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wickedbaggins · 1 year

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All the games I finished this year

All thirty! Twenty-nine! A really good year for indie narrative games, gotta say. Roadwarden in particular has me churning about making a text RPG of my own in Ren’py ...

10 mg: Locked In Very short visual novel about COVID tensions. Man, gotta say, the simulated fight was too harsh and mean for me to really lean into it. Parenting is rough! Especially during a pandemic. AI: The Somnium Files - Nirvana Initiative More of everything in the first game, hooray! More puzzles, more somniums, more AIs, more pipe-wielding teenagers! More musical numbers! Visual novel with puzzles and branching and a lot of gleeful oddness. Plus some horrific what-the-fuckery. It is Uchikoshi. As Dusk Falls Interactive movie about a hostage situation with Rippling Consequences. Not bad, really -- I know a lot of the devs are refugees from David Cage's nonsense, and this is certainly more coherent and affecting than Cage. The writers do seem to have ported Appalachian stereotypes into their rural Arizonan characters, and some chapters feel like one-offs, but it's not bad and makes some decent stabs toward depicting PTSD. I like the accelerated-comic visual style. Beacon Pines Visual novel with adventure elements. You get keywords in some branches that you can apply to other branches. You play a darling pre-teen deer, hanging out with his darling cat friends, in a not-so-darling setting with a Wicked Corporation and an Old Money Family with Secrets. Plays happily in the body horror (and general horror) space without ever being all that scary. It's a pleasant romp with breathless narration. Chinese Parents Raising sim. Growing Up, below, is so similar that it may be too polite to call it a clone, but Chinese Parents is the superior game. The translation is occasionally iffy, sometimes very iffy, but you feel the parental PRESSURE and how much they WANT you to succeed, for selfish and unselfish reasons. Ends up a kind of melancholy and funny family piece, a window into the struggle to get through childhood that feels much more real than Growing Up. And I kinda enjoy the haphazard art. Coffee Talk Visual novel with coffee-and-tea-making minigames that I almost always failed and had to look up. Embarrassing for a pure chill game! Otherwise, charming slice of life with gorgeous pixel art and interesting-enough discussions (although "earthlings are too stupid not to overbreed the earth!" was weirdly offensive). Consider It What even is this? Tiny minigames? Choices made based on tiny movements? A personality test? I laughed at the Grave of the Fireflies jokes. A lot. Excavation of Hob's Barrow Pixel point and click with some incredible cutscenes? Character-shots? And a wonderfully awful mood. It's horror that you see coming, but that doesn't decrease the effectiveness when it finally gets to you. Our heroine is incredibly plucky and incredibly doomed. Forgotten City First person time-loop puzzle-and-talk with a bit of sneaking and combat. And a lot of running. Funny and dark and thoughtful, with some delightful antiquities nerdery. You are in a pocket of the Roman empire, after all! I didn't ultimately love the final reveal, but the journey there is a really fun time and I always appreciate a philosophy battle. Growing Up Raising sim. So similar to Chinese Parents that it's, politely, a clone, but with much nicer art and cleaner writing. The game feels disjointed, though. The various visual-novelish arcs related to your friends and interests are pretty intensive, but your parents never cohere as people and their requests never make much sense. The pressures in Chinese Parents are made very explicit; you are your parents' hopes and dreams. The parents in Growing Up appear to expect nothing of you as a whole, which leaves their requests feeling completely arbitrary and random. Which they are! But it feels less intentional. Henry Stickman Impressively stupid and arbitrary choose your own adventure, and all the very best choose your own adventures are stupid and arbitrary! This 'un knows exactly what it is: a horrible death simulator. Her Story Clever, intricate film database about a murder and the gal who done that murder, maybe. Glad I got this in before Immortality - you can see the roots of the longer film clip game. Also has a great musical number. I Was a Teenage Exocolonist Another life sim! Comparisons with Chinese Parents and Growing Up are inevitable, but this is going a different direction. Like Growing Up, it has intensively developed friend-and-interest arcs. Like Chinese Parents, there is a tension between child and parents that fuels the story. But this has heavier adventure and RPG elements. There are quests (if usually unmarked) and extensive exploration. It's a little didactic, but the weird alienness of the planet plus harrowing turns in the plot plus a heady metanarrative keep the game far from being a screed. Very interesting and replayable. Immortality Less accessible film database than Her Story -- trying to click on points of interest to match-cut to different clips is interesting, but it's harder to go back and review. Much longer than Her Story. There are, after all, three films + commentary in this one. And a very clever trick/twist, although that trick basically requires you play with a controller. Also has great musical numbers. Lost Ember Beautiful game where you play a psychopomp wolf able to possess other animals. Bogged down by controls that never feel quite right and, for my tastes, a far-too-human-centric story. The story's not ineffective, but it runs on forever and its themes feel muddy. It's somewhere between the somewhat strange trope I've seen in other indie games of "revolution is good but violence is bad" and maybe a "all life, not only humans, is sacred" story, but it doesn't quite cohere. The inciting incident is also too arbitrary and the oppressive pre-industrial civilization is thinly drawn other than "they sure like monuments". and "they are wrecking the environment". Both the environmental and the revolutionary message lack enough specificity to really be compelling. It is really nice to play a fish or a hummingbird (some of the animals with freer movement), but the animals are vehicles and tools to the extent that the "we are all one" idea, if intended, doesn't hit maybe as it should. It's largely the typical walking sim frame of "go 'x' steps until you get the next commentary or cutscene", which I don't find too engaging. The landscapes sure are super nice though. Luck Be a Landlord Your landlord keeps increasing your rent and slot machines are yer only hope. That's the game! Monster Prom Finally got around to the Monster Prom visual-novel-dating-sim franchise this year. It's charming and silly! Monster Camp Monster Camp is Monster Prom! But more hyper-focused on one character at a time! Which has pros and cons - it's a bit less silly, but you do get to know the character better! Monster Road Trip Monster Road Trip feels INDEED like the game the previous two games were leading up to. We've established our cast, now let's do Oregon Trail! Less focus on dating (it's really a side activity), more focus on hijinks in random places! Very silly! Although because the characters are now so established, suddenly, I have moral questions in this amoral game! Should a good boy werewolf be murdering people at Knife World?? Did the rest of the cast fool him into thinking they aren't real murders? He's not so bright?? I don't know?? Norco Really amazing visual novel-adventure-lite game. I played this near the beginning of the year, read Ducks at the end of the year. Both of these are about the economic opportunities that OIL provides on paper, and the environmental and personal degradation it enacts in truth. While Ducks is autobiography and Norco is surreal and heightened, they are both incredibly personal and devastatingly sad. It is worth calling out Norco's sideways sardonic sense of humor and how glorious the surrealism is. Peachvale Extremely short little thing about being queer in a small town. Well-written, no conclusion, really, day-in-the-life. Pentiment Visual-novel-adventure, a historical fiction centered around a tumult of changes. Illuminated manuscripts in abbeys giving way to manuscripts created by secular craftsman (and here's, also, the printing press). Catholicism slowly threatened by Protestantism. Peasants losing what protections they have. People learning to READ. A very dense and interesting setting threaded through by a plotline that carries through several decades, involves a couple of murders, and a lot of THINKING. Art style is fantastic. So is the writing. Persona 5 Royale Some epic JRPG. You might have heard of it. It's immense, generous, incredibly stylish, big-hearted and thematically firm … ish. Persona sure runs into the trouble of wanting its grand, powerful statements about identity and exploitation and freedom, but also still wants to objectify women, be an adolescent boys’ fantasy, etc., etc.. But it does have a lot to say, and a lot of it well. The cast is delightful, and it takes quite a variety of gameplay and dungeon design to stay interesting for 120+ hours. Prose & Codes Fun letter substitution cyphers that highlight a bunch of cool old books on Project Gutenberg. Return of the Obra Dinn What a wonderfully nasty puzzle box of deaths. Absolutely compelling art and weirdly compelling sound. I'm not sure I wholly get the overarching narrative, but I'm not sure I need to. Sometimes you're just cursed, mate. Don't fuck with the ocean. Roadwarden Text RPG. A tight, tense experience of being some poor person trying to fix a neglected road and reconnect isolated, mistrustful communities. Great world and character building, fantastic mood. Strange Horticulture Puzzle game game with a shop management interface. Very tactile experience. Sorting your ever-growing collection of plants, messing with lenses, counting off squares on a map. Storytelling ladled out in drips while you go pluck plant 500 (which has, like all the others, its own name and a purpose). Fun and absorbing. ValiDate Gorgeous art, but incredibly didactic, and rooted in a morality system I don't quite understand. The gap of (little) judgement for the deadbeat dad character compared to (massive, interventional) judgement for the hot mom who goes to clubs to hook up baffled me. Is hooking up worse than ditching your kids? Is the idea that hot mom should know better? Is hooking up and/or dating bad if the other ladies' feelings get hurt? Are you supposed to be able to avoid feelings getting hurt if you are hot and mature? I don't know! Very confused. But man, that art. Zachtonics Solitaire Collection Played this collection of card games as far as I was able. I can one day conquer Shenzen Solitaire, I'm sure, but Fortune's Fool is beyond me. Tarot decks have tooooo many cards. You win, Zachtronics.

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turtlemagnum · 1 year

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KOTOR and KOTOR2 main cast and their relations to video games

this is a mostly jokey, headcanon-y "what if" in regards to if video games existed as they do irl in the star wars universe. try not to think about it too hard, and this is also presupposing neutral/light side for the core cast because that's how i played the games and i don't have the constitution to actively choose bad things in video games

revan: in terms of raw skill, they're virtually unmatched. doesn't matter if it's a fighting game, a puzzle game, nor a grand strategy game, there's an extremely solid chance they'll kick your ass. they also get extremely competitive, impeccable shit-talking game that'll throw off all but the most stoic; but they also get angry in a very funny way on the rare times they do lose. one of the few mortals that can comprehend 5d chess with multiverse time travel. is a tier whore, mains one of the high tier anime swordfighters in smash (i think lucina?)

carth: you know those boomer dads that absolutely wrecked shit up in arcades back in the 70s and 80s, but anything past the NES or SNES they just... don't get? that's carth, if you put him in front of a pacman or galaga cabinet, he'd wreck shit up, but if you showed him a smash brother or a mario he'd just squint

bastilla: i feel like if she were a gamer at all, she'd probably be into platformers and life simulation games, maybe the occasional 2D JRPG if she's feeling especially spicy. would probably play the shit out of stardew valley or kirby, ya feel me? when playing smash, she'd specifically choose one of the prettyboy anime fighters. not because they're high tier, she's probably never heard of a tier list in her life, she just likes how they look

mission vao: extremely good at video games, especially for her age. probably the only one on the ebon hawk who even comes close to rivaling revan in terms of raw skill aside from the droids, but droids playing video games is cheating tbh. probably pretty omnivorous in terms of game taste, but probably leaning towards anything violent/fast paced, e.g. shooters like DOOM or smash bros. is the reason why the crew regularly plays mario party, and since she's mildly luckier than revan and has almost as much skill, she fairly regularly wrecks revan's ass. is also probably around the right age to get wayyy into minecraft tbh. game and watch main

juhani: gamer god reflexes, absolute jack shit for gamesense. if a game requires mashing, precise movements and the like, she's likely golden; but she's terrible at reading her opponent/things that require extensive forethought. overall, pretty good at fighting games and the like, though frankly i feel like she wouldn't be a huge gamer

jolee: while old, this man is a gamer god. he's like, skyrim grandma type guy, can play games normally for the most part despite being ancient. also probably tends towards single player open world games and extremely dense RPGs, this man will play morrowind and planescape: torment until he's dead and rotting. despite being great at RPGs and singleplayer shit, it's mostly because he knows how to minmax all the technical shit/knows the exploits and glitches and all that, in terms of raw gameplay (and thus, in multiplayer games), he leaves something to be desired. if you manage to talk him into playing smash, he specifically chooses mii gunner with the sans outfit just to annoy revan specifically, figures it doesn't matter if he chooses a bad character if he's gonna lose, so he might as well get a laugh out of it

canderous: this man will relentlessly bully you for playing video games, but if you coaxed him well enough you could probably get him to play something violent, like DOOM or GTA. once you've got him in, he'll most likely relent, but now you have to deal with this boomer son of a bitch yelling at kids in GTA online and blaring rip and tear while everyone else is trying to sleep

HK-47 and T3M4: both are roughly about as good as one another at games, which is to say that they're both goddamn AIs who can consistently perform frame perfect tricks and make every game into a live TAS. you have better odds against them in, say, chess, or perhaps even 5D chess with multiverse time travel. of course, they're not programmed to be good at video games, so any game they play they'd start off bad, but they learn startlingly quickly and playing against them is generally unfair enough to be extremely unfun. both also shittalk relentlessly, though T3 is a lot more vulgar, it's just that most of the crew can't speak binary. HK tries to be a bit more "refined" in his insults, while T3 is peak 13 year old on xbox live, except more eloquent and creative since he's still got an adult tier of intellect. one last remark is that HK isn't as good at thinking in the longterm as T3, so T3 kicks his shit in at grand strategy games like civ and the like

zaalbar: is it bigoted for me to assume this man has never touched a video game in his life? i don't think so, i feel like chewbacca would wreck han's ass at video games, so i don't think it's because he's a wookie. i think zaalbar is basically just a boomer

the exile: honestly about as good as revan at games, it's just that they're not as much of a tryhard. despite this, they have inhuman amounts of luck. so, essentially, they're the Fearesome Monarcke of mario party in terms of how often they win, but everyone still has a good time since they're a good sport about it. the exception is that whenever atton gets into his Gamer Rage, the exile knows exactly how to press his buttons and thinks it's funny. they generally have the most fun playing multiplayer games, especially co-op, so naturally they tend towards a lot of nintendo stuff (though, occasionally they get the urge to pubstomp in TF2 or some other shooter.... may the force have mercy on the poor souls who face them, for they have none to spare...) zelda main in smash

brianna: until meeting the exile, this girl has never touched a video game in her life. though, once she's acclimated, she's surprisingly good. especially likes fighting games/games where you can punch, for what i hope are obvious reasons. also loves to play multiplayer games with the exile, and while she can get a bit heated she definitely tends towards more zen levels of play. would main captain falcon in smash

kreia: refuses to play the exile's party games on principal, though if she thinks she can get away with it she'll absolutely fuck with atton's controller with the force. if she does play games, i think she'd lean towards singleplayer RPGs with good writing, especially if it permits amoral characters, so she'd probably love fallout: new vegas. also? hardcore PC gamer, if her computer skill is anything to go by

visas: also hadn't touched a game before meeting the exile, though due to her blindness, she's incapable of playing games without some manner of accessibility aid. but even if she wasn't blind, i feel like she'd be kinda bad at video games, though she'd absolutely enjoy spending quality time with the others (even if she wouldn't like to admit it). while not video games necessarily, i feel like the exile would probably get something like one of those chess boards where the pieces are designed to all be differentiated from texture alone, and she'd really appreciate the gesture

atton: peak toxic gamer boy, shit-talks relentlessly, gets really into it. would honestly be a bit too much for some people (read: kreia), but most of the crew think it's funny, albeit to varying degrees. in terms of gameplay skill, he'd probably be about average? but with anything to do with probability, he's a savant at crunching the numbers (playing pazaak). would honestly consider cheating in online multiplayer games, the rascal. man mains pikachu in smash, he tries to write himself off as a tier whore but he secretly just thinks the little guy's cute

bao dur: this man is a god gamer at puzzle and fighting games specifically. in tetris, he'll stack em up like you wouldn't believe, could honestly be a speedrunner. in something like tekken, not only would he be absurdly good in terms of raw gameplay, this man can read your inputs like a goddamn book. gets really competitive with brianna, probably has that thing where you absentmindedly play tetris in your head. also, war games are absolutely too much for him, i feel like he'd react to the battlefront games in the same way that ww2 veterans allegedly react to CoD

mical: this man plays the sims, cheesy old PC point and click adventure games, and nothing else. he's a master at the oregon trail, but if you were to put him into anything with more reactive gameplay he'd crumble to dust. still plays mario party with the exile and everyone else, and while he has fun, it's because he's with good friends, in terms of gameplay he'd look like he was throwing to an outside observer

G0-T0: you'd imagine he'd be like the other droids, but no. he's that nerd boy who's all like, "heh, this is simple, all i have to do are these elementary calculations" only to fall flat on his face, every time. bro can't even play chess. the only person who will lose to mical

hanharr: i have the least experience with him out of any KOTOR companion, due to my aforementioned lack of desire to intentionally be evil in video games. but, i feel like this man wouldn't touch a video game with a twenty yard pole, both out of a lack of desire and a lack of ability. again, trying not to be bigoted against wookies, i just feel like the two we see in the KOTOR games would specifically, as individuals, be bad at video games

mira: shooters, stealth games, and any combination of the two. would love the stealth parts of the MGS games, would play the shit out of the thief games, boomer shooters like half life etc. slightly better than atton at the exile's goddamn party games, which she relentlessly taunts him with. mains snake in smash, plays incredibly lame and spammy

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ootori-sibs · 3 years

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Summer camp host club 6

Tw for blood, beartraps and hospitals,

Haruhi was asleep. Her dreams were filled with pictures of the monster Mr Hirano had described, beautiful and mysterious. She watched it prance about in the moonlight, it's behaviour wasn't dissimilar to that of a cat. She wanted to reach out and pet it, but she was afraid it would hurt her.

