#anyway otherwise i may also come on for my comm stuff

[honeydots]

weirdly late to post this i know but if it hasn't been clear im trying to rly limit my social media intake so im not gonna be on as much...!

[jdrizzle15]

Her Second Return

Just like all of you, and especially my fellow Penny fans, I am absolutely devastated by the Volume 8 finale. I had been in quite a state these last few days, utterly heartbroken, and actually nauseous at times. It feels strange to me to be legitimately grieving a fictional character, but it’s not a bad thing to feel this way. To me, this just shows that CRWBY loves her just as much as us to have written her so well that we connect so completely with her, that it feels like we lost an actual piece of ourselves when she’s gone.

But as you can probably tell by the title, this mega post isn’t gonna be about accepting this end, not in the slightest! Today I want to share canon evidence that can point towards another return of our beloved quirky red headed cinnamon bun! I’m here to spread this hope that I and others in the Nuts & Dolts dolts Discord server have!

I have this separated into many different sections to keep these thoughts organized. With that said, here goes…

A Father’s Words:

In Episode 7 of Volume 7, ‘Worst Case Scenario’ we learn the origins of Penny’s aura, and thus her soul. We also learn that it takes more aura each time she’s brought back. This leaves open an option that could be used at a later point.

Many people theorized that Pietro could indeed revive Penny one more time, which he would absolutely do. But there also lies the possibility that someone else could donate some of theirs, I’m not sure about this as I feel like it’s akin to blood donation where compatibility matters or there's a high risk of altering her, but the possibility is definitely there.

Now, the conversation in Chapter 5 of Volume 8, ‘Amity’ that Pietro and Penny have is an important moment for both Father and Daughter. It was there to show how her death in PvP all that time ago really did have a heavy impact on him and is still affecting him to this day.

Instead of continuing to pretend that everything is A-okay, like he had done for most of Volume 7, he finally lets his true feelings about how it come out to Penny for what is quite likely the first time. Even going so far as to say "Are you asking me to go through that again?" when she offers to take the risk of trying to lift Amity with her power. He wants Penny to be able to live her life.

This entire scene with Pietro established “this is what will likely happen” even if circumstances are much different now, it doesn’t negate the fact that this is a key part of Penny’s story. Scenes like these have a purpose beyond simply making an eventual death all the more heart wrenching. Her never actually getting to live her life makes those scenes basically moot. It makes them effectively pointless from narrative point of view. Unless there's more to it.

Building Relationship:

The build up between Ruby and Penny the last two volumes has been absolutely phenomenal with a definite destination in mind, and this doesn’t feel like that destination. So much of the arc of this season was to help Penny. This girl that our main protagonist absolutely adores and treasures, it would just be awful to throw all of that out for what amounts to an avoidable end. Why use so much of their precious and very limited runtime on deliberately building up this relationship only to end it abruptly, and permanently, when they’re separated?

In my opinion, RT is definitely smarter now than to intentionally set up what was really looking like a budding gay relationship only to kill one of them for good. If N&D wasn't actually going in a romantic direction, why would they leave in all of the romance-adjacent stuff that they got, that's not how ‘just friends’ act. And that is not something you use such valuable time building up for absolutely no pay off whatsoever...

Representation of Hope:

At its core, RWBY has always been about hope. It’s not at the forefront the whole time, but there's been an underlying theme of hopefulness that has persisted since it began. Some describe the show as a Hopepunk, I personally find this to describe RWBY really well. This genre of storytelling is about caring for things deeply and the courage and strength it takes to do so. It’s about never submitting or accepting the way things are. Fighting for what you believe in and standing up for others. RWBY fits all of this extremely well. How does this relate to Penny? She has been shown to be a sign of hope for everyone, but especially for Ruby, the main main protagonist. A prerequisite for a Hopepunk story is the hope.

Her first death in V3 was something that fundamentally changed Ruby. For the first time in the series, we see our main character all but broken by this event. With the loss of Penny, immediately afterwards, Ruby’s hope followed. She made up for it through determination and force of will. We see it affect her multiple times throughout the journey to Volume 7. But upon her return in V7, Hope reached a high point for everyone, the sheer relief on Ruby’s face is plain to see!

In V8 chapter 5 ‘Amity’, Penny literally raises hope by lifting the arena into the sky so Ruby could spread her message. And when she falls, and Amity with her, the connection is lost and hope plummets again. From there things take a very negative turn with the hack begins to take Penny’s agency.

In chapter 11 ’Risk’ is the point in the arc where everyone is reunited for the moment, so two separate hero stories are no longer a thing at that point in time. For the time being focus seemed to be shifted to care about the characters and how they’re going to solve the current problems. This is also where Ruby reaches her lowest emotional point in the season.

It’s not huge, but it’s interesting how connected this is. Before Ruby and Yang share a good cry over learning the possible fate of Summer, Yang brings up restoring optimism and hope to Ruby after the younger sister storms out of the room in frustration. This is where Penny’s scenes take up the rest of the episode. Getting Penny back in control of her own body and safe again is what makes the ending of the episode much brighter, when just 5 minutes before Ruby had been distraught and scared. This then spills over into the group coming up with the plan to use the staff, putting the main group in a much better mood. Of all the things to go right, it’s interesting that it’s Penny.

Things go wrong with the plan in the end and Penny dies. I find it interesting that once again, Penny got them hopeful in their chances of doing something right. Given said plan succeeded but at the cost of Penny of all people, Penny is shown to be the beginning and end of hope for them

The highest and lowest points for hope seem to directly correlate to when Penny’s around. When she comes back again, hope will return too, just like it had before. And because she’ll likely be back for good this time, the second return will probably be close to when Ruby is nearing the complete abandonment of hope. This would be pretty par for the course of the show honestly.

A little aside, but in a sense, Penny also represents Unity. The CCT in Vale fell after her first death, knocking out global communications and the unifying connection it gave. When it was restored for the briefest moment, she was there. Her body connected so she could allow for its launch, her soul lighting the night to hold up Amity with every ounce of her strength. So of course when the Hack succeeds and she falls, she takes global comms down again with her. At a smaller scale - even at the Hack's second last attempt to control her, she draws everyone in the Schnee Manor together. At the start of the volume, Yang states the one thing that they all agree on is not surrendering Penny.

Unity seems appropriate for one whose first song and wish was for but one friend, who would go on to find so many more in the process, and permit for a moment the possibility of all Remnant becoming friends once more. Where she first died, the name of the episode devoted to her story - Amity, "friendship", from the Latin root amicus, "friend" - she almost lives and dies with the very possibility of a united Remnant. It's no wonder she's a priority target for Salem, the great divider, and it seems natural that her next restoration may very well allow the next bid to bring the world together.

The Void Screams:

Moments after Penny's death, we hear a weird scream in the void space. It was a guttural, pained, angry scream, almost like the void space itself was crying out. All the portals shuddered and flickered when it happened.

Some think that this scream was Salem returning, but that happens earlier than Penny’s death, her return is signaled with cinder's arm acting up. We know this because after the arm finished flailing uncontrollably, Cinder said triumphantly "she's back." If it were Salem screaming, it would have happened after she fixed herself, but it didn't.

And I doubt Cinder would have been surprised or unsettled by it considering she was happy Salem returned not long before it. And why would a Salem scream affect the portals anyway, she has no connection to the staff or it's magic.

Another thing to consider is the fact sound is not transmitted through the portals. Otherwise, they would've heard Oscar and the rest calling for them, or the screams of the citizens of Mantle and Atlas. This lowers the possibility of that scream being from Salem even further.

The sound really seems to be coming from something else entirely within the void, and that something is not at all happy. There’s also the fact that Penny was the only person who died in the void space, everyone else was just thrown out of it like Ruby and Co. The only logical cause to me is Penny. Her body was a product (or byproduct) of the same creation magic that made the void space, her blood seems to have been a trigger.

Now I can't be sure about it, but this makes me feel like Penny is almost a part of creation itself? For whatever this thing is to be so angry, that is the only explanation I can think of currently. But all of this could possibly relate to the Narnia allusion of 'the willing victim killed in a traitor's stead' that others have brought up, which will be covered next.

Narnia Parallels:

Atlas has several parallels and references to fictional places (putting aside real world ones like the United States). One of those is that of Narnia, both on the surface and on a deeper level. It is a land of winter year round, where people struggle to survive and there is a present divide between those loyal to the current Monarch and those who are not. James is a parallel to Jadis, the White Witch, a ruler whose thoughts and cares aren’t exactly centered around the actual well being of the people. The hologram table in Ironwood’s office is designed to look like stone, like the Stone Table which features prominently in the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. He has a handpicked cadre of special agents/secret police, like how Maugrim and his wolves served Jadis. Another key parallel is how Jadis’s winter sets in to oppress and kill everyone in Narnia, but the Witch provides aid and protection to her loyal followers. She has all the power to spare harm to others, and uses it only for the loyal. As soon as Mantle splits from James and Atlas, no care is taken to protect them from the cold of Solitas even though he has every ability to turn the heating grid back on. His protection is only for the loyal.

Now that the parallel is established, let's look into the details. Starting with how James plays the role of Jadis.

"I had forgotten that you are only a common boy. How should you understand reasons of State? You must learn, child, that what would be wrong for you or for any of the common people is not wrong in a great Queen such as I. The weight of the world is on our shoulders. We must be freed from all rules. Ours is a high and lonely destiny." These are the words Jadis says in the Magician’s Nephew to justify the blood civil war she and her sister had waged for rulership of Charn, before she came to Narnia. She won that war, technically, but only after the last battle had been lost and her sister had marched right up to her so that they were face to face. Jadis’s troops were dead, her followers had surrendered, and the capital was under full control of her sister. But, she still had one card, one ultimate play to win and prove the throne of Charn was rightfully her. The Deplorable Word, a piece of old magic that killed everyone and everything except for her on Charn. It was monstrous, senseless, cruel beyond measure. But it got her that hollow victory. This mindset, the disregard for the people except as tools for her own will, the ultimate ‘aoe’ destructive move that no one had even considered her using, the unwillingness to stop even when by all practical measures the war is over, is a shocking parallel to James. In many ways, he is Jadis in mindset and deed.

Then there is the shared desire for A Thing that both James and Jadis have. For James it’s the Winter Maiden and control over her. For Jadis it’s the Silver Apples from the Tree of Youth. And funnily enough, the Maiden Powers parallel the Apples quiet well. These apples grant power and a life of eternal beauty, but should not be taken or eaten on one’s own initiative. They must be given, a gift granted by another, or only suffering will come from obtaining them. "For the fruit always works — it must work — but it does not work happily for any who pluck it at their own will. If any Narnian, unbidden, had stolen an apple and planted it here to protect Narnia, it would have protected Narnia. But it would have done so by making Narnia into another strong and cruel empire like Charn, not the kindly land I mean it to be.” Jadis’s immortality, and some of her power, come from the fact that she ate an Apple of her own will after stealing her way into the garden where the Tree of Youth had been planted. She gained the eternal life she had wanted and the power along with it, but she did so by taking it and was cursed because of it. Her skin turned pale and her lips blackened as if she were a frozen corpse given life. She will be trapped in a life of misery and hate according to Aslan- oh hey Cinder, how’s having stolen the Power you always wanted working out for you? Cinder had the power she wanted, but she only got hungrier, eager to claim more and increase her might. But in her pursuit she was defeated and humiliated by Raven, had to steal her way out of Mistral, and then suffered defeat after defeat while in Atlas. Only in the end, when she didn’t keep pursuing the Maiden Power, did she get any kind of victory.

The reason these parallels to Narnia are so important is one of the most famous events of the series. The cracking of the Stone Table and the rebirth of Aslan after his death. ‘When a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor's stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backward.’ Well, the ‘Stone Table’ in James’s office has cracked, and Penny strikes me as a pretty willing victim. She has never actually committed any actual treachery or harm, as she was the Protector of Mantle, and fought for its and Atlas’s people until the very end. And because of her death, the actual traitor, Winter, who loyally served James until he had gone too far, was saved. Through Penny’s self sacrifice, Winter was saved. So now Death itself will start working backward.

(Major props to my friend @catontheweb for writing this section, I was getting nowhere with it, if they weren't there this part wouldn't exist!)

Norse Mythology:

The tree we see in the post credit scene gives off some serious Yggdrasil vibes. Also called the World Tree, it is essentially all of creation in Norse Mythology. It connects all nine realms, including the God realms of Asgard, the human realm of Midgard, and the underworld of Hel.

Humans are born from the branches of Yggdrasil. The web of Wyrd is woven for every person once they're born, and their path is set from there regardless of how many times the souls cycle over. But at the end, they're destined to end up in one of the worlds, for a myriad of reasons.

I believe Penny landed closest to this giant tree. She was on the center platform in the void space, so if that space is directly above the island(?) the tree is on, it makes sense for her to fall by the center nearest to the tree. This would not only open up all kinds of possibilities for the volume in general, but it would also create options for Penny.

The whole of Yggdrasil’s representations fit well into Penny’s story. Birth, growth, death and rebirth. We can count Penny’s appearance in V7 as birth for now, her growth is all her development in leaving =the military and becoming a Maiden, her death just happened, and her rebirth would be her revival. And this is a cycle she’s gone through before.

The Norse god Odin and Yggdrasil have quite a connection. In one story, Odin cut out one of his own eyes to gain knowledge from a pool underneath Yggdrasil. The only one that fell whose eyes alone are incredibly significant to the story was Ruby. So, they could choose to have her allude to Odin by having Ruby make some kind of deal with whatever entity likely rules over this magical place. An eye for Penny’s life.

There’s another story about Odin, Yggdrasil and the pursuit of knowledge. Odin so loved knowledge, that he sacrificed himself in a quest to learn the deeper magic of runes. It was believed one could only learn the magic spells from runes in death. So, Odin hung himself on Yggdrasil for nine days as an offering, and teetered between life and death. After he mastered the last spell on the ninth night, he ritually died and all light was extinguished from the world. Odin’s death lasted until midnight, when he was reborn and light returned to the world.

This story doesn’t fit Penny perfectly, but allusions often don’t. So If she really did land near the tree, she could be another loose representation of Odin’s story here. What she did wasn’t for knowledge, but to save her friends and keep Cinder from getting the Winter Maiden power. She believed it necessary that she sacrifice herself to achieve this end. As we established, Penny represents Hope, so her death means the loss of hope. This parallels Odin’s story of his death meaning the loss of light itself. So if this theory holds up, it would make this death temporary, until her rebirth and the return of Hope with her once again.

Alternatively, Ruby has the potential of loosely representing Odin in this story as well. Odin later uses the knowledge of the runes to do many things, but the most relevant one right now is awakening the dead. Both of these stories are about making a personal sacrifice to gain something that is desired. Ruby would absolutely make such sacrifices if it meant saving Penny.

It is said that Odin lived “according to his highest will unconditionally, accepting whatever hardships arise from that pursuit, and allowing nothing, not even death, to stand between him and the attainment of his goals." This sounds like Penny's arc of accepting the WM powers. This is more just a general connection between Penny and Odin, but I found it interesting.

Side Note: I encourage anyone who’s interested to look into RWBY connections to Norse Myth, there’s a surprising amount of things that feel eerily similar to the show. Likely just coincidental, but it’s fun to think about!

(If I got any of this wrong, I sincerely apologize by the way. I researched as best I could, but I admit it could have been lacking.)

Ambrosius and the Staff:

Ruby told Ambrosius "we kinda wanna keep her around longer than that" as part of her very specific instructions. Then Penny died about ten to fifteen minutes, at the absolute most thirty minutes later in-universe. I don’t know about you, but to me that seems very short to be considered ‘longer than that’. Technically it is, but when writing a story and a character says something like that, you typically don’t just kill the character they were referring to basically right away. It makes sense for a week-by-week watch, but in a volume binge, which many viewers do, it becomes ironic how fast Penny dies after being removed from her robotic body.

The first time we see the staff of creation being used, it's to save Penny. Using the staff of creation to help Penny is a sign of how incredibly important she is.

They’ve even got this entire transformation sequence for her, so it wouldn’t make sense for them to throw all that away two episodes later. In a meta context, it’s a massive waste of time and budget considering the asset creation for Penny.

Penny is a character who has already hopped bodies two times. And now we're supposed to just believe that this time it really is a final death? Just two episodes after we were explicitly told her body isn't what matters, that "Her soul is who she is" and that "the mechanical parts are just extra"? From a writing perspective, it feels strange, like your breaking a promise right after making it. And frankly, CRWBY is better than that, which makes me think this is not the actual end for her.

A possible connection between Penny, Ruby, and the Staff (thus Creation) can be seen in the intro. As Ruby is falling and being dragged down into the darkness, she is shown reaching for the staff. In the void space, Penny is the one with the relic. So with Penny having this strong connection to Creation, and the lyrics “fight for every life” playing as Ruby reaches for the staff, it’s a safe assumption to make, with the knowledge we now have, that the Staff of Creation represents Penny in this particular moment. Which could mean that V9 will be about, at least partially, fighting for Penny’s life.

Musical Hints:

In terms of music, Friend, as a song for Penny, is very dissonant from the episode itself. The song is oddly cheerful for Penny’s recent untimely death, and it overall highlights the wrong parts of death. It’s simply too happy to be a song about losing one of the most, if not the most joyous characters in the entire show. The song also abruptly ends. There’s no outro, and while this could symbolize the fact that Penny died young, it could be that the song itself is unfinished in a story sense.

What do we hear just before the song finishes, though? A progression of notes that sounds eerily similar to the last line of the opening of Volume 8. The notes for “Fight for ev’ry life” and “Who fin’lly felt alive'' share a similar melodic structure, they aren’t perfect clones of each other, but they are incredibly similar, to the point where it seems intentional. Penny may very well be the life that the opening song is fighting for. It is also worth noting that the line “Fight for every life” comes just after “Sometimes it’s worth it all to risk the fall,” which is the exact wording used for the description in the Volume 8 finale. Team RWBY risked the fall, yet, strangely the opposite of fighting for every life happened with Penny’s sacrifice. Perhaps the time to fight for every life has yet to happen, and we will see it come Volume 9.

For another thing, the lyrics for Friend are entirely centered on Penny’s feelings for Ruby, to the point where they read very much like a bittersweet love song. The music itself is incredibly cheerful, as mentioned previously, creating a mood whiplash with the end of the volume. Why would we hear a song about Penny’s feelings for Ruby, sounding like a love song, if her death is supposed to be a tragic sacrifice akin to Pyrrha’s? The song may very well be giving a clue into its future use in the show proper.

If this was meant to be a good bye song, why make it so cheerful and romantic sounding? There's only one part about her dying and even then, it's just too accepting and goes right back into cheerfulness. The song is also pretty hopeful, telling Penny's story in a fairly chronological order. And the part where she talks about sacrifice is quite pointedly followed up by one about feeling alive. It also ends with the super cheerful chorus, the word "alive" being the last... (Remember the episode title: The Final Word)

(I want to thank my friend @shadow-0f-x for writing the majority of this section! I was struggling to choose how to tackle it as I am not well versed in music theory.)

What We Didn’t See:

It is likely that Penny understood Jaune's semblance better than him and figured something out about it’s abilities in the same way that she understood Ruby's semblance better than her. She had plenty of time to observe his semblance up close as he boosted her aura to stave off the virus. Because of that intentionally timed cutaway in the finale, we don’t get to hear her explain herself after her strained “Trust me.” All of that seems really suspicious to me.

Pyrrha Parallel:

Pyrrha and Penny both sacrificed themselves to stop or stall Cinder. Jaune tried to convince the both of them to stop. With Pyrrha, he failed, while with Penny he actively helped her sacrifice herself. Doesn’t make sense for the guy who was determined not to let anyone else do what Pyrrha did, unless of course Penny assured him she’d be alright.

The Moment:

RT including the suicide hotline in the description shows that they're aware that Penny basically committed assisted suicide, seeing it as a noble sacrifice worth doing to save her friends. They're aware, and I believe they're smart enough to condemn that decision to hell and back.

The best way to do that in my opinion is to pull her back into the land of the living and let her witness first hand the consequences of throwing her life away so freely. This would show Penny how her actions affected others so maybe she could learn to truly value herself. To not think herself expendable. It would be bold and unwise to portray this choice as something good, unless it was going to be called upon later and be pointed out for how horrible it really is.

On top of this, Penny was way too content with her death, happy even. There's no way team RWBY is letting her stay content with it. It’s almost as though we're supposed to join Ruby and Co. in calling bullshit on what Penny is saying and doing because no, Penny, this is not how things are meant to work. It's as if Penny was basically saying "I want to die for my friends" because most of the volume had been about everyone else making sure she didn't die. She knows it will hurt them. She knows.

At the peak of it all, a choice like this will totally destroy Ruby. It may very well be her breaking point for Volume 9. Curiously, the moment itself is written like it’s the first choice Penny’s ever made, yet the entire Volume shows this isn’t the case. However, this is the first choice that Penny’s made solely independently and it’s rather pertinent that the choice she makes is a mistake. Outside of giving Winter the Maiden gift and saving the day temporarily, this sacrifice will not have any lasting positive effects. Jaune will be saddled with the grief of killing Penny. Ruby will have to live with losing her best friend and not being able to protect her a second time, and Winter now has the burden of the Winter Maiden abilities, making her a target of Cinder. This is a bad thing, and Penny needs to see the long term consequences.

Transfer of Power:

As we all know, colors in RWBY are really important and get a lot of focus in the show. That means the yellow we see as Penny gives Winter the Maiden Powers was intentional and likely important, no matter how insignificant it may seem. It’s possible that the transfer effect being yellow could have something to do with Jaune’s semblance. When Fria gave the power to Penny, the effect was very much blue, so this transfer should have been green since she was the one giving it this time. The weirdness of this transfer and the focus on color in RWBY really makes it look like something’s up with how that went down.

A little off topic, but Penny saying "I won't be gone, I'll be part of you." makes me think... Winter is smart, so when she gets time to think about what Penny said, maybe she'll arrive at the same question many in the audience came to; if she's literally part of Winter, can they be separated again? If Winter starts questioning that, the possibility of Penny coming back just skyrockets.

Fria actually tells Penny "I'll be gone" before giving her powers up, which is an interesting contrast to Penny telling Winter "I won't be gone". She may have gotten that line from Winter be all philosophical in V7, saying Fria was now a part of Penny, but it hits differently coming from an actual Maiden. S5o it’s possible that Maidens usually actually will be gone, but Jaune's semblance did something to change that.

This could go well with the theory that they won't need to find an aura transfer machine, or build another one, because Jaune will have a semblance evolution allowing him to do the transfer instead. It might actually be that this evolution already happened and the golden light we saw was Jaune transferring penny's aura to Winter in some way?

An observation that I find interesting is when Penny gives winter the powers, not only is the aura yellow but penny completely glows yellow too, and she obviously starts to disappear, but she doesn’t seem to fully disappear, she just glows.

It's possibly a fading out effect and she does fully fade but animation makes bright light easier, and so we don't actually see her disappear because she's dead and not gone. But it does once again emphasize the color yellow here!

And the color is coming from Penny, it does go up Winter's arm a bit, but Penny is clearly the source. This transfer is so weird and I’m not really sure how to interpret it. There's just actually no reason that we are aware of to make the effect yellow here is the thing. Unless it has something to do with either Jaune or Ambrosius, or potentially a combination of both...

Jaune’s Aura:

The way we see Jaune's aura break in the finale is strange. His aura shouldn't be breaking here. It had been long enough since he was boosting Penny, he's had time to recharge, and it didn't look like it was a strain on him at all. Plus, we know he has a lot of aura, so there probably wasn't too much to recharge in the first place.

He has a massive amount of aura, it has never broken before as far as I remember. Even if it has though, that doesn’t make this occurrence any less odd. It should absolutely never be a one-hit KO. We didn't see anything that would've drained it, that should not have been enough to break his aura. Unless he did something - something that would require a huge amount of aura - that we just didn't see. That amount of aura drain is far more than just an attempt at healing would do, Jaune absolutely did something with his semblance that took up almost all of his aura.

Pinocchio Allusion:

As any Penny fan knows, her character allusion is Pinocchio, the puppet who became a real boy. Penny deviates from the allusion by having always been a real girl, as Ruby is quick to point out, but she shares many story beats with her original story including multiple deaths. In the original story, Pinocchio dies from being hung by his own strings due to his poor decision making and he dies. Sounds a little familiar, does it not? This is where his tale originally ended. Readers were unsatisfied with this ending however, so the author decided to change the story by reviving Pinocchio and teaching him to be more careful.

Unlike Pinocchio making all the wrong decisions, Penny often makes the right ones, or ones she thinks is right, when concerning others. While usually a good thing, this has meant Penny almost giving herself up multiple times during V8, her last attempt being successful. This is where Penny and Pinocchio begin to share similarities again. They are both very reckless when it concerns themselves. This carelessness comes from different places, but it ends with the same result of them endangering their lives and even sometimes losing them.

In the Disney movie, Pinocchio dies by drowning after going to rescue Geppetto and washes up on the shore (like the beach in V8’s post credit scene). His father is devastated and takes him home to grieve, but as a reward for his selflessness in rescuing his father, the Blue Fairy returns and brings him back to life, as well as granting him humanity. Penny sacrificed her life as well, and it stands to reason that she should be rewarded for it, much like her allusion was.

Penny got her maiden powers from someone with blue aura and then gave her powers to someone with blue aura. So it could be that not only Ambrosius, but Fria and Winter as well represent the Blue Fairy. It could be set up for Winter helping to bring Penny back to life once more. It’s an out there theory I admit, but it’s not outright impossible either. The Blue Fairy in Pinocchio saved him three times that I know of, so RWBY having three representations does make sense.

Geppetto wished for him to live as a real boy, but it depended on what path Pinocchio took. This is very reminiscent of Penny and Pietro. Pietro wants to see her live her life, and surely with him absent in V8C14 that didn't work, despite Penny choosing. Her father did not see her happy enough to live her life, and will only be able to learn her death through others. But Pinocchio's themes were life and being alive. So the likelihood that this is not her end yet is quite high!

A Girl That Fell Through the World:

Penny could be the girl who fell through the world. The girl in the story fled the consequences of a choice. The only person who chose her ultimate fate was Penny. The others were pushed into the void, but she chose to die. The consequence of her choice is Ruby’s grief first and foremost, which Penny won’t see. The girl who fell through the world does come back though, and the world will be changed severely with Penny’s absence. Alternatively, it could also be Penny coming back to Wonderland or wherever they currently are, as long as it’s unrecognizable to her.

What Returning Brings:

Others might say another return would have no story relevant purpose, but I wholeheartedly disagree. Penny gives a profoundly youthful, joyous, and wondrous outlook on the world and story that we hadn't seen since Ruby in Volumes 1-3(not the end), Penny returning would bring a much needed levity back in after the despair they will undoubtedly be going through. While not necessarily a huge thing in most other shows, for RWBY, a show largely about keeping up hope, an ounce of such relief is a necessity.

As much as I hate saying it, Penny’s death does actually make some narrative sense because she had to pass on the Maiden powers. (They could have done this in a number of ways, and I personally think they chose rather poorly, but I digress.) Throughout this whole volume, we can see Penny seemingly being set up to join the main cast, but would have been too strong with the powers. This also accomplishes ridding her of the burden of responsibility that comes with being a Maiden and lets her obtain the freedom that’s so important to her character.

Once she returns, seeing this grief that her actions caused, particularly to Ruby, will get her to realize more that her actions can have serious repercussions. She made a choice, but that choice hurt the people she loves. She must have known that it would but I’m not sure she ever realized just how much.

I didn’t want this post to be heavy in the shipping department, so I largely left it out, but I am going to say this one thing that could have an impact. If Nuts & Dolts is on its way to being canon, which this volume makes it feel highly likely, this could be a catalyst.

It could prompt an arc for the both of them in which Penny learns to live her life fighting for her loved ones, rather than sacrificing it for them. A relationship could potentially start from there. And Ruby seeing Penny learn these things may also help her to stop doing the occasional but very dangerous and reckless things she does. Ruby witnessing Penny coming to terms with what she did to the people that care about her would actually make her stop to think “wait, is this how everyone else would feel if I got myself killed?” That would be a very important moment of character growth for her.

I’m certain there are other significant things that Penny returning can bring to the show. And there are definitely more sections I could add to this. At this point though, assuming anyone even made it this far, I think I’ve been going long enough already. So let’s just roll into the outro!

