#but I'm pretty certain that it is *absolutely* DIRE

[winterarmyy]

Promise Me | Part I

When he was sent out for war, Bucky made a promise to his lover that might just last through several lifetimes.

Summary: Y/N kept being reincarnated into the world for seemingly endless of lifetimes with the lasting, vivid memories of her past lover during the 40's, Sargent James B. Barnes. While she thought this was a 'punishment' for her sins, she was also unknowingly oblivious to the fact that James was still alive somewhere, almost forever frozen in the time.

Navigation: Part I | Part II | Part III (end)

Words: 6.5k++ (hella long bc lots to cover in the story building part)

Pairing: 40s!bucky / eventually tfatws!bucky x female!reader

Warnings: just slow induced angst for your daily consumption (i guess?) It has a hopeful ending so don't let the first warning chase you away. reincarnation concept. an attempt to follow exact mcu timeline (forgive if i'm wrong at certain parts). slight religious contents. grief & loss. graphic violence. deaths. mention of suicide. a lot of reader's pov, story building > dialogs (sorry guys).

P/S: Another impulsive writing from me y'all. I hope you don't get bored of this tendency of mine lol. I just need to let the fantasies out before it consumes me. So... anyway, it's gonna be another 3 parts fic cause for the love of god, I cannot commit for more :') Also, my first attempt of writing 40's bucky!!! I'm honestly scared. I hope you like it!

Read my other works here: Masterlist

Italy, 1943 – His return

If it was one thing that Bucky should expect when he decided to be in a relationship with Y/N was that he had to accept her for who she was; stubborn, clumsy, bold, clever, sweet and most certainly the prettiest dame he ever met.

He might have unknowingly signed up for it the moment he quite literally fell for her at one of those Stark's science expo. Bucky had been stealing glances at this one pretty lady in the crowd, adored in soft mint dress that falls right below her knees.

It wasn't even a scandalous dress to wear in public but somehow Bucky was more than ecstatic to marvel at her beauty. There was no such thing as a too long of a stare, especially when she laughed like that; throwing her head in amusement, the loose strands of her curls fall back across her shoulders as they slightly shook to the rhythm of her laughter.

A careless misstep, that Bucky could see from a mile away, had caused her to stagger backwards and twisted her ankle into an inevitable fall. Somehow, Bucky managed to slither his way through the crowd towards her, almost jumping forward to catch her before she landed on the ground.

Not only that he was the one who fell first, but he also fell hard.

So, it was expected that Bucky knew what he had got himself into. At least, that was what Y/N had been repeating in her head to convince herself for what she had done. Now that she was sitting at the back of the wobbly military truck, the fear had slowly started to seep into her, causing shivers to crawl all over her nerves.

Y/N just knew it in her guts that Bucky would be absolutely furious when he sees her but what does he expect her to do when she hadn't receive any letters from him for months now. So, when she heard that they needed more medical helpers at the Italy base, she signed up without thinking twice about it.

"There has been a recent attack on the 107th. Too many casualties and much more whose heavily injured. You might have your hands full the moment you arrive to the base. There are few rules..." The lieutenant's voice was rigid just as his demenour when he continued to inform the situation to the troops of medical staff.

No matter how much she wanted to pay attention to his words, Y/N couldn't help but to tune in only at his first few sentences. Casualties, heavily injured. Her hands moved to search for the cross pendent hanging from the necklace around her collarbone, gripping it tight as she prayed that her lover was not categorized under any of those dire circumstances.

What the lieutenant said in that truck could never be more true as the moment they stepped into the medic tent, Y/N and the others were quickly pulled to assist the fallen men. It was truly heartbreaking and horrid to witness the dreading truth behind what the public posed as the "heros of the country'.

Surely they were proud to fight for the nation but then again no human being should ever had to suffer the consequences of war; not the civilians and certainly not the soldiers.

After seemingly hours of continuous stitching, wrapping and patching up; surrounded sound of groaning pain and the endless cycle of inhaling the distinct scent of fresh blood, burned flesh and the bitter of anticeptic odor; the injured soldiers were finally taken care of and had been put to rest.

Y/N looked around the tent, noting the unorganized mess around the patients; the result of the panic and chaos of the whole situation. A thought came to her mind, she might need to do some cleaning up before writing down medical record for each one of the patients.

That was when the lieutenant entered into the tent, and his stern gaze swiftly analyzed the much calmer scene, "Thank you for your service, everybody. I assume the soldiers are stabilized?"

"Yes, sir." One of the battalion doctor replied as he approached, while the rest of the team watched from where they stood.

The lieutenant simply nodded, "Good." He paused for awhile and looked around,  "Now, have any of you met Captain America before?"

There were bunch of no's murmured around the medical staff, some of them just shook their head as an answer and the lieutenant nodded again as he informed, "Well, I guess you are all just darn lucky cause he's here to perform. You are invited to come and join the others to watch, if you want to."

"Steve's here?" She thought to herself.

As the lieutenant continued to explain some things about accommodation, food and medical supplies, Y/N's head were filled with thought that her dear friend, Steve was there too.

"I wonder if he gotten any words from James."

"Maybe he got letters from him?"

"Or could it be that he was here to find James too?

There were so many questions kept circulating in her head that by the time she snapped out of them, the lieutenant was already long gone and some of the medic staff went out to untangle themselves from the hours of stressful tension.

As a nurse herself, she felt the need to take care of her patients and finish her job before anything else. So, she started to clean up the shredded clothes, bloodied guazes and the other medical tools that needed to be sterilized and put away.

By the time she finished, it finally dawned to her that there was no trace of Bucky in the medic tent. Which means he didn't fall into the heavily injured category. So, there was two left; the one she prayed for and the other that dreaded her to even think about.

Y/N quickly made her way towards the tent where she can find the soldier in charge. However, if she was focused during one of the lieutenant's speech in the truck, she would've heard that she and the others were not authorized to enter certain parts of the base, which include the higher ups' tents.

When she was turned down by the soldiers, she sadly walked away towards the main area where Steve was supposed to perform. The drag of her feet across the dusty sand was heavy but no more heavier than the burden in her heart.

She watched as her black pump shoes gradually covered with light sand. Finding it odd that a few weeks ago she was standing on the shiny tile of a hospital in Brooklyn and now she was halfway across the world in the middle of the chaos of a war.

The things she'd do for love.

Soon enough, the dry ground was wet from the sudden down pour, turning it into a murky soggy path. Y/N quickly ran towards the main area where apparently the show was long over. "Did I missed Steve?" She thought as she stepped into the tent where the performers supposed to be.

The tent turned out to be empty and only the sound of drizzling raindrops above it was left behind. She looked around the area and saw the costumes for the performers were still there; the pleated white and red skirt hanging on the rack, white gloves clipped with them, the captain's shield with notes sticking at the back of it and the iconic blue helmet-mask thingy plastered with the obvious letter.

She peeked a little to the right only to see Steve hunched down on the floor, curling into himself just as he always did back when he was left beaten up in the alleyway somewhere in Brooklyn. She guessed that the upgrade of his size doesn't really change his habits.

Y/N walked closer to see him holding his sketchbook on one hand and another was a pencil pressing across the paper, lining the drawing of a monkey on a unicycle. "I guess the serum does not amplify your art skills huh Steve?" she teased as she approached the blonde man.

Steve lifted up his head as he turned towards the familiar voice, "y/n?" His face lit up as he recognized her face. He stood on his feet and pulled her into a tight hug, "It's so good to see you." He sighed, he haven't seen her since his departure when she insisted for him to stay.

But alas, Steve was also as stubborn as her.

It took awhile for him to process it but when it came to him, he gently pushed her away, "Wait.. what are you doing here?" His brows creased into a worried frown.

Y/N simply smiled as she responded, "They needed help, so I volueentered."

Steve shook his head in disbelief, "Bucky made me promise not to let you do stuff like this." In which Y/N countered, "And he also remind you not to do anything stupid until he get back so..." she purposely trailed her words for him to draw the conclusion on his own.

He let out a long sighed before concluding, "Bucky's gonna kill us."

Since, Bucky was in the topic, Y/N took the oppurtunity to asked Steve about him, "About that, have you heard--"

A woman's voice came from her back, cutting in between her words, "Steve?"

Steve nervously untangled himself from Y/N as he shyly greeted the woman, "Hi."

The woman continued to stare at Y/N trying to figure out her role and relationship with Steve but before she could get any strange idea, he quickly introduced her, "This is y/n. She's my good friend from home."

A spark of realization glint through her eyes "I see. I'm Peggy. Nice to meet you." She extended her hand towards Y/N, in which Y/N gladly shook it in hers as she reintroduced herself, "You too. I'm y/n."

After the brief exchange of smile between the two ladies, Steve continued to asked Peggy, "What are you doing here?"

Peggy sighed as she explained, "Officially, I'm not here at all." She paused as she picked her words, "I just came by to oversee the situation after the recent attack."

Although Y/N knew what Peggy meant, she was one of the medic staff that had been stitching up the aftermath of that attack after all. However, Steve on the other hand seemed to be lost.

Peggy further explained, "Schmidt sent out a force to Azzano, more than 200 men went up against him and less than 50 returned." She paused, "Your audience contained what's left of the 107th."

Steve's blues widen in realization that almost looked much like panic, "The 107th?"

"What?" Peggy prompt quickly.

Steve then turned his head to Y/N, "Bucky?" He questioned shortly.

But even she was hoping that he'll know something about Bucky, apparently she was wrong, "I tried to ask but I'm not authorized to enter the tent. I was hoping you heard from him."

Seeing the panic in Steve's eyes, she knew that her lover was no where near the safety that she prayed for. But before fear could set in, Steve sprinted out of the tent, "Come on!" he shouted as Y/N and Peggy ran closely behind him.

When they arrived to the tent, fortunately they had the permission to enter with the help of Peggy. "Well, if it isn't the Star-Spangled Man With A Plan. What is your plan today?" Colonel Philips greeted in a teasing manner.

Steve didn't even bother to greet the colonel as he demanded, "I need the casualty list from Azzano." In which the Philips responded, "You don't get to give me orders, son."

Knowing that arguments won't help the situation, he control his tone of voice and spoke, "I just need one name, Sergeant James Barnes from the 107th." He took a short breath and insisted, "Please tell me if he's alive, sir. B-A-R-"

Colonel Phillips stood on his feet as he walked towards a table behind him, "I can spell. I have signed more of these condolence letters today than I would care to count." He paused before turning around to eye on Steve and briefly on the very worried looking nurse next to him.

"But the name does sound familiar. I'm sorry." There was a flash of sincerity in his eyes when he looked towards Y/N.

The optimistic Steve continued to insist more about other possibilities than casualties, "What about the others? Are you planning a rescue mission?" They went back and forth about the what is the 'right' thing to do, "Yes, it's called 'winning the war'. "

And suddenly sound of the heavy rain fall was all Y/N could hear, then comes the booming of her heartbeat as the panic started to deprive her of any optimism, clouding her judgment to think of anything near to positive outcomes such as Steve.

It was getting harder to breath and the anxitey slowly choked her, forcing tears to pool in her eyes. Peggy swiftly took a hold on Y/N, before her knees managed to fall to the ground. The muffled sound of Peggy's voice managed to come through but not enough to wake her from the despair.

Before she knew it, Steve was already gone for an unauthorized rescue mission with the help from Peggy. And ever since, Y/N had spend every waking moment digging her knees into the uneven ground. Her elbows bruised from how hard she propped them on the steel edge of the army green cot. Her palms almost dented to shape of the silver cross as she desperately squeeze it between her hold.

She prayed and prayed for his return. For both of her dearest to be safe, to find their way home.

And for a moment Y/N thought her prayers were graciously granted by God, as the crowd was getter louder and the circle of soldiers were geting thicker when the survivors joined the rest of them. There were chantings of "Captain America" that echoed throughout the base and that gave her relief to know that Steve was safe.

But it was not enough to tame her anxiousness. Y/N's focus has never been sharper when her eyes scanned the crowd, she slithered her way between the jumping joy of the soldiers, grabbing onto some men who she mistook as Bucky until she saw him.

Her heartbeat ramped increasingly as she pushed through the soldiers, finding strength from the blood pumping excitement when she recognize those steel blues and that cheeky smile. Not long before she managed to grab onto his hand and pulled his attention to her.

It was brief but he knew that face anywhere; and suddenly his whole body was engulf into a familiar tight hug that he thought he could never be able to feel again. "James." her voice still stuttered even if it was just one word that came out of her lips.

"y/n?" Bucky called her name, almost in disbelief.

God, she never knew that she was able to miss his voice this much.

