#u did great cap'n

[ciroocasio]

"Excellent."Ciro appraised as he loosely threw his arm across the shoulders of the vampire; true to his nature, Ciro was a little drunk but only in the fashion where he was fun. Salvador was a relation of some degree to Marcella, separated by some variation through other mutual means; he was also a reliable employee with an unquestionable palette. It made him the ideal business partner, "We'll have to begin immediately; Bacchanalia's first feast day is only a couple months away, I want to be ready to premiere something by then." Given the current climate it might be an ice wine but they'd muddle with some processes to get the appropriate fermentation down.

END

Salvador offered a brief chuckle in understanding, he'd sort of quietly moved along as a sommelier within Old Frascati, a vampire attempting to blend into society wasn't unheard of, but it was an Amaranthus-coded place and they had always been so strictly set within their ways and beliefs. There was, however, something to be said about recognizing these carefully placed boundaries, even respecting them, but understanding the changes within the world and deciding to amend them. Ciro may not have been the Sovereign, but he was of old Amaranthus blood, and his opinion mattered greatly to their cause and coven. "Hell yeah, it's a yes," a scoff punctuated his acceptance, anyone vampire have been a fool to decline being apart of such sanguinary ritual that could, hopefully, under the Senate's declawing, become commonplace.

[samcat71470558]

Sick day

A short story about Dwight getting sick, based on this post by @the-great-old-grump (sorry if u didn't wanna be tagged) :3 (there's also my headcanons and those are here :33)

1275 words under the cut, enjoy <3

Echo snapped awake, flaps wiggling nervously. He didn't know what shook him out of his sleep, but he feels his pistons pumping harder than normal. Everything seems quiet, the sounds of Dwight's breath and engine rumbling through Echo's little hangar/quarters. He sighs softly, listening to the steady beat of Dwight's pistons. It's a sound he grew quite fond of over the few weeks he was stuck in his room, after... what happened... He squeezes his eyes shut, forcing down the mental image of Delta's drowning face. C'mon, Echo... Focus... count his pistons... One... two... three...

As Echo started counting the beats of Dwight's engines, he slowly calmed down from the panic threatening to overtake him. And that's when he noticed it. Dwight's breaths getting lower, harsher. His pistons pump a little harder than normal. Maybe there's rough sea? He'd have to ask tomorrow...

⫷▣⫸

The next morning, Dwight woke up with a loud yawn and a splash of water flooding over the deck. He always did that to help him wake up, but he hadn't expected his crew to scream and run. "Dwight! What on Earth are you doing?!"

His captain, a forklift called August, snapped him out of his confusion.

"You shoulda' been awake for an hour! There's no place for lazy asses in the Navy, damnit, and you know that! Now, get on with it! We've gotta get two in the air stat!"

Dwight couldn't answer, instead sighing with a "aye, cap'n." before activating his catapults so the deck crew can start loading them up. His head feels weird, the sun stinging his eyes painfully. Despite that, he keeps a stoic expression plastered on his features, and moves on with the day.

⫷▣⫸

By the time his crew's asleep, Dwight's head feels like it's filled with angry choppers. A throbbing pain that doesn't go away, whatever he does. He can't sleep either, because his hull feels cold. Or hot? He doesn't know, it fluctuates between them constantly. He sighs softly, engine rumbling a little faster than normal despite going the same speed as usual.

"...'S nothin'..."

He mutters softly, before closing his eyes to rest a little.

⫷▣⫸

He wakes up in a cold sweat, his entire body aching. What the hell is ging on... He shudders, squeezing his eyes shut for a second after making sure no one's on the deck yet. It hurts...

He stays awake until the crew comes out, doing his tasks a little slower than normal. Talking hurts, his voice a little hoarser than normal, but hey, who cares. He probably swallowed a bit too much sea water in his sleep again. Up until he has to call the ball for the jets, he's doing fine. Sure, he coughed a few times, but it's probably just a little wave going into his mouth again.

It's only when a few crewmembers enter the tower that they realise something's wrong. It's hot in there, like his heating's completely through the roof. And his instruments and readings show problems with his engines and tanks, and basically every single part of him. Dwight swallows softly, but doesn't admit anything when they ask him about it. After all, he doesn't feel that bad, right?

...Right..?

Wrong.

That night, when his crew is all asleep, Dwight wakes up with a painful jab in his head. It feels like he's getting shot all over, his eyes bleary and unfocussed as he tries to see what's attacking him. He can't see anything...

"Alarm! E-everyone to their posts, w-we're under attack!"

His voice cracks weirdly, and he lets out a choked noise. There's a ring in his ears, drowning out the sounds of potential gunshots. Why isn't anyone here to protect him? He's blinded, for Pete's sake!

"...M-mayday..!"

He coughs, gritting his teeth. he looks around, activating his canons and shooting a few rounds into the air. He hits nothing, obviously, and the pain only gets worse.

"August!"

⫷▣⫸

Everyone's worried. Stoic, no-nonsense Dwight is shivering with a thick grimace plastered over his features, eyes squeezed shut. Some brave volunteers went down on ropes to stuff a few painkillers into his mouth, but they don't seem to help. Dwight's miserable, teeth clattering as a little club of forklifts checks his engines on damage. They find nothing, and neither do the ones inspecting his electrical systems.

They all woke up from Dwight's pleas for help, rushing out at the sound of his canons going off. He didn't sound scared, more... desperate for help. He'd been shaky, certain something was shooting at his hull. There were no dents, no scratches, nothing, but he insisted he was hit. That was the first red flag. The night that followed was the second.

The highest ranking officers had taken turns to keep Dwight company, feeling him tremble with fever under their wheels as they talked to him. The entire fleet swarmed around him, the smaller boats pressed against his hull to keep him warm. He was delirious, not crying but he sounded pretty close to it. When the sun came up he whimpered. He whimpered from the pain as the light hit his sensitive eyes, and his crew got more worried. That's the moment August realised his ship was sick.

Now, Bravo and Echo are getting ready to use the catapult, the loud blasts of their engines drawing a shuddering breath from Dwight's mouth. The pain in his head is getting worse, the high tone in the jets' engines striking him right where it's worst. His tanks churn, and he shudders.

Bravo's shot off, flying off the deck with a loud "WOOHOO!". Dwight squeezes his eyes shut, tanks lurching. Is that nausea? Is he gonna throw up? Can he even throw up? What'll ha-

"...H-hh... hu-uhg... ughu-URK-"

A wave of oil splashes into the waves, and Dwight's eyes snap open. His breathing's raspy, engines hammering in his ears. A second wave comes out, leaving him panting. Echo immediately gets off the catapult, shutting off his engines and rolling back.

"...That's... not good."

Bravo lands again, skidding to a stop next to Echo. Deck crew come rushing out, a few choppers quickly swooping down to stop the oil from spreading too much. The noise is enough to draw a laboured whimper from Dwight's trembling lips, warning lights flickering in his cabin right before he passes out from exhaustion and pain.

