardless of the fact that you think he's a closeted gay man and you feel the itching urge to play the saviour angel and drag him out of the closet. I feel like both of them would realise it was certainly a heated time of their life but also not the best to jump back into and bring back chaos into their existence.
Bettina, she's a boss BUT that shower scene I cannot stand to watch, it feels way too violent and if a sequel happens I'm not sure how they should deal with the whole co-parenting deal without addressing that bit.
On top of this all, they may be both men but the punches they threw at each other are not acceptable whatsoever irl. It's not sexy nor a sign of true love. It's plain violence and a cheap substitute for grown-up talk. I get it, in films one has to emphasize emotions to draw the audience in but if I was Kay and I had Marc beg me to get back together... Like fuck I would after that and after I was literally thrown under the bus to save his sorry ass.
In terms of character as well, Kay comes across as a weirdly crafted excuse to drag the plot cause a wannabe cop smoking weed and taking ecstasy is surely "attractive" on camera but doesn't make sense in the real world. Why would you pick police as your career choice? Conquering the enemy from the inside is surely not gonna last that long, innit? This being said, considering the wild nature of Kay I doubt he'd fit well with Marc, even after his potential development and acquired emotional intelligence. I see older Kay as an accomplished something in whichever field having the time of his life in Berlin, or just a deranged junkie somewhere in Germany. Certainly, if we go with option 1, not one that would lower his standards for Marc, still. He wouldn't slow down for him again after being treated like shit.
Irl Marc would probably see the experience as an awakening but it wouldn't do a 180 on him, he'd still be the Stuttgart cop who now admits to himself he likes blokes OR would have a massive identity crisis, drop out of police and have a very hard time for the next 10/15 years, still not good unless we want a Trainspotting kinda love story (meaning the hopeless, scum of the earth vibes).
To end this rambling, not a good match but good entertainment. Certainly magical to read fiction about them because they allow so much freedom for the imagination.
Ps. @thelastaerie PLEASE do a fiction inspired by their other films together (wink wink that military one I can't watch because ffs I don't speak German -yet)
Apologies if this post is utter shite, I'm in the back of a moving car about to chunder and can't put my thoughts into coherent sentences. The main idea is somewhere round here.
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mur-art · 2 years ago
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For the music prompt: 10
I got the song "Gilded Lily" by Cults.
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Did I stretch my interpretation of this song as an excuse to write angst about Hollywood!Cali? ...Maybe a bit.
Anyway, heavy angst ahead and TW for fun stuff like alcoholism, drugs, disordered eating, flashbacks, religious trauma, and possible implied body horror? idk. This fic goes to dark places so don't proceed if you're not cool with that.
Every city's got a graveyard
The service bought and paid for
Now I'm sleeping in the backyard
Passing out as night turns into day
Haven't I given enough, given enough?
Haven't I given enough, given enough?
The newspapers rave about the mysterious and alluring Cal Fremont, Hollywood's golden boy. He's got the power and charm to sway audiences. He's got a hypnotizing gaze that sells out theaters. He's in film after film– sometimes front and center, other times in the background, but he always steals the show. The years go by and his youthful beauty doesn’t fade. (It’s almost unnerving.) 
His life is an endless parade of agents and studios. They say he's "perfect," but never hesitate to tell him how much more perfect he could be. 
But by now, he's used to it. 
You have to behave yourself, the “holy” men said. You’re supposed to set a good example. You’ve been chosen by God for a higher purpose. Give up your sinful ways and follow our rules. Work hard. Keep your head down. Don’t fight back. 
The studio makes him sign a “morality” clause. Cal makes a long list of promises that he has no intention of keeping. He plays the perfect “boy next door” by day, whenever the cameras are on. It’s never enough to shut the rumors down. Cal has never been one to keep quiet and play by the rules. How can he, when the ones enforcing the rules have always been the ones who harm him the most?
It was exciting at first. People were coming from all over the world because he had something valuable: gold. But soon the excitement turned to fear. How far would they go to get what they wanted? Would they ever listen if he told them how much it hurt? Or would they forget about him the second they found something better? 
“He’s our most profitable star this year,” they say. He’s bringing the studio millions of dollars. They’re working him to the bone with long days, hot lights, and toxic makeup.  He’s given them all of himself, but they still demand more. How much more can he possibly give without giving up everything?
The rivers stopped flowing to the ocean. They were rerouted, dammed up for agriculture, channeled into aqueducts, their natural banks replaced with cold concrete. 
Some tabloid makes a snide comment about Cal's weight. He stops eating in front of people, replacing his cravings for food with a habit of binge drinking. No one cares. They just tell him how much better he looks now. They can’t see that he’s wasting away slowly. Even if they could, they wouldn’t care as long he was making them money. 
Vast fields of mustard bloom yellow every spring. It's beautiful, but it doesn't belong there. It's an invasive species, choking out the vibrance of the native flowers. 
Cal dyes his hair blonde to look the part. His agents tell him that it makes him look more "all-American." Every time he walks by a mirror, he checks the roots obsessively for any signs of his natural dark hair growing back. That would ruin the illusion, as they say. He tells himself he looks better this way anyway. Maybe if he repeats it often enough, he’ll actually believe it. 
The logging companies cut the redwoods. The beauty of the forests meant nothing to them; they saw the trees as profit, and nothing more. Sure, they might grow back, but will it ever be the same? 
They decide that his nose is "too wide," whatever that means. They give him some pills to take, and he wakes up days later in a daze with bandages on his face. When the swelling goes down, he looks at his face in the mirror and barely recognizes himself. They say he’s even more beautiful now. 
But no matter how beautiful he is, no matter how much he gives, no matter how he acts… he’ll never be good enough. They’ll always want
More
More
MORE.
But he has nothing more to give. 
Cal Fremont causes one last stir in Hollywood when he disappears under mysterious circumstances. The tabloids have a field day. Some say he overdosed; others say he died by his own hand. Others swear they’ve seen him in the decades since, seemingly having never aged a day.
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mackmp3 · 1 year ago
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The Beths ✨
The Beths are an indie band from Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand, with three studio albums, a live album, a couple eps, and recently completed a couple international tours with many sellout shows.
And they are the fricken best NZ band currently recording, in my opinion. (by all means tell me who you think are better I might not have heard of, but consider : the Beths.)
They mainly work in the indie rock format, their earlier stuff being quite pop-punk (though the title track of Jump Rope Gazers sounds uncannily like nostalgic Taylor Swift it's a bit disconcerting). Their 2022 album Expert In A Dying Field, is mostly nicer soundwise, a bit less distorted as a whole (with the notable exception of Silence is Golden, with a searing solo and excellent high-on-the-fretboard-bass-playing), but still with the unflinchingly personal lyrics that typify Beths songs. They have extraordinarily catchy choruses, memorable tunes and a fine combination of distorted guitar and chirpy backup vocals.
Singer/songwriter/guitarist Elizabeth Stokes' songs are full of passion, tenderness, and the very real anxiety of sharing your feelings with people. They bring up real emotions and experiences, things everyone even slightly introspective and introverted and socially anxious is surely very familiar with. Her lyrics, even when bordering on Morrissey-level angst 'you wouldn't like me / if you saw what was inside me' and 'misery loves me / but I don't love her', often surprisingly dark contrasting with the cheerful tone of the melody 'I told you that I was afraid / of stating my opinions in a clear and honest way [...] some thoughts are best deleted // I don't know what I'm getting up for'. The lyrics are highly emotionally charged while still seeming completely genuine, without the melodramatics.
Producer/lead guitarist Jonathan Pearce reminds me of Lenny Kaye (or Johnny Marr, but for some reason Lenny Kaye) - the guitarist who is crucial in shaping the sound of the band, singing backup (and backing vocals are a key feature of Beths songs) and being a *presence* in the music. His solos are excellent, drawing from a wide variety of indie influences, being technically quite good, impactful without showing off or going on too long, they always suit the song very well. He seems a true musical partner, and any band that produces their own music has full respect from me. They've had a couple drummers, especially for different tours, the drumming is a bit more heavy on their first album Future Me Hates Me. There are so far not really any particular stand out basslines I can remember but the bass always has really good tone. All band members contribute vocals, which I think is really cool.
The Beths make particular use of NZ made amps like Jansen - quick NZ music history courtesy of my friends dad / band mentor - for a long time from the 60s onwards, it was cheaper to build amps here than it was to import them from the US, so there are a lot of virtually indestructible vintage amps lying around the country - and Stokes also has a really vibey looking turquoise guitar, never seen another one like it. Their music videos are also really cool, have that nice indie / low budget / *lets do random stuff in front of the camera with some props* vibe to them.
I have seen the Beths live once, which was amazing and I loved it, it was one of those gigs that makes me want to go home and practice so that I can one day be that cool. They are really heavy live, far more distorted and on the rock end of the indie spectrum. I have also been lucky enough to meet them after said show and get a cd signed, they were all really nice. I said to Elizabeth that I had learned Future Me Hates Me with my band, and she asked if it was easy or hard, and I said it just has a lot of chords (she agreed, it does have a lot of chords). Next time they do a show here I am 100% going. I hope they will have a new album out in the next couple years and continue to explore their style a bit more, and that they continue to find an international audience because they are certainly good enough to.
Lots of love to the Beths <3
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supersumc · 1 year ago
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"Your power is meant to save people" - Mr. Legend
Yeah, yeah, but how? If I, say, can turn into a bassarisk, how does that save people? I'd be more fit for robbing people, wouldn't I? But see, there's these things called earthquakes, explosions, and other rubble-causing incidents, and that's when I can help. By becoming something so small and light and able to shimmy through cracks in the earth and work in low light, I could help reach people that are trapped and bring them food and water until rescue workers or other heroes can reach them, or even bring something like an airline oxygen mask to them if they're in a poorly-ventilated space. (Yeah, those things are genius. There's no oxygen tanks on the plane above them. Fun fact.)
That quote from Mr. Legend - fallen hero though he is, in more ways than one - has gotten me thinking at times about how the villains' and other NEXT's powers could save people. Spoilers ahead, and this is based on my limited knowledge of only having watched the anime, read the manga, and owning a manga version of the first film. So...yeah. If there's any new villains in the other films, like there was in the first, feel free to mention them if you're a bigger T&B weeb than me in a reblog. Just be warned that you'll be spoiling them for me.
Tony: Explained in the manga. Being able to move the biggest things is amazing, and helped keep an ice rink from toppling over. Definitely going to be a Crusher For Justice when he grows up, though. Some destruction just can't be avoided, I'm afraid.
Robin Baxter: Switching places with people can definitely help save people who think their lives aren't worth it. A few swaps and you could negate all g-force-inflicted damage. Either that or a suit that can absorb it so that you only have to do the one.
Pauly: Turning yourself into diamond? Just stay out of fires and you could be a good human shield without getting too hurt.
Lunatic: Essentially could work in a duo with Fire Emblem, if he weren't a judge who just so happened to kill his father Mr. Legend when his powers manifested.
The HERO Academy students: Explained and seen in action in the manga, and it's my headcanon they became the Second League.
Edward: Seen in action in the manga when he and Origami went underground to survive an explosion.
The Mayor's Son: When he grows up, whatever telekinetics do best!
Lies, Danger, and Money/Powers: Bodyguards. Definitely bodyguards.
Kriem: Being able to control things you put your hair into, with the ability to use range extenders, can definitely help keep people off the battlefield. A power for war, perhaps, but saving lives nonetheless.
Jake Martinez: Being able to read minds and deflect things with force fields would have made him more than capable of defusing shooter situations. It's unfortunate that he had such a God Complex (and desecrated an image of the Blessed Mother in the manga) when dealing with other people...er, "insects." His childhood friend from the manga also had the mind-reading power, but of people he touched, and had a second power that we never got to see because of the fact that Jake killed him, though whether it was by accident is debatable. His abusive father also didn't help. Great potential that went completely to waste.
That NEXT who could change the color of his skin: Solving racism.
The kid who could repair things within five minutes of being broken: Natural medic as we saw in the manga. (Also, what's with time-influenced powers and five minutes?)
The Next who could turn invisible: Perfect stealth, as long as he holds his breath and there's no infrared cameras.
The NEXT Kaede copied who could turn magnetic: Climb a metal surface and help people down, or steal a shooter's gun from him.
Mr. Maverick: He could definitely help trauma victims.
If there's any I missed from these sources, please let me know!
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airsoftaction · 9 months ago
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pernillemagda · 2 years ago
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From the danish podcast "bag om trøjen" with Pernille Harder an Katrine Veje
I have finally listed to the whole podcast, and have tried to translate most of the podcast, not word by word, but just overall what they said, I know it's a bit long 😅
It was recorded back in February
The things in this color is the best parts (at least what I think)
instagram
Talking about club
03:52 - It's only in Denmark I'm called Harder, everywhere else I'm called P
04:20 - How much do the shirts mean for you Veje?
explains that she only wants to switch her NT jersey with "bigger" teams and not teams like Azerbaijan and Malta. They mean a lot to her. But she never says no.
10:30 - Pernille picks up Veje's Arsenal shirt "ew, I don't think I can do this"
05:20 How much do the shirts mean for you Pernille?
- "My shirts, or the one I swap to"
- They all bring up some good memories.
- It's often in the final rounds that I switch as there are some of the "better" teams
- The one I'm probably the happiest about is Marta da Silva, I think it was in 2012, she also wears number 10. She is one of my biggest idols as a kid.
17:45 - Talking about the FA Cup on 5 December 2021 winning over Veje
13:30 - How was your start in Chelsea
- There was a big pressure as I was the most expensive player and just was named UEFA player of the year, but I think it was pretty well
Talking about worst/toughest player
19:20 - Pernille is asked first, the host and Veje think she's thinking about Troelsgaard as she says it's a teammate, but then she says it's Millie Bright.
- She's just going 100 percent in the tackles no matter if she gets the ball or not. She trains like she plays games. So sometimes you get to feel what she’s capable of
Katrines time in Montpellier
20:10 - Veje is next
- Troelsgaard must be the thought, she also trains as the play's games but has become better over the years
Listeners questions
21:30 - Before we went to the euro's 2017 i signed with Montpellier. I had a good start, played well and came on the world's top 100 list. Then there is a meeting just after the summer where she is told that some English clubs are interested in her and then the club starts not to treat her well.
- At a time, she trained with the U19 team, which was low, she felt it was kind of a punishment.
- Today when she's thinking bad, she still has good memories and good friends. It's not only bad things, but of course they still are there.
- She remembers a friendly against Barcelona where she starts out, then come on the field to play 12 minutes and was taken out again
- She learned a lot in that time and how to handle it. It was a tough time mentally and she considered stopping her career as it wasn't fun at all.
- At the U19 team, she was in the matchday squad, bet then they just take her shirt in front of her and put it back in the bag.