As painful and hopeless as it seems, I'm choosing to trust them with this because there is absolutely no way they didn't see backlash coming. The way this finale went makes me think that they calculated for backlash and aren’t jumping into something they don’t have a plan to recover from. Whether this trust is unfounded or not remains to be seen, but I don’t think it is currently. I do think, however, that the cause of this backlash was a major misstep. Now that it has happened though, they have a chance to do something good with it.

I know for a lot of you, trust in CRWBY has been damaged, some even irreparably so. And for those that feel this way, I don’t blame you. My trust in them took a hit too, but isn’t broken completely yet. There are many ways that they can bring her back that would make sense with the narrative, they have the ability to make it right, and after going over all of the hints and general weirdness of things many times, I think they will.

I'm feeling pretty confident now and I really didn't expect that to happen at all to be honest. But discussing and theorizing with the discord server seriously helped get my hopes back up surprisingly fast! It’s actually thanks to all of them that this gigantic post even happened! So thanks a ton my fellow Dolts! And a special thanks to!!

@arcana-amicus

@catontheweb

@cosmokyrin

@gaydontmesswithme224

@jammatown919

@shadow-0f-x

They really helped get this thing across the finish line!

And thank YOU for reading all~ of this! I sincerely wish it gave you some of the hope and confidence that I now have!

[yeojaa]

( SOMETHING COMFORTING. )

Jeon Jungkook loves Overwatch, drinking games, and Halloween.  What he loves more than that?  You.

pairing.  gamer!jjk x named f!reader.

genre + rating.   idol!au set in room filled with bunnies and a cotton candy machine that’s exploded.  it’s just that fluffy.  (but also explicit cause why not.)

tags / warnings.  established relationship, gaming (overwatch), dorky weeb references, mentions of drinking, yugyeom makes an appearance (!!), fingering, soft soft soft love making in the shower. 

wc.  9.7k

beta reader(s).  the lovely @kerikaaria​​​ read through this to make sure i didn’t get too nerdy.  tysm!  💛  i may like further changes once my beloved @hobi-gif​ gets her hands on it but i’m a potato who wanted to post this quickly.  oops... 

author note.  this fulfills the “jeon jungkook” square of @btsholidaybingo​‘s bts holiday bingo 2020 and this is the couple from angels & airwaves.  while this story isn’t super plot-driven, it’s meant to be a little peek into the lives of a couple that live in my mind rent-free and continue to make me soft and gooey inside.  i hope you enjoy it!   

You don’t know how he talked you into it or how it really happened.  You remember, faintly, the mention of a party.  Something about it being a small thing - just a few close friends, the members, etc.  He’d said it so offhand, like commenting on the sky or asking for another package of Choco Boys, so you hadn't given it a second thought.  If it was important, he’d bring it up again and if not, well, you hardly remembered it anyway.  Win-win or whatever.  

So you’d given up some intelligence points, traded them for space to fit more gaming knowledge.  Somewhere along the line went your memory too - the conversation wiped from your brain like Will Smith had lasered it clean. 

“Zarya’s one!  Zarya’s one—“  You’re not sure how many times you can repeat yourself, shrieking through comms to a team that doesn’t seem to want to listen.  You’re blasted into oblivion, Mercy’s prone body launched across the map as you watch your Rein fall too.  There’s an irritation bubbling in your stomach, fizzing uncomfortably like the Japanese honeydew soda you’d had at lunch.  “Zarya’s actually one!” 

No one cares.  She’s healed by the time you respawn and make it back across the map. 

“Jesus—“  Your push-to-talk remains off for that flippant comment, distaste colouring your words a bitter shade of blue.  You almost want to let your Ashe get headshot by the enemy Widow, only switching the stream from damage boosting to healing when your teammate starts spamming their hotkey.  

I need healing!  I need healing! 

What you need is a team that listens to your calls or at the very least communicates in some way.  Doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen though.  There’s near radio silence in the voice chat, the only other person remotely helpful being your bouncing booping Lucio that’s trying to keep a flanking Tracer off point.  Stupid.  You almost feel bad for him, Guardian Angeling to him when no one else seems to want to offer any support. 

Ah, the life of a support player in masters ranked.  So infuriating and yet— nope.  Just infuriating. 

You lose the first round with 1:56 to spare, to no one’s surprise.  Okay, maybe to your Reinhardt’s surprise.  He’s being surprisingly chipper in text chat, sending WP and a dorky smiley face.  You think he must volunteer at the local animal shelter and buy coffee for the people behind him in the drive-thru.  He’s far too well-adjusted, not shooting off a single accusation to anyone on the team.  A silver lining, you suppose.  

Your second round starts well enough.  Your comp is solid - as much as it can be in the current off-tank dominated meta.  Hog, Zarya, a private profiled GM Widowmaker, Tracer, Lucio, and you as Ana.  You’d prefer to play Mercy - find the most comfort in her skill set - but on an attack map, you’re not risking a headshot right out of spawn.  Broken maximum damage good stuff means healers are squishy and you don’t have your usual DPS to boost.  (He’s off doing god knows what - maybe filming an ad for Samsung or breaking the internet with his permed man bun.)

You make it through the choke without much ado.  The enemy Rein is wildly out of position, eager to make some big brained play that goes terribly wrong.  Your Lucio chuckles through voice and you join him, tossing a nade when your Zarya looks like she’s about to die to a poorly executed 360 shatter. 

“You winning?” 

It’s your boyfriend peeking over your shoulder, so close you nearly scream, mouse launched across your desk with the intensity of your reaction.  You hadn’t heard him come in, the stupid sneaky bastard as quiet as a mouse.  

(It’s not your own fault.  He knows you can’t hear anything when you’ve got your headphones on, the noise cancelling in your state of the art Sennheisers not something to scoff at.)

“Jeez, Kook!”  You want to be more mad.  Really, you do.  You’re scrambling across your desk to retrieve your mouse, squeaking a quick apology into team voice when your hero stays in one place for too long.  Luckily, Hog - previously sweet kind Rein - throws his big fat piggy self directly in front of you, effectively saving you from an otherwise miserable death at the hands of Torbjorn. 

“What?”  Jeon Jungkook has the audacity to look scandalised, shiny eyes so wide and innocent they feel more as if they belong in an early 2000s anime. 

You’re not even looking at him when you huff - too invested in your Overwatch game to give him the hell he deserves.  All you manage is a swift don’t scare me like that! as you pump your tanks back to full health.  

You notice Jungkook hasn’t moved away, still peering curiously over your shoulder.  You know he hasn’t had much time to play lately, too involved with appearances for their comeback, his schedule too packed even for you some days.  You don’t blame him when he pulls his chair up behind you, rolling into place so he’s just within your periphery. 

It’s a little distracting;  he smells good, like his - and by extension your - favourite laundry detergent and a fruity, nectarine-heavy shampoo you’d picked up for him when he’d run out of his usual.  You notice then that his hair is wet, just the wrong-side of too damp with droplets beading over his neck.  Moisture soaks into the top of his shirt and you think it might be more soaked than you can see;  it’s hard to tell when it’s a jet black shirt, one of the many he keeps in your closet for the nights he stays over.  You realise then that he must’ve been home far longer than you’d thought, if his freshly washed pink cheeks are any indication.  (Because he takes seriously long showers, nearly doubling your water bill in the year you’ve been together.) 

You want to ask what he’s doing here - you’d sworn he was busy for the next few days - but can’t find the adequate brain power to do so.  You’re playing an incredibly high skill character (your words) and if you don’t get this goddamn shot on your Lucio to keep him up, your team is going to die (your ego’s words). 

‘Ask Kook about his day’ gets scribbled on a paper on the desk in your head and filed away under To Do Later in your overflowing brainiac filing cabinet. 

“Can we pleaaaaase focus their Zarya?  She has grav.”  Though you offer the tidbit of information, you don’t assume it’s going to be relied upon.  Your team is well on their way to taking first point - surprisingly - and there’s still nearly three minutes left on the clock.  If the six of you idiots can keep it together and kill that goddamn Zarya, there’s no doubt in your mind you’ll win the game. 

Alas, fate is but a cruel mistress and said Zarya gets said grav off, sucking your own Russian tank and Tracer-turned-Soldier into her hell void.  Not even your well-timed nade can save them from the Genji that dragon blades directly into their faces.  Your poor Lucio dies to the same ult and you imagine you or your Widow are next.  Your Hog’s just respawning, his lumbering silhouette not even on screen.

“Rip,”  says your boyfriend - like the sound, not the letters - from beside you, a droplet of water splashing across your wrist when he shakes his head.  He looks disappointed - as if he’s the one that’s lost the match.  It makes you laugh, the sound tripping off your tongue despite the overwhelming rage you’re currently battling.  

“Rip is right,”  you mumble back, tossing yourself off the map.  If you’re gonna die, it'll be on your own terms.  Jungkook chuckles at that.  

By the time you respawn, both you and Widow are joining a fight that looks like it’s going surprisingly well.  There’s no one on point and you’re capping uncontested.  Widow even headshots a wayward Moira.

“You should go top left.”  

You don’t turn your head.  Jungkook’s always been a bit of a backseat gamer, whether he’s watching your stream while he’s out of town or sitting right beside you.  Sometimes, you love it;  other times, you hate it.  Most times, though, he’s right.  He has surprisingly good game sense, despite being lower ranked than you (something you remind him of constantly, without shame). 

“Can we go top left?”  You parrot into your speaker.

For once, your team listens, most of them running up the sidewall with Widow right down main.  Not for the first time you wish you were playing Mercy, if only to be able to damage boost your sniper while she distracts the enemy team.  Still, you make due, taking your boyfriend’s next piece of advice when it comes, unsolicited.  “You should be back right by the stairs.  You can see up the hall and still heal Widow on top.”

You’d kiss him if you weren’t so intently focused, unable to tear your gaze from the screen when the enemy team seems to pluck their strategy directly from Jungkook’s skull and hold conservatively on point.  Amazing.

“Your Zarya has grav.  She’ll probably throw it on point so you should nade as soon as you get in and Widow can pick them off without full charge.”

If he were anyone else, you’d probably be giving him hell for mansplaining your favourite game to you.  As it stands, you follow his instructions to the letter and the Team Kill marker flashes across your screen. 

“Told you,”  he quips, ever the snooty dork you adore. 

“I was going to say thank you.”  Just not right now.  You can’t multitask quite like he can. 

If you could look over, you think you’d see him grinning from ear to ear, buck teeth and dimples on full display.  “I know.”

As it stands, the other team has trouble getting on point fast enough and you’re left with a whopping 3:56 left on the clock.  Thank freaking god.  You can win this, you think.  Easy.  No problem. 

“Go Ana on defense.”  At some point, Jungkook had gotten up to find a snack and he returns now, bag of shrimp chips in his hand and packet of matcha Pocky held between his teeth.  You open your mouth for a stinky tasty treat and he shoves four crisps in, unceremoniously and with his signature dummy grin. 

You manage to crunch crunch crunch through it all but shoot him a glare the entire time.  He only smiles wider, all perfectly white enamel and enough cuteness to make your heart skip a beat. 

“Do you just want to play?”  You don’t mean it seriously.  You don’t mind him watching and you know he enjoys pretending like he’s better than you.  It’s a strange give and take but one that’s uniquely yours, built over nearly a year of online friendship and another year of a real-life relationship. 

“Nah, I’m snacking.”  He punctuates his response as a child would, shoving a handful of chips into his mouth.  You wonder, briefly, why you love him so much when he’s a certifiable goon. 

The third match begins and you’re not too proud to say you spend most of it following Jungkook’s directions.  He tells you to sleep the enemy Genji trying to scale the right wall - you do.  He tells you to nade once their Rein gets in because your own Rein is going to shatter - you do.  He tells you to do the macarena and— okay, that, you don’t. 

You sweep the match, leaving the other team without a single tick.  

When it comes to the final round, he seems to have lost interest in the game, instead rolling himself back to his computer with a parting, wayward ruffle of your hair.  You don’t blame him but you thank him nonetheless, blowing a kiss before he settles his headphones over his ears. 

You, of course and unsurprisingly, win the game.  There’s nothing like using a Sym portal onto point when they’ve got a Bastion set up off point and no shield to protect him from the back. 

Satisfied, you don’t bother requeueing and instead force yourself into your boyfriend’s personal space, draping your arms across the idol’s neck as he scrolls through YouTube like a zombie.  “We won,”  you sing-song into his ear, proud and a little smug. 

“Of course you did.”  He sounds equally smug and you suppose the win does belong to the both of you.  He’d been a great coach. 

“What’re you doing here?”  It’s pure curiosity offered in the form of a kiss to his cheek, fingers locked across the broad expanse of his chest.  He’s delightfully warm beneath you, familiar and unyielding as you sink over the back of his computer chair.  (You can feel the chair creaking as it reclines.  You don’t care.) 

“Whaddya mean?”

The look he levels you with makes you think you’ve grown a second head.  

“Your schedule said you had a thing tonight.”  You remember, because you’d been disappointed.  Halloween was one of your favourite holidays and all you’d wanted was to watch some campy horror movies and use him as a personal eye shield and security blanket combo.

“We have a thing,”  he states, like he’s talking to a moron.  You know it isn’t meant meanly, too emphatic and amused to hurt your feelings.  

When you echo his words (“We?”) you swear you see him roll his eyes in the reflection of his computer screen.  Luckily, he laughs, sweet and cracky, somewhere high in his throat - a barking hyena.  It’s so cute - your favourite thing in the world - that you don’t have it in you to shame him for it. 

“Yeah, we,”  Jungkook repeats around something close to a snicker.  “Halloween party, baby.  Seriously— you forgot?”

It’s then and there you have two crises:  (a) you don’t have a costume and (b) Halloween party?  You didn’t think idols had those.  Weren’t they all too hip and cool to get together to dress up and act stupid?

(You know the answer is no.  Exhibit A being the costume-wearing dance practices BTS put out.)

“I don’t have anything to wear.”  It’s truly the one thing holding you back, creasing the soft skin between your brows to resemble a peach.  It’s also nearing seven in the evening and you’re absolutely certain you’re not going to find something so late in the day. 

To your surprise. Jungkook looks flabbergasted, that same you-have-two-heads stare wrought across his face.  It’d be endearing if it were directed at anyone else but with it trained on you, it’s rubbing you and your confusion the wrong way.  Why’s he looking at you like that?  Why’s your memory so bad?  Why hasn’t he said anything to answer all of life’s questions? 

“You said you’d go as witch Mercy.”

All at once, you’re pulled back to the offhand conversation, the pleading in his eyes, your half-asleep acceptance.  It’s the memory you’d lost somewhere along the way in upgrading your in-brain video game storage.  A conversation had in bed, his cheeks so big and full of joy they’d waned his eyes into crescents, and your uncoordinated answer because you’d just wanted to go to sleep and not think about anything after indulging in a few too many mochi cream buns. 

“I— don’t remember that.”  You’re lying through your damn teeth.  Your parents would be devastated, all their hard earned money wasted on the braces-straightened enamel that was now letting lies pass. 

“But you did!”  He’s like a kid being denied candy, rounded bottom lip dropping into a pout that should, frankly, be illegal.  It’s far too powerful on him, paired with those Bambi eyes that scream don’t eat (hate/deny/etc.) me!  You can only scowl at him, because you know your own puppy dog eyes only work 100% of the time half of the time whereas his track record was immaculate. 

“Okay, but I forgot to get the—“

“I have it!”

Jeon Jungkook has an answer for everything, it seems.

“I picked it up on the way here.  It’s in your room along with my costume.”

The knowledge of his own intrigues you, squarely centring your curiosity on that and not the fact that you apparently need to get tested for early onset dementia.  “Who’re you going as?”

“You’ll see.”

Your costume is spectacular.  You can’t even find it in yourself to put up much of a fight when your boyfriend reveals it like you’ve won the lottery, throwing his arms wide in a flourish. 

It’s incredibly well made, intricately tailored in a way that makes you worry how much it costs.  (When you bring it up to him, Jungkook simply shrugs.  You think it’s as much a gift for you as it is for him.)  It’s witchy and eye-catching, the belt hung across your hips clipped with an actual book - hollowed out, thank god but also poor thing.  The hat that sits on your head is neatly crumpled, sitting at such an angle you worry whether you’ll need to avoid too-low door frames.  Your wings - well, you’re almost too afraid to touch them;  Jungkook has to help you pull them over your arms, falling into near hysterics when you twitch your elbow the wrong way and smack him right between the eyes.  

“I don’t think I can pull this off,”  you state, somberly, despite the fact that you’re not terribly self-conscious.  (You were, once.  Being in a relationship with someone that worships your body has helped with that.) 

The top of your outfit is fitted, boned and ribbed and snapped together in all the right places.  Leather stands in stark contrast to your skin - summer-soft and gently golden - and hugs curves that don’t quite exist, falling short in a way that has you glaring down at your own chest.  You’ve never wanted a Playboy body but in this sort of costume, it practically demands it.  (You try not to dwell on the fact that you’ve been conditioned to want to look like an impractically designed video game hero.)

From the foot of your bed comes a snort, a derisive sound that draws your attention.  Jungkook’s unabashed in how he admires you, stare roving over every inch like he’s about to devour you.  You’re not sure how you can feel so soft for him when he looks completely the opposite, jaw set and expression sharp.  A Greek god carved from hardened honey, dressed in Balenciaga blue.  “You look great, angel.”

Your heart skips a beat - plays a funny little game of tag with itself - and you can’t help the smile that comes, brought to life by his reassurance.  It isn’t necessary to rebuff him then - eyes rolling, laugh spilling - but you do it anyway.  “You have to say that.  You’re my boyfriend.” 

“I don’t have to say anything,”  he retorts, levelling you with a look that has your insides molten.  It’s the look that reads don’t test me but also I love you and you’re my idiot.  It’s your favourite look in the world, lending wings to your flimsy heart.  “You look great because you always look great, no matter what.”

“What about when you found me in the shower ?”

Jungkook hesitates then.  He’s no liar and he had almost had a heart attack the first time it’d happened.  He’d been minding his business, half-asleep and battling the need to piss, when he’d noticed you curled up in the bathroom.  How he hadn’t realised you were missing from bed, he’s not sure.  All he knew was that you’d terrified him, mentioning something about invading refrigerators when he was pulling his dick out of his boxers.

His scream was what had woken you up;  yours was what had him bashing his head into the wall, foot slipping on the soft pink bathroom rug.  You could laugh about it now but at the time, you’d thought he’d cracked his skull right open, shouting his name so loudly the neighbours had complained.  

(Lucky for you two, they were a nice elderly couple who sometimes had you babysit their grandson.  They’d laughed it off when you’d apologised with a loaf of fresh bread and a bandage wrapped around your boyfriend’s head.)

“Okay—  that was scary.  I thought you’d crawled out of the drain or something.”  A shudder rolls through Jungkook’s body, shaking him from his shoulders all the way down to his knees.  It’s a strangely adorable reaction from someone who looks like he could bench press you.

“You’re calling me the Grudge?”  You’re deeply offended, gloved hands clasping over your chest as if to pull out the treacherous dagger he’s just lodged there.  He only rolls his eyes, leaning forward to catch you in his arms;  he’s relentless as he drags you to him, side of his face pressed to the bare skin of your thigh.  His cheek’s searing but you’re not surprised;  Jungkook ran hot, keeping you warm in winter and sweltering in summer.  (Ah, the price you paid for love.)

“Yeah, you haunt me in my dreams.”

“That’s not the Grudge, Kook.”  Your scoff earns you a pinch, right where the top of your stockings end.  It blooms red beneath his fingers, a little reminder of his competitive I’m-never-wrong nature.  You swat his hand away, not too bothered when it only finds a home elsewhere, hooked behind your knee.  Jungkook had a habit of needing to be in constant contact.  A little quirk of his you adored.

“I’m serious.  You look—”  You should clock the look on his face, the wiggle of mischief up his nose.  A dead giveaway shining bright - a beacon.  “—bewitching.”

If the book weren’t attached to your hip, you’d be clobbering him with it.  Instead, you’re left to whack him with the equally intricate Caduceus staff, booping it over his shoulders.  You feel like a certain shamanic mandrill, Jungkook the idiotic lion that’s asking for an earful.

“Shut up!”  You’re laughing despite yourself and he is too, holding you so recklessly close it’s hard to hit him without hurting yourself.  All part of his plan, you suppose.  “You’re so freaking corny.”

“It’s because I’m a-maize-ing, ang—”

Another wap! to the head, shielded only by a tattooed hand that curls over his ear.  

“Okay!  Sorry!”  Except he doesn’t look very sorry.  More pleased that you’ve stopped the assault, dark hair pushed back from his forehead as he stares up at you.  You hate how he’s so handsome - how you forget yourself when he smiles that smile, nearly yeeting your whole heart directly into the sun.

“Are you going to put on yours yet?”  

It’s quarter past nine already and all you’ve done is rope him into eating some chapaguri - you’ve been obsessed with it since a few weeks ago - and play real life Witch Barbie.  You have a feeling if you don’t get him into his own costume soon, you’re never going to leave the apartment.  (Not that you really mind.)  

Your boyfriend - bless his heart - pretends not to hear you, suddenly intently focused on an indiscernible spot past your hip.  It’d be more believable if he was glued to his phone or doing anything remotely interesting.  Instead, you stare down at him and count the seconds until he realises just how silly he looks.  It usually comes around six, paired with a forced chuckle and that lisp you love. 

Today, it comes after the fourth count. 

“You’re gonna think it’s lame.”  Well, of course you will.  As his girlfriend - and one of his best friends, you’d like to think - it’s your relationship-given right to shame him for his more often than not absurd ideas.  It’s what you deserve for suffering through all his bad jokes and 3 AM Instagram spams. 

With a hand on his cheek, you squeeze the apple like you’ve seen a certain member do a million times.  “So?”

He’s not really sure how to respond to that, mouth drawn into a pout that reminds you of children’s television show about penguins.  It’s unfairly adorable.  Still, you push.  Jungkook’s bad at saying no to you - always has been, even before he really knew you.  From “one more game!” to “bring me bingsu”, you always got what you wanted. 

(Which wasn’t to say you asked for a lot.  You were happy - more than that, ecstatic and over the moon - with the bare minimum.  A selfie while on the plane, some shoddy cinematography during dance practice, a voicemail to wake up to.  You didn’t love Jungkook for all the things he gave you;  rather, you loved him for who he was, who he’d always been even before you knew who he really was.)

“Don’t laugh.”  By the look on his face, you’re worried it’s something awful.  The cheesiest thing in the world come to life to haunt you on your beloved spooky holiday. 

It turns out to be the opposite:  one of your favourite characters realised in the form of your achingly handsome boyfriend.  He looks so good you’re not certain whether it’s your attraction to him or him in that particular guise that’s stronger.  You figure it doesn’t matter one way or another.  For tonight, they’re one and the same. 

“Joker?  Seriously?”  You can’t hide the delight.  It colours every syllable, sets them glowing like a neon sign.

Your boyfriend only rolls his eyes, as if he’d predicted this reaction.  Dressed as he is, the movement is impossible to miss, brought into focus by the white domino mask.  “Don’t sound so excited.”  It’s an actual concern of his.  He’s seen you sink upwards of ninety hours on the video game, playing it in the early hours when he’s fast asleep and you’re battling another night of insomnia.  

Once, he’d asked whether you loved him or Joker more.  He hadn’t liked the answer (joking as it was) and had spent the better part of the evening pouting. 

This time, you’re sweet as pie, eyes so dark and twinkly he wonders whether he’s staring at the night sky.  You wonder the same yourself almost every night, lost in the constellations of his irises.  It’s the most intimate form of stargazing you can afford, a luxury you indulge in frequently.  You’ve mapped the different formations, named them in honour of all the special moments you’ve shared;  you think to label one for this night too.

“You look so good.”  You don’t hesitate to brush his hair from his eyes.  It’s still relaxing from the perm he’d gotten days ago, curling like classic calligraphy over his eyes.  It’s surprisingly soft between your fingers, silk despite the constant heat styling.  Bastard.  “I can’t believe you’re going as Joker.  You don’t even like Persona 5!”

By how Jungkook looks at you then - the same way he did the first time you met standing on the street corner in Dotonbori and a hundred more times since then - you realise it doesn’t matter.  He’s dressed this way because you like the character.  

“Oh,”  you say, because there’s not much more to say.  Nothing that needs to be said as he grins down at you, so heartbreakingly handsome you’ll never get used to it. 

“Yeah,”  he parrots back, a little smug.  

Bangtan’s golden maknae is having the time of his life.  He’s four cups deep into a game of beer pong that’s played like the Wimbledon classic, back hunched, jaw set.  You’d think he was battling it out for the title of God of Beer Pong if you didn’t know better.  (You suppose he is.)  

“Angel, come here!”  He’s giddy - slightly glazed in the eyes - as he waves you over, a red-gloved hand beckoning you to his side.  Despite how good he looks in the costume - every weakness of yours encapsulated by the intricate dress shirt that hugs him like a second skin - the gesture is decidedly adorable, an eager puppy seeking unconditional love.  There’s simply too much affection in his voice, so much sugar-spun love that you can’t deny him (even as you consider jumping his bones at a party full of people).   

He’s shining as bright as the sun and you want nothing more than to live within his warmth.  

With your fingers twined, he pulls you to him, drawing you tight against his side like he doesn’t need that same hand to throw another ball.  You don’t mind.  You know he’ll sink it even with his left hand.  

“I’m winning,”  he states, as if it weren’t wildly obvious by the fact all cups remain untouched on his side.  

Across the table, Yugyeom’s eyes roll so far back you want to laugh.  Jungkook’s competitive side is endearing at best and infuriating at worst.  Luckily, his competition is enjoying himself too much to give him shit.  

(He’s also probably too drunk to, given how badly he’s doing.)

“I see that.”  You’re not a big drinker yourself but you like seeing Jungkook in his element.  He thrives in this sort of setting, showing off all the talents he has and then some.  It’s just another stage to him, somewhere he can prove himself (even if it’s over something as small as how good his bounce-shot is).  “How many games have you won?”  Because he’s been at this table for the last hour, dropping his competition like flies.

“All of them.”  God, his ego.  You know you shouldn’t stroke it but you can’t help it, brushing a hand through his tousled hair in the way he likes best.  Fingers over his scalp, thumb rubbing soothing circles across the nape of his neck.  He nearly melts then, tilting his head into the gentle caress.

“Good job, Kook.”

You’re so lost in your own little world that poor Yugyeom has to pull you both from it, launching a poorly-aimed white ping pong ball at the two of you.  To no one’s surprise, it careens past your heads, hitting the wall behind you and disappearing off to god knows where.  

“Can we play?”  Again, that eye roll, visible just past the bandages that loosely wrap his cheeks.  You know he’s only teasing, that he’s actually quite a fan of your and Jungkook’s dumb coupling (he’s told you), but you return his mockery with a raised hand, thumb and forefinger waving in salute.  

“Losers don’t get to complain.”

The idol throws a hand to his chest, the gesture bordering on sloppy from the liquor that threads his limbs.  Still, it’s cute, earning a sweet laugh from you and a witch’s cackle from your boyfriend.  (How fitting.)  “I’m hurt, Yoojin-ssi.”

It’s Jungkook’s turn to tease, brattiness flipped on like a haywire lightswitch.  “No, you’re just bad at games!”  He’s a sniggering schoolgirl, lines wrapping the delicate skin of his nose, streaking joy into the wrinkles beneath his eyes.  Slightly-too-big front teeth are on full display, his expression the embodiment of an “uwu” emote.

That riles Yugyeom up, powder puff of hair bounding over to you before you have time to blink.  In the next moment, your boyfriend’s half-wrestling with him, their arms locked around each other like some sort of weird four-limbed octopus.  (Video game protagonist vs. hot mummy— who will win?)  You jump back just in time, avoiding a wayward fist and laughing merrily.  Idiots, the both of them.

“You guys have fun.”  And then you’re gone, off to busy yourself with people who won’t accidentally give you a black eye or knock over the nearest thing not bolted to the ground.  

You can still hear them tussling when you latch yourself to the back of a certain blond.  He’s dressed like one of your greatest nightmares - an actual clown, drawing inspiration from a certain 2017 blockbuster - and yet somehow still manages to look good. You don’t understand it and frankly, you’re a little envious, but such was life. 

“Jimin-ssiiiii.”  

“Ahhhhhh, stop!”  It’s the same reaction he always has, paired with wiggling shoulders and sweet laughter that bounces around the room and stirs to life your own.  Indisputable and lovely, the sound is brighter than the sun or the lights that currently swing through the chandelier lights above your heads.  “You two are ridiculous.”