⫷▣⫸

Dwight opens his eyes with a soft groan, the pain finally subsiding a little. He shudders a little, then focusses on the soft pats against the side of his head. It's August, smiling softly.

"...There you are... You know the Jolly Wrenches motto, right, Dwight?"

Dwight lets out a soft noise, throat still raw.

"...Yeah... V-volo pro- p-pro veritas, I f-fly for truth..."

August nods, stopping his soft pats. It's quiet for a bit, the only sounds the jets quietly chatting with each other on Dwight's deck. Finally the forklift speaks again.

"...You shouldn't lie about illness, Dwight. We're both grown men here, you should know hiding injuries is a major violation in the Navy."

Dwight's eyelids droop, glancing away.

"...Yes, sir... I know, sir..."

August sighs, and starts patting again.

"...Stupid idiot..."

The last part didn't reach the carrier's ears, as he'd already fallen asleep again.

⫷▣⫸

This time when he woke up, he felt better. His body didn't ache, his engines ran normally, and his head didn't throb when he opened his eyes fully while in the sun.

"Hm-hmm... Much better."

He threw a wave water over his deck, and started activating his systems. The jets smiled up at him as they got up to the deck, the other crew cheering softly.

And Dwight? He held a small, stoic smile, ready to start working another day.

[occasionallyprosie]

"The Storm and a Siren"

Wind was elated to be back on Outset. The problem? The last portal separated the group and he had to search the whole Great Sea to find them.

When he finds all of them but their veteran, he's questioning why he even worried and got into an argument with Tetra over finding them as soon as possible.

When they finally find Legend, Wind remembers that even heroes are not exempt from the cruelty of the sea and its inhabitants.

Febuwhump 2024 | Prompt 5: Rope Burns

Read on AO3

Warnings: mentions of rape (mentioned but did not/will not take place, nor come close to), Wind curses a lot

Wind wasn't sure what to do. To start with, he was back home, but that wasn't the problem.

His problem was that the portal that brought them here was one of those damned separation portals. He didn't know where any of his brothers were and that was his problem.

Tetra, thank the Ocean King, was on Outset when he showed up. After he explained to her the situation and figured out none of the other heroes ended up on Outset, they set out to find them.

It wasn't too hard, just time consuming even with his control of the winds. Tetra hated magic near her ship, but after a rather heated argument that had him cashing in one of his only favors as well as snapping at her in a way he'd never done before because "his brothers might be dying!" She let him use the Windwaker, but refused to let him fly them.

That was good enough. He blew storms away from their path, gave them a strong wind to keep them going.

They found Twilight on Horseshoe Island, and comically Hyrule on Fairy Island where the Great Fairy was rather reluctant to let him leave despite Hyrule hightailing it to their ship the moment he mentioned it.

They came up on Diamond Steppe by day seven and, no storm in sight, saw a huge blast of lightning take out a Big Octo. ONE HIT! It turned out to be Sky and Wild, the latter having made a raft that they'd tried to sail off to find them. They were both grinning like idiots and waving when they realized it was Wind, Twilight, and Hyrule. Wind wondered how Sky was considered a responsible adult when hE FUCKING SMITED A BIG OCTO!

Day eleven they reached Tingle Island where Time was, and not unlike Hyrule, their leader had sped to the ship the moment he was made aware of its existence, going far away from the main resident who gave the island its name.

Sky wanted to smite another Big Octo, saying he'd never summoned lightning before and he wanted to try again. Tetra was the one who vehemently denied him, causing everyone else to sigh in relief, except for Wild and Hyrule who egged him on.

Though, it weren't for the fact they were on a ship, Wind probably would've been doing the same.

Day twenty one, they found Warriors on Dragon Roost Island with three Big Octos smite... smitten... smote? STRUCK BY MAGIC LIGHTNING by both Sky and Hyrule.

Wind wondered why he had been so worried about his brothers. Ocean or not, they could handle themselves.

They made landfall at a market isle, Wind staying on ship while the others went to gather supplies. He scoured over the map, the searched islands, and wondered where in the ocean the scholar was. Legend was still nowhere to be found, though the Forsaken Fortress was still un-searched...

He really didn't want to go back to the Forsaken Fortress. But that and the reefs hadn't yet been searched. He supposed they'd do that next, he hoped--

Shit! He didn't tell them he was out of potions too!

Wind quickly left the ship, he hadn't been the only person on it so it wasn't unguarded, and went toward the market.

He found the potion stall easily, having memorized where it was a long time ago. As he was waiting for his potions to be filled, he overheard some chatter.

"Hey, did ya hear? Ol' Cap'n Jones caught a gen-u-ine selkie."

Wind's interest was immediately piqued, he had traveled across the entire Great Sea and hadn't met a single selkie, the Red Lion had said they were myths.

"No," was the response. "I don’t believe that fer a moment."

"Yeah? Well listen closely, brother." Wind spotted the two people talking and saw them lean toward one another. They were dumb to talk about this in public, but... "He's gonna do a whole display t'nite. An' he ain't known f'r bein' a lovin' lover. I 'eard he's gonna--"

"Here ya go, Link. Three reds, greens, and coupl'a blue. I didn' know ya used magic."

Wind heard a bark of laughter from the men as they walked off, but he gave the potioneer a smile. "I don’t, but some of my crew does and you know it's good to be prepared."

She laughed. "Ain't that the truth. And lose that fancy accent 'round here, kid. It's only gonna get ya in trouble."

Wind snorted but he waved and left.

A selkie... Wind was no stranger to the darker sides of the world, thirteen though he may be, he was also a pirate and had seen plenty of gruesome things even outside of his adventures. It was nice to act otherwise around the other heroes, but he had grown up around sailors who loved to talk about their conquests, especially when they thought he wasn't listening. And in their defense... he was supposed to be asleep, in his bed, on the other side of Outset, but that's not the point.

The point was, there was a Captain Jones somewhere on this isle and he was gonna rape someone. Selkie or not, Wind was not letting that happen.

Now if she said she was doing it willingly, then he was hightailing it out of there. But as the legends go, selkies never did anything willingly except run.

Lightning-happy older brothers in tow, Wind snuck through the docks. There was only so many ships on or by the shore, and even less that were active enough to have a public show ongoing.

Finding it was easy.

Seeing it was awful.

The selkie, and Wind realized it was more of a siren than a selkie, probably a mistake of communication, was hanging by their arms above the deck like a giant fish on display for the whole marina to see.

They were huge too, a regular sized human torso covered in scars, long blonde hair coming down just beneath their shoulder blades, but the tail was probably seven feet alone and was a iridescent deep to pastel pink that glittered in the warm lantern light.

