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artxyra · 4 years ago

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What if Damian and the miraculous class are friends and they have movie nights, but since Damian is in Gotham he sneaks out of the manor and portal via Max & Kalki to participate. The Fam get suspicious and try to figure out where Damian is going every week. When they find out he goes to Paris they try to follow him but the portal closes and they use the tubes instead. They end up crashing in on them watching a horror movie which freaks the class out. Insert yelling and things being thrown.

To: Demon From: Angel

Are we still on for movie night?

To: Angel From: Demon

Yes. Just need to get away from the family.

To: Demon From: Angel

😀

Marinette looks over smiling from her phone. Today is a good day. There were no akuma that needed Ladybug’s attention, nor had she broken up a fight between Max and Kim about the latest game. So yes, she was ecstatic to know this is how her day is going.

“Hey Mars, is Damian coming tonight?” Adrien asks seating next to her playing with a strand of his hair. Ever since he came out to her, their relationship has blossomed beyond a crush to a blooming brother-sister relationship. That and Luka were more than willing to take on the blonde without a second thought. She kind of feels bad for Juleka having to see Adrien on a near-daily basis and with her brother no doubt.

“Yup,” Marinette continues to smile, “I just received word that he’s good to go. All we need is for Kaalki and Max to open up a portal at the designated time.”

“Sweet, I hear that Kim was the one picking out this week’s movie. I hope it’s nothing horror-related.” Adrien pouts causing Marinette to laugh that the poor kitty’s face.

“I’m sure it’s nothing too crazy.” Marinette hopes that it was something simple to follow and an action pack rather than horror. She may love horror games but kwami be damn if she watches a horror movie in the dark that wasn’t comedic.

“It looks like break is almost over, we’ll continue you this later.” Adrien sends Marinette a comforting smile before jumping down into his assigned seat next to Nino. Alya and Nino just walked in holding hands.

“Hey, lovebirds, who’s ready for a night full of fun?” Alya greets the two causing them to roll their eyes at the nickname that no longer pertains to them.

“Hey Als, I should be asking you that instead.” Marinette lifts an eyebrow that accompanies her smirk. Nino and Alya’s faces turn red and they side glance each other. Marinette and Adrien laugh at the couple.

“After class, I’ll be giving a quick speech regarding tonight’s plans,” Marinette states pulling out her classwork and books for class. They all nod in understanding. Just then the rest of the class filed in with matching smiles and asking pertaining to tonight’s activities.

To: Angel From: Demon

Save me from the idiots that I call my brothers?

To: Demon From: Angel

Can’t love, I’m sure it not that bad.

To: Angel From: Demon

For some idiotic reason, they are watching me like a hawk today. I’m currently in the bathroom with the doors locked listening to them bicker outside.

To: Demon From: Angel

Yikes 😬. I’m sure it will die down before you’re required to leave.

To: Angel From: Demon

I doubt that.

To: Demon From: Angel

About that, why did we move our weekly movie night from Saturday to Friday?

To: Angel From: Demon

It’s a half-day at school.

Shit. Talk to you later.

Marinette places her phone down and slowly turns her attention to Mme. Bustier. The red-haired teacher tried to keep her students engaged with the content, but she was losing them faster than on average. Marinette turns to her classmates. Alix and Kim were trying to out strength each other, Juleka and Rose was trying to pay attention but the drooping in Rose’s eyes say otherwise, Sabrina and Chloe—well doing what they usually do—living in their own bubble, Nathaniel was sketching something down in his notebook while Max was pretending to take notes as Markov does it for him. Finally, Mylene and Ivan were also in their own world.

Hours seemed to past in Marinette’s mind before Mme. Bustier concluded today’s lesson. She was so caught up in watching the time that she didn’t realize that was sketching an outfit in her own notebook. Whoops.

“Marinette is there something you would like to add?” Mme. Bustier prompts sending the class’s designated designer a smile.

“Yes,” Marinette gets up from her seat and walks down to the podium. “Tonight is our weekly movie night instead of tomorrow. Do you remember what to bring? If not, please message me before the event. Remember that we are having this event at Chloe’s family’s hotel as it a makeshift theatre room.”

“Daddy says we can have the popcorn maker also.” Chloe interrupts. The class cheers at the thought of the infamous popcorn maker that was usually locked behind the hotel kitchen doors.

“Thank you, Bee, for that tidbit. Now, Max, you are to arrive at the bakery no later than six o’clock. The demon is having a half-day today and I’m ninety-nine percent sure that he’ll want to be here no later than that. Everyone else, you are free to do.” With that and a pretend gavel, Marinette dismisses the class to their next class for the day.

For Damian, being at school felt like a blessing even if it was a half-day. His brothers have been hounding him all morning. It’s like they are looking for something that isn’t there. Damian’s emotions? Yeah right, they all know he only shows emotions to his beloved animals or animals in general. Damian had to double, triple check the security on his phones because who knows what Drake would find if he had access inside it.

For over six months, he had been going to Paris for movie nights with his beloved and her classmates. At first, he had done it through the zeta tubes but after gaining their trust just enough to be in on the Miraculous Team of Paris, his trips became a lot more frequent. He would make up an excuse about going to a classmate, or Jon’s, house for the night, or to work on a school project. He had gotten away with it for a while, but Tim was the first to notice the lie.

Tim and Conner were having their usually meet up when the Damian had told his family that he was spending time at Jon’s, something that was no unusual. All was fine and dandy until Jon came home with a Damian Wayne. Tim, well it was mainly Dick, had grilled into the young hero about Damian’s whereabouts. Jon either lied or literally had no idea. Which prompted the Batbros to start the search on Damian's weekly disappearance.

Everyone took the day off to “spend time” with Damian. They wanted to trap the teen inside the manor and watch his every movement. Like that isn’t an invasion of privacy or trust.

Alfred brought Damian to the manor around noon. This gives them enough time to hide any open-source of weaponry they could find or items that Damian could use against them in battle. That was a lot of items on the list. Dick inquired for Bruce to hold off on the tracking device as a last resort. He wanted to start everything out with a discussion, but Jason laughs that idea out the window as he cleans his guns.

“The young master is residing in his bedroom,” Alfred speaks walking down into the Batcave.

The Wayne family knew this was it.

To: Angel From: Demon

I’m ready.

To: Demon From: Angel

ETA in 5

Damian smirks at his phone. He loves his girlfriend and how quickly she can manage an entire group of classmates and plan a weekly movie night event.

He had packed his belonging that he usually brings with him when he does to Paris. Which isn’t much.

Four minutes.

Damian thought his ears were playing tricks on him, but they weren’t. He could hear the stampede of footsteps that were no doubt from his family members aside from Alfred. Alfred’s footsteps are like a ghost, you never hear them.

Three minutes.

“Hey little D, since you had a half-day today, why don’t you spend it with us,” Grayson asks the second his bedroom door swings open. Alfred the cat sends a glare to his owner’s family.

“Yeah, Demon spawn, we all took the day off to spend time with you,” Jason adds gas to the fire that was already burning intensely.

“Damian…” Not his father too.

Two minutes.

Damian doesn’t say a word. His eyes bounce from one person to the next and repeat. He didn’t know who to answer them. “Tt.” Was the only word? Sound? That had escaped his lips.

“You need to leave like now.” Damian refuses to have his family find out the very secret he had kept hidden for so long. His quick need for them leaving only pushes them to stay. Worried about various reasons from teen problems to joining the League of Assassins again. They didn’t want to take any chances.

One minute.

Damian could sense the user of the horse kwami becoming active. Soon a blue swirling portal opens up behind Damian. Damian looks at his family and side glances at the portal. The portal wins. The family of vigilantes runs to the portal only for it to close.

“Am I hallucinating or did that just happen?” Tim asks wiping the sleep away from his eyes.

“No, replacement, that really just happened.” Jason states. Tim nods in understanding.

“I’ll do track him down.” Dick sulks at the thought that Bruce was right.

It didn’t take long for the results to come in.

“Uh…so how the hell is the Demon in Paris, France of all places?” Jason shouts from behind his older brother and Bruce.

“The swirling portal thingy?” Tim states the obvious, but it sounded more like a question as he sits down and drinks a cup of coffee.

“Boys we’re going to Paris.” Bruce states over his sons. From afar, Alfred sighs and goes to prepare the zeta tubes with the destination in mind.

“Uh, civvies or uniform?” Dick asks as they all start to make their way to the zeta tube. This was one of those questions that they linger on for a hot minute.

Before they knew it, Damian had gained an hour over his family.

“It doesn’t matter, we need to know where the little demon has been hiding all this time.” Jason screeches talking over to the zeta tube and teleporting to the location.

Bruce turns to the remainder of his sons who shrugged and follow suit.

Entering Paris, they were further from Damian’s location than anticipated. They follow the tracker with some interruptions. Dick wanted to buy something for Kori, Jason wanted food and Tim needed for coffee. After all that was done, they officially made it to the supposed location of Damian’s whereabouts.

“Why would the little demon at a hotel?”

“Hum, this coffee is really good,” Tim says before taking another sip.

“Boys, focus on the mission.”

“I am focus, Bruce.”

“I didn’t say you were, Dick.”

“Touché.” Dick rubs the back of his arm.

They enter Le Grand Paris with tensions high and were surprised by how calm and relax the employees were. Jason swears this was just a hoax and they were torturing Damian behind one of these doors. An employee asks them if they are in need of anything. Bruce states that they were looking for his son.

“Is he friends with Chloe and her classmates?” The employee asks.

“Who?” Dick and Bruce ask simultaneously. Jason had dragged Tim off somewhere to look at some things.

The employee eyes the family skeptically.

“Well if he’s not friends with Mlle. Bourgeois, then I suggest heading to the police department and report a missing child.” The employee states before walking away. Bruce sighs and pulls out the tracking device. Damian is so close to them.

“We’re going to find him, right?”

“And drag the brat back to Gotham?”

Bruce in the direction that would be location, he gestures for his children to follow.

Damian was having a blast. In his arms, Marinette sat on his arm clinging to his shirt cursing Kim’s name throughout the film. Kim had chosen a horror movie for tonight’s showing and by kwami it was fantastic. There was no comedic relief, actual horror storytelling leaving the class on the edge of their seats.

Adrien was curled next to Marinette in Luka’s arms. He was also clinging to a body, a certain musician as if he was a frightened kitten.

Just as the MC was about to open the door to the attic, a series of figures jump from the ceiling. Screams in real-life match those within the movie. Popcorn, empty cartons of candy, soda drinks are thrown at the figures. A string of curses follows not long after that.

“Damian, tell your friends to stop.” He knows that voice from anywhere, it was Grayson’s voice. Marinette slides herself off himself.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” He screeches in English. Most of the class didn’t have a clue what was being said.

“We wanted to see where you were?”

“We thought you were kidnapped?”

“I just came for the scenery.”

Damian’s eyes twitch.

“That’s nice and all, but can you move? We’re trying to watch a movie here and you’re ruining it.” Chloe stands up demanding the bat-family to move. They all look to one another before subtly moving away from the screen.

Damian places a quick kiss on Marinette’s cheek and guides his family out of the room. He was not happy that they came in ruining his night with Marinette. Now he has to make up for it with something romantic, not that he’ll do it anyway.

“What made you believe that I was kidnapped?” He asks, the second they were out of the room.

“The portal thingy.”

“You not answering any of our questions.”

Damian breathes through his nose. “You’re all idiots.”

“Well movie night is a bust, but we all agree to stay here to continue rather than going home.” Marinette walks into the hall after a moment of them talking—well it was more of a screaming match between Bruce and Damian with some input from Dick. “Will your family be fine without you for a couple more hours?”

“Habibti, these dunces are my family,” Damian states gesturing to his family,

Marinette nods, “Well then, hello, and can we keep Damian for the night?”

Damian walks over to Marinette and wraps his arms around her. “I’ll return from before it’s nightfall in Gotham, father.”

“Uh, sure. Boys lets go.” Bruce accepts the came and walks down the hall. Before either of the brothers could pester Damian about this newfound relationship, Bruce gave them all the bat-glare and demanded that they follow.

“You know you’re going to get pestered, right.” Marinette laughs.

“Don’t remind me.”

“Come on, we have a movie to finish.”

With that, Damian takes Marinette’s hand and walks back into the room.

Tag List: *View my Tagging System guidelines for how to to be properly tagged or removed.

#maribat #mlb x dc #ml x dc #ml crossover #dc crossover #daminette

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matchasprouts · 3 years ago

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Listen Closer - Chapter 14

[ OK OK I FINALLY GOT IT DONE SO I'M GONNA START VAMPIRE AU CHAP 1 ]

First || Next || Previous || Last

Garrett definitely noticed that Strahm refused to make eye contact with him when they got back to the precinct, and couldn’t help but feel very proud of himself for that, even if all he’d done was get caught after having sex.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go home? It’s going to take more than a day for you to make up for all that blood loss,” Mark spoke up beside him, snapping him back to attention.

“I’m sure. I want to make sure they don’t dig too much into Lawrence,” Garrett replied, shifting in his seat.

They were currently sitting in the room hidden from the interrogation room by the two way mirror, waiting for Strahm and Perez to go in and ask Lawrence where he had been for so long. He was one of the only Jigsaw victims they had known of, but had never been able to find after his trap.

Of course, they couldn’t know that he was healing up at the meat packing plant. So he came up with something else, something John approved of.

They didn’t have to wait much longer before the door of the interrogation room opened and the agents entered, Strahm hovering closer to the mirror while Perez sat down across from Lawrence.

“So, Dr. Gordon, you’ve been missing for over six months now. I’ll admit that we don’t know very much about your “game” other than the fact that your fellow captive, Adam Stanheight, is dead. You were presumed dead as well. Where have you been all this time?” Perez asked, resting her hands on the table between them.

“Hiding,” Lawrence answered simply. “I had to… kill Adam in order for my family to live. It wasn’t my best moment- or my best shot, because of the blood I was losing- but I couldn’t just let them die. Not because of my mistakes.”

Garrett knew that Lawrence’s ex-wife had gone to the police after escaping Zep, only because he had looked at the files as soon as Lawrence told him he was going to be questioned. The police knew about their part of the kidnapping, and they had told them that Zep told them the game was over, and that Lawrence had lost.

They had a way around this too.

“I- I know that my ex-wife probably told you that I lost the game, but it’s not true. Zep’s clock was wrong. I checked as soon as I could walk.” This was a complete lie, both of the clocks were perfectly set up.

However, knowing that one day something like this would happen, Zep’s clock turned off permanently when the game was done, so no one could ever check. The police didn’t know that, and they never would.

Apparently they hadn’t been expecting Lawrence to be so cooperative, because there was silence for a minute, before Perez spoke up again.

“You said you were hiding? Is that because you killed Adam? You were trapped, Dr. Gordon, and it was the only way to protect your family. You wouldn’t have been arrested for that,” she said, leaning back when he scoffed at her.

“Do you honestly think that I was thinking about that after sawing off my own foot and murdering someone?” he asked coldly, his gaze flicking to the mirror for a second before dropping back to the table. “I was afraid, ashamed, and bleeding out. That didn’t exactly make me very open to thinking logically.”

There was silence again, before they decided they were satisfied. “Thank you for your time, doctor,” Perez said as she stood up, offering him a weak smile. “We’re glad to see you’re alright. Take care.”

With that, she and Strahm left, leaving Lawrence in the room. Garrett had already been told earlier that he could take Lawrence home when they were done, so he wasted absolutely no time in doing so, only pausing to give Mark a goodbye kiss.

“So, do you think my acting was on par with yours?” Lawrence teased once they were in the car, gaining a chuckle from Garrett. “Be honest. It was pretty important.”

“Yeah, it was,” Garrett admitted. “You could put a little more into eye contact, but they definitely believed you.” Lawrence gave a quiet “whoop” next to him, which made him laugh hard and sudden enough that he had to slam on the brakes as pain shot through his face from his wound.

Lawrence was on him in seconds, tilting his head to the side to check the stitches. Luckily he hadn’t pulled any out, but it hurt like HELL. “I’m fine,” Garrett muttered, getting an incredulous look from his boyfriend before he was released.

Soon enough, they were back on the road, the only thing breaking the silence being the radio.

This was probably the most quiet car ride Garrett had ever been in.

---

Upon arriving back at the meat packing plant, Garrett almost immediately locked himself in his room, getting straight to work on the plans for his next trap.

There wouldn’t be many traps for the next few months or so, other than a few small ones that Amanda and Mark would be putting on. Only one of them would need Garrett’s touch- he was going to have to put one of them together piece by piece in a motel room.

He was looking forward to the challenge, but that required the trap before it to happen, and that wouldn’t be for at least a month.

So, he worked on his own trap instead.

Honestly, part of him thought it would make more sense for Mark to design and build a trap for Strahm, but he found it rather poetic that it was his job instead. Since they’d met, they had continuously been forced into situations together, one even bad enough that Garrett literally passed out in his arms.

Strahm was growing attached, and Garrett was planning his death.

Some people might call that love.

His focus turned entirely to his plans as he sat down at his desk, surrounded by pieces of scrap metal and small models of traps. Luckily, he already had a plan in mind and didn’t have to sit there and try to figure it out.

The trap was going to be a box that would be placed on his head and quickly fill up with water. Theoretically there should be no escape, which was why it wasn’t his most creative trap. He wasn’t even going to make a tape for him.

He was, however, going to spend as much time as possible on it, in order to ensure that there was no way for him to get out.

Theoretically, of course.

Once he had the plans sketched out and finalized with a design he liked, he got to work on the actual building. He knew he had several months to put it together, but he didn’t want to waste any time.

He knew his little found family got worried when he threw himself into his work like this, but they did the same damn thing so they never said anything. He was pretty sure they worried just because he was the only one that locked himself away when he worked.

Nar still came in on occasion to make sure he was hydrated and not accidentally starving himself, but it was mostly Lawrence checking in on him now that he could walk.

What finally brought him out of the hyperfocus was the sound of a folder hitting his desk, the sound making him flinch.

The perpetrator was Mark, who was now leaning against the desk. “What’s that?” Garrett asked, tilting his head to the side as Mark handed the folder to him.

“That, sweetheart, is the paperwork you need to fill out to become my official specialist, instead of one accepted on my word alone,” Mark explained, gesturing for him to open the file, which he did.

Most of it was already filled out by Mark, leaving only a few black spaces that Garrett needed to fill in. “Man, you wanna be around me that bad?” he joked, but he really did appreciate the work Mark was putting in to let him into crime scenes.

“Just fill out the forms,” Mark shot back, pressing a long kiss to Garrett’s head before leaving the room.

… Maybe a little break would be okay. These forms were probably more time sensitive than the water box, and he’d take any chance he could to get away from his bookstore job.

Besides, all he had to do was sign his name, explain why he was certified to be a specialist, and any criminal history, which he did not have.

The form was finished quickly, and he took the chance to get something to eat while he looked for Mark to return it to him. After that was done, he went right back to his room and got right back to work.

John had only given him two traps to work on, and by god was he going to work on them.

Besides, the faster he got the water box done, the faster he could put together the pieces needed for one of his favourite traps yet.

#story tag: listen closer #self ship fic #self shipping #self insert #scrap.writing #scrap.ships #s/i: garrett whitlock #mark hoffman #lawrence gordon #peter strahm #romantic: 🦿🩺#romantic: ⛓🕵️‍♂️#romantic: 🖊💧#(poly) romantic: ⛓🩺🖊#chapter 14

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aliendes · 4 years ago

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Natural Borns - Chapter Four

Banner made by @thebannershop

Series info/genre: Angst, fluff, (possible) smut NSFW due to darker themes

Pairings: ot7 x fem reader (eventual)

Warnings: mentions of sadness, indecent thoughts? maybe, if you squint. it gets a little steamy, I suppose, but mostly just fluffy sadness, if that’s a thing. This series will have different trigger warnings listed for each chapter (if there are any), but as a whole, this series will include violence, mentions of depression & other mental illnesses, cursing, abuse, drugs/alcohol, some shitty medical descriptions because i am NOT a doctor, self-esteem issues, fluff, and possible smut in future chapters (but that’s undecided). i will add more warnings/tags in the future if there are any.

Description: In the year 2613, over half of the world’s population are what scientists consider ‘designer babies’. YN is a small town girl who is a true natural born, someone born naturally without he help of a lab or gene splicing. Her DNA is greatly sought after, but what is she willing to do to protect it?

Word count: 8k~ (whoops so sorry. if you like longer chapters like this, let me know!)

A/N: *deep breath* ok here is chapter 4. things are starting to heat up, but i cut this chapter in two because it was like over 12k long.... i go back to work tomorrow, so updates may start slowing down, but i’m hoping to post updates every Sunday night. i was feeling a little bit bogged down last week, not seeing as much influx with chapter three than i have with the other chapters. if you enjoy reading, please reblog so others can see it, too. thank you, as always. xx - Des

Updated: 8/9/2020

But the second he took one look at you, standing outside, wet and bloody, saw the look in your big beautiful eyes as he so heartlessly demanded things from you, he knew he stood no chance.

Yoongi sat in his makeshift office on an old torn recliner they found in the warehouse. Surprisingly, the warehouse had been decently furnished when they found it. Granted, it was all old, worn furniture, but furniture nonetheless. The building was incredibly old, but it was also very large and had a lot of empty rooms on two levels. The entire place was made out of concrete, meaning it hasn’t seen much weathering over the years. It was a place they could call home for now.

Yoongi leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest and stared at his beloved laptop in front of him. He wasn’t trying to think about you, no, in fact, he wanted nothing more than to erase the memory of you. Try all he might, his thoughts kept wandering back to the scared, small girl he saw earlier tonight. He let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes, letting his head loll back.

The blonde man was snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of footsteps outside his door. He picked his head up and spun around in his seat right as Hoseok came through the doorway.

“Hey,” Hoseok said, leaning against the doorframe, “I heard they found her.” His tone was indifferent, not happy, nor sad. Hoseok didn’t really have an opinion on you yet, voicing to Namjoon he didn’t really mind either way if they found you or not.

“Have you seen her yet?” Yoongi asked the red head knowing he hadn’t, as his demeanor would’ve changed the moment he did.

Hoseok shook his head, confirming Yoongi’s suspicions. “Good,” was all Yoongi said in response.

Hoseok gave him a puzzled look, cocking his head to the side. A bright grin started to take over his face as he took in the disgruntled look on Yoongi’s. “Are you letting her get under your skin that quickly, Yoongs?” He asked the older man in a teasing voice. “Is that why you’re hiding away while they fix her up?”

Yoongi’s blonde head snapped up at Hoseok’s words. “What do you mean ‘fix her up’?”

Hoseok’s smile started to slowly fade from his face, leaving a knowing smirk in its place. “She was pretty banged up from what Jungkook said. Poor boy was distraught when he came running into my room earlier.” Hoseok watched Yoongi’s face closely as his lips pursed into a thin line and he tried to act as if he didn’t care about you. Hoseok could see right through him.

Yoongi tried to keep his breathing steady and stared Hoseok right in the eye. “Who cares,” he shrugged as he turned back around in his chair and started typing away at his laptop.

“Who cares?” Hoseok asked rhetorically, “I think you do.” The red head walked over to Yoongi’s chair and put his hands on the back of it, pulling it down a bit so he could look into Yoongi’s eyes. He raised a questioning brow at the hacker, waiting for some kind of response.

“I don’t care about her,” he scoffed, “I don’t even know her.” Yoongi looked away from Hoseok as he spoke, knowing his closest friends would be able to see his lie. He didn’t want it to be a lie, what he was saying he wanted wholeheartedly to be true, but he knew it wasn’t. Why did he care about you? He really didn’t know you. But as Hoseok chuckled and walked away from the chair with a breathy ‘yeah right’, Yoongi’s thoughts just drifted to you.

“Please stay still,” Jin pleaded with you for the third time. You were currently laying on what you assumed was his bed while he took a look at all your wounds. He was looking at your bruised, and possibly fractured, according to him, ribs. It was painful and you weren’t sure how he expected you to stay completely still.

You had been laying here for the last twenty minutes, staring up at the ceiling, going over your conversation with Namjoon prior to letting Jin take a look at your wounds. You had learned that the five of them had been staying here for the last three weeks. They stumbled upon the place when exploring the surrounding forest. It was devoid of life, but a lot of furniture and supplies had been left from workers or from kids who threw parties here in the past. They made it into a base of sorts, where they could live and work. Work, you learned, was mostly Yoongi trying to hack into Big Hit’s, and other companies, systems, while Namjoon dealt with contacting people and said companies to get more information. Apparently, they had found out about you through Jimin, who had overheard some of the lab techs talking about a female natural born living on the outskirts of Seoul. You still weren’t certain what exactly made you all ‘special’, but Namjoon had said it had something to do with the markers in your DNA that made you desirable to these designer baby companies.

Namjoon had also told you that they were planning on going to Big Hit soon, in hopes of getting Jimin and Taehyung out. As they helped you limp to Jin’s room, he told you that he and Jungkook were going to help Yoongi and Hoseok with the planning tonight, and told you to get some rest.

When you first got to Jin’s room, you were pleasantly surprised by the cleanliness of it. For an old warehouse, they really tried to make it feel homey. Seokjin’s room was small and looked like it used to be some kind of office or file room. There was a small double mattress in the corner, which you were currently laying on, a small desk on the opposite side of the room, a small wooden end table, and a couple of backpacks and duffle bags laying about. While everything in the room looked old and worn down, it still smelled nice. It smelled like Jin, like pine and soap. Speaking of soap…

“Hey - how do you guys have lights and running water here?” You were curious, previous experiences made you think this place was totally abandoned.

Jin looked up from poking at your ribs, “Oh - Yoongi. He was able to get the electric and water companies to turn stuff on under a fake name,” he trailed off after noticing the apprehensive look on your face, “I know it’s not the most ethical way to go about things, but we don’t really have much of a choice right now.” The solemn look on his face told you that he regretted their actions, but truly had no other choice.

You nodded at his answer and jumped a bit when he went back to putting cream on your ribcage. “Please - stay still YN.”

“Sorry, sorry. It just hurts,” you groaned out and he finished his work. Jin let out a short sigh before pulling your shirt back down your torso. He picked up one of your hands and started to unravel the bandages to clean and rebandage it.

“I know, I’m sorry. I’ll try to be quick,” he gave you a quick smile and gently ran the back of his knuckles along your bicep. You tried to ignore the way his action made you feel, he was just trying to comfort you, right? He was a caring person, and he probably just felt bad seeing you in pain. That’s what you told yourself anyway.

You went back to staring at the ceiling, biting the inside of your cheek and Jin disinfected your cuts and scrapes. The feeling of his hands on you leaving you confused.

Once Seokjin had finished tending to your wounds, he gave you an old t-shirt and some sweatpants to change into before giving you a little privacy. After you had changed, you hobbled back over to the mattress and sat down. You stared around his room for a moment, finally letting the events of the day sink in.