- (Harder interrupts) I don't know how they can treat people like that, it's inhuman, just because they heard she might be interested in moving on in her career to a new club
28:00 - Which shirt would be the biggest to swap to
- Pernille: It's hard to say, in the club we don't have shirts to swap them away, we mostly only have one. But I have the one I want the most.
- 28:55 - I swapped once with Megan Rapinoe and that is the one, I'm the happiest about
Talking early days/debuts with the NT
29:40 - What is it like to experience the development women's football is undergoing
- Pernille, there has happened so much in the last five years, people have started to be more interested and especially the TV streams have become a lot better, in the past, the matches were only filmed with a hand-held camera from one angle and then it is clear that people found it boring to watch women's football. It is something that has irritated me a lot. So, I'm happy that, that part is becoming better.
32:35 - Do you remember your debuts
- Pernille, I think it was a good game to have a debut against, I scored a hat trick and there also was another debutant who did that as well
33:50 - Talking about shirt numbers at NT
33:20 - Pernille
- I played Right back in a pretty important Worldcup playoff match against Switzerland (host: how did what go) well I was put as an attacking midfielder in the second half, I think that says it all about my performance 😂 and i have never played back since
Euros 2017
36:20 Veje had a chance where she was totally alone in front of the goal, without the goalkeeper. She then shot over the goal, and one of the teammates just yells "what the h*ll are you doing"
24:30 - The semifinal was postponed
- Veje, when we were warming up the ball didn't move at all, we have to chip the ball to each other.
- We went down to the changing room and our clothes got tumble-dried, at this time the game wasn't postponed to the day after yet, just a later kickoff.
- Pernille, when we were waiting for the game to start, I remember talking to a club teammate and the game was still not postponed
- Then we go out and warm up for a second time and after that warmup, we were told that the game had been moved to the day after, and I just thought "okay, then let's just go home and sleep" 😂
38:00 - Because of the later kickoff Denmark had packed their bags beforehand, and Germany hadn't
40:30 - After the tournament, my girlfriend and I went on vacation, I was mentally and physically exhausted and she told me I was the most boring to be on vacation with, we didn't do anything, and I just walked around in my own thoughts
38:30 - The final
- Pernille, the final was a special feeling. We were all exhausted, but still proud of what we had achieved
42:22 - Snoring
- Sofie Junge snores and we were roomies under the euro's 2017
- Pernille also sleeps with earplugs at home because Magda snores and takes very deep breaths, and it annoys her too much to not have them in. I think I have become addicted to them when I sleep alone today, I still sleep with earplugs
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milliedazzledust · 4 years ago
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I'll Come Back for You (Bucky Barnes imagine)
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REQUEST: ANON - something where he is in winter soldier mode and protecting the scientist (y/n) where she is the only one who can sort of calm him down after a mission
ANON - winter soldier!bucky being protective over his scientist who’s forced to be take care of his health and she’s being kept there against his will too
ANON - Bucky Barnes request about how both reader and Bucky are each other support systems? It could be like a headcanon, how would the reader comfort him while how he comforts her so forth and so on
WORDS: 3506
A/N: So I don't know if I was inspired or if I just wrote too much, but I'm not sure this story's good. Anyway, feedback is really appreciated and I hope you'll like it :) (also don't forget to tell me if you want to be on my taglist ^^)
“What happened this time ?”
Her voice was only a whisper in the quiet room. The broken man silently sat on the examination table while she stuck a needle in his functioning arm. He didn’t speak, didn’t even flinch. This masquerade had started the moment she had set foot inside Hydra secret base. They had brought her against her will to take care of their most valuable soldier. It was always the same dance, rehearsed a million times since she had met him. After each mission, each murder, he’d come to her. She’d fix his physical wounds, take care of his arm and let him go.
More than often, she found herself feeling sorry for him. She knew what Hydra was doing to him, she’d heard the screams echoing in the distance. It would keep ringing in her ears for hours. Sometimes, the simple thought of picturing what he was going through was enough to bring her to tears. No one deserved to suffer this way.
The Winter Soldier was a cruel man, an assassin. She had seen him in action, had even been attacked the first time they were introduced. But despite being the necessary tool to take care of their valuable killer, she liked him. This wasn’t a place anyone could handle, not even him. And while she was aware of the danger Hydra represented, he was a different story. The man he once was had been trapped in a small corner of his mind, disconnected. His hands were his own, but his actions were dictated by an army that had invaded his head long ago. He was a machine turned on and off at will by the power of ten simple words.
“I was stabbed” Was his only answer. He didn’t give any detail, simply raised his shirt so she could inspect the injury.
“Do you feel any pain ?”
He blankly stared at an invisible point on the wall, avoiding looking at her. He was aware anyone could be listening.
“Soldier ?” She called him, stopping her movement and waiting for his response.
“I don’t feel anything” His voice was emotionless and a chill ran down her spine when he spoke. He was detached, impassive, a statue unaware he was capable of sentiment.
She cleared her throat, trying to stay focused on her task. She cleaned the wound, took his vitals, wrote down the conclusion of her examination and prepared what she needed to sew him up.
When she was about to administer the anesthetic, he suddenly grabbed her wrist. She caught her breath, frightened, but made no movement. For the first time that day, he turned his head to look at her. Whatever she saw in his eyes was enough to ease the tension in her shoulders and she relaxed.
“It’s okay” She whispered, a kind smile on her face. “This is propofol”
She knew he would recognize the name. She had spent countless hours explaining everything she was doing to him in detail so he wouldn’t be uncomfortable or scared. He was a super soldier that required extreme measures of treatment.
“No drugs,” He told her.
“You might regret that decision once I start to put the stitches in”
“I need to stay conscious,” He explicated, almost begging her. “Please”
She didn’t argue, only glanced at a camera behind her recording their interaction.
“Alright” She conceded. “I’ll switch to saline”
He nodded, grateful she wasn’t pushing. She turned her back carefully so her table was no longer in the camera’s field of view and he watched her emptying the needle and filling it with a harmless mixture of water and sodium chloride. Nothing that would put him to sleep.
“Have you ever been to Greece ?” She asked him out of the blue. He stared at her curiously. “I’ve always dreamed of visiting. It has the longest coastline in Europe, with so many islands between the blue Aegean Sea to the east, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the Ionian Sea to the west. Can you imagine how beautiful it must be ?”
She kept talking for a while about the country, the books she had read and the films she had seen about it. His eyes stayed on her the whole time, his head tilted to the side, wondering why she was telling him all this. Not that he minded, he loved listening to her. She had the power to calm him down. He was constantly on high alert, ready to fight whomever he was told to kill, prepared to endure whatever torture they had prepared, but this room and the woman inside were his only small moments of peace. Her voice was the music he desperately needed to sooth his soul.
“Why are you telling me this ?” He wondered out loud.
She smirked. “To take your mind somewhere else than here. Seems like it worked”
He glanced at his stomach and realized the stitches were already there. Too engrossed in her story, he hadn’t noticed or felt anything.
“How…”
“Funny how magical words can turn out to be, isn’t it ?”
She could swear she saw the flicker of an emotion on his face looking back between his wound and the woman, but just as quickly as it came, it was gone.
“Thank you, doc”
She hesitated a moment before gently taking his hand on her own.
“Be careful” She muttered. “There’s only so much I can fix”
“I will” He promised. “Are they … are they treating you right ?”
She shrugged. “If threatening to kill me is what you consider right, then I guess I’m a real princess in a castle”
He ran a jerky hand through his hair and seemed to be looking for the right words to say but never spoke.
“Can I ask …” She began, curiosity getting the best out of her. “What is your real name ?”
When his gaze fell on her, all she saw was pure panic. Her question, as simple as it may have been, had surprised him. He didn’t remember, didn’t even question anyone, because it hadn’t mattered. He didn’t need to be more than a ghost to be able to kill.
“I’m sorry” She apologized. “I shouldn’t have asked. I didn’t mean to…”
“I don’t know” He admitted.
She gulped and looked away. His eyes held too much confusion and despair. Coming face to face with the enormity that was this man’s fate was sometimes undeniably heartbreaking.
“Can I call you Winter, then ?” She suggested.
He seemed to ponder for a while before offering her a small smile. “Yes, yes I’d like that”
It hurt to see a glimpse of happiness on his face for something as simple as a name and the woman didn’t realize that what she had just given him was the shred of an identity. A tiny piece he would hold onto. He was living inside a nightmare he had no idea he was trapped into, and if she dared to help, she would pay it with her life. So all she had the power to do was give him a name. Make him feel alive again.
The next time she saw him was only a couple of days after, carried by two agents, head hanging low and barely conscious. His clothes were stained in blood and his metal arm seemed dislocated.
“Patch him up” One of the men coldly ordered. They dropped the injured soldier on the ground like he was nothing more than an object, not even human.
She rushed to his side, checking his pupils first with a flashlight to rule out any intracranial damage to his brain. She did the same on his chest with a stethoscope, searching for any potential life threatening injury. When she moved to his shoulder to inspect the metal bones, he regained consciousness. Maybe it was the sight of yet another scientist above him or the touch of her fingers on his skin, but the man was quick to react and got on his feet in no time. His human hand wrapped around her neck tightly and he pushed her body with force against a wall, choking her. She tried to speak, but the action had been so sudden and violent that she was unable to move a muscle. He was in a trance, eyes filled with hatred that she knew was not directed toward her. Whatever he was picturing in his mind had awakened the assassin. She was the threat and he was in a game of survival.
She whispered his name several times but it was only after a minute, when she was on the verge of passing out, that he seemed to realize what he was doing. He stared at her with wide open eyes and released her from his grip. Her body fell on the floor before she started coughing, struggling to catch her breath.
“I’m…” He tried to speak, looking down at his hands in horror.
“Water” She managed to whisper.
He brought the woman a bottle and tried to help her on her feet. When he reached for her, she involuntarily flinched. A pure reflex. She didn’t miss the sadness on his face as he recoiled from her.
“I didn’t mean…”
“I know. It’s alright”
“I could’ve killed you” He said it more to himself than to her.
“But you didn’t” She laid a hand on her chest, taking a deep breath to try and calm her heart rate. “What happened ?”
“You touched me,” He explained.
“I touch you all the time” When he smirked, she realized the double meaning behind what she had just said. “Hm … why would it be any different today ?” She immediately changed the subject.
“Usually, when I’m unconscious I can … sense them around me. Working on me. And I can’t move but I still feel the pain”
Once again she was at a loss of words against the heaviness that was the burden of his life.
“Are you sure you’re alright ?” He repeated almost in a childish voice.
“I’ll get over it, don’t worry” She tried to reassure him. It didn’t seem to work. He took a temptative step, making sure she wasn’t uncomfortable. He moved his hand toward her neck, deliberately going as slow as he could. His eyes stayed on hers, watching out for any sign of fear. “What are you doing ?” She said in a breath, a different kind of shiver rolling down her spine.
“I need to make sure I didn’t hurt you” The sincerity and concern she heard in his voice were unsettling. She stared back in disbelief, but didn’t move. This was the closest they had ever been and it almost felt unreal for both of them. Too good to be true, especially in a place of nightmare like this.
He tilted her head to the back, still looking at her, and softly brushed his thumb over her skin. A bruise was already starting to appear. She saw the change in his eyes, the regret and sadness when he lowered his gaze. He kept inspecting her from all angles possible, making her chuckle in the process.
“Are you done, doctor ?” She joked.
He tried not to smile but miserably failed. “Almost. Haven’t found a diagnosis yet”
This time she laughed.
“C’mon, I’m not the real patient here. I need to take a look at you” She glanced at his metal arm, still dislocated. He was avoiding using it and she had noticed.
He sighed but didn’t remove his hand from her neck. Instead, his thumb slowly reached her cheek and he gently stroked her skin.
“I wish I could get you out of here” He whispered. “You don’t deserve any of this”
“Neither do you”
He clenched his jaw and plastered a tight smile, refusing to acknowledge what she had just said. He lowered his arm and sat on the examination table without saying anything.
“I’m gonna … hm … I’m gonna need to cut your shirt open” She gulped, trying to keep her cheeks from getting any warmer.
The man smirked and grabbed a pair of scissors nearby that he handed to her. She took it but didn’t dare to look at him, too uncomfortable by the situation. As she cut his shirt higher and higher, her hands started to shake. He could see her shifting her weight from side to side and desperately avoiding any eye contact. She was embarrassed and he was enjoying every second of it.
When finally she had taken it carefully off his body, she huffed in frustration. There was no denying that he had beyond toned muscle structure, verged into defined and well built curves.
“Is it… is it alright if I touch you ?” She allowed herself to take a glance at him, and rolled her eyes when she saw the smirk on his face.
“More than alright, doc” He teased her.
The moment her hands came in contact with his skin, he involuntarily flexed his muscles. She took a sharp breath, trying not to lose focus when she cleaned his wounds. She looked up at him to make sure he wasn’t in any pain, only to realize he was already staring. What should have been a quick glance turned into something more, a moment that lasted a little too long. When he leaned in toward her, she suddenly seemed to notice the lack of space between them. She cleared her throat and took a step back.
“Quit flirting, Winter” She reprimanded him with a playful grin.
He laughed. It was the first time she heard that sound and she couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her mouth. He looked so carefree and alive, so human. She was finally meeting the man behind the assassin, and he troubled her even more than the silent killer.
“I kinda like to see you flustered, doc”
She ran a hand through her hair, trying to hide her obvious nervousness.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about” She pursed her lips to keep from smiling.
“Sure you don’t” He sniggered.
She rolled her eyes. “I’m gonna need to put that shoulder into place”
Instead of talking, he grabbed her hips and considerably shortened the distance she had put between them. Her eyes widened from both the sudden gesture and the feeling of his fingers on her body.
“Go right ahead, doc”
She leaned in toward him to have a better access to the injury, ignoring the unexpected shudder. She was practically over him, a hand on his shoulder, the other on his broad back. If he felt any pain when she pushed the bones back into place, he didn’t show.
“All good ?” He muttered, heavily breathing. She was about to ask if he was okay but the words stayed stuck when she realized how close their faces were. He wasn’t hurt, no, he was perturbed by her presence. He could smell her perfume and see the hair raising on her neck. Whatever he was feeling, she felt it too.
“Do I make you nervous, soldier ?” She said, a smile building on her full lips.
“You have no idea, doctor”
She turned to face him. They locked eyes and, for a moment, none of them moved. The atmosphere instantly changed when he bit his lips. He bent closer and closer, and this time she didn’t push back. When finally he kissed her, she froze in place. He was about to draw back when she grabbed his neck, deepening the kiss. A sensation she couldn’t comprehend took over her whole body. He didn’t rush, took his sweet time lingering his lips over hers. She could swore her knees would have given out if he wasn’t holding her in place. Her chest was fluttering and she lost all sense of time. He pulled back from the lack of oxygen, but not before caressing her mouth one last time.