If it weren't for the ropes tied tightly around their arms, hanging them over the deck as they thrashed and probably burned their arms with the ropes, Wind would've called the siren a thing of pure oceanic beauty. They were something some sailors spent their whole lives in pursuit of.

Their tail hit someone who came far too close.

"I thought you said they'd be trying to bed the prisoner," Hyrule whispered, the four of them hidden behind barrels. "Nobody could bed a fish."

Wind shrugged. "I told you exactly what I heard, wording and all. They also thought it was a selkie but that's a siren, or a mer. Selkies are seals in water, or out, and can shed their coat to take on a human-like form. There's some myths of an in-between version, but those are scales, not blubber or fur. It's probably just a show off of his catch and maybe some torture."

"Doesn't matter," Wild interrupted. "That's a sentient creature, maybe even a descendant of your Zora who adapted to living in the water unlike their Rito descendants."

"We'll get them free," Sky assured. "We're not even close enough to see their face. Let's get closer first."

Wind nodded. He led the way and they slipped closer, hearing laughter and jeering and admittedly lewd taunts but also a lot of violent ones echo across the docks.

They drew closer and Wind chanced a look.

He could see the siren's face.

"Oh fuck," Wind breathed.

"What?"

"It's the vet!"

It was Legend. Hung with rope by his arms, with huge tail from the waist down, that streak of pink in his hair was much more prominent and it plastered against a soaked face. He snarled, amethyst eyes crazed and he looked feral.

Wind had never seen their composed scholar like that, and based off the wounded noise from Hyrule, the sharp inhale from Wild, and the snarl from Sky, they hadn't either.

Legend swung himself and his huge tail smacked someone else and sent them off the ship and into the water. He bared sharp fangs.

"Alright! Time for the main event!" Someone declared, walking down from the stern. If Wind had to wager a guess, that was Jones.

Legend visibly faltered, Wind never expected to see fear flash in his brother's eyes. Not that one's. "Legend" and "scared" should never be in the same sentence, unless it was that he scared someone else, and yet...

"He looks scared of him," Hyrule whispered, and he was absolutely right.

Legend looked downright terrified of Captain Jones.

"Oh hell no," Sky snarled. "Not my kid."

Wind couldn't warn him that storming up on a boat of rowdy pirates here for entertainment was not a good idea before Sky was boarding the ship.

"Ohhh, that's not good," Wild said and Wind wholly agreed. "Those guys are not surviving."

...What?

"HEY!"

Sky shoved his way, new lightning powers crackling off him, through the crowd and onto the deck.

Legend had twisted to look at him and Wind saw his eyes light up, heard his melodic thrill that must've meant happiness or something.

Sky stood right between Legend and Captain Jones. "I'll give you ten seconds to cut him down before I do it myself and sink your whole ship while I'm at it."

The laughter was insulting but Wind nudged the others.

"Come on. We have to get the scholar down and get him clear before the sky knight actually smites the place."

Both their eyes widened and came to the same conclusion he did that a siren--a Hylian transformed into a siren or not--would not handle an electrical attack well.

"I'll cut, you catch, wait for Chosen's signal."

They moved quickly.

"Now look 'ere, we captured that siren fair an' square, you ain't got a lick ov'a right to 'im. Get your ass off mah ship before I throw ya off."

Legend snarled, twisting.

"You want rights?" Sky demanded. "You want to throw around threats?! Fine."

Sky moved forward.

"My right? First, he is not something you can have a right to, secondly, he is mine. I have equal claim over him as a parent does their child." He drew his sword, pointing it to the clouded sky. "As for threats? How about a promise. I'll strike this boat with lightning and drown every single spirit but my own on it."

If it weren't for the electricity crackling off Sky, Wind knew the crowd would've laughed. But the Chosen Hero radiated danger and the air smelt of ozone.

Jones did laugh. "That's a neat trick there, brat," his voice turned sharp and harsh. "But everyone knows magic died in hylians centuries ago. Back when the flood took this world."

Sky snarled. "Then it's a damn good thing I'm from centuries ago."

Wind swung his sword and sliced through the rope that held Legend up. Something yellow exploded and Hyrule and Wild flew past on a barrel, snatching Legend before he finished falling.

Wind leapt over the side just in time as lightning crackled through the sky and ripped apart the ship.

He swam to shore and found Legend back to Hylian and clothed (did the transformation steal his clothes too?) but shaking.

Hyrule was hugging him, Wild putting some kind of paste on reddened arms.

"'M sorry, 'm'sorry--"

Wind hated this. Legend was one of the strong ones, he had told very few stories but each one had Wind feeling sick because Legend had been younger than Aryll when he started.

Now he looked like the kid he probably was never able to be, and that was coming from Wind, who had gone on half as many adventures at a young age.

"Shh, it's okay, it's alright," Hyrule insisted.

"Goddess, this is bad," Wild groaned. Legend flinched and jerked his arm, Wild let go easily. "No, it'll heal, I promise. It's just--I've never seen rope burns this bad."

Wind drew closer. "Vet?"

Legend looked up sharply. "S-Sailor--No, no, I can't--"

"It's okay," Hyrule insisted. "You're allowed to be weak, Veteran. You’re allowed to hurt."

"No, no--I'm sorry, I can't--Please, it hurts--" Legend choked on a sob.

Wild gave Hyrule the bottle of gel and gestured Wind away, as they moved Wind spotted someone running along the beach toward them.

Sky.

"The salt water irritated the burns bad, and you said your water's toxic, so we're waiting to clean them before Hyrule heals them," Wild explained. "Fastest way to somewhere safe?"

"Just straight back to the market town," Wind said as Sky ran up. He turned to him. "He's over there but--"

Wild grabbed Sky's arm before he passed him. "Be careful. It... It would probably be better if you switched with Rulie. The Scholar isn't taking this well, and between the burns and... he seems to think he can't be vulnerable in front of us, that doesn't help."

Sky nodded firmly. Wild let go of him and he crossed the last ten feet in an instant.

Wind didn't know they were ancestor and descendant, but Sky had claimed Legend as his on that ship and Oceans, whoever said the ocean was dangerous and violent clearly had never seen Sky get protective of those he cares about.

Sky dropped to his knees in front of Legend, and soon Hyrule was shifting backward and Sky was wrapping Legend up in his sailcloth, promising safety and assuring him that he was right here.

"Can you carry him, Skyloftian?" Wind asked. "We should get back to the ship, get our Scholar fixed up."

Sky hummed softly. He murmured something to the veteran hidden in his sailcloth and whatever his response was had to be something of an affirmative. Sky stood up carefully, arranging Legend in his arms in a way still that the sailcloth blocked him from view.

Wind couldn't see Legend anymore, but if he was honest?

He really didn't want to.

