#BUT i have some pretty air plants on the waaaaay!

[lovecolibri]

Me: it's probably just the executive dysfunction that makes everything hard. Otherwise things are great!

Also me: *the weather warms up and I spend a few days outside in the sun and salt water* Oh hey! I feel like painting again! Let me look up that flamingo one I want to do for my office! Oh hey! I ordered all the baby shower favors for my SIL! Oh hey! I want to get some air pants again! Let me pick out some that will go with the shells I have so I can make some crafts! Oh hey! Let me go on pinterest and pin 30 new seashell craft ideas! Oh hey! I got my laundry from the last three weeks laid out, folded, and put away or hung up with no issues! Oh hey! I want to crochet again! Let me start a baby blanket for my nephew that's on the way!

Oh. Huh. Maaaaaaybe it was the *depression* on top of the executive dysfunction? Maaaaaybe I have been fighting for my life to eek out enough brain chemicals to bare minimum function to keep my job and nothing else? Who would have guessed? Certainly not me who has this happen every year and worse since the pandemic! 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

[shtern-and-art]

"Skeppy will probably cry" "Bad will probably cry". Bish, screw, that I am crying!!!

This whole thing was bloody gorgeous and I wasn't expecting that ending. I had no clue what ending to expect but that was definitely better than any I could have hoped for. Forest spirit to soulmate your honour!

I was terrified that you were gonna leave it at the point where he loses the spirit and becomes mortal again. If you had I would be actively sobbing!!!! And oh my god, the art!!! I still can't get over how wonderful your style is.

Imma ask fun things because if I don't I'll sit in a puddle of emotion all night:

What's the first tech thing Bad will buy and how annoying will he be about it? Poor Skeppy trying to answer 101 questions about something he doesn't really use XD.

Is no one concerned that the odd couple from a town they never name has a pet wolf??

Do they immediately go over to a different town or do they wander for a while. Find hidden creeks and befriend bears?

Does Bad still have a connection to nature and animals, like are creatures naturally more trusting of him?

Do they ever visit the og town again?

Does Skeppy still cause absolute chaos in other towns or has he learnt his lesson and only causes minor trouble now?

Does Bad ever try and study again? If he did what would he study and would Skeppy try to study as well?

Does Skeppy steal? I dunno, he just give off the vibe of a naughty lil trickster who'll pocket something if the owner refuses to sell it him.

Immediately after leaving the forest what the first 'argument' they have (not including the car one)?

Would they ever ride horse? If yes, how terrified would Skeppy be?

Skeppy falls outta tree. I don't know why but my mind keeps telling me that this man has great balance until he climbs trees. They are his mortal enemy and Bad finds this both hilarious and terrifying because he is going to hurt himself.

I had waaaaay more questions than I intended to have. My bad '^_^ but this story was way too much fun to read and you are entirely to blame for making it so engaging!

Make sure to take care of yourself and do stretches after and during drawing. You don't wanna hurt yourself <3

AaaaI’m so glad you liked it! :D And, dang, man, I cried while writing that part too :D

And I promised a nice ending for the main story, I did, and this one also makes the most sense narratively! For the story I wanted to tell, at least. Bad can’t really become human again, he’s changed to much. He can only move on, and do something with what he is, and has. And he did! :D That’s really nice and inspiring, this story will always have a place in my heart, heheh <3

Being a guardian spirit connected to a person and all, Bad may be not as strong as before, but he can’t die unless Skeppy dies first. And Skeppy can do that, but he’s pretty sturdy, and his lifespan operates on a whole other scale than human ones. And Bad knowing Skeppy’s real name balances it all out, makes them equal in the power and influence they have over each other.

So hellyeah, soulmates for the win :DDD

I’ll answer all questions under the cut, and this close up from one of the pages!

1) What's the first tech thing Bad will buy and how annoying will he be about it?

Probably a pager! Because it’s a more feasible thing to get than a wholeass computer Bad actually wanted :D An it means Skeppy will have to get one too, and that Bad will be having the time of his life texting him and everyone he can get a number from, even if they’re still in the room with him.

Poor Skeppy indeed, he can learn to appreciate the pagers, and later phones, too, and computers, but he really has 0 idea on how it all works and why Bad is so fascinated by it all.

2) Rat and regular people

Oh, she can shapeshift, just like Bad! If they’re out with people around, she takes form of a puppy, and Bad can pass her off as a weird mix breed rescue doggo.

3) Do they immediately go over to a different town or do they wander for a while?

Oh, since they have no end destination in mind, they can ride around for a bit, go visit some cool places and roadside attractions. Sadly, Skeppy is probably not spiritually or morally ready to full on befriend wild bears yet, and they do need money for gas and snacks. So, at some point they will have to stop somewhere and find work – at least for a bit, to save up. Life’s gonna be a bit complicated with all that, until Skeppy figures out his treasure-finding abilities :DD

4) Bad and nature and animals

He is definitely still in tune with all wildlife! Even more – Bad could become a proper guardian spirit for Skeppy in part because, in a way, Skeppy himself is part of the nature.

So yeah, Bad can understand animals (and plants) and communicate with them; they’re just more free to not take his shit, and Bad’s emotions do not “possess” them unless he makes an effort to do so.

He doesn’t like doing it, tho.

5) Do they ever visit the og town again?

Hm, I think they will completely forget about it for a while, until, like, 30+ years later they will be going somewhere, and find themselves around those parts. And they try to not appear too often in the areas they’ve spent a lot of time in already (they can be pretty recognizable, and also barely show signs of aging). But it’s been a long time, and the town’s really different now… So they make a stop, and spend a day there. They walk the unfamiliar streets between the new buildings, check out the popular hiking trail, the advertisements for hot springs and winter activities. The old cinema is still there, and is hosting an all-night marathon of classic horror movies of the last century.

Bad and Skeppy leave the town after sunset – the day was nice, but they have nothing more to do there. They ride through the forest on a well paved road, with radio playing something barely above the whisper. And in the dark of hot summer night, Bad can see the white stag running between the trees alongside their car. Shadows dance over the shimmering light of it’s fur.

Somewhere after the towns border, the stag disappears back in the forest. But the air in the car stays light and fresh, saving the smell of old pines and dry leaves all though the night.

6) Skeppy and chaos

Well, after the whole mess in the main story, Skeppy definitely learned some lessons, especially about not being a dick :D

But the thing is – he can’t really help the fact that things tend to stir up around him a lot. He naturally brings in chaos into everything, because he is, in part, a personification, or an outlet for it in the world. And so, to feel, well and good, and himself Skeppy gotta do stuff that disrupts balance, and creates some mayhem. And in gave him a lot of trouble in early life, but in the course of the main story he learned that he can chose were he lets that chaos to take hold, learned what can come of that chaos, apart from utter misery.

Like, where it can help dismantle something destructive, and where – bring in the more positive change, that was already brewing, possible, but is stagnant for some reason.

Soooo, I can’t say Skeppy causes only minor chaos in his life, but he sure learns even more about not being a dick :DDDD

7) The studying

I think Bad will want to get a higher education at some point, because he wanted to, and because it’s already new millennia and all that. Bet he’ll go for something very technical and/or literature. Maybe he’ll start by piking up some classes in small time colleges, when they stop in one place for a while, and later get into an online program, because why not.

Skeppy is not a college guy at all. He’ll listen to Bad talk about it, read textbooks if he wants to, can research stuff, buuut going to classes and doing homework is definitely not his thing.

8) Stealing

Well, you’re right, Skeppy can and will steal stuff out of spite! And will be scolded by Bad for it, and will not feel (that) sorry about it. But real stealer between them will be Bad himself :D

It’s just… he has the corvid tendencies, and a hoard (a box) of sentimental mementos from different people and events, and the thrill of stealing something small and harmless is very exciting. Bad is very proud of his little collection. Skeppy finds it very adorable, a bit hypocritical, and kinda creepy. Like, that pretty box he gifted Bad at some point is now full of stuff like:

- pressed flower from the clearing they had a picnic at on their anniversary

- the button the waitress lost that one day the storm caused a black out in the whole town

- some small animal bones

- couple pretty rocks Bad stole from Skeppy’s pockets

- penny that was once glued to the ground

- a handful of teeth people (and not people) lost in fights with Bad

- pen from some fancy hotel

- rainbow dash keychain that belonged to a child

- the list goes on

9) Argument

Oh, that same day they’ll fight over whether they should stay at the really crappy and suspicious looking motel, or go sleep in a perfectly fine forest near the road. Ironically, Bad wanted to try out the motel (because, yay, first time spending the night back in civilization), and Skeppy was the one insisting on sleeping in nature (because the motel looks like it could give you 10 diseases if you even stand near it, and sleeping in the forest is kind of nice, and means they can cuddle).

10) Horses

The guys will probably ride them at some point. Well, Bad will ride, and Skeppy will sit on his horse and hope it knows what to do and where to go, because trying to make this giant thing do something seems dangerous. If they’ll have to actually go somewhere fast, Skeppy will not survive that day, his butt (and legs) will be dead for days to come.

And riding with Bad on one horse may sound romantic and nice, but all romance dies when the gallop starts.

F.

11) Skeppy and climbing

Skeppy is more down to earth kind of guy, more of a “rocks and caves” kind of creature, real-life lizard person or something. Up on the trees and in the air – not really his element, yeah. But it doesn’t mean that Skeppy will accept this fact easy. The embarrassment of never managing to safely make it down a tree is too strong, he just has to do it all over again, and again. And again. Because, clearly, he was distracted this time. And the time before that Bad was teasing him, and it “disrupted his flow”. And, really, maybe these trees here just do not like Skeppy much, and make him slip a lot. Yeah.

So, more often than not, if Skeppy climbs a tree, he will not stop climbing it until he falls, or the tree ends. Bad had to take him off high branches couple times, forcefully, because, of course, Skeppy was sitting there for 2 hours just to properly enjoy the sunset. He can climb down at any point, he just Choses not to. The view is amazing. The bark is literally part of his skin now, not because he holds on tight, no, he’s just Than Much one with the nature )<

---

Don’t apologize for the questions! It’s always so fun to answer them, and it makes me think more about stuff I may have skipped, or didn’t think about before. It’s really nice :3c

Again, thank you for the ask, and for being here for this story! <3

(And I’ll try setting timers for rest breaks while I draw, mb that will help)

---

In The Dark - masterpost

[bread-elf]

DWC 2021 - Day 3

Compromised Chain of Dominion “Well this is embarrassing…” Jiroki muses out loud, staring down at the ground that’s yards away from her, feet dangling in the air. In the depths of a hot, nasty smelling cave that belongs to an Orge. A contract gone wrong and now compromised, the mission being to retrieve a magi’s staff that they use as a foci, which somehow got into the hands of said Orge, who Jiroki can see right now preparing a big pot of water. Though she doesn’t talk to herself. She speaks to the comrade she had brought along tied up and suspended with her, who is right behind her. “So…” Orinous Lovias, Silvermoon’s Shovel Knight, speaks up behind her. “I know before this you said you were a bit ‘out of shape’ since you haven’t been working for awhile. But this wasn't what I had in mind." The pair tied together back-to-back, another rope attached to their bondings that suspended them from the ceiling of the cave.

“Shut up!” Jiroki gives a deep growl over her shoulder, borderlining bestial despite being just a Kaldorei. Though she huffs a breath and looks around, eyes constantly scanning. “Just think of a way for us to get out of here; I’m open to ideas.” “Can’t you just use your fancy moves and summon your glaive? I’ve seen you do it.” Orinous suggests. “I need my hands free for that. If I were to do that now, it would get trapped between us, or in us.” “Ooh, right…” The Sin’dorei goes quiet, also scanning the area as well, his half he can see at the least. Facing more towards the Ogre than Jiroki, he can see the brutish beast going through ‘ingredients’. Different fungi and spoiled meats get tossed into the cauldron, and even a rock. “Elfie stew, elfie stew~” A single eye to match his single head, the Ogre has a sing-song attitude as he stews his cauldron, looking forward to a meal of stringy elven meat. The ingredients are mixed in, a fire roaring beneath, and he steps away to fish for something more. Amongst the tools and decor of the cave Orinous’ eyes glance around, and while the Ogre moves aside a few hanging items on the far side of the cave something glints. “Jiro! Jiro!” He quickly whispers, shifting his body some to get her attention. “I see it! The staff!” “What?! Where?!” She in turn tries to look, but can’t see from the current angle, trying to get them to turn a bit. The staff in question is hanging on the cave wall, alongside other different weapons and tools. The Ogre reaches for a huge mallet, pulling it off its hanger. Though he pauses at the staff, grasping hold of it. Taking the staff, he reaches it behind his back and begins to scratch himself, using it like a back scratcher. Some dirt and grime get scraped onto the staff in the process, the Ogre sighing in great relief. Once satisfied with his back he pulls the staff forward again, and starts to pick something out from his teeth. “Ew! That’s disgusting!” Jiroki hisses, looking away so she doesn’t have to burn her eyes with the sights of an Ogre just living his life. “Ooh, the contractor isn’t going to like that.” Orinous states, though he can’t help it as a small chuckle forces its way out of him. The staff is returned to its spot, and the Ogre begins to move away. “Glubglub out of leeches!” The Ogre’s voice booms out, looking over at his hanging prizes. “Stay put! Be back!” And then lumbers out of the cave, heavy footfalls shaking the ground until they become more and more distant. “We have to think of something fast-” Jiroki says, taking a look around near the ground for any ideas. Orinous ends up looking up at the rope bindings up ahead, seeing what it was attached to. The cave had many stalagmites and stalactites in it, though with the Ogre’s living area the stalagmites had been crushed. Though up above the stalactites remained, nooks and crannies hidden in between their formations, and a piece of wood had been wedged in there where their rope was tied too. But the wood already looked splintered and partially crushed, as if mishandled by very large burly hands. “Hey- start swinging!” Orinous says, then starts to use his legs to heave himself forward, trying to get his momentum going. “What- ow, hey!” Feeling bits of his armor poke and prod at her as he moves, though she starts to move her legs as well, using their length to her advantage to make their swings bigger and bigger. Her ears twitch as she hears the bit of wood start to creak in protest, and she tries to make them bigger all the way up until the wood snaps. Both suddenly plummet hard to the ground, weighted down by their armor. There’s little time for them to react, Jiroki trying to land on her feet, but she’s yanked by Orinous much heavier weight due to his plate armor, and a burst of white hot pain courses through their bodies on impact. “Sunwell’s Ass!” A curse slips out of the chivalrous knight, the two groaning in pain as they slump to their sides. Though both are well trained warriors, they keep their focus and start to make their way back up, at least to a sitting