"Doll, what you doing here?" He gently lead her away, which she reluctantly followed, "I'm here for you." There was no need of lies now that Bucky was here in her arms.

His gaze soften with a mix of concern and joy, "What do you mean you're here for me?" Bucky couldn't help but to let out a short laugh, "Sweetheart, you do realized that you're in the middle of a war?" His brows quirked as he reminded.

Y/N rolled her eyes. Of course, she realized that. The moment she saw that form for enlistment, she knew. But, it didn't stop her to sign up, does it?

She laced her fingers into his, "I didn't come all the way here to fight with you, James." she whispered as she leaned closer, "So, please just shut up and kiss me."

Bucky might have just realized it now; what a stubborn, demanding, crazy little lover got himself. Though at the same time, she had never charmed him more.

Bucky sighed in defeat before running his tongue on his lower lip, "Well then, come here you little minx" he took her by the head and gave her the most desperate yet sweetest kiss she could never forget.

Brooklyn, 1944 – Promises, promises

It was the day that Steve, Bucky and the rest of the Howling Commandos were depolying to the Austrian Alps for one of the biggest mission since Captain's impulsive rescue mission in Italy last year.

Apparently, Zola was on the move and predicted to be passing though the location while travelling on a train.

This wasn't the first time she had sent Bucky away, but the fear of each always felt like it was her first; especially when she thought about the promise of death that's chained to a soldier's fate.

The closer the time of departure, the stronger her grip on Bucky's uniform becomes. And Bucky didn't need to say anything because he knows her too well; she won't take any of his sweet words as a cure for her distress.

Bucky slowly swayed her from side to side as their embrace tightens with need; her face hidden in the crook of his neck while his arms secured around her waist. He had to smile as it reminded him of their late night dance, barefoot on the kitchen floor of his apartment.

He could feel the teasing gaze coming from his back as well as the whistles of the Howling Commandos playfully making fun of him. Bucky was also well aware of the fact that everyone had made theirs bets on when will the Sargent James B. Barnes finally get down on his knees for his little nightingale of a nurse.

Unsurprisingly, Steve might just win the bet afterall. That punk just had know everything about him.

Y/N closer snuggled into him one last time, "Come home to me, James." She whispered against his skin before pulling away. Teary eyes threatened to spill its salty liquid as she looked up at him, "Promise me."

Bucky's charming smile lighten his features as he leaned to press a kiss in her forehead, "I promise."

Brooklyn, 1945 – Loved and lost

Months gone by, entered the new year, and it always felt like eternity for Y/N. She spent nights kneeling next to her bed and days on the church's floor; practically begging to God for the life of her lover, for keeping him away from death.

And the letters from Bucky also come and goes within those few months' time, with his promises of coming home that's laced in the words of his longing and love for her.

But, little did she knew, that promise met it's end of the bargain when the dreaded letter came to her hands. It came from the man she met back in Italy base, Colonel Phillips, sending the words of condolences for the death Sargent James B. Barnes during his honourable mission at the Austrian Alps.

But the first time she read to words, it didn't even register in her head. It was as if her brain failed to translate the message for her to understand. Y/N had been re-reading the same lines over and over and over until it finally clicked.

The usually bright eyes of hers were now slowly filled with tears, she was in the state of shock; that even if her brain knew exactly what had happened but her heart wasn't ready for it. 

The tears started to fall down onto the letter. Drip by drip. And all of the sudden she lost every word that she could ever think of. Her silent scream; suffocating her with each breath she took desperately gripping onto the fragile piece of paper, holding it to her chest hold as if that would help to ease the pain in her heart.

Y/N could feel it in her ripping guts. How all the threads of every joyful memories she could ever once recall; they  unraveled in a way that broke her to pieces until they were all but a rumpled of strings scattered about her feet.

A sharp fall had forced Y/N down to her knees, skin digging into the hard floor as her hands trembled silently, clutching onto the letter.

At first when she opened her mouth, there was not a single sound came out as her breath ripped from her lungs. Each left her with scars of loss and every waking minute in this reality was just pure pain.

Her body bend forward until her forehead meets the floor, that was when she wailed; an agonizing scream that left a haunting memory to the neighbours around her apartment.

She cried like there was too much raw pain inside that she could never contained. She cried like her soul needed to break loose from her skin, desperate to release a loathful rage on the world. 

But it was more than just crying, it was the sobbing of a woman that drained of all hope. She sank on floor, willing herself to be swallowed by the dread and loss. Just screaming out the agonies that been dancing across her vulnerable veins. 

Her chest violently quivered as she was desperately trying to catch the air. She collected every last energy that she had to call out the name of the lover she had loss, "James.." Her gasping breath whispered against the floor, "You promised." 

A month later the nation celebrate to the announcement to the end of a war, but to Y/N it was just another wave of mourning grief to a loss of another precious person in her life; Steve.

Amidst the loud sound of cheering and laughter, she rushed away from the crowd to the place that she had put all her faith into. Stumbling through the empty church and falling at the feet of Jesus' statue, Y/N looked up at the face if God with loath, rage, despair, and tears.

The night was brighten to the flashing light from the firework but all she could think of was how similar the sound of it to a firing canon in the war. And the thought of Bucky and Steve run through her mind.

She had been nothing but faithful to the lord, religiously prayed for no more than saving the life of people she held dear to her heart.

But, God thought it would be merciful to let them die.

Y/N harshly ripped the cross necklace from her neck, tearing her skin apart in the process. She gripped on the cross in her hands, much like she would few month back but for completely different reason.

The crimson of her blood tainted her white collar of her nurse uniform as she she cursed the all mighty God for what he had done. Ever since, she swore to herself to never be naive to the illusion of God's mercy ever again.

Washington D.C., 2014 – An old friend

Fate is full with irony and God has his way of twisting them for his own pleasure.

When Y/N died in the 60's, old and unmarried, even if she doesn't believe in God anymore, her dying wish was to be able to meet her lover and friend again.

At least one more time.

But lo and be hold, God had different plans for her. Y/N's body did die that night on the hospital bed but her soul never did. It was as if she was woken up from sleep in another body with the same face as her, that's when she realized she has been reincarnated.

Apparently, she was only born in the same family lineage as her original life; whether coming from her younger brother or cousin or anyone related back to her bloodline. And sharing even the tiniest amount of blood of her own, triggers every single memory from her previous life.

This wasn't what she wanted.

She didn't want to live knowing she cannot be with Bucky.

So on the 2nd life, she did the unthinkable. She took her own life, thinking that she would finally leave the world behind but she didn't.

It happened again.

And again.

And again.

So, when she reached her 6th life, she realized that she will never able to meet James and Steve ever again; that was when she went rogue.

Her 6th life was filled with rage and vengeance that she took the idea of life very lightly. So, instead of living until the old days, she searched for revenge and got herself tragically killed in the process.

Now, the 18 year old Y/N was in her 7th life, with a new name that was given by her 7th parents, "Evelyn" , and the spitting image of her 1st life. From her dark raven hair to the light brown of her eyes. This time, she decided to try to accept the cruel fate; the cursed that God had placed on her for the sin that she made decades ago.

Y/N walked around the Smithsomian Museum, specifically at the American history section where they put up Captain America's exhibit. It's been how many lifetimes since she surround herself with knowledge of a past that she once lived.

This was the first time, since her first life. And most probably the last time since she was going overseas in a week to continue her studies in Asia.

She walked along the line up display of the Howling Commandos suits, remembering the living flesh of them as she took steps forward to each, stopping in front of Bucky's.

Flashes of him appeared to where the figure stood; the memories was so vivid that she could still feel fabric of his suit against her, the electrifying feeling on his skin on her own.

She ripped her gaze away just to be greeted by the portrait of Bucky, plastered so hugely on the memorial of one of the Howling Commandos section. Despite the cracking of her heart, her body move on its own; as they knew that deep down, Y/N's heart will always be yearning for her lover.

Her gaze soften with longing and nostalgic as she slowly blink at his features. His considerably messy hair, that little frown that he does to act mysterious for the ladies, and the thin layer of beard that she loved to leave her lipstick marks on.

Y/N's daydream were cut short when someone pulled her by the arm, startling her into a defensive mode. Her 6th life's habit almost broke through when she nearly flipped the man on the floor but thankfully she stopped herself as she recognized those blue eyes.

The man's face looked pale like he had seen a ghost, as he uttered a name that she haven't heard for decades, "y/n?"

"Steve..." she called his name wordlessly.

She knew he was alive. Everybody does, when the news came out in 2011, she was merely a 15 year old kid back then. Apparently, the super soldier serum helped him to survive the ice.

She remembered how her parents rushed to her room when they heard the sudden cluttering sounds of panic upstairs, only to find their daughter on the floor looking pale while her cup of iced coffee spilling in all over her study desk as the viral youtube video of Captain America running through New York city barefoot.

She remembered the feeling of both disbelief and joy that rushed through body as her parents helped her to sit up on her bed. The moment that it sunk into her head, she began to cry. Streams of joyful tears broke from her shaky body, each drop washed the painful burden in her heart as her parents lulled her to sleep.

Y/N never made an effort to meet him after knowing truth because who would've believe her words?

She wasn't Steve. There wasn't any super soldier serum in her blood. There wasn't any tank of chemical that drown her with power.

She was cursed and now she had to live with it.

Meanwhile, Steve seemed to be trapped in a spiralling confusion of his own. He examined each of her features and he had not a single doubt that she has the same face to an old friend in the 40's.

The same friend that he knew died of old age in the 60's.

But, how come the person managed to have the exact same face to hers. Now that he looked closer, she was younger than the last time he saw Y/N. She looked like she was in her teens, "Are you really y/n?" His voice was soft as he muttered.

Y/N bit the insides of her cheeks, holding back the urge of telling him the truth, "Sorry, I think you got the wrong person." she tried to untangle his grasp around the thin of her arm.

Even her voice was similar to Y/N, and she was looking at Bucky's photo like she knew him.

How could she say that she's was not Y/N?

Steve reluctantly let go of her arms and took a step away after seeing the distress on her face, "I-I'm sorry. You remind me of someone I know." He couldn't take his eyes off her.

She was just too similar looking to someone precious that he left behind.

"It's okay, sir." She smiled gently, like the way she usually does when Steve apologizes for his impulsiveness of picking a fight in alleyways. She looked up to the taller man as she continued, "Thank you for being alive..." she hesitated to call him by his name so instead she called for his other name, "...Captain."

She thanked him sincerely before walking away, leaving Steve to reminisce the memories of his life with Y/N and Bucky as he stared at Bucky's memorial.

The next week, she left the United States for Asia where she planned to spend 4 years studying at the National University of Singapore, leaving her past behind in hopes of moving forward with her life, refusing to care about the avengers shenanigans anymore, including her dear friend, Steve.

New York, 2018 – New norms

When half of the population was wiped out from the earth, two of them was Y/N's parents. And like every other people who had lost their loved ones during the blip, her parents sudden absence truly take a toll on her, especially when she was planning to live a long life with them.

After graduating and getting a decent job in Singapore, she was forced to go back to New York when it happened. Y/N couldn't just let her childhood house left abandoned, she simply can't let that happen.

You would thought a person who had multiple lifetimes would be used to losing someone they love but no. It only gets worst as the years go by.

The more Y/N tried to fit into the new norms, the more that she could feel herself slipping into old habits of her 6th life.

Until that one drunken night when she visited the Smithsomian Museum again after years of forcing herself to forget about him; it took her one look at the potrait of Bucky, she knew what she had to do.

Germany, 2023 – An old nemesis

Nearly 5 years into the blip and Y/N was already becoming a legend in the underground scene. They called her the Deathstalker. She never really knew the origin of it but nevertheless she chooses to stick with the newly founded identity.

With the skills she picked up on her 6th life, she easily became the most deadly assassin in the business, seemingly in a constant competition of reputation with the highly popular, black widow assassins.

Though she couldn't care less about who was winning the battle, she only cares about tracking anything or anyone related to Hydra.

After that fateful night at the museum, she couldn't to think that this must be her calling.

If the curse made her technically immortal, then why not became the hunter destined to slay the monster. They said that Hydra will never die, but so was she. And if anything good came out from this curse, then she might as well use it to avenge Bucky.

And bring the old nemesis to the ground.

Her 6th life was similar to this but she wasn't going to make the same mistake. The flaming greed to have her revenge was too strong back then, it lead her to be hasty and clumsy, which then let her to an early death.

But, she's grown out of those immaturity.

Nowadays, she takes her time and still get the job done flawlessly. Just like she is now, when the soft but dark sound of her chuckle, interrupted the silence that had claimed the room.

The poor man was sitting limp on the chair with his body tied with it. He had been like this for seemingly hours with a knife in one of his thighs, which trembled with the vibrations of his body.