Event Masterlist

[emeraldwaves]

Title:  Undercover Emotions Chapter 1 Pairing:  Promptio, Highspecs Rating: E Word Count:  4,127 Read on Ao3 Summary: Rookie cop Prompto Argentum gets sent undercover with veteran Aranea Highwind in hopes of taking down the Caelums, longtime leaders of organized crime in Insomnia. After being assigned to assist Gladiolus Amicitia and Ignis Scientia, the pair dive deeper into the criminal underworld and find themselves caught up in a variety of shady dealings. However, when Prompto starts to learn who Gladiolus really is, his loyalties begin to shift in a direction he never expected.

Full fic under the cut! thanks to @its-love-u-asshole for betaing this!

"Argentum!" Captain Cor Leonis' voice echoed through the entire precinct's office, and Prompto practically fell out of his chair, wincing at the sound pounding against his ear drums.

"Uh oh shortcake, looks like you're in trouble. Again." Aranea Highwind giggled devilishly into her palm.

"Wonder what y'all did this time," Cindy Aurum snorted. "You’re always making Cor angry, hun."

"You know, maybe this time he's not angry! Maybe he's calling me into the office to praise me for doing such a great job on my last case," he smirked, looking rather proud of himself.

"ARGENTUM! MY OFFICE. NOW." Cor's deep voice repeated, showing no signs of happiness or pride. Prompto winced again, and shrunk his head towards his shoulder, making him look like a turtle trying to hide in its very tiny shell.

"Oh. Yeah. That definitely sounds like praise!" Aranea snorted. "Good luck, kid." She winked as he walked by her desk and made his way slowly to the Captain's office.

Cor was a good Captain, if not a little standoffish, but Prompto liked to think the man had a soft spot for him… when he wasn't yelling at him for a whole variety of things. Prompto was the newest member of Cor's team, and needless to say, he was still working out some of the odds and ends that went along with officially being a detective. This also meant there had been quite a few screw ups on Prompto's personal record.

"Cap'n Cor!" Prompto greeted, shooting a few finger guns at the serious looking man. "What's happenin'?!" he chuckled.

Cor, however, didn't laugh once. "Sit down and shut the door."

"Eheh… yes, sir," Prompto sighed, his shoulder's slouching as he flopped down into a chair directly opposite of Cor.

The man sighed, keeping his arms folded. "What the hell is this?" he asked, dropping a folder further up his desk so it was directly in front of Prompto.

Adjusting his glasses, Prompto peered forward, leaning over. "A… case file, sir?" he questioned. He knew it was probably a case file that didn't look good for him, but he didn't wanna bring that up if the Captain was going to focus on something else.

"This is the 5th one this month that has come across my desk documenting accidents from Officer Prompto Argentum. This one says you ruined not one, but two police cars? Care to explain how that happened?" Cor asked.

"I think you're missing the big picture here, Captain," Prompto began to explain, adjusting the glasses on his face.

Cor's face stayed deadpan.

"It's not about the cars, it's about the result!" he smiled, opening the file to point to the bottom. "See? ‘Culprit apprehended’!" he smirked, trying to keep what little pride he had left.

"Yes. But you've cost hundreds of dollars in police property damage and this isn't the first time this month! On top of that, you've almost let three felons escape, blown you and Cindy's cover accidentally, and there was the time you left your gun out carelessly on your desk. You're a newbie cop, and this isn't boding well for your personal record."

"I get that… but I'm also getting the baddies!"

Cor rubbed his forehead as he leaned back in the chair. "Yes, but it would be nice if you could handle yourself with a bit more poise. You have potential, Argentum. But I can't keep telling the heads of the department my newbie cop is screwing things up again."

"So… tell them Aranea did it!" he laughed, and Cor stared at him blankly, his face creepily stoic. "Okay, okay it was just a joke..." he mumbled.

Cor leaned forward and folded his hands together. "You're a good cop, Argentum. There's a reason I picked you for my team."

"Eh? You picked me?" he said, pointing to himself, and Cor sighed, as though he'd revealed information he would definitely regret later.

"Anyway, I want to send you on a higher profile case." Prompto's eyes immediately lit up. Here he thought he was going to be in trouble, maybe even kicked off the team, but instead Cor wanted to give him a higher profile case? Oh, he was definitely on board with this!

"I believe you'd be a good fit for this case, if you can keep yourself under control. It would be a good chance to prove yourself. I am setting you up to work with Highwind on this case, as it really requires two people. I trust her to keep you in check, but there will be moments when you are alone. I hope you won't make any mistakes on this one. If you do, you will be suspended from the team."

"Eh?! What?! Suspended!?" Prompto exclaimed, as though those were the only words he had heard.

"You heard me," Cor said.

"But you said I was a good cop!" Prompto whined, leaning back in his seat.

"You are. But you're not worth the amount of money you're costing the department. On top of that," Cor said, leaning forward once more. "Blowing your cover on this one… I say you'd be suspended, but if you’re found out, you'll be lucky to leave with your life."

Prompto blinked. "What?" What could be so intense he would possibly not be able to leave with his life? The notion was admittedly terrifying, but Prompto would've been lying if he said he wasn't at least a little bit intrigued.

He'd become a cop to protect people, to protect the innocent and save lives. He knew what it was like to be weak, to feel tiny among people who didn't care for others and wanted nothing more than to knock people around. He never wanted to go back to that place again, and he never wanted anyone else to experience the horrors he had as a child, so he'd trained hard and worked to pass the police exam for years.

When Cor had picked him for his team, Prompto had been beyond honored, knowing the man was practically a living legend in the police world. The Captain had more arrests than anyone else in the Insomnia Police Department. Cor had apparently seen something in Prompto, still did, and Prompto really didn't want to let him down this time.

It wasn't like Prompto meant to screw up. Sometimes it just happened!

"I was going to wait and discuss this with you both after tomorrow's morning debriefing but now seems like as good a time as any." He stood up, swinging the door open to call Aranea in. "Highwind, you get in here too," he said, returning to his seat.

It took Aranea no time to walk from her desk to Cor's office, and she sighed, looking down at Prompto. "What did I do that could possibly be on par with him?"

"Hey!" Prompto muttered.

"Nothing. Please, take a seat. I have a case I need to discuss with you. If the two of you accept, you'll be partnered on this one," Cor explained, turning around in his chair to pull a large binder from the file cabinet behind him.

"You want me to work with this dingus?" Aranea asked, gently knocking Prompto upside the head as she walked by to sit next to him. She winked, grinning as she took her seat.

Prompto liked Aranea. She was a hard ass, but of all the veterans, she was the nicest to him, even if her compliments were sort of...strangely backhanded.

"Yes. And this mission will be long term," he explained. Prompto had never worked on a long term case before, and working with Aranea would surely be helpful, as she was one of the ones with the most experience in their precinct.

"Long term?" Aranea raised an eyebrow. "Been awhile," she chuckled, crossing one leg over the other. "How long we talkin'?"