You inhaled a deep breath as you thought back to everything that had happened. In just a few short hours, you had met these strange men who took you out to a forest and made you question your entire existence, witnessed your father make some kind of deal or exchange with a man who was likely trying to take you away, and ran away from your life, your family, and your friends. You didn’t even know who you could trust anymore, aside from probably Mina and Woo, but who knew when, or if, you would ever see them again. The thought alone made tears prick at the back of your eyes. You looked up to the ceiling to try and stop the hot tears from falling, to no avail. What were you getting yourself into?

As you felt a tear roll down your cheek, you heard a knock at the heavy door of Jin’s room. Quickly, you wiped the back of your hand at your face with a sniffle, before telling whoever was knocking to come in.

To your surprise, it was Jungkook who walked through the door, not Jin or Namjoon like you had expected. You blinked owlishly up at him for a moment as he shut the door and ventured into the room. He took a few steps in your direction, hands behind his back, and looked even more shy than you had seen him earlier.

“H-hey, noona?” He timidly asked, eyes locked on the floor.

Your eyes softened at his hesitancy. You made a sound of affirmation, urging him to continue speaking. Slowly he brought his hands from behind him back and extended them in your direction. He was holding a water bottle and a container of what looked like pain relievers. “Jin-hyung wanted me to tell you to take two of these,” he started, walking towards you with his hands outstretched like he was feeding a tiger, “and to drink the whole bottle.”

You gave Jungkook a small smile as you took his offering. He seemed so sweet in that moment, you couldn’t stop yourself, “Jungkook?” Your voice made the poor boy jump a little, but he relaxed as soon as he saw your smile. His big doe eyes somehow got slightly bigger as he nodded his head at you. “How old are you?” You asked him, head cocked to the side.

“Twenty two,” he said easily. He’s only a year younger than you, it was odd to you he was so timid, almost childlike at times. You hummed in approval. You truly did want to get to know these men, and Jungkook seemed like such a sweet guy. He was shy, but you could tell he had a kind soul. You wondered what had happened to him to make him so quiet. You hoped you would find out with time. You had a sort of affinity toward him. Maybe it was because he had literally carried you through a forest without so much as a complaint. You weren’t entirely sure.

The boy hesitated for a moment before turning around to walk out of the room. Just as he was about to reach the doorknob, he stopped and turned around to face you. “Noona?” His voice was so small, you almost asked him to repeat himself. Instead, you made a noncommittal noise, urging him to continue. “How old are you?” You wanted to coo at how cute Jungkook looked right now. Cheeks rosy, head slightly cocked to the side, eyes wide with mirth, almost like he was thankful for a reason to speak to you.

You gave the boy a bright smile before answering, “Twenty three.”

Jungkook stared at you for just a second longer, before nodding once and leaving the room.

“Who the fuck is Pearl?”

Hoseok shrugged his shoulders, not even looking up from the game he was playing on his phone.

“Are you even listening to me Hobi?” Yoongi was aggravated, to say the least. Namjoon, Seokjin, and Jungkook brought you to their base last night and he hadn’t gotten a lick of sleep. Namjoon brought him your phone, asking him to remove data from it so it couldn’t be tracked. He did so immediately, but the damn thing was burning a whole in the back of his head while he tried to sleep on the old, black leather couch in his room. Eventually, he got up from tossing and turning, and decided - against his better judgement - to look through the device. He knew it was wrong, knew it was a huge invasion of privacy, but he didn’t particularly care for you. Besides, he was curious, who could blame him?

The red head, currently sitting upside down on Yoongi’s couch, just huffed in response. Yoongi just rolled his eyes and spun around in the old, squeaky rolling chair. He had your phone open on his desk. It was early in the morning now, he figured you and the rest of the boys, aside from Hoseok, were probably still asleep. Hoseok tended to be an extremely early riser, yet still went to bed late at night. Yoongi never understood how he had so much energy with so little sleep.

Yoongi had already looked through your apps and photos. You didn’t have any social media that he could tell. Your apps were incredibly boring, just a few games and a notepad app that he found some of your notes on. Mostly things like grocery lists and dreams that you had. Nothing too interesting. Your photos weren’t very exciting either, mostly pictures of trees and fruit. You had some photos of your mom and dad and a couple of animals he assumed were yours. You seemed to live a pretty boring life, based on what was on your phone. The cynical side of him wanted to tell himself this meant you were a boring person, but he knew that was an unfair assumption.

The last thing Yoongi decided to snoop through, were your text messages. While he hadn’t found much there, aside from conversations with your mom, dad, and a group chat with someone named “Mina” and “Woo”, he did notice how everyone seemed to refer to you as ‘Pearl’. Aside from when your mother called you by your name yesterday, you were almost always referred to as Pearl. This piqued Yoongi’s interest, but he wasn’t sure why. Maybe this was evidence as to why the others shouldn’t trust you? It’s a simple nickname, but Yoongi was suspicious of you from the beginning. He didn’t want to admit it to himself, but he knew he was looking for reasons to hate you, to make the others hate you.

Yoongi nearly jumped straight out of his skin when the door to his room was swung open with such ferocity it slammed into the wall. Hoseok jumped straight up from the couch and Yoongi nearly fell out of his chair at the noise. “Jesus kid!” Yoongi yelled as he righted himself.

Jungkook had the graciousness to look ashamed as he entered the elder’s room. “Sorry hyung, I- I didn’t mean to,” he murmured without meeting the eyes of his older friends.

Hoseok sighed and relaxed a bit before pushing a hand through his bright locks and announcing he was going to ‘find something better to do’. Jungkook nodded at him as he left and took Hoseok’s previous spot on the couch. Yoongi surveyed Jungkook as he sat down. He looked tired, like really tired. He could see the small bags forming under the youngest’s eyes, a purple tint to his nearly perfect skin. Yoongi also noticed how skinny the kid was looking these days. He narrowed his eyes at the boy, “You doing ok, kid?”

Jungkook lowered his head into his hands and rested them on his knees, shaking his head back and forth slightly, “No hyung. I- I miss them,” Yoongi could hear the tears that were threatening to fall. He always did have a soft spot for Jungkook. He rose from his seat and sat down gingerly next to Kook on the couch, making the leather creaked beneath him, and slung his arm around the dark haired boy.

“I know, I miss them too. We all do,” he bagan, running a soothing hand up and down Jungkook’s upper arm, “we will get them back, Jungkook. I promise.” Jungkook lifted his head and looked at his hyung, eyes glazed over. He believed him, he really did, he just missed his best friends.

Jungkook nodded his head as he worried his bottom lip between his teeth. Yoongi thumbed at the younger’s lip sweetly, prompting him to release it. He knew Jungkook’s stress, he understood it. He missed the twins too, and he was working his hardest to get them back. Soon. He could feel it.

Last night had gone about as well as you thought it would. After Jungkook left you alone, Jin never returned to his room. You took the painkillers they offered you, but you thought for sure someone would be back to check on you, and you didn’t feel comfortable enough to wander around the place. You also felt a little bad for taking Jin’s bed when he had been so gracious to you. So after a while of waiting - and mentally hoping - for someone to walk in, you tried your hardest to fall asleep, to no avail. You tossed and turned in Jin’s small bed for what felt like hours, but you didn’t really know how long it had been. There was no clock in the room, you didn’t have your phone, and there were no windows. You guessed you finally fell asleep sometime in the early morning and had a very short, fitful rest before Jin was coming in to wake you.

“YN?” You heard Seokjin’s soft voice from the doorway. You blearily blinked away sleep as you tried to fully regain consciousness. As you rolled over in bed to face the door, you saw Jin standing there with a plate of something that smelled absolutely delicious. You hadn’t realized how hungry you were, but your stomach was beginning to rumble at the sight of food. You remembered the last time you ate anything was yesterday morning at breakfast.

Jin walked a little further into the room and sat down at the edge of the bed. He wanted to laugh at how entranced you were by the food in his hands, and at the erratic way your hair was sticking up. “Hungry?” He asked, arm outstretched towards you with the plate. You let out a small yawn and reached your arms above your head with a small pout. The large t-shirt you were wearing - Jin’s t-shirt - rode up slightly as you stretched and Jin thought you had to be the cutest thing he’s ever seen. As you finished your much needed stretch, you nodded your head with one eye open, taking the plate.

“Thank you, I’m so hungry,” you mumbled, voice still thick with sleep. Jin’s plump lips upturned into a bright smile as you started to eat a piece of toast from the plate. “You’re able to cook here?”

“There’s a small kitchen,” Jin nodded as he spoke, “it looks like it was an old staff lounge or something? We aren’t entirely sure what this building used to be, but it seemed like some people used to live here. There were beds, couches, even an old television when we got here.”

Now, feeling a little more awake, you nodded along with Jin, “Where do you get the food?”

Seokjin didn’t even miss a beat before answering, happy you were coming out of your shell a bit, “I go to the market at least once a week,” he smiled, “I take Jungkook with me sometimes…” he started to trail off a bit, looking away from your eyes, almost like he was embarrassed. “That’s actually how we found you.”

You stopped chewing, mid-bite of scrambled egg, “Found me?” You mumbled, mouth full.

Jin nodded, looking bashful, “Jimin told us he overheard people at the lab talking about a girl, a natural born living in this town. We honestly didn’t think we would find you here,” Seokijn rubbed the back of his neck as he continued, still avoiding your gaze, “We came out here and found this warehouse, it ended up being perfect for us to stay in,” as he continued his eyes finally met yours, he mentally noted how cute you looked, cheeks puffed out with food staring at him, “we needed food, so me and Jungkook went to the market. When I saw you, I knew.”

Your stomach was doing flips at Seokjin’s admission, and you weren’t entirely sure why. They were harmless words, maybe even a little reassuring. They weren’t stalking you, they happened to stumble upon you. So you weren’t sure why you were suddenly feeling so shy. His words almost sounded like a love confession you would hear in a blockbuster movie about soulmates. You could feel your cheeks heat slightly as you finally swallowed the eggs. “What do you mean, you knew? I don’t remember seeing you, or talking to you,” you prodded for some more information.

For a moment, Jin just stared into your eyes, and you thought he wasn’t going to answer you. Then, his plush lips parted as he quietly murmured, “Well, YN, you’re breathtakingly beautiful. I hope you know that,” he never broke eye contact as he uttered his next words, “and now that I’ve gotten to know you more, I can say you have a beautiful soul, too.” You were reeling. Were you the female lead of this made for TV movie your head conjured up?

You stared back at Seokjin with wide, glazed eyes, lips slightly parted in shock. No one has ever said anything like that to you, aside from Mina telling you how beautiful you were and how jealous she was of your skin. Jin was gazing at you as if you were the only person in the world, and you would be lying if you said it didn’t make you feel incredible. You were high on his attention, you loved the way your stomach was erupting with butterflies.

You were still seated on his bed, legs crossed and hands sitting in your lap, food forgotten next to you. Seokjin was still staring intently into your eyes, with an intensity you’ve never felt before. Slowly, ever so slowly, he lifted his hand and went to lightly brush his knuckles against your cheek bone. The action made you flush, eyes closing at the soft feeling of his hand. Just as you were leaning into his touch, a soft smile on his lips, the door to his room opened, causing both of you to jump backwards, eyes shooting towards the person intruding on such an intimate moment.

“Jin,” Namjoon looked slightly embarrassed, cheeks pink realizing what he walked into, “we need you in Yoongi’s room.” He bowed his head once at you both before turning on his heels and walking away.

Seokjin cleared his throat and you found it endearing how his neck and ears were turning a beet red. “S-sorry,” he sputtered out, “I - I’ll be back in a little bit?” He sounded unsure as he scrubbed a hand down his face. You gave him a small smile and nodded, a little sad at the loss of companionship you were just starting to get used to. You couldn’t quite place the emotion you were feeling, but you knew it was nothing like the platonic friendship you felt for Woo or Mina. Jin stood up from his bed, making his way towards, before giving you some parting words, “I’ll have Jungkook come show you where the showers are.”

After your encounter with Jin this morning, you were reeling from the onslaught of emotions you were feeling. You weren’t given much time to think too much about it though, because once you finished your breakfast, Jungkook came to give you a short, and rather quiet, tour of the building.

Like Seokjim promised, Jungkook showed you where the one bathroom was located, which looked more like a gym locker room than a bathroom. There were shower stalls, benches, and a couple of toilets and sinks along with a wall of lockers. It looked to be a changing room for employees of the mill. Jungkook had brought with him your black linen pants, washed by Jin according to him, and another large t-shirt. He didn’t want to admit it was his this time, and blushed fiercely as he handed them over to you, along with a clean towel.

Jungkook kindly showed you how to work the showers, helping you turn one on because of your hands. He also sweetly helped unwrap your hands and feet so you could properly shower and clean the cuts and scrapes. After he was done, he turned away, telling you he would wait on the benches for you to finish. As he was retreating, you reached out your hand to grab his forearm, “Wait - I- I can’t really lift my arms up,” you mumbled, warily looking up into his wide deer-in-headlights eyes, “can- can you help me?” You’ve never been shy about your body or nudity, but something about Jungkook seeing you nearly naked, made you feel like a shy teenager again.

You thought Jungkook was about to spontaneously combust the way he was staring at you. His shoulders were squared and nearly meeting his ears, lips pursed into a tight line, and eyes the size of dinner plates. You almost laughed at his expression, but then remembered how awkward this situation was for the both of you.

“I- I - ye- yes,” Jungkook was a stuttering mess, but wanted to offer you his help regardless. He felt like he was on fire with the way his cheeks and neck were heating. Slowly, you retracted your hand from his forearm when you felt like he wasn’t about to bolt out of the room. Jungkook carefully reached for the hem and your shirt and you turned around so your back was facing him to make this all less embarrassing. The boy audibly gulped as he slowly pulled your shirt upwards removing it from your head first, pushing it towards your front. He stepped closer to you so there was barely an inch of space between your now bare back and his front. Reaching his arms around you, he gripped the shirt and slid it down your arms, removing it from you completely. His fingers ever so slightly brushed the skin on your arms and made a shiver run up your spine. Jungkook didn’t miss the way you let out a strangled breath, almost inaudible.

He needed to cool off, quickly.

You quietly thanked him, quickly covering your breasts with your arms, as he turned away still holding Jin’s shirt and made his way out of the bathroom without another word.

After your much needed shower you struggled to dress yourself, but you would rather cut off your own arm than go through the embarrassment of finding Jungkook to help you again. Once you were finally decent, you found Jungkook sitting on the benches outside of the shower room, just like he said he would be. He has visibly calmed down, now wearing a calm expression. When he noticed you walk into the room, he gave you a small smile. “Feel better?”

You nodded enthusiastically, happy to feel clean again.

Next, Jungkook showed you the small kitchen that Jin spoke of earlier. It was more like a kitchenette, almost like an employee break room. It had a tiny refrigerator, cabinets that were filled with dry goods, a sink, and one electric burner. The building was so old, you were shocked to see the kitchen in such great condition. At the shocked look on your face, Jungkook told you that Jin really loved to cook and worked really hard to clean it up and keep it that way. Your face flushed at the reminder of the older man who was making your heart feel things just this morning. The thought of him caring so much about his kitchen, moving about in here cooking the delicious food you ate for breakfast, made your stomach twist in a pleasant way.

The last place Jungkook showed you was a mostly empty room on the second floor of the building. He told you that they didn’t use the second story much, considering the state of disrepair of the place, they didn’t want to risk getting hurt up here. But this room, Jungkook told you, was his favorite place to hang out. It was a rectangular concrete room that had a large expanse of windows on the far wall. Some of the windows were broken, allowing the breeze from outside to enter. In front of the windows sat a small tan sofa that looked like it had seen better days. Jungkook led you over to the windows, and you quickly realized why he liked this room so much.

You could see the entire quarry from up here. It was beautiful. At the bottom of the quarry was water that took on an incredible aquamarine color, turning almost green in the sunlight. The water was completely still, no disruptions on the surface, making it look serene. Along the bank of water, there were lush, green bushes and trees swaying slightly in the wind. On the other side of the quarry, you could see a small patch of yellow and purple flowering plants. Along the steep sides of the cliffs, you could see the smooth surface of exposed marble. Over the years, the marble has become weathered and looked smooth to the touch. The late morning sun, high in the sky, was reflecting off of the stone in a way that made it sparkle. It was an incredible sight, and you were surprised you’d never seen it like this before, having been out here in the past.

As you stood there, taking in the breathtaking scenery, Jungkook was taking in you. You had a look of mirth in your eyes, and he mentally patted himself on the back for bringing you up here. He took in your side profile, admiring your sharp features that looked as if they were carved from the very marble you were currently staring at. He loved the way your soft lips were forming a small pout, eyes focused on the sight in front of you. He didn’t realize he was grinning at you, until you turned around with a look of shock on your face.

A grin spread across your face as you saw Jungkook’s smile for the first time. It reminded you of a bunny, large front teeth on display for you to admire. You stood there for a moment, smiling at each other before you both started giggling. “Thank you for showing me this, Jungkook,” you crooned once the laughter had subsided. He just smiled at you in return before looking back out towards the quarry. You stayed in a comfortable silence after that, before Jungkook deemed it time to head back downstairs.

Downstairs, Jungkook led you to a room that was right in the middle of the long hallway that contained all the other rooms. “This is Yoongi-hyung’s room,” he cautioned, hand on the door, “don’t worry, Joon-hyung told him to be nice,” he rushed out, seeing the fearful look on your pretty features.

You were still uncertain, but nodded at Jungkook anyways, prompting him to open the door. Jungkook waited patiently for you to enter the room on your own with no pressure from him. You peeked around the corner to find the occupants of the room all staring right at you. You purse your lips into a tight line and avert your gaze to your newfound safe harbor, Seokjin, who was sitting on a black leather couch. His eyes softened at your uncomfortable look before scooting over to make room for you on the couch, patting the seat next to him, inviting you over. You hesitantly walked over and plopped down on the soft cushion.

Jin rubbed a large hand on your shoulder briefly to calm you down before placing both hands in his lap. As you felt yourself relax a bit, you took in your surroundings. Jungkook was still standing near the door, leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. He looked oddly stoic, shedding the shy persona he usually wore. The room was fairly large, or at least, larger than the rest of the rooms you’ve been in. Against the right wall was the black leather couch you and Jin were currently sat on, and to your right against the far wall were two arm chairs, one of which was occupied by Namjoon. Sat in a desk chair in front of what looked like an old corporate desk, was Yoongi, with multiple laptops and devices sprawled out in front of him. Leaning against the wall behind Yoongi was another man, one you didn’t recognize, but you assumed was Hoseok. He was staring intently at you. His expression was unreadable, not cold, but not welcoming either. He looked intense with bright red hair, a sharp jawline that looked like it could cut diamonds, dressed in all black. He was a little intimidating and not at all like the golden retriever type boy Namjoon had described to you last night.

As you took in the men around the room, you hadn’t noticed Yoongi and Namjoon discussing a possible plan to break the twins out of Big Hit. “Jimin said there might be a window of time where no one is around,” Yoongi scoffed, “but you remember what happened last time he said that.”

Namjoon nodded his head. Now you were listening intently to their conversation, as were the other men in the room. “We need to trust Jimin, Yoongs. He’s the one inside there, he sees what’s going on, we don’t,” Namjoon sighed, running his hands over his knees, apparently a self-soothing mechanism, “if you think you can get in and knock out the cameras, we might as well give it a shot. We will make sure we’re better prepared this time.” Namjoon seemed defeated. You weren’t sure what happened ‘last time’, but it didn’t sound good.

“It doesn’t matter how prepared we are, he was wrong about the window last time. By two hours. If he’s wrong again we could get caught, or killed,” Yoongi snapped, anger apparent in his eyes, “I’m not willing to risk you guys again.”

“What about her?” This time, it was the redhead who spoke. You hadn’t noticed his eyes on you throughout the entire conversation, assessing you.

“No!” Both Jin and Jungkook barked at the same time, making you jump in your seat. Jin set a soothing hand on your shoulder as you looked at him, and then at Hoseok with wide eyes. Jin shook his head aggressively before looking at Yoongi and Hoseok, “No way. She’s never been there, she would have no idea what to do. You’re not willing to risk one of us, but willing to risk her?” He snarled, you haven’t seen him angry before, and you were positive you didn’t want to be on the receiving end of his anger.

Over by the door, Jungkook had uncrossed his arms and was walking towards Yoongi’s desk. “You can’t send her in there, hyung,” he started, placing both hands palm down on the desk, “please.”

Yoongi looked up at the maknae with soft eyes before pursing his lips and sighing through his nose. Behind him, Hoseok raised his hands in surrender, “It was just a suggestion,” he sighed out passively, “we’ve all lived there at some point or another, they would recognize us immediately, just like last time.”

“They know her too. Hyunwoo has been scouting her for months, according to Jimin. We can’t let her go in there.” It was Namjoon who was being the voice of reason this time, causing both Jin and Jungkook to let out a collective sigh of relief. The five men continued to argue while you got lost in your thoughts. Hoseok wanted you to navigate Big Hit? Alone? You mulled it over in your head for a minute, remembering Yoongi’s words. If he was able to hack the cameras, they wouldn’t be able to see you, right? You felt so grateful towards Jin and Namjoon, and even Jungkook, for helping you, you wanted to contribute in some way. You wanted to help them, ease their pain at the loss of their friends.

With this thought in mind, you spoke up, “I could do it…” you trailed off, voice quiet. All five of the men’s heads snapped towards you, most with looks of disbelief on their faces. Even Hoseok hadn’t expected you to agree, he was testing you, to see how you would react. Yoongi looked at you curiously, waiting for your next words. He couldn’t deny the clench in his heart at Seokjin’s words. No, he wasn’t willing to risk you, but if you were offering... “I mean.. I want to help,” you hesitated, looking between Jin and Jungkook who were now looking angrily at you. You shrunk in on yourself a bit, awaiting their response.

“Then it’s settled,” Yoongi remarked. He was trying hard to contain the fear he felt at allowing you to enter Big Hit alone. He knew it was dangerous, and he really wanted to not care about your well-being, but try as he might, he was terrified of allowing you to do this. He assumed he hid it well though, because everyone bar Hoseok was looking at him with incredulousness.

“No way,” Seokjin spoke first, his tone leaving nothing up for discussion, “this conversation is over.” Jin stood up abruptly, looking directly at Namjoon, “You aren’t ok with this, are you?” The look in his eye was intense, and Namjoon could feel it. He could feel the emotions Jin felt towards you, that he was going to do whatever it took to protect you. Namjoon would be lying to himself if he said he didn’t feel the same way.

Namjoon let out a short sigh and closed his eyes before setting his gaze on Yoongi, “We can figure this out without involving YN.”

“You heard her,” Yoongi growled, “she’s willing to risk her life. Who am I to tell her no?”

From there, the argument got even more heated, Jungkook even getting involved at one point. You were starting to feel uncomfortably hot in this cramped space. You understood both sides. You wanted to help, but you also knew that whatever you were volunteering yourself to do was dangerous. You needed air.

Suddenly, you stood up from the sofa announcing to the others that you ‘needed space’ and bolted out the door. Jungkook turned to run after you, but Hoseok, who was now standing next to the youngest, put his hand on his shoulder to stop him. “Let me go Hobi-hyung, I need to make sure YN is ok,” Jungkook rushed out, turning to the elder.

“Let her go, Kookie. This is probably a lot for her,” Hoseok told the boy, who looked like his heart was breaking at his words, “She’ll be ok, give her time.”

In your haste to remove yourself from the situation, you missed the look of absolute devastation on Jin’s face. He didn’t want you to feel like you had to do anything to repay them. He didn’t want you to feel like you owed them. He couldn’t believe how strongly he felt for you after only one day, longing for your presence next to him, now that it was suddenly gone. He could see that Jungkook - and to some extent, Namjoon - felt similarly.

Namjoon’s heavy sigh could be heard by everyone in the room, even over the loud chatter between the boys, as he slowly rose from his seat. As he made his way over to the door, he looked over his shoulder at the hacker. “Fix this.” His words held a finality that made Yoongi gulp. The blonde had a stoic outer shell that was hard to crack, but no one in this building could deny Namjoon was the one in charge, the one they wouldn’t defy. Yoongi nodded, biting the inside his cheek to hold back his retorts as Namjoon left the room.

After you burst out of Yoongi’s room earlier, you ran towards the big metal door that led outside the warehouse. You didn’t really want to go home, you were way too scared of what might be waiting for you there, but you did need some fresh air and some time to process everything that has happened to you since yesterday.

You made your way down the long winding path that led back to the fork in the path at the edge of the forest. You were thankful Jungkook had found you a pair of slippers earlier and you were no longer barefoot. You passed the broken fence blocking the dirt road down to the quarry and carefully hiked down until you were at the embankment and sat on the edge of the water. It really was beautiful and now that you were up close, you could see how clear the water was. It looked like liquid gemstones, barely rippling in the slight breeze. The marble looked so pretty up close, nearly snow white with swirls and lines of grey. It was calming out here. You took a few deep breaths, inhaling the scent of the water and the trees.

You have never done well with crowds of people. Not that five men were a crowd by any means, but you weren’t used to being around more than a couple of people at a time. Growing up, you had severe anxiety, especially while at school, and it carried over to adulthood. You also haven’t had many chances to socialize as an adult, outside of Mina and Woo. Being thrown into a situation with five men, two of whom you don’t think even want you around, is a lot. It’s only been twenty four hours and you’re already starting to regret leaving your home. You thought about your mom, and the huge breakfasts and dinners she would make for you and your father. Your father, who you didn’t know if you could even trust anymore. You’ve lived your whole life putting all your trust in your parents, as one should. But now you were questioning everything. Were they aware of your genetic rarity? Did they know about Big Hit all along? You had so many unanswered questions that you would probably never have answers to unless you went home.

Your mind wandered to Mina and Woo. How you weren’t sure if you would ever get to see them again. You were worried about them, worried that they would look for you and find themselves in some kind of trouble. They were your only friends growing up, and you didn’t even get to properly say goodbye to them. You didn’t realize you were crying until you felt something wet and warm drop into your lap. You were wearing the pants that you got dressed in yesterday morning before what could’ve been your last breakfast with your family. At that thought, the dam within you broke and the tears started flowing.

While staring at your damaged hands, you were reminded of Seokjin, and his caring nature. The tall, broad shouldered man who has shown you nothing but kindness. He was so gentle with you, like no one ever has been before. He made your heart flutter and your mind blank when he spoke to you. You thought back to how angry he had been with his own friends, over you, a girl he just met. He was defending you, and it made you feel like you were tearing a family apart. You didn’t want to bring him, or anyone else for that matter, any pain or harm. But then you thought back to how nice his large hand had felt against the delicate skin of your face this morning, and how his words had made you blush with fondness. You’ve never loved someone outside of your family, never even had a crush before. You weren’t sure how to define what you felt for Seokjin, but it felt good.