More so, when Y/N twisted them, causing a keen of pain to clawed up his throat and spilled out a hoarse groan.

"Where is it?" Her fingers wrapped around the handle, as she watched the man tossed his head, more with fear than trying to answer.

"I don't like to repeat myself." Y/N slid the blade free, causing a noise he would not forget. The man sagged against his bonds, panting as he watched the blood surged and dribbled out of the wound.

But then he felt the prick against his other leg, wide eyes turning to watch as the knife was held above his skin, Y/N's hand flat against the top, ready to push in. "Where the fuck is it?" her tone was eerie as the voice changer in her mask produced an emotionless robotic effect on it.

"I don't know what you're talking about." The thick german accent seethed through his voice as he grunted in pain.

There was only boredom in Y/N's eyes as she gazes straight into his. A stab of the knife went through his thigh without a warning, until the tip of it almost met the flat surface of the chair beneath it.

The whole room echoed with the sound of the whimpering and cries of his struggle, "Please, I swear to God I don't know what you're talking about." He pleaded as fast as he can, when he felt the shortage of breaths in his lungs due to dealing with the excruciating pain.

"Playing dumb isn't going to help you, mutt." She twisted the knife, pulled out and stabbed it again causing him to fall into an almost delirious state, "Please, please please, I swear I don't know anything about the serum." He blurted out of misery.

There it was.

The thing she wanted to hear.

Y/N's eyebrow quirked in interest, "I never mentioned the serum in our conversation, no?"

He fucked up.

He knew that he fucked up.

But, does it matter when his body was searing in pain?

By the end of the intense interrogation, Y/N finally got the intel she needed to find and destroy whatever was left behind by Wilfred Nagel, who was recruited by the CIA to recreate the super soldier serum.

Those greedy fuckers just cannot stay away from things that shouldn't be meddled with. Even Y/N could see the potential threats of a successful recreation the super soldier serum; they were practically asking for Hydra to revive to its glory days.

And she would not allow that to happen.

She needed to destroy it before its finished.

A loud wail left the man's lips, almost sounded a little strained as he had been screaming in pain for hours. Y/N mercilessly grabbed him by his sweaty chin as she pried his mouth open. Knowing exactly what was coming, the man begged, "Oh lord, please please help me please."

Leaning closer she coldly spoke, "The gods doesn't care about you. Trust me I've been there." With a swift strike, she forced her knife down his throat, and a splash of red tainted her mask, nearly got into her eyes but she managed to blink before it does.

She stood still as she watched him gurgle on his own blood as death collected his soul. Wiping the blood away from her eyelid, she walked out of the abandoned building with a mission to finish; all the while blissfully oblivious to the war that the avengers were fighting to their death on the other side of the world.

Madripoor, 2024 – The most prized asset

The returned of her parents were as sudden as the lost. Though she was glad that they were back, however she had to live a double life now that they kept asking about her job and personal life as they wanted to catch up for the lost of time in 5 years.

Y/N felt bad for lying to her parents but it was for their own good. Now, that she had sent them to a honeymoon to travel all over Europe, she felt better in pursuing her mission without concerns.

Besides the joyful return there was also the awful ones.

Now, that Wilfred Nagel was back from the blip. The serum was perfected to its finest version. And was stolen by bunch of kids protesting for equal rights.

What a fucking mess that was.

But, she would deal with that later. The main focus right now was to find the man itself. There would be no more serums if the source is eradicated.

That was her priority.

With her face hidden behind her signature mask, Y/N walked through the messy crowd as she searches for Shelby's men. This should be a short meeting, since Shelby and her had history together; or more to a favour that she owns to Y/N.

However, when she tried to tune in into the hushed conversations in the crowd, she noticed that the murmurs seemed to be divided into two hot topics; one about the sudden appreance of the Deathstalker, which was herself, and second was surprisingly about the return of another notorious assassin. 

Then when the conversations died down, a fight suddenly broke out. Y/N hold on the handle of her blades from the side of her thighs, as she stiffed into a defensive mode.

While on the other hand, the crowd seemed to be more interested in recording the fight, than avoiding it.

She seemlessly weaved her way through the people, only to see that the action ended with a man choked onto the table of bar. The attacker's face turned away from her where she could only see his figure from the back.

Then, a gleam of gold caught her attention, Y/N squinted her eyes as she analyzed the man's left arm.

It was not the pattern of the sleeve from his suit.

It was his arm.

A black bionic arm.

Which reminded of her of someone she came across in her 6th life; but his was a tin foil silver with a red star on his upper arm. At the time, he was Hydra's most prized asset, they called him the Winter Soldier.

Part II >>

Read my other works here: Masterlist

A/N: yes, I am well aware that left y'all hanging but I still hope you enjoy this one. Tell me what you think so far, I'm curious if y'all cry at the part where she received the letter or maybe you can comment of something else, I'd still love to hear them ♡

#winterarmyyfics #promise me au #bucky x reader #bucky x you #bucky barnes au #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #40s!bucky #1940s!bucky #tfatws!bucky

[lowkeyclueless5137]

whoa. This new AU looks mega cool 😎. You know the one where Riddle, Kalim, Epel, and Idia turn into aliens and all. So uhh can I ask how it would technically impact some side events like uhhh ghost marriage, that one Halloween event, glorious masquerade and last not least the most recent Stage in Playful land?(also Epel got a slight opinion on Way Big, what about the rest?) PS, what if the four somehow(especially Idia) uhhh got uhh affected by a certain Big Chill/Necrofriggian event that uhh kinda ended up with FOURTEEN Necrofriggian babies?

:0 welp the last point plays into the more deep relationship with magic and the omnitrix.

Again... I'm going to go into a long explanations, so anon, hope you are ready for a pretty stuffed up read more. :'3

First of all! The remaining 3 impressions for way big... Well... It is in the name: it's way too big. Since most of the action is in NRC, a confined space(save for the dorms) way big is more or so an inconvenience. (Kalim might find it fun to hold Jamil in his palm like a smol hamster) Therefore it's a transformation that is used almost never. :'3

For the events, it does depend on everyone. So I'm gonna tackle them in the form of who has the most impactul changes in this au.(basically the ssr of the event) :'3

Ghost marriage

It is obvious af that Idia is the main attraction of the event. Here Ortho is even more insistent on saving his brother because if Idia dies, the omnitrix can fall in anyone's hands and thus a lot of problems could be caused. :v

As such, since(theoretically) ghost marriage is before book 6, Idia still doesn't use the omnitrix unless he gets into a hiding spot first. This is also when Ortho plays some 4D chess and convinces the last team to 'fight for Idia's hand'.

*a wild Malleus has spawned*/j

But this does grant Idia the time and space to go hide and transform. For the occasion, I would say that he uses ghostfreak, just to be in theme. :'3

Endless Halloween night

This is definitely Riddle's event. He would be down to use any and all opportunity to save everyone.

Definitely this is the place where Riddle gets to use some aliens he usually doesn't use, mainly because if they are dealing with ghosts, he has to not be all rash and more retreated.

Most likely Riddle is oh so close to punting Lilia and Malleus, but hey... There is a party at least as some sort of compensation. :v

Glorious masquerade

Again, Idia has an ssr in here and a lot of plot relevance, so he gets yeeted in there and becomes the enemy of state no.1 in Rollo's eyes(as usual :'3)

In here, at first, Idia probably makes a 'noble sacrifice' which is just an excuse to get broken from the group. In here he definitely uses big chill since it's just feels like a smart move to freeze up the fire flowers.

Also Rollo becomes a popsicle. :'3

Stage in playful land

In here, this is definitely after book 4 so Kalim is more prone with arguing with Jamil about his capabilities. This is one of the arguments that makes Kalim to storm off and thus ends up with the group to go to playful land.

And I imagine Kalim absolutely tries to be responsible. He gets swayed a bit by the attractions and fun, but the argument still lingers in his mind and as such he's on guard, which Fellow doesn't like the slightest.

Maybe because of the playful land magically changing the attire, every time Kalim uses the omnitrix, he gets a redesign fit for the playful land aesthetics. Which if it wasn't a dire situation, he would totally be excited about. :v

And now! For the one I was so hyped about: the alien influences and how they are affected by magic.

I did say previously that magic does take a more passive role even in half transformations. This is for a motive: to protect the mage's consciousness and prevent it from outside factors such as the alien DNA, from interfering. Basically like a security clause so no alien DNA imprints on the consciousness. This can prevent a lot of biological urges to go in full swing such as reproduction or more violent responses, but that doesn't mean that the urge isn't there. The difference is that they are absolutely conscious about it and can control it properly to the point it's simply irrelevant. :v

For the Big Chill problem, everyone does handle it differently. :'3

Riddle is absolutely freaking out at first, but as long as he keeps it in, it would be alright.

Kalim tho, would be more like the 'sleepwalking' problem, which gives Jamil a wild night. Doesn't help that man is scared shitless of insects. :'3

Epel doesn't freak out, but is keeping it in pretty easily. Vil and Rook also help him out too.

Idia now, the urges are usually pretty easy to ignore for him, but he cannot deny that it spikes more his anxiety when in public. ESPECIALLY if he has a crush on someone. He's just a mess for a few days and Ortho only puts him to rest, which is the last thing Idia would want to do. He's just making it harder for himself. :')

All in all... Chaos hours. :3

#twisted wonderland #asks :3 #ben 10 au

[jamietwat]

I am so curious about your writing process. I’m reading Bizarre Love Triangle and I’m absolutely bewildered by both how cohesive it is and how fast you post.

Like when Keeley asked to go running with Roy and Jamie last chapter, several chapters after Jamie initially invited her in Amsterdam. Did you know that was coming when you wrote the Amsterdam scene, thus making it work on two levels to establish that Keeley needed space and to set up this later scene? Or was it a coincidence?

Do you outline? In detail? Or just have a general vibe for what happens in each chapter. Or do you figure out plot points as you go? How do you write so fast? Do you write throughout the day or sit down at a certain time and just bang out a bunch of words?

Feel free to entirely ignore this ask. I’m just so fascinated about your entire process and I know I love gushing about writing so if you want to share anything about your process, I would be interested in reading about it

Okay, I absolutely love this question and an excuse to get into it 👀

Like all of my writing, this turned out far longer than I anticipated so my apologies in advance and I'm gonna pop a read more in now

Sometimes I sit down to specifically try to write and finish off a chapter, but a lot of the progress before that is from writing stuff on my phone throughout the day when my brain is on it or when I have a minute. Also, after almost every chapter there's like a day where I don't write at all or write like 100 words and then a point when I go into super writing mode. Almost all of what I write is written in a not necessarily chronological order within the chapter itself but most chapters I work on when I'm on them without jumping ahead with a few exceptions when something wouldn't get out of my head enough that I ended up writing it before going to the chapter I was actually on

Most things are intentionally dropped knowing that I'm coming back to them and when and there are still a bunch of setups hanging all over the place for things we're still coming to. Some things set up stuff pretty close to them (like Colin's aren't you worried Roy's going to cut your dick off now that you're both dating Keeley and Jamie being like no vs when they're sharing a bed the same night and Jamie's internally like Roy is so going to cut my dick off if he finds out I'm bi after this). But lots of them are for things further off and generally, I already know that I'm going to drop the hint at that point before I even get to that point

There's a lot of stuff I put in on purpose and laughed thinking about how it would come back up later. I've already gotten back around to a good chunk of them, but I still have lots of those left to get back to too. The first thing that comes to mind for one that I still have left open is how this is going to come back around later and make a liar of Roy when the team finds out about Roy and Jamie

Occasionally, I think oh this would work with that and throw it in later on without it having originally been foreshadowing, but most of it is intentionally there with the intention of coming back to it

There's the rare time where something's a coincidence (like something next chapter that I realized fit very well with something in the first chapter when rereading some of the older sections without realizing how well it connected before then)

And then ironically, the Jamie asking Keeley to run thing is kind of the exception where originally I was going to have her go at one point with them in Amsterdam and have it contribute more to her being like oh my god I need alone time when suddenly they're inviting her along every day and she's like absolutely not but instead the first chapter of it went how it did and the second chapter skipped ahead to her needing a break and her not going fit so much better but I knew I was also leaving it open for her to go with them later at some point

I just didn't realize it would be last chapter until I was already writing it and saw the direction the morning sections were going and went okay, this is a good time to add this in

And then in terms of outlining, I've reached a point where I end up having to do some level of outline for the chapters but I didn't do that at the start. And how detailed the outline is depends on how hard it is to make sure things go in the right order. But a whole lot of what happens in what order is still just in my head