position. “I don’t think that bastard brought my bow in here-” Jiroki says, having lost it in their initial capture, though something else catches her eye. “There’s a sharp blade hanging up there, we can use it to cut the rope.” Looking to where the Ogre’s tool rack rests, holding the staff as well. “Alright, stand on three?” Orinous suggests, and starts a countdown. Once on three they both move to get up, and at first it seems like it will work. But the Ogre had tied them with their heads in line, and they had almost forgotten their height difference. They stumble and Jiroki can’t stand straight, and in their haste they begin a squatted crab walk towards the rack. An old, Orcish made heavy blade is on the rack. “It’s too high!” Orinous looks up where the blade hangs waaaaay up high, an easy reach for an Ogre, but not so much for a pair of tied up elves. Jiroki grinds her jaw, thinks for a moment, then nods. “I have an idea.” Trying to force the pair to move, making them turn so Orinous is facing the rack. “I’ll lift, and you try to get it, ok?” “Wait, you’re going to lift- woah!” Orinous is taken by surprise as the Kaldorei woman suddenly leans forward, hoisting him up onto her back and lifting him off the ground. The tall woman puts her tall, strong legs to use as she straightens them, giving Orinous a bit more height. She steps backward, getting him close to the wall, and he plants his feet along the rock. “Dear Goddess, you’re heavy!” Jiroki wheezes. “I’m in plate armor!” Orinous counters back, though his feet start sliding up to reach up higher towards the blade. “But this is- wow, I’ve never been lifted up like this before!” He can’t help but give a little chuckle. “It’s actually pretty sexy-” “HURRY UP!” “Right, on it-” His feet point up, and he can touch the blade with them. But it’s hooked onto the rack, and he can’t pry it off. Resorting to kicks, he gives it multiple ones to try and knock it off, the blade clanking against his armor leggings numerous times, until his efforts are rewarded. The blade handle plucks off the rack, though falls towards them. “Ah-!” Orinous yelps at seeing it come down, though thankfully the side of the blade just bumps into him, and it clatters to the floor. Just in time too, because Jiroki’s knees give out, and she drops. Managing to turn a bit so the heavy plated elf doesn’t land flat on her, but he too is roughed up again as they both land hard on their sides. Light thumping is heard, steadily growing in sound and also felt in the ground, the Ogre making it’s return. The pair try to get up, but Orinous quickly scoots over and drags Jiroki along, getting closer to the blade to start cutting away at their binds. When the Ogre steps in, it only takes him a few seconds to realize his captured prey were on the ground. “Hey! Glubglub said stay put!” The Ogre drops a soaked sack, inside writhing with leeches, and he moves forward in just a few, quick steps that thunder against the ground. But the elves manage to free themselves, and they quickly bound in different directions to avoid the oncoming mallet that crashes on the floor where they just were. The ground splinters and cracks from the sheer force; if either were standing there they would have been pulverized. Freed from his bondings, Orinous seizes his shovel, brandishing it like he would a weapon. “You brute!” He declares. “Prepare for justice… Shovel justice!” And by sheer willpower his shovel flares to life, the power of the Holy Light coursing through it. “STEEL THY SHOVEL!!” The Ogre roars back in challenge, and charges the Shovel Knight. Orinous takes a few steps back to lead the Ogre in, and Glubglub raises his mallet high to crush the puny elf. But as the Ogre does, Orinous raises his shovel to deflect, and there’s a blaze of light as the Holy Light deflects the blow and protects the paladin. As the two face off with one another Jiroki looks up to the staff, their bounty. The Kaldorei has thousands upon thousands of years of climbing experience, and the jagged rock is nothing to her as she quickly climbs

up the wall, finding proper footing here and feeling for something to grab there. She makes it up towards the rack, and reaches over to grab hold of the staff. At her touch, for a brief moment the head piece sparks in reaction, and it draws the attention of the Ogre. “Glubglub’s back scratchy! No touchie!” The Shovel Knight is ignored as the Ogre begins to storm over towards the she-elf with booming steps. Jiroki bounds off the wall and lands on her feet nimbly, wielding the staff in both hands. Albeit untrained, she has her own magical properties, and concentrates to unleash a blast of arcane energy at the Ogre. And yet, being untrained, the blast goes completely awry. Staff pointed forward, the projectile rockets to the side instead, blasting into the rock and into random objects, and debris showers everywhere in the cave. Even Orinous has to shield himself from the sudden shower of debris, though something clatters near his feet. Taking a look down; it’s a old wooden shield! Round and beautiful, his heart almost skips a beat, but it gives him an idea. “Glubglub ANGRY!” The Ogre roars, trying to smash Jiroki with his mallet in multiple strikes. The Kaldorei uses her agility to dodge the strikes, but can only keep up for so long before stumbling, losing her footing because of the ground constantly shaking. She gasps as she looks up, seeing the mallet about to aim right at her. Shield in hand, Orinous preps it on his shoulder and begins to spin as if ready to play shotput, and then hurls the shield with all his might at the Ogre. Upon leaving his hand the shield flares with Light, just like his shovel, and it flies straight for the Ogres’ head. A bullseye is made, and the Ogre is stunned, stumbling forward and dropping his mallet. He roars in agony, but the stun gives Jiroki enough time to sprawl away before he flops forward. Even in heavy plate armor the Shovel Knight can run pretty fast, rushing to aid Jiroki and help her to stand. Pure instinct drives him to take her hand, and he pulls her along as the pair quickly escape the cave before the Ogre can regain his senses. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Once the pair exited the cave they were in the dry realm of the Blasted Lands, and Jiroki immediately leads them North, to the Swamp of Sorrows. There the swamps is familiar territory for her, the base of operations for her mercenaries the Greyshields. And so once they were out of the Blasted Lands and far from the reaches of Glubglub, they came to a halt on one of the paths in the swamp. “That could have gone a lot worse.” Orinous pants, losing his wind from running so much in heavy armor. Jiroki doesn’t fare much better either, bracing herself against a tree as they can finally catch their breath. “Ugh, that was terrible…” Staff in hand, they at least had got what they sought to do. She ends up slumping down against the tree, and Orinous soon follows to sit beside her. “We should uh- probably stick with sparring for a bit longer, before getting you back into the swing of things.” Orinous says, trying to sound light hearted, but gets a snarl in response. “Oh shut up.” Jiroki hisses back, frowning. But her expression isn’t just her typical frown, a mix of something else as well. Filled with shame, as she reaches up to rub her eyes, her elongated ears drooping a tad. “I don’t need your pity. I’ve turned so pathetic.” Orinous watches the prideful woman wallow in her shame. He tries to reassure her though, not wanting her upset. “So this is… Where your Greyshields are?” He asks, sounding curious as he glances around. His question makes her raise a brow, but it distracts her enough. “Yes… Well, over there.” Motioning with a free hand forward. “The other side of the swamp.” “Ah. It’s a, nice place…” He glances around at the swamp, not typically an area he’s familiar with. Though on the other side of him there’s a small patch of wildflowers, tiny petals but in full bloom. He takes one, then looks at her. “Hold still.” “Huh?” She glances at him and blinks as a hand comes up to

her face, but it’s only to brush aside some hair and to place the little flower delicately on one of her ears. “What- What are you doing?” “I saw a pretty flower, and thought it belonged to a pretty woman.” He gives her a charming smile, the chivalrous knight still trying to cheer her up. Then his hand comes down, placing it on top of hers. “You’re a very remarkable person, don’t feel too bad. Once you’re back on your feet, we can go back and really give it to him, what do you say?” A flush of dark purple blossoms on her cheeks from the sweet gesture. Her lips purse together as she glances down shyly, then looks off towards something unseen as she loses herself to her thoughts. Then, back to him. “Have you ever had sex on a ship?” Jiroki asks with no hesitation. Orinous is taken aback, not something he expected to hear so randomly! But he thinks for a moment, trying to recall his former career in the adult industries. “I once did a photoshoot on one, at the shore in Eversong.” He says. “It was some sort of parody off of pirates, harems and what not, big orgy. Er- why?” “Come on.” Jiroki moves to stand up, grasping hold of the staff. “We have a ship anchored over at Marshtide. We can take a rest in my office before heading back.” “Wait-” Now it’s Orinous time to blush, quickly scrambling up, even catching a second wind now that sex was the topic. “But- the mage is waiting for us!” “We got ‘tied up’ with the job, literally. He can wait, and I feel terrible at is. Just let me do something I’m decent at and I’ll feel better.” She takes hold of his hand, and starts to guide him down the path. Orinous is surprised by the sudden turn of events of the evening, but who is he to say no to a woman with a take-charge attitude? “Yes ma’am!” @daily-writing-challenge @orinous

[votederpycausemufins]

So, happy eggs benedict day to those who watch dsmp. I’m sure you’ll have fun today! I know I will when you all read this chapter and freak out at the end! also gonna apologize for the formatting. I wasn’t sure how to replicate what I did while writing it, so I’m doing that instead.

@petrichormeraki​

“Hey Tommy?” Phil took the teen over to the side, wanting to speak with him. “Since Grian is still talking with his admin-”

“He’s my admin too. You saw that the other me was in their world.”

“Right, fine. While he’s talking to your admin, I’ve got a question.”

“Alright, shoot.”

“When you were talking with that other you… D-Did Kristen show up?”

“Mumza? Uh, no. Why d’ya ask?”

“Well, I guess you wouldn’t know. She wasn’t really around when you were growing up. But she’s sort of… a goddess of death.”

Tommy’s eyes widened. “She’s what?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah, no. Mumza didn’t show up. You did. Or the other version of you. I guess you’re the death god there instead of her.”

“Right. Well, anything else happen, mate?”

“After the other you showed up, the other me got taken away by him and told me the thing to say to Xannes.”

“Alright. Thanks for telling me Tommy.”

“Theseus. Theeeeeeeseus. Theseus! Wake up!”

“Ugh… where am I?”

“Prison. Specifically Base Iridium.”

Theseus shook his head to wake himself up more. “Wait where the fuck am I?!”

“I just said you’re-”

“No what the fuck is this?!” Theseus shouted and tried moving around, only making the sound of chains jingling.

“Ohhhh, enchanted bedrock casket to make sure you can’t move. But hey, At least we get face holes. Aaaand you’re hyperventilating.”

“How do I get out?! Let me out!”

“If I knew how to get out, I would have aaaaaages ago and gone to see Sense!”

“W-Wait, S-Sense like the e-evil r-redstone guy?”

“Yes! With a wonderful mustache and sexy suit of his~”

“Oh eww gross. You’re just as bad as him.” Theseus cringed.

“How’s he doing?”

“Half starved to death and had his vocal cords ripped out.”

“He. What.”

“The new emperor of Helscraft or whatever did it. Kicked him off the throne and trapped him in whatever was there instead of the nether.”

“No! Now I need to get out!” Chain rattling filled the air.

“Uh hey, what’s your name by the way?”

There was a pause from the rattling. “Oh you heard I changed it? It’s Grifter now.”

“Uh, didn’t know you started with anything else.”

“Hiii Puffy! I’m baaack! Did you an’ Grum talk about stuff?” Jrum walked into Puffy’s home holding a lot of quartz in his arms. He knew he could just put it in his inventory, but this was more fun.

“Yes we did, though… well it was a little rough for him, so he’s... out building a place for you to stay near your charger until you can get home, alright?”

Jrum nodded, accepting the answer without question before setting his haul down on a table and picking up a piece quartz to chew on. “I made a new friend! His name is Michael!”

“Oh, that sounds nice.”

“Yeah! And then I went exploring and I found a big cave!”

“In the nether?” Puffy asked, only half paying attention right now while hoping Jrum would get distracted talking. She knew the bot’s brother wasn’t really out building after his panic attack, but duckling Dream had been kind and offered to help the child.

“It looked kinda like it, but no. It kinda looked like something Uncle Scar would make. It was pretty. He once built a humongous drill to get to the nether. A-And then some of the nether started climbing out, but the hole was waaaaay too big so it didn’t have any chance!”

“That sounds creative.”

“Yeah! He also made a magic village with a big magic crystal, and apparently it helps connect to the hels dimension, so I made a friend there!”

“What’s that?” Puffy asked with a tilt of her head. 

“Oh, the hels dimension is a place parallel to this dimension, but it’s not like another dimension like the overworld and the nether are different dimensions to themselves, hels is like… us, but through a mirror! A funhouse mirror! Like my daddy is really good at redstone like me, and he can get frazzled at times, but he’s really nice. But then there’s the hels version of him who’s like a big mean evil scientist!”

“Oh really. And I suppose you made friends with your hels version?” Puffy asked with a small smile, but Jrum frowned and found his antenna to tug on, squeezing the little blue ball at the end.

“Uh, no. Grum and I were built by our dads, but in hels, they got separated and so they couldn’t build us. So… we don’t have our own hels versions.”

