#thank THE GODS there’s no more events coming up where I need the ssr

[moon-mage]

I was actually just about to accept the L on this one because my pull game has been so weak like what the hell…but baby came home.

…baby came home. 🥲

[rendy-a]

Luck of the Draw

@writingforatwistedworld

An author I read recently expressed interest in reading what others would write about her Self-Aware TWST AU. This is a fan piece I've written for that AU. Check out more of their Masterlist here!

AU summary: When downloading TWST, an error occurs resulting in the game using data from your phone to fill in blanks in the TWST program.  As a result, all the Self-Aware TWST cast view you as the mythical Overseer of legend and develop a yandere level obsession with you.

I was in the middle of painting the roses but…I guess I can’t turn you away if you need something.  You frowned slightly at the line.  When your friend told you about Twisted Wonderland, you had dismissed it as another phone game in the sea of phone games.  Your friend was so persistent though, that you eventually let them talk you into it.  When you agreed to download the game, your friend had nearly vibrated with joy and immediately gone into advisor mode; telling you tips and handing out suggestions for when you started the game.  “You know, everyone has a Riddle or Leona card to borrow.  If you think about it, Trey is the smart choice for those defense tests.”  So, when the time came for your free SSR roll, you had taken their advice and re-rolled for Trey.

You know it’s only a game but occasionally you feel like you’ve made the wrong choice.  Sometimes when you logged into the game, you enjoyed seeing Trey all dressed up in the bright Heartslabuyl uniform.  Only, then he’d say his voice line and it had a way of rubbing you the wrong way.  He was just so…pushy.  Tea Parties and croquet matches are both special, traditional events in Heartslabyul.  As the vice dorm leader, I have to work hard for them.  So, give me some praise, ok?  You scoff and say lightly, “Great job Trey.  Those roses sure are extra red today.”  Maybe it is your imagination, but it feels like he smiles even brighter when you say that.

Then there are times where the mood feels terribly awkward.  You’d only agreed to try this game because your friend insisted that it wasn’t a dating game but when Trey offers you certain greetings…it makes you so uncomfortable.  I like hats, so I have several of them.  This one is a special one I had custom made to match our dorm uniform.  I’d be happy to have one made for you so we can match.  You offer what feels like a forced chuckle to the screen, “Maybe next time.”  It felt an awful lot like turning down a classmate you had no romantic interest in but still had to see at school.

You mentioned it to your friend and they laugh.  “You must be talking about Malleus.  Everyone says his lines feel borderline romantic.”  When you clarified that you meant Trey, they gave you a weird look.  “I don’t remember anything like that…”  You opened the game and tried to show your friend but the lines you could trigger seemed far more mundane than what you’d been experiencing.  You clicked back and forth from lessons to home several times to try to trigger one of the strange dialogs but to no avail.  It was just eerie.

The next day, you decided to keep a notepad and pen by your bed, so you could write down some of the crazy things you hear from Trey when you log in.  And, come morning, he does not disappoint.  There's nothing better than wearing clothes you are comfortable in.  Except maybe having friends that make you comfortable.  If your friends are making you uncomfortable, you can always come to me instead.  This one was new, even to you.  You gave your device a raised eyebrow and jot down the line.  Then you drag your phone with you to the bathroom (lessons can run while you do your morning routine!) and start brushing your teeth.  You almost spit out your toothpaste on the floor when your random gacha draw pulled a Dorm Leona card.  You thank the gacha gods; now you can swap out your home screen character without feeling disloyal to your SSR’s.

You talked with your friend at school and they seemed extra freaked out for you but, honestly, you feel much better.  You’d just push your strange Trey card to the back of your roster and never think about his creepy voice lines again.  Leona was a fresh breeze of air pushing the past few weeks of troubles from your mind.  You logged in far more than usual today, just to hear his new lines.  Before bed, you pressed your lips to your screen, wishing your new favorite a good night.  Things were so much better with your new man in your life and Trey was just like a bad memory.

The morning was not what you expected.  You opened the game to find Trey back on your home screen.  You looked at it in alarm as he greets you with a stern look.  You are coming to our next Unbirthday Party.  I’ll be waiting to hear what you think of my preparations for you.  It feels almost sinister.  You move to stand from your bed but find yourself unexplainably weak.  You tumble to the floor, your head resting near your phone.  The last thing you see is the ever-widening smile of Trey.  “I’ll see you soon, dearest Overseer.”

[xiaowhore]

so i was just thinking abt luke again,, mainly because i was literally 5 rolls before getting a guaranteed ssr,, but his rate up duration has run out :// and now im basically drowning in misery for not getting him ;((

with agonizing sorrow comes the ringing bells of angst <333 so i thought…

what if luke had attended mc’s wedding,, not as the groom ofc,, but as the best man ;DD and you know, he’s patently suffering because of these practically ancient emotions he’s been desperately grasping at straws for his entire life.

and this is where reader comes in :”)) because luke asks reader to accompany him to the wedding - perhaps the reason behind it is what you believe, as some trivial root of comfort for the regretful man, while he watches the only person he’s ever loved walk past him with a warm smile and down that aisle to another man.

but you were wrong of course - it wasn’t as simple like it had seemed on the surface, in fact you had barely scraped it with those groundless assumptions yet somewhat plausible theories,, because the moment you both step out of that wedding church, he immediately turns to you with beaming irises and…asks you to be his girlfriend.

crazy, right? you’ve literally just accompanied the damn man to his long time crush’s wedding, and now he was asking you out. there was no room for doubt or hesitation in what you offered him as an answer - hell no - to which his jubilant expression falters and your eyes begin to water with tears,,

because how dare he say such a thing? what gives him the right to finally admit it now - now that mc has already gotten married, now that he realizes he has not even a sliver of a chance with her anymore, now that he just so happens to finally look over to his right and all he sees is you?

you have been second to that woman for eight damning years - in everything.

“and i will not be the person you settle for just because you cannot have her.” you say, unable to stop the stream of liquid tumbling down your flushed cheeks anymore.

you can’t, and you won’t do it.

not when you’ve spent all those fucking cruel years loving him.

aaaaaaa bye time to disintegrate, that was so,, ugh disgustingly written 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️ and thank god that’s all for her damn rant today 🤢 hope i don’t ruin your day with this bullshit bestie <333

wait 5 rolls until pity??? i- im not sure what to say to comfort you ;-; i hope you got the guaranteed ssr tho, since lost gold pity doesn't carry over the next 4ssr event... (i can say i empathize with you though, i didn't get luke either :'D it's always the person in the same banner as him)

anD WHAT DO YOU MEAN DISGUSTINGLY WRITTEN?? I MUST THANK YOU FOR FEEDING ME DELICIOUS LUKE CONTENT. IN FACT, I'D LIKE TO ADD ON TO IT.

you being his rebound just to soothe his pain is one thing, but what if- what if he does have feelings for you? small and fleeting, but it exists. he can't say it's enough, but it blooms, growing stronger with each day that passes.

it starts with a simple thought — “i enjoy spending time with you.” not as much as he likes being with mc, but his eyes sparkle in joy when you walk through his antique shop's doors to pay a visit, his face breaking out into a bright smile unconsciously. though he used to anxiously wait for mc in the past, he forgot how he even missed her; he couldn't remember, not when you came to scold him for skipping lunch and brought him a homecooked meal yourself. “take care of your health more,” you tell him sternly while pinching his cheek, and he felt unusually giddy.

the next moment happens when you asked him out to go to a newly opened cafe together, eager to take a look at the store everyone's been raving about. he silently admires your contemplative expression when you examine the menu, seriously pondering if the expensive prices were worth your wallet. luke shakes his head, sliding a hefty amount of cash onto the counter; “i'll pay this time.” and, well, who were you to refuse?

you take a seat by the window, visibly happier, and luke can feel himself smile again... that's been happening a lot lately. it remains on his face for the entire time you chat, both of you thoroughly engrossed by your conversation, but you falter when your eyes sweep over somewhere behind him. naturally, curiosity gets the best of him, and he turns around to glance at what your caught your eye.

it's mc, hooking arms with her fiance while looking over the menu together.

at once, luke prepares to feel that same pang of hurt he always endures, the harsh blade of reality piercing through his chest, cutting whatever meaningless what-ifs he may have had. but it... it's faint. it isn't as prominent as before, where he wants to leave the premises immediately, just to get away from the sight. no, it's faint this time... a needle prick, causing him to flinch in surprise for a second, and no more than that. it surprises himself how unaffected he is, but it's pleasant — he can tell he's healing, bit by bit.

(in comparison, your face is paler than his, the fear of being left behind hitting you full force. it knocks the air out of your lungs, and you forget how to breathe.

you only come back to your senses when luke grips your hand, concern evident in his gaze.)

still, luke isn't sure. maybe it was his desperation tricking him into thinking he loved you. maybe anyone would do for him, anyone that can make him forget his pain. it didn't matter, so as long as he doesn't have to think about mc again.

he glances at the ring stored away in his room. the ring he used to polish to perfection, fiddling and fumbling in moments he reminisced of mc. the ring he once dreamed of giving to her, his promise of forever.

he hasn't touched it for months.

his heart tells him, “you don't need it anymore.”

he wants to make sure of it, so he waits. he waits until the day of her wedding, to confirm if it still hurts.

when luke sees her in the white dress, flowers weaved into her hair, he quietly thinks “pretty.” (but when he sees your dazzling smile, his breath is taken away and all he can think of is you, you, you.)

when she walks down the aisle, her lips formed into a shy smile, he smiles in kind. “you look happy.” (at the back of his mind, he wonders if you'd look like this too.)

when she exchanges vows with her husband, tearfully professing her feelings, he doesn't feel envious. he onced wished to be in the space beside her, but not anymore. “i'm glad you found someone you can love this deeply.” (and he too, knows he found that someone.)

and yet...

the world comes to a standstill when tears stream down your face. “i will not be the person you settle for just because you cannot have her.”

the blade pierces his heart, and it pains him more than ever.

[lazyea]

I just really want to share my gacha experience and best luck ever and some of the worst cuz I'm addicted to gachas since 2017 and oh my god how many of those have I played.

Fgo bullies me almost all the time, but what years of playing it taught me is that if you honestly love your waifu/hasubando, they'll come, like Heroine X Alter or Sigurd or Lanling(4 copies in 10 tickets!! holy shit that man loves me!). I also occasionally get 5☆ one after another or in like 2-3 multis. Heroine X Alter is my only np2 SSR though. Foreigners and assasins love me. But riders and lancers... Where u at, homies?? No 5☆ of those at both jp and na, except for Europa that I picked for 5☆ ticket.

Then there's twst jp. Epel is my best man fr. When his dorm card was released I got 2nd Riddle and then the country boy himself straight after not even getting to 50 pulls. And when I aimed to get his groom card he also brought me Ace in first multis, ehehe. But when I was pulling for Epel's SSR in winter event he got me Jamil instead, also in first 10, I'm still mad. When Vargas camp was released I got Ruggie in first 10. My worst pulls in twst ever were in 1st Halloween event. I had to grind 25/8 for Vil and he only got home in 100 pulls. Last card literally. I'm happy that at least I didn't lose 50/50. Queen is mean :')

And then I also had some lucky genshin rolls that I didn't screen. My first 5☆ was Xiao and he came at around 75, soft pity. And then during first Zhongli banner, when I was rolling for Yanfei, I got Zhongli at 89 and Qiqi at 90. That was very spontaneous. No Yanfei still though. Then I lost soft pity to Jean, but I wanted her so it was fine. I got Raiden guaranteed thanks to that. And a few months ago I got Kokomi on soft pity! My artifacts luck is on next level. I guess I just must build crit Kokomi with these arts.

What got me into gachas was bungo stray dogs mayoi inu kaikitan. My first account was filled with SSRs and first UR that were released, but I lost it after 2 years of grinding. It still hurts. Then I got second one in jp and it's going great! No crazy multis or anything like that though. My best was 2 basic SSRs and no event SRs in one event multi. It's good but at the same time so damn disappointing. My na account has some good cards, but it's mainly Lucy SSR carrying me through all events and story. F for my first acc.

Then I also had Obey Me! phase. This game's gacha fucking sucks period. I lasted for about a year until I lost my account again. All this time the gacha was pure hell, devs didn't give much to pull. I had basic Mammon and Belphegor SSRs carry me, then I somehow got "something to tell you" Satan and maxed it out, it was my favourite card and I fucking lost my acc. This game's gacha and power scale system are so frustrating that I can't get myself to play the game again. I remember grinding a lot just to progress 3-5 levels and then grinding again. I love the story and the boys so much, but damn it's a tough love.

Then I got into bunaru when you could use ink to only get new writers. It's a pretty nice game with a pretty mean gacha. My dream combo were Nagai Kafuu and Shimazaki Touson, they got me 80% of my gold. No rainbows though. New system seems ehh, it can be frustrating.

And I'm also into Nikki games. Love Nikki is frustrating and when I just started playing it I was so confused about everything, there was just too much! Shining Nikki is great and its gacha system is fine, I love it when there's guaranteed. I get all URs in events thought and 50% of those are basic 2 sets. It took me 75 pulls to get full oceanic reverie set without 2nd reflection though and man that was infuriating. But overall I really love the game.

I also played Time Princess. Yes, dress up games are my guilty pleasure. Gacha? Quite nice. Story? Interesting. I love that they have female love interests for female mc, otomes need more of those!

And I also started playing Honkai Impact in September. This game is a masterpiece. I got HoH in my first multi! She carries me. Gacha was kind of strange for me at first but I understood it in a week. It can be frustrating and it takes time grinding, but you need just 1 good valkyrie from gacha and then you can get more from shop. Elysia is life, Elysia is love, breathe if you agree.

Then I tried Tower of Fantasy. I got 2 basic SSRs from gacha and 1 from release gift. In basic gacha I got the cube in 30 pulls and then the chakram in 30 pulls from limited banner. Gacha there has been kind enough to me but the grind it takes to get gacha currency.... And the game itself is fine, but it's rather repetitive and the story is kind of boring.

[lokis-army-77]

If You Please

Chapter twelve

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Word Count: 2588

This is technically a reader insert but without the (y/n) and all that. She also has no name mentioned so feel free to imagine as you please.

Follow the reader through the events of the Captain America movies and experience her love for Bucky Barnes.

Warnings: none

Note: Normally I am the type of person to be date accurate when writing things and if you are too, I'm sorry. I messed up on the dates, so the battle of New York happens like a month after it should. This is also a short chapter because it's a filler and I'm trying to just get to the Winter Soldier but have everything make sense.

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Masterlist

A few days later I had received a small archivist job in the WWII department of the Smithsonian. Thankfully the made-up resume and a few fake SHIELD recommendations came in handy. I would officially start the following week after a few background checks were cleared. In my free time until then, I unpacked all the boxes in my apartment. It started to feel more homely and warm when all of my things filled up the space. When I didn’t feel like unpacking anything, I started taking long walks to the VFW building. I hadn’t joined in on any of the meetings yet, I just stood by the doorway and watched, listening to the stories people told.

One day that week as I stood back in the hallway after the meeting had ended, a man came up to me. He was a little taller than I was and had the brightest smile I had ever seen. I had watched him in the meetings before, he was usually the one hosting them, giving advice to all who needed it.

“I’ve seen you standing out here for the past three days, why don’t you come have a seat next time? It would be more comfortable than standing out here for an hour.” He said as he leaned his back against the wall right next to me.

“I have thought about it, but I tend to get here after you have started. I don’t want to interrupt anything by just barging in.” I said over my shoulder at him.

“You won't interrupt anything, just come on in next time, we’d be happy to have a new face around,” He pushed himself off the wall and walked down the hall.

After that, I ended up joining the meetings and even spoke a few times. I learned that the man who came up to me that day was Sam Wilson, pararescue, who had served two tours in Afghanistan. From the first day he came up and talked to me to now, we quickly became friends.

The days had turned into weeks and I was finally able to live relatively by my own means. The Smithsonian was great, in the archives, no one was really around and I could spend a whole day without any interruptions, which allowed me to just concentrate on what I was doing. After closing, I normally walked to meet Sam, who was usually way too excited to see me, even though we saw each other almost every day without fail.

“You’re late today.” I jumped, startled out of my thoughts at the sound of someone talking to me. I looked up, spying Sam standing next to one of the small trees outside the VFW building.

“What do you mean late?”

“I mean you usually get here at three-thirty. It's four right now.” He said looking down at his watch.

“Oh sorry, I didn’t realize. I've just been lost in my thoughts lately.” I sighed.

“I know we’ve only been friends for what? A month? But I already know when something is bothering you, What is it?”

“Nothing really, just my brother. Since moving here he's called at least twice a week to check up but it’s been radio silence for the past two weeks, he doesn't even answer when I try calling him. I'm just a little worried that something bad is going on, considering his job.”

“Well, maybe he’s just really busy at the moment, or he's somewhere he can't call you. You know how it is being out on those military missions.”

“I know, it’s just the last time we were apart on a mission,” I trailed off and looked up at Sam, he raised his eyebrows, quietly waiting for the end of the sentence. “Someone close to us passed. It’s still fresh in my mind like it happened yesterday. I was there that day and I was too far away to even know what had happened, now my brother and I aren’t even in the same vicinity as each other, there is no telling what could happen and it makes me nervous.”