Cor thumbed at the binder in front of him, and opened it up to a page in the middle. "I take it you both are well aware of the mafia problem we've faced over the past many decades. For a long time it was 'overlooked'," Cor scoffed. "Many older officers felt there was nothing to be done about getting rid of organized, high crime, but I have different plans.

"We've had informants in the field for years," he explained. "People who are working for both sides. We have a strict agreement. I don't arrest them, they report back any findings to me.

"I recently received a tip from one of them. It seems the younger males in the next generation have finally begun their training to become the next heads of the family. From what I hear, Regis Lucis Caelum has not been doing well," Cor explained, tapping on the picture in the binder in front of him.

"As both of you are probably aware, the Caelum family has been the head of organized crime for quite sometime now, and just below him are the Amicitias and the Scientias, the three main heads working together. From what I hear, Regis is soon to be on the outs, and his son, Noctis, is prepping to take over," Cor continued. "I believe, if we can get Noctis and the other younger members of the group, we can cut them off at the head…" he said.

Aranea nodded. "Makes sense. Get the main leader and they'll all go down eventually. So what ya’ want us to do?"

"Undercover mission," Cor said, placing two files on the desk in front of them. "My informant tells me Gladiolus Amicitia and Ignis Scientia are in need of two new assistants. Apparently Gladiolus goes through them like water, and Ignis dismissed his last one for being far too incompetent. Aranea, you'll be Ignis' assistant and Prompto you will be Gladiolus'. Apparently Gladiolus isn't allowed to request women anymore," Cor snorted.

"Wonder why," Aranea grumbled, rolling her eyes.

"So does this mean we're going to go work for the mafia?" Prompto asked, glancing between his two older coworkers.

"Indeed," Cor said. "The goal is to get close to both of them so they will eventually lead you to Noctis. Once you have Noctis' location, we can set up a break-in and we'll be sure to get him, and hopefully Gladiolus and Ignis as well. I don't want to get greedy though, so if we can only get Noctis, so be it.

"Prompto," Cor continued. "You're new to this sort of thing, but Aranea will be very helpful in debriefing. If the two of you can find a safe place, you can discuss the case, but don't unless you are absolutely certain the area is secure. Aranea will send all information back to me, let her handle communication.

"On top of this, you may have to do some...less than legal activities. I know you joined the police force to stop crime, not commit it, however, we consider this to be a... special circumstance."

"How fun," Aranea purred, her lips quirking into a smile. Prompto had a feeling she would enjoy this far more than he would.

Cor sighed, pushing the folders towards them. "Anyhow, take these folders and get yourself briefed on the case. We've set up apartments for you closer to the general whereabouts. So get packed and say goodbye to any personal friends and family members as you will not have contact with them for quite some time."

"Got it, won't take very long," Aranea said, picking up her folder as she stood up. "See ya' 'round, Cor." She waved her hand once as she exited his office, presumably heading to pack.

"Well?" Cor raised his eyebrow.

Prompto gripped the folder in his hand. Cor trusted him with such a high stakes mission? He was flattered, excited, terrified... the mix of emotions throbbed in his fingertips against the folder.

Jumping up, he clutched it to his chest, saluting. "I won't let you down, sir!" he said excitedly. "I am so ready for this!"

As nervous as he felt, he'd been waiting for a case like this since he joined the force! The whole reason he had become a cop was to keep the people safe, and what better way to do so than by stopping high-profile criminals who hurt people on the daily.

Cor opened his mouth, as if to argue that he wasn't so sure but he closed it. "Kid," he said, folding his hands over his lap. "Be careful, alright?"

"You got it," Prompto winked, giving him a thumbs up, heading out the office door.

Cor called after him before the door could shut. "And don't do anything stupid!"

~~

Gladiolus Amicitia looked around the cafe and immediately pulled out a cigarette. Ignis Scientia was never late to anything; not meetings, not appointments, and not even for spending time with his oldest and dearest friend. Admittedly 15 minutes wasn't all that late, but this was Ignis! So naturally, Gladio was a little stressed.

He lit the cigarette, holding it close to his lips as he pulled in a long drag, puffing the smoke out into the air. He rolled his fingers against the table, shaking his leg up and down.

He pulled out his pocket watch from his jacket. Where the hell was he?

He took another long drag on his cigarette, the possibilities of Ignis' whereabouts began to race through his mind. The problem was, there were so many potential scenarios of what could've happened to his best friend, and none of them were casual. All involved pain of some sort, injuries... death...

No. Gladio shook his head. Iggy wasn't that stupid. He wouldn't go and get himself killed before they were supposed to have lunch.

"Ah, Gladio, my apologies," Ignis' smooth tone cut through the cacophony of the streets and Gladio's own thoughts. His amber eyes immediately shot up to meet Ignis' jade hues. A smile pulled across his handsome features, and Gladio immediately rolled his eyes.

"Took ya' long enough," he growled, slamming his cigarette down on the ashtray to snuff it out.

"Were you concerned?" Ignis asked, pulling the chair out. He took a seat, leaning his elbows on the table as he smirked.

"Concerned my ass!" Gladio snorted. "You're never fuckin' late, so I was starting to get insulted." Ignis was safe, there was no need to let him know he'd been worried.

"Of course. Well, I did apologize," he chuckled, pressing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. He thumbed through the menu, completely ignoring Gladio's huffy behavior.

"Yeah, yeah. Where the hell were ya'?" Gladio asked, watching as Ignis scanned the menu. Gladio didn't know why he was looking so hard. Ignis had been the one to choose this particular cafe. It was on the other side of town, on the edge of their territory, dangerously close to Izunia's neck of the woods. (Far too close, in Gladio's opinion.) However, Ignis had insisted, since this cafe was one of the only ones in the city which carried the brand of coffee he preferred. Gladio usually let Ignis choose the restaurants though, he was far more picky about his food than Gladio would ever be.

Ignis paused, his finger tracing down the edge of the menu. He pursed his lips as he turned his gaze towards his best friend. "It seems things have gotten worse with my uncle. I had to stop by the hospital."

"Damn Iggy, I wish I'd known, I woulda gone with you."

"I... know you would've. I almost stopped by here first, but I thought it best to go and handle things on my own first. I wasn't sure what condition he would be in," Ignis sighed.

The waitress arrived at the table, taking their order, and, as cute as she was, Gladio was thankful when she left them in peace.

"What happened?" Gladio asked once she left. He was tempted to pull out another cigarette, but refrained from doing so; Ignis didn't enjoy smoking while he had his coffee.

"He collapsed in his office," Ignis muttered. "The doctors aren't sure what happened. He was sleeping when I went to sign paperwork."

"Hm. Overworking himself again," Gladio chuckled. "Just like someone else I know."

"Gladiolus please," Ignis sighed. "I am not overworking myself. Besides, I brought the paperwork for the potential assistant candidates I found."