She then watched it switch between it's human and beast form, each time it enters it's human form, it's a different beautiful figure, genders changing every time, every single thing that Haruhi finds attractive. It was a selfish dream but she didn't mind it.

Her dream was cut short by one of the girls dragging her out of bed. "Come on Haruhi! You said you'd come to the lake with us!" The girl, Aimi, whined and tugged at Haruhi's arm.

Haruhi sighed and smiled at them, getting out of bed with a yawn. "Alright then, let me grab my bathing suit then." She got dressed quickly, before joining the girls outside the cabin.

It was quite early in the morning, the sun was only just peeking over the mountains in the distance. The air was crisp and cool, it wasn't cold however, just pleasantly warm. Haruhi walked with the other girls to the lake, watching from the grass as they took turns jumping in, laughing and joking as they did.

She was too tired to swim, so she just sat and watched them. One of the girls starts talking about how she's smuggled alcohol in her bags, and the girls begin to joke about having a party when the councilors are in bed. Haruhi thinks it's highly inappropriate but she knows better than to try and disrupt the fun of others, so she just sits there and begins to think about methods of ensuring they don't get hurt.

Breakfast rolled around and she and the other girls headed in from the lake, happy to find that pancakes had been made. Haruhi went to sit with the other hosts, minus Kyoya as the shadow king hadn't woken up quite yet. They looked at her swimsuit and it was Honey that brought it up. "Have you been swimming Haru-chan?"

Haruhi nodded. "Yeah, the other girls wanted to. I only really paddled though." She shrugs and pours some syrup on her pancake. "Did you guys sleep well? No nightmares about the story?"

It's an overall no from the hosts, but Honey starts talking about the dream he had where the maze was made of cake. Fortunately he is interrupted, unfortunately he's interrupted by a crash from the boy's cabin. The hosts look at each other in a panicked agreement, there's only one person still asleep; Kyoya.

They all hurry towards the cabin, a few others following suit. Haruhi is suddenly getting very anxious for some reason. When they got to the cabin, they saw a dent in the wall, and a very shell shocked looking Shin. A quick glance to Kyoya told Haruhi that he'd already gone back to sleep- good for him.

Mr Hirano pushed himself into the cabin, looking at the scene before him. "What the hell happened here? Shin, explain yourself." He glared at his brother, crossing his arms.

Shin looked at him with wide eyes, clearly still processing what had happened. "I- I only tried to wake him up?? So he wouldn't miss breakfast?" God, Haruhi almost felt sorry for the guy, he doesn't understand quite how Kyoya operates yet.

There was laughter, Tamaki was stood behind Haruhi and he was laughing. It didn't take long for the twins to chuckle a little too, but they were a bit more restrained in their mirth. People looked at him confused, Mr Hirano frowned deeply, raising an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

Tamaki wiped nonexistent tears from his eyes. "Oh do forgive me, I just find it quite funny how stupid that decision was." He chuckles a little more at the confused look on both Hiranos. "Trying to wake Kyoya up, it's like-" he shakes with amusement, stifling his laughter. "I'm sorry, sorry. It's like having a deathwish! Isn't that right men?"

The hosts all nod, the twins piping up. "you should see what he's like if he only gets an hour!"

Mori nods silently, Honey jumps up happily. "Kyo-chan's downright homicidal when he's sleepy!"

Haruhi had to agree, shrugging and at least showing a little sympathy to Shin. "Sorry dude, they are right. Besides, you shouldn't have woken him up anyway- it's kind of rude."

Mr Hirano massaged his temples. "There will be no violence in my camp from now on, understood? I will let him off with a warning, make sure you let him know." The hosts nod and he turns to leave. Haruhi glanced at Shin and saw that he actually looked kind of guilty. She sighed and approached him.

"It's ok dude, literally everyone's done it at least once, he's not going to hold it against you." She smiles up at him, Shin smiles back, mouthing a silent thanks.

Tamaki meanwhile, has sat on Kyoya's bed, and is shaking him gently. "Kyoooyyyaaaa!"

"What?" The shadow king spoke, barely stirring.

"The councilor man said you're not allowed to respond violently when people wake you up."

"Then tell people not to wake me up. Now fuck off and let me sleep." Haruhi thought that was reasonable, and was all but ready to leave Kyoya in peace when Tamaki spoke again.

"But Kyoya! We're having pancakes, and I brought coffee cream." Haruhi wasn't sure what he meant by that, maybe the cream you put in coffee? But by the way the other hosts froze, the same way they did when anyone mentioned fancy tuna to her- she assumed it was like catnip for the demon lord.

And as if by some miracle, Kyoya sat up, looking at Tamaki in suspicion. "The good kind? With-"

"With commoners coffee, yes." Tamaki nodded, a small smirk appearing on his face.

"Ugh, fine, but I'm having the entire jar." He slowly got out of bed, going to grab some clothes.

Haruhi… was amazed, and by the looks of it, so was Shin. She silently followed Tamaki out of the cabin and back to where they were eating. "Are you sure he can have a whole jar?" The twins spoke in unison, sounding slightly concerned.

At this, Tamaki looked very smug, pulling out a very little jar. "I brought these because I knew he'd try and pull something like that." The hosts all look very impressed, they're even clapping. Haruhi has to admit that certainly is a smart way to out-maneuver Kyoya.

The contents of the jar is brown and thick, like a whipped cream texture. Honey must have noticed her looking at it in confusion, because he pipes up. "It's whipped cream! It's been mixed with coffee and now it's very strong and very creamy. Kyo-chan loves it!"

"He isn't allowed it, because he's supposed to be limiting the amount of caffeine he has-" Hikaru starts, letting Kaoru finish. "but it clearly hasn't worked."

Haruhi chuckled at that, the image of Kyoya being told he's not allowed coffee is very funny to her- she doesn't think she's even ever seen him drink anything else.

When Kyoya saw the tiny jar he was given, he was highly annoyed, but still happy to completely and utterly coat his pancakes in it.

Tamaki spent most of that morning doing little games and puzzles on his own, and the afternoon was spent with the twins. He was finally getting used to this little change of pace, it wasn't that hard in reality. The less introspection he did, the less things seemed to interest him, sure it was enjoyable, but nothing was so dramatically simulating. He was able to spend hours brainstorming themes like he could before, it seemed like his emotional conflict had finally reached it's finale.

Then there were the noises he'd heard when near the lake. He wasn't quite sure what they were, but when he got closer he realised what they were- whimpers and squeaks. But not from an animal. He could hear voices too.

"Hold still, don't move." That was Shin's voice.

"Fuck, shit, don't do that." Kyoya… Kyoya was the one in pain.

Tamaki sped up, approaching where they were. He froze when he saw the scene before him.

Kyoya was sitting on the floor, leaning against a tree and looking paler than normal. Shin was standing over him, shirtless and pressing his shirt to… some very deep looking gashes on Kyoya's right arm. At the sight of his best friend's blood, Tamaki felt his own boil. "What the hell are you doing?" His tone was entirely accusatory, and he didn't care to correct it, for all he knew, he was right.

"I didn't do anything!" Shin cried out, clearly very anxious. "He got his arm stuck in a bear trap! Go get help!!"

"No." Kyoya interrupted, clearly attempting to use his threatening voice, but it came off as more of his normal tone due to how weak he was. "Shin, you go." Tamaki couldn't help but feel a spark of pride at that, watching the confusion on Shin's face.

"What? But Kyo-"

"Go. Before I fucking bleed out."

Shin sighed and nodded, standing up and looking at Tamaki. "Keep pressure on the wound."

Tamaki nodded, rushing to Kyoya's side as Shin ran back towards the camp. He keeps pressing the shirt to the wound, trying not to hurt Kyoya. "What happened? Was he telling the truth? Was it a bear trap or…" he trailed off, not wanting to say what he was thinking.

Kyoya just sighed, it was heavy but laboured and made Tamaki's hairs stand on end. "He didn't do a thing Tamaki, he helped me out of it actually…" His words sent a jolt of guilt through Tamaki, but it was largely ignored in favour of worrying for Kyoya's safety. He worried deeply for his friend, and the blood made him feel dizzy.

He heard a quiet whimper, and looked at Kyoya in surprise, finally noticing the tears in his vice president's eyes. Wow… this must really hurt. Tamaki didn't think he'd *ever* seen Kyoya cry before. He shifted to an angle so he could cradle him, while still keeping pressure on the wound. He's surprised when Kyoya leans into the touch, just softly leaning his head on Tamaki's shoulder- the most affection Kyoya has ever shown. At least in a language Tamaki can understand.

"I'm going to need to go to the hospital with this." Kyoya spoke, so quiet Tamaki had to be deathly silent to hear him. "When I do, I want you to call Fiyumi, I know she gave you her number." This was true, she'd told him to call her in an emergency or to let her know if Kyoya was sad- because heaven knows Kyoya wouldn't tell anyone.

"I will." Tamaki softly promises, mind still focused on making sure Kyoya wasn't losing too much blood. So focused in fact, he barely noticed when other people arrived, the gasps helped alert him though- as did Shin pushing him out of the way in order to help Kyoya up.

Mr Hirano was here, along with a few of the other campers, the entire host club had followed them too, looking to be slightly out of breath. Mr Hirano took a look at Kyoya's arm and took a sharp breath in through his teeth. "A beartrap did this? God, you're lucky it didn't take your arm off completely, a little twig like yourself." He touched the wound and Tamaki watched Kyoya restrain from punching him in the face.

Mr Hirano sighed. "Adrien's called for help, we're going to have to get you to a hospital."

"Would you mind taking me to a good one?" Kyoya asked, even when experiencing blood loss, he was ever the demanding one. "Preferably one owned by my father and not a rival."

Oh, so that's why. Tamaki had almost forgotten how ruthless the world they lived in was- sending Kyoya to a hospital owned by a rival was likely a death sentence. Mr Hirano didn't seem to understand it, but who was he to argue? They got Kyoya into a first responder car, with EMTs who instantly got to work on bandaging his arm temporarily.

Most other campers left to go continue their activities, but Honey and Mori went to ask Mr Hirano if they could borrow his truck. The remaining hosts looked to Tamaki for answers, he knew that expression- they wanted to know what happened.

"Shin was telling the truth," Tamaki began, feeling a pit in his stomach, "it was a bear trap. Kyoya's lucky to still have an arm." His words felt like a weight crushing them all, looking at his comrades he saw the same pain and worry in their eyes that he was sure were also his own. "He asked me to call Fiyumi."

When she answered the phone, he could hear the repetitive hum of her sewing machine. "Hello Tamaki, is there anything you need?"

"..." He took a deep breath, it was just his arm, it could be worse. "Kyoya's in the hospital."

"What??" He could hear the worry flooding her voice as she switched the sewing machine off. "What happened??"

"Bear trap." Tamaki was struggling to get the words out, by now they were in the truck. Haruhi leaned in and gently took the phone from him.

"Hello Ms Fiyumi, you haven't met me but I'm Haruhi- Tamaki-senpai's a little too distraught for a phone call right now, hope you don't mind." Tamaki couldn't hear what Fiyumi was saying anymore, only what Haruhi was saying. "Well Kyoya-senpai got his hand stuck in a bear trap so he's had to go to hospital," she was so much better at this then he was, and Tamaki was infinitely grateful, "yes, we made sure it was an Ootori owned hospital. Kyoya himself specified." Haruhi was just quietly nodding now, Tamaki just silently played with his hands. "We're driving over there now, uh, I'm not sure what location but it's near the summer camp?" She went to Google the name of the camp on her own phone but paused, responding to someone Fiyumi said. "Oh you know the location? Great, so we'll meet you there?" Tamaki was just staring out the window now, chewing on his shirt collar. "Alright, thank you

Bye."

Haruhi ends the call and hands the phone back to Tamaki. "How are you feeling senpai?"

"I'm… I'm just worried about him, he's supposed to be having fun…"

Haruhi sighed and put a hand on his shoulder, Tamaki is so very grateful for her level head. "Well, all we can really do is make sure we're there for him and you really were- you're his best friend, his favourite person. Just make sure you're there when he needs you, that's really all you can do."

Tamaki paused, nodding and giving her a slight smile. She was right, Tamaki couldn't do anything to help Kyoya out, other than at least try and keep him happy. But what Haruhi had said, about him being Kyoya's favourite person… that surprised him, he supposed he'd never even considered the fact that Kyoya could have a favourite person, let alone that it could be him. But he supposed that explained why Kyoya would rather have Tamaki by his side while in pain then Shin- his best friend who he's known for almost two years, or a dude he met like, three days ago.

Even as they walked through the hospital corridors, Tamaki couldn't get those thoughts out of his mind… his favourite person… Kyoya's favourite person…

He was however snapped out of his thoughts when he saw Yoshio Ootori himself enter the corridor, stop, look at them, then nod curtly. "Souh, Souh's friends."

They all nod in response, bowing their heads a little lower and mumbling a greeting. Tamaki frowns sympathetically, he couldn't imagine how worried the man must be. "I'm guessing you were told?"

Yoshio nods. "I was alerted the moment my son's name came up in the call, luckily I was already at this location." He adjusts his lab coat, sighing. "Would you care to tell me how you allowed my son to put his hand in a bear trap?" They were walking now, Mr Ootori leading the hosts presumably to where Kyoya was.

Tamaki wasn't exactly sure how to answer that, the way Yoshio spoke made it feel like it was somehow his fault, even if Tamaki had been nowhere near. "We weren't with him sir, I'm sorry." He bowed his head, hoping that was satisfactory for him.

Yoshio stares at him with burning eyes, clearly Tamaki's answer wasn't acceptable. The twins spoke up, speaking in shakey unison. "Yeah, we were nowhere near, if anything, blame his boyfriend."

Every single person there froze, the twins when they realised what they'd just said and who they'd said it to, the other hosts the moment they heard the word leave the twins lips. Even Yoshio froze, but for a much different reason.

After what felt like forever, Yoshio Ootori adjusted his posture, fixed his glasses the same way Kyoya does when it's serious time- in such a way that the light hides his eyes, and crossed his arms.

"What did you just say?"

#ohshc #kyotama #kyoya ootori #tamaki suoh #takashi morinozuka #kaoru hitachiin #hikaru and kaoru #mitsukuni haninozuka #haruhi fujioka #hikaru hitachiin #yoshio ootori #fiyumi ootori

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detectivedreameater · 3 years

Text

This Is Our Get Along Shirt || Kaden and Marley

TIMING: Sometime before Christmas PARTIES: @chasseurdeloup and @detectivedreameater SUMMARY: In which two fully grown officers have separate meltdowns while locked in a room together. CONTENT: Head Trauma mentions, Family Death mentions (parental)

Marley had decided she just wanted things to go back to normal. But the doctor wouldn’t approve her for work, and work wouldn’t approve her without the doctor. And so she was stuck. Between doing nothing and doing something that she didn’t want to. And didn’t need to. She was fine, she was doing fine. She didn’t need therapy or check-ups or supervision, or any of that shit. She just needed more time to heal and then she could go back to herself. She just needed time to find herself. And that started with getting back to work, whether anyone actually let her do it legally. She’d heard about some suspicious activity at the local escape room, and by the sounds of it, it seemed right up her alley. Some strange sort of supernatural being had to be behind this. And so she had taken her meds, made sure she had a weapon (they wouldn’t give her back her gun, yet, obviously, until she was cleared for work), and made her way down to the building. She enjoyed the idea of escape rooms, but during the day, when her abilities didn’t work, the claustrophobia of the places often got to her. But she was prepared, this time, for what was waiting inside. Hopefully. What she wasn’t prepared for was Kaden Langley to be inside. Frowning, she paused in the doorway. “Someone lose a puppy inside or something?” she grumbled, pretending to be interested in the pamphlets by the doorway.