Then you thought about Namjoon, the well spoken and intelligent man who was the reason you were brought in with welcoming arms. From what you’ve gathered, he was the one who pushed to find you, to make sure they did something to stop Big Hit from getting to you. You were thankful for him, and you didn’t want to put him in a position where he had to choose you or his brothers. He cared for them deeply, you could see that clearly.

Jungkook was mysterious to you. He seemed so shy and timid, yet he was so angry with Yoongi earlier in defense of you. He had shown you one of the most beautiful places you’ve ever witnessed before, and given you one of the most precious smiles you’ve ever seen. You wanted to learn more about him, get to know him, be his friend. You felt drawn to the boy and wanted to protect him. It was odd, you’ve never felt an instinct to take care of someone else before, aside from maybe your cat. You wondered if that was how Seokjin felt towards the rest of them, the thought causing your heart to clench, emphatic towards him.

The red haired man, Hoseok, was the one you knew the least about. It felt like he didn’t really like you, but he was so hard to read. You remembered what Namjoon said about him being excitable and friendly, but you had yet to experience it yourself. As much as you felt unwelcomed by him and Yoongi, you still felt inclined to get to know him better, a pull to him, much like the others. You couldn’t explain these feelings, and they were confusing you.

The last man of the group, the blonde. Yoongi. He definitely didn’t want you here, and definitely made you feel unwelcome. But could you blame him? You weren’t mad at him. No. You understood completely how he felt. You were a stranger, disposable, and you weren’t his friend. He had no reason to care about you. None of them did. You mentally berated yourself for allowing your mind to conjure up the idea that they owe you anything, that you deserved their care and affection.

As you sat and cried silently to yourself, you let the dark thoughts take over your mind. Were you some kind of charity case to Namjoon? Like he felt the need to save someone who was like him and that’s all you meant to them? Maybe they felt sorry for you, and that’s why they were treating you so kindly. Seokjin acted caring towards everyone, why were you anything special? You were acting crazy, it’s only been a day with these men and you’re already feeling such a strong pull to them. You need to get a hold of yourself. You continued to sit there, on the edge of the water, shoulders hunched as you cried silently. As the day went on, and the sun started to set beyond the hills, your mind was plagued with the thoughts that this was all a horrible, horrible idea.

To be continued….

A/N: if you made it this far, first of all, THANK YOU! If you want to be added to the taglist, make sure you’re following me and send me an ask. if you enjoy the series consider reblogging so it can reach more readers. i’m feeling a little down about writing right now, so i’m trying to make sure to update next sunday. we will be meeting the twins in the next couple chapters, depending on how long they get, and you will be getting some steamy scenes between YN and (a) boy shortly. much love

xx Des

taglist: @minifruity @mrcleanheichou @arantxaglz @chim-possible

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vydante · 4 years ago

Text

Restart | 12

Fandom: Marvel

Pairing: Avengers x Male! Reader (romantically: multiple)

A/N: Missed y'all. I don't think I'm officially off of my hiatus, but I somehow managed to pull a chapter out of my ass after months of radio silence. I really did back myself into a corner with the last chapter, but hey, this is my story and I get to pace it however I want.

Sorry if things are worded weirdly, I'm writing them but they're going through one ear and out the other when it comes to comprehending what I actually wrote. No one will remember what happened, but that's okay. God, I really need a beta-reader... Anyways. Love y'all. XOXO.

Also, sorry if any of the formattings seems off. HTML doesn't really translate well over certain sites. (Tumblr, Quotev, Wattpad, and AO3 are now my main places for posting my works. Anywhere else, that's not me nor was it permitted by me.)

If you want a recap: You're in the process of jumpstarting Project Renaissance after realizing that you've just been doing basically nothing ever since you woke up in your old body. You've also taken to making video logs to report down your progress, and in the last chapter (that was in the POV of multiple video logs), it ended on a cliffhanger with Barnes being discovered and moved to a safe house.

This chapter takes place roughly after the last one.

If you're currently binge reading this story, this recap is only because last chapter was updated... Roughly more than 7 months before this chapter. So. Yeah. :D

Oh, and let's pretend that either A. Barnes doesn't have a tracking chip in his arm OR B. he did, but you got it out during the whole rescue-escapade. That's my bad, I straight up forgot about that possibility until I was like, close to 4000 words deep into this chapter. Now we're at roughly 8k+... Hehe. Whoops.

_______

You're not gonna call Barnes, Bucky.

There's a personal touch to the nickname that bothers you. How awful it sounds in your ears, to call the former husk of a man a name he no longer recognizes. There's history to that name, both on writing and in memory, though only in sparsity. Plus, it'll be difficult for you to associate Bucky to Barnes. A man with an identity to a man without.

So after the whole debacle of getting him out of the mini-Hulk playbox and into decent dry clothing, when he asks what his name is, you quietly debated to yourself what to tell him.

"... Your name is James Buchanan Barnes," you'd eventually reply.

He doesn't comment on the resignation in your tone, but you're confident that he certainly noticed it- surely, the ticks of being the Winter Soldier was still there, no matter how disoriented he must be. But whether courtesy was something that he hadn't forgotten whilst his brain was refried over and over like leftover KFC wings or he was simply too exhausted to ask, you didn't care.

Granted, for a man who should have a lot of questions on his mind, he's definitely proven himself to be a man of very few words.

An hour goes by, and in the midst of you trying your best to build a solid standing between the two of you, he's said so few words that you could probably count all of them on both of your hands.

If it weren't for the nods of affirmation, you'd think that his averted gaze from you would have meant that he wasn't paying attention at all, but honestly, you knew better than to judge him for that if he actually wasn't actually listening in the first place.

Hell, he could tear up the walls to the high heavens and you still wouldn't hold him against it, so you were just thankful that he was so docile, for someone who could snap your neck if he felt so inclined.

Though, as it turns out confusion and disorientation wasn't the actual reason why he was being so docile, you belatedly realize as you're stood in front of a blank-faced Barnes. You're in the middle of trying to give him a basic tour around the house when he quietly interrupted your monologuing.

"Mission parameters," you echoed his words, though mainly to yourself. He nods, and for once meets your eyes. There's neither confidence nor surrender in his eyes, and that makes your stomach churn. Chances are, he probably saw nothing wrong with asking such a thing.

"You want me to give you- mission parameters. Like- like your handlers would?" You laughed incredulously, but the humor was replaced with subdued hysterical horror.

You were aware of what they were. Aware of the types of hunts his Handlers- bastards- would sick him out on. Aware of what he did without a second thought. You saw those files, if only briefly. That was more than enough for you to see the type of expectations that came alongside "mission parameters".

He nods as if you were stating the obvious.

God.

You opened and closed your mouth, and for a split second, once you got past the horror of being asked to tell him what to do, a subtle realization crawled up your spine. In the midst of your impromptu introduction and briefing, you never really made a distinction as to what role you were supposed to play in all of this.

So it shouldn't be a surprise for Barnes to assume that you're his new- what? Handler? Caretaker? After all, as far as you can assume, that's probably all he knows; all he was conditioned to grow accustomed to, to expect his every move to be dictated by some outsider with no care to the wants or needs that Barnes has.

(Hell, if you were to make a reach right now, maybe Barnes thinks he doesn't have wants or needs. That he shouldn't.)

(In the background, a part of you simmer in silence.)

With your jaw clenched, you make an effort to make your voice as even as can be when you ask him, "You don't need mission parameters, Barnes. You're your own free man. You can- can make decisions on your own. You don't need me to tell you what you need to do."

Pray as you might, there's something about realizing that you said the wrong thing right after saying said words that make you wonder what you did to anger the higher powers that be to put yourself in the situation you're in right now.

Barnes doesn't say anything, but his eyes says it all. Confusion. Realization. Grief. Detachment. His metal hand clenches, and you're man enough to admit that it made your heart stutter in fear.

"I...", he mutters, "... don't understand."

You swallowed.

This...

This is gonna be tough.

_______

It's difficult to explain what self-autonomy and freedom meant to a man who is only capable of remembering being chained and held on a leash like a rabid dog.

Thankfully, it was your winter break, so you had a manageable excuse for being away from "home" for a few days, but you only had so long to try and establish to Barnes that you're not going to be able to be there with him as often as you are now (and even then, the time frame was too small to even make any sense of attachment).

You knew for sure you couldn't always be there for Barnes, so one thing was certain: he had to meet DAHLIA. And thankfully, since the whole safe house was yours, not even your father knew that DAHLIA, your own A.I., would be uploaded into the houses' built-in hardware.

(While the hardware was built with the intention of housing J.A.R.V.I.S. there as a standard, he ended up "moving out" the moment that the house became yours. Something about "not intruding on a teenager's privacy", but you're more than thankful for Tony's afterthought, even if you did end up taking slight advantage of his consideration.)

And surprisingly enough, Barnes wasn't really bothered by the concept of DAHLIA as much as you had initially expected. Of course, he didn't really talk to her, but it wasn't like he talked much in the first place.

(On a side note, it looks like DAHLIA seems to like the house, all things considered... So there's that.)

(The original DAHLIA was never installed here, instead she ended up "living" in a retirement house of sorts in a wooded area of New York. She never said anything about the house, so it's... Kind of endearing, to see that she actually might prefer this house instead. And mildly insulting, considering you personally decorated the other house.)

You ended up spending nearly the whole night trying to establish even the most basic of guidelines: use the bathroom whenever he needed to (you initially said phrased it as "wanted", but he promptly cut you off saying "The Asset does not have wants," which, rude, but also sad); whatever is in the kitchen is available for him to eat whenever, where ever; basic hygiene; and the most important one- if he had any questions, his first source would be you. And on the off-chance that you're not available, DAHLIA is always online and ready to help.

He gave a tentative nod, but you're somehow not confident that he might have interpreted it wrong. You're hoping he doesn't do anything to prove you right.

"Alright. So. Any questions?"

He stares at you for a beat too long before shaking his head.

He's still giving non-verbal answers for the most part, but it's better than nothing. You internally sighed and motioned him to follow you deeper into the safe house.

Considering that it was already pretty late by the time you managed to beat those guidelines into his head (maybe that should be worded better, but you never claimed to be a lyricist; it is what it is), he might be just as tired as you are from how long the day has been.

(Granted, this dude has been "asleep" for who knows how long, but it's the thought that counts.)

"You know where I'm taking you to?" you asked, not really expecting an answer from him.

"No," he responds from behind you. Color you surprised.

You turned into the hallway and stepped up to an unassuming door. You opened it to reveal an equally unassuming bedroom. Muted colors, modern design; it reeked Pepper's doing, knowing that Tony isn't as decoratively-inclined as she is.

Hah, bet she didn't expect that instead of housing you or your dad, it'll go to a super-solder that wasn't Steve instead.

(Not that Steve would ever have a reason to step foot in here, but in this line of work, you'd be stupid to be 100% sure about something.)

You motioned him to come into the room and tilted your head to the bed.

"This is your bedroom, pretty much where you'll be sleeping. There's a bathroom right over there," you motioned to the door adjacent to the entrance door, "and I'll be in the room right next to yours."

Barnes takes a second to process it all, and with a quick scan of the room with calculating eyes, he nods. You absentmindedly scratched the back of your neck.

"I mean, there's plenty of rooms here so if you don't like this one, just let me know and we'll probably move you to another room-" you rambled, secretly trying to get a move on so you'd finally get some shut-eye.

(What? You're not perfect, sleep is heavily slept on in this day and age. Hah.)

(God, you're definitely going to hell.)

"-and you know how to use a toilet, right?"

The raised eyebrow pointed at you definitely proves that that was a pretty stupid question, but hey, you can't take any chances. You shrugged, a tired smirk threatening to form on your lips.

"Well then. Can I leave it to you to settle down for the night, or...?" you left it open-ended.

He didn't say anything in response, only stared at the bed in front of him. There was a pregnant pause, but he nodded at you. There was a strange tilt to his eyes, but you didn't bother to think further into it as you were just thankful that you could finally rest.

"Well then, good night Barnes. I'll come by tomorrow morning and we'll continue to, er," you thought about it, "work, on your situation."

You made a swift exit out of his room and immediately into "your" room, which was literally right next to his. You immediately discarded your clothes and with a brisk shower and teeth brushing, you promptly dropped straight onto the bed with an audible grunt, wet hair soaking straight into the pillow.

Pulling the plush duvet to cover your body, you reached for your phone to check for any messages you might have gotten.

(3 from Tony; he asked where you were. You told him that you're staying at a safe house and that you needed a small break. It wasn't wrong, but definitely an omission of truth. A few days would be fine, right?)

(2 from Rhodey; it's a picture of a Goodwill's, and there's a silhouette in a nearby window of some guy. "This you?" he asks. "No ❤️," you sent back.)

(63 is from the group chat that the Avengers are in- ah, make that 64 and counting. It's just a bunch of nonsense from what you can gather, but you briefly scrolled through it anyways.)

Turning your phone off, you smushed your face into the pillow and sighed, a terrible knot forming at the pit of your stomach. With an open ear, you tried to hear any noise that could come from Barnes' room, but considering that the walls were reinforced and he was already quiet as it is, all you could hear was the AC running in the background.

"DAHLIA," you huffed, eyes drooping, "keep an eye on him, wake me up if anything happens."

"Got it," her voice echoes from the ceiling speakers.

You quietly tucked yourself in bed. As the exhaustion finally started settling in your body, the last thought that lingered in your head was "Man, I hope nothing bad happens tomorrow," before you drifted right off to dreamless slumber.

_______

The next day was, to say the least, a little disconcerting, but a bigger improvement to be sure.

Right after waking up, you begrudgingly put on some daytime appropriate clothes and stepped out into the hallway. You knocked on the door that was right next to yours, and gingerly opened it when you didn't hear much of a response.

"Good morning," you tentatively greeted. Barnes was sitting at the foot of the bed when you knocked on his door. He mumbled back a greeting and stands up to your eye level.

His clothes are still the same from last night, and judging by the clean state of his bed, he either woke up earlier than you expected or he was sat like that the whole night.

You're not too keen on finding out which was the case, but you had to.

"Sleep well?"

You stepped out of the doorway and motioned him to follow you. Briefly glancing down at your phone to see just a few messages waiting for you, you opted to ignore them for now.

"I slept."

He quietly stated from behind you. He avoided saying if he slept well or not, but at least the damn Terminator slept. You mentally deflated a little; the bar was set so low for him, you're not too sure who it's more insulting to- you or him.

(Of course, it's to him, that shouldn't be a question. Your feelings don't matter.)

"We're gonna have to wing this a little, but uh, here's the general gist of what's gonna happen."

Stepping into the kitchen, you're taken aback to last night as he tentatively stands across from you from the kitchen island. Really, you'd opt to go to the living room, but you both radiate too much nervous energy to really sit.

You opened the refrigerator and sighed when all that greeted you was water and non-perishables. Right. You just got here, it's not like there's gonna be freshly stocked food in here 24/7.

"DAHLIA, order some fresh food and get it delivered today. Charge it on my debit," you mumbled quietly.

DAHLIA doesn't say anything, but the refrigerator lights flicker a familiar green hue that keys you in that she heard you. You raised an impressed eyebrow; what an unnecessary feature for a refrigerator to have. You closed the door and turned around to face Barnes.

"I'm here to serve as, say, a guide for," you gestured to him, "your... rehabilitation, of sorts."

"For now, I can't really offer any... Professional help, on a technical level. I'm not- that's not my area of expertise. I'm an engineer at heart," actually, you really liked other things more than being an engineer, but your fate of becoming the CEO of SI was sealed the moment you decided to live with your dad, "so we're going to have to make a compromise on that."

You shook your head.

"If you were anyone else, I'd point you to a shrink," Barnes gives you a confused stare.

"Therapist," you clarified. He nods.

"But quite frankly," Zemo's face flashes in your memory, "I don't trust anyone to properly... Well, I don't trust anyone when it comes to the mental health of you, and the Avengers too, of course."

Pausing mid-rant, you raised an eyebrow at him.

"You... do know who the Avengers are, right?"

He nods and begins to rattle off a pre-scripted monologue. His eyes are blank as he started speaking.

"A group of top priority, compromised of highly skilled individuals, enhanced or otherwise specified. Threat priority ranges from 5 to 9. As of now, 6 active-duty members and 1 reserve member. The Asset is to not engage under any circumstance and reveal-"

"Alright alright, I get it- that's," you're a little offended that you're considered a "reserve member", but that's not technically wrong, "That's a lot to unpack there, but yeah. You- whew, you definitely know who the- we are."

(You've gotten into the habit of distancing yourself from the Avengers the moment that you had become CEO. You're still working on that, but the word "we" still feels wrong on your tongue.)

There's a little more life that came back to Barnes' eyes after you had snapped him out of it, and it's a bit surreal knowing that Barnes just kinda... runs on autopilot when prompted. The image of Barnes being strapped down in a chair and forced to learn and recite those kinds of things by heart is both horrifying and a little funny.

(Do you think they had a set curriculum he had to learn by?)

"So yeah. The Avengers gotta be careful when lookin' for shrinks, and so do you. There's just too many factors that go into gettin' a personal therapist. So for now," you shrugged, "you're stuck with me."

"What are they?"

"Hm?"

"The factors."

You shrugged.

"Well, for starters, you're- you were, HYDRA's prisoner," the muscle around his jaw visibly clenches when you mentioned HYDRA, but you powered through, "so they'll definitely be interested in getting their fight dog back. They're good at blending in and good at getting their musty little fingers into every nook and cranny. I wouldn't put it past them to have one of their agents go undercover as a therapist for hire. So that's one factor: trying to discern who is and isn't HYDRA."

You raised a finger.

"Then there's the fact that because you're such a... shall we say, top priority, er, asset," that word runs bitter on your tongue, "even if your shrink isn't HYDRA, they'll definitely be targeted by HYDRA if it ever came to light that they have a direct link to you. So there's reason number two: loose ends, and the risks that come with it."

You raised another finger. By now, Barnes has a hard but contemplative curl to his lips.

"And then not to mention how unique your case it. Barnes, you've been a POW for decades. Your brain- no offense buddy, but from what I can tell, it's been fried to hell and back. I don't even have to do any fancy brain scans to know. And that's not even including all the other stuff they probably did to you, only God knows."

You shook your head.

"There's too much at risk for you to get proper therapy right now. But. It's not impossible."

You think back to Shuri, and how she and the other Wakandan scientists were successful in both removing the trigger words and rehabilitating Barnes.

Well, you're not sure about the last part, since you never interacted with the Barnes of your time, but you'd assume that they did help with his subsequent mental health. You wouldn't really put it past them- T'Challa was a nice guy, from your limited interactions with him way into the future, and Shuri was buzzing with ideas and energy. If T'Challa's sympathy for Barnes wasn't enough, then Shuri's crave to help and experiment would supplement the balance plenty. Vice versa, too.

So yeah, future-Barnes' mental health was most likely addressed during his time in Wakanda. And it was almost guaranteed to have been a success.

So you're still gonna hold a torch for the possibility that Barnes' can come out of this as a relatively well-adjusted guy.

Not to mention B.A.R.F. As far as you know, the R&D team assigned to that was still progressing smoothly, but the only downside to that was that it wasn't going to be until a few more years before it's "perfected".

You were never really involved in any way with B.A.R.F. since you were both prepping for SI and finishing college. Your dad was definitely more involved in it than you were, but it's not like you could ask him to pull a few year's worths of experimentation and knowledge out of his ass and exponentially boost the rate of B.A.R.F.'s progress, so.

Helen Cho suddenly sprang to mind, but you quickly threw away that thought. Your- well, Barnes'- issue was neurological, Cho was all about cell regeneration and is a geneticist. So unless somehow the issue crosses over with Cho's line of work, she wasn't a possibility either. There was also Strange, but as far as you've heard the man was pretty... abrasive, even as a wizard. Hard to get a hold of, and very... Hard-headed.

Well, all of that was second hand since it came from Tony, but still. Maybe you could pull Tony in for some clout, but that'll just make him suspicious. God, maybe you shouldn't have kept the whole "I'm actually from the future" spiel a secret, otherwise you wouldn't have to be doing all this crap alone.

Oh well. In for a penny, out for a pound.

You sighed, already feeling the dull thump against your skull starting to form.

"So what now?" Barnes asks. He's less tentative than he was last night, but still soft-spoken when he talks.

"Well, you're stuck with me, bud. I'll do my best to get you prepped for the actual rehabilitation, but honestly, that might take a little longer than you'd expect. So, we'll just- well."

You eyed the outfit he was donning, which was literally your clothes- so it was a few sizes too small for him. He doesn't really seem bothered by it, and if it weren't for the fact that he's sort of proved himself to be neglectful of voicing his own preferences, you'd be a little more inclined to appreciate the view of one very, very beefy super-soldier.

But alas.

Life never really works in your favor, so.

"We'll need to get a few essential things out of the way. Food is already on its way, I assume you aren't allergic to anything?"

He pauses, and there goes that familiar glaze forming over his eyes. You sigh, knowing that he was probably searching through his mental "data-bases" for any allergies, but thankfully it's not long as he blinks back into attention.

"None."

"Yeah, I could'a figured, what with your super-soldier serum."

(You're pretty sure that also makes him immune to cancer, but maybe that's just you glorifying it.)

"So: the food situation is cleared. Now, we need to get you some new clothes because, uh, those don't look very comfortable."

"Comfort does not matter. I am adequately dressed."

You snorted. Maybe it's better that you don't tell Barnes that he's wearing a Sharknado tee and some sweats that have "Eat this!" printed on his behind.

(And maybe it's better that you didn't remember that yes, these are indeed still your clothes.)

"Comfort does matter, my guy. DAHLIA, take some quick measurements."

The kitchen light dims and brightens, shining lime green into the kitchen. It lingers and turns back into that white-blue that sometimes makes your eyes burn when you've been up for too late into the night.

"Seargent Barnes' measurements are now on file. You two want to see the available catalog?"

Right where the kitchen island was, a panel opens up to reveal a hologram of a bunch of articles of clothing, all of which has been adjusted to Barnes' size- or an approximate at least, since there's some that's labeled X or XL.

"Barnes? You got anything you want to do right now or...?"

You gestured to the hologram in front of you.

His face contorts a little, not too noticeable at a quick glance. He doesn't look uncomfortable per se, but judging by the downwards curl of his lips, he's definitely not excited to see the hologram.

You flicked your wrist and it disappeared just as quick as it appeared. Strangely enough, his expression doesn't loosen up as his eyes flicker upwards to yours.

"Hey, that's okay. If it's the hologram, that's no biggie, we'll just move over to the, uh, TV in the next room over. C'mon."

You jerked your head and motioned him to follow you. His face laxes and he walks behind you without a word.

_______

You two ended up getting a lot done all things considered.

Barnes seemed pretty bothered by how many clothing choices there are, but when you asked if he wanted you to just curate a list for him, he easily relented. He was hovering over you the whole time, but you weren't too bothered by it as you were too busy browsing for him.

You went from site to site searching for clothes that screamed "The Winter Soldier", but all that was coming up was clothes in fifty shades of black and with no pizzaz. You did pass by a few Avengers-related merch (especially yours), but he said nothing when you added two or three into your cart, so he probably doesn't care. You did show him a lot of clothes that you thought would fit him, and he nodded to pretty much all of them.

By the time you were done looking for clothes, the doorbell had rung.

("That was quick," you reminisced. DAHLIA was quick to respond.

"It came from a nearby Walmart."

"Huh.")

Barnes' head jerked as his eyes were trained on the entrance door. You patted his arm, and his eyes glance at you.

"Relax, it's just the food. DAHLIA ordered some groceries earlier."

You stood up to go answer the door, and Barnes followed suit. You raised an eyebrow at him, but he doesn't really seem like he's gonna back down anytime soon.

"You know... You can follow behind, but you're gonna have to be in the shadows or something 'cuz, you know... Just- if someone's still at the door, don't let them see you okay?"

He nods, almost mechanically so, and you turned around and walked to the entrance door.

Opening the door, you were greeted with a few big boxes. You raised an eyebrow and glanced out through the door; there are no cars nearby, and DAHLIA whispers in your ear that the clearing's safe- not a single life signature anywhere.

"Barnes, the coast's clear," you called out, already reaching down to grab one of the boxes. You grunt, adjusting your grip before you lifted and turned around.

Barnes, having already popped out of whatever dark corner he was in, is already a few feet behind you.

"Hey, you don't mind helping me bring in those boxes, will you?"

You were already walking past him, but you barely caught the briefest flash of furrowed eyebrows before you saw him walk over to the door. You mentally shrugged, but placed the box in the kitchen and went back over to the door to get the other one.

By the time you were done setting down the box, Barnes had already closed the door and was standing under the arch connecting the kitchen to the main hallway.

You motioned him over, and he complied.

"What is inside?"

You're almost proud that you didn't jump. He doesn't talk much, but when he does it always startles you.

"Groceries, but I don't know what specifically. DAHLIA chose all of it. And by the looks of it, she chose a lot. So. You're gonna help me unpack and we'll probably- well, I'll probably make some food. You can help if you want."

Your back was turned to him, and you started unloading the boxes and their contents. Barnes doesn't move for a hot moment, but he squats down next to you and starts unwrapping the smaller boxes that were inside it.

"You don't mind if I put on some music, right?"

You glanced at him.

"I... don't. Mind," he mumbles, tentatively glancing back at you. You gave him a brief thumbs up and turned your attention back to

"DAHLIA, play something chill. Low volume."

_______

Pretty much, the whole day consisted of unpacking all of the groceries that had been delivered. You ended up pausing, having gotten tired of being awake without food in your stomach, and made some food for the two of you.

You tried conversing with him, trying to get him to at least feel more comfortable, and it... kinda worked. There are a few touchy subjects that he doesn't really seem to like talking about (he doesn't really vocalize his discomfort, but his flinches, no matter how minute they were, spoke louder than words). HYDRA, obviously. Anything revolving the Avengers put him off as well, among other things.

Really, most of the eating consisted of small talk and eating noises, but at least some of the tension in his shoulders had lessened by the time that you two needed to get back to unpacking. Hell, by the time that was done, Barnes' clothes had arrived.

(Oh, the benefits of being insanely rich. Say it with me kids: Thank you, Tony!)

You're usually a little apprehensive about buying clothes online, but color you surprised when not only did all of them fit; Barnes didn't have a single problem with any of them.

"You like 'em?"

You whistled when Barnes came out of his bathroom, now back in your clothes that you had given him originally. He tried all of them on, and you ended up buying him so many clothes that a lot of time had passed by the time he was done. You just sat on his bed, slowly collecting all of the clothes and ripping off the tags, damned if he didn't like one of them; you'll just take it instead.