Since the very start, it's been a lot of holding everything in my head and knowing a lot of what was coming in the long run and short run. And at that point, I wasn't writing things down as a plan but I could benchmark where things happened on the calendar in my head for the June stuff easily like

which weekend was Father's Day meant the team had to find out about them at Sam's restaurant the weekend before

Phoebe had to already know about the Roy and Keeley part before that because of the Cora and Roy conversation before they went to Sam's restaurant

Pride had to come after Father's Day and before the end of school

The end of school had to be where stuff like Leanne asking Roy out showed up

Then off-season stuff was more vaguely in my head like

the stuff with Phoebe around a lot has to go in there and be there some before they go on the trip

but they have to go early enough that Jamie's piercings have time to start healing before pre-season training

And I kind of knew what had to happen before pre-season training, during it, and during actual season

And I generally know the order that the big stuff happens but some of the stuff I moved around in a swapping around the order of plot points kind of way but still keeping them mostly the same (like originally Roy was not going to find out about the pegging thing before the Pride game and it was going to be a chunk after but that worked better when I got going)

Also, some stuff changed in a bigger way longer ago where I decided against the original plan for whatever reason (like originally Keeley was going to meet Cora at the first game of the season, but then that was too long of a wait and Roy bringing around her before then intentionally made more sense so it made way more sense to put her in the Father's Day chapter)

And as far as an organization system goes, I have like 4 systems on the go tbh and I have used some combination of them for each of the chapters since about chapter 7

Chapter 7 (the one where they make the group chat and then later go to Sam's restaurant and tell everybody and like a million things happen there) is the first one where I won't oh fuck I need to write some things down to remember what else needs put in here so it got a list like this in the notes app when I was a good chunk in and was trying to hold in my head all the stuff that had to happen still and how to make it flow in a logical order and then I did not go in that order but checked them off as I went to keep track of what I still needed to get to:

(Also some things blatantly changed between making the list and actually writing them to make them fit better with how things were moving around or to cut them because a different endpoint for the chapter was better):

And for a while it was a lot of holding things in my head and that with the chunks I needed to figure out the order to put in still

And then there was the woefully mislabelled chapters plan for where the things before the season went (with things we aren't yet or that got moved to later redacted). This was useful for a while for not forgetting things but also I don't use anymore because I remember where things are going beyond it and it was missing things past where I cut this off because it got vaguer on timeline the further off the benchmark events were

(the scratched out part there is actually happening in the next update now because it really wasn't a priority to get put there)

(also the chapter 17 part is so long because I remembered shit that had to come between what I had there and what I had as chapter 18 and added it in there and didn't bother to change the numbers even though clearly it was not going to be one chapter anymore)

The sharing the same bed casually thing got moved around for reasons also, partly keeping moving wise and partly working better a different way wise, but mostly this was just a rough estimate of where that would happen anway

Also, why is this also labelled chapter 17? Idk I probably forgot about stuff that needed to go in (which was kind of the whole point of making the list so I would hopefully remember things and add them in there and be able to refer back and not later go oh fuck this should have happened) and put them in later that day between and forgot to relabel things underneath because I was going to do it later and then made a separate note for what actually was chapter 17 and what was chapter 18

Also, there's a lot of stuff that was planned for not quite that long like Colin figuring Jamie out that still was planned for a long time before we got to them but either got missed on this list or weren't planned quite yet or didn't have a spot in the timeline yet and then everything after this on the list is spoilers for the future while also it doesn't really have that much left anyway because that was mostly sorting out the how to get from pre-Amsterdam to the start of the season without losing something important

Also, fun fact, I'm pretty sure this used to be labelled worse and that this is after I had already reworked Amsterdam being 3 chapters but maybe this is the original version. Who knows? Certainly not me... Maybe that's how there ended up being two chapter 17s

And then phone notes ended up not cutting it for trying to keep track of all the parts of a chapter and whose POV each part should be and trying to make it fairly even (except for when there was a reason not to with Keeley having a break from them) and make sure one person isn't disappearing from having a POV forever for no reason so notes app lists became less common unless I was jotting down scenes before putting them into the actual plan when I was really stuck but since chapter 16, it's mostly been

Sorting out what happens into whose POV it is and moving things around or adding in a vague something to put in if someone had way more or less in a thing like this and then adding the numbers for what order things go in and sometimes it ended up changing from this but it was mostly accurate. Also, some chapters don't have this. Some have it from before I started writing. Some have to sort it out after I have some stuff down and then went wait I've gotta figure this out

And then most also have this as a more clear what order things happen thing and making sure that one colour isn't missing for forever (also I highkey don't write their names anymore and just have the colours) (also this is a short ass list, usually there's 17-23 things on there at the start and then how long the scenes themselves end up typically determines if I end up splitting things up again)

The X there means I went never mind I don't need this and then the rest were checked off as I finished the scene. Also, usually I don't have what days things happen, that's just because I was trying to keep track of them specifically because it had to start on a Monday when Keeley was back at work after the trip and end with Roy and Keeley seeing Jamie's dad on the Saturday

Also sometimes the second part is just numbers in the colours. Sometimes there is no other system and it's just the list and what happens. Sometimes scenes get cut or added after that anyway. How much I outline or rely on the outline really depends on how confusing it is to keep track of the POVs switching to make it work out fairly evenly and without too much of someone at a time and someone else dropping off the map for too long. The Pride game one was pretty easy to keep track of because there was almost always a reason why it had to be that character's POV for that part but sometimes sorting out like this is the only way I know whose POV to use for a scene without having to change it later instead

#This is so long I am so sorry #BLT #Bizarre Love Triangle #threewaywithdelusion #Ask #Mine

[cactusringed]

OC 👁️

Hi Scott I am kissing you with tongue

Oki I got a lot of OCs but I can't be asked abt them without mentioning my main baby boy light of my life dearly beloved piece of shit....

Note: all resamblance with certain characters is a crazy coincidence bc I made him back in 2017-2018 before I'd ever watched a single mcyt I just like blonde shit heads x-x

His name is Reed :3

- he's the main character of the novel I'm writing :3

- he's an ex-gangster turned petty thief and scammer and very much has a bounty on his head

- his adoptive dad was a once world famous magician, and taught him his trade. It's reed's dream to be a magician just like his dad, one day, when things are... Easier

- he's got a mechanical arm - it's a Steampunk story thus the technology is p sci-fi esque. Due to not having the best materials on hands, the arm is pretty heavy. The shoulder strap you see in the picture somewhat helps, but still, he's had to adjust his balance and suffers from shoulder and back aches from the extra weight. It can fuck with him to not wear his arm because of that lol

- because of uhhhhhhhhh several years in uhhhhhhhhh solitary confinement he is absolutely terrified of the dark and solitude :)

- he's got a tattoo of wolfsbane flowers on his hip, snaking up his side. In his old gang, members would be gifted these tattoos as a status symbol - one flower for the rite of passage, then one additional flower every time they impressed a higher up with their deeds. He has three. Some members had enough of these flowers they reach all the way to their necks

- he is literally such a cunt.

- extremely funny considering how his resamblance to certain characters is very coincidental, he's also. Rly associated with birds in the story 💀💀💀💀💀 birds are my favorite animal leave me alone. It also intertwines with the main religion of the area he's from, with birds being the gods of fire, breakers of chains, bringer of justice and retribution, and a symbol of rebirth etc etc. It's very close to his story

- he snorts when he laughs. <3

- in the very first iteration/very early draft of his story he was meant to die and his story was meant to be a tragedy. Instead it's now a tale of hope in the most dire of circumstances, and actually means the fucking world to me

Thank u for letting me rant abt my little boy baby shithead. I likes him :)

#Long post <3 sorry #Not-mcyt #<3 this is the only blog I interact w people with let me b

[jeysuso]

The thing is, my heart absolutely breaks for Josh. He just left a storyline he helped build into one of Wrestlings' greatest of all time. He's at the most popular of his career with so much momentum behind him, and this is what they do with him. Night one on Raw there was so much promise there. The crowds reaction, the nobody trusts Jey story. They just squandered it with a performer who has proven he can carry an emotional story. Like Jimmy betraying him AGAIN, there was NO emotional carry over from that story. We had something on Smackdown then nothiblng since. They came face to face after Jimmy rejoined the Bloodline? They made it all about Cody/Roman. We know Jey can carry and kill those kinds of stories, so it's lost opportunities and laziness. They want us to be emotionally invested in Jimmy/Jey for WM? Then make us EMOTIONALLY invested. It seemed like there were so many stories and news about Jey in the beginning when he first came over and nothing now. This is his reward for all that work? Make him Cody's lap dog because Cody has all the personality of a dried out twig? When Jey had built a dynamic character with a rich history, any good writers wet dream, they squandered. I really hope those rumors of him going back to Smackdown are true because they seem to at least give a fuck about him even when he's only on screen a couple minutes.

i mean, i half agree with you, bestie, but i have to disagree in terms of smackdown caring about him more. i don't think that's true. the build-up to summerslam was absolutely dire, imo. the writing was shocking. and, honestly, josh didn't even seem all that invested in it either when we've seen what he can do when he really buys into the material he's given. we didn't get any of that. i'm still of the opinion that the wwe didn't expect jey's popularity to skyrocket in the way it did, and they haven't known how to handle it when they're desperately trying to create the face of the company in crusty.

and on top of that, we don't really know that josh didn't agree to this lmfaooo. like, the thing is, it's easy to say poor josh but he'll have had some inkling in what was going to happen when he agreed to a singles run. i know the wwe like to just throw stuff together last minute (and i know the tag team specifically was thrown together last minute, but cody bringing jey back won't have been), but from the ariel interview before mitb, it sounds very much like the usos at least have the respect from the wwe in that they're approached to discuss any potential singles run. they're not just told they have to do it. and that's backed up by the fact that chad gable's also said the same thing re: the alpha academy and his singles run, too, that he was approached and offered it as opposed to being ordered to do it by creative. so i find it hard to believe that they didn't tell josh he was going to have some "storyline" if you can even call it that with cody, honestly.

i also don't really want him to go back to smackdown because there's no championship run on there for him. there's the american belt but now that'd mean having some storyline with logan paul and i'd rather eat bricks, as much as i've warmed to logan. the ideal place for him is on raw going for the big championship, and yet. because i'm pretty certain that once he goes back to smackdown and they do this jimmy vs. jey, we're looking at an uso reunion inevitably. he won't be a singles competitor in the same way jeff hardy became a singles competitor, or edge. so keeping him on raw but giving him actual story (that doesn't involve cody) is ideal, imo.

#anon ask #ask #wrestling tag #jey uso #it's all well and good sending him back to smackdown but then he gets sucked back into the bloodline story #and then what. there's no end-game for his singles run there. he just goes in yet another cycle #he needs his own storyline that's separate and about a title. or himself. not about other people

[thenewfuture]

Hajime, I'm not sure you should blame yourself. You never knew that by getting the Ultimate Ultimate, you'd become an entirely different person. You were in a pretty rough situation, and you were desperate for a talent (you'd probably even take a REALLY lame one). Had you stayed the same, we know you'd never do any of those things.

But it was my decision to go through with it! And it's still because of me that this all happened.

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

No, I don't think that's true.

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

Huh?

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

You were just a teenager at the time, trying to fit in with the societal normality of talent being praised and worshipped while those that did not have them being perceived as lesser beings.

Hope's Peak Academy wanted to use you, a mere child, just to get their, sick and twisted experiment out into the world. All for profit. They are to blame in this endeavor, Hajime, not you.

I've only known you for a little while Hajime, and I can say for absolute certainty that you are not a bad person. You have a good heart, a strong sense of justice, and selfless mind.

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

That....that isn't true though.....

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

Yes it is. And you have to believe that too.

I've heard of what happened during the killing game and I can safely say that my trust and faith in you is not misplaced. Your friends certainly seem to think so.

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

They do...?

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

Yes, it's true. During our sessions I've noted that they shared many great things about you. How you were there for them sharing their stories of their past, how you would always try to believe in someone until the end, how you would try desperately to ensure the safety of your friends even during dire circumstances.

They never seemed to think less of you because you had no talent, and I'm certain that even if you did retain the memory of being a Reserve Course student, that aspect wouldn't change.

Hope's Peak instilled this idea of those with talent are blessed for greatness, and tried to separate those who did and did not have it from a life of regularity by merely sucking the money out of children's pockets such as they did with you. Even if you declined they most certainly would've guilted another child to take it instead. They tried to create borders and separation, dividing the world.

But as proven, did not matter in the eyes of the youth such as your friends. They love you for you, talent or no talent, project or no project. This was not your fault, and they know that as well. You can try to rest these doubts inside....