He gave me a small apologetic smile and patted my shoulder before leading me from the tree where we stood to where his car was parked. “What do you say we hang out at mine and just watch some tv? Get your mind off things? Or we can talk about it, either way, it’s better than dealing with it alone.” I nodded my head and grabbed onto the car door handle as he unlocked it.

Walking through the front door after him I took a quick look around. It was cozy, way more decorated than I thought it would be for a man in his early thirties living alone.

“Make yourself at home. Do you want anything to drink?” He asked neck-deep in the fridge.

“Okay, I’ll just have some water,” I called out as I made my way further into the living room. The couch was backed up to the wall a few feet away from the dining room table. I sat down on it and scooted as close as I could to its right arm. A few moments later Sam came over with two glasses of water and a bag of chips. He handed me my drink before crashing down into his own seat. “Thank you,” I said before taking a long sip.

He nodded as he said “No problem.” Before he got himself really comfortable he searched around for the TV remote. As he pressed the ‘on’ button the TV came to life. “What in the world is that?” He sounded concerned so I quickly looked at the screen.

“Breaking: Attack on New York City. This afternoon at 2:15 several unidentified aircraft descended onto Earth's surface. Strange beings, some are calling aliens, Accompanied these ships and are causing havoc in Manhattan. Eyewitnesses have stated that they have seen Iron Man, and what seemed to be Captain America, leading a team of three others fighting back against the invaders. The battle seems to be over but updates are still coming in, let's take a look at some footage of the downtown destruction.” My eyes went wide and my heart stopped as I listened to what the reporter was saying. I kept my eyes glued to the screen as it changed to show a destroyed street. As the camera panned around I spotted Steve fighting against two of the creatures, before the clip quickly changed to show one of the large ships crashing into the New York skyline.

“Oh God Steve, what did you get into?” I murmured to myself.

“You say that like you know him personally.”

“Uhh.” I just gave him a wide-eyed look of surprise. “I do, he’s my brother.”

“Now really isn’t the time to be joking about things,” He gave me a pointed look.

“I swear I’m not joking, he really is my brother. I can explain later, I need to try and get a hold of him.” I pulled out the small flip phone from my pocket and dialed the number for Steve's cell phone, it rang and rang but no answer. I hung up quickly and dialed the number Fury gave me at the beginning of the month. After two rings he answered.

“I assume you are looking for Captain Rogers.”

“Where is he? Is he okay?” I tried to keep the worried tone from coming through in my voice.

“He’s fine. He is in the middle of a debriefing. I’ll tell him you called.”

“Okay, thank you.” As soon as the words left my mouth he gave a quick hum and then hung up. I looked over at Sam whose eyes hadn't left me at all. “Everything is fine, he's in a debrief so that means that whatever happened in New York is definitely over.”

“That’s good to hear, hopefully, those things don’t try to come back again.” He shook like a shiver ran down his spine. “Now please explain how Captain America, a man from the 1940s, is your brother.”

“I can hear the skepticism in your voice.”

He held his hands up in defense, “Hey, I'm not the one saying I'm the sister to a 90 something-year-old man.”

“Look, it’s a long story that I would rather not get into now but the short version is that I was born in 1921, Steve is my older brother, we both ended up taking the super-soldier serum and fought against HYDRA in the second world war. We ended up crashing a plane into some Ice in the Atlantic ocean and were found and unfrozen last October.” “If you are really Captain America’s sister, then why are you never mentioned in anything?” I looked at him and shook my head.

“Well for starters it was the forties and I was a woman fighting on the front lines. Credit is never given where it is due. But there is also the fact that I was a part of the SSR, which was very secretive, after I died.” I put my fingers up in air quotes, “They should have erased most, if not all the files on me, per protocol. The only reason Steve is well known is because of his time going cross country selling war bonds.” I paused for a second before quickly adding, “I’m sure if you look hard enough, you’ll find me in the history books somewhere.”

Sam just sat there not really saying anything. This was the first time I think he had ever been quiet for more than five seconds. I let out a deep sigh and stood, grabbing my bag from the floor. “Thanks for having me over, but I think I need to go. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He stood and walked me to the door.

“Don’t be late. I’ll see you.” Sam waved me off and I headed down the street.

About half a year later while sorting through some archive files, I came across Peggy Carter. I felt a pang in my heart as I stared at the photo of her standing next to Howard Stark. Other than Steve and Bucky, those two were my closest friends. I fell down a rabbit hole after that, finding any information on the two that I could find. They had both helped found SHIELD in 1965, they had both gotten married and had children of their own. Peggy's children had stayed out of the public eye, but in true Stark fashion, Howard’s son evidently took over the family business and was living the high life. I pulled out a newspaper from the stack I had on the table in front of me and was shocked at what I saw. The title read ‘Howard and Maria Stark Die in Car Accident’, I knew Howard most likely wasn’t alive anymore but seeing the photographs of the wrecked car in the newspaper cast a somber mood through the room.

I laid the paper down on the table and ruffled through more of the papers before determining that we had no information on if Peggy was alive or not. That sent me into a frenzy of looking through phone books to try and find her and calling every retirement home in DC that I could. The only lead I had to go off of was a small interview from a newspaper, talking to Peggy about the seventieth anniversary of V-E Day, stated that she was living in Washington, DC.

After eight failed calls, finally, on the ninth, I had finally found a home which had a Peggy Carter as a residence in room 204. I rushed to pack up my things and left my office early. I ran down the back hallways as fast as I could without drawing too much attention. When I made it out of the building I ran full speed to the road to hail a cab.

Amazingly the traffic was almost nonexistent and I made it to the retirement home in only ten minutes. I fumbled out of the cab and I raced through the front doors of the building. I must have startled the women at the front desk because as soon as I rounded the corner to the staircase, they were yelling after me. I took the steps three at a time in my haste to get to the second floor. I stopped running when I was outside of room 204. I couldn’t see anything clearly through the frosted window so I knocked hesitantly and slowly opened the door and stepped in.

There in the middle of the room, against the wall was a single bed. A woman laid there quietly with her eyes closed. The closer I came to her the more familiar she looked. I let out a relieved gush of breath. There she was, older now, but still the Peggy I once knew. I nervously grabbed one of the chairs in the corner of the room and brought it over to her bedside so I could sit. Gently I gave her a small tap on the hand before just holding it in mine. She stirred but her eyes never opened.

All of a sudden one of the nurses from downstairs came into the room, with an angry and shocked expression.

“Ma’am, You can't be in here. If you want to see a patient, you have to sign in.” I ignored her, my eyes trained on Peggy's face. The commotion of the woman barging into the room had made her open her eyes and look around. I just watched as she scanned the room, first to the door on the left, to the wall in front of her, past me sitting on her right, then to the window behind me.” Her brows raised and she lifted her hands to her eyes to rub. The shock on her face was evident as she turned her head to stare directly at me.

“Hey Carter, long time no see huh?” I gave her the biggest smile that I could.

“Is it really you?” She reached her hand out to mine and grabbed hold.

“It is, it’s really me.”

“Ma’am, I mean it, you can't be here.” The nurse tried again, this time Peggy shot her a glare.

“Ms. I’ll have you know this is one of my best friends and she can be in here if she wants to. Now leave us alone.” The young nurse nodded her head and rushed out, even in old age she could still put on that commanding tone that struck fear in every man. She slowly turned back to me, almost like if she looked back for me, I would be gone. “How? How are you here?”

“It’s a long story Peg, are you sure you want to hear it?”

“Look where I am, I have nothing but time.” She laughed out and I let out my own small laugh as I shook my head.

In addition to what I had been doing, like hanging out with Sam, after that first visit, I made it a priority to see Peggy once or twice every two weeks, depending on how she was doing. Dementia had put a lot of stress on her, and seeing me after almost seventy-five years and looking relatively the same as I had when frozen took out a giant toll on her.

And that's how the next 10 months went until Steve eventually moved into an apartment directly under me.

Tag List: @ginger-swag-rapunzel @underc0vercryptid-reads @geek-and-proud @intothesoul @leyannrae @starkleila

[jensvisualnoveladventures]

Debated putting this on my website, but decided to just make a post for now as it’s just Closed Beta and I don’t feel I have enough to say for my site but I’ve essentially been playing Tears of Themis since the Closed Beta started and I finished Chapter 4 yesterday evening. 

I already spoke a bit on my Twitter about it, so a summary and expansion of that as it all still holds true: 

I love the cases. The investigating is so fun and I really enjoy nearly everything about it. Every time we enter the Court Room, I feel like I’m playing Ace Attorney. My only nitpick is sometimes you just aren’t allowed to find certain pieces of evidence yet and by that I mean that you may SEE something that looks suspicious, but aren’t allowed to interact with it until the next investigation prompt. It’s really strange and while I get it from a story perspective, it’s hard to tell if it’s because you can’t look at something yet or you’re just not tapping it right (which is the other issue-- I do my best to tap everything, but it’s really finnicky on what you’ve “already checked” and what may actually be new)

I’m actually really invested in the characters! I like all of them. While Luke and Marius are my favorites (I would say overall, I’m leaning towards Luke, but there’s a small few traits for him I’m not too fond of that Marius has in full force and it’s what makes it so hard), I’m already looking forward to the next bit of story for every single character. I have not read any spoilers so I do not know which is to come and we’re not really allowed to say story spoilers for the NDA, but I am concerned for Luke.

Similarly, every case has made me emotional at one point or another and again, just really makes me think of Ace Attorney, but with fancier graphics.

Speaking of the graphics, they’re STUNNING. The MC is really pretty, all the art is gorgeous, the animations are really nice... I actually enjoy just listening to the music. The fact that a minigame mode even has a 8-bit version of one of the songs is super cute and a nice touch they didn’t even need to do. The only issue that comes with such nice graphics is my phone overheats at times and it’s draining on the battery. Putting on the “Low-Temp” setting helped a lot with this at least, but wow do I wish I could play on PC (I know there’s mirroring apps, but I genuinely mean I wish it was a PC game I could play)

They say it’s a WIP, but honestly, it really looks good to go? The only art that looked even slightly off to me, and even then there’s enough great about it that I don’t care, is Luke’s visiting background. Text-wise, I’ve seen some typos/grammatical errors or missing words, but it’s few and far between. The most errors I’ve seen are some translation choices with the texting feature. 

Finally, the Card system genuinely is kind of pointless and it exists only to give the game a gachapon system which is kind of disappointing, but I suppose isn’t uncommon for free to play games (That said, I would pay for this game if it had a price and I didn’t have to deal with any gachapon features). The Card mechanic is easily my least favorite part of the game because the debates are meaningless 99% of the time. I wish they were actual debate puzzles, but they’re not. They use a silly battle triangle and having to level up cards and things is my least favorite part of the game and it’s something I’m worried for outside of Closed Beta when we won’t be given as much from the get-go. 

Chapter 4 was where my lack of Cards/low levels really became issues and I struggled with a 3 or 4 stages due to that, usually winning just barely and actually having an easier time with the final debate than one of the earlier ones. 

I think the Cards are really pretty. I LOVE reading the Stories for the SR and SSR versions. But I don’t think they should be part of the main story walls. I think they should be solely side content and minigames like one of the current modes that is just debates. I still want to earn and level up regardless, but having to pause in the middle of main story for a debate that has barely anything to do with said case is really annoying. 

One thing that’s nice though is if you fail a debate, you actually don’t lose the energy you used to try. You can try over and over again and you’ll only lose that energy when you succeed. 

Similarly, you can use the Hint System as much as you want. You lose nothing for using it, there’s no limit or anything, so if you’re struggling or unsure, you can just tap it with no problems. 

Writing-wise, I would say the only thing unneeded is how often the MC says she wants to lose weight? It feels like it’s meant as a joke anyway and just let her love her dessert, god. 

Anyway, the special event starts sometime this week and I just really hope I manage to finish all the CB goals. 

I genuinely can’t wait for more of the character stories and future cases. I’m going to be sad having to redo so much when the Beta is over and the game officially opens up... 

I do hope maybe we’ll eventually have English voices though. I have no issue with any of the current languages available, but they used different names for the characters in EVERY language which, at least for me, is kind of confusing. I’ll pick up words from hearing or look at certain things and be like “wait that name is not the one written here” and it always takes me a bit. I wonder if the names have similar meanings in each language or not. 

Anyway, miHoYo, please make the Bunny/Puppy plushie, thank you.

If anyone wants to be friends on the game, feel free to message me with your friend code! :)

I can’t wait until the game releases and I can record it T~T <3

[jokertrap-ran]

(未定事件簿) 莫弈 SSR [心悬一线] [Tears of Themis] Mo Yi SSR [Heart hanging by a Thread] Card Story Translations (Part 3)

*Tears of Themis Masterlist / Mo Yi’s Masterlist *Spoiler free: Translations will remain under cut *Smoldering Mo Yi is...an experience.  *Next up: 小陆总 !! ...After I finish the Video Call aha-

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Video Call

Location: Forest

He didn’t pay any heed to my protests, heading back towards the Suspension Bridge. Soon, he returned with the Supply Box in hand.

MC: (Thankfully, it was only threatening but not dangerous...)

MC: Sorry, Dr. Mo, for getting you involved in all this today.

My heart had almost leapt out of my throat when he turned and went back to the bridge.

Thinking about it, Mo Yi and I shared the same feelings when we saw the other party alone on the bridge.

Mo Yi: It's fine; as long as you're safe.

Mo Yi: Your injury needs to be seen to as soon as possible. Let me have a look at it.

☆⋅⋆…⋅─────────── ⋆⋅✾⋅⋆ ───────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

MC: !!!

Mo Yi knelt before me, opening the Supply Box and taking out the medical supplies.

I lowered my head and found his silvery hair before me, fluttering gently along with the gentle breeze that blew through the Mountains. It looked absolutely soft.

He held my injured leg up in front of him, treating it as carefully as one would a treasure. Taking off my shoes and socks, he gently turned my ankle, his slender fingers passing on warm touches. 

Mo Yi: Does it sting?

He raised his head, fixing me with a serious look, eyes filled with care.

MC: No...it doesn't…

Mo Yi: Looks like your bone wasn't injured from it.

Mo Yi: I'll help you disinfect it so bear with me for a while.

He lowered his head back down, slowly but carefully rubbing the wound with alcohol.

MC: Ngh…

Mo Yi: Did I hurt you?

Mo Yi: Sorry, I'll be gentler…

He blew on the wound that had just been cleaned by the alcohol, bringing about a refreshing feeling to combat the stinging pain that came with it. I could feel my cheeks heat up for no reason at all. Flustered, I quickly stopped him. 

MC: It's fine Dr. Mo... just...just bandage it already.

He smiled, taking out the bandages and skillfully wrapping the wound up for me. After handling the wound, he sorted out the supplies as I blushed and thanked him. 

☆⋅⋆…⋅─────────── ⋆⋅✾⋅⋆ ───────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

MC: Thank you, Dr. Mo.

Mo Yi: There's no need for you to be so humble with me. The wound you sustained is on your leg, so it wouldn't be terribly convenient if you did it yourself.

Speaking of wounds, the question that had been lingering in the forefront of my mind earlier resurfaced once more.

MC: Oh, right...how did you end up coming all the way here to find me?

Mo Yi: Since you've already agreed to wait back there for me, there's no way you'd have just upped and left for no rhyme or reason.

Mo Yi: And your personality is such that you won't break an agreement just over your own personal issues.

Mo Yi: So, once I saw Ji Tang's reopened wound, I guessed that you must have gone off in search of the Supply Box.

MC: Haa… You didn't come back after so long, so I thought that you must have been held up by something.

MC: And Ji Tang's wound couldn't just be left alone as it was since it'll be even more troublesome afterwards if it got infected.

Mo Yi: What you did was correct.

Mo Yi: That area isn't far from the bridge, so I thought that you'd head there.

Mo Yi: Needless to say, I managed to find the marks you left behind on the trees nearby.

Mo Yi: So, I followed the marks to you.

Having said that, he frowned, looking at me a little sternly.

Mo Yi: I don't blame you for leaving the place, but don't hide it from me the next time you're injured.

Mo Yi: If you must know, it’s dangerous to be scratched by decaying wood.

Mo Yi: Thankfully, your wound isn’t so deep as to require a Tetanus Shot.

I lowered my head, looking at the carefully bandaged wound and feeling a little downtrodden about it.

MC: I had originally wanted to use this to treat Miss Ji’s wound, but I’d never have thought that I’d end up using it on myself…

Mo Yi: It’s my fault for not being able to hurry back faster.

Mo Yi told me that it had taken a long time to find a place with signal, which had greatly exceeded his initial expectations.

Eventually, he finally managed to get the line through to the Staff, but no one was picking up.

And that was why he had been delayed for so long.

Mo Yi: I did say that I don’t blame you for it, but when I rushed back there and saw neither hide nor hair of you, I...

MC: Sorry, for making you worry.

Seeing the sweat beading on his forehead, I lowered my head apologetically.

Mo Yi: Thank god…

MC: Hm?

Mo Yi: Nothing, it’s just great that you’re okay.

☆⋅⋆…⋅─────────── ⋆⋅✾⋅⋆ ───────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

We sorted out the contents of the Supply Box, deciding to give part of it to Ji Tang and take the rest along with us.

After that, we followed the trail I had marked back. Soon, we reached the place where Ji Tang was.

Ji Tang looked relieved to see both of us back.