“Too much?” He inquired quietly.
She shook her head, laughing. “No. Just enough”
“I’ve been dreaming of doing that for a while” He admitted.
“Quite the change of attitude. I could’ve sworn you wanted me dead only ten minutes ago” She joked.
He pouted, not particularly happy she was reminding him of his previous outburst.
“You’re all set up, Winter” She announced after one last look over his chest. “No major damage”
“Have you checked my heart ?” He joked with a smirk. “I think it’s beating a little fast”
She coughed to try and hide her laugh.
“I’m afraid that’s not fixable” She started to write her report, ignoring his lingering gaze on her. Her brain was still fuzzy from the kiss they shared. “Unless I stay away, which would probably ease your … discomfort”
“Who said anything about discomfort ? That’s a kind of pain I’d rather enjoy”
She raised an eyebrow, not missing the way her own heart palpitated.
“Don’t play with fire, soldier”
He smirked. “Between us, I’m trying to delay the moment I’ll have to go through that door again”
This time she lost all joy and raised her head from what she was writing on her report to look at him.
“You’re strong enough to leave this place, you know”
“Leave where ?” He asked.
“Somewhere you’ll find who you really are”
“Does that somewhere include you ? ‘Cause you should know I won’t go without you”
She walked up to him and took his hands.
“Save yourself while you still can, Winter” She sadly replied.
“What about you ?”
“I’m just … collateral damage” She exhaled.
He gently pressed his forehead to hers.
“I promise I’ll come back for you after that last mission”
“I’ll hold you onto that”
He planted a soft kiss on her lips, making her forget once again where they were and what their reality was.
“I’ll take you to Greece” He whispered. “Just the two of us. Wouldn’t that be great ?”
“It’s a date” She grinned, making him laugh.
“You’ve got yourself a deal. We’ll get out of here” He swore. “And I’ll take you dancing under the stars of Mykonos”
He didn’t know then that he would never have the occasion to keep that promise. They would have more moments, stolen from the chaos of this place, but nothing more. Weeks later, he would hear rumors about treason and compromising positions. He would understand too late they meant her. She was his weak point, and the Winter Soldier couldn’t have any weaknesses. She was disposable, he was an assassin with superpowers. All the recordings they had proved he no longer could be operational so long as she was still breathing.
“Buck, you alright ?” A voice suddenly spoke in the agonizing silence.
He turned around to his friend, brushing the tears he didn’t realize had started to fall. Standing in the empty room, he couldn’t move away from the dried patch of blood on the floor.
“Yeah, I just need a minute” He shook his head, trying to make the painful memories disappear.
The man behind him began to inspect the place, searching through scattered papers around a desk.
“Dr. Y/N Y/L/N” He read.
Bucky closed his eyes, clenching his jaw. The simple sound of her name was enough to widen the open wound inside his chest. He sat on the examination table one last time, without her. Forgetting he wasn’t alone, he let himself wander into his most precious memories. He remembered the taste of her lips, the smell of her perfume and the touch of her skin. Every detail engraved in his head forever.
“Did you know her ?” The person asked.
“Yeah”
The man stopped what he was doing and observed the former assassin for a solid minute. He looked heartbroken.
“Bad memories ?” He inquired.
“Not in this room” Bucky sadly smiled.
“What happened ?”
“I don’t want to talk about it, Steve”
The Captain hesitated for a moment but didn’t push. He was aware his friend was still healing and whatever the place was, it was part of his pain.
“Is she dead ?” He only questioned.
He gulped and tilted his head backward to keep the tears at bay. “They took her away from me” His voice cracked when he spoke. He was not able to stop the violent sob that escaped his mouth. He wanted to say so much more but the lump in his throat was far too heavy.
“I was too late,” He whispered. “I promised I’d come back for her but I was … too …”
His shoulders started to shake as tears ran down his bloodshot eyes. Steve rapidly closed the distance between them and hugged his friend, letting him express his sadness. They stayed there until he was calm enough to take a deep breath.
“You ready ?” The Captain inquired.
The broken soldier silently nodded.
“Where to now ?” Steve asked him. “You’re free to go anywhere you'd like”
“Greece. I have a date in Greece”
Taglist below the cut
@partypoisonsblog - @tylard-blog1
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apompkwrites · 4 years ago
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reader impact || first meetings: unreconciled stars
series masterlist characters: scaramouche, fischl, mona genre: fluff summary: a game has been released entitled genshin impact, consisting of otherworldly abilities relying on the basic elements of nature. the game follows the story of an interdimensional traveling twin in search of their other half. along this journey, they meet different characters that live in this world. including you. notes: i'm sorry fischl and mona's aren't that good :(( this is actually my first time writing for them but i hope you enjoy <33
scaramouche's playthrough -
oof scara
scara scara scara
this boy hates his chat and at this point they don't care.
it's not like he'll badmouth them, right?
think ludwig.
that's him.
he's a very angy boy please--
as for what he does?
much like childe he'd do a lot of pvp games.
he's not too keen on showing off his personal life.
he prefers that boundary between his viewers and himself, y'know?
he honestly doesn't even understand why his viewers like him.
he knows he's a mean person and yet here they are :/
he doesn't take requests from his viewers he just kinda plays whatever he wants.
imagine his viewers' surprise when they see him streaming genshin--
they asked why a lot.
"it seemed cool."
this man just wants to play some good ol' anime games.
his chat calls him soft and he just glares.
anyway now he's actually playing.
he's not really into mondstadt's characters they're all... okay to him.
he feels a bit better in liyue.
not because it's pretty oh no no no.
because look at all the enemies outside >:))
he'll clear the whole field don't test him.
anyway, now onto the unreconciled stars event :00
this man really doesn't like katheryne--
anyway at this point he's tasked with find fritz, which he doesn't really want to do.
he sees the dude on the ground but that's only after he sees someone standing next to him.
and then he sees someone standing next to him :0
"is the guy on the floor sleeping?"
"i believe so. i've tried everything, but he won't wake up."
he will pause to look at your outfit.
it's so complex but it's so cool!!!
his chat suspects something's up but... he'll just snap at them like he normally does.
but he'll silently admire you <3
also yOU'RE T I N Y ! !
and then paimon points out your clothes and the cameras pans up your body--
"heh... and by "this person over here," you mean me, right?"
he will choose the "those unique clothes are quite beautiful" option in a heartbeat.
he doesn't care that his chat is teasing him, he just wants you to know :))
he's kinda sad when you leave, though...
"please come back soon..."
his CHAT HAS NEVER SEEN HIM SO SOFT BEFORE
skip to a few events later when the constellation is revealed to be leonard's.
the sudden cutscene catches him off guard because he's prepared to fight someone.
"hi! sounds interesting... mind if i join you?"
he won't say anything but he will physically relax at the sight of you.
you make this man soft please--
he's lowkey angry when his character is teleported away from you :(
(name): the sixth of the eleven fatui harbingers
HYPEHYPEHYPE
YOU'RE SO COOL!
of course he doesn't say that but his chat can tell that's what he's thinking.
this man's eyes go wide when you order the fatui around.
please help he really likes you. you're so assertive and cute and cool and just AGH--
fischl's playthrough -
fischl can and will do cosplay streams.
her fans like to watch her because of the "character" she puts up for the camera.
honestly she just does this because she genuinely enjoys cosplaying and bringing characters to life.
oz is the nickname for her pet bird :))
she definitely gets a lot of trolls in her chat that make fun of her for her cosplays and "dumb" way of speaking.
in which case she'll just yell at them using her "dumb" way of speaking.
she really does care about how people see her but her chat comforts her a lot after, so she feels better after a few minutes :))
the games she plays are very fantasy based and take place in worlds that don't exist.
once she gets into a game, she'd pick her favorite character and cosplay as them everytime she streams that game.
sometimes she does sewing streams where she actually makes her own cosplay with her fans.
they like to make it with her if they have the materials :D
genshin impact was a game her fans recommended because they actually want to see fischl cosplay the characters.
they will beg her to do the cosplay creation on stream.
(they defintitely know who she'll choose to cosplay but it's fine)
when she reaches the unreconciled stars event, she's really excited to learn about the fated meteorite granting sleep upon touch.
she's ready to go around teyvat in search of an answer when...
"katheryne! vassal of the immernachtreich, do mine ears deceive me, or didst thou cry out mine holy name in earnest supplication not one moment ago?"
some of her chat is obviously confused by your speech but her long time viewers can understand some of it.
oz, who fischl had brought with her to play, seems excited to see your familiar flying to you :)
fischl is just as excited as he is!!
please you speak just like her and you're voice is so nice and it actually sounds like the developers put thought into what the speech would mean in "proper speech."
"a pleasure to meet you again, katheryne."
YOU'RE FAMILIAR IS JUST AS COOL AS YOU ARE!!
some of her viewers will beg for her to skip through your dialogue.
when she sees those comments, she will purposefully let your dialogue play out, proceed to read out that same dialogue, and respond to you as if she was actually talking to you.
not just to spite them but because it's also a lot of fun for her <3
"it would seem the gods have blessed us with meeting such a well-respected being!"
translation: she's really excited to have met you.
as soon as you spoke she decided she would cosplay as you.
she's already planning out all of the materials she'll need and how much time it would take.
if your familiar is a bird, you best bet oz will be in her photo shoots for your cosplay.
most of the time you're on screen, she'll talk to her viewers about you in her classic chuunibyou style <333
she's really sad when it's time for you to leave :(((
"... goodbye, fischl. you are a good listener. i enjoy chatting with you. to be honest, most of the other adventurers in the guild only ever talk to me when they wanna hear (familiar)'s reconnaissance reports... this little journey we had... it was a great adventure. i'm just sorry that is has to end so abruptly..."
she might cry wait--
she relates to you even more now :(
"ah! what am i doing? i totally broke form..."
you're too cute pleas--
mona's playthrough -
mona does a lot of nightly streams.
it's very rare for you to catch her streaming with daylight.
she likes to share things about astrology while sitting outside drinking something warm.
she'll do a lot of nightly gaming streams as well.
mainly calmer games that people can vibe to in the background.
she prefers to keep her streams lowkey and chill, much like the life she wants to lead.
if only she had the money to do so...
yes, mona is still struggling with money even as a streamer.
she greatly appreciates any donations her fans give to her because she practically relies on them to pay her rent and daily necessities.
of course, it's not like she's completely struggling, just enough to barely get her by.
anyway, her fans ask her about playing genshin impact, inticing her with their talk about the stars and night sky in the game.
she's the type of player to take her time in the environment and take a lot of pictures of her character at night.
she's actually really excited when she hears about this new event centering around the stars and sky :D
soon enough, she gets around to the part where she is need of an astrologist.
she's HYPED to hear there's an astrologist in the game.
"someone looking for me? who is it?"
she will squeal, please.
look at you!!!
your whole design has stars and is space-themed and you're so cute and you're voice is so soothing ! ! !
she really likes listening to you talk about astrology because your voice gets even softer than before.
that scene where you go to the cliff??
please she has that scene as her lockscreen <3
you just look so cool when you start to do your process.
you're so focused and the way they animate your process in the game is beautiful.
and then the fatui harbinger interrupts one of your meetings :00
you grab onto mona's character and teleport away in a cloud of stars and specks of your elemental vision.
she's kinda embarrassed when you scold her about getting involved with the harbinger--
but not only are you really cool and awesome, you're super strong, too!
please be sassy more she really likes how proud you sound :))
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ificouldhelpyouforget · 2 years ago
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[3] Sort of Friends (Tim Riggins x OFC)
MASTERLIST | DWHI MASTERLIST
Warnings: none
Words: 2.7k
Tim back way off after the powderpuff game. I was relieved, to say the least. The attention on me went away and I was my happy self again. I even found myself dabbling in film photography again. I liked digital photography, but developing film was a soothing experience. Tyra and Julie got sick of it pretty quick, but it didn't stop me from carrying my camera around at school.
It embarrassed me when the yearbook club asked me if I could go take some photos of football practice for them. They knew I wasn't part of their club. Unfortunately, the yearbook was low on photographers, so I begrudgingly agreed.
My lens focused on Coach Taylor when he had something to say to his team. Next, I focused on the players as they maneuvered through training courses and plays. I got a great shot of Matt throwing the ball downfield that I would give Julie later. I tried getting photos of Smash in action, but he turned into a ham in front of the lens. Coach was not happy about it. I moved to the other side of the field away from Smash.
Coach called Tim over right as I got on that side. Swallowing my pride, I took a few shots of Tim listening to Coach. I didn't miss the half smile he tried hiding by looking at his feet. I almost fell over when I snapped another shot right as Tim looked at me. I thought he was finished talking to Coach and was going to run back on the field. I was very wrong. He glanced my way with a charming smile before joining his teammates. I turned on my heel as soon as Coach Taylor looked at me. I didn't want to be a distraction for his players anymore. I left him a written apology before going home.
*****
One thing I did know about my parents was that they cared enough to meet my artistic needs. In the basement, they had a darkroom installed for me. It was my own private closet of silence.
I was hanging up my film in the drying cabinet when the doorbell rang through the speaker in the room. I blindly looked for the intercom button to tell whomever it was I'd be up in a minute. I was not expecting Tim at my front door looking like he went through Hell.
"What happened?" He had a busted lip, a black eye starting to form up, and a few scratches on his face. "Please tell me you didn't get into a fight."
"Okay, I won't." He teetered on his feet and I frowned. I thought he stopped drinking.
"Come in if you can even walk straight."
He did, his steps unsteady. Tim brushed his hair from his face to get a better look at the chandelier.
"No, no. Looking up with have you on your ass real quick." I pulled him out of the foyer and into the kitchen. I forced him to sit down while I got him an eyes pack. "Why'd you come here, Tim?"
"I thought you might be the only person not pissed off at me."
I leaned against the counter. "You're hurt. I would be a bitch if I didn't push aside any irritation I have toward you."
Tim let his head fall on the counter. He was different sitting in front of me in my family's kitchen. He looked on the verge of tears before his hair covered his face. I couldn't keep my hand from resting on his head. He didn't move.
"What happened, Tim?"
And so he explained from under his hair. My hand stayed put, unmoving but an ever-present reminder that I listened.
Going to the bar where he hustled that guy wasn't his smartest idea. He deserved a good punch for it, although the guy could have let up a little. But the shit with his dad was a tall topper to the day. I hated that I felt pity for Tim, but I felt so bad for him.
"Are you gonna bring the camera back tonight?"
"Probably shouldn't since I'm drunk."
"Oh my God, please tell me you didn't drive." I was on my way to check when he grabbed my hand. His grip was gentle and strong at once.
"I walked here. I'm not that stupid."
"You never were stupid. But I'm pretty sure you've driven to school drunk."
He sighed. "Not this time."
My hand was still grasped in his and I could tell he had no intention of letting go. "Do you need a place to stay tonight? We've got plenty of space."