“He’s ridiculous, not me!”  You know it isn’t true.  Separately, you and Jungkook were idiotic enough, finding humour in the silliest things (funny threads on r/Relationship_Advice and four year old Vines).  But together?  It was a two-person circus, graduate professors at clown college.  

You absolutely loved it. 

“Sure, sure,”  the dancer hums, delightfully disbelieving as he takes another shot.  One of three lined up across the counter, clear in little orange cups made to look like pumpkins.  A whiff tells you they’re strawberry soju - your least favourite flavour.  You decline with a wrinkled nose and waving hand when he offers you one.  Jimin shrugs and downs the next, delicately wiping the corner of his mouth when he misjudges the pour.  “Aren’t you drinking?”

You wiggle the half-empty Cass bottle in your hand in response and receive a scoff, different bottle - green, unopened - thrust into your other.  

“Drink this!”  

“You want me to drink an entire bottle?”  You’re incredulous.  Jimin’s seen you on the edge of intoxication and more than a little sloppy, giggling like a schoolgirl.  It’s not unbecoming - you know better than to get blackout - but laughable nonetheless.  Something to record and post on Snapchat with a voice-altering filter.

“It’s Halloween!”  The pumpkin shot glass makes you go cross-eyed before he’s knocking it back too.  “Live a little!”

Who are you to say no to the recent birthday boy?  It would simply be bad manners and you were nothing if polite (though, you’re sure some might beg to differ - Yoongi, maybe?). 

The remnants of your beer are swallowed down in the next moment, so quickly you almost choke on it.  Your life flashes before your eyes, Jimin’s hand on your shoulder as he beats breath into your body.  “Don’t die!”  He cries, despite the fact that it’s his fist that’s making it worse, doubling you over with hacking coughs.

“K-Kook’s g-going to kill you—”  

“No, you’re fine.”  He’s reassuring you just as much as himself, laughing too loudly as you straighten up.  You wonder how red your face is when he takes your place, slapping his own knee as he shakes with amusement.  “Your face, oh—  Your face.”

It’s not meant to be offensive but your buzzed brain demands payment for each giggle.

The base of the green bottle collides with the back of his knee - gentle, gentle - just hard enough to have him properly toppling over, collapsing onto the carpet like a frail old grandpa without his cane.  You can’t help the snicker that careens off your liquor-laden tongue.

That is, until he’s pulling you down with him and the two of you are a giggling, giddy mess, tucked beneath the edge of the bar as you laugh together.  It’s a chorus of sound, unrelenting and building the longer you both sit on the floor.  Jimin’s practically hunched over, head caught between his propped up arms.  You imagine it’s a funny sight - two people in their twenties acting like college freshmen.

“Baby?”  It’s your boyfriend, amused and confused as he stares down at your and Jimin’s prone bodies.  He’s got that dent between his brows, the colour of his eyes all but swallowed up by the way his cheeks press wide with his smile.  “What’re you doing down there?”  

“Just hanging out,”  you answer, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.  At your side, Jimin’s still trying to collect himself, parroting your words around his lungfuls of quieting laughter.

“Are you drunk?”

You’re not, but that doesn’t stop you from gasping, overdramatic and with your unopened bottle of soju held aloft.  A modern day olive branch.  “No?”

Jungkook snorts and then all at once, he’s close.  Too close - smelling of beer and your favourite cologne of his, citrusy and woodsy and every other nice thing you like.  It fills your senses just as his smile does, blindingly bright and bunny-like.  Even behind the mask, his good looks take your breath away.  You must be staring up at him idiotically, all one hundred and sixteen pounds of ooey gooey tenderness.  “You sound drunk, angel,”  he teases, warm red-covered palm coming to cradle your cheek.  It sears heat everywhere it touches, guiding the same hue over your skin.  It creeps up your chest and over your ears, standing in contrast to the material of his gloves.  “Pretty.”

(He really is, you think.)

“Get a room,”  comes Jimin from beside you.  There’s no malice in his voice - just soft affection for a couple of lovesick idiots.  

“That’s the plan,”  Jungkook replies, as if he’d been waiting for the moment.  It skips off his tongue and settles into your ears, tipping your head curiously as you stare at him.  He’s never been very shy about wanting you - at least, not since you’d made things official, so many months ago - but you’re surprised by the insinuation.  When he speaks again, you realise your brain has been rolling around in the gutter, fallen out of your ears like candy from a worn pillow case.  “Want to head home?”

You do.  You really, really do.   

When you stumble into your apartment - the same one with the polka-dot welcome rug and crisp white paint - you realise you were perhaps wrong about how drunk you are.  Everything’s coming at you quite quickly, the ground beneath your feet somehow suddenly rushing at you like Mach Five.

“Whoa—”  There’s an impossibly solid warmth against your back, fingers locked around your wrists that feel more like flimsy chicken feet.  “Careful.”

Your boyfriend’s keeping you upright while stepping out of his boots - impossibly expensive supple dark leather - and you’re giggling all the while, practically sinking against him as he does his best to shuffle his shoes away and get you further into the hallway.  “Sorry,”  you offer in a terrible stage whisper, smiling wide when you catch sight of his, small and endlessly amused.  It slips across his face even as he tries to bite it back, warring with the patience he holds in spades.

“Let’s just get these off.”  He means the boots - the intricate, vaguely absurd things that creep up almost the entirety of your leg, neatly wrapped and knotted midway up your thigh.  Dexterous as he is, it’s a task to unravel the strings and thread buttons when you’re weighing on him like a bag of bricks.

You’re fumbling for the tops, haphazardly smacking his hands away.  “Here, let me.”  

Somehow, you manage to get them off in what feels like record time.  (In reality, it takes a good five minutes of futility before they’re left on the ground and Jungkook’s swept you into his arms, seemingly over waiting for you to do much else.)

“Oh, my prince charming,”  you tease, clinging to him like a koala.  You’re locked around him, practically suffocating him, but he doesn’t seem to mind.  He’s used to it when you’re this way, just a little too much liquid courage turning your level of affection to eleven.  “Or are you the court jester?  That’s what Joker is, right?”  It’s a joke and a bad one at that.  Still, your boyfriend indulges you, depositing a forced laugh against your shoulder as he navigates to your bedroom.  

“You’re drunk.”  He says it more kindly than you expect.  Perhaps even more kindly than you deserve.  You know he’s not exactly sober himself, his gaze verging on heavy-lidded.  There’s sleepiness blending seamlessly with intoxication, softening the edge of his jaw, the narrow of his stare.  It’s terribly tender, skipping your heart when you look at him dead on.

It comes without thought.  You have to tell him.  Your drunk brain and your puppy dog heart demand it.  “I love you.”

Jungkook returns the confession with humour, eyes sparkling despite the haze of alcohol that dims them down.  As always, he indulges you, giving you support in the form of his heart and his hands.  (Literally, he’s still holding you even though you’ve reached your destination.)  “Love you too.”

“Is it time for bed?”  You’re surprisingly tired, despite the fact that you’d slept until late in the afternoon.  You certainly wouldn’t mind falling face first into your mattress.

“You need a shower first.”  It’s a simple statement of fact, you know that.  You’ve got at least ten pounds of makeup on and your hair’s the furthest thing from soft and silky, carefully coiffed to mimic Mercy’s signature style.  You still pretend like you’re just a bit offended, scowling into the face of your boyfriend even as he rolls his eyes, already somehow able to read the words written into your expression.  “I meant we and no, I’m not calling you stinky.”

He’s stolen your thunder, as he so often does.  You pout, as you so often do. 

“Okay,”  you relent, finally, moving to rest your head against his shoulder.  You could get down - walk on your own two tired feet - but you’re enjoying the closeness, how warm and real he feels in comparison to the swimming surroundings.  “Will you wash my hair?”  You don’t really need to ask but do anyway, because you like the sound of his voice when it’s so close.

“You know I will.”  Because he always does when you shower together (and it falls on a designated hair washing day - that was important).  

You offer your thanks with a kiss, laid right over the jumping pulse in his neck.  When Jungkook hums in acknowledgment, you feel the way the muscles constrict, his Adam’s apple jumping beneath your lips.  You zero in on it with laser precision, mouthing over his throat.  Somewhere above you - against the shell of your ear - he exhales a laugh, breath hot.

“We’re showering, baby.”  As if that’s meant to stop you.  He, more than anyone, should know how adamant you get, singularly focused on whatever’s got your attention.  He’s been on the receiving end of it more than enough times, strung into playing another one, two, ten matches of Overwatch or hunting down the limited edition Funko Pops that now sit proudly on your white shelf (and behind your plants and on the ledge by the front door).

“We can shower and have fun,”  you mumble into the expanse of his chest.  He’s so pleasantly warm, unyielding and firm and so, so comfortable.  You think you could live in the feeling of his arms.  (You’re lucky you get to.)  You don’t even mind the sudden cold of the counter or the space that forms between you when he sets you down, because he’s still caging you in where it matters most.  “Right, JK?”

It’s a nickname you rarely use now - one that only comes out in times of desperation.  You’ve never quite understood why it affects your boyfriend the way it does, stuttering the rhythmic beating of his heart, but you love it nonetheless.  It makes you grin, high on power and giddy with nothing but sweetness.  

He’d explained it to you once.  Jay was how you’d met him, the version of himself you’d loved first.  Jungkook was the side of himself he’d wanted to give you but couldn’t.  JK was the in-between - the chaos and the calm.  Hearing you say it brought back all the memories of year one and he liked that.  You could only laugh at his sentimentality and tuck the piece of knowledge somewhere deep, to be pulled out in instances like this.

“Right, angel.”  You don’t miss the colour on his cheeks - so pretty you reach your hands out to cup them, squishing them between your palms like an old grandmother testing a watermelon.  You continue to hold him until he pulls your hands from his face, guiding them to the edge of the counter with gentle pressure.  “Gotta get undressed to shower,”  he chides, that twinkle in his eye that makes it hard to look away.

Really, how can he expect you to do anything when he’s got an entire unexplored galaxy hidden in his irises?  It’s an absurd ask.

“Or I’ll help you.”  

Your clothes fall away while you’re still staring up at him.  

First, the gloves, peeled from your fingers with utmost care.  Kisses fill the spaces between each finger, passed from knuckles to wrist, all the way up to your elbow.  You squirm when his teeth graze the sensitive underside of your bicep.  He stifles a snicker into the skin.

Next goes your cape and wings, hung on the door handle.  His mouth warms the suddenly bare skin, pressing affection into the line of your shoulder, up over your neck.  You don’t squirm this time, instead humming a noise of delight.  You hardly notice when the corset goes next, undone by surprisingly nimble inked digits.  There’s hardly a moment to savour the freedom - you can finally breathe - when his hands replace the cups, palms eager over your chest.  He doesn’t hesitate to hold you, pinching your perked nipples with a sly grin.

“I thought we were going to shower.”  The words are barely out before turning breathless, stolen by the way he easily palms your breast, dropping his face into the crook of your neck. 

“We are, angel,”  Jungkook teases, rolling your bud between his thumb and forefinger, other hand moved to splay across the now-bare small of your back.  It’s almost embarrassing how easily you fall into him, drawn against him like a moth to a flame.  “Just need to get you warmed up first.”    

“The shower’ll be warm,”  you say - or think you say, anyway.  It isn’t quite articulated, half your brain left somewhere at the party (or maybe caught dead centre in the coil that’s tightening in your stomach).  

“Do you want me to stop?”  It’s so quiet you almost miss it, too distracted by how he slips the rest of your costume off.  Shorts, thong, stockings, silly witch’s hat.  “Tell me if you want me to stop, baby.”  Ever the gentleman, he’s patient, meeting your glazed stare with something close to concern.  You almost laugh in his face then - stopping short only when you note just how serious he is, the tell-tale set of his jaw shining like a familiar beacon.  

You return your hands to his face, palms cradling his chin like he might break otherwise.  “I never want you to stop.”  

That’s all Jungkook needs before he’s slotting himself between your legs, mirroring your motion with hands creeping up the side of your neck, fingers ascending into the roots of your hair.  He holds you close and kisses you like it’s all he’s ever wanted.  “I love you,”  he breathes, speaks against the corner of your mouth.  

You parrot the words back at him and he grins, stepping away in the next moment.  He laughs when you pout, offering a kiss in apology as he undoes the buttons of his dress shirt, slipping the soft cotton off.  You stop then, entranced by the revealed skin, how it shifts with each adjustment of muscle, sinew tight over his arms and shoulders.  You wonder, not for the first time, how you’d managed to luck out so spectacularly.  

“Start the shower.”  

You hop down with the direction, slipping past him to do exactly that.  You don’t miss the way he rotates, brings himself closer as you move away.  The magnetism is undeniable - always has been.

“I love you,”  he states, again, bare against your back as you hover by the edge of the glass door, one hand stuck past to test the slow-warming stream.  He’s solid, familiar and comfortable, as he slinks his arms back around you, heat burning the shape of his hands over your ribs, the shape of your hip.  You think he might mark himself there, just as neatly as the floral ink does.  You wouldn’t mind.

The water is welcome, bathing the both of you in steam when you step inside.  It’s an incredibly relaxing feeling, being caught between the spray and the hard body behind you.  You hum a noise of pure delight, turning your face toward the one that nuzzles itself into your neck, and bring your hands to rest over his, fingers slotting between ink.  

“Hair?”  You’re not in a terrible rush but you like redirecting his attention (pretending to, at least) - the teasing that formed the base of your relationship presenting itself in the quiet reminder.  It earns the laugh you expect, muffled into your hair, featherlight over the delicate shell of your jewelled ear.  

“Patience, baby.”  It’s something Jungkook tends to say a lot, whether waiting in queue in Overwatch or in bed, with you a complete mess.  He repeats it easily, like he’s the poster boy for the virtue.  (He isn’t.)

“What am I waiting—”  The question dies, swallowed whole by the gasp he draws from you with a wandering hand.  Fingers slip across your stomach, digits deftly seeking out warmth as if you weren’t already enveloped in it.  It’s a touch that’s tantalisingly slow, unfairly light, but it still makes you keen when it drags over your lips.  A single digit pushes past muscle - so shallow you’re not sure you’re not just imagining it - before retreating, dragging your slick back up to your clit.  The moment the pad of his finger makes contact with the sensitive bundle of nerves, you almost jump.  Would, if he weren’t caging you with his other arm.  

You feel the cold of his teeth bared against your neck then, the throaty laugh that pulls out of his chest and deposits itself into your hair.  “Patience,”  he repeats, swirling his fingers over your clit, his mouth moving in tandem with the twist of his wrist.  He peppers love and affection in the form of kisses, presses devotion with the edge of his teeth, soothes all your nerves with a sweep of his tongue. 

“Kook,”  you sigh, already well on your way to being a boneless mess.  There’s tingling in your toes, fizzing in your stomach, butterflies in your chest.  A whirlwind of emotion and sensation that he stirs to life effortlessly.  

“Relax for me.”  You do so because it’s easy, because he’s so devastatingly good to you.  

The figure eights skating over your clit cease, fingers dropping further down to nestle against your cunt. He pauses there, almost experimentally flexing against the muscle that aches and clenches around nothing, eager for more.  You think he’s smirking by the way his lips form with his kisses, a little lopsided and devilish.  (You wish you could see him.) 

A single digit enters you then, to the third knuckle as if your body was made for this, for him.  (It was.)  He coos against your neck when a garbled mess skips off your tongue and nearly laughs when another slips in alongside it, turning the mess into nonsense.  Despite how badly you want it - need it, really - it’s a sensation that’s too much and not enough all at once, toeing the line between pleasure and pain.  

It was how Jungkook loved you - recklessly, shamelessly, in no half measures.  With more love than you could ever hope for, giving you things you didn’t even know how to ask for.

“Relax, angel,”  comes as he begins scissoring both fingers inside you, stretching you out with an otherworldly amount of care.  Even your neglected clit is given some sort of relief - anything to ease the sting of two long fingers - his thumb gliding over it with each stretch of your walls.  He knows exactly where to touch you, how much pressure to apply, and you’re melting, lost in the feeling.  

When he’s had enough and he curls his fingers within you, seeking out that particular spot, you’re trembling, caught off guard.  Heat builds quickly with the precision of which he taps against that spot;  it starts low in your back, climbing each vertebrae of your spine until you’re quivering in his arms.  

“K-Kook.”  It’s both a plea and a demand, nonsensical as he guides you through your orgasm, keeping you upright against him when your knees feel like they might give out.  

“I’ve got you.”  And he does - hook, line, and sinker.  He holds you steady as the pleasure crashes over your head, keeps you anchored to the here and now and the pleasure that rolls through you like a relentless wave.  It sinks beneath your skin, settles heavy into every atom, and he never lets you go.  He’s got you.

When sensation returns - slowly, so slowly it feels like you’re stuck in the Twilight Zone - you only want to turn.  See him, hold him, whisper sweet nothings as you kiss him silly and thank him for his service.  Instead, you’re held in place, two hands firm upon your hips even as you crane your neck to look over your shoulder at him.  You should recognise the look on his face.  “Kook?”

“My turn.”  It’s a statement more than anything, a kind heads-up as he nudges you forward.  There’s that same twinkle in his eye, the only source of light around the pupil that’s blown out, otherwise engulfing the constellations he so normally offers you.  It’s a black hole and one you’d gladly get lost in.  “Hands on the wall, baby.”

You’d never been one for shower sex - it’s too small a space, too much happening at once, a guaranteed freak accident waiting to happen - but you can’t deny him when he asks so nicely.  (It really hadn’t been that nice but you were a certified sucker for one Jeon Jungkook.)

Hands find themselves on the wall, palms flat, fingers splayed.  In the same instance you wiggle your hips, there’s a ghosting touch over your spine.  It trails up and down, soothes the residual heat that lingers, and then slips higher, palm gentle over your throat.  His thumb rubs reassuring circles over the nape of your neck, pressing gently into the sensitive spot behind your ear.  It’s distracting and you realise much needed when he sinks into you with one fluid press of his hips, filling you so full you can’t help the gasp that bounds past your lips and bounces around the glass enclosure.  “Oh fuck,”  he sighs, his grip on your hip tightening incrementally.

He sounds like sin and feels like heaven.  

“Always so good for me.”  Another thing he says, often and without prompting.  It still feels just as good the umpteenth time, sparking pride deep in your chest as he pulls out and drives himself back in, staring in rapt fascination at where your bodies meet.  “Always so perfect for me.”  

“Because I love you,”  you quip, more than a little out of breath and jostled by the way he thrusts into you, measured and with enough force to shake your legs.  

“Love you too, angel.”  He doesn’t need to say it back - you know, can feel it by how he holds you, drives you to brink of insanity with his cock - but he does it anyway.  He always says it back, no matter what, even if he’s half-asleep or distracted.  He’ll never stop saying it.

The hand on your hip falls, slinks across your hip and between your legs, and you’re pushed further forward, his feet gently kicking yours further apart.  Jungkook assaults your clit then, timing each pass with each thrust.  An attempted glance back has fireworks going off before your eyes, specks of pleasure lighting up your vision;  it’s a technicolour lightshow, framing the way his face scrunches, brow set and jaw hard.  He’s determined, focused on bringing you to another orgasm before he hits his own high.  You assist him as best you can, swiveling your hips and grinding back against him even as the coil pulls impossibly tight in your stomach, barely held together by threadbare strings. 

“Kook,”  you whine when the tension becomes too much, hands scrabbling across the wall of the shower.  The same overwhelming tingle sparks beneath your skin, entire body trembling like a leaf when the head of his cock brushes that spot inside you at just the right angle.

He doesn’t relent, rhythm turning almost punishing as he drives you over the edge, launching you headlong into your second orgasm.  You’re not sure how you stay upright, near sobbing when you crash into euphoric bliss, neither his fingers nor his thrusts ceasing.  It’s almost too much and yet you know how close he is, so you push back, whimper words you know he wants to hear.  

“P-please, Kook.  Please.”  You’re reaching a hand back, desperate to interlace your fingers with his.  He gives in easily, catches your hand in his own and plants it on the swell of your hip as he chases his own release with desperation.  “Come for me, Kook.  Fill me up.”

Jungkook does just that, balls tight as he spills himself inside you, hand at your throat so tight you’re seeing stars.  Somehow - with the feeling of him grinding into you, overcome with so much sensitivity - you come for the third time, crying very real tears as the sensation washes over you.  It’s weaker than your first two but unravels you all the same, seeping the energy from your limbs.  You’re grateful for how well he knows you and the fact he catches you before your arms collapse, pulling you to him with gentle movements.  

“I love you,”  he whispers against your temple, out of breath and sweat-slick despite the water that rains down upon you.  

“I love you,”  you answer, pressing a kiss to the hand that still twines with yours.  “But I still need you to wash my hair.”  It’s cheeky and you know it so you don’t even mind when he bites into the meat of your shoulder, leaving a pretty red mark that’ll bloom for the next few days.  “Ow!”

“You’re a brat.”  Said even as he’s reaching for your shampoo bar, teasing it through your roots with practiced movements.  He’s careful despite his scathing tone, gentle despite how he glares at you from the corner of your periphery.  Each tangle is neatly undone and not a single bubble gets in your eye, much to your joy.  

“I thought I was an angel.”  You’re taking a page out of his book, speaking in fluent pout.

He catches your lips with his own, pushing your lathered up head beneath the steady stream when he withdraws and speaks.  Suds run across your cheeks, eyes shielded only by the hand he keeps steady along your hairline.  Even so mean, your boyfriend is still terribly nice.  “You’re my angel - but you’re still a brat.”  

You can’t argue with that. 

tag list.  @neverthefirstchoice​ @youwannabelostandnotbefound​ @snackhobi​

[dzamie-oc]

06 - Mech

Ah, aren’t Synths wonderful? Modular, and you can make them do gender and sexuality in whatever way you please.

Length: 2200 words Rating: M (no sex actually happens, but genitalia are discussed a lot) Summary: A woman and her robo-derg go shopping for some parts to spice up their bedroom activities.

Minors DNI, please. It’s rated M for a reason.

-----

Lauren and her Synth, Haskell, stood at the entrance to the robotics store. It wasn’t an official outlet for his manufacturer, so they would technically be voiding his warranty, something that might have concerned them if he had still had one. As it was, however, the reason they simply stood there was less robotic and far more human.

[I told you for weeks, I’m only going in after you,] Haskell said, his primary lights a mirthful yellow against his blue and light grey plating, [watching your face go through so many emotions is well worth the delay.]

The human gently shoved him, her face hot with a blush. “Shut up, I’m getting to it.”

[Would it help if you pretended we were here to look at different parts?] The synthetic dragon took a couple steps forward, peering at the shelves. [I wonder if they’ve got a simulation link set up for a naga lower half. Oh, don’t worry, Lauren, it’s well outside of our price range, I’d only be demoing in VR. You won’t have to worry about my tail wrapping you up in your sleep any more than it already does.]

This did not in any way help Lauren’s blush, but she did stomp forward and stubbornly cross the threshold into the store. Haskell’s visor displayed blue carets for his eyes as he followed her inside. On a side thread, he bragged to other synths in their IRC chat room how positively adorable his owner looked after some well-placed teasing, and he received some encouragement, and a link to an image of a synth with a hand at the end of her tail giving him three thumbs up.

“Hey, you two!” one of the employees, a two-tailed fox, called, “good to see you again. Haskell, how’s that projector module treating you?”

“Oh, hey Shay!” Lauren replied, her nervousness instantly abated. “It’s been real useful. Now we don’t have to settle for my desktop’s monitor to watch stuff together.”

[Or my visor.]

“That was ONE TIME. Anyway, thanks for the recommendation, and... half un-thanks for telling Haskell that it’s so port-neutral.” The human jabbed a thumb towards Haskell. “Nothing quite like walking back from the bathroom to see this guy on the bed, zero legs, with a My Little Pony AMV projecting out the bottom of his torso onto the opposite wall.”

Shay looked on the verge of laughter. The blue and grey Synth scrossed his arms and turned his head up and away, while his visor displayed a gentle U shape on each side. [My taste is far beyond you organics’ comprehension. Time will vindicate me.]

“A blast and a half, I’m sure. Anyway, what brings you two back in? Looking for hardware or software?”

“Oh. Uh, hardware,” Lauren said.

[In more ways than one,] Haskell added, to a returning and deepening blush on his owner’s face.

The fox furrowed her brow, then a look of comprehension crossed her face. “Ohhh... well! Let me go grab Conny, and she’ll show you to that rather special workshop.” She strode over to a door behind the counter, stuck her head in, and shouted, “Ay Conny! Got a customer for the fun stuff! Come and get ‘em!”

A few seconds later, a synth head popped out from behind the door, pale red around a dark visor featuring a slit-pupil eye display. “The fun stuff? Oh, must be the human lady and the blue bot. Come around and follow me.”

Haskell and Lauren shared a look at the prospect of walking behind the registers, but after a moment, Haskell shrugged and followed the other Synth through the employees door, with Lauren behind him, mindful of his tail. [She pinged me over short-wave, said it’s standard enough for this sort of thing,] he explained.

Conny turned out to be not only a pale red, but an entire slightly-desaturated rainbow from head to foot. Her tail had fewer segments than Haskell’s, but was the same length, so he assumed it was some storage model. When she turned from the hallway into a side room, something rattled in her tail, and he mentally congratulated himself on the guess. The human and Synth also stepped inside, and were immediately surprised at what they saw.

It was clearly a Synth workshop, with a sturdy table, a selection of mechanical and electronic tools on one wall, and a number of wires for fast data transfer. But what was unusual to the pair was a solid half of a wall featuring artificial penises and vaginas. Haskell quickly switched his primary lights to a reddish pink to fit the room, same as he saw Conny do. Many of the genitals were clearly modeled after other species; Haskell quickly identified pairs resembling those of dolphins, wolves, nagas, and several kinds of dragon. But some were purely fantastical, or even designed to look congruous on a Synth. On the opposite wall hung various erotic chestplates, although those weren’t nearly as varied in their design. Haskell’s attention did linger on a pair that featured a port on each breast where the nipple would be on a human or anthro, and the thought spurred him to link a photo to the IRC, followed by “consider: boobs that can grab you back.” To his surprise, one of the other denizens shared that she had a model like that, and joked that she’d share photos for five bucks.

[So! My name is Delilah Conagher, but you can call me Conny,] the rainbow Synth said, [and this is where we keep the lewd. Now, you don’t have to answer this, but this is gonna be for you two? Or has...] A request for information appeared in Haskell’s comms; he let her see his name and pronouns. [Or has Haskell come with his owner, but plans to use this stuff on someone else?]

[Oh, I sure hope this is for us. Otherwise, I’m gonna be pretty let down after all that flirting we’ve done to each other.]

[Faaaaan-tastic. Now, what’re we kitting you out with?] Conny’s eyes curved up and a few twinkling stars blinked in her visor, a common sign that a Synth thought they were about to be very funny. [Are you getting a dongle, port, or rack?]

Haskell laughed, but Lauren, though smiling, looked mildly perplexed. “Isn’t it obvious?”

Haskell laughed louder. Conny, however, just shook her head, though her lights fading to yellow as she did so signaled her amusement. [I could guess, but the guess with the highest accuracy is only 72%. If Haskell was using she/her, that drops all the way down to 43%.]

Now it was Haskell’s turn to be confused. His visor showed eyes looking up and away with one brow slightly down, as he remarked, [43 sounds low for four... well, five options with rack only. Surprisingly even distribution.] Lauren turned to him with a clear question on her tongue, so the Synth answered it for her, counting off on his fingers. [Dick or pussy, each with and without tits. Plus a fifth for just the tits. I’m still on the default “pan” from when we installed the sexuality software, so I happen to have saved plenty of examples to show you if you don’t believe me. Not all Synths, even. Only most.]

The human shook her head. “N- um... maybe later. But, Conny, we’re getting him a... a penis.”

Without audio, Conny sent Haskell a message saying, “Assuming only one between the legs or one set on the chest is sensible, but inaccurate. A good mechanic can do wonders.” Aloud, she addressed Lauren. [Wonderful, those are fun! And all of the designs here are made to be pleasurable to the giver and receiver - trust me on this - so there’s no bad answers, although there may be some better ones for each Synth. So, anything you’re looking for for your first one?]

“First one?”

[We’re modular,] both Synths said at once.

“Oh, right. Uh... well, I think I’ll pass on the... fleshy-looking ones. I think they’d clash with his body, and feel too different than- uh, nevermind.” As Lauren’s voice trailed off, Haskell put on a rather smug and pleased look.