Puffy frowned sadly. “Do you want to talk about that?

“Yeah. I’ve tried telling my dads, but they just sort of reassure me without really listening.”

Puffy got a chair set up for Jrum, ready for an impromptu therapy session which she hoped wouldn’t end as bad as the last one. “Now, what’s bothering you most?”

“Well, the fact that we don’t have our other versions kinda hurts because it sort of makes me feel like we’re less real. I know my dads say that we’re of course real, but it doesn’t hurt less because they just sort of say it and not give reasons. In fact, they sort of give us less reasons because they were really protective about us respawning since they didn’t know how that would work. I mean, I guess they had a reason to worry since Grum and me are here now, but the fact they couldn’t trust us with that kinda hurts.

“And then we need to be charged up as well as eat, but we don’t need to worry about phantoms. I guess it’s a trade off, but no one else has to deal with that! It feels weird! From what Xisuma said, he needed to mess with some files to get us read properly by all his admin stuff, and he didn’t need to do that for others sort of like us, so why are we different?!”

Puffy hugged Jrum to comfort the now crying robot. The small whispers of reassurance helped a little, telling him he really was a person and that he would be safe. Jrum was glad for them he didn’t like the mess he was in, and the fact that it came from not really being a person made it sting even worse. So he was very happy to find someone who would listen and understand.

System hard drive crash. Attempting recovery. Recovering… Recovering… 92% of data recovered. Rebooting… Rebooting… Essential data missing. Please insert external drive for troubleshooting.

External drive connected. Reading external data. 16 files located. Do you wish to replace data with files? Backing up old files. Backing up… Backing up… Data has been backed up. Replacing data. Replacing… Replacing… Replacement complete. Restarting. One moment.

Restart complete. Checking systems. 100% data found. Implementing… Implementing… Files implemented.

Are you sure you want to rename this machine? Renaming… Renaming… Renaming complete. Restart needed to fully implement. Restarting. One moment.

Welcome. Please continue with s s s set u u up. Ch ch choose a l l lan. :) 

Grumbot sat up with a start. He was pretty sure if he wasn’t a robot, he’d be breathing heavily. He put a hand to his head before looking around. It looked like he had been put in a room with a bed, but he didn’t recognize it, and no one else was there.

Grum tried to remember what happened. Had he run out of battery? Or had he gotten damaged. No, he had been trying to [: )] and it didn’t work out. He had also been with Puffy, so perhaps this was another room in her house. It wasn’t one he had seen before, but he also hadn’t really gone exploring.

Getting up from the bed and stretching, Grum decided to do just a little bit of looking around the room to make sure this really was Puffy’s place. He didn’t want to end up in someone else’s place and get in trouble. Though perhaps it was a similar situation to [: )] when they showed up on [: )].

That was another thing he almost forgot. Jrum. Was he okay? He didn’t know how long they had been separated and if it were long enough, he could have gotten in trouble. He had always taken after their [: )] and if the people here weren’t the happiest about stuff like that, it might not end well.

Well, as he looked around, the place seemed safe, and after carefully breaking a piece of the wall before putting it back, he was still at Puffy’s home. He attempted to contact Jrum, but it seemed that function wasn’t working. Possibly because they were no longer in [: )] and it was something there that allowed a direct connection between the two of them.

Grum’s eyes landed on a piece of paper he hadn’t noticed before. It seemed to be a note of sorts, so he read it. It seemed to be from the admin. He wrote how Puffy said Grum passed out and she went to check on Jrum to make sure the same didn’t happen to him. That if he would like, the admin could check him over and make sure everything was fine and there were no programming issues.

The robot rolled his eyes. He wouldn’t have any issues. [: )] and [: )] had built him just fine, Plus Jrum had gotten the two of them updates from [: )] so they were even better. There was no reason to see the admin, especially because…

Because…

Because why? This person was the admin, so he would just be making sure the server ran as smoothly as possible. He likely was just worried. That was all. What admin wouldn’t? And they hadn’t done anything to make Grum think otherwise. If they did, then maybe he would need to be wary. But so far, nothing. 

Puffy suggested they get a treat for Jrumbot to help him cheer up and Jrum wiped away his virtual tears before following her. As they left, neither of them noticed the small red plant wrapping around the antenna and connecting to the now red ball on the end of it.

“Ah ha. Nice joke Theseu- wait a second.” There was silence. “You’re not my brother.”

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[tanstar]

Rambling about RE2R and RE3R’s cut content part 1

Part 1: RE2R

So the original re2 is my favourite RE title. It introduced me to the series (I watched my dad play it) and it was the debut of my favourite RE character, Claire Redfield. So I was overjoyed when I learned it was getting remade. Now all I really wanted from this remake was a melding of the original scenarios to create the true canon storyline of re2 and some fun interactions between our characters and I thought that would be a given... So you can imagine my disappointment at what we got. I also love the original re3 and was looking forward to RE3R for similar reasons though I also wanted to see how they’d update Nemesis. Now I’m not saying either are bad games at all, I think both are worth experiencing and purchasing. I just want to air my grievances with both remakes and their cut content but I will also share what I did enjoy. 

Also want to say that I know these games are more like reimaginings or retellings but even from that perspective there’s still issues.

Spoilers ahead. 

Just a quick list of RE2R’s cut content:

No proper B scenarios that offer a cohesive narrative. A severe lack of notes/files/diaries for lore and worldbuiling. No zapping system. No bowgun. No explosive rounds for the grenade launcher. Robert Kendo’s death isn’t shown. Leon and Claire’s interactions are severely trimmed down. Marvins transformation cutscene isn’t shown. Two playable segments as Ada and Sherry (Sherry’s second playable segment maybe has the darkest scene in the game, as she collapses after falling down the trash disposal chute her mutated father lurches towards her, stands above her and we cut to black and shortly after this we learn from Annette that William is trying to find Sherry to implant his embryos in her). Multiple unique boss fights depending on scenario. Irons’s death is far more gruesome in both scenarios in og 2. Ben has far less screentime. No super lickers. No giant moth and it’s larvae. No spiders. No crows. Barely any music. No classic iconic lines (“You lose, big guy” etc). Plant 43 has lost it’s iconic yonic design in favour of looking like a rainforest or something. The ivy’s are now human plant hybrids instead of mutated plants. No super ivys. The alligator is now a RE6 style chase sequence instead of a boss fight. No factory. No marshalling yard. Birkin’s transformation by injecting himself with the g virus and the cause of the T virus outbreak are far more clear in the original. No street section for the opening of the B scenario and no cutscene or explanation for the helicopter crash. Leon no longer saves an infected Sherry from the sick room and brings her to the train. The train no longer self destructs and Sherry no longer saves the day by stopping the train.

That’s a lot of cuts right? Now of course not all of these cuts were bad decisions. While I like the crows for atmospheric purposes, i can understand their removal. Same with Kendo’s death and Marvin turning into a zombie, they wanted a different approach with these characters and I can accept that. Even the zapping system’s exclusion I can understand because although it was a cool little gameplay element that added to the cohesion of the overlapping story, it’s really not that neccessary. And the exclusion of iconic lines is understandable as I believe narrative should always take precedence over fanservice. 

I’m fine with content being cut as long as it’s in favour of the story or is replaced with something else. RE2R did neither of those things. RE3R gets a ton of shit for it’s cut content but RE2R not only did it first but also cut waaaaay more content than RE3R.

RE2R fucked up it's story bad. Og re2 has the strongest narrative of the ps1 trilogy imo with two separate scenarios per character that integrated into two strong narratives. The game throws you straight into the deep end as you navigate the city streets filled with zombies, you watch Kendo be eaten alive as the zombies break into his shop and finally you reach the RPD. And that’s only the A scenario, the B scenario has you witness the cause of the helicopter crash as you make it to the east side of the RPD. From the beginning the og re2 puts in the effort to tell the whole story of whatever scenario you choose. Like the remake there are certain story beats only one character will face, Claire is the only one to meet Irons and Sherry, Leon meets Ada and Ben( he does meet Sherry in the B scenario but we’ll get there). Also in the original due to Leon giving Claire a radio both characters are able to keep in contact and therefore keep each other up to date on their progress. 

So let’s talk a bout the marshalling yard and factory. The marshalling yard is one of my favourite locations in the original. Its atmospheric music, its industrial design and the iconic shot of the train on the turntable with the moon in the background. It’s so foreboding and it leads to an iconic fight with Birkin as you descend to the lab, while protecting either Ada or Sherry (and depending on which scenario you are playing his form will be different). The factory is a small but crucial area to the worldbuilding of og 2 (It’s a cover were Umbrella employees access the underground lab) whereas RE2R has... a sinkhole in the middle of the city. And it’s important in keeping a cohesive overlapping narrative as the reason our protagonists don’t encounter each other in the lab is because the B scenario character has access to the factory. It also contains two iconic scenes for the B scenarios for each character (it should be noted that in the og 2 Mr X is exclusive to the B scenarios). Claire saves Sherry from Mr X, taunts him and then tricks him into falling over the railing into a vat of what looks like molten iron, it’s so badass and it cemented Claire as my favourite character. In Leon’s scenario B Ada arrives to fend off Mr X and protect Leon, she succeeds and Mr X falls over the railing but in the process he nearly kills her, this leads to the kiss between Leon and Ada. No manipulation, just genuine affection for each other. In either B scenario the self destruct sequence is set off by MrX instead of it being exclusively Leons fault like in RE2R. And the factory is important as it gives access to the elevator for the B scenario character to escape to the train. The A and B scenario characters have different methods of escape that make more sense in the original and that comes down to the factory’s inclusion.

So now let’s talk about cut character interactions. In the original Marvin relays to the player the events of re1, I’m fine with this omission as it’s not super important to the overall narrative of re2. Claire and Leon can either reunite in the STARS office or the hallway behind the spade door (Leon also encounters Sherry here but she runs away). Regardless Claire finds out her brother isn’t in the city by reading his diary, Leon gives her a radio so they can stay in contact (which they do, throughout the entire game) and they split up, with Leon looking for an escape route and Claire looking for survivors. Claire’s encounter with chief Irons is very different. The mayor’s daughter’s dead body is sprawled over Irons’s desk as he talks about dealing with the undead and then brings up his hobby of... Taxidermy. It’s just very unsettling and what makes it worse is that earlier before you could access the room, you very clearly hear a woman scream. Once you head into the adjacent room Claire encounters Sherry and radios Leon to tell him. Sherry warns Claire of a monster that is chasing her and runs off again. When Claire returns to Irons’s office he is gone and so is the body of the mayor’s daughter. In Leon’s scenario he meets Ada in the parking lot and she tells him she is looking for her boyfriend John. Now for players who had played re1 this was a neat little reference that tied both games together. With Ada’s assistance Leon gains access to the Cells and meets Ben. Ben willingly locked himself in his cell for safety and won’t leave until Leon finds a way out unfortunately Ben is attacked and either implanted with a G embryo or fatally slashed by Birkin, however he was able to hand over his investigative notes on chief Irons’s corruption and involvement with Umbrella. Likewise when Claire encounters a now crazed irons in his torture chamber, he explains the G virus, Umbrella’s involvement and that Sherry is the daughter of the man responsible for the outbreak. Irons is then either killed from being cut in half by Birkin or from the G embryo. There’s just a lot more build up, subtlety and payoff in the original game that just feels rushed in RE2R and I don’t know why. 

Sherry and Claire’s relationship is portrayed pretty well in RE2R. Although their time spent together is severely cut short, like seriously they only know each other for a whole two minutes before Irons drags Sherry off to the orphanage. The original has Claire and Sherry interact way more, with Sherry travelling by your side through parts of the sewers and the entirety of the marshalling yard. Still a good portrayal overall though.

So we have to talk about Ada and Leon. In the original she is at first portrayed as aloof but eventually from her time spent with Leon, she shows her more vulnerable and genuinely caring side. She is a spy and secretly after the g virus but she also genuinely cares for Leon’s safety, almost dying in the B scenario as she protects him from Mr X. RE2R almost get’s this right. She is initially abrasive but warms up to Leon’s sincerity and kindness. The problem is she is far too manipulative. Their first kiss in og 2 only happens the B scenario and is 100% sincere, Ada might be dying from her wounds so it might be the only chance they get. The remake on the other hand comes across as really skeevy and manipulative. In og 2 when Ada confronts Leon on the bridge he doesn’t believe for a second that she’ll hurt him and he’s right, after she falls off the side of the bridge you can inspect her pistol and find out that it wasn’t even loaded! Also I find Leon to be just a bit too naive in RE2R, he acted like a police officer in the original but in the remake he feels more like a boyscout. I can see what they were going for with his arc for RE2R but is just misses the mark for me personally. Not to say he’s awful or anything, he’s still very likable just a bit of a let down in terms of how he’s used in the story. Namely that he really doesn’t get much to do. He saves Ada, sets off the self destruct sequence, kills Mr X with Ada’s help and gets forced to fight G3 by Annette. The most useful thing he does is willingly fight Birkin on the train in the 2nd run to protect Claire and Sherry. In the og 2 B scenario per Claire’s request via radio, Leon carries an infected Sherry to the train, activates the power and opens the gates, fights the super Tyrant and kills it with Ada’s help and then activates the train to finally escape the underground lab. Then he fights G5 Birkin, when they find out the train is going to self destruct he directs Sherry on how to stop the train and our trio are able to escape. The game then ends on Leon’s iconic line “ It’s up to us to take out umbrella.”