Ji Tang: Dr. Mo! I thought...I thought you wouldn’t come back anymore…

Her eyes were filled with surprise and her words were tinted with accusation. Seeing the supply box that Mo Yi held in his hands, she moved to shyly tuck her hair behind her ear.

Ji Tang: You found the Supplies? That’s great, Dr. Mo!

Although the bandage that had been wrapped around my leg was conspicuous, she didn’t seem to have noticed it at all.

Mo Yi: ……

Seeing that Mo Yi wasn’t replying to her at all, she pursed her lips, a pleading look on her face.

Ji Tang: I was especially scared just now when neither of you were here.

Ji Tang: I accidentally reopened my wound and now it hurts so much…

Mo Yi: And why did you think that I wouldn’t come back?

In an utterly rare display for someone like him, Mo Yi unceremoniously interrupted Ji Tang.

Ji Tang: Because...Because I let this little girl up and leave on her own…

She hung her head, wringing her hands together as she stuttered.

MC: I left on my own?

Ji Tang: You suddenly said that you were leaving and I...I should have stopped you.

MC: Miss Ji, I was only going to look for medicine for you. And in your eyes, that was me, leaving of my own accord?

Ji Tang: And how would I know that you had really gone off to look for medicine for me…?

I was so mad at her words that I laughed.

MC: Miss Ji, you really “never cease to amaze me”!

At this point, I had completely reached the last straw of my patience when it came to talking to her.

MC: Forget it. Let’s go, Dr. Mo.

The moment she saw Dr. Mo turn to leave together with me, she threw another fit. 

Ji Tang: Wait, you-! You...you guys are just going to leave me alone here like this?

Mo Yi: I’ve already contacted the Staff. They’ll send people nearby to come fetch you.

Mo Yi: According to my calculations, they should be here within 15 minutes or so.

Mo Yi’s self-control made him keep a calm and level tone with her, but it was painfully obvious that he, too, had gotten angry.

Ji Tang: Did I do something wrong, Dr. Mo? Why must you treat me so?

Mo Yi: If you didn’t throw a fit, neither would she have had to leave alone, nor would she have gotten injured.

Ji Tang: And how would I know that she’d go off and get herself hurt… She has a compass on her, along with food and water. She’ll be fine alone.

Mo Yi: Same goes to you. You have food and water on your person, so nothing will happen to you even if you sit here alone.

Ji Tang was shocked speechless by his one line, stunned and unable to utter another word.

Mo Yi: She got injured for your sake, but you pretended to turn a blind eye to it. Instead…

Mo Yi: Instead, you’ve been overly affectionate towards me right from the start. Do you really think that I wouldn’t see through your motives?

He placed the Supply Box next to her, eyes filled with contempt.

Mo Yi: You shouldn’t lust after someone who doesn’t belong to you.

His words made my heart skip a beat, but Ji Tang was still present, so I had no time to savor the moment.

MC: The Supply Box contains everything you need. There are also a few Flare Guns, should you require it.

☆⋅⋆…⋅─────────── ⋆⋅✾⋅⋆ ───────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

Seeing Mo Yi and I turn to leave, Ji Tang struggled as she attempted to grab the corner of Mo Yi’s clothes, only for him to move sideways to avoid her.

Ji Tang: I know what I did was wrong, Dr. Mo!

Ji Tang: I did say things that I shouldn’t have said, and I shouldn’t have kicked up a fuss either.

Ji Tang: But...you-! You shouldn’t treat me like this!

Mo Yi: Why?

A blush formed on her face, her words a little hasty.

Ji Tang: Because… you’re like a Hero to me, one who appeared out of nowhere!

Ji Tang: You were so nice to me, even going so far as to comfort me...]

Mo Yi: That was just me, the Doctor, and my compassion for the injured.

Ji Tang: Then why would you remember me, of all people, among the many other Participants in the Event? What else could this be, if not fated?

Mo Yi: Remember only you? Haha, don’t get it over your head. I simply wanted to confirm your identity at the time.

Mo Yi: People like you who don’t know their own place and don’t know how to be grateful disgust me.

Ji Tang: W-What…?

He faced Ji Tang with a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Instead, his gentle voice and faint smile were as sharp as knives.

Mo Yi: I’ll repeat myself again; you shouldn’t lust after someone who doesn’t belong to you.

It was my first time ever seeing him this angry, so much that it unsettled me a little.

MC: Let bygones be bygones, Dr. Mo. I’m sure you’re already tired out from all the events that have transpired these couple of days. Being angry at her will only do more harm than good to your health.

Ji Tang: Wait! Wait a minute…! Doctor Mo!!

Ignoring Ji Tang, Mo Yi patted my arm comfortingly and led me out of the area.

☆⋅⋆…⋅─────────── ⋆⋅✾⋅⋆ ───────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

Location: Forest

MC: You rarely get that angry, Dr. Mo…

MC: I hardly lose my temper with ignorant people, but I certainly did lose my composure today.

MC: I never thought that you would, either…

He halted, turning round to face me seriously.

Mo Yi: Did you perhaps think that I was mad because of the attitude she had towards me?

MC: Was it not? I feel like you aren’t always so… cold to people.

Mo Yi: I most certainly hate her, not because she was going after me, but more because she had placed you in danger.

MC: ……

MC: I’m partially at fault too. I shouldn’t have let her lead me by the nose like that.

Mo Yi: You’ve already done well enough.

Mo Yi: Not only did you manage to find the supplies alone, but you also remembered to leave marks behind to mark your way.

Mo Yi: Others might not have done as well as you did.

MC: Haa… You’re always like this, never wanting to put any blame on me.

Mo Yi: Actually, I too, have a question I’d like to ask you.

MC: What is it?

Mo Yi: If we had a chance to re-do all of this, would you still have chosen to stay with her?

His question made me pause. I mulled over it seriously for a while before laughing helplessly.

MC: Miss Ji might be a handful to get along with, but considering the circumstances back then, I think I’d most likely choose to stay behind again.

MC: Life is the most important thing in the world, so even if the outcome isn’t exactly satisfactory, it still won’t change my own principles in handling things.

Mo Yi: I know. Actually, one of the reasons why I agreed to let you stay behind earlier was because I wanted to see what you would do, when faced with someone like her.

MC: So, do I pass?

Mo Yi: No matter what outcome, you’ll still stick with your own beliefs. However, that’s not to say that you’re lacking in principles and won’t compromise...

Mo Yi: This is the answer you gave me. Not only did you pass with flying colors, but you’ve also even exceeded my expectations.

The sun had been a little skewed at this time, and the golden sunlight filtering through the leaves illuminated Mo Yi’s face, making his smile even warmer.

☆⋅⋆…⋅─────────── ⋆⋅✾⋅⋆ ───────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

Two weeks later.

Location: Library

After coming back from the Treasure Hunting Event, Mo Yi and I were both back in Stellis City, absorbing ourselves back into our work.

On the weekend, I had come to the Library to return the books I borrowed when a familiar voice suddenly sounded from behind.

Mo Yi: What a coincidence, (Y\n). You’re here at the Library too?

MC: Huh? Oh, Dr. Mo!

Mo Yi: Here to return books? What have you borrowed?

Looking at his inquisitive gaze, I hurriedly hid the books behind my back. But my hand slipped…

The books fell to the ground with a thud.

Mo Yi picked up the fallen books and his expression morphed into one of surprise upon seeing their respective titles.

Mo Yi: “Love Psychology”? “Behavioral Psychology of Love”? You’re reading these books?

MC: (He saw them… how embarrassing this is...)

MC: I’m actually not borrowing them on a whim.

☆⋅⋆…⋅─────────── ⋆⋅✾⋅⋆ ───────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

Location: Base Camp

Back when we had been preparing to return to the City, I had caught sight of one of the Security Staff that had been responsible for the search back then. I asked him about Miss Ji’s situation.

MC: How’s Miss Ji now?

Staff Member: Miss Ji’s alright now. Thankfully, her bone wasn’t fractured.

Staff Member: It’s a sad story, really. I hear that it was her first time participating in such an Event, and she even got abandoned by the partner that she had initially been acting with…

Staff Member: But I heard that this Miss Ji got along swimmingly with one of the members of the rescue team that she had been in the care of!

MC: ???

Staff Member: Man! The Hero saving the Damsel in distress; I’m sure you know of it!

☆⋅⋆…⋅─────────── ⋆⋅✾⋅⋆ ───────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

MC: I had originally thought that Miss Ji came to like you because of the Suspension Bridge Effect…

Mo Yi: The Suspension Bridge Effect?

MC: Yup. I once heard you talking about it and thought that it quite resembled the situation that Miss Ji was in.

MC: But after hearing that she had come to like another guy in such a short span of time… I can’t help but to doubt myself if I had just guessed it wrongly…

MC: But even if it isn’t the Suspension Bridge Effect at play, her current boyfriend’s still someone who had taken care of her while she was placed in a predicament.

Mo Yi: You couldn’t understand it no matter how much you mulled over it, so you borrowed these books?

Seeing the smile that played at the corner of his lips, I nodded awkwardly. He lowered his head and flipped the book in his hands.

Mo Yi: This book is easy to understand, but not in-depth enough.

MC: Then what do you think of this?

Mo Yi: You’re correct. Miss Ji was in fact, under the influence of the Suspension Bridge Effect when she thought that what she felt was love.

Mo Yi: But these feelings are not true love.

Mo Yi: In the end, the Suspension Bridge Effect is only, but a misunderstanding, so these emotions of hers will be short-lived.

Mo Yi: Once out of the environment that resulted in it, this illusionary love will also dissipate along with it.

MC: So, the reason why she was able to move on so quickly was...because the Suspension Bridge Effect wore off?

Mo Yi: Her original personality also probably had a part in it.

Mo Yi: It’s possible that her original personality had a part in it.

When talking about this topic, Mo Yi's words held no emotion. It was as if Ji Tang was simply a Case Study to him, and not someone that we had actually interacted with.

Mo Yi: How did you feel, back when we were on the Suspension Bridge?

MC: What?

Mo Yi: Did your heartbeat speed up when you were on it together with me?

MC: !!!

MC: N-No…!

He suddenly sprang a question at me, and I didn't quite know how I should answer it. 

But enthusiastically denying it would only expose my true feelings.

I looked at Mo Yi, hesitating for a moment before deciding to tell him the truth. 

MC: (I can't hide my thoughts from him anyway…)

MC: Seeing you suddenly make an appearance back there actually felt... like something right out of a dream.

I adverted my eyes away from his face and tried to get ahold of my emotions.

MC: I actually couldn't bring myself to really any further, but with you there with me, I felt like it wasn't that scary anymore…

His eyes fell upon me and he could see that I was quite broken about the matter.

MC: You can just laugh at me if you want…

Mo Yi: Why would I?

MC: ……

Mo Yi: Have you felt right from the start that this reliance you have on me was caused by the Suspension Bridge?

MC: Your guess is right on the dot as always…

Mo Yi: What about now? Do you still think that it was due to the Suspension Bridge Effect?

MC: No, I've finally thought it through and understood it. This kind of trust is something that's been slowly built up over a long period of time.

MC: You've always been helping me, so that's why I'd think of you whenever I'm scared. This has nothing to do with the Suspension Bridge Effect at all.

A smile spilled across his golden orbs upon hearing my words.

Mo Yi: You think of me when in danger, and the name you call, is also mine. For that, I am extremely happy.

MC: D-Doctor Mo! Did you...overhear…?

Mo Yi: Mo Yi. The name that you yelled back on the Suspension Bridge was undoubtedly mine.

MC: !!!

MC: That was just something that slipped out in a moment of panic…

Mo Yi: I still think that it's way better when you call my name, rather than calling me Dr. Mo.

MC: !!!

Mo Yi: And as to whether this is all a result of the Suspension Bridge Effect at play, you don't have to worry. Only time will tell.

☆⋅⋆…⋅─────────── ⋆⋅✾⋅⋆ ───────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

The warm sunlight poured into the corridors, the white clouds in the sky slowly morphing, changing their appearances.

The afternoon breeze that blew through the windows were exceptionally cool, almost as if it had sensed the heat within my heart.

What Mo Yi said was right. Leave it all to time, and time will tell.

——𝔉𝔦𝔫.——

[docsnotes]

Views on Cancel Culture, Woke-ness, Political Correctness & Other Related Issues From The Perspective of an Irrelevant Nobody: Why People Think it Helps & Why it Does Not. By Bradley “Holliday” Rozier I had hoped this first post would be a lot more light-hearted, but after an article and the related tweets I read yesterday, I had to write and share this. So, it is roughly November 2017, I decided to join Greenpeace because I felt it would be a great way to put my mind and anxiety to good use.  Through the connections I made, I ended up with some really good friends and some people who I thought would be a positive asset to my growth and recovery, but ended up not being so.  However, we will get to THAT part later.  First I want to say, generally speaking, I am against most everything the “Woke” movement is against, I simply feel that, tactically speaking, it could and should be handled differently.I was born September 9, 1984 at 10 something PM at what was then “University of Florida Medical Center”, but is now called “UF Health Shands” (Named so after William Augustine Shands, fun fact, W. Shands was not a Doctor, but a politician)  on 8th street in Jacksonville, Florida.  I grew up in culturally and ethnically diverse neighborhood on the northside of town called “Highlands” (named so because it is at a slightly higher elevation than most of the rest of the city) as well as various other places (my biological mother moved, A LOT) so, from an early age, I was presented a multitude of other cultures and backgrounds to embrace and learn from.  The most important factor in this point is my Grandmother, Geraldine Rozier, and my Aunt, Donna Ogle.  Both of whom drilled two very important lessons. Love your neighbor as yourself. (Mark 12:31) Treat others as you want to be treated. (‎Matthew 7:12) Now, as many of you know, I have particular disdain for organized religion, as more often than not I see it bring out the worst in people, if you doubt my words, wait for the next thing I post.  Yet, even I can find value in these teachings.  These teachings also come into play with the topic at hand and I feel that this was a necessary preface for what may come out as being exceptionally harsh.  I need you to understand: this is all coming from a place of love and compassion, though I understand how this may be hard to believe as this is my first blog post. This morning, as I drank my coffee and smoked my first cigarette of the day, I was reading a Revolver article about Glenn Danzig (who is easily one of my favorite musicians).  The article was basically him talking about how punk rock could have never have happened in today’s sociopolitical climate. It received A LOT of hate, but the simple fact is, he was right.  Think about this: The Ramones, New York Dolls, The Clash and The Sex Pistols all put out songs that were offencive to some people, however, that was kind of the point.  In 1976 the Ramones put out their self titled debut, on this album was a song called “Beat on The Brat” the 6 repeated lines from this song involve beating some annoying kid with a baseball bat.  On the 1973 self titled New York Dolls debut there is a track called “Looking For A Kiss” which is about pressuring someone to be intimate with the singer.  The Clash, in 1977,again with the self titled debut, has a song called “Protex Blue” which is a song shaming a girl for not being “wholesome” enough.  Finally, The Sex Pistols, who’s name alone may be enough to get them cancelled these days, finally straying from the “self titled” trend with their 1977 debut album “Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols” had a song called “God Save the Queen” which was about anything except saving the Queen.  In today’s world, these bands would have been stopped dead in their tracks and with them, almost 50 years of other artists. Which brings me to what led me to start this and with it, I hope, a dialogue.

The reason people THINK that cancel culture, woke-ness and political correctness works is because it makes THEM feel warm and fuzzy inside.  They got to “stand up” for the “little guy”.  The reality is these people do this for themselves and that is what I am going to illustrate in the next part. The first point I want to make, which I almost didn’t because I didn’t want to seem nationalist, is the Freedom of Speech.  Now, this is often something people mention when trying to explain how “America is the greatest nation on earth.” However, this is not strictly an American right, Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations General Assembly Resolution 217A - 10DEC1948 Code-A/RES/3/217A) which was voted for by 48 Nations, and 8 nations abstained1 states that Freedom of Expression as a fundamental human right.  So, I say this with the full certainty that it is absolutely imperative that ALL people should be allowed to express themselves.

My second point, it is insanely important that we teach ourselves that reality is sometimes offensive.  The world does not walk on eggshells and people will be insensitive, it is a simple fact.  Preparing our children (and ourselves) for this fact is a quintessential part of life.  Now, it would be great if everyone was nice and perfectly well mannered all the time.  If you prepare your children for a flat tire you should prepare them for hurt feelings, conversely, it is also a useful tool in teaching children how they should behave by showing them how they should not act.  Using a negative to teach a positive can be a very effective method.  

Third, let’s talk about being “woke” which will bring us back to one of the people I met through my Greenpeace affiliation who was a negative influence on my life. I have no desire to smear this person, so I will simply refer to her by her initials D.H. I met her at a coffee shop where we met to discuss racism in general, but, primarily in Jacksonville. Our introduction was uneventful, but informative for me.  Over the next few months, we would communicate multiple times and meet up at multiple events. At one point she would call me “one of the most ‘woke’ white guys she ever met” which, at the time, I took as a great compliment.  As time would pass we would start to disagree on certain things, mostly things of basic morality. The final straw was when a mutual “friend” of ours decided that it was morally acceptable to lie to someone who was going through a catastrophic period in her life. She made a comment that I completely agreed with in the general context, however in this exact situation it was incorrect.  She said “He didn’t owe her anything”, which is correct, except for the fact that he broke a promise.  I was raised that if you give your word, you honor it. So, yes, he owed her his word, if not,at least an answer as to why he broke it (which was all she wanted). I mention this to say the biggest problem/misconception with ”woke culture” and it is simply this: Being “woke” does not make you a good person.  I also would like to point out that being “woke” 75% of the time does not undo the 25% that you are an asshole.In conclusion, the idea that “wokeness” and Cancel Culture will fix the problems of our society is absolute garbage.  I feel that the only way we can actually fix things is with a dialogue, not by simply throwing people out when they say things that we don’t agree with. Alienation is not fixing anything, in fact, I would argue that it makes things worse.  It is better to extend a hand than slam a door. Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to read this, I hope to see you next time.