Not missing a beat, Conny grabbed a small selection of more robotic-looking schlongs from the wall and set them out. [Now, this one here’s a great one, both as a first time and in general. It’s not the simplest, but it’s got a vibrate function that’s insulated from the rest of the body.] She then picked up one that looked more obviously draconic, but still with a robotic aesthetic: silvery top, glossy black underside. [And this one is far and away my favorite, both in shape and novelty. Bit on the higher end for price, though, I’ll be honest with you. Doesn’t stop it from being popular with my return customers, though.]

Lauren tentatively reached out, and Conny handed the penis to her, letting her turn it over in her hand. “I mean, it’s certainly nice, but what gives it that price?”

In reply, the rainbow Synth popped one hand off, took the dildo back, and slotted it in. After a few seconds to recognize and prepare the device, the glossy black underside revealed itself to be an RGB light, slowly fading through a few colors. Haskell stared at it. Lauren, on the other hand, had a different reaction. “No. Absolutely not. I know you, Haskell, and there’s no way I’m giving you even half a reason to try to fuck me to Caramelldansen.”

[It’d be funny, though.]

“Not happening.” She pointed to one of the others. “That one looks nice, though. Haskell, how do you feel about that one?”

The blue and grey Synth nodded. [I think I’d look rather good with that on me. If you think you’d feel good with it in you, we should give it a shot.]

Conny looked between the two of them, then nodded at Haskell. [Then just hop up on the table and I’ll get you set up. Oh, that reminds me: I can also modify your lower chassis - a couple hundred, same as other port additions - to get you a proper crotch mount or two. Assuming you’re pretty standard, the best I can do is essentially a workaround where I plug it in the rear, behind your tail, and give you some fittings to secure it around your legs and/or waist.]

“It’s not necessary, though, right?”

Haskell laid down and soon felt the weight of his tail vanish, followed by a system notification that a module had been detached. The Synth mechanic kept talking. [No, but without it, Haskell will probably need or at least want your help to get the penis on and off.]

[Sounds worth it to me,] Haskell said.

“It’s not your $200.”

[Sure it is. You did tell me I could have my own account for stuff on the side. Remember, because I was ask- whining for- hold on. I was ask- whining for video games.] He gave Lauren a flat stare. [Really?]

Lauren held her hands up. “In my defense, I had forgotten I’d done that before I promised to stop touching your admin controls without telling you. But yeah, that’s fine then. Get yourself some penis compatibility.”

[Great! Alright, doc, fix me up!] Haskell said, then slipped himself into Safe Mode.

-----

[Oh, that looks fantastic,] the Synth said, admiring his new dick, [thanks for matching it to my colors.]

[I’d be a pretty poor mechanic if I couldn’t,] Conny replied, [but thanks. Now, go ahead and disable sensitivity in the device settings, or at least drop it as low as possible.]

[Huh? Doesn’t that go against the point?]

[Some modules can be equipped in public. This is not one of them. And trust me, you don’t want that thing anywhere near the default levels when you remove it, at least not until you’re used to the sensation.]

Lauren glanced down the hallway. “Yyyyeah, let’s not traumatize whoever’s in the store and potentially find out which of us is legally liable for you going streaking.”

Haskell nodded, and after a couple seconds, pulled the penis out of its socket, then fit a grey plate over the port, hiding it.

[And this should go without saying, but there are no returns on this sort of thing. If something goes wrong, you might get a partial refund if you send us the diagnostics, but once that dick is out of the store, we don’t want it back in here.]

Lauren took the cock and gave it a curious squeeze before placing it in the bag Conny had provided. “Fair enough. And will Shay ring us up out there, or...?”

[Yep! Alright, you two, have fun out there.]

As the two left the store after paying, Haskell linked a photo of the purchase he had taken earlier to his IRC friends. Some congratulated him on a well-chosen mod, a couple of them asked him to DM photos of it equipped, and one person floated the idea of attaching two of them to that pair of breasts with ports.

All in all, a productive day, and a precursor to a hopefully unforgettable night.

[rainandhotchocolate]

About Last Night - P2

A/N So i know I have a million other requests but I’m a sucker for this story sooooo here’s part 2222 lel enjoy!!

Mon 12:00pm

Sirius ~ So before I read the weekend news, should I be worried about seeing any murders I was supposed to be involved in? ~

Y/N ~ Don’t worry I planted your fingertips everywhere so they’ll know you were involved as well ~

Sirius ~ Oh thank god, I needed something to destroy my reputation ~

Y/N ~ And what reputation is that? ~

Sirius ~ Oh you know, cool edgy creative writing major with a soft side ™ ~

Y/N ~ Dear god you’re one of them :O ~

Sirius ~ Ur DiffEReNT thAN OthER giRlS ~

Y/N ~ **Blocked**

Sirius ~ I sincerely hope you know I was joking ~

Y/N ~ I guess I’ll have to find out :P What are you up to today? ~

Sirius ~ Well apart from giving my alibi to police, I have about 3 hours of classes today and an essay due ~

Y/N ~ Wow, that sounds like a super fun day – any good classes? ~

Sirius ~ Yeah I’m enjoying my lit class at the moment, we are doing genre fiction at the moment so looking into how writers create worlds, even within our own world, and why genre fiction is so looked down upon in literature society ~

~ and now that I’ve typed that out I am realising that it probably doesn’t sound wildly interesting ~

Y/N ~ Hahaha nah it does! That would be cool to learn about, I’m a sucker for genre fiction tbh, could never read the classics ~

Sirius ~ That just means you never found a good classic 😉 – What kinda stuff do you read? ~

Y/N ~ look I want no judgement here… I honestly mostly read fantasy/ sci-fi ~

Sirius ~ Have you read Dune?? ~

Y/N ~ Yes !!! Holy shit such a good series !! ~

Sirius ~ I’ve been trying to get my mates to read it for a LIFETIME its so good ~

Y/N ~ I would have thought Remus would have read them? He’s always got a new book with him ~

Sirius ~ I didn’t know you knew Remus as well? But yeah, he in theory would but he also has a long list of to reads and wants to go through them one after another ~

Y/N ~ Yeah, he studies with Lily a lot and I sometimes join them 😊. Also jesus that’s commitment, I’m usually picking up another book whilst I’m halfway through another ~

Sirius ~ I have no idea how he does it, if I’m being honest, if I hate a book I just don’t finish it (please don’t tell my literary friends I told you that, I would be killed in my sleep) ~

Y/N ~ Haha your secret is safe with me – imo I reckon that’s the best way to read, like why force yourself through something just because it’s a classic or whatever, I feel like that’s why so many people don’t read a lot you know? ~

Sirius ~ Completely! I actually just realised I have no idea what you study? ~

Y/N ~ Ahh that’s because I’ve been avoiding the question ~

Sirius ~ It can’t be worse than creative writing – I won’t even get a job after uni ~

Y/N ~ Oh believe me, it is. I study communications ~

Sirius ~ Oh dear lord you are every white girl who ever existed ~

Y/N ~ I know, I’m perpetuating the stereotype its very disappointing tbh ~

Sirius ~ So is that where you work then? ~

Y/N ~ Wow you remember a lot haha yeah, I’m doing an internship in social media management, it’s surprisingly soul-sucking ~

Sirius ~ Is that surprising… 😉 ~

Y/N ~ I mean, that was thinly veiled sarcasm haha but it’s actually not all bad, the strategy behind content etc is actually pretty interesting, and I’m working for an eco-friendly company so at least I get to come up with cool environmental memes ~

Sirius ~ Ahh yes, hit the youth with the memes ~

Y/N ~ See, you’re learning the comms ways already ~

 Thurs 11:28pm

Y/N ~ Whats ya facebook? ~

Sirius ~ Uhhh… Sirius Black? It’s not wildly hard to find, why? ~

Y/N ~ I’m gonna be real, I would like to stalk you ~

Sirius ~ Is this Y/N? ~

Y/N ~ :O ok you’ve known Y/N like 2 days how did you guess that ~

Sirius ~ Cause this message felt like one of those old school msn ‘my friend hacked me !!!’ ~

Y/N ~ You’re a smart boi, Black ~

Sirius ~ thank you kindly stranger ~

 Fri 6:45 am

Y/N ~ I AM SO SORRY ~

~ MARLENE STOLE MY PHONE ~

~ I PROMISE I’M NOT A STALKER ~

Sirius ~ Why on earth are you awake right now ~

Y/N ~ Because my body never allows me to sleep in ~

Sirius ~ how rude, also don’t worry I accepted your Facebook request so you can stalk all you want 😉 ~

Y/N ~ Literally am going to stab Marlene ~

Sirius ~ At least she’s up front ~

Y/N ~ Wait why are you awake rn? ~

Sirius ~ James wants to make the firsts soccer team at uni and has decided I must train with him ~

Y/N ~ Well that’s gross ~

Sirius ~ Couldn’t have said that better myself ~

Y/N ~ so what does this training consist of ~

Sirius ~ Mainly James trying to shoot balls at my head as I attempt to goal keep ~

Y/N ~ Can’t see that ending well ~

Sirius ~ Excuse you, I happen to be VERY athletic. I am a multisided human being thanks ~

Y/N ~ I am so sorry to have placed my predisposed ideas on you ☹ pls forgive ~

Sirius ~ I will have to think about it – right now James wanted me to do suicides and I must go into hiding ~

Y/N ~ Godspeed ~

Sun 2:58pm

Y/N ~ Ok I know I promised not to stalk, but what the fuck is going on in this picture ~

~ file ~

Sirius ~ oh no no no no no no no no ~

Y/N ~ ehheheheheheheheh ~

Sirius ~ I really thought my privacy settings were better than this ~

Y/N ~ Yeah this was very easy to find ~

Sirius ~ I’m going to kill James ~

Y/N ~ You can’t blame james for this beauty ~

Sirius ~ Oh I really can, he decided it would be hilarious for us to have a photoshoot when I was completely trashed one night. And then proceeded to post everything and tag me ~

Y/N ~ James sounds like a fun night out ~

Sirius ~ I wouldn’t say that to lily ~

Y/N ~ What she doesn’t know won’t kill her 😉 ~

Sirius ~ You are slyer than I thought ~

Y/N ~ I think I’m going to frame this photo and place it all over your uni ~

Sirius ~ You wouldn’t ~

Y/N ~ You may need to convince me otherwise ~

Sirius ~ Anything to avoid that embarrassment in my life ~

Y/N ~ Perhaps you’ll just have to owe me for sparing you ~

Sirius ~ I think that’s a fair deal – what about a coffee? ~

Y/N ~ I think a coffee or two would be a fair trade off :P ~

Sirius ~ Well I have the most disgusting week of midterms but perhaps on the weekend? ~

Y/N ~ Sounds LIT ~

Sirius ~ You’ve just made me regret inviting you anywhere ~

Y/N ~ That’s what I’m here for 😉 ~

 Wed 3:07pm

Sirius ~ Bit of a creepy question, but did I see you at uni today? Navy Skirt, Black Jumper, & tights?

Y/N ~ Wow you really observe an outfit don’t you ~

Sirius ~ I mean I noticed the outfit cause I thought it looked good and then I realised it was you and so it stuck in my head ~

~ in a less creepy way ~

~ in fact let me just completely start over – were you at uni today? I think I saw you! ~

Y/N ~ Maybe, what was I wearing? ~

Sirius ~ I hate you ~

Y/N ~ 😉 Well to answer your question, yes I was at uni – it was Lily and I’s weekly cheap lunch date ~

Sirius ~ Classy ladies you two are ~

Y/N ~ Couldn’t describe us better myself ~

Sirius ~ Oh by the way, are you going to Remus’ party this Friday? ~

Y/N ~ Mmmm I was thinking about it, why? ~

Sirius ~ No reason, I just knew Lily was invited and he mentioned inviting some of her friends ~

Y/N ~ Mmmm, yeah he told Lily to bring Marlene and me along, unsure though as Lily is particularly annoyed at James this week and he will of course be there and be annoying ~

Sirius ~ What if I can promise he won’t annoy her? ~

Y/N ~ I really don’t think you should make a promise you can’t keep :P ~

Sirius ~ Ah, you underestimate me! James has to go home this weekend to see his parents so he won’t actually be there ~

Y/N ~ This is a very interesting development – we may reconsider ~

Sirius ~ Well Remus does throw a great party ~

Y/N ~ DO you actually know what James did anyway? She usually likes to rant about it but she’s been shut in her room the past 2 days ~

Sirius ~ Honestly I’m not sure, James has been unprecedently quiet as well ~

Y/N ~ Hmmm how odd ~

Sirius ~ Indeed it is ~

 Friday 4:42pm

Y/N ~ What are you guys wearing tonight? ~

Marlene ~ Not sure, I’m torn between a velour tracksuit or the classic Canadian tuxedo ~

Lily ~ Both very classy options ~

Marlene ~ You know me, go hard or go hard ~

Y/N ~ You’re both incredibly unhelpful ~

Marlene ~ Worried about meeting a certain dark haired texter? ~

Y/N ~ Am I not allowed to want my best friends’ help on my outfits?? ~

Marlene ~ I mean I can’t help you look hot if I don’t know who its for 😉 ~

Lily ~ God forbid she looks hot for herself ~

Marlene ~ Hey, you’ve gotta play to your audience ~

Y/N ~ How would you even know what he likes ~

Lily ~ She stalked him around campus yesterday ~

Y/N ~ um MARLENE ~

Marlene ~ I just wanted to know his style, habits, if he was a psycho killer ~

Lily ~ She has a point, if he’s as annoying as James we have to protect you at all costs ~

Marlene ~ We need to make sure she isn’t sucked in by his serial killer prowess ~

Y/N ~ You’re making me sound like prey ~

Marlene ~ 😉 ~

Y/N ~ How did you even stalk him, Lily has no classes with him ~

Marlene ~ I have my ways ~

Lily ~ She flirted with the office assistant until she gave her Sirius’ schedule ~

Y/N ~ You minx ~

Marlene ~ No one can resist my charms ~

Lily ~ That is yet to be determined actually ~

Y/N ~ very true Lils, we’ve never met anyone you’ve dated yet ~

Marlene ~ Sooooo not the point, and we’ve gone off topic! How are you going to wow Mr Black ~

Y/N ~ That is 100% not what I asked ~

Lily ~ you may as well have ~

Y/N ~ You both suck ~

Lily ~ Wear that flowy black dress you refuse to ever wear!! ~

Marlene ~ YES YOU LOOK BANGING IN THAT ~

Y/N ~ ugh but it’s a casual party ~

Marlene ~ Who gives a shit, stand out ~

Lily ~ He’ll be drooling ~

Y/N ~ I don’t need him to drool I just want to make a good first impression ~

Marlene ~ Aha the truth finally comes out ~

Y/N ~ if you were actually in your dorm I’d be hitting the roof with a broomstick rn ~

Lily ~ Where are you?? ~

Marlene ~ Where do you think 😉 ~

Lily ~ Not the office assistant ~

Marlene ~ 😉 ~

Lily ~ How!? I was with you the whole time, you never exchanged numbers ~

Marlene ~ Exchanging numbers doesn’t have to be an oral task… unlike other things 😉 ~

Y/N ~ We get it, your sexual prowess is above all of us ~

Lily ~ I’m honestly impressed, she was cute ~

Marlene ~ I’m offended you’d be impressed tbh ~

Y/N ~ Ok so you are both coming over to my house in an hour to dress and intoxicate me ~

Lily ~ Deal ~

Marlene ~ Maybe give me an extra 30 mins 😊 ~

Taglist:  @averytruerayofsunshine @siriuslyjanhvi @blushingskywalker @blackpinkdolan @thebabblingbookworm @cherrie511 @imlukesnirvana @avengersassemblee @maraudersandco @sly-vixen-up2nogood @katbernoulli @sirius-lysad @evyiione @minerva26love @aikeia @gollyderek @greatwombatblaze  @songforhema  @your-typical-giggle

[chubbyooo]

Blurred Lines: Cursed Past Chapter 85 - Love Over Great Distances

Hey all Gacen is back its been so long since this orange oaf has done stuff which kinda makes sense since he's been with Risha Gacen begins the search for Sumalee but makes sure to keep Risha close

Gacen felt calm, he hadn’t left Risha’s side since arriving on Gabredor Prime, the planet was so weird it was so remote but also so beautiful, he had to admit he hadn’t been looking at the planet's beauty much though. He looked down at her lying in his arms and smiled, she really had waited for him, their love was real, he stroked her hair as she looked up at him still looking as smarmy as ever but clearly happy he was here. It was impressive she’d managed to get this set up in five years but not surprising, she could do anything when she set her mind to it and he’d help her whatever it took, he wasn’t a coward anymore.

Gacen frowned thinking to himself “so how do you think Sumalee is going to react when she sees me, throw me down the stairs or just groan” Risha laughed shaking her head at him

She smiled “she doesn’t hate you that much just the right amount, that sweet spot I found too” Gacen faked a gasp acting all offended “oh come on don’t make me feel bad dumbass” she sat up putting her forehead against his

Gacen smiled “I know I’m just kidding I’ll do my best to convince her despite the fact I’d rather just stay here with you, I only just got back and now I have to go again” he pouts at Risha who to no surprise doesn’t jump to comfort him

She tapped the comm link she gave him “you may go but I’m not letting us seperate that easy you better talk to me the whole time i spent ages getting these encrypted so it’s safe for us to talk” Gacen smiled at her 

He teased “awwww you did that for me you must really love me” Risha smirked rolling her eyes

She leaned forward “don’t flatter yourself or I’ll be forced to divorce you” Gacen chuckled right back to their old routine

He faked surprise “you wouldn’t dare” Risha chuckled to herself clearly happy to have her ‘dumbass’ back

Risha winked “oh just watch me” she pulled him in close for what he assumed would’ve been a snide comment but as she did her face softened and she just hugged him tight

Gacen hugged her back “aw Rish I guess we can’t quite go back to what we were, a few things have changed after all” she nodded squeezing him tight “it’s ok it’s ok though I promise I won't turn this off ok” She let him go wiping her eyes and smiling

She punched him playfully “you better not we can’t have anything bad happening to the future Queen's husband” Gacen smiled at her laughing to himself what an odd nickname

He tested his comm “testing one two, ‘Rish...loves... me’ you getting that ‘best...I am…the...best” Risha put her hand on her forehead

She chuckled “I’m already regretting giving you that but yes it does work” she tests her own “and you should be able to hear this ‘No...he...isn’t’” Gacen gasped comically as she spoke

He smiled “well it seems to work Rish” he looked out the window “has M4-SK prepared the ship” Risha nodded following him to the door “and he understands his ‘role’ right he seems eccentric even for a droid” Risha shrugged holding onto his hand

She sighed “I dunno probably he may be weird but he gets really in character so is much more reliable if he gets caught just don’t give him too much backstory or he’ll try to work it in” Gacen made a mental note to avoid that

Gacen took her hands and smiled “thanks Rish I promise I’ll be back in a flash with Sumalee” he pulled her into a long kiss after which neither really wanted to let go holding each other for a few minutes

Risha eventually broke away “well you best be back soon I have other things I need you for” Gacen gave her a quizzical flirty look “I don’t mean that! I mean other missions, come on Gacen that stuff goes without saying” Gacen chuckled squeezing her hands before turning to walk to the ship

Once in the cockpit he turned on the comm link leaning against the wall “hey girl I hear your home alone want some company” a long elongated sigh came back through with what sounded like a stifled laugh as well

Risha tutted “you are the worst I swear” Gacen strolled to the cockpit and sat down in the pilot's chair

He responded “yeah but I’m your worst it’s too late to back out now you admitted how cute you find me” M4-SK looked at him quizzically but didn’t press the issue 

Risha groaned “are you gonna be like this the whole trip” Gacen knew what the answer was but just whistled innocently…

Later they were coming up on Wayland and M4-SK had been asking questions “if I may I’d like to know a little more about my character” Gacen had done his best to avoid answering questions so far but he couldn’t hold out forever

Gacen groaned “you’re a protocol droid for me a travelling mystic” he gestured to the robes he was wearing that vaguely resembled the Jedi robes he’d seen during his time in the republic

Risha came through the comms “ooo wow what a mysterious hermit of course he has magic powers why not show me a few” Gacen rolled his eyes she’d been making fun of his outfit non stop

M4-SK rubbed their chin “yes I’m aware but do you really think people will buy you as a mystic what if I played the mystic” Gacen frowned at him what was so unconvincing about that

He put his hands on his hips “um first of all rude and second of all droids can’t do magic it’s literally impossible” M4-SK tutted clearly disagreeing

He continued “maybe in your small minded universe but in the acting world anyone can be anything” Gacen had a look of disbelief on his face and leaned back whispering into the commlink

He asked “does he have any idea this isn’t a play?” why of all the droids was he stuck with this one

Risha responded equally unsure “Honestly I don’t know I’ve told him over and over but he just seems to ignore me so eventually I just gave up” Gacen sighed of course

He sat back up “hmmm maybe a good idea as an experiment but for now we need to nail this so I’ll play the mystic” M4-SK shook his head going back to co-piloting

He tutted “fine but it’s your funeral when the reviews come in” Gacen just decided to ignore him as the planet of Wayland came into view, it was a mainly mountainous planet with many trees dotted around and as they brought the ship down they found there was a decent number of inhabitants they landed close by and soon encountered the Crystal skinned humanoids.

After a quick translation from M4-SK and a crude drawing of a togrutas montrals they were directed towards a mountain with a flat plateau in the side of it, overall it seemed promising now it was just about convincing Sumalee to come with him

As he walked up the mountain he continued to talk to Risha “so why do you think Sumalee came here I thought she was a respected member of the jedi” Gacen put his hand up against the wind as it blew his cloak back he felt very out of his element

Risha responded quickly “I’m not quite sure apparently it’s one of those ‘strong in the force planets” Gacen got that vibe he wasn’t sure why “and you know she was never really the most ‘by the code’ Jedi” that was true 

Gacen smiled “I mean she knew us that’s pretty not by the book” she had given them far too many favours and pardons over the years

Risha agreed “exactly it may just be that she wanted to strike out on her own” Gacen guessed that was possible

He shook his head “well let’s just hope that she’s more agreeable to smugglers named Gacen than before” Gacen hoped so anyway he didn’t ever appreciate being on the wrong end of a lightsaber

He made his way up the mountain and by the end his feet were as sore as can be he was not a climber, he leaned on the stick he’d found to use as a walking stick. “Yes I made it oh my god I’m so tired” he took a moment to rest 

Risha teased him “oh you poor thing whatever will you do” Gacen rolled his eyes looking up at the rest of the Plateau

He saw at the end there was a figure floating in the air seemingly meditating, he recognised the montrals and hoped this had all been worth it.

She turned and lowered herself to the ground “you have come here seeking answers mystic? Well go ahead ask away” she lifted her hood revealing the red skin of Master Sumalee

Gacen gritted his teeth ready “well not exactly” he took his own hood off with a cheesy grin “I actually came here seeking you, what’s up girl how’ve you been” Sumalee’s expression dropped

She sighed “oh fuck” she strode towards him “what do you want Gacen and if you’re going to ask me where Risha is I don’t know” she folded her arms and turned away

Gacen held the back of his neck “weeeeeelll I actually may have the answer to that question” Sumalee turned around her face softening “and I’ll tell you if you listen to my proposition” Sumalee seemed to consider it for a few seconds

She took a long pause “you get five minutes otherwise I throw you off my mountain” Gacen nodded that seemed fair, he’d have to talk fast...

[allimariexf]

(Arrow 7x15 thoughts) Olicity: the team within the team (always)

I wanna apologize because MY BODY CANNOT HOLD ALL THESE EMOTIONS and I’m a mess so I”m sorry for whatever happens here

SO. MUCH. OLICITY. I had forgotten it could be like this. WHY did they withhold for so much of the season and then give us so much Olicity in a single ep? (never mind don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, right?)

“I want this partnership to be done right and to be legitimate from the beginning for our baby.” OUR BABY. and then HIS FACE!!! He’s trying to be all serious but he cannot stop that smile of happiness that’s taking over his face because he is so happy omggggg!!!!!!

subtle harp-like Olicity theme in the background is almost literally MY HEARTSTRINGS BEING PLAYED 

OH GOD THEY BRING IN “BELIEF” AND I AM DEAD HOW DARE THEY: “If you believe that this is what’s best for the city and what is ultimately best for our family, then I agree. Because we’re a team too.” and then: “Always.”

HOW DARE THEY HOW DARE HOW DARE HOW DARE THEY

CALL BACK TO EVERYTHING THEY HAVE EVER SAID TO EACH OTHER ABOUT BELIEVING IN EACH OTHER

AND ABOUT THEIR PARTNERSHIP

AND “ALWAYS”

the way she walks toward him and takes him by the lapels 😭 such a Felicity move

HIS FACE WHEN SHE DOES IT 😍 ohhhhh I have missed Oliver’s heart eyes and those are HEART EYES IN FULL FORCE

but most of all THE WAY HE IS GAZING AT HER WHEN HE SAYS “ALWAYS,” and HIS VOICE HOLY SHIT that’s a different voice from anything we’ve ever heard 

(now if only he had hair and if only he would take off that DAMN COAT like that coat is like a third wheel at this point geez it’s honestly like a built in cockblock, in fact maybe he wears it all the time because otherwise they’d never stop getting it on? Hmm new headcanon maybe 🤔)

ughhhhhh and then the kiss after the “always” MY HEART I AM DEAD

“...that we don’t tell anybody about what’s happening in here”

UM Felicity is adorable here okay??? “in here” omggg

and more importantly OLIVER CLEARLY THINKS SO TOO 😍😍😍 his eyes and smile OH GOD

and then the second kiss!!! like 

I love the adorable married going-in-for-multiple-kisses thing and 

the way she smiles going into that second kiss and then 

they just LINGER THERE like Olicity really knows how to LINGER like the 3x01 first kiss and the 3x20 goodbye kiss and now we have this, the 7x15 “better future” kiss and they just LINGER with their lips together on that thought and she breathes him in and IT’S JUST SO BEAUTIFUL someone needs to come put me back together please 😭

I am destroyed and resurrected (repeatedly) under the cut...

“...so about that tartine...”

HOW ADORABLE IS IT the way his face shifts into that smile and you just know that he has been doting on her SO MUCH and he LOVES IT HE LOVES COOKING FOR HIS WIFE AND BABY like honestly YOU KNOW IT’S HIS #1 PLEASURE IN LIFE NOW NO CONTEST

“Have I told you lately how smart you are?”

OKAY first off having Oliver actually talk to Felicity about Arrow stuff??? FUCKING FINALLY OKAY. This is the dynamic Olicity was BUILT ON and MY SOUL HAS BEEN PARCHED FOR IT. Felicity is Oliver’s #1 partner. BLESS THIS EPISODE FOR REMEMBERING THAT. FOR SHOW US THEIR PARTNERSHIP, which honestly the entire SHOW is built on.

okay and HIS FACE before he says the thing, when he’s just thinking to himself about how smart she is and how much he admires and respects her and needs her as his partner?????? It’s the perfect Olicity mix of LOVE, ADMIRATION, and RESPECT??? THAT IS WHY I LOVE OLICITY. RIGHT THERE. 

and then the way he GAZES AT HER WITH PERFECT HEART EYES after she says she “never gets tired of hearing it” because HE IS SO SMITTEN WITH HIS WIFE/PARTNER/LOVE OF HIS LIFE 😍😍😍

UGH and then his reaction to “I want mint chip” like THEY ARE SO IN SYNC he gets her 100% completely he understands and he’s 100% there for her and UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH someone stick a fork in me

because it’s THE PERFECT TRANSITION from Team Arrow to Olicity, just a seamless blend of the work and the relationship because BOTH is who they are I don’t think I will ever be over that moment ughhhhhh

“You guys go ahead, I ate something that’s not gonna mix well with alcohol.”

UM OKAY callback to the 3x01 first date or coincidence? (“The alcohol is not going to mix well with the 3 Benzos I took”) I think I’m gonna go with DELIBERATE CALLBACK.

THE WINKING OMG. LITERALLY THE CUTEST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN? MAYBE.

also Oliver looks SUPER hot in that moment, whooooboy. THAT LOOK IS 🔥🔥🔥

“I think you look exactly the same.”

EXCUSE ME BUT am I the only one who is reading wayyy into this just like, the way he says it, her smile?? It’s like a reminder of all they’ve been through together, how much they’ve grown and changed (and also yes hello callback to the season 7 Felicity arc) and yet she is still Felicity, they are still Oliver and Felicity, and like...........?????? EXCUSE ME AGAIN 😭😭😭

and then he sits down on the bed and they’re just talking on their bed like THANK YOU I NEEDED THIS IN MY SOUL

“I may have thought of a name for a girl...Mia.”