The reports coming from the escape room place sounded nothing short of fae bullshit to him. What kind, Kaden couldn’t say. Neither could the owners but they had called about a weird animal showing up in some of the rooms when people were trying to complete the puzzles. Apparently they’d lied to patrons and told them it was all part of the experience. Guess he couldn’t blame them too much, he’d likely do the same. He debated grabbing the iron knives before heading out but he didn’t feel much like digging them out of the back of the closet. It wasn’t like Regan was going to be over anytime soon, a thought that made his heart sink, but he still couldn’t stop lying to himself that she might. He wasn’t ready to unravel any of the small stupid hopes that held him together at the moment. Didn’t mean he didn’t come at all prepared. He had plenty of knives and his gun, of course. He was prepared for whatever was there, brownie or leprechaun or whatever it may be. He was not, however, prepared for the voice he heard behind him. “Stryder?” he said, turning to see her just standing there, flipping through the brochures like she planned on actually participating or something. “Not exactly. What, are you planning your next event here? Celebrating the death of your bear or something?” The jab sent guilt shooting through him like a rod through his side. Pretty sure he hadn’t talked to her since just after all that. But he’d heard about her injuries. “Surprised to see you here and not chained to your desk.”

Marley wasn’t about to go into the details of her leave with Kaden Langley of all people, but the jab at being chained to her desk made her broil. She only wished that were an option, but without medical clearance, they weren’t even going to let her back into the office. No badge, no gun, no nothing. She bristled, breezing by him and up towards the desk. “I already celebrated that. Lots of champagne, some tequila, and a roaring fire,” she said with a roll of her eyes. Really, the only celebration they’d gotten was cutting the damn bear’s head off and dropping it on Roy’s doorstep, and while that used to be enough for her, the damage that he’d caused after made the victory seem pointless. In fact, everything seemed pointless now. Even arguing with Langley. She rang the little bell again but no one answered. “Isn’t there usually someone here? I even called ahead,” she grumbled, more so talking to herself than Kaden. She pushed away from the desk and wandered towards the back. “Hello?” she called out, “Anyone here?” But there was still no answer. She cast one glance back to Kaden before prodding the slightly ajar door in front of her. It said it led to one of the game rooms, but when she opened it, it looked just like an ordinary office. “It’s a weekday, right?” she asked, going over the days in her head as best she could. “Where the hell is everyone…”

Kaden rolled his eyes at Stryder’s comments. Honestly, though, it felt almost nice. This was standard. This made sense. Them bickering? That was normal. And it was very nice to have some small sense of fucking normal right now. Even if she was irritating. But she was also correct. There was no one here. “No fucking clue.” He stood and tried to listen for any sounds, any heartbeats other than theirs. Nothing in the immediate area, but there was a crash. Didn’t need hunter hearing for that one. “Follow or don’t, Stryder. Doesn’t matter to me.” Kaden didn’t look behind him to check on her choice, just walked past the reception desk towards the escape rooms. He wound down the hallway, following the direction of the sounds. Seemed like it was coming from one of the rooms. All the doors were open, there was no one operating the place, should be safe enough to walk in. He took a step inside and tried to pinpoint the source of the crash. It was hard to tell, there were plenty of odd items strewn about, likely puzzles to be solved. None of it made much sense to him. He could tell Stryder was behind him without even glancing back. The footsteps and heartbeat alone would have given it away. “So why are you here anyway? I know why I was called in but I didn’t think--” Kaden didn’t get to finish any sort of explanation. Because the door shut tight behind them. “Putain.”

Marley rolled her eyes at the annoyed sound in Kaden’s voice. She really wasn’t in the mood for dealing with his stupid grumbles and his tendency to mumble. She’d had enough trouble hearing normal speech lately, what with the tinnitus. She chose to follow him, because why not? What else had she come here for? And he led her down a winding hallway into a backroom. Nothing immediately jumped out at her as strange. Not until he was turning to ask her a question and then the door was slamming shut on both of them. “What the--” she started, but was immediately interrupted again when the big timer on the wall churned on and started counting down from one hour. “Did you do that?” she asked incredulously, whirling back to the door and yanking at it. “Oh, fuck this. Fuck this. I am not dealing with this bullshit today,” she growled, lifting her hand to turn herself intangible and-- finding that nothing happened. “What the…?” she blinked, unsure of what this feeling was. Her head pounded and she winced. A note was slid under the door and hit her boot. She stared down at it. Slowly, she picked it up and opened it, holding it out to Kaden after a moment. All it said was: Escape the room.

“I didn’t do shit!” Kaden shouted back as he watched her rattle the door. The room was never very big, but the longer the door didn’t open, the smaller it felt. He ran over to the other side, to the exit door and tried the handle. Nothing. He slammed into it. It didn’t fucking budge. Fuck. Fucking fuck. It felt like the walls were creeping closer in on them the longer they were stuck in a room together with doors that didn’t fucking open. “There was no one there, right? No one was here to run this. How did we get stuck here? How did this--” He inhaled deep and held his breath, trying to slow his racing heartbeat. He looked over and noticed a note in her hand. “What does it say? What is it? What do we fucking do?” He leaned over her shoulder to get a look. “Escape the fucking room? Are you serious?” Kaden groaned and tried the doors again. “I’m trying to escape the fucking room! Let us out!” The last thing he wanted to do was solve a bunch of shitty puzzles when there was a perfectly functioning door. Two, even. This was bullshit. But nothing changed despite his protests. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to focus on anything other than the fact he was stuck in a room, glancing around to try and take it in. All he saw was how small it was. “Where do we start?”

“Are you done throwing your tantrum?” Marley asked, as she waited for him to finish asking a million and seven questions that she didn’t have the answers to. Finally, he stopped banging on the doors and pacing the room, and she silently thanked the universe for that, because it was making her head spin and her eyes hurt. She pressed the butts of her palms into her eyes for a moment before blinking and looking back up at him. “We start by looking for the first clue. It’ll probably be something that looks strangely out of place.” She glanced around the room they were in-- it was a simulation of a bomb bunker, complete with the fifties get up of retro furniture, canned goods, and a bunny antenna tv. “Maybe like a small decoration that doesn’t fit the style of the furniture, or a picture on the wall that doesn't match.” She started sifting through the magazines on the table, checking under and around it and in the couch cushions, looking at him from the side of her eye. “If you start feeling like it’s getting hard to breathe, just close your eyes and count to ten.”

Kaden felt his hand ball into a fist by his side. A fucking tantrum? Really? “Sorry for trying to figure out how to get the fuck out of here.” He kicked the door one last time in anger before sighing and looking around the room. Somehow the room looked even smaller than it had a second ago. He was about to shut his eyes when Stryder made a comment that somehow wasn’t even snide. Almost helpful, even. “Right. Uh, thanks.” Kaden wondered if he should try that right off the bat. His heartbeat picked up pace, but not yet. He just had to focus. The problem was he didn’t know what he was supposed to be focusing on. Okay something out of place. Fuck. The room itself was already weird, he didn’t know what was considered in place. His eyes narrowed as he settled his sight on the bookshelf. There were some books pushed in, and some pulled out. “Uh, is this a clue?” he said, pointing it out to her. “That’s weird, right?” He didn’t know what it meant, but it had to be something, right?

Marley shuffled around the room, picking up trinkets and set decorations to try and decipher if any of them held any significance, but the pounding in her head was only increasing the more she tried to concentrate. She rubbed her palms into her eyes, trying to drown it out or apply enough pressure to make it stop, but it proved mostly pointless. Langley’s voice cut through the ringing in her head and she set down the clock she’d picked up and came over to the bookshelf. “That’s definitely weird,” she said, taking note of which books were pulled out. “They’re labeled oddly, right? That’s not, like...normal for books, to be blank,” she said, plucking one out, squinting at the spine. It had a roman numeral V on it, and nothing else. No title, no author, no nothing. She flipped it open and found that even the pages were empty. “It’s gotta be a numbers puzzle.” But what sort? That was the real question. God, Marley really wished Erin was here with her, and not Langley. Did he even know math? Did hunter school include basic maths? She rubbed her head again, removing her sunglasses to do so, red eyes illuminating against her hand. “What other numbers are on the spines?”

She pulled out the first book that was set forward on the shelf and Kaden looked over her shoulder as she examined it. Empty. Alright. “Guess there’s no hint inside.” He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to piece together any of the puzzle. The spine had a V. Was it a letter? Kaden looked back at the shelf to see what the other books were. The book next to the empty space was pushed back. The three next to it were forward. The spines to each were more letters. X, I, and V. His head tilted to look at the next set of pulled out books next to it. M, C, M, L, V. Shit. They were definitely roman numerals. Which, alright, she said that. But he didn’t want to trust her right off the bat. But fine, she was right. “Uh not sure what exact numbers but it looks like…” Kaden pulled up his sleeve, looked at the tattoo on his inner forearm. Yeah. Sure looked familiar. “This is a date. I’m pretty fucking sure.” He looked closer at the letters again, started to convert them. “Five, fourteen. Nineteen, uhh, hold on.” He closed his eyes to try and sus it out. “Fifty-five. So that’s May 14th, 1955. Okay. Uh, what now?” He looked around the room for something that could need a date. “There’s a calendar over there. Might be something, right?”

Marley stayed quiet as he began to decipher the code of the books, grateful in that moment that he wasn’t a complete waste of space. Her head was pounding and concentrating on anything longer than a few seconds only made things worse. “A date?” she asked, looking over at him. But he was right. The numbers could easily be a date. When he peered at his arm, she tried to get a look, wondering just what it was. From the sound of his deduction, it, too, was a date for something. She opted to let it sit for now, heading over to the calendar he pointed out after setting the book back on the shelf. She flipped through the calendar and found the date. “Look,: she said, motioning him over, “there’s a note on the day. ‘Channel 3. 14:00’. That’s…” she glanced back at the television in the middle of the room. “Turn on the TV,” she instructed, moving away from the calendar.

“Channel 3?” Kaden repeated. “Uh, alright.” He saw the television, that much was easy to find. But there was no remote sitting by it. “Putain de merde,” he grumbled once more. “We’ll have to figure out how to turn it on, I guess.” Sighing, he started to fumble along the monitor, looking for any knobs or buttons to turn on the monitor. There were buttons. He pressed them. And nothing happened. The knobs on the front seemed like set dressing. They didn’t move or do anything at all. Which made sense. What was the likelihood of them finding a working authentic television from the 50s that didn’t require a shitton of maintenance? “Yeah, nothing,” he said, turning to Stryder. “Looks like we have to find the remote.” Glancing around, it felt like the walls were closing in again, like the space had gotten smaller since the last time he checked. His fingers curled around the edge of the table as he tried to stabilize himself and take slower, deeper breaths. What had Stryder said before? Right. He closed his eyes and started counting. The room didn’t look any bigger when he opened his eyes, but at least it didn’t look any smaller. He started checking under the table for anything taped there or something. Nothing. Under the pillow? Well, he found a weird coin and a slip of paper, but no remote. Under the mattress? Nope. This seemed wrong, but he figured why not and checked in the fridge. Some bottles and fake food sat there. At least he hoped it was fake. But no remote. The freezer, however, proved different. “Well. Found it. I guess. Let’s see what happens.” He turned and faced the television and powered it on and then hit the 3 button. “What now?” he asked.

Marley was growing more weary by the second. First they needed to find a code, now they needed a remote, but the remote was missing. And now the channel had nothing on it except static. She sunk down onto the prop couch that was in the middle of the room and put her head in her hands. “Just give me a minute,” she muttered, scrubbing her face with her palms as she listened to the static. It almost seemed rhythmic, like a beat. Or-- “Morse code,” she said, sitting up after a second. She looked over at Kaden. “Hand me a pen and some paper,” she waved, glancing around her spot to see if there was anything to write on in front of her. Just some old magazines. Well, they’d do well enough. When she was handed a pen, she began writing down the code she thought she recognized. And after a moment, it circled back. She filled in the letters and looked back up at him. “Guess we gotta make a word outta this now. We’ve got...Y, L, S, L, O, E, C, D, O, W, N.” Paused, contorting her face as she looked at the words. “Down lose yell? No… Slow dec-- no. Loss soc-- fuck!” She slammed her fist on the table before grabbing her head again. It was pounding and she couldn’t concentrate. She took her glasses off and rubbed her palms into her eyes again, trying to make the throbbing stop. “This is so fucking stupid. Can’t you just break the door down? Put that superstrength of yours to use or something! I’m sick of being here!”

Kaden was ready to give up. The whole thing just felt never fucking ending. And there was no clue to be-- Shit. Stryder was better than he gave her credit for. He nodded and found a pen and threw it into her hand. His arms folded across his chest, he planned to wait for her to figure out the rest of the message. She got the letters no problem, but she appeared to be struggling and the creases in his forehead grew deeper as he watched her flounder. “I’m not destroying private property after we technically fucking snuck in here!” he snapped back at her. “The fuck is wrong with you, Stryder? I thought you were supposed to be smarter than me.” He sighed and pulled the paper closer, looking down at the scribbled letters. Putain. Without any context, the letters came together in strange ways. Three languages overlapped in his mind, trying to fight for attention. Alright, English, it was definitely going to be in English given where they were. Pretty quickly, he saw the word “yell” and wrote that below. He tried “yell down” and that wasn’t right. He scrunched up his face and tried again. After another pause, he tried “yellow.” Hmm, maybe that wasn’t-- “Yellow second?” he said out loud. “Or ‘second yellow,’ maybe.”

Kaden tried to look around the room for anything that it might apply to. Interesting. Near the door was a panel of buttons laid out in a grid. There were colors down the column and numbers across the row. Four numbers and four colors, a button on each grid. One of those colors was yellow. “Second yellow?” he repeated. “Alright, worth a shot.” He hit the button in the yellow row and the second column from the right. Only… nothing happened. “Putain.” What the fuck else did the note mean then? “This has to be it. No.” He wanted to punch the button panel but thought better of it and dropped his balled fist to his side. Second yellow. Fucking hell. What did that mean if it wasn’t the second column? Then he saw the colon in between the second and third number. Wait a sec-- “Putain!” he shouted, excited this time, and hit the buttons in the yellow row and the third and fourth columns. The door creaked open. “Got it! I got i--” His excitement dissipated as he stepped through the door only to see… more fucking puzzles. Kaden groaned and leaned his back against the wall, sliding down to sit on the floor, head in his hands. Fuck. This.

Marley stayed where she was while Langley parsed through the clue. She felt a rather large wave of annoyance, too, when he actually figured out the clue. She opted to not respond to his questions, they weren't relevant. There was a lot wrong with her, and she didn’t feel like spilling her guts out to Paw Patrol the Hunter. He’d probably just say that everyone’s lives would’ve just been better off if she were dead, anyway, and she didn’t need anyone else telling her that. Her own admission was enough. The change of tone in his voice got her to look up, however, and she jumped to her feet fast enough to cause the world to tilt sideways, stumbling as she headed over. The door swung open, they were almost free--

But beyond it stretched another room. With more puzzles. Marley was frozen in her spot for a moment, staring wide-eyed into the room. This couldn’t be possible. Escape rooms were just one room, usually. This wasn’t possible. This shouldn’t be here. Hadn’t this been the door they’d walked in? Wasn’t there a hallway beyond this? Marley turned back around, shutting the door, then reopening it. It was still the other room. She tried again, holding it closed for longer this time. Still the same. One more time and a click! Sounded and surely that meant that whatever was behind the door had changed, but this time the knob would not turn. She rattled it harder and harder until she felt her hand pulsing with pain and she kicked the door with the heel of her boot before storming off. “God dammit!” she howled, kicking something else. “What the fuck is wrong with this place?” She looked up at the ceiling. “Let us OUT YOU ASSHOLE!” But when no answer came and nothing changed again, she collapsed to the floor next to what looked like an incubator and put her head in her hands as well. “Fuck this,” she muttered. “Now what?”