And that ending... Oh boy did it not land for me. It’s almost comical how chipper it is considering what’s to come for these characters. Our trio promises to stick together except canonically Claire heads off on her own like five minutes later because Leon knows if she gets taken in by the government it will hinder her quest to find her brother, so he tells her to leave while he looks after Sherry. So Claire leaves and we get the events for Code Veronica. And as for Leon and Sherry, we know from Darkside Chronicles that Leon was blackmailed into working for the government through threats of experimentation on Sherry. He agrees to work for them to protect her but guess what they still turn her into a test subject anyway! And re6 confirms that the experiments where more than Sherry could bare, as she herself tells Jake. Also the fact that Leon and Claire’s friendship never got any developement in RE2R really works against this ending imo. 

 So what did RE2R get right? Well it has enjoyable puzzles and the solution changes depending on what run you’re playing! While I do miss the soundtrack and think it could have been remixed to fit the tone of the game, the ambient sounds used are spooky and effective. The gore effects are phenomenal. Marvin's expanded role is great, he’s an actual character this time around and it’s sad that we can’t save him. Sherry is adorable and her voice actress does a great job, she’s just incredibly sweet and likable. While Claire can come across a little Moira-ish sometimes, she’s great for the most part. She still get’s to be incredibly caring towards Sherry while also being a total badass who willingly faces down G3. The G3 fight is great and the remixed boss theme is beautiful. William Birkin's transformations are great (though I do wish dog birkin was more like the original), just the detail of his mutated bones and tissue is amazing and grotesque. Speaking of Birkin, the scene where he uses the last of his willpower to kill Mr X and protect Sherry before being overtaken by the g virus completely is so fantastic and perfectly directed. Backtacking/exploration is enjoyable (except the fucking sewers). It has variety of unlockable costumes which is my favourite kind of unlockable. S+ is a fun challenge. The fourth survivor and Tofu modes are really challenging yet fun and have great music, like seriously Hunk’s theme “Looming dread” is fantastic and probably my favourite song in the game. It’s always a joy to see Hunk and he is portrayed perfectly. It’s still an enjoyable game and a good starting point for newcomers, I’d just recommend they play or at least watch a playthroough or the cutscenes of the original to get the full story. Also if you want a fun reimagined, abridged retelling of og re2 then you should look up Darkside Chronicles. The premise is what would happen if Leon and Claire never got separated.

This got waaay longer than I expected so in part 2 I’ll discuss my problems with RE3R and its cut content as well as what I liked.

[geochic03]

Amber Sunrise: Chapter 6

Previous Chapter                                                                          Next Chapter

Fandom: Final Fantasy XV

Pairing: Gladio x Female OC, Prompto x Female OC

Rating: T (For now)

Words: 7,799

Read on AO3

A/N: So my intentions with this chapter are to have Gladio and Peri get to know each other while Peri get's more comfortable with the big guy. As always your comments are always appreciated. I will be going back to edit earlier chapters for continuity purposes.

“Oh man I can’t believe they said yes!” Prompto cheered as he and Gladio walked through the busy streets of Lestallum’s residential district.

 Gladio shook his head with an amused smile “What would make you think they wouldn’t have said yes?”

 “Dude…you’ve seen Sera…she’s gorgeous…waaaaay out of me league!” Prompto exclaimed.

 “Did you ever think that maybe, just maybe, a hot girl might be into you.  I’ll admit, you’ve put some muscle on these last seven years…and the goatee gives you some character.  Just because it isn’t Cindy’s bag doesn’t mean other girls won’t be into you.” Gladio laughed.

 Prompto scratched the back of his head nervously “Well…I don’t think it was just me she wasn’t into.  Come to find out…people of the male persuasion aren’t really her uh, bag….she’s actually been with someone for awhile…”

 Gladio’s eyes widened “Shit…never would have guessed that.  Good for her I guess…anyone we know?”

 “Yeah, we know her pretty well…you know Jeanne right?” Prompto said nonchalantly.

 “The power plant girl handling the power grid?  Wow…never would have guessed that either.  How do you know so much gossip and my sister, the queen of gossip in Lucis didn’t even know?” Gladio questioned.

 “Oh Iris knew…pretty much everyone knows…where have you been big guy?” Prompto ribbed him.

 “Where do you think I’ve been, kicking the shit out of daemons and keeping the lights on in this place.” Gladio said sarcastically.

 “And wooing the locals…” Prompto smirked.

 Gladio chuckled and shook his head “I haven’t exactly wooed her yet…you have a better shot at getting action tonight than I do.”

 Prompto smirked “You really like her don’t you?”

 Gladio looked away trying to hide the blush creeping up his face.

 “You do…wow, now I need to meet the girl that has tamed the beast.” Prompto joked.

 “I told you, no wooing yet.  We’re just friends, I’m doing this double date more for you than me….I’m taking things slow, let her come to me yah know?” Gladio explained.

 “Which I appreciate.” Prompto said placing his hand on his shoulder.

 Soon Gladio stopped in front of a small cafe not far from the edge of the residential district.  He turned to Prompto and turned his thumb out to the entrance.

 “Ready?” Gladio asked him as they stopped on the stoop.

 Prompto gulped nervously “As I’ll ever be…”

 Gladio laughed as he clapped shoulder “Come on lover boy, let’s get you a girlfriend…”

 ***********************************************************

Peri sighed as she nervously bit her lip in the booth she was currently sharing with her sister.  She looked across the table to see Sera’s blonde hair perfectly curled as she adjusted the straps on her yellow sun dress.

 As Sera looked up she gave her sister an inquisitive look “What?  Too much cleavage?”

 Peri rolled her eyes as she leaned back into her seat “Too much everything…”

 Sera laughed as she shook her head “Hey, I offered to do your hair and make up…you’re the one who decided to wear cargo pants and a tank top…an old tank top might I add.”

 “You’re acting like this is a date.” Peri said dryly.

 “Because it is a date.  You have to make a good first impression.  And before you shoot me down in your strange sense of denial, it is a date…a double date, with two guys rumored to be connected with the crown.  He asked you to dinner Peri…after all the let down’s you’ve given him it’s a miracle he is still pursuing you.” Sera said knowingly.

 Peri rolled her eyes “I don’t care what you say…this isn’t a date.”

 Suddenly Peri looked up to see Gladio and Prompto enter the cafe, scanning the crowd before Gladio locked eyes with her and gave her a knowing smirk.

 Peri sank back into the booth, blushing profusely as the boys approached them.  Sera gave a small laugh before turning her attention to Gladio and Prompto, who had finally arrived.

 “Well hello there boys, great to see you both again!” Sera said giving Gladio a wink and Prompto an unexpected friendly hug.

 Prompto gulped nervously as he tentatively hugged her back “Ye…yeah…great to see you again too Sera.”

 Sera pulled away before giving him a playful smirk “You know, for a minuet there I thought you didn’t enjoy our conversation together at the bar a few weeks ago.  You went radio silent on me hun.”

 Prompto gave a nervous laugh as he scratched the back of his head “Yeah, sorry about that…just got caught up in some hunter things…”

 “Well it’s alright, just don’t do it again ok?” Sera said giving him a wink as she sat back down, with Prompto sliding next to her.

 Gladio turned his attention back to Peri giving her a cheeky smile “This seat taken?”

 Peri rolled her eyes “Would you just sit down.”

 Gladio without hesitation slide into the booth next to her, smiling a little to himself as he watched the blush creep up Peri’s cheeks as his hand accidentally brushed up against hers.

 “Wow Sera, you looked beautiful…” Prompto said in awe as he looked her over.

 “Not used to seeing you out of your work clothes.” Gladio added.

 Sera smirked “Well you know, someone had to bring some sunshine on this gloomy night.  Is it just me or does it seem like it’s getting even darker out than before?  I didn’t think it could get any darker than it already was but…”

 “Well, according to Iggy as the Scourge continues more plasma particles are released into the air and making things kind of foggy and…” Prompto began.

 “Wow you sure know a lot about this stuff…” Sera said with a smile.

 “Uh…well…not that much…I just overheard him talking about it on our last mission.” Prompto said nervously.

 As the two continued talking Gladio turned to Peri giving her a warm smile “Well those two are hitting it off…you look amazing too…by the way.”

 Peri bit her lip nervously “Thanks…I uh…guess you don’t look too bad either.”

 “Oh this?  Bah this isn’t anything special, just my casual look.” Gladio said jokingly.

 Peri nodded silently as Prompto and Sera continued to converse in there own little world.

 “So uh…how did the mission go?” Peri said as she fidgeted with her napkin.

 Gladio shrugged “Good I guess.  We eliminated the daemon nest and got back early, so a win all around.”

 “Yeah but boy was it a doosey.  For a minuet there I didn’t think we would make it back, but you really pulled through for us big guy in the end…” Prompto interjected.

 “Wow that dangerous huh?  Well it’s a good thing ya’ll made it back in one piece!” Sera said in shock.

 “Well…it’ll take more than a daemon nest to take one of us out…well, at least Gladio.  He’s like a tank!” Prompto said talking them up.

 Gladio shrugged “Gotta put all my training to good use somehow…”

 At that moment the waitress came by and took their order.  Peri looked on as she watched the others order, distracted by Prompto’s comment about the mission.  She barely knew Gladio, why did she feel this twinge of concern that he was facing such danger.

 “And for you hun?” the waitress said tapping her pad.

 Peri shook herself from her thoughts before making a last second decision on her order “Umm..I’ll have the meat skewers with the house ale…”

 Gladio smirked “Copying me huh?”

 “Wait what….” Peri said confused as the waitress took her menu from her.

 Sera rolled her eyes in disappointment “Were you even paying attention?”

 “Of course!  I just…spaced out for a second.  I worked overtime all week give me a break!” Peri said in her defense.

 “Oh that’s right, big guy said you worked at the power plant.  Cool, thanks for keeping the lights on!” Prompto said with a smile.

 “Uh…sure…” Peri responded shyly.

 Sera winked at Prompto flirtatiously as she turned her attention back to the group “So…is what I heard true?  Ya’ll work for the crown?”

 Prompto nearly spit his drink out at he mention of the crown.  Gladio laughed amusingly at his friend as Peri looked on perplexed.

 “No need to freak out Prompto…it’s not like we’re secret agents or something.” Gladio laughed.

 Sera smirked “So it is true…whayda know…”

 Peri narrowed her eyes, thinking back to when she saw Gladio before he left on his last mission.  He was dressed in all black, with a skull motif on her shirt.  Suddenly she made the connection.

 “You guys….are Crownsguard…” Peri said starring back at Gladio.

 The two nodded in confirmation.

 “Yup, well, Gladio’s been in it a lot longer than me.  I joined up so I could accompany my best friend to his wedding and…shit I said too much didn’t I Gladio?” Prompto said in a panic.

 “Nah, we can trust them.  They never gave me a reason not to…” Gladio said turning to Peri with a smile.

 Peri bit her lip nervously as her sister continued to pry.

 “Wedding?  Wait, you’re not talking about the wedding are you?  The wedding of Prince Noctis and Lady Lunafreya?!?” Sera said in an excited whisper.

 Prompto clicked his fingers towards her with a wink “That’s the one….”

 Sera sat back processing the information “Damn…so ya’ll are in deep with them huh?  All this time I never guessed it.”

 “I’m nothing special…I would have just been a lowly rank if we ever made it back to the Crown City.  Gladio here has the real pedigree.  He’s the Prince’s Shield!” Prompto exclaimed.

 Sera turned to Prompto, giving him a warm smile “I am sure you wouldn’t be lowly…don’t sell yourself short!”

 “She’s right you know.  I’ve seen you’re work with a gun.  He’s good with his fingers.” Gladio said with a wink.

 Prompto blushed at his comment, knowing what he was insinuating.  Sera turned to him and gave him a flirty smile “Oh yeah?”

 “Did you really just say that?” Peri said with a groan.

 Gladio gave a small laugh “Well it’s true.  He’s good with his gun which means he’s good with his fingers.”

 “Alright…no more of this please…our foods about to arrive and I would like to eat without regurgitation.” Peri said attempting to stop their flirting.

 Sera shook her head “Aww Peri your no fun!”

 At that moment their food arrived, causing Sera and Prompto to go off in the own little world again discussing Prompto’s love of photography, as Prompto took out his camera and snapped a shot of his dinner.

 As Gladio took a bite of his meat skewer he turned to Peri and gave her a smile “Good right?”

 Peri nodded as she took another bit in her skewer.  Feeling an awkward silence between the two of them, Peri decided to speak up “So the Prince’s Shield huh?”

 “Yup….I guess you could say it’s kind of like a bodyguard….although, my duties lie elsewhere now a days…” Gladio said trailing off.

 Seeing it was a sore subject Peri decided to change topics “So the mission was pretty dangerous huh?”

 “I guess, but we went with a group of seasoned Glaives who could handle it so it was no sweat.  Did you ever think of joining the Glaive at one point?  I mean, being a former hunter and all…” Gladio asked curiously.

 Peri was silent for a moment as she thought about his question.  She couldn’t lie to herself, she had as soon as she heard about the Glaives in Lestallum, but then Ollie died….and any sort of fighting became too painful for her to endure.

 “I…had…” Peri said reluctantly.

 Gladio raised his eyebrow curiously “Oh?  What happened?”

 “It’s a long story…but I decided the power plant could use my help more than the Glaives, and my dad got sick so…” Peri said as she took another bite into her food.

 Gladio frowned “Oh…that sucks, I’m sorry…”

 “It’s ok…he’s ok…umm sorta…he has his days….but you know he’s getting old and…” Peri rambled.

 Gladio gave her a warm smile “Don’t worry, I got you.  Illness sucks.  My mom died when I was ten after catching this weird virus that infiltrated the wall.  She wasn’t sick for long but…it was hard.”

 “I’m sorry to hear that.” Peri said somberly.

 Gladio shrugged “It was a long time ago…I’ve had time to process it so to speak.”