Letting us see him looking into her eyes, a little uncertain, being vulnerable with her...I AM ALIVE!

Because he knows she’s going to pick up on the fact that it’s in honor of his mother

AND MOIRA!!! JUST 

we know how important she was to Oliver, but also how complicated, how it ties in with his confused feelings for his family and his legacy, but also his deep love for his family and just how important family is to him, but it also involves this awareness of how Moira figured into Oliver and Felicity’s history, how without her having done what she did they never would have met, and his awareness and resulting hesitation because he knows Felicity didn’t get along with Moira, and THEN AND THEN her acceptance ( “I love it” ) just confirms THIS ONE ESSENTIAL FACT ABOUT OLIVER and about ARROW ITSELF: that no one is perfect, we all have our faults, but there’s love anyway: “Family is precious, and that it’s LOVE, IN SPITE OF EVERYTHING, THAT MAKES IT PRECIOUS.” 😭😭😭😭 I AM DEAD AGAIN because it’s everything y’all I don’t even have words right now

and his smiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiile 😭😭😭

“Regardless of whether we have a boy or a girl, I just want to make sure that she or he ends up growing up in a better and safer Star City than I did.” / “Yeah.” / “I want that for both of our children. They’ll always have each other to lean on.” “And they’ll always have us.”

THEY ARE HOLDING HANDS FOR THIS ENTIRE CONVERSATION

and she strokes his face

and HE HOLDS HER GAZE FOR SO LONG after he says “both of our children” what are these teeeears!?!? 😭

(and we’re going to ignore the clearly ominous overtones because fuck that)

look at them just staring into each other’s eyes holding hands A FAMILY 💗💗💗💗💗💗

The BUNKER 

OLICITY IN THE BUNKER ALONE TOGETHER BECAUSE THEY ARE THE TEAM WITHIN THE TEAM, THE BEATING HEART OF TEAM ARROW 

AND THEN JOHN JOINS THEM to complete OTA, the core, the TRUE, perfect, COMPLETE Team Arrow and it is perfect! 

and then when Dinah and Rene show up, Oliver says: “We found a lead. Well, Felicity found a lead.” THANK YOU THANK YOU WRITERS THANK YOU I will always be grateful for every acknowledgement that Felicity is essential to Team Arrow - essential - and having it come from Oliver’s mouth is OF COURSE The Best.

OTA: FUCK. YES. “So what don’t I know about?” / “We’re having a baby.”

OLIVER’S FACE when he wants to tell John about the baby!! HE CANNOT KEEP THAT SMILE OFF HIS FACE 💗 it’s possible my life is complete UGH HE IS SO HAPPY HE CANNOT CONTAIN IT 😭

And when she says “we’re having a baby” HIS FACE actually BOTH OF THEIR FACES y’all I AM ALIVE the way they are both standing their TRYING TO CONTAIN THEIR HAPPINESS????

and they both say “Yeah” and their EYES??? 😍

but like @it-was-a-red-heeler said he’s making the 3x01 face and OH GOD WHAT A PERFECT COMPLETE CIRCLE 😭😭😭

JUST LOOK AT THEM STANDING THERE TELLING THEIR BEST FRIEND THAT THEY ARE HAVING A BABY

John, who said, “And when you meet the right person, you'll be ready for her,” who said “I think our Miss Smoak is smitten,” who said “I think you didn’t have a problem with Felicity’s performance until she met Barry Allen,” who said “not like us” regarding Oliver’s inability to express his emotions, who said “I know it must be difficult for you, seeing them together,” who said “Why don’t I, uh, give you two a second?,” who said “Maybe Felicity will change all that” and “you love her, you even told her so,” who said “You need her to be anyplace where Ray Palmer isn’t” and “You’re in the field without your head on straight” and “If that were true, you’d be with her, man” and “This thing with you and Palmer is messing with his head” and “You gotta tell her how you feel before it’s too late,” and (skipping way ahead), “I’m not the one she was going to marry,” and “I’m the guy who’s been trying to keep you two together,” so like EXCUSE ME BUT 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 OKAY?

Delicity: “Morning sickness or not, Felicity, you have not missed a beat. You were absolutely amazing out there, your tech was phenomenal.”

It’s a little clunky but if this is the final ironing out of all their issues, I’ll accept it. (I’m easy.)

I AM HERE FOR ALL THE ADMIRATION AND RESPECT FOR FELICITY SMOAK (in her hero/genius/badass capacity).

I ESPECIALLY AM HERE FOR the acknowledgement that she can be both a pregnant woman and a hero/badass/vigilante. (And I am going to take that as assurance that they WILL NOT FORGET THIS FACT.)

also blahblahblah foreshadowing.

Overwatch/ Team Arrow

first off: OVERWATCH!!!!!!!!!!!! FUCK. YES. My show is back.

second of all: Every time Oliver touches his comm and says “Overwatch” it’s like a virtual orgasm and we were coming all.night.long. friends 😂 I mean there were like 4 times, right?? OH GOD YESSSSSSSSS

but I am SO SERIOUS: Team in the field and Overwatch on the comms IS ARROW and I have missed it soooooo much and now I LIVE!

and yes the SCPD scenes were all freaking HILARIOUS especially Felicity’s reaction to the tech + her “loopholes” + Oliver and Felicity doing a side mission on their own 😍😍😍 (we will not comment on the ridiculousness of the random boiling hydrochloric acid nor the fact that they clearly would have known that evidence gathered in such a manner would be inadmissible)

meanwhile I loved Felicity’s line in the Master Chef scene: “This partnership’s not going to work if she forgets who she’s hired.” PERFECTION. HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD. EXACTLY. THANK YOU.

Other stuff

Am I the only one getting excited because it feels like only a matter of time before we completely shed NTA? They just feel sooo unnecessary at this point (I mean they always did but now they just seem like even an inconvenience to the writers)

I truly COULD. NOT. CARE. LESS. about Dinah’s storyline. Like, I’m sorry. I like Juliana. But they’ve never made me love Dinah, as much as I wanted to, and then after s6 honestly she is the member of NTA that I disliked the most, and I have always fucking hated that stupid Canary Cry (again, I much preferred Sara as the Canary, how badass she was as a fighter and the Cry was just an added bonus, and it wasn’t nearly as ridiculous as it later became with Laurel and then Dinah. UGH. At least that’s gone.) The one thing I appreciated about this storyline was the conclusion that the Cry is not an essential part of the Canary. DUH.

Ben Turner’s kid as Connor Hawke: I called it like one minute before the reveal lol. I like it, though I kinda wanted more Ben Turner, and this makes me think he’s gonna die :(

Flash Forwards/William and Mia: yessssssss 💗💗💗

though I still think there’s more on that micro-cassette. The missed messages from Oliver and Felicity. More clues from future Felicity. Meanwhile hearing Felicity’s message to her children just DESTROYS 😭😭😭😭😭

THE PROMO OH MY GODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD I AM NOT READY

Um I think that’s all the freakout I can fit in one post. I’m a mess. Someone needs to pick my pieces up off the floor and put me together again, please. 

[khaosgaming22]

Blackout - A Destiny Story

“Eyes up Guardian!”

Chase flashed and hovered over his guardians bunk, attempting to wake up a half asleep Kenton. Or Ken, as he was called by his friends, a titan exo named CHAO-5 and awoken warlock named Draeko. However like Ken, he gave them nicknames because they felt they worked better in combat. Respectively, Chao and Drake.

“Wake up!”

Ken tossed a pillow at his ghost, but Chase was able to avoid the fluffy projectile. Defeated, Chase sighed and went to get Chao and Drake to have them try.

“Won’t get up eh?”, said Chao oiling his upper section of his arm. Last time he went into the crucible, he fell and hit it, ever since it’s locked up in missions. He found oiling it has helped but has refused to ask for a new arm. Usually these three stay in their ships but they were all tired and decided to crash in the bunks room at the tower. They were out running a strike on Io and it took them a while to get back to earth.

“No, I’ve been trying for 10 minutes, he’s determined.”, Chase blinked.

“Or Hungover”, lamented Chao.

“Sigh... he was drinking again?”

“Yes, I know we got some great loot last night but he needs to lay off.”, Chao replied.”

At this, Drake walked into the breakfast room, he grabbed a bagel and looked puzzled at it. “Curious, it appears to be a donut without a dough or glaze? What’s the point of eating an inferior version?”

“Good point, why would you eat it?”, Chao agreed.

“Because we wanted to eat healthily pre-traveler era.”, said Ken stumbling out.

“Look who’s up, sleeping beauty!”, Chase chided. “You need to stop drinking alcoholic beverages after every mission!”

“Shut up Alexa”

“That’s.. not my name... I don’t understand?”

“Never mind, I’m getting a waffle.”, Ken said trodding off toward the iron.

“So, what are we doing today?”, Drake said sitting down, uncomfortably on the bench attached to the table. Drake, as an awoken had been away from earths people for a while and was still adjusting to things.

“Well, i still have yet to do that quest Ada gave me, Servo, what’s my average LL?”

“You’re sitting around 597, she recommended 610”, Servo answered.

“But, we’re all at 590-600. If we all go we might be able to do it. I got the same task.”, interrupted Ken drowning his waffle in maple syrup.

Drake contemplated this, munching on his discount donut. He had the highest Light Level out of the three and though he still had to do the quest as well, he was worried at how tough it could be. Eventually he got up, stuffed the rest of the bagel in his mouth then started toward the elevator to the armory. Not that Ken or Chao noticed, they were too busy arguing about which exotic of theirs was better, Ace of Spades or Sleeper Simulant.

Drake pressed the button and the elevator door closed and whirred as it ascended. Eventually the elevator stopped and arrived at the armory, Drake stepped out and noticed someone moving crates of weapons around.

“Good morning.”, called the warlock.

“Ah, good morning, you’re here early. Pardon the dust just organizing some boxes of rifles!”

It was Shaxx, overseer of the crucible, awoken can get pretty tall, but even standing several feet apart, Drake seemed tiny compared to the boisterous titan.

“Just checking out my weapons.”, Drake explained.

“Going on another mission?”, Shaxx said putting down a crate.

“Depends, I want to check my gear to make sure I can carry my team if I need to.”, Drake replied. “My Well of Radiance can only do so much, I want to see what my new weapons have in the way of perks. Eve?”

“Yes?”, the ghost said blinking into existence.

“Can you check what the stats on these weapons are?”

“Certainly.”, the ghost replied.

“You have the primary Assault rifle, Breakneck, the Shotgun, Retold Tale and the Sniper Rifle,Whisper of the Worm. All in the 590-605 range.”, Eve counted.

“As for my Gear, I have some good stuff, it seems and the Sunbracers for gloves.”

“Seems like I should get ready and tell them.”, said Drake returning his ghost.

<========================>

“All right, ready to go?, said Chao getting in his ship. Drake and Ken replied with a thumbs up from their cockpits and the sound of their engines filled the hangar.

After a while the three of them are on there way to the EDZ and start up a conversation about their favorite weapons. The three may be very different in origin and history but the one thing they have in common is their love of rare weapons and other personal items. Ken asks what Drake’s is “being a warlock”.

“What’s that supposed to mean Cowboy?”, says Drake alluding to the hunters choice of subclass Gunslinger.

“Nothin’ but we both agree that we have very different styles when it comes to fighting.”, the hunter replied with a smirk.

“I probably would go with Prometheus Lens, it goes well with my solar subclass and it’s great for add clearing.”

“Yeah”, interjected Ken, “It used to be even better, but it was such a problem the Vanguard had to tell Banshee to mod them so people couldn’t take advantage of it!”

“Oh yeah, Banshee had a lot of work to do that week!”

“What about you, Chao?, what’s your favorite exotic?”, asked Ken slowly moving his hand toward the throttle.

“That’s a tough one, I think if I had to pick one it would we my...”

“Yeah whatever, RACE YOU TO THE EDZ!!!”, Ken yelled into his com, shut it off then pulled on the throttle sending his ship into a nosedive.

“YOU SON OF A!”-

“That little...”

The three ships raced toward the landing zone north of Trostland and the warlock, titan and hunter appeared on the surface transmatting from thin air.

“I totally beat all of you!”

No you didn’t, I clearly won that!”

“WOULD YOU TWO STOP ARGUING!”, Drake shouted.

“Let’s just get to the location on the map.”

“Fine”

“Okay”

<========================>

“Well, here’s the spot.”

“A cave...at the edge of the EDZ...what’s the point here cause I’m sure missing it?”, Ken said shouldering his rocket launcher.

“What’s that in the center?”

“I think that’s what we’re here for, hey Ada?”

“HOW DID YOU GET ACCESS TO...oh it’s you 3..sorry, reflex. Ahem, that is a forge, your job now that you have that frame, is to forge the Machine Gun.”

“You need to collect charges and put them into the forge before time runs out, otherwise the forge won’t complete.”

“Sounds simple enough, just chuck some balls at the thing in the center and BAM! free loot!”, said an excited Ken racing toward the forge.

“WAIT!”, Ada shouted.

It was too late, the forge turned on and Cabal came charging through the caves for the 3 of them.

“YOU IDIOT!”, shouted the angry Awoken, “She was about to mention the danger!”

“You guys we’re taking too long we’ll be fi-

SMACK!, a gladiator Cabal smashed the frail hunter into an adjacent cave wall.

“Ugh what did he do now?”, lamented Chase reviving his dead guardian.

“He poked a hornets nest, he rushed in without a plan what do you think he did?!”

“-ne, what happened? Did we win?

“NO, you rushed in without a plan and died to a Space Turtle. Stop doing that!”

“You guys worry too much, I’m fine as long as I have Chase!”

“AND WHAT IF IM NOT?!”, yelled Chase at his guardian shotgunning a Cabal.

“What?”

“What if I’m not able to revive you? What if im not there to? What then?!”

“I’ll be fine.”, Ken replied reloading his Handcannon.

“I always think of a way out of things-

“No...your friends do...I do.”, Chase said sulking away.

“I’ll be fine without him...”

————————————————

“Good thing you have that Well of Radiance D! This is getting rough!”

“Im also 5 levels above you!”, the warlock responded taking a shot at the centurion.

“Hey, is...where’s Chase going?”, asked Drake.

“Huh?”

“Chase! Wait!”

“Leave me alone...”, Chase called turning away.

“What’s wrong?”, Chao pryed shooting a psion.

“What’s wrong is my guardian is an incompetent buffoon who insists on getting himself killed and never thanking the person that revives him over and-“

“Guardian down!”, said Servo announcing his Titan’s death.

“Anyway, he clearly doesn’t need me, so I’m just gonna watch you two.”, Chase declared, if he had arms, they would be crossed.

“Jeez, that hurt, hey, my super’s almost ready!”, said Chao.

“I’ve got a while before mines ready, what about yours Ken?”, Drake asked over comms.

Ken was busy lining up shots with his hand cannon as its bullets made contact with the hard skulls of Cabal. Then he was struck with a blast from a Cabal gun and fell to the ground losing his grip on his revolver.

“Ken!”, said Chao rushing over to help.

Chao slammed the Centurion with a shoulder charge and rushed over to put up his barrier.

“Servo! Can you help him?”

“I just revived you, it’ll be a while before I can.”, replied his ghost.

“and Drake just got revived by Eve...”

The titan looked at the angry ghost in the corner of the cave.

“What?...No, NO! N-O, NO!”

“Come on Chase he’s your guardian!”

“Not until he apologizes, oh wait he can’t..HE’S DEAD!”

“Sigh...we need him for this man! You’re the only one who can do it!”

Chase looked at the cloak being stomped on by Cabal. Then his guardians cloak moved just enough to reveal his handcannon. He could see the engravings of crashing waves making up the texture of the grip on the weapon. He stopped and looked around then finally replied with, “You cover me while I bring him back.”

Soon the hunter was back, he looked at his ghost and started to apologize.

“Listen, I’m sorry for acting like an idiot... Sometimes I just get distracted or pissed off, but...thank you for bringing me back..”

“Alright, I’m sorry too... I know you can’t help it it’s in your nature to rush into things, always has been-

“Always will be, but I’ll try to not get myself killed as much from now on okay?”

“Thank you”

“Now let’s kick some Cabal a**!”

————————————————

The three were on the final part of the forge and were having trouble killing the Warden, putting as many shells and rounds into it as they could but to no avail.

“I think this is why Ada told us to be at 610!”, Chao said putting up his barrier.

“Hey! Let’s pool our supers together and take this guy down, we got this!”, Ken replied.

“Sounds good to me, any objections?...no...okay!”

The Warlock summoned his Dawnblade engulfed in solar light hot as Sol itself as the Titan rushed over and put up his Ward of Dawn. The blade slammed into the cave floor, creating a spiraling Well of light as the purple tint of the Titans shield encased the two blocking shots from the Centurion. Finally the Hunter slid in front of the bubble and called his Golden Gun. After firing 6 shots from the Revolver encased in light empowered by the Well, the Warden was almost down. The three took out their power weapons and blasted what was left of the armor off the Cabal as it fell to the cavern floor.

[odanurr87]

Watching Voltron Season 7

This summarizes my feelings on the season quite nicely.

I’m trying something different this time around. Instead of reviewing the season as a whole -something I might do later anyway- I decided to provide written commentary on each and every episode as I watched it. The quality of the comments will vary and you probably shouldn’t take them all too seriously (especially if you really liked this season). If it looks like I’m giving Season 7 a hard time, it’s probably because I am, but know it comes from a place of love (maybe). Having said that, I have to warn you that: a) I’ve not provided context for all of my comments, you’ll just have to figure out what I’m talking about at times (fairly easy, particularly if you’re watching the episode at the same time); and b) there are lots and lots of spoilers!

So, sit back, relax, and let’s watch Season 7 of Voltron: Legendary Defender, shall we?

Episode 1: A Little Adventure

Keith and Shiro’s story should’ve been shown earlier than S7. It might’ve helped me like Keith a little more. It’s a great flashback, but it feels a little rushed.

The humor is not really funny and it doesn’t gel well with the more solemn story of Shiro lying in a coma fighting for his life.

Pidge decides to check his comms at a completely random moment.

Okay, the “literal bait” bit was funny.

Episode 2: The Road Home

They let Lance decide passenger arrangements?

Mice-selfies!

The passsenger arrangements was a funny bit. Thankfully, it didn’t overstay its welcome.

Did everyone have to explore the Blade facility? Nobody thought of staying with the lions just in case?

“We’re under attack.” Read above.

The wolf is deciding the arrangements now. I’m okay with that.

You can’t defeat a few fighters without forming Voltron? Wouldn’t that be more energy-taxing than firing lasers?

“We run.” Why didn’t you do that in the first place?!

Hunk. My man!

Episode 3: The Way Forward

Why are we back to goofy Lance?

“We’re destined for greatness.” Yeah, right. Wouldn’t be surprised if one of you kicks the bucket before the end of the episode.

Baddie is terrible at interrogation. Your prisoners have just answered your question.

Coran’s antics are not funny.

Bayards can teleport, huh? Would’ve been nice to use that trick in the cell.

Yup, they’re dead.

Eh, three-year time lapse. No biggie.

Episode 4: The Feud!

This isn’t funny or interesting, just boring. Sorry, I’m skipping this one.

Okay, that closing music is the best thing of this episode. Of course, bear in mind I skipped to the ending.

Episode 5: The Ruins

Seinfeld? Why are we wasting time like this?

Remember what happened the last time we deviated from our voyage?

Hunk gets it.

Yes, abandon the lions… again.

That reveal was way too fast. The guy’s story was more interesting than this.

Isn’t Lance supposed to have a broadsword?

So you had the Voltron team escape the force field so they’d be incapacitated by Macidus... again. What was the point?

I was kinda hoping Keith would say, “It’s okay, I’m used to it.”

Episode 6: The Journey Within

I’m still not sure how going to Earth is gonna help them replace the Castle of Lions.

Their Paladin armour protected them but the lions are frozen? I’m thinking too much.

Hunk’s already softening the blow for the Paladins getting replaced?

Well, this is riveting stuff. And I’d still have this episode over all the previous ones.

I doubt people would react this way but who knows. Keith is back to being an asshole. Just as I was warming up to him.

Well, I guess we couldn’t have an episode without something trying to kill the Paladins.

That speech feels a little out of place now, Keith. Just a tiny bit.

Guess they have energy now?

New configuration. I dig it.

And about damn time too.

I was expecting more from an episode with this title.

Episodes 7 & 8: The Last Stand, Parts 1 & 2

Okay, I may be nitpicking, but couldn’t we have left the flashback for the reunion?

Sanda seems reasonable, for now anyway.

This episode is picking up the slack from the previous ones. Nice.

It surrounds us, it penetrates us, it binds the galaxy together.

Okay, if I were a guy at this briefing, I’d have a hard time believing any of this.

I see good points on both sides here. Compromise: why not inform a few governments and start from there, similarly to what they did on Stargate SG-1. Broadcasting this to the whole wide world without a plan seems terribly irresponsible.

Voltron’s own Area 51. Cool!

Are these guys going to be the new Paladins? I sure hope not.

In all this time you didn’t even contact a single government? Are there even governments in this world? It’s not about emotion, it’s about resources, dammit!

If getting kicked out of the garrison was your biggest concern, I say go for it.

“The cat’s out of the bag now.” My thoughts exactly.

Whoa, I guess it’s true what they say, everyone wants to rule the world.

I’m pretty sure what you wanted to say was that there are mass riots and widespread panic out there, right?

I’m sure glad everyone else in the world has that nice and shiny particle barrier.

Oops, guess they didn’t.

Why the f*** is Sanda so stubborn?! We tried it your way and everyone died. Surely we can’t do any worse than that?

Every other place that didn’t have your shiny new tech got wasted, no kidding.

Sam really wants to rule the world, doesn’t he?

Yes, he does, he’s just gonna wait for the lions to show up. Doesn’t take a genius.

I can’t believe I’m saying this but, so far, the best episode of this season hasn’t featured the Paladins or Voltron.

Meet Veronica, the new Black Paladin.

Why reveal your presence like that?

Query. They designed weapons that are effective against Galra ships but not against Galra troops? Seems like an oversight.

Don’t worry, they’re not about to kill a badass character off like that.

Told you so.

Okay, I’m slightly more willing to read about what happened on Earth while the Paladins were away in comic book form. Slightly.

Oh, Lance’s sister. Hot.

I’m not sure that… Well, what do you know, it worked.

The next episode, Keith, the next episode.

Episode 9: Know Your Enemy

How exactly are you blocking- You know what? Forget it.

And that’s how the Paladins were killed! Kidding.

Introducing New Keith 1.0.

That door seems like a weak point.

Confirmed: Pidge can fly.

New Keith 1.0 is jealous of Keith 2.0. The plot thickens.

I had completely forgotten about Adam. Way to go killing him off like that. Couldn’t you have featured him in a couple more episodes at least? As it stands, he was entirely superfluous.

New Keith 1.0 is even more of an asshole than Keith 1.0. Someone punch him for me, please.

Sanda has been unusually quiet. I don’t like that.

Space Battleship Yama- I mean, Atlas!

Seriously, handing over the lions at this point would be dumb beyond measure. It merely leaves you at the mercy of the Galra who’ll backstab you at the earliest opportunity. Why are we even discussing this? Are we really going to make Sanda a baddie now?

“We need intelligence and we just don’t have it.” She’s absolutely right, just not in the way she thinks.

What was that? New Keith 1.0 went from being a jerk to a more or less decent guy in less than an episode? What’s going on here?

Hunk couldn’t rescue his parents. I’m surprised this show was that bold.

Episode 10: Heart of the Lion

I don’t understand any of what just went down. So an Earth power source makes an Earth prosthetic go berserk but an Altean one won’t? Are there evil power sources in this universe now?

Also, that arm’s missing a half. Just saying.

Admiral Sanda’s back to her senses. Good.

Yes, call your brother an idiot for showing concern. That’ll show him!

A tiny nitpick: why not use the wolf to teleport around?

Confirmed: New Keith 1.0 is no longer a jerk.

Teamwork!

Allurance moment. I ship it.

That scene with Pidge and Keith.

Zai-what?

Damn, Sanda’s all about the problems, isn’t she? How about a solution every once in a while?

How did they do that again?

It’s a bit of a gamble but it’s better than sitting around and doing nothing.

That Tenzin moment!

Lance 1.0 would’ve boasted about it. Just saying.

Um, why is Red not responding?

Great visuals, great music, great scene.

Drama! To be continued… or maybe not.

Those troops are terrible shots.

Cut it with your sword, cut it with your sword!

Or that works too. Were we holding back Red just for the sake of drama?

That was… awfully fast of the Galra.

Oh, no, don’t you tell me that... For f***’s sake, that was idiotic! You’re helping the guy who has built planet killers instead of the people trying to take them down?!

No formation sequence and music? This doesn’t bode well.

Can energy beams be bended like- Ah, forget it.

Personally, I would’ve cut off the episode at the blast, maybe even the season. Kills all suspense otherwise.

Episode 11: Trial by Fire

This marks the second time the lions get captured this season.

“We made a deal!” Famous last words. My eyes are rolling.

The bad guys are leaving. I wonder why? #sarcasm

The main villain lied to you? No way! This must be a mistake! Also #sarcasm

To kill everyone I presume.

Bingo.

We only now remember we have a crystal than can act as a power source?

Magic.

Um, why is everyone looking at Shiro like that? Just roll with it.

Now, if the Atlas were destroyed right now, that would be funny! I have a wicked sense of humor.

“Take them out.” A little late for that.

Ah, the redeeming arc begins! I foresee someone dying.

The ship “gained abilities”? I’m just gonna say it: magic.

Just kill her. I mean, she’s gonna die anyway. It’s that kind of arc.

Told you so.

Episodes 12 & 13: Lions’ Pride, Parts 1 & 2

Voltron formation music is back but with less punch.

Voltron’s finally kicking ass!

Why are we surprised that Sendak is going to destroy Earth?

I don’t mean to be rude, but that’s a (relatively) stationary cannon, and they probably don’t have enough mirrors up in space to track all of Voltron’s movements. Voltron shouldn’t have any problem dodging those blasts.

So Sendak’s willing to destroy his own ships to get Voltron? I’m game! Let’s rush from cruiser to cruiser! At least they’ll provide temporary cover.

They’re letting the Paladins move around the mirrors untouched?

Why not reflect the beams back at the cannons? Just a thought.

“Commander, they’re deflecting the beams.” Um, send someone to take the lions out? It’s not like you’re short on ships.

Why not simply blow up the crystal? You did bring explosives with you, didn’t you?

“Victory or death.” Why not simply transfer command to another ship?

I’m just going to pretend I didn’t see you on the hull of that ship, Shiro.

MORTAL KOMBAT!!!

That was a surprisingly smooth landing, all things considered.

Death it is.

Another Allurance moment.

Okay, why is this Part 1 again? Looks like everything was rounded up nicely.

Looks like I spoke too soon.

You’re overdoing it.

Ah, for the love of... Another mega-robot?!

I’m with Allura, this season should’ve ended in the previous episode or at episode 10.

I don’t know what the Komar is. I skimmed through previous seasons.

What happened to “we can recharge Voltron ourselves”?

Really? Somehow this robot is more powerful than anything we’ve ever seen? My eyes are rolling again.

Magic returns to save the day.

You’ve got to be kidding me, you built a ship that can somehow turn into a giant robot and you didn’t know?!

Okay, no, stop, this is beyond ridiculous now.

Weren’t there civilians around?

I seem to recall saying you were overdoing it. We’re way past that point now.

Why not return to Earth as soon as you’ve pushed that thing into space? I forgot, drama.

If they die, I’ll take everything back.

Lions still there so they didn’t.

Nice speech. Not feeling it though.

I’m saying it right now, Season 8 should jump forward in time several years.

Acxa! I had forgotten all about you. Seriously, when did we drop you?

Lotor’s been a very naughty boy. So much for time skip. It really was the way to go after this season.

[writingpaperghost]

There is a Me Who Can Become Strong (Chapter 20)

Chapter 20: Like a Puzzle Falling Apart into Pieces!

Life must go on, but for Parad, that isn't easy. How can he fight Emu, knowing now that's who Ex-Aid is? And that new Gashat Kuroto gave them has a few more drawbacks then they realized.

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/32857183/chapters/84288139

It was early the next morning when the CR called Director Hinata, the only ones present being Asuna, the director, and Saki. Emu – Parad, rather, had yet to come in and wouldn’t for another hour, assuming he came at all – after the events of yesterday, no one would blame him if he didn’t. Nico said she’d been planning to drag Taiga somewhere for a while and so she wouldn’t be there unless they really needed her.