Kaden sat there, kept his head held in his hands, pressed his fingers into his temples as he tried to push away the harsh clanging ringing in his ears as Marley kicked and trashed around the room. Loud, it was all too loud. And they were stuck and he could feel the walls closing in and he just wanted to curl up into a ball and wait this out, wait until he had space to move and breathe again. “Now who’s throwing a fucking tantrum?” he grumbled. He waited there a moment longer, not wanting to face another round of puzzles. This wasn’t his strong suit, not at all what he was suited to. There was a damn good reason he had no ambitions to be a detective. And of fucking course Stryder wasn’t on her A-game right now. Just their fucking luck. “We should look around or something. Or you should. Be a fucking detective or some shit.” He rubbed his face with his palms. They hadn’t been there that long, had they? It felt like it had been hours. He was tempted to curl up and just sleep, wait until someone let them out. Someone had to come here, right? “Unless there’s some fucking reason you forgot how to do that and want to announce Paw Patrol is the smartest person in the room right now. Which I fucking hope isn’t true for our sakes.”

“I’m allowed to be angry!” Marley shouted back at him, resisting the very present urge to grab whatever was in front of her and throw it at him. But she knew that wouldn’t do anything except piss him off and she was sure if he got angry enough, felt threatened enough, he would probably just stab her with one of his seven-hundred knives he kept on himself at all times. “I’m not on desk duty at work because I like it, Langley! Some stupid fucking asshole took something important away from me and now I can’t even think straight! So I’m allowed to be angry! What’s your excuse?” But somewhere deep down, she knew he was right. Through the splitting headache and speckled vision, she knew he was right. So she got up and she started digging around the room. She wasn’t even sure what half of this stuff was until she came upon a navigation console. “We’re in a submarine bridge,” she said stiffly, hand brushing over the compass. “The compass isn’t pointing North.” That had to mean something. It was pointing at-- “The porthole.” She went over and glanced through but...nothing. She stepped back, looked from the telescope to the compass. Maybe...She unlocked the hinge and moved it to point the direction the compass was and-- “A number. Memorize these numbers. 32. 24. 137.”

Her anger did nothing but fuel his, like gasoline to the fire. “I’m stuck here with you! That’s why I’m angry! I should just kill you and be done and be a fucking hunter but instead we’re solving fucking puzzles in a cursed escape room!” The words left Kaden’s lips before he could give them a second fucking thought. They hung in the air a moment, the silence ringing through the room. He wasn’t sure where the shame stinging at him was coming from, his failed sense of duty or whatever bullshit morals he was wrestling with. He sat with his head in his hands a while longer after she stood up. Let her figure out something for once. Thankfully, she did. He sighed and tried to commit the numbers to memory. “32. 24. 137. Great.” What the fuck did that mean? He stood and half heartedly looked around the room. There were a lot of buttons and levers. Some colorful flags on the wall. He looked at the station that seemed like the navigation area and there was a book. He flipped through it a bit and didn’t see anything in particular. It looked like some kind of emergency manual. But there were page numbers. “There’s a book or something over here. I don’t know. Emergency manual or something.”

Then do it, she wanted to shout at him. Then fucking do it. But she held her tongue and went back about her business. Marley didn’t know what was bothering him, but he didn’t owe her an answer and she didn’t owe him one. They owed each other nothing. Finally, he got up and started doing something, and she shifted, watching him from the corner of her eye, trying to not let the fear tangle her up too much. But it was always there around him, and it always would be. He was a hunter, and he’d said it himself-- he would kill her, should kill her, if given the opportunity. When he declared he’d found a book, Marley cautiously walked towards him, keeping a short distance. “Lemme see it,” she held out her hand, and waited for him to hand it over, before flipping through the pages slowly. After a long moment, she muttered, “Why haven’t you yet?” Looked up over the book at him, red eyes aflame in the dark bunker. “Tried to kill me.”

Kaden could practically feel the space between them like it was a third party in the room as Stryder sood off to his side, a step farther back than most might. There was no reason for it to be anything other than expected. So why did the tension he created make him want to throw something? He was a hunter. He was supposed to be the thing monsters feared at night. He used to be damn proud of that fact, too. In the spot once filled with pride was a dull thud of nothing. “Fine,” he said, handing her the book. He crossed his arms, watching as she found her way through the book. He expected her to bark off some order to him and his brows knit together when she posed a question instead. “I don’t know,” he spat back, far too fast. He bit the inside of his mouth and avoided contact with her red eyes. Even if they had been human, he was sure there would have been full of fire in their own right. “Can’t. Too messy. Killing a detective.” Right. That sounded like bullshit even to his ears as it left his lips. He reached up to rub the back of his neck and acted like he was looking around for clues and not trying to escape the question even more than the room they were in. His stomach churned at the question in a way he didn’t anticipate. It wasn’t that he liked Stryder, far from it. But there was certainly benefit to having a detective on staff in know of the supernatural. Was she good, though? Had she killed? He didn’t know and he didn’t ask. She’d been disgusted by Lydia but that was a low bar, right? Well, not for the supernatural. According to the codes he grew up with, at least. “Look, I just haven’t alright. Don’t give me a fucking reason to want to. Find the stupid answer to this stupid puzzle so we can get out of here.”

Marley watched him closely-- the way he snapped back too quickly, the way he rubbed his head, the way he turned away from her, pretending to look for clues. Even in her state, she could recognize those signs. Suddenly, getting out of this room didn’t seem like the most important thing. She’d already put together the book page pattern but set the notes aside for now and squinted at him. “You’re having second thoughts, aren’t you?” she asked, taking a step closer now, suddenly not so afraid of him. Still kept a tentative distance, one she was sure she could stop him from with her gaze if he did decide to try something. “Oh, c’mon,” she scoffed, rolling her eyes, “I’ve given you plenty of fucking reasons to kill me. And believe me when I say I remember all those times you fucking sign off on me once the hard questions start. You ever figure any of those out? Or are you still pretending you have some moral high ground on us because you got lucky and were born human with superpowers?” She threw the book back at him. “The code is page numbers, dumbass. Figure it out yourself.” And she stormed to the other side of the room, where the only seat was, and plopped down, arms folded across her chest.

“Second thoughts?” Kaden started, rolling the words off his tongue to find time to figure out a comeback. “You’re right. I am having second thoughts. About stepping into this fucking building. I should have turned around and left the second I saw your fucking face!” He hated her. He hated her weird need to dig right under his skin. What was she even hoping to drag out? What the fuck did she want from him? He planned to stay stoic and avoid her questioning. But he couldn’t. “Lucky?” Kaden said, fingers digging into the book as he caught it. “You think I’m fucking lucky?” He had half a mind to throw it back at her with all his fucking strength. “Right. I’m lucky. I was born with a guaranteed short fucking life that’s nothing but pain. I’m lucky I didn’t get a childhood. I’m fucking lucky that monsters killed my parents. Really a goddamn fountain of luck.” His knuckles were white and he was so close to chucking that fucking book. Instead, he slammed it onto the counter with a thud that wasn’t satisfying enough. Not even close. “I don’t get to be fucking normal, either,” he hissed as he turned his back to her and started flipping through the pages. His fingers fumbled with anger and he kept going past the pages he needed. He wanted to fucking scream. Eventually he found pages 32, 24, and 137. Each one had a few letters. “T O R,” he read out from one page. “P E.” The next. “D O.” Kaden slammed the book shut. He had no idea what to do next, but he knew the word in question was “Torpedo.”

“Oh, woe is the hunter,” Marley spat, grimacing, “who lost his childhood and life because his family was a bunch of murderers. Were they killed by monsters or people just trying to defend themselves? Because you hunters think we’re all just fucking monsters, no matter what we do. We could be goddam nobel peace prize winners who haven’t harmed a single fucking person in our lives and you’d still call us monsters and justify slitting our throats. What? Are you seeing the other side of it, finally? Is that it? Is your girlfriend showing you that maybe-- just maybe-- we’re people, too? Weird how that works, huh?” She stayed sitting, wondering if the book was coming back her direction. She knew she could easily avoid it if she wanted to, even if her powers weren’t working quite right she knew she could turn invisible long enough to avoid a book to the face. But it never did. She flinched when the book slammed down. “We all have fucking sob stories, Kaden,” she said, her voice low now, “that’s just this fucked up world we live in. How many people do you think tell stories about how some hunter killed their parents? Or their family? Or their friends? Monsters may have killed you parents, but what about the parents of monsters you’ve killed? What do you think they call you when they talk about it?”

“Shut up!” Kaden shouted, spinning on his heel to face her. “Just shut up! Don’t fucking talk about my parents like that. They were fucking slaughtered so fuck you I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t ask for any of it and you are the last person on the goddamn planet I want to talk about this with.” His voice raised in volume and he found himself stepping closer and closer to her. “Don’t fucking talk about me or Regan or my fucking parents. You don’t know me or anything about me so shut. Up.” His breathing was heavy through his nose as he clenched his jaw, hands balled into fists as he loomed over her, seething and full of rage and stuck in this goddamn place. He didn’t know what he thought anymore or where he stood but he knew he didn’t want to agree with Stryder and he didn’t want her goddamn superiority. Not for a single fucking second. And yet, he didn’t reach out to hit her nor did he reach for his knife to cut her. He was trapped in a room with a monster and all he could fucking do was shout at her to shut up. He thought about at least kicking the stool out from under her. Instead he he turned and kicked the fucking door one more time. No change. “‘Torpedo.’ Figure out what to do with that.”

“And you think I asked to be like this? You think any of us did?” Marley countered, throwing her arms out now. “We don’t get a choice, just like you didn’t! I get that some of us are shitty, and they prey on humans and other weaker species-- but we’re not all like that! And why the hell do you even think I’m a fucking detective!? I can do something about the cases that would normally go cold. The precinct at large might not be able to arrest supernaturals, but I can do something about them. Christ, do you really think you’re the only person that’s ever suffered? At least you got fucking parents.” Her voice was nearly a snarl as she looked up at him. Would he hit her? She would let him, maybe it would prove something to him, or to her, or to someone. But he didn’t. He kicked the door instead. Torpedo. Marley lifted herself from her chair and went over to the console. She pushed the button for the Torpedo and behind them, a keypad dropped down, labeled only with maritime flags. Groaning, Marley went over to the panel. “You ever consider the idea that this shit isn’t black and white, Langely?” she grumbled, too tired to yell anymore. Her head was pounding and she couldn’t quite see straight anymore. “That maybe not all supernaturals deserve to die?”

Kaden kept his back turned as he took in what she’d said. He really wanted to ignore it. Let it go in one ear and out the other but it settled in his mind in a way that made his skin crawl. If he didn’t know any better, he’d think it was a werewolf in the room with him and not a mara. A mara. Still a monster. Even she said as much. Was it fucked up to wish he could go back to who he used to be? The person who would have just turned around and killed her long ago? Probably. He hated that it even occurred to him that it was fucked up at all. It made things hard. And complicated. This shouldn’t be complicated. “Why do you care what I think or don’t think?” he grumbled back. A stupid question. He knew it the second it left his lips. She cared because it was her life. The same reason he cared who was a monster. It was his life. Maybe others’ lives, too. But he didn’t give a shit about their morals before. It didn’t matter. A monster was a monster. He figured that was how they saw hunters, too. As wrong as that was. As much as he didn’t want to be wrong. It meant too much to be wrong. Hell, it cost too much. And this stupid fucking escape room that he was stuck in with Stryder of all people was not the place where he was about to admit he was wrong. “Well, detective,” he said, the word laced with bitterness, “if you come up with a better solution to deal with the supernatural have the fuck at it. Can’t wait. Because all of you like to preach just kill the ‘bad ones’ or some shit but what the fuck does that even mean? You want to draw that line in the fucking sand, be my goddamn guest.” He ground his teeth together a moment before looking at the flags closer. He squinted and tried to figure out what they were, what they were supposed to do with them. “These are letters or some shit, right? That’s what they represent? I think.”

“The line, Paw patrol,” Marley snarled back, “is maybe ask questions first, stab later. It’s really not that hard. Humans get a chance to defend their innocence, why the fuck don’t we? Do you know how many times hunters looked me in the eyes and decided I should be dead without so much as a word edgewise? Did you know I was twelve the first time I met a hunter and he looked at me and saw I was a child and still tried to kill me? Do you know how fucked up that is? Do you know what that does to a fucking child? The difference here is that I didn’t seek out that danger. You people purposefully hunt us down and kill us and then point and say we’re the monsters. Well, pot meet kettle-- maybe we’re all just fucking monsters. Maybe we all just deserve to die.” This really was a two-sided battle that had no answer. She understood that somewhere, but her disdain for what hunters had done to her left her sour. She looked at the flags-- maritime code was not something she knew off the top of her head, but her phone had no service in this dingey building. She went back over to find the manual and picked it back up, flipping to the code sheet in the back. Dropped it in front of him at the code console. “Plug in the fucking letters so we can get the fuck out of here finally.” And she really did hope with all hope that when the door opened, there wouldn’t be another room behind it. She was sure that if there was, the two would simply kill each other.

“Oh right, I’ll keep that in mind next time a werewolf is trying to tear my head off. Plenty of time for an investigation then, of course. I’ll just sit idly by, make sure he does in fact plan to kill the closest humans and then act.” Kaden knew damn well it wasn’t what she was arguing. He also knew damn well that had he been in Celeste’s position with Ariana all those years ago, he could never bring himself to kill a child. That was one line, at least. “Sorry,” he mumbled, still not meeting her eyes. “Not that I-- I just mean-- when you were a kid…” This was stupid. He didn’t give a shit about Stryder the same way she didn’t give a shit about him. And the sooner this conversation was over, the better. The sooner they fucking got out of here, the better. He nodded and looked at the page and typed in the code scribbled in the bottom of the page, matching the letters to the corresponding flags. “A B O R T.” Of fucking course it was that simple when it was laid out like that. He sighed and hit the “T” flag and heard a click behind them. He spun to face the door and saw it subtly swing open. “Thank god,” he said as he practically threw himself out of the room.

“You ever think about how maybe you wouldn’t be in that situation if you just fucking didn’t go looking for it!?” Marley snapped back. “Weird how that works!” Threw her arms up. “Oh, you’re sorry. Well I’m glad one fucking hunter is.” But honestly, she was. No one had ever apologized for that to her. She could still remember the look in the hunter’s eyes and she didn’t even know why. She hadn't known what she was back then. She turned away from him and waited for the door to open with bated breath. And when it did, it led out into a hallway. Freedom. She stepped out behind him and slammed the door shut, stomping to the front. But there was no one to yell at and she didn’t exactly feel like waiting around this place, lest they get trapped again. But as she went to head for the door, something gave her pause. She stopped just shy of it and turned to look back at Kaden. “You could be a good person, you know,” she said, “It’s obvious you care about some supernaturals. And maybe I don’t know hunter law or whatever, but I think having a fucking heart ought to be an okay thing to do.” Before she pushed her way out into the fresh air and left all of that-- well, most of it-- behind.

#chatzy #chatzy: kaden #wickedswriting #this is our get along shirt #kaden #tw head trauma mention

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incorrect-rainbow-rocket-quotes · 4 years

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Do you have any more headcannons for the Fusion or Mystery Gang AUs? I really like them

That I do, dear Anon! I’m going to do a masterpost of questions I’ve got for the Fusion AU (and clear out the inbox while I’m at it), so be on the lookout for that!

As of right now, some headcanons for the Spooky Six.

Giovanni

Bisexual Biromantic

Closer to his mother than his father, who has had a history of mob violence in his family.

Would wear a suit to a dress-down event.

Speaks fluent Italian, and switches to it when he’s stressed (which is… often). He sometimes forgets the others can’t speak it, and it’s led to more than one misunderstanding.