#asks #anonymous #danganronpa 3 #hajime hinata #miaya gekkogahara #super danganronpa 2 #danganronpa #the new future #jabberwock island arc

[penrose42]

I think I need a break from TF2

I got so unreasonably angry at an enemy medic using the Vaccinator that I made homophobic remarks and almost got kicked off Uncletopia. I apologized once I figured out it wasn't that particular medic but their other one, but honestly I'm just so fucking tired.

It's not even that the vax is the most OP weapon in the entire game, it's that Medic's balance as a whole is complete and utter bullshit. He's a class that nobody who knows what they're doing wants to play, and the people who do play him either are too new to realize how unfun he is or are in a group and don't give a fuck about the other team having fun at all. It's just a clusterfuck of the problems of the game as a whole; matchmaking needs tweaking to break team stacks, some weapons are in dire need of rebalances, both nerfs and buffs alike, and for the love of god an actual tutorial would be a godsend. These poor baby engies have no idea what they're doing and I just die a little inside every time one of them sets up on last during setup.

But again the biggest problem I have right now is with Medic. He's a chore more than actual fun to play. His playstyle is so stale that I'd honestly argue that Heavy has more variety, and I can prove it. With Heavy you can play as: Default Heavy Fat Scout Boxer Heavy Hoovy All varying means of dealing damage, if that's your objective, and all have varying skill floors. Medic you have: The Meta The "My team is bad so I need to run the Blutsauger and Quick-Fix" Meta And that's pretty much it if you're solo queueing, but if you're with friends then there's: Pocket Medic/Medic Girlfriend

Really it all just boils down to "stand behind someone while clicking on them and right click when you're in danger" and that's it. How engaging. Oh and be sure to turn around because nobody else will because why would you ever spycheck when you can do literally anything else.

The absolute worst part is that I've played Overwatch, and while TF2 blows it out of the water in so many ways, this is one area where I honestly think it's vastly superior. You have a choice of a dozen support characters who play and feel so unique to one another that I'm honestly itching to go back simply because I like the variety of their support characters. Ana is not Moira who is not Brigitte who is not Mercy, but that's actually one of the best parts of the game! Every character has their own playstyle and it's all great and unique and fun! Saving my teammates from certain death because I threw Baptiste's Immortality Field at the last second is really, really satisfying! Going on a massive killing spree as Moira and jumping out of existence is exhilarating! Wall riding as Lucio, shield bashing as Brigitte, heal sniping as Ana, it's all so varied and fun! You hear that, Valve?! Healing can be fun!

Meanwhile in TF2 we have the Medic. Sure Engineer is there, and Heavy can throw a sandwich, but it all pales in comparison to Medic. The class nobody wants to play until you're forced to. The class that decides games, but you need to sacrifice your own sense of fun by doing so. And sure clutch crossbow bolts are satisfying and require skill, but there goes one out of your two weapons that are supposed to be good for short range self defense, which I'm not even going to blame you for because the Syringe Guns are just so heinously bad at what they do that they're a fucking joke.

I know they need to be bad, but Jesus fuck at least make them good at their intended job. Passive reload would be all that's needed. Just that. Let me stay alive without needing to rely on my dipshit teammates who are too stupid to know the difference between their ass and a hole in the ground.

And before I forget, I recall from a Shounic video something that just irritates me to no end. Apparently either during development of TFC or TF2, they were thinking of implementing destructible environments, which Demoman could break to enter certain areas of the enemy base, but scrapped it because they didn't want to force people to switch to Demo just to access that area and switch back to whatever they wanted to play. But they didn't consider that when they designed Medic? The class nobody wants to play but someone fucking caves in to play because you're getting absolutely fucked over by the enemy team who knows what they're doing while everyone on your end is a fucking gibbous vision who's A posing staring at the wall? Well fuck me then.

I'm just so tired. I see nothing but new players playing Medic and I change to help but they change the second I do. I want to have fun but I can't with how dull and repetitive his gameplay is and of course, if I don't play Medic, nobody who knows what they're doing will. I understand why people like the Vaccinator. Sure it's just one more button but at least it's something different from "stand behind person while clicking on them". I swear Medic needs just something new. Idk if it's just the game's age coming through or what, but Medic just needs something. I don't know what that would be. New unlocks? Reworking existing weapons? Both? Neither? I have no clue.

What I do know is that for the first time in the 3 years I've been playing I've uninstalled the game. I just need a break.

#team fortress 2 #tf2 #tf2 medic #rambling #friendly reminder that it's morally acceptable to tell Vaccinator Medics to go to Hell

[jaes-aerie]

How is FF16, I haven't heard anything about it other than its supposedly Game of Thrones -esque, whatever the fuck that means

It's real nice! Readmore-ing this because I wrote a lot lol no spoilers. For context I'm literally at the last main mission of the game, wrapping up the 5 hours of side content the game shits on you right then.

Honestly I think the GoT comparison is pretty shit tbh. It's final fantasy as fuck, the setting/designs are more "realistic" I suppose but the characters, plot, and boss fights are FF to the bone. The overarching plot is about as typical jrpg you can get. Not super unique or ground breaking BUT I'm a sucker for those cheesy "humanity's unbreakable will vs god/the universe/Big Bad Thing ect ect" type stories so I'm eating this shit up. Games even made me tear up a few times so far. It practically beats you over the head with it's themes but it's so damn genuine about it all, it works. Just like Yakuza. Clive is a real sleeper hit protag too, despite his design lookin like shadow the hedgehogs humansona, he's refreshingly gentle, down to earth, and emotional. All that shit plus his English VA absolutely killing it make him a real treat to watch.

As far as gameplay goes it's also really fun, even if normal mode is quite easy. I don't think it's suuuuuper similar to DMC, tho it definitely takes inspiration. Clives default sword moveset is basically a watered down Nero, but the actual core and flow of combat reminds me more of kingdom hearts and dragons dogma... Except you're managing 6 different ability cooldowns, charging meters, and dodging MMORPG style arena hazards. The game doesn't really push you into any particular playstyle, and you could get through the game just fine with the first few sets of abilities you get. I feel like some players may settle into 2 or 3 things that work (or make encounters piss easy), then get bored with it. But if youre more self-motivated and like swapping things around/trying different builds for the hell of it, the game really shines. The boss fights are just as wild as everyone says. The sheer scale and spectacle genuinely hit different, all while still feeling great to play cough unlike bayo 3 cough. The kinda shit that makes you put your controller down and think man I fucking love videogames. Kept saying to myself "damn..... There's no way they can top this" and the game looks you dead in the eye and does just that, more than once.

As for some vague complaints.... Groups of small enemies die way to quickly (this issue may be fixed on FF mode, we will see). Most of the side quests in the first 1/3 of the game are boring as FUCK, like babies first rpgs quest with kinda shit rewards. It's almost whiplash inducing how much better they get past the halfway point. They even start getting fancy cutscenes and unexpectedly.... dire endings. Clives character development is lovingly crafted and theres plenty of it but the same cannot be said for the rest of the main cast, unfortunately. They're still great, but for certain characters, you're left wanting just... More. More everything. Also the crafting system/armor/accessories are on the simple side which isn't a deal breaker for me, but I can see how it could be kinda disappointing for more traditional FF fans. There's also no chocobo racing when you can literally CHOCOBO DRIFT and that's fucking LAME.

#That's uhhh all I can think of rn without spoiling shit #Would reccomend tho #It's not perfect but there's a lot to enjoy

[wlfgrrl]

#have NO IDEA what the ''or else'' is... #but I'm pretty certain that it is *absolutely* DIRE #ASD #OCD #ADHD #anxiety #neurodiversity #neurodivergent #autism #autistic #chronic anxiety #ActuallyAutistic #ActuallyADHD #ActuallyOCD #story of my life

[hzdtrees]

Remnants of war

#horizon forbidden west #hfw #hfw photomode #no man's land my beloved #or beloathed #i absolutely love the area for the visuals #(even though the lighting can be tricky) #but i'm not a fan of skydrifters OR leaplashers so... #it's a lot of pain #it's also fun to see these old pics with the blight again #because my current photo mode save is post-game so everything's back in bloom #i was actually shocked at the extent of the blight surrounding thornmarsh when i went there for joint photo mode save purposes yesterday #i can't remember if i ever saw that #(or if i was too mad at a certain questline to notice) #i should really use that save to get more blight pics as well because i am in dire need of some #the weird stinky spore plants are pretty #sorry to make you cough aloy

[istumpysk]

Operation Stumpy Re-Read

ACOK: Tyrion I (Chapter 3)

High blood pressure whenever Sansa and Tyrion have chapters back-to-back.

In the chilly white raiment of the Kingsguard, Ser Mandon Moore looked like a corpse in a shroud.

x

"I know the man." Ser Mandon's eyes were pale grey, oddly flat and lifeless. 

"Your Grace," Ser Boros said when they were ushered inside by another of the Kingsguard, Ser Mandon of the curiously dead face, "I've brought the girl." - Sansa IV, AGOT

I’m starting to think this Mandon Moore might die!

+.+

Jaime had once told him that Moore was the most dangerous of the Kingsguard—excepting himself, always—because his face gave no hint as what he might do next.

✨ foreshadowing ✨

+.+

Tyrion Lannister shouldered through the door, feeling almost tall. Five members of the king's small council broke off their discussion suddenly. "You," his sister Cersei said in a tone that was equal parts disbelief and distaste.    

"You," Joffrey said.                 

"Me," the Imp agreed, "although a more courteous greeting might be in order, for an uncle and an elder." - Sansa I, ACOK

+.+

His sister had taken the king's seat for herself—he gathered Joffrey did not often trouble to attend council meetings, no more than Robert had—so Tyrion climbed up into the Hand's chair. It seemed only appropriate.    

Grrr.

+.+

Littlefinger laughed. "Well said, Lannister. A man after my own heart."

Tyrion smiled at him, remembering a certain dagger with a dragonbone hilt and a Valyrian steel blade. We must have a talk about that, and soon. He wondered if Lord Petyr would find that subject amusing as well.

Love how this dagger storyline goes absolutely nowhere. Tyrion does nothing about Littlefinger framing him, and what do you know, Littlefinger successfully does it again.

Remember guys, you’re supposed to believe this is a character of high intelligence.

+.+

"Shall I tell the steward to prepare chambers in Maegor's Holdfast?"

"My thanks, Lord Petyr, but I will be taking Lord Stark's former quarters in the Tower of the Hand."

Littlefinger laughed. "You're a braver man than me, Lannister. You do know the fate of our last two Hands?"                 

"Two? If you mean to frighten me, why not say four?"

"Four?" Littlefinger raised an eyebrow. "Did the Hands before Lord Arryn meet some dire end in the Tower? I'm afraid I was too young to pay them much mind."

"Aerys Targaryen's last Hand was killed during the Sack of King's Landing, though I doubt he'd had time to settle into the Tower. He was only Hand for a fortnight. The one before him was burned to death. And before them came two others who died landless and penniless in exile, and counted themselves lucky. I believe my lord father was the last Hand to depart King's Landing with his name, properties, and parts all intact."

Please be foreshadowing his demise.

Please be foreshadowing his demise.

Please be foreshadowing his demise.

+.+

"Fascinating," said Littlefinger. "And all the more reason I'd sooner bed down in the dungeon."                 

Perhaps you'll get that wish, Tyrion thought

Please be foreshadowing Littlefinger in a dungeon.

Please be foreshadowing Littlefinger in a dungeon.

Please be foreshadowing Littlefinger in a dungeon.

(Yes I realize Tyrion is the one who ends up in the dungeon. Whatever, it can be both!)

+.+

"Sansa," the queen said. "I've given it out that I have the younger brat as well, but it's a lie.

Pretty sure I remember you announcing to the entire court that you didn’t.

+.+

"Littlefinger made the arrangements. We needed Slynt's gold cloaks. Eddard Stark was plotting with Renly and he'd written to Lord Stannis, offering him the throne. We might have lost all. Even so, it was a close thing. If Sansa hadn't come to me and told me all her father's plans . . ."

Tyrion was surprised. "Truly? His own daughter?" Sansa had always seemed such a sweet child, tender and courteous.

Don’t get me started.

+.+

"Was it Joffrey's wish to dismiss Ser Barristan Selmy from his Kingsguard too?"

Cersei sighed. "Joff wanted someone to blame for Robert's death. Varys suggested Ser Barristan.

(...)

"Ser Barristan was the Lord Commander of Robert Baratheon's Kingsguard," Tyrion reminded her pointedly. "He and Jaime are the only survivors of Aerys Targaryen's seven. The smallfolk talk of him in the same way they talk of Serwyn of the Mirror Shield and Prince Aemon the Dragonknight. What do you imagine they'll think when they see Barristan the Bold riding beside Robb Stark or Stannis Baratheon?"    