"Really?" Gladio smirked, raising his eyebrow. "So you're not overworking yourself and yet you brought work to our casual meetup!" he teased.

Ignis grunted, thanking the waitress when she put their drinks down. He picked up the cup, blowing over the heated surface. "Getting an assistant will stop me from overworking myself. Meanwhile, your assistant will actually help you get work done," he smirked back.

"Har-har, Iggy," Gladio said. "So I assume you'll be taking over for your Uncle for his gala duties?"

"Yes. Which is why it is imperative I find a new assistant immediately," he nodded. "We don't have much time before the Winter Gala, and seeing as Regis is letting Noctis handle it almost entirely on his own… well, he’ll need all the help he can get," Ignis spewed out the information quickly, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Iggy, calm down. We'll get it figured out."

"If Noctis and I take over for Regis and my Uncle respectively, we can begin to start putting our plans in motion. We could begin with the Winter Gala-"

"Forget it. There's no way my father will go for that shit," Gladio said, waving his hand back and forth quickly. "Look Iggy, I know you're eager, but we gotta be patient, okay?"

Ignis sighed, leaning back in his chair. He slipped his hands under his frames, pushing his glasses up. "I know. But taking over for my uncle includes... many things," Ignis muttered, flicking his gaze to the side. "You are... aware of this, Gladio?"

"'Course I am," he snorted.

"Then you understand why I am so eager to push things in our direction," Ignis hissed softly.

"Yeah, but one thing at a time Iggy," Gladio muttered, his own voice hushed.

Sighing, Ignis leaned forward, taking a large gulp of his coffee. "You're right, you're right." His tone sounded resigned, and Gladio felt a pang of guilt. Ignis was always tightly-wound, but right now he seemed far more stressed than usual. "One thing at a time."

Leaning over, he pulled a few files from his briefcase. He placed them on the small table in front of Gladio before smoothing out his gray suit jacket. "Here we are. The candidates." He passed one of the folders to Gladio. "I went ahead and selected my two favorites for us. This man, Prom Argent, is for you and this woman Nea Biggs is for me."

"Now hold on a second!" Gladio snarled, yanking the folder from Ignis' hands. "How come you get the woman!?"

Ignis rolled his eyes. "We discussed this, Gladio. The last three women assistants you had quit after you ‘broke their hearts’. I assume you won't be sleeping with this man," he said.

Gladio flipped the folder open, showing a resume and a small picture of a small blond boy with flat hair and glasses. "So you're giving me this kid? Who the fuck is this nerd?"

Ignis couldn't help but laugh. "Oh come on Gladio, give the 'kid' a chance," Ignis teased. "He's quite qualified if you read over his resume."

"Hang on, lemme see your chick," he said, lunging forward to grab the folder in front of Ignis.

"Gladio-"

He flipped it open and stared at the picture of the gray haired woman for a moment. "What the hell, Ignis! She's a babe!" he said, turning the picture around to shove it in his face.

"Yes, she is a very fine looking lady," Ignis muttered, snatching the picture from Gladio's hand. "But more importantly she's qualified. Her sources checked out as well, and I hear she's quite efficient," Ignis said.

"Good for her," Gladio mumbled.

"So since you're done griping..."

He wasn't, but he let Ignis speak anyway.

"And you're obviously completely fine with the match up."

He wasn't, but apparently it was useless to argue.

"They start tomorrow, so please prepare tasks for Prom to do," Ignis said.

"Tomorrow?! Oh I'll prepare all right," he grumbled, opening the folder once more to look at the scrawny blond.

"I know you're not pleased, but based on his credentials I think he'll be good for you. And Ms. Biggs is going to be just what I need to keep my workload from being far too overwhelming."

Gladio sighed. Ignis was an intelligent man, and if he thought this was best, it most likely was. "Alright Iggy, I'll give the kid one chance."

"Good," Ignis smiled, sipping the last of his coffee. "It will go smoothly, I'm sure."

Gladio growled, folding his arms. "One chance. If he screws up, he's gone."

~~

The suitcase on his bed was open, but not even remotely organized. "Shit, shit, shit! Where did I put those pinstripe pants!?" Prompto whined, tossing everything out of his closet. Cor had made it very clear he wasn't allowed to come back to his apartment, under any circumstances. He had to be sure he had everything.

Actually looking at his suitcase now, Prompto wasn't sure it was going to be large enough. "I should've bought two," he sighed.

Thumbing through the file he'd been given, he stared at the picture of Gladiolus Amicitia, the man he would be working for. He certainly looked like someone involved in the mafia! He had a scar down his left eye, and his wild brown hair was slicked back tight against his forehead. From what he could see in the picture, his shoulders were broad, and Prompto couldn't tell if he hadn't shaved in this picture, or if he purposefully left the hair on his chin and jaw like that. "What a scary lookin' fella..." Prompto muttered.

Slapping his cheeks, he shook his head and closed the folder back up. He wasn't scared! Hell no, this was the case he'd been waiting for; the case he dreamed about during training at the academy!

He glanced at the telephone on his bedside table. Should he call his parents? He didn't talk to them often. They were constantly traveling for work, and if not for work, then for pleasure. They never seemed to worry about Prompto, or the fact his job could often put him in life threatening situations. No, they were simply proud of him, and did their own thing.

His best friends were Cindy and Aranea... and he'd already said a tearful goodbye to Cindy when he left the station. Well, tearful on his side of things. She'd pat his back and wished him luck, warning him she'd kill him if he died.

No phone calls were really necessary.

Digging through his closet he grabbed a few more outfits. Everything he owned was far too... straight-edge. He knew these men usually dressed classy, but it was a completely different look from his own casual wear. The last thing he wanted was for his clothes to give him away. He couldn't risk showing any hints he might be a cop.

He twisted his lips and flopped down on the bed, looking at the mess of clothes. Adjusting his glasses, he puffed out his cheeks. Aranea was probably all packed. Hell, she'd probably been packed from the second she got home. From the way she left the office, Prompto wondered if she'd packed with the snap of her finger.

She hadn't looked nervous at all back at the station when Cor had de-briefed them on what they would be doing. (Not that Prompto was nervous, oh no, of course not.) Then again, she'd gone undercover plenty of times before. Still, Prompto was sure none of them had been as important as something like this. Maybe he could ask her about past cases later.

Blowing out a long huff of air, Prompto began to organize the clothes he'd thrown into his suitcase. He wanted to at least try and get some sleep tonight. With the insane mix of emotions mashed-up around inside of him, he wasn't sure if he would actually be able to. Being tired for his first day seemed like a horrible idea. The more tired he was, the higher the chances were he might flub and reveal their true identities-

No. He had promised Cor… no more screw ups! No, this was his first real undercover case, and there was no way he was going to fuck it up.