"They're adequate," he nodded. In his hand were the folded clothes (A camo tee and dark sweatpants), and he set them onto his bed with the other folded clothes.

"Did any of 'em uncomfortable? Too tight, any of the fabric feels wrong...?"

You left the question open-ended as you helped him dump it into a laundry bin. He doesn't respond right away as if he didn't hear you. His eyes flicker over to yours.

"... No. They- I..." the muscle under his eye spasms, "I liked them..."

You grinned, "Glad to hear that, guess we got lucky that none of these was a dud, huh?"

The ghost of a smile that was on his lips appeared briefly, but it was gone just as fast as it had appeared.

Really, that had basically been the peak of the day before things had started to mellow out a little bit. But that was okay, you took whatever it was that Barnes gave, and if it was just the smallest smile you've ever seen on a man, then so be it.

Afterward, the day somehow managed to blend together and pass along like an exhale. Not much happened, since you couldn't really- well, offer anything that could scientifically and medically help him. So you opted to just- try to get him up to date as much as possible.

Honestly, by the time that you had gotten through the first three decades (starting when he was born), it was already pretty late into the night.

(He had a lot of questions, and you really didn't blame him. Hell, most of the more personal information really came from DAHLIA, because as much as you sympathized with the man, you really didn't care to learn about his whole entire biography.

But, at least you answered most of the history related questions. If you had to go through a few history college classes back when you were in college, then you'll be damned if you didn't at least make an effort to learn and internalize them.)

Barnes didn't really show any signs of exhaustion if the casual leg bouncing wasn't enough, but you sure were pooped.

(What? Unlike your dad (and most of the Avengers) you actually had a normal internal clock. For the most part, anyway.)

"Well, as much as I liked talking about prehistoric times," you sounded sarcastic, but you actually did like it, "I gotta sleep, I don't run on super-soldier energy like you do bub."

You stood up, stretched, and saw that Barnes was now standing up as well.

"Should I...?"

Raising an eyebrow, you huffed in good nature, "Go to sleep? Yeah, probably. We're not done with the History101 crash course, and we'll probably be talking about other things tomorrow as well," especially about the fact that you're not gonna be at the safe house often soon, "so we both need the energy for that. So, go clean up and get some Z's, yeah?"

"Oh."

He looked a little lost but followed you back into your shared hallway. Stopping in your doorway, you turned your head to glance at Barnes.

"Good night, Barnes," you nodded, not waiting for a response as you headed into your room. It was quiet and almost inaudible, but you still heard it with your ears before you had closed the door shut.

"... Good night."

You stood in your room, a sudden wave of both exhaustion and dread flooding your body. You shook it off though; it was just the nervous jitters hitting you at an inopportune time.

But really, you trusted your guts almost as much as you trusted Tony.

So as you brushed your teeth and did your business in the bathroom, you tried to quell the anxiety that was building up in your chest.

"DAHLIA, keep an eye on him."

"Gotcha, doll."

You sighed, dropped onto your bed, and hoped that whatever it was that might happen, you'd be prepared for it.

_______

And lo and behold, it didn't even have to be the next morning before shit all hit the fan when DAHLIA wakes you up in the middle of the night (3 A.M., to be specific).

"-oll, wake up! Barnes is having a panic attack!"

It takes half a second to process the fear in DAHLIA's voice. It takes another to process her words.

Fuck.

Scrambling immediately out the bed, you thanked whatever higher being there is that you were sleeping with at least some sweatpants on as you booked it straight to your door and right through Barnes'.

(Maybe you should have joined the football team, because that would have been one wicked tackle. Ha, yeah right, you know nothing about football.)

The lights were on, most likely DAHLIA's doing, and his bedsheets were clearly mussed up. He's nowhere to be seen, so your eyes jump to the joined bathroom door, and lo and behold, there was light bleeding through the cracks.

You quickly approached the door and opened it, throwing away the worry that he might have been absolutely naked.

The good news was that he wasn't nude.

The bad news was that he was hunched over on the ground, right in front of the bathroom counter, and he's gripping his head so tightly you would have thought his skull would have caved in.

Terror shoots down your spine like a lightning bolt, and you immediately rushed to the curled over Barnes, adrenaline rushing through you as a million thoughts ran through your head.

"Barnes!"

He doesn't appear to hear you, groaning and panting as he further curled in on himself. His muscles spasm, hard, and you're at a loss at what to do. He's sickly pale, and the sheen on his skin makes you want to vomit. His panting is shallow, and if you weren't sure if the glint that shone in your eyes was the reflection off of the marble floors or a puddle of saliva coming from Barnes.

You're not sure if touching him right now is a good thing, but you'll be damned if he wasn't your responsibility now. You reach out to him, wrapping one arm around his hunched back and the other trying to pry at his wrists.

(Would you have touched him, if you didn't have the reassurance that DAHLIA has your back?)

(Shut up.)

Maybe you were tensing up for him to go all "Winter Soldier" mode on you, but he's the one that tenses, even more, when you touched him. Thankfully, he doesn't resist your pull as his arm is limp the moment you tried to pull it back, but it doesn't change the fact that he's shaking, badly, and your mind is frozen in limbo.

"DAHLIA, what-"

You're at a loss for words, but DAHLIA, sweet DAHLIA already knows what you were about to ask.

"Sergeant Barnes was displaying elevated levels of anxiety, however, it did not seem to warrant any mentions. I thought-"

She cuts herself off, almost as if she was worried that she had made a wrong call. You swallowed, knowing that despite being a baby A.I., she's never done wrong by you- both in the future and now.

"You thought what?"

You try to rub Barnes' back as if he was a dog that had needed soothing. He groans, but you're not sure if you should interpret that as a hurt groan or a relieved one. You paused and moved your hand away, hovering it just inches away from his back, and his breath hitches.

Your hand dropped onto his back once again, and you could feel the muscles on his muscles spasm a little; his whimpers aren't as loud and painful (though, they're still more than worrying).

So, on the very small bright side, back rubs don't seem to be hurting him either. It's a small win, but a win for sure.

"You- my visuals were clear in the conclusion that you saw it. His discomfort. Your body language and expression acknowledged it but you refrained from addressing it. I- acted under the assumption that it was all under control..."

Something in your mind pauses for a pregnant second before your eyes widened.

"What?"

DAHLIA doesn't even get the chance to reply as Barnes jerks his hands away from yours and pulls at his scalp again. You lurched forward.

"Hey! No!"

You bit back a growl as you grabbed his wrists once again. You yank them back down to his sides as his body jolts, a sob ripping through him. You placed a hand on his chest and tried to boost him back up so he'll have his back against the bathtub that's behind him.

He offers little to no resistance as his back makes contact with the bathtub, but he's slumped into himself. He pulls his knees forward and curls his head into them. For a super-soldier, it's almost cute how hard he's trying to take up as little space as possible if it weren't for the fact that your heart was absolutely breaking at the sight of him.

"Oh, Barnes..."

In shuddered breaths, he mumbles something incoherent.

"...-an't, I- I- I-.... -can't..."

He shakes his head, jolting as if someone had shocked him. You rubbed his arm, glancing down at what you can now confirm to be a puddle of saliva, and then over to the trash can right next to the toilet. You're not too sure if you should get it just in case he decides to vomit, but you're ready to lunge for it the moment Barnes shows any signs of gagging.

"DAHLIA," you spoke at a lower volume, "what- when was he, um, uncomfortable."

"Two nights ago, roughly 22:00, when you told Sargeant Barnes that he was his own free man. Yesterday morning, 08:00, when you asked if he wanted to do anything prior to browsing the available clothing catalog. Right after, he was also discomforted by the catalog, before you offered to buy clothes for him. At-"

"That's- that's enough," you breathlessly muttered. DAHLIA doesn't say anything else, but the air has suddenly become heavier than you remembered.

Your head was almost dizzy with not only how many instances Barnes had been anxious in such a short time, but also at how you remembered each and every instance with startling clarity.

Barnes was anxious at the idea of freedom, but you put it off and opted to just give him a nickel tour of the house.

Barnes was anxious when you asked if he wanted to do anything before looking at clothes, but looked too relieved when you brushed over it.

Barnes was anxious at the idea of shopping for fucking clothes but was okay after you took over for him.

The taste of stomach acid burned your tongue, as yesterday's dinner threaten to rise at the implication of all of this.

"DAHLIA," you mumbled, "the- the rest of those instances- do they..."

You trained your eyes on Barnes.

"Do they all- follow the same... The same- pattern?"

DAHLIA was always in tune with you, even after the time jump.

"... Yes," she lamented.

"God..."

Now, you're not sure who that trash can would be really for; you or Barnes.

"Barnes..."

You murmured quietly. He flinches, and his shaking hasn't gotten any better.

"What- what was it? Was it- was it all too much? God, I'm so sorry, it probably was, wasn't it? I should have- fuck, I should have taken it more slowly, I-"

Barnes shakes his head, stopping you in your rambling. You blinked rapidly.

"Then- was it..." you paused, "... Was it the choices?"

It's almost expected that he doesn't answer you straight away, but he nodded anyway.

"I... It was- it was too much- I couldn't- I don't know- I-"

His breath shuddered with each word as if it hurt him to just even speak right now. You shushed him, ignoring the intrusive thought that it was akin to shushing an animal.

"Hey, hey, it's- it's okay. You'll be okay."

It's not much, what you're saying to him, and it's no surprise that they didn't do much anyway.

Honestly, you didn't know what to say at this point. There didn't even seem to be any phrasing in the known English language that would be able to comfort a man with as much baggage on his shoulders as Barnes, and briefly, just briefly, you wished that you were literally anywhere in the world, but here.

You tried thinking about anything that came from your (albeit limited) interactions with him between the past days that would help ground him, before something jolts you from deep within.

("What are my mission parameters," Barnes asked from behind you.

You paused.

"Mission parameters?")

You didn't even realize that you had said that out loud, but Barnes had tensed up even more before you could even take it back. He held his breath, audibly swallowing.

("You don't need mission parameters, Barnes. You're your own free man. You can- can make decisions on your own. You don't need me to tell you what you need to do.")

("I... Don't understand...")

You spoke on impulse.

"You... You need them, don't you? Mission parameters."

Immediately, you regretted even speaking up just as those words left your mouth.

While every fiber in your being hoped that it wasn't true, there was a small inkling in your head that already knew the answer to your question. It was the only thing that was barely even logical enough to make sense.

His apprehension of making a choice.

How uncomfortable in his own skin he always appeared, despite it even being just a few days.

How relieved he always looks, when the choice was already made for him.

His body tenses underneath your hand, but it's the slight bob of his head that makes your stomach drop. You thought- what a fool you were- you thought he'd be okay without being ordered around, but that was nothing but wishful thinking.

(What was the saying? It's hard to teach an old dog a new trick, was it?)

(Yeah.)

Looking at how only a few days of what you had originally thought was Barnes' newfound freedom turned out to be much more of a nightmare for Barnes, it might just be better for the both of you to push aside your comfortability and start making an honest-to-God investment into Barnes' recovery, even if that means that you had to take a step backward.

A very, very risky step backward.

It was a shot in the dark, but it was the only thing that you could place your bets on for now.

You just hoped that your aim wouldn't fail you now.

"Okay, well... How about this, Barnes, here's your main- your main mission, okay? Become a free man. Hey, no, look at me," you swiveled his head so he could look at you. His eyes were panicked, crazed, and irredeemably sad, but you had to make sure nothing crossed through your face so he'd know that everything will be okay. Your grip on both sides of his face was firm as you pleaded with him.

"Your only 'mission' right now? Breathe," ironically, his breath hitched, "If not for your own sake, then for mine."

You swallowed, heart stuttering as you looked into his glassy eyes.

"Please," you let your desperate prayer lingered in the air.

Maybe it was being given a task to accomplish after days of trying to figure out what to do with his supposed new "freedom", or it was how non-labor intensive and just... simple, his new mission parameter was, but it was almost instantaneous how all of the tension in his body dissipated into thin air.

Witnessing the moment of mercy upon grief through Barnes, no matter how brief or temporary it may be, was almost cathartic.

Almost.

(Perhaps you shouldn't be looking for absolution vicariously. But you were never really a good person, were you?)

_______

A/N: I've read a lot of WinterIron fics. While I have read a lot of interpretations about how Barnes would have reacted when he was freshly freed from HYDRA, this is how I choose to interpret it- one that would best fit the story for now. Next chapter, since I couldn't fit it in this chapter, is a special, but it is very much important and related to the story, and Barnes as a character. If you're familiar with some WinterIron tropes, this won't be too foreign of an idea. Not too sure about other ships/ stories, but. Ah, I'm rambling. Anyways, see you next year lol.

_______

Masterlist

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Tagged: @unsolvetheheckoutofit @tonystanktheirondad @ludwigvonbaethoven @rspctot7 (if you’re not @/ fabledxmystery, so sorry for the mistag! LMK if it’s not you) @tolkoskott @klanceiscannon14 @deos-life (grr it won’t let me tag you) @kp1183 (kperla1183) @xyuriko-akamine (akabaneyuriko) @kettnerjanea @soldier-42 @daybreakmistakes @spnfanboy777 @crash-zite @jm-cy

#male reader #avengers x reader #avengers x male reader #Bucky Barnes #bucky barnes x male reader #bucky barnes x reader #restart #reader insert

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universal-kitty · 4 years ago

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Harvest Moon & Story of Seasons: To the Ones I’ve Loved (and Have Crushed On, In Some Form or Another)

This will be under the cut, because there are a LOT of games to address!

Cliff: More Friends of Mineral Town/DS Cute

One of my lovetime faves from the series! I related to him, what with us both being shy and needing help a lot from the people around us. Look at how cute he is when he blushes!! Whenever I play DS Cute, he’s always my first option.

(He also likes grapes. Always a good choice.)

Gray: More Friends of Mineral Town/DS Cute

I...have complicated feelings for Gray, honestly. On one hand, he’s never stood out too much to me, for some reason. He’s a fun enough character- a gruff grandson of the local blacksmith, who softens up over your relationship with him- but he never caught my eye as someone I’d wish to chase down as much as, say, Cliff.

But at the same time, I have many fond memories of calling him “Uma Boy” (because of his hat) and it’s cute?? It has “childhood friends to lovers” vibes that still makes me hesitate when I want to say I- supposedly- have no interest in him...

Karen: Friends of Mineral Town/HM DS

While I prefer her art design to this one (the one with her two-toned hair), I adore this bachorlette regardless! A part of it her design, but the other part of it her assertive nature... After all, when I’m not looking to grow together with someone, I’m looking for someone who will help me come out of my shell! (Even if I must be dragged out, which Karen would certainly do.)

Marlin: DS Cute

Gosh... I remember overlooking a lot of bachelors back in the day. I was admittedly kinda shallow as a kid, so I easily looked over plenty of fine guys in favor of the “prettier” ones...ignoring my vague interest in the girls. However, in my endless attempts to see all heart events (cheat codes, babey!)....I ended up really liking Marlin. More than I thought I would.

He’s sickly, but determined to make it on his own. Hating that he’s babied, but acknowledging the fact that being sick is kinda scary for the family who looks after him, his elder sister, Vesta (owner of a popular farm in Forget-Me-Not Valley), and their hired help, Celia.

He blushes cute, is cute, and though I never married him in game, I did consider it. He’s doing his best and is so damn supportive...

Celia: HM DS

Speaking of Celia-!! Talk about one of my earlier girl-crushes! I had feelings for her that I could never pin down, because I didn’t hate her or anything, but I didn’t quite....friend-like her, either. Apparently, it’s because I’m panromantic af. Who would’ve guessed?!

Anyways. She’s cute, oblivious like me, and just as hardworking as Vesta, with all the kindness to look after Marlin w/o taking away his agency and wanting to help others.... Basically, I’m saying that if I F/O any one of these two, the other is coming with. Farming power throuple.

Flora: HM DS

(Belated sidenote that HM DS and DS Cute are the same game, but Different Gender. Natsume was slow on that one for a long while.)

Flora was yet another one of those ladies that I liked, but didn’t know it was because I was actually p gay. Whoops! Anyways, you see this lovely lass working on site with Carter (an older bachelor, for those who have a Type for older men). They’ve been working on this mine site, because...I think there’s some archeological finds down there? It’s been a long time since I played, so I don’t remember much!

....However, strong woman in a tank top and shorts make me a happy, fluster gay and her hair looking as fluffy as it does only intensifies it. (Ah, to lovingly brush off the dust and mud from her face from a long day at work... Clean her glasses for her while she cleans up... [dreamy sigh])

Skye: DS Cute

(oh god, I wrote his name as Skype accidentally, oH NO) Another bachelor I really liked during the early days....though for a long time, it was a toss up on if I Liked him or liked him [to pair with an OC]. While I did eventually pair him with an OC (Claire, the blonde MC option for DS Cute), there’s still a fondness in my heart for him...

And a plot twist, now... His “chick beam” ain’t gonna work on someone who’s not a girl~!

Muffy: HM DS

She’s just....cute. And hardworking. Flirty. The girl at the bar not only helping serve up drinks (to the best of her abilities; she’s learning), but a fun time! Definitely a bit of the stereotypical femme, but good gosh, I’d never want her any other way. Literally the only problem I’d have is I get uncomfortable around drunk people (past issues, fear of potential addictive personality, and drunk ppl are usually Loud People).

Otherwise, I’d love to be supportive of Muffy, her dreams, and how damn cute she looks!! (And relate to fears of getting our hearts broken, but oooohhh it’s got fic potential, that does.)

Keira: HM DS

This lovely lady is not only one of the early-day, special bachelorettes, but mute, as well! Her voice was taken away by the Witch Princess and (with no in game way to get it back for her) she communicates by writing on a board.

....Basically, I want to learn sign language with her and create a peaceful house with her and maybe a bunch of cats. Purrhaps.

Jamie: Magical Melody

(I was no longer able to get sprites/icons from this point forward, sorry!!) This game. Is so difficult...and go figure the one I like the best is the hardest possible spouse to woo! Complete the game, ship out at least one of EVERY crop, have owned one of every animal (at some point), and etc. Oh. My goddess. THE AMOUNT OF WORK TO MARRY SOMEONE YOU CAN’T EVEN KEEP!!!!

....Yeah, uh. All that work and the game resets. No post-marriage bliss for the PC and Jamie. (Who is apparently genderfluid.) I.....augh. In the end, it’s not even their nearly-toxic, tsundere personality that drives me up the wall.... It’s the fact that I can’t marry them and have it stay that way unless I want to write a bunch of fanfiction about it. :/

Meanies. Making me write out all this stuff myself...

Ray: Magical Melody

I feel sorry to say it, but I will: When I learned the game wouldn’t let the player marry Jamie permanently, I sought out someone else...and found comfort in Ray. He’s a well-known fisher and- apparently- has a timeslot on the TV for talking about fishing, too.

It’s a very fish-based lifestyle, but I guess that’s why I play as a farmer, right~? We can bring some variety in to the meal table! (Also, he’s a shy guy. What a cutie~)

Chase: Animal Parade

The reason I got into playing this game....and then everything else solidified my reasons to play forevermore! And to this day, Animal Parade is my favorite HM/SoS game of all time. (Literally the only thing that could’ve made it more perfect would be changing hairstyles/colors... Oh, and gay marriage. Gimme that too, pls.)

ANYWAYS, this asshole is tsundere as hell and a prickly pear, but.... If you can fight past it to befriend him, he’s pretty fun and....I guess dedicated to his work, is the best way I can phrase it. He’s still very much not too “soft” even after marriage (though he can be pretty damn cute), but... Basically, imagine Gordon Ramsey in a dating sim, complete with a redesign. Pretty accurate description of Chase.

I ship him more w/ an OC I have than myself, buuuut he’s still precious to me. In a dorky, tsundere way. (Also, I think about the OC I ship him with all the time... That whole save file was me being dedicated to marrying this man, from the name of the farm to the crops I sold. Goodness!)

Wizard: Animal Parade

The husband. Of all time. Not just for his looks, but also his sweet, quiet, gentle personality. Wizard (who’s real name is not revealed until you marry him) speaks in many ellipses.....some longer...than others.... But he’s also a stargazer. Oh, and implied to be long-lived. Y’know. Things to break your heart with.

I simply cannot put into words how much I adore him. I originally played this game to marry Chase (as I mentioned above), but it was Wizard who stole my heart. He’s been on my F/O list ever since and it’s there he’ll stay!

Harvest King: Animal Parade

One who actually used to be on my F/O list, but I removed him because I thought feelings had faded.....haha, fool. Nobody escapes the king. (Or, well, Harvest God, but y’know. Translation avoiding mentions of “god” and all.)

Honestly, I didn’t know how to feel about him aside from “I like his design” for a long while. He’s got a lot of elements that are aesthetically pleasing to me, but w/o good characterization to back him up... What’s left? (Plus, him not living at home with the PC kinda sucked. Was being a single parent really gonna be okay with me...?)

What ended up breaking my heart and reviving it all at once was his 20 heart line. “After you are gone… I shall love what you loved… I shall sing the songs that you sang.”

He is immortal. He must stay atop the mountain, only able to watch...sneak away, perhaps, when he can. He sees the inevitability of the PC’s death...and fuck. It hurts in the most bittersweet way. To imagine him, alone, years upon thousands of years after they are gone.....and yet, remember them so well. Perhaps still distantly watch over what becomes of his family line...

To love this man is to experience the love and pain of mortal/immortal couples, and- truly- know what the phrase means: “To love and have lost is better than to never love at all.”

Harvest Goddess: Animal Parade

There are many incarnations of the Goddess throughout the HM/SoS series, but this one from AP is a forever fave from me. Her design is gorgeous on so many levels (the looping braid, the ombre in her hair color, her outfit, the wing-like extensions on her back, the large hoop bracelets, etc), her face looks so kind and.......breathtaking beyond words--

And much like Wizard and Harvest King before her, she has a name she can only share with you after marriage. And having that detail be a part of her marriage ceremony is what hits a little harder, I feel. It feels so much more personal to have a name that isn’t just “Harvest Goddess” to call her. (I’m pretty sure some of the other games have done this, too? But again, I personally prefer this iteration!)

....If I ever were to ship with her, I honestly feel like I’d have to do an OT3 w/ Harvest King. He’s a prickly bastard and Harvest Goddess here would likely roll her eyes at him many a time, but... Considering their understanding and eventual love of mortal life, I’d say they could reach an agreement someday.

Toby: Animal Parade

Gosh. Another character I didn’t think much of until later... I wanted to do an LP of Animal Parade and- for the occasion- got obsessed with a new OC to focus on; I named her Elise and framed everything after her around musicians and songs. (Because her name was a reference to Fur Elise.) Of course, I then had to think of who she’d marry....

Toby was not only an option for her, but quickly caught my interest as easily as he caught fish. Though it might’ve helped that he reminded me of another, old anime crush!

Anyways, much like he appears, Toby is a laid back young man. He spends his days happily enjoying his hobby- fishing (he isn’t employed, despite his family owning a business)- and soaking up nature. His heart events reflect this, musing about the tranquility of nature and enjoying the silence and relaxation of fishing. (There’s also a few occasions where he opens his eyes... The color of them is SO pretty!)

And if you marry him? Traditional Japanese wedding attire. He looks so handsome in it~!

Candace: Animal Parade

I just....really like shy girls. And Candace especially makes me feel SO MANY warm fuzzies. Has high social anxiety, but prefers her time be spent in her family’s shop, Sonata Tailoring. She’s a talented worker, and with her grandmother’s help and sister’s guidance, it’s become quite the fashion hotspot! (Well.... Perhaps it’ll do far better after the PC helps heal up the island some more, y’know? The place isn’t doing so hot without help from the Harvest Sprites!)

ALSO, I really, really love her big hair and outfit... Her big braids look so soft and she looks incredibly cozy in her cardigan... Honestly, the cardigan, button up shirt, and skirt alone work together to put together the image of someone shy, yet warm in both personality and in being! (...But I bet her fingers get cold... Gee, suppose I could do something about that...?)

Precious. 100/10, would love to kiss her cheek softly and make her blush while snow falls outside, but we’re in my warm home with a big puppy and the fireplace going.

Vaughn: Island of Happiness/Sunshine Islands

Heehee, tiny. Anyways, meet cowboy husband! Fond of farm animals, his work (delivering farm animals to the island)....and that’s about it. Not really too thrilled about other people, but his whole arc is about warming up to you, anyways, so. It’s one of those, fksjfkls.

He’s REALLY cute, though.... I wish I had more memories w/ him, but I lost the OG file where I married him and we had a kid, so. Heck. :)

William Terry Louis Andrew Carrick Jonathan Dredge Hams Redding Rodger Southwark Alnwick Plymouth Junior Regison III: Sunshine Islands

Yes. Yes, I did need to write out his full name. I married this man and if I have to process that this is my husband’s full name, you do, too. (Seriously, why did they make his name so long?!) This man’s long name aside...

Not only is he your typical rich boy (complete with Big Boat), but he’s also....a prince! Bet you woulda never seen that coming... (And yes, he does have a white horse that he rides around occasionally.) I know I’m roasting him, here, but he deserves it. A little bit. Maybe. Totally not because I can still feel the distant effects of this man flustering me in the past...

(He’s so charming and he has some misguided moments, but goodness, he is just Pure of Heart, Dumb of Ass. I love him.)

Lily: Sunshine Islands

Visiting treasure hunter, adorkable, and with a way of finding her next great adventure. She’s so lively! And lovely! Maybe she should look into a mirror and find out the great treasure of all is herself!!!

Okay, that was pretty cheesy.

Regardless, she’s a delight, I love her character, and any jealousy I might’ve had towards her in the past? Gone for deep feelings of, “Let me love you and let’s create the greatest treasure collection of all~!”

Angelo: Grand Bazaar

I remember Angelo not quite being my first choice when I got Grand Bazaar. He seemed adorable, and having another artist around is always a plus, but... I simply wasn’t sure if I should go through with it. Would he impress me that much?

...In the end, he did. I remember being with my cousins when I stumbled into his final heart event, freaking out and hurrying to write it down! (I had a habit of writing down the dialogue to every heart event I witnessed. I have some of them still, to this day!)

He’s far more of a well-rounded artist than I am, but I think that’s just another thing to love about him. Well, that, and a difficulty handling people when he needs them to stop! (It’s relatable, is what I mean; telling people off- even if you really need to- is hard! Especially when it’s a kid!) He’s just....a ton of fun at the end of the day. And that fluffy hair...... You know I love it~!

Emiko: Grand Bazaar

I never got to meet Emiko, to my memory. I didn’t play Grand Bazaar a lot, nor for too long, as the learning curve for the bazaar was steep. (I wasn’t much one for learning recipes, and then they wanted me to learn how to peddle my wares?! And sometimes, it went by so fast!!! It was super overwhelming...) However, she’s a special bachelorette, so getting to meet her at all would’ve been a surprise/struggle for the me who fought trying to learn the bazaar alone...