He took a deep breath and sat up. "Nah."
"I really would feel better if ya didn't walk back like this."
"Call Billy then."
"Can you please just accept my help here?" I finally got my hand free. "You're in no shape to be walkin' home and for once, I think you should avoid the talkin' you'll get from Billy."
"He already talked to me."
"Yeah, and he'll do it again. I don't want to get a call from him tomorrow sayin' he needs help cleanin' up like the last big fight y'all had."
Tim didn't say anything. He watched me through half-lidded eyes a moment before nodding. A wave of relief washed over me.
I grabbed a couple of waters from the fridge before urging Tim on his feet.
It was a long walk downstairs. I steadied Tim a few too many times on the steps, which slowed our progress. Although I was annoyed with him from the powderpuff game, it made my heart ache to see his drunk ass struggle.
"The basement is cooler, which should help. Drink these waters before you crash and if you're gonna be sick, this door here is the bathroom. All the rooms have their own, so no one has to see you in this state."
"You plannin' on having a friend over?" Tim plopped down on the bed. His eyes shut until I tossed a water bottle at him.
"No, but I don't feel like watchin' you stumble around." I turned to leave, pausing at the door. "Remember to finish both of those before sleeping, Tim. Goodnight."
He mumbled a quick thanks as I walked away.
*****
When noon came around the next day and Tim still wasn't awake, I brought him some Ibprophen, water, and some crackers. I slipped into his room, glancing over to see if he was still breathing. Satisfied that he was, I left the items and closed the door. I locked myself in my dark room.
My film was dry, so I cut it into segments and put it in a plastic film leaflet. I held them up to the light before circling the negatives I wanted to print. Some of them would get a few extra prints for gift giving or because I wanted there to be multiples.
Each image I developed turned out better than I thought they would. I had a photo of Coach Taylor shouting at his team that looked crisp for film photography. It really showed the dedication of Coach. My photo of Matt was also looked great. I printed two of that one, hanging the second print separate from the others.
I overexposed a few photos when I took them, so I attempted to fix the blown out areas by blocking the parts of the image exposed to the light enough. It helped a little but wasn't quite the quality I wanted. I hung the second print up anyway.
When I came to the last negatives, there was a knock on the door. I was just exposing the paper to light, so it'd be a minute.
"Hang on." I placed the blank paper into the developer and watched Tim's cheeky smile fade into the paper. Once It was finished, I dunked it into the stop bath for a few seconds. I put away my paper and anything else sensitive to light before moving the image into the last bath. I hung it up before finally opening the door.
Tim peeked in as I slipped out. "What are you doin' in there? Why's the light red?"
I held a finger up. "First, how are you feeling?" He shrugged, shoving one of the crackers I gave him into his mouth. "Well, you're eating something, so I'll take that as a good sign." I put my bangs behind my ear. "I'm developing photos for the yearbook. I'm working with things that can't be exposed to light, so the bulb is red to prevent that."
He nodded. Tim didn't seem too interested, but there was still some curiosity.
"Finish whatever crackers you have left and I'll show you. I've got a couple more negatives left. Just no food or drink in there."
Tim revealed he ate the last cracker, so I let him follow me inside.
"How do you see anything?" he asked once the outside light was gone.
"Your eyes will adjust. Watch out for the photos I've already finished, please."
Tim paused to focus on what I already produced. "You're pretty good."
"Not really." I pulled out the last strip of negatives and grabbed a piece of paper. "You gonna come watch this or not?"
"Yes, ma'am." Tim stood next to me and I started explaining what I was going to do.
I flipped the switch on the machine, letting the negative fill the page. I avoided looking at him because the only negatives I had left were of him. And it was so freaking quiet while he watched. I flipped the light back off.
"Where'd the picture go?"
"Hang on, hang on. Come over here." I brought the paper over to the developer and let it sink into the bath. The image started to appear as soon as the chemicals touched it. "This paper is light sensitive, so when I put the negative in the slot over there, the light imprinted the image on the blank paper. Cool, huh?"
"You sure you're not a witch or somethin'?"
I put the image in the stop bath and chuckled. "I'd be the saddest witch there is. I can't even make a quarter disappear."
"Then what do you call that?" Tim had yet to stop staring at the photo even after I moved it to the last bath.
"Science, Riggins. The chemicals in the bath react with the chemicals in the paper to print the image. I'm only here to move the paper around. It's so easy a football player can do it."
And so I had Tim develop the last few photos, showing him how long to expose the paper and what to do if certain areas could use more light exposure. I wasn't expecting Tim to continue showing interest after we finished the last negative.
He laughed when it started developing in the bath. "I didn't think you'd keep this one."
I peered over his shoulder to see a photo of him in his football gear looking right at the lens with that smile of his. "It's a good photo even though you scared the shit out of me. Coach Taylor gave me the scariest look, too."
Tim laughed and carefully moved it to the next bin. I was happy to see him care about my art and treat it as such. Tim Riggins was a constant surprise.
"I expect yearbook will put that photo on a page of its own. The ladies love a good football player close-up." I put the paper back into its drawer and moved some photos into the drying cabinet, turning the fan on. "Same with Saracen and Smash's photos."
"Can I have one of these?"
"Sure. I printed two of that one, so I'll bring it to you when it's dry." I watched Tim hang up the last photo for me. "Not bad for a first time darkroom user."
"It wasn't too hard." Tim leaned back against the counter while I made sure my light sensitive items were shut away. He blinked several times after I turned the light on.
"Maybe I'll teach you how to use a camera next." I tried not to study the bruise on his face. I almost forgot about it. "Speaking of, when are you gonna bring over the video camera? Do you need a ride?"
"You drive?"
"Uh, yeah. I choose not to so I can avoid the attention. People stare a lot when you're a high schooler driving a BMW."
Tim whistled. "Your parents sure love you."
I snorted. "More like it's an insurance policy to keep me from trashing the house while they're gone. They don't know me very well. They think I'm all trouble like you."
"I'm surprised they know who I am if they're never here."
"Everyone knows who you are, Riggins." I opened the darkroom door. "Let's go bring that camera back to Coach Taylor, okay?"
*****
Tim grabbed the camera from his truck, which I scolded him for leaving electronics in the cold. I didn't stop until we pulled up to the Taylors' house and Tim hopped out. He seemed upset again, whether from my annoying voice or from the reminder of his dad, I didn't know.
Coach opened the door and his face shifted into concern when he noticed Tim's face. Tim handed the camera over and turned back toward my car when it appeared Coach invited him inside. I waved at Coach before Tim climbed back into the passenger seat.
I pulled away at Tim's quiet request. He didn't tell me where to go next, so I drove him over to our school's football field. I stayed in the car and let Tim walk around by himself. I felt he needed a little time to himself. The field was an attempt to give him a comfortable place to think. I always preferred being in an area I knew well if I needed to step away. It seemed to help a little because the sun was setting by the time he came back asking if I could take him home.
He muttered a quiet thank you before climbing out of my car and trudging up the drive. I stuck my head out my window and grabbed his attention.
"If you need anything, don't hesitate to find me, okay? I'd like to think there's some sort of friendship here now."
"Sounds good, Barton." And he went inside.
*****
The following Monday, I sought Tim out at school. I was surprised to see him at his locker putting books in his bag. I grinned and leaned against the locker beside his.
"Mornin', Riggins."
He looked at me and returned a smaller smile. His eyes looked at what was in my hands.
I handed it to him. "Here's that picture you wanted."
He took it and studied what I captured. My heart warmed when he took down some random photo of a rally girl and put his picture up instead. Tim shut the locker and looked down at me.
"You didn't have to do that, you know."
"I'd lose it at home and the guys will bug me about it if I put it in my football locker." Tim shrugged and pulled his backpack higher on his shoulder. "Plus if we're tryin' to be friends, I should show my support."
"I appreciate it, Tim," I said. "Guess I better start sportin' your number with Matt's at games then."
He chuckled. "Damn right, Barton."
"I guess I'll see ya later, Riggins," I said after a girl stared me down. "Don't be late for class." I stepped around him, but his voice stopped me.
"Hey, Barton." I turned. "You gonna put that last picture up somewhere?"
I blinked. I knew he was talking about that picture of him. I didn't expect him to bring it up. "Maybe. Why?"
The smirk. "It was for you, not the yearbook."
Rolling my eyes, I turned away and walked toward my class. "Buh bye, Tim!"
Little did he know, I went to CVS over the weekend to get wallet-sized photos for my locker. One may have been that very photo that I taped inside that morning. I made a note to never let Tim near my locker for a long time.
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lazzledazzler · 3 years ago
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Lazzle's Rune Factory 5 Review
Alright so here are my thoughts and experiences with RF5! This is a big boy so buckle in earthmates...
Obviously this review will contain spoilers, read at your own risk.
Initial thoughts upon playing...
Great opening! I enjoyed the jazz music~ I did feel like it leaned a bit more towards the male player though. It definitely feels like a rune factory game. It's familiar, and controls are easy to get accustomed to for the most part. The mold is there and rf5 doesn't stray too far from its predecessors which is comforting for veterans. That being said, I'm not going to pull any punches and will critique this game harshly. Keep in mind as updates for the game are released not all things discussed in this review will be as relevant overtime!
Let's hear some thoughts on...
The story/plot. The plot is enjoyable overall. I'm not crazy about the whole Seed organization thing but it was a neat idea. They address the Sechs Territory and it is confirmed that the game takes place some decades after RF4. But by the end of it, I didn't feel like I really accomplished anything because it felt like I barely did anything really. Also they left a lot of stuff unanswered. I'm not even sure I understood the message they were sending, if they were trying to send a message at all. The main story is too short, and it doesn't involve enough of the townsfolk. You're basically doing everything yourself in secret the whole time and the townsfolk barely know what's actually going on. Out of the love interests, Lucas plays the largest part in the story, followed by Priscilla and Scarlett. The story feels targeted at male audiences--at least that's how I felt. You, the player, have a larger role in the game, much like in RF3 and I was glad to see this. As of right now there are only two arcs. Praying for DLC 3rd arc...!
Protagonists. The latest protagonists to join the crew of Earthmates are...decent. Their designs are nothing special unfortunately, though I appreciate Alice's more than Ares's. Appearance-wise they lack personality and creativity. Personality wise I am pleasantly surprised with how sociable they are. They're not exactly quick witted and sassy like Lest/Frey were in rf4, or as endearing as Micah in rf3, but they have a certain realness to them that makes their reactions to things believable. I'm certain Xseed will see to making them a bit more sarcastic in their localizing efforts, so let's all look forward to that. Overall though, while I appreciate their mannerisms, they don't really measure up to all the previous amnesiacs we've grown to love over the decades.
Characters. Overall I enjoy all the characters introduced in Rune Factory 5! I feel like there is someone for everyone in this game on some level. The voice acting was pretty good for every character. The designs are very much Rune factory. Like OG runefa, compared to rf4 ( 4 kind of strayed from their usual style) which I like. Characters still have their own signature quirks that you find endearing. Although I would have liked to see more variety? Like we've had mermaids, univir, half monsters, vampires, etc in previous titles but rf5 only gives us the usual (half) elf, dwarf, and then a succubus (physically she doesn't have unique features aside from the ears and heart eyes), and some were-people. I was hoping for something more unique to really give that classic runefa vibe.
Dungeons/Battles. I'm pretty split on this one. On the one hand, the dungeons have more depth due to the 3D aspects. They've included more contraptions that are very fun to see even if they aren't executed that well. So I'm grateful for that. On the other hand, the dungeons are insanely short imo. It doesn't take long at all to get to the boss. The puzzles are also pretty subpar and few compared to RF4. Fighting monsters is similar to the other games. You can lock on now but I only use it when I'm trying to use my Seed Circle. The lock on feature is actually counter-intuitive and makes it harder to dodge. Weapon mechanics have shifted a bit. There’s a feature that makes you invincible to damage if you time the R button dash correctly. Axes and Hammers are significantly slower than in older games? Like. I thought I was in slow motion it was so slow. Lances are also harder to use as well? I'm questioning my sanity here. I don't know if it's a bug or intentional either.
Farming. Not much has changed from previous games mechanics wise. They added new types of special crops which is neat. The camera view changes to overhead when you go near your fields though, and it can make you dizzy/uncomfortable. It actually makes it a bit difficult to see at times so I wish there was a way to adjust the angle. If you are tilling corn or dried weeds to improve the soil, you need to place them separately if you don't want to use the entire stack. Otherwise, it will till the entire stack on the land if you place them all down at once. The flower shop is unlocked late in the story. Weird thing to do considering you need flowers to make medicine. Not to mention the fact that you wont have access to the fertilizer that increases defense against typhoons? During typhoon season? Thinking emoji...
The town. I have to say Rigbarth's design is poor compared to Sharance, Selphia, etc. It's too big and it takes too long to get around. Everything is too spaced out and there aren't enough warp points to make it easier on players. I don't want to walk an entire mile up a hill to talk to one person and then walk all the way down to the beach to speak to another. It doesn’t really feel like a ‘town’.
OST/BGM. Music was good, though nothing really stood out to me where I'd go "damn this slaps" or something. I think they might've had some old soundtracks from rf2 or something because it felt really nostalgic at times.
We need an exterminator. (Bugs Bugs Bugs)
Marvelous, I don't know how to tell you this buuut...your customers are NOT your testers. When you release a game, you need to make sure it's not littered with glitches because customers don't enjoy dealing with them and will drop the game!
Here are some of the types of glitches I encountered:
Crashing. Game would randomly crash or freeze and close at any moment. Sooooo frustrating! Sometimes you get lucky with the autosave feature, but the autosave only activates every morning at 6am in your room and then when you warp to a dungeon level/floor. So when you're in the middle of your daily tasks in town and it crashes, you have to start all over. Marveloussss no one enjoys losing their progress in a game I promise you that much.
Lag. The dialogue bar is seriously slow, especially after loading your file. Crafting/Cooking screen lags. When you press the Y button to skip through dialogue it lags like hell. Pretty much after every time you load the game will lag, the audio will lag if you're in a battle, everything is just. so. slow.
Repeating dialogue. So if you close your game entirely (or if it crashes) naturally you'll reload your file to continue where you left off. There's a bug that will cause all NPCs to repeat the last dialogue that occurred from whatever plot related thing you did last. So for example, if the last thing you did in the story was unlock Ludmilla, everyone in town will naturally have some dialogue about her. But even after seeing all this dialogue and even saving, if the game is closed and reloaded you'll have to read all that dialogue again from townsfolk. It got really annoying after a while.
Monster taming. One time I tamed a monster but once I named it and hit 'ok' the monster never showed up in my barns? Just. gone. Okaaaay then...? Additionally, I expanded one of my monster barns but all of the monsters I tamed wouldn't appear in the added room. You get 4 monsters for each room but the monsters I tamed would show up in the original room. Meaning I had like 7 monsters in one room! I tried to bring them into the newly added room but they would just warp back to the other room. Sad.
