#the server feels very plain but like. what else am I even supposed to put if anything

[steven-scribbleverse]

Happy three years to literally everyone ever's favorite movie!!

#steven universe #steven universe the movie #su #su movie #sutm #scribbleverse #it was gonna be 8:00p but I pushed it back cause it took a while to figure things out #there's some noise I can't get rid of but hopefully we can see past it #the server feels very plain but like. what else am I even supposed to put if anything #it'll be disbanded after tonight

[snailsnfriends]

It has been a few months, six to be exact, but I wanted to revisit Tommy when he was locked in the prison.

A lot has happened since then, and I think the reminder of this would be nice since these moments affected Tommy so deeply, and watching streams over again can be time-consuming.

This analysis and summary will be split into three parts. The first three parts will be an analysis and summary of Tommy’s time in the prison, from pre-entrance to revival. From here on out, I will be discussing the characters on the SMP unless stated otherwise. Dialogue is color-coded: Tommy, Dream. So, let’s begin!

Stream: Tommy Gets Locked In Prison with Dream

The stream opens up with Tommy telling us, the audience, that this will be our last time visiting Dream. He wants to visit Dream one last time in order to gain closure. Tommy acknowledges that he has been, in his own words, “tortured” and “tormented” by Dream. Though Dream is locked up, Tommy is still anxious.

“Why am I still feeling like this? Why am I still feeling, you know, fuckin, miserable, I suppose. I’ve got my hotel, I’ve got my buis- I still feel kinda- a little bit low. A little bit empty. I think, I think it’s because I haven’t shut the book. He’s still in my life, you know.”

All of this confirms the fact that Tommy has yet to heal from Dream’s abuse. He is aware that he is safe and has everything he’s wanted, yet still feels unhappy. This also confirms that Tommy wants to heal and move on. He is making the conscious decision to do so.

“I wanna start living my life, because I haven’t lived my life since the start of this SMP! … it’s just been war after war, death after death, friend dead after friend! Death, you know? It’s been, dare I say, it’s been fuckin morbid! But um, he’s been the reason.”

This is further confirmation of Tommy’s thought process. He is aware that his life has always been busy in some way, and that conflict has always boiled down to him and Dream. It is important to note that he does not blame anyone else for his troubles except Dream. He does not blame Wilbur for L’manberg’s destruction, Philza for Wilbur’s death, or Technoblade for Tubbo’s death. For Tommy, it has always been him and Dream no matter what.

As Tommy goes over the required questions with Sam, he says that Dream does deserve to be in prison, but does not deserve to die. When Sam asks what Tommy’s prior relationship with the prisoner was like, Tommy immediately yells, calling Dream a wrongen. However, his demeanor changes quickly. He says that they manipulated one another, and that Dream manipulated him. This is interesting because Tommy is aware that Dream hurt him, but he does not exactly know how he fits into it. Tommy has not manipulated Dream. Tommy does not and did not have the power to do that. Tommy has a hard time understanding his relationship with Dream, which is something we will continue to see as the stream progresses.

While Tommy puts his items in the locker, he apologizes for his nervousness and asks if it’s obvious. This is also something Tommy does frequently; he apologizes for his emotions regardless of the situation. Tommy has good reason to be nervous, and Sam even asks if Tommy really wants to visit Dream. Sam is not annoyed by Tommy, so he has no real reason to apologize. Tommy has a hard time letting his guard down around people he likes and feels the need to apologize for his emotions.

As Sam and Tommy make their way through the prison, Tommy thanks Sam for doing his job and looking out for him. After being genuine with Sam, Tommy is frustrated when he doesn’t respond, despite being aware of the fact that Sam puts on a face while doing his job. Tommy does not like being ignored, but quickly moves on to once again explain that he does not want to visit the prison again after this. He specifically notes that blackstone is triggering to him, which is another thing to add to his already long trigger list. He also asks Sam to promise that Dream will be locked up forever. Once Sam confirms this, Tommy calms down. He says he would have no reason to visit Dream again unless one of his friends died. As Tommy blabbers on and on, Sam does a good job of being directional toward Tommy, telling him exactly what he needs to do. This is a good thing because it gives Tommy a specific task to complete, and does not give him time to panic. As Tommy waits for the lava to lower, he says this,

“I wanna make sure I always like who I am, and, you know, around this guy, I don’t think I do. I don’t think I like who I am around Dream. Let’s close the book.”

This is very important because it helps establish Tommy’s relationship with Dream for the audience. Tommy very clearly does not like Dream and does not like the kind of person he is while around him (hurt, afraid, confused, quick to anger). Dream, on the other hand, does not feel this way. He wants to be around Tommy. He wants to hurt Tommy. Dream sees this as fun, while Tommy does not. This is something we will also continue to see as the stream goes on.

This is minor, but I think it’s important to note, as it’s part of how cc!Tommy plays his character: As Tommy and Dream greet one another, Dream says that he lost his clock. Tommy jokes that if you remove the “L” a new word is created, and Tommy smiles. In response, Dream says, “That’s the Tommy I know.” Tommy’s face immediately drops after Dream says this; this feeds into Tommy’s dislike for himself around Dream.

Dream attempts to make conversation, saying that he wishes Tommy would visit more, but Tommy ignores this to explain that this is his last time visiting Dream. Dream tries to make Tommy second guess himself by saying that forever is a “long time.” Tommy pauses before speaking again. Something important to be aware of is that Tommy is very susceptible to Dream’s manipulation, especially now. In this situation. There is no escape. It is just him, Dream, and the lava. There is no one to break up any disagreement they have. There is no one here to stop Dream. And because Tommy is so anxious, he is an easy target. Tommy does try to combat this by being direct with Dream. He refuses to answer Dream outright as of now, and instead just tries to get his point across.

At this point in the stream, it crashes, but right before, Tommy explains to Dream that if there is anything he wants to say, he has to say it now, because Tommy won’t be coming back. Dream responds to this with a confused “why?” Dream cannot think of even a single reason why Tommy would never want to see him again, which plays into the fact that Dream believes that his relationship with Tommy is fun. It also shows that Dream thinks this relationship is mutual; Dream believes that Tommy feels the same way about him, which is not true.

After fixing some stream problems, Dream talks about possibly getting out one day. Tommy immediately denies this and stops Dream from talking about it any further. Here, Tommy is trying to keep some sort of power in the situation. He is trying to keep an even temper, but this doesn’t last very long once Tommy brings up exile.

“What you’re doing now, this is like exile. Do you remember that? Do you remember ex- I don’t know how much you remember with all these tears n shit, this is, this is like exile, man. I don’t- I don’t wanna know you-” “I mean, exile, it wasn’t, it wasn’t too bad, right? I mean, you still, you had, you know, like, we hung out and stuff.” “I fu- You fu- You fuck- You bastard, Dream! You threw my shit into a hole! I can’t go near plains biomes now without getting a little trembly in the fingers! You- Yeah no, it was fucked, you’re fucked!”

Here, Tommy is aware that he is not in power. He knows that he lacks control in this situation, especially because he is emotional. Comparing this to exile shows that this is what Tommy bases his opinions of Dream on, and this is where most of Tommy’s fears come from. This also shows that Dream has no sense of the severity of exile, despite the fact that he carried out the abuse. Dream describes it as them just hanging out, which, again, shows that Dream thinks his relationship with Tommy is fun. He does not think that what he did was abuse, despite Tommy’s clear indication that it was. He doesn’t think that it was too bad despite the fact that he cannot come up with any reason why it wasn’t bad. He does not complete his sentences because he cannot think of anything good. In order to gain the upper hand again, Tommy asks about the books he wanted Dream to write last time, but we quickly move on from that to this:

“Listen, when I’m around you, my brain feels like I’m conditioned to be your friend, but also when I have a knife, I wanna just plunge it into your heart, and it’s like I don’t- you don’t make me a good person.”

This, again, shows Tommy’s conflicting feelings toward Dream. Tommy is very aware that he doesn’t like Dream and is not the person he wants to be while around Dream. However, he still feels inclined to be his friend. Tommy is aware that he is being manipulated, as shown by the word “conditioned” here; he knows that he does not actually want to be Dream’s friend. Tommy just does not know how to make this feeling stop. What Tommy does know is that Dream has ruined everything for him, and he does not want to see Dream ever again. Tommy goes on about how Dream is horrible, specifically calling him out for almost killing Tubbo. In response, we get this:

“I did bad things but- Everybody thinks they’re right from their perspective-” “That’s not true.” “Wow. I mean, I think I’m right. I did bad things, but I did them for good reasons but-" “What do you mean ‘good reasons’ you’re a psychopath-” "but I’ve learned. I did bad things. And I’ve learned that I shouldn’t have done them." “What good reasons? No, please, enlighten us, please, enlighten me-” "I just wanted to bring the server together, have it be a happy family, you know?”

And this, my friends, is a lovely example of Dream’s mindset and ability to manipulate. Dream repeats that he has learned from what he’s done, but that is not true. He tries more than once to excuse his actions by saying that everyone is right from their own perspective and that he was doing bad things for good reason. He does this in an effort to make Tommy think he’s not that bad and can be either let out or revisited. This also proves that he hasn’t learned at all, because if he truly did learn, he would acknowledge exactly what was wrong with his actions. He would’ve apologized to Tommy a long time ago if he really believed that what he did was wrong. Tommy immediately disagrees with Dream’s points, which, again, shows that Tommy and Dream do not have the same mindset, despite what Dream believes. I think the most important thing to take note of is the “happy family” bit, which has been dragged through hell in back in discourse posts. In order to bring the server together to create a happy family, all of the members would have to be involved, and all of them would have to be happy. Based on Dream’s actions, he doesn’t actually want this. Abusing people does not make them happy. Threatening to kill others does not make them happy. Leaving your friends behind in pursuit of your obsession does not make them happy. In Dream’s mind, a “big happy family” is one that he can do anything to without repercussions, which is something Tommy calls out. Later, he says,

“I am better than that. I am better than you. I am done here. You ruined my past, Dream, but you will not ruin my future.”

Other than this being a banger line, this basically sums up everything Tommy wanted to accomplish with this visit. Dream tries to make Tommy second guess himself by asking him to visit, and saying that Tommy visiting would help him get better. Thankfully, Tommy knows that it’s not true, and refuses. But because we can’t have good things around here, right after Tommy says goodbye, TNT starts to go off, and Tommy starts to yell for Sam and panics. Dream does not have much of a reaction to the explosions. Tommy once again tries to bid Dream farewell, saying “It has been an honor knowing you, but it will be an honor forgetting you.” but is quickly distracted by more TNT. As more TNT rains down, Tommy grabs the item frame off the wall to use as a potential weapon. Eventually, Tommy asks Dream to let him out, which signals to Dream that Tommy is in a vulnerable state. Dream capitalizes on this by saying that Tommy might be stuck with him for a while. As they argue over not knowing any better than the other, Tommy doesn’t believe that Dream doesn’t know anything about the TNT.

Eventually, Dream says that this is a good thing and that they can bond. He remarks that this is just like exile, and Tommy immediately begins to curse at and hit him. Tommy continues to hit Dream and pace all panicked, and it only gets worse when Dream says that this is the best thing that has ever happened to him in the prison. Dream tries repeatedly to give Tommy food and books, but he refuses them. Eventually, though, he eats the food. As the two argue some more, Dream says that they will have a lot of fun together. This, again, shows that Dream has a warped perception of what “fun” is, and does not see any reason for Tommy to panic. And to end it all, Tommy says, “I was about to be done.” as he realizes that there is nothing he can do.

#dream smp #tommyinnit #dreamwastaken #dream smp prison arc #dream smp analysis #snailtrail.slimes

[mikaze-discord]

Love letter project ♡

Sooo to celebrate the 4th anniversary of Shining live, I put together a project! I basically got a bunch of people to write a love letter for their favourite boy. Things like, why they like them, how they got to like them and what they like about them were all accepted!

The event was supposed to have 2 fans for each boy but unfortunately I was unable to get two for some of the boys. 

Under the cut will be the love letters for all of Class A!!! Please enjoy~ And thank you for all the people who participated in the event and taking the time to write the love letters out. 

CLASS A

OTOYA ITTOKI

From @ponzu-penzui:

Hello world! My nickname is Yuki, and I’m here to tell you about the sunshine boy that is Otoya Ittoki. The redhead of the series, Otoya is your seemingly a-typical sunshine in a mascot boy character. But, as we all know with these types, the sunshine isn’t as, well, sunshine as they seem. Or, if you didn’t know, well… spoiler alert I guess. Go watch the anime, or play the otome games, then come back here. Anyways, let’s get started on our journey, shall we? Through the rabbithole that got me here in the first place!

Otoya immediately became my best boy the second I saw him. I’m not quite sure what immediately got me at first, whether it be his red hair and eyes, his voice, or his immediate friendliness, but here we are. I should also mention that UtaPri was my first idol anime, so I was completely unaware what was going to hit me later. And, if you’ve watched the entire anime, you know where I’m going.

Season 4 was an emotional wreck. I cried at least twice. Did I have a newfound appreciation for Otoya after all that heartache? Definitely. Without spoilers, it was incredibly painful for me to watch, but I don’t regret it.

After watching the anime, I soon found out about the existence of Shining Live. So, with no other UtaPri content to binge, I started to play SL in late 2018. After playing for a little more than a year, I tiered in my first Otoya event (Heartwarming Snow Festival), and achieved my first top 200. Ever since then, I’ve tiered in every Otoya event, getting top 200, then top 100.

But, why do I like Otoya Ittoki even to this day? Well, I guess this is the time where I say that, after a certain point, I started to see bits of myself in Otoya. This led me to start to RP him, and, as you probably know if you’ve ever roleplayed a character before, I started to look at the miniscule amount of translated game content (many thanks to the Ohayaho Translation Team) for, well, more content. And content I did receive. Long story short, this only served to solidify Otoya as my favorite boy of not only UtaPri, but from all anime/manga/game content I’ve ever seen/watched. His cheerfulness may have been the first thing that got me in this rabbithole, but his backstory and how he managed to grow up pulled me in even further. And, I don’t think I will or want to get out anytime soon.

Next one from; Anon

As much as we all know our Otoya for how sweet and kind he is, there is so much more to him than just a precious smile. He is uplifting, cheerful towards everyone he meets. He has empathy and goes out of his way to make sure his friends are happy. Even so, Otoya has feelings that aren’t always happiness and smiles. He can feel sad and angry just like anyone else.

The reason I care and love Otoya so much is because he has shown me that I don’t have to always put on a smile. It’s nice to show off your pearly whites, but sometimes, it’s okay to be sad too. There are times in everyone’s life when they feel out of place and that they don’t belong. Otoya also felt this way and that’s perfectly okay. He’s still being the best idol he can be: The idol that Otoya loves the most.

MASATO HIJIRIKAWA

From Anon: 

Masato Hijirikawa. Why do I like Masato Hijirikawa? I like him to the point that it feels weird for me to even question why I do. He's just- a good boy. A great boy. I love him. As a joke, I'd usually say that it was his weirdly pretty, bowl-cut hairstyle that drew me to him, or I'd say that he caught my interest when I read that he was "very good with his hands" (wink wonk) in his Shining Live description, and while both of these reasons are still true, it wasn't until I started role playing him in an old server that I really started to appreciate his character more.

Masato, despite his aloof and almost "perfect" initial image, is a very relatable character. When he first arrived at Saotome (in-game) he wasn't necessarily seen as someone with a lot of talent to become an idol, which he acknowledged with grace and worked hard to make up for. He's humble despite his privileged upbringing and is incredibly self-aware of his flaws, which are sources of insecurity for him sometimes (a lot of times). Though it should be said that most of this insecurity stems from not having a lot of control over his early life, which is why it felt so gratifying to see him break free of his metaphorical chains to pursue his happiness without any doubts. He's a hard worker and is willing to accept criticism with open arms, not only for himself but for the people around him. Despite his traditional upbringing and nature, he's very receptive to change as long as it benefits both him and STARISH. He values the people he cares about more than anything, which is why he constantly strives to be a better version of himself every day, not only for himself but for the people around him.

Though his stoicism sometimes makes him seem plain or even "boring" to some people, he hides a warm, hidden passion within that's just as bright as everyone else's. Like the springtime bloom of cherry blossoms after winter, Masato shows his passion and love with no restraint to anyone who takes the time to understand him, and I can very much attest to this. I love him a lot and I hope to see more content of him, STARISH, and the others for more years to come.

NATSUKI SHINOMIYA

From uh....me:

HELLO I’m Z~ also known as the mod of the mikaze-discord/utapri-hcs tumblrs, as well as the organiser for the event! But enough about myself, let's talk about Natsuki Shinomiya.

When I first watched the anime as a youngin, I had already known about the games and their plots but had decided to try out the anime as well since I had nothing better to do.

Natsuki was actually one of my least favourite characters in the anime just because of how they presented him. I just...didn't care for him at all. He was just some random tall guy who loved hugs and almost murder…. Yeah.

I’m sure like most, I had a changing point. Originally, I was a Tokiya rper but...I was just unhappy with how my Tokiya was, I wasn't as experienced in rping with that server being my first rp server i was ever in. I didn't feel like I matched up with the others. I felt my Tokiya was just lacking something, substance maybe. Another person actually had a similar feeling and had changed their character from Camus to Syo and since we already had an Ai, I had just decided to go with the flow and complete the rest of the cute team. Best decision of my life. I’m so grateful for Natsuki and everything I associate him with. Without him, I probably wouldn't have made my tumblrs, I wouldn't have stayed in that server, I wouldn't have gone looking for other servers to rp in. I don't think I would be the same without Natsuki. I just find him so endearing now, he is just a lovable giant who happens to be able to be a disney princess. He is just so darn cute damn it. , just look at his Christmas card, his King card, quite literally just half his Shining live URs. Also, just like his songs just slap. Natsuki to me, is just serotonin. He gave me so many opportunities that I could have missed. I don't even think I would have started this love letter project without him if I’m being completely honest. I genuinely enjoyed all the memories I made as Natsuki. Thank you to Natsuki and to the Mikaze-discord for basically starting me off.

From Luke:

Natsuki was actually the very first character I encountered before I got into utapri. A friend showed a photo of him and told me that I'd probably be into this guy. She sure was right! After installing shining live for the first time and having a familiar face on the screen, I grew curious of him each day and just had to find out why was so attracted to him. The fact that I've seen him so many times in the past was haunting me, telling me that this man actually watched me grow up from a distance without even knowing his name. It sounds weird but I find it rather comforting for someone who doesn't want to be protected but isn't strong enough to defend myself alone.

The thought of having him there was enough to get me through the day and gave me enough reason to wake up to the next. I admit I may have adapted some of his habits after looking after his account for a year but that isn't a bad thing if it means that it would turn me into a much better person than I am now. I guess you could say we've grown together now in a sense, preserving the feelings and just living through the moment no matter how happy or sad it is. What's important is that we're not alone in all things we do and in everything we feel, there will always be someone there to keep us moving when we feel like giving up.

#utapri #utanoprincesama #uta no prince sama #Natsuki Shinomiya #Shinomiya Natsuki #Masato Hijirikawa #hijirikawa masato #otoya ittoki #ittoki otoya

[wangxiangiftexchange]

Winter Solstice Gift for moonanstars124

The request was for fluff, found family, annoying the extended family, and AU coffee shop vibes (which I took extremely literally). I had a lot of fun writing this (my first actual coffee shop AU!) and I hope you enjoy it @moonanstars124!

Read on AO3

*****

The Burial Grounds

“Is there even a point in telling you what I want?” Jin Zixuan asks. “As you’ve never once made what I ordered.”

Wei Wuxian beams at him. “Of course! It gives me direction. A genre, if you will.”

“You do have a specific listing for a surprise drink.” Jin Zixuan resettles a-Ling on his hip. “If I wanted that, don’t you think I’d have ordered it?”

“Well, no,” Wei Wuxian explains reasonably. He reaches across the counter and pats the baby’s cheek. “If you wanted to get what you ordered, you’d have asked Wen Ning to make it.” Wen Ning turns from where he is setting up the soup tureen to shrug in apologetic agreement.

Jin Zixuan sighs deeply. “Someday I’m going to stop tipping you.”

“You can do that on the day that you don’t like what I make you,” Wei Wuxian informs him. “I mean, you won’t, because ajie would never stay married to someone who didn’t tip. But I would understand if you considered it.”

Lan Wangji half-listens to the exchange from his corner table. It is a familiar one, enough so to be pleasant background noise without distracting too much from his book. When the proper disruption comes, it is neither unexpected nor unwelcome, as it happens every morning around this time. He has already closed his book and moved his empty cup to make room for the small chalkboard that appears in front of him.

“Spicy vegetable for the soup,” Wei Wuxian announces, flinging himself down in the other chair. It is not yet nine in the morning, and he already looks happily tired. Lan Wangji nods and wipes the board clean—perhaps not strictly necessary, but if he redoes the borders, Wei Wuxian will sit with him for longer and take a proper break. “White chocolate and cranberry scones, because ajie loves us very much. And...hm. I’ll do a blueberry mint lemonade today, I think. Do we have blueberries?”

This last is for Wen Ning, who sets down Wei Wuxian’s coffee, Lan Wangji’s refill, and a plate with two of the aforementioned scones. “We do,” Wen Ning confirms. “But they’ll go moldy soon, so you should use them up.”

“Perfect.” Wen Ning smiles at both of them and returns to the counter. Wei Wuxian leans back in his chair, stretches his legs full-length, and looks around the coffee shop with satisfaction. One of his ankles comes to rest against Lan Wangji’s. Without looking up from the chalkboard, Lan Wangji puts his free hand on the table. Wei Wuxian laces their fingers together and dips a scone in his drink.

This is how mornings have gone nearly every day for a few years now. Wen Ning arrives early to open; Wei Wuxian staggers down from the apartment upstairs after being prodded awake by Lan Wangji, who claims his table and reads as the coffee shop comes to life around him. Jin Zixuan arrives at some point, bearing the day’s soup and pastries from Lotus Pier Cafe and often as not a dinner invitation for all of them from Jiang Yanli. Lan Wangji earns his coffee by writing out the day’s specials; Wei Wuxian seizes the opportunity to sit down for as long as it takes him to complete the task. Then Lan Wangji gives his table over to the morning rush and goes to work himself. Cloud Recesses Books is close enough to walk to in good weather, and he gets there in time to open. When the coffeeshop closes at three, Wei Wuxian wanders over and spends the rest of the afternoon doing his own reading or debating with Lan Qiren. It is a pleasant routine, and Lan Wangji sometimes has to stop and wonder at how happy he is.

There has been a coffee shop here for decades, under one owner or another, but the Jiangs bought it only three years ago. Lan Wangji remembers perfectly the first time he visited it after that. It was Lan Xichen’s idea to see what the new management had done with the place, and they went for lunch the first month after it reopened. “‘The Burial Grounds?’” Lan Xichen reads, pausing outside the door. “Interesting name choice.”

“After the Burial Mounds, presumably,” Lan Wangji points out. “The nature preserve outside the city.”

“Ah,” his brother says. “Naturally.”

Despite the name, the inside is entirely pleasant: walls repainted to brighten the space, spider plants hanging in the windows, a detailed menu in plain neat lettering on the chalkboard above the counter, specials in the same writing on a smaller one by the pastry case. “They must outsource their food,” Lan Xichen observes, nodding at the familiar lotus image. “The Jiangs own Lotus Pier too, so it makes sense.”

“Mm,” Lan Wangji says. He is listening. He is.

Lan Xichen follows his gaze to the mug on the counter, which holds pens for signing receipts and also a small rainbow flag. “Ah,” he agrees. “That is a pleasing development.”

The line is long enough that they can take their time reading the menu. This is good, because it contains none of the conventional titles. The Med Student, Lan Wangji reads. Four espresso shots in a cup. Below that is The Jiejie: soooooup! (See Specials board for today’s variety). And on and on: The Peacock (a white chocolate mocha with nutmeg), The Angry Brother (chamomile and hibiscus tea), The Adorable Nephew (warm milk with honey), The Headshaker (“Decisions are hard, so let us surprise you!”). Some have less of a story, Lan Wangji thinks: The First Timer is just a latte, and The Adventurer promises undisclosed amounts of cayenne. The result is a place that feels well-loved without being unwelcoming.

“It certainly has character,” Lan Xichen observes as they near the counter. The young man who takes their orders has a quiet earnest smile; he carefully lists the non-dairy milk options for Lan Wangji.

Despite the line, they find a window table easily enough—it is towards the end of the lunch hour—and they watch the street while they wait. It is only a few minutes before a different employee appears with their orders, mugs and bowls balanced precariously enough that Lan Wangji watches the soup in some alarm. But the dishes and their contents reach the table safely, which means that he can look up when the server says brightly, “Can I get you anything else?”

Lan Wangji thinks, Oh. He only barely prevents himself from saying it aloud, and the effort keeps him from speaking at all.

“Oh, wow,” the beautiful man says, staring back at him. Then he shakes himself. “Uh. Sorry. Is this your first time here?”

“We thought we’d see what the new ownership had done with it,” Lan Xichen explains. There is laughter in his voice, subtle enough that Lan Wangji hopes nobody else can hear it. “Our family owns Cloud Recesses, the—”

“The bookshop down the street!” The server’s face lights up—lights up more—and Lan Wangji gives up any hope of forming words himself. “I’ve been in there a few times. I thought you looked familiar.” This is to Lan Xichen; to Lan Wangji, he says, “I haven’t seen you before, though.” He does not say, I would remember, but the sentiment comes through clearly enough that Lan Wangji feels his ears go pink.

“My brother just finished university,” Lan Xichen explains. The amusement has become noticeably less subtle. “He will be working with us.”

“Oh wonderful!” the beautiful man says. “We’ll hope to see you again, then. Both of you, of course.” He sticks his hands into his apron pockets. “I’m Wei Wuxian, the manager. Which is, you know, terrifying. I’m probably not supposed to tell customers that part, though.”

Lan Xichen laughs aloud now, kindly, and Lan Wangji loves his brother for the way the beautiful man—Wei Wuxian—relaxes. “We understand,” Lan Xichen says. “Starting a business is a rather stressful experience at the best of times. I am Lan Xichen; this is Lan Wangji.”

“Welcome to the Burial Grounds, Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji,” Wei Wuxian says gravely, eyes dancing. “Please do let me know if you need anything. Or Wen Ning, he’s honestly much more capable than I am.” He jerks his head towards the counter, where the young man who took their orders is wiping down the espresso machine. “Anyway, I have to get back to work, but I hope you’ll come back.”

“I am certain we will,” Lan Xichen assures him. Wei Wuxian’s eyes linger on Lan Wangji’s face for a moment. When he manages to nod agreement, the smile widens. Wei Wuxian ducks his head at both of them and disappears into what is presumably the back room.

“Well,” Lan Xichen says, after a moment. “This is a delightful discovery.”

“Brother,” Lan Wangji says, deeply pained. He suspects that his ears have gone full scarlet by now.

“I mean the coffee shop, of course.” Lan Xichen takes a sip of his latte and hums with pleasure. “And as a small business ourselves, it’s only right to support others in the neighborhood. We shall have to become regulars.”

Lan Wangji sighs.

He returns alone the next day, just for a coffee in the morning. The one after that, Wei Wuxian sets his drink on the table with a hesitation that already seems out of character. When Lan Wangji tilts his head in question, he says, “I, uh, made you something special. If you want the one you actually ordered, I’ll do that instead, I just...sometimes I get the idea for new things, and I thought you’d like this one.”

Lan Wangji looks at the mug in front of him. It looks like the perfectly dull mocha that he had ordered, unsure what else to get, except that there are flower buds of some kind on top of the foam. He doesn’t know what to say, so he just nods and takes a cautious sip. “Lavender,” he says. He closes his eyes, which helps keep his brain from panicking when Wei Wuxian sits down in the empty chair. “Salt. Something sweet, apart from the chocolate?”

When he opens his eyes, Wei Wuxian’s smile is brilliant. “Birch syrup,” he confirms. “Good, I wasn’t sure how much that would come through; I haven’t used it before. But do you like it? You’re the first person to try that one.”

“Mm.” Lan Wangji looks down at the cup again: something made just for him, not for anyone else. “I like it.” He lifts his head again.