Cersei glanced away. "I had not considered that."

I bet Varys considered it!

+.+

"Did you think I was as blind as Father?" Tyrion rubbed his cheek. "Who you lie with is no matter to me . . . although it doesn't seem quite just that you should open your legs for one brother and not the other."                 

She slapped him.

The fuck is wrong with this family?

+.+

"She is taking steps to restore the king's peace," Vylarr assured him. "Lord Slynt has tripled the size of the City Watch, and the queen has put a thousand craftsmen to work on our defenses. The stonemasons are strengthening the walls, carpenters are building scorpions and catapults by the hundred, fletchers are making arrows, the smiths are forging blades, and the Alchemists' Guild has pledged ten thousand jars of wildfire."

Tyrion shifted uncomfortably in his saddle. He was pleased that Cersei had not been idle, but wildfire was treacherous stuff, and ten thousand jars were enough to turn all of King's Landing into cinders.

There’s the set-up!

+.+

"Forgive me if I intrude," Varys said. "I was taken by a sudden urge to meet your young lady."

"Young lady," Shae repeated, savoring the words. "You're half right, m'lord. I'm young."

Eighteen, Tyrion thought. Eighteen, and a whore, but quick of wit, nimble as a cat between the sheets, with large dark eyes and fine black hair and a sweet, soft, hungry little mouth . . . and mine! Damn you, eunuch. "I fear I'm the intruder, Lord Varys," he said with forced courtesy. "When I came in, you were in the midst of some merriment."                 

"M'lord Varys complimented Chella on her ears and said she must have killed many men to have such a fine necklace," Shae explained. It grated on him to hear her call Varys m'lord in that tone; that was what she called him in their pillow play.

Tyrion is seething over an asexual eunuch talking to a whore he pays.

Do you think Jon and Sansa might cause him to lose his mind?

+.+

"And Chella told him only cowards kill the vanquished."                 

"Braver to leave the man alive, with a chance to cleanse his shame by winning back his ear," explained Chella

Bran, I swear to god, if you don’t execute this man…

+.+

Have you seen the comet?"                 

"I'm short, not blind," Tyrion said. Out on the kingsroad, it had seemed to cover half the sky, outshining the crescent moon.

"In the streets, they call it the Red Messenger," Varys said. "They say it comes as a herald before a king, to warn of fire and blood to follow."

Cheeky, cheeky Varys.

Varys and Littlefinger running circles around Tyrion is the only time I enjoy them.

+.+

"May I leave you with a bit of a riddle, Lord Tyrion?" He did not wait for an answer. "In a room sit three great men, a king, a priest, and a rich man with his gold. Between them stands a sellsword, a little man of common birth and no great mind. Each of the great ones bids him slay the other two. 'Do it,' says the king, 'for I am your lawful ruler.' 'Do it,' says the priest, 'for I command you in the names of the gods.' 'Do it,' says the rich man, 'and all this gold shall be yours.' So tell me—who lives and who dies?"

The smallfolk?

+.+

Shae wrinkled up her pretty face. "The rich man lives. Doesn't he?"

Hey giant of Lannister, you might want to take a second to think over her answer.

+.+

"So what will you do, m'lord, now that you're the Hand of the King?" Shae asked him as he cupped that warm sweet flesh.

"Something Cersei will never expect," Tyrion murmured softly against her slender neck. "I'll do . . . justice."

Final thoughts:

Why George? WHY? Tell me why.

Somebody convince me everything will be okay.

10 down, 29 to go. :(

Edit: IT’S 39, I FUCKING HATE EVERYTHING.

-> return to menu <-

#operation stumpy re-read #acok #tyrion i

[wilderlingdev]

devlog #06 - gameplay struggles & game feel

hello, everyone!!

it's time for a new update on briarheart's development and i'm sad to start it with a failure: i didn't manage to finish the main branch of chapter one by march 15th. it still isn't finished now, 5 days later. the main culprit? gameplay mechanics aka dire rolls, stats and the like.

back when i first came up with briarheart, the idea was to go full cRPG with it, including stats, dice rolls, etc, mimicking much of the (basic) gameplay of a full-blown RPG in an interactive fiction format. but as the time passed and i explored more of the game, the more i felt like i hadn't given enough thought to which gameplay mechanics would fit the project better. and that became crystal clear when is started writing the first chapter.

since i still plan on releasing the prologue and the first chapter together, that means that a potential player will see them as a proof of concept for what's to come. this initial release isn't a demo, of course, since the game will be released in full for free in an episodic format, of which the prologue + chapter 1 are only the first, but it will work more or less like a demo: a taste of what the game is like, what the player can expect, etc. so the wise choice is to show most mechanics in this first chapter so the reader can make an informed decision on following the development of the game or leaving forever.

that, of course, meant figuring out what exactly i wanted this game to feel like.

GAMEPLAY MECHANICS

dice rolls

dice rolls are a fun aspect of some cRPGs like Pillars of Eternity, Baldur's Gate, etc, and among IFs i love the way Wayfarer by Idrelle Games handles them. it's a nice bit of gameplay that makes the game feel more real and more natural, and at first i was 100% going to include them in briarheart... but now i'm not so sure. in fact, i'm 99% certain there won't be a dice roll in my game.

why?

well, honestly, it all goes back to how i want the game to feel. briarheart is very much a character-driven story where the focus is on the choices you make and only that. dice rolls are cool, but at the end of the day they wouldn't add anything to what i want briarheart to be. it feels a bit like killing your darlings, because i love the way dice rolls make things a bit more gray instead of the simple duality of 'can do thing' vs 'can't do thing', but i believe this is for the best.

so yeah, no dice rolls in briarheart.

relationship & stats

i knew from the beginning i wasn't going to make the relationships in briarheart dependent on an approval bar. as a dragon age player, nothing frustrated more than having to juggle which companions i took to quests in DAO so morrigan wouldn't hate my ass (it was always morrigan). i deeply disliked that a few choices would absolutely tank her approval of me, even if otherwise my warden got along with her pretty well! ironically, the game made me play less with a character i liked more.

DAI, the third game in the series, handled approval a bit differently (if i remember correctly). some choices (i believe some in the main quest) would trigger approval or disapproval from your companions even if they were not in the party with you. which, i know, makes some sense: if the inquisitor decided to do something, i believe most of the inquisition, or at least your inner cycle, would know sooner or later. so it makes sense. but as far as i know there is no logic for the companion knowing abut a choice you made vs not knowing beyond 'the devs decided it would be so' and that also annoyed me.

so approval bars were out from the first second of briarheart's existence. i just wasn't sure how to handle relationships without an approval bar... until i came across the visual novel horror game Scarlet Hollow (which you should absolutely play because it's fantastic). in this post by one of the devs, their relationship system is explained and honestly? it's a very fun system.

there is no approval bar, but stats that determine how a character sees the mc instead. for example, character A might witness mc doing something brave and reckless - so their view of them would change, adding a few points to stats like bold. if no other character is present, their own view of the mc isn't changed unless they are told about it later. in the same vein, you can add more points to other stats for another character in the scene that depend on said character's personality - say that points were added to bold for this second character (let's call them B) as well, but you could add points to unreliable too. character B is more logical, likes to be in control and isn't fond of people going around doing reckless stuff without a bit of a conversation first. so B would think that the MC is bold, yes, but also that they are a tiny bit unreliable. that could inform their behavior around mc and choices they made in the future.

the mc would have their own set of stats, of course, that determine their own personality, but these "true" stats wouldn't directly influence other characters' view of mc. they would influence these "relationship stats" each other character has instead.

it's of course more complex than using approval bars but i love the nuance a system like this one provides and it feeds directly into what i want briarheart to feel like. i'm still making some adjustments to what stats i kill keep track of, but the groundwork for using a sytem like Scarlet Hollow's is already in the game.

traits

Scarlet Hollow has interesting traits (here's another post by the devs on this as well) and Outer Worlds has the flaws/perk system that originally sparked the idea for the trait system in briarheart.

the idea is to have your character collect traits based on certain developments in the story. these traits can be negative, positive or just neutral, and initially you wouldn't be able to refuse them. these trait would unlock additional dialogue options, trigger certain scenes and the like.

to be clear, these would be based on the choices you make at important plot points or just choices the reinforce certain aspects of your character. as an example out of the top of my head, let's say you keep choosing to prod people for the secrets (and people notice it). you might get the trait nosey/busybody. people around you (most likely at court, where the briarheart will spend a good part of the book) will know you are a meddler and will try to stay away from you. but at the same time maybe this trait could give you a boost to your secret-extracting skills if your target doesn't know you are super nosey.

i'm really excited about this system. it might unlock some super fun interactions later on!

magical powers

these are very limited to the three options you must choose at the beginning of the story: soil, blood and roots. these are magical powers your character inherited from their father, the fae king. they are as follow:

blood: power drawn from animals, which means enhanced strength, agility, etc, plus some extra fangs or claws under certain circumstances.

soil: power drawn from the earth aka necromancy (kinda). you can read bones, talk with the dead and reach the ones dying, plus heal the wounded.

roots: power drawn from the trees and plants, aka visions from the past, present and future, and possibility of getting trees to do your bidding.

i'm still wondering if these will be static powers (as in, you have them, they unlock scenes, dialogue options, etc) or if they will also boost characters stats as well. we will see!

GAME FEEL

how much of these mechanics should be shown to the player? should you know that character B thinks you are unreliable? or maybe you should only see a simplified view of a character's opinion of you? should i make it clear when certain option is only there because of a choice you made before/a trait you have/a power you inherited?

in general... no. besides indicating that a certain choice is there because of your power/traits (like [trait] choice), i'm leaning towards hiding as much as possible from the player.

i don't want players to min-max the game. i obviously want players to replay the game, try out new powers, aim for new traits, different builds, etc, but i don't want them to be dealing with too much out of universe stuff while playing. your basic stats will be shown to you, of course, (things like agility, strength, etc), and also your power, the traits you acquired, etc. but you won't know stuff your character has no way of knowing. your character (and you) can have a general idea that character A thinks you are super cool, but for all you know character A could be a serial killer trying to fool you, so really, what do you know? if your character doesn't know, you won't know either.

why? well, this all goes back to game feel. i want briarheart to be immersive, atmospheric and as natural as possible, which, to me, includes hidings its guts and cogs from the player. again, i'd prefer that the player didn't min-max their playthrough, didn't worry about getting the ~right choice~ or the ~better ending~, and hiding all these out-of-universe stuff seems like a good choice to at least discourage that feeling/want.

so yeah, you probably won't know how certain characters truly feel about your character unless they say so in-universe (and you trust them, of course).

so, that’s all for now. i have a clear idea of what i want briarheart to be and what i'm working towards now, so things will be easier going forward (i hope). so, what about a new deadline? april 1st, maybe? we will see!

#briarheart #twine game #twine #if wip #interactive fiction #interactive game #interactive fiction game #briarheart if #devlog

[ampleappleamble]

—

"Absolutely not."

Axa's face burned with shame as Lady Webb went on to explain why not, even though she absolutely did not have to do that. "We at Dunryd Row are already stretched to our limit here in the city without sending any of our precious few operatives off on a day's ride to the middle of nowhere to play spymaster for the Dyrwood's newest flash-in-the-pan celebrity, no matter how dire her situation may be." She lifted a delicate, pencil-thin eyebrow at the orlan. "No offense, of course. It's just that I've an intelligence agency to run. You understand."

"Of course," Axa hissed. "Please excuse my companion for asking such a foolish question." She glared pointedly at Edér, who meekly shrugged in response– although the look on his face couldn't have been more apologetic if he'd had "I'M SORRY" written on it in bold, black letters.

Webb spared the ragtag little group the slightest sliver of a smile. "You seem to have made some bosom friends amongst the local angry mob enthusiast club. Why not ask them for assistance? I'm sure they'd love to dispense some 'down home justice' to a pompous tyrant like Gathbin and his scurrilous little toadies, should it come to that."

"The Dozens?" Edér groaned, bowing his head to frown at his boots, looking not unlike a child being scolded by a schoolteacher. "But they're–"

"A fine suggestion, my Lady," Aloth interrupted, his whole face straining against a thin-lipped simper as he elbowed Edér aside. "Thank you for your invaluable insight."

The wizened old Cipher sighed. "Don't fawn so, boy; it's not an attractive look." Ignoring Aloth's undignified sputtering, she turned back to Axa. "Now then– you've done good work these past few days, and your reports from Dyrford and Clîaban Rilag have been very enlightening indeed." She paused briefly, a somber scowl tugging at the innumerable fine lines in her face. "I... had hoped that perhaps my fears of the Leaden Key somehow being involved with the Legacy would have turned out to be just that– fears, hasty and baseless. But I suppose I should have known better than to underestimate them. Or to hope for even the barest shred of decency from them, either." She sighed sadly, but quickly straightened up, businesslike again in an instant. "But I digress. You are now headed to the sanitarium to finish up this 'assignment,' for lack of a better word?"