“Director Hinata,” Saki begins, “After the events of yesterday… We have much to report.”

Haima and Asuna are quiet while she continued, “Kuroto Dan is dead, despite our best efforts, he was infected and disappeared.” She takes a deep breath, “We now also know the identity of Ex-Aid, who has escaped. Though… though his identity is connected to one of the CR.”

At that, Director Hinata queried, “Who?”

“Emu,” Asuna answered. Though the three presents in the room were already aware of everything, there was still a tension in the room. It was no secret that Director Hinata was fond of Emu, nor was it any secret that Parad, at least, still felt strongly about him. How the real Emu felt about Director Hinata was still unclear.

“The Emu Hojo who we have been working with… Is not the real Emu Hojo. He’s his Bugster, Parad,” Saki explained, “Sixteen years ago, Emu was infected with Game Disease and Parad was born, ten years later they were separated by Zaizen. Parad had thought Emu had died, so he chose to become Emu. But now…”

She sighs, “Now we know that’s not the case. Emu is… Ex-Aid.” She shakes her head, “We don’t know his motivations, nor do we know what he’ll do next now that Kuroto is gone…”

“He seemed pretty shaken up after infecting Kuroto…” Asuna noted, “And… And we know now that he was the one who infected Hiro during Zero Day…”

For rather obvious reasons, Haima was visibly uncomfortable, though he did a decent job at pretending he wasn’t bothered. “It seems, perhaps because he’s Patient Zero Emu is capable of infecting people, though we’re not entirely sure how much he can control it…”

“Given his reaction to infecting Kuroto, it seemed like it was an accident.” Asuna added, “That truly seemed like a genuine reaction.”

Saki continued her thought, “It also appears, based off of both Hiro and Kuroto’s infections, that when Emu infects someone, their infection progresses at a rapid pace, regardless of whether they are stressed or not.” It had been terrifying to see the same thing that had happened to Hiro happen again, even if Kuroto had technically been their enemy. Knowing now the reason why those infections were so different than the one’s they’ve otherwise dealt with. “Even though we defeated Kuroto’s Bugster, he still disappeared.” Which implied that perhaps Hiro would have died too, even if Taiga had defeated Graphite six years ago. Though there was no way of knowing for certain, since there was the possibility that Emu’s Game Disease had mutated or changed in some capacity since then.

Finally, Haima adds something, “Since we’ve only seen two cases like this, it means that he’s at least not going around and infecting people on purpose.”

Director Hinata frowned, “If you’re correct and Emu can infect people… Then that means he’ll need to be found, before more can be infect, intentional or otherwise. He’s obviously not done it much, we only have two cases that are six years apart, but there’s still the possibility it may occur again.” He sighed, “The Ministry will most likely begin a search for him. If you find him… Try to bring him in. Whether he means to be or not, he is a danger.”

Once the call ends, Saki sits at the table, closing her eyes with a sigh. In the span of less than an hour, so much had changed. They knew Ex-Aid’s identity, knew that Emu was alive and working against them, capable of infecting people despite not being a Bugster. Kuroto had died and now they weren’t even sure if whatever Kuroto and Emu had been trying to do would continue.

Then there was Kuroto’s strange behavior. The sudden change from being ready to kill Emu to almost seeming… remorseful. Like he regretted having to do that, even though before he hadn’t seemed to mind. Perhaps Kuroto was just a very good actor. He knew, that even if they defeated Charlie, he would die. Which meant he must have known what he was doing when he got infected. He’d seemed to have accepted that he would die from the moment he was infected. But why?

We’re all pawns in a game that we don’t have a choice in playing.

Kuroto had said that, but what had he meant? It wouldn’t have been the first time that Kuroto had referred to the Riders as being some kind of players in a game, but he’d never counted himself in that.

Just know I didn’t have a choice in this.

Though it seemed hard to believe, Saki supposed that she could understand how it would be possible Kuroto didn’t have a choice in at least some of his actions. But he wasn’t very specific about what he’d meant when he said “this”. Did he mean all his actions in regard to Game Disease, his actions as Gemn, or him attempting to kill Emu?

You need to find him.

Why had Kuroto urged them to find Emu? Why would it matter to Kuroto, who would be dead mere moments later?

Before… find Emu before he does.

Who was “he”? That was probably the most important question. Who was this other person that Kuroto didn’t want finding Emu? Could there be someone else involved? But then why would Kuroto be so worried about that other person finding Emu? There were too many questions about it and not enough to try to find answers.

Please, just… just try to help Emu, He doesn’t know the truth of what’s going on. He doesn’t understand the stakes of the game – not as well as he thinks he does.

Saki couldn’t help but come back to Kuroto’s plea. To help Emu. She wasn’t certain the reasons why he wanted them to help Emu but… But Saki could tell that whatever was going on with Emu, he needed help. He needed someone to show him the truth that he obviously hadn’t known. There was no reason for Kuroto to lie about what Emu thought he knew.

If Emu doesn’t know what’s really going on, then everything he’s done could have been done under a false pretense. Or – the more painful option – Emu knew entirely and just chose to act anyway. While Emu clearly cared more about what happened to the people infected by Game Disease than Kuroto had, it didn’t change the fact that he’d interfered with their operations more than once.

But Saki knew one thing: it was best that the CR find Emu before the Ministry.

---

When Emu awakes in the nest, though he doesn’t precisely remember getting into it, nor does he remember getting back to the hideout at all. There’s something holding him tightly, something warmed curled around him. It was nice and comfy, if a bit heavy, but it was a nice weight, like a nice, comfortable… something. Emu wasn’t really sure how to describe it.

Then the warm thing hugs him tighter, letting out an almost content grunt. That was when Emu realizes who it was wrapped around him, though perhaps the mismatched sleeves, one green and one red and stopping at his elbow, should have told him. Or perhaps the mess of brown hair that certainly isn’t Emu’s, that Emu can barely see. Graphite was holding him tightly, which certainly made Emu feel better.

“You’re up,” Graphite grunts, extracting himself mostly from Emu, though he still had his hands on Emu’s arms. He sits up, bringing Emu with him, “When you came back… Masamune was with you, but Kuroto wasn’t.”

Then it came back to Emu, everything that had happened the day before. What he’d done to Kuroto, intentional or not. Masamune may not have been upset but Emu… Emu was.

Emu had killed his brother, whether out of fear or not.

“Kin?”

Keep calm, Emu chants to himself, despite the way he begins to shake again, Keep calm you can’t freak out.

Graphite reaches around Emu again, this time pulling him close once more. He holds Emu tightly, “Kin, what’s wrong? What happened?”

“I…” Deep breathes, Emu, it should keep you calm, “I killed him.”

He can’t see Graphite’s face, which almost is worse than seeing it. He doesn’t know if Graphite is disappointed in him, or upset with him. He can’t tell if Graphite will leave him too, if he can’t see what his reaction it.

So Emu turns around, seeing the slight but startled expression on Graphite’s face. It could be worse, he reminds himself, and continues, “I… He said he’d kill me and so I panicked and then- and then I infected him.”

“He threatened you,” Graphite said, “You did what you had to.”

“I killed him.”

Hugging and holding Emu close, Graphite responds, “It’s not your fault. You didn’t want to infect him, but you were left no choice.” He huffs, “Clearly, Masamune is not upset, isn’t that strange? His son is dead, but he made sure you made it back here, even though you were at least partially responsible for Kuroto’s death.”

“He said that he wasn’t upset. That Kuroto didn’t give me a choice and he didn’t blame me,” Emu quietly tells Graphite, “I… He told me to get my stuff and head to Gemn Corp, after I wake up.”

At that, Graphite grumbled, “Of course, you shouldn’t keep him waiting.” Though there was something in his tone that sounded irritated. Maybe he was actually upset with Emu and was just hiding it. Maybe he didn’t want to hurt Emu’s feelings too much.

Hesitantly, Emu extracts himself from Graphite, “I don’t have much to take,” he said as he grabs a bag, already beginning to place some items in it. He places a small, blue camera in, alongside his Gemnboy. Walking over to the couch, he reaches under it and pulls out a couple photo books. “Can’t forget these.”

Almost sounding amused, Graphite comments, “So that’s where you’ve been keeping those.”

“You know that Kuroto always gave me a hard time about them,” Emu reminded him, though he quickly frowned, “I don’t… I don’t want to leave them.”

“Of course you don’t,” Out of the corner of his eye, Emu can see that Graphite has a small smile, “I doubt you’ll need to worry too much about them.”

Emu pauses, “Graphite…” He quietly began, “Are… are you upset with me?”

“Why do you think that?” Graphite’s eyes narrow, “I have no reason to be upset with you.”

At his answer, Emu looks down, his shoulders sagging, “I’m sorry I just… I don’t know what to think of myself after yesterday…” After a moment, he looks up again, “So… Do you still not want to tell anyone you’re… around?”

Graphite nods, “For now, I think it’s best that Masamune doesn’t know.”

“I wish you’d tell me why,”

“Just know that I may not be able to help you as much, if Masamune chooses to keep more of an eye on you…” Warily, Graphite sighs and gives Emu a worried look, “Be careful.”

With a small quirk of his lips which might constitute as a small smile, Emu answers, “I will.”

---

“Why are we here?” Taiga groaned, Nico leading him about an amusement park.

Nico rolls her eyes and answers, “Because way too much shit has been happening and I need to do something fun before I commit a crime.”

“You do that anyway,”

“That’s not my point,” She’s dragging him by the arm. Her eye catches an attraction and she gleeful pulls Taiga that way, “Now come on, Taiga! The haunted house!”

Which was enough to prompt Taiga with a very startled and perhaps even violent reaction as he jerks away, “NOPE!”

“Why not?” Nico whines, “What, are you scared?”

Then she recalls his reaction to learning that Takeru had been a ghost. “Oh, right…” She cheekily grins, “You’re scared of ghosts!”

Taiga hushes, “Don’t be so loud!”

“It’s not like anyone here knows you,” She scoffed, “Seriously though? You’re that scared of ghosts?”

He scowls, “I just don’t like ghosts, or the concept,” He was very pointed about his statement, “Okay? I’m not afraid of them. I just don’t like them.”

“Sure,” Nico rolled her eyes, “You don’t like them.”

Though she ultimately doesn’t drag him on the haunted house ride, she’s about to drag him off somewhere else, figuring she can get him to go on a different ride. At least, that was the plan, but then she notices some poor sap who looks absolutely terrible. Normally, Nico would just ignore him… But for one reason or another, she had a bad feeling.

She pulls Taiga down a bit, so she can say to him, “Hey, hey, Taiga. What do you make of that guy?”

Taiga just frowns, “Looks like he’s sick,” He glances at her, “Why?”

Like the choreography in a theatrical performance, the boy began to glitch. Nico looked between him and Taiga and groaned, “Okay, that one’s on me. I should have known that would happen.”

---

When Parad arrives at the CR, he’s simply grateful that he doesn’t have to keep up his appearance as Emu. Before, he’d sometimes wish that he didn’t have to be Emu, but now, now that he knew that Emu was still alive.

It felt so terribly, terribly wrong, more than ever before. He wasn’t just pretending to be his dead best friend; he was pretending to be his best friend who looked at him with eyes that held not an ounce of the care that they once held. Not that his eyes looked anything like they had.

He wasn’t really sure what he was feeling, even after having time to think on it. Some part of him still couldn’t believe that Emu was still alive. It felt… really surreal, he guessed. Parad was just. He didn’t know anymore.

His entire world had been turned upside down and he didn’t know what to do. So he just wanted to try to go through everything like before. But it was so hard, it felt so wrong. He’d be fine enough, but then someone would say his name – say Emu’s name – and then… Then it’d all come crashing back. Over and over again.

At the CR, the only ones there were Saki and Poppy, to little surprise. Poppy was fretfully rearranging the stuffed animals and various decorations in the corner where her cabinet is. Saki sits at the table, eating a slice of cake.

“Em- Parad!” At his arrival, Poppy’s attention immediately turned to him.

Saki turns in her seat to face him. Hesitantly, she says, “I’m… a bit surprised that you’re here,”

“What else would I be doing?” Parad tries not to fiddle with his sleeves, “I have a job here, after all and…”

She stands, walking over to him, “Parad, you just found out someone very important to you, someone who you thought had died, was still alive. That you have to fight him.” There’s something terribly sincere in her tone, “No one expects you to just recover from that.”

Whatever composure Parad had managed to gather since the night before came crumbling away. He looks down, clenching his fists as his shoulders tighten, “I… I don’t know what to do, Saki,” He whispers, “Everything I’ve done in the past six years… For what? For someone who wasn’t even dead? For a dream that he seems to have forgotten?”

“We don’t know much about what’s going on with Emu, we don’t know why he’s doing this,” Saki reminded him, “But Parad, everything you’ve done, it hasn’t been for nothing. Thanks to you, so many people have been cured of Game Disease. Your skills at games and your compassion, you desire to see those people smile, have saved people, have made their lives better. That was you, even if you were simply doing it because you thought it would be something Emu would do, you were still the one doing it.”

“Maybe…”

Poppy hops over to his side, “There’s no maybe about it, Parad. You helped all those people. Without you, we’d have been in a pi-pa-po-pa-panic a long time ago!”

He takes a deep breath, even though he doesn’t really need to – he’s become so used to it while pretending to be human. Shaking, he tells them, “I don’t know if I can fight Emu, now that I know it’s him.”

Pursing her lips, Saki says, “You won’t have to, I’ll do it if it comes to it,” She places a hand on his shoulder, though she removes it when he flinches, “Parad… We’ll find Emu and we’ll do everything we can to help him, you know that.”

“I know…”

Reaching her arms around him, Saki wraps him in a hug, prompting him to stiffen, “We’re here for you Parad, you don’t have to face this alone. You don’t have to be alone anymore.”

He hesitates, but returns the hug, shakily, resting his head on her shoulder, “I’m scared that we can’t… that he won’t listen…”

“We’ll do all we can,”

“But if it’s not enough?”

“It will be.”

Parad doesn’t answer, unsure of what he could even say. Saki’s words feel so hopeful and certain, but after everything that happened the day before, he finds them hard to believe. He wants to, he dearly wants it all to be true, to be more than wishful thinking but… the possibility that it’s not true alone is enough to shake him.

How much had Emu changed? Was the one who had once been Parad’s best and only friend long gone, replaced with someone with very different values? Parad could never imagine Emu as the person he seems to have become, yet Parad is still faced with the harsh reality of the situation. Emu wasn’t the person he’d known six years ago, which only made Parad wonder. Who was he now?

Someone willing to work with the Bugsters and Kuroto to complete some so-called game, but if Kuroto’s words are true, Emu doesn’t know the truth about it. In that respect, Parad could understand why Emu might do all this, if he thought that it could perhaps help people. Maybe he feels there’s no better solution. But Parad wasn’t sure how much he was willing to trust Kuroto’s words, either.

The ringing of the CR’s phone snaps Parad out of his thoughts and he quickly removes himself from Saki. Her gaze lingers on him, before turning to the phone, which Poppy had already answered.

“Okay!” Poppy says to the person on the other end, “We’ll be right there.”

Ending the call, Poppy changes to her Asuna persona with a loud “costume change!” and then turns her attention to Parad and Saki. “Taiga just called,” She began, “He and Nico found a patient at the amusement park.”

“The amusement park?” Parad echoes, then shakes his head, “Right, right, let’s go.” Beside him, Saki nods.

---

It wasn’t like it had been a long time since Emu had been in Masamune’s office, though the number of times had certainly decreased after the incident with Lazer – he wasn’t even sure if Masamune knew about that or if it was just a coincidence. It was just odd, because he’d certainly be spending more time here, now that Masamune wanted to keep a closer eye on him.

That shouldn’t make him so anxious, he’s been around Masamune for six years, the man choosing to keep an eye on him shouldn’t bother him. Maybe it was just because of how little supervision he’d seemed to have kept over Kuroto and Emu for the past six years.

Obviously, his mind tried to rationalize, Masamune was just worried after what happened with Kuroto. He didn’t know that Graphite was around to help if Emu really needed it. So, Masamune just didn’t want something bad to happen to Emu, just like when they’d first met.

He stares at one of his photobooks for a moment, then flips it open to a random page. Greeted with a picture of him and Graphite in the nest, he smiles, terribly small but present. Then his eyes drift to the next picture, one of him leaning on Kuroto’s shoulders, looking over his head at whatever project Kuroto was working on at his computer. Emu closes the book, the smile falling, then quietly sighs.

Looking up at Masamune, he asks, “Should… we be worried? Certainly, the Riders got the Gashats that Kuroto had… And that means they have access to two different Level 50 forms…” Emu wasn’t very worried about Dangerous Zombie. They wouldn’t really be able to use it, so it wouldn’t do them much good. But the dual Gashat? That was a worry.

“Don’t worry about that, Mu, none of them are used to using such a strong Gashat,” Masamune answers, “Perhaps if Hanaya was acting as Snipe, I’d be worried, but a Level 50 form is hard on most people’s bodies. It will be a while before they can use that Gashat to its full power… By then, it won’t be much of a worry.”

“Ah,” Emu blinks, “If… if you say so.”

Looking up from his computer, not unlike Kuroto would – though with far less care in his eyes – Masamune notes, “I believe a Bugster will be appearing soon. You’ll want to head to the amusement park, to ensure that the data is captured.”

“O-okay!”

---

When they arrive at the amusement park, they’re easily able to find where Taiga and Nico are, if only because Taiga greatly stands out in a crowd – and there wasn’t even a lot of people around them. Nico already had her Driver out, fiddling with the Bang Bang Shooting Gashat.

“Took you guys long enough!” She huffed when she noticed them, crossing her arms, “What if the Bugster showed up? Then I’d have to deal with it all on my own.”

Parad sighed, once again in his Emu disguise, “We got here as quickly as we could, Nico,”

Rolling her eyes, she responds, “Whatever, let’s just worry about this guy,” She gestures to who must be the patient, “He’s infected with Jet Combat. Not that I know why he’s at an amusement park.”

“Aren’t you also at the amusement park?” Asuna asked, “Are you really one to talk?”

Nico sputters something before huffing and turning her attention back to their patient. The patient’s infection flairs up, prompting the appearance of Vernier, the Jet Combat Bugster.

Saki takes out the Taddle Fantasy Gashat and prepares to transform, while Nico does the same. Behind them, next to Asuna, Parad hesitates. He pulls out his Gashat but… All he can do is stare at it.

He wanted to transform; he really did. He didn’t want Saki and Nico to have to fight Vernier alone but… It wasn’t like he’d have to face Emu… But he also knew that there was plenty a chance that Emu would appear and… And… Wasn’t he a bit of a hypocrite? To be fighting these Bugsters despite being one himself?

“Parad?” Asuna calls.

Despite everything that he wanted to do, Parad couldn’t transform. He just couldn’t. Tightening his grip around the Gashat, he quietly answers, “I… I can’t…” He looks down, shaking his head, “I can’t fight right now, Asuna.”

Asuna frowns, but quickly assures him, “That’s okay,” She says, “I’m sure Saki and Nico can handle it.”

Taddle Fantasy!

Bang Bang Shooting!

Dual Up! Tadoru Meguru RPG! Taddle Fantasy!

Level Up! Ba-Ba-Bang! Bang-Ba-Bang! Bang Bang Shooting!

As Bugster grunts appear around Saki, quickly going after Vernier, Nico fires several shots from the Gashacon Magnum at him. Sword in hand, Saki rushes towards Vernier and slashes at him. Clearly, Vernier wasn’t nearly as strong as Charlie had been, not that it was a bad thing. It made him easier to fight, especially operating with only two Riders.

Soon, Vernier had taken too much damage, returning to hide in their patient. They’d have to defeat him some other time. Still, Parad couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched, or something similar. But he couldn’t understand why. Everyone not involved with the CR had fled when Vernier appeared, so who could still be around…?

Nico untransforms, but Saki remains in Level 50. Giving her an odd look, Nico asks, “Uh, why are you…?”

Saki turns to face a nearby building, calling out, “Emu, I know you’re there!”

Slowly, Emu walks out from behind the building. His bangs are clipped to both sides of his head, revealing both his eyes. He doesn’t have his hood pulled up and his jacket is unzipped, revealing a Mighty Action X shirt underneath. Though he has a mostly neutral expression, there’s a small frown tugging at his lips. For the most part, though, he looks… empty, a sort of neutral expression that told nothing about what he was thinking or feeling.

He stares at them, not saying anything.

Continuing, Saki declares, “I have a challenge for you,” Her tone is serious, despite how out of character her words were, “A… game, if you will.”

That prompts a change to Emu’s expression, something curious as he asks, “A game?”

“Yes,” She confirms, “A fight will be our game, now that we’re both evenly matched at Level 50. If I win, you’ll come with us back to the CR and tell us about this… game you’re working on.”

There’s an excited twinkle in Emu’s eyes when he inquires, “And if I win, Brave?”

She takes a deep breath, then pulls something out, “I’ll give you these,” In the hand not holding the Gashacon Sword, she holds Kuroto’s Bugvisor and the Dangerous Zombie Gashat, alongside Giri Giri Chambara.

Though Emu’s eyes widen for a moment, he quickly shakes his head in a small motion. “I don’t know…” He hums, “Gemn’s stuff won’t do either of us much good. I don’t think I really want it…”

Before Saki can say anything, he continues, “But! I think I’d like a challenge, now.” He pulls out his Gamer Driver and Gashat, “Just remember Brave… I’m Genius Gamer M, I won’t lose to you so easily.”

“I’d be worried if you did,” Saki responded.

Mighty Brothers XX!

Double Up! Ore ga omae de! Omae ga ore de! We are! Mighty! Mighty Brothers! Double X!

Returning the Bugvisor and Gashat to where they belonged, Saki turns her attention to both halves of Emu, who were already rushing at her. Cyan has the Gashacon Keyslasher, leading Saki to assume that was the one Emu was controlling. She didn’t know how the damage to the Mighty Brothers was distributed, but she thought it would be safe to assume that attacking the one that Emu was in control of would probably be the most effective.

Blocking the attack of the Gashacon Keyslasher, Saki knocks Cyan off balance and slashes at him. The blue Rider didn’t react terribly, though he stumbled away, raising his weapon and firing a beam from it. So it was also a gun, that was good to know.

Something crashes into her back and knocks her down, then she sees Orange, landing in front of her. Cyan tosses the Gashacon Keyslasher to him and Saki figures that orange must be the one that Emu’s in control of right now. She stands, slashing at Orange, though he blocks it.

There was a strange aching growing through her body. At first, it was dull, but with every second it got worse. Now, it was becoming distracting, but she couldn’t afford to lose focus. She had to win this, so they could bring Emu back. If they could learn what he thought he was doing, they might be able to show him the truth. They could help him, they just had to get him to let them.

Cyan kicks her this time, reeling her focus back in. He laughs a little, “Hah! Brave, did you really think I’d make it easy? I can tell that you’re trying to figure out which one I’m controlling.” Then Orange slashes at her again and she doesn’t have time to block it. She falls to the ground, Kuroto’s Gashat and Bugvisor clattering beside her.

Trying to pull herself up again, Saki gasped when pain coursed through her body again. It was much worse than before, though she’s still transformed, she couldn’t bring herself to get off the ground. It just hurt too much.

Orange stares at her. He leans down, picking up Kuroto’s items, “You’re not used to the strain from Level 50,” He tells her. Then he pulls the double Gashat out of her Driver, tossing it to the side, “Level 50 is very hard on the human body. That’s a part of why Gemn never used it himself.”

“You can use it without problem,” Saki gasped.

“I’m used to pain,” He answers, then turns away, “I think I’ve won this game, Brave. Next time, you might not be so lucky that your opponent will let you leave.”

Emu leaves and Nico strolls over and picks up the Level 50 Gashat. Parad and Asuna are over with the patient. Before Saki can say anything, she passes out, prompting Nico to sigh.

She calls over to Parad and Asuna, “Taiga and I’ll take care of Saki, you worry about the patient.”

Taiga grunts, “Why are you volunteering me?”

“Because you can carry her, old man,” She answers, “Besides, I can already see you’re worrying.”

[solarbird]

talon sends a message

A local MS-13 cell made a very, very big mistake - they stole from a Talon research lab. Lena "Venom" Oxton and Amélie "Widowmaker" Lacroix go to retrieve the stolen goods, leave a message, and decide to bring along a lunatic with explosives just to make the point a little more emphatically. And also because it's fun.

This is the mission mentioned in Chapter 13 of Old Soldiers ("feeding the spiders"), and is canon in the on overcoming the fear of spiders continuity. But all you need to know really is that Lena and Amélie are both with Talon.

All dialogue in «chevron quotes» is translated from the Spanish. [AO3 link]

Venom laughed despite herself as the little truck with her bomb on it plowed into the garage and exploded, sending MS-13 enforcers flying for cover - at least two of whom were dead, and three of whom were on fire, which was, of course, absolutely hilarious.

"Steering's overrated!" she quipped in a terrible Australian accent, as she teleported after one straggler - finishing him with a single round of fire - and Amélie took the others before they even landed. That weird little Aussie's enthusiasm, she had to admit - it was contagious.

"Discipline, cherie," she heard in her comms, and snickered. Amélie's voice didn't entirely hide her own amusement, even if she did have a point. These guys may've been stupid enough to steal from Talon, but that didn't mean they couldn't be dangerous.

"Acknowledged," she said, in her best imitation of her spider's voice, before giggling. "No. No. Yes. Right. Discipline. You're right. These guys do have guns. Even if they don't seem t'be so good at using 'em."

Said weird little Aussie's voice joined in the mix. "You two sheilas always this much fun? IiiiiiiiiiiI love it! FIRE IN TH' HOLE!"

"Woah!" Venom had just enough time to jink away as one of Jameson's motorised tire explosives spun into the motor pool and detonated, briefly lifting the building up off its concrete-slab foundation. It stood just long enough for one survivor to come stumbling out the front door, before it fell, landing on said survivor with a flump, crushing him to death immediately.

"It's the little things..." said the explosives expert, and Venom giggled and giggled and giggled.

"Don't do that to the main building," came Widowmaker's voice, stern. "We have stolen material to recover."

"I know, mate - I'm a professional! That's why I did it here!" replied the Aussie, and she heard Venom laugh again.

Widowmaker shook her head from her vantage point in the trees above. Well, we needed to make a statement... "I see no signs of life. Are we all clear?"

"Think so, love," responded Venom, from the ground, snapping back to seriousness. "Nobody left but the bunker."

"Y'know," said the Aussie, "if whatever you're grabbin's not too fragile, I could toss one of those over their HQ, make an air burst. It's real disorientin'. They'll never know what hit 'em!"

That... thought the spider, ...is not a terrible idea.

-----

There they are, thought Venom, finding the last three guards hunkered down behind a metal desk. Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, who'll be the last t'go? Oooh, they've got a turret!

"Got 'em," she subvocalised over comms. "End of my hallway. Three and a turret. Junks, back off, we need one of 'em alive."

"But I've got another rip-tire ready!" Jameson protested. "This one's a beaut! "

Venom glanced towards Widowmaker. "It would be hilarious..."

"No," said the senior assassin, flatly. "We can't risk collapsing the building. Jameson, stand down."

The junker made a little frustrated "nnargh!" sound over the comms, and Venom tried not to giggle - she could almost see him rolling his eyes and flumping down along the floor, instantly relaxed. The man could sleep anywhere, honestly.

"Jameson, if you like, you may blow up the building when we leave - but not before. Venom - I have them in my sight," said Widowmaker, as she brought tactical up, both for herself and in Venom's vizor. She snorted. "Too easy. I'll take the turret and disarm its operator. Venom, I'm sure you can handle the other two."

"Done and done," said Venom, and the two women leapt into action, Widowmaker silencing the turret and destroying its operator's right shoulder with a single round, Venom teleporting between the other two fighters and unloading one full clip from each pistol into each of their heads. Blood and viscera splattered everywhere as the last survivor dragged himself into the corner, panicked, trying, desperately, to grab his pistol with his left hand.

«Ah ah ah, none of that,» Venom said, smiling, pistol to his forehead. «You're our lucky winner! Don't be stupid, and you get to live.»

He dropped the pistol. Venom kicked it away, and backed off a bit. No reason to take chances. «Wh... wh... what do you want?» he said.

«Not much, luv - we just want our stuff back. That's all. Well, that, and a message delivered.» She looked back and grinned as Widowmaker walked menacingly down the hall and into view.