Has a switchblade on him at all times.

Has a knife collection that he’s perhaps a bit too proud of.

Would probably play games like the Sims or business simulations, like the Tropico series or the Tycoon games.

Maxie

Homosexual Homoromantic

Part of his rivalry with Archie isn’t just a problem with Archie, it’s also with himself (but as to what it is, he’ll refuse to admit it).

Bit of a recycling nut. He’ll get on people’s cases about it.

Stubborn and resilient to an almost unhealthy degree.

Has a system for everything in his possession. Mess it up and he’ll bury you in his backyard.

Can and WILL take a bullet for those he cares for, rare as they are.

Would really enjoy ‘sandbox’ games that you can build in, like Minecraft or Terraria, and probably even Scribblenauts.

Archie

Bisexual Biromantic (Leaning towards boys)

Boxes to get rid of all his pent up energy, and swims to relax and think (he’ll break into the community pool to swim in the summer at night)

Watches a ton of nature documentaries.

Has two loving parents and, while he has no blood siblings, his friends Matt and Shelly might as well be his siblings.

Cares for his friends perhaps a bit too much for his own good.

While he does collect shells, he collects other things as well! Like bottle caps, playing cards, bits of beach glass, etc.

Would LOVE games like Subnautica and the Endless Ocean series, but would also like multiplayer games, like Overwatch or World of Warcraft.

Cyrus

Asexual Demiromantic

His prized possession is a telescope he got when he was seven from his grandfather. He’s kept it ever since.

Listens to metal and ‘emo’ music like Green Day and Skillet unironically.

Probably owns a Furby. He’s unaware of how creepy it can be.

Learned how to code when he was about thirteen, got really freaking good at it, and now does it for fun.

He has really pale, blue eyes. It’s a little unsettling if he stares at you for too long of a time.

Would enjoy games with a puzzle aspect and unique aesthetic, like the Bioshock series and Portal, as well as the Professor Layton series.

Lysandre

Demisexual Biromantic

Enjoys listening to a lot of rock, like Queen, Johnny Cash, Fall Out Boy, etc. on the road. On his downtime, though, he probably listens to Bob Ross’s videos or Hozier.

The leather jacket and motorbike aesthetic is his ‘teen rebellion’ stage against his parents.

Sometimes forgets that some thoughts are meant to be internal.

Do NOT get him started on politics. He will go on a rant about the wage gap and the horrors of capitalism for a half-hour at LEAST.

Developed an interest in cooking since his parents weren’t around much and he was left alone most of the time, and it sort of spiraled from there.

Would be a fan of atmospheric games with a hint of darkness, like Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs or the Assassin's Creed series.

Guzma

MothBisexual Biromantic (leaning towards girls)

Unironically likes terrible B-rated horror films, as well as making fun of them.

While he was told that hitting things when angry was never ok, whacking monsters with a hard bat seems awfully therapeutic.

Some deep part of his brain is always on ‘defense mode’, on the lookout for movement or ill intent.

Talks about sex and alcohol like he’s done it dozens of times. He hasn��t.

Raised by a very caring and doting mother after his father’s death. Sometimes he hates the smothering, other times he really does need it.

Would play a lot of competitive online games, like the Call of Duty or Team Fortress 2, but he does have a soft spot for ‘sillier’ games, like Splatoon and Animal Crossing.

#Anonymous #Asks #[Mystery Gang AU]#Headcanons #[Giovanni]#[Maxie]#[Archie]#[Cyrus]#[Lysandre]#[Guzma]#(Thanks for the ask!)#(Sorry for posting this so late)#(But tomorrow -)#(- Or today now where I am. Huh. -)#(- I'm going to be releasing that masterpost for it!)#(So look for that)#(EDIT: So I was informed about some LGBT+ Terms)#(And I've updated accordingly)#(Sorry about that!)

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youarejesting · 4 years

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BTS365 Prompts.week 28

[Full Masterlist] [Prompt Masterlist] Beta: @jung-hoseok-s-airplane

Please tag me in your work if you use my prompts. I want to see your work. Ever your Jester.

Tell me your birthday and I will tag you on your special day!

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July 9th - 15th

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Kim Seokjin - Kissing

“Kim Seokjin what do you mean you have never had a first kiss?” You shouted in the middle of the party.

“Shush, what if someone hears you?” You raised an eyebrow as the music was practically deafening and dragged him to an unoccupied bedroom. It was too early for couples to be doing anything naughty just yet. Everyone was only one or two drinks in, so it was easy to find refuge in one of the bedrooms, where you could talk together in peace.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean exactly as I stated, I can’t dance with that girl because what if she wants to kiss, I have never kissed anyone before,” he clearly was overthinking things but you understood his nerves and shivered, remembering how your first kiss was a horrid memory cause you had no clue what you were doing.

“Okay sit down, I think I can teach you?” You pushed him to sit on the edge of the bed because he was taller than you and stepped between his legs so you were closer to him.

He looked nervous. “Don’t worry, I am nothing more than an acquaintance who speaks to you at parties, we don’t hang out or see each other much so nothing will change. I will just teach you how to kiss so you don’t make a fool out of yourself.”

You took him through the different types of kisses explaining how to tilt his head and how to initiate different levels of the kiss. After explaining certain aspects you showed him with a kiss. Finally, you explained where he could put his hands and something clicked this beautiful specimen was kissing you while holding you in his arms making your heart flutter.

Min Yoongi - Truth

Min Yoongi never lied, he was blunt and saw no reason to. He watched you though a swindler, you could bluff like the best of them and he knew exactly when you would lie. Of course, he would after watching you work your magic on the passersby out the front of his building. He had no idea you would appear before him asking for his help. You were being blamed for the murder of a young woman and he could tell by your expression you were telling the truth.

Jung Hoseok - Video Games (I want to write this)

You were the best of the best, theû big leagues coming together for the new video game of the century. A breakthrough and something people would kill for. You were given an invitation to participate with nine others, all elite gamers. Unlike a regular virtual reality game, this was a full submersion of the subconscious into the digital realm where your bodies would be semi-paralyzed and brains wired into the system.

While you couldn’t move physically you were strapped into a machine that moved you the same way as you moved in the game. If you were running you were running on the spot, if you sat danced or anything the machine would simulate this and you had your original limits of flexibility and more.

It was the first time this was being conducted after years of research and safety testing. The whole game process was said to take at least a year and you would be filmed in the game to show the audience your progress within the game and promote the game style.

None of you had ever met in person until you were asleep, you all logged in and created your characters.

You met them all one by one but Hoseok caught your eye first. He was an extremely famous strategy game player, ranked number one. You, however, were a master at all types of puzzle games, there was a kid who was a pro at first-person shooters.

You were going to spend a year together in the game. The only problem was you could feel everything the system tapped into your nerve endings and every artificial breeze every movement was felt. Your vital signs were being monitored so you already had to explain to your team that the spikes in your heart rate were because of Hoseok’s character's tight pants and how he smiled at you.

Kim Namjoon - Math 2.0

“Thank you for coming, she is in her room, I really appreciate this,” your mother’s voice came through the house, to whatever middle-aged tutor she had pulled last minute, “I have the money here please she needs to pass this class otherwise she will have to repeat.”

“No worries Ms. y/l/n,” the voice was kind of deep and raspy. Definitely a smoker probably thirty to forty and aged decently.

Imagine your surprise when Kim Namjoon the nerdy class president and your nemesis steps into your bedroom talking to your mother. “I will make sure she can pass the class, do not worry ma’am I have been tutoring for a few years now and I have a knack for it.”

Your mother turned to him and you flipped him the middle finger and he smiled back taking your mother’s shoulder and explaining how he planned to have you a model student in a few short weeks.

His style of teaching was unlike anything you had ever experienced but once you fell in love you looked forward to your tutor sessions.

Park Jimin - Sugar Cookie (I want to continue this one so bad.)

“Hello welcome to candy land I will be your waiter for this evening can I get you something to drink?”

“Hi, Ms. uh,” A tall man grinned standing and leaning to read the tag on your left breast. “Sugar Cookie, I want you to take this young man here and give him a dance equivalent to this price.”

“Of course,” you allowed him to offer you a large wad of cash, taking the blushing man's hand. You smiled softly noticing he was very handsome, a real rare gem compared to some customers. “Sweetheart, would you like to come sit with me and we can chat and have some drinks.”

You handed him a drink and headed into the private room sitting beside him, “come sit down, you don’t need to be afraid, I can do anything you ask within these guidelines. No violence, no touching in a sexual nature. You and I have the right to leave if we ever feel unsafe.”

He sat down and you mirrored his posture, “you don’t seem as happy as your friends, is there an Occasion?”

“Yeah I am getting married tomorrow” he sounded sad, his eyes full of despair.

“Tell me what’s got you sad?”

“I have never met her, it is arranged by our parents.”

“Well you have some choices,” you smiled standing up, “you live your last night as a single man to the fullest and marry a woman you have never met or you could do everything in your power tonight to prevent the wedding, like fake your own death, or perhaps find someone to marry before tomorrow and then you might be free, I mean your very handsome it should be easy.”

His eyes lit up and you bit your lip nervous. “Would you marry me?” He said “I could pay and it’s only on paper we don’t have to do anything, we might need pictures though miss um...” he said gesticulating while trailing off.

“Y/n and I mean I have no plans I can end my shift and sign a document with you.”

He grabbed your hand and raced to his friends, “change of plans I am getting married tonight let’s go!”

“Hell yeah, let’s go guys Jimin’s gonna marry a stripper!”

Kim Taehyung - Teddy Bears Picnic

“Hey, little man, what are you doing all the way over here don’t you want to join the picnic with all the other kids?” You asked the Kim boy, he was unique from the other children. Originally from Korea, sometimes it was hard to understand the young child's customs and way of life but you tried your best. He was an adorable little boy who had big round ears which made him look endearing.

“My dad isn’t here yet, he said he would be here?” He said looking out towards the parking lot.

“Theodore is it because you haven’t got a Teddy bear?” You questioned using the boy's English name as it was easier for you. “I have many teddy bears you could borrow, come have some lunch?”

“Teddy!” a voice called and you turned to see a very handsome young man appear.

“Don’t worry, miss this is my bear right here,” the boy grinned up at his dad who scooped him up into a hug.

Jeon Jungkook - Poem

“Poetry slam, Taehyung it’s not my scene?” Jungkook complained for the fifth time but followed his friend with the promise of free pizza.

“Just be quiet I like poetry, please don’t laugh”

“I will try,” Jungkook sighed, sitting down, he was bored and lost in the dull words from the uninteresting people.

��Next we have y/n,” the host called and Taehyung clapped enthusiastically. Jungkook sat up hoping this was going to be good.

She started speaking and painting a picture in his mind with words that felt so romantic, he caught a double meaning to her words and felt his ears and neck turn red at the thought this woman could weave such sultry tales.

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prokopetz · 5 years

Note

Are you still doing video game recs? My wife just got their Steam account working and I'd like to help them find some more games. They grew up playing 7th Guest and Baldur's Gate, and while I can find games for the Baldur's Gate, I never really got into the point-and-click adventure/puzzle game genre/s. Any suggestions for games that would be similar in gameplay to 7th Guest?

Sure thing. As a preface, there are a couple of major strands of point-and-click adventure games: those where the puzzles mostly involve obtaining important objects and using them in appropriate contexts, and those where the puzzles are mostly abstract math and logic problems that don’t necessarily correspond to anything that really exists in the game-world. The 7th Guest is of the latter type, so in case your wife has a preference I’m going to indicate which sort of puzzle predominates for each entry �� “inventory puzzles” for the former, and “logic puzzles” for the latter.

The Eyes of Ara - I’ll start us off with something that’s very close to The 7th Guest as far as gameplay goes. Thematically and storywise it’s admittedly a lot closer to Myst and its various imitators, but it has quite a bit of that gothic aesthetic going for it, if that’s your wife’s preference. As you’d expect, it’s a pure logic puzzler.

Lumino City - This one changes up the FMV puzzler genre with beautiful cardboard dioramas rather than realistic environments. Probably the most intensely tactile logic puzzler I’ve ever played. Don’t be afraid to consult a guide; the game prioritises stylish presentation to the extent that it’s occasionally unclear what it expects you to do!

Please, Don’t Touch Anything - I’m throwing this one in mostly for interest’s sake: it’s a single-room logic puzzler with no defined victory conditions. You just mess around with a mysterious control panel to see what happens. There’s an achievement for finding all 25 endings, if your wife is the goal-oriented sort.

NAIRI: The Tower of Shirin - A super-cute hand drawn puzzler whose story goes to more serious places than you’d expect given its visual aesthetics. Unusual in that the types of puzzles it focuses on shifts over the course of play; it starts out as a nearly pure inventory puzzler, while the final area is a relentless barrage of very tricky logic puzzles.

Oxenfree - Mostly a choice-based walking simulator with a few logic puzzles thrown in. I’m including this one in case your wife enjoyed The 7th Guest for its meta brainfuck elements – this one has that in spades! Not strictly point-and-click, as it was designed for gamepads; the keyboard-and-mouse controls are awkward but serviceable.

The Room - This one’s a clear choice for a 7th Guest fan because it’s basically a spiritual sequel to it. It’s the first game in a series, but it doesn’t really matter where you jump in – each entry stands alone very well. As its antecedents suggest, it’s mostly logic puzzles, with its inventory elements rarely rising above “find the key to this door”.

Rusty Lake: Roots - A good mix of inventory and logic puzzles, leaning toward the latter. Don’t expect the story to make a whole lot of sense; the Rusty Lake series has buckets of backstory, and while Roots is probably the most accessible of the lot in its gameplay, its plot is indecipherable without context. Fair warning: lots of body horror.

Technobabylon - You knew I was going to throw in at least one conspicuously retro game, and this is that game. Another mix of logic and inventory puzzles, with the former being exceptionally well-integrated into the game’s environments; you’ll almost forget to ask why on Earth someone would hide a message in the genetic code of alien plants!

The Witness - Don’t let its FPS-like appearance fool you; its puzzles have no real-time elements and can be completed with the mouse only, though they keyboard is required to move about between puzzles. A logic puzzler making no pretense that its puzzles aren’t purely abstract, and very difficult in its later areas.

I’m also going to throw in a plug for The Talos Principle, which is a wonderful entry into the logic-puzzler genre, but I’m not including it on the main list because it’s even more FPS-like than The Witness, and includes some tricky real-time platforming that puts it firmly outside the point-and-click puzzle arena.

(You may notice that I’ve avoided games that focus mostly or entirely on inventory puzzles for the sake of staying in the same ballpark as The 7th Guest gameplay-wise. Just let me know if you’d like recs for those as well!)