Pond Glitch. I fished in the pond located in Sasayaki Forest and left the fish I caught but didn't want laying around the water's edge. If you leave fish around the pond's edge and go to sleep, the next morning you will be teleported to the pond and trigger the fairy dialogue as if you had thrown all of the fish into the pond??? So the dialogue of her telling you she wants 'X item, not this!' will trigger over and over for all of the fish you left at the water's edge. RIP.
Party member Bug. I had Martin in my party and I made him leave. Then when I went into my monster barns to get a monster pal to join me instead it showed me Martin's portrait???? Also I've encountered a bug where I can no longer ask anyone to join my party for some unknown reason. The R &L button prompt was just gone when I reloaded.
Errors. When cooking or crafting, the dialogue box shows up sometimes...
Typos. Random average typo here and there. Not a real biggie but there is one instance where the heroine will use the japanese male pronoun "boku" instead of "watashi" which really convinced me that this game was completely intended for men lol.
Let's talk about Pros
The good stuff. The stuff that makes you all warm and fuzzy inside.
Plot Advancing. Now I'm gonna put this as a pro because I'm certain the average player will enjoy this even though I do not. There are now markers on the map to show you where to go to advance the plot. This is all well and dandy, but it also made the story less appealing for me because you don't need to go around town and speak to residents for clues or assistance to advance anything in the story.
3D Graphics The 3D models are all amazing. The interior designs of the houses/buildings are also incredibly detailed and realistic.
Collecting items. Now there's a feature that will allow you to collect items into your inventory just by walking over them. This is pretty neat and welcome for the most part. Once the item is sparkling, you can walk over it and it'll go into your rucksack automatically. This also makes lumbering and mining go much faster. Yay!
The miraculous L pocket. Now you can customize the categories that appear in your L pocket by going to the rucksack tab in the menu. This is a super neat feature that makes things easier on players who want to manage their items in a format that suits them.
Weapon/Tool Toggling. You can now toggle between your equipped weapon and tool by pressing the left or right buttons on the trackpad.
Collecting lumber/material stone. Oh lord this is probably the most welcome improvement moving forward from the previous game. You can now put all of the lumber and material stone from your inventory into its storage at once. This also applies to fodder for tamed monsters. Well done Hakama.
Autosave. This feature is a welcome addition to the series. The game will save your data every morning and every time you enter a dungeon. Autosave has really saved my ass a few times when I made a huge error in judgement so I'm incredibly grateful for this feature. And it doesn't save over your actual save file--there's a separate autosave file at the very top. So if you messed up something but already saved on your main file, you can still salvage your mistake by reloading the autosave! I just wish it activated a bit more often sometimes.
Warping. Now we can warp to each level in a dungeon as well as certain places on the map in town. It's pretty convenient for the most part.
Increased party members. Now you can have up to 3 members in your party! Hooray! Party members act more intelligently than in older games. Scarlett can use the Seed circle to assist you in fights. I think she also tosses healing potions at you occasionally. So far, no one has tossed a dish at me if I haven't eaten like Kiel and Clorica did in rf4. But I have been hit by a failed dish (from reinhardt?) and a healing potion (from scarlett). Scarlett, Priscilla, and Reinhardt are the most helpful when dungeon crawling in my experience. Some of them however, (looking at you Doug) don't shut the hell up with their one line of dialogue they have and repeat it constantly.
Seed Circle. This neat feature allows you to capture monsters. By charging it and releasing you can capture monsters for the bounty system or add them to your party temporarily. If you throw it without charging it, you can stun monsters in place momentarily or grab things from far away. When stunning monsters, it can also give you the monster's drop item occasionally. Unfortunately it uses a lot of RP so it can be difficult at times.
Combo attacks. This is a neat feature that I appreciate and use often for boss fights. They do some serious damage so it's good to save them for the bosses. The actual cutscenes aren't that impressive, and feel kind of subpar when you get down to it but I think it's a start in the right direction.
Farm Dragons. I'm listing this as a pro although I really just see it as a new feature. Farm dragons have fields on their backs that you can place monster barns on and farm on. Giving them certain crystals will give your fields boosts in certain criteria, like length of growth, soil quality, you get it. I personally don't use the crystals because I couldn't give a shit lmao I have men and women to woo here. But if you're into this kinda thing then it's a pro.
Storage. When opening your storage box, fridge, etc. you can actually hit the R & L buttons to switch between ALL of your other storages. Looooove thissss. Great addition. So much faster to put items away in their respective places.
Crafting/Forging. Now we can also use the R & L buttons to alternate between the different weapon types/accessory/gear types instead of having to exit the menu and going back in each time you want to make something different.
Cooking. More recipes have been added. Yay!
Days are longer now. More time to get shit doneeeee ayyyy
Fishing. They've added many more fish to the game! Now the player will shout something when you get a bite, making it easier for you to hit B at the right moment. Nice. Also if you fail or press B too early, the fish doesn't vanish most of the time. Also nice. There is now a feature to fish with another person's assistance. Once a day you can investigate the sign near the fishing station and someone might offer to lend you a hand. Press the B button at the right moments on the slider and you can get a rare fish that can't be caught normally.
Monsters. New types of monsters! Love the designs. Even the monsters that are the same but just have different skins are really neat. They look great in the 3D format too. You can even ride with up to two people on certain monsters! Some bosses had awesome designs while others...were bad.
New Types of Furniture. The carpenter store has a wide arrange of furniture you can buy for your home. It also has wallpapers and stuff which is really neat. Though unfortunately you can't even sit on some of the furniture so that's a shame.
Events. Now there is a system where events are triggered by approaching an icon on the map. This is probably an improvement to RF4's randomized system, though personally I found it annoying because it meant that I had to see the events before I could just enter a building normally. Sometimes I just wanted to get shit done and not have to read through walls of text for someone's love event when I just want to buy something.
Voiced Lines. The protagonist seems to have more voiced lines, as do other characters. Good!
Let's talk about Cons
Not including glitches. Oh boy. So many cons. Where do I start?
Dialogue. Probably the most notable con in the entire game. The dialogue is drastically minimal in comparison to previous games, especially rf4. There is probably a quarter of the amount of dialogue compared to rf4's insane amount of content if not less. Townsfolk repeat themselves. Often. Too often. Am I playing Harvest Moon? Originally I thought it was because the dialogue is randomized, but I think it's actually because more dialogue is unlocked as you raise townspeople's FP. Despite this, there's no linear build up where you start off as acquaintances and eventually become very close like in rf4 because of how sporadic the LP/FP is. Townsfolk don't even talk to each other. One of the greatest perks about runefa is the conversations townsfolk can have with one another. Residents randomly gathering in small groups to talk about anything. Previously you could add someone to your party and sometimes a dialogue will occur if you speak to the right person at the right time with that person in your party. This is nonexistent now. The only time they do this in rf5 is during the festivals. But, it will only trigger if you have unlocked all the characters in each marriageable lineup and they can't be in your party. The residents will talk about one another but that's pretty much it outside of town events. They got rid of all the minor dialogue that occurs too. Trying to sleep in someone's bed while they're right there? They wont comment. Inspecting objects in stores while the shopkeeper is present? Wont say anything. Take a character with you to a dungeon/boss fight? Their lips are sealed. Where's my sense of community? :(
FP/LP This ties into the dialogue issue. The rate at which LP/FP increases is sporadic as hell. You can go from 1FP/LP to 4FP/LP just by giving a gift sometimes. I wouldn't even speak to people and their affinity increased by like triple for no reason. Then it increases by like 2% for the longest time. Argh!!!
Graphics. I don't consider myself very picky when it comes to graphics. I don't really mind that the foliage and scenery are at the level of a ps2 game at best. I tried playing on my television initially, but the lag and camera operability was too much so I fully switched (haha puns) to handheld. One thing that sucked is that I literally cannot tell the difference between medicinal herbs, antidote grasses, and green grasses without the captions because the graphics are so indistinguishable. So when you're trying to pick up multiples of those items by holding the A button, you're just randomly walking over anything green in the hopes that you'll get the right ones...
Lack of Sound Effects. Something I noticed is they got rid of the sound effects that will play when you complete a puzzle or add someone to your party. When you try to brush a monster there's no sound for the '♪' they make when you successfully brush them. So it was hard for me to tell if I had actually brushed them or not. I was a bit saddened by the lack of cute sounds.
Too much free range. From the very beginning of the game, you're allowed to go pretty much wherever you want when leaving town. It was too easy to stumble into high enemy level territory without knowing, so when I was like level 5 so I got KO'd immediately.
Artwork. The portraits seem to be lower in quality somehow. Runefa has always had shitty portrait art imo but this time it's even worse. Many character's eyes looked fucked up. Though the 3D models are insanely good for mostly every character except Terry. Terry's 3D model looks Terryfying and I prefer his portrait.
Festivals. They've added some new festivals. Some I enjoy. Some not so much. They changed the format of the eating contest. It's horrible. Good luck with that one.
L pocket + R button? They got rid of the feature that lets you skip to the other end of your items when opening the L pocket by pressing R button. I really liked that feature because it made it faster to reach my items so I was bummed that they got rid of it.
Gotta go fast. Now when you speak to someone, it doesn't 'stop time' as you might say it did in previous games. So people are still moving about as you speak to someone, making it harder to catch up to people! Annoying!!!
Catch and release? Not in my farming simulator! Say goodbye to being able to toss a fish you caught back into the water. In fact, say goodbye to tossing anything you don't want anymore into the water. Now you just have an army of fish flopping on the ground around you. And with the auto pick up feature, they're probably going to end up in your inventory anyways once you try to move. There are still certain ponds with fairies that you can toss stuff into, but you'll have to deal with the fairy harping at you for giving her something she doesn't want.
Shop Hours. Oh god. The shop owners don't even open their stores at the correct hours? It says open at 9am. If you speak to them they won't open their store until like 9:07??? But Priscilla and Lucy will show up to work their part-time jobs at around 8:30am and you can buy stuff through them before 9am. So the actual shop owners (for the bread shop and general store) are pointless usually. Additionally, if the store is empty (but open) you can no longer add a shopkeeper into your party and then enter their store with them to buy things from them. Why. Just why. When you want to buy something that only a specific person sells (Only Hina sells fish, only Heinz sells misc items) you have to wait for them to finally decide to work in their own store. Wonderful.
Monster Item drops. Maybe I'm crazy but the monster drops are seriously a lot harder to get than in previous games. Especially boss drops. It's almost impossible to get the rare drops now. I don't even want to try anymore. And as far as I know, the only place to buy monster items is through Heinz, but his items are actually misc. items, not specifically monster drops. So you'll be lucky to check his store (whenever tf he decides to actually work) for any monster items you might want instead of farming for the drops. Sighs.
Difficulty. This game is too easy. There is little to no challenge whatsoever. I had to increase the difficulty setting to hard mode and it was still too easy. I beat it at level 139, never once did I need to grind or level. In fact, your character levels up way too quickly for the pace of the story. I had zero trouble with any of the bosses and even the final boss was a breeze. Quite sad. Though because I am not new to the franchise, it's likely that newcomers would have some trouble in the later parts of the story.
Fishing cons. Idk how you fck up fishing but they sure did. You have to stand further back now because the pole is so long that you'll miss the fish you're aiming for. In fact, it's seriously hard to aim period. You'll end up recasting more often than not. Fish come in the various sizes but they don't seem to have the darker or faded characteristics that can indicate whether it's a rare fish or not. The graphics make it hard to tell. The pros that i've already mentioned are welcomed but it doesn't negate the fact that I do not enjoy fishing like I did in previous games.
Mining/Lumbering Cons. You can no longer strike three times consecutively when mining/lumbering. This sucks lol. Even when you upgrade your axe or hammer, powering up the tool does nothing for getting wood and material stone--it only expands the area of your strike. So it takes longer to get wood/stone from stumps and rocks now since you have to strike the full 9 times but it's not too bad. It's also harder to aim now as well so that's also unfortunate.
Seasonal Fields? Kiss them goodbye! That's right, there are no seasonal fields in rf5 because devs are insane! You instead have the farm dragons that seem to look seasonal based on the fact that they are designed after elements like earth, water, and fire. But no, these dragons are simply extra fields for you to use. Here's a spoiler: you're not going to use those fields. You're just not. They're kinda useless unless you're obsessed with farming. Now you have to grow your crops out of season like the sad farmer that you are.
Farming cons. Seeds no longer tell you how long it takes to grow the crop. Why. As of June 29th, they fixed this with an update. But I still had to play the whole game without it so fuck you marvelous. The joystick is really sensitive? So when you're trying to use a fertilizer or something on your field you're likely to place it on the wrong 4x4 tile, wasting your fertilizer. So it’s best to hold down the R button when farming. Also the crops look uglie as hell.
Sleeping and warping cutscenes. Just like in rf4 there's a cutscene when you go to sleep that can be skipped easily by pressing A. In rf5, there's a cutscene to sleep and a cutscene when waking up. It takes a bit more than a second to skip these scenes so it gets annoying after a while. Warping is this new feature that replaces our beloved escape spell. Overall I appreciate the feature but I hate it for two reasons. One: there's an annoying ass cutscene for it each time you use it that could be much shorter. And Two: townsfolk now use warp even when inside the town. In previous games, someone exiting your party in town would just manually run to wherever they need to be. So you could easily chase after them if you need to talk to them or give them something. Now, party members use warp regardless of where you are at the time. So say you have someone at 7 hearts and you want to try confessing to them. You would have them join your party, save your game, and then have them leave your party and immediately speak to them and confess before they can run off. If it doesn't work you reload until it does. In RF5 this wouldn't work anymore because they will warp. Now you would have to save, run around town trying to find this person and hope they accept the confession. Otherwise you'll have to play hide and seek again because reloading your file will randomize the resident's locations (if they are not working in a shop)!!!! I often just waited until a festival day because then they will be at the plaza for most of the day and it has a warp point there.
Crafting/Forging/Cooking. They've removed the feature where you can press Y on the ingredients in the menu to add more of that particular item. I miss this feature :'(
Lacks incentive. There is no trophy room from my knowledge. The final dungeon that is meant to be like the sharance maze/rune prana isn't that hard to beat for skilled players and is only 20 floors. After you beat the main story and this dungeon there's not much else to do really.
Request Board. Unlike in rf4, you need to make sure you have accepted requests before you complete them or else it will not count. Previously, you could complete all sorts of tasks and Eliza would still recognize your work even if you accept their request after the fact. ie, shipping goods, harvesting crops, etc. So make sure you don't harvest your special crops before accepting the request it's for!
Return of the "Loli" Dragons... Yeah you read that right. We got more dragons in children's(???) bodies with skimpy clothes. I don't know anymore????¿¿¿
Can't marry the Milfs or Dilfs. Tragic.