Looking on her here and now... She. Is. Adorable. Hard to woo, but a secret shrine-area behind the waterfall? The last heart event is letting her see the world for herself...? I love that so much. Getting to re-experience the world through a new view is something I treasure dearly, and Emiko is just that...along with being super adorable. I harp on it because it’s true!!

Maybe someday, if I try the game again with more success... I’ll play as a guy just to court Emiko.

Cam: Tale of Two Towns

Literally the reason I bought this game in the first place, LMAO! He looked really cute and hearing that he worked at a flower shop? How could I ever resist?! The scene was set up for adorableness and potential romance (based around flowers) and so I was eagerly swept away~!

And he does live up to that sweet, charming air...while also being a bit social anxious; how relatable!

Kana: Tale of Two Towns

I haven’t played this game in forever, but if there was anything to ever remember about it..... Kana is a himbo. This man works with horses, so he is strong. Respects women. His dummy part kicks in because this man rarely thinks of anything else except horses (we stan this man and his hyperfixation). You can befriend him with gifts of horse treats.

Marrying this man is marrying him AND getting a free horse-sister out of it (her name is Hayate) and with arms like that? What a dream come true, on all sides.

Nori: Tale of Two Towns

Local seamstress and assistant to her grandfather at his seed shop. Honestly... She kinda reminds me of myself. Although while I’ve quieted down in some ways, I’ve stayed lively in others! I mostly just need friends around to bring my energy up, instead of producing it fresh, myself, ehehe.

But seriously... Her kindness goes above and beyond, perfectionist anxiety is relatable, and it just...sounds nice to put together a life with her. Helping others, helping each other, helping ourselves. Wow.

Reina: Tale of Two Towns

The botanist who- much like someone else- hyperfixates on her work until the world around her is white noise. While it is a shame to feel like you��re not being listened to and your S/O is lost in her work... Honestly, the thought of learning about plants from her has me losing it. Also, a home filled with perfectly cared-for plants? MAJOR serotonin.

It’s like.....the ideal cottagecore couple, just with more farming involved. (Personally, for me, the image of cottagecore has always been small, personal gardens and not the sprawling estate of land-for-crops (and animals!) that HM puts out.) One of us will be making cute journals...or maybe it’s both of us? She does aesthetic research journals and I do cute, personal ones? With poems and such?

UGH. Just call me a simp and get it over with.

Sanjay: A New Beginning

Do I even have to say it? How fast I fell for this man? Because I shouldn’t. I’m incredibly predictable with my tastes and they will likely never change.

Anywho. Butler to Amir (another potential bachelor), but all I wanted was this soft-hearted, gentle man who looks out for everyone, is incredibly kind and friendly, and loves tea a whole bunch. His long hair, put into a braid.... [sighs dreamily] How ever am I going to cope...?

I never did finish ANB, but I want to! Because this man is SO HANDSOME and I wanna put a ring on it. (Sorry, Amir! You might need to employ someone else! Thanks, bye!)

Inari: Trio of Towns

This one came from a recommendation, one I wasn’t at all expecting...and now I’m “stuck” with this one. And don’t want them to let go.

They remind me of two previous spouses already on the list: Harvest King/Goddess and Jamie. The latter for their gender being undefined until marriage (where the game will then either dress Inari up in masculine marriage clothes or feminine marriage clothes, to be the opposite gender to the PC). The former checks out in that- like them and many other special candidates- Inari will not live at home with the player. It breaks my heart, but the reward itself is seeing this lovely fox deity learn how to love, to be willing to put their heart on the line, and even have a child.

I couldn’t be happier to be introduced to this game in such a way. Consider my first save slot dedicated to you, darling kitsune~! (And a spot for you on the F/O list sometime soon, too!)

Yuzuki: Trio of Towns

“I won’t fall in love with another bachelor,” I lied, lyingly. “I will just be in love with Inari. Nobody else.” A fool, I was. Predictable, as all times before. I read a little too much into a character....and suddenly, a proposal comb is being slapped into my hand. Dammit!

Being the fan-favorite occasionally helps my interest in certain characters, but what always gets me in the end...is that personality. Oh, and does Yuzuki deliver... Not only is he a kind, supportive man with his own business, but said business is making hairpins! His grandmother usually helps model them, but more and more during your romancing does your PC model for him, instead. (Literally the first piece you model he made SPECIFICALLY with you in mind, oh my god.)

But wait! There’s more! Being a model that knocks him breathless...and shows a surprising bit of ego. (Not a bad thing, but definitely not a vice I was expecting from him!) So many cute lines. Goodness.

....I admittedly just watched the heart/flower events, so I’m SOFT.

#Aki speaks #THIS GOT SO UNCONTROLLABLY LONG OOPS #I had more crushes than I thought....#and then I thought a LOT of girls were cute...#ugh I wish the older games #let you gay marry.....#like....I'll be a dude to marry a cute wife #but also consider this: Make It Gay #Make It Even More Gay #MFoMT SoS remake added in gay marriage #so I'm THRILLED about that #but KEEP IT COMING MISTER #LET'SA GO; MORE GAY SHIT PLEASE #anyways #I also love the new era of customization #one step at a time #to a more glorious PC.....and I love it #still think HM peaked at AP tho #literally tweak a few things and it's Perfect Forever

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thehelleniclunarwitch · 5 years ago

Text

Oh To Be a Barton (Chapter Eleven)

Tagged: @justgrits

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

*Several Months Later*

“No. No. It has to be thinner for them to easily disguise it.” Emily groaned in annoyance.

“If it’s thinner they won’t be able to hold as many bullets. The weapon would be useless.” Bruce explained.

“They are trained assassins, dad. They won’t need that many bullets. Plus, I’m in the process of instructing a thinner bullet.” Emily informed him.

“Fine, make it thinner, but then it needs to be longer.” Bruce said.

“They’re assassins. They need smaller and thinner weapons.” Emily replied.

Bruce sighed.

“You give me a headache.” He said.

“Yeah, well you cause aches in my butt.” Emily retorted.

“Did you just call me a pain in your ass?” Bruce asked.

“Yes, but I did it nicely. Now make the gun the height in my plans.” Emily grinned before turning back towards her computer.

“Lord, grant me patience so I don’t strangle my own child.” Bruce muttered.

Emily cackled.

“There’s the buzzer. Go see who’s here.” Bruce said.

Emily groaned and pushed away from her computer. Bruce had rented a small building and opened up a small practice. He did most things for free or charged a small fee. They lived in the back of the building and had his office in the front. Emily skipped through their lab and up to the front of the office.

“Śubha sandhyā.” Emily greeted. (Good afternoon.)

“Ḍāktāra haẏa?” The lady asked. (Is the doctor in?)

“Ēka miniṭa.” Emily said. (One minute.)

Emily disappeared into the back and made Bruce go into the front. She returned to her work on her weapons and left her dad to deal with the patient. Emily pulled the tablet in closer and moved her pen around changing the shape around trying to get the right size and volume.

“Emily!” Bruce called out.

The young girl sighed.

“What?” She yelled back.

“I need you.” Bruce said.

Emily pushed away from the computer and scurried on her way back to the front of the building. She froze mid skip and slid across the floor slightly when she saw Bruce standing there. He was alone, but he had a cake in his hands. Balloons were tied to random objects around the office and presents were stacked on the counter.

“What is this?” Emily asked.

Bruce grinned. “Happy Birthday!”

“Holy shit. I totally forgot about my own birthday.” Emily gasped.

“I figured you did. That’s why I did this all behind your back. I wanted to surprise you.” Bruce smiled.

“Dad, you’re the best.” Emily sighed happily.

“Yeah, I know. So why don’t you make a wish and then dig into your gifts.” Bruce said.

Emily grinned and then hurried over to Bruce. She took a deep breath and then blew out the candles making a wish. After the candles were blown out, Bruce set the cake on the counter and planned on cutting later. He picked up one of the gifts and held it out to Emily.

“You didn’t have to get me anything.” Emily said.

Bruce raised an eyebrow.

“But I’m glad you did.” Emily grinned.

Bruce shook his head.

“So what did you get me?” Emily asked, shaking the gift.

“Why would I tell you when you can open it?” Bruce replied.

“Okay, okay.” Emily said.

Emily opened the gift and tore the tissue paper out from the box. Her mouth fell open and she looked up at Bruce. He was watching her with careful eyes. With shaky hands, Emily pulled the chip from the box.

“How did you get this?” Emily asked.

“I conned it out of Tony.” Bruce told her.

“I’ve always wanted my very own artificial intelligence.” Emily said in awe.

“Kid, I listen to you. Heuristically. Operative. Matrix. Emulation. Rostrum. Also known as, Homer.” Bruce said.

“Can I connect the chip to my computer?” Emily asked with wide eyes.

“Why don’t you open the rest of your gifts first?” Bruce suggested.

“Alright.” Emily said.

Bruce watched with anticipation as Emily opened the rest of the gifts. The second gift she opened was a Wacom drawing tablet. The third gift was a set of several different language dictionaries to help Emily. Bruce had picked up teaching Emily several different languages. The last gift was a huge one. Emily looked up at Bruce and he just urged her to open it. Emily tore into the wrapping paper. She ripped open the white box and then gasped.

“Is this the real thing?” Emily asked him.

“No, but it’s an exact replica and made from the same material.” Bruce said.

“How?” Emily asked.

“It’s not from me.” Bruce said.

“Then who?” Emily asked him.

“It’s a gift from Coulson.” Bruce answered.

“That son of a bitch.” Emily smirked and lifted the shield from the box.

“I think it will look nice hanging over your bed, but remember language.” Bruce scolded.

“Sorry, dad.” Emily said.

“I’ll cut into the cake while you go and hookup Homer.” Bruce said.

“Be right back!” Emily exclaimed running off.

Emily removed the chip from the small box and then slid into her computer. She clicked through the right files and typed in the right codes. Em quickly entered her name into the code before pushing enter. She watched the green bar slowly fill up across her screen. Emily waited impatiently for the system to finish loading. Her fingers taped against her desk as the bar filled up.

“Good evening, Emily.” Homer said.

Emily let out a squeal of excitement.

“Hey Homer.” Emily greeted.

Bruce left Emily to connect with Homer. He left out a few slices of cake for him and Emily. He placed the rest of her birthday cake in the fridge. They would be having take out for dinner later. He already had ordered it and had planned it to be delivered after their office was closed.

“Venga a cuidar de sus regalos.” Bruce said. (Come take care of your gifts.)

“Tulossa!” Emily called back. (Coming!)

Emily left her desk and headed back into the front of the building to grab the rest of her gifts. There was a knock on the door and then Bruce hurried to answer it. Emily stopped to see a little girl standing at the door talking quickly to Bruce.

“Calm down. What’s wrong?” Bruce asked.

“My father,” The girl trailed off.

“Is he sick? Like the others?” Bruce asked her.

“Please.” She pleaded.

Bruce glanced back at Emily.

“Go. I’ll lock up after you.” Emily said.

Bruce nodded. “I won’t be gone long.”

Emily watched the little girl quickly run off. Bruce chased hastily after her. Emily locked the door behind her dad. She went back to taking care of her new gifts. She hung the shield over her bed and then took her new tablet into the lab. She tossed her old beaten up tablet to the side and then quickly connected the new one.

“Homer, play Pandora.” Emily said.

“Which channel, Emily?” Home replied.

“Classic rock and blast it.” Emily answered.

Livin’ on a Prayer by Bon Jovi began blasting from the speakers. Emily pushed her glasses higher up on her nose as she went back to work on the new weapon design. It didn’t take long for her to get lost in her work. She never heard the door click unlock or Bruce calling out for her.

Emily let out a scream as somebody touched her shoulder.

“Sorry.” Bruce apologized.

“God, dad!” Emily gasped.

“I called your name, but you didn’t hear me over the music.” Bruce explained.

“What is it?” Emily asked, rubbing at her aching chest.

“We have a visitor.” Bruce said.

“This late into the evening?” Emily asked.

“Yes and they want to see you.” Bruce told her.

“Really?” Emily cocked an eyebrow.

“You better go out there.” Bruce said.

Emily left her chair and hurried out into the front of the building. She let out a whoop of excitement when she saw the familiar redhead standing there. Emily ran towards Natasha throwing herself at the girl.

“Nat!” Emily exclaimed.

“Hey kid.” Nat smiled squeezing the girl tightly.

“What are you doing here?” Emily asked.

“I’m pretty sure today is someone’s birthday.” Natasha said.

“You came to see me for my birthday?” Emily asked her.

“You’re officially a preteen now. I had to come see you.” Natasha said.

“Did you bring Clint?” Emily asked hopefully.

“Sorry, Em, but there’s something that you and I need to talk about.” Natasha sighed.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” Emily asked fearfully.

“Take a walk with me.” Natasha said.

Emily followed Natasha out into the darkening night. She kept up in stride with Natasha as the older girl walked through town. Natasha didn’t say anything for several long minutes and Emily didn’t ask any questions. Whatever had happened, Emily knew it was serious and that Natasha needed the right moment to tell her.

“There’s another reason why I came here.” Natasha spoke.

“Nat, just tell me what happened.” Emily said.

“I know you’ve found the files on the Avengers initiative.” Natasha began.

“Yeah, I’ve seen a lot of files that Shields didn’t want me to find.” Emily pointed out.

“I’m here because of the Avengers.” Natasha said.

“Bruce?” Emily asked.

“Bruce.” Nat stated.

“So why isn’t Clint here helping you?” Emily asked.

“Because of this.” Natasha said holding out an iPad towards Emily.

Emily took the iPad and watched the security clip from one of Shield’s labs. She could see Doctor Selvig with the tesseract. Emily watched in horror as the tesseract began to glow and then a man appeared from the blue light. Emily squinted and watched the video a little closer. Everything had happened so quickly. A small groan escaped her as she watched the man touch his scepter against Clint’s chest.

“Where is he now?” Emily asked.

“With Loki under his control apparently.” Natasha answered.

“Loki? As in the norse god?” Emily asked.

Natasha nodded. “The one and only.”

“Thor’s brother right?” Emily asked.

“Yeah.” Natasha answered.

“Hang on.” Emily said.

She started to tap away at the iPad. Natasha moved around to stand behind Emily so she could watch the girl work. Natasha smirked as Emily easily tapped into Shield’s system and began pulling up files. Articles about Thor in New Mexico appeared. Pages and pages of info on Loki downloaded next and then the Avengers initiative.

“What exactly are you looking for?” Natasha asked.

“This.” Emily said, showing her the iPad.

“Oh no.” Natasha said.

“Why not?” Emily asked her.

“Your brother and Bruce have not worked this hard to keep you off Shields radar to only turn around and put you in the middle of it.” Natasha explained.

“Fury had made Ace so I could be a part of the team when it came to it.” Emily said.

“Yeah, that was the plan if you were to have stayed with Shield and got all of the proper training.” Natasha told her.

“I could be helpful.” Emily pointed out.

“You’re a liability.” Natasha said.

Emily sighed.

“Then what the hell am I supposed to do? Where am I to go?” Emily asked.

“I already have that taken care of.” Natasha told her.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Emily asked.

“Just trust me okay?” Natasha replied.

Emily nodded. “Of course.”

“Good. Then let’s head back to Bruce. I’m sure your dad is freaking out that I’ve kept you out past dusk.” Natasha teased.

Emily chuckled.

“Nat,” Emily said squeezing her friend’s hand.

“Yeah?” Natasha muttered.

“Will you promise me to get Clint back no matter what?” Emily asked her.

“You know I will.” Natasha promised.

“I know you can do it.” Emily said.

“Don’t worry Em, I’ll have your brother back to being a pain in both of our asses in no time.” Natasha reassured her.

Emily smiled. “Thanks.”

The girls walked back to the Banner residence. Bruce had already begun packing bags for both he and Emily. Natasha explained that they had an early flight back. Shields was waiting for them at the airport. Natasha promised to explain everything to both Bruce and Emily on the plane. She’d tell Bruce about his part in the Avenger plan and just where exactly Emily would be staying while her most important people were out saving the world. Natasha told Emily that she would be pretty happy with where Natasha had decided to stow her away. Emily just had to trust her friend that everything was going to be okay in the end.

#Bruce Banner #original character #Emily Barton #Clint Barton #Natasha Romanoff #MCU au #I bend things to my will because I can

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nancywheelxr · 6 years ago

Text

(our friends set us up on a blind date as a prank because we don’t like each other but neither of us wants to let them win so ) | Part 5:

( part 1 ) ( part 2 ) ( part 3 ) ( part 4 )

For once, Winn isn’t late.

In fact, he’s five minutes early.

And if this might have something to do with the fact that Brainy knocked on his door half an hour ago to remind him they should carpool this time, well. Alex and Kara don’t have to know that.

“See who needs an I’m late jar,” he scoffs, glaring at the closed door. They are getting better at this fake dating things, he thinks. But maybe it’s just that this is the first big gathering they’re going together– yesterday totally doesn’t count, there were too many shenanigans to count. Today is the real test, if they can fool everyone during Kara’s dinner, then they really can do this.

“You are talking to yourself,” Brainy comments, reaching past Winn to try and ring the doorbell again, but Winn bats his hand away. “Maybe they didn’t hear us the first time! You are mumbling– did you know that is one of the first signs of–”

“That sentence better be ending with genius or– hey,” Winn loudly draws out the word as the door swings open, hoping to cover up their argument, and snatches his hand back from where it had been pointing a finger threateningly. He brandishes the champagne they brought, grinning up, “Happy New Year!”

It’s Alex that answers the door, but she looks harried, her usual impeccable DEO uniform is askew, boots unlaced, “oh thank god,” she pushes them out of the way, locking up behind her, “Marlo is threatening to blow up the hospital and Town Square, dinner is canceled. Kara’s already there and I’m on my way to the hospital.”

“They put up a giant screen on Town Square, half the city’s there to watch the ball drop live– hundreds of people–”

“Yeah, I know,” Alex throws him a key, already shooing them back to the elevator, “which is why I need you and Brainy in the DEO asap. If he’s using the kind of weapons he deals, then we can’t waste any more time. Take Kara’s car, it’s on the garage somewhere but it should be working.”

“Kara has a car?”

“Why would Supergirl have a car?”

“Okay, you two need to learn to use your inside voices,” she huffs, pressing the buttons with more force than necessary, “and of course she does, she’s just terrible at driving.”

The elevator music plays obnoxiously cheerful as ever, and Alex seems about ready to draw her gun and shoot the speaker box right off the wall. Winn isn’t aware of all the details, has no idea where this guy even came from, but part of him is buzzing with excitement, rebelling against the boring civilian life. Don’t get him wrong– blow up the town? Bad, very bad. But also, going back to work? Awesome.

“And I know you still have to take that psych evaluation next week, but this is an emergency,” Alex continues, effectively bursting his bubble. “It’s an all hands on deck night.”

The doors ping open and she is stalking down the hall, leaving Winn and Brainy to figure out for themselves which car is Kara’s. Winn, for one, hopes it’s something very embarrassing that he will be able to lord over her head for the near future.

“I’m adding near-death experience to my list of things that happened in the 21st century,” Brainy tells him as they rush through the hallways at the DEO. Agents are scattered around, like spooked little mice, not knowing what to do, and Winn feels a pang of sympathy for them. Without both Alex and J’onn, they must be even worse off than him. And man, Winn had to listen to Brainy bitching all the way here, “you broke so many traffic laws I lost count– and it’s impossible for me to lose count!”

“For the last time,” Winn does not whine, “we were in a rush! We can’t wait for every red light! Or follow the speed limit and– and jaywalking is also a crime! That guy was clearly jaywalking, alright?”

“I shall drive the next time,” Brainy decides, completely ignoring Winn’s very valid counter-argument, “the probability of a car accident with you behind the wheel is too high.”

“Excuse me? Do you even know how to drive one of our cars?”

“The risk will still be lower.”

“Okay, that’s it, I’m tuning you out,” he says and promptly begins walking faster. Jesus Christ, they are so not going to be able to fool anyone for much longer. He leaves Brainy behind, feeling stupidly smug for reaching the control room first, and heads straight for his old chair–

And for one brief moment, everything’s right in the world.

– Kara’s voice rings through the comms, “guys, I found the bomb in Town Square, it’s in the sewers, how do I shut it down? Hello? Anyone listening?”

“Loud and clear,” Winn says, knowing his smile is stretching for miles. Out of the corner of his eyes, he sees Brainy finally pushing past a group of panicked agents. “But I need deets, hang on.”

“Winn?” She squeals happily as if there wasn’t a very dangerous device on her hands, “you’re back!”

“Only for tonight,” Alex warns, and it echoes strangely. She must be in the sewers too. “Don’t think I forgot the paperwork.”

“You are no fun,” he deadpans, even as his grin stays in place, even as he scans the sewers for the bomb. Just one more–

It pulls up on its own in the screen. What the–

“I’ve scanned the sewers under the square, we should have visual on the bomb in a few seconds,” Brainy says from the chair at his left, and Winn rolls his eyes. Of course he did. On the screen, the tiny blinking dot is magnified until they can see an X-Ray of the device. “This does not– I’m unfamiliar with this design.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Alex speaks again, “I’ve found mine too. There’s a countdown.”

“It’s going to blow up at midnight, isn’t it?” Winn asks tiredly. Of course it is. A flair for the dramatics is a requirement for bad guys, he’s pretty sure they don’t let you go about your villainy and nefarious business if you fail the theatrics exam. “That being said,” he continues, squinting at the screen, “this is giving me major Fort Rozz vibes. Didn’t we bust some guy dealing Kryptonian tech once?”

“Yeah, Frank McAllison. He had been buying things off the escaped inmates and reselling– and it wasn’t just Kryptonian either.” Alex recites, and he can hear the frown in her voice, “you think these came from him?”

“I mean, there was no way to be sure we got all of the stuff back,” he shrugs, watching Brainy turn the bomb’s schematics around, “but if it was from Fort Rozz…” he trails off, trying to remember if they downloaded all the data from the prison before Kara sent it flying off into space.

“It would be on the prison’s inventory,” Brainy finishes, and if this were a cartoon, Winn thinks a lightbulb would appear above his head. He entertains the idea for about half a second because it’s better than dwelling on the two bombs about to blow up two-thirds of the city. Brainy concentrates, connecting with the DEO’s servers, and files flicker on the screen, too quickly for Winn to process. And that– that is so annoying, how he just takes over things. But there’s a countdown and hundreds of people and there’s no way, no way, Winn could fine comb through all these files in time. So it’s fine.

It’s fine.

And if Winn still wants to find a way to mess up the unruffled look he always wear– that’s just another Tuesday.

“There’s a match,” Brainy snaps back, straightening up suddenly on his chair. “It’s a very old Andorian design, hasn’t been used in a few years. Which would make sense if it really was made by an inmate.”

Kara whoops on the comms and Alex’s relieved sigh echoes soon after, slightly distorted by the sewers acoustics. The specifics provided by Fort Rozz’s old files line up perfectly with the visual they have on Kara’s bomb, down to the last screw and glue, but. There’s always a but. “Not out of the woods yet,” Winn grimaces, pulling up the scans he got from Alex’s device. It’s a different style, probably from a different maker, just different enough to throw them for a loop and lose them a time they definitely don’t have. He glances at the clock; five to midnight. “Hate to be a downer, but Houston, we have a problem.”

“Of course we do,” Kara grumbles, sighing a twin sigh from Alex’s, “what now?”

“They’re different bombs,” Brainy tells her, and there’s something tired on his voice that makes Winn think that unruffled might not be such an accurate descriptor as he originally thought. “And Director Danvers’s has no match on the server.”

The clock keeps ticking mercilessly, and a few of the nearby agents are beginning to look nervously between them, hands hovering over their phones. That’s not good; if word gets out–

“You can figure out how this thing works faster,” Winn says, turning to Brainy. The look on his eyes is two shades off deer caught in the headlights, at the most, but it vanishes quickly, determination setting in firmly after. “I’ll walk Supergirl through disarming hers, you worry about Alex’s.”

Brainy doesn’t hesitate, only casts him a doubtful look as he focuses on his task, “the files are in Kryptonian.”

“I know that,” he glowers, inching his chair further away with petty vindication, then clears his throat. “Okay, Supergirl, I’m not even going to try to pronounce all this, so let’s all use a bit of imagination with the literal translation, alright?”

Kara makes an affirmative noise, and fine, it’s been literal years since Winn had to teach himself the basics to fight off Indigo, he might be more than a little rusty, but it’s all they have as of right now so they’ll have to make do. Faintly, he catches bits of whatever Brainy is telling Alex, barely aware of anything that isn’t translating the confusing symbols into things that make sense and complementing with bits of engineering and mechanics he knows like the back of his hand.

Two minutes to midnight.

The bomb is halfway undone.

One minute to midnight.

Is it unscrewing the third screw or tearing off the wires?

Thirty seconds.

Definitely tearing off the wires.

Right?

Ten seconds.

Okay. Just– there should be a pop! noise any time now.

Five seconds.

Anytime now.

1–

An explosion goes off in the sky as fireworks outshine the stars with bright, colorful lights, and a crowd cheers the New Year, drunkenly loud, almost drowning out the twin pop! sounds of the bombs’ detonators falling off harmlessly in the dirty water of National City’s sewer system.

A wave of clapping begins behind them, and Kara is laughing breathlessly in the comms with Alex cursing her heart out in a tone too relieved to be taken seriously. One of the agents brings an open champagne bottle.

“Happy New Year, guys!” Kara gushes, “you so need to see the fireworks– it’s so beautiful!”

“Kara, if I see you hovering anywhere near the fireworks when I come out of the sewers,” Alex threatens without any real bite, “I swear to god– wow. Okay, she’s really not exaggerating this time.” A pause. “Happy New Year.”

Winn slouches on his chair, giggling incredulously, exhaling so unbelievably relieved, and turns to see Brainy leaning against the consoles, the tense line of his shoulders less tight-edged. “Hey,” he says, holding his hand up for a fist bump and not caring if his voice comes out softer than he intended. “Happy New Year.”

Brainy regards his hand with an odd expression, one Winn can’t quite decipher, before tilting his head with a small smile, “Happy New Year, Winslow.”

He returns the fist-bump.

It’s a quiet moment, with the world cheering on outside and the odd, unnamed look on Brainys eyes, but if Winn had to label it, he thinks it just might mean progress.