 Peri nodded their group continued to converse.  She didn’t know why she was so shocked to hear of Gladio’s own personal tragedy.  Everyone’s got their own story of heartache in this world, but the way he carries himself you would never know.

 “You know, if you ever need a model I would be happy to fill in for you…” Sera said giving Prompto a smile.

 “Uh…yeah…yeah that would be great!” Prompto said stuttering.

 Soon the waitress came by an cleared their table, coming back leaving the check.  As Peri leaned forward to grab it Gladio snatched it from the tablet.

 Peri frowned as she looked up at him “What are you doing…”

 Gladio smirked “What do you think I’m doing?  Prompto you owe me 400 Gil.”

 “Oh, uh right….” Prompto said as he reached for his wallet and thew some Gil down.

 Sera looked over at him with a smile “Well ain’t you just the gentleman.”

 Prompto blushed at her comment as he shrugged “It’s nothing…thanks for the company.”

 Peri scowled as she turned her attention to Gladio “You’re not paying for me.”

 Gladio continued to waive her off “Too late, she already took the check.”

 “Seriously…here please take the GIl.” Peri said shoving the bills at him.

 Gladio pushed it back to her “I don’t want it…it’s my treat for you agreeing to come out tonight.”

 “Gladio…we agreed this isn’t a….” Peri began but Gladio cut her off.

 “I never said it was.  Listen, if it makes you feel better you can pay another time ok?” Gladio said finally relenting.

 Peri huffed “Ok, fine…”

 At that moment the two noticed both Sera and Prompto missing from the table.

 “Umm when did they…” Peri said looking around for her sister.

 Gladio shrugged “Dunno…must have been while you kept insisting on giving me Gil for a dinner I insisted was my treat.”

 Peri rolled her eyes and sigh as she motioned for Gladio to get up from their booth “Come on, maybe they are outside….”

  ***********************************************************

Meanwhile in an alleyway somewhere in Lestallum….

 “Uh…Sera…are you sure it’s cool we just leave them alone like that?” Prompto asked worriedly as Sera pulled him into one of Lestallum’s back alley.

 Sera waved him off “Absolutely.  My sister may not be too good at showing it but she’s really into your friend.”

 Prompto raised his eyebrow towards her “I dunno, she really seemed like she wanted to punch Gladio in the balls a few times during dinner.”

 Sera stopped them, turning towards Prompto and backing them up until Prompto’s back hit the wall of an adjoining building.  Nervously Prompto gulped as he starred back into her steel gray eyes.

 “Trust me…she likes him.  My sister doesn’t notice guys too often, and your friend has been on her mind ever since she met him at the power plant, even if it may be because she says she hates him.” Sera said placing her hands lightly on Prompto’s chest.

 Prompto gave a nervous laugh “Oh, alrighty then…who am I to say you don’t know you’re own sister.”

 “Exactly.  Besides…maybe I wanted some alone time with the blonde man who has been occupying my thoughts for the last few weeks.” Sera said with a devilish smirk.

 Prompto blinked confusingly before catching on to her and giving her a smirk in return “Oh…OH yeah, I got yah.”

 With that Sera leaned in and pressed her lips to Prompto’s with vigor as they embraced each other in the darkened alley way.

 ***********************************************************

 “Did they seriously just leave us?” Peri said scanning the area outside the restaurant for her sister and Prompto.

 “Looks like it.” Gladio responded placing his hands in his pockets.

 Peri gritted her teeth “I’m going to kill her when she get’s home…”

 “At this rate it might not be till morning.” Gladio smirked.

 “Really don’t wanna think about that…” Peri groaned.

 There was silence between the two for a moment as they stood outside the restaurant.

 “So…what now?” Gladio asked looking down at his boots.

 “Well, dinners over so…I’ll just be making my way home now and…” Peri responded as she turned to leave.  Before she could get too far Gladio rushed up to her grabbing her arm.

 “Hey…I don’t even get a goodbye?  Prompto and I bought you guys dinner, at least let me walk you home.” He said with a hopeful look.

 Peri looked back at him with a slight frown.  He was right, it was rude of her to storm off after he had extended himself like that.  She gave a sigh as she turned to him “Ok, fine.  As long as you don’t become a stalker.”

 “Can’t make any promises…” Gladio chuckled.

 “Gladio…” Peri growled.

 “Ok, ok sorry just a joke.  Besides, stalking isn’t really my style.” Gladio said with his hands up in defense.

 Peri folded her arms and shook her head as they began to walk towards her apartment “I would beg to differ…”

 “How would you know anyways?  It’s not like you know that much about me.” Gladio retorted.

 “I know plenty about you, believe me.” Peri fired back.

 Gladio smirked “Oh yeah…name two things you know about me.”

 Peri turned to him giving him a confident smile “You’re the prince’s bodyguard.”

 “Shield…but how about something you didn’t just learn over dinner.” Gladio said with a small laugh.

 Peri gave a defeated sigh before going back to thinking up another piece of information.  After a few moments of deliberation Peri turned to him with another smile “You’re quite the ladies man.”

 Gladio laughed “Or something you heard through rumors that seem to spread like wildfire around this place.  But if it get’s you to smile like that again, I’m willing to let it slide.”

 Peri quickly turned away from him blushing from his comment towards her.  Gladio smiled back at her knowing he was the cause of her sudden change in demeanor.  He had to admit, she was pretty cute when she blushed.

 The two walked in silence for another block before Gladio snapped his fingers as if he had suddenly come to a realization.

 “How about this, obviously we don’t know much about each other so why don’t we make a game of it?” Gladio said moving in front of her to face her as they walked.

 “A game?” Peri said skeptically.

 Gladio nodded “Yeah like a twenty questions sort of thing…or how ever many we can fit into the time it takes to get to your place.  If either one of us doesn’t want to answer a question we can pass.  No pressure…”

 Peri hesitated for a moment, stopping in her tracks as she mulled over the idea before responding “I can ask any question?”

 “Yep.” Gladio nodded.

 “And I won’t get shit for not answering one of yours?” she asked.

 “One hundred percent no shit from me.” Gladio said with a warm smile.

 “Ok, fine.” Peri said in agreement.

 Gladio fist pumped in victory “Alright!  So, because I am such a gentleman I’ll let you go first.”

 Peri thought for a moment before deciding on going easy for her first question “Favorite food?”

 “Cup Noodles.” Gladio answered without hesitation.

 Peri’s eyes widened at his response “Cup Noodles?  Of any food in all of Eos you pick instant noodles?”

 “Hey it’s not just instant noodles.  It’s an experience.  If you have the right ingredients, trust me, it’s something you never forget.” Gladio said in defense.

 “Ok, ok…I get it.” Peri said as they continued to walk.

 “Maybe if they ever start up production again I’ll show you…” Gladio said nonchalantly.

 Peri looked over at him confused “What? I…”

 “How about you?  What’s your favorite?” Gladio said retorting her first question.

 “Well…there used to be this cafe right at the edge of the city.  They had these bread buns that were to die for…” Peri explained.

 “Ah yeah I know the ones you’re talking about.  They were pretty good, not as good as Cup Noodles though…” Gladio smirked.

 “Whatever.” Peri said rolling her eyes.

 Gladio laughed as he gave her a playful nudge “Ok, your turn Peri girl.”

 Peri snapped her head turning to him “What…did you just…”

 “It’s your turn to ask me something…” Gladio said as he watched her stare at him.

 “What do you…uh, do in your spare time when you’re not on missions?” Peri asked hesitantly.

 “Mainly recharge, help out with things around the city, catch up on my reading…” Gladio rattled off.

 “You read?” Peri said surprised.

 Gladio chuckled “Yup, nothing better than kicking back with a beer and a book.  Why, you surprised or somethin’?”

 “Well…you kind of don’t take me for the reading type…” Peri said look away.

 “What kind of type do you take me for?” Gladio suavely.

 Peri sighed and rolled her eyes “Forget it…”

 Gladio chuckled “I get it…I know I look like the meat head muscle type.  If you give me a chance I can show you I’m more than just that…”

 Peri blushed unwillingly at his comment as they continued to walk.

 “So what about you?  Any hidden talents I should know about?  You know…besides being badass with a sword.” Gladio asked her.

 “Don’t really have time for hobbies.” Peri said bluntly.

 “Come on…there has to be something…” Gladio said egging her on.

 Peri sighed before finally answering him “Before the darkness…I used to garden.”

 “Ah so you have a green thumb huh?” Gladio responded wiggling his thumb in the air.

 Peri shrugged “I guess…it was a good way to unwind after a long hunt.  We used to have a roof top garden but…well you know.”

 Gladio nodded “Right…”

 They continued walking, albeit in silence.  Gladio looked at her and gave her a playful nudge “Unless we’re at your place it’s your turn for a question.”

 Peri shook herself out of her own thoughts and gave him a quick nod. After a moment she turned him, finally thinking of her next question “Any other Family I don’t know about?”

 “Just a younger sister, Iris.” Gladio said matter of factly.

 Peri thought for a moment before something clicked in her head “She’s not…Iris the daemon slayer is she?”

 Gladio chuckled “Yup, the one and only.  I guess you can say fighting runs in the family.”

 Peri slowly nodded as she absentmindedly asked her next question “What about your dad?  I mean I know about your mom but….”

 Gladio frowned as he turned away from her for a moment.  He gave a sad sigh as he ran his fingers through his long dark brown locks “My dad….he was killed during the treaty signing.”

 Peri bit her lip nervously “Oh…I’m…I’m sorry.  That…really sucks loosing both parents…”

 “It’s cool…that’s life though right?” Gladio said as he looked off into the distance.

 “My mom died when Sera was two…my dad…got injured in a hunting mishap and had to retire early.  He opened up the tavern in town as a second career but…as the years went on his lingering injuries got worse and Sera ended up taking over most of the regular duties.  I help out when I can but…” Peri rambled out to a stunned Gladio.

 “That sucks…I’m sorry…” Gladio said with a frown.

 “It’s fine…that’s life right?” Peri said firing back his words from earlier.

 Gladio nodded with a small smile “Yeah…”

 There was a moment of silence between the two before Peri spoke up again “Aren;t you going to ask me something?”

 “Nah…you kind of answered a question before…even if the answer was unsolicited.  I’ll let you go again.” Gladio said with a smirk.

 Peri hummed to herself as she tapper her chin.  She had to admit, she was kind of enjoying this.

 “If you’re such a lady killer why are you still single?” Peri asked curiously.  If the rumors were true it didn’t make sense that he hadn’t hooked up with someone long term by now.

 Gladio smirked “ I wouldn’t exactly call myself a lady killer perse…more socially open.  And I never said I was single.”

 Peri rolled her eyes at him “Really Gladio?  You just took my sister and I out on a double date and you’re not single?”

 “So you agree this was a date then?” Gladio said with a wide smile.

 “Gladio…” Peri groaned at him.

 “Ok, ok…sorry couldn’t resist.” he laughed as they continued walking.

 Peri frowned “You still didn’t answer my question…”

 “Well, if you haven’t noticed my life style isn’t exactly good for long term relationships.  I’m gone a lot…sometimes for months at a time.  Most women want more commitment from there guy than what I can give them and end it within the first few months.” Gladio explained.

 “Maybe you just haven’t met the right one…” Peri commented as they rounded the corner to her apartment building.

 Gladio looked down at her and gave her a warm smile “Maybe…”

 Peri looked up to see they reached her family’s flat “Well, this is me…uh, thanks for the dinner and what not…”

 “Hey wait…aren’t you gonna explain to me why you’re still single?” Gladio said reaching out to her.

 Peri bit her lip nervously “I…it’s complicated…”

 Gladio folded his arms and gave her a smirk “I got some time…”

 At that moment the door to Peri’s apartment swung open to reveal her father standing in the passage way.  Peri looked over in horror as she watched her father rub the sleep out of his eyes and look between the two.

 “Back already?  Where’s Sera?” Frank said with a yawn.

 Peri gave a heavy sigh as she responded “She…took a detour…she should be home soon.”

 “Ah…well you know yer sister…maybe it’ll be in the morning.” Frank said shaking his head.

 Gladio chuckled “See…I’m not the only one.”

 Frank cranked his neck up, meeting Gladio’s gaze “And who is this spry young man?”

 “Gladiolus sir.  I was just making sure your daughter got home alright.  Uh, your other daughter is with my friend Prompto…he’s pretty harmless so you don’t have anything to worry about…” Gladio said with a laugh.

 Frank extended out his hand “Ahh, so you’re the famous Gladio I’ve overheard my daughters talking about…names Frank…I’m Peri and Sera’s father…”

 Gladio took the man’s hand and gave it a firm shake “Pleasures all mine sir.”

 Peri looked back between Gladio and her father.  It was almost nauseating how polite he was being with him.

 “The kettle’s still on…why don’t you come on in for a few minuets?” Frank asked him with a warm smile.

 Gladio turned to Peri, silently seeking permission before accepting.

 Peri gave a defeated sigh before gesturing to the door “Come on in…”

 The group walked in as Frank lead them into the kitchen “So…you got a last name son?”

 “Amicitia.” Gladio said without thinking.

 Frank stopped in his tracks as he heard Gladio’s answer.  Peri looked over to see her father in deep thought.

 “Amicitia huh?  Are you apart of the same Amicitia family from the Crown City?”  Frank asked looking away from them.

 “Yes sir.  The one and only…” Gladio responded without hesitation.

 Peri felt now was a good time to interject between the two “He’s actually the Prince’s shield papa.”

 “Well, my duties are suspended until he returns…when he returns…” Gladio emphasized.

 “Prince’s shield huh?  Then you must be related to Clarus then.” Frank responded reflectively.

 Gladio nodded “Yes…he was my father…”

 Frank frowned “Was huh?  Shit…must mean he didn’t make it out of the city then…can’t say I’m surprised.  Figured by now he would have popped up her in Lestallum otherwise…and from what I remember he was attached at the hip to the king.”