[tyranttortoise]

Oooo what about that New Years kiss ask but with HT and the Oceanfell bois? :D (and happy new year you wonderful bean u ❤️)

(*From this imagine)

HT!Sans

You mention the tradition to Axe, and he just grins.  "if you want a kiss, we don’t have to wait until next year.“

You feel a blush creep to your cheeks.  "I was just telling you about human traditions, Sans.”

“sure.”  He winks, his smirk widening when you only blush harder.  He makes a few jokes throughout the night about kissing to try to get a reaction from you, but you refuse to rise to the bait.  Should’ve known he’d just tease you about it– even if he was right, and you were telling him about it because you were hoping for a kiss.  

You spend the evening with Axe, Crooks, and some of your friends.  When the countdown starts, you manage to stand directly beside Axe, who hasn’t brought up the kiss in at least an hour.  Has he forgotten about it completely?  You wouldn’t put it past him; he does tend to mix things up sometimes.  

It counts down, and when the clock hits midnight, you turn to Axe to tell him Happy New Year, but he surprises you by sliding a hand to the back of your head and pressing his teeth to your lips.  It isn’t a chaste kiss; no, it’s buzzing with magic, lingering… you feel yourself start to swoon, caught completely off-guard as you are, and he shifts to dip you down and deepen the kiss.  You pull back, breathless, and he cheekily comments, “welp, the ball may’ve just dropped, but you just fell for me.”

Damn if he isn’t right.

HT!Papyrus

When you tell Crooks about it, he’s excited about the idea.  "THAT’S ALL YOU HAVE TO DO TO SPEND THE ENTIRE YEAR WITH SOMEONE??“

“Well, it’s supposed to be a special someone,” you clarify, which makes him rub his chin in thought.

“AH, ONLY THE SPECIAL ONES!  GOT IT!”

Does he?  You’re not sure, but you forget about the conversation as the night goes on.  It’s not like you can kiss him for the New Year; the top of your head doesn’t even reach his armpit.  You’d need to climb on someone’s shoulders to pull it off.

As tempting as it is, you’re too sober for that.

When the clock hits midnight, Crooks scoops you up in his arms, nearly squeezing the breath out of you in his excitement.  "HAPPY NEW YEAR, HUMAN!“ he shouts over the cheers, before pulling back to press his jagged smile against your lips.  You freeze, blushing, and he pulls back to beam down at your smiling face.  "MAY WE SPEND THE NEW YEAR TOGETHER!”  

You’re stunned.  He got it, he wants to spend it with you, he–

He sets you down and gallops away to find Axe.  

“SANS!  COME HERE!”

“what?  hey, pap, get off!”

“WE MUST KISS TO STAY TOGETHER FOR THE YEAR!”

“the hell we do!”

“WE MUST, BROTHER!”

“pap, just–”

“MUAH!”

“god dammit.”

OF!Sans

Buc already knows about the tradition, and he spends the party with raucous drinking.  Frequently, throughout the night, he’ll have an arm slung around you, his other hand occupied with a drink, and a grin plastered on his face.  He’s generally easy-going, especially so when his brother isn’t leveling him with a judging glare and threatening punishment when he’s hungover.

Buc is also more and more flirtatious as the night goes on.  "new years resolution?  aye, but ’m lookin’ at mine,“ he states with a quirked brow bone, holding your gaze.  When you blush and shove his chest, he guffaws and pulls you closer.  

“Whatever.”

“ye don’t ‘ave one, me hearty?”  Before you can respond, he leans in with a wide smirk.  "i’ll make one fer ye.  why not start the year off wit’ a bang?“

He keeps you both close and flustered the rest of the night, and when the countdown ends, you’re already wrapped up in his arms and facing him, his feathered hat on your head.  He smirks, leaning in slightly and searching your gaze.  When you don’t pull back, but instead lean forward, he closes the gap, kissing you hard and hungry, his fangs parting your lips and tongue tangling with yours.  You lose yourself in the moment, while the party celebration continues around you.  

Buc’s not pulling back anytime soon.

OF!Papyrus

Cap'n is familiar with the tradition, but he doesn’t mention it.  He’s someone that doesn’t let loose at parties; he doesn’t enjoy shoreleave from his ship, not really.  He only accepted the invite because you invited him, and you happened to be someone that caught his interest.  That in itself was new to him; he usually didn’t entertain such idle fancies.  

Letting your guard down, in his experience, was deadly.  

Still, he goes along with it for your sake.  He even grabs a drink, though nurses it throughout the night while keeping a vigilant stare.  There’s an awful lot of humans at the party, most of which cast glances his way–though once he catches their gaze with his narrowed sockets, they immediately pretend to be occupied with something else.

He tries to be sociable with you, keeping up conversation, though he keeps a watchful gaze on Buc, making sure that he doesn’t get too drunk and rowdy.  

By the time the countdown occurs, you’re feeling a little bad about asking him to come.  He’s just seemed to tense the entire time, scowling, even if he did converse with you.  Still, you push that aside, happy that you were able to bring in the new year with him, and turn toward him to shout over the boisterous cheers, “Happy New Year, Papyrus!  I hope we can have another great year together!”

He glances around, noticing the couples sealing that sentiment with a kiss.  You’re not a couple, but… “AYE, HERE’S TO ANOTHER YEAR, AN’ MAY TH’ WIND ALWAYS FILL YOUR SAILS ‘N YOUR COMPASS BE TRUE.”  You smiled at the sentiment, and his expression softened slightly.  You even noticed a light red blush begin to bloom across his cheekbones.

“… I HOPE YE WON��T THINK ME A RAPSCALLION, BUT…”

He holds out his hand, and you blink, staring.  "You?  Rapscallion?  Pfft, never.“  You voice holds an amusement that goes over his head.  Instead, he seems relieved as he nods… and then proceeds to press his sharp teeth to the back of your hand.  His crimson eyelight smolders in its sockets as he looks at you–and the way that your breath hitches, your face immediately heating up.  

It may not be a direct kiss, but the look on his face promises more in the coming year.    

(*Imagine Masterlist)

[junker-town]

We asked you which college basketball recruits you wish your school got. Here's what you said.

These recruiting misses in college basketball still sting.

You never forget the one that got away. Just ask a college basketball fan.

There’s a unique anxiety that comes with following recruiting for any devoted fan of a college basketball program. Your emotions are directly tied to the whim of a teenager, and the only thing on the line is the next one-to-four years of your happiness. There is no other sport that feels so fragile when it comes to assembling talent.

With recruiting season in full swing, we asked for your school’s most heartbreaking recruiting misses.

Which recruit will live forever as "the one that got away" for your favorite college basketball team?

— SB Nation CBB (@SBNationCBB) August 8, 2017

The answers ranged from 1974 to just last season. There are NBA superstars and players who were just damn good at the college level. This is what you told us.

Louisville is still hung up on Allan Houston

Allan Houston, Louisville

— Stephen Kalayil (@stephenkalayil) August 8, 2017

Allan Houston. At minimum, one title got away.