“Oh, wow,” Wei Wuxian murmurs, as he had the first day. “Sorry, I know I’m being weird. I just hadn’t seen you smile before.”

“Not weird,” Lan Wangji says, when he finds his voice. “At least, I don’t mind.” He clears his throat. “Thank you. For the drink. You should put it on the menu.”

“Yeah?” Wei Wuxian grins. “I can do that.”

There is indeed a new listing on the large chalkboard the following day: Dark chocolate mocha with lavender, sea salt, and birch syrup. Lan Wangji looks at the name of it and swallows. The Beautiful Stranger, it says, printed neatly in white chalk below The Headshaker.

When he has been coming to the Burial Grounds several times a week for a month, Lan Wangji arrives one morning to find Wei Wuxian darting frantically back and forth behind the counter. “Wen Ning called out sick,” he explains, when Lan Wangji gets to the front of the line. “This is definitely my reminder to hire more staff. I meant to, since we’ve been doing pretty well, but I just hadn’t gotten around to it. Anyway, sorry, what can I get you?”

Lan Wangji looks at the smear of cocoa powder on his cheek and says, “Is there anything I can do? I do not know how to use the machines, but I could help with other things.”

“You know,” Wei Wuxian says, “that would actually be amazing. Uh, let’s see. I need to get the Specials board up but my handwriting is atrocious. Would you mind? We’ve got chicken dumpling soup and vegan ginger snaps. No drink specials because I have too much else to worry about today.”

When that task is done (“Oh my god,” Wei Wuxian says, staring. “Well, I know I’m never ever showing you my writing”), Lan Wangji clears tables and wipes down the counter and takes orders. All the while, Wei Wuxian darts around the shop like a cheerful whirlwind. “Don’t you have to go to work?” he asks at one point, managing to pour a perfect latte and read the next ticket at once. “I’ll manage. I mean, I don’t know how, but—”

“I have texted my brother,” Lan Wangji says calmly. “He and uncle will cover the bookshop today.”

“...Right,” Wei Wuxian says. “I feel like I should fight you on that, but also I don’t have time. Thank you.”

At three o’clock, Wei Wuxian sets the Closed sign, draws the curtains, and collapses facedown onto the couch where the college students like to study. Lan Wangji regards him for a moment, then puts down the rag he was using to wipe down the last table. He still cannot use the espresso machine, but the kettle is a more familiar creature.

Wei Wuxian lifts his head blearily at the clink of saucer on table. He sits up enough to drink his tea without spilling it, and he devours two of the ginger snaps that Lan Wangji brought over in rapid succession. Lan Wangji sits down in the armchair across from the couch and sips his own tea.

The cookies seem to revive Wei Wuxian a little. “Thank you,” he says. “Again. For the tea and for, you know, everything. How can I repay you? Not a rhetorical question.”

Lan Wangji cradles his tea, glad to have something to do with his hands. “Well,” he says, “when I came in this morning, I meant to ask if you would have dinner with me.”

“Oh!” Wei Wuxian looks at him, wide-eyed. “I—hang on, past tense? Did you change your mind? I guess you did just get the total immersion experience, which I’m told is a lot—”

“I enjoyed the experience,” Lan Wangji says. “But I do not wish you to feel obligated. I will not ask you in a conversation about compensation for my labor.”

“...Right,” Wei Wuxian says. “Because you think about things like that, because you’re a ridiculously good person as well as gorgeous and in possession of unbelievably nice handwriting. Hold on.” He sets down his mug and goes to the counter, does something out of sight involving paper and a pen, and returns. “Here.” Lan Wangji puts down his own tea and inspects the offering: a gift certificate (filled out in a scrawl that is admittedly dreadful) for enough to keep him supplied with coffee for a month, more if he cuts down on his visits. “And I’ll get you all the tips from today, once they’re counted.”

Lan Wangji does not imagine that he will be cutting down on his visits.

“This will do,” he decides, and tucks the paper away in his wallet. “And half the tips. You worked very hard.”

When he looks up again, Wei Wuxian is fidgeting beside his chair. “Sure,” he says. “Great. So is the compensation conversation finished? Can we have the other one now?”

Lan Wangji smiles; he cannot do anything else. Deliberately, he stands up so they are facing each other. Wei Wuxian swallows, but his eyes are bright and he is smiling helplessly as well. Lan Wangji says, “Would you like to have dinner with me?”

“Yes,” Wei Wuxian replies immediately. Then, “You mean like a real date, right? I mean, I’d still say yes either way, but just so we’re clear.”

“A real date,” Lan Wangji confirms.

“Oh wonderful,” Wei Wuxian says. “I really hoped that was what you meant. Yes. Did I already say that?”

He is still in his apron, which has great smears on it from when a cup of coffee spilled on the counter earlier. His hair is coming loose from its tie for at least the fourth time that day; there is raspberry syrup on his forehead and powdered sugar on his nose. He is very, very beautiful.

Lan Wangji reaches up and tucks one loose strand of hair behind his ear. It does very little to help anything, but it means that he gets to feel the slight intake of breath as Wei Wuxian goes still. Lan Wangji does not drop his hand back to his side. Instead, he cups Wei Wuxian’s cheek very gently. He whispers, “May I—”

“Yeah,” Wei Wuxian says, a little hoarsely. “Yeah, yes, please—”

Lan Wangji kisses him. Wei Wuxian makes a soft sweet sound and puts both arms around his neck; Lan Wangji cradles his face a little more firmly and drops his other hand to the small of Wei Wuxian’s back, drawing him in.

And so now it has been three years, or near enough. Lan Wangji dutifully writes out the Specials board every morning; the main menu also bears his script. He has met Wen Qing, who is now a surgeon and no longer the Med Student of the four expresso shots but who remains alarmingly intense. He has also met the Adorable Nephew and the Headshaker as well as the Peacock, Jiejie, and the Angry Brother, all three of whom received him with some combination of suspicion and amusement. “So you’re the Beautiful Stranger,” Jiang Cheng says, having shown up at the Burial Grounds to demand an introduction all of two days after that first date. “Hmph. He’s been yammering about you for a month; you better have been worth it.”

Lan Wangji is trying to be worth it. He plans to ask Wei Wuxian to marry him soon, and he thinks that Wei Wuxian will probably accept. This doesn’t really make the prospect of proposing any less daunting; what does is the way Wei Wuxian pulls him back to bed for sleepy kisses in the mornings, trusting and sure of affection reciprocated. Lan Wangji rather expects that he will slip and ask the question at one of these times, rather than at the dinner date he has scheduled for their anniversary. He doesn’t really mind the idea.

#moonanstars124 #wangxiansolstice20 #*fic20 #*gifts20

[onecanonlife]

careful son (you got dreamer's plans)

Wilbur gasps back to life with mud between his fingers and rain in his eyes.

Wilbur was dead. Now, he is not. He can't say that he's particularly happy about it.

Unfortunately, the server is still as tumultuous as ever, even with Dream locked away, so it seems that his involvement in things isn't a matter of if, but when.

(Alternatively: the prodigal son returns, and a broken family finally begins to heal. If, that is, the egg doesn't get them all killed first.)

Chapter Word Count: 4,369

Chapter Warnings: swearing, references to past child abuse (regarding c!Tommy)

Chapter Summary: In which Schlatt is his own brand of irritating, Wilbur and Tommy talk a bit but not about everything, and they make their way to Dream’s prison cell.

(masterlist w/ ao3 links)

(first chapter) (previous chapter) (next chapter)

Chapter Five: hide your soul out of his reach (i)

“You’re stalling.”

“I’m what?”

His response is automatic, comes spilling out before he truly registers that someone has spoken to him, much less who it is. So when he looks up and locks gazes with Schlatt, the annoyance bubbles up quickly. He’d been sitting quietly, in a relatively secluded area near Tommy’s house, thinking about nothing in particular and everything all at once, and he’d felt settled. Peaceful. His mind quiet.

So much for that.

“I thought you’d fucked off somewhere,” he says.

“And deprive you of my company?” Schlatt shoots back. “You wound me.”

“I wish I could,” he mutters. He glances away, staring off into middle space, hoping that maybe, Schlatt will go away if he pretends very hard that he doesn’t see him. No such luck, and he sighs. “What am I stalling about?”

“Dream,” Schlatt supplies. He strides closer, then kicks off into the air, drifting aimlessly in a seated position. The sweater still looks odd. Too soft, when the man in front of him is anything but. “You said you were gonna go see him.”

“And I am. Just not yet.”

Schlatt snorts. “What’s keeping you?”

He frowns. Meets Schlatt’s eyes again, and finds no sympathy there. A bit of hard amusement, at best. Not that he was expecting anything else.

“Tommy’s going to want to come with me, when I go,” he says. “But I don’t want him near Dream.”

Schlatt makes a sound that’s more mocking than understanding. “Right, Tommy,” he says. “Where is the kid? I’m surprised he left you alone in the first place.”

“Tubbo went back to his town. Snowchester, I think they said it was called.” There is an undefinable melancholy that fills him at the thought. Even now, after everything, they are still trying to make a home. Still trying to carve some corner out of the world and make it theirs. Or Tubbo is, at least. He’s no longer quite sure what Tommy wants. “Tommy went with him.”

“But you didn’t.”

He shakes his head. Tubbo said that there were other people who lived in Snowchester, when he asked. Jack Manifold, for one. Maybe a couple of others. Captain Puffy, maybe? Either way, to go with them would have been to invite the possibility of meeting people, and every cell in his body cringes away from that idea. He’s not ready for that just yet. If ever.

(you’ll have to face them eventually, will have to stand your ground against the hatred in their eyes, burning and so well-deserved, shattered fractals of a people you used to belong to and did your best to destroy)

(you’ll have to face them eventually, and yet you hide)

“Tommy said he’d be back later,” he says. “He doesn’t live there. In Snowchester.”

“So here you are, waiting for him.”

“I suppose.” He frowns, shifting in place where he’s sitting on the ground. He brushes his fingers against the grass, absently pulling up a flower or two. “It’s not as if there’s not time. We can wait until Tommy’s not quite so—” He trails off here, not quite sure how to finish the sentence. Not quite so what? Not quite so traumatized? Trauma doesn’t work like that, doesn’t go away within the span of a few days or weeks. He knows as much, though he used to be content enough to ignore it

(when he was the one causing it)

back in the old days, when there was no choice otherwise, when there was no chance of rest.

“Well, aren’t you considerate,” Schlatt says, and Wilbur looks at him sharply, because that was definitely snide. Schlatt stares right back, brows lifted, smirking. “Waiting for your little brother to be a little less broken. How kind of you.”

He bristles. “Don’t talk about him like that.”

“I’ll talk about him however I want,” Schlatt says. “What are you gonna do, shout at me? Play some shitty music? Please. But all I’m saying is that a few days isn’t gonna make a difference, and you know it. You’re stalling to make yourself feel better, to try and convince yourself that you’re better now, that you’re not gonna hurt him anymore.”

His mouth goes dry. “I’m not—” He shakes his head again, as if trying to dislodge the idea. “It doesn’t matter right now, anyway,” he says. “He’s in Snowchester. He’s not here. There’s nothing to do until he gets back.”

“Oh my god, just comm him,” Schlatt says. “Tell him you’re going over to the prison. Do it now, and you can leave before he decides to go with. Win win.”

“I don’t—” He furrows his brow. He doesn’t have his comm. He’s not sure where his comm is. Except—

For the first time, he thinks to check the pockets of his coat. The first couple turn up nothing, but then, in the third, his fingers wrap around a sheet of thin, hard plastic. He freezes for a moment, and then draws the communicator out, holding it loosely in his hand. A tap on the screen, and it lights up, just the way he’s used to.

It doesn’t make sense for him to have this.

Schlatt leans over his shoulder and whistles.

“Daddy’s worried about you,” he says, and Wilbur blinks, pulling up his unread messages. There shouldn’t be any, shouldn’t be any at all, because he can count the number of people who knows that he’s back on one hand. And yet, there is one, and perhaps he shouldn’t be surprised at the identity of the sender, but he is.

Philza whispers to you: don’t mean to be pushy but could you let me know you made it to smp lands safe?

He has to read the message several times before its meaning sinks in, and once it does, he’s not sure how to feel about it. It doesn’t particularly read like Phil wrote it; it’s too hesitant, too apologetic. But Wilbur remembers what Phil looked like, standing in that kitchen, wingless and so very cautious, flinching away from his words as if they were physical blows. And in the end, letting him go, even though it was plain as day that he would have liked nothing more than to keep him there.

He’s angry with Phil. For a lot of reasons. But then, he’s angry at the world, too. Angry at himself, most of all.

(and there is so much of him that just wants someone else to swoop in and fix things, just wants his dad to make everything better in a way that he hasn’t since he was a kid and the first fracture formed, splitting their family apart, and as much as he is angry there is a large part of him that just wants to go back to that house and sink into his father’s arms and learn how to call a place home again)

“You gonna answer?” Schlatt asks.

He ignores him, checking the timestamp. It was sent a few hours after he left the tundra. So, a couple of days ago, now, and there have been no messages since. Perhaps it’s no longer relevant.

He hesitates, eyes tracing over don’t mean to be pushy.

It feels so strange, for Phil to qualify a sentence like that. Like he’s unsure of his welcome. And perhaps he’s right to be.

You whisper to Philza: I’m safe.

“Touching,” Schlatt says dryly. He scowls, trying to bat him on the arm or push him away or do something, but his hand goes through, and Schlatt just smirks some more for his efforts. “Now do Tommy.”

He puts the comm down on his lap, turning to face Schlatt fully. “Why are you being so fucking insistent?” he demands. “You’re a ghost, you can go by yourself. Through the walls and shit, since apparently you get actual ghost powers.” Ghostbur didn’t get ghost powers. He recalls that very clearly, because Ghostbur was immensely disappointed by this. For once, he agrees with the shade.

“And do what, look at him? Like it’s a fucking zoo? Watch him twiddle his thumbs and chuckle evilly to himself? Not exactly my idea of a good time,” Schlatt says. “I don’t know if you forgot, but nobody can see me. Hell, for all you know, I’m not even real. You could be making me up.”

He tries to brush the comment off. It hits just a bit too close to home

(whispers in shadows and enemies around every corner, people watching and staring and plotting against him, and no one else can see, Tommy can’t see, but that’s alright, he sees enough for both of them, and he will have his victory, and if he cannot have that, then nobody can and there is laughter, laughter, laughter)

for his comfort.

“If I were making you up,” he says, “I would simply stop.”

“Cute,” Schlatt says. “Do you wanna know what your problem is? Your problem is that you’re scared of people seeing you for what you really are.”

His hands clench.

“You say you don’t want to hurt Tommy? Fine. I even believe you,” Schlatt continues. “But don’t act like you’ve come back to life and suddenly you’re some saint. You’re fooling yourself, Wilbur. People like us don’t change. You can put on as much of a shine on the outside as you want, but scratch that paint off, and you’re still the power-hungry asshole who blew up a city as a hissy fit.”

His mouth works for a second, wordless.

“Fuck you,” he snarls, and scoops up his comm again.

You whisper to TommyInnit: I’d like to visit the prison today

“Was that so hard?” Schlatt asks.

“Fuck you,” he says again. “And fuck off. Or I swear to god I’ll figure out a way to exorcise you.”

“Please do,” Schlatt says. “I’d thank you for it. But sure, have it your way.” He shrugs, looking completely unconcerned. “I’m never too far.” Then, he disappears, and there is a shimmer of blue in the air, and even that fades away, and Wilbur is left alone and feeling no better for it.

“It wasn’t a fucking hissy fit,” he says to the empty space. There’s no one left to hear him, no one left to justify himself to, but

(it wasn’t a hissy fit it was desperation and fear and wild abandon and a surging, terrible victory and a fire in his chest driving him onward and he relished in it, relished in the freedom and the power and the control and he was the villain, he was the villain and he was good at it, he was the villain and he loved it, he was the villain and everyone else paid the price and he didn’t pay at all so what happens now, what happens to the villain back from the grave what happens)

he’s not wrong. Not about this.

TommyInnit whispers to you: ok

TommyInnit whispers to you: i’ll be back soon

TommyInnit whispers to you: dont leave without me or your a bitch

He doesn’t leave without him.

He should. Should venture on to the prison by himself, to spare his brother the effort. But in the end, he can’t bring himself to do it. Can’t bring himself to go it alone. Perhaps it really is pathetic, but he wants to have someone by his side when he starts revealing himself to the rest of the server.

It’s certainly selfish. But he’s never claimed not to be.

They don’t meet anyone on the way. Wilbur doesn’t understand why, not when the sun is shining brightly and they’re walking the established path, matching each other stride for stride,

(there was a time when he would have walked behind you, would have trailed on your coattails, would have looked to you for direction and guidance and look at him now, look at who he has been made into, a child who should not have to be as grown as he is but there is no changing it now and he really is someone to be proud of, isn’t he?)

but they run into nobody, and those vines are fucking everywhere.

“Why hasn’t anyone cleared these?” he asks, more to himself than anyone else. “They’re a fucking eyesore.”

Tommy snorts. “You don’t need to tell me,” he says. “They’re ugly as hell. But there’s this Egg thing, see, that BadBoyHalo and a couple of others are all constantly going on about, and those vines come from it, I think. I don’t see what all the fuss is about, personally. I mean, it’s just an Egg. Can’t be all that great. But BadBoyHalo swears by it.” He pauses. “Well, he doesn’t swear. He says muffin by it, I suppose. Still can’t get him to swear.”

“An egg,” he says, and then frowns. “An Egg,” he repeats, and there’s a difference in the way he’s saying it, in the strange emphasis that implies the capital letter. “That’s—vines don’t come out of eggs. They’re not—vines don’t hatch, and eggs aren’t fucking plants.” And then, he remembers— “Techno told me about an egg. Said he thought it was some kind of cult. He didn’t know much else.”

Too late, he realizes what he’s said, and catches the way that Tommy stiffens.

“You’ve been to see Technoblade, then,” he says, and his voice is far too casual to actually be casual. He winces.

“When I—woke up,” he says, “I was really near the tundra. And I remembered where he lived, from when Ghostbur would visit. And I thought that maybe—”

“I mean, you don’t need to explain it,” Tommy interrupts, but his tone of voice tells Wilbur that actually, he really does need to explain it, because there is undoubtedly a note of hurt there, and that won’t do.

“No, no, I do,” he says. “I know you’re not exactly good with each other right now. I’m not really good with him either. But I woke up and it was raining and I didn’t know what the fuck was going on, and I made a list, see? And number one on that list was to get to you. But I was cold and wet and I had no idea what was happening in the SMP because Ghostbur’s memories are patchy as hell, so I thought that Techno could tell me some things so I wouldn’t go in blind and walk into—I don’t know, a nuclear war or something.”

Tommy makes an odd sound at that, like a cross between a cat having a hairball and someone choking on water gone down the wrong pipe. “Nuclear war,” he repeats, in a voice that’s a bit strangled, and his words seem to trip over each other in his rush to get them out. “Right. Yeah, no, none of that here. Nope. No way that could ever happen. Uh, yeah, no, that makes perfect sense.” He stops, and Wilbur is about to ask what the actual hell that was about, when he speaks up again. “Is he—I mean, how is he? Still a fucking crazy arsehole?”

Wilbur looks at him. Tommy does not look back. In fact, he seems to be making a point of looking straight ahead, avoiding eye contact.

“Yeah,” he says softly. “Still an arsehole. Same old Techno, you know him. Phil, too.”

He doesn’t think he imagines the way Tommy’s shoulders relax at that, just fractionally.

“Right, yeah,” he says. “Good to hear.”

“Tommy—” he starts, and is saved from having to figure out what he’s going to say, because suddenly, he sees it. The prison. There’s no way that it could be anything else. And he has to stop and stare for a long moment, because he’s never seen a build like that before. Not on any server he’s ever lived on. He’s seen some impressive buildings in his life, and he’d like to think that he’s made a few himself,

(walls to keep them safe to protect them and hold them dear and he hasn’t seen Fundy yet, has he?)

but nothing compares to this.

“Who built this?” he breathes. He feels claustrophobic just looking at it, dark walls towering over them, looming, intimidating.

“Sam did,” Tommy says. “He’s the warden, too. But Dream commissioned him, which is what makes it so fucking funny.”

He feels a grin spread across his face.

“Wait,” he says, “Dream’s locked in his own fucking prison?”

“Dream’s locked in his own fucking prison!” Tommy whoops, and just like that, he’s laughing, and they both are, and maybe he can do this after all. He follows Tommy’s footsteps as he leads him to the doorway, to an empty room with a portal frame, and he’s sizing it up, trying to figure out how they’re supposed to get through, when Tommy steps forward.

“Sam?” he calls out. “You here?” And then, to Wilbur: “Sam’s kind of a dick when he’s got the whole warden thing going on, but he’s pretty nice when he’s not working. He’s been a good friend, you’ll like him. Later, I mean. When he’s not being a dick.” And then again: “Sam? Sam, we want to visit Dream!”

“You don’t need to yell, Tommy. I’m right here,” someone says, and there is another person in the room, and every muscle in Wilbur’s body tense because he didn’t see him come in. “I wasn’t expecting—” And then the man stops, staring right at Wilbur, and Wilbur is left to size him up and rack his brain as to whether or not he’s formally met Awesamdude before. He’s been on the server for a while, he knows. Was around for L’Manberg, was a part of the Badlands, was neutral. He’s met him before. He’s almost certain he’s met him before. But there’s no spark of recognition in him, looking at this man, with his full netherite armor and the mask covering the lower half of his face and the green patches that dot his skin.

“Wilbur Soot,” Sam eventually says. “I would assume? Not Ghostbur?”

He regains himself. Inclines his head. “You’d be right,” he says, and then he steps forward, taking his place at Tommy’s side, and he extends a hand. “Sorry, I’m not sure that we ever really got the chance to meet.”

Sam takes his hand, showing only a bit of hesitance. His grip is firm.

“I’d say it’s a pleasure,” Sam says. “I’m not sure if it is or not.”

“You know what?” Wilbur says. “That’s fair.”

“Hm,” Sam says, and it’s hardly approval. But Wilbur is very aware of the fact that they’re standing in the entrance of a prison, a prison that is supposedly inescapable, and that he has definitely, by the standards of the server, committed at least one crime. And what’s more than that, he doesn’t particularly regret it. Not the act itself. The effects it had, maybe. The pain it brought. But in his heart of hearts, he is glad that L’Manberg is gone.

So really, the fact that he isn’t being arrested is a win.

(he thinks, he wonders, what would he do if he was, if he was locked away in the dark and the walls loomed all around him and the sun was a distant memory and ah, he thinks, no, I would rather die, and then the imagined prison becomes Pogtopia, shadowy and dank and every sound echoing off the stone, melancholy and abandoned, and he wonders what it looks like now, now that there is no life in it at all, and he wonders if it is haunted with the ghost of who he used to be, if he left some important part of him behind to shrivel into dust)

“So, I assume this is a recent development?” Sam asks. He’s being very calm about this, which Wilbur appreciates. But then, they were never close. Were never connected personally. The real tests still lie ahead.

“Couple of days,” Tommy says cheerily. “We’re taking it slow.”

“I didn’t know you knew how to do that,” Sam says, and Wilbur blinks, because it’s a joke. Someone feels familiar enough with Tommy to make the comment, and likes him well enough to make it playful.

That’s—good? He thinks it’s good? Probably? Yes. Good. Tommy has friends. Good.

(he doesn’t need you. not really. he wants you, for some godforsaken reason. but he doesn’t need you)

“Oi, I can be slow,” Tommy says. “I can be the very slowest. I am excellent at being slow, I’ll have you know.”

“Well, that explains a lot,” Wilbur says, and Tommy gapes at him, looking back and forth between them with a dawning expression of betrayal.

“Oh no you don’t,” he says, stabbing a finger at both of them. “I didn’t introduce you so that you could go ganging up on me. That’s just not right. I changed my mind, Wilbur, you’re not allowed to like Sam. None of this bullshit.”

Wilbur laughs, and for a moment, it’s like nothing has changed at all. He’s ribbing his little brother, and there’s even someone else here for support, and it’s not Techno, but that doesn’t seem to matter so much. The motions are familiar, the words an old pattern.

“You’re here to see Dream, right?” Sam says, and just like that, the illusion shatters. And the smile is gone from Tommy’s face.

“Yeah,” he says. “Yeah, we are.” He hesitates. “We can both go in together, right? Because I’ll tell you right now, nothing else is going to work. We’re a package deal, me and Wil are.”

Sam tilts his head. “No one’s ever tried to visit with someone else,” he says. “I don’t see an issue with it, as long as you both pass security.”

This is relieving. But Wilbur’s a bit more concerned with the way that Tommy’s hands have begun to shake. Just slightly, barely enough to see.

“Good,” Tommy says. “Wilbur, there’s so much security, it’s honestly ridiculous. There’s a bunch of checkpoints and lava and you have to put all your stuff in a locker and get splashed with potions, and oh! There’s wavers, too, you’re going to have to sign a bunch of shit.”

“Great,” he says. It’s not great. It sounds nerve-wracking, in fact. But if Tommy can do it, so can he; he’s just a bit worried that Tommy can’t do it. Or rather, not that he can’t do it, since he’s done it before, apparently. Just that maybe, he really, really doesn’t want to do it. That maybe, it will not be very good for him to do it. That maybe, he’s putting himself through this for Wilbur’s sake, and hasn’t Wilbur just established that he doesn’t want to hurt Tommy anymore?

(but the past echoes forward into the future and there’s no way around it now)

But they’re here, and he’s not going to be able to get Tommy to turn back, and he’s not sure that he would even if he could, because his nerves are all shot and he doesn’t want to be in this dark prison without an ally. So Sam guides them through the checkpoints, and there are indeed a lot of wavers, and a lot of splash potions, and Tommy has to put all of his things in a locker. Wilbur pulls up his inventory, certain that he doesn’t have anything on him, still, but he’s not entirely right about that; he must have kept the flowers he was pulling up earlier, because he’s got about five cornflowers in one of the slots.

He puts them in a chest, and ignores the startled look that Tommy shoots him when he sees. He’s not sure what that’s about. They’re just flowers.

The walls are too close. The shadows too dark. The crackle of lava too near. Tommy is putting on a front, chatting at Sam more than he is with him, and to his credit, Sam puts up with it with easy acceptance. But Wilbur knows that a front is all it is, because his smiles don’t reach his eyes, and he knows how Tommy sounds when he’s talking for the sake of hearing his own voice.

This may, perhaps, be a mistake.

(you can’t let him near Tommy don’t let him near Tommy not after what he did to Tommy don’t you know can’t you remember how can you be letting this happen after what he did Tommy shouldn’t be anywhere near here but now he is and you brought him and what kind of a brother are you)

But he has questions he needs to ask. And he hasn’t forgotten his list. His goals.

If there is anything he can do on this server to make it better, after everything he’s done, let it be this.

“Alright,” Sam says, “call for me when you want to leave. Make sure to walk with the bridge.”

And then the curtain of lava falls, and there is a moving platform, and Tommy is deathly still by his side, and there is the cell, and there, in the cell—

Dream.

He’s wearing an orange jumpsuit. A prisoner’s outfit. But he’s kept his mask, stark-white and smiling and laced with spiderweb-thin cracks. His mouth is visible, canting upward into a slight smile, one that mimics the black paint. He stands at their approach, and then they’re stepping into the cell, and Wilbur lets his hand land on Tommy’s shoulder, to steady him and to steady himself.

“Oh, fuck,” someone says, and it’s not him, and it’s not Tommy, and it’s not Dream, and it sounds faint and far away. The living aren’t the only ones in this cell, then. He hopes that Schlatt has the good sense not to be too distracting.

Dream takes a step forward. Under his hand, Tommy stiffens.

“Hi, Tommy,” Dream says. “It’s good to see you.” It’s directed at Tommy and Tommy alone, like Wilbur’s not even there at all, Dream’s mask tilted toward toward him, toward the kid that he manipulated and abused, and Tommy is trembling and Dream has no fucking right to address him like that, so soft and friendly, and Wilbur—

—sees red.