"I am," Axa replied, forcing herself to look Webb straight in the eye. "We are."

Webb returned her stare, thrice as intense with a fraction of the effort. "Why did you not think to pursue that particular lead when you were there last week?"

Axa blinked at her, stunned and very slightly affronted, and Webb chuckled in response, a soft, papery whiff of a laugh. "Oh, don't give me that look. I'm not passing judgment on your methods, dear, I'm only a bit surprised at you is all. You're usually more efficient with your time than that."

"Y-yes, well..." The little woman cleared her throat and looked away. "That visit was of a... personal nature. I was helping a– helping one of my companions." She unconsciously shuffled backwards, shrinking away from the spymistress' gaze, Kana gently catching her just before she ran into him.

"I'm well aware. Bellasege is quite the character, isn't she?" Webb shot Aloth a look, a smirk twitching into place for a split second before she returned her attention to Axa. "But that doesn't answer my question. You were already there. Why didn't you investigate? Speak with Ethelmoer, tell him of your suspicions?"

Axa stared at her hands, fidgeting nervously under the old woman's scrutiny. "Well, I– our business with Bellasege left us all a bit drained, and so we... I didn't want to overwhelm my compatriots by taking on too much in one day." And yet I lead them all around the city that evening... "And besides that, I... well, I was pretty certain that I didn't yet have the necessary clout or... or reputation, perhaps, to convince the director to... to let me... uh..." She stammered, faltered, fell silent, and still the question loomed over her, just as surely as Webb did.

Gods, it's like being back in school!

"And?" Webb huffed. "Out with it already, girl, neither of us has the time nor the patience."

Axa clenched her fists–

–are you ready, initiate–

–and answered. "And– and I may have been a bit... terrified. Of what– or who– I might find there." Tears pricked her eyes, but she stubbornly blinked them away. Sagani gently gripped her elbow, and she flashed the huntress a quick, grateful smile.

"Oh, Axa," Kana blurted, reaching out to pat her shoulder. "You never said anything!"

Webb crossed her arms over her chest. "Sounds like all the more reason to dig in, if you ask me," she sighed. "But it's understandable, I suppose, given who we're up against."

"And in all honesty, that really was only part of why I didn't proceed with my investigation at the time," Axa clarified, emboldened a bit by the truth finally being out. "I was genuinely worried about– about my friend." She could practically feel Aloth overthinking her words behind her, and she couldn't decide if that annoyed her or endeared him to her further.

Webb gave her an uncharacteristically warm smile, tinged with some other emotion Axa couldn't quite put her finger on. "It is important to take care of one's friends, isn't it?" She turned away suddenly, turned to face the enormous desk that dominated that half of the room they were standing in, and she deftly plucked a sheet of parchment from atop one of her many piles. "Speaking of, I'd like you to take this to Kurren when you go to see him today." She handed the paper off not to Axa, but to Edér, who stared at it a bit too long before he finally accepted it, dumbstruck. "It's to do with the missing persons case he'll no doubt immediately press gang you into helping him solve. So I suppose you may as well just read it yourself, too. You can read, yes?"

He scanned it briefly. "Uh... sure. I know some of these words, yeah."

Lady Webb chuckled, dry and raspy, before addressing Axa again. "You take good care of this one, too, Watcher. He definitely needs someone to look after him." She turned back to her desk again, gliding across the floor to her chair, and her voice turned somber and serious. "Thaos... he has no friends, no lovers, no true allies. Only employees, conspirators, thralls... and of course, his Queen. Of all the unique circumstances that could make you a genuine threat to him– your shared past, your Watcher abilities, even Dunryd Row's expert assistance– I believe that the loyalty and passion your friends have for you, and you for them, may be your greatest advantage. Never forget that."

"I haven't," Axa murmured, glancing up at Edér. "I won't."

"Good." She sat down at her desk with practiced ease and rested her head in her hand as she examined another scroll, two fingers lightly massaging her temple. "Go, now. Kurren is a busy man, and you've much to do after you've finished with him."

"Thank you, my Lady." Axa swallowed nervously. "Eydis. You're– I hope to include you among my friends, too, someday. When this is all over."

She glanced up at the orlan woman for a second, an utterly unreadable smile playing on her wrinkled lips. "Try not to die out there, dear."

—

#poe anthem infinitum #fic wip #⅘ths done with chapter 14!!!! #i originally planned to roll the resolution of edér's personal quest into this bit #but i decided i'd rather end the chapter on that instead #and open the next chapter with the sanitarium #next chapter should go all the way through the animancy trials #and then... i can play White March again for the first time in years #i'm trying to work on this a little bit every day #because i have a sort of... time limit now #i'll talk more about this time limit next month #anyway #thanks for reading ♡

[mrs-tsunderemeitantei]

DISCLAIMER: HUGE, LONG RANT AHEAD!

ALSO SPOILERS IN CASE YOU'RE NOT UP TO DATE WITH THE MANGA OR WITH ZERO THE ENFORCER!

Soo in case you missed it, Gosho released the SDB Justice Plus some time last month:

The biggest shocker was the answer to Question number 4, shown below:

Basically this translates to:

Q4: On the Mystery Train, he (Amuro) said to Miyano Shiho that “My comrades who are tracking us have made arrangements in order to retrieve you”, but were those comrades from PSB? If that’s the case, I’m curious about how he planned to deceive Vermouth...!

A: Those were comrades from the Black Organization, so there was no need to deceive them.

Ummmm...what??

Idk about y'all but when I read this, I was livid. It didn’t make any sense to me. And quite frankly, I didn't want it to. Maybe because I am one of those (very rare) people who thought Rei and Shiho could eventually end up together (Don't laugh, it would have made sense, and I'll write about that in a separate post).

Anywho, safe to say Gosho's latest confession left me in absolute confusion. Like why? Just why? Then I realised I'm more butt-hurt about this because I was fixated on a certain idea of Rei's character and chose to ignore his other sides, as if they didn't exist. It didn't help that his past is so freaking depressing which got me sympathizing with his character and led me to either ignore or make excuses for any red flags.

But now that I think about it, it sadly makes sense. It also explains why he didn't show any sadness or regret when he saw Shiho supposedly ‘die’ in the luggage cart in the Bell Tree Train Arc.

Now to let me wrap my head around this, I needed to breakdown his three "faces":

1. Amuro Tooru is a cheerful, friendly, generous, carefree, outgoing man.

2. Furuya Rei is a serious, law-abiding, calculating, patriotic police officer who is willing to die for Japan's security.

3. And Bourbon is a devious, manipulative, cunning, deadly agent.

Yet, ever since we found out he was in fact an NPA agent, we (or at least I), seem to have forgotten about those dark sides he possesses. Also with Zero's tea time showing us a softer side of his character it was easy to get caught up in "he's 100% one of the god guys" when in fact, he's a complex, grey character. 

He has shown on multiple occasions, just how far he is willing to go, to achieve whatever goal he’s set his mind on. Let's not forget how in Zero the Enforcer, he completely flipped the switch. (I know this isn't Canon but...) The man went as far as to create a suspect and jail the innocent Mori Kogoro so he can legally investigate the case and emotionally manipulate Conan into unkowningly help with the investigation.

Also, in the Detective Nocturne’s case he deliberately didn’t tell Ran as soon as he noticed Conan might have been kidnapped by the criminal because he hadn’t finished investigating the apartment.

And in the Scarlet Arc, he was willing to harm Jodie's teacher friend, so he can lure out the FBI and advance his investigation on Akai’s death. Let’s not forget once he figured out the truth, he was willing to expose Akai’s fake death (which I get it he's out for revenge), but by doing so, he would have also gotten Kir killed (even though I'm pretty sure he knew at that point, she was in fact a NOC).

As we can see, be it Bourbon, Furuya Rei or  Amuro Toru, he will stop at nothing to reach his goals, even if it means throwing innocent people under the bus. So, now when Gosho says his "partners" were in fact BO members and not the PSB, I'm no longer surprised.

I mean, why wouldn’t he sell Shiho back to the organisation? Because he knew she was Sensei’s daughter, and that should have meant something to him? Alright, let’s talk about that.

Did he love Shiho’s mum? Yes, he did, there’s no doubt about that (one of the reasons he joined the joined the police in the first place was to find her, so you can't convince me otherwise).

But what if he loved Japan even more? (It's not canon, but he did say in Zero the Enforcer that the safety of this country matters most to him, even if it means he’d end up paying with his own life).

So, I'm going to take a wild guess as to how he could have felt when he found out the woman he loved as his own mother, willingly joined the deadly organisation that threatened the safety of his country. Based on his memories, he remembered her encouraging her husband to join the Carasuma group.

So, if through his investigations, he was able to realise she is the same woman from his childhood, I’m pretty sure he would have been very disappointed.  I’m not sure the extent of his knowledge about the drug, but if he also found out their research created the poisonous APTX-4869, I reckon it would be more reason for him to be upset.

Now let's talk about Haibara/Shiho. To any outsider who's unaware of the truth of her past, she is a woman born into the organisation, then was groomed and taught from a young age by the syndicate and promoted to take on their research. A research that produced a poisonous drug, just like her parents did. Also, she only ran away after the organisation killed her sister. Before that, she was a high-ranking member. With all these facts, why would he think of her as anything but a criminal just like the rest of the BO members? It’d be rather foolish for him to not hand her back to the organisation just because she is the daughter of the woman he once thought so highly of. If anything, he’d be killing two birds with one stone, by executing a criminal, while also gaining higher standing in the organisation.

As fans of Haibara, we are rightfully upset by his intentions of returning her to the organisation because we know her truth. He doesn't. It wasn't until we learnt more about her painful past and kind and caring nature that we grew to love her. We know she never wanted to create a poisonous drug. That she already hated the organisation for using the drug as a poison. That she had to develop the drug to protect Akemi’s life.

There is no way Rei would have known about any of the bullying she or her family faced from the BO. By nature, Shiho is very secretive and reserved and very little of her personality or history would have been known by any of the BO members (except maybe Gin). Therefore, apart from the files the BO would have kept on Shiho and her role in the organisation, that’s all Rei had to learn about her. So, I can’t really blame him for choosing to hand her back to the organisation.

Some people who are still in denial, argue that if he planned to kill Shiho, why was he willing to kill whom he thought was Vermouth instead of handing her over?

Shouldn’t that prove he was going to take Shiho to safety to the PSB, not the BO? Before Gosho's statement, I would have agreed but now...sigh. Now, I get why he did that. If Shiho were to die BEFORE she was returned to the organisation, he wouldn’t have gained the trust he was seeking. If she were to die AFTER he delivered her, I highly doubt it would have mattered to him. Although I'm still hoping he maybe he had a plan of not leaving her in the organisation's clutches after "handing her back" and he never truly intended on getting her killed. But since Gosho also said there was no need to deceive Vermouth, I highly doubt it. (Heart breaking).

After such an explanation, does everything make more sense now? Maybe. Am I ok with it? Hell no! I’m quite angry and annoyed that this is how things turned out to be, but it is what it is. We have to accept that Rei is not a good character, and he's not a bad character. He's a grey character and when you think of it that way, it's easier to understand his behaviour. Not that I agree with it. After Gosho's statement, I think pretty sure Rei is in dire need of some character development. He could stand to learn a thing or two from Conan who manages to reach his goals while preserving as many lives as possible (Akai's fake death being the burst example while managing to drive Kir back to the BO).

For now, I’m looking forward to the developments that will entail. I’m curious to see how Rei and Haibara will react once they eventually meet each other. It'll be interesting to see what will go through his mind once he figures out her true identity. One thing I'm sure of is once they're introduced to each other, emotions will be running high and things will get intense. Which honestly, I can't wait for and I'm counting down the days till I get a proper Amuro/Haibara interaction.

#shiho miyano #miyano shiho #haibara ai #ai haibara #sherry #furuya rei #rei furuya #tooru amuro #amuro tooru #bourbon #dcmk #case closed #detective conan #Detective Conan #elena miyano #miyano elena #vermouth

[chaoticdean]

As another big Green Day fan, I'm curious to know what are your opinions on each Green Day album (studio albums only, not recopilatory, but feel free to add the live ones) and why you like/don't like that album 🖤

OH MY GOD THIS IS SUCH A COOL QUESTION TO GET MARA, THANK YOU! Buckle up ‘cause this will probably, inevitably go long. I’m also gonna use this to catalog each album in order, with dates and shit because a lot of people have actually reached out asking how much material there was before American Idiot got released in ‘04, and my dudes, my peeps, THERE’S A LOT. 