«What?» Already pale, he spotted the Talon insignia on Venom's collar, and went even paler.

«...don't you know who you stole from, luv?»

«Oh no.»

«Oh - yes. You stole from us. You seriously didn't know?»

«I swear, we didn't! None of us!»

«Fair enough. So, where's the stash?»

He shut his mouth and shook his head.

«Oh, do not be tiresome,» said the Widowmaker. «Let me guess - 'It's worth my life!'»

«It is! And my family's!»

«You don't think we know how MS-13 works, mate?» Venom fired a single round to the left of his head. «You don't got family close enough to care about, you took care of that - and we know it.»

«This is not a negotiation," Widowmaker said, gold eyes coldly fixed on the last survivor. «You tell us, immediately, and we bind your shoulder and leave you here, alive, to tell your compatriots what not to do in future. Otherwise, we will find it anyway...» - she looked around at the bloody mess everywhere - «...and I think our message is clear enough without you.»

«Bored now,» said Venom, raising her pistol to the man's forehead. «FIVE. FOUR. THREE. TWO.»

«BASEMENT! Hidden door.»

«Pathetic,» scoffed the senior assassin, as Venom smiled and flipped her pistol back away.

«C'mon, then!» The smaller assassin hoisted the man up off the floor, and he sucked in air, trying not to scream from the pain. «Let's get that shoulder stabilised, then we'll go get that door open together.»

«...together?» gasped the man, afraid.

«Aw, it's trapped? That's fine. You can disarm it for us!»

-----

"That," said Jameson, as he stepped down the gangway, "was a corker. You ever need anythin' else blown up, you just give me a call."

Widowmaker nodded politely, and handed Jameson the keycode to a small deposit box in La Barona. "I believe you will find everything to your satisfaction."

"Your reputation precedes you," said the Junker, and he handed Widowmaker a small gold token. "Courtesy of the queen 'erself!"

"An honour," the Talon assassin said, taking it into her hand and bowing, just a little, "Thank you."

Venom watched as the weird little Australian outbacker roared off on his motorbike. "Y'know... he reeks, but... I kinda like him."

"I think he is allergic to water," said her wife, stepping over to wash her hands, and the token she'd been handed, before removing her nose filters. "Certainly to soap. I can barely be in the same room. And not at all, with his partner."

"Hoo, got that right!" exclaimed Venom, as she set the flyer's air system on flush, before hopping over to hug her wife tightly. "Thanks, love. After all that Overwatch mess, and Morrison... this was exactly what I needed."

The elder assassin smiled, dried her hands, turned around, and held her lover tight before leaning back to kiss her gently on the nose. "Happy birthday."

[itsnotokbutwereallright]

Day three AND three posts? Don’t worry, I’ll run out of steam eventually LOL. Real life just gets in the way. Anyway, you know the drill - check out @clintasha-week and follow the tag, I’m on Ao3 as Kali588. This one’s pretty long, sorry!

July 26th – Family and Friends

“I'm here to see Clint Barton,” the man in the fitted dark suit said to the security guard in the lobby of what was quickly being known as Avengers Tower.

The guard eyed him for a moment, assessing and weighing before he spoke. “Identification, please.”

The man reached into his suit jacket, frowned, then reached into his back pockets. He frantically patted his rib cage, then smiled charmingly at the guard. “I think I left my wallet in the cab.” The guard started to speak, but the man cut him off. “I know, I know. Nothing you can do without the ID. Mind if I sit in the lobby while I call the cab company and try and track it down?” The security guard shrugged and pointed him to a set of chairs close to the entrance. “Thanks.”

The man went and sat in a chair, pulling out his phone and pretending to make a call. He activated the camera, turning as he pretended to talk and capturing various security installations. When he was finished, he tucked the phone in his jacket and stood up to leave. From behind, he heard, “Sir, you'll need to come with us.”

He turned, looking puzzled at the first security guard, now standing with a squad of four other men. “What seems to be the matter?”

“We'd like to see your phone and ask you some questions.”

“Sure, no problem.” He took the phone out and held it towards the guard. When the guard reached a hand out to grab it, his wrist was grabbed and he was thrown into another guard, knocking them both down. The suited man moved quickly, knocking his opponents unconscious or rendering them otherwise incapacitated. The ding of the elevator caused him to curse, shove the phone in his pocket, and try to flee, only to find the doors locked. It was then that he felt the all too familiar point of an arrow on his back.

“Try anything, and I'll kill you where you stand. Got it?” The suited man nodded. “Turn around. Slow, hands up.” The man complied, and when he was fully facing his opponent, was greeted with a punch in the face.

“That’s a fine way to say hello to your brother,” sputtered Barney Barton.

Clint started to raise his bow again, ain, but he put it back down as he spoke, “We're clear. Meet you at interrogation.”

“What, did Stark fix your hearing?”

Clint regarded him coolly, then clipped out, “I have combo aids and comms. Let's go.” He gestured to the elevators, and pushed Barney in front of him. The doors opened soundlessly for them, and they entered. Clint didn't bother pushing a button, the doors closing and the car moving anyway. It was then that Clint shoved him roughly against the wall. Barney got in a solid punch or two, but Clint let him go only once he had the phone out of his pocket, then deposited it in his own.

“I'm going to need that back.”

“I bet. We're going to have a talk, and a look, and then we'll see.”

Barney didn't say anything, but smirked a little to himself. They rode the rest of the way in silence, Clint appearing to rest on the back wall as Barney stood in the center. When the elevator doors opened, they were greeted by a small, red-headed woman dressed in a SHIELD uniform. “Mr. Barton, this way, please.” Barney smiled at her, unperturbed when she did not smile back. Clint shoved his shoulder none too gently, and they began to follow as the agent turned and started moving down the hallway at a brisk pace.

Great view he signed to Clint over his shoulder.

“She can kill you in thirty seconds,” Clint replied out loud.

“Thirty seconds? Am I taking my time?” The agent asked from over her shoulder.

“I like a strong woman,” Barney said, raking his gaze over her. The agent stopped in front of a door, knocking twice before pushing it inwards and standing with her arms crossed.

“Then I’m sure you’ll love the next few hours,” she said in a pleasant tone. Clint pushed Barney into the room, and Barney caught the way his jaw was clenched as he pulled the door shut and Barney heard a locking mechanism kick in. He listened briefly at the door, but either the room was soundproofed or the two weren’t talking. Barney found it interesting that there was no two way glass and no obvious cameras. He was surely still being monitored, though, so he simply walked around the table (welded to the floor) and settled himself in the chair (also welded to the floor) that faced the door. Barney had a lot of practice in waiting out interrogations - he closed his eyes and pretended to nap while he waited to see who would be first.

Natasha took one look at Clint outside the room and reached out to briefly touch his hand. “You won’t be going in there.”

Clint pulled back, crossing his arms in a defiant pose, and Natasha managed to not be either hurt or annoyed. “You don’t know what he’s like. I know he’s up to something. It’s why I activated the protocol. He’s scoping out the place. Asking for me? That’s arrogance. He’s planning something, Tasha, and I’m going to get to the bottom of it.”

Natasha lifted a brow. “Take the phone to the techs. Look at what he has on there. Maria and I will handle his questioning personally. Once you can report back what you found, you can monitor to make sure he’s not tricking two of the best interrogators SHIELD has.”

Clint’s eyes showed that he was appropriately chastised, but he maintained his defiant posture as he stomped off. Natasha rolled her own, then strode down the hallway in the opposite direction to confer with Maria. It was decided that Natasha would go in first and Maria would follow, ideally with whatever information Clint was able to obtain. Jarvis provided video and audio on the display in the monitoring room, so Maria was able to watch the interaction while she also pulled the information available on Barney Barton. Natasha was entering the room, Barney lazily opening his eyes, as Maria realized that Barney’s file was restricted. “What the hell?” she muttered to herself. Maria pulled out her phone and dialed, watching the monitor as she tried to get someone from HQ to get more information.

“So, are you going to formally introduce yourself, sweetheart?”

Natasha tilted her head slightly, then smiled charmingly at him. “Agent Martin, Mr. Barton. You can call me Alex.”

Barney smiled back. “Well, Alex, you can call me Barney.”

Natasha tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, then leaned forward onto the table. “So, Barney, I see that good looks run in the family. I didn’t know Agent Barton had a brother until you showed up.”

“Pity. Clint was always a little jealous. We had some good times anyway, though.”

Natasha tucked a fist under her chin, making her eyes a little bigger and softer. “Really? Barton doesn’t talk a lot. Kind of keeps to himself. We’re partners, and I barely know the man. It’s nice to know that you can have looks and personality.” She blushed a little. “Sorry, forget I said that.”

“No worries,” he winked at her. “Clint’s always been...focused on the wrong things. He likes distance. Me? I like being up close.”

She smiled a little, looking down at the table before clearing her throat. “I think that’s why we got paired up. He keeps going through partners,” she whispered to him, “and they said they’d try an opposites attract thing. Last ditch effort, you know? He had to go cool off, otherwise I wouldn’t tell you this, but you’re his brother, maybe you can help him.”

Barney nodded. “I’d love to help him. It’s why I was looking for him. We haven’t talked in years, but I heard some stuff and I wanted to help my baby brother out, you know? Do you think you could convince him to talk to me?”

“Oh, I don’t know, he doesn’t listen to me very often.”

Barney grabbed her hand from under her chin and tugged it gently, so that their arms were stretched out across the table. “He seemed to respect you in the hallway,” he reminded her as he ran a thumb across the back. Just then, they heard the locking mechanism disengage, and Natasha jerked her hand back.

“Out,” Maria ground out.

Natasha was too professional to let her shock show, but she didn’t move and stayed in character. “Oh, Deputy Director. Barney - Mr. Barton - and I were just talking about why he’s here-”

Maria cut her off. “Out. Now.”

Natasha turned and glared at her, then turned back and smiled apologetically at Barney. Sorry she mouthed at him. He waved it off, mouthing back that it was okay. Natasha hurried out of the room, closing the door behind her.

When Maria heard the lock re-engage, she spoke. “Monitoring systems offline.”

A male voice responded, “Confirmed, Agent Hill.”

Maria turned back to the elder Barton, who had straightened in his chair. “You, Mr. Barton, are a pain in my ass. It’s refreshing to say that to a different member of your family. I have been instructed to let you go, but under no circumstances am I to explain why to either of my top two agents. In fact, I am to provide you any data that you need from the lobby, which may include doctoring materials, and then let you go.”

Barney bared his teeth, this time his eyes flat. “Nothing like a little inter-agency cooperation.”

“Your superior also advised that these materials do not need to allow for any compromising data on  Avengers Tower. Whatever group you are gathering this intel for is not suicidal, and has no desire to attack the Avengers in their home. Which, quite frankly, is all that we care about at this time.” Barney relaxed back. “However. You should know that if I ever see your face in here again, whether for personal or professional reasons, I will not hesitate to order a shoot on sight. I’m quite confident that your brother or his partner would be more than willing to ensure it is carried out personally.”

Barney waved this off. “You couldn’t possibly have me killed and get away with it.”

Maria stood. “Who said anything about shoot to kill?” and walked to the door. As the lock disengaged, she looked at him over her shoulder. “I’ll be back shortly. Monitoring systems, online.”

“Confirmed.” The door shut and the locks engaged, leaving Barney frowning at the table.

Natasha met her in the hallway, with an incredibly pissed off Clint. “What the fuck, Maria!?”

Maria rubbed her temples, trying to fight the headache that had begun when she learned another alphabet agency was intersecting with SHIELD ops. “Walk it off, Barton. We’re not getting anything out of him. Where’s the phone?” Clint didn’t respond, glaring at her. “Give me the phone. That’s an order.” Clint ripped the phone out of his pocket and slapped it into her outstretched hand. “Dismissed.”

Clint stomped off, giving her the finger mentally, she could tell. Natasha was still staring coolly at her. “What are you up to, Maria?”

“I said, dismissed.” Natasha eyes hardened, but she left without any further comments. Maria went back to the office to start uploading some additional information to the phone. At least she could let Barney Barton sit in a room for a while and think about how he would soon be not her problem.

Natasha caught up to Clint in the hall outside of the common room, where they could hear the rest of the Avengers arguing about what to have for dinner. She grabbed his arm to stop him, knowing it was a gamble to touch him right now. It worked, however - he halted, though didn’t look at her. She stepped forward, leaning her forehead against his back, slowly wrapping her arms around his waist. He slumped a little. “I don’t want to talk about it,” he muttered to her.

“Pizza?”

“Pizza would be great.”

“Gino’s?”

“Tony hates Gino’s.”

He felt her face move, telling him that she was smiling the smile that meant she was feeling tricky. “I know.” She laid a gentle kiss on his back, then disentangled her arms to go and negotiate Clint’s favorite pizza place while he took a moment, leaning against the wall and breathing deeply, fighting back tears he thought he had finished shedding long ago. He rubbed the scar on the left side of his chest, trying not to think about Barney getting away with whatever nefarious plans he had hatched. Though he did laugh at himself, using words like nefarious. The small smile was enough for him to push himself into the main room, and enter into the dinner fray.

He was watching from the window and eating a slice of his favorite pizza when he saw a lone man in a black suit leave the lobby. Even though they were dozens of floors up, and there was no way he could have known Clint was there, the man still looked up and did a two finger salute. Natasha was suddenly next to him, as if she knew. Clint registered that the new bickering in the background was about what movie to watch; Tony already decreeing what snacks would be available. Natasha leaned against him. “Who needs family when you have friends like ours?”

Clint pressed a kiss to her hair, though his eyes didn’t stray from Barney, as his brother strode confidently down the street. “Not us,” he said.

[shipinthewoods]

look.ship Presents: Our Albums of the Year, 2019

–

There is nothing scientific about this list. There were no ballots, nor any attempts at consensus building, nor any regard for critical consensus at all. As a result, this thing is frequently mercurial and out of step with other lists I’ve seen so far this year. It breaks its own rules more than once. It by no means claims to be definitive. It would be hard to explain why certain albums ended up where they did, except to say that they felt like they should be there. In the end, some of the tricker album rankings were decided by how well tracks might blend together when it comes time to convert this thing into a series of mixes. Oh, yeah, I’ve also added ten slots this year for LPs: we’re up to 90. It was a good year for records. It’d be understandable if you were to read the above and conclude that I didn’t take this process seriously, that this thing is a goof for me, but that’d be wrong. I’d say my utter rejection of so many list-making conventions is evidence of how seriously I take this endeavor year after year. Often, these lists feel perfunctory and transactional. I think they should feel personal and passionate. The goal, for me anyway, is sharing. Maybe shining a light on great work that could otherwise be overlooked. These are records that I love. The hope is that you can poke through this feature at your leisure and discover something that you love, too, something that might temporarily soothe or productively engage that roiling stew of anger, existential dread, and anxiety that seems to exist in all of us these days. I was lucky to be given the opportunity to write about some of these albums and artists for The Quietus – and edit essays about others elsewhere – but I wish I could have written at length about them all. I wish I could have written about Hiro Kone’s profound examination of absence, about Stephen Warwick’s droll mezzanine, about PAT’s touching realization of a late mother’s pop ambitions, about Giant Swan’s openhearted cacophony, Kedr Livanskiy’s compact club anthems, Business Of Dreams’s bittersweet power-pop perfection, The Hecks’ deep dive into treble, The Leaf Library’s wonderful rejection of concision, TWINS’s ever-evolving mastery of synthpop, Gong Gong Gong’s drumless but percussive garage rock, Sly & The Family Drone’s clangorous noise-jazz, Dale Cornish’s always lucid dissections of beats in space, Zonal’s filthy dirt-encrusted riddims, M. Sage’s warm abstractions of an ever-evolving Chicago, whatever alchemy Underworld undertook to make the DRIFT box such a rousing success – you get the picture. But most of all I wish I could have written about Larry Gus and Jay Glass Dubs. 2019 was a banner year for Jay Glass Dubs. It started with the release of Epitaph – a singular vision of gothic dub ­– and ended with Nyx – our EP of the year, signaling a new beginning for our hero, an unassailable vision of hallucinatory devotional music, evocative of a past future scried by ancient mystics. And then there was the triumphant return of Larry Gus after years in the wilderness, our album of the year, Subservient, clutched firmly in his hand, its outré, idiosyncratic mélange of fourth-world pop and future-folk impossible to ignore. Or remove from the turntable. That Subservient contains no samples, marking Gus’s turn away from a more-or-less sample-based approach, makes its success all the more remarkable. DFA deserves props for sticking by Gus all these years. He’s one of those oddball artists that never quite gets his proper due, especially in the States. Despite an essentially unimpeachable discography, critics here have yet to properly glom onto his work, remaining sadly oblivious to its unique charms. I want to say that will change with this recently released, delightfully bizarre set of sun-blasted jams, but it’s December now, and I’m somehow doubtful we’ll see a proper course correction. But who cares what other critics think, really? Trust me. Don’t skip this one. When Larry's critical reappraisal rolls around, you can be like, “Yeah, no duh.” Some housekeeping: Not much has changed this year. As mentioned previously, I’ve added ten spots to the “Albums of the Year” list, which now clocks in at an even 90 LPs, the top 25 of which are ranked. The remaining albums are presented in alphabetical order, because I can’t be bothered to rank 90 records, and what does that even mean, anyway? What’s the difference between albums number 89 and 90? Does anyone know? I certainly don’t. Every single one of these releases absolutely rules. Practically speaking, there is no perceptible shift in quality from one to another, and most of this is “apples and oranges” stuff, anyhow. Following the LPs, you’ll find one (1) list of this year’s top 20 EPs and one (1) list of our 10 favorite bits of miscellany (mixtapes, comps, reissues, live recordings, etc.). If I’ve written at length about a record on the list, its entry will include a link to that review. In the few circumstances that an artist released two or more killer, thematically and / or sonically similar records this year, I’ve included both in a single entry. Is that cheating? Yes. Do I care? No. Alright, without further ado, here we go.

    --

Our Albums of the Year, 2019: Top 25

--

1. Larry Gus – Subservient (DFA)

  Subservient by Larry Gus

  --

2. Jay Glass Dubs – Epitaph (Bokeh Versions)

  Epitaph by Jay Glass Dubs

  --

3. Soft Walls – Not As Bad As It Seems (Self-released)

  Not as Bad as It Seems by Soft Walls

  --

4. Hiro Kone – A Fossil Begins to Bray (Dais)

  A Fossil Begins To Bray by Hiro Kone

  --

5. Giant Swan – Giant Swan (KECK)

  Giant Swan by Giant Swan

  --

6. Equiknoxx – Eternal Children (Equiknoxx Music)

    --

7. Kedr Livanskiy – Your Need (2MR)

  Your Need by Kedr Livanskiy

  --

8. Steven Warwick – MOI (PAN)

  MOI by Steven Warwick

  --

9. Business Of Dreams – Ripe for Anarchy (Slumberland)

  Ripe For Anarchy by Business Of Dreams

  --

10. The Hecks – My Star (Trouble In Mind)

  My Star by The Hecks

  --

11. The Leaf Library – The World Is a Bell (Where It’s At Is Where You Are)

  The World Is A Bell by The Leaf Library

  --

12. Jenny Hval – The Practice of Love (Sacred Bones)

  The Practice of Love by Jenny Hval

  --

13. PAT – Love Will Find a Way Home (Pioneer Works Press)

  Love Will Find A Way Home by PAT

  --

14. TWINS – New Cold Dream (2MR)

  New Cold Dream by TWINS

  --

15. Gross Net – Gross Net Means Gross Net (Felte)

  Gross Net Means Gross Net by Gross Net

  --

16. Gong Gong Gong – Phantom Rhythm (Wharf Cat)

  Phantom Rhythm 幽靈節奏 (幽霊リズム) by Gong Gong Gong 工工工

  --

17. Brother May – Aura Type Orange (Self-released)

  Aura Type Orange by Brother May

  --

18. MC Yallah x Debmaster – Kubali (Hakuna Kulala)

  Kubali by MC YALLAH X DEBMASTER

  --

19. Kinlaw & Franco Franco – Mezzi Umani Mezze Macchine (Avon Terror Corps)

  Mezzi Umani Mezze Macchine by Kinlaw & Franco Franco

  --

20. Zonal – Wrecked (Relapse)

  Wrecked by Zonal

  --

21. Sly & The Family Drone – Gentle Persuaders (Love Love)

  Gentle Persuaders by Sly & The Family Drone

  --

22. Teeth Of The Sea – Wraith (Rocket recordings)

  WRAITH by Teeth Of The Sea

  --

23. Dale Cornish – Enhex (Entr’acte)

  Enhex by Dale Cornish

  --

24. Kemper Norton – brunton calciner (Self-released)

  brunton calciner by Kemper Norton

  --

25. M. Sage – Catch a Blessing (Geographic North)

  Catch a Blessing by M. Sage

    --

Our Albums of the Year, 2019: 26 - 90

--

  Andy Stott – It Should Be Us (Modern Love)

    --

Anthony Naples – Fog FM (ANS)

  Fog FM by Anthony Naples

  --

Aseethe – Throes (Thrill Jockey)

  Throes by Aseethe

  --

Bamboo – Daughters of the Sky (Upset The Rhythm)

  Daughters Of The Sky by Bamboo

  --

Basic Rhythm – On the Threshold (Planet Mu)

  On The Threshold by Basic Rhythm

  --

Black To Comm – Seven Horses for Seven Kings / Before After (Thrill Jockey)

  Seven Horses For Seven Kings by BLACK TO COMM

  Before After by BLACK TO COMM

    --

Blanck Mass – Animated Violence Mild (Sacred Bones)

  Animated Violence Mild by Blanck Mass

  --

Boreal Massif – We All Have an Impact (Pessimist Productions)

  PESS003 - Boreal Massif - We All Have An Impact LP by Boreal Massif

  --

Carla dal Forno – Look Up Sharp (Kallista)

  Look Up Sharp by Carla dal Forno

  --

Carmen Villain – Both Lines Will Be Blue (Smalltown Supersound)

  Both Lines Will Be Blue by Carmen Villain

  --

Cate Le Bon – Reward (Mexican Summer)

  Reward by Cate Le Bon

  --

Clara! y Maoupa – Luna Nueva (Editions Gravats)

    --

Clinic – Wheeltappers and Shunters (Domino)

  Wheeltappers and Shunters by Clinic

  --

Dalham – Heat Death (Castles In Space)

  Heat Death by DALHAM

  --

Deerhunter – Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared? (4AD)

    --

DIÄT – Positive Disintegration (Iron Lung / Blackest Ever Black)

  Positive Disintegration by Diät

  --

Drahla – Useless Coordinates (Captured Tracks)

  Useless Coordinates by Drahla

  --

Emptyset – Blossoms (Thrill Jockey)

  Blossoms by Emptyset

  --

Félicia Atkinson - The Flower & the Vessel (Shelter Press)

  The Flower And The Vessel by Félicia Atkinson

  --

Forest Swords – The Machine Air (Dense Truth)

  The Machine Air (Original Film Soundtrack) by Forest Swords

  --

Fujiya & Miyagi – Flashback (Impossible Objects Of Desire)

  FLASHBACK by Fujiya & Miyagi

  --

Georgia – One Mind (Youth)

  Georgia - One Mind - YOCD5 by YOUTH

  --

Girl band – The Talkies (Rough Trade)

    --

Grey Hairs – Health & Social Care (Gringo)

  Health & Social Care by Grey Hairs

  --

Gum Takes Tooth – Arrow (Rocket Recordings)

  Arrow by Gum Takes Tooth

  --

Harrga – Héroïques Animaux de la Misère (Avon Terror Corps)

  Héroïques Animaux de la Misère by Harrga

  --

Heavy Bleeding – Heavy Bleeding (Pickled Discs)

  Heavy Bleeding by Heavy Bleeding

  --

Hey Colossus – Four Bibles (ALTER)

  Four Bibles by Hey Colossus

  --

HTRK – Venus in Leo (Ghostly Intl.)

  Venus in Leo by HTRK

  --

I Jahbar & Friends – Inna Duppy SKRS Soundclash (Bokeh Versions)

  Inna Duppy SKRS Soundclash by I Jahbar & Friends

  --

The iDEALIST – Say Yes to No (iDEAL Recordings)

  Say Yes To No by The Idealist

  --

Institute – Readjusting the Locks (Sacred Bones)

  Readjusting the Locks by Institute

  --

Jon Brooks – Emotional Freedom Techniques (Café Kaput)

  Emotional Freedom Techniques by Jon Brooks

  --

Kevin Morby – Oh My God (Secretly Canadian)

  Oh My God by Kevin Morby

  --

Kim Gordon – No Home Record (Matador)

    --

Lafawndah – Ancestor Boy (Concordia)

  Ancestor Boy by Lafawndah

  --

Laurence Pike – Holy Spring (The Leaf Label)

  Holy Spring by Laurence Pike

  --

Lifted – 2 (PAN)

  2 by Lifted

  --

Lightning Bolt – Sonic Citadel (Thrill Jockey)

  Sonic Citadel by Lightning Bolt

  --

LINGUA IGNOTA – CALIGULA (Profound Lore)

  CALIGULA by LINGUA IGNOTA

  --

Loraine James – For You and I (Hyperdub)

  For You and I by Loraine James

  --

MADTEO – Dropped Out Sunshine (DDS)

  DROPPED OUT SUNSHINE LP by MADTEO

  --

Matmos – Plastic Anniversary (Thrill Jockey)

  Plastic Anniversary by Matmos

  --

Mike Donovan – Exurbian Quonset (Drag City)

  Exurbian Quonset by Mike Donovan

  --

Modern Nature – How to Live (Bella Union)

  How To Live by Modern Nature

  --

MSYLMA – Dhil-un Taht Shajarat Al-Zaqum (Halcyon Veil)

    --

MY DISCO – Environment (Downwards)

  Environment by MY DISCO

  --

Nazamba – Nazamba (Dubquake)

  NAZAMBA (Produced by O.B.F) by Nazamba

  --

Not Glass - Forma (Ecstatic)

  Forma / Ήθος by Not Glass (Not Waving + Jay Glass Dubs)

  --

Oozing Wound – High Anxiety (Thrill Jockey)

  High Anxiety by Oozing Wound

  --

Patience – Dizzy Spells (Night School / Winona)

  Dizzy Spells by Patience

  --

The Pheromoans – County Lines (ALTER)

  County Lines by The Pheromoans

  --

Purple Mountains – Purple Mountains (Drag City)

  Purple Mountains by Purple Mountains

  --

Pye Corner Audio – Hollow Earth (Ghost Box)

    --

Rainer Veil – Vanity (Modern Love)

    --

Rian Treanor – ATAXIA (Planet Mu)

  ATAXIA by Rian Treanor

  --

Salac – Sacred Movements (Avon Terror Corps)

  Sacred Movements by Salac

  --

Sea Urchin – Tahtib (Bokeh Versions)

  Tahtib by Sea Urchin

  --

Snapped Ankles – Stunning Luxury (The Leaf Label)

  Stunning Luxury by Snapped Ankles

  --

Tempers – Private Life (Dais)

  Private Life by TEMPERS

  --

Tim Presley’s White Fence – I Have to Feed Larry’s Hawk (Drag City)

  I Have to Feed Larry's Hawk by Tim Presley's White Fence

  --

Trash Kit – Horizon (Upset The Rhythm)

    --

Uniform and The Body – Everything That Dies Someday Comes Back (Sacred Bones)

  Everything That Dies Someday Comes Back by Uniform & The Body

  --

The Utopia Strong – The Utopia Strong (Rocket Recordings)

  The Utopia Strong by The Utopia Strong

  --

Western Edges – Prowess (Sounds In Silence)

  Prowess by Western Edges

    --

Our Top 20 EPs, 12”s, etc., 2019

--

  1. Jay Glass Dubs – Nyx (Berceuse Heroique)

  BH 061 Jay Glass Dubs - Nyx EP by Berceuse Heroique

  --

2. Yoshinori Hayashi – γ (Smalltown Supersound)

  γ by Yoshinori Hayashi

  --

3. Country Florist – “OUTLASTR” (Drawing Room)

  "OUTLASTR" by Country Florist

  --

4. Moon Diagrams – Trappy Bats (Geographic North)

  Trappy Bats by Moon Diagrams

  --

5. HYPERSTITION DUO – VIROTECHNICS (POLYPHONIC ASSEMBLAGE)

  VIROTECHNICS by HYPERSTITION DUO

  --

6. Holodrum – “No Dither” / “Low Light” (Self-released singles)

  No Dither by Holodrum

  Low Light by Holodrum

    --

7. Primitive Knot – Unholy Grails (Self-released) / Puritan (Deathbed Tapes)

  Unholy Grails by Primitive Knot

  PURITAN by Primitive Knot

    --

8. Miss Red – The Four Bodies (Pressure)

  The Four Bodies by Miss Red

  --

9. Virginia Wing – Pale Burnt Lake (Fire)

  Pale Burnt Lake by Virginia Wing

  --

10. Sandy – Traces (Geographic North)

  Traces by Sandy

  --

11. Earth Girl Helen Brown – Uranus (Empty Cellar)

  URANUS by Earth Girl Helen Brown

  --

12. Low Jack – Jingles du Lieu-dit (Editions Gravats)

  Jingles du Lieu-dit by Low Jack

  --

13. Jay Glass Dubs – Thumb Dub (Dub On Arrival)

  Thumb Dub/Index Dub by JAY GLASS DUBS

  --

14. Kinlaw – Drax (Haunter)

  Drax by Kinlaw

  --

15. JK Flesh – In Your Pit (Pressure)

  'In Your Pit E.P.' by JK FLESH

  --

16. Hontos – Subway Series vol. 2 (Bank Records NYC)

  Subway Series Vol.2 by Hontos

  --

17. Perc – Three Tracks to Send to Your Ghost Producer (Perc Trax)

  Three Tracks To Send To Your Ghost Producer by Perc

  --

18. Enrique – Self Loathing (Bank Records NYC)

  Self Loathing by Enrique

  --

19. AyGeeTee – Answers for Past Meetings (Honest Electronics)

  Answers for Past Meetings (HE14) by AyGeeTee

  --

20. James Place – Still Waves to a Whisper / Vanishing (Umor Rex)

  Still Waves To A Whisper by James Place

  Vanishing by James Place

    --

Our Top 10 Mixtapes, Comps, Reissues, and Live Recordings of 2019

--

  1. Underworld – DRIFT Series 1 Boxset (Smith Hyde Productions)

    --

2. British Murder Boys – Fire in the Still Air (Downwards)

  Fire In The Still Air by British Murder Boys

  --

3. Rabit – The Dope Show / Kold Summer / Star Belly (Halcyon Veil)

  THE DOPE SHOW by Rabit

  KOLD SUMMER by Rabit

      STAR BELLY by Rabit

    --

4. Gaika – Heaters 4 the 2 Seaters (Warp)

    --

5. Burial – Tunes 2011 to 2019 (Hyperdub)

  Tunes 2011 to 2019 by Burial

  --

6. Low Jack – Breizh (Hospital Productions)

  Breizh by Low Jack

  --

7. Various Artists – No Sleep Til Avon (Avon Terror Corps)

  No Sleep 'Til Avon by Avon Terror Corps

  --

8. Master Your Horn Noise – Live at Rave (Dishonest Electronics)

  LIVE AT RAVE (DIS03) by Master Your Horn Noise

  --

9. The Juan Maclean – The Brighter the Light (DFA)

  The Brighter The Light by The Juan Maclean

  --

10. Mark Peters – New Routes out of Innerland (Sonic Cathedral)

  New Routes out of Innerland by Mark Peters

– Bernie Brooks is the editor-in-chief and bloggist of look.ship. *Everything* he writes or compiles or otherwise makes–or has *ever* written, compiled, or otherwise made–for A Ship In The Woods is editorial content, and as such reflects his opinion alone, not necessarily that of Ship as an organization. Actually, this applies to all the content on look.shipinthewoods.com, regardless of who wrote or said it. He can be e-mailed: bernie [at] shipinthewoods [dot] com – Image by Bernie Brooks.