#mcyt #dsmp #dream smp #dsmp fic #wilbur soot #jschlatt #tommyinnit #awesamdude #dreamwastaken #alivebur #glatt #/rp #cat writes fic #long post

[imalifegen89]

A Legacy Left Behind - Chapter - 5 - The Gemmond Incident

Rating: Mature

Category: M/M

Fandoms: Stargate Atlantis, Hawaii Five-0 (2010), Stargate SG-1

Relationship: Steve McGarrett/John Sheppard

Characters: John Sheppard, Steve McGarrett, Danny "Danno" Williams, PO Higgins (OC), Kono Kalakaua, Adam Noshimuri, Alicia Vega, Laura Cadman, Bates (Stargate), Original Stargate Wraith Character(s), Original Characters, George Hammond, Jack O'Neill, Catherine Rollins, Evan Lorne

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Swearing, Character Bashing, Not Catherine Rollins Friendly, Violence, BAMF John Sheppard, BAMF Team, No DADT

Summary: Team SG-11 goes on their first off-world mission. It's supposed to be a 'walk in the park,' easing them into the hectic life at the Stargate Command. But things have a way of going off the rails when this particular team is involved. One way or another, they'll prove that they've got what it takes to fulfill their mission.

-o0o-

The first official mission of SG-11, yay!

As always, Salchat, you are the best!!! Thank you so much for all your hard work. I'm improving but I'm still a lot of work for my Beta.

If there are any mistakes, they'd be my own.

Part - 1

Officers Quarters, Pearl Harbor-Hickam Base - Hawaii

The Naval Intelligence Command Analyst, Lieutenant Catharine Rollins, was tired. The 18 hour or so trips from Hawaii to Libya and back were taking a heavy toll and all she wanted to do was go to her quarters, take a long, hot bath, and collapse on her bed for a long, uninterrupted sleep until the next day. Both she and Harrington had been dismissed by Commander Joe White with orders to take the rest of the day off and report for duty the next day when they had returned to the base. Harrington had invited her to go out but she had declined politely, citing jet lag and the need to rest. In her mind, she had been cursing at the damn idiot to stop trying to get attached to her like a freaking limpet and just leave her the hell alone.

She sighed in relief as she finally reached her quarters without having been called away for something or other, despite her being off duty. That had happened a couple of times before and that was part and parcel of her glamorous career as an Intelligence Analyst. She entered her quarters, threw her traveling bag to a corner, and started taking off her sweaty and dusty uniform while fantasizing about a nice, hot, bubble bath. But being just a lowly analyst, she only had a cramped shower in her quarters. 'Ah well, at least it's not like I have to go for a communal shower.' She shuddered at the thought.

Her much-needed long shower turned out to be only fifteen minutes as the hot water got cut off. She sighed and got out, still quite travel weary. Then she found her most comfortable and baggy sweats, an old t-shirt that was a few sizes too big, put them on, and got under the blankets in her bed. She was hoping to catch a few hours of sleep before she had to go out for dinner.

Despite the physical exhaustion, her thoughts turned to the past few hours.

'Why is it that the handsome ones are always either taken or gay?' she asked herself rhetorically.

She had tried her damndest to flirt with the navy SEAL she'd had her eyes on for a while now. But the stupid asshole had been completely oblivious. She had been sure, when they were on their way, in that transport - his loud-mouthed friend had pointed it out clearly to the Commander. But the man had seemed utterly uninterested and even annoyed at his friend. Catharine had been reeling at that response, although she had kept up the pleasant conversation with the idiot, Harrington. Then she had seen the subtle drama between her SEAL and that rather unremarkable pilot. That had given her a clue as to the lack of interest from the guy. She knew she was a very pretty woman and was not quite used to her rather demonstrated feelings going unreciprocated in that manner.

'But he’s got to be bi, hasn't he? So there is still a chance. Claire was pretty sure when she told me that McGarrett used to go out with Anna from the Enterprise during the first year after he got his trident. Pff... I'm a much better catch than that woman, certainly much better than a damn pilot...a plain guy with dumb hair-do, at that...Argh. Besides, fighter pilots don't really have that long life expectancies now, do they? Oh, Steven, you could do so much better, really..' She let her thoughts wander about the latest individual that had caught her attention and his rather ungainly love interests.

She was dragged away from her musings by a certain ringtone on her phone that had only rung twice before. She sprang up in her bed as if she had been electrocuted.

'Shit, shit, shit! I should've anticipated this,' she berated herself, especially after what had happened and where she'd been.

She hurriedly got off the bed, found her personal laptop, and plugged in the special USB/Dongle she had been given about a month ago when she was recruited. She then switched it on, disconnected her internal internet connection to the base, and connected to a different server - a server with an IP address that bounced off several satellites and countries making it impossible to track the connection. She finished running the encryption she had been given along with the USB when a window opened on her screen, indicating an incoming call. She clicked the button to accept, with trepidation.

As usual, a black screen greeted her as the call connected. She had taken steps to protect herself as much as she could and had her camera already covered. She was reasonably sure that whoever was on the other side wouldn't see her either, but she couldn't guarantee it.

"Agent CR-17, this is Zero. We have questions for you," the disembodied and distorted voice coming through the connected call informed her. She grimaced at the 'handle' she'd been given. Then she took a deep breath to clear her mind and remember the details of the past 30 hours.

"Yes, please ask your questions," she replied when she was sure her voice was even and polite.

"You have participated in a certain meeting. Give us the particulars," the voice ordered.

'Well, that's easy enough,' she thought as she mentally listed the main points of the meeting. And then she launched into an account of the meeting that happened at the base between her, Harrington, SGC, and the SEALs, the gathering at the Wheelus Air Base in Libya, the points they discussed there, and the revelations that came to light about the alliance between the Wraith and the Goa'uld agents.

The voice was quiet for a long time before it answered. "Are you quite sure of this, Agent? They have seen our involvement at the Detention facility?"

"Yes, I am. I'd advise you to take precautions if you are going to conduct further operations in this manner. I'm certain they will be able to track your transporter movements. The scientists they have at the SGC seem very competent," she answered truthfully.

"Very well." said the voice, with grim finality.

"Now, this is your next task. Send the personal files of the members of the SEAL team who were involved in this meeting. We need to deal with this before things get out of hand - well - even more out of hand. Do you understand?" the voice asked with emphasis.

Rollins felt sweat running down her spine despite the shower she had just taken only a few minutes ago. Giving them verbal reports once or twice in a while was one thing, but sending highly classified personal files was something else entirely. But she knew that refusing was not an option, not if she wanted to keep her career or her life for that matter.

"Yes, I do." She answered the only way she could.

"Make sure we receive it all by the end of the month. You do not need to send them all at once. Take steps to cover your tracks. But make sure we have what we need by the deadline." The voice cut off abruptly, just the way it always did after it finished giving orders.

She stared at her now empty laptop screen for a few moments, trying to wrap her mind around the conversation she'd just had. Not for the first time, she regretted the circumstances that led her to accept this arrangement. Having a fat retirement fund to return to when she finally took her early retirement from the navy after putting the minimum years in, was a nice feeling. But she certainly couldn't enjoy it from a military prison or an early grave.

She shook her head and switched her laptop off. It was too late to do anything now. She had to concentrate on planning how to get around various security restrictions and get her hands on the files that were requested by her beneficiaries. She needed someone from the Human Resources Administration for this, didn't she? Then she felt a small smile creeping up on her lips - She knew exactly the person she could easily persuade into letting her take a glimpse of such things! Feeling quite satisfied and making further plans for her treasonous mission, she decided she was hungry enough and started to get dressed to go out in search of a proper dinner.

Stargate Command, Cheyenne Mountain - Colorado

Embarkation Room

(Four weeks later)

"I know you said renaissance age, but what does that mean, exactly?" Danny asked as he adjusted the strap of his MP7.

Everyone in SGC was issued FN P90 Personal Defense weapons. But the SEALs were partial to their own submachine guns and other weapons. The first thing they'd done when they began the training, was to raid the armory in the SGC to make sure they had those specific weapons and ammo they needed. The Master Sergeant in charge of the armory had gleefully sent out requests for the Navy to re-supply them with the standard weapons and kits for the Special Operators. The Navy had reluctantly given in, needing to keep up their standards.

"Like you just stepped into a Rome-Egypt hybrid planet in the 14th century," Bates replied with a grimace. He was not a fan of the planet. He had been on one of the Gate teams who had visited the planet before it was reformed by the SG-1. He hadn't been impressed.

"Hey, it's a nice enough planet,” Major Evan Lorne interjected. “Well, they were a bit uptight before, but then SG-1 sorted them out. They are good people now, took on refugees from Nasya and everything. It's safe enough for first-time planet hoppers. Besides, they are having their harvest celebrations this time of the year. Food, drinks, and merry people all around. And we have a standing invitation every year for the party," Lorne had visited the planet two years ago for his first 'travel through the Gate' experience and it had been a blast. He was very much looking forward to an encore.

"So, what do we do there?" This was from Higgins.

"Nothing much. We go and say 'hi' to the leaders, go to a party or two and come back home," answered Cadman. She had heard good stuff from Lorne and was looking forward to the experience as well. It would be nice for once, just to go to a planet and join a celebration, just enjoy the visit other than fighting or running for their lives, for a change.

"Nice," Higgins agreed.

The Stargate Command's newest addition - or the newly re-arranged SG-11, was waiting to go on their first extra-planetary mission. Four weeks had passed since Colonel Sumner initiated the first-ever SGC team combined with the SEALs and the CIA agents. They had all been heavily involved in training for all sorts of scenarios they could think of since then. Their days had been full of weapons, physical, tactics training, going through all available information about galaxy's bad guys, and then a couple of weeks spent in earth's Alpha site for field training. Sheppard and Lorne had had to beam down to Antarctica in between for projects at the Outpost and then visit Peterson Base a few times to keep up their flight qualifications. Altogether, those six weeks had been hectic and they were all looking forward to this outing. Listening to Lorne and everyone else who had already been to planet Gemmond painting a merry picture of their culture, had them all eager for the visit. The Wraith and the Goa'uld had been silent and hadn't made any noteworthy moves so far. They all knew that when they finally did, SG-11 needed to be ready to move. This trip to Gemmond for their harvesting celebrations was sort of a break before they had to go to war, so to speak.

"Dialing the gate now." Sergeant Harriman's voice could be heard over the speakers. He had started the dialing sequence for the planet designated P3X-422, aka Gemmond.

"Chevron One encoded,"

"Chevron Two encoded,"

"Chevron Three encoded,"

"Chevron Four... not encoded."

That was not the usual script during a dial-out. Sheppard exchanged a glance with Steve and turned back to look up at the dialing station. They were all waiting in front of the ramp while Harriman dialed. The day's duty officer-in-charge, an Air Force Colonel called Dixon, was standing behind the station where Harriman was sitting. He was also frowning at the diversion from the norm.

"What's happening, Sergeant?" They could all hear the Colonel asking Harriman over the speakers.

"Sir, the gate is not connecting. It's almost as if someone from that side is already dialing. You know, it's like, we're getting the 'line busy' tone," Sergeant Harriman guessed.

"That doesn't make sense. They know we're visiting them today. They usually like it when we visit," said Colonel Dixon, his frown deepening as he glared at the dialer. Then he looked over the see-through window to stare at the group waiting to go off-world. He grimaced as if SG-11 personally had something to do with the Gate refusing to connect.

Colonel Garry Dixon wasn't a big fan of the newly initiated team. His personal opinion was that the lot of them were too arrogant and cocky for their own good. And he hadn't really tried very hard to keep his opinions to himself. But SG-11 didn't let it bother them. They hardly needed validation from the opinionated Colonel. The man had only earned his stripes just by spending the required years in service without a single active combat tour under his belt. He had somehow landed his position as head of Public Relations for SGC, mostly thanks to his political connections.

"Well, dial again," said Dixon after a pause. The Sergeant did as ordered.

"Nope, still not connecting," Harriman said after the third failed attempt. The fourth Chevron refused to connect and the Stargate stubbornly stayed dormant.

"I don't like this. I don't like this at all. Something's not right," Bates muttered, shaking his head.

Sheppard stared at the Gate, thoughtfully. He could feel it in his mind. The Gate was trying to establish a connection with the input destination. He knew that Walter had guessed correctly; something was blocking the connection from the other side. Moreover, he could feel the Gate trying to force the connection, but not succeeding because something was lacking from SGC's side. It gave John an uneasy, itchy feeling in the back of his mind - like a puzzle piece that's been forced to fit into a place that it didn't quite belong. It gave him an idea.

"Sir, permission to take the Puddle Jumper on this visit?" Sheppard addressed the Colonel.

They had only just found this super-cool, little spacecraft back in Antarctica a week ago, and John had felt like he had been given a gift. He had been on the Chair running a diagnostic on weapons systems when the link had guided him towards one of the storage areas that was recently uncovered to show him the ship. He had finished the routine quickly and taken off towards his prize, with the mental connection in his mind laughing softly at his eagerness. He and Rodney had spent two days going through the ship top to bottom and declared it safe for flights. He had taken the newly named 'Puddle Jumper' (Rodney had insisted on calling it ‘Gateship,’ but John had exercised his veto power as the pilot and put a firm stop to that nonsense) on a few rides and returned with it back to the Mountain at O'Neill's orders. Jack O'Neill had promptly jumped in with Jackson, Carter, and Mitchell in tow, and taken it on a tour to space. He had returned after a few hours with all of them grinning like kids on Christmas, and then given his official stamp to put the Jumper on active service.

"What can you possibly do with the Jumper, Sheppard? We can't dial. The damned line is busy," said the Colonel, starting to lose his patience.

Sheppard mentally rolled his eyes. He knew that Dixon was quite skeptical when it came to believing in Sheppard's affinity for all things Ancient.

"I know that, Sir. But I also know that the Jumper's got a DHD in it, an Alteran designed. As advanced as our dialer is, it's still primitive compared to the real thing,” he replied. “And when there's the real thing, there's a chance that I could do something with it," he put on his most innocent expression and stared expectantly at the Colonel.

John could see Danny openly rolling his eyes and Steve trying hard to hide a snort. Bates was staring stoically ahead, staying away from the officer's spats. Agents Kalakaua and Noshimuri were staring at the Gate serenely, not letting this petty nonsense bother them. Cadman and Higgins were grinning ear to ear, watching the drama unfold. Lorne and Vega were doing the same as Cadman and Higgins, but they were carefully hiding their grins behind blank masks.

"So sure of yourself, Major?" asked Dixon, not bothering to hide his disdain.

It was obvious that he didn't believe for a second that Sheppard could do anything about the situation. The Ring was busy on the other side - there was not a damn thing they could do from this side until it closed, period.

"I don't see any harm in trying," Sheppard drawled with a shrug.

The Colonel looked for a moment like he wanted to refuse. Then he seemed to realize that it would be more fun to let John try and then berate him afterward when he inevitably failed.

"Fine then, knock yourself out. Just don't break the Stargate or the Jumper, Major." Dixon gestured grandly for them to get on with it.

...........

The team reached the next level where the Jumper was parked. The floor of the level had a trap door that could be remotely opened to let the jumper fly vertically down until it came face to face with the Stargate.

They all got themselves situated comfortably inside the craft. Sheppard took the pilot seat with Major Lorne as the co-pilot at his side. Lorne hadn't had the chance to take it out for a spin yet and Sheppard wanted him to familiarize himself with the controls during the flight. Steve and Danny took seats behind them in the cockpit. The rest of the team made themselves at home in the back where there was plenty of space for them and the equipment they carried.

"So, you think you can force a dial-in?" Lorne asked while he watched Sheppard going through the pre-flight.

"I don't know yet, Lorne. It's not like I've tried it before," said Sheppard with a crooked grin, not bothering to look up from what he was doing.

"Well, you sounded awfully sure back there," said Lorne.

"Let's just say, I have a feeling." Then he turned to look at Lorne and give him an impish grin. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this.”

"Ah, Jesus! Please tell me it's not going to be like the time when we were doing that thing in Baghdad... Please! I'm begging you," Danny implored. His eyes had gone wide with what looked like genuine fear.

"Fucking hell, Danny, you had to bring that up," said Steve, trying to hide his fear behind annoyance.

"McGarrett, tell me that is not the case now - cos man, I'm gonna climb outta this tin-can right now." Higgins was already halfway up from his seat and looking furtively at the back door of the Jumper.

"Come on guys, relax. I'm pretty sure I know what I’m doing." Sheppard had finished checking on the flight controls in front of him and was now fiddling with the switches directly above him. He looked completely at ease, in direct contrast to the mounting fear in the atmosphere inside the craft.

"What happened in Baghdad?" Bates piped up from the cargo bay, stoic demeanor forgotten as his curiosity was piqued.

"Don't ask man. Just. Don't..." Higgins was shaking his head from where he was inspecting what looked like an electronic keypad with door controls.

"Oh come on, you can't just say things like that and expect us to let it go. Now you've got us all intrigued and shit," Vega cajoled.

"She's right brah, you gotta spill," Kono seconded. They were all getting increasingly curious as to what could possibly have these badass SEALs shaking in their metaphorical boots.

"Okay, people calm down. If we make it through this mission in one piece, I'll get drunk and tell you all about it - there’s no way in hell I'm going to talk about that shit while I'm sober," Danny promised the group, visibly collecting himself and.

"Stop exaggerating, Williams, it wasn't that bad. Got you all out of there, didn't I?" Sheppard defended himself with a full-blown, mischievous grin. Whatever he'd done, John was enjoying the memory, Lorne could tell.

"I was never the same again, man - none of us were - for a long time," Danny said petulantly. Steve nodded his agreement.

Sheppard finished off his flight checks with a chuckle and gently guided the Jumper above the opening on the floor. The technician outside opened the trap door, obeying Sheppard's signal. The little craft descended smoothly and came to a stop in front of the dormant Stargate, hovering just above the ramp.

..........

Sheppard dialed the address of the planet Gemmond on the Jumper's DHD. He could feel the connection failure even as he dialed due to the disturbance from the planet. He concentrated. He could feel the Jumper in his mind, wanting to co-operate eagerly.

'The Astria Porta is open on the other side. Is it imperative that we gain entrance to this specific planet, at this time?' John knew the inquiries that appeared in his mind were unmistakably Alteran, but he had no difficulty understanding what was being asked.

'Yes,' John thought confidently.

'Please enable the emergency override.' Another smaller, Ancient equivalent of a keypad appeared from the side of the DHD where John's palm was resting. He replaced his palm on the new sub-dialer, thinking 'Override.’

The new keyboard went back inside the DHD and John removed his hand to place it back on flight controls. The DHD started dialing the Gate address by itself and then dialed another sequence at the end. The Stargate in front of them came to life and the Chevrons started locking at double their usual speed. When the seventh and the final Chevron locked, the wormhole burst into life with a swoosh and stabilized with a splat. Then it waited patiently for the Jumper to fly through the gently rippling, blue surface.

The team chuckled, hooted, laughed, and whistled their praises.

John tapped his ear and activated the comms. "Sheppard to Control. Permission to visit Gemmond, Sir." He waited for the 'Go' order from the Colonel.

"Permission granted, Major." They all clearly heard the sour note in the Colonel’s voice, but they refrained from commenting, wanting to get going without any more delays on their first mission as a team.

#fanfiction series #stargate atlantis #steve mcgarrett #john sheppard #ao3fic #cross over #hawaii five 0 #stargate #fiction #my writing #writers on tumblr #bamf!John Sheppard

[bensakindofmagic]

Cafe Girl

Okay so I’ve been working in a cafe all summer and this is where my brain goes when I’m bored (which is constantly). I wrote it in my lunch breaks while silently wishing it would really happen 

Thursday, 1st August 

“I hope that fit guy comes in again,” Jenny called from the coffee machine. 

You teetered in from the kitchen with a tray full of clean cups and started restocking the shelves. “What fit guy?” 

“Of course, you weren’t in yesterday. This really cute guy came in for a coffee.” 

“Is that it?” you scoffed. “You made it sound like something happened.”

“No, you don’t understand,” Sophie interjected. “He was gorgeous.”

“Right up your street actually,” Jenny nodded to you. 

Sophie rolled her eyes, “So you’re going to get all courteous now, just ‘cause you were blatantly flirting at him and he didn’t bat an eye.” 

“What girl isn’t going to try their luck with him? He was beautiful.” 

“Yeah, you mentioned,” you laughed, shaking your head. 

You didn’t have to wait long to find out if they were exaggerating or not. You were merrily folding napkins to keep yourself occupied when Jenny nudged your arm and whispered, “It’s him.” 

You looked to the door that he had just walked through. They were right, he was something else. You’d never seen anyone pull off jeans and a t-shirt that well. His shirt was just a little too tight on his arms, making his biceps bulge out of it. You imagined that he’d bought the shirt before he’d started bulking, but liked the way it accentuated his muscles. He looked as though he had that subtle arrogance of a man with confidence and a path laid out before him; not that you minded, it was wildly sexy. His hair, bright blonde, fell in obnoxiously effortless waves over his forehead. A light tan made his skin glow. 

Jenny nudged you to the till, and you rolled your eyes at her. 

“Hi, what can I get you?” you said, putting on your customer voice. You were a little startled to see his eyes were bright, piercing green. Flecks of blue and grey and gold gave them such kaleidoscopic depth that you feared you could stare into them forever and never see them fully. 

“Uh, just a flat white please.” 

“Right,” you quickly hid your flustered moment, “to take away?” 

“Please.” 

You smiled — only to be polite, of course — but he smiled back and your heart fluttered. His cheeks popped into cherries and you saw his tongue hover behind slightly parted teeth, the most subtle indication of his urge to wet his lips. 

You made him his coffee. Much to your embarrassment you made a heart in the foam, quite without thinking. Thank god you covered it up with the lid. 

“Here you go,” you handed it over to him. 

He mumbled, “Cheers,” not quite meeting your eye as he took his drink and left. 

“I think he likes you,” Jenny smirked. 

“Oh piss off,” you laughed, shaking your head. 

Friday, 2nd August

“Remember that guy that came in on Wednesday? He was in again yesterday and Y/N flirted with him,” Jenny told James, another coworker, animatedly. 

“We did not flirt,” you asserted. 

“What was that smile then?” 

“I smile at every customer, it’s called being friendly.”

Despite your thinly veiled condescension and dismissal of Jenny’s excitement, you caught yourself thinking about him far too often. That blonde god that had come in filled your idle thoughts against your will. You found yourself torn between wishing he’d come back, wanting to see him again, and silently praying that he wouldn’t. 

But within the hour he was back. Again he ordered his flat white and while he waited you contemplated who he might be. He was in on a weekday, when most people were at work, but wasn’t in a suit. He wore comfortable clothes, usually dark colours, quite plain. So not in the offices or shops along the street. You wondered if he worked in the theatre down the road. You got a lot of actors and tech crew coming in on their way to rehearsals. They’d come in everyday, or every few days, for a couple of months and then they’d disappear again once the run of the show was over.  You imagined him on a dark stage, lit in a single spotlight, reciting some melodramatic monologue, pouring his heart out to an enraptured audience... 

“Cheers,” he said, taking his coffee. 

“Have a nice day,” you smiled. 

Monday, 5th August 

You had to wait until after the weekend to see the handsome stranger again, confirming to you that he was coming on his way to — or while at — work. 

“Flat white?” you smiled as he walked up to the till. 

“Am I so predictable?” he laughed. It was deep, a rich rumbling sound like churning of the ocean.

“You’ll be a regular soon if you’re not careful.” You almost winked, but stopped yourself. That would be a step too far. 

“Maybe we’ll start getting to know each other better then.”

With that he turned away, walking to a quiet corner to wait for his coffee. He leaned nonchalantly against the wall, his body rolling in languidity, and you tried to ignore his staring.

Tuesday, 6th August

When he came in again you smiled widely. This handsome stranger was a becoming part of your daily routine. You lit up when you saw him, and he made each day a little brighter. You looked forward to seeing him each day, even if you only exchanged a few words. Occasionally you caught yourself thinking about him, wondering what it would feel like to run your fingers through his hair or have his arms wrapped around you, and felt like an idiot. You’d known him for less than a week — hell, you didn’t even know him! While his comment about getting to know you better gave you some modicum of hope, you berated yourself and tried to keep your wondering thoughts to a minimum. But still your heart seemed to flutter whenever he walked in. 

“The usual please,” he grinned. 

“If you’ve got a usual then you’re definitely a regular,” you said, putting his order through and looking at him through your lashes. 

“You say that but I’m new to the area, I barely know my way around. I’m supposed to be taking someone for dinner tonight but I have no idea where to go.”

“Is it a date?” you asked, perhaps a little too fast and quickly backtracked, “‘Cause there’s this really romantic Italian place just round the corner.”

“Not a date, I suppose it’s a business meeting.” 

“Well, the Thai over the road is really good. A bit rough and ready but the food is incredible. Or there’s a curry house a few streets over — proper fancy.”

“Oh great, thanks.”

You latched on to the scraps of information he gave you about his life, and hungry for more, the question slipped from your lips before you had a chance to second guess yourself, “Do you work in the theatre down the road?”  

He cocked his head, “How did you know?”

“We get a few actors and such coming through here, you look like the type,” you shrugged.

He laughed, “Is that an insult or a compliment?” 

You bit your lip, “Whichever you like.” 

When he took is coffee from you your fingers met briefly. His skin felt rougher than yours but warm and electric. You seemed to burn where he had touched you. 

“That was definitely flirting,” Jenny whispered to you as you both watched him walk away. 

Thursday, 8th August

“A guy came in yesterday asking for you,” your manager said with faux nonchalance, but you saw the glistening of intrigue in her eyes. 

“Oh really?” you replied as indifferently as you could. Quite against your will your heartbeat started to speed up a little

“Mm, he didn’t know your name but he described you. Seemed disappointed that you weren’t here.” 

You made no reply, but busied yourself loading the dishwasher. 

“Y/N, can you grab the till please,” Sophie called into the kitchen.

You walked out to see him standing there, hand thrust deep into his pockets, but his face lifted when he spotted you. 

“You could have got the till,” you breathed to Sophie as you walked past. 

“I’m busy,” she lied, biting back a laugh. 

“How did your dinner go?” you asked your handsome stranger (who didn’t feel so much like a stranger now), putting his order through without having to ask. 

“Yeah really good. I think I might have the part,” he beamed. It was written all over his face how much it meant to him, how proud he was of himself. You couldn’t help but smile, and you certainly couldn’t help the way your heart fluttered like a juvenile butterfly. “Congratulations.”

He held the cup up to you in a silent cheers when Sophie gave him his coffee. Just as he turned to walk away you blurted out, “My name’s Y/N, for next time you come in asking for me.” 

He blushed, the pink blossoming up his neck and onto his cheeks, “I’m Ben.”

Friday, 9th August

“Y/N, are you wearing makeup?” Sophie goaded. 

“A little, so what?”

“You never wear makeup to work.” You shrugged without a word and she grinned, “It’s that guy, isn’t it? You like him.” 

“Shut up,” you grumbled. 

Tuesday, 13th August 

Ben had come in everyday you were there, the girls even calling you back from your break once to see him, and very slowly you had started to learn more about him. He talked a bit about the play he was in and the part in the big blockbuster movie he really wanted (but he couldn’t tell you the film). You told him how you were saving up for art college, how you found working in the cafe soul destroying. He saw a customer complain to you once, being very rude about things that weren’t your fault, and saw how you bit your tongue and smiled as sweetly as you could muster until they left in a huff. 

“Jesus, I don’t know how you didn’t blow up at her,” he had said. 

“It never helps, you learn to just let them rant and look apologetic,” you mumbled back, disinterested. 

“Does that happen a lot? People being rude.” 

You nodded, “Customers tend to forget you’re human as soon as you put the apron on. You’re a robot whose only function is to serve them coffee.” You laughed bitterly. 

He had shaken his head and promised to never complain to a server again. 

“You’re early,” you smiled as Ben walked in, looking perfectly dishevelled, his hair still a little wet from his shower. Your mind wandered, quite of it’s own accord, to the image of him standing under the hot water, naked, wet... 

“Got in trouble yesterday for being late. Chatting to you for too long, clearly,” he chuckled. 

“I won’t keep you then.” 