1- For (48) - Afghanistan, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Burma, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Iceland, India, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Liberia, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Siam, Sweden, Syria, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Against (0) - Zero

Abstained (8) - Byelorussian SSR, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Ukrainian SSR, South Africa, Soviet Union and Yugoslavia ( artwork is by marisa deroma @marisa_deroma on instagram)

[peggysousfan]

Agent Carter An Au Series

Here is chapter 17! A lot of it recaps the show but there are some pieces that put the Au and show together. And some Peggy and Daniel at the end ;) Enjoy!!

Peggy's POV:

Since Dooley sent me home for the day, I got to the Automat for some supper and wait for Mr. Jarvis. I know Daniel will be working late today. what with the break in the Stark case, so we won't be able to eat together one last time. And since Mr. Jarvis hasn't arrived yet, I don't have Stephanie with me. I asked him to keep her at his home until our nightly adventure was over with; I don't want Steph anywhere near Howard and the drama he has created with his deadly inventions. Once I finish dinner I go outside and wait.

"Come on, Mr. Jarvis. A penguin could get here faster..." I've been waiting for at least ten minutes. And Angise has not given up on trying to get me to live at this Griffith Hotel For Women. She bangs on the window to get my attention.

"I found one." She says, but I know which one it is. And I can't live there.

"I'm late for my appointment." I says, not looking towards her.

"It has its own bathroom!"

"I-I have no idea what you're saying."

"Don't make me come out there," She threatens. Oh bloody hell!

"Angie I really must-

"Woman only. A family community for modern female professionals. Apartment for rent. 550 square ft, furnished, full bath, high floors, quiet building. Security assured." She reads the advertisement from the paper. "Close proximity to the Lexington Avenue local isle. Breakfast upon request. Paradise or what.

"That sounds perfect but-

"The only thing that could possibly make it better is if you lived next to me, Oh wait, you would! 3C if you need a cup of sugar." God I wish I could, I really really do. The apartment sounds incredible and Angie is a very nice person, but I don't want her to be in the crossfire if anything were to go wrong; I already have to worry about Stephanie and Daniel. I lie to he and say I wouldn't make a very good neighbor because she thinks shes the problem; but shes not. And above all, I can't leave my daughter behind. I look out the window, and finally, Jarvis has arrived. I say goodbye to Angie and tell her I will see her later, but I know shes upset. However, there's simply no easy option here...

"Ms. Carter."

"Mr. Jarvis." He starts driving, and for a few moments everything is silent. "How was Stephanie doing today?"

"Oh she was quite... well." Oh no. Hes hesitating.

"What happened?" I asked, worry creeping in at the edge of my voice.

"Oh no, nothings happened. Shes perfectly fine, Ms. Carter. Its just..." He takes a short pause as if thinking of what to say. "Well shes just been, how you...fussy. And unbelievably so. We've done everything we could possibly think of, but-"

"Nothing seems to calm her down?" He nods. "Yes, she does that sometimes. Mostly its because she wants a specific person to hold her and give her attention. You've done nothing wrong, Mr. Jarvis. Steph is just...stubborn."

"Well it seems you will have eventful years when she is of age..."

"Oh please no. Let me enjoy the little things first!" I say, "Besides, she'll go back and give her mother that headache, not me."

"Is that not you, Ms. Carter?" He asks hesitantly.

"What?! Mr. Jarvis, Stephanie is my niece not my-"

"I beg to differ, respectfully of course." I whip my head to look at him. But he speaks before I can. "She has your fighting spirit, attitude, and intelligence. However...I fear she has her father's strength."

"And you know who that is?"

"I may have an idea as to whom he may be. But that is not any of my concern why you wish to keep her true parents identity a secret." I start to relax and look away. "I will never tell another soul, Ms. Carter. Your secret is safe with me."

"Thank you, Mr. Jarvis." For the rest of the ride to Mr. McFee's house, the car is filled with silence. That is until the 'Captain America Adventure Program' starts. I let it play for a few moments, and the cut it off. "Who writes this rubbish?" Jarvis says he enjoys it, but is rather impressed by the real thing. Its a shame they don't actually use it. "Are you trying to butter me up Mr. Jarvis?" He says hes not.

"I'm only pleased to receive your call." I tell him he is faster than a train and compliment the new car. He said he did dispose of the other, but that it was a waste. We didn't have much of a choice to keep it, it was used at the site of a crime scene. I ask him to hurry along because Thompson is very persuasive in the interrogation room; especially with ninnies like Van Ert.

Daniel's POV:

Its been about 2 hours since Peggy left, and already Thompson broke him, and our stick. So all the information we have is Van Ert was working with a Leet Branis to make the molecular nitramene bombs, with Howard Stark's formula. The used a guy who worked at the Daisy Clover Milk company to transport their products. So now we have to find Branis and McFee, which will hopefully lead us to Stark...Although I kind of don't want to find him. I know he and Peggy are friends,and that he was a major contributor to helping the Allies win. It doesn't make sense for him to go off and sell weapons to the enemies.

As I sit in my chair and write all the information down, Dooley starts talking. Apparently Immigration has no record of this guy Branis, and Krisminksi says it could be an alias. But Thompson and his two sense says that if it is, Van Ert doesn't know it. Great, this feels like an insane dramatic puzzle. He turns to me and ask about Daisy Clovers pay roll

"I'm on hold with Daisy Clover payroll."I say

"Well its not like he was the brains of the operation anyway." Thompson says

"More like the Krisminski of the operation." I jab. Krisminski's a dumb ass.

"Jokes on you, peg-leg, I don't even know how to drive a truck." What? That not even what I was saying. Idiot. Chief is going hard on pinning this on Stark. Even though Van Ert never met him, Dooley says he can have go betweens in between go betweens. Like hes some sort of snake; which he probably is. I finally get off hold and get McFee's address. Now we're getting somewhere. We all head out and go after McFee.

Peggy's POV:

When we arrive at McFees house, I send Jarvis away and tell him I don't need his help and that I have my own ride home. I sneak into the yard and towards the truck; and all the bombs are there. I make my way to the front of the house and walk in. Carefully I step in and look for McFee and Branis; but unfortunately the old floor boards give me away. McFee grabs his gun and charges towards me, but I kick it away and fight him. And of course, with my luck, that damn radio show is one; which only infuriates me more. He pins me against the wall and I break a glass over his head. We struggle more and I elbow his inner arm and throw his into a table. And of course, he passes out.

"Hello? Mr. McFee?" But still no response. "Why does this keep happening?" I ask myself. I drag his body into a chair and handcuff him to it, but while I was distracted, Branis slipped outside and tried to start the truck. I pull out my gun and aim it at his head. "Get out!" I order and he does. I slam him into the truck and keep the gun to his temple. "Car trouble?" I ask, and Mr. Jarvis answers

"Nothing that can't be fixed."

"What the HELL are you doing here?" He explains that hes here to help, as any good butler would, without being asked. He sabotaged the vehicle and I tell him to fix it. The sooner its fixed, the sooner I can turn this in and get home to see my little girl. "Where are Stark's inventions?" I pull out his voice communicator and hold it to his throat.

"I want protection."

"The SSR will take you in, provided you say something interesting. Right Bloody now." He say nothing, instead Jarvis chimes in and asks bout Leviathan. Branis says its a who, not a what. Lovely, because thats not vague at all. They use to be his employers and he double crossed them. Apparently Leviathan only wanted one thing from Howard, and Branis saw it as an opportunity to make a profit from the rest.

"I. Want. Protection."

"Then start talking."

We get into the truck once its fixed and drive on the road. Jarvis is in the back, Branis is driving, and I'm holding my gun on Branis. Unfortunate McFee got away, but for right now our focus is transporting the bombs. I tell Branis to stop fidgiting and that nothings going to happen; but of course it does. The same man that killed Colleen has jumped on the roof and started to shoot down at us. We fight on the roof and he shots again, hitting the strap and Branis. We continue to fight and I hear a crash. One of the bombs has dropped and cracked. He punches me in the face and I fall down and them look over the roof I see a lake; perfect. I tell Jarvis to grab Branis and jump. I fight off Colleen's killer and stab his hand through the roof.

"This is where I get off." I grab Jarvis and Branis and toss them out of the truck, and then I roll over and jump as well. The truck lands in the lake and BOOM! A bright light flashes and pushes me back; the entire lake is gone. I limp over to Jarvis and notice Branis, dying. His communication device is broken and can't speak. I ask him where Howard's inventions are and ask him to help me beat Leviathan. He draws a heart in the dirt with a string through it. Dammit.

"Wheres the car?" I ask.

"I believe its that way. I think we should go retrieve it immediately." Ugh can this day get any worse?

Daniel's POV:

We're almost at Mr. McFees house, when we stop the car and notice him walking on the road...with a chair handcuffed to him. Great, another mystery. We get him out of the cuffs and starts driving again, that is until theres an enormously bright light blinding our eyes. Thompson, whos driving in front of me, goes faster, and so do I. When we reach the sourse of the light, the lake is completely dried up; not a drop left. And not only that, but we find Branis's dead body at the scene. While the others go investigate that, I notice something shiny in the road.

"Sousa! What the hell are you doing?" CHief asks. I walk over to them and show the key I found. "Good find. Lets go check it out."

Peggy's POV:

When we reach the car I sigh in relief. Jarvis notices my leg and says he can patch me up. I tell him to wait, I need to see my daughter. When we enter the house, I limp to my room and Jarvis hands her over.

"Oh poppet!" She starts to fuss but then stops and snuggles against me, gurgling her baby talk."You have to say mummy. Can you do that?" She looks at me with those bright blue eyes and smiles. "Say mummy." She moves her lips and the words are inaudible, if they count as words at all,and she starts to laugh... and so do I. I love my little girl so much, my heart can't take it.

"Here you are Ms. Carter" He hands over her pacifier and he takes it gladly. I look at him and he bends down to stitch the gash on my leg.

"You're quite good at that."

"Yes. Mr. Stark's zippers are under a considerable strain." He ties it off and cuts the thread. "You're very fortunate you know."

"I missed the bone by three inches."

"Thats not what I meant."

"Then look me in the eye and say what you meant." Steph wiggles around in my arms and starts to grab at my hair.

"You're very fortunate that I ignored your instructions"

"Oh you're so right." I say as I pull her hands from my hair. "How I managed to stay alive before I meant you I have no idea." He goes in to give a speech about how my line of work requires support, but I tell him I can't be surrounded by those I love if I'm only putting them in danger. Thats why I'm trying to find a permanent home, I don't want Daniel or the Jarvis's to get hurt. Thats why I can't live near or with either of them. Then that leaves the question with Stephanie. He has a point though, I can't exactly distance myself from the world I wish to protect; but its so hard. I have to make the world right, if not for myself then for Steph. He says I can't be as successful in my goal if I don't open up to others and allow them to help me...and maybe hes right. When he finishes my stitches, I take Steph and head to Daniel's apartment. This is our last night there...

Daniels POV:

After I give Dooley the key I found I head home. I am so tired right now its ridiculous. Not only is it late, but i know Peggy is already asleep by now, and its her last night there; now I won't even get to say a proper goodbye. I open the apartment door and hear the shower going, and theres food on the table from the Automat.

"Peggy?" I call out. I hear Steph start crying and go into the bedroom. "Peg?" Still no answer. She must be in the shower. I pick up the baby and head to the table to eat. Shes so adorable its ridiculous. She squirms around all over the place and plays with the little doll I juts gave her, and she loves it.I hear a groan and turn around. "Peggy? You okay?" She comes out, dressed in her night gown, and walks over to me and Steph; or limps?

"I'm fine." She says. She leans over my shoulder and steals a bite of my cake.

"Hey! Thats mine!" She shrugs her shoulders and sits down on the couch. "Peggy, are you sure you're okay? You look like you're limping." and shes more quiet than normal.

"Mhm." Okay, now I know somethings wrong.

"Peg. Why are you still up? Its 1:30 in the morning."

"I know, I just...wanted to see you." I pick up the baby and sit next to her on the couch, with one brow raised. She sighs and shakes her head."I-" I sit, patiently, waiting for an answer, and grab her hand. "I uhm, was just given some advice recently, and I think I should listen to it."

"Okay..."

"I have a request, and I'm afraid to ask it. I need help and you're the only person I trust, Daniel." I nod my head and encourage her to keep talking. "I-I, uh, was-" Before she finishes her sentence, the power goes out. Damn New York.

"Here, hold Steph, I'll get us some light." I walk to the kitchen and grab some candles and light them. "There, that should work for now." I place one on the table and two on the coffee table by the couch."Peg?" Shes gone. "Peggy." She comes back and sits on the couch. "Wheres Steph?"

"I put her to sleep. Shes had quite the day. As have we all." I hum in agreement. "Daniel...I can't stay with my friends forever, and I can't stay here... But I can't take Steph with me anywhere else I go. At least for now."

"Peg. What are you saying...?" She looks away from me and I can see the tears rolling down her cheek. "Hey.." I wipe them away and hold her face in my hands. "Whats going on? Whats got you so upset?"

"Can she stay with you?" She sniffles. "When you aren't at work. Can- Can Stephanie live here with you..." I back away, slightly, in complete shock, and shake my head.

"Peggy.. you can't-Peg."

"I-I don't have any other choice. I can't stay there with my friends, and I can't sty here because-" She looks away and takes another deep breath. Shes hiding something. "Because I don't want to put you in danger. Or Stephanie. Shes just a baby, Daniel. She can hardly speak and walk, let alone defend herself or cry for help if someone-"

"Okay okay okay, just breathe. Look at me. Take a deep breath. And breath." She was starting to hyperventilate. "Think about this, Peg. Really think about it." She shakes her head and more tears fall.

"I have. I'm taking the advice and allowing people to help me and...and be involved more in my life. And this is how I do that; at least for now." I place my hand on her shoulder and give it a squeeze. "I'll pick her up from her sitters, and come here, with you, or stay until you come home and then you will have her for the rest of the night. And in the mornings I will come by to see you both and take her back so you and I can go to work."

"Peggy, thats a lot of work to do. How long do you think you can keep that up?"

"I don't know. I just...I need this to work until its over."

"Till whats over?" At first she hesitates, then answers.

"Till this case with Howard is solved. Then...I'll figure the rest out when I get there." I pull her in for a hug and she hold on tightly. When she lets go I kiss her on the forehead, and she smiles. I take her to my room and she lays down. "Daniel? Can you stay with us? Just until I fall asleep?"

"Yeah, sure." I sit on the edge of the bed and she curls up to me on my chest, just like she did before, and I don't move away. She lays close, as if afraid of something, and closes her eyes to fall asleep. I don't know what it is thats bothering her so much, but whatever it is needs to stop being such a pain in the ass. I hate seeing her in pain and fear. Maybe she'll open up more and tell me, but right now I'm content on her sleeping it off.

[averagemarvelbitch]

Undercover Love / STONY

Summary: The hospital bills keep on coming and Steve doesn’t know how to help his mother. He decides the army is his best bet. Destiny has a different idea, though, and puts Dr. Erskine and Project Rebirth on his path. Soon, he becomes Captain America and a special forces SHIELD agent with a dream team, ready to take on even the most dangerous missions.

A few years later, Director Carter’s nephew is kidnapped by the Ten Rings and it’s Captain America and the Avengers to the rescue! Falling in love with said nephew wasn’t on Steve’s plans, but he isn’t complaining.

Director Carter might complain. If she ever finds out.

TAGS: Secret Agents AU / Stony / Alternate Universe

Chapters: 4/?

Read on AO3

---

Margaret Carter was proud to say that she had lived a very eventful and interesting life. She had become an agent of the Strategic Scientific Reserve in a time when woman were relegated to answering phones and taking messages, quickly proving her worth in every field mission and soon rising to become one of the most prominent agents in the history of said agency. Then, when the SSR ended, she joined her old friend, Howard Stark, and founded the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistic Division, also known as SHIELD, a peacekeeping organization whose primary goal was making the world a better place and fighting those who sought to destroy it. She had worked hard and relentlessly all her life, always focused on her work as the Director of SHIELD, making no time for love or romance. Margaret had never much cared about such things, had never really dreamed of a white picket fence with a lovely wife and a couple of children playing in the yard, not even when her darling Angie had been alive, God bless her soul. She simply did not have the time or the inclination to love and care for a child as a mother should. And she wholeheartedly believed that until the day Anthony Stark had been born.

Anthony had arrived on a Thursday, in the middle of one of the worst thunderstorms Malibu had seen in years. Peggy had arrived a few hours after the birth, absolutely soaking wet despite the umbrella poor Jarvis held for her all the way to the door.

“By God, Howard, how you can live in this godforsaken place is frankly beyond me”, she had complained, taking her shoes off at the door and graciously accepting a towel from Jarvis.