#1 — 1,039 Smoothed Out Slappy Hour (1991)

So this is probably the one I listen to the less to this day, not because I don’t like it but because I discovered most of the tracks on that album through live bootlegs or videos, which in turns made me like the live versions way more than the studio version (Knowledge, looking right at you). That said, this is the epitome of Sweet Children/Green Day, and it’s pretty nice to be able to go back and listen to this album knowing it’s a compilation of their first two maxi albums that came out in ‘89 and ‘90. That being said, I still think it’s criminal not to have Paper Lanterns recorded live on any live album to this day — Billie Joe, imma sue your stupid ass.

#2 — Kerplunk (1992)

THE PRODIGAL SON. Knowing that this is the album that got them to have some form of recognition among the punk community at the time, so much so that Warner was able to get a whim of this Bay Area band, is enough of a tell. There are so many good songs on this album, and you can already sense Billie Joe’s storytelling through some of the songs. I have a very soft spot for 2,000 Light Years Away, even if like most of the older songs I do prefer any live version to the studio version. Like I also said earlier, Green Day were my introduction to a lot of older bands, and I’m pretty sure I discovered the Who by listening to their cover of My Generation on this album. Honorable mention to Tré’s first delight of a song, Dominated Love Slave. Keep slaying, my chaos demon. 💚

#3 — Dookie (1994)

Well, how do you talk about an album that rocked your entire world without turning into a puddle of tears? I discovered Dookie shortly after I bought American Idiot for myself and realized there was more to this band than just this album, and I was blown away. I distinctly remember falling asleep at night with me hear glued to my stereo with the volume on low as to not wake up my parents, and I’d just listen to that album on repeat. I don’t know if it was so much about the music than the lyrics, really. I was about 10 or 11 and hearing Billie singing on Coming Clean felt like a breeze of fresh hair to a little girl that already figured out she wasn’t straight. Dookie holds a lot of good tune but the subject they’re touching are so in touch with society even still today. This is an album that is forever going to hold a very special place in my heart, and I still can get enough of it. It’s actually sitting on my turntable right now.

#4 — Insomniac (1995)

Insomniac is the album I’ll listen to whenever I have a bad day, because it’s so angsty. It’s very different from what Dookie felt like despite being released only a year after. To me it’s also the first album where Billie starts making some sort of bolder statement, especially with a song like Walking Contradiction. Panic Song is also another of those songs that I keep going back to because it’s musically extremely interesting (that bass line! that drums opening! that guitar riff! yes, fucker, gimme more!) and the subject it touches (panic attacks, essentially) is something that I’ve been struggling with. Again, when you’re a young girl struggling with this, it’s comforting hearing your favorite band talk about that same subject. That album is riddled with good songs and it’s a shame that Insomniac still doesn’t get nearly as much credit as it should have.

#5 — Nimrod (1997)

To me, Nimrod is really the first album they started experimenting with a wide variety of different styles. A lot of people (Billie included) would probably argue that Warning had a deeper dive into diversity, but hearing songs like Walking Alone or Last Drive In, god, even King for a Day was not something they would’ve done before. Another solid album that holds one of my major favorite songs, the first song I’ve ever learned on guitar: Good Riddance (Time of Your Life). Billie’s songwriting on that album is a bit different from what we’re used to, he’s diving deep into his personal life and I think it’s probably the rawest we’ve seen him be at that point. Another one of the album that doesn’t get enough recognition (but then again, the next one too).

#6 — Warning (2000)

It’s... I’m not gonna lie, it’s a peculiar album. I love it, but I know it’s an album that’s been dividing fans for two decades. It’s still Green Day exploring, but to a very wider pace than they did on Nimrod, and this is SO GOOD. Misery is a very good example of that, actually. It’s also Billie’s first ‘real’ dive at politics with songs like Minority and Macy’s Day Parade. Hell, even Warning can be held as some sort of statement. I do love that album, but you can also sense that at that point the band is not doing well. We know that now because they’ve talked about it at length, but you can sense in the music that they’re searching for something that they aren’t able to find.

#Comp — International Superhits! (2001)

Not gonna go in great length about this, but the two exclusive songs (Poprocks and Coke, Maria) are some of my favorite b-sides that they’ve ever released.

#Comp — Shenanigans (2002)

This is a peculiar compilation, I don’t really think I’ve ever seen a compilation of b-sides and rarities being put out as a compilation in any of the other bands I’ve been following around for decades, but it’s a nice one. 

#7 — American Idiot (2004)

How do you talk about an album that literally changed your life? I’ve talked about it earlier today, but American Idiot was the first album I’ve ever bought for myself, with my own money, and it blew me away. I wasn’t raised in a house where music was prominent. Both my parents aren’t really fans of rock music (I mean, my mom listens to Dire Straits a lot and has a soft spot for Alan Parson but that’s pretty much it), so my taste in music stopped at what the radio gave me. And then Green Day came along, American Idiot started spinning in my room and that was some sort of a revelation for me. This is such a bold album. It got released during the Bush presidency, 3 years after 9-11, and there’s such an intensity to the songs that it’s still an album that you can listen to today and go “it still holds the same meaning”. Without even a shadow of a doubt, this is the best album they’ve put out so far. This is a masterpiece, and it’s no short of a surprise that it went this far in terms of number. Let’s not forget that it also birthed a live album, several gigantic world tour, a European Arena tour, a play that’s been on Broadway for more than a year at the time, and a soundtrack album from the play. This is something that is bigger than just an album. This is my #1 album, all artists included. I don’t think any album can top that one for me, not only because it’s a masterpiece both musically and songwrittingly (i don’t care if that’s not a word), but it holds an extremely personal connexion in my heart. 

#Live — Bullet in a Bible (2005)

This was filmed in Milton Keynes (UK) at the end of the European Arena Tour that Green Day did in 2005. I cannot even begin to count the number of time that I’ve watched it. I started a band because of this live album. Just like American Idiot did, this blew me away. It’s a shame they still haven’t put that much more live material out in recent years, because this is a band that is so good live. Anyone would tell you that they’re absolute monsters on stage, even people that aren’t Green Day fans.

#8 — 21st Century Breakdown (2009)

Anyone will tell you that putting out another album after such a strong success as American Idiot would be a sink or swim. This is a swim, and a very good one at that. Politically speaking, I feel like this goes even further than Billie went on American Idiot. This album continues to blow me away even after 12 years, I keep going back for a listen and discovering new layers underneath Billie’s lyrics, and I love it. I have a very soft spot for Last Night on Earth because it’s a song for Adrienne, Billie’s wife, and we hadn’t gotten an Adrienne song in a long while ❤️

#Live — Awesome as Fuck (2011)

I have a love/hate relationship with that live album. I absolutely love the fact that they decided to release some more live material, but I don’t understand what they tried to do with it. By that, I mean that I don’t get why the live footage we get to see has been taped in a different country than the tracks on the album (which are all from different venues and different shows across the world). That being said, it’s still live Green Day and it’s still so damn good. 

#9 — Uno! / #10 — Dos! / #11 — Tré! (2012)

I know that I have a pretty different opinion about the trilogy than most of the fans I’ve met so far, but I, for one, absolutely loved it. That being said, the style is different from regular Green Day, closer to garage rock/surfer pop-punk than anything else they’ve put out. It reeks of live recording and club shows, and yeah sure Billie’s songwriting is not at the heights he was on the previous albums, but the songs are so raw and personal that I connected with those three albums instantly. That said, you can sense how deeply depressed and struggling he was at the time by just listening to songs like Lazy Bones or Nightlife. The entirety of Dos! is a statement, it’s a cry for help. So yeah, I’m fairly certain this is some sort of unpopular opinion, but even if the band’s state of mind wasn’t good, these albums are a good spin to me.

#Comp — Demolicious (2014)

If I’m not mistaken, that’s a compilation that was specifically put out for Record Store Day in 2014. Another bold choice for a compilation, and one I love because people often don’t know what demos sound like (and I LOVE IT). I hold that vinyl very tightly in my record collection, it’s a clear pressed vinyl and it’s very good-looking lmao.

#10 — Revolution Radio (2016)

Green Day returns to making bold statements and higher songwriting! This is an album I didn’t really connect with at first because I was going through some really deep shit in my personal life. This was also the first time I was gonna be able to go and see them live, and I ended up missing it, so that’s a forever burn on my calendar lmao. This is a solid album that holds some very good songs (politically, but also personally). I tend to view Still Breathing as an answer to the song Lazy Bones on Dos!, and it’s no coincidence that it was one of the most massive hit on this album. Bang Bang is literally American Idiot’s little sister. I feel like a lot of the songs on this album are answers to earlier songs actually, and I’m just realizing that now by writing it and browsing the tracklist lmao. 

#11 — Father of all Motherfuckers (2020)

Until that album was released, I didn’t think Green Day could ever disappoint me. I was... well, I was wrong. I don’t understand what they tried to do with that album, and I’m saying that with love. This is a band that’s used to experimenting with different styles (I mean, just have a listen of Warning or Nimrod), but this... This feels hollow. This feels like they’ve been pressed to put out a record and they just went with the cheapest thing they could. Now, I don’t hate that album, I just don’t see the intent. Some of the songs are good enough, but they aren’t up to the standards of enough Green Day used to give us. I still give it a listen every now and then because I’m one of those people that think some records need to be “tamed” before you really start liking them, and I do like some of the songs (Oh Yeah, Graffitia), but this feels more like Billie Joe having fun recording stuff in his garage than the band being hard at work in the studio with a producer. 

Okay, as promised, that got excruciatingly long! I do hope that was entertaining enough though lmao. 

#I NEVER EXPECTED TO GET SUCH A COOL ASK BUT HERE WE ARE #inacatastrophicmind #green day #listen........ i told y'all i could go feral for green day #this is me going feral #i can talk about that band for HOURS #my knowledge knows no bounds #though sometimes i'd like to have some bounds

[stxrmapper]

♡ Felix and Princeton

Who is the most affectionate? There's no choosing. They're both either insulting each other affectionately or being extremely cuddly and Demanding attention and affection, I don't think I can pick between them.

Who initiates the handholding? Probably Felix. He is very very big on handholding. Literally in the worst or most awkward situations he's like 'ok but hold hand'

Who worries more for the other? It's not that they don't care abt each other. But I don't think they really worry, per se. They're both pretty damn confident in themselves, and each other, so I don't think they'd worry all that much.

Who is more likely to ask for help? Hex. Felix is NOT going to ask for help ever, unless it is incredibly dire. He may insinuate he needs help, but will never directly ask.

Who is the one always losing the keys? Felix. He's definitely not as forgetful as he is in destinyverse, but he's still a little scatterbrained when it comes to stuff like that. If it didn't look stupid he'd put the key to his house as his goddamn earring so he didn't forget it so often.

Who leaves little love notes for the other? Idk if 'take the trash out before you leave, asshole' counts as a little love note, but yknow. The thought's there, ig.

Who can’t sleep unless the other is there? Lmao sorry Hex I hate to tell you but Felix has NO problems falling asleep when ur not there. This man loves his sleep and nothing is going to steal that from him.

Who is more likely to propose to the other? I dunno if either of them are willing to commit to that, probably not in this au unless they got real comfortable with one another. Felix in most verses would prefer to keep things not as serious anyway, even if he did feel strong feelings for someone. Doesn't like the feeling of not being as free in his choices. The only marriage he wants is for tax avoidance purposes

Who introduced the other to their family first? Lynx counts so probably Felix.

Who is more likely to play with the other’s hair? I feel like they both do it a lot, but I feel like Hex would absolutely take advantage of the fact that Felix absolutely melts whenever people play with his hair.

Who makes sure the other has meals/stays hydrated? Both of them are probably terrible at looking after themselves but if I had to say, probably Felix.

Who is more likely to stand up to anyone for the other? I think for as much as they rib each other it's like 'hey only I'm allowed to insult my idiot boyfriend' and they'd beat the fuck out of anyone else who tried.

Who is the most likely to prepare a surprise for the other? I want to say Hex, I'm actually not really sure on this one :thinking:

Who makes the other pinky promise not to do certain things? Neither. They're both like 'lmao that's a terrible idea let's do it'

Who puts a blanket over the other when they fall asleep on the couch? I feel like Felix is more likely to, but at the same time I feel like they're more likely to just be crashed out on the couch on top of one another instead of one being awake and the other not.

#living a life as normal as i can. which is to say not very | scout au #hex/chares | unlikelyandco #ic