#winn schott #querl dox #brainy #alex danvers #kara danvers #winndox #fake dating #when in rome #gooosh everyone's finally left so i can finally go back to writing #now i can go through my asks again! promise!#i just really wanted to get this new year chapter out of the way first #totally played myself with this btw #its dumb bitch oclock i guess #anyway back to the barely barely fuzzy idea i have to where this is going #also saw into the spiderverse #not that its relevant here but that is a thing that happened

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ghostmartyr · 6 years ago

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Pokémon White Randomized Nuzlocke Run [Part 2]

Here we are in Part 2, where I have maybe learned a thing about how to keep these from being dreadfully boring. Part 1 saw us defeat the first Gym, as well as my dawning sadness about the HM state of my available pokemon.

Now we move into the Badge 2 phase of the game.

Breathing Pokemon:

Boeing (Latios)

Frogger (Seismitoad)

Timon (Tepig)

I think I will be ignoring the Cut problem until I absolutely can’t, which will be in about five minutes.

I don’t know why I didn’t walk left earlier, but I didn’t. Is there grass here? Can I catch something? My team is basically just Timon and Frogger. I love Boeing, but he is not made for this rough life. He likes relaxing and eating. Not fighting.

And the answer is that the Professor’s scientist friend has supplied a plot barrier. Sigh.

Welp.

....

I can’t even pretend to be surprised. Dang it, Boeing.

I don’t want to use anything outside the confines of the challenge if I can help it. The idea is not, “win all the fights” under these conditions, it’s beating the game.

Congratulations, Boeing.

You’re temporarily useful.

Grass! Beautiful grass!

Also Team Plasma.

Cut is so much more useful than Psywave and I am very sad.

Team Plasma dealt with, obligatory plot detail I wasn’t paying attention to dealt with, we are now free to pursue the grass.

Or will the grass pursue us.

I can’t remember how Tangela evolves normally, or how it evolves given the settings of the run, but I do think that Tangela probably could have learned Cut just fine, and I can’t remember if the Move Deleter costs anything, or even where it is in this version.

But that’s only a concern if I catch a thing that can learn Cut. Let’s do this, Boeing.

Sleep Powder is hypothetically useful. I don’t think it has ever hit when I try to use it.

Two Poke Balls and nothing. I think I am going to sacrifice the Great Ball some random NPC gave me.

Victory!

Good job, Boeing. See, isn’t life more fun when you’re useful?

You know, I don’t normally nickname my pokemon. They just keep the same name every edition of them in the wild has, and that’s perfectly fine with me.

Your name shall be... Grape.

Because look at all those vines writhing... writhe... wrath? Grapes!

Such thought. Much wow.

I think it’s time for healing and grinding.

Oh, but first, Grape! Let us find something out about you.

He is Brave and quick to flee. His Speed suggests that he isn’t that great at fleeing.

Other pokemon we could have gotten from the HM grass spot of doom include Sudowoodo and Beedrill. Tangela looks to be rarest of the set, so I suppose we can add lucky to Grape’s list of traits. There’s a Potion and a Parlyz Heal lying about that I go grab, and until the plot brings us back later (probably sometime after we get Strength), this area is just going to be a grind station.

Until I get bored after about three minutes and want to go back to exploring. I’m not sure I’m made for a Nuzlocke.

...Why is Constrict a move? It’s about as useful as Splash, only with the false hope of being capable of dealing damage.

Yeah, I don’t have the patience for this. I’m going to go left again and see what there is now that the plot isn’t keeping me trapped. ...Only after I talk to Fennel again. Apparently just letting her collect the whatever thing is not enough, I have to listen to her discoveries.

I do not. Button mashing away, we now have our C-Gear and Pal Pad. I think the first of those will end up having uses. I mostly remember all these different event skins being available for the gear.

Now I should be able to go.

Ha. I have conquered the plot barrier.

Since this is a separate section from the garden area, I think once I have some kind of rod or Surf I can come back and nab something from the water. ...I wonder if grass vs water even matters in a randomized run. Are they all completely random, or random within water? I should know these things.

My guess would be completely random. I cite the level 4 Salamence on Route 2. But either way, something to come back to.

Aw, how cute. I’m gonna demolish you (I hope).

It looks like battling is going to happen before finding out what pokemon belong to this route. In the interest of learning how to do this better bit by bit, I think I’ll limit capping battles unless something truly ridiculous happens. This early in the game there shouldn’t be much tension.

I will probably keep track of how many times Psywave misses if I use it, though. That obviously falls into the realm of Importance.

I will also say that Lillipups continue to be terrifying. And that I am so temporarily glad that Boeing knows Cut. Consistent damage. That hits.

I can’t believe this game encourages taking preschoolers’ pocket money. I know I’m only ten, but wow.

Ah, but the nice thing about beating up preschoolers (’ pokemon) is that they have a teacher around very used to healing pokemon up. Walking back to centers to heal is one of the not so fun aspects of

Whoops.

So it’s a good thing I only did grinding, because I clicked the load file option instead of the save file when I was trying to save. Good grief. I am become error. Will return momentarily. With one fresh water short, because I was stupid and a Beedrill almost murdered Timon. Also Timon now knows Flame Charge.

Okay.

Back to making forward progress, hopefully.

Let me go in the grass, Cheren. You’re supposed to be one of my two best friends. The fact that I had to be reminded by a professor whose name I also couldn’t be counted on to remember myself does not take away from our friendly bonds.

There really are a lot of non-NPC duels at the start of this version.

Okay, let’s go squad.

Boeing and Timon do a good job taking down his Meganium. I think I’ll let Frogger take the Purrloin. As the one on the team who did not need grinding, he hasn’t been used in a bit.

And that’s that. Cheren is sad/frustrated because we have the same number of badges, his starter is fully evolved and useful, and yet he still can’t win. Of course he can’t; the run would be over if he did.

But before we can celebrate and get into the grass, the plot arrives.

Team Plasma please. At least I have the option of going into the grass before getting the little girl’s pokemon back. Which I will take.

Let’s see what we get!

...Another thing that doesn’t need my help to evolve. Sigh.

As ever, that only gets a chance to annoy me if I catch it, so time to see how that train goes. I’m going to try throwing my only Great Ball. Psywave got it into the red, so...

Awesome! Based on videos I have seen recently most people aren’t that lucky when it comes to catching these things. Now I can sulk about having a fully evolved team (except for the treasured Timon) in peace.

What the heck do I name you, though? You’re a dinobird... Oh, I know. I’ll call you Ptera. Welcome to the team, Ptera. Let’s check you out.

He has a Mild nature, and he’s proud of his power. I feel like that Defense is going to end up making me cry, and I don’t think you’re a Special Attacker, so the Nature is pretty much all flavor. It’s nice to have something that can Fly; hopefully he’ll be around to use it.

...Oh geez, that Ability. Ptera Ptera Ptera... You are going to make me so sad.

The good news is he can kill his wild kin in one hit. So that’s convenient.

I’m sorry, what.

This is the exp grass now. Other finds include Octillery. Grape eats them for breakfast.

...

Oh.

It knows Aurora Beam.

It got a critical hit.

Grape was only a few points off of full health.

There was no way to know.

This is really sad.

I am so sorry Grape. You were a valued member of the team. You were only with us a short while, but you knew Grass moves. You balanced everything out wonderfully.

The exp grass is a dangerous place.

Maybe if I had just gone after the little girl’s pokemon...

It’s too late.

Grape is a raisin.

In the process of going after Team Plasma, it looks like Chimecho might be replacing Audino in the rustling grass. Maybe once, maybe always. Who can say. That would take paying more attention when messing with the settings.

A place to find Grape’s replacement. It would have been where we’d finally have a team of six, but...

Oh hey we found something already.

Okay, I can roll with that.

......Surprise, Ptera is stronger than expected. I knew enough to use Wing Attack, not Rock Throw, but I guess Ptera is just that good. Filed away for future reference. No new pokemon. A fitting tribute to Grape’s absence. The slot may remain empty for a little longer.

We get some Heal Balls from the little girl, and those could actually really come in handy. Assuming I ever properly catch a new teammate again.

One battle against an NPC later, and I think it’s safe to say Ptera is the new Frogger. He is overpowered for this section of the game.

You know what wouldn’t be overpowered? A Slugma.

I forgot about the darker grass. Route 3′s has Minccino, Teddiursa, Quilava, and Emolga.

Boeing could you please just learn something good. Please.

Whenever I see an Octillery now I’m just going to be filled with so much hate. I will kill every one that comes across my path. Unless I screw up and it kills me again, which is an absolute possibility.

We’ve made it to the next Gym city. Normal type. That shouldn’t cause any particular problem, but I do remember this fight packing more of a punch than I was expecting the first time I played, so cue the grinding montage I’m not going to screencap.

As well as the exploring the town montage I’m not going to screencap.

One of the NPCs asked me what I started with, so like a fool, I said Snivy, since that’s what Boeing replaced.

Now I have a Miracle Seed. And nothing that knows Grass moves.

Grape casts a long shadow already.

New area means new pokemon. Ones I have no plans to murder, but might very well anyway.

!!!!!

It’s. Grape’s replacement.

I love Shroomish and Breloom. One of the best pokemon in any gen, and I would dearly love one to follow me on this journey.

Yesssssss.

Let’s see. How about Palm, because your design reminds me of a pomegranate.

Palm has a Calm nature, and is somewhat of a clown. I’m pretty sure that is not the combination I want, since Breloom is more of a physical attacker, but hopefully it won’t matter too much. Poison Heal is a useful Ability to have.

Other things we could have caught in Pinwheel Forest: Vileplume, Froslass, Klink, Clamperl, Bellossom, Glaceon, Ducklett, and Metagross.

Wow. That’s a nice collection.

Oh hey and this happened.

Timon is now a robust Pignite, and has a move that will be of great use in the Gym!

We’re just going through the forest and annihilating everyone, but I spared a moment to commemorate Palm’s moment.

Tympole confused him, and he still used Absorb twice in a row instead of hurting himself. Then he snapped out of confusion and won. Contrary Nature aside, I am liking our new addition very much.

Especially since the fight against the next Tympole followed the exact same script. Good job, Palm.

The rest of this is basically all grinding, which is fun for me since I don’t have to come up with something clever to say when nothing much is going on. That is one benefit of doing this in this format.

My usual rule of thumb for these games is ten levels per gym until that much grinding becomes unbearable. Everyone’s currently level 18 (Ptera’s 16 and trying to fix that almost resulted in a Glaceon murdering him), and I’m thinking I might have hit that point.

...Yeah, I definitely have. I’ll just hit the Gym and let Ptera nom some things. Boeing will probably have to sit this fight out, because as we all know, what Normal type really means is Lillipups that know Bite. Those are not things for Boeing to face.

It is amazing how many different patches of grass suddenly have pokemon when I’m trying to leave a place, good grief.

Hello, am I fighting you again already? Or are you just doing your mysterious thing?

No, yeah, we’re doing a battle. And he opens with a level 13 Pidove to my level 17 Ptera. I don’t think he’s going to win this one. N, of course. Ptera has it in the bag, because I think it’s fair to say I have overleveled myself.

Palm was continuing his great streak of not letting Tympoles make him hurt himself, but sadly he did hurt himself once in this fight. Still, not bad, and much better than I usually get saddled with.

Ptera fighting the Timburr might be an incredibly stupid idea. He can one-shot them, but if they get a Rock Throw crit, it will be bad. This has been learned from the Fighting trainers in the wild that I didn’t screencap.

Those guys were at level 16, though. N’s level 13 is nowhere near the same brand of problem, and Ptera cleans up.

Alright, that settled, can I enter the gym now?

I forgot about the museum in front. Lenora’s got good taste.

Another Fresh Water for me. This one I don’t plan on using up. I don’t think I’ll need to, based on N’s levels. I really overtrained for this whole badge, probably. But that’s okay. I don’t like worrying about my pokemon dying every fight. Steamrolling is fine too. The main fun with all of this is finding out what I’ll end up with and raising them.

Then the very first trainer has a level 17 Patrat.

I feel less silly in my decisions.

Followed by a level 17 Herdier.

This is where I would consider doing more grinding, except by the time I’ve decided to stop grinding, I am generally not going to start again for a while.

The trainer with more than one pokemon starts with a level 15 Lillipup, so the Gym Leader’s are probably around 17-20. That should be okay. I’m healing before I go forward anyway, and Ptera’s going to grow another level beforehand just by beating this last trainer.

I really like Lenora’s Gym. It’s educational and has a secret staircase. I don’t think you can ask for more (though if memory serves, some of these get pretty wild this version).

Heals, then fight. This should be fine.

I want this office.

Ready... FIGHT!

She’s opening with a level 18 Herdier with Intimidate. Sigh. I forgot that was an ability. That might make this a little more awkward than I want, but Ptera is still part Rock. If things are going to go wrong, they should go wrong slowly enough for me to switch.

Take Down with a Leer boost only does 12, so yeah, this should be okay.

She uses a Super Potion, it takes three of any of Ptera’s attacks to down it, but Ptera gets a crit, and it’s Watchdog time!

I remembered she had this one.

For the sake of safety, I’m going to let Timon and his super effective attack handle this one. I think the Watchdog likes to sleep things.

A level 20 Watchdog. Do not want. But I believe in you, Timon. Go for it.

Uh.

Huh.

Fuck?

That’s. Wow, okay.

Watchdog with Retaliate. Awesome.

I don’t trust Ptera’s Defense to withstand whatever comes next, so Frogger... please do not die. Please. I need you to be alive and useful, because I just lost one of the greatest helps to this run.

Of course it has Hypnosis.

It’s so red. So close.

Retaliate does 30 damage without the fainting teammate ahead of time, and now Frogger is asleep and in the red. He needs to get out of there now, but I think Pursuit could be one of Watchdog’s moves.

I have one Soda Pop. He’s asleep anyway, so I’m willing to try it.

Geez this is scary.

tfw Watchdog also has Crunch and now Frogger’s Defense is lowered.

He isn’t faster, I don’t think. Even if he wakes up...

Switched to Palm and now Palm’s asleep.

Switching back to Frogger.

Frogger takes two Crunches, needs a Fresh Water, the next Crunch is a critical hit, and Frogger is still asleep. I have two Super Potions, now one, and Frogger is still alive and still asleep.

What in the fuck.

I know the sleep counter gets reset if you pull it out, but come on.

He finally wakes up, and because Watchdog only needed one more hit, victory is achieved.

Not worth it.

Lenora I don’t like you anymore.

And before we can end this segment, Team Plasma attacks the museum. Yay, plot. Plot to distract from the pain. The horrible, sad, awful, pain.

I can’t even remember their excuse for stealing the skull. Was there one?

I don’t know and care even less.

So we are assigned to search for the thieves with Burgh, Castelia’s Gym Leader, while Cheren and Bianca stay at the museum. Bianca is playing Fennel’s gopher, so we now have Dowsing Machine (MCHN) we will never remember to use, but if you’ll excuse me, I have more important matters to attend to.

...Bye.

I know the screenshots don’t show it, but you did a great job. Nothing else would have survived the gym if you hadn’t made training in Pinwheel Forest so straightforward. You did good, Timon.

Next Gym gets grinding. No complaints.

#Pokemon #Nuzlocke Challenge

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demonicbolt · 7 years ago

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Humans are Space Orcs - Sports!

Topic today? SPORTS! With our advanced capabilities, we’ve invented a TON of sports that require intense physical ability in regards to strength, speed, accuracy, and massive pain tolerances. Baseball, Football, Rugby, Hockey, and this isn’t even going to the Olympic level! Olympic level sports are another tier unto themselves, requiring every aspect above to such degrees that competing at a lower level would be unfair. What would aliens think about these? Especially a race like Loko’s, with their slower rates of healing…

~~~

“Ah, there ya are Loko! I was wondering when ya’d get here!” Jack said happily as she let me into her room.

On the station we served on, we were lucky enough to have individual rooms that, according to Jack, were bigger than her old apartment on Earth. I had to look up the word ‘apartment’ three times to fully understand what one was or wasn’t.

“Hello Human-Jack. I remembered that you said to bring snacks, so I went to the mess hall and asked what would be appropriate” I said happily and held up a large plate of stadium-style nachos.

“Perfect! Larry should be here any minute with some drinks!” Jack smiled and took the nachos, putting the plate down on the coffee-table in front of her couch.

I walked in and sat down, looking at Jack “I do not believe I know of this Larry. Is it also coming for the sporting video?”

Jack giggled a little and smiled “Larry is one of the security guards, though I actually met him back in Canada, on Earth. He transferred here about a week ago” She explained as she adjusted her cast on her arm.

I watched her and blinked as she did so “Does your cast need maintenance? I can contact the medical center for you if you like”

“Thank you Loko, but I’m fi-“ Jack turned to face the door as a buzzer sounded, alerting them of company.

The door opened to reveal a human-male standing there. From just a glance, I could visibly see this new person was an inch shorter than Jack, but still an inch taller than myself. The male also appeared to be a different coloring than Jack, but to a drastic degree. Jack described herself once as ‘Caucasian’ but this new human was different and I didn’t really know enough about humans to understand why. Clearly another research project.

“Hey there Jackie! I brought some beers for us and some of that synthetic stuff for that wolf guy you talked about… OH! You must be him” The human, which must be the Larry mentioned before, walked in and extended his hand.

I took the hand carefully and gave it a shake in greeting. I remembered this activity from when I met Jack. “Yes, I am Loko, one of Human-Jack’s friends and co-workers. I was invited over to see this... ‘rugby’?”

“Football actually, but sweet! I figured you lot wouldn’t like it since your lots idea of sports is competitive chess” Larry said with a chuckle and sat down on the other end of the couch

“Oh hush Larry” Jack said with a shake of her head “Let’s just watch the game”

Though likely in jest, Human-Larry was correct about one thing. Wolfos version of competition was what humans called ‘academics’, not wanting to risk our rather delicate bodies with physical trauma that could cause long-term problems. Despite our size and evidently intimidating form, our bones were fragile and took a long time to heal. We were designed for stealth and short bursts of speed, not for strength or endurance.

Jack meanwhile was setting up a recording of a football game that had happened a few days ago on Earth. Even with the speed of the Galactic Communication Network, a station this far out took about twelve hours to get anything from Earth, and even longer to get large files like an entire sports game.

The humans’ mannerisms completely changed while the ‘match’ was on. They clearly favoured the team called the ‘Cowboys’ and cheered every time they scored points. I honestly couldn’t follow the game at first, watching that many humans thunder across a field covered in lines and numbers, trying to seemingly get an oddly shaped object to one side or the other. I wasn’t used to tracking that many fast moving beings at once.

When ‘half-time’ came up Jack turned to me and smiled.

“Enjoying the game Loko? I mean, it feels a little slow this year, but I think that’s cause they lost a player two weels back so they’re treading carefully” Jack explained as she got up to grab another beer.

“They lost a player? Did they not search for him?” I asked in confusion. Surely a human as big as these football players couldn’t be that hard to spot.

“She means he broke his leg and had to drop out. They didn’t have time to bring in a replacement before the finals” Larry explained and shook his head. “Alright… you know what, I’m taking it! You’re on Jack, I bet the Cowboys lose. The score is tied now, but the Giants pulled their score up hard in the last few minutes. Fifty credits on the Giants to win” He said with a wicked grin.

Jack spun as if on a swivel, facing Larry now. “oh no, you did NOT. The Cowboys ain’t lost a game all season, so they’re gonna win. Double that bucko, a hundred creds says the Cowboys win!” her accent seemed thicker than usual as she spoke.

Larry held his hand towards her and they gave a quick, firm shake to each other while also giving small nods. Clearly, handshakes had multiple meanings… yet ANOTHER research project for later. Humans were so complicated.

As the game resumed, they were now each cheering on a different team. Not wanting to feel left out, I joined in cheering on the Cowboys with Jack, which seemed to please her… I think.

The final point came down to the Cowboys needing a touchdown while four points behind, but with only nine seconds left of ‘game time’ and a long distance to cover, I failed to see them winning. I went to console Jack but she held up a hand and grinned, stating “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over”

I turned to watch the final moments of the game with them. The players were huddled up and talking before two members switched positions. When they formed their line-up, their usual placements were broken and left a gap on one side of their defence. Clearly, they were not as well coordinated as I had come to think, yet…

“And here goes the final play, with an odd formation from the Cowboys as they aim for a final run. Zimmerman signals, and… OH MY GOD! Look at that leap! He just cleared three people with that and… he’s going! Zimmerman’s making a mad dash! That boy doesn’t quit! Six seconds left as he barrels down the field… two… TOUCHDOWN! With just half a second left on the clock, the judges are calling it good! The Cowboys win!”

Jack jumped up, yelling and cheering before turning to Larry “HA HA! Never doubt a Texan with an attitude, cause you’ll lose every time!”

Larry just laughed and shrugged “Fair enough, my mistake! I’ll get you your credits in the morning. I’m off to lick my wounds… night Jack, Loko” He said with another shake of his head and left with a chuckle.

I looked up at Jack as she stood there with that gloating expression still on her face and was about to speak.

“Ah… damn it feels good to win. Thanks for coming Loko, made it all the better to whoop his ass with an audience.”

… I feel like I’m heading back to my quarters with more homework than ever before tonight. Humans are strange…

~~~

For more adventures of Jack and Loko, links below

http://demonicbolt.tumblr.com/post/168455153489/humans-are-space-orcs-broken-bones-and-healing

#humans are space orcs #jacqueline harper #Loko #Football

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artxyra · 5 years ago

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Wake Me When It’s Over

Note: I must really like you guys enough to create a sequel for something that was never supposed to get one. Also, I kind of lost my train of thought as to where this story will end towards the end, sorry about that.

The miraculous magic flies through the streets of Paris, France. Those that were turned into stone now gasping for air and looking around very confused. On a rooftop, a certain model stands naked hoping that no one would see him searching for clothes and a way home. Back at the venue where the dance took place, Alya whoops at the defeat of the Empress of Mean. She holds Nino closes to her before realizing that something had happened to Lila. Her attention immediately goes to her phone messaging the one person that started this all.

No one knew what to say about the latest akuma victim. It was Marinette, the one person they never thought would fall into the hands of Hawkmoth. Was it really due to her jealousy of Lila? When was she akumatized? So many questions ran to through the student’s minds, that faithful night.

It wasn’t until Monday morning when everything came undone.

Throughout the rest of the weekend, the LadyBlog was receiving various comments about the Empress of Mean. Some comments were harsher than others. Alya couldn’t find it in her to make a new blog post regarding the aftermath or of the lack of thereof to her viewers. She wasn’t able to reach Lila at all and neither could rest of her classmates.

Entering the classroom, Alya could see that majority of the class was there expect for Adrien, Lila, and Marinette. She quickly managed to get the class huddled together.

“It isn’t like Marinette to be akumatized, especially about something so trivial as the dance.” Rose pipes up with a pout resting in her lips. “She handles stress better than any of us.” She then adds on causing everyone to turn to her.

“She was jealous, and that’s final,” Alya states, slamming her hands down on the desk in front of her. Everyone could see the twitching in the blogger’s eyes and a slight shaking of her body. Nino wraps his arms around her. “There’s no other explanation.”

“It was rumored that she and Adrien were secretly dating.” It was Nathanial who speaks up next. Soon all eyes were on him.

“You lie…” Everyone suddenly begins to shout.

“No, I’m serious. Marinette hangs out with Marc every now and then and he tells me that they were probably dating. I may an artist, but a broken heart can cause anyone to be akumatized if done correctly.” He continues before pulling out his sketchbook and begins drawing as if he didn’t just pull a fast one on his peers.

The classroom is met with silence aside from the sounds of a pencil against paper.

The classroom’s door opens revealing a frustrated yet silent Adrien Agreste with the one and only Lila Rossi standing behind him. Expecting cheers and concerns, they were meet with the opposite.

“Adrien, did you ever date Marinette?” Juleka asks with her voice dangerously low for all that can hear her. Her response came with an awkward neck rub and wondering eyes from the man in question. Juleka turns to Lila as if she had just woken up from a nightmare. Years of listening and believing the two people in front of her, denying everything her brother has ever said to her. Juleka didn’t know what to do at the moment. Emotions were not her strong suit even after all these years of being around the same people for years.

“I didn’t want to hurt anyone.” Adrien finally speaks up before walking over to his desk and pretend that last weekend did not just happen.

The room grows cold. No one knew how to respond.

“Oh my gosh guys, I’m so sorry for not responding to any of your text. After what Marinette had done to me, I really needed therapy. My mother was able to find someone at the last minute and I had no cell service.” Lila gushes about her latest problem hoping to grab some sympathy. Immediately it was meet by her “loyal” peers, all asking if she’s alright.

Those who weren’t as fooled by the Italian’s response, stood there wondering if she was lying or just pretending. Anyone with text receipts on knew that the girl had read their message and just didn’t respond.

“But you were dating Marinette?” Nathanial speaks setting his pencil down to give Adrien his full attention.

Adrien turns to the artist like a deer caught in the headlights. He could feel Lila’s glare on his back despite not looking at her. “Uh…We were never official. She knew that we were friends.”

“How long?” Juleka’s voice got softer.

“About a couple of months, why?”

With that, breathing became harder for those that knew Marinette well enough to know that the designer practically holds her heart on her sleeves. If Adrien thought they weren’t dating and Marinette did, that changes a whole lot of things.

Before anyone could tear Adrien a new one, Max mentions that class was about to start, and they should get into their seats. Only one seat stood noticeably out to everyone, and they knew she would be in much later.

Mild chatter about Lila’s therapy session broke the silence while everyone else waits nervously as more time past by. Their teacher has yet to enter the classroom nor has the class representative.

When Marinette finally did enter the classroom, everything goes silent. The loyalist of Lila’s group glares at the designer while the others couldn’t find the words to start something with Marinette without fearing the worst-case scenario.

Marinette had just sat in her chair when Mlle. Bustier entered the classroom in a panicking mess. Apparently, after the dance, a lot of parents were chewing out the school officials asking what caused the young designer to attack the school first and for the school not calling the parents. It was later found out that Marinette had no problems with the rest of school just her classmates and the partygoers were just so happened to be affected like everyone else which ends up causing more problems than less.

Caline couldn’t handle all this backlash. The school board officials decided that since Bustier’s class had the most akumatized victims out of all Dupont, Caline’s teaching habits must be reevaluated. They were sending someone in to review her class and teaching methods. All this being planned last minute which means that Caline was struggling to find the proper lesson plans and attitude before the official comes in.

“Today, we will be having a guest staying with us for the week. When this person enters please be on your best behaviors.” Mlle. Bustier stress to the class as she finally pulls out the last of her files from her briefcase.

Everyone, aside from Marinette, wonders who the guest will be. They receive their answer when the door opens once again to show an older-looking woman in a business suit with hair similar to Marinette’s overlooking the class before taking an empty desk in the back. The perfect view to oversee everything. Caline was seconds away from sweating bullets as she struggles to find the right word to begin the class period.