“Trust me, Peg, you’ll change your mind once the sun comes up and you see the beautiful view of the beach. There’s nothing like it”, Howard replied, giving her a kiss on the cheek with a smile that could light up an entire room.

“I doubt it. Now, where is my godson?”

During her pregnancy, Maria Stark had fallen victim to the newest tendency amongst the rich socialites of California: the all natural birth. She had insisted that little Anthony should be born in their home, surrounded by his loved ones as opposed to a hospital full of loud machines and strangers. She had nearly driven her husband insane with worry and, despite his very passionate speeches about her safety as well as the baby’s, she’d had the final word on the matter. And so, Anthony had been born in the mansion’s master bedroom, with the help of a very competent midwife and under Anna Jarvis’ watchful eye. Margaret heard the unhappy wails of the baby before she and Howard had even entered the room. The ever proper Maria held the baby awkwardly in her arms, looking nothing like the very composed socialite Margaret knew her to be, her eyes dropping lightly most likely from the tiredness brought by the very difficult birth.

“Would you like to hold him?” Maria asked in greeting as soon as her tired eyes landed on Margaret, carefully lifting the small, blue bundle in her arms in the brunette’s direction. She accepted the baby, cradling his head as she raised him closer to her own face.

“Hello, my darling Anthony. I’m your aunt Peggy”, she whispered softly to the baby, whose wails soon turned to quiet whimpers as he watched the beautiful woman with his big, brown eyes, “I’m the one you come to when your father is being terribly stupid. You’ll notice it tends to happen with surprising frequency”, she explained to the newborn baby, earning a faint laugh from Maria and a very annoyed hey from Howard himself. Margaret, however, heard none of it, too enthralled by the baby in her arms to pay attention to anything else. I will always be here, my dear, she promised him quietly with a kind smile, for whatever you may need.

Throughout the years, Margaret kept her promise. She was there for every birthday, every Christmas and every Easter. She taught her little boy how to behave like a proper gentleman and how to make proper tea.

“This tea is hot”, a very young Tony complained, grimacing as he swallowed the sweet liquid.

“Well, of course it’s hot, my darling. It’s tea. Tea is hot”, Margaret calmly explained, taking a sip from her own cup.

“Mommy and daddy always drink cold tea, it’s called iced tea. It’s really good!”

“That is not tea, dearest. That is filthy water with sugar. This”, she said, gesturing to their cups, “is tea. I’m surprised Mr. Jarvis hasn’t taught you that”.

Tony shrugged, taking another big gulp from his cup, “He always makes a funny face when mommy and daddy drink it, though”.

She smiled. “I’ll bet he does”.

She also taught him how to stand up for himself and, of course, how to throw a proper punch, a lesson that had gotten both of them in a lot of trouble when Tony came back from school with a purple eye and a proud smile and an exasperated Jarvis right behind him, waving a paper in which she could swear she read the word suspension. She took him to zoos, and picnics, and parks. She told him stories about secret spies who fought for a better world and fell in love with sassy waitresses. She spent hours on the phone, listening as the young boy recounted his day and shared with her everything that had happened. They were inseparable, even when separated by thousands of miles, and Margaret loved the boy more than she’d ever loved anything or anyone in her entire life, including her darling Angie, which was why, when that fateful call came, she dropped everything (including a very important meeting with the Minister of Defense) and went straight to Malibu, a whole new level of anger burning inside her chest all the way there.

It had been a Wednesday and a very busy day when the call came. She had been so focused on her conversation with Agent Fury that she’d almost missed the call. She quickly answered the phone, apologizing to the young agent for the interruption while assuring him it was too important a call to miss, and almost passed out with worry when she heard her darling boy sobbing on the other end of the like.

“Tony? Tony, my darling, what’s the matter?”

“Can you come pick me up? Please, aunt Peggy? I wanna leave”, he begged between sobs.

“My darling, what’s happening? Are you hurt?”

“Daddy is angry with me and he’s scary and Jarvis is not here, please, Aunt Peggy?”

Margaret was already on her feet, telling Fury to secure her a jet right that moment while trying to calm her godson down at the same time.

“Where are you right now, dearest?”

“I’m in my room. Please, please, will you come here, please?” the child begged once more, sniffling.

“I’m on my way, my dear. I’ll be there as soon as possible, you hear me? You stay in your room, alright?”

She called Jarvis as soon as Tony hung up, desperately trying to reach the butler who did not pick up the phone. She would later find out that Jarvis was busy receiving the most disturbing news in the hospital, being held by his crying wife as the doctor explained his chances of survival. In that moment, however, she couldn’t help but curse the butler as she sat on the plane, worried sick about her darling boy who had sounded so terrified over the phone. She arrived at Malibu a few hours later, taking a cab to the mansion. Margaret wasn’t stupid. Howard and she had been friends for many years, a friendship that had started based on their mutual desire to prove their worth in a world that constantly told them they were not enough. She knew the man’s qualities and she knew his flaws. On her last visits, she had noticed how there was always a glass of scotch attached to Howard’s hand, how fast he lost his inhibition, slurring his words as he talked about lost hope and business difficulties. But, most of all, she had noticed how his eyes always seemed to narrow every time he turned his attention to Anthony.

Margaret entered the mansion without as much as a greeting to whoever had opened the door, marching purposefully up the stairs and straight to her godson’s bedroom. From the end of the corridor, she saw Howard banging his hand on the door of said bedroom, screaming obscenities, a bottle of scotch securely on his hand. He barely had time to turn his head towards the sound of clacking high heels on the wooden floor before he felt his nose break under Margaret’s fist. Howard fell backwards like a sack of potatoes and did not move anymore. The maid standing behind him screamed, hands on each side of her face, eyes wide in terror.

“That is quite enough of screaming, thank you very much”, Margaret reprehended the women, who kept staring at her like she had just grown another head, “Take Howard to his bedroom and make sure to leave some aspirin by his bedside, I’m sure he’ll need it later”.

She knocked softly on the door. “Anthony? Everything is alright now, my darling. Open the door”.

She heard the lock turning and gasped when the door opened, revealing her little boy. Anthony had a very red mark the size of a hand in his right cheek and the skin around his right eye was slowly turning purple. Margaret wanted to scream. She wanted to march into Howard’s bedroom and tear him limb by limb. She wanted to take Anthony away from that house and keep him safe and sound. Instead, she did the only thing she could do. She scooped the young boy in her arms, whispering soothing words in his ear as he cried, scared and confused as to why his father, the man who was supposed to love and protect him, would cause him such suffering. Margaret stayed there the whole afternoon, holding the little boy in her arms until Jarvis arrived. He had heard from the maid what had transpired in his absence and went straight for the little boy’s room, quickly taking him from his godmother’s arms, apologizing to his young sir for not being there when he had needed him most. His words were calm and soothing, but Margaret could see the anger burning in his eyes. It was good to know she wasn’t the only one enraged by what had happened.

Later that night, she and Howard talked. She shouted at him, her anger getting the best of her, even going as far as threatening to take Anthony away from them. And that was when everything changed. Howard stood up from his chair, a cold expression in his face as he informed Margaret that, should she try such thing, he would have no problem exposing her preferences to the public. She knew exactly what he meant, although it was hard to believe a man she had once called friend would use such thing against her. It would bring me no pleasure, Peggy, he had said in a firm tone, but I’d do it. That boy will carry my legacy and you will not take him from me, you hear me? And so, that day, Margaret and Howard’s friendship had ended. The Director of SHIELD knew she stood no chance. The world wasn’t yet ready to embrace the love between two women and should word of her love life get out, Margaret would lose everything she had fought for her entire life, including access to her darling Anthony. That day, Howard promised to never again lay a hand on the boy, but she knew that wasn’t enough. She could see the man her friend had become; his cold eyes said it all. She knew there would be other forms of abuse and she would have to watch, helpless, as this shell of a once great man destroyed her darling boy’s spirits, unable to protect him from it. That day, Margaret’s heart broke in a thousand pieces, never to be fixed again.

And so the years had passed as she watched the abused bestowed upon her godson. Anthony, however, never once lost his natural glow. He stood his ground, staring at his father in defiance, never once wavering. Margaret could not be more proud of her darling boy. But as Anthony grew, his sense of self worth diminished. He thought of himself as unlovable. After all, if his own parents did not care for him, then how could anyone else? And no matter what Margaret or Jarvis or Ana did, they could not convince the young boy that he was loved and it broke their hearts a little bit more every day. As time went by, Jarvis passed away, Anna soon following him. Anthony was sent to a boarding school, where he spent every holiday season alone. At first, he would call his godmother every day. After a while, the calls became rarer and rarer until one day they simply stopped coming. And Margaret wept, unable to do anything but watch her boy from afar. She sent him cards and gifts for him birthday and Christmas. She called frequently, although Anthony rarely answered. She had expressed just how proud she was of him when he joined MIT at fifteen and stood there in the middle of the crowd, applauding him when he received his diploma, his parents nowhere to be found. She was there to hold his hand as people from all around the country paid their respects to Maria and Howard Stark. What a privilege it must have been to be raised by such incredible people, they would say and Anthony would nod, trying so very hard to hold the tears that threatened to fall from his big, brown eyes. Despite her best efforts, Margaret was unable to shield her darling boy of the horribleness of the world and she hated herself for it.

---

Margaret was walking from one side to the other, the clack of her high heels hitting the cold floor echoing through the empty corridor.

“They are late”, she complained, her English accent much more accentuated, as it usually happened when she was angry or nervous.

Before Agent Hill could answer, the doors on the far side of the corridor opened to reveal a very dirty Anthony on a wheelchair, followed closely by his Lieutenant friend and the Captain himself. Margaret quickly walked towards her godson, kissing his bandaged forehead carefully.

“My darling boy, you are the reason half my hair has gone white”, she said with a smile and tears in her eyes. Anthony smiled back at her.

“Sorry, auntie. Oh, and, next time, please send a better team? I had to do all the work myself”, he complained halfheartedly.

Margaret shook her head with a quiet laugh, kissing his forehead once more before letting Rhodes take him to the bedroom, “I’ll be with you in a minute, Anthony”, she promised, watching both man disappear into the corridor before turning to Steve, a very serious expression in her face, “I received your report, Captain. It seems we’ve both come to the same conclusions”.

“The Lieutenant Colonel was the one who brought it up, ma’am. But he doesn’t believe the leak came from the soldiers or anyone in the Air Base”.

“I agree. The Ten Rings were too well informed. I believe someone very powerful paid them to eliminate my godson. I have my suspicions, but I can’t be certain”, she said with a thoughtful expression, glancing to the room where Anthony and Rhodes were, “Did Anthony see your faces?”

“No, ma’am. The Winter Soldier, Hawkeye and I remained with our faces covered the entire time. The Black Widow, however, was exposed”.

“Good. Romanoff is an excellent spy and I have a job that she would perfect for. You three, however, will have a different mission. I believe that whoever made an attempt on my godson’s life will most likely try again. He must be watched carefully. However, knowing Anthony as I do, he will outright refuse a bodyguard”, she explained, and then smiled at the Captain, “Tell me, Rogers, have you ever gone to college?”

---

Leave a comment and/or ask to be tagged // Feed my caffeine addiction

[fgodestinyawakenings]

EOR Agartha Singularity Chapter 14~END

With the power of insanity, regret, suffering and MORE SUFFERING... This entire singularity is just going to speed run, trying to complete without needing CS. Because of paranoia that the coming Christmas event requires LB3, especially the amount of new Servant and SOME in particular screams out LB3 requirement

DW seriously wants everyone to catch up to the latest story, which hence implying... Not all event are going to be Salomon-locked anymore

Before I start... The following chapters at this point, DO NOT GRIND FOR BOND POINTS. All the major bosses have finally showed up and that's where you need your sanity and strong team composition to beat them

Chapter 14

Both arrows in this chapter, you're fighting both Megalos and Christopher Columbus. Megalos has 2 HP layer while Christopher has only 1

In the first arrow, you're only required to either survive for 4 turns or break ONLY Megalos's first HP bar.

Second however, you're required to defeat both of them. 

For Megalos 

on his HP break, buffs himself with Critical Damage Up for 3 turns but debuffs himself with Quick Resistance Down for 3 turns (demerit).

Second HP Break, buffs himself Critical Rate Up for 3 turns but debuffs himself with Arts Resistance Down for 3 turns (demerit).

Columbus

on his HP break, buffs the enemy team with Pierce Invincibility for 3 turns.

Personally, kill Megalos first because as usual for Berserker class reason and you really don't want him to receive the invincibility pierce if you break Columbus's HP bar by accident

Chapter 15

A visual story mode, so nothing much to see here except googling up for the summary ^^;

Chapter 16

The final and longest fight for this Singularity, which I repeat, DO NOT GRIND FOR BOND POINTS UNLESS YOU'RE PREPARED!

First arrow... It's actually where Confucious doing confusion fu on you and your team. Not really confusing since you've got Scheherazade and 8 mob bosses of different classes with her

Her only gimmick at each HP break is giving taunt on those mobs for 10 turns, and, she reduced damage from Servants with King trait (*stares at AUO* Yeah people like AUO or Arthur, especially Ozzy). So, you're more or less required to bring either borrowed AOE Alter Ego/Berserker preferably without the King trait to kill them.

Finally the final boss, Demon God Pillar Phenex!

Because you're going to fight that fucking tentacle pillar 3 TIMES in different arrow in two separate classes.

In Arrow 2, you're first fighting it in their Caster class. It take reduced damage from Servants with King trait and, will Charm & inflict HP reduction every turn to a random party member.

Arrow 4, your first round to survive against it after it uses its permanent guts buff 2 times!

Demon God Phenex itself:

Single target Instant-Death combined with a Death Rate Down debuff.

Single Target Charm combined with a 1 turn delayed HP reduction debuff (the affected servant will have its HP reduced once the player's turn ends).

Self cleanse, one-turn incoming debuff negation, NP gauge single tick charge.

Demon God Phenex's NP:

It will first attempt to remove any buffs [CE buffs such as Volumen Hydrargyrum's one won't be affected].

Party wide AOE multiple hit damage.

All the party members will be inflicted with a 1,000 damage per turn Burn debuff.

Arrow 5, this in particular you’re to survive 10 turns when young Fergus from plot reason reduced its MAX HP to 1 and its guts buff completely gone to kill it.

Its skills and NP is the same as before... But it has now an insta-death skill to kill your Servant, so do beware of that.

Now that this first shit is done for main quest... I’ll start immediately for SIN Lostbelt tomorrow/later tonight right after I’m back from my trip to AFA :D

Because writing this with less than 6 hrs of sleep for 2 days is just me wanting to finish this ASAP

Observation:

Apparently this Singularity has a decent habit in throwing different classes together so that you can’t use a single class to deal with them. Yeah, not even Berserker unless you got a good setup to keep them alive

Dahut mini boss:

Or aka Drake Alter, where if she had Wild Golden Hunt with her for her NP... This entire boss fight with her is practically screaming chaos if she decided to buff it with pierce invincibility

Ideally Carmilla and Jack are best against her for Assasin class

But if you’re starting this way later like now, Okada Izou is subsitute to bring in for his anti-humanoid skill

Alternatively any assassin will do to kill her

But when dealing against her with Hydra, do bring a Lancer for main DPS with a good composition of a team to deal with them both

She isn’t that difficult so I considered her more of a mini Boss to deal with before the biggest fish

Wu Zetian:

If you have Scheherazade before starting this Singularity, she’s the ideal Caster against her. Wu Zetian possess the king trait with her so Scheherazade can deal more damage to her

She herself isn’t that much of a problem from her skillset wise other than her own healing and removable defense down debuff

Only problem you’ll need to be aware is her 3 tick NP gauge AND her increase of crit damage after using her NP

Her NP also has a removable poison debuff so Medea Lily can be brought along if needed

Otherwise general Caster should work, and preferably ST NP Caster to deal with her more efficiently

Penthesilea:

Basically where DW decided to kill anyone who brings Heracles-chan as a last resort due to her third skill targets to Greek Mythology Male Servant

Or actually specifically in lore wise, it’s more towards Achilles if you have him on your team

As her Berserker class, she definitely hits like a fucking truck with damage and crit

Her second skill is something to take note as not only with debuff immunity but also giving a charge in NP by 1 tick for sudden killing of your Servant

For her female trait, bring Carmilla or Jack ideally to with her

If you’re starting like now for this Singularity, Foreigner Servants and Izou are very recommended in dealing with her

The SSR Main Servant Scherherazade too as well for her NP and skill against King-trait Servants

Karna, Arjuna, Scathach, Enkidu, Oda Nobunaga & Ruler Martha, and AUO respectively for their NP/skills against Divine and Weak to Enuma Elish trait

Telsa & Raikou for her Earth & Sky trait

Siegfried-George combo is also recommended if you want Siegfried’s NP to deal higher damage against her

If you don’t have any of the above, bring more taunters and healers in both CE and Servant to keep the damage away from your main DPS Servant

Support like Jeanne and the Great 4 Casters are welcomed in supporting your main DPS

Overall until Chapter 13, majority of the fight requires you to survive until you break her first HP layer

Megalos & Christopher Columbus

In general of Megalos, his own taunt debuff to your Servant is stackable. Taunters like Leonidas and George are perfect to take in that debuff from your main dps

On my first post on Megalos, I’m completely wrong, he doesn’t have his Nine Lives NP for this NPC boss fight. His NP is a very high damage AOE NP that can be blocked by evasion or invincibility

But, he’s still same as Heracles with the same weakness as before

Euryale for usual being most recommended against him as a budget 3* due to her NP

Others such as:

Greek Mythology Males: Penthesila Her first gacha appearance practically screamed to raise her ASAP just to deal with him with further damage. Her own skill debuff immunity prevents her from being debuff with taunt. But, her weakness is also her own class as a Berserker that will kill her ASAP

Humanoid: Nightingale & Izou (Only available after 2018/2020(estimated if no changes in schedule))  Nightingale’s own skill does harder damage against him with humanoid trait. Also, her NP provides good healing when needed. But once again her downside as a Berserker class will kill her faster

Male: Orion, Tamamo Lancer, Stheno and Medb

For Stheno, you can pair her with Euryale for a charm-locked combo

Orion, Tamamo Lancer and Medb with their own ST NP will definitely kicks his butt big time!