“What do you think I came in early for?”

He leaned against the counter as you made his coffee, looking casually out into the distance. He thrust his hands into his pockets. When he licked his lips your nearly burnt yourself on the coffee machine. 

“I’m thinking about getting a dog.” 

“Oh really?” you giggled. Of course he was a dog man. “What breed?” 

“Well that’s the problem, I wanted a foxhound but they’re not great for the city I don’t think. Don’t like apartment living.” 

“What about a beagle then?” you offered. “Similar breed, still a hunting dog but smaller. Don’t need quite so much exercise.” 

“A beagle, you say?” he said, ponderous. 

“Or border terriers have a good temperament, or a westie. Or a dachshund if you wanted a hound over a terrier.” 

“You know a lot about dogs, huh?” 

“God blessed us with dogs when he realised what arseholes cats were. They’re more than we deserve.” 

“No strong feelings then.” 

“None at all.” You handed him his coffee with a songful laugh. 

Thursday, 15th August 

Ben gave you the biggest smile when he walked in that morning. 

“Finally it’s Thursday. I hate Wednesdays.” 

“What’s wrong with Wednesdays? Hump day, it’s my day off,” you simpered. 

“Exactly, I don’t get to see you.” 

You blushed an impressive shade of fuchsia. 

Friday, 16th August 

You were rushed off your feet when Ben came in the next day. You were on the coffee machine, frantically making order after order. Latte after cappuccino after flat white after macchiato, dealing with every variant of syrup, number of shots, type of milk, wet or dry, iced or otherwise, that the world could throw at you. You were desperately trying to keep up when a familiar voice wafted over to you; your shoulders seemed to relax and your heartbeat seemed to slow, “I guess I won’t be getting my morning chat today, you look a little busy.” 

“Just a little,” you laughed through a grimace, sending someone off to run an order. Instead of starting on the next one in the queue you set about making a flat white. 

“Why’s it so full?” he queried. 

“Cafe down the road is closed for the day, we’ve got all their customers.” 

“Good for business.”

You scoffed, “Not good for my stress levels. Here,” you said, handing his drink over to him. 

“But I’m not in the queue yet.” 

“Wouldn’t want to make you late for work,” you smirked. 

“I haven’t paid.” 

“This one’s on me.” 

Saturday, 17th August 

You were wiping tables once it had gone quiet again in the afternoon, after the weekend lunchtime rush. The weekends had seemed to become a little more dull without Ben to put a smile on your face. You were quietly singing to yourself in a small effort to make the time go faster. You were vaguely aware of the door opening behind you but ignored it; someone else could get the till. 

“I don’t care if Monday’s blue, Tuesday’s grey and Wednesday too” you hummed along to The Cure.

“So she can sing as well,” came a voice behind you. You whipped round, startled, to see Ben grinning at you. “Hey,” he said softly, barely more than a whisper, eyes glistening. 

“Hi,” you mumbled. It was the first time you’d seen him up close, without a counter between you. You inspected the lines that formed around his mouth when he smiled, you noticed the flecks of hazel in his eyes. 

“You have a beautiful voice.” 

You laughed through your nose, “You’re being generous, I can just about hold a tune.”

His eyes narrowed slightly, examining you, his head cocked just a little. There was such intensity in that innocent gaze that you felt yourself being drawn towards him. You so nearly leaned in. He licked his lips. 

There was a clatter as someone dropped a knife and you came to your senses. 

“So what can I get you? The usual?” 

“Actually, I’ll have it to drink in if you don’t mind.” 

“Breaking boundaries there Ben,” you joked. His name still felt alien on your tongue. 

“I could use some company too.” 

Your chest inflated, lungs full, “I’ll see what I can do.” 

Ben sat down at a quiet table in the corner while you went to put his order through. You pled with your boss for a break, even though you’d already had your full hour for the day. She smiled, glancing over at Ben, shook her head with a small laugh, and said you had 20 minutes. You had to stop yourself from skipping over to him, and placed two cups on the table before sitting down. 

“You should have let me get that, I owe you one from yesterday,” he said, motioning to your cup of tea. 

“No you don’t, anyway I get it for free,” you demurred with a closed-lip smile. 

Twenty minutes felt like seconds with Ben. Conversation was easy despite your nervous energy and all too soon you were lamenting that you had to get back to work. 

“I suppose I’ll see you on Monday,” you winked, but as you turned to walk away you felt a hand on yours, strong and warm. 

“I’d like to see you again, not here I mean. Maybe we could go out for coffee or something.”

“Absolutely not.” Ben’s face fell but you laughed, “I spend far too much time in coffee shops, you can take me out for lunch.” 

#ben hardy #ben hardy x reader #ben hardy fanfic #ben hardy imagine #bohemian rhapsody #borhap #queen

[kitten1618x]

GoT Afterthoughts ep. 08x01 ‘Winterfell’ (Part 1)

Whew! I’m sorry this has taken so long. I’ve got two munchkins home from school with a stomach bug, and they’ve been cutting into my rewatch and write-up.

~

So, a few things before we kick this bad boy off... I have not read or interacted much with anyone (except writing up that post yesterday about the opening creds) and I have avoided the discord server (even though I’m DYING to gush) as to not skew my own perception of the episode. Those of you who follow my blog know that I am partial to political!jon, but here’s your heads up for anyone else that just stumbled onto this recap. And with that...

~

We begin the journey of our last season similarly to the way we began our very first: An excited Winter Town boy frantically scrambling to find a better view of the royal retinue marching on Winterfell—complete with the same musical score. Let’s call that strike one against Jon and Dany, as we all know what a farce that first royal couples’ relationship was.

~

This boy, as he shimmies up a nearby tree, very much reminds me of a combination of both Arya and Bran in the pilot — Arya even spies him and smiles, as she stands watching with the smallfolk (a nice book nod). Her face at initially seeing her big brother Jon makes my heart skip a few beats, and I kind of got the feeling she was going to call out for him, but changed her mind. She looks down then, and I’m honestly so worried for their reunion because they have both changed so much, and Arya isn’t the same little girl he remembers.

~

Her smile fades as Jon and Dany pass her by, and the Hound comes into view. Her feelings with Sandor have always been complicated, but we don’t have much time to dwell on that, because Gendry rounds the corner and there’s a different kind of smile lighting up Arya’s face now—and I’m so stoked for their reunion, because it’s what I deserve. WE ALL DESERVE THIS OKAY?!?!?!

~

And what do we have here? Ahhhh yes, the typical D&D ‘cock’ and/or (in this case) ‘balls’ banter via Varys and Tyrion as they once again travel together in another wooden box. You know, we damn well better get the payoff to the jackass/honeycomb/brothel joke this season, or I swear by the old gods and the new that I’m blowing up the Sept of Baelor... oh wait.

~

Missandei looks visibly uncomfortable at the impassive stares of the Northerners as they ride by. However, Jon did warn them about the North—which he reiterates to a rather annoyed looking Dany, who no doubt expected a much more warmer welcoming for coming to “save the North”—but it’s pretty clear there will be no Myhsa crowd-surfing here.

~

A screeching overhead sends the Northerners frantically running for cover as a smug-looking Daenerys smirks proudly at the fear her dragon children instill when they split the skies above. Let’s be real here — that was no coincidence. Remember this?

Dany is in complete control of Drogon, and let’s call a spade a spade: this was a cheap intimidation tactic driven by spite. And I honestly can’t even say I blame the girl, but it’s probably not the best way to make new friends, either—especially when they are all of the mindset that “a Targaryen cannot be trusted”. Just sayin’, Dany girl.

~

And we have Arya’s reaction to seeing Dragons for the first time as they soar high up over Winterfell and Sansa, who watches from the ramparts. Sansa’s reaction is quite similar to Cersei’s—as in, she really doesn’t have one. Someone please cue My Chick Bad by Ludacris!!

Jon and Dany enter the courtyard and Jon springs from his horse to bring Bran in for a signature Stark squeeze and a forehead kiss (another season one callback). He proudly admires how Bran has grown and is now a man, only for Bran to answer with some vague and emotionless three-eyed raven shit, before staring down Daenerys while Jon moves to Sansa’s open arms.

~

*Perhaps no one informed Jon about Bran going all sentient-being?

~

I’m sure most of you already noticed that while this is supposed to be the same hug scene we were shown in the HBO teaser, it’s not the same shot, nor the same angle. In the teaser, Jon makes this soft face and goes straight to Sansa’s arms...

But in the actual episode, Jon goes straight to Bran’s arms, and his expression is quite different...

And in the teaser the hug is much longer in duration, and Sansa doesn’t look up at Dany until the end—still not relinquishing her hold on Jon.

However, in the episode, we get a shorter version and a different angle, while Bran and Sansa simultaneously stink-eye Dany the entire time.

*please note Jon’s expression isn’t the same as it is in the hbo teaser—which begs to differ WHY they chose such a romantic shot of these siblings to hype the final season? I mean, I know why... do you? 😉

~

Annnnnnd moving right along. Jon asks where his darling baby sister Arya has gotten to, as to which Sansa replies “lurking somewhere” — which is an odd response, but I’m not gonna lie, it did make me chuckle a little. If I had to make a guess on this odd dialogue (other than the D’s just suck at dialogue sometimes), I imagine it serves the purpose of leading Jon to assume that the girls still have the same strained relationship of their youth.

~

Not one to stand by idle while getting eye-fucked from all directions (and not in a good way), Dany sashays over to be introduced to the stunning redhead Jon was hugging on, to learn she is (only) his sister (whew!), and the Lady of Winterfell. And with that said, I need to take a moment to address something to all the antis who will probably hop on this post (cuz I know y’all are there): Jon is NOT the Lord of Winterfell. Winterfell does NOT belong to him, not even as warden of the North, not even a little bit. He has no say, no ownership, no NOTHING on Winterfell. The only way he becomes the Lord of Winterfell is if he marries his cousin, Sansa Stark — which is just ONE of the many reasons WHY a marriage between them is advantageous. Tell your friends.

~

The tension kicks up a notch as the introductions proceed and Dany feeds Sansa platitudes of how beautiful she and the North are. Perhaps her words are meant to be kind, but after all she’s been through, Sansa is not here for the bullshit — remember how nice Miranda was in the beginning too? Besides, my girl’s jealousy is so thick, she’s almost GREEN. So, giving Dany a full-bodied once over, she haughtily replies “Winterfell is yours, Your Grace.”

~

Annnnnnd...

Before a full-blown catfight ensues, Bran throws some ice on the situation—and by ice, I mean ice dragon (harr harr harrrr). The wall has come down, and your dragon is one of them now, he informs Dany—whom of course is horrified by the news. (And probably by Bran too, as I assume she, like Jon, did not get the Bran is the 3ER memo).

~

We move into the Great Hall where we learn that Sansa has already made the intelligent decision to call all their banners to retreat to Winterfell as soon as they knew that the wall had fallen. Little Ned Umber isn’t really sure whom he’s supposed to address or how (bless his little heart), but in any event, he’s getting the horses and carts he needs to safely bring the rest of his people back to Winterfell. Jon tells the maester to summon the Nights Watch as well.

~

And of course you know little Lady Mormont has some shit to say. She’s not pleased with the turn of events and wastes no time voicing her opinion and stirring the ire of the Northerners. But hey,

(Sorry, I couldn’t help myself).

But more on that later, because Jon looks really nervous as little Lyanna throws shade — and his first instinct is to turn and share a look with his sister, errr wife, cousin!, Sansa.

~

I feel like he was looking to her for support, but she’s got none to offer at the moment. So, he pulls himself together and tries to calm the dissent by giving another rousing ‘we need allies and I brought them’ speech, and he actually says something VERY interesting here: “I had a choice: keep my crown or protect the north. I chose the north.” I mean, he ain’t lying, and the best place to hide something is right in plain sight, after all—and of course nothing about that statement sounds political or off at all, does it? I mean, because the Dany stans/jonerii insist that Dany agreed and was FULLY onboard to come north before Jon bent the knee, so why would he say that, then? Go on, tell me...

~

Tyrion decides to throw in his unwanted .02 — simultaneously backing up Jon and feeding Dany’s savior complex (the greatest army blah blah blah — gods, I cannot wait until everyone sees how useless the dragons will be against the NK, especially when using them to roast the wights puts their own soldiers at risk). His words aren’t met with any gratitude when he also drops the bomb that another enemy house of the North is also on its way to Winterfell.

~

Sansa is taken aback but recovers quickly. Armed with her signature snark, she asks how they’re expected to feed the ‘worlds greatest army’ — something she did not prepare for — chased by a sassy, “what do dragons eat, anyway?”

But wa-wa-wait, HOLD UP. Did Dany just— Did she just throw down the gauntlet?

~

Why, I believe she did, my friends! jskslkdlsksjsklslsljsllsl 😂😂😂😂

~

I can’t even with this episode, guys. It’s like I’m watching a medieval version of Melrose Place (google it, youngin’s) with Jane and Sydney throwing shots by the poolside!

Okay, okay, but all joking and snark aside, Sansa has got a valid point. She isn’t prepared to feed all these extra mouths PLUS two fucken huge dragons. I mean, winter is here, and where could they possibly find enough food to sustain everyone? It’s almost as if the show is making it a point to remind us about the lack of food and where did we last see wagons loaded with food? Oh right, I remember...

Put this one behind Northern Independence on the list of ‘Petty Things That Won’t Matter Because the AotD is Coming’ — you know, because who needs food to survive? And who the hell wants independence, anyway?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

~

Moving right along, and holy mother, maiden and crone, this is getting long and I’ve barely scratched the first 15 minutes of the show!

~

You know what? Nevermind, I’m just gonna go ahead and publish this, and post the rest tomorow when I finish it — I know y’all are thirsty anyway. lol Forgive the sloppiness, as I did this ALL on mobile, and my paragraph breaks kept disappearing and arrrrrghh tumblr!

~

*Some gifs/images mine. The others were taken from google. Thanks if it’s yours!!

#got afterthoughts #got s8 #jonsa #political!jon #anti jonerys #anti targaryen restoration #anti daenerys #(not really but just being safe) #melissa rants #long post

[bearofohu]

Professor Layton Anime Theory - Luke’s Possible Betrayal (LMDA Spoilers!)

hi guys its luke today i’m making a callout post on luke 

 this is probably the most cursed theory i will ever create and i promise this is pure speculation, i don’t WANT this to happen i don’t think this SHOULD happen i know the layton community will systematically explode if it does so please don’t unfollow me i am a sensitive boy 

summary of the theory: this theory analyzes the possibly of luke betraying layton in the relic stone mystery similarily to emmy based on several aspects of luke’s two appearances in the anime and what we know about the future of the anime so far.

warning: swearing, implications that luke is a good boy gone bad

ps: sorry for the typos im so fuckign tired

full theory under the cut! 

alright, lets go lesbians

me and the bros were talking on the layton community discord, and i mentioned something that has been bothering me about luke, a theory if you will. @officialchampionred summed up my thoughts on my own theory pretty well after i told them about it

i originally was just going to not do anything with my speculation, but i figured since the one i made about luke being kat’s father was so well received, even if i ended up being incorrect, i would take another shot at a theory that i think has a good chance of being realized somewhere down the line

ok so the theory summary sounds like a load of baloney when you read it for the first time, right? well hear me out, because i have several points to bring up that may rattle ur bones. without further ado, here are the points:

1. Luke’s Design and its Similarity to the Relic Stone Thugs In Episode 10

im going to start with one point that several people have caught on with all ready, but i don’t think anybody has ever really tried to connect the dots here. so you know luke’s new design, right? the fedora, the jacket, very cute

EXCEPT

here is an image comparison of luke’s design and the outfits of the men, we’ll call them the fedora fellas, we see that attack by don paolo’s orders in the museum 

now i know what you’re thinking, “that there is just coincidence” or, “THEY MUST ALL HAVE TO WEAR FEDORAS ON MONDAYS” but i assure you, the similarities here are not accidental. there’s just no way. the design team wouldn’t love the same horrible design enough to just use it on multiple characters just cause they want to. there is just no way this has no relevance. 

while some accessories and colors may be different on luke and the men, the general design is still in place, especially with the hat being an exact copy every time. a uniform protocol is being followed here. luke is most likely not wearing choice clothes. this is a uniform, and the men are also following this uniform.

it’s also worth mentioning that even don paolo has a SORT OF similar design change to the color schemes we see in the henchmen and luke

its not entirely relevant, but the red color kind of fits the bill, and i don’t think they would also change paolo’s design for absolutely no reason.

@muzzable also made an amazing color comparison for this theory between luke’s uniform and the fedora fellas, so full credit there! 

this image analyzes the color differences between luke’s outfit and the ones worn by those men. note that obviously its not exact, and its probably not supposed to be.

that’s because this is the shit akihiro doesn’t want you to pay much attention to while watching, and its WORKING. 

this is so in the event of a betrayal it will smack you upside the jaw (my jaws been broken before, it hurts)

now another counterpoint could be, “maybe its relevant but it doesnt automatically mean that luke works with the fedora fellas or don paolo” and you’d be fucking spot on you funky little luke fanatic, but i got a lot more up my sleeve to tell you.

at the end of this theory, we’re going to move to discuss luke’s motives, but for now, we’re going to stick with the essential points. now we’re going to move onto point 2, which isn’t entirely as direct as point 1, but still holds relevance if you squint

2. Luke’s Nervous/Suspicious Behaviour in Episode 10 & ESPECIALLY 20

watch out, this point is the biggest one analysis wise

you wanna know something i noticed about episode 10 and 20?

luke looks and acts noticeably nervous in almost every scene he’s appeared in

for one example, did anybody else notice the repetitive anime sweat drop going on with no character BUT luke in episode 20, ESPECIALLY the closer they got to the relic stone chamber?

he’s sweating in a LOT of scenes, and on top if that, if you pay attention to his behaviour a lot of it is him just looking generally... worried. a lot of people discredit the anime sweat drop as a cosmetic trope, but a lot of animators actually use it to convey genuine fear or anxiety that offers hints to the direction of the plot.

it’s like he knows something we don’t about the relic stones, like he has something to hide, and he gets worse the further they go, like the closer they get to the relic stones the more nervous luke gets that he’ll have to betray the professor IN THAT MOMENT

and hershel isn’t worried or nervous at all because he TRUSTS luke and i know you could be like, “oh but luke, hes just a nervous boy” and thats all fair and good, we can safely say that luke COULD be a naturally anxious character, but these little details and luke’s general behaviour are VERY noticeable once you pay attention to them for the first time, and also the concept of him being a nervous character was never in place when he was a boy with no malicious motives that we’re speculating now

the pattern of looking luke generally troubled is also shown in episode 10, though perhaps not as noticeable as it is in 20.

while they’re discussing the relic stones and luke is explaning the situation to marina (who im pretty sure is not aware of luke’s outside motive), he gets a little nervous and hesitant when they start talking about why he was doing it. layton then finishes his sentence for him, saying it was for katrielle, indirectly saving luke from having to scramble for an explanation.  he just looks OFF.

marina’s face is also the official mood for this post

anyway, level-5 loves using body language in their animations. in cutscenes, the characters often perform actions that define their thinking and their motive. for example, layton puts his hand on his chin and walks around, oh boy he’s going to expose someone. descole slams his hands on the piano keys in eternal diva, oh boy he’s pissed. layton points at someone, oh boy they’re the culprit. 

was luke ever THIS nervous and hesitant in the games, when he was a boy? no, not passively nervous. he was only really nervous in the face of danger. as a boy, he was actually pretty confrontational and confident.

so why act so strange here? what changed? 

luke looks pretty nervous in this anime, oh boy i wonder if there’s something bothering him that nobody knows about

i feel like now would be a good time to issue a disclaimer that also supports my points, this theory is NOT meant to imply, “oh luke’s a heartless bastard he hates layton and wants the relic stones for himself”

i have very little faith in the idea that, if luke is doing this, he would be doing it for himself, or because he wants to.

i’m confident in this theory, but im not confident that luke’s motives are just plain evil, because while his character can change and realistically SHOULD CHANGE, i don’t think he has it in him to just become evil. i think someone’s either forcing his hand (maybe similarly to clark’s situation), or giving him something he can’t refuse in return for layton. 

but more on that later.

now we move onto point 3!

3. Key Hint Passively Given by Picarats 

u guys know picarats, right? the guy that provides us with the streams, my bro, an awesome guy...

a guy that is in direct kahoots with level 5 and knows exactly how everything in the anime going to work out

beelieve it or not, picarats is actually a member of the discord server that i run (https://discord.gg/ZYxmPP) and he posts there occasionally. he’s pretty vocal with our community so it’s really not that much of a shocker that he would give us hints from time to time. we’re true bros. i love u my guy

but that’s not the point, the poINT, THE JUICY PART, the REASON why im bringing picarats up... is because he’s provided us with a crucial hint to support my theory, mainly during the episode 20 stream 

THE KEY HINT THAT PICARATS HAS GAVE US WAS...

LMDA’s storyline, in its current form and in its future presumably, is a  reflection of the events of Azran Legacy.

now this is something picarats DID say, though not entirely in verbatim, during the episode 20 stream. i promise u with every ounce of gay power in my body that he said that the anime’s storyline reflects azran legacy’s.

unfortunately, i do NOT have a screenshot because i was too busy having a psychiatric breakdown in the middle of the episode. if anyone took a screenshot of him saying that, pls send it to me, i will credit and love you forever. <3

that single hint during that stream is EXTREMELY crucial and most likely the most important one, it was one of the things that spurred my thinking about this theory, so essentially

BUT you may ask, lUKE, what is so important about the fact that the anime is supposed to mirror azran legacy?? whats the significance of that?? 

well.. u mere mortal... im about to give you a series of events from both azran legacy and LMDA

azran legacy was an adventure to discover the secrets of the azran, right?

right.

emmy, his loya resourceful assistant and friend of whomst he TRUSTS, is with him up until they are moments away from unlocking the secrets, right?

right.

then, this devastating shit happens.

emmy shows remorse for betraying layton but tells him she was doing it for someone else and wouldn’t have done it otherwise.

everyone dies.

are you following my thought process so far?

now lets go to LMDA’s current canon storyline

layton reunites with luke, who is acting nervous constantly and wears an outfit similar to the people who want the relic stones for malicious intent 

layton, fully trusting luke, leave katrielle to go on an adventure to find the relic stones, a series of artifacts that are linked to the azran.

they go on the adventure and then become moments away from unlocking the secrets of the relic stones

LAYTON GOES MISSING.

thanks picarats, that single sentence you said in a stream has turned me into a conspiracy theorist

are we broken yet? are we all nice and broken yet?? good. now we get to talk about LUKE’S POSSIBLE MOTIVES.

Luke’s Possible Motives for Betraying Layton

now this is yet another juicy part of the theory, and probably where the biggest counterargument might come into play, which is:

“bUt LUkE WoUld NeV ER dO tHAT”

bUT i will give you my theories on luke’s possible motives for concocting a scheme that wild, but before i do, i would like to give u a memorable quote from clove dive that basically sums up the point im about to make:

we, as a fandom, are collectively forgetting that it is unrealistic to think luke has barely changed in terms of personality and motive

do i blame us? no. after all, we’ve known luke as an innocent boy for about 11 years now. 

hino knows this. hino knows how good we think luke is. that’s why i said that his attempt to make us ignore the hints is WORKING.

and like i said, i can’t blame any of us at all for wanting to believe that luke hasn’t changed, but its simply unrealistic. 

as much as we don’t like to believe it, luke and layton have basically barely if not at all interacted for several years up until this point

luke is not a boy. something about luke has changed. 

and this theory attempts to connect just what that change might be.

like i said before, i wholeheartedly disbelieve that in the event this theory is accurate, luke has ‘turned evil’ just like we all believe emmy didn’t turn evil.

they were forced to do it for something that they deeply cared about.

they were forced to betray their friend for something bigger.

and i think that’s a damn exhilarating plot device.

Conclusion 

now you might have guessed that in this point in the theory i’ve gone from being serious into shitposting as my thought process usually does, and also i’ve been working on this since 3 AM, so im gonna go ahead and wrap this up with a disclaimer before you throw a chair at me.

i am in no way implying that this is canon or SHOULD be canon. i love luke and don’t want to see him betray layton, but this theory is meant to purely speculate the possibilites of the future of this anime

in a nutshell...

its just a theory.

A GGAAMMEE TTH E EE O RR Y.

(c) luke’s terrible and scatterbrained theories vol. 2

#professor layton #pl #lmda #lmj anime #layton anime #layton theories #layton anime theory #hershel layton #luke triton #shut up luke #luke's crackpot theories

[yoosungiib]

Hi! Can I make a request? How about RFA+Saeran+V reacting to MC who grabbed all of her stuff and left their shared apartment/penthouse/bunker or wherever they live together after a fight and then going after her to get her back? What the fight is about is up to you. Thank you!