Still no homo. Grow up Marvelous.
Reverse Proposal? Reverse Uno card-- Laid low by the patriarchy. You now have to buy the double bed and craft an engagement ring to propose to your man if you're playing as Alice. Marvelous this isn't what we meant when we said we wanted equal rightsssssss This can be seen as a pro if you're a softhearted babey who doesn't like rejecting bachelors' proposals because you feel bad :'( But this is a con for me because I don't want to spend money and materials on a double bed dammit!!!
Misc. Still can't stack dishes or fish. There's no green elemental fairy???All the other elemental ones are there except the green one? why??? Still can't tame the giant Wooly. Some bosses that have insanely awesome designs cannot be tamed and makes me wanna eat glass.
Let's talk about Love~
Relationships. We want them. And half of us only play these games for them. I've only played as the female heroine so far but I'll be updating this review as soon as I finish with the bachelorettes as the male hero.
Confessions
As usual, we must raise the love points of our beloved to 7 hearts before we can attempt to date them. However unlike in rf4, if you fail at a confession once, you will need to raise the LP up an entire level before you can try again with any chance of success. It's imperative you save before attempting a confession now.
Love Events
Each love interest has two love events that must be seen before you can date them. They're reminiscent of older game's style but I felt they could have been a biiiit more interactive or so? Or involved the town a bit more for some of them.
Dating
Once you get your honey to be your bf/gf, you get to choose the nicknames as usual. Then you can go on dates. The first three (non-festival) dates are actually events. You need to see all three events to get married.
Marriage Event
The final event you need to clear before you can marry your sweetie. In my honest opinion, so far for the boys, these events were rather disappointing. They lacked the drama and angst that sort of 'test' the love between the two when compared to rf4. Also this is a huge con for me personally and a minor spoiler but there are no special cutscenes at the end of the marriage event like in rf4. Instead, the cutscene takes place during your actual wedding. I was saddened by this because it took away the depth from the marriage events and the actual character? As it is just a cut and paste type of thing instead of an original cutscene for each person. They lack individualism this way. Also it kinda felt like a way for devs to avoid gay relationships and cut corners :^/....sus.
First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes...
Children!!!!!! This is actually one of the coolest additions in the game. Just like in rf3, you can have up to 3 children again! Your first child will resemble you, and you will have the option to choose its gender as well as its personality. There are 6 different children, (3 boys and 3 girls), all with different hairstyles, mannerisms, and seiyuus. Your answers will determine which child you get. A year after your first child is born, you will get the option to have a second child. You'll end up with twins, both resembling your partner. You won't get to choose the genders (it will be a boy and girl) but you will get to choose the personalities once more. The children all have canon names too and each kid is incredibly cute. And of course, you're still able to take your kid with you in your party~ ...Though you can only take one kid with you at a time.
So is RF5 good?
Yeah it's a fun game! My theory is that Marvelous forced the devs to release the game earlier than they were ready for, and that's why it's so lacking. But that doesn't mean it's not worth playing! I'd rate it 3.5/5 stars hehe. Not nearly as good as RF4 (full stop 5/5), or RF3 (4/5) but enjoyable nonetheless. I wouldn't recommend it as a first game to play from the series for newcomers though, I feel it's best for vets who can overlook all the cons thanks to loyalty and nostalgia. By the time it’s released in the West, the bugs should all be dealt with too.
So! Definitely buy this game! We want the series to continue and we want RF6 to be better than this--and hopefully Marvelous will make sure of that next time. If you're not a picky person I think you'll enjoy rf5 a lot. If you're like me and have high standards then, well, still pick it up and let it run its course. Then dust off rf4sp and cleanse your gaming palette >;^)
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writingbeary · 4 years ago
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Kingdom -  Sports Day
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Minyoung’s Outfit
Note:
Texts placed inside brackets are Kingdom’s show subtitles
Italicized texts are in English
Texts that are block quoted are interview cuts
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Today, the groups participating in Kingdom were told that they will be competing in the groups that they will be collaborating with for the No Limit stage. ATEEZ were confident in their athletic abilities but they also know that the other groups also have members who are athletic, especially BTOB who have Minhyuk who won medals in ISAC.
Minyoung brought out her self-made cheer banners for every group, taking it upon herself to be their cheerleader since she cannot participate in most group games. She wrote individual groups names and the Collab Team names on the banners.
"Our princess has betrayed us." Hongjoong feigned a hurt look over his face noticing the cameras zooming on him when Minyoung could be seen cheering for The-i-9 team when they entered the field.
"I'll cheer for everyone! There's no discrimination here!" Minyoung joked sticking her tongue out to her leader before waving the banner containing SF9's name. "Sepgu hwaiting!"
"You're cheering for everyone today? Not just Chani?" Dawon called out grinning
"Of course, I'll prioritize our Chanhee." clearing her throat before raising her banner up high "Kang Chanhee fighting!" with Chani laughing waving her off.
“Okay then 8 makes 1 team.” Hongjoong jokingly said making Minyoung pout and say “If you do that then I’ll ask the other groups to take me in!”
Stray Kids who were lined up beside them looked over the group laughing. Jisung waving her over “Young-ah, come here and perform <God’s Menu> with us.” as he jokingly did the du-du-du-du with Felix and I.N dancing a bit.
“That won’t happen. I’m keeping her.” Yunho placed an arm around Minyoung’s figure grinning “I happen to like having her around.”
The MCs noticing something happening with both groups called out to them. Wooyoung calling them out grinning “ATEEZ, what are you doing? We’re filming something here. Please focus.”
“We would but our Minyoung-ie is about to be taken away!” San shouted back, the other participants amused at what is happening
Wooyung stood up surprised “What? I leave you guys for a bit and this happens. What happened?”
“They’re kicking me out and Stray Kids is adopting me, thankfully.” Minyoung moved over to Stray Kids fitting right in with her clothes having a hint of pink.
“Oh! Welcome. We gained a new member. We’ll gladly take her Dovey.” Changbin laughed teasing Wooyoung as the latter pointed at their female member “Yah! Park Minyoung!”
Eunkwang joining on the teasing raised his hands and said “We’ll also be glad to take her in. That will bring our average age down a bit.” evoking laughter from everyone.
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(VAULT)
Minyoung cheered on everyone waving her banners around as the The-i-9 attempted the vaults. Yunho laughed when he saw the girl near BTOB’s table, tapping on Seonghwa’s shoulder to point it out. “Where is she going?”
“Minyoung-ah, stop invading other people’s tables.” San called out to her as she fired back “They’re not other people! They’re our teammates and we’re one team!” making the rest of Mayfly look at her laughing.
“Alice, come and join us here!” Felix waved her over to which she happily skipped over and hang out with them.
“This kid. Wait where’s Jongho?” Hongjoong looked around and saw Jongho already at Stray Kids’ table too
Yeosang chuckled “Our youngest members are all grown-up. They’re already making friends on their own.” As the rest of the members watch as the two youngest play around with the others.
When it was time for Chani to attempt the vault, Minyoung screamed waving her banner excitedly. “Kang Chanhee, fighting!”
"Minyoung-ssi won't you also cheer for the other participants? You shouldn't play favorites." MC Changmin asked, teasing the younger girl
“Oh. But I’m not close with anyone else.” Minyoung mumbled making the older male laugh.
Minyoung returned back to ATEEZ’ table after a long while sitting down beside Seonghwa who gave her a water bottle. “You should take care of your throat. You’ve been cheering since we started.”
“Ah yes. Thanks mom.” Minyoung giggled while Seonghwa shook his head already used to it
“Waah. THE BOYZ is full of good looking people.” Yunho commented as he watched them all attempt the vault
“ATEEZ is also full of good looking people oppa!” Minyoung countered nodding seriously making the members laugh
“What? We also have good looking members! Don’t think otherwise.” Minyoung continued as she returned her focus on the activity
“What is this? You’re praising us now?” Hongjoong laughed, shaking his head a bit
“I’m just saying the truth.” Minyoung shrugged smiling a bit
“But you told us we looked weird. Remember that?” San fired back grinning
“Ahh. That’s different. I’m the only one that can criticize our members. Other people don’t have that privilege.” Minyoung laughed and puffed her chest out as if proud of it “I can say those things because I do it out of love.” at this the members pretended to gag before laughing
When it was ATEEZ's turn to challenge the vault, Minyoung did light stretches before standing next to the vault. "Omo. Hongjoong-oppa what do we do?" Minyoung shouted making everyone laugh.
"She says that but watch her clear it with ease." Yunho chuckled
"Oh it seems like Athlete Minyoung would attempt next." MC Changmin announced as he saw the girl walk over to the starting line
"I'm assuming she's going to do well as she's a main dancer of ATEEZ." Eunkwang commented
"Alice is scared of heights though." Felix noted making Jisung scoff a bit hearing his remark "But she's competitive. I bet she won't even care until after the fact. She's been doing stunts with ATEEZ but I wonder why she still gets so scared."
"Maybe because when she does stunts for their choreography, she knows how she'll land?"
“Minyoung Challenge!” Minyoung shouted as she ran and made it over the vault easily, surprised at herself. “Omo! How come?” she asked aloud making ATEEZ laugh
“How come you made it over?” San laughed patting her back as 6 of 8 members pass.
As they were watching THE BOYZ challenge San commented on Juyeon’s challenge “Having the hood on was so cool. We should have worn hoods too.”
“Oppa, it would only be cool if you made it over.” Minyoung jabbed at the older male sticking her tongue out playfully, the latter reaching over pretending to flick her forehead.
For their second challenge at 1.8m, Wooyoung, Jongho, and Yunho already succeeded. The ones left were Minyoung and Hongjoong. Minyoung mumbled “I’m scared but I also don’t want our team to place last.”
Yeosang who was beside her laughed gaining the attention of the other members. “If you succeed in this attempt then you already did better than me, Young-ah. Besides, we can trust the three to do it well.”
“I know but I also don’t want to lose to our members.” Minyoung pouted as she walked towards the starting point to attempt. She ran as fast as she could and jumped making it over the vault, letting out a squeal as she flew over.
“Young-ah!” Jongho cheered immediately going over to her.
“See? I told you she would do well.” Jisung laughed raising a thumbs up towards the direction of ATEEZ.
When Hongjoong failed to make it over and hit the vault instead, all of ATEEZ ran towards him with Minyoung going over patting his back before teasing him “Our leader did well. It’s just our heights aren’t made for this kind of games.”
“You made it over though.” Yunho noted laughing
“Seriously this kid.” Hongjoong laughed poking her side as they all went back to their tent.
“Are you okay?” LeeKnow asked Hongjoong seeing as how he hit the vault
“The 10cm is a huge difference.” Hongjoong informed them as they’ll go next. Felix letting out a worried sigh.
“Felix you can do it! I even made it.” Minyoung cheered on her friend, San laughing making the girl look at him “If you say it like that then what happens to the people who failed to make it over.”
Minyoung gasped, defending herself quickly in a panic “Ah. I didn’t mean that. I just thought since Felix is more athletic that I am, he has a higher chance to make it over.”
The remaining members of ATEEZ all succeeded the 1.9m and moved on to the next level. Everyone was shocked when Minyoung cleared the 2m height, even she couldn’t believe she made it past it that when she landed she was wide-eyed, looking back towards the vault. ATEEZ let out a cheer in surprise as Wooyoung helped Minyoung out of the mat patting her back.
“You made it! Wah. Our Minyoung found her talent.” Yunho laughed sending a thumbs up towards her direction.
“Oppa what happened? Omo.” Minyoung jumped around excited that she made it over then gasped realizing that she has to try an even higher level.
When she attempted for the 2.2m, she wasn’t able to go over and instead was hanging on almost on top of the vault with half of her body on it. Realizing how high up she is, she continued to cling on the vault tightly “I’m scared! This is so high! Oppa help me.” she exclaimed making everyone laugh at how cute she’s being, while Wooyoung and Yunho made their way to help the girl down. The rest of the surviving Mayfly members also went over to steady the vault for the girl to come down.
“Just let go and jump down.” Wooyoung instructed her but she shook her head “Let go. I’ll catch you if needed.” Hearing this, Minyoung let go and true to his word, Wooyoung helped her up quickly patting her back. “You did great.”
As the three of them went back to their tent, Minyoung was holding unto Yunho as she limped slightly.
“Why? Why? What happened? Did you injure yourself?” Seonghwa immediately went over and helped the girl to sit down, worriedly checking her any injuries.
“I think I hit my knee on the vault during that last attempt.” Minyoung sighed as she shook her head “It doesn’t hurt that much but I think I won’t be able to join the other events.”
“Are you sure? You also hurt it last filming.” Jongho asked handing the girl a towel to wipe herself with
“Mhm! I don’t think I really hurt it. It’s just like stubbing your toe, just temporary.” Minyoung smiled laughing a bit. “I’m serious! If you don’t believe me then I’ll get it checked tomorrow.”
“I think that’s for the best. It’s better to be safe since you did injure it before and it might get serious if not treated properly.” Yeosang noted patting the girl’s head
"Wooyoung-oppa fighting!" Minyoung cheered as Wooyoung became the last representative for ATEEZ however, he also failed to make it over the vault for 2.30m.
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(Visual Ranking Voting)
"Omo. I knew it. I told you that there’s a catch when they took our photos this morning. Jongho-yah, I'm ruined." Minyoung said to the male beside her, covering her face in regret. "If I knew this was going to happen then I'd have put in more effort in how I look today."
"Yah. If you're going to say that then what about us?" Hongjoong laughed
"Have you seen everyone else? There's no way we're winning this. That's a miracle if it happens." Wooyoung motioned to the other photos posted on the board.
"Who should I vote for?" Minyoung looked through all the photos before turning to the staff "Can I please have these photos? I'll keep them as a souvenir. Maybe I'll have everyone sign them too." evoking laughter from the staff and a cheer from the girl when they said they’ll ask if she can have it after.
"I'm voting for Minhyuk-sunbaenim. As much as I want to vote for our team...lying is bad and voting should always be objective. Sorry our ATEEZ members. I love you all." Minyoung smiled before slipping in her ballot inside the box.
As the rest of the participants voted, some even voting for themselves citing that one should learn to love yourself first, some of them voting for Minyoung.
Stray Kids Jisung: I’m not saying this because I’m her friend but just judging by the photos, she looks good today.
SF9 Jaeyoon: I’m voting for Minyoung-ssi. Her photo stands out with her posing cutely.
THE BOYZ Kevin: She’s adorable and she cheers on every team sincerely. She even showed off her charms today.
THE BOYZ Hyunjae: Throughout their performances, it’s like having an on-off switch. She’s like a kid off-stage but as soon as they start their performances her charisma explodes that why I vote for her.