#gaming #video games #video game recommendations #body horror mention #swearing #nurselofwyr

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moonmoonbiin · 6 years

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You’ve Got the Best of Me pt 3

Three Date: October 14th It was mid-afternoon by the time you and he boys had arrived at the arcade. For it to be a Saturday, it was surprisingly not busy, but that didn’t bother any of you. Jimin and Jin took off towards the air hockey section, that being their favorite game. “Gukkie, let’s go play,” Taehyung grabbed Jeongguk’s sleeve, starting to pull him towards a shooting car that they both liked. Jeongguk looked back at you with a slight frown. He had wanted to play a few games with you, but perhaps he should wait a little bit and let you play a few other games with the other guys first. “Hobi Oppa,” you grabbed Hoseok’s arm with a grin. “Come on! You gotta do it with me!” You told him, pulling him towards a rollercoaster simulation game. Hoseok groaned, but he let you lead him anyways. He hated rollercoasters, and he wasn’t fond of rides in general. You knew this and yet still you loved to make him do these arcade games with you. Yoongi chuckled as he followed you to the game and you and Hoseok got buckled up. “Don’t throw up,” Yoongi teases Hoseok. “Hyung, please,” Hoseok rolled his eyes before looking over at you. “You’re going to be the death of me, Y/N.” You grinned and grabbed his hand. Hoseok refuses to ride real rollercoasters with you so this was as close as you could get to the real thing. Yoongi lifted his hand to Hoseok’s neck and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “It’s okay, you got this,” he told him before walking away to play a puzzle game with Namjoon. An hour passed quickly, and although Jeongguk tried hard to get you to play something with him every chance he got, it seemed you were always already playing with someone else. He bit his lip slightly as he watched you and Taehyung play a race car game. You both laughed and instead of trying to win, it seemed like you were just trying to hit one another. Maybe Jeongguk should talk to Taehyung and get some tips about talking to you? You both always seemed so at ease around one another. Honestly, Jeongguk was a little jealous over how easy Taehyung could talk to you. “Let’s play laser tag!” Jimin told the group as you and Taehyung walked up. He pointed across the arcade to a cave with the name, ‘laser tag’ under it. “Let’s do it after we eat,” Namjoon placed a hand on the younger’s shoulder. “I just ordered us all some pizza. It should be ready in about 15.” Jeongguk perked up slightly. This was his chance! Fifteen minutes would be plenty of time for him to play a simple game with you! “Y/N!” He walked over to you quickly and grabbed your wrist, the sudden contact surprising you. “Come play the basketball game with me before the pizza gets here.” “Okay,” you agreed with a small nod. Although it was still a little strange to talk to Jeongguk like you were actually friends, it was kinda nice. “Jeongguk,” Jin grabbed his little brother’s shoulder to turn him slightly. “I’ll meet you over there!” You told Jeongguk before heading over to the hoops with Taehyung. “Jimin told me what you’re doing,” Jin whispered, leaning in closer to Jeongguk. Jeongguk felt a panic rush through him. Jimin couldn’t have told Jin about the bet... His brother was horrible at keeping secrets and it would only be a matter of time before Yoongi found out. If Yoongi did find out, Jeongguk was as good as dead. “You’re wanting to be friends with Y/N, right?” Jin asked innocently. Jeongguk let out a long breath. “Uhm, yeah.” “Let her win,” Jin advised with a small smile. “What...?” Jeongguk blinked in confusion. “Girls like it when boys let them win,” the older assured, waving his hand before pushing his brother’s back. “What kind of girls are you hanging out with?” Jeongguk muttered, mainly to himself as he walked to where you and Taehyung were. He didn’t get it... Did girls really like it when guys let them win? To him, it seemed like they would get mad that they were going easy on them... He was a competitive person by nature. Sometimes he didn’t even realize how into games he’d get until it was all over... Should he let you win? “Hey!” You smiled at him as he walked up and he had to admit that getting greeted with a smile by you, was actually really nice. Jeongguk smiled back, “you ready?” He asked, getting some coins ready for the game. “Oh yeah,” you nodded confidently. “Get ready to lose!” You stuck your tongue out at him teasingly and his jaw slacked slightly. Okay, forget going easy on you! He was going to cream you! The game buzzed to life and the bar lifted, releasing the basketballs for you and Jeongguk. Immediately you both started grabbing basketballs and shooting hoops. It was so chaotic that more than once had you two reached for the same basketball and accidentally grabbed each other’s hands. You tried to ignore the blush on your cheeks and instead focused on shooting the baskets. You weren’t half bad at basketball, and you had even been on a team in junior high, but that had been several years ago. As far as you could tell, you were actually doing pretty good! You were making most of the baskets anyways. Glancing over for a quick second, you saw the Jeongguk was just a few mere points ahead of you and you narrowed your eyes in determination. That just wouldn’t do. Ever do slightly, you bumped him as he went to make a shot and he missed. He was stunned for a short second at your move before he realized what you done. “You just cheated!” He declared, his mouth gapped open in shock as he looked at you. You, however, were focused on making your baskets and didn’t even glance at him as you spoke. “No I didn’t.” Jeongguk let out a small huff before quickly grabbing a basketball and bumping you just as you had done him. You stumbled as you shot and your basketball missed the hoop. Jeongguk snickered in amusement and he could see Taehyung giggling out of his peripheral vision. You didn’t let it stumble you for long as you quickly squeezed yourself in front of him, trying your best to block off him shooting completely. Jeongguk made quick grabs around you, trying his best to shoot in any possible way, but by then it was too late. The bar had fallen back down and the final seconds of the game ticked before it buzzed, declaring you the winner. “Ahaha!” You squealed, grinning up at a pouting Jeongguk. “I won! I beat you!” “You cheated!” Jeongguk declared, “I want a rematch!” “Kids, the pizza has arrived!” Yoongi called to you three. “Oppa!” You rushes over to the group, Jeongguk and Taehyung right behind you. “I beat Gukkie!” You proclaimed proudly, taking the seat beside Yoongi. “She cheated,” Jeongguk told the group seriously as he took the empty seat beside you. He missed the way Taehyung narrowed his eyes at him from behind before going around the table to sit by Jimin. “Ah, well I guess she takes that much after her cousin,” Hoseok teased, pointing a thumb at Yoongi. “I don’t cheat,” the older said seriously, but instead of anyone agreeing, the table grew quiet instead. Yoongi turned to glance at you, “I don’t cheat, right?” You knew you’d be screwed either way you answered, so instead, you took a big bite of pizza so you wouldn’t be able to talk. “See Hyung, she knows!” Jimin laughed happily. the pizza was about halfway done when Yoongi glanced over at Jeongguk. “You and Y/N are doing that English project together, right?” “Yeah,” Jeongguk nodded. “Y/N are you sure you want him as his partner?” Jin raised a dark eyebrow towards you. “His English isn’t very good at all...” “Hyung,” Jeongguk frowned. “My English has improved. Plus, I’m sitting by Y/N now so she can help me if I ever get stuck.” “I guess it would help to sit by someone who is majoring in English,” Namjoon chuckled. “Does the paper take pictures?” Yoongi asked curiously. “No,” you answered for Jeongguk. “I don’t know what you’re thinking Oppa, but don’t you dare.” Yoongi ignored you protest and instead sighed. “It’s a shame... This picture would look perfect in it.” He turned his phone so Jeongguk could see a picture of a teen you, grinning brightly with a mouth full of braces. “Oppa!” Your cheeks flushed pink with embarrassment. Seriously, why was he showing that picture?! “I remember when she had braces,” Taehyung chuckled softly. “She was so happy to get them off.” “Hobi Oppa, do something!” You pleaded, looking over at the man. “Hyung,” Hoseok reached over to squeeze Yoongi’s wrist. “That’s enough embarrassing Y/N for the day.” “Fine,” Yoongi sent you a small pout before looking around and giving Jeongguk a smirk. “I got plenty of pictures though, if you ever want to add any to your essay.” “Oh my gosh will you please just stop?” You groaned under your breath. “Don’t worry,” Jeongguk leaned over to you in a small chuckle. “It was cute.” For some reason, your heart felt as if it almost exploded at that comment. A smile tugged onto your lips as you nibbled the last bit of pizza you had and a warm blush rested on your cheeks. More conversation began, mostly about jobs and school, as well as a few up coming movies. It wasn’t until a half hour passed when Jeongguk noticed a slight weight on his arm. He glanced down, completely surprised to see you resting against him, your eyes closed peacefully. He felt rather strange... It wasn’t really strange in a bad way, he supposed. He didn’t hate this feeling, but rather it felt nice. “Alright!” Jimin jumped up. “Laser gun time!” They all started getting up to join, but Jeongguk was afraid that if he moved, he would wake you so he remained seating. “Awh she fell asleep,” Namjoon smiled softly. “Ah, Guk, you can go play if you want,” Yoongi spoke up, knowing that the young man liked laser tag. “I’ll stay with her.” “No, it’s fine Hyung,” Jeongguk surprisingly found himself saying. “She’s already resting against me, so let’s not wake her. Plus, I’m kinda tired, too,” he fibbed. A slight click caught his attention and he saw a grinning Jimin with his phone. Jeongguk narrowed his eyes slightly. Sometimes he forgot how annoying Jimin was... That is, when Jimin was being quiet or out of sight. “I’ll send everyone a copy,” Jimin cooed, taking off to the laser tag cave. “Take good care of her,” Hoseok teased Jeongguk, causing he younger to roll his eyes. Taehyung was the last to leave the table. He stared at you for a few seconds and Jeongguk thought he would make a comment as well. Instead, without speaking a word he just turned and walked away. Jeongguk blinked, watching his friend’s back as he walked away. He wondered what Taehyung was thinking, but the man was a master of a blank expression so it was hard to guess. Letting out a sigh, he looked down to see you still napping peacefully. A small smile tugged on his lips as he thought of the game you two played together and soon he was chuckling softly. You seemed just as competitive as he was, which was good. He’d have to play even more games with you soon.

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kadtherine · 7 years

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tagging @pansexualriphunter, who was interested in reading this :)

“Mr Jackson. A word if you will?”

Jax watched, his eyebrows frowned in confusion as Rip left the common area, too focused on the tablet in his hands to wait for his area. Turning back to Sara and Ray, with whom he had been previously engaged in a passionate game of Uno, he tilted his head to the side in consideration. The blonde responded with a shrug while Ray mimicked his frown of confusion, the frown quickly being replaced by a defeated grimace at the +4 card that Sara had just placed in the middle. With a sigh, he got up and distributed the rest of his cards to Sara and Ray, sniggering at their protests before walking away. After a few wrong turns, Jax found the Captain standing in an empty space, muttering to himself while tapping on the tablet. Clearing his throat, Jax stiffened a laugh when Rip jumped, obviously startled by the sudden appearance. Quickly composing himself, he straightened his posture and crossed his hands behind his back, the hint of a smile pulling at his lips.

“There you are. I didn’t pull you from anything too important, I hope?”

“Not really, you saved me from an humiliating loss, actually,” Jax shot back, satisfied when it earned him a snort from the older man, “what’s up?”

Letting out a breath, Rip took a quick look around him, his eyes taking it all in before it fell back onto Jax.

“I actually wanted your opinion on this space.”

“It’s-“ Jax shrugged, his gaze darting around the room, disinterested, “space-y?”

A breathy chuckle escaped the Captain’s mouth, much to Jax’s confusion and slight irritation. Pursing his lips, Rip gave a small hum and scratched the back of his head, thoughtful.

“What I meant is, what do you think about constructing a library in here. I thought that seeing as our mission is taking to new lengths, a few additions to the Waverider would be necessary,” he explained, noticing Jax’s slightly puzzled expression. He shot him a small smirk, an eyebrow cocked, “Can’t have you lot protecting History without a proper library and research centre, can I?”

Jax snorted at the small jab, only listening to him with one ear. Fully stepping into the space, he crossed his arms and turned on his heels, the blueprints drawing themselves and the area completely furnished in his mind. Oblivious to Rip’s smug smirk, Jax crossed his arms and made sure to remember each inch of the room, categorizing them in his mind for later.

“Do you think it’s doable?” Rip asked, breaking – rather loudly – his train of thoughts.

His lips pursed in thought, Jax shrugged.

“Depends,” he sighed, “How large do you want this library to be?”

“I believe the length of the room would suffice. You don’t seem to agree,” Rip added, his eyes narrowing as he noticed Jax’s small frown.

“It’s not that I don’t agree,” the younger man weakly countered, raising a hand, “It just seems a bit cramped. Alright, you want to build a library, research centre or whatever? You’re going to need room. You’re going to need a work area, which we could actually use for research,” Jax kept talking as he gestured around the room, relieved to find Rip interested in his small exposé when he dared a glance at the Captain, “I bet you would want to model it like your study right?” he couldn’t help his victorious smile at the older man’s nod, “Your study is what? 10 feet in length, we would need about three extra feet here. We can’t knock out that wall, can we?”

Jax added the last question with a grimace. Rip frowned at him, as if he disapproved of the very thought of deliberately causing damage to this ship, which would be understandable. What he had misread as disapproval turned out to be contemplation, and again, Jax couldn’t help but feel relief at the lack of lectures. Racking a hand through his hair, Rip then crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall, his long legs stretched out in front of him. Jax couldn’t help but stare at the tablet hanging loosely from the hands of his fingers, anxious.

“I don’t think so. Knocking off the wall would mean to get rid of one of the ship’s support and it would entail a load of work,” he muttered under his breath, “But we can extent the area,” he added with a nonchalant shrug, as if it were big deal.

“Can you really do that?” Jax exclaimed, his eyes widening in awe and the almost-falling tablet forgotten.

Rip’s smirk seemed to be the only response he needed. Pushing himself off the wall, he looked up at the ceiling and tucked his tablet under his arm.

“Gideon, what do we have behind this wall?”

“The hallway leading to the bridge, Captain,” the A.I responded.

“And is it large enough for us to extend this by three feet?” Rip asked, his brow furrowed in concentration as he resumed his typing on the device.

“I suppose it is, Captain. Would you like me to do a simulation of the room’s hypothetical expansion?”

“Might as well,” he muttered.

Frowning in confusion as the lights deemed, Jax turned to Rip, the latter smirking at him and holding a hand as he opened his mouth to ask what was going on. Quickly, his confusion was replaced by amazement as the walls surrounded him became transparent and gave them a view of the common area – Jax let out a small chuckle when he saw Sara slipping two of her cards underneath Ray’s knees, the latter oblivious as he stared at his own set of cards, deciding on which he should put down. Jax only had a few seconds to marvel at the scene before somehow, the area expanded of a few more meters and actually looked like a room and not some grey unoccupied space.

“It seems like an expansion is conceivable,” Gideon spoke up, her synthetic voice breaking the silence. Jax was taken by how soft and pleased the A.I sounded.

“Yes, it does, Gideon,” Rip agreed and Jax didn’t need to turn around to know that the Captain was smiling. And that felt like an accomplishment of its own.

In the blink of an eye, Jax found himself back into the plain, grey empty space and he tried to ignore the disappointment clinging at the back of his mind. Rip’s hopeful and satisfied smile helped to forget it, in a way.

“So,” he started, cocking an eyebrow at the younger man, “Now that we know that adjustments such as this are possible, do you think that it’s doable?” he repeats, a secretive twinkle in his eye.

He blew out a breath, unable to control the smile taking over his face, and shrugged.

“Yeah, I guess. It’s going to be a lot of work, but…” Jax crossed his arms and nodded to Rip, “it’s doable.”

“Alright, then,” he nodded and handed him his tablet, which did nothing but confused the younger man, “Better get to it right away, you’ve got a lot of work ahead of you.

Jax heard the words that left Rip’s mouth. He was pretty sure the words made sense. He didn’t understand what were they supposed to mean, though. He replayed the moment in his mind several times, changing the words’ place in the sentence and still he couldn’t make sense it. Because it simply didn’t made sense. Why would Rip Hunter, the actual Captain of a time ship, give him, Jefferson Jackson, a mere grease monkey and other half of a metahuman, the responsibility of such a task?”

Rip watched, seemingly amused as Jax gaped at him, his mouth dry and his eyes wide opened. If he hadn’t been so perplexed, he would’ve probably been frustrated at the Captain’s obvious smug satisfaction and delight. Seeing as he still hadn’t taken the tablet he was being handed, Rip cleared his throat and slowly put the device in the younger man’s hand, wrapping his fingers around it so he wouldn’t drop it. With a last smile and encouraging pat on the shoulder, he went to walk away. Jax blinked at him, his mind fuzzy and his hands heavy. The weight of the tablet brought him back to reality.

“Wait!” he called, causing Rip to stop in his tracks and turn back around, an eyebrow cocked in question. With a couple of long strides, Jax quickly caught up to him, “You want me to do build that library?”

“Well, yes. I thought that I’d been clear,” he retorted, his nonchalant tone implying that it was obvious.

And even though he confirmed it, it still didn’t make sense to Jax. He tightened his hold around the tablet, as if making sure it was real and not just a fragment in his imagination, and looked up at Rip, the latter staring at him expectantly.

“Why me?” he asked, lifting a shoulder.

“Why not?” Rip shot back, his hands deep in his pocket and the hint of a smile on his face.

His detachment frustrated him more, now that his mind was clearer and Jax found himself gritting his teeth. Letting out breath through his nose, he brought the tablet to his forehead, the cool surface strangely soothing, before letting it fall to his side.

“I’m just a mechanic. You’ve got two geniuses on this ship, I’m pretty sure one of them is a more suitable choice than I am. I mean, Ray made his suit. A library wouldn’t be much to handle for him.”