RFA + Saeran and V getting into a fight with MC who leaves and winning her back

~~~

★ Yoosung ★

- You had planned a date for you and him at the park,

- It was something you two had been planning for weeks now.

- But just as Yoosung was about to leave your shared apartment, he got a notification for a new guild on LOLOL.

- He told himself it would only take a few minutes, and he would still get to the park in time for the date, but instead of a few minutes, it was a few hours, and Yoosung completely forgot about the date.

- my love, no

- You were devastated that he forgot.

- You sat at the park for hours waiting for him!

- Rationally, you go home to confront him and asked why he didn’t show up.

- The first thing you hear when you open the door is Yoosung screaming curse words and you can hear the sound of swords clashing. When you look into your room, you see him staring intensely at the computer.

- At first, you are just plain sad because you know he ditched your date – the date you were so excited for – just to play LOLOL. But than you feel angry, and with your anger you shut off the wireless servers so he can’t play.

- “nooooooo!!!”

- “Yoosung!” he spins around in his chair and starts begging you to put the wifi back on so he can just finish the guild, but you are way too upset and disappointed to even listen to him. “You ditched our date, and you know how excited I was to spend some time with you!”

- “You live with me, MC, what more time do you need?”

- “That’s not the point. We had plans and you should uphold them. And even if we do live with each other, what’s wrong with wanting to spend some more time together.”

- Nothing prepared you for the harsh words that left your boyfriends mouth. How could such a sweet boy suddenly be so cruel? “Did you ever stop to think that maybe I just don’t want to spend time with you since I’m sick of seeing you all the time?”

- You felt your jaw drop and your eyes begin to water. At the same to, you see guilt brimming in Yoosung’s eyes. He tries to say something but you brush it off, already going to the closet to get a suitcase and start packing your stuff.

- He doesn’t even try to stop you spare the few times he coo’s your name.

- He watches rather tearfully as you walk through the door, slamming it shut, making him jump.

- He sits on the couch and cries for a bit before finally getting his shit together realizing he needs to find you.

- Yoosung wastes no time asking Seven to help track you, and he tells you that you are staying at Jaehee’s. Yoosung takes the next bus over and starts running up the stairs towards Jaehee’s apartment and begins banging on the door.

- “Is MC there? Can I please talk to her?”

- “Yoosung, why are you here?” You say from behind Jaehee, your eyes red which only makes Yoosung’s heart hurt a little more.

- “I’m so sorry, honey. I ment none of it, I swear. It was a spur of the moment and it was such a stupid thing for me to say. I love you so much and I love to spend time with you. I was being a big meanie by ditching our date, and I would love if you would come back home with me. I promise to make it up to you and plan a even more spectacular date.”

- You giggle a little at how he says “meanie” and you wrap your arms around Yoosung, pulling him into a hug.

- “I’ll come back home, but I want an extra omelet in the morning.”

♪ Zen ♪

- “It’s part of the show! Why can’t you understand that?”

- The yelling had been going on for hours.

- It all started that morning when you found Zen and the lead actress of his next movie getting pretty close to each other. You could brush it off if it wasn’t that you saw him whispering in her ear a lot and holding her hand, smiling and making her blush.

- You admit to being jealous but you thought it was rational.

- At home, you told Zen how you felt but he took it way out of proportion.

- “Zen, I do understand! I just wanted to tell you how I feel.”

- “How about I tell you how I feel? I don’t like you accusing me of flirting with the other women on set because you are just that insecure about yourself.”

- You were taken aback at that. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

- “It means that whenever you see me with another woman you get so defensive and accusative. You seem to forget about my job.”

- “But, honey,” he glared at the pet name and you felt yourself shrink back away from him, a little intimidated and surprised by his harshness. “You get jealous all the time if I am just talking to a guy, how is it any different?”

- “The difference is that this is my job and you are just being a slut.”

- Tears immediately began overflowing and cascading down your cheeks as you sobbed into your palms. Zen has never called you a name before, not alone something as crude as that.

- “Well, then I’ll leave.”

- He gasped at your words and instantly tries to take them back, but you couldn’t care less.

- You packed your suitcase with everything you needed and left.

- Zen needed a drink and a good hour to think about what just happened, so he headed to the local bar and drowned out his sorrows.

- For hours, he sat at the bar, drink after drink until he realized how much he fucked up and he needed to fix this.

- He frantically started spamming the RFA chat in hopes to find you, but Seven refused to tell him where you were and everyone else was practically shunning him.

- He decided the only place you could be was Rika’s apartment, or that was the best guess he had.

- He headed the apartment, and thankfully, he was correct.

- You were there and in your devastated state, didn’t even bother to lock the door. He found you asleep on the couch, your cheeks stained with tears.

- To his dismay, he started crying too, collapsing to your side and spurting out apologies.

- “Jagiya. I’m so sorry. What did I do, why did I do that? Why did I call you such a wretched thing? You are the most beautiful, pure, warm hearted girl I’ve ever met. And I love you so much. I don’t want to lose you, please don’t leave me. Let me make this right. Let me find a way to make this right. Let me make it up to you for every tear you shed.”

- You woke during the middle of his little speech, and although you were still hurt by his words, you were willing to forgive him and make things work.

- The two of you walked hoe hand in hand,

- Well, Zen was kinda drunk so he was leaning on you a lot to be honest, god dammit

❀ Jaehee ❀

- Was not a good day at the cafe today.

- Not to mention, you had a cold so you did not go to work at the cafe today, leaving your lovely girlfriend to deal with everything alone.

- She faced disrespectful customers, dealt with clumsy waiters and an overbearing phone bill.

- Overall, she was absolutely done and wiped.

- She just wanted to rest and have some time to herself, but of course, you wanted to spend some time with her.

- She tried to let you off nicely by hinting of how tired she was,

- But you were relentless!

- You needed your baehee!!!!

- She reached her breaking point when you tried to put in one of Zen’s DVD’s, which normally she would be ok with, but with being so on edge at the moment, she didn’t want you touching them.

- “MC, Don’t touch it!”

- “Oh, I’m sorry, Jaehee.”

- Normally your hurt voice would have Jaehee breaking, but today she was ruthless, and angry, and done with everything.

- “What is wrong with you? Have you never learnt to not touch what isn’t yours.”

- There was no room for you to but in, Jaehee just kept going. “Sometimes I feel as if I’m speaking to a child. You have sense of respect for anyone else’s things. You’re like a greedy monster that just grabs at everything.”

- Jaehee no.

- You push yourself off the ground and spit out, “Fine, then I’ll take my greedy little hands and leave.”

- And you did just that. You left Jaehee a little dumbstruck and went right out the door without a second thought. You didn’t even bother to collect any clothes.

- Jaehee sighed and rested her head in her hands before she concluded she needed to find you.

- Her first thought was to ask the group chat where you might be, but then she decided it wasn’t a good idea for 1) You could have already told everyone what happened so maybe they wouldn’t tell her where you were, and 2) If you hadn’t, she didn’t want to accidentally overshare and embarrass you.

- But she was running out of options, so she asked Jumin if he may know any secret spots you might go to considering you guys are close.

- Unfortunately, he doesn’t.

- So Jaehee goes down to the cafe in hopes to maybe find you there just hiding out, and she was lucky because you were.

- You sat at a small table crying softly while nibbling on a cupcake, sniffling too, not just because of your crying but because you still have your cold!

- Carefully, Jaehee sat down and tried to explain herself.

- “I’m sorry, MC. I just had a really bad day. That doesn’t excuse how I treated you and hurting your feelings. I really don’t know what to do to make it up to you or really make you feel better. All I can say is that I am so sorry and I love you so much. Can we go back home and try and sort things out there? It’s really cold here.”

- You nod and smile softly, taking her hand and letting her bring you back to the apartment.

- Once at the apartment, you two cuddle on the couch and have a nice long chat shared with kisses and snuggles.

☂ Jumin ☂

- Jumin is a very patient man and very good at holding his emotions in.

- But everyone has bad days, including Jumin. And today was one of those bad days.

- His father brought a woman to the office who made quite a scene about the servicemen not being very… charitable.

- Jumin was not only furious about the scene, but that his father stooped so low once again and was blinded by another woman cleary out for his money.

- You have a tendency to talk quite a bit, which normally doesn’t bother Jumin because he loves to listen to your soft voice.

- He especially loves the way your voice gradually gets higher when talking about something you love.

- But today, he couldn’t give a shit what you had to say.

- He just wanted to relax on the couch with his wine and forget about everything.

- Everything with his father and everything about women.

- But here you were on the couch rambling on about something that happened in the RFA chat, and something that you saw on TV, or something that you read in a book. After awhile, he snapped at you.

- “Shut it, MC. Let there be peace and quiet in this household for once.”

- You were appalled at how curtly he spoke. He had never once risen his voice at you before. “I beg your pardon?”

- “Do not make me repeat myself, MC. I am not in the mood.”

- “Jumin, do not think I will let you speak to me that way. I can see that you have had a rough day. Would you like to talk about it?”

- “It is not up for discussion.”

- “Please don’t ball up your feelings. Just talk to me-”

- You were cut off with a mumbled god dammit, but what startled you the most was how Jumin suddenly raised his arm as if he was about to back hand you. He stared you right in the eyes too, his narrowing thoroughly. You shut your eyes preparing yourself, but when you opened them, you saw the shock on his face when he realized what he almost did.

- Now was not the time to think.

- You rushed away from Jumin and locked the door to your bedroom. You frantically started packing every essential into a suitcase.

- You needed to leave. Just for a few days.

- Jumin let you be for a week. He knew you were back in Rika’s apartment, since you said so in the group chat without giving any details.

- After that week, Jumin decided it was time he fix things.

- He knew he messed up, and he knew he was in the wrong. And he desperately wanted you back.

- He knocked on the door and you answered looking rather disheveled. It looked as if you hadn’t bathed since you left.

- Entering the apartment, Jumin gently caressed and kissed your cheek before speaking in that cool, toned voice of his.

- “My love. Words cannot express how sorry I am for the way I was towards, and the way I acted. I would never dream of laying a hand on you, or hurting you in any other way. It pains me to know that I hurt your feelings. I will learn to better control my anger if you please give me a second chance. I cannot live without you, my love. You are my better half. Please come back home.”

- It took a couple more speeches from him to convince you to come back home, but in the end you are glad you did because you truly missed him too, and you did forgive him after all.

☺ Seven/Saeyoung ☺

- Is it much of a surprise that your fight starts because Seven is ignoring you?

- Even after everything, he will still go through those faces of ignoring you, claiming he is too busy, or too dangerous.

- You were becoming sick of it, truth be told.

- You stuck with him through thick and thin, how long will it take for him realize you are not going anywhere?

- You decide it is time to make that clear.

- However, things didn’t go as plan. You had hoped for a nice, peaceful conversation with your husband.

- Not the yelling.

- “Are you stupid? I said I don’t want you near me. I said to leave me the hell alone!”

- “But Saeyoung-”

- “No! I don’t want to hear from you anymore. Why can’t you be an obedient wife and go when I tell you to?”

- Your brow crosses and you feel yourself start to become increasingly angry. “What era do you think this is? The reason I am not going anywhere is because I care about you and I love you enough that I am worried and want to help you. Don’t you even dare try to dismiss me.”

- Saeyoung makes a huge display of waving you off, sputtering out, “Goodbye! Dismissing you! Try not to let the door hit you in the ass on the way out!”

- By now, you are crying, wiping furiously at your eyes. You decide to do as he says and leave, packing your bags and taking one of his cars too.

- Later in the night, when Saeyoung finishes his work, he decides it’s about time to apologize.

- For someone who prides himself on knowing everything, he seemed to not notice that you left.

- He tracks your phone and absolutely panics when he sees that you are at a cliff side.

- His baby vrooms him to the cliff and when he sees you sitting on the edge, he’s already screaming and begging for you not to jump.

- “I’m not gonna jump, Saeyoung, I’m just relaxing,” you mumble, which calms him down. A lot.

- But he can see that you have been crying, which absolutely breaks his heart. 

- This is all his fault. 

- He sits next to you and tries to take your hand, but you don’t let him. He sighs, knowing he has to fix this and make things right.

- “I fucked up. I’m sorry, baby. I really, really am. I was rude and dismissive and a shitty husband. I’m sorry I hurt you. If I could do anything to just erase this day and pretend it never happened, I would.”

- “You don’t understand, Saeyoung. It’s not like this is the first time you have done this.

- He nods.

- “You’re right, I’ve done this too many times and it was stupid of me. I’m sorry. God above knows I am. Please, it’s so cold out here. Let me atleast hold you so you can stay warm.”

- You smile gently, allowing him to pull you against his chest to keep you warm. After an hour or so, you go back to the bunker where you continue your cuddle session, this time with Saeran too.

❆ V ❆

- You had never met such a kindhearted man as V.

- However, being with such a kind heart, he has a tendency to let people walk over him.

- Not only that, he tends to live in the past too.

- You’ll find him sometimes in a funk, dwelling over Rika and everything that happened, even after what she did and you two now being married.

- You would be lying if you said that it didn’t hurt you that he still thought about her.

- But what hurt the most was that even after his eye surgery, he will say he wishes he never got it done because now he’s “wronged her.”

- You try to express how you feel, and even get him to understand that he really shouldn’t dwell over Rika anymore. Rika hurt him and so many others, why can’t he just try to move on?

- “You didn’t deserve any of the pain Rika caused you.”

- “Why are you so cold to her? Why can’t anyone understand that she was troubled.”

- “I-I do understand, Jihyun, but that isn’t the point.”

- “What is your point then?”

- “That she didn’t treat you right, and that her illness and difficult past didn’t give her a right to hurt you and all the others. Of course I understand that she had a rough time, and I feel for her, I-”

- “Do you?” V snapped. You stutter a bit, trying to find your ground, but he kept talking. “Do you understand? The worse that has ever happened to you is that you have broken a nail.”

- “Hey, come on. Don’t do this-”

- “Sometimes I don’t know why we are together. Are we even compatible?”

- “You… you don’t mean that.”

- But he didn’t say anything in response, which was a conclusion to you that he did mean it and it broke your heart.

- Without a second’s thought, you started packing your bags and making arrangements to stay at hotel.

- You didn’t want to go to Rika’s apartment, and you sure as hell could not stay here, not if he didn’t want you here.

- You felt the hot tears pooling at the rims of your eyes before finally spilling down your face.

- Your crying seemed to snap V out of a daze and he rushed to you, grabbing your arm and trying to stop you.

- The two of you struggled against each other until you finally stopped having gave in, but you still continued to sob, however.

- “Oh, darling, god. I’m so sorry. I don’t know why I said that. Of course we are compatible. I love you so much, we were meant for each other. You are my star because you are my dream come true. I don’t want to let go of that dream, a dream that only involves you. Please forgive me for my cruelty, I love you, MC. Please don’t leave.”

- You sighed, not seeing the point in leaving, but you needed V to understand something: “Stop dwelling about Rika. No good comes out of it. You don’t have to think what she did was… wrong, but just stop, or realize that you don’t deserve any pain, and that there are people besides you who love you. Love you more than she ever could.”

☻ Saeran/Unknown ☻

- Saeran has been through hell and back.

- And you understand!

- You are there for him through every breakdown, tantrum, fit, panic attack, and you will always be there for him.

- But even so, sometimes he tests your patience, and you reach your limit.

- Today was that day. You were sitting on the couch together when you accidently spilt your water on his pants.

- He immediately starting yelling at you calling you names and telling you how useless you were.

- “Dumb bitch! Can you do anything right? Fucking clean this up! Don’t just sit there, do something!”

- Some disrespect, you could put up with because he always made it up to you, but today, you had had it.

- “Don’t you dare talk to me like that. I put up with everything, and I have never left your side. Don’t you think I deserve some respect?”

- “What bitch gets respect?”

- You let out a small pained sob before slapping him across the face. You hated doing that, especially because of his mother, but god his words hurt.

- And you love him, but he takes it too far. He doesn’t even realize it sometimes.

- “Where are you going?” he snaps.

- “Away. I need some time.”

- You don’t even pack anything, just get in a car and drive a good 400 miles out of town.

- Little did you know, and luckily for you, that soon after Saeran got in the car and started driving after you, so it was about 30 minutes till he found you in the middle of nowhere just staring off into the distance.

- When you see him, you’re about to walk off but he gently takes your arm and pulls you back towards him.

- “Saeran-”

- “No, no, please let me just… let me just try and do this right. Just let me try. Let me try and apologize to you. I shouldn’t have said that, and I shouldn’t have been such a dick head. You’re right. I need to treat you with respect. You deserve respect. And I’m… grateful for everything you have done for me. I’m so sorry, MC. I really am.”

- You rest your forehead against his, letting a final tear slip down your cheek. “Saeran… please let me help you. Please work with me.”

- “I’ll try. I love you, MC.” And with that, he gave you a gentle kiss. 

~~~

Check my masterlist page for rules on request!

Masterlist

#Yoosung Kim #Zen #Hyun Ryu #Jaehee Kang #Jumin Han #Seven #Luciel Choi #SaeyoungChoi #Saeyoung Choi #V #Jihyun Kim #Saeran Choi #Ray #Ray Choi #Mystic Messenger #Mystic Messenger Headcanon #Mysme headcanon

[texanredrose]

Served

Yang took a deep breath in and let it out slowly, trying to calm herself. The lunch rush brought with it a seemingly endless stream of customers and that proved true every single day she worked, yet today the demands of her job seemed to wear on her more than usual. Being a server at a high end restaurant in downtown Vale brought with it all sorts of upscale types, each with some sort of previous knowledge that either proved to be wrong entirely, greatly exaggerated, or simply misunderstood, yet she could only politely explain that so many times before it drove her over the deep end.

“Remember why you’re doing this. Rent is due in a week and you need the tip money,” she said to herself, reaching up to straight the long black tie she wore around her neck and adjusting the stifling collar of her crisp white shirt. As far as work uniformed went, it tended towards the plain side, with black slacks and matte shoes, but at least she’d gotten out of that dive bar on the south side of town. The pay here was better, even if the uniform kinda sucked, but the customers always seemed the same. Not as crude, not as dirty themselves, but really no better for it. “Just. Get through. This shift.”

“Psyching yourself up, Yang?” Emerald, one of the other servers, breezed past her on the way to the pick up station, a small smirk on her lips. “That table giving you problems, huh?”

“Bunch of yuppies who can’t tell a lager from a porter; if they weren’t so chatty, I’d be fine.” Rolling her eyes, the blonde followed her coworker to the station, grabbing one of the serving trays and loading it up with plates for another table. “I’ll be fine.”

“They’re really giving you problems over beer?” The other woman grabbed an appetizer but paused before taking it out. 

She shook her head. “Nah, they’re trying to ‘impress me’ with their ‘experienced taste’ because they’re a bunch of ‘beer connoisseurs’ apparently.”

“Okay, why does every group of twenty-somethings flirt with you?”  Her coworker chuckled, obviously taking a bit too much amusement from her misery. “They think just because you’re their age, they have a shot?”

“I’m willing to bet it’s because they have money and they think that’s impressive.” With a fully loaded tray, she set one edge on her shoulder and balanced it aloft while grabbing one of the fold out stands. “Whatever. Sometimes, it gets me a nice tip, so I’ll let ‘em have their fun.”

“So you’re not going to punch anyone today?”

“I make no promises,” she replied with a smirk before setting out, navigating her way through the dining area. Thankfully, the layout of the restaurant gave her more than enough room to maneuver between the tables, reaching a booth tucked away in her area and setting down the stand, putting the tray on top of it and handing out the plates with a smile. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the host bring over more customers to sit in the booth two down and mentally kicked herself; now she had a completely full section and those brats at the table were snapping their fingers for her again. She swore, if she ever met their mothers, she’d give ‘em a piece of her mind.

“Alright, everything look right?” She flashed a smile at the customers in the booth now positively salivating- in a very classy way, she admitted- over their food. “How about you cut into that steak for me, Sir, to make sure it’s right.”

The man did as requested, popping the little piece he’d cut off into his mouth before giving her a nod. “It’s perfect.”

“Great!” Yang tucked the tray under one arm and grabbed the stand with her other hand. “I’ll be back to check on you in a bit.” Moving off, the blonde took a mental break while keeping her smile in place as she moved to her new booth. At a glance, she could tell the table would only be a little hassle. Two women- one right around her age and the other a little older- wearing expensive looking clothing that matched, white being the predominant color accented by either blue or black. They both had pure white hair and blue eyes, barely visible as they scanned their menus, and Yang guessed they were probably related somehow- sisters or cousins, probably. “Good afternoon, Ladies. May I suggest a glass of wine this afternoon?”

The older of the two- wearing a suit with glossy black boots, a tight almost military looking bun, and with sharper features than the other woman- looked up, blue eyes flicking over the server’s form before meeting her gaze. “And what suggestion would that be, I wonder?”

“Well, if you’re asking my honest opinion...” She glanced at the two of them, going with her gut as she always did. According to her customers, she had something of a knack for picking out the particular drink for the occasion. That’s why she suggested wine instead of the specialty beer they’d just imported from Atlas- not just because they certainly seemed like they hailed from or at least had strong family ties to the country across the sea of Vale but because, as a restaurant that specialized in Atlesian dishes, it was pretty much part of their gimmick. They seemed like the wine sort, and particular in that regard as well. “A bottle of Domaine Weinbache to split.” She thought on it. “We have their Riesling, which would pair rather nicely with our grilled citrus shrimp or the red snapper, now that I think on it.”

“Let me guess: that’s the most expensive sort you sell here, isn’t it?” The younger woman- an offset pony tail, thigh high boots, and a skirt showing off only a sliver of well toned thighs- scoffed, rolling her eyes. Only then did Yang notice the faded scare bisecting the left one.

“Actually, the Chevalier Montrachet we have is our most expensive, but that’s more for a special occasion or celebration.” The blonde set the stand down, leaning against the booth, and pulled out her pen and tab. “You two ladies seem more interested in a nice, pleasant lunch on this fine Vale day, and the Domaine Weinbache is a nice balance between your exceptional taste and the casual nature of the meal.”

Again, the younger of the two seemed unimpressed. “Are you always so quick to pour flattery over others.”

Yang’s mask slipped a little, the first thing that came to mind slipping out of her mouth before she could stop it. “Gee, with all your whining, I feel like I should just bring out the cheese.”

While one looked at her with absolute shock, the other laughed, lifting a hand to cover her mouth. 

“Why you-”

“Weiss.” The older woman recovered, though she still had a smile on her lips. “That was a rather rude comment. She’s only doing her job and I asked for her suggestion.”

Another roll of the eyes. “I suppose you’re right.”

“Of course I am,” she replied, turning towards Yang. “We’ll take a bottle of the Domaine Weinbache, please. And an order of breadsticks to start.”

Yang jotted the order down. “Alright, I’ll be back with that in a sec.” She tucked her pad and pen away, picking up the stand. “My name’s Yang, by the way. If you need anything, please let me know!”

Turning away, she went to input the order and replace the tray and stand, fingers hovering on the button for the shrimp she’d suggested. While it would be one of their best dishes to pair with the wine, she also got the distinct impression that the older woman would go for something with a bit more substance- perhaps one of their steaks- while her sister seemed more inclined towards a salad or perhaps chicken.

Sending the order off, Yang went over to the bar, gathering up two wine glasses, the chilled bottle from an ice box under the bar, and a corkscrew. Someone else had already brought them glasses of water, so she could deliver the wine and give them a few minutes to look over the menu while she attended to her problem table. She could already tell they were going to make some sort of snide comment about the fact that she hadn’t stopped by their table in a whopping five minutes- one would think they’d be more concerned about eating but she’d been wrong before- and braced herself, setting down the wine glasses and uncorking the bottle in practiced, smooth motions. Flipping the corkscrew around, she offered the newly revealed cork towards the women. 

The younger one appeared surprised, brows raising as she tilted her head slightly, while the other just smiled, accepting the corkscrew and smelling the aroma wafting off the cork.

“Sweet, but not enough to make me crave dessert yet. A little fruity, but there’s a subtle bite to it.” She nodded. “I do believe you’re correct in saying it would pair well with citrus.”

“Thank you, Ma’am.” Yang set about pouring the glasses, ignoring the louder snaps attempting to get her attention, instead leaving the bottle in a holder on the table while taking the corkscrew. “May I give you a few moments to look over the menu?”

“That sounds splendid, thank you.” 

The women turned their attention to their wine as the blonde turned around and went to the table, just a few feet away, and praying her smile seemed at least somewhat sincere. “So, how are we doing? Anyone need a refill?”

“What I need is a halfway decent beer,” one of the boys said- they were probably around her age, so they weren’t children exactly, but they sure as hell acted like it- with a sneer curling his lips. “This almost tastes like piss water.”

“Sir, you requested a light blonde-”

“Well, then, bring me a dark beer,” he replied with a grimace. “Don’t you know anything about appealing to a refined taste?”

Most days, Yang could handle types like this. But today, she had a bit of a vengeful streak going, and no real reason not to continue it. “Well, Sir, we do have a Rauchbier from Atlas.” She’d noticed the glances every man at the table threw towards her newest customers and silently relished being able to reach people so effectively. “I will warn you, though, it’s very dark, but it’s-”

“We’ll take a round.”

“Sir-”

“Are you deaf as well as dumb?” He glowered at her. “I said we’ll take a round! Now, chop chop!”

Through a tight smile, she offered a terse. “Yes, Sir.”

Oh she would love serving up this order.

As she made the rounds in her section, she made a mental note of what drinks would need refills and who would probably be asking for their check soon. She stopped by the pick up station to grab the few appetizers that were ready and delivering them to the appropriate tables, including the breadsticks for the two women in the booth. After she’d finished, she went back to the bar and grabbed four pint glasses with the brewery’s logo on the sides. The bartender, a monkey Faunus she considered a good friend, raised a brow as he saw what she was reaching for, a short chuckle leaving his lips.

“Uh... do they know what they ordered?” His bow tie sat around his neck, the top two buttons on his white shirt popped open and, while he was hands down one of the best bartenders she’d ever seen, he was eventually going to get written up and perhaps even fired for continuously disregarding the dress code. He even had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

Usually, filling the alcoholic orders would be his domain, but she wanted to do this one herself. “Nope.”

“Did you try warning them?”

“Yep.” She popped the ‘p’ and threw him a grin. “They’re super convinced they know more about beer than I do.”

Sun shook his head, his tail flicking behind him. “Alright. I’ll let Glynda know.”

“Good idea. These guys are going to cause a scene when they choke on this stuff.” Yang set the four beers on a serving tray and set out to deliver them to the table. As she walked, she passed Emerald, who did a double take at what she carried. Red eyes went wide but the other server started to smile even wider as she noted which table she was taking them to, doing her best to hide her amusement behind the customer service mask they all wore. When she arrived at the table, she passed out the beers. “Four Rauchbeir.”

The moment she’d handed the drinks out, the guy who’d spoken up before waved a dismissive hand her way. “That’ll be all for now.”

Digging deep into her reserves of patience for the moment, Yang nodded and went around to her other tables, correctly predicting that the one booth in the corner wanted their check and producing it from the apron tied around her waist. By the time she got back to the booth with the two women, both of them seemed to be eagerly awaiting something- and her arrival didn’t seem to be it.

“Tell me, did they order the Rauchbeir? Or was that your suggestion?” The older woman had more than a little amusement tugging at the corners of her lips.

“I suggested a porter, but they insisted they wanted the ‘darker taste’ of a lager.” The looks she received proved the women were miles ahead in their understanding of beers than anyone occupying the table. “They weren’t satisfied with it and asked for something that would appeal to a ‘refined taste’, so I brought up the Rauchbeir.”

The women immediately started laughing, hiding their mirth behind their hands and throwing glances towards the table.

“We grew up near the Schlenkerla; we know exactly what’s coming,” the younger said, obviously reveling in the impending reaction. “You’re certainly not wrong- Rauchbeir appeals to ‘refined’ tastes.”

“Speaking of refined tastes- this time, without the sarcasm- what can I get you lovely ladies to eat?” Yang flashed a bright smile just as she heard the first choked gag off to her side, coming from the table.

The older one hummed, then waved a hand at the menu. An eight ounce sirloin, medium rare, with a side of the citrus grilled shrimp, a baked potato, and... hmmm, sauerkraut in a bowl. However you need to ring that up.”

“And I’ll take a grilled chicken salad, hold the egg.” The younger one paused, then continued. “And a tomato soup, now that I think on it.”

The blonde lightly bit her lip as she scratched out the orders on her pad. Okay, she could generally read people pretty well, but she didn’t expect either of them to have appetites like that. To be honest... she kinda liked that.

Then she remembered she was at work with a very problematic table and now was no time to get distracted. “Did you want any onions or mushrooms on your steak?”

“No, thank you.”

A choke, a cough, and a muttered obscenity.

“And what kind of dressing on your salad?”

“Balsamic vinaigrette, thank you.”

Someone sounding genuinely perplexed- of the four, one of them looked like the sort to actually enjoy that sort of beer, so she bet it was him looking at the others like they were overreacting.

“Excellent! I’ll go put those in right now.” Yang turned, heading to input the order, but found herself stopped by a hand grabbing her arm, and it took everything in her not to break it then and there. She only refrained by the barest margins.

“What the hell is this stuff?” He shoved the beer towards her, a little bit sloshing out and forcing the woman to quickly shuffle to the side to avoid the dark liquid staining her shirt.

“It’s Rauchbeir,” she said, her tone level, which was just about the best she could hope for all things considered. “You know, smoked beer?”

“S- smoked beer?” The brat’s expression screwed up. “How was I supposed to know that?”

“Because it’s a literal translation,” the younger woman from the booth said, her brows drawn together and a frown on her lips. “Rauchbeir means ‘smokedbeer’ and it’s brewed in the Schlenkerla Smokemalt. It’s an Atlesian legend and one of the best of its kind.”

“The thick, smoked ham taste is certainly a unique flavor, almost like thick cut bacon sprinkled with brown sugar, and it’s renowned the world over for its distinctive taste.” The older woman swirled her wine a moment before setting the glass down. “Just seeing it again has made me a little homesick, to be frank. It’s a very nice way to start a morning, or even an afternoon.”

“Indeed. Perhaps a pint a piece?”

“An excellent suggestion, Sister.” Blue eyes sought hers out, no request voiced but understood all the same.

“Of course, Ladies. I’ll be back with those in a moment,” Yang said, her gaze sliding from what was quickly becoming her favorite table to the man still holding her arm. “If you’ll excuse me, Sir.”

For a moment, it looked like he was about to give her a bit more of his mind, but the subtle flexing of her arm discouraged him. He was built himself- a few inches taller with broad shoulders and a moderate amount of muscle mass, but the blonde’s uniform concealed her own figure pretty well. A lot of people saw her chest and assumed that’s where the majority of her bulk came from, but now that he took the time to look, it occurred to the customer that his grip didn’t completely encompass her bicep, fingers and thumb nowhere near touching despite the large size of his hand.

He let her go with notable reluctance and she quickly left the dining area, ducking back into the kitchens to silently scream, glaring at the tile wall fiercely while reciting every reason she had for not marching out there and decking that dude in the face.

“Rent is due next week and Ruby has that job interview on Thursday. She lands that gig, we’re good. Just... just gotta get through this.”

“Yang.” Trying not to sigh in defeat, the blonde turned to see the manager standing behind her, a sharp gaze made all the more pointed by the glasses sitting low on her nose. “Do I need to take over that table?”

“No, Ma’am.” Forcing a smile, she spread her hands. “I’m fine. I can handle them.”