[this-new-me]

Note taking tips

Okay so...not exactly a lot of followers on here, but I'd like to share my tips, if not for anyone else than for me bc I am taking a break for summer & don't want to forget all of my strategies. SO! I personalize my note taking strategies for each & every classroom. For example... -in my classical music study class, I use OneNote & my laptop to record the class because it's an audio class, but my teacher (most of the time) gives out guided notes, so I mark, write, & highlight all over those. Then, when it comes time for reviewing, I make a Quizlet of the practice test he gives us. Try to use the cornell method to revise important info after class. -I don't take notes in my comms class -I kept spacing out in my bio class when I was trying to just type my notes into onenote bc the class is 2 hrs 20 mins, so I got a notebook & still record the class, but I also make my own notes. I don't really have time to revise a lot in between classes. I also mark the time I'm out of class to walk around a bit, stretch, use the bathroom, fill my water bottle, etc because I won't be able to concentrate when I don't. When it comes down to studying, he gives out a study guide but it's usually heckin long & maybe 35% of the info is actually on the test so I'll look at the topics I don't remember/know & write down info about these. Other than that, I look at the chapter review at the end of the chapter, ignoring the topics we didn't talk about, & my labs- especially if it involved drawing some sort of diagram or if it was related to the chapter. I would read all of the book, but I simply don't have the time (working full time & going to school full time) plus he doesn't really care about a good deal of the info, especially the detail the book goes into. There's a lot of info but I don't have a lot of time to review & revise between classes so I go into a lot of detail in my notes during the lecture (I once drew out a rough sketch of the brain & went through & highlighted everything); however, the only reason I can do this is because my professor stammers/stutters & repeats the same info a lot. That's the only time I'd ever recommend doing that, because you're supposed to spend 80% of your time/attention listening. -for my psych class, he uses nothing but a PowerPoint so I just type my notes directly into onenote while recording the class. I already know a lot of the info from my high school psych class, so I write down the new info & mention any changed definitions for his class but otherwise don't stress about it. Some things I have learned while working full time & going to school full time: 1. You really need to be good at managing your time. I am not the best. On my days off, I procrastinate doing my work because I want to sleep, do fun stuff or, on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, have the luxury of doing absolutely nothing all day. 2. Sometimes, it's best to just turn an assignment in late. There have been a few times where I could choose to sacrifice the little sleep I have to try to get an assignment done- & if I can sleep the whole day the next day, I do it. However, it's usually not my best work, & that's usually not what happens, so I just send it in late- because I usually have a day off in between my class days, so if it's due Tuesday I send it electronically Wednesday or turn it in Thursday. Speaking of... 3. Sometimes, I try to load myself up on Mountain Dew before I go home so I can ~get stuff done~ later at night (I get out of work at 1:30 am, at the EARLIEST). I'd say that 95% of the time, that turned into me procrastinating on my phone for an hour, getting tired, & going to bed- only to be kept up by the Mountain Dew. I've learned to combat this by cleaning my apartment so I work off the caffeine while also doing something remedial (not requiring much brain power so I'm not waking myself up even more) & productive...but it probably would've just been better if I went to bed so I could get up at an earlier time. 4. Communicate with your boss. I work in fast food, & telling my boss my schedule way ahead of time has helped me, ESPECIALLY writing it down somewhere. Sometimes it gets lost, but if I already told him verbally as well he usually remembers & asks me again if he needs to. I'm really lucky- my boss knows how important my schooling is for me & does his best to not mess with my hours, although if he forgets, I can usually remind him & just get it altered slightly. However, a big part of this is being flexible in return. On days I don't have classes, if I see a certain part of a shift is short, I offer to work a split. He cut my hours a little so I could study for finals, but I've still been picking up extra hours on short shifts here & there- & offering BEFORE he has to go asking around. I've told him I don't really mind only having one day off opposed to two days if two of my shifts are half-shifts (4 hours) anyway. It's all about being flexible in return :) 5. Let your professors know! They're usually a little lenient (or at least sympathetic) when they know, & may cut you some slack. I'm not saying go crying for attention, but just offer some explanation for some of your behaviors. Just saying "I'm sorry, my paper was late because I'm working full time & I have classes [time to time] & my next day off wasn't until [today/yesterday], I didn't realize it was due this day, etc." may not get you any points back but at least they'll understand that you're not just being lazy. 6. Study when you can! Sometimes I make notecards so I can look at them while I'm order taking at the drive through (because customers often "need a moment" but you don't know when they're going to start talking again so you stay near the order-taking bubble) or paying out at the drive through so I can duck out of sight of any customers & study during a particularly long order. That being said, I usually try to help bag up everything, but if they already have a bagger, there's not much I can do. Don't let this hinder your job performance (AKA don't do this if there's more to be done like making drinks), & if your bosses get mad at you just study on your break, but if they don't mind or don't say anything then do it. Hope this has helped some of you!

[pipermca]

Lost and Found Again - Part 6

Jazz was on his way to the rec room when his comm pinged. ::Jazz, please report to my office immediately.::

Whirling on his heel, Jazz made a turn at the next hallway of the Ark. ::On my way, Prowler. What’s up?::

::It’s Prowl. And we’ll discuss it when you get here.::

Ruh roh, Jazz thought. That meant he was in trouble. He tried to think of all the things Prowl could possibly be mad at him for, and quickly came up with at least thirty-two items. And that didn’t even count the things that Prowl couldn’t possibly know about. Yet.

When he reached Prowl’s office, he plastered his most innocent smile on his face and strolled through the open door. “A’ight, I’m here,” he said, falling into the chair across from Prowl. “What did I do?”

Prowl looked up from a data pad. “You changed the duty roster for this evening without speaking to me first.”

Jazz relaxed slightly once he understood what Prowl was upset about. At least this wasn’t about the two thousand yards of plastic cling wrap Jazz had requisitioned for the twins. Jazz wasn’t ready to have that conversation just yet. “Yeah, it was just a minor tweak, and Bee agreed to the swap.”

Putting down the data pad, Prowl looked at Jazz intently. “The duty roster is carefully arranged for maximum efficiency. Bumblebee may have agreed to swap shifts with Bluestreak, but now he will be short on energy tomorrow morning because his recharge cycles will have been disrupted. This will detrimentally affect his productivity.”

Doing his best to look contrite, Jazz hung his helm. “Ah, right. I didn’t think of that, Prowl. I just know that Blue really wanted tonight free, and he asked Bee if he was willin’ to swap shifts before even comin’ to me.” Jazz looked back up at Prowl and held out his hands. “At first I was gonna tell Blue to just go talk to you, but then he made that face... You know, the one where his optics get all big and round?” Jazz tried to imitate Bluestreak’s face but realized the effect was probably ruined by his visor. “Anyways, I couldn’t say no.”

Prowl’s face was an unreadable mask. “It is quite easy to say no. You just say it like this: No.” Prowl carefully enunciated the word.

“Now, see, that’s why he came to me instead of talkin’ to you,” Jazz said, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms under his bumper. “You would just say no without even findin’ out why he wanted the night off.”

Flicking his door wings, Prowl frowned. “I am always willing to discuss duty assignments with anyone who asks,” he said. “If someone has a good reason for why they want to switch a shift, I am willing to make that adjustment for them.” When Jazz’s expression remained unchanged, he exvented and asked, “Fine. Why did he want the shift change?”

“He wanted to go to a movie,” Jazz said.

“A movie?” Prowl’s frown deepened. Ever since Sparkplug had gotten the Autobots passes for the nearby drive-in theatre, there had been a steady stream of mechs going out in the evening to see whatever was playing that night. “He has evenings off the whole rest of this week. Surely he could just have gone some other night,” Prowl said.

“He really wanted to go with someone in particular, tonight,” Jazz said, his arms still crossed. A little smile played across Jazz’s lips as he saw the tactician’s processor add that bit of information into his database and reach a conclusion.

Prowl’s door wings tipped up fractionally as he realized who else had already been scheduled for tonight off. “Oh. So. I see,” he said slowly. He exvented softly. “I suppose I really should start paying more attention to who is partnering up with whom.”

Jazz cheered silently. Prowl’s own social protocols may be slightly underpowered, but even he understood how important interpersonal relationships were to crew morale. “I’d be happy to fill you in on all the scuttlebutt, Prowl,” he said.

“I’d appreciate that, Jazz,” Prowl said, one door wing inclining in Jazz’s direction. He shook his helm and added, “But going forward, please do not alter the duty roster without informing me first.”

Jazz nodded and grinned, knowing by Prowl’s tone that all was forgiven, if not forgotten. “Sure thing, Prowler.” Standing to go, he added, “Say, Ironhide’s hosting another Monopoly tournament tonight in the rec room. Did ya want to go? We made a pretty dangerous team last time.”

“Tempting, but no,” Prowl said, giving his door wings another flick. “There’s something I need to do.”

“That movie was the best!” Bluestreak exclaimed, weaving back and forth in his lane on the road leading towards the Ark. He had behaved himself while on the public highway, but now that they were getting close to the ship Bluestreak felt comfortable driving a bit more like… well, more like himself. He sped up, then pulled a handbrake turn to spin around back towards Hound. The Jeep slowed down, and Bluestreak spun in another happy circle around him.

As Bluestreak pulled alongside him again, Hound laughed. “It was pretty fun,” he agreed. “I’m glad we happened to have the evening off together so we could both go. I don’t think I understood all the jokes – I think I’m going to have to ask Spike why we heard people laugh when Marty’s mom started calling him Calvin – but otherwise it was really good.”

“And that car was so cool! I kind of wish Teletraan had reformatted me as a Delorean!” Bluestreak said, skipping forward with a little peal of his tires before falling back to Hound’s side. “I’ve never seen an Earth car with thrusters like that! It looked so neat.”

Hound made a little sound of uncertainty. “I don’t think real Deloreans have those thrusters,” he said. “I think that was supposed to be part of the time machine.”

“Oh. Well, still. That was a great-looking car,” Bluestreak said. He weaved back and forth in his lane again, thinking. “Say, remember last year when Spike asked us what we were all dressing up as for that holiday in the fall? And we’d never heard of it, but it sounded like a great idea, but it was way too late for us to come up with good costumes for it?”

“You mean Halloween?” Hound asked.

“Yeah! That one!” Bluestreak slowed down slightly, rocking on his tires in excitement. “What if this year I got Wheeljack to help me make some fake thrusters, and some wires and tubing and stuff for my sides, to make me look like the time machine from the movie? I’m almost the same shape and colour as the Delorean. I’ll bet I’d look exactly like the time machine!”

Hound laughed. “You’re right. You’d probably look just like it with a little bit of work.”

“I wish there was a Jeep or something like it in the movie,” Bluestreak said, slowing even more. “It would have been fun if we could have dressed up together. Um. If you wanted to,” he added hastily.

“That sounds like fun, actually. I’d love to have coordinating costumes.” Hound slowed as well so he could continue driving alongside Bluestreak. “And... I don’t need an elaborate costume. After all, I could just do this.”

Hound’s form shimmered and was suddenly replaced by a baby blue VW Bus. A human holding a machine gun rose from the vehicle’s sunroof and yelled in Hound’s voice, “Drive, you stinking time machine! I’ll catch you!”

Laughing hysterically, Bluestreak spun in another circle around Hound. His tires squealed as he came around the front of the Bus and he zoomed off down the road. “Let’s see if you bastards can do ninety!” he called.

The two vehicles careened up the road towards the Ark, weaving around each other and laughing. As they sighted the Ark in the distance, though, they saw flashing lights on the road in front of them. Bluestreak slowed down. “Oh, scrap,” he said.

“I wonder what he wants,” Hound wondered, and let his hologram flicker out.

The two vehicles slowed to a crawl as they pulled up next to the police car that was parked sideways, blocking the road. Prowl transformed into root mode. “Bluestreak. Hound.”

Bluestreak and Hound also transformed and walked the few meters to stand in front of Prowl. “Hi, Prowl. Sir,” Bluestreak said, his door wings tipping upwards in greeting. “What are you doing out here so late? Was there some kind of trouble?” he asked.

“No, not specifically,” Prowl said. He looked evenly at Bluestreak. “Jazz told me that you asked him for a shift change for tonight instead of coming directly to me.”

Hound’s engine coughed slightly.

Bluestreak’s door wings fell, and he cast a sidelong glance at Hound before looking back up at Prowl. His face plates felt hot. “Um, yeah, well, you’re always busy and Jazz was right there after I talked to Bumblebee and he said it was fine, so I didn’t think I’d have to talk to you.” Bluestreak could feel Hound looking at him. “Um. Sorry?”

Prowl’s gaze shifted from Bluestreak to Hound, and then back again. A very slight smile crossed his lips. “If you want, I could schedule an evening off for both of you together once a week. That way you will not have to trade shifts with anyone to spend time together.”

His door wings sagging even more in mortification, Bluestreak wished fervently that the ground would open up beneath him and just swallow him. He had told Hound that he’d just happened to have tonight off, not that he’d begged Bumblebee to take his shift so he could spend some time with Hound. He didn’t want Hound to think it was a date, even though Bluestreak wanted it to be a date, but not that Hound was supposed to know that, and oh Primus, would Hound ever even speak to him now? Bluestreak knew that Hound was probably rolling his optics at how awkward this all was, wondering why Bluestreak would ever think that Hound would ever be interested in him, and...

“That would be really nice, sir. Thanks.” Bluestreak’s wings stiffened in surprise. He stared at Hound, his optics wide. The green mech was smiling at Prowl, then glanced at Bluestreak, his smiling widening. “I think we’d both appreciate some extra time together, if it’s possible.”

Prowl nodded curtly, and inclined his door wings towards them. “Fine. I’ll see what I can do. Enjoy the rest of your night.” He turned, transformed, and drove off towards the lights of the Ark.

Bluestreak stared after Prowl, then looked at Hound. The green mech chuckled and shook his helm. “You didn’t tell me you had to switch your shift to go see the movie,” he said.

“Um.” Bluestreak lifted his wings slightly. “Yeah, well, I saw that you were scheduled for evenings all the rest of this week, and that movie would only be playing here for another week, so it just seemed to make more sense for me to change my shift.” He rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged. “I didn’t think it was important to explain all that to you, I guess. And...” Bluestreak pulled a long vent cycle. “I really wanted to see the movie with you,” he added.

“Well, like I said earlier, I had fun tonight,” Hound said. “And I’m very glad you asked me to go with you.”

Lifting his wings back even with his shoulders, Bluestreak stared at Hound for a long moment. Then he grinned. “Oh. Good! I mean, that’s great! I’m glad we could both go.”

“Now,” Hound said, casually taking Bluestreak’s hand in his and ignoring how Bluestreak’s door wings shot up over his shoulders. “Let’s go ask Wheeljack about making those ‘time machine thrusters’ for your costume.”

Dazed, Bluestreak nodded and began walking towards the Ark, hand in hand with Hound. He gently squeezed Hound’s hand, and the green mech returned the gesture, running his thumb in circles on the back of Bluestreak’s hand.

Bluestreak’s door wings fluttered behind him happily.

Originally posted on Archive of Our Own as “Geeking Out Over Something.”

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5  Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10

[archonreviews]

The Archon’s Review of Supreme Commander

Supreme Commander is a real-time strategy game by Gas Powered Games and published by THQ. In the far-flung future, humanity has colonized space with the help of space portals (which can apparently be hacked, which presents a massive security risk, I should think, but nevermind that). This led to an era of peace and prosperity unseen by humanity ever before. During this time, an old, enterprising scientist named Dr. Gustaf Brackman fuses an artificial intelligence with a human brain (again, this presents a massive security hazard, but nevermind). The new, half-computer, half-human people are called “Symbionts”. This development spooks the Earth Empire’s bigwigs who hack the Symbionts and enslave them. Disgusted and not at all aroused, Brackman takes a corps of his loyal Symbionts and forms his own Cybran Nation with blackjack and hookers. Meanwhile, on a far off world, a human colony finds religion via an alien race called the Seraphim (in a surprising twist, it’s the Seraphim who’re presented with a security risk, rather than the humans). The Seraphim teach the colonists the way of “The Way”, shortly before being obliterated by the millenia-in-the-future equivalent of a Neo-Nazi, who really just could not stand that the other humans were finding a peaceful religion brought to them by a benevolent green people. Jokes on that asshole though, as the destruction of the Seraphim brings about the Aeon Illuminate, a sort of Knights Templar in space. After these two factions finish tearing up ye olde Earth Empire, it reforms itself into the United Earth Federation, because it’s always a federation, isn’t it? Can’t be a cadre, or a union, or a confederation, it’s got to be a federation if it’s in space, doesn’t it? Anyway, the three factions develop a cool mecha called the Armored Command Unit, or ACU, which can pull entire military bases out of their “mass”, and command entire armies of automated(?) tanks, boats, and planes. With the ACU, war becomes easy-peasy, so the three factions decide to have one for a thousand years, just for kicks. That’s where you come in. You take command of one of the three factions, hoping to end the Infinite War once and for all.

Hah, I thought the F/GO intro was long. Sorry mates.

So, I like real-time strategy games. I’d go so far as to say it’s one of my top two favorite genres of video game. Which makes the fact that I’m only now reviewing an RTS a somewhat criminal act of neglect. I was first tuned in to the Supreme Commander series when I was a teenager, playing Supreme Commander 2. Incidentally, this is also when I would learn about Steam’s DRM, when I was so used to just installing stuff from a CD. In any event, I found SC2 a lot of fun, once I figured out how to play the game properly. So, SC being on sale a while back, I decided to see if it lived up to the fond memories of it’s descendant. The short answer is, “Eeeehhh... Kinda?”

The game’s primary objective for a standard game is to destroy all of the enemies’ ACUs. In fact, the ACU is the most important unit for any player, as it represents the player themselves. In addition, the ACU builds your base before you gain access to Engineers. As far as objectives go, “regicide” is pretty straightforward, and given that all the other units are possibly automated, it makes sense. Sadly, the story campaigns decide to complicate things significantly.

This objection may be subjective, but I have a feeling it’s less subjective than I suspect. See, I’m used to an RTS presenting me with an overarching objective in each mission, flowering with optional objectives or minor complications as the mission progresses. Supreme Commander, however, does something slightly different. In the beginning of a campaign mission, you will be presented with a very simple, deceptively easy objective. Something like, “Kill these dudes we’ve essentially tied to posts for you,” or “Hey, see that building over there? Yeah, send your ACU over there and grab it for us, ya?” But then, once you’ve completed it, the map will expand to reveal a new objective. At this point, things’ll be okay, with only minor adjustments in strategy required. But then, it’ll expand the map again, and you’ll be faced with your final enemy... and usually a massive wave of enemy units that you couldn’t have known were coming on your first go-through. To add insult to injury, they’ll usually give you the ability to produce a unit that would help a lot, but with the wave of enemy dudes bearing down on you, you’d best hope that you’ve got adequate base defenses while you build your new units, otherwise, to paraphrase Richard III (or maybe Game of Thrones), things will go very hard for you.

The best way I found to deal with the game stringing you along like this is to develop a super economy mid-mission, and put off your objectives as long as you can. This strategy, however, presents two challenges: first, some objectives are timed. Second, and perhaps more annoyingly, is that as you procrastinate, a comms officer or a superior will occasionally complain at you for not completing your objectives. It’s kinda funny at first, but after a while, it sounds like a middle manager reminding you of a minor job-related obligation that nobody performs anyway. Anyone who’s ever had to push a credit card will know exactly what I mean.

^(Large robot friend building up my super economy. Also, my apologies for the console box in the corner, I had to change the screenshot button to the ` button, as the F12 button brought up an even more obtrusive thingie.)^

Now, it might sound like I’m ragging on the game, and to an extent I am. The game doesn’t seem to have too much of a player-base to battle against and I imagine single-player skirmishes can only be exciting a few dozen times. Most RTSes base much of their content on their story campaign, and indeed, that’s where I began, but while I didn’t much like the way the individual missions were formatted, the mechanics of the game itself were actually pretty fun! Building up a base with your big robot friend and then later, your little robot friends, is generally gratifying. Churning out a massive army of gunships and raining hellfire on your foes is quite entertaining. Watching stuff explode is almost as primordially engaging as a Michael Bay movie without the casual racism, sexism, poor acting, and poor screenwriting. Watching boats explode is a particularly fun thing, and this is coming from someone who is usually uneasy about commanding naval forces in RTSes.

That said, there are a couple more nitpicks, but these are some pretty big nits. First off, the pathfinding for ground units may be best argument for self-driving cars ever, ironically. When in formation, they will move the front line first, then the lines behind, until they’re all moving, instead of everyone moving at once. This can create major problems when you’re trying to roll out an attack force into an enemy base and their turrets just shoot down all your bots as they come. Otherwise, they tend to just move however they want to, which may interfere with your strategies, and it gets worse when you realize that the only way to get rid of enemy shields is to march your land units inside the shield and shoot at the generator from there, more or less necessitating the insipid groundlings. In fact, if it weren’t for shields, I probably would’ve relied solely on air and naval power, as air units don’t need to pathfind, and naval units don’t have any obstacles to get tripped up on and their range is long enough that even if they did, they could still perform their essential function, i.e. total boat obliteration.

^(It’s difficult to see, but on the left is a fleet of my submarines demolishing an enemy fleet on the right. Note the lack of physical obstacles. Note pictured: My joy at the destruction of my enemies.)^

Also, the tutorial is absolute bollocks in cheese. It’s basically a bunch of videos detailing basic concepts, and then they let you loose in an empty map with an ACU from each faction, and that’s your lot. This game is actually fairly complex, and an actual tutorial wouldn’t have been remiss.

The aesthetics are nice. Environments are pretty, if a bit sparse in places, and all the robots look pretty cool. Each factions’ units are distinct enough that you can tell friend from foe immediately; the UEF has this sort of “basic Earth unit” look to them, all blocky with lots of things on wheels and conventional design, the Cybrans are all spikes and doom fortresses (only somewhat ironic, as their goal of freeing all enslaved Symbionts is actually the most morally justifiable), and the Aeon design is half cathedrals-on-legs and half Space Alien(TM) aesthetic. When the game is being all wiz-bang-kaboom, it is indeed rad A.F, but the flipside to that is that I frequently got the disquieting feeling that I was doing something wrong somehow. Like because I wasn’t wiz-bang-kabooming all the time, I wasn’t playing properly. Or maybe the game’s marketing was a big fat liar; who knows?

(^What I expected vs...

what I got. I mean, there were shades of the first image, but the vast majority of my time was spent constructing like a hyperactive Mincraft player.)^

The music isn’t much to write home about. It’s alright, I guess.

The reason I believe the player-base is sparse is because looking up walkthroughs for this game was excessively difficult. There were no Steam guides except for those telling you how to get the game to work; which wasn’t a problem for me. The only GameFAQs walkthrough I could find was very light on actual details, preferring instead to provide me with information I probably could have figured out on my own. I finally had to find a Youtube playthrough; and incidentally, Ser “SergiuHellDragoonHQ”, if you happen to be reading this, it is generally considered bad form to periodically pop in with obtrusive demands that I subscribe in the form of extremely distracting low-res graphics. I was only there for a walkthrough on that particular mission, we’re not that close bruh. That said, you have my gratitude for your walkthrough, which taught me the “super economy strategy”, mentioned above. All of that said, it may just be that the player-base are super leet haxorz and therefore don’t require any walkthroughs.

^(The notes I took on SergiuHellDragoonHQ’s walkthrough. Note the rushed handwriting and Gudetama in the bottom left.)^

Ten slotte, SC is fun at it’s core, but the lack of a good tutorial and the frustrating and drag-out campaign format kinda kills it in places for me. I would recommend it mostly on the basis that the person I’m recommending it to would play with me so we can, as wise men have written, “git gud”. I’m probably not going to keep playing it, unless I start playing SC2 again and a major plot point comes up that necessitates me playing through the campaign of the original. As for social commentary... well, it’s actually remarkably progressive in places. The while the Earth president is a dude, and the main character is also a dude, the high commander of Earth’s armies is a woman with a badass battle scar; you know she’s seen some shit. In addition, the Aeon Illuminate are ruled by a Princess, and most, if not all of their commanders are women. So apparently the Infinite War is much more gender-equal than today times. That said, everyone appears to be white, although the cockpits of the Aeon commanders are poorly lit, and it looks like maybe there’s a Latina commander somewhere. So the lack of racial diversity’s a bit of a problem. Also, the Symbiont slavery thing has some pretty obvious parallels, and while it often isn’t mentioned by UEF commanders, the Cybrans will talk about it constantly. Almost like their primary objective is freeing a marginalized group of people from government enforced bondage. Almost creates a parallel to a certain real-world tragedy that was enforced by the government and resulted in a certain war that itself resulted, ostensibly, in a certain marginalized group of people being granted their freedom. That said, the parallel isn’t too clear-cut, and I didn’t get far enough into the campaign to see where it goes.

All in all, if you’re looking for a sci-fi strategy game, you could do worse than Supreme Commander, but I remember the sequel being better, so go play that maybe.

^(Pictured: The prelude to Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries”.)^