“I also got a former member of the League as my second, and at some point, had two criminal and a couple of reincarnated Egyptian entities as part of my crew,” Rip retorted, both of his eyebrows up. He smirked at the look Jax was sending him, “Oh, I’m sorry. I thought we were stating obvious facts.”

Jax scoffed and rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. Rip’s smirk softened into a small smile as he took a few steps toward the younger man, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Despite what you may think, none of my choices are taken without a reason or lightly. I trust you with this task because I have faith in you and your abilities, Jax. You’ve proven worthy of that trust at multiples occasions, even though I didn’t always deserve it,” he admitted with a sigh, smiling at Jax’s slight grimace, “Don’t sell yourself so short.”

His jaw clenched, Jax bowed his head, fingers tapping against the hard case of the tablet case as he thought over the Captain’s words. Rip’s praise and belief meant more than he ever thought it would. Somewhere between getting drugged and destroying a literal time old institution, Jax had found himself seeking his older peers’ validation and acceptance. As the youngest member of the crew, he had tried to prove his worth, volunteering for tasks he hadn’t the abilities required, reading the Waverider’s handbook and familiarizing himself with every part of the ship. And somehow, he had earned the trust and affection of a former Time Master, a pair of crooks, an Egyptian goddess, a resurrected assassin and two geniueses. People with whom he had never thought he would be so close, people that he had come to admire, people that he had come to consider as family.

“Unless,” Jax looked up at Rip, the latter reaching for the device in his hands, “you’re not feeling up to the task,” he said, his tone light and taunting.

Narrowing his eyes at the other man, Jax shook his head and held the tablet out of the Captain’s grasp. If he looked closed enough, he could almost see Rip stiffen a smirk as his hands closed around thin air.

“No,” Jax muttered, still shaking his head before clearing his throat and repeating it louder, “No, I’ll do it.”

“You sure? I would completely understand if you decided to back out. It would be a shame, really, since you’ve already got a vision for it. A great one, might I add, Mr Jackson,” Rip let out a long, dramatic sigh, rubbing the back of his neck, “Maybe Dr Palmer would be more suited to the task.”

“No!” Jax repeated louder, his tone forceful as he hugged the tablet to his chest, “I got it. Ray’s more of a scientist that he is a mechanic, anyway. Making his own super suit, while impressive, isn’t the same thing as designing library aboard a time ship.

Rip huffed a laugh, his hands linked behind his back.

“My exact thoughts,” he agreed with a small nod, his mouth twisted into this familiar half-smirk. His head cocked to the side, “I gather that means that you’re going to do it.”

Mirroring his smirk, Jax gave him a nod, his smirk softening into a grin at Rip’s satisfied sigh, unconsciously pushing his shoulder back in pride at the Captain’s silent endorsement. Clearing his throat, Rip clapped his hands.

“Alright, then. Like said before, we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us,” he exclaimed, pushing away some boxes to the side with his foot, quickly imitated by Jax, “We can get rid of those later, unless you want to keep them for later use,” Rip added, wiping his hands on his hands.

Noticing he was expecting an answer from him, Jax shook his head.

“Captain, we’re being hailed by the Acheron”, Gideon intervened.

It took Jax longer than he’d like to admit for him to link the unfamiliar name to the time ship they had been captured on a few weeks by time pirates. It took a few more seconds to remember the Captain they had been locked with. Still, he was still confused as to why and - how - she was hailing the Waverider. Much to his relief so was Rip.

“What- how can Baxter be able to hail us? The ship’s docked,” the Captain protested, frowning at the ceiling.

“Seeing as you’re the last Time Master Captain Baxter has come in contact with before the destruction of the Vanishing Point, I suppose she tracked the Waverider to 2016,” Gideon retorted, her tone slightly exasperated. Jax could practically hear the ‘duh’ implied in that sentence.

“Still doesn’t explain the how,” Rip muttered to himself before clearing his throat, “Patch it through my study, would you,” he added louder as he started walking away.

“Yes, Captain.”

As if only remembering about Jax’s presence at the moment, Rip snapped his fingers and turned around, walking backward with a finger pointed at him.

“We’ll discuss the details later, Mr Jackson. As of now, the study is opened for you to work if needed be. I suppose you’ll know where to find the toolbox,” he barely waited for his positive response as he continued speaking, “You’ll find the blueprints of the ship there. If there’s anything else you need, I’m at your disposition,” Rip finished, giving a small bow.

Barely registering the gesture, Jax gave another nod, a small frown on his face as the Captain twisted back on his heels.

“Hey Rip?” Jax called, his tone hesitant when Rip spun back to face him, an eyebrow cocked in question. He let out a breath, his stare unwavering and sure as he met the older man’s gaze, “I just want to let you know that I’m really invested in this team and project. I won’t let you down.”

Smiling at the vehemence of the statement, Rip gave him a crooked, yet genuine, grin and tilted his head to the side.

“I never expected you to, Jax.”

you can also find this fic here.

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ilikecowsnstuff · 4 years

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Chapter 20!!!

SUMMARY: UA Hero Course - Third Year. Shigaraki Tomura and Dabi have been classmates and rivals since their very first day at UA. But with new feelings developing how will they cope given their history of fragile and often violent encounters? Their dance begins after a partnered training exam goes wrong, leaving Shigaraki wounded and Dabi feeling guilty. AU.

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For AO3 – Click Here

For FanFiction – Click Here

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CHAPTER TWENTY - A FIRST REAL DATE - PART 1

“You know what I just realized?” Dabi started before popping a piece of freshly soy-sauce dipped salmon sushi into his mouth, “This is like our first real date.”

Beside him, Shigaraki tilted his head, considering Dabi’s statement over a steaming hot bowl of miso soup.

“What about the takoyaki after your birthday party?” Shigaraki contended before blowing over the surface of his soup. He took a sip and then lowered the bowl back down to the table. “I think that was technically our first date.”

“Hmm.” Dabi grinned impishly, recalling the morning after his birthday party. Before they had gone out for takoyaki, he and Shigaraki had shared their first mutual intimate experience - albeit a somewhat blind and clumsy synchronous hanjob beneath the covers, it had still been pretty special.

“What?” Shigaraki asked, his brow pulling together as Dabi stared at him.

“Just thinking about that day.” Dabi said, quickly becoming hot under the collar at the recollection.

“Tch.” Shigaraki rolled his eyes. He knew exactly where Dabi’s mind was going and wasn’t prepared to get into that over lunch in a public restaurant. However, Dabi didn’t seem to agree and not a moment later, his hand fell down onto his thigh, beneath the table top, and Shigaraki almost lost his chopsticks, startled by the touch.

Dabi chuckled. “That wasn’t a real date.” He said, leaning in. He kissed Shigaraki’s temple and then returned to the platter of sushi before them, picking out another piece. “It was a good day, but not a date.”

“Okay. Whatever you say.” Shigaraki snorted and then crammed a large maki roll into his mouth. “So, what are we doing next on our first real date?” Shigaraki chaffed, a big emphasis on the word real.

“Had enough of the bath houses?”

“Definitely.” Shigaraki nodded his head adamantly. “I swear I still smell like a walking cup of coffee.” He scrunched his nose.

Dabi chuckled.

At the time, bathing in the coffee themed bath had been kind of nice, especially first thing in the morning - it was an excellent wake-up, but after a while, the sight and smell of the water turned sickly - it was just too much. They had showered afterwards, of course, but the smell of freshly ground coffee beans was ingrained in his brain now. The red wine bath that followed was equally exhausting to the senses, though, thankfully, the smell had washed right away.

“You smell great.”

“You say that only because you really like coffee.”

“No.” Dabi chuckled softly again, “Because you smell like you. But with a hint of minty… wood.”

“Minty wood?” Shigaraki arched a brow.

“Yeah. That’s what the shampoo at the hotel smells like.” Dabi grinned and once again leaned in - only this time instead of a kiss he nuzzled against Shigaraki’s recently washed, and oh so soft and fluffy, blue-grey hair. He breathed him in, luxuriating in the scent, before pulling back and giving his instantly perturbed boyfriend a little space.

“Anyways,” Dabi began, “Next, we are going to the arcade.”

Shigaraki jerked his chin over to Dabi, perking up, though still leery. “Really?”

“Yeah.” Dabi refilled his boyfriends empty cup with green tea and then topped up his own. “It’s one of the largest arcades in Japan. Apparently, they call it an indoor amusement park.”

“I thought you didn’t like video games?”

“No, but you do.”

Shigaraki stared at Dabi, silent for a moment before he shifted his gaze away. Pieces of a puzzle were coming together for Shigaraki, and it finally made sense why Dabi had chosen the Komorebi Resort & Spa to stay at - it wasn’t because Dabi wanted to stay in a ridiculously fancy hotel, well not entirely anyway.

Dabi smiled, watching Shigaraki mull over their planned day. “Surprised?”

“Extremely.”

“I told you that I put some thought into this vacation, didn’t I?”

“You did.”

“The baths were for me though.” Dabi joked.

The corner of Shigaraki’s mouth kicked up into an amused grin, and he found himself impetuously sliding over the bench seat, towards Dabi. When their thighs brushed, Shigaraki lifted his hand and swept Dabi’s jaw, turning his boyfriends head and drawing him into an impulsive kiss. He wasn’t exactly sure why, but he had this overwhelming urge to makeout with him.

Dabi was a little shell-shocked by the abrupt kiss but was still receptive, moving his lips concurrently and matching Shigaraki’s leisurely pace, however, his eyes remained open and vigilant. This was so unlike Shigaraki, to initiate any kind of affection, and especially in public. It made Dabi somewhat anxious, knowing that Shigaraki could snap-to and react negatively, as was in his nature. But at the same time, the sudden kiss roused Dabi - he was excited. And he wanted to completely give in to the feeling but thought one of them should remain watchful.

A moment later, Shigaraki pulled back, his cheeks flushed a faint pink, and he looked quickly to his left and right - making sure the kiss hadn’t drawn any unwanted attention. Thankfully, the booth had provided enough cover to avoid any scrutiny and Shigaraki seemed satisfied with the results. Without a word, he returned to their lunch, dipping another piece of sushi into a shallow dish of soy sauce.

Dabi was flabbergasted.

“Can we take a little detour to the hotel before we hit the arcade?”

“Not a chance.” Shigaraki grinned knowingly and quickly popped the sushi into his mouth.

“Well, fuck.” Dabi chuckled and then blew out a long breath, repositioning himself on the bench with a slight wriggle.

The rest of their lunch was consumed with much lighter content and chatter. They paid their bill and then left the restaurant happy and with full bellies. Dabi took Shigaraki’s hand without any hesitancy and immediately had them moving down the sidewalk. He had his phone out, head down, and checking the address and directions of the arcade. It wasn’t far - a ten-minute walk and extremely hard to miss. The animated and flashing signs lit up the building like a christmas tree full of twinkling LED lights.

“Jesus fucking Christ!” Dabi exclaimed, looking up at the building as they approached the entrance. “They should have a disclaimer on the outside. Warning: Potential seizures.”

Shigaraki snorted. “It’s a little much.”

Inside the building, they exchanged some cash for tokens and then surveyed the vast floor of various games, which was one of several - not sure where to start. The blinding neon’s and deafening noise was mind-boggling and kind of disorientating - all the old-school arcade mixed with newer games, there was… a lot. They checked the directory for guidance and Shigaraki knew exactly where he wanted to go. The second floor was strictly shoot-em up, raining bullet hell type arcade games - right up his alley.

Dabi, who knew nothing about gaming, allowed Shigaraki full control of the decision-making when it came to where and what they would be doing next. His boyfriend knew better. So, they headed straight for the second floor, taking the stairs.

“I thought shooting zombies and aliens for an hour would get old fast, but it’s actually pretty fun. Satisfying even.” Dab said, pointing the plastic gun at the screen and shooting with determination.

Shigaraki grinned and turned to look at his boyfriend, at how focused he was, and then returned his eyes back to the screen. They were both trying to best each other, but in a cool and casual kind of way. Shigaraki was currently beating him in points, and Dabi playfully swatted at Shigaraki’s gun, pushing it away so he would miss his targets and points - laughing when Shigaraki returned the favour.

When the game was over, they each put down the artificial guns and Dabi shook his head with a feigned look of disappointment. “You won. Again. I need practice.” He swung an arm over Shigaraki’s shoulders and smacked a kiss against his cheek. They started walking - looking for a new amusement.

“Tomura,” Dabi smiled mischievously, pointing to a particular game filled with over-stuffed plushies. They were all pro-hero toys and low and behold - Dabi could see the head of Endeavour sticking up out of the pile. “I need that.”

Shigaraki arched a brow at his boyfriend, only breaking eye contact to look distrustfully at the metallic claw inside the machine and then the soft-toy Dabi was pointing at. “You’re kidding.”

“Nope.” He grinned and then ushered his boyfriend over to the claw machine. He fished around in his pocket, pulling out a token and then inserting it into the little slot.

Shigaraki crossed his arms over his chest, amused - watching as the lights behind the windows suddenly came to life and ear splitting monotonous music began to loop. Dabi angled the joystick, successfully grasping the head of little Endeavour when the claw lowered on the first try. The claw then made its way back to the front window to drop the prize.

“Sweet.” Dabi said retrieving the plushie of his Father.

Shigaraki chuckled under his breath. “What are you going to do with that?”

“I don’t know. Put a curse on it. Maybe turn it into a voodoo doll.”

Shigaraki shook his head, chuckled under his breath and then scanned the area around them for another game they could play together. They had been playing all the games Shigaraki liked, there had to be something more fitting for Dabi. His eyes stopped suddenly on at a row of enclosed pods - racing simulators. It was pretty perfect actually - Dabi would go for it.

Shigaraki walked towards them and Dabi followed along willingly, his Endeavour plushie stuffed under his arm. They stopped at the console and Dabi grinned. The overhead title read “OutRun 2” and was lit up in red and purple, while white LED’s positioned behind it blinked in time to a classic kitschy racing tune.

“Get in.” Shigaraki said, hopping into one of the two joining seats.

‘Sir, I am going to need to see a licence.”

Shigaraki scoffed and Dabi sat down in the empty place next to him, ready to race.

As soon as the onscreen announcer counted down to one and the race started, both boys diverted their concentration to the task at hand. Shigaraki had the upper hand at first, being more skilled in the area of computer games but Dabi quickly caught up, swerving in all the right places and dodging any obstacles. About halfway into the race Dabi took the lead with a taunting, but cheerful, sound of delight.

A few more rounds later and the boys were tied for wins and loses. They both flexed their fingers - knuckles tired from gripping joysticks and steering wheels for the past couple of hours. They decided to call it day - at the arcade anyway.

“This was fun.” Dabi grinned.

“Yeah.”

“Who knew video games could be so entertaining for so many hours.”

“Ah, me.” Shigaraki laughed softly.

“You’re right.” Dabi spun smoothly in his faux car seat and scooted to the edge. He leaned over the token collector that separated him from his boyfriend and slid his hand to the back of Shigaraki’s neck, smiling as he moved in for a kiss. It started out slow, in what was supposed to be a relaxed and languid kiss, but quickly turned ardent as they abstractedly came together - ignorant of their surroundings.

A strangled moan from Dabi caused Shigaraki to eventually break away, and he swiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. He wasn’t sure what had gotten into him recently, but he felt more susceptible and accepting of Dabi’s advances. And Dabi seemed very aware of it, taking full advantage of the assent.

“Are you ready to go?” Dabi whispered, his voice laced with a longing - one that could only come from frustration and a kiss that was cut too short. He was horny, and not afraid to demonstrate it to his boyfriend. His hands were clingy, desperately trying to keep Shigaraki against him.

“I am.” Shigaraki flicked his eyes downwards - a brief glance at Dabi’s growing desire before he shifted back up to meet Dabi’s gaze. “This and right in front of your Dad.” He joked.

“Funny.” Dabi breathed, tossing the plushie Endeavour aside.

“So, you’re just going to get up and walk around like that huh?” Shigaraki teased, “You know, this is a kid friendly establishment.” The sound of children laughing and then a horde of tiny footsteps shuffled quickly past the two boys, as if to prove a point. Shigaraki grinned.

“Shut up.” Dabi groaned.”I just need… a minute.”