CEs to pair with them generally is still Kiyohime CE for damage boost

Divine: Karna, Arjuna, Napoleon (only available after release of LB2), Oda Nobunaga, Ruler Martha, Scathach and Enkidu

Scathach and Enkidu for stalling if needed since their NP will stun him against his Divine Trait

Karna and Napoleon for higher damage against him

Oda Nobunaga both version are great in dealing with him for another alternative. But Oda Nobunaga Archer more recommended if you’re not able to get her Berserker version, as her Archer is a free welfare Servant

CE to bring:  Fondant au Chocolat or Versus for higher damage against Divine Servants 

Large: Arthur Pendragon

Once again after his limited appearance in Chaldea’s Boy Collection, his own third skill will give him great boost in damage against him for his large trait

AUO for Enuma Elish, Telsa and Raikou for Earth & Sky trait

Other CEs: Holy Shroud of Magdalene More for your taunters to keep them alive longer if needed when dealing with him

Christopher with Megalos

His own skillset and NP, except for a guts buff that charges his NP unexpectedly, isn’t really a problem

But because of his dangerous pierce invincibility that buffs his whole team when HP break is a big threat

Heck, his NP can actually be blocked with evasion!

Against him, I personally go for a stalling/total defense with Mash, borrowed Jeanne and MHXX + Kiritsugu for DPS

Or actually go for a setup that generates NP fast if you want Jeanne to be able to use invincibility against both of their NP at the same time

RNG plays a part which I’m thankful that by the time after Megalos is gone and Christopher’s HP break was at a good timing that he can’t do it with his NP

Otherwise, if he’s alone, he’s generally not a threat until you got a Berserker with him

Scheherazade & her mobs

Ozzy somehow becomes a not-really recommended Rider to bring because of his king-trait against her

Or actually any Servant with a King Trait isn’t recommended to bring against her

Male Servant will have a problem when dealing against her 2nd charm skill as it’s an AOE skill against all Male Servants

Has an AOE NP that deals extra damage to king/queen trait Servants

As this is after Fate/CC collab, borrow Alter Ego Kiara for AOE NP to deal with her and her mobs. Some of her mobs are under the weakness of Alter Ego

But you’ll need taunters here without a doubt because the neutral damage from the mobs will still hurt like a bitch

If you don’t have Kiara in your friend list or Servant Roster, find/borrow an AOE Berserker to kill them quickly

Phenex

General

Own skillset:

Voice of Allurement / Coming out from My Mouth: Inflict "Charm" Status and "HP Drain after 1 turn" on a target. (1 turn)

Droopy Eye: Inflict "Insta-Kill Resist Down" status to one target. (3 turns)

The Time For Rebirth is Here: Remove all debuffs from self and grants self debuff immunity. (1 turn) Charges own NP Gauge by 1 tick.

Own NP:

It will first attempt to remove any buffs [CE buffs such as Volumen Hydrargyrum's one won't be affected].

Incineration Ceremony : Phenex (NP) Deals damage to all targets and inflict "Burn" status to all targets. (5 turns)

For my fight with it in BOTH Caster and Ruler class, it’ll always use the skill on third bullet point before it uses his NP the following turn. That habit is one where if you do face, you’ll have a lot of problem to stall him if you don’t have buff remover in your team

I’ve been lucky for insta-kill for both fights since none of them got it from Phenex

The first bullet point of its skill can be RNG dependable. If it hits your Servant that about to use their NP, it’ll stun them for 1 turn before draining

Caster version

Your budget Riders who got King-trait like Boudica and Alexander are preferably not recommended to bring for this fight. It has a permanent buff to take lesser damage from those with king trait

Rider except the 2 and welfare like Santa Artoria are viable to bring, especially those with ST NP

Origin Bullet if you have to deal more damage against it

Vessel of the Saint if needed to have your main DPS not be debuff by charm

Ruler version

For its first round in arrow 4, you’re required to survive until you cleared 2 of its guts buff

All Guts buff revived it at 100% HP

Second round in arrow 5, you’re to survive at least for 10 turns until Young Fergus debuff activated + his own guts buff removed to kill it

Like first round, its Guts buff revived it at 100% HP per activation.

But Young Fergus’s own debuff against it will lowered its Max HP every time it triggers

Borrow/Use an ST NP Avenger like Jeanne Alter and Lobo to kill it as your main DPS

Or if you’re starting way later especially now, you can use budget Salieri to work with borrowed avenger to kill it more quickly

Taunters and healers are welcomed especially taunters to steer the charm debuff away from them

Healer like Hans or Merlin to keep them alive to deal and survive for those specific requirements

For Hans that I brought him, I had him with Demonic Bodhisattva CE so that his NP heals more for both Salieri and Jeanne

Apparently, Mash’s invincibility skill on your Servant isn’t removed when it’s about to use its NP

But his burn debuff can sting like heck if it does outdo your healing per turn on your Servant

Otherwise for both Ruler version, do setup a team to help surviving against the demon god

[thestuckylibrary]

Mod’s Reads: March 2018

Mod Iamnmbr3

But We Can Try by hetrez (complete | 10,567 | G )

Bucky said, "These are love letters, Rogers. You've been drawing me love letters.”

teach your man to fish by silentwalrus (complete | 12,835 | T ) 

Bucky doesn’t deign to stay in Stark Tower for much longer than it takes to completely clean out the kitchens’ fish supply. After slurping down the last oyster and sneering in disgust at the contents of the walk-in freezer, Bucky turns to Steve, pelt over his shoulder, and says, “Where do you live?”

Lonely Dragons by Taste_is_Sweet (complete | 4,813 | T )

Bucky was sitting in the corner where the railing met the building, cross-legged and hunched and of course in the ridiculous moose hoodie plus a quilt around his shoulders. It was the quilt Tony had ordered with vintage Howling Commandos and SSR symbols all over it—score—but the overall effect of Bucky sitting alone and all bundled up like that was just tragic. And adorable. But mostly tragic.

"You look incredibly tragic out here all by yourself like this. Just saying." Tony decided he wasn't going to have to holler for help or call one of his suits, so he fully committed to stepping out onto the balcony. It was, as he'd surmised, fucking cold. Maybe less so if one was wrapped in an awesome quilt and a ridiculous moose hoodie, but still. Tony tightly folded his arms, wishing he'd had the foresight to grab a hoodie himself—or a quilt—instead of just coming out here in his Sisters of Mercy tee-shirt. "Really, you're like, a lost kitten. A lost kitten with antlers. You do know we can afford light and heat and stuff, right?"

Steve, Bucky, and the Tinhat Collective by mypedia (complete | 7,015 | G )

The internet and the Avengers fandom react to the events of Civil War.

***

avengers-daily:

How do they get 200% more attractive when they're covered in dirt

#avengers

2554 notes

the coming of our golden age by buckyjerkbarnes (complete | 2,761 | T )

Bucky’s heart came to a stuttering halt in his chest: Steve, almost obscured if Bucky wasn't so used to finding him in places he wasn't supposed to be, was boot to boot with Thanos. He gripped the golden gauntlet in both his hands, despite one of the purple fucker’s arms being the size of his torso.

The mad titan looked as though his day had just been made.

[Or the one where everything works out and no one dies because I'm stuck in the denial stage. Speaking this into existence!]

A Precarious, Fragile Thing by Taste_is_Sweet for tigriswolf (complete | 6,961 | T )

"I didn't know he did that," Tony said. He knew Bucky liked tucking himself so far under Steve's arm that it was like he was trying to climb into his armpit. But he'd always stayed upright, just kind of plastering himself against Steve's side. This blanket thing was new.

"Seventy years of skin hunger," Steve said. His voice was just as soft, but for a moment his eyes flickered hot with anger, bright as the candy-colored screen. "He was always tactile. Now, when things get…well, sometimes it helps. The contact."

And it looked…nice, the two of them together like that: Comfortable. Familiar. Safe. Tony knew what a precarious, fragile thing it was, to feel safe in the middle of the night.

despite the threatening sky and shuddering earth (they remained) by praximeter (Zimario) (WIP | 57,623 | M )

“They really didn’t want the mask to come off.” Hill thumbed through the scans, and pulled out a film that she then handed over to Sam, face mostly expressionless but for the flat line of her pursed lips.

Sam accepted the film and held it up to the light, angling so both he and Steve could see it, squinting at the outline of the Winter Soldier’s skull, and the blips of unnatural white that showed up, God, in his brain, not to mention about half his teeth, plus the mask, with its thin protrusions—

“Those are pins,” Steve realized. He looked over at Hill. “The mask—it’s nailed to his face.”

Hill’s face was as unmoved as ever. “Like I said. They really didn’t want it coming off.”

Mod Blue

Flush by I_Dont_KnowWhatImDoing (oneshot | 4,923 | E)

Bucky would really like for his life to just be simple, but all evidence suggests that the universe is actively conspiring against this goal. This is further reinforced when Steve Rogers is dragged into his suite, almost completely unable to communicate under the influence of some crazy Wakandan flower, and randy as all hell.

Minimal Property Damage by Nejinee (oneshot | 6,704 | E)

Everyone assumes Bucky's super soldier body will process the gas that's gone and driven others mad with sexual hysteria. Everyone assumes the evil scientists messed up and Bucky's okay. Everyone assumes wrong because no one ever thinks about Steven Grant Rogers.

-

A sex pollen PWP.

Bowties and Bugs by Tsuki_Amano (complete | 41,014 | not rated)

In his line of work, Steve thinks he's seen everything. After all, it's hard to surprise a spy. So when he gets a call from one very disgruntled James Barnes who's handcuffed to a tombstone, it's safe to say they've set a precedent.

Or the one where Steve and Bucky are both spies working for SHIELD and get called in for a rescue mission. Which should be fine because Steve most definitely does not have an earth-shattering crush on Bucky Barnes and his perfect hair. Except he does. And they're playing the role of happily married husbands.

'til you come to me by radialarch (oneshot | 4,978 | T)

"I'll do it," Steve says. "I'll marry Bucky."

(It's because of the Russians.)

sometimes everything is touch and go by santanico (oneshot | 14,180 | E)

Bucky and Steve's mission is to infiltrate a suburban neighborhood as a married couple. In theory, it should be difficult, but it also kind of isn't.

Bucky hesitates. “It’s undercover. We’ve done undercover before.” He shrugs.

Steve laughs again. “This isn’t exactly the same as infiltration under the guise of being regular civilians. What is it again – what did Fury’s email say?” Steve pauses, tapping his chin with his index finger. “ ‘Mr. and Mr. Rogers are a couple who have recently moved into a neighborhood in northern Colorado. You are to maintain an image of high-standing and societal grace.’ That’s not exactly your scene, is it, Buck? Especially the part about being Mr. Rogers.”

Everything (that I couldn't have) by obsessivereader (oneshot | 7,252 | T)

“You don’t have to do this, Steve.” Bucky pushes away the letter from the Russian government demanding that one Dmitri Batischev, alias the Winter Soldier, be surrendered to them to stand trial for his crimes.

Steve hesitates in the doorway. Bucky must’ve heard the tail end of his conversation with Pepper. Now he looks tired, and resigned, and so done and Steve fucking hates that Bucky keeps getting dealt shit hand after shit hand. “I want to.” He hopes Bucky can hear the conviction in his voice. “I’m not losing you again.”

“But getting married? You think that’s gonna work?”

Satellite (I'm Part Of You) by Brenda (oneshot | 4,190 | E)

"I'm okay, Steve." Bucky raised his hand to cup Steve's jaw, his thumb slowly stroking over stubble.

Steve shuddered once, all over, then brought his own hand up to cover Bucky's. Felt the calluses and nicks, the steady pulse beating at his wrist. "I thought I was gonna lose you again."

Bucky gave him a small, fond smile. "I thought I was gonna lose you."

The Arsonist's Choir by Brenda (complete | 11,911 | E)

"It's Bucky," Steve added, helplessly. The buyer was now sitting at Mikhailov's table, but the mission seemed unimportant. "He's been arrested. In Texas. And, uh, apparently, we're married."

"Congratulations," Natasha replied, with a small grin. "Are you registered anywhere?"

yoga mesh by wearing_tearing (oneshot | 2,293 | M)

“You could just be honest with him,” Nat suggests. Beside her, Sam nods.

Bucky levels them both with a flat look. “This past weekend I asked if he wanted to go out on a date and Steve said not to be funny because, and I quote, ‘Where would we even find dates this late?’”

it's actually like you're photoshopped by biblionerd07 (oneshot | 11,870 | G)

Steve's relationship with Bucky violates a workplace policy. So, backed into a corner by his well-meaning but meddlesome coworkers, he does what anyone would do. He makes up a fake boyfriend. He just hopes it doesn't cause problems with his real boyfriend.

M is for Murder by rohkeutta (oneshot | 4,196 | M)

I’m pretty low on funds and need to make ends meet this month, Barnes types slowly into a new post three days later. I’m taking commissions for hits in the New York City area.

Will Not Kill: Captain America or other Avengers. Will partially refund payment if target turns out to be HYDRA. Will not go to Jersey. No dismemberment or killing children. Message for negotiations and payment details.

build it bigger than the sun by defcontwo (oneshot | 10,083 | T)

“Yeah, because nothing says heteronormative like living in Dupont Circle for two years and wearing skin-tight shirts to hit on hot airmen when you go running in the morning.”

“Look, I know you’re being sarcastic but I really don’t get how no one picked up on that.”

Steve and Bucky try to work out their relationship. The Avengers keep getting in the way.

The Spotless by BetteNoire (WeAreWolves) (oneshot, restricted | 5,640 | T) (reread)

Steve, the face on the screen said, dropping its gaze. I wanted to say first of all, thank you for everything you've done for me. I've had a lot of time to think here in Wakanda, and... A sigh, seventy years of weariness in one breath.

Then he looks up again. I wasn't worth it.

Bucky chooses to fix himself. And Steve realises he's nearly lost Bucky again, because he's been too busy being Captain America to be a friend.

Part 1 of Spotless

From You Have I Been Absent In The Spring by BetteNoire (WeAreWolves) (oneshot, restricted | 9,411 | E) (reread)

Natasha bangs on his door that evening. “Steve, nobody's seen or heard from you in three days. I'm invading the sadness palace. I have ice cream.” Then: “Five seconds until I pick the lock.” 

Part 2 of Spotless

Lucky Seven by BetteNoire (WeAreWolves) (complete, restricted | 94,364 | E) (reread)

Captain America trashes his motorcycle a lot. Tony says he'll fix it, then never gets around to it and just buys him a new one. Steve, the Depression-era kid, can't stand the waste and goes looking for somewhere near him in Brooklyn where he can get his bike fixed. That's how he finds Red Star Bike Repair, and the hot Russian-immigrant bike racer who runs it: all long hair and muscles and tattoos. And for the first time since he woke from the ice, Steve feels a connection to someone; a comfort in the other man's silences and his space, an attraction in his sheer skill at racing. But James Barnes isn't exactly who he seems...

Happy Accidents by BetteNoire (WeAreWolves) (complete, restricted | 29,777 | E) (reread)

Bucky's still in cryo. Steve is in New York, angry and unsettled. And then Trump takes a photo in front of a Captain America mural like Steve has ever supported anything he says or does. So Steve enlists Pepper to throw a costume gala for LGBTQIA causes, and to celebrate his coming out.

It's a terrible idea, especially when a bunch of people come dressed as Bucky.

But then Steve meets a tall dark stranger...

These American Dreams (ain’t no white picket fences left for me) by kariye (oneshot | 50,608 | E)

In which Bucky has a house, a dog, an herb garden, and a serious case of insomnia. Welcome to Havensport, Indiana (population 8,294), where Tom’s Neighborhood Grocer stays open all night, little old ladies call the car shop to get their refrigerators repaired, and the heat of summer days and the length of summer nights can make you think that this perfect world will last forever.

Highest Bidder by Brenda (oneshot | 2,774 | M)

"Bidding will start at $5,000, ladies and gentlemen. $5,000 for an evening spent in the charming company of one of the most eligible bachelors in all of New York. The winning bidder will be chauffeured to Mr. Barnes' private yacht, where you'll both share a meal exquisitely prepared by his own personal chef, and a sunset cruise around the harbor. Who says romance is dead." The MC smiled, looking like nothing so much as a very hungry shark.

"$50,000!" Steve called, shocking everyone in the room – and himself – into silence.

The MC blinked. His perfect, plastic smile melted right off his face. "Uh...could you...I'm sorry, what was that?"