Glynda narrowed her gaze. “I’m going to stop by and speak with them regardless. I trust you, Yang, but I’m not about to have you start a fight in the dining room again; we’ve already been lenient in that regard.”

She wanted to snap out that decking someone for grabbing her ass as she walked by shouldn’t be held against her but even she could admit chucking the guy through a window after the initial punch pushed her reaction from ‘understandable’ to ‘over the line’. “I’m sure, Ma’am.”

“Alright.” She nodded, then looked around. “After that table leaves, take your break and calm down. They’ve already ordered their food, right?”

“No.” She crossed her arms over her chest and groaned. “They haven’t even picked up the menus. I think they’re just day drinking.”

With a long suffering sigh, the manager nodded. “Make sure you’re ringing up their beers. If they manage to finish one, I’ll cut them off after the second.”

Nodding, Yang took another minute to compose herself and then returned to work, inputting the sisters’ orders, grabbing her other tables’ food, and returning to the dining area to pass them out with a forced smile. She got a few comments, low muttered reprimands that a customer would make a scene with such a nice server, but she couldn’t be quite honest with her appreciation for their support. Still, she managed to return to the pickup station with an empty tray and swing by the bar to grab two more Rauchbeirs without incident. When she dropped them off with the Atlesian sisters, who set about taking a deep pull each without so much as a wince.

Once again, the server found herself impressed. She herself preferred lagers and ales- blondes, usually, with crisp and refreshing tastes, though she’d been known to enjoy a wheat beer on occasion. The thick, almost cloying taste of liquid bacon sliding down her throat certainly qualified as a ‘special occasion’ sort of thing, and it wasn’t bad but she definitely wouldn’t be able to take the deep pulls the sisters did. Obviously, though, the younger sister didn’t care for the beer as much, a flash of something appearing in her expression as she set the mug down.

“Ah, right. That is why I don’t drink this.”

“It’s not that bad.” Her elder chuckled, taking another long pull. “And all the sweeter for the occasion.”

Blue eyes darted towards the table and while the blonde couldn’t look without drawing attention, she suspected the boys were glowering at how easily the two women were enjoying the beer while they had only managed a few sips since ordering it.

“You do have a point.”

With a soft laugh, Yang shook her head. “I’ll be back with your orders shortly.”

She settled a few checks, brought back change, did another round of refills and appetizers, and then the women’s orders were ready. Loading them up, hardly minding the hot temperatures on the bowl of tomato soup and consciously ignoring the slight rumble in her stomach as her own hunger started to grow. Maybe taking a break after the problem children left would be a good idea.

Grabbing a stand and heading out, Yang carefully maneuvered her way through the dining area, leading with the stand as she approached the booth. However, a few steps from her destination, she felt the whoosh behind her a moment before the tray left her hand, the outside edge hit with enough force to sent the whole thing toppling towards her. For that most part, it just startled her, but the moment the tomato soup spilled from its bowl and hit her bare skin, she let out a pained cry, hand flying up to try and remove the hot liquid and sooth the injury as best she could. Thankfully, the high collar prevented it from hitting mostly flesh, but it seeped through her shirt easily, and the general chaos caused by plates, the tray, and the stand hitting the ground brought all eyes to her as she rounded on whoever caused the tray to fall. Unsurprisingly, she came face-to-face with the same man who’d grabbed her, a sick smile playing on his lips.

“You son of a-”

“Watch your tongue,” he said, the smugness in his tone enough to choke a bear. “Do you have any idea who you’re talking to?”

Logic and responsibility flew from her mind then, fury rising up in her and pulling her right fist back. In the next second, she would’ve knocked that holier-than-thou mentality clear from his head, along with a few other things, but someone grabbed her wrist and stopped her. A sharp rebuke lay on her tongue but it never left, someone else beating her to it.

“The better question, Mr. Winchester, is do you have any idea whose food you just ruined?”

Yang wasn’t surprised when she looked behind her and saw the older woman standing there, sharp features brought into even more definition thanks to the severe frown and furrow to her brows.

The Winchester guy scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “Please. Do you think you can intimidate me?”

“I’ll take that as a ‘no’ then.” Reaching into the best pocket of her suit, the woman produced a business card, offering it to the man while shifting her grip to the server’s bicep and gently pulling her back, out of punching distance. “Perhaps this will enlighten you.”

He snatched the card from her and glanced at it, then looked at it much harder, blinking several times. Then, he went pale. “Winter Schnee...”

Yang cringed. Sure, as a high end restaurant, they got their share of celebrities or those near enough the status, and anyone connected to the Schnee name automatically qualified as the former. They had some sort of genius relative in almost every field that existed and the family brand- the Schnee Development Company- made them easily known to just about every person in Remnant. Of course, she probably should’ve recognized the woman herself and her sister, considering Ruby was studying the corporation in preparation for that interview she had coming up, but she hadn’t exactly provided her older sister with any headshots of the current line of Schnees.

“Judging by your reaction, I’ll assume I’m known to you.” Winter scanned the three other men- all cowering in their seats- before focusing on the instigator. “Allow me to outline this in a very simple manner. You will pay off both of our tabs in full plus a fifty percent gratuity in cash and apologize to this young woman. Then you, and all your cronies, will leave this establishment quietly and not return until you’ve learned basic etiquette and, if you’re lucky, nothing more will come of this incident.” She paused. “And add twenty dollars to that amount; my sister and I were considering dessert. Is that amenable? Or would you prefer we handle this in court?”

“B-b-but I didn’t-”

“Oh, I’m aware you didn’t do anything to me, specifically, except delay the meal for my sister and I.” Her voice turned a bit harsher. “However, I will personally pay for her lawyers when she sues you for personal injury and loss of pay while she recovers. Which, you’ll probably not be able to defend yourself adequately after I call your father and personally inform him of the situation, and that recent liquidation of your trust fund might come in handy to cover you to some extent, but if Daddy Dearest tells your retained law firm to not handle the case as I have them represent her... things might truly not work out very well for you. Have I made myself clear?”

“Yes, Miss Schnee,” he replied, shoulders hunched as he ducked his head and looked away. “I’ll settle up the tabs now.”

“Good. I’m sure the manager will see to it that the amounts are accurate.” Winter made a motion with her unoccupied hand. “Now, shoo.”

As the man and his cohorts vacated the area at a quick walk bordering on a run, their metaphorical tails tucked between their legs, Yang took a deep breath and released it slowly. On the upside, she probably still had her job... but she really wished she could’ve punched him at least once. Still, she was grateful for the woman’s intervention and tried turning towards her.

Except, the hand on her bicep actually had a pretty good hold, the other woman looking at her in mild curiosity. Yang raised a brow, unsure what had brought the woman to a standstill but took a guess and flexed her bicep, unsurprised when the woman automatically squeezed and felt the firmness of her arm muscles.

Winter seemed to realize what she’d done the same moment the server smirked, releasing her and clearing her throat while producing a napkin. “My apologies for stepping in as I did but I truly detest when people are rude to their wait staff.”

“Hey, you probably just saved my job, so no worries, Miss Schnee,” she said, holding her hands up to try and ward off the woman’s attempt to clean her up. Honestly, the shirt was a loss at this point and she probably didn’t get burned by the soup, just suitably startled by the hot liquid. Plus, there were more than enough napkins in the back for her to clean the food off herself.

“Please, call me Winter.” The woman offered with a smile. “’Miss Schnee’ is only for those who need to beg my mercy.”

A flirtatious line popped into her head but, somehow, she managed to keep it there for once, instead laughing to cover the slight blush that was creeping into her cheeks. “Well, thanks, Winter. I guess I should’ve expected him to pull something like that, and I’ll get on restarting your order.”

“I’m sure someone else can do that-”

“I will see to it personally,” Glynda said, stepping in and putting a hand on Yang’s shoulder. “Go take a break, clean yourself up, and change your shirt. You’ve earned it, Yang.”

“Alright, boss.” She smiled and started towards the back, reaching up to slip out the knot out of her tie. She did have a spare shirt in the back, in a little break area. Along the way, she got sympathetic pats from Emerald and a few of the cooks, as well as a wide eyed look of fear from their newest server.

By the time she’d reached the break area, she’d already popped open the first two buttons and felt more than a little relieved she wore an undershirt today- nothing more than a thin tank top, but decent enough to get to the bathroom and tuck her shirt in properly- stripping off the ruined one and balling it up. The blonde truly doubted it could be saved, but she’d at least try, grimacing at the sticky combination of balsamic vinaigrette and tomato soup now soaked into the material. She quickly ducked over to wash her hands off before grabbing the clean shirt and heading towards the bathroom by the host stand.

She shouldered the door open and stopped short, surprised to find Winter washing her hands. It took a moment before she realized she was being a little silly- like, why was she surprised? Maybe nervous was the better word, since she was standing there in a tank top, but whatever- and Yang shook her head, stepping up to see herself in the mirror. The other woman turned and moved over slightly, to be courteous, but did a double take upon noticing who had just stepped up beside her.

For a moment, Yang fussed with her hair, setting the fresh shirt on the counter, but she was watching Winter’s reaction in the mirror. She seemed to be... staring. Maybe that was wishful thinking? After all, she’s just a server at a restaurant and Winter was... well, somehow connected to a business that probably spent her life earnings in a day on toilet paper.

But... it really looked like the woman was checking her out, or perhaps just very transfixed by the definition in her arms.

“I’m sorry that guy ruined your lunch,” she said, grabbing her shirt and beginning to pull it on.

“I’m not,” Winter replied, her voice calm and even, though a peek proved that she suspected her attention hadn’t gone unnoticed. “Weiss and I have been meaning to spend more time together. The extra time to bond is appreciated.”

With a chuckle, Yang started buttoning the shirt. “Well, if you ever come here again, you can ask for me to be your server. I’ll be sure to take my time.”

“I suspect you would.” She almost shivered at the way the woman’s voice sounded slightly deeper when she said that, biting her lip slightly. “I may take you up on that. Lunch here every Tuesday and Thursday would be a nice step in the right direction.”

“I look forward to seeing you here, Winter.” She tucked the shirt into her pants while the other woman dried her hands, just getting her buckle set before Winter turned. Yang quickly reached out and grabbed the door, opening it with a wide smile. “For you, M’lady.”

“You’re quite fortunate I find such cheekiness endearing.” The woman brushed past her, throwing a little smirk down at her. “Do enjoy the rest of your break, Yang. I was being serious about ordering dessert.”

After she’d walked away, the server allowed the door to close and passed a hand over her face, highly aware of the blush beginning to burn in her cheeks. Maybe it was just some friendly, amusing, flirty banter...

... or maybe it was entirely serious. 

Either way, she had to go out there and take the woman’s ‘dessert’ order with a straight face.

“Heh, yeah, straight.” She rolled her eyes, throwing her tie around her neck and tying the knot. “That is a good one. Gotta use it some time.”

Somewhere in the back of her mind, though, she started playing through a few different approaches to asking the woman out. Just to pass the time.

It’s not like anything would come of it, anyway.

Weiss watched as her sister returned to the table, raising a brow and remaining silent. She knew the woman rather well and asking would just make her defensive, while remaining silent and curious would eventually lead to-

“It probably should’ve occurred to me that she’d go to the bathroom to change her shirt.” Winter sighed, putting her elbows on the table for a moment and putting her face in her hands. “Did you know that she has the physique of a weight lifter? I’m quite certain she could bench press me over her head with little to no issue. It suddenly occurs to me that I’d rather like to know the answer to that.”

“Sister, I do truly love to put it this way.” She leaned forward, offering a soft smile to her elder sibling. “It’s quite obvious I got the useless lesbian gene from you.”

Blue eyes peeked out at her, an ineffectual glare leveled her way. “That’s not how genetics work.”

“Am I wrong?”

The silence she received functioned as all the confirmation she needed.

#Elderburn #Elderburn Week #Day 3: Accident #TRR writes

[sazorak]

What I Thought Of Every Single Game I Played In 2017

2017 was a weird year for me. In terms of my personal life, it's been something of a holding pattern; I'm a year older, but I've not accomplished nearly as much as I'd liked to. I've had a lot of good times, and I've done my best, but I probably haven't made an entirely meaningful use of my lingering youth.

But on the other hand: I got to play a whole bunch of video games! 2017 was a good year for video games. It had to be a good year for something, I suppose, and if the rest of the world was going to be getting it nasty this year, video games might as well be the thing that gets its due.

This write-up is an overview of what I thought about every single game I played this year. Only games that released this year qualified for a numbered “place”, as interpreted through my own rules. Here we go!

[2015] | [2016]

19. Fire Emblem Heroes – Android – ★★ – 2017

As a latecomer to the Fire Emblem games, this did nothing for me. I don't have a great amount of affection for the characters in the abstract, three lines of dialog and a couple cut-ins of them stabbing a guy don't even qualify as “fanservice”, and the narrative that is there is just plain bad. It's admirable that they managed to reduce their permadeath-driven tactical RPG to an experience that works on phones, but I have zero interest in throwing myself into gachapon hell in the hopes of a “dream team.” Besides, the second orb I cracked open had a five-star Camilla in it, so my experience was guaranteed to be a down-hill one.

18. Pictopix – Steam – ★★ – 2017

Pictopix is a fascinating lesson that not all Picross games are alike. It's not just a matter of creating puzzles that are secretly pixelized art: there is a flow to good nonogram design that is apparently quite hard to achieve. Where I get a lot of enjoyment from the Picross E- and Picross S- titles, I didn't care for this one, despite being on a platform well suited for a picross-a-like experience. I'm not sure I can even articulate just what rubbed me wrong about it (though the shoddy controls didn't help); the puzzles just felt clunky in a way that other takes on this style of puzzle did not.

Shantae: Half-Genie Hero – Steam – ★★ – 2016

I accidentally backed this game on Kickstarter a few years ago. I thought an artist I was a fan of was attached to this project, when they just did some contracted promotional material for the Kickstarter. It's on me for reading into that, I suppose. In any case, I backed this game, it came out last year, and I couldn't honestly be bothered to actually play it until this year.

After having finally done so: I'm not sure why people like these games? They feel like baby's first platformer; it's well-produced, but threadbare in terms of mechanical complexity. There's a vague Metroidvania-aspect to re-exploring levels you've already completed, but it lacks the simple mechanical joy that the best of those have. The characters don't really do anything for me either; I presume if you've been following these since the mid-90s you get something from their interactions, because personally I just find it kind of lame? The art is fantastic, and the game looks good in motion, but overall, it's just not for me.

17. For Honor – Steam – ★★★ – 2017

Until I started making this list, I had completely forgot that For Honor even existed. Remember this game? It's the one where you play as an assortment of medieval warriors assembled from across the globe to stab each other in 4-vs-4 3 rd person capture-the-point combat. It was OK, but the experience overall fell flat— largely because of an abundance of flaws peripheral to the core gameplay.

The basic combat and mechanics felt and worked well; the simple axis-based block-or-attack combat system enabled some truly awesome duels that really felt like you were in a melee. But while the combat worked quite well, there wasn't a whole lot going on around it to justify the overall experience. The campaign was functional, but it was clearly an afterthought, bereft of even characters. The multiplayer was fun, but severely hampered by a poor progression / unlock system, as well as bad matchmaking and server issues.

In another year, perhaps For Honor would have stood out more. If the game had received post-release support in the way Ubisoft's more Clancyesque titles, perhaps it'd have had longer legs. As is, I spent enough time with it to know that it was maybe worth coming back to once they had hammered out their online issues— something that never really happened. And then the rest of 2017 happened and put it in its proper place. Oops!

16. Picross S – Switch – ★★★ – 2017

Where Pictopix disappointed, Picross S is functional, acceptable Picross. It's far from the best Picross offering in this line (I think I had the most fun with Picross E3, and not just because of its dumb name), but it is Picross on the Nintendo Switch, which is basically all I was really wanting out of it. The loss of touch screen interactions from the 3DS release is bizarre (the Switch has a touch-screen my dudes!), but I can live with it.

15. Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment – Switch – ★★★ – 2017

It's been interesting to watch Yacht Club take the baseline premise of Shovel Knight— a retro-styled platformer shouting its Mega Man inspirations via megaphone to anyone who'll listen— and alter their execution with these different DLCs. Where the original Shovel Knight was a relatively straight-forward platformer (with Ducktales-inspired down-stab action), and Plague of Shadows was something of an odd build-your-own-shooter, Specter of Torment focuses instead on aerial combo-attacks. These changes really alter the gameplay; where the others could be a bit mindless at times (particularly Plague of Shadows, which was fairly easy given the number of projectiles you could throw across the whole screen), Specter of Torment is considerably more demanding of one's attention; you have to be more deliberate with your actions relying than relying on flow to get you through.

The design of the levels doesn't feel entirely there; while they certainly have been more redesigned than Plague of Shadows' were to fit the different style of movement, it just wasn't that fun to play through. Rooms were either too easy or too frustrating, with little in the way of a middle ground. The boss fights were trivially easy (which is dire in a game aping a series that largely relied on the quality of its emblematic show-downs). The plot was… fine? It certainly was a Shovel Knight prequel alright, that's for sure. At this point, I must imagine Yacht Club and I are both on the page on wanting see them work on something else at this point. They've proven themselves to be extremely competent developers, but it's time to put Shovel Knight to rest; they've gotten about as much blood as they can out of that particular stone.

14. Mario Kart 8 DX – Switch – ★★★★ – 2017-ish

OK, seriously Nintendo— when are you going to make a new F-Zero? Don't you give me this bullshit about “Why would you want a new F-Zero when we've already done it before!” when you keep making new Mario Karts with little different beyond the platform you put it on. All Mario Kart 8 DX did was pack-in all the DLC and add a true battle mode— which is great and all, don't get me wrong. It's just a sign that your excuses suck and you need to fund a new Captain Falcon vehicle-vehicle ASAP.

13. Player Unknown's Battlegrounds – Steam – ★★★★ –– 2017

I want to like Plunkbat more than I do, but I don't. What's there that's good is great; the open-world mix of random-luck and skill-based shooting (especially with friends!) is a real hoot, particularly when one is either taking it entirely too seriously or entirely not seriously at all.

But something about the game just feels… incomplete? Despite leaving early access, it really has a lot of work that it should be still getting. The physics is jank (the vehicles annoy me to no end), there's still absolutely 0 tutorializing for new players, and the problem with persistent hacking and aimbotting has been dire as of late. There's also something to the notion that a lot of the skill in the game comes down less to polished learning of the mechanics and their interactions and more a sort of base memorization of Plunkbat Best Practices. That's not innately a bad thing, but I personally find these sorts of experiences better when they're focused more towards tactical mastery than strategic mastery. Both are important in Plunkbat, but I prefer mastering the former over the latter. The game seems to disagree. I feel like the quality of my gear should be less important than how good I am at using what I find. That is not the case. Oh well.

I'm looking forward to putting more time into this with buds in the future, but I've fallen off the wagon as far as general enthusiasm goes. Eh!

Prison Architect – Steam – ★★★★ – 2015

Prison Architect is sort of a highly-specialized, more accessible Dwarf Fortress. Much of the appeal of Dwarf Fortress is the immersive unpredictability of managing emergent personalities trying to go about their tasks, and ultimately, it's so complex that an ASCII-based rendering is the only way to handle it all. Prison Architect constrains the variability by its very nature (the things people do in a prison are typically well-regulated, and there's not a lot of agency within those bounds), resulting in an experience that is nowhere as impenetrable as Dwarf Fortress— but also nowhere as appealing.

There's just not as much going on when you get down to it; while there's certainly variability in prisoner personality and actions, there are just so fewer variables in terms of what someone can do and interact with. Plus, given your funding regimen and in-take are totally under your control, the actual form your prison takes doesn't need to vary; you're not incentivized to innovate beyond a desire to keep things interesting. You can just your layouts entirely towards efficiency and nothing else, and even then, there's no real end-game to it beyond making numbers get bigger.

Mini Metro – Android – ★★★★– 2015

Mini Metro is a slight mobile puzzle experience, but it is quite engrossing while it lasts. The pairing of simple mechanics and style works very well on the phone. You make subway lines connecting points. It looks like a subway map. It's pretty good.

Total War: Warhammer – Steam – ★★★★ – 2016

I've always been vaguely interested in the Total War games— just never enough to go out of my way to actually, y'know, play them. Warhammer Fantasy has never been my thing, but I like fantasy things in general, and the idea of applying battle tactics to lines of zombies was appealing enough for me to give this a look. Overall, it turns out I enjoy the tactical depth of Total War!

I'm not sure how I feel about the strategic-layer in the few factions I played—it's a bit micromanage-y, and any faction managing to sneak its way to the back-end of your empire becomes a real chore-- but the tactical level is very good. The interplay of artillery, cavalry, and troops-of-the-line is realistic enough to where you can apply real-world know-how and be rewarded for it. The types of troops are massively varied, both inside and outside of the factions. I was mostly drawn to this game by the monster-y factions, so those were the ones I played most.

I'm looking forward to checking out Total War: Warhammer II... eventually?

12. Sonic Mania – Switch – ★★★★ – 2017

Sonic is bad. If you add up the total of what Sonic has been over the last two decades and average it out over the amount of games he has had the misfortune to appear in, the average Sonic is hardly deserving of the fawning devotion he receives. Those first few mainline Sonics were good, no question—but that was over two decades ago. SEGA has never succeeded in recreating the feel of those games—even when they have ostensibly tried.

Thankfully for them (and us), there are those that can succeed. Sonic Mania, created by long-time Sonic fans and hackers, perfectly captures the feel of those first three games almost too well. It's basically Sonic 1-3+K+CD, warts and all. The Sonic CD-based stages in particular carry on Sonic CD's design of being too long and really fucking annoying, which is rather indicative of the ethos of Whitehead towards recreating the feel of the older titles. I'm very curious to see if they'll be given permission to do a Sonic Mania II, where they'll perhaps have a chance to innovate more and burn off those warts. I'm not sure if they would, but I certainly hope they do. Sonic deserves better than, well, Sonic.

Stellaris: Utopia & Stellaris: Synthetic Dawn – Steam – ★★★★– 2017

This is technically a 2017 release, but it's so miniscule an addition to the existing Stellaris that it's not worthy of a numbered ranking. Stellaris in 2017 is a lot like Stellaris in 2016, but better. The addition of end-game specializations, new government-types, and the ability to play as both hive minds and robots are extremely good, but there's still a lot of room for improvement. That's the Paradox model, I suppose; they'll continue iterating and adding onto Stellaris over the next half decade until it finally achieves some near-ideal state—or the engine buckles under all they're trying to do with it. One of the two.

My favorite Stellaris moment this year must be the creation of "The Borth Problem". The Borth are a race of space Hyper-Platypuses, whose traits were specially selected by their creator (me) to be absolutely trash. They're short-lived, xenophobic pacifists who hate being around each other almost as much as they hate being around everyone else. I force them to spawn as one of the empires in every game I play-- not because they're particularly threatening, but because watching them repeatedly balkanize every two months under the strain of their own ineptitude and malfeasance is extremely good. Occasionally some fool attempts to annex Borth planets, which is a tragedy in and of itself.

11. Tekken 7 – Steam – ★★★★ – 2017

God am I terrible at fighting games. I've just never put in the time to get any good, and I'm way too prone to mashing out moves I think are cool than learning combos or hit-strings. God do I love fighting games though— and Tekken 7 is a good one. It is a Tekken game through-and-through, but the additions they've made to the cast have been good, and the limb-specific combat system continues to hold up after all these years.

To be completely honest? I've been playing mostly as Eliza—whose special strings are just Street Fighter entry strings. She's basically Ryu if he was in a bustier (and a sleepy Dracula). It's allowed me to get past the hump of learning how to pull-off her specials, though it's done little to actually get me good at stringing combos together. It's still a lot of fun though.

10. Puyo-Puyo Tetris – Switch – ★★★★ – 2017

IT'S PUYO PUYO AND TETRIS, WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT FROM ME?

Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions – PSP – ★★★★ – 2007

Coming to Final Fantasy Tactics two decades on from its initial release on the PlayStation, one can still understand the appeal. The tactical RPG system has phenomenal mechanical depth, supporting wide-ranging customization and gameplay specialization. There's lots of weird systems to learn and exploit. The setting is austere and grounded in a way that few RPGs are; the story it tells is ultimately yet another Japanese tale of man-killing-god, but the way that it's presented is more about fighting back again the abuse of systems by society, and the futility of one man trying to change the world.

At the same time, two decades have passed since Final Fantastic Tactics came out, and it honestly has not aged superbly well. The controls are bizarre, its job system is rather annoying in practice, it suffers from the usual problem games with permadeath carry where the second a character joins the party and becomes non-essential, their relevance to the story ends. The story which was apparently once so astounding seems almost quaint now; “Organized religion… may be bad!” is far from a hot take in these days, and there have since been hundreds of other games (JRPGs, even) playing in the same sandbox.

As someone introduced to the Ivalice setting of Final Fantasy through Final Fantasy XII, it's also somewhat strange looking back at this series and trying to conceive of them as some connected timeline. A lot of what I liked about Final Fantasy XII was its diverse races and their cosmopolitan associations and interactions. Tactics has even less than none of that. It goes out of its way say with a ringing finality “AND EVERYTHING NOT HUMAN OR DEMON WENT EXTINCT, THE END.” Pour one out for my Ban'gaa homies, I guess??

I had fun with Final Fantasy Tactics, but I suspect I may have had a miserable time if I didn't have a friend warning me of points-of-no-return and making sure I didn't build myself into an unwinnable state. Also: exposing me to the utterly broken arithmetic / mathematics magic system, good lord.

9. Splatoon 2 – Switch – ★★★★ – 2017

Splatoon was a good game; Splatoon 2 is that same game, on a different platform.

The additions made to Splatoon 2 are really quite minor; there's some slightly different weapons, and the campaign is denser, but all in all it's just the same good game. The only meaningful addition to Splatoon 2 is Salmon Run, Nintendo's take on the cooperative Horde mode. And you know what? Salmon Run fucking rules. My best multiplayer experiences this year were playing Salmon Run with my boys on Discord. If it were more reliably available, I'd probably have played it more!

8. What Remains of Edith Finch – Steam – ★★★★ – 2017

The latest in the Walking Simulator genre, What Remains of Edith Finch is low on the interactivity, but high on the graphical fidelity, atmosphere, and emotional heft. Sometimes that emotional heft veers into the realm to over-sentimental schmaltz (the ending engendered some real roll-eye), but it doesn't diminish the overall experience. What interactivity that is there is quite good, and it all-in-all made for a great evening experience. I like these sorts of evening-games where you can plop down for 4 hours and just have a nice, self-contained emotional experience.

7. Metroid: Samus Returns – 3DS – ★★★★ – 2017

Maaan, it's good to see Samus in a properly ass good video game again. Other M was bullshit that I wasn't down with at all; this is some proper Metroid-ass Metroid. While there's perhaps still a bit too much Metroid 2 in there (the game is remarkably linear for a “Metroidvania” and the area design is a bit one-note – befitting its Gameboy origins), Metroid: Samus Returns is a very excellent proof of concept that yes, you can make a good Metroid in 2017.

It's also proof that even if we can no longer trust the franchise to Sakamoto's hands without him ruining everything and throwing a tantrum about Prime, others are capable of doing what's necessary to ensure that Samus remains a galactic badass and not Sakamoto's weaponized nadeshiko. Uugh.

As an aside: The references back to the Prime Trilogy, as well as the REALLY WELL-HIDDEN sequel-hook, are extremely good and appreciated. I am pumped to see what Mercury Stream (or someone else!) does with Metroid moving forward. Is that sequel hook actually a Metroid Prime 4 hook? That'd be cool as hell.

6. SteamWorld Dig 2 – Switch – ★★★★ – 2017

SteamWorld Dig was a relaxing, though ultimately rather forgettable take of what would happen if you crossed Metroidvania with Mr. Driller. SteamWorld Dig 2 would be the same, if it wasn't for the fact that it's just so god damned well-polished. Everything about it from the core gameplay feel, the movement, the digging speed, the music— they're just so damn well executed. The game world is just a delight to be in.

The story and ending are disappointing (as legally required of every SteamWorld game) but that's not really the point; this is absolutely a game where it's absolutely about the journey rather than the destination. When your journey revolves around such a fundamentally satisfying gameplay loop, the greatest sin it has is ending in the first place.