— Cap'n Fonger© (@TennesseeTMan) August 8, 2017

Allan Houston

— Mickey Sorg (@MickeySorg) August 8, 2017

Wade Houston was Louisville’s first ever African-American player. He was hired as an assistant coach in 1976 and held the position for 13 years. In 1988, he landed one of his biggest recruits: his son, Allan Houston.

Just before Allan Houston was set to arrive on campus, Wade was hired as the head coach at Tennessee. Allan was granted his release from Louisville and went on to become the Volunteers’ all-time leading scorer. He averaged more than 20 points per game all four years of his career.

What stings for Louisville fans is Houston’s Tennessee teams were consistently underwhelming, finishing with a 60-68 record over his four years and never making the NCAA tournament. Meanwhile, the Cards made the tournament three times over that span, including a trip to the Sweet 16 in 1993 during Houston’s senior year.

The current NBA stars

Hokies: Steph Curry

— My Name is Evan (@VorpGrit) August 8, 2017

Klay Thompson, Nevada

— Jared Grauvogel (@JGrauvogel) August 8, 2017

Dwayne Wade, DePaul

— Ryan Stuprich (@RyanStuprich) August 8, 2017

Russell Westbrook from Creighton

— Ernest Wilkins (@WonAndDones) August 8, 2017

The common thread here is that all of these NBA superstars were overlooked as recruits. Thompson was the only top-100 prospect of the bunch and he checked in at No. 53 in the 2008 class rankings way, according to ESPN.

Wade was once considered the fifth best player in the state of Illinois before leading Marquette to the Final Four and becoming a top-five NBA draft pick. Curry’s father Dell was a legend at Virginia Tech but the Hokies only extended him an offer as a walk-on. Westbrook recently said he nearly accepted Creighton’s scholarship offer as a junior before high major offers came flooding in as a senior.

The takeaway here is that nothing is guaranteed based on recruiting rankings. If they were, Josh Selby would be an NBA MVP and not Steph Curry.

Illinois fans get their own section

Eric Gordon, Illinois. #IndianaSucks

— Russ Johnson (@rjohns52) August 9, 2017

Don't the Illini win a championship and have the greatest team ever with Charlie Villanueva?

— Ben Finfer (@BenFinfer) August 8, 2017

John scheyer was a big deal...Eric Gordon..deon Thomas was the huge one that got Illini in trouble..

— jim iuorio (@jimiuorio) August 8, 2017

Sherron Collins/Julian Wright. i know that's a two-fer, but they won a NC for Bill Self at KU. Self remains at IL, probably a banner in AH

— Andrew (@AVSIllini) August 8, 2017

Cliff Alexander picked up the Illinois hat at his announcement, that has to make his case for No. 1

— Terrence Payne (@terrence_payne) August 8, 2017

It’s been a rough decade for Illinois basketball. It feels like the program still hasn’t fully recovered from Eric Gordon’s decommitment and eventual flip to Indiana. Jon Scheyer was coached by Bruce Weber’s brother in high school but still ended up at Duke. Villanueva reneged on his commitment only after Bill Self left for Kansas.

Still, the defining document of Illinois’ recruiting woes is Cliff Alexander’s hat switcheroo. The fan reaction is remains gut-wrenching.

Recruiting misses, legends edition

Tim Duncan at providence.

— Guy Pancake (@whooleythecat) August 8, 2017

Gary Payton St. John's

— Noel Ratner (@goredstorm) August 9, 2017

Larry bird. Indiana. Sigh

— Chris Nieman (@ChrisjNieman) August 8, 2017

Phil Ford UNC instead ofNCSU

— Richard Alston (@wirebender5) August 8, 2017

DR DAMN J, IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY https://t.co/JZDQjsZr85

— Arnold Woods (@ArnoldtheThird) August 9, 2017

The story of how Duncan slipped through Providence’s hands is just painful:

In the fall of 1992, then-Providence coach Rick Barnes only had one vacant scholarship yet he secured a pair of commitments, one from top target Eric Williams and the other from a little-known center from St. Croix named Tim Duncan. When Barnes sought permission to sign both players, the response wasn't what he expected.

"I knew we had a guy that was going to transfer, maybe two," Barnes told ESPN.com for a piece on noteworthy recruiting hits and misses. "I went to our athletic director and we went to the president, who was a priest at the time. I told him I wanted to sign Tim and he said, 'But you don't have a scholarship.' I said, 'I will.' He wouldn't let me sign him."

Two players did transfer from Providence, but by then Duncan had already signed with Wake Forest.

Bird was actually on campus Indiana for a semester. Then this happened:

After less than a month on campus he dropped out of school, finding the adjustment between his small hometown and the large student population of Bloomington to be overwhelming.[6] He returned to French Lick, enrolling at Northwood Institute (now Northwood University) in nearby West Baden, and working municipal jobs for a year before enrolling at Indiana State University in Terre Haute in 1975.

Imagine Michael Porter Jr. dropping out of school to work a municipal job. Times have changed.

Reminder: Tyler Hansbrough was an amazing college player

If I had to pick one though, probably Tyler Hansborough. Mizzou makes the final 4 in '08-'09 with him.

— Mizzou Daily (@MizzouDaily) August 8, 2017

Hansbrough-Mizzou

— Dan Florie (@dan_florie) August 8, 2017

Please, go read the great Bill Connelly at Rock M. Nation about how missing on Hansbrough altered the trajectory of Mizzou Hoops. Yes, it’s two parts. Fortunately, things are a little better for the Tigers these days.

Recent misses that still sting

jabari parker michigan state

— Ben Stram (@stramben) August 8, 2017

Andrew Wiggins - Florida State

— Chuck (@CLJax23) August 8, 2017

Malik Monk (Arkansas)

— #Fastest40 (@HawgHoops) August 8, 2017

Caleb Swanigan (MSU)

— Thomas Whitt (@thomasjwhitt) August 9, 2017

Monk’s commitment to Kentucky over his hometown program of Arkansas -- where his brother once starred as a wide receiver — endures as one of the most painful recruiting misses of the last few years. The entire Arkansas team used to show up to his high school games.

The entire Razorback basketball team showed up to watch Malik Monk tonight. http://pic.twitter.com/IjQ9LRBYJG

— Bo Mattingly (@SportsTalkwBo) March 3, 2015

Florida State was once thought to be the favorite for Wiggins. Both of his parents were athletes at FSU. The student body pulled out all the stops for his official visit.

throwbyke to fsu recruiting pitch to wiggins. why didn't u come @22wiggins http://pic.twitter.com/RMzO8ZAMqQ

— dylan (@40ozGod_) December 7, 2016

He still landed at Kansas.

Just remember college basketball fans: the next time a prized recruit chooses another school, you are not alone. It happens to everyone.