Part 1 of Going Once, Going Twice, Sold...

Contract Negotiations by Brenda (oneshot | 4,623 | E)

“If I don't get my mouth on you in the next twenty seconds..." Steve shuddered and paused as he looked up at Bucky like an acolyte seeking favor. "I need...can I? Please?"

"God yes, anything you want," Bucky breathed, and lifted his hips so Steve could tug his slacks and boxers down to his ankles. He was on board with anything – anything at all – as long as Steve didn't stop.

Part 2 of Going Once, Going Twice, Sold...

Booty Call by Brenda (oneshot | 6,703 | E)

Bucky leaned in, rubbed a light, lingering kiss to Steve's parted lips. "Why don't you tell me what you need," he whispered, his breath mingling with Steve's. "Tell me what you need from me."

"I just..." Steve's absurdly long lashes fluttered. He blinked, his eyes already glazing over with desire and want and trust, and it was the trust that shot through Bucky like a bullet. "I just don't want to think for awhile. I just...I want you to..." He paused, swallowed, adam's apple bobbing. "I need you to take me out of my own head for a couple of hours. Can you do that?"

Part 3 of Going Once, Going Twice, Sold...

Public Offering by Brenda (oneshot | 6,960 | E)

"Missed you so much...so fucking much," Steve moaned, then dove back in, his tongue curling, slick and heated, against Bucky's own.

Bucky just deepened the kiss, biting and sharp, slid his tongue alongside Steve's until all he could feel, all he knew, was Steve and only Steve. His touch, his scent, the solid feel of his body, the greedy moans as kiss slid into kiss. Nothing existed outside of this bubble of heat and desire.

"On your knees," he ordered, in the hushed space between them. "I want you to show everyone how sweet you look when you're choking on my cock."

Part 4 of Going Once, Going Twice, Sold...

Closing the Deal by Brenda (oneshot | 10,212 | E)  

Bucky clicked the vibrator off with a smile that morphed into an outright grin at Steve's frustrated growl. "I am gonna have so much fun tonight."

"You're a dick," Steve huffed, but nuzzled Bucky's nape, breathing him in – the hint of woodsy, expensive cologne, the clean smell of soap, and under it, Bucky's own natural scent. Everything about him addictive, and Steve was – as always – completely at his mercy.

"Oh, don't worry, me and my dick have some definite plans for you later," Bucky said, and laced his fingers with Steve's, their palms sliding together perfectly.

Part 5 of Going Once, Going Twice, Sold...

Honeypot by cleo4u2, xantissa (complete | 133,204 | E)

Preconditions: One Sasha Marozow - internationally renowned assassin for hire, known as the Winter Soldier, ex-Hydra operative freelancing for the last five years; One Steve Rogers, Captain America - recently defrosted national hero and Avenger; One assassination contract; One set-up known in the intelligence community as the “honeytrap”.

Expected Result: One Winter Soldier in custody, the name of his employer attained.

Actual result: Definitely not as expected.

Part 1 of Honeypot

Give Up the Ghost by cleo4u2, xantissa (oneshot | 19,518 | E)

They were happy together and the year had been good for them. They thought nothing could tear them apart. They were wrong.

Part 2 of Honeypot

The Chosen Verb: Fuck by cleo4u2, xantissa (oneshot | 14,295 | E)

“God,' he said, 'I have to have you.' 'Take me. Own me. Use me. Pick a verb. Just please.' 'Fuck you. I'm going to fuck you. That's my verb.” ― C.D. Reiss, Resist

OR

Steve needs Bucky, needs him to fuck him, to break him, to own him. What happens after Steve’s doctors clear him for more strenuous activity.

Part 3 of Honeypot

Cracked Mirror by cleo4u2, xantissa (complete | 34,497 | E)

The Avengers stumble upon an infinity gem while clearing out a smuggler’s lair. The result? Bucky Barnes is back from 1940, reminding both Steve and Sasha how much he’s changed.

Part 4 of Honeypot

Demonique by BetteNoire (WeAreWolves) (complete | 38,959 | E)

“Oh come on, Steve. You look at me like you want to put me on a pedestal and worship me. You look at Barnes like you want to tear his clothes off with your teeth. Tell me why you two aren’t...?” Peggy smirks at him, because of course this amuses her greatly.

Steve fidgets, trying not to blush. “Peggy, I can’t—“

Peggy steps closer. “Steve. Is this an American peculiarity? Because in the British army, as long as you’re discreet, that sort of thing between two men is fine. I mean, some of our greatest war heroes, and so on.”

“It’s not... that...” Steve cringes.

It’s Bucky’s tentacles.

And how badly he wants them inside him.

Into Infinity by rooonil_waazlib (complete | 6,888 | T)

Clint hadn’t said that Mr Barnes was such a goddamn DILF, tall and lean and dark-haired, skin a tiny bit tanned like he’d spent a day at Coney Island. Not even five years older than Steve. His face could be my throne, Steve thinks, madly, nearly choking himself on the thought.

Then the guy grins. Steve’s fucked. “You must be Steve.”

Part 1 of And Beyond

Sick Day by rooonil_waazlib (oneshot | 6,026 | E)

There, in the big leather recliner that looks out over the water, Adrienne is curled up in Bucky’s lap, swaddled in blankets, both asleep. Steve wants to draw them, wants to capture the ease with which they fit together, the gentleness with which Bucky holds his daughter.

Part 3 of And Beyond

The Manny by LilyInTheSnow (WIP | 54,052 | M)

Steve needs a nanny for his twins. Bucky needs a job and secretly adores kids. Natasha thinks they both need a husband. Or to at least get laid. Either way, it works. Or would if they'd get their shit together.

The thing that drives the wolves away by caughtinanocean (oneshot | 7,876 | T) (reread)

The thing about Bucky these days is that, while he might be a semi-mythical assassin, he's also vulnerable—the kind of vulnerable that makes total strangers want to drape a blanket over his shoulders and take him to safety. The problem is, of course, that Bucky is already safe.

The first time it happens, Bucky has no idea how to react. He and Steve are walking down the street, when a slight woman takes in Bucky’s terrified eyes, the dark circles so bad they almost look like bruises, and Steve’s protective hand resting on his lower back, guiding him down the busy sidewalk (but it must look possessive, to someone looking for a sign), and comes to the wrong conclusion.

You Will Meet a Stranger by spitandvinegar (oneshot | 3,061 | M) (reread)

When the mask falls off Steve recoils.

He'll never forgive himself.

Mod Julia

Kintsugi (Call It Love) by Anna_Heyward (oneshot | 28,653 | E)

Lt. James "Bucky" Barnes has had a long day. A cargo plane from Kabul, a 3 hour flight from Istanbul, and another 8-hour flight from Amsterdam, and he's finally made it to JFK. Just two more flights to go - one to Minneapolis, another to Fairbanks - and he'll be back at base. He can pack up his stuff, head back home to Brooklyn, and be a civilian again. He's got his discharge papers; all he has to do now is get through 12 more hours of flying and this long day will be over.

But the hot stranger he's seated next to on his flight has Bucky wishing that Minneapolis was a little farther away.

The Biggest Part of Me by Anna_Heyward (complete | 69,992 | E)

Newly divorced single dad Steve Rogers moves his kids from the suburbs to Brooklyn to start their new life together, and becomes captivated by the young man who works at the coffee shop downstairs from Steve’s apartment.

Bucky Barnes is 25 years old, working part-time in a coffee shop and still living with his mom. When a handsome single dad in a pinch offers Bucky a job as his nanny, Bucky takes him up on it.

It could be lethal (sleeping with a friend) by asleepygay (oneshot | 2,674 | T)

He’s in Steve’s room because it’s closer to the door in the apartment they share. And he’s starting to remember that they were very impatient last night.

Last night. Christ

-

drinks are had, sex is had, feelings are had

Lazy Sunday by Chiyume (oneshot | 2,231 | E)

“Watch it,” Bucky drawls. “Or you’re gonna end up in trouble.” He meets Steve’s eye, and Steve looks right back. The change in his gaze is minute – barely enough to notice unless you know exactly what to look for. Bucky, however, does know, and as Steve swallows tightly, Bucky feels his own lips widen in a smirk. “Oh,” he breathes. “So that’s how it is?”

In which Steve wakes up with a craving, and Bucky is all too happy to oblige.

Luck of the Irish Stroll by GoldBlooded (oneshot | 8,626 | E)

Every year Steve and Sam go on the Irish Stroll Bar Crawl, and ever since their first time on the Stroll four years ago, Steve and Sam cross paths with Bucky and Natasha.

Every year they drink and celebrate in a little group, and every year Steve’s world is rocked by the gorgeous, blue-eyed man that has captivated him since they first locked eyes fighting over a couple of pints of Guinness from the bartender.

Captain Cosplay by alby_mangroves, Ignisentis (oneshot | 9,184 | T)

James Barnes loves to cosplay as Captain America, and not just because he's damn good at it, either. No, it's the feeling he gets when he puts on the suit, the light in people's eyes when they see him, the thrill of getting the details just right. It also helped him feel connected to New York after he moved back there for work. Well, cosplay and his landlord,Clint. So when Bucky gets an invitation to his dream cosplay event, hosted by none other than Tony Stark and judged by the Avengers themselves, he knows he has to pull out all the stops and make a new Cap cosplay: the elusive Stealth Suit. Clint turns out to be surprisingly resourceful in that endeavor, and Bucky's more than pleased with how his cosplay turns out. As the day of the event dawns, he can only hope that Steve Rogers feels the same way.

A Vision of Ecstasy by a_splash_of_stucky (oneshot | 2,664 | E)

Sometimes, sex should just be had for the sake of exploration.

Smile by TheLocket (oneshot | 8,463 | M)

When an official Captain America press event runs over, the whole crew gets stuck in Cincinnati overnight. With only a few rooms left at the hotel, Bucky offers to bunk with Steve—how bad could it be? But he forgot how awful Steve can be as a roommate. He has no personal space. He never wears clothes. And, even worse, he smells really good.

Bucky is in for a rough night.

the blood is the life by obsessivereader (oneshot | 3,357 | M)

He can smell them when Bucky comes back to the apartment late at night. Different men, their colognes wafting off him as he lets himself in and walks past the living room where Steve’s always waiting. It may not be every night, but it’s at least two, or sometimes even three, times a week.

Tonight is no different. Bucky keeps his head down as he walks past. He goes straight into his room and closes the door behind him with a finality that means Bucky won’t be emerging till morning. The sound of the shower starts up not two minutes later.

Steve sits alone in the living room, the scent of cologne hanging in the air like an interloper in the apartment. He can’t help thinking Why not me.

weary of war by endofadream (oneshot | 3,190 | E)

Bucky’s fingers slip.

This time, he manages to scream the name: “Steve!”

You Could Be Mine by lambchop33 (complete | 33,818 | E)

Bucky Barnes never sees it coming when his buddy, Sam Wilson brings his buddy, Captain America, to visit him while he's recuperating in a hospital after a car accident.

He never sees it coming when he finds out sexy, courageous, self-sacrificing Steve Rogers is also... lonely.

One more thing he doesn't see coming? That he could possibly be the one destined to become the friend, the lover that Steve has been searching for ever since he came out of the ice.

Or, the smutty Valentine's season AU no one asked for...

[icharchivist]

Hi there!! first of all, thank you so much for this addition, it was fascinating to read and i’m really glad you shared your thoughts! 

(also somehow i think you mostly brought more to the conversations when it came to topic we already brought up rather than reiterating anything so it was actually very good to read!)

While your post is rather spoilerfree (so Kiri you can read this one in particular) i think i couldn’t avoid being a little more upront on some spoilers on my reply so my apologizes about that. 

When it comes to Masumi i 100% agree on that. I do feel it’s a case of, since this archetype works so well in other demographic (see JPN server) they’re too scared to have him grow past it, but if you didn’t vibe with Masumi’s whole thing by that point it just means it’s really, yeah, like you say, static.

AND GOD. Your top three of chara suffering from popularity. Thank you SO MUCH.

As in, those are three of my fav characters, so i’m genuinely missing the ability to step back and analyze the popularity in an objective way. They all seemed extremely unpopular to me, at least in the EN server, but i was really feeling like i was letting my biases talk for me since, as i care them very much, i end up being more sensible to conversation (or lack of) about them. 

So it’s honestly relieving to see it discussed this way because yeah, that really looks like what i was expecting from it. 

Tasuku’s arc is really subtle as it goes and i think that, to truly get his character, you really need to have read Nocturnality. Even the stuff he especially does in the Great Journey are direct callbacks to what he does in Nocturnality and that could be really confusing for someone who isn’t up to date. Of course, Die by the Sword add to it, but while the server didn’t die off right away it was already a moment the EN server was slower (the events kept being chugged out without any breaks, people were really tired) and i really don’t remember a lot of people involved in it.

Which also reflects on Guy, as you said, because he appears very late and this event was not one people really focused on. Also in the sense of… if an event happened for a character who was a lead that you didn’t care about, but the co-lead was someone you did care about, there might have been at least a little more chance you’d have been involved in the story or did an effort. And i think Die By The Sword is in this situation where, people being lurkwarm about Tasuku to start with, and people not knowing Guy, really made it more difficult to approach.

Not to mention that on top of being late in term of the EN server, he’s also late in term of story, so it means for people who would just have been picking up the app, they wouldn’t have been able to reach Guy’s story in such a long time. 

And, to an extend that extend to Hisoka: i’ve rarely seen characters with their amnesia making them a little lethargic be a popular archetype in stories that do have them??  especially adding the sleepy archetype when it comes to Hisoka.  Because there’s this sort of limbo about the interest of a character who feels like he’s sleepwalking through his own story. There’s more to them, but, on that in particular, personally, this is an archetype i really, really like, because it is the type that raises a lot of subtle question about a character and builds them up really slowly, but efficiently. I’m the one who would just scream because one of Hisoka’s first major development mistletoe was “omg he’s actually at least HALF asleep to listen to his troupe, he’s growing so much”. 

Personally, i adore it, and like, i was genuinely on the Hisoka loving train after the first Winter chapter (and i started the EN server when it came out). There’s elements also that is impossible to reproduce that added to me loving him (like, solo pulling right before a nap after i ate a marshmallow which was a completely coincidence, and getting a Hisoka ssr out of it. It was super early in the server and it made me go. huh. Okay maybe i should consider stuff here. which i bring up also because, truly there’s weird things that can influence how we like a character). And there’s even more stuff i could talk about but it’s mostly subtle stories. Not to mention how much a lot of Hisoka’s personality is gated into the backstages. 

I’m not going to enter into more details because obviously my Hisoka loving bias would make it a character dive rather than a popularity dive, but, therefore i. really didn’t see people loving him all that much for most of the runtime of the server. I’ve seen people even questioning if anyone really had him as a fav. People generally didn’t really think much about him and, you’re totally right, the most “popular” circles i saw him into were HisoHoma shippers. 

In the JPN server, I know Hisoka is fairly popular especially with also just the people who really like the Gekka group. I remember vday!Hisoka’s rank up being extremely lowkey in general and the top was already full of people who were mostly really into Gekka.  (after Kniroun i was taken by Hubris and i ranked up for every single event that followed, so this is where i have a “feel” about how act 2′s ranking at least felt like, and it was like… a little weird, when it was event i was working “harder” on and seeing them being easier than some of the rank up i was “more lowkey” on. Like i still have screenshots of how i did more points on Kazunari’s rank up than i did on Tasuku but i ranked on Kazunari at 1.5% while on Tasuku i was at 0.6%. So that’s why i am really just on, vday Hisoka was easy.)

And i was really stunned the day i’ve seen someone say Hisoka was really popular because it really didn’t reflect at all the way i was seeing it and i was really wondering if i’m just too much in my own corner and i just, didn’t see Hisoka grew popular at some point. Of course not saying i was the only one, we were quite a few, but absolutely not to a point i’d say he was popular. 

So honestly it’s kind of a relief that you brought it up. 

While you’re also right Kumon and Azami, despite arriving late, benifitted from popularity in other extends. Kumon by his association to the Hyodo/Sakisaka, Summer’s general popularity, and also because his story theme, i think, is more relatable. Likewise for Azami, i wouldn’t doubt a lot of people related to him as well, and the fact he’s an Autumn character (who were already super popular), linked to Sakyo, and who appeared for all the duration of the Summer chapter before his introduction, helped him getting steady. I wouldn’t call Kumon or Azami *super popular* or anything but i do think they found at least a bit of their fanbase in a way perhaps the adult rookies were more in a limbo.

About Citron, yeap i definitely agree with you on that one, i don’t really have much to add on this one. I do also like that by the end of the server the jokes weren’t as much ruining serious moment anymore, but with how little we actually saw of act 2 no way to be sure if it was a fluke or an actual direction taken with his character. 

GOD THE POPULARITY GAP. yeah i remembered something like that but not the numbers and seeing them again is still astonishing. Itaru wtf is that grip you have on people.