Lila, finding a new problem with this, tries to make Marinette look bad at every attempt she could get. However, all her attempts just made Caline’s teaching habits appear worse than what the school board could imagine. It was only a matter of time for Caline could kiss her job goodbye.

When the class finished, those that had a wake-up call rushed to meet with Marinette. Juleka was unsure how to feel when she saw her brother, Luka, and that fencer that was once an enemy talking to Marinette huddle close together.

“Are you sure that you don’t want to transfer?”

Juleka turns to Nathanial and Rose hoping that she heard wrong. Marinette could not transfer, it just felt so wrong.

“Luka?” The trio turns to the guitarist’s younger sister. They could see the fake smile placed upon Marinette’s face.

“I’m so, so sorry, Marinette.” Juleka followed by Nathanial and Rose immediately apologizes. Marinette stares at them with somewhat blank stares.

A moment past before Marinette whispers, “I forgive you. You’re not at fault here.”

The recently forgiven three runs to embrace Marinette. Tears of joys escape from their eyes.

Only a day later would the class of Mlle. Bustier finds out that their teacher has been suspended and will no longer be teaching the class. Their new teacher was strict and took no bullshit from the class. It was either hard facts or detention for the day.

Lila tried to lie her way out with the new teacher but was constantly shut down the moment she opened her mouth. As her web began to dwindle, she knew that it was only time before her super loyalist realizes the truth of their “best friend”.

It was a hard-felt battle to the end of the school year. Lila had tried everything to maintain her loyalist to her side. She even went so far to bully Marinette out of the classroom only to be defeated by a wave of Marinette protection squad from another classroom.

Alya still blogged about Lila’s so-called adventure with Ladybug, her following begin to dwindle with the announcement of a Ladybug sponsored blog called Miraculous Out. Alya had a hissing fit and tried everything in her power to control the damage.

For Nino, he was feeling the pressure to getting his big break. Lila had promised him so many opportunities and as the school went along realization began to sit. He tried his hardest to shake Alya out of her Lila induced daze as the time went by, but he had no luck. He wanted to apologize to Marinette for everything that he had done, but the fear of being unforgiven hold him back.

When the school year returned everything was different. Caline Bustier was no longer their teacher. Marinette had transferred out of the class and to a new school all together. Everyone that had a wake-up call suddenly felt sick to their stomach from believing in Lila’s lies and seeing the Italian native. Nothing would ever be the same for them, not after all of this.

Specific Tag List: @traveling-with-thedoctor | @nexitye | @blueberrinette | @seraphichana |

#queen of mean au #miraculous ladybug fanfic #miraculous ladybug #the empress of mean aftermath #slight class salt #eh I'd tried

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itbeajen · 7 years ago

Text

Omorfos Kosmo | HQ!! x Reader | Game!AU

Chapter 8.5 - Arc 1 - Invidia

Set Before the Transition

"Oh? They..." you paused in excitement as your eyes scanned over the computer screen, "They added a story line!"

You were basically squealing in excitement, and your hands reach for your phone, immediately dialing up Kei. You hear the line go dead and you sigh, before excitedly leaving him a voice mail telling him about the new update and how excited you were. It was hard seeing him in person when he was so far away in a different school. But despite it all, this game was your connection to all your old and new friends.

You quickly logged on, the familiar background music flooding your room as you typed in your details. Your small avatar appears on the screen once you're in and you begin to read the first quest, that's part of a series of quests, for the game's personal story line and you immediately immersed.

Hello Wanderer [L/N], Your sudden appearance in our realm has caught us all by surprise, but your arrival was foretold many years ago. It has been passed down through legend that the arrival of you, the Wanderers, will be the era in which we will finally bring back the light to our kingdom. I understand this letter to be sudden, and for it to be lacking in details, but if you would like more information, we are cordially extending our hand in invitation to the Royal Palace of Invidia. Note: If you accept this letter's invitation you will instantly be moved to the Audience Room of the Royal Palace of Invidia. Do you accept?

Your eyes sparkled with excitement as you eagerly clicked the accept button. No hesitation was necessary as soon as you finished the letter and you watched your computer screen turn black as your character is warped to the new map.

The audience room was grand, and magnificently decorated with many pillars and tapestries and banners that all proudly and boldly stated their state and nation. Your character appears at the entrance of the audience room, center of the red carpet that lead down the entrance up til the stage where there sat several thrones and various other seats for various other court members.

On both sides of the red carpet, one stood what you read to be the royal guards, and on the other side, the advisers. They were filed orderly, perhaps in the order of their rank, and you awkwardly stood at the entrance of the audience room. Your mouse clicks various times on the screen, but your character is unable to move, and after waiting a little bit longer, a knight, one dressed in different armor compared to the rest, appears beside you. He bows to your character and a dialog box appears.

Julius: Welcome to the Audience Room of Invidia, Wanderer [L/N]. It is our honor to see that you have arrived here safely. My name is Julius, please allow me to be your guide and escort for your time here.

You stared at the only two options, which were basically a yes, and be treated like royalty, or no and probably left to fend for yourself. You clicked the former and watched as Julius' character design lit into a bright smile as the lavender haired male tilted his head slightly to the left as his character bowed to yours again before taking your character's hand in his to escort you forward.

You go through the formalities as he introduces you to both the Royal Guards and the Royal Council. However, the council seems to detest the player and the guards are more than interested in how well you will do when it comes to battle.

Julius guides your character through the palace as he's essentially a tour guide and trying to help you become more comfortable. He expresses his interests to see if you are worthy. Worthy for what, you're not quite sure, but it's there. You frown at your computer screen, but shrug as you continue playing. You watch as several days, in game, pass by as your character continues to go through various errands. Most of which were errands involving the Prince of Invidia, Hyun. A small white-haired and red eyed child that was curious about the Wanderer's existence and how they had came to be.

The options for the answers were lacking in content, not quite enough diversity in how you would have wanted to respond, but you had gone along with it as you would normally. But the interactions with the Prince were probably the best ones as he was the only one who didn't seem to care for your formalities.

It gave you a bit more freedom as you chose answers that were somewhat ridiculous but yet, at the same time, quite amusing.

It wasn't until a week, in game, had passed when the situation began to slowly change. Your character had stopped training the select few Royal Guards that were assigned to you, and the Prince was no longer allowed to freely visit you and talk to you as before. You stared at the screen in pure confusion as there was no ease into the transition, it was just all so sudden as the NPCs you had befriended had slowly began to shy away from your character again. You muttered a soft, "What in the world," to yourself as you continued going through the 'rounds' on your character. It wasn't until you find Julius and Hyun talking to each other about your character when you interrupt their conversation.

Julius: Lady [L/N]! Forgive us for speaking of you when you were not in our presence... but it appears as though an ominous wind is spreading among the courts. It would be best if you remained within the palace so as to not raise suspicion and- Hyun: That's not fair to Lady [L/N]! She's already worked so hard to gain our trust. Wouldn't it be easier if we just assimilate her into the Royal Guards so we can assure them that she's on our side?

You watch with mild amusement as the two banter of the idea. It was honestly a full grown man, or perhaps someone that was in his mid-20s at least (you couldn't tell, all 2D boys look too young), versus a young child, perhaps around the age of 7 or so. But when the small prince turned to your character, his character design smiled brightly at you through the screen.

Hyun: How about we give the option to Lady [L/N]? Would you like to join the Royal Guards? By joining, we can protect you from any situation that may arise that could possibly be life threatening to you.

Once again you were offered only two options and you frowned at your computer screen.

Hmm, if I click yes, I'd be a part of the Royal Guards... but wouldn't that mean my freedom would be restricted? I mean the title is great and all but... Mm.. it probably makes more sense to say yes, story wise, too.

You leaned back in your chair and stretched. A yawn escapes your lips as you finally leave your room to get some water and maybe some snacks so you can resume gaming. You check your phone and you almost want to laugh at the text messages from Kei that were mostly him sending you exasperated emojis and how he's hoping you didn't sit in front of the computer for the past several hours.

You swipe a quick, "Sorry Kei!" as you continue down the stairs towards the dorm kitchen to grab some snacks and water.

"Oh! [L/N], you playing Kosmo again?" a dorm mate called out to you. You glance up from your phone and nodded and they laughed, "Girl, add me!"

"Mm, if you can find me sure! I'm still trying to decide which character to main."

"What you deciding between?" the dorm mate asked as they handed you another water bottle, placing it in your cup. You laugh and thank them and answered, "A crowd-control mage or a bard."

"What class for a bard? Archer?"

"Yeah, probs." You duck your head into the cabinet before finding the bag that's labeled with your name and taking the whole thing. You toss your phone in your pocket and you turned to them, "Good luck on the new content."

"Is it hard?"

"Nah, it's just annoyingly long. But the Chief Knight of the Royal Guards' character design is pretty cute," you answered before trudging back upstairs. You hear laughter and a bye from your dorm mate as you awkwardly opened the room to your single. You glanced at your screen, the yes or no options still blinking at you.

I guess I'll just click yes.

You rolled your shoulders a bit to stretch them, but you had misclicked and saw the disappointment on both Julius' and Hyun's face as your character had chosen no.

Oh... whoops.

Hyun: Ah... is that so...

You watch as the silvery strands of hair fall over his face and his eyes grow downcasted. He doesn't quite look at you through the computer screen anymore and Julius interrupts, as though trying to soothe both his and the prince's disappointment.

Julius: We did give Lady [L/N] a choice. If she had chosen to join, perhaps she may have been unhappy with the strict routines of our Royal Guards. Indeed, she is a Wanderer. She can only truly be free and happy to do as she pleases at her own pace. Isn't that right, Lady [L/N]?

You quickly click yes again, and the prince seems to have his mood slightly lifted at that. Everything appears to go back to normal, but you begin to notice that certain NPCs on both the council and the royal guards were beginning to act suspicious. You tail after them, and as though this was the correct move you trigger a cutscene between certain guards and the advisers, only to find that they were planning to usurp the throne through means of assassination and a fake will. Your character escapes, but not without being caught by the faux guards that were on duty.

You go through a mission that requires you to defeat half of them, and by that time, the true royal guards appear and they had immediately misjudged you to be the culprit, a betrayal, they had cried out. You rolled your eyes as you dodged them. If this was your mage, you could have just teleported away easily. But no, you just had to be on your bowman. You frowned as you noticed the only two viable escape routes were either in front of you through the hall way, or through the window. A sigh escapes your lips and you immediately begin button mashing to change the direction of where you were heading and promptly jumped out of the window.

A cutscene appears as your character is seen trying to convince Julius about what you had heard, but the knight is torn between believing you and acting as a captain and capturing you. Instead he decides to give you the benefit of the doubt, and allowing you to escape, but without further evidence. He would do nothing to help you or aid you. But he will attempt to look into it on his own. You wanted to scream at your computer at the stupid plot, but you decided not to, instead following through the storyline as your character spent several days finding evidence.

It wasn't until the day of the assassination in game, and in real life it was already nearing dinner time, when your character bursts in during a meeting regarding what they were to do about your character. You promptly stop the knights from drawing their swords as you lull them into sleep and chat bubbles appear above the King's head, but it mostly contained just question marks and exclamation points as he was confused to what just occurs.

A faux adviser cries that you truly were a brute and that you were after the heads of Royalty. You notice the chaos as many of them tried to fight you, or each other, or just remained frozen and still. Julius' character is seen staring at yours as automated chat bubbles appear above your character as you attempt to explain what you know. The King is distraught and confused, he did not know much about you save for the words his son had spared to tell him. And Hyun was in shock at your actions. He had known about your thoughts regarding a possible usurping and had heard about it by pure chance when he had eavesdropped and yours and Julius' conversation.

The small prince attempts to approach his father to explain, but at that moment, one of the fake advisers dash forward, sword hidden in sleeve as he rushes towards the prince. You notice in a panic that there is no cutscene, and you immediately key in the necessary buttons to switch from your instrument to your bow and you immediately snipe down the advisor, although you had only mortally wounded him. He stumbles forward, the short sword in his sleeve immediately being thrown into the open, clinking and clanking as it flew across the marbled floor.

The King's eyes are burning with fury at this point and you watch as a cutscene plays out. The King doesn't trust either the guards or the advisers anymore and upon hearing that the fake ones had Pandora's Brand on the back of their hand, he immediately pulls forth each one as he has Julius inspect them. Your character is seen guarding the King and his prince, Hyun's hand clenched tightly to your robe. Your character holds an attack ready pose.

From behind the computer screen you sigh as you watch your friend chat explode when the Swans and Seijou members log on.

ID: Guess

Did you finish the story line?

ID: [L/N]

Uhm, I think I'm almost done.

ID: Guess

Yeah, once you join the royal guards you're supposed to receive another quest line in which you help the purple haired knight find the faux knights and advisers.

ID: Guess

Ya know, I'm surprised you didn't finish yet.

ID: [L/N]

Ahaha, I took a break to grab some lunch. I skipped dinner though. OTL

ID: Guess

Hey hey, but at least you get free food from your dorm right?

ID: [L/N]

Ah, yeah.

ID: Guess

Seriously [L/N], are you older than me or what? What dorm feeds you free food?

You rolled your eyes, and muttered, "Shiratorizawa does, but I wouldn't need to tell you that do I, Tendou-senpai?"

A small smile is on your lips as you type, "A dorm that's better than yours clearly."

ID: Guess

Hmph, whatever. Have fun on the content. Tell me when you're done. I'mma go play my other charas and do the content on there too.

ID: [L/N]

Just main your assassin gdi.

ID: Guess

Bye cutie!

ID: [L/N]

Ew. b a i

You see the chat room close and your eyes flicker back to the cutscene that has finally ended and there's more dialog. Most of it being the king thanking you and apologizing for his actions. Your character, having already chosen the option of not being on the royal guard, refuse any monetary gains to which you found a bit dumb. You had accepted his apology and Julius' as well, but your character basically went through all that effort for nothing.

You stop nibbling your lips and you pout, "That was it?"

You see the Content page with Arc 1 marked as Complete, but upon scrolling all the way down, you notice an epilogue and click on that. You were surprised to see a letter from the young prince.

Hello Lady [L/N], I wanted to personally thank you, but you had been swamped by other people and I had assumed it was not the right time to speak to you until now. If you can spare a few minutes, I would like to gift to you a title, one that will not tie you down to the laws and duties of this country, but one that will forever mark your place in this world. A title that would forever remember your heroic and selfless actions to us. If you accept, you will instantly be transported back to the Royal Palace. I hope to see you soon. Sincerely, Hyun

As if I have to consider that.

"Hmm, so you're saying you got a different title than everyone else?" Tsukishima asked as you laid on his bed as he turned to finally give you your full attention. It was one of the few rare weekends you were back home and you nodded and you said, "I didn't say anything about it on the forums though... apparently saying yes or no at the royal guard selection part doesn't matter as you'll be forced to join." Tsukishima sighed, "And?" "Hey, I'm just telling you cause I'm confused." "Does the title give any good bonuses?" "Uhm, I want to say no, but everything's just question marks." Tsukishima deadpans at you and he places his laptop in front of you as he joins you to sit beside the bed. You sit up and both of you lean against his wall as you begin to log in. You gently pushed Tsukishima's cheek so his head wasn't facing the screen and you explained, "Password privacy!" "Whatever [L/N]." You log in and you shoved the laptop at his face, "See look! No info!" "Protector of Invidia, huh. How fancy." The sarcasm dripping from his tone was more than obvious and you roll your eyes. And he smirks, "Probably cause you're a beta tester." "But so are you and you didn't get this." "Tch," Tsukishima clicked his tongue and shook his head and you laughed, "Well, it was worth a shot." "I bet. Anyways, log off, I wanna play." "Rude!" you laughed as you logged off, handing the laptop over. But Tsukishima shuts his laptop off and he turns to you, "Come on, I need to walk you home before it's too late." "Eh, I don't wanna go back already." Tsukishima ruffles your hair and he sighs, "No choice, you're the one who decided to go so far." You frown and open your mouth to retort, but when you see the peaceful expression on the blonde's face you hold back. Instead turning to face away as you let him rest his hand on your head. Protector of Invidia, huh... you thought as you let him lead you back to the bus station. How fancy.

#jenbean writes #omorfos kosmo #haikyuu game au #tsukishima kei #reader insert #tendou satori #more plot revealed #fun times #hqlit #haikyuu fanfiction #hq fanfiction #game au #haikyuu!!

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thegirlsinthefirehouse · 8 years ago

Text

Descendants, Chapter 3

----- “So good health,” said Holtzmann. “Doc said I should try to exercise, but that’s for dweebs.”

“They just don’t know you,” said Abby. She was folding laundry and sorting it into piles. “You expend too much energy for the little food you eat.”

“All these go in the underwear drawer?” said Holtzmann, gesturing to a pile. Abby nodded and Holtz took it and put it away.

“But other than that, I'm ready to go.”

“So I guess you’re going to start calculating ovulation?” asked Abby.

“I already know that. It’s been the bane of my existence since I was 12. It’s like clockwork.”

“Mine can be slightly irregular,” said Abby. “Think it’s mostly because of my weight.” She sighed and handed Holtz a stack of her scarves.

“You found them all and washed them?” said Holtzmann, looking starry eyed at her wife.

“Someone had to,” said Abby. “Our laundry baskets were overflowing.” “I’m loving how domestic you've become.”

“If you even utter the word housewife, Jillian Danielle Holtzmann...”

“Full name, ouch. I must have done something.”

“No... it’s just me,” said Abby with a sigh. “If I’m cleaning, I’m thinking. And I’m thinking too much.” She sat down on edge of the bed. “You know me, I’m a worrier.”

“This is why Abs, I try to take everything away from you when I can,” said Holtz. She played with Abby’s bun, much to her protest.

“I’m not trying to, it just creeps in.” Holtz kissed the back of Abby’s neck, hoping it would calm her.

There was a knock on their bedroom door. Patty stuck her head in after Holtzmann shouted “All Clear!” to her. Abby rolled her eyes. Patty grinned at the pair before speaking.

“I appreciate that Holtzy, but I think we can all agree that with you, nothing is ever clear.”

“Something up?” asked Abby to Patty.

“Yeah, I was leaving and the phone rang. Guy said there’s ‘something pale and creepy’ wandering around the basement of his business in the Fashion District and making a mess. He needs it ‘disposed of’ as soon as possible. Erin’s downstairs, printing out directions to his place.”

“I’ll go load the packs,” said Abby quickly. Patty opened the door and let her rush through. Holtzmann went over to Patty and made a large display of affection by kissing her on both cheeks, who reacted in disgust, although it was more for Holtz’s amusement than any actual repulsion. She was too used to her antics after six years.

“I am in your debt once again,” Holtz said. “Abby was cleaning.”

Patty chuckled. “Need to get her mind off things, huh?”

“The thing about Abby is her worrying is infectious. It spreads like a virus. And Erin only compounds the problem.”

“Don’t I know it,” said Patty. “Remember when we thought the Mayor was going to cut our budget by over half?”

“I’d rather not remember,” said Holtzmann. “It is filed under dark days that shall not be dwelled upon.”

-----

Holtzmann was sketching out a new pack design when Erin walked into her lab the next day, carrying a takeout box and a large soda. The redhead smiled and greeted her when Holtz lowered the music to a suitable level.

“Thought you might be hungry. Patty and I ordered some gumbo from that new Creole place a few streets over.”

“Thanks,” said Holtzmann, moving a few things to clear up a spot for the stuff in Erin’s hands. “Food is most welcome distraction at the moment.”

“Can’t see the design in your head?” said Erin. Holtzmann opened the container and stabbed a shrimp with a plastic fork.

“No, but Abby’s wearing off on me.”

“Where is she by the way?” asked Erin. “She disappeared after our meeting with a client.”

“Doctor’s appointment,” said Holtz. “And design is never a problem.” Erin shook her head with a smile.

“You still amaze me how you can think up these things.”

“The only problem with my design is that I can see the finished product in my head. It’s getting the pieces to cooperate within it that’s the slightly difficult part.”

“How is this going to work?” asked Erin, looking at the drawings.

“It’s not at the moment,” said Holtz. “I’m missing a stabilizer.” She poked at a piece of okra. “The problem I struggling with most now is safety. Making things safer. Being safer. It will never be safe enough. This is dangerous work. It is cutting edge. We don’t even have research much to back us up most of the time.”

“Holtz--” began Erin. She sat down on a stool across from her. She studied the engineer for a moment.

“It’s not the equipment you’re worried about.”

Holtzmann glowered at her friend as she took another mouthful of shrimp.

Erin couldn’t help but laugh. For a second, she felt like she was 16 again and talking to Abby about their futures in her bedroom in Michigan.

“We chose this line of work Holtz. We know the risks. We’ve all been injured. We’ve probably taken more hits than a football team. You’ll just have to be more careful than usual. Be a little more picky about which busts to go on and when to get out of the way--”

“It’s not me I’m worried about,” interjected Holtzmann, but Erin went on.

“And you’re worried about getting emotionally invested in this and if something should happen--”

Holtzmann frowned and put a hand over Erin’s. “Like I said, it’s not me I’m worried about.” Erin nodded, finally realizing what she meant.

“Let’s run headfirst into a bust without thinking Abby? Or the let’s push my new friend to get away from Rowan and still end up captured in his death grip anyways Abby?”

“Both,” sighed Holtzmann. “And what if Abby’s the one who ends up having the baby? I don’t know if my nerves could handle this.” She put down her fork and put her hand to her face, propping her arms on the table.

“I’m letting my flights of fancy get away from me.”

“I think this is a bridge you’re just going to have to cross when the time comes,” shrugged Erin. She scratched the top of her head. “And perhaps talk to her about. Just so you’re on the same page. We don’t know what the future might hold.”

“It’s not the future if it’s two or three months from now,” Holtzmann said, picking up her fork and staring through it. “I’ve already taken care of the registration and upfront fees.”

“W--wow,” said Erin, surprised. “That quick?”

“Two months is long enough for us to make calculations on our cycles,” said Holtz. “That’ll give us plenty of time to find a donor. That’s provided that the doctor gives Abby the go ahead.”

“Why didn’t you go with her today?”

Holtzmann took a bite of rice with the tomato based broth. “It was just a check up where they decide whether they think you are ready for childbearing.”

“And are you? I know you went yesterday,” asked Erin.

“Fit as a fiddle,” said Holtzmann, smirking. “These hips are made for birthin’.”

“Babies,” squealed Erin, surprising herself. She laughed. “We need to talk to Cheyenne.”

“You talk to her,” said Holtz. “Patty’s already made me promise not to say a word as to what we are doing.”

“I’ll get her,” said the redhead. “I can’t wait till we have little ones in the firehouse.”

“They’ll be here soon enough. Probably too soon,” said Holtz as she took another bite of her food.

“Abby’s going to love this place. Was that andouille sausage?” Erin nodded as Holtz picked up the spoon out of the plastic and dipped into the broth.

-----

Abby put down a bag of items on top of the Ecto-1 when she got home from her appointment, knocking on it to get her wife’s attention. Holtzmann was underneath in her coveralls, tinkering with something underneath the body of the Cadillac. Six years since they had gotten it and it was still thundering along. Thankfully the second one had lasted a bit longer than the first.

“You brought home groceries?” said Holtz, looking concerned. She slid out from under the car on the mechanic’s creeper she had been lying on. If Abby had been out shopping, then something was definitely weighing on her mind, and badly.

“I took a walk,” she said. “Ended up at Trader Joe’s.”

“Please tell me you got the goods,” said Holtzmann, getting a little distracted. Abby handed her the bowl of small, chunky fudge covered brownies that she loved from there.

“Do I ever disappoint you?” she said with a smirk.

“Yes!” grinned Holtz happily, hugging the container. She bounced up, pulling out a rag from her coveralls and wiped her hands. She leaned in and kissed Abby, the both of them enjoying the intimacy of the moment, even with the brownies between them. “So...” began Holtzmann, realizing she doesn’t know what to say, or even ask.

“So?” said Abby, picking up the other two bags she had brought in and had sat down on the floor. Holtzmann grabbed the other one that was sitting on the car and put the treats in it.

“What did they say?”

“I’m... in reasonable health,” said Abby as they headed for the stairs. “No major health problems, except you know, the extra padding. I need to eat better of course. And exercise. And cut out some of the stress.”

“Then we can do this,” said Holtzmann, stopping in the middle of the staircase.

“We can do this,” echoed Abby. Holtzmann whooped loudly, fist pumping up in the air before hugging Abby on the stair behind her. The latter was laughing at her wife’s enthusiasm.

“So... why did you go grocery shopping?” asked Holtz as they headed up. “You usually whine about our weekly trip.”

“Because I’m freaking out!” exclaimed Abby. “I mean seriously, Holtz. You could be pregnant in a couple of months. That’s a big deal.”

“So you bought... peaches, rice, frozen broccoli, and chicken,” said Holtz, pawing through the bag on her arm.

“It would be a good start to a healthier diet,” said Abby. “We sort of need to start cooking more for ourselves.” They had gotten up to the third floor and headed towards the kitchen. “We have enough stuff already that we can just heat up. I thought we could make a sit down meal that doesn’t involve us leaving a tip.”

Holtz smirked. “And here I thought we could settle on pizza and beer for dinner tonight.”

“Tonight,” said Abby. “But once we start doing the-- the thing... we’re going to have to forego the beer.”

“And caffeine,” said Holtz, glancing at Abby. The brunette’s eyes narrowed at that. “I mean the both of us Abs. The soda and energy drinks are great for late night work, but not--”

“I know,” said Abby. “But I need my coffee.”

Holtz wrapped her arms around Abby’s waist and snuggled her head into her neck. She watched as Abby put the rest of the items in the fridge and took the pizza out of the freezer.

“I’m happy you’re doing this with me,” she said softly.

“Like I would leave you hanging if you really wanted to have a baby,” said Abby with a slight scoff. “That’s just silly Holtzmann.”

“So when do you want to start trying?” asked Holtz.

“Well, this month is shot,” said Abby. “I know for you too.” She put the pizza in the oven and dusted off her hands, turning around to look at her lover.

“Like the doctor said today, the best thing we can do is keep track of everything.”

“I can keep track for you,” purred Holtzmann in Abby’s ear. “I spend enough time down there.” She nuzzled Abby’s neck, moving her sweater and unbuttoning her collar. The paranormal investigator lost all train of thought for a few seconds when Holtzmann nuzzled and licked down her collarbone.

“As pleasurable as that sounds, and believe me, that is the best idea ever, I think it would probably be best if we did it ourselves.” Holtzmann’s tongue was drawing circles at the nape of her neck and Abby felt nearly liquid next to her lover. Holtz must have realized Abby’s state as she had a hold of her hips and ass. And she wasn’t relenting. Abby whimpered, catching Holtz’s attention. Her right hand moved quickly and went down Abby’s bra, which she knew would do the trick to make her wife succumb completely to desire. She managed to snag open a few buttons of her shirt in the process of doing so.