ATEEZ Yunho: Do I really need a reason? Our member’s pretty. *laughs*
When the results were announced, Minyoung couldn’t believe her ears when she heard her name called out together with Felix for the 2nd place both of them getting 5 votes each. She looked around pointing to herself confused.
“Me? Why?” Minyoung looked to her group members who were cheering for her.
“Minyoung-ah! You did it! ATEEZ present!” Wooyoung shouted making the others groups laugh
Yunho grinned going over to the girl patting her back and ushering her to go to the center.
“Did our members vote for me? Is this a love your own situation?” Minyoung asked outloud making the MCs laugh.
Yunhyeong looked at the cue sheet to see who voted for her before speaking into the microphone “There’s one ATEEZ member who voted for you.”
Yunho proudly raised his hand “I did! Minyoung-ah, be confident!”
“Yunho-oppa! This is why I like you.” Minyoung laughed before shooting hearts at him exageratting every movement.
Compliments calling her cute were heard in every group while Seonghwa covered his face embarassed for both his members.
“Mom! I’m on TV!” Minyoung posed cutely for the camera before laughing and facing the participants “I don’t know who voted for me but thank you. I’ll do my best to show more of my charms in the future as well.”
“Felix~ We’re twins from now on!” Minyoung declared to her friend making him laugh as they pose for the photo sharing the wreath.
“Aussie!” Chan cheered for the two clapping for them
As soon as she got back to her group, Minyoung looked at Seonghwa and asked jokingly “Does this mean you’re also 2nd place? I mean Atiny says we look alike.”
“Oh. That’s right.” Hongjoong who heard her agreed laughing as Seonghwa just blushed shaking his head.
Minyoung cheered loudly when Minhyuk got the 1st place for the visual ranking, surprising the other groups. “I voted for Minhyuk-sunbaenim.” ATEEZ just laughed shaking their heads used to Minyoung’s fan girl mode.
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(Catch the Tail)
As the Mayfly team strategized who was going to play in the second event, Minyoung let out a giggle gaining the attention of their team.
“Why? Is something funny?” Eunkwang asked chuckling when the girl hid behind Yunho’s back suddenly conscious of everyone
“Ah. Nothing..it’s just we’re planning this seriously that it felt like this actually the competition and not the rounds.” Minyoung said her voice going softer as she talks
“What’s happening? You’re not like this Mintokki.” San laughed poking her side as the girl slapped his arm lightly, still hiding behind Yunho as she clutched on to his shirt
“Is Minyoung-ssi normally this shy?” Minhyuk asked looking at the girl
“No. Not at all. She’s far from shy.” Yunho answered quickly making everyone laugh.
“This is such a twist. I never knew Minyoung could also feel shy.” Jisung teased making the girl hide herself more pouting.
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(Relay Race)
“ATEEZ fighting! I believe in you!” Minyoung shouted on top of her lungs as the runners take their place. The race went by quickly and turned to the last lap where Wooyoung ran as fast as he could overtaking everyone.
Both San and Minyoung were jumping in their tent holding ATEEZ’ flag up as they cheered for Wooyoung. “Wooyoung run!” “Oppa you can do it! I won’t call your hair, pudding anymore if you win!”
"I never knew Wooyoung was that athletic!" Changbin exclaimed as Wooyoung overtook Sangyeon and won first place in the relay.
"Jongho's still the most athletic out of everyone but Wooyoung-oppa is also up there in terms of athleticism." Minyoung said as if giving insider information.
"Don't let her fool you! If she weren't injured right now, she'll probably be the one running. Minyoungie is pretty competitive." San commented making the MCs laugh.
Minyoung pouted "I wanted to try too. Ahh why did I have to get injured. If I could've joined, I'm determined to at least be better than Hongjoong-oppa." at the mention of his name, Hongjoong's mouth dropped looking betrayed. "Yah!" the girl just laughing throwing a heart sign on her head towards her leader
[Minyoung / 22 / Youngest on Top(?)]
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(Outtake)
“Good work today everyone” everyone clapped and bowed towards one another after the day’s activities.
Minyoung suddenly gasped remembering something. “Ah! I was given these by the staff.” She took out the polaroids from the voting before while the rest of the groups were surprised.
“Ah so that’s why the staff asked if it was okay for us if the polaroid were given..” Sangyeon laughed finally piecing together the information
“No! Minyoung-ah, let’s just take another photo. I’m not proud of how I look there.” Inseong shouted jokingly evoking laughter from everyone.
“Really? Then I’ll take you up on that!” Minyoung giggled holding her pinky up as if sealing a promise.
“Just be honest and say you want photos with Jaeyoon-sunbaenim and Minhyuk-sunbaenim.” Wooyoung started while Minyoung quickly slapped his arm, eyes-wide “Oppa!”
“Don’t forget Zuho-sunbaenim and Donghyuk-sunbaenim.” San grinned as the girl crouched down embarrassed. The males who were mentioned all looked surprised with some covering their faces feeling shy. Inseong elbowing Jaeyoon laughing knowing the male voted for her for the visual ranking.
“Ahh. Is that your type Minyoung-ssi?” MC Changming asked jokingly, the girl waving her arms around denying the allegations
“I think I see a pattern. I see a pattern.” Eunkwang laughed joining on the teasing. Minyoung just wanted to dig herself a hole and hide there as Jongho patted her back laughing.
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ATEEZ Minyoung Masterlist
Disclaimer: This is just a work of fiction. Any portrayal of real people is a combination based on what we could see on cameras and imagination of the author. This is purely fan fiction written for entertainment. Thank you for understanding.
━━━━━━ʕ ˵• ₒ •˵ ʔ━━━━━━
Writing Beary Corner
Truth be told, Kingdom’s episode for the Sports Day bored me a bit lol It dragged on for a long time during the vault but hey at least the groups interacted a bit more this time. So as long as they had their fun then that’s great!
I also have a question and request for the people reading this. Send me questions anon or off-anon for Minyoung! something like interview questions or fan questions haha I’m planning to use them for a future post. spoiler but meh lol
-Mimi
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dizzydancingdreamer · 3 years ago
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Steve Rogers, The Man On Fire
Hey y'all, as Pride month draws to a close I would like to post this fic. It's been in my drafts for a month and I finally today found the motivation to finish it. This is special to me for many reasons, one of which being that I'm proudly a part of this community. Some of the anger written in is my own. I think a lot of people will resonate with it. I really hope you all enjoy this and happy Pride Month <3
This was based loosely off a headcannon and once I re-find it I will credit!
Synopsis: Steve is freshly thawed, queer, and pissed | A.k.a. Steve's experience in 21st Century America
Characters: Steve Rogers, Mentions of Bucky Barnes, (loosely a Stucky fic but Steve thinks he's dead here)
Warnings: Angst but not bad, Steve Rogers being volatile and chaotic (we love), poorly written accents (I literally read this with an accent in my head), literally a 2k monologue
Word count: 5.1k
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Steve Rogers came out of the ice angry.
No— not angry— Steve Rogers came out of the ice fuckin’ furious.
He came out of the ice with his hands curled into two fists, with his jaw clenched so hard his teeth were liable to snap, and with a bone to pick with every damn reporter and historian and too loud opinion on this side of the Brooklyn Bridge.
He came out simmering— no, erupting— like the serum in his blood couldn’t keep his body from hibernation all those years ago but it sure as hell won’t keep him from setting the entirety of New York on fire now. He’ll burn it all down if he has to and rebuild it the way he remembers it— the way Bucky would have remembered it— and at the end of it all no one— not the bigots or deniers or the homophobes that seem to be the only thing that came with him from the forties— will be able to say that Captain America can’t love whoever he wants.
No one will be able to say that Steve Rogers didn’t love James “Bucky” “the man I’ve loved since twelve years old” Barnes with everything he had and then some.
No one.
So he starts with the museums in Washington— because sure it isn’t New York but where else would a relic like himself belong more?
He still has hope when he enters the building. They didn’t make them like this when he was a kid— they had science fairs in the town hall and culture fairs in the backstreets near the docks but never anything this grand. No tall marble pillars or enough stairs to make him wonder if he would have been able to climb to the top when he was half the size he is now. It’s strange. It’s kind of wonderful. Yeah, the Smithsonian museums make Steve Rogers feel small for the first time in a very long time and that gives him hope.
That hope doesn’t last long, though, because soon he’s wandering through the halls, following the signs that say Captain America: The First Avenger— what the hell is an Avenger? Is that what they’re calling soldiers these days? Now he feels small and old.
Turning the corner is like landing on another planet, one devoted entirely to him. His picture is everywhere he looks, his name is in lights, even his damn uniform has been replicated and presented on a little stage and he hates it. The rage is back, sparking at his fingers— he’s a match and lucky for everyone this building is made of stone because if it wasn’t he’s sure it would be reduced to nothing but ash by now.
It only worsens as he begins reading through the plaques and the paragraphs flashing across screens on the walls— he doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to that. The more he reads, though, the more he wonders if the stone is really, truly safe from the fire in his blood. He doesn’t think it is.
He surely isn’t at least— he feels like he’s going to explode. This isn’t him— none of this is him. War hero. Martyr. Golden boy. He has to stop reading that plaque— clearly no one did their research. Clearly no one dug up his medical files— or his police records. Brawls at the pub, disorderly conduct behind Mr. De Luca’s sandwich shop, public nudity at the beach that one time— thank you Bucky for the best night of his god damn life. Golden boy— ha.
Golden nobody with the black eye and broken hand is more like it.
For a moment he thinks he’s fine— he thinks it can’t get worse than this. Then he gets to the early life section and for an even longer moment his tongue tastes like gunpowder.
Steven Grant Rogers grew up in the streets of Brooklyn alongside his friend James Buchanan Barnes—
He can’t bring himself to finish the sentence— not when they already got the most important part wrong. Friend. Friend? No, no, no. No! There are a million words in the english language that Steve could use to describe Bucky and ‘friend’ will never be the first one.
How about best friend?
How about partner in crime?
How about soulmate who loved Steve so much that every night for the past forty-eight days since he woke up in an era that Bucky doesn’t exist in he’s cried himself to sleep with the same cherry cola taste of his ‘friend’ on his tongue.
It’s the final straw— Steve loses it.
“Anyone got a marker?”
The museum is quiet before he speaks but when his voice— steadily rising and taking on that New York headiness that his troops used to jazz him about— cuts through the exhibit— his fuckin’ exhibit— it’s silent. It’s dead, almost as dead as Buck— Nobody dares move a muscle as he rips his ball cap off his head and throws it at the statue of himself. Everyone knows who he is— everyone is going to know who he is so help him god.
“I said—” he tries again— “does anyone have a marker?”
It takes a moment for the people around him to pick their jaws up off the floor and he allows them that moment with a smug grin starting to tug on the corners of his lips. Finally— they’re starting to get it.
He’s not a hero; he’s a supernova of every scrawny, queer kid who’s ever gotten beaten to a pulp for kissing who they want.
Maybe then it’s fitting that the marker— when it’s finally produced and placed in his waiting palm— comes from a teenage girl with a shaved head and a blue, pink, and purple denim jacket and a busted lip. She doesn’t say much— only a mumbled here you go— but her eyes say everything that her words don’t. Give em’ hell, Cap. For the first time since waking up he flashes a genuine grin back— yeah, this one’s for you kid.
Steve wastes no time uncapping the sharpie— he’ll look that one up later— and scratching out the error. The blasphemy to his unholy name. It takes him a little longer to decide what to write in its place. There are a million words, sure, but somehow none of them feel right at this moment. None of them are enough. That’s something he’ll have to come to terms with later, though— how much nothing feels like enough anymore without Bucky.
Finally Steve settles on a word and he scribbles it as neatly as he can given the fact that he hasn’t had to write anything in eighty years. When he takes a step back, feeling alive for the first time since waking up, he beckons over the girl with the shaved head and points to the place where he’s taken it upon himself to correct history.
“Hey kid, why don’t you go ahead and read that outloud for everyone here.”
He allows another moment— this time because she deserves the time it takes for her eyes to light up and the smile to stretch across her bruised mouth.
Steve laughs— a rusted, croaky laugh; another first in forever— when her head whips around, facing him as she loudly proclaims: “It says boyfriend. Steve Rogers grew up in the streets of Brooklyn alongside his boyfriend Bucky Barnes!”
“Damn right I did—” he mutters to the kid before taking a step towards the crowd of gaping mouths. “Did you all hear that? Don’t worry if ya’ didn’t— I’ll say it one more time. Boyfriend. Bucky was my boyfriend and if he was here today he would be my husband. If any of you have a problem with that then feel free to take it up with me. I took on half of Brooklyn for that man and I’ll do it again.”
When no one says anything Steve nods, turning to hand the girl back her marker and to thank her— he may be angry but he hasn’t lost all his manners— but when he looks at her she doesn’t look back. Instead she takes the same step forward that he had, one of her hands balled into a tiny, shaking fist at her side and the other wrapped around a cell phone that’s pointed towards the crowd. He doesn’t understand the mechanics but he thinks she’s recording.
“You hear that?” She parrots the super soldier with a wavering but fierce voice. “Captain America likes men! And none of you can deny it!”
This time it’s his mouth that drops, watching as she shakily turns the camera off and spins back around. Before Steve can say anything, though, she’s talking again, this time hastier, and he can’t help but think that she sounds so much like him. All flushed and scrawny and pissed.
“I’m sorry, I’ll delete the recording if you want but, I jus’ know these bigots are gonna’ try and cover everything up and that would be a fuckin’ shame. I don’t know if you know how many kids need to hear this. I did— and I think they should too. Only if you want, of course.”
He doesn’t answer right away— he can’t. It’s like looking at himself at fifteen. Suddenly he’s back again, his feet hanging in the water as his boyfriend paces behind him, asking if he’s ready to have him look at his knuckles yet. He didn’t get that many good punches in— the scrapes are mostly from the pavement— but Buck always worries too much so it doesn’t matter. The protective idiot.
Steve shakes his head, blinking away the sunset lingering behind his eyes. “Bucky woulda’ loved you, kid.”
The next time he loses it— the next time he turns into more flame than man— is after he saves the city he’s been trying to burn down for three months.
It isn’t long after that day in the museum when Nick Fury decides it would be best for everyone if Steve goes back into the field. Of course, no one really asks him what he wants— they pretty much just shove a new suit into his hands and tell him to get training, Captain— but what else is new?
No one really comments on his outburst besides that either. Can you really call it an outburst when you’re just trying to reclaim the parts of you that have been stolen? Sure, the press gets a hold of the story and, true to what the kid had said, tries to twist it into something more digestible, but no one actually addresses it up with Steve. Apparently when someone saves the world as good as he does no one cares that they kiss men.
Or that they don’t wanna’ to actually save the world anymore.
See, in those three months— between the training and training and even more training that Steve Rogers begrudgingly obliges— he has time to catch up on the world. More importantly, he has time to catch up on what the world thinks of him. He scours a plethora of documentaries, scholarly essays, and whole books of information about his time as Captain America. Well— his time as Captain America when it mattered. In all his scouring he learns one thing: everything written about him is wrong.