Honestly when it comes to the Banri’s hate i think i was just in a specific condition where, after i react act 1 main story i mostly kept to myself and didn’t really talk about a3 on main (until act 2 came out and i was crying too hard not to lmao), and in the meantime, one of my old time mutual got into a3 because of another person so they were completely uninfluenced by me, originally. And, i love this friend a lot, divergence happens, but they did NOT like Banri at first and so one of my first real experience with the fandom when i came back was seeing a LOT of posts about how Banri Bad on my Dash itself. So it’s also just possible that it’s because a friend joined a niche and suddenly my whole dash was that niche (compared to Chikage i could just, avoid going in the tags to avoid the worst of it, moooooost of the time, some stuff still made its way on my dash, for Banri it was really just coming right onto my lawn and it was overwhelming 😭). I was noting a lot of the OPs of the posts were different people though and the post themselves doing some number, so to me it really looked like there was a sizeable group who REALLY disliked him.  (friend in question is the one i mentioned in one of those posts about how they ended up liking him when they read act 2 so that really helped my dash being lighter after that lmao) But also yeah when i complained about it i ended up getting a lot of people telling me that they were seeing the banri stuff too and it was tiring them so i can’t have been the only one in this situation??

I do think that Act 2 worked on killing most of it considering how much of the arguments i saw used against Banri (that weren’t just “he bothers Juza”) were just. inexistent once act 2 came out.

Like, for the absolute worst of it, i’m sorry to say it but i’ve seen a lot of people have a complete made up version of Banri in their head where they assumed Banri “bullying” Juza meant Banri was a bully who loved bullying and genuinely, i saw stuff about how he would bully the hell out of Yuki that left me just completely agape. Like, it’s not just “not having read Into the Night” to me, Banri is the one Autumn Troupe member who comments the most on how he likes Yuki work in the main autumn chapter, when the play gets sabotaged he gets angry For Yuki’s sake, not the troupe itself, and else just going to the Coin Talk would have cleared it up. but also just that Banri only ever really attacked Juza himself. And Sakyo, though it’s in a “fuck the authority” way rather than “bullying” way.

But i genuinely think it’s impossible to SERIOUSLY think that after act 2, where there’s a siezable bit of the story where Banri gets Yuki a fashion designer gig and brags about how cool Yuki is, and how he takes Azami under his wing while Azami and Yuki are often put in the same bag in term of, non-gender-conforming fashionista. 

I do think in comparison Tenma was more obvious to be getting development and, as it goes, he apologized so clearly to his team for how he treated them that i think even the most stubborn people would come around and see him as a lonely kid. I also think that the fact Tenma’s background was constantly brought up by the characters as fucked up, and the hhh, whole incident with his dad, made people more protective of him in a way they could forgive his misdeeds.

Banri’s whole issue doesn’t get as easy of compassion for some people i think. Like, some people stop at the “oh everything is easy for you? suck it up we would all love that” without registering how Banri was mentioning it was killing him inside so much he preferred to put himself in danger to try to feel something, which, is like, self destructive behavior? that’s fucked up? Then i think, Tenma was still attacking *everyone* in summer which meant it was mitigating his assholeness and it kinda came out as a feral cat fighting once he was getting attention without really personally having any stakes in disliking any of them.  Banri meanwhile clearly has strong feelings about Juza and treats him differently than the rest, so it feels more “calculated” for lack of a better word, which means people just, saw it as bullying and nothing more.  And i do think that Banri’s turn wasn’t made with a clear apology, and if the reaction to Chikage was anything to go by, a lot of characters-who-do-wrong’s detractor would just not have accepted any less than a formulated insincere Youtube apology video without considering that there are others ways for a character to grow and atone. A bit salty here, but you catch my drift. Compared to Tenma’s throughout and thoughtful apology, Banri and Chikage are both messy and atoning differently, which just means people stops at “they didn’t say sorry” as their biggest crime.

I also think you have a point about how “him being Autumn made it reasonable it was just how he was going to be”. Autumn being more rugged in general could have led people to think it’s probably okay if there’s asshole in the group and then just went “so, that’s Banri” and never really reconsidered it. 

That said i did really see a stray post once about how Tenma was an unredeemable asshole, so like, there’s everything in this fandom lmao, but it was definitely a stray post and i don’t think it represent any popular ideas in the fandom, compared to Banri’s reception. (it did make me go “ahah, classic making fun of Tenma a bit Yuki would be p- wait you’re serious??? no wait Yuki would NOT be proud are you kidding me” upon reading)

yeah the Taichi thing was kinda puzzling to me. I suspect because Taichi is the underdog in the story itself and is weighted by his lack of popularity, fans of his might end up projecting the issue on the fandom while it doesn’t have any reason to be so. But tbh i saw those “Taichi is so unpopular” really early and i don’t think i saw them much by the end of the EN server.

Omi is… yeah it’s a bit complicated, i don’t really know where to put him. I’m also biased because one of my best friend adores him very much, so, the whole time i was away from the fandom? we talked about him a lot, so it’s one of those biased moment for me. I didn’t participate in The Stranger much but my friend said that it was fighting for her life there. But it also was when the server started so it isn’t as representative of the fandom trends as it could be.

I think Omi fills a really particular niche which, for the people who likes that niche, is one they’re REALLY dedicated for. (malewife with a dark past. what’s not to like.)(for the sake of clarity i’m mostly exaggerating as a joke, he’s more than that and has more reasons to get his fanbase). Autumn general popularity is added to him in general, but yeah. I feel like Omi is not the *most* popular there is, but he fills a niche that is still fairly popular and one that gets him very devoted fans. 

As it is though i feel like Omi is also one of those chara it might be the easiest to self ship with which could add a lot to the popularity he might get. Like, with the very wide age range of characters already, i think it’s probably likely anyone who might be into self ship have a list of “character they wouldn’t even consider”, “characters who would take too much work to consider” and “characters that could easily be self shipped with”. I think Omi can fall easily in this category since, with his age he’s accessible to most demographic and just, yeah, the malewife thing making him probably seem more approachable than “musclehead Tasuku” or, yknow, Chikage. 

Like, it’s silly but for many characters i can tell popularity is based on many things, relatability, affection, sometimes yeah also “want to smooch”, but i did see a whooole lot of Omi’s popularity being translated a lot into “want to smooch” more than any other characters. But it might also be because of the circles i’m in. (again, i do have a friend who’s pretty much “want to smooch” with him so.)

Obviously not saying it’s the case of his whole fanbase, just bringing up that more than any other chara (except maybe like, Itaru, but, what else to expect) this factor also really is one to take into account. (and obviously “want to smooch” doesn’t overwrite the others elements someone might like him as well, it’s not JUSt that that attracts them to him)

And yeah for Kazunari it tracks. And while he was replaced very quickly the fact he was muted in game and i think the replacement was only live for act 2, i think it’s possible people still kinda didn’t completely replace the VA in their mind and it tainted Kazunari by association. Especially if some people are more inclined to rewatching the anime since we don’t have the luxury to mute him there.

It’s really a shame because characterwise i’d really say Kazunari has a strong fanbase (a lot like Tsuzuru attracts creative people, i think Kaz has this same impact on design oriented creative people, not to mention All The Issues), or at least a strong potential to one, but it really clearly has gone significantly quieter after the incident and it’s really sad.

+ in a musical saga where we often talk about the songs, i’m sure the fact we still had the songs to deal with made it really hard. Like, i know i’m the kind of person who can get suddenly filled by random emotions for a character from a3 just listening to their songs, esp when it’s a fav, but i almost always skip the old Kazunari’s songs, which means i don’t get this random feeling for Kaz at all and it’s kinda sad.

For Two Faced Teacher: i did misword my original post because i did want to mean it in term of, most popular out of each of the crews, but i’m really grateful you brought it up regardless because i didn’t have the ranking in details in mind and this is WILD. While Sakyo is popular in EN server i wouldn’t picture him this high up, and well, Masumi. yeah. But it’s so wild. And as a Tsumugi and Winter fan oof that stings a bit.

And you have a REALLY GOOD POINT in term of how in the EN server we could prepare about the events we wanted to invest in which means we could indeed pick-and-choose. it’s a luxury the JPN server doesn’t really have in comparaison. And yeah, very good point on Sky Pirate being just before Into The Night likely influencing why it felt more laidback (even if it wasn’t as much i suppose? I’ve ranked up a lot so it’s likely i also have the early rank up a bit skewed in my mind. I ranked up for Sky Pirates without much problem but i remember trying out Into the Night, at the time only for Azuma’s SR, and already here i was struggling for my life in comparison). And yeah man. it really was three popularity heavy event in a row…..

Once again thank you SO much for your addition. Sorry for huh, rambling a little too hard about what you added but it was really so interesting to read and bounce back on, so thank you very much <333

was having banri thoughts lately just bc like. why not right. and then i suddenly remember u mentioning that some ppl... did not like banri at the start? which is wild to me bc in my mind ive always been ride or die for him. like i love juza so much but i feel like. that doesnt rly oppose liking banris character as well? banri is such fun character drama at the beginning of autumn and then his and itarus dynamic is fun from the start... gosh and the acting in the final bits of the autumn troupe between him and juza! suchhh fun tension. like. idk. it just started making me think like wow. digging thru a3 on my own with mostly the influence of like, just you has probably skewed my opinion of what the common perception of a3 is like. for example in my head winter is the most popular troupe which... it maybe isnt? i feel like recently i saw u mention summer might be the most popular(? this couldve been a dream) and i didnt realize itaru was super popular until like. last month. i mean if i had to pick a character i thought was the most popular i'd pick. misumi.

LKFJDLKFJD god what an ask

yeah i doubt i'm exactly the "common a3 experience" but to be perfectly honest i haven’t really kept tabs on the fandom per se since hh mid-2020 when i started to dig into some tags and saw so much negativity i was just :/ and stopped doing so (the curse to liking rascals 3).

Nowadays my knowledge of the a3 fandom is mostly the people interreacting with me, which already generally means that they vibe with what i post, so it gives me a skewed vision of the fandom like, are we all like that? or are the loud voices that made me go avoid the tag still here yaknow?

More stuff under cut

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[jokertrap-ran]

[Stand My Heroes] お誕生日ガチャ 2019 Birthday Hattori You SSR Gacha Card Story【 That’s a rainbow smile 】Translations

*Sutamai Master-list *MC name is retained as my usual *Part 1′s Story title: [ 大事なものを見つけて Finding something Important ] *Scenario Writer:  @Atomiatomi (Ａｔｏｍｉ)

Part 1 / Part 2

(Now then; I’ve come unexpectedly far.)

I arrived at this place, having chased down the clues we uncovered during the joint search we had together with the Narcotics Department. The view here was quiet and peaceful, having come a far-distance away from the city itself. The sky dark, for the sun had already set.

Ran: And we’ve finally managed to get something on our end too…It feels a little of a waste if we were to return half-way through.

Hattori: Well, I suppose you’re right.

There was no way I could just make her go home while I stayed overnight here alone, gallantly, either.

(I guess we should go back now.)

I happened to hear her muttering to herself as I moved to grip the car keys I had in my pocket.

Ran: …Work’s off tomorrow so maybe I’ll stay over.

Hattori: ……

I could tell that it wasn’t an invitation, judging from the lines of exhaustion between her brows. The thought of her staying overnight, alone, wasn’t even the slightest bit funny though.

(Well, I suppose there goes the need to see her safely back home like a gentleman.)

Hattori: How does doing it together sound?

Ran: Huh? What are you talking about?

Hattori: Staying over.

Hattori: There should still be some lodgings available in front of the station. Come on, let’s go.

Ran: Oh…right…

I couldn’t tell she was confused, or just nervous about it all, but the sound of her footsteps following closely behind was comforting enough. Because her presence alone sent excitement running through my veins.

(Staying over with little miss narc isn’t anything to scoff at.)

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

Hattori: Here’s the room key.

Ran: ……! Thank you so much!

She seemed surprised for a split second when I gave her another key-card separate from mine, for I had gotten us both separate rooms.

Hattori: I see, so you thought we were going to be rooming together.

Ran: No, just…how do I put this? Ahaha…

Hattori: You were expecting something.

Ran: No- I had just been thinking about what I should do if it really came down to that…

Hattori: I don’t particularly mind if you come to my room if you feel lonely.

Ran: I-I’ll be fine so please don’t worry about me!

Hattori: Is that so? Pity.

She was flustered; there was no hiding it even when she tried masking her cracked voice with a smile.

Ran: Still, we’re really lucky for there to have been free rooms available.

Hattori: Of course, it’s just a normal weekend after all.

Ran: That’s true. Oh, but there’s a big event!

Ran: It’s your birthday tomorrow!

Hattori: Hmm? I suppose it’ll be the same this year, just like-

Ran: Of course I remember.

We had a similar conversation last year, so she managed to come to the same conclusion as I, even before I had finished my sentence.

Hattori: Then let’s meet here at 9 AM tomorrow.

Ran: Alright. We can relax and spend the time at your house if we manage to return by the time noon hits.

Hattori: You seem to be misunderstanding something, little miss narc.

Ran: Huh?

Hattori: We’re not going back; we’re going out.

Ran: Out? –Wait, don’t tell me that there are more investigation spots that we have to check out?

Hattori: I see, it seems like you’ve not learnt anything at all since last year.

Hattori: How about you think a little more deeply about it?

Ran: …Is it…

Ran: That you wish to spend your birthday this year together as well…?

Hattori: I intend to take you out on a date, you’re welcome.

Ran: !

After enjoying the conversation I had with her, with her replying in the manner that I had already expected, I bid her “Good night” and went on ahead into my room.

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

--The 23rd November.

The location we drove to was an Outdoor Museum, surrounded all around by magnificent mountains.

Ran: It’s a little surprising to think that you come to these kind of places too.

Hattori: Really, where did you think I was dragging you off to?

Ran: Ahaha, I didn’t think that you were going to be dragging me anywhere.

Ran: But I honestly couldn’t think of where you’d bring me, so it was pretty fun guessing.

Hattori: I’m guessing you couldn’t fall asleep because you were too excited?

Ran: It’s an important day today, so of course I slept early yesterday!

Ran: Thanks to that, I’m now in tip-top condition!

(An important day, you say?)

Is it because it’s my birthday today? Or is it because we’re on a date today? Still, no matter what the reasoning behind it, she did say those words herself. Right out of her own mouth, dare I add. I chuckled darkly at that.

Ran: By the way, why a Museum, of all places?

Hattori: Because it looked like we could enjoy spending the entire day here since they had both indoor and outdoor exhibits.

Ran: I see.

I could already see her cheeks starting to redden when I said that I had planned for us to spend the entire day together.

(Heh. What great expressions she makes all the time…)

Hattori: Let’s join hands since we’re out on a date.

Ran: Huh? …Are you the type who likes to hold hands when out on a date?

Hattori: There are times where people feel like squeezing onto something, be it a hand, or a body.

Ran: ……

Hattori: Well, I’m always open to it whenever you feel up to it.

I continued on ahead, moving my outstretched hand behind me as I did, as if daring her to take it. I bet her cheeks have gotten all red again.

Suddenly, I recalled the same words that I said last year--

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

(Hm, today seems to be passing way faster than I’d like it.)

Ran: Haa…Pican’s works and the sculptures here are all really pleasant to the eye. I’m glad I got to see them.

Hattori: I’m glad to hear that.

The last piece of work we walked towards was the butterfly theory, represented with stained glass. She let out a sound of awe the moment we stepped into the building.

Ran: Wow, it feels like we’ve just walked right into an illusion…

Hattori: ……

Ran: ……?

Ran: Do you perhaps, not like this like things like this…?

Hattori: Now, I wonder about that?

Even if I did like it, there was no way I’d say such ear-pleasing words. Besides, it’s not like I wanted to either.

(And right now…)

Ran: Oh, look! It’s really glittery over there!

It’s way better looking at how happy she is from the side.

Ran: How beautiful…

Hattori: …………

Hattori: …--Ran.

Ran: ?

A click sounded the very moment she turned to face me.

Ran: …Did you just snap a picture?

Hattori: ……

Ran: You did, didn’t you?

Displayed on the smartphone screen was a picture that was caught a moment to early when she turned. Even if it’s an exaggeration, it wouldn’t be too far off to say that a beautiful person does make for an equally stunning picture.

Hattori: Here.

Ran: ……

Hattori: --Come over here.

Ran: …Okay.

She came to my side, just as I told her to. Her initial wariness had gone off to god knows where, and I can most certainly feel like the distance between us has gotten shorter compared to last year.

Ran: …Is something the matter?

Hattori: I was just thinking about how you’re here.

I plonked my hand atop her head as my heart started doing a strange flutter.

Ran: Um…you told me that I could do it whenever I wanted, so…Can I?

Hattori: Of course; here.

Ran: --Happy birthday, Hattori-san.

Ran: I hope that you’ll receive a lot of happiness and have a lot of happy things come to you this year!

Hattori: Please treat me kindly.

Hattori: You’ll give me a great year of happiness, won’t you? Little miss narc.

Ran: …Making you happy sounds like a super high hurdle, though.

Hattori: Hmm. You’re as clueless as ever, I see.

Should I pull her in by our joined hands? Or should I make a move towards her? As I thought about it…

Hattori: I’ll try doing it this year.

Ran: !

She normally turns all red just from normal hand-holding, so it’s really nothing to scoff at when she returns the gesture by squeezing my hand in response.

Hattori: …………

(Seems like we’ve reached a place in our relationship that even I don’t want to admit it.)

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

Even so, I still won’t let those nice, ear-pleasing words slip from this mouth of mine all so easily.

…--That’s why,

let’s end the day we spent together today with a hug, rather than words.

───⋅𝕿𝖎𝖑𝖑 𝖓𝖊𝖝𝖙 𝖙𝖎𝖒𝖊…⋆⋅☆