 “Did…you know my father?” Gladio questioned intrigued.

 Frank nodded “Yep…Clarus and I go way back to our training days.  He whooped my ass a few times here and there…but what else would you expect from the future captain of the Crownsguard?”

 Gladio rubbed his chin “Dad never mentioned he knew anyone outside the wall…”

 “Probably because we knew each other inside it.  After I left the Crown City we lost touch…I don’t even think he knew where I was at after that…” Frank explained.

 “Why did you leave?” Gladio asked curiously.

 Frank smiled “It’s a long story son…maybe I’ll tell it to you another time.”

 Gladio nodded as Peri handed them both mugs of hot tea.  Frank gladly took his mug and raised it to them “I’ll be on to bed now…don’t keep my daughter up too late son.”

 “Don’t worry, just going to finish my tea and be on my way.  Thank you for allowing me into your home.” Gladio said with a nod.

 Peri looked back at him giving him a skeptical look, she couldn’t believe he was buttering up her father.

 Frank chuckled before leaving “You got manners, Clarus dun taught you right.  Hope to see you around son.”

 One her father was gone from the kitchen Peri gritted her teeth in annoyance “What the hell was that?!?”

 “What do you mean?  You heard the man, I was being polite.” Gladio smirked.

 “Oh no, no, no, no…you’re not slithering your way into my life by buttering up my pops.” Peri said waiving her finger in front of him.

 Gladio gently grabbed her waggling finger, stopping her motion and gave her a smirk “Oh I was well into your life way before the buttering…”

 Peri yanked her hand away and frowned, knowing he was right “Well…whatever…I just agreed to one dinner, that was it…this is the last time…”

 “Do you really want this to be the last time?” Gladio questioned her as he sipped his tea.

 Peri gave a heavy sigh as she looked down into her mug “I…listen, my life was going fine until you barged your way into it.  Now it’s like no matter what I do I can’t get rid of you!”

 Gladio put his mug down before he walked over to her, lifting her chin. Peri’s gray eyes widened as she started back into his bright amber ones.

 “You want to know what I think?  I think you talk a lot of talk but in reality…you really don’t feel that way.  I don’t know the reason why yet, but if you really wanted to be rid of me you could have easily denied any of my suggestions, ended conversations, not have accepted my free drink at your family bar.  And the truth being,I would have backed off.  You know that, I know that…I think tonight proved that.  So why fight it?” Gladio said with a confident smirk.

 Peri froze for a moment before moving away from him, crossing her arms and shaking her head “I hate you.”

 “No you don’t.” Gladio laughed as he went back to drinking his tea.

 Peri rolled her eyes as she picked up her mug and gulped down her drink, hiding the blush in her cheeks that was slowly creeping up.  He was right, and she hated that fact.

 At that moment the two looked up to see Sera stumble through the front door of the flat.  Nonchalantly she took off her heels and left them by the door, as she looked up Peri couldn’t help but notice her sisters kiss swollen lips and the light love bit on her collar bone.

 Sera looked up at them and smirked “Damn, and here I thought I was going to be the one to bring a guy home tonight, bravo sister.”

 Peri groaned as she rolled her eyes “He’s not staying, he’s leaving as soon as he is done with his drink.”

 Sera winked “Right…”

 “Seems like you and Prompto had a pretty good time tonight.” Gladio smirked.

 “You could say that…well, good night sister, Gladio…don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Sera cheered as she walked out of the room.

 Peri sighed “She is a menace…”

 “Nah, she’s just having fun teasing you…” Gladio laughed.

 As they both finished their tea Peri couldn’t help but look up at Gladio’s scars, even way back when she first saw him at HQ they intrigued her.

 “Is there something on my face?” he asked as he took her mug from her and placed it in the sink.

 “Umm…kind of?” Peri said not thinking of her answer.

 Gladio mockingly clutched his heart “Ouch…my wounded pride.  How will I ever look at myself in the mirror again.”

 “Vain much?” Peri said raising her eyebrow skeptical.

 Gladio laughed and waived her off “Nah I’m just joking with yah.  I’ve had these bad boys for years now.  Kind of grew to like em, something about upping my danger factor with the ladies.”

 “How did you get them?” Peri blurted out.

 Gladio pointed up to his left eye “This bad boy, protecting the prince from some jerk with a broken beer bottle at a bar in Insomnia.”

 “What about the other one?” Peri asked quietly.

 Gladio smirked “Would you believe me if I told you Gilgamesh?”

 “Gilgamesh?  Umm now I think you are full of shit…” she said skeptically.

 “Ask the Marshall…he’ll vouch.  I got a matching one on across my chest too.  Home boy doesn’t play.” Gladio laughed.

 “I’ll pass.” Peri said waiving him off.

 Peri walked him to the door as Gladio finally calmed his laughter “Well, thanks for the tea…and you know letting me in and letting me meet your old man.”

 “Never intended you to meet my old man, or invite you in for tea.” Peri rebutted.

 “Right…we’ll kind of funny our dads knew each other…don’t you think?” Gladio said nonchalantly.

 “I guess…who would have thought…” Peri said unenthused.

 “Was your dad in the Crownsguard or…” Gladio began before Peir cut him off.

 “My dad doesn’t talk much about his time in the Crown City so I wouldn’t know.” she said quickly.

 “Oh…ok, I get it…touchy subject.” Gladio said looking away.

 Peri sighed “Not for me…for him.  My father left the Crown City thirty years ago and never looked back….became a hunter, met my mother and settled here in Lestallum.  I don’t ask him about it because any time I brought it up he would change the subject.”

 Gladio nodded silently in thought “Kind of ironic both of our dads knew each other.”

 Peri rolled her eyes “Don’t think too much into it.  It’s just a coincidence.”

 “I dunno…I think it’s more like fate…” Gladio smirked.

 “Annnnd now it’s time for you to go.  Goodnight Gladio.” Peri said cutting him off as she turned to go back into the house.

 Before she got too far Gladio grabbed her by the arm to stop her “Hey wait…I had a good time tonight.  Maybe we can do it again sometime?”

 Peri turned around to face him, a hopeful look on his face as he looked down at her.

 “It…wasn’t bad.  I’ll admit it.” Peri said said to him with a small smile.

 Gladio smiled back before he pulled her into a big bear hug.  Peri blushed at the sudden contact as he released her.  With one final wave Gladio turned to leave.  Before he got to far she called out to him “I’ll umm…text you?”

 Gladio turned to face her again and smiled as he responded “Yeah…sounds good.”

 With that Gladio turned to continue his walk back to his place.  He couldn’t help but smile knowing that he made progress tonight.  She was opening up, and seemed to be trusting him more.

 “Hey big guy!” he heard a voice call out.

 Gladio turned to see Prompto running up to him.

 “So, looks like you had a good time tonight.” Gladio smirked as he noticed the fresh love bites on Prompto’s neck.

 Prompto gave a happy sigh “Amazing…Sera is amazing…she’s smart, funny, driven.  She get’s our whole deal working on Cor’s missions.  I think I’m in love dude.”

 Gladio chuckled “Slow it down there buddy, you only went on one date.”

 “But you don’t get it.  I’ve never clicked with anyone like that before!  Well…not since I met Noct.  It just, feels right you know?”  Prompto explained.

 “Yeah, I got yah.” Gladio said acknowledging him.

 “I mean, I figured you would get it…with you pursuing Sera’s sister and all.  She must mean something to you if you haven’t moved on yet.  I have to admit, she doesn’t really seem like your type.” Prompto admitted.

 “Yeah…I know…but there’s just something with her…I can’t figure it out, but hopefully now that she’s more open with me I will.” Gladio commented as they continued their way back to their apartments.

 Prompto turned to him with a smirk “So how did the rest of your date go after we left you?  I mean you’re coming back from her house soooo…”

 “Well I met her father…” Gladio smirked.

 “Whoa….what kind of a guy is he?   Anything I should be worried about?” Prompto said nervously.

 Gladio shook his head “Nah…you’ll be fine.  Trust me he will love you.”

 Prompto let out a sigh of relief “Thank the astrals…because I was really nervous for a moment when she told me he used to be a hunter.”

 Soon they approached Gladio and Iris’s flat and Gladio said goodbye to Prompto with a waive.  As he made his way up the stairs he couldn’t help but smile to himself as he thought about his night.  The more he got to know about her the more he felt this inexplicable pull to her.  He had never felt that way about a girl before and if he was being honest with himself it freaked him out, but on the other hand he was excited to see where this relationship with Peri would bring him.

 One thing he knew for sure though…he was going to see Peri Lorenzi again, and the only thing he could hope for was that she was feeling the same pull to him as he was to her.

[thedefinitionofbts]

Our First and Last (Ch. 5)

Ch. 1 | Ch. 2 | Ch. 3 | Ch. 4 | Ch. 5 | Ch. 6 | Ch. 7 | Ch. 8 | Ch. 9 | Ch. 10 | 

Ch. 11 | Ch. 12 (Final)

Pairings: Jeon Jungkook x Reader (MAIN) | Park Jimin x Kim Taehyung | Jung Hoseok x Min Yoongi | Kim Namjoon x Kim Seokjin

Genre: Angst, Fluff, Soulmate Au, Scifi

Words: 2.2K

“Taehyung, you don’t understand, I almost exploded in there,” Jimin says as he takes a bite of his steak that Taehyung had neatly cut up into bite sized pieces and placed back on his plate.

Him and Taehyung were having their customary “date night”, eating out on a Friday evening after a long day of work. Today had been much like every other, the two psychologists went through session after session, cautiously navigating deeper and deeper into their patients’ minds and guiding them to healthier mental states. Both of them were very used to their jobs by now, but there were always tough patients, and Jeon Jungkook was undoubtedly one of them.

The restaurant atmosphere was relaxing, and the mood lighting made the aura quite romantic. The voices of other couples sitting at adjacent tables were drowned out by the light piano music playing in the background.

“The way he just stares me down and mocks me like I’m not even licensed to practice medicine” Jimin shakes his head with a huff.

“He sounds like a douche” Taehyung says, picking up his wine glass, swirling it gently, and taking a sip of the red liquid.

“Yeah, but have you read up on his research?” Jimin says, eyes lighting up at the thought of Jungkook’s accomplishments in the field of science and medicine.

“I thought you didn’t like him,” Taehyung says, raising an eyebrow and setting his glass down.

“I don’t, but that doesn’t change the fact that his work is absolutely amazing. I mean, balancing neurosurgeries and lab research like it’s a piece of cake. Not many people can do that you know?” Jimin sighs, eyes looking like he’s in a daze.

“Are you sure it’s not because of his visuals?” Taehyung says, chewing on his bite of steak and staring at Jimin with an expressionless face.

“Tae, I told you, you are waaaaay better looking than him.” Jimin responds while reaching over and patting the back of Taehyung’s hand that was resting on the cloth covered surface of the table.

The light brown haired boy doesn’t look convinced, but smiles and continues eating.

“Remember when we first met?” Jimin says, trying to change the topic and perhaps lighten the mood.

“How could I not?” Taehyung smirks, recalling the first time he had met the boy he was destined to be with.

Some thousands of years ago....

“Arrrgh! Did you do this?!” The King was livid, sinister eye’s burning like torch flames as they land on the little boy peaking out from behind one of the large ivory pillars. His heavy steps shake the floor of the entire palace as he rushes up the steps of the throne hall, toward said young prince who was trembling in fear.

“Father, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-“ Before the prince could finish, the back of the king’s hand had already made contact with the boy’s tender, sun-kissed cheeks. The loud slap echoes through the empty palace, resonating against the walls and almost shattering the stain glass windows.

“You’re a disgrace! A waste of a life form!” The King’s booming voice cut through the ringing in the boy’s ear, and the strong stench of liquor carried by his warm breath spreads like wildfire through the room.

Ever since the Queen died giving birth to him ten years ago, the King had planted all the blame on the prince, never failing to use him as a punching bag, channeling all of his frustrations on the poor boy. Being at the receiving end of the King’s rage wasn’t an occasional thing, in fact, the young prince was so used to this kind of beating that it’s all he’s ever known in his short and lonely life.

Although he had seen the King in a drunken rage plenty of times, this was one of the worst. So before the king could land another hand or foot on him, the young prince makes a run for it, not even looking back to see if the king would even bother to chase him down. He’ll probably be dragged back to the palace by the guards later, upon the king’s order like always.

Tears are streaming down his eyes, blurring his vision and choking his helpless gasps for air, but the golden brown haired boy continues to run like his life depended on it because at that moment, it probably did.

The palace is fading in the background as his frail legs carry him as far away from the awful place as he can go, across the moat, past the fortress, and deep into the forbidden forest.

He slows down only because the dense vegetation wouldn't allow him to continue at the speed he was sprinting. He keeps going; despite the thorny bushes cutting gashes into his golden skin and tearing at his custom tailored silk robe. He doesn’t even let the darkness or the fear of getting lost prevent him from traveling deeper and deeper into the forest.

It was late, the sun was setting, and darkness was creeping in as the shadows of the trees grew longer and longer, until there was almost no light remaining. The prince looks around, panting and feeling a different source of fear travel up his back, sending shivers down his spine.

“Is anybody there?” He croaks, not knowing if he actually wanted someone or something to answer or if he would feel calmer just greeted by silence.

“Hello?” He tries again.

Eerie Silence.

The prince makes a feeble attempt to call out again, but collapses from utter exhaustion. He uses his last ounce of energy to wrap his robe around his fragile body shivering from the sudden drop in temperature.