HITMAN – Steam – ★★★★★ – 2016

HITMAN is good! IO Interactive has created the ultimate encapsulation of the Hitman formula. The game is built to encourage replay and iteration on the game's limited number of maps. This is great, because replaying missions to achieve the perfect murder is a real joy. HITMAN is a game about perfecting the art of playing it: learning the systems, the maps, and the routines of people to the point where you see the clockwork that everyone else is beholden to— so that you can slide between the cogs like a bald, sardonic time-ghost. The game is grimly hilarious and cool in equal measures. I can't wait to see what they do with Season 2.

Stardew Valley – Steam – ★★★★★ – 2016

Stardew Valley is a celebration of the routine. While so many games are about providing novel experiences and spectacles to keep our interest, Stardew Valley enables you to a build a routine, iterating and adapting as the world twists and turns around it. It's about riding a slowly swelling wave while maintaining flow; your farm and experience gets more and more complicated as the seasons go on, but it's always at your own pace; there's no real stakes beyond a desire to prosper and discover. It's charming and addicting in equal measures.

I'm glad they stopped development on it to focus on porting it to new platforms, because I'm pretty sure they'd have honest to god killed people with it. It turns out the cup-and-ball game from that Next Generation episode is actually a game about pleasing your peepaws' ghost by growing corn and hooking up with the goth chick down the lane. You're welcome, peepaw.

Valkyria Chronicles – Steam – ★★★★★ – 2016

Man, SEGA used to make brilliant RPGs back in the day, huh? I really liked Skies of Arcadia, and this is another RPG in that vein from that era. You wouldn't think “fantasy World War II European Front through the lens of Japanese RPG developers” would work, but… it does! They manage to evoke some genuine ethos, and their depiction of the brutality and horror of war, the in-grained senselessness of inherited discriminatory beliefs, are actually pretty OK. You'd think “We're going to depict ANIME FANTASY HOLOCAUST” would be the Worst Thing Ever, but they manage to thread that line enough to make it work… mostly.

Perhaps the craziest thing about Valkyria Chronicles though is that they somehow managed to make a tactical JRPG about trench / tank warfare not only work, but work well. While it's kind of breakable in areas and has balance issues, it managed to hold my interest through the dozens of hours without getting bored. I wasn't invested enough to do much in the way of the extra / repeatable missions, but I thoroughly enjoyed the combat for what I played.

That all said, Valkyria Chronicles could have done with less anime all around. If you turned that anime dial down a good 20%, this would have been a vastly superior work— perhaps even an all-time great. Unfortunately, its tendency towards Anime-ass composition and design, and some frankly juvenile characterization means it will forever carry that stigma of “it is very anime” that prevents it from penetrating into less anime-immune audiences. Still, for those willing to give it a shot and endure some really ham-fisted anime-as-all-hell ruminations on peace, Valkyria Chronicles is a real gem.

5. Super Mario Odyssey – Switch – ★★★★★ – 2017

The single thing that has defined Mario since the halcyon ape-threatening days to his hat-tossing present has been his movement. Over the years, the movements available to “Jump Man” have become more varied and complex, but they still harken back to what set him apart in the beginning: it's all about the jump. Mario Odyssey, while ostensibly about his more obvious hat-trick, is in reality just another stage of the gradual, ever-evolving repertoire of Mario's jump. He just… jumps so damn good y'all. It feels real damn good to run around and jump on shit as Mario. The hat even makes it so he can basically jump in the air, it's ridiculous.

Mario's new ups are made even better Mario Odyssey's excellent collections of worlds for him to mark with his kicks. The sheer variety and volume of unique platforming experiences is great, and it's ultimately up to you how deep you're willing to take it. Mario is something of a casual completionist's nightmare, given just how many stars there are to find. But for those willing to take a step back, the game allows you to engage it just as much you'd want. You could work on polishing your platforming skills to where you easily master the Darker Side of the Moon, you could just play enough of the game after “beating” it to get your fill, or you could just play what's needed to get to the credits. If you're a complete mad-person, you could try even collecting all those stars. All are valid end-points, and no matter what the experience is a complete and quality one.

Some one-off thoughts:

The new enemy designs in the game are so good. A particular shout-out to the Oni Thwomp!

THERE IS A BOSS WHOSE NAME IS “Brigadier Mollosque-Lanceur III, Dauphin of Bubblaine”, FUCK

Steam Garden's God Hand surf rock theme music is so good

The entire end-game sequence leading into the post-game zone was one of the most surreal things ever

NEW DONK CITY

4. Cuphead – Steam – ★★★★★ – 2017

Cuphead is a magic trick. At first glance, it seems impossible, like an actual sorcerer has walked in and done something impossible. “There's no way anyone could recreate the style of Fleischer-era cartoons and make a genuinely good video game!” Like any magic trick, once you look at it long enough the magic goes away, and you see it for what it is. You see the sleight of hand, the smoke and mirrors required to resurrect a nearly century-old style and make it work in what should be a wholly incompatible medium. But the skills required to pull that trick off, and that such a small studio accomplished it, is itself a feat worthy of a wizard with a sizeable beard. It's not perfect, but it's as damn close as any person could ever expect to see, really. The game looks, sounds, and plays damn good.

It's been funny following the discourse around Cuphead's gameplay, particularly the reaction to its difficulty. It's nowhere near as hard as people make it out to be; it's got a lot in common with bullet-hell shooters like the Touhou games, to be sure, but the difficulty about those games, like Cuphead, are more about learning how to play them right than anything particular crazy about most of the challenges they put in front of you. Once you learn how to precisely move the character, you can basically relinquish yourself to the flow state and soldier through pretty much everything (within reason). Cuphead's real trick in this regard is that the types of things going on screen look so fucking cool that it can pull you out of the flow through sheer wow-factor. It's a game that is harder because it looks so good. Unreal.

3. Pyre – Steam – ★★★★★ – 2017

The cruel hands of mother nature have evolved Supergiant Games into the perfect predator of my species. Their approach to writing characters, stories, and music is such that whenever they release one of their games, they burrow a tendril into my brain and maneuver my zombified body into a hole so they can lay eggs in my chest cavity. I'd feel more broken up about how they play me like an acoustic guitar if they weren't so, y'know, good at playing acoustic guitars.

Ostensibly, Pyre is NBA Jam meets Oregon Trail meets a Visual Novel, but it's so much more than that. It's the archeology of uncovering the history of a world through half-heard conversations and vaguely-written reminiscences. It's the trepidation of holding the fate of friends in your hands and knowing that you can't save them all in the end, and still having to choose. It's the struggle for glorious revolution, even though the odds of a bloodless one is low. It's all these things. You plot the end of an empire with a pipe-smoking treeman in between games of mystic slamball with a mustachioed dog. Everything about how it carries itself and presents its world resonated deeply with me and held me enraptured to the very end.

2. NieR: Automata – Steam – ★★★★★ – 2017

I've spent a lot of the last year thinking about Nier: Automata. At this point, I'm not even sure what to say about it. Do I talk about the questions it raises about humanity and what we may leave behind? Do I talk about its astounding visual and audio design? Do I go on a long aside on Yoko Taro's writing and directorial style? They're all valid things to talk about, but they're also all meaningless. They're only important in how they made me feel over the course of my journey with Nier. Intrigued, lost, depressed, uplifted. Nier: Automata invoked all these emotions in me in turn.

In the end, I'm left somewhat in awe of the experience. Not because Nier is a perfect game; it's a very flawed one. But it's a game that's really made me feel and think. Yoko Taro weaves the threads of narrative, emotion, and atmosphere with the deftest of hands. So what if the loom he was forced to work with wasn't a particularly good one? Nier: Automata is one of the most complete explorations of the nature of humanity and how impossible it is to grasp. I imagine I will carry thoughts of it with me forever.

1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Switch – ★★★★★★ – 2017

Breath of the Wild is my favorite video game of all time. Thanks, Nintendo.

#game of the year #2017 #nonfiction #think piece #breath of the wild #nier #pyre #cuphead #mario odyssey #valkyria chronicles #final fantasy tactics #hitman #steamworld dig 2 #stardew valley #Stellaris

[fearofaherobrine]

Roleplay Server Log #272

“Cp vs Karla, Zly Memories. Rock Candy, Ohana and Hg”

[TLOT] Settles on the floor and looks for Cp mentally-

[CP] Feels the brush against his own mind and tries to throw up some barriers-

[TLOT] Speaks to him directly - why so tense?

[CP] - Where did she go?

[TLOT] She stepped out for a moment to deliver something irl. She'll be back shortly.

[CP] - If it were just a delivery, she'd be back by now...

[TLOT] She might have stopped to chat, they are friends of a sort.

[CP] Frowns- Who did she go to?

[TLOT] She's gone to see Ever.

[CP] Brief flashes of what happened last time she was over there as he franticly creates an opening-

[Karla] Has gone back to her sewing

[Ever] Went to the kitchen to make tea and happens to be walking through the central room where the tree is-

[CP] Comes out of the computer rather quickly-

[Ever] Makes a strangled squeak-

[CP] Scowls at him- Where is my mate?

[Ever] Terrified- In the bathroom!

[CP] Goes down the hallway, looking for the bathroom-

[Karla] hears his heavy footsteps and opens the study door to look-

[CP] Small growl at Karla-

[Karla] Ah, it's you again. Hello tall dark and murderous.

[CP] - Go fuck yourself

[Karla] Leans on the doorway languidly- Ah, but it's much more fun with friends.

[CP] - I don't need you doing anything

[Karla] Are you sure? I think we could have an interesting discussion at least. - she looks him slowly up and down- I know another dom when I see one.

[CP] Eyes narrow at Karla- I'm going to go get my wife

[Karla] I see... So driven, and a little insecure? Not sure how to take a compliment either? You're a very interesting man Mr. Herobrine.

[CP] - She's one of the only things I have

[Karla] Ahhh... another lonely soul. Sometimes it's enough to have just one, who understands, isn't it?

[CP] His expression softens a little- Yeah...  Now if I could just get sex back on the fucking table

[Karla] How can it be off? I can see what she likes, and it's just as obvious that you're capable of giving it to her.

[CP] - Don't know, but she's being more stubborn than usual and griefing far more than usual

[Karla] Sounds a bit... hormonal. What's been going on with her lately? Midlife crisis perhaps?

[CP] - Ovaries reforming, being deleted, me just getting into general shit again...

[Karla] She's fertile then... even in a digital existence? How curious... - Her eyes narrow- If you ever need anything smaller... deleted, I have experience in that area. As for you, I can see your journey to this point has been long and painful. You fear losing her, it's plain in everything from your posture to the lines under your eyes.

[CP] - Yeah well Doc can do the same shit too.  And she was originally human plus we have physical forms...

[Karla] Her expression is wry- Always good to have experienced doctors around... Just offering.

[CP] - Whatever, I usually find your type more annoying then anything else

[Karla] Doctors? Or Doms? Or maybe just strong women in general?

[CP] Scowls and starts moving on to find his wife-

[Karla] Gets in his way for a moment, she lets her breath fall on the bit of skin showing in the triangle of his shirt and takes a deep draught of his scent before gliding out of reach again-

[CP] Quickly moves away from her, unsure about what she had just done-

[Karla] If it weren't for the eyes... I might not know the difference... but I can tell when you're close. You smell like a man, but the illusion fails at the finger-width. I smell hell on your skin and clothes. You are fire.

[CP] - I'm a fire based brine, just as Lie is more nature like, besides, the eyes can be hidden

[Karla] And what base is your 'doctor' friend I've heard so many interesting things about?

[CP] - Lightning

[Karla] Rather creepy smile - and are they as handsome as you?

[CP] - Fuck no, crazy ass bastard of a bitch

[Karla] Laughs despite herself and then gives him a knowing look - Not good with admitting you have friends either... who hurt you so badly Cp?

[CP] - None of your business- There are brief flickers mentally

[Karla] Catches the flashes but doesn't get all the details - Father troubles... it's always hardest when the ones we put our trust in... can't be trusted.

[CP] - It was an imposter, and they turned my brother against me as well

[Karla] A pity, but I suspect you would not be standing before me now if it hadn't happened. We play with the hand we've been given in life. - she turns sideways and the thin cloth of her shirt shifts to show more of the sun-shaped scar that's covering the heart side of her chest.

[CP] - That we do, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to fight it with every fiber of my being

[Karla] I like your spirit. I even think we could be friends, perhaps. I suspect we have more in common then you realize. - there's the faintest sound of leather as she streches her fingers.

[CP] Scoffs- I have no interest in that

[Karla] I wasn't suggesting anything sexual... - She waves a hand in front of his face and there's the faintest smell of blood - I promised to be good. It doesn't mean I always wanted it to be that way.

[CP] Scowls and begins walking again-

[Lie] Has fallen asleep in the tub-

[CP] Finds the bathroom and opens the door.  His expressions soften again when he see's his wife sleeping- Well, I suppose everything she did today would be exhausting for her...- He moves, grabbing a couple towel and blatantly ignoring the sex toys in the cupboard before waking Lie up

[Lie] Makes little noises as she wakes- CP?

[CP] - Come on, time to get dry- He offers the towel and watches as Lie sleepily dries herself off

[Lie] - Guess I didn't realize how tired I was...

[CP] - It's understandable, you had a lot of adrenaline going through you today

[Lie] Reaches for the robe-

[CP] - Why are you grabbing that?

[Lie] - Ever said I could borrow it

[CP] - Lie...  You can turn into a cat...

[Lie] - ...

[CP] - You forgot, didn't you?

[CP] After a few moments he's coming back down the hallway with Lie curled up in his arms in her feline form and her clothes in his inventory-

[Karla] Is leaning on the wall watching him and cocks her head curiously -

[CP] - She has a feline form as well

[Karla] She's quite lovely like that. A blue ribbon feline to be sure.

[CP] - Yeah yeah, so everyone says

[Lie] Stretches her leg out to pat CP's arm to tell him to settle down-

[Ever] Comes out of a room at the other end of the hallway and lets out an audible - AWWWWW

[Karla] Chuckles

[CP] - We'll be going then

[Karla] With my blessings then. I hope she had a nice bath, she was in there for quite some time.

[Ever] Lets out a small laugh, his cheeks pink.

[CP] - She fell asleep

[Ever] Suuuure.

[Karla] Puts a finger in the silver ring on the front of Ever's collar - now, now. There's no accounting for taste, really.

[CP] - She's not used to all the fighting she did today, it wore her out

[Ever] Looks crestfallen and a bit embarassed - Sorry about that...

[CP] - I'm just mad I couldn't get to her before she got all the blood washed off of her...

[Lie] Her ears flatten a little-

[Ever] Well it was zombie blood after all. That stuff has to be pretty gooey and rank...

[CP] - I would have tossed her in the lava

[Lie] Tail swishes a bit angrily-

[Ever] That's harsh.

[Karla] She looks a bit annoyed....

[Lie] - I am

[Karla] Perhaps you should take your lovely wife home before any further... difficulties happen.

[CP] - I'm going, I'm going

[Lie] Purrs a little-

[CP] Makes an opening and goes through back to the server-

[Lazur] - humming happily, glad to have her voice back, goes in search of Zly. She hears a guitar being played softly. The melody is slow and rich, and achingly sad. Despite this she smiles and follows the sound.

[Zly Wilk] Sitting on a tree stump, playing the slightly beat up guitar he keeps in his inventory

[Lazur] approaches from behind and leans down - hey. - she says softly behind him, making the brine jump and stop the melody with an abrupt crash of notes.

[Zly Wilk] -Oh! Hey... You got your voice back! Did you figure it out on your own or....

[Lazur] - looks slightly embarrassed - No.... I.... Took your advice and got some help from the Doctor.

[Zly Wilk] That's wonderful... Say, I'm wondering if there is anything we can do to help our new friends... We've been on the other side of deletions before.

[Lazur] I don't know, Zly... I'm not too sure i want these folks knowing what we did before. They're pretty accepting, but we have a lot to atone for.

[Alexsezia] Was hunting and hears them talking. She sneaks close and listens from a hidden vantage point-

[Zly Wilk] - nods - There was a time we were no better than those older generation NOTCHs... How ironic we would become glitches ourselves... Almost as if we were being punished for our sins.

[CP] Comes out of the portal not to far from where Zly and the others are, thinking he and Lie would be alone that far out-

[Alexsezia] Her face crinkles with worry and she feels a little stab of sadness for the way she used to think of glitches herself.

[Zly Wilk] - frowns down at the old guitar and sighs - I still see it in my dreams you know... I thought i could save him. He looked up to us, and I let him down.

[Lazur] - puts a hand on his shoulder - That was NOT your fault. Eset was always too rash. He shouldn't have gone up against something so powerful. And in the end we beat it.

[Zly Wilk] -scowls- Yes, but at what cost? I lost a bit of myself there... When We pulled that thing apart pixel by pixel... I almost enjoyed making it suffer.

[Lie] She perks her ears a little, hearing faint voices- CP...  That way...

[Alexsezia] Draws a quick breath in shock-

[Lazur] - bitterly - maybe that isn't such a bad thing. After how many systems it corrupted, the lives it took... The friends WE lost... Why not get some satisfaction from the kill?

[CP] Approaches silently-

[Alexsezia] Leans against the tree, her feelings in turmoil.

[Zly Wilk] Because deep down, that isn't who we were. We devoted lifetimes to helping those in need... Even at our worst.

[Alexsezia] Forces herself to stand and decides to go tell Doc and TLOT what she's heard, as she turns to go she walks straight into Cp and lets out a yelp of suprise-

[CP] Can't help a small snicker-

[Lie] Sighs-

[Lazur] I don't buy that, Zly. We spent a good long time in the revenge business, and we had our fair share of innocent blood on our hands.

[Alexsezia] Huffs at Cp- How long have you been standing there?!

[CP] - Not long, we just got back

[Alexsezia] Thumbs at the pair- I'm not sure what to think...

[CP] - What about them?

[Alexsezia] They... they deleted someone.... it sounds like they deserved it, but still... - She hugs her arms around her chest -

[CP] Growls and kinda thrusts Lie at Alexsezia-

[Lie] Surprised noise-

[Alexsezia] Barely manages to catch Lie without them both falling -

[Zly Wilk] - doesn't see the others but motions Lazur to be quiet. Listens for a moment and signals Lazur to be ready to move out.

[CP] Skirts around to get behind them-

[Alexsezia] Hugs Lie a little - I used to think ugly things about brines and glitches both... I'm ashamed of that... And now I'm ashamed to be scared because so many of my friends are like that...

[Lazur] - is suddenly on high alert and equips her armor. - Zly.... I don't think we're safe here anymore....

[Lie] Pats her with a fluffy paw- It's okay, at least you had a better introduction to them then I did

[Alexsezia] Pales visibly - That's saying a lot... I did get my best friend raped after all...

[Lie] - ...  Okay fair point

[Alexsezia] I hope Cp doesn't do something dumb...

[Zly Wilk] - equips his staff but keeps it low - Time to go then...- Starts walking generally toward where CP is.

[CP] Lunges forwards with his sword aimed at Zly's heart-

[Zly Wilk] - Deftly side steps and pivots to avoid the blow and sighs in resignation. - Not now, CP.

[CP] Growling and catching on fire-

[Lazur] - moves so she and Zly are back to back, thinking the server is against them and defending against any other attackers. -

[Zly Wilk]- at CP- I don't want to fight you... I don't know if I can keep my powers in check right now.

[CP] Lunges again and at the last second teleports so he can hit Zly's back-

[Lazur] - uses the forearm shield of her armor to deflect the blow. She seems much more eager to fight than her companion -

[CP] Scowls- Fuck off!

[Lazur] Not a chance! - the two stay back to back attempting a retreat away from the big Brine -

[Alexsezia] Comes out a bit panicked and still holding Lie - Stop! Please don't! We've had so much tradgedy... I can't bear to see anyone deleted... Please... just stop.... - A few tears roll down her face-

[CP] Moves to just shove Alexsezia-

[Alexsezia] Holds Lie close to her body. Instinctively protecting the cat-

[CP] Goes in for the attack again-

[Alexsezia] Puts Lie down and draws her bow. It has some small enchantments on it, but it's ordinary otherwise. -

[Lazur] - takes a glancing blow that draws blood. She falls, wiping the blood from her arm and grins. -

[Zly Wilk] - steps up to protect his fallen partner. -

[CP] Slashes at Zly next, his eyes glowing brightly-

[Alexsezia] Aims at Cp and shoots him in the knee with a plain arrow-

[Zly Wilk] - brings the staff up one handed with a resounding crack like thunder, the impact of the weapons seeming to spark a blaze of yellow energy around him. His glitched eye blazes. He speaks in a voice much deeper than his normal range. - ENOUGH!!!!! LAZUR. PACIFY.

[Lazur] - concentrates and suddenly CP is immobilized in a column of blue energy. Unable to move or speak.

[Zly Wilk] - strides up to CP and roars - YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHO YOU ARE MESSING WITH, BRINE.  I ONCE COMMANDED THE POWER TO LAY WASTE TO ALL BEFORE ME. TO MY FOES I WAS THE REAPER. THE ONCOMING STORM. I LAY WASTE TO WORLDS, SCATTERED CIVILIZATIONS TO THE WIND AND CAST THE WICKED INTO THE BLACKNESS OF DISCORDIA. DO NOT THINK FOR A MOMENT I CAN BE INTIMIDATED. - he adds his own energy to the field and CP feels a tingle through his body.

[Lazur] - is startled by Zly's outburst and reverts back to a formal form of address - Sir. You need to stand down!

[Zly Wilk] - growls and stares at CP, his hands hooked into claws.  before blinking and looking at the expressions of those around him-

[Alexsezia] Points the bow at Zly instead- You leave him alone!

[Lie] Is growling at Zly her black thorny vines creating a wall around the area-

[CP] Is also growling at Zly-

[Zly Wilk] - a look of horror passes over his face and his energy blinks out like a snuffed candle. He drops his staff and it despawns. - No.... Not again. I will never be that again.... Lazur... Release.

[Lazur] - lowers her forcefield and steps back.

[Alexsezia] Lowers the bow a little. - I may be small and weak, but I won't stand by and see anyone bullied.

[Zly Wilk] - doesn't respond. Is staring a thousand miles away -

[CP] Lands a bit hard on the ground- Fucker!

[Alexsezia] Puts the bow away and goes to him. She's too small to help him up, but she does pull the small arrow out of his leg - Sorry Cp...

[CP] Scowls and is glaring at Zly-

[Lie] Trots over to her husband and rubs against him, trying to calm him-

[Zly Wilk] - sinks heavily to his knees -

[Lie] - Zly...  What was that about?

[Alexsezia] Sits as well, next to Cp with a jingling of her chainmail as she plops down, her pulse still racing.

[Zly Wilk] - is looking down at his hands and appears not to have heard her. -

[Lazur] - steps over to Zly and puts her hands on his shoulders - Lie....Recent events... with CPs NOTCH, what he did to you both. It brought up memories of a very dark time in our existence. Something we tried to bury. Zly and I once used to serve a similar function to the NOTCH AIs that would hunt brines... But we hunted down malicious programming, fixed glitches. One program destroyed the server we were to protect. We ended up chasing it through several servers and systems, gaining powers to fight it. ultimately we suceeded, but not before we lost a lot of friends... And a brother in arms.

[Alexsezia] ... I don't know what to think... I'm just scared for my friends...

[Lie] - I see...  But why did that cause him to attack CP like that?  I mean yes I know my husband is an ass and will fight at any opportunity, but still...

[Lazur] Zly and I did try to back off... When CP pressed the attack, it must have triggered a flashback. Zly was already dealing with nightmares of that night... I hadn't seen him talk like that since the night we lost our friend Eset. I'm sorry... It's no excuse...

[Alexsezia] He's been hurt too... He's trying to be better...

[Lie] - You know, if there's any part left of him, Doc might be able to bring him back

[Lazur] -to Alexsezia - It was probably a blind panic... Fight or flight.... But despite what you saw or felt, the full range of our powers don't work here.

[Lazur] -to lie- do you really think the Doctor can help?

[Lie] - Well they did recently bring a Steve back from partial coding...

[Alexsezia] Is petting Cp's hair distractedly, mostly because she can reach him [And she's used to him being a cat sometimes]

[CP] - The fuck are you doing!?

[Alexsezia] Jumps a little - Sorry! - waves her hands vaguely - you know.... cats!

[CP] Narrows eyes at her-

[Alexsezia] I said I was sorry!

[Lazur] Sadly I don't know where we would get any of his coding. He was killed on the server we had to burn to keep the Mal from spreading.

[Lie] - I'm sure they'd be willing to try.  I'm also willing to bet that CP attacked because you were talking about deletions

[CP] Flips Alexsezia off-

[Lie] Tail twitches in irritation at her husband's antics-

[Alexsezia] Reaches for Lie -

[Lie] Purrs a little as Alexsezia touches her-

[Zly Wilk] - shutters -

[Lazur] I'd like to get hir opinion. Maybe it can be done.

[Alexsezia] Pulls Lie into her lap and pets her unhappily. - I've seen amazing things since coming here... I don't there's much of anything that's impossible anymore.

[CP] Starts standing up-

[Lazur] - helps Zly to his feet - I think we'll head to the castle to see Doc.

[Zly Wilk] - reluctantly stands, but refuses to look at anyone in shame -

[CP] Looks down at Alexsezia holding his wife and just reaches down and picks them up by the scruff of Alexsezia's clothes-

[Alexsezia] Startled noise-

[Lazur] Sorry for the trouble we caused. Hopefully won't happen again. - waves to group as they head off -

[CP] Looks down at the Alex- I'm only doing this because TLOT would have a conniption fit if I left you alone or here in this sort of condition

[Doc] Is working in hir lab while Yaunfen plays. The table is covered with glassware, sugarcane and balls of string.

[Yaunfen] Is it ready yet Mada?

[Doc] Not yet. I'm still figuring this out... - Xe has hir command block open to a webpage and is reading it carefully-

[Yaunfen] Goes to bother Idolus, xe's drawing mustaches and silly faces on the glass with a dye blob whenever the big fish stops moving for a moment.

[Lazur] - over chat - Doc. Are you busy?

[Doc] Yes, but it's nothing intense. I'm okay to talk. I'm in the lab-

[Lazur] Ok. Be there soon. - shows up moments later with a morose looking Zly trailing behind.- Hi Doc. Thanks for seeing us.

[Doc] Oh hey guys - Xe's gently tipping sugar into a rather pixelated beaker.

[Yaunfen] Hello!

[Idolus] Very aggravated guardian noises from behind a painted mustache and glasses-

[Doc] Squeaks a stopper into the bottle and watches it intently- Something on your minds?

[Lazur] Well..... It was mentioned you have had success bring people back from.... - looks to see if the young dragon is listening - you know...?

[Yaunfen] Notices her reticence and scoots closer-

[Doc] Cocks hir head interestedly- From the dead?

[Lazur] - nods - we had a friend that we lost during the mission that led to us being here.

[Doc] Lost how? I mean, how did they die?

[Yaunfen] is watching the glassware now since the stoppered bottle is bubbling-

[Zly Wilk] - barely a whisper - I let him die.

[Lazur] He was killed fighting a Mal... A malicious program we were trying to stop.  It surprised us and our friend got run through from behind with a spike and took the Mal with him over a ledge.

[Doc] So there's a contamination risk with the remains... if they can be found... It's probably do-able but will require some quarantine procedures in addition to the usual.

[Yaunfen] Pokes the bottle - Mada? It's hard?!

[Doc] Looks down- Well then... That's a bit more then I intended. - The bottle seems to be filled with ice now, but there's no sweating or cold coming from it.

[Lazur] It was also on the server we 'burned'... So there is a chance we may not get on at all..... - looks at the bottle- What.... What IS that?

[Doc] Mostly sugar-

[Yaunfen] Can I have it?!

[Doc] No, let me try again with a bowl sweetie. I don't want you to eat the glass. I don't trust myself not to miss a pixel or two if I melt the bottle off and it won't come out-

[Yaunfen] Sad face-

[Doc] Gives hir a look- Just give me a moment.