Holtzmann was certain Abby was already halfway headed towards bliss by how she whined softly when she removed her hands from her chest and hips. She winked.

“You coming? I think this is an idea we can explore between now and time for dinner,” she said, tossing her head towards the direction of their bedroom with a giddy little grin. Abby turned on the oven and followed Holtz, her legs still feeling like jelly while she walked. <– Prev | Next –>

#yatesmann #ghostbusters 2016 #descendants fanfic gb

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kennethherrerablog · 6 years ago

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Manage Your Money, You Must: 10 Money Lessons We Learned from ‘Star Wars’

The Force will be with us — always.

Because “Star Wars” has embedded itself so deeply into our cultural DNA, it continues to shape the way we think about life.

Over numerous movies and assorted iterations, “Star Wars” has taught us about overcoming obstacles, about dealing with family drama, about friendship, about patience, about beating the odds — and even about money.

Because this is The Penny Hoarder, we’re especially interested in the part about money.

Even though the epic saga of Luke Skywalker & Co. played out a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, the financial wisdom we gleaned from it applies to the here and now.

Now, prepare to make the jump into hyperspace! Here’s what we’ve learned:

1. Always Pay Your Debts — Or Else

Bingo. This is always the first one everyone thinks of.

Han Solo owes money to the giant slug-like crime boss, Jabba the Hutt. When he doesn’t pay up, Jabba sends bounty hunter Boba Fett after him — basically a debt collector with blaster pistols and green Mandalorian armor.

Instead of declaring Chapter 7 bankruptcy, Han ends up frozen in carbonite. Then Princess Leia, Luke, Lando and the iconic droids have to infiltrate Jabba’s lair to save him in a sequel.

Just like with Solo, the longer you don’t pay off your debts, the bigger the problem gets. The interest piles up.

Pro Tip

Credit cards companies charge compound interest. If you don’t pay off your bill each month, the company charges interest that is added to the amount you owe. Then that new total is charged interest.

Your first step should be to figure out what you’re dealing with. Map out exactly what kind of debt you have. For example, which companies do you owe money to? Are any of your debts in collections? What are your minimum monthly payments on each credit card or loan?

An easy way to start doing this is to sign up with a free service like Credit Sesame. This tool shows your balance on any unpaid bills, credit cards or loans. It also offers tips on reducing your debt and raising your credit score.

2. Used Vehicles Offer the Best Value

The Millennium Falcon takes its share of verbal abuse in multiple “Star Wars” films.

“You came in that thing? You’re braver than I thought,” Princess Leia says upon first seeing the starship. And in “The Force Awakens,” Rey calls the ship “garbage.”

But the Millennium Falcon gets the job done. (Did we mention that it made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs?) Turns out you don’t always need a shiny new vehicle.

Used cars are often a better deal than new ones. Consumer Reports recommends buying a car that’s two or three years old. For tips on buying a used car, go here or here or here.

You’ll need to take care of your ride, though. (The Falcon’s hyperdrive keeps breaking down despite Chewbacca’s best efforts in “The Empire Strikes Back.”)

According to a AAA survey, 1 in 3 U.S. drivers can’t pay for an unexpected auto repair. Consider creating an emergency fund with a high-yield bank account.

3. Negotiate the Best Deal You Can

Early in “A New Hope,” Luke and Uncle Owen are bargaining with some creepy little jawas over the price of some used droids.

When an R2 unit they’d just bought immediately breaks down, Uncle Owen aggressively questions the quality of what the jawas are selling: “Hey, what are you trying to push on us?”

The result: Luke’s family gets the best droid ever, R2-D2.

Negotiating isn’t just for markets and cars, any variable expense can be negotiated to a lower price — you just have to know what to look for.

4. “Do or Do Not. There is No Try.”

Yoda’s admonition to Luke in “The Empire Strikes Back” is probably the biggest zen moment in any of these movies.

As always, Yoda is right on target. You’re either going to do it, or you’re not. Don’t just try.

If you’re going to make financial changes, commit to them and be consistent. Don’t just try once or twice and then forget about it. Sticking to it is the key to success.

Pro Tip

Help yourself by making it harder to spend. Deleting your credit card number from your internet browser can create just enough of a hurdle to force you to pause before giving in to that impulse buy.

For instance, saving money is hard. Consider trying an auto-savings app like Acorns.

Once you connect it to a debit or credit card, it rounds your purchases up to the nearest dollar and funnels your digital change into a savings or investment account.

Because the money comes out in increments of less than $1, you’re less likely to feel an impact in your bank account.

5. Don’t Let the Little Details Blow Up On You

The Empire spared no expense on the Death Star, don’t you think?

You’ve got to figure that moon-sized battle stations capable of blowing up planets don’t come cheap (especially two of them).

But they overlooked that pesky little design flaw that allowed the Rebel Alliance to destroy the whole thing. Whoops!

Don’t neglect the details like that, because they’ll burn you. Don’t skimp on maintenance and repairs for big-ticket items like your home and car. If you blow that stuff off, you’ll just end up paying more in the end.

Another lesson from the Death Star: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. The Empire sure had a lot riding on its supercool Death Star, didn’t it?

Don’t depend on just one thing. Diversify your investments. Here’s how one woman used an app to make sure her 401(k) was in balance.

6. Get Rid of Your Old Stuff

The “Star Wars” universe looks different than Star Trek and other sci-fi settings. “Star Wars” has that “lived-in” look — there’s junk everywhere. You know, just like your house.

And in the “Star Wars” movies, people make money selling that junk — just like you should.

In “The Force Awakens,” Rey is a scavenger on the planet Jakku, feeding herself by salvaging parts from ships.

On Luke’s home planet of Tatooine, those jawas we mentioned earlier appear to be scavengers, too.

Pro Tip

Letgo is an app that lets you connect with people who want your old stuff. It’s free to use — just snap a photo, upload your item and add a description and price.

In “The Phantom Menace” — hey, here’s our first and only mention of the prequels! — Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi meet young Anakin Skywalker in a junk shop where he fixes things.

Meanwhile, here on our planet, a number of apps are making it easier than ever to sell your old stuff online.

To free up space and earn some extra cash, use apps to sell your stuff. Listing the right stuff in the right marketplaces means you’re more likely to sell it for the right price.

7. Beware of Scams. Know What Things Are Worth.

Toward the beginning of “The Force Awakens,” a hungry Rey nearly pawns the droid BB-8 in exchange for 60 portions of inflatable food. She’s sorely tempted, but senses something is wrong and backs off.

That’s the surest way to spot a scam: If a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Whether you’re selling a droid or shopping for shoes online, you’ve got to watch out for rip-offs. Here’s how to protect yourself from imposter scams, credit repair scams, identity theft and senior scams.

As long as identity theft remains a huge problem you need to keep an eye on your credit and transactions.

8. Embrace the Gig Economy

When Luke and Obi-Wan need transportation to Alderaan, they basically catch an Uber. A space Uber. They pay for the Millennium Falcon to take them there.

Here on Earth, you can make like Han and Chewie in your Honda or Chevy by driving with Uber or Lyft and make extra money each week on your own schedule.

Pro Tip

In addition to age requirements for drivers, Uber and Lyft both have age restriction for your vehicle that are based on regulations in your city.

There are other entry-level ways to make money nowadays that you can do on your own time – and from your phone – thanks to the growing gig economy.

Craigslist is an easy place to sell your services under the “Gigs” section. Pay and tasks will vary, of course. And if you don’t trust Craigslist, check out TaskRabbit or Fiverr – to name just a few.

9. If the Deal Turns to the Dark Side, Cut Your Losses

Here at The Penny Hoarder, we’re always looking for good deals.

We’re always asking, Is this a good deal or not a good deal? And when we hear the words “deal” and “”Star Wars”,” we can’t help but think of Lando Calrissian in “The Empire Strikes Back.”

Lando … Lando did not get a good deal.

When Han, Leia and Chewie first turn up in Cloud City, Lando tells them, “I’ve just made a deal that’ll keep the Empire out of here forever.”

Of course, the deal involves betraying his friends. Later, Darth Vader menacingly informs Lando, “I am altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it any further.”

Still later, when Vader threatens Lando further and mistreats his friends, Lando fumes, “This deal is getting worse all the time!”

That’s when he switches sides.

If you make a deal and the reality doesn’t match what you were promised, be prepared to walk away. Cut your losses and move on.

10. Sand People Always Walk in Single File to Hide Their Numbers

You see, from this we can learn that … no, no, wait. That’s not a good example at all. We learn no financial truths from that.

We’ve got nothing for you here.

Let’s try this instead. One of the most important lessons we learned from “Star Wars” is:

10. Make Sure You Have a Long-Term Plan

The heroes and villains of the “Star Wars” universe are seriously into some long-term planning.

Emperor Palpatine’s master plan takes several movies to unfold. After he reveals himself to be Darth Sidious and strikes, Yoda and Obi-Wan lay low for a couple of decades after the prequels, waiting for their chance to return the favor.

Of course, when we first meet Obi-Wan and Yoda, they’re chilling in a cave and a swamp, respectively. Apparently the Jedi Council didn’t have much of a 401(k) match.

The sooner you start saving, investing and paying down your debt, the better off you’ll be.

All told, that’s everything that “Star Wars” has taught us about money so far. Take it as you will.

Do, or do not.

There is no try.

Mike Brassfield ([email protected]) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder. His “Star Wars”-loving co-workers helped out with this post.

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.

Manage Your Money, You Must: 10 Money Lessons We Learned from ‘Star Wars’ published first on https://justinbetreviews.tumblr.com/

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unlatinoverde · 7 years ago

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Guatapé.

Question Number 1: Have you seen Instagram photos of people on top of a rock with a lake, tropical green islands and celestial blue skies in the background? If the answer to the question is ‘yes’, then you’ve probably seen photos of Guatapé. Or, to be more precise, you’ve seen photos of La Piedra del Peñol, the giant rock outside the town that’s increasingly becoming a fixture on trips to Colombia.

Question Number 2: Have you seen photos of a Colombian town with vivid colours and designs that wouldn’t seem out of place in a children’s nursery? If the answer is ‘yes’, then you’ve almost surely seen photos of Guatapé. The town itself is also developing its own Instagram niche.

A battalion of selfie stick-wielding millennials in a South American kitsch fantasyland didn’t really inspire me. However, despite my reservations, I decided to go for a day trip. Big mistake!

I could have stayed far longer! Find out why…

La Piedra del Peñol

La Piedra del Peñol, Guatapé

Arrival

Most trips to the town start at the base of this rock. From the gas station where the Medellín buses disgorge excited visitors, many with their selfie sticks at the ready, there are a few ways to reach La Piedra del Peñol. Firstly, there is the option of a short but steep climb up a few sets of steps followed by a walk along a mudtrack. Secondly, there is a long but winding road on a gentler incline. Finally, those who want to save their energy can take the second option using a tuk-tuk or they can join the natives on horseback.

Getting Up

The endless stairs at La Piedra del Peñol

Yet more steps

Once past the ticket booths, the real adventure begins. Let’s be clear- it’s vertical. The steps seem endless. Indeed, all but the fittest of climbers will have to stop for a rest, some many times! Bring a big bottle of water (you’ll thank me for this piece of advice).

Arriving at the top, there is a building with yet more stairs inside (ouch!). This is the access to the mirador where so many of the Instagram images are shot. The views are dramatic: picture the sun dancing on blue-green waters studded with emerald islands and set against a clear blue sky. Does it all sound too good to be true? Add in blaring music, an off-beat party atmosphere and plenty of whooping backpackers. Let’s say that La Piedra del Peñol isn’t exactly a secret. In truth, this is the spot on the South American trail where selfie lovers finally reach nirvana. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Still, with those views and the quirky atmosphere, La Piedra del Peñol is well worth the penance that is that climb to the top!

This is the view that makes the climb worthwhile!

What Makes Guatapé Special?

View towards the main plaza in Guatapé, Colombia

My arrival into Guatapé proper came courtesy of Diego, a charming Caleño who left his native city to work in Guatapé where he now ferries visitors around by tuk-tuk. Judging from his relaxed demeanour and friendly chat, he certainly didn’t seem to regret his choice. After a short time there, I would understand why.

Flowers and buildings alike wore vivid hues throughout the town centre. Frankly, even the colourful towns of the Coffee Triangle seemed positively bleak in comparison. Wandering from street to street felt like walking from picture to picture in the pages of a tourist brochure. Indeed, I soon grasped what had turned Guatapé into an Instagrammer’s wet dream. The zocalos…

Yet, it wasn’t this architectural detail that bowled me over. Rather, it was the friendliness of the locals. Despite streets full of domestic and international tourists, people liked to take their time.

‘Six days in Medellín!’ one woman exclaimed to me in a t-shirt shop.

She and her daughter had come to Guatapé from the city two years previously and they clearly had no intention of returning anytime soon. Lulled into a trance by the sociable locals, it didn’t take long before I started seriously considering staying overnight.

The Zocalos of Guatapé

Close up of zocalo in Guatapé

What are zocalos? They are the colourful decorations that adorn the lower section of each building in the town. Each one is unique and, apart from the Piedra, they explain the popularity of Guatapé with visitors. Deep greens and rich yellows sit beside baby blues and intense pinks. Ordinary buildings acquire a fantasy element. A simple hairdressing salon, for example, looks like it belongs on the set of a children’s movie. Dreamlike…

Dazzling Guatapé, Colombia

The Coffee of Guatapé

Black Hole Café

Selection of coffees at Black Hole, Guatapé

Just down the street from the main plaza, Victoria and Juan, a local couple, have set up a third wave coffee shop called Black Hole. The name fascinated me since it seemed a little out of place amidst the vibrant splashes of colour throughout Guatapé.

‘It encapsulates the mystery of space and the surprising flavours that we find in each cup of coffee,’ Victoria informed me.

Despite the provincial setting, they sell everything a coffee lover could dream of- flat whites, espressos, cappuccinos, and a variety of filtered coffees. All their coffee comes from a local producer, Finca La Rivera, and it has a chocolatey taste that contrasts with the fruitiness of many Colombian coffees. In addition to selling coffee beans, they can also arrange tours to the finca.

Kaffa

Kaffa is located in a plaza that would put a rainbow to shame. On their outdoor tables recycled milk bottles containing flowers in shades of bright pink, purple, orange, yellow and green only served to complete the effect. Unlike Black Hole, they source their coffee from near Salento in Quindio. The café latte was silky smooth. After all, how could anyone have a bad coffee in such a beautiful place?

A dreamlike setting for a coffee at Kaffa in Guatapé

Why Guatapé is One of My Biggest Travel Regrets

Towards the end of the day I decided to relax in the main plaza. A trio of musicians filled the air with their Latin sounds- a combination of saxophone, guitar, percussion and voice. Singing of los sabores del amor, their nostalgic soundtrack captivated the visiting Colombians and foreign travellers. As dusk approached, a cool breeze announced the end of near perfect day in Guatapé. It was time to go back to El Poblabo in Medellín.

Waiting for the bus, I could see visitors happily zip lining across the lake.

I knew I had made a mistake.

Guatapé could easily have brought days of fun and relaxation.

Travel Warning: Guatapé is far more than a mere day trip!

Alternative/ Add-on to a Guatapé Trip

Two hours from Guatapé by bus, Spanish Adventure runs a school with a difference for those who want to combine language learning, local culture and community involvement.

San Carlos, the small town where the school is situated, is already popular with domestic tourists for its unspoiled environment. However, it’s off the radar for most international travellers at present. Those who go there give it rave reviews.

It could be the perfect add-on activity for anyone already in the area. Lily, a Canadian traveller, has volunteered to share her experiences.

Spanish Adventure in San Carlos

Spanish Adventure is truly a unique and authentic travel experience. At this Spanish school/adventure hostel you are immersed in local Colombian culture, in a beautiful small town, where almost none of the locals speak English.

Once plagued by violence, the town of San Carlos is now a peaceful and stunning nature lover’s paradise. There are 9 waterfalls, 6 rivers and many swimming holes within walking distance from the school. Canyoning, cliff jumping, hiking… it has it all!

I immediately felt at home here as soon as I’d arrived, a very special feeling after travelling for many months. The two owners and teachers Daniel and Camilo are extremely passionate about this project and it shows not only in their teaching but in the family environment they have created. You will eat sleep and breathe Spanish Adventure and no doubt want to stay longer than planned.

I came for two weeks and spent four months as a volunteer and student, and can honestly say it’s been the most rewarding time of two years of travel. Learning Spanish is easy when you’re truly immersed and comfortable and most of all having fun with friends along the way!

-Lily Stanley (Canada)

Practicalities

Buses regularly leave Medellín from Terminal del Norte. To get there it’s necessary to take the metro to Caribe, which is linked to the bus station by a tunnel. A number of companies run buses to Guatapé that leave as soon as they fill up. The trip to La Piedra del Peñol costs 12,500 Colombian pesos and, as noted above, passengers will be dropped off at the gas station at the foot of the rock. The little restaurant opposite, not a bad place to take a rest, sells return tickets to Medellin.

Mi Casa, near La Piedra, is popular with backpackers due to the range of activities that they offer. Nearer the town itself, El Encuentro has an ecological slant that’s also popular. Galeria Guatapé is another option that will appeal to those who like an out-of-town backpacker feel.

In practical terms, it should be relatively easy to find accommodation around the town during the week. Note that Guatapé fills up with visitors from Medellín at the weekend.

Looking for more ideas in Colombia? Get more inspiration for your Colombian trip.

Have you experienced a place where you just wish you had stayed for longer? Have you got tips or experiences to share? If so, share them here! Leave a comment below or send your story to me by email at [email protected].

Next Post: Monday, February 5th, 2018

This is the view that makes the climb worthwhile!

La Piedra del Peñol

The endless stairs at La Piedra del Peñol

Yet more steps

Dazzling Guatapé, Colombia

Selection of coffees at Black Hole, Guatapé

Dog amidst the street art of Guatapé

Close up of zocalo in Guatapé

A dreamlike setting for a coffee at Kaffa in Guatapé

View towards the main plaza in Guatapé

Travel Colombia: Why is Guatapé more than a day trip from Medellin? Guatapé. Question Number 1: Have you seen Instagram photos of people on top of a rock with a lake, tropical green islands and celestial blue skies in the background?

#Colombia #travel advice and tips

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janetgannon · 7 years ago

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Everybody duck! The ups and downs of the 2017 Tacoma Festival of Sail

There are a lot of things that go through your mind as you are about to be run down by the World’s Largest Duck, but the thought that I remember best is, “This is the most ridiculous nautical incident I have ever been involved with.”

And that’s saying a lot.

Moments before things got too busy to take pictures.

I was standing on the aft deck of the M/V Lotus, a 1909 cruising houseboat I was crewing aboard at Tacoma’s 2017 Festival of Sail. It was raining, a light patter that had turned into slanted curtains of water as the wind picked up down the line of the Foss Waterway.

Now it was making the World’s Largest Duck, being towed back to its berth inboard of us at the Dock Street Marina in front of the new promenade at the Museum of Glass, a real handful for the three small craft trying to shunt it into place.

It was going to be a tight fit no matter what. They had to make a sharp corner ahead of the Hawaiian Chieftain, scrape past the bowsprit of the Mycia, and power up into the powerful current coming down the waterway to tuck back into the dock.

Engines roared and tensions flared on the tow boats and those of us spectating from our own vessels nervously began to unlimber boat hooks as the big bird lurched menacingly around the waterway. Aboard the S/V Thane, moored next to us, skipper Pete Reid shinnied out onto his bowsprit armed with a boat hook to do battle with the beast as it lunged toward him, a modern-day Ahab jabbing at his own great yellow whale.

Although it must have looked comical from shore, the six stories worth of bright yellow sail area was perched on top of a sharp-edged metal barge that could have turned any of our wooden hulls into kindling.

People line up to visit Lady Washington.

I pushed off one of the towboats as it slid into Lotus‘ transom, then took their tow line and secured it to our stern bitt while the other boats used us as a pivot to swing the duck around safely past Pete and finally, breathlessly, into its slip.

And that was just the first day.

It was also the day of the Parade of Sail, with an iffy forecast that caused our captain to cancel Lotus‘ participation. Since we were scheduled to be one of the parade waypoints, this was likely to be a disappointment to the organizers, and as the least senior crewperson I was left to deliver the bad news at the captain’s meeting that morning.

Fortunately, my mumbled apology was quickly subsumed by more critical issues — the ships had only received the parade schedule and instructions a couple days before and no one had a chance to adequately prepare. In the case of Virginia V, set to lead off the procession, this meant that the departure time had been confused with the parade start time. With only an hour until departure, there was no engineer on board — and three hours were required to raise steam.

But despite a late start, missing waypoint, and pouring rain, the parade was pulled off creditably and the tall ships strutted their stuff through Commencement Bay and announced the formal start of the festival.

With Friday came sun and crowds. Almost 900 people filed through Lotus, so many that I got a blister on my clicker finger from counting. I got sick of the inevitable look of wonder and the exclamations that come from anyone stepping into her stately saloon for the first time.

Outside, the graceful dome of the U.S. Courthouse smiled down benevolently on the masts and flags, and the Museum of Glass provided a sweeping backdrop to the Dock Street venue. The marina — clean, new and staffed by helpful and courteous hands — is a first-rate facility in an excellent location, and the Thea Foss Waterway embraces Tacoma’s nautical heritage in a way that sometimes-snobby Seattle can’t compete with.

Despite this, as we had brought Lotus in to dock, our crew had debated the reasons that Tacoma continues to get a bad rap and fewer visitors than it deserves after putting so much effort into revamping the waterfront.

Our captain, who has deep nautical and family roots in the area, had the answer.

“It doesn’t matter what you do to it,” he said philosophically. “It’s still Tacoma.”

But Tacoma turned out for the tall ships, sending an estimated 120,000 people down to see us over the weekend. At least, those that managed to catch a glimpse of us around the sides of the six-story duck.

Skipper Pete Reid of the Thane, a Spray replica homeported in Victoria, chats with visitors on the docks.

The controversy that embroiled the duck at its next destination in Canada was entirely absent on the docks in Tacoma. Although there were some snide remarks and a good deal of kvetching among crews whose boats the duck eclipsed, for the most part it was recognized that, tacky as it was, the massive yellow bird was bringing people onto the docks and past the boats.

And while some past iterations of the festival have had rougher crowds, the kid-friendly aspect of the duck-centered hoopla brought families to the festival and introduced a new generation of Pacific Northwesterners to many of the classic boats that are our heritage here.

Helping drive home that heritage, the Foss Waterway Seaport Museum opened its doors for free. With the flags flapping on the tall ships outside and echoes of “Sloop John B” coming from the band outside, kids flocked to the Lego exhibits inside to try their own hand at shipbuilding.

Hands-on shipbuilding at the Foss Waterway Seaport.

But the secret of any festival is that the best parts are after hours. With the crowds away, crews visited with one another and caught up, talked shop or told sea stories, played music and shared meals. Wonderful spicy scents wafted around the docks and laughter rippled across the water.

On Lotus, we retired to the upper deck with stir fry and drinks to enjoy the balmy evening air as night fell. Across the dock, Captain Pete strummed gently on his banjo and the music drifted across the upper deck as we talked late into the evening of foreign lands, adventures and vessels we had known. The duck loomed ominously in the background, silhouetted by the city lights.

On both Saturday and Sunday we clocked more than 1,800 visitors aboard Lotus; Zodiac had over 2,000, despite being out for day sails at times. An estimated 120,000 people showed up over the weekend.

For the most part, the crowd seemed to have fun despite poor organization and planning. A litany of complaints came from attendees, not about the boats or crews, but about the event itself: Long lines (in part due to inconsistent policies that kept the docks almost empty at times), missed sailing, transportation issues, missing signage, lack of seating, few food options.

I waited almost 45 minutes for the 15 minute loop shuttle and other people told me they had been there an hour. It wasn’t just visitors complaining, either. One volunteer I spoke to, who first started helping with the festivals in 2005, was disappointed in the show management this year.

“No organization, no support for volunteers,” she said. While she had been told there was nothing for her to do, we’d been desperate for help handling visitors down on our dock. This was the first year for new organizers, Draw Events of Duluth, where it turns out they have gotten similar complaints at the Duluth Tall Ships Festival. They’re also under fire, it turns out, for allegedly copying the duck design from a Dutch artist without credit or compensation.

Perhaps the most egregious example, from the perspective of the visiting vessels, was the crew party scheduled for Sunday night. At the last minute, we got word that it was no longer going to be held at the Tacoma Yacht Club, but instead shifted to the Rock The Dock Pub near the Maritime Museum. It was a sensible location, but it had some fatal flaws: not enough tickets were available to cover food and drink for every crew member, and it was a tavern — no one under 21 was allowed in.

Sailors under 21 weren’t welcome at the festival closing party.

For an event with several sail training ships listed as the prime attractions, this was an unconscionable oversight. As we walked the docks, we saw lonely kids sitting around on Lady Washington and Zodiac eating cold sandwiches while their older mates whooped it up at the bar.

We thought the whole thing was a little puzzling. I’d chatted with TYC Commodore Jim Martinek when he’d come aboard Lotus earlier in the weekend and he’d made it clear how excited the club was to host the crews and how, it being Father’s Day Weekend and the restaurant there customarily packed, they had bent over backward to get things ready for the festival party.

On a hunch, we piled into a car and headed out to TYC.

It turned out the party hadn’t been moved at all. The crews had just been disinvited from the venue enjoyed by the event staff. Minnesotans and event staff were enjoying the food and amazing sunset views from the club deck.

Martinek, standing in the lobby, greeted us as we walked in.

“We were told to expect 120 people,” he said, looking around the half-empty dining room.

But, as sailors do, the crews adapted, even when a junction box on the Dock Street Marina started arcing and spitting smoke on Saturday afternoon. Fortunately, it was the same dock the Tacoma Fire Department where was showing off one of their fireboats and the firefighters quickly took the matter in hand. Unfortunately, the box was right at the base of the access ramp, which had to be closed while crews searched for the supply cut off.

Defiance on-duty during a small marina fire during the event.

The firefighters quickly swung Defiance around and nosed her into the beach while leaving the stern up against the dock, creating an impromptu bridge for evacuating people trapped by the incident.

Although, by all rights, the crowds and crews could each have been testy, there’s something about being on the water that tends to set things right. I saw nothing but smiles, heard nothing but compliments, and received nothing but assistance from marina staff, attendees, and event volunteers while on the boat.

Visitors enjoy Lotus’ swank turn-of-the-century saloon.

After the gates had closed and everyone had cleared out on Sunday night, a strange feeling came over me. I ducked out onto the afterdeck and looked around. It took me a minute to realize what it was.

The World’s Largest Duck was gone. It had been deflated and towed away and I had never even noticed.