It’s all so fuckin’ wrong.
Just why the hell would he want to save a world so bent on destroying who he is?
The Smithsonian exhibition was nothing compared to what’s been written in the eighty years he spent in the ice. Better yet, nothing compared to what hasn’t been written about him. They’ve taken an eraser to every part of his life that doesn’t fit with the golden image that they constructed for him. A.k.a. every part that matters. His relationship, his past, every little thing that made him supposedly perfect for the role he was given. Gone. Erskine told him he was a good man— apparently he was the only one who thought so.
Apparently being a good man isn’t good enough.
They only wanted the perfect soldier. Yeah, well, they had one and they fucked him over too. Don’t even get him started on what they did to Bucky— Steve doesn’t want to think about what Winnifred— Winnie for short— Barnes would do if she saw the history books erasing her baby’s Jewish roots. Or his relationship. It wouldn’t be pretty, that’s for damn sure. If ever there was someone more protective than Bucky it would have been his mother. Not that there’s a damn note about her in anything either though.
Maybe that’s the final straw that does him in this time— watching the place that Mrs. Barnes loved more than almost anything else in the world crumble, while also knowing that the world no longer gives a shit about the two people she loved more.
“Mr. Rogers, this is where you grew up, is it not? Is there anything you would like to say about what took place here in your home city today?”
Maybe he pretends not to hear the last part— maybe he really does only hear up until where the reporter asks him if there is anything he wants to say. He’s been around quite his fair share of explosions; it would make sense that his hearing is a little off. Maybe he just doesn’t care anymore, though.
Scratch that— he definitely doesn’t care anymore.
And why the fuck should he? He does have something to say and propriety be damned he’s going to say it.
Steve stares into the crowd of faceless reporters and flashing cameras with a scowl on his grimey face. Around him stand the other Avengers— his ‘team’. The last time he had a team the historians screwed up the history for every single member. Dugan, Morita, Falsworth, Jones, Dernier, Sawyer, Juniper, Pinkerton. Barnes. All of them were brave men with families and sacrifices and all of them were treated like jokes by ‘reporters’ just like the ones in front of him now. He really doubts there’s a difference between old and new journalism.
The only difference is that now he’s here and this time he’s not going to let them write anything but the damn truth.
“It is—” Steve muses, brushing the sweaty hair from his forehead— “I’m surprised you know that though.”
The reporter cocks his head, clearly confused, and it makes the super soldier’s blood boil. “Come again, sir?”
“I said I’m surprised you know where I was born, kid.” This time when he says the word— kid— it’s derogatory. “Ya’ know, considering how you all seem to know nothing about me otherwise.”
Steve almost smiles at the way the crowd tenses. He actually would if it weren’t for the white hot rage coursing through his veins, mingling with the last of the adrenaline leftover in his system. It gives him an extra kick— not that he needs it. Even when he was just a runt from the wrong side of the tracks he needed nothing more than an offhand comment to raise his fists. Fighting to Steve Rogers has always been intoxicating— the aftershocks of winning the battle just makes it more thrilling now.
Who knew, right?
“Sir I asked—” The reporter sputters and Steve simply holds a hand up, silencing him before he can start again.
“Yeah I know what you asked, alright. You want me to talk about the battle here in New York today and how I am more than happy to have risked my life to save it. But I can’t do that, kid. Because I didn’t save it for you. I didn’t save it for any of you.”
Steve feels his team tense— maybe were it any other time he would stop talking. He would just leave it, let the issue go, because Bucky would tell him too. They aren’t worth it, bruiser, he would say, they aren’t worth your blood. Maybe he would listen to his boyfriend because usually he was right. Bucky was always right. So yeah, maybe he would list—
Who is he kidding; he knows he wouldn’t.
Not then and certainly not now— not when Bucky isn’t here to defend himself against everything Steve has been reading about. That’s exactly why he doesn’t stop talking. Someone has to defend him and who better of a person than him? So, yeah, he keeps going, even when he hears footsteps behind him.
“You wanna’ know who I did save it for? James Barnes, that’s who I saved it for! You see, just around that corner there is a bookstore. Rickley Books. That was my boyfriend's favourite bookstore. You know, the man who gave his life to stop a train in Austria from reaching the enemies? Yeah that was him. That train was filled with supplies. Had it reached their headquarters, who knows if we’d be standing here today. If there would be a New York at all. Not that you would know that. But who cares about that dead sergeant from the 107th, right? There’s plenty just like him.”
Steve shrugs nonchalantly— a move he picked up from the very man he’s speaking about— but he spits his words at the reporters with enough venom to cancel out any peace that the action brings. That’s his own move.
He keeps going. “You know who else I saved it for? His mother. Yeah, his mother Winnie Barnes. Wonderful lady. She used to run a soup kitchen a couple blocks from here. Kept the rift raft like myself from going hungry most nights— I was a brawler, you know.”
A couple of reporters in the crowd laugh at that and Steve flinches, his vision tinting red as he cranes his neck, seeking them out.
“Oh you think that’s funny, do you? You think I’m joking? I’m not. You ever been backed into a corner, son? Had people hurl slurs at you that I can’t even repeat today? Ever been beaten up for loving your best friend? No, I bet you haven’t. You weren’t a queer kid in the thirties. That’s hard— that’s borderline impossible actually. I only made it because of people like Winnie Barnes. That woman was a saint but nobody talks about her either.”
Steve has to take a deep breath, clearing the rasp in his voice that rises as he dwells on the woman he called his second mother for so long. She wasn’t just a saint, she was an angel. He can’t cry here though, not now. Not even as his throat begins to tighten.
“Winnie was the type of lady who didn’t let anyone walk over the little people. She used to sit me down and say Stevie you gotta’ fight for what you want because ain’t nobody gonna’ give it to you. She told me that I shouldn’t have to but that there were going to be people who would try to tear me down just for being me. And she was right— just like her son— because that was the era, you know? But now, here in the twenty-first century, you’re all still trying to tear us down.”
A hand lands on his shoulder, small fingers tugging at where his suit has begun to tear. Natasha Romanoff. He meets her gaze quickly, neck craning to stare down the red head, and in the few seconds their eyes meet it’s like Bucky is next to him. Somehow the blue in her irises catches the falling sun just like his used to. Steve can hear the gruff of his voice in the depths of his mind. Back down, bruiser. The sentiment is echoed across Nat’s face.
Steve shakes her hand off him, turning back to the reporters— don’t they know that he can’t?
“You all say you care about me, huh? That I’m a hero? You know nothing about me— you don’t want to. Before I was a soldier I was a kid. A queer kid. I said that already but let me repeat it. Queer. Did you write that down? None of you certainly did before. That’s how I know that you don’t care— because in an age where being queer is infinitely more accepted you still don’t bother to write it down.”
He pauses for another breath, shutting his eyes against the blinking red lights of the cameras. They’re like little demons, always watching his every move. Recording. Everything’s always recorded these days. Will he ever be used to that? Bucky was the technology guy, not him. Not then and not now.
When Steve picks up again— eyes open and shoulders freshly straight— it’s on a new note— a clear note.
“You don’t care about me— you certainly don’t care about the real heroes of the war because if you did you wouldn’t erase our history. Do you know how much it would have meant to Bucky to see our relationship accepted? The man who died for you? How much it would’ve meant to his mother? You can’t just pick which of our stories and our sacrifices are worthy and which aren't.”
He hasn’t spoken this much since he’s woken up, not all at once at least. Maybe he should have, though— maybe if he had then he wouldn’t feel like ripping the heads off everyone in front of him right now. Call it fight or flight. Call it revenge. Hell, call it whatever you’d like because it doesn’t really matter. Either way he feels like a kid again— again— backed into a corner behind the deli with his fists up and his teeth bared.
He feels feral again.
“So now you just want me to save the world like I did— like Bucky did— all those years ago— or maybe jus’ New York— as if that’s any better— and you don’t even bother to write a proper article about me? Hell, I never even asked for an article, let alone a whole exhibit! I’m just a soldier— and before that I was just a kid. If there’s never another article written about me I’ll be grateful. But now that I’m here, standing in front of you, I’ll say this—”
Just as Steve’s voice is cresting into a shout that would no doubt be heard regardless of whether or not the microphones were in front of him, Natasha tries one more time, her fingers slipping between his.
Her voice is a dull buzz compared to his, only reaching his ears by sheer will. “C’mon Stevie— we gotta’ go now.”
Like before he’s stunned but this time instead of seeing Buck— instead of hearing him in his head— he hears Winnie.
You fought good, honey. You fought good for us. You can rest now.
It’s jarring and it’s not lost on him the handful of awkward seconds that it takes for him to respond. That’s just the effect Winnie had on people though— still has, apparently. Steve shakes his head— I know, mama. But I gotta’ finish this fight.
“No, Nat— I’ve got to say this.” Steve mumbles— voice just beginning to waver despite how hard he clenches his jaw— before sneering at the crowd one last time.
“If I ever read an article from any of you that discredits Bucky Barnes, our relationship, or myself just know that I’ll come for you. I’ll come for this city. Don’t you ever forget who I saved it for. James Barnes, Winnie Barnes, and every queer kid who’s ever felt erased because of people like you. The bigots in the forties couldn’t stop me. The Nazis couldn’t stop me. Not even the Atlantic Ocean could stop me. So don’t think for a second that any of you could either. Have a good day.”
With that Captain America turns, marching off the impromptu stage and beginning the trek back to his apartment. He doesn’t bother looking at his team as he passes them— he can imagine their stunned faces well enough on his own. No doubt he’ll be getting another assignment from Fury soon enough to make up for this ‘outburst’ too. Still, he feels a little bit better. There’s an ache in his shoulder, and one under his ribs too, but he still smiles as he passes Rickman and Sons Books. That must mean something good.
The last time Steve Rogers burns he doesn’t burn the way he’s expecting to— he doesn’t vandalize his own name or blow up at a reporter. No, the third time— the final time— that Steve Rogers burns it’s with nostalgia— and with a damn good cup of coffee in his hand.
“I had no idea this place was even here.” The girl across from Steve muses, tiny hands shifting the steaming cup back and forth.
Her name is Ellie, he learned that back at the museum after asking for a copy of the video she took. He barely knew how to use his phone back then, let alone his email— hell, both still confuse him more often than not— but she had been patient. A little awestruck and a little riled up too but he took it in stride— easily. It’s not hard being nice to the spitting image of him.
“I’m glad I’m good for something other than making the news.” Steve chuckles and this time he means it— there’s no malice or ill intent, only humor. “O’Malley’s ‘s been here longer than I have. Looked a little different then—” he takes a moment to let his eyes wander the old coffee shop and it’s new appliances— a moment to feel his age catch up to him— “but I guess I did too.”
Ellie’s laughter joins in there and it’s strange— strange that he hasn’t laughed with another person in seven, almost eight, months; strange that her laughs sound so much like Bucky’s when they were younger; strange that Bucky isn’t here to hear. Here to laugh, too. Because he would have.
He would have called Steve an old man, would have wrapped his arm around his shoulders, would have asked— no, demanded— that Ellie try the plum cobbler. They always made the best cobbler. Bucky always had the best laugh. All grit and breath and him. Steve feels warm just thinking about it.
“Well thanks for letting me in on the secret, I’ll make sure to guard it carefully.” She even has Bucky’s warm sarcasm.
Maybe it’s not so much like looking in a mirror as it is looking at what he wishes he and his boyfriend could have been back then.
“And thanks for letting me interview you—” Ellie continues, setting the cup down but not before nodding at it, her eyes wide— “wow. You weren’t kidding about the joe, huh? Anyway— thanks for scheduling this. I know you’re probably super busy— and that there are more well established people you could have gone to.”
Steve sets his own mug down too— if he hadn’t there’s a possibility it would be more puddle than porcelain. “Well established means nothin’, kid. Not when you don’t have heart. They’re parasites, all of ‘em. The press couldn’t care less about me.”
Ellie nods, lifting the lid of her laptop. It’s a little bit dented and slathered in stickers, not quite the newest model— he would know, he has the newest one and it’s still sitting in his apartment in the box. Yet another testament to how little the people around him truly know him.
“Welcome to the twenty-first century, can I get you a side of classism with that commercialism?”
Now she sounds like Winnie too.
“Say, has anyone ever told you that you’re funny?”
She shrugs, tilting her head, a lopsided grin glued to her face. “Once or twice— I never know if they mean it or if they just want me to shut up. I never do so I guess we’ll never know.”
Steve sputters out another laugh because; “I guess we’re the same then— never give them a moment, kid. That’s the best advice I can give you.” He pauses— again— he supposes it’s going to be a day of pausing— he supposes it’s about time he pauses— before adding, “Bucky would’ve scolded me for saying that.”
Ellie’s fingers, swift and deft over the machine— Steve hadn’t even seen her begin to type— pause too as her smile softens. “What would he have said instead?”
Her question shouldn’t catch off guard— this is why he asked her to meet him; to finally, properly write his story— their story. Still he pauses— Steve’s empty hands feel hot, his shoulders warm; bare— what would he have said? It doesn’t take long to hear his boyfriend’s voice, not there but somehow loud in his ear all the same.
Just relax— they aren’t worth it. It’s too nice out to care about anything but the water— are you coming in or not? Summer doesn’t last forever, you know?
It’s impossible but Steve can feel the sun on his back and on his ears again, like he’s there— like he’s back, sixteen and on fire. Those were the days where everything made him cold. The days where his skin burned no matter the season but especially in August which was when the ocean was warm enough to swim in. It never stopped him from joining Buck— nothing could have stopped him. His cheeks warm, too, at the thought.
Steve blinks, his own smile— perhaps a little lopsided in it’s own right— shaping over his mouth. “He would have told you to relax— and to try the plum cobbler. It’s fantastic.”
With another giggle— and a reiterated comment— has anyone ever told you you’re funny, Steve?— they fall into a conversation, just a kid and a relic, about life. It’s not an easy conversation— but then again those kinds never are. It’s real, though, and unedited. Unfiltered. Just the way Erskine and Winnie and Bucky would have liked it— the only way Steve wants it. It’s not perfect but, hell, Steve has never been perfect.
He’s never wanted to be.
Maybe Steve doesn’t know everything his boyfriend would say— and maybe he’d be lying if he said he doesn’t blow up once or twice after today— but he can confidently say that he gave Brooklyn a run for her money— twice— and lived to tell the tale. He can say then when it mattered, he burned. That he still burns. That he will until he doesn’t— until he’s extinguished.
But, hey, though Summer doesn’t last forever, not even the Atlantic could extinguish the flame that is Steve Rogers.
That’s what he writes— in Sharpie— on the card he writes to Ellie— the one attached to the computer he knows he’ll never use.
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