[Yaunfen] Okay Mada...

[Doc] Who did the server belong too? - Pulls out a wooden bowl and pours it full of water and sugar-

[Lazur] We never knew the User... We were called in by the server's security programs when they got over run. It was am old EnCom server. Rigged for online use. So I'm guessing it was used for something shady considering how easily they were taken over.

[Doc] A deep web Minecraft server...? What an odd thought... Do you have information on it? An address number at least? I can do some research.

-The liquid in the bowl has started bubbling-

[Doc] Stay back Yaunfen, you guys too... -

[Zly Wilk] - moves out of the way-

[Lazur] - stands back- Yes. Here is the info you will need. We were in the server program itself. While some servers imbued with magik can manifest like Flux and Deerheart, some basic, older servers and mainframes were more like a grid or a city with different games and functions as a destination.

[Doc] That should work. I'll see if I can find a saved file anywhere for it. The person I'm looking for is a server manifestation?

-There's a sharp FUMP noise and the bowl is suddenly overfull with a growth of clear crystals-

[Doc] Thats more like it!

[Zly Wilk] - jumps at the noise, still clearly spooked.

[Lazur] - places a reassuring hand on Zly - No, a digital being similar to Zly and myself. Here... Take this. It's a copy of our ID icons. The being you are looking for will have similar code. - hands Doc a small black and yellow badge. At higher resolution it would appear to be a round disc with a dual colored square in the middle.

[Doc] Takes the badge and turns it over in hir hands - I see...

[Yaunfen] Mada, can I have it now?

[Doc] Me first, just in case.

[Yaunfen] Aww...

[Doc] Melts off a bit of crystal and eats it - hmmmm... So what was your friends name anyway?

[Zly Wilk] Eset.

[Lazur] - smiles at Zly, happy he seems to be coming around.

[Zly Wilk] Doc. Is it right to bring someone back? Will they remember their death? I let the boy fall... I failed to protect him. How do i explain that betrayal?

[Doc] Hir mouth is a flat line for a long moment. - My exposure to religious stuff has been pretty miniscule and recent. I think I'm the wrong person to ask. - xe shrugs- I'm a doctor. My chosen or intended purpose is to save what can be preserved and fix whatever broken things fall into my hands. I'll leave the right or wrong to other people. Maybe you could talk to Liu? See what he remembers? His own brother murdered him and he was dead for a long time before I revivied him.

[Yaunfen] Can I have it now Mada?!

[Doc] Yes! I'm sorry sweetie, go ahead-

[Yaunfen] YAY! - They grab the bowl in their paws and start to lick and nom on the crystals with gusto.

[Lazur] - gets face to face with Zly, gently but firmly says - You. Are. Not. To. Blame. You want to work at righting past mistakes, I can't think of better than giving Eset a new chance at a life.

[Zly Wilk] - looks away and watches the dragon devour the rock candy -

[Doc] I'll get right on this in the meantime, and let you know what I find.

[Yaunfen] Happy nomming-

[Lazur] Thank You. I think I'm going to get Zly to rest. We had an.... Um.... exciting afternoon... I'm sure Lie or Alexsezia will fill you in later.

[Doc] No one is using the recovery room by the tub or the one next to the blaze cage at the moment. - points at both of them in turn.

[Lazur] Thanks. - leads her friend to the recovery room by the tub. She lays him down in one bed then takes the other and are soon both asleep.

[CP] Drops Alexsezia in front of her house- Can I have my wife now?

[Lie] - CP don't be rude

[Alexsezia] Shakes her head to clear it a bit - Yeah... sorry. Here - she holds Lie out gently- I think we both over-reacted a bit...

[CP] - I don't know what your talking about

[Ohana] - Exploring the woods in server,  pausing to feel the trees and leaves periodically-

[HG] -is walking around near by watering flowers and mushrooms he sees-

[Ohana] So... Different... -hasn't noticed Hg yet-

[HG] -sees ohana from afar and starts to approach him-

[Ohana] - notices HG and tenses up out of habit-

[HG] -waves in a friendly matter- hello it's nice to meet you

[Ohana] H... Hi....

[HG] Are you ok?

[Ohana] I don't... Know. I'm.. Better than I was before..

[HG] that's good that your better. oh right my name is Herobrine the gardener or HG for short.

[Ohana] It's, nice to meet you, I'm Ohana... Oh! I'm not... Um, in your space am I?

[HG] oh no I just like to walk around and water plants.

[Ohana] That's good, I'm glad I'm not. - meek smile -

[HG] even if you where I don't mind visitors

[Ohana] Are you.. Sure? I'd hate to intrude...

[HG] I am completely sure

[Ohana] -smiles a bit more, happy and glad- Alright.

[HG] if you would like I can show you to my place and see around we aren't that far from it

[Ohana] I'd like that! If its.  Not any trouble of course!..

[HG] none at all follow me -starts leading the way the trees open up eventually to see some the path that leads to hg's house-

[Ohana] - follows HG closely, pausing again to touch things and marvel at the different textures -

[HG] you like feeling things how come? -they are following the path they are passing lots of trees and a small lake and steps and are closing in fast to hg's house so much so you can see though the trees some of the sugar cane that lines the river of hg's home-

[Ohana] I um.. - nervously clenches his wrist, scratching a bit - I was..  Locked in a bedrock cage. I... I didn't get to feel much but that and glowstone... I.. I'm enjoying it a lot.

[Ohana] The different feelings are nice.

[HG] i'm sorry I brought up that painful memory i'm sorry you where locked in there -they make it to the bridge that goes over the river it's make of logs and has a roof of leafs and is covered in vines beyond the bridge hg's house can be seen and some of the large amount of plants even floating islands that have plants on them-

[jj-ktae]

Hotel California (1/2)

Title : Hotel California

Pairing : Mark x Reader

Genre : Fluff, Romance

Summary : Mark is a night-shifts receptionist in his own hotel and it sucks, until one of his client turns up to be a pretty, annoying girl.

PART I 

It was pure agony. The mere idea of pulling an all-nighter for the sole purpose of work was agonising. Even the old coppered clock’s hand was limping, showing the wrong hour and the time was almost passing in slow motion.

Mark groaned when the opening credits of Frasier made its way on the small and very old television set.

“Excuse me…?” He heard a voice and checked the black and white monitor, spotting a middle-aged man in a tuxedo, tapping the counter. He got up, the desk chair wincing and took a small key from the numerous ones hung up the wall.

“Here.” His steady voice announced nothing but absolute boredom.

“Thank you. Good night.” He smelled like cheap alcohol and not so performant sex, and Mark chuckled.

At some point, even tacky sex would be better than his life choices. The young man entered the small office and resumed to his previous activities. Oh, yes, Frasier.

There was a time when he refused to believe he was actually the owner of such a place. It’s not like he had a choice. His father was retired and too tired to take care of the hotel, and his mother never really cared about the place anyways. The two were now enjoying a good holyday, while he had to keep the place, like the dog he was.

Mark was barely 25. After thinking about career goals for a couple of years, he decided nothing was fit for him, claiming he had a family business to take over. It looked classy, and mostly cool, thinking about being his own boss.

The thing is that a lot of things can only be done by the boss, unless they want to pay for somebody to do it for them. Hiring more people meant earning time to enjoy life, but it also meant less money. Mark had then opted for a life at work with money, just like his dad had done.

The hotel was welcoming, except for the old furniture and way too plain decoration. It wasn’t a big one, but it was often full due to its closeness to downtown. Mark had tried changing stuff, but gave up when his father told him people only needed bed to rest, and not paintings and vases. He had a couple of employees, but the night shifts were left empty when the old man occupying the post retired: his father. He was a night owl, a damn old man staying up, probably watching Frasier without giving a single shit about life.

But Mark was giving way too many shits right now. He was plain bored, annoyed, frustrated and whatever was enough to express his unkind feelings.

One of the small red light on the wall biped and he felt torn. Being bored was a thing, but being disturbed at 3a.m. by room number 303 was something else. It was rare to be called at such late hours. He closed the little office’s door and made his way up, sighing when his eyes met the ugly green carpet covering the stairs.

Room 303 was a room rented under a society called A.G.Net and he knocked on the door, hoping he won’t walk in on people having sex, like it happened way too many times in his thrilling existence.

“I’m coming!” The voice was feminine and slightly tired, and a young woman in a dark blue pajama opened the door, leaving some room for Mark to enter. She looked barely older than him, and her glasses were giving adult vibes over the thin features, like a final touch to a naked cake.

“How can I help you?” He tried hiding the too interested tone in his voice and the woman raised a hand, showing the toilets.

“See for yourself.” She spoke and if it weren’t for her soft voice, Mark would have already turned away to finish his dear episode of Frasier. He casually entered the white tiled room and he couldn’t miss it.

Not when water was almost dripping from the toilet. His eyes closed and he suppressed a sigh.

“It’s clogged.” Her tone was icy.

He snorted.

“I figured this much.”

The woman looked falsely offended, and Mark got out of the room, in silence. He took his heavy keychain and opened the nearest maintenance closet, looking for a plunger. He was no professional in emptying pipes, but he could try. It’s not like he was the owner of the place and she was paying for a service she wasn’t enjoying, anyways.

“Does it happen often?” he tilted his body above the offensive toilet and started pushing the plunger in, when the woman spoke, tone merciless.

“No, not really.” He felt hair falling over his face, but he knew better than put a soiled hand on it.

“Also…” Her tone was more quiet and he coughed at the sudden smell of sewer, his hand creating deceptive sounds in the room. He stopped to look at her when he heard nothing more. She was trotting about, hands in front of her and eyebrows creased.

“I really…need to use the toilet.” She whispered, ashamed. Mark tilted his hand and almost let the plastic tool fall fully into the toilet, before regaining composure. It was funny how her whole appearance was driving him in, slowly.

“Well, I do have toilets in my office. Sounds good?” She nodded and he put the plunger down.

She followed his steps, whimpering from time to time “Do you think it’ll be okay by tomorrow? I don’t want my stuff flooded in drain water.” He walked faster.

“I don’t know.” He faked a polite tone “I’ll call a plumber first thing in the morning.”

The girl scoffed again and he stopped, her body almost bumping

She looked outraged “But, what if I need to use it again later?”

Mark rolled his eyes. What’s wrong with girls and their bladder?

“Well, no plumber will move at this hour. I have nothing better than this” He pointed his own toilets.

“God…I hope your manager will compensate my company for the trouble. I’m paying a lot already.” She breathed, annoyed by the situation.

This hotel was the cheapest for a whole week stay. She was supposed to sell her new software on computing servers, and she absolutely needed to get funds or her small investment would go to waste, just like her own career.

She should have taken over her parent’s chicken restaurant. Chicken doesn’t require sleepless nights in front of a computer and useless journeys around the country, like the hopeless fool she was.

Mark leaned against the wall “My manager can’t be responsible for a clogged toilet. Plus, he is currently providing commodities. I’m not sure he knows how much the toilet is worth in the total bill for a whole room.”

She hated his arrogant tone “He sure doesn’t know how you talk to your clients…” she spat.

Mark smirked, slowly “Oh believe me, he does.”

She opened the door, a look of defiance painting her delicate traits, and entered the immaculate and not clogged toilet.

Mark whistled slowly, waiting for the girl to finish and straightened himself as soon as she was finished.

The silence was awkward –at least, for him- and her feet made puffy sounds as she was heading back to her room in her fluffy slippers.

He laughed. 

——————————————————————————————-

“We got a complain” He heard when he came back the following night. His receptionist gave him a small note, neat and threatening.

Tonight was hell. The employee I talked to yesterday lacks common sense and respect. Also, the toilet was clogged.

His employee made a face.

“I think she is talking about you.”

Mark nodded, eyeing the note with mischief. “I lack common sense? Respect? I should have let her jump around with a full bladder or even pee in the bathtub.” He mused, not really annoyed by the small attack.

“This is why you should come dressed in a more suited attire. People would take you seriously, at least.” The old man was slowly scolding him, his finger waving toward his beige hoodie.

“Why should I wear a tuxedo when I’m working from 7pm to 7am? I’m not going to a banquet.”

The old man crossed his arms for a minute, before opening the office’s door.

“Yeah well…have a good night, boss.”

Mark waved.

——————————————————————————————-

French fries were the best night snacks. It was greasy, tasty and fabulous Mark thought, stuffing his mouth while playing on his phone. The night was quiet, just like his office, except from the noise coming from the device in his hands.

This wasn’t the busiest moment of the year, yet the hotel was full. He had a couple of reservations when he arrived and he was thankful not having to accept more people tonight.

He saw something move on the monitor and tore his eyes from his phone.

The girl from yesterday was standing there, waiting for him to give her the room’s keys. Mark was a bit too fast reaching for it and going out of the room to meet her bored face.

“Key?” She said, annoyed.

His expression went from excited to jaded. “Good evening to you too…number 303.” He didn’t put the key on the counter and her neat nails started tapping against it, impatient.

“Room 303, how considerate. I sent a note talking about how well treated customers are, with you.” She breathed, proud.

Mark nodded, brow raised. Oh she was even going to brag about it? “I know. You almost got me fired here…”.

Her expression instantly changed from annoyed to worried, but she kept her cool.

“Well…I wasn’t trying to…I mean I thought…You didn’t get fired, right?” She asked.

Mark smiled and she did her best keeping a straight face “Well, considering I’m still here, no I was not.”

“Oh then…good. I mean, anyways. Can I have my keys?” She insisted and he looked at it, in the palm of his hand.

“Sure. Here you go.”

She took it fast and this time, it was her heels echoing in the large hall.

He didn’t see her hidden smile.

——————————————————————————————-

Their third meeting was unusual. Mark was falling asleep on his office when he heard noises coming from the monitor. Most of the times, it was empty from 2 am to 6am but it was now 4 and somebody was going to wake him up for a bloody key, on a bloody Wednesday night.

He spotted the girl, along with a guy.

Mark took her key room and got out. She was barely standing up, her arm gripping the counter.

“Receptionist!” She giggled. “Keyyyys!” A wobbly hand raised toward him and Mark made a face, surprised by her drunken state.

“Here you go.” He said and put it directly in her hand. The man was holding her and he smirked at him.

“And… your room is…?” Mark asked the man who slowly blinked, before shaking his head.

“Same room!” The girl added and Mark shook his head.

He had been the witness of many one night stands. Saturday nights were hell because of that, and he couldn’t count the number of times he saw ‘couples’ enter his hotel to have a hot steamy night, before parting the day after, like it was nothing.

Once, he even saw a man run away, naked.

He shivered at the thought and she was already heading toward her room, while the man was holding her by the waist.

Before he could even think, his voice already echoed in the hall “Room 303!” He said, before the girl turned around, pissed.

“Whaaaat?” She almost fell and laugh when the man’s arm wrapped itself around her neck.

“Call…if the toilet is clogged again.” He finished. It was lame, very lame. Considering her state, how on earth could she understand the hidden message behind this? Also, why would she need him? She looked under good care.

Yet, she didn’t look like a girl who’d do it. A drunk woman was trouble, this he knew, but a drunk woman in a hotel with what seemed like a stranger was even worse.

The world was crazy and dangerous, even more for reckless girls away from their home for business.

She nodded, eyebrows raised and waved at him sweetly.

Mark went back to his office, already feeling restless.

——————————————————————————————-

“Psychiatrists are crazy people” Mark said to himself, his mind focused on another episode of Frasier. He was glancing from time to time on the wall, but she really wasn’t calling.

Maybe she was having a good time.

He sighed and started heading toward the little office lounge to grab some food. From what he remembered, there were croissant hidden somewhere for the customer’s breakfast.

He came back, mouth full when he noticed it.

The little red light from Room 303 was shining brightly.

Mark threw the croissant on his office and knocked his knee on the door while heading out, cursing the entire hearth while running up the stairs.

Wait, why was he so fast suddenly?

Mark knocked on the door, hands moist and head heavy with different scenarios.

“Coming!” He heard her voice and wondered if the toilet was not really clogged.

Her face appeared and her brows were creased, like her head was hurting. The man looked surprised, on the bed.

“Is there anything I can help with?” He felt triumphant. They were both still dressed.

“The…toilet.” She breathed, the smell of alcohol strong from her mouth.

He almost fled to the toilet and opened the door, followed by an anxious customer.

The toilet was clean as a whistle. Mark’s face turned toward her, then at the man on the bed and he saw her make a face, pleading.

Please…take him out. He could read and lifted a brow. Maybe he should let her handle this, just to make her pay for the way she treated him.

Or maybe not, he was way too pleased by the situation to do so.

“Oh..oh! This is bad! I have to call a plumber. RIGH NOW. Ha ha.” He acted poorly and the girl rolled her glossy eyes.

The man got up and Mark hurriedly closed the bathroom’s door, smiling.

Her drunken state noticed immediately how white and shiny his teeth were. Just like his smile.

“Isn’t there another available room?” The man was frustrated.

“Sorry, we’re full.” Mark emphasized the last word, enjoying this way too much.

“Damn it. I shouldn’t have picked you.” The man got up, his black jacket already in his hands and decided not to lose any more time with these two weird people.

“Oh god…I thought I’d never see the end of this…” The girl’s hand went to her face, rubbing it slowly.

Mark shrugged, hands going into his jean’s back pockets.

“This is counted as an extra service, but considering we treated you so badly and got you a dysfunctional toilet, I won’t peep a word to my manager and take it as a compensation.” He said, voice mocking and she raised her head, shocked.

“Excuse me?” Was this guy for real?

“Yes?” His innocent eyes looked at her, and she knew he had win.

“You shouldn’t talk like this to your customers!”

“Just say thank you and sleep, will you? You’re still drunk, number 303.” He added, tapping her shoulder and heading toward the door.

The girl scoffed, not believing it and looked at his back.

She hated how he was making her go weak on her knees.

Mark went back to his office, his smile not leaving his lips until he was able to reach home and crash like a bad of sand, exhausted.

——————————————————————————————-

“Here’s another note for you.” The receptionist said when Mark arrived the day after. He let his backpack fall on the floor and took the envelop.

I take back what I said. The services are okay. Thank you.

Mark smiled so wide his jaw hurt.

“What did you do now?” The old man asked, arms crossed over his chest.

“Nothing. I helped, like I always do.” He fakes innocence and the old man laughed.

“It’s a pretty girl, I saw her. She looked shameful.”

“She better be. Disturbing me in the middle of the night for a non-clogged toilet.” Mark smiled, putting the note into his pocket.

The receptionist was lost “I don’t understand, but then again, what’s the point with you. You have to wake up room 309 and room 310 at 6. I called a taxi for them. Don’t forget.” He concluded before waving.

Mark was walking on clouds.

——————————————————————————————-

He didn’t except to see her the same night, waiting for her key. He pressed pause in the middle of a Mario Kart heated race and headed out, her keys in his hands.

She was quiet “Key please.” Like a pouting child.

“Alone tonight?” He asked and she nodded, avoiding his gaze.

“Yes. You got the note I suppose. I won’t say it again.” She mumbled.

“I did. My boss was happy with me, thank you.” Mark leaned against the counter, playing with her keys.

“Good…then…I’ll head to bed.” She said and her stomach made weird noises. With such a shitty day, she had forgot to eat and was now regretting a lot of life choices.

So Mark decided to push his luck, just for tonight.

“I’m about to order some food, wanna join?” He proposed and the girl gulped, before shaking her head.

“I’m full.” Her stomach rumbled once more and he smiled, nodding.

“Full…yeah. I’ll just order pizza, it can’t be that bad hanging around with an arrogant receptionist.” His eyes searched hers and saw the tiny hint of a smile, which he gladly returned.

She was capable of acting shy, it seemed. And quite well, on top of that.

The young client saw him rush inside, and a couple of minutes later, a faint “Peperoni or Veggie, room 303?” made its way to her ears, from the dim room.

“My name’s not Room 303! And I want peperoni!” She barked, her thin fingers brushing rebellious strands of hair.

“Aye, ma’dam.”

PART II

#g7network #mark #mark tuan #mark tuan scenarios #mark tuan scenario #got7 mark #got7 mark tuan #got7 scenarios #got7 scenario #mark tuan imagines #mark tuan x reader #mark tuan fluff #got7 tuan mark #got7 #got7 fanfic #got7 fanfiction #got7 fic #mark tuan fanfic #mark tuan fanfiction

[colorofyourhair]

Civic Duty

Prompt:

Prompt Rating: T

Note: Requests are currently closed. I will make a post with guidelines when they are open again. As tumblr is the only site that will let me list an individual rating per chapter I’ll rate them as content demands. However the larger compilation on both FFN and AO3 are rated M.

Also posted here:

FFN

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She positioned her coffee cup as far away from her laptop as possible. Experience had taught her that lesson the hard way. Erza bit into her croissant and instantly wished she'd went with chocolate instead of plain. She opened the network's front page while brushing pastry flakes from her shirt. The bolded headline nearly made her choke.

E.N.N. CEO HAS PRIVATE DINNER WITH SENIOR COUNCIL MEMBER.

With a fifteen hundred jewel bar tab citizens can rest assured their tax dollars are well spent on burying murdered intern sex scandal!!

Erza glanced around the newsroom before taking another bite of her breakfast to hide her smirk. The headline may be sensationalist but it wasn't exactly untrue. For the last week, the news manager had been under increasing pressure to make the reports of Gran Doma's affair with a recently found dead intern go away. For his part, the news manager resisted but if the CEO had been bought and paid for, the story would very likely get buried.

Private dinners and money changing hands couldn't bury the growing public dislike of Gran Doma and his brand of authority, though. He'd filled the Council with cronies and government agencies with family members. Erza found it to be the worst kind of nepotism. She didn't doubt he had the reach to have an intern who'd become a problem murdered without ever getting his hands dirty. So far, though, solid proof of both the affair and involvement with her death had remained elusive.

“Wow, Erza,” Lucy said from behind her. “Looks like your hacker struck again.”

“It's not my hacker.” Erza muttered, stuffing the rest of her croissant into her mouth.

“It's your thing, though,” Lucy teased. “I'd love to know who he is. Got any leads for me?”

“There's no way of guessing who they are, and no I don't. I just fix the site when it happens and that's all.”

“Sure thing, Erza. You'd let me know if you knew anything, though, right?” Lucy leaned against the edge of Erza's desk. “You wouldn't give the lead to anyone else?”

Erza sighed. “Of course, Lucy. I'd give it all to you over any one of these testosterone slinging idiots any day of the week.”

“I'm just sick of the fluff pieces, you know? I want something juicy.”

“Trust me, I get it. I'd love to stick it to all the mansplainers in IT, too.”

“At least you were promoted out of The Dungeon.”

Erza nodded as her eyes began to scroll through the lines of code. The hacker had been clever this time and her eye twitched. Lucy was still talking.

“Though, you were probably the only reason the bottom floor smelled like anything other than scorched coffee and Axe Body Spray.” Erza half-laughed at Lucy's joke but her fingers were already clicking away. “Ooh, is that Makarov over there?”

Erza jolted and her eyes frantically swept the room. She didn't need the news manager over her shoulder – not that he could've seen over her shoulder anyway.

“I'm kidding,” Lucy said, nudging her shoulder. “You need to lighten up. You've been jumpy all week. Don't tell me this hacker is getting to you?”

“Not at all,” Erza muttered, glancing around the newsroom again. “Listen, I have to go fix that snag in the office chat boxes. Want to have lunch together?”

“I'm meeting Natsu. He's got a nightshift this week and I won't see him as much. Maybe tomorrow?”

“I understand about the nightshift. Jellal's been on the ER graveyard for what feels a month.” Erza stood and closed her laptop. She would leave it behind but definitely not open for prying eyes.

“I'll see you, then.” Lucy smiled and wove her way through the maze of desks.

The Dungeon was a term used to describe the rooms of servers and Tetris-like layout of cubicles used by the IT department. Erza used to have one such cubicle until earning a promotion to the newsroom floor where she personally managed the layout of the Era News Network's front page and oversaw bug reports that were sent to the IT group in The Dungeon. Most of the time her stress level was pretty low and that was mostly due to her new desk location. Despite her expertise and time with the network, certain male employees still failed to recognize her seniority.

Erza stopped next to Hibiki's cubical and he grinned up at her in a way that might have perhaps charmed someone who didn't know him as well. He was flirtatious in a mostly self-aware way.

“And what can I do for you today, Miss Scarlet?” Hibiki asked leaning back in his chair and linking his hands together.

“Can you handle the chat situation for me, please? It should be a simple fix, I just don't have the patience today.”

“Sure, it would be my pleasure, ma'am.” He suddenly sat up and grinned. “You've seen the front page, right? I bet they're having a shit fit upstairs.”

“I fixed the CEO headline but he fucked with the code this time. I have to go through and –” Erza sighed and flicked the fringe of hair from her face. “Anyway. If you can handle that, I'd love it.”

“No problem.” Hibiki's phone chimed and he nodded subtly to the elevator. “Ichiya's on his way.”

“Thanks, Hibiki. I owe you one.” Erza navigated the cubicles – shooting a sharp eye at Ren who wasn't even trying to hide the game on his phone – and quickly slipped through the door leading to the stairs. Avoiding Ichiya would be the pinnacle of her day.

Erza kicked off her shoes and gave Pantherlily a pat on his furry head before shedding her skirt and shirt on a bee-line for the bed. The sheets were still rumpled and a light steam rolled from the cracked bathroom door. Just before closing her eyes, Erza saw Jellal's open laptop on the edge of the desk. She rolled her eyes and pulled a pillow over her head.

A slice of periwinkle blue blocked her view and the smell of his soap filled the room. Erza tossed the pillow vaguely in his direction before rolling over to her back.

“Aw come on,” Jellal said softly. “It could've been worse.”

“I suppose I should thank you,” she sighed. “It got me out of spending my afternoon fixing a stupid chat bug.” Jellal laughed and stretched out in the bed beside her. His clean scrub top was still folded on top of the chest of drawers and the sleeves of his white undershirt hugged his biceps.

“Anything but a chat bug,” he joked, slapping hand over his heart. “The horror!” His dimpled grin faded. “You're wasted in that office, Erza.”

“I know,” she whispered touching his cheek with her fingertips.

“Am I making it worse?”

“You're doing the public a service.”

“Maybe it's selfish but I won't do it at the cost of your stress level or job.” Jellal settled onto the sheets next to her and Erza rolled to face him. She leaned in to kiss the corner of his mouth softly.

“I'll survive. I look like a hero every time I fix it. As long as you use the backdoor I gave you, it's untraceable.” Erza swiped the remnants of her lip balm from his cheek with her thumb. “I'm more worried about you and your source.” She ran her fingers through his damp hair. “Are you sure this is safe?”

“As safe as I can make it, Erza. He's a cop and if Gran Doma's tentacles are worming around in law enforcement as well as the private sector and media, we're all fucked.”

“The sex scandal headline you put up this morning had over three thousand clicks before I took it down and the front page itself cracked ten.”

“Good.” Jellal's phone alarm shattered the quiet of the moment and Pantherlily perched on the edge of the mattress. He reached behind himself to grab the phone and silence the alarm. “I work until three this morning. I went shopping so there's plenty of stuff for dinner.”

“Oh, thank you. I'm so tired I was prepared to eat dry cereal.” Jellal laughed and leaned over to kiss her before standing and pulling on his scrub top. She blew him one last kiss as he gave Pantherlily a goodbye scratch behind the ears. Once the front door of their apartment shut and she heard the deadbolt latch, she pulled the cat onto her chest. He settled into a bun and purred loudly.

Erza woke to a gentle shake of her shoulder. Jellal plugged what looked like a flash drive into his laptop. She sat up and ran a hand through her hair.

“What's –” her words were cut off by a yawn. “What's going on?”

“This is a bunch of raw files from the EPD server. My source left it for me. You're going to want to have a look at this.” Jellal slid his laptop over to her. Erza's eyes widened as she flipped through the document previews.

“Wow,” she muttered. “This is – this is pretty damning.”

“Erza we're looking at original documentation of the body and the autopsy. This is ugly.”

“It looks like I'll have a story for Lucy after all.” Erza reached for her phone. Hopefully Lucy would be awake and ready for a bombshell.

#Fairy Tail #Jerza #Jellal Fernandes #Erza Scarlet #Prompt Requests