Right before he falls asleep, he hears a ruffling sound come from a nearby bush. Normally this would trigger a fight or flight response, but he’s too drained to even worry for his life then; and the last thing he sees through the slits of his drooping eyelids is a blurry flash of something fluffy and pink.

Then he passes out.

When he wakes up upon the first signs of light at dawn, the air is damp and the forest is covered in morning dew.

Eyes groggy and trying to adjust to the morning sunlight peaking through the thick trees, he squints and blinks a couple of times before the surrounding environment comes into view. He scans the area and registers everything as normal…except-

“Ahhhhh!!!” the young prince screams when his eyes land on the strange creature sitting on the trunk of a fallen tree and staring at him, big round eyes beaming, and head resting in between his hands.

“Oh, Taehyung, sorry for startling you” The creature with flawless cool-toned skin and pale pink hair says. He was a small human looking boy with a pair of glistening pupils that had lavender hues and a kind, nurturing smile that the prince had never had the luxury of encountering in his depressing life.

“W-who a-are you? And h-how d-do you know my name?” The prince asks in a shaky voice, feeling the urge to, but too shy to approach the fairy-like boy.

“It’s me, Jimin,” The boy says, confused as to why the prince doesn’t recognize him.

“Have we met before?” The prince, Taehyung, asks, trying to recall if he’s ever seen this strange but beautiful person around the palace, perhaps he’s one of the servants? But no, his features are too distinct to not stand out and leave a lasting impression. And Taehyung didn’t have any friends, nor has he ever met a single soul outside the palace.

Jimin’s eyes are wide now, and he’s waiting for Taehyung to burst out laughing and tell him this was all a joke, but the prince stays silent, waiting for Jimin to answer.

“No, this can’t be….” Jimin whispers under his breath, alarmed voice barely audible. He’s finally realized the day has come, and it takes all the strength he has in his petite body to stay calm and composed.

“Ummm, I’m not sure if I remember you” Taehyung suddenly says. “But I promise I will after today.” The prince attempts to give a reassuring smile, not knowing why, but feeling a sort of need to console the little fairy boy who’s sparkling eyes have been tarnished with hints of sadness.

“I have a long story to tell you” Jimin says as Taehyung slowly maneuvers over and sits down beside him on the fallen tree trunk.

“Oooo, I love stories” Taehyung’s youthful eyes light up and a wide boxy smile appears on his face. Jimin returns the reaction by giving the little prince an endearing smile, his eyes disappearing into half moons. He begins with a soothing, musical voice…

“It’s called ‘Our first and Last’”

The people on the streets are bustling about with their day, continuously moving, their motion unaltered, unaffected by anything else, much like the flow of time itself. It was rush hour, and the streets were noisy, filled with the frequent honk of cars, the screech of sudden breaks, and the occasional shout from a driver consumed by road rage.

You had just come out of another session with Dr. Kim, and this time it was much more comfortable. He finally stopped asking you tedious questions and moved on to doing what he liked to call “experiments” with you, which just consisted of making you fall asleep in his office and observing you. Which yeah, sounds creepy as hell, but it was pretty much the only way to tackle your problem.

Third session down. You sigh as you walk into the supermarket.

You were tasked with the duty of picking up what Hoseok liked to call “study snacks” in preparation for the all-nighter you were about to pull right before your final. He liked sweet things, but he also requested salty snacks to balance out the sweetness.

The world is all about balance; it takes two halves to make a whole.

Hoseok’s voice rings in your head and you can’t help but roll your eyes at how you thought of him even when he wasn’t around.

You scan the aisle for his favorite brand of potato chips when you see the familiar outline of curly black hair that wasn’t too long but not short either.

“Yoongi?” You say as you walk up to the guy you haven’t seen since your first session at the Park&Kim psychology clinic.

“Oh, it’s you” Yoongi says as he turns around to see the smile plastered on your face.

“Grocery shopping?” You ask, curiously peeking at his shopping cart full of food.

“Yeah” Yoongi grunts before turning his attention back to looking for the last item on the list of groceries he was tasked to pick up.

“Big family, huh?” You eye the stacks of microwave dinners and boxes of energy bars.

“It’s not for me” Yoongi says. “It’s…uh….for a friend.” He sighs, looking at the cart like he’s done this a million times. There’s an unspoken tiredness in his eyes, but it speaks of caring concern rather than annoyance.

“So you changed you appointments?” You ask, wondering why you never saw him back at the clinic after that first awkward introduction.

“Oh yeah, that wasn’t for me either” Yoongi says.

“For the friend?”

Yoongi nods. “He finally agreed to go, so my work is done there.” The sound of relief in his voice is unmistakable.

“Oh, I see” You nod, not knowing what more you can say now that you know you probably won’t run into him as often.

“Well, I’d better get going.” Yoongi says, as he waves.

“Yeah, ok, ummm, see you around I guess.” You wave back and although it might just be your imagination, but you see his lips curve into a small smile before he turns around and is off on his way.

“Dr. Jeon, can you describe all the details of the dream you had last night?”

Jungkook looks at Jimin. The pink haired psychologist stares back, un-phased by the intense look of despise in the neurosurgeon’s eyes.

“I was in a museum and it was raining outside” Jungkook huffs, not even bothering going into any more detail.

“Can you remember what was inside?” Jimin slowly begins to prod at Jungkook’s description, cautious not to get on the neurosurgeon’s bad side.

“Some random paintings, and this weird statue of an angel with black wings.” Jungkook says, crossing his arms as he leans back and closes his eyes. He had been in lab all night, and the sleepiness was finally catching up to him. He almost wanted to skip this session and just take a nap, but he knew Yoongi wouldn’t be happy if he did.

“Don’t tell me that’s supposed to be a sign of my pending death or something,” Jungkook says, ask he hears the scratch of pen on paper as Jimin begins to take notes.

“How did you feel when you were there?”

Jungkook furrows his eyebrows, eyes still closed. Jimin could tell he was actually taking his time to think before he said anything, which was a first.

“I was really happy, comfortable, but there’s a bit of nervousness accompanied by excitement.”

“Was anyone else there?”

Another long pause.

“It feels like I’m not alone. I know I’m not alone. But when I look around and there’s no one there.”

...

[papersandkeyboards]

4/11-17: The Spring Break Series; Part 5 (End): Ended Spring Break with Something Grand

FRIDAY, APR 15, 2016.

(^calon paparazi)

Sitting right smack in the middle of probably the driest states of the United States, people who didn’t know a lot about the Grand Canyon would assume that the place was dry and hot all year round.

However, I found out that the top of the Grand Canyon—logically—was situated high above the sea level. The South Rim, in which most of the tourist activity took place, stood in an average elevation of 6800ft (that’s more than 2 kilometers, if you don’t mind, Americans), and the canyon itself went as deep as 2400ft (700m) above sea level.

If we had the right page on Geography, we would know that as elevation rises, temperature decreases, and vice versa. With that in mind, it can be safely stated that the temperature at the bottom of the Grand Canyon is always gonna be hotter than the temperature above.

Thinking about this, now it made sense to me why Karen and Eric hiked down the Grand Canyon in January. It might be dead cold at the top of Grand Canyon in January, but down at the bottom it was pretty warm. Wise decision to make, instead of climbing down Grand Canyon in, say, June, because if it was already hot at the top of Grand Canyon, people might as well bring raw meat to cook over a mere rock down at the bottom. Very hot.

But hiking down the Grand Canyon was supposedly an activity that should be well-prepared—physically and logistically—which was exactly why we weren’t doing such thing in this occasion. Like I said, just touristy things. Guided tours, information boards and pamphlets, and pictures. And cheap souvenirs. #sorrynotsorry for being a tacky tourist, really. Kapan lagi.

We drove for around an hour or more from Flagstaff to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Flagstaff already stood in high elevation to begin with, but the road we took to the Grand Canyon was a dead-straight road that wasn’t steeply inclined it didn’t feel like we’re gaining so much altitude. When we got there, it was so chilly it didn’t feel like spring break. In fact, the high elevation did kill the ‘spring break’ vibe, kind of like what Flagstaff did to me the night before, because this was what I found on the ground:

But I wouldn’t complain. I like snow. Gotta enjoy its existence while I still got the chance.

The Grand Canyon was… well, grand. The weather was perfect: it might be chilly, but it wasn’t raining. The skies were bright blue with big blobs of white clouds. The air was fresh and breezy. I haven’t experienced being in such a big open space in a long time. And it felt refreshing.

I might have about a hundred pics of the Grand Canyon, but I didn’t have a lot of words for it, except that… nature really was magnificent. Way to go, God.

There were so many ledges and spots that would have been seriously beautiful to watch the whole canyon from or to get my picture taken from, but those spots were mostly unfenced, and none of us would like to risk it, so we went to the safe spot, the designated viewing ‘balcony’ for tourists. But even the view from there was amazing enough already.

What a pretty layer-cake-like structure. Unlike the tan lines of the Hoover Dam, these layers of the Grand Canyon should have been shaped over millennia.

And being a nationalist exchange student I was, of course I just had to do a mandatory pic of me with my flag in an American landmark.

(I probably shouldn’t have worn green hijab because that combined with the flag made me look somewhat Hungarian)

We could also see the bottom of the rim, where people go to camp for days. Karen told me people usually hire a mule to bring their stuff down and up, since it’s kind of exhausting to bring two-three-day camping supplies, including food and water, down and up the rim for miles. Heck, it should have taken way longer than just some miles because it was ALREADY ‘some miles’ if you pull a line straight down from the top to the bottom of the rim, let alone the walking trail which should take many more miles to avoid steepness. I saw at the bottom of the rim, somewhere, ran the Colorado River—or maybe a branch of the Colorado River—along which sides the trees were growing much greener than the other greens in the surrounding area.

We walked this trail called “Trail of Time”, which purpose was to walk the visitors through the journey of the Grand Canyon, geologically. The trail entirely was 2.83 miles (4.56 km), but I personally didn’t think I walked THAT much. But then again, if I try to remember, I was pretty tired and the trail was waaaaay longer than what I expected.

The trail was filled with information boards and polished model of different kinds of rocks. I’m not a person of Geology, but these rocks did have interesting patterns of layers and curves and colors. Each meter walked on the trail marked one million year of the Canyon’s geologic history, like this:

I didn’t read through all of the information on the boards, but it was fun with the viewing tube that gave you a real-life sight of what kind of rock layer was being talked about on the information board. The tubes were specifically set to one point of target, which were specific part of rock of the Canyon that correlated to the rock explained on the board.

This is what I like about making public facilities educational with effort not to make it boring, instead of, say, copy-and-pasting information straight out of Wikipedia and put it on a board for people to read.

We found a quite pretty unfenced place where we could take pictures too, though. Haha.

We walked some (and by some, I meant quite some) distance until we found a restaurant at the end of the trail. Ta-da! Stomach is hungry.

A classic log cabin design, with the deer head mounted on the wall and all (wait are those creatures with huge antlers called deers too bc i’m not sure). After that we took the bus back to our parking lot (because nope, no more walking thank you) and hit the road to Phoenix, AZ.

(not after an effort to find cheap souvenirs—I didn’t remember what they were selling but somehow I walked our of the store with nothing because, apparently, nothing in the store fit my criteria) (ya)

If the way across Nevada was a hot desert with patchy bushes, the way across Arizona was a hot desert with bunches of huge red rocks.

Beautiful.

Well, not that our trip all the way from Grand Canyon to Phoenix was all red rocks, but when we reached the city of Sedona and the sun started to glide westward approaching the horizon, the scene got real pretty.

Wish it was in Utah, which supposedly specialized in cool red rock boulders. Well, gotta save some things for later, am I right?

(menunggu hujan duit)

And we finally reached the city of Tempe, Arizona, and had our dinner there.

Kalau saya bilang ke orang-orang saya pergi ke Amerika dan mengunjungi kota Tempe, yang ada kayaknya malah diketawain ya.

SATURDAY-SUNDAY, APR 16-17, 2016.

Real quick. Visited Karen’s uncle in a retirement home (is that the correct term?), then went to his house to help cleaning up his house. It’s pretty obvious that Phoenix stood right smack in the middle of a huge desert, with the adobe buildings and all, so I wonder why was I surprised when I found a LOT of jerrycans full of water hidden all over his house (“in case of a drought,” Karen said, emphasizing the water shortage problem experienced by the state and surrounding states despite the Hoover Dam’s existence). We ended up using the water for plants.

Also, Phoenix was hot. If I were to compare, it was probably as hot as Duri (>30 Celcius in the middle of the day), but it was so... dry, like, so different from Indonesian hot. I couldn’t even understand how to explain it, but the sun was so intense and it was so dry. Oh, and, no wind, at all. Plus, what made it so extreme to me was the fact that I had just been through my past 7 months living in cold weather. I was at a point of life where 15 Celcius counted as ‘warm’ and 20 Celcius means ‘real hot and sunny yay let’s play outside all day’.

The next day we went to Scottsdale for none other than *drumroll* souvenirs! Then caught the plane back to Seattle in the afternoon. For some reason, when we arrived in the evening, I got this crazy headache, so I went straight to bed.

...yeah. That was all.

Incredibly exciting spring break, and most definitely super-duper-out-of-this-world unforgettable half a month. Demi apa kayaknya baru pertama kali ini jalan-jalan panjang ke mana-mana selama dua mingguan. Sempat ketemu artis lagi. cihuy.

Absolutely couldn’t thank enough my parents (both natural and host), but this time their kindness and love couldn’t save me from what’s coming the next day.

But for now, need sleep. Headache.

Adios.

[foxskinxx]

Put My Heart Back Together: Part 2

 Summary: Reader isn’t human and when she finally confesses her love to a certain metal armed soldier, her heart breaks (literally) when he doesn’t love her back. Will the reader deal with the dullness she has to indure or will Bucky come to his senses? Soulmate AU?