**To be continued - Part 2 - Coming Soon!**

====================

Chapter One – Accidental Attraction

Chapter Two – After Care

Chapter Three – Dazed and Confused

Chapter Four – I Like You

Chapter Five - Friends and Enemies

Chapter Six - Confrontation!

Chapter Seven - Transfer Student

Chapter Eight - A Period of Learning

Chapter Nine - Work and Play

Chapter Ten - Friday

Chapter Eleven - Extraordinary Day

Chapter Twelve - The Problem with Relationships.

Chapter Thirteen - Will You Go Out With Me?

Chapter Fourteen - A Not So Innocent Birthday Request

Chapter Fifteen - The Morning After

Chapter Sixteen - His First

Chapter Seventeen - Summer is Coming

Chapter Eighteen - You Need a Break

Chapter Nineteen - Expected the Unexpected

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smashbuddies · 4 years

Text

Do It for Them, Do It Again: Pt. 2

“Hey, you wanna play a game?”

Daniel blinked, then looked over at His Diamond from his position on the arm of their throne. It had only been a couple years since he’d been given to them, but he’d come to learn how restless they were. But this was the first time they’d suggested a game. Thankfully, he knew how to play the important ones. Wartime Strategy, Invasion, Kindergarten Simulator…

“What do you have in mind, My Diamond?”

Instead of opening the holo-screen, like he expected, they shot up with a wide grin. “You’ll see! We just need to go to the Garden first.”

“The… Garden?”

“Yeah, I’m sure you’ll love it!”

They took off, leaving him to scramble after them. It wasn’t hard to catch up, but he still stuck to their side as much as he could. Just in case.

Suddenly, they stopped in the middle of two intersecting hallways. Eyebrows furrowed, they looked down every direction they could go, even the one the two of them came from, and muttered under their breath, “Which way was it again?”

He straightened himself out and laced his hands together. “Do you need help?”

“No, no, I got it!”

Without further ado, they grabbed his hand and led him along. Left, right, right, straight, left- they took him through countless turns and halls before finally heading through a pair of doors that screeched horrendously as they opened.

“Here it is!” they announced, looking down at him with that same grin. “Are you excited?”

The room was barren, save for a small platform in the middle. And dust. Too much for his liking, but he knew better than to say that. Still, it wasn’t quite what he expected. But perhaps he didn’t quite know as much as he thought he did. The drawback of being undercooked…

“Of course I am,” he finally answered with a polite smile. A little lie wouldn’t hurt. “The Garden is very lovely.”

They snorted, then put a hand on his head and ruffled his hair. “This is where the teleporter is, Daniel. It’s gonna take us to the Garden.”

Oh. How embarrassing.

Daniel took a deep bow at the waist while his face burned with shame. “I’m so sorry, My Diamond. I should’ve known.”

That hand trailed down to cup his cheek. “Hey, it’s okay,” His Diamond reassured. “Just a little mistake, nothing to be sorry about. I mean, it’s not like you’ve ever been before, so how could you know?”

“A fair point,” he breathed out as the thrumming in his gem slowed to a stop. There were still too many thoughts running through his head, but at least he hadn’t made them angry. That was the most important thing. “Thank you, My Diamond.”

“No problem.” They gave him a smile that undid all his progress in calming down, then pointed a thumb toward the teleporter. “Think you’re ready?”

“Yes, My Diamond.”

“Cool, let’s go!”

Teleportation was certainly a new experience. Daniel had never been outside of the Citadel, let alone off the planet entirely. But the flashes of color passing by, the momentum of shooting through space faster than light itself, distracted him from any worries he could have had. For a brief couple of seconds, nothing else mattered.

It was very freeing, actually.

One last burst of light, and the two of them arrived in a domed enclosure, filled with Homeworld architecture and…

“Huh,” His Diamond said as they ran a hand through their hair. “I don’t remember it looking like this.”

Daniel frowned as he took it all in. Something incomprehensible hung in the air. It reminded him of Gray Diamond. Was this normal? Where was the color?

Movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention. A flower about the size of his hand, outstretched toward him, petals twitching uselessly. Perhaps it had been a more vibrant color at some point, but now it was a sickly sort of brown. Almost yellow in some patches. The sight put a heavy weight in his chest.

Carefully, he knelt down and scooped the flower up. It lolled back and forth, spreading its petals out like it was looking at him. Pleading with what little it had.

“It needs help,” he whispered and ran a thumb along the underside of its petals.

His Diamond squatted down next to him, head cocked and eyebrows furrowed together. “How do you know that?”

“Just look at it, My Diamond.”

“…Uh-huh. What am I looking for?”

He did a double-take. Did they really not get it?

“See how it’s moving?” He ran a finger along the stem, causing the flower to flutter open and shut several times. “It’s asking us for help.”

Their nose scrunched up in obvious distaste. “It’s a plant.”

“I know that, but—”

“Daniel, it can’t even think.”

A jolt went through him. Right. What was he even thinking, trying to argue with a Diamond? He was just a Pearl, a barely functioning one, at that. Gingerly, he placed the flower back on the ground, then stood to his feet, hands laced perfectly in front of himself.

“Yes, My Diamond.”

Following suit, they slapped a heavy hand against his back, making him wince, and said in a completely unbothered tone, “Let’s just go back. And don’t tell Red about this, huh? She’ll totally shatter me if she finds out that I let this place die.”

“…Yes, My Diamond.”

————————————————————————————————————It was only a day after His Diamond had taken him to the Garden that it started to invade his thoughts again. The hours seemed to scrape on by painfully as he was consumed with the most horrible feeling. That flower, he could’ve tried to do something for it. Anything. And he didn’t.

So what? It’s only an organic life-form. They’re supposed to die anyway.

But it didn’t have to die now. Shouldn’t it have the chance to live as much as it could?

That’s not how a proper gem should be thinking. Organic life dies, that’s it. It doesn’t affect the empire at all.

Then tell him, why did that feel so wrong?

“Hello? Homeworld to Daniel! You in there?”

He blinked back into awareness. His Diamond’s hand waved in front of his face, so he turned to look at them. “Yes, My Diamond? Is there anything I can help you with?”

They snorted and gave him a grin, hand pressed against their face as they leaned against the arm of their seat. “Nah, just thought you’d wanna be here when the battle starts. It’s gonna be sick— I heard that the Pyrite they sent is one of the best. He conquered a whole planet by himself, with nothing but his own weapon!”

“That’s... Pretty impressive.”

Thankfully, that was the moment the lights in the arena fell, prompting them to turn their attention away, eyes lit up with excitement.

Two gems walked out onto the battlefield. The Pyrite and a Jade. They made their introductions, but the words slipped through him without sticking at all. He never really cared for these battles in the first place. Something about how His Diamond looked at those gems bothered him. Wasn’t it his job to keep them entertained? That’s what he was made for. Did they think he couldn’t? Was that why they staged these fights?

He didn’t want to think about it.

Instead, he let his mind drift back to the Garden. Maybe there was something he could do for it. And His Diamond. After all, they probably weren’t happy with the state it was in. Especially if the other Diamonds would be upset too. So why not? They were already distracted by their oh-so-exciting arena.

That was enough justification to slip away from their side unnoticed and make his way through the winding halls of the Citadel. His memory wasn’t the best, but he was able to puzzle his way through the maze until he finally reached the teleporter.

Everything flew by so quickly, he almost felt dizzy when he landed. But that didn’t stop him from immediately heading forward at a brisk pace. As he passed by the flower, which almost seemed to follow him with its petals, he called out, “Don’t worry! I’ll fix this!”

First step: find a terminal. There had to be one around somewhere.

It didn’t take long to come across a lead. Up ahead, towering over the entire Garden, was a gazebo, covered in sickly green vines and intricately carved fractals. If he were to set up an important piece of technology somewhere, that would certainly be it.

Of course, he was right. Practically beaming with pride, he approached and opened it up. After it took a little too long to boot up, the holo-screen appeared in a flash of red, giving him a list of pages.

Log of Organic Lifeforms.

Layout of the Garden.

Potential Dangers of the Asteroid Belt.

Working List of Banned Activities.

“Layout of the Garden,” he muttered under his breath. “That seems promising.”

His eyes scanned through the countless paragraphs of information, glazing over after just a couple. This was far too much. How was anyone supposed to glean anything useful?

Wait, there!

Daniel opened up a section on something called the Feeder. A device put into place to shower down a mixture of nutrients on the Garden, restocking itself from the very life it maintained. But that didn’t make sense. If things were already in perfect balance, how did the Garden get like this?

“Only one way to find out…”

According to the terminal, the Feeder was placed inside the dome itself, directly in the center. What it didn’t tell him, though, was that the Feeder was almost impossible to get to from the inside. And he didn’t realize that himself until he was directly underneath it, head craned and eyes squinted as he tried to gauge the distance.

There had to be something he could do. He racked his gem for even the smallest hint. Most gems had some special capabilities: teleportation, shape-shifting, telekinesis, flight. Any of those would be a great help. But Pearls weren’t made to do that. Even if they were, Daniel himself would still be just as useless…

Hot shame surged through him. Lately it seemed like everything in the universe just wanted to bring attention to that. He’d tried his best to ignore all the small signs, but each one added its own weight and he didn’t know how much more he could hold before he shattered.

He reached up and plucked a star— the constant reminder of his imperfections— from his hair. It twinkled, almost taunting him. You’re defective, it said. Undercooked. Useless. You can’t even help Your Diamond with The Garden. If they get in trouble, it’ll be your fault. And then you’ll be s h a t t e r e d.

With a pained cry, he threw it as hard as he could. It was stupid, in hindsight. But he just wanted it gone. And maybe he hoped it would fix him. Then he’d be able to solve this whole Garden mess and finally make His Diamond proud.

As soon as it hit the ground, it bounced back into the air and began to expand. It didn’t stop until it was nearly as tall as him and three times as wide. Then it just floated there. Completely still, with that same glimmer it always had. His own wide eyes bored into him as his mouth fell open in almost horrified awe.

“…What just happened?”

No answer. He pressed his hands close to his chest and stepped backwards. It closed the distance he made without any hesitation.

Throwing a hand forward, he took another step and demanded, “Stop!”

To his surprise, it stayed still. A little glimmer of hope sparked in his gem. Could it really follow his directions? And if so, then could he…?

Several quick little experiments gave him the answer he needed. He could move the star anyway he wanted, lay it flat, shrink it down, blow it back up, even have it float up above his head several feet. But the most important part was that he could do this with all his stars. It took a lot of concentration, but he could even manipulate them all at once if he wanted to. And it gave him a crazy idea.

His hands waved about while he worked. “You go here, and you go there, the rest will fall in line like this and… Done!”

Before him was the beginnings of a makeshift spiral staircase. Not nearly high enough to reach the Feeder— in fact, it didn’t even make it a fourth of the way. A work in progress, to be sure, but he was more than ready to work.

With a deep breath, he grabbed two fistfuls of his skirt and steeled himself.

Three…

Two…

One…!

Go!

He took off. His breath hitched when the first star almost gave way beneath his weight, but he willed it to keep still for the split-second before he was on the next one.

Step by step, faster than he thought he could run, he bounded along his own stars, eyes glued to the next one in line. Before he knew it, the end was in sight. But he didn’t even think about stopping. That would only make this fall apart. He needed to keep moving, to focus, to make this work for the Garden, for His Diamond.

Right as he made to stop onto thin air, his gem thrumming in distress as he stared at the ground below, a star soared up to boost him along. The next star followed suit, and he let out a joyous laugh. It really worked!

And there he was. Perched on a star, directly underneath the Feeder.

Streaks of light nearly blinded him when he tried to get a closer look at it. When he blinked away the spots in his vision, he caught the fleeing image of three comets, all too close to the Garden for his liking. At least there didn’t seem to be any others wanting to interrupt him. He let out a huff and tried again, while still keeping a wary eye on everything on the other side of the glass.

Was it even on? The maintenance panel opened up at the very least, though he did have to jam his fingers in and force it. Ouch! Nothing seemed to be out of place, though Daniel didn’t really know what to look for. But he could easily see the important parts. Wires were plugged in properly, switches were flipped on, there was a tank full of bright green liquid that he could only assume was nutrients for the Garden.

The only odd thing was the power source. Was it askew? One push made it click into place and the Feeder instantly responded with a whirring hum.

He stepped back and watched as mist began to spray out and gently fall over the entirety of the Garden. As it soaked in, the plants below bloomed up in response. Several took longer to regain their color, but they still added to the spontaneous ocean of hues underneath him. Blue, purple, pink, yellow… Too many to count, all he could do was marvel at the beauty of it. This was life. Growth. And he helped it flourish.

This feeling was new. Almost too much to contain.

He wanted more.

“Daniel!?”

For a split-second, he locked eyes with His Diamond and time stood still. Then he felt the tell-tale pull of gravity yank him down and the rush of air as the ground came rocketing toward him. A cry escaped him and he flipped himself around, eyes scanning for the stars that should’ve been there. He found one and threw his hand out, trying to will it to grow, but he didn’t have time.

Before he could even think about what would happen to him once he crashed, he felt the full impact of a body beneath him. Two strong arms wrapped around him and pulled him close, until his nose was right next to His Diamond’s gem. It thrummed, the sound low and pulsing with quick succession. He inched closer, tempted to try and comfort it. But he didn’t know how.

A hand cupped against his face, dragging his attention upwards. They stared down at him with a mixture of horror and relief, chest heaving with deep, ragged breaths.

“You’re okay,” they said, voice barely above a whisper. Their hand found the back of his head and pressed his face into the crook of their neck. “Oh my god, you’re okay! What were you even doing up there!?”

He swallowed thickly and pulled back to look at them. “I was fixing the Feeder, My Diamond. The power source had gotten knocked loose.”

They ran a hand through their hair, pinning him with the most incredulous look he’d ever seen. “What?”

“Now the Garden won’t die,” he clarified with a sweeping hand toward the lively foliage. “See?”

Those piercing eyes never left him. He shrank back under their gaze and found himself unable to meet it after just a few short seconds.

“…Did I do something wrong, My Diamond?”

A sigh escaped them. “Look, Daniel, you can’t just—”

“Incoming call from Red Diamond! Purple Diamond, please report to the Garden terminal!”

Everything went cold. But His Diamond rushed to the terminal with him still in their arms, far before he was ready to face what lied ahead. It immediately reacted to their presence and showed Red Diamond’s impassive face as she sat on her throne.

“Purple,” she greeted politely, one hand poised in front of her face. Her eyes flickered down for a brief second toward him before sliding back up. “Am I interrupting anything?”

“Nope,” they replied through gritted teeth and tightened their hold on him. “What do you want?”

“Always cutting right to the chase,” she said with a smile. “What if I just wanted to catch up with you? It’s been a little while since we’ve last talked. How are you liking your Pearl?”

“He’s great. No complaints, he does everything I want and never gets out of line.”

“Then would you care to explain—” she leaned forward, all traces of humor gone from her face— “why I caught him sneaking off on his own, to a Garden that you let fall into disrepair, and putting himself in danger to try and fix it?”

“Uh, well—”

“Put him down. I’d like to talk with him alone.”

“Hey, wait—”

“Purple.”

They drew in a sharp breath. But did as they were told, leaving him alone under Red Diamond’s scrutinizing gaze. He stood perfectly still, hands laced in front of himself. Be perfect. It’s the only way you’re getting out of this.

“Do you realize how lucky you are, Daniel?”

“No, Red Diamond.”

“I’ll tell you, then.” Her tone grew softer, almost back to what it had been just a minute ago. “I’m not sure if you’re aware, but whenever a terminal that hasn’t been active in over a century gets turned on, Gray and I receive a notice about it. A safeguard to keep our old technology from being misused.”

Then that meant…

“Why, if Gray had wanted to deal with it, who knows what would’ve happened,” she continued casually with a wave of her hand. “You’d most likely be shattered by now. He’s not nearly as forgiving toward wayward gems as I am.”

His gem pulsed. “Wayward?”

She almost seemed taken aback, then brushed it off quick a laugh. “Well, I guess I shouldn’t use that word quite yet. But you’re awfully close to the line, Daniel. You’d best be careful not to step over it.”

“…Yes, Red Diamond.”

#snailbitch #do it for them #my diamond au #revamp #fic #mod cantolope

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