Warnings: ANGST AF, fluff..? so many curse words Cap would be ashamed.

Authors Note: Okay I really hope you all like part 2 because I’m nervous! Anywoozle tell me whatcha think! ENJOY MY LOVES!!!!

Y/P/N: Your Planet’s Name. (thought it would be fun for you to decide your planets name :) )

‘Bucky doesn’t love me.’ Your mind wouldn’t let you think of anything else other than the same damn sentence of your last thought before you were thrown in the darkness.

1:56 am.

Bruce and Wanda rushed into the kitchen before they were followed by the team. Your best friend could feel your distress before she was even near the room, she couldn’t hold in her tears when she read your thoughts and allowed herself to share your pain. Bruce had instructed Bucky and Steve to carry you to his lab to take a look at your brain and any internal damage. 

Bucky knew he had done this but he nodded at the doctors instructions and explanation, for no one else could get near you without being burned. It was a natural reaction when your body shut down, your body became unnecessarily heated.  From the time you collapsed to now, you’ve been scratching at your chest and screaming painfully. When Bucky went to touch your hand you became rather still and quite, the whole team seemed to be very curious as to why you stopped. They did want your pain to stop but why would you stop from a simple touch? And from your worst enemy no less? 

Everyone sighed out in relief, thinking it was over. When you inhaled a big gulp of air, Wanda felt her heart tighten as she felt a tsunami of emotion come over her. You let out a gut wrenching scream and your skin became glowing with a light yellow tint. 

When your skin glowed, it allowed them to see your insides. Kinda like how you hold a flashlight under your palm or behind an egg to see whats inside. Bucky had you in his arms and rushed to the couch, knowing the longer he held you the more pain you felt. When you were finally on the couch, laying on your back, your team mates gathered around to see something that made them turn white as a bed sheet washed in bleach. 

Even through your tee they could see your organs. 

“I don’t get it, there seems to be nothing internally wrong.” Bruce was mumbling to himself but loud enough for the team to hear. 

“It’s not over yet...” Wanda was crouched beside you with tears rolling down her cheek bones. All at once Wanda grabbed her chest, as you released the loudest scream you could muster. All this time you weren’t even conscious but still felt the pain. 

Then Wanda pointed to your heart out to the team. There, they could see why you were in so much pain. They slowly watched your heart, rip itself into two equal pieces. They watched the muscle rip itself away from the opposite side of itself and then it all clicked. 

“Barnes, what the actual fuck did you say to her?” Tony, Sam, and Steve knew of your argument just a few hours ago. Wanda sniffled and looked at Bucky who seem to busy on watching your heart disconnecting the last few blood vessels away from the other half. Wanda rested her eyes on you, you were drenched in sweat, your eyes were closed, your breathing was heavy, your skin was colorless, and your eyebrows were furrowed together in pain. 

“He said he didn’t love her..” Wanda spoke for him, he didn’t have the slightest clue on any of this. Bucky glanced at Wanda, a confused look plastered on his face. He turned his head slightly to see the team’s wide eyes and parted lips as they look at him, like he killed their most cherished person. Well he might have..

 At their expression he fully turned to face his team mated and friends. 

“What?” Bucky really didn’t understand. 

“She was literally made to find her soulmate in life, so when they deny their feelings towards them, her heart...” Wanda had to pause and recollect herself as she explained your anatomy to the one who put you in this position. “ her heart.. tears itself apart. It cannot take the emotional trauma, it hurts so much that it tried to distract the mind from the heartbreak, thus ending in a quite literal broken heart. She will be less interested in everything, she will not eat, sleep or even talk like she use to. This will be the quite opposite of the Y/N we are use to.” By the end of her explanation, you had calmed down and began to snore lightly which caused a very faint smile on Wandas face. 

“Shit.” Tony was biting his nails and you were pretty sure if he didn’t stop he would have his fingers for dinner. 

 Bucky was very curious about how your mind and body work at this point but he didn’t want this to happen in order for his curiosity to be explored. ‘You fucked up big time buddy, forget the Winter Soldier days. This takes the cake of the fucked up things you’ve done. Good luck getting out of here alive.’ Buckys mind was full of guilt and anxiousness. 

“What if I lied?” Bucky was eating at his lip and was watching you very closely. At Bucky’s question Wanda snapped her head in his direction and gave him a very cold stare that made him shiver and if it wasn’t for the situation he would’ve asked for a jacket. 

“It’s like telling your parents you hate them for the first time, you might not meant it but the damage is done. You might love her and you did it to protect her or whatever. But she didn’t know you lied, so therefore her body reacted like you did mean it.” 

“Will she be okay?” 

“What’s your definition on okay, Bucky? Because if our definition is the same, she will not be okay. It will take a lifetime to be accustomed to the everyday dullness and pain that’s etched its way into her heart.” 

Wanda had taken the opportunity to gently allow her red energy make its way under your backside to lift you up and raised you into midair. Wanda began to head for the exit, she walked behind you as you hover high enough for your feet to be in front of her abdomen. As she informed the team you will be under her care, considering she knows more about your anatomy than the doctor, you will be staying with her until you awake from your slumber.

The team thought it was the best option until they could discover more about your species. While the team watched Wanda hover you towards her room, Bucky was thinking a hundred miles per hour. He couldn’t get a hold of his emotions and no one could blame him, well they actually could blame him. 

“Alright it’s three in the morning. Let’s regroup later and found out what we can do about this situation.” Steve knew this was serious and in his state he used what you called his ‘mom voice.’ Everyone loves you, you brought the family together, but what could they do? They hated that all they could do was get some sleep.

Everyone rushed off to their separate apartment and would most likely be up until sunrise thinking of that gruesome scream that had everyone feeling eerie. Bucky and Steve were the only ones left and by this time Bucky had his ass firmly planted on the couch you were laying on not a few minutes ago. He had his hands interlaced with the roots of his hair. His eyes were closed, his breathing was slow and he tried to get the look of hurt flash on your face after his brutal confession out of his brain. 

Steve stood in front of the slumped soldier with his arms crossed over his rib cage, his eyes were brimming with disappointment and grief. He let out a dramatic sigh, as you would’ve put it. Steve doesn’t understand, why did Bucky tell her he didn’t feel that deeply for a magnificent soul like Y/N. 

“Why don’t you love Y/N.. I could’ve sworn you did.” Steve’s question came out more harshly than he intended it but no turning back now. Bucky didn’t answer his best friend for the first minute or so. But he finally sigh and untangled his hands from his rats nest on his head. 

“I do love her but..” Bucky bit his lip to stop from spilling everything out. 

“No, there’s either you love her or you don’t. There shouldn’t be a but. I don’t care about your past and neither does Y/N, I know you Bucky. You did this to protect her from yourself didn’t you?” Steve was baffled at his friends actions. 

“No, no, no. I know she can kick my foolish ass but Steve you don’t understand.” Bucky was on edge, he had a secrete and he planned on keeping it to himself but Steve is relentless and kept on asking him, ‘what is it Buck?’ Bucky let out a huff giving into Stevens pestering. 

“I-I’m the reason Y/Ns race is almost extinct Steve... I traveled to Y/P/N and massacred her ff-friends and family Steven. We experimented on them, executed them and did horrid things to them. They were peaceful, kind, loving, and they even told me they forgave me but I don’t deserve that forgiveness. It scares me and now because of that fear, I hurt Y/N.” Bucky didn’t look into Caps eyes, not wanting to see his expression but he did hear his small intake of breath. Steve stood still for a moment, his eyes wondering around the room, thinking it would help him comprehend the situation. He projected his eyes on Bucky and punched him on his flesh shoulder. Bucky jumped at the human contact. Bucky had risen is head to meet Steve’s glare, he rubbed his shoulder and furrowed his eyebrows, not expecting that feedback. 

“You honestly think Y/N gives a shit about that? Sure she would be sad but she wouldn’t love you any less, you idiot. She loves you and she would forgive you but after this I don’t know.” Steve rolled his eyes and shook his head as he rested his hand on his forehead. You would’ve told Steve he acted waaaaay too much like a mother. Your absence in the room makes it feel like someone has died. 

You did explain to the group the very close annihilation of your race but you also told them that you don’t hold grudges when they offered to look into it. You forgave the person or organization that had done this to you, after all that war landed you here. Holding on to the sadness and anger you felt would have hurt you more. More importantly, it would have given the organization a smile on there face if they knew it affected you that much. So you made your peace with it. After all, that war lead you to Earth, where you found your soulmate and your friends, who you loved dearly. 

Bucky took a big inhale and shook his head as he stood up, about to respond to Steves comeback when Sam interrupted their stubborn argument. 

“She’s conscious.” Sam spoke gloomily, he had a mournful expression painted on his face. Steve stood straight up and made a beeline towards Wandas room. On his way towards the exit he grabbed Buckys arm and dragged him along with him. Bucky opposed to Steve bringing him along, considering your state and how you screamed when he touched your body. He recoiled at the memory that made its way into the moment. 

“No getting out of this Buck. You are going to tell this woman how you feel.” Steve was set on Bucky telling you the truth. Nothing bothered Steve more than not telling someone the whole truth. That was one of the reason he liked you so much, you never hid anything from him. You didn’t withheld any information that he needs to know or would want to know. You’ve watched to many tragic romantic movies and you decided to just skip the whole stupid dance number and tell the person your knowledge of any given situation. 

“Steve.. I shouldn’t be allowed near her.” Bucky entered the elevator that Steve had been patiently waiting for. Steve slipped in after Bucky and pressed Wandas floor number. They didn’t have to wait for very long, as the elevator ride came to a stop and made a ‘ding’ to notify the guest they have arrived. Within seconds Steve had Bucky in tow as they made their way to see you. 

“I don’t give a fuck Bucky,” Steve and Bucky arrived at their destination. Steve turned to his friend, “make this right Bucky.” Without giving him the opportunity to retort, he opened the door to Wandas living space. Noting there wasn’t anyone in the small flat, they made their way to the door on the opposite side of the room. The bedroom door was cracked. 

“OH FUCK!” Y/Ns painful shout made Bucky push past Steve and rush into the room, seeing who was the one to hurt Y/N. As he inspected the crash pad, he noticed there wasn’t anyone in there but him and the two girls. He finally landed his ocean eyes on Y/N. 

oh fuck. 

She was sitting up from out of the covers which pooled below her belly. Her tee was tossed in the dirty hamper and he assumed Wanda lent her a black sports bra. She has her eyes tightly closed, her breathing was still heavy, and she was hunched over, clutching her chest. He had the courage to kneel beside the bed at her thighs and placed his hand slightly next to her legs. She knew he was there as she avoided moving so she didn’t touch his hand, he noticed that much. Wanda heard Steve call her name and she had made her way to the hallway. He sighed to himself and turn his head to peer over his shoulder, he found Steve quietly explaining to Wanda why he was here. 

When he turned to face Y/N again, he found himself looking into her big bambi like eyes. She found her breath she was so desperately trying to catch and when she rose her head up to search for her best friend, she found herself looking into those sapphire orbs she dreams about. When he reached out to her left cheek she cringed at the thought of him touching her while she wasn’t decent enough. He paused but still continue to extend his arm forward to erase a tear that slipped through. She didn’t even know she shed a tear until she saw his hand retreat her cheek and she found herself wanting to cry more if it meant that he would touch her again.

“I’m sorry Y/N for lying to you and putting you through all of this.” He heaved his gaze on the blue comforter Wanda had sprawled on the bed. She made a hum sound to let him continue when a look of pure confusion projected on her face. 

“What the hell do you mean lied to me, James?” After the shit she went through, she wasn’t going to run into his arms anytime soon. Yes, she loves him but that doesn’t mean she’ll skip his way when he bats his eyes and says, ‘sowwy.’ Fuck no.

He glanced at her demeanor and he simple decided to tell her now rather than later. 

“I love you Y/N. Forgive me?” He was now seated on the bed beside her thighs and he looked in her eyes as he confessed his true feelings. Yet her face showed nothing but annoyance. 

“No.” She laced it with detachment. That didn’t really sit well with Bucky. You heard his heart drop loud and clear. 

“Wh-W-What?” He was baffled. You told him four hours ago that you are in love with him. Why wouldn’t you forgive him?

“I said no James.” She rolled her eyes and shook her head. By now she found the stitches on the comforter to be more interesting than this conversation. That annoyed Bucky more. 

“But you love me.” At his reply, you snapped your head up and suddenly your vision turned red, noting that your eyes were ruby red.

“Yes I love you James,” at your confession Bucky smiled and was reaching for your hand when you raised your hand up to him, telling him your weren’t done. “I love you James, but you broke my heart, literally I might add. I am not going to run into your arms after you have been nothing but a cunt to me. You don’t treat the one you love that way. You don’t call them a whore, you don’t call them a bitch, and you most certainly don’t bring another girl, who calls your ‘lover’ a freak by the way, to the tower. James if you do love me, than you’ll leave me alone for now. It hurts to much to be around you.” She had tears fading down and settling under her chin where they preceded to jump to land on the comforter. 

Bucky didn’t expect you to deny him. After all your destiny was to fall in love, right? 

“Doll.. what can I do to make you forgive me?” His voice was so desperate and sad. If it wasn’t for your situation with him, you would have brought him into your chest and tell him all the things you love about him. His vision was blinded by his own tears.  Bucky wanted to make it up to you and most of all put your heart back together. Every time he thought about it, his heart clench. He wanted you back to yourself again. 

You thought about all the times he has brought you down, all the nights crying, all the nights you fought, all the times he body shammed you, and you couldn’t feel anything but empty. You finally looked into his eyes and where there use to hold happiness and joy was now replaced with misery. 

“I don’t know if you can James..” 

@mayfeather27 